#dirt cheap soil

[neververy4]

The ace hardware store has dirt cheap soil in stock

#neververy4 #I’ll get a photo later #dirt cheap soil #ace hardware

[erwinsvow]

there’s an outdoor shower at the chateau—a tiny thing, really, just three planks of wood and the wall of john b’s home where the showerhead is attached. the water pressure depends on the day, depends on if anyone is using the bathroom inside the house or if jj accidentally left the faucet in the kitchen running. 

there’s a rusty hook where clothes can be hung if the other shower was occupied, and the towel is always thrown just over the door opposite the water so it doesn’t get too wet.

you are well accustomed to this shower. you know exactly how to hang your towel to avoid the waterfall, where to avoid stepping because the rocks get slippery. sometimes the door opens up by itself, the result of old hinges and worn out screws, but you don’t pay it much mind, because after all, it’s nothing the boys haven’t seen before.

you’d consider yourself still decent, even showering like this. your bikini was filled with grains of sand, the result of being pushed around at the beach by jj and pope for the last hour. there’s a huge sandy hand print on your shoulder from where john b had helped you up, and you let the water wash it away with a smile. 

you’re sandy everywhere, but that’ll have to wait until you’re back home. you wash your hair with the cheap shampoo sitting on the ground, the three-in-one you and kiara beg the boys to dispose of. 

but at the very least you feel clean, rinsing the suds from your scalp and watching them run down your body and then onto the ground, draining into the grass. you’ve been spending too much time with kie—your first thought is that you hope this stuff doesn’t leach chemicals into the soil.

lost in the warmth since you’re the first to shower and the boys haven’t used up all the hot water yet, you close your eyes and forget the door’s opened by itself. you think it doesn’t matter since everyone’s at pope’s already. you were the only one who insisted on showering before joining them, promising you’ll bike over after ten minutes, though pope reassures the others it’ll be at least twenty-five.

there’s a voice coming from the backyard, rafe thinks, stalking further and further into the shoddy little house. the land wasn’t terrible, right on the lake, but the place was anything but well kept, a mess of missing shingles and splintered wood. he stops thinking about the house as soon as the voice becomes clearer, the further he steps into the back. he was here to convey a message to the pogues that call this place home, but no one that he wanted to find was around.

stepping in mud and grass, he walks to the backyard, a pretty voice filling the humid air. you’re singing something he doesn’t know, something that sounds vaguely familiar. maybe something ward used to play on the record player in the study, back when rafe used to spend time with him.

you, whoever you are, sound nice, even muffled by the sound of the running water. when rafe gets closer, he sees there’s no door blocking his view to a pretty girl washing her hair and singing softly. you’re in nothing but a yellow bikini, showing him all too much but at the same time not entirely enough.

he’s not sure how long he stood there. it must have been some time, because when you twist the shower knob and stop the water, turning to grab your towel, you see rafe and curse loudly, shoulders raising in fear by themselves. 

you stand like that for a moment before realizing rafe is staring, probably because you’re in a tiny, wet bikini. you yank the towel and cover yourself.

“can i help you?” you demand, the sweet voice all gone. even if you didn’t recognize rafe, the clothes he wore and his expensive shoes covered in the dirt of the chateau’s grounds were a dead giveaway. 

“yeah. m’lookin’ for the idiots that live here. seen them around?”

“no. goodbye.” he laughs at that. eyes raking over your body again. you’re covered now but still feel exposed, like he can see through your towel.

“funny, kid. when you see ‘em give them a message from me, will ya?” 

“leave a voicemail like a normal person. i’m not your messen-”

“yeah, yeah. tell your boys we know what they did.” you stare back at him, confused by what he means but angry at the intrusion and the way he talks to you, the way he looks at you. “sure. whatever that means. are you all done being a stalker now?” he laughs again.

“we’ll see. bye kid.”

#this has been in my drafts for ages but i only had the first line #idt anyone else is gonna like this but i do #<3 #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #singing pogue reader #i guess....

[of-many-fandomss]

Heyyyyyy, loved your jj x routledge reader, could you do another one where its set at the end of s1 beginning of s2 where they all think John b and Sarah are dead and shoupe tells them all that they are dead and jj comforts reader while she comforts him aswell.

Aww thank you!!

—————

There was a ringing in your ears.

It was high pitched and constant. It just kept going, and going, and going, and-

You didn’t even register the sharp pains in your knees as they fell roughly to the ground, digging into the soil and rocks . You hadn’t even realized that your legs had given out beneath you until your hands began digging into the grass, caking dirt under your nails in the process.

The ringing was too loud to be able to hear the cries of desperation and despair and the shouts of anger and denial coming from your friends- your family- the pouges- all around you.

Your vision began to go blurry so you couldn’t make out the pitiful and sympathetic looks that Shoupe and the other officers on duty were sending you. Nor did you notice the way Kie and Popes parents had taken everyone but you in for tight hugs of comfort. You were too far out of reach at the moment for them to get to you.

JJ was the first to notice your absence and it immediately made guilt swirl into his stomach. Sure, he had just lost his best friend- someone he considered a brother. But you- you just lost your actual brother. The only family you had left.

The boy ripped himself away from Hayward’s hold and stumbled over to you, sinking to his knees and pulling you securely to his chest, burying his face into the top of your hair and sobbing into it.

At first, you didn’t know who had grabbed ahold of you, and you flinched away from the touch. But soon after, the familiar comforting scent of the beach and cheap booze hit you like a tidal wave and you threw yourself farther into your boyfriends hug, desperately clawing at the back of his shirt as you held onto him like a lifeline.

“I know,” He cried, “I know, I know. I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.”

John B was dead. Your brother, your best friend, your protector, had been ripped away from you by the cruel grasps of life. Just like your father just had been.

A scream so raw and so full of pain that it broke everyone in the tents hearts even more than they already had been, left the back of your throat.

JJ only held onto you tighter at the sound, through his pain silently vowing to himself that he would take care of you now, more than ever.

You two sat there for what felt like hours, both of your only sources of comfort coming from the feeling of the other in your arms.

#jj maybank x reader #jj maybank blurb #outer banks blurb

[obsessivevoidkitten]

Hey guys, I really hate asking, especially when I asked relatively recently, but I didn't get anything last time so I thought it may be okay to ask again. I'm pretty desperate to get cheap dirt because I need time to turn it into useable soil before I use it.

I don't just use the garden to feed me and my family but it is also one of the few things that makes me happy. Plus I give a ton of food to neighbors and the senior center while saving seeds for other growers in my community.

Even just a couple dollars really helps.

If you can spare a dollar my paypal is HERE

Also I am really really reeeaallly sorry if me asking is annoying. I'll try to make it up to you all with more spicy fics.

[eleanore-delphinium]

The Life of A Vampire & A Witch in the Woods

Disclaimer: Not smut more on domestic fluff. Mature.

Happy Sauce Weekend Folks: Vampires

Word Count: 8500 (I know it's so satisfying)

A03 Link for those who read there.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Sauce Weekend 2023 Day 1 Vampires

The Life of A Vampire & A Witch in the Woods [ M ]

It was a moonless night; a long black-haired woman made her way through the darkness of the woods. She was cautious but nervous as evidenced by her constantly checking behind her. Lightning struck from a distance just as she turned her head, moving forward.  

From the brief flash of the light, her eyes instantly widened when she saw a figure just before her. A hand covered her mouth as she muffled her scream.

The man before her studied her with interest. And as amethyst eyes met emerald ones, time appeared to slow down as they quietly stared at one another.

The man seemed indifferent; he wore black pants, and a white shirt under his black coat. His clothes seemed to be of the highest quality and he was in pristine condition even though the entire place was wet with dew. 

Why was he here in the woods? He seemed rather out of place.

On the other hand, her long hair was a mess despite the braids that started from above her ears that crossed at the back of her head and kept most of her hair off her face. Her long black hair had become wavy as her hair had escaped the bun that she had on previously. 

The hem of her dress was the dirtiest from soil and mud and her overall attire was a mess. Her hands were filled with dirt too and it didn’t help that her dress was made of an ivory shirt, a brown skirt with a black apron and to top it off from the cheapest quality linen. She really looked cheap in front of him.

Water started to fall from the sky and the woman could not help but look up. She had lost her bonnet as she ran through the forest.

The man looked up, “It will only rain harder.” The man extended his hand, “I found an abandoned cabin over there, we can stay there as we wait for the rain to pass.” He cocked his head to his left– her right and she stared at him.

Lightning struck again, and she was able to see his black hair and tan skin in that instance, then the thunder followed. 

The woman nodded slowly as a shaky hand reached out for him. And as their skin touched, she couldn’t hold in the breathy exhale that came out of her lips. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears. 

Just when she wanted to pull away, his fingers wrapped around hers. The exchange drove her mad.

“Come, I don’t want you to get sick.” He gently said and she noticed how deep his voice was. She nodded like a little girl as she let him gently drag her through the forest. 

Her mind was elsewhere as he weaved through the forest, eyes locked at their connected hands. When she came to, the rain poured and she wondered why she wasn’t drenched. She studied her surroundings and was surprised to find herself inside what seemed to be an abandoned cabin.

How could she be so careless?

“You should be more mindful,” he said as he studied her in the dark and she frowned. But his thumb was caressing her tenderly, “We’ll have to work on that.”

But with each stroke of his thumb against her skin it just made her heartbeat and breathing even more erratic. 

“You are mine.” He spoke clearly. “As I am yours.” He paused.

“I didn’t think I would have a Destined.” He spoke in a sad tone, which did not go unnoticed by the woman, however, her mind was more focused on his words. Which made her shudder, not out of fear, but because he knew, just like her, the moment they laid their eyes on one another– they were Destined. 

Soulmates so to speak. 

Two people who are destined to be together.

“I promise you; I will treasure you.” He spoke eagerly and he watched how her long black lashes fluttered over her beautiful eyes. He enclosed the hand he held with both of his hands.

Quite a gentle touch, she noted.

“Damian.” He whispered his name so enamored by her beauty. 

And it took the woman a moment to realize that he was introducing himself to her, “Raven.” She shyly replied, her cheeks turning rosy. 

His smile was bright even though they were surrounded by darkness. And she couldn’t keep her eyes off his lips.

Perhaps a natural thing due to what they are to one another.

“I have to tell you, I’m a vampire.” He confessed softly and he watched her lashes flutter again.

She nodded, “I’m a witch.”

An amused smile and then a chuckle came out of Damian’s lips, “Well, this would be interesting…”

And that was how they met, quite unconventional, they supposed, but they fell in love as it was natural for Destined to fall for one another. They then built a home in the abandoned cabin, where they exchanged names.

And that was where the two were the happiest. 

It took time but Damian worked hard to rebuild the cabin and currently, he was repairing the roof due to a leak that he had noticed yesterday. 

Raven was tending to the garden they made at the front of their house. She paused and looked up at the roof, “Please be careful.” She gently reminded him, her husband from his work on the roof. 

The sweat from his torso dripped down his black pants as he glanced below and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm. 

“Of course, beloved.” He answered back with a soft smile and she smiled back as she went back to tending the garden.

When he was done with his repairs and went down from the roof, his wife was no longer there and he frowned. The wooden door opened to reveal his beautiful wife and he instantly lit up, then noticed that she had on her brown wool robe.

“I have to go to town. I will go and sell some of my potions and buy us some ingredients and other necessities.” She told him and Damian was clearly sad.

He took a step closer, cupped her face, and kissed her forehead, “Alright, be safe. While you are away, I will go and gather some herbs in the mountains for you.”

She nodded and swiftly kissed his lips as she stood on her tippy toes and he was briefly startled but happy, “Be safe.” 

He nodded with a smile in response.

“Be very careful, please.” She softly begged with doe eyes.

They had been together for three years but he was still absolutely smitten with her. She brewed her potions, ointments, and charms which she sold in the nearest town or village. He would help gather the herbs, especially the hard ones for her. Often their dates would be them picking herbs in the woods or other forageable items. And he treasured the simplicity in the act alone.

“I should go if you want me to come home before the sun fully sets,” Raven said and even though they have been together for years, she still gets rather shy around him. But he enjoyed it.

“I’ll get those herbs you need."  He said and Raven glanced at him.

“You don’t have to…” Damian brushed his thumb against her lower lip making her stop.

“I’m a vampire, you are unnecessarily worrying.” He calmly told her.

“I’m your wife.” She stared seriously and he embraced her tightly. “I don’t want to be a widow.” She squeezed the words out of her mouth.

“I would never make you a window, beloved.” He pulled his head away to stare down at her. 

Her face was red as she pushed him away, “I should go.”

“I'll be alright, be safe please, you know what to do if you need me.” He instructed and she playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I can take care of myself." She whispered and he smiled.

"Be safe. I will get you all the herbs I find." He said kissing her forehead again.

"I hope they will be herbs." She teased.

"I was taught by the best, is my wife not certain about her skills?" He pulled her closer.

"Of course, I’m certain!" She huffed and crossed her arms and he chuckled.

He reached out for her hood and adjusted it on her head, "I will return home. Don't worry, beloved."

She nodded and held his hand as they walked the pathway through their garden.

They stopped at the end of the path that merged into a slightly bigger path. 

"Well, I have to go up the mountains," Damian sighed and she gave him a tight smile.

"And I need to go down." She answered back.

"See you in a bit." He squeezed her hand and she nodded and turned around. 

Damian watched her go and stayed in his spot till she was long gone before he turned to go up the mountains. And in the shadows of the trees, the expression of a loving husband immediately disappeared.

“If my wife finds you, I will kill you myself.” He suddenly said with a cold voice.

And then two men stepped out of the shadows. 

“Understood, young master.” One said as the two newcomers bowed.

“We do not mean any disrespect.” The other replied.

The two were wearing casual wear for commoners but Damian knew better. They were just trying to look unalarming in the case that his wife was to stumble upon them among other people. It was just simply to draw suspicion away.

“Young master, your mother has sent us to bring you back home.” The man in a blue shirt said.

“Home?” He gave them a cold glance. “I am home.” 

The two pressed their lips together as Damian continued his way to the forest.

“Young Master, we insist. Lady Talia has demanded you be brought back immediately. She has stated that she is reaching her limit with your excursion.” Damian gave the man a deadly glare which made the man gulp to a stop.

“Pity, you will be going home empty-handed. I will not return with either of you. Don’t make me send your heads back to mother. It is quite sad that it took you this long to find me.” He glanced at them for a moment as he continued on.

One of them sighed and then the two both bowed.

“Young master has simply showcased his great abilities to be a master of staying in the shadows.” Another respectful bow. “However, young master, Lady Talia, said that you may bring the young lady home with you.” Damian stopped in his tracks upon hearing this. He turned and glanced at the one talking.

“Nonsense, my wife does not know who I am. And I have built a life with her here.” He narrowed his eyes warning them not to pry any longer and to ensure that the secrecy about his heritage remains a secret.

The two fell on their knees, “Young master, you are a Prince–”

“Enough!” Damian roared, “I swear this to you, if my wife finds you in these woods, I will not help you I will get rid of you myself.”

The two bowed even lower, placing their foreheads against the ground.

“We swear, young master, the young lady will not detect us.” They spoke in unison.

Damian turned around, “Well if you two insist on staying, I might as well make use of you two.” 

Damian then gave them his instructions. He was going to utilize them to garner more affection from his beautiful wife. 

When the sun was starting to set, he gathered the herbs from the two men along with what he had gathered himself.

“Well then, now that I’ve made use of you, you may go and report back to my mother,” The two bowed, “Oh, and if mother sends someone again, do know if you come as a threat, I will treat you accordingly. But if she insists on sending someone back here as anything other than a threat, I would love it if you bring me a couple of things. It would greatly help in putting me in the good graces of the young mistress.”  

Damian smiled as the two listened to their master’s demands.

When Damian went back to the cabin, he had a lot of herbs and he felt proud of himself. He knew his dear wife would be very happy with his harvest. He opened the door to be immediately tackled by the small feminine figure.

“Did you miss me?” He chuckled but did not waste the chance to hug her in his arms.

“I do not.” She tried to pull away but he did not let her go.

“It’s okay to miss me.” He whispered into her ear and she shook her head.

“I just thought you would appreciate a welcome home hug after combing through the forest.” She said and was about to pull away but his strong arms latched onto her tightly or rather quite stubbornly.

“I would like a welcome kiss too.” He sincerely asked and she frowned as she tried to push him away. 

“No.” She whispered, putting her hands on his chest to push him away. “I have known you for long enough to know that the kiss will become even more.” She rolled her eyes and he chuckled.

Damian leaned into her, his tongue brushing the side of her neck that she left exposed and her body stiffened, “Where else shall I seek to calm my desire? Are you telling me to look for someone else, my dear wife?” 

His wife visibly frowned and pouted at the idea of him with someone else as he gave little kisses on her neck. 

“My beloved, you smell so delectable.” His hand pressed and brushed the curve of her butt. His lips sucking on the skin of her neck. 

She couldn’t control how her knees shivered and he held her firmly with his other arm.

“I need to check the herbs you brought.” She whispered helplessly.

“You can do it later…” He licked her skin again, his fangs retracting. “Beloved, I want a bite.”

She sighed and turned her head to him, making him pull away and he looked at her quietly. 

“Fine. But you cannot look for someone else.” The pain was clear in her eyes and he cupped her face, brushing the corner of her eye with his thumb.

“Of course, I won’t, my wife is right here.” He studied her face and was hurt seeing her upset. “I’m sorry, I won’t make that joke again.”

She glanced at him and nodded, “I will check what you brought me later. You can have your bite.” She bore her neck for him by pointing her chin to the side.

He smiled then brought his lips near his, “But I want more than just a bite.”

She looked him straight in the eyes, “It’s always like that with you.”

“What can I say, my wife is rather irresistible.” He whispered, the lust in his eyes clear.

“I am more than your wife. I am your Destined.” She narrowed her eyes at him but the playful glint was obvious and it brought him joy to know that she respected their Destined bond even though it was clear that she was teasing him. 

He smiled at her, feeling pride at her words, “That’s right, my Destined is irresistible.” 

He seamlessly lifted her and brought her to their wooden dining table, placing her atop. He grabbed the hem of her ivory skirt, flipped it towards her, and hooked one of her legs with his arm as he leaned forward forcing her to lean back.

“So, irresistible.” His fangs appeared to shimmer. He wasn’t a werewolf but he still had a heightened sense of smell and he could smell her arousal. 

He bit her neck which elicited quite the moan from her tender lips. He excreted the venom that was both an aphrodisiac and a chemical substance that made the victim more complacent and susceptible to suggestion. A good weapon for hunting for his particular subcategory of vampires.

Sometimes his wife would ask or ask more of the venom because the high was nothing short of intoxicating. She even said it made the sex even more intense. 

He pulled away from sucking her blood and kissed her small wound and the general area of it but in a rather provocative manner. His saliva healed the puncture wounds. “I don't want to drink you dry.” He kissed her temple and she closed her eyes with a sigh. 

The venom, even though quite little, settled into her veins. Damian was careful when using it as he had told her before, some of his kind would make their victims addicted to it. He didn’t want that for her.  

Then his other hand hooked her other leg and with one pull brought her crotch against his, “I do want something else from you though.” 

She bit her lower lip and his eyes stared at those lips. 

He smiled waiting for her to finish chewing her lower lip before capturing her bitten lips for a kiss. And as the kiss progressed so was Damian’s advancements. He enjoyed his evening– or rather enjoyed the taste of his wife that was propped on the table. He enjoyed her moans, her soft whimpers, and taunting her to make her beg. And she would beg.

When the main event of the night was done, he brought his exhausted wife to bed. 

His lips kissed her skin passionately, “I wish to put you in the finest of silks.”

She chuckled in return, “Only Kings can afford such a luxury.” Her pale fingers ran through his hair as she studied the man before her. He had pinned her to the bed which gave her the most perfect spot to admire his face, that is if he wasn’t kissing her body.

Her husband was quite handsome and she found that she could never get tired of looking at that face.

He stopped kissing her skin to look at her lovely face but she could see that he was unsatisfied with not being able to give her the best.

Raven’s small hands cupped his face, “But I love what we have built here. It isn’t much, I know and I’m sure you want to give me the best, but I am more than happy here.” His gaze on her was enchanting and she smiled at him sincerely. “As long as you are here, I am more than happy, husband.”

His eyes crinkled at hearing her call him husband and he leaned to kiss her jaw just below her ear, “One day, beloved, I will put you in the finest of silks and give you the best of everything. The world would be under your feet.”

She giggled and placed her hands on his shoulders, “Well, then I look forward to that day, beloved, but for now, let us enjoy our time here, just you and me.” She pulled his face to hers and kissed his lips, making him moan.

The evening was filled with more moaning and groaning as two already sweaty bodies continued their enchanting dance of intertwining in each other’s arms. 

The room was small and so was the bed, but it was enough to fit the couple. The cabin was rather small itself too. At first, there was no separation between the bedroom and everything else in the wooden cottage but he added a wall with his sheer hard work to give them privacy. It helped separate them from the kitchen, the dining area, her potion-making area, and the small hearth. 

She was fast asleep and he brushed her black hair off her face, “One day, I will give you a palace.” He kissed her temple and he heard her sigh.

He then brought her into his arms, her back against his chest as he leaned his head onto her shoulder giving her another kiss, “For now, I am happy where we are too…”

When morning came Damian was long awake before she was. 

“Good morning,” He greeted her, kissing her shoulder and she rubbed her head on his arm that she was somehow resting on. 

She then turned and looked at him with sleepy eyes and a faint smile, “Good morning to you too.”

The two smiled at each other and shared a morning kiss. 

Raven attempted to get up on the bed and he frowned, “Can’t we stay in bed a bit longer?” 

She shook her head, “The garden will not water itself, and besides I have yet to check what goods you have brought me from the mountains.” Her eyes twinkled at the mention of the herbs and he reached out and brushed the corner of her eye.

“It seems like you’re more excited about the herbs than spending more time with your husband.” He pouted and she rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head. 

She sat up, revealing her naked skin littered with his marks made of passion and he sighed following her lead. Since he was the closest to their small wardrobe, he directly went to it. Grabbing a white chemise dress first as she went to go around the bed to him. 

“Here, let me help you get dressed first.” He said gathering the hem of the dress to help her put it over her head. 

She complied as she said, “Wear your pants and shirt first.” The dress falls to just above her ankle. And she saw his objection on his face before he could say a word. “Dressing me will take some time, at least be decently clothed, I don’t want you to catch a cold.” She cupped his face.

“I’m–” He stopped as she raised a brow at him and he sighed. “Alright.” He grabbed his pants and a loose ivory white linen shirt. She watched him put them on and when the shirt was on him, her hand caressed his chest where his heart beat.

Raven was more familiar with the kind of blood-sucking creatures that were more dead than alive, but her husband did not fall into that category.

“When we first met you wore expensive clothes I–” She stopped when he cupped her face suddenly.

He shook his head, “It wasn’t that expensive.” 

Truth be told, they didn’t know much about each other's past. What mattered was they met at the forest and their future after their first encounter with each other. She wasn’t sure who he was or what he did and it was hard to pinpoint when he seemed to be a jack-of-all-trades.  

She knew that he was, as he placed it, 'the perfect vampire' and now he just wanted to forget about it. She knew that he went through genetic modifications to be the ‘perfected vampire’ that he was. It must have been traumatizing, though he doesn’t mention it. But it was clear that he was very different from the common vampires that she had met or read about. He even appeared and acted quite human and his bloodlust– aside from taking regular bites from her– was rather controlled. He could practically live with animal blood for months at a time. 

“You had them remade for me…” She recalled. 

Damian had taken the clothes he wore that night they met and reused the cloth for Raven, a gesture that had touched her heart.

“It was worth it.” He whispered back, brushing her cheek. “Now, let me help you finish up.”

She sighed but let him help her. Once he got her outer dress on her, he started threading the holes of her girdle that were at the front of her chest, “You know I can tie them myself.”

He stared at her seriously and she pressed her lips tight. “I like doing this for you.” He carefully laced the girdle and gently pulled the string. “Is it too tight?”

She shook her head but studied his face, “You’re staring.” 

He moved his gaze to her eyes, “I can’t help it, it pushes your breasts really nicely.”

She chuckled, “Is that why you like helping me dress?”

He shook his head with a serious frown, “No, it isn’t.” He whispered his answer as he continued to attend to her girdle, tying the ends of the string neatly.

“I believe you.” She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"While I tend to the garden, I'm sure you will play with your stick." She teased and she was suddenly pulled toward him by the waist.

"Oh?" He asked her and she tried to pull away, rolling her eyes.

"You know what I mean!" She huffed and he chuckled letting her go.

"Let me help you with your hair." He stated, changing the topic. 

And she sighed and turned to sit on the bed. He grabbed a hairbrush and carefully brushed her hair. He was adept with braiding her hair and after that, he gathered it all up at the back of her head.

"That will keep the strands away from your face while you garden and do other things." He smiled as he tied a white silk ribbon on her hair. 

She turned to face him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "Thank you."

He gently smiled at her, "Well, the least I can do after last night." He teased and she shook her head giggling. "Oh, don't forget to check the herbs I painstakingly gathered." 

At the mention of the herbs, her eyes lit up. And he couldn't help but feel jealous.

“But first let's put on our shoes.” He added softly trying to dispel the unreasonable jealousy that he was feeling. His wife hummed in agreement. 

As usual, as it was something she was used to, Raven sat on the edge of the bed waiting for her husband to get her shoes while she lifted her skirt to her knees. 

He smiled when he saw her and knelt on the floor as he always does. He lifted a foot and kissed it.

“My feet are dirty.” She whispered helplessly, just out of habit. He never listens to her remarks.

He chuckled and kissed her foot again simply shaking his head as he placed her sock on her foot. And he did the same with her other foot. 

“Even if you are covered with mud, I can't help but worship you.” He whispered as he looked up at her with gentle eyes. A soft blush on her face.

Raven watched her husband put on her shoes quietly and he tied her laces with gentleness. She watched him put on his shoes and recalled how he didn't like it if she attempted to do the same for him, so instead, she'd watch him as he haphazardly put on his socks and his shoes as he always does.

He'd place his foot on the wooden edge frame of their bed and that was when she could tie his laces for him. Something she had to fight very hard with so that he'd allow her to do it.

“I don't like you serving me.” He told her.

“I'm your wife, who else should serve you?” She asked back and, in his eyes, there seemed to be so many things he wanted to tell her, but he ultimately sighed and that was the end of the argument.

She won her right to lace his shoes, just as long as she remained seated.

He would never allow her to kneel before him unless of course, it was for a very specific thing that only she could do for him. He used specific words as he brazenly pointed out to her– the only way she’d get to be kneeling between his knees.

When she was done, she got up happily.

"Oh! Let's see what you got me!" There was a jump in how she ran out to find the bag and he sighed, following her out casually.

Raven was quickly putting her mind elsewhere because it started to stray on how her husband likes her between his knees. The only way he'd allow it. And it was making her feel a little flustered and admittedly hot. 

She had already started pulling out herbs and laying them on the table designated for her potion-making. And with each herb she pulled out of the bag, her eyes sparkled brighter and so did her smile. You'd think he gave her gold, jewels, and all the riches he could get his hands on.

Then suddenly it stopped which made him frown. She turned to look at him with watery eyes. He was confused.

"Where did you get this?" She asked with a purple plant in her hand. "This is so hard to come by." She placed the herb on the table and ran to him giving him a big hug.

He didn't expect it and took a step back at the sudden embrace. He steadied them as he pulled her to his chest. You'd think he just gave her the world.

Raven squealed, "The potions I can make with this– of course, once we sell it, the money can last us for months." 

"Oh. That is great news." He smiled down at her.

"I can plant the roots in our garden as it's intact and use just a bit of magic to help it grow." There was worry in his eyes and she smiled at him. 

Raven is a witch but she had to control her magic because of the people she was running away from when they met. She didn't say who she was hiding from and simply told him what matters now is their life together.

The same thing he told her. He supposed it just showed just how compatible they are with one another because they seem to be very similar in their secrecy and preference not to pry.

"Just a bit, the people I'm running from won't find me. I promise." She pouted at him and he sighed, brushing her hairline.

"Your husband is well capable, if they find you, I will handle it." He kissed her forehead then pulled away with a playful smile. "Like you said, I am good with my stick."

Although all he knew was that she was running from someone. Still, that won't stop him from defending her with his life if needed.

She laughed and when it ceased, he stole a kiss from her lips.

"Don't I get a thank you?" He asked, winking at her.

"Was last night not a thank you enough?" She asked him and he sighed loudly, implying that indeed he wanted more. "Besides we have chores to do, later help me go to the river to wash our clothes. We won't have any change of clothes if we don't."

"Yes, wife, your wish is my command." He bowed to her and she shook her head at his teasing.

"Oh, heat the porridge on the hearth, would you?" Raven instructed as she arranged her trove of herbs.

"I should hunt for meat," Damian commented but still went to the hearth to heat their pot of porridge.

"Tomorrow." Raven glanced up at her husband kneeling on the wooden floor. "We have our chores for the day already. And I think we need to bathe; you smell rather sour now."

He chuckled, "You can wash up first then, after we wash the clothes, and I will stand guard."

"Or you can wash up with me?" Raven asked with a demure smile on her lips, though the suggestion was not innocent.

"How could I say no to such a suggestion?" He smiled at her. "I will hunt tomorrow."

Raven was tending to her garden while Damian was on the main path with a long stick and shirtless practicing his blows. A sword rested against their wooden fence. He called the sword a katana. She thought it was a rather odd-shaped sword. But she cannot deny that he was well adept with it.

She was just straight out staring at him and his sweat-filled body. She had many guesses about what he could have been before they met. Judging from his clothes he was a wealthy man. But then he was way too good with his hands.

"If you keep staring, I won't be able to concentrate." She heard him say and she blinked at him and went back to removing the weeds, her ears red.

She stared at the silver-colored ring on her finger. He had crafted it himself. He was certainly skillful with his hands. He repaired the cottage and the fence, he hunted, and he was good with weapons. And there was an air of prestige even when he was just standing around. 

Raven tended to her garden of herbs and vegetables as she recalled how her Destined came home one day covered in dirt.

“I found a cave with some minerals; I can make some jewelry for you. I don’t have gems–” She had run to him and dusted him off, thinking that he had been attacked, and carefully studied his body.

“I’m sorry to worry. I’m not hurt.” He immediately comforted her obvious worry.

“Me? Worried?” She pulled away glaring at the ground, but carefully stole a peek before he could find the words to say anything more. “You can make jewelry too?”

His face lit up when he saw that she wasn’t so upset to the point that she would outright ignore him. 

“Nothing fancy, I can melt this and probably only be able to flatten this up and make a bracelet, but I would love to craft one for you.” He enthusiastically explained. He noted the smile on her lips.

“Let’s set that aside, for now, I do not need jewelry. But which cave did you find this at?” She asked and he told her everything. 

"I'm done here." She got up and he froze from a thrust with his staff.

Even the way he practiced his combat was precise and it was clear that he was well trained.

"I believe most men do not train daily like you." She couldn't help but say, it wasn't the first time she did.

He smiled at her and grabbed his shirt, "Well, I have a wife to protect at home."

Damian attempted to grab her for an embrace which she easily evaded, "Well, now you smell worse!" 

He chuckled and she added, "Let's go get the clothes."

"I'll carry the basket." He responded, putting his shirt on.

Damian carried the basket of clothes as they walked to the river a few minutes away from the back of their cottage. They talked as they made their way closer to the river, sharing laughter, kisses, and smiles.

"Oh, be careful," Damian told Raven and she rolled her eyes.

"You act like we haven't gone through this path a million times, every time." She chided but reached for his hand that was extended to her.

"I treasure my wife." He squeezed her fingers and she smiled.

"Oh, I hear the river." Raven's face perked up.

And he sighed. "It seems you love the river more than me." He drawled, sounding like a sad pup.

She turned her head to him, "How can I not love that river? We got married there." 

He smiled at her and the memory. Twirling the ring on his finger that he made with his thumb.

Raven had her guard up with him even after months of being together. And he did his best to flirt and worm his way to her heart. She resisted even with the bond. But eventually, everything would change.

One day he had asked her if there was a way for him to marry her in her witchy ways. And maybe that was what made Raven fully trust and let him in.

"There is a spell…" She shyly told him. "Are you sure?"

"You're my Destined, I want no one else." He told her.

He then shared his desire to be able to reach her if she was in danger and she shared the same desire. 

"There is also a spell for that." She ventured.

Thus, the ore found that one fateful day, the one he initially wanted to use for her alone, was used to craft a pair of rings.

Damian went to the closest blacksmith and asked to borrow their forge or pay if he had to and made the set with his bare hands. Smelting and cutting it himself, it showed that he was serious about her. And she crafted her spells and used the rings to anchor their desire to protect one another.

She asked him many times if he was sure about their shared plans and dreams of marriage and in a heartbeat, he would tell her that he was sure about her and only wanted her to be his wife.

"The rings need to be bathed in water from three separate full moons. And on the fourth full moon, we need to bathe in the waters of that moon. As we say our vows to the Moon itself. The Goddess herself." She told him.

"Sounds like the best wedding." He whispered to her.

No one in their area wore wedding rings, at least that is what Damian started calling them when someone asked about the twin rings the couple wore. Then her husband would go on an animated discussion about why it is important for others to know that they were taken. 

He was proud to make people know that he was a married man.

She was rather embarrassed as it was far from the norm but more particularly how this goliath of a man turns to a child when faced with the topic of his wife.

They got by the river and Raven tied the hem of her dress, her mind recalling how they decided to get married. And her husband recalled that beautiful night as he watched her fuss over her dress.

She wore her chemise dress and he, his pants and shirt, as they stood in the water by their ankles staring at one another with love. This was the first time she let him see how much she adored him. He didn’t think he had such a firm place in her heart until that moment.

He placed a flower crown he made himself on her head, "I'm sorry this is the best I could give you."

"I love it." She said as her fingers touched a flower. 

He smiled at her words, "Shall we get married?" He lifted his elbow to her and she nodded.

"Beloved, where is your mind straying?" Raven tugged his shirt.

"Well, I understand why you love the river." He smiled and she smiled back then his tone changed, "We had many lovely and passionate times here."

She pushed him playfully and turned to stomp down to the river, "Unbelievable! I can't believe we're married!"

He laughed and steadied her the moment he saw her trip a little.

"Let's wash your dresses first." He said and she sighed. "I’ve been thinking. I think we should get you more."

"Damian, no. We should get you more clothes." She scolded him.

"I can mix and match my clothes. But it pains me to see you wear the same dresses. You–"

"Deserve to have so many dresses that you can't possibly wear them a second time." She cut him off. She had heard that many times before. "I don't want riches, just you." She skipped back to him, pulling him to the water.

"Now you better be helpful and wash the clothes with me." He pouted at her a bit and then sighed, letting her pull him with ease.

"Fine. No funny business, beloved." He promised her and she smiled back.

The two started washing and eventually, he discussed his plans to hunt, "I rather you stay home."

"What? I can join you. Didn't you teach me so I can hunt too?" She looked up at him with a frown.

"The forest hasn't been safe recently." His eyes brushed the forest, certain his mother's men were there. They better know not to look when they start bathing.

"Then the more I should be with you." Raven looked at him with genuine concern. 

He sighed, "Alright."

She smiled and he added, "But if there is trouble, run."

"I know, I know." She pouted.

"I want you safe." He said and she looked at him.

"I want you safe too." She rebuked softly.

He leaned to his wife and kissed the side of her face. “I know. And I will always come home to you.”

Raven couldn’t look at him, so she cast her gaze down to the water, but the soft pink color on her cheeks did not evade her husband’s sharp eyes. He smiled at her reaction softly.

When they were done washing their clothes, he placed them in the basket.

"Let's take a bath." She urged him and he kept his eyes on the forest.

"Let me check the perimeter first,” Damian said, grabbing the hilt of his katana.

“You always do that, no one is in this forest other than us.” She reminds him every time he does his checks.

“It’s a habit, beloved.” He started looking at the forest with a frown.

“No one else is here but us.” She begged, but she saw how his hands tightened on his katana’s hilt and she sighed. “Why don’t we go back for now and bathe when the sun sets, I know it will bring you more peace if we do that.”

He sighed in relief and looked back at her, “Yeah, I would prefer that.”

Her hand was raised to him and he smiled as he reached for her hand to help her out of the water. She had become more reliant on him and he was sure that she wasn’t aware of just how much. He was nothing but happy with her reliance on him, it was quite different from the first few months they were together. Her resistance was obvious just as much as how the bond made her feel for him.

And the sparks whenever their skin touched were always there. Most times their minds won’t register the sparks because they have gotten so used to it. But it was always there.

She hopped to his side, “Well, we have to dry our clothes anyway.” 

His eyes watched her breasts bounce and she clicked her tongue at him. He quickly looked away with her disapproval. He recalled always telling her to wear a partlet over her breasts but she insisted that it was too hot to do so and besides they were alone in the forest. He was thankful when she’d cover up more when they went to town. 

He put on his shoes and she did the same, her foot propped up on a large stone, bending down and from his vantage point the upper part of her breast was quite beautiful. 

She cleared her throat, “I can see and feel you watching.”

This time he cleared his throat, “You act as if I wasn’t worshiping your breast last night.” 

She stood up and put her hands on her hips, “And you could be right now if you didn’t insist on checking the area first.” 

He did not respond to her remark, instead, he said, “Well, let’s go back home and hang our wet clothes.” 

Raven pressed her lips; she knew him long enough. If it was her safety involved, he would not budge. He had never broken his habit of checking the area before she bathed in the river. 

“Well, then, let us go home.” She stepped into place, right beside him. And he picked up their basket.

The trek back was the same, a lot of laughter, kisses, skinship, and loving gazes.

“I love the smell of the forest.” Raven said, “Don’t you dear husband?” She turned to look at him.

“Wow, be careful.” His free hand was already on her waist. 

“You always overreact.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“I do not.” He kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes.

“Since we still have a lot of time, I can start and brew some potions. I would need an assistant.” She studied his face.

“It would be my honor.” He gave her a small bow of his head.

She licked her lips and nodded, “Thank you.”

"Let's go, let's go!" She suddenly pulled him by his wrist.

"Okay." He smiled, letting the small woman drag him about.

When the two got home they hung their laundry on the line behind their house. And shared a kiss when everything was done. Held each other's hands as they made their way to the front.

His eyes brushed their garden, "Should I pick some stuff up?"

She followed his gaze thoughtfully and gave him a sideways hug. 

"I can make do with what we have inside." She answered gazing up at him and he smiled, squeezing her back. 

"Okay." He nodded, kissing the top of her head and she giggled.

The two entered their home and got to work. After a few hours, Raven looked up.

"I think I should make more of my contraception potions too, I'm running low." Damian deeply sighed at her words and hugged her from behind.

"One day we won't need it." He placed a kiss on her shoulder. His wife's hand reached out to caress his face. 

"Hmm… one day." She bumped her head a bit against his, an act of affection. "But for now, I need it, especially with your high libido." She loudly sighed for exaggeration, pouting. She felt his chest rumble against her back.

“I am very controlled just so you know.” He huffed while tightly hugging her from the back and she laughed. He then rubbed his stubble against her face.

“Stop that! It hurts!” She wailed with a smile. 

~.~.~.~.~.~

Later when the sun had set, the two went back to the river hand in hand. Damian took the lead in the dark, his katana strapped to his waist, and Raven holding a small basket with their fresh change of clothes.

“I can see well in the dark.” She reminded him for the millionth time. 

His free hand touched the hilt of his sword as he stopped and watched the surroundings before turning to her with a smile, “I know but I love holding your hand and taking the lead and making sure the path is safe for you.”

She squeezed his hand. “Damian, do you get tired of the forest and our small house?”

“What?” He took a step closer to her and cupped her face with both hands. “Why would you say that?”

She smiled at him vaguely, “You always mention big things for me.”

He leaned his head against hers and adored that she closed her eyes as if relishing his presence, “Because I think you deserve all the riches of the world.” He quietly told her.

Damian remembered the night they went out through the same small trek into the forest to the river to say their vows and do the spell. 

He had just checked the perimeter and got the flower crown that he secretly made for her, his other hand holding his katana. And his breath was blown away at the sight of the woman who would become his wife. Although to be honest, the moment he laid his eyes on her, he saw her as his partner– his wife. There is no reason for him to deny destiny. 

Raven had turned to him, hearing the rustling of the leaves from a bush he had passed by. She was almost mid-calf in the water. She lifted her dress a little, even though the hem was already wet as she smiled at him. 

The sky appeared bluer than it usually was. The water seemed to glisten like silver as the moonlight kissed the surface. Her hair was down in soft waves as she had let it down from the strong braids that he had laced for her. 

Raven could have been mistaken as the water nymph of the river. 

And he fell in love with her more that night. He didn’t think it was possible. But every day with her was just falling for her even more than he thought he could. 

Tonight, he had made his rounds to check the area hand-in-hand with his beautiful wife. And now the couple was by the river and he watched her step into the water which reminded him of that night yet again.

“What are you doing?” She looked up and gestured for him to come closer.

“Just admiring my wife’s beauty.” He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Always the flirt.” She muttered but there was a soft smile on her lips.

He removed his boots, eyes tracing her figure even through the chemise dress. 

“Will you wash your hair?” He asked and she touched the bundle of hair that he had braided atop her head earlier that day. 

“I suppose it is time…” She muttered and he got into the river.

“Let me help you then.” He got close to her and she turned so that the back of her head faced him. His fingers gently undid the braids as he combed her tresses with his fingers too. 

Watching how her hair had become wavy made him recall their wedding night again. Where they placed the enchanted rings on each other’s fingers and shared a kiss under the sky with the moonlight that made her skin glow. 

“Done.” He whispered and she turned to look at him, hands reaching out to his abdomen and she smiled at him.

“Then we should remove all these clothes.” She whispered looking up at him with her hands slipping under his shirt.

Their eyes were locked on one another, a gentle smile on his lips as the two lovingly looked at each other. 

But good things always come to an end.

However, that story will be saved for a different time. For now, what matters is their time in the woods.

A vampire and a witch who met by chance and were destined to be together. Who lived a very blissful life in the shade of the forest that they knew as home. 

Where being in each other’s arms was comparable to all the riches of the world. 

Where the sparkle in their eyes showed the love, they had for one another that was comparable to the finest of jewels. 

A place where two lovers could not possibly be touched by the cruelty of reality. 

Don’t you think this is a great way to end a story?  Just a little before the protagonists could possibly meet a tragedy. 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

You have no idea how many times I have edited this and then added more little bits in this fic… if it looks and feels Frankenstien-esque, know that it kinda was. Also, Prince Damian had been plaguing my mind for days. You have no idea the kinds of shit he does to Raven. 

And sorry not really smut. 

And if anyone wonders about the spacing, every time I edit in doc from google drive it changes the spacing. I am too dumb to try and figure it out, sorry.

#damirae #damian wayne #raven #teen titans #damian x raven #demonbirds #robrae #romance #dcamu #damian al ghul #fanfiction #sauce weekend #damirae sauce weekend 2023 #sauce #damirae sauce week 2023 #spicy #vampires #damirae sauce week 2023 vampires #prompt #royalty #domestic fluff #domestic life #medieval fantasy #medieval au #witch #vampire damian #witch raven #marriage #marriage life #wedding

[bestiesenpai]

Youtuber Itadori

Gardener Itadori is the cutest thing ever and I tried to make him as cute as possible here lol. Femme reader 9.6k words

Hands in the soil, dirt beneath his nails and a bountiful harvest in his little wicker basket - that’s what Itadori’s life had become, and he wasn’t mad about it. After inheriting a home and land in the countryside from his grandfather, Itadori scoffed at the idea of living in the slow countryside, but burdened with morality, he went and discovered that it was actually the best thing for him.

Quickly getting to work, he collected rain water, installed solar panels, had a massively flourishing garden that he rotated with seasonal plants all year round and cultivated a nice relationship with the local farmers. Everyone traded their wares, holding markets in the town center that people from all over would come and visit.

Itadori haphazardly stumbled into making YouTube videos one day when he decided to post a video of the apples he’d just picked to show his friends. It wasn’t a long video, ten minutes max, but for some reason the algorithm had decided to bless him and put his video in front of a million people.

The comments made him smile, they were all so supportive of his hard work. A few made him blush, calling him impossibly cute among a few other embarrassing things. And that was how his channel was born. Ordering a few cheap supplies off Amazon, Itadori filmed whatever he thought was interesting: his spring harvest, deadheading flowers, the farmers market and the handmade soap he got one day.

He had imagined his life to be filled with the busy atmosphere of the city, but the relaxed pace of the countryside brought his mind at ease. All he needed to do here was make enough to pay for utilities and keep himself fed. Sure he missed his friends, but they were always a phone call or a train ride away and he had managed to make more friends during his time here.

Walking the rows of his garden, Itadori filmed the plants along the way, narrating what he was planning to do with the upcoming summer season and what fruits and vegetables he was excited to grow. Quickly posting the video to TikTok, he tucked his phone away and forgot about it; becoming entranced with small insects and birds that visited often got him distracted.

“Yuji!” Someone shouted, drawing Itadori’s focus away from the caterpillar he was feeding a berry to. Dusting off his pants, Itadori came to a stand and looked around to find the voice.

“Hey!” He waved back upon landing eyes on Daichi, the retired farmer standing at the edge of his field. Bounding towards him, Itadori could see the gray streaks of hair permeating the otherwise dark strands on the man's head. “What’s up, gramps?”

“There’s someone I want you to meet.” Flicking his chin, Daichi began to walk towards his home and Itadori followed dutifully. It wasn’t a far walk, hardly five minutes and they were at the front door.

“(Y/N)! C’mere!” Daichi beckoned and the sound of rushed footsteps gave way to a side door opening in the hallway and a flustered individual staring back.

“I told you I’m in a meeting!” You hissed, eyes flicking to Itadori but not paying him any mind. “Give me a minute, please?” Not waiting for a response, you hurriedly closed the door and went back to work.

“Who’s that?” Following Daichi to the living room, Itadori accepted the lemonade that was offered to him by Daichi’s wife.

“That’s the grandkid.” Daichi huffed, taking a sip from his own glass. “She’s here for the summer to spend some time with us.”

“Hmm.” Nodding along, Itadori’s eyes wandered to the hallway, where if he strained he could hear your voice.

“There ya are!” Throwing up a hand, Daichi grunted. “I thought you said you were on vacation, what’s with the work?”

“Not yet. I told you I have some things to finish up for the end of the week and then I’m free.” Rolling your eyes, you entered the fray. Itadori tried not to giggle at the button up you’d thrown on over an old shirt for your meeting. You quickly took it off, laying it over the back of the couch before sitting down next to your grandfather.

“Whatever.” Waving off your attitude, Daichi gestured to Itadori. “We have a guest, say hi.”

“Hey, I’m (Y/N).” Giving him a brief wave, you settled into the cushions.

“I’m Itadori, I live in the house next door.”

“Got it from his grandpa! You remember old man Wasuke, right?”

“Kinda…” Wasuke hadn’t lived in the area for long, and what you remembered of him was that he gave you money for some candy at a festival once.

“Wasuke wasn’t much of a farmer but Yuji here? Why, he’s got a great green thumb!” Laughing to himself, Daichi pushed up off the couch. “Stay here and chat, I’m going to see what grandma is making for lunch.”

As Daichi shuffled away, Itadori took the opportunity to observe you a bit more. You were typing furiously on your phone, mumbling that you’d be done in just a few seconds. He couldn’t deny he thought you were cute, hoping that this coming summer you would have a chance to hang out - just the two of you.

“What kind of things do you grow?” Finally tossing your phone away, you looked up at Itadori, seemingly not noticing that he’d already been staring at you.

“I-I grow a lot of things!” Clearing his throat, he tried to hide his surprised blush with his cup. “Right now I’m transitioning to summer crops and I really hope to grow some amazing strawberries this year and make some jam.”

“That sounds cool, you’ll have to let me come by and see the garden.”

“(Y/N) can’t even grow a houseplant!” Daichi shouted from the kitchen, causing you to jump up in defense.

“Grandpa be quiet!” Now it was your turn to blush, heat crawling over your entire body. You could hardly look at Itadori when you sat down, slapping your hands over your face as Daichi laughed. “God, he’s so embarrassing.” While what he said was true, why did he have to say it in front of the cute boy you’d be seeing the whole summer?

“It’s okay!” Itadori chuckled a little, enamored by your bashfulness. “I think you can grow something if you really put your mind to it.”

“Thanks.” Collapsing onto the couch, you stared at the ceiling. “But honestly, I’d probably need divine intervention to keep a plant alive longer than three weeks.”

“I’ll make sure whatever you plant stays alive the whole summer.” Whatever Itadori had to do, he was ready.

“Promise?” Turning to look at him, you stuck your hand out, pinky outstretched to him.

“Promise.” Quickly locking his pinky with yours, Itadori shook your hand. He’d have to remember to grab your number before he left, now that he had an excuse to start talking to you.

Talking a bit more, it wasn’t long till lunch was ready and Itadori was sitting at the dining table with a sandwich in front of him. He’d eaten in the house before, but it was different now that you were here.

“Did’ya know Yuji makes videos about plants?” Daichi asked, looking at you curiously. “Puts ‘em on YouTube and stuff.”

“Really? What’s the name of your channel, I’ll check it out!”

“(Y/N) works for a big PR agency in the city, maybe she can help promote you.” Daichi said with a proud smile on his face.

“Grandpa, I work with musicians.”

“You never know, maybe Yuji is into music!”

“Not really.” Itadori laughed, shaking his head. “I go to karaoke sometimes but that’s about it.”

Chatting away into the day, eventually you had to return to your laptop and finish out a few more things for the workday. Itadori had scored not only your number, but you were now mutuals on a bunch of social media sites. When you balked at his TikTok and YouTube following, it made Itadori’s chest swell a bit.

He didn’t see you for a few days after, with you being busy on your laptop and him being busy in the garden, there was no time to meet. But you did text him occasionally, sending pictures of plants you were hoping to grow and if there was something funny to show on Twitter.

When Saturday came, you sent Itadori a text in the morning asking if you could come over to see the garden. He instantly replied, dropping everything he was doing and running around the house to prepare for your visit.

Making a lunch, drinks, cleaning dishes that were already clean and making sure the greenhouse out back was spotless - he’d done everything a million times over and it still didn’t feel like he was ready enough when you rang the doorbell.

“C-coming!” Nearly tripping over an area rug, Itadori ran to the door. Opening it in a hurry, you gasped at the sudden motion and Itadori gasped upon seeing you. In a pale yellow sundress and a wicker hat no doubt made by your grandma, you were exactly what Itadori imagined the cutest gardener ever to look like.

“Hi!” You smiled, waving a hand at him. The faint smell of sunscreen drifted towards him and Itadori stepped aside to let you in.

“Hi.” He replied dumbly, closing the door after you. He suddenly felt self conscious of the decor of his home; it wasn’t modern in any sense, all of the furniture belonging to his grandpa before he passed.

“I remember this!” Stopping in the hallway, you pointed at a painting of a field of tulips.

“You do?” Itadori had passed by the artwork many times and didn’t think it had any special meaning.

“Yeah! Our grandpas painted together when I was young, I remember finger painting some of the tulips on here.” The tips of your fingers brushed the canvas as the memory came back to you of sitting on Daichi’s lap and insisting on helping.

“That’s really cute.” Itadori cooed, wishing he could have been there as well. Shuffling towards the backdoor, Itadori beckoned you to follow. “I have something to show you.”

Following him diligently, your jaw dropped at the garden before you. There were rows of large spring crops ready to be harvested, several flower bushes being visited by bees, and a few garden beds filled with rich dark soil and seedlings taking root. You couldn’t help but stop and smell some of the flowers as you walked through the garden, smiling at the ladybugs and caterpillars that called the leaves home.

“This is amazing.” Coming upon a large archway in the path, it was fully enclosed in climbing roses, some beginning to flower and show delicate pink blossoms.

“These are cecile brunner roses.” Coming up to one, Itadori plucked a flower and held out the stem for you, which you happily took. “At first I didn’t think it would ever grow, but luckily it took to the soil.” There were countless days spent doing research on the best soil, watering techniques and fertilizer to get the roses to not only grow and climb around the archway but to also survive the winter.

“Grandpa wasn’t kidding when he said you’re a great gardener.” Coming to the edge of the garden, you saw an empty little plot of dirt waiting patiently to be used. “How cute.” Crouching down, you giggled at the sign made with popsicle sticks and cardboard that read ‘(Y/N)’s garden’.

“Made it this morning.” Rubbing the back of his neck bashfully, Itadori motioned to the greenhouse off to the side of the garden. “I have a bunch of seeds in the greenhouse ready for you to choose from. A bunch of flowers and stuff.” Was it wrong to assume you would like to grow flowers? He didn’t want to stereotype you or make you feel bad-

“I’d love to grow some flowers!” Cutting off his inner monologue, you started toward the little structure. “I can give them to my grandma!” Itadori watched you walk away for a few paces before following you, his long stride catching up with you in no time.

Inside the greenhouse, with its frosted windows and higher humidity, it felt like the two of you were in a completely separate world. Itadori had set up the building shortly after moving in, assembling and filling it with gardening supplies and saplings in record time. He’d laid out all the summer seeds he had for you on his work table, unsure of what you’d like.

“I definitely want to grow these.” Holding up a packet of sunflower seeds, you handed them to Itadori, who settled close to your side. “Definitely a watermelon too!” As you picked seeds, Itadori followed along, making a mental checklist of what soil and fertilizer would be needed.

“Hey (Y/N)...” Walking back to your little plot, Itadori wasn’t sure how to pose the question he had.

“What’s up?”

“Do you mind if I set up the camera and film this for a video?” It felt so awkward asking you this - no one was ever in his videos so he never had to worry about asking permission. “It’s not for anything weird, I promise! I just think it’d be nice to make a series for new gardeners. Y’know, give tips and stuff?”

“That’d be perfectly fine!” Your immediate response instantly eased Itadori’s nerves. “Have to capitalize on every chance to make content.”

“I’ll be right back!” He didn’t want to keep you waiting, breaking out into a sprint to grab his camera gear. Setting up his trusty dirt covered tripod, he made sure the scene wasn’t too washed out from the glaring sun before hitting record and running back in front of the camera.

“Hi, welcome back to my garden!” Itadori started the video; he didn’t do proper intro’s or fancy editing for his videos, he preferred to keep it simple. “This is-” Stopping himself short, he turned to you. “Wait, sorry I didn’t even ask if you wanted to be in the video.”

“I don’t mind! I’m already here anyway.” Giggling a little, you waved to the camera. “Hi, I’m (Y/N), someone that can’t garden to save her life.”

“Yeah, this is (Y/N).” Laughing at your introduction, Itadori loosened up as he spoke. Talking about the promise he had made and the seeds you chose to plant, he went through the packets with the camera and zoomed in on the empty soil.

“I’m going to list on screen the fertilizers I recommend for this kind of soil; it’s all kinds you can buy for cheap!”

“You’re really easy going in front of the camera.” You said after he turned it off. You’d interjected with funny quips here and there as you and Itadori planted, but for the most part you were quiet, letting him do his thing and rattle off a million and one gardening tips.

“You think so? That’s good to hear!” Your compliment meant a lot to him; he never had an audience before, and his friends never commented on it when they watched his videos. A light blush adorned his cheeks as he shot some b-roll footage, chuckling as you waved at the camera after being caught in a sweeping view.

“Do you edit all your videos yourself?” You asked, walking slowly side by side back to the house.

“I do.” It wasn’t the best by any means, but Itadori was proud of the skills he’d managed to scrape together during his time producing content. He thought about hiring an editor, or at least someone else to just look at his work, but he didn’t like the feeling that it gave him; like he was giving up on a part of his channel, delegating it to someone else when he should be taking responsibility and doing it himself.

“If you want, I can…possibly help? I do some video editing for my agency.” The words were hesitant to come out of your mouth and you didn’t look at Itadori as you said them. You knew it was risky, and you were prepared to hear a rejection come from him.

“I…” His previous sentiment flashed before him. “Sure, you can give it a try.” Saying it with a slight smile, on the inside Itadori was freaking out. He had no idea he would say that, shocking himself to the core. But looking at your tentative smile, the ease in your shoulders as you walked into his home, he found he didn’t regret it.

Sitting you at the dining table, Itadori brought out lunch. He had made a large salad with the vegetables he’d grown, putting in fish that he had bought at the market. He was proud to boast that he made the dressing himself as well as the lemonade in your cup.

“You’re amazing, Itadori.” The awe in your eyes bolstered Itadori, making his chest puff out with pride. He could see the stars in your eyes and wished he could take a picture to capture the moment forever. Choosing not to answer, he stuffed his mouth instead, watching with interest as you took your first bite. “Itadori, it’s amazing you’re not married already.”

“W-what?!”

“Especially living in this town.” Your statement made him blush fiercely, his entire body engulfing into a red flush. It was true some of the townsfolk had wondered about possibly setting him up, but Itadori felt too awkward to accept any dates.

“S-so, what kind of videos have you edited?” Desperate to change the subject before he embarrassed himself, Itadori glanced at his camera sitting on the table.

“Mainly short videos for bands, like if they film behind the scenes content or make a vlog.” Pulling out your phone, you brought up a recent video you edited. “We flew overseas for a brand campaign with an artist recently!” Leaning forward, Itadori watched the man on screen talk about his first time being in the city and working with the brand in question. The video was smooth, interjected with funny pictures or short meme videos, stickers and glowing pencil drawings adorning the man whenever he did something cute.

“He’s…” Itadori struggled to find a word to describe him. With a serious, almost sullen face and jet black hair, Itadori saw why he would be the face of a brand.

“Megumi’s a bit of a grouch.” You chuckled, pausing at one part of the video where he was eating ice cream. “He insisted on getting ice cream just because I said I wanted some, and ended up getting it all over his clothes!” And sure enough when you hit play, Megumi stumbled on a bump in the sidewalk and his cone went right into the middle of his shirt; a GTA death screen fading overtop him as he realized what happened.

“What kind of music does he make?” Itadori was impressed with your editing skills, but there was something weighing on his mind.

“Here, let me show you!” Eager to promote him, you pulled up Megumi’s most recent music video. Itadori nearly groaned at hearing the smooth tenor voice coming out, wanting to smack a hand over his face. There was no way he could compete with a guy like this.

“He sounds great.” Itadori wasn’t listening to the words at all - he was too busy picturing Megumi buying you ice cream, probably taking you to dinner once filming was over and getting you some fancy bottle of wine Itadori had no idea how to pronounce. “Is he your boyfriend too?” As he asked, his head slumped forward and pressed against the table. He couldn’t bear to hear a yes come from you.

“W-what?” Now it was your turn to be embarrassed. “N-no! He’s my- he’s the agency's client!” You didn’t even allow yourself to entertain that idea, not wanting to get caught up in silly daydreams and possibly losing your job for falling for someone.

“Good.” Whispering to himself, Itadori sat up and ran a hand through his hair. “Finish eating, I’m going to grab my laptop and upload the footage.” Quickly leaving the table, as soon as Itadori was out of earshot he leaned against the wall and let out a sharp exhale. Thank god.

Returning quickly, Itadori took a seat next to you instead of across, opening up his laptop and importing the footage as fast as he could. Just sitting next to you like this made him nervous, sliding over the laptop and trying not to breathe too loudly as your knees brushed together.

“Itadori, your computer’s a dinosaur.” Giggling at the piece of tech before you and nudging his shoulder, you took a glance over the screen.

“Shut up.” He nudged you back and laughed as well. His friends also teased him about it, but Itadori figured that as long as it still turned on, it was good enough for him. He wanted to spend his time in the garden, not worrying behind a screen.

“Itadori, do you think-” just as you were speaking, your phone interrupted with a blaring ringtone. “Shit sorry.” Scrambling to grab it, Itadori saw the name flash on screen: Megumi.

“Hello?” It was a video call, something you were ill-prepared for. Fixing your hair and clothes, you were met with the desperate face of Megumi’s agent.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N)!” The man was close to tears, or at least that’s what it looked like to Itadori. “I need your help!”

“What is it, Jin?” Glancing at Itadori, you mouthed the word sorry and sent him a brief pout.

“I know you said you were on vacation for a while and that you would respond to emails once a week and to not bother you too much, but-”

“Gimme the phone.” Yanking it from his grasp, Megumi positioned himself into view with a scowl. “Where are you?”

Itadori’s mouth flashed a quick frown. Why was this man talking to you like this?

“You know where I am.” You replied in kind, playfully scowling back at Megumi. It was quiet for a moment, just the two of you staring at each other, before it was Megumi that broke the silence.

“Whatever. What’s my schedule for the week?”

“Ask your agent!” Rolling your eyes dramatically, you slumped in your chair. “He’s literally right next to you!”

“I don’t want to hear it from him.” Megumi copied your eye roll, earning a begrudging laugh from you. “Wait. Who’s that?”

“Who’s who?” You immediately jerked away from Itadori upon noticing his face was starting to peek into view.

“Are you with another guy?”

“Megumi, you can’t ask that!” Jin cried, tugging on his arm.

“It’s no one!” Another giggle came out from you, coated in nervousness. You didn’t expect Megumi to care who you were with.

“(Y/N), who-”

“He’s my boyfriend, bye!” Blurting out the line, you hung up the phone and slammed it on the table. Your entire body burned from humiliation and your phone was now getting a flurry of text messages.

“He…has your personal number?” Itadori asked slowly.

“Yeah.” Lifting up your phone, you groaned at all the messages from Megumi and now his agent as well. “Boss thought it’d be best for him to have it when we started working together. Ya know, ‘just in case’.” You’d never been more desperate for a proper work life balance than now. Sitting up, you took a look at the messages.

Megumi: (Y/N)! Call me

Megumi: answer the phone!!

Megumi: do you really have a boyfriend?!

Jin: (Y/N) I’M SO SORRY

Jin: just email me the schedule for this week

Jin: I promise to keep Megumi out of the way while you’re gone

Jin: JUST PLEASE DO THIS FOR ME

“Wow, they’re desperate.” Itadori didn’t mean to read your messages but it was difficult not to when you made no effort to hide them.

“Jin is always like this, I swear he was born a nervous wreck.” Pushing yourself away from the table, you wanted to curse at the moment that was lost between you and Itadori. It was normal for Jin to act this way, but Megumi was usually so nonchalant that you had trouble reading him at times.

“Let me get back home and put out the fire.” You had a dramatic slump to your shoulders that made Itadori laugh. “Do you mind sending me the files? I really want to edit the video.”

“No problem!” Giving you a thumbs up, Itadori led you to the door.

“Oh, and sorry about calling you my boyfriend.” You stuttered to a stop right as the door opened, taking a tiny step across the threshold and looking over your shoulder. “I hope it didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“No, no worries.” Itadori waved it off. “I…I didn’t mind it all, actually.” Taking a quick glance at you, Itadori rubbed the back of his neck. Both of you stood still, worrying your lips and unsure of what to say next. “There’s a market in the next town over a few days from now, d’ya want to come with me?”

“I’d love that.” Your flushed smile and shy giggle made Itadori laugh himself.

“Great. I’ll text you the details.”

“Great.” The both of you gave each other once overs before finally separating and Itadori watched you walk away until he could no longer see you.

In the coming days, you had been unexpectedly swamped with work; apparently, you were the only one able to work with Megumi’s attitude and coax him into actually listening to Jin. You came over to Itadoris briefly, just to check on the plants and give him some bread your grandma made.

The day of the market, Itadori drove to you in his mini truck, the back filled with wooden crates of produce he intended to trade for some meat. Climbing in, the two of you set off down the road with a picnic basket in your lap; you and your grandma had woken up early just to make lunch for today.

“I’m so excited!” Bouncing in your seat, your eyes darted at every passing thing. You used to go to the neighboring towns a lot when you were younger but as you’d grown older you got too busy to do more than visit your grandparents.

Itadori smiled big at your enthusiasm and hoped the market would live up to all your expectations. You chattered about how it used to be when you came, before you got swept up in university and getting a job in the city. Listening happily, Itadori flicked the radio on.

“Oh my gosh, this is Megumi’s song!” Snapping to attention, you immediately turned the volume up, clapping giddily as his voice filled the car. “This is amazing! I have to let him know!” Quickly shooting off a message to him, you turned to Itadori. “What do you think of his song?”

“His song?” Resting his head in his hand, Itadori listened intently for a few moments. Megumi wasn’t a bad singer by any stretch, yet Itadori struggled to find something to say that wasn’t negative. “It’s good.”

“Just good?” You teased, leaning forward as the car slowed down at a red light. Itadori glanced at you from the corner of his eye, his cheeks getting a bit warm.

“If I say it’s amazing will you stop looking at me like that?”

“Ha!” Falling back into your seat, you laughed and sent off another message to Megumi. “I’ll let him know you love it.”

“Y-you’re telling him right now?”

“Of course! He worked really hard on this song!” He had spent many sleepless nights in the recording booth, only coming out to use the bathroom and to give you and Jin loathsome stares.

You came to the town in twenty minutes, nearly swaying Itadori to stop at a random field so you could take pictures of some grazing cows. Parking right at the edge of the market, Itadori first had to deliver his produce. He insisted on you staying in the car, not wanting you to lift anything heavy and hurt yourself.

“Alright, all done.” A few minutes later and you two began your walk down the market, shoulder to shoulder and looking curiously at every table.

“Smell this!” Picking up a bar of soap, you held it out and watched Itadori take a sniff.

“Oh, a sample!” A kind elderly man gave you and Itadori a slice of cheese.

By the time you were halfway down the market, Itadori was carrying a bag of things you stated you absolutely needed. You’d even bought him a few things, like a candle and homemade cookies.

“I love it here.” Sipping on an iced drink, you and Itadori wandered over to the nearby park, setting up your picnic and laying out on the grass. “I can’t wait for the summer festival, it’ll be even more fun!” You’d gone to the festival nearly every year, only missing out on recent years due to work.

“Yeah, it’ll be great.” Itadori was already forming a mental plan on how to ask you out at the festival, possibly right before the fireworks went off.

The two of you spread out on the blanket you’d laid down, people watching as you ate. The sun was warm against your skin, there was the light background noise of people in the distance, and once your stomach was full you decided to lay down.

“That cloud looks like a rabbit.” You pointed up at the sky. Itadori had laid down with you, not even trying to hide his yawn.

“Mmm, I don’t see it.”

“Your eyes aren’t even open.” Poking him, you got him to open one eye.

“Okay, maybe I see it.” Both of you laughed quietly, and while you tried to pick out more shapes from the clouds, Itadori fell asleep - with you unwittingly following suit soon after. It wasn’t a deep sleep by any means, you could still faintly hear people around you, but it felt good to relax for a bit.

A heavy weight across your midsection roused you in your slumber, drawing you closer to the body laying next to you. Looking out the corner of your eye, you saw Itadori still fast asleep, his head pushed against yours as his arm tightened around you.

“He’s so cute.” You whispered softly, fumbling to grab your phone and snap a couple pictures of him and the two of you together. You had to bite back the childish squeal that bubbled in your chest; the two of you looked cute together and if you were bolder you would show them to Itadori when he awoke.

Letting him sleep, you carefully sat up and began to put things away and back into the basket. At least half an hour had passed since you both laid down and there was no shortage of people still at the market.

Looking down at Itadori, you were unable to resist any longer and you ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t exceptionally soft or silky, if anything it was a bit rough and in need of conditioner, no doubt from him being outside all the time but you liked the feeling between your fingers and you repeated the motion.

“Feels nice…” Itadori mumbled sleepily, pushing himself into your leg and groaning in appreciation at your fingers in his hair.

“Have a nice nap?” You chuckled, ruffling his hair a bit to stir him awake.

“How- how long was I asleep?” Interrupted by a yawn, Itadori forced himself to open his eyes and look into the sky.

“I’m not sure, I was asleep too.” Grinning at each other, Itadori yawned again and sat up on his elbow.

“We should head out soon, I need to load up the truck and get the meat home.” He made no move to get up any further, instead rubbing a hand over his face and shaking his head. Itadori looked at something in the distance, his mind trying to catch up with what was happening in the world.

“C’mon.” Helping him come to a stand, you folded up the blanket and tugged on his sleeve. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.” Comically dragging his feet, Itadori let you drag him back to the market. As you got back into the crowd of people, he slipped your hand from his sleeve and laced your fingers together. “Let’s stay close.”

The words came out smoothly and from your vantage point he looked perfectly calm moving through the crowd, but on the inside Itadori was freaking out. It was taking everything in him not to shake from holding your hand and if he dared look over his shoulder at you, he knew an embarrassing noise would escape him.

“Pretty flowers.” You said casually, looking at a table full of floral bouquets. Itadori took one glance at the table and turned, walking straight toward it.

“Which one do you want?” He asked, fishing out money from his wallet.

“Oh no, it’s okay, you don’t have to-”

“How about this one?” Itadori picked up a large bouquet of baby's-breath and tulips, a lovely pink shade that nearly matched his hair.

“These are gorgeous.” Taking the flowers from him, you took a whiff as Itadori paid for them.

“Such a loving boyfriend you have.” The shopkeeper cooed, handing Itadori his change.

“Thank you.” A blush overtook your cheeks and a smile spread across your face; you didn’t have the heart to correct them nor did you want to in the first place. Walking back to Itadori’s truck hand in hand, you sat in the car as he loaded a few coolers of meat into the back.

Hugging the bouquet to your chest, the two of you drove in relative quiet, listening to the soft noise of the radio as the day winded down.

“I had a great time today.” You spoke up as Itadori made it to the front of your home.

“I did too.” Putting the truck in park, he quickly hopped out and ran to your side to open your door. Taking hold of the hand he offered, you moved slowly, not wanting the time together to end. Standing in the doorway, Itadori stared straight at you, inching closer every few seconds.

“Welcome back you two!” Your grandpa’s voice shocked both of you, forcing Itadori to take a large step back from you.

“H-hey grandpa!” You waved, hoping he didn’t see you and Itadori just staring at each other. Closing the car door, you tipped your head at Itadori. “I’ll see you soon? I should be done editing your video by tomorrow.”

“Soon.” With a nod and a wave to your grandpa, Itadori got back into his truck and drove off, this time allowing his hands to shake as violently as they wanted to. When night fell and both of you were in bed, Itadori could hardly sleep, reliving the day over and over in his head. As he tossed for the hundredth time, his phone lit up with a text.

(Y/N): I got a vase for the flowers!

Attached to your text was a picture of the vase sitting on your bedside table. Another picture came in shortly after, of you holding the bouquet in your backyard, bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.

(Y/N): grandma really wanted to take this picture, she said she’s going to print it out and frame it

Itadori immediately saved it to his phone, having to stop himself from making it his wallpaper.

Itadori: you look beautiful

Gripping his phone tightly, Itadori stared at the screen. He didn’t care if his statement was too bold, he needed to let you know.

(Y/N): thanks

The word was sent between a flurry of heart emojis and Itadori just knew you were blushing like he was. Neither of you said anything further, opting instead to grip your pillows and try to force sleep to come.

As the days and weeks went on, you and Itadori spent more time together. He loved how you edited his video, asking if you’d like to do a few more for him and possibly show him how to do it as well for when you left. You filmed several more videos together, capturing the growth of your seedlings into blossoming buds with fledgling leaves. You also went over the video comments together, thinking of how best to reply to them.

Neither of you said anything about the comments shipping you, saying how cute you looked together and wondering when you would start dating if you weren’t already. A few people had asked if you also made videos or were on other social media platforms, but you declined to answer those, not wanting it to possibly affect your work negatively.

“(Y/N), call up Yuji and tell him to come over, I want to have a barbecue.” Your grandpa announced just after 4pm. He and your grandma had been going back and forth about what to do for dinner and he finally decided.

“Why do I have to do it?” You questioned, grabbing your phone nonetheless.

“Oh, and tell him to bring some beers-”

“Don’t you dare, you know the doctor told you not to drink on that new medication!”

“Dear, he said one or two was fine!” And back to bickering they were. Laughing under your breath, you slipped out into the back, looking at the wide open grassland before you as you waited for Itadori to text back.

“(Y/N)!” You didn’t have to wait long, Itadori called your name as he rounded the corner.

“That was quick!” Standing to greet him, you gave him a curious look. You’d only sent the message ten minutes ago and he was already here with a platter of vegetables and meat.

“I got excited, I haven’t had a barbecue in so long!” In dirt stained overalls and no shoes, you could see he had been working in the garden.

“Well I’ll let grandpa know you’re here.”

“Yuji!” As if on cue, the man came out of the house. “Such a good kid.” Taking the platter from him, your grandfather turned over his shoulder. “Dear, is the barbecue still in the shed?”

“I’ll get it.” Itadori immediately walked over to the building in question, pulling out the barbecue and a bag of charcoal. “Where d’ya want it, gramps?”

“Over here.” As the two of them got to work setting up the grill, you went back inside to grab drinks. In no time, all of you were outside, listening to music from an old stereo and waiting for the grill to heat up.

“So (Y/N), how’s that boy in the city?” Taking a sip of water, Daichi stared at the grill. “He done calling you all the time?”

“Megumi’s just stressed, this is the first time I’ve gone on a vacation like this since we met.” Itadori frowned at the topic of conversation; he couldn’t help but see Megumi as competition in winning you over.

“Oh Yuji, you’re so cute!” Cooing at the young man, your grandma glanced at you. “I think someone is jealous.” Giggling behind her hand, the elderly woman patted you on the shoulder as you slapped a hand over your face.

“Jeez Yachi, you could try to be more subtle!” Leaning back dramatically, Daichi groaned.

“I can’t help it!” She continued to tease, reveling in yours and Itadori’s embarrassed faces.

“I’m going to get more water before I die of humiliation.” Jumping up, you all but ran into the kitchen to escape. Going straight into the bathroom, you splashed cold water on your face to quell your scalding cheeks.

Once your body had cooled down, you exited the bathroom, surprised to see Itadori standing at the kitchen counter chopping vegetables. You could see the muscles in his arms flexing as he chopped, his already short sleeves rolled up to expose his shoulders.

“Did grandma put you to work?” Making your presence known, you tore your eyes away from his arms and over to the window where the two of them were standing over the grill.

“Yeah.” Itadori chuckled, focused on chopping. Leaning against the counter, you looked over to him, wanting to say something about your grandma’s comment. “I am jealous.” He spoke before you could, not tearing his eyes away from his task.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Glancing at you, he licked his lips nervously before continuing. “Jealous that he’s known you longer, he’s gone on a vacation with you and probably a bunch of other things I don’t even want to think about.” Setting the knife down, Itadori placed his hand over yours. “But I’ll beat him, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Beat him in what?” Your breath was hardly coming out and your heart was beating so loudly in your ears you were surprised any sound was able to be heard.

“In the race for you.” A shaky exhale left Itadori, his eyes making contact with yours briefly before dropping to your lips. “I’m going to win your heart before Megumi knows what hit him.” Giving your hand a brief squeeze, Itadori stepped away and grabbed the cutting board he’d been working on. “Alright, all done!” He yelled as he walked outside, leaving you alone to think about what just happened.

You wanted to deny it, push away the idea that Megumi might like you in that way, but there was no getting around it. You’d seen the signs yourself no matter how hard you pushed them away and if these past weeks were any indication, he was desperate not to lose you to Itadori.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur, your interaction with Itadori playing over and over in your head. A few other neighbors had joined the fray, helping to disperse the conversations and take attention away from you. You didn’t shy away from Itadori, sitting next to him when it came time to eat and walking him out when it got too dark to stay out any longer.

“Thanks for coming.” You two were now standing on the sidewalk, neither of you making a move to leave the other.

“I had a good time.” Rocking on his feet, Itadori reached out and hooked his fingers on yours. “I’ll see you soon?” He gave you a hopeful look from under his lashes, one that turned to happiness at your nod.

“Yeah, I need to check on my plants!”

“Plants, of course.” Chuckling, Itadori raised your hand to his lips, giving your knuckles a kiss and a squeeze before letting go. “See you.”

“Bye.” Biting your lip to hold back a childish giggle, you waited for Itadori to get a bit farther away before making yourself turn to go back inside. Itadori’s confession followed you to sleep, making butterflies erupt in your stomach everytime you thought about his lips on your hand.

With the summer festival coming up sooner than either of you had anticipated, the time you and Itadori spent together wasn’t as much as either of you had hoped. Being a strapping young man, he was put to work grabbing supplies and setting up booths. What time you did spend together was always short, just a quick exchange before Itadori was called to do other things or he was simply too exhausted to stay awake any longer.

But it was all worth it in the end, when you woke up and saw that the festival was beginning to start. People from other towns had come and set up, making the festival stretch widely across the town center. 

“Itadori!” Painfully excited and jumping for joy, you knocked loudly on his front door. You knew he wasn’t at the festival already because you had made a promise to go together.

There were a few thumps from the other side of the door and a hushed ‘ow!’ before the door was yanked open.

“W-what time is it?” Itadori yawned, shielding his face from the sun. You couldn’t formulate an answer though, too busy ogling his shirtless physique. It was like seeing him for the first time all over again, your eyes drinking in every detail of his muscles.

“Eleven?” Your voice was terribly quiet and Itadori didn’t even hear it, opting to turn around and look at the clock on the wall.

“Damn, pretty late. Come in.” Dragging his feet through the hall, Itadori came to a halt at a coffee machine in the kitchen. “Want one?”

“I’m good.” Leaning against the dining table, you now stared at the muscles in his back, idly wondering what it’d be like to touch them.

“I see you staring.” Itadori teased, looking at you from the corner of his eye as he poured a cup of coffee.

“Shut up.” Whipping your head away, a blush cropped up on the back of your neck.

“I’ll get dressed and then we can go.” Quickly downing the drink, he did a light jog out of the kitchen. Five minutes later and Itadori reappeared, a light tank top adorning him. Escorting you out of the house, Itadori held up his camera.

“You’re filming a vlog?” You asked excitedly. He had never really filmed a video like this before and you were excited to see him broadening his content.

“Yes, I’m filming a vlog.” He was already holding up the camera, arm extended to capture both of you in the frame. “It’s the summer festival everyone! And me and (Y/N) are going!”

“It’s going to be great! There’s so much to do there!” You chimed in, pumping your first into the air.

“What should we do first? Maybe get some cotton candy?”

“Yes!” Scurrying ahead, you let Itadori continue to talk to the camera, excitement driving you forward. Briefly looking over your shoulder, you saw him film you running off and waving. Stopping once you reached the edge of the festival, you bounced on your toes waiting for him to meet up with you.

“Someone’s excited.” He teased, casually slinging an arm over your shoulder as you began your walk through the festival. You welcomed the motion, moving closer to him and letting your head rest on his shoulder for a moment.

Walking through the festival, Itadori had a hard time multitasking between vlogging and talking to you. He’d never filmed in such a public place before and it was making him nervous; not all the townsfolk knew he filmed videos.

“Hey Itadori!” A man sitting at a strawberry tanghulu stand waved the two of you down, gesturing to the fruit sitting on the table. “Look, these are with the strawberries you grew!”

��Wow!” Itadori had an impressed look on his face as he filmed it for the camera.

“Here, take some! They’re technically yours after all!” The man eagerly handed you a skewer of the fruit, giving you two a wave as you walked away.

“Don’t keep me waiting, try it.” Itadori nudged you; he wanted to see what you thought of his food. Biting down on the brittle sugar, you hummed and licked your lips.

“Only the best from the Itadori farm!” You exclaimed, waving the skewer at the camera. “I know all of you are jealous!”

“Gimme some.” Opening his mouth, Itadori waited for you to feed him. Taking a bite himself, he gave a thumbs up. “Amazing.”

Walking around the festival, the both of you stopped to talk to the other townspeople, some running stands and others just perusing themselves. There was a lot to see and do, from eating all the festival food you could get your hands on to watching live performances of local musicians.

“I should ask Megumi if he’d be interested in playing a festival, I want to go to more.” You said offhandedly, always eager to help broaden the exposure of your agencies clients.

“I should become a musician so I can have you think about me all the time.” Itadori teased, pinching your cheek.

“I think about you plenty!” Giggling and swatting at his hand, you captured it in yours, holding it tightly against your chest. Itadori laughed as well, untangling your hands to properly thread your fingers together.

“Good, ‘cause I think about you a lot.” Resting his head against yours, Itadori turned his attention to the music playing, turning the camera so it could capture it as well.

As the sun began to set, there was an excited murmur of the fireworks show to come. Itadori had helped put it together, driving cases of fireworks from one town to the other and helping plan out the order of everything on his ancient laptop.

“How cute!” Walking around a bit before it started, you stumbled upon a game stall where the prizes were large plushies. A large pink bunny had caught your eye, its ears much longer than its body.

“You like it?” Handing the camera to you, Itadori fished out a few dollars. “I’ll win it, no problem.”

“Alright, I’m counting on you!” Angling the camera, you made sure the whole stall was in frame before he started. Itadori was painfully focused, he hardly made a sound as he threw darts to pop the balloons a few feet away. Every throw landed, making you more anxious by the minute.

“It’s all yours.” The person manning the stall pulled down the rabbit and handed it to Itadori.

“Here you go.” Walking off, Itadori switched the camera for the rabbit.

“Thank you!” Feeling a rush of adrenaline, you bounced on your toes and swooped in, giving Itadori a kiss on the cheek. Clutching the plush close to your chest, you laughed at his shocked expression and how his eyes got wider upon realizing he caught it on camera.

“N-no problem.” He could hardly speak, surprised that you would even want to kiss him. Fighting the urge to grab you and kiss you back, Itadori tugged at your hand instead, focusing on walking straight and not passing out from how hot his face was.

Finding a spot to watch the fireworks, Itadori hugged you to his chest, resting his camera on his shoulder as the sky lit up. The babble of amazed children was drowned out every few moments by a loud boom and the crowd was bathed in a wonderful swatch of bright colors.

While the fireworks were going off, Itadori did mental gymnastics trying to figure out how he was going to ask you to be his girlfriend. With the festival coming to an end, it also signaled the beginning of the end of summer, meaning you’d be going back to work in the city in no time. He worried so much about it all that the firework show came and went without him noticing.

“I had so much fun!” As the two of you walked out of the town center, your hands had naturally come together and swung back and forth.

“Me too.” Itadori turned the camera off now, it was too dark to really see anything on film. Passing by street lights, he dreaded every step closer to your homes. “(Y/N).” He stopped abruptly. “Let’s go on a walk.”

“Okay.” Sending him a curious look, you followed him down a side street away from home. Walking in silence, you could tell something was eating at Itadori because every few steps he would falter and look at you, only to snap his head away just as quickly. “Is something wrong?” Now it was your turn to stop under a streetlight, tugging him to stop as well.

“No.” Itadori said, refusing to look at you. “Well, yes…” Taking a glance at you made a groan come out of him and he threw his head back in frustration. “Nothing’s wrong, I just…just…” It was silent between you two: you looking at Itadori with worry and him staring at the sky trying to muster the courage to do something.

“Did I do anything wrong?”

“No!” Your question immediately brought Itadori back to earth, his wide stare throwing you off. “No, nothing!”

“Then what’s up? You’ve been acting weird since we left.”

“I-” Getting fed up with himself, Itadori let out a short and annoyed shout. “I just don’t want this night to end with me doing nothing!”

“Nothing?”

“Yes! I want to- I want to kiss you! I want to ask you out, I want you to be my girlfriend! But how can I ask any of that when I keep chickening out?” He hadn’t meant to shout, but Itadori was getting angry at himself. Squeezing your hand tighter, he leaned forward and rested his forehead on your shoulder. “I don’t want you going back to the city without at least knowing how much I like you.”

Itadori refused to lift his head after his final words, not wanting to see your expression lest it be something he didn’t want to see. Sure, he had stated that he intended to win your heart but this was different, he was actually coming out and saying how much he wanted to be with you.

“Itadori.” Nudging his head up, you got him to look at you, his cheeks a horribly deep shade of pink. Looking at you made it worse, but he leaned into the hand you placed on his cheek. “I thought you’d never ask.” Your words made a tremendous weight lift off his shoulders and Itadori nearly collapsed.

“Thank god.” He sighed happily, cupping your cheeks as well and laughing like a fool. “I don’t think I could stand to be rejected.” Pushing his forehead against yours, he closed his eyes and sighed again. “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.” The word barely left you before he was already putting his lips on yours. Itadori was smiling in the kiss, pushing his teeth into yours without meaning to. He kissed you a few times, managing to close his mouth properly a few times before finally parting.

“Alright, let’s get you home. I don’t want gramps to get the wrong idea about me.” Kissing you again, Itadori put his arm around your shoulder and began walking. The trip back was too short for either of your liking and you made it to your front door all too soon.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” You asked hopefully.

“Of course.” Itadori punctuated his statement with a kiss. Sharing a long hug, you eventually separated and went inside. Taking a glance into the lounge room, you balked at seeing both your grandparents scrambling to fix the curtains. “Were you spying on us?”

“I- well- it was your grandma's idea.”

“No it wasn’t! You know grandpa is nosy!”

You couldn’t find it in you to be embarrassed at being caught by your grandparents. You just laughed it off and offered to give them the details which they happily listened to, giving you love advice every now and again.

With the end of the festival truly came the end of your summer holiday. Itadori and you harvested your crops, proudly showing the camera the bundle of flowers and produce you were able to grow. He edited the vlog of the festival himself as well, keeping in all the cheesy and romantic moments you two shared and titling it ‘finally getting a girlfriend’. There were hundreds of fan edits by the end of the week and Itadori clipped several moments to relive on his TikTok.

Once the day came to leave, you said goodbye to your grandparents, promising to come back soon. Itadori drove you to the train station, his hand laced with yours as he drove. He was pensive, not saying much as he drove; he had to constantly stop himself from turning the car around and driving you right back to town.

“You won’t forget about me right?” He asked as he helped grab your bags.

“How could I?” You knew for a fact that he and your grandparents would be blowing up your phone constantly asking for you to visit.

“Megumi better not give you any trouble.” Itadori would be ready to drive to the city at the drop of a hat just to put the melancholy man in his place. You laughed at that statement, rolling your eyes and taking your suitcase from him.

“Please, Megumi’s harmless.” Fixing your bags and checking the time, you missed Itadori’s brief look of discontent. You said that, but Itadori had a feeling Megumi wouldn’t back off just because you suddenly had a new boyfriend.

“Text me when you get on the train.” Placing his hands on your shoulders, Itadori squared your body to him.

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise!” Throwing your arms around him, you squeezed him tightly and pecked him on the lips. “I’ll even send a picture of my seat.” Kissing him one last time, you pulled apart and took a step back. “Bye!” You went to walk away but Itadori grabbed onto your hand, preventing you from going any further.

“I’m going to miss you!” He whined, letting you tug back and forth.

“You big baby!” You would miss him too and you nearly let him pull you back, but you stayed strong and eventually broke free from his hold. “Go pick out the fall crops already!”

“Fine!” Itadori made no move to leave, instead watching you walk away and into the station. He waited until you texted him that you were on the train and even then still waited until he heard the whistle blow and saw the train begin its departure.

(Y/N): miss you already

(Y/N): I’ll be back before you know it

(Itadori): I’ll be waiting

#jujustu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen scenarios #jujutsu kaisen au #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen fluff #itadori yuji #itadori x reader #yuji itadori x reader

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pumpkin head [ticci toby x reader] — chapter i.

After a long day at school, Y/N goes to the park to relax and feed some ducks. A boy that she hadn’t seen before catches her eye... maybe a bit too much.

co-written with @spookyravioli, please check her out! ♡

author's note: this fanfiction will contain mildly dark content, including abuse, alcoholism, mental health issues, unhealthy relationship dynamics, and similar themes.

please read at your own discretion.

<- previous chapter

Have you ever thought about being a worm?

No, not in the way that girls tend to ask their boyfriends if they’d still love them if they were a worm. Like, actually just being a worm. Being a cute, weird, squiggly little thing inching its way forward on the ground.

Because Y/N was doing so right now.

Y/N was staring at the ground, eyes beholding the sight of precisely three worms wiggling their way around the freshly rained-upon earth. It was odd, but she felt compelled to keep her eyes on the worms, watching them intently, not wanting to look up and away.

She was sitting on a swing, old and rackety and looking as if it was on the verge of collapse. Her beat-up shoes dug into the softness of the mud as she propelled herself forward, cringing at the creaking noise each movement made. The wooden seat was still damp from the humidity that lingered in the air, and the same moisture soaked through her clothes, causing them to cling uncomfortably to her body.

But what drew attention was the plastic pumpkin that covered her head, the only dry part of her right now. The pumpkin fully encased her head, leaving her eyes as the only thing visible, shining through the darkness inside. They were her most striking feature, being her only feature that was visible to others. Other than that, her head was just that of the pumpkin’s cheap plastic orange shell, merging seamlessly with the rest of her body almost as if it were natural.

The hollow inside of the pumpkin was nonetheless a bit stuffy, especially with the humid weather, but it also shielded her from the cold and gave her a certain pressure that kept her grounded to the earth. Without it, she would feel as if she was adrift at sea or perhaps like a ghost suspended in the air rather than a human being with corporal mass and weight. In some ways, she found the pumpkin to be an anchor, keeping her at bay and preventing her from drowning in the stresses of life. Granted, the pumpkin head was by no means physically comfortable, often causing her to sweat or feel like she was breathing her own breath over and over, but she wouldn’t want it any other way.

But that wasn’t her problem right now because, despite the general unpleasantness of being rained upon and the slight condensation building up inside the hollow pumpkin, she found peace in the moment.

What truly bothered her, though, more than the moistened seat of the swing, more than the dirt caking up on her shoes, more than the stuffiness of the pumpkin head, was that as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t stare at the soil forever. So she forcefully tore her gaze away from the worms, lifting her head back up, the scenery changing to one of the forest that started at the ends of her backyard.

Staring out into the vastness of the woods, her eyes examined the various tones of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns that had fallen off the trees, carried through the air by the September winds.

It’s beautiful, she thought, watching the animals scurry about on the ground, the birds chirping joyfully and singing in tune. It was a calming atmosphere, with the earthy scent that comes after rain filling the air, inhaled along with each breath of oxygen.

But that wasn’t what her eyes searched for.

No, they were looking for something else, something different. She didn’t know what exactly she was looking for; all she knew was that what she was searching for was not something harmonious with the ever-so-fascinating ecosystem before her eyes.

What she looked for was something far more sinister. Something insidious, shadowing over her life with every step she took, its mere presence strong enough to throw everything out of balance.

Its gaze, empty and hollow and cast upon her entire being. She shivered, feeling a chill run down each individual section of her spine.

Even if that thing wasn’t even there to begin with, even if it was all in her head, the thought of it staring at her at this moment, analyzing and scrutinizing her for all she was worth, was enough for her to want to bury herself underneath the ground, lying there forever and hidden from its gaze.

Quickly, she dropped her eyes, lowering them back to the ground, back to the worms.

Soon, the worms would be gone, unseen until the next rainfall. Burrowing into the earth, tunnelling through the dirt in search of nutrients, blissful and happy with their simple lives under the ground. Away from its watch. Their only worry being the birds that soared high above, waiting for the perfect moment to sweep down on their prey or the higher-ranking insects on the food chain.

However, she would have to stay there, stay in that rusty old swing set, waiting for her mother to finish making breakfast before she would leave for an even bigger ecosystem: high school. Y/N didn’t have the luxury of hiding away in the ground, the luxury of leaving once things became too difficult; instead, she was forced to face her problems on the daily, dealing with them from behind that measly plastic pumpkin on her head. And even then, after she’d finished the school day, she couldn’t be shielded away from the presence that haunted her so often, the presence that she had been searching for just minutes ago.

What she wouldn’t give to be a worm right now.

“Y/N, breakfast is ready!”

The sound of her mother’s voice snapped Y/N out of her quickly spiralling thoughts, causing her to hop off the swing and then make her way towards the backdoor of her house. Now she would have other problems to deal with, other things to focus on other than that ominous presence that ingrained itself into her mind every day, taunting her with the absence of knowledge as to what it is, rendering her to merely a puppet longing to see its master, yet only able to face the audience.

The brisk air, the grey puffs of clouds, and the worms crawling about the ground were left behind as she entered the house, shutting the door behind her, replacing it with the warmth of the indoors. As she took her shoes off, replacing them with slippers that gently tapped against the tiled floor, that was now the only thing that engulfed her mind, her eyes zoning in on the kitchen table before her. It was almost as if she was ignoring the world around her, with the way she sat down on the chair and looked straight at her plate in silence.

Through the hollow eyes of the plastic pumpkin that surrounded her head, she stared at the food in front of her, her eyes widening with joy, practically sparkling as she gazed at the sight before her. And through the rigid shell of the pumpkin’s exterior, she was able to shut out the man sitting beside her at the end of the table, shut out the words that spilled out of her mother’s mouth as she finished setting the table.

Shut out the world around her, just as it was intended to do. Because sometimes the world got a bit too heavy, a bit too overwhelming, a bit too much for her to handle. Because sometimes her surroundings alone were enough to overstimulate her. The plastic pumpkin served perfectly as a divider between her and the world, shutting her into her own little space, able to safely interact with the rest of her world through invisible glass panels.

And she knew it was strange; she knew that she wasn’t the only one who thought so. Everyone else did too. That didn’t stop her, however. She still kept it on at almost all times, to the point where even her teachers had given up on trying to get her to take it off at school.

Back to breakfast, though.

Her mom had made pancakes, and she couldn’t take her eyes off them, taking in every little detail that seemed to make her head fuzzier by the minute. The way the maple syrup dripped off the sides of the neatly stacked pancakes, the way the slices of bananas laid on top, complementing the glistening brown syrup with their soft yellow colour, the way the texture was so light and fluffy, enticing her, beckoning her to stab into them with her fork, squish them in her mouth…

Oh, and the scent, the scent was ever so divine, a heavenly blend of banana, maple, and freshly made pancake that sent her straight to cloud nine.

There was not a single person in the world who made pancakes as well as her mother did; she was sure of that. Not even Gordon Ramsey could compete. They were so ethereal that the man beside her had to snap his fingers in front of her face to snap her out of her trance.

Y/N jerked her head up at the source, turning towards the smiling man, John, her stepfather, with confusion and slight embarrassment, remembering how her mother was talking, and she hadn’t listened to a single word of it. She worried then that perhaps it was something important.

“Everything alright, kiddo? You looked kind of spaced out there.” John’s voice rang in her ears as she stared into his mocha brown eyes that mimicked that of freshly poured hot cocoa.

Y/N paused for a moment, processing his words in her mind.

“I’m okay,” she stated, her voice so soft that it was almost a whisper, yet she knew the man heard her clearly. Returning to her breakfast, now picking up her fork and beginning to eat, she lifted the edge of the plastic pumpkin up and over her mouth, stopping just above her nose.

“Are you sure? You don’t think it’d be easier to eat if you took that thing off?” John asked while raising an eyebrow.

“I guess, yeah.” Y/N agreed with him, hoping it’d get the interaction over faster. It didn’t.

“I mean, doesn’t it get stuffy in there?” John questioned again, taking a sip of his coffee, yet he didn’t take his eyes off her, making Y/N slightly shrink into her seat.

“No, I’m fine.” was the only thing that left her mouth, unsure what else to say.

“Alright, whatever you think, kiddo.” John shrugged, but luckily that was the end of it, his final remark said before he went back to face her mother.

With a small sigh leaving her lips, Y/N returned to her food, yet she couldn’t truly indulge in it like she previously wanted to, almost as if the magic had dissipated, leaving her with nothing but a bleak morning breakfast. Y/N could feel the occasional glances from John, glances so quick that she could barely decipher them, yet she knew it was something that had to do with her, causing her to shrink more into her seat. What was once delectable flavours bursting in her mouth was now just the chewing of food, each bite more tiring and boring than the last; the fluffiness of the pancakes having seemingly evaporated, leaving her with something that felt akin to rubber.

It didn’t matter. She just needed to finish breakfast and catch the bus to school.

That’s why she was even there in the first place.

—

The room was cold. That was the only thing she thought of as she stood in the school gymnasium. While the flimsy t-shirt and mandatory long shorts that reached her knees did little to protect her from the blasting A.C., her pumpkin head kept her face warm and safe, the feeling resembling the one she got from laying under her weighted blanket and curling up underneath the comforting pressure.

She was in her last period, P.E., sitting on the bench with all the other girls, waiting for the teacher to finish droning on about the benefits of dodgeball. She glanced to the other side of the gymnasium—the boys were already destroying one another, each hurling the ball with such force as if trying to surpass the speed of light. The loud sounds of laughter and yelps of pain felt overwhelming for Y/N, but thanks to the pumpkin head, she was able to shut it out, rendering the sounds to mere background noise.

It was both scary and amusing how the day could pass by so quickly. It seemed like just a few minutes ago, she was still in her first period, staring out the window, gazing out towards the grey morning skies. Now it was already afternoon, and she couldn’t see it, but the rainclouds indeed would have lifted, revealing the brilliant glow of the sun beneath.

“Alright girls, pick your teams!” the coach instructed, finally finishing her spiel. Two girls—it was the same ones each time—stood up and took turns picking from the other girls on the bench, making their teams.

Y/N was never much of a fan of dodgeball or sports in general. The idea of having balls hurled at you didn’t exactly appeal to her, and she didn’t think her hand-eye coordination was the best either. Still, it was mainly the pressure of constantly being alert and moving around that was overwhelming to her. Perhaps she was just lazy, but the thought of her having to dart around, dodging scary foam or rubber—she wasn’t sure—balls was already intimidating, causing her to already want to slump down and lie on the floor. Maybe even play dead.

From what she could tell, most girls felt the same way as her, except for the few that took P.E. a bit too seriously.

She didn’t have a choice here, though, as she was now standing on one side of the gymnasium with her team, the fear of the ball colliding with her body making her tremble uncomfortably.

The game started with a blow from the teacher’s whistle. Some of the girls opposing her dashed towards the center line, picking up their balls while Y/N remained in the back, hoping that she could avoid the crossfire.

Then one of the girls who did, in fact, take P.E. far too seriously (and also did not like Y/N very much) picked up their ball and glanced at her, the way an eagle would lock its eyes on its prey, and at that moment she knew she couldn’t escape. She tried to prepare herself to dodge, but as soon as the ball left the other girl’s hand, she realized her body’s response was neither to fight nor to flight but to freeze.

So there she stood, like a deer still before the headlights of a car that was about to come crashing into them.

And just like that car, the ball was flying towards her, soon to slam into her chest.

And just like that deer, Y/N fell backwards, her tailbone painfully hitting the smooth gymnasium floor, her elbows sliding against it. She couldn’t breathe, the ball having effectively winded her, and everything felt like too much at that moment—the burn from the friction against the ground, the jolt of discomfort that shot up her tailbone straight into her spine, and the feeling of the ball ramming into her ribcage all replaying over and over. It was sensory hell.

The girl who had hit her was walking towards Y/N, stopping a few feet before her. Some of the other girls had paused their playing and were now glancing over at the scene.

“Whoops, sorry.” the girl apologized, but Y/N could tell that she didn’t really mean it, with the way she looked to the side as she said those words, her voice monotone, not conveying either care or regret for the situation; it was glaringly apparent that she did it intentionally and only apologized in fear of the consequences.

And so, Y/N forced herself to sit up with a struggle, slightly wincing at the movement of her muscles.

“It’s fine,” she muttered quietly, getting up and walking towards the bench.

It was what she had wanted originally, to sit on the bench and wait until school was over, but the sight of seeing the other girls having fun playing without her was ever so slightly painful. It was a fun that wasn’t present when she was there with them, a fun that she couldn’t have because she was weird, she was weak.

And she knew that’s what everyone else thought of her, as well. While she wasn’t bullied in school, nor harassed, which she was grateful for, she also couldn’t ignore the strange looks they gave her, the way they hesitated before speaking to her, the whispers behind her back when they thought she wasn’t listening, and worst of all, the snide comment someone would make every once in a while.

‘Weirdo.’ That was the word she heard the most often, but that was from her fellow students. ‘Childish’ was the one most often used by the teachers, as they shook their heads in disapproval of her wearing her pumpkin head at school, calling her mother up for a meeting occasionally to discuss Y/N’s ‘unsociable behaviour.’

Sometimes, she just wanted to tear the pumpkin off her head so that she could walk like all the others, talk like all the others, and live like all the others. And she had tried to do so, she had tried so many times, over and over and over, but every time she tried, she felt so vulnerable, she felt so defenceless.

She felt like a baby bird, freshly hatched from its egg, featherless and unable to fly, just prey for larger animals to feed upon.

So, she wore it for comfort, even if that meant sitting on the bench alone.

—

The crisp September wind was ever so present, making her bring her knees up to her chest as she sat on the wooden park bench, bundling herself up tightly within her own clothing.

In her hands were some uneaten crackers from lunch, and at her feet were some happy ducks quacking for more of said crackers. It made her chuckle, the way they resembled little babies cooing at their mothers, their happiness reflecting in how they waddled closer step by step, like a toddler learning to walk. Y/N felt special, seeing how they were willing to leave the comfort of the pond behind them, walk up to her for food, trusting her like they always did.

And she had rightfully earned it, crumbling the cracker within her closed fist and opening it to throw the crushed pieces towards them, watching them rush towards the food.

She found it a bit pathetic that she felt more of a connection to the ducks in the local park than the peers in her school, but like her pumpkin head, it brought a particular type of comfort to her that nothing else could.

And just like everything else today, that comfort was taken away from her.

Her pleasant moment of serenity was shattered by the sound of a boy laughing at one of the ducks, which had just aggressively ripped a large piece of bread out of his pale hands. The sound was accompanied by the teasing of an older girl, saying how even ducks could beat him for a piece of bread. It was a melody of an interaction that Y/N had never experienced before—the playful teasing of someone instead of subtle, passive-aggressive comments that would confuse her on whether they were jokes or real insults.

Her eyes darted toward and focused on the source of the sound from behind the safety of her pumpkin head, like a cat experimenting with a small piece of yarn.

She could see them clearly, at the other end of the pond; a boy, a girl, and an older woman who Y/N assumed to be their mother.

The mother was sitting on the bench opposing her, watching her children give bread to the ducks and enjoy themselves. A soft yet tired look graced her features; it reminded Y/N of her own mother, who often donned that expression. Her brown hair was tied up neatly in a bun, and her green eyes were reminiscent of the rich colour of summer’s leaves. She was sitting elegantly with her maroon coat and black boots, complete with a beige scarf; Y/N would even say she was overdressed for the weather.

The girl appeared to be a young adult, older than the boy, who appeared to be about her age but not by much, likely his older sister. Her long, platinum blonde hair was tied into a low ponytail, brilliant and shining and impressively long, falling down to her waist in soft waves, her hair reminding her of Rapunzel. She wore a white sweater, cropped short at her waist, with a pair of baby blue jeans that weren’t too tight but at the same time still hugged her curves well; she resembled one of those girls in the magazines you’d see in the store. And her eyes, those light green eyes, were similar to her mother’s; only hers were brighter, like the green grass of a springtime meadow. She was nothing short of gorgeous.

However, no one caught her attention more than the boy.

Freckles adorned his pale skin, pale to an unnatural, concerning degree. If she was younger and still believed that vampires existed, perhaps she would have suspected he was one. Y/N could only assume that he didn’t go out much. His hair was brown and fluffy, tousled and she couldn’t help but find herself yearning to run her fingers through it, to feel if his chocolate brown locks were as soft as they looked. He was dressed in much more plain attire, unlike his mother and sister; he wore a thick striped sweater with the colours of the season, autumn. Aside from the sweater, he only wore some wide-length jeans, darker blue and much more casual and looser than what his sister had on. He looked cute in a strange way. And his eyes, bold and with a fiery spark of amber, practically taking on a golden glow, she couldn’t resist staring at them even though she had learned that it was rude to stare.

It got worse the moment they made eye contact.

His eyes were mesmerizing, drawing her in; so many emotions in one glance alone that made her breath fall short. Even if they were narrowing, confusion and irritation now painted on his face, she couldn’t bring herself to stop staring. It was like she was paralyzed, like she was staring at the scene of a car crash, knowing that she should look away yet not being able to, her body trembling as he was now whispering to his mom and sister, both of them also looking at her with discomfort.

At that very moment, Y/N felt an assortment of feelings.

On the one hand, she was afraid. He was like everyone else, a seemingly ordinary teenage boy just hanging out with his family by the park, likely now creeped out from being stared at by a stranger with a pumpkin head for a face. Now that she thought about it, she was surprised that he didn’t stare at her sooner; most people did. Perhaps now he and his family would leave, uncomfortable with her presence, or maybe he’d start making fun of her to his family, jeering at her appearance and calling her what she was—a weirdo that didn’t know not to stare.

But on the other hand, she was utterly and entirely captivated. She couldn’t stop looking at him even if his reaction was negative. She had never met someone so enthralling; never in the sixteen years she had lived in this town had she seen someone so oddly entrancing. She concluded from that that he must be new, seeing as she had lived in this town her whole life and had never seen him once before. Rarely did they have newcomers in this small town. Thoughts blossomed in her head about who he might be and why he was here.

It was a bizarre feeling. Was this what her stepfather referred to when he spoke of his hormonal teenage years? She didn’t know.

But what she did know was that the boy had stepped away from his family and was now circling around the pond, marching his way directly towards her, sending her straight into a newfound state of panic, her body freezing against her will. At that moment, she was sent back into P.E. class all over again, but this time he was the dodgeball. A beguiling, enchanting dodgeball, but terrifying and approaching her at a rapid pace nonetheless.

And like in P.E., she was paralyzed, continuing to helplessly stare, all the while trembling in her spot as he neared her, stopping a few feet before her and crossing his arms over his chest.

“What are you staring at?”

next chapter soon...

#creepypasta #creepypasta nsft #creepypasta reader insert #creepypasta x reader #creepypasta x you #creepypasta smut #ticci toby x you #ticci toby x reader #ticci toby #ticci toby creepypasta #ticci toby x y/n #ticci toby reader insert #yandere ticci toby #ticci toby smut #tobias erin rogers #toby rogers #toby x reader #marble hornets #marble hornets x reader #yandere creepypasta

[libraford]

I saw you were killing your lawn grass to plant clover and other things. Do you have any advice? We're trying to do no mowing or anything but it's SO LONG I worry about ticks and chiggers. I dunno how to convert this to something a little less wild.

Some examples of it! It's just a lil crazy atm and I kinda want a garden of edible vegetables somewhere!! But I have no idea how to even start. I really wanna plant trees but the ground here is so hard (mountains) it's so hard to dig to plant.

---------

That grass is going to outcompete anything you try to plant there at its current state. You will have to get rid of that grass.

You have a couple options.

The first is mowing it with the intent to kill it. I mean real short. I mean get that blade so close to the dirt its hitting rocks. With as high as it is right now, you might try a weed whacker for the tallest parts. If you can rent a good mower, do so. I've been using a cheap mower and its been struggling. Or get someone else to mow it for you- but you have to get it short.

The second option is smothering it. It can't grow if there's no light. I've done this accidentally before with pieces of cardboard weighed down. Two weeks-ish will have it dead, just check it periodically. This might be harder to do on a large area.

We are doing a combination of the two.

First, cutting it short. Show that grass who's boss.

After its been cut, we are using the pieces of our shed that blew over in a wind storm to cover the lawn one section at a time. After the two weeks are up on one area, we move the plastic pieces further into the yard.

Here comes the clover.

Once the grass is dead, that's when you can plant your ground cover (clover mix). Try to do this on a day when the soil is wet.

When it comes in, the clover will want to get tall. Cut it down. Once you cut it, it will grow more slowly and you won't have to do it as often as you would with grass.

Once you reseed the lawn, you will have to continue reseeding it because that grass will want to take over. We skipped it this year and the grass took control of the lawn.

You might want to look into 'no mow' plants that do well in your soil. Because its one thing to stop mowing but the real benefits to the soil come from plant diversity. But sadly, we don't have the same kind of dirt and my knowledge of your soil type is limited and this is like a whole... thing.

Like our main concern in our area is having plants that help with drainage. Probably not the same problem where you are. So think about what kinds of problems you have and try to find a garden blog that deals with those specific problems.

#submission

[sanguine-temperaments]

Vampirekin tips

Things I do to make me feel more connected to my vampire self.

🦇 - wearing cool sunglasses. i have a whole collection including red tinted ones and bat shaped ones

🪦 - carrying around a small vial of my home soil. In old vampire stories such as Dracula, vampires have to carry soil from their homeland with them when they go abroad. I just got some dirt from my backyard and put it in a small jar that I carry with me when I go out.

🍷 - adding food colouring to drinks - red hot chocolate is amazing

🕯️- lighting candles, especially grave lights. you can get scented candles and grave lights at pretty much any supermarket very cheap, or if you wanna get fancy with it you can get bleeding candles on amazon and Etsy.

⚰️ - lying on my back with my arms crossed. I don’t sleep in that position but I use it to relax or when meditating or listening to music.

🥀 - taking strolls around the cemetery at night, talking to the ghosts and tending to graves. just remember to be respectful and follow grave yard etiquette!

#vampire otherkin #vampirekin #vampirekin tips #otherkin tips #🦇 vampyrism 🦇 #⚰️ vampyrism ⚰️

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

Why would keeping rabbits outdoors be preferrable to an indoor enclosure? /genq

digging in the dirt helps wear claws down naturally and enriches rabbits, access to sunlight improves mental and physical health, exposure to soil and the surrounding climate allows for a more properly developed immune system, so on so forth.

Not to say there aren’t benefits of keeping rabbits indoors of course. The types of enclosures necessary to give a rabbit space for freedom while also protecting them from predators and preventing escape are not cheap to build. Some rabbits are also vulnerable to ear infections if rainwater gets stuck in there or becoming chilled if soaked on a cold night. There are ways to mitigate the risks of either style of rabbit keeping but you can do either effectively.

[hellenhighwater]

What's a bin bed? You mentioned it with the tomatoes and I am intrigued.

Also thank you for all the Truancy pics they always light up my day.

Because of the way that my small lot is mostly covered in the shade of enormous, 150 year old trees, the only place with enough direct sunlight for veggies to thrive is on my driveway in front of my garage. It's a big concrete pad, so there's room for it, but obviously I couldn't plant directly there and I didn't want to do some kind of permanent raised bed.

So instead what I have is probably one of the lowest-investment, easiest methods of gardening. It's six cheap plastic tote bins, each with a few holes drilled into the sides a couple inches from the bottom. (Not actually in the bottom, mind you. Putting your drain holes on the sides lets some water stay in the bottom without letting things get soggy.)

The bottom six inches or so is sticks, some leaf down, and crappy regular dirt. Mostly just there to fill space and hold water. The top part is raised bed soil, compost, and coconut coir (mostly because I'd bought some cheaply in brick form and had it available.) Depending on weather and heat, I water these daily or twice weekly--mostly if I see the plants drooping, I go water them.

I'm growing LOTS of tomatoes, and my black bell peppers, chili peppers, and black chilis are starting to fruit. The carrots in the other two beds were planted on the fourth of july and should be multicolored and ready to harvest by fall.

If you're in an apartment or a rental and have a balcony with good sun, try doing this! It's been super easy, and I've had almost zero problems with pests or weeding.

[baldurianbookhoarder]

CW: trauma, death

post-BG3 ramblings: Imagine you're on another adventure with the group, perhaps on a new continent like Chult perhaps. You get attacked by a group that includes a full vampire in the dead of night. They are much stronger than you all anticipated...

Someone manages to fatally stab you and the enemy vampire bites you in the neck, taking advantage of the opportunity to make you their next spawn. You drop dead, Astarion screams. Before the vampire can take you away with the ambushers, they are killed with a sunlight by a local passing paladin. There is no chance you can become a full vampire now.

Astarion cradles you, tears running freely down his face, in fear of what's to come. The group mournfully listens to his commands: They bargain for a cheap casket from a local cemetery and bury you quickly in a makeshift grave. Every night, the moment the sun dips past the horizon, Astarion re-emerges and sits by your grave. He never leaves your side and frowns deeply as the rest of the group also waits in anticipation...

Days later, Astarion hears it. He hears the sudden shuffling below the soil, the muffled bangs and scratches against the wood. He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment as it takes him back to own trauma. You scream to be let out, sobbing heavily and gasping for air you no longer breathe.

He quickly alerts the group as he grabs the shovel and starts digging. Shadowheart and the others yell out to you as they join in to help. The moment the casket is visible and free from dirt, it's pulled open and you desperately climb out. Astarion is immediately reaching for your hands, pulling your frail body up and bringing you to his chest. You think of nothing else as you sob into him while he absorbs your pain into his own.

“I-I'm sorry…” he whispers shakily. “I…my darling, I'm so s-sorry...” and he cries all over again.

The rest of your first night is spent watching and helping you. Your red eyes and twitchy form puts everyone on edge, including yourself. Everyone except Astarion: He stands by you, steady as a stone and with a calmness he's still re-learning he forgets he has. When your hunger finally kicks in and your eyes blur in a haze, he's already there with a jar of blood ready.

You shake your head desperately, afraid and instinctively turned off. “Darling,” Astarion says firmly, "look at me."

It makes you stop and stare at him, and you are reminded of the man you love and have complete trust in: He understands, he knows this feeling better than anyone else, and you cannot hide anything from him. You finally nod shakily and put a hand over his, as you sip experimentally from the glass.

You gag at first until quickly you can't get enough and when it's finally over, the fog in your head clears and you can see him and everything clearly again. The group cautiously comes in closer and put their hands on you for support. Astarion wraps his arms around you when you are ready to be held again.

Then dawn finally approaches. The rest of the group retires for quick rest before a late morning start, and Astarion and you retreat to a local inn’s basement lodge that he has already rented beforehand. Astarion wraps you in a soft blanket for comfort and lets you sleep against his chest.

His mind is already spinning with fear and anticipation and he regretfully (shakily) hovers his fingers above the forever puncture marks in your neck: His lover is now an eternal fledgling vampire just like him. And what that means for the two of you, only the gods know.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 tav #tav x astarion #probs overdone and inaccurate #still made me sad to think about

[cercandodiscrivere]

Spite like a spark | percy dolarhyde x reader

word count | 2.9K

warnings | 18+, NSFW, prostitution, boot kink, sweet sweet revenge, porn with too much plot. I abused all the old cowboy slang I could find online and it shows.

synopsis | In Absolution, privilege had the face of Percy Dolarhyde […]. He had never appeared attractive to you until you finally found a way to have him on his knees.

gifs by @riddlersbimbo

Men had to be the most creative of the two sexes, and the many names your particular line of work had inspired them could be taken as testament to that.

Daughters of sin.

Painted cats.

Scarlet ladies.

Someone once had called you “nymph du prairie” and the girls had not stopped laughing for a good while.

You had found it fitting in a way.

Not that you saw yourself as a magical river creature – but you were an often-naked maiden working in a brothel, and that could almost come close as a siren luring men in a mythical lake if one squinted hard enough. You even had bathtubs!

It sounded like a preferable option to soiled doves, anyway. Or the old plain whore.

Not that you complained much: it was a job as good as any other. If you ignored the customers and focused on the gain, it could almost be considered a better perspective than most.

Men could also be tedious.

You had almost seen it all – the ones that were far too sure of themselves, the scamps, the timid one-of-a-time clients, the devoted patrons who liked to think themselves in love with your co-workers.

The sweet ones tended to disappear after marriage.

So, all in all, that’s what you expected that evening: a man covered in dirt, in desperate need for a good scrub and an even better night of amusement.

What you had not anticipated was for your past to knock at your door. Not that far from your hometown, not after all the time that had passed.

“Need some company, sweetie?”.

-

“Sweetie! Sweets!” a shout, followed by the loud thud of something heavy hitting the floor. “Don’t be so cruel María, look at poor James!”.

Another round of laughs erupted, rough and agitated.

Earlier in the evening, a group of men – all drunk, all smelling of cheap liquor and sweat – had entered the saloon. Doc had given them one of the tables farthest from the counter, in the hopes that putting some distance between the loud clients and the bottles on the shelves could deter them from asking more than one pint.

“Lord knows someone should tell them to cut it” he had commented, but you knew that he wouldn’t be the one to stop the men’s fun.

In Absolution, privilege had the face of Percy Dolarhyde: if he wanted beer for himself and his cronies, Doc would serve it without much of a fuss. If he asked for whiskey, the finest in the house would be poured straight in his glass – and it didn’t matter that the brat could afford all the ace-high products no matter the cost: by the end of the night, his pouch would be full and Doc’s shelves would be emptied.

His pa’ was the big bug in town, and Percy merely filled the role of the selfish deadbit. Ten years younger than the rest of his thugs, he still managed to command their every move with the jingle of his gold.

“Another drink bird, just one more!”.

On nights like those, María would whisk you to the back of the saloon to clean and sweep and mop the floors until the group had left. You were too young to know how to handle a group of grown ass men. “They’re full as thick” she would say. “Better not to deal with the likes of them”.

That night though, the loud thud had attracted your attention. Tentative, mop still clutched between your fingers, you had ventured at the front of the counter to see what was going on. There was enough time to steal a quick peek at that boy – the one who wasn’t that much older than you, but still held a power over the people in Absolution that you could only wish of possessing.

“Oh! You, little birdie! Fetch me a whiskey!”.

Too late.

-

Years had passed, but he still looked the same.

No amount of poorly-kept beard could alter Percy Dolarhyde's appearance, it seemed: he had grown into a man with the same young, round face. He could almost look innocent if one didn’t know better.

“Sure. Are you liking your whiskey, mister?” you answered – more out of habit than genuine interest. His presence still made you tense, as if you were transported back in the past, nothing but a little inexperienced girl with a mop in her hands once again.

“Fine as cream gravy, but not as much as you”.

He did not look drunk. In your memories, Dolarhyde always seemed trapped in a perpetual beer-induced stupor. Nose reddened by the amount of alcohol in his guts, thick sweat coating his forehead.

This version of him was not the cleanliest by any mean, but he seemed sober. Subdued, even.

“All that soft solder won't get you anywhere”.

“What about gold? Would that bring me somewhere?”. Ah. The old ruse resurfaced.

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, after all.

-

Lord knew he was already half seas over.  

María had shot a sour look in his direction, but she was too far to take your place – not that she wouldn’t have tried, if one of the other clients hadn’t reclaimed her full attention. Unlikable as he managed to be, Dolarhyde wasn’t the only troublemaker in town. 

“Is she slow or something?”.

Someone barked a laugh. “She must be. Girl? Whiskey?”.

You had looked at Doc, unsure on what to do, but he (always the obsequious type) had already placed a whole bottle on the tray along with clean glasses.

“Go. It’s fine”.

-

It was a standard rule for all the customers to bathe upon arrival.

The establishment that had been your home for the last couple of years was a fine one: good liquor, flush clientele, eleven of the best dressed fallen girls a cowboy could encounter during his travels.

If his dollars wouldn’t have convinced you to invite Percy back into your room (you had fought teeth and nail to get a nice one), then curiosity would have done the trick.

He had not recognized you, that much was clear. No matter how sober and gentle he appeared nowadays, he still did not strike you as the type prone to pretend to forget someone - not if the act could be considered a nicety.

-

In truth, you couldn’t even remember what had distracted you. Maybe the twirling couples dancing around the saloon to the vivacious music, or perhaps just the nerves of serving this type of customer for the first time.

All you knew was that the moment before you had been walking away from the counter, tray balanced in both of your hands – and the one after you were on all fours on the ground, Dolarhyde furious screams filling your ears.

“You ruined my new boots!”.

Shards of glass surrounded your hunched form, the alcohol once contained in the bottle now creating a dark sticky pool on the wooden floor. “She ruined my new boots!” Percy had screamed again, this time shoving one of his galoshes right in front of your face. Some of the whiskey had splashed on the leather – but the material was already so crusted with dirt and mud that the wet smudge was almost invisible.

Unaffected by the scene unfolding in your little corner of the room, the musician never stopped playing his piano, the cheerful sound cutting through the thick fog that clouded your mind as to mock you: maybe that was the reason why, even later in your life, you couldn’t bear to hear a single note of that particular jingle.

-

He had taken his boots off to enter the bathtub.

Of course – it would have been odd, to bathe as naked as the day he was born except for the boots – but your mind still stuck on that useless detail.

“The water is perfect” Dolarhyde mused. A soft pleased grunt followed the sentiment. “You have no idea how much I needed this”.

If he had been another customer, you would have rushed to assist in cleaning him. There was a sponge right next to the tub, hard enough to scrub away all of the grime off the men – yet not so harsh as to leave them sore. Just like the practice of bathing before the actual encounter could start, this was a custom that served the girls more than their clients: if you were the one attending to them, you could ensure no inch of their skin would be left unwashed.

Shirt unceremoniously crumpled on one of the wooden chairs, Percy waited patiently for you to fulfill your role in the little bathing ritual. Perhaps he hoped you would help him remove his pants.

You barely glanced at him.

Those were not the same pair of boots from that night. The brown was off, far too dark. A stain would have been invisible on such a color.  

A merry little tune ringing in your ears (even if the room was too far from the entrance for some street musician’s song to reach it), you grabbed the offensive items off the floor.

-

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Still bent on the ground, you could hear María’s soothing words, soft yet stern. “This one’s on the house. We can repay the boots, too”. She must have hurried over to where you had fallen, as you could catch a glimpse of the soft fabric of her dress in your peripheral vision.

A few onlookers had stopped to see what was going on, but scenes like this were far to common and trivial to attract the attention of more than four or five customers.

Ignoring the hot burning sensation of shame in the pit of your stomach, you had taken another deep breath and began to rise from the floor – and then you had felt someone grabbing your arm, dragging you back on the ground.

“Where do you think you’re going?”. It seemed that someone had brought a rug over for cleaning, as the rough cloth was thrust into your hands.  “Stay in your place. No way you’ll be able to afford to repay something like this”.

Before, you had thought there could be nothing more embarrassing than being the subject of Percy’s loud complaints. Then, just as he tapped your bent knee with the tip of one of his boots, two words seared into your brain forever.

“Clean them”. 

-

As if under some sort of trance, you slowly put the shoes on. They were far to large (you doubted you could walk in them without stumbling) but it still felt good, somehow. Cathartic.

“What are you doing?”.

Still half-dressed, with only his woolen pants left to cover him, Percy was now staring at you with his head tilted on the side. He seemed more amused than angry, though. Smiling, unaware of what you were thinking, he pointed at your feet with a questioning look. “I believe those are mine”.

Maybe, after years of spite and anger, you were finally losing your mind.

You playfully rose your skirts up to let him get a better view of your legs. “How do I look?”.

“Ridiculous” he chuckled after one glance – but then the mirth in his eyes shifted, taken over by something else. A deeper need...

After all, there you stood, naked under the thick layers of your dress. Wearing something that belonged to him and little else.

“I kinda like it” he confessed, realizing a bit too late how his groin had reacted to the sight even before he could admit it. The way he awkwardly tried to shift his hand to cover his groin was almost comical, bordering on pathetic. Had he always been this vulnerable when far from his goons, or had something happened during the years you had been absent from Absolution?

Someone must have found a way to humble the brash little brat. Pity you hadn’t been there to witness it – though you had no qualms about doing a bit of humbling of your own.  

“Don’t hide from me” you scolded, taking your time to sit on one of the chairs that adorned the room. Skirts still raised, you decided to give him a little show and spread your legs. An ill-concealed moan repaid you for the kindness.  “That’s exactly why you’re here, after all”.

Brows furrowed, Percy seemed to take a brief moment to consider his options. He could cuss at you, reminding who was in charge. He could leave.

He could stay. He could play your game.

Doubt leaving his mind at once, he followed your movements, dropping on his knees before you on the cold ground.

In a way, the situation echoed that night at the saloon. Tour guts twisted in anticipation, eager to savor the moment for as long as possible.

“Are you getting hard at the thought of me wearing your boots?” you cooed. Percy sucked in a sharp breath, frantically moving his head up and down.

How boring! That would not do. You wanted his cheeks to be as red as yours had been. You wanted him to shrivel at your feet.

“Are you?”. Raising your foot, you started pressing the tip of the dark leather against his still clothed cock, the elation of the moment making you bolder. Instead of answering, he nodded a second time.

Disappointing.

“Talk, Dolarhyde. We both know you’re good at running that mouth of yours”.

“Y-yes” he stammered, finally. A strangled ma’am followed that, so subtle you almost missed it.

Feeling merciful, you patted his hair in a soft – almost caring – manner. After all, he was just starting to behave well in a desperate attempt to please you: that must have been hard for a little brat like him.

“Good” you praised, feeling his lips curl into a smile under your palm. “You can cling to my leg, if you want, but that’s all you’re getting from me today”.

Oh, Percy wanted. The words had barely left your lips before his arms shot up, one had wrapping around your exposed thigh while the other gripped the back of your ankle.

“So eager”.

You leaned forward, pressing your leg more forcefully between Percy’s spread ones.

The leather of his own boots probably felt too stiff against his hard cock, as he winced at the discomfort. It still felt good though– you could tell he was enjoying it by the way his eyes quivered, mouth falling open in a soundless moan.

Shaft curved along the upper part of the boot, Percy lifted his head to look at you. The sound he made next sounded a lot like please, hips starting to buck a little as if he could not contain himself.  

Such a mesmerizing sight to behold. You nodded, giving him permission to move more deliberately.

The first slow drag of his hips made his whole body shiver in pleasure. It wasn’t enough, and yet it was too much.

Again, your fingers found their way dragging over Percy’s head, tugging the strands firmly to force his head up. “Look at me”.

He had beautiful eyes, the moisture in them making the light blue even clearer. Mouth agape, tongue between his exposed teeth – the picture of a miserable man chasing his own pleasure. You released his hair to pass your thumb on his lower lip, wet with spit. “So pretty” you said, and the praise surprised you more than him.

He was pretty. He had never appeared that attractive to you until you finally found a way to have him on his knees.

“I like seeing you like this”.

With a hitched breath, he pressed closer into you. His hips seized forward out of his control, rubbing against the leather of the boot, hot wet breath warming your inner thigh. The grip on your leg was almost too tight, and yet you where thankful for that small pain: it helped you remain focused. One more broken moan and you risked being the one begging for him to bury his face in your aching cunt – and that was not the point.

You still had time for that. Later.

A series of sloppy kisses on your burning skin brought you back to reality. Shivering, Percy had started mouthing at your leg, both impatient to get your attention and yet somehow scared to obtain it.

Please he whispered, voice too low to be a real spoken word.

You huffed, annoyed. “Can you ask for what you want?”.

Of course, you knew what he desired – and for a brief second you thought of denying it.

“Please”. Brain hazy and slow, Percy didn’t know how to make his throat work. He just wanted.

Maybe those pitiful eyes had worked on you a bit too much.

You nodded, right as he came with a strangled moan, his thighs constricting the boot still lodged between them, a plethora of thank yous falling from his lips.

The fingers that just a second before had gripped you with bruising force were now twitching: with that, all the strength abandoned Percy’s body, leaving him slumped against you.

With a little shake you made him move enough to free your leg, a satisfied smile adorning your lips. He hadn’t even touched you – and yet you knew that was going the most satisfactory encounter you would have with a man for quite some time.

A dark wet splotch now adorned the front of Dolarhyde’s pants: if he needed a bath before, now getting him to clean up was imperative. Moving to stand from the chair that had been your throne, you cast your eyes down for the briefest second and froze.

A little stain, not bigger than your thumbnail. Almost invisible on the dark leather material– but there, beyond doubt, right at the tip of the shoe.

“Oh no” you whined, attracting Percy’s full attention once again m.

He would never recognize you, that much was evident. Why would someone like him remember the face of a little girl amongst the hundreds of people he must have berated day after day?

Nevertheless, you memory was not as flawed as his.

“You’ve ruined my new boots!”.

 And that was going to be enough.

“Clean them”.

#percy dolarhyde #percy dolarhyde x reader #paul dano x reader #percy dolarhyde smut

[wikipedia-main]

i think there's the idea that fishtanks are really expensive and hard to take care of but there are lots of ways to set up tanks that aren't like that- even if you often kill things or have difficulty remembering to care for them ! and im bored right now so im just gonna, write about how you can do that

what you'd need:

a glass or acrylic tank

dirt & sand

rocks, driftwood, & other decor (optional)

heater, filter, light

plants

testing equipment

you can get a tank for really cheap off facebook marketplace or craigslist or ebay! and you can use just about any dirt, as long as it doesn't have pesticides/herbicides (unfertilized organic garden soil is great). sand is easy to find at pet stores, but it's expensive--you can get silicate play sand or pool filter sand for cheaper (just make sure it doesn't have calcium in it). you can test rocks you find on the ground for tank safety with vinegar- if it bubbles, then it'll leach calcium (undesirable, messes with water parameters) and if it doesn't, it's fine to use ! (if you're worried about Things on them, you can boil them for a few minutes.)

heaters, filters, and lights tend to be cheap if you just go for rudimentary adjustable ones. you can get shop lights and an outlet timer at any department store. plus if you know an aquarium hobbyist, chances are they'll have extras

same thing with plants, too ! if there's an aquarium hobby group near you then that's a great way to get free stuff. tanks are like little gardens so there's usually lots of plant clippings that would otherwise get thrown out. plus, free creatures that hitchhike on them !!!

another super cool way to get rocks, sand, dirt, wood, leaves, plants etc is to just ! go to a stream or lake ! preferably one that's distanced from roads and you know isn't super polluted. i picked up some water cress off the side of a hiking trail and now i have a really cute sprawling thing growing that i got FOR FREE!!!!!

testing equipment is gonna be expensive, but it's often a one-time purchase. liquid tests are more time consuming than paper strips, but more accurate. you might also need dechlorinator (more-so if your tap is treated with chloramine; chlorine evaporates but chloramine doesn't) (you can find that out by looking up your local water treatment report). other small items that r helpful: plastic tubes/hoses for siphoning water in/out, pipettes, tweezers, tiny scissors, buckets, and (depending on ur tank) liquid fertilizer, root tabs, and mineral mixes.

what's cool about this: setting up a tank with a layer of dirt covered by sand (you can do 1 inch dirt + 2 inches sand or 1.5 inches dirt + 1 inch sand) and then adding a bunch of plants will make a tank that needs less maintenance !! if you get the water parameters stable and have a good amount of plants and tiny creatures (worms crustaceans etc), then lots of fish (not all though) will be healthy and can mind their own better !! it's a balance ofc but once you strike it suddenly you can go a month without looking at it and nothing changes. life is beautiful

anyway thats!!! it. i love you <3

#fuck this is a lot of words #fishblr #fishkeeping #beginner fishkeeping #i could talk about this literally all day so if anyone wants me to elaborate: hiiiiiiii

[rjalker]

if you ever see someone throwing away dead potted plants you better take those. reuse those pots. reuse that soil. There's no such thing as "dead" soil. IDK what they were growing in them. Take that soil and reuse it. Mix it with other potting soil, add some cheap granular fertilizer, add some kitchen scraps. do not fucking throw away potting soil!!!!!

your parents buy those hanging baskets from the hardware stores that always die at the end of a year? Reuse those containers! Just break off the stems of the dead plant, stir around the dirt with a shovel, and you're good! There's literally nothing wrong with that potting soil!!

#gardening #Rjalker trains its gardening skill #we only buy new potting soil when we're already using the rest #which we literally never throw away #it gets mixed together and dumped into a big bin whenever whatever we had in that container dies #and reused.

[cascadianights]

Disabled Gardening

-YOGA MAT: Get a yoga mat or something similar that you can throw down on that mud and sit on - I do almost all my gardening from my little mat and it also gives you 1 clear section to work on

-TIME: I started prepping my garden this year at the beginning of winter, one plot at a time. Sometimes it takes hours to weed a tiny spot, sometimes I get a couple of plots done - I cover up what I've cleared with cardboard and come back to it when I have energy. When Spring gets closer, give yourself a couple of seed types a week to get done instead of trying to do them all at once - there's good charts online on what to plant when per zone

-NO TILL: There's other advantages to no till methods (doesn't disturb weed seeds or risk losing topsoil) but being able to lay down cardboard over a section and just leave it to prep itself is great. The grass and weeds should die within 3-6 weeks (see: time) and if you have decent soil you can pull the cardboard, throw amendments in, and plant. If your soil is unworkable have someone help throw dirt and amendments on TOP of the cardboard and plant there

-FREE STUFF: Money is always tight, but watching Craigslist or FB marketplace or similar can net you a good amount of free or very cheap supplies and plants. Local gardening, buy-nothing, gleaning, or agricultural sharing groups will have plants, seeds, supplies, and sometimes food. Seed libraries also exist and can sometimes be found at your local library! If you don't have room to plant you may have a local community garden you can apply for a spot in. Compost, wood chips, and leaves should all be posted for free pretty often

-TOOLS: The right tools can make a big difference, especially with things that depend on grip strength (like loppers or shears). Having ones that aren't rusted or dull make a big difference, and there are construction or art resale stores that may have tool options. Failing that I've found some good stuff at Goodwill over time. Having a cart that can easily cross whatever terrain you're working in can be helpful, pushing a typical wheelbarrow with any amount of weight through mud gets difficult Fast. The best I've seen for this is a design like the (unfortunately pricey ~$100) Gorilla Carts - something with 4 wheels, an easy to turn front, and a dumping option - I hope to have one someday. Also very very useful is a timer for your hoses and a sprinkler so plants get watered even on bad days (or weeks)

-FRIENDS: Asking for help sucks it is the worst thing in the world but alas we should do it anyways. Lots of people like to garden but don't and will have fun coming out and helping prep beds or plant seedlings with you, and in my experience maintaining a garden once that's done is the easy part - things don't need perfect weeding or care to grow and it feels like everything is less heavy than dirt and compost. Also, plant companion flowers that act as insect traps (baits them away from the plants you want) or repellant - nasturtium, marigold, there's a lot and they save you from having to actually deal w the pests most of the time.

#disability #disabled #gardening #green witch #ive been wanting to make this post for a while #but unfortunately i do not know how to say things in less than 10000000 words #hopefully this is helpful to someone i didnt know most of these resources existed a year ago