#original is from criminal minds because i love that show

[gaysindistress]

The question that I think never leaves Astarion alone; Will I ever love?

misc masterlist

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image gif. found on google/Pinterest

Will I ever love?

It is a question that sits heavy on his mind constantly. It weighs like a meal of stale bread and rotten soup on his heart. It makes him nauseous to think about but still the question is always lurking just beyond his thoughts of blood and revenge. Sometimes it can penetrate the sanguine veil that blocks his inner most thoughts from his bestial urges.

When that question starts to haunt him, he finds peace in you; whether that be your arms, your bed, or simply your presence, he finds peace. It’s usually short lived because the moment you’re gone it comes right back and he’s seeking you out once more.

A part of him thinks that he will find love when you willingly let him slip his fangs deep inside of you. The other part, the one that reminds him far too much of his abuser, tells him that he’s foolish for ever thinking such a thing. No one could look upon this pathetic excuse of a vampire spawn and find love in the cold sarcastic shell of a man that stares back. No one could look into his criminal crimson eyes and find safety in them. No one could allow him to touch them and delight in the biting freeze that comes with. No one could ever love Astarion so why would he ever find it himself?

You know his battles far too well having fought similar ones yourself. You know the torment that he faces when he thinks no one can see. You know the agony that he feels when he comes to you like a whipped dog and meekly asks for your affection. You know the warmth that spreads into his unmoving heart when you smile at him. You know it all because Astarion is a terrible liar and an awful actor. The rogue is good at being convincing, undoubtedly so but it only lasts so long. Maintaining the facade of arrogant noble born elf fails when you show him kindness and respect. When he does slink over to you and attempts to play it off as a promise of a passionate night with your lover, you can only smile at him. Agreeing to see him later, you allow him to maintain his dignity and let the others think that you’re ravenous for each other. You are, make no mistake about that but it is the gentle touches and soft intimacy that fill your nights together. The nights that he feeds from you rarely end in sex anymore but instead with him lying on your chest, arms wrapped tightly around you, and your fingers softly twirling his tousled curls. His eyes are closed, the long lashes tickling your bare skin and his breath comes out in small warm puffs. His nimble fingers flex against your skin, kneading at your back and sides like a content cat. His body is curled around yours, causing your legs to be tangled together and impossible to move. The complete entanglement of you two proves to be what the question desires to cease its grip on his mind.

Will I ever love?

Astarion thinks that he will. With your fingers gently brushing against the edges of his ears and smoothing down his curls, he thinks he might have already found his answer. With your assuring words and sweet whispers of adoration, he thinks he knows the answer if you were to ask him.

“I love you, astarion. Full heartedly and without hesitation, I love you,” you murmur into his silver strands when you think he’s finally fallen asleep. The only give away that he’s not is the way a small smile pulls on his lips when he nuzzles into you.

#astarion x reader #baldurs gate astarion #astarion imagine #astarion bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion x tav #astarion fic #astarion #astarion x gn reader #astarion x gn!tav

[palmettoshitposts]

Supervisory Special Agent Kevin Day, banging his hands down on the interrogation table: WHERE'S THE VICTIM'S HEAD?

Neil Josten, in a gaudy hawaiian shirt, pink twirly straw hanging out of his mouth, handcuffed to said table: Well, I don't know, Agent. I must have dropped it on my way in here!

#original is from criminal minds because i love that show #neil tries to take a holiday and gets framed for murder 🙄 what can you do eh? #kevin is apoplectic with rage #andrew is cackling behind the glass #aftg #all for the game #palmetto shitposts #neil josten #kevin day #admin: 🤺

[artsybi]

y'know despite the murder, i am jealous of the criminal minds universe, in which young cane users are not questioned, stared at, invalidated, or even overly acknowledged

like i understand that it was just an extension of the fact that the actor was ACTUALLY injured and ACTUALLY using a cane and probably would not have enjoyed added acted scrutiny because he probably dealt enough with it in his personal life (based on personal experience he probably dealt with a fair bit bc people irl are garbage about young cane users existing) but still, the fact that not a SINGLE PERSON ever questions spencer, ever questions the legitimacy of his need for an aid, ever questions why he's using it, god i'm so jealous

no one ever raises an eyebrow when he enters a room, no local detective ever makes a mean joke, no medical examiner ever stares at him for just a second too long, even when he does interviews, no family member or event planner EVER gives him a second look, they all just seamless accept that this member of the fbi is using a cane and never treat him any differently for it

no one mocks him! no one makes any snide remarks, no one side-eyes him when he enters a room, no one ever presses into his space and offers (read: demands) they do something for him since he's "not capable", no one questions his credentials, or his ability to do his job. everyone just accepts it as normal and continues as such. the literal ONLY DIFFERENCE in ANYONE'S treatment of him is that he doesn't go with the team when they head to the final location to grab the unsub with their guns out, which is a perfectly reasonable accommodation! and no one mocks him for that either! no one ever implies he's "missing out" and everyone keeps him in the loop during the investigation when they're doing things of that nature, so he can help put the last pieces together

just, as a young cane user myself, not only is spencer the literal first time i've ever seen someone on tv using a cane correctly (not an exaggeration, actors seem incapable of using canes correctly), and thus the first person i've ever TRULY seen that part of me in, but i just LOVE the way the show and narrative treat him in general, mostly because the way they treat him straight up DOESN'T CHANGE!! dude i fucking WISH that was my reality!!! i WISH people straight up DIDN'T CHANGE the way they treated me after i started using a cane, i fucking WISH everyone just accepted at face value the fact that i use one and then moved on and didn't mention it again

#original #i ramble #criminal minds #spencer reid #criminal minds season 5 #cane user #disability #and i do understand that the actor was legit injured btw. i know that. and i know that's why spencer uses his cane correctly #because his actor was legit using it. but like. i fucking love that and wish more tv shows would hire disabled actors for disabled roles #feels like there's some stuff that could be learned from this ngl. season 5 spencer means SO MUCH to me #and i see myself so clearly in him #just. yeah. cane user spencer reid lives in my mind rent free #i dont care if this is coherent i dont care if my thoughts make sense im just fucking jealous

[solar-wing]

⚣ Nightwing & Shadow 🌃

⚣🌃 A/N → So, remember when I said I wasn't going to re-write and re-vamp Nightwing and Shadow like I did Primal? Hehe, funny story... I lied. HOWEVER, I did follow the original plot line...sort of. Just made it easier and smoother to read, along with SOME proofreading and fixing SOME grammar mistakes. So, this should roll out much faster than before (that also is possibly a lie knowing me). WARNINGS: 18+ MDNI | MAJOR THEMES of NON-CON/DUB-CON | Omegaverse | YANDERE Behavior | Mentions of Blood | Bondage | Lactation Kink | M-Preg | Oral Sex | Knotting | Implied Stalking |

⚣🌃 Summary → A new vigilante, Shadow, takes to the streets of Gotham, protecting its innocent Omegas against arrogant and brutish Alphas and the arbitrary and oppressive laws that support their criminal-like behavior. Yet, what will he do when in both his civilian and vigilante lives, he's plagued by the very same problems he's fighting against?

⚣🌃 Words → 11.1K

REBLOGS & replies are greatly appreciated, please! 💙

⚣ ENJOY 🌃

Welcome to Gotham City.

Known for its less-than-sunny atmosphere and crime-riddled streets, the city holds many titles under its mantle. One of them being ‘Utter Hell for Omegas.’

In the old days, Omegas were rarely seen as love interests, romantic partners, or even just random associates you’d nod at on the street. Nope, they always had two roles attached to their titles; Fuck-Toys and/or Baby-Makers.

Not much has changed in the present day, save for a few laws passed here and there that criminalized some behaviors. In truth, these new laws and punishments were the equivalent of putting a toddler in time-out before rewarding them with a cookie later for acting like they were ashamed of their behavior.

It seemed like every day, another Omega was being abused by an Alpha who never understood the meaning of ‘no’ because they were raised in a society where everything was supposed to be ‘yes’ for them. Taken against their will and made to live in truly cage-like homes with partners who could only be called that when it came to legal documents.

In reality, they weren’t partners. They were masters, abductors, and delusional sociopaths who relied on biology and society to abuse and take the things they wanted rather than earn them.

They never saw the Omegas they were stripping of free will and autonomy as partners, or friends, or even humans for that matter. They saw them as possessions, things to own and show off to their friends and family as a symbol of how great they were and how well they were doing in life.

And Gotham was the breeding ground for these types of men and women.

Some would call it for what it was; ownership and power. They had no shame or morals about the acts they would commit. Others dared to call it romance, claiming that true love drove them to these vile acts and oppressive rules.

If this is what they called love, it’d be interesting to see what they’d do if they hated you.

Yet, progressing times meant more progressive and outspoken minds. Many, including some Alphas and Betas who held somewhat decent morals and values, were calling for change. They were protesting to their local, regional, and national governments for Omega liberation.

Of course, no revolution has ever started, let alone succeeded without someone getting their hands dirty.

Enter our hero, Y/N, and his story which some would argue was the ultimate catalyst that led to the fight for Omega Rights and Protections pushing toward victory.

Y/N lived a relatively quiet life in Gotham. Born and raised in the city, his parents taught him from a young age not only how to navigate this world in a way where he protected himself, but also equipped him with the means to do so if need be.

He was trained in the art of self-defense from the moment he had his first incident in school, when the signs of biological dynamics were becoming more and more clear, and some bigger kids decided to pick on him for it. 

His mother, an Omega herself, saw this and immediately went to her husband, Y/N’s father, and demanded they get him in lessons. He agreed and they began scouting classes the very next day. 

Y/N was blessed enough to see what a truly happy and healthy relationship between an Alpha and Omega was like from his parents. His father, bless his soul, never subscribed to the ideology that Alphas were the superior dynamic and held power over those below them, especially Omegas.

No, he fell in love with his Omega, genuinely in love we should say and not that obsessive and creepy kind where they excuse their horrible actions because of said ‘love’. No, he courted and adored her as nature intended, and their story eventually brought Y/N into existence whom they also loved and cherished as if he was the most valuable treasure on Earth.

Fast forward to the present, Y/N was a strong and stead-fast individual who didn’t let his biological dynamic hold him back from what he was meant to achieve. Seeing how different the world was from how his parents raised him, he made it his ultimate purpose to see to the change and betterment of society that included protections and rights for Omegas in Gotham and beyond.

In school, he studied business and politics, which landed him a position at Wayne Enterprises post-graduation, where he surprisingly had the backing of Bruce Wayne, CEO and heir to the very company he was employed by. He voiced his support and even dedicated teams to his mission which initiated the spread to other companies and beyond.

If a powerhouse like Wayne Enterprises was supporting ideas and notions of Omega Liberation and rights, many companies would soon follow. And as many know in this world, money talks. Politicians want to keep their investors and backers happy, so they’ll more than likely support whatever it is they’re claiming to support.

Though, appearances can be deceiving. Just because these companies would take up the mantle that they were for Omega rights, didn’t mean their actions would show that. And if there was one thing Y/N prided himself on, was being able to see bullshit for what it was; bullshit.

It didn’t deter him, though. It inspired him.

When Y/N sat and thought about it, he realized the thing that started and fueled most rebellions and movements was a symbol. An icon or an example that truly represented the meaning and impact behind said movement. And his meaning or idea was justice.

Justice for all Omegas who had been or had yet to be wronged by a system designed to hold them down in chains for others to use and abuse. He also sought liberation not only for those living today but future generations where they didn’t have to live in a world where they weren’t seen as people or equals.

What could be that symbol?

Conveniently, as Y/N sat in the living room of his moderately luxurious apartment, he looked out the window to see a symbol being cast in the sky. A symbol many residents of Gotham were all too familiar with.

The Bat Symbol.

And that’s when it hit him…

True, Gotham was a city known for its less-than-friendly streets and crime-filled alleys, but if the stories his parents told him were to be believed, Gotham was much worse before Batman began protecting its civilians, along with his numerous sidekicks and partners.

Seriously, why does it seem like Batman, or Gotham in general gets a new hero or vigilante every year? Kind of weird when you think about it.

Yet, they were about to get another one as Y/N had made up his mind. He knew the symbol his movement needed, the inspiration that was lacking for so many Omegas in Gotham and outside of it.

They needed to believe that they could stand up for change. That they could fight back and be victorious against their abusers. There was no such thing as biology not being on their side as much as it was their own belief not being on their side.

Omegas needed something, someone they could look up to, someone they could see fighting back and say “If they can do it, so can I.”

Y/N was going to be that symbol.

Thus, Shadow was born.

A bit cringe when you think about it, but the desired effect was still there.

Using his self-defense skills that never went without practice with his growing up and living in Gotham, as well as a couple of connections with some engineering friends from college, Y/N or Shadow was set to be Gotham’s newest vigilante and protector.

With their help, he created his own style of weapons and utility tools to help him out on the battlefield. Most notable were a pair of twin-style blades that when tossed or thrown, expanded out into throwing discs. They were magnetized to each other as well which threw out the need for grappling hooks when he could just toss one forward and use the other to pull himself forward.

He dubbed them Shadowblades.

Yes, still cringe, but aesthetics are everything when it comes to this kind of work.

It helped to have rich friends, especially when it came to his outfit. While, of course, Y/N couldn’t have everyone he knew getting involved in this project, he only reached out to those he knew he could truly trust as they would have just as much to lose if Y/N was to ever be caught and unmasked.

As mentioned before, aesthetics were everything when it came to these ordeals, so his outfit had to match his name. The color scheme consisted of a shadowy black and purple along with a domino mask that had gold covers in the slits to keep his eyes hidden as well.

Skintight (as usual), but flexible and functional. It was also light enough to accentuate Y/N’s smaller and leaner body frame. However, it did nothing to hide the dump truck from behind.

“Nightwing would be put to shame,” A comment from one of his friends who took it upon themselves to jokingly cop a feel. Y/N ‘jokingly’ tossed one of his blades at them as a warning, which they clearly received seeing how close the spinning blades came to their face before zipping back and folding close in his hand.

That did it. Shadow was a force to be reckoned with.

The moment Y/N hit the scene with his new outfit and weapons, ripples were being made in the city. It didn’t take long for Shadow to become a recognizable name and face in Gotham, some dubbing him the Omega Savior with all of his notable rescues and actions.

Within the first few months of Shadow being a presence in Gotham, he’d not only thrown a few dirty Alpha dogs behind bars for attempted rape and abduction but also stopped a major Omega trafficking ring happening right in the city, as well as liberated a few captives from their abusive homes and partners.

Unsurprisingly, with the trafficking ring, Y/N discovered many links and connections from that operation to people who were big-name executives and even CEOs at major companies. Even more shocking (not), some of those companies were the same ones that took up the mantle of supporting Omega rights and freedoms.

Discreet as ever, Y/N wasted no time in ‘suggesting’ that Wayne Enterprises cut all deals and partnerships with these companies, which helped earn him a promotion when the scandals were eventually revealed to the public. This ended up putting him more on Bruce Wayne’s radar who delivered his promotion news personally himself.

In every story, there’s a turning point. Many know the structure that many books, movies, and even shows will follow with the inciting incident that leads to the rising action until you reach the climax, where things typically turn for the worse.

For Y/N, that moment was when Bruce conveniently decided to introduce him to his first adopted son at the same time he was delivering his promotion news, Richard Grayson, or Dick for short. Little did he know how much Dick was about to invade his life.

But, everyone deserves a little teaser, right?

Shortly after Bruce introduced them, he had to leave for a meeting, leaving the two alone in Y/N’s new office. It wasn’t awkward, but it also wasn’t comfortable, at least for the Omega who was wary of being left in a room alone with an unfamiliar Alpha, despite how famous he was.

Yet, Dick seemed to keep a respectable front, only coming as close as he deemed allowed while making small talk, and congratulating Y/N on his new promotion. The Omega gave his thanks while setting his things up on his new desk and shelves.

Now, despite earlier thoughts and possible assumptions, Y/N was no prude. Just because he fought against Alpha abuse and their entitlement didn’t mean he didn’t have his fair share of interest and attractions.

And Dick Grayson did spark his interest. The man was undeniably handsome and had a body many either desired to touch or have. But, Y/N knew self-restraint, and sad as it may be, in this world, he knew to practice caution with whom he showed his attraction.

Dick, however, did not follow the same line of thinking. Of course, why would he if the world was made for him to not have to?

He noticed one of Y/N’s gazes towards him and took that as all the sign he needed to make his move. When Bruce said he was going to deliver the good news initially to the Omega, Dick all but demanded he bring him along. The former acrobat had his eyes on Y/N ever since he first started, and was waiting for the perfect chance to swoop in and make his claim.

Dick did have the right idea that Y/N was not the easy type, and would probably try to resist his charming suaveness. He hadn’t met anyone before who had such luck, so he wasn’t worried. In fact, the idea of a potential challenge made him all the more bold.

And he showed that boldness by closing the distance between him and the Omega while his back was turned, pressing himself against his backside. Dick was not shy about letting Y/N feel what he had packing down there while he in return got a feel of what he had decided was now going to be his.

Y/N immediately jumped at the touch and turned to move himself away but was held in place by the adopted Wayne who leaned forward, pressing his hard chest against the Omega’s while leaning his lips down their his ear. 

“Feel like breaking in the new desk?” Dick whispered hotly into his ear, pressing his very noticeable throbbing appendage against Y/N’s backside, the layer of clothes between them doing nothing to help mitigate the sensation.

Y/N could feel his instincts urging him to submit and present himself to the Alpha. He was no stranger to rumors and gossip and heard the many tales of Dick Grayson’s, well… dick, from many of his co-workers. Despite Bruce’s very relaxed rule about employees having relations with his family.

Though the temptation was there to see if the rumors were true, he was not about to let himself become another number or name in Dick’s or anyone's black book. He had to remain a symbol.

“Sorry, but I prefer to keep things a bit professional. And, frankly, you don’t meet my criteria.” Y/N sarcastically remarked.

“Oh, come on,” Dick smirked against the side of Y/N’s face, slowly grinding himself against him a little harder while rubbing one of his hands up his side, feeling the hot skin of the Omega under his silk-white button-up. “Don’t tell me you have a rule against workplace sex. Or are you worried because I’m the boss’s son? If you don’t tell, I won’t.”

Dick began pressing soft kisses against Y/N’s skin, now using both of his hands to rub up Y/N’s front, slowly beginning to undo the buttons. The Omega had to admit that he was good with his hands and lips, and he could definitely see some truth in his co-worker's words about the man’s hip control. But, logic wasn’t out of his mind yet.

Y/N began to use his arms to push back against the desk, creating a little room while the Alpha was distracted with trying to reach inside his shirt. He pushed off the desk, creating enough momentum to throw Dick off balance and allow him the chance to step out of his grasp, immediately moving to the other side of the room putting distance between the two.

“Boo, you’re no fun,” Dick mocked.

“Not for you. One of my criteria is not being a self-entitled brat who only thinks with his dick, and that’s just to get a text back.” Y/N rudely articulated. He quickly fixed the buttons on his shirt while the Alpha ogled his body up and down with no shame.

