#would listen to that man read the phonebook

[missygoesmeow]

ive been listening to john sinclair: demon hunter and so i just picture raphael running around with a gun most of the time tbh which is endlessly entertaining (its really good though i recommend!)

and this is the ref i used

[ben-talks-art]

Nimona was so great I wish it was a show

After seeing the trailers and clips and hearing about the premise I was really excited about watching this movie.

It looked fun, the main lead looked awesome, the animation seemed charming, it just looked like it was going to be a good time while exploring a very relevant theme even for today.

And long story short, that's basically what it was, just a really good fun time exploring a really relevant theme. It was as super solid movie with a super solid main character.

I don't think it's perfect but it did what I hoped it would do, showing this tiny girl with a sharp-teethed smile being awesome and kicking ass.

(Spoilers for the movie below)

For those who don't know the premise, the movie tells the story about a man about to become an official knight who gets framed for a murder and ends up getting hated by the whole kingdom forcing him into isolation.

Once Nimona finds out about this she considers the idea of becoming friends with him since people also hate her for things she never did, so at least they could be hated and hunted down together.

The guy doesn't trust her at first but with time they start to get along and develop some absurdly charming chemistry and eventually through their combined efforts they managed to make people see that neither of the two is as bad as everyone thinks.

At first I was a little skeptical since I didn't want to see yet another "Last of Us" or "Logan" story about some grumpy old dude learning to be a father after taking care of a spunky little girl, a trope that I'm just freaking sick to death of seeing so much, but they handle it really well in here by instead of making it a father-daughter relationship it's more like just two outcast friends hanging out.

He's not raising or taking care of her. Heck, if anything, she's the mentor figure making him realize his views of the world aren't as simple as he thinks.

And like I said, they have such a great chemistry. At first it's the usual "simple character gasps at weird character" routine, but they drop that after some time and it becomes more about him just going along with her antics and joining in on the fun.

The best part of the movie is just these two hanging out and being weird together. I could watch a whole show about them just having fun doing whatever, I just love seeing them that much.

Their interactions are so enjoyable to watch, a lot of it coming from the voice acting doing a perfect job showcasing their personalities. I just adore hearing them talk to each other. There is so much emotion and character in their voices that I feel they could just be reading a phonebook and still would be fun to listen to.

Which kinda brings me to my one problem with the movie...

The two leads work so well together and are so likable and charming... That they kinda make the rest of the story feel just a tiny bit lacking.

The major plot involving the crime mystery is... sadly not that interesting in my opinion.

You've seen these scenes before, you heard these lines before, you know what's gonna happen and how they're gonna solve the conflict, you know exactly who the culprit is and why they did it the second they appear on-screen.

It's the usual "who's the real monster" story and "people who fear what they don't understand" plot.

It's not bad, and it's sadly still relevant to remind people that they shouldn't hate on things just because they're too afraid of the unknown, but it's just a story we've seen so many times already and there isn't really that much new here.

They play around a little with the idea that the kingdom is always trying to be under the light because they are afraid of what they can't see in the shadows with several shots of the knights being literally under sources of light at all times and in the climax of the movie we see a being literally hides their true self under several layers of shadows, and stuff like that is handled really well, but when you come down to it it's still the usual story about the dangers of making assumptions under the wrong or lack of information.

One thing they addressed that I really really liked was how they point out that kids are taught from an early age to discriminate as if it was a normal thing to do and why it's so hard for adults to let go of this discrimination since it's basically like rejecting what your entire life has taught you.

I think the story should have leaned more on that. Instead of being about solving the mystery of "who did it?", it would have been, in my opinion, more interesting if it was about Nimona showing her friend how he's been slowly brainwashed his whole life, kinda like what happened in How To Train Your Dragon where the main lead has a scene of him realizing that everything he knew about dragons was wrong, or even in this movie's creator's other work, She-Ra, where the female lead, Adora, realized she and many others were being lied on by the bad guys her whole life.

Or heck, they could have turned this into some sort of "Beyond Good and Evil" setting where our two leads go around finding proof about the lies of the government and work underground to collect evidence and show the citizens the true colors of the kingdom and through that bringing the people to their side.

I don't know, I just feel like the idea of having these two working together to reveal other truths would be more engaging than just the usual "scared people do dumb things" plot.

Again, the scenes with these two working together once they got on the same page were my favorite parts and I really wished I could have more of that.

But I know why we can't have more of that. This is a movie with three acts and we need to do the usual movie with three acts thing, establish the conflict, explore the conflict, and solve the conflict, all while introducing all the relevant characters, setting up their motivations, and having them go through some character development by the time we reach the end so we can pass on the moral of the story.

And sometimes when you need to focus on all that you end up with not enough time to focus on other elements, which is why I really feel this would work even better as a show so we could have more time dedicated to the two leads just being great and doing cool things together, exploring this world and maybe even adding other characters for them to interact with.

I feel like Nimona's biggest flaw is that its leads are way more interesting than the story they're in.

For instance, the fact that Nimona has shape-shifting powers is freaking awesome and leads to tons of cool and creative scenes of her just going from one shape to another... But it also feels like a bit overkill for the problems they come across.

I kept waiting for some sort of big epic battle where she would have to face some sort of squad of super-enhanced knights or something, or maybe they would go How To Train Your Dragon 2 and reveal they also have a secret evil shape-shifter on their side for her to fight, or maybe they would do it like in the series Kipo and have the big villain copy Nimona's power so they could have a transformation fight in the same way they did it in the Sword on the Stone movie.

I don't know, I just feel like Nimona's antagonists are kinda boring for how cool she is. She barely even interacts with them when I think about it.

But yes... I know that's not the point... It's not about Nimona punching some cool bad guy in the face as if we were in a Marvel movie...

it's about sending the message of how adults keep trying to find faults and problems in things that have no faults and problems just because of their upbringing, fear, lack of guidance, or outside manipulation, and how much that behavior needlessly hurts the innocents who have no means to resist and how that corrupts the young into following their example and keeping the cycle going.

It's about how when you treat people like monsters they start to consider becoming monsters as well, showing how powerful our actions and their consequences can be even if we don't think about it.

It's about how hard it is to sometimes see that we are making a big mistake that's keeping us from stepping into a whole new world of possibilities that might be even better than the world we have now because of how scary it is to leave your clear comfort zone and adventure through the unknown.

It's about a whole bunch of relevant themes and messages that can help people become even better people...

That said... It is a little hard to look at a character THIS cool and not go "I wish she would fight something cooler."

Like... Look at all the promotional images of her grinning while starting to shift into a dragon and tell me you don't want to see her in some super big epic battle against some really cool villain. (Or maybe that's just me? 🤔)

But... Then again, that does fit into the message of Nimona not having to be what people think she is or want her to be and instead learning to accept her for who she really is, just a girl that wants others to stop finding non-existent problems with her.

So, yeah, I'm not gonna get angry at a movie for not being exactly how I wished it was when the whole idea is that we often get too angry at things for not being how we think they should be.

Bottom line, I like Nimona. I love the leads, love the voice-acting, the transformation scenes, the chemistry between the characters, the interactions...

The message is kinda "been there done that", but many people still need to hear about it even today so, who am I to complain...

I just wish I could see the leads hanging out more and doing more things outside of this main plot. I feel like this works as a great pilot for an ongoing story with these two and would be more than happy to follow them in other adventures (the movie literally ends with the walls to a whole new world breaking down ala Attack on Titan).

So... Can I get a sequel or a tv show, please?

[eddies-munsonmoved]

dealer’s choice pt. 2 /no! i just think i’m two steps nearer to my grave

pairing: eddie munson/oc (cynthia moose) fandom: stranger things wc: 3.3k note: this took for-fuckin-ever, im so sorry. here they are! warnings: swearing, smoking, mentions of drugs and alcohol,

Hopper leaned down, taking his sunglasses off and asked, “where are you two coming from?"

Eddie got nervous, he wanted to say something but this wasn’t his situation and he didn’t want to get Moose in trouble for his weed run. But he was stunned even more by how she replied to the cop.

“Skull Rock.”

PREV: here

READ ON: ao3 ✰   wattpad  ✰   ff.net ✰   quotev

February 1985, Cherry Lane

3:17 pm. The dungeons and dragons curse, she liked to call it. Whenever someone brought D&D up to her in any capacity, no matter if her sister was around or not, she would be roped into babysitting a bunch of smelly pre-teens. (This time it was an offhand comment made by Jeff in her sixth period science class)

“Cyn, please?” Bethany pleaded for the third time this hour. “Mike’s dad doesn’t want us over there for another session, and we have the only area big enough.”

“You mean we have less supervision here. Since mom went back to work.”

Bethany shrugged as her sister sighed and turned the tv off, “please?”

“It’s my only day off this week.” Cynthia muttered to herself. “Fine. But you have to clean whatever mess you guys make down there.”

Not even thirty minutes later, Cynthia’s car was filled by three boys, two girls and they had just finished descending their madness upon Bradley’s Big Buy to get snacks and pizza for the weekend. They were loud and caused a ruckus in the store and she was just glad to get out of there with her dignity.

After piling the kids into the car, she almost turned the wrong way and they all let her know about it, “We gotta get Will!”

As they pulled up to the Byers’ place, she put the car in park and looked at the kids in silence, no one was getting out. “Are you guys serious? Go get him.”

“You have to talk to Joyce.” Mike informed the older teen.

She grumbled as she got out of the car, and walked up to the front door. She put on a small smile as she knocked twice.

“Cynthia, hi.” Joyce greeted, opening the door.

“Hey, I came to get Will, if that’s alright.” She gestured to the car where the five kids could be seen arguing animatedly, “Beth is hosting for their session this weekend, something about Mr. Wheeler wanting them to get out of the house?”

Before Joyce could even respond, Will went zipping between them and jumped into the car, clearly an overfilled backpack swinging onto his back.

“That’s fine, is your mom home?”

“No,” Cynthia drew out. “But I don’t have to work until four tomorrow and if they run extra long, I’m sure Tim could watch them.”

“Okay, I’ll have Jonathan drop by after he gets off work to see if Will needs anything, is that alright?”

“Yeah, that’s cool. They probably wanna get outta here, I’ll see you around.”

Five hours later and they were starting to drive her crazy, they’ve gone through half their snacks and had three pizzas already. She heard another set of screams from the basement and she got up and padded to the kitchen landline and flipped open the phonebook.

Finding the number, she typed it in and held the phone to her ear, listening to the ring for a minute before a man’s voice came over the speaker, “Hello?”

“Hey, is this Eddie?”

“Yeah?” The other line sounded skeptical, “who’s this?”

“Cynthia.”

It was quiet for a moment. “Oh, Moose. What’s going on?”

“Okay,” she chuckled, “not to be a sob story but I’m fuckin stranded at my house with a gaggle of middle schoolers and I really need a smoke. If it’s not too inconvenient, could you run me a bag?”

“Sure, what did you want?”

“I got… ten bucks. So, what? A quarter?” She answered.

“Alright,” He answered, she heard keys shuffling on his end, “Cherry Lane, right?”

“Yeah, thanks, dude.”

“See you in a bit.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Cynthia replied, hanging up the phone before going back to her bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, Cynthia was in the middle of her Blondie cassette when she saw a pair of headlights flash through her window, signaling that someone just pulled into the driveway. She rolled out of bed and grabbed one of her dad’s sweaters and went out to the living room.

Expecting Eddie to be outside, she was surprised when she opened the door to see Jonathan Byers. “Hey, I forgot you were dropping by.”

“I was late.” He muttered.

She widened the door for him to come in and she spotted Nancy coming up the walkway with a smile.

“Hi, Cynthia.”

“Hey, Nance,” Shutting the door behind the couple, she continued, “the kids are in the basement. The last door on the right in the hall will have the stairs.”

✰✰✰

Eddie pulled up to the Moose’s house, Jeff in his passenger seat. They both spotted an extra car parked in front of the house. “Weird,” he shrugged to his friend and bandmate before trying to get out of the van.

Jeff laughed in response before stopping and grabbing the older boy’s arm, “I think she’s coming out.”

Settling back down, he watched Cynthia walk between the parked cars and approach the window he just rolled down.

Leaning against the van, she laid her forearms over the opening, “hey guys, thanks for comin’ out.” She quickly held out a bill between her fingers.

“It’s no big deal. Jeff needed a ride home anyways.” Eddie shrugged once again, passing a baggy into her hand that was still resting in the van. “Actually, Moose, I heard some shit about you today.”

“Oh shit.” She laughed, keeping one hand on the van as she leaned away and put her weed away. Fumbling with something else in her pocket, she tried to change the subject, “do you want some candy?”

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Eddie smiled at her as she leaned back against the van, defeated.

“Fuck,” she groaned. “First, what did you hear?”

“Apparently Hopper chased you down for being… ‘drunk and disorderly’ out on Kerley last night.” He explained as Jeff laughed in the other seat, the younger boy knew the actual story, hearing it from Cynthia in their shared class.

The girl hung her head in shame.

“It’s all good, Moose. It’s happened to the best of us.” That made Jeff laugh even more.

“Sucks you believe that, Munson.” She finally responded, “I wasn’t drunk and disorderly, alright? I was walking home, extremely sober, from the Wheelers’ after Nancy’s mom snitched on me.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, it was past curfew so he had to pick me up. That and I’ve been out of the house since Sunday.”

“You’re not home a whole lot, are you?” Eddie asked, slightly concerned.

Cynthia deflected with a laugh and a shrug, “do you want some candy? Last offer.”

“I’ll have some.” Jeff spoke up, holding his hand out.

Reaching over Eddie and handing their friend a small candy bar, Cynthia turned her attention back to the metalhead, “What about you, Eddie? Want some candy?”

“Yeah, of course. Got any chocolate?”

“You’re shit outta luck, dude, I got a sucker or sweethearts.” She laughed, fiddling around in her pocket once again.

Defeated, Eddie set out his hand, “I’ll take the sucker.”

“A sucker for a sucker.” Cynthia laughed, handing him a red, heart-shaped sucker. “See you guys around.”

They watched as she walked back up to the house before turning the van back on. “What’d you get?” Eddie asked his friend when he heard him eating the candy he just received.

“Laffy Taffy.”

Nodding, he didn’t believe his friend. “Sure. Taffy? Jeff, you have braces.”

“I can indulge.” He lied, trying to stop the older boy from wrestling his hand open to find the wrapper.

Eddie was victorious, “a snickers? Jeffrey, I think Moose is playing favorites.”

June 1985 Forest Hills Trailer Park

2:43 pm. Eddie trudged out to his van in the late June heat. He was currently thankful for his KISS shirt that he cropped so the edge of it sat right above the waistline of his jean shorts. After he got in, keeping the door open, he took some time to dig through his cassettes. Ultimately deciding on Blizzard of Ozz before sticking a cigarette between his lips and starting his van to limp to the more experienced mechanics.

Speeding up the road, he spotted a familiar station wagon turn onto the road. Slowing down to let the car pass on the narrow street, he was met with Moose. Wallace had told him the day before that she was asking about him. Eddie’s friend seemed exasperated about the topic.

Setting the cigarette down, he cranked his window open as the driver of the opposite car slowed down by him, “What’s up, Moose?” He leaned out of his van, disregarding the heat.

She seemed unprepared as she shuffled to mirror the older boy, “I heard from Wally that you were back in town and I was out today so I wanted to drop by to see if you had any?”

The boy laughed and ran a hand through his messy bangs, “yeah, I have to go see my guy and get some. Could you give me a ride?”

“Um, I— yeah, that’s cool.”

“You sure?” he asked, she nodded, “meet me at Bell’s Auto on Pine? I have to bring this beast in.”  He patted the door for good measure.

“Sure thing.”

✰✰✰

Eddie slowly pulled into Bell’s right in front of the garage doors and was surprised to see Moose already there, moving bags from the front seat and setting them into the back. When did she pass him up?

He got out and watched as she pushed a cooler onto the back seat, “How’d you get here so fast?”

She jumped in surprise, somehow not noticing Eddie behind her, with a laugh she replied, “you took an odd turn, I just went up Main.”

“My way’s faster.” He defended his ‘odd’ turn. He felt a bloom in his chest as she laughed at what he said. It was then he noticed that their outfits were nearly similar.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Munson.”

The drive was nearly silent, only the wind and the occasional puff of a cigarette occupied the car.

Cynthia pulled her hand in from the outside and glanced at the boy next to her, “there’s a box under your seat, it has some of my tunes in it. Find something you like.”

“You gonna have anything my speed?” He half-joked. He grew hopeful when he looked over at her, a smile on her face and AC/DC on her tee.

“Don’t start, Eddie.”

It took him a couple minutes of picking up a case and looking to see what it was before he found one that was clearly made at home and the cover just said Summer ‘82 (KISS, Crüe, Blondie, Whitney). Popping it into the radio, he waited, listening, until the beginning notes of Sure Know Something started.

“Where did you find that?”

He thought he did something wrong for a second before she turned up the music and started bobbing her head. “It was at the bottom of the box.”

“Good pick.” She complimented, taking a puff of the cigarette between her fingers.

Another 20 minutes down the road, Eddie instructed her to pull over to a small, shaded path, “wait here, I’ll walk the rest of the way and be back in a bit.”

“Okay,” she sighed, relenting. Cynthia wanted to just drive him up but he told her that his guy didn’t like people knowing where he lived. “See you in a bit.”

For the fifteen minutes that Eddie was gone, Cynthia mindlessly flipped through one of her sister’s old wrestling newsletters in between killing the odd mosquito that made its way into the warm car.

The current summer air reminded her of the days that her dad would take her and Beth to swim out at Jordan Lake in east Hawkins. She could feel the sadness building in her chest as she reminisced about days that were long gone; melting down onto the leather bench, she tried to breathe, pushing away tears that were about to spill out.

When she finally calmed herself down, she opened her eyes. They were blurry and when she looked up and out of the passenger window by her feet, she saw a blurry figure. She flinched hard, “son of a bitch.” She gasped as she wiped her eyes and saw Eddie, smiling with concern in his eyes.

Reaching forward, she pulled the lock up and let Eddie in, “scared the hell outta me, man.”

“I could tell.” He snickered, “takin’ a nap, Moose? Am I that boring?”

She laughed as she scooched back into the driver seat, “You’re thrilling, bud. I was resting my eyes.”

“Okay.” He relented, settling into the seat, he put a bag onto the floor by his feet as he watched the girl next to him lay her head on the steering wheel. “You alright?”

When she didn’t respond, Eddie hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder, “hey.”

She peered over at him from behind the hair that curtained her in like a shield, “I’m alright.”

Eddie pulled his hand away as she leaned back against the seat as she gathered her hair into her hands.

Giving a small smile, Cynthia actually looked over at him. “I’m good. Long day.” Tying her long, dark hair into a bun before she started the car, “let’s get outta here, yeah?”

On the way back, Eddie had pointed her to a left turn and continued in the winding woods, he insisted continuing around the lake would be quicker to get back into town.

“So what happened to your van?”

Eddie picked at his rings, “I just got back from Saginaw, fucked up my tires pretty bad on the way back. Also just general wear and tear.”

“You do drive like a mad-man.” Cynthia laughed.

“I’d call it efficient.”

“Whatever you say, Munson,” she playfully rolled her eyes. “What were you doing in Michigan, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He pulled his eyes from the road and watched as they sped through the trees, he rubbed at his slightly tanned arms nervously before he eventually answered, “I went to visit my mom.”

“Oh,” Cynthia readjusted her grip on the wheel and took a glimpse at the boy in her passenger seat, “how’d that go?”

“Alright.” Eddie shrugged, shrinking into himself. “Yeah, I had to break the news to her that I got held back. Again.”

“Shit, man. I’m sorry.” It was silent in the van for what seemed like forever, only the radio playing between them. She didn’t really know how to respond. “At least now you get to finish it out with Jeff and Wallace.” Maybe not the right thing to say but it could be comforting.

He gave a small laugh, “Yeah, stupid might cancel out somehow.”

She peeked at the boy to her right and gave him a nudge on the shoulder. “Trust me, it does. How do you think we got Tim outta there?”

“Oh, yeah. Henderson.”

“Yeah,” Cynthia was caught off guard by his response. “What happened with you guys? He says you were his first friend when he moved to town.”

“I guess. Then he went full dark side on us.”

Cynthia felt bad laughing, knowing it would egg Eddie on in his incoming rant. “Dark side? Wow.”

“Yeah! We were cool at first when school started then he just dropped us.” He started waving his hands as he talked. “Then he started sports and hanging around guys like Bull and Tommy B. We tried to be cool but—“

“How long has that truck been behind us?” She interrupted, looking in the rearview mirror.

“I don’t know, but it does look like a—” He tried to turn around to look properly before Cynthia laid a hand on his arm, making him sit forward.

“Oh fuck, it’s fucking Hopper. Oh shit.”

“Are you sure?” He leaned over, looking in the mirror on his side of the car while shuffling his bag further under the seat.

“Yes, I’m sure. The fuck is he doing out here?”

“He’s a cop, Moose, isn’t it kinda his job to be out here?”

Running a hand through her hair, she kept her speed moderate. “I guess. Shouldn’t he be dealing with shitbirds over at the mall?” She didn’t have another moment to chill out before the blue and red light started flashing on the truck behind them. “I can handle this, just sit there and look pretty,” she tried to crack a quick joke.

Eddie nodded with a quick laugh as they pulled into the dirt and waited for the cops to walk up the car.

“What’s goin’ on, rat-stache?” Cynthia nodded at Callahan as he appeared at her passenger window.

“Really?” We pulled you over and you’re gonna under—” The younger cop was cut off.

“Cynthia Moose.” Hopper greeted, setting his hat on the top of her car. “And,” he leaned down, getting a better glimpse at the guest in her car, “Eddie Munson, didn’t know you were back in town.”

“Yeah, just last night.”

Hopper scanned the odd pair and waited for a smart remark from the Moose girl akin to the one Callahan received. When she didn’t speak up, he said, “Your mom called the station today. Wanna tell me why?”

“I don’t know, man.” Cynthia was genuinely taken aback. “She knows I have the car, I have work tonight.”

“I need something better than that, last time we got a call like this, we found you out by the Pinelli’s up in Merrick Park after six days.” He was losing his patience with the girl.

“Dude, I—“ She was getting frustrated, there was really no reason for this. “I don’t know. I brought Beth to her softball game at noon and that’s it.”

“That’s it?” Hopper leaned down, taking his sunglasses off and asked, “where are you two coming from?”

“Can we keep this between us? She’s not gonna be happy with me,” Cynthia rambled on, “I just got my shit together, my mom can’t know about this. Please, Hopper?”

Jim Hopper sighed and, with a stern nod, told Callahan to go back to the truck.

Eddie got nervous, he wanted to say something but this wasn’t really his situation and he didn’t want to get Moose in trouble for his weed run. But he was stunned even more by how she replied to the cop.

“Skull Rock.”

The cop was taken aback, repeating, “Skull Rock?” to the teens in the car incredulously.

“Yeah, man,” Cynthia replied, becoming more confident in her lie, “why do you think we got a cooler and blankets back there? We had a picnic and.. Hung out.”

“Okay.” Hopper nodded; not really believing the pair but knowing Cynthia’s past boyfriend, he took it into consideration as he peeked behind them into the back of the wagon. “This true, Munson?”

Eddie looked beyond Moose’s dark, pleading eyes and straight at the Chief, “Yes.”

He didn’t want to deal with this, but he found that it was better to deal with Elaine Moose’s calls regarding her oldest sooner rather than later. Sighing, wiping sweat from his brow, “Get back to town, go see your mother. I won’t mention this.”

Cynthia let out a deep breath, “holy shit, thank you.”

“Yeah,” Hopper grabbed his hat and stepped away from the car, “get outta here.”

Eddie also let out a breath as he heard the engine turn over and they started rolling.

“Holy shit, holy shit.” The girl basically chanted as they picked up speed, heading back to town.

“Hey, Moose?” It was his turn to interrupt as he leaned his head back against the car. “If it’s alright, I’m never riding with you anywhere ever again.”

Letting out a quick laugh before she pushed a cassette into the radio, she replied, “Understandable.”

[vveissesfleisch]

my entire kingdom for hours and hours of jeremy irons reading erotica

[asirensrage]

there's a heaven above you (don't you cry) - Part 8

Rating: M Pairing: Lost Boys/OC Fandom: The Lost Boys Warnings: swearing, self-criticism and violence Summary: The thing no one ever tells you about time travel is that you don’t have any control over where you end up or when you leave. It just happens. It also hurts like a bitch. Notes: This will be a poly pairing, so if you’re not into that, don’t read. previous/masterlist also on ao3 and ffn

Part 8: Papa Don't Preach

She woke up in her bed. For a second she thought it was a dream before she moved and realized how tender she felt. Definitely real. She stumbled out of bed and headed straight for the shower. How did she get home? And why couldn’t she remember it? Darcy wasn’t that deep of a sleeper, not when around people she didn’t know. Even in the post-sex haze, she should have at least been aware of getting here. It wasn’t like he could have driven her back on the motorcycle if she was sleeping.

Darcy got into the shower, still trying to figure it out. There were bruises on her thighs and nail marks on her hips. That was unusual. Men rarely had nails long enough to leave any. She traced them lightly with her fingers, standing under the hot water when it hit her. They didn’t use protection.

“Shit!” It turned into the fastest shower Darcy had ever taken. “Motherfucking shit!” She had been so wrapped up in the man, in his stupid fucking praise and mad fine skills that she didn’t even think. She was an idiot.

How could she forget about something so fucking important? She could practically hear her sister telling her she was stupid, her mother’s sigh of disappointment and the way her father would say it was typical. She shouldn’t have expected the man to be prepared or to actually take responsibility.

It took a few moments before she remembered the fact that Planned Parenthood existed. She thanked whatever higher power was out there that she hadn’t been sent back to somewhere before it was formed. The phonebook was buried in one of the drawers of the nightstand, next to the bible she had tossed in haphazardly. She didn’t expect to need either.

It didn’t take too long to find the entry. San Jose. The same place as the concert that made her fucking lower her guard and get herself into this mess. She should have just gone home. She should have listened to her instincts and told the men to shove it...more than she already did.

Cursing the rotary phone for how long it took to dial, she sat on the bed, still dripping and wrapped in the scratchy motel towel, with the earpiece held between her shoulder and head. It felt like forever before someone finally answered.

“Hello, Planned Parenthood?”

“Hi, um, do you guys have walk-in services?”

There was a pause. “We do. What service are you looking for?”

“I need an STD test. How much is that going to cost?” Darcy tried to quell the panic that she felt growing in the base of her throat.

“We have a sliding scale. You’ll need your ID--”

“I don’t have it,” she said quickly. There was silence from the other end and she thought quickly of an excuse. “My boyfriend, he...he doesn’t let me keep it.”

There was another beat of silence before the woman on the other end spoke, her tone slightly softer than before. “Of course. It’s mainly to qualify for free services but it’s not required. And for your safety, we can arrange something like that you call us to get your results instead of a call or letter from us.”

There was a slight release of pressure and Darcy sighed. “Thank you.”

“Of course, honey. You get yourself here, we’ll help you out. We also have resources available, but we can cover that when you’re here.”

She didn’t know what type of resources she’d need. Darcy might know more about what STDs are out there than the general public just from the internet. “Thanks. I’ll...I’ll get there as soon as I can.” She hung up.

So fucking stupid.

Darcy had money saved. She made a call to Sampson saying she was sick and unable to open the store. He told her not to worry about it, to open it when she was better and that he’d check on it in the meantime. Half the time it felt like she was the owner and him the employee. She had no idea how he managed before she showed up.

She grabbed and hid enough money to hopefully cover the test and a motel if she needed to spend the night. She might stay a night regardless of whether or not it was needed. Darcy needed a break from the men following her around at night. She needed space to breathe and the last time she had intended that...well, it led her to where she was now.

It wasn’t hard to catch a bus out to San Jose. The drive felt like it took hours instead of the one and a half that she had been told it would. It took another 20 minutes to find the place.

She was still mentally cursing herself as she walked in. She felt like a kid again, ashamed for not thinking something through that wasn’t entirely her fault. The woman at the desk was kind, gave her some forms to fill out and told her to wait. Darcy sat back in the plastic chair available and tried to distract herself by coming up with realistic-sounding information for the sheets.

