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#i know it's a lot but i thought it would be funny
girlokwhatever · 2 days
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ʚɞ✧˖ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- end of beginning,, pt.2
part one
emily engstler x fem!ex!reader
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you got ready in record time. the combination of your nerves and excitement together spurred you into a frenzy, encouraging you to bounce around your hotel room like you were being rushed.
emily said she’d pick you up soon, causing you to hurriedly make the finishing touches on your look tonight. there was that feeling still, deep down, that you wanted desperately to impress her.
the shared conversation you had echoed in your mind the moment the two of you departed. she asked you out to dinner. your mind teetered on the line between two ideas: she wanted closure so you two could be teammates without your history getting in the way, or, maybe she hasn’t moved on.
you think in some ways you have, but was that even true? if emily came to you with a confession of love that she never let go of, what would you do?
there wasn’t time to ponder the thought because your phone dinged. it was a simple message from emily telling you she’s here. ‘waiting for you outside’ she said, simple but enough to make your heart beat faster. you gathered your essentials and left the ghost-like hotel room to meet emily outside.
when you caught sight of her, leaning against her car, hands buried deep in her pockets and ankles crossed, you knew you were done for. she looked so beautiful, no less than you remember.
“hey, sorry, i know i’m a bit early.”
“it’s all good, i was ready anyway.”
she eyes you up and down, smiling to herself because she recognizes the bracelet you’re wearing. it’s one of the many she bought for you during your relationship. a token of her love for you.
“i was thinking we could get some hibachi, your hotel is kinda close.”
you nod, affirming it’s a pleasant choice. the car ride there is filled with simple conversation. you realize it’s the kind of conversation you’d have with someone you barely know, but then again, it’s been two years since you’ve seen emily.
she is different. but so are you.
“okay i’m gonna warn you, i’ve heard mixed reviews about this place.”
the two of you had been seated almost ten minutes ago and still haven’t been given drinks. you didn’t mind much but you could tell by her bouncing leg that emily was losing patience.
“and you didn’t feel like that was worth mentioning earlier?”
“well i remember you like hibachi and this is the only place i know of that serves it.”
she’s giving you a playful shrug as her fingers toy with the lanyard attached to her keys. you can’t help but let your eyes linger, watching her facial features shift slightly when she breaks eye contact or noticing the almost invisible shake in her hands. she seems much more reserved, a lot quieter than you know her to be.
“hey do you remember that time,” she smiles as she pauses to collect her thoughts, “when we got hibachi and the guy accidentally burnt you with the shrimp?”
“oh my god- yes. i still, to this day, have no clue how he managed to flip it on me instead of the stove.”
“dude that was classic. i mean, unfortunate for you but definitely funny.”
emily leans back against the wooden chair, relaxing into the seat. she was looking at you again and still smiling at the contagious happy memory. it was a popular story to tell during your relationship.
“yeah okay, but when i mention that time in the park when you fell on your face it’s not funny?”
“no. you threw the ball way too high. i don’t even know how you threw the football like that.”
“from practicing when we went to the beach that one time, remember? we’d throw the ball on the beach at night.”
all the recounts of priceless stories never to be forgotten makes your chest swell with fondness. to see the way emily smiles when talking about them warms your heart even more because she’s genuinely happy and you sense no resentment in her tone. she’s appreciative of the time she got to spend with you, even if it was short-lived.
“i don’t think i could ever forget that. it was the best vacation of my life for sure. it was so good, school had kinda been stressing me out and all so i was just happy to get away with you. i remember our first night there you wore that really pretty dress, the white one, and you asked me to take pictures of you at sunset but it was so windy and you kept getting mad. oh my gosh you were so mad. i still have the one picture where you’re pulling that piece of hair out of your mouth and you got so upset because i took the picture and sent it to myself. but you looked so beautiful anyway, it was good.”
you don’t say anything, too shocked to properly collect yourself. though you knew ex’s could be friends, you weren’t aware it was like this. you’re in awe of her really, feeling your cheeks grow warm at her compliments of your beauty.
your eyes stay trained on emily but she’s looking straight ahead at the wall, rummaging through all her memories containing you. you’re all she can think about in this moment and she’s not aware how obvious that simple fact is. she was too lost in thought, too busy missing her past to realize her word vomit.
“i remember too how an ocean wave knocked you over and you got a bunch of sand in your hair,” she leans back further, trying to submerge herself in the memory. “and i had to help you wash it out that night cause your arms were tired. then for the rest of the week you made me go in the ocean with you every time so i could help hold you up, i think i can still feel how tight you’d grip me when a wave came. and we’d always get burnt cause we’d float together for ages. but i didn’t even care because i was just happy to be there with you. nothing else mattered to me.”
the intensity of her words finally dawn on emily, immediately stiffening and clearing her throat. the air between you is thick and her confession weighs in the space between. you have no idea how to react or what you could possibly say to her, but you don’t have to because someone is finally asking what you want to drink.
the rest of dinner was tense with very few shared words. every now and then emily would comment on the quality of the food and you’d say nothing in return.
what could you say?
the ride back to your hotel was even worse. the soft hum of the radio and an occasional road bump was the only noise to fill your space. your eyes stayed glued on the sunset out the window the entire time, trying to remember how you ended up in this situation.
you thought back on everything. from the moment emily asked you to be her girlfriend, the moment you broke up with her, to earlier in the night when she asked you out to dinner. anecdotes of your shared past with her flooded your mind and refused to leave. it wasn’t until she parked at your hotel that they drained, leaving you with a teary waterline and regrets of past decisions. and current ones.
“thanks for taking me out tonight.”
“yeah, no problem.” silence lingered as you climbed out of her passenger seat but once you were about to shut the door she spoke up again, “i’m sorry.”
but it was too late and she wasn’t even sure if you heard her because you just kept walking. shaky breaths and silence consumed the walk back to your room, nothing in your mind but blame on yourself.
you should’ve said something, acknowledged her admission and reciprocated it. instead you sat there silently and visibly watched her shrink in on herself.
you were a coward.
you were a coward back then when you broke up with her, not able to face the uncertainty change would bring. it had only gotten worse. you realized that maybe some things don’t ever change.
the harsh opinion you harbored for yourself only made you feel worse. once you reached your room the tears began to fall one by one down your face, a pent-up sob escaping you from your spot on the bed.
emily was still parked outside, watching the time pass by. with each minute she debated on going inside, straight to your room. she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d do or say when she got there, but she just wanted to see you again.
it had been thirteen minutes since you left. thirteen minutes since she saw you. thirteen minutes since the opportunity to win you over again had passed. thirteen minutes sitting in silence waiting for you to text her something, anything. but you never did.
she couldn’t leave knowing she didn’t try.
so she didn’t. she remembered seeing your key card, your floor and room written across it in bold lettering. that’s where she found herself now, standing on your floor gathering the courage to just knock.
finally she did, hearing you shuffle on the other side of the door. she could swear a drop of sweat was dripping down her forehead, bringing the back of her hand up to wipe at it.
“emily?”
“can i talk to you?” she was going to throw up, she was going to throw up, “please?”
“yeah.. are you okay?”
“are you?” emily looks at your face, makeup disrupted by wet streaks and eyes slightly red, red enough to be noticed. her tone came out harsher than she meant it to, pushing her way into the cold room. you don’t answer, instead busying yourself with shutting the door and turning the lights on.
“can i sit down?”
“go for it.”
she props herself up on the end of your bed, hands resting on her bouncing knees as you approach. you lean against the wall a few feet away as she begins to speak.
“i’m sorry for dinner, if it made you feel weird or anything. i think i should tell you, just get it out of the way, that i still think about you. all the time. and, like, i miss you. i know we’ve both probably changed and we’re different people now, i get it. but nothing, nothing, amounts to the way i felt with you. when i saw you today i felt like old me again. i want nothing more than to be like that again.” emily catches her breath, the jumbled confession coming so suddenly. “i went back to louisville last summer, just to see jeff and stuff. being there reminded me of you. i felt better there because i felt like part of you was there with me.”
she looks at you expectantly, waiting for some type of reaction. you just stare at her with an unreadable expression, tears dipping at the corners of your mouth and you bring a gentle hand up to wipe them away.
“do you ever..” she buries her head in her hands, dragging them down her face, “do you ever feel that way? tell me you don’t and i’ll leave if you want me to. i just have to know so that i can move on with my life.”
“emily..”
“it’s okay” she whispers, “it’ll be fine.”
she stands, tucking her flyaways behind her ear. your eyes connect with a silent message as you try to find the right words. you turn your head away from her direction because you feel like she’s peering into you, dissecting every thought and tearing you apart to find what she wants.
“i think about you all the time.”
it’s short but effective. emily’s heart skips a beat and so does yours, the gap between your bodies lessening.
“getting on the court with you again was so amazing and for that reason alone i’m happy to be here. i left louisville because i couldn’t do it without you. and i spent, oh my god, so many nights regretting my decision. i miss you emily. i’ve missed you for two years.”
neither of you have any words left as she surges toward you, pulling your body into hers. your lips meet in a passionate kiss to make up for lost time, finding peace within one another. emily holds the back of your head to press you as close as possible because she fears you’ll slip away again if she doesn’t. she finally has you back, nothing is taking that away from her.
you’re the first to pull away, placing your forehead against her own. your noses rest side by side, lips touching and fingers tangled in hair as you both pant from loss of breath. you’re so relieved that you’re almost convinced it can’t be real.
there’s no negative feelings plaguing either of you anymore, finally feeling complete.
the rest of the night is spent with tangled limbs and gentle kisses to pass the time. she never leaves your embrace and you don’t leave hers, feeling content right where you are.
you can finally wave goodbye to the end of your beginning with emily, ready to move into the next chapter with her.
ʚɞ✧˖ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
thank you @astroph1les for literally giving me all the motivation to do this
i hope no one forgot about pt.1 i know it’s been a minute 😬😬😬🤗
not spell checked yet but it will be later!!
pls enjoy!!!!!!!
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shoyudon · 2 days
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DON'T STICK YOUR HAND UP THE VENDING MACHINE .ᐟ
starring. toji fushiguro x fem! reader
heads up. cursing
note. I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS CAME UP TO ME SO SUDDENLY? BUT IT DID AND IT WOULD BE SO SAD IF I DIDN'T WRITE IT SKJDKJSK
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VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who received a call from the mall he works in because apparently someone's arm got stuck inside a vending machine right in the basement parking before he was going to go home from a long day.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who saw you sitting down on the floor in front of the vending machine, your head leaning on it — he could hear a string of curses escaping from your mouth as you moved your arm a bit. frankly, he finds it pretty funny that you were owning up to the consequences of your own actions.
"has nobody told you that y'r not supposed to put your hand up the vending machine?" toji mutters, almost satisfied.
you rolled your eyes, "just get me out of this."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who had to endure at least the next fifteen minutes of you complaining about the same vending machine that you got stuck in, from the start of the alphabet till' the end.
"this thing ate my money, there's no way 'm leaving without my drink. stupid vending machine," you muttered out — toji trying his best to get your arm out without trying to possibly hurt you. honestly, he could care less about you getting hurt; he just didn't want his paycheck to be cut for your medication bills.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who finally got your arm out after half an hour, and got your drink out for you to shut you up from more complaints. it was a can of cold black coffee, which was what you needed after a twelve hours shift.
"thanks," you tell him — shoving the can of coffee inside your bag, "uh . . . do i need to pay for getting my arm out or should i just like . . . leave?"
he scoffs, "leave."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who only got back to his apartment two hours later than usual because you decided it was the best time to get your arm stuck in the vending machine over ¥120 (approximately $0.77).
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who got a glass of boba from your workplace the next day because you felt bad he had to waste his time helping you after you got stuck. in your defense, you didn't want to waste your money.
"uh, i don't know if you like boba — i made it less sugar since you don't seem like the type to eat a lot of sugar, you know?" you pointed at his build, "but thanks for helping me last night."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who begrudgingly accepted your drink and scoffed when he tasted it, 'less sugar' he thought taking another sip, biting onto the chewy boba coated with brown sugar liquid.
you were right about one thing, how he doesn't really like consuming too much sugar. despite the drink being 'less sugar' he still thought there was too much sugar — and despite that, he still managed to finish a whole glass of it, even chewing the last bit of ice.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually saw you in your workplace when he was called to fix a vending machine inside the mall. taking in a customer's order, looking really stressed when more customers decided to pop in. huffing, he decided to stop by just to mess with you.
"so . . . what's the best thing y'got in here?" he mutters.
you look at him, eyes narrowed. but this was him, the vending machine maintenance as your customer, "brown sugar boba, fresh milk red bean matcha boba, red bean mochi fresh milk," you explained, pointing to every picture on the menu you just mentioned.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who decided it was best to mess with you even more, bringing back his complaint about the drink you made him this morning.
"red bean mochi fresh milk, less sugar." toji underlines, taking out his wallet — even if he didn't want to buy a glass of sugar after drinking one earlier this morning.
"that will be ¥320 (approximately $2.07), please."
he huffs, "people pay that much for a glass of sugar?" and then he slid a couple of bills towards you.
"you're paying that much for sugar, you're one to say," you retort back, opening the cash register to return back his change and a small paper of his bill.
"one star for bad service," he muttered, grabbing back his change.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who for some reason, gets the most random call from inside the mall asking for the vending machine to be fixed. maybe because he doesn't fix them whole-heartedly just so he could mess with you by ordering the most outrageous drinks — at first it started out as little mocking smiles, and gestures.
but he felt as if that wasn't enough, so he decided to take a step further by messing with you on your job, urging you to make the smallest mistakes.
"brown sugar boba, with ten percent of brown sugar liquid. and five percent of sugar. if it's too sweet, i want my money back," he grunted. he meant to tease you — but the way he said it made him sound so serious that you were nervous about messing up his order.
even if he did say that he would return it every single time, he never really does.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who saw a customer complaint over something you didn't make — and he couldn't really do anything except watch. it wasn't like he was about to risk his own job by creating a scene in a boba shop. he sipped away on his order, which in his opinion was still too sweet, but he said nothing.
"i asked for no sugar, why is this still so sweet?" a man complains, raising up his royal milk tea with boba; which toji could see is half-empty. hell, the man's still chewing on his boba as he speaks.
"i apologize sir, but even our base milk tea powders are still a bit sweet, that's where the sweetness is coming from," you explained, looking at him apologetically, "would you like me to do anything for you, sir?"
the man grunted, "no, it's just disappointing," he muttered out, shooting you a dirty look before turning to leave the shop — toji eyed the male but said nothing. he was glad his work didn't require him to communicate with people besides getting a call to fix a machine.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually stopped messing with you and just drops by to order his drinks because he noticed how stressed you look at that man's complaint. he just didn't want to be the reason why you get fired.
"brown sugar boba, make it less sweet," he muttered — shoving his hand down into his pocket to grab the exact change he needed to pay.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually took a two weeks break from buying your boba because he was actually afraid he'd get diabetes from the huge amount of sugar he was consuming in such a short amount of time.
and you seek for his appearance — which never happened, until he decided to come back while you were sitting down on the floor, shoving your face into the instant ramen you bought from the convenience store this morning before your shift.
"oh! it's you, you came back!" you put the cup on top of the counter and wiped your hands, walking towards the cashier.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who spent most of his time in the boba shop until he's called somewhere else. he'd usually spend his hours inside the maintenance staff room on the secluded part of the mall, but now? he wastes his time inside a small boba shop in the middle of the mall; even if he said nothing or you were too busy to talk to him.
he still stayed because he likes it there, even without you both talking. he didn't feel as lonely as the hours spent inside the staff room alone.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually enjoyed it when you strike conversations with him during the peaceful flow of the boba shop, asking the most random questions from his zodiac sign to his favorite soda flavor, or his favorite way to eat eggs.
"i like sunny side ups, they're good," you tell him, wiping the sweat that was forming on your forehead — the both of you ended up talking about your schedules and shifts of work, which you both find out how the both of you mostly have 12 hours shifts.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually found you stranded after a shift because you missed the last bus, and he ended up giving you a ride on his old motorcycle. he's never really had a human backpack behind him on his motorcycle, so he didn't really care about speeding — at least until you told him to slow down a bit because it was a bit scary.
"thanks for the ride, toji. i owe you another one, how about a drink tomorrow? just make sure to drop by, 'ts on the house!" you gave him a thumbs up, giving back the only helmet that he made you use.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually came back to your shop the very next day to get that free drink of his from you — and this time, you managed to make it just right. not too sweet, he could get used to that.
"i like this one, 'ts not too sweet," he comments, raising up the glass of boba drink, "why couldn't ya' make me one like this since the beginning when i asked for less sugar?" he asked you.
"because that's my own recipe. 'ts not on the menu, but i'm still paying for it, y'know?" you raised your brows, eyeing him from inside the bar, "i wanna open my own boba shop in the future, it's fun."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who actually became your personal driver because he was the one who asked you to. even if you declined at first since you didn't want to burden him — but he actually insisted, surprising.
"don't care, we're goin' the same direction anyways," he handed you a helmet (that he actually rummaged through the garage through for, washed it, and dried it just for you), "the bus' full of weirdos at night."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who managed to get close to you in the next few months; he never did expect it, him getting close to a girl, but he was actually kind of glad he did get close to you.
"hey toji, eat lunch with me. i'm on break right now!" you peeked inside the maintenance staff room where he sat, a water bottle in his grasp. he'd usually decline, hell, he even declined his co-workers— but you? he could only sigh and gave out a curt nod, "look what i got."
toji hated everyone. but when you came into his world, he could make exceptions.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who hated it when he feels his heart flutter, he doesn't like the way his stomach churns every time he sees you do anything or see you in general. the way he craves for more of your smile, your laugh, everything about you. it made him feel uneasy— especially when he's never felt all that before.
it was a strange feeling to him, and he didn't like it. toji's never one for relationships, love, and all that. he doesn't know how to do it, he was afraid he'd end up hurting you instead. maybe, maybe that's why he decided to put some distance between the both of you.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who always fixes vending machines inside the mall the right way, making sure he doesn't have to go back in and see your face. as much as he wanted to, he didn't want to see you and feel the fluttering all over again when he's tried so hard to stop it (which wasn't working, by the way).
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who tries not to spend time inside the maintenance staff room because he knew you'd always try to come see him there during times when he wasn't idling by your work place. he felt bad every time his co-worker told him that you came by looking for him.
"hey fushiguro, i forgot to tell you, the boba girl was looking for you again this afternoon," his co-worker informed, putting on his jacket, ready to leave.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who kept this on for at least the next three months. everywhere you were, he turns away and walk the other way making sure the both of you won't bump into each other. don't think you didn't notice his act though, noticing how he stopped replying to your messages, how he doesn't come up to meet you in your work place anymore, or how he walks by your shop like he doesn't know you every time he was asked to fix a machine inside the shop.
you wondered if you did something that might made him mad at you — but no matter what, you just couldn't figure out what. and if he wasn't willing to talk to you, hell, even spare a glance at you, how were you going to find out.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who grumbled under his breath when he got a call right as he was about to clock out of work. begrudgingly walking down towards the basement where the vending machine was; god, people just had to ruin his day.
opening the basement door, there he saw you— sitting on the ground with an arm stuck inside the vending machine. a case of deja vu, this was exactly like how you both met.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who was silent while he was working out on your arm, wondering why in the hell would you try to reach up for a drink even after the first time you got yourself stuck. but he said nothing anyways. you did.
"are you gonna talk to me now?" you ask him while he was trying to free your arm, "i wasted my money to get my arm stuck and you're still not willing to talk to me?"
he almost scoffed, you did this on purpose, "so you did this on purpose?"
"no, i had a purpose. why're you ignoring me like we don't know each other? tell me what i did wrong so i can fix it," you mutter out angrily, crossing an arm across your chest, "you just ghosted me, why?"
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who didn't think it mattered a lot to you — but seeing to this extent you'd go, he could only shut his mouth. letting his hand do the freeing.
"so, you're just gonna act like we're strangers? 'kay, fine by me then," you reply, deciding to shut up for the rest of the procedure, waiting for him to free your arm.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who decided it was the best timing to confess to you, who had one arm up stuck inside a vending machine. all because he just wanted to get rid of the burden on his mind about you.
"listen, i get this feelin' every time i'm near you. and i don't fuckin' like it, makes me feel all warm and soft. i fuckin' hate it. i don't hate you, jus' don't get the wrong idea or shit." he muttered, pulling your arm out from the machine — packing his stuff up to leave.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who got stopped by you when he was about to leave for the night.
"'s that a confession or what? if you're going to confess, the least you could do is do it right. that was lame," you tell him, holding onto the hem of his shirt, "do it all over, with nicer words, and a nicer tone."
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who shook his head, not wanting to repeat his moment of vulnerability to the first person he was most vulnerable most. toji hated being so weak in front of people, especially you.
"no, who said 't was a confession anyways?" he questions, obviously a lie, looking at you with a raised brow.
you let go of his shirt and waved your hand, "fine then, let's not speak anymore since you want it to be that way," he stares at your back in confusion as you try to walk away out of the basement, "goodbye," you mutter out, a bit of hope that he'd stop you.
which he did, and you breathe out in relief, "'ts late, the last bus left already. i'll drop you at home," he murmurs out, scratching his nape.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who handed you the same helmet you usually wore, never getting rid of it in the first place. bringing you home for the first time after three months — nobody spoke a word to each other, and it was definitely awkward. hopping off his bike, you returned back the helmet to him and began walking back towards your house.
"hey," he calls out to you.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who sucked up his ego and confessed to you in a "nicer" way and tone like you told him to. and he of course, managed to butcher it up again.
"i don't fuckin' hate you. i just tolerate you more than i tolerate other people," he retorts. seeing the unimpressed look on your face made him think twice, "okay. i like you, just— bye," and then he left just like that without trying to hear your reply.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who didn't expect a glass of boba on his staff room with a small note, and he knew it was from you.
'i like you too, why did you leave last night?'
because he was scared you'd reject him, that's why. but now that you made it clear that you weren't going to reject him, he was more relaxed. but the thought of meeting you face to face after last night made him nervous all over.
VENDING MACHINE MAINTENANCE! TOJI who was actually surprised when you weren't as awkward as he is upon meeting him after last night. peeking your head inside the staff room like the usual — he turned to look and there you were already jumping onto him.
"hey! why did you leave so fast last night? i didn't even get to answer you yet," he grumbled under his breath when you brought it up yet again.
"because i was afraid y're gonna reject me, happy?" he asks, "but you didn't so 'm not afraid anymore, i guess."
"what does this make us?" you replied back playfully, nudging his bicep with your elbow, "hm? hm?"
"friends," he teased, his face flat.
"hey!"
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© shoyudon 2024 . no copying or reposting allowed !
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Hopeful
Soft! Jackson Joel Miller x Neurodivergant/ ADHD F!reader
Summary: Joel hasn't felt hopeful since before the outbreak, that is before he meets you when he arrives in Jackson. Hes falling for you, but you couldn't possible fee the same way, could you?
Soft! Jackson Joel miller x Neurodivergant\ ADHD reader AU
MDNI 18+ NSFW
Warnings: unspecified age gap (i wrote this with reader in her early 30s and Joel in is early 50s but no ages are specifically said) soft Joel, concerned Joel, protective Joel, Neurodivergant, audio overstimulation, anxiety. He falls first. Match maker Ellie. Smut. Oral (F! receiving) Fingering, heavy make out sessions. Joel's chatty. body imagine issues, low self-esteem. Swearing, dirty talk. Praise.
