Tumgik
#i get so wrapped up in stories and plots wow
cipheramnesia · 11 months
Text
I'm stuck on thinking about the person saying, "Why are they shooting at that dog?" during the opening scenes of The Thing. It's a funny story, but I can't help realizing how many modern movie producers think the same way.
The modern producer would watch that sequence and have notes. Put in an explainer, he'd say, and have the Norwegian lines in English or at least subtitled so the audience can understand what's happening. The dog should get hit by a bullet with a close up so we can see it heal, that way the audience really knows what's up! And he'd pat himself on the back for how much better he made it.
I find myself connecting this to movies more and more trying to keep the plot under wraps, so secret even the actors don't know what they're filming! The audience will really be wowed with the surprise of learning what happens in the plot! That's what suspense and mystery are, after all - not knowing a thing and finding it out. Nothing to it.
There's something to it, this new idea that keeping the plot secret is suddenly hugely important while simultaneously insisting everything is always explained. There can't be a moment anyone knows what's happening before paying for the movie, and there cannot be a single second a paying customer is unsure, or even a little worried, by anything the second they've parted with their money. If you pay your shot and punch your ticket you get everything delivered to the base of your brain in a cup of easily digestible slurry.
Anyway, not all movies and all that, but I think a whole bunch of producers are pleased as punch these days at how much better they are at suspense and mystery.
6K notes · View notes
sooniebby · 10 months
Note
Can I ask for a completely separate fic of Riki and M!reader not in the same universe but just like a non canonical thing of where M!reader begs Riki to try and impregnate him because his stomach is feeling all weird and achy. M!reader doesn’t know it’s his heat all he knows is that he wants his children.
Fic ends with the reader pregnant ofc, breeding mink, biting, dumbification, go crazy on it. If you don’t plan to make any side fic of Riki that aren’t canonical to the main 2 parts then u can ignore this <333
Tumblr media
ఌ 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐘
꧁ 𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙭 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 ꧂
➤ Riki's story (but this isn't canon to the original plot)
Word count › 2.9k
Rating › NSFT
Warnings › you and Riki are morons
Kinks › a/b/o, breeding, biting, lite somno
╭┈─────── ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-
╰┈─➤ BEGINNING
(Name) had been feeling weird. He woke up tired and his head was hurting. When he went downstairs, he saw his parents and instantly wanted to throw up.
“Mom…”
“What (Name)? I have somewhere to be.” His mother answered, not even sparing him a glance.
You’d think a mother would pay attention to her child. Especially a child that sounded so weak but she focused solely on her phone. (Name) sighed to himself before walking away to the kitchen. She didn’t even try to stop him.
(Name) ignored his father. His father was worse when it came to paying him any mind. He rummaged through the fridge for something but nothing was appealing. If he had to be honest, they all made him feel sick.
His stomach was hungry but not for whatever was in the fridge.
“Dad, I’m not feeling well.” (Name) said. “And everything in the fridge is making me feel sick.”
“And what can I do about that? You’re 18. An adult. Go buy some medicine and food that you want.” His father said, walking away.
(Name) didn’t even feel sad. He knew what type of answer he was going to get. The sound of the door slamming was music to (Name)’s ears. He loved whenever they left. But he didn’t feel happy right now.
His stomach was cramping. And he didn’t know what it was.
Maybe he should’ve paid more attention to anatomy lessons for omegas and alphas. Now that he was an omega and all.
The only thing on his mind, besides his killer headache, was to go see Riki. His inner omega was whining for it. But he wasn’t sure why. Maybe he just needed some comfort. Yeah, getting some cuddles sounded great right now.
With that, (Name) sluggishly got ready to go see his alpha. The bus ride felt odd. People kept staring at him. He wasn’t used to the stares. Being a beta since he was a child, most people ignored him.
He wondered if his scent was finally coming in. Did it smell bad? He didn’t think too much of it when he finally reached Riki’s house. It was smaller than his own but still cozy the last time he visited.
(Name) rang the doorbell, feeling himself sweat into his shirt. It was sticking to his skin now. But the sun was hardly out. It looked as if it would rain in an hour or so. (Name) wanted to take a cold shower.
The door opened showing a sleepy Riki. Wow, he was still asleep this late? It had to be almost 1 pm now. Riki seemed to wake up a bit when he realized it was (Name). He pulled him inside quickly and held him close, leaning down to scent him.
(Name) still didn’t feel much from scenting. But he allowed Riki to do so. He knew Riki’s alpha loved doing it. (Name) closed the door behind himself as Riki pulled him over to the living room.
They plopped down onto the couch as Riki moved (Name) around to sit on his lap. Riki’s voice was muffled as he muttered something before focusing on scenting his omega. (Name) simply nipped at Riki’s mating bond, not knowing how to fully scent someone yet.
“You feel warm.” Riki said.
“I think I have a fever…”
“Oh, did you take anything?”
(Name) shook his head. Riki huffed before standing up, ignoring (Name)’s shriek as he quickly wrapped his legs around his waist to not fall. Riki only had to use one hand to hold (Name) up as he brought him to his room, laying him down on the bed.
“Sleep. I’ll make some porridge.”
(Name) hummed as Riki left his room. Having been in his room before, (Name) didn’t care too much to look around. He mainly focused on stripping his clothes off and moving the sheets around to make a makeshift nest.
He wasn’t sure how he knew how to make one. It was probably just an omega instinct. With just his boxers on, (Name) finally felt cool. His stomach was still cramping—getting more painful by the minute.
Was it something he ate last night? (Name) sighed as he took off his glasses and placed them on the nightstand. He wanted to just sleep the pain away. Getting comfortable, (Name) hugged a pillow to his chest and drifted off to a dreamless slumber.
But it wasn’t fully dreamless. In passing, he dreamt of Riki’s neck. An odd dream. What was so sexy about a neck? A few other times, he dreamt of what Riki would look like shirtless.
A groan left (Name) as he tried to dream of something other than being horny. But it didn’t work. Anytime he dreamt of something more wholesome with Riki, it ended with Riki pulling off his clothes. (Name) was beginning to feel hot again.
His skin was burning that even the fan that was turned on didn’t do anything to calm him down. The sheets felt too warm but whenever he pushed them away, he felt panicked. Like he couldn’t part with it for some odd reason.
“(Name)…”
A cool hand brushed his forehead as he sighed in relief. Finally, he felt himself cool down. The hand moved to his neck, feeling around before pulling away. (Name) whined at the lost.
“Your fever as gotten worse. Let me call my mom.” Riki’s distant voice was heard.
That only made (Name)’s stomach clench tightly, causing him to scream out. Riki didn’t get far as he quickly grasped (Name)’s arm, trying to shake him awake.
But (Name) didn’t scream again. His face that was twisted into one of agony was calm. Riki sighed in relief and moved his hand away only for (Name) to cry again.
Riki decided to test something. He touched (Name), noticing how calm he was before pulling away. Like clockwork, (Name) began to whine at the lost.
This didn’t make much sense to Riki. What type of fever worked like this? None that he knew. Riki glanced at the porridge on his desk. He’d force (Name) to eat it later. Riki gently pushed (Name) further on the bed before joining him, keeping a hand on his skin.
The first hour or so was fine. Riki even fell back asleep. (Name) work up with a start, wondering where he was. He didn’t even remember waking up. He glanced around the room before noticing Riki snuggled close to him.
Oh. When did he get here? (Name) hummed as he rubbed his stomach. It was still cramping but it didn’t hurt as much. It felt more like a very light burn. But it didn’t feel like hunger.
He should’ve been hungry since he didn’t eat this morning. (Name) sat up, wanting to go get something to eat before feeling something wet. He didn’t even notice he was naked. Well he still had his boxers on but it was wet.
(Name) pulled off his boxers, tossing them across the room as he looked down at the bed sheets. It was also wet but how? He gently touched it. It was sticky. He frowned.
What did he pee glue? What the fuck was this?
“Riki.”
Riki didn’t wake up.
(Name) groaned. He felt sticky, hot, and uncomfortable. A bath would be nice but he didn’t feel comfortable just using Riki’s shower without asking. They may be mates but they haven’t known each past a month yet.
They hadn’t even had sex yet.
(Name) was ready to just shake Riki awake when he felt his spine tingle. He gasped, feeling something wet gush out of his asshole. Slick?! Why was he producing slick? (Name) reached down to confirm, feeling the slimy wet slick that he produced the day Riki had bit his scent gland.
Was he going into heat? No way. His doctor said he had two weeks before it started. So his body can ready itself for it. (Name) sighed to himself. He must’ve been horny due to those weird dreams he had.
Riki wouldn’t mind him masturbating, right…?
(Name) easily slipped in one finger inside of his asshole, groaning at the sudden gush of slick. Why was he feeling like this? He thought having something inside would feel better but that only caused his stomach to ache. As if it wasn’t what it wanted.
He glanced over at Riki, looking down at his boxers. (Name) felt his inner omega purr at the sight of Riki. He thought about waking him up. His body wasn’t liking his fingers. It wanted his alpha.
In his head, the thought of being knotted slipped in. (Name) felt his hole clench around his finger. He liked the thought of that. To be knotted by his mate.
(Name) moved to straddle Riki, sitting himself on top of his boner. Riki didn’t even flinch. He really was a deep sleeper. (Name) knew how to wake him up. He gripped Riki’s boxers and pulled them down, allowing his cock to pop out freely. It rested against Riki’s stomach, twitching slightly.
Riki had a large cock. No denying that. But it wasn’t too surprising. Most alphas had large cocks. Riki’s cock was thick as well. He wanted it inside, quickly.
Yeah, that’s what his stomach needed. He needed to be breed. (Name) felt himself shudder at the thought of being stuffed full with Riki’s come. The idea of having pups.
(Name) grasped Riki’s cock and positioned it at his awaiting hole. He slowly lowered down, gasping at the burn. His slick worked overtime to make it less painful.
“(Name).”
“Huh?!” (Name) shrieked, accidentally slamming himself down onto Riki’s cock. He cried at the feeling, his cock cumming. Riki simply hummed, reaching to grab (Name)’s hand.
“You couldn’t wake me up?”
“Sorry…”
“It’s fine. I’m your alpha right? So my cock is yours to use,” Riki grinned. He had actually been awake ever since (Name) flung his boxers off. The boxers had actually ended up on his face instead of where (Name) had imagined.
His moves were way too sluggish to actually fling something. Riki had woken up due to the slick directly in his nostrils. He pushed it away and was about to call out to (Name) until he noticed (Name) fingering himself.
He wanted to watch, so what? Only an idiot wouldn’t like to see someone they liked masturbate.
“I feel so weird.”
“Your fever?”
Watanabe Riki was a dumbass. As well as Tanaka (Name). Only total idiots couldn’t tell the signs of a heat. But only idiots would bond themselves to the other after knowing each other for a total of two weeks.
“Maybe you should eat.”
“No. I wanna have sex.” (Name) hummed.
“Alright. You’ll eat after.” Riki said, easily flipping (Name) over to lay on his back. (Name) watched in glee as Riki grasped his legs and pushed them forward, to (Name)’s ears. Riki’s thrusts at first were slow and calculated.
It made sense. To him, (Name) was sick. He didn’t want to go too harsh. He focused on mainly rubbing against (Name)’s prostate—enjoying the soft moans he got. The sound of slick was filling be room, making (Name) feel embarrassed.
He didn’t know why he was dripping so much slick. But it wasn’t enough. It felt nice but it wasn’t what his omega was craving.
“Riki, faster.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
(Name) whined, hoping his puppy eyes would persuade his mate. Riki only leaned down and nipped at his pouting lips.
“Cute.”
“Riki….! C’mon!!”
“Why do you want it so rough?” Riki asked, picking up his pace. It was still slow but at least it wasn’t too slow. (Name)’s inner omega purred in delight.
“My body wants it rough. An omega thing.”
“Really?”
No, it wasn’t. (Name) was just talking out of his ass. And Riki was a bit stupid to not notice. He was pretty horny himself and didn’t like his pace either. But (Name)’s comfort mattered more to him.
“I can handle it. I’ll tell you to stop.” (Name) wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him close. Riki hummed. He still wasn’t too sure. But the tight wet heat of (Name)’s ass felt good.
He really wanted to cum. And no way could he cum from these piss poor thrusts. Riki leaned back, grasping (Name)’s legs tightly and began to pick up his pace.
His thrusts were harsh and fast, repeatedly aiming for (Name)’s prostate. (Name) cried out, clawing at Riki’s shoulders. He arched his back at the feeling.
“(Name), it’s my first time… is it yours?”
(Name) shook his head. “No…”
Riki’s thrusting stopped. “Huh?”
“Riki, why’d you stop?”
“Who was it?”
(Name) glared at him. “It was two years ago! C’mon, don’t stop.”
Riki growled. “Did you enjoy it?” He began ti thrust again, his grip on (Name)’s legs harsh. (Name) stared up at him in confusion. Why did he care so much?
He was mated to him. He belonged to him.
“No. We were both betas…”
Any sort of anger within Riki quickly disappeared. A smile appeared on his lips. “You should’ve said so. No beta can compare to an alpha.” His cock dragged against (Name)’s wet walls, aiming continuously at his prostate.
(Name) mewled. “Why’s, ngh, that?”
Riki smirked. He maneuvered (Name) to lay on his side and have one of his leg’s on his shoulder. This position gave total control to Riki as he seemed to reach even deeper inside of him. It felt as if he was even reaching his stomach, judging by the small bulge in his stomach.
“No beta can knot their omega. Give them pups.” Riki grabbed (Name)’s right arm and brought it to his lips, biting down at the skin. It hurt, his canines digging into his skin. But (Name)’s inner omega jumped for joy. An alpha biting your skin with their canines meant you were truly theirs.
And (Name) really did belong to Riki. Riki left multiple sharp bites on (Name)’s arm, a few stringing out small amount of blood.
“No beta can make an omega dumb off their cock.” Riki suddenly said, slamming his cock deep inside (Name). (Name) cried out, his cock once again cumming on his stomach. He didn’t think he could handle much more.
At least his cock couldn’t. But his hole, his inner omega?
Oh, it could go all night.
And Riki seemed to know that.
“Do you want my knot, Omega?”
“Won’t I… hngh! Won’t I get pregnant?”
“You shouldn’t. I’m not in my rut.” Riki gently bit the leg on his shoulder, glancing down at (Name)’s shaking form. (Name)’s eyes were dilated. He truly felt gone mentally at this point.
All he could think about was being knotted.
And if Riki was right, he wanted it badly. But a small side of him felt disappointed. He wanted to get pregnant. His rational side was screaming at him not to but his omega side purred at the idea of being filled with pups.
“Inside, Alpha. Please, knot me with your cum.”
Riki grunted, flipping (Name) over again to rest on his knees, face on the pillow. (Name) cried at this, not wanting to face the headboard. He wanted to look at his mate but when Riki slammed back inside, he clenched down tightly around his cock.
This position was the best out of the other two. Riki’s cock kissed his stomach (womb) with ease. His prostate was constantly brushed against—earning cries from him with ease.
Riki gripped his waist tightly, holding him close once his knot began to swell. (Name) mewled at the knot brushing against his prostate. Riki leaned down to rest on (Name)’s back as he bit his scent gland, using his canines. (Name) felt himself black out at the pleasure, a scream off his lips.
As (Name) felt himself get tired, Riki slammed in one last time, right against his prostate. His knot released, filling (Name)’s hole with his cum. It felt warm inside. But it wasn’t a small load. It seemed Riki’s load was pretty big.
(Name) felt overwhelmed. He didn’t think an alpha could cum so much. It also didn’t help that the knot was rested nicely against his prostate. Whenever the knot swelled to release another batch of cum, it stimulated his prostate.
He mewled each time, gripping the bed sheets underneath him. Riki sighed as he left small bite marks on his back. He was tired. He wanted to fall back asleep but knew if he did that, he’d crush (Name) beneath him.
Riki moved to lay on his side, holding (Name) close. His cock had finally stopped cumming but his knot was still swelled. It’d take a minute for it to go down. This was mainly for the cum to stay inside, making sure the omega’s womb took every last drop.
But (Name)’s womb wasn’t ready for pregnancy yet, anyway. At least the doctor said so.
(Name) hummed. The cramps he was feeling was long gone. Who knew sex could help so much. He glanced down at his stomach to see a small bulge there. It looked to be from the cum. He felt himself purr at the thought.
He didn’t know why he suddenly felt excited at the thought of being breed so full.
The two idiots fell asleep, holding the other close.
But six weeks later, when (Name) felt nauseous, Riki was swiftly slapped by his mother and was called an idiot. Yeah, (Name) was pregnant.
He guess he should start looking online for baby names. It felt as if it wasn’t about to be one pup.
(Name) just wasn’t sure how to tell his parents.
╭┈─────── ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-
╰┈─➤ END
Riki’s a bad boy, not a smart boy :/
It was so fun writing fluff for Riki tho since the original story isn’t there yet
Thx for the request!!
Tag list: @the-ultimate-librarian @mello-life69 @chill-guy-but-cooler @kiiyoooo @nakedtoasterr
(Ask to be added to the tag list/you’ll be tagged in every fic I post)
1K notes · View notes
Text
after hours.
Tumblr media
pairing(s): chad meeks-martin x fem!reader
summary: in which chad just can't get enough of you
warning(s): adult content, porn without plot, no spoilers just smut, unprotected sex, soft sex, dick riding written by a professional dick rider, missionary, some dirty talk, mentions of chad wearing a chain that has ur name on it cause i think hes that bf, grammar mistakes because i lack the english speaking ability and unedited work because im incapable of editing my own work.
© msgorillagripcoochie , do not steal or translate my work
Tumblr media
"Kiss me." Is the breathless whisper that echoes through the quiet area, he's desperate as if you hadn't been kissing him this whole time. His hands gripping your waist as you fit so perfectly in his lap almost like that it was meant for you to be seated there.
You lean down pecking his lips with a soft giggle and he huffed pulling you back down before you could move to far away from him.
His hand on the back of your neck to hold your there as his tongue slips into your mouth exploring you like he had done so many times before. He moans against your lips at your taste.
He only let's up when he's in need of oxygen "What was that for?" You asked breathless your hand on his bare chest "For being so fucking hot." He hummed biting his lip and thrusting his hips up causing you to laugh "Stop."
He smiled pressing a kiss against the corner of your lips, then your cheek before kissing your jaw nipping lightly at your skin.
"You're so needy." You tease him as he begins to suck marks on your throat. His hands explored your body feeling you up while you sat on his lap.
His hand dragging to your abdomen sliding up under your shirt, his fingers brushing against the skin before he cupped your breast in his hand. He massaged your breast, his thumb circling your hardening bud.
He dropped his hand for a moment to hook his fingers around the hem of your shirt "Take this off."
"This?" You asked with a sarcastic confused voice placing your hands over his."Yes stop messing with me." He whined and you chuckled but pulled the shirt over your head throwing it elsewhere. He leaned his head back take in the sight of you "Wow."
Your cheeks heated up "You see me naked all the time."
"And you get prettier every time." He drops his head kissing the tops of your breasts. His hands explored the uncovered skin as he gripped and kissed you.
His lips wrapping around nipple loving the way you gasp when he took it between his teeth pulling on it. You felt breathless shutting your eyes at the feeling rolling your hips into his.
His eyes fluttered closed for a moment a groan releasing from his throat. He pulled away from you causing you to whine "I hate you."
"Aww who's needy now?" He teased and you pushed his shoulder "Shut up and touch me." He chuckled placing soft pecks on your lips "You're lucky you're cute."
"You're lucky, you're still my boyfriend." He scoffed reaching his hands down to unbutton your shorts "Like you could do any better." You snorted softly moving off of him to slide your shorts and your panties off "I don't know, I probably could."
You were just teasing of course, you probably couldn't do better than someone as sweet and caring as Chad and even if you could you didn't want anyone different.
"Yeah but when I'm inside you it's a different story." He's sliding his shorts down to his thighs when you throw your leg back over his waist to straddle him again.
"Oh you can't tell when I'm faking babe?" He glared holding your hips as you hovered over his cock for a moment "Ha ha ha, you're a real comedian." He says in a monotone voice and before you get to laugh he's pushing you down onto his cock.
He leaned his head back letting a groan "Fuck." You moan your nails digging into his stomach as you close your eyes for a moment.
He traces slow circles on your hips while you shift a little adjusting to his size. He loved watching you, he wasn't ready to say it but he think he might love you.
He held your chin for a moment "Look at me." His voice is soft, he gives you a moment to get yourself together before you open them for him.
He's smiling his sweet stupid smile at you "It doesn't look like you're faking it." It's lighthearted and it makes you laugh "Fuck you." You giggle moving in the space between you and him kissing him.
He hummed against your lips, he held you hips beginning to move you on his cock. You held his shoulders, your nails digging in his skin surely to leave marks that he'd proudly show off tomorrow. He nips at your bottom lip when you pull away soft moans leaving your lips.
You're doing a number on him, he feels like he's on fucking cloud 9, the way you feel around him. He was sure no one had ever made him feel this way.
"You look so good." He moans softly in your ear when you lean against his shoulder. You bite the skin playfully and he chuckled "Come on baby." He begins to meet your thrusts half way, thrusting inside you.
He doesn't stop like he had planned to, he can't help it when his teasing movements turn into him almost fully pounding into you.
He's practically using for his own pleasure but you don't mind not when it makes you feel like this "Don't stop." You beg him holding onto him for dear life. "I wasn't planning on it." He replies breathlessly throwing his head back as you whined into his skin.
Both your moans echo through the room as the two of you begin to lose yourself in each other.
Suddenly he's flipping you over and your back hits the mattress, his hands dropping by your head to hold himself up. He smiles above you the chain that says your name on hangs in your face for a moment.
The new angle making him feel like he was deeper inside you. His thrusts were rough and powerful and when you moved up on the bed he was careful enough to place his hand over the top of your head just in case it hit the headboard.
You're practically seeing stars, your eyes rolling back as your orgasm approached "You're fucking perfect." He sighs out looking at where his cock slid in and out of you.
You don't hear him though to lost in yourself. Your nails are scratching down his back but the pain you brought him only added to the pleasure.
He leaned down licking and nipping at your chest, he was absolutely feral for you if he was being honest. You had a hold on him that no one else has ever had.
You were getting closer, he had the privilege of knowing all your tells, to him you were an open book he could read a thousand times. "Come on, give it to me baby." He muttered in your ear pressing kisses along your skin "Come on."
He dropped his hand to rub your clit stimulating the nerve and you were gone cumming on his cock, your head thrown back looking like something from the nastiest porno. It was amazing, Chad loves seeing you this way.
He dropped his head fucking you through your orgasm while his approached "Please cum inside me." Your voice is breathless, your eyes are hooded. That was truly all he needed was your sultry voice in his ear before he whimpered softly cumming inside you.
He catches his breath looking down at you, he doesn't say anything he doesn't need to as he leans down to kiss you passionately.
He pulls away watching you wiping some sweat off your brow "I should get cleaned up."
"I should join you." He hummed and you laughed "You're a pig, Chad."
"I'll be whatever you want me to be."
Tumblr media
a/n: wrote this out of anger because everyone is thirsting for ethan when my boy chad has always been right there. ethan is cute but chad has always been that dude. this isn't proofread, i haven't even reread this so if it sucks yall i am so sorry mama is trying. feel free to request and tell me what you think. IF YOU WANT MORE REBLOG AND COMMENT!!!
3K notes · View notes
mydearlybeloathed · 3 months
Text
𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒
Tumblr media
𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you decided to create a real life frosty the snowman for estelle blofis, a regular camp visitor. it goes... unexpectedly.
𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: jason grace x fem!boreas!reader
𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮����𝐭: 6k (wow)
𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: child of boreas reader, female reader, snowmen, ethically ambiguous magic, more plot than fluff im sorry, tooth rotting fluff towards the end, daddy issues i think maybe, serious angst ngl, i will never be normal about jason grace, canon who?
𝐚/𝐧: this had no reason to be so emotionally taxing but here we are
𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Being the boyfriend of a Boreas kid meant two things happened every night: one, sneaking you in from your lonely cabin to his lonely cabin, and two, sleeping with nearly a hundred different blankets. 
Normally, he fell asleep easy despite the chill, but there was a lot of work waiting for him back New Rome. Jason knew this holiday at Camp Halfblood was only making that work pile up, but he tired, so he didn't care just yet. He could let the anxiety catch him after Christmas. Plus, the longer he was away from work the longer he was with you.
Jason had been away doing Roman things for at least two months, and Iris Messages and the occasional phone call weren’t cutting in anymore; despite your cold shouldered father, you were as clingy as all get out. Not that Jason minded (he was clingy too).
The next fall of New Rome University couldn't seem to get there any slower. You were both going to be there, thank the gods.
Jason started to grin at just the thought, his eyes skimming all over your peaceful face as you breathed in and out slowly. The two of you were practically buried under all the blankets, and he would have been miserably hot if it weren’t for his amazing cooler system of a girlfriend.
“You’re staring,” you suddenly sang out softly, a mischievous smirk taking your face.
Jason’s heart sped up. “I thought you were asleep.”
“Creep,” you mumbled.
He reached over to caress your cheek, tucking some stray hairs behind your ear. You leaned into his touch and twisted in the blankets, wrapping your arms around his middle and nuzzling into his chest.
He pressed a light kiss to your hairline and rested his arm on your waist. “What’s up?”
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
You blinked blearily up at him. “Christmas. I’ve been working on something.”
“Care to share?” Jason had known you long enough to know you were serious about Christmas surprises. This time of year your powers were strongest, and you always took advantage of that.
You lightly patted his chest and snuggled deeper into bed. “Mhmm. When it’s ready. Can’t let anything get out or else Mr. D will so shut it down.”
Jason was officially intrigued. “What exactly… never mind. I'd rather sleep easy.”
You leaned up to kiss his jaw. “Good choice.”
He caught your lips before you could get back to sleep, cupping you cheek in his hand and drawing you close for an everlasting moment. The thundering mosaic on the ceiling was as annoying as ever, and he swore he could feel the statue of his dad staring holes into him. 
So Jason pulled the pile of covers up to hide the two of you away, thriving off your little giggle as he pulled you in once more.
જ⁀➴
A week till Christmas, and you finally felt ready to cast the enchantment. Giddiness ran through your whole body all morning, along with some nerves, of course.
It all began when you heard Chiron reading a story to some of the littler campers. They were year rounders and were feeling homesick, whining and crying so much their counselors couldn't get anything done. So, he read to them, taking some Christmas storybook from Athena Cabin and frantically narrating the tale of Frosty the Snowman.
You’d been coming by to drop off some paperwork from your well-enough paying job in the Big House, lamenting being unable to find a suitable gift for Percy's little sister Estelle. She'd be coming to camp for the Christmas Day bonfires with her mother and father, and you had yet to find something she would like.
As you dropped off your papers you heard the older of the littles cry out that she wished it would snow in camp. Another then exclaimed he wished they had their own magic snowman.
