#but what i hate is this half baked situation

[moonlinos]

It’s so tasty, come and chase me

♡ Pairing: Hwang Hyunjin × fem!reader

♡ CW: Explicit sexual content (minors dni!), fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, mentions of food

♡ Word count: 2.3k

♡ Synopsis: It’s your first birthday with Hyunjin as your boyfriend, and he wants to give you the best day since you were born. He racks his brain, wondering what’s the perfect way to impress you, and ultimately settles on surprising you with a homemade birthday cake. That’s romantic, right? Too bad you accidentally ruin his plans in the best way possible.

♡ A/N: Based off a request by anon (happy birthday! 🩷) Title from Red Velvet’s Ice Cream Cake bc we all know that song ain’t about cake. I quickly wrote this to try and get out of my writing slump, and I think it worked lol so I’ll hopefully be able to start posting other longer stories and requests in a couple of weeks 🧚‍♀️

You and Hyunjin began dating exactly two hours after your birthday.

Being acquaintances for long due to being in the same friend group, he’d been a part of your birthday celebrations for a few years. But you were never really that close — he’d always been too shy to approach you, and you spent an awfully long time thinking he hated your guts. It was a drunken confession that made you both realize the mutual crush you had been hiding for far too long.

Hyunjin cursed himself inwardly for taking so long to properly ask you out. He sat with your friends and discussed birthday plans with you, then watched as you enjoyed your surprise party. He had a pout on his lips throughout the entire night, desperately wishing he could openly hold and kiss you in front of your friends. The silly secret you both had decided to keep from them until things were official between you drove him to the brink of insanity. You two were skirting around the big question for a while, and it wasn’t until Hyunjin’s veins were flowing with quite a lot of Soju that he finally mustered up the courage to do it.

Only he was too late — it was already 2 a.m, and no longer your birthday.

“You’ll have to put up with me for another year if you really wanna be my boyfriend on my birthday,” you told him with a grin.

Hyunjin was determined to make your first birthday together as a couple unforgettable, even through simple gestures. These two days were incredibly meaningful to him; the day you were born and the day he finally got to call you his, one after the other.

Too bad the universe seems to love conspiring against him.

He put on his best near-death voice and faked coughs over the phone, trying to convince you he was sick. You were understandably worried, but he assured you he would be fine after taking some medicine. He needed alone time to figure out how to bake a cake, and your presence would be a tempting distraction.

Hyunjin was halfway through frosting your cake for the third time when the sound of his door being unlocked made him jump.

Perhaps it wasn’t the universe’s animosity towards him after all, but rather his own stupidity for not remembering that you had the code to his door lock.

He stood there motionless, feeling like a teenager who had been caught doing something wrong, his hand clutching the spatula tightly as you eyed him with confusion. You raised a brow at him.

“Weren’t you dying?”

“Why are you here?” Hyunjin all but whines, and you close the door behind you with a chuckle.

“I’m here because you told me you were dying,” you explain. “Why the fuck are you frosting a cake?” He doesn’t answer, and after a beat and a half, you grasp the situation and your mouth falls open. “It’s for my birthday, isn’t it?”

Hyunjin drops the spatula on the counter with a loud clink. “No.”

“Shut the fuck up.” You grin at the sight before you. “That’s so cute.”

“It’s not for your birthday,” He insists, promptly removing his apron. “I lost a bet and owe Seungmin a cake.”

You roll your eyes. “Hyunjin, you’re a terrible liar.”

“Fine,” He grumbles, glaring at the lumpy, messy frosting spread on the cake. He was so sure he was nailing it this time, but the more he looks at it, the more it looks borderline inedible. “I wanted to surprise you, be like super boyfriend material and bake your birthday cake myself. Turns out I’m fucking awful at it.”

“It’s not that bad…” Your voice trails off, the telltale rise in pitch whenever you lie betraying you. Hyunjin shoots you a glance, narrowing his eyes. “Okay, so it is a little crooked, and the frosting is a bit clumpy but I can fix that—”

He cuts you off, drawing out your name with a pout. “No, I’m the one who’s supposed to make you a pretty cake. It’s your special day, I should be the one doing things for you.”

“It’s not my birthday till midnight,” you argue, tossing your bag onto the floor and gently nudging Hyunjin to the side, making room for you on his counter. “Let me help.”

You take the spatula in your hands, ignoring Hyunjin’s loud protests and trying your best to smooth out the thick layer of frosting Hyunjin had spread onto the cake. Your brows knit together in concentration as your boyfriend continues to grumble beside you, eventually moving his nagging to the counter behind you. You hear the water running and the clinking of dishes as you finally start making progress, before Hyunjin’s hands are gripping your hips and pushing you against the counter.

You furrow your brows, ready to complain about him disrupting you, but he’s pressing his lips to your neck before you can mutter out a word. Hyunjin’s breath as he mumbles against your skin tickles you, your body instinctively jolting, causing your hand to slip and mess up the frosting (again).

“Hyunjin,” you berate him, and his only response is to hum. “This frosting is already borderline unusable, if you—”

“Hey!” He snaps, and you can hear the pout on his voice. “Don’t insult my frosting.”

“Then stop disrupting me.”

Hyunjin shakes his head, his body pressing against yours.

“You’re the one who ruined my surprise,” he corrects you, “So if you wanna decorate this cake so badly, you’ll have to do it while I disrupt you,” he mimics your voice. You roll your eyes while a huff of amusement slips from your lips.

“Be my guest,” you shrug.

Hyunjin simply buries his face in the crook of your neck, his lips curling into a grin against your skin and igniting a smile on your own face. You bite the inside of your cheek, turning your focus back to the disastrous cake. But your smile only widens at the sight of the decorations thrown around on the countertop; heart-shaped sprinkles, various candles and your favorite candies. The image of Hyunjin clumsily following a recipe, his pretty face dusted in flour, making frosting from scratch simply to make your birthday cake more special has your heart swelling with love.

But just as you spread more frosting on the cake, your concentration is shattered by the sudden touch of Hyunjin’s hand sliding under your skirt and into your panties.

“Excuse me?”

“I told you I was gonna disrupt you,” he shrugs, pressing a chaste kiss to your shoulder. “But I’m sure it won’t work. You’re too focused on the cake, anyway.”

You scoff. Hyunjin really is such a menace when he wants to be — no wonder you spent such a long time thinking he hated you. Little did you know that behind his teasing and cold exterior lay such a sweet and sensitive man.

He remained still for a while, his hand nonchalantly cupping your cunt while he watched you try your best to make the cake look presentable.

“You missed a spot,” he points out, one single finger gliding along your folds. You hiss.

“Fuck off.”

Hyunjin chuckles, the digit now teasing your already slick entrance. You wait for a minute, then two, then three, but he remains still. Tightening your hold on the spatula, you buck your hips toward his hand, willing him to do something.

But he doesn’t, resting his chin on your shoulder with a lazy sigh instead.

“Is this your best attempt at disrupting me?”

He hums. “Focus on the cake, baby. Weren’t you so excited about fixing it?”

You can tell he is undoubtedly a bit upset at you. This cake was his birthday surprise to you, after all. You had essentially fucked it up, taking over the task without him even asking you for help.

So you nod slowly, turning your face to shoot him a small smile. “Can you help me? It’ll be better if we do it together.”

A grin tugs at the corner of his lips, and his finger finally pushes into you, your walls immediately clenching around it.

“I’d love to help you.”

With his other hand, Hyunjin scrambles with the sprinkles packet before finally tearing it open. Cursing under his breath, he watches some of the red and pink hearts escape from the packaging and scatter across the counter. You’re ready to tease him, but a moan swallows your voice as his finger curls inside you, pressing against the spot that has you almost dropping the spatula onto the cake.

Your hands grip the counter as another finger slips inside of you, then a third, all while Hyunjin casually dusts a handful of sprinkles over the white frosting. You could feel yourself leaking around his fingers, the heel of his palm grazing over your clit, and your vision goes slightly blurry watching how the heart shapes cascade from his hand onto the cake.

“I think those candies would look nice with the sprinkles, don’t you think?” Hyunjin asks, his breath brushing against the shell of your ear, causing goosebumps to ripple across your entire body. You simply nod, too focused on the way his fingers stretch you, igniting a wildfire inside your chest with each pump of his wrist. “Could you grab the bag for me, baby?”

You nod and mindlessly reach out in front of you, until your eyes land on the bag sitting across the counter, just barely out of reach. You stretch out your fingers, but Hyunjin circles your waist with his left arm and pulls you flush against his body before you can get a hold of it.

“Hyunjin,” you whine, feeling the warmth of his chest as it rumbles against your back with a chuckle.

“Grab the bag for me, hm?”

You let out a shuddering breath and reach out toward the candy package, your body bending over the marble counter, the thick outline of Hyunjin’s cock pressing against your ass. As soon as your trembling fingers wrap around the bag, his hand leaves your cunt and pushes your soaked panties to the side.

He slides his length along your folds, hovering over your body, the swollen head of his cock catching against your clit evoking a heavy sigh from your lips.

“Go on,” Hyunjin prompts, “Let’s finish decorating your cake.”

Clumsily, you pull yourself up, forearms resting against the counter as you tear the bag open. With shaky hands, you slowly tip the bag over, lightly sprinkling the colorful candies across the cake. Until Hyunjin rolls his hips forward, plunging into you. Your breath catches in your throat as he fills you with his thick length, pumping into you in full force, causing your body to writhe in his arms and sending candies flying out of the bag, scattering across the cake and countertop.

“Fuck, Hyunjin,” you grunt when his hand slides down your body to trace circles around your swollen clit. “The ca- the fucking cake.”

Hyunjin lets out a hearty laugh before pressing his lips to your neck, sucking the skin between his teeth, each thrust of his hips slamming your body against the counter. Your eyes flutter closed, a haze of lust wrapping around you while your climax ripples through your body. Hyunjin shudders as your cunt clenches around him, squeezing as he hastily rams into you, his grip on your waist tightening with each stroke.

“Gonna come,” he rasps in your ear, grabbing a handful of your hair and tugging your head back to look at him, his eyes completely clouded over. “Where do you want it?”

“Inside,” you whimper, barely registering the way your fingers graze across the forgotten cake when you feel his cock twitch at your words. He mutters a string of curses through clenched teeth before flooding you with his warmth.

You slowly catch your breaths, Hyunjin pressing light kisses across your face with a contented hum as his cock slowly softens inside of you.

And then both your eyes land on the cake.

Somehow, the sprinkles melted, leaving behind a garish kaleidoscope of colors, and the candies adorned more of Hyunjin’s counter than the cake itself. The already sloppy-looking cake had three lines running across it, and the sticky white frosting clinging to your fingertips serves as undeniable evidence of your guilt. You grimace, mentally bracing yourself for the disappointed look in Hyunjin’s eyes.

Instead, his loud laughter you love so much echoes in your ears.

“That’s so fucking ugly,” he slurs between giggles.

You frown, turning to look at him, watching tears gather in his lashes as his laughter slowly fades away. He presses a kiss to your agape lips, wrapping both arms around your body before resting his forehead against yours.

“I love it,” he assures you after taking in your befuddled expression. “We made it together. Plus, we had a lot of fun doing it, yeah?” He grins before crashing his lips against yours again.

Your birthday party was the same as it has been for a couple of years; just you and your friend group gathered around your apartment’s rooftop. Except this year, you had the pleasure of watching people’s bewildered looks as they glanced at your birthday cake, proudly displayed on a plastic folding table.

“The fuck is that cake?” Jeongin asked, and Hyunjin burst out laughing as soon as the words left your friend’s lips.

After singing happy birthday, you were surprised to find that the cake — although an assault on the eyes — tasted quite good. You were quick to praise Hyunjin, who sheepishly admitted to using a store-bought box cake mix.

A while later, you two discreetly escaped the chatter and laughter from your friends. While you watched the stars, Hyunjin’s attention was fixated on the passing seconds on his phone. He counted down from five, and at the stroke of midnight, he pressed his lips to yours, smiling into the kiss.

“Happy one year together,” he whispered against your lips.

“Congratulations for putting up with me,” you beamed, and Hyunjin feigned an exasperated sigh, his lips curling into a grin.

“Can’t believe I’ll have to go through that again if I want to be your boyfriend on your birthday next year.”

♡ taglist: @bloom-ings, @linocz, @farahia, @mirbokk, @jisunglyricist, @jazziwritesthings, @seungseung-minmin, @yourcvndx, @hynjinnnnnnnie, @vlctorriaa, @yongbokkiesworld, @kiensecent, @redstayrosie, @binniesbabygirl, @pynchkilledme

#stray kids #hyunjin smut #skz smut #stray kids x reader #hyunjin x reader #hyunjin #hyunjin x you #stray kids smut #skz #hyunjin fluff

[agustdiv1ne]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖12:43 a.m. (m) — choi yeonjun

genre: smսt (minors/ageless blogs dni), angst for flavor, fluff, friends to lovers, alcohol consumption (so somewhat tipsy sex warning!!), this has more plot and is much longer than i initially expected but it is still very self-indulgent LOL

wc: 2.9k

“you should talk to him.” 

the sound of beomgyu's voice a concerningly close distance from your ear causes you to flinch, a bit of the drink in your hand sloshing over the side of the can and onto the already sticky floor. tearing your eyes away from yeonjun, you meet beomgyu's half-lidded gaze; he's drunk, painfully so — and a drunk beomgyu means a considerably more irritating beomgyu.

“why are you over here?” you say, waving your drink around the dark corner of the living room that you staked claim on earlier in the night after chaewon had bailed on you. “shouldn’t you be, like, making out with someone by now?”

“well, you looked miserable, so i decided to be a good friend ‘n come check on you first,” he grins, stumbling when he tries to lean closer and bar you from staring at the man across the room. with a huff, you shove him away and help situate himself against the wall next to you.

“my hero,” you deadpan, blocking out whatever half-baked words beomgyu spews out next in favor of watching yeonjun, your lips pursing as he laughs along with the group of guys surrounding him.

you must admit, he looks...amazing tonight. a light grey tank top allows you a perfect view of his muscle-thickened arms. loose-fitting jeans lay low on his hips, and you catch a peak of his toned stomach and the band of his boxers when he lifts a hand to high-five someone. the self-assured smirk on his lips has not left since you first spotted him. it's almost infuriating; you wonder how he seems so okay, uncaring, after what happened, while your life has all but fallen apart without his presence. you never knew how losing a close friend — okay, a close friend who you have not-so-platonic feelings for — could be so harrowing. until now. the urge to cry and run away battles with the gnawing impulse to stomp up to him and yell straight into his stupid fucking face. you bite the inside of your cheek.

the boy next to you flicks your forehead. “quit staring like a creep and go to talk to him.”

“um, no. i’m pretty sure he hates me now,” you reply, finally looking over at him. “we haven’t talked since last week.”

“since the incident,” beomgyu adds, nodding sagely, before he takes another large swig of the suspiciously bright green liquid in his cup. slouching further against the wall, you shoot him a scalding glare. in response, he simply laughs, the sound squeaky and borderline grating, as leans his head against your shoulder. 

it's quiet between the two of you for a few minutes, in which you stare at the small dents that have appeared on the can in your hand due to your unrelenting grip. you can feel the effects of the two drinks you have consumed beginning to kick in: your mind is a little less cluttered, your muscles releasing their built-up tension as warmth flows through your veins. you're still acutely aware of your surroundings — you are not as far-gone as beomgyu, that's for sure — but your situation does feel slightly less dire now that a bit of alcohol flows through your system.

“uh oh,” beomgyu mumbles over the music, leaning up to bring his mouth closer to your ear. “look who’s comin’ over.” glancing up, you find the very person you would rather not speak to making a beeline straight towards the two of you. the carefree expression he sported prior is long gone, replaced with furrowed brows and downturned lips. 

you sober up immediately. panicking, you shove beomgyu off of you, ignoring the quiet “oof!” he emits as collides with the wall. he scoffs. “what’re you doin’?”

“leaving,” you mutter, ignoring the slight blur to your vision as you push through the crowd toward the dimly lit hallway that you know contains a bathroom. 

without even turning around, you can tell that yeonjun is hot on your trail. you pray that the bathroom is unoccupied — and when you reach it, you luckily find that it is. slipping past the door as quickly as you can, aiming to slam the door and lock it, but a foot shoves it way past the jamb before you can fully execute your plan. you curse under your breath as yeonjun shoves his way inside, clicking the door shut behind him.

for a moment, you and him stare wordlessly at each other. in this light, you are able to see the light flush across his cheekbones from the alcohol, the dark roots of his hair that have grown out since you helped him dye it a couple weeks ago. being confronted by him in this manner makes both your heart ache and your blood boil.

“why are you here?” you spit, breaking the suffocating silence. his blank expression does not falter despite your venom-drenched tone. instead, he crosses his arms in front of him, his biceps bulging, and props himself against the wall across the counter that you presently lean on. 

“why was beomgyu so close to you?” he does not answer your question, rather asks one of his own, a slight slur to his words. red tinges the edge of your vision at his blatant disregard of your query. it’s none of his business, not after what he did. 

“i don’t think that really concerns you,” you decide to say. “why the fuck do you care, anyway?”

“you know why,” he prods, and the dull ache in your chest grows thorns, puncturing your lungs. your nails dig into your palms in an attempt to ground yourself. he seems to notice. 

“no, actually i don’t, yeonjun.” yeonjun. it’s his name, but it is scathing coming from your lips. jjun, jjunie, anything but yeonjun. please. “please, enlighten me as to why you care if my friend is touching me.”

“because i want it to be me instead.”

the dam holding your feelings back explodes.

“you want it to be you, huh?” you laugh humorlessly. “you kiss me, eat me out, fall asleep next to me, then what? throw our it all in the trash? act like i don’t exist? real fucking funny, yeonjun. what a great way to treat one of your closest friends.”

he gapes at you, silent, while you wait for him to say something, anything. taking his lack of response as your cue to leave, you reach for the doorknob, only for his hand to envelop yours. his warm chest collides with your cheek, and his arms wrap around your waist. he buries his nose into the crown of your head.