A/N: Man this story really got away from me! what i thought would be a short story turned out to be rather length but im proud as hell of this story and i hope you enjoy!
There’s not a lot of descriptors about reader other than eye color and mentions of curves/ plush but they can easily be changed.
Hopeful.
Hopeful wasn’t something Joel felt since before the outbreak. But when he met you, it started brewing slow and low just below the surface until he couldn’t deny it anymore, couldn’t push it away any longer. You made him feel hopeful.
“Dude if you stare much longer the whole town is gonna notice.” Ellie teases as she jabs Joel with her elbow.
“Oh stop it, I wasn’t staring”
“You’ve been looking at her for like 10 minutes, just go sit with her”
Joel turns away quickly feeling his face getting red. He thought he was doing a better job of keeping his fondness for you hidden. He figured there was no way you’d share the same feelings, why would you like a guy like him? Old, beat up, and someone the whole town talked about. He figured there just wasn’t any way.
“She don’t want me bothering her” Joel shrugs
“Im not lying when I say she asks about you when you haven’t been to the stables yet.”
A slight smile tugs at Joel’s lips, he always asks Ellie about you too.
“Go sit with her”Ellie nudges him
Joel let’s out a nervous sigh and makes his way over to your table.
You’re fully engrossed in your book that you don’t notice Joel standing there for a moment.
“Is this seat taken darlin’?”
You don’t even have to look to know it’s Joel, you’d know his voice anywhere.
You chuckle, looking up at him with that smile and those big beautiful hazel eyes he loved so much.
“What’s funny?”
“Unless Ellie and Dina are sitting with me, that seats never taken”
Joel frowns at your comment.
“You want some company? It ok if I sit?”
“I’d love some” you say trying not too seem to eager but your bursting with butterflies over Joel wanting to sit with you. Your smile happens automatically, like it always does with Joel.
You’d been fond of Joel since him and Ellie arrived in Jackson. Despite all the whispers about him in town, his presence always calmed you in a way nobody ever had, you couldn’t explain it even if you tried. You absolutely adored Ellie from the moment you met her, Joel always telling you she trusts you in a way he’s never seen before.
The two of you fall into comfortable small talk as you both finish breakfast.
“Didn’t see you at the town dance last night”
“That’s because I didn’t go, you went?”
“Well Ellie and Dina wanted to go cause they’re always reading about dances in the diaries they find, so I went too. Plus Ellie’s always teasin’ me that I need to get out more”
“I don’t normally go to stuff like that, I’m too awkward and I don’t want people asking me to dance because they feel bad.”
“Now I’m sure there would be lots of people who’d like to dance with you” Joel has all he can do not to tell you he’d show up to dance with you everytime if he knew you’d be there.
“That’s really kind of you to say, but incase you haven’t noticed the people here don’t really know how to take me.”
“You headin to the stables?” Joel already knows the answer. He knows it’s not your day to work at the stables but he asks anyways because he doesn’t want the conversation to end.
“ No, today I’m working on getting the little town library set up, now that you and Tommy are finished building the shelves, I’d like to open it soon.”
“Y’need any help? I’m off my normal duties today”
“Oh no, it’s ok. You don’t have to do that. I don’t want to bother you on your free time”
“It’s really no trouble at all, I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to help” Joel’s jokes, smiling at you.
Your laugh.
He’d give anything to hear your laugh over and over again.
“And I guess I wouldn’t accept if I didn’t want help and company” you teased back, trying to stifle the giggle that bubbles up.
She wants company, my company?
The two you you load up the first wagon full of books and wheel across the center of town to the little store front soon to be the The Jackson Town Library.
“Here we can unload them. Then I can keep making the trips back and forth with the cart while you set them up in the shelves”
“Sounds like a deal to me. Why don’t we make like 3-4 trips and stop for the day. Because if not we’re both the type of people to work on our whole day off.”
“You got yourself a deal sweetheart”
Joel can’t help but smile as he turns to make the second trip. There was just something about the way you made him feel at ease, that he couldn’t get over.
When Joel returned with the second load of books he found you and Ellie chatting as she was helping you.
“What was it like to have a birthday party and sleepovers?” Ellie asks you.
“What makes you ask that?” You ask chuckling a little.
“Well I’ve been reading about them in the people from before the outbreaks diaries but I never had either of them”
“They were fun for a lot of people, I um didn’t really have a lot of friends, so my birthday parties were always mostly family. And I only ever went to a few sleep overs. I was always so excited to be included when I got to go to them.”
It breaks Joel’s heart listening to you and Ellie talking. It wasn’t fair that Ellie never got to experience what life was like before the outbreak, never really getting a childhood. Hearing you talking about how hard and lonely your life was even as a child tore him up. You were different sure, but you had a heart of gold. You were so caring, always supporting everyone who needed something and all you wanted was love and care in return.
He wanted to be that person for you so badly, the one who made your heart soar with all the love and support you never had. To be the one to make you laugh on the good days and take you into his arms and take the pain away on the bad days.
He’s not sure exactly when he started to fall for you, but it was coming on faster and stronger by the day.
“My birthday is next weekend, could I have a birthday party?”
You looked up locking eyes with Joel
“Of course you can, we can throw you a birthday party Ellie” you smile at him as you answer.
We. She wants to help me throw a birthday party for Ellie? There’s no bounds to how wonderful and caring this woman is.
“ I of course want to invite you, Dina, Jesse, Ethan, uncle Tommy and Maria. Ooo can I have a sleep over?”
“No boys are sleeping over”
You can’t help but laugh at Joel’s abrupt response.
“Eww no of course not, but Dina and (y/n) could stay over couldn’t they?”
“ yes if they want to they are more then welcome”
“Oh this is awesome, I gotta go tell everyone!”
“Wait, shouldn’t you ask if (y/n) wants too?” Joel’s looking at you to gage your reaction
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world”
Ellie smiles wildly as she runs out of the store front.
——————————————————————
The day came for Ellie’s party, and you loaded up your wagon with all the supplies and headed over there early to help set up.
“Jesus you’ve got a lot of stuff, you didn’t have to go through all this trouble”
“I know but I really wanted to make this as special as I could for her. She deserves to have the experiences she never got too”
Your big heart made Joel’s soar, you were so kind and thoughtful.
“ I do have a big surprise for her, for all the kids really”
“Oh yea? What do you have up your sleeve?” Joel teases.
“So I went through some boxes that had been in the house in one of the closets. I never bothered to before because it’s not like I really have a lot of stuff so they weren’t in the way. But I wanted to see if there was anything I could use for Ellie’s party and man I hit the jackpot”
Joel just smirks and raises a eyebrow signaling you to continue.
“Well one I found another Will Livingston pun book, which she’s going to love and I found a Nintendo console with a bunch of game cartridges. I figured we could teach the kids how to play and then Ellie can keep it”
There it is again, we. Maybe I’m reading into this to much. But I can’t help but feel like she actually likes spending time with me.
“Shit, they’re all going to love it! Man I haven’t played with one of these in ages”
“Me either, I was never any good at them and the sounds drove me crazy”
Joel relished moments like this, when you pulled back the curtain you shielded yourself with and let him see you.
You sat there completely content and full of joy watching Joel teach the kids how to play each game before he joined you on the couch as they went crazy battling each other.
As the kids cheer and the Mario music blasts Joel looks over to see you struggling. Your eyes shut tightly, chest rising and falling quicker than normal
“Hey, want to have a drink in the kitchen?” Joel whispers as he places his hand lightly on your arm.
“Please” you whisper, embarrassed that Joel saw you like that.
You sit at the kitchen table while Joel takes out two glasses with ice and pours whiskey doubles into them.
“Everything alright darlin’?” Joel ask as he takes his seat sliding your glass over to you.
“Oh..yea..everything’s alright” you say staring down at the amber liquid. Embarrassment flooding your system.
“I ain’t gonna push you if you don’t want to talk and I know I probably ain’t your first choice of someone to talk to, but just know you can talk to me.”
Joel desperately wants to know about your struggles, what makes you the way you are. He wants to be the one that helps you through life, the one who makes the bad days good and the good days better. But he pushes aside the thoughts that you’d want to be more than just friends, if you even considered him that. Because after all why would a girl like you like someone like him, could he really be that lucky?
You think about your answer for a few beats, and realize there’s no use trying to lie to Joel. There was just something about Joel that was comforting, that made you feel safe, but in a different way than the way you felt with Tommy you just couldn’t put your finger on it.
“No its not at all like that. I like talking to you.” You don’t miss the way Joel’s eyes light up a little.
“It’s just….I usually just retreat into myself, it’s easier that way. Most people don’t want to hear about my weird issues that can’t be solved with a why don’t you just ignore it?, why can’t you just change? Can’t you be a little less weird?” You said with a defeated shrug.
You wanted to talk to Joel, but part of you hoped he would just change the subject and move on. Because your quiet sure he doesn’t actually want to hear about your ADHD and all the weird idiosyncrasies that came with it.
“Well I’m not most people” he drawled as he lightly touched your arm. Nodding his head to encourage you to continue.
Truthfully he wanted to hear anything you wanted to tell him, Joel wanted to be your comfort point, the person that you went to for anything. To be the person you felt the safest with, to let your tired shoulders relax from holding up that wall around yourself. Letting your true self shine, free from judgement and surrounded by the love you deserve.
“I have sensory issues, especially with audio and textures. It’s hard to explain and it’s been along time since anyone wanted me too, so bare with me because some of this isn’t going to make a whole lot of sense.”
“You take all the time you need sweetheart, there no rush or pressure. I’m here for you”
Joel can’t help but notice your eyes soften and body langue relax a little when you realize he’s got you, that he’s hear for you and truly listening.
“I get overwhelmed easily by a lot of sounds happening at once, like in there with the sounds of the game and all the yelling and cheering at the same time makes my brain feel scrambled up. Like I can’t sort any of it out, it just sounds like one big mixing bowl of sounds. And when that happens I get anxious, my heart starts to pound, my ears ring and sometimes I lash out coming off to aggressive in the moment to try and make it stop.”
“ you’ve been around enough at the stables, you’ve probably heard me come on a little to strong with a razor sharpe tongue when it all gets to much. I always feel so bad, I never mean to snap. But sometimes when it’s so overwhelming it’s like I have no control of my tongue and I just blurt it out before I even realize I’m saying anything.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Ask me anything you’d like and I’ll do my best to answer”
“I don’t want this to come out wrong, I’m realizing now this might sound a little weird. But I’ve noticed you fuss with your clothes, like your pulling them away from your skin constantly, is-is that part of the sensitivity?”
You can’t help but look at Joel for a few beats to long, stunned by his question. Not because of the way he worded it but because of the context of his question, that fact that he’s picked up on your discomfort and is curious about it instead of just asking why you can’t just deal with it like everyone else ever has.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean t’make you uncomfortable” Joel says taking your silence as a bad sign.
“No, you didn’t at all. I just got lost in the thought of you being so observant but always wanting to know.”
“I always want to ask if your alright but I never want to pry, I know you like your space”
You can’t help the smile that dances across your face.
“You can ask me anything Joel, if I’m not comfortable answering I’d tell you.”
“But yes, the clothing thing is part of it. The texture of some fabrics against me make me want to crawl out of my skin. It’s hard sometimes for me to fall asleep too because the way the blankets and sheets touch my skin doesn’t feel right. I know it’s weird, I can’t really explain it.”
“It’s not just with clothing or fabric either, it’s physical touch too, which is the worst to get people to understand. I hate being touched, the feeling of most people touching me makes my skin crawl. And they love to brush it off by being like oh well I’m a huggy person or oh I’m just a touchy person so it’s ok.”
“I’m sorry, I know Ellie hugs you all the time and I know I touched you earlier”
“See now this is the most frustrating and complicated part about this. There are people like you, Ellie and Tommy that are in my bubble that I’m comfortable with, that I trust, that that kind of contact is welcome from.”
She likes when I touch her? Am I a welcome presence for her? I’ll drive myself crazy thinking about this too hard, but maybe just maybe she’s trying to tell me she feels the same as I do?
“Then the flip side of it is that there are also sounds that bring me so much comfort, like songs that I could listen to on repeat without batting an eye. The sound of someone’s voice that brings me back to earth when the anxiety is unrelenting. A scent that soothes me beyond explanation.”
Joel can’t help but let his thoughts run wild, indulging in the thought that you might be talking about him. He’s about to ask about your comment when Ellie barges into the kitchen.
“Oh sorry to interrupt” she says when she realizes you two are deep in conversation.
“Oh no it’s ok, you probably just saved me from really embarrassing myself” you chuckle
Joel doesn’t miss the way you stiffen up, as if you feel like you’ve said to much.
“ I��m ready to watch my birthday movie but I’m also really ready for the guys to leave so it’s just the four of us, could you kick them out?”
“ course I can do that, we’ll be right in”
You quickly get up from the table to follow after Ellie.
“Hang on, sweetheart” Joel says softly as he reaches for your arm.
“Can-can I give you a hug? Or rather would you like a hug?”
You can feel the embarrassment really take hold as you pull your eyes to the floor. He had no idea how much you wanted a hug from him and you had no idea how badly he wanted to hug you.
“I would like that” you said meekly as you nod your head. If Joel wasn’t listening intently, hanging on your every word he would of missed it
He takes a few steps closer to you hesitating for a couple beats before he wraps his arms you.
As if you’d been waiting for this moment, your entire body relaxes under his touch. Joel can’t help but notice they way you bury your head into his chest as you wrap your arms around him tighter. The way you stay there in his arms for longer than he expects, like your completely at ease in this moment.
“Thank you….thank you for listening. For letting me talk.” You whisper
“Thank for trusting me, for letting me in” he whispers back.
——————————————————————
It had been a few months since Ellie’s birthday party and Joel couldn’t help but boil over with happiness at seeing more of you. You started coming around often and listening to him play guitar on the porch after your walks with Ellie. You started joining them for family meals more in the mess hall, though Joel couldn’t tell you he called them that- not yet anyway.
Because honestly he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for you to decide he wasn’t the type of person you wanted to spend alot of time with. It’s why he didn’t press you on wether or not you were coming to his birthday gathering at the tipsy bison tonight that Tommy was putting together. He didn’t want you to feel pressured.
You slip into the dimly lit tipsy bison about 45 minutes before Joel’s party is supposed to end. You were so nervous to come, that it took alot for you to actually leave the house. You realize as you slip into a table in the dark back corner that you also forgot his present at home too.
Somethings seriously wrong with me when I remember to bring my security book and not this man’s damn present.
You scan the room and see Joel and Tommy talking to a few people at the bar. Nervous about interrupting you open up your book and try to block out all the loud chatter.
Joel scans the small crowd hoping to see you when he over hears Caleb talking to Tommy.
“Why would she come to something like this if she’s not going to speak to anyone?”
Joel follows Caleb’s motion, feeling a tugging in his chest when he lays eyes on you. You’re sitting in the dark corner of the Tipsy Bison hunched over your book, rubbing your finger back and forth on the cover. Something Joel picked up on that you do when your anxious as a way to sooth yourself.
“Sorry we can’t all be rays of fucking sunshine like you” Joel hears Ellie snap back as he’s making his way over to you.
The closer he gets to you the more his heart pounds. When was the last time I ever felt like this if ever. Joel doesn’t know when it started happening but he can’t fight it any longer, he’s falling for you hard and fast like a fright train. You consume his every thought, which terrifies the hell out of him but he can’t turn back now, not even if he tried.
“Hey there sweetheart, you came” for one fleeting moment Joel feels nervous, maybe you don’t want to be bothered because after all you didn’t even tell him you were here. But that all melts away the moment you look at him. The smile that touches your eyes, the shimmer of happiness that dances across your face.
“Hey!”
“It ok to join you?”
“Of course, I’d love that. As long as I’m not taking your time away from anyone else?”
“There isn’t one person in here I’d rather talk to”
The way you beam up at him as you quickly but your book back in you’re bag says it all. This is another sign of yours that Joel’s picked up on, you only do this when you’re comfortable and want to talk to someone. You always do this when you see him, he trys so hard not to read into that but at this point it’s impossible.
The two of you sit and talk for a bit. You can’t help but be consumed by all things Joel when you were around him, and you loved that. The way he looked at you like you were the only other person in the world or the way he made you feel when ever he was near was both to much snd not enough. Your feelings for him charging full steam ahead, there’s no way you’d stop them even if you had the option.
But could he really feel the same?
“Well I should go I don’t want to take you away from your friends to long”
“Oh, let me walk you home”
“No no it’s ok, I’ll be alright, it’s your party” you say frowning, not wanted to inconvenience him in any way.
“Sweetheart…I can promise you most these people ain’t here for me”
You pause for a few beats
“Ok, in that case I’d love that” unable to control the sincere wild smile that dances across your lips at the thought of Joel Miller walking you home.
“Um ah- would you like to come in for a minute? I ah have a gift for you but I forgot it when I left for your party” you smile sheepishly up at Joel as you reach your little house.
“You have a gift for me?”
“Yea…I made you a birthday present”
Joel follows you inside your house, and instantly the scent of you is filling his senses. He watches as your disappear down the hall and into a room, unsure if he can follow you mixed with not wanting to scare you has him staying in the kitchen.
“Here it’s not much, but I wanted to do something” you say nervously handing him the small gift wrapped in a scrap piece of fabric.
You lean back against the counter as Joel takes the gift, unwrapping the corded string holding the fabric around the gift like wrapping paper.
You’re overcome with anxiety watching him, making it near impossible to look at him. What if he doesn’t like it? What if it’s to much? Joel doesn’t miss the way your fidgeting around nervously.
As Joel pulls back the last fold of fabric he reveals a smallish leather bound note book. As he turns it over in his hands the light catches right for him to notice stitched into the cover in a slightly different colored string than the leather is his name.
“You made this for me? Christ it must of taken forever” Joel asks as he runs this fingers over the the letters.
“D-do you like it? I hope it’s not to much?” You say sheepishly, retreating into yourself as your wrap your arms around yourself.
“No no, it ain’t like that. I love it, I’m just surprised you took the time to make something for me of all people.”
“It took me about two months to do, because I worked on it when I had the energy after rounds at the stables. But I wanted to do something special for you, because.. well because your special to me. When I heard you saying your note book for your patrol and maintenance notes was almost full I got the idea to make this without knowing how to go about it”
“Nobody’s ever done anything like this more me before. Is it ok if I give you a hug sweetheart?”
When Joel takes you into his arms he expects you to be tense before you relax like the few times before,but not this time. No this time was different, this time you melted under his touch immediately burying your face in his chest. He can’t help but think maybe you’ve been needing his touch, his comfort as much as he needs yours.
You feel him pull back from the hug, making you painfully aware you held on to him for a few beats to long. You’re anxiety takes over as you pull back, you’re gaze dropping to the floor immediately.
“Sorry. Sorry, I made that weird”
“Give yourself some credit sweetheart, you never make anything weird. I just wanted to look at you, that’s all”
Pulling your gaze back up, your met with his beautiful deep brown eyes. They’re filled with a soft tenderness as he reaches up caressing the curve of your cheek.
Joel’s large warm hand comes to cup the side of your face, smoothing his calloused thumb back and forth over your cheek bone. His heart thunders in his chest when you lean into his touch, looking more free than he’s ever seen you. Almost as if you’re letting him see a glimpse of yourself from before the world fell apart. He also sees a lightness in your body language that he only notices when the two of you are together.
His eyes flicker between your lips and your eyes a few times, trying to search for any fear or discomfort.
Fuck it.
Your eyes flutter closed as Joel’s lips connect with yours in a soft and tender kiss. Your mind in desperately trying to process everything as Joel takes your stillness as hesitation and pulls away at the exact moment you brain catches up.
“Sorry I misre-“
“Wait, Do it again” you whisper
Joel grabs both sides of your face as he lowers himself back down connecting with your soft lips again. Only this time you don’t hesitate, you return the kiss as you bring your hands to loop round his neck, your fingers sinking into the hair at the nape of his neck. Joel skims his hands down your sides resting them on your hips, a action that makes you gasp as you tilt you’re head up.
“Is this ok?” He whispers as he pulls back enough to rest his forehead against yours.
“Yes” you whisper back, running your fingers deeper into his dark graying hair. This action unlocks something deep inside Joel as he hooks his one hand around your lower back and the other around the back of your head pulling you closer to him. When you resume kissing it’s more passionate and frantic than before and as Joel licks along the seam of your bottom lip begging for entrance you tilt your head up immediately allowing him to deepen the kiss. As your warm wet tongues dance together the grip you two have on each other tightens. Neither of you wanting to show the other how terrified you both are of the other slipping through your fingers if you not holding on for dear life.
As you both pull back to catch your breath you can’t help the giggle that escapes you.
“I guess it’s safe to say you liked your present?”
“It’s safe to say I like more than just the present sweetheart”
He can’t possibly be saying what I think he’s saying can he?”
“I’d invite you to watch a movie but I moved the only tv into the bedroom because it helps me sleep alone and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable”
What I wouldn’t give to spend every night next to her. I never want her to feel alone.
“I’d be more than comfortable with that but only if you are”
Christ I could get lost in the big hazel eyes of hers.
“I honestly would love that” youre trying to hide your smile not wanting to come off too eager but it’s impossible.
You lead the way to your bedroom, once inside you gesture to the bed, “you can pick the movie and make your yourself comfortable I’ll be right back.”
You beeline it for the bathroom, splashing some water on your face and looking at yourself in the mirror. You take a few deep breaths trying to tamp down the anxiety.
Did I really just invite Joel Miller to watch a movie with me in my bed and he accepted? When did I get so bold?
Making your way back to the bedroom you see Joel sitting up with his back against the wall with the few pillows against the wall next to him.
The way your smiling at him makes him feel like it’s just you and him in this world, I feeling that nobody has ever given him before.
“Why don’t you have any pillows you rest your back on?” You say as you settle in next to him.
“I just want to make sure your comfortable, I’ll be fine”
You laugh, that beautiful laugh Joel has come to love so much.
“Well I certainly don’t need all of these, you should be comfortable too” you say as you hand him a couple.
Joel absolutely melts at this action. It speaks volumes to him that your advocating for his comfort as well as your own without even thinking about it or being asked too.
As he’s settling back against the pillows Joel notices you rolling one of your shoulders back as it’s it’s bothering you.
“You alright sweetheart? I’ve been noticing you rolling youre shoulder a lot this week, it botherin’ you?”
“Oh yea… it’s fine, I just tweaked it at the stables. Shimmers stables doors been sticking and the saddles are a little high for me sometimes, but it’s fine. I just gotta go easy on it for a bit”
Joel feels a wave of concern mixed with anger, but not with you with himself.
I should of asked sooner, she shouldn’t be getting hurt at work because of something I could of helped fixed. I need to go down there and fix something.
“ let me take a look at it sweetheart”
You’re embarrassed, your sure he thinks your the biggest idiot as you turn facing your back to him.
“Where does it hurt?”
“It hurts kind of along my shoulder blade”
Joel starts feeling along your shoulder blade applying light pressure.
“Ugh right in there” you quietly groan
“It’s a little swollen, maybe a pinched nerve…I could rub it, try to work it out for y’ou if you’d be comfortable with that.”