“If you come back over here, I’ll show you why everyone calls me Dick.”

He scoffed before exiting out of the room, marching himself to Bruce’s office. His assistant, Wyndall, was sitting at his desk, looking at the storm that was an angry Y/N who demanded to know if Bruce was in a meeting.

Wyndall was one of the only other few Omegas alongside Y/N who worked (relatively) this high in the company, so they both found friendship in one another and would often meet up for lunch to hang out and talk. So, when he saw his friend storming in the way he did, he knew something had to be wrong and immediately paged Mr. Wayne.

Given the okay, Y/N went into the office and, to keep a long story short, had a very heated discussion with Mr. Wayne that definitely did not end in him threatening to castrate his son if he came near him again. And, hypothetically if it did, Bruce respected it.

Y/N understandably made demands that if Dick was going to be present on company property at any time, he be notified in advance and not left alone with him at any point. He also made sure it was clear on the Alpha’s part that he was to have no contact or even attempt any with him and to keep his distance at all times, should they ever be in the same room together.

Bruce agreed to everything without a second thought and apologized on his son’s behalf, which, in truth, didn’t surprise Y/N as his boss always had been understanding and accommodating since he started at Wayne Enterprises. Y/N had to admit that the billionaire was one of the few Alphas that gave him hope in his vision for the future.

That was only the beginning of his troubles though. Not only did Y/N have to deal with pesky Alphas in his civilian life, but he had to deal with it in his vigilante one as well.

As more time went by with Shadow cleaning up the streets and helping more Omegas by the day, he eventually caught the attention of the city’s other ‘defenders’. This is when Y/N learned how ‘possessive’ Batman was of Gotham and didn’t appreciate some newbie moving on his turf without checking with him first.

He didn’t give Y/N the grace of making an appearance himself, but he did send his lackeys, or ‘team’ after him. Thankfully, none of them could keep up with him in the field, given his natural speed and agility. A credit to his Omega nature.

Only one could keep up with him though, and that’s where his Alpha troubles began as Shadow. Nightwing, Gotham’s second most famous vigilante, seemed to make it his personal mission to catch Y/N, and unlike the others, gave the Omega a run for his money the way he managed to keep up with his elusive ways.

The first night they met, which also happened to be the first night he made contact with someone from Batman’s team, he wasn’t surprised to discover he was being tailed and watched. He was expecting them at some point to try and make contact with him.

Though, in hindsight, he expected more of a welcoming, collaborative approach and less of a threatening, hostile trying to capture him one. 

Shadow had just finished dealing with a couple of Alpha thugs who were trying to force themselves on an innocent Omega when Batman’s first sidekick made his appearance. Just after he finished tying up the mammoths, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing, hearing the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind.

Immediately grabbing his blades from his sides, he turned to find Nightwing standing just a few short feet away from him, blocking the way out of the alley. Y/N had to admit, Nightwing was definitely a lot more attractive in person. Not that he wasn’t from far away, but you could appreciate the view more up close.

“So, you’re the new kid on the block that has Batman all worked up? Have to say, I wasn’t expecting this when he asked me to check you out, but I’m not disappointed,” The taller man spoke, the shadows around his face barely hiding the suggestive glance he was giving the Omega.

“I get the feeling you’re doing a lot more than just checking out.”

“Guilty.” Nightwing chuckled.

Shadow’s facemask hid his annoyed eye roll, suddenly wishing it was Red Hood or Robin he was dealing with instead. From what he heard, they tended to get to their point a lot faster.

“Well, I’d say I’m flattered, but I did promise my mother I’d never lie. Anyway, I’m assuming you’re here on behalf of the Bat himself.” Y/N inquired, wanting to just get to the point so he could get back to doing his work.

“Yeah, Dark Knight would like a word with you. Not really pleased with you moving in on his turf. Can’t say I agree with him, though. I’m sure many have appreciated your touch around here.”

Cue another annoyed eye roll from Shadow. Between him and Dick, he didn’t know who had it worse when deciding to try and flirt at the most inopportune times. And it looked like it was going to be a draw.

“Now, my instructions were to give you the chance to come on your own and, if not, use whatever external measures as needed. But, I’m willing to forgo this little meeting in my memory if you’ll give me something worth forgetting.”

“And what exactly would that be?” As if Y/N didn’t already know what the smug Alpha was getting towards.

“I know you help and save Omegas, but what about poor Alphas in need?”

“Assuming you’re the Alpha in question, what exactly would you need?”

“The touch and comfort of a sweet and savory Omega like yourself.”

It was cheesy and overused. A cliché at best and totally cringe at worst. But, Y/N couldn’t deny (try as he might) the attraction he felt stirring in his body. He didn’t know what it was, but there was something in him itching to give in to the Alpha’s request.

It was like the feeling when you hear a sound or lyrics to a song and it reminds you of something, but you just can’t put your finger on it. And there was something oddly familiar about the vigilante that had Y/N’s curiosity piqued.

Yes, Y/N had standards and criteria for who he would decide to give his time to, but he couldn’t deny that Dick, and now Nightwing, both held something that made the idea of throwing both of those things out the window. But, again, his goal of being someone to look up to for him and all Omegas alike remained strong in his mind, so he went against his body’s sexual desires and instincts.

Was Nightwing attractive up close and afar? Arguably, yes. Did he appear to have a very nice and chiseled body under his skin tight suit? Also, arguably, yes. Yet, was he just as infuriating and annoying as every other persistent Alpha who couldn’t spell ‘Hint’ even with a dictionary in front of them?

Absolutely.

It was this thinking that helped Y/N come back to his state of mind before he faked a sultry smile on his face, walking forward to rub his hand down Nightwing’s chest (which, Jesus Christ, that motherfucker is FIRM). The Alpha smirked down at the Omega going to place his hands against his waist before getting the uno reverse of his life.

In some complicated flip and turn, Shadow managed to not only catch Nightwing off his guard but put him in a submission hold with his head and neck being squeezed between the Omega’s flexing thighs. What was that saying about saving lives? Because this seemed to be the opposite.

“Is this the comfort you were seeking,” Shadow maliciously teased the Alpha, while flexing his legs more, effectively choking out the Alpha. When he decided to release him, Nightwing fell to the ground coughing, trying to catch his breath while the Omega threw one of his blades to zip off.

“Next time, tell Batman to send Red Hood or Robin. They’re a bit more persuasive and less desperate.”

After that, Y/N made sure to be extra careful on his patrols, figuring Nightwing would not be as forgiving lest they meet again in another dark alley or atop a rooftop. His Alpha troubles were nowhere near over yet, especially in his civilian life.

Some time had passed after the incident between him and Dick at his job, and after having the janitorial and cleaning staff do a deep clean of his entire office which he tipped them graciously for (tip your service workers people), Bruce adhered to his conditions perfectly.

Whenever Dick was in the office, Y/N was immediately notified and he would have his schedule altered for the day to avoid any run-ins with the billionaire’s son. If there was an occasion where he couldn’t get out of it and the former acrobat was present, he kept his distance from him and was happy to see the other doing the same even if it looked like he didn’t want to.

You’d think with his tight schedules at work and his busy nightlife, the young Omega would barely have any time for fun and social things like parties and dating.

You’d be right. Y/N did not party at all, but he did find time to mix and mingle occasionally and had come up lucky in recent months. On a previous outing with some co-workers, after a successful deal had gone through, Y/N had met a nice and attractive Alpha who happened to be a friend of Wyndall’s.

His name was Leo and he was not only a fitness trainer, but also a teacher in self-defense arts and fighting. Guess what their first date was considering the mutual interest.

Dinner and a movie. Dirty minds think alike, huh?

But, Y/N truly felt like he was growing strong feelings for Leo. He was a respectable Alpha who treated him with nothing but kindness, respect, and love. Attentive, romantic, and very easy on the eyes, the more time he spent with the Alpha, the more he could imagine spending the rest of his life with him.

Of course, he was no fool, and though they were still relatively new to this relationship, he wasn’t going to let up yet, knowing the first year is usually when the prospective partner is always on their best behavior. Really it was six months, but he was being gracious since he liked him.

Y/N even brought him as his date to Bruce’s gala that was being held in his honor. A major deal had been made at Wayne Enterprises where they partnered with some of the biggest charities in the region to begin plans for creating homes and centers for Omegas who were victims of abusive homes and relationships as well as those who were saved from human trafficking.

At first, he was tempted to not go, but since he was being honored at the event for being the major showrunner for the entire project, it’d be rude for him not to show. Of course, Leo decided to make it a whole show and went out to rent a new tux as well as a limousine to take them to Wayne Manor where the event was being held.

To say Y/N felt like a prince being swept off his feet the entire night would have been an understatement. Not only was he impressed with Leo’s manners and dedication, but he also duly noted the Alpha’s restraint and control considering they hadn’t done the do yet, despite being almost half a year into their relationship.

And there were moments when they came close and the temptation was all too real. Contrary to the earlier joke, the Alpha and Omega did have more physical type dates, where they met in Leo’s gym and would practice different moves and fighting styles following both of their training.

As you can imagine when you bump and grind hot sweaty bodies against each other, at some point, things can get carried away at intervals, but Leo always pulled back, saying he wanted to respect Y/N’s decision and wait until they were both fully ready. Damn, having morals and respect for yourself can really take the fun out of things sometimes.

Anyway, the night went on without a hitch. Y/N mingled and greeted the guests as well as shook hands with a few important people Bruce wanted to introduce him to. He gave a speech and had a few more inside jokes with Leo about the stuffy and posh atmosphere these galas radiate.

Right when they were planning to make their exit, things of course had to get interesting.

“Evening, Y/N. Long time, no see. It’s good to see you.”

Y/N counted to five in his head, reminding himself where he was and that couldn’t introduce the back of his fist to Dick Grayson’s cheek, no matter how bad he wanted to. Their running into each other was inevitable, the Omega recognized that. Whether it was him who accidentally did it, or the billionaire’s son who intentionally did it, they were bound to run into each other again.

He remained civilized though. His mother always taught him how being an Omega in this world, people were going to try and push him more than any others just because they saw him as an easy target. She always said the moment you reacted, you proved them right, and he wasn’t going to let that happen. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be petty though…

“Dick, what a surprise. I’d say likewise, but you know how our Lord & Savior feels about lying,’ Y/N responded with a smile on his face but the sarcasm clearer than ever.

Leo chuckled to the side of him, and for a moment, a quick fleeing second, Dick’s cool and suave charade dropped, and Y/N saw how his attitude and lack of respect triggered the Alpha. The adopted Wayne managed to retain his instincts though, keeping a cool smile on his face.

“Ah, you’re funny. A lot funnier than I remember when we were in your office,” It was then Dick seemed to acknowledge the other presence standing before him, “And just who might this be? Your next conquest?” He inquired in a ‘joking’ manner.

That wasn’t appreciated, given the nasty grimace that wiped over Y/N’s face as he was about to respond with an equal if not more than childish insult. At least, until Leo decided to interject in.

“Actually, I’m his date. Though, I wouldn’t mind being a conquest if it came to that. It's better than showing up alone to an event like this with no one by my side. Speaking of, where’s your date?” Leo asked, an egotistical smile on his face as he stared down the other Alpha, already knowing the answer.

Dick looked more than aggravated, and despite his surprise at Leo’s snarkiness, it did not stop Y/N from laughing out loud, despite his failed attempts at concealing them. While the Omega would have loved to stand there a bit longer and see how interesting that encounter could have gotten, he knew better and decided that was a perfect time to make a strategic exit.

“Well, Dick, as much as I’d love to stay and chat, I wouldn’t. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Dick.” Y/N said, quickly grabbing Leo’s arm and tugging him towards the main entrance.

When they reached the main hall, Leo went to give their valet card to the attendant standing by the door, while Y/N informed him he was going to use the bathroom quickly before they left. Both of them were oblivious to the shadow following behind the Omega.

Y/N found the bathroom and quickly did his business, however, he did take a small moment while using the toilet to admire the decor and pristine state of the bathroom.

“Oh, to be filthy rich and pee in luxury.”

After flushing and washing his hands, he was drying them off and was about to head for the door when it suddenly swung open and a familiar face entered.

“Dick! What the hell you fucking perv! Have you ever heard of knocking, or did Bruce forget that in etiquette training?”

“Funny,” Dick replied, his usual lighthearted tone gone, replaced by something dark and vexing. Y/N didn’t understand why he felt a small flutter in his abdomen at the tone of voice, but he chose to ignore that in favor of getting past the creepy Alpha.

“Yeah, I’m hilarious. Open the door, Dick. I’m not playing these games with you,” Y/N ordered.

“Who said anything about playing,” Dick asked, but he apparently wasn’t looking for an answer if the way he grabbed the Omega by his suit jacket and threw him against the sink was anything to go by.

“What the fuck! Get off of me!” Y/N shouted, pushing against the Alpha’s chest, but his smaller state compared to the acrobat put him at a slight disadvantage. If the hard and prominent muscles he felt under the jacket were anything to go by, he’d say Dick spent a fair amount of time in the gym. Made sense though, given his former circus background.

“Oh, come on. You can quit the act now.” Dick huffed while rubbing his hands down the Omega’s body, stopping right at his waist.

“What act? Were you dropped on your head as a baby?” Y/N retorted, still pushing (groping) at the Alpha’s chest. He could feel Dick’s fingers prodding around his body, taking extra time to squeeze his ass before making their way further down his legs, lifting them and forcing them around the acrobat’s waist.

Dick’s smug look grew even more when he could see the Omega’s submissive instincts kicking in, feeling how less and less he was putting up a fight against his actions.

“This act. Look at you, slowly giving in and letting me take control of your body. I’ve dealt with plenty of bratty little Omegas like you. Playing the honorable and conservative role, only to give it up the second you get the attention you’ve been begging for. You almost had me fooled for a quick second. But, after seeing that sad excuse you brought here as a date, I realized your game immediately. I’ll admit it though, you managed to get what you wanted. I’ve never been as jealous before as I was watching you with him all night.”

While saying all this to Y/N, Dick had wrapped one of his arms around the Omega’s waist forcing his body forward on the marble sink and pushing his own against it. His hard and throbbing member was positioned at an angle in the Alpha’s trousers where the smaller male could almost make out the entire length and size of the throbbing tool, the way it was being ground against his pelvis.

That combined with the adopted Wayne’s ever-talented lips sucking and kissing at the Omega’s neck while sniffing the boy’s pheromones and cologne left a fog in Y/N’s mind that was hard to see past. No longer was he fighting back against Dick, but instead he was mindlessly rubbing and digging his fingers into the hard muscles of his chest and abs covered by his white dress shirt, something the Alpha held a smug satisfaction in.

“Oh, would you look at that? What happened to your high and mighty attitude? I thought you weren’t attracted to demanding and ‘barbaric’ Alphas like me? For the amount of crap you’ve talked, I figured you’d have more restraint than that.” Dick’s mocking words were a bit in cruel taste, but it was a taste Y/N couldn’t decide if he liked or not.

His smug attitude and confidence were attractive to the Omega, given the pleasurable tingles he could feel inside his underwear which were slowly getting wetter by the second. But, that was the very thing that confused him.

Y/N couldn’t count how many times he heard this similar or exact sentiment from another overly confident Alpha who felt entitled to his attention and body. So, why was he having different thoughts and reactions now? Was there something in the air? Did he recently start taking some new vitamin or pill that had psychosis-like side effects? Did someone cast a spell on him?

Or was Y/N genuinely attracted and turned on by Dick Grayson and was just too stubborn to realize every word the Alpha was saying was true. He’d rather not think about that.

Small moans and grunts began to slip out of Y/N’s mouth while feeling the increased kisses and marks being left across his neck and jaw. With his legs spread and Dick in between, there was nothing left to the imagination of what he felt grinding against his pelvis.

When his noises were beginning to reach a volume level that could bring unwanted attention to the Alpha, he had no choice but to remove one of his hands from the delectable body he was ravishing to cover the Omega’s mouth. It was okay for now, he’d have him screaming in no time.

“Oh, Y/N. You’re so perfect. Why do you have to act so stuck up though? Just look at you right now,” Dick muttered against the Omega’s skin before looking up. 

It was a sight to behold, seeing the same man responsible for fighting against the system that held Omegas down in the first place being subjected to the same treatment he claimed to hate, and enjoying it at that.

“And to think, we could've been doing this very same thing in your office if you weren’t acting so stuck up.”

Dick’s feverish kisses and bites increased as his hand forced open Y/N’s shirt, exposing his shiny, leaking nipples to the Alpha. He smirked at the Omega’s whimper from feeling the cool air in the bathroom rush against his wet nipples before moving his lips down and attaching them to one of the nubs.

The yelp Y/N let out under Dick’s hand was enough to have the Alpha pausing in his ministrations, making sure no one came knocking on the door before continuing his feeding on the Omega’s nectar. His other hand that wasn’t muffling the moans and cries of the Omega was working its way down the front of the smaller man’s past, just getting past the elastic band of his underwear.

Y/N’s eyes went wide when he felt Dick's cool fingers prodding around at the top of his arousal, just tugging at his cocklette which he knew was probably leaking slick along with this cunt. He did his best to resist the sensations, but even he had to admit the man was skilled.

His eyes began scanning around the room, trying his best not to get distracted by the hot sight of Dick’s dark head of hair lapping and sucking at his chest like a newborn while he felt his pleasure nub and cocklette being fondled under his underwear. That’s when he spotted something of interest.

Sitting right beside his body was a candle, and more importantly, the heavy looking golden holder it was sitting in. It was a bit hard at first with the distractions he was dealing with, but he managed to get the candle out and holder into his grip, using it to bash the side of Dick’s head.

He shouted out in pain, leaning back just enough for Y/N to shove his body forward before swinging his leg right into Dick’s exposed crotch. The dark-haired man groaned in pain, falling over on his knees while clutching his bruised genitals, looking up to the Omega who scooted himself off the counter, taking a moment to collect himself before cleaning himself up and fixing his clothes.

“Still playing hard to get, I see,” Dick uttered.

Y/N turned around, throwing a dirty look toward the Alpha on the floor before turning his nose up at him in a sneer, “You wish I was playing with you at all.”

“True, but it’s okay for now. I’ll have you begging for me soon enough,” Dick chuckled, before groaning again from another painful throb.

Y/N tried to ignore the flutter he felt in his pants and the surge of feelings he felt in his chest. He gave Dick one last glare, before exiting the bathroom, promptly finding Leo and leaving the party. On his way out though, he ran into Bruce who looked concerned at the Omega’s disheveled and angry state.

“Ask your son,” He retorted, grabbing his valet ticket out of his jacket before looking up at the CEO, a storm of emotion and thoughts behind his eyes, “Mr. Wayne, it’s been a pleasure working for W.E., and I’m very happy to see the progress we’ve been able to make in my time at the company. But, after tonight, I think it’s best if I move on to other opportunities. I’ll be sending someone to collect my things from my office.”