The entire thing took about an hour, including having a woman offer her birth control so she wouldn’t be baby-trapped, thank god for her implant, and try to give her ways that she could leave the imaginary boyfriend who held her ID. Eventually, Darcy just took the info so she could get out of there without any more fuss.

San Jose wasn’t that exciting of a town in the daylight. Part of her wanted to just go back to the motel she found and crash. Possibly hole up with some junk food and pray that she hadn’t caught chlamydia or something. Did the treatments for sexually transmitted infections change over the decades? God, what if it didn’t work? What if she had something that she knew could be fixed but they didn’t yet. This problem had never occurred to her when she thought about time travel. You never think, Darcy. She shoved that thought down. It wasn’t true, but it fucking felt like it now. Fuck it. She stopped wandering around and found a place to grab a burger. She’d hit up a store on the way back to the motel, nicer than the one in Santa Carla, and not come out until sunrise. Maybe then she’d feel a bit more like herself.

Eighties TV did not provide the distraction she was looking for. Especially since channel surfing was such a tedious thing to do. She missed Netflix. Now that she was alone and the panic of the morning had faded with getting the test done, she was able to actually think about the other night.

She sat outside the motel room, sitting on the stoop and smoking. No matter what the laws were, she couldn’t bring herself to smoke indoors. You’re ours and we’re yours. That was what Dwayne said before all fucking sense left her and she got on that bike.

“Makes no fucking sense,” she muttered, flicking the ashes off of her cigarette. People didn’t want her. She learned that a long time ago. At best they seemed to tolerate her or keep her around because she had something that they wanted. Her own family didn’t even like her and that was fine. She stopped giving a shit a long time ago. But now she had potential psychopaths following her around, telling her she belonged with them...and they were really attractive, even with their stupid hair. Dwayne had even a chance to murder her last night and instead he gave her funnel cake and ate her out before they had sex. He kept using the term we too.

Not that that really surprised her with the way David has kissed her in the store, or the way they all seemed to flirt, but this was new fucking territory.

She took another drag, staring out at the passing cars on the road. He said they’d give her everything. Darcy just didn’t know how she could trust it. She didn’t know if she wanted it. The memory of Dwayne between her thighs sprung to mind and she shifted in place. That was a lie. She wanted everything they offered, she just didn’t trust it. Not without some sort of catch.

She smothered the tip of the cigarette into the ground and stood up. She didn’t need this. She was going to get these stupid test results, murder Dwayne if he actually gave her anything, and then tell the rest of them to fuck off. She was better off alone.

She went back to Santa Carla the next day.

A quick call to Sampson letting him know she was fine and Darcy was back to opening the store. She fell back into the routine of checking the donation bin, throwing things in the wash and helping the few customers that did walk in.

Clark appeared as usual but Darcy stopped what she was doing as soon as she saw him.

“What the hell happened to you?”

He shifted in place. On the side of his face was a large bruise that almost looked as though he had been shoved into something. She was gone for one whole day. If the Surf Nazis actually harmed the kid, she was going to ensure they all drowned the next time they were chasing waves.

“Clark? What the fuck happened?”

“They were looking for you,” he said. His hand brushed his cheek when he went to push his hair back and she caught the wince.

“Who?”

He stepped back at her tone. “The guys from the other day. The Lost Boys.”

She leaned forward, watching him carefully. “They hurt you?” She asked softly.

“He was just looking for you. Said they couldn’t find you.”

Darcy tried to calm down so she didn’t scare him. “Which one?” Clark shifted again, looking like he was about to run out of the store so he didn’t have to answer her. “Clark. Who was it?”

“The leader. With the white hair.”

Forget Dwayne. Darcy was going to murder David first. Painfully. She wasn’t going to have to worry about showing up on those missing posters because she was going to put them there first.

Stewing in her anger, she didn’t see Clark leave. She was half tempted to go and find them immediately but she had no idea where. It was fine. They’d find her eventually and she’d deal with them then. In the meantime, she’d plan.

She closed the shop before sundown. She didn’t want them to find her there in case she ended up murdering him. Cleaning that much blood would be hell, or so she imagined. Really, she just wasn’t able to concentrate and felt so strung up from the previous day and the news that Clark had been hurt.

It had been one day. If she hadn’t made the decision to tell them to fuck off before, it was cemented now. This was why cellphones were necessary. Then again, they probably would have found her in San Jose if she had one. That left her with one option in her opinion.

She went to the boardwalk.

They didn’t appear until the sun went down. She heard the motorcycles first and the sounds of people diving out of the way. It wasn’t hard to blend into the crowd once she wrapped her hair with a scarf she borrowed from the shop. People gave her a wide berth as she walked up behind the men who seemed to be scanning the crowd.

They didn’t notice. She pulled out the same knife she had used to cut the brake line of that asshole's car and slashed the tires of each of the motorcycles. They were so certain that no one would touch their bikes, they didn’t have a single precaution for them. The sound of the people screaming on the rides of the boardwalk hid the air whooshing out.

Some of the people around who saw her stared in shock. She closed the knife, slipped it back into her pocket before adjusting the grip on the bat she had brought with her. She moved forward until she was nearly right behind them, lifted it and slammed it down on David’s back. She was aiming for his head.

He stumbled forward before turning with a snarl until he saw her. He straightened and she ignored the calls of her name from the others. She lifted the bat again and slammed it across his face. This time she didn’t miss. The cigarette fell from his lips. He didn’t look angry though. Instead, he looked pleased.

“You motherfucker!”

He wiped his bleeding lip and smirked at her. “Where you been, Darcy?”

“Don’t fucking Darcy me!” she snarled, pointing the bat at him. “Why the fuck did you hurt Clark?”

“You were gone, babe,” one of the others said. “We were worried.”

“Bullshit.” That seemed to make David drop the amusement on his face. “That doesn’t give any of you a fucking excuse to hurt a kid.” She looked over at all of them, ignoring the way people were staring. “I don’t know who the fuck you assholes think you are, but I’m done. You ever touch Clark again, I’ll beat your fucking head in until your brains are fish food, got it?”

David nearly snarled, moving forward faster than she expected and grabbed her arm that held the bat. His grip was firm but tight. “Your friend wouldn’t tell us where you were,” he said.

“Let go,” she warned, ready to shove her fingers into his eyes if she had to.

He leaned down, staring at her intently. “Where were you, Darcy?” Where were you? The sounds of the boardwalk faded around her and she dropped the bat.

“San Jose.” She didn’t know why she said that.

“What were you doing in San Jose?” his voice was low. Tell me.

She scowled. “I had an appointment at the clinic and I needed space. Because I fucked your friend and -” his grip on her arm tightened slightly and pain cut through the haze. The sounds came rushing back.

She shoved David back but he didn’t move, glaring down at her. She grabbed the knife from her back pocket, pressed it open and pressed the blade under David’s chin. His eyes shone. “Let go or I will slice your fucking throat.”

“Okay!” She heard Paul say before she was suddenly picked up and thrown over someone’s shoulder. The momentum caused her to drop the knife. At the same time, David released her and she saw Marko standing in front of him, hand on his chest.

“Let me fucking go!” She snarled.

“Hold on, wildcat. Let’s talk.” Paul was running, holding her in place. People were staring as they passed, talking amongst each other.

She reached up as best she could and grabbed his hair before yanking it back.

“Ow! Fuck! Not the hair!”

“Put me the fuck down, Paul!” She tried to kick him but the man was surprisingly maneuverable and seemed to dodge every attempt she made while still running.

Finally, he stopped. He placed her gently down before rubbing the back of his head where she pulled his hair.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, eyes glancing down her body.

“Who? David? I’m fine. He won’t be though if I ever catch up to him again.” She glared at Paul. He had taken her away just when she was going to start getting her point across.

“Dwayne. Did he hurt you?” He seemed abnormally serious from how she knew him.

She stared at him for a moment, the anger starting to fade now that she wasn’t actually looking at her prime target and was faced with this odd sincerity. “No. It was...” she cut herself off. Regardless of this we business that Dwayne spoke about, Paul didn’t need to know that the sex was amazing.

“We didn’t mean to hurt the kid,” he said suddenly. “We couldn’t find you and Dwayne took off to see...family. We wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. “That doesn’t make it right. I don’t give a shit that you were worried. Clark has a bruise the size of his face on his actual fucking face. You don’t do that.” Darcy looked around, trying to see where he had actually taken her. They were on the beach. Of course they were. She still had sand in her hair from that night with Dwayne. At this rate, she was never getting sand out of her clothes again. “I’m not doing this anymore, Paul. I meant it when I said I’m done.”

“Why?” he asked, pulling something out from one of his pockets. It looked a bit like a cigarette until he actually lit it. “Because you slept with Dwayne? He that bad?”

“He’s not--” she cut herself off again. “No. It was great bu-”

“Then what?” He offered her the joint. She took it automatically. It wouldn’t be the first time and probably not the last if she was honest with herself. She just didn’t like to get too wasted on anything. She had enough problems with her anger already.

She inhaled and held it before passing it back to him. She exhaled slowly as she tried to figure out how to explain it. “I don’t understand this,” she shoved her hands into her pockets.

“Not that hard to understand, babe.” He took another hit and offered it to her. She waved him off. “We want you.”

“Why?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking. “I’m nothing fucking special, Paul. There’s a bunch of other fucking women on that boardwalk who’d be happy to lay at your feet. I don’t need you acting like you want me to just pull the rug out from under me when you decide you’re done. I’m not here for your shits and giggles.”

“They did a real fucking number on you,” he muttered before taking another toke of the joint. Before she could even ask what he meant, he continued. “We don’t want them. You think any of those bitches would have taken a bat to David’s head?” he grinned at her. “That was sexy.”

“What is it with this we business?” She snapped. “I’m not going to be fucking passed around like meat for whoever’s interested.”

He frowned at her. “That what you think?”

“I don’t know what I think!” She felt like raising her arms to the sky and dropping them in exasperation. “I’ve never...I don’t understand, Paul. What do you want from me?”

He shrugged. “Whatever you want to give, however you want to give it.” He leaned down slightly to look her in the eyes. “We want you, Darcy. You just gotta decide if you want us. We can share.” He gave her a wink before taking another hit of the joint. He seemed content to let it lie, not looking at her and pressing for more. It was the first time one of them actually said they wanted her. Dwayne had just stated it like ownership.

“I went to the clinic,” she said suddenly. He looked at her and just waited. “Dwayne and I...we didn’t use any protection. I got tested for STDs.”

He snorted and she scowled at him automatically. He held up his hands fast in defence. “Not laughing at you,” he said. “Just...we don’t have anything.”

“That you know of,” she retorted. “Things show up differently between men and women. It was a stupid thing to not make sure he wore a fucking condom. I’ll be lucky if the tests come back negative.”

“They will,” Paul gave a shrug. “You wanted to be safe. It’s a smart move. We’ll do better from now on. Just don’t fucking take off without telling anyone.”

“You’re awfully fucking confident that I’m going to choose you.”

“Maybe I’m the time traveller,” he grinned at her. He reached out, fingers waggling. “Want to know your future?”

She shoved his hand down, away from her. “God no. All I care about the future is that it’s better than the past.”

“It will be, Darcy, girl. I guaran-fucking-tee it.”

Paul walked her back to the motel. He seemed adamant that she not be left alone and he laughed as she cursed while she tried to get sand out of her shoes. She was going to dump an entire bucket on his head next time he wasn’t looking. He kissed her quickly before darting back as she swiped at him.

“Gotta know what you’re gonna miss,” he teased.

Planned Parenthood | Official Site

taglist: @raith-way @ocfairygodmother @lokitrasho @zeleniafic @jewelswrites-ish @reggiemantleholdmyhand-tle @chickensarentcheap @booty-boggins @residentdormouse @dickspaghettii @avengers-fixation

[fvriva]

highlight/midlights/lowlights: camp here and there (s1)

summary: a summer camp in ohio in a universe where weird shit happens as part of everyday life, that slowly zooms in on the drama unfolding between the camp nurses, syndey and jedediah. sydney is a disabled trans man whose only support system for much of the season socially, emotionally, and physically centers around jedediah, who is suspiciously absent and seems to be deliberately avoiding him despite their longstanding and sometimes sexually charged friendship. it also has strong themes of lack of respect, lack of control, and necromancy.

highlights:

jedediah's va was my favorite goddamn thing about this. i could listen to him read the phonebook

sydney is EXTREMELY well written, as is the drama between him and jedediah!! oh my god!!! there's a boatload of nuances and themes presented that kept me on edge throughout

we stan cabin dung beetle

sydney, specifically during the lower-toned acting segments, is a really good voice actor. love the performance for him

jedediah's various skyrim rants

setup for possible plot around the clock of meantime in the future! love that fuckin thing

LOVE how sydney's dreams have a blue sky and presumably other "normal" aspects to it

will wood

i managed to call that sydnecromancy was gonna be a topic addressed but i was FUCKED UP GOOD when it was properly revealed OHHHH my god

i'm super looking forward to what they have coming in future episodes

the whole "if you read this YOU MIGHT LITERALLY DROP DEAD" thing also smacked

i really like how they would periodically go from their usual hijinks talk and dive off a cliff into just the worst, most intrusive fucked up horror shit you've ever heard.

i REALLY wanna know what's coming for the centipede and apple/tree themes and how they'll follow up on it

midlights:

it feels like the weirdness of the setting, while it does eventually service the plot and some of the vibes, ends up not being a huge focus throughout the season. i feel like i would've liked it to be more woven in and like, thematic? but particularly at first it felt kind of like the writing process was literally an improv game with the drama elements stapled on top of it. that said, it wasn't that it wasn't fun but i don't have a strong handle on what exactly is up with the world

it's kind of weird how we didn't get any of the kids' names until literally halfway through the season, i hope that they end up taking advantage of some real Characters among the campers themselves in the future

elijah is so mid you guys. just everything about him. except for when he temporarily drops into his accent when he's fucked up a little

all in all it was a little bit loose and all over the place, which is fine and won't deter me from listening in the future because i love these characters, but it makes me hesitate to rec it because my brain is wired so specifically

lowlights:

it was ngl kind of weird and hamfisted to have really specific descriptions of syndey in particular put in where they were. they didn't feel natural, and they came REALLY late in the series when my images of the character had begun to properly solidify. im talking specifically about confirming sydney as male several episodes in, and then confirming that sydney is curvy and has long hair right before the finale. they feel like they were slotted in as a reaction to fanartists drawing him wrong, and particularly the first one was confusing because the scene made me think that sydney and jedediah were in fact married for a solid ten episodes

[can-youimagine]

Bracelet (Diego Hargreeves x Reader)

Requested by @irenne-stans​: I’d like to request a Diego Hargreeves x reader Set in season 2 the reader is close friends w/ the academy (especially Diego) and gets sucked into 1963.when the reader first sees Lila very close w/ Diego her first instinct is to fight and Lila would say like “he’s clearly over you is even made me a bracelet” the reader responds w/ “shitty bracelet he made me his girlfriend” or something like that oh and the reader wins the fight or Diego pulls the reader off Lila. while the others just watch

TW: season 2 spoilers (but you read the request), feminine reader, swearing, hella canon-divergence, poorly written fight scene, wound description

Word Count: 2,333

A/N: I started writing and realized I changed the request a bit (I have horrible reading comprehension), sorry!

Masterlist

It wasn’t like Diego to be this clingy. Ever since his father’s death, he started spending every moment he could with you. You chalked it up to be some sort of existential crisis, especially when he asked, “What would you do if you knew the world was ending in less than a week?”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “I don’t know. I guess I wouldn’t do anything differently.”

“The whole world is ending, and you aren’t going to do anything different,” he asked in disbelief.

“Fine, I’ll play your game. I’d spend more time with you.” You punctuated your sentence with a quick kiss. ”Now, shh. This is my favorite part.” You settled back into his chest and turned your attention back to the screen.

“I’ll spend more time with you, too,” he whispered into your hair. 

He kept to his promise, going so far as to drag you with him into a portal to God knows where with much protest from his siblings. The last thing you remember before crashing to the ground was Diego telling you he loved you.

Now, you sit on a rather stiff couch, while the man who graciously let you live with him. He goes on and on about a secret alien race, ‘just like you’. You nod. It was easier to tell him what he wanted to hear than to try to do anything about it.

Luckily, Five showed up not too long after you. He explained everything, from the last apocalypse to this one. While he went off to find his siblings, he left you to listen to one of Elliott’s crazy rants.

“I got an update on another one of them. Escaped from the mental hospital,” Elliott says, as he tosses the newspaper in your direction. “Know him?”

You gasp when you see the picture. “Diego.” Your voice is barely more than a whisper.

“You know him,” Elliott presses. “He’s like you.”

You ignore him. Diego is here. He’s alive, and he’s here. His hair is much longer than it was, but he still looked exactly the same. “Oh, God. I have to find him.” You threw the paper back to Elliott before grabbing your shoes. “How far away should he be?”

He doesn’t have time to answer before you are out the door. “My God, Diego. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” you wonder, heading down the street. You don’t have much time to wonder before you see him sitting in a definitely stolen car. You shout his name, causing him to turn to you. As soon as he sees you, he clambers out of the car. 

“(Y/N)!” The joy on his face is unmistakable. Though, you don’t get to see it for long, as he immediately wraps his arms around you, pulling you as close to you as he can, before kissing you. When he pulls away, he holds your face in his hands. “You’re here.”

That’s all it takes for you to start crying. Every emotion the two of you have felt since arriving comes pouring out of you. He gently brushes away your tears, ignoring his own. You almost forgot how good it feels to be in his arms, to just be with him. 

Unfortunately, you don’t get to stay there for long. A woman, who you hadn’t noticed in the car earlier, clears her throat. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Fuck off,” Diego groans. 

“You’re no fun,” she pouts.

Diego rolls his eyes. “Killed the mood, didn’t she?”

You chuckle. “A little, but God, is it good to see you again.” You look passed him to the girl in the car. “I’m (Y/N).”

“Oh, so you’re (Y/N). I was starting to think he truly was insane.”

You give Diego an inquisitive look, which he dismisses. “I was in there for a while. I could only think about you. Where were you?”

You explain where you were and everything that Five had told you, to which Diego can only respond with, “Again?”

“Looks like you gotta be a hero again.”

“So you’re where he gets it from?” the woman interjects.

Diego closes his eyes. It takes all of his self-control not to snap. “Lila-” Luckily for her, Five manages to find you before he has a chance to finish his sentence.

“See you’re pulling your weight around here, (Y/N).” He turns his attention to his brother, “And you are making my life incredibly difficult. Now let’s get you inside before someone sees you.” He turns on his heel and heads back toward Elliott’s.

“Ooh! I’m coming, too!” Lila says, hopping out of the car. Before anyone has a chance to stop her, she bounds up the steps. “Well, you comin’?”

You shrug and lead Diego into the building, but not before stealing another kiss. By the time you get in, Elliott is screaming at Five about the film he asked him to about earlier. Five, rather uninterested in the whole conversation, allows Lila to knock Elliott out before instructing you to tie him up while Five sets up the projector to watch the “Frankel Footage”.

You and Diego are too wrapped up in, well, each other to pay attention to the film. However, when you hear the gunshot, you both turn your attention to the screen. 

“Is the guy with the umbrella…” you trail off, uncertain of if you really want to accuse your boyfriend’s father of murder.

“Dad,” Five and Diego say in unison. 

“What the hell was that?” Lila asks, backing away. “What the hell was that?”

None of you know how to explain what happened. When you don’t answer immediately, she rushes off to hide in the makeshift darkroom. 

“I’ll go calm her down,” Diego says.

“(Y/N), help me find Dad,” Five commands.

“We’re just gonna leave him?” You point to Elliot.

“We’ll just be in the next room.”

You nod and grab the phonebook. You flip through the ‘H’s. “No Hargreeves. Any other suggestions?”

“D.S. Manufacturing.” He moves to look over your shoulder. “There it is! Diego and I are going to see if we can get anything out of him. You need to stay here either to calm down Elliott or Lila. I’m not sure who needs your help more.”

You nod. “Be careful.”

“I will be. You may want to tell your boyfriend that.”

“I will.” You walk over to the closet. “D, we found him.”

“I’ve got to go, Lila. Family thing,” he explains to her before turning his attention back to you. “She’s starting to get some of it. Just keep her sane.”

“I will. You be careful.”

He rolls his eyes. “I always am.”

“Yeah. It’s not like I’ve ever had to stitch you back together right before I go to work.”

He kisses the top of your head. “I’ll be careful. Promise.” He holds his pinkie out, something the two of you started doing early in your relationship.

You lock yours with his. “I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t. You’re stuck with me.”

“Good. Now, go, be a hero.”

He kisses you again before heading out the door.  

Once he leaves, you tell Lila that you are going to make something to eat since she probably hasn’t had anything. She just nods, obviously uncomfortable with you. Eventually, hunger wins, and she comes into the kitchen with you.

“Y’know,” she says between mouthfuls of pancakes, “I thought that that man was insane -- daddy issues and all that -- but now,” the rest of her sentence is drowned out by the food. “So, what’ the deal with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“He just kept telling anyone who would listen about how great you are, how much he missed you, all that shit. So, what’s so great about you?”

You grip your glass a little tighter and plaster a smile onto your face. “I-”

“Not that it matters. You never bothered to look for him.” You try not to let her get to you. You try to be the bigger person, but as soon as she says, “Besides, we were basically a thing at the hospital. Why else would he take me with him? He even made me this bracelet.” She waves her wrist adorned with a string of beads in front of your face.

“Quite a shitty bracelet,” you respond, taking her empty plate from her. Once you turn around, you mutter, “He made me his girlfriend.”

“Oh yeah. Seems to be working well for you. You couldn’t even be bothered to-” Something takes control over you. You slap her as if on instinct. Surprisingly, she seems rather unphased, coming back at you twice as hard. You try everything Diego taught you, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. It’s almost like she grew up in a bootcamp.

Just as she moves to hit you again, the door opens, and Five whistles. “As wonderful as it is to see you two bonding, your boyfriend needs some help.” 

She hits you one last time before running down the stairs. You follow her to a horribly wounded, but conscious, Diego. 

“Fuck,” you both say.

“I’m fine,” Diego says.

You roll your eyes. “Stand straight.”

He tries but fails. “Fine. Patch me up, Doc.”

You take his shirt off and lead him to the couch. You inspect the wound, which doesn’t seem to be too serious.

“I need disinfectant, bandages, some clean cloths, water, and some sort of painkiller,” you instruct. Lila and Five get to work gathering what you need, while you stay with Diego.

“Seems like I should have warned you to be careful,” he jests.

“I’m not the one bleeding out on a stranger’s couch,” you counter.

“You were the one almost pushed over a banister.”

You keep your eyes trained on his stomach, looking for any other scratches.

“You gonna tell me what happened?”

“It was nothing. I was being stupid.”

“No shit.” He laughs bitterly. “You can either tell me now, or I’ll ask her.”

“All out of painkillers,” Five interrupts, “but I’ve got everything else. Lila is untying Elliott.”

You thank him before telling him to go supervise her. Once he leaves, you get to work and hope that Diego has forgotten about the fight.

“You’re really not going to tell me?” he finally asks once you’ve cleaned most of the blood.

“You’re going to laugh.” You put some rubbing alcohol on the wound, causing him to hiss.

“I’m not much of a laugher.”

You roll your eyes. “Fine. I was jealous.”

As if to prove you right, he laughs. After an unamused look from you, he stops. “Sorry, but why? You know I love you.”

“I know.” You throw the cloth onto the couch. “I know. She was just talking about being with you and the bracelet and-”

“(Y/N), that bracelet is shit!”

“I know! I just -- I guess I just thought -- I thought I lost you, and the thought of you having this life that I couldn’t be a part of killed me. I know it’s stupid and selfish, but I just didn’t want you to have moved on so fast.” You didn’t realize you were crying until you feel Diego wipe away a tear. 

“I will never move on from you. I love you, (Y/N), and I will make you a million bracelets to show you that. You have nothing to worry about.” He kisses you gently, ignoring the pain in his side. “I love you, and if we were back home, at our home, I’d show you.” You smile slightly. “Thatta girl. I told you, you’re stuck with me.”

“Good.”

You finish patching him up in silence. He has quite a few bruises that will still be there for a while, but there’s not much you can do about them. Since he doesn’t feel up to walking upstairs, the two of you stay on the couch. With Diego next to you, you sleep soundly for the first time since you came here, but he can’t stop his mind from reeling.

He feels horrible about everything that happened. He just wishes that he could have been there as soon as you first became jealous to hold you and tell you that you had absolutely nothing to worry about. He can’t stop thinking about the bracelet. You both know that the bracelet is the least of your worries, but something about it keeps eating at him. He suddenly gets an idea.

He climbs off of the couch, careful not to wake you, and moves over to the pile of cloth. He digs through the pile, looking for some sliver of white fabric in the pile, but he comes up empty. Instead, he grabs one and washes it until the water runs clear. He rips it into three small strips and begins braiding it the way he’s seen you and his sisters do a million times. When it somewhat resembles a bracelet, he ties it around your wrist, cutting it so that it fits perfectly.

When he tries to lay back down next to you, his elbow knocks against you, causing you to wake up. “Diego?”

“Yes, doll?”

“What’re you doing up?”

“I wanted to make up for earlier.”

“Diego-” You move your hand up to rest on his cheek, but you stop when you see the cloth. “What’s this?”

“I thought you deserved your own bracelet. This one is a bit more personal, though, not some mandatory arts and crafts project.”

You examine it. It’s lumpy and poorly braided and a rather ugly bronze color. “Where did you get this?”

“Before you freak out, I cleaned it.”

“You got it from that pile, didn’t you?”

He nods sheepishly, feeling rather foolish for thinking that you would like a blood-colored bracelet. “I’m sor-”

“I love it, and I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

You curl back into him, laying the arm with the bracelet on his chest where you can both see it.

[prose-for-hire]

Hellraiser

Pairing: Spike x anxious!fem!reader

Request: hello hello i have a prompt for you if you're interested-- for a spike x anxious fem!reader ficlet, with said reader being a horror movie fan and teasingly comparing spike to movie monsters/vampires to his ire

Requested by: anon

A/N: I’m more than happy to write more shy and anxious readers if anyone wants to request any more !! 💖

You were a horror fanatic. Any part of the genre, gore, supernatural, anything and you were already setting up the popcorn and turning off the landline so a serial killer couldn’t interrupt your viewing.

Most people expected you to hate horror, because you were an anxious person. But in fact, they were often the way that you coped. When you were enthralled in a piece of media you were distracted as much as you could be from the current worry plaguing your mind. The chill of the scene before you encapsulating your attention rather than unwanted thoughts that threatened to creep from the back of your mind.

You had walked in that evening, looking a little washed out. Spike could tell it was one of your worse days as your hands had been trembling slightly and you appeared to be stuck in your own mind. You had been his girlfriend for several years now so he knew what you needed when you were feeling like this. He moved to grab a stack of horror flicks that he had on hand just in case of this very scenario and offered you to pick some. He was willing to stay in all night and make sure you were okay, hoping you might fall asleep and give yourself some respite from your anxiety.

Sometimes you spoke about it and sometimes you didn’t straight away, but either way he was there for you. He took a soft blanket to wrap you in, bundling you up and sliding an arm on the headrest behind you. The film started and he spoke softly, commenting on the film and trying to help draw out the worry from your mind.

“Hello, what am I the invisible-bloody-man? Are you listening?” he asked eventually noting your eyes now weren’t moving from the tv, his soft chiding trying to keep it light for you.

“This is a good bit” You whisper, “But good reference” you praised him, kissing him on the nose and making him roll his eyes. You kissed him on the forehead distractedly before turning back to your video.

You yawn, becoming extremely tired now you were able to relax.

“Rest, pet… you look like you need it” He said softly, his voice dropped into such a soothing tone when he spoke to you like this. You could listen to him reading the phonebook and never get tired of it, it could be so relaxing. He knew you well, you became exhausted from some of your anxieties and as you rested against him, your eyes closing as the screams from the tv peaked his attention. He pulled you so that your back was resting against his chest. He dropped his voice again, telling you he’d still be there while you were dreaming. Telling you not to fight the sleep you so needed.

“What are you - Freddy Kreuger? You better not haunt my dreams” You giggle, eyes still closed as you melted into his chest, the contact making you both hum contentedly. But this didn’t last, Spike couldn’t resist.