“Wait…really?”
“Please don’t feel like you have too, it’s ok”
“It’s no trouble sweetheart”
Joel helps you settle back between his legs as he slips his hand into the neck of your shirt messaging his thumb along your shoulder.
Joel doesn’t miss the relaxed sigh you breath out as your eyes get heavy and you slowly fall back until your back is completely flush again his chest, your head on his shoulder.
He wraps his arms around you tightly, looking down to see you completely asleep in his arms. He leans down softy placing a kiss on your forehead. Warmth slowly creeps up his spine, over his shoulders and deep into his chest. This is what safety feels like, you- are what safety feels like. Joel doesn’t have to have his walls up with you. He can relax, let his guard down, not have to be in a constant state of fight or flight around you. The more Joel let’s this realization consume him, the heavier his eyes get and before he can stop it he starts dozing off.
He snaps awake 10 minutes later to the feeling of you squirming in his arms followed by the sounds of mumbles and whimpers in your sleep. You cry out briefly before you roll over, clutching him with your head buried in the crook of his and your chest flush against his own. Joel can feel your heart pounding against his chest.
“Shhhh baby girl it’s ok, I got you. You’re with me. Your safe” Joel speaks softly rubbing his hands up and down your back.
The moment you hear his voices, the tension drains from your body and your cry’s stop as you fully relax against him.
“Don’t leave me please…I need you ” you’re soft voice speaks against his neck
Joel holds you tightly, unable to shake the memory of you telling him that someone’s voice was soothing to you, that it made you at ease when ever you heard it. He’s 100% confident that you were talking about him.
“Im not goin’ anywhere sweetheart” Joel says as he squeezes you tighter and kisses the crown of your head.
Your so incredibly raw and vulnerable in the moment as you look up at him, your eyes swirling with comfort mixed with fear as you sleepily sit up.
——————————————————————
The next time Joel opens his eyes it’s early morning, your curled up to him, your head on his chest. He can’t help but think he won the lottery. The idea that a women like you would take comfort in him, that you’d want him by you’re side. Joel will make it his mission to make sure you never feel alone again, that he’s by your side for the rest of your life. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve you in his life because he sure as hell didn’t feel like he deserved it.
Joel’s pulled from his thoughts by you sleepily stretch and sitting up. His hand is firmly on your lower back keeping you steady.
“You sleep ok?” He asks slipping his hand under your shirt to rub your lower back.
“I don’t think I’ve slept that deeply since before the outbreak, I’ve never really been a good sleeper”
Christ she’s so beautiful first thing in the morning, givin’ me that cute sleepy smile as she tells me how she slept well next to me.
“Where you able to sleep?”
I can’t tell her I slept better than I have In 20 something years.
“I did get some sleep”
“You hungry? We could go grab Ellie and get breakfast in the mess hall”
Ellie. Fuck I have no idea if any of this is ok with Ellie. I can’t do this to her. I don’t want to drive a wedge between her and Joel or her and I. She’s been though enough I don’t want her to think I’m trying to break up there family.
“ Oh, no it’s ok. You go a head I’m sure you and Ellie have stuff to do today” you say as you you stiffen to sit up straight, the feeling of panic crashing in like a wave.
“No it’s no trouble at all, she should just be over Dina’s anyway” Joel feels your body going ridged, he can tell by your eyes that somethings changing.
“ I have so much to do at the library still before it can open, I’m really not hungry. I’ll just grab something before breakfast ends.” You say swinging your legs over the side of the bed and hurriedly looking for clean clothes.
Joel feels it, he sees it your body langue that somethings wrong. He doesn’t know what flipped the switch but he’s desperate to fix it.
“You should take it easy on your shoulder, rest it so it don’t get worse”
Your body relaxes, your eyes softening briefly at him being protective, showing concern for your health before going ridged again.
“I promise I’ll go easy on my shoulder, I just desperately need to get some projects done. Everyone’s counting on me to get it done and open soon.” Your voice sounds strained and pleading like your trying to convince yourself and much as you are him that you believe what your saying.
“Can I at-least walk you there?”
The walk into town was quiet, neither of you saying much. Just the silent sound of you both battling your own inner self doubt.
“You sure you don’t want breakfast?”
“I’m sure….I’m not very hungry” your voice is soft and strained, almost as if your trying to hold back tears.
Joel cups your face pulling your gaze up to meet his.
“You let me know if you need anything sweetheart, can’t have you hurtin’ your shoulder worse.” Joel drawls before leaning in, closing the gap and placing a soft kiss to your lips. You return the kiss briefly as you run your fingers over his patchy beard.
“I promise I’ll go easy on myself”
Joel can’t shake the feeling that somethings wrong. You never skip breakfast because you get very hangry if you don’t eat in the morning.
Did I scare her? Did I move to fast? Did I make her uncomfortable in some way?
It hits Joel like a ton of bricks as he turn onto his street.
Ellie. She’s worried about how Ellie will feel about us. She’s worried it will drive a wedge between her and I or with them.
Joel stops up the steps and frantically grabs his tool bag.
“Your to old to be staying out all night and then doing a terrible job sneaking back in the next morning” Ellie teases behind Joel.
“I gotta do some extra work in the work shop and at the stables but when your done with your green house shift, we need to talk”
Joel’s never had a way with words like most people, he’s never been eloquent speaker. His love language more came in the form of acts of severance or in words of affirmation. He spends the next few hours building a safe sturdy step stool for the saddles, fixing not just Shimmers stable door but all the horses stables doors so none of them had the possibility to stick and tinkering around and fixing up anything he could find.
You stay at the library for several hours trying completely the simplest tasks, but without much success. Your just going through the motions as your mind is a mile away, thinking about Joel.
Resigning to the fact that you were getting nothing done, you decided to go home to take a hot shower to sooth your racing mind.
As the hot water streams over your body and the steam fills your lungs your mind drifts to Joel. You haven’t stopped thinking about how you can still feel his lips on yours. How he makes you feel seen and heard without any judgement what so ever.
Youre heart aches from how deep your feelings for Joel go, even if it feels like you don’t deserve having him in your life. But you need to apologize to him for how abruptly you retreated back into yourself when the feelings felt to real this morning.
Joel’s nursing a glass of whisky when Ellie gets back from her shift at the green house.
“What’s up Joel, everything alright?”
“Yea, nothin’ bad I just, I like someone and wanna talk about it”
“Oh congrats, your getting soft in your old age. Did you finally become friends with your horse”
“Jerk, no I like a woman. I like a woman, I wanna date her. But are you ok with that?”
“Your so bad at this, why are you being so awkward?”
“We’ll Christ, I’ve never done this before, had this kind of talk. I never brought anyone around Sarah. I don’t know what I’m doing”
“Wait… is this about Y/N?”
Joel nods cautiously
“Man you really are dense aren’t you?” Ellie playfully pokes.
“What’s so funny?”
“Joel.. I’ve been trying to set you up with her since we got here. Tommy’s been helping too”
“What? Really? You’re ok with it?”
“You guys are perfect for each other, it’s so obvious you two really care about each other, at least it is too me because I get to spend time with you guys together away from everyone else.”
Joel just stairs at her stunned
“Look I never wanted to admit this because it sounds stupid, but the times when it’s just you, me and her…it’s feels like we’re a family, like I actually have the family I’ve been dying to have my whole life. She got to know us and excepted us the way we are without listening to all the whispers around town and I think that’s fucking beautiful.”
“I gotta go see her”
“I swear to god Joel don’t fuck this up, she’s the happiness we both deserve, but yes, go to her, go right now”
Joels out of the house and down the street before his brain catches up.
Your scrambling around the house trying to get dressed as fast as you can before you get to anxious and decide not to go to Joel’s when you hear a knock at the door.
“The book drop off box is on the porch” you yell down the hall, figuring someone was trying to pick up or drop off books they borrowed since you weren’t at the library. But you hear who ever is is knock again.
“The book pick up is also on the porch” you yell again hoping the person hears you and gets the point,but they do it yet again. Completely flustered at this point you rip your shirt down over you head and pad angrily to the door.
“The book drop off and pick…” you aggressively swing the door open, stoping dead in your tracks at who’s on the other side.
“Joel” you whisper in surprise. All you can do is stare for a few beats to long at how the evening light highlights his already beautiful features.
“Sorry, this a bad time sweetheart?”
“No…sorry I just thought you were someone else”
You immediately pick up on his change In body langue and quickly follow up with “I just thought it was someone trying to pick up or drop off books” you watch as he relaxes right away again.
“I…I um was actually on my way over to your place”
Before either if you know it your smashing together in a kiss like two magnet’s. The kiss is all teeth and tongues, it’s desperate and awkward, messy and beautiful. Your both clutching on to each other like the other might fly away as Joel walks you backwards through the door way as he pushing the door closed with his foot.
As you both pull back for air Joel cradles your face with his large hands, caressing your cheek bones with the rough pads of his thumbs. His deep brown eyes lock with you hazel ones ands it’s as if they rest of the world doesn’t exist, like it’s only the two of you left on earth.
“I’m so sorry about this morning, I wasn’t trying to be weird. I-I I just…I scared myself with everything”
“It’s ok sweetheart” Joel says as he kisses you softly.
“I talked to Ellie, she’s ok with us being a thing. Honestly quiet excited about it”
You’re speechless for a moment, as you eyes start to well with tears.
“Joel, you didn’t have to do that, I’m sorry if you felt like you had too”
“I did have too, because it’s important to me”
“It’s…it’s important to me that you did”
At hearing that Joel lunges forward again capturing your lips in a kiss pulling you flush against his chest. He swallows the gasp that escapes your lips when he takes your bottom lip between his teeth. You snake your arms around his neck tugging the hair at the nape of his neck. The growl that, that action elicits vibrates through your chest.
“Bedroom?” Joel grits out, his deep voice drips with desire mixed with love.
Joel can’t convince himself otherwise any more, he loves you.
“Bedroom” you echo
Joel’s walking you backwards down the hall to your bedroom when he turns slightly pinning you against the wall just outside your bedroom.
“Are you sure about this sweetheart?” He pulls back just enough to lock eyes with you.
You nod your head yes.
“I need to hear you say it sweetheart. I don’t want to push you farther than your comfortable going because i thought it was ok.”
“I’m sure about this Joel, I want it…I want you”
Joel let’s out a low groan as he attaches his lips to your jaw, nipping his way long it until he reaches that soft spot where your jaw meets your neck. He sucks hard and then soothes the spot with his tongue as his hands sneak inside the hem of your shirt squeezing your plush sides. This earns him another tug at his hair as you let out a whimper. Joel’s head spins from how breathless you are already for him and he hopes you can tell how breathless he is for you.
Joel rips his shirt off at the feeling of you raking your hands up and down his chest. He’s been touched starved for so long that the desperate need for your touch, to feel your skin on his takes over.
Most people wouldn’t describe Joel as beautiful, but you always found him to be. You thought as you took in the sight of him shirtless.
Joel watches you nervously as you trace over old scars on his chest. He’s afraid you’ll want to run and hide from him bearing his soul to you in a way he never has or ever wanted too. But the moment you press your lips to the scars on his chest this worry melts away. You pepper every scar you can see across his chest, arms and shoulders with kisses before you make your way to his neck. You sneak your hands around him to slide them up his back as you reach his ear.
“Every part of you is beautiful” you whisper as you kiss along his jaw.
Joel feels dizzy from your words as your lips make it back to his. Never in his life has anyone ever called him beautiful much less been this tender and sensual with him. He can’t get enough, as he grabs at your waist again. Pulling you tightly to him as he presses you firmly again the wall causing your shirt to ride up.
“It’s ok… you can take it off” you breath
Joel wastes no time ripping your shirt up over your head.
“Your so fuckin’ gorgeous” he growls as you arch into him so he can unhook your bra.
You let the straps slide down your arms until it falls to the floor between the two of you. You’re mind goes blank from Joel’s intense gaze. Slowly he slides his hands up your torso to your breasts. They barely even touched you and your nipples are already hardened peaks. The sensation of him rolling them beneath his slightly calloused thumbs as he’s squeezing your breasts hits you hard. Your eyes flutter shut as your head falls back against the wall, if your not carful you might just climax from this alone.
“Fuck…your skins so soft” Joel growls as he pulls you away from the wall and into your bedroom, not stopping until your legs hit the end of your bed.
His eyes burn right through you as you slid your pants down, leaving yourself in just your panties as you climb on the bed.
The two of you hold each others gaze for a few beats as Joel undoes his belt and steps out of his pants. You instinctually spread your legs to make room for him as the bed dips down. He doesn’t care how long he has to draw this out, Joel’s not stopping until he’s explored every inch of your body. Making you feel like the goddess that he sees you as.
Your eyes flicker from his eyes to his hard outline straining his boxers and back to his eyes. The way he playfully smirks at you makes you realize just how exposed you are to him, making you start to wrap your arms around your body to cover yourself.
“You ok sweetheart?” Joel asks rubbing circles into your thighs.
“Do you want me to cover up some?”
“What?”
“Wait why would I want you to cover up?” He half huffs, confused
“Im not the skinniest…I don’t look as good as you”
Joel hates the idea that someone(s) made you feel like you weren’t worthy because your body isn’t their ideal body. He’s loves your curves, the plushness of your skin.
“Everything about you is gorgeous, and if it s’ok id like to show you just how gorgeous I think you are.”
You frantically nod and with that Joel dips his body down kissing right above your clothed clit, pulling a whimper out of you. He then moves to your hips, kissing them both before kissing all the way up your stomach til he reaches your breasts.
He licks along the swell of your breast, pulling your peaked nipple in between his teeth as he palms the other one with his free hand. Then does the same to the other.
“So fuckin’ sexy” Joel whispers against your breast as he swings his leg over to straddle one of your legs.
He crashes forward, his rock hard bulge pressing into your hip to capture your lips in a passionate kiss. Your hands automatically plant firmly in his hair as his tongue dances with yours. Making his way down your neck sucking the soft skin where your shoulder meets your neck between his teeth, then sooth it with his tongue. You know it’s going to leave a mark, you want it too. Even if this is just for tonight, you want Joel to mark you as his. But you had no idea how much he wants that too. To make you his.
Joel plunges his tongue back into your mouth as he dips his free hand where you need it most. His finger grazes your clit has he slips it through your slit, deep into your core with a audible squelch. You both swallow each others moans.
A breathy moan escapes your lips as he gathers some of your wetness to your swollen clit with tight circles.
“Christ baby…y’so wet. This all from me?” Joel breathes, as you pull back. He wants to see the pleasure he’s giving you.
“All day…a-always” you breath unable to get more out.
“Fuck” Joel groans as he pulls down your panties, seating himself back between your legs.
“Fuck..baby you feel s’good around my fingers”
Joel’s trusts his fingers in and out of you at a steady pace.
“J-Joel…it’s feels s-s good” you say through a stifled whimper.
“Don’t hold back baby. Lemme hear ya. Wanna hear how good I make you feel.” Joel purrs as he’s stroking that soft spongy spot so well.
Your climax crashes over you like a wave against a rocky coast. You couldn’t stop even if you tried.
“Fuu- J-Joel…it feels so good”
“Thats it baby let go”
You clench around his fingers perfectly as you fall over the edge.
“Doin’ so good for me sweetheart. Soundin’ so beautiful.”
Joel leaves a trail of kisses and praise in the valley between your breasts and down your stomach.
“Can I taste you sweetheart?” He growls as he nips at the insides of your thighs. Pupils blows wide open when you lock eyes with him.
“Please” you whine
Joel gives a few kitten licks up your center to watch you squirm, then dives in like a starved man eating his last meal. You thrusted your hips forward grinding into his face desperately chasing anything he’ll give you. Joel’s harder than he’s ever been before, head dripping with pre-come at the feeling of you grinding on his face to chase your release.
He’d give you this every single day if you’d let him. He doesn’t even care about his own release. He could drown in between your legs and die a happy man seeing the pleasure he gives you from his tongue on your face.
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yoshijammer · 2 days
Note
Mario strangling Beldum for Vivian
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Mario when he fucking gets Beldam in Chapter 8
Every time I draw Mario his anatomy is a little different, sorry 😭 (although the cartoonishly large hands were intentional here). I guess I’m still figuring out how to draw him because I’ve never been very good at drawing the bros. I also tried more intense shading because I thought it’d be funny (not sure if I did it correctly tho), other sketches will probably be a lot lighter on shading.
Also, I feel bad that I didn’t necessarily draw Mario strangling Beldam, didn’t know how to go about doing it. As an apology, here’s a Simpsons screenshot edit I made.
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Anyway, thank you for the request anon! I’ll be working on the next one but if anyone else would like to send in Paper Mario requests, feel free! I’ll be taking these indefinitely.
112 notes · View notes
loudstan · 14 hours
Text
(67) Days of Whatever the Fuck that Was (PART 2.)
Summary: Chenle wasn't interested in committed relationships until he met the one. The problem is that now she is the one who doesn't want to commit to him.
Pairing: Werewolf! Chenle x Siren! Female reader
Warnings: OOff where do I start. Things get dubious, and even a bit non-conish sometimes so do not read if that's not something you're into. A lot of mind games, manipulation, gaslighting, and all the red flags you can think of. Y/N is MEAN. Also, this is super long so i had to make two separate posts. Read both if you want to know how it started! SMUT.
(PART 2)
“Why’s Jisung crying?” Kun asked when he saw the youngest member of the pack trying to hide how glossy his eyes were a few days later.
“I’m not,” Jisung replied stubbornly, but the words came out broken.
“He watched (500) Days of Summer,” Renjun deadpanned. 
“You watched–,” Kun burst out laughing. “It’s a romantic comedy! How did you end up crying?”
“It’s not romantic, nor funny,” Jisung disagreed.
Renjun sighed. “He’s worried about Chenle.”
“Oh…” Kun frowned. “Is he still hiding in his room?”
Renjun and Jisung nodded.
Kun sighed and hesitantly walked to Chenle’s room, knocking on the door and letting himself in when he heard a monotonous ‘come in’ from the other side.
“Hey, Lele…,” he greeted awkwardly. “How are you feeling?”
Chenle was sprawling in bed, with dark circles under a pair of eyes stuck to the laptop screen.
“Hm,” he replied, without elaborating.
“What are you up to?” Kun asked casually, walking closer to take a look at the screen. “Oh…You’re watching that movie too…”
Chenle barely nodded. “I’ve watched it  6 times. Each time it becomes more obvious that they would never end up together. Funny, isn’t it?” his dull voice said.
“Lele, I’m so sorry,” Kun said sincerely. Not only for what happened to the younger werewolf,  but also for even mentioning that stupid movie.
“It was gonna happen sooner or later,” Chenle closed his laptop and finally looked at the oldest. “She didn’t want me. Not the way I want her, at least.”
Kun looked at him sadly.
“Maybe I could make my own movie,” Chenle joked unenthusiastically. “The title would be (67) Days of Whatever the Fuck that Was.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” the older offered.
“Sure, you could convince her to take me back,” Chenle chuckled humorlessly. “Forget it, gege. There’s nothing anyone could do,” he said, before putting his laptop away and pulling the covers all the way up until they covered his head. “Can you close the door when you leave, please?”
“I…sure,” Kun murmured, walking out and closing the door quietly.  He stood in the corridor for an entire minute as he considered his options. “Fuck it,” he murmured, for once not caring about his manners.
He went back to the living room where Jisung and Renjun were waiting expectantly. “Get up, you two,” Kun told them. “We’re going to the bar.”
“Yeosang, I’m fine,” you insisted after he begged you to go rest for the 5th time.
“ You haven’t seen your mate in a week, and you know that can affect your health. You shouldn’t abuse your body.”
“It’s almost time to close. There are like 5 people here. It can’t be that hard, ” you laughed.
“I can handle it for the last half of an hour,” he offered. “You haven’t been looking too good lately–”
“It’s getting better,” you lied before turning to the customer to take his order. “Hi! What can I get you?”
“Three glasses of Eternal Dusk, please,” a handsome man with a charming smile said, handing you his credit card. 
“Right away,” you replied with a smile, scanning the card and handing it back to him before preparing the drinks skillfully and handing them to him.
 He thanked you and took the drinks to the table where his friends were waiting for him. You thought you recognized one of them, but he quickly looked away, suddenly being very interested in the wall behind him. Over the course of the night, they kept stealing glances at you, quickly looking away and talking secretly in their tiny group. Eventually, the same guy who had ordered the drinks earlier approached the bar again.
“Another round?” you offered.
“Uh, actually–” he stopped mid-sentence with a wince and hesitantly grabbed a pendant that was hanging from a chain, tucked under his shirt. He inspected the relic suspiciously like it wasn’t his own.
“Everything okay?” you asked.
He looked at you and then back at the pendant, which he quickly hid back under his shirt. “Y-yeah sorry,” he smiled politely. “I was wondering–... you’re not from around here, are you?”
“No, I–uh, I’m from the Scarlet Islands,” you disclosed. “Why?”
“Figures. Your beauty is…definitely not something you see in this town,” he said cheekily, looking at you like he had found out your biggest secret.
“Are you going to order something or not?” Yeosang interrupted the conversation, standing in between you and the customer. 
The man smiled at Yeosang before shaking his head and waving goodbye. “I think we’re done for tonight,” he said, going to his table and hurrying his friends out of the bar.
“What a creep,” Yeosang said. 
“Y-yeah,” you chuckled nervously and started cleaning up now that the last customers were gone.
“Heeey, Sangie,” Wooyoung greeted cheerfully approaching the bar. “Can I steal Y/N away for a little bit?”
Yeosang glared at Wooyoung suspiciously. 
“It won’t be anything stupid, I promise,” Wooyung said, trying to look as innocent as possible.
“I’ll be okay, Sangie,” you chuckled, walking away with Wooyoung when Yeosang finally nodded hesitantly.
Wooyoung guided you out of the ship, to the dock that connected it to land. It was late at night and the place was deserted. The only sound you could hear was the water splashing the wooden ship and the distant voices of the crew members coming from inside the ship.
When you looked at Wooyoung you were surprised to see him taking his shirt off.
“What are you doing?” you asked, astonished.
“I’m getting undressed,” he said, unbuckling his belt.
“I can see that. Why?”
“We’re going swimming!” he exclaimed, stepping out of his pants to present himself in front of you in his underwear. “Why are you just standing there? Do you need me to take your clothes off for you?” he asked suggestively.
“Woo, it’s late…” you tried to reason.
“I’ll push you. Don’t test me.”
You saw a mischievous glint in his eyes and you couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine, I guess it won’t hurt to swim a little bit,” you said, undressing yourself until you were only wearing your bra and panties. The crew had seen you in a swimming suit before, so this was basically the same. And it was dark, so you weren’t worried about him seeing through the fabric once it got wet
You followed Wooyoung into the water and sighed at the feeling surrounding you.
“Feel good?” Wooyoung asked, apprehensively.
“Really good,” you admitted, surprised. Your body had felt heavy and ached for the last few days, but you were suddenly feeling so relieved.
“Seawater restores sirens’ vitality,” Wooyoung commented, very proud of himself. “I read about it.”
“Aaw, were you worried about me?” you teased.
He splashed water on your face as a response. You gasped and splashed him back, starting a childish battle that ended with him holding you tightly against his own body to prevent your attacks.