“i’m sorry,” you hear him murmur, his arms curling around you tighter, and you can’t find it within yourself to break away from his grip. “i was so fucking terrified that you thought that what happened last night was a mistake. that i would lose you forever, i,” his breath stutters in his chest. you feel it against your skin. “i don’t want to lose you. you mean too much to me for that to happen.” 

you push away from his chest, finding nothing but sincerity shining in his umber eyes. “why couldn’t you have just talked to me?” your next sentence tumbles out of your mouth before you can stop yourself. “don’t you know how long i’ve loved you?”

the gape of his mouth makes your heart race. you feel as if you have confessed something that you should not have. and yet you push forward. “yes, love. how could i ever possibly think that that was a mistake when it’s always ever been you?”

it takes him a few seconds to process your words, and you watch as his expression morphs from confused, to shocked, to...wait, is he smiling?

“can i kiss you?” he asks. the air vacates you lungs at the hopeful quirk of his lips. your resolve breaks and you allow a small nod. that’s all it takes for him to surge forward and his lips to envelope yours. it feels intrinsically different from the kisses you shared last week — no longer fueled by drunken lust and raging hormones, no teeth knocking against each other, and no sense of urgency. slow, soft, he takes his time in savoring the way you taste of your favorite lip balm mixed with the seltzer you had finished off before you tried to escape from him. gentle hands rub soothing circles against your waist while you pull him closer by wrapping your arms around his neck. 

he pulls away. “i love you.” kiss. “i love you.” kiss. “i love you.”

the movement of your lips against each other grows increasingly aggressive as you continue. needy, wanting to feel each and every contour, savor every breath each other emits. he breaks away again to kiss down your neck. when you whine, the energy in the room shifts. silently, he urges you up onto the counter, your legs dangling off the edge as he slips his body between your thighs. he finds your lips once more. his hands rest upon your hips, squeezing every so often. this time, you're the one to stop him with a gentle push to his chest.

“wait,” you say as he whines and tries to pull you in again. your fingers splay across his broad chest. you nearly gulp at the sight before you’re shaking the thought away. “you’ve been drinking. i don’t want—”

“baby, i’m fine,” he interrupts. your heart flutters at the pet name. “i wanted to be able to talk to you tonight, so i had, maybe, three drinks? i’m tipsy at most — do i seem drunk? do you feel drunk? we can stop.”

“well, no, you don’t. and i drank less than you,” you admit. “i’d like to keep going...i’m just worried, um, after last time. i don’t want this to be another fluke.” your voice grows incredibly smaller as you speak, trailing off at the very end as you realize how stupid you must sound.

“baby, look at me,” he says, cupping your face. there’s a little haze in his gaze, but the sincerity in his pupils is as clear as day. you know that you look the exact same. “this will never, and i mean never, happen again. you’re mine, and i am yours. if you think i was attached to your hip before, you’re never gonna get rid of me now.”

you giggle at his joking tone, your body the lightest it’s been all night, and you reach down to guide his hands to your thighs. “then make me feel good, jjunie.”

his goofy smile turns sharp at the edges at your words, his fingers digging into your flesh as he leans down to nip and suck at the skin of your neck, your collarbones, his lips trailing down to the valley of your breasts. hands slide underneath your shirt, and you tug at his hair as he slips it off of you, making quick work of your bra. he guides the straps down your arms and off completely, leaving you bare from the waist up. he stares in awe, capturing your hands before you can cover yourself.

“so fucking pretty,” he mumbles, pressing a gentle peck against your wrist. “wanna make you feel good forever.”

“that’s a long time— oh, fuck!” you cut yourself off when his plush lips wrap around one of your nipples, playing with the bud as it pebbles beneath his tongue. he hums, and shockwaves travel straight down to your core. he switches to the other tit, his thumb circling the one that he left. 

“jjun,” you moan despite his unrelenting ministrations to your breasts. “fuck me, please.”

he stands up at his full height, peering down at your desperate, needy expression with slight amusement. “yeah? you want my cock?” 

“so bad,” you whisper, kiss bruised lips smeared with lipstick and spit. “please?”

he groans. “you drive me crazy.” 

he falls to his knees in front of you, helping you remove your shorts and panties. a shaky exhale falls from his mouth when he sees just how soaked you are. a finger slides through your folds, collecting your wetness before bringing to his tongue. he visibly shudders.

“know you want me to fuck you, but i need to taste you first,” he mumbles, more to himself than to you before he dives in with an enthusiasm that is akin to whenever he dances, lips wrapping around your clit and sucking, hands holding open your thighs as you whimper and try to close them around his head. he’s desperate to make you cum, to bring you a level of pleasure that you’ve never experienced before. it doesn’t take you long to fall over the edge, but he does not let up until you begin to push his head away from your center.

“okay, okay,” he laughs as he stands again, taking his tank top off in the process. you gape at the sight, the hard planes of his chest, his defined biceps. it makes you wonder just how strong he is, how he could throw you around and have his way with you — another time. another time.

you reach down to palm him through his jeans, eliciting a whine from him. unbuttoning and unzipping, he helps your shove both his jeans and boxers down until his pretty, pink-tipped cock slaps against his abdomen, achingly hard and sensitive. your fingers immediately wrap around it and begin to stroke up and down, thumb collecting the precum that has collected at the tip. he bucks in your hand once before he's grabbing your hand.

condom?” he asks, and you shake your head, telling him about your birth control. he makes sure with you once again before he leans in to kiss you again, the head of his cock sliding through your folds, sliding against your throbbing clit. finally — finally — he lines up with your soaked entrance. “ready, love?”

humming, you roll your hips forward, and he hisses out a quiet "so impatient," before his hips slowly push forward, stretching your walls as you adjust to the intrusion. both of you moan at the feeling, hands flying everywhere to feel each other. he takes it slow at first, the rolling of his hips into you rhythmic and gentle — but you crave more, need him to fuck you like he means it, to take all that you're giving him and returning just as much to you.

“faster, harder, jjunie,” you pant against his lips. “wanna feel you deeper.”

“god, fuck,” he curses, your dirty words spurring him on. “don’t fuckin’, ngh, talk like that. gonna make me cum.”

his gaze grows hazy as he thrusts into you, your own eyes glazed over, both of you overwhelmed by the sensation of your walls snugly wrapped around him and him stretching you so perfectly. the pretty flush that was once contained to his cheeks has spread out across the rest of his face and down his neck, locks of his dusty rose-orange hair sticking to his forehead. you cup his cheeks and bring your foreheads together. he watches as your eyes roll back into your head after a certain thrust, so he angles his hips to press into that spot again. and again. and again. your cute little whines and moans of his name motivate him to maintain that pace.

“yeah? right there?” he queries, already knowing the answer. “so fucking cute, baby. this pussy was made for me, hm? all mine?”

“a-all yours!” you parrot, the words feeding into your dizzy state. the tendrils of an orgasm begin to wrap around you, your legs beginning to quake. you reach down to play with your clit. desperation laces your next words. “gonna cum, jjunie! please make me cum!”

he's groaning at the sight of you falling apart when your second high of the night hits. a string of curses tumbles from his mouth as his thrusts grow sloppy, his hips slapping hard against the inside of your thighs. he thrusts once, twice more before he spills inside you with a high-pitched whine, burying his head in the junction between your neck and shoulder as he holds you close to him.

“my baby,” he whispers tenderly with a quick peck to your lips when you finally come down. you chase his lips for a longer one, and he concedes easily to your silent demand. you’re smiling like fools at each other as you pull away. “never gonna let you go.”

“my jjunie,” you coo back, holding his face between your palms. you lean in to capture his lips again when a knock startles both of you. you scramble for your crumpled clothes on the floor — until you realize exactly who it is on the other side.

“are the two of you done fucking?” beomgyu’s distinct voice calls. “i need to puke.”

“way to ruin the moment,” yeonjun grumbles, and you chuckle, wiping off the stray lipstick on your face before you’re turning to him, legs still a bit shaky.

“i guess we should help him?” you say.

squeezing your waist, he pulls you closer with a sly grin. “nah, he can manage. i have my lovely little girlfriend to take care of.”

masterlist

© to agustdiv1ne. do not copy, repost, steal, and/or translate.

#txt smut #yeonjun smut #txt x reader #yeonjun x reader #txt imagines #txt drabbles #yeonjun drabbles #yeonjun imagines #txt hard thoughts #txt hard hours #agust.nsfw #💌 — jjun

[bitdemonic]

date. may 29th, 2023

time. 3:16pm

—❝𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞.❞

𝐬𝐲𝐩𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬. future spouse pac ✞ pics with them

𝐚𝐢𝐝. if the images above are too hard to differentiate between your intuition, use ‘pile 1, 2, 3, or 4’ for the choice selection instead. this reading has five piles and each pile is different in terms of context.

𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫. 18+ content—no minors. please remember, this post is just for shits and giggles. pinch a grain of salt and use the best of your discernment. i tend to write under the impression that majority of this content’s viewers are women however i read for both feminine and masculine energies. if needed to, please flip the roles as reversed for an accurate message. hope this reading is useful, but not for plagiarism bitch. enjoy.❦

𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 ✞

🃏lovers. 5oc. magician↺. queen of pentacles↺. tower↺. strength↺ and peace.

let it be mentioned that the lovers card amplifies all of the energy that follows; def intense because i could feel it within the deck itself. pictures here are raw, they’re always unfiltered and passionate at w.e moment they’re taken. to me, y’all are the literal definition of ownership lmao so it’s hard not to notice the obsession with each another. y’all’s chemistry is def eye-catching, tantalizing to say the least. “mine.” there are resemblances between y’all, matching tattoos or even being mistaken for brother and sister. to put it in a nutshell, this is tongue kissing on the main and taunting old exes—it’s obvious there’s bomb ass sex with each other lmao, but more importantly there is devotion.

apart from posting on social media, there’s internet presence around y’all—could be popular influencers or just outright celebrities. possible youtube couple? very de’arra and ken vibes. either way, someone in the connection (if not both) went or will go viral. the tower in retrograde, this is a specific picture at a specific point in time; it even has the potential to be life changing. “break the internet.” attention that brings problems ngl. sure someone’s jealous ex, but apart from them there is so much outside negativity towards the feminine. people are pissed when she comes across their feed, but only because they secretly want to be her. queen of coins in retrograde; envy that simmers from deep within until it becomes hatred or outer turmoil. seeing pics sent in groupchats, hate comments from spam accounts, posting on close friends—her presence triggers insecurities and people hurt under pressure. black moon lilith. as delusional as it sounds, this is an eerie situation to be in fr so be mindful.

the masculine doesn’t stand a chance omg, the feminine is deadass the star of the show. represented as the queen of wands, she’s outshining tf out of him without even trying lmao. glamorization of what the masses can see, which undeniably is her beauty. this is “off guard” pretty, bad pictures just simply don’t exist. if y’all wear makeup, it’s very complimented—the blending and baking, or contour and highlighter are a ten. this even pertains to the first paragraph, how someone here is in the public eye, because pictures of her are taken unbeknownst due to her appearance. the magician in retrograde signifies fan cams, video edits, and pinterest boards—there’s also editorials and photoshop? mentions of an aesthetic came in, or “neptune.”

all in all, this couple has magnetism and attracts opportunities due to their pictures. def some gorgeous people, it was noted that y’all’s face cards elite lmao. however, y’all have to be cautious because taboo-ism is prone to happen as well. such as scamming or catfishing, things that could cause detriment to future occasions. outsiders are the issue here, they’ll def try to bank off on y’all’s identities. something could or could’ve already happened with a certain picture? “controversy.” the response to it is fifty-fifty; half who are defending and half who are criticizing. “stans” and a “fandom” are involved.

📸 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬

❦— from behind. the masculine will tower behind the feminine (no matter the height), engulfing her in a bear hug or whatever else to imply their presence. head buried in her neck, hands wrapped around her waist—this also denotes their possessiveness as partners together.

❦— pretty teeth. big big smiles here, the goofy grins and shut eyes. y’all countdown before taking a picture but numerous times because y’all can never be serious lmao. fingers in mouth type smiley faces.

❦— beauty queen. this is more-so on the feminine’s behalf, she’s the one that’s always ready for a picture and the one always asking someone to take one of her. being photogenic is one of her best features to date. no matter if y’all agree, but i’m def seeing the face of a model.

❦— cancer. this made me think of ariana grande and her husband dalton, their pic outside with the moon behind them. this is pictures in that same setting, or at least taking them during the nighttime. 8pm thru 5am. stargazing together is here too.

❦— taurus. this actually alludes to more than one thing. the masculine is a gift giver, i pulled the “sugar daddy” card for them in particular. they def have big bucks, or at least enough to gift you the finer things in life. they’ll spoil you for fun and in turn you’ll show off what they bought you—new toys lol. pics of the “next big thing” (vacation views, receipts or tickets, cars, etc). smell goods are specific, perfumes or colognes.

“glutton” corresponds with taurus as well—someone in this connection loves to chow down, meaning tons of food cameos in their (own) pictures. they’ll pose funnily; mid-chew or with a bunch of food stuffed in their mouth to be annoying lol. little dorky things like putting an orange peel in their mouth before they smile.

❦— do not disturb. pretty self-explanatory, but for y’all this seems to be alone time from the world. this reminded me of travel, but i channeled that this is to each others hometowns. this could be an interracial connection, mentions of cultural traditions and differences.

❦— naked bodies. the feminine’s chest is significant, something about that area in particular that the masculine loves. there’s pics of them fondling or sucking on her nipples, playing with them even. someone’s v-line is here, plus a hand going up their abdomen. the masculine’s bare ass is source material too, those pics are for funsies.

❦— topping. this could obviously mean they’re a daddy dom in general lmao, but if not it just means the masculine will be hunched over or “taller” than the feminine. she’ll be lower than him, as in he’s standing and she’s sitting or she’s laying down beneath him. sex-wise this is them doing it from behind or being on top quite literally.

❦— foreplay. tbh this one is vague, but i still wanted to put it in bc why tf not. this is while y’all are in the moment, or while someone is teasing the other before actual intercourse. pictures of them while they’re giving you hickies, or while they’re pulling at your underwear to give you oral. somebody’s an ass muncher too so expect pics of that lmaooo.

❦— sloppy. no but yes iykyk😂 this is more on the pic itself, how it won’t be organized or captured clearly during sexual moments. like if you’re pleasuring them and have them take a picture, it’ll just come out fucked and unfocused because they’re fucked and unfocused. kinda what would’ve been the perfect shot if y’all weren’t so “distracted”.

brooklyn and nicola peltz-beckham (hot ass names) are the perfect couple example for this pile. their expressiveness together is subtle, yet loud enough that we know they’re each other’s one and only. regardless of how long the relationship lasts, we’ll remember the fact that they were ultimately made for each other.

end.❤️‍🔥 previous reading

𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 ✞

🃏king of cups. princess of cups. 2oc. 5op↺. 8oc↺. rest and comfort.

this spread screams emotional depth, it’s haunting as hell but not in a bad way—in a way that’ll pull your soul into its deep abyss. hypnotic almost. this is “grow old together” love, i can literally feel the years in my bones. these are moments that you can’t help but reminisce on, pictures that are saved or bookmarked because they’re so very special. their essence is felt and appreciated, enough that there’ll be tears of happiness. lmao this is going to sound corny, but this connection’s energy reminds me of a warm blanket. like milk and cookies on the sofa, or a kiss goodbye from grandma. it’s just so snug, i can’t even put into words how safe i feel right now. how libras are sweet and tender, fragile enough to shatter if you aren’t gentle—this is softness at its finest.

[TW] substance abuse could’ve been an reoccurring issue in this relationship, or at least a bad problem. the five of pentacles being in retrograde was an indication of sobriety to me, along with the image of somebody holding their own sobriety chip with a smile—not for everyone, but pictures under this circumstance are meant to remember the past without having to revisit the pain. “encouragement.” it’s apparent at this point lmao, but the sweetest captions known to man are found here. paragraph after paragraph, an everflowing stream of appreciation for your partner. endearing birthday posts are significant, along with sweet nothings in the comments omg y’all are sapsss. if i had to put it in words, “smol” or “wubs” come to mind before anything else omg y’all are sapssssss.

there are before and after pictures with each other (childhood friends, neighbors, friend of a friend, etc.) because again “growing old iem together”, there’s a sense of watching each other through the years. feeling the vibe of them being around as kids, transitioning into adulthood then getting closer as grownups. if not tho, this is someone that you’ll literally feel at home with; they are home to be real. this is a person that’s familiar, regardless of if they’re new or not. y’all are going to be glued to each other’s side until death. similarities are here, but in the sense of same environment or same social circle. i’m also getting similar taste in hobbies, music, and clothing. meditation or gym pics are common, promoting balance and wellbeing is a shared interest. personalities in general, ya’ll coordinate so very well. no wonder people linger longer than they need to—they’re wanting to see what’s next with the world’s cutest couple. also because y’all are walking enigmas and it threatens them lmao.

the attributes of venus sums up y’all’s pictures together. they’re beautiful, and are the literal definition of a thousand words. i channeled date night, but this came to being in the kitchen most of the time. y’all love to cook together, or to be in the kitchen at the same time to goof off and be annoying. dinner at home happens frequently, i’m seeing someone set the table while the other chops vegetables and stirs the pot. there’s pictures of handwritten love letters or random bouquets of flowers, things that tend to sweeten life with them a little more than before. this is def “fell in love with my best friend”, even as a photo caption lol. friends in general are around y’all—drunk nights at the bar, group poses in front of an amusement park, eating edibles and doing vlogs, etc. a lot of moments with your future spouse include people y’all are close with as a couple (siblings, co-workers, group of friends). nostalgia is the overall vibe here. pictures together feel good and “homey”.

extra mentions because i can’t even get over this pile, this is my favorite one out of all of them. it just feels how a polaroid looks, but in the sense of being in love? i just keep seeing the little things🥹 walking alongside the beach, kissing in the photo booth, building a gingerbread house, picking their nose even lmao. wow ya’ll have custom fridge magnets too. i didn’t get that pics of them were frequent on social media, more so because they’re too special to share. this pile values their privacy so pictures aren’t taken with the thought of anyone else in mind, they’re very cherished. i did channel emotional milestones being posted (pregnancy, marriage, moving in, etc.) and i do see their own certified spot on your page (photo dumps, page highlights, name in bio). kinda like a virtual museum of their love to you and your love to them.

📸 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬

❦— them. a potent photo trait is literally your fs lmao, they’re lowkey walking art. something about their facial features or structure are resemblant to a god’s—very pretty people, and we photograph them as such. capturing them from their good angles with the best lighting, it’s flattering. people stop breathing when they see these pictures.

❦— b&w. these are heartwarming pictures, ones that are wholesome enough to frame and hang on the walls. i’m seeing pinkies being intertwined and eskimo kisses, innocence personified. closeups of someone covering their face and hiding their smile, but peeking through their fingers to see the camera cuteee.

❦— work. big thing here, it was mentioned three times. y’all could have an online business together, one that encourages or promotes positivity (self affirmations, fundraisers, products, etc.) it could be popular, there’s succession (passed down thru generations) and a sense of being stable despite y’all being new owners.

there’s also “goodbye” and “big city”, working creates long distance travel which means the time y’all usually spend together gets split in half. someone has to leave frequently and for long periods of time, this in turn creates photo dumps (which are so common here lol) and extra long captions.

❦— hermit mode. take a shot for each time i’ve said something’s cute lmao but this is so cute. so these are pics at home or in comfortable environments, in matching onesies or facial masks. just very big kid vibes, y’all even build pillow forts to sleep in them awww. this is peace and quiet with each other.

❦— phone. i channeled facetime and audio messages, “listen to me.” ya’ll spend hours upon hours on the phone. no matter if it’s meaningful convo or a simple check in, y’all will talk all day until your mouths go dry. taking screenshots of their goofy messages (hilarious btw) while falling asleep on the phone, y’all can’t get enough of each other. this is someone that will listen to and send songs that remind them of you, creating playlists that y’all will listen to together.

❦— landscapes. beautiful views with them, emphasis on beautiful. orange sunsets, mossy green hills, glittered night skies. blooming gardens or snowcapped peaks, nature as a whole is prominent but def within photos. a “secret” code is here; if someone isn’t in the picture entirely, their stuff will be so that we know they’re around. (car keys or a phone, initials in the sand, half-eaten food etc.)

❦— guess what? “we just fucked.” lame i know lmaoooo but this is what y’all do, leave writing on foggy windows or wet handprints against shower glass. it could be wet stains on the bed, bite marks on the thighs—anything goes to snitch on y’all selves tbh. even seeing red scratches across someone’s back, yet they grin with a thumbs up.

❦— nudes. if your person is a male, pictures of their wand are reoccurring. very reoccurring lmao, whether it’s sent from them or taken by you. specifically pictures of your hand wrapped around their wand after they’ve🥛 but there’s videos too, more of the oral part before the finish lmao. this is on the feminine’s phone in particular, she has a hidden folder in her camera roll just for these.

❦— home videos. y’all have beautiful sex together, as in pleasure that’s meant to be on film fr. emotions and passion at an all time high, it’s as if the walls were painted in y’all’s intimacy. “aesthetes.” so much thought and effort are put into the final product—props and low lighting, burning candles, background music. it’s a movie scene, even down to the settings that resemble paintings.

❦— the fool. it’s normal for nsfw pics to happen outside; in nature or in public spaces. wild cards fr, you’ll end up doing it anywhere and everywhere (oral included). no regard for the law or peeping toms either, y’all get too wrapped up in each other care. this is in restrooms, at parking lots, on beaches, etc. just don’t get caught lmao.

end.❤️‍🔥 previous reading

𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ✞

🃏queen of cups↺. 6os↺. 5op. 10op↺. 9oc. cleanse and ideation↺.

i want to mention that i noticed a dime while shuffling—this made me think “a dime a dozen” or “diamond in the rough.” this is on the fs’s part, they put you on a pedestal. you’re a trophy to them, the winning prize, someone that they’re so proud to experience and witness in their everyday glory. no one in the world reminds them of you, you’re indifferent and cherishable. your own person. channeled that this is evident in their eyes—in pictures you’ll notice a glimmer or glint, even the admiration on their face. in awe of all that is you.

these are photos that can’t be shared, ones that are kept secret and stowed under passwords. “your eyes only.” this energy is very secretive, very “shhhh” and it seems to be a double edged sword situation. this pile’s future spouse has an outside relationship, someone they’re involved with despite their attachment to you. it’s shitty because y’all truly have a bomb ass connection but the secrecy behind it overshadows the love. the emperor in retrograde, their control over the situation is a nuance to the issue. the problem lies in their dismissal of reality, life outside of the fantasy they’ve created. pertaining to them leaving their current partner, it’s no negotiation on how or when to do it. they want to leave on their own time, but you’re not a fan of that sentiment because it’s tiring. this person is so matter of fact tho lmao, they say “deal with it or don’t.”

ngl i do see this as possessiveness, but it’s not as terrible as it seems. the circumstance could obviously be better, but as far as their intentions go it’s never out of spite. it sounds confusing because yes this is a love triangle, but truthfully they’re more invested in what y’all have. there’s just no forward action after the fact which screams lack of accountability due to their pride and ego. despite their leo placements (trust me), this person emulates the cowardly lion and his fear of courage, particularly their refusal to come clean and cut ties. with cleanse and ideation being contrasting colors (red and blue i.e. hot and cold), moments of passion turn into missed calls and ghosting. long periods on their end, on and off or up and down, because they don’t want to accept defeat—being in love.

these photos remind me of a mask, one that hides the truth behind wide smiles and kissy faces. it’s a lot going on within this connection and tbh that aspect is more evident than anything in the camera. despite their emotional response to you, i did channel that they have the tendency to forget you’re human lmao. not in a weird disrespectful sense, but that you’re an item they want to keep “all alone and only needing me.” it seems unhinged but again this isn’t with ill intent, it’s a claim for them. “competition” and i’m channeling flavor flav’s dating show—this is an ego (leo) thing for sure because of course this person has insecurities revolving your other options. this is such a situationship lmao but i don’t think it’s all bad, just some major inner reflection is needed. i will say that pile three’s energy was quiet, this seems to be withdrawal from dealing with old patterns and that’s valid.

📸 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬

❦— photobomb. this person is alwaysssss interrupting personal pictures lmao and with no shame too. i’m getting so many random instances of them, nine times out of ten they’ll be in the background of whatever is taken. channeling live photos specifically; you’re posing in the mirror as they walk in to bother you lmao. they start to grab at your waist to give you a kiss, but you’re laughing and squealing instead. they’ll have moments as such, but their gestures are significant (middle fingers, expressive faces, waving at the camera etc.)

❦— scorpio. very sexy, secluded energy is significant. for obvious reasons it’s borderline sneaking around, so the air of enticement is always there. “risqué.” there’s something about the lighting that adds to this dynamic, either lowering brightness or dimming the contrast (me coded) to “seduce” or add mystique. also it just looks better lmao.

❦— three of wands. specific so it’s not for all, but someone in this connection is either bisexual or bi-curious. this could even point to a polygamous or open relationship because i’m seeing threesomes or kissing people of the same sexual orientation. maybe even doing things with this person’s outside connection(s), it was mentioned. this didn’t come off as a photo trait but i still put it in lmao take what resonates.

❦— thin ice. one or the other are using their partner’s state of vulnerability as a quote unquote mindfuck😭 this is when they’re upset (yelling, crying, silent treatment etc). i even see someone sticking up their middle finger as their person spams a bunch of pictures. “aw you mad?” this seems to be the fs’s game of choice and it’s irritating bc sometimes they can’t read the room lmao.

❦— honey. this lands since together y’all seem to be hot and sticky, but turn out sweet at the same time. your person’s teasing and childish antics tie into this too (sticky), they’ll send pictures of things they ordered for you or send money to make up for upsetting you.

❦— hot. honey hot lmaoo don’t unfollow me yet. “turn me on” and “sexy sexy” came out, pretty self explanatory. i could see the energy if anything, y’alls energies are intense af. it’s like looking at porn in the form of a couple, very cunt tbh (i hate myself). sexual innuendos come from this too—grabbing crotches but it’s not in view, peeking at them from under the sheets, biting fingers or being choked.

❦— aquarius. very unserious couple lmaooo (take a shot for each lmao lmao), ya’ll are so silly together. this is milk mustaches, cheek biting, sniffing armpits, clenching butts—literally anything dumb. fun environments or dates that require being active, ones that are out the box or outside comfort zones. rock climbing, bungee jumping, parasailing, rooftop golf, riding atvs etc. veryyy fun pics.

❦— evidence. i didn’t want to include this because i don’t encourage it but we move. whatever pics come out of this specific part, they’re going to be vile. just outright nasty lmao and it’s for a reason. this is def ammunition for the feminine, this is her weapon for those that try to sabotage this relationship out of spite or competition. saved for “rainy days.” this is one leo ass pile😭

❦— aphrodite. because you’re breathtaking, they’ll catch you in the moments of being “free” or at ease. like when you’re getting undressed for a shower or when you’re glowing after great sex. capturing minuscule details that only a lover would notice, they see true beauty even when you aren’t attempting to be.

❦— nudes. the feminine is naughty oooo. “invisible ink.” she’s sending nudes like invitations lmao, but on the occasion that y’all have been separated for too long. wants to show her partner what they’ve been missing, or at least what they can’t have. “look since you can’t touch.” it’ll be torture too lmao, she’s def dolled up and posing in whatever’s sheer to flaunt her goods.

when it comes to sexual media in general, y’all are always on the same page. whenever, wherever, however—it’s always reciprocated because it’s always wanted lmao, it’s exciting and keeps things fun. sexting at work, whispering dirty talk into the phone, masturbation videos before noon etc. admiration of each other’s bodies is here; heart emojis and words of affirmation.

❦— queen of coins. this is value during pleasure, goddess treatment when it comes to bedroom activities. tbh if y’all stared at them long enough it’d just get y’all hot and bothered for more. i’m channeling that your person will dead send money in return for being blessed omg. roleplay and cosplay were mentioned, y’all go shopping for new costumes or items together.

had to mention because it kept reoccurring whenever i edited this specific pile—i kept repeating lmao after certain sentences or wanted to put in dumb shit for comedic presence, and i wanted to be blunt with this pile so bad because y’all felt so bestie. this was so y’all’s fs lmao idk who they are but they’re nothing but jokes, a pure clown at heart. i thought it was cute because i interpreted it as y’all being so connected that even when y’all are far apart y’all are still so close.

end.❤️‍🔥 previous reading

𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 ✞

🃏5os↺. 2ow↺. 3oc. the hermit. the magician↺. flow↺ and growth.

off bat it seems that pictures didn’t come into fruition for a while, at least three-five months tops. “no sudden movements.” resistance and ghosting are here, someone is running from the connection out of fear. the hermit card means that they’re scared of stepping outside their comfort zone to take a risk. not even in a negative way it’s just that they’re terrified lmao. this is def bestfriends to lovers but there’s turtle movement around the union coming together—that same someone doesn’t want to ruin the friendship. they don’t know this obviously, but y’all are actually a divine union. “ancient” so this could be souls from a past life coming together again. “grounded as human beings.” this is so slow burn tho lmao i can deadass see a tree starting to grow but in slowww motion.

this person fantasizes heavyyy about taking passionate photos with you, but again y’all are nowhere near that level of commitment yet. pretty sure this reading’s timeline is during the beginning or middle of y’all’s friendship since there’s so many downloads about comfortability and not wanting to mess up. they’re fighting temptation so bad it’s wild lmao, they’ve never felt this strongly about someone—let alone a friend. red hearts are in their eyes whenever you’re near, but they’ll still turn away to avoid facing the truth of their feelings. it’s annoying to them too lmao, queen of cups represents the emotional pull your presence has on them. to be caught up in the depths of inner reflection is so outside themselves and yet here they are.

someone else is involved with the pacing of this connection. the three of cups being pulled is representative as a person or situation outside of y’all, one that they’re incapable of leaving though they’re desperate to. “can’t.” something about being bound (marriage, children, parents, religion etc.) is the reason why. whichever or whatever it is, unfortunately it’s not an easy fix. their energy is obviously the most prominent and that’s because they’re yearning for this idea of becoming more, they just hate that blockages exist and are effective. you’re a literal pleasure to be around, they wish to easily accept and embrace all that you should offer. channeled tupac’s love letter to jada and how he wrote, “you bring me 2 climax without sex.” beautiful ass words from him btw, but in correspondence to your person this is what they’d say about you too. it’s a lot to relish in and it’s prob not obvious, but they do worship the very ground you walk on. admiration, adoration, appreciation in every way possible. honorable mention, your future spouse loves talking to you. general conversation is nice, but y’all peel off the layers of topics that are taboo or undiscussed. the conversation will reach the very ends of the earth just to double back again for more.

didn’t realize until now that pics together weren’t mentioned that much because this person had some things to say instead lmao. it’ll start off discreet, sneaking photos of you from behind or getting them walking past your table. this is cute considering the reading was mainly from fs’s perspective, but you’re the one that’s taking “accidental” pictures of them first. and when this person happens to take “accidental” pictures too, they won’t ever delete them. keepsakes. those accidents soothe the big fat secret crushes y’all have on each other. y’all are literally 🩷 in human form, or puppy love as a couple. very cute like i’m squealing for y’all.

📸 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬

❦— spam. “123” was pulled twice, but instead of countdowns i channeled multiple pictures at once. getting in each other’s faces for the fun of it, catching them off guard or at their “worst” to be silly lol. i see y’all picking out the most embarrassing ones and saving them to y’all’s favorites.

❦— beyoncè. “middle fingers up, put them hands high.” boy do y’all love this gesture lmaooo this is def in almost every pic if not all. i did hear until it’s used with direct intent then the rest of the song came in😭 this is a jab at their on and off behavior, y’all have periods of being beefed out bc of it.

❦— hair. someone’s hair is prominent, could be curly? if not it’s still apart of photos together, it’s even a prop sometimes. very nice hair, bold or beautiful. this is using strands of hair for mustaches or pretending to eat it with wide eyes lmao.

❦— taurus. could be food pics as well, but i channeled netflix and chill vibes. lounging around with y’all’s legs on the other or using chests as pillows. y’all send screenshots of movie favorites (actors and directors, behind the scenes, monologues etc.) or of movie knickknacks. seeing pics at comic-con and animals in character costumes. movie funko pops or figurines too.

❦— venusian. this is someone that will always always always compliment you before, after, or during a picture. if you ask them to take one of you, you’ll notice how fucking long it takes them to do it. i’m seeing them look back and forth, from you to the camera, because “wow you’re real.” gorgeous too. taken aback for sure but they’ll hide it behind witty little remarks. “wow you actually look nice today” but instead it’s the shittiest attempt at hiding what they really want to say.

❦— old friend. waving hello or goodbye, someone is doing this to the other as they come closer or farther away. pictures while they’re walking, seeing small smiles and timid hands. sweet gestures are significant, followed by blushing cheeks or shy eye contact.

❦— baby. this🥹 this is literally y’all’s aesthetic in most pictures. it’s like looking at puppies and kittens, how your whole demeanor goes soft and you can’t stop saying “awww.” tenderness is always there and it’s shown—forehead kisses, tracing noses, wearing each other’s shirts or hoodies, hugs from behind etc.

❦— boobies and more boobies. boobies.

❦— fluids. horrendous ass word but these are pics of 🥛 or 🧃 on each other’s faces. releasing on your lower body, or you’ll get them drenched in yours. if this person has a wand, i’m seeing it lodged in your mouth or being tapped across your cheek. this includes (loud and expressive🤭) self-masturbation on their end as well.

❦— condiments. yessss this is them putting whip cream on your neck to suck it off or pouring syrup into your belly button and licking it out. not food but ice cubes were mentioned too, dragging it along your body or kissing it into your mouth. plus they’re delicate with it. these are vids more than pics, but nonetheless y’all hot af lmao.

❦— lingerie. high quality, as in lace corsets and beaded garters that give off haute couture. getting the vibe of something expensive, and it doesn’t have to be but y’all not wearing nothing cheap lmao. doe or siren eyes in the camera, along with lewd poses and provocative faces.

��— hotttt. vids of them taking control or dirtying you up real good since they’re on camera🥵 rough and nasty, crying and begging type shit. i’m hearing taunting or a tone of condescendence while they pound harder and deeper wow. very raw and disgusting i love it. choking and spitting even, they’re extremely intense when they want to be and you’re going to love it lmao.

❦— aftercare. capturing each other’s naked bodies, either rubbing against one another or winding down after a round. this is when it’s all said and done, when y’all are out of breath and exhausted from banging each other’s brains out lmao. but it could also be the slower part of intercourse, where y’all still “attached” but it’s coming to an end. bro y’all are hot af😭

end.❤️‍🔥 previous reading

𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 ✞

🃏5ow. 10ow↺. death↺. 4os↺. 9ow. 2os↺. space and passion.

starting with the cards space and passion, this pile def has to tiptoe around the concept of taking photos with their fs. whoever they are, there’s disapproval around them being romantically involved with you. channeled “good girl gone bad” and it reminds me of the preacher’s daughter who turned out to be someone different than expected. with death in retrograde, that’s literally what i just said lmao—fated transformation will occur during this person and after. matter of fact, all of the cards in reverse represent the people whom are trying to lure you back into who you “used to be.” these people fear your transformation because they think it’s happening under the circumstance of pleasing your future spouse and not for personal gain. something tells me this is family talking opposed to public influence or nosey exes, and i also feel like you’re without a voice here. people don’t hear you out even when you try to speak up? with the nine of wands, you’re incessantly being put in positions where your beliefs are challenged as an adult, but this could stem from childhood as well. chiron in the 3rd, lillith in the 4th, and mercury in the 12th could be significant.

going back to this person, they give me first vibes. not in the sense of losing virginities or love and heartbreak, but your first sexual awakening. the aura around pictures with them are intense enough to be sexy but the dark and brooding type that’s why i made the assumption of this being the opened door to devotion. this feels like sex magick lmao, you’ll feel bonded to them whether it was before or after the first time. you’ve never been this infatuated before and if you think you have, no you haven’t. this is going to sound lame lmao but y’all’s energy feels like my persona on here, the profile pic and username. kourtney kardash and travis barker are a better example since they’re an actual couple. y’all are like them, not their entire relationship but the aesthetic they share and how in lust they are. don’t hate me either but i’m picking up on how kourtney pretty much changed her whole look to match travis’s vibe, this is that too (don’t do that tho, be yourself baby).

lmao let me again mention that people are pissed at this union like real bad. of course they don’t necessarily matter considering this is your life, but funnily enough they want the best for you. don’t get me wrong, however way they go about expressing this could def be better but the intention isn’t to be assholes. four of swords in retrograde, their thoughts revolve around emotional stability and maturity—you’re too young for them (fs) in terms of naivety. “ticking time bomb.” there’s truth to this tho and ofc you’ll discover why that is once it’s time to. bringing up the nine of wands again, as a whole it turned out be an age gap—your person could be older and it doesn’t have to be a huge ass difference but it’s not subtle lmao. channeled the trope dbf!character x daughter!reader😭 ngl that sums up why there’s so much tsking around y’all being together. y’all better be of legal age, and please careful when old creeps come around because no.

ngl this seems to be a karmic relationship that comes with a profound lesson; don’t get discouraged either, this is going to bring in so much growth as a physical and spiritual being. this is meant to help you transition through life seamlessly, or at least without the mindset of giving up. this lesson seems to be made up of spiritual guidance bordering past wounds (relationship, childhood, generational etc.), a universal test that’ll heal the old and assist the new. you’re kicking people from the past back where they were left at, very intent on standing where your foot lands. beautiful baby, congrats to your future self!

extra notes because i had no space to fit them in with the other paragraphs. as i said earlier, people are against y’all’s connection but it’s not just your family members that try to intercept. “tabloids.” i think your future spouse may be in the public eye? i didn’t pick up on fame in particular, but there’s some type of attention on them that gets put on you. regardless, the situation brings a shitload of haters. it’s weird tbh because people don’t not like you but at the same time they do?😭 “bittersweet” came to mind and that’s replicant of this energy in a way? “you deserve better.” people want to save you from something they don’t think is worth your time, but then want to rub it in your face that they told you so? bro idk who this person is but they are notttt popular, people not fw them at all lmao. it’s negativity around them if anything but i just heard “bad publicity is still publicity”, maybe that image works for them.

📸 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬

y’all must be special irl this pile is so different from the others lol—i didn’t pick up on photo traits but personality traits instead so i went with it. there’s no nsfw section for y’all because i didn’t pick up on that either, however there are four more piles for y’all to choose from!

❦— green eyes. this could be literal green eyes, but i felt more of an envious energy instead. surprise surprise the same people that hate on y’all’s relationship wish it could be theirs. people are jealous of what you’re getting with them, or “earning.” gifts and pretty things for being their spouse, it’s one of those dreams that everyone wants but only few have.

❦— king of wands. daddy warbucks himself, this person is for sure rich af. they’re someone with lots of power, lots of control, lots of fucking money lmao within their career. i don’t get that they’re ceo of wherever they work, but they have enough pull to take trips around the sun and bring you along too. “penthouse views” are included (obvi).

❦— honey. this person def has some seasoning to them, heavy dilf and silverfox vibes around their appearance. seeing a beard, low eyes, maybe even flannel shirts lmao. some of y’all have the twd cast (andrew lincoln, norman reedus, jeffrey dean morgan) and pedro pascal for face references. a rugged daddy basically😂

❦— cherries. maybe this is someone’s favorite fruit? this made me think of the tropics or places similar to the virgin islands. frequent flyer miles, traveling to visit warm beaches and clear coastal waters.

❦— hunter x chaser. this is such forty-year old energy lol it’s charming and that’s what they typically know best. your future spouse def got on your nerves with how much they kept hitting on you😂 not in a weird way, but in a way where they were intent on getting your name. i’m seeing phone number offers and warm smiles, crow’s feet around their eyes too. there is a sense of rejection here, but eventually you cave to their advances.

❦— 22. could be significant to y’all’s age gap, or maybe you’re this age at the time y’all meet. this number made me channel birthdays or special celebrations (anniversary, party, holiday etc). we’re aware of this person’s bank account lmao so it’s no surprise that they’re fond of spending whatever to throw the best whatever. “cover it all.” they’re the type to make things extra special and absolutely perfect for you, no matter the cost.

❦— awakening. this is in regards to you, how being with this person brought a rebirth that ultimately forced you to shed old skin. “Jesus.” major spiritual transitions, regardless of if you believe in higher power or not. this person is the catalyst to writing a new chapter of your life and thriving in it, you’ll be so powerful without the burden of dragging dead weight and opinions. ngl i don’t think your future spouse is meant to be longterm based on how important this transformation is for your story, i think you’ll realize that in the end. “it was fun while it lasted.” you’ll grow and reap your blessings.

end.❤️‍🔥 previous reading

#future spouse #fs tarot #future spouse pac #free tarot #pick a card #new pac #tarotblr #pick a pile #bitdemonic

[celaenaeiln]

it is in my humble opinion that in a demigod child situation, Dick Grayson would be either a child of Ares, Athena, or Aphrodite. Athena and Aphrodite are pretty obvious, he's smart and he's charming and he's bloody terrifying. but Ares. Oh Boy Do I Love That Guy and here is why.

modern media portrays Ares as a misogynistic asshole. this is just untrue. Ares is the only male Olympian without a history of SA and in fact adores & respects women. he is the father of the Amazons and has the title "the god feasted by women" Dick Grayson (apparently) is perceived as a womanizer and cheater. That Is Not True At All. he loves and respects women.

Ares is often portrayed as being a force of nature, uncaring of the law. that is also false. he's also the god of rebellion and civil order, an ally of Themis, the goddess of justice Dick Grayson, yes he can be a feral little shite (and i say this with full adoration), he's still a police and stands for the people, he brings justice in both his day and night job

there's a common conception that Ares is a meatheaded guy who only likes war and violence. once again, untrue. you need strategy for war, Ares simply represents the brutal aspects of war but he's still a smart guy as seen with the Romans adopting Ares into Mars. not to mention, Ares understands that in war there are winners and losers Dick Grayson is often seen as ditzy or less smart than his siblings (especially Tim) when in reality he's a very capable and smart guy who understands that loss happens at times

Ares cares about his family, especially his mother. when two giants threatened his mother, Hera, he was the first to fight for her. i don't need to talk about how much Dick cares for his family right? i'll admit though, this point is less polished than the rest

as much as i love the PJO series, i HATE their characterization of Ares being a crappy dad. the reality is that he disobeyed Zeus to avenge his children in the Trojan War. he committed murder and was sentenced to trial for his daughter. The Amazonian Warriors. he may not be the best at affection but he's a caring dad Dick Grayson is not the perfect brother/mentor/father figure but he's trying and doing his best goddamnit. i'm sick of people saying he's not

anger is an essential part to Ares. anger is an essential part to Dick Grayson

there's a common portrayal of Ares and Aphrodite where Ares treats Aphrodite like shite. let's be honest, the goddess of love (a war goddess, by the way if you look up Aphrodite Areia) would not let herself be treated poorly. my personal belief on why this portrayal exists lies with the whole Hephaestus debacle in which i believe Hephaestus was the crap guy here but that's another topic i'd discuss with another shot I Do Not Care What You Say, Starfire and Nightwing Are Not The Shitty Relationship You Think They Are

in (i think) two different stories, it's shown that Ares can dance. it makes sense. footwork is important in battle. footwork is important in acrobatics. Dick Grayson knows what he's doing

in many myths, Ares is treated like crap by his siblings and although this is another half baked point, i feel like it's a bit common for Dick Grayson to be treated like crap by his loved ones

i love Ares and i love Dick Grayson and sadly they both have poor representation in mass media. thank you for listening, i am so fucking tipsy (maybe drunk actually) right now.

damn.

#i'm speechless anon #I LOVE this #dick grayson #nightwing #ares #greek mythology #thanks for the ask! #cl anon asks

[fitsofdespair]

i have hesitated to say anything before now. in part because i removed myself from fandom discourse and really from actively discussing iwtv a year ago. i consider it all a lose-lose situation.

but also because i’m generally of the opinion that black fans don’t need people to be their white saviors, least of all me. black people have never been saved by white people. they were never just given anything when it comes to strides in equality, they fought for it and still fight for it, against constant violent pushback every step of the way. only instead of the good ole’ days when racists just called those fighting for equality uppity, they’re now “bullies” for daring to call you out on your shit after the repeated condescension and the resulting harassment you’ve exhibited towards them.

in this day and age the word bully has zero meaning anymore. i mean come on, melania trump calls people mean about her husband bullies. elon musk thinks he’s being bullied by twitter users, though he clearly holds all the power and is absolutely the problem. its become a meaningless word that goliaths use to call davids because they won’t use the real word they actually want to say. some of these popular blogs are not being bullied, they’re being held accountable for their own actions.

it’s pretty disgusting the number of you who decided to identify strongly with these users that not only fail to question their own racial biases but have gone so far as to suggest black people don’t face racism anymore. this is so fucked. tbh it can be argued in many ways white people, especially in the deep south where i’m from, are inherently raised steeped in racism, even if its not direct. just because your family aren’t ostensibly racist doesn’t mean they didn’t bake their own little prejudices into your upbringing and being raised in your environment didn’t encourage them. even if you don’t see yourself as racist, you have to unlearn all this shit, even if it never once occurred to you that you are part of it. just cause you believe in equality and don’t hate people for their color or cultural background does not make you free of perpetuating microaggressions against them. this applies to fans across the world of course. (like for you white euro iwtv fans, you may say you have no problem with black people but i’ve heard some wild things some of yall have to say about the turks.)

i understand that probably half or more of you are not usamericans. but no matter what environment you live in, no matter where you were raised, there is no excuse for your behavior. just because YOU don’t see racism in your day to day life or are in the more likely situation, too blindly comfortable in your place in society to notice it right in front of your face, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist as a constant presence in other parts of the world or isn’t deeply ensconced in online rhetoric.

so for you white iwtv fans who can’t be fucked to mention let alone defend people you, in many cases once called friend, against the absolute horseshit your current comrades are spewing wrapped up in their nice safe cocoons of victimhood, i hope you do some serious soul searching to figure out if this is who you are, a person too cowardly to call out a friend because it might cost you their friendship. a person quick to condemn others on hearsay because you couldn’t be fucked to wonder am i on the right side of this? and if you do manage to get wise and change your mind, remember its not unforgivable to say, you know what? i was wrong. i wrote in an old post that the hallmark of being a functional adult is changing your views accordingly when you learn new information or even just ruminate on what you know (i myself was a little bitch about ep 5 when it first dropped until i had to sit down and ask myself why i was actually feeling some kind of way about it). dying on a hill is not all its cracked up to be. being told you’re wrong is not always a personal attack and its often an opportunity for improvement if you can be bothered to genuinely hear other people out. an alarming number from all walks of life never figure that out. for my part, i am still learning and hope i never stop learning.

while that sentiments all nice and gooey (i mean them, but i understand its still sacharine to put out there), i am still guilty for not having directly written anything about this until now. and thats on me and i earned any flack i get for that. again, i am more of the mindset that black people don’t need white spokespeople, but that doesn’t mean they'll mind allies. and as a sidebar, going out of your way to say you are rising “above the noise” or “ignoring the drama” is absolutely your right, but it does not make you superior. it just makes you complacent with the status quo. i mean as long as you get to squee!! about anything and everything who cares about other people, right?

#and to be clear since i think some people may be a bit confused: i’m admonishing user nalyra-dreaming and their followers #some people who reblogged seem to not understand that #iwtv #interview with the vampire #alex.txt

[p0ssywhippedcream]

hey girlypop!! glad you're better now!!!! could you pretty please write a percy jackson angst where he keeps choosing annabeth over the reader (she's his ex) and at one point he calls you pathetic and a bitch when you're arguing over her so you just run away crying?? not like a toxic relationship, just that he's in love with her while being with you! ty my love xox

baby love, I hate to break this to you but this is toxic. if you've ever been through this irl or are going through it, get the fuck out of that situation because you deserve so much better. I'm gonna change a few things cause it seems a little OOC but I will write it, just like promise me you understand that this is fictional and if somebody ever does this to you, you block them, call a friend and cry until you don't need to.

"Percy, just listen to me!"

He whirls around, his frustrated pacing bringing him close enough you can smell saltwater. "I am! It's ridiculous! You expect me to just be over her?"

"Yes!' You cry, throwing your hands down, "Because you're with me now and it's not fair that you're just now telling me that maybe you still have feelings for her!"

"I was with her for three years, y/n! You know what we went through together, she was my whole life."

Your energy is draining fast, you've been going in circles for hours now. "Perce, it's been a year. I understand that she meant a lot to you but romantically, that's over and I'm supposed to be the one you feel this way for!"

"Well how can I, y/n? You're not her." His face is flushed, eyes frantic and lips trembling with a rage that shakes the pipes of his apartment.

The air is electric, emotions bouncing around like molecules fighting for space. Like you, fighting for a space that's not yours, never yours. A space with someone else's name on it.

"And I thought that was okay." So many things want to come out of you, you want to beat on his chest with closed fists until he understands the pain beating inside yours. " I thought that I could mean to you what she did."

Percy rolls his eyes and huffs, turning his back on you as he resumes pacing. "You could never take what she means to me."

You wanted to say that's not what you were trying to do but really, how can you. You wanted to be a part of his life the way Annabeth was, you wanted to paint your name on her place and be what he needed, what keeps him going. You wanted to compare to the girl he went to hell and back for, you wanted to matter just barely a fraction what she did.

"I can never matter to you the way she does, can I?" Your voice is horse and tired and you just need one last confirmation. One last chance is handed his way, thrown into crashing waves like a prayer on a dead man's tongue.

The ocean swallows your hope, the storm is silent as the anger rages on around you. You stand in the eye, driftwood raft held together with half-baked compliments and forgotten I love yous.

"You're just not Annabeth." And it's the way he says her name that splits your makeshift boat straight in two. He says it like she carried each bucket of water from heaven and filled the sea, pouring every pinch of salt herself. She created the marine life from kisses and stars and designed them to make him happiest, she mans the lighthouse for lost sailors. She floats on a yacht in calmer waters as you go under, wondering why you left shore for an empty promise.

"Okay." You're drowning, the current much too strong. No matter how hard you fight, the sea was never going to forgive you for the sin of trusting it.

You're gone, fish food to him. You've left and you've walked and you're never going back to the apartment you loved in. He's sat down, head in his hands thinking of the one girl who survived his hurricane. He picks up the phone and she picks up on the second ring.

"Annabeth, hey."

#this broke me why do we enjoy this #oph.posts #oph.thoughts #oph.anons #pjo #pjo x reader #pjo x reader angst #pjo angst #rick riordan #pjo Percy #pjo Percy angst #pjo Percy x reader #pjo Percy x reader angst #Percy x reader #Percy #Percy x reader angst #Percy x reader pjo #Percy x you #Percy x you angst #pjo Percy x you #pjo Percy x you angst #Percy x y/n #Percy x y/n angst #pjo hoo toa #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson and the olympians Percy #percy jackson and the olympians Percy x reader #percy jackson and the olympians Percy x you

[olderthannetfic]

One of the things I've seen people who support End OTW Racism talk about is wanting to make sure only people who should reclaim slurs use them in their work. This raises a lot of questions to me, such as 1. how are you going to determine who gets to reclaim a slur 2. how are you going to determine that an individual is in the group you've decided should be allowed to once you figure out the answer to point 1, and 3. how are you going to deal with the fact that sometimes, a word is a slur in one language or one region of the world and not the rest? A lot of people I know in the United States only found out what the slur is for Pakistani people when a YouTuber from the UK (who is black, not Pakistani himself) got heat for saying it, for instance. If someone accidentally uses it as an abbreviation, not knowing it's a slur in the UK, then how is the moderation team supposed to handle that?

I like the idea of having more moderators who can review instances of harassment and racism, but I feel that some of these proposed ideas are not practical or realistic to implement online in large-scale on a site as big as AO3. I hate that anyone who asks these questions is being framed as being "pro-racism". Of course I'm anti-racist, I'm not white and I've experienced it in fandom, but having been in fandom for this long, I'm aware that it's a big space. It seems to me to be an impossible task to check that every single person using a slur is someone you've decided should be allowed to do so for every single instance of it being used in every story on the entire archive. My main fandom alone is half a million works. It would take an astounding amount of volunteers to look through that.

Also, though... people lie. People lie about their race a lot online. I have caught out many, many people in the act of lying when they claim to be Afghani because, as a mixed black/Pashtun person myself, I know enough about the region to ask them things like what language their parents speak or what part of the country they're from, etc., and people haven't put in enough effort to read up on the thing they're pretending to be, so they say something so incorrect it's readily apparent. But there are a lot of Afghani-Americans with very little knowledge of the country, too, as a result of generational trauma. Even I have sometimes found myself going, "Is this a lie, or is this someone who's just disconnected from their roots?" So how are volunteers on AO3 supposed to know if someone is or isn't the race they say they are? Even BIPOC can misidentify someone as a liar or believe someone who is actually lying if the liar in question put in a lot of work into their grift.

And that's without getting into the obvious fact that people are assholes who will lie about authors and forge evidence against them to try to convince the mods so-and-so is lying about being black so they shouldn't be allowed to use the word 'colored' in their historical fandom set in the 1890's. You know people would do that to each other, it's fandom. Fandom has always had toxic people in it.

A lot of people who back End OTW Racism keep saying, "we're just holding AO3 to it's promise back in 2020" but don't seem to have thought through their suggestions on how AO3 does that. I really want to be onboard here, but these ideas were not well thought-out. Even disregarding how many people it'd take to moderate a site this big, the flaw baked into this and many other proposals is that it falls into asking the moderators to make personal judgments and assessments of sensitive matters and situations where they don't have all the information they'd need to make that judgment call.

Honestly I think before calling for action, they should've had a list of actionable ideas for what AO3 do that are not so obviously rife with flaws and room for abuse by bad-faith actors.

--

There really doesn't seem to be a lot of willingness to deal with the reality of both racefakers and POC getting harassed for doing their own identities "wrong".

Frankly, I'd rather have lots of questionable works than one instance of demanding some hapless minority teenager prove their identity because they ~don't sound authentic~.

How much must that fuck a person up, especially if they're young? Especially, especially if they're some kind of diaspora, quite possibly displaced for unpleasant reasons.

I frankly think people massively overestimate any "harm" from some crappy fic a person refused to click back on and massively underestimate this other kind of harm.

[fluffymaxsworld]

“seven days”

monday

model!simonriley x normie!reader

[simon is a model, you’re the typical sweet girl, no smut (but planned), enemies to lovers, mutual attraction, orphanage, mention of christianity, ghost can’t basically socialize poor boy :(]

[not proof read, i’m sorry for grammar mistakes, i’m not english :))]

“If you want to improve your situation you have to take part in this volunteer project” simon riley’s manager handed him a voucher, “It’s a week-a-week job at an orphanage in a small town”

“one week should be easy” he said, “sign me up”

MONDAY

simon riley, world famous model, finally arrived at the orphanage.

lately rumors began to spread about his deep hate for children, which was half true, he wouldn’t lie, but still a bad thing for his public image.

“you should be simon, come in” a old woman greeted him, smiling weakly.

now i get why they need help, he thought.

“i’m really happy another young man has decided to help us”

another? there are other people?

“it’s such a pleasure being here, mrs…?”

“oh, sarah is fine” she began to walk towards a small, cozy room. “this is where you’ll sleep for the next few days, get comfortable!”

“thank you sarah” he smiled and dropped his suitcase on the floor, “i’ll make sure to be as quick as possible to start today”

“what a kind guy!” she said, leaving him alone in the room.

he took a glance around. it was quite different from the hotel rooms he was used to, the sunlight hitting the walls and the beds… beds?!

he didn’t noticed that there were another pair of bags on the floor, a deep shade of pink and some feminine clothes dropping out of them. one of the bed was done, light blue sheets and soft pillows. someone was going to sleep with him.

he sighed, taking out his black surgical mask (to avoid paparazzi during the whole day, his manager said) and putting it on his face, half of it now well covered.

after doing his bed and preparing the last things, he walked into the common space full of lively children and a sweet scent of baked cookies, something he missed a lot. he noticed a couple of women and men around his age helping the kids or playing with them. he sat on a chair, looking around for something to do.

a small hand reached his arm touching his hard muscles.

“are you new??” a cute voice coming out of a small kid, six years old maybe.

“i am kiddo” he replied, “what’s yer name?”

“alex!!” he smiled, “and that’s my best friend!”

he pointed at a 20 years old girl that was wearing a cute yellow dress full of sunflowers, smiling sweetly at some children that were drawing on a piece of paper. you.

“she’s the best ever! i love her so much!” the kid interrupted his thoughts, gripping his arm gently.

“alex! come back here!” your even sweeter voice called out the kid who immediately, still holding simon’s arm, ran towards you.

“hey hey, look who i found! he’s new!” alex said, smiling almost proud of his new friend.

“hello, simon riley”

“simon riley? the model?” you asked bluntly, your soft expression hardening at the thought of more problems, “what are you here for, money or something? we definitely don’t need any trouble”

“girl, relax. i wanted to help, that’s all.” he replied, getting quite annoyed by the same girl he found nearly attractive a few seconds before.

“a model? that wants to help? oh please, do you think i’m stupid?” you grunted.

“what’s your problem, girl. s’not like i’ve brought wit’ me paparazzi and fangirls”

“your stupid fangirls. how can people like celebrities they never met…” you mumbled, almost to yourself.

“i can hear you.” he groaned, “and i even thought you were sweet”

“the fu-” you covered your mouth before cursing in front of the kids, “i don’t wanna talk to you, so please leave me alone”

“tsk, s’not like i wanted to talk to ya” and with this, he walked away.

liar. he wanted to talk to you. so damn much.

lunch time. simon talked to a few guys working there that told him about how the days works and the breaks.

“you’ll choose a table for the whole week, unfortunately you can’t change it.” they explained.

simon took his food, a warm soup with a side of chicken, and sat on a half empty table.

he had small talks with the guys sitting there when suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“what are you doing here?” your voice broke the silence in his mind.

“eating?” he replied, almost sarcastically.

“eating, here?” you sat besides him, “this is my table”

“so? now it’s ours” he grunted.

i wonder how’d you look in bed sweetheart, he thought, blushing slightly under his mask.

“whatever. there’s no need to fuck around for a stupid thing like this.” you said.

“so you can swear. thought ya were some kind of church typa girl”

“what the hell is this supposed to mean? a christian girl can’t swear?” you growled.

“no no, that’s not…” he stopped, “whatever, forget it. let’s just ignore each other.”

“good idea”

simon entered his room, curios on who his roommate might be, maybe a cute girl, he thought.

well, whoever they were, they didn’t arrive yet. luckily, because he needed a shower. after taking off his sweaty clothes and bringing with him all the stuff for his model-like shower he stepped in, turning on the warm water and cleaning up.

you opened the door of your room, sarah already told you about your new roommate and you just prayed he wasn’t simon. a soapy scent filled the air so you just figured out he was probably taking a shower.

you laid on your light blue bed, enjoying the pleasant breeze, smiling softly and thinking about your day.

simon isn’t a bad guy for sure, but you just couldn’t help but imagine him like a thirsty-for-fame man. yet you couldn’t also deny his attractiveness, which made you blush softy at the only sight of him.

of course he’s handsome, he’s a model! you thought.

simon finished the shower. he wrapped around his hips a white towel. he opened the door and…

“you!?” he grunted.

“you??” you grunted back, studying his appearance, “put something on, you pervert!”

“i just took a shower, dumbass!” he growled.

“whatever, put something on anyways!” you looked away, pressing your face into the soft pillow.

he’s so damn hot!!! you thought, blushing intensely.

why does she have to be so annoying, such a waste for a cutie like her, he thought, closing the bathroom door and putting on his calvin klein boxers.

after awhile he stepped out (again) all dressed up as he saw you already sleeping on your bed. you had changed clothes too in the meantime.

so she was naked? he smirked.

“you’re so breathtaking” he whispered to himself.

“i’m what?” you muttered, sleepy voice and sleep eyes.

luckily for him, you weren’t facing him, because right now he was blushing like a school girl, covering his face.

“annoying! you’re so annoying!” he tried to correct himself.

“tsk, whatever.”

i love this concept, seven days of model!simonriley x normie!reader.

i want him to wake up with a morning erection😍😍

pt 2 coming in a few days :))

ask to join a taglist <33

#ghost x reader #simon riley #cod simon riley #simon riley x you #simon riley x reader #ghost x you #ghost smut #cod ghost #simon ghost riley #ghost #simon riley smut #simon ghost x reader #ghost cod #cod x reader

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

Common Grounds / Chapter 10

Pairing: Marcus Pike x f!Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Rating: Chapter is T, Series is E (smut, 18+)

Warnings: plot, pining, two idiots in love, cliffhanger ending

Summary: The night of your exhibition and the culmination of Marcus's case is going well, until an unexpected (and unwanted) guest shows up...

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to @prolix-yuy, who singlehandedly rekindled my passion for this story and finally gave me the push that I needed to write down the ending that's been swirling in my brain for most of the year. Thank you also to @littlebirdsbookshelf, beta reader extraordinaire, who takes every idea and makes it better. There will be 1 more chapter in this story, plus a short epilogue!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

[Previous / Next]

“Earth calling.”

You startle, nearly sending a large mixing bowl clattering to the floor.

“I’m awake!” you announce. If your volume is unnaturally loud, Sam doesn’t call attention to it.

“Is that why you just dumped all your diced apples into the trash instead of the bowl?”

“Shit.”

Serves you right for keeping both containers right next to each other, you suppose. You learned that lesson at home the hard way, too—that’s why you own two coffee mugs that read “Paint Water” and “Not Paint Water,” respectively.

“These stupid strudels are never going to get made,” you grumble to yourself as you grab another apple from the sink.

“Why are you off in the clouds, anyway?” Sam asks. “Marcus isn’t due for another hour and a half.”

“It’s not that,” you protest.

Sam raises their eyebrow as if to say, Really?

“Okay, it’s not exactly that,” you amend.

They hop up onto the counter beside you. “Spill.”

“I… I really can’t,” you say hesitantly, feeling guilty that you’re keeping a huge development in your life from your closest friend and supporter.

“Now you’re worrying me,” Sam remarks, frowning.

“Please don’t worry. It’s really nothing, it’s…” you trail off, unsure how you can effectively dance around the elephant in the room without giving Sam any actual details.

Sorry I’m distracted, I can’t stop thinking about the fake art exhibition I’m putting on tonight with the help of my FBI Agent boyfriend and his entire team in order to catch an art thief.

Sam looks troubled, regarding you with concern etched into their expression, but drops the issue. The two of you return to baking in companionable silence, and you try your best not to waste any more apples.

When Marcus arrives, as you could have probably predicted, Sam accosts him immediately.

“I’m gonna need you to tell me what’s going on with your girlfriend,” they say, clicking a pair of plastic serving tongs in his direction.

Marcus holds up his hands in surrender, amused surprise flashing across his features as he steps up to the counter.

“Is this a hold-up?” he jokes. “I’d have to ask her myself, since I just got here.” He turns to you, his eyes warming and smile widening as though he can’t help but do it when he looks at you. “Hello there.”

“Hey,” you grin, ducking your head shyly.

“Sam says there’s something wrong with you,” he says, raising his eyebrows playfully.

You return his smile and shake your head rapidly back and forth. “I’m great,” you insist, although you know Marcus can see the nervousness dancing behind your purposefully-cool demeanor.

Sam hands Marcus his lavender latte and one of the apple strudels—still warm from the oven. When they retreat to the back room for more supplies, Marcus is ready.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks, sotto voce. “I hate to think I’ve put you in a situation that you’re uncomfortable with. Listen, the ball is in your court. If you’re nervous about any of this, I can pull the plug on this in an instant—”

“It’s not that,” you answer quietly. “It’s—okay, it is that a little bit, but it’s just hard to keep this from Sam. They’ve supported me for so long, and this is my first art show, even if it’s fake—”

“It’s not fake,” Marcus says insistently. “It might be a convenient front for an operation, but you’ll have very real buyers there, I promise you.”

It’s a reassurance he’s offered more than once over the last month that you’ve spent preparing for this show.

“I’m sorry to make you keep this from Sam,” Marcus adds softly. “We’ll tell them as soon as we can, okay? If everything goes well, you could tell them as early as tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” you whisper gratefully.

“You’re gonna be incredible,” Marcus smiles. “You’ve put in so much work for this, and it shows.”

You smile, remembering the countless nights Marcus stayed up with you until the wee hours of the morning as you painted. Usually half-dressed, he’d sit quietly in an armchair he had pulled over to your “studio” from the other side of the living room. Sometimes he’d read, other times he worked, but most of the time he simply… watched. You lost count of the times you’d glanced in his direction and found him already looking at you, a small, serene smile on his face as he watched.

You’re so comfortable with each other, and it’s barely been over a month that you’ve been together. God. Sometimes—mostly late at night on the scant days Marcus isn’t warming the bed beside you—it spirals you into a panic. How devastating it would be if this ended. You aren’t supposed to get attached. You aren’t supposed to become emotionally invested. Your heart isn’t supposed to beat for one person, your entire body shouldn’t soar with happiness whenever you see their smiling face.

But it does. Oh, it does.

You’ve come close to blurting out the uncomfortable truth several times. After he brings you flowers at work “just because”—I love you. When the two of you make breakfast after sleeping in, using up every dish in the house to make the most elaborate crepes recipe you can find—I love you. In the dark of night, when your chest still heaves with exertion and he’s still softening inside of you, and his kisses are so gentle and unhurried—I love you.

“I’ve gotta run,” Marcus announces. He briefly places his palm over yours—never one to cause a scene while you’re working—before pulling back and giving you a meaningful look. “I’ll see you when you get off work, okay?”

“Okay.”

He gives Sam a little wave, grabs his breakfast, and leaves. Just before he disappears from view, his eyes meet yours for one last look in the cafe window.

I love you.

You wonder if the words will always be right at the tip of your tongue.

— — — — — —

After your shift, you only dither for a little while—okay, maybe the better part of an hour—over what you’re going to wear to your first exhibition. Too casual. Too dressy. Trying too hard. Too old. Too young. The pile on your bed is growing when you get a text from Marcus.

The team is ready for you whenever you are :)

Exhaling shakily, you grab a simple pair of slacks and a colorful blouse, dressing hastily, throwing on some makeup, and hurrying out of the door.

Even if your boyfriend is the team leader, it doesn’t seem smart to keep the FBI waiting.

You aren’t sure what to expect. Will he introduce you as his girlfriend? Will he hug you? Will he treat you like a colleague? Will he pretend you’re nothing to him? Will you mess everything up somehow? Will everyone at the gallery—including Marcus’s art thief—know you’re a plant?

As planned, Marcus meets you at the entrance to the building—to help you get signed in, get your visitor’s pass, and escort you up to the art crimes department. He smiles the same way he always does when he sees you—in that way that lights up his entire face—and gives you a quick kiss on the temple.

“I haven’t thanked you enough for doing this,” he says by way of greeting.

“I feel like I should be saying the same,” you comment as he gently guides you through the glass doors with a hand at your lower back.

So much for being worried if he’ll be cold and distant at work.

He walks with you to the visitor’s kiosk, and in no time at all, you’re outfitted with a real, actual building pass that reads ‘CONSULTANT’ in large, black letters. You focus on not freaking out as you follow Marcus up two flights of stairs and through a frosted glass door emblazoned with the words “Art Crimes.”

Heart hammering in your chest, you let him lead you to a large, open conference room where a dozen people are busying about. When you enter, every head turns to you, and you fight the urge to will yourself to sink into the floor. But then—a large, broad bear of a man in a tac vest cheers.

“This must be the girl!”

The entire room erupts in applause.

You blanch.

Marcus immediately turns a deep shade of red.

“Guys, I… I told you not to do that,” he says weakly, but the corners of his mouth are pulling upward in an exasperated smile.

“But it’s her!” someone shouts.

“Give her a kiss!”

“Out of line,” Marcus scolds, although the small quirk of his lips remains. “This is our consulting artist for the case. She is, for all intents and purposes, a member of this team and her contributions will be treated with all the respect and importance that the position affords. You already know how seriously I take the safety of every member of the team, and that our consultants’ and partners’ safety is the utmost priority.” He hesitates, looking down at the floor and grinning to himself. “And besides, she’s my girlfriend.”

“There it is!”

The team cheers again as you sheepishly butt your head into Marcus’s shoulder. You feel him press a soft kiss just at your hairline before straightening. “And that’s the only discussion we’re going to have about that,” he says, ears still tinged pink.

You listen carefully as plans are discussed. Most of Marcus’s team will be posing as waitstaff, carrying around h’ors d’ouevres on little trays through the gallery as they survey the room. There will be a backup team in an unmarked van in the alley one block from the gallery, where all the tech required for surveillance will be housed. And of course, Marcus will be by your side, playing the role of the gracious, dutiful boyfriend.

Caterers have been booked—all thoroughly vetted and background-checked—and are already in place at the venue. Your art was collected early this morning while you were already at work and displayed according to rough sketches you had provided to the team.

All that’s left is you.

Your heart is in your throat as you watch the agents get outfitted with invisible earpieces, unable to take your eyes off the way Marcus seems to naturally lead his team. He has the same earnest, open expression that endeared you to him the first morning he wandered into Common Grounds, but there’s also something… more. He’s effortlessly commanding, exerting authority without ever being domineering. He carries himself with ease, in his element as he goes over final preparations. He grins easily as he talks over directions with the head of the surveillance team, and when he looks up and locks eyes with you, the feeling hits you again.

I love you.

— — — — — —

Marcus’s team take several unmarked SUVs to the art gallery.

You take the subway.

Marcus’s arm is warm and solid around you, but you can tell he’s distracted; he’s staring somewhere into the middle distance with a somewhat vacant expression.

“Are you okay?” you ask, nudging him gently.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry. I’ve got twenty different voices in my ear tonight, you might have to be a little patient with me,” he says apologetically. “I promise I’ll look the part when we get inside—I’m just listening to everyone’s reports as they get in position.”

“Oh! Of course,” you laugh, feeling silly. Look the part. Right.

As if he can read your mind, Marcus gently runs the backs of his fingers across your cheekbone. “I know this isn't an ideal first exhibition, but I really hope you’re as proud of yourself as I am,” he says quietly. “And no matter how the op goes tonight, I want you to know that your success is just as important to me as catching the guy, okay?”

“What if it’s a flop?” you ask, grimacing at your own insecurity.

Marcus shakes his head fondly as his smile widens. “I genuinely don’t think it will be. You’re truly talented—I mean that, I’m not just saying it because we’re together, or because we needed an artist for this to work. All you need is an audience, and well—” he grins crookedly, “—we’ve got that covered, I think. Half the budget for this case went to advertising this show. We won’t just get the thief to show up—we’ll get half of D.C.”

You nod, awed, as always, by the man’s earnestness. As your stop is announced, he waggles his eyebrows playfully, making you laugh.

“You—you’re gonna be safe, right?” you ask in a small voice. “Like, I know there’s gonna be security and stuff around me, but like… what about you?”

Marcus chuckles. “I am the security detail. Try not to worry too much, okay? This is a highly competent team, and I’d trust every single agent here with my life.” He suddenly rolls his eyes, confusing you until he murmurs, “I knew you’d have a damn field day with that. Stop flooding the channel.”

“This is gonna be a confusing night,” you remark lightly as you step off the metro.

“Just focus on you.” Marcus squeezes your hand reassuringly. “The other stuff doesn’t exist anymore. Just you and me at your first exhibition.”

You and me.

You squeeze his hand right back.

Marcus plays his part outstandingly well. He hovers at your shoulder, a gracious smile pasted on his face as you greet guests and answer questions about your art. He lets you do most of the talking, keeping his responses to smiles and handshakes as more and more people approach you. It’s the perfect cover—you know he’s listening intently to the chatter in his earpiece as the agents canvas the spacious gallery, looking for their suspect.

You start to lose yourself in the whirlwind of the event. You hand out business cards in a haze of disbelief, shake an endless parade of hands, and watch in amazement as people look appreciatively at your paintings on the walls. Marcus was right—people are actually buying your art. You almost forget the real purpose behind the event.

“This is amazing,” you murmur to Marcus as you stroll through the gallery, taking it all in.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Amazing—I really do mean that.” He gives you a warm, if slightly strained smile as he balances his dual responsibilities. You beam back at him. He’s so brilliant. When the night is over—whatever happens—you really should tell him how you feel. Another patron approaches you, congratulating you on your success, and Marcus shoots you a wink before stepping back and letting you have the limelight.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t sweet cheeks and her Fed boyfriend.”

You whirl around. That fucking voice. It cuts through your contentment and makes your shoulders tense with anxiety. You swallow thickly around the bad taste in your mouth, and spit out your response.

“Derrick.”

#marcus pike #marcus pike x you #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x f!reader #marcus pike fanfiction #the mentalist #pedro pascal

[taeminsung]

wish i were..

pairing: hyunjin x reader

summary: now that it's getting colder, hyunjin hopes that he hasn't missed the opporunity to tell you how he feels.

anon request: a hyunjin x reader based on heather by Conan Gray would hurt so good.

mina’s notes: my whole heart. please enjoy the hurt with me ♡ 

You had always insisted that the fall looked better from the top of tall buildings, which was why Hyunjin knew you would love to sit on the roof of JYP, just enjoying the weather as well as the view. Steam from the coffee he brought up was filling the space between the two of you as you laughed at his lame attempt at a joke, a shy smile pulling at his lips. These moments that he got to steal away with you filled his heart with such joy because he knew they always came few and far between. It was rare for him to pull you away from the group and have time like this because Chan knew of his feelings for you. To Hyunjin, it didn’t matter if you were his or not, moments like this was enough for him to have and cherish until he felt it was time to confess his true feelings to you.

Sitting alone in the practice room, Hyunjin couldn’t stop his eyes from staring at the sweater that laid next to his bag. It was just a simple piece of clothing, but why did it bring out so many emotions in him at the same time. Trying to pull his own thoughts away from where his mind started to drift to, he found his feet taking him over to sit in front of it, like it had some stupid gravitational pull. He hated that as his fingers reached out to touch it, the movie of that day played across his vision.

˚⁎⁺˳

The cool breeze sent a shiver up Hyunjin’s spine as he pulled his eyes away from your profile and instead to look over the city, to get a better understanding as to why you loved the views from up high. Was it the way that the city seemed to be endless? Or maybe because you could see all the trees changing colors? Could it have possibly been that it gave you a bird’s eye view of where you normally lived your life? Lost in his own thought he jumped slightly when he felt something come to sit on his shoulder, attention immediately going back to you and the smile you offered as you sat back down next to him, now just in the thin t-shirt you wore beneath the baggy sweater you were originally wearing. His fingers pulled it tighter over him before properly putting it on, concerned that you may start to freeze if he kept it for too long, but too enriched in what it could mean to deny wearing it.

Glancing back over at you, he watched the way that your focus wasn’t on the city before you two, but instead on the sky above and the clouds that populated the blue. It didn’t occur to him that maybe it wasn’t the city that caused you to love being up high, but instead how much closer it brought you to the sky, something you mentioned you loved once in passing. A quick memory of you pulling him and Han out of practice just to watch a beautiful sunset, made the soft click of realization happen. Too far in his own mind, he didn’t notice that you were looking at him, having said something. Hyunjin, you said again, a blush creeping across his cheeks as he came back to the reality of the situation. That sweater looks better on you than it does me. You should keep it, you said with a smile that seemed to cause your eyes to turn into half crescent moons. In a heartbeat, you were sitting closer to him, soft lips pressed against his, only to quickly pull away when the rest of the members came loudly through the door.

Days had passed from the recalled memory, one that Hyunjin truthfully thought about all the time. The only thing he hated about it was the way that you left so quickly telling the boys some half-baked excuse for why you needed to leave. It ate him up instead that he couldn’t talk to you about it because he had yet to find another moment where it could just be the two of you. Instead, he settled for wearing your sweater often with different outfits as he remembered what you had said to him. If only you knew how much he liked you, he thought as he threw it on. Excited coursed through him at the realization that he got to see you today, even though he wouldn’t have time alone with you specifically. His mind raced with the different possibilities of what the day would bring. Maybe he could gain the courage to finally let his feelings for you be known.

˚⁎⁺˳

The sun baked down on everyone as picnic blankets were spread across the ground at the Han River. A new tradition you had begged Chan to let you have with everyone, a once-a-month day that couldn’t be ditched for practice of any kind. Not only did it allow everyone a break, but it also gave way to make sure that friendships weren’t forgotten. Hyunjin kept stealing glances at you and Felix as you both filmed some random TikTok dance that Felix had been trying to get everyone to do. He didn’t even realize that his lips were turned upwards seeing you dance and smile, even though you messed up enough times for Felix to give up on the whole thing. As you approached the blanket, Hyunjin made room for you to be closer to him so he could talk with you about all the things that were plaguing his head, even if they were mostly about you.

While looking at you, he caught the way that your eyes were distracted by something else. Following your line of vision, he understood that it wasn’t something but rather a someone. Stuck in his spot, he couldn’t help but bring his attention back to you and watch your eyes as they continued to walk by, a dull ache spreading in his chest. This couldn’t be happening. It was a sight for sore eyes as you couldn’t seem to draw your attention away from this person. Your eyes seemed to sparkle brighter than the night stars. Hyunjin’s ears felt like they were burning, however, he couldn’t stop himself from watching the scene unfold in front of him.

Why would you ever kiss me?, he thought turning his attention back to the person who had caught your full and undivided attention from across the way. It struck him then in that moment, they were wearing that sweater you had gotten when you went with him and Jeongin. Hyunjin knew that you loved it more than most of your wardrobe because you didn’t stop wearing it for months and tried to style it with everything in your closet, saying that you needed to get your money’s worth from it. It only made the other boys tease you for it, trying to get you to buy other sweaters for the fall, knowing that you would likely never part with it. I’m not even half a pretty, his negative side surged feeling his heart break a little bit more. Was this what Chan was worried about? Did he know about this other person that had you mesmerized? So badly did Hyunjin want to hate this person who you looked at like he looked at you. How could he hate them when you were so clearly falling in love with them.

The crack that started small in his heart, continued to grow when he noticed that the members were trying to talk to you, but you were still so in your own little world, eyes glowing with love, while he said he feeling like he was dying inside. A small nudge came from his other side, Hyunjin’s attention finally landing on Minho who only offered him a nod of his head, an offer out of the situation that he found himself in. Quickly accepting, he stood with Minho, struggling to understand why you still weren’t noticing him that he was moving. Were you that in love with this person? Why hadn’t you ever mentioned them? He wanted to scream the same thought as earlier, but instead it was only echoing in his head, why would you ever kiss me?

The weight of the sweater he was wearing suddenly felt like it was going to drag him to the depths of the world that he didn’t want to go to. You clearly liked this person better since you gave them the sweater you were constantly saying you loved. Why then did he only get the one that had polyester? Minho pulled him away from the group, whispering something to him that went unheard as the fog settled into Hyunjin’s brain. The pain in his chest slowly became less of a sharp pain and instead a constant ache that left him feeling empty inside. He hated that he was too late to tell you how he felt. How many days late was he? Only a few? While he needed to know the answer, he settled on watching the scene even further away.

I wish I were…

˚⁎⁺˳ ── thank you for reading! ♡

#stray kids #stray kids hyunjin #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin imagine #hyunjin fluff #hyunjin angst #hwang hyunjin fluff #skz #skz imagine #hyunjin #stray kids dream #stray kids imagines #stray kids oneshot #hyunjin oneshot #hyunjin fic #stray kids fic

[bumblebeerror]

I’ll admit my views of Dream are a lot more negative than positive.

I don’t love that he made MCC so competitive, but I get why he did. Speedrunner. Good at pvp. Etc. I still felt it was whiny and not in the spirit of a competition that aims to let the creators have fun (in that the intake form has things like “do you prefer sillies or sweaty” and each team has about an equal amount of both) but like. It wasn’t just him for that. I think MCC is much more fun without him and a few other very competitive people, and getting to see more range in creators is more enjoyable.

I think he’s a bit overhyped; but I’m not gonna cite Wilbur creating the manhunt idea or Minecraft but, it’s mostly just. I dunno, reflexes aren’t everything in this game. And someone being a builder or redstoner doesn’t mean they can’t win pvp, and I feel like he was very… derogatory, toward those types of players. The Grian twitlonger comes to mind.

I think he dropped the ball severely on his own server, and it impacted the lifetime of that story. I think rushing everyone to finish their stories and refusing to communicate is dick behavior, and I especially think that ignoring how the women and non-binaries on his server were treated by fans when a statement from him would have gone a long way is a bit of a dick move. I understand that ADHD can make you bad at communicating, but even support or information in private would have helped, or even an admission that he didn’t know.

I personally think the situation with QSMP, something Quackity was publicly working on for ages, and Dream’s spur of the moment half baked idea for something similar, was and is dumb. I think Tommy’s criticism of it was both funny and justified. Quackity wasn’t secretive about this server. Everyone knew it was coming for a while, and the only true surprise was Quackity having the language mod developed to release during the second week of the server. I think Dream’s meltdown about lack of communication is a little ridiculous all things considered. I do wish Quackity had been more able to curb his own audience away from harassment and stalking, and that Dream would take literally any responsibility for the way his own fans act as well. It’s not impossible to curb your community - if Techno could do it despite us all being notoriously feral (I.e. encouraging his community not to hate on squidkid or reminding us that roleplay is roleplay) then it’s not impossible to make a statement and calm the masses some. Dream’s relationship with his fans is very parasocial and I know he fosters that a lot. I feel it should come with some sense of responsibility. Just like Fit deserved to be called out for what he said about the one mod’s mobs, I think these criticisms are fair. (and watching the clip of Fit being told about the implications, I do think “it was a refrence” was meant to be an apology - it’s sorta just how he talks, but I get if people still dislike it. He has gotten more mindful about it moving forward and now won’t repeat a meme/joke unless he knows it’s not hateful, so he has changed behavior.)

I find him to be generally up his own ass, in other words. Which is whatever - it’s not a sin. I don’t like his stans and they are regularly a more intense type of toxic, but I also think most stans of any creator are insufferable. I mostly just dislike that Dream seems to encourage their behaviour much more. He’s young, and so is his audience.

I think his work with Technodad has been overall helpful especially when it comes to donations to the sarcoma foundation. I understand those who feel uncomfortable about it, and I hope you won’t lash out against Technodad for it. Mans has barely learned Reddit, let him be.

I don’t know what to say about the allegations. On one hand, it’s an awful thing to do and I feel for the victims, especially with having to deal with the stans harassing them for bringing evidence to light. I think the victims deserved far better treatment. I think Dream’s reputation would have been far more favorable if he had at least addressed the situation respectfully, and either owned up to the clear evidence or provided evidence of his own. On the other, I get that again, he’s young and people make mistakes. This does not mean I think his victims shouldn’t have come forward or that what he did was okay - only that I don’t think I was smart enough at 20 to handle sudden and intense fame either. In this case (unless I’ve missed it) it doesn’t seem like his messages actually went anywhere, which is a slight relief. I would feel better about it if he had handled it more seriously, because I’m unsure if he’s really learned anything from that situation besides that he can get away with about anything if he ignores it. As is, it feels unfinished on his end and I wish he would own up.

All that being said, I don’t claim to know much about the guy.

I’ve watched maybe two manhunts and seen a scattered few videos with him involved. I don’t enjoy his style much, it just feels kinda fake to me, idk.

Im not sure what my point really was, I mostly just wanted my thoughts in order.

#dream situation #fitmc #loyal maybe don’t look #I’m basically just restating a lot of things you’ve said and you’ve got enough goin on

[thesimulationswarm]

Balsam Chapter 2: Knife to the Jugular

This is a story about trauma. What trauma does to a person, and what trauma does to a community. And how, in the midst of it, people find their way to joy, delight— even love.

Pairing: Joel Miller x original female character Summary: After the events of tlou, Joel and Ellie try to establish a “normal life” in Jackson, but neither of them are any good at normal. A town doctor tries to care for residents who have experienced unspeakable trauma, and struggles to overcome her own past at the same time. Joel finds himself drawn to her, as their lives become increasingly intertwined. Meanwhile, outside Jackson, troubling things are happening... Rating: explicit 18+ MDNI Word count: 6k Warnings: slow burn (there will be smut eventually), canon-typical violence, descriptions of medical situations, trauma/PTSD symptoms, description of a dead body, some sexual harassment, sexual dream and thoughts about sex and masturbation (m), Ellie and Joel figuring out how to be family, Tommy and Joel figuring out how to be family, angst

Series masterlist

Joel had known she’d be pissed, but didn’t realize she’d be this pissed. The look she was giving him as he finished packing his bag was downright hateful. He looked away, concentrated on tightly rolling a change of clothes to fit in the bottom of the pack.

“Ellie, I told you it was gonna be a regular thing,” he said, trying to keep his voice stern. She needed to understand that this was how it was going to be, and he was afraid if she saw him soften she’d never let up the pressure.

“Patrol every week is not just a regular thing, Joel. It’s a fucking job.”

“So what? Everybody in Jackson has a job.”

“Yeah, like baking bread or feeding sheep. Jobs that are, you know, actually in Jackson.”

He sighed. As usual, she had his number: he didn’t want to be in Jackson, and he was doing what he could to get away. 

But he also very much wanted her to be in Jackson, where he knew she was safe. Where she could do normal things, like go to school and make friends. Hell, maybe even get a boyfriend. Be a kid, in other words.

He looked at her, standing in the doorway of his room, arms crossed over her chest and jaw set murderously. She was backlit by the hallway light, which caught gold on the strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. Half angel, half juvenile delinquent.

“Why can’t I just go with you?”

He shoved the clothes into his bag and gave her an exasperated look. “Ellie, we’ve been over this. No kids on patrol.”

“I’m not just some kid,” she spat. “I’ve survived out there with you!”

His mind stuttered with sudden images of what was out there: a rain of gunfire, hordes of infected, blood on the snow. He shut the thoughts down, forced his face into a mask of careful neutrality before meeting her eyes. He would never, never let her get so close to danger again.

“You are a kid, Ellie. You belong in Jackson, where it’s safe. Go make friends with someone your own age.”

She slammed the door so hard he could feel the frame of the house rattle.

They were meeting at the stables to tack up their horses and go over the route for the day. It was well below freezing this early in the morning and the muddy ground under her boots was frozen in ruts and craters. Nina looked up at the sky as she sidled through the barn door; in the west, the last stars were fading into a violet smudge against the horizon. 

She was pleased to see Joel Miller there along with Tommy— he struck her as someone more than capable of handling threats. And he was quiet, which she considered a great asset in a patrol partner. She left Jackson rarely, although she loved the rough mountain landscape around the town. When she was out there she wanted a little space in which to appreciate it.

She was less pleased to see Isaac. She recognized his rangy frame as she approached the group. He still— at the age of twenty-two— carried himself like he hadn’t grown into those long limbs and didn’t know what to do with them. Isaac was a sweet kid, but he was soft, and lacked common sense. Worse still, he was an incorrigible talker. She knew Tommy was trying to train him up, get him more used to patrols. A laudable goal, but she’d rather not be personally involved in it.

“What’s up, Doc?” Isaac called out to her, then laughed at his own joke. She nodded to him, then to Tommy and Joel.

Tommy gave her a close-lipped smile, but he looked a little uneasy, his eyes tired. Poor guy probably didn’t want to be leaving Maria, who was too far along to be going on patrols. How would genial, steady Tommy deal with fatherhood, she wondered? Hopefully better than Derek Starkey, with his anxiety and desperation and the problem she still hadn’t found a way to unknot. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go on patrol before,” Isaac remarked, materializing at her side as she brushed Marlene, her favorite horse. “So how come we lucked out today?”

“Usually there’s too much for me to do in town. But I need to harvest some plants,” she replied. Marlene nickered softly as she swept the curry brush down her flank. 

“Sweet! A foraging trip!” She kept her eyes trained on her horse and prayed that he’d be quiet once they hit the trail.

Maria had given the girl a few hours before going over there. Figured that if she had a chance to calm down it would go better. Joel had warned her this morning that Ellie was not too pleased about him leaving again. She was unsurprised— the girl had a temper, and living with Joel was not exactly the best setting in which to learn health coping skills.

Now she was standing on the front steps, growing increasingly inpatient as she waited for Ellie to answer her knocks.

“Ellie!” She pounded again at the door, standing on her toes to peer through the window. It was too dark inside to see anything. 

“I’m way too pregnant to be standing out here in this weather, girl,” she yelled. “If you don’t open this time, I’m going to leave, but I’ll be coming back with someone to help me take the door off its hinges.”

Finally, Maria heard the sound of footsteps approaching, followed by the deadbolt sliding back. Then Ellie was standing there in the door frame, glaring daggers at her.

“Fine, I’m here. Now what?”

Maria gave her what she hoped read as a sympathetic smile, although at this point she was mostly feeling exasperated by the drama. “I know you’re upset about—”

“I’m not upset,” Ellie interrupted brusquely. “I was just in the back room and didn’t hear you.”

The girl was obviously full of shit, but Maria wasn’t going to fight with her on this. It wasn’t worth the time. Instead, she turned back toward her house and beckoned at Ellie to follow her.

“C’mon over. I made lunch.”

Ellie followed her, literally dragging her feet as she walked. Maria sighed. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about the next two days herself. Last time Joel had gone on patrol, Tommy’d been at home, and he’d put on his best ‘fun uncle’ routine for Ellie. It had worked, at least to an extent: Ellie’d been irritable, but she hadn’t locked herself in any houses. Now with Tommy and Joel both gone it was just the two of them, and she had no one to give her a break when Ellie wore her patience thin.

They sat at the table in her kitchen, and Maria ladled them both big bowls of soup. There was bread, fresh from the bakery this morning, and a dish of sweet cream butter. Her mouth watered: she was hungry pretty much all the time these days.

After a few minutes of silent eating, Maria finally spoke.

“You know, I wasn’t happy about Tommy going on this patrol.”

Ellie gave her a pained look. “Is this your attempt at female bonding?”

Maria was torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to slap the girl. Ellie seemed to have that effect on her— she was young, yes, but she had a sharpness about her that Maria knew not to underestimate.

“No, just saying what I’m thinking. I wish he was back here with me, or that I could be out there with him.”

She didn’t mention that she was particularly alarmed at Tommy being out there with Joel. That she hated how her husband seemed to be less of himself when he was in the shadow of his big brother. She used to just worry about Tommy getting hurt when he went on patrol. Now, since Joel and Ellie had shown back up in Jackson, she’d started worrying about Tommy doing something he’d regret forever. Different ways of losing him.

“You’re due in, like, two months,” Ellie said quietly, looking down at the table. “You’ll be back out on patrol soon. But you don’t let kids go on patrol until they’re eighteen here. I can’t wait four fucking years.” The pain in her voice was clear, and Maria fought the urge to reach out and clasp Ellie’s hand. The girl was too feral to take that well.

“You’re right. It’s a long time.” Maria was quiet for a minute, looking out the window. The sun was bright, climbing into the crystalline blue of the sky. “You can’t go on patrol, but there are a lot of other jobs in Jackson that you would be good at. If you want to show that you can be independent.”

“That I would be good at?” Ellie asked, dubiously.

Maria smiled. “Like working on the farm. I’ve seen how well you interact with the animals.” 

It was early afternoon when they reached the Snake River and stopped to eat. The kid had been talking for almost all of the goddamn ride, mostly at Nina, who he peppered with questions.  Joel was relieved it wasn’t him on the receiving end, but it was still getting old.

“You’re not from Wyoming originally, are you, Doc?” Isaac asked, between bites of his sandwich.

“No,” said Nina flatly. “Indiana.”

“Indiana!” Isaac spoke like this was an exciting fucking answer.  

“She grew up in an Indiana town,” he began to sing, eyes trained on the doctor. “Had a good lookin’ mama who never was around.”

The kid had a surprisingly nice tenor. Nina looked astonished enough by his singing voice that, for a brief moment, the annoyance left her face. But now was the time to stop singing, quit while he was ahead— and of course, Isaac did not. 

It was painful to watch.

“She grew up tall and she grew up right—” here he paused to waggle his eyebrows suggestively— “With them Indiana boys on them Indiana nights! Well, she moved out here—”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong,” Tommy jumped in, putting the kid out of his misery. “Doc clearly didn’t grow up tall.” He kept his voice light, but Joel could see the strain on his features. His little brother’d always been a peacekeeper, and he was clearly regretting putting this patrol team together.

“No, I wouldn’t say ‘tall’ is something I’m known for,” Nina agreed dryly, avoiding Isaac’s eyes.

Tommy slapped his hands against his thighs and stood, in the universal signal for we better get moving.

“Anyways, we don’t have all day to sit around and sing. This is where we split up. I’m goin’ to head up the mountain a little ways—” he pointed off in the distance—“on a spur trail where I can get a better view of the valley. Nina will stay down here and cut willow branches. Joel, why don’t you stay with her and Isaac, you come with me.”

Joel took his time finishing his lunch while Tommy and Isaac mounted their horses and sauntered off toward the thicker woods. They were well out of hearing range when he stood, brushing the crumbs off his jeans.

“I guess Tommy didn’t want you to murder the kid before we’re even halfway through.”

Nina snorted. “Just as well. I don’t think he’ll let me come back on patrol if I kill his little protege.”

Joel fed and watered the horses while Nina set to work, hacking small branches off of the willow thickets that dotted the shore. He looked her way every few minutes, partially to make sure all was still well, but also out of curiosity. 

He noticed she was selecting younger, thinner branches, and skipping over the dense and woody ones. She also seemed to be avoiding the branches that were already sprouting soft leaves, which surprised him— he would’ve thought it was the leaves she was after. She worked quickly, economically, her small frame sliding from bush to bush.

As he was finishing up with the horses, she turned and caught him watching her. He looked away quickly, but not before he saw a wary irritation flicker across her features. She’d put up with enough staring today already, he supposed.

Well, unlike Isaac, he could make himself useful.

“Can I help?”

She stopped what she was doing and turned completely now, as he walked in her direction. “I can go downstream and work on that patch,” he added, pointing a little ways off along the bank. Didn’t want her to think he was going to cling to her like the kid.

“Sure,” she said, and held up the branch she’d just cut to show him. “I only take two or three from each plant, or else they can die. These younger branches are the best— make your cut right at the node so they have a chance to regrow.”

He nodded. “And only branches that aren’t budding yet, right?”

She tilted her head, mildly surprised. “Have you harvested willow bark before?”

“Oh, uh, no.” Joel looked down at her pile of branches. So it was the bark she was gathering, then. “Just noticed, that’s all.”

She inspected the bush in front of her. “It’s a narrow window of time. You want the sap to be flowing, and they can be getting catkins,” she explained, gesturing at the velvety gray spikes that were emerging from the plant. “But no leaves. Once those start growing, the concentration of salicin drops.”

He’d been nodding along as she spoke, but lost her on that last bit. He wasn’t going to ask though— he’d give her a break from questions. Joel trudged down along the snowy bank, stopping in front of a small willow tree and unsheathing his knife.

Once he got into the rhythm of it, cutting the branches was satisfying, meditative work. His hands were cold and stiff in the March air, but the movement kept the rest of him warm enough. He could hear the river flowing behind him, the birds chattering in the forested area ahead. The satisfying shick of his knife, as he swung his arm in an easy rhythm.

He’d been at it for about an hour when he heard something new— hoofbeats, fast, coming from the mountainside. He moved quickly back toward where Nina was working, half crouched to conceal himself behind the brush, swinging his rifle around and lifting it in the direction of the sound. 

If it was Tommy and Isaac, something had happened to make them break into a gallop. And if it was someone else, who knows what kind of trouble they’d be.

As the horse grew closer, he heard the whistle: long and low, long and low, then fast and high. Their signal for ‘all clear.’ His let out a sigh and lowered the gun, just as Isaac rode into sight. He watched the kid approach, waiting for Tommy to follow him out of the trees— but Isaac was alone. Something was definitely not right.

He turned to Nina— she looked as discomfited as he felt. She, too, had a hand on her gun, eyes trained on Isaac as he approached.

“Dr. Connor!” He hollered, a few yards away now. “We found a body. Tommy wants you to go take a look and see if you can figure out how long it’s been there.”

Two figures were in the field in front of the barn, spraying caked mud off of horse tack. Ellie recognized one of them as Old Michael— so called to distinguish him from Big Michael, who was half his age and twice his size. He was small but tough-looking, with a walrus mustache that put Joel’s to shame.

“What can I help you with, chickadee?” Old Michael drawled.

“I want to help look after the animals,” Ellie replied, trying to sound sure of herself.

Old Michael nodded. “Back in that shed is where the kids hang out.” He pointed to a metal building on the far side of a sheep enclosure. “The teenagers handle the dogs.”

“The… dogs?” Ellie replied. This was not what she was expecting.

“Chuy’s trying to train up some new puppies. Cute little things.”

She hesitated. Joel would flip if he found out she was helping with the cordyceps-sniffing dogs. She still didn’t understand why that dog hadn’t sniffed her out that day, when they were surrounded and outgunned in the snowy field. But she knew it wasn’t just a fluke— she’d seen it around town twice, let it sniff her and lick her hands. Each time she waited, expecting this to be the moment she’d have to go fucking kung-fu and kill her way out of Jackson.

But the dog never once alerted on her. If it was going to happen, it would’ve by now.

And also, fuck Joel. He couldn’t leave her behind in this town every week and decide what she got to do and not do while she was stuck here. Go make friends with someone your own age. Ellie didn’t know how to tell Joel that she hadn’t been very good at that, even when she was surrounded by people her own age. Most people her age fucking sucked. But that didn’t entirely stop her from wanting to try.

Ellie headed across the cold field and opened the door of the shed. She blinked a few times to let her eyes adjust to the dimness, and then she saw them: four impossibly soft-looking, black and gold puppies, chasing each other around a metal enclosure. 

“Oh my god,” she breathed, kneeling down to get on their level.

“Pretty fucking adorable, right?” She swiveled her head to see a girl sitting on a hay bale and a boy leaning against the wall. They looked familiar— she’d seen the boy walking the dog around town and the girl at the dining hall. The boy was tall, with floppy black hair and a slightly stooped frame. The girl had a wide mouth and straight, glossy brown hair. Her coat was flung open and Ellie could see the tight white shirt she wore underneath. 

“I’m Brandy,” she said, flashing a dazzling smile.

“Ellie. I’m new to Jackson.” She stood and took a few steps to join them.

“I’ve seen you around town,” the boy said. His face was serious but not unfriendly. “I’m Chuy.”

“You’re the dog guy, right?”

This elicited something close to a smile. “Yeah, I’m the main dog trainer. I learned from my dad.”

“That’s cool,” Ellie said, shoving her hands in her pockets. Fuck, that sounded lame. She wondered how old Chuy and Brandy were— they looked a little older than her, maybe, but not much. “I, uh, was hoping I could learn how to help with them.”

“We can always use extra help. Come on, we’ll show you around.” Brandy jumped off the hay bale and led Ellie to a side room full of supplies. She explained the feeding system, the process of “housebreaking” the puppies, and how they cleaned their pen. Brandy was enthusiastic and foul-mouthed about everything. Chuy followed along, occasionally jumping in with his measured voice to explain or elaborate.

Finally Brandy turned to a small refrigerator in the corner. “This is where we keep the most important shit in here.”

Chuy opened the fridge, revealing a wire rack with several small glass vials, each containing an amber-colored liquid. He lifted one gingerly, and held it out in front of Ellie’s face. His eyes glittered.

“It’s urine, from someone a few hours after they were bit on the leg. Before they changed.”

“What the fuck!” Ellie stepped backward, almost tripping over a food bowl.

Brandy threw her head back and laughed. Ellie looked from her to Chuy, and from Chuy to the vial, and back to Brandy. Both of them were laughing now, and Ellie felt a flush of blood to her face. She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.

“Okay, but why do you have a vial of almost-infected piss?”

“This stuff is more valuable than gold,” Chuy explained with a dramatic air. “When we train the dogs to recognize this smell, they can detect an infected person before they’re full blown. And they can tell us.”

“And how the fuck did you get it?”

“It’s from the FEDRA medical facility outside of San Francisco. There’s this guy Mo who steals from them and a bunch of other places. He travels through here a few times a year and trades with us,” Chuy explained.

“He gets all the best medications for Dr. Connor. She’s waiting for him to come back because she’s almost out of some important supplies,” Brandy added.

Chuy pushed her arm playfully. “She thinks she’s hot shit because she’s Dr. Connor’s little assistant.”

“You’ll be happy I know how to fix broken bones when Clemons catches you with his porn collection and smashes your fucking nose in,” Brandy retorted. Chuy gave her a censorious look.

“Why does FEDRA keep infected pee? Do they use it to make their detectors?” Ellie felt her heart hammering against her ribcage. The FEDRA detectors, unlike the dog, had caught her. What if the dogs just needed more training to figure it out?

“Nah, they keep all kinds of infected people locked up there to study them. But their detectors just use antibodies. All infected people produce them,” Chuy explained. “You can’t train dogs on antibodies they because they freak out if there’s a bunch of infected around—the smell is too much for them and they go crazy. With this stuff though, they only smell people who are turning. And those are the people you need it for, because once someone’s fully infected you don’t need a dog to tell you.”

“It’s fucking genius,” Brandy added. “Those FEDRA detectors need batteries and spare parts, and you’re, like, constantly fixing them. But all the dogs need is food and water and they live for years.” Ellie watched her lips move as she spoke, plump and petal-pink. She felt her stomach flip.

“My dad’s an organic chemist. He was the one who discovered that dogs can detect volatile organic compounds human cells give off when they’re being killed by cordyceps.” Chuy talked like he was some kind of teacher— like he was smart but he knew he was smart. “The compounds get concentrated in urine but they’re also in breath and sweat, so once dogs recognize the smell they can pick it out on anyone who’s been bit.”

“Well I must have missed that day in science class when they talked about how infected piss smells.”

Chuy looked mildly hurt but Brandy laughed loudly, and Ellie felt warmth bloom across her chest. She smiled.

Tommy had climbed back up to the trail to wait. From there he could keep an eye on the body, several yards down the slope, and be better positioned to watch for the rest of the patrol arriving— or anyone else.

He held his 700 tightly, feeling his palms sweating against the stock. He breathed deeply, willing his heart to slow down, as he swept his eyes back and forth across the forest, watching for signs of movement. Tommy didn’t like being alone out here, but he hadn’t wanted to leave the body and he needed Nina’s expertise here.

The body’d looked rough. Hard to tell what was from being out here in the elements and what was from however the poor guy had died. But the eyes were missing, for one. And the lips.

He was relieved when he heard hoofs, followed shortly by a whistled ‘all clear.’ The three of them rounded the bend in the trail in quick succession: Isaac, then Nina, and Joel bringing up the rear.

Nina dismounted and followed his gaze down the scrubby slope to where the body lay. “I take it you didn’t see it on your last patrol? When was the last time you took this trail?”

“Two weeks ago. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t here then.”

She nodded, handing her horse’s lead to Isaac. “Alright then, I better go have a look.”

“Wait— I’ll go down there with you. ’S not far, but best we don’t split up right now.”

They picked their way back down the ravine, holding onto tree trunks to slow themselves and avoid slipping on the carpet of pine needles. The body had settled into a relatively level section, where a small outcropping of rocks had formed a ledge. It was face up, looking straight at the sky, clad in a camo jacket and jeans that were now painted dark with old blood. Hard to tell how old he’d been, what with part of his goddamn face missing, but maybe fifties? A balding man, with a yellow beard.

Nina seemed unaffected by the sight of him, kneeling down by his face to get a closer look. She reached for the arm closest to her and bent it upward slowly, then set it down. Next, she lifted the forearm, bending the elbow.

“Well, he’s cold as ice but not very stiff. Probably been at least three days out here in this weather, if rigor mortis has worn off.” She looked up at him. “Not that I’m an expert on this or anything.”

“You’ll have to do, Columbo.” Tommy felt relieved— three days made it less likely they’d run into whoever or whatever had killed the man. “Do you have any idea what happened to him?”

He watched while she looked the guy over in detail. Rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, lifted up his shirt, closely inspected the mutilated face. Finally she tilted his head back, revealing a yawning slit cut through his neck, just below his jaw.

“I think that’s it, boss. Knife to the jugular.”

“And what about…” Tommy gestured vaguely at the cadaver’s face.

Nina shrugged. “I think he just got eaten by animals. Those are the softest parts.”

Oh. Well, that was better than the alternative. He wiped his palms on his jacket and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He shouldn’t let a single body rattle him so much— lord knew he’d seen plenty of them. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more dangerous than usual out here, something sinister that was increasingly encroaching on his home.

“It doesn’t look like he was infected, so that probably wasn’t the motive,” Nina added as they began to climb back up to the trail. “Didn’t have a bag or anything on him, so maybe it was a robbery.”

“Either way, we better be real fuckin’ careful in this area. No more splitting up— we’ll all go on to the campsite together.”

—

The fire flickered and crackled, outside the old ranger station where they were spending the night. Nina watched the flames as she sat peeling strips of bark from her haul of willow branches. Her harvesting session had been cut short by the discovery of the corpse, but thanks to Joel’s contribution she should have enough.

The men were passing around a flask, but she’d demurred. None of them were exactly strangers, and she didn’t get the sense that they intended to harm her. But she was always vigilant when she was outnumbered by men. Alcohol, rather than taking the edge off, only made her panicked— she could feel her senses softening and blurring, and knew that her ability to outfight and outsmart was being compromised.

Isaac had been quiet for about an hour or so after they found the body, but he’d warmed back up to his usual self. He’d set up at her left side, leaning back against a log with his long legs stretched out toward the fire.

“So what exactly is this stuff?” She could smell the whiskey on his breath as he leaned over, inspecting her handiwork.

“It’s basically aspirin. It’s where it came from, originally.” She cut loose another long scrap of bark and flicked it into her bag.

“So you use it for pain?”

“Mmhmm. And fever, and heart issues.”

“Shit, half the older folks in Jackson drink that stuff daily. It’s a hot commodity,” Tommy added. He turned to Joel with a smile. “You might be interested in it, old man.”

Joel smirked, then looked at her. His eyes reflected the dancing flames. “Just might.”

“Okay, but there’s something else I have to know,” Isaac jumped back in. “Why do they call it pussy willow?” He let out a loud laugh. 

Jesus Christ, he was insufferable. She gave him a look that she hoped made her feelings clear.

“I actually know that one,” Joel spoke. Her gaze flicked to his face, not sure if he was coming to her rescue or about to make a joke at her expense. “It’s those little furry things that grow on ‘em in the spring.” He pointed at one of the branches, dotted with their distinctive fuzzy flowers. “Folks thought they looked like little cat tails. Even call ‘em catkins.”

“Well whaddaya know,” Tommy drawled, taking another sip from the flask.

“Huh.” Isaac barely acknowledged the answer to his question before barreling on with another. “How did you learn which of these plants can be used for medicine?”

Nina shrugged. “Some from books. Some from asking people.”

“Did you always want to be a—um— herbalist? Like when you were a little girl?”

She raised her eyebrows incredulously. “No, I grew up in the suburbs of Indianapolis. We had nationally ranked hospitals.”

“Oh man. I forget you grew up before the outbreak. You look so young!” His eyes roved over her face, her body. She’d had about enough.

“Isaac, do you actually think I’m going to have sex with you?”

“What?! No, I just— no, that’s not what I meant,” the kid stuttered, taken aback.

“Because, let me tell you— I absolutely will not. Even if I wasn’t way to old for you, precisely nothing about you interests me. So you can give it a rest.”

Because Isaac wasn’t good at hiding anything, she could see the emotions play out across his face as her words hit. Hurt, embarrassment, anger. Kid was an open book. But at least he was fucking quiet. He stood, turned away from the fire, and grabbed his rifle.

“I’ll take the first watch,” he said roughly, as he walked out toward the edge of their camp.

It was silent for a long moment. Then Tommy spoke. 

“Jesus, Nina. Did you have to be so hard on the kid?”

She looked at him sharply, but didn’t bother responding. She didn’t need to justify herself to him.

“Oh come off it, Tommy,” Joel said, giving his brother a hard stare. “That kid needed put in his place.”

Tommy threw his hands up. “In case you didn’t notice, Joel, we’ve got four people alone in the woods, with who knows what kinds of danger around us. You saw that body today. We gotta stick together out here.”

“Then we need Isaac to get his act together. That boy’s softer’n puppy shit on a rainy day. Gotta toughen up a bit.”

Nina stood, putting away her work and folding her knife. She grabbed her pack and her sleeping bag and headed in to the cabin to get ready for bed. “G’night guys,” she called over her shoulder at the brothers. She’d let them work their own shit out.

Nina walked into the room where he lay sick and pulled the blanket off of his body. Joel stared helplessly up at her black eyes, his limbs so heavy with fever he couldn’t lift them. He couldn’t move or speak. But as she bent down and pressed her soft lips against his cheek, he felt every nerve in his body lighting up and coming alive. “I’m going to take care of you,” she whispered huskily into his skin. She licked a trail down his neck, his chest, and then his stomach, as she moved to kneel between his legs.

Joel woke up with a start, heart pounding in his chest. 

For a moment his heart sank, as the deliciousness of the dream evaporated and he found himself in his sleeping bag on the cold floor.

Then the mortification hit. Nina was sleeping just a few yards away, and Isaac too; Tommy was outside on second watch. His erection had pushed through the fly of his boxers and was pressing painfully against the zipper of his jeans. Jesus Christ.

He turned from his back to his side, angling himself away from the sleeping figures as he adjusted himself. He listened to Nina’s even breaths and Isaac’s faint snoring, and willed his body to calm the fuck down. Counted backwards, tried to think about sewage duty in Boston QZ.

He hadn’t been taking care of things often enough, clearly, if he was about to have a goddamn wet dream at the age of fifty-six. He hadn’t exactly felt comfortable jacking off when he’d been on the road with Ellie, and even back in Jackson he struggled to find a quite moment to rub one out.  Wasn’t used to sharing living quarters with a rude teenager who might barge in on you at any moment.

Joel was, as a matter of fact, used to sharing living quarters with a grown woman, who would help him out in this department from time to time. Or rather they would help each other out. 

They’d been good together—perfect, in some ways. Tess knew just how to touch him, how to get the job done at the end of a long day. She knew how to calm him when his temper sparked out of control, how to direct his energies toward something useful, how to give him space when the darkness threatened to overwhelm him.

She knew not to ask him for more than he could give.

Unexpectedly then, he felt a sob start to rise up in his throat. He bit it back, pressed the pads of his thumbs hard into the corners of his eyes. Get it together, Joel.

Maybe when they got back to Jackson he’d ask Tommy about the unattached women in town. If there was someone around his age who might be looking for a little fun on the side, and who was unlikely to get too attached.

As strong of an effect as the doctor seemed to have on him, she was too young. And he didn’t want to see a repeat of Isaac’s brutal rejection, but with old Joel Miller on the receiving end.

Notes: I tried to come up with a biologically plausible explanation for why the dogs can detect infected but not Ellie, and I'm pretty happy with it. The whole thing with the FEDRA detectors using antibodies is extremely preposterous, though.

The idea about the corpse missing eyes and lips came from the sublimely creepy (and real!) Dyatlov Pass Incident.

#tlou fanfiction #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller x original character #tlou fic #the last of us fanfiction #Ellie Williams #Tommy Miller #Maria Miller #series #tlou fluff #tlou show #tlou

[fordoggo]

"She probably thinks I'm a pervert"

Kaito raises an eyebrow at the young lad.

"I was trying to- to catch the culprit's hand and then he just had to move. So I wounded up touching her- her-"

Shinichi groans, covering his face with his hands. There's pure embarrassment in his tone and a flush on his cheeks.

"I touched her….butt on accident and before I knew it, my timer was off and I was slapped on the face" He adds, pointing to the evident slap mark on his left side along with him holding a bag of ice.

Kaito couldn't help but laugh, nearly making the glass of his drink fall to the floor. The highschool detective glared.

"Good news is, you've met your soulmate" Kaito says cheekily.

"In the most embarrassing way possible, you mean" Shinichi lets the back of his head fall to the couch's heading. "Luckily Conan was there to trip the thief while I was knocked out"

Kaito nodded, still grinning like a cheshire cat. "Conan said her name was…Run?"

"Ran, yes, and my little brother had to explain the whole situation citing that I was not at all a pervert. Which somewhat saved my dignity and lessened the damage of my reputation and hopefully, let my soulmate think that I was not at all trying to do anything" Shinichi rambles on and about.

The magician clicks his tongue, placing his drink on the stand table.

"It's not so bad if you think about it, more of a misunderstanding per say. Which was easily solved" Kaito stands and pats his hair in a taunting way.

"And I don't understand why it's a big deal" He adds.

"Well that's because you haven't met your soulmate yet!" Shinichi retaliates, shooing off his hand.

Kaito shrugs, seeming unbothered.

Inside, he was jumping with nervousness. It wasn't his emotions. It was his soulmate's. A few seconds ago, his other half seemed to be excited but now, she felt the pit of her stomach growing hot and her skin felt cold just like what he was experiencing as of now.

It was one of the things that they contrast. Kaito was good at hiding his emotions, the best of it, the master of poker face and everyone couldn't even tell what he felt which somewhat scared them.

His soulmate however, was quite the opposite. He could feel everything that she was feeling, from her happiness, to her sadness, to her nervousness.

Whatever affected her, affected him as well.

"I haven't met her yet but you know how her emotions are tied to mine. So when she's happy, I'm happy"

Kaito points to a photo frame.

"Remember on the first day of school? I cried, literally, as I was introducing myself" Kaito states, a slight embarrassment yet amusement taking over his features.

He never once hated the bond.

Even when it sometimes showed off his emotions. He liked it. It kept him grounded. Though when she cries, he could feel his heart breaking and he wished that he could wipe her tears away but he couldn't. Atleast not yet. He'd wait for the right moment, hopefully it would be soon.

Nervousness settled in him again.

As Shinichi was about to reply, his mouth already opened. The ringing of his door made their conversation come to a halt.

Oddly enough, Kaito jumped.

An action he replicated from his other half. The doorbell seemed to be a bit loud which was odd.

"A client…!"

Shinichi stands up with glinting eyes, throwing away the bag of ice for Kaito to catch irritatedly as he made his way towards the entrance.

Kaito sighs before putting the ice bag in the refrigerator. Seconds later, he follows after his friend, a bit confused as to why he had not let his guest enter yet. As he gets there, he nearly laughs. The young detective had the door wide open.

Shinichi's soulmate was flushing as she held out a baked pie and Shinichi could only stare at her with a brighter flush and an agape mouth.

It looked like they were having a moment.

"Well this is awkward" Kaito interrupts.

Shinichi instantly glares at him, giving him a smack on the head.

"Ow!" A female voice exclaims.

Kaito grunts but he stops dead on his tracks.

Shinichi's soulmate, Ran if he remembers correctly, steps aside in confusion. Behind her was what he assumed was Ran's companion and funny enough, she was also rubbing the same spot of her head.

Kaito nearly splutters.

"Do that again" He commands Shinichi.

Shinichi was too surprised to register his order. He was looking at them with pure confusion. Before the detective could even follow his command, the girl glares with her light blue eyes, still rubbing her sore head. She brings a hand to to her forehead and flicks it.

Kaito jumps from the action, clutching his forehead.

"Soulmates" Shinichi says in pure surprise. Turning to the magician, he grins. "Well isn't that a surprise?"

Ran, seeing the scenario play out. She clears her throat and grabs ahold of the detective's wrist, dragging them inside the Kudo Residence. He yelps but follows her.

Kaito didn't mind, he was still staring at his soulmate.

The girl was glaring at him still, she was rubbing the pain away and her messy bangs framed her face, making her glare less intimidating and more….cute.

Well she's pretty....

"Um- it's nice to finally meet you" He says awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

And as if a switch was turned off and realization finally slapped her. She brightens to which he felt, of course. Her flush reflected on his face and his heart was beating.

So this is what it feels like

"Uh- same to you too…" She says so timidly and so cutely. Moving away from him for a moment.

He steps forward and closes the door behind him. For a few seconds, they just stand there, averting their gazes from each other. He felt awkward, he didn't know what to say.

"Are you usually this awkward?" She questions and her voice brings him back to his senses.

He shakes his head. "No, I'm usually composed"

She nods. "Yeah, I feel that. You're like a wall, you barely feel anything and when you do, it's usually pride and smugness" She comments, a dry chuckle came off her lips.

He chuckles too, genuine.

Kaito holds out his hand and flicks it, a blue rose appearing. He smiles at her, ignoring the beating of his heart and the heat on his face.

"I'm Kuroba Kaito"

She stares at it, surprise and he could feel her delight and amazement from her emotions to which he felt proud of.

Time to impress

She takes hold of the flower gently and with shaky fingers. Bringing it close to her, she hums in delight as the fragrance invaded her senses..

"I'm NakamorI Aoko" She smiles.

Aoko huh?

For more dcmk oneshots, click here

#dcmk #ran mouri #shinichi and ran #shinichi kudo #kuroba kaito #aoko nakamori #aoko and kaito #dcmk fanfic #shinran #kaito and aoko fanfic #kaito and shinichi friendship #shinichi and kaito #aoko and ran #ran and aoko #detective conan #case closed #edogawa conan #edogawa conan is shinichis brother

[phoenixyfriend]

@jewishdainix commented on this post:

The thing is, israel must be dismantaled because it is built on xenophobia, nationalism and subjeugation of palestinians. I agree with you on the worry of jewish safety, but that needs to be done by fostering and building communities of both nations of people, where both are welcome and safe, not by keeping an opressive colonialist state with no interest in equality or peace in power.

And Im saying this as a jew who lives in occupied palestine, btw. I know co-existing eont come out of nowhere, but it can be built.

(New post because the original is very long.)

Thank you for commenting! Most of the commentary I'm getting seems to be from people who are as removed from the conflict as I am.

I think a major factor in the discussion that stemmed from my initial response to the first "r u pro Palestine" question was that I was... well, very tired and not running on all cylinders, for one, but also in an intersection of Tumblr that sees a lot of half-baked political reblogs where people just... share things they either don't know ANYTHING about or don't realize how much is our isn't propaganda.

I am not immune to propaganda, especially the subtler kind, as evidenced by my having to adjust my understanding of the Yemen situation.

But the thing is that like... that intersection means I've seen a LOT of takes that are extreme (like Hamas and the Houthis being entirely right about Israel and how to handle it, or that even the children in Israel, by virtue of being Israeli, are guilty) as well as a lot of people who are supporting extreme solutions without really thinking things through?

Like, the majority of the people I see talking about Dismantling Israel seem to be in favor of doing so quickly and without regard to what happens to the people there, Because They're The Bad Guys, or because they just don't realize that this is the sort of thing that takes time and management to do safely.

Like... when I see so many people parroting things with an underlying tone of hate and malice towards even the civilians, it makes me concerned that any expression of support for a position like "dismantle Israel" will be taken as support by both "do so slowly and responsibly with an aim towards integration and safety for all" AND the "boot out all the jews" sides, because when the first question is only four words, I can't also answer in only four words, because political slogans are never JUST what they actually mean.

That said, the discussion over the past few days definitely has me sympathizing more with the Dismantle argument, but I do wonder about how it would be enforced, and by whom. Like, the Israeli government has made it pretty clear they have no interest in ceasefire, let alone a dismantling, so... does the UN get involved? NATO? Is the US sent in to undo Israel, the way they're trying to undo things like the Houthi government (as I've been told they're functionally the government of 70% of Yemen)? What gives us people of the world the right to choose interventionism in Israel but not Yemen or Iran?

Just cutting US aid from Israel opens the doors to Hamas and Houthi and associated groups "managing" the dismantling, which is the situation I expressed so much concern over in the previous post, so that's not an option. It looks like we do need the UN to be involved if that goal of Dismantling to build something new is possible, but that's interventionism, which is bad because it violates self-determination, except when it's not bad because there's mass murder happening, except when it's still bad even though the mass murder already happened, and...

IDK

It's so complicated and I WANT to believe there's a solution but the political philosophy and practical implications are kind of. A necessary consideration even when the ethics are clear cut.

#current events #Israel #phoenix talks #jewishdainix #death tw #antisemitism

[thisbuildinghasfeelings]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

Thanks for the tags @lemonlyman-dotcom @redshirt2and @saraminia!

1. Are you named after anyone?

My maternal grandmother. It was my dad's idea to name me Anne after her. I think he was sucking up to his mother-in-law.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I don't full out cry all that much. I'll tear up a little watching and reading stuff all the time. The last time I remember fully sobbing was in March 2022 when my 15 year old cocker spaniel, Jasmine, died. More recently, I probably cried a little out of frustration in an argument with my mom a few months ago.

3. Do you have kids?

No

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I'm not at all a sports person. The only official school sports team I was ever on was cross country for a single year in 7th grade. I hated it. I ended up with the worst record on the entire team. It was a middle school team, which was 7th and 8th grade only. One of the 8th graders was a slow runner and before one of our meets, a couple of the other 8th grade girls pulled me aside and told me it was my turn to run with her. If she had to stop running and walk, that meant that I had to stop running and walk with her. Looking back, this was complete bullshit and I should have just said no, but at the time I was afraid to not do what they said. We ended up walking a good portion of the run, and then right before the finish line, she put on a burst of speed and beat me. I was annoyed.

Also, I was on a tee-ball team as a little kid. I hated it, but my dad was the coach so I HAD to go. I have a vivid memory of running to first base, putting my foot on the base, then having the little boy playing first base put his foot ON TOP of my foot, and wrongfully getting called out. I was LIVID. I didn't even want to be there in the first place!

I also took tennis lessons for a few sessions as a younger kid because my best friend liked it. I did not like it.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

At times.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

I'm kind of a terrible noticer in social situations. I think it's my social anxiety. Especially when I meet new people, I'm very much in my own head about the whole interaction. I really have no idea what I notice.

7. What’s your eye color?

Hazel

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I enjoy watching scary movies that are so stupid they're hilarious. It's something my mom and I love to do together: go see stupid scary movies. But if I had to choose just one, I'd say happy endings.

9. Any talents?

I think I'm good at cross stitching. I'm also a pretty good baker, particularly when it comes to cookies.

10. Where were you born?

In the same town I currently live.

11. What are your hobbies?

Cross stitch (obviously), reading, running, baking, does watching TV count as a hobby?

12. Do you have any pets?

Ruby!

13. How tall are you?

5'2''

14. Favorite subject in school?

English, particularly literature. In my final year of high school, I had space for several electives, and I filled the space by taking every single literature class the school offered. I think I took British Literature, World Literature, Contemporary Literature and African American Literature that year. It was amazing. I got to spend half the school day reading books.

15. Dream job?

I don't think I really have a dream job. Definitely not my current job. Maybe something low stress and high pay where I didn't have to interact with too many people? Or what about just not having a job? I think not having a job but still having money is my dream job.

Tagging @autistic-lesbian-story-lover @maxbegone @ladytessa74 @carlos-in-glasses @bubblesandroses8 @louis-ii-reyes-strand @reyestrandd @rachelsversion1 @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @strandnreyes @inkweedandlizards @alltheprettyplaces @firstprince-history-huh @birdclowns @bonheur-cafe

#tag game