“Watch your mouth, pet… the fangs aren’t just for show” you opened your eyes and faced him, he flashed his game face at you making you shove his shoulder away from you jokingly as you shifted onto the seat beside him on the couch.

“Okay, Dracula I get it I get it – you vant to suck my blood” you say in a horrific mock Dracula accent, your fingers curling into claws as he raised an eyebrow.

“Oi what did I bloody tell you about that ponce?”

“I know, I know. If I see him I have to ask for his wallet before I stake him” you say, getting up and looking through the stack of videos to select the next flick.

“Too bloody right - that’s my girl” he nodded, the ghost of a frown still on his face.

“If you don’t like being compared to Dracula, can you settle for Count Orlok?” You smiled, aware of his distaste.

“Oh, bloody brilliant – the budget Dracula” he muttered, clearly getting a little more annoyed, “Doesn’t bloody speak and has a right bloody face on the bugger” You smiled at exaggerated sigh, wrapping your arms around his middle and looking up at him as you lay your head on his chest. You smile softly, enjoying the comfort you feel from him. Even when he was sulking, he always wrapped an arm around you. Making sure you were cared for, happy, even despite the way you could tease him about his immortality.

“Your face is always bloody too.. except that’s not what you meant” You backtracked as he rasied an eyebrow, not able to stop smiling at his face, “Well, I could have always called you Frankenstein’s monster”

“That would make you the bride, love” he muttered, your eyes widening.

“W-what-? A-are you asking?” You said straight-faced, but a little grin appeared on your face at his panicked look. A soft giggle at his panic signalling that you had been messing with him.

“Bloody Hellraiser, ain’t you love?” He said, kissing your forehead.

“As long as I’m yours” You giggled, settling beside him as the next video played and you tried to get yourself to relax in his arms. You loved him so much, the smile still on your face as you both returned to the horror film you both enjoyed so much.

[sins-over-tragedy]

Just saw your post and I thought it would be quite fun to see your writing! Can i have Ranpo× S/O who loves to read...? Its ok if you dont want to-

Hey love! Of course I want to. I just wasn‘t sure if you wanted some headcons or a oneshot so I wrote a oneshot. If you meant headcons, feel free to request them again, I‘d love to write them! I tried to make it a little bit fluffy c:

I really gave my best, hope you enjoy it! ❤️

WARNIGS: SHORT MENTION OF NIGHTMARES, ANGST IF YOU SQUINT

Ranpo with a S/O who loves to read

Ranpo Edogawa was by far the greatest Detective in all of Japan. - The whole world even, if you asked him. He was one of the most clever men you‘ll ever meet, solving even the most demanding cases like it was nothing, astonishing both the public and the police in Yokohama with his infamous skills. His coworkers both loved and respected him, like they should, because they received the biggest part of their income from the cases he worked on, not even needing a partner for most of them. His deducting ability was unmatched, one look from his sharp green eyes behind his characteristic glasses was enough to unravel even the deepest and darkest secrets of the person standing in front of him.

Ranpo also couldn’t stand a lot of things. Like, when a new police officer underestimated his deduction skills. I mean, how dare they? Or the one time he ran out of candy. Now, that really was a nightmare. (Not only for him, but also for his colleagues, who had to deal with him on that dreadful day)

Another thing he hated with a burning passion, was having to rely on public transportation. Train schedules? Hell no.

But the one thing that really got on his nerves- that he couldn‘t live with for the love of god - (Or Arahabiki, if you want) is-

„Not now Ranpo, I really want to finish this book.“

Yeah, that.

Having to share your attention. That was just plain awful and cruel towards him. „But Y/N, come ooon, you‘ve already said that the last few times I‘ve asked you!“

Don‘t get him wrong, he loved your (not so) little obsession with books.

You, reading to him at night to calm his nerves, when the thoughts about his past and the death of his parents just got too fucking much and threatened to overwhelm his mind- it never failed to scare away his demons.

What got him even through the shittiest of days was the thought of coming home and cuddling up to you in the living room of your shared apartment, while you would read stories to him, about adventurers seeking long lost treasures; tales about mythical creatures like dragons and elves; Detectives, almost as clever as himself. He didn‘t really care, as long as it was you who read them to him. You could even read a goddamn phonebook to him, and he would still lay there, listening, while your soft voice lulled him to sleep.

It didn‘t matter to you what kind of book you were reading, as long as the writing was good and the story catched your attention. Your reading obsession also has helped you with your work at the agency on more than one occasion, learning different facts and stuff about almost every genre you could get your hands on.

That was just one of the many things he loved about you. You also were clever. Maybe not as clever as him, but while he cracked cases within the bat of an eye, you always came and picked him up at the train station, when he got off on the wrong stop again - Jesus, Ranpo that was the third time this week-

Not even once had you told him that you had no time, or simply didn‘t want to, because he was a grown man and he could- he should be able to come home by himself. You always were there for him, not once asking for something in return.

What he also loved was your shared apartment. It wasn‘t big, or expensive - you both couldn‘t afford that, never even wanted to - but it was enough.

Your whole apartment looked like a small library, shelves filled with books of all shapes and sizes almost reaching up to the ceiling. Plants in every corner, flowers of different colours, or just plain green dragon trees. Ranpo loved it. It was just so cozy, so warm and inviting, it was so you.

But when you‘ve found a book that really caught your attention, there was nothing that could bring you to stop reading it. Not even an angry Kunikida - and that spoke for itself. So when Ranpo saw how engrossed you were in the newest part of your collection, he feared the worst, and his mind quickly began to form a plan on how he could at least catch a bit of your attention. He went into the bedroom, grabbed a thick blanket and some cookies from his secret stash inside the sock drawer (they didn‘t call him greatest detective for nothing) and made his way back to you into the living room. He found you still sitting in the same place, not having moved an inch. Did you even realise he was here before? Ranpo really wasn‘t a fan of having to share your attention.

He also was a little shit. „What are you doing?“ Ranpo looked up from your lap, where he had placed himself and began to get comfortable. „Getting my S/O back.“ You couldn‘t hold back the small smile that stole itself on your lips at your boyfriend's antics. „Oh come on, don‘t be so dramatic!“ „I‘m not dramatic, it‘s true and you know it!“ He shifted again, not having found quite the right place to settle himself yet. You decided to have mercy on him. „Come here you drama baby.“ The book was placed on the coffee table next to you while you slided a bit farther down on the couch and stretched out your legs. That way he could settle himself in between them, comfortably laying his head on your chest. He let out a content sigh. „That‘s much better.“ You only hummed in response and began to comp your fingers through his messy mop of black hair. If he were a cat, he‘d probably purr. „Read to me, Y/N.“ „Always so demanding...“ But how could you deny him something, while he looked so freaking adorable, with his pouting lips and narrowed eyes? His sharp green orbs followed your every move, while you picked up your book again and began to read it to him.

You couldn‘t really tell at what point he had fallen asleep, but when you decided to take a small pause to rest your eyes a bit, the first thing you noticed were the faint snores that left his slightly parted lips. How cute. You couldn't help yourself, so you bent down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. You closed your book, carefully put it back on the coffee table to not disturb him by moving to much, adjusted the blanket so that both of you were covered by it and decided to join his small nap.

And while you both laid there, wraped up in each others warmth, there was only one thing to describe how you both felt in that moment: absolutly content.

——————————————————————

Why do the characters in my stories always tend to fall asleep at the end? Easy. Bcs sleep is bae.

[theageofsims]

Movies!

Just for Fun -- I tag @fuzzysebastianstan​ @ford-costner-brosnan​ and anyone else who would like to participate! Adding images is optional.

Here Goes...

- A movie you’ve seen most times in cinema.

I'm probably going to get stoned for this, but "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Why? Because aside from Harrison Ford being the only actor (still alive) that I'll pay to go see (and see more than once), it was during a time where I was working and earning my own money so I could justify going to see it more than once instead of having my parents give me some money.

How many times did I see it? THREE times and with different people. I saw it with a co-worker friend on opening day. Then I went back the following day to go see it with a childhood friend and her then boyfriend, and then the day after I begged my mother and her man-friend to meet me at the theater.

I say stoned because there's so much hate for Indy 4 (and Indy 5 is facing the same sort of doom, I imagine), but anyway -- there's parts of the movie I could have done without, but as far as Harrison coming back as Indiana Jones? I give him an A++ because you know all the A++'s I've got in my bag are for him and him only. All my HF fan-friends say the same thing -- we'd pay to listen to him read from a phonebook and that's the goddamned truth of it all! :P

It'll be interesting to see how many times I go see Indy 5... times have changed, Covid is still lurking, forms of transportations are a little hard to come by, and the movies have gotten far more expensive than they were in 2008 (and in 2008 they were already expensive!), so this may be the only standing experience... no regrets!

I don't have to insert images... but I'm gonna insert images because this scene alone was enough to bring my behind back...and back...and back...

(Gotta shout out a fellow Ford Fan Friend [that’s A LOT of F’s!], @ford-costner-brosnan​ )

- Your most re-watched movie.

Most likely "Nightmare Before Christmas" and "The Grinch" (original 'animated' version) mixed in with "Christmas Vacation" and “Hocus Pocus”. Those were some of the movies I watched since I was a kid and into today where I go to during the reoccurring Holiday seasons.

- A movie you quote on a daily basis.

Far too many to count, but today my mom was reading about Chinese horoscopes and mentioned that my dad is an Ox. I just remembered, "Pool was right, you are an Ox...and a moron!" said by Sylvester Stallone in my most all time favorite movies, "Oscar".

- Favorite movie soundtrack.

Hands down -- "Pocahontas" and "Nightmare Before Christmas". They're both my heart and soul.

- Top 5 films of your favorite actor and actress.

*Harrison Ford

This isn't an easy question... I have top 5/6 characters, movies, and then his iconic films/characters (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Blade Runner) are in their own category... so like IS aid this isn't an easy question.

Characters: Linus Larrabee from "Sabrina" Norman Spencer from "What Lies Beneath" Quinn Harris from "Six Days Seven Nights" William "Dutch" Van Den Broeck from "Random Hearts" William Jones from "The Age of Adaline" Joe Gavilan from "Hollywood Homicide"

Films: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” “Patriot Games” “The Fugitive” “Sabrina” “Regarding Henry” “What Lies Beneath”

*Cary Grant:

“Monkey Business” “Notorious” “Indiscreet” “Charade” “Suspicion”

- A movie storyline you wish you had actually lived.

I've never even thought about this, but if it involves kissing my favorite actors (or more)... show me where I sign! :P

- A movie that reminds you of your mom.

Any movie with Robert De Niro when he goes full-on Italian gangster... because that's my Italian mother for sure! I actually tell her, "Alright calm down De Niro!" when somebody or something set her off! :P

- A movie that reminds you of your dad.

A movie with a good soundtrack because I remember when I was a kid my dad just liking to put on movies sometimes to listen to their soundtracks. Anything from The Sound of Music to Nightmare Before Christmas, he just loved a lot of it for the score/music in it.

- Favorite movies from your childhood.

Far too many to count. We were always watching movies when I was younger. We enjoyed a lot of Disney movies like "Aladdin", "The Lion King", "Pocahontas", "Nightmare Before Christmas", as well as movies my brother loved. He's 7 years older than me so we watched a lot of Jim Carrey movies like Ace Ventura and The Mask as well as Weird Science and stuff like that. Oh... and Batman. LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of Batman... can't say I minded... Michael Keaton is the *only* Batman I'll ever care about...

(I guess it’s a good time to say that Michelle Pfeiffer is the only “Catwoman” to me as well...” ) - Favorite quote(s).

I don't have -- too many good ones!

- Favorite year for movies

1995 -- at least for me. I feel like all things films and music from 1995 I loved more than I can properly even explain or even know how to explain -- but seriously, if asked what my favorite Era(s) of movies were? I'd have to say the 50s, 80s and the 90s.

- Favorite Director movies?

Tim Burton -- hands down. I don't like everything he's directed, but there's nobody like him... he's incredibly unique and I really dig that.

- A film you wish you had seen on the big screen.

I really wish I could see a Cary Grant movie on the big screen -- any of them, but he was so-so-so before my time.

They bring classic films to the big screen from time to time, so there's that I can may someday get a chance to see. I'd love to see any with Cary or any of Harrison's stuff before 2008.

- A movie you’ve seen that you think no one else’s here will have heard of?

"Oscar" HAHA. I swear nobody outside of my family ever knows what I'm talking about when I mention Oscar.

- Favorite movie characters

Jack Skellington Indiana Jones Batman (Michael Keaton only)

- A film that was better than the book.

No clue... I've never been much of a reader.

- Best remake.

I'm going to say Sabrina because... well for many reasons. :P

- Your first favorite actor.

Matthew Perry and Luke Wilson I adored when I was a pre-teen, but soon David Duchovny won my heart as Fox Mulder by the time I was 13 and so the story went all through my teenage years. David was it for that stretch of life phase.

- Your first favorite actress.

 Sandra Bullock. I’ve always loved Sandra Bullock in movies... so has my immediate family as well. She’s just the girl next door type -- love her. 

- Favorite animated film.

"Nightmare Before Christmas" "Pocahontas" "Cinderella"

- Your most anticipated films.

Why -- Indiana Jones 5 of course (and whatever else Harrison signs on for.)

- How many movies have you seen (rough estimation)?

Uh....300ish? Not a lot!

- A movie that made you go ‘wtf was that’.

"Atonement" and "The Reader"

I do not watch period pieces that often and when I do, they have to do with my own country. I have nothing against other countries at all, but the stories... they feel like they go on forever -- honest to God. My mom loves them -- she's always watching some movie about castles, kings and queens, etc. where you literally see someone born on screen and live out their entire lives... hence why it seems like it goes on forever (and ever).

Anyway, pick these two movies because movies don't always bother me, but Atonement was sad as hell and just unbelievable. I can not believe the younger sister went that far and basically ruined the lives of her sister and the love of her life. All because of a crush? Maybe I understood it wrong... but it seemed CLEAR as day the year I saw it.

As for "The Reader"... I don't understand how that man continued to read to that woman all the years later. I mean -- he like dedicated his entire life or most of his free time to it, but why hadn't he spoken up when she was on trial? I get it -- he didn't have to or he couldn't... but she went to prison (right or wrong). That's where it should have ended. I know I know I know... it's called "The Reader" for a reason, but that movie just pissed me off.

- Most movies watched in a single day.

Four movies. It was sometime last year, sometime before covid and I watched Three Days of the Condor with Robert Redford (The only blonde actor I ever did love), and three movies with Greg Kinnear... can't remember the names but one was with Robert De Niro, the other with Morgan Freeman, and... can't remember the actress from the third one.

- A film that always makes you cry.

"Fried Green Tomatoes" always makes me cry... from the time I was a kid until yesterday. Legit -- truthful.

Also "Christopher Robin" made me cry... during the damn opening credits. I just... I can not. I went to go see it with my childhood friend and she leaned in to say, "Dude... I'm about to cry" and I told her, "Dude... shut the fuck up..." as I choked on my tears.

- Movies that you think everyone should watch (not necessarily your favorites).

I'm gonna go with Black and White movies/Classic Hollywood/Golden Age of Hollywood/Classic Hollywood. There's so many people caught up in modern movies (especially in my generation or the general youth). You're going to find things like old-fashioned behaviors between men and women, you're not going to find many non-straight people, and you're going to see whole lot of white people amongst a sprinkle of people of color -- but these films hold value and they tell really good stories.

- A movie that took you a couple of viewings to appreciate.

I hate to make this about Harrison, but... "Random Hearts". I had such a problem with the ending of that movie, so I watched it over and over...and over... and over again long before I started watching all of the HF movies over and over (and over -- don't judge me, over... and over...). Then I felt like I understood... even though there's still a part of me that doesn't. I guess I just wanted it to end a certain way and it didn't.

- Favorite child performance.

"Matilda"

- Favorite genres.

Action/Adventure/Comedy

- Least favorite genres.

Horror

[yespolkadotkitty]

Fall For a Shooting Star

An Agent Whiskey x OFC AU. Retired from active duty, Whiskey runs a ranch for people needing protective custody.

Thanking my beta and cheerleader, @songsformonkeys !! <3

“You have got to be kidding me,” Sage muttered as the car pulled up to the ranch. The agent in the driving seat spared her a look, and Sage bit down on her lip to keep from saying anything else. They’d been driving for a full two hours, and for half of that had passed nothing, just dirt roads, greenery and old ramshackle fences. Only a single bumfuck-esque gas station had punctuated the landscape.

“We’re here,” Agent Plymouth announced shortly, stopping the car by a pair of huge wooden gates. They looked aged but in good repair, the only distinguishing feature being the words SHOOTING STAR RANCH engraved into the top arches.

He reached out and buzzed a comm on the stone wall. After a few moments, a crackle was heard and the gates swung open. 

“I’m sorry,” Sage interjected as the car rumbled on the gravel path. “I just didn’t expect it to be, this, well, remote.”

Next to her in the sedan, Agent Hendricks smiled. “I’d feel the same. I’m a city girl to the bone.”

“Says she’d rather die than go without a cut and colour every twelve weeks,” Plymouth groused, but Sage only smiled.

She’d spent the last four days with these agents and she knew that Hendricks and Plymouth loved each other in their own way.

“But this is the safest thing,” Hendricks added. “Agent Whiskey will take good care of you. He saved my life, a few years back, in the field. He’s a dedicated agent.”

“He’s a dedicated hillbilly is what he is,” Plymouth groused, and earned himself a swat around the ear from Hendricks.

“So,” the female agent asked as the car rumbled further down the path, towards a big ranch house that looked like it was built around 1900, “Do you want to go over the cliffnotes one more time?”

Sage settled back in her seat, chewing her bottom lip absently. “I’m Sage Stewart. Taking a sabbatical for work. Saw the ad for a housekeeper online, wanted to escape to the country for a while to get over a breakup. “ She smoothed a hand over the fall of her hair. “I’m more comfortable with all that than I am with my sudden redhead status.”

“Okay,” Plymouth said from the driver’s seat. “Not even Whiskey knows your real name, all right? It’s safer for everyone. Over the years he’s sheltered over a dozen people at the Shooting Star, and they’ve all eventually been able to return to their normal lives. You will, too.”

Sage swallowed as the car rolled to a stop by the house. This late in the day, dusk was starting to creep in at the edges of the big Kentucky skyline, bringing with it the chirp of cicadas and the herald of birdsong. “Got it,” she murmured, some - okay, most - of her bravado slipping as Agent Hendricks waked around and opened the passenger door.

“Yo, Whiskey,” she heard Plymouth call out as footsteps approached down the steps to the porch of the big house.

The car door opened and she thanked Hendricks, stepping out of the air conditioned sedan into the humid Kentucky air, the heat licking at her arms, bare in the simple grey sundress the agents had given her to wear - her new wardrobe was nothing like her closet at home, filled with designer items. That was the point, she supposed, glumly.

“Sage, this is Agent Whiskey,” Hendricks announced as Sage looked up at the man tasked with keeping her alive for next goodness-knew-how-long.

The tall man tipped his black Stetson to her with a finger. “Ma’am.”

What had she expected? Not… this. Not a long-legged cowboy in worn, darkwash denim that fit him like it was painted on, big, soulful brown eyes and a neat moustache that framed his mouth, making her immediately wonder how he tasted.

Of whiskey? Or something stronger?

“Thanks for having me,” Sage said automatically, offering her hand.

Whiskey took her palm between both of his, and the gun calluses on his hands brushed her softer skin before he pulled away. “I give you my word on behalf of Statesman that you’ll be safe here,” he murmured in that deep, husky-edged Southern-comfort voice. With a voice like that, he could read the phonebook and she’d be enthralled.

Hendricks pulled a suitcase from the back of the sedan and passed it to Whiskey, who carted it up the steps. 

Sage knew firsthand that the suitcase was full of plain clothes - nothing that would attract attention or stand out. 

The opposite of what she would choose for herself.

But exactly what Sage Stewart would wear.

“This it, sugar?” he asked, his gaze meeting hers and holding.

Sage automatically bristled. “That’s it - but less of the pet names, if you don’t mind.”

Whiskey glanced at Plymouth and the two shared a speaking look, but he just shrugged. “Whatever makes you comfortable. What’ll I call you?”

“Am- Sage will be fine,” she stuttered. “That’s my name, after all.”

“Right,” he drawled, his tone giving nothing away.

Hendricks patted her on the shoulder, and then at Sage’s little nod, drew her into a hug.

“Whiskey’s a good man,” she whispered into Sage’s hair. “A little rough around the edges is all, but you of all people should know, it’s best not to judge a book by its cover. There’s more to this cowboy than meets the eye.”

Sage released a shaky breath. She’d become really comfortable with Hendricks and Plymouth over the last few days; hated having to say goodbye now. But she had little choice in the matter. “Thank you,” she murmured back. “I really am sorry for being such a bitch.”

Hendricks laughed and drew back from the hug. “You weren’t. And besides, an attempt on a girl’s life tends to make her a little grumpy. I get it. Take care, and you’ve got our number if you need anything. Whiskey also has a direct line to Plymouth.”

Sage turned to see the two men deep in conversation. Whiskey’s head was tipped low, listening, and he nodded every so often at something the heavier-set man said, one hand on his hip, his fingers long and tanned. As she gazed at them, Whiskey turned and their eyes met. Something wordless and electric passed between them as his chocolate-brown eyes drank her in, and for a second, every inch of her skin felt like it had been licked by fire.

She broke the eye contact. 

“Thank you both. Really. I, ah…”

“It’s getting late,” Whiskey began, turning from his conversation with Plymouth. “Let’s get y’all settled, shall we? I’ll show you to your room and we can have some supper. Plymouth, Hendricks-” he tipped his hat with a finger- “I’ll take it from here.”

Sage stood awkwardly as the agents climbed back into the car, watching as they drove back down the gravel path, taking any hope of her old life with them - for the foreseeable future, at least.

She stood in the sunshine until the car disappeared through the big wooden gate, and then she allowed herself one big, internal sigh. The pity party could come later when she was out of sight of Agent Whiskey’s big brown eyes, eyes that seemed to see too much already.

“Ready?” he asked, and his tone was soft this time, his voice almost a caress in the encroaching dusk. The way he might sound sinking into a woman’s body, the way he might sound trailing his lips along the inside of her thigh.

“Not at all,” Sage made herself say cheerfully. “But let’s get on with it anyway.”

Part II

****

Tagging people who might like this, along with my reg taglist: @pedropascalito @pedrosasscal @spacegayofficial @dindjarindiaries @agentpike @fleetwoodmactshirt @just-the-hiddles @hopelessromanticspoonie @queenofheavenandhell​ @paniclana​ @starlight-starwrites​ @abuttoncalledsmalls​ @whiskeyslasso​ @alldatalost​

[readyplayerhobi]

Let’s Put On A Show

; Camboy!Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Smut, fluff

; Word Count: 21.5k

; Warnings: Dom!Hoseok, male masturbation, voyeurism, camming, dirty talk, sub!Hoseok, dom!reader, sex toys, male anal, oral sex (male and female), penetrative sex, handjob, fingering,

; Synopsis: Welcome to HopeWorld! Lay back and enjoy a show with BehindTheScene’s number one dominant camboy, Hope! Are you looking for a Master to make you whine? A Sir to make you beg? Or a Daddy to treat you right? Hope’s got something for everyone...

; A/N: This is the first true ‘smutty’ fic I’ve done in a long time...so please be gentle and love it. It got longer than expected...there’s more fluff than you may expect...I hope you all enjoy and love! Please comment, give feedback, send asks and reblog if you like! It helps to encourage me to write and I’m always interested in your thoughts, questions and headcanons!

-

HopeWorld has gone live!

Almost immediately, you’re clicking on the link on your phone while you lay back on the mound of pillows that sit on your bed. Chewing your lip lazily, you wait while the screen goes black before loading, flipping into landscape position and leaving you with the visage of a double bed with dark, ruby red silk covers, and dark wood bed posts rising on all four corners while a pile of pillows rests against the intricately carved headboard.

The title of today’s show is simply ‘Choose Your Pleasure’ and you wriggle slightly against your own soft sheets, thighs clenching as you already imagine the mental and auditory stimulation you’re going to be provided with.

Sure enough, there’s a quiet shuffling noise through the speaker of your phone before a guy steps into view and sits down lightly at the end of the bed. He’s wearing black slacks that leave just enough to the imagination yet still grip his toned thighs deliciously while a white button up shirt strains against his physique as he leans back on his hands, the top two buttons undone and leaving a delicious expanse of golden skin visible, a silver chain with a lock pendant lying against the gap between his collar bones.

There’s pure silence for a moment before he lets out a small huff of laughter, the breath leaving him almost silently before he leans forward again, elbows resting against his knees and giving you a delightful view of his shoulders.

He’s slim, yet with enough muscle to make the definition obvious with his tight yet perfectly acceptable clothing. This close to the camera, you can see the way the deep brown of his eyes reflect the light of his screen while he reads the messages that show on his computer with a slight tilt to his mouth.

You sigh softly as you bring your phone closer to your own eyes, greedily drinking in the sight of his sculpted jawline and the straight slope of his nose that meets two strong, dark brows. Blonde hair that’s almost platinum at the ends sits styled elegantly on his head, a generous helping of forehead revealed while the strands blend into a deep honey blonde before evolving into the dark black of his natural hair colour.

It’s been a while since he dyed his hair, and you wonder idly if he’ll keep the blonde or maybe go a different colour. Last year, he’d spent the whole summer with vivid, scarlet hair before dying it all black again in what had apparently been a fit of boredom.

But his loving and loyal fans had adored the light hair he’d had two years ago and begged him to consider going back, which had led to his drastic change two months ago. You certainly weren’t going to complain; the man looked hot in anything.

The man you were watching, and who was in turn reading the comments that flew past on his screen, was one of the most popular camboy’s on BehindTheScenes; a website that catered to all manner of sexual interests. There were pretty girls who would put on a show and rugged guys who would follow your every order and all manner of other delights to be found.

But unlike some other seedy sites, it was all perfectly legitimate and only verified people where allowed to begin creating shows on the site. That means that they had to be aged 18 and over, along with the viewers. Everyone had to provide valid proof of identity to be allowed on, and you knew that the benefits of being one of the camboys or camgirls were exceptional.

80% of the money they made went to them, with the remaining 20% going to the site in order to keep it going; paying its own staff and keeping the maintenance going. Viewers could simply watch for free, but they were only allowed three free shows a month before they had to pay for at least one show or they could pay a yearly fee of $69 to view as many as they liked.

It worked out better that way, considering each show was $5 to view. There was also an extensive tipping system using coins, which could be bought individually or in packs, video game style. These coins were used to ‘tip’ those making the shows, which often meant that they were incorporated into the shows themselves.

Those who tipped a certain amount could request something or have their message read aloud, some used them as a way to allow users access to a poll that would dictate what the show giver would do. But the coins weren’t cheap. 100 coins was $10, with each hundred costing a further $10 until you reached the 1000 coins. Then it was $5 per hundred.

Before you’d gone onto the site, you would have never thought that camshows would have earnt much, but then you’d watched a few and discovered the almost obscene amounts of coins that viewers would buy and tip in an attempt to be noticed or get their host to do something. It was not unreasonable for the top shows to earn thousands of dollars per show if they were good.

And HopeWorld was very good.

He’d been on the site for 7 years now, so his profile said when you clicked on his username. His real name wasn’t given, just a pseudonym of Hope and the country he was from along with his age, 28. Oh, and his sexuality which was clearly listed as ‘Bisexual’.

His archived shows were also available via his profile, purchasable for 250 coins each or free for the premium members who paid an even higher fee to get even more privileges. There was also a range of photographs available to view for free; from selfies of him smiling sweetly to seductive poses that haunted your dreams.

Some of the cam-stars on BehindTheScene were versatile in what they did, never going for a specific genre. They would have sex with other men and women, or do solo shows to please people. Have their shows in the privacy of their room, or do risqué public shows that upped the ante.

Some of them chose to specialise in what they did, gaining a niche audience who lived for the shows that were put online. Girls who did solo masturbation shows with an array of colourful and unusual dildos, guys who jerked themselves off and submitted to their viewers through the use of coins to tell them what to do.