You were laughing brightly when you felt the soft presence of his lips on yours. It barely lasted a second, but it made all laughter stop.
Your confused eyes met Wooyoung’s untamed ones. He wasn’t laughing, nor did he seem embarrassed or regretful.
“Did that feel good too?” he asked. His voice was thick with implication.
You stared back at him, speechless.
“Don’t worry, this isn’t a love confession,” he said, gently pushing a strand of wet hair from your face. “This is just me saying that I know you’re going through a hard time, and that your body isn’t taking it well. You’re tired, in pain, and so sensitive…” he trailed off.
You blushed. “Woo–”
“I know it’s someone else that you want,” he continued. “But I can help you forget, even if it’s just for a little bit.”
“You don’t have to–”
“You think I get nothing out of it? You may not know this but I have a thing for sirens. I dated one, actually…but things didn’t end up well. I recently found out through Yeosang that she met someone knew,” he chuckled but his laugh sounded empty, hurt. “I should be happy for her. But I can’t bring myself to. Childish, huh?”
“It was you?!” you asked, astonished. “The friend Yeosang told me about–”
“She’s my ex,” Wooyoung confessed. “Well…if you could call that a relationship. We barely held hands or kissed. She was afraid if we…consummated, she would follow me wherever I went. That was smart of her; following a pirate around isn’t anyone’s dream life.”
“Woo…I’m so sorry,” you whispered sympathetically.
“You’re in no position to be sorry about someone else’s love life,” he laughed, earning a playful punch on the shoulder. “What I’m trying to say here is that none of us is with who we want to be, but we have each other…”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” you hesitated.
“Isn’t it tiring to have to pleasure yourself?” he taunted, caressing your waist with intent and making you shiver, suddenly very aware of the proximity and nakedness of you both. “You can’t let the man you love make you cum, and I couldn’t make the woman I loved cum…” he murmured, moving his hands skillfully to give you goosebumps. “Wouldn’t it be poetic if we cum together?”
“The mental gymnastics to get to that conclusion are out of this world,” you joked.
“Y/N,” he groaned. “We’re both lonely and horny, and we’re stuck in a lifestyle that won’t let us have a stable relationship with anyone outside this damn ship. Is it really that crazy to propose we help each other out?”
You considered it for a second. He was making sense; you couldn’t be with Chenle if you wanted to continue your current lifestyle…but Wooyoung would always be there. 
“Captain said no relationships within crew members,” you murmured, holding onto the last argument against this reckless idea.
“Captain doesn’t need to know,” he assured you, closing the distance between your lips and kissing you. You kissed him back, focusing on Wooyoung and trying to forget all about Chenle. Without knowing that you would see him sooner than expected.
“CHENLE!” Kun yelled, bursting into the depressed wolf’s room and yanking the covers away from his limp body. “YOU STUPID BOY!”
After getting over the initial shock, Chenle gave him an unamused glare. “We already established that. No need to yell,” he murmured, reaching for the cover again.
Kun took the cover from his hand and threw it on the floor. He then unclasped from around his neck a golden chain with a doubloon hanging from it and waved it in front of Chenle’s face. “Do you know what this is?” 
“No,” deadpanned Chenle.
“It’s a siren detector,” he replied proudly.
“Why do you even have one of those?” Chenle asked, still uninterested.
“I got it from my time in the navy, of course. All sailors get one for safety.”
“Pff, you were not in the navy,” Chenle scoffed.
“Yes, I was? I sent you postcards?” Kun reminded him offendedly. “Whatever, that’s not the point. The point is we went to the bar where your mate works—“
“You did WHAT?!” Chenle asked outrageously. 
“We were going to convince her to take you back,” Kun continued.
“Nooo,” Chenle groaned, mortified. “How did you even know which bar it was?”
“Jisung led the way,” Kun informed.
Chenle glared at Jisung who was standing awkwardly next to Renjun.
“Sorry,” Jisung mumbled. “Didn’t want you to be sad…”
Chenle sighed. “You should have asked me— did you steal that glass?”
Jisung looked at the glass he was holding, still half full of alcohol. “We left in a hurry and I kinda panicked.”
“As I was saying,” Kun demanded everyone’s attention. “Whenever I got near your mate the detector started burning my skin. I asked her where she was from and she named an island that is located in the Forbidden Sea, which is where you can find  the biggest population of merpeople.”
Chenle stared at him dumbly.
“You imprinted on a siren!” Kun exclaimed exasperatedly. “Well, probably a half-siren…she seems to be able to spend long periods of time on land.”
“…That’s ridiculous. I would have noticed if my mate had a fishtail.”
“I guess they don’t teach you guys anatomy in school anymore,” Kun said. “That’s a myth. Sirens look like any other human. Some historical jerk assumed they had tails because the lower part of their bodies often remained hidden under the water. They have legs just like us, and they sometimes come to land, but they need sea water to survive. My guess is Y/N gets easy access to the water by traveling with pirates.”
“But… it can’t be…”
“It makes perfect sense,” Renjun interjected. “Sirens are famous for their mind control. Think about it: isn’t it weird that you always agreed to everything she said?”
Again, Chenle glared at Jisung, who must have spilled the beans about that too.
 “I don’t know, man,” he sighed tiredly. “Maybe I’m just a simp.”
“No but—“ Jisung spoke nervously. “That night when you met her you were so out of it. All you kept saying was that you didn’t want to mark her. Isn’t that weird?”
Chenke knitted his brows. It was kind of weird. “Maybe it was the fever.”
“Just try to remember,” Renjun insisted. “Did you ever have any disagreement that ended with you saying something out of character? Something that you didn’t understand why you were saying?”
Chenle froze. Every encounter with you had ended like that. Suddenly it all made sense.
Holy fuck. He had been played.
 He groaned and pulled his hair. “So Y/N is a master manipulator. Why does it matter? She doesn’t want to see me.”
”That’s the weird part,” Kun says hurriedly. “I heard her speaking with the other bartender, saying something about not seeing her mate for a week. Your relationship,” he said that word making air quotes with his hands, “ended a week ago. So that has to be referring to you, right? That means she imprinted on you too. But if that’s really the case then she wouldn’t be able to stand being away from you after you guys slept together,” he ranted nonsensically. 
Chenle wasn’t really following. He was still trying to process that he imprinted on a siren, and now Kun was saying that you probably imprinted on him too. He didn’t even know sirens imprinted.
“Maybe sexual relationships aren’t that important for her,” Renjun said, trying to make sense of the situation. 
“Sex is a sacred ritual between siren mates,” Kun contradicted Renjun’s theory. “When a siren is brought to their climax by the one they imprinted on it’s game over. The bond is sealed for eternity. Seriously, guys, what are they teaching you in school?”
“Not how to mate with sirens, clearly,” Renjun replied sarcastically, making Jisung choke on his drink.
“Orgasms seal the bond…” Chenle mumbled, sitting up as he pieced together everything he heard. “Game over…”
“Exactly,” Kun said, excited that at least one of them was paying attention and learning from him. “But then she probably wasn’t talking about you when she mentioned a mate because she shouldn’t be able to live without you after two months of–” 
“I didn’t make her cum,” Chenle admitted.
The room was silent.
“You mean– last time you were together?” Renjun offered.
“Ever,” Chenle deadpanned.
Jisung gasped. “You never told me that!” he accused.
“Yeah, thank god, or you would have told everyone!” Chenle rolled his eyes.
“I get nervous when interrogated!” Jisung defended himself.
“Chenle!” Kun shrieked. “Are you saying that in two months of being fuckbuddies,” he stressed, “ you didn’t make her cum once?!”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Chenle replied.
“Right,” Renjun said sarcastically.
“She kept telling me that I wasn’t good enough. That I didn’t deserve to touch her!” Chenle huffed, incredulous at what he was learning. “Whenever she was about to cum she would stop me with that sickeningly sweet voice of hers–”
“The siren voice,” Kun nodded, starting to understand what was happening.
“And I would always end up doing as she said and–I don’t know I thought it was like a weird kink of hers, or that I really was that bad in bed,” Chenle groaned. 
“She was stopping you from consummating the bond,” Renjun breathed out, catching up.
“Wait what?” Jisung asked.
“She imprinted on Chenle and she knew if he made her orgasm  she would be bonding with him forever,” Kun explained. “She literally hypnotized him to make sure he never made her cum.”
“That’s a whole new level of commitment issues…” Jisung said incredulously. “And gaslighting,” he added,  not believing that someone would go that far. 
But Chenle didn’t doubt you would do all that and more to get what you wanted. You were literally insane.  
“Fucking bitch,” he grunted, getting out of bed and exiting the room.
“Where are you going?” Jisung asked.
“Where do you think?!” Chenle yelled back.
“That’s a terrible idea,” Renjun warned, running after him, followed by Jisung and Kun.
“You either wait here or you come with, but you’re not stopping me,” Chenle grunted, opening the front door and walking out of the house in his pajamas.
The three werewolves exchanged worried looks before following Chenle to his car. Kun ended up driving because Chenle’s hands were shaking with rage, and the car was barely parked near the port when Chenle sprinted toward the imposing ship. 
The bar was closed, and everyone was probably asleep, but Chenle didn’t give a damn. He was going to wake up the entire town if he had to.
But he didn’t have to, because he heard you.
It was distant and weak. You were giggling and whimpering, and at some point, he even thought he heard his name. But where–?
He almost tripped when he stepped on…pants? And there were other pieces of clothing too– Was that your top?!
“You okay?” asked an unfamiliar male voice.
“F-fine,” you croaked.
“That good, huh?” the stranger asked.
“Shut up,” you replied playfully.
The voices were getting closer and Chenle’s enhanced vision could see you swimming toward the dock…with a man. 
“It must have been good,” the man insisted. “You were so out of it that you called me a totally different name.”
“Woo,” you whined, ashamed. “I’m sorry–” 
He pecked your lips. “It’s fine,” he assured you with a smile, reaching for the wooden surface. “You’ll get it right next time–,” his sentence was interrupted when out of nowhere someone grabbed him and pulled him out of the water aggressively. 
Your eyes widened in fear when you saw Chenle, manhandling Wooyoung with murderous intent. The pirate landed on his back on the dock with a loud thud and winced, but that was only the beginning of the pain Chenle had planned for him. 
“C-chenle!” you shrieked, getting out of the water. “Chenle, stop!”
“I’ll deal with you later,” he growled at you, getting back to beating the shit out of the man who had dared to kiss you.
Desperately, you yelled at him to stop, tried to pull him away from Wooyoung, and finally screamed for help, hoping at least one of your crew members would hear you.
Luckily, Yunho came running out of the ship, closely followed by Mingi, who looked half-asleep. They quickly assessed the situation and charged in to separate the two men. San and Yeosang joined the scene right after, helping Wooyoung get up and trying to get him away from the threat.
“I’ll teach you not to touch what isn’t yours,” Chenle growled, breaking free from Yunho and Mingi’s grasp, but thankfully Kun, Renjun and a terrified Jisung stepped in, not letting him reach the poor man. 
“Leave right now or I’ll call the police,” Seongwha spoke authoritatively, standing between his crew and the werewolves.
“Call the police then!” Chenle challenged petulantly. “See if I care. One of my pack is fucking a police officer so they can’t do shit to us–” he suddenly fell on the floor completely unconscious. Behind him, there was Jongho.
“I hit a pressure point so he’ll be asleep for a bit,” Jongho explained calmly. “Not for long though, so you should get him out of here fast.”
The three werewolves nodded quickly, and mumbled a thousand apologies while they grabbed his unconscious pack member and dragged him away. 
Seungwha quickly instructed the crew to take Wooyoung inside and tend to his wounds before turning to you. “Y/N, Captain wants to see you.”
The crew turned to look at you, failing to mask the fear in their eyes. They knew that if the Captain asked you to go to his cabin, it meant you were in huge trouble.
You lowered your head and nodded obediently, grabbing your clothes and boarding the ship. You quickly dried your body and put on some clothes before walking to the Captain’s cabin with trembling legs.
“Come in,” he said before you could even knock.
The antique door opened with a quiet squeak.
Captain Hongjoong was standing by a small window while playfully tossing his spyglass from one hand to the other.
“Did you ask to see me?” you asked nervously.
“I did,” he hummed calmly. “Had fun with Wooyoung?”
Your blood ran cold. There was no way he could have found out this fast, could he?
He chuckled. “Come here, Y/N.”
You took hesitant steps toward him until you were face to face.
“Look outside” he instructed,positioning so you were looking out the window. “What do you see?”
You saw the dock where the fight had happened and if you moved a bit to the right you could see the exact spot where you and Wooyoung had been fooling around. Could he have seen–?
“Saw it all,” he purred next to your ear, answering your unvoiced question. “Can’t say I’m surprised. If someone was going to break that rule it was Wooyoung.”
“It wasn’t his fault–”
“Please,” Hongjoong laughed, sitting on a chair made out of a barrel. “You want me to believe that Wooyoung wasn’t the one who started this? I know my crew,” he said, gesturing at the chair in front of him for you to take a seat too.
“He was only trying to help,” you explained, sitting down.
“Yeah, because you broke up with rich boy, right? Maybe if you hadn’t used your siren voice on him things wouldn’t have ended like that.”
You gasped in surprise. He knew about that?! 
He gasped too, mocking you. “Told you, Y/N. I know my crew,” he informed you, changing his tone to a more serious one. “Relationships within the crew are a rule that could be bent if necessary… but I strictly forbade you from bewitching people.”
“I–I know…”
“Wooyoung and you hooked up, alright, no problem. You’re both adults. But what you did to that man,” he said pointing at the window, “was take away his autonomy for your benefit.”
You nodded slowly, ashamed. 
“I’ve been waiting to see if you would solve things on your own, but now one of my men is hurt. You did that,” he accused.
You winced. “I understand. I’ll pack my things,” you said.
Hongjoong frowned.“Why would you do that?”
“I broke the rules and I put the crew in danger. So I gotta leave, right?”
“That would be the easy way out,” he said sternly. “You can’t abandon people whenever you fail them.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Apologize.”
“I’m sorry,” you said immediately.
“Not to me. To Chenle Zhong.”
Wow. He even knew his full name.
“I ended things with him,” you explained.
“But did you apologize?”
“He’ll move on and find someone better.”
“Did.you.apologize?”
You sighed in defeat. “...No.”
“Do it,” he commanded. “In person.”
You nodded right when someone knocked on the door softly.
“Come in,” Hongjoong said.
Seongwha walked in. “Wooyoung will be fine. Only a few bruises, but no broken bones.”
“Good,” Hongjoong sighed. “Tell him he’s grounded.”
“Of course,”  Seongwha said, but shot you a worried look. “What about Y/N?”
“She has her own task to complete, isn’t that right?” he said, looking at you solemnly.
And that’s how you found yourself unblocking Chenle and texting him, asking him if you could meet. The message showed as read for hours until he finally replied setting a time and date.
He picked you up like he often did in the past, before shit hit the fan. At first you refused to get in the car.
“I’ll be quick,” you said.
“I won’t,” he countered angrily. “I have a lot to say, and you’re gonna listen. Get in.”
His voice left no room for disobedience, so you nervously got in the car. This time he drove in a totally different direction. 
“Where are we going?” you asked.
He didn’t reply. He remained silent even when the car stopped in front of a huge modern building, taking you into the elevator and, once again, pressing the button to go to the highest floor. 
You were in awe when you entered a place as luxurious as the presidential suite, but more homelike. It was a spacious penthouse, with minimum decoration, like it had been recently purchased, with enormous windows that allowed you to see the ocean.
“I’m listening,” Chenle said dryly, standing in front of the window and watching the striking view.
You stood behind him, taking a deep breath in to brace yourself. “There’s something you must know,” you started saying.
He kept his eyes on the view, waiting for you to continue.
“I’m part siren. Sirens can control people’s minds with their voices…and I did that to you.”
He clenched his jaw but remained silent, 
“Everytime you came too close I made you believe that you didn’t actually want that. I treated you like shit to keep you under control, but the truth was that I was afraid of what would happen if we went further. I’m sorry,” you finally said. 
He turned around, glaring at you. “You’re sorry? Do you think you can use and humiliate someone repeatedly and then just say you’re sorry?”
You shook your head. “I know what I did was awful. That’s why I ended things; so you can forget about me and move on.”
“That’s your way of fixing things?” He laughed humorlessly. “Imagine someone broke your leg and then they put a fucking sticker on it, telling you to forget about it. Can you go run a marathon?”
“...That’s not the same–”
“That’s what it felt like to me,” he insisted. “You broke me every time you told me I didn’t deserve you. Everytime you made me say what we had wasn’t special. You don’t get to step on me like that and then tell me to move on.”
“I’m trying to do what’s right.”
“No. You’re doing what’s easier.” 
“Chenle I–,” you sighed. “I’m leaving in three days. There’s nothing I can do for you at this point.”
He met your gaze with eyes that reflected a storm of emotions. 
“There’s something,�� he said firmly. “Kiss me.”
A shiver ran down your spine. There was nothing you would like more than to kiss him. “Wouldn’t that make things worse?” you asked apprehensive.
“The person I imprinted on used me for months and is leaving in 3 days. Things can’t possibly get worse for me,” Chenle deadpanned. He stared at your lips and took one of your hands tenderly. “Can you let me have just one moment with you that feels real? Without the lies and the mind games?”
You breathed out against his lips. “O-okay…”
Chenle’s lips were on yours, slow and hot. You felt like you were floating. It had been so long since the last time you were this close to him, you had forgotten how well his lips fit into yours, how gratifying his body felt against yours, how easily he could turn you on with his fingertips barely grazing your skin.
You couldn’t remember why you turned down his touch in the past when it was clearly what you needed the most–even the body ache you had woken up with was subsiding thanks to his ministrations.
It was the little moan that escaped you what brought you back to reality by the time he had taken your shirt off and was kissing your chest while playing with the strap of your bra.
“Chenle,” you moaned when he unclasped your bra and attached his lips to your tits. “I t-think we should stop now–”
He ignored your concerns, sucking on your nipple languidly. 
“Ooh– Chenle I’m serious,” you started to panic at how dangerously good you were starting to feel. With how sensitive you were since you imprinted on him and how much you had been craving for him it wouldn’t take long for you to climax…and that’s a luxury you couldn’t afford if you were to leave with the crew in a couple of days.
“Don’t be like that,” he cooed, unbuttoning your jeans. “You hardly ever allowed me to touch you during our encounters. You can’t expect me to be satisfied with just a kiss when this could be the last time I see you.”
“T-then how about I make y-you feel good instead?” you offered nervously, trying to pull his hands away from you, but he quickly slapped your hands away.
“I don’t think so. We did things your way many times already. It’s my turn to make you cum,” he declared, pulling your pants down hastily.
“NO! WAIT!” you shrieked, grabbing his hands with all your strength.
Chenle stared into your eyes intently. “There’s that terrified expression again,” he uttered. “It’s almost like you don’t want to cum. But that would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it?” he taunted. “Unless there’s something you aren’t telling me…”
You gulped.You indeed hadn’t told him you imprinted on him and what the consequences of an orgasm would be. “I…I just–That’s n-not why I came here–”
“What’s so terrifying about me making you cum, hmm?” he inquired darkly, like he already knew the answer, cornering you against the window glass. “If you don’t give me a good reason I won’t stop.”
You couldn’t tell him, because if you did then you were 100% sure he wouldn’t stop. You didn’t want to do this again, but you didn’t see any other way out right now.
“Pup, listen to me–” you spoke sweetly but he clasped his hand on your mouth firmly.
“No, you won’t,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “You apologize for bewitching me, but you try to do it again the second things don’t go as you planned?” he asked incredulously. 
You squirmed but he didn't budge.
Chenle hummed, placing his free hand on the front of your neck and tracing his fingers over your throat, drawing what felt like random figures. “What a shame. That was your last chance.” 
You gasped for air when he finally uncovered your mouth, but when you tried to speak again no words came out.
You cleared your throat and opened your mouth again, but even though you were saying words, they didn’t materialize into sounds.
You looked at Chenle in shock, and he smirked back at you.
“It’s not nice, huh? Not being able to say what you want,” he asked rhetorically.
‘What did you do?!’ you tried to ask, but of course once again nothing came out of your mouth. 
Chenle understood your voiceless question though and he chuckled. “Here goes my first confession: I found out about what you were a few days ago. I’ve been thinking of ways to stop you from using that voice on me since then. At first I thought about choking you, but I was so fucking mad at you I was afraid I would end up breaking your neck, so I learned how to cast this little spell on your vocal chords.”
Your eyes widened, remembering how you thought that he was just caressing your neck seconds ago.
“I also know you imprinted on me,” he continued speaking, caressing your face. “And I know what will happen if I make you cum so, naturally, I will make it happen.”
Your instinct kicked in and you pushed him, trying to get away as fast as you could, but he quickly caught you and turned you around, pushing you against the window glass with him hugging you from behind. You shivered when the cold material made contact with your bare chest, and the beautiful city view reminded you of how embarrassingly exposed you were.
Chenle’s hand had already found its way into your panties, and he was pleasuring you skillfully and fast, with only one objective in mind.
“Here goes my second confession: I regret not killing that friend of yours,” he whispered next to your ear, while two of his fingers were buried inside of you. “Can’t believe you let him have you like this before me. It drove me mad to find out what you sound like when you’re cumming while in another man’s arms. But what made me even more furious was that you moaned my name. How fucking shameless can you be?”
You wanted to dig a hole and hide in it forever, but first you needed to run away.
He clicked his tongue when you kicked your leg back aimlessly trying to get him off you. “You’re being so rude when I’m making you feel so good you’re dripping down my hand?” He asked, adding a third finger and making you tighten around him.
You shook your head and tried to look at him over your shoulder, giving him your best puppy eyes.
“Do you really want me to stop?” he asked, stilling his fingers inside of you.
You nodded promptly.
He sighed. “I guess I should respect your wishes just like you respected mine–Oh, right,” he pretended to suddenly remember something important. “You didn’t,” he concluded, fucking his fingers into you fast and hard.
You would have screamed if you could. You were so close and it was both marvelous and horrifying. If you gave in it would change your life forever, so you tried to even your breath and will yourself to think of something else.
“Would you look at that?” Chenle taunted. “I can see your ship from here…It’s a shame they’re too far to see how much of an obedient girl you’re being for me, taking my fingers so well, about to give yourself to me completely.”
You did not want anyone to see you like this, but you tried to remind yourself that this penthouse was on the highest floor in an exclusive neighborhood. Surely no one could see you.
“Mm…should I bite you before or after I get you off?” Chenle asked, placing a wet kiss on your neck.
You squirmed helplessly. At this point you knew you wouldn’t break free, and that your efforts were in vain, but you were too stubborn to accept your fate.
“I’m tired of waiting,” he said, abusing that spot that had you rolling your eyes while using his other hand to rub your clit roughly. “Give it to me now.”
Your ears rang and the city lights in front of you became blurry. You felt like the world was spinning around you while the tingly feeling that sometimes you experienced in your fingertips expanded through your body. 
‘Chenle, Chenle, Chenle’ was the only thought in your mind. His firm hands on your body, his warm respiration on your neck, his expensive cologne invading your nostrils, his luscious voice murmuring words you couldn’t comprehend right now–he was everywhere. The feeling was so overwhelming, unlike any orgasm any man had ever given you before. There was no way back now. You were–
“All mine,” Chenle chuckled, removing his hands from your underwear and placing one of them on your throat to remove the spell. “Was that really so bad?” he asked, turning you around to face him.