Mr. D was in the next room over, promptly laughing and popping the kids dream bubble. You weren’t having that, not one bit. And suddenly, you had your perfect gift.
The only reasonable solution was to learn how to create a magic snowman.
(Jason would later call you crazy, which is basically a declaration of love, you think.)
You sat alone in the dim lighting of your cabin, which you shared with no one but the dust bunnies. Boreas didn’t really hoe around much, which you supposed was nice, aside from the fact that it left you no roommates. Nights used to get lonely before you and Jason started saying fuck to the rules.
Little snowflakes danced around your palms before they went spiraling into the air and exploded into dozens of flurries. Slowly, bit by bit, the snow started to pile up all around you, creating a blanket of white across the floor. You had the snow down, now, you just had to trust you had your sorcery skills down.
A knock on the cabin’s skylight startled you. 
You smiled, calling up, “What’s the password?”
“Jason has the coolest girlfriend ever.”
“Not quite.”
There was a sigh. “Shiver me timbers.”
“Access granted,” you sang in reply, an all too satisfied smirk planted on your face.
The skylight creaked open, letting in the moonlight as well as your boyfriend. He shivered instantly. No matter how high you set the thermostat, the Boreas cabin was always freezing. Not that it ever bothered you, anyway.
A snow flurry landed on his nose, sending Jason into a sneezing fit. “Still working?”
“Mhmm.” He watched as you tried and failed to hide a yawn.
A little smile sprouted on his face as he rolled his eyes. “All right. Bed time.”
You shot him a glare. “Don’t baby me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, but I’m afraid I can’t sleep without you,” he said softly, holding out a hand with such a pretty look in his eyes. If he kept on looking at you like that, you might as well fall in love with him already.
“Fine,” you sighed, plopping your hand into his and letting him haul you to your feet. “Only because you can’t function without me.”
You wrung your arms around his neck and flushed yourself against him, his arms tight around you and a cute blush in his cheeks. 
A light breeze kissed your cheek as he rose off the floor, keeping one arm around your waist while the other pushed open the skylight. 
“Air Jason, taking off,” you said, doing your best to mimic a pilot’s microphone and failing miserably. Jason loved it though, an airy laugh bubbling from his lips as the night air met the pair of you with no regret.
“You’re such a dork,” he muttered into your ear, eliciting a poke to the ribs from you. Jason dropped a few feet in the air and nearly sent you into cardiac arrest, a scream leaving you as your legs clambered to wrap around his waist. 
Jason was laughing for gods’ sake, shushing you as he picked up speed to reach Cabin One before the harpies caught you. “Sorry, sorry.”
In through the open window and down to the floor, the wind carried you all the way, a soft caress on your skin as if the air meant to comfort the two of you. You were going to ask him if he felt it too when a wave of exhaustion found you, and you started to lean into Jason, not letting him go even when your feet touched the ground.
He rubbed gently circles into your back, his chin coming to rest on your head, eyes closing. You were cold to touch, as always, but Jason would gladly get frostbite just to hold you forever. 
Eyes soft, you caught corners of glittery lights in your peripheral, turning to find a Christmas tree that had definitely not been there a few hours ago. A smile split onto your face as you rushed up to it, admiring the rainbow lights and mismatched ornaments. 
Jason must’ve gone through the Big House attic to find all these. You picked off an ornament of Olympus, a selfie of a smiling Apollo and a less than pleased Dionysus staring out from the little city of the gods. 
“It’s perfect,” you said, spinning back around to find Jason there. 
He had that look in his eyes. You know, the one that takes all the air out of you and leaves you craving nothing more than his very presence. “One more thing.”
You followed his gaze to the ceiling, lip slipping between your teeth to contain your smile. “Mistletoe?”
His hand came to cup your cheek, eyes dipping low. “Hey, I don’t make the rules.”
How could you argue with that? Without warning you lurched forward and sent Jason stumbling back, lips meeting his in a feverish moment.
જ⁀➴
Dawn was encroaching on the camp. 
There was barely a noise all across the Long Island Sound, aside from the sea meeting land, the ruffling of the harpies’ feathers, and the contented snores coming from each cabin. In the stables the pegasi huffed and dealt with the faux antlers stuck to their heads. Mr. D sat snoring in a rocking chair on the Big House deck. 
The tall and proud Christmas tree at the center of camp stood looming over Hestia’s fire. Her warm face could be spied through the flickering flames, if one looked close enough. Beneath the tree’s branches were boxed gifts, some from attentive godly parents, but most placed there by Chiron (he never bothered correcting the campers when they assumed Santa Claus came in the night).
Garlands and wreaths hung from every doorway. Mistletoe was easy to find from the awnings of the Aphrodite Cabin. Poinsettias bloomed over the rooftop of Demeter’s Cabin. The smell of cookies and candy canes wafted out from the camp kitchens, the dryads tossing bits of flour and sugar at each other as they prepared something special.
It was a Camp Halfblood Christmas if you’d ever seen one.
The only thing missing was snow. 
You stood on the hilltop overlooking the center of camp, embracing the December chill. The magical borders prevented outside weather from affecting the camp, but they did nothing to stop weather coming from the inside. 
Flexing your palms and shaking them out, you let out a breath that crystallized in the frigid air. The water in the air bended to your will, the clouds gathered at you command. You didn’t pretend to understand weather and the science of it all, you just knew that when the water in the clouds got cold enough…
Your concentration was unrelenting even as the first few snowflakes drifted down from above, following the current of air down the valley of camp. You would need a lot more than that. Glancing at the sun peeking up over the horizon, you pushed past your growing fatigue.
There would be snow that Christmas Day if you had anything to do about it.
જ⁀➴
Jason noticed right away that the familiar warmth of your freezing body was missing from his side. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he rolled over and noticed that your shoes weren’t at the foot of the bed. 
The whole cabin was freezing, but without you, it was just getting on his nerves. He was ready to get up, throw on a coat, and maybe just start yelling your name to find you wherever you’d run off to.
That was when he looked out the window. Jason’s jaw slacked, his eyes pleasantly wide and bright as a laugh tore out of him. He jumped up and didn’t bother with shoes as he flung open the cabin’s door and ran into the snow.
Everywhere a white layer of snow sat heavy on benches, picnic tables, the cabins—nothing was safe from this Christmas Day miracle.
He laughed again and raked his hands through his hair. So this is what you’d been working so secretively on. Jason really should have guessed sooner. 
The sound of boots in the snow caught his attention and he glanced over to see Piper hurling a snowball at Leo’s head. Leo sputtered when the snow hit his face, a sly grin all over his face.
Piper laughed behind her hand and noticed Jason struggling to pull on sneakers in his doorway. She dodged a melty snowball from Leo’s warm hands and jogged toward him. Her voice was tangled with a smile. “Did you know she was planning this?”
“Nope,” he said, popping the p. All around camp kids were racing outside, slipping on the icy snow and tossing on any warm clothes they could find. You were still nowhere to be seen. “Have you seen her?”
Piper shook her head and made to say something when a handful of snow was dumped down the back of her shirt. She gasped and whirled around, shivering despite the hot anger in her eyes, and took off after a cackling Leo without another word. 
Snickering, Jason took another look around, sighing when he couldn’t see you in the midst of excited campers. 
He turned around to go grab a jacket when a soft noise caught his attention. Some kind of grunting, followed by a startled yelp. Jason started to smile. He’d know that sound anywhere. He followed the noise around the side of his cabin, tilting his head at the sight.
You were red in the face, using all your might to roll a giant ball of snow, struggling to say the least. Estelle was standing by with rapt attention, excitement written all over her face. 
Jason went to stand beside Estelle, kneeling to be at her height. He leaned in to stage-whisper, “Do you think she needs some help?”
You looked up, stopping in the process of pushing your back against the snow, huffing and puffing through your glare. Estelle giggled. “Probably.”
He saw it in your face; you wanted to flip him off, only refraining given the current company. Estelle’s eyes gleamed up at him along with a bucktooth smile. “We’re building a snowman!”
“We?” you huffed, tucking your hair out of your face and behind your ears. “I didn’t know we were pronouncing my name as we now.”
Estelle rolled her eyes. “I’m supervising.”
“Honestly, I think ‘Stelle’s doing the heavy lifting,” Jason teased.
You sighed and turned to face your work. “That’s one layer. Jason, you do the middle.”
Still grinning, he was going to protest before doing exactly as you said, when a voice echoed across the lawn. One of the Stolls (Jason knew they were a few years apart but he still could never remember which was which) was approaching, a snowball in hand.
“Yo, Y/N!” he called. “It’s getting a little soggy over here!”
You smiled like this wasn’t the first time someone had had this complaint, wasting no time in cracking your neck and splaying out your hands.  A cold rush of wind enveloped you, a firm crease in your brows, before the another wave of snow rained down from the clouds.
The Stoll brother shouted his thanks, and you meant to offer a smile when suddenly the world got tipsy, everything going black for a split second as you teetered off balance. Jason’s heart dropped and he rushed to your side, steadying you against him.
“Hey, hey, you with me?” 
You blinked blankly, though you nodded despite the greenish tint in your cheeks that was quickly fading. Still, Jason wanted nothing more than to sit you down and cast lighting upon anyone who tried to use you like a snow machine again. 
“I’m fine,” you assured him, gaining your color back. “Just a bit tired keeping all of this up.”
Estelle was attempting to finish the snowman on her own, promptly falling face first into the snow and sputtering to her feet. You giggled at her expense, not realizing you were still leaning mostly on Jason.
He wasn’t done questioning. “How long did it take to cover the whole camp?”
“Oh, uhm.” Your brows drew together, lips pursed. “A few hours. No big deal.”
You broke away from Jason and went to help Estelle roll along another giant snowball, casting Jason a reassuring smile. He let out a sigh and tried to let it go, going to help with the snowman construction.
The three of you finished the three layers of the snowman’s body, and Estelle ran off to collect the decorations and came back with a box, her brother, and her brother’s girlfriend.
Percy held Estelle on his shoulders, the box of supplies in Annabeth’s arms. You wiped your brow and smiled so brightly upon spying them, that Jason nearly forgot you’d been focusing on continuing the snowfall all along, slowly draining yourself. 
Before he could call you out you sprang to your feet and went to pick the carrot out of the box. Annabeth chuckled and said, “I had to fight Blackjack for that.”
“Aww,” you hummed through a giggle. “Poor guy.”
Percy scoffed. “Please, he gets enough carrots. He could spare us at least five.”
Before you even had the chance to reply Estelle had jumped up to swipe the carrot from your hand. A response was barely on you lips when she nearly toppled the whole snowman over trying to stick the nose on its blank face.
You sighed and went to help her, scooping your hands under her arms and lifting her so she could reach its face. 
The morning went by as Piper and Leo approached the finished snowman with hot cocoa in hand. Piper sported a grin as she looked at you and said, “Mr. D is furious.”
“I hoped so,” you said. 
As Piper knelt to talk to Estelle you once again chose to ignore the weightiness in your shoulders, swallowing thickly to deal with your drying throat, and walked to the near empty box. Inside was a top hat you’d been saving for last. This was what the practice was leading up to.
“Hey, Stelle,” you called. Jason came to your shoulder, brows drawn, and you shot him a smirk. “Have Percy help you put the hat on top.”
She needed no more asking, taking her brother’s hand and dragging him to the snowman. Percy lifted her just as you had, and as Estelle rested the silk top hat on the snowman’s head, you held out a hand, worked some Boreas kid magic, and sent up a prayer to your dear old dad. A flurry of snowflakes shot out from your palm and right to the heart of the snowman.
You waited on bated breath as Estelle’s boot crunched back to the snowy ground, your gaze locked on the unmoving creature of snow. One second, then two, then three, until a minute passed. Estelle ran back to Annabeth and started ranting about something, Percy right behind her as he slung an arm around Annabeth’s shoulders. Piper and Leo engaged in another snowball fight, hot cocoa discarded on the ground.
And the snowman stood still. Your lips pursed with confusion and frustration. Jason appeared beside you again, looking from you to the snowman. “What’re we glaring at Frosty for?”
“Nothing,” you dismissed with a forced grin. You let out a sigh and intertwined your fingers with his, pressing a swift kiss to the back of his hand. “Wanna head inside? You’re shivering.”
He shook his head and slipped an arm around your waist. He was warm and soft and despite how much you loved the cold, you’d never get tired of it. But you couldn’t focus on that right now; you were too disappointed. 
That was until he tried to lead Jason back to his cabin anyway, and your boyfriend had a full stop, his eyes slightly horrified while also mystified. Brows pinched, you were on the verge of asking what was wrong when his hand gripped your chin. You flushed deep red at the action, another rush of warmth hitting you, but then Jason was turning your head to follow his line of sight.
A bright laugh escaped you. There, made of snow, two button eyes, and a carrot nose, was Estelle’s snowman. But now, he was living and breathing, the little twig eyebrows on him drawn taut as he examined himself, looking at himself tree branch arms. 
The lot around you stood in shock, looking from you to your creation. You laughed again quite like a mad scientist, and dropped Jason’s hand to slowly approach the snowman.
“Hello,” you said, and he considered you with a blank button stare, the line of chocolate chips making his mouth curved down into a frown.
“What am I?” he asked you, dropping his arms to his sides. He looked very contemplative for a snowman.
“A snowman,” you answered brightly. 
The snowman hummed. His voice was soft, reminding you of the sound of crackling fire. Ironic. “I don’t think I’m meant to be alive. I feel… odd.”
Your smile started to fade, and you glanced back at your friends for help. Estelle stood awestruck, slowly stomping through the snow to stand at your side. She took your hand and looked up at the snowman with shining eyes. 
The snowman looked back at her, going quiet. “Hello.”
Estelle started to smile. “Hi. My name’s Estelle, and this is Y/N. Those are our friends.” She jabbed a thumb back at the others. “Oh, do you have a name?”
He seemed to turn thoughtful, nodding. “I believe it was Perseus.”
Estelle let out a tiny gasp. “That’s what I called you! In my head!” She turned to you in complete and utter amazement. “How did he know that?”
You could only shake you head with a smile, squeezing her hand. “I dunno. Magic?” You couldn’t help but laugh once more, casting a glance up at the sky. The wind brushed through your hair, feeling oddly like a father’s hand ruffling a daughter’s hair.
You’d never met your father, but you doubted he was a cold as the weather.
Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Piper came to admire the snowman, introducing themselves as he assessed them one by one. Jason hooked an arm around your waist, pulling you side against his, and you practically melted onto him. Your legs felt a tad bit weak.
He pressed a lingering kiss to your temple, whispering in your ear. “You astonish me.”
A smile split onto your face as you turned to kiss his cheek. Percy started to laugh as he looked upon the snowman. “Perseus the Snowman, huh?”
Perseus was holding Estelle’s hand as she rattled on about camp and how cool her big brother was and all about the Greek gods. Perseus listened with unabashed attention, the crease in his twig brows alluding to his curiosity. 
Annabeth sidled up to you, unsure how to phrase her question. “Do you… Well, was this smart?”
You gave her an odd look. “What do you mean?”
The wise daughter of Athena settled you with her seriousness. “He’s snow… you can’t keep him that way forever.”
Her words rattled you to your core, and for once, you felt the chill of December.
Morning passed to evening, and you stayed stuck to Jason’s side more by exhaustion than by choice. Not that you minded, but the jelly feeling in your legs was less than pleasant. It took some work to ward off the curious campers from bombarding Perseus, who proved to be a rather anxious snowman. 
Christmas Day passed by answering the endless questions of a snowman, explaining everything he could ever want to know. 
Piper and Leo had gone off to lead ornament making with their respective cabins, being head counselors and all, and Percy and Annabeth went to make an obligatory holiday call to the latter’s father. Leaving only you, Jason, Estelle, and Perseus. 
The four of you were at a picnic table close to the woods, the demigods sat atop the table and the snowman rolled up to the side. 
Your energy was slowly but surely coming back to you. With the sun crossing the sky and starting to descend, the need for snow was waning. You hadn’t had a demand for a few hours, and to be honest, you were grateful. Your eyes felt droopy and your shoulders ached. You wanted to sleep, but you had one more thing to keep focused on: Perseus the Snowman. 
Jason drew gentle shapes on your hand, letting you lay your head on his lap as Estelle told the harrowing tale of how Percy defeated Clarisse La Rue in his very first game of capture the flag.
You were having trouble looking at your snowman. From what he said when Estelle let out a yawn, he knew exactly why.
“Look at that,” he said, drawing everyone’s attention. His button eyes swept across the lawn of camp, where the snow was melting into the grass under the heat of the setting sun. His eyes turned to you, then. “You’re letting it all melt.”
You sat up and crossed your legs, resting your hands in your lap. You blinked at him, a tug on your heart. “Yes.”
He could only stare back at you. “You’re keeping me, though.”
Perseus was very perceptive for a snowman. You smiled at him. “We’re not done talking to you.”
He smiled back. “That’s true. And when we’re done talking?”
Estelle was looking between all of you, a confused purse in her lips. Jason cleared his throat and asked her to get him earmuffs from his cabin. She nodded and ran off, nearly tripping over herself. You sent him a look. “You don’t own earmuffs.”
“Oops,” he murmured through a grin. Perseus was watching the pair of you almost fondly.
You turned back to him and searched for the words to say, but it was all lost on you. Jason continued to rub soothing circles into your skin. All the words you knew suddenly boiled over. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think what would happen when… You know.”
Perseus shifted around, a gentle chocolate chip smile on his face as he took in the scenery. “Don’t be sorry. I’m happy to have lived.”
“But… you’re going to die,” you couldn’t help but say, as if he needed reminding.
He didn’t. That much was clear by his smile. “Don’t be sorry,” he echoed. “I’ll be happy to die. Snowmen aren’t meant for longevity.” 
Your throat constricted. “It’s all my fault. I wasn’t thinking.” 
“You were thinking of Estelle,” he said. “I’ve made her happy. I’m perfectly fine with melting.”
You cupped a hand over your mouth and averted your eyes just as Estelle came sprinting back, chest heaving as she lamented being unable to find any earmuffs.
“It’s cool, Stelle,” Jason said, forcing a smile. 
She plopped back down and huffed, looking to Perseus, then the sunset. Perseus glittered in the light, and it took you far too long to realize it wasn’t glitter, but dew. 
Estelle, angel she is, noticed it too. “Perseus, are you melting?” Before he could even think to answer she was turning on you, a fire in her gaze. “Make him better.”
You would—gods, all of Olympus knew you would, if only you weren’t exhausted. You gaped like a fish, squeezing Jason’s hand. Perseus the Snowman shook his head. “No, there’s no need.”
He reached out a wooden arm and she gently wrapped her little fingers around the splintered edges of his crooked hand. “I don’t fear death.”
Estelle’s jaw hung slack for an everlasting moment. “Well, I do! Y/N, do it.”
Jason tensed and snapped, “Stelle, that’s not fair.”
She didn’t seem to care in the slightest. 
“Estelle,” Perseus drew her attention back to him. “You’ll make more snowmen.”
She shook her head hopelessly, eyes going glassy. “No, I won’t. I won’t ever make another snowman.”
“How sad,” said Perseus. “Never?”
Estelle wiped her nose on her sleeve and looked at the ground. “Maybe, not never.”
The snowman started to smile again. His button eyes roamed over them all, stopping on the sky, and he sighed. “What a wonderful day to be alive.”
You turned your face so no one would see you crying. Jason's hold on your hand was the only thing sobering you up enough to remain on the picnic table, watching the sunset with your snowman.
The god Astraeus painted the sky with vibrant yellows, pinks, and oranges in a sunset to rival all others. It was too beautiful. Perseus kept his blank gaze settled on it alone, his hand still in Estelle’s. You and Jason sat rigid behind them as time ticked away. 
The moon rose expectantly to take its place as the sun started to hide under the horizon. The yellows and pinks made way for the dark blue of night creeping in. Only then did Perseus shift his gaze back to Estelle. “I’m ready now.”
A crease grew in your brow when Estelle nodded, understanding what you did not, and she stood up on the table to reach over Perseus’ head. With shaky hands she reached for his hat, glancing down at him, worrying her lip between her teeth.
All Perseus did was smile. “Merry Christmas.”
The little girl took in a wavering breath. “Merry Christmas.” And she removed the hat, lifting it off his head, and in an instant all hints of emotion left the snowman. Nothing changed at all, but each of you could see it; those buttons held life behind them no longer. 
You bit down hard on your lip. “How did you know that would work?”
She shrugged, setting the hat down on the snow. “I didn’t.”
The sound of footfalls on the snow had you turning around. Chiron approached, a sorry look in his eyes, and he stopped a few feet off. “Everyone has gathered around the tree.”
You took Estelle’s hand in yours, steeling yourself and offered her a smile that she slowly returned. Jason moved to walk at your side as you followed Chiron to the center of camp. The tree lit up most of camp, stretching high and out.
Campers were singing off key here and there. A pair of girls was caught under the mistletoe, one laughing awkwardly before the moon eyed one swooped in for a gentle peck on her lips. Gifts were being exchanged. Snow balls were thrown. A snowman was being built by some younger Hermes kids too.
“Hey!” Percy called out, cheeks flushed as he sipped on his apple cider. One arm was slung around his girlfriend who was talking in low voices with Thalia. The lot of your friends were gathered around one of the many little fires scattered around the lawn.
He offered you and Jason each a blue gingerbread man, grinning ear to ear. “Mom made ‘em.”
You looked around for Mrs. Blofis and found her at a nearby table, handing out marshmallows for roasting with Mr. Blofis at her side. Mr. Blofis wasn’t doing much handing out, instead in what seemed to be a deep conversation with Mr. D. The god of wine was gesturing wildly as he regaled some kind of story.
All was well. All was calm. You found it in yourself to actually smile. 
Guilt wasn’t very far, wondering truly what you had been thinking bringing a snowman to life, when a particularly harsh bout of wind blew all your hair into your face. You sputtered through a giggle and swiped your hair to the side, your voice faltering when you caught sight of a man standing on the outskirts of the bonfires and chatter.
It couldn’t be. You stepped away from Jason and the rest, approaching the stranger. He stood tall, with a suit that glittered like snow. Two purple wings arched from his shoulder blades. What could your father want with you on Christmas?
“Hi,” you said, not sure where to start.
He stirred like he was uncomfortable. “Yes, hello, daughter.”
You had the heart to grin. “Merry Christmas.”
Boreas nearly scoffed before he corrected himself with a nod. “You as well.”
The silence to follow was tense. You motioned with your hand vaguely. “Is there a reason you’re here?”
You weren’t sure how to feel about meeting your father. You’d imagined this moment countless times, but it all led up to this anticlimactic reveal that was more amusing than aweing. 
“There is,” he huffed. “I thought I would let you know your little magic act didn’t harm anything.”
“What do you mean?” you asked, heart dropping.
“I mean that the snowman is not dead,” Boreas informed you. “The snowman itself was never alive, I suppose. I’m impressed, I should say. You managed to catch a snow spirit and wrangle it into that snowman. Normally, snow spirits don’t get lives… You did a good thing, I suppose, giving that spirit one. He remembers it all. Perseus, as you called him, is living free and wild, as a snow spirit should be.”
You hadn’t realized your eyes were watering, relief coursing through you. “Oh, thanks gods. I’m not murderer.”
Boreas chuckled softly. “You’re not.” He averted his eyes, raising a hand and pausing, unsure, before he settled it on your shoulder and met your eyes. “I’m… proud of you. I don’t have many children. You’re certainly one I don’t regret.”
You blinked up at him, reaching to awkwardly pat his forearm. “Thanks, Dad.”
He nodded stiffly, backed away, and with a last Merry Christmas, he vanished in a flurry of snowflakes. One landed on your nose and gave you an ever rare shiver.
Jason’s arm wrapped around you, his warmth enveloping you like a nice blanket. “You good?”
Nodding, you leaned your head on his shoulder. “Very.”
Curfew was extended that night, much to the herpes disappointment. Treats and drinks were devoured by greedy children and finally, at the end of the night, Chiron gave the word and a stampede of kids ran to tear open the gifts they’d been eyeing for weeks. 
After the younger kids had grabbed theirs and the crowd died down, your group moved in to find the gifts with your names on them. Your dad gifted you a snowglobe of camp. You shook it up with a smile, not noticing your sweating boyfriend approach you from behind.
“Y/N?” You turned, smile widening. Jason only got more nervous. “Uhm… I…”
You set the snowglobe back in its box on the ground and stepped closer to him, taking his hands in your freezing ones. “Yeah?”
“I love you,” he blurted. “So much.”
Your grin grew painful with how big it was. “And I love you.”
Jason blushed and took a deep breath. “You’ve been with me through… everything. When I wasn’t sure who I was, when Hera manipulated me and Piper, through the war.” He was out of breath, only one thought on his mind: no words would ever be enough. “I’m so in love with you. I can’t explain how much. Just when I think about it I can’t breathe.” 
Your face had fallen into admiration. Jason’s thumb rubbed anxious lines on your knuckles. “I never want to spend a day without you. You deserve everything, I want to give it to you.”
“Jason…” Your voice was shaky, tapering off.
“Don’t worry,” he nearly whispered, moving to cup your cheek. “I’m not asking you to marry me. Not yet.” You giggled and he swore it was better than ambrosia. “I will though. I promise I will.”
You were too busy reaching to take his face in your hands to notice when he pulled something out of his pocket. You leaned forward to kiss the very life out of him, and he would very much have let you, but he drew you back with his hold on your jaw, chuckling when you frowned.
He held up a little velvet box between your bodies. Suddenly you weren’t so interested in kissing him, swiping the box from him with greedy hands and gleaming eyes. You popped the box open, admiring the pretty silver chain laid within. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”
“Here.” Jason turned you around and offered to clip it around your neck. He didn’t waste the opportunity, peppering kisses from the skin behind your ear down to your shoulder, relishing in the little quiver you gave in response. “Merry Christmas.”
Whirling back around, you jumped him, arms flinging around his neck as you crushed your lips to his. You pulled back for barely a second to mumble, “Merry Christmas” before your tongue pushed past his lips, your teeth catching his bottom lip.
“Woah! Woah! No PDA in my camp!” You groaned and ripped away from Jason, rolling your eyes as you cast Mr. D a glare over your shoulder. 
Jason wasn’t so cocky anymore, red from neck to nose. “Sorry!”
“I don’t get paid enough…”
You and your boyfriend locked eyes, breaking down into a round of laughter as the grumpy god stomped away. 
“Hey!” Piper jumped out of nowhere, Leo hot on her tail. Both were totally buzzed, and all you could do was laugh and wonder how on earth they’d snuck in alcohol. “Come sing carols, lovebirds!”
The pair of you followed the pair of them back to the little bonfire your friends had claimed. Fiddling with your necklace, you eyes scanned across them all to land on Jason, and a rush of adoration hit you like a freight train. You pecked his cheek and watched him stumble over a chuckle, returning a kiss to your hairline. 
Then, as you leaned your head on his shoulder, a snowflake crossed your eye. 
One by one, the sky became littered with flurries. Annabeth held up a hand as if to catch some. “Y/N, you’ve got to be tired by now. Take a rest.”