HopeWorld specialised in solo masturbation shows, only he used domination as his tool of pleasure for his viewers. You hadn’t understood how that could even work through a camshow until you’d seen his for the first time, and then you’d seen why he was so good.

He had a command of his voice and body that meant every subtle gesture, every tiny rise and fall in his voice was perfectly engineered to produce an answering response from his viewers. A slight narrowing of his eyes when one of his viewers became a little bratty or spent obscene amounts of money demanding him to do something let it be known that a punishment would follow.

Hope would get himself off on camera sure, but at his pace. He rarely followed orders from people who spent money to ask him to do stuff and he would be quite cutting and cruel sometimes to his viewers. Not in a way that crossed any lines, but more in a way that showed he would refuse to do what they asked simply because they paid.

It had boggled your mind when you first saw it, wondering why on earth people watched someone who refused to do what they were being paid money to do. Particularly given he encouraged people to pay, and on an entire system that relied on the patronage of viewers.

And yet...he was one of the most popular camboys on the whole site. Viewers went wild for his uncaring persona, for the sheer dominance in his voice when he sneered at the people who begged and pleaded for him to do what they wanted while simultaneously following his every order on the other end of their screen.

When he demanded they play with themselves, they would. When he told them to stop, even if they were at the very edge of their orgasm, they did so. And oh, would they beg him to let them orgasm, to find that sweet release at the end of their fingertips that was entirely controlled by his deep and seductive voice.

You had never considered that someone like him would do well, and yet he had his subscribers and viewers wrapped around him as well as those pretty fingers of his wrapped around his cock.

Yes, Hope was extraordinary and you’d been a loyal follower for years now.

There was something about the dominant persona of HopeWorld, the way he refused to bow to the pressures that buckled so many other cam-host’s over the years. He would take things under advisement sure, changing his shows up enough to keep interest but he had no interest in being at the mercy of his viewers.

And you loved it.

Which meant you were already beyond wet when he let out a low chuckle of amusement, the sound rough and almost grating in his throat as he lets his wet, pink tongue flick across the rich buds of his lips.

“So...how are we all today? I hope you've all been good while I was gone.” His voice is deep, rumbling from his chest with a slight rasp. It's something he obviously puts on because when he forgets himself during shows, it'll go a little higher with a tone more casual. It's still pleasing though and you’d happily listen to him read the phonebook if they still existed.

Unsurprisingly, silence meets him but his beautiful eyes are relaxed into happiness as they scan over the hundreds of comments that fly in the chatroom. A reverberating chuckle rumbles from his chest as he runs a finger along his lips, the corner worked up before he glances at the camera.

“How have I been? Oh...I don't know, just waiting for the next chance I had to see all of you.” Smooth, if a little cheesy. But it's a camshow and these people live for that stuff.

“Would I ever agree to the threesome over with GoldenBoy and ChrisChim? Well, they did ask me personally but I don't know...don't you think I'd be too much for them? And I thought we had a good thing going here? Or are you wanting me to expand?” He hums lightly, musing to himself.

The comments explode and Hope lets out a breath of a laugh as he reads them.

“You think it'd be hot? Wow, there's a lot of you who want to watch me have sex with someone hmm?” This is how his shows always begin, a little bit of teasing talk between him and his viewers while he waits for them to come in. It makes him feel a little more reachable; not just a bunch of pixels on your screen.

Lately, he's been getting more requests to mix up his shows. You'd have thought that he would be annoyed about it all. His speciality is solo, yet everyone seems desperate to watch him fuck someone on screen.

Not only that, but there seems to be a vocal minority that's growing to see him submit. Which is wild, as you've never seen a show with a single hint of that.

But it's what the viewers are increasingly wanting, and the unfortunate fact is that hosts are sometimes beholden to their viewers. He might one day do it if it would please them and increase his views.

His lips purse for a moment as he reads and considers, forming a tiny triangle and you coo softly at the screen. Normally you’re moaning or panting at him, but sometimes he acts cute without realising it and you can see the want to have him on his knees for the camera.

“Wow...so there’s a lot of you huh? Maybe...maybe I’ll think about it in the future. Keep an eye out if you all really want that...but for today I think we all need to get back to business, yes?” He leans back on the bed, revealing the long, slim line of his body and you instantly go hot, a spear of pleasure hitting your centre as you squeeze your thighs in response to the blatantly sexual way he holds himself.

His legs have dropped open, leaving a wide gap of space between them and giving the overwhelming aura of power and domination. It’s a classic move, and yet it works so well as he puts his weight on his hands on the bed, letting the viewers gaze up and down his body.

It works well because he’s showing everything he has, everything that you can look at but not touch. Your fingers ache to reach through the screen and unbutton his shirt, letting the soft material slip from his shoulders to pool around his wrists before they would dart to the waistband of his slacks.

You’d tug at them, letting the waistband shift him forward slightly before undoing them slowly, keeping eye contact with him the whole time until the zip is fully down and his cock presents itself to you through the opening created.

Yes, you’d love to undress him where he sits. Slowly, seductively until he’s trembling with anticipation and gasping with need.

Blinking rapidly, your brow raises at those thoughts and you can suddenly see why everyone wants to see him submit live on camera. He’d be glorious moaning under your fingertips, and your inner muscles convulse on nothing at the very idea of fucking him till he’s a writhing mess.

Lord, the idea of watching that would be hot as fuck.

In reality though, he’s still sat in the same position as he watches his screen, white teeth prevalent as he bites his lip while a brow quirks up. There’s already a slight tent forming in his pants, the tight material constricting what’s beneath and contorting them even further. It’s a basic human reaction, and you so desperately want him to reveal himself already.

"So what do we want today boys and girls?" He brings up one hand and holds three fingers up, the corner of his mouth tilting in a seductive smirk while his brow quirks. "Do we want daddy to make an appearance? Or are you feeling like Sir needs to come out? Or is it a Master kind of session again? Remember, as usual it's 100 coins to vote...500 to give me a specific request that I'll consider."

He’d already set the poll up while everyone had been discussing wanting to see him have sex on camera or submit, and it was running with votes coming in fast. This was how he made his money...people desperate to get their fantasy come to life today and some people desperate enough to spend even more to get a specific request in.

You’d felt sorry for them at first, and a little resentful of him for being manipulative. Until you’d realised that these people voluntarily wanted to part with their money in this way on people like him. And if they didn’t do it with him, then they’d just go to another show and do it there.

At the end of the day, he was the one getting naked and orgasming on camera for everyone else’s pleasure constantly. While he obviously enjoyed the voyeurism aspect of it, it would likely take a lot out of a person to do that. Some people were ostracised by their family, friends and work for doing stuff like this.

The money was a bonus for some camstars, but for others it was a lifeline.

Either way, the amount he always made sometimes made you contemplate whether you’d make a good camgirl or not. But then you’d immediately shy away from the thought. You were far too shy to be a solo camgirl. You’d need someone there to buoy you, give you the confidence that you struggled to gain yourself.

Hope shifts forward once again, rolling his neck and your breath stutters at the arousing sight of the long, elegant sweep of his throat. It’s perfectly smooth with not an inch marred, and you so desperately would love to suck a deep bruise into the sensitive skin there till he’s grunting in your ear.

“I’ll give it a few more minutes and then we’ll get this show started yeah?” He grins, the smile lighting his face up. It makes him look more boyish, yet at the same time the intensity in his eyes tells you that there’s nothing boy about him.

His whole backstory is a complete enigma to his viewers, given how little he says on his profile and the complete lack of information he gives in his shows. Literally the only thing viewers get to know about him is his age and the country he lives in, not his name, nor his normal profession. It seems to simultaneously appeal and frustrate his viewers.

The time he spends reading over comments and making conversations is also spent teasing his ever watchful crowd, a wandering hand roaming along his body slowly in all the areas you so desperately would love to touch.

A slight hitch in his breath gives away his actions and you note the way he’s pressing his palm to the crotch of his pants, lower lip teasingly bitten as those elegant eyes scan over the screen. Smirking, he finally leans back slightly before giving a soft laugh.

“Alright boys, girls and anyone else who’s here to enjoy. Let’s get this show on the road yeah? I’m afraid it’s not going to be a long one. I’ve had a tiring day.” He whispers before shifting on the bed, legs spreading once again while his hand trails down his body slowly.

“Have you all been good for Sir?” The obvious winner of the poll slips off his tongue with ease, and you watch as he slides into the persona just as easily. Each persona is slightly different to the next, and the Sir has always been one that doesn’t waste time.

Apt, given that he’s already stated that he won’t be doing a long show today.

He begins to roll up his sleeves, taking his time as the white material rolls back on itself until both forearms are visible. The skin is smooth and honeyed, the muscles beneath working as he clasps both hands back together to read some more comments.

His set up means the laptop is pretty close to him, but the camera is a little farther away to get the full effect. But he can still read his comments with ease.

“Now...I see lots of people saying that they’ve been very good but how do I know for a fact? Tell me what you’ve done, and for each comment I like...I’ll undo a button for you.” One eyebrow lifts up while he sucks his lower lip into his teeth, eyes dark for the camera.

The temptation to send your own comment in is overwhelming, but you stay away from the chat this time. Instead, you take in every tiny detail that you can see of him on the screen and simply admire the way he teases and plays with his audience.

Each viewer that gives him a satisfactory answer, such as someone getting a positive score on a college test or someone getting a new job, results in a button on his white shirt being loosened until soon enough...he’s got none left.

Instead, you’re graced with the beautiful image of his bare torso and you let out a soft whine to yourself at the sight of it. He’s a pretty lean guy, but the defined abdominal muscles lets you, and everyone else, know that he obviously works out and takes care of himself.

His chest is free of any hair, but there’s a tantalising trail that leads down to the waistband of his black pants and you want to desperately lick along there until you find his happy place. Because it would be his happy place if you got your mouth on him.

Hope knows this is what people want though, and he lets everyone have a few minutes to simply admire him as he slowly runs his hand along his stomach, tutting at a few unruly viewers who demand him to go faster.

“Demands make for sad viewers. Keep it up...and I’ll punish you.” His voice is ridiculously low as he murmurs out the threat. You know he’ll do it too, and it makes you clench your thighs at the rumbling bass that rolls through your speakers.

There’s one persistent viewer that doesn’t seem to be getting the rules, or maybe they’re just doing it on purpose. But either way, the demands for him to take off his pants become insistent to the point his eyes narrow in annoyance.

Slowly, and with his eyes focused on the camera, he begins to button up his shirt once again. Automatically you let out an expletive, annoyed at the viewer, and sure enough the others watching simultaneously beg him not to do it while berating the one causing him to put his foot down.

“Now, now. Don’t be mean everyone. Some people just need to learn the rules right? You get two minutes of nothing from me now. Do it again, and I’ll button up another and you get five of nothing. I said this wasn’t a long show...do you not want anything to happen?” He muses quietly, rubbing at his lower lip.

Sure enough, the chat explodes in begging and pleading. But he holds firm and there’s two whole minutes of nothing but him simply staring at the camera. After that’s up, he lets out a deep sigh before unbuttoning the final button once more.

“Now...are we going to play good?” You’re nodding your head in response, despite the fact he evidently can’t hear you. “Okay. Now...I got some good responses from you all. If you want me to take off these pants...then I need to hear why. Tell Sir why he should do that. What are you going to give him?”

A trick question obviously, because in reality they can give him nothing. But it’s not about that, you can guess that. It’s about giving him the allusion of power over his viewers. About them believing that he’ll do what they want if they ask him nicely enough.

“Oooh...some interesting answers here. But I think I like this one. Simple, but it gets me excited.” He grins, a heart shaped smile that’s so beautiful you can feel your heart swooping already. “I’d give Sir the prettiest moans. Not much to it, but you can’t deny there’s nothing sweeter than hearing a desperate moan sometimes.”

Sure enough, he follows through with his promise and slowly peels off his belt before unbuttoning the black pants. They drop to the floor almost silently and you can practically hear the stunned silence from the audience at the sight of him.

He’s not wearing any underwear, leaving his hard cock to bounce in the air slightly from being released. Hope isn’t hung like some of the guys on the site, nor is he as thick as some of them. But you’d certainly never complain.

Thick enough for his fingers to only just meet when he wraps them around the base, you feel yourself clenching as he gives himself an experimental stroke. It’s long and slow, and the prolonged eye contact he maintains with the camera makes it feel weirdly personal.

But that’s his specialty. Making every viewer feel like they’re the only one he’s entertaining.

“Like what you see?” He asks huskily, licking at his lip as he watches while his hand moves along his length. You’re nodding without even realising it, your own hand sliding down your body until it slips beneath your own clothing and your fingers find the hood of your clit with ease.

Slickness meets your fingers as you spread it over the engorged bundle of nerves, a soft gasp leaving your mouth as you touch yourself in the way that you enjoy most. You’re not even really paying attention to what he’s saying anymore, too focused on the way he sits back on the bed and continues to jerk himself in such delightful movements that have him gasping between words.

For a few minutes, you try to only circle your clit in time to his own strokes but you find yourself getting impatient and wanting to reach your ending sooner rather than later. He has far more patience than you have though, and he’s only just started to caress his cock at a faster rate while he purrs out pure filth to his audience.

A few comments are begging him for release already, no doubt riled up to the point of orgasm like you are and you find yourself hoping that he’ll have mercy today and let you all come. You’ve already begrudgingly removed your fingers from yourself twice in an effort to hold out your pleasure for even longer, edging yourself until it’s almost painful to pull away.

“Why should I let you all come? You were all begging me to last longer earlier. Are you wanting to come for yourselves? Are you almost there? All tight and desperate? Fingers aching? Hands clenching? Are you dying to be filled, or fill someone else? Are you imagining me fucking you? My cock driving into you, hips slamming into yours? Are you wet? Lubed up? Would it be loud? Messy? Would you whine for me?” His words come fast in a staccato manner, his own voice tense with strain as his hand works at himself faster.

People comment in droves, confirming his suspicions with some writing rather elaborate scenarios that you’re impressed at. They can’t be working themselves too hard if they can write that much.

Hope must think so too, reading a few with amusement before he lets out a deep groan at the pleasure he’s giving himself.

“I like your answers. I think you’ve been good for me today. So...I’ll be nice. You can cum. Cum for me. And I want you to moan my name while you do. Imaging cumming around my cock, tightening around me until all I can think about is you.” As he does so, your fingers work at yourself even harder and the ball of pleasure that’s ballooned in your stomach expands even more until you finally fall over that precipice.

A long moan leaves you as your hips circle desperately, fingers dancing over your clit to elongate out the intense orgasm until you can’t handle it anymore and you simply lay there, spent. Your legs fall to the side slightly, tingling from the sensation while your hearing goes a little fuzzy for a few seconds.

The phone lies on your chest; Hope’s moans and deep groans escaping from the small speakers and filling the room with lust and pleasure.

Despite the fact that you’ve just brought yourself to orgasm, your pussy tingling delightfully even if you feel horribly empty, you grasp the phone and look at the screen again. It’s just in time to see Hope’s head fall back, the beautiful line of his defined throat taking centre stage as his chest heaves, abdominal muscles prominent as he sucks in desperate breathes.

A final moan leaves him before his thighs clench and his hips jerk up into his hand. Thick, white cum paints his stomach as he orgasms finally, cock twitching in his hand as he works himself through his own orgasm. It’s so hot that you’re almost tempted to let your fingers play with your clit some more, but you feel far too tired and content for that.

Instead you just watch lazily as he finally finishes, his last few ejaculations simply leaking down the shaft of his cock and coating his hand as he squeezes out every last drop. Finally done, he looks back at the camera with a heady gaze before smirking tiredly, reading the comments.

“You all did good today. I’m sorry it was short, and it wasn’t very interesting. I’ll make it up to you next time. I want you all to do some good aftercare okay? Get a drink, take a shower, go to bed if it’s bedtime. Take care of yourself, however you like to. You’ll do that for me right?” His brow rises expectantly, only falling when he nods in satisfaction at the responses he gets.

“Good. Now...I’ll be saying goodbye. You were all wonderful and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Until next time.” And the screen goes black.

-

The silence in your room is deafening once he signs off, leaving you to lay on the bed and regain your breath as you stare up at the white ceiling. White sheets with cute star patterns cover your comforter and you stand up lazily, dropping your phone to the night stand before stretching out any kinks you may have caused from your attempts to gain your own pleasure.

Tugging your shirt off, you deposit it, your leggings and your soaked underwear into the clothing bin before rooting through your underwear drawer. A pair of comfortable boy shorts with a Hogwarts design are picked out carefully before you head into the bathroom, cleaning yourself up and coming back out in only the underwear.

At this point, your boyfriend has made his way into the bedroom and has pulled back the covers, wearing a plain black shirt combined with grey sweatpants. He looks up at you, a brow raised as he looks over your mostly naked body with a smirk, the sight causing your nipples to peak already.

Rolling your eyes at him, you go into the closet and pull out a Star Wars shirt of his, letting it drop around your body and land just below the curve of your ass. Moving over to the bed, you climb in next to him as he sighs heavily, eyes closing.

“That was a good show.” You say quietly, tiredness lacing every word and he lets out a soft laugh. The bed jolts as he shifts onto his side, shuffling closer to you until he has you pressed against his front and his arm wraps around your waist.

“Yeah? You watch it?” Nodding slowly, your nose is pressed to the smooth skin of his collarbone and you inhale his scent deeply. He smells like the peach of his shower gel and the clean scent of his shampoo, an underlying smell that’s entirely him making your body relax and feel at peace.

He presses his own nose into your hair, his lips curving into a smile that you feel against your forehead before he’s pushing them into a kiss against your skin. It’s soft and filled with love and gratitude for you supporting him.

What his viewers don’t know, is that HopeWorld is one Jung Hoseok. Your boyfriend of six years. You’d both started dating in your last year of college, having known each other since the beginning when your mutual friend, Jimin, had introduced you both.

That acquaintance has turned into a warm friendship, filled with underlying admiration which turned into desire and lust over the years. A one night stand after a few drinks had resulted in you both waking up one morning in his bed, wide eyed at the fact your circumstances had changed so abruptly.

You would have been willing to take on the mantle of Hoseok’s girlfriend eagerly at that point, but he’d been slightly reluctant. Not because he didn’t like you, he’d assured you plenty that he was pretty sure that he was in love with you actually, but because of something else.

Something he wasn’t sure you would approve of, or want in a boyfriend.

And that was when he’d introduced you to BehindTheScene, carefully explaining what he did and the fact that it was not only helpful to his funds but that he actually enjoyed it. His love for you had overridden it though, and after showing you what he did he’d given you the option of asking him to stop.

He would’ve done it too. Put his camboy career out to pasture at your request, choosing you over his love of performing for a willing crowd.

You’d gone home with thoughts whirring in your head, an instinctual part of you influenced by society telling you that you were disgusted with the idea. But an overwhelming part of you was curious.

He’d told you as you left, decision unmade, that he would be doing a show tonight and you could watch if you’d wanted. Carefully, shyly, you’d made an account and clicked on his name when he’d gone live.

What you’d seen had you embarrassed at first, cheeks heating but your body heated even further with something more. Something primal that told you that you wanted this man more than you had before.

You’d gone to his the next morning and told him that he could keep doing the shows, as long as he never did a sex show with someone else. Solo shows were fine, a fantasy that you could indulge in as you listened to his words and imagined him fucking you with each luxurious and rich word that dripped from his mouth.

But shows with other people? No way. That was not acceptable.

He’d accepted your terms eagerly, happily. The happiness in his face at not having to give up something he so obviously enjoyed and loved had made you realise that you’d made the right decision regarding this. You may not have understood it fully, but you understood his happiness.

The few friends of yours that had found out about his shows over the years had been confused as to why you were so accepting of them. How could you let your boyfriend jerk himself off on camera for the pleasures of thousands of people? How could you let him say those kinds of things to faceless people, the kinds of things he should only whisper to you in the heat of the moment?

Every time though, you’d simply said that it was what he wanted. It didn’t impact on your life, because he wasn’t doing anything physically with anyone else. He wasn’t messaging other girls or guys, he wasn’t sleeping with them or any of that kind of stuff. He was sat in a room in your house, getting himself off to a camera. There just happened to be people watching.

You would rather he do that openly with you than feel the need to do something secret, feeling pressured or unhappy. Hoseok’s camshows made him happy in a way you couldn’t, providing him with confidence and satisfaction that benefited you greatly. It didn’t make your sex life bad, if anything your sex life was phenomenal.

Hoseok would often get so turned on during his shows, the thoughts running through his mind about things he’d like to do to you, that by the time his show had finished, he’d be hard again and coming to you for seconds. You were the one who got to experience all the things he whispered to his viewers, you were the one who got to feel him inside you as he chased his orgasm, skin soaked with sweat while whines left his throat as he pushed through the oversensitivity.

Not only that, you enjoyed watching his shows too. And he knew that you watched them sometimes, providing an extra turn on for him. He’d told you once that he imagined you were watching them everytime, and that he would say things specifically with the aim of getting you off or turning you on.

If you orgasmed, it was a bonus for him.

And besides all of this, Hoseok’s camshows brought in a ridiculous amount of money. His normal dayjob was as a freelance web and graphic designer, often going to his friends workplaces to work but also spending a large amount of time in his home office.

It was reasonably well paid work, but it didn’t matter at all. He brought in so much money from his shows over the years that he’d been able to contribute towards your house easily with a huge savings account in turn. He had no student debt, he’d bought his car outright and the money he’d put towards the house had meant the mortgage was much smaller than it would have been.

Quite frankly, Hoseok was loaded from careful saving and even more careful planning with his shows. Your salary was nothing in comparison, a meagre amount from your generic office job that was used to pay half of the bills.

But the most important thing to you, was that he finished his shows and came to you with his bright smile and a happy, relaxed demeanor. Just as he supported you with your gaming habits, even if he had no idea what the hell you rambled on about, you supported him with his.

It just meant his ended up with his dick in his hand and cum everywhere.

“Your viewers seem to be becoming more insistent about a sex show.” You muse quietly in his arms, taking solace in the feel of him in the quietness of the room. Six years together, five of them physically living together, had produced a relationship that was solid in its silence, relaxed in its love.

Hoseok lets out a hum of contemplation, shifting slightly to push a knee between your own legs before pushing his face into the pillow more. “Hmm, I know. I don’t really know how to go about it because I obviously can’t do it. But if they keep getting insistent, then there’s a chance they’ll leave if they don’t get what they want.”

He sighs heavily at this, his chest expanding and deflating against your own. Bringing a hand up, you rub at his chest reassuringly, pressing a soft kiss to his collarbone in a comforting move.

“You don’t have to do what they want, you know that. It’s your show, not theirs. And you’ve been there a while now. You’ve got loyal viewers who won’t abandon you.” Hoseok sighs in response, not saying anything and you know that it’s bothering him.

The comments have become more frequent lately, his viewer base becoming more frustrated. It didn’t help when Jungkook and Jimin, the little shits, kept offering to have him on one of their shows or a threesome if he wanted it.

The two had begun doing their own shows after finding out Hoseok did it, fascinated with a whole world they hadn’t known about. They were even more popular than Hoseok, with their innocent faces and dirty words.

Both did solo shows, but they also had sex shows with each other that appealed to a wide range of people. Taehyung, Jungkook’s boyfriend, was apparently okay with the whole thing and you were more than a little mind boggled at that. Which made you feel hypocritical, because obviously some people’s relationships were just like that.

If Taehyung was okay with his boyfriend having sex with his best friend live on camera, then that was his prerogative. But the very idea of Hoseok doing that made you intensely unhappy.

Unsurprisingly, Hoseok had turned down every invitation they’d given him. They’d promised not to do it anymore after they’d offered again on their show last week, the invitation casually spoken as they’d read the comments once they’d finished, skin glowing with sweat.

Hoseok had got angry at them, shouting at them for once and terrifying everyone. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t even get annoyed half the time. But it had set him off, everything just merging together at the wrong moment until he’d blown up on them both.

His show hadn’t gone well that day as his viewers had constantly been asking about the invitation, leading to him being a little more intense and biting than usual. It had made for a wonderful show watching him, as he’d held off his orgasm longer and longer through edging as a punishment for all the questions and his viewers had to suffer for longer too.

He had a whole game with them at this point, where they would push themselves to orgasm only when he did. It meant that he would edge them for a whole hour sometimes, his own cock leaking profusely by the end, his tip red and angry from the wait.

That day, he’d gotten so pissed off that he’d ended the show abruptly. His orgasm had come in a flood, a moan escaping his mouth as his head fell back and he came far earlier than he would’ve. He’d only been going for fifteen minutes, and his viewers had been shocked by the suddenness.

“I wish they wouldn’t. How do I tell them ‘oh hey, I don’t do sex shows because I have a girlfriend that I love very much and I have zero interest in ruining that just for you all to get off’?” He queried, tiredness in him. You wondered if he was getting tired of this whole thing by now, his viewers becoming more unruly as time passed.

Love blossomed in your stomach at his words though, appreciating his steadfast refusal to give in to them because it would mean cheating on you. A thought you’d had while watching him earlier appears back in your mind and you muse on it quietly.

It’s something you’d thought about more and more recently, and you wondered what his thoughts on it would be. Finally, you decide to just put it out there in the open and see what his thoughts actually are. You could have got him completely wrong.

“What about if you do a sex show?” The words are quiet, yet in the silence of the room they’re astoundingly loud. Hoseok doesn’t do anything for a moment before pulling back, looking at you with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

“What? What do you mean? I’m not cheating on you! I don’t want to have sex with someone else.” His protest is outspoken, genuine panic and unhappiness in his voice as his eyes scan you over.

It makes you feel good, bizarrely, at the way he protests against the idea of having sex with someone else. Combined with his sincere emotions at it, you smile and shift your head to press your lips to his in a sweet kiss.

He kisses back automatically, but when you pull away, you spot the way his lips turn down. The idea of that is genuinely upsetting to him, and you frown as your hand strokes along his side gently.

“I don’t mean have sex with someone else.” The words are out now, and he takes a moment for them to process before his eyes widen once more. Only now they’re in a different kind of shock, a hint of interest in them letting you know that maybe he’ll agree.

“What? Wait...what? You? You’d do a show with me? But I thought you didn’t want to do anything like that?” The words fall from his lips quickly, but you feel the way his fingers tighten around you.

No doubt there are images running through his mind right now; you on top of him, riding him to completion. Him kneeling before you, thrusting into your pussy with confident, hard strokes that have you whimpering and quivering before him till he has you crying out his name. All the while, a camera records every movement, every sound from you both and sends it out to thousands of viewers worldwide.

Your breath hitches at that thought, hips squirming against the mattress and his eyebrow rises slowly as your thigh squeeze around his own involuntarily. Slowly, an incredulous smile spreads over his face as he looks at you with intrigue.

“Holy shit. You’re turned on at the thought of that huh? Would you really be okay with that? I mean...you’ve never shown interest in it before?” He’s certainly interested though, and you let out a huff of laughter at the sudden semi he’s sporting against your stomach. 28 years old and yet the refractory time of a teenager on occasion.

“Well...I’m so used to seeing you do it now. And I know how much you enjoy it. I don’t know, the idea of it is...attractive I guess? Just...having you and knowing that there are thousands of people watching who would die to be in my place.” Hoseok laughs at that, pushing slightly until he’s rolling on top of you and your back hits the bed.

He kisses along your neck slowly, sweet kisses that speak of love and trust even as he slowly grinds his hips into yours. “You already have me. Many times. In many ways. In ways they’ve never seen.”

“That’s another thing. I think I’d want you to submit to me.” Hoseok pauses at that, pulling back once more to stare at you with a carefully blank face. His lips are wet from the assault he’d begun on your neck, and you reach up to trace along his lower lip slowly before pressing down on it until he opens his mouth for you.

Slipping your finger inside, you bite your own lip at the feel of his heated, wet tongue as you play with him before stroking along his cheek, letting his own saliva cause a trail that shines along his golden skin in the soft light of the lamp.

“You want me to submit to you?” His words are careful, slow and full of consideration as his eyes narrow slightly, looking over every micro-expression on your face. A coy look takes over your own as you wrap your arms around his neck, fingers trailing lovingly while you move your legs.

There’s a moment for realisation in his eyes before you’re pushing hard at him, causing him to rock backwards and end up on his own back. He lets you obviously; something you’d long ago learnt was that you can’t move him unless he wants to move. But he’s too intrigued by this idea to start any arguments right now, and instead his hands move to rest against your hips.

“Yeah. You’re used to it. And I’ve seen all the comments. People want to see what the mighty HopeWorld would look like on his knees. Who better to do that than your own girlfriend? You trust me, you know that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you and you wouldn’t sleep with anyone else on camera.” Fingers get brought down on your hand as you reason with him, the slightest rocking of your hips causing your core to brush against his hard on.

Each touch has his hands twitching while his breath hitches, but his eyes remain focused solely on you. HopeWorld is a master of seduction, a dominating persona that doesn’t take any crap from anyone.

Jung Hoseok, on the other hand, is a switch who leans more to the dominant side. The two of you usually just have normal, pretty vanilla sex but you both enjoy engaging in the kinkier aspects every now and again. And while Hoseok enjoys dominating you, he also likes being dominated in turn on occasion.

Which is probably why his pupils expand in lust at the thought of you making him submit on camera, allowing himself to be vulnerable in the capable hands of the person he trusts most.

Running your hands down his clothed chest slowly, you reach his waistband and run your fingers along the inside slowly. He swallows thickly, tongue wetting his lips as he lets out a pant before his eyes eyes glance down to where your hands are.

“Really? You’d really want that?”

Smiling, you lean down and kiss him deeply, tongues exploring each other before pulling away and gripping his blonde hair tightly at the dark roots, keeping his head firmly against the pillow as he tries to follow your mouth. Grinning, you nod.

“I mean...we need to work stuff out obviously. And we need to check that your audience actually wants that. But...it gets me hot thinking about it. It’s obviously getting you horny.” You whisper against his lips, grinding your hips harder against his erect cock and causing him to whimper gently. Your fresh underwear is soaked through again, but you don’t care as you enjoy the relief the friction against him gives you.

“Okay. Okay, we’ll think about it further later and all that. Please fuck me.” He gasps out, eyes clenched closed while his jaw tenses, revealing the delightful line of his throat and his sculpted jawline.

Smiling, you move down to suck an open kiss into his throat harshly, marring his skin just how you’d wanted to while watching his show while letting out an approving noise. “With pleasure.”

-

A few weeks pass by since your suggestion to him, the time creeping past in its usual ways. Your own job was not exactly the most mentally stimulating, but you were steadily working your way up the career ladder with a clear goal in sight. It may not be amazing, but it was providing you with the experience you needed for what you really wanted to do.

Hoseok had been busy with an influx of projects, spending a lot of his waking time glued to his laptop and computer screen as he designed graphics for companies and created beautiful websites for others. His speciality tended to reside mostly in working with smaller companies, tending to their every needs and providing a lot of after completion support that involved tinkering with their sites if necessary.

While he loved what he did, you knew that it was tiring for him. The last two weeks had involved you having to practically pull him away from his computer in order to get him to eat and sleep. Needless to say, his shows had unfortunately taken a backseat and he’d had to put a notice out on his channel that they may be sporadic for the next month or so.

Which was you’d taken the day off today and begged him to take a day off too. You knew that his work didn’t run like yours did, but the dark circles under his eyes and his increasingly paler skin made worry run rampant in you. He was running himself into the ground in his attempt to get everything finished within his deadlines and you wished desperately that he would take your advice and hire Jungkook as an assistant.

Of course, he would point out that he couldn’t afford an assistant but you were sure he could work something out. There was too much work for one person, and you knew he’d always harboured a hope of creating his own creative agency that specialised in web based design.

But Hoseok was stubborn, and he often had to be run to the point of collapse before accepting change or something new. And while you didn’t appreciate his method of coping with things, you knew that you had to make everything else in his life as comfortable as you could.

He did it for you after all. When you had your nervous breakdown in your old job from too much stress and anxiety, Hoseok had been there for you. He’d been the one shouldering your pain and tears, rubbing your back and kissing your head. Being a pillar of strength for you. So of course, you did the same back.

And you knew that Hoseok knew what you were doing today. He wouldn’t have agreed to it if he didn’t, and you were happy that he was letting you coddle him today. It was time to just be you and him, no jobs or work involved.

As such, you were currently driving to the coast for what you were hoping was going to be a day of fun for the two of you. The skies were blue and the breeze was warm, giving you a good feeling for what the beach was going to be like.

Looking over at Hoseok, you smile softly as you note him sleeping with his head against the window. How he’s managing that when you have no doubt his head is vibrating furiously against the glass, you don’t know. But then again, you do know. He’s just been that tired.

He sleeps the whole way there and by the time you park up, facing the crystal blue sea, you can even hear the soft snores that escape him. Hoseok isn’t normally someone who snores, but you guess the position he’s in is making it more obvious.

Pulling the keys out of the ignition, you shift over to look at him. His newly dyed dark hair gleams in the light that makes its way through the window, his skin a shade paler than it normally is. He hasn’t spent a whole lot of time outside, and you desperately hope that it makes him a little happier and stress free.

A white t-shirt sits on his torso, slightly baggy while denim shorts let his toned legs be seen to the world. Which is a good thing, because he has damn good looking legs. He shifts slightly in his sleep, arms crossed over and shoulders hunching a little closer while his tongue licks at his lips, a quiet murmur leaving him and you laugh lightly.

Reaching over, you stroke through his hair repeatedly and enjoy the softness of it against your fingers. Hoseok likes having his hair played with and it’s always one of the quickest ways to relax him and get him to sleep. It’s also one of the best ways to wake him gently, bizarrely.

Sure enough, a quiet rumbling from his chest lets you know that he’s waking up before he’s blinking slowly, squinting in the light. Yawning loudly, he stretches out as far as he can in the car seat before looking at you quietly, lips pouted ever so slightly.

His face is swollen with sleep, eyes puffy and cheeks rounded. Everyone told you that as time passed, the excitement of your relationship with him would disappear and you’d just be left a quiet and serene love.

They lied, because as you watch your sleepy boyfriend come back to consciousness properly, you feel a fizz of excitement and happiness bubble in your stomach. Six years together, and he still makes you feel young.

“Are we here?” He asks, voice crackling before he coughs to clear his throat. Laughing lightly, you open your door and get out, dipping back down to look at him with a brow raised.

“I hope so. Otherwise I’ve found a really large expanse of previously unseen water.” You tease, closing the door before pulling out the blanket and food you’d prepared this morning. Hoseok grumbles quietly as he gets out of the car too, standing with his arms resting against the warm roof.

“Ha ha, funny. I see why I started dating you now, a real comedian.” He says, reaching into the glove box to pull out a pair of sunglasses and sliding them on. Walking around to the front of the car, he takes the food and bag from you before clasping your hand in his own, fingers twining together.

“You’re always so grumpy when you wake up, you know that?” Hoseok lets out a grunt before quickly leaning down and kissing your lips, pulling away before you can do anything. A noise of protest leaves your mouth as you reach the sandy shoreline, kicking your shoes off while Hoseok just strides out onto the hot sand, tugging you along.

“At least use some chewing gum after you’ve slept for an hour! I don’t want to taste sleep breath.” Looking up and down the beach, Hoseok decides the spot you’re at is perfect and lets go of your hand to lay the blanket out.

It’s only once he’s knelt down on the soft material, kicking his own shoes off that he looks back up at you with a brow raised above his shades. “You never mind when I kiss you in the morning before we’re about to fuck.”

“Hoseok!” You whisper shout, looking around in embarrassment even though there’s no one near you. He chuckles and pulls you down with him, wrapping an arm around your waist before kissing your cheek sweetly.

“What? There’s no one here and you know I don’t mind an audience.” Leaning away from him, you scan over his face and feel a small sense of relief run through you as you can already see the stress and strain practically vanishing from his face.

“I thought I said we weren’t talking about work today?” You ask, reaching into the bag and pulling out some sandwiches you’d made. Handing him the ham, cheese, bacon and salad that you’d prepared especially for him, the two of you eat in silence for a moment as you simply enjoy the gentle, cool breeze rolling off the ocean and the sound of the waves crashing on the white beach.

“That’s not work. You know that.” He says quietly, playing with the crust of his sandwich. From the concentrated look on his face, you’re pretty sure he has something on his mind and you wonder what it is.

Reaching out, you run your thumb along his cheek gently and smile when he closes his eyes and leans into your touch, his brows creasing together slightly. “Hey...what’s wrong?”

He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel of your hand on his face and you don’t feel the need to pressure him. You know Hoseok will tell you when he’s ready, and you’ll be here when he is.

Thankfully though, it doesn’t take too long for him to open up again. It had been a struggle to get him to be open with you in the first few years of your relationship. You’d joked that the US Federal Reserve had a vault that was weaker than Hoseok, because he just didn’t let people into the deepest areas of him.

Until he’d finally trusted you enough to crack open his walls and let you slip inside.

“You know that you said you’d do a show with me?” His voice is quiet, deeper than it usually is due to his lower tone. You actually feel a little unnerved, frowning slightly as you acknowledge his question quietly.

Hoseok tears the crust into tiny pieces before swallowing and letting the handful fall onto the blue patterned blanket. “I wanna do it. I’ve already done polls and...people want it. So...I want to do it if you’re comfortable with it.”

“If you’re okay with me being on your show then...yeah. I mean...I want a mask because I don’t want my face seen and I don’t know if I want to be naked because I don’t know if I can handle those negative remarks but...yeah. It’ll be an experience.” You laugh softly, pressing yourself into his side and resting your head on his shoulder.

“Hey! You’re beautiful, there’s nothing wrong with your body and everyone should feel privileged to see it.” The defense in his voice for you has you smiling brightly, pushing at him until he rocks to the side. His arm lifts and pulls you into him closer, wrapping it around your shoulders.

“You’re still tense though. So what else are you thinking?”

He lets out a soft breathy laugh, head falling forward. “Can’t hide anything huh? I think...I want that to be my last show. Go out with a bang.”

His words fall into silence, shocked from your side and waiting in anticipation on his. Pulling away from him, you scan over his face with wide and shocked eyes. Hoseok just watches you back quietly, his sunglasses pushed up and keeping his hair away from his face. He looks slightly unsure of himself, like he doesn’t know if he’s said the right thing.

“Really? You...want to quit that?” He chews on his lip for a little bit before nodding, taking your hand and playing with your fingers silently.

“Yeah. I...yeah I do. I’ve enjoyed it over the years, and it makes me feel good but...I think it’s time. I’ve done it for seven years and I have no reason to keep doing it anymore. I’ve saved plenty of money from it and I just feel like this is the right time to end it all.” You’re not sure what to think, as this sounds like it’s come from nowhere and yet he sounds like he’s thought it through.

“But why? You love doing it. It’s not because of me or anything right? You know that I’m not bothered about it. And your fans will stay with you, even if you have a sex show.” He smiles endearingly at you, moving forward till he’s kissing you. It’s short and sweet, pulling away before you can even do anything more.

“I know that. I know all that. But...I want to quit. For me. I started doing it as a way to earn some money and gain some confidence. I have that confidence now and I have more than enough money. You keep saying that I should hire Jungkook as an assistant and...you’re right. I have too much work...which is why I’m going to finally do it. Start the company. I can’t do that and still be a camboy.” It all sounds logical to you, and you can see now why he’s been reducing the number of shows he’s been doing over the last few months.

Slowly pulling away from people so they’re less shocked when he leaves finally.

“You’re going to do it then? Finally start the Jung Company?” You’re grinning brightly at him, lips pulled in a smile so wide in dual excitement and pride for him. His degree had been a dual business management and web design course, so he hopefully had everything he needed.

“Well first of all, it’s not the Jung Company. Hope Design, or something like that. I dunno, marketing is not my strongest area. Despite it technically being my area,” He contradicts himself, frowning slightly as it registers before he nods. “Anyway. Yeah. I’m gonna do it. Web and graphic design...full time. Take on more clients, make it a full time job. Hire people when necessary. It means I get to do what I always wanted...and I get to spend more time with you. And you have me to yourself.”

“Hey, I was never bothered about that.” You say, resting your hand on his stomach as you kiss his cheek. He smiles and kisses you again, a little longer than before.

“I know. But that’s another thing. I want to spend more time with you. I want to...be more with you and I don’t feel comfortable doing sex shows with what I want. If...you agree with me then I don’t think it would be fair of me to take time out to do them, nor would I feel comfortable.” You’re frowning now, wondering what he’s on about here. You’ve always made it clear that he was doing them before he started dating you, and you’d given him implicit permission to continue.

Taking in your confused face, he lets out a quiet laugh and runs a hand over his own. A quiet groan leaves him. “Ah Hoseok, you’re fucking this up.”

Turning, he lets go of your hand and reaches into his pocket before pulling out a small box. Almost immediately your eyes widen as he hands it to you with a tentative smile, hands shaking the whole time.

“Hoseok...is this…” Your voice trails off as you open it and see the beautiful ring inside. It’s silver, probably platinum, and has one beautiful diamond in the centre with two smaller pink diamonds on either side and two even smaller, clear diamonds on either side of those. For an engagement ring, it is neither ostentatious nor simple and you love it.

Almost immediately you’re looking at him through watery eyes, throat closing in on itself as he smiles through his obvious nerves. “Will you marry me?”

You can’t even get the words out a you nod repeatedly, tears slipping down your cheeks as he lets out a loud laugh before slipping the ring onto your finger. Almost immediately, you’re engulfed in his arms as he hugs you so tightly, pressing his face into your neck as you both rock from side to side.

“That’s the other reason I want to quit. Because I swore to myself that I’d stop when I got married. I want to marry you, and then I want to have babies with you and all that good stuff. And when I imagine that life, I don’t see those shows in it. That’s our life, not anyone else’s.” You sniff almost pathetically as you look down at the ring before looking back at him. He looks sincere, his eyes filled with love for you and you swallow thickly.

“You know I wouldn’t stop you doing it if you still wanted to. You know that right?” You ask quietly, imploring him to know that you really would be okay with it. For now at least, but you understand where he’s coming from.

“I know. I know you’d support almost any decision I made. But this is what I want. It always had to end at some time. So I want to do one last show where I show the world you for the first and last time, before stopping it. And then I want to make a company we can be proud of, and a family that we can love. I’m tired of jacking off on camera babe. Call me old at 28 but, I want the only person to see me like be you. So are you okay with that? Marrying me? Having sex with me on camera once?” He wiggles his brows at that and you laugh, wrapping your arms around his neck before kissing him deeply.

When you pull away, you’re both breathing a little quicker and heavier than before but it doesn’t stop you from kissing the tip of his nose. “I was already willing to have sex with you on camera. Marrying you is just the icing on the cake.”

He smirks at that. “You can have your cake and eat it. Though not right now, because right now I want to throw you in the sea.”

And with that, he heaves you both up before running down the beach with you in his arms, ignoring the ear-splitting shrieks that come from you and he deposits you both into the salty ocean.

-

It’s a week later that Hoseok finally decides to end it, announcing via his Twitter that the show he’ll be performing tonight will be his last ever. Understandably, there are many of his fans who are angry and shocked that he’s ending his camming career, but there’s plenty who give him support and encouragement.

He’d announced it via an open letter to all his fans and loyal viewers, one that he’d written carefully over the week before decreeing it perfect and deciding that it was the perfect way to end it. There was no explicit reasoning for his decision, only that his personal life had become so important to him that he didn’t feel comfortable carrying on with his camshow persona any longer.

And so HopeWorld would be officially closing tonight. His final show would not be saved, and all his previous shows would be deleted along with his profile. Only those who had bought and downloaded them would be able to continue enjoying them.

Hoseok had decided that he was done with the camshow world, and that meant he didn’t want his material out there unless it had already been downloaded. A clean slate for him, and for you too.

Despite how accepting you had been of his request to join him on his last show, perhaps understandably you’d ended up with some pre-show jitters. Whereas Hoseok had gained in confidence throughout his camshow career, the idea of putting your body on show was suddenly nerve wracking.

There were different expectations placed on women, and you’d slowly gotten to the point that you were half of a mind to back out. Which was why Hoseok had paused in his preparations for the stream to sit you down on the bed and console you.

He was dressed to impress as usual, black jeans that clung to his legs and ensured nothing stayed hidden while he had a white button up shirt on. Hoseok liked those as it meant he got to tease the viewers for longer unbuttoning it all, but you just liked it because it emphasised everything hot about him.

From his slim shoulders to his firm waist, his golden skin to the delightful sculpted hollows of his collarbones. Honestly, it’s a wonder you’ve never come in here and jumped him halfway through a show before.

But today you’d had some input on his wardrobe, particularly given that it was going to be your show. As such, he had a leather collar wrapped around his neck that contrasted beautifully against the movements of his throat. He’d worn them on occasion before on his shows, just to entice people with the possibility of something they weren’t getting.

This time though, you were actually going to use it and just the sight of it on your delightfully attractive fiancé was enough to make you shiver. There was always something hot about seeing him submit to you, and despite your misgivings you were excited to let his viewers see that for their final view.

Despite your eagerness for that, and also for him to rearrange your guts live on camera, the crippling insecurities that came with stuff like this were dampening your mood. And Hoseok had noticed, given how carefully he paid attention to you.

“Are you okay? You don’t have to do this, it’s up to you. You know that right? I’d never make you do anything that you don’t want to.” His voice is low and calming, expression concerned while the back of his knuckles runs along your arm in slow movements. It’s not a lot, but it’s surprising how comforting it feels to you.

For a second, you go to lie to him before deciding to be honest and shrugging slightly. “What if they don’t like me? Or like...think I’m fat or that I look funny down…” The words trail off in your embarrassment and worry.

“Woah woah, okay firstly. I don’t care if they don’t like you, and neither should you because they’re never going to see you again after this one show. You’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, you know that right? And I’m not saying that just because I’m marrying you, you really are. Secondly, you’re not fat and you look perfectly fine. I swear. Please don’t worry about things like this because if you start now, then it’ll fester and get worse in your head. You are perfect as you are. If you think you can’t do this then just let me know and we don’t, I don’t mind. I’d rather not have you in the show than have you end up with crippling insecurities, okay?” Hoseok states insistently, moving his arm around your shoulders and pulling you in close to him.

You let him practically baby you for a few minutes, letting him soothe over any of your worries because it feels good to have him reassure you. A little selfish perhaps, but you were about to get naked on a livestream with him. You needed the assurance from him that all was going to be well, even if he couldn’t actually promise that.

Hoseok had your implicit trust and love, so you had to trust and love that he would keep an eye on things.

“Do you still want to?” He asks quietly, pressing his lips to your temple and letting them rest there for a moment, warm breath tickling the finer hairs along your skin. It’s intimate and comforting, the scent of him so close and his presence so calming. There’s little wonder you fell for him all those years ago, his sweet smile drawing you in and everything else just solidifying him as the perfect man for you.

A myriad of emotions runs through you though as you think through his words, your hands self-consciously coming to cover up the bits of you that you always feel a bit more wobbly than they should be. The areas that make you feel a little anxious when you think of thousands of people getting to see them in HD glory.

Hoseok’s hands move down to where yours are, and it’s only when he slips his underneath your own to stroke at the soft, vulnerable skin there that you realise you’d been clawing at it. Subconsciously unhappy.

“I don’t want you to do this if it’s going to be negative on your health. I love you, I love everything about you but I don’t want you to push yourself to do something for me if you’re not happy.” His words are quiet against your skin, murmured almost but you feel them to your very core as his fingers gently move against the parts of you that you’ve struggled with, with not an ounce of disgust on his face or in his words.

“I want to. I want to still do this. I just...it’s scary.” The words a little more soft than you’d have liked them to be, almost whimpered out like a child. It makes Hoseok chuckle quietly, not laughing at you but the way you’d said it, before he wraps his arms around you completely.

“I know, I still get a little nervous. But you’ll be great. We’ve prepped for everything, and I am beyond excited to introduce everyone to the woman who owns my body, heart and soul.” He says seriously, squishing you to him.

You can’t help but snort at his words. “You can keep that cheesiness though, that’s solely yours. And you’re just excited to get laid, you’re already hard.”

The thick erection currently pressed to your stomach means Hoseok can’t argue back, so instead he just pushes it further against you. A quiet gasped moan leaves his mouth as he does so, the friction from the action pleasurable against his sensitive member.

You’d both prepared earlier for the show to make sure it was seamless and easy. Which meant that you were both in your outfits, a matching dark green and black lace lingerie set for you with suspenders holding up some delightfully sexy stockings that had made Hoseok whimper to himself when he’d seen the whole outfit.

Green was his favourite colour after all.

It had also extended to prepping each other sexually, with enough foreplay to get him raring to go while you were pretty positive he could slide straight in if he wanted to. The toy that you were going to be using, along with a bottle of lube, were hidden out of sight so as not to give anything away to the intrigued audience.

Everything was ready to go...all Hoseok had to do was start filming.

Pushing him down till he’s sitting back on the bed, you bite your lip and run your fingers through his hair slowly before rearranging back into the style he’d managed to get it into earlier on. Your new fiancé was incredibly attractive and you knew that you’d really won the life lottery with him.

“Okay...let’s do this. Bring out Hope.” Hoseok doesn’t say anything for a moment, just watching you closely with those beautiful dark eyes of his. It felt like he was looking deeply into you, trying to assess whether you were truly comfortable with this.

Slowly, he nods before his hands squeeze on your hips, pulling you a little closer to him before he presses a soft kiss to the skin between your breasts. It’s surprisingly non-sexual for the area, but instead it just feels like he’s comforting you.

And as you stand back, moving into the corner away from the glare of the camera, you acknowledge that he probably was. If you give him any signal tonight that you’re not happy, then he’ll stop. Even if it is his last show.

The next ten minutes are spent with Hoseok setting everything up properly with the camera and making sure everything’s working before the light is red and he’s sat back in his usual position on the bed. A brow is raised almost arrogantly as he waits for the viewers to come in.

From your position, you’ve got access to your own laptop and you can watch his page as they rush in. His shows normally bring in a good few thousand viewers at their peak, sometimes hitting 10k. But the news about this being his last show must have spread like wildfire because he’s only been live for a few minutes and he already has half that.

Yes, HopeWorld was certainly going to go out with a bang.

After 10 minutes of waiting around and idle chatter between Hoseok and his loyal viewers, he finally decides to get it going. A quick glance over to you gets your approval before he’s shifting forward, elbows resting on his knees before he smirks at the camera.

“So...I’m going to get straight to the point here. From the large viewer count, which I think has beaten my all-time record, I’m guessing that everyone knows this is my last show before HopeWorld closes its doors for the last time,” He pauses for a moment, eyes flickering over the comments before grinning brightly. “Aaaawwwww.”

The sound is teasing and not even slightly sympathetic, his every moment over exaggerated before he’s smiling back at the screen, tongue running along his white teeth slowly. “Yep, last one. And this is going to be different. Not just because of it being the last. But there’s always been something that people wanted from me and it just didn’t fit at the time. Given it’s my last show...I thought I’d do something different for you all. Go out with a bang.”

His grin turns mischievous as his brow wiggles enticingly, eyes darting over to you once more. “Tonight...Hope is going to retire. But I’m not going to be your Hope for most of the show.”

At that, you take a deep and fortifying breath before clenching your fists to try and calm your racing nerves. This is everything you’d fantasised about whenever you’d watched his shows, and yet now you’re so nervous and worried.

But the tiniest tilt of his head towards you gives you the courage to paint a mysterious smile on your face before you saunter into view. Along with your delightfully sexy lingerie, you also have a pair of sky high heels that cause you to tower over Hoseok for once.

He looks at you slowly, his pupils blown out already as his wet lips part, breath coming faster already in anticipation of your touch. Smiling, you run your fingers through his hair before gripping the back of his collar and tugging at it.

It jerks his head back until his eyes lock onto yours at an awkward angle, a look of pure and utter submission on his face as every inch of his body relaxes into your grip. “He’s going to be mine, aren’t you?”

You’ve lowered the tone of your voice until it’s low and smooth like butter with enough of a hint of husk to make Hoseok shiver. He doesn’t respond for a moment and your fingers tightened on his hair until he lets out the softest whimper.

It’s nothing impressive as a sound, barely heard in the room despite the quiet, but you know damn well that his viewers likely just almost brought themselves to orgasm just from that one syllable.

Because Hope has never once whimpered in submission, nor has he ever looked like this. So powerless under your hands.

Honestly, as much as you love being dominated and sobbing out his name, you don’t think he’s ever looked better than right then.

Smiling at him, you let the finger of your free hand trail along his jaw slowly, taking in the feel of his skin and the hardness of bone underneath before dragging your fingernails down his throat until they slip beneath the leather collar.

“Be a good boy and unbutton that shirt.” Hoseok lets out a moan in response, his nose pressed to your bare stomach from how you’ve pulled him forward. He doesn’t make any further move there though, despite the heat of his breath as it caresses you.

Instead, he does exactly as you demanded from him. Long and elegant fingers, fingers that you’ve drooled over many times on your screen as he gripped his cock or screamed over as they abused your pussy, are working each button from its position to reveal more and more golden, toned skin.

The whole time he does this, Hoseok keeps his eyes firmly on yours until you’re not entirely sure if he’s submitting like he should be. A hand flutters up to touch the black lace mask that’s wrapped around your eyes, hiding your feature from view. Pointless if anyone you know watches this, because there’s no way on earth Hoseok would ever cheat on you. Nevermind doing it live.

But still, it provided a layer of protection that comforted you. Even if it was flimsy.

Plus Hoseok had practically drooled when you’d put it on so that was a win.

Once the shirt was unbuttoned, it lays against his torso prettily and you lean back to admire the delightful lines of his musculature that you’ve kissed and licked so many times before. He’s beautiful, and you fully intend on making sure that he knows that.

“So pretty. Take off those pants for me.” He nods his head slowly, fingers pushing the button through before unzipping them. Standing, he lets them pool at his feet before stepping out of them and you’re left to admire his physique.

He’s lean, yet the toned muscles let the viewers know that he works out enough. But what you’re focused on is his cock, standing proudly from his body as it bobs in the air. As you’ve stated before, he’s not a huge man, but while he may not be the longest he’s certainly got a delightful amount of girth that has you moaning out his name more often than not.

“Doesn’t he have the most delightful dick?” You ask the camera, reaching forward to let your fingers clasp around the silk covered steel of his erection, stroking gently and making him shudder as his head falls back. “Lay back on the bed and stroke yourself for me Hope.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Hoseok responds, sitting back on the bed. He shifts until he’s horizontal to the camera, allowing his whole body to get in the shot before he grasps his dick in his hand and begins to stroke. Talented and experienced hands that know exactly how hard to pull and how to twist until he’s groaning out and painting his stomach white.

“Don’t cum, but keep stroking.” You command firmly, resting a hand on his thigh. “I’ve got a surprise for the viewers.”

With that, you disappear off camera before coming back. The whole time, Hoseok watches you intently while his hand works at himself slowly, his cheeks ever so slightly flushed. But that does nothing to disguise the look of lustful interest in his eyes, nor the way he grips himself tighter with anticipation.

Moving until you’re just in view of the camera, you bend over to give Hoseok the best view of your ass and clothed pussy. The pained groan he lets out tells you that he obviously appreciates it, but you focus on the camera instead as you paint a pretty smile on your face.

“Now...I’ve heard from Hope that you’ve asked him to do a lot of things over the years. And he’s been a very naughty boy by teasing you all hasn’t he? It’s taken this long for him to be the one on the receiving end, and I know you’ve just been desperate to see that.” You pout slightly before winking. “But don’t worry, I’ll make him beg for you all.”

A turn of your head lets you see that Hoseok has slowed down, his hand not moving where it grips his cock firmly and your brow raises slowly. He catches your eye and flushes, mumbling out an apology to you before he’s stroking himself once more.

“I’ve also heard that you’ve asked if he’d be more willing to do things that other camboys do. I know that a lot of the solo guy shows don’t only jerk themselves off but use sex toys on themselves.” Leaning in, you read the comments as they move past on the screen before making a contemplative noise.

“I know he uses sex toys...but it’s always like...a cock ring or a fleshlight. I was thinking that we could have something else this time.” With that, you wink before producing the sex toy from your back.

The dildo is a glittering green, a joke that you’d bought him years ago when you first brought up the idea of pegging him. At the time, he’d just rolled his eyes in amusement but eventually he’d let you actually use it on him. As such, this was very much his toy.

And he definitely enjoyed it.

When you’d both been discussing how this show would go, the idea of using sex toys had come up and you’d then brought up the idea of using a dildo on him. It was something you both enjoyed in your private sex life from time to time and he’d casually mentioned sometimes that his viewers had often suggested it to him for the camera.

It was a popular form of entertainment for other camboys, but Hoseok had never done it. That wasn’t his style of show and he didn’t particularly enjoy doing that solo.

No, that was your thing to do with him and he’d been receptive to the idea of doing it on camera.

Which was why you’d both prepped so intensely earlier, because neither of you wanted to spend half an hour on camera just prepping him. Despite what porn and fiction said, anal sex was not something to just rush into and you had no desire to hurt your fiancé by going too fast.

Sure enough though, the comments are going crazy as everyone can guess where this is going. Hope being submissive was exciting enough for them all, but finally getting to see him being the one to writhe and whine as his ass was fucked was pushing them into overdrive.

It was with amusement that you watched the viewership spike suddenly, and you wondered if there were people who were spreading the news. You knew for a fact that Jimin was watching intently, which made you only slightly nervous. But if he couldn’t be fucked by, or fuck, Hoseok then he’d said he was damn well watching you do it.

“Yeah, I thought you’d all enjoy that. Would you like that Hope? Have your ass be fucked by me while all your viewers watch?” The question is light and inquisitive, double checking with him that he really was okay with this.

His response comes in a low, rasping voice that betrays the desire he’s feeling for what you’re going to do with him. “Yes Ma’am. I’d love that.”

“Hmmm...I did say that I would have you begging for your lovely audience. Maybe we should start now.” Moving over to the bed, you crawl on top of it until you’re between his legs, pushing them apart enough for you to kneel comfortably there and enjoying the sight of him stroking himself slowly.

Just slow enough that you can’t complain at him, but not fast enough to get him going. Though that doesn’t stop the bead of pre-cum that drips onto his toned stomach.

Uncapping the bottle of lube you’d dropped on the bed next to him, you drip it onto the dildo before stroking it slowly to coat it entirely. The sight of you jerking off a fake cock and not his own has Hoseok whining quietly, a tiny pout forming on his lips and causing you to laugh.

“Look at that. Where’s the Master or the Sir now? I’m only seeing a whiny baby. Are you being a whiny baby Hope?” You tease, voice light as you let your lubricated fingers trail along the soft, vulnerable flesh of his inner thigh.

“Yes Ma’am.” He responds dutifully, playing it up by pushing his lower lip out even more. His muscles twitch as you near his cock, testicles drawn up tight but you bypass that entirely.

Instead, you shift till you’re hovering over him before leaning down and catching that pouty lip between your teeth, tugging slightly before letting go. His breath, minty fresh from brushing just before going live, pants against your mouth before you kiss him.

It’s not a sweet kiss, nor is it soft. Instead, it’s rough and forceful with you taking control of his mouth and forcing him into submission. His natural dominant instinct makes him fight back for a few seconds before he remembers his character, sinking back into the silk sheets and letting you have your way with him.

While he’s completely distracted, you take the chance to grab his swollen cock and pump it a few times with a tight grip. He’d let go during the kiss, too concerned with your mouth on him to care about stroking himself off but your touch has him gasping into you.

You take that opportunity to slip your tongue into his mouth, exploring him thoroughly in a kiss that quickly turns loud and sloppy. It’s probably not hugely attractive to watch, but you have no doubt that it’s a turn on for the audience when combined with your hand stroking at his stiff cock.

Pulling away suddenly, his kiss swollen lips cause you to smile as you note the wetness of them while your eyes trace down his slim frame till you reach his pride and joy. Any motion has stopped on your side, but his hips are moving in small, minute movements almost of their own accord as he tries to fuck into your hand.

“Do you want this cock?” You ask, lifting up the dildo that has been held firmly in your free hand. It shimmers in the light, wobbling slightly but Hoseok’s eyes darkened at the sight as he nods. Tutting, you grip his cock firmer. “I said, do you want this cock?”

“Yes Ma’am. I want that cock.” Hoseok is quick to respond, his words laced with a whimper and you smile triumphantly before letting go of his own cock. It bounces against his stomach for a moment, so stiff and needy that it rises back up.

“Good boy.” With that, you let lube trickle from the bottle down onto his balls before running the tip along it, collecting it before pushing it against his puckered ass. With the head pressed firmly in place, you pause to glance up at Hoseok and only when he gives the tiniest nod do you begin to push it further.

There’s resistance but it’s much easier than it would have been thanks to the prep you’d done and the copious amount of lube. He hisses slightly as the tip finally slips inside, his body tensing at the sensation but you made soft noises of encouragement, a hand running along his thigh reassuringly.

The hard bit is over now. Hoseok’s always found the first penetration hardest, but you know he’ll be okay now that’s over with. And if he’s not, then he’ll tell you. If he’s really unhappy, he’ll use his safe word.

His comfort is the priority here for you, despite what the viewers may think.

But the preparation he’d undergone earlier makes it easy on him, and he makes no noise of complaint or visible flinch by the time the length of the dildo is firmly inserted inside him. His cock is still hard, but you take hold of it and jerk him in a few quick movements to keep him interested there.

As you do so, you pull and watch as the length slides out of him slowly and easily before pushing it back in. Hoseok clenches slightly at the feeling before relaxing once again, letting out a long and slow breath.

It takes a few minutes for him to be fully okay with the sensation of the dildo, but the combination of time and the pleasure he gets from your hand job soon has him panting out loud.

Sure enough, it’s not long until he’s whining out loud as you increase the speed with which you thrust into him in small increments. A slight angling has his entire body stiffening up; not from pain but from pleasure as a long groan leaves him.

Experience has taught you that this angle is what seems to really stimulate his prostate and the way his thighs begin to shake tells you that he’s more than happy with the situation. Smiling to yourself, you lean down until you bite at the muscle of his thigh lightly, tracing your teeth along the sensitive skin there as he gasps out loud.

“Does that feel good?” You ask, nose running along his leg given you have no free hand in which to reassure him. A glance up tells you that he’s nodding in response, mouth open and eyes closed as his hips rock slowly.

Grinning, you stop suddenly and push the dildo in as far as you can get it. Tapping at his thigh with your now freehand, you look down at him imperiously. “Keep that in you. I’m sure you can do that right?”

He nods immediately and when you let go of the dildo, it doesn’t move at all. A pleased smile makes it way onto your face, causing you to lean down and kiss his forehead. “Good boy.”

You don’t need to look at his face again to know that he’s blushing a pretty pink under the praise, instead you just run your fingers through his dark hair before moving to look at the laptop. The chat is going wild with what they’ve just seen, even if they angle means that they can’t quite see the dildo in him.

Taking pity on them, you take hold of the camera and bring it around so that they can get the perfect view of him. “He looks so pretty doesn’t he? And he takes it so well. Jimin and Jungkook have really missed out. Don’t you think his cock looks so nice though?”

A few comments make you chuckle in amusement as you read them, eyes hidden behind the mask yet gleaming with anticipation.

Horny4Hope: Hope looks so nice fucked out.

CumToMe: That cock would look better with your juices on it

DVA256: Fuck him Ma’am! Make him beg!

“Should I fuck him? Do you think he deserves to put his cock in my pussy? Has he been good enough?” The comments flood in with viewers desperately screaming at you to fuck him, or be fucked. Some want to see the Hope they know and love appear and make you sob his name whereas others demand that you ruin him till he’s gasping.

“How should I fuck him?” That question gets hundreds of answers flooding in, but the overriding theme appears to be riding him. Keeping him in his submissive position and not allowing him the chance to gain any dominance.

Eyeing him as he lays there patiently, white shirt splayed open and carefully muscled torso just waiting for your touch, you agree with them. Being on top isn’t your favourite position, that would be when he’s jack hammering into you from behind, but it does give that beautiful sense of power. Plus, Hoseok goes wild for the view.

“Let’s ride him then shall we? I think we’ve tamed him enough.” You slowly take your underwear off, as seductively as you can for the camera before moving back to the bed. Once there, you move until you’re on top of him with your soaked core hovering over his stomach. His breath is coming faster already, sweat on his face and chest and you can’t wait till he’s drenched.

But you don’t slip onto him yet. Instead, you widen your stance a little until your clit brushes against his toned stomach, the sensation causing you to gasp out. Eyes fluttering shut, you rest one hand on his chest and rock your hips back and forth, the friction sending shocks of pleasure through your system while your wetness coats his skin.

“You feel good already Hope. Will you make me feel good with your cock?” You ask, breath strained slightly as your hips buck a little more. Hoseok’s eyes are glued to the area between your legs, focused with laser intensity on your engorged clit as it rubs against his abdomen.

“Yes Ma’am. I’ll make you feel good with my cock. You’ll feel better with my cock than with my stomach, I guarantee it.” His eyes flick up then to catch yours, a slight look of defiance in them as if he’s telling you to test his theory.

Your eyebrows shift upwards slightly and you smile, reaching to grab his swollen cock before you inch backwards until the tip of him is rubbing against your entrance. Rolling your hips in a circular manner, you tease him by sliding only the slightest of him inside before lifting off him again.

This is repeated a few times until he lets out a quiet whine of impatience, laced with desire and need. Tutting, you take pity on him and slide down on him suddenly, his cock penetrating you with ease given how obscenely wet and aroused you are for him.

Every inch of him fills you immediately, your sensitive walls clenching instinctively as you let out a long moan of pleasure. Hoseok’s cock has always felt good, and the knowledge of being watched makes it even more arousing and therefore pleasurable as you tighten once more.

His hands flex against the sheets, not touching you given that you haven’t given him the permission to do so. But you know he’s desperate for his hands to sink into the soft flesh of your hips, push you down as he drives upwards.

Instead, he lays there with clenched teeth as you slowly begin to ride him. He looks so attractive that you can’t help but lean down and bite along his neck once more, reaching any skin that you can manage around his collar and sucking deeply until you can feel the vibrations of his noises through his throat.

“He’s doing so good for me, aren’t you? His cock feels just as good as you think it might, I hope you all know that. Just imagine him inside you, filling you up until all you can focus on is the thickness between your thighs. Each ridge of him pressing against your sensitive areas, the friction of him so overwhelming. Imagine him fucking up into you, or you riding him like this. He’ll be whatever you want him to be, right Hope?” You end the teasing by running your hand along his chest, nails scraping slightly as he shudders and moans under you.

“Yes Ma’am. Anything you want.” He’ll probably say whatever you want right now, the combination of his cock in your wet, tight warmth and the dildo pressing against his prostate with every clench of his muscles and movement of his hips overriding any coherent thoughts he may have.

“That’s my good boy.” Purring to him, you begin to ride him with wild abandon.

Each roll of your hips had his thick length sliding in and out of you with a practised ease, the blunt head of him rubbing against the sensitive nerves inside you with each precise movement until you let out a soft cry of pleasure. Looking down at him, you groaned quietly at the sight of him so unbelievably fucked out beneath you.

It was a common sight for you, but not one for his viewers who were used to the restrained and controlled persona who inhabited HopeWorld, ruling it with darkened words and silken hands that touched only himself. Now though, they were being introduced to a whole new persona of Hope; one who enjoyed losing himself to the sensations and feelings that came with letting go.

Hoseok was tense beneath you, the toned planes of his chest shuddering as his lungs worked to force life giving oxygen into his starved body while the tendons of his neck tensed delightfully beneath the black leather of the collar that wrapped around him. Bruised rosettes were blossoming already from your earlier, insistent, ministrations and you smirked at the sight of them as he bit down on his lip, reddened from the constant chewing he'd been doing.

His abdominal muscles flex beneath you with each rock of your hips, a sign that he's fighting the instinctual urge he has to surge forward and fuck you till you're weeping his name. Only the knowledge of punishment, a refused orgasm once more, keeps him from giving in.

Inky hair clings to his sweat soaked forehead as his eyes scrunched closed, whimpers of almost pain leaving his throat but you know it's the opposite. He's experiencing too much pleasure, the precipice to bliss just within his reach and you purr softly.

“Does my Hope want to come? Do you want to come inside me until you're leaking out of me with each thrust? Till I'm coated in white?” He nods immediately, a choked grunt escaping him as you twist your hips a certain way while clamping your inner muscles down.

Reaching behind you, twisting your body till the camera has a great shot of you riding him,you grasp the end of the dildo still firmly wedged in him and pull on it slowly before sliding it back into place. It's awkward in this position, and you can't pull it out far enough but his reaction makes it worth it.

A high pitched whine leaves him before tagged gasps tear from his lungs, body jerking like he's been electrocuted beneath you from the dual pleasure of your slick, tight pussy around his cock and the thick, long intrusion pressing against his prostate in his ass.

Looking at the camera, you smirk before using your other hand to play with your clit slowly. Deft, experienced fingers rub at the bundle of nerves till you're fluttering around him and he's letting out random noises as you let out a deep sigh and shake your head.

“I don't think our Hope deserves to come in me, do you?” You ask his viewers directly, pausing your movements to lean in and read the flurry of comments that are flying along the screen. There are over 70,000 people watching you ruin him right now and the sheer thrill sends a tingle down your spine.

“Looks like they agree Hope, no pussy for you.” You murmur, grinning for the camera before turning back and leaning forward. Hoseok's eyes are almost black with lust and passion and he acquiesces to you with zero complaints as you kiss him messily, tongue playing with his in a loud show before you pull away to admire his wry lips.

Lifting your hips up, he slips out of you before his length bounces on his stomach and rising back up to press insistently at your clit. Sighing quietly, you grind against him and simply enjoy the way his slick flesh feels against you.

“How should I use him to get off hmm? Should I ride him? Get myself off while he watches? Or ride his face?” You throw out the suggestions casually, feeling the way Hoseok shudders beneath you in anticipation of whatever you’re going to do for him.

Crawling over to the laptop, your eyes glance towards the camera and you take note of yourself in the screen as you do so. Your breasts are still held tightly in your lace bra, the hints of green noticeable even at a glance and your teeth bite at your lip seductively as you run a hand over the soft mounds of them.

Unsurprisingly, the comments are going wild and you laugh lightly as you sit against the edge of the bed, likely leaving a patch of darkened wetness on the delightful silk sheets. Smirking, you let your tongue run along your lower lip slowly while looking into the camera.

“Shall we do a little poll? 100 coins to vote.” You murmur, grinning as your fingers tap over the keyboard as you set up the poll how Hoseok had shown you once. The hitch in his breathing from behind you let’s you know he’s probably turned his head away to let out a laugh at your blatant commercialisation of ruining your fiancé.

He’d be proud.

Shifting, you look at him with a raised brow as the poll begins to run. Hoseok’s face is carefully blank, the sweat on his brow shining in the light as he works to calm down his breathing now that he’s been given a respite. There’s something delightful about edging him along to an orgasm before letting him whine as it falls away from him and you understand exactly why he loves doing it to you so much.

Running your fingertips lightly alone his chest, letting the slightest touch of his skin ghost against your own. The sensation has him shivering, the fine hairs on his arms rising as you lean over and press an open mouthed, wet kiss to him. A stilted breath escapes him at your touch and you smile, your tongue darting out to lick the lightest line of wetness along his stomach.

You follow the natural lines of his muscles, dipping into the crevices and enjoying the slight tang of his sweat as it hits your tongue. It almost immediately makes a flare of heat burst into life between your legs, causing you to squeeze. The slight relief caused has you sighing against him, warm breath hitting the cooling trail on his skin and making him shiver again.

“You’re being very good for me, aren’t you? Such a good boy.” The words purr from you, low and teasing as you bite at his hip bone and cause him to jerk in response. He doesn’t respond until you look back up at him, brow raising while your eyes harden slightly.

Hoseok bites at his own lip, looking a little like he wants to be petulant and you mentally encourage him. Because there’s nothing like reprimanding him and making him whine for you, and the power trip the camera is giving you is like nothing else. You don’t even need to feel between your legs to know damn well that not only is your pussy wet, but your thighs too.

But he evidently decides to deny you that thrill because he nods slowly.

Still, you decide it’s not quite enough for you and you reach for his collar, pulling him up slightly until his shoulders leave the bed. “What was that? Are you being a good boy?”

Hoseok hisses lightly, his muscles in his torso flexing as he keeps himself up to ease the pressure on him before he nods once more. “Yes Ma’am. I’m being a good boy for you.”

You almost end up moaning at that, jaw clenching slightly to keep it all together at his sex roughened voice, the tone scraping against all the pleasurable bits inside you and letting you know that he’s beyond turned on. Though his cock was enough evidence of that.

Instead, you just smirk and let go before turning back to the laptop as he falls back to the bed with a soft ‘ooph’. The comments have been going wild again, with some people complaining about the lack of normal HopeWorld content but the vast majority going crazy over seeing their Hope being so utterly dominated after years of controlling his crowd so easily.

It would appear his fans are very approving of this change of pace, and you can’t help but break character and smile as you see the love that’s being sent your way. Any reservations or insecurities you may have had are swept away at the sight of them and instead you feel oddly empowered.

You understand why Hoseok has done this for so long now.

“Hmm...it would seem that the people want me to use your mouth to get myself off. What do you think about that Hope? Are you willing to put that naughty tongue to good use? You’re certainly willing to let it run on these shows...shall we show the audience that it’s good for more than just reprimanding?” Smirking, you take hold of the camera carefully and walked back over to the bed, carefully making sure that you’re in focus and everything is still working.

Hoseok’s watching you with those sex darkened eyes, lashes creating soft shadows on his statuesque face and you’re desperate for everyone to see how he looks even more beautiful with his mouth wet from you. You don’t let him have a chance to move, and instead straddle his waist once more before slowly crawling up his body.

The camera gets placed down just above his head, your eyes on the laptop screen to make sure you’ve got the perfect view while you try to avoid whimpering at the feel of his heated breath against your sopping core. This isn’t a position you do all too often, but your thighs literally tremble with desire at the idea of it right now and a quick glance down has you internally sighing.

Hoseok’s eyes are focused with quiet intensity on the soft flesh between your legs, his breath coming a little faster and his hands gripping the silk bedsheets tighter as he restrains himself from doing what he so obviously wants to. Which is attack you with so much fury and lust that you can’t stop your moans.

“Now then Hope...I’m going to need you to stick out that dirty tongue of yours. I’ve seen the filth that you’ve said with it over the years, and I think it’s time that we put it to good use.” There’s not even an ounce of resistance in Hoseok as he sticks his tongue out, stiffening the pink muscle into a point that has you shuddering on nothing.

Christ, he was going to be the death of you.

“Good boy.” You whisper before lowering yourself the final few inches until you feel the wet tip press against the engorged bundle of nerves, so sensitive that you can’t keep the deep groan inside. He’s warm against you, his tongue firm yet slippery as it slides along your folds with ease.

Hoseok doesn’t try to do anything for the moment, though you can tell by his closed eyes that he’s having to control himself pretty well. You don’t want him to get jaw, or tongue, ache though so you stroke your fingers through his hair slowly while you rock against him before finally letting him free.

“Use your mouth on me Hope. Show me that tongue is useful for more than just being dirty.” It’s all the confirmation Hoseok needed and he immediately relaxes his tongue from its stiff position, the loss of sensation almost causing you to whine.

Instead though, it’s replaced with his hot lips and an intense pressure as he wraps them around your clit before letting go. He continues with this motion in an almost teasing manner; suck and release, suck and release. It doesn’t help when he suddenly includes his tongue, flicking the tender flesh until you shudder above him.

Opening your eyes, you focus on the camera before glancing to the laptop to make sure it’s getting the best shot. From here, you can see the night sky blackness of his hair as it gleams in the light, his elegant nose visible before his wet, pink tongue darts out to lick a long, flat strip along your pussy.

It’s a ridiculously arousing shot, and combined with his movements has you moaning out loud while you fist at his hair. Your hips are moving of their own accord now, short little grinding motions that press yourself further into him and he lets out a deep hum of approval, the vibrations sending shivers along you.

“That’s it, oh god yes that’s it. Keep going, make me cum. Use your fingers.” You command of him, your voice wavering slightly as your eyes flutter shut from the pleasure that sizzles along your veins. It’s been over forty-five minutes now, and you’re more than ready to finally fall into the embrace of the orgasm that you’ve been teasing yourself with.

And Hoseok is more than ready to give it to you, with his long and elegant fingers running along the supple skin of your thigh lightly before reaching your drenched core. Two of them slide along you, coating themselves in your excitement before they’re slipping inside.

Almost immediately you clench tightly around him, the sensation of something penetrating you overwhelming and enticing. Hoseok doesn’t let you go easy though, and you almost get the sense that he’s getting his own back on you.

It doesn’t surprise you. You’ve always claimed that he was dominant even when being submissive, he just let you do what you want. But you certainly don’t complain this time, not when he starts to finger you at a fast tempo that matches the insistent flicking of his tongue on your clit.

Each stroke has his fingers bending, curling against your g-spot and sending an overwhelming amount of pleasure through your body every time until you were making the tiniest moans. The sounds are lewd and loud, overwhelmingly wet and you have no doubt that Hoseok’s chin is likely getting covered.

He makes no complaint however, instead just focusing on your pussy with a laser focus. A glance at the camera in front of you makes you quiver, thighs tensing before you’re moaning out in one long, low syllable that sounds like it’s been drawn from the bottom of your stomach. Your internal muscles clamp down on his fingers, twitching around him as your entire body convulses while his tongue still working at your poor clit.

Hoseok’s hand doesn’t relent either, continuing to push through your tightness and elongating your orgasm until the over sensitivity of it all has you panting and pushing at his head until those beautiful brown eyes of his are visible once more. They’re creased slightly, amusement evident in every inch of his gorgeous face but you don’t let the camera see that.

Instead, you shift until you’re kneeling on one leg, the other pushed outwards so the camera can see the slick, wet evidence of Hoseok’s ministrations on you. Even from here, you can see how turned on you look and the lust in Hoseok’s eyes tells you that the viewers are probably loving it too.

Humming to yourself, you shift until you’re sitting closer to the laptop and lean in to read the comments while positioning the camera to focus on your torso. The silk brushes against your clit momentarily and you let out a tiny gasp before focusing once more.

“Oh, it seemed they liked that Hope. You were being a very good boy, they approve. Do you think we should let him get his treat now? Good boys deserve a reward right?” Your voice is huskier than it would normally be, but you’ve just been given a phenomenal orgasm so there’s no surprise.

Sure enough, the comments come rolling in like a wave of unrestrained lust and desire. People demanding that Hoseok be ridden till he’s whining, fucked in the ass till he’s pleading or sucked till he’s gasping. One thing was for certain; everyone wanted to see their favourite Hope brought to an orgasm that was so shattering, it would shift the axis of his world.

“Okay everyone, I see. We all want our beloved Hope to get his happy ending yeah? A true goodbye to the camming world? What do you say I make him moan for you, the way he’s made all of you moan over the years? Would you like that?” Hoseok lets out a soft gasp from behind you, his hand moving until it’s resting against the small of your back in a reassuring way.

The camera doesn’t pick this up and it warms you from the inside at his touch. He was ready for whatever you gave him.

His viewers are desperate to watch him truly fall apart, to witness him brought to orgasm by someone else. Smiling, you shift to look at him before smirking, running your finger along his swollen lips. He keeps firm eye contact with you as his tongue flicks out, playing with your finger before you’re looking back at the screen.

“Is everyone ready? You’re going to get to see the one and only Hope, truly fucked out for the first and only time.” The chat goes wild with excitement and lust, causing you to laugh as you move out of the way before shifting the camera until it’s focused on Hoseok perfectly.

He’s still wearing his shirt, the white that covers his arms contrasting against his warm, golden skin that’s covered in the lightest sheen of sweat. His hard cock, swollen and stiff against his stomach, is leaking pre-cum and you grin as it twitches as you watch it while his balls are tight, desperate for release.

“Let’s go then Hope, can you handle it?” You turn towards him, crawling on your hands and knees down the bed until you’re at his thighs. His lip is pulled into his mouth, white teeth apparent for a moment before they’re gone.

“I can handle it Ma’am.” His voice is quiet and respectful, but you can hear the slight pushback in it. He’s being cocky, which is a dangerous thing to be when you have his actual cock right there. Instead of saying anything though, you just grin before taking hold of the dildo that’s been sitting prettily inside him the whole time.

You know that it’s been affecting him, as occasional movements that had nothing to do with you would make him gasp and shiver. And you know exactly where his prostate is from previous experience. Not only that, but you have zero qualms in making him cry with pleasure again.

He tenses up for a quick moment before relaxing, his thighs tightening once more as you pull at the thick intrusion penetrating him until it’s almost out. Pushing slowly, you slip it back inside and grin at the deep grunt that leaves his mouth.

The next stroke is angled slightly, your wrist working to find the right angle until his entire body shudders and his hands claw at the sheets. Bingo.

“Do you like that? Does it feel good?” You murmur, tone low as you bend down to kiss along his toned thigh wetly. A few of your kisses turn into you sucking at the skin harshly, leaving pretty red spots that blossom, while others you bite at the muscle there.

It’s undeniably hot and arousing, the way he writhes on the bed at your insistent touch and how his hips circle desperately. Much like how yours must when he’s hammering into you, trying to find the perfect angle that makes your body sing.

But you’ve already found that with Hoseok, because each breath that escapes his heaving chest is laced with the beautiful sound of his moans and whines. Each noise painting a beautiful picture of heady lust for the camera.

“Did you know that he can orgasm from prostate stimulation alone?” You look at the camera, brow raised in amusement. From this distance, you can’t read the comments but from the way Hoseok’s cock jumps, you know that he’s remembering the experience as well. “It takes a long time though, so today we’ll just have to help him along.”

Smiling at him, you grab the bottle of lube and add a little more to make sure he’s extra comfortable before working at him harder. Hoseok hisses out slowly, his chest lowering as his breath leaves him and you decide that now is the time.

His cock is resting on his stomach still, a pool of pre-cum leaking profusely from his tip with the more you stimulate him. Reaching for it, you grasp the base of him firmly before moving up in one, long stroke. The downward stroke has him gasping and you continue the motion on, starting to move faster until the sounds in the room reach lewd levels once more.

Leaning forward, you tongue at his balls slowly, tracing along the skin and sucking one into your mouth playfully while his body wriggles on the bed desperately. His hands continually clench at the sheets and you wonder if he might tear straight through them.

“Oh god, oh god please. Please.” He starts to pant, the words high pitched despite his deeper voice and painted with desperation. Poor baby needed to come.

Letting go of his testicles, you run the flat of your tongue up his shaft slowly, letting it play along him before you flick your tongue at the spot just below his tip. Salty liquid greets you, the evidence of his desire and pleasure and you suckle on the head of him for a few moments, enjoying the way his hips jerk up to try and find more of the warm embrace of your mouth.

You don’t let his movements dictate you however, and instead your tongue dances around his tip for a minute or so, dipping into his slit before tracing along the edges of the head. Finally, your lips wrap around him, only this time...you don’t let go of him. Instead, you let your head lower until he’s firmly in your throat, your nose pressing against the hair at his base.

The suddenness of being deep throated has Hoseok choking, his hips jerking up and almost gagging you as you force your throat muscles to relax around him. “Oh fuck, oh god, oh fuck, oh shit.”

He’s not making any sense with his words and you get the feeling that any form of coherent thought has officially left him as your throat contracts around his sensitive tip. Each pull of your mouth on his cock is reciprocated with a stroke of the dildo inside him, creating a dual sensation of pleasure that has him speaking in pure gibberish as his face screws up.

There’s no warning of his next move, no pat on your head or verbal cue. Instead, his hips jerk savagely under you before his entire body convulses in a wave of pleasure as streams of thick cum coat the walls of your throat. Hoseok is normally pretty loud when he orgasms, his groans deep and intoxicatingly arousing, but this time he’s almost silent except for a soft, high pitched whine.

You help him through it, continuing to bob up and down on his cock as he cums while your arm continuous to pump the dildo in him. As usual when he’s getting prostate stimulation, the orgasm is longer than usual and it feels like he cums for minutes, your mouth salty with his taste.

Finally though, he starts to whine and pant as the pleasure turns to overstimulation. “Oh god, please stop. Please stop Ma’am.” He gasps out, hands twitching as he struggles to avoid pressing against your head.