You glared at him. “Y-you–,” you coughed and spoke shakily, still riding the neverending aftershoks of your orgasm. “Do you k-know what you just d-did?!”
“I’m fully aware,” he replied nonchalantly.
“I won’t be able to leave, you asshole!” you yelled at him as tears started forming in your eyes. “You ruined my life!”
The hand that was on your neck squeezed your throat.
“Like I said, I know what I did. That’s why I did it,” he grunted. “And just for your information, I only reversed the spell to hear you moan. Not for you to get bratty and annoying, so if you try to bewitch me or yell at me one more time you won’t be speaking until the end of my rut.”
You paled. “Y-your rut?!” you choked out.
“Third confession,” Chenle whispered against your lips. “I chose this night to meet because my rut is scheduled to start anytime soon. And you’re gonna help me through it.”
You kicked his leg just out of pettiness. You knew it probably didn’t hurt much and it wouldn’t get you out of this predicament, but you didn’t know how else to voice your anger.
He gave you an unamused look. “That’s it,” he growled, lifting you in his arms and throwing you over his shoulder unceremoniously. You squirmed, kicked, and hit whatever part of him you could reach but it only seemed to add to the punishment that was coming. 
He opened the door to a bedroom, which was also surrounded by wide windows. Like the living room, it wasn’t fully furnished or decorated, but there was a king size bed in the middle and a nightstand, which was all that Chenle needed right now. 
He sat on the bed and manhandled you so you were lying on your belly on his lap, and before you had the chance to ask anything or complain you felt a sharp pain on your ass.
“You’re going to behave,” he guaranteed, landing another slap that made you gasp. “Even if I have to force you to.”
You tried to keep your mouth shut. If he had reversed the spell because he wanted to hear you moan then you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing a single sound from you.
After spanking you a couple more times he noticed what you were trying to pull.
“Really?” he asked, giving you a particularly hard smack that almost made you give in. “We’ll see about that,” he murmured.
He moved you onto the bed, removed your panties hastily and positioned you so your legs were hanging off the bed while still on your belly. You turned your head around suspiciously but you didn’t see him. You were going to sit up when you felt a pair of firm hands gripping your asscheeks and something warm and wet grazing your inner labia. 
You yelped and Chenle chuckled against your center before diving in.
It had been a long time since someone ate you out from behind; usually you were the one in charge, so being in such a compromising position was humiliating yet he was making you feel so good…
No. You couldn’t let him know you were enjoying this. You bit your lip and grasped onto the bed sheets desperately.
His tongue slid inside of you and he landed another slap on your ass, feeling you clench around the wet muscle. He pulled away for a second to say some cheeky comment, but a malicious kick almost landed on his face.
Furiously, he stood up and climbed on the bed, grabbing you as you were crawling away and forcing you to turn around to face him.
“What the fuck was that?” he growled. 
“Fuck you!” you hissed in response.
“Fucking brat,” he spat, unbuckling his belt and straddling you. “After all you’ve done you think you have the right to be angry?”
“Oh and you’re any better?” you asked indignantly. “You forced an orgasm out of me even though you knew what that implied–”
“Agreed,” he conceded, unbuttoning his pants. “We’re both terrible people and now we’re stuck together, so you might as well get used to it–”
“I may be bonded to you but you don’t own me! I’m sure Yeosang can help me find a way to undo this–Hhmp!” your ranting was interrupted by Chenle grabbing your jaw firmly and  shoving his cock in your mouth, absolutely not in the mood to listen anymore.
“Mm, yeah that’s better,” he hummed, thrusting the head of his cock in and out slowly. “Such a beautiful voice but all that comes out of your mouth is poisonous.”
You tried to complain, but the vibrations only pleased Chenle even more. 
“Yeah, go on, princess,” he encouraged you mockingly, sinking some more of his length into your mouth. 
You shot him a dirty look and hollowed your cheeks to give a hard suck, tasting the salty liquid that the tip oozed.
He moaned and his body bent in pleasure. “Oh yeah?” he sneered, pulling out slightly to thrust back in. “Do your worst, princess, fuck–”
“Hmm,” you moaned around him, stretching your lips and straining your neck to bob your head. 
Chenle felt like his head was spinning. You had pleasured him with your mouth before, but this was different. He had never had so much power over you. It made him feel euphoric. He placed his hands on your head to keep you in place, pulling your hair unintentionally. His mouth hung slack and he fucked your mouth rhythmically.
It took you choking when his cock hit the back of your throat for him to cum in your mouth with a guttural moan, trapping your head between his pelvis and the mattress until you drank every single drop.
With a jaded sigh, he climbed off your chest to start going lower, kissing every corner of your body on the way until he positioned himself with his face between your legs to continue what he had started.
You let out a broken moan when he captured your clit with his mouth and sucked insistently. 
Your legs kicked his back and you pulled his hair angrily but you couldn’t refrain from moaning, much to his delight.  He sucked, and sucked until the stimulation was painful, and almost wished he moved his mouth somewhere else but he was suctioning your clit with obsessive intent, wanting it to feel so good it hurt, wanting to break you.
He alternated between flattening his tongue against you while shaking his head and going back to harsh sucking until your stomach contorts and your mind goes blank, making your legs shake in pleasure.
…Except he doesn’t stop. 
It was the first time he had you cum in his mouth and now he was captivated. He wished you had let him do this sooner. How dare you keep this away from him all this time?! 
“Do it again,” he grumbled against your core  between sloppy licks.
“Are y-haa…are you insane?!” you whined, trying to push him away.
He looked up at you with reddened eyes and growled, slapping your inner thigh.
“I said,” he spoke roughly. “Do it again,” he commanded, getting back to work.
This time he was all over the place, licking and slurping every drop of your release and making you shriek in pleasure and embarrassment. He wouldn’t let any of it go to waste. This belonged to him. You belonged to him. And he would take it as many times as he wanted.
You trembled when he once again focused your clit, like it was his new favorite toy, and circled it with his tongue going clockwise and then counterclockwise, and then flicking it barely with the tip of his tongue.
You whined and the death grip you had on his hair to push him away ended up pushing his head closer to your center.
He moaned appreciatively and let you fuck his face until he heard you gasp brokenly, so he sucked hard, bringing you to yet another orgasm. 
Your body relaxed on the bed while he cleaned you up with his tongue languidly, making you wince and convulse sporadically. 
Once he finally licked all he could find, he climbed back up so he was face to face with you.
“I hate you,” you croaked.
“Yeah?” he purred, kissing you, letting you taste yourself on his lips. “I don’t think you do…And even if you did, that’s too bad, because I’m obsessed with you,” he concluded, diving in for another kiss.
He was right, you didn’t hate him. You were just mad, and scared, but you loved his lips on yours, and the way his body rocked against yours, and his hard cock pushing against your entrance–
“Ah–haaa, fuck–Chenle!” you moaned loudly when he pushed in slowly, stretching you out delightfully. 
He swallowed your moans with his kisses, between hushed praises for taking him so well. 
“My pretty princess…” he breathed out once he bottomed up completely. He grabbed one of your thighs and pushed it up and outwards before rolling his hips experimentally. He starts very slowly, allowing you to feel every vein of his cock dragging against your inner walls and you have no words to describe how good it feels.
His eyes lit up when he hit a spot that made you arch your back, aiming to hit it harder.
“What happened to that fierce attitude?” he teased when you let out a strangled moan.
You only looked at him with wide eyes, grabbing onto his shoulders clumsily without knowing what to do with yourself. Having him inside of you after having consummated the bond made everything feel 10 times more intense. There was nothing you could possibly say to express how good it felt to have your mate’s cock kissing your cervix so divinely. 
“Poor Y/N,” Chenle spoke condescendingly, using his thumb to wipe some drool off the corner of your mouth. “Cock so good you can’t speak?”
You try to think of a comeback. You really do, but how could you when he was filling you all the way up and hitting all the right places–at the same time?
He chuckled darkly, snapping his hips hard once, twice and then building up a steady rhythm that had you screaming like he always wanted you to.
“Oh g-god…” was the first coherent sentence you said, throwing your head back.
 “That’s my princess,” he praised, pressing his face into the crook of your neck. “Submitting for her mate–haa…,” he moaned as he nosed along your neck, looking for the right spot to leave his mark.
“C-chenle–” you whined, feeling yourself getting closer the more his pelvis grinded against your clit.
He sank his teeth into your skin and you felt that white pleasure consume you again, making you cum with a silent scream and your legs shake around Chenle’s waist.
He winced when you contracted around his cock, murmuring nonsense about how tight and perfect you were for him while licking the fresh wound on your neck.
You were shaking like a leaf, whispering his name like it was the only thing you knew and he just didn’t stop.
“Fuck! P-please!” you cried out when he pressed his hips against yours harshly and moved them in a circular way before resuming his unrelenting assault. 
You didn’t think you could take any more so you tried to push him away weakly, but he pinned you down by your wrists. 
Both of you knew you weren’t actually trying to rebel anymore, but his wolf loved to show off his strength, making you submit. He had wanted to dominate you the moment he met you, but his rut had turned that want into a need. 
“C-can’t,” you sobbed, but the more you squirmed, the harder he fucked you.
“You’re g-gonna take it,” he grunted, squeezing your wrists and thrusting fast enough to make you see stars. 
Tears slid down your face but you nodded obediently and that sent Chenle into a frenzy. He let go of your wrists to grab onto your waist, sitting up and ramming into you at a speed he didn’t know he was capable of.
“Aah…Haa, fuck, Y/N–my obedient little mate, yeah…” he moaned.
You whined at the praise, letting him fuck every coherent thought out of your head.
“All you have t-to do is take it,” he spoke with slurred words as he impaled you into his cock like a ragdoll. “Let me have you like this,” he emphasized the last word with a hard thrust. “Let me m-make you feel good mm…”
You nodded dumbly while he pounded you on the bed.
“Look this pretty–oh fuck, so pretty for me,” he sounded strained, and his movements were haltering. “Let me g-give you anything you could…oooh anything y-you could possibly want,” he was getting desperate, feeling his knot starting to form was pushing him over the edge. “L-let me…,” he gulped, forcing his knot into you and making you scream. “Oooh Y/N, fuuuck–”
You couldn’t breathe. It was too much. He was too deep, and he was trying to pull you impossibly closer as his cock throbbed inside of you and he finally came with a shaky sigh, shooting endless spurts of cum inside of you.
Your eyes rolled back as he convulsed on top of you, once again pinning your wrists just for show, to remind you he was in charge.
Once both of you came down from your high, Chenle took in the view and beamed with pride. 
You were sprawled out on your back, with his mark on your neck, fucked dumb, submissive, completely overstimulated, impaled on his cock, and full of what soon would be his pups. 
This was what he would wake up to everyday, in this very apartment he had bought for both of you.
Meanwhile, on the ship, Captain Hongjoong put his spyglass down and walked away from the window, letting out an impressed whistle.
“Seongwha, make preparations for a farewell party,” he requested, sitting on his chair and putting his feet on the table. “Looks like Y/N’s staying in this town.”
“You’re so mean,” Seongwha replied, unimpressed. “You knew this would happen when you sent her to speak with him.”
“She’ll thank me one day,” Hongjoong assured him, winking playfully.
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charliedawn · 1 day
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Hello i really like your fanfics about the slashers and I have a request as to what if the nurse one day walks in with a baby in her hands and the slashers think it's hers but not knowing she was just babysitting
(If you do not want to do this request I understand I was hesitant when I wanted to ask this😭)
Warning: Reckless babysitting involved
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Freddy: "That thing yours ?"
Freddy is cash.
He ain’t gonna beat around the bush.
The moment he sees a baby in the hospital, he’ll ask himself two things: first, who shagged and brought that thing to life. And two, why is it looking at him like its gonna suck his nonexistent soul out of his body ?
And since there aren’t that many women in the hospital and you were the one holding the baby, he would automatically assume that the pink fleshy thing is yours. He would then be relieved to find out that it wasn’t yours. (Not because he doesn’t think you would be a great parent, but because he kinda sees you as the mama bear of the asylum and could get jealous of not receiving enough attention.)
Freddy *proceeds to carry the baby and puts shades on him and moves its little arms to make it dance on the table*
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The baby *stares at Michael*
Michael *stares back*
Michael didn’t really care who’s baby it was. He just stared at it. It was such a funny thing to find in an asylum and he just kept staring at it. But then, he thought about who would be irresponsible enough to leave a baby unattended in an asylum with cannibal clowns ? He hence took it upon himself to take the baby and protect it until the mother or caretaker would arrive…
The baby will be safe if given to Michael.
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"Oh ! Nursy laid a child overnight ! Didn’t know your species could do that !" Penny joked as he found the baby.
He did have the craving to take a bite at first, but then he realised the baby was under your care. And as he does respect you to an extent, he decided to spare the child. Besides, the child wasn’t ripe enough for him…It wouldn’t be as nutritious as it would be if it were 4 or 5. He would hence say that he would wait until it is older. He would however observe it and smile at it or do funny faces at it when you’re not looking. He would also throw it in the air (giving you a small heart attack in the process) and giggle as he managed to successfully catch it each time.
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The baby *crying his lungs out*
Pennywise: "Give it here."
You *suspicious* : "Why ?"
Pennywise : "Do you want it to sleep ? Give it."
You then witnessed Pennywise use his powers to sing the baby to sleep. Pennywise would lull the child to sleep by singing him a song. Pennywise is older than Penny and has hence a greater repertoire and remembers…everything. He would find a song to make the baby sleep and be extra gentle with it. Unlike Penny, Pennywise is much wiser and careful. He understands the fragility of a baby and would know best what to do with it, even more since Pennywise used to have 7 siblings growing up when he was still human. But, do not leave the kid unattended for too long with Pennywise because after all…old habits die hard and unlike Penny, Pennywise isn’t fussy about the food he eats.
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"…Ew."
Patrick Bateman is NOT a baby person, he isn’t a person person on a regular basis, but babies ? They are the worse in his book.
Loud, dirty and can’t do business.
What are they even for ?
The only baby he would get along with would be boss baby. But since he is a character in a cartoon, they would never meet. So the very real baby will stay FAR away from him and he wouldn’t even touch it. He would mildly be interested if the baby is yours, but not a lot more…
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You: "Jack. You were a father, right ?"
Jack: "Yeah. Why are you asking ?"
You *dump the baby in his arms*: "Here. I’ll be back in 5."
Jack *momentarily stunned and then calling after you.*: "Hey hey ! No ! Nurse Y/N ! Come back here !"
Jack finally sat down on a chair while the baby was just chilling in his arms and staring at him.
Jack *looks down at the baby and huffs* : "What are you looking at ?"
Him and the baby proceeded to chill all afternoon.
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You *forgot the baby in a room*
The baby *chilling on a table and about to roll off said table*
Bo *uses his unexpectedly big brother superpowers and catches it before it falls and then looks down at it…wondering what the hell he just did and why*
The baby *giving him the most baby smile ever*
Him *smirks* : "Well…Ain’t you an absolute sunshine, huh lil’ ugly ?"
Also him *carries the baby to the garage* : "Don’t worry, uncle Bo’s gonna take good care of ya. Lemme show ya how to fix a car now."
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Brahms would be happy to take care of it, but he would be clueless and would be afraid to hurt it. Brahms is strong and sometimes he doesn’t even realise how strong. He could involuntarily crush the child. So, he would just sit in front of it and be on guard duty. He would make sure no danger gets near the child and keep an eye on it until you are back. He would then ask if the baby could come back when it is a little older so they can become friends and play tag together.
Brahms *making puppy eyes at you and keeps asking when is the baby going to come back*
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astroamorsworld · 1 day
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Astrology Observations #26
If you guys would like to show your support, you can buy me a coffee here :)
I’m starting to compile a list of reviews for readings on my masterlist so check it out if you’d like😊
If you guys would like a reading, feel free to DM me or fill out my Google form here
Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t. Enjoy!
Please do not copy my work.
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🍿Someone I know has a Scorpio ruled 7th house and through their past relationships have been victims of witchcraft because of it. Whether it was their partners paying people to do spells on them or someone their partners were previously involved with or someone their partners were close with, its been a somewhat common occurrence for this person unfortunately☹️
(And i don’t think having a neptune there helped either…😕)
🍿Those of you who have your Moon in the 8th house, do you like horror films? Like it’s something i’ve noticed with a few people i know and i personally dislike a lot of them👎
🍿As a girl with a Gemini Juno, funny guys are my absolute weakness😩😩 Gemini Sun men also. In fact just all men with Gemini placements. Does this apply to you guys with your Juno placement?
🍿Aquarius risings are so cool, love them😚
🍿Since the 12th house rules bed pleasures, how many of your 12th housers like really and i mean REALLY like your bed. Like in fact do you guys ever like leaving your house?
🍿If you have Uranus in the 4th house, if you’d like to, tell me what your family does that you think no other family does🤔
🍿Everytime I have my Moon in the 8th house in my lunar return chart, something always comes to an end. Do you guys notice the same thing with your lunar return charts or nah
🍿Not an observation but I have Pluto in the 8th house at 29 degrees for my solar return chart this year and I am a little frightened icl… have any of you guys had this placement in your sr charts? If so, what happened that year?
🍿Living on your Saturn MC line is soooo tough😩feeling like life is harder for you than most ppl is NOT it😭😭
🍿Leo Risings, do your relationships ever stem from a friends to lovers type situation or nah?
🍿Now i know i’ve mentioned this before in a previous post but I just wanna say again that having a Moon-Chiron conjunction in your sr chart absolutely sucks. A year where you can really be going through it😖😖😖
🍿I currently have Neptune in the 1st opposite mars AND mercury in the 7th house in my sr chart and i can tell you that the daydreaming about being in a relationship has gone into overdrive…😔
🍿I also have my 5th house ruler conjunct chiron in my sr chart and heartbreak has occurred… so if you have it in your sr chart you may wanna brace yourself😫
(I thought my sr chart was gonna be really good but I was unfortunately blind to every other placement in my chart but my major 7th house stellium… REMEMBER GUYS A 7TH HOUSE STELLIUM CAN INDICATE GAINING BEST FRIENDS AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU A RELATIONSHIP😭😭
🍿A more straightforward observation but having Chiron in the 11th house of a SR chart can indicate losing some friends… like not necessarily in the typical way where you guys fall out, but it could be a scenario where they move away, or you guys can’t see each other as often for whatever reason.
🍿I feel like living on your Saturn MC line can also indicate getting into more problems with authority figures and more so them starting problems with you… they can turn into absolute f***ing b****rds out of nowhere… sorry i just have some trauma with members of authority😭😭
🍿I have my sun at 10 degrees and a 10th house stellium… I wonder if thats why i’ve always felt like i had an old soul… this is probably why my family always says to me that i’m a grandma😭😭
🍿7th house ruler in the 10th house of a sr chart can indicate meeting someone at work
🍿In a few months Jupiter will conjunct my natal Juno… I wonder what’ll happen then?🤔
🍿I feel like Gemini Mercury’s multitask a lot. Like A LOT. It’s almost tiring to watch them do it tbh😭
🍿I feel like having a Leo ruled 5th house can indicate attracting partners who worship you.
This was different from my other observations but I hope you guys still enjoyed it😭
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ratgrinders · 2 days
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HIII i’m also a rat grinders fan in the “not interested in pretending they aren’t fucked up” but rather “interested in Why they are so fucked up” way 💥💥💥 i have Thoughts on how the shatterstar ritual affected the rat grinders in different ways and i wanted to know if u had any similar thoughts :3 - @teenagerebellion
THIS IS SUCH A GOOD ASK thank you for sending it!!!!!!!!
Ok so I AM gonna be working off the assumption that a rage crystal functions less like "mind control" and more so amplifying existing feelings to murderous extremes. Think Adaine in the mall fight when she's asked to picture "what would the world look like if all Adaine thought about was rage" and we see a destroyed Sylvaire from Adaine's search for her mother. We know that Adaine would never do that, but we see the underlying motivation is the same.
Off the bat we know Kipperlilly's ritual is different from the others since she chose to do it "willingly" and wasn't forced to choose via death (it's described as having no scar, unlike the others, so she may have not even had to die at all). That doesn't mean though that she wasn't infected with a rage that caused her to do things she never would've done normally, as I don't think Freshman Year Kipperlilly, whose biggest grievances were "I think Aguefort likes them more", would jump to coldblooded murder. I think the fact that Kipperlilly chose the shatterstar affects her mindset pretty greatly going in to rest of the year, because there's no easy way to differentiate between what's "her" and what's the rage star. She probably is constantly thinking things like "This is all me. I am in control of my own faculties. There was no coercion involved I'm just naturally a villain", partially because she doesn't want to admit that she, a mastermind, let herself get controlled like that. Essentially, the ritual itself was so seamless and the descent so gradual, I don't think even Kipperlilly has a strong sense anymore of who she is without rage.
Ruben we know canonically has a bit of amnesia after being revived, not even seeming to remember the entire year he was shatterstarred. Ruben basically has the opposite problem from Kipperlilly, where his change in identity post-shatterstar is so drastic that his sense of self is almost completely eroded, because "how could I have been motivated to become someone like that?". Ruben's not a naturally angry person, but still though, that WAS Ruben, the rage star just tapping in to Ruben's underlying desperate need for approval, emotionality, etc. and bringing it to the forefront. The rage star imbued Ruben with such an intense pain and rage that he felt he could only express it through his music. Post finale revival I think was Ruben just being in shock at how much he's changed, but I think the memories will come back to him and he'll have to reconcile these two Vastly Different versions of himself.
Ivy I believe was still kind of a mean girl before the shatter star, the shatter star just made it more likely for her to say it to people's faces rather than behind their backs. Honestly, I'm imagining her maybe as a young Sandra Lynn before, in the sense of both having this constant bemusement. Beyond that, though, I think Ivy may have been the most likely to take the rage star willingly as opposed to being killed for it (I actually think most of the Rat Grinders still could've been persuaded to take it willingly, but that's a post for another time). Ivy seems to have a lot of pent up rage and disdain for the world around her, and the shatter star only amplified that.
Oisin got buff after getting shatterstarred, which is a really funny canonical fact to think about lmao, because I'm just imagining him doing a bunch of angry push-ups or something. Anyways Oisin before the ritual I'm honestly imagining him to be the type to hang out with guys like Skrank and Shellford, aka those kind of nerdy unpopular guys who nonetheless are still kind of egotistical and little dicks sometimes. (This is actually why I think they were the ones playing pong at the party with Oisin, because they were actually kind of friends before.) Just like Ivy, the rage crystal just gave Oisin more of an excuse to externalize his rage at the world, but I think the main thing it did was just give Oisin a little more self-confidence because now he has all this power backing him up.
Mary Ann was EXACTLY the same before and after the ritual, it was actually a little disconcerting to Jace and Porter and they didn't know what to make of it. The main thing for Mary Ann, I think, is that she really doesn't have much of an emotional stake in the rage ritual, or the beef with the bad kids, or anything like that. She's just Entirely Indifferent to whatever atrocities are being committed, which is just a different type of fucked up lol. Honestly, I think as a barbarian Mary Ann's a bit more used to controlling her rage which is why the rage crystal might've had less of an effect, Lydia Barkrock style.