With that, Y/N grabbed Leo’s hand and exited the party and Wayne Manor, hopefully for the last time.

That night, the Omega was extra brutal on his patrol, taking out his anger and confusion on every bloody criminal and thug Alpha who even looked like they were up to no good. By the end of the night, Y/N was going to have to ask his contacts for some new gloves with how dirty and covered in blood they were.

As the weeks rolled by, Y/N received numerous emails and calls from Bruce Wayne asking him to come back to the company and if they could work something out. Even Wyndall had reached out to see what was going on with him.

The only person he Y/N talked to about all of this was Leo. He did tell him what went down in the bathroom, and that he just needed some time to sort out his head. The Alpha respected his wishes and still checked in on him every other day just to make sure he was okay.

The thing was, Y/N didn’t really know if he was okay. He felt like he was going crazy.

On one hand, he was very angry and upset still about the bathroom incident and just the situation overall. He couldn’t believe the nerve of Dick, thinking he could just bust his way into the room and into his life and just have his way with him. It was unbelievably arrogant and barbaric.

On the OTHER hand, it was the barbarism of the situation that had Y/N so confused. More specifically, why he was so attracted to it. The truth was, Dick pointed out some significant stuff in that bathroom that had the Omega overthinking everything.

Why was he attracted to it, and why didn’t he fight Dick off harder. He could’ve taken him and avoided that whole situation, but he didn’t. Why?

That was the question that kept pounding in his head over and over for weeks on end. One part of him wanted nothing to do with Dick Grayson, but the other part wanted everything to do with him. Wanted to give in and submit to the Alpha.

But, he had to be a symbol. And he couldn’t do that if he gave in to the very thing he was fighting against.

Though, little did he know that soon, he wouldn’t have much of a choice.

Even if his Alpha troubles had gone quiet in his civilian life, his vigilante one was another story. Shadow was plagued by countless run-ins with Nightwing who was persistent in his endeavors of trying to corner him. That or he wanted another chance to throw some cheesy one-liners at him, probably both. Thankfully, Y/N managed to stay a step ahead every single time and always managed to avoid his capture.

At least that’s what he thought.

Things would take a major turn when Shadow decided to answer a distress call coming from Wayne Towers. An Omega claimed they were being harassed and stalked by an Alpha who locked them in the building. 

Since it was his old stomping grounds, and he knew plenty of ways in and out of the building, he figured it’d be a quick mission. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the outside, but for some reason, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing, but he still decided to go in.

The first thing he noticed when he got inside was how quiet the building was, almost too quiet. He’d worked plenty of late shifts in this building before and the silence was never this loud. Where were the nighttime guards? Or the other executives who inevitably stayed late to work?

Something weird was going on. Y/N made his way to the top of the building, closer to Bruce’s office where he heard the Omega say he was hiding over the police line he tapped into. As he approached closer to the hiding spot, he couldn’t help how tense he grew, feeling the ever-growing sensation of being watched take over him.

When Y/N finally made it to Bruce’s office, he was more or less shocked at who he found waiting for him.

“Wyndall?”

The Omega looked up, confused at first but then suddenly shouting out only to be muffled by the gag around his mouth. His hands and feet were bound by rope and he was tucked into the corner. Y/N was about to make his way over until he realized Wyndall was looking at something behind him and not at him.

He turned just in time to see a flash of blue and black lunge at him before ducking out of the way in time, “Nightwing,” The Omega growled under his breath.

“Good to finally see you again, Shadow. Well, at least all of you since I’m only used to seeing the far-distant view of your back as you run away from me. Though, it’s definitely not a sight I’m complaining about.” Nightwing said, his usual playful smirk on his face as he once again eyed the Omega vigilante up and down like their first meeting.

“Attacking innocent Omegas just to get to me, why am I not surprised? Is Batman that mad at me?”

“Who said anything about Batman? Maybe I just wanted the chance to finish our conversation from before. And you say attacking, I say leveraging advantages.”

The Omega looked from Nightwing to Wyndall who was watching the exchange while still struggling to get out of his binds. “Well, hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not in much of a talking mood,” Shadow said before grabbing one of his blades and throwing it at the other vigilante.

Nightwing managed to duck but was unprepared for the attacks he received. Using the surprise to his advantage, Shadow landed quick blows along the other vigilante’s chest and legs before sweeping under him and knocking him to the ground.

When Nightwing didn’t immediately get up, the Omega rushed over to Wyndall, using his blades to cut the ropes and gag, “Thank you,” Wyndall began to say, before both of them turned to see the other vigilante not where Shadow left him.

“No time for that, just grab your stuff and let’s go,” Shadow ordered, getting the Omega off the ground and both of them making a break for the stairs.

Just as Wyndall made it to the exit and Shadow right behind him, neither of them saw Nightwing dart out of the shadows, surprising the Omega vigilante before being tackled to the ground.

“Where do you think you’re going? We’re not finished talking,” The Alpha growled in the smaller man’s face, doing his best to keep the Omega pinned.

Thankfully for the Alpha, the Omega was distracted by Wyndall coming back to try and help him, “No, Wyndall! Just go. Get out of here!”

“But-”

“I said GO!”

He stood there for a few moments contemplating, before turning around and heading down the stairs. Nightwing smirked down at the Omega, using his strength to overpower him and pin his arms down.

“Alone at last,” Nightwing smiled before leaning down and claiming Shadow’s lips in a soft, but demanding kiss. The Omega could feel a familiar sensation sparking in his pants and certain feelings swirling in his gut.

Though, it didn’t mean he was giving up, doing his best to wiggle his leg putting as much momentum as he could into his knee as he shoved into the Alpha’s crotch. His eyes went wide as he let out a muffled grunt before breaking the kiss and letting his face fall into the side of the Omega’s neck.

But his grip didn’t loosen at all nor did his strength waver over the Omega as he tried to push back to free himself, and that’s when he heard the chuckle beside his ear.

“Sorry, but I’ve learned from your tricks before.”

Nightwing leaned off the Omega, but not enough for him to escape. Only enough to where he could flip him around on the floor, bringing his arms and hands behind his back before grabbing some more binding rope off his utility belt.

He tied both arms and legs together, grabbing his shadowblades off his waist and attaching them to his belt. When he had him secured, he turned the Omega back over and lifted him off the ground, holding him steady while taking a moment to admire his captured prize.

“All that running and fighting, and look at you know, finally caught in my grasp.”

“So what, you’re gonna take me to Batman now?”

Nightwing chuckled again, “Hmm, still haven’t figured it out yet. I told you, this isn’t about Batman. This is about you and me. It’s about finally taking what rightfully belongs to me.”

The Alpha leaned down to grab the Omega around his thighs before throwing him up in a fire-man carry and making his way down the hall. Y/N watched from his place atop the Alpha’s shoulder as they traveled through the dark and quiet halls. Eyeing the various security cameras positioned throughout the hall and noting that they were all missing the usual red light that indicated they were on and watching.

‘Did Nightwing manage to cut the cameras?’ Y/N thought to himself as they made their way down another hall, a familiar one at that as he realized they were getting close to his old office.

It was then that Y/N started thinking about various things. How Nightwing seemed to predict his move of kneeing him in the crotch as a last resort since he was apparently wearing some protective garment that kept his genitals safe. Then again, why wouldn’t he being a vigilante?

But, the comment he made seemed as if he expected it. Then, there was the fact that out of all the people Nightwing chose to attack in Wayne Towers, he chose Wyndall, one of Y/N's few friends at the company from this time working here.

And while he’d rather not think about it, that kiss they shared was just as pleasurable as it was familiar. Things were starting to slowly come together for the Omega. It was becoming somewhat clear that Nightwing knew he was, especially given the fact that he was right about his earlier hunch.

They were heading for his old office.

Y/N recognized the hall the moment they turned down the corner, before they made their way through the familiar glass door, Nightwing pausing in the middle of the room while looking at the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Hmm, feels just like the first time, only the view I have is much better than yours,” The Alpha gloated before using his other hand that wasn’t holding the Omega’s thighs together to land a harsh spank on the plump ass next to his face.

“Ouch, you fucking asshole,” Shadow yelled, before yelping out again in pain as he was subjected to even more brutal and harsher slaps.

Imagine how he felt in the moment, the Omega Vigilante tasked with saving his kind from brutish behavior, getting spanked over the shoulder of the Alpha who’d relentlessly pursued him for months. Only now, he knew that this Alpha was not different from the one that had been pursuing him in his civilian life as well.

“Alright, Dick! That’s enough.” He shouted, still flailing over the Alpha’s shoulder from the sting in his ass as he tried to hold back the tears that were brewing in his eyes.

The Omega suddenly found himself back on the ground, standing on his two feet but being held by the Alpha at the waist. He did his best to not scoff at the arrogant smirk on the vigilante’s face as he looked down at him with a knowing look.

“Oh, finally put the pieces together, have you?” Dick asked.

“You didn’t make it hard with your not-so-clever hints and cliché remarks.”

“Careful,” Dick warned, squeezing the tender behind while laying a hand over his growing arousal, “Before when I gave you the chance to submit to me willingly, you refused and defied me every single time, always with that smart and condescending attitude of yours. I was forgiving then, but not so much now. And I don’t have to be.”

Y/N didn’t know why, but that same feeling he had before in the bathroom, that ever-growing curiosity, had him wanting to bite back. To test the Alpha and see how far he would go. He didn’t understand why he was actively fighting to get out of the situation he was in.

Frankly, he didn’t care about any of that. Right now, at this moment, he couldn’t remember or think of why he cared about being a symbol so much.

All he cared about was wanting to get fucked.

“Hmm, well, maybe if you had been someone worthy of submitting to, I actually would have listened and given in. Even now, I still don’t see someone deserving of my attention, let alone my body.” Y/N remarked, his own smirk pulling at his lips.

The look in Dick’s eyes was something menacing. It was as if the curtains that were obscuring who the Alpha really was were suddenly going up in flames, and now, the real show was about to begin.

“Oh, you want someone worthy, huh? I’ll give you someone worthy.” Dick uttered, a darkness to his words before he forced Y/N onto his knees.

He undid the clasps of his utility belt before undoing the secret zippers at his crotch, reaching inside and pulling out a sizable tool. Definitely not small, but not too big that would have Y/N clenching. But, appearances could be deceiving. After all, Dick was just as much known as a playboy as his adoptive father.

“How about we fill that mouth with something more worthy, huh?”

He barely gave the Omega any time to comply, using his hand to grip the smaller male’s jaw and force his mouth open, using his other hand to shove his hard appendage inside and down his throat. Y/N choked and gagged over the organ, saliva already drooling out around his lips and tears building in his eyes as the Alpha let out a guttural groan, gripping his hair now and holding him against his pubes. 

“That worthy enough for ya?” Dick growled out, jerking himself forward causing another round of chokes and gags and reveling in the sound of them, “Finally, after all that time, waiting around and watching you ignore me and toss me aside, look where you are now. Crying over my dick.”

Y/N couldn’t even use his hands to try and push back at Dick’s hips, seeing as they were still bound behind his back.

Eventually, the Alpha pulled himself out, chuckling at the sounds of the Omega gasping for air and coughing. “Enjoy this little break, it’s gonna be one of the few you get all night,” Dick taunted, yanking on Y/N’s hair again before shoving himself back down his throat.

He kept the Omega like that for another minute, seeing how long he could go before giving him a slight breather for air. When he had enough of that, he slowly began to move in and out of his throat, watching with sinful pleasure at the teary-eyed look the Omega was looking up at him with as his veiny appendage slid in and out of his mouth, a glistening shine come off it from his salvia and the light of the moon through the window.

Eventually, Dick was ruthlessly shoving himself in and out of Y/N’s lips, barely giving him any breaks or breathers as he claimed the Omega’s throat for himself. This was only the first of his many victories that he would achieve tonight. His patience and planning would finally reward him, especially with the insurance he set up for himself, as he eyed the hidden camera tucked away on a shelf in the corner of the room.

Y/N had no choice but to learn how to breathe through his nose to get the much-needed air he required as Dick had his way with his throat. His mouth was covered in spit and drool while his eyes and cheeks were soaked with his tears. When Dick pulled himself out for the last time, he took a sharp breath in, falling forward slightly as he also released the grip on his hair.

“n-nh ... ah … fuck,” The Omega breathed before feeling himself be yanked back up to his feet and pulled towards the desk.

“I’m not done with you yet, slut.”

With one sweeping motion, he knocked everything to the ground before forcing the Omega against the desk and bending him over it. He made quick work of the utility belt before unbuckling and unzipping wherever he had to, pulling down his pants and revealing his wet cunt to him.

“Oh, look at that, even prettier than I imagined,” Dick looked over the panting Omega, taking pride in the fact that this was all his doing before taking a finger and rubbing it over the wet fold and leaking head of his cocklette, “What do you think, Y/N? Should I go slow? Give you time to adjust and widen up for me? Or should I just take you like this? Since I’m apparently not worthy enough?” He asked with a leering sneer.

“please ...a-ah, fuck ... !” Y/N moaned, feeling Dick’s fingers slip inside his heat while his thumb rubbed rough circles over his cocklette and nub.

“Aw, look at that. Told you I’d have you begging for me soon enough,” He said, forcing his fingers inside him a little more before taking them back out, “That’s enough of that. Time’s up, slut. Now, I finally claim what’s rightfully mine.”

Dick turned Y/N over, removing the rope at his ankles before pushing the smaller male further up on the desk, slotting himself between the open legs. He took a moment to admire the sight before him while slapping his dick against the Omega’s dripping entrance.

“After all that time, all that fighting back and acting like you didn’t want me. Look at you here now, helpless, about to have your body claimed by your rightful Alpha. And to think, we could’ve been doing this so long ago. You and me, Nightwing & Shadow, patrolling the streets of Gotham together, but you decided to be a little bitch about everything and resist me at every turn. Well, now, you’ve got nowhere to go. You’re all mine, and I won’t be letting you go anytime soon. Not now, not tonight or tomorrow, and especially, not after this…”

Dick gripped his appendage while holding Y/N at the center of his stomach, sinking himself inside the wet heat with a deep and vocal groan. The Omega shouted out at the brute and forceful intrusion before feeling a hand slap over his mouth.

“Quiet, slut. I may have knocked the guards out, but we still want you alerting anyone else now, do we?”

Dick held his hand firm against the Omega’s mouth while savoring the feeling of the tight flesh wrapped all around his cock. He had sex with many people before, Omegas and Betas alike, but none of them compared to the feeling he had right at that moment.

A few moments went by, Y/N’s vocal but muffled cries slowly quieting as Dick does his best to calm himself down as well before taking his first move inside the soft and tight cunt. Another whine pops up from the Omega, feeling the drag and pull of the hard cock in his insides.

“Quiet baby, I’m trying to focus on not cumming here, and your little sweet sounds aren’t helping,” Dick ordered, taking his time to slowly move himself in and out while fighting down his growing climax. He knew they would have multiple rounds, but there was nothing like the euphoric feeling of claiming your prize. Conquering the very thing that fought so hard against you.

And, now, his reward lay helpless beneath him. Subject to whatever treatment and punishment the Alpha saw fit. Dick knew it, and he could see Y/N was realizing the way he squirmed around on the desk trying to adjust themselves to being owned and taken by someone worthy.

When Dick made his first full thrust inside, the tears sprang to Y/N’s eyes again as he tried to scoot himself up on the desk away from the intrusive weapon spearing his guts.

“Uh uh, baby,” Dick said, holding him by one of his legs as he forced the Omega still on his cock, “there’s no running from this. You’ve got no choice. You’re tied up and helpless, and you’re going to take my cock whether you like it or not.”

And take it, he did.

Once Dick got himself under control and didn’t feel like he would cum too soon, he mercilessly fucked the Omega with no tone of softness or tenderness in his movements. His cries under the Alpha’s palms never ceased, seemingly only increasing in volume as neared closer and closer to his own orgasm.

Above him, Dick groaned and grunted like an animal while plowing his insides, his other palm was busy squeezing roughly at the whiny little cocklette and rubbing furiously over his little pinch of nerves. The evidence of their filthy fun was becoming increasingly more potent as the slick around his cock combined with the soaking and squelching walls of the cunt he was defiling dripped and splashed onto the floor and around the edges of the desk.

“This is all your fault, you know,” Dick spat, the sweat evident on his body as his hair stuck to his face and the top parts of his mask, “if you had just listened to me and been obedient, our first time could have been gentler and more romantic. But, you wanted to be a stubborn little brat who defied his Alpha, and now you’re paying the price.”

Dick delivered powerful and harsher thrusts to Y/N’s core, pulling even louder sounds from his throat as his arms tingled with sleep from being pressed between his body and the shaking wooden desk.

“Oh fuck, you’re squeezing me even tighter than you were before. Are you trying to make me cum, slut?” Dick asked, eyeing his Omega with lust and focus as he drilled even harder into his insides. “Still think I’m not worthy, huh? Still think someone else is more deserving of your body, Y/N? I bet you no one else can have you wet and screaming like this. I can feel the vibrations from all your moaning and whines under my palm. No one can make you feel like I can. No one can fuck you like I can! No one can own you like I can.”

Somehow, Dick began to go even faster, tears now flowing at a fast rate out of Y/N’s eyes as he met his explosive end over the Alpha’s cock. The vigilante leaned over the Omega’s body as his knot slowly approached.

“Get ready for it, slut. And feel lucky you’re not in heat yet, but soon, you will be. And soon, you’ll be carrying my kids.” Nightwing said as he pushed himself deeper and deeper inside before meeting his end.

He leaned down and bit into your neck with a vocal growl as he buried himself all the way inside, knotting his Omega for the first time. His body convulsed with shudders and shakes as he felt himself shooting his seed deep inside, Y/N feeling the streaks paint his insides.

Both their breaths slowly returned to normal as they waited for his knot to do down, and when Dick felt like he had enough strength, he held himself up, taking his hand away from the Omega’s mouth before looking at him in his post-orgasmic state.

“You were amazing, baby. I’m sorry I had to be so rough with you, but you gave me no choice. But, don’t worry, it won’t be the last time. We should get you home so I can show you how an Alpha properly treats his Omega.”

Y/N could barely form a thought, let alone a sentence, and he didn’t have any time to try and think of one as Dick pulled himself off and out of him. He reclothed both of them before tying the Omega’s legs back together and tossing him back over his shoulder.

“You’re all mine now, baby. Nightwing & Shadow forever,” Dick said to himself while grabbing the camera off the shelf, stopping the recording before exiting the office and heading down towards the parking garage where he planned to take you both home.

To be continued…

☀️ | Dick Grayson/Nightwing | ☀️

☀️ | Masterlists | ☀️

🌙 | Part Two | 🌙

🌃 | Nightwing & Shadow | 🌃 (this image was genrated by Bing AI)

#solar-wing ☀️ #☀️🪽.omegaverse #☀️🪽.fanfic #☀️🪽.dcposts #☀️🪽.explicit #☀️🪽.smut #☀️🪽.txt #gay #a/b/o dynamics #yandere #dc #dcu #dcau #dc universe #dc comics #dc x reader #dc x male reader #x reader #x male reader #dick grayson #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson x male reader #dick grayson x m!reader #nightwing #nightwing imagine #nightwing x reader #nightwing x male reader #nightwing x m!reader

[astrophileous]

Derek giggling when Bug starts to waddle due to pregnancy 🤭 she doesn’t find it funny or endearing at all but he literally cannot stop watching her. He tells the team about it too and they just.. kinda smile and nod because they’re just happy that he is.

Somewhat a continuation of this other Love Bugs blurb. Thanks for the request love! (and apologies for the delay because I've been very focused on The Countdown lately)

Love Bugs Masterlist / Criminal Minds Masterlist

Spencer stretched his back at the mysterious and unfamiliar sound. Next to him, JJ's eyes squinted in concentration.

"You hear that, too?" JJ mumured as she studied her surroundings, trying to pinpoint where exactly the sound was originating from.

Spencer nodded in confusion. "Who the hell—"

The question died in his throat when his eyes finally landed on the figure sitting across the room.

"No way." Spencer's elbow jabbed JJ's side, snatching her attention. "It's Morgan."

"Morgan? Derek Morgan?" JJ craned her neck to see around the partitions that blocked her direct line of sight. "What is he—don't tell me. Is he... is he giggling?"

As if confirming the ridiculous notion, Derek proceeded to cover his mouth and broke into, not laughter and not even a chuckle, but a series of giggles that made his broad shoulders shook. JJ and Spencer exchanged an incredulous look before they meandered sneakily towards him.

"Someone's happy," JJ quipped as she leaned back against the conference table, right next to where Derek was sitting.

The man in question looked up at the sudden interruption.

"What are you even watching in there?" Spencer asked curiously, trying to take a peek at the screen of Derek's phone that the latter man had been grinning at for the past few minutes.

Instead of tilting his phone away, Derek unexpectedly faced the screen towards his two coworkers instead, giving them an unobstructed view of what appeared to be a video of you.

"Penelope sent it to me." Derek grinned before pressing replay. "She waddles."

The video started playing then, showing a footage of you walking like a penguin as you struggled to carry the various snacks inside your arms. You looked up to the camera at the sound of Penelope's laughter, your face twisting into a pout when you noticed that it was pointed towards you.

"Peennn," you whined childishly. "Are you filming for him again?"

"He said he wants to see one where you waddle, Beets."

The scowl you were wearing was clearly visible through the screen. "Tell him to stop. It's not cute."

"I don't know." Penelope hummed. "It's pretty damn adorable from where I'm sitting."

The video ceased to black after that, and Derek retracted the device without ever wiping the smile off his face.

"You've been watching this for the past ten minutes?" Spencer questioned.

"Yeah."

The younger man looked as if he had something else to say, but he never got the chance to, as Derek was quick to immerse himself back in the video and watching it so earnestly as if it was the greatest movie in the history of mankind. Spencer and JJ shared a look before making themselves scarce. It was definitely weird seeing Derek act this way, but they didn't mind it one bit if it implied Derek's unadulterated happiness and your guaranteed safety.

For the rest of their stay in Louisville, Kentucky, the BAU became witness to Derek's blooming glee as it incessantly doubled in size with every video Penelope sent his way. More often than not, he'd let the team watch the videos as well. After all, they had also been missing your presence in their midst since you began your maternity leave, and every single one of them couldn't wait to finally welcome your baby boy into the world when the time finally came.

Derek was buzzing with excitement the moment they boarded the jet, impatiently counting down the minutes until he would see you again as the jet started its ascend. An hour before they were supposed to land, his phone began to ring in his pocket, flashing with the affectionate contact name that he had assigned for the team's tech analyst.

"Yeah, babygirl? What?" The sudden raising of his voice caught the attention of everyone on the jet. They watched from their respective seat as Derek sat up straight, running a frantic hand over his face. "Okay. Yeah? And how is she? That's good. Alright, thanks for calling. Keep me posted."

The call ended after that, and Derek, uncharacteristically, proceeded to sit in silence for the following minute as if he had been frozen in time.

"Everything okay?" Rossi asked, voicing the question that was circling everyone's mind.

"That was Penelope. It's (Y/N)." The atmosphere shifted. "She's going into labor."

#derek morgan #derek morgan x reader #derek morgan x you #derek morgan x y/n #derek morgan x fem!reader #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x you #criminal minds x y/n #criminal minds x fem!reader #shemar moore #shemar moore x reader #spencer reid #jennifer jareau #penelope garcia #david rossi #love bugs #derek morgan imagine #derek morgan fluff #derekn morgan blurb #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds blurb

[eetherealgoddess]

helloo, I just want to tell you I've been your fan since I downloaded tumblr. I can't, your fanfics are to die for. 😭 I'm sorry, I've been the one liking your stories from the start, I hope it doesn't bother you and I'm sorry if it does.

can I request a really really dark supernatural au smut bonten x fem reader? I can't explain how much I love your supernatural au fanfics😭

Although idk who you are specifically, I appreciate all your likes and the request so you don’t have to be sorry!! I embrace all feedback!! Unfortunately, I don’t think I made this dark enough, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!! ♡︎♡︎♡︎

Y’all it’s wild cuz blood actually makes me queasy and uncomfortable. Especially gore and yet I write and read it even though I gotta pause to breathe from time to time lmao. This one is FULL of blood and gore. So be mindful!! ꨄꨄꨄ

ꨄBlood Thirstyꨄ

Oneshot - Yandere Bonten Djinn Au

❦Your blood is enticing to Bonten❦

Sano Manjiro, Hanemiya Kazutora, Sanzu Haruchiyo, & Haitani Brothers x Reader

MY TR FANDOM WORKS ARE ONLY ON TUMBLR, AO3, AND WATTPAD UNDER EETHEREALGODDESS! REPORT IF YOU SEE IT POSTED UNDER ANYONE ELSE BUT ME!!!

The male leads are Djinn, based off of the show Supernatural, though I’ve created my own version for the story. I’ve never watched the show but I searched up supernatural monsters and found Djinn.

In this story, they’re tattooed beings who drink blood and eat flesh. They trap their victims by luring them with their glowing eyes that cause a hypnotic trance. Their tattoos will glow the same color as their eyes. They can only be killed with a silver knife laced with an antidote created by Djinn slayers.

Djinn are not mine nor is this the original type of creature. There’s also another definition that has nothing to do with the show so you should research that if you want to find out because I don’t have enough info on that to be able to explain it.

Not fully proofread

I apologize if I get any Japanese etiquette or culture wrong, I literally have to research the culture for some of my fandom stories so if anything is wrong, please excuse my ignorance.

Notice:

✩Y/n is 18+. I picture her as a black female but you can see her however.

✩Some parts of the story may not be realistic or factual. After all, this is a work of fiction.

✩Although it's a dark 'romance,' I do not condone any of the behavior displayed.

✩Dark content such as: gore, violence, triggering topics, graphic scenes, vulgar language, explicit sexual content, etc.

✩There may be scenes that involve non con and/ or dubcon so don’t read if that makes you uncomfortable

✩That being said, this story is for 18+ only.

Enjoy!

Blood Thirsty

You were quiet, hand covering your own mouth as your eyelids flutter closed. You lean your back against the shelf of books, hiding in an aisle of the abandoned library as you sit with your knees to your chest. You contain your vomit as you listen to the sounds of your friend's flesh ripping apart, the blood splattering against the floors as the putrid smell of death reaches your nose. Your other hand is placed against your pounding heart as your body tenses, hair sticking up as you prevent yourself from having an anxiety attack.

Earlier, you and your friends had gone to a local nightclub just to get out and have fun. Because the night club is owned by Djinn yakuza members, it was a sacrificial night, the full moon being the reason for this massacre. A ritual that was made into an agreement between humans and Djinn. Djinn can survive off of animal prey, which is what they eat until the night it’s time to feed. You had no idea the building was owned by not only a criminal organization but Djinn creatures at that. Not until one of your friends said, “Who knew Djinn could give us such a great time?”

Apparently your other three friends didn’t know either, eyebrows furrowing when they heard the news. It was already dangerous to be out late at night since that’s when they prowl on a full moon, but to also attend a Djinn club is just asking to be somebody’s meal. You smacked her shoulder and asked, “Why did you bring us here knowing that it’s feeding night?”

“They’re hot!” She responds, “If they’re gonna be active tonight then I know I can score at least one in exchange for my blood!” The creatures are known to be attractive, adding to the hype of the tattooed beings. Unfortunately, your friend is so boy crazy that she’ll put everyone at risk just for a chance with a murderous creature.

You all escaped and ran as fast as you could when all hell broke loose, ending in this dark dusty library, choosing your spots to hide in. You knew you couldn’t stay in the same spot for long. You knew you were going to have to move before they stopped feeding. The blood curdling screams of your friends begin to quiet down as you look over to the original friend who put you all in this predicament. She sat at the aisle across from you, eyes wide as well as her own hand covering her mouth as her body trembled. You both eyed each other in terror before you motioned for the door opposite of the sound. It was a few aisles down. You both have the potential to make it as they continue to eat.

You nod at her before standing on your feet, crouching as you peeked behind your aisle, instantly regretting it as you turned back away from the gruesome scene. Holding your stomach you ease your way to the other side of the aisle in front of you, hands trembling as you hold your breath once pausing, listening for any movement towards you. When all you heard was the usual ripping and bone cracking you turned to look at your friend who's following behind on her own side. You both move again and again until you finally make it out of the door, sprinting down the hall until you make it outside.

Your original plan was to keep running until you didn’t hear your friend behind you, turning around you noticed her standing in place, staring to the side.

“F/n! F/n! Come on!” You call out to her, confused as to why she stopped.

“But he’s so pretty.” She says breathlessly, her eyes beginning to glow purple.

You follow her sight, startled when you notice the shirtless man with a large tattoo on the left side of his torso, as well as a symbol on his neck. His purple mullet flowing in the wind as he stands across from her, eyes and tattoos glowing purple. Blood stained his mouth as well as his chest, his hands dripping with the substance as he licked some of the liquid off his fingers. You turn away as you grab her face, turning her to face you.

“Wake up! Wake up now! We’re gonna be killed!” You shake her face as her mouth hangs open, slobber dripping as you shift your gaze back to the male who stood still. You know you should leave her, but you can’t. You know it’s her fault, as well as yours for even being out in the first place on a night like this. Tears fall down your eyes as you contemplate whether or not to leave her to die. The only way she can be pulled out of the trance is by the Djinn releasing her or death.

You could be a savior and offer yourself up, but fear overtook your senses. You couldn’t possibly save her, so you decide to make a run for it while you still can, releasing her face. Before you could run, claws wrap around your wrist, yanking you back as you fall on the grass, bottom making contact with the ground as another tattooed being crouches over you. You noticed the yellow glow against the tiger symbol on his neck as well as the symbol that matches with the purple eyed Djinn on the right side of his chest.

His smile was as cold as his golden gaze, eyes refrained from glowing as he stared down at your fearful face. Blood covered his torso as well as his hands. You could see that his teeth were also stained with red as his smile widened.

“Where do ya think you’re going?”

You could only stare back at his face before you looked over to your friend, your hand reaching out in reflex as you called out to her when she walked over to the male. A hand on your chin forces you to turn your attention back to the brunette with blonde strands hanging over his face.

“Hey! Pay attention to me. I asked you a question.” He eyes you with an irritated gaze, causing you to yelp when he squeezes your chin tightly, claws poking your skin.

“Playing with your food, Kazu?” Another shirtless man walks toward the two of you from inside the building, fresh blood covering his mouth as well as his whole torso while the large tattoo on the right side of his body as well as the one on his neck glows purple.

He stops next to you both, sniffing the air as he eyes you and your friend with a lazy smile.

“Are you radiating that sweet scent, darling?”

“N-no! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” You say as you pull back from the man’s grip.

The purple eyed man’s fingers met his chin. “Hm. Of course you don’t. You smell it?” He faces the crouching man.

“Yeah. That’s what brought me over here. Never smelled blood like that before.” The tiger symboled man pushes himself from the ground, standing over you as their intense gazes study you like you’re a new specimen.

Your eyebrows furrow as you notice their eyes becoming dim, faces turning red as they hold dazed looks on their faces.

“Man, your smell is intoxicating.” Kazutora breathes out, chest rising as he drags a large sniff of the air.

“Maybe we should preserve this one, yeah?” The short haired man suggests.

“You think boss’ll allow it?” Kazutora questions.

“Allow what?” A pink haired man entered the scene, walking until he reached the two men standing above you. His hair covered in blood as well as his face, hands, and chest, as if he rubbed himself against the liquid while feeding. You eye the blue glow of his wrist, the symbol matching the iciness of his piercing eyes. He sniffed the air, facing you as he observed your figure. Bending over, he grabs your arm, pulling you up on your feet and smelling the limb.

His face instantly warms, eyes dazed as he continues to sniff the sweet aroma, using a hand at the back of your neck to pull you closer as he nuzzles your neck. You put your hands on his chest as you pushed yourself away, his hand preventing you from moving as you struggled in his grasp.

“What is that?” He pulls back, turning to the others as he releases your neck only to keep a hold of your arm.

Kazutora shrugged. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

You hear the sound of flesh ripping along with a familiar scream of pain. Turning your head, you eye the gruesome sight. The man has your friend’s detached arm in his hand. A big gash is left where her arm used to be as her legs tremble, her eyes staying wide as they continue to glow purple. Blood drips from the wound as he bites into the flesh of the arm, more blood staining his mouth as he moans while satisfying his hunger.

Your hands shake as you eye the display in horror, tears streaming down your face as you watch your last friend become a beast’s meal. Instincts going haywire, you wanted to run away, but if you did, you knew you’d be easily captured by the Djinn considering their abilities. They have the upper hand against the human species. You’ve always wondered why they didn’t just take over. You could only stand there amongst the men, feeling helpless, weak, and vulnerable. It disgusted you to be so human in this predicament. You were going to die and you had no choice but to accept it.

“Awe, she’s crying. I think you’re hurting her arm, Sanzu.” Kazutora jokes, pointing at your tears. You ignored him as you turned your head away from your friend who’s shoulder just got bitten off, using both of your hands to cover your ears, the sound driving you crazy.

Sanzu releases you just in time for you to lean over and vomit. Bile burning your throat as you gag and dry heave.

“Disgusting.” Sanzu hissed as he walked towards the purple mullet. Kazutora leaned over with his hands on his knees.

“It’s amazing how you still smell sweet. There’s no way boss won’t take you home with us.” He beams.

“He does have a thing for sweet things.” Ran states with a cigar in his mouth, sparking it before shoving the lighter in his pants pocket.

A short man walks out of the building, the men immediately turning their attention to him. The atmosphere darkens almost as much as the voids you’d call his eyes. He gave you an icy glare, causing a rapid chill to run up your spine as well as sending alerts to your instincts. Your body tenses as he comes closer. You hear him sniffing, eyeing the blood on his mouth as well as on his chest, bloody claws by his sides. He stops in front of you, gazing into your soul as you shift in discomfort.

His gaze slightly softens as the familiar red hue forms on his face, panting softly as he drags more of your fumes through his nostrils. You eye the blood staining his platinum hair, the stench of flesh and blood surrounding you. His palm rests on the side of your neck for a moment before he uses a claw to nick the skin, slicing a small cut in between your neck and shoulder causing you to flinch. He leans in, warm breath grazing your neck before his tongue slithers against your wound. His sunken eyes widen as his hands grab your shoulders, pulling you in as you place your hands on his chest in an attempt to push him away before you yelp from the fangs piercing through your skin.

He gulps your blood down, moaning against you as you fall backwards. He lands on top of you, a hand sliding behind your neck while the other balances next to your head. Your hands grip his shoulders as your eyes shut tightly in pain. You hiss and whimper under him as the others, including Sanzu and Rin, watch as if they’re in their own trance. He finally pulls his teeth out of your neck before he grips the back of your neck tightly as he nuzzles against the wound. Your blood rubs along his face as he engulfs himself. He breathes your scent in deeply before pulling back.

He pants as he sits on top of you with intense eyes. You avoid eye contact by looking at your own blood covering the hand that felt the moisture from your neck. Your hand trembles as you look at the men who stood around you. He stands up and walks away from you. He flicks his head, motioning for them to grab you. When you see this, your fight or flight kicks in causing you to hop up and run. The only place you could go was the forest but if you stayed hidden there until the sun rose, they would have to let you go in order to not break the treaty.

“So she wants a chase?” Rin questions with a smirk as all the executives stand and watch you run.

“Bind her and bring her to the car when you’re done.” Mikey says before he hops into the car.

With a wide grin that shows their sharp stained teeth, the four men began to sprint after you, Ran dropping the cigar in the process.

You run as fast as you can, grunting and breathing hard as your heart pounds. Your chest tightens as the pain in your legs form fast from running at a speed you’ve never had to run. You hop off of mini hills as well as passing many trees. The only light allowing you to see in the moonlight shining through the leaves. You just had to find a hiding spot to survive the night. You wouldn’t have run into the forest if they weren’t blocking your way. You knew you couldn’t pass them.

You groan as the pain becomes almost unbearable, the tightening of your body making it harder to breathe. You knew you’d have to stop soon but your adrenaline is pumping and you refuse to let them catch you. At least not easily. You thank the heavens that you hadn’t worn heels, the platforms of your shoes smacking against the grassy terrain, attempting to not fall on loose twigs or branches. As you run, you also gaze around for any mud to prevent yourself from sliding on it.

You pant, mouth wide open as you peek behind you. Seeing nothing there you continue to run as you look for the perfect hiding place. If you were being honest with yourself, there’s a low chance of surviving without being caught. They probably know exactly where you are and just allow you to run because they like to play with their prey. You’re not dumb. You were just scared. You had to try. Before you could plant your feet into the ground, you run into a figure in front of you, slamming into them.

Your friend's blood stains your clothes, mixing in with your own as the man wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you in as he leans over to smell your blood.

“I don’t think we’ve properly met.” A hand covers your mouth, blocking your scream. You’re forced to turn the other way, your back against his chest as he holds you in place. The other men stood in front of you in a curve, staring you down with glowing eyes.

“I don’t think I want to put her in a trance. I like it when they fight.”

“I want a taste. Mikey made you look so good.”

Suddenly, fingers connect with your chin, moving your head to the side as the person in front of you sniffs before leaning into the spot Mikey focused on.

A long tongue glides against your neck, the short haired man moaning softly before his teeth sinks in. You yelp in pain as another bite comes from behind, the man’s younger brother getting his own taste from the other side of your neck. The arm around your waist tightens you in place. You smack Ran’s shoulder as you try to push him away, tears rolling out of your eyes at the pain.

“You guys are hogging her all to yourself.” Kazutora states before snatching one of your arms. He bites into your forearm, eyes widening when the blood hits his taste buds, eagerly draining you. Sanzu does the same to the other arm, shutting his eyes as he drinks from you. You could only cry out in agony as they drain from you. Your body weakens as well as you becoming light headed. This goes on until you begin to see stars, your vision blurring. They pull away from you just in time before you faint, your body weak against the man behind you as you lean back.

Suddenly, your bottom met the ground as the man sitswith his back leaned against the tree. You begin to feel kisses littering all over your neck, lips hitting the blood that continues to ooze out.

“You taste so fucking good.” He whispers as he licks the liquid. Your eyelids are heavy as you sit barely awake. It feels like your black out drunk, going in and out of consciousness from whatever was spiked in it.

You look into the eyes in front of you, the person kneeling before you as two palms hold your cheeks, lips meeting yours as you’re forced to kiss the man. You couldn’t even flinch when he nipped your lip, blood drawing from you as you sat weakly.

“Let me go.” You whisper against his lips, not having enough strength to say much in a louder tone. He pulls back as he smirks.

“Go where? You can’t even walk.” Sanzu says as he crouches beside you, eyeing the wound on your neck and using his fingers to force you to turn towards him.

The red hue is still stuck on all of their faces, dazed eyes as if they’re intoxicated by your scent.

“I wonder what your thighs taste like.” The golden eyed man states before kneeling and pulling your leg open. He leans over and begins licking and sucking your thigh before sinking his teeth in. Another grunt leaves out of your mouth from the pain.

“I wonder how you taste down here.” A hand coming from behind slips into your pants as you try to wiggle out of his grip.

“Stop! Don’t touch me!” You cry out angrily. The hand dips into your panties, slowly rubbing up your slit before landing on your clit.

“I bet your cum is as sweet as your blood, huh?” The man behind you chuckles as he rolls his finger against your clit.

“I think we should find out.” His brother adds on, smiling as they nod at each other. Kazutora moves away from your thigh as he wipes his mouth, licking the blood he wiped from the back of his hand.

Rin pulls his hand out of your pants before reaching under your thighs and pulling them as far back as he could. Ran uses a claw to cut a slit from the zipper of your pants down to your ass. He tears a hole into the pants, stretching them to get a good view of your panties.

“No! Stop right now! Please!” Your head falls back on Rin’s shoulder weakly as you use your hands to cover yourself. Sanzu grabs them, securing your wrists above your head.

Ran leans over as he slices through the middle of your panties. He closes in and takes a big whiff of your vagina. Using two fingers, he gently spreads your lips apart with one hand while the thumb on his other hand pulls the hood of your clit back, revealing the bud.

“What a pretty pussy.” You twitch slightly as you feel a blow of air on your clit.

Your face warms up when you feel his lips grazing your clit, leaving a soft kiss on the bud. He does it once more and then again as he looks at you with intense eyes. You bite your lip, sucking your teeth as you turn away, only for Sanzu to use one hand to force you to look up at him. Leaning over with one hand still gripping your wrists, his lips meet yours. Rin keeps your legs pulled back, piercing his claws into your skin to draw some blood, watching as you flinch in pain, all the while Ran licks up your clit before he gives a few more kitten licks. Finally, he closes his mouth around the bud, sucking and flicking his tongue as he dives in.

Kazutora, who's still kneeling on the ground, licks up the blood dripping from your thighs. You whimper against Sanzu’s mouth.

“I think we should put the bind in between her breasts.” Rin says as you jolt from Ran’s tongue. Sanzu pulls back.

“We should put it on her face, that way everyone knows who she belongs to.”

Kazutora pulls back. “But she has such a pretty face, I don’t want to mark it.”

Ran continues to suck your clit as he lowers his head to lick some of your slick from the hole itself, his long tongue pushing inside as he uses a finger to rub your clit. He doesn’t pay much attention to the conversation, too obsessed with drinking your juices as your pussy contracts. Your head falls back with your eyes shut tight.

“Fine. Take her arms.” Kazutora grabs your arms as he stands up, Sanzu kneeling to tear the middle of your top open, revealing the lack of bra.

“Wow, you were already ready.” Kazu beams.

Sanzu sticks out a claw as his eyes glow, along with his tattoo. The beam reaches his hand as the claw meets with your skin, Rin holding you tighter as you scream in pain. The claw penetrates your skin as it drags into the shape of their Bonten symbol, blood dripping down as you struggle in his grip.

“Stop! Stop! It fucking hurts!” You cry out, your own nails digging into the skin of your palms. Kazutora forces you to turn to him with one hand, trapping your screams with an open mouthed kiss.

The contrast of pain between your chest and pleasure from your pussy shamefully causes you to near your orgasm as Ran tongue fucks you and rolls a finger around your bud. Your pussy drips with juice as your body convulses, just in time for the bind to complete as it glows a blue color that swirls into all of their signature colors before it resembles a normal tattoo. You yell out as you finally reach your limit, creaming on his face as he laps up the juice. Not long after, you finally pass out from all the overwhelming sensations.

#yandere tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers #yandere #yandere x you #tokyo rev x you #tokyo rev smut #tokyo rev x reader #yandere x reader #sano mikey manjiro #sano manjiro x reader #manjiro x you #kazutora hanemiya #kazutora x reader #kazutora x you #sanzu haruchiyo #sanzu x reader #sanzu x you #ran haitani #ran x reader #ran x you #rin haitani #rin x reader #rin x you #supernatural #supernatural au #djinn #tokyo rev x y/n

[piratefalls]

i have no real opening remarks, so have some fic, mind the tags, and have a good day!

masterlist

did the light hit my blush (when i told you you could be enough?) by matherine

Henry wasn’t eavesdropping. Really, he wasn’t — he had just come home from work at the shelter early, toed off his shoes at the door, and began to settle in when he heard it. “No, Nora,” Alex’s voice groans, floating out into the hall from where his bedroom door must be cracked open. “I can’t tell if he’s just not interested or oblivious. I’ve used my whole arsenal of flirting and Henry’s completely unresponsive.” Or: Alex has been flirting for months. It’s not that Henry didn’t notice — it’s that he thought he couldn’t possibly mean it.

Only Fools by OrchidScript

Henry rolled his eyes. “No. You tell me — that sounds better — why I should bring my ex-hook up to my brother’s wedding?” Pez hummed and half-shrugged. “Why wouldn’t you? He’s the perfect thing to light your gran’s helmet of hair on fire.” Pez set his cup down and leaned forward onto the table. “That’s what Pip encouraged you to do, didn’t he?” “Martha more than Pip, but yes. He did.” Henry sighed. “Then ask Alex.” -- With his brother's wedding a few weeks away, Henry Fox is determined to not show up alone. Not wanting to ask a stranger, he instead turns to Alex, hoping to manufacture something believable from something familiar. Try as he might to keep a level head, Henry can't help falling in love with the man. Will it come around to bite him or will it turn into something more than he had hoped?

kitchen confidential by stutteringpeach

The NDA is approximately a mile long. “Jesus fuck,” Alex splutters. “What, is their favourite film The Menu or something? Am I gonna come out of this one alive?” ~ Or, the one where Alex is hired to cater a private dinner party for Prince Henry and his friends, and it does not go as he expects.

Can You See Me? (I'm Waiting for the Right Time) by affectionatelyrs

“Whose turn was it?” Henry asks while Alex is busy pondering the merits of throwing himself out their fifth-story window and hoping his boner doesn’t take anyone’s eye out on his way down. “Forgive me, but I am a bit tired. Do you think you could take it?” There’s no way that Henry’s not doing this on purpose. He makes words mean things when put in a certain order for a living, for fucks sake. Alex almost quips back depends on how big it is just to see how—or if—Henry would react. “Yeah, um, no problem.” There. Much more normal. He could steal Henry’s job at this rate. “Truth or dare?” - Or, Alex’s world gets flipped on its axis during a game of truth or dare

getting good now by Standinginmoonlight

Alex sighs and balls his hands up into fists, digging them into his eye sockets until he sees stars, and then he’s speaking without his brain giving his mouth permission. “I can’t believe I’m going to marry someone British.” Or: the Love is Blind AU that no-one asked for.

A Sin Better Than Heaven by AnchoredArchangel

“Show me,” the king says, a demand. He sets the vial back down, careless to where it lands compared to where it originated. He leans back against the table, crosses his arms over his chest; chin raised, jaw set- a picture of regality. Henry’s heart is pounding in his chest, the unstable beat of too many horse hooves overlapping, like the canter through the woods that very afternoon before he was shoved from his saddle. For the first time, he considers the possibility that perhaps he had hit his head harder than he realized- against the ground or against the tree, because certainly his hope is misplaced; certainly he is not following this conversation as well as he presumed. “Show you what, Your Majesty?” The king only deigns to move a hand, untucking it from his elbow in order to wave it vaguely. “How your body responds to men.” Or: A criminally loose reimagining of the tent scene from Mary & George, only Alex is a sexually confused king, and Henry's the one who has been sent to seduce him.

it's so hard to get to heaven with my head in my hands by anincompletelist

His mother would have a fit if she could see him now, taking comfort he isn’t owed from men he shouldn’t want it from. But Henry wipes his tears with the back of his hand and Alex begins singing the dulcet tune of a Spanish lullaby and George feels, perhaps for the first time in his life, like he belongs.

Silence & Sound by @nocoastposts

Alex tugs at his hair and tries to focus on choosing his next words. He knows that Henry will help him - that he wants to help him. He knows that all he has to do is say the word. Henry stands and steps closer, holding Alex’s chin firmly and tilting his head up so their eyes are forced to meet. “You need me to clear that lovely head of yours, hm?” “Please,” Alex says in barely a whisper. or: Henry helps Alex fill the silence before indulging in the sound.

baby boy by smc_27

It starts as a joke. Alex taking the piss about how much money Henry has. How he could have anything he wanted, from anyone he wanted, if only he just asked.

all so human with our guards down by maxbegone

“Constant fear is debilitating,” Alex tells him later on. The sun has risen, though it’s barely prominent through the dark clouds in the sky. “Even in the world we live in now, you need to find the things that make it feel…normal.” Of course, Alex isn’t even sure that makes much sense, and he thinks about doubling back on what he just said with something stupid and word-vomitty, whatever pops into his head first, but Henry beats him to it. Much more suitable, and it puts Alex’s mind at ease: “I’m starting to think you’re right.” The world ended three years ago. No more all-night study sessions, no more drag brunch and mimosas, no more societal expectations. But out of everything Alex was expecting from an apocalypse, Henry sure as hell wasn't it.

Dallas, Texas by annesbonny

i thought I knew hopelessness. i thought I'd learned its specific dread years ago There's an assassination attempt on Ellen, Henry is caught up in the damage. Alex is... coping about as well as you would expect.

Best Practice in Sexual Favours by everwitch

They meet at a bar. Alex is young; fresh out of law school, sharp and charismatic and oh-so attractive. The sex is absolutely incredible, and Henry has no regrets. At least not until the morning after when he finds himself opposite Alex in a meeting — equipped with the painful knowledge that Alex’s boss thinks Alex’s only function in said meeting is to sit there and look all pretty. Somebody ought to call HR right about now. Or: when sexual relationships mix with professional ones, Alex and Henry make the most of it.

this is the first time I've felt the need to confess by theprinceandagcd

Alex frantically unlocks his phone and stares at their text thread, at the heart reaction that Henry had left on his most recent message. His thumbs hover uselessly over his screen, trembling as moisture burns his vision. The entire room is thick with uneasiness, heavy enough that it’s hard to breathe, and Alex wants to tell Henry something, wants to reach out and find the solace that Henry so often offers him without even realizing it. But mostly, as his brain finally catches up to what’s actually happening, all Alex can think is that he doesn’t want to die. He tries to come up with a list of reasons why in his head, a comprehensive one that probably should include family and career goals and a million other things, but in the end, in the moment, all he can fucking think about is Henry.

out of the kitchen by rizcriz

Alex looks to his right where Henry’s standing at his own door. Any moment now, Gordon Ramsay is going to tell them to turn the handle and one of them is going to cascade into a new life. He doesn't care if his door doesn’t open; in fact, he’d rather it didn’t. He’s come all this way, he’s proven himself as a chef, but there’s no denying that the man beside him was made for this role. For the last five weeks, he’s watched as Henry’s given his all to every challenge and dinner service. -- or, the Hell's Kitchen au literally nobody asked for.

i love you (ain't that the worst thing you ever heard) by coffeecatsme

Henry doesn’t doubt that, just as much as he doesn’t doubt now that Alex won’t have a single issue with him being trans. In another life, when Henry whispered it in the quiet hours of the night, he didn’t. In another life, when he kissed Henry anyway, he didn’t. In another life. In this one, when Alex meets his eyes, all there is left behind them is a cold glare that freezes Henry to his soul. One year ago, Henry had a whirlwind of a day with Alex after a chance meeting in a coffee shop, only to leave in the morning to protect his heart. He doesn't expect to see Alex again, until he shows up at June's wedding and finds out her brother is the same Alex he hasn't been able to get out of his mind for a year - and he's pissed.

Fragile Things by SatinBirds

Alex does not scare easily. But the moment he sees Henry fall, all breath leaves his body at once.

Trim my Christmas tree by clottedcreamfudge

Henry is a writer, not a mall Santa, but unfortunately this year - thanks to his adorable and conniving nieces and their Aunt Beatrice - he's going to have to be both. This doesn't leave him a great deal of time to pine horribly over the part-time bookseller and Law student over at June Claremont-Diaz's shop, but somehow he manages to jam it in anyway. Ho ho ho.

All Kinds of Wounds by allmylovesatonce

It throws Alex off when it takes longer for the door to close, when he hears Henry’s footsteps but doesn’t hear him approaching. As he listens closer, there are steps on the stairs and eventually the sound of feet on the second floor. Henry avoided him. Henry gets hurt at the shelter and tries to hide it from Alex.

blurred lines by seafloor

Henry is a lovesick writer; Alexander a charismatic bartender. They’re still fated to fall into bed at some point.

keep me up all night/ i wanna scratch your surface by @firenati0n

They step inside, greeted by moonlight streaming through the windows, illuminating their living room in a dreamy light; it’s enough to see outlines and shapes, enough to keep everything just a little bit secretive, a little softer around the edges. Henry moves his hand to flick on the kitchen light, and Alex’s hand shoots out to grab his wrist. Henry looks down at him questioningly, blue eyes sparkling even with the absence of light. Alex always feels a little off-kilter around him, Henry both his center of gravity and his reason for vertigo. He’s stabilizing, and dizzying, and everything. Alex’s thumb and index finger circle Henry’s slender wrist, exerting the slightest pressure. He feels Henry's pulse jump under his thumb. “Get on the couch.”

Voted most likely to run away with you by dreamsinthewitchouse

Alex drifts into consciousness in a bed full of tangled limbs and warm, sleep-rumpled skin. He’s lying half on his stomach and half on his side, the shoulder smushed against the bed protesting in a way that tells him he’s going to have a crick in his neck for the rest of the day. But fuck if he cares, with Henry stirring next to him, one of his long legs draped over the back of Alex’s thigh. Alex doesn’t need to open his eyes to know the room is hazy with filtered sunlight, spilling pale yellow through the carelessly drawn curtains.

everything just stops by HypnosTheory

Alex hums, pushing his nose into the side of Henry’s cock. “Let me give you your gift, Hen.” “You’ve already given me my gift,” Henry says, fingers tightening on the edge of the countertop. “Twice.” Alex laughs and takes Henry’s cock back into his mouth. Henry keens, knees shaking. He’s oversensitive already; Alex woke him up with a hand on his cock, and then in the shower surprised him with three fingers against his prostate. Each orgasm was greeted with a happy birthday, baby, which is a phrase that’s starting to have a Pavlovian response on Henry. --- Alex gives Henry all the birthday orgasms - Henry believes turnabout is fair play.

the wrong place by congee4lunch

“I don’t want you, I don’t want anything to do with you, Alexander,” Henry breathes out, his breath ghosting over Alex’s lips. “I just want to feel good.” “Perfect,” Alex grins. “I want the exact same thing, Fox.” henry and alex hate each other. when they're forced to share a hotel room and a bed for a night, they fuck about it.

Total Eclipse by @myheartalivewrites

Alex is not sure what the fuck is happening here. “And if you only hold me tight…” A man—probably the most beautiful man he has ever seen—is up on stage in this karaoke bar, absolutely murdering Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart and he’s pretty sure the guy is crying and it’s one of the most horrifying things he’s ever seen and Alex cannot. Look. Away.

Late Bloomer by @sparklepocalypse

Alex Claremont-Diaz is sixteen years old, and he hasn’t presented. His dad seems to think it’s fine and offers Alex regular reassurance that his cousin Angel hadn’t presented until nearly 20. His mom, though, gets a little crease between her eyebrows whenever she thinks Alex isn’t looking. Presenting is a Big Deal in the Claremont family, and Alex just... hasn’t. So Alex is sixteen, and he’s… a boy. That’s it. Just a boy. Not a boy and an alpha like his friend Marco, or a boy and an omega like his friend Noah. Just a boy.

living in a new normal by @forever-fixating

Henry Fox could write an entire dissertation based on how much information his twin nieces Penelope and Grace have told him about their favorite band, Austin Heat. The girls peppered him with neverending facts since he surprised them with tickets and meet-and-greet passes to their concert at Madison Square Garden last Christmas. -- Henry Fox takes his nieces to a concert of their favorite band, Austin Heat. He gets a bit more than he bargained for when he meets singer and guitarist Alex Claremont-Diaz.

as always, let me know if you want to be tagged in future lists!

tagging @starkfridays @stilesgivesmefeels @midnightsfp @sarahjswift

#rwrb #rwrb fic #rwrb fanfiction #firstprince #firstprince fic #red white and royal blue #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #alexhenry #firstprince fanfiction

[pyjamaart]

Breaking Bot (read more for some rambling about mega man fully charged)

Mega Man Fully Charged has been on my mind again lately, which made me realize that there's literally a robot named Chemistryman who worked as a chemistry teacher. Not using him as a Walter White stand-in would be a criminal offense.

I'll have to admit I started getting back into Fully Charged again after seeing some asshole on twitter complain about the character design for the hundredth time. I just can't stand that kind of negativity. I swear to god, Fully Charged is like the Sonic Boom of the Mega Man franchise. Personally, I really enjoy the FC designs. I've probably said this before, but I feel like the redesigns give some of the more forgettable robot masters way more character. Like, do I care for Classic Drillman from Mega Man 4? I mean, yeah, I do, but I wouldn't care as much if it wasn't for his Fully Charged incarnation.

I also really enjoy most of the original robot masters. I already talked plenty about Blastowoman and why I love her so much, but I want to talk about the others this time.

Take for example Chemistryman. Comparisons to Walter White out of the way, I feel like his character was a really fun idea. God knows I had teachers who put me to sleep back in the day. For me, it wasn't chemistry though, it was my economics teacher. I always compared her to a story teller at a Christmas market who would read children stories out of her big fairy tale book. Only that in reality, it was stuff like the minimization/maximization principle. Most of my notes for that class were incomprehensible chicken scratch, because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. In the end, I slept through like half her classes, lol. But I gotta say that I still always got a B or higher in the end. Somehow. I thank god every day that I never have to step foot in a school again.

I really wish Chemistryman got a little more time to shine though. Two episodes is just way too little. I would gladly take three more episodes with him over those gross Gutsman episodes. I know I love talking about wasted potential with this show, but I wish there was an episode that focused on Chemistryman outside of the school setting. I get that his whole character is "boring, bitter teacher", but I'd really like to see what he gets up to when he's not trying to force children to listen to his chemistry lectures. Like having Aki try to talk him into going into retirement for good. And then he tries to find hobbies for him so that he doesn't bore himself to death. I can see him getting into building model ships or something like that, lol.

Now that I'm already writing up a storm again, I might as well talk about some other headcanons I have about the FC bots. Since Woodman was in sleep mode for 30 years after the war ended (I don't know where I got that number from. I rewatched his debut episode, but the exact number doesn't appear anywhere. Oh well, let's just pretend this is canon, even if it isn't.) we got kind of a Shadow the Hedgehog type situation on our hands. All of his friends and family got to live their lives in this new, peaceful world of harmony between robots and humans, while Woodman spent 30 years powered down in a bush or something. Completely forgotten about. Like, why didn't they go look for him after the war ended? I don't think Aki and Suna wandered that far into the forest for their school assignment. If you really think about Woodmans back story for a moment, you realize how fucked up it actually is. 

Now my explanation for this goes into heavy heavy headcanon territory. When Suna calls the principal about Woodman, he warns her that Woodman is dangerous and to get away from him immediately. Now why would he say that? The principal also calls him "ruthless" in that same explanation. What I think happened back then was that Woodman actually planned to assassinate the human armies leader. (Possibly Sgt. Night?) The leader of the robots caught wind of his plan and put him into sleep mode himself, since he and Dr. Light were on the brink of finding a way to end the war peacefully. In my mind, this leader is the FC version of Swordman. Don't ask me why, he was just the first guy I thought of. And then it just stuck.

I know this makes Woodmans back story even more fucked up, but I just love putting my favorite blorbos through hardship. Don't even ask me about my headcanons for Drillman. They'd actually put me in prison.

Now all this culminates after Woodman is reactivated by Suna and Aki. Finding himself alienated from all his former friends and comrades (Maybe the other Mega Man 2 robot masters?), what was he supposed to do? He couldn't spend the rest of his life isolated (and homeless) in the forest, could he? And this is where season 2 could have delivered. But I'm done whining about that. If Capcom doesn't deliver, I gotta write my own season 2. Simple as that.

Anyway, getting back to Chemistryman, since he's pretty old, I imagine that he was already working as a teacher when Woodman was still around. Maybe he even was his teacher at some point.

And since I love having my favorite characters interact, I also thought of a scenario where Drillman wanders into the forest out of frustration over his miserable life, only to meet Woodman by coincidence. In the end, Woodman helps him work through his daddy issues and his body dysmorphia, while Drillman helps Woodman reintegrate and manage this (for him) completely new world of peace. Another great headcanon of mine is that Chemistryman is actually Acidmans father. Just because I think it would be funny. And as Fully Charged has confirmed: robots in that universe do indeed have parents. (Flashback to the time I drew Dr. Light beating the shit out of Drillman's father)

Speaking of Drillman.... For being one of my favorite Mega Man characters of all time, I haven't drawn him nearly enough. That will probably be my next project.

This might also be a great time to tell you that I've never watched Breaking Bad before, lol. Everything I know about it comes from RTGame's Stardew Valley playthrough and the RTVS Half Life parody.

Sorry for all the yapping. But if I don't talk about robots at least once a day, I might die. This is a serious condition.

#megaman #mega man #mega man fully charged #acidman #acid man #chemistry man #chemistryman #im just gonna add my essays under the read more from now on hehe #the funny crossover you never know you needed #i am very normal about the fully charged bots #should i also tag woodman and drillman? eeeh no

[bubblesbenson]

I know this is a beating a dead horse, but this is still correct.

Why couldn’t have they gotten together before Will made his first appearance in “Jones”? If that were the case, maybe none of us would be against Reid and JJ being together.

Also, I heard Josh Stewart isn’t coming back to the reboot for the next season. I really hope that won’t be the reason why Spencer Reid might come back to Criminal Minds: Evolution. He went through enough in the original series.

Heteronormativity really ruins certain shows. That’s why I’ve been avoiding Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Law and Order: Organized Crime because I know that Olivia and Elliot are probably together now. What was the point of Stabler being married in the beginning of his debut appearance if the writers knew that he never loved Kathy, or fell out of love with Kathy as soon as Elliot met Olivia?

Also, again, I haven’t seen NCIS in a long time, but I find it so disrespectful to Jimmy Palmer’s character for him to jump into a relationship after his wife passed away from COVID. That just doesn’t seem right, especially since Breena was Jimmy’s soulmate, like how Maeve was Reid’s soulmate.

This is just a bunch of rambling, but I wanted to talk about this again.

@nerys2 @tumbleweed-palmer @artcake @only-one-brain-cell @spencer-reids-adventures @writingatdusk

#Instagram #criminal minds #spencer reid #anti jeid #law and order svu #law and order special victims unit #law and order organized crime #elliot x kathy #elliot stabler #olivia benson #ncis #jimmy palmer #breena palmer #anti jessica knight x jimmy palmer #anti heteronormativity #criminal minds evolution #maeve donovan #anti palmer/knight #kathy stabler #josh stewart #will lamontagne

[harmonysanreads]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ One Year Commemoration Post↬Sumeru Love Hexagon

-; ੈ♡˳ BEHIND THE HEXAGON

☆ The primary inspirations behind this AU are Alhaitham's Demo and this Fan Musical that debuted on Spring HoyoFair 2023!

Alhaitham's Demo no doubt gave many writers and daydreamers heavy brainrot and I happen to be one of them lol. But it was not until the fan musical that I had a concrete enough idea. I was charmed by the amount of tavern shenanigans this concept had the potential to bring, which is something that I really wanted to write at the moment :>

☆ Originally, Scaramouche or, Wanderer wasn't even supposed to be part of the AU!

Mainly because I didn't see many inclusion of him in the Sumeru Crew (at that time) and was unsure how it'd be taken D: But then, I remembered the v3.6 trailer where he was duking it out with the others and I was like 'why not?'. From that point on, he's come a long way and has even become the Best Boy of the Hexagon! :D

☆ Scaramouche's 'innocent in front of reader and the opposite behind their back' act is a tribute to his very first in-game appearance in the v1.1 Unreconciled Stars event!

This is something I'm humbly proud of, so to say. I still occasionally go back and admire the writing from that event. I think it's absolutely criminal for such a lore-rich and well-done in terms of character introduction event to be limited but oh well. Scaramouche, in my opinion, can be an excellent actor when he needs to be and if you watch the story from this event, you'll understand. Combining this with his mental state from after the Interlude Quest creates quite a messy situation though and, I kept it that way intentionally :>

☆ In the initial draft, Alhaitham was written as a very jealous character!

The cause of it being reader's infinite care for Kaveh. But obviously, I scraped it and wrote a much more toned down version and I sometimes wonder if I should've gone with my initial thoughts. Admittedly, I was playing it safe due to some reality checks regarding his character so I don't regret it a whole lot. But if it was up to the present me, I would be down to writing jealous Alhaitham immediately lol

-; ੈ♡˳ QUESTIONNAIRE

Does the Reader have White Knight Syndrome?

Well, I didn't originally write them with this particular condition in mind, however, upon further reflection I can see that they definitely show some symptoms of it. And considering the situation they're in, it's very easy for them to fall into the condition itself. I'm not at all qualified to diagnose someone with a mental condition so, my answer will have to a soft no. However, if anyone wants to imagine them as such, they're of course free to do so.

Is there any character you'd want to write differently if given the chance?

I already mentioned Alhaitham to a degree but, I really really wish I had been more considerate of Cyno. We're entering debatable territory here but the Hoyo writers putting so much emphasis on Cyno's TCG addiction and jokes while handling his actual lore whimsically made me lose interest in his character at that time. Though, I hope his upcoming Story Quest will fix this and do his character justice <3

Who is your favorite among the boys?

If you've lingered around my blog for a while, I know you thought I was going to say Alhaitham but, within the confines of the AU, it's actually Kaveh! He's like the initial spark that kindled the actual fire, as such, he's the first one you read about. I felt immense empathy for him after I learned about his lore through leaks, which is reflected onto the reader as well. Had this been a different timeline, Kaveh and Reader's relationship would be pure wholesomeness.

Who among the five is the endgame?

Ohohohoho.. place your bets because it can be literally anyone :) Even someone outside the hexagon in the off-chance they end up slaughtering each other lol. Kind of out of topic but, I think the Wanderer route would be genuinely heartbreaking unless he does something about Reader's mortality. He'd have to watch the one person who truly loved him decay slowly, while he remains afloat his raft of artificiality, safe from the clutches of death temporarily. Thinking about the endings make me feel quite sad honestly, it's a reminder that even the lighthearted shenanigans of the Hexagon will end at some point.

-; ੈ♡˳ ENDING NOTES

I could've easily done a writing event to celebrate the anniversary but I just really, really wanted to talk about these little tidbits. Many many kudos to you if you've made it this far, I hope I didn't bore you :')

Memories are fragile things, so I'd like to think of this as a memorial of sorts that I can look back to after a few years and not think of myself as a total failure lol. I wrote this AU at a rather difficult period of my life, which is why this is more lighthearted despite falling into the Yandere genre.

I don't really know how to express my gratitude without sounding overly sappy, but I'll forever remember every interaction, comment, ask etc regarding the Hexagon fondly. I even remember someone saying they're binge reading this late at night instead of studying for an exam or something which is.. wow, I hope you're doing well nowadays my fellow night owl! I appreciate every each one of you for even taking some of your time to read my silly ramblings <3

This is not at all the end of the Hexagon AU, just to clarify! I'll still answer any asks regarding the five losers (affectionate) because, despite the limitations placed by reality, in fiction, we have the power to imagine and write infinite tavern shenanigans.

Just before I posted the original concept, I thought to myself, 'If even one person smiles because of this, I'll consider it a success.' and now, looking back to the amount of people that enjoyed the Sumeru Love Hexagon (very silly name but I digress) I just feel so, so happy.

Thank you, everyone, sincerely <3

#sumeru love hexagon #well turns out i cannot do this without getting emotional after all :I #hsr is a big distraction these days so i really hope cyno's sq gives me good brainrot so i can return to my roots>:( #i almost didn't want to post this but screw anxiety #happy anniversary hexagon #genshin impact x reader #yandere genshin impact x reader #yandere concepts #yandere x reader #yandere genshin x reader #yandere genshin impact #yandere #yandere kaveh x reader #yandere alhaitham x reader #yandere cyno x reader #yandere tighnari x reader #yandere wanderer x reader

[likedovesinthewindd]

2:54 AM

tasm!peter parker x fem!reader

summary: you want to know why peter's been distant lately.

warning: injuries, mentions of typical spiderman violence yk, my inability to write a crime accurately (don't look into it too much), reader's a little oblivious to the obvious.

wc: ± 3000

a/n: i hate this endingg!!!! but i need this out of my drafts. let's also pretend that this trope is so original and not overused at all lmao. requests open:)

The incessant ticking of the clock above your head was beginning to piss you off.

The small restaurant was fairly busy, no one would've even be able to hear it, but you'd chosen the table next to the window–the one with the clock hanging on the wall adjacent to the big glass pane. You'd chosen this table because it was Peter's favorite. He loved watching the bustling city outside as the two of you enjoyed your meals.

You'd think that after living in the city as long as he has, that the scenery would have bore him by now, but he absolutely loved people watching. He could spend hours sitting outside on the rooftop or by the big window in your bedroom, just staring down at the people and cars going about their day or night. He could find entertainment in some of the most mundane activities, and that was one of the many things you adored about your boyfriend.

Right now, however, it was hard to think of how you much you adored him, but rather how mad you were at him. Tonight was your and Peter's six month anniversary, and although you weren't one to celebrate every little milestone, Peter had insisted that you go out for the night. Ironic, since he's not even here right now you thought.

You looked down at your wristwatch, almost in a way to spite the big one that hung right above you, and checked the time. It was a forty-eight minutes past eight. You'd been sitting here for almost 50 minutes waiting for Peter to show up.

You checked your phone, praying he had left a message saying that he was on his way, that he was just running late, but the empty lockscreen staring back at you only made a knot form deep in your belly.

Wait till nine, your mind tried convincing you. He's probably just really caught up at work. So you waited impatiently, your heeled foot nearly tapping a hole into the restaurant floor. After a few more minutes, your waitress approached your table. This was her second time at your table; she had come around first at around twenty minutes past eight, and you had kindly asked her to give you some more time, because you were waiting for someone.

You could see the pity on her face, her probably thinking you got stood up. But you weren't getting stood up, because Peter was just a bit late, and in a few minutes he'd walk through the door and the two of you'd enjoy a wonderful dinner. At least, that's what you were trying to convince yourself.

"Are you ready to order ma'am?" the waitress asked politely. You shook your head, putting on your most convincing smile. "No not yet, I'm waiting for my boyfriend, he'll be here any minute," you said. The pity on her face only seemed to increase. She gave you a weak smile and a nod, and went on her way to help another table.

You glanced up at the small TV that was displayed against the wall on the other side of the small restaurant. It was replaying an old football game from the previous week, before being interrupted by a local news channel's lives broadcast. The TV was muted, but you could see the headline at the bottom of the screen in big bold letters as the reporter stood gesturing at the scene behind her:

SPIDER-MAN TO THE RESCUE ONCE AGAIN

The fact that the city quite literally had it's own superhero always amazed you. Here this random guy was, jumping around in a blue and red suit, fighting bad guys and catching criminals, basically doing the cops' jobs and for free.

You've never had any personal encounters with the elusive hero, but you've heard enough stories from people about him, about how charming and slightly cocky he was and how they so desperately wanted to know who hid beneath the mask. You'd be lying if you said you weren't a bit curious to know too.

On the screen you could see Spider-Man lowering people from the second floor of some building by his webs. After lowering everyone to safety, he dissappeared back inside the building. It seemed to be some kind of hostage situation, people scurrying around confusedly and police cars surrounding the building.

You were so enthralled by the scene playing out on the screen that you hadn't noticed how much time had passed. When you looked at the little clock being displayed in the corner of the TV, your heart sank once again.

21:05

It was five minutes past nine, and no Peter in sight. You could feel your cheeks burning up from anger. A whole hour. Peter made you wait a whole hour, and it didn't look like he was gonna come any time soon. The anger was quickly replaced by sadness, the tears of frustration already fighting to fall from your eyes. You made your way over to the counter of the restaurant, apologizing for wasting their time and tipping your waitress for her effort, before making your way to the door.

It felt like everyone's eyes were on you. They could all probably tell you've been stood up too. There was no other reason for a girl to be walking out of a restaurant after ordering nothing for an hour with her head down and tail between her legs like a kicked dog.

The air outside was refreshing. You took a deep breath, trying to calm down your racing heart and somehow will the tears away. It was no use; after months of forced stoicism and pretending like Peter's recent negligence didn't hurt, the dam finally broke. You decided to take the walk to your apartment rather than hailing a cab, reasoning that the cool city air would do you good.

On your walk, the sobs continued to leave your mouth quietly. You missed your boyfriend, you missed being able to spend time with him and just be around him. The two of you worked at different times and lived on different sides of the city, so it was already hard to find a time when both of you were free.

The two of you hadn't been together for too long, but it truly felt like Peter was the one for you. When you first made things official you couldn't stay away from each other for too long. You always went on little dates and would meet up whenever the both of you were free, but recently your boyfriend's been very distant and you've been seeing less and less of him. Tonight had been the third date where he'd stood you up, and you couldn't help but think the worst.

What if he was seeing someone else? What if he didn't enjoy being with me anymore and this was his way of asking to break up?

The thoughts left your mind as soon as they were conjured up in your brain. Peter would never do anything like that to you. Not your Peter. He was the sweetest guy you had ever been with and there wasn't a day he wasn't telling you how lucky he was to be with you, or how pretty he thought you were and how much he loved you.

Even on the days the two of you weren't together (which were almost always lately), he'd still send you messages telling you how much he missed you, or would send flowers to your apartment when he knew you were feeling down and he couldn't be there.

Peter was a sweetheart, but you still couldn't help but wonder why he'd been so distant lately. You pulled your phone from your purse, quickly checking to see if he had left a message yet, but still nothing. You shoved your phone back into your purse angrily and started walking faster. All you needed right now was a hot shower and your bed.

As you entered your apartment you hastily toed off your shoes at the door and threw your purse on the nearest table. After a long, piping hot shower and a bowl of leftovers (you still being hungry due to your failed dinner plans), you decided to head to bed, where you cried some more before falling asleep.

A loud banging woke you up in the middle of the night. You checked the alarm clock on your nightstand, and when it read 2:54 AM, you turned yourself back around and ignored whoever chose to bother you at this ungodly hour.

Not even a minute passed before the knocking returned, this time followed by a shout of your name, not loud enough to wake up the whole floor but loud enough for you to hear. When you recognized Peter's voice, you groaned, kicking the covers from yourself begrudgingly before dragging yourself to the door.

You pulled it open aggressively, and when you were met with Peter's silhouette slouching against the doorframe, his head hanging low, all the angry words you had for him sat stuck in your throat. He looked up at you and his big brown eyes found yours in the dark of the hallway. He gave you a weak smile and you had to fight everything inside you to not smile back, reminding yourself why you were mad at him.

"Hi, sweetheart," he whispered. All the anger suddenly returned, and you found yourself slamming the door in his face, but before it could fully close, he blocked it with his foot and invited himself in. When he got out of the dark hallways and inside your apartment, you noticed the bouquet of flowers he held tightly in his hand. They looked like they had been through a lot, and the dress shirt he was wearing (most likely for your date) was untucked and heavily wrinkled.

"I don't want to talk to you," you said, turning your entire body away from him and crossing your arms like an arrogant child, trying to get him to leave, but he was stubborn, putting the flowers on the nearest table, gripping your arms and turning you to face him again. You refused to make eye contact, rather looking down at his pair of dirty sneakers. "I know, but let me explain myself please—"

"And say what?!" you snapped. You hadn't realized how loud you were until you saw Peter flinch slightly, his grip on you still not loosening. "What are you gonna say Peter? You got caught up at work? You had an 'emergency'? You—" when you finally looked him in the face, you got a good look at him in the warm light of your living room/kitchen.

He had a lot of bruising around his face, a rapidly darkening black eye and a busted lip. You looked down at the arms still holding onto you, and you could see similar marks lining his arms. Most of them looked very fresh.

This was another part of Peter that added to up sleepless nights, worrying yourself sick over your boyfriend. He always seemed to have some sort of bruise whenever you'd meet up. Sometimes it was something small like a cut across his eyebrow or a nasty gash on his cheek, and other times it was way more major, like the one time he showed up to a coffee date with a broken arm after being just fine three days prior.

The best part was how fast he'd heal too, no less than a weak and he'd look perfectly fine. It didn't make you feel any better though, and you'd still worry about where he was getting beat up like this.

You tried asking him about it, multiple times, but every time he would just cover it up with a lame joke or just completely try to change the subject. You stopped asking after a while, but that didn't mean you weren't concerned about his safety and curious about what was causing all of these injuries.

"Peter what happened to you? Your face? Are you—" you wanted to reach out and touch his face, but he stopped you with a hand that quickly caught your wrist. "I'm okay," he said, smiling sweetly and giving your wrist a quick kiss, before letting go of your hand. "No you're not. C'mon lemme clean you up," you said grabbing his hand and dragging him to the bathroom, almost completely forgetting about the argument.

The patter of your socked feet filled the quiet of the apartment as you led Peter to the bathroom. You sat him down on the toilet seat and quietly moved around the almost-too-small bathroom, opening up the medicine cabinet above the sink to retrieve the first aid kit. You started to clean the small cuts and gashes on his face.

His hands hesitated before making their way to your waist, holding onto your hips. Every time one of the cuts would sting, his grip would tighten slightly. The silence stretched on while you continued to patch him up, and after a while you decided to speak up.

"Look, Peter, I understand if you don't wanna, y'know be with me anymore, but even if we were to break up I'd still be concerned about you. I don't like seeing you get hurt and i can't help if—"

"Woah, hey what?" Peter interrupted your rambling, "I don't want to break up." "Then why do you keep canceling our plans, how come I never see you anymore?" you asked, pausing the work on his face. He winced slighty when he noticed your anger had returned.

"I've just...I've been busy, sweetheart," he said softly. "I've been busy too Peter, but I make time, because I wanna see you, and because I miss you like crazy. Do you even miss like you say you do? Because it surely doesn't show."

"Of course I do!" Peter said, the grip he had on you unconsciously tightening again. "Then why don't you make time?!" you said, the tears of frustration quickly returning to your eyes, "and what about all these bruises, huh? Every time I see you you're hurt somehow and I don't like that, 'cause I don't like seeing you hurt, Peter." By now a few tears had already unwillingly fallen, and you tried to swiftly wipe them away with the sleeve of your sweater.

It both warmed and broke Peter's heart to know that you were so worried about him. He really did miss spending time with you; you were his best friend and he loved being around you. He didn't want you knowing about him being Spider-Man, because he didn't want to put you in any danger. He wanted to keep you as far away from that part of his life as possible, you meant too much to him and he wouldn't forgive himself if anything happened to you.

He wanted to tell you on many occasions, he'd come close too many times to count, but he'd stop himself each time.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not knowing what else to say. "Don't apologize, just talk to me, please," you said brushing your fingers through his soft brown hair. The action calmed both you and him down, and he closed his eyes for a moment, appreciating your touch. It was then when he realized how much he missed your touch, how much he missed you, and being close to you. He felt like he hadn't talked to you, or really even seen you in forever.

Peter didn't know what to say, he wanted to be honest with you, wanted to tell you so bad, but he wanted to protect you above all else. The silence between the two of you stretched on until you sighed, removing your hands from him completely and sighing.

He started panicking, he knew what this meant. You were going to break up with him, tell him to get out and never talk to him again, and even the thought alone made his heart sink down to his feet. He braced himself for the inevitable, retracting his hands from your waist and getting ready to get up and leave.

"It's really late, would you like to stay the night?"

He was definitely not expecting you to say that, and the look on his face certainly told you that. "Are you sure?" he asked, not knowing what else to say. "I don't want to taking the train at this time. You can take a shower while I reheat some leftovers for you," you replied dryly, making your way out the bathroom and to the kitchen.

Peter took your advice, still not sure why you weren't screaming at him to get out of your apartment. After a brief shower, he found some of the clothes you had borrowed from him folded neatly on the toilet seat. He put them on and made his way over to the kitchen. After a much appreciated meal the two of you made your way over to your bedroom.

He found himself immediately moving towards the small plush chair that stood by the big window, lowering himself into it and staring down at the city. You stood next to him quietly, placing your hand on his head and running your fingers through the strands once again.

"I promise I'll tell you one day," Peter whispered, turning his head to look up at you. "I know," you replied, "until then, I'll just patch you up when needed."

You wanted so badly to understand what was going on with Peter, but you knew that there was no getting through to him now, because he was stubborn as hell. So you'd take what you could get for now. And in return he'd try and be there more for you, because he missed you, and the selfish part of him loved you too much to let you go, even if that were the right thing to do.

"How about you move in with me?"

#tasm!peter x reader #tasm!peter parker fic #tasm!peter x y/n #the amazing spider man #peter parker x fem!reader #peter parker x reader #likedovesinthewindd

[agendabymooner]

gossip ! daniel r. x ofc (måneskin member!ofc)

“ sip the gossip, drink ‘til you choke ”

summary: everyone thinks that lorelei hester ‘lester’ alessandro's character isn’t good for an image of an f1 driver. all because she's more confident in her own body and her trusting relationship with danny ricciardo. she fights her own battles while her boyfriend acts as her moral support idiot. OR lester shows a way to handle the hatred shown to her while danny cheers her up with his typical off-track tomfoolery.

content warning: slutshaming (it's 2023 guys, know better), a whole lot of original characters' interaction w/ other ocs, shitty grammar, brief fandom crossovers (through original characters), explicit language, allusion to smut, supportive and slightly unhinged!danny ric, danny who doesn't like getting called a friend by his own girlfriend, one criminal minds reference, and two haters but let’s multiply them into 100 because I don’t have enough space for new accounts at my app :(

note: i also got some toto wolff content hidden too lol but the characters in that one are connected in some ways. lester is also connected to the characters in my toto series but uh... yeah! enjoy! let me know what you think!

loressandro tweeted !

loressandro tweeted !

bonus tweets !

brief translations from the messages:

tasso di miele = my honey badger

ti amo, il mio tasso = i love you, my badger

mandami dei nudi dopo = send some nudes later?

#daniel ricciardo imagine #formula one imagine #toto wolff imagine #formula one x oc #formula one fic #formula one smut #danny ric x reader #danny ric #lando norris #formula one fanfiction #formula one smau #mclaren racing #red bull racing imagine #daniel ricciardo x ofc #f1 fiction #f1 crack #maneskin

[majorblinks]

hard to break the habit, part 2 ((g)i-dle yuqi, minnie)

(smut, threesomes, public sex, anal, double penetration, oral, bodywriting, strap-ons, sex tapes, birthday sex, mentions of blood, biting, choking, squirting, sadomasochism, public humiliation, fluff, polyamory, 29k words, i originally wrote this for minnie's bday so she gets to top for once lmfao, first part here)

“So, about that sequel.” 

It’s the three of you, but it usually is. It always starts with the most familiar scene.

“Ugh,” says Yuqi, arching an eyebrow at you, the equivalent of a title card, opening credits. “Your obsession with sex is genuinely so unflattering.” 

She’s got her hands in Minnie’s hair, thumb skating along the side of Minnie’s neck. Her nail trails across a row of hickeys you’d bitten and Yuqi’d made worse - or maybe the other way around. Oh, well. It’s not like you’re clamoring for recognition, competing during awards season; there’s no point in keeping score. 

“I’m up for it,” says Minnie, smiling. 

Her eyes flutter open, irises so green you suddenly can’t look away. Tilts her head, the line of her jaw an edge you’d love to drag your tongue across. She says, “I mean, I’m always up to get the life fucked out of me.” 

“We get it,” says Yuqi, mouth curling. Her gaze flicks to Minnie’s face, anchors there just like you. You’re supposed to be playing a video game together, but it’s all a completely lost cause. There are too many pretty things in the room to resist. It’s a real problem. “You’re a whore.”

“Just for you two,” Minnie says, so easily that Yuqi actually stops short. 

Her surprise is almost comical, because anyone with a view would be able to pick up on the context clues. Minnie, her head tucked into the crook of Yuqi’s neck, her arm splayed across Yuqi’s stomach, fingers brushing at your palm; Yuqi, working her fingers into your sleeve, tugging absentmindedly; you, and the kiss you’d pressed to the crown of her head seconds before. That’s an establishing shot, showing rather than telling; you’re all a little addicted to the physical. One look at the three of you and any audience would get it on sight. 

“Oh, come on,” Minnie says, grinning when she spots Yuqi’s expression. “That can’t really surprise you, Yuqi. I’ve been fucking nobody but you guys for months.” 

“Yeah,” you add, egging her on. “I thought you were supposed to be the smart one out of the three of us.” 

“I am,” insists Yuqi, but her dark eyes are gentle, lips quirked like a vulnerability. Heroes and their hamartias. “You guys have a collective IQ of, like, five. It’s not a high bar to clear.” 

“Five,” repeats Minnie, jutting out her bottom lip at you thoughtfully. 

“I think it’s gone up,” you agree. 

“Stop talking,” says Yuqi, wrapping her fingers in the strap of Minnie’s tank top and tugging hard, letting it bite into her hickey-smattered collarbone. Minnie yelps, a breathy, needy noise - and your eyes flash right to Yuqi’s. 

“Sequel?” you offer, again. 

The pink’s almost completely faded out of Yuqi’s hair, but it smells sweet, tickling your neck. She’s got her tongue settled at the corner of her mouth, Chekhov’s gun - it’ll come back around just in time for the climax. The kind of criminally gorgeous that turns on you in a plot twist, betrays you and does it beautifully. 

“You and your fucking one-track mind,” says Yuqi, scoffing. 

But there’s the catch that they’re perfect scene partners, dripping chemistry; at her side, Minnie tilts her chin up, effortlessly alluring. Any camera would drink her in greedily, nab all the details: sharp points, places to apply pressure. Slant of her sternum. Slender lines of her shoulders. She’d walk on-screen and turn an audience wild. 

“Well,” you say, grinning at the two of them. “It’s probably a little more than a one-track mind.”

Their reactions might as well be straight from a script; Yuqi breaks on a husky laugh, the echo like music itself. Minnie immediately pauses to watch, drawn like a sound cue, waiting with bated breath for the swell, the shift in tone. It’s art in motion, film in real life. Maybe sex isn’t really the thing you’re all obsessed with, in the end. 

“Ha,” Yuqi says, sarcastic and somehow delighted, all at once. “You’re evolving.” 

“That’s fucked up,” Minnie tells her, smile already beginning to spread. “You know we don’t know what that word means.” 

“What, did you skip basic biology?” 

“Basic what?” 

And it wouldn’t be your kind of art if there was a single hard cut to a happy ending - there’s still a story to tell. You’ll be the narrator, asking your audience to just walk with you here. Stick it out; you’ll get there. Maybe it’s not all about sex, maybe it’s never so straightforward: fine. Maybe you’ll have to look a little deeper. 

(Maybe it’s just each other, then. Maybe it’s just this.)

-

“Oh,” Minnie tells you both, one day. “You should probably know Miyeon’s giving me so much shit about this.” 

“About what?” Yuqi asks, neck lolling to look at her. “Getting fucked regularly?”

All this talk of films - sure, the three of you together is more of an episodic thing, a serialized narrative; every moment slips neatly into the next. Apparently Miyeon and her boyfriend had spent the morning making some romantic breakfast together - crepes, blueberry and chocolate - and by noon you and Minnie and Yuqi are out in the kitchen sleepily scarfing down leftovers. It’s domestic. It’s mundane. It’s a perfect kind of day. 

Yuqi’s sitting on the counter, splitting a chocolate-filled crepe with Minnie. “She’s one to talk,” she’s saying, about Miyeon. “Her teacher boyfriend’s like twice her age and he fucking ruins her every time they get together.” 

“I actually have a question about that,” you say, already on your second crepe. “Or several questions. So, when you say he’s her teacher - do you mean that he’s her professor, like, currently, or-”

Minnie licks chocolate off of her bottom lip; Yuqi freezes, hooked on her mouth. Well, you’ve all got your weaknesses. “He was her high school teacher,” Minnie says, and inexplicably doesn’t elaborate, setting her plate aside. “Anyway-”

The sun’s drifting in through slats in the blinds, a snapshot framed naturally, spilling midday light over the counter, the floor, filtering through Minnie’s glossy black hair. There are subtleties in the set dressing, in the distinct lack of hickeys, bruises; everyone’s able to walk straight, that’s a first. You all stayed the night here yesterday after getting caught up watching some ridiculous rom-com, and managed to miss out on the sex, for once. 

(Well, maybe not for once. There’s a recurring segment, like a bit played for laughs - oh, you all meant to be fuckbuddies; now you’re making a habit of sleeping over, sharing breakfast. It’s hysterical. It’s a riot. Slapstick humor at its finest, how you somehow tripped and fell into each others’ beds, and lives, and you just can’t manage to find your way back out.)

“Her whole point was that I have a bad track record,” Minnie’s explaining. “I have a habit of falling in love with my fuckbuddies.” 

Yuqi stiffens. “She told you that?” She shakes her head vehemently, brows lowering in distaste. “That’s so shitty. I’ll kick the shit out of her.” 

“Is it shitty?” you ask Yuqi, confused. 

Yuqi’s jaw works. She’s inspecting Minnie’s face carefully. 

“Yeah,” she says. “Considering the reason Miyeon stopped hooking up with Minnie was because Minnie fell in love with her, I think it’s pretty goddamn tactless of her to say.”

“Hey,” says Minnie, gently. She lifts her shoulders in a shrug, smile rueful. “I’m okay now. It was a while ago.” Her gaze runs its usual circuit, you to Yuqi, back again. She’s so good at playing parts that no stranger would be able to separate truth from fiction - but you can. You know she means it when she says, “I’m over her.” 

“Still,” says Yuqi, irritated. She’s never so easily mollified. “Want me to talk to her?” 

“Talk to her? You’re just gonna threaten to beat her up.” 

“Yeah, and she deserves it.”

“Yuqi.” 

You’ve all started this thing out by sneaking in and out of each others’ beds like you’re all teenagers engaging in some secret love affair - two’s company, three’s a crowd; that’s what they all say. Dodging roommates and donning each others’ sweatshirts. Playing games like there’s some kind of prize to be won, bruises and bright red lines scraped over skin, tallying up your points.

“She didn’t mean it like that,” Minnie’s clarifying, patting Yuqi’s knee soothingly, hopping down off the counter. “Like, she didn’t say it was a bad thing. She just wanted me to make sure that I knew what I was getting into.” 

But it’s been months now, and somehow, even without all that drama, you’ve learned you can still have fun. 

Everyone knows you’re fucking anyway, you’ve all decided; what’s the point in an act? Alright, you’ll spend entire days joined at the hip, let your friends recognize you all as a trio, as partners in crime. Laze around Yuqi’s apartment playing video games and splitting coffees. Get stern talking-tos at the library because you and Minnie can’t stop laughing at some absolutely foul joke Yuqi makes. You drag them both to the gym with you at least twice a week - Minnie never fails to don the most revealing athletic wear you’ve ever seen; Yuqi always ends up drowning in one of your t-shirts. Minnie rounds you all up at her favorite coffee shop between classes. You go to every gig Yuqi’s band has. There’s a name for this kind of thing - some kind of romantic trope, some cliché.

“She’s my best friend,” says Minnie, settling herself between Yuqi’s legs, fingertips dancing across her thigh. “She knows me.”

She knows this, too, you think of saying. Miyeon, with her fondness for flowery novels and pretentious films, mindful of foreshadowing, the way plot points thread together and tie themselves up in bows. 

“Fine,” says Yuqi, a little petulantly. Her hair’s swept up, pale pink twining down her spine. “But - don’t you already know what you’re getting into?” 

Haven’t we covered this by now? she’s saying. You and me and him. I’ve spent the night here every day for the past week and only half those were because the sex was so intense I couldn’t move afterwards. You know, don’t you? You know. 

Because that’s how Yuqi sees things; she’s got no logical reason to stick around. She’s always got things to do. But she’s here, anyway, with the two of you, letting Minnie touch her however she wants, letting you sneak over and press a kiss to her shoulder, just above her tattoo. It’s a Saturday afternoon, mid-autumn. A moment of sweet, languid silence, letting the scene speak for itself, letting all the main players just breathe. There’s no other word for it but peace. 

“Yeah,” says Minnie, and grins over at you. “Yeah, I think I do.” 

-

Well, the peace doesn’t last very long, but it never does. 

It can’t, really. Not with Yuqi, always something of a succubus, seconds from pulling out claws, fangs, going feral; not with Minnie, submissive like it’s something permanent, invariably ready to get on her knees. Not with you, utterly helpless in the face of both of them - oh, scratch that. You have agency. You knew what you were getting into. The point is that you’ve got a sequel to get to, so:

hey, Yuqi says one day, and it’s not in the group chat for once. you’re at minnie’s place, right?

You are, but you’re far from the only one. There’s something about Minnie and Miyeon’s apartment - okay, it’s not exactly a mystery, it’s gorgeous and way too much space for just the two of them; ah, the things old money can buy - that tends to attract strays. Today that just happens to include some of Miyeon’s friends, laughing with Miyeon out in the kitchen; Miyeon’s boyfriend, flipping through a dog-eared book on the couch; you, next to him, asking him if he can proofread one of your essays. Hey, it’s all about using your resources. 

yes? you text back, puzzled. why?

minnie and i are on our way home. make sure the apartment is empty before we get there. 

Just like that - like there’s no room for debate. ? you text, then: ???????

No response. You stare at your phone for a second, glance up at Miyeon’s boyfriend, watching you expectantly. In the kitchen, Miyeon squeals at something one of her friends says. It’s not even your apartment, but-

hey, you text Miyeon, discreetly. yuqi just texted me saying she wants me to clear the apartment out before she gets back…. can you help please

Desperate times, desperate measures. You’ve learned to read Yuqi’s tone even through texts. It’s an order you’re not about to ignore. 

“Sorry,” you say to Miyeon’s boyfriend, “Yuqi is - you know what, never mind.” It’s a lost cause; there’s no point in explaining Song Yuqi’s whims. Instead-

You wait a beat, and then you hear Miyeon snort out a laugh from all the way in the other room. 

sure, Miyeon replies over text, because despite it all, she’s a girl who knows how to pick her battles. give me like five minutes.

“Sorry about this,” she says to her friends moments later, true to her word, as she’s ushering them out the door. Her boyfriend’s arm is wound around her waist, the staggering height difference between them as adorably funny as it always is. “I totally forgot we have date night tonight.” 

“It’s okay,” says one of Miyeon’s friends - she’s remarkably tall, willowy, voice sweetly soft and understanding. “Have a good time.” 

“Yeah, whatever,” says her other friend, a brunette who is ostensibly wearing sunglasses indoors. You recognize her vaguely as one of the baristas from the coffee shop near campus. “You don’t have to be, like, coy about it. If you’re gonna get fucked senseless, just say that.” 

“Yunjin,” admonishes Miyeon, adopting that faux-scandalized tone that you recognize on the spot. Miyeon’s rarely anything but shameless, but she’ll play her parts. “No - we’re going to dinner. We’re classy.” 

Yunjin slips her sunglasses to the top of her head just to give the most dramatic eye-roll you’ve ever seen. “Sure,” she says, and moves to tug the other girl out the door. “Have fun. Don’t get a venereal disease from having sex in a public bathroom. And don’t get pregnant.” She pauses, purposeful. “Or do, whatever. You’re into that, right?” 

Miyeon sputters; it takes a lot to catch her off-guard, but Yunjin’s doing it wonderfully. “I - you-”

“Bye, Miyeon,” the other girl tacks on, earnestly sincere, and lets the door fall shut, leaving you all speechless in the process - and it’s certainly one way to make an exit. 

-

“You’re welcome,” says Miyeon, standing in the doorway with her boyfriend’s hand clasped in hers. “The only reason I did that is because I know Yuqi will hit me with her car if she finds out I’m the person who cockblocked her.” 

“I owe you one,” you say. There’s no fighting those allegations; when Yuqi’s that demanding, it can only mean one thing. “Thanks. Seriously.” 

You’re about to bid them farewell, but something gives you pause, drinking them both in. 

See, you were right about Miyeon knowing stories like yours, her penchant for romantic novels and tales spun - but there’s this, too. Miyeon, who’s been right where you are now; who gets the way sex and situationships can slip into a future, into a finale, into the rest of your life. 

Well, at least she’s on your side. There are worse allies to have. 

“No problem,” Miyeon says, and her smile spills her own secrets. “Good luck.” 

-

Oh, about your sequel: obviously, you’ve got to outdo yourselves this time. It’s all about setting new standards. There’s a camera, there’s a set-up, there are toys, tricks, daydreams to indulge in, novelties; there’s Minnie, practically asking to be tortured-

The front door slams shut. 

“Hello?” you call, and get nothing back but silence. 

(Contrary to popular belief, you and Yuqi don’t get riled without a reason. If you’re going to rough Minnie up, take her to the point of no return and push her past it, you’ve got to have at least some incentive. You’ve all been fucking so regularly that it’s a given - but it’s got to be a special occasion, to bring out the cameras. 

So: this all means you’re not exactly sure what to expect when you wander into the entryway, but-)

“Oh,” you say, when you see her. “Hey?” 

It’s all there, immediately. The flushed cheeks, stark against the faded color in her hair; lips screwed up, half a pout, half a scowl, cute with an edge, adorable with an aggression. The footfalls of her feet in her platform sandals, determined; she’s in jeans and one of your t-shirts, so oversized it’s slipping off a shoulder. Her fingers flex like she’s thinking of wrapping them around someone’s hair. She’s fuming, from the jump. It’s hilarious. It’s hot. 

“Uh,” you say, watching Yuqi fumble with the straps of her sandals, too worked up to work anything. “Are you okay?” 

“Minnie,” snaps Yuqi, furious in place of an explanation. “She’s fucking - I’ve been out with her all day, and she’s-”

It’s nonsense. You open your mouth, about to ask for clarification - but then Minnie walks through the door after her, and you instantly get the gist. 

“Oh,” you say again, struck. 

“Exactly,” says Yuqi, seething.

Minnie’s not even paying attention to either of you, humming softly to herself as she leans down to slip off her shoes, teeth notched into her bottom lip. She’s in these criminally short black denim cutoffs, riding high and shameless up her thighs, this cropped black sweater, showing off her flat midriff and dipping low at the neckline - every part of her is slender and lean and gorgeous, just begging to be bruised and bitten and scratched - there’s her silky black hair, her eyes green and rimmed with dark eyeliner, mascara, ten times more arresting than usual, half-lidded and devilishly sexy, lips red and throat just begging for a fist around it - okay, she’s not even fucking doing anything, but-

Minnie glances over at the two of you, gathering up her hair in one smooth, fluid motion; it wouldn’t usually be this teasingly hot, but - alright, that’s a lie. It’s Minnie and everything she does is like an invitation to rip her clothes off, or at least it is for you and Yuqi. 

“Hey,” she says, nonchalantly, letting her hair drop back past her collarbones. 

“I’m gonna fuck you up,” says Yuqi, like there are a dozen unspeakably violent urges she’s repressing all at once. 

Minnie’s mouth falls open, somehow actually startled. “What?” 

“You look really hot today,” you translate. “It’s making her, um-” 

“Horny?” Minnie supplies, catching on. 

“Homicidal,” you correct. Well, when it comes to Yuqi, they pretty much go hand in hand.

Minnie cracks into a smile. “I’m hot every day,” she says, planting a hand on her hip. She lifts her chin, and there’s the fantasy again: tall, toned, threateningly attractive. That familiar brand of beautiful, like something you want to rip up and ruin. “I would think you’d be able to control yourself by now.” 

“Don’t be a brat.” Yuqi’s patience is already running thin - there’s a tightrope you’re walking, precarious. There are fault lines, already splitting ground. “You’re such a fucking cocktease.”

“Okay,” says Minnie, still smiling. She’s used to how Yuqi’s sexual frustration practically possesses her, something of a spirit, fury flushing her veins; it’s always a bit demonic, but that’s the fun of it. “Do you want to do something about it?”

She asks it so innocently. She’s always down to push limits. It’s enticing, to her: the opportunity to drag the devil up from hell just to taunt her.

But then Yuqi jerks forward to grab Minnie’s forearm in her hand, and that’s enough for Minnie to give it all up entirely - Yuqi touches her and there’s no point in putting up a fight, not that she’d even want to. She’ll have bruises later. She’ll wear them like jewelry: against her wrists, her neck, bitten into her thighs; rubies, amethysts. This, you’ve come to realize, is a girl who’s used to living in luxury. Sex like this is just another way of showing status. 

So you’ll give her what she wants. “Well, baby,” you say, at Minnie’s wide eyes, as Yuqi tugs her roughly towards the bedroom, “when you’re crying later, I hope you remember that you did this to yourself.”

Minnie blinks owlishly at you, but it’s an act with fraying edges; she can’t hide the smirk unfurling at her mouth. Yuqi throws the door open, says where’s your fucking camera - Minnie doesn’t break eye contact with you, flattens herself against the wall, already prepared to get tossed around and manhandled. She’ll make herself smaller, shyer. She’ll give you exactly what you want, too. 

“Oh,” Minnie says coyly, and she’s always so much more in control than she’ll pretend to be. “I absolutely will.” 

-

(See, Miyeon was only partially right when she wished you good luck: it’s a sweet sentiment, sure, but it’s becoming very obvious that you're not the one who needs it.)

-

It’s the outfit. The shorts, more accurately. It’s what you manage to glean from the way Yuqi gets Minnie on the bed, gets them off and to the floor like they’ve personally offended her. You know Minnie; know she probably spent the whole day bending over in them, irresistible to get a reaction, insatiable when it comes to attention. She’s fond of skimpy clothing - she’s got a figure she loves to show off - and you’re obviously not complaining, because you’re allowed to stare and grope and touch. Yuqi is too, but something about today, something about the mood-

“Here’s what you don’t seem to understand,” Yuqi says to her, voice low and deadly. “If you dress like a dumb slut, you’re gonna get fucked like a dumb slut.”

Your eyebrows raise involuntarily. 

(Look, today’s particular outfit wasn’t even close to the most revealing thing you’ve ever seen Minnie wear - but your gaze falls to the godforsaken shorts abandoned on the bedroom floor, and you kind of get it, regardless.)

You’ll let Yuqi have this one. Plus, you’re not about to start complaining about this, either, especially when-

“Proposition,” continues Yuqi casually, above Minnie on the bed, trapping her wrists in her hands. “You wanna take two cocks at once, sweetheart?” 

It seems like it’s been established by now, the answer to that question: you’ve fucked her throat, Yuqi’s fucked her pussy. Minnie can take dick like she was built for it, her body lithe with a purpose, designed for sin, sex, debauchery - but Yuqi leans in closer, mouth like readying a weapon, preparing a stipulation:

“One in your cunt,” she says, and for a second it’s like she’s already bitten down and broken skin, “and one in your ass.” 

And that’s-

“You think she can handle it?” you say, camera in one hand, lens trained and remarkably still. Minnie whines, inhalations shallow; she loves being talked about like she’s not there, loves the dehumanization of it. It takes a certain kind of person to get off on being treated like fucking property, but-

“She’s a fucking whore for anal,” says Yuqi, dismissively, then laughs, raspy and ruinous. “I mean - she’s a whore all the time, we know that. But she really does love getting fucked in the ass.” 

You reach out, take Minnie’s face in your other hand. “Is that true?” you ask her, almost placatingly; condescension drips from your tone. “You want that, baby?” 

It’s immediate. Instinct, practically. A strangled breath from Minnie’s parted lips; a squeeze of her thighs together, stomach taut and back ready to curve to archways - a tilt of a camera, a discovery of a new angle, a clearer light. It’s rhetorical: you’ve heard it all over again, a million different ways - I’d let you do anything, she says, often and to both of you, halfway to begging; I’d let you fucking tear me apart, I don’t care, God damn, sometimes I just want to get fucked-

“Yes,” Minnie whispers. Then, pathetically: “fuck, please.” 

There’s so much power in having her underneath you. It’s a miracle she ever makes it out of shit like this alive. There’s no real guarantee -  this could be the time that ruins her for good, but that goes for every time. Yuqi laughs, fingers tightening around Minnie’s wrists; there’s her mirth in a minor key, there’s Minnie’s pulse like a funeral march. The risk is just the fun of it, really. 

“Alright,” you say, grinning, and steady the camera; well, it’s all a show, anyway. “Then we’ll make it happen.” 

-

It’s so fast, but that’s how it always goes: Yuqi hates being patient and you’re right there with her. She’s been riled all day, ready to call for warfare. She needs to see Minnie fucked and filled with cock, she says, smirk halfway to sinister, and she needs it now. Just like the two of you, she always gets what she wants, so there’s this:

Minnie, on all fours like it’s an automatic reaction. Yuqi, drenching her own fingers with lube, watching as Minnie whimpers against her pillow, made to part her own ass cheeks with her hands and wait-

Yuqi hums low in her throat at the sight, and shoots you a look behind the camera. “You getting all of this?”

“Obviously,” you say, and your voice sounds just as wrecked as hers; you both purport to have the upper hand, at times like these, but you’re both victims to your desires just as much as Minnie is. It’ll be abundantly clear, when you watch it back. You can’t really bring yourself to care. “Like I’d ever fucking miss it.” 

And you can’t - no one can, no one in the room, no future versions of yourself watching it all back, no prospective audience - as Yuqi presses a lube-slicked finger to the pucker of Minnie’s asshole, and truly starts to fuck her. 

The intrusion kicks a gasp from Minnie’s lungs, air whistling through her teeth. You can’t take your eyes off of her ass, Yuqi’s hands, the nearly feral gleam in her eye; that’s a sight you could get addicted to, no holds barred. Oh, it all shows here, somehow, underneath the abject filth-

“Yuqi-” Minnie’s voice breaks off, a strangled semblance of a moan. “Yuqi, fuck-”

-because Yuqi’s gentle when it counts, in the end. She’ll let violence bloom in other ways: a harsh smack to Minnie’s bare ass, a laugh at the mewling yelp it gets. The way she balls Minnie’s black hair in her fist just to yank her hair hard, just to see her back curve beautifully - just to snarl, “Nasty fucking slut.” 

You can’t look away from the way she works her fingers into Minnie’s asshole, can’t get over the concept, the anticipation, the mind game in motion - Yuqi shoots a grin your way, beckons you closer - the strap-on’s waiting on the sheets, the lens is waiting for a performance. 

“You ready?” Yuqi murmurs. 

You pass her the camera - it’s all about setting the scene, about getting the perfect shot - okay, that’s only in theory, because in reality you know it’s just about getting fucked in more ways than one, but you’ll use your excuses while you can still think clearly - and then-

-

(It’s like it’s all been for practice. That’s the first thing you can even manage to come up with, and even that slips out seconds later, your brain too consumed by the feeling, the physical - Minnie’s cunt clamping down on your cock, Yuqi’s strap-on buried in her ass, and then she starts to thrust-)

“There you go,” you choke out; it’s all you can manage. You’re underneath Minnie, and you can’t take your eyes off that face, her devastating eyes, her lips parted prettily. “There’s our girl.” 

That’s what you mean: like you don’t even have to say it out loud to fall right into it, to fuck Minnie like you’re returning to a rhythm. There are so many days with sex as a sort of sadistic competition, between you and Yuqi - who can hit Minnie harder, make her cum faster, make her scream louder - but it’s never been clearer: you’ve always had the same goal in the end, identical objectives, purposes and paths to ruin. Like you’ve both taken a girl and corrupted her, wholly and completely. Like - like-

“Like you’re just a cheap little whore.” You can’t see Yuqi’s face, but you don’t even have to; the rasp of her voice is enough. “That’s what it feels like, huh? Having your slutty fucking holes stuffed with cock?” Only a part of it is her performing for the camera, you know; get her in the right mood and this is what’ll make it out of her mouth regardless - predatory, ravenous, like she’s been starved for the sound of pain - or pleasure, whatever, like anyone can even tell the fucking difference - and needs to hear it again, and again, and again. “Having his cock in your cunt while I’m making your asshole gape-”

You’re letting her take the lead, but it’s partly because you can barely breathe, Minnie’s cunt like a vice, her perfect face above yours, green eyes dazed and watery, mouth slack and wet. Her body is so hot it’s almost feverish, simmering on high - her blood’s kerosene, her arteries sparking up in flames - there’s a hunger to this kind of craving, how it scalds and burns and consumes-

“Because you know,” continues Yuqi, so thick and rough she’s almost slurring. Her strap-on’s the kind that stimulates her clit, makes her shudder visibly with every thrust. “That this all belongs to us.” A loud smack on Minnie’s ass - Yuqi’s got the camera, probably getting the perfect angle, Minnie’s spine a winding road - you’ve got a view with how Minnie shrieks, tears forming in her eyes and spilling over - and Yuqi says, “We own you.” 

The sound Minnie makes next - needy, desperate, shattering like glass and gorgeously - isn’t anywhere near a protest. Yuqi’s there with her defenses anyway, on the offensive as if Minnie’d screamed out loud, as if she’d writhed and fought it, as if she doesn’t know that it’s exactly the brutal truth. But there’s nothing Yuqi loves more than an argument, so:

“Baby,” she purrs, and cants her hips, “if we wanted to get eight strangers in here to fucking gangbang your tight little body - throw you around and use you like a fucking toy - you know you’d just get on all fours and take it.” Adds snidely, insult to bloody injury: “You’d let us film it, too.” 

You suck in a breath at the image, struck, groaning. It’s one of those moments where everything starts to blur at the edges, tear apart at the seams - anything in the periphery seems to swim, melt, fade to obscurity - Minnie’s always deliciously tight, but Yuqi’s strap-on in her ass takes it up tenfold, makes her cunt nothing less than suffocating - you’re not sure how you’re not splitting her in two, how you’ll ever be able to come back from this-

“Gonna cum,” she whimpers, needy and threatening nonsensical, or it will be, in a few seconds. “Fuck me, fuck me, I’m gonna cum-”

She squirts - right there, right around your cock - but neither you or Yuqi stop. Self-control is fucking overrated, Yuqi’d said to you, once; I like taking what I want, especially when she’s fucking begging for it.

But there’s no space in the room for begging now, no opportunity for that kind of effort, for anything other than cumming, crying. Minnie’s sobbing incoherent - you bring that perfect face in your hands and drag her in for a kiss, and all you taste is salt, sweat, tears - her lips part and she’s drooling into your open mouth, unraveling, reduced to nothing but a wet, well-fucked mess-

It’s like you’re both trying to wear her out, make her something to fuck and tear apart and discard later. Hey, all bets are off in this bedroom. You’ll make her scream your names.

But it’s all about the benefits. You’re wired by the expression on her face, saying, “You know we only do this because you get off on that shit.” There’s your hand to her neck, the way she sees it coming and still flinches, still clenches tight around your cock. “You like when we treat you like a dumb fucking cocksleeve, choke you, hit you-”

It’s practically a cue; you hear how Yuqi’s hand comes down on Minnie’s ass, hear the smack, the strangled squeal. She must go for the curve of her hip next, because Minnie jerks to the side, gasps for air, squirts again-

Time shifts, has a way of becoming irrelevant - everything so slick and wet and sloppy it’s impossible to put a source to; Minnie won’t stop cumming - you and Yuqi have your hands everywhere she wants them, nails finding purchase wherever they can: there’ll be broken skin and blood, her body like a crime scene, but at least Minnie’s fucking asking for it - Yuqi’s panting, demanding, “Fucking cum, fucking cum in her-”

You think Minnie cums at the same time you do, but you can’t be sure. The room’s flooding, your head’s underwater; you can barely hear anything, blood rushing in waves. Minnie falls to the side next to you, gasping for air. 

Yuqi’s above you with a camera, running a hand through her hair. The line of her neck shimmers with sweat. She looks victorious in the way only she can after sex, like there’s a war she’s won. Hair fucked up and falling down her back. Grin like a gold medal. 

“Yuqi,” you say hoarsely, once you can speak.

She turns towards you, and you make your move. 

You get the strap-on off in seconds, push it out of the way. For once, it’s all slow; sloppy but somehow gentle, two fingers in her cunt and your mouth on her clit - you fuck her and there’s no danger in it. Sometimes, you’re content to just make her cum; sometimes, she’s content to just let you. Oh, the roles are fun, the swearing and the slapping - but Yuqi’s thighs tighten around your head and she’s cumming around your fingers with a moan, and there’s nothing that compares to this, either. 

Something clatters to the nightstand next to her. 

You draw back, instantly suspicious, still licking her cum from your lips. “What was-”

But Yuqi’s already got the camera back up again, focused even with her thighs trembling, chest heaving; panning from Minnie’s slack, exhausted face to her tits, to her midriff, where-

FUCKDOLL, it reads, in crude letters across the flat plane of her stomach. Like she’d seen a canvas she just couldn’t resist. There’s an eyeliner pencil on the nightstand, entirely incriminating. You raise your eyebrows at Yuqi, not quite questioning the impulse - you’re so far past that - but entertained by it, nonetheless. 

Yuqi grins back, catches the look. 

“Well, look at her,” she says, stroking her thumb down Minnie’s midriff, pausing to trace the letters, the sweat dappling her skin. Looks back up at you, smirk wicked and wild, and her expression says it all: it’s the truth, isn’t it? Tilts the camera, supporting evidence. She’s calling it how she sees it, how anyone would. Look at how we fuck her, she’s saying. Look at how she’d fucking die for it. 

Hey, she doesn’t need to prove anything to you. You’re seeing it all firsthand. Squirt ruining the sheets, the gape of Minnie’s asshole; her well-fucked cunt, drooling your cum onto her thighs. A toy by any definition - like her body’s designed for it, her pussy, her ass, her brilliantly expressive eyes. 

“Realistically,” continues Yuqi, a little cