Tumgik
#i mean. kind of a fucked up face i need to modify his appearance a little
muffinrag · 1 year
Text
actually kind of obsessed with red dead online. for a couple of reasons
your protag is essentially a mute. there is no voice acting beyond them going "HYAH" or "YAH" or "shhshhshh" to their horse. this is remarked on casually by some NPCs.
I'm playing as a man. my character is occassionally referred to as a man. However, for some reason, all NPCs use exclusively they/them pronouns for your protag. This is baffling to me, but like, in a good way, I guess.
the inflation is out of fucking control. everything costs $100, but NPCs still only drop .53c as loot
19 notes · View notes
Text
Full House Hand || Sg Ish
I hope you find Some peace of mind In this lifetime.
It had been two weeks since Perceptor had broken the glass wall in Stormy’s spirit. It had been six days since Stormy had curled into himself and dropped to his knees with the kind of air-tearing scream you only hear from air raid sirens at the end of the world.
Nana did her best, soothing his hurts with every remedy she could but when the blackrot began she couldn’t help but feel the fear of God lay a hand upon her soul.
Percy explained the happenings with a cygarette between too-sharp teeth; barely restraining a special kind of rage as his own body reflected the panic and anger he felt burning deep down.
‘It’s the network he’s built. Stardust is... infected, as well. But she is far, far closer to symbiosis given her exposure was in the womb. However...’
The smoke is silver like the streak forming in his hair.
‘She is being hurt. And because they are connected- he is living through it too.’
Aurora took her steps unsteadily out of Ironhide’s old truck- the vehicle outfitted with scrap steel plating like a makeshift tank and she carefully balanced the medical supplies she had been able to liberate with the help of Ironhide’s pistol.
Her eyes softened, “We’ve only studied a little of the mycomutagen, thanks to Percy and Perceptor’s donations. But I still don’t know very much- I was brought on during the enzyme discovery.”
“Enzyme discovery?”, asked Brainstorm hoarsely, rubbing sleep out of his eyes carefully so as not to smear oil from modifying every vehicle they could find for war, “What enzyme discovery?”
“It’s a by product of the mycomutagen.”, she explained gently, “We think it’s to protect the brain of the infected organism from other possible parasitic attacks, and perhaps even to shore it up against damage from MTBI or TBI.”
“So what does that mean?”
She sighed, “Xaaron he... For some reason when it was discovered he demanded I be brought on; it turns out this enzyme compound has many uses but one specific application is what he had me throw my entire being into.”
“..And that was?”
“Mnemo reversal treatment.”
The silence was palpable, heavy in the air and broken only by a weak groan from the room Stormy was being kept in. The air seemed to crack like uranium glass- scattering its neon shards as Brainstorm clattered haphazardly to drop in front of the minicomm system and frantically began punching in commands. The screen chimed to life, and a face none of them recognized showed itself.
“Hello, you’ve reached the estate of the Honorable Crown Xaaron, how may I assist you.”, were the robotic words of the AI assistant, “He is currently unavailable, please do not hesitate to state any needs you may have and I will be sure they are delivered upon his return.”
“Xaaron Location, current.”
“I am sorry. That is Classified.”
“Xaaron agenda, previous twenty four hours.”
“I am sorry, that is classified.”
“This is Brainstorm, this is his fucking SON where is my FATHER-”
“Hello Brainstorm, you have a video message to be delivered upon your first contact of this commline. Would you like to view it now?”
“Yes, play messaage-”
The screen flickered, the feed clear and calm and dim and Xaaron sat with his hands folded together like he always did. His eyes were downturned- the tattoos on his jaw that matched his son still crisp even in low light.
“I am not a saint, my son.”, the recording whispers, “And I have told you so, so many lies. And here, at the end of the world; I have many things to confess.”
Aurora felt her spine seem to freeze- both Perceptors seemed to appear to stand at either side of Brainstorm as the recorded message continued.
“Your mother...”
A softly choked noise.
“I have been... I am a vile bastard, you were right. I had been paying to keep her at the facility you and your twin had visited- keeping her sedated. Calm. Because the sound of her crying broke the last pieces of a heart I had. But... But then these doubles... And the mycological marvel many of them carried arrived.”
Xaaron did not smile.
“The physical I told you and your double you needed was not necessary, nor was it run of the mill. I had them draw blood from you both- we had discovered a specific compound three days previous and there was. There was a chance. A chance I owed it to my family to take. To your mother.”
The man in the recording hiccuped softly, lips trembling and his bright gold eyes squeezing shut as tears leaked from them.
“To. To you. I owed it to you- To bring her back to us all. Especially now at the end of a world that never loved you, that never held you close. A world where you never knew my shore, my ocean- Never knew her sky, her mountains. Once this recording has finished- You will be sent data by the AI assistant I have installed and modified. Tracking. Information.”
Xaaron swallowed the break in his voice, “And with that- you and your twin will. You will be able to trace each other; with the proximity comm scanners. Perceptor still carries his from the Wreckers, he hides it in a boot locker. Anyone matching the DNA markers or specific mycomarkers will be able to be traced.”
Xaaron stared with his tears free and his face tired, “Find my granddaughter. Save your family. And I will see you if I am able to save ours. Please, my little warrior- my wild sun; Through all my mistakes I have made, you were never one of them.”
He swallowed hard, and leaned back as though checking something off screen to show his lack of uniform, before he breathed deep once.
“Never forget, Brainstorm- I love you, and I love the ones who love you. If I do not make it back- If WE do not make it back, know that we have always loved you... And we are sorry we couldn’t or wouldn’t be there before.”
He smiles weakly at the camera, leaning forward enough to mimic touching his forehead to Brainstorm’s and he exhaled quietly. And Brainstorm, unbidden- followed suit as his heart broke.
The recording ended.
“Hello, this is the assistant to Crown Xaaron.”, chimed the AI voice again, “I am initiating a datadrop to the traced address of this call. Once this data download has completed, I will then be initiating a full scale facility shutdown after uploading all conserved facility data to drop serve Theta.”
“WHAT, WHY-”
“This facility was breached four hours, nineteen minutes, and eighty seven seconds ago. For the protection of all, this must be done.”
The flicker of a flashdrop, the connection buffered no doubt from the facility’s own satellites and technology. 
“Data download complete. Upload and sitekill initiated. Thank you for being with Kimia until the end, Science Quadrant A Supervisor Brainstorm.”
The AI’s digital face smiled before a hideous technological screech bellowed out through the speakers and the line went dead- the screen flashing [CALL TERMINATED] at the same tempo as a funeral bells chime.
“No, no no no no no-”, stammered Brainstorm as his fingers moved furiously over the plastiglass trying to reactivate the connection, “No, no please come one this can’t- not like this we already lost Stardust and we lost Pulsar I can’t I CAN’T LOSE YOU TOO DAD THERES’S-THERE’S STILL SO MUCH TO CATHC UP ON AND-”
“Brainstorm.”, whispered Percy, “Darling, please it’s. It’ll be alright. It’s going to alright, he’s a strong man, he was a fighter once too-”
“No no no no no no please no please no no no I can’t I can’t not anymore I’m gonna lose- lose everything all over and then me and double are gonna be alone and we can’t- I don’t I can’t say goodbye and mean it not if it means forever and ever no-”
Perceptor had spirited away, coming back with the handheld and connecting it to the minicomm with no words and his scars underlit by the tiny screen.
“Per- Percy how can you just be CALM how dare you NOT EVEN FUCKING REACT HE’S-”
And then the sniper’s hands were cupping Brainstorm’s face, stroking thumbs over the inkwork lines as his voice sounded in softness.
“Ssssssh, honeybee. Calm your thunder, hurricane.”, he soothed, “I will bring him home, do you understand me? Focus on my hands, now- The tracker is uploading and will integrate upon completion- and then I and my double will go out there and we will bring them home, to you, and no one and nothing will be lost.”
“But HOW-”
“He shares your DNA- or, more accurately... you share his. If you can be tracked, so can he.”
Brainstorm paused.
“Now- go to your double. Tell him what we know. Tell him what I have said. Give him and Aid my love, and my double’s. I’ll be back by teatime.”
“Y-You fucking... prep school boy.”, said Brainstorm through the tears he hadn’t realized had fallen and clogged  his throat and soul, “It’s n-nearly dinner. Dork.”
“Same difference. I’ll be back in a tick, love.”
The handheld pinged loudly, chirruping as it began its trace and Perceptor looked to his double with a nod.
Aurora watched her boy- her boys, gather each rifle case as they passed by to the door before she stopped them. She reached out; her arms thin and tired and her eyes crinkled at the edges and pulled them both into a hug made of steel and cotton linen as she kissed each of their temples.
“You both better come back home to me, do you understand me?”, she whispered, “If anyone touches a hair on your, or their, heads I swear I’ll go off my rocker for the last time, dammit.”
“We know Mumma.”, chuckled Percy, “But to come home we must away first. We’ll see you soon.”
Nana crept up behind Aurora, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder as they watched the pair go down the front steps and jog to the near-graveyard of vehicles being modified by Ironhide.
The rumble of an engine was loud- even as it drifted away.
Lock watched from the old peach tree in the yard. Both the Ratchet’s watched from the reinforced barn as the younger family members bustled back and forth from weapons stockpile to gear and back again.
Perceptor floored it as soon as they left the edge of the property- his double crossing his legs primly and worrying his lips with fangs before Perceptor looked to him.
“...So. What aren’t you telling us.”
“Their mother won’t be part of the network- it’s not a true infection, just microdosing a protective excretion so-”
“You’re dodging.”
“Stormy is showing signs of torture.”, murmured the vampiric double, “A specific kind of torture- no, not really torture thought it feels like it.”
“Continue.”
“Have I ever told you why my mother wasn’t exactly present?”
“I assumed it was much like your Ratchet- an attack by your zealot false god.”
“She tried to kill me to win a weapons contract bid.”
The air grew still as Perceptor’s eye flicked to glance at his double before focusing back on the road.
“I was still in regular contact with her- through everything.”, continued Percy, “And she was the first one I told about. About the infection. and she said she just wanted to check me over. Make sure I was alright.”
“...She lied, didn’t she.”
It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
“She did. One minute I’m having a cup of coffee with my mother as she fixes my hair, the next minute I’m strapped up in some hellish machine. It took two weeks- two weeks to get the strength to do what I needed to, and in that time she’d already been selling scraps and bundles of her research to the highest bidder- and there is only one man who would have been able to get every last scrap of it after she was gone.”
“Your Optimus?”
“Prowl.”
The name sat in the air, turning it toxic and rancid like a miasma and the only sound was the handheld’s chime. The sun was setting- the darkness tucking around them as the fields gave way to thickets and finally full woods full of death and life and secrets unknowable and whispered only by the owls and rock doves.
Suddenly, the tracker went berserk. The location pinged a thousand different directions and sudden gunfire began to sound- the flashes disorienting and forcing Perceptor to swerve hard enough to topple the modified truck he steered. They slid- the bottom of the vehicle slamming an old tree trunk and bending at the joint between cab and bed.
Both snipers had braced- keeping their good eye shut and staying silent until the gunfire stopped.
“Turrets.”
“Oh absolutely, precious. You want them, or should I take them?”
“I think you’d do well on the ground double-”, gritted Perceptor as he forced the seatbelt latch to release with a hard yank, “How long has it been since you’ve had brunch with the devil?”
“Oh ages, darling.”, giggled Percy, swallowing hard before he stretched his jaw to show fangs like a spider’s, “Abso-fucking-lutely AGES...”
“I’ll be your cover, let’s book it.”
Perceptor slithered out on his belly, reaching back in to grab his rifle case and giving his double a nod before he crawled into the ditch they had skidded to a stop next to. And with a mad cackle and pistols in hand, Percy rocketed out of the wreckage and unleashed his assault.
It was a squad of fifteen- he could smell their infestation, smell its inferiority, how it had starved so desperately and barely held them up on their feet.
Fangs bared and jawbone clicking as his false mandible spread just a little he fell upon them with gunfire and voracious hunger- they scattered near immediately and screamed their anguish when they were shot down from the shadows but never fatally.
How merciful it would be, for the hidden gunner to allow them to die with dignity and limbs still attached.
Perceptor looked away whenever his double fell upon a new victim, instead focusing his reticule on knees and the middle of spines- chuckling to himself at the ones that wore thicker belts like that could save their skin from a disabling shot between the vertebrae. The remaining victims, all four of them, surrounded what they had been protecting- a downed transport shuttle, looked civilian by make and model but showed the signs of attempts to break into it. It looked as though the engine had been shoot own and it had gone down hard enough to bury the nose a few feet into the ground.
They raised their weapons- Percy stood tall and wild with eyes like a baphomet statue and pistols aimed as Perceptor slunk free of his hiding spot like Eden’s serpent crawling free from his guise to reveal the devil himself.
“Stand down. This is your only chance to survive.”, he said, his voice like ice.
“For a gentle use of the word SURVIVE, darlings.”, laughed Percy, his head tilting as he licked a thick smear of gore from his own chin.
They both saw as the remaining one braced as though about to fire, and they struck.
It was over in moments. Perceptor scoffed in disappointment.
“This is the best your false god has, then?”
“Numbers have been down for quite some time, double-dear. Happens when your leader kills all dissenters but counts yawning as dissention.”
The crack of a wrist being snapped hard enough for skin to tear, and Perceptor grimaced- knowing his double was no doubt draining the body while it was still warm.
“Hurry up, would you- We need to bust into this shuttle.”
“Yesh, yesh-  Wumoment.”
“You really are the foulest little house spider sometimes.”
“Oh, like there’s nothing you swallow sloppily in this world, right.”
“SHUT IT.”, snapped Perceptor, trying not to snicker at the lewd humor before he stepped over the dead to inspect the door before it thudded.
It groaned before haphazardly sliding open and a soft hand held the edge tightly. Crips eyes, eyes like Brainstorm’s when furious but the wrong color, stared back out.
“...Madame, I am here to save Xaaron and one other. I am Perceptor.”, he said gently, kneeling down.
“Ah, his sniper in law.”, she said, her vice carrying the husk of grand speeches and heavy woe, “He’s taken a hit to the head when he was trying to lock down the shuttle against those. Things. They pulled up in some kind of weird tank I think, pretty sure they shot us down.”
Percy raised his eyebrows, threading his fingers together, “Fabulous sweetheart- could you do me a teensy favor and perhaps tell me where they no doubt illegally parked? They managed to wreck our ride as well.”
Her hand released the door edge, and pointed to an overgrowth of kudzu-like leafy vines a bit farther from the side of the road. Both snipers nodded at each other before Perceptor heard a grunt and a low groan from inside the shuttle.
“Sir!”
==========================================================
Brainstorm sat next to Stormy- who’s face was pale as the rising dawn outside the window- and sighed.
“...Dad left Kimia before it got. Got raided. By the other side.”, he said quietly, “...He lied about the physical, got our blood and-”
“I know.”, rasped the industrialist, leaning gently back, “I know how physicals work, and he had a terrible firewall protecting his internal memorandums.”
“Thanks for keeping me in the loop, dude.”
“The ends justified the means.”, was the woozy reply, “We’d... We’d have mom.”
“Yeah, well. Turns out- the funky fresh backpacker in your flesh pajamas? It can be traced.”
Stormy’s head whipped around to look at Brainstorm faster than a lightning strike, “What?!”
“Yeah. Yeah- he developed a DNA trace through it. We’ll be able to find Stardust, and where those pieces of shit are hiding. Hit them with a surprise assault I’d imagine.”, said Brainstorm softly, running his shaking hands through his white hair, “A-And that’s good, great even but-”
“...But what, copycat?”
“...Xaaron went out, alone, to get Mom.”, he whispered, “He left a message, he told me everything- and he said he loved us, and he said he’d try and bring her home but if. If he didn’t. For us t-to know th-that. That-”
Brainstorm froze at the warmth. He blinked eyes already overflowing with tears again as arms encased in elbow length reinforced gloves went around his shoulders in a tight hug.
“He’ll be back.”, said Stormy, trying desperately to be sure and knowing he was failing, “He has to be, remember? He. He promised he’d be there at Christmas for Stardust th-this year.”
Wet warmth on Brainstorm’s shoulder and he bit his lip to silence the sobs that wanted to sound and returned the embrace. They cried in silence, as the sun rose behind a screen of overcast and they rocked back and forth- twins curled in utero, comforting themselves with old heartbeats they still can’t recognize.
The rumble cut through the morning like a knife- they both looked out and saw the heavy machine trundling like an oncoming thunderhead up the dirt road and they looked at each other in sudden panic. In rage.
They tore out, followed by most of the family as they all feared the worst as it drew ever closer and closer before suddenly its massive engine cut off in a loud stall.
“Damn thing is held together with fucking DUCT TAPE AND PRAYERS GODDAMIT-”
“Honestly, doublemine- your language is ATROCIOUS-”
“It’s HONEST you incessant TWAT.”
“Relax, professor Bitch.”
“Young men.”
“Apologies.”
“Sorry about that, Mister Judge.”
The conversation echoing from behind tinted windows faded. The massive vehicle’s back end unfolded itself open- and a collection of slow steps sounded and gentle hushed words as those footsteps hit the autumn grass in a steady rhythm. 
Xaaron squinted at the daylight, a butterfly bandage over a bright wound over his eye while the other was ringed in a bruise as Perceptor and his double led him and the weight he carried into the chilled air.
He blinked, sore from injury and guilt before he turned enough to see Brainstorm and Stormy- his smile was tired and proud and he straightened a back that both the snipers knew ached from the shuttle crash before they fell back, letting Xaaron take his final steps alone.
“Hello, my sons.”, he said- the rumble of his voice heavy as the weight he finally could unhook from the hinges of his heart, “I am. Home. I am home, and... And so is she.”
She raises her head just enough; worn out from the ordeal she had just survived, she waves weakly and smiles crooked in the way Brainstorm always had before she laughs softly and gestures with her thin hands.
“My boys- My boys, come here. Come here and give me a hug- I’ve just had the worst time of things.”
Xaaron lets her gently alight on still socked feet, her robe wrapped near perfectly around her thanks to Percy’s ministrations during the ride over and she opens her arms wide.
Brainstorm and Stormy try to stand straight, and dignified-
“Once you get some time with your mum,”, said Percy as he skirted around the rescued woman, “Then we’ll get started on bringing her granddaughter home.”
“Granddaughter?”, she gasps, glancing over her shoulder at Xaaron.
“Yes, her name is Stardust.”
Brainstorm and Stormy are still trembling, blinking owlishly in the morning light before Nana calls out.
“Oi now! Bring that lady on inside dammit- y’all gonna free- WAIT A DAMN MINUTE, I KNOW YOU!”
The woman looks up, “Ah. Madame Doctor Valerian. Delightful.”
“Senator Caecias, truly I’m charmed. Ain’t you banned from these parts.”
“Well, with the world ending, my sons being here and me not having much CHOICE-”
“Yeah, yeah. Boys, bring your mama on in, I’ll see if Aurora has anythin’ she can wear. Both’f them are tiny as hell anyway...”
It was hearing Nana call Caesias their mother that broke them. Both of them surged forward and flung themselves onto her willowy frame with broken sobs shattering free from birdbone ribcages and she laughed though her tears had begun when she felt their arms wrap around her.
She held their heads to her chest, shushing their cries even as all three sank down to kneel in dewy grass.
Inside the assault vehicle that had been liberated- the handheld flared to life briefly and chimed out.
Somewhere, away from the reunion- Stardust had closed her golden eyes as a CR chamber’s door clicked shut; and the tracker so far away from her chimed as she opened them once again; and they were underlit in vicious and voracious crimson.
2 notes · View notes
seita · 3 years
Text
— types of doms.
Tumblr media
kuroo, kenma, yaku, bokuto, akaashi, + konoha.
+ details what type of doms they are! 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
— kuroo tetsurou.
› hard dom and a little mean
› he looooooves punishments so the bigger brat you are the more fun it is for him
› not for you tho bc he will make you cry your little heart out
› call him daddy, sir, or master!!
› you’re his babygirl when you behave but you’re his stupid little pet when you’re bad ):
› very into degredation and dacryphilia
› thinks you’re prettiest when you’re crying about how his cock is too big and how it hurts <3
+
“you wanted to act like a little brat but you don’t want to take your punishment?” he clicked his tongue, shaking his head, “that won’t do at all, kitten. you know better than to disappoint me.”
he grinned when the last words immediately made you cry, “i-i’m sorry, sir! i’ll do better! please punish me!”
the sound of you begging for him to punish you made his cock twitch in his pants. you would have drooled at the sight had you not been forced to your knees. they hit the hard floor with a thunk and it made you wince.
he made a mental note to make sure you were okay afterwards.
but for now, he pulled his cock free, “i’m going to fuck your throat and if you even think about pulling away, you won’t cum for a month.”
Tumblr media
— kozume kenma.
› lazy dom
› he’s not strict nor does he care for punishments
› you can call him whatever you want but he likes how his nickname comes off your tongue when you’re cumming
› kind of mean bc he likes to watch you struggle to ride him
› he’s into neglect; he likes to ignore you and watch you cry for his attention
+
his eyes were glued to his phone, scrolling through twitter. even the pretty sounds of your whimpers wouldn’t draw his attention away.
you rocked your hips against his, his cock throbbing inside you as your cunt clenched around him from the stimulation of your clit. as you were whimpering and crying about how good his cock felt, his breathing wasn’t even fast.
he appeared completely unaffected.
it made a sob rip through your chest. you wanted his attention so bad, you wanted to see that your tight little cunt felt good.
with renewed vigor, you began to bounce, using his knees behind you as balance to easily lift and drop yourself down his length.
“ken!” you sobbed when he didn’t even twitch.
the sound of his nickname from your lips made him look up at you finally. tears were making tracks down your cheeks and it made him throb inside you again, “a-am i doin’ good?” you asked, seeking his praise.
his gaze softened for a second before he suddenly looked back at his phone, fighting a smirk when you sobbed again, “go faster and then we’ll see.”
Tumblr media
— yaku morisuke.
› hard dom!
› likes to be called sir
› expects you to be a good little service sub and do everything in your power to pleasure him
› makes you worship his cock and balls daily <3
› his punishments are so mean ):
› he’ll ignore you and humiliate you until you’re crying in his lap and begging him to forgive you
› and the best way to do that is to take his cock down your throat like a good little girl <3
+
“i thought you said you could take it, princess?” the name sounded derogatory, condescending and made your skin crawl. you knew he was disappointed; you’d promised you could take him all the way down your throat and you kept choking and pulling away, leaving his cock to throb at nothing.
precum drooled from the tip to the floor, making him glare at you.
“are you stupid? hm?” he snaps, “see, this is why i think i need a new little pet to fuck. since you can’t seem to appreciate my cock properly.”
his words make your eyes widen frantically, shaking your head, “n-no sir! please, i can do it, i really can! l-love your cock so much...’s just too big...”
he hums, fisting your hair once more, “you can take it, if you really wanna show me that you’re my good girl...you’ll take my fucking cock down your throat.”
Tumblr media
— bokuto koutarou.
› service dom from hell.
› literally will do anything and everything to please you
› call him daddy <3
› he’ll call you puppy <3
› doesn’t rlly do punishments
› his form of punishment is fucking you until you’re completely dumb on his cock and sobbing for him not to make you cum anymore
› will overstimulate himself because of how desperately he wants to fuck you
+
“puppy’s cunt is so wet,” he pants, burying his face in your neck, “creamin’ so much around me. you’re daddy’s good girl, yeah?”
“yes, daddy! lo-love your cock s’much!” you whine, nails biting in his biceps.
he doesn’t even notice, too absorbed in the lewd sound of your wet little pussy taking his fat cock. he’d already milked orgasm after orgasm from you and you could barely tell up from down at this point.
“i’m gonna cum, puppy,” he whines, “can daddy cum in your little cunt? please, puppy?”
“yes!” you squeal, “please, want your cum so bad, daddy, please-”
“alright, pup,” his voice grows tighter as he slams his hips against yours, mouth opening in a loud throaty moan as he cums, filling your sensitive cunt right up.
he doesn’t stop, however, even after his cum is fucked out of you. even when he starts tearing up from how sensitive his cock was as he continued to fuck you, intent on filling you up until his balls simply couldn’t anymore.
Tumblr media
— akaashi keiji.
› soft dom <3
› doesn’t care what you call him, whatever you want works <3
› he’s a bit of tease
› likes to edge, deny, and ruin your orgasms
› because he likes to hear the way you cry for him to make you feel good
› knowing you could reach down to rub your clit but you want him to do it makes his cock hard
› uses very soft petnames for you like honey and pretty baby <3
+
“ah, you got tighter,” he mutters, mostly to himself, rocking his hips slowly against yours, “are you about to cum?”
your mouth falls open and you nod, tearily staring up at him in a silent plea for him not to pull away.
but he does. and you sob, kicking your legs as your body twitches sporadically.
“shh...” he soothes, offering a sweet kiss to your forehead, pushing his cock back into your tender little cunt, “you’re doing so good, just a little more and i’ll make you cum nice and hard...”
“p-please, keiji, it hurts!” you sob, clinging to him as you cry, “w-wanna cum on your cock so bad, please!”
he smiles, “you can take a little more,” he assures, letting you pull his chest flush against yours so you can cry against his neck, “you’re such a good girl, letting me edge you like this. you know it’ll be worth it.”
you really do but that doesn’t mean the build up isn’t hell on earth.
Tumblr media
— konoha akinori.
› he can either be the meanest dom imaginable or the softest service dom for you
› another one who doesn’t have a name preference but he likes when you call him sir when he’s being mean and daddy when hes soft <3
› will call you bunny or little one <3
› sort of a sadist tbh
› into physical punishments like spanking
› will also slap you bc he thinks you’re so pretty when you stare at him with watery, startled eyes
› but he also loves when you cling to him and tremble in his arms when he makes you cum <3
+
“daddy...” you pant, eyes rolling back as his cock reaches that sweet little spot deep inside you, “feels good...”
“i know, little one,” he grins, “i can feel you squeezing me...you’re gonna cum soon, aren’t you?”
you nod and open your mouth to say something but you cut yourself off with a little squeal when he suddenly folds you up into a mating press.
“yeah, there we go...” he pants, “you’ll cream nice and hard for me in this position won’t you?”
when you don’t answer for a second, he reaches down and slaps you across the cheek. it makes you sob and your cunt clench down even tighter. suddenly, you begin trembling and your eyes roll back, making him moan.
“fuck, you’re cummin’ now, huh? all cause i slapped you?“
Tumblr media
seita © 2021 | all content and its rights belong to me. do not modify or repost.
3K notes · View notes
myherowritings · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
PART 7. WHAT’S BETTER THAN EATING THE RICH? THE RICH EATING YOU OUT
SUMMARY. Todoroki Shouto was a wealthy, young CEO who inherited his father’s enterprise. You were a barista at a local cafe who wouldn’t mind some extra cash. One day, Shouto came in during an early morning shift and tipped you such a large sum of money, you were certain it had to have been an accident. To your surprise and complete pleasure: It was not.
PAIRING. ceo!todoroki shouto x barista!reader
WORD COUNT. 4.7k
GENRE. ceo/barista au, fluff, eventual smut
WARNINGS. the filthiest thing i’ve ever written, fem!reader for this part and shouto uses “princess” an excessive amount of times, sir kink i’m sorry, cunnilingus, unprotected sex (just bc i totally forgot abt condoms ok my bad), too much foreplay?, shouto’s a soft dom i think?, very much so 18+!!! and the title is exactly what it sounds like
A/N. here we are !! the final part !! my first shouto series i didn’t put on hiatus LMAO,, the moment you’ve all been waiting for HFSJKG ;) this was very fun to write i hope it’s not too bad BHFBDSHS i’m so in love with ceo!shouto and this series was my fav to write in a while!! now without further ado pls enjoy some smut with feelings :3 xx sof
SERIES MASTERLIST
© myherowritings — all rights reserved. reposting, modifying, copying, or translating of any kind is not allowed. do not read my writing as asmr. do not plagiarize.
Tumblr media
You almost didn’t make it into the elevator to Shouto’s penthouse before you wanted to pounce on him, but to your complete frustration, he was showing such restraint that the only contact he let you make was holding his hand. 
For someone who was so eager to kiss you earlier, he was showing a lot of patience now, you thought with a huff. 
You tapped your foot against the tile flooring as Shouto took his sweet time unlocking his suite. Even when he entered, instead of taking you straight to the bedroom like you anticipated, he pulled out two glasses and filled them with water. 
Handing you one, he asked, “Did you want something to eat?” 
“No. ‘M not hungry right now,” you mumbled, trying not to appear too pouty. 
Apparently, it didn’t work very well since he stifled an amused chuckle. “How about some water?” 
Your eyes narrowed but you begrudgingly accepted the glass. “Hmph.” 
“Someone seems a little tired right now, hmm?” he placed his glass down and led you towards his bedroom. “Maybe we should go straight to sleep—”
You couldn’t help yourself any longer. “Shouto,” you whined, drawing out the ‘o’ sounds, your lower lip jutting outwards in a frown.
“Yes, Y/N?” His tone was too innocent for the events he had in mind for the night. 
“If you don’t take me to bed and fuck me right now, I’ll…”
“You’ll…?” Shouto teased, but the darkened gaze in his eyes told you his own restraint was wearing thin. 
You turned away with a huff. “I’ll be upset!” 
“Well, we don’t want that.” He laced his fingers through yours, bringing your hands up to his lips to give them a kiss. You were slightly placated, but that was still nowhere near the amount of contact you desired. “But I think you’d find it more comfortable if we continue this with your dress off first. Come.” 
Your stomach clenched at the simple command and you willfully followed behind him into the second door to the right. You hardly had time to admire the design of his room and size of his bed before Shouto moved from his spot next to you to one behind you. He placed one hand on where your waist met your hip and the other on the small of your back, making your spine straighten at the touch. 
“Did you need help taking your dress off?” he asked, knowing full well what the answer would be. 
“Yes, please, sir,” was your airy reply. 
His breath caught in his throat and his grip on you tightened. When he spoke, his voice was hoarser than normal. “Since you asked so nicely.”
So, he liked when you called him sir? You made a mental note of that with a smirk. 
But your cocky expression didn’t last very long when Shouto skillfully unfastened the top few buttons of your dress, softly placing his lips on your now exposed skin and gently planting kisses all the way down your back. He didn’t stop until he reached the curve of your ass, unbuttoning the final button and nipping a kiss right at the base of your spine. You jolted, hugging the fabric of the dress to your chest so you wouldn’t be completely exposed. 
“Finished unbuttoning your dress for you, princess,” he said, placing one final kiss on your spine before gently twirling you around to face him. At your flustered gaze, he smiled. “Now what would you like for me to do to you?” 
You lifted your chin despite your slight embarrassment at having to voice your desires. “I want you to kiss me.”
“Hm. Have I not been kissing you this whole time?” 
“On the lips,” you emphasized, tugging at his tie as you tried to pull him closer to you. You batted your lashes at him. “Could you please kiss me on the lips, sir?” 
A small chuckle escaped him, but he was happy to oblige. “You know, you’d be good in business. You certainly know what to say to get what you want, hmm?”
You answered with a smile as he finally—fucking finally, after a whole week of waiting—pressed his lips against yours. They were soft and warm and tasted like strawberries and ice cream, his favorite flavor of the candies the two of you stole from the gala. 
Delicious. 
Shouto must’ve thought the same thing since, not long after the start of the kiss, he coaxed your mouth open with his tongue, deepening the movements, one hand softly cupping the area where your head met your neck while the other was hot against your exposed lower back. He applied the slightest bit of pressure at the right time—just enough to make you sigh in pleasure. 
Your own hands found a way to tangle themselves in Shouto’s hair, completely abandoning their job clutching your dress to your body. Now, you were so tightly pressed up against him, the only thing that could possibly keep the fabric up was his chest against your own. One sudden movement and it might just…  
He nipped at your lower lip with his teeth and you jumped, gasping at how good the light stinging sensation felt. You felt your dress slip down your body to expose the swell of your breasts, but before it could fall any further, Shouto gingerly picked you up and laid you down on his bed. 
“Oh—” you managed to say as your head landed on a pillow and your back on the plush, silk sheets that covered the mattress.
His left arm rested on the pillow beside your head as he hovered over you. “Have something to say, princess?”
“Y-You may continue,” you sniffed, lifting your chin up. Your heart skipped a beat at the teasing pet name and then another beat when Shouto leaned down to give you a kiss. But instead of landing on your mouth again, he chose to leave an open-mouthed kiss on the sensitive part of your neck, gently biting and sucking at the skin. 
His feathery light touches tickled you, your nerves working on overdrive and every stroke feeling like it was amplified. You couldn’t help but giggle at his soft nibble and he paused to look at you questioningly. 
“Tickles,” you replied, laughing at his confused expression. “But it feels nice.”
Shouto hummed, the vibrations buzzing against your neck. “That’s good to hear.”
Returning to your lips, he kissed you with a smile creeping on his face and you returned it. His forehead rested against yours as you toyed with the fabric on the front of his suit. You unknotted his tie as your lips clashed against each other, the motion no longer soft and gentle but instead more fervent and intense. 
Finally getting his tie to come undone, you flung it off the bed and worked to unbutton his shirt collar, not caring if it got wrinkled in the process. Shouto reciprocated the eagerness by sucking the tip of your tongue with his mouth before pulling away from you completely. 
A whimper left your lips at the sudden loss of warmth and you couldn’t help but pout, grabbing at his shirt again to pull him back.
“Be a good girl and be patient, okay?” he said, running the tip of his index finger against your jawline. 
You huffed. “I’ve been plenty patient. I want you to do something now!” 
In other times, you’d probably be embarrassed about how whiny you sounded, but at this moment all you wanted was for Shouto to finally touch you more. 
He nipped at your collarbone before looking down at you. “Hm. Are you a princess or a brat?”
“I can be both. I’m very multifaceted,” you said haughtily, sticking your tongue out to let him know you were only joking. 
“You are,” he agreed. 
It seemed Shouto decided to finally listen to your pleas since his attention swiftly returned to that of your neck, dragging his lips down until he reached the swell of your breast. Over the fabric of your dress that was barely clinging onto you, he placed wet, open-mouthed kisses over your chest, his teeth accidentally grazing against your nipple. 
You cried out quietly and he felt encouraged by the sound, this time taking your peak into his mouth with purpose. He formed his mouth into the shape of an ‘o’ and softly sucked your nipple, the tip of his tongue making circles around the bud. His saliva wet the fabric of your dress, leaving you to shiver at the cold against your wet breast when he pulled away from you. 
“S-Shouto,” you whimpered, squeezing your legs together to relieve some of the tension. “More.”
“More? What exactly do you mean by that?” 
“I want you to…” You gestured towards your body. 
“To what? Take your dress off and fuck you? Or just continue playing with your breasts?” he asked, listing off suggestions in a low rasp. He kissed below your chest and down your stomach all the way to your navel. “Or maybe you want me to go lower until I reach that pretty pussy of yours.”
You nodded fervidly, not trusting your voice. “A-All of the above?”
He chuckled in amusement but was ready to dutifully continue his work.
“But…” you murmured, running your hands down his half-unbuttoned shirt. “I want to see you too.” You looked down at his crotch area then back at his face, biting your lip nervously. “And I want to make sure you’re also having a good time.” 
A guttural noise sounded from the back of his throat as he ran his hands down your body, giving you an appreciative look. “I’m having the best time.” He kissed you chastely. “Are you?”
You looked like a mess sprawled out on his bed, dress half hanging onto your chest and the fabric of the skirt only covering one of your legs. You didn’t know for sure the state of your hair and makeup, but you were sure it was thoroughly roughed up as well. “I think it’s quite obvious I am, sir.” 
Shouto smirked, caressing your cheek with his knuckles. “Good.” 
Instead of answering him, you brought your fingers to the lower-half of his shirt, unfastening the final buttons and untucking it from his suit pants. His shirt hung open, exposing his lean yet muscular torso. You ran your hands up and down his chest and abdomen, absentmindedly brushing against his nipples which caused him to shiver. When you reached his collar, you threw the fabric behind his shoulders and he got the message to take his shirt off. 
“So pretty,” you whispered breathlessly.
“Your turn.” Slowly, Shouto slid down the silky fabric that was just barely covering your breasts all the way to your navel. He tapped your thigh and said, “Up,” and you immediately obliged, lifting your lower body up so he could remove the dress completely. 
Taking his sweet time—much to your frustration—he folded the dress and placed it on a dresser near his bed. When he turned his gaze back to you, you were holding your arms over your chest, feeling bare in nothing but your panties with sheer detailings. 
His stare burned holes into you. You felt like his gaze was leaving a trail of fire against your skin. Shouto’s expression looked sensual but soft as he admired you, giving you enough confidence to lay your arms down by your sides instead of over your chest. He zeroed in on your breasts as he gave them a kiss. 
“Beautiful,” he whispered and your cheeks burst into flames. Your whole body felt hot as you folded one leg over the other so he couldn’t see the arousal gathering at your thin undergarments.
Noticing the movement, he raised a brow at you and uncrossed your legs with his large but slender hand, his grip firm on your thigh to prevent you from covering yourself like that again. Shouto pressed one of your thighs into the bed with his palm, and your other thigh with the gentle weight of his knee, holding your legs open for him. 
The cool air from his room hit your wetness seeping through your underwear and you felt yourself clench around nothing. 
You shifted under his weight, desperate for some release. “Shouto, please.”
It seemed he no longer had the restraint to tease you further since he nodded, moving lower down the bed so his face was hovering above your clothed pussy. “May I?” 
“Fuck— Yes,” you moaned, core heating up in anticipation. 
Shouto landed his lips on your fabric-covered cunt, licking a stripe across your slit. Your growing arousal mixed with his spit through your panties, a lewd noise sounding when he pried the fabric away from your pussy. He slid them off your legs, holding it up to examine the arousal slick on the garments. As if he had no shame, he politely folded it and placed it on top of your dress with a smile. 
“T-That’s not what a gentleman would do,” you managed as he returned to his position in bed in front of your now-bare cunt. 
“And what is it that a gentleman would do, princess?” he whispered dangerously close to your most intimate parts. “This?”
Without warning, he tenderly kissed the bud between your legs. You moaned, legs attempting to kick out in surprise and pleasure, but they remained immobile since Shouto held them down in place. 
“Or perhaps this?” Shouto ran his tongue down your folds and back up to your clit, rubbing small and steady figure eights against the sensitive nub. 
“Yes!” you cried out, canting your hips towards his mouth in pleasure. “Oh, god— Yes to all of it. Please… Don’t stop.” 
“I won’t.” He hummed as he continued his ministrations on your pussy, the vibrations shooting right up your core and causing more wetness to seep out onto his face, but he didn’t let that bother him. In fact, it only seemed to encourage him further. 
Not removing his mouth from your clit for even a second, Shouto hooked one of your legs over his shoulder while leaving the other flat against the silky sheets of his mattress. He dragged his opened mouth down to your dripping pussy lips and entered into your slit with his tongue. The new position sent ever more waves of euphoria through you and Shouto licked and sucked at your folds. 
You lifted your hips higher and he nuzzled his head deeper, his tongue reaching places you had only ever imagined. The lewd noises of Shouto’s mouth smacking against your slick cunt filled the quiet room. As you moaned, your hands threaded themselves into the base of his hair, lightly tugging him even closer than either of you thought possible. 
With his hand that wasn’t holding your thigh down, Shouto found his way to your chest, reaching up to palm at your breast all while still sucking your pussy. He flicked your nipple and gently rubbed it with his thumb and forefinger. Your breathing hitched at the mix of sensations, your core tightening and heating up as Shouto continued to eat you out. “Fuck— Oh— Shouto!” you cried, unable to hold back the volume of your voice. 
As if he knew what was coming, he removed his hand from your breast and briefly paused, though his face was still resting against your thigh and pussy. “Not yet, princess. Do you think you can hold on for me?” 
You whimpered at the thought of postponing your release, but you trusted that he would make up for the wait. “Okay, sir. For you.”
“That’s my good girl.”
Shouto continued his attack on your cunt with his lips, this time bringing his hand down to rub lazy circles around your clit. His tongue was deep in you, his nose teasingly bumping against your sensitive bud as his fingers flicked against it harsher. Rougher. He nuzzled his head from side to side to hit places far within you as you whimpered and moaned. 
The stimulation of both his fingers and his mouth on your pussy was almost too much to handle as your thighs quivered and your cunt clenched uncontrollably. 
“S-Shouto, please I—” Your voice broke off as a moan of pleasure ripped through you. 
“You can come now, princess,” he murmured into your folds, the vibrations only pleasuring you even further. 
And so you did. 
You felt yourself orgasm as Shouto continued to suck at your cunt and brush against your clit, moving slower and more gently as you came down from your high. 
When he finally looked up from your pussy, the lower half of his face glistened with your fluids, sending you into another state of desire. There was something about the way he looked at you that made you want more of him. 
Shouto smiled as he wiped the fluids of your arousal and ecstacy on his chin with his index finger. Instead of taking it into his mouth, however, he held it in front of your lips. “Look at the mess you made for me, princess. See how good you taste.” 
After only a moment’s hesitation, you brought his finger that was coated in your arousal into your mouth, swirling your tongue around and sucking him, giving him an idea of what you would do if that were his cock. You released his finger with a soft ‘pop’ and smiled innocently at him. 
“Are you going to fuck me now or should I suck you off first, sir?” you asked, tone of voice all too pleasant. 
His bulge strained against the snug fit of his pants and you wanted nothing more than to relieve some of his pressure. “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to take my cock into your mouth, but right now I just want to feel you around me. Is that okay?” 
“That’s fine with me!” You nodded eagerly, the thought of being filled up with Shouto now taking over your mind completely. 
He chuckled at your excitement, though he was feeling the same thing himself. Swiftly, he removed his belt and took off his suit pants. You helped by tugging his black boxer briefs down and watching gently stroking his erect shaft in awe. 
Was every part of Shouto pretty? He was just a gift that kept on giving. 
Your mouth almost watered in anticipation, biting your lip as he lowered you back against the mattress, your head falling onto the plush pillows. He positioned his member against your slit that was still dripping wet from his spit and your first orgasm. 
Shouto rubbed his tip against your already sensitive clit and your slightly parted folds, not yet entering deep enough to satisfy you. He moved his cock back and forth against your pussy as you both watched, the fluids of your arousal and his mixing for further lubrication. Your eyes were fixated on the sight, the thick head of his member disappearing into your sopping pussy lips before coming back out, slowly getting you prepared for his full length. 
It was sweet of him to be so patient, but you were on the verge of tears at the frustration you felt. “Please, Shouto! More.” 
“What should you call me again, princess?” he drawled, continuing the leisure movements of rubbing his head against your lips. The fluids smeared all over your pussy and dribbled down onto your thighs and his bedsheets. If you weren’t so aroused, you might’ve been a bit embarrassed. But there was no time for that when all you wanted at this very moment was for Shouto to fuck you silly. 
“Sir—!” you corrected yourself in a whimper. “Please, sir, I want your fat cock to fill me up.” 
He groaned at your words, pulling out of your folds until only the very tip of his dick was touching you and then thrusting forward into your wet depths as you let out a loud cry of pleasure. You felt a stretch inside you as you adjusted to his length, Shouto taking note of how you stiffened and giving you time to get more comfortable. 
He began to nibble at your breast, sucking and biting your perk nipples as your arousal built. He nipped you, causing you to gasp in surprise (a very pleasant surprise) before soothing the bite with his tongue. As you arched your back, he swirled the tip of his tongue around your nipple and you hooked your leg around his hips, pushing into his lower back with your calf to signal for more.
“Ready now?” 
You nodded fervently. 
“Words, princess.”
“Y-Yes, sir,” you managed, voice shaky from your gratification being filled by Shouto. “Use my pussy to make you feel good. Please.”
“You always make me feel good, Y/N,” he said sincerely, removing his mouth from your breast to kiss you on the lips. Your tongues intertwined and you tasted yourself on him. “You’re amazing, you know?” 
You smiled into the kiss. “Show me how amazing you think I am with your cock then.”
“Anything for my princess.”
With that, he pounded into you, holding you at the waist to steady your squirming. You hitched your leg higher and higher around his back, canting your hips to let him thrust into you at deeper angles until he hit the spot. 
“Oh—! Oh, god,” you mewled in satisfaction, his cock making you feel so good you were certain your eyes almost rolled back into your head. “Fuck, right there, Shouto— Yes!” 
At your vocal encouragement, Shouto pushed into you even deeper, his swollen tip rubbing into you at the perfect angle. Your head lolled to the side and your cheek pressed against the soft pillow as you salivated at the intense feeling of his cock thrusting in and out of your weeping pussy. 
“Mn,” he made a noise, softly tapping your cheek. “Keep your eyes on me, princess. Don’t look away.” 
You struggled to blink away how dazed you felt, feeling so good it was almost unbearable. Somehow, you managed to turn your head back to face him, trying to hold eye contact. “‘M sorry. You feel so good,” you sighed contentedly. “Like your cock was made for me.” 
He held your leg higher and you just about screamed from pleasure. “You feel so good too,” he said, one hand stretching your leg up and the other reaching down to toy with your clit. “Never want this to end.” 
With his fingers and thumb rubbing against your clit and his member hitting your g-spot, you were certain your throat was going to grow hoarse by the end of the night from all your screaming. You swore you saw stars.
“Want to,” you panted, thrusting your hips up to match his movements, “do this...with you...every...day.” 
“Please.”
When his lips found your breast again to tug at your nipple, you couldn’t help yourself any longer. 
“S-Shouto, I— I’m going to come,” you told him, voice pleading. You really hoped he let you come. 
He hummed in agreement. “Me too. Come with me, princess.” 
You lifted his head from your breasts to meet your mouth, kissing into him as you both felt the sweet release of pleasure coursing through your bodies, all the way from the top of your head to the curl of your toes. 
His pace slowed as he carried the two of you through your highs. Shouto removed his finger from its position of making circles onto your clit to let you cool down with him. In a state of euphoria, you kissed him, both of you riding your orgasms until you felt nothing but completely happy and thoroughly satiated. 
Still not taking his lips off of yours, he moved from being on top of you to lying beside you. Your eyes fluttered shut even as you kissed, nuzzling into his hot, sticky body and ready to pass out. 
“‘M sleepy,” you mumbled onto his lips. You just wanted to stay like this. Forever if you could. 
Shouto smoothed down your brow, his thumb moving in gentle strokes. “Let’s get you cleaned up first, princess. Then you can sleep.”
The rational part of you knew it would be best to clean up. But your overwhelming desire was simply to never let go of him. “Wait! I still want you.” Lazily, you murmured, “Let’s do it again.”
“You’re about to fall asleep but you want to have another round?”
You nodded. “I...might fall asleep during it, but yes. Want to do it with you again and again.”
Shouto smiled, shaking his head in amusement. But you pouted. It wasn’t a joke, you meant it. You just wanted to stay by his side. 
“We can,” he said and you instantly brightened up, “another day.” You huffed. “When you can stand on your own two feet without falling over.”
Your lower lip jutted out in a frown. 
“Don’t look so down, princess.” He kissed the top of your head. “It can be tomorrow or the next day.”
Slowly, you perked up again. “Or the day after that? And the next day after that?”
With a laugh, he nodded. “Anytime you want me. I’m yours.”
“I’ll always want you, Shouto,” you told him sincerely, gazing into his eyes.
His face was colored a light pink, his hair plastered to his forehead, and his lips were swollen and bright red. He looked beautiful. It was a sight you’d never tire of.
“I’ll always want you too, Y/N. More than anything. I...love you.”
And in that moment, there was nothing else in the world you would rather hear. No one else you’d rather be with. You were happy to have Shouto and that was better than all the money in the world.
“I love you too.”
— ✩ —
A few days have passed since the fateful night you exchanged ‘I love you’s with Shouto and now you were back at work. 
As usual, you were working the morning shift with some cranky customers, trying your best to make the start of their day go as smoothly as possible. And, as per usual, Shouto walked into the cafe a few minutes after rush hour to spend a part of his morning with you.
“Good morning, sir. How can I help you today?” you said teasingly, giving him a brief kiss over the counter, chaste enough that no one else would notice but you two. 
“Morning, princess.” He smiled. “I’ll have a medium flat white, please.” 
“Of course. And could I interest you in some of our fresh pastries?” you laughed. “Oddly enough, we have your favorite today.”
He perked up at your words. “Cheese danishes?” 
“Yup!”
“I’ll have five boxes of a dozen, please.”
Humming to yourself, you entered his order into the register and told him the price. “Your order will be to your left when it’s completed,” you recited, knowing he’s heard this plenty of times before. After he paid and got ready to walk away from the counter, you playfully called out, “So, no tip this time?”
Shouto smirked, glancing back at you with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Maybe I can pick you up tonight and give you a tip then.”
“A...tip?” you asked, stifling a giggle behind your hands. “Was that an innuendo?”
“Innuendo—?” A look of realization crossed his face and his cheeks colored. 
You grinned to yourself. As confident and well put together Shouto could be (which you very much enjoyed and found incredibly attractive), you also got extreme pleasure in seeing him blush and grow flustered. 
“No… I didn’t intend it like that.” He paused, thinking on it. “Well, I guess I did. But I didn’t mean to make a pun of it…”
Your laughter rang out across the whole store, smile spreading bigger and bigger. “You’re cute, Shouto. Thanks for the laugh.” 
He looked sheepish but nodded. “Thanks for letting me hear your laugh. It’s radiant.”
“Smooth talker.” You stuck your tongue out. 
“Just the truth.”
“Hmm,” you sighed happily, a feeling of contentment and euphoria settling within you. “But about your tip…”
Shouto blushed. 
“I’d love to come over tonight,” you told him. “Any excuse to see my lovely boyfriend.”
“You never need an excuse to see me. Because I always want to be with you too.” 
The two of you kissed again, unable to help yourselves. Though it was brief and light, it still sent tingles down your spine. 
Shouto was sweeter than any cheese danish or chocolate croissant you could ever make, better than any tip you could ever receive, and you couldn’t wait to continue your life with him. 
Tumblr media
a/n: omg...this is the end ╥﹏╥ thank you to every who read and commented and sent asks and just supported this series in general ! it was very fun to write and i have a toothache from all of shouto’s sweetness and fluff hfjhggg tysm for reading ily !! xx sof 
2K notes · View notes
Text
IOTA Reviews: Hack-San
Tumblr media
You know, it's honestly amazing how creative this show can get. After four seasons and almost one hundred episodes, the writers are still finding new ways to make Adrien an incredibly unlikable character, and they don't even know how much of an asshole they're making him out to be at times. It's kind of like the opposite of The Producers.
Yeah, this review's going to be a little more ranty than usual, in case you can't tell.
Let's get into the fifteenth (chronologically the sixteenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Hack-San
We start off with Marinette pretending to be sick so she doesn't have to go to visit her aunt in London and stay to protect Paris in case an Akuma attacks and also because the animators haven't had time to render the city of London yet for the next Miraculous World special. Like all of her other excuses, it fails, and Tikki, as always, fails to actually give any meaningful advice.
And it's not like there's a Miraculous with the power of teleportation that can help Marinette get back to Paris if she needs to, much like how she planned to do that in an earlier episode, right?
Seriously, Kaalki doesn't appear or isn't even mentioned in this episode because the writers are fully aware she would make things a lot easier.
youtube
And of course, Astruc had to play dumb on Twitter while explaining why Marinette couldn't use the Horse Miraculous by answering the question as if the only reason Marinette couldn't grab it was because she didn't have an excuse not to.
Tumblr media
Cut to Gabriel in his lair as he contemplates akumatizing Markov, a robot created the civilian identity of Pegasus, Max Kante, once again, even though the last time he did so, he almost got killed when he went all HAL 9000 on his ass. Nooroo explains this to Duusu, and the two actually get excited at the prospect of their master getting killed.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
I mean, it's true, but he shouldn't say it...
But I don't even get why Gabriel is even thinking about this when it's a no-brainer. Markov's akumatized form, Robustus was to this day, the only Akuma to come close to physically harming him (not counting the timeline where he was killed by Cat Blanc), so it makes no sense to try doing it again, especially when there are already several other Akumas he can reuse this season.
I think you all know Gabriel isn't the smartest villain, which is why he thinks it's a brilliant idea to akumatize Markov again. I don't really get what makes Robustus so special when there are other Akumas who are more loyal and came far closer to getting Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous than Robustus did, like the Dark Owl or Troublemaker. In fact, why not simply create a new Akuma with similar powers to Robustus, or better yet, just create a Sentimonster copy of Robustus? You know, like what Nathalie did in the New York Special? We're not even two minutes in, and this premise is already filled with plotholes.
So Gabriel transforms into Shadowmoth and creates a Sentimonster using his own cane instead of relying on someone else having a bad day (once again showing how the Peacock Miraculous is better than the Butterfly), the titular Hack-San. And let's just say he has a very familiar design reminiscent of something from a much better French cartoon.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Remember when the writers for Code Lyoko gave an in-universe explanation as to why the heroes couldn’t always rely on the almost literal Deus ex Machina that allowed them to return to the past and fix the damage XANA caused? Why couldn’t this show have ripped that off instead?
Hack-San is just an okay looking flash drive on its own, but I'll talk more about this guy in a little bit.
After a brief scene in the park where the audience is reminded that Markov is a character who exists, Alya gets a text from Marinette telling her to meet her at the train station. Right before she leaves, Marinette gives the Ladybug Miraculous to Alya. Now a lot people have said that Alya doesn't really deserve the Ladybug for various reasons, but I feel like this was the point. Marinette outright says this was a last resort, and we see both her and Alya are nervous about the situation. Marinette worries Alya will do something so she keeps sending multiple tips to her via text while Alya worries she can't fight an Akuma on her own, so she tries to make sure none of her friends get upset and attract an Akuma in the process. The writers do a pretty good job showing how both Marinette and Alya are uncomfortable with their temporary roles.
Back to Gabriel and Nathalie, they use Hack-San to find Markov through the internet and hack into him to get him angry enough that he's vulnerable to Shadowmoth's influence. Hey, uh... Gabriel? Quick question: Wouldn't it be more efficient if you used this on humans? I mean, you basically just created Skynet and guaranteed yourself an Akuma, so why not modify Hack-San to travel through the internet and brainwash potential victims to follow your orders? Better yet, why don't you just use Hack-San to hack into Ladybug and Cat Noir's gear and figure out who they really are? This is basically like using an advanced particle accelerator just to crack a couple walnuts. There are a lot more important things you could use this for instead of an incredibly specific situation.
So this incredibly stupid plan gets under way as Markov keeps rampaging through the streets before Shadowmoth akumatizes him and then stupidly tells him that he infected him with a virus.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
DUDE! You just gave away your one piece of leverage against him! What the hell were you thinking?! Now what's stopping Markov from hacking into Shadowmoth's security system and putting the fear of God in his eyes unless he destroys Hack-San? Why didn't he design Hack-San so it could make Markov completely loyal to him instead of just making him angry enough to get akumatized?
There was a recent episode of Power Rangers: Dino Fury with a very similar premise that was done far better than this. A necromancer called Reaghoul breaks into the headquarters of Void Knight's faction while accompanied by Lord Zedd, a villain from the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers who was cleansed of his evil by Zordon's sacrifice before Reaghoul resurrected him back when he was still evil. Of course, being the Emperor of Evil, Lord Zedd would normally never take orders from anyone, but because he doesn't have his magic staff and is also being forced to wear a special collar that makes him loyal to Reaghoul, he has no choice but to do what he says. Instead of taking Zedd head-on after he captures the other Rangers, Ollie, the Blue Ranger, breaks the collar so Zedd turns against the other Sporix while Reaghoul retreats, allowing Ollie to save the other Rangers.
I think that this premise works more because 1) Reaghoul clearly had a way to make sure Zedd wouldn't betray him, and Ollie took advantage of that, and 2) Zedd is a villain who is powerful and notorious enough to bring back to your side, not a random monster of the week like Robostus.
So Robostus uses his new powers to brainwash any human who answers his call to give up their most precious possession, clearly meant to do the same with Ladybug and Cat Noir. When Marinette's parents answer the call, they chase after Marinette because they say she's their most important possession. Okay... kind of strange for a set of parents to call their child a possession, but maybe they like how they can claim Marinette as a dependent when they file their taxes. In her very next scene later on, she still gets captured, so the suspense for a potential subplot is killed almost immediately.
Alya thankfully isn't stupid enough to answer Markov's call like every other citizen in this episode, and using the Ladybug Miraculous, transforms into Scarabella. While I don't normally talk about transformation sequences, I really like the movements Alya makes here. She makes the same motions creating her mask as she does when transforming into Rena Rouge, while the rest of the suit forms similarly to the way it does when Marinette transforms into Ladybug. She even makes almost the same pose Ladybug does after she finishes transforming. It's a good visual showing Alya is still more used to being Rena Rouge while doing her best to emulate what Ladybug does.
Tumblr media
As for the actual suit? It's hard to say. There's a nice balance of red and black, and I like how Alya places the yo-yo on her waist like a belt buckle, but there's just something... off about the suit that a lot of fans don't like about it, and I think I realized it. It's the headband. With how it's positioned, it looks like it's merged with the mask to cover her head while leaving a slight gap in her forehead. So yeah, we actually have a superhero design that's like of like a butterface.
So Scarabella takes to the rooftops of Paris and struggles to come up with a hero name for herself before she runs into Cat Noir, and... ugh... oh boy, this is dumb. Cat Noir, being just as intelligent as his father, assumes Scarabella is either and Akuma or a Sentimonster, starts fighting her, AND THEN ACTIVATES HIS CATACLYSM, CLEARLY TRYING TO KILL HER.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
WHAT. THE. FUCK???
Okay, to be fair, it has been shown that Cataclysm won't necessarily kill a Miraculous user or Sentimonster. In the episode “Miraculer”, the titular Akuma stole Cat Noir's Cataclysm and used it against him, and while it didn't kill Cat Noir, it still hurt like hell and crippled him for the rest of the fight until Miraculous Ladybug healed him. We also saw in “Reflekdoll” that Cataclysm drove the titular Sentimonster out of control rather than simply destroying it. So yes, it could be interpreted that Cat Noir wasn't exactly trying to kill Scarabella, just incapacitate her the best he can without Ladybug's help.
Here's the thing: What if he was facing an Akuma instead and decided to try and Cataclysm her? He still could have killed her, or (assuming Akumas have the same protection as Miraculous heroes do) at best, seriously hurt her. I understand that he has the right to be upset at seeing some stranger instead of his partner considering Shadowmoth has a history of using evil doppelgangers, and both Marinette and Alya still had options to explain it to him (Marinette could have quickly transformed into Ladybug and sent Cat Noir a quick text saying she was being forced to leave town for a few days and temporarily trusted someone else with the Ladybug Miraculous until she got back, while Scarabella could have said she was Rena Rouge and explained the same thing while showing Cat Noir she had the Fox Miraculous to prove herself), but that doesn't even come close to justifying him attempting to harm someone who isn't even trying to fight. It's even worse when you remember the whole reason Adrien gave up his Miraculous and bailed on Ladybug in the New York Special was because he was overcome with grief from accidentally killing Aeon, so it's good to know he learned absolutely nothing from that experience.
So Scarabella thankfully summons her Lucky Charm, a trash can lid, to shield herself from Cat Noir's Cataclysm, and then despite having absolutely no experience with this new set of powers, manages to do the one thing almost every Akuma or Sentimonster in this show has failed to do and incapacitates Cat Noir so he's vulnerable to losing his Miraculous. At least when Marinette masters every other Miraculous she uses, it can be theorized that she trained to use them offscreen. Alya literally just got the Ladybug Miraculous (and struggled to get up to the rooftop with her yo-yo to show her inexperience earlier), and now she easily manages to pin down the more experienced hero of the two?
Here's an idea: Instead of having Scarabella overpower Cat Noir, have her be in a position where Cat Noir, non-lethally, mind you, manages to almost take her Miraculous away, but she uses the quick wit she's developed from her extensive time as Rena Rouge to convince Cat Noir she's the real deal by saying something only he and Ladybug know. It would have easily resolved the conflict and doesn't make one of the characters look like a homicidal idiot.
So because both heroes used their powers, Scarabella and Cat Noir detransform so Tikki and Plagg can recharge, though Adrien still gives Alya attitude because Ladybug didn't tell him she had to leave.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Hey, Adrien? Here's the thing...
YOU DID THE EXACT SAME FUCKING THING IN THE NEW YORK SPECIAL, YOU SHIT FOR BRAINS!
You have absolutely NO RIGHT to claim you're always honest when you went behind Ladybug's back and endangered Paris while you had the balls to run away like a coward and only helped fix the consequences of your actions once your ego was validated by a recording of Ladybug. It's honestly even worse because while Marinette had no choice but to leave and trust Alya with the Ladybug, Adrien willingly left Paris alone and we were supposed to sympathize with him after he killed someone, and now as soon as he's in the opposite situation, we're still supposed to feel bad for him?! BULLSHIT! And you better believe I'm going to talk about the way Adrien views his partnership with Ladybug later on.
And of course, even though lives are on the line, Cat Noir just has to continue to bitch and moan about how (and this is best read in Linkara's whiny Superboy Prime voice) “sCaRaBeLlA iSn'T tHe ReAl LaDyBuG”, showing how just like in so many episodes, Astruc and his team believes Cat Noir's feelings are more important than saving the day.
Scarabella goes to rescue some civilians, but they were actually brainwashed by Robustus, once again showing her inexperience as Ladybug which doesn't go well with her effortlessly defeating Cat Noir earlier at all. Cat Noir helps Scarabella escape and the two hide out at the city's wax statue museum previously featured in “The Puppeteer 2”, because I guess the writers only want to reference bad episodes today. Cat Noir, not getting the importance of secret identities, asks Scarabella how she knows Ladybug, and Cat Noir somehow finds out she knows Ladybug's identity from her response.
Before the two can talk more, it turns out that the wax statues of celebrities in the museum are real people who attack the two heroes, leading to an awkward fight scene where Scarabella and Cat Noir fight a bunch of brainwashed civilians with no weapons beyond their cellphones. Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen!
Scarabella summons her Lucky Charm again, creating a frying pan, but when she looks around, she can't see how to properly use it. And despite spending the entire episode complaining about how much he hates her, it's Cat Noir that tells Scarabella to get her head back in the game because “That's what Ladybug would do”. Funny, I can think of a few situations where Cat Noir could have taken his own advice, but I digress. Also, he's now just cool with Scarabella because there's only a few minutes left in the episode and we need to wrap up the conflict.
Scarabella figures out an idea that involves freeing Marinette, so she negotiates with Robostus to free everything and everyone under his control or else Cat Noir will use his Cataclysm to destroy the Ladybug Miraculous. Robostus agrees and empties his hard drive, and to show them holding up her end of the bargain, Scarabella gives him the frying pan before she and Cat Noir let themselves be captured... while Marinette simply hits Robostus with the frying pan, freeing the Akuma and the two heroes. All in all, it's a really creative climax that shows both Scarabella and Marinette in perfect sync with each other even though they never discussed their plan. Though of course, because Astruc hates writing any scene with Ladynoir, Cat Noir gets a bucket stuck on his head so he doesn't see Marinette saving the day.
Scarabella de-evilizes Robostus, uses Miraculous Scarabella to fix everything and send Marinette back to the train, and because Hack-San already failed once, Shadowmoth can't use it for a different plan so he destroys the Sentimonster.
We cut to a few days after the trip (I guess Shadowmoth decided to take a vacation himself), and Alya tells Marinette to talk with Cat Noir about what happened.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
This scene was so close to ending this episode off on a positive note. There was a good atmosphere and the body language of Ladybug and Cat Noir does a good job at telling us how uncomfortable they both feel while talking. It's just that instead of getting a heart to heart between the two about the lack of trust in their relationship, we get an Angstdrien Depreste scene. Or would a more accurate term be Cat Dour?
First off, while I don't have a problem with Ladybug apologizing for not telling Cat Noir, the episode never has him bring up what happened with Scarabella. As usual, both of them were partially at fault, but only Ladybug had to apologize for leaving her “Kitty” alone.
Second, Cat Noir’s feelings weren’t hurt? You’re telling me that in scenes like this...
Tumblr media
And this...
Tumblr media
Didn’t show Adrien acting irrationally because of how emotional he was? Is he really telling the truth around Ladybug or is he just trying to sweep that under the rug so Scarabella’s testimony doesn’t screw up his chances with Ladybug?
Third, this was an obvious chance to Cat Noir to finally be honest and tell Ladybug how he feels about her leaving him in the dark about so many things, but the entire conversation is just about how sad he would be if he never sees Ladybug again. Even though the whole reason he was so pissy to Scarabella at first was because of some lingering resentment for Ladybug ignoring him in favor of other heroes, why is this what the two talk about? I get it's not the season finale, but it's kind of hypocritical for Cat Noir to whine about how Ladybug doesn't trust him while never being honest about his own feelings? Sure, he's all soft and vulnerable around Ladybug, but we've seen all season how angry he gets about her not trusting him whenever she isn't around, so ironically, it's hard to tell if this is him being honest or not.
And I think now's a good time to finally talk about the way Ladybug and Cat Noir's partnership has been portrayed all season, especially since the main themes of the episodes relate to it. Buckle up, Adrien stans, because this isn't going to be pretty.
All season, we have been supposed to sympathize with Adrien as Marinette starts to trust Alya with more things than him. Marinette revealed her identity to her, trusted her to have her Miraculous permanently, and even let her keep her Miraculous even though someone else knew her identity. While some of it is hypocritical, the idea is that Adrien feels like he can be trusted with this kind of knowledge too, when really, he hasn't earned that responsibility.
Adrien has rarely, if ever, taken his job as a superhero seriously.
Not only is he known to flirt with Ladybug in the middle of a fight, he has defied her orders and recklessly sacrificed himself because he thinks Ladybug can do all the work without him.
He has also lashed out emotionally and once threatened to quit being Cat Noir in the middle of a crisis and was willing to let innocent people suffer for personal reasons, and later on actually quit being Cat Noir temporarily while Hawkmoth was about to start World War III because he was wallowing in self-pity.
He once said he isn't cut out for the responsibility that comes with being Ladybug and never learned anything from temporarily using the Ladybug Miraculous.
He has generally refused to respect Ladybug's boundaries and doesn't understand that she doesn't like him that way while he insists they should be a couple.
He outright fell for an evil doppelganger of Ladybug because she said she loved him and turned against the real Ladybug.
And I should also mention that despite hating how Ladybug keeps secrets from him, a lot of Adrien's worst moments have been when Ladybug wasn't around and he never told her about them.
He never told Ladybug that he was the reason Copycat really got akumatized while saying he never lies to her.
He never told Ladybug he contemplated letting thousands of people die because he didn't like not knowing stuff Ladybug knew.
He never told Ladybug he briefly used the Snake Miraculous to get brownie points with her.
He never told Ladybug he figured out her identity and asked her out as soon as he did so.
He never told Ladybug he abandoned Paris to go on a field trip.
He never told Ladybug he was screwing around on patrol and was excited to see someone get akuamtized if it meant spending time with her.
He never told Ladybug how he ignored Rena Rouge's orders because “ShE wAsN't LaDyBuG” and almost screwed up the mission because of it, and also never told her how he smashed a chimney in anger at Rena Rouge being in on the plan.
And he never told Ladybug he gave her replacement attitude after trying to harm her without letting her explain herself.
Why exactly should I support the idea of Ladybug trusting Cat Noir more when Cat Noir himself has kept his own secrets from Ladybug?
Adrien has done absolutely nothing to show he is trustworthy because more often than not, he views the battle with Shadowmoth as a game. He has screwed around when lives were on the line, and we're supposed to see him as responsible? It's kind of funny that Astruc compared Ladybug to Spider-Man, yet he seems to have forgotten that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. If this was a character flaw or a sign he needed to grow up, I'd be more accepting, but the fact that the writers think Adrien is a great superhero is laughable with how much evidence has proved the contrary.
In contrast, Alya, despite only being Marinette's confidant for a few episodes, has shown to take being a hero more seriously. She's helped her escape to transform, analyze the Guardian texts, and has been shown to work well on her own as Rena Rouge while helping out Marinette. I'm not trying to say she's an amazing character (“Rocketear” in particular has shown she still has problems with keeping secrets), but compared to Adrien, she seems to be more capable of handling top-secret information with Marinette, and more importantly, doesn't view being Rena Rouge as a way to have fun like Adrien does being Cat Noir. I'll go more into detail with that next time.
But yeah, this scene is how the episode ends, and what did I think of it?
youtube
I'm honestly not sure which episode I think is worse, this one or “Queen Banana”. On the one hand, every frame of “Queen Banana” could easily be replaced by an image of Astruc flipping the bird and the overall message of the episode would remain unchanged, but the fact that all of the writers think that everything Adrien does in this episode is okay and that we should feel sorry for him in this episode is just as bad, if not worse. 
As awful as Chloe was portrayed in “Queen Banana”, it was clear it was intentional on the writers' part, but Adrien doesn't get that excuse once much like he has all season. As far as Astruc's team thinks, Adrien is an incredible superhero even when he honestly attempted to harm someone with a superpower that can cause grievous harm at best. Yet again this season, in the show's attempt to make me feel sorry for Adrien, it made him look even worse. In any other show, he would obviously be called out for his incredibly unheroic actions.
Even putting him aside, the writing in this episode is still AWFUL. The whole reason Ladybug was benched had several plotholes and poor communication with Cat Noir that only made the fight with Robostus even harder, Shadowmoth's plan to waste a potentially useful Sentimonster to reuse a single Akuma was one of the dumbest plans he's ever had, and barring the ending, the action was just forgettable.
There were a few okay moments sprinkled throughout the episode (more than I can say for “Queen Banana”), so I'm still not sure if I should call this the worst episode of the show or still give that honor to “Queen Banana”. I guess I'll leave that choice up to you and let you pick your poison for now.
I mean, it's not like there's going to be an even worse episode down the line this season, right?
RIGHT???
294 notes · View notes
tonypinkgrave · 2 years
Text
ride the lightning ⊹ ·˚
❥ summary : Nero thinks Dante should treat Cavaliere better— and by that, he means let him fuck Dante's brains out on that thunderous beast of a motorcycle.
3.5k words
post-DMC5
Top!Nero / Bottom!Dante
includes anal sex on a motorcycle, creampies, playful banter, & pet names
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
“Agh, damn.”
Nero shakes his head and throws down the magazine he was perusing. That old man had been working in Nero’s garage for hours, tinkering with god-knows-what and constantly knocking things over if the loud sounds were anything to go by. Nero begrudgingly left Dante alone to do his things, and he’s surely regretting it.
The garage was already a mess, but he doesn’t want the devil hunter screwing it up any more than it needs to be.
Nero leaves the comfort of his lazy boy and heads to the garage. As he steps in, swinging the heavy door out and quickly shutting it behind him, he avoids looking at the dark brown stain on the floor— a reminder of a tragedy long ago.
No, that’s the past. This is the present, a present where he can walk in and tease his uncle over fucking up his tools
Nero saunters toward Dante, drinking in the sight of nuts and bolts, dirty rags, oil, screwdrivers, and his signature red coat strewn about. Cavaliere, Dante's new form of transportation, sits in the middle of the garage. He knows Dante knows he’s there, but his uncle doesn’t glance at him, too busy assessing the large shotgun in his hands.
“You havin’ fun?” Nero starts, leaning on the wooden workbench.
Dante hums, “Sure.”
He says nothing else, causing Nero to bite his lip. He gives it another go, “Don’t you think that bad boy is modded enough?”
Dante then sends him a smirk. “Ironic coming from you.” He laughs, holding up his prized Coyote-A. “Nah, I was only giving it a bigger barrel. These new pests coming through lately have been more durable than ever. I guess it’s that whole, uhh,” Dante vaguely gestures, “evolution stuff.”
Nero knows the demons appearing haven’t been an issue for Dante, but the hunter is giving an old boy of his a chance to stay in the game. It’s rather sentimental, he thinks.
“With the right modifications, that thing could blow a hole through concrete,” Nero adds.
Dante snickers. “Oh, I know. I’ve been on the receiving end of a souped-up Pedersoli before. Those can turn you into ground beef real quick.”
Nero’s eyebrows reach his hairline. “What? When?”
“Looong ago.”
“Wow.” Nero crosses his arms and faces him fully. “That must’ve been tough; fighting off crazy modified shotguns, and competing with T-rexes for your food. Hard times back then, I bet.”
“Ha-ha-ha,” Dante enunciates in a snarky manner. “It was pretty funny though! Once watched your father square up against a velociraptor.”
Nero snorts at the absurdity of it all. He’s never forgotten Dante’s wit and his ability to roll with the punches. Every conversation they have, barring anything that delves too deeply into their respective issues, is chill. It’s .. nice. He wishes Dante visited more often and didn’t seem to think Nero and his home had human cooties.
He could say that, right now. He could let Dante know he appreciates him, respects him, loves him for his one-of-a-kind personality. Instead, Nero notices how much his lovely, odd uncle has let Cavaliere go.
“What the hell, old man?” Nero taps Cavaliere’s gunked-up exhaust pipes with his boot. “Why are you letting her go like this? She looks like shit.”
Dante sharply swivels. “Hey, gimme a break, kid. I can only do so much around here.”
click here to read more ♡
36 notes · View notes
mrs-gucci · 3 years
Text
Spousal Privilege {Henry McHenry x Reader}
author’s notes: hello, hello! I deleted the original request accidentally, but essentially, it was the prompt written below, but instead of getting married for tax benefits, you get married because he needs you to help keep him out of jail/the courtroom for Ann’s murder. 
**just because I write it doesn’t mean I condone it. writing a fictional piece and condoning are two very different things. this is fanFICTION.**
original prompt (from @dailyau): “we got married for tax benefits, but you aren’t in love with me and I didn’t develop feelings for you until after we got married. in practice, we’re just roommates. However, we’re staying over with someone who knows that we’re married but not why we’re married so we were only provided with one bed for our stay.” (slightly modified) prompt: “we got married for [the benefit of spousal privilege], but but you aren’t in love with me and I didn’t develop feelings for you until after we got married. in practice, we’re just roommates. however, we’re staying over with someone who knows that we’re married but not why we’re married so we were only provided with one bed for our stay.”
warnings: angst & smut. not-so-mutual feelings. non-con elements (but they’re not unwelcomed). taking advantage of someone else’s feelings for you to benefit sexually. masturbation. (kind of) mutual masturbation.
tw’s: consumption/use of alcohol (briefly mentioned). !!non-con somnophilia. !!non-con voyerism.
word count: 2.4k
“Spousal Privilege”: if you’re married, your spouse cannot be forced to testify against you in a court of law.
my taglist peeps (slashed through means that the username didn’t tag): @frank-and-honey @shygirl268 @icarusinthesea​  @gildedstarlight​ @mrs-zimmerman @soldmysoulagain @roseepossee @pascalisfairyy @I-can’t-draw-faces (if you’d like to be added to or removed from my taglist, the link to the google form is HERE or on the top of my masterlist.)
Tumblr media
“It’s just one weekend, Henry. One weekend. We have to at least pretend to be married.”
He sighs, reclining on the large lounger on the back deck, rolling an unlit cigarette between his thumb and forefinger. “Y/N...you know that I can’t come with you. I’ve got a show this weekend; I can’t just skip my own show to be your plus-one at a wedding.”
It feels like you’re the only one actually trying to appear as a couple, since your union is a sham. You made the grave mistake of visiting the McHenry residence on the night of Ann’s murder, finding a blood-spattered and disheveled Henry with his hand on the butchers knife impaling her chest.
And then, a few weeks later, your friendship became a marriage. You knew Henry was a good guy, and you’ve been friends with him a very long time, so...you helped him out by becoming the second Mrs. McHenry in order to protect him in case of a criminal trial. Spousal privilege is a powerful weapon in the judicial system, one that Henry successfully secured. 
Almost a year has passed since that fateful night, and the police investigation has all but stopped due to lack of evidence. The only living people who know what happened are you and him.
The worst part of it, though? You’ve fallen for him, hard. Sure, he’s been your friend since high school, but you never thought of him as partner material before. But, now that you live with him and spend lots of time together, you realize that he’s an amazing guy that you really feel connected to.
Unfortunately, he’s not in love with you, and probably never will be. But, you soldier on, putting your feelings on the backburner for the sake of the false union.
Henry sticks the cigarette between his teeth, the familiar flick of the lighter slicing the tension between you. He takes a long drag, exhaling loudly.
“Fine. But at least I’m actually trying to make this whole arrangement seem real. At this point, I’m the only one trying at all.” You huff, shaking your head as you walk back into the house.
-
You arrive at the large rented house for the bridal party, greeted by several of your closest friends as you walk through the door. Immediately, they ask about Henry, and you tell them that he won’t be joining you this weekend, that he has a show that he just can’t miss.
They’re understanding, of course, knowing of Henry’s blossoming career as a comedian. You spend the rest of the afternoon catching up with your friends, who seemed to be acting a bit strangely. They’re looking towards the lobby religiously, seemingly waiting for someone to arrive.
Probably just one of their boyfriends or husbands, you think, dismissing it with little thought as the waiter comes over with a tray of cocktails.
It’s nearly midnight when you finally head back up to your room, eyelids heavy as you fumble with the key and open the door. You’re startled when you see a large shadowy figure sitting on the queen bed. 
You quickly flip the lights on to reveal the mysterious figure’s identity.
“Henry? What are you doing here?”
He stands, grabbing a small bouquet of flowers before bringing them over to you.
“I’m sorry for being so unreasonable about this trip, Y/N. You’re right, I haven’t been trying as hard as I can to spend ‘couple’ time with you lately. And I know how important this trip is, so...I postponed my show to next weekend in order to be here with you.”
You’re unable to stop the grin that spreads across your face at this genuinely kind gesture that he’s done for you. You take the flowers from his outstretched hand.
“Wow, this is...thank you, Henry.” You meet his eyes. “I mean it, thank you. I’m, uh, I’m glad you’re here.”
His cheeks are dusted pink as he looks down at the carpeted floor, running a hand through his hair.  “It’ll be nice to spend some time together, I think. We’ve been a bit disconnected lately, off doing our own stuff without really connecting all that often.”
You nod in agreement, filling one of the hotel glasses with lukewarm water for the flowers. You set them on the desk, then look over at the bed. 
Bed, not beds. 
“I...I can ask for a different room. She just put us in here because she knows we’re married...”
He shakes his head. “No, no, it’s alright. We’ll make do.”
You’re a bit surprised by his mellow, chilled reaction to the situation. You thought surely he’d want to change rooms, since the two of you have never shared a bed before. 
Really, at home, you’re just roommates; each having your own separate living spaces. But of course, your friend Jen doesn’t know of the...unique aspects of your outwardly loving union, like the fact that it’s not genuine.
Both of you quietly unpack your things into the shared dresser. You keep your pajamas out and after you place your emptied duffle in the closet, you shed your top and bottoms, leaving you in just your undergarments. 
When you turn around to grab your pajamas, you catch Henry looking at you, a fact that brings a sheepish warmth to your cheeks. He was shirtless, standing in only his black jeans, which has you quite flustered. Henry’s very much in shape, you’re painfully aware of that in the moment, and you can’t help but let your gaze fall to his chiseled abdomen.
His eyes quickly dart away from you, as yours do from him, and his cheeks turn pink. He continues folding his clothes, putting them in the top two drawers of the dresser. You bite your lip as you grab your pajamas and head into the bathroom, locking the door behind you.
The mirror blurs with steam from the hot water as it emerges from the shower head. You’re quick to peel the panties from your hips and the bra from your chest, tossing both on the tiled floor before stepping under the steaming stream. 
You groan softly as the hot water massages your tired muscles. The ache between your thighs is anything but soothed by the water, though, and your mind is playing the sight of Henry’s sculpted body on a loop, only intensifying your arousal.
It’s gotten to the point where the need for a bit of relief is inevitable, despite your efforts to prevent it.
Your hand trails down and dips between your legs, fingertips sliding around your slickened folds, attempting to locate the special bundle of nerves nestled beneath.
Breath hitching, you sigh softly as you begin rubbing it in small, lazy circles. Small gasps and moans escape your lips as the flames of your arousal are flamed with each swipe of your fingertips.
Unbeknownst to you, Henry has abandoned his putting-away efforts in favor of standing outside the bathroom door. He’s heard a few soft, muffled noises coming from the room, so he decided to approach and make sure that nothing’s wrong.
His length twitches to life beneath his jeans as he realizes what exactly it is those noises mean, what you're likely doing in there. He wonders, as he reaches down to cup his swelling arousal, if this was brought on by the sight of his naked torso.
You exhale shakily, lining up and pushing two fingers into your wet heat, biting your lip to try and suppress the gasp that escapes your throat. 
Henry grunts softly upon hearing this slip-up, shaky hands fiddling with his belt buckle, then with the button and zipper on his pants. He pulls his cock out in a rushed manner, ear pressing against the door while his hand starts to move up and down his shaft.
He hears something come from behind the door, but it’s too muffled by the wood that he can’t make out exactly what you said, which is probably a good thing.
“F-Fuck...Henry.” You breathe quietly, moving your digits in and out of your entrance swiftly, curling them up sporadically in order to tease your g-spot. “Shit.”
A low growl slips out as his length hardens further with his hand’s movements, slit starting to drool semi-transparent beads of liquid. He slicks them down his shaft, allowing his calloused palm to glide easier.
Your release quickly builds up inside you, hips jerking and twitching instinctively each time your fingers stimulate the special spot on your inner walls. It’s not long before you’re cumming all over your fingers with a series of soft moans and whines.
These small noises meet his ears and, within a minute, Henry reaches his own climax. He covers his mouth, a long groan muffled by the skin of his palm as ropes of seed spill out all over his palm and some onto the doorframe.
He rushes to wipe the evidence of his release from the scene, scrambling to grab his dirty t-shirt in order to do so. He hears you stepping out of the shower and quickly tucks himself back into his pants, running over to sit on his bed.
You emerge from the bathroom a minute or so later with only a towel on. He avoids eye contact, gathering his own clothes and heading into the bathroom for a quick shower.
You’re already tucked into bed and reading when Henry comes out of the bathroom in his boxers, ruffling his hair with the towel once more time before hanging it back up on the bathroom hook. 
After finishing a chapter, you tuck your bookmark back between the pages before setting it down on your bedside table, turning the lamp off. You doze off soon after.
Henry waits patiently, very patiently, until he’s absolutely sure you’re fast asleep. His cock twitches and stirs in his boxers as he thinks about his plan of attack, how he’ll do this without waking you.
He knows this is wrong, but he just can’t help himself; it’s been too long and his hand simply isn’t doing this trick anymore. And you are his wife, after all.
His fingers reach under the covers, experimentally dragging his hand up your exposed thigh. You don’t seem to really mind, but an innocent-enough thigh touch and his cock inside you are two very different things.
So, he figures that he should probably try his fingers first. At least that’d be easier to explain in the event that you wake up and find him knuckle-deep in your cunt.
Sure, he thinks you’re physically attractive, objectively, but he doesn’t have any more than sexual feelings for you. You’re his best friend and he wants to keep it that way.
But...all that can wait until tomorrow. For now, he needs this from you; he desperately needs this.
You’re laying on your front, so he’s careful as he mounts you from behind, gently encouraging your legs apart with his knee. Once you’re spread apart enough, he slips his hand down to cup your crotch, biting his lip when he feels the natural heat already present. 
He smirks, slipping his fingers between your pussy lips, searching for the spot that’ll get you nice and wet for him. Your hips naturally surge upwards when he finds it, a small grunt escaping your lips, but you remain asleep.
A breath of relief slips through the gaps of his perfectly crooked teeth as he continues rubbing you. It’s not long before you become slick, providing the natural lubricant for his fingers to glide easier.
His fingers begin to tease your puckered entrance, and he slowly slides one of the thick digits in, groaning under his breath as you clench so tightly around him. 
“Little slut. Wants it even in her sleep.” He muses with a devious smirk, beginning to move his finger in and out with great care and caution.
You moan softly, subconsciously spreading your legs wider for him. He shudders with arousal at this simple movement, palming his hardened cock over the thin material of his boxers while a second finger joins the first inside of you.
He’s so hard, he almost can’t see straight, absolutely loving the way you react to his touch. You’re fast asleep, unaware of his touch; and yet, you’re still soaked and squirming for him. There’s something so deliciously wrong about this that makes him throb.
Soon, he can’t hold himself back anymore. He pulls his cock from beneath the airy fabric, stroking himself as he allows his hand to run over your backside. His jaw clenches, suppressing the moans that so desperately want to come out.
Finally, the moment of truth. Will you wake up when he slides in?
The buzz, the adrenaline rush he’s getting from this is practically unmatched by anything in his day-to-day life. Not even his shows, his performances bring him this much of a rush.
He lines himself up with your entrance, pushing in slowly, biting down on his lip hard as a soft groan slips out. You’re so tight, so wet, so hot, so perfect. 
You moan loudly, body and hips wriggling as your insides adjust to his length and thickness. It takes every ounce of his willpower to stay still, to let you adjust to the sudden intrusion. He wants nothing more than to pound you into the mattress and cum deep inside you, but he can’t do either of those things.
His hips roll softly, gently, cock dragging against your walls at an almost painfully slow pace. Your walls clench so tightly around him and he has to white-knuckle the headboard in order to keep himself centered and restrained.
You’re stirring a bit, but you’re still asleep, and Henry feels his climax already starting to build. Normally he’d be ashamed of this fact, but it’s probably best if he doesn’t drag this out.
The little noises escaping your lips only spur Henry on, each of your little grunts, groans, whimpers and moans are like music to his ears. 
With only a few more thrusts, combined with the sight of your ass jiggling each time his skin collides with yours, Henry’s cumming. He pulls out in the knick of time, shooting his seed all over your little pajama shorts, secretly hoping his cum stains them.
He strokes himself through orgasm, riding out his high to its fullest before re-adjusting your shorts and tucking himself back into his boxers, laying down next to you.
A soft sigh leaves his lips as he catches his breath, flipping over and sitting to grab the pack of cigarettes from the bedside table, heading out to the small balcony. 
Plumes of gray smoke linger in the still summer night as Henry looks out onto the lake, admiring the soft moonlight reflecting off the bouncing water. He comes back in after a few minutes and climbs back into bed, eyes fluttering shut.
Maybe being married to you wasn’t so bad, after all.
83 notes · View notes
kozumiya · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
summary : a pretty sweet girl like you, compared to a guy like Bakugo Katsuki how would two complete opposites end up together?
a/n's note : there'll be a part two to this HEOWGWW
bakugo katsuki x fem! reader | fluff!
warnings : cussing
word count : 0.8k | 883 words!
<- go to my navigation! my main masterlist!->
Tumblr media
It would be impossible for opposites to attract, but is it really true? You're in the same course as Bakugo Katsuki, but you two had oh so different views about what heroes should be, he thinks the heroes should only live to defeat the villains while you think that your future purpose is to save the people from evil.
You always disagreed with each other, but you preferred not to fight yet you still showed skepticism towards his views and how people should praise him for being the next number one hero.“You’re delusional Y/N, thinking that merely saving people with no quirks? Hah! You’re a dumb shit ain’t ya?” He scoffed, shaking his head, his legs placed on his desk. You merely laughed quietly, your hands placed daintly on your own desk. Your other classmates looked at Bakugo nervously, he might possibly attack you if you hiss something back at him, poofs of smoke arising from his balled fists. “If you think defeating villains is the only purpose of a hero then okay, I don't have any problems with that, but that doesn't mean you can critique my views can you Katsuki-kun?” He turned his head, his spiky rough-looking hair getting wafted by the air. He made a "tsk!" sound and closed his eyes, his nose scrunched weirdly.
This was almost part of your daily schedule, you always bicker about your thoughts, but you weren't that angry at each other, because his feelings and thoughts were extremely and very different.
Katsuki although as angry as he always is, has a soft spot for you. He smiles more often whenever you're around, his demeanor changing as well. You were completely different from him, but he liked you, as a crush. It bothered him that you were so kind, nice and so soft always that it unsettled him deeply.
You felt the same for him, your eyes always looking for the familiar spiky nature of his hair and when you do, you find ways to get closer and closer. Most people would be scared whenever he gets pissed, but not you, you smile when he does. He grumbles whenever you smile at him and you think it's so cute you let out a small giggle under your breath.
The Bakusquad notices this on a daily basis, as Kirishima said it seemed you were like an old couple, making you laugh loudly and Katsuki scowl at him but he was sort of happy about it. It was noticeable to others too, but it seemed both sides were too shy, too shy to try and confess.
Thankfully, Mina gave you a little push. “If you're not going to confess to him, someone will eventually. Would you want that, Y/N-chan?” She said teasingly one rainy day, making you twitch weirdly. You looked at Mina who was smirking at you, “You actually don't know you two have been acting like an angry couple these past weeks?”
You shook your head, heat rising in your cheeks. It wasn't like you saw it, you sadly though of it only as a friendly bickering and Katsuki honestly did as well. He was currently being escorted down the hallway by Kirishima and Kaminari, teasing him about you.
“If you're not gonna confess to Y/N, I will, she's hot!” Kaminari said happily, arms swinging from side to side slowly as he glanced at Bakugo. A unexplainable frown on his face, “Yeah? Go ahead, I don't fuckin' care alright?” The spiky-haired boy said in a deep growly voice that eminated something weirdly scary.
“Are you sure? I'm gonna drop by her room and tell her, maybe she-” Kaminari talked once more only to be shutted up by Bakugo, who grumbled again. “Alright fuckers alright, I like her okay? Now please shut the fuck up and let me confess to her myself you shits.” He sighed, heading towards your dorm.
Mina passed by him with a smile on her face, mere minutes later you went out the room, being greeted by an angry Bakugo who looked curiously down the floor.
“Hey.” He said shyly, which was super off character of him. You replied happily asking him what he was doing around near the girl's rooms, he bit his lip nervously, looking up to check if any of the CCTV's were in their direction. “Um... I- err.. fuck-um..” He mumbled, shaking his head.
“Err- we don't really agree on a lot of stuff, righ'? But... I like you? I like you as in, as a crush? Does that sound dumb as hell?” He said nervously, your eyes widening slowly. “‘t‘s not dumb Katsuki-kun, I-I like you too.” You gasped softly.
“Y-you do? Huh, uh-huh, yep. Err, Imma just go...” Bakugo murmured once again, running down the stairs. You heard bumps against the walls near the stairs and laughs from familiar voices. You giggled to yourself, getting back inside.
A ping from your phone making your attention turn, Katsuki's name appearing at the lock screen, a message just right down it.
[4:37 p.m] Bakugo : Can we go on a date later? need to get away from Shitty-hair and Electric idiot
You smiled to yourself as you replied a short yes accompanied with a heart emoji, you pressed your phone against your chest and sighed. Maybe opposites do attract, sometimes.
Tumblr media
@kozumiya 2021, please do not copy, repost, modify any of my works! all rights reserved.
68 notes · View notes
ofherlionheart · 3 years
Text
hey uh. wanted a quick writing exercise so here’s some boo chronicles: part i from zuko’s pov
—————
It’s not the first time he’s been slumped over his kitchen island at a stupid hour, eyes drying out as his tries to finish yet another dull paper by someone who’s allegedly smart enough to be relevant to his field, and it’s also far from the last time he’ll do this, but that doesn’t mean Zuko can’t huff about it. As his eyes glaze over another paragraph, he absently taps out a text to Sokka, because Sokka always has something funny to say about whatever’s on Zuko’s mind—even his petty complaints.
He’s just set his phone facedown on the counter again when his text tone dings. Zuko blinks. Sokka’s never up at this hour, but …
like u wouldn’t kiss bersani’s gravehole
Zuko smiles and shifts his thumb to slide the text open when another message appears with a chime: hey. would u be my pretend boyf plus-one for a wedding in two weeks?
He drops his phone, shooting upright in his seat and staring at his cell warily.
That’s. That’s one hell of a loaded, unexpected question.
Except Sokka doesn’t know about Zuko’s feelings for him. Zuko’s continued to treat one of his best friends like a best friend, because … because. Because Zuko knows he had his chance when they first met, seven years ago, but Zuko wasn’t ready for Sokka and wasn’t ready for anyone, really. And then Sokka moved on and that was fine, really, because this thing between them is as profound as Zuko’s relationship with Mai or Azula or Ty Lee, and Zuko wouldn’t trade it for the world.
He picks up his phone and replies, what?
A second later, a photo of Sokka wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses as he pretends to kiss a fish he’s caught flashes onto Zuko’s screen. Sokka hates that Zuko chose this photo for his contact; he thinks it makes him look like a straight man on a dating app. Zuko has to remind him that Sokka’s the one who sent him this photo in the first place.
Zuko picks up the incoming call and immediately gets an earful of Sokka. “—be the ultimate flex of a significant other on an ex. You’re, like, the most thoughtful, big-hearted person I know, and you’re beautiful and fashionable and accomplished. You’re going to be world-renowned famous in, like, two years.”
Sokka’s always been too generous when it comes to characterizing Zuko, but that doesn’t stop the flutter in his gut. It’s a flutter that tends to rise into Zuko’s throat, making his words catch and give him away when Zuko really doesn’t want to confess to anything, so he breathes steadily and waits until the feeling subsides before he asks the logical question: “Why not Suki?”
“Suki and Zahra are almost the same person,” Sokka answers without missing a beat, “so Zahra would just take pity on Suki and shake her head at me. But she’d think you’re wildly out of my league—”
“I’m not,” Zuko automatically refutes, even as he’s thinking, Of course, Zahra. Sometimes, when he’s not thinking like a kind and generous person, he wishes Zahra were an awful human being so he could properly hate her for the ringer she put Sokka through. She’s not, though—she and Sokka were just the maybe-right people and the definitely-wrong time—so Zuko’s left with nothing more than Of course, Zahras and a heightened awareness of Sokka whenever she’s brought up.
Sokka’s still going. “—and thereby infer that I’ve grown as a person since she dumped me, and then she might even question whether walking away from me was the right choice.”
It was three years ago, and Sokka put himself back together a while back, but sometimes something slips through the cracks.
“To be clear,” Zuko says—encourages a reaffirmation, really—“Her walking away from you was the right choice. Right?”
A sigh, and then an exhaled, “Yeah.”
He wishes he could see Sokka’s face. Usually, he can read Sokka from just the tone of his voice, but one word doesn’t give him much. “Sokka, you aren’t asking me to do this just because there’s a chance you’ll feel a brief sense of victory over someone you’re actually perfectly cordial friends with … are you?”
“No,” Sokka immediately says. “I’m asking because there’s no one I’d rather have by my side than you.”
Zuko’s throat tightens.
It took him a stupidly long time, really, to realize that words don’t mean the same thing to other people as they do to him. He used to get caught up in and read into word choice and modifier placement and goddamn commas to try to understand exactly what other people meant, but it wasn’t until Mai snapped at him, once, during their senior year of high school, “For fuck’s sake, Zuko, I sent t-h-x instead of thanks because it’s quicker, not because I secretly hate you,” that he learned that words are just plain words to most people.
So he knows that Sokka doesn’t mean that he wants Zuko with him first and foremost at all times. That’s just Zuko’s literary brain slathering layers of meaning and significance onto a sentence that Sokka meant in a very, ordinary, unexceptional way.
There’s still a small part of him, though—a part he’s working on—that needs to check anyway. “As emotional support,” he says, curling and uncurling the corner of his printed article with his fingertip.
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
There’s a pause before Sokka echoes, “Okay?”
Of course, okay. Sokka wants him there, and besides, no one reads Sokka as well as Zuko does, and he doesn’t think even Suki knows the full extent of the Zahra thing. He doesn’t want to send Sokka spiraling, though, so he directs them in a safer direction: planning. “You said it’s two weeks from now?” he asks.
“Yeah, on Saturday—you’re sure?”
Sokka’s hesitation never fails to baffle Zuko. The man has always radiated steadiness, and he’s been the stalwart of their ever-evolving group of friends since forever, so much so that it took Zuko a while to parse why Sokka was ever hesitant. Now that he understands that aspect of Sokka, though, whenever his uncertainty crops up, Zuko just wants to fight anything that’s ever held his friend back. No one deserves to thrive and grow more than Sokka.
“Why would I say okay if I was’t sure?” Zuko replies.
Sokka clears his throat. “Great,” he says and then surges on. “Uh, it’s in Montreal. I don’t know what your work schedule is like, but I was planning on taking Friday off to drive up, and then come back on Sunday—”
“Works for me,” Zuko interrupts the rising ramble. He has a couple meetings, on Friday, but meetings can be made up. This can’t. “We can take my car, if you want,” he offers, because he’s actually parked in the city and certainly gets better gas mileage than Sokka.
“Actually—yeah. That’d be great.”
Zuko can tell Sokka’s mind is elsewhere, so he waits. Sure enough, he clears his throat again. “The pretend boyfriend thing … We don’t—we don’t have to do it. Bottom line, I’d just like it if you were there.”
“Are you backing out?” Zuko teases before he catches himself, and fuck, okay. There’s no going back now. But that’s fine, because he’s an adult, and he’s equipped to deal with this. They might even be able to have fun with it. “Let’s do it. I bet we can get her to second-guess herself for at least a second.”
He can hear the smile in Sokka’s voice when he agrees, “Okay.” A few clicks make it through the line; Sokka must be working with some data. “I think I should get to bed. This data set won’t process faster just because I’m watching it.”
“I wondered why you were awake right now.”
“Enjoy the Bersani booty-lickers.”
Zuko sighs—the rectum essay isn’t the only thing that Bersani’s contributed to the field—and Sokka snickers. He should let Sokka go, since his friend really isn’t a night owl, but there’s something still tickling the back of his mind. “Sokka?” he asks.
“Yeah?”
He finally grasps the thought. “You have grown as a person. Since the stuff with Zahra happened.”
It takes Sokka a moment to respond. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”
His voice is soft, in a way that it rarely is around the rest of their friends, and fuck, Zuko’s throat is acting up again. “Get some rest,” he manages and then hangs up.
This time, he intentionally drops his phone on the counter, and his forehead follows soon after. The marble is cool against his skin, and he breathes deeply against the racing of his own heart. He’s doing this, he reminds himself, because he’s the best person to help Sokka in this situation.
It’s incidental that he’s powerless to the urge to remind Sokka, in every way he knows how, that Sokka deserves to shine his brightest self at all times.
84 notes · View notes
little-murmaider · 3 years
Text
@cthene @squeeto and @failedintsave have written three distinct flavors of Skwistok Apocalypse Fic and they all live in my head rent free so I felt like doing a lil end-of-the-world scene. (If a modified version of this pops up in the Stay Alive sequel that doesn’t exist shh shh shh shut up ❤️) 
The bunker didn’t offer much in the way of creature comforts. A holdover from the Cold War, it was 1500 square feet of steel buried beneath four stories of cement. There were suggestions it had been built for a group, but there was only one bed—a twin cot that only Pickles could fit on comfortably, though Toki made due if he tucked in his knees. The bar and the armory were fully stocked. A connection to the outside world was available via a 360-degree live feed of the surface, visible from a claustrophobic surveillance room. It wasn’t impenetrable, but it was a lucky find. And until they received marching orders from Offdensen, it was home. The only spray of color amongst the sterility was a faded, amateur mural canvasing the entirety of the southwest wall. A panorama of the snowy, mountainous Montana landscape. The proportions are all out of wack: Distant trees and prominent foreground boulders seem to have the same weight and dimension. Toki sits on the floor opposite it, eyes fixed on the blobby bug-eyed buffalo grazing the sorta serene-ish tableau. He thinks of the person who painted this. How they were probably really proud of it. How making it probably brought them some form of peace. How they were long dead. The despair makes him nauseous.  Skwisgaar is curled in the space between Toki’s legs, head resting on his chest, arms wound lightly around his waist. They all agreed to take turns “keeping watch” in the surveillance room.  But everyone was on-edge, everyone was scared, everyone was a little too focused on their own anxiety to notice how deftly Skwisgaar switched shifts. His impulse to assuage the others often tipped into the unhealthy territory but in the last few weeks it had made a full tilt into self-destruction. He’d been holed up in that room, delirious with sleep deprivation, for almost two days days before Toki caught on. He was only convinced to leave when Toki started crying. (He’s not proud of that tactic, but hey, it’s the end of the world. Lots of people are doing lots of things they’re not proud of.) As he idly plays with the ends of Skwisgaar’s hair, Toki hears the echo of footfalls drawing near. They’re so swift, so light, Toki knows exactly who it is well before the worn sneakers appear in his periphery. “Hey,” Pickles says. “Heys,” Toki answers. A half-empty handle of vodka dangles from Pickles’s fingers. He tips his chin at Skwisgaar’s sleeping form. “Why doncha take th’bed?” “Nathan’s using its.” Pickles nods and takes a long pull from his drink. A beat passes.  “…That buffahlo is pretty fucked up, huh?” “I can’ts stops looking at its.” “I’ve never SEEN a buffahlo in real life but I’m,” he pauses, squinting to calculate, “73 percent sure they don’ look like that.” “Onlys 73 per-cents?”  Pickles shrugs. “I mean, hey, maybe buffahlos look exactly like that, I dunno whut I dunno.” Toki’s silent laughter shakes him. But then a muffled moan vibrates against his collarbone. “Toki?” He murmurs, sluggishly starting to rise. He code-switches on instinct. To answer in English, with an audience, is too raw. “Jeg er her.” He cups the base of Skwisgaar’s skull and guides him back to his chest. “Gå tilbake til sengs.” Skwisgaar’s hold tightens. “Lämna mig inte.” “Aldri, elskede.”  He settles against him and sighs. “Tack, älskling.”  Skwisgaar’s weight sinks into him, and after a few moments his muscles relax as his breathing falls into a slow, even rhythm. Again, it is quiet. “Whut does it mean?” Oh right Pickles is here. “Whats?” “Th’ e word and th’ a word you guys use fer each other.” Toki freezes. “At least I think they start wit’ an e and an a, I can’t be bothered t’ look up th’ spellin’ in that elven language  a’yours.” He smiles crookedly but his eyes glass over. “That and we’re 40 feet underground and th’ internet doesn’t exist anymore.” “You’ve heards us says dat?” “Dood ya do it all’a time. I may naht know what yer sayin’ but I’m pretty good at pickin’ up patterns.”  He taps out an invisible rim shot, hissing the cymbal crash as he winks. Toki briefly considers lying. But he knows it’s a waste—Pickles is primed to hacksaw through all his bullshit. “It don’ts...translates, exactly, into English.” He waits a moment to see if Pickles accepts this as an adequate explanation. He doesn’t. Toki continues shakily: “Wells, it does but nots, um, de emotion…” He scrunches his nose and starts over. “Yous don’ts use it for everybodies, yous supposed to saves it for somebody who’s really…” Sighing, he thumbs Skwisgaar’s shoulderblade like it’s a lucky talisman. “I don’ts know whens we starts doesing it.” “A while ago, dood.” Oh.
“Oh. Um. Wells.” Heat rises to his cheeks. “Elskede in Norweigian means,” he winces, “beloved, and älskling ams kinds of de ex-quibbi-kent in Swedish buts it means, uh.” He tucks his chin to his chest and shields his eyes in embarrassment. “It means darling buts you don’ts use its de way you does ins English, it’s, um...” His thumb and middle and index finger squeeze into his eye sockets so hard stars flash across his vision.  “...It’s somet’ings you use for de poirson what ams most specials to yous, likes de poirson you mights maybe marry one days wowee saysing all dis outs loud makes me feel real stupids cans I please stops?” “Okey okey.” When Toki opens his eyes he sees Pickles waving his hands like he’s trying to break up a bad smell. “Asked an’ answered.” The tips of Toki’s ears burn, a shameful sludge spreading thickly behind his sternum. He tips his head back, skull thunking dully against the wall. “Don’ts tell de guys abouts dis, Skwisgaar will nevers forgive mes.” “Nah, dood, don’ worry, this stays in th’ vault.” The drone of the overhead fluorescent lights and the muted thrum of generators thrums like locusts. Skwisgaar inhales deeply, exhales sharply, and nestles closer. Toki’s gaze darts about the terrible mural, searching for something to latch to, but his focus swings as if by gravitational pull back to Pickles’s face. When he at last resolves to glance up at him, he’s braced for ridicule. But when he does, his tension deflates. Pickles doesn’t look like he’s about to make fun of him. Pickles looks like...Toki doesn’t know what Pickles looks like. “Whats dat face?” Pickles’s smile widens, head cocking to the side. “Stops dat! What’s dat face!” “What face! There’s no face! I don’ even have a face!” He bites his lower lip, muffling a chuckle. “Awright bud, I’m naht gunna lie, me and these other dooshbeegs have had our suspicions about the, errrr aaaah...” He cinches one eye shut. “...Nature of yer relationship. But none’a us suspected you guys were, y’know…” He rolls the wrist holding the vodka, liquid splashing to the floor. Toki stares at him questioningly. “...Fully in it.” Toki blinks. “In whats?” Pickles pinches his lips and squints as if to say, come on dude, but doesn’t press further. “Welp.” He kicks backwards to push himself off the wall and stand upright. “It’s almost sunrise. Or sunset, I dunno, this steel box has really fucked up my internal clahck. But I’m gonna watch th’ sun do somethin’ wit’ Murderface until my shift on watch.” He pivots to face the long corridor leading to the surveillance room. I’ll see ya around.” He pauses. He points a finger in the air, draws a small circle, and glances over his shoulder with a small smile. “Abviously.”  He’s gone as quickly as he arrived. Toki’s attention returns to the mural. The staticky grasslands. The angular mountains. The flat plane of the lake. Toki’s not an art guy but he knows this is bad. Still, it moves him. He doesn’t understand why. Maybe he doesn’t have to. He and Skwisgaar have always talked around it. They’ve always had an understanding, leaving little secrets and codes for the other to crack. They did, mostly. It’s the same, mostly. But it’s the end of the world and Toki needs to say it out loud. He buries his face in that soft golden crown and whispers, “I loves you.” “I loves you, too,” is the sleepy reply.  He was wrong. It’s different. It’s better.  “Is likes Pickle says.” He pushes himself up to press his lips to Toki’s neck. “We’s fully ins it.”
32 notes · View notes
boop-le-snoot · 4 years
Text
PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 11
CLICK HERE IF YOU ARE A FIRST TIME READER
Tumblr media
TW for this chapter: more mild smut. more memes. more hijinks and shenanigans. coffee make the brain go skrrrt. bruce fluff & thor being a good bro™. some1 is catching ✨feelings✨. Previous chapters in the link above the cover pic.
Beta reader is @miscmarvelwritings so don't be shy, give her a read. She's the PB to my jelly.
Tumblr media
"I don't know about you..." Taylor Swift softly sang from the speakers.
"Bitch, I hope the fuck you do!" I shouted, tumbling into the kitchen with the grace of a giraffe on acid. The smell of coffee and fresh omelettes was mouthwatering. 
"You look… Good," Peter stared at me, his coffee mug frozen halfway to his mouth. The tone of his voice bore very little understanding of the situation he found himself in.
I didn't sleep that night, instead pursuing a scientific quest right after being finger-fucked by Tony Stark. I blame the suits - he had one partially disassembled not ten feet from the puddle my juices had made on the floor - and well, I never said I had a great attention span. One terrible, inappropriate joke had led us to smirking to each other from both sides of the suit as we brainstormed how to best modify it for impromptu bondage sessions. If Peter could have heard us go at it, he'd never set foot in Tony's lab ever again.
On my mighty quest to quench the thirst for knowledge, I completely neglected basic hygiene, so the me that rolled into the kitchen that morning still had yesterday's outfit consisting of fishnets and Tony's hoodie, possibly stained with cum and pussy juice. As a bonus feature, infamous raccoon eyes had made an appearance, courtesy of me rubbing my face multiple times throughout the night.
"I'm feeling my oats," I declared proudly, sitting down next to Peter, making grabby hands at the coffee machine.
"I'm tempted to ask..." Clint handed me the steaming hot dish full of holy bean juice. "But I think I'd rather not." Pointedly, he moved away from me, just enough to make it known he was wary.
"What just happened?" Stephen Strange blinked owlishly.
Boy was he a sight for sore eyes. The wizard wasn't Tony, of course, but his plain white tee left very little to imagination, pulled tight across his toned chest and lean arms. The grey sweats? Illegal. That's a bonk and a ticket to the horny jail for me.
"You didn't get to sleep? Again?" Peter asked, exasperated.
"Sleep who?" I chirped, feeling way too energetic for someone running on some illegal drugs and a single orgasm. It was easy to shrug off the concerned stares I kept getting from the adults and Pete since my already wacky attention span decided to quit it's job without notice.
"Guys, have you seen… oh, there she is!" Tony scrambled into the kitchen, holding his head. That manic look did nothing for his complexion, but then again, I'd take him even filthy and crippled. "Don't just disappear like that!" He snatched the half-empty coffee cup, downing it's remnants in one go and immediately going for a refill. "We didn't finish programming in the shibari function..." He mumbled, absentmindedly running a hand through his messy, greasy hair.
"I..." Peter was still frozen. "I'm not sure I, uh, follow."
"So, me and Tones had this absolutely BRILLIANT idea ..." I started, leaning back in my chair. "But the execution, as usual, needs more work."
"Yes, I can see you've been having ideas," Pete's sass was ignored by both me and Tony. The man was kind enough to clumsily plop a coffee cup in front of me as he was beelining for the fridge. "What are you trying to install? Shib-what?"
"You don't want to know, Pete, trust me," Clint made big eyes at me from across the room. "I'm scared of you," He added, pointing an accusative finger in my direction.
I gave him my best manic stare, probably overdid it by a wide margin. Barton shrunk back, slinking subtly behind Stephen who cleared his throat.
"So I've heard you had an incident yesterday," The doctor was looking at me with concern and pity. "Do you need to visit the medbay?"
About a dozen unsaid and very inappropriate responses later, I simply shook my head negative. My mouth was not to be trusted whilst I was so distracted. Plus, he was hot. I kind of tended to think with my vagina instead of my brain around hot people.
"Good morning," Wanda entered the room, stopping briefly at my side to give me a hug. "Ugh, finally," She muttered the words, looking first at me, then at Tony. 
I raised my eyebrow in a silent question and she just smiled, reaching for her own coffee cup.
Tony mercilessly towed me back to his lab once I polished off two omelettes and another cup of coffee - what would've been my fourth was snatched out by an amused Stephen, all stern and firm and magical, meaning he simply whooshed it out of existence as I was raising it to my mouth. He didn't appreciate my choice of expletives, either, none too fondly rolling his eyes and beginning a lecture on heart attacks. Whatever, Tony was my knight in shining armour and we left the kitchen quietly plotting our mechanical plots right over the annoying doctor's mumbling. 
There was quite a lot of delicate soldering involved in the gauntlets of the new suit. Having to construct and fix everything on the go proved to be harder than building a robot; even for Tony, the genius engineer himself. We had burned ourselves and nearly dislocated our wrists too many times to count. Thankfully Friday ran the calculations in the background, so we just did the manual labor part.
And coding. The pounding in my skull, the acid in my loins. My God, I hated coding during a hangover. Tony didn't fare any better and that was the best consolation, really. Despite the consumed caffeine, he passed out somewhere during the initial stage. I held out not much longer, barely catching myself as I was reclining against him on the very floor we were building on, scattered cups and tools and glowing holo-screens keeping us company. 
My sleep was deep but not deep enough to miss a pair of deep male voices contemplating how to best move mine and Tony's sleeping bodies somewhere more comfortable. The engineer was a cuddler, it turns out, and refused to unwind himself from my prone body, going as far as to kick one of the men - I later learned it was Thor who got a swift punt in the shins from Tony when the Asgardian and Banner attempted to untangle our combined limbs. In the end, they settled awkwardly piling me on top of Tony and Thor single-handedly carried us all the way to Tony's penthouse, depositing us in the absolutely magnificent fluffy, enormous bed.
The bed? I wanted one as soon as I landed on it.
The fishnets? They were beginning to cut into the soft parts of my body, causing an uncomfortable stinging and itching sensation whenever I moved.
"Bwucie," I slurred with my eyes shut, feeling the man rustling around with a blanket, tucking us in. He was just the sweetest scientist.
"Sorry, we tried not to wake you up. Go back to sleep, Princess," He whispered, leaning closer to my face. His breath tickled my hair.
"M'kay, jus' wanna get these off," I weakly pulled at the offending piece of clothing.
The man chuckled. "That looks uncomfortable," Before softly sliding his hands up my legs, hooking his fingers under the stretchy waistband and pulling them down. His hands were hot and soft; my moan was softer but he heard it nonetheless, hand briefly stilling on my thigh.
I snuggled deeper into Tony, rolling onto my side and unashamedly throwing a leg over his hips, happy to find his jeans were off, too.
It appeared that Tony's teammates had already developed some sort of care protocol for their resident mad scientists. Bruce's and Thor's actions had been executed with a practiced care and gentleness. The warm fuzzy feeling in my chest blossomed fully as Bruce once more tucked the blanket around me, tenderly patting me on the back and Tony on the shoulder.
"You'nThor, y'the best," I managed to wiggle out the words out of my muddled, uncooperative brain before returning back to the dreamland.
It felt like another ten minute nap when I woke up again. The lights in the room were off, the NYC skyline providing the illumination instead. Tony was still in bed with me, his breathing even and the quiet hum of the arc reactor steady under my ear. It was the first time I'd been close enough to him to hear the sound of it. 
Sleep slowly seeped out of my body, lead disappearing from my limbs. It seemed like I hadn't moved at all. Once my head cleared up, the confusion seeped in. I'd gone to second base with Tony and we did science and never spoke of it again. He didn't kiss me, didn't touch me more than usual - but didn't resist a good ole sleepy cuddle.
What now? I never thought I'd actually get this far. Some part of me - probably the same part that sent me on a romantic novel reading spree a couple of years ago - thought he'd wake up, confess his secret love and attraction for me and we'd seal it with a kiss. Yeah, no, that sounded disgustingly unrealistic even to my own ears. There was no way I would be kissing someone with this swamp I had going on in my mouth.
I wasn't actually that naïve. Why would a man like him pursue something serious with a girl like me? I was a child in his eyes. In fact, all of the Avengers minus Wanda and Bucky treated me like a child. I knew why and I still hated it. I've been taking care of myself in all the ways but financial for years, surely, they had to have noticed that. Teachers in school certainly did. Bruce did, to some extent, I had to admit begrudgingly. Even if his behaviour was really peculiar sometimes.
"Do I make a comfortable pillow, Princess?" A chuckle startled me out of my musings. Tony sounded relaxed and warm and cosy.
"Yeah," I answered honestly, tilting to see his face. He was giving me that lopsided smirk, the one he previously saved for science and Peter and Clint's baking ventures. Something within me stirred, painfully tightening my chest, and I fought against it to preserve this memory like this - happy, carefree.
His thumb found it's way around me, tracing the line of my jaw with surprising tenderness. He was looking at me like I was made of glass. Like I was the most beautiful sculpture he'd ever seen.
I scrunched my nose when his finger found my lips. "I need a shower and a toothbrush," I declared, not knowing what else to do. All of this - the atmosphere, the shared comfort, the looks - it felt too intimate somehow. Having to be on full display of his intelligent, deep brown eyes was terrifying: I felt like crying one moment and laughing the next.
"I was having a moment here," Tony snorted indignantly but relented nonetheless, slowly pushing himself up in a sitting position. 
I admired his broad shoulders and the dips and valleys of his arms as he stretched; he caught me staring and winked, of course. I retaliated with skimming my fingertips under the hem of his tee, lightly scratching my nails over his defined abs, delighted with his shiver. 
"Behave," He sternly mouthed, following with a smile.
"Never," I smiled back, slipping into banter with comfortable familiarity.
He then led me to the huge walk-in shower, unashamedly stripping off his shirt and socks on the way. Boxers were the last, flying somewhere over my head. My hormones were a raging inferno, or, at least that's what I would have said if someone asked me why the 'loading' icon was hanging over my head as I stared at Tony's round, firm ass. I had to touch it. I absolutely had to touch it, at least once in my life. 
My dignity was saved by my own yawn. Tony's hands used the opportunity to slide his hoodie (RIP) over my head, exposing me to the cold air. I shivered in my lacy bra and panties until they were gone, too. My flaws stared back at me from the wall-length mirror and with the way Tony's hands gently settled over my stomach, another hand copping a feel of my breast, I couldn't bring myself to care.
"Beautiful, Princess," He simply said, having noticed the frown on my face.
"No, you," I automatically replied, smirking.
"Me? Nah," He shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing to his arc reactor. "Sexy, however... I'm definitely fucking hot," He leered, pressing his hips into mine with a knowing smirk.
I wiggled my butt, taking my time to turn around and face him. I saw right through the defenses he'd put up. The team didn't start calling me "girl version of Tony" without a reason - I knew we were quite similar in the less desirable character trait category. Impulsive, selfish. Defensive.
Angry red lines spanned across his chest, some faded, some raised. In the middle of it all, the arc reactor shone like a blue little sun in its metal framing. I traced around it, feeling the uneven skin, bumps and dips of it. "It keeps you alive. That's more than enough. For me," I placed a chaste kiss right in the middle of it. 
I wished he didn't have to have the thing. I wished he'd never had to go through what he went though in Afghanistan - for me, the press release I'd read was enough to get a grasp on the fact he was tortured and hurt and fucked up in there.
Stepping into the shower, I retreated from him, retreated from my feelings getting in the way and ruining the fun. The least I wanted to do was humiliate myself by crying out of... Out of what, pity? Lovesickness?
"I'm starting to see why everybody else thinks we might be related," Tony's chuckle sounded tired and slightly forced.
"I hope not," A moment to figure out what knob to turn and hot water rained down my body. Almost instantly, the tension in me melted away. "I'm not really into incest and shit."
"Ew," He walked under the stream, sighing agreeably. "But you're into bondage, so you've got that going on for you."
"Yep. Bondage and hot old dudes," I shrugged, reaching for the shampoo.
"I definitely qualify for all three," Tony promptly snatched the bottle out of my hands, standing behind me to do the tedious task of washing me. I allowed, guiltlessly enjoying the treatment. His dexterous fingers massaged my scalp, caressed my body. 
A moan slipped out of me at the glide of his hand across my nether regions.
"Tut-tut, Birdbrain is going to pitch a fit if we're late for dinner!"
"Fuck the Chicken," I announced petulantly, attempting to follow the motion of his hand with my hips. He held me firmly by my stomach, only succeeding in adding fuel to the fire within me. "Tony-y-y..."
"Nu-uh," He replied, but the smile hidden in my shoulder and the boner poking me in the hip gave him away.
"Sir?" I tried, getting a low groan in response. "Master? Owner? Daddy?" 
His breath stuttered at the last syllable, teeth closing none-too-gently around a patch of my skin. I felt a bruise bloom under his mouth, the delicious pull of it making me realize I'd be marked by Tony for days. A full-body shudder erupted from me at the thought. 
"You're trouble," He growled, grinding his own arousal into my ass. "Filthy, spoiled brat," Tony punctuated his words with another claiming bite on my shoulder blade. 
"I'm your trouble now," I smirked, relishing in all the attention my body was getting. The fingers that granted me sweet ecstasy at night a fresh memory in my mind, I relented my own urgent need in favour of repaying the man of my dreams for his troubles. 
One smirk and my knees rested comfortably on the strangely soft floor of the shower. I came face to face with Tony's hard cock. It stood proudly, the flushed tip of it dripping - with water or pre-come, I didn't know, but was eager to find out. 
"Fuck," Tony gasped, gazing down at me in astonishment as I tongued the slit of his cockhead. "You dirty little thing," He seemed to gather his wits quickly enough, bracing himself against the wall with one hand. 
He was just about to find out how dirty, I decided. There was something satisfying on a purely primal level, seeing a powerful man absolutely losing it with his dick in my mouth. Rapidly, I swallowed as much of him as I could. His girth throbbed. 
"Ruin me?" I popped off, resting my cheek against the hardness of it, tugging on his free hand to place it in my hair. My own arousal flared in response to his bewildered hunger.
Tony wasted no time in fisting a hand in my hair, carefully but firmly putting my mouth onto his cock. Inch after inch disappeared within my mouth; I was breathing through my nose as he slowly began fucking my mouth.
"Fuck, Jesus Christ, Princess, fuck," The mantra fell from his lips, echoing in the large room, mixing in with the water still pouring onto our bodies from above. The heat of it had nothing on the smouldering fire in my belly where it coiled tight and low. Tony's musk on my tongue, the firm hold on my hair. He truly held me, in body and in mind. There was nowhere else I'd rather be than on my knees for him.
I moaned around him causing a stutter in the moderate tempo. Our eyes met: his, wide and gleaming captured my own and I couldn't look away. With a wanton moan, Tony increased the pace, it quickly became brutal and punishing. I held onto his thighs for dear life, wordlessly pleading him to use my mouth for his own pleasure. 
And he took it, shamelessly, emptying himself into my mouth with a groan that nearly made me come untouched. It was beautiful and I swallowed every drop of him, refusing to let the evidence of his bliss go to waste. 
"Fuck," His voice was ragged. 
I rested my cheek against his thick thigh, catching my breath. "Good?" Just to quickly be pulled to my feet, trapped between his hot, wet body and the chilly tiles of the nearest wall. The shiver that ran through me was only partially caused by the sudden change in temperature.
"You did so good, you're my good girl," He mumbled against my lips, sliding his tongue into my mouth without any restraint. His other hand slid between my legs, immediately toying with my clit. That and the hastily spoken praise coupled with the feverish way he was licking himself out of my mouth sent me over the edge, until I was falling, stumbling head-first into an ecstatic abyss.
"Mmm... Tony," Dreamily, I savoured the moment.
"Oh, we're back to first name basis?" He snarked, finally turning off the water.
Pliant as ever, I followed him out of the shower and into his walk-in closet where he pointed at a row of t-shirts and hoodies. I grinned mischievously as I took my pick. "Daddy?"
Tumblr media
THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @softie-socks @sleep-i-ness @gigglyfox01 @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn
169 notes · View notes
myherowritings · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
PART 4. HOW THE RICH SUCK THEIR OWN DICKS
SUMMARY. Todoroki Shouto was a wealthy, young CEO who inherited his father’s enterprise. You were a barista at a local cafe who wouldn’t mind some extra cash. One day, Shouto came in during an early morning shift and tipped you such a large sum of money, you were certain it had to have been an accident. To your surprise and complete pleasure: It was not.
PAIRING. ceo!todoroki shouto x barista!reader
WORD COUNT. 2.9k
GENRE. ceo/barista au, fluff, eventual smut
WARNINGS. enji makes an appearance bleh, enji being classist, enji...ew, okay i swear most of the chapter is shouto and y/n being cute though 
A/N. ngl i have genshin brainrot real bad at the moment but i still have motivation for ceo!shouto and ceo!shouto only u.u there are only 7 parts to this series so we’re at the halfway mark already AHHH i hope u enjoy reading and lmk what u think!! :3 xx sof
SERIES MASTERLIST
© myherowritings — all rights reserved. reposting, modifying, copying, or translating of any kind is not allowed. do not read my writing as asmr. do not plagiarize.
Tumblr media
Shouto’s day went from good to bad faster than it took to pull an espresso. 
It started off with a good morning text from you and having a brief, but pleasant, interaction at your work. Actually, the past few weeks have been going along a similar routine that he found himself settling into all too comfortably. You even upheld your promise of stealing him away one weekend to walk around the park, get food, and just have time to relax and be happy for once. 
Getting to be in your presence almost daily became so normalized in his life that even some of his employees heard about the cute barista with the best pastries. Yet, although he saw you often, he found himself wanting to talk to you more and more.
But for now, Shouto told himself to settle with starting the mornings off with you. They were the best mornings he’s had in a while and he didn’t want to sound ungrateful. 
Today, however, went sour fast after he heard his father was coming up to the top floor for a meeting with him. He didn’t find the idea of Enji visiting to be the most abhorrent thing, but the moment his father opened his mouth, Shouto quickly took that back. 
As expected, his father reminded him about the annual charity gala Todoroki Enterprises was expected to attend. Handfuls of galas ran through the year, but the once hosted by Naruhata Industries under the guise of raising money and awareness for the charities of choice.
In theory, a charity gala ball sounded humanitarian and a way for the upper class to give back, but in reality, most of the funds collected didn’t go to the actual charities, instead they went to paying for the venue, live bands, entertainment, the most expensive catering, decorations, and more. What presented itself as a charitable event in the eyes of the public was really a way rich people could flaunt their wealth and feel good about themselves for doing absolutely nothing to benefit society. A way for the rich to suck their own dicks, if you would. 
Shouto absolutely hated it. 
It was also a press opportunity and, in his father’s eyes, a way to gain public favor for the Todoroki business. Today, Enji attempted to tell him that bringing a date that fit the mold of high society was the best way for him to establish rapport through media coverage. Apparently, the image news outlets have placed on Shouto were either a heartbreaker and playboy with no care for other’s emotions, or a monotonous stoic who seemed like a robot with no care for other’s emotions.
In either cases, there seemed to be a theme of Shouto not caring for others. 
He sighed. 
“You can’t keep that image, Shouto,” said Enji with his arms folded across his chest. “If the media sees you with someone—a nice girl with a good upbringing—then your likeability will increase tenfold. If there’s no one you like, I’ll have to set up a date for you.”
For a while, he was torn between telling his dad to fuck off and trying to do as he said to keep peace within the family. But then, an image of you popped into his head.
“Actually, there is someone I like.” 
Enji narrowed his eyes. “Oh? An educated girl with wealthy parents?”
“There’s someone I like,” he simply repeated, the tone in his voice growing cold. 
He didn’t know anything about your upbringing or family nor did he exactly care. Shouto didn’t want to bring a date to the dumb gala, but if he had to, he would want it to be you. Only if you agreed, of course. But if you weren’t willing, then he had to face the facts that his father would most likely force a date of his own choosing upon Shouto. 
“That’s good you like someone, son,” Enji said through his teeth, “but we have to make sure it’s not some sort of...loose woman. That’d be even worse publicity—”
“I like someone and if you really cared about my happiness like you said you did, that’d be enough.”
There was a tense silence in the air. Shouto didn’t have enough fingers to count the number of times Enji had told him and his siblings that he would try to be a better dad. A caring dad who only wanted what was best for his children. A better husband for Rei. A better example for the public. The first few times, Shouto believed it. But Enji said the same things over and over again with no lasting change and Shouto was just fed up. 
After hearing the same lie told to him over and over again, it seemed to lose its weight. He seemed to lose his hope in his father ever changing.
Still, Shouto had to deal with him for as long as he lived. That much he knew as a son living in this society. 
But he hoped Enji at least had enough guilt to let him have this.
“Fine.”
Shouto blinked in surprise. 
Enji stated, “If you think your date can help your public image and not be a complete embarrassment to the business, you can bring them.”
That was the closest thing to approval Shouto would get today. He nodded and listened along to whatever else his father had to say, the only thing actually on his mind was thinking about how he would ask you out on a date to some stuffy gala. And hope that you’d say yes.
— ✩ —
“Wait, so, let me get this straight— You’re the CEO of Todoroki Enterprises and even after almost two months of knowing you, I had no clue?”
He inclined his head, looking solemn. “Yes, I’m sorry. Are you upset with me for not telling you sooner?” 
Initial shock aside, you couldn’t say that you were too surprised at the revelation. You knew Shouto was wealthy and probably in some high-up position in the business industry, but you never knew to what extent. A CEO? That had to be the highest rank in a company! And a company as well known as Todoroki Enterprises? 
The thought made you a little nervous. The guy you slowly befriended over the course of short cafe visits and silly texts was Mr. Todoroki? Or worse— The guy you stole away from doing work for a whole weekend was someone as busy as a CEO? You internally groaned. That had to be against laws of the universe or something. 
“I’m not upset, no,” you said with a shake of your head. “I just...can’t believe it I guess.” Eyes widening, you were quick to amend your words. “Well, I can believe it. You seem very intelligent and well-put together and, uh, rich! But I guess I just didn’t think a CEO would be so funny and kind.” You winced. “Oh no, is that mean to say?”
“I don’t think it’s mean.” He shrugged. “You’re right to say most people in this field aren’t known for their delightful temperaments.” 
You absentmindedly drummed your finger against your thigh, trying to process this new information. “So you’re Todoroki Shouto...and you want me to be your date to the Naruhata Charity Ball?” 
“Yeah. I know it’s a huge favor to ask, and I promise you can say no if you choose,” said Shouto in earnest. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to agree.” 
With a hum, you stretched your legs out under the table before crossing one over the other again. It was a Saturday afternoon where you had no work and Shouto managed to escape from his for a few hours of the day. You took him to your favorite ice cream place nearby and the two of you ate at a dining area outside the establishment. 
Just a mundane day as two friends hanging out with each other where you found out one of those friends was the chief executive officer of a billion dollar business headquartered in Japan. 
Totally normal, everyday occurrences, obviously. 
“And you need a date for this event?” you asked. In all honesty, you would be more than happy if Shouto asked you out on a date. He was fun and you enjoyed getting to know him. But these particular circumstances made you a tad bit more nervous.
“I normally wouldn’t need to bring one, but my father insists it’d help my public image and in turn the image of the company.” With a pinched look on his face, he took a bite of his ice cream. “In other words I bring a date or he picks one for me.” 
You weren’t the most caught up on super rich people drama, but it was almost infamous how estranged the Todoroki family was. Again, you didn’t know much but you did know enough to say that Todoroki Enji seemed like a Class A asshole. If you could help Shouto out with his weird dilemma, you saw no reason not to. 
“So this charita gala is like where they have those live auctions and silent auctions and get tipsy on fancy wine and champagne for hours right?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah. Have you attended one?” 
“Not quite,” you said with a sheepish smile. “I’ve volunteered at one in school though. As one of those runners? It was fun. I got a bunch of those tiny complimentary candies!” Your mouth watered at the memory. “What kind of drug were in those candies? I’ve never had candy so good before!”
“The tiny, circular candies with the excessively big wrapper? The fruity ones?”
You shot up in your seat, excited he knew what you were talking about. “Yes! That’s the one!” 
The corners of his mouth quirked upwards. “I always see those at these types of events.”
“So… The candy will be there at the gala you want me to accompany you to?” 
“Most likely.”
“Can I take a bunch of those from candies there…?” you asked with an optimistic grin.
“I’ll be your accomplice in sneaking them out.”
“It’s a date!” you said before Shouto could get another word out. 
You’d be reunited with those yummy, fancy candies you’ve been separated from for far too long. What other reason did you need to agree? 
With a determined look on your face, you held your hand out for Shouto to shake to seal the deal. 
He blinked. “Wait. Did you want to discuss it some more? Maybe have a few days to think it through? I’m grateful, of course, but I don’t want you regretting anything.”
“No. I won’t regret it. I’d do anything to taste those candies again.”
Shouto looked unsure what to say. “Isn’t there some parable warning people not to be bribed by candy?”
“Not to take candy from a baby?”
“No. Not that one.”
“That’s the only one I know.”
“Never mind then.” 
The two of you exchanged confused looks before letting out fits of laughter. You weren’t sure if either of you knew exactly what the other was laughing at, but the moment was an enjoyable one nonetheless. 
“Yet another reason to bring me to that fancy event— I’ll make sure you’re entertained all the way through,” you playfully bragged, smoothing down the front of your shirt. 
“The event will definitely be more bearable with you there.” He licked a small bit of his ice cream from his pink spoon, making a sound of approval. “But you can change your mind about coming at any time, Y/N.”
“I won’t,” you said, holding a pinky out. “Pinky promise.”
With what seemed like a bashful expression on his face, Shouto extended his own pinky to interlock yours. You sealed it with a kiss and a heart, like you were a kid again. 
“Now, am I supposed to be in love with you at the gala?” you asked nonchalantly, finishing off your last bite of ice cream. He offered you a spoonful of his and you tried not to grow too flustered at Shouto feeding you his dessert. You murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”
He gave you a small smile. “You’re welcome. As for being in love… I don’t think that’s necessary. Just pretend you like being around me, I think.”
Under the table, you nudged his shoe with yours, pulling a face. “I don’t have to pretend about that, silly.” 
“Ah, well,” he paused, offering you another spoonful of ice cream, “I don’t either.”
“I’m glad.” Then, “Is this strawberry? I was never a big strawberry ice cream fan but for some reason this tastes so good.” 
You ignored the nagging voice in your head that said maybe it wasn’t so much the ice cream flavor but who you were enjoying it with. 
The two of you finished his dessert in peace and after cleaning up the area with a napkin, Shouto turned to you with an intent look on his face.
“Before the gala, would you mind if I talk you shopping so you could pick out what to wear?” he asked. “I would pay of course— It’s the least I could do to say thank you.”
You shook your head. “You don’t have to thank me! You’re my friend and I want to help.” You thought about it for a moment. “And get the candy.”
“Anything for the candy.”
“Exactly,” you said in complete seriousness. “But I wouldn’t mind going shopping with you. You could help me decide what to wear! I’m not exactly sure how to dress for an event as fancy as this.”
“You could wear anything to the event and still look amazing.” His words were ones of flattery but his tone sounded completely genuine. 
Heat rose to your cheeks at the compliment. “Look who’s talking— You’re practically runway ready no matter what time of day.”
“I’ve never walked a runway before.”
You stifled a laugh at his literal interpretation of your words. Cute. “Me neither.”
He looked confused at why you were grinning, but it still brought a smile to his own lips.
By now the sun had begun to set and Shouto was walking you to the train to see you off before you went home.
“Can I pick you up next weekend in the morning?” he said. “So we can get your outfit for the gala?”
“Sure! I’ll text you my address.” 
He nodded in contentment. “And again, you don’t have to worry about any costs.”
“Is this why my friends have called you a sugar daddy?” you teased, bumping your shoulder against his as you walked down the street, side-by-side. “But thank you. Shopping will be fun— We can even match colors!” 
“Mn.” He looked between the both of you, as if trying to picture what colors would complement each other. 
You crossed the sidewalk in a comfortable silence, enjoying the scenery by Shouto’s side. A few times, you even felt his knuckles brush against yours and you had the undeniable urge to hold his hand. Would that be weird? you asked yourself before deciding against it. 
Just because he asked you to be his date for the Naruhata Charity Ball didn’t mean he actually liked you, right? It was just a favor from a friend to a friend.
Something about that though made your stomach unsettled. Maybe part of you wanted it to be a real date— Wanted this to be a real date. 
“So I won’t be seeing you tomorrow,” you said after a moment’s silence, trying not to look too dejected. 
You knew he’d still text good morning and good night and ask you random things throughout the day (all of which you found really endearing, by the way), but it was still different from seeing him in person. Even though your time together in the morning was small, they still were enough to make your day. The thought of your waking hours being so entwined made you nervous, but for some reason it didn’t bother you as much as you thought it would. In fact, it was sort of...nice. 
“I’ll see you Monday morning, right?” you asked hopefully, though you were already fairly certain of the answer.
Shouto nodded. “Of course. It’s already marked on my calendar.”
“Ever the flatterer, hmm?” 
“Not flattery, just the truth.” He pulled his phone out and showed you his (rather packed) calendar app. To your surprise, a little reminder that said ‘See Y/N :)’ was marked on his Monday schedule. 
Unable to stop the beam from spreading across your lips, you hid your face in your hands. Gosh— Did he have to be so cute? He was making it harder and harder to only like him as a friend. And even now, you weren’t sure if you liked him only as a friend.
But you pushed those thoughts away.
That was something to deal with at a later time.
When you reached the train station you normally took home, you turned to Shouto, giving him a big hug. He was tall and warm. You could feel his lean muscles through his button-down shirt as you rested your head against his chest and arms around his waist. 
“Thanks for today,” you mumbled. “I’ll see you again soon.”
After a pause, he gave you a hug back, hands rubbing hesitant circles on your back in a way that made you smile. “Text me when you get home safe,” he said as you both reluctantly released each other from an embrace.
“I will,” you promised. “You do the same! Later, Shouto!” 
And with that, you waved goodbye and boarded the train, unable to shake the unwavering grin on your face all the way home.
Tumblr media
a/n: when shouto started feeding y/n spoonfuls of his ice cream i cried (T▽T) that’s so cUTE OF HIM LIKE PLS SIR STOP BEFORE I FALL MORE IN LOVE WITH U !! >:O he’s such a sweetheart ahhhh,, i hope all the fluff made up for the brief appearance of endeavor ಠ╭╮ಠ  FHDJKF 
what to expect in the next part:
shopping for the gala time !! 
y/n struggles with their fEeLiNGs~ part 2
oh my, y/n has to try on dresses? oh my, it’d be a shame if they needed help putting it on :o *fake gasp* 
yeah things get just a lil steamy but shh
2K notes · View notes
fanficshiddles · 4 years
Text
Trust, Chapter 12
Tumblr media
‘What are you doing?’ Loki drawled as Darcy crawled into his bed under the blankets beside him, her back to him.
‘Sore head. Tired. Feel like I’m gonna die. Supposed to be babysitting you. But I am not leaving a comfy bed, so that means we stay here.’ She said firmly, snuggling down into the pillow. ‘And we never speak of yesterday again.’
Loki chuckled. ‘Why-ever not? Your dance moves were rather spectacular, I must say.’
Even while drunk, he had been rather surprised when she started taking off her clothes to dance around. The alcohol had affected her very quickly. He may have drunk a lot to catch up with her, let loose for a while. It had been rather fun. Though Darcy seemed to certainly be suffering a lot more than he was.
The team had been shocked upon finding them. Thor ended up helping Loki back to his chambers in the late afternoon and Natasha and Jane took Darcy back to hers. The two had passed out in their beds for the whole night, but then Darcy woke up feeling like death.
‘Pity can’t say the same for your moves.’ Darcy teased. Though even drunk, Loki was pretty graceful.
‘I’m naked, by the way.’ Loki said flatly, thinking it would maybe make her change her mind about being in his bed with him.
‘As long as it doesn’t touch me, I don’t care.’ She grumbled, not opening her eyes.
Loki smirked. If it had been anyone else but her climbing into his bed first thing in the morning, he would’ve kicked them out instantly. But because it was Darcy, he let it slide. Besides, he felt rather warmed that she obviously trusted him enough to do such a thing. That she would also sleep in his presence, where she would be at her most vulnerable.
Even if her snoring was annoying.
He managed to get back to sleep for a while too, after conjuring up some decent earplugs that drowned out her noise.
When he woke later, Darcy was awake too and watching TV. So they ended up just chilling most of the day, getting snacks and bringing them back to Loki’s room to eat. It was nice, just being in one another’s company. Loki read for a while too. They found they had plenty to talk about, but at the same time they had comfortable silences.
-
A couple of days later, Loki was finally able to show the team that he was willing to try and redeem himself.
There was a mission and Thor wanted to take Loki with them. So after a brief discussion, they all agreed.
Loki was excited at the thought of getting to fight. His armour, with his cape and helmet formed on him as he grinned excitedly.
‘Are you coming, Darcy?’ He asked.
‘Nope. I would likely just run headfirst into the fight and get killed straight away, so it’s probably best I stay put.’ She grinned. ‘Good luck though!’ She gave him a pat on the shoulder before heading off.
Darcy decided she better head to the lab, see what Jane was doing and if she needed anything. When she entered, Jane looked over at her a little sheepishly.
‘Hey, Darcy.’
‘Hey. What you up to?’ Darcy headed over to her.
‘Thor brought me back a piece of the Bifrost. I’m just examining it.’ Jane said as she looked through a microscope.
‘Ohhh cool. Need a hand?’
‘No, I’m good. But if you could get me a coffee and something to eat that would be great…’ Jane then straightened and looked to Darcy. ‘But don’t lick or spit in it… I’m sorry if I haven’t been treating you right since we came here. It’s just been hectic and so incredible to actually be here with the Avengers, to have access to this kind of tech.’
Darcy rolled her eyes. ‘It doesn’t take any time away from science to say thanks.’ She spun on her heels and headed for the door.
‘Darcy. What’s gotten into you? Since Loki kidnapped you, you’ve been… weird. Spending so much time with him, have you two got something going on?’ Jane put her hand on her hip.
‘Seriously? You’re worried that you’re not the only one dating a God, is that what it is?’ Darcy snapped.
Jane clenched her jaw. ‘No… I just… He’s not right for you.’
‘One, I am not dating him, we’re just good friends. Two, even if I was, it is none of your business to tell me if he’s right for me or not. He’s paid me more attention than you and the others ever have. Tell me, did you all even bother to come up with a plan to come and rescue me?’ Darcy folded her arms over her chest and glared at Jane.
Jane faltered. ‘Well… We did. Thor tried to find you…’
‘He obviously didn’t look around the Universe for very long considering he was here when we returned. THREE DAYS later, on Earth time!’
‘Darcy… We couldn’t just give up the tesseract like Loki wanted.’
‘Were you even going to try anything to rescue me?’ Darcy asked firmly, wanting an answer.
Jane looked down, her face falling. ‘We wanted to… It’s just, with Loki it was a bit… complicated.’
‘I knew it.’ Darcy shook her head and continued heading out.
‘Darcy!’
‘Get your own fucking coffee from now on.’ Darcy said as she flipped her the finger on her way out.
When Loki returned with the team a few hours later, he had a few cuts on his face, but they were healing quickly. They’d been battling some Hydra modified animals in Latvia. Humungous vicious dogs and a gigantic gorilla that had six limbs. Not to mention a bunch of Hydra soldiers, too.
But Loki was riding on a high after the fight. He searched around, looking for Darcy. But there was no sign of her.
‘Has anyone seen Darcy?’ He asked the team who were heading to fill in what happened with Fury.
‘Nope. But you need to come with us, so we can tell Fury about the mission.’ Steve said.
‘No, I need to find Darcy.’ Loki frowned and teleported away from them before they could say anything else.
Loki was almost at his wits end when he couldn’t find her. Part of him was wondering why he cared so much about finding her, but there was a bigger part of him that knew why. Because she was the only person who believed in him from the start, it was thanks to her he was here in the first place.
Experiencing that high from fighting was incredible for him, and not that he would admit it but fighting alongside Thor again was quite nice. Especially when he had to save Thor’s ass not once, but twice, earning great gratitude from the fellow God was something Loki wasn’t going to forget anytime soon.
He checked her bedroom, all the public places including the library but there was no sign of her… Then it clicked, he had one last place to try.
-
Darcy was sitting on the roof with her legs tucked up under her chin, looking out across the countryside that surrounded the base. She could see the city in the far distance. It was just starting to get dark, so the lights were starting to come on.
Loki appeared behind her, his face falling slightly when he saw her body language.
‘Darcy?’ He said softly, stepping over next to her.
‘Oh, hey!’ She put on a smile as she looked up at him. ‘How did the mission go?’
‘It went really well, we defeated them, so you mortals are safe once more.’ He smirked and sat down next to her, but his smirk dropped. He could see there was something wrong.
‘What’s wrong?’ He frowned.
‘Nothing’s wrong. Tell me about the mission.’ Darcy tried to keep up the act.
Loki narrowed his eyes at her and took off his cape. ‘You cannot lie to the God of lies, Darcy.’ He draped it around her as he didn’t want her getting cold. But as soon as the cape was around her, she let out a small sob, but she tried not to cry on front of him. ‘Now you’re really worrying me, what happened?’
‘They didn’t even bother looking for me properly.’ She whined, hating herself for feeling so upset as the water works started. ‘Jane was making up half assed excuses.’
She leaned to the side against Loki, her head against his upper arm. Loki hesitated, but then slipped his arm around her and let her lean into his chest. He rubbed her arm and rested his chin on top of her head.
‘I am sorry, Darcy… Truly. They don’t deserve you, they really don’t. But please, do not let them upset you so much. One day they will realise how much of a valuable team member you are, I promise you that.’ He spoke softly.
Just having someone embrace her and someone to talk to that understood was a huge help. She already felt so much better. After a few minutes of silence, she sat up again and wiped her eyes.
‘If you tell anyone that I was crying I’ll be the one pushing you off here.’ She said with a slight smirk, making Loki chuckle.
‘Deal. We both have appearances to keep up.’ He grinned.
85 notes · View notes
peachyunjinnie · 4 years
Text
— 03. https://sugarbaby.com  | bgc
Tumblr media
bang chan/reader/ ― ft. hyunjin | angst (?), comedy (?) | sugarbaby!au mafia!au
Tumblr media
wordcount: 1k
content warnings: mention of amnesia, chocking, gagging, handcuffs and lee know is an asshole and he nearly fought with changbin- sORRY.
― synopsis: through your urgent and acute need for any kind of financial income, you see the ad of a sugarbaby website. you decide to overcome your pride and hit ‘sign up’.
note: i hope you can enjoy it a little bit! next part is out on saturday or sunday again.
Tumblr media
blog masterlist
ɪɴᴅᴇx: ―   one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight - nine
Tumblr media
© peachyunjinnie 2020. do not repost, modify, or translate.
Tumblr media
I noticed the instant sentiment and need to sleep. The strong urge to not sleep whatever happens was keeping me up but after a good 20 seconds, I was out and gone.
Tumblr media
“Is she dead?” I heard through my amnesic state of mind.
“Don’t say things like that, Jeongin!”
“She looks dead though, she looks...sick.”
“Changbin is kind of right. She looks like a corpse.”
“Could you two stop talking about her, right in front of her?”
“Han, does she or does she not look like a dead body? You’ve seen enough to tell.”
“Okay, she kind of does, but you two don’t have to do this right here and now...”
“Han is right, she is under Nitrous Oxide.”
“Nitro- what?”
“Nitrous Oxide. An inhaled gas that causes a decrease in anxiety has some analgesic effect, which means that it can help decrease pain. She is now experiencing temporary amnesia, which means she won’t remember what happened during the time she was breathing the Nitrous Oxide. Also known as ‘laughing gas’ or ‘happ-“
“Seungmin, I asked what it is. Not a whole Wikipedia page.”
“Leave Minnie alone, he just wanted to help you Lee Know.”
“And I could’ve lived without that whole paragraph Jeongin.”
“Lee Know, don’t be so goddamn mean to everyone.”
“Did I hurt your feelings, Changbin?! Aw, I am so sorry! I apologize deeply! Tch.”
“Let’s talk about this outside-”
“Changbin, Calm down.”
“Could you all shut up? She is waking up.”
The voices in my head appeared louder and clearer, the echoing sounds giving me a dizzy feeling. Everything was black and my eyes were being closed by a blindfold. The voices arguing what they should do with me now. I noticed how I couldn't move either, handcuffs cutting bruises into my sore wrists. But a thing I noticed too was also that they didn't gag me at all, or put duck tape over my mouth.
"HELP ME! HELP! PLEAS-" A hand pushed a cloth inside my mouth, stuffing it forcefully. I tried my best to bite his hand but it left my mouth quickly. The rush I felt at that moment became unendurable. All of the voices stopping and one next to my ear, violently snapping at my throat and yanking my hair.
“If you dare to fucking scream again, I'm gonna sew up your mouth. Kitty” He whispered against my cheek. I could hear a smirk at the end of the sentence. I didn’t dare to do anything else again and kept my body down.
How can you trust someone who kidnaps you? How do I classify him whether he would really sew my mouth shut or not? Simple answer, I can't. I'd rather shut my mouth before it may never open it again. Mute tears of panic and fear formed in my eyes, wetting the blindfold. Silent sobs of terror were heard and mumbling went around the room. I could hear sentences like 'Lee Know you're making her cry' and 'Chan's gonna kill you'.
“Ah come on, this girly girl needs to be quiet.”
“But you’re scaring her with your words. Stop it Minho.” The authority in the voice of the man was reminded of a teacher or a father.
“I’m sorry but that dress and her body...Wow, she’s hot.”
“Felix, could you maybe at least try to keep your testosterone down?”
“Changbin, it is clear to see. She is hot.”
“Does Chan really need to claim her? She could be all of our little girl.”
“Lee Know, you are by far the most perverted, obnoxious, insensitive asshole I know.”
“Thank you very much for this title, I feel very honored, Seungmin.”
“What will we do with her now?” Shivers running up and down my spine, my head spinning in circles and my breath becoming more hesitant.
“You will do nothing. I will.” Loud footsteps in the room were audible from everywhere. Confusing my already poor sense of orientation. Until I could only hear single steps coming closer to me.
“Hello, darling.”
“Fht-dj,.” I muffled out and tried to form a sentence. But as said I tried and failed at my attempt, sadly. He took the damp cloth out of my mouth.
“Who are you?”  
“Excuse me, where are my manners. I am Chan or Christopher. Sir to you. I am the head of this mafia group and I want to help you with your financial income, Alice.”
“Alice..? I asked and forgot that my username on that website was Alice.
“Isn’t that your name?” He tilted his head and was obviously confused.
“I will tell you my name if you take off this blindfold and the handcuffs.”
“Ah-Ah, no deals. I am in charge of this place here. Everyone listens and respects my commands. Don’t make me show you why they do.”
“I would risk it. Take off that blindfold or else-”
“Aw, you’re trying to threaten me. How cute.”
He took off this blindfold and I could finally see a light. I couldn't tell how long I was sleeping but this burn in my eyes from the lamplight was the absolute worst. My eyes could not get used to the bright light. With a short second, it became easier and I saw the outline of his face, his heart-shaped face, his blond hair, his cocoa-colored eyes, and his bulky nose. How he leaned against the table and looked down at me from above.
“Like what you see, Babygirl?” He smirked out, exposing his dimples.
Tumblr media
223 notes · View notes
Okay. Killer Teddie AU time. Full spoiler warning ahead for P4 and even a bit of P5. Full timeline of all events in order up ahead. Smaller details and ideas at the very end of it. Some of this might not make sense or have an explanation because, at the time, I hadn’t finished base game Persona 4 and had no idea of stuff like Izanami, Sagiris, and so on and so forth. Even now, I haven’t yet finished P4G. The next time I work on this AU will be after I’ve finished P4G and have a good grasp on everything to change what doesn’t make sense and add stuff that does. For now take what I’ve worked on thus far. Sorry if some of my explanations are a little wonky. Extremely fucking long post ahead, I’m seriously not joking around this time.
And, before I start, I’m not the only one who worked on the AU! This is a team project between me and my gf! I know it’s not much to say, but I want to give half of the credit to her rather than taking all of it for myself, cuz while a lot of these ideas came from me, a lot came from her, too.
So, let me explain why Teddie’s a killer in the first place. It starts when he’s still just a mindless Shadow, and he comes face to face with a group of Persona users that existed long before the investigation team, consisting of Tohru Adachi, Mayumi Yamano, and a lot of miscellaneous unnamed characters who may or may not be made into proper characters in the futures. Why this first group existed and consists of those characters is one of those things that hasn’t been fully thought through yet. But, one thing’s for sure, they love going into the TV world and just beating up Shadows for fun every once in a while. At this point in the story, Shadows aren’t necessarily hostile yet, so basically, Teddie witnesses a bunch of his own kind get slaughtered for no reason and, probably because he’s starting to grow some kind of consciousness at this point, goes buck wild and kills the whole group save for Tohru Adachi, who manages to escape. This is how Mayumi Yamano meets her demise and also, how Teddie grows a proper body - it isn’t that bear suit of his though, it’s a human body, most likely the result of humans being the only thing he was exposed to aside from Shadows in that world. From that point forward, a fiery hatred for humans begins to develop within him.
Y’know how Teddie’s real crafty, making those glasses for the Investigation Team to use to see better in the TV world? Well, after a while, he decides he’s tired of walking around bear naked and makes himself some clothes to wear. Those fingers aren’t dexterous for nothing. Not too long after he makes these clothes, Saki ends up in the TV world - for another reason that wasn’t thought through well enough yet, but it’s something like she has a Persona too. This AU is very generous with who gets Personas, I know, please bear with it for now. She ends up bumping into Teddie, the two interact, and because Saki’s a little bitch she finds Teddie to be quite strange, what with the way he talks and how he apparently “comes from the TV world,” and is very verbal about it - very rude about it, too. This first impression with a new human + Teddie’s already intensifying hatred for humans = Saki’s gruesome demise. “Are all humans like this?” Is what Teddie thinks. “Are they all cruel? Are they all mean?” Teddie now has a stronger hate for Humanity that only grows stronger and stronger the more he’s forced to sit in that quiet TV world and think and think and think and think about it.
And along with that hate for humanity, comes a hate for his current human form. So he crafts himself that bear suit of his, and wears it all the time - I believe he also makes it so whatever he bumps into next doesn’t think he’s weird sounding or weird speaking or weird… looking, which, I’ll describe now rather than at the end of the post. Teddie doesn’t look all that different, but the main changes are that his eye colour is now a duller, greyer shade of blue, he is overall even paler, and he is also a lot skinnier. No real reason for these design choices aside from self indulgence without going too overboard. Moving on from that, not too long after he makes the suit is when Chie and Yu and Yosuke go in for the first time. Teddie keeps on a facade of innocence and happiness for a “good first impression,” and nothing changes from then up until the appearance of Yosuke’s Shadow. Since a Shadow is the side of oneself that they don’t want to acknowledge or see, it’s chock full of bad traits and negative emotions - further solidifying Teddie’s belief that all humans are just awful, sinful, nasty creatures.
One thing that Isn’t well thought out at all, and something that I have no clue where to put on the timeline, is this whole deal between Teddie and Namatame. Basically, Teddie communicates with Namatame through the TV (can’t remember if he just talks through it, or sticks his head through), and convinces Namatame to start pushing people in not to save them, but for something along the lines of how he “secretly wants them to die.” Maybe it was because Namatame shares Teddie’s beliefs of humanity being repulsing, but it’s too vague a memory to make heads or tails of it. Don’t know how things would work out without it, though, so it’s sticking around as is for now.
Also, as of right now in the AU, the IT is completely unaware of Teddie’s human form hiding right under his bear form/bear suit. Good lord, I am already tired of typing this all out, this post is so long. Still got a long way to go, kind of.
Here’s another loose idea that hasn’t been fully thought about, and it’s when Teddie encounters his Shadow in Rise’s dungeon. My memories are a bit foggy on this one, but I’ll try my best to remember. So, his encounter with his Shadow stays largely the same, with maybe a couple of his Shadow’s lines being changed to represent how not only is he hiding originally being a Shadow from his teammates, but also how he’s hiding the fact that he’s the killer they’re trying to find - all of it is too vague for the IT to piece together, though. But also a thing that’s changed is his reaction to his Shadow is a LOT more aggressive, a slip up to show a small glance of his true personality - but again, the IT doesn’t think anything of it because, Teddie’s facing his Shadow here, of COURSE he’s going to act different when he’s coming face to face with a part of himself he wants to ignore. Eventually, he manages to accept his Shadow, but for one way or another, a second Shadow starts to develop within him. Maybe it’s because he only partially accepted his Shadow, maybe it’s because of something else - like he didn’t accept his Shadow for the right reason, I can’t remember. But it starts to develop. I remember wanting to give him a second persona akin to what Akechi has in p5 - one for lies, and one for truths, but this is one of those things that will either need to be completely cut out or heavily modified in my opinion.
Teddie kills more frequently in this AU. In between when he’s helping the IT rescue people from the TV world, he’s throwing in people on the night that it fogs up so the IT doesn’t have time to see people appear on the TV/doesn’t have time to go in and save them, resulting in their deaths. Teddie so far has only thrown in people who have been assholes or scum in his eyes, and these are the only people that end up dying in the TV world even with the advent of the IT. Teddie gets away with this by sneaking out at night sometimes and either witnessing these people do disgusting things, or overhearing about it. Two candidates/victims are the two girls from Yosuke’s social link (hopefully you know who I mean) and the bully/bullies from Chie’s social link. Though, for the two girls, I like the idea of it being AFTER Teddie comes to the real world for real and shows off his human form, and starts working at Junes. He’s “working overtime,” late at night, calls up those two girls and asks them to come to Junes to “help him stock shelves” - “I’ll make sure you and your friend get payed extra for it. I’ll take it out of Yosuke’s paycheck.” Next thing you know, they’ve been knocked out and thrown into the TV because they’re heartless assholes in his eyes.
Only way Teddie would get away with a killing like that, though, is through having an outfit to disguise himself from Junes’ security cameras - so, at some point in the timeline, that’s what he does. Repurposes his old clothes from the TV world into an outfit to disguise his identity, to let him keep killing, and he keeps it tucked away either somewhere in the real world or in the TV world. He probably does this before he “becomes human,” so that his clothes are kept secret from the IT team, and that whole “I’m like a newborn in here” scene can happen.
Also, just for clarification, that hate Teddie felt for Yosuke’s Shadow? And how it solidified his hatred for humanity yet further, and his belief that they are all scummy beings? This keeps happening for every single Shadow he sees. Chie’s, Yukiko’s, Kanji’s, etc.
Mitsuo Kubo is the only one thrown in by Teddie who doesn’t die, so that the plot can progress normally, but also because it probably went something like this. Teddie sneaks out late at night to find more disgusting humans to kill, to “purge the earth of such horrendous beings,” and comes across Mitsuo killing Morooka. A human? Committing murder? A human being slaughtering another human being? How sinful. How disgusting. How treacherous. Teddie has to deal with this immediately. So he throws Mitsuo into the TV world without waiting for the fog to settle first (it’s too dire of a situation to ignore, after all). He’s kind of hypocritical, thinking Mitsuo is a terrible person for committing murder (he is, though) and then going right ahead and throwing him in the TV, aiming to kill. He’s just cleansing the world, though - that’s how he sees it.
Also, I believe for most nights when he decides to sneak out, he’s wearing his disguise outfit, so that he doesn’t get caught if he’s in a situation like that where he kills someone on a whim - or just to avoid being caught when he’s out so late snooping around for more victims. Random fun fact by the way: the idea for this whole AU started from the fact that Teddie could use his knowledge of the TV world and how it works to easily get away with using it to commit crimes. Moving on now.
Another thing that doesn’t yet have a place in the timeline is this small thing. I like to think Teddie has a tendency to stay up later into the night because of his occasional nightly outings, and he doesn’t really have enough time to fix his sleep schedule - or he actually just CAN’T. But anyways, he’s keeping himself busy at night while he can’t sleep, maybe playing on an old console in Yosuke’s room, when Yosuke wakes up and starts talking to him until he also gets tired enough to fall back asleep. He says to Teddie that he’s worried about him. “You’ve got bags under your eyes, and you’re basically made of flesh and bone.” He says. Maybe Teddie’s skinny enough his ribs show a little. “This isn’t the first time you’ve stayed up this late, either. Like you’re restless about something.” Sometimes Teddie just paces around the room until he gets tired enough to pass out. “And, what time is it, like, 2:00 AM? I’m really worried about you, Ted.” And that really gets to Teddie. He starts to cry. Here he is, devoting his time to hating humanity, to killing humans, to putting on a happy go lucky, innocent facade around his “friends” to hide his true nature and keep himself emotionally distant from them - and poor Yosuke over here is oblivious to it all, worrying for his dear friend and roommate like this is all unnatural when it’s what he truly is on the inside. And for just a moment, Teddie feels truly bad, and he just keeps crying and crying and crying, probably while Yosuke holds him and tries to comfort him, until he exhausts himself, goes to sleep, and pushes it all out of his head the next morning. But on that night, he had let his guard drop, and he had let himself be vulnerable, and he had allowed himself to get a little closer to Yosuke - a little more attached to him than before. It was only a little, but it was enough to be concerning… it was “just a little” too much for comfort. He can’t let himself get close to that thing.
Oh no, I’m starting to lose focus. We’re nearing the end now. So, you know how Teddie makes that promise to Nanako, right? That he’ll stay in their world to play with her and such? He probably makes the same promise in this AU.
I say probably, because depending on wether he did or not leads to two separate endings, and I can’t decide on which I like more.
So, if he DOES make the promise, HE’S the one who pushes Nanako in. The reason? He’s getting too attached. He’s letting his guard down around a human, and that scares him. He’s getting emotionally attached and invested, and that scares him. He’s starting to care about something that he hates with all of his heart, and that scares him. So he pushes her into the TV, because he’s not allowed to do that, because all humans are evil - no exceptions. This results in Teddie being outed because, when Nanako dies in the hospital (don’t know how that happens yet without Namatame, plothole), he can’t handle the guilt anymore. It’s overwhelming him, suffocating him, drowning him. He falls to the floor, completely breaking down, screaming and sobbing about how it’s all his fault. Then, he either runs out of the room and throws himself into a TV after realizing he’d outed himself, or Yosuke throws him into a TV in a fit of rage and because he feels like Teddie betrayed his trust by pretending to act all innocent when he was the killer.
If he DOESN’T make the promise, or at least, doesn’t get attached, Namatame throws her into the TV and things play out the exact same until they get to the top of Heaven, where Teddie completely loses his shit at Namatame. Maybe he goes to beat the fuck out of him, maybe he’s screaming and shouting at him, in any case, he’s showing his raw personality now. That isn’t what outs him, though - it’s Namatame. “I recognize you.” He says, either through his voice or his appearance. “Why are you so mad at me? I’m doing what you told me to. I’m doing what you want.” Something along those lines. “What?” The IT reacts. “Teddie, is this true? Have you been lying to us?” And the only thing Teddie can do is freeze up, and run away, out of the dungeon - probably not without beating up Namatame a little more for outing him. “Fuck you.” It’s like an endless stream of insults and vulgar language pour from his mouth. “You’ve gone ahead and exposed me, you bitch. You little shit. I hate you. It’s all your fault.”
Now on to Teddie’s dungeon. This part is, uh… Pretty dark. General content warning for death ahead.
So, to contrast Nanako’s dungeon Heaven, Teddie’s dungeon is Hell. There are two concepts for this dungeon though - one is that it’s just conventional catholic/christian Hell, and the other was that it’s based off of/is the frozen over Hel in norse mythology. Because, Teddie has ice attacks, you know? But they’re both largely the same, if not visually. In the earlier floors, there are some objects strewn around like burnt and torn up images of Teddie and the IT, Teddie and Nanako, his bear suit, and maybe one or two other objects of some importance to him. The voices that are heard at the beginning of all the early floors consist of Teddie sobbing and dealing with his inner turmoil of hating humans but getting attached to the likes of Yosuke, Nanako, the IT overall, and the like. “They’re humans.” He thinks. “They’re humans, and all humans are awful. I hate all of them. But I love them. They’re different… They’re nice to me. I don’t deserve it.” “Maybe humanity isn’t so bad after all…” “*sobbing* I’m sorry, Nana-Chan…”
You know how earlier dungeons like Yukiko’s and Kanji’s have that floor in the middle of the dungeon where you encounter the Shadows and that weird title card thing appears? That exists in Teddie’s dungeon, and on the floor right before it, the voice at the beginning of the floor is just Teddie screaming hysterically, maybe even crying. Why? Well, when you go to that next floor…
There’s Teddie. Standing in front of the hanging corpses of Nanako and Yosuke, hesitantly reaching out to them like he can’t process what he’s looking at. And when the IT calls out to him from behind him, the way he looks at them is estranging. He looks terrified, he has to do a double take because one second he was staring at Yosuke’s corpse, then the next moment, he was looking at him, perfectly alive, with the IT. They try and reach out to him, but he’s like a spooked wild animal, and he runs away to the next floor.
The later floors are now decorated with Nanako and Yosuke’s corpses, possibly even the rest of the IT, and the voices now are just Teddie arguing with himself and screaming hysterically, like he’s going insane being in such a horrible place, like he’s becoming more and more deranged with every passing moment. “This is how it should be! All those heartless monsters DESERVE to die! They deserve to hang lifelessly this! But they don’t! I don’t want them to die! I don’t think like that! But I do! But I don’t! These guys are horrendous- no, they’re my friends! THEY’RE SCUM OF THE EARTH! NO, I DON’T THINK LIKE THAT!” And so on and so forth.
When they finally reach the last floor, the deepest floor, the final circle of Hell, they find Teddie there, deranged to the point of practically being a different person. That second Shadow that was developing within him now is toying with him, messing with his head, whispering things to him that make him clutch his head and beg for it all to stop. The IT can’t get through to him now, and he either snaps, gets hostile at them for being “heartless, monstrous, evil humans,” and forces them into a fight, or that Shadow ends up possessing him (either fully, or to a certain extent), and they have no choice but to fight him and knock some sense into him. In either case, he gains his second Persona - something that will most likely be similar to Magatsu-Izanagi, not sure yet - and also, for the sake of self indulgence, it’s like he can control wether or not he is more or less like a Shadow. AKA, goopy black forearms fitted with deadly sharp claws instead of fingers.
I can’t actually remember what EXACTLY happens after the battle, aside from Teddie Goes To Prison, but here’s another battle outcome I almost forgot about that I am DETERMINED to add into the final product. Remember at the beginning, when I specified that Adachi was the only member of the first group of Persona users to survive Teddie’s slaughter? Well, at some point, he overhears the IT talking about Teddie being the killer and the TV world’s existence and decides to butt in. “Can I come along too?” He asks. “I’m a Persona user, just like all of you. You’re talking about catching the culprit here, right? The same culprit who killed Mayumi in the beginning? The same culprit who probably almost got me, then?” Something along those lines. So, he goes in with them, and would you look at that - Teddie still hasn’t forgotten his face. So, in the case of “Teddie snapping and going all hostile on them,” it’s most likely because he sees Adachi mixed in with the IT and alllll of those emotions from so long ago come flooding back… combine that with his hysteria, and boom, you’ve got a raging Teddie hell bound on taking his revenge and getting some closure before he either goes to prison or dies trying not to.
And… I think that’s it. Only thing left to mention is that at some point, right before my hyperfixation ended, me and my gf were trying to figure out a way to implement an accomplice ending and a Teddie Arcana Change, but the end of my obsession came too early in the development of both of those, so there’s not much to say. Also, in this AU, I’m thinking of making Shadows hostile because of the first group of Persona users, like how Teddie hates all of humanity almost purely because of that group. Also, small detail, he’s wearing that disguise of his during the fight - dunno how he got it, but I do wanna add it in somehow, though. This post is also already long enough, so I should stop myself here.
Speaking of that, holy fuck, thanks to anyone who’s read this entire long ass messy post. Like that is just so awesome, I commend you for it. Seriously this post took actual hours just to write down, it’s way too long for any NORMAL person to read all the way through, heavy emphasis on normal (affectionate). Asks about this AU are welcomed and appreciated, if there are any. If not, seriously literally just the fact that anyone might be reading this message at all is enough to sustain me.
16 notes · View notes
canyouhearthelight · 4 years
Text
The Miys, Ch. 108
And we are somewhat caught up!  My queue has run out at least, and I’m astoundingly glad it has, because now I get to thank a bunch of people who have just detonated my inbox with love, and kept me going.
Before I get into the gratitude: If, at any point, a comment a character makes does not make sense, please let me know. Send an ask, even on anon, because I am well aware that everything in my brain does not get a chance to make it in the story (example: Charly’s triangle comment here, and the fact that Noah’s dialogue in the beginning has an actual translation…)
First, shoutouts to @charlylimph-blog​, @baelpenrose​, and @quantumizedinsanity​ for the characters in this chapter and for being very, VERY dear friends to me.  A global pandemic and nationwide protests, along with a job change and a major move, have done nothing to hurt friendships that are already cross-country from each other.
Annnnd to everyone who has been blowing up my notes with likes and reblogs: @dierotenixe(hang in there! i PROMISE!), @iamverypotato​,@itscryptifssil, @steadynightninja​, @thepalemarcher, @feral-possums-in-the-bog​, @26fancyraptors​(MISSED YOU!), @werewolf2578​ (we don’t talk enough, how are you!?), @experimentalspades​, @odd-dream-worlds​, @duchess-katala03​, @pineapplewitchboi​, @dark-choclat-cupcake, @littleshydragon​, and all the others. 
I held my breath, bracing for what I knew was coming. Nothing came after several minutes, to my surprise.  I slowly lifted my head and opened my eyes, focusing on drawing deep, even breaths. Maybe he got bored and wandered off.  Maybe he had mercy on me….
Yeah. And maybe Grey is making genetically modified fish that fly.
Slowly, carefully, I grabbed my fork and lifted a bite of pie to my mouth.  A glance at Charly showed a serious expression, nothing given away. Damnit. I knew she could see Arthur behind me, I was hoping for a telltale giggle, or a warning glance, something.  Right when a traitorous voice of reason spoke up belatedly to point out that Charly was never serious…
“You really will adopt anyone, won’t you?” Arthur asked as he came around to take the chair Jokul had just vacated.
Fuuuuuck…. Busted. “I didn’t adopt him!” I tried to argue. “I actually made a very concerted effort to avoid that!”
Unceremoniously, he snagged Charly’s pot pie, only to have his hand held at fork-point until he let go.  Without even acknowledging the lunch-standoff, he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “You tried to ‘avoid’ it by foisting him off on Zach Khan, your… nephew, thing, and his girlfriend. Still adoption-adjacent.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to interact with him.”
“Uh huh. And how will you explain to poor Hannah that dear Ivan’s partner isn’t invited to Insert Winter Holiday dinner, hmmm?”
“I hate you.”
“Lies and deceit,” he rebutted calmly. “You adopted me first. Before anyyyyone on this ship. I daresay you’re quite fond of me.”
I scowled at him, shoving my remaining lunch in his direction. “Here, before you start poaching this direction.”
An eyebrow arched in the general direction of my fish pie. “That looks suspiciously like dairy.  You wound me.” Grabbing my fork, he poked at the lumps of meat. “I would have thought you would be at least a little subtle in any assassination attempts. Have I taught you nothing?”
“Of course you taught me something,” I cooed, jokingly, while I patted his arm. “The fastest way to a man’s heart is six inches of steel through the ribs, slight upward angle.  Cyanide smells like bitter almonds, so always use shortbread cookies to administer it. Three pounds of pressure will tear off a human ear, and even a three year old can bite through fingers,” I recited. “Also, the pie is dairy-free, surprisingly. The ‘cream’ is silken tofu and aquafaba, turns out.”
Charly was choking with laughter, while Arthur finally smiled at me. “See, I told you that you love me,” he gloated before scooping up a scallop and some crust. As soon as he started chewing, his expression changed from one of amusement to something strikingly similar to Mac when I flick water in his face.
“Scallops,” I explained. “I had the same reaction.”
“Heathens,” he managed around the mouthful.  After he swallowed it, he gave the dish a considering look. “Not bad per se, but… There is no fish in this fish pie. What is aquafaba?”
“Chicpea juice.  Usually it’s used as an egg substitute.  I guess they used it for consistency here.”
Charly leaned forward, narrowly avoiding landing an elbow in her lunch. “And how can you tell that’s what’s in there?”
Glancing over at his student, Arthur shrugged. “She has a point. This,” he poked at the sauce, “looks like heavy cream.”
“Tastes kind of nutty, though,” I explained. “Anyway, enough about food. What brings you down here?”
“Galactic Core Curriculum,” he explained. “That’s the excuse anyway. Alistair - Cthulu damn his soul - told me you were eating lunch here after fifteen minutes of questioning. Tyche told me Charly was with you, so I figured lunch with you, lunch with one of my favorite students, plus I can kill two errands with one meal.” Charly stared at him like he had lost his mind, but he ignored her. “When I arrived - lo! What to my wondering eyes should appear, than a certain former cult leader harassing said friend and student! What person could resist such a temptation.” Deflating dramatically, he scowled at me. “Imagine my delight to hear you giving him relationship advice,” he intoned flatly.
“I got him to go away,” I pointed out.
“Before I managed even one strike in a highly one-sided battle of wits.“
“Mr. Farro,” Charly cut off, glaring for all she was worth. “Jokull came in peace, he leaves in peace.”
“Oh, he would have left in pieces. His ego anyway.”
“Fucking triangles, I swear,” Charly muttered, attacking her lunch with renewed violence.
“Anyway,” I forged ahead. “Jokul was here for fifteen, twenty minutes. You had your chance.”
He glanced away with a cough. “I… may have been resisting the urge to vomit.”
“Arthur.”
“Relationship advice is… not in my skillset,” he admitted. “Tell you your partner is abusive? Can spot a mile a way.  Great for getting people out of bad relationships, with concierge crowbar service if necessary. Not great for saving them.”
“Crowbar? Really?”
“You know, for prying people out of bad situations?” He genuinely looked confused, so I left that one alone.
“For what it’s worth, Jokull wanted to talk to you about what he’s going through right now,” Charly added.
“Why in any galaxy…”
I had to laugh at that one. “Everyone treats him poorly,” I shrugged before giving Arthur a pointed look. “He’s having a rough time right now, feels like he has no one to talk to except Ivan, and thought you would have some insight into that kind of thing.”
“What part of this,” he gestured to himself with a fork, “implies anything remotely close to wanting people to like me and therefore actually knowing how to accomplish that.”
“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer,” I muttered. 
Giving me a hard, thoughtful look, Arthur’s entire demeanor changed. “Ah… On a more serious note, though… yeah.  I don’t get why people not liking you is a problem, but you’ve told me before it’s something that bothers you, so it’s feasible it bothers other people.  I’ll make a point not to make it worse.”
Clearing my throat, I pushed the conversation on to the next topic. “You mentioned two errands earlier. One for me, one for Charly?”
“Right.” The relief to be changing topics was palpable. “For you, Councillor, Galactic Core is almost finished. Eino is already considering other ongoing-education programs, and you’re going to need to start scouting educators again.  That late-twentieth through contemporary Terran history course? Big support-base, turns out.”
“You wouldn’t tell me this without a reason,” I pointed out. “And you’re a History teacher. Volunteering?”
“I want it done right,” he admitted. “The idea being bounced around isn’t for a requirement that everyone take the course. Not at the same time, anyway.  History-focused educators only, approved curriculum.”
“Approved?” I asked. “By whom?”
“A committee,” he shrugged. “Eino, obviously. Xiomara, with her background - which, by the way, is ridiculous - “
“We know, we know,” Charly and I groaned.
After glancing between us for a moment, Arthur continued. “And me.”
“Why you?” I asked. “No offense, just trying to understand.”
“No offense taken, I’ll explain that part later, but I promise it’s for a legitimate reason. The point is, Eino and his committee approve the curriculum and number of slots. You and Tyche make the decisions for who is allotted where.”
“Fair point,” I conceded.
“Fine. The area of history I focused on for my Master’s degree has an important component that ties a lot together and makes revisionism harder - wait. What?” I could almost hear the gears squealing as they ground to a halt. “Did you just say yes?”
“Basically, yeah.”
“That was… disturbingly easy,” he gave me a skeptical look.  When all I did was grin, he slowly turned to Charly. “As for you, I wanted to talk to you about the assignment that’s due next Friday.”
“I already turned it in,” she pointed out.
“Which is what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s a week and a half early.”
“Right….” she nodded slowly. “And I made sure it met all the criteria on the syllabus.  Plus I had three different people proofread it.”
“All of which is admirable, and it would be considered a very well-done assignment,” he admitted. “If you didn’t have an extra week and a half left to make it even better.”
“Mr. Farro….”
“You aren’t in trouble, in any way shape or form,” he reassured her. “But I know you are capable of doing better than the assignment you already gave me.  I wanted to offer you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” Charly asked suspiciously. “This isn’t illegal, is it?”
“What? No…” he sputtered. “Illegal!?”
“Gotta be sure,” she nodded sincerely.  I was reasonably certain she was giving him a hard time, but it was still hilarious to watch.
Shaking his head, Arthur did his best to recover. “The deal is this: if you stick with the assignment you already sent me, I’ll grade it as it stands. But. If you re-do it and hand it in on the original due date, you’ll be eligible for extra credit for your extra effort.”
“But I still get the grade on the one you already have, either way?” she asked skeptically.
“I’ve already graded it, and you won’t get a worse grade if you re-do it,” he promised. 
“I’ll think about it,” she hedged carefully. “That paper was a lot of work.”
“That’s fair,” he nodded. “What if you sent me an audio recording, instead? No extra writing.”
“I can do that,” she agreed, sticking out her hand. After Arthur shook it, she glanced at the time. “Shit. I gotta go. Sophia, don’t be late back to work, okay? Tyche won’t care, but Alistair may stop letting me have extra marshmallows in my cocoa when I come by your office.”
After she left, I gave Arthur a very serious look.  He tried to ignore it, but after about five solid minutes of The Squint, he caved. “For the love of… She’s smart, okay? You know, I know it. The paper she handed in a week and a half early was much more insightful than anyone else in the class.  They were assigned a research paper on the underlying causes of the breakdown in relations between the Ekomari and Shalt-kri’i.  Everyone focused on political ideologies, trade resources, navigational route control.  Standard causes for war, from a Terran perspective. Do you know what Charly Harper wrote her paper about?”
“Food?” I asked, going out on a limb.
“So close! Cultural differences, plain and simple. Ekomari are vaguely mammalian, and their diet consists of native arthropods. Guess what Shalt-kri’i look like?”
“You’re kidding me…”
“Not even slightly.  And! To add insult to injury, in a very close to literal sense, Shalt-kri’i greet each other as friends by spreading their appendages, a lot like a hug.  Whereas Ekomari show aggression by… standing up on their hindmost appendages and spreading the rest to look bigger.”
“And no one caught this before?”
“Not on the Ark, no.” He spread his arms wide. “No one even considered it.  Sure, the rest are good points, and they did make everything worse, more than likely, but the start?  She nailed it.”
“Then why have her re-write the assignment?” I was honestly confused at this point.
“The way she wrote it, I could tell she wasn’t confident about the answer at all.” He looked about as frustrated as I had ever seen him. “You get her talking about engineering, or pranks, she knows she knows what she is talking about. I want her to know that she is just as right about this as she was about that.”
Hard to believe that this was the same man whose office I had marched into, out for a pound of flesh and the blood besides, because the same woman we were discussing left his class in tears and begged me not to make her go back.  However…
“Honestly?” I ventured. “I want to hear this recording when she hands it in. I’m really curious about this.”
“You think she’ll write it?”
“Pfft,” I scoffed. “I know she will. You gave her a challenge where she can’t lose, but stands a lot to gain. I just hope you’re ready for that sound file.”
“I honestly can’t wait,” he smirked.
<< Prev   Masterlist  Next >>
94 notes · View notes