Buddy's death was so sudden and traumatic, with such a short amount of time to get used to the implications before the finale, I think Buddy's mind is just in a tailspin post-ritual just trying to grab on to anything that makes sense lol. He knows worship and devotion, its been a crutch in his life for so long, and that's what he defaults to when he can no longer reach Helio. In fact it almost seems a bit like a coping mechanism, latching onto it so securely even in the face of all other logic.
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thedevilsoftruth · 23 hours
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Y'all saw this coming. Strap in your seat belts, you sexy people. Daddies back in action. Im sorry if this comes as a shock to people who follow me and dont enjoy NSFW content. It's just what i do here. This is the first nsfw post of Shane on here. Im also sorry to my Moon Knight girlies, Marc will be back again in a while. And remember, if you don't like it...
... don't read it. :))
Nsfw Shane Hcs for the soul ♡
He's a nervous little guy when you ask him for it. He just gets all flustered and will bottom out on you halfway through.
When he's the one asking for it... oh boy.
He's 100% not pressuring about it. He beats around the bush a lot. " I don't know, am I trying to get into your pants? Oh geez, why would I ever want to do that.... " As he's hugging from behind, pushing you into the counter and attacking your neck with sloppy kisses.
He'll deny his intentions on clearly trying to have sex with you as a way to tease you, and then when he gets in bed with you... well... the rest is history.
He runs out of stamina easily, so he likes to start off with foreplay or oral as a way to, as he says, " get the juices flowing " but really just to make sure you're comfortable, and he doesn't hurt you when he actually bangs you.
Horrible, terrible, down bad, filthy, outrageous, uncontrollable breeding kink. Always uses protection, but when the question is brought up of having kids, Lord have mercy, that man is ON HIS KNEES. His ears are PERKED up like a cartoon character. He likes finishing in you, but the idea of raising children with you is something he's always thought about. It's the least thing he can do to contribute to his family; keep the bloodline going.
Not the best performance when he's drunk. Towards the end, he'll get a bit faster, but he will be bottomed out half the time.
I know I'm talking about him bottoming out a lot, but he is a classic, slow, vanilla, missonary kinda guy. Bdsm freaks him the fuck out.
He just really doesn't want to hurt you. He's down for something rougher if that's what you want, but it's only if that what you want. He will always put YOU and YOUR safety before his.
" Am I hurting you? " He will slow down in the middle of your session to check up on you and make sure you're okay and comfortable. " Do you need me to stop? " etc.
And he's funny too. That man is hilarious in bed. He his making references to old movies in bed with you, he's singing songs, he's just being a dork. " You could say I'm rather.. cocky " as he's whipping it out. Really, bad, bad, horrible jokes, but that's the point of it. He just wants to make it more light-hearted for you so that you're happy and content with him.
Sometimes he'll play music. Marvin Gaye is a go-to.
And when he's done, he always gives you a nice massage and cleans you up. On his good days, he'll give you a bath. But his favorite thing is giving you a massage. He's experienced, too, with massaging the cows.
He lets you sleep on his chest when you're both done for the night. The next morning, he feels so. Fucking. Guilty.
" Baby, are you sore? Is there anything I can do? " is all he's able to ask you. He cares about you a lot, and he doesn't want to hurt you. He knows your hips have to hurt, especially with having to do your farm work in the morning. He'll ask you to stay in bed with him, and if you refuse, he'll make you dinner and then watch a movie with you and give you another massage.
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34saveme34 · 3 days
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IT'S FINALLY HERE !!!!
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I recommend reading Sever the Ties before reading this one! As it does have references to it so reading this fic without context might make this fic more non sensical.
warnings: Gore although not explored to an uncomfortable amount, trauma upon trauma, Axol gets brought up in an awful way, I know that Mercy is from Overwatch
It turned out a bit gayer than I thought it would. If you end up having any questions after reading this, don't be afraid to ask :3 I'll try my best to answer you
obligatory @birrdify tag so you can find this beast easy !!
word count:16451
It had been a while since 3 and 4 had their rather emotional adventure. Since then, things have been better. 3 finally let 4 help him more seriously with the café while 4 let 3 help him with his videos. 3 still didn't want to just take help without anything so this was the compromise they reached. The others were peaceful too, 1 and 2 calmly doing their meme research, Meggy, Melony and Tari training together, mainly Tari since Clench appeared. Although he wasn't very fond of that. They had to give him duck pictures every few minutes to comply. He's like a toddler. Saiko was there too, although more passively, just making sure everything was okay. Everything that had been happening lately just had her really worried. Although she didn't show that, she didn't want to worry her friends. And usually when she would show concern, people many times thought she was overreacting.
Luigi was tending to his flower shop like usual, just… Very Peaceful.
Everything was just. A bit too peaceful, very little chaos present, almost worryingly.
4 started thinking about it. It was weird. He searched for Mario and, interestingly, found him in one of the unfinished rooms, watching TV. 
He only managed to find him because a set of extension cords plugged into each other were leading to a room there.
“Mario?” 4 peaked in the room to see only the TV’s light and Mario, anything else that could’ve been there was obscured by the darkness.
“... Yeah?” Mario replied a bit slowly.
“What… What are you doing up here?”
“Watching Tee Vee” Mario said cheerfully. TV made Mario very happy.
“Why here?”
“Nothing distracts me here” 
“Huh, um… alright. I was just worried because you haven't been bothering anyone for a while”
“Awww, SMG4, you miss it?”
“Um-”
“Oh my god, you miss when I mess with you guys! That's so funny” 
“Mario… I guess. I guess I did miss it”
Mario chuckled.
“Sometimes even Mario has to rest you know”
“Yeah, I get that… what are you watching anyways?”
4 asked as he walked beside Mario to see what he was so occupied with. It turned out to be what 4 would guess is a spaghetti themed soap opera, considering the vibes of the scene he saw with pasta in shape of a man and also some in shape of a woman arguing then making out and then arguing again-
“It's very entertaining”
“I… sure see that…”
4 wasn't exactly that big of a fan of such dramatic television. 4 went to leave the room but stopped for a bit.
“Make sure to do something other than watch TV though. Dark rooms…. have their effects…” 
“Okay, mom” Mario dismissed 4.
4 rolled his eyes then finally actually left. Besides, he had a lot of videos to work on with 3. It was kind of interesting working with him like this. Especially that things are really looking up now.
Although Mario wasn’t exactly respectful towards 4, he still took his word. But not to touch grass. He found a show that reminded him of Two Piece.
“Ooooh, Melony would love this!” Mario picked up the TV and ran with it in the direction of Melony. Actually, he wasn’t even running, he was flying like a torpedo. Must be all his pent up energy bursting out of him or something.
He found Melony sleeping. He repeatedly tapped her until she woke up.
“Hmm..? Mario?” she looked at him tired “Do you need something?”
“Mario found a show you might like!!” he slammed down the TV with excitement. The giddiness was kind of rubbing off on Melony. 
“I’ll take a look at it then” she smiled, clapping her hands together. 
Mario took off incredibly fast, which surprised Melony a bit. She thought cardio wasn’t his thing but guess that isn’t always the case after all.
The show was really fun for Melony, truly exploring the depths of fruit romance, in ways that resonated with her so deeply. She wished she could just… absorb it into her. She never saw romance between fruits shown so intimately. With the way they’d hold each other, holding onto each other until the end. Though she was especially sad about a pairing where one of them lost their life to an evil chef. Oh, she awfully hated that chef. She actually kind of resonated with the character that got left lonely. She wished… she could just grab her, pull her out of the screen… Tell her, it won’t be easy but… it’ll pass one day. Everything will be okay. And she also loved the way fruits rotting were depicted. She usually wasn’t quite comfortable with the topic but there was just… something so well done about it here. Slowly seeing your loved one succumb to a different, much more deteriorated life.
The deep excitement she felt about the show slowly put her to sleep. It was odd for her to sleep like that but hey! Sleep is always good.
She found herself in a black void. Though she could feel ground underneath. She breathed in. Breathed out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Relax.
She tried to make out anything in her surroundings. As she walked around, her steps echoed, although it didn’t sound right. The way how even just the sound of her breath would bounce off the walls, then the sound ringing in her ears. She wasn’t exactly the cowardly type but this was starting to freak her out.
Regardless, she marched on, trying to find a way out of whatever she was in. She found a doorway that was blocked by debris. She sighed then thought for a bit… She had her deity powers. She tried to pick up the debris bit by bit but for some reason, even the smallest bits felt infinitely heavy. Even just a dust particle made her sink into the floor, no matter how much she tried. She sat down on the ground. It had been a while since she felt so powerless.  She didn’t think she would find herself digging out such feelings she held. She thought she got rid of them at this point. Though there will always be inevitable things she won’t be able to escape.
She just sat there. Her breath. Echoing. Yet it was so deeply quiet. Way too quiet. Ringing in her ear, the depths of this nothingness she was trapped in. It had been a while since something was threatening to drive her mad this badly. She finally got up, walking in a different direction. Maybe she’ll find the way out that way. Or at least a purpose so she could stop feeling so worthless again. She knew her friends cared but she still couldn’t quite shake off everything she was feeling. Especially after missing out on so much. She was wondering if she felt that way because she had been avoiding new adventures so much. Sleeping away another day or 2, in hopes that tomorrow would be a new day she could finally do something more. 
As she walked, she found a doorway with a beaten up door barely in its place. As she looked at it closer, she noticed blood splatter on it. Some of it looked old… some of it new. She was starting to feel rather anxious. Although she should be strong, the sight of blood always did something to her head. As if reminding her of times she would rather forget about.
She barely thought much more as she opened the door. Hell, to her it almost felt like she was being controlled. As she looked around, a horrific sight filled her view. It was Axol. He tried to speak but…that wouldn’t have been possible, looking at his state. She couldn’t speak either. She couldn’t call out. She didn't want this. She JUST had this image slowly fading from her mind. The time when she had to kill him for the good of everyone. He wanted her to kill him at that point. They both knew there was nothing else they could do. Yet, she would still be often haunted by this scene. A scene only she had to witness. Only she had the burden of having to see the light leave his eyes, to see him go limp, lifeless. And now, it was so clearly in front of her, so deeply visceral. Just as visceral as it was in the moment. She cried, she couldn’t help it. She slowly managed to make herself look away. It was hard to do from everything that was boiling within her then. 
Wait… She couldn’t really be back there. This must just be a nightmare! A really bad one but still, it wasn’t real. She began to walk away from Axol, slowly breathing in and out. After that awful scene, the awful music of the void like rooms were almost welcoming, even if it felt like they wanted to swallow her whole. As she walked, another familiar sound filled her ears. Sounds of drawing with a pencil on paper. As she walked closer to the source, she saw herself, drawing for the manga, Two Piece, which Axol wasn’t able to finish. There were so many crumpled papers scattered around her, her expression tired, focused but emitting a sort of hopelessness. She remembered this… Starting off really wasn’t easy. So many times she just… She just wanted to give up. But with her friends around it was better. She stared at herself for a bit. She wanted to say something.
She placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey… You’ll be fine”
Her tired self stopped, then slowly looked at her. No words escaping her mouth. Yet those eyes showed so much. All the ways she suffered with everything. The amount of work she put into it. 
“I” she started again “...We… We might not make it perfect. But that’s okay. Axol wouldn’t expect that anyways, you know? We… still carried his legacy. That’s what only matters in the end” 
Her tired self teared up and pushed her away, going back to hopelessly scribbling.
“Do you even hear me?? We’ll be fine! I promise! A mediocre manga isn’t the end of the world!”
Her tired self slowly raised her hands, bruised from holding the pencil so tightly and for so long. She stared at her. Her eyes were screaming thousands of words. She knew all of it. All the pain. All the doubt. The tears, the needless bruises she bore through it all. She knew it wasn’t for nothing. But it would be too much for anybody on their own. Maybe even with help. 
With being so invested in her feelings, she only noticed an unfamiliar hand on her forehead when she heard a crack.
She woke up, sweating. She looked around. Just where she was before, with the TV still playing the fruit show. She slowly calmed down. It was finally over. Although the images that the dream left in her brain… She couldn’t bear them alone so… best thing to do is to go outside and tell someone about it. That would usually help her. She got up, fixing her hoodie.
She looked out of the room, seeing Meggy and Tari both resting and Saiko beside the 2, calmly strumming on her guitar. They must’ve been training even after she left. She admired how resilient they both were. Even Tari. After everything she had also been through with everyone, she changed a bit too. To her it felt like inspiration. 
“Hi, girls!” she cheered at the 3. 
All 3 looked her way saying hi back but stopping, all of them looking at her horrified. She felt a bit confused.
“Why are you looking at me so weird? Is… my hair looking weird or-”
“Your… face” Saiko was the only one speaking up.
“My face?” Melony slowly felt her face, from her chin to her forehead, her fingers brushing over her usual features until she felt something weird by her forehead. As she trailed along lines she could feel were like valleys on her face. She rushed to the bathroom, the other 3 running after her, with Saiko at the front of it. 
Melony looked in the mirror, her face was cracked like a mask. Wait… The nightmare… the crack before she woke up. It was starting to make sense. Too bad she wasn’t too happy about that. 
The other 3 finally caught up to her, finally being able to be by her side.
“Melony…” Tari looked like she could cry for Melony. Melony could cry too. She couldn’t take it, so she hugged Tari. Meggy patted her on the back and she got pulled in the hug too. Saiko stood there before Melony locked eyes with her and oops, she was in the hug now too. 
“I- I.. I can use all the comfort right now” she spoke quietly. Saiko understood.
They stood there like that for a while. 
“So…” Saiko started “What… happened?”
“Uh… I… I had a nightmare”
“About?”
“Well… Axol”
All 3 looked at her concerned.
“It’s been a while since he showed up like that in your dreams”
“I know! I don’t know… I don’t know why… Oh and… I heard a crack in my nightmare… so…”
Saiko already looked angry.
“I’ll look around in your room” she left.
The 3 looked after her sadly.
“I didn’t know it was still that bad…” Meggy commented again, feeling kind of guilty, as if it was her fault that Melony had such an awful nightmare.
“I thought it wasn’t either” Melony sounded sad.
Tari leaned on her more, trying to comfort her better.
“I know you were getting better! There must be an explanation for this… I think… This is unusual for you?”
Meggy and Melony shared a look, as they both realised Tari is right.
“We must get to the bottom of this” Meggy piped up, as she left the bathroom, going after Saiko. Tari followed, though stopped in the doorway.
“Are you coming too?”
Melony calmed herself a little, lightly clenching her fists, preparing herself to face whatever may come her way. Then she gave a small nod and followed after Tari. 
They all got to where Melony slept before, the TV still in there, undisturbed for the most part. As there was nothing wrong with it, except for the fact that it was turned off. As Melony was looking at it, it was as if the screen itself was crawling deep into her soul. She wasn’t sure if she felt uncomfortable by it or not. But it was a strong feeling either way.
“What is this TV?” Saiko asked Melony.
“Well, Mario showed me a cool show on it. I actually watched it until I fell asleep”
Saiko looked back and forth between the TV and Melony. Seemingly, Tari was slowly catching on.
“Do you think… the show has something to do with it?” Tari looked at Saiko, lightly cocking her head to the side.
“I would say yeah”
“But the show was so good! I’ve never watched something so nice! It’s probably just the show that made me think of the past but that’s- that’s understandable! It was genuinely nice”
“What kinda show was it?” Tari asked.
“It kind of reminded me of Two Piece actually” she cheered.
“Oh, I love Two Piece! Could we watch it together sometime?” Meggy joined.
Saiko was a bit stupefied as the 3 went on to talk about the show as if there was nothing wrong. She still couldn’t shake off the fact that Melony’s face looked like that. She had to go look for answers. And… She might have had just the right idea…
It had been a few days then, Melony’s face still cracked but it seemed she cared less and less. Everybody else around just- seemed to care less. Especially as everyone seemed to be occupied with shows of their dreams. Meggy with a show with so much action and fighting she only could dream of. With wonderful character development, she was mesmerized. Not only that, the female lead absolutely had her from first sight, perfect role for someone so interesting. Playing the whole part perfectly, trying to survive in a world that tried to get rid of her and turning up victorious against all odds. Tari was watching a cutesy show, it was peaceful but still kind of mature with the way the characters talked. She related to the very real issues the characters had while adoring their adorable designs. They seemed to lead much more normal, relaxed lives than what they’ve been having in SMG4. It almost felt idyllic to her. She was close to just… jumping into the TV to escape everything else. 3 and 4 were too busy with their work to even notice at this point. It seemed, even together they can get a bit carried away. Or maybe flirting during work did them in a bit. And nobody even noticed that Saiko was still gone.
This continued. And only got worse. 3 and 4 only realised when barely any customers were coming in.
“You think we messed up? Do they think this place is bad again?” 3 sounded worried.
“No way, we’ve been doing so well! There must be an explanation” 4 wrapped his arm around 3 to comfort him. As usual, it did sort of work. 
“I say we close up and look around”
“Just what I was thinking!”
They closed the café for the day.They first approached the castle, maybe the crew could know something about what was going on. 
They both entered the castle. It was way too quiet. 
“This is creepy” 3 quietly commented.
4 looked at him, that teasing look in his eyes.
“What’s the whispering for? Are you scared someone else will hear you and know you’re a coward?” he laughed.
3 grabbed 4’s face.
“As if you’re not scared!”
“A bit maybe” 4 laughed. 3 pressed a soft kiss on 4’s lips before moving ahead.
4 was left like a smiling idiot before moving along with 3.
They looked around everywhere, not seeing anybody.
Except… Mario. Mario was watching TV, just like how last time 4 really managed to talk to him. Because of work he didn’t manage to hang out with him as much as he wanted to. 
“Mario! Are you at fault for people disappearing??” 3 barged into the room Mario was watching TV in. It was the same room 4 found him in before.
“Shhh!!” Mario shushes 3.
“Dude! This is serious!” 4 chimed in.
They both got slapped out of the room.
“Mario’s watching TV!! Go away!!”
They both got up, it was quite the landing as Mario slapped them pretty hard. 3 had a devious smile on. 4 looked concerned.
“Hey… 4… I have an idea. But you might not like it”
“Say it anyways”
“We could… unplug the electricity! He can’t watch TV then!”
4 thought about it.
“Well- Damn it, what else can we do anyways, let’s go”
“Heh… didn’t even need to convince you this time”
“I just don’t have a better idea”
3 chuckled. They went down to the basement to turn the electricity off. As they came up, they quickly met with a very distraught Mario. And quickly he also went past them. Screaming something about spaghetti. They followed him to see that he devoured the whole fridge.
“M… Mario?” 4 asked him carefully, he was kinda scared.
Mario saw him and ran out. 3 and 4 ran after him to see him yanking the extension cords with might and devouring the TV whole. 
“Much better” he cooed as he sat on the ground, seemingly satisfied with himself.
“What… What was that Mario?” 4 was in disbelief.
Mario raised one finger then lowered it as he thought.
“I remembered I was very hungry! I couldn’t think! TV tasted kind of weird but it’s fine”
“Sure, man” 3 wasn’t even surprised anymore. Mario just pulls stuff like this.
“So… Mario…. Where are the others?” 4 asked, trying not to freak out as he remembered their original goal when they came into the castle.
“Hmmmm…. Mario doesn’t know…. Let’s look together?”
“Sure, come with” 4 said as he now led the way outside.
Walking around, everywhere was kind of quiet. 
“Oh, sure hope this isn’t like that one time Mario stopped time…” Mario sounded scared.
“We’re still moving, idiot, you didn’t accidentally stop time” 3 replied.
“Yeah, 3’s right”
“You’re only saying that because you’re gay for him….” Mario pouted, looking away, crossing his arms.
“Just because I love him I’m not gonna spare him from the truth”
“You heard him!”
“Hmmmm…” Mario wasn’t convinced.
“Besides, what have you been doing all this time?” 4 questioned Mario.
“Watching TV. Only that really”
“Damn, shut in” 3 laughed.
“I… I felt glued to the screen. So… yeah…” Mario looked away from the 2. 3 felt bad almost immediately.
“Okay dude… I guess it’s not your fault- at least you’re outside now” 3 attempted to apologise.
“You tried” 4 didn’t spare 3 of the truth.
3 rolled his eyes.
Mario suddenly stopped by a window. 3 and 4 stopped too, to see him looking at a TV.
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to watch TV again-” 4 was about to freak out on Mario. 
“No no- look” Mario said, pointing at the TV “This is just like the one I had at home!”
The 2 looked at it closely, and recognised it. Not only that, they saw familiar faces on TV. Acting nothing like themselves. Their friends were stuck in shows. 
“That looks like the TV guy’s head who manipulated you” 4 almost shouted with how angry he was at just the sight of the TV.
3 was more calm, at least on the outside. He was more scared if anything. He really didn’t want to see that guy again. 
“That means… that abandoned studio! We… we need to go back there” 4 said.
3 looked uncomfortable.
“Do we… really have to? I mean uh, it’s not like I’m scared but-”
“It’s okay, 3… I believe in us. This is… for all of our friends”
“Our friends… you’re- you’re right but-”
“You’re scared he could take advantage of you again, aren’t you?” Mario pointed at 3.
Both were a bit shocked.
“I… I am” 3 looked at him “How… How did you know?”
Mario twirled around once before finally giving a reply.
“Mario cares about his friends”
3 was a bit flustered by that.
“Aww, you’re still not used to being called a friend! 3 !!!” 4 teased him while hugging him.
“Awww, SMG3!!” Mario joined in on the hugging as well.
“C- Can- Can we just go, please??” 3 cried out. The other 2 laughed as they now got going to that very dreaded place. At least they felt a bit better now.
Just as they were about to go in, even if they likely just. Weren’t allowed to, they got grabbed from behind. 
And, my god… All 3 screamed.
“What- quiet, oh my god” the very mysterious TV man said as he stepped back from the 3.
“What are you doing to our friends? Let them GO??!” 4 was ready to throw hands. He was so furious.
“Hold your horses, SMG4, we didn’t even have a formal introduction yet!”
“Hell if I care, I just want you dead” 4 didn’t look like he was kidding. 
The TV headed man looked unamused. 
“I should’ve expected that…” he reached a finger towards 4, stopping him in his place.
“Now! Might I introduce myself! I’m Mr Puzzles, the head of Puzzlevision, a studio that is on its way to be THE best one. You’re walking on historic grounds”
“This place was a dump not too long ago”
“Oh, you must’ve dreamed that!! And what an awful dream that sounds” Puzzles grinned, a menacing aura emanating from his gaze.
“Wh… What but… you… we… we…”  3 felt scared again. 4  wanted to move so badly to comfort him but couldn’t.
Mario wasn’t sure what to do. He realised, he needed to stop thinking. And so he stopped his needless thoughts and rammed right into Puzzles like a bull. It was so sudden, Puzzles had no way to react.
“Oh why YOU-” 
It was then that Mario realised he got himself into a bit of a pickle. He didn’t have time to think, he launched himself right into the studio.
“YOU CAN’T GO IN THERE” Puzzles ran after Mario, looking so angry he was tearing up from it. 
3 sighed, looking at the still frozen 4. He couldn’t hide it, he felt a bit hopeless. He grabbed 4’s frozen hand with which he was trying to reach for Puzzles. His hand still had the warmth he was very familiar with. At least something to comfort him amongst everything.He only stopped feeling so pensive when he could feel 4 move a finger. He got so excited, he squeezed 4’s hand as he then fell over with him. 3 chuckled, feeling a little stupid, a little embarrassed. 
“Sorry, man” 4 chuckled back as he tried to get up.
“A little more?” 3 held 4 back.
“I appreciate that but- on the ground?”
“Okay okay, fine” 3 looked away as he got up. 
“No need to be embarrassed! I do love your hugs” 
3 sighed as he pulled 4 in for a quick peck on his lips.
“Yea yea but we have bigger things to worry about right now! That TV guy is still definitely chasing Mario”
“Mario! Right! Oh god, I hope he’s okay” 4 ran in, 3 followed after.
“Probably-” as they walked in, the place was in chaos. They looked around, finally finding the 2 with Mario being about to be caught.
“Mario!” 4 cried out when he saw him. Puzzles got distracted, which gave Mario the chance to fight back as he punched Puzzles’s screen. And not lightly at that. The sound of it shattering. It was as if the whole building went silent. Puzzles seemed to stop. It was so quiet, you could hear their breathing.
Puzzles slowly looked back to Mario, holding his own face. His gaze rained on Mario like an avalanche. He wasn’t exactly one to feel intimidated but here he was. It was as if the TV was bleeding pure technicolour. The TV itself still somehow worked, although glitchy. His head twitched. 
3 had enough of watching as he kicked Puzzles in his shin. It distracted him long enough that the 3 of them could escape Puzzles’s grasp. For now.
They ran and hid in a room. It was dark. Not pitch black but pretty dark. As their eyes adjusted, they noticed 3 chairs by each other. It was a bit weird. Mario took a seat without thinking much about it. 
“Mario, you can’t do that!” 4 tried to warn Mario who really didn’t give a single damn. 
“Why can’t I? It’s just a chair!”
3 and 4 were staring at Mario for a bit, nothing seemed to happen.
“Eh, might as well” 3 took another seat.
4 gave into peer pressure, sitting down himself.
“Okay, but we still need to figure out what to do about this guy… But more importantly, how to save our friends.”
“Yeah… I don’t get it. I thought we got rid of him then!” 3 grumbled.
“If anything, he acted as your wingman with how long you took to get together” Mario said rather nonchalantly. 
The 2 stared at him.
“I bet we would’ve realised without him!” 4 felt upset, 3 patted him on the back.
“Yeah! And our confession to each other would’ve been so much better if he didn’t step in!” 3 was upset at the idea that Mario proposed as well.
“Not to my knowledge”
“What do you know anyways?” 3 was agitated.
Mario just grinned so wide, even in the dark it was annoying.
Just as 3 was considering hitting Mario, light appeared in the room, in the form of a TV.
3 and 4 felt rather scared, jumping into each other’s arms, maybe even considering leaving while Mario looked excited.
“Yay TV time!” Mario cheered, as if he wasn’t JUST chased by a TV headed man out to kill him.
3 and 4 sat back, trying to calm down. A film started playing.
As the credits rolled, they recognised some names. Their friends were playing in the movie.
3 and 4 shared a glance while Mario was almost glued to the screen. 
Then the title came up.
“The fragmented director”
The scene opened with a montage of a cheerful kid, drawing and getting older over time. Just as the time passed, his drawings were getting better too, more advanced, as if it could escape the screen and get you. Especially because they were animated. The film continued with the now teenager making more and more things. So much of it felt like a reference to something, especially from big movies and shows. 
3 and Mario didn’t quite see it, but 4 was starting to get uncomfortable with how alone the kid seemed to be. Nobody else appeared in the scenes so far, just this kid and his drawings. 4 could relate in his own way. Thinking about all the times he locked himself up to work on things, just as lonely as this character, chosen but still painful loneliness. He was starting to feel it maybe a little too much…
“Dude.. are you crying?” 3 whispered to him.
As 4 took his hand to his face, indeed, tears were streaming down his face. How did he not realise it?
Mario looked at him too, immediately feeling worried for 4 as he leaned on him, trying to give him at least some physical comfort.
“It’s okay… I’m okay… just… a little too relatable”
3 shook his head, holding 4 himself. 4 was trapped in the hold of the 2 people he cared about the most…It was reassuring as he managed to look back at the screen.
The next scene began as the adult version of the once teen entered an office. As the scene continued, it became obvious that he got a job in the animation industry. He was still rather painfully lonely, even if there were people in the background. They were never directly interacting with him.
As the scene went on, he seemed to have more and more workload on his desk. His hand was shaking, his eyes not focused, with eyebags. He was overworked. He couldn’t stand it. It was obvious. 
The scene ended with him finally clocking out and heading home. 
4 was starting to feel weird about the relation of the title to the actual contents of the movie. This guy was nowhere near to being at such a high position, neither did he seem fragmented. It gave him a bad feeling. 
It was late at night when the scene opened again. The man couldn’t sleep. He got up and went outside. The night looked peaceful, everything looked serene. The sky was just as pretty as ever.
The man looked up at the sky, as if wishing for something, then he went inside. 
He seemed to think for a bit, before getting out a box full of DVDs of movies he could watch. As he was searching, he didn’t hear it. He didn’t feel it. He didn’t know what was coming. It was loud, sudden. Fatal. It ripped his head right off, whatever it was. The scene was dark enough that you wouldn’t be able to see too much detail, just enough to make out what happened. It left 4 stunned, but 3 seemed to take it worse as he noticeably hugged him tighter when the scene happened.
The scene slowly closed with slowly zooming in on the TV, kind of damaged yet for some reason it still seemed to be on and flickering.
The scene went dark, then it opened in the studio the guy worked at. It seemed the workplace was more alive. With some people chatting on a break, others working on stuff together, helping each other. Although it wasn’t corporate grade efficient, people were definitely having more fun.
Slowly, as the scene panned from everyone working, it seemed to go to one door. A closed door. The door slowly opened. As if for a split second it looked bloody everywhere, the red mixing with a familiar technicolour mixed within, making the scene pretty yet still gruesome. However the scene went back to normal, as if nothing was ever out of the ordinary. 
The door revealed the all too familiar Mr Puzzles sitting behind the desk in a rather comfortable chair, directly looking at the camera. He was smiling, although it started to feel more threatening. 
The scene switched back to the dark, red scene. Puzzles was holding a guy, limp. His expression and the amount of blood on him seemed to indicate that he killed the man. There was just enough detail on there to see that the dead man was dressed in formal attire. It seemed similar to what Puzzles was wearing, as if to indicate the idea that he took his place. The screen suddenly went black. 
Then the outside of the studio was shown. Time seemed to have passed, as the text “A few years later” showed up on the screen. The studio was much bigger than what it seemed to be before. It looked like Puzzles brought the place to success. Just as someone with a gun just barely managed to appear on the side of the frame, the scene changed, being on the inside, full of very happy workers. Maybe too happy. Uncanny happy. But they were working.
The scene then switched to a smug Mr Puzzles, looking at something. The scene then switched to what he was looking at, which seemed to be a list on a computer with other studios’ names crossed out. It kind of looked like a hit list for competition in a way.
 But just then. Gunshot. Screaming. And bam, the atmosphere changed. The environment coated red, with bodies littered everywhere, mercilessly. The figure that showed up in the frame before walked by, just as mysterious as before. Walking till they reached an all too familiar office. Though this time, it wasn’t Puzzles’s doing that everywhere was covered in blood. Perhaps the movie was just foreshadowing this. Because it was hard to deny that the scenes when 3 and 4 thought about it - Mario was busy thinking about spaghetti at the sight of the colour red - were way too similar for it to be a coincidence. 
The door opens again. Puzzles looked terrified but not shocked. It was almost like he was expecting this to happen. 
“I’m doing this for everyone” the chilling text read on the screen, oddly enough it was centered. Behind it the gun was slowly raised at Puzzles, who didn’t seem to do anything about it. He was expecting it for sure. 
The screen went dark as soon as the gun was fired. Then a familiar scene showed up. With 3 and 4 when they were in the ruins of the studio. There wasn’t any audio but it was obvious they were being gay. Mario teasingly pointed at the screen, making both 3 and 4 roll their eyes.
However, after they were out from the crumbling building, once they were gone, a hand reached out from the ruins. A very familiar hand at this point. And that was where it ended. Although an abrupt ending, they could sort of start to guess what happened after this.
4 wished he could beat everything that’s left alive in him at this point. He was really tired of this guy. Although the movie had him kind of confused. How did he come back to life? What was even the thing that killed him? And… How did he acquire anti meme energy?
He hated coming back to this same point that had his head in the clouds, clouds that compared to the worst storms. He did get headaches from thinking about it sometimes. He was too curious yet he couldn’t figure it out… The Godbox was no more. They destroyed it. Wasn’t that the only place where anti memes would occur? It didn’t make any sense. And yet he tried and struggled for an answer either way to no avail. But it felt like he was missing something. Like a missing fragment of a puzzle that just wouldn’t complete.
He looked to 3, seemingly with a similar reaction. 3 looked back at him. While first with confusion, his expression heavily changed when he realised.
“We brought this bitch back to life!!”
“What?” 4 was as confused as ever. Clueless idiot.
“Our meme energy? I think… I don’t know…” 3 looked down, not quite sure now himself either.
“Hmmm” Mario joined in the convo “Maybe SMG1 and 2 could help?” 
“Wow, smart!... From Mario. What a day” 3 laughed. 4 laughed too, maybe looking at 3 a bit too strongly.
Mario rolled his eyes at the gays, getting up from the chair.
“We don’t have all day… besides” Mario patted his tummy “Mario is about to crave some mad spaghetti”
3 and 4 exchanged glances, before they got up and walked to the door as well, cautiously opening it. Nothing seemed to be around. Nobody. Not a soul. So empty their tiny breaths could echo. 
They left the room, walking out in the chaos Mario left. This felt… too easy… Though, they still didn’t know what happened to their friends. Only thing 4 noticed was they sometimes showed up in the background of that peculiar movie. They weren’t exactly in the focus so it took him a bit to realise that they were appearing from time to time. 
Just as they were about to walk out of the door, Puzzles appeared again. His screen was fixed. It was quite fast for being so damaged.
“Mario can kick you again!!” Mario piped up “I’ll beat your ass”
Puzzles flicked his hand and stopped Mario in place.
He walked up to the other 2 as he shoved Mario out of the way.
“Enough of him, I wanted to offer you 2 something” his now well known menacing gaze came back.
“What?? No, I don’t want anything from you!!” 4 could care less.
“Really now? Not even your friends?” Puzzles laughed.
“Our… our friends”
“You’re a sick freak, I hope you know that” 3 tried to comfort 4 while staring daggers.
“I’ve been told, yes… but… my deal for you, SMG4”
4 stayed silent.
“You see… I’ve never seen SUCH a strong need for great content as yours. Your will to create… It’s rather marvelous. And I need it. If you joined me… We could make something perfect. I know… I know how long you have been chasing that, even if you don’t tell anybody. I know”
4  looked at him shocked. He couldn’t reply. Puzzles wasn’t wrong.
“Seems I gotcha, didn’t I?” he laughed “Regardless… I was hoping you could join me in this endless endeavor” 
“4…?” 3 looked at 4 worried.
3 didn’t take long getting angry.
“He- He’s not leaving this world behind! I know he enjoys it more when it’s authentic and fun, he doesn’t need you and your artificial concept of perfection”
“Well, just look at him! Don’t you see it in his eyes?” Puzzles leaned closer to 4 “I can see it… that utterly strong urge in him to always prove himself… to prove himself worthy of people’s attention. And I can give that to him, unlike you” 
“I helped him finish the perfect video though”
“And I got him there. I gave him the needed tool to make sure it could even happen in the first place. You 2 don’t even come close to what my tools can do on their own… Imagine how much greater… maybe even both of you would be? Wouldn’t it be great? Finally… achieving perfection, the height of creation… and, leaving behind the times when people didn’t even care about you, SMG3”
Puzzles grinned wide, seeing how he managed to get to the both of them until he got hit hard on his head.
“HUH??” he turned around to see Mario “HOW DID YOU UNFREEZE YOURSELF??”
“Kiss my ass” Mario threw it back before he started running around like crazy. Puzzles could feel something snap in him as he went to chase after him, even if that wasn’t the logical thing to do.
3 and 4 used that time to get away and find 1 and 2 to figure out what’s going on.
It took a while but at least they got away from Puzzles’s grasps.
“3…?”
“Yeah, 4?”
“You… You think Mario will be fine?”
“I… I’m sure. You know he’s strong”
“Yeah but-” 4 stopped “I feel guilty. We just left him there”
3 stopped beside 4, slightly annoyed.
“Maybe… we can lessen his suffering if we speed up and try to get to SMG1 and 2 as fast as possible!” 3 was rather snarky but it worked, as 4 shook his head then looked up to the sky, hope sparking within him.
“You’re right”
“Of course I am, now let’s get going, you lovable loser”
4 laughed at the name before he hurried along.
They got into the city. It was rather empty. No buses even going around. Cars left unattended. 3 already had his villainous look come up on his face.
“4, we gotta steal a car, dude”
“No… Not today, 3. We’ve gotta get to them without committing several crimes along the way.”
3 rolled his eyes.
They looked around more. Waited around. Genuinely, everywhere was empty.
“Okay… we’ll steal a car”
3 immediately chose one that he had been eying for a bit and got into the driver seat, speedrunning hacking it so it can be driven without a key. 4 just took the shotgun seat with a tired sigh.
“Got it!” 3 cheered.
“Alright, just start driving or who knows what will happen to Mario”
“Already ahead of you!”
And they sped off. No cops anyways so 3 wasn’t respecting any of the rules of the road. That much was expected though.
They got there pretty quickly considering there was nobody to chase them either for speeding.
They got out and knocked on 1 and 2’s door in their apartment which they had to sadly break into. There wasn’t anyone there to stop them anyways.
An exhausted 1 opened the door, who looked at them weird for a second before feeling relieved.
“Thank god you 2 are okay! Come in” he motioned for them to go inside.
Inside they saw 2 being greatly buried in research. It seemed they were looking for something. Saiko was there as well, doing her part in research as well. Though she looked more exhausted than the other 2.
“...Saiko? You’re okay?” 4 felt surprised.
She took a bit to look away from the book she was trying to get through.
“Okay is an overstatement”
“She’s been looking for a way to help Melony” 1 added context.
“What happened to her?” 4 asked.
“You didn’t see? Her face cracked, and from what I found… It might not be so great. But I… I’ve been looking either way. I wish I could help her”
“Geez… 4, maybe we’ve overdone the whole uh…” 3 turned to 4.
“We’ve been way too busy… we barely realised what was happening… How long have you been here?”
“About… a few days?”
“8 days and counting” 1 said before going back to searching himself. 
“Well… 3 and I figured something out… And it might not look so great”
“Oh? A new lead is probably what we need right now” 2 crawled out of the books then yawned. Although he seemed intent to listen either way.
“So… I’m pretty sure it’s our fault…”
“What?” 1 looked up surprised “What did you do?”
“You remember that big amount of energy we caused when we uh… mended our guardian bond?”
“...Oh”
“The TV that had been haunting us used it to come back to life”
“It seems that was his plan all along” 3 commented “What an insidious freak… kinda envious in a sense”
4 looked at him, unamused.
“Anyways” 4 continued “I don’t know if I mentioned it before but… I’m starting to feel more and more scared about the idea that he had access to anti meme energy”
“Yeah… that shouldn’t be possible. We destroyed the Godbox!” 2, although tired, was still very adamant about that.
“At least we thought it seems…” 1 said.
Everyone looked at him.
“But we saw it blow up!” 4 joined.
“But you said it yourself. And both of you felt anti meme energy so…. you would know, no?” 
4 wanted to combat it with something but he couldn’t.
“I just don’t… I don’t get it… I thought we destroyed it”
“Wait…” 3 thought for a bit “We didn’t destroy it… it was only blown up”
“Isn’t… that the same thing?”
“No! You see… explosions don’t destroy anything in a meaningful way… they tear things apart. If you exploded right now, we would still have the material you were made of!”
“... You want me to blow up?” 4 looked sad.
“No, you idiot” 3 chuckled “I just brought it up as an example. But if you continue that way…” 3 winked at 4 before getting back to the issue at hand. 4 understood the implications and became rather flustered.
“So you’re saying…” 1 seemed to catch on “fragments of the Godbox could be still out there?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying”
“Oh no…” 2 seemed to start panicking a little.
“Oh no indeed” 4 added on. He didn’t seem any better.
“We would… love to go right away but” 1 yawned “Well you know…”
Saiko already seemed to lean against the wall as a book slipped out from her grasp.
“Mhmm” she seemed to agree with the unspoken need to just pass out right about then.
“I don’t know… will Mario hold out until then?” 4 thought out loud, which made 1 and 2 go wide eyed despite their god awful sleepiness.
“What… What?” 1 questioned.
“We… only managed to get away because of Mario distracting the insane TV headed guy” 3 confessed, it felt heavy either way.
“Oh no..”
“Do we… Do we trust Mario? We… can’t go back alone” 4 proposed, although he didn’t feel good about it.
“I… I’m afraid yes” 1 felt just as bad about it. Everyone did. Mario didn’t deserve this.
They all decided to go rest up for today, they wouldn’t be quite as useful this tired anyways. 
Although the guest room was taken, there was still a measly couch for 3 and 4. Saiko offered to switch but the 2 declined, saying she needs the best rest possible. It was great to feel cared for. She would’ve felt bad if she declined at that point.
Although 1, 2 and Saiko were quickly all asleep in their respectful sleeping places, 3 and 4 had a harder time.
4 laid on top of 3, it was at least a nice feeling to be close like this. 3 was  petting 4’s head, which 4 laid on 3’s chest. 
“Are you able to sleep?” 3 asked him softly.
4 raised his head up.
“I’m trying to…”
“I’m worried too, 4…”
“I just hope he’ll be okay”
“We’ll make sure of it, okay? I promise” 3 held 4’s face in an attempt to comfort him. 4 scooted a little closer to 3’s face to give him a short kiss.
“Okay” 4 smiled.
“Now sleep, blue, a long day is ahead of us tomorrow… as if we never have big evil to fight… we should take a vacation at some point”
4 chuckled at the suggestion.
“You’re right”
They finally laid down for good, managing to sort of fall asleep.
Mario didn’t have such a great time with Puzzles. The man was chasing him endlessly and was trying to trap him in some sort of substance. The whole area around the studio was covered in it. They both felt tired and yet Puzzles persisted, seemingly angrier and angrier with every strike he attempted to throw Mario’s way. His aim was definitely getting worse. But he got so tired, he raised both of his hands up together and in a downwards motion made enough appear to cover the place with it. Mario wasn’t able to run anymore. He got sucked right in. But Puzzles did so too.
Then, Mario found himself in a dark void.
“Am I dead?” he screamed as he got up “Is this hell??”
“Shut up, heathen” Puzzles didn’t take his behaviour well “You’re being too loud for my taste”
“Am I in hell??” Mario whisper shouted.
Puzzles rolled his eyes.
“No. I actually accidentally trapped both of us” he sighed “I have to be trapped with YOU of all people” 
“You don’t like Mario and his sexiness, huh, TV man?”
“You PUNCHED in my screen??”
“You lived? Haha, cope seethe” 
“YoouUUUU” he got up again, going for Mario’s throat.
Mario tried to punch his screen again, though he couldn’t quite reach. In a moment of desperation, he bit down on Puzzles’s hand as hard as he could, making him yelp in pain, yanking his hand away.
“You ANIMAL”
“Rawwr” Mario looked ready to fight again as he lunged at Puzzles.
They fought around for a while, until both felt tired enough to collapse. Kind of weird how they ended up beside each other. Looking up into the endless void was… somehow calming. Even for Mario. He almost forgot he was stuck in some of the worst situations he ever got into.
“Why did you steal my friends again, TV man?” Mario asked, turning to Puzzles. He seemed to be genuinely curious.
It took Puzzles by surprise.
“Oh? Well… I wanted to make my studio even larger so I can have the biggest and best studio in existence”
“What’s the point of that?”
“Wha… What? Are you kidding? Being accomplished like that? It’s the best thing anyone could have happen in their lives!”
Mario stared at him and slapped him.
Puzzles once again angry, he got up, trying to tackle him. This man annoyed him so goddamn much. Mario evaded him and tried to fight back but he was failing at hurting Puzzles as well. It was almost like they were syncing up in the worst possible way. Missing and dodging in harmony.
“Are you happy?” the question sounded from Mario’s mouth, echoing in Puzzles’s mind.
“What?”
“Are you happy?”
“Why are you asking me shit like this? I thought you were a bumbling idiot”
“Not right now. Are you happy, Mr Puzzles?”
“Oh… Oh! I get it now!” Puzzles got up and turned away from Mario “Your personality is inconsistent! That’s why my powers weren’t working on you! All along, your odd character PROTECTED YOU”
Puzzles whipped around, the anger was kind of familiar for Mario at this point. Another fight, another feeling of exhaustion kicking in. Even the fight felt familiar. Maybe it was just the weird atmosphere of this dark void but he felt sort of less worried now.
Once again, they ended up lying beside each other. 
“You didn’t answer my question” Mario sounded calm.
“And I…. won’t ever”
Mario sighed. They both stayed silent for a while.
Mario wasn’t the one to usually think but he did find the behaviour weird.
“You gave up on killing me pretty fast I’ll say” Mario joked. Puzzles looked at him unamused, no verbal reaction.
After resting enough, Puzzles sat up. He kind of felt hopeless in this silence. 
“You know what, Mario?” he looked to him “I’m not happy”
“Thought so” Mario sat up. 
“Do you… want to know why?” 
“I’m bored anyways”
“Well, you’ve… seen my movie… you know…”
“I know?”
“There’s something inside me that shouldn’t be” he raised his hand to his neck, gently brushing his fingers just above his collarbones. 
Mario only now seemed to catch on. It took him this long to realise that whatever crashed into Puzzles’s living place that night was actually inside him.
“Heh, there’s lot of things inside me as well that shouldn’t be”
“…What?”
“Dumpster”
Puzzles looked at him horrified then chuckled.
“You’re truly a unique kind of a man, Mario”
“I knooow… very sexy and awesome” 
Puzzles rolled his eyes at Mario’s grand modesty. He was starting to find it weird how he was actually starting to have peace with having to be stuck with Mario. Hell, it was a little worrying. 
He never felt this way… Like, enjoying someone’s company? He only ever loved working on his beautiful creations, people were like filler to his life. What changed? Or is Mario really… this special? He didn’t know and never did being unsure in his life make him so conflicted. He always liked to make sure he knew everything, he thought he went into  his plan knowing everything at this point. His plan was flawless. And yet Mario could walk in and ruin it all. And take away the perfection he wanted so much but… In the end, Mario would be right. He doubted it would make him happy. In a weird and twisted way, he felt alright with everything being ruined.
“So… how long are we gonna be stuck here, TV dude?” Mario asked, though seemingly not worried.
“I’m… not sure myself”
“Oh… OH?? Are we stuck here forever?? What have you done?” Mario screamed, jumping up, grabbing Puzzles by the straps of his pants. 
Something hit differently about Mario’s grasp on him as he felt a sharp pain like that fateful day. He screamed as he pushed Mario away.
Mario was confused then saw the state he put him in. Although he tortured his friends, it was still hard to not feel bad for him.
“TV guy…?”
He was in so much pain he couldn’t speak. He slowly laid down, very carefully to not hurt himself even more. Mario sat beside him. His curiosity… He slowly reached out and touched that same place.
Puzzles winced in pain. He didn’t get why. 
He pressed his hand against Puzzles’s collarbone fully.
While Puzzles was in utterly diabolical pain, Mario got reminded of something. This energy he felt. He saw this before. Images flashed in his brain, remembering everything from the time they went out there… Outside of their universe. The anti meme energy. He thought he wouldn’t need to face this traumatic memory again but… Guess he was wrong. Things now started to make sense to him. Although he didn’t know how it was possible. He didn’t need to know that to see that it was. 
He didn’t know what was driving his body but he pressed harder. With both of his hands now. Puzzles screaming didn’t deter him. When he tried to push him away, he sat on his arms, making him ultimately vulnerable to Mario. He didn’t know how to feel. He pushed and pushed until he could reach inside. It was nothing like he thought it would be. Puzzles was warm like a person but not quite of the same consistency. Until he felt something hard within him that didn’t quite fit inside. The memories he had now felt even more real. It sure made him struggle. Even he stopped for a second, especially how it added onto it. Making it more terrifying than it already was. Giving him images of a world where he lost 3 and 4 to a force way beyond him. That was scary to him.
He shook his head. He knew what he had to do. He pulled again. Pulled until what was inside Puzzles seemed to loosen from its place. Puzzles fainted by this point, probably from the unbearable pain. Even though he wasn’t quite human anymore, pain was still a weakness of his.
He finally pulled it out, black blood escaping Puzzles body as he did. Mario felt a little weird now… Did he just kill a man? He wasn’t sure.
He was now alone in the void, with the wretched fragment in his hand, echoing past nightmares in his ears.
His act settled in even more now as he pressed his hands against the wound, not really knowing what to do. It only soaked his hands even more. He desperately grasped into him, just trying to think of something, anything. He didn’t want to be left alone. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Puzzles but it’s much worse without him. That was something he knew for sure. He couldn’t lose him now, no matter what.
As he desperately grasped, light appeared, in the form of dim white strings, seemingly loosely closing up the wound. It wasn’t perfect but the bleeding was getting less intense. Mario didn’t know he could do that. He stared for a bit, not really knowing where to put it.
He sighed, not thinking about it further. He just didn’t want to up his kill count… And he didn’t want to be lonely himself either. He could always get so caught up being around people all the time that he forgot how it feels to be alone. And it wasn’t a good feeling. Though the bleeding stopping made him feel a bit better as he lied down, closing his eyes.
It felt like forever passed as he kind of just fell asleep beside Puzzles. Just because he had the weirdest moment of his life didn’t mean he couldn’t go to sleep with ease. He woke up to movement beside Puzzles as he was lightly clinging to him in his sleep.
“Huh… I’m… not dead yet?” Puzzles spoke, his voice was weak. He looked at Mario. He was finding a fondness he didn’t know he could have for someone.
“Nhggh… Nope… Mario fixed you up with his… white thing”
“Wh… White thing?” Puzzles was confused.
Mario pointed to his wound. The strings were still visible.
“Oh you… you saved me?”
Mario shrugged.
“Mario didn’t know he could do that”
Puzzles chuckled.
“Very well. Thank you though. I owe you”
Mario smiled at him.
“Well, getting us out of here would be great”
“Mhmm… I don’t know how to still” Puzzles frowned.
Mario patted him on the back.
“At least this thing is out of your body” he showed him the fragment.
“Oh- Oh right” he stared at it “What… is this again?”
“Mario’s not the best at explaining things. It is evil though”
“I do agree… it did kinda kill me there for a second” he chuckled
Mario chuckled too.
“You know, Mario… Isn’t this… weird?”
“What is?”
“I don’t feel like getting rid of you anymore”
“Well if you got rid of Mario the world would end so I’m glad” he grinned as if he didn’t just drop information on Puzzles that kinda escaped him before.
“The world would end?”
“You see, Mario is the avatar and if he gets killed for good, the world falls apart”
“A… Avatar?”
“I’ll ask SMG1 and 2 to drop the lore on you” 
“Oookay” Puzzles was a bit confused but he could wait. He would wait all the time needed to have answers if he needed to. It wasn’t the first time waiting rewarded him. He knew patience made greatness.
“By the way…. Mario’s wondering how you’re feeling now?” he looked at him, feeling a bit bad.
“I feel… free in a way. Mind’s less foggy and all that. Thanks, Mario”
“Hehe, I saved the day!”
“I’m still in pain though” he looked away.
“Damn…”
He grabbed Mario’s hand gently.
“It’s probably just the fact that you opened my body without any anesthetics. Which you wouldn’t have been able to get anyways”
“Heh… Mario sees your point” Mario squeezed his hand then thought, as if the brain cells in his empty head decided to align so well this time, he could have a genius idea “I’ve got an idea, Mr TV, but you have to listen to my instructions”
It had been a bit since last night 1, 2, 3, 4 and Saiko talked. Everyone was awake, preparing for their mission. Although 3 and 4 were a bit sore from the couch. It really wasn’t made for sleeping. 
“So…what’s the plan?” 2 asked.
“Well uh…” 4 thought for a bit.
3 took a bomb out of his pocket.
“Can I?” he asked with a silly little smile.
“No” 4 said bluntly. He didn’t give a shit.
3 sulked a bit.
“Well, we know it has to do with the Godbox so… we have to go in, prepared to fight it”
“I guess the best we can do is go in and hope?” 4 sounded unsure of himself.
“Get yourself together, 4. I know you can be a coward but now is not the time” Saiko commented, making everyone look “Now is not the time to question your power to stop this, our friends are on the line here… Melony” the last part from her was rather quiet. She always tried to look out for her when she could so knowing this happened right under her nose filled her with a different kind of fury.
“I say we go in and kick ass” she finished her statement.
“Kicking TV ass does sound good” 3 added with a sly smirk on his face.
“Let’s get going then, shall we?” 1 said as he then led everyone out
It was quite the trip. Almost felt like a little road trip. 3 and 4 fell asleep along it, considering they didn’t exactly get the best sleep then.
Saiko was beside them, kind of trying to ignore them. She might have been a bit jealous. She wasn’t able to see any of the girls for a while now. Kind of hard to live like her, standoffish yet lover of touch.
She slowly got used to it. 
“Oh, they fell asleep?” 2 looked back, while 1 was driving.
“Yeah… I guess they didn’t sleep well last night?”
“Probably the couch being uncomfortable to sleep on” 2 rubbed his chin, as if he was thinking strongly about it.
“If it was anything else I’m kicking their asses, I’ll tell you that” 1 added on quietly. 2 giggled while Saiko facepalmed.
They got there, to the wretched studio, which was covered in black goop. Not fully but there was definitely a place where there was a lot more.
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askcometcare · 9 hours
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Does Ally feel sorry for betraying Sly’s trust all those years ago?
OOC: good question!
Yes, she does. I think I mentioned in a previous post that Ally was 11 and genuinely just being a stupid kid. Honestly, it wasn't even done maliciously, it was more a "hey I found this out what do you think" cuz she thought it was funny that kit didn't understand the potential consequences of. Another thing to note, kit didn't have feelings for Howie until she was over 12, so this wasn't a jealousy thing. I don't want anyone to assume or perceive Ally as some kind of heartless monster for making a mistake when she wasn't even a teenager yet. She was literally a child.
Nowadays, her clashing with Sly is because of Sly herself's hostility if anything. "Returning the negativity" if that makes sense. She thinks Sly doesn't carry fen's weight and doesn't understand fully just how affected Sly was by the falling out, similar to Howie. She feels bad about what happened but like...
I don't know if everyone realizes that the family doesn't actually know about Sly's depression. The only people who know are their parents because she refuses to talk about it to anyone. If the rest of the family was AWARE of Sly's mental health issues, she would not be treated as just some shut-in, poor hygiene, negative and complaining asshole who constantly yells at everybody. Because that's literally all they see of her.
I think people need to understand that there's a lot of nuance to this situation and nobody involved is a genuinely horrible person
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being aromantic for me is a funny thing, cuz, like. i cannot dismantle my aromanticism from my allosexuality. 
i mistook my sexual attraction as romantic interest for so long. cuz kids aren't supposed to want sex, right? you're supposed to start wantin' it after puberty, right, that's what middle school sex ed told me. but that wasn't true for me, and i didn't have the words for what was actually going on with me, and i was taught to be so ashamed of my bisexuality, which snowballed into a shame for sexuality in general. so, when i would stare at my old girl classmate's birthmark thinking about tracing her skin with my fingertips, and when i wanted my childhood best guy friend to think i looked good in tank tops before i even had tits? i just. assumed that was romantic crushes. because i was little, and i wasn't supposed to have sexual feelings, and i wasn't supposed to be bi. i wasn't supposed to be aro.
i used to force myself to fantasize about what young teenagers are supposed to imagine their first time to be; all rose petals and i-love-yous and with someone you've been dating for a long time. perfectly romantic, right. 
and i had someone i had been with for a while; someone that loved me so much it hurt, someone that wanted me. except they wanted to touch me for such deeply romantic reasons the thought made my stomach churn. i told them i wanted to do things like kiss more often and maybe makeout, and they assumed that i was lying to them because of my awkwardness with the topic of sex. i wasn't just uncomfortable because it was sex, i just... so thoroughly did not want the type of sex they wanted. i didn't want rose petals. honestly, i wanted a quickie with some nameless fellow tranny in a mall bathroom. i didn't want my girlfriend to fuck me because they loved me, i didn't even want them to love me at all. so i just never went there with them, and i broke it off with probably having kissed them less than a dozen times. not the norm for someone you see for two years, huh?
being aromantic has always allowed for my bisexuality to run buckwild. so it's hilarious when i see arophobes try to make all aroallos out to be sex-obsessed, as if sexuality is an inherently bad thing to experience and sex is an inherently bad thing to want. like romantic attraction and romantic relationships are inherently good, like they're pure, but only if there's normal sex involved in it. "normal sex." such a subjective concept to be so wound up about. as if there's never been divinity in loveless sex, as if sexual attraction can't be a type of love on its own, as if specifically romantic love is always, always more important than pleasure for pleasure's sake. like you can't want to make someone feel good just because they're someone. 
accepting being aro has answered a lot of questions i had about what the fuck was going through my head when i was dating my ex, and even more about the crushes i assumed were romantic. my aromanticism has led to me embracing my bisexuality in ways i never thought possible. i don't know what this vaguely ventish ramble is, but i didn't even know there was an aromantic visibility day until an hour or so ago. so. i am so grateful to be as aromantic as i am bisexual and as bisexual as i am aromantic. happy birthday to my people, and happy pride month to us all!
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dimespin · 9 hours
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So that bit where Carbon says that ahe would've decked the people being cruel to PenWell-- are Saratoans prone to punching people, as a species? I thought about it a bit, and I mean, obviously it's possible with their biomechanics, but they tend to lead with their faces, right, and they've got those big honking fangs, and they have claws that could cut into their hands in a fist. Idk I just wanna know about Saratoan fighting styles now
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Saratoans are all in a mutually assured destruction situation with each other with their venom. In order to have a society they have to agree not to use it - spitting is obviously off limits, but biting too, since venom floods their mouths when they are feeling upset or scared or aggressive, so even if they weren't thinking of it as venom use, venom gets in there.
So the entire species has a strong inhibition toward spitting or biting at others of their species, to such a degree that even when expressing a desire for violence most will say anything besides "I'll bite you"
(and thus saying that is a more serious threat, because it's not just stating a desire for violence but also "I am so angry/scared/etc., I've overcome the instinctual inhibition")
When anyone tries to start a fight with someone else it's generally extremely ritualized. Humans often find it funny that they'll huff and puff and make a lot of smoke and shout at each other and then the actual fight is like... gentle shoving.
The intention is to show off health/strength, because a strong healthy dragon also has strong healthy venom. It's an implied threat "imagine how bad it would be for you if I used my real weapon. Back down"
When they do "punch" it's honestly not punching. It's more like a karate chop.
Carbon especially is affected by exposure to humans and human media also, and sometimes says things she's heard in movies because she thinks it sounds cooler than what would actually happen if she got in an actual fight (her actual fighting style is more scratching/slapping/pulling hair)
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chosolala · 1 day
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ᡣ𐭩 •。ꪆৎ ˚⋅ jjk birthday headcannons
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okay so! this is just my headcannons for how i think the jujutsu kaisen characters would your birthdays!! (mostly relationship stuff and how they’d suprise you)
characters: gojo, geto, nanami, choso, yuji, megumi, yuta, inumaki
⛧°。 ⋆༺♱༻⋆。 °⛧
satoru gojo
forces everyone to throw u a big suprise party but is so stupidly obvious about it
like he can’t even think of a good excuse to get you into the room everyone’s waiting to suprise you in so he ends up just dragging you in
he gets you something like a promise ring or something nerdy you like like a rare figure or something
also throws a really dumb card in there
he’s laughing before you even open it
suguru geto
he gives me like acts of service vibes so he’d probably do something really big for you
like he builds you a car or something 😭😭
but like more realistically he would do something really sweet like go on a hunt around town for your favorite desert or cake then take you out for a fun day in the park or at an amusement park, whatever you want to do really :)
he struggles with choosing a gift because he’s so scared you won’t like it so he probably just settled for a bunch of snacks and a very thoughtful card
kento nanami
he does NOT play about your birthday
he would book you guys a room at some romantic resort for the weekend
expect expensive gifts and chocolates
massages, spa days, late night hot tub trips, candle lit dinners, this weekend is all about you
all these pictures are going up on his facebook so make sure you look cute 😭
choso kamo
i feel like he wouldn’t really understand the big deal around birthdays but he’d try his best
he makes you cupcakes and gives you a hug 😭 he’s trying his best he doesn’t know what to do
if you get upset by how he’s acting he would probably bring you to a cool spot he knows with a good view of the city
you guys just talk and eat junk food while the sun sets :]
yuji itadori
he’d probably try the suprise party approach but only for the two of you
he’d set up everything in his room and surprise you with gifts, snacks, balloons, everything
he does NOT play about birthday planning, he makes sure you feel special
he probably takes you out bowling or go karting, then you end the night watching movies and playing videos games back at his place
megumi fushiguro
he doesn’t really know what to do either
he knows he doesn’t do much for his birthday but he doesn’t want to not do anything for you and make you feel like he doesn’t care
so he buys you one of those lunchbox cakes and a cool manga he thinks you’d like
he also invites you to his dorm to play board games
when it’s time for you to head back he apologizes for how your birthday went, he feels like he didn’t do enough
you have to reassure him a lot for him to feel like he did good
yuta okkotsu
he also surprises you
he convinced the others to keep you busy while he decorated your room with balloons, ribbons, sweets and gifs
when you get back to your room he greets you with those confetti poppers and a bouquet of flowers
he takes you out to eat to your favorite restaurant ;)
toge inumaki
he would probably make you think he forgot your birthday for like an hour (his plan was to make you think he forgot until night then suprise you) but he literally couldn’t wait and ended up saying happy birthday to you pretty quick
he got you a bunch of snacks and manga
you guys spend the day playing your favorite video games and laughing together
he is surprisingly very funny for someone who can hardly talk
————————————————————
this was actually SO FUN to write!! should i write how they would want to spend their birthdays? lmk :P
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teriri-sayes · 23 hours
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Reactions to Crazier Bastard's Chapter 305
Brief summary: 5 people from CP came. HD meets his disciples, Clopeh and Hannah. HD wants to spar with CH.
==========
The first batch of CP people came, and they were:
Heavenly Demon - leader of the Demon Cult
Fist King Mok Hyeon - representing the imperial family
Jegal Mi Ryeo - female general commander of the Murim Alliance's military force; Caleism believer (?)
Tang Yu - Poison Queen; 50 y/o matriarch of the Tang Clan of Sichuan
Sima Jung - Trash of the Evil Alliance; son of Sima Pyeong, the Evil Alliance leader; Toonka's friend
All of them were surprised to see Cale's true appearance. Sima Jung immediately searching for Toonka was cute though. 😂 There was a funny scene between him and Raon:
Sima Jung: I greet the great elder. Sheritt: ??? eyes shaking Sima Jung: My father told me to always ask the great elder how he is, and to treat him with courtesy. Raon: tilts head ??? Sima Jung-ya! Why am your great elder? I'm only 7 years old! Sima Jung: No. He is my father's teacher, so I should call him with a great title, but please understand that I have not forgotten the lessons of the great elder, so I can only call him this. Raon: Hmm. I don't mind! Sima Jung: That's what I want to do. Great elder. Raon: Then do so! Cale: confused Fist King: Before we came here, he was beaten up by Sima Pyeong for three days and nights. Cale: Aha. immediately understands
Sima Pyeong is a great dad... 😂😂😂 Now if only Deruth had disciplined trash Cale... but I guess everyone secretly knew that og!Cale was just acting trash? Anyway, Sheritt's reaction to her son being called great elder was so funny. 🤣🤣🤣
If I recall, Jegal Mi Ryeo was somehow converted (?) to Caleism in the CP arc by the end, so I'm now excited to hear Kim Hae-il's current reputation in CP. Did Cale get more murim titles? 😂
What happened to Tang Yu was sad. The Dragon Lord of Aipotu destroyed her hometown of Sichuan, and half of her clan died during that time. Fortunately, the kittens were interested in her. Tang Yu and Hong recognized each other's poison, and On (and Ron) seemed to be interested in her assassin-like skills.
While the four were led to their rooms by Ron, Cale personally guided HD to HD's assigned room in the Black Castle. Why? Because Cale wanted HD to meet his "disciples", the people who inherited his power.
Hannah was acting awkward, but grateful to HD. But she was shocked when HD said she swung her sword ignorantly. She thought he was calling her ignorant, but HD was actually complimenting her. He said that it was just her style, and did not mean she herself was ignorant.
However, HD said that CH would be a better teacher to her. He described HD as someone who pretended to be gentle but was clever, and pretended to be ignorant but was troubled a lot. If you think about it, Hannah and CH are similar. Well, except the gentle part? Did Hannah ever pretend to be gentle in the past? Ah, that's right. She was gentle when in her holy maiden days.
Clopeh though... 😂😂😂 HD correctly figured out that he was a snake bastard, and both Cale and Raon were impressed. 😂HD described Clopeh's sword to be like an imoogi, and that Clopeh had the potential to surpass CH. Clopeh kept smiling all the time, and CH just shrugged.
The author showed her bias towards Clopeh again. Like, is there a need to mention his white hair and green eyes every time he appears in a chapter? Or be constantly reminded that he had a noble or holy appearance and smile? 🤣🤣🤣
HD was such a Male Lead-like character, and I think a lot of people agree, perhaps even the author herself. He even dropped the famous "How interesting" line (to his disciples). And then being revealed to be the most powerful person in Central Plains. I want to be excited with his upcoming spar with CH, but knowing the author, this would happen behind the scenes.
Ending Remarks I am so happy to see the CP people again, especially HD. 🥰 Next up would be Cale's talk with Exion regarding the Dragon Lord. Hopefully, this would be short as I would like to see Cale's interaction with the CP people again.
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arthursdolly · 2 days
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𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 (𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒙 𝒉𝒚𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓)
𝓑𝓔𝓕𝓞𝓡𝓔 𝓨𝓞𝓤 𝓡𝓔𝓐𝓓! req by @luds69 . afab/fem!reader . hyperfem!reader . reader is a dancer . all fluffy and cute
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god, arthur hasn't felt this exhausted and stressed since... blackwater? it was now getting to him, to say the least. getting away from lawmen, the pinktertons, and even trying to process that some of the members have died, it was rough. well, it always has been. this line of work wasn't for the weak. this a tough work.
he had to get out from camp for a bit. just a while, to clear his head. and this night, he did just that. he'll go through saint denis again.
he or dutch missed anything while the two of them were scoping around, anyway. arthur was just trotting through the warmly lit city. he didn't like it that much, meant more lawmen he had to be aware of, but it's not a problem. unless someone starts on him or realises who he is. he just had to keep a low profile. he had to be careful.
what felt like hoours of basically distracting himself with his outlaw life, a poster caught his eye. it was a theatre poster, nothing big but he was curious.
a poster of dancing girls in théâtre râleur. his eyes gazed at every girl, and yet his heart skipped a beat once he saw urs. u were so pretty, pretty as a picture. he thought u should even be the star of the show. goddamn, the fool that he was. it wasn't like him, and yet here is.. walking to the theatre. hoping that he'd see u. even for a glimpse...
there u were. having the absolute time of ur life as u danced around with the other girls, with the most genuine and beautiful smile that graced ur lips. he kept his gaze on u, not like his attention would be rippes from u anyway. and u couldn't see him anyway due to the spotlight, giving the people what they want as entertainment.
once u and the girls finished, u ended it with blowing a kiss to the audience. which got all the right reactions of whistles and cheering.
𝆤࿚࿙𝆤𝆤࿚۶ৎ𝆤࿙𝆤𖹭𝆤࿚𝆤۶ৎ࿙𝆤𝆤࿚࿙𝆤
u were sitting in front of a vanity mirror, re-adjusting ur makeup before leave to go home. ur brain kept thinking back to that certain cowboy u saw in the audience. he looked so handsome... the way his gaze remained on u! oh, ur heart could explode at the thought. making u feel all funny inside.
“hey, miss? jus' wanted t'tell ya that i liked yer show the night.” u heard behind the door. a sort of.. rough tone.
it was like the universe knew ur thoughts perhaps? maybe? “oh thank ya, mister. means a lot.” u reply in that giggly tone of urs. u have lacked a little of company for a while so its not wrong if u just- “do you... wanna come in 'nd talk more?” and then silence occurred for a few moments. “... sure. i don't mind.”
and here u are. laughing and talking with a man in ur dressing room. arthur morgan, he was. u didn't see many people like him before. he looked like he lives out there instead of being cooped up in a city like u. he was like a breath of fresh air. “ive never met a man like ya, mister morgan.”
"yeah?" he's never met anyone like u either. the way ur all dressed in pink frills, pink lace...
"yeah... your different to other men that have come to see me after shows. i like talkin' to you.” u say softly before moving ur hair out ur face, adjusting the pink bow in ur hair. he looked away for a moment. he wasn't the type to handle compliments well. “ah, thank ya, miss [name]. it ain't nothin'.” he replied, dismissing his actions. “would you come to my next show? it's tomorrow night.. i'd like to see ya again.”
arthur wanted to. he so wanted to see u again. again and again. but his life... isn't so easy. it's more rough, tough, and life threatening. he doesn't want u to know about it. he can't have u wrapped up in that. he should say no- “'course. yer good at what u do.” he'd go to hell and back if it meant he'd see that pretty smile of urs again.
“hope im not being too forward, but... you're quite the handsome man.” did he hear u right? did u just call him handsome? no.. no way u did. he looked down, hising his flustered face. “ah... ain't nothin' of me. yer the pretty one, miss [name].” god, what was he saying? he could die of embarrassment of right now... “thank you, mr morgan.”
good lord, u were really the most beautiful lady he's ever seen.
the start of a new friendship, maybe?
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