You shook you head slowly, confused. “This isn’t me.”
The winter wind kissed your cheek, and you were left at a loss. But Estelle—sweet Estelle, who sat between her brother and Annabeth—she knew. A little grin appeared on her face. “Goodbye, Perseus.”
Tumblr media
235 notes · View notes
tlouadditc · 8 months
Note
Hiii, first of all I love all your content. Could you pls make a one shot or a story about y/n as a cheerleader or something else and ellie as a football player in college? <3
touchdown.
college football!ellie x cheerleader!reader.
a/n: tysm for this req!! i had fun writing this even though i have no idea what goes on in sports (oops). keep that in mind so if i got something wrong, forgive me!! also ellie has the farm!ellie haircut because thats my fav ellie. anyway, enjoy <33
warnings: smut with plot, 18+ (MDNI), lowercase intended, a lil bit of fluff at the beginning [if u squint!], dirty talk (a lot of it.), daddy kink [oops!!], mean ellie, teasing, short nipple play [literally one line], ruined orgasm, no aftercare [eek.] NOT PROOFREAD LOL.
it's late august, the mild heat hitting your back as you walk to your dorms. the season officially starts in a couple of days- meaning the first football game is also gonna happen in a couple days- and you're the most worked up you've ever been. the break was nice; being able to see your family consistently for a couple months was much needed. but as you opened the door to your dorm, you realized you can't reminisce about the break. get ready for the next week.
as you begin to unpack your bags, you hear the door slightly open behind you. you smile, knowing who's there already. a familiar pair of arms wrap around your waist, pulling your hips back slightly. "she's baaaaack," ellie says quietly, kissing your neck gently as she rocks your hips side to side. you chuckle slightly, turning to look at your girlfriend. "missed you, babe," you say, fully embracing her in your arms. you feel her smile into your neck. pulling back, you give her a small peck on the cheek and admire her.
"new hair?" you question, noticing a small change; the length. she steps back, nodding. "you like it?" she says, still smiling. her auburn hair was cut right to her chin with a side part plastered into it. "i love it, actually," you declare, tucking some stray hairs back behind her pierced ears. "suits you."
she grins before sitting on your bed. "enough about my changes," she begins, "how was your break? you ready for another season of being my personal cheerleader?" you laugh, "babe, i have to cheer for everyone. but my break was good, i guess. was thinking of you the entire time."
"whaaaatever," she teases, rolling her eyes playfully. "i missed you more. almost went crazy without you." ellie was always super dramatic when it came to you; the entire break, she complained about how she was gonna die if she didn't see you in the next couple of hours. it's something you loved about her.
"oh, that reminds me," you suddenly utter, rushing to your closet to grab something. "we got new outfits!"
"oh, yeah?" ellie sat up on your bed, fully attentive to the outfit in question. "let me see it." you excitedly hold it up; a black mini pleated skirt with red glittery trim on the bottom. a matching cropped tank top came with it. it had your college's mascot plastered on the front with your last name on the back.
"wow," she clears her throat, eyes blown wide while eyeing it up and down. "i think you should t-try it on." you giggle and turn to go change.
after a couple minutes, you get it on. before you leave, you assess how it fits on you; your boobs are perfectly sitting inside the tank top, making your figure look sleek and classy. the skirt, however.. bend over and your ass is completely out. you stare at yourself, taking in everything. you snap out of your daze when you hear ellie knock on the door. "babe? you good in there?" she asks, a slight tone of concern being heard. without answering, you open the door to reveal yourself.
for a few seconds, she stands there, mouth open. no words. just admiring every part of you. she moves her hands to your sides, mouthing wow as her eyes travel up and down your body. "you like?" you ask, slightly smirking as you look into her eyes.
"god, i love it," she breathes, her eyes moving from your body up to your eyes. a hand goes to your skirt, lifting it up. "but this lil' skirt's gonna distract everyone, y'know that?"
before you can respond, someone bangs at the front door, causing you both to jump. "y/n!" they yelled, "practice is starting! hurry up!"
goddamnit, you think. you look at ellie with apologetic eyes, grabbing your stuff. almost as if she can read your mind, she goes to the door and yells, "i'll see you down there, babe. tell em' i'll be late!"
practice was boring. a lot of forced small-talk with your teammates about their break, the drills were actually ass, it was a bad start to the season. ellie, who was on the other side of the field you were practicing on, was eyeing you the entire time. the way your skirt went up and revealed your ass took away every ounce of attention that was meant for her sport.
you knew what you were doing. you felt her eyes on you the entire time. anytime you had a chance to tease her when nobody was looking, you'd flip your skirt up and play it off as you fixing your outfit.
after practice, you go back to your dorm and take a quick shower. as soon as you grab your towel, your phone vibrates.
ellie: open the door
you look at the text, confused. nonetheless, you walk to the door in your towel and look through the peephole. ellie's there, waiting impatiently. you unlock the door and twist the knob to open it.
as soon as you open it, ellie forces her way in. she pushes you onto your bed, turning back to close and lock the door. when she turns back to you, you see her dark expression. she's definitely frustrated, pissed even. before you can ask any questions, she simply states:
"you think you can tease me all day and get away with it?"
you're still confused, forgetting completely about practice. when it hits you, she has a slight smirk on her face. "yeah, you remember."
she gets on top of you, planting small, but passionate kisses from your cheeks down to your collarbone. "flipping up that small fucking skirt, thinking i wouldn't do anything to you," she mumbles, pulling down the top of your towel, exposing your breasts. she cups one in each hand, running her thumb over your nipple. "these pretty fuckin' tits," she continues, "bouncing every time you jump.. fuckin' driving me crazy, y'know?"
you whimper, getting wetter by the second. "oh, you want me to fuck you, huh?" she coos, moving down to your ear. "want me to fuck you dumb? make you cum all night?" all you can do is mumble small yes's, feeding into your submission. "oh, i know, baby."
she pulls the towel off of you, fully exposing your damp body. her hands roam from your sides down to your sopping wet cunt, earning a small gasp from you. "what? you want me to touch you here, doll?" she asks, slightly in a mocking tone. you nod feverishly, opening your legs a bit. the wetness coats your inner thighs, glistening in the light above you two.
"god, so wet just for me?" she asks, looking you in the eyes. her middle finger traces along your slit, collecting your slick on her finger. you whine, opening your legs wider so she can slip a finger in you.
"what do you want? hm?" she moves right in front of your face, keeping her middle finger at your entrance. "use your words, baby."
"p-please fuck me, ellie."
"that's not the name you use. you know that."
"fuck- please, i n-need it."
"what's my name?"
you hesitate before answering quietly, "daddy."
"that's right. good girl."
she slips her middle finger into you, earning a gasp from you as you clench around her finger. she moves it in and out as you try to gain any friction from her palm. you look so needly, so helpless in this state; it turns ellie on so much. she's just looking down at you, watching you get off like a fucking dog.
"fuck, you look so good like this baby," she whispers, teasing another finger at your entrance. you pathetically whimper and hold her arm with both hands. "you want another?"
the way she asks you is in a mocking way, making you feel dumb under her touch. but it feels to good to stop now. you nod, almost crying, chasing your orgasm.
"do you deserve it, baby?" she speaks, looking you directly in your eyes. "do you really? answer me."
she's slowing down. you beg and plead for her to keep going; all you can hear are your babbles, "pleasepleaseplease daddy, i need it, i'll be good i promise, im sorry"
"you should've thought about that before you teased me, slut."
she completely removes her fingers, making you whine in frustration. you're mad, but to be fair.. you brought it on yourself.
a/n: this took so long omg writers block is an ass. anyway. might make another part, i just need more ideas if i make another.
620 notes · View notes
ihavethedreamies · 6 days
Text
Heat | Wonwoo
Jeon Wonwoo - Seventeen
Tumblr media
Rating: M (18+) MDNI
Word Count: ~8.7k
Pairing: Wonwoo x AFAB!Reader
Genre: Sci-Fi AU!, Reader-Insert, Fluff, Smut, Acquaintances-to-Lovers, This One Actually Has Plot
!!This is smut…if that much isn't clear you should probably leave now!! MDNI!
Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, Minor Background Character Gets Shot (Wow! Plot), Pet Names (Pretty, Pretty Girl, Princess, etc.), Daddy Kink (oops), Swearing, Kissing, Oral (F! Receiving), Wall Sex, Marking/Biting, Unprotected Sex (Use a condom!)
Author's Note: This one has way more actual story than Hoshi's and Woozi's. Wonwoo tends to need time to warm up to people, so I didn't feel like I should do a quick one-night stand deal with him. So, I wrote in some story so he and the reader weren't total strangers.
-> Hoshi's <-
-> Woozi's <-
I am cross-posting this on Archive. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on here my name and icon are exactly the same on the other site. Happy reading!
Tumblr media
"You have GOT to be kidding me…" You grumbled, huffing a few harsh breaths, and trying again. There was something stuck under the sand, and you really wanted to see if it was worth anything. However, every time you got close to brushing enough sand from the surface to see the logo, a gust of wind would cover it back up again. Adjusting your head covering over your mouth again so you got no sand in your mouth, you also brushed off your goggles of the fine particles sticking to it. You were starting to work up a sweat, the blowing dust and sand mixed with the perspiration and was coating you in a horribly scratchy paste. Whatever was under the sand was big, and that was what you were looking for. However, you really needed to determine the make and model of the crashed ship to determine if it was worth reporting for salvage.
"Finally!" You groaned, getting the metal brushed clean. You quickly snapped a photo with your holo-tracker, the blue paint still relatively solid, enough to identify. The device spun, trying to connect to the extranet and you clicked your tongue as it took for seemingly forever.
"What?!" You swore multiple times when the device flashed, 'no results found'. Maybe you could show it to someone at the Assembly office that would know something. You already had a few pictures and coordinates of a few smaller wrecks you could report, but they probably wouldn't grant very many credits. This thing was huge though, so at least the scrap metal would be worth something. Another blast of wind nearly knocked you over as you stood back up, trying to climb out of the small crater to get back to your rover. The crappy thing about wrecks on Sierra-Vector-Tango, since the entire planet was a desert, is that they were quickly covered by sand; even if they created massive craters when they fell to the surface. However, that meant more money for finding salvage than some other planets. Bad thing? Sand worms. Their saliva got into the particles and could make it acidic, which made digging through the sand more dangerous. This, once again, caused the number of credits to be higher.
"Let’s go back for now." You jerked back with your whole body weight as you pulled the handle for the door of your rover. It finally opened and you huffed, throwing the end of your head scarf aggressively to wrap it around your neck better. Crawling up and into your rover, you rested back in the seat, trying to catch your breath.  Pressing the button to start the vehicle it roared to life and the air conditioning flared to life and you just sat in the cooling air for a few minutes.
"Water!" You gasped dramatically, grabbing your canteen from the passenger seat, and drinking so aggressively the liquid spilled out of your mouth some.
"For fuck's sake…" You groaned hard, the water mixing with the layer of sand on your skin, thickening it.
"I need a real shower, with water." Shifting the gear of the rover, you started to drive back to the main road so you could start heading to the nearest Assembly office. It would be about an hour to Drent, and a little under two for Jaron, but you really didn't like going to Drent. Not only did it have the name of some dude-bro fuck boy, but it was also full of them too. Drent had one of the biggest…adult establishments in that quadrant. Not only did they have sexy blue alien ladies dancing on tables, but it also allowed you to sleep with them. Last time you went you nearly got mugged, and the guy just wanted your underwear. No thank you. Jaron was farther away, but a much nicer place and had a very old-style diner reminiscent of Terra from the 1950s. It was cool to go somewhere that was reminiscent of a time over two-hundred years in the past. Plus, they had a hotel with real water showers instead of the air-blasting kind that was more common. It would be more expensive, but worth it.
"This time I wanna rock with you~" You sang along to the song playing over the speakers, drumming your hands on the steering wheel of your rover as you got back to the main road. Turning right to go north toward Jaron, you set the auto-pilot on and plugged in the town, sitting back to watch the view as your rover drove itself. When you could start to see the sign for the town, you shut the auto-drive off and took control again. Large vehicles like yours weren't allowed in the city proper, so when you reached the entry checkpoint, you pulled off to the side and got out. The sun was setting, nearly below the horizon, stars starting to twinkle in the night sky. Getting out of the rover, you slammed the door as hard as you could to get it to shut and went around to the back. Grabbing your big pack and smaller bag, you also had a make-shift safe that you kept smaller salvage pieces in. You let it fall to the sandy ground with a thud and jumped back out. Keying in the code on the side, the rover beeped as it locked, and you headed to the entry booth.
"How old is your rover?" The kid at the booth was at the most eighteen, and his condescending tone was completely unnecessary.
"Doesn't matter." You tried not to steer, slapping your credit chit on the counter and he slotted it into the console. He really had no room to talk, his setup was just as old if not more so than you rover. Sliding the chit back out, he grabbed a small holo-disc and let the machine stamp it with the time and date.
"Thank you." You emphasized with fake kindness, and he rolled his eyes as he let you into the town. You let the parking disc fall into your bag along with your credit chit and started to head down the road. Your 'safe' was basically a suitcase that you made more secure and added a few locks to, so you could roll it behind you. The wheels thunked over the creases of the pavement and you wondered why the town was so dead. At that time, most people would be milling about after supper and going to bars and such. As you passed a store, you saw a sign blinking on the glass advertising some kind of political rally, must be where everyone was at. At least the hotel was still being manned, though you weren't sure the old man behind the counter was even still alive.
"Hello, dearie." He smiled up at you, wrinkles so prominent his eyes nearly disappeared.
"Hello, sir. Can I get a single room for…" You thought, sucking air through the side of your mouth in thought, "how much is four nights?"
"At 250 credits a night, that would be about a thousand…If you stay one more night, I will keep it that price?"
"Sweet! Thanks!" You smiled back, digging through your bag to look for the chit once again. It was a bit pricier than you normally liked, but it was worth it to get a shower with water.
"A single bed, yes?"
"Yes, sir."
"I think we only have two-bed rooms…this one is two singles, does that work?"
"Sure!"
"Water shower?"
"Please~" You groaned, and he chuckled.
"It is quite slow today for the rally, so I do not think any restaurants are delivering…" The old man worked faster than you thought he would and when he slid the chit back to you, he included the room key. It looked like a glass playing card and had the room 24H-13 on it.
"It will be the second floor, take a right to the fourth hall, then its room thirteen." The old man smiled, and you thanked him, heading for the elevator, the wheels whirling on the tile floor. Once you got to the room and inside, you put everything in the room hastily before dashing into the bathroom. After relieving yourself, you shed the extremely sandy clothes and you noticed what looked like an old-style clothes dryer in the corner. It only had two settings, one of which was covered with a piece of tape and the handwritten words, ‘FOR SAND,' on it.
"Perfect." You shrugged and shoved all of your clothes in the drum, shutting the door, and letting it spin and get rid of the dust and grit.
"Oh~" You hummed in delight when you saw the water heating panel on the wall. You plugged in the best temperature and the water immediately came out perfect. Standing under the spray, you stood for nearly ten minutes just letting the water flow over your tired body. Glancing up at the shower head, you clicked your tongue in annoyance, it was fixed on the wall without a hose…
"Need to find a guy…" you grumbled and then proceeded to actually wash up. The soaps and cleansers all smelled of Terra fruits and you wondered what they might taste like. Getting out of the shower nearly an hour later, you wrapped a towel around yourself and your hair, heading back to the main room of the hotel. Flopping onto the bed, your stomach rumbled loudly, and you sighed dramatically. No delivery…The only place that was probably open was the diner and luckily it was right next door to the Assembly office in the strip mall. It was always open since the employees of the Assembly would eat there most of the time, but they never delivered anyway. When your skin finally no longer felt wet or sticky, you put on your set of spare clothes and grabbed your smaller bag.
"Sandy." you mumbled, going back to the bathroom, taking your now sand-free clothes out. Taking everything out of your bag and setting it on top of the machine, you put your bag in to get the sand off and while you waited, put your boots back on. As it continued, you brushed your hair out and braided it again. Looking at your face, you had a slight tan line from your goggles, but it was nearly unnoticeable thanks to your head scarf covering most of the rest of your face. The machine dinged and you retrieved the satchel, putting everything back and making sure you had your chit and keycard, you left the hotel room to go get supper. Waving to the old man at the desk, you dashed out to the street and jogged down the sidewalk. The rally was still going, you could hear the shouting and cheers in the distance. Must have been a more local election or campaign because you didn't recognize the politician on the flyer. Most of the store fronts were closed, even as you turned the corner to get to the main street. In the distance, you saw the light pouring out of the windows of the Assembly office and the diner, shining like a beacon among the darkened stores surrounding it. Like a good child, you looked both ways before you crossed the road, despite there not being anything or anyone nearby. The doors slid open when you approached the office and the guy behind the counter looked up lazily from where he was counting something at the desk.
"Can I help you?" He sounded very tired. You dug in your bag once again and pulled out your credit chit as well as your ID so he could see you were a legit scavenger, but also a freelancer. Freelancers actually tended to get more money than their own employees because they didn't have to pay benefits and all that other stuff.
"I'll let the Salvage Officer know you're here." The guy handed you your stuff back and you went to sit in the empty waiting area. Tapping your toe on the floor, you could look into the entrance of the diner through the windows and door inside the office. There was only one or two customers inside and just one waitress. There was a guy sitting in the back corner, thin glasses perched on the end of his nose as he read. A paper book? Who had physical books anymore?
"(Y/N)." Your name was called by a familiar voice, and you smiled at the owner.
"Junmyeon!" He motioned with his head, and you followed him into his personal office.
"Didn't know you were working here now." You sat in front of his desk, and he chuckled, relaxing back into his office chair.
"I just transferred. What have you found?" He took the holo-tracker from you when you handed it over and plugged it into his console.
"Most of them are small…" You dimpled the corner of your mouth, looking at the monitor the best you could from your angle. He shifted the screen so you could see better, and you pointed to different marks and gave more details.
"What one is this?" He was looking at the blue logo and you shrugged.
"I have no idea; it was huge though. Looked like a Meteor-class size ship, maybe bigger. It was totally covered and left a huge crater." You emphasized with hand motions, and he panned the picture out to get the measurements before he tapped the logo so the computer could analyze it. As it spun you dug through your bag, looking to see if you had lip balm or something. You didn't notice your business friend simply watching you, more like staring. His eyes flashed to your lips as you painted the balm on your lips with your ring finger. When the console dinged, it brought both of your attention back to the machine.
"Oh, wow." He leaned in to read the information.
"I need to make some calls, can you come back in a few hours?" He looked at you and you nodded, standing.
"I can grab something to eat in the meantime!" You waved goodbye and didn't even notice when he tried to call after you. Heading back to the front of the office, you went to the door leading to the diner and the door slid open with a ding.
"Just you, girlie?" The older waitress called from behind the counter, and you nodded, going to sit at said counter.
"What can I get for you?" she asked, sassily chewing her gum. You looked over the menu and made your choice, pulling out your holo-tracker to play a game as you waited for your food. You glanced over to the back corner over your shoulder, looking at the guy reading.
"Who is that?" you asked the waitress when she came back with your drink.
"He's been hanging around here for a few days. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I know he's waiting for something. The secretary in the office might know." She nodded back to where you had been, and you told her you would be right back. Leaving your bag on your stool to save your spot, you jogged back into the office and the guy at the desk cast you a tired glance.
"Who is that guy?" You pointed toward the back corner, leaning your elbows on the ledge of the front desk.
"He's a bounty hunter of some sort I believe. He is looking for someone for some reason, is waiting there for leads. He's offering money for any information." He shrugged and you nodded in acknowledgement and headed back to the eatery. Your food was ready by the time you got back, and the waitress chuckled at how fast you shoveled it in. When you were done, you handed her your chit and meandered on over to the guy.
"I heard you're looking for someone?" You started casually and he looked up at you over his glasses and your eyes widened. He was freaking gorgeous. His left eye was highlighted red, it seemed he had some kind of hologram-like contact in it or something. His black hair was styled half up, his bangs resting over his brow. He had a few ear piercings, his left nostril had a simple loop ring, and a matching one in the middle of his bottom lip. A chain hung around his neck with a pendant on the end that was some kind of upside-down triangle design. He simply hummed in response and put a slip of paper in his book and shut it, taking his glasses off. You sat on the end of the booth, a big gap between the two of you since he was sitting in the corner of the circular seat. He slid his holo-tracker across the table showing you a blurry image from some kind of security feed. It was a person, that was about all you could tell, and they had a hood up over their head and only the bottom part of their face was visible.
"This it?" You looked back at him, and he was sitting there stiffly, just looking at you. He was really hot, actually. He had on a tan, old-style button up with the top few buttons undone. His pants were a brown leather of some kind, and he had a belt on with an attached thigh-holster that held a pistol blaster.
"They stole some schematics. I need them back more than to find the person." He tapped the screen as he looked at it upside down and it showed a second image. The person had a cylinder with a strap hung over their back.
"It’s a set of old maps, they were stolen from the archives at the museum in the Capital." he explained and you slid your finger over the full image, zooming out to see the area.
"You a bounty hunter?" You slid the holo-tracker back to him and he put it back in his pocket.
"Not really. I'm a Ranger."
"You're a Ranger!?" You perked up and he seemed taken aback by your sudden excitement. Rangers were a small and elite group, they were essentially vigilantes, freelancers. They tended to do more things like rescues or arrests, or other odd jobs. They had a pretty strict rule of not killing.
"So, you want the maps but don't need the thief?"
"Yes. I would be nice to get both, though."
"Hm. I'll ask around and see, I travel quite a bit-"
"Scavenger?"
"Y-yeah." You chuckled nervously under his intense gaze.
"Be careful out there, if you get a lead, message me." He got his tracker back out and you scanned his with yours to save his ID.
"What's your name?" you asked.
"Wonwoo…"
"(Y/N)." You smiled and got up from the booth, going to retrieve your chit.
"I'll let you know!" You grinned and waved goodbye, heading back in. Your timing was perfect because Junmyeon was finished and he told you the first wrecks weren't worth a whole lot, but the last one was.
"Two million credits?!" You balked at the number.
"Yeah. Seems it was some kind of cargo vessel, and they think it might still have all of the packages on it still. You could get even more depending on what's inside." He smiled at your gawk, and you finally shut your mouth.
"Woah."
"I can get you the two million now-"
"Really!?"
"Yes." He chuckled and you dug your chit back out and he slid it into the console so he could transfer the credits.
"Shit…" you whispered, your hand shaking a bit as you took the chit back.
"Are…you staying in a hotel tonight?" Junmyeon asked as you scrolled on your holo-tracker, admiring the giant number registered in your account.
"Yeah! I might upgrade my room~" You giggled, and he took a breath, trying to psych himself up, but no words came out before you stood to leave.
"Thanks, Myeon! I'll make sure to come here when I can, kay?" You waved goodbye and he sighed as you dashed out of his office. As you left to head back to your hotel, you saw that Wonwoo had left his booth and you wondered why. Getting outside, you realized the rally had gotten out, floods of people now walking the streets, a big crowd heading toward the diner.
"Ew." You sneered at the globs of people and dashed back to the hotel. When you got in the lobby, you skipped up to the front counter, ready to ding the bell and call the nice old man out for assistance.
"Oh?" Someone was sitting in the lobby, a book in his hand.
"Ran away from all the people?" You spoke a bit louder so he could hear you and he glanced up over his glasses again. His face wasn't quite so cold as before, but he wasn't smiling either.
"Yes." His tone was also lighter.
"There's about to be a bunch more. The campaign team is staying here and will be back soon." The old man had come out of the office, and you sneered as he laughed.
"Are you staying here too?" you asked Wonwoo who had put his book away and was taking his glasses off.
"I hadn't checked in yet."
"We do not have any more rooms available, sir. We just had an influx of online reservations since the rally got out so late…" The old man sighed, and you hummed.
"I have a second single bed in my room…?" You suggested, not meeting his eye as he came to stand by you. He had a small duffle over his shoulder. His eyes finally met yours, and he seemed a little nervous, but you could only see it in his eyes, past that red glowing contact.
"Is that alright with you?"
"Yes? I wouldn't have offered otherwise…" You huffed and the old man hummed.
"Here, I will get you a key as well." You both waited and when Wonwoo received the clear keycard, you both scurried to elevator, people starting to enter the lobby. Neither of you said anything till you had shut the door to the hotel room.
"Are you sure this is okay?" you asked him, he was even stiffer than before.
"Y-yes." He cleared his throat, and he went further into the room, taking the bed near the window since your stuff was on the other one. He told you he was going to shower, and you nodded as he dashed past you. Sighing, you shook away some very impure thoughts, and went to your safe, rolling it over to the bench under the clothing rack and hauling it up onto it with a grunt. It took two physical keys as well as two padlocks and a dial lock. It clicked each one open and then you were able to open it. The air seal 'shunked' as you opened it, and you carefully rested the lid on the wall so it wouldn't scratch it. Looking over your objects, you had some small crystal-like artifacts that you worried were just fakes from some kind of gift shop. You also had some intact parts for ship consoles and even jewelry. There had been just a random case you found washed up on the shore of an oasis once that had gold and silver necklaces and rings inside. It was never reported missing, so you just kept them. Other bits and pieces were inside as well, and your mind went back to the image Wonwoo had showed you. The hood was what caught your eye. The person was experienced, knowing how to hide their face from all angles, so they were probably an experienced thief. Who would want ancient maps though? Especially from Terra.
"What is all that?" His deep voice startled you; you hadn't even heard the bathroom door open. Glancing up, you swallowed hard at the sight. He had put most of his clothes back on, but his shirt was still unbuttoned, allowing you to see his toned torso. He had flopped a towel onto his head to dry his hair and was putting his glasses back on. Trying to ignore how freaking sexy he was, you cleared your throat and started to point things out. When you got to the crystals, you let him put up the one that was shaped like a pyramid.
"I don’t know if they are worth anything, they might be fakes.”
"Have you shone light through them?" he asked, and you hadn't even thought of it.
"No?" He handed it back and you dug through your bag and found your flashlight, holding it to the crystal.
"Woah!" You gasped as a map of the stars shone on the ceiling as the light passed through the crystal.
"Is it worth anything?" you asked him. It was cool but could still theoretically be from a gift shop.
"The fakes have a button to turn on the light, that's the real deal. Where did you find them?" He was buttoning his shirt up, unfortunately, picking up the three other crystals and coming to sit on his bead across from you. There was a sphere, one that looked like a big diamond and an obelisk. You handed him the flashlight and he shined it through the other ones. The sphere showed a projection of a globe, but it wasn't S.V.T or even Terra.
"Mars." he muttered, and you looked closer, recognizing the small dots over the surface as the towers that held the barrier around the planet. The diamond one lit up a bright aqua blue, but that seemed to be all it did. The obelisk projected the time and date, but it seemed to be from Mars as well.
"I found them in some cave. How the heck did they get all the way out here?"
"Were these the only things in the cave?"
"Yeah…So even though they are legit, are they worth anything?
"Hm. Maybe to a collector. I can take them to the museum when I go back-" he halted, "If you're okay with it, I'll pay you back." If he wasn't a Ranger, you would be more hesitant to allow it, because he could just pocket the money. You didn't think he would though, not with the reputation of his group at stake otherwise.
"Sure." You shrugged and he took them and put them in his own pack, and you went back to your safe and locked it up.
"Thank you for letting me stay here." He called suddenly as you tried to figure out how the holo-screen worked and what channels there were.
"Sure. I'm not a fan of big groups of people and this is the best hotel in town." You smiled at him, going to hand him the remote.
"Oh, no, you can choose. I'll just read." You nodded and didn't press to continue the conversation. While it was quiet between you two, it was companionable and before you knew it, you had drifted off the sleep, listening to some show and the flipping of his book pages. When you awoke, he was gone, but it was like ten in the morning, and there was an unread message on your holo-tracker.
Sorry I left without saying goodbye. Thank you for letting me stay in your room for the night. I am heading back to the capital for now and will get your crystal projectors estimated. Please let me know if you get any leads on the map thief.  -Wonwoo
You sighed, a little disappointed he just left, but he seemed quite shy and closed off. Whatever. For the rest of the day and the next few you lazed about and did some fun things to spoil yourself after your big payout, enjoying your little vacation. Over the week afterwards you were having trouble finding anything significant and had stopped at a small tavern set up near a small oasis. You sat at the bar, laying on it dramatically. The bartender had moved the fan closer to you so it could blow straight on you as you lazily sipped from the straw in your fruity drink. You glanced casually at the entrance when another person entered, and you zeroed in on their face. They had a hood on, but that didn't mean it was for sure the person Wonwoo had been looking for. After he had gotten the money from the crystals, more than you thought but not a huge amount, he had sent you more information. It was a woman, presumably, and she was pretty tall and even always wore heeled boots. Your gaze shifted to their feet but couldn't see for sure and you couldn't even tell it was a woman. You and Wonwoo had actually been messaging some even past leads on the thief. You didn't have many friends and while he had the other rangers, he said it was nice to talk to someone new. As you sat at the bar, you watched her, pretending you weren't. You casually took out your holo-tracker and took a picture of the person as discreetly as you could, then headed out. You continued to wait and watch in your rover, ready to take a  picture of their vehicle when they left. You thought you knew which one it was, but didn't know for sure, so you waited till they came back out. They got in the one you had been eyeing, and so once they headed off, you sent the two pictures and a few more details to Wonwoo. He thanked you for the update, then asked where you were. He then told you to meet him in the next town of Falko, and since you were headed there anyway…
The town was much smaller than Jaron, so there was only one small motel, so it was easy to find where he was and get to his room. He was on the first floor in room three. You knocked and barely waited before he opened it. He was…smiling. You didn't know he could do that. You forgot how gorgeous he was.
"T-thanks." You smiled bashfully and followed him inside. It seemed he had been there awhile based on everything spread out across the room. There were a few consoles set up as well as tablets and other tech.
"What's going on in here?" You motioned around the room.
"While I'm looking for the map thief, I'm also trying to get the Ranger's new communication array set up. I'm making the program myself so it can't be hacked by outside sources." Wonwoo shrugged, moving various tablets from one of the beds so you could sit down. He sat at the small desk and turned to face you. He asked a few questions about the person you saw, and you gave him more details from the pictures. It wasn't a whole lot to go on, but if it was them, then he now had their vehicle information. Before you could talk past leads on the thief, his holo-tracker went off and he read the message. He sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"My partner is coming back. It might be better if you leave." He stood to lead you out and you grimaced.
"I-It's not…I just don't want him to meet you…" He mumbled and you wanted to press the issue. His cheeks were slightly red, and he flashed another genuine smile as you left the motel room.
"I'll let you know if the lead pans out." You nodded and before you could turn and leave, he had held something out for you.
"What's this?" You took the little holo-card.
"Um…it's my address. If you are ever in Ratalla…I won't be back home for a few more days, but I should be working from there after…" Wonwoo rubbed his hands on his pants, then shoved his hands in his pockets when you noticed.
"Thanks." You gave him your own smile, then left giddily.
Nearly another month passed before you saw him in person again, but you messaged back and forth quite a lot. There was once you were near his hometown, but he wasn't there, so you missed the chance of seeing him again.
You had been meeting with a repair man in a city called Guro; your rover hadn’t been driving straight. It seemed he would need it for a few days to even determine the issue, let alone what to do after. At least you were in a place with lots of activities. You had actually gotten another half a million credits from the giant wreck you found and had more funds than you knew what to do with. As you left the shop, looking up on the extranet for the nicest hotel, someone caught your eye. Despite the heat of the desert and the midday sun, there was someone slinking around with a hood on. You watched them, eyes glancing at their feet. Heeled boots. It was also a woman, and her height matched the parameters. There was even a cylinder vessel hung over her shoulder. It was her. The area had most warehouses, and she might have been meeting a buyer, so you decided to follow her. You sent Wonwoo a message with your coordinates to see if he could send someone by as well, or better yet, call some Guards. You trotted behind her, trying to stay out of sight and remain quiet. Hiding quickly around the corner, you watched her go into an unmarked warehouse after looking around for followers. Not well enough. The thief had gone in through a large open garage door, so it made it easy for you to follow. Crouching against the wall right near the edge of the door you peered around the corner and saw she was alone, probably waiting for someone. She glanced at her holo-tracker, then went further in, toward the garage door on the opposite side that opened to a scrap yard. Looking for another hiding place, you dashed forward and hid behind a column. When you peered around though, she was gone.
"Why are you following me?" A voice called from behind you, and you spun to see the thief, holding a pistol blaster aimed at you. Your heart fell and sweat broke out on your brow. Those maps must be really valuable if this person was willing to shoot you to prevent the interruption of the hand-off.
"I-I was just trying to figure out who-" The woman pulled back the hammer on the weapon and your stomach dropped.
"Shit!" You scrambled up and tried to at least get around the column when you saw her finger going to the trigger.
"Fuck!" You slammed your back against the column, seeing a smoking scorch mark on the ground.
"(Y/N)!" a familiar voice shouted, and you were shocked by Wonwoo's presence, distracting you.
"Stupid bitch!" The thief was back behind you, and you spun to see the gun nearly at your head. You yelped when something yanked you back and you fell into a hard body. Leaning into him, you watched in terror as the woman fell back onto the ground, a hole in her head. Then you noticed not only were you breathing hard, but so was he. He spun you around to look over you, his hands on your shoulders, one going to your jaw to adjust your head so he could look you over.
"Are you okay?" He was nearly frantic, his face and tone filled with panic.
"Y-yes." You weren't sure to be more surprised by his sudden appearance or the clear worry he had for you. It made your heart thud but for a much different reason. When he had finished looking over you and determined himself you were okay, Wonwoo pulled you into a hug. You returned the embrace, more trying to comfort him than anything.
"Fuck, I was worried." He sighed right in your ear, his deep voice rumbling through you.
"You were?" He pulled back enough so he could meet your eye and huffed.
"Of course. You didn't reply when I messaged you to stay away…" His hand went back to your jaw, his thumb brushing over the skin of your cheek, which was rapidly getting warm and red. When you met his eyes again your widened, he got close again and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.
"Are you okay?" You chuckled a bit, kind of worried. He had never shown this level of emotion before.
"Yeah." Wonwoo pulled way, petting your hair then went to the body of the woman. You tried to avoid looking at her as he took the map holder from her and soon the Guard showed up. It was another good hour or maybe two before you both were finally allowed to leave after giving statements and answering questions.
"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" he asked you as you left the warehouse district.
"Not yet. I was just about to find a hotel when I saw her…" You drifted off, pointing with your thumb in the general direction of where you just were.
"I got a crap ton of money from a wreck I found so I was going to go somewhere fancy." You smiled wide and he gave you a smaller one. Wonwoo took a step closer, looking a bit nervous, his voice had a slight waver when he spoke.
"Wanna get a room together?"
From everything after he asked that question, till your back hit the door of your hotel room, it was a blur. As soon as the door closed, he had you pressed against it, his lips swallowing yours. His big hand was at the back of your head, making sure it didn't hit the wood of the door. You had gotten one of the deluxe suites of the nice hotel, so the bedroom was separate from the living area, and there was a small kitchen even. When your lungs started to burn for more air, he finally pulled his mouth from yours. As you caught your breath, just looking at each other, Wonwoo leaned into whisper in your ear, "I'm going to fuck you on every surface in this place." He promised. Your head swam at the statement and whined.
"Please~" As soon as he got permission, he grabbed turned you around, your front pressed to the door and his nose nuzzled behind your ear. You let him do as he wished, running his hands under your thin top, starting to suck on the skin in the crook of your neck. You were a bit worried about him having to stoop over so far since he was so much taller, but if he wasn't complaining, neither would you. You could tell he was marking your skin as he licked, sucked, and nibbled over your neck and shoulders. His hands quickly got your shirt off and as his hands danced over the skin of your stomach, you toed your boots off, shoving them to the side. Before he completely removed it, Wonwoo slipped his hands under your breast band, palming the flesh, making you shiver. Undoing the latch, he took the wrap off and it fell to the floor as well. Not turning around to see for sure, you heard more fabric rustling and assumed he was removing his own top. You sighed when his arms wrapped around you, holding your back to his bare chest, the right hand cupping your left breast, and his other hand skating over your stomach. He smiled at the whining moan you let out when his hand finally went into your pants, long fingers stroking the wet patch on your panties.
"So wet, pretty girl." He kissed behind your ear, fingers tweaking your nipple.
"Wonwoo~" You whimpered when his bare fingers finally met your folds and he groaned.
"Let's see how tight you are." Every time he rumbled words in your ear, it made your whole body shiver. Sighing when his finger slid inside, he huffed, his hips twitching as your gummy walls sucked his finger in. You could feel his hardening cock through his pants, pressing into your back side. When Wonwoo added a second finger, crooking them up and pressing hard into your back wall, your legs buckled, and the only reason you didn't fall was his arms around you.
"Need to get your pussy ready for me, pretty." He smiled against your neck when your groan faded into a whine.
"Fuck~" You practically cried as his palm dug into your clit and you were already close.
"No!" You gasped when his fingers left right as you were getting to the edge.
"Wonwoo?" He had pulled away entirely, you only knew he was still behind you because his hands were on the waist band of your pants. He pulled them along with your underwear down and kneeled behind you, helping you get them off without falling over.
"Hold on, pretty girl." While you weren’t sure what he was about to do, your fingers dug futilely into the wood of the door. Your breath escaped you when he, without real warning, shoved his tongue into your cunt, his thumb flicking your clit. Your legs immediately began to shake, a mewl escaping with each rapid breath. You were done for when his lips sealed around your clit, barely flicking with his tongue, and your nails dug into the wood as you released on his tongue. He chuckled, your cunt dripping release onto the floor.
"Gonna have to clean this place good…" You joked, breathless and he laughed harder. Wonwoo hummed, standing back up. There was more shuffling as you rested against the door panting. You sighed when his arms came back to you, pulling you back into his now completely naked body. His cock was wedged in the crook of your ass, and you swore under your breath, why was he so freaking big? He was tall and his shoulders were broad, and apparently had to have a fat cock as well.
"Fuck!" You groaned when the head of his cock went to the entrance of your core. One of his arms wrapped around your ribs, the hand resting under your breast, and the other was at your hip.
"Ready?" His tone had shifted, it was playful and cocky, a slight laugh accompanied the word.
"Please!" You gasped as he started to push in, your legs shook as his dick stretched you open. You hadn't been fucked in a long time, and longer still fucked good. You panted out little whines as he kept filling you, and it seemed like he was going to end up in your throat. Your whole body was trembling when he finally bottomed out, his strong hips pressed against your ass.
"God, your cunt feels so good, princess." His groan rumbled through both of you. You couldn't see, but his head was thrown back, adam's apple bobbing as he tried to get used to how tight you were. When he realized you were on your tip toes trying to compensate for the height difference, he shifted to ease the strain. He backed up so you could lean forward more, and he angled his hips down. Your feet were no longer burning, and his new angle seemed to get him even deeper somehow. Your cunt was burning too, trying to accommodate his size, slick walls fluttering from the stimulation. He had still barely moved, letting you adjust, but you were growing close again.
"Move…" Your request was so quiet. You were trying not to moan like a bitch in heat even though that was exactly how you felt.
"Slow? Fast?"
"Fuck- Wonwoo, just-" He pulled out about halfway and thrust back in, the head of his cock kissing your cervix. You both moaned, his hands left their original positions to grip the flesh of your ass and he chuckled when you nearly sobbed as he started. Only pulling out part of the way, he would fuck back into you hard, grinding his pubic bone into you each time.
"Fucking hell, Wonwoo~" You ended up back on your toes just from the pleasure and you hoped they wouldn't fine you too bad for the scratches your nails were carving into the wood. All your breath got fucked out of you when he finally gave a full thrust, your orgasm slamming into you.
"Shit-" Wonwoo grunted when your already tight cunt squeezed him even more, he had to slow down just to keep himself from cumming as well. He smirked, watching your fingers twitch as you clawed the door, your head flopped forward between your shoulders.
"No, no, no!" You babbled as he pulled out all the way, huffing in amusement at your whining.
"Come here, pretty." Wonwoo easily lifted you, somewhere between like a sack of potatoes and a princess. Your head was still swimming from your orgasm, so the move to the next location was a bit blurry. You shivered and mewled when he set you on the counter that was in the mini kitchen of the suite, the marble very cold on your bare thighs and pussy. He laughed at your yelp when he pulled you, so your butt was right at the end of the counter, and didn't hesitate to bury himself back into you. The thrust was harsher and faster than the first and your hands flew to his shoulders to steady yourself as he restarted the brutal rhythm that he was fucking you against the door with. The man groaned when your nails dug into his skin instead of the wood, so he decided to mark you himself.
"Wonwoo~" Your voice wavered, eyes starting to tear up at the feeling of him fucking your brains out. His mouth went to your own shoulder, at the base of your neck. He started with open mouth kisses, then sucked the skin before lightly sinking his teeth in. He could feel your whimper against your throat, and you felt his responding hum from his lips. Wonwoo tightened his grip as well, wanting to leave bruises shaped like his hands on your skin. He was struggling to hold you upright enough, so you didn't bang your head against the counter, and his knees kept knocking into the cabinet.
"Hold on…" He grunted, and you squeaked when, without withdrawing, picked you up, holding your legs around his waist. Not going far, one hand held your butt and the other went to hitch your leg over his elbow as he pinned you to the wall. Luckily the paint on the wall wasn't textured, your back rubbing over the surface as you bounced on his cock. Wonwoo looked even more gorgeous than normal like that, naked, sweat covering his brow, pupils blown wide. The red, dancing hologram of his eye contact contracted and spun, and you wondered what it did, if anything. With hazy thoughts, you glanced down at his body, whining at the sight of his abs, clenched to work his hips and hold you up.
"Fuck, pretty girl-" He exhaled harshly, his thrusts getting less regular as he grew closer to his orgasm.
"Inside, please, fuck!" You pleaded and he had no desire to argue. His forehead landed on your shoulder, and he moaned higher than you thought he could go as he pumped his cum into you. In the silence, cutting through both of your panting breaths, your combined release dripped onto the tile floor. Your head was so empty you nearly didn't realize you had came again as well. You tried hard not to slump like a rag doll since he was completely holding you up, but you had nearly no strength.
"Let's get to the bed." Wonwoo stood up straight, staying inside, his cock still rock-hard and he carried you to the separate bedroom of the suite. While he meant to set you down on the bed gently, you flopped onto it, letting yourself finally go boneless, your muscles and mind were mush. You weren't sure if you could go any longer, but despite a bit of sweat on him, he was unaffected.
"I've been waiting to fuck you since you came to my motel room in Falko." He admitted, shifting you higher on the bed, following suit, his hard cock covered in both of yours cum resting between the folds of your cunt. You barely registered the confession before your back arched, his cock finding its home inside of you again. It was hard to fully catch your breath, he was battering his cock into your dripping cunt without any mercy. As he rolled his hips just right to hit every single good spot inside of you, his hands gripped your thighs, maneuvering your weakly shaking thighs so they were pressed to your chest, knees at your ears.
"D-daddy, go slower!" You keened and his hips immediately stopped. You were too far gone to feel anything but a bit of respite, head flopping so your cheek rested on the pillow.
"Fucking hell, princess." Somehow his voice had gotten deeper, and he started the brutal pace back up, snapping his hips even harder than before. If you had the strength to scream you would, but your throat was hoarse, so you just mewled and squeaked, drool pooling from the corners of your mouth, tears down your cheeks.
"You love daddy's cock ruining your sweet little cunt, huh?" He huffed when your glassy eyes met his. The red hologram spun and danced, and while you couldn't see, through the lens he had a much different view. Little numbers and labels shown in the air around your body, telling him how and where your brain was firing, your heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure. He could even highlight where blood pooled to the bruises his hands had made.
"Yes~!" You gasped as his thrusts slowed down, but just as hard, he barely pulled out before grinding down into you. Different sensors from his lens flashed on and he could tell you were getting close already. Even without it, he could feel your walls pulsing, more of your wet dripping from where your bodies met.
"You wanna cum, pretty?" You nodded rapidly, whimpering positively.
"Cum for daddy, then." And with one more thrust you fell over the edge. Not just from his words, but also the rough friction of his pelvic bone meeting your clit. Wonwoo chuckled as he felt your pussy spasm, more of your cum squirting from your quivering folds, coating his skin as well. He had a feeling you were spent even though he knew he could keep going. He had stilled inside of you, so he didn't overstimulate you too much, and he wasn't for sure you were still conscious. Your eyes were closed, arms resting on the bed up by your head. He smiled warmly, cooing at your fucked out state, letting your legs go so they could rest onto the bed as well. When he pulled out you shuddered, a long shaky keen floating from your parted lips. He was shocked at the globs of thick, white cum that dripped out of your swollen cunt and he was still unfortunately still very hard. After feeling your core milk him dry, he wasn't sure even a cold shower would calm him down. Though, seeing you laying there, he felt a little bad he had caused you to become so worn out and didn't want to be selfish.
"Oh, princess." Wonwoo leaned back over you, kissing your cheek, the corner of your mouth, then softly pressed his lips to yours. You sighed and it made him grin, you were at least conscious.
"You're still hard." Your voice was quiet, higher than normal, almost whiny.
"It's okay, pretty, you're tired." Wonwoo nuzzled the side of your neck under your ear, lightly sucking on your ear lobe. If he wasn't careful, he would not be able to resist sliding back inside you. With the little strength you had return to you, you pushed him back just enough that you could flop over onto your stomach.
"(Y/N), we don't-" You didn't let him finish, grabbing a pillow to shove under your hips, lifting your butt a bit higher.
"Please, daddy~" You looked at him with shining eyes over your shoulder, and who was he to resist?
"Oh, fuck, princess. If you insist…"
Tumblr media
Masterlist
143 notes · View notes
ponett · 3 months
Text
Bobby's 2023 Media Wrap-Up
Tumblr media
So! Like I said before, this past year I kept a running list of everything I watched, every game I finished, every new album I listened to, etc., and wrote one-paragraph blurbs with my thoughts on every single one. Please enjoy this journey through everything I liked, or didn't like, in 2023, with my favorites of the year listed at the bottom.
(Yes! This is long!!)
Some notes:
I mainly only included things I finished. Exceptions are marked with an asterisk.
I included some YouTube stuff as "TV shows" - mostly particularly long, high effort video essays and documentaries.
I was a bit less adventurous than I'd like to have been this year. Part of this was just that I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up with Big Releases I felt obligated to check out, and part of this was just executive dysfunction from burnout. Wait until you see how long it took me to beat Mario Wonder lmao
Yes, I need to read more books. I don't read a lot of books these days. I need to get back to Discworld.
COLOR KEY
Video Games • TV / Web Video  •  Movies  •  Comics  •  Music
January
Tumblr media
1/15: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (MSQ) - Very slow at times, the Primal shit is generally extremely lame to me outside of the boss fights themselves, but god if the quality of life improvements over WoW, the JRPG energy, and the fact that it Actually Has A Story carry it pretty hard.
1/18: Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island miniseries - One of the most creative and compelling uses of the Sonic IP… ever? Fantastic little self-contained arc about the struggles of Eggman’s abandoned creations that gracefully weaves between heartfelt optimism and moody horror with some of the best art ever seen in a Sonic comic.
1/18: Mega Man X4 - Glad I finally actually beat this after never even beating any of the Mavericks as a kid! I can see why it’s a lot of peoples’ favorites. The gameplay has very little of that X series bloat and is just fun, especially after getting X’s armor upgrades. (But the story really is a long series of missed opportunities.)
February
Tumblr media
2/2: Donks - Felix Colgrave continues to be an exceptional artist. The sound design on this is fantastic and really sells this short as something unique. Had to go back and watch his older stuff again after this.
2/4: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (3.0 - 3.3 MSQ) - I get it now. I get why people say this is just a proper mainline Final Fantasy game built into the framework of an MMO. That shit ruled. Not even walking back the drama in Ul’Dah from the end of ARR can sour me on it because the main storyline was so strong.
2/8: Disneyland's Forgotten Sci-Fi Rock Band - Live From the Space Stage - A nice and honest tribute to a group of artists who could have easily been forgotten. In hindsight this feels like a precursor to Kevin’s Disney Channel jingle video, a tribute to the unsung artists pouring their hearts into “lesser” art for a megacorporation, art that was designed to be transient but sticks with people nonetheless.
2/9: Metroid Prime Remastered* - Not gonna finish because I just played through the Wii version in 2021, but still. Very, very pretty remaster.
2/16: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - It’s more Theatrhythm. What more could I want
2/17: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (anime) - Probably the best part of the anime so far (assuming they continue on to SBR). A near perfect mix of the more structured plot of part 5 with the goofiness of parts 3 and 4 that crescendos into a fantastic, bombastic, emotional, bittersweet ending. The use of footage from the original opening and the new ending set to Roundabout in the finale were perfect, and made me intensely nostalgic for the early days of my JoJo fandom between seasons 1 and 2 of the anime.
2/22: Aggretsuko Season 5 - I don’t really know what to make of this one. Once you get past the agonizing initial arc all about Haida where Retsuko has to be his overbearing mommy GF who flips out and starts spying on him when she’s left on read and chides him when he misbehaves, it feels like an improvement over the previous seasons. But I don’t know how much of that is due to the extremely low bar set by season 4. And then the ending is extremely rushed and anticlimactic. They got legally married and the only acknowledgement was a shot of them signing the paperwork in a montage partway through the final episode?????????
2/24: Double Fine PsychOdyssey - God, what a journey the making of this game was. I already loved 2 Player’s past efforts at documenting Double Fine’s process, but this takes it to a whole new level. This feels culturally significant. The depth and honesty with which they depict not just the nitty gritty of making a game, but also the inherent struggles of working on a collaborative creative work for years at a time, is astounding. Not to mention that they were there to capture the shift from office life to remote work as COVID hit. So much of this would have been nightmarishly stressful to watch if I didn’t already know how successful the game was, but that’s just because they really didn’t sugarcoat it. And yet even after all that, it leaves me feeling optimistic about video games as an art form in a way that the constant headlines about cynical live service games don’t. There are still people out there pouring their hearts into making real art, and this is their story. Everyone who plays video games should watch this.
2/25: Cracker Island (Gorillaz) - New Gorillaz albums feel like less of an event these days, but after Humanz it feels like they’re just more chill with the project and their ambitions with it. Every couple years we get some more laid back jams from Damon along with some fun new collabs. Hard to complain. Favorite track: New Gold
2/25: Pool Kids (Pool Kids) - I discovered this band because Derek knows them and was excited when they got a song added to Fortnite through the Bandcamp collab. Always down to find more cool indie rock bands I can vibe with. The mix of dreamy vocals and energetic riffs on some of the tracks here almost fill the Crying-shaped hole in my heart. Almost… Favorite track: Conscious Uncoupling
2/25: Insane in the Rain (insaneintherainmusic) - I thought it was really funny timing when Carlos announced that his first original project would be a jazz fusion album inspired by acts like T-Square and Casiopea right as I was getting into those two specific bands. The final product does not disappoint. Favorite track: Insane in the Rain
2/26: Get Up Sequences Part Two (The Go! Team) - I’ve never been one to believe that a band’s sound has to remain exactly the same forever, but it really does hit you hard that the first two tracks here sound like classic The Go! Team. Their more recent cleaner sound is still here too, though, for a nice mix of old and new. Favorite track: Divebomb
2/28: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Season 1) - Oh my god. Oh my god. I got distracted around the time I was finishing SLARPG, but finally catching up now, wow. My assumption that the seemingly lighter tone of the series compared to the prologue was there to lull us into a false sense of security before twisting the knife when war finally breaks out was spot on. This is peak Gundam.
March
Tumblr media
3/4: Pizza Tower - One of the best platformers I’ve played in a long time. It transcends its blatant Wario Land inspirations with the sheer speed at which Peppino can move and the way things like the level design, his wall running, and even the hidden ability to do a second lap around the level reward getting into a flow state where you’re just constantly moving. This is the type of game that wants to turn you into a speedrunner. My only real complaint is a few iffy enemy designs that I wish would get patched.
3/6: Bloons TD 6 * - I bought this before bed one night on a nostalgic whim and then the next morning woke up and saw the Steam receipt email on my phone in one of the most “what did I do last night” moments of my life. I like when the monkeys pop the balloons.
3/7: The Book of Boba Fett - I put off finishing this show for a very long time but finally caved upon the release of The Mandalorian season 3. This show spends four episodes failing to make me give a shit about Boba Fett trying to be “the daimyo” and drive the drug trade off of Tatooine, then just gives up and becomes season 2.5 of Mando, which in turn feels like it undercuts the main series. It fails as both its own story and as a spinoff. I know that finishing this after Andor did it no favors, but WHOOF.
3/12: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Some interesting ideas in the first half hinting at a more introspective show, but it’s mostly swept aside in the back half so it can become a generic Star Wars adventure remixing things from A New Hope and Rebels (and apparently Jedi: Fallen Order). Action scenes have zero stakes because you know nothing can happen to any of the returning characters and none of the new ones are particularly interesting. Why there’s a second climax hinging on a Luke Skywalker death fakeout eludes me. Obi-Wan throwing the rocks at Vader is one of the funniest things in Star Wars history. But it was still better than Book of Boba Fett, I guess.
3/19: The King of Braves GaoGaiGar - Wow, cool robot indeed… GaoGaiGar isn’t going to blow anyone away with its writing, but sometimes you just need a really fun monster of the week mecha show with great action and lovably goofy characters. This is a show where like 20% of every episode consists of recycled transformation, combination, and signature attack sequences and I ate it up every time because they look fucking cool as hell. I don’t care. I’d watch Final Fusion another 49 times.
3/21: The Last of Us (HBO) * - Watched the first two episodes out of curiosity, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue because I don’t give a shit about The Last of Us. It’s definitely a well done adaptation, though, even if I know it’s inevitably going to devolve into miserable torture porn with questionable politics if they adapt Part II faithfully. The ending of episode 2 also lines up perfectly with where I stopped in the game in 2013 lmao
3/27: The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse (Folding Ideas) - Another banger from Dan Olson. This time the premise inherently gives him more time to just show off a bunch of stupid ugly bullshit made by crypto guys, which is fun. My main complaint was that I wished he would’ve brought up Second Life more as a point of comparison (a thing I basically always want out of discussion of “the metaverse”), but he at least did touch on it in the last section.
3/31: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - I can’t believe after years of begging for the supporting cast to get more and better material in a Sonic game I got my wish in the form of a freeware murder mystery VN released for April Fools. This kicked ass.
April
Tumblr media
4/7: Berserk - Completed Miura’s run and caught up on the chapters that have been released posthumously. It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about Berserk, universally agreed upon as one of the greats of manga and fantasy fiction as a whole. What begins in its first few volumes as a nihilistic and edgy action comic built to facilitate as much sex and gore as possible quickly evolves into something deeply human and vulnerable and beautiful, both figuratively and in terms of its lavish art. The world sucks and is immeasurably cruel, and you will see that cruelty illustrated in graphic, sickening detail repeatedly throughout the series. (Perhaps a little too often throughout the Golden Age, where it feels like Miura never misses an opportunity to threaten Casca with sexual assault mid-battle.) But the point isn’t to wallow in that misery. It’s the story of a victim of horrific abuse learning to slowly open up to others, having those people he cares about torn away from him in the worst night of his life, hardening himself into a cold killing machine, and then slowly learning to open back up again, even if it means leaving himself vulnerable to more hurt. Anyone who says that the series peaked with the eclipse and went downhill in the “Guts’ JRPG Party” era is missing the point. Guts needed to find new people in his life to care about, to begin to find happiness again. Because no matter what unspeakable things Guts has gone through, it’s still possible for him to heal and to be loved. It takes time, but eventually you stop and realize that life has moved on.
4/8: Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe - Skipped it upon release because I didn’t particularly care for the minigame in Triple Deluxe, and I didn’t miss much. It’s fine as a little distraction, but not as a standalone rhythm game with only seven songs. If you don’t bother with the hard modes or chase after high scores this game is 15 minutes long. Oh how I yearn for Kirby to get the Theatrhythm treatment.
4/10: The King of Braves: GaoGaiGar FINAL - Eh… It was okay. Lots of cool robot fights, but said fights are stitched together with a mediocre plot that tries too hard to be more “mature” than its unabashedly schlocky kids’ show predecessor. Not crazy about the ending, either, which tries to be a bittersweet farewell closing off the series once and for all while also teasing that maybe there’ll be ANOTHER sequel after the OVA series they literally called “FINAL.” Ah well.
4/11: The Owl House - Sad to see this one go, but it’s hard to imagine them doing a better finale than this, even if they had gotten the six seasons they deserved. I’m not as obsessed with The Owl House as I probably would’ve been had it come out when I was, like, 20, but it’s a really fantastic show for all the reasons people always say. Great characters, great world, great story. I love that this starry-eyed fantasy story about a teenager finding love and a place where she belongs is also set on the rotting corpse of a titan with Hieronymous Bosch-inspired scenery and freaky monsters everywhere. What a great mix. If anything, I just wish I would’ve watched the first season as it aired so I could’ve had more time with it.
4/29: Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue Version - FINALLY beat this via the new collection, 20 years after playing it as my first Mega Man game. (Technically my first was White, not Blue, but whatever.) There are more annoyances than I remember - lots of really really bad forced backtracking sections where you have to revisit every previous part of the internet, low chip drop rates, some really aggravating bosses like BubbleMan and KingMan, etc. But it’s still a great time overall. It’s Battle Network. In the back half the story gets surprisingly emotional, too. I was always under the assumption that the Hub stuff never came back up much in the story after 1, so I was pleasantly surprised with how relevant it was to the emotional arc of 3.
4/30: Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun * - Yeah I’m not playing through the whole thing lmao. I just wanted to play the first couple hours for nostalgia’s sake, and as a baseline for how much better the rest are. Even before getting deep in the game and having to deal with all the shit gated between doing two new game+ playthroughs, it’s immediately obvious how much of a downgrade this one is. Tons of glaring errors and typos all over the script, blander music, a way more boring aesthetic for the internet, and a premise that mostly just recycles the tournament idea from 3.
May
Tumblr media
5/14: The Venture Bros. - Glad I finally sat down and watched all of this with Anthony after having seen one (1) episode as a teenager and a bunch of random clips in the years since. Great show. Some jokes in the early seasons haven’t aged gracefully, but what the show grows into over time... man. Hank and Dean go from being the butt of the joke to being characters you actually sympathize with - while still also being funny little goofballs. And the journey Henchman 21 goes on throughout the show. Man. Amazing that a comedy like this could run for 20 years and maintain its level of quality. Can’t wait for the movie.
5/18: Future Me Hates Me (The Beths) - Okay yeah I’m now just discovering bands through Fortnite lmao. I can’t complain really, they pick some really great indie artists for the in-game radio stations. Anyway: It’s very easy to win me over with a combination of energetic power pop, catchy guitar riffs, and earnest lyrics like this. One of those albums where three or four tracks in I know I have to buy it. Favorite track: Not Running
5/18: Jump Rope Gazers (The Beths) - Ditto. Favorite track: Dying to Believe
5/18: Expert In A Dying Field (The Beths) - Another good album. (I’m listening to these in release order.) I’ve been a bit slower to warm up to this one, initially thinking it was a little too mellow overall, but it might be my favorite after a few listens. Some real high highs. Interestingly, the lead singer’s New Zealand accent is also coming out more in her singing? Favorite track: Your Side (or maybe Head in the Clouds)
5/19: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - As a Mario fan, I think I enjoyed it? As a movie, less so? It was decent, in spite of feeling like they came up with a list of fun action setpieces first and then wrote the absolute bare minimum possible for the story scenes tying it all together. Full thoughts here. (This is the first movie I’ve seen this year, huh? I really don’t watch a lot of movies.)
5/23: Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out (Gladie) - I feel like I don’t like Gladie as much as I should. Their style of noisy indie rock is very much in my wheelhouse, and I do enjoy listening to them, but I dunno. Maybe it’s that the particular style of vocals makes it more monotonous to me. A good album nonetheless, if not 100% my thing. Favorite track: Nothing
5/24: City Slicker (Ginger Root) - Yes I am still making my way through Bandcamp artists I heard on Fortnite don’t @ me. Any excuse to get me to listen to some cool city pop-inspired funk like this is a good excuse. Favorite track: Loretta
5/24: Rikki (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: Why Try
5/25: Spotlight People (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: The Classic
5/29: Succession - A good dramedy series that increasingly focuses more on the drama than the comedy as it progresses, but it’s hard to complain about that since the drama is so compellingly produced. I enjoyed it. That being said, I kind of rankle at the claims that it’s The Greatest TV Show Of All Time. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. Amazing performances all around. But the show LOVES to spin its wheels, to repeat itself, and to let most of its interesting dramatic developments fizzle out before anything really comes of them, almost as if the show is constantly getting bored with its own ideas. To some extent this is intentional - Logan Roy is the untouchable billionaire, his kids fail at everything (but will nonetheless remain billionaires), and in the long run none of them really give a shit about anything other than their own status. But it’s not like things tend to visibly impact anyone else, either, be they supporting characters or the world at large. Even the Big Scary Election, where the Roy siblings are directly responsible for plunging the nation into chaos, ultimately has zero impact on the finale a mere two episodes later. Certain Other Things do have an impact in the last season, though, allowing things to meaningfully change for the cast and for the show to sit with the ensuing drama, which has stopped me from souring on Succession more. There was finally a payoff for something. But it does still kind of feel like a show that goes in circles until it’s ready to call it quits, even if those circles did contain a lot of great acting and music along the way.
5/29: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - I’d watched the first 12 episodes when they originally released, but I guess the Netflix binge release and the fact that all three “seasons” came out in one year led to me waiting until it finished… and then I just never got around to finishing it. Glad I fixed that! Really fun and stylish cartoon with an art style reminiscent of Teen Titans, a hip hop-filled soundtrack, dynamic fight scenes, and a colorful post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant (mostly anthropomorphic) animals. I’ll admit that at times I do kinda roll my eyes at Kipo’s unshakeable belief that everyone can be friends in a way that I don’t necessarily with similar shows like Steven Universe, and not every joke lands, but I dunno. It’s a kids’ show. That’s to be expected. It doesn’t detract from the overall package for me.
June
Tumblr media
6/1: Craig of the Creek (Season 4) - It’s been years and I’m still processing the fact that kids can turn on Cartoon Network and hear Jeff Rosenstock. Anyway! Craig continues to be one of the best cartoons on TV, consistently funny and creative and way more engaging than a show about a bunch of kids LARPing in the woods has any right to be. This season turned into One Piece with the gang effectively hunting down the Poneglyphs in search of a legendary treasure. The kids think it’ll be magic. It isn't. An increasing number of cartoon logic gags aside, this show is firmly set in the real world. Does that make it any less interesting? Hell no. Season 3 turned a game of capture the flag into an all-out five episode war between the heroes and villains, filled with dramatic turnabouts and a climactic guest appearance from Del the Funky Homosapien. I’m sure however they wrap things up in the (sadly shortened) final season, it’ll be great. (Also? I would watch a whole show based on that “what if” episode that jumped forward to everyone’s 20s.)
6/6: Barry - Holy shit, what a show. I ended up binging it in less than a week in a cycle of “okay, just one more episode.” The way this show is able to swing between tones and genres while still feeling like a cohesive whole is truly masterful. It’s a layered character drama, a tragic crime thriller, a farcical comedy, an understated action series, a surrealist morality play, and a scathing satire of Hollywood, all in one. Even within the criminal underworld subplots the show ranges in tone from Breaking Bad to Paddington 2. And it works! While the show naturally gets bleaker over time as it confronts the repercussions of Barry’s murders, it never completely loses sight of its comedic roots. My favorite episode was easily season 2’s “ronny/lily,” a mostly self-contained episode that somehow manages to keep throwing the perfect curveballs to escalate its dark comedy.
6/12: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) - Y’all heard of this movie? Pretty good, it turns out. (I’d seen the theatrical cut before, but this was my first time watching the extended edition. I’ve also only seen parts of the other two movies, so it’s time I finally watch all the extended cuts. The Gollum game pushed me to this.)
6/13: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) - give it to us RAW and WRIGGLING
6/17: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Extended Edition) - I’m not crying YOU’RE crying
6/22: Clone High (Season 2) - While the first episode being about “cancel culture” (or, more accurately, a teenager from 2003 being transported to 2023 and putting his foot in his mouth a lot) put a lot of people off, I ended up enjoying the new season of Clone High. The new clones grew on me as the season went on and their roles in the web of teen romance melodrama crystalized, and it made me laugh a lot, and Cleo/Frida is galaxy brained. Also they played one of my favorite Antarctigo Vespucci songs like a minute into the first episode. I don’t think I could really ask for much more.
6/28: The Mandalorian (Season 3) - I'd been watching this weekly but put off the last episode for no real reason. Responses to this season have been all over the place, but my blistering hot take is… it was fine. Is it as good as the first season? Probably not. But Mando no longer needs to carry the whole franchise on its shoulders and set the bar for how good the live action Disney Star Wars shows can be, because Andor exists, and it’s never gonna top Andor. The Mandalorian is free to just be a pulpy space adventure show where Giancarlo Esposito plays a scenery-chewing cartoon villain and a little puppet does wire stunts. These are things Andor cannot and should not do, but that’s Star Wars, baby. It’s delightful. I could watch Grogu get underhand tossed like a sack of flour all day.
July
Tumblr media
7/2: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Season 2) - LOVE WINS. (More nuanced take from way later: It definitely feels like a lot of the more messy political conflicts in this show got swept aside by the big final battle where some more easily resolved family conflicts take center stage. I’m not sure the ending is the most satisfying. But also this show only got half the episode count that damn near every other Gundam show ever made got, so that might be a factor here. Idk. Still one of my favorite Gundams.)
7/4: Final Fantasy XVI (watched Anthony play) - I had to write my longest Medium article ever about this one because I was so frustrated
7/10: Home Movies - “Things I like that I’ve never seen in full” has certainly been a recurring theme this year. Home Movies remains an all-time classic of animated comedy that went out on a high note before things got stale or the characters became parodies of themselves. While it’s mostly known for its funny improvised banter, throughout the last season you can really see the arc where Brendon no longer enjoys making movies, yet he feels obligated to keep using them to escape from the real world. In that light, the ending where the nature of their dysfunctional makeshift family is cemented, Brendon’s camera suddenly breaks, and life moves on really does feel like the perfect note to end on. Truly one of the best to ever do it.
7/15: The Legend of Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom - Wow. Just… wow. I had serious doubts about TotK in the months leading up to release due to how close Nintendo was playing their cards to their chest. I didn’t want this to be a Saints Row IV, where the game is fun enough but the recycled map makes it feel like a rehash. Instead, I found a game that made me look at BotW’s map in a whole new light, brimming with so many more things to do and people to meet. Add on a better, more versatile set of tools, more varied dungeons and bosses, and a story that I felt was told somewhat better and we’ve got a real contender for my new favorite Zelda game. It was hard to tear myself away, but as this list shows, it’s been basically the only game I’ve played since it came out.
7/16: Sonic Prime (Season 2) - I liked the parts with Shadow and Chaos Sonic, but I’ve come to the sad conclusion that most of this show is just mediocre. More thoughts here.
7/18: We ♥ Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie - “I’m a dog, but I love Katamari Damacy.” Truer words have never been spoken.
7/19: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Pretty good! It didn’t blow me away, but after how bad the Bay movies got I’m just thankful to have a decently cohesive Transformers movie where the human story is okay and I like the bots (although half of them needed more screen time), even if it is just another Hollywood blockbuster about two sides fighting over a macguffin that devolves into a big CGI battle against an army of nameless monsters in the third act. This is basically a mid-tier MCU movie but with Transformers, which won’t do much for most people, but again: the bar was underground.
7/22: The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart - God DAMN. A phenomenal ending for the series. While I would have loved to see a full final season to get some more one-off episodes in there, this doesn’t feel creatively compromised in any way–either due to the time constraints, or due to a desire to make it more marketable as a movie. It really does feel like they just took their outlines for the canceled final season and gently massaged them into the shape of an 84-minute movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s completely on par with the previous seasons. A hilarious and fitting sendoff for one of the greats of adult animation.
7/23: Beautiful Katamari - This was one of my first Xbox 360 games, but a frustrating temperature-based level made me put it down for 16 years. “Maybe it won’t be as bad now that I’ve beaten the first two games and am better at Katamari,” I thought. Nope! Still an absolutely dogshit level. But also, turns out the whole game is only like two hours long lmao. It’s still Katamari, so it’s still fun - the final level in particular, which seamlessly takes you from ground level all the way to space, feels like a logical endpoint for the series - but beyond that it just doesn't have the same soul without Keita Takahashi's input.
August
Tumblr media
8/4: Doom Singer (Chris Farren) - I’ve been waiting so long for Chris and Jeff to do another Antarctigo Vespucci album, but god damn. This is the best of Chris’s solo work, and a contender for his best record, period. Every track’s a banger, with more energy than some of his previous solo work but also a good deal of variety. Favorite tracks: First Place, Cosmic Leash
8/4: Transformers Earthspark (Season 1) - This show had a bit of an uneven start, unsure if it wanted to have the emotional maturity of a more serious action cartoon or a preschool cartoon where the characters have little kid mood swings and outbursts and learn basic lessons. It also felt like it was speedrunning its Wholesome Found Family Dynamic with characters who just met, which didn’t feel earned. While these problems never completely go away (see: the cheap and corny way the otherwise very dark season finale suddenly resolves), the show improves quickly, and the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s so great to have a Transformers cartoon that feels fresh, giving us a post-war setting with a bunch of new characters and new dynamics between the Cybertronians and the humans. The returning characters are also uniformly great as the old veterans overseeing the new generation. (Reformed Megatron! Danny Pudi as Bumblebee! Steve Blum returning as Starscream! Keith David as Grimlock!!!) And those super dynamic action scenes! I can nitpick, but Earthspark’s a ton of fun, and easily the best new Transformers cartoon since Prime and Animated.
8/5: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (remaster) - Everyone who told me this game was a masterpiece was right. I had played the first chapter when it dropped as the demo for the iOS version years ago, but never went further than that until now. What a game. Absolutely incredible through and through. Great story, great twists, great characters, great puzzles, great art direction. Everything comes together so perfectly to form a totally unique, unforgettable package, a top tier video game murder mystery. Everyone should play this, preferably going in as blind as possible.
8/15: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 16) - Wow! Recent seasons of Sunny have been kind of up and down, with some interesting experiments (Mac Finds His Pride, the Ireland arc, etc.) paired with some comedic duds. Most of this latest season is standard fare for the series with fewer big creative swings, but it’s just hit after hit in terms of comedy. Not a single dud, whether we’re seeing Mac and Dennis try to start a rental business for inflatable furniture or watching the gang meet Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, believing the entire time that the latter is Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle. Even the attempts at topical comedy landed better. Easily the funniest season in years.
8/16: One Piece Film Gold - It’s easy to see why this one has kind of been forgotten in the wake of Stampede and Film Red, which revolve around established fan favorite characters, but this was still pretty fun. Perhaps a little too long, but it’s fun to see the Straw Hats fool around in a giant casino and do a heist. They definitely cranked the fanservice up even more than usual in this one, though, as I probably should have expected for a movie made alongside the anime’s adaptation of Dressrosa.
8/17: One Piece: Stampede - This one goes for a different kind of fanservice. While most One Piece movies are isolated from the ongoing plot and its expanded cast of characters, Stampede instead asks “What if we just put damn near every active character on the same island and had them fight?” The answer: a fun time! It would get old if all of the movies were like this, but after a bunch of movies that are just like “the Straw Hats are gonna land on another new island and fight some more weird guys” it’s fun to see characters like Law and Buggy and Smoker get in on the fun. It’s also nice to get a movie with the Wano era art style, and Usopp surprisingly gets some really good character moments in here.
8/18: One Piece Film Red - This really is the best of the One Piece movies, huh? (Baron Omatsuri is a close second.) It really feels like a change of pace after the last four with the most interesting and emotionally engaging story out of any of them. And even if the events of these movies are never canon, it still feels significant in my understanding of Shanks as a character as we move into the final phase of the manga.
8/21: Pikmin 4 - The opening hour of the game made me really question if they’d changed too much, with all the focus on your new dog unit over your Pikmin and the extremely dull, drawn out dialogue scenes with your new companions back at the base. But once I got into the swing of things I had a blast. This is probably my new favorite Pikmin game. There’s a great mix of activities here to keep things fresh. I also really ended up liking Oatchi’s role as basically your second captain who can also serve as your tank or a rideable mount. The Dandori stuff and nighttime missions in particular show off how useful Oatchi is for your multitasking without necessarily overshadowing the Pikmin.
8/22: Never Get Tired: The Bomb the Music Industry! Story - I literally backed this on Kickstarter eight years ago (my name is in the credits!) and then never got around to watching it for no reason. It’s on YouTube now, and Jeff’s got a new album out next week, so now feels like the perfect time to watch it. And man… what a great documentary. Obviously I’m just a fan of the band, but this also really spoke to me as an artist. Jeff wanting to stick to his principles and give out his music for free and play cheap all ages shows, his discomfort over the idea of selling merch, and the struggles that come with not playing the game like that… It's hard. They readily admit that Jeff is an idealist, that people fight him on this stuff, that he’s missed out on some big opportunities because of these stances, and that he’s had to compromise a bit on some of these things over time. But that incredible climax with their final show, including a full opening performance of the slowly building “Campaign for a Better Next Weekend” and the closing performance of “Future 86” where the whole audience is singing along as the members of the band are hugging and crying… it’s beautiful. This may have been a band where the members had to go back to their shitty day jobs after every tour because they weren’t selling out arenas, but their art meant something to people, and that makes it all worth it.
8/25: Nimona - I haven’t read the original comic (yet), so I can’t compare them too much, but it’s nonetheless pretty apparent that some things were softened and easy kids’ movie jokes were added by the studio to squeeze this graphic novel for teens into a PG animated movie. Regardless, the emotional throughline hits REALLY hard, particularly the very blatant trans allegory and the climax. (It’s no wonder Disney was afraid of this movie seeing the light of day lmao.) The animation is also very squishy and fun to watch throughout. Great movie.
8/26: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Spider-Verse really has done so much for animation, huh? This one was as good as everyone said. Beautiful use of stylized color and lighting throughout, and every time this movie very conspicuously shifted to different framerates for a flashy fight scene it owned. Very cute and heartwarming story, too, which thankfully gave its second act plenty of time to explore the cast and let them go on their journey, unlike a certain plumber movie that came out a few months later. Also I would let Death [redacted]
8/28: Holocure: Save the Fans! - This isn't really something I can beat, but I've been addicted to Holocure lately. I don't even watch VTubers aside from maybe seeing a funny Korone animation every now and then, this is just a really, really good freeware Vampire Survivors clone with a huge roster of varied characters to pick from.
8/31: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock) - A new album from Jeff is always a major event for me. If there were any worries that he was starting to go soft at 40 (because one of the three singles off this album was a gentle acoustic piece), the frantic opening of this album put those worries to rest. The first two tracks are Jeff screaming out for help as he’s pulled in a million directions by the chaotic state of the world, a theme that becomes the thesis of the album. I’d say it lags slightly in the middle, but overall this is another extremely well-rounded record full of bangers that’s unapologetically Jeff, with possibly my favorite closing track he’s ever done. Favorite tracks: I WANNA BE WRONG, 3 SUMMERS
September
Tumblr media
9/3: One Piece (live action, Season 1) - They did it. I can’t believe it, but they did it. While I have my nitpicks (Usopp and Sanji don’t get enough big moments to shine), this is an extremely solid and faithful adaptation of the first few arcs of One Piece with a great cast. For the most part the changes feel smart and logical, and the big emotional beats of the story are all there and executed very well. I doubted it a little in episodes 2-4, where the Orange Town and Syrup Village arcs saw some major changes to shift the action indoors, and the increased focus on the drama in favor of repeating every gag and battle from the manga 1:1 took a bit of getting used to, but by the end I was having a blast. It’s a different take on One Piece, but it still feels like One Piece. Genuinely very excited for season 2.
9/4: Pseudoregalia - A great little N64-style 3D Metroidvania focused on platforming and very satisfying movement. I always love entries in the genre that are less prescriptive in what order you have to tackle areas in, a la Symphony of the Night or Hollow Knight, and this one’s great in that regard. While there are a number of new moves to find, most of the map is open to you very early in the game, and smart use of your moveset can allow you to “sequence break” without even realizing it. (You would not believe how long I went without getting the wall run.) I do wish it had a map, but that’s already being patched in.
9/6: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk * - Not a bad game at all, but I quickly remembered how bad I am at skating games, so like… eh? Not sure I have much desire to play past chapter 2. Also the soundtrack is sadly kinda hit or miss for me outside of the obvious Naganuma tunes.
9/9: The History of the Minnesota Vikings (Dorktown) - Jon Bois never misses. Even as someone who doesn’t actively follow sports, Jon Bois is a master storyteller, using graphs and statistics and funny anecdotes to explore these deeply human stories. He can convey why people care so much about these teams, these people, and sports in general, and how our popular sports reflect on American culture. He could tell the story of just about any team or player in any sport and I just know I’ll come out the other side a misty-eyed fan. And what a fascinating cast of characters we have this time, with origin stories for everything from the Hail Mary pass to a Minnesota state supreme court judge to the Griddy. Nine hours well spent.
9/10: Timespinner - A fun and highly polished Metroidvania that maybe doesn’t quite have enough of its own identity in its quest to replicate Symphony of the Night…but also, like, this was pitched as a Symphony throwback on KickStarter in a pre-Bloodstained, pre-Hollow Knight world, so I can’t really blame ‘em! Stopping time to avoid boss attacks is fun, the pixel art is gorgeous, and I liked the dark science fantasy story about warring empires and meddling with time a lot more than I thought I would - lore journal text dumps and all.
9/14: The Decay of Sam & Cat (Quinton Reviews) - All the stuff at the end with Matt Bennett (the actor who played Robbie on Victorious and Sam & Cat) in this was really good and sweet. It’s that kind of thing that makes these videos feel like they’re still worthwhile on some level. But the padding and the things Quinton chooses to spend the colossal runtime on does drive me more and more insane with each passing Nick sitcom video. I don’t know how much longer he can keep this schtick up. I hope he’s able to move on to other things before too terribly long instead of continuing to extend this “miniseries.”
9/19: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales - AKA Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 1.5. It’s fun for the same reasons Peter’s first game was fun. I had a good time swinging around New York again in preparation for the sequel, and there’s a lot of cute stuff with Miles becoming Harlem’s neighborhood hero, but WOW did the Underground v. Roxxon conflict fall flat for me.
9/20: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson - I understand so many posts now.
9/25: Spider-Man (2002) (rewatch) - It’s you who’s out, Gobby! OUT OF YOUR MIND!
9/25: Futurama (Season 8) - I was ready to be a hater, recalling the fact that Futurama has already had three “perfect endings” with the show getting a little weaker with every revival. Then I watched the first new episode on a whim and thought it wasn’t bad, so I was like, eh, sure, I’ll watch the rest. Overall Hulurama is hit or miss. There are chuckles to be had, and it sure as hell beats modern Simpsons, but almost every episode is either a belated take on an overplayed Topical Issue (the pandemic, Amazon, cancel culture, etc.) or a direct sequel to an old episode people liked. Or both! It’s also really noticeable that certain voice actors sound way older - Billy West is struggling with the Fry voice in particular, and it hurts his comedic timing. But just when all hope seemed lost after the nigh-incomprehensible toy-themed anthology episode, possibly the worst episode of the entire series… the last episode, where the Planet Express crew explores whether or not the universe could be a simulation, was really, really solid. Great note to end on to make me not regret my time with this season as a whole.
9/26: Spider-Man 2 (2004) (rewatch) - Once the GOAT, always the GOAT.
9/27: Spider-Man 3 (rewatch) - Revisiting this movie for the first time since I saw it in theaters… it’s not bad. It’s fine! It continues to have the heart and sincerity that make the first two movies work. It’s just not as concise with three villains vying for the spotlight, but I also wouldn’t cut any of them, necessarily. I guess Eddie/Venom would be the easiest, but Peter getting the black suit and giving in to his resentment feels too central to cut. (Yes, even with Emo Peter becoming a meme.)
9/28: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake - I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, especially since I was never really a fan of the genderbend episodes in the original show. (At the time they mostly just felt like an excuse to crank up the teen romance stuff to 11.) But MAN. This was a fantastic coda to the original series. It made me care about Fionna and Cake and their friends as their own characters separate from their original counterparts, it gave the Simon/Betty arc a much more satisfying (if no less bittersweet) resolution than the original finale had time to do, and it even managed to be a multiverse story that didn’t make me roll my eyes in 2023. A+ all around. Makes me wanna rewatch the original show again. [spoiler: I did]
9/29: Meanwhile (aivi & surasshu) - It’s been a whole decade–they were busy with, you know, all the music in Steven Universe, among other things–but we finally have a new aivi & surasshu album! Their chiptune/piano fusion style is familiar, but they’ve definitely grown as composers in subtle ways. Favorite track: Time Travel
October
Tumblr media
10/1: This is Financial Advice (Folding Ideas) - A lot of the nitty gritty finance law stuff turned into white noise for me, but still, great video. I had no idea that the GameStop stock craze devolved into this bizarre cult that thinks they’re going to crash the global economy and rise from the ashes as the new kings with the value of their GME stocks. Glad this video exists to try and balance out the narrative.
10/5: Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon DLC - Good ideas, absurdly frustrating and tedious execution. Full thoughts here.
10/10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (rewatch) - I didn’t plan this, but very fitting that I would end up rewatching this on 10/10.
10/12: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - ha he! (Seriously though, that finale was a fucking masterpiece. The RTVS crew has an incredible knack for using the framing device of video game livestreams to blur the lines between comedy and horror, or ironic anti-humor and complete sincerity. I’ve never seen anything else like this.)
10/15: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Not sure how much I can say that hasn’t already been said. The most visually creative movie I’ve ever seen, grounded by some really excellent storytelling about Miles (and now Gwen) that’s probably better than his actual comics. But it also does feel like it’s about to end and then the movie just keeps going like ten times over lmao. Can’t wait to watch this a second time on a better TV.
10/20: Sonic Superstars - A mostly really solid and fun 2D Sonic game that’s unfortunately dragged down by an extremely hodgepodge soundtrack and some overly drawn out boss fights. I spent HOURS trying to beat the final boss of the bonus scenario (which is required for the true ending in this one) before giving up. Really a shame that that’s the note I’m leaving the game on, because I otherwise enjoyed it, but ah well. More thoughts here.
10/27: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - Another good Spider-Man game from Insomniac. Liked the story more than the one in Miles Morales, but maybe not as much as the first game. Extensive thoughts here.
10/28: Venom - Was in the mood for more Venom after the game. As expected this was not a very good movie, but the dynamic between Eddie and Venom made it a fun watch. Tom Hardy is constantly about to shit his pants in this movie. It’s great.
10/28: Venom: Let There Be Carnage - I had a way better time with this one. Is this a good movie? No. But it cranks the insanity of the first movie up to 11. Goofy as fuck in an extremely watchable way.
November
Tumblr media
11/5: Pluto - An absolutely masterful series that anyone interested in sci-fi needs to watch. The anime adaptation was great, and I immediately understand why people who’ve read the manga speak so highly of it. Really makes me want to get into Astro Boy more, and also read some of Urasawa’s other works.
11/18: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - Wow, just wow. When news of a Scott Pilgrim anime broke I was cautiously curious to see if we’d get a more direct adaptation of the comics, and instead it veered off in the exact opposite direction in the best way possible. This is almost entirely a different story, one that’s in conversation with the previous versions (sometimes in very meta ways), and I think it’s really valuable to see O’Malley revisiting these characters with new things to say about them. The major story divergence gives us a chance to examine the characters from a new angle - particularly Ramona, who’s the real protagonist of this version, and the evil exes, who completely steal the show. This was a great reminder of why I fell in love with this series as a teenager. I now genuinely hope we get more Scott Pilgrim.
11/22: Void Rivals (Issues #1 - #6) - The first arc of the new Robert Kirkman series that kicked off Skybound’s new “Energon Universe” is now complete, and I’m left thinking Void Rivals is… okay? I thought the first issue was a decent (if not particularly original) sci-fi comic with an appealing art style, which just so happens to also briefly have a Transformer in it so there can be a Big Surprise. And the series still hasn’t quite shaken that feeling to me. It’s an okay sci-fi series that arbitrarily dedicates a couple of pages of every issue to something from Transformers, but I’m not really sure what the shared universe stuff adds to Void Rivals, or what Void Rivals adds to Transformers and GI Joe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
11/22: Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History (Defunctland) - Yeah, gotta be honest, I only got halfway through this one. It seems like Kevin just 1) really wanted to push himself creatively and 2) make a love letter to Epcot, and while I respect that, I think it suffers as a historical documentary. It’s Fantasia but for the creation of Epcot. That might be very impressive on a technical level, but it feels more like a piece of Disney propaganda than prior Defunctland videos due to a lack of context and nuance. 
11/24: Aperture Desk Job - A short, sweet, and funny little tech demo for my new Steam Deck set in the Portal universe. More effort was definitely put into this than was strictly necessary.
11/26: ESCHATOS - I am not good at bullet hell games, but I enjoy them from time to time and I really love this one’s FM synth soundtrack, so I picked it up on a whim in the Steam sale. I only beat it on Easy, but still, I had a lot of fun with it! It’s straightforward but very flashy, with the camera dynamically zooming around from set piece to set piece at ridiculous speeds and each level segueing directly into the next. The lack of a powerup system on the main mode in favor of just needing to know when to use your different shot types makes it feel very approachable.
11/27: Lunistice - A great little 3D platformer with a good soundtrack that I had fun hunting down all the secrets in. This is an easy recommendation for fans of games like Kirby or Klonoa - whimsical games set in colorful dream worlds where the underlying story can get a bit more somber. (Although the story in this one is mostly told through mildly cryptic lore dumps, so your mileage there may vary.)
11/28: Spark the Electric Jester 2 - The leap from 2D to 3D here is impressive, but this is very clearly a rough draft for Spark 3. Very, very fun Sonic-style 3D platforming, but the combat is lacking and the storytelling is just kinda bad. More extensive thoughts on this and the above two games here.
December
Tumblr media
12/2: Fortnite (Chapter 4) - This was my first full chapter of Fortnite, after having been roped into the game by the siren songs of Zero Build mode and Goku during Chapter 3. This means it’s harder for me to compare this chapter to previous ones, but still, Fortnite remains a genuinely very well made Battle Royale shooter that’s a blast with friends. If I have any complaint about this Chapter, it’s that they would regularly introduce zany ideas and then slowly reel them back in, whether it was the Augment system or the increasingly mundane movement items. It also felt like it was a little too easy to get the perfect loadout in every match, meaning the final showdown would almost always be against players with Slurp Juice and gold shotguns. And I missed the smaller mid-season map updates of Chapter 3. But overall I still had a really good time, and look forward to playing more for the foreseeable future.
12/4: Plagiarism and You(Tube) (HBomberguy) - This will get written off by many as “YouTuber drama,” but this really is an excellent video essay that feels like the kick in the pants that YouTube needs. If video essayists are gonna be a major source of information for so many, then they gotta have standards. I also think it does a good job of highlighting the people that have been plagiarized and trying to drive more attention their way in an attempt to right those wrongs.
12/6: Transformers (Skybound comic) - We only got the first three issues of this in 2023, but I just HAVE to say something about how incredible this series is here. Daniel Warren Johnson is knocking it out of the park. This is the new bar for Transformers. The hand-inked art is extremely dynamic and full of character, and the story is using the familiar beats of G1 Transformers but doing very new things with them. You can tell this from the very first page, but the emotional scene of Optimus accidentally crushing a deer in the forest and realizing how fragile life is on Earth sealed the deal for me. And yet in the very same comics Optimus can do suplexes and clotheslines and lord knows how many other wrestling moves on Decepticons, and it doesn’t feel like tonal whiplash? These comics just fucking rule, and anyone with even the slightest interest in Transformers should be reading them.
12/8: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) - [spoilers] WWDITS has very much settled into being a status quo show. Every season has its own little arc where one or two things change to keep things interesting, but then everything returns to normal by the end. Guillermo finally becoming a vampire, only to become a human again in the end, might just be the most egregious example of this yet. But also… the show’s still really funny? And I continue to be happy that Kristen Schaal has stuck around as a series regular as the Guide. So it’s hard to complain. I could see the show running out of steam over the next few seasons, but it’s still hitting for me right now.
12/12: Pony Island - Finally got around to this since the trailer for the sequel dropped. I feel like playing this years later in a post-Inscryption world where Pony Island is a known quantity kind of lessens its impact, but still, it’s a fun and funny puzzle game where you try to hack your way out of a possessed arcade machine. I’m not sure I found it particularly scary, but I’m not sure it’s supposed to be? The way the game messes with you during the Asmodeus “boss fight” was probably the highlight for me. I also like being able to say things like “The part where you have to not kill Jesus was so hard. I kept getting terrible butterfly patterns.”
12/16: Breaking Bad VR but the AI is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - As always, Wayne and co.’s commitment to the bit is unrivaled. This kind of got interpreted as just a way to troll HLVRAI fans, but so many moments in this genuinely made me laugh out loud.
12/18: Soul of Sovereignty Prelude - As someone who would list Cucumber Quest as a big creative influence, I was naturally very excited for this first chapter of GGDG’s new visual novel. Their mentality of both scaling things back in terms of labor while also going more shamelessly self-indulgent in terms of storytelling after burning out on making webcomics has really spoken to me, and WOW, the end result of that new process of theirs is shaping up to be something really special. The art and music are sparse but extremely evocative, giving you the rough sketch of the world and letting your mind fill in the rest. The story blends literary high fantasy vibes with the style of fantasy seen in ‘90s JRPGs (you can definitely tell this came from an idea for an RPG), but rather than constantly winking at the audience and making self-aware video game references it plays these storytelling ideas extremely sincerely, giving them real dramatic weight while still indulging in fun tropes to their fullest extent. While it’s a far cry from their most famous work with much more mature content, GGDG always excels at creating characters and worlds that immediately grab me. I can’t wait for the rest.
12/18: Barbie - I’m only… what, five months late for the whole Barbenheimer thing? Perfect timing. Anyway! On the one hand, I get the critiques saying that this movie is just a major corporation funding a self-aware feminist critique of their own product as a marketing ploy. And I kinda agree with that. And the movie is a little too long, and I don’t really know what to think of the way the Barbie/Ken conflict plays out. Anthony asked me to summarize what the story ended up being about, and I had no idea what to even say. But also… I did still like the movie? We don’t get a lot of cartoonish, absurdist, fourth wall breaking comedies like this anymore, and this is a good one of those. Also the whole cast is great, the set design is kind of stunning, and the cinematography is consistently appealing. I wouldn’t say it’s a revolutionary work of feminist filmmaking by any stretch, but it’s a good comedy movie.
12/21: Dr. Stone: New World - Man, Dr. Stone is great. I’ve said this many times, but I just love that this series uses all the trappings of shounen that would normally be used to hype up the protagonist learning a new move to instead hype up things like the protagonist building a loom or a hot air balloon. It’s shounen Bill Nye. I didn’t completely love everything about the Treasure Island arc this season, but it all built towards a really fun climax with a lot of satisfying turnabouts where the heroes use their ingenuity to just barely win.
12/23: The History of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out World Records (Summoning Salt) - Truly one of my favorite Summoning Salt videos ever, even with how repetitive Punch-Out can get to watch. It’s just so hard to beat “and that runner… was me.”
12/24: Super Mario Bros. Wonder - What more can be said that hasn’t already been said? It’s the best and most creative 2D Mario game since the ‘90s. The only real flaws are that it’s a little easy, the Search Party stages are annoying in singleplayer, and I wish that every boss prior to the final boss wasn’t just some form of Bowser Jr. fight. But those aren’t nearly enough to drag the whole experience down. It was a blast.
12/24: Do a Powerbomb! - Got this from Anthony as a birthday present. This is the previous series by the creative team currently doing the new Transformers comics I was gushing about a few entries ago. Even with the high bar set by those comics, Do a Powerbomb! exceeded my expectations. Holy shit. An absolutely entrancing fantasy wrestling miniseries full of dynamic, energetic action and tons of heart. These comics where a guy wrestles a giant talking orangutan almost made me cry. Twice. An instant favorite.
12/25: Adventure Time (rewatch) - We ended up finishing our rewatch of Adventure Time (the main series, anyway) on my 30th birthday, which feels appropriate. I already kinda knew this, but this rewatch has truly confirmed that Adventure Time is my favorite TV series of all time. The entire show is even better on a full series rewatch. In hindsight, even parts that annoyed me when they aired end up being important parts of the beautiful tapestry that is this series. The many low points of Finn’s adolescent love life are important stepping stones in his growth as a person, which leaves him in an extremely satisfying place by the end. Jake having kids didn’t get to be a huge status quo change because they grew up instantly, but then they did a bunch of fun episodes about Jake’s relationships with his adult children that deepened him as a character. And most of the big lore questions they kept teasing over the years (“Where’d the humans go?” “Who are Finn’s parents?” “When’s Finn gonna get a robot arm?” etc.) ended up getting satisfying and creative answers, because the show left itself the room to figure those things out later. This is a truly special, one-of-a-kind series, one that lasted nearly 300 episodes and yet still seems like it was over too soon. And yes, I did in fact cry during the final montage, like I knew I would. I will always cherish this show with all of my heart.
12/25: Olive the Other Reindeer (rewatch) - Haven’t seen this one since I was a kid! It was a favorite of mine back then, and while it might not be quite as funny as I remember it’s still very cute, with a 2D/3D hybrid art style that remains very unique and appealing. As an adult I can also appreciate the cast they got for this, with like half the cast of Futurama bolstered by guests like Michael Stipe from REM and The Sopranos’ Joe Pantoliano.
12/26: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio - Anthony and I capped off our Christmas with the most jolly and festive stop motion movie of all! Jokes aside, man, what a beautiful movie. The animation is immaculate, and we really just don’t get children’s animated films like this anymore. Ones that overtly feature real world politics and religion and so many other dark themes in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids or sugarcoat things. This one hits hard. We need more movies like this.
12/31: Oppenheimer - This was an interesting one. Despite being three hours, the way that first hour jumps around in time makes it feel like Oppenheimer is constantly being propelled forward through life at a breakneck pace, swept up by the rising tide of nationalism in spite of his personal left wing politics, never really reflecting on what he’s doing until it’s too late. Then when he’s no longer useful to the empire, he’s chewed up and spat out, only to eventually be honored as a national hero as a symbolic gesture. It’s a compelling story. However, I’m a little torn on how certain aspects of history were framed. Does the abstraction of the bombings detract from the true weight of those events, in favor of sympathizing with the man who built the bomb? Or is it clever a way to show how the realities of the war were compartmentalized away by people who were complicit in its most heinous acts of violence? One minute a bunch of physicists are talking theory, thousands of miles away from the theaters of war, and the next they’ve killed 200,000 people. So which is it? Eh, probably somewhere in the middle, I guess. But I liked it overall.
12/31: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe - I’ve been really surprised by how good this rerelease is. It kind of flew under the radar for me. I liked the original game, but at the time it also almost felt like the New Super Mario Bros. of Kirby. It was a straightforward throwback game where you went through a grass world, then a desert world, then a water world, etc., and also they added four player co-op. But returning to this one after the kinda mid Star Allies has made me appreciate just how solid RtDL is as a Kirby game. I really like the updated graphics, too - yes, even the new cel shaded outlines around the characters - even though I didn’t think it looked that great in screenshots. Also the two new copy abilities (Sand and Mecha) are fun, the minigame collection is shockingly fleshed out to the point that they could’ve sold it as a standalone eShop game, the collectible character masks are fun, and the new epilogue mode where you play as Magolor is one of the coolest bonus modes they’ve ever done. This is a top tier Kirby remake any fan of the series should check out.
Ongoing things I followed in 2023 that don't have a blurb:
Halo Infinite multiplayer
IDW Sonic the Hedgehog (main series + specials)
One Piece
Chainsaw Man
My Hero Academia (not caught up)
The JOJOlands (not caught up)
Things I started in 2023 that I still need to finish:
Freedom Planet 2
Hi-Fi Rush
Live A Live
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Picross 3D Round 2
Rhythm Heaven MegaMix
Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Spark the Electric Jester 3
Sonic Dream Team
One Piece (Wano arc, anime)
Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (I’ve already read the Shibuya arc already in the manga, though)
Astro Boy (2003 anime)
Futurama (original run rewatch)
One Piece (manga reread)
The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee/Ditko era)
Scott Pilgrim series (reread)
Tumblr media
And finally... my favorites of 2023!!!
Overall favorite game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Favorite indie game: Pseudoregalia
Games remastered in 2023 that are now among my all-time faves: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, We Love Katamari
Most pleasant surprise in gaming: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
Favorite film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Favorite live action show: Barry
Favorite anime: Pluto
Favorite anime written by a Canadian guy and an American guy based on the Canadian guy's old graphic novel series: Scott PIlgrim Takes Off
Favorite live action adaptation of an anime that I still can't believe they didn't fuck up: One Piece
Favorite Western cartoon: Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake
Favorite older cartoon I only got around to watching in its entirety this year: The Venture Bros.
Favorite documentary: Double Fine PsychOdyssey
Favorite semi-improvised semi-scripted absurdist comedy/horror/tragedy Twitch livestream performance art thing: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware finale (wayneradiotv)
Favorite manga: Chainsaw Man
Favorite older manga that I only read this year: Berserk
Favorite Western comic book: Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers
Favorite album: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock)
And that's a wrap!!!!! Happy new year, everyone! Here's to me maybe actually reading a goddamn book this year
276 notes · View notes
callsign-relic · 6 months
Note
Hi! How are you? Sorry for my rudeness early, but I was so excited when you open your request that I kind of forgot saying at least hi. Anyways, can I request the continuation of your story about Optimus Primer/humanF reader First Contact ?👀 It was a very interesting plot. And I certainly want to know more about it.
Tumblr media
Wow, two people asking for a sequel of the same fic!!! You guys must have really enjoyed it HAHAH. I’m more than happy to write it for you both :) for those who haven’t seen it, here’s part one! Hope you enjoy :)
Warnings: SFW, Fem!Human!Reader, Yandere, First Contact AU
When you next awoke, you didn’t recognize any of your surroundings.
As you laid flat on your back, eyes slowly opening as they adjusted to the light, you saw the expanse of the room’s ceiling stretch out high above you— farther than you could ever reach, and much higher than the ceiling to your bedroom. Head pounding, you sit up, and even as that little motion gives you vertigo you try and push through the pain to try and figure out where you were.
Your vision finally clears up, and you grimace at the sight of the drab brown walls that surrounded you. The place was huge, yet from where you were standing, it all seemed relatively eye-level… Just what was this place? How did you get here?
Then, you hear the sound of metal. Clanging rhythmically behind you, slowly becoming louder and louder until it’s heavy echoes are all you can hear.
You turn around and, suddenly, all of the memories come flooding back to you.
Two giant robots, one falling dead at the other’s feet.
Your life flashing before your eyes as you thought it would all come to an end under the pede of an oblivious mech.
Only for that mech to notice you and whisk you away to lands unknown, as you passed out before you could see how far he had taken you.
And the mech whose name you would soon learn is Optimus Prime.
“Ah, you’re awake, little one.”
The gigantic mech leans down before the platform you quickly realized was a table, leveling his face before you. The blue glow of his optics reflect in front of you, and that also makes you realize that glass surrounded you at all sides. You were trapped in a giant cage.
Now, some morbid part of you almost wishes you were crushed that day.
The glass ceiling slides open with a smooth click, and a black servo suddenly encompasses your vision. Instincts kick in and you stumble backwards, landing on your bottom, kicking yourself further and further back until you bump roughly against the wall.
Optimus’ warm smile fades the tiniest bit. His optical ridges furrow as he huffs a little sigh. “I understand. You’ve certainly been through a lot these past few hours. But I can help you.”
Without regard for your panicked state, Optimus’ servo approaches you anyway— long, thick digits wrapping all around your form. You can only let out a breathy scream as the world shrinks around you, the mech pulling you out from your containment into the big new world that surrounds you. The pressure around you then releases all at once, and you’re left sitting smack in the middle of his palm. Despite your better judgment, your fear of heights suddenly takes over, and you scramble over to cling to Optimus’ thumb.
“It is alright, little one, there’s no need to be afraid,” the mech assures you, running the tip of his free digit on the top of your head all the way down your hair in slow, methodical motions. His whispered comforts escape you, however, as the alien language he speaks only instills a deeper fear within you. No matter how much you try to pull away from his touch, the mech’s finger always finds its place on your head again.
Eventually, you lurch forwards once again as Optimus carries you forward across the base. You want to shut your eyes, pretend none of this is real, hoping that in the next moment you wake up and this was all some messed up dream— but you can’t. There’s too much adrenaline running through you to do so. Not to mention, the constant reminder that Optimus was there, taking such gentle care in your tiny human body.
“Ah, I see it finally woke up,” a different voice calls out. Your head perks up at the sound, but your stomach drops at the sight. Another one of these giant aliens— thankfully slightly less menacing in appearance. Boxy in its frame and painted in white and reddish-orange.
“Indeed, Ratchet. My little human seems to be doing much better now, thanks to your expertise.” Optimus’ digit finally pulls away from you, if only to gesture as he spoke with Ratchet.
The medic huffs out a scoff. “Well, it was certainly a challenge. Figuring out an entirely new alien anatomy is not something someone can typically cram within the span of a few hours.”
“All the more reason I could only trust you with such an important task, old friend.”
Ratchet resets his vocalizer, disregarding the compliment for the sake of continuing his report. “Besides its sudden power down when you brought it in through the ground bridge, all of its other vital stats seem relatively normal,” he explains, turning fully away from the computer module to face his companion. “If all goes well, you’ll be able to return it to its natural habitat in no time.”
While the movement was imperceptible to Ratchet, from your view, you could notice Optimus’ fingers twitch at the news. Curling inwards ever so slightly, hiding you away from the world the slightest bit. Pulling you closer to him, and him alone.
“That may not be necessary, Ratchet,” he decrees in that all-knowing voice of his. Though Ratchet blinks in surprise, Optimus continues. “I first encountered the human during a battle with the Decepticons. Though I emerged victorious, the Decepticons may now be searching for the human as a result. In order to secure her safety, I find the best course of action to be that she stays by my side until the threat level decreases enough for her to be safe on her own.”
The older bot sputters for a moment. While Optimus wasn’t exactly wrong— any life lost by the hands of the Decepticons was bad, and if they could intervene in any way, they should— but, still. Something about the Prime’s insistence felt… off. Ratchet almost wanted to argue further against it, see how he would react— but he knew he didn’t have much standing ground for a decent argument. At least, not yet.
“…alright,” the medic finally conceded, and a soft smile spreads across Optimus’ faceplate. “Only until the threat level dies down. Then, we’re returning it home.”
“Thank you, old friend.” The blue and red mech reaches out a servo, landing it softly upon Ratchet’s shoulder playing and staring kindly into his optics.
All the while, Optimus’ servo shifts around you. No longer did it serve as a platform hanging above the air, but it pulled in closer towards his frame— pressing you right up against his spark. The powerful energy throbbed and hummed beneath you, the deep reverberations filling your ears entirely. You couldn’t pull back from it if you tried, as his curled digits surrounded you like a brick wall.
“I will ensure she doesn’t leave my sights.”
277 notes · View notes
justash02 · 11 months
Text
Womanizer; 04
Tumblr media
A/n; lemme know if you have feedback! It’s always welcome! So are Requests!
Plot; Everyone who knew who Tom Kaulitz was knew that he was girl crazy, he's very well known for having girls around him all the time.
Pairing; Tom Kaulitz x fem reader.
Previous chapter -> next chapter.
Master list
Taglist<3
*^*^*
"Oh I love it and I hate it at the same time, you and I drank the poison from the same wine"
*^*^*
"Breaking news! Trouble in debut world! Lead singer Y/n L/n slaps leader Adam Smith after not getting the best rookie album award!"
"Want to explain this?" Ray, our manager asked, "This is you guys 6 week as a band and you guys already fighting?" Ray said looking me in the eyes.
Adam sat next me, he kept shifting in the chair he was sitting in avoiding Ray. "It's her fault, Ray." He mumbled.
Ray looked over at me as if to ask if he's telling the truth making me shake my head, "What happened." I wanted to open my mouth before Ray continued; "Every detail and calm please." I nodded.
"We were placed at the same table as Tokio Hotel, Tom Kaulitz was just making some flirty comments-"
"He was trying to fuck you."
"Let's Y/n speak."
A mhpm was heard next to me indicating that the boy next to me wasn't happy with the way this was going.
"As I was saying he was being himself, which he is known for." I said dramatically turning to Adam, "and I just brushed it off but this Clown here said I was just trying to fuck my way up."
"Ugh Adam, what's wrong with you." Ray groaned as I finished the story, "Tom is pretty known for having intercourse with almost all girls he meets, Y/n is attractive, what did you expect?"
"that doesn't make it right!" Adam suddenly yelled making me jump, "Y/n is not only your lead singer but also a human, stop treating her like she can't decide for herself. If she wants to have sex with Mr. kaulitz that so be it."
Wow, feminist Ray? I love this Ray.
"I'm just trying to protect my best friend." Said as he started to rub the back of his neck, he looked over at me with those puppy eyes I've grown to feel safe around.
"I'm sorry, Y/n. I shouldn't have said that to you." He apologized grabbing my hand in his gently rubbing the back with his thumb.
"I forgive you, but don't you ever do that shit again." He nodded and smiled at me, suddenly feeling a sense of relieve coming from him.
*^*^*
Soon the day of the shooting had come and Bill was sitting with me in my trailer, Anne was already busy doing my makeup while Bill was being Bill in the background.
"Before I forgot to tell you this, Toms gonna be here soon." My eyes widened as I stared at the black haired boy.
"Why?" I panicked making him laugh, "He's probably fucking some girl here, he told me he had business here." He said mindlessly while flipping through a magazine.
Oh ok so there's basically nothing to worry about. Right?
"We're going for a red wet look ok?" Anne asked me as she was putting a bright red lip tint on my lips. I hummed and smiled slightly as she told me smack my lips together to get it to go evenly.
"You're ready." Anne said as she stepped away letting me see my look,  she made my hair look wet by using gel, my lips were a bright red and so was the wing like eyeshadow. All around my face were small red gems glued to my face making me gasp.
"You out did yourself yet again Anne!" I giggled as I stood there in awe looking at my look.
I could feel Bill's eyes burn the back of my head as he was observing me. He had a small smile on his face as he stood up.
He turned me around and wrapped his arms around me, "You look gorgeous." I couldn't help but feel like my cheeks were on fire.
"Thank you, Bill." He nodded and patted my head, "Good luck."
*^*^*
"There's something missing." The director said, "We need something spicier." She spoke again.
We had done a few takes now for other songs and this one was one of the last songs we needed to do and the director wanted it to be perfect.
"Is there any man that would like to do a scene with Y/n?" My eyes widened as I looked over at Adam, silently telling him to do something.
"Uh ma'am can't we think of something else." The woman shook her head as she She had already made up her mind.
"You!" I followed her finger and saw- TOM? No. No. I WILL NOT.
"You look perfect for what I have in mind!" Tom was looking rough to say the least. His dreads looked like a mess, his pants was half pass his hips telling me he was in a rush to putting them back on.
Ah he did have some business here.
"Me? I'm not an actor." He tried to say but the director already pushed him over to me making him trip halfway to me.
I quickly grabbed his arm keeping him steady, he nodded out of appreciation and stood next to me.
"I don't think I have to ask if you're sexually active, sir?" He just smirked and played with the band of his pants. Fuck did he look good post nut.
"I am, ma'am. Wanna get in line?" She smirked at him before handing him her card with her number. When I tell you my jaw dropped when he winked at her and put the card in his pocket Im not joking.
"Well this pretty young lady is a virgin."
"Hey I've never said that!" I yelled out embarrassed, I could hear Bill laughing in the background.
"You didn't have to baby, it's obvious." Wow ok. Bitch.
"It's ok baby, he'll take good care of you."
"What the fuck, are we actually making porn?!" I heard Ben yell from the back as I heard Clair laugh her ass off.
Assholes. All of them. 
"What's your name darling?" She asked Tom, "Tom Kaulitz." She smirked.
"Well Tom, I need you guys to pretend to actually be sexually attracted to each other." She explained.
"Wouldn't be too hard for Y/n!" Ben yelled, which led to a loud "OW" from him a second later.
"You guys haven't had sex yet, the sexual tension is getting higher and higher. You guys need each other, you can't live without each other. You need that deeper connection. Tom's a fuck boy and you're that sweet innocent girl."
397 notes · View notes
mikuni14 · 3 months
Text
The Sign - Ep 5
As usual, I'll start with the police part of the story, the least important. All the time I was thinking about only one thing: if only you were so motivated, if only you devoted as much time, resources and effort to catching a fucking r*pist as you put into catching a grief-stricken, sick man. If only the inspector team leader shook the victim's hand and promised them everything like he promises a fucking criminal. Copaganda just doesn't work anymore, sorry guys, but acab 🤷‍♀️
I was kind of puzzled by Phaya's behavior at the beginning of the episode, I think he should have believed Tharn, his behavior is a bit ooc. I.. think? I assume that the still angry Phaya is just done so that the plot can later give a scene of him coming to his senses after almost losing Tharn (*and insert romantic scene here*). What I liked was how in character Tharn was, and he acted exactly as he should. And the look on Phaya's face when he unintentionally hit Tharn.
Phaya and Dr. Douchelaton scene was simply awesome, starting with the two of them momentarily slipping into the world of supernatural 🤩. Everything was cool here, Phaya's claw-like fingers, the way Doc could barely control his rage (that clenching jaw), their fight for dominance, for Tharn. Omg! Personally I like jealousy done well and Phaya fighting for Tharn and winning was a *chef's kiss*. And wow, Heng perfectly shows what a psycho Dr. Chophisdickoff is, his behavior, his expressions 👌
I love that when it comes to sexual fantasies, Tharn is slightly brothel-ish and Phaya has soft fantasies decorated with dancing luminous lights ✨
The shock on the face of the naga-possessed vigilante when the knife pierced Tharn, instead of that pesky bird, was so cool. Also telling. Tharn shielding Phaya and fighting the enemy with his superpowers was my fav 👌👌
Phaya and Tharn's reconciliation scene… oh gosh, what can I say except that when Phaya is angry, he is angry, but when he is not angry, he literally makes the most romatic, raw marriage vows. Or something. The way they touch each other tenderly, how they get lost in each other's eyes 🥺
The bed scene had me chewing on the walls, crawling on the ceiling and understanding quantum physics for a second. Ok, but this is what I call chemistry between characters (actors). It was Tharn trying to mold his body around Phaya's, wrapping around him, leaving not an inch of space between them. The way Phaya gently lifts Tharn's head to cradle him in his arms, to hug him closer, to make sure that there is absolutely NO space between them, that he finally has the opportunity to have Tharn in his arms. IT'S HOW NATURAL THEY LOOK TOGETHER, HOW PERFECTLY THEY FIT TOGETHER LIKE PUZZLE PIECES. The way Phaya took care of Tharn and looked at him with tenderness, the way he stopped Tharn's hand from going any further. Phaya is such a good guy. The way Phaya looks like he's experiencing nirvana when he finally has Tharn in his arms, cuddled up to him. (as a person of refined manners and uninterested in worldly pleasures, I will NOT write anything about the effect that Tharn's shaved legs certainly do NOT have on me. I will also politely ignore how Phaya's attention immediately shifted to those legs in this 👇 scene)
Tumblr media
gif by @mymycorrhizae
I also want to say that I keep thinking about how caring, how forgiving Tharn is. How I think of his sweet, sweet face, especially upturned as he looks at Phaya with devotion and love. Tharn has my whole heart. I love how Tharn "don't come near me, you handsome cow" freaks out every time there's even a hint of the possibility of losing Phaya, like when Sand offers Phaya a date with her friend, or when Phaya gets mad at him and don't want to talk to him 😭 So I'm really looking forward to the next episode and long-haired, sweet Tharn/Wansarat caring for the wounded enemy Phaya/Garuda.
67 notes · View notes
bengiyo · 5 months
Text
I Feel You Linger in the Air Ep 11 Stray Thoughts
Last time, Jom, his friends, and their allies teamed up to expose Dech and Robert and their cruelest abuses. We then spent most of the episode wrapping up a lot of plot threads. Most everyone has either moved on or is okay for now. Maey is back with Euangphueng, Ming is fine, the mom is rebelling in her own way, etc. Yai is going to France and expects Jom to stay here and wait for him, which made me immediately dissociate. Also, Jom's starting to disappear in images and mirrors and we don't know why.
I like that Yai is skeptical, but can comprehend some of what Jom is saying about himself. Yai may not be good at practical things, but he's a thinker.
Nonkul is really good, and you can feel the complex emotions coming off of Jom as he can finally talk about what he's been experiencing openly.
Okay, Bright has cake.
This is the same team that had a woman give birth, with her jeans on, in the back of a truck earlier this year. I hope they handle this pregnancy plot better.
Why does the subber keep adding Khun to Euangphueng's name when Maey doesn't say it, but doesn't add it to Yai's name when Jom usually says it?
Okay, I really like them articulating the long-term pain and suffering Euangphueng is dreading.
That Fong Kaew scene with Khamsaen was so good. She's worrying about EP and he's convinced himself that Robert didn't touch her, but we know the implications of him making her bleed when he does himself on her.
Bright and Nonkul are so good together. There was no dialogue in this soft montage of Jom redoing the drawings, but you could feel the wistfulness that Jom might disappear at any moment. It's not easy for some pairs to do the 'being together' part really well, but these two are hitting that beautifully. Now that the stresses have been removed, they are clearly in love and a team.
I really love the relationship that has formed between Fong Kaew and Euangphueng. EP is making a very difficult decision and I like the way Fong Kaew's supporting her. It's also interesting to see Maey worry about the karma of getting an abortion as a reason to raise the child.
Yai is reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells!!!
Not that the monk is wrong about them having no control over this phenomenon, but they could also maybe keep track of the rate at which Jom's reflection is vanishing and see if they could predict the number of days.
There is a melancholy hanging over this that works so well, because Jom basically has a terminal condition that will strike at any moment and permanently end this relationship.
Poor Ming. He's losing all of his friends.
Wow, this farewell party reminds me of the stories shared with me about someone getting an AIDS diagnosis before we had anything resembling effective treatment. Throwing a party before their health plummets to say goodbye.
And now they're dancing as everyone reminisces. I'm just gonna cry thanks.
Jom isn't going to be in this photo and we're all gonna be sad.
Okay, the letter broke me. How many queer lives have been lost to time because we couldn't preserve their stories. I am so invested in this letter now.
If Jom vanishes after he reads this letter I will be crushed.
They ended the episode on the almost faded photo!!!!!
I feel so heavy after that episode. Nonkul and Bright really did the damn thing this week. You can feel the ache the entire time. That party was one of the most beautiful things I've experienced in genre in a while. This show is really special.
73 notes · View notes
tsukimefuku · 1 month
Text
Right, wrong and the in-between (Part 2)
Previous chapter | Next chapter
You and Higuruma were assigned to investigate the disappearance of women around Shinjuku. This led to a dicey situation regarding what place Jujutsu sorcerers occupy in this world and what is their role to play when non-sorcerers get involved.
This is part of my "Jujutsu Partners Canon Divergence AU". There is currently a sequence of short stories and random drabbles for a fic I'll eventually write (eventually). To see the ever-growing list of one-shots, please visit my masterlist :)  The "Right, wrong and the in-between" will be a 4 (maybe 3) part short-story set in this AU. I hope you enjoy! The tags below will be applicable to every chapter.
Tags: oc/f!reader, soft/implied Higuruma x reader, soft/implied Nanami x reader, slow burn, mentions of violence and non-con/abuse among side characters, canon typical violence, some angst, some fluff, just characters being themselves driving the plot (and me) insane. Some philosophical debate will be in place.
WC: 1.9k (This chapter is not proof read, I'm just tired right now. So sorry for any mistakes up ahead!)
Tumblr media
Nanami had been tracking down this curse for what seemed like hours underground, and he started to become tired and annoyed. It was a little before 6PM, and if he didn't end it soon, he'd be caught up in overtime for the third time that month. Nanami removed his tie and started to wrap it around his fist, just to be ready in case he needed to use his collapse technique.
What a bore, he thought to himself, as he kept walking underneath the streets of Shinjuku following the semi grade 1 curse through the sewers. This curse was detected that morning by an assistant that worked for Jujutsu High, and it was a yet unregistered one. It probably sprung into existence not long ago, and was using the sewage system to move around Shinjuku's area.
Nanami heard a faint noise of a possibly slimy large body dragging itself a few meters ahead. He pulled his blunt sword from its support, on his back, and started to walk quickly to meet the curse. As he turned the corner to the tunnel, Nanami was met with an unsightly vision. The curse was a giant crimson and black worm, covered in holes, and had no eyes, only six sets of arms spread across each side of its body, which it was currently using to drag itself around. Even if the thing was big, it moved rather quickly.
Nanami charged at it, dealing a 7:3 blow perpendicular to the ground, but the curse reacted swiftly and crawled its way around the tunnel, getting glued to the top. At that moment, it spurted a green, thick liquid in the sorcerer's direction, which he managed to dodge. The liquid started to slowly melt the ground it hit, leaving a deep hole behind. Nanami sighed as he saw his wristwatch marking 6:02PM. He felt his cursed energy output increasing, and jumped from the side of the circular underpass, bearing his blunt sword, in a new attempt to hit it. The curse sensed him, and once again, evaded his blow by letting go of the walls and hitting the ground. It started to make a run for it, and Nanami promptly followed suit.
As it turned left, so did he, and then — nothing. Nanami heard some ruffling above him, and saw a sort-of manhole for ventilation. The creature had lodged itself in there, and was trying to escape the sewer. From what little Nanami could make out of the grids that covered the hole, it was in a secondary street, and no one walked or passed by during the time he observed it.
He calculated his odds and decided to risk a 'collapse' strike to bring the worm curse down.
***
"Wow, what was that?" You asked Higuruma, yelling, as you both felt the ground tremble underneath your feet.
"Perhaps an earthquake." He answered, nearly screaming too to make himself heard under the club's loud music.
The moment the robe woman took the girl inside the building, you both followed them, just to find that the door auto-locked itself. The cursed energy traces were all over, and matched the ones found on the other scenes. Higuruma considered bashing the door in, but you dissuaded him, arguing it would be a bad idea if the woman was truly the curse user behind the disappearances. You had no idea what her ability could be, so you had to have a smarter and less confrontational approach. He sighed in agreement.
"Let's wait for the club to open and find them from the inside, okay?" It was your suggestion, and it was exactly what you both did.
Now inside, the place was dark, neon, sweaty, noisy and filled with an assortment of women spinning on shiny poles. You knew this was a club in the red-light district, but you didn't expect to be caught up in that situation with Higuruma by your side. One of the waitresses had already offered her services to him, and you had to hold your laughter at that scene while he refused.
"Come on, that seems to be the back part of the operation." He said, tapping you lightly on your arm and pointing to a more illuminated part of the club, covered by a folding door. You both made your way inside, when suddenly you heard an older woman's voice.
"Sleep."
You nearly fainted at that moment, falling to your knees, and Higuruma began to collapse just like you.
Shit, shit, shit! 
It was a cursed speech user, and you both fell right in her trap.
"Higuruma, run!" You shouted, as you conjured one of your grenades, putting your hands together, and threw it upwards, exploding a lot of dust around you both. He seemed to be more resistant than you, and started crawling his way out with the chaos that ensued, being able to get up and walk away, with all the people screaming outside from the blast and all the running around. He looked behind and decided it would be safer to pretend he left, just so he could avoid being imprisoned too, and squiggled his way under the bar counter, deciding to hide behind a few boxes of booze until the cursed speech effect had dwindled enough. Higuruma had to focus all his will into not passing out.
As you started to drag yourself to the door, a hand grabbed you from the back of your neck and bashed your head directly on the ground, removing all the air from your lungs and leaving you completely disoriented as you felt a drop of blood making its way down your face.
"I said sleep, now." The female voice grunted. You heard two sets of footsteps making their way to you, one carried with them the familiar robe, and the other seemed like a male pair of feet wearing sneakers. You couldn't lift your gaze anymore, as you fell unconscious.
***
"Hey, wake up." You heard, while you were tied to a chair, both arms to your back, separated by ropes, and both legs wrapped together. The woman was standing in front of you, smoking on her cigarette, and the guy was leaned over on the edge of the room. It kind of looked like a shady interrogation room, and smelled terribly.
"Ugh, this place stinks." You said, trying to weave your way out of the ropes.
"No use. I tied these up myself, and I have a lot of practice in doing so, honey." She answered, while puffing her cigarette smoke directly onto your face. "Where is that fella of yours?"
"I hope that he's miles away by now." There was a clock on the wall, and it read 6:25PM. You were out for just some time, thankfully. "Who the fuck are you?"
"Oh, darling, I'll ask the questions." She slapped you hard across the face, leaving a bad burning sensation on your cheek. "How did you find us? Tell me."
The urge to speak suddenly took you over, and you had to bite your lip again in order to not rat out on Jujutsu High. 
"Feisty one, huh? Well, let's try it again." She leaned over to your ear, while you were completely helpless against her technique. "Who sent you?"
"Jujutsu Tech." You blurted out, defeated. 
"The what now?" She asked. This woman has no idea what Jujutsu Tech is? You figured out a couple of things from that. Matching the sloppiness of her kidnappings, this woman was probably a newly awakened sorcerer, unaware of the full extents of her power. Also, given she had no idea what Jujutsu Tech was, you could use that as leverage, being careful not to lie in case she pushed you to relay more information about anything. Her cursed speech seemed to be pushing people to do things, like sleeping, waking up, or telling them something, but it was much weaker than Inumaki's power overall.
"I'm a jujutsu sorcerer, like you, and I work with them. They're probably sending people our way as we speak, to rescue me. So… You should really let me go."
"Jujutsu? Hm." The woman seemed to contemplate her options for a moment. "Do they have the money for a ransom? Tell me the truth."
That urge again. It was pretty strong. "Probably," you spat out. What a fucking nightmare.
She smiled and said, "it's settled, then. Toshio, grab her phone and call... Who should we call to inform you've been captured and request the money, darling?" The woman asked, while looking at you. You thought about your options, and who could get there faster to your aid.
"Nanami Kento. Call him." I'm sorry, Nanami, but you're the closest and one of the smartest. Please, may you talk to Higuruma before you get here. 
***
As Nanami finished climbing his way out of the sewer, after exorcising the cursed spirit, he saw many people running out of a nightclub, screaming about an explosion. He felt residuals of cursed energy over the building, and grunted as he decided to investigate, given that he was already on overtime clock hours.
He went inside, and chaos was the word to better describe the scenery that ensued. Nanami started to walk around and search for more cursed energy residuals, as he stepped inside the same room you were attacked with Higuruma minutes prior, now empty, but with vestiges of your cursed energy all over. As he was ready to walk out, Nanami felt somebody behind him. He turned around, ready to punch the person, and found Higuruma still recovering.
"Not so nice to see you." Higuruma said, supporting himself by putting a hand over Nanami's shoulder and bearing a half smile on his face.
"Same to you." Nanami replied, unimpressed. "What happened? Where is she?"
Higuruma's hand tightened around Nanami's shoulder. "They got her. There is a cursed speech user here. We need to hurry."
Nanami tensed up immediately, shooting daggers with his eyes at Higuruma that could be seen even with his glasses on. "It's bewildering how you never fail to disappoint."
Nanami's phone rang, and it was you on the other side of the line. He pushed Higuruma's hand out of his shoulder as he answered it.
"Nanami, I've been captured, and I need help." You said. There was some fumbling on the line, and a man started to speak. "We demand a ransom to let her go." He then proceeded to demand some absurd sum of money and wait for a few seconds.
"Of course," Nanami bluffed, "but where and when should this exchange take place?" 
They gave him an address that was near enough to where he and Higuruma were currently, and said, "meet us there in half an hour, sharp". The line went silent, and he ended the call, inhaling deeply. 
"Come and make yourself useful, for once." Nanami sharply said at Higuruma. "This is where we have to go. Let's, however, see if we can get a few things first."
Higuruma sighed deeply and agreed to work alongside with Nanami, albeit begrudgingly. "Fine. Let's do this."
They had their first encounter right after you saved Higuruma by injuring yourself in the process, due to Higuruma's irresponsibility, and Nanami held a grudge against the man since then. Nanami was still salty about Higuruma as a whole — a curse user that had actually killed people before coming to Jujutsu High, had his sentence suspended, and acted irresponsibly with colleagues in the battlefield. 
"Help me find something we can cover our ears with."
43 notes · View notes
archiveikemen · 7 months
Text
'Villain Wants To Bother The Little Robin' Story Event: Premium END
Jude Jazza & Ellis Twilight Route
Tumblr media
This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection. I do not own any of the original content. Please support CYBIRD by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.
❥・• Warnings and FAQ
After washing up and changing into a nightgown, a wave of fatigue washed over me the instant I laid down on the bed.
(I need to brace myself for tomorrow… I have to…)
While I went through the plans for tomorrow in my head, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier—,
I soon fell asleep.
— Click. The room door slowly creaked open, and I was woken up in the middle of the night.
(Huh… what time is it right now…?)
(— Wait. This is Her Majesty’s bed chamber, who on earth would come in at this hour?)
A chill ran down my spine. Jude and Ellis were resting in a separate room.
(No way, could it really be Abel?)
(But only people in the palace have the key to this room.)
(Did Abel steal the key? … Or rather, could the mastermind behind the assassination plot be someone working in the palace?)
Through the canopy curtain, I saw the shadow of a person approaching the bed.
(This is not the time to be playing detective! What do I do… should I slip out from the other side of the bed?)
(If I can sneak out of the room without getting caught, I should be able to get Jude and Ellis.)
(Our mission will be completed.)
(Honestly, I doubt that’d be possible, but — I don't have any other choice.)
Holding a pillow like a shield, I stealthily reached for the canopy curtain, and at that very moment…
The person raised his arm, holding something sharp in his hand—
Man’s Voice: — Oof!
A kick to his side caused him to fall onto the floor.
(W-What… what’s going on…)
I fearfully opened the canopy curtain and looked outside,
There stood Jude, stepping on a man dressed as a royal guard.
Jude: Isn’t it rude to be shrieking in Her Majesty's room in the middle of the night? I don't know, though.
Uniformed Man: You… you're Her Majesty's bodyguard—
Jude: You’re the secretary of that well esteemed minister who wears glasses, yes?
Jude: And why were you up to something with such a dangerous object in your hand?
Uniformed Man: Tch… I’ll kill you as well…
The man crawled out from under Jude’s foot and picked up his knife again.
Uniformed Man: This is supposed to be “a crime committed by the American Ambassador”... I’ll be in trouble if this doesn't go as planned.
Ellis: Trying to frame another person…?
Uniformed Man: Wah!?
The man raised his hand again, but it was caught and twisted by someone else’s hand that reached out from behind him.
Ellis: … That’s a bad thing to do. I doubt it'll make anyone happy.
Uniformed Man: I-It hurts— mmph.
He tried to cry out in pain, but Jude violently slapped a hand over his mouth.
I could still hear him groaning in pain despite his nose and mouth being covered.
Tumblr media
Jude: Shut up, you’ll wake the “Queen”.
Ellis: … The Queen’s aide has a question for you.
Ellis wrapped a hand around the man’s neck and tightened his grip.
Jude: Collapse due to lack of oxygen or be put to sleep peacefully. Make your choice.
Uniformed Man: Mm… mmm…! !
Tumblr media
Ellis: Jude doesn't usually let people choose. You should hurry up and answer him.
Uniformed Man: Mmph… mm…!
Jude: Ah—? What was that? I couldn't catch it.
Uniformed Man: Ggh… ugh…
The man lost all the strength in his body, and Jude threw him down like a filthy object.
Ellis swiftly caught him, bound him up with rope, and dragged him to a corner of the room where he rolled the man over.
(... W-Wow… he’s so skilled…)
Once again, they were people who existed on the dark side of the world.
I was petrified after witnessing first hand how horrible it would be to make an enemy of them…,
Jude: … So.
Kate: Ah!
Swoosh. The canopy curtains were pulled open without hesitation, causing me to nearly tumble off the bed while still holding onto the pillow.
Jude: You’re some nasty Queen, having peeping as your hobby.
Ellis: … You must've been terrified. Everything’s alright now, Kate.
I was faced with two completely different types of smiles again. An agitating sneer and an amicable smile.
This time, I wasn’t confused about what facial expression to make. My facial expression relaxed.
Kate: Thank you so much… both of you.
Kate: But… how did you know what was happening?
Ellis: There was a sweet smell coming from your crown.
Kate: Huh…?
Jude: The crown was tampered with. Someone spread nectar on it, causing the bird to be attracted to it and causing the commotion.
Kate: The crown…?
Ellis: Someone approached the crown before the audience session began, and so Jude went to investigate.
Jude: We kept a close eye on the bespectacled minister, because he claimed to be the last person who inspected the crown.
Jude: That bastard was once heavily involved with an extremist military faction, and they had the guts to cause a ruckus just to make a profit.
(What the…)
Kate: Committing treason against Her Majesty and attempting to pin the blame on someone who seems like a genuinely kind person… they’re the absolute lowlifes.
When I muttered my thoughts aloud, Jude raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Jude: Hah, I’m surprised. … Say something like “there was no need to treat him that way”.
Kate: … He’s alive, right?
Ellis: Yeah, of course. Victor said not to kill him, because he has some questions to ask him.
Kate: Because they tried to take someone’s life…
Kate: Both the secretary and the minister backing him should prepare to suffer.
Kate: … I feel no sympathy for them.
Tumblr media
Jude • Ellis: …
(At least, Jude and Ellis are aware that they will face retribution for their actions… and they’re prepared for when that time comes.)
While I didn't think that was a good thing, I also didn't think that it was necessarily bad.
That was my honest opinion after participating in a number of missions with the two of them.
Jude: Hah, you finally caught on.
Ellis: Should I hurt that person even more? How much should I torment him?
Kate: N-No need to go any further…!
Ellis: Really…?
When I rushed to stop him, Ellis put his knife away, hanging his head slightly.
(These two are quite the troublesome pair.)
(And yet, having someone they trust by their side… might be the strongest source of support.)
Jude: Sigh… I’m so tired because of this unreliable princess.
Jude sat himself down on the bed before falling back onto it.
Jude: It’s almost morning. That weirdo aide to the Queen better pay me extra for working through the night.
I hurriedly spoke up the moment he was about to shut his eyes.
Kate: Um, excuse me, that’s my bed…
Jude: Ah? It’s Her Majesty's bed, not yours.
Ellis: Oh, Jude is so unfair.
Ellis moved to the other side of the bed and laid down, leaving only a space for me between him and Jude.
Ellis: Shall I sleep here too?
Kate: E-Ellis…?
Ellis: Let’s sleep together, Kate.
Kate: Sleep togeth—... uh… wait, WHAT!?
(Together… WITH THESE TWO!?)
Jude: You’re so noisy.
Ellis: Alrighty, come here.
Kate: Wah…!?
He pulled me and I fell onto the bed.
Despite how wide Her Majesty's bed was, it still felt cramped to be laying in between two grown men.
(S-So near…)
Jude had no intention to make room for me, and Ellis seemed to want as little room between us as possible.
I was sandwiched between two of them. Our shoulders, arms, and legs were touching.
Tumblr media
Jude: Your body temperature is rising… are you a kid?
Ellis: So warm and cozy… hey, can I hug you?
Kate: N-No…!
I responded while facing the ceiling. No matter which side I turned to, it was too awkward to handle.
Jude: Pfft, you’re blushing. You lewd woman.
Jude rested on his elbow next to me, looking down at me with a mocking smile.
Kate: Don't you think it's inappropriate to get into someone’s bed like this…?
Jude: Isn’t it? Only scoundrels would do that.
Ellis: You want to get naughty? Okay, let's do it.
Kate: Wha…?
While laying next to me, Ellis looked right at me and made an outrageous suggestion.
Ellis: Ah, maybe you prefer to do it with Jude? Or both of us?
Jude: Oi, leave me out of this.
Jude: Go ahead if you want to. I’ll just be here watching from the sidelines. You’re into that sort of stuff, aren't you?
Ellis: Is that so? In that case, shall we?
The words coming from both sides were making my face turn red and hot.
Kate: Please get off the bed and return to your own rooms…
Ellis: … I’ll get worried if I leave you alone, though.
Kate: Ugh…
Jude: This bed is comfortable, I’m not leaving.
Kate: … D- Damn it…!
Faced with my fatigue, Ellis’ innocence, and Jude’s arrogance,
— I gave up on thinking.
Kate: Fine, go ahead and be like this…! Good night!
I pulled the sheets up to my face, blocking my view of them.
Jude: Pfft, what the hell kind of sleeping position is this?
Ellis: She’s hiding. This feels lonely.
The two of them were completely unbothered. A few minutes later, I heard them fall asleep…
Enveloped by the peaceful sounds, their body warmth, and the sweet smell of them, I unknowingly fell asleep as well.
A few days later.
News of the assassination attempt was kept from the public.
The American Ambassador departed from the palace with the same bright smile he arrived with.
In a horrifying turn of events— the bespectacled minister had mysteriously vanished along with his position in the government. And also—
Ellis: Ah, there she is. Over here, Kate.
Kate: … Sorry to have kept you waiting.
Jude: Hah, you look more nervous than you were during the mission.
We agreed to do each other a favour if we successfully completed the mission without having our identities exposed. And today was the day to decide what those “favours” would be.
(It’s Jude and Ellis I made a deal with, of course they're going to keep their word.)
As much as they made great allies, I was made very well aware of how dangerous it would be to have them as my enemies.
I gulped down and turned to them with the biggest smile I could make.
Ellis: I’m so excited… well then, Kate,
Jude: Shall I do you a “favour”?
90 notes · View notes
Note
Can you do a shelby brother reader story, reader is older than John but younger than Tommy. The plot happens when the garrison exploded the reader was in the private room at the back of the garrison when it exploded. The other shlby brothers struggle to hurry and get him untrapped from under the ruble with reader's injuries. Good amount of angst and some fluff if possible
Tumblr media
Warning: Grief, depression, drinking, PTSD, suicide, angst
Request: Yes!
Y/N Shelby threw back another glass of whisky as he sat in the snug of the bar all alone. The rest of the family were still at the funeral of Freddie Thorne, Y/N's best friend. 
Y/N and Freddie had always been close growing up and that didn't change during or after the war, nor was it an issue when Freddie had asked him to be a witness to his marriage to his sister Ada, it just meant that now they were brother by law. 
He couldn't bring himself to watch as his brother was put in the ground, so I resided to getting blackout drunk at The Garrison.
Picking up the bottle and pouring another drink Y/N let out a sigh hoping that this amount would be the one to drown out the sadness that attempted to consume him. 
Lifting the glass it barley touched his lips before everything went black. 
*-*-*
"Hey, you waiting for a kiss or do you want to get up sleeping beauty?" Freddie asked looking down at his friend. Sitting up Y/N takes a look around to see the dirt walls of the tunnels. 
"Freddie." Y/N said looking at his friend standing in front of him. "What are you doing here? How are you here?" 
"I thing that's my question, yeah?" Freddie asked with a smirk. "I didn't think I would be seeing you for a long time, not that it's not good to see you." He joked. 
"It's good to see you too." Y/N replied leaning forward to wrap the man in a hug. 
"You look like shit." They both say at the same time before breaking into laughter.
"You smell like a pub." Freddie said scrunching his nose and lightly punching Y/N's shoulder. "Come on brother I know we said we'd do everything together but don't tell me you followed me to the grave." 
"I can't say it didn't cross my mind." Y/N admitted as the look of disappointment crossed Freddie's face. "But I have no idea how I got here, where ever here is. Is this hell?" 
Freddie burst into laughter at the assumption, they both predicted that the sins of their lives would lead them straight to hell.
"No, surprisingly I was up north until you decided to get yourself in this predicament." Freddie informed laughing once again at the look of shock Y/N displayed. "Yeah, who would have thought? Me in heaven?"
"Wow they let any old riff raff in that joint." Y/N joked receiving another punch. "So where are we then?" 
"It's somewhere in between." Freddie informed getting serious.
"Between what?" 
"Everything, but more specifically, life and death." He answered looking into Y/N eyes. "A place not many people get the chance to be, so that you can make a choice not many get to make. So you need to choose carfu-"
"I'm not going back Fred-."
"Yes you are!" 
"There is nothing there for me Freddie."
"Nothing there for you?" Freddie asked angrily grabbing the collar of his shirt. "You have a family. brothers, your sister, your nephew....my son. Do you know how many people would kill for this chance? What I would give to be in your shoes? To kiss my wife, raise my son. No no you're going back. You're going to live your life and I'm not gonna see you for a long long time." Freddie shouted tears in his eyes. 
"And the next time I do see you," He continued. "Your gonna tell me about them...about Karl and Ada, about whatever women or man you con into loving you, about your children and their children after that. I don't want to hear anything else from you until them." Freddie says letting Y/N go.
'Hey!' 
'Y/N, where are you?'
'Y/N get up. Wake up.'
"What the hell is that?" Y/N ask looking around for the source of the voice. 
"I'm that means it's time for you to make a decision." Freddie informed. "But I think we both know what the answer is. I know we used to say that death is easy, but being away from the people I love is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. So when it your time and we see each other again brother....we'll have all the time in the world." 
*-*-*
"Y/N!" Tommy yelled shaking his brother. "Wake up."
Tommy didn't react much when he found out that the pub had been blown up, after all he had been the one to do it, but he felt his heart drop after Finn informed that he had seen you going towards the pub before after the funeral. 
The Shelby family rushed to the destroyed remains of The Garrison, immediately digging around the rubble for the missing member. 
It had been John who had found Y/N buried under so wood and alerted the other as he began removing the charred building remains until they were able to haul his body out.
"Come on wake up." Tommy said tapping his face.
"Oh thank god." Polly sighed out as she watched her nephew's eyes begin to open. 
"Freddie?" Y/N asked looking up at his brother in confusion. 
"No, you're home now." Tommy corrected pulling his little brother into a hug. "You're home now."
485 notes · View notes
beskarandblasters · 8 months
Note
Idea: Cassian bringing you to Aldhani to witness the Eye (since precious lil baby didn’t get to enjoy it last time) and he fucks you during it!! Like imagine looking up at him with that beautiful sky behind him !!
Under the Eye
Cassian Andor x F!Reader
Main Masterlist | Cassian Andor Masterlist
Summary: Your boyfriend, Cassian, takes you to see a special event on the planet Aldhani known as the Eye but you find out he has other plans in mind.
Word count: 900
Warnings: reader is able-bodied, canon divergent, porn with no plot tbh, semi public sex, romantic sex, oral sex, lil bit of nipple play, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, creampie, eye contact during sex 👀, no use of y/n
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
“Come on, let’s go!” Cassian says, grabbing your hand and leading you off the ship practically the second he lands. 
“Okay! Okay, I’m coming!” you laugh, grabbing the blanket you packed on the way out. 
He leads you outside to the beautiful rolling hills of Aldhani; a place you’ve heard about in his stories but never visited. You spread out the blanket on the top of the hill and you sit down together. 
“So what’s going on?” you ask, looking up at the illuminated sky, returning your hand to his. 
“We landed just in time,” he says, rubbing your hand with his thumb, “Every three years Aldhani passes through a crystal belt and the meteors enter the atmosphere and burn up.”
One meteor shoots by, leaving a brilliant green trail in its wake. 
“Wow,” you whisper, mouth falling open and eyes full of wonder. 
“Last time I was here I didn’t really get to enjoy it.” 
You squeeze his hand and look over at him. 
“Hey, that was a long time ago. Things are different now. You get to enjoy it with me.”
He pulls you into him and wraps an arm around your waist. Your head rests on his shoulder as the two of you look up at the sky filled with multicolored meteors. Streaks of green, blue, orange and a little bit of pink race across the atmosphere. Cassian pulls away for a moment and looks at you; the way your eyes catch the light above you. And that’s what he finds most beautiful, not that natural phenomenon happening in the sky; you. 
He pulls you in for a kiss, hands caressing each side of your face. You expect for it just to be a quick kiss but instead he keeps going, kissing you with more and more passion. His hand tugs at the waistband of your pants and that’s when you pull away and say, “Right here, Cass?! What if someone sees?”
“There’s no one around for miles, my love. They’re all in the valley.”
He points to the valley in the distance, full of the Dhani people celebrating and watching the sky. 
“Okay,” you nod. 
And with the confirmation he needed he pulls down your pants and you kick off your shoes. You pull your shirt off over your head and lay down while he gets undressed himself. He hovers over you and kisses you again, brushing his tongue across your lips. You part your lips and his tongue explores your mouth. His hand traces the outline of your breast before moving to your nipple, bringing it to a stiff peak between his fingertips. You moan into his mouth as he moves to your other breast. You spread your legs for him, desperate for his touch already. He pulls away and moves down between your thighs, licking one slow stripe up your cunt.
“Cass, please,” you beg. 
“Love when you say my name,” he says before bringing his mouth to your clit. He hooks his arms around your thighs, bringing your cunt as close to his face as it could possibly get. You grind your hips against his face and between his tongue at your cunt and his nose at your clit you’re coming against his face. Waves of pleasure spread throughout you, starting at your core. The movement of your lips against his face turns languid before you collapse back down onto the blanket. He comes back up by your face and you can see under the glow of the Eye that the lower half of his face is slick with your release. He brings hand to your cunt and gathers your wetness before spreading it on his length. You close your eyes at the feeling of his cock entering you. You feel your walls expanding around him but you also feel his hand on your chin. 
You open your eyes to see his face above yours, looking at you with pure adoration in his eye. 
“Look at me, my love,” he says, drawing his hips back and thrusting into you harder. 
You look up at his face with the illuminated sky behind him and his hair getting messier with each slam of his hips against you. He brings his thumb to your clit, rubbing small, fast circles around it. You arch your back and feel yourself arrive at the brink of orgasm, core tightening as the pleasure stirs in your stomach. You come undone around him and your cunt clenches him like a vice bringing him to the edge, too. You both cum looking into each other's eyes. You feel yourself become filled with ropes of his cum before he pulls out of you, laying down next to you on the blanket. 
You place yourself into the crook of his neck and he wraps his arm around you. Your head rests on his chest and the two of you look up at the scenery above you. You’re both silent for a moment before he says, “Thanks for coming here with me.”
“I’d go anywhere with you, Cass,” you whisper. 
He finally feels at peace in life, thanks to you. And with that, the two of you hold each other and enjoy the Eye. 
Tumblr media
End note: Another shorter one but send me some more Cassian requests 👀
80 notes · View notes
Text
charmed [12]: 'expecto patronum' (remus lupin x reader)
a/n: happy new year guys<3 welcome back to charmed! this part continues directly after part 8, the christmas special, as everyone at hogwarts slowly return to classes after the holiday break. may it ease your transition back to work/school for you too. as always, id love some feedback and your thoughts/ideas as this series is still v much in progression!
Tumblr media
series summary: set in the prisoner of azkaban, including its major plot points. remus and y/n get hired by dumbledore last minute to teach at hogwarts, defense against the dark arts and charms respectively. not wanting the students to know they are married, they navigate the challenging year through hidden glances, hand holds underneath the table and loving moments in their offices. even with all their efforts to conceal their relationship, their chemistry does not go unnoticed by the student population of hogwarts, who grow fond of the pair as they offer them some of the best classes they’ve had in a while. their relationship as newlyweds is strengthened as teaching the next generation of wizards unlocks a sea of memories of their love story. for the second time in his life, remus holds hogwarts responsible for some of his happiest memories. he’s given the chance to create them with the love of his life, y/n, who has taught and continues to teach him that every part of him is lovable, remaining forever under her charm.
series masterlist here
join taglist here
12.
1980 flashback.
Y/N and Remus were on a cliff. Under it, were a sea of Dementors swirling, slowly making their ascent towards them.
“Y/N, stop, this mission is too dangerous! Let’s go report back to Dumbledore saying we were ambushed!” Remus cried.
Y/N shook her head, looking towards the Dementors.
“Dumbledore wanted us to talk to them, so I will!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, with that amount of them it’s no use- they’d suck your soul out.”
Y/N cried. “Don’t you see what I’m doing? I love you and you love me, but the only reason you won’t let us be together is that you’re too scared, so now I’m gonna give you something REAL to be scared about!”
“Y/N, don’t be crazy-“
With that, Remus stepped forward, clasped both of Y/N’s cheeks in his hands and kissed with her.
Y/N jerked awake. There she laid in her bed, back slightly sweaty and her blanket sliding off the left side of her body. What the fuck was that about… she thought. Getting out of bed, she went to the bathroom to pee.
Why was she dreaming about intense, dramatic, romantic declarations with Remus? Her best friend?
Deep down, she knew.
+
1993, present time.
“Professor Y/L/N.”
Professor McGonagall said, walking into the teacher’s lounge. It was empty except for Y/N.
“Hi, Professor McGonagall!”
“Did you have a good Christmas holiday?” Professor McGonagall said, pulling on the chair beside Y/N’s and taking a seat. She pulled out a massive package wrapped in brown paper.
“I did, I did. Very peaceful with Remus, and happy to be at Hogwarts. It’s just magical here. You?”
“Yes, very restful. Now… listen. We have a situation that would require your help and expertise, if you would be willing to participate.”
“Yes, of course, what’s going on?” Y/N quirked her eyebrow in worry, glancing down at the package McGonagall started opening up. “Wow, beautiful broom!”
“Indeed, it is the latest model. A Firebolt. Extremely rare and expensive, as you might know, and it was sent to Harry Potter.”
Y/N looked up to meet McGonagall’s gaze before she continued, “anonymously. Because of the peculiarities of his situation… and who might have sent it, I thought it’d be best to confiscate it and have you and Madam Hooch strip it down to make sure it isn’t dangerous.”
Y/N nodded, inspecting the broom carefully. “Yes, of course, I completely understand.” She dragged a hand slowly across the broomstick to feel its new varnish. “How did Harry react to it?”
McGonagall sighed slightly. “Oh you can imagine, boys. Him and Weasley seemed absolutely furious at Miss Granger, who was the one who brought this broom to my attention. I’m afraid their friendship with her is a bit rocky at the moment… although it can’t be entirely about the Firebolt. I’ve been hearing Weasley cuss out Granger’s cat often, something about him wanting to eat his rat… anyway. I’ll leave it to Madam Hooch to store, then, and you can work out with her a schedule to perform the safety tests on it?”
“Yep, that sounds good, thank you Minerva.” Y/N said, distractedly bidding McGonagall goodbye as the latter stepped out politely, glisteningly new broomstick in hand.
Y/N tried to imagine what Harry must’ve looked like when he received the Firebolt. Little did she know that the pair actually had her husband in mind for a split second.
"I can't believe this," Harry muttered, running a hand along the Firebolt, while Ron sank onto Harry's bed, laughing his head off at the thought of Malfoy. "Who -?"
"I know," said Ron, controlling himself, "I know who it could've been -- Lupin!"
"What?" said Harry, now starting to laugh himself "Lupin? Listen, if he had this much gold, he'd be able to buy himself some new robes."
"Yeah, but he likes you," said Ron. "And he was away when your Nimbus
186
got smashed, and he might've heard about it and decided to visit Diagon Alley and get this for you --"
"What d'you mean, he was away?" said Harry. "He was ill when I was playing in that match."
"Well, he wasn't in the hospital wing," said Ron. "I was there, cleaning out the bedpans on that detention from Snape, remember?"
Harry frowned at Ron.
"I can't see Lupin affording something like this.”
Hogwarts really was its students, Y/N thought. The Christmas holiday had barely ended, and now with the students coming back, the monotonous uneventfulness of the winter break came to a sudden halt as well.
+
Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like
doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for their
enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white-hot logs. Harry was just turning over a burning piece of wood with two sticks when a few of his friends beside him said, “Hi, Professor Lupin! Professor Y/L/N!”
Harry looked up, surprised to see his Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms teachers marching down the hill towards Hagrid’s Hut. Professor Lupin was wearing his usual patchy brown winter coat, while Professor Y/L/N was in her black one, hands clad with pink mittens and neck wrapped in a thick scarf that took up half her chest.
“Hi guys!” Y/N waved merrily, stomping her boots through the snow. “Hagrid, we saw from the window you had a salamander bonfire going and started craving fire-roasted marshmallows, do you think it’d be alright?”
“We really hope we’re not disturbing in your lesson.” Remus said.
“Of course not!” Hagrid let out a large belly laugh, “the more the merrier at my lessons! Actually gang, this is a good opportunity. Everyone, let’s feed the salamanders a bit of pepper, maybe their burps will give you a good flame for your marshmallows.”
The class excitedly lined up in front of Hagrid to get a spoonful of pepper, then went looking on the ground for a nice long stick before going to Y/N and Remus for a marshmallow.
“Do NOT roast marshmallows on your wand!” Y/N cried out, tears of laughter leaking out of her eyes as she pointed to Seamus, who was about to attempt sticking his own wand on top of the flames.
“The salamanders won’t try to eat the marshmallows, will they?” A student asked.
The class, along with Remus and Y/N looked at Hagrid, who answered, “No, no, they’re not into that food. They must eat pepper to stay alive, don’t forget that.”
Once everyone managed to successfully feed a salamander pepper and get a good crispiness on their marshmallow, Hagrid called for a break so everyone can sit down on a tree stump and enjoy their snack.
The class was coming to an end, and everyone helped clean up with sticky fingers.
“I wanna feed one of the salamanders,” Y/N whispered into Remus as they stood to the side, watching Hagrid wrap up his lesson.
“Here, let’s go get some pepper.”
They snuck up on a salamander that was blissfully roasting in the fire.
“How much do I give-“
“Oh, shit-“
“Run- aH!”
Remus had clumsily overfed a salamander and it let out a heavy burp that lit a small flame on Remus’ sleeve.
“Rem, HERE, HERE! SNOW!” Y/N frantically yelled at him, all while picking up fistfuls of snow and throwing them at him in hopes to put the fire out on.
The students watch the scene unfold with hands covering their mouths, as Y/N pushed Remus onto the snow, accidentally sending herself onto the ground as well.
“Is it out, is the fire out-“ Y/N gasped for air, partially out of breath out of exhaustion, but also from the sheer pain in her ribs that came from laughing too much.
“It’s out, it’s out.” Remus panted.
“Professors,” Hagrid said, shaking his head, pulling the both of them up as if they were dolls. “Always, always feed salamanders by the spoonful.
“Right, so sorry Hagrid.”
The class left for the Castle in extremely high spirits, faces still red from how hard they laughed at Professors Y/L/N and Lupin.
“God, they’re just the best, aren’t they?”
“They’re so fucking funny each time they’re together, I can’t.”
"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" Ron said to Harry as they walked down the
corridor. "What d'you reckon's the matter with him?”
There was a loud and impatient "tuh" from behind them. It was Hermione, who had been walking behind them, wrestling to zip up her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn't close.
"And what are you tutting at us for?" said Ron irritably.
"Nothing," said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back over her shoulder.
"Yes, you were," said Ron. "I said I wonder what's wrong with Lupin, and you —"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" said Hermione, with a look of maddening superiority.
"If you don't want to tell us, don't," snapped Ron. "Fine," said Hermione haughtily, and she marched off.
"She doesn't know," said Ron, staring resentfully after Hermione. 
It seemed that the marshmallows were not enough to put the boys in a mood good enough to forgive their friend.
+
"Had a good Christmas?" Oliver Wood said as he saw Harry in the hallway, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, "I've been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the dementors come to the next one... I mean... we can't afford you to — well —"
Wood broke off, looking awkward.
"I'm working on it," said Harry quickly. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas.”
“Oh, okay amazing!
After Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Harry went up to Remus’ desk.
"Ah yes," said Lupin, when Harry reminded him of his promise at the end of class. "Let me see... how about eight o'clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough.... I'll have to think carefully about how we're going to do this.... We can't bring a
real dementor into the castle to practice on...."
+
“I love Thursday evenings.” Y/N plopped down onto the bed, rubbing her eyes. “This first week back to classes has been brutal. Thank God, my Fridays are chill.”
“My Fridays,” Remus plopped down right beside her, “are not chill. I have a 1st-period class.”
Y/N laughed, rolling over to swing her arm over him. 
“Oh, you think that’s funny?” Remus grunted, turning over onto his side to stare at her scoldingly, which only made her laugh even more. 
“Very funny.”
A few moments of silence passed as their laughter died down, before Remus broke it again.
“I have to meet up with Harry to show him how to make a Patronus, you wanna come?”
“Ooh, interesting.” Y/N said with her eyes closed.
“Or you can sleep.”
“I’m not sleeping.”
“Your eyes are closed.”
“And my mouth is moving.” Y/N replied. “If I was asleep, would I be talking right now?”
Remus chuckled, leaning down to peck her on the lips. Y/N opened one eye, squinting at him.
“Okay, yes, I’d love to come. I wonder if he’ll be better at Patronuses than me, it literally took me 4 years to get one.”
“Let’s go find out.” Remus said, getting up.
“Wait, gimme another kiss.” Y/N said, pulling him back down, to which he happily obliged.
The two then walked hand in hand to the History of Magic classroom, there were no students around at this hour, separating once they neared it.
Harry was already there when they arrived, and he already lit the lamps for them.
“Hi, Harry! How are you? Do you mind if I join you guys tonight?”
“Hi, Professor Y/L/N, it’s no problem. What’s that?” Harry said, turning to the large packing case Remus was heaving onto Professor Binn’s desk.
"Another boggart," said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll
get to a real dementor. The boggart will turn into a dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like.”
"Okay," said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn't apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a real dementor.
"So..." Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry -- well beyond ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm.”
"How does it work?" said Harry nervously.
"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus," said Lupin, "which is a kind of anti- dementor -- a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor. The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon -- hope, happiness, the desire to survive -- but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it.”"
"What does a Patronus look like?" said Harry curiously. 
"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it.” Y/N said.
"And how do you conjure it?”
"With an incantation-“ both Remus and Y/N said at the same time.
“Sorry, go ahead,” Remus said politely to her.
“An incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory.” Y/N finished.
"The incantation is this --" Lupin cleared his throat. "Expecto patronum!”
"Expecto patronum, " Harry repeated under his breath, "expecto patronum.”
"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?”
"Oh -- yeah --" said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. "Expecto patrono -- no, patronum -- sorry -- expecto patronum, expecto patronum”
Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas.
"Did you see that?" said Harry excitedly. "Something happened!”
Y/N let out an encouraging, excited little whoop.
"Very good," said Lupin, smiling. "Right, then -- ready to try it on a dementor?”
Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled. A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him —
"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto —"
“Oh God-“ Y/N said as she watched Harry’s eyes roll back and his knees buckle.
She conjured a pillow with her wand just in time to cushion his head as he fell to the ground.
“Harry!"
Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the floor. The classroom lamps were alight again.
"Sorry," he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses.
"Are you all right?" said Lupin.
"Yes..." Harry pulled himself up on one of the desks and leaned against it.
"Here --" Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had.”
"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. "I could hear her louder that time -- and him -- Voldemort”
Y/N exchanged a look with Lupin, who looked paler than usual. 
"Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand —"
"I do!" said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog
into his mouth. "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up at our match 
against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!”
“Okay, Harry.” Y/N said slowly. “We can try again.”
Another go, another fall to the floor. This time, Remus had to tap on his face for a minute before he woke up. Tears were streaming down his face.
“Listen, Harry -- perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced.... I shouln't have suggested putting you through this…." Remus said.
"No!" said Harry. He got up again. "I'll have one more go! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is.... Hang on…." He turned to Y/N. “Was it this hard for you to learn this spell?”
“Oh, yes. It took me an embarassingly long time to get a Patronus, four years.”
“Why?”
“Um… it took me a while to get a memory happy enough I think.” Y/N said, glancing over at Remus.
+
1980.
Things had been culminating to an all-point high. Remus and Y/N were best friends, and they had waltzed around each other past the point where all their friends were teasing them about how cute they were and were now more exasperated than amused.
Remus and Y/N also knew in their hearts something had to give soon, because they had been fighting a fire that had no chance of being contained. They were both just too afraid to set it free.
Until… 
“Y/N?!” Remus screamed out when he saw her.
The pair were on a hill in the outskirts of town, where a secret Portkey was placed for a mission for the Order.
“You signed up for this mission?!” Remus yelled again, eyes as wide as saucers.
“Yeah, are you okay? Why are you yelling like this?” Y/N said.
“Don’t do this. Not right now, I can’t handle this.” Remus shook his head. “You can’t go on this mission.”
Y/N took a step back incredulously, crossing her arms. “I can’t? You’re deciding that for me?”
“It’s way too fucking dangerous, this isn’t some regular Order mission, it’s going into a werewolf habitat okay- you can’t go on this one, I won’t let you.”
Y/N scoffed. “Rem, I’ll be fine.”
She took a step towards the Portkey, but felt her body get pulled away. Her eyes went to Remus’ hand, that was firmly holding her elbow back. She met his gaze. 
He didn’t let go. His grip on her elbow was firm, not to the point of holding her, but tight enough for the warmness of his hand to spread along her entire arm.
“Please, Y/N, just let me go. I can’t bear to see you in danger, it’ll- it’ll.. it’ll absolutely tear my heart apart. It’ll tear me apart.”
Y/N had never seen Remus like this. His eyes were glossy.
“Rem…” Y/N whispered softly. “I’ve been in dangerous situations before-“
“No, no, it’s different now. I can’t have anything happen to you, not even the slightest risk of anything.”
Y/N blinked. Remus let go of her.
“Y/N…” Remus began, but then shook his head, cursing. He glanced at the Portkey and tried again. “My feelings… the feelings I have for you, have grown, and I’m afraid they’ve grown to a point where I-“
Y/N’s chest burned from the way she held her breath. Or maybe it was burning because this was the moment she didn’t know she was waiting for.
“I want you in my life, in-in more than just a friend way. You are the air that I breathe. I’m in love with you, Y/N.”
Y/N burst into happy tears.
“I’m in love with you too, Remus.”
Remus blinked away tears as the biggest expression of shock took over his face.
“You are?!” He cried.
The Portkey started shaking. It started spinning faster and faster until everything around them got caught in its stirring wind.
“Of course I am!” Y/N yelled exasperatedly. “How could you not see, of fucking course I-“
Remus pulled her to him so her chest hit his, as he crashed his lips onto hers. In this small tornado of their own, they kissed for the very first time and time stopped.
Y/N latched onto his collar, pulling him even closer. She had needed this, needed this for so long, no matter how much their lips were touching, she needed to melt into him. Remus’ arm held her tight against him, refusing to let go.
Finally, a second, a minute, a small eternity later, they broke apart. Hair messy, cheeks wet, lips bruised red. Panting, smiling.
The Portkey had left without them.
“Let’s go home.” Remus said.
“You’re my home.”
“You’re so corny,” Remus chuckled, but cupped both Y/N’s cheeks and kissed her again. That’s where his lips were meant to be.
+
Present time.
“Can we have another go? Just one more? Professor Y/L/N?”
“Hmm?” Y/N jerked awake from daydreaming about her fond memory. Wispy silver smoke had been leaking out from her wand. “Remus?”
“Alright…” Remus said, as if it was against his better judgement. He held onto the lid of the case. “Concentrating hard? Ready?”
Harry nodded. The Dementor rose out of it.
'EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry bellowed. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!”
He stayed on his feet this time. A huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Harry's wand, to hover between him and the dementor. 
"Riddikulus!" roared Lupin, springing forward.
There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the dementor; he sank into a chair, clutching his chest.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Remus and Y/N forcing the Boggart back into the case. It had turned into a silvery orb again.
"Excellent!" Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. "Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!”
“That was so good!” Y/N said, bouncing on her feet, joining them and giving Harry a clap on the back.
"Can we have another go? Just one more go?”
"Not now," said Lupin firmly. "You've had enough for one night. Here --"
He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate.
"Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?"
“Yeah.”
The three sat there for a small while, mostly in silence as Harry finished off his chocolate. Harry smiled to himself, sandwiched between Y/N and Remus. When he finished, he thanked them and bid them goodbye, leaving the two professors behind.
“I want one.” Y/N said abruptly, watching the door from which Harry just left.
“Oh, sorry love, I only had one bar I think-“ Remus said, patting his pockets.
“No, not chocolate,” Y/N said, this time turning her head to meet Remus’ eyes. “I want a child.”
to be continued
217 notes · View notes