You take pity on him, releasing him with a slick sound and watching as his sensitive member falls back on his stomach with a slap. Humming lightly, you gently tug the dildo out of him and place it on the towel you’d prepared earlier, ready for it to be cleaned later while your hand runs along his stomach lightly.

Pressing a kiss to his chest, you move up to then kiss his lips while you scan over his face quickly to check that he’s okay. He watches you with tired eyes, the half moon crescents wrinkling as he smiles at you.

“Are you okay?” You ask quietly after a few minutes, keeping your voice soft and quiet as your hand strokes along his chest comfortingly. He nods, lips pursing into a slight pout and you can’t help but chuckle at him before kissing him again. “Come say bye to your viewers.”

Hoseok groans slightly, knowing that you’ll give him the aftercare he needs and wants once the camera has finished. You have every intention of bundling him into the shower, cleaning him up, giving him a warm drink before cuddling up with him under the covers. But he has to finish his camshow career now.

He shifts forward, his movements slow and lazy and you let him lean against you. His head flops onto your shoulder, black hair covering his forehead and you make soft, unintelligible noises as you move it away so the camera can see his beautiful face. Maybe the shift in demeanour might be jarring to the viewers, but neither of you care.

Leaning forward, Hoseok pulls the laptop closer to you both while you drape his discarded jeans over both of your laps. Odd, to want this privacy after what you’d just done yet you felt the need given the topic. He makes a soft hum of acknowledgement before shrugging off his shirt and wrapping it around your shoulders.

“Did everyone enjoy that?” He asks, the corner of his mouth twisting up as a hint of his usual Hope persona comes through. Your hand slips behind him to rest against his back, providing comfort for you both.

The comments are running along the screen and you read a few with a smile, enjoying people screaming unintelligibly in the comments over how beautiful Hope looked being ruined or how nicely he came for you. From what you can read, the general consensus is positive to it and you feel proud that you’d done what he wanted.

“Yeah? You think she’s hot? She is, isn’t she? Pretty good at this too.” He goes quiet again before laughing. “Actually no, I don’t do this often. But tonight was special for you all, right? A treat to say thank you for loving me over the years.”

You want to hug him at that; the love and affection in his voice is so strong. He’ll miss this, you know he will. But Hoseok is also stubborn, and you know that he won’t change his mind.

“Does she have her own shows? No, she doesn’t,” He pauses and looks at you with a bright smile, the familiar heart shape warming your own heart. “I should stop talking like you’re not here. But seriously...thank you for all your love and support over the years. It’s meant a lot, and I’m glad that you’ve loved me in turn. I’ll miss you all.”

Hoseok waves at the camera, smiling brightly and laughing at the comments as they fly past. “I love you all! I hope all you dirty folk find someone new to keep you in your place. But for now, HopeWorld is officially closed.”

And with that, he turns off live stream.

It’s silent for a few seconds before he looks at you and presses a kiss to your forehead. He doesn’t move, just lets his lips rest there before he’s nosing at your hairline while his arms wrap around you.

“You did really good. A natural on camera. And you looked beautiful. And I’m not entirely sure I’m feeling my legs yet.” Snorting, you lean back slightly to look him in the eyes.

“Are you okay?” You’re asking both about his physical and mental state after what happened but also about closing down his camshow career. His lips purse before he nods.

“Yep. I’m good. I love you.” He whispers before kissing you slowly. A rumble of pleasure leaves his chest and you smile into it.

“Love you too. And now I believe I owe you some aftercare, so shower it is Mr Jung.”

“Yes future-Mrs Jung. Your fiancé needs his cuddles.”

“And he’ll get them. Once he’s clean.”

[aye-write]

Summary: Research student Isla Reid has been fascinated with the legend of the Kildonian Chessmen - a trio of mythical Pokemon rumoured to have lived centuries ago on the remote region of Kildo - for as long as she can remember. So, when a museum exhibit on the Chessmen is set to open in Kildo’s Hydrogate City, coinciding with her independent research project, she packs herself and her trusty partner Furret onto the long ferry journey bound for this new region.

However, when she arrives in Kildo, thoughts of her research, new friends, and an entire Pokedex’s worth of new Pokemon, are quickly dashed. Kildo is a troubled place, beset by natural disasters and fierce rivalries among its people. Isla suddenly finds herself at the centre of a centuries-old plot to invoke the wrath of the Chessmen, and is set on a race against time to stop them, before it spells destruction for the entire region.

Other Links: Read it on Ao3!

Tags: OC Pokemon journey, OC region, Fakemon region, bisexual main character, found family, ace main character.

If you are not interested in these posts, especially as I know Pokemon journeyfic is fairly niche, please blacklist the tag #Checkmate. Most of the story will be put under a Readmore anyway!

Author’s Note: This is a mammoth chapter (over 5k!) but it wouldn't have felt right ending it at any other point. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! I am hoping to keep up a bimonthly update schedule to give me plenty of time to focus on work and my other novels, so I'm aiming for February 7th as my next update date! Anyway, here we go with chapter one! 

*****

Chapter One

Isla Reid stared down at the churning ocean and wondered what would happen if she fell overboard.  

It could happen, she reasoned. The railings felt flimsy and only came up to her waist. With no ferry staff nearby and only a handful of other passengers too preoccupied with puffing on cigarettes, or watching their Pokemon, would anyone even notice if she did fall? Someone’s Snubbull careened past and Isla could have sworn she heard it cackle. That was another thought. A collision with a Snubbull could easily launch a full-grown person six or seven feet. At least. More than enough to send her over the railings and down into the roiling ocean below. It wouldn’t be pretty, no, but she would have taken anything over what was coming next.

Over my dead body, her mother declared when Isla gave her the news, will my daughter be going halfway around the world alone. As if she’d conveniently forgotten the past four years Isla had spent working and living independently the moment that inter-regional travel was more than a fragile possibility. Before she knew it, her mother had taken over, sitting at the telephone with the air of a military general and a dog-eared phonebook that hadn’t seen the light of day since Isla was a child. Banging the phone down ten minutes later, her mother announced that if she really must go all the way to Kildo (but you really should reconsider, darling, it’s ever so dangerous!), she would be collected from the ferry by her cousins. Cousins they’d had no contact with in years. Cousins that, if she was being honest, Isla had forgotten even existed.

Isla fixed her gaze forward. The ocean unspooled in every direction, slate-grey water in a haze of mist. The ferry ploughed on, swaying like the rocking of a newborn baby, kicking up fans of white foam. A man hanging over the railings made a funny burping noise as they cleared a large wave. Soba mewled and pushed her head into Isla’s clenched hands until she relaxed them enough to pet her. They were getting closer. And she definitely wasn’t in Johto anymore.

A stir of movement behind her and she was pulled back from her percolating thoughts. A group of men shifted through a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke towards the seats. The youngest, who couldn’t have been more than thirteen or fourteen, had a Pidgey perched on his shoulder and a frown deepening his face.

“Shouldn’t we go inside?” he prompted the older men, glancing up at the leaded sky. “It looks like it’s going to rain. I saw on the news that another storm is coming.”

“Don’t be daft!” a man with a wiry beard laughed. His accent was thick, heavy on the vowels, and took Isla a moment to understand. “We’ll be docked well before any bad weather hits.”

“You hope,” the younger boy muttered, but it was drowned out by laughter. “Dad, I’m serious! Remember I was telling you about ADoomWithAView – that streamer? He said that all these storms and stuff are because the Vitalities are angry with— Dad? Dad! Dad, I’m trying to talk to you.”

“Son, you would do well to stop listening to that brainwashing drivel.”

“It’s not brainwashing! I’m serious! Humanity’s dependence on technology is what—”

The rest of the boy’s protests were drowned out by a prolonged blast of the ship’s horn. In the distance, something loomed out of the thinning mist. Land. They were approaching land. Soba squeaked as a ding-dong-ding rang out and a voice, in that same thick accent, crackled over the speakers.

“Good afternoon, passengers, we will soon be arriving in Port Glen. Passengers are reminded that all personal belongings and luggage must be removed from the baggage area, communal spaces, and all outer decks before disembarking. For those disembarking via the gangplank, a reminder that all Pokemon – with the exception of service Pokemon – must be safely stowed in Pokeballs and not released until you are safely onto the harbour. To repeat, we will soon be arriving in Port Glen. Passengers are reminded—”

Isla’s heart tightened in her chest. This was it. They were here.

She let her Furret bump against her hands, Soba’s soft fur instantly soothing. “I guess it’s time to face the unknown, eh?”

“Fur!” Soba squeaked.

Isla waited until nearly everyone else had disappeared down the gangplank before braving it herself. She’d travelled as light as possible, much to her mother’s disdain, but the backpack still felt she like she was hauling around a bag of rocks instead of a few changes of clothes and a laptop. Anxiety prickled over her skin – or was it just the cold? – as she faced her first tentative steps into Kildo.

She was almost disappointed when she looked out onto a perfectly ordinary little port town. Tucked into an alcove of beach, Port Glen’s harbour was filled with people and the dreamy hues of blue and green. The town lay ahead in a generous curve, bordered by a strip of sea that already looked darker, almost black, under the deepening sky. A thin wind roused the hair on the back of her neck.

Her mother had given her a reference photograph of Rhona, the cousin who was supposed to be meeting her. Related by marriage through some obscure aunt, Isla struggled to notice even one iota of family resemblance between them. The woman in the photograph had pale skin and a shock of red curls, but not much else in the way of distinguishing features.

At the bottom of the gangplank, Isla swept her gaze around, desperate for a sign of her chaperone. But there was no-one waiting. And as the last few passengers sidestepped her, heading towards the town, Isla suddenly felt very small and very alone. While she hadn’t been thrilled at the prospect of staying, even temporarily, with strangers, being alone in a new place hundreds of miles from home was an entirely different brand of anxiety.

Panicky thoughts looped through Isla’s head. Where was Rhona? Why wasn’t she here? Had she forgotten? Had she somehow missed her? Or maybe she just hadn’t seen her yet. But who was still here? She could see a sailor tying ropes, a child wailing at a dropped ice cream, a woman arguing with a… what even was that?

The Pokemon looked like an ordinary Wingull at first, so much so that she nearly skipped over it, but the longer she looked, the more she saw that was wrong with it. This Pokemon was much rounder, a body like it’d swallowed a bowling ball, and its wings were shorter and rimmed with black, rather than the traditional blue. Isla delved for her battered old Pokedex and lined it up with this new Pokemon.

“Wingull, the Seagull Pokemon. Facing competition from Chibber for natural resources, Wingull have resorted to stealing food from witless tourists instead. As such, it has gained weight over time, as well as a more deceiving nature.”

So it was a Kildonian Wingull! That made sense. Isla was the first to admit that her knowledge of native Kildo Pokemon was lacking – a poor decision in hindsight – but she really should have been able to work out it was a regional variant. A flush deepened her cheeks as she imagined her professor’s scowl.

With no guardian in sight, Isla watched the scene unfolding in front of her. The Kildonian Wingull screeched as it dove at the offending woman at the end of the docks, the sound rippling over the wind. There was something in the woman’s hands, something that the Wingull seemed intent on, certainly enough not to be deterred at the attempts to fend it off. Isla let her bag fall and released Soba from her Pokeball.

“Soba, go and help! Use Quick Attack to chase that Pokemon away!”

Soba bulleted towards the struggling woman, squashing herself flat against the ground like a snake, rising into a fierce, full-body strike when the unsuspecting Wingull’s back was turned. With another ear-splitting screech, the Wingull went down like a sack of potatoes.

By the time Isla caught up, the Wingull was gone, dropping into the water of the harbour with an indignant squawk. The woman it had accosted looked harassed as she tried to piece together a ripped plastic bag brimming with wrapped sandwiches.

“Are you alright?” Isla asked, patting her thigh to call Soba back to her side.

“Oh, I’m fine, chick, but I can’t say the same about my lunch! Those Wingull are a terrible nuisance. These tourists think it’s funny to feed them and then it’s us locals that have to live with them. Oh shoot,” she cursed as one of the sandwiches slipped out of her grasp.

Isla ducked down to retrieve it. “Here, let me help you.”

“Oh, thank you, chick,” the woman said. “I have a spare bag here. Gosh, I can’t thank you enough for stopping to help. Usually when a Wingull gets its sights on your food, it’s a foregone conclusion.”

“They definitely seem a lot more, uh, food-oriented than the ones we have back home!” Isla laughed as she helped drop the sandwiches into the new bag.

“Back home?” the woman’s eyes brightened. “Oh, I thought your accent wasn’t local. You’re Isla, right? I can’t believe I didn’t realise it straight away. You’re the spit of your mum, so you are.”

Isla tried very hard not to mind being compared to her mother, but she took a small comfort in the fact that her waif of a mother would be far more scandalised. Was this woman really her cousin? Rhona, if this was her, was pleasantly round, much bigger than she was in the photograph. And while she was still small compared to Isla, it felt like a comfort to finally see another woman in their family that looked like her. And Rhona was pretty, her red curls pulled into a modest bun and her plump skin pebbledashed with freckles. She met Rhona’s eyes and they filled with warmth. Instantly, Isla felt soothed.

“Yes!” she said, barely able to hide her relief. “I’m Isla. And you’re Mrs—”

“Now, chick, you’ll call me Rhona. We’re family after all.”

“Rhona,” Isla corrected herself shyly. “Thanks ever so for letting me stay.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem, dear. Always happy to have visitors! I’m just sorry I’m a bit late, I’d stopped to pick up lunch and that blasted Wingull got a sniff of it. Chased me all the way down from the road end! If it hadn’t been for you and your lovely, uh… what Pokemon is this, dear?”

“This is Soba,” Isla stroked Furret and she purred appreciatively. “She’s a Furret. I’m not sure if you have them here. We’ve been partners for years.”

“She’s gorgeous!” Rhona said. “Don’t leave her alone with my daughter, though, she’s obsessed with all things Pokemon. She might try and adopt her!”

“You have a daughter?” Isla asked, frantically wracking her brain to try and remember if her mother had ever mentioned that.

“Yes, my Skye. She’s thirteen and Pokemon daft. And there’s my son, Blair. He’s the same age as you, give or take. They’re both very much looking forward to meeting you.”

Isla felt like something had just severed her at the chest. Why hadn’t her mother mentioned Rhona had children? Living with one stranger had been a scary enough prospect, now there were two more cousins to contend with?

“Come on, chick, shall we head off?”

As the harbour decking melted into gravel path, Rhona’s questioning amplified – How’s your mum? How has she been getting on? Does she still see Great Aunt Florence? Does she enjoy working for herself? – as if she were trying to make up for ten years of missed conversation. Even though Isla could only give short answers, Rhona still nodded and responded as if she’d just given her the secrets of the universe.

“So, what about you, Isla?” Rhona eventually asked as they turned away from the streets and approached a dirt road, littered with pebbles. “Your Mum said you needed a place to stay for a while, but she was a bit hazy with the details. What brings you all the way to Kildo?”

By the time Isla finished explaining her final year thesis proposal, Rhona oohing and ahhing the whole way through, they were coming up on the Whispering Pines Croft. A weather-beaten cottage sat beneath the shade of a looming forest and sloping hills. Fencing laced through the land like thread through fabric, bordering off sections of patchwork ground in brown and green and the occasional flash of vibrant purple. If Isla squinted hard enough, she could make out a field full of Miltank grazing in the distance. Another field to its left was occupied with the puffy, cotton-wool silhouettes of Wooloo. The whole place smelled of earth and mud, with a tinge of salt, wafting in by the ocean-bound breeze.

Rhona paused to catch her breath. “The Whispering Pines Croft has been in our family for generations. Every generation, we seem to find something new to build.” Indeed, the cottage looked like a mishmash, a Frankenstein’s monster of building expansions. “We do all sorts here. Livestock, farming, everything. The soil isn’t as forgiving as it is in other regions, it’s full of salt from the ocean, but we manage.”

Rhona didn’t take her shoes off when they clomped inside, but Isla slipped hers off, conscious of the mud clinging to the bottom of her soles. She put Soba in her Pokeball for the same reason. Rhona led her through to a kitchen with a low ceiling, steamy with condensation, and thick with the smell of baked apples. Like the house itself, the kitchen had a hodgepodge feel, a cosy mismatch. A proper family place, a life centred around a kitchen table.

“You can throw your stuff anywhere,” Rhona said, but Isla, totally out of her depth and wishing very much she could shrink to half her size to accommodate herself in this tiny, bustling place, just slotted her backpack in the gap by the fridge.

“Can I help you with anything?” Isla asked, the pressure of standing there like a stubbed toe eclipsing every other feeling.

“No, chick, you sit yourself down. You must be tired,” Rhona said as she laid the sandwiches down on the table.  “Here, you take first choice, but be warned, if there isn’t an egg and cress left for my mother, she’ll fall out with you.”

Isla’s hand froze. “Your mum lives with you?”

“Yes. She went with my Dad to assisted living for a while, but when he passed, well, it was easier on everyone to have her here. Does her the world of good to be around people and have a little independence,” Rhona said over the clatter of plates. “She’s got more hobbies than I do, in fact! She teaches classes in the old Kildonian language on the weekends too. Keeps her out of mischief.”

“Really?” Isla’s heart leapt to her throat. “The Kildonian language is something I wanted to look into for my report!”

“Well, that’s a happy coincidence then. I’m sure she’ll be happy to go over some of it with you. Oh, hang on a moment,” she said, reaching up to pull a Pokeball from an apron hanging on the kitchen door. “I’m just going to call everyone to the table.”

Isla’s mouthful of cheese salad sandwich almost ended up splattering the table as Rhona tossed the Pokeball to the ground, and the kitchen was invaded by a flurry of grey and red feathers. The Pokemon – whatever it was – came up to Rhona’s hip, had a squat body, long muscular legs, and powerful wings that it beat to great effect as it noticed the stranger. Isla yelped as the Pokemon cocked its head, its movements quick and jerky, like the ticking of a clock.

“Ruchter, calm your feathers,” Rhona said, tapping the Pokemon on its haunches. It clucked and crowed, shaking its head fiercely. “This is Isla. She’ll be staying with us for a bit.”

The Pokemon relaxed, but still fixed Isla with a withering glare. Isla consulted her Pokedex.

“Ruchter, the Farmer Pokemon. The evolved form of Chickter. Able to precisely work tough soil with their talons, Ruchter can cover a small field in minutes. Despite looking old and frail, they are tireless, and can work for hours without a break.”

Rhona ruffled the Pokemon’s tail feathers. “Ruchter, please go and fetch Blair and Skye from the fields.”

The Pokemon was off before Rhona could even finish her sentence, barrelling out the door with all the grace of a drunk Tauros.

Rhona poured tea into a flowery mug and arranged one of the sandwiches on a matching plate. “Isla, I’m just going to pop up with this for my Mum. I’ll be right back. There’s lemonades and sodas in the fridge, so help yourself.” Rhona was halfway up the stairs when she called back, “And if my two come in tracking mud everywhere, make sure they wash their hands before sitting down!”

The tightness in Isla’s chest squeezed harder. Any moment now she was going to be dropped into a meeting with two new mystery cousins. What would they be like? Would they like her? Would they think she was weird, as most people did? The memories of barbed stares resurfaced like a Sharpedo’s fin breaking the water. Strangers, her peers, her friends, even her own family, all of them silently judging her, as she tried to navigate life being both big and invisible.

No, she needed to calm down. Spiralling wouldn’t help. She repeated it like a mantra inside her head. She hadn’t even met them, and she’d already decided they wouldn’t like her. She had to get better at this.

All the same, her stomach stayed knotted and eating felt like the last thing she wanted to do. Though maybe she should wait until her cousins came in anyway, do the polite thing. She paused and went to the fridge instead, opening and draining half a can of fizzy lemonade. The bubbles pulsed through her twisty stomach, prickling like pins and needles.

She heard the voices before she saw their owners, one deep and droning, the other light and lilting. Then the door swung open, Ruchter scrambling inside in a skittering of talons on wooden floor, two people bringing up the rear.

“Skye, take off your shoes! Mam will go mad if you track mud in.”

He hadn’t seen her. Neither of them had. She didn’t know if that felt better or worse. As the two of them tromped towards the sink, she cleared her throat.

The oldest – a young man with long red hair tied in a ponytail – stopped in his tracks. “Oh, hey! You must be Isla? Nice to meet you,” he extended a hand covered in mud only to retract it when he saw Isla staring. “Maybe later, eh? Skye, make room at the sink please.”

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Isla said over the sound of running water. “Blair and Skye, right?”

“That’s us!” Blair shook his hands off at the sink. “Nice to have you here, cousin. It’s quite something having family coming from all the way in Johto, isn’t it, Skye?”

Skye moved like a ghost, silently staring under a canopy of brown fringe. “Do you have Johto Pokemon?”

Isla blinked. “Ah, yes. Just one though.”

“I want to see.”

“Oh,” Isla looked at Blair and then to Ruchter. “Is that okay?”

“Go ahead!” Blair took a savage bite out of a cheese and pickle sandwich. “Let me just put Ruchter out so the two don’t end up in a scrap.”

After Ruchter went haring out to the garden in pursuit of scattered pellets, Isla let Soba bounce out of her Pokeball. Her younger cousin’s eyes lit up.

“She’s so pretty! What is she?”

“She’s a Furret. They evolve from something called a Sentret. They’re kind of common around where I live, I’m afraid,” she added with a nervous chuckle, then wondered why on earth she was apologising.  

“What type is she?”

“Normal.”

“Is she strong?”

“She’s not super strong, but we’ve been together for seven years. She knows how to handle herself.”

“What moves does she know?”

“Quick Attack, Fury Swipes, Rest, things like that.”  

“What’s her nature?”

“The lady at the Pokemon Centre thinks she’s Bashful, if I remember right.”

“Does she have any TM moves?” And before Isla could answer, Skye kept going. “What’s her favourite Rock flavour? Where did you get her from? Does she—”

“Hey, easy up, Miss Missy,” Blair nudged his sister. “Come on, let Isla relax and eat her lunch. You need to get something in you too. Keep your strength up for the big day.”

Skye rolled her eyes but did as she was told.

“Big day?” Isla asked, desperate for something to fill the silence.

“Skye is going to Aberdrip City in a few days to get her very first Pokemon,” Blair said proudly.

Isla smiled encouragingly but the fact that her younger cousin was a year late in getting her first Pokemon didn’t escape her attention. She decided not to ask as Skye chattered on about Aberdrip City and how she still hadn’t decided which starter she wanted. By the time Rhona came back downstairs, Isla felt fuller and warmer than she had in days.

“I see you guys are getting acquainted,” Rhona smiled, collapsing into the chair next to her daughter and dropping a kiss on her head. “Here, what did you leave me? Ugh, cream cheese and cucumber. I don’t know why they keep it in the multibuy deal, no-one likes it.” She took a bite anyway. “How are you, Isla?”

“I’m good,” Isla said, and she meant it. “Thanks again for having me. It’s a real help.”

“So, what are your plans for Kildo?” Blair asked, nibbling on a crust. “Seeing anywhere nice?”

“I’m here for a research trip,” Isla said. “I’m doing a project on the legend of the Chessmen Pokemon, so really, what I want to do is visit the places that the Chessmen were rumoured to live, and then finish up with the exhibition in Hydrogate City.”

“Hydrogate is a long way to travel,” Blair said seriously. “Especially with all the… complications.”

Rhona shot Blair a fierce look. “Now, Blair, don’t go terrifying the poor lass! There’s nothing wrong, chick. Just a bit of funny weather.”

“And the rest, Mam! There was a landslip near Auchtermelty the other day. They reckon it could take days to clear. It’s totally stopped trade and deliveries; they have to go the long way around. Wee Arthur – that’s Auchtermelty’s Gym Leader, Isla – has been trying to dig it out single handed with his Pokemon but even he had to stop because it was too dangerous.”

“Arabella’s mother says it’s because the Vitalities are unhappy,” Skye interjected.

“Arabella’s mother needs to take a long walk off a short pier,” Blair said, and Skye let out a snort of laughter.

“Blair, watch your mouth,” Rhona said, without looking up.

“Well how stupid can you get?” Blair said. “The Vitalities aren’t to blame for this.”

“Wait, what’s all this about?” Isla asked, confused.

“Just an old legend, chick.” Rhona said. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of them, considering you’re interested in the Chessmen tale.”  

“Of course she hasn’t,” a voice rasped from the doorway and Isla nearly dropped her can of lemonade. Standing in the door’s alcove was an elderly woman, skin deeply lined, and grey hair styled into a candyfloss-like perm. She was tiny – maybe a whole foot smaller than Blair – but her voice was sharp and crisp like every word held a pointed edge. “Incomers don’t make a habit of learning our secrets,” the woman said, fixing her gaze on Isla. “Then they wouldn’t be secrets, would they?”

“Mum!” Rhona said, her voice tight. “What are you doing up?”

“You think I wouldn’t get up to greet our guest? Especially one who has such a vetted interest in our local legends?”

“Oh, here we go,” Blair stood up. “I think I’m going to get the Miltank in. Looks like a storm on the horizon. Skye, are you coming?”

Isla glanced out the window. The sky had turned granite-grey, swirled with black.  When Skye and Blair left, a thin wind send the temperature plummeting. Rhona fiddled with the thermostat and the heating clanged into life, but it didn’t make a difference. Icy fingers had worked their way up Isla’s spine the minute the old woman had spoken.

“Isla, this is my mum, Morag. You can call her Nana Morag though, as my two do.” Rhona said. “Mum, why don’t you tell Isla about the Vitalities while I wash up?”

“Why not?” Nana Morag said, settling herself into the chair that Skye left empty. “The Vitalities legend dates to round about the same time as the Chessmen. Think of the two as intertwined, rather than separate. The Vitalities, made up of Voltean, Burnach, Creakrone, and Liathsong, were said to be able to give – and take – all forms of energy from the world around them. Legend has it that the earliest settlers, who came here centuries ago, were given gifts from the Vitalities that allowed them to heat their homes, harness the ocean, work on the harsh land, and even have some form of electricity hundreds of years before it became common use. Now, the Chessmen, they were different. They were said to control—”

“I know this,” Isla couldn’t help herself. “They’re known as the Progression, Expression, and Protection Pokemon. They gave early Kildonians the means to develop industry, arts, and security.”

The old woman nodded approvingly. “You know your stuff. Very good for an incomer.”

“Mother,” Rhona said warningly.

“You know how the legend ends, yes?” Nana Morag checked. “The Chessmen, enraged with how humans squandered their gifts, tore the region apart and set humanity back hundreds of years. The Chessmen became dormant and the Vitalities were banished, leaving the humans to rebuild alone. Many people believe the Vitalities are responsible for all the natural disasters—”

“They’re not disasters, Mother.”

“—because they’re still furious about being banished all those years ago.”

“Fascinating,” Isla breathed out. “Is there anything else you can tell me about them?”

“I think, for now, we’ll get you sorted in your room, shall we?” Rhona interjected hastily.

“Oh, of course. Thank you,” Isla said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

As she manoeuvred her backpack out of the gap by the fridge, Nana Morag caught her by the elbow, her thin, bony hand proving a surprisingly strong grip. “I have some books that you might find interesting. I’ll drop them off for you later.”

And then Isla was climbing the creaky old stairs, ready to try and slot herself into this strange new home with these strange new people.

**

The rest of the day passed slowly, like petals of a flower unfurling in the sun. She met Kenneth, Rhona’s husband, who split his time between the farm and the market in town. He was frighteningly tall, too tall for the cottages’ low ceilings, and he walked with a noticeable hump even when there was enough space. Rhona was a mean cook, serving up a vast pot of bubbling stew, and Isla had to banish all thoughts of whether the meat too was “home-grown” from her head in order to enjoy it.

Tiredness swept in the moment she laid her knife and fork down. The night came in so much faster in Kildo than Johto, and it felt somehow thicker and darker, like she was swaddled in a large black cloak. She was glad when Rhona took one look at her when the family was doing the final storm checks on the farm and sent her straight up to bed.

Maybe it was the fresh air, maybe it was the excitement, maybe it was the long journey, but the second her head hit the pillow, Isla was dead asleep.

Hours slipped by, or maybe it was minutes, until her world was split apart by a huge bang! She sat bolt upright, cocooned in slippery blankets, and it was all she could do not to topple headfirst out of the bed. As the world phased in around her, freezing cold air gusted into the tiny room, causing goosepimples to erupt on her bare skin. The window, left on the latch before she fell asleep, had blown open. The storm had hit.

Slamming the light on, she untangled herself and grappled with the slippery latch. Eventually she shut out the wind. Outside, everything was pitch black like the swirl of spilled ink, and the rain lashed against the house, sounding like bullets. Isla pressed her face to the window, her breath misting the glass. Something bobbed in the distance, a single pin of light, moving through the velvety dark. It looked too small to be Blair or Kenneth. But who else would be out there during a storm?

The light moved closer. Isla scrubbed impatiently at the fogged glass, terrified that if she took her eyes away, even for a moment, it would disappear. It grew, doubling first, then tripling in size, then a crack of lightning split the sky. Isla let out a gasp as her entire room plunged into darkness. The power was out.

The light in the garden was growing brighter.

Or was it really a light? It looked almost solid now. Like a real living thing. Or maybe not a something. Maybe a someone. Something behind the light looked like the silhouette of a child.

It intensified, burning so bright that it seared Isla’s eyes and for a moment, all she saw was white. Then it faded and was gone. The lamp on her bedside table flickered back into life. The winds seemed to calm. The rain simpered to a stop. And Isla was alone, aside from the impression of a pair of wide, childlike eyes burned into the back of her head.

**

As we have a full Pokedex (130+ Fakemon), we decided to provide more details about each new Pokemon as it's introduced, especially as we may not always be able to give full details for each one. These aren't necessary to enjoy the story but it's here for anyone who is interested. So, here are the dex entries for Kildonian Wingull and Ruchter!

Kildonian Wingull Number: 041 Type: Water/Flying Evolution: Kleptern at Lv25 Abilities: Keen Eye/Pickpocket. HA: Rain Dish Stats: 50/55/30/30/30/75 Dex Description: Facing severe competition from Chibber for natural resources, Wingull have resorted to stealing food from witless tourists instead. As such, it has gained weight over time, but has also gained a more deceiving nature.

Ruchter Number: 090 Type: Flying/Ground Evolution: Evolved from Chickter (Happiness, Male-only) Abilities: Early Bird/Tough Claws. HA: Vital Spirit Stats: 100/125/55/50/55/90 Dex Description: Ruchter, the Farmer Pokemon. The evolved form of Chickter. Able to precisely work tough soil with their talons, Ruchter can cover a small field in minutes. Despite looking old and frail, they are tireless, and can work for hours without a break.”

[smokahuntis]

Genu Soca

genu soca

Warnings: Violence, angst, Smut, breakup, baby yoda

Pairing: Mando/Din X Bounty hunter! Reader

Song: KneeSocks ~ Arctic Monkeys

Summery : Din dwells on the past when him and Arabella/(y/n) were partners

Authors note: this is part 2 to Arbellis

You got the lights on in the afternoon

6 years ago, Murderer, assassin, weapon, legend, Arabella, that’s what most people called (y/n), but today, Din called her sick. They had made a particularly long trip to Hoth, she can managed to get a cold. It wasn’t a surprise since the uniform she wore had more weapons on it then anything warm, the cat suit was not made for the cold, it was made for the job. However she did have her rather long fur coat on, it did her no good in hoth.

Din was out working another job, this one alone because he ordered her to stay on the Razor Crest so she could get better, even if they were in Tatoonie. She didn’t argue with him tho, she was just now starting to get better and she didn’t want to ruin it, plus she hates Tatoonie. Correction, She hates sand.

An' the nights are drawn out long

When he returned and froze the quarry he came back up the latter handing her a small bowl of broth that made her smile and take it from him. “Thank you,” she said leaning back in the passenger seat eating.

He sat down taking his helmet off placing it aside looking at her. His eyes raked her body, her eyes, her exposed neck, down to her exposed thighs and the knee socks she wore, it made him laugh. “You look better today”

And you’re kissin' to cut through the gloom

“I feel better too,” she said placing the now empty bowl beside her as she looked at him, giving a small smile, “better enough to kiss you too.” His ears perked up with that and he moved over placing his lips against hers softly. He’d missed it, she wouldn’t let him do it while she was sick, she was worried she’d get him sick and they wouldn’t have any money, because if there both sick they can’t work, they can’t get money.

“I missed that” he said against her lips smirking, she got a chill down her spine. As she bite his lip, and pulled him closer.

With a cough drop coloured tongue

She hummed against his lips and pulled him closer by the back of his neck. He nipped starts her lips and his tongue began to explore her mouth, loving the taste of her, she was intoxicating to him. Right now she tasted like Cherries and mint.

She moaned battling with him for dominance, when she won she pulled away looking at him. “He gotta get to Nevvaro.” She said patting his chest and he rolled his eyes frustrated, but he listened and began to fly back to Nevvaro.

And you were sittin' in the corner, With the coats, all piled high

By the time they were half way there she was quiet, too quiet, so he looked away from the stars to look at her asleep in the corner with all of his coats and hers piled up around her. It made him smile, he never thought he’d loose her.

He looked back at the stars letting her sleep, his mind roaming all over the place. Would he still be doing this in 5 years? Where will he be? Would you still be with him in 5 years? Or Would you decide to settle down with some guild master and have a family? The thoughts raked his mind.

And I thought you might be mine, in a small world.

When he arrived in nevvaro he took care of the quarries and (y/n) made her way to the small apartment they shared on the outer side of Nevarro City. Upon walking in she untied the string that held her coat around her, reveling herself in just a blue T-shirt.

The Apartment was small, Studio, but it fit them perfectly, it was just them. A large bed, small kitchen and living space and a bathroom, it’s all they needed, plus they didn’t spend much time there, they usually just spend a couple of days after a long working period. It was suitable, and it was home.

On an Exceptionally rainy Tuesday night.

She laid in the bed loving the way it felt compared to sitting in the razor crests for 8 months. She hummed, not even noticing when Din walked in, not until he dropped his riffle on the counter. Looking over her shoulder at him she smiled and closed her eyes. “What time is it?” She asked closing her eyes.

“Midnight.” He said walking over to her taking off his beskar bit by bit as he did, letting it drop to the floor below him. His hands wrapping around her shoulders and kissing the exposed skin of her neck. “Get some sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.” He stayed causing her to him as she fell asleep.

Well, you cured my January blues

But he wasn’t, he wasn’t there when she woke up, she looked around for him and he wasn’t there. Not him, his riffles, not even a whistling bird left behind. She got dressed in uniform to go see if Greef has seen him, said he grabbed bounty’s last night and hasn’t seen him since. Frustration ran threw her as she went back to the apartment she found a note attached to one of her riffle.

Fury, ran threw her, the fuse she tried to hide away so it could never be lit, was blazing , sparking, breaking every piece of furniture the apartment. After everything was broken and wrecked she calmed down, understanding as she read over the note again, she understood.

Yeah, you made it all alright

Months past and she had managed to find herself with a guild master, not just any guild master, The Lythion assassins. He was right, she would settle down with a guild master, but never in the way he pictured.

He had gotten a Bounty on the man, and when he arrived he was surprised to find her knocked out and cuffed to a chair. The sight slowed his movements, moving towards the target slowly, that’s when she walked out, as breathe taking as every. In nothing but that sky blue t-shirt and her black knee socks. “I heard you were coming.” She said as her hands rested on the shoulders of the quarry.

I got a feelin' I might have lit the very fuse.

“(Y/N)” he said looking at her, noticing the knife in her hands. “Don’t do this.” He said placing his riffle on the floor to show he comes in peace. Looking over her, she was beautiful, she was different. Her hair was longer her skin cleaner then he’s ever seen it, but the shirt, the shirt was still his. He moved over to her slowly, watching her threw the visor. “I need him alive.”

“You can have him.” She said snapping her fingers and two men can out from behind him, causing Din to grab his guns and hold them out, but the men paid him no mind as they took her knocked out lover away and to his ship. Once the doors where closed she walked over to din, his hands moved taking the knife from her hand placing it on a table. “Take your helmet off...” she said watching him, her eyes raked his body.

That you were tryin’ not to light

With a click and a hiss, the beskar helmet hit the floor, a flood of emotion came running back to both of them. But a harsh slap came first, reddening his right cheek. He sighed knowing he deserved that. “Why did you leave?” She said, her voice no longer had it’s cool calm tone, it was harsh, sharp like her knives.

“What were we doing?” He countered her question with another. “We are to different (y/n), I’m a Mandolorian and you...” he gestures around him to the large extravagant bedroom around them and shook his head. “You kill people... I— I don’t even know you anymore.”he said looking at her

You were a stranger in my phonebook

“Don’t act like you don’t.” She said looking at him.

“I can’t act like I don’t, but that’s not my job either, it’s yours.”

“You act like you don’t like it.” She said looking at him, his lips separated to speak but nothing came out. He look back down at her and tried with all he could to fight it but he couldn’t, he gave in to temptation and he kissed her pulling her to him. She tangled her hands into his hair, the feeling of home evaded her senses, that apartment was never home, it was him, it was each other.

I was actin’ like a know

His hands moved picking her up with ease as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His lips never left hers, even when he placed her onto the bed. moving over her, his lips moved down her jaw, neck, Chest. Her hands moved down to take off the shirt she wore, but his hands stopped her. “Don’t, you look like a goddess in my clothes.” He said kissing her again and moving down kissing her inner thighs, she let out a needy whimper as her hands tangled into his hair.

One hand held her down and the other stumbled to get the Beskar off his body as quickly as he could. Nipping at her threw her panties, only sampling the flavor of heaven. Once he was done with removing his beskar he removed her panties and dived into ocean of sweet nectar. She let out a strangled moan as she bucked her hips to meet his mouth but his hands held her down.

‘Cause I had nothing to loose

She moaned and gripped at his hair only causing him to moan into her, but just as she was in the brink of an orgasm he pulled away causing her to whimper. “Din, please” he smirked and moved up to her, it wasn’t till now she noticed he was naked. “You look as amazing as the day I met you.” She said placing her hand on his chests, running it over the warmth.

“The day we met you almost killed me.” He said chuckling, running his left hand under her shirt, over her stomachs, worshipping having her here.

When the winter’s in full swing

“And you still managed to render me speechless.” She said kissing him and moving her hands to his back, and he replied.

“I haven’t made you speechless yet darling,” and thrust into her started a pace quickly, needy, passionately. He kissed her with emotion and sensually slow. His pace became steady and it was no long harsh or fast, it was slow and passionate. It was a goodbye.

And your dreams just aren’t comin' true

Her nails dig into his back grasping at him trying to keep him there, keep him with her. She couldn’t let him go again, but she knows she needs to. She knows she needs to forget the feeling of him deep inside her, making her body shake. She needed to forget what his kisses felt like and how he made love to her.

Love, that’s what this was, this wasn’t just sex after a hard bounty, this was love. This was him saying what his words could never. This was him saying he’d always find his way back to her, to her arms.

Ain’t it funny what you’ll do?

She grabbed a hold of his shoulders and flipped them so she was on top of him, stripping away his shirt and only being in her knee socks. His hands came up to grip her breasts as she rocked herself on him, pulling moans and grunts from each other like it was there own language. “I’ll always come back to you (y/n)” he said looking at her, she smiled throwing her head back feeling the coil inside her tighten. “No no, “ he sat up grabbing the back of her head making her look at him. “I want to see those eyes when you fall apart baby,” she moaned nodding looking at him, the coil tightened even more. “Look at you, ruining yourself on my cock, Gods, you’re prettier then the stars.” She let out one last loud moan of his name, as she tightened around and came all over him.

He finished shortly after, pumping his hot cum into her as he road out there orgasms. He pulled her flush against him holding her there not wanting to ever let her go again, but he had to.

You and me could have been a team

Present, He came back to reality when the ship came out of hyper space and slowed down, his hands were still on her back as he kissed her head.

“What were you thinking about?” She asked looking up at him. Her small hand playing with the curls on his neck.

“The last time I saw you...” he said looking down at her. “When I left...” she could feel the pain in his tone, she could feel it in herself.

Each had a half of a king and queen seat

“You wanted to me to be happy,” she said he hand falling onto his jaw gently. “You just never thought that maybe it was you that made me that way...” she smiled and kissed him. “And you were so stubborn, “ she giggled, warming his heart. “There was no way to convince you to stay, so I never tried.” His hands rubbed her back as he smiled.

They both smiled as they fell into a comfortable silence, a silence that was broken by a quiet coo. It drew her to attention, and she looked over mando a shoulder seeing the small green child.

Like the beginning of Mean streets

“You have a child...” she said moving off of his lap to pick up the little bundle of joy. She picked him up and smiled brightly, it was always her dream to have a child, but she never could, no matter how hard they tried. It’s why she’d give her life to protect any of them. “When did you? Is he yours?” She asked looking at him.

“He’s a foundling, so kinda.” Din said standing walking over to them and hugging them both, like the little family they are. Whole again, that’s what he felt like, he felt whole again.

You could be my baby

Taglist: @24kgolden @hxldmxdxwn

[isitmadness]

A Handsome Stranger

summary: Driving 1,300 miles in a truck with a complete stranger. This will be fine. This was what desperation will get you. Desperation and something akin to love-at-first-sight.

relationships: Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi

words: 1.4k

a/n: I liked the idea of these two idiots on a road trip in an AU/modern setting, so I wrote one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I've made part of their trip before, but not all, so please forgive inaccuracies as I don't live on the west coast of the US. Google was my friend. Also, other characters will come in later. 

Read it on ao3

Part 1: A Handsome Stranger at the Airport

At first glance, the man looked stuffy and fussy, standing there in his tan slacks, collared shirt and blue sweater. Cody watched with some interest as he animatedly spoke with the agent behind the counter. He gestured throughout the conversation, but to his credit, he never once raised his voice.That was a rarity in the airport.

Cody couldn’t quite make out what the man was saying from his vantage point, but it seemed the day was not going his way—his posture, tired and defeated. He laughed to himself when the auburn-haired man bent forward and laid his forehead on the desk. As Cody got closer, the agent leaned over the counter, he heard her ask the man if he was okay. “Sir? Sir...are you all right? As I’ve said, there’s nothing I can do for you. I do apologize.” The man picked up his head and groaned. Cody stood at the opposite end of the counter and waited.

“Yes, you have said. I understand. I’ll just be going then.” Was that a...Scottish accent? Or some English-Scottish hybrid. Cody couldn’t quite tell, but he’d be happy to listen to the man read the phonebook. He continued to watch as he knelt and picked up his bag and an old, battered suitcase. The man and the suitcase both looked like they had seen some better days. Cody was starting to feel rather bad for the guy.

He found his feet moving seemingly of their own volition towards the redhead who was heading to the exit rather quickly.

Right before he stepped through the sliding glass doors, Cody reached out and grabbed the elbow of his sweater. The man stopped and spun around, eyes wide. Cody held up his hands in an apology. “Sorry! Sorry…” And Cody himself froze. Fair and freckled skin, bright blue eyes combined with the auburn hair and neat auburn beard made him quite the handsome specimen.

“Can I help you?” The simple question brought Cody back down to Earth. He was a bit concerned at how easily he lost himself.

“I, uh...sorry...I overheard you talking to the agent over there.” Cody hooked a thumb over his shoulder back towards the counter. “You seem to have a problem, and I was going to see if I could help?”

The man’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Cody wanted to laugh, but he kept a straight face. “You what?”

“I what what?” Cody repeated. He winced. Smooth.

“You want to help me? I don’t understand. You don’t know me or know anything about me.” The man lifted an eyebrow, looking skeptical. But then his face softened and he leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, “I could be a murderer, you know.”

At that Cody barked a short laugh. “You? I find that very hard to believe.” Cody crossed his arms over his chest.

“But that’s what I want you to believe, that’s what makes me good,” the man straightened up and honestly looked quite proud of himself. The little shit.

“Okay, well let’s say I live dangerously and am willing to help a murderer, where are you headed?” The man visibly slumped and looked more like he did back at the counter. This man was no murderer, he was too tired to murder.

“Well, I was trying to get home to Seattle,” he started. “And it’s a really long story, but I missed my flight and it seems I’m shit out of luck here on renting a vehicle. Seattle isn’t exactly next door, you know.”

“It’s not?” Cody already felt comfortable being sarcastic with the guy.

The man chuckled. “No, crazy, right?”

Cody couldn’t believe the luck, but was also a bit dubious about how well this was working out. “You may find this hard to believe, but I am moving to Bremerton, to work on the naval base there. I can give you a ride in my moving truck.”

At this the man’s eyes widened, “No shit?”

“No shit.”

He narrowed them again. Cody couldn’t help but notice how expressive he was. “So, you, some random guy in an airport, happens to overhear my struggles, and doesn’t ignore them, but instead comes over and offers to haul my ass nearly 1,300 miles up the west coast? Are you pulling my leg?”

Cody huffed a laugh, “Look, I barely believe it myself.”

“And you just happened to be going to nearly the same place?” The man finally dropped his bag and put his hands on his hips. Cody nodded. He stood still while the man weighed his options, stroking his beard, deep in thought. In the few minutes Cody knew this man, he seemed so young and so old simultaneously. He would put his age at 35, tops, but he had a feeling he could be even younger—he was just hiding it behind the beard.

“Okay,” the man finally said. He put a single finger in the air, “But I insist on paying for gas, miles, food, whatever you need. This is an incredibly generous offer, and I can’t pretend I understand why you’re willing to do this for someone you don’t know, but it’s the least I can do.”

“Well then,” Cody stuck out a hand and the man grasped it to shake. “It’s a deal.”

“Deal,” the man replied. He knelt down again to pick up his bag. “Oh, and the name’s Ben. Ben Kenobi.”

Cody smiled back, “Cody Fett.”

“Nice to meet you, Cody Fett,” Ben said with a bright smile. “I’ll follow your lead.”

###

Ben followed Cody to the parking lot, two or three steps behind the entire way. He might have made the murderer joke, but he didn’t know if this Cody Fett actually was one, so he preferred to keep his eyes on the stranger the entire time. His gut, however, told him Cody was all right, and his gut was rarely wrong.

He really still couldn’t get over a perfect (and handsome!) stranger offering help such as this. There had to be a catch. He’d figure it out—there was always a catch.

In the meantime, he could at least appreciate watching the man as he walked. He had incredible posture, quite unlike Ben, and carried himself well. It also didn’t hurt that he was extremely easy on the eyes with his dark skin, warm, brown eyes and short black hair that looked like it would curl if it were any longer. Not to mention the hooked scar around his left eye, which Ben thought added character. He was already convinced the trip would be bearable.

“Alright, here we are,” Cody stopped in front of a large, yellow truck with a smaller pickup truck attached to the back for towing.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Ben started as Cody unlocked the driver’s side door. “If you’ve got your trucks here, and I’m assuming all your things inside, why were you at the airport? Perusing the rental counters for your next victim?”

“Wait, I thought you were the murderer?” Cody grinned. “We can’t both be one.”

“Why not? Think of the story’s possibilities! Each one of us thinks that the other is, but no!, that can’t be because we’re making jokes about it, so we’re obviously kidding, but really BOTH of us are and somehow we’ve already tricked the other into believing it’s not possible. It’s the perfect setup.”

Cody just stood there and stared at Ben. “Right. I didn’t want to pay for all the gas on this monster alone, so I hung out at the rental counter until I found the first sucker who happened to be going my way so I could make them foot half the bill.” And he gave Ben a wink.

Ben finally broke into a laugh. “Oh, that’s good. You’re clever.”

Cody shook his head, “Alright, well, get in. You can put your things behind the seats, there’s plenty of room. I’ll get in and unlock the door for you.”

Ben walked around to the passenger side and waited for Cody to open the door. He handed Cody his overnight bag and his embarrassingly ratty suitcase, and hoisted himself into the cab. Cody busied himself packing Ben’s things while Ben had a moment of panic as he realized just how crazy this thing was he was about to do.

Driving 1,300 miles, from San Diego to Seattle, in a truck with a complete stranger. This will be fine. This was what desperation will get you. Desperation and something akin to love-at-first-sight. Anakin was going to give him such a hard time when he found out. (And Ben would have to tell him at some point.)

Cody started the truck and looked over at Ben, “You ready then?”

Ben sighed and smiled, “You bet.”

[pickybearcub]

Getting to know Spider-boy: Chapter 1

Summary: Ten minutes. Ten minutes was all it took. She found his backpack in the alley and left before he got back.  Now, before Peter knows it, Ned thinks he has a secret girlfriend and Spiderman has to be her kibble runner.

Pairings: Peter Parker x OC

Warnings: None

A/N: So, just wanted to try posting my story here. It’s actually already complete on FF.net, but I’m going through it and making a edits, mostly to grammar and some inconsistencies in the story. I’ll post every few days, just to put a little time in between each chapter. Here we go...

Note: Dividers by @whimsicalrogers

Chapter 2 Masterlist

Hey mom.

I finally unpacked the last box! So I guess I'm officially moved in. The new place is nice, just like your friend described. It's a little small but more cozy than anything. I really like it. It's really different from the heart of the city. A good kind of different though. I'm looking forward to running at a more normal pace.

I got a part-time job at that café I was telling you about. I'm trying to see where I can get a second job to fill in the gaps.

Glad to hear things are going well over there. Aunt Annie must be glad to have you teaching a few students. Tell me about them when you come around.

Anyway, it's almost time for my shift, so... gotta go. Best of luck to you and everyone there.

Love yah~

 Nadia clicked "send" before shutting down her laptop. She pulled her dark hair up into a quick ponytail and slung on her bag while she walked to the door. Locking it, she twirled her keys before shoving them into her bag and jogging to the other end of the hall. She hopped down the stairs two at a time and set a brisk pace to her walk.

The young woman breathed in deeply as she walked through her new neighborhood. Soon, she was passing a few familiar stores and small businesses. A bell gave a cheery jingle as she opened the door to the coffee shop she now worked at.

"Good morning, Hannah."

"Morning, dear." An older woman, the owner, greeted from behind the counter. "You're twenty minutes early again."

Huh…

Nadia shrugged, walking around the dining area, starting to set up the chairs. "It's a step up from the half-hour early and waiting for you to arrive and unlock the door."

 Hannah gave a light chuckle. "You know you don't need to be so early, though it is nice."

"It's okay. I think I'm still used to all the rushing around I did back home." Nadia lived most of her life in a fast-paced city. Here in Queens, even if it was just ten kilometers away, everything felt calmer. She didn't have to deal with hellish traffic or the morning rush of people on their way to work.

She'd have to learn to adjust and slow down just a little more.

Another bell chimed as she left another shop later that afternoon. A bookstore to be exact. When her shift had ended at three, she'd gone around to explore more of her neighborhood. She got a little carried away browsing through the titles. Especially when more than half the store was filled with used books.

Nadia always thought that secondhand books were more interesting than brand new ones. Some had various marks left from their previous owners. Notes and highlights, dedications, and dog eared pages. Every once in a while, there would be a piece of paper or two stuck between the pages. Most were older and weren't in circulation anymore, which only added to their value even if they were sold at a cheap price.

The dark-haired girl smiled as she walked. She would definitely go by there again so she could actually buy something-

A heavy thump and a huff pulled Nadia from her thoughts, bringing her attention to a familiar young boy who was tugging at two black garbage bags.

"Hey there, Sora." The ten-year-old looked up, grinning when he saw Nadia. The boy's name was really Shaun, she just called him "Sora" because of the game he was currently addicted to.

"Hi, Dia!"

She'd taken a few babysitting jobs when she first arrived in Queens. Shaun had been one of the kids she’d looked after.

"Isn't it your brother's chore to take out the trash?" She walked to him and tried lifting one bag. It was a bit heavy. Definitely a little too big for Shaun to carry on his own.

The boy huffed again, pouting. "He hid my Nintendo again. He said he'd give it back if I took out the trash this time."

Nadia frowned. That wasn't nice.

"I'm at a good part of the game too." Shaun scuffed his shoe on the ground.

The young woman let a gentle smile onto her features before once again grabbing a hold of one bag. "Why don't I take one, and you grab the other. That way, you can get back to your game faster."

"Okay!" The kid grinned and took hold of the smaller bag.

They both carried the bags to the dumpster in the back alley. When the business was done, the boy thanked her and she told him to tell his parents what his brother had done.

Shaun nodded and scampered back out the alley quickly so he could get his handheld back.

Nadia sighed and dusted off her hands on her pants. That boy never listened to her about telling on his brother, Shaun was too nice.

She was about to walk out of the alley when she noticed her shoelaces were untied. Kneeling down to redo them she spotted something by a corner beside the dumpster.

"A backpack?"

She picked it up by the strap and looked it over. It was dark blue, didn't seem very old, and it was relatively clean. Who would throw out a good bag?

But then… it had some weight to it.

Huh…

Nadia hesitated for a moment before she opened it up. There were a few notebooks, a pen, some spare change, and a few pieces of paper.

This wasn't thrown out. Someone owned this.

No. Someone lost this.

Maybe some kid got bullied and the bullies dumped his backpack here.

She slung the strap on her shoulder. She'd check out the stuff more thoroughly when she got home.

Maybe she'd find an ID or something in one of the pockets. It was starting to get dark, so it wasn't logical to leave the bag and hope whoever owned it found it here. Someone else might take it.

Nadia started walking again and thought about what she was having for dinner that night. There was still some pasta leftover from the day before. That would have to do.

**Ten minutes later**

Peter landed nimbly in the alley where he'd left his bag. He let out a breath as he took off his goggles and mask.

Man. The fabric really made for stuffy breathing after a few hours using it-

Oh no…

He looked down at the empty corner of the alley and groaned.

His backpack was gone.

May would ask him how he lost another backpack after just three weeks. He really needed to find somewhere more secure to leave his stuff when he went on patrol.

On the upside, at least he didn't leave any of his Spider-Man stuff in there.

"New backpack, Peter?" Ned said as he put some of his things in his locker. "That's like the second one this month."

Peter scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah… Uhmmm… A dog chased after me and kinda ripped it."

"Oh! But you're okay right?" Peter's best friend asked, genuinely concerned. "You didn't get bitten, did you? I heard that you get five shots just in case of rabies. Was the dog foaming at the mouth?" He shuddered at the thought.

"No, Ned." Peter chuckled. His friend could get a little easily agitated or overly enthusiastic when it came to asking questions.

"Oh. Okay. Good then." The two walked side by side to their classroom. "You've been a little distracted lately. Maybe that's why the dog got you…." Ned mused.

"Enough about the dog, Ned. Let's just get to class." Peter sighed and tugged at the straps of his new backpack. He didn't like how he had to keep lying to his friend about certain things.

But his powers….

Being Spider-Man…

Knowing Ned, telling him wasn't really the best idea.

Besides, he was still getting used to his powers himself.

Nadia knew just how difficult and irritating it could be to lose your notebooks, especially when you were a student. Taking notes was difficult as it is. She riffled through the backpack she found to see if there was something with a name.

"Peter Parker…" She mumbled, finding a slightly crumpled quiz paper. Why did that name sound so familiar?

Sitting on a stool on her kitchen island, she lazily poked at the bowl of noodles beside the few papers she'd pulled out.

"Wow…" A breath of admiration escaped her as she found two more quizzes. Math and chemistry. He got A's on all of them. "You are one smart cookie."

She pulled out a notebook. Maybe there was some hint of which school he went to. She didn't want to go through the phonebook to ring up every Parker listed there. Flipping through the pages to find a doodle of a school mascot or a randomly scribbled school name or event, she twirled her fork through the pasta she had been eating.

Decathlon tm meeting – Friday

Band practice moved to Tuesdays

So part of a decathlon team and a band… Group of friends or school band?

There probably weren't many of the schools here in Queens that had a decathlon team, right? Academic or athletic though… Ugh…

There had to be something else…

Nadia had just been about to stick the noodles in her mouth when she reached a few pages near the back.

Her fork dropped from limp fingers right onto the paper with a splat.

"Crap!" She quickly tipped the notebook up to get rid of the pasta. There was now a reddish-orange spaghetti sauce stain on the page. She rushed to grab a napkin to clean up the mess before the sauce seeped to the other pages.

Underneath the blotch of pasta sauce were a few calculations, notes, and diagrams. The top of the page read-

Web fluid 1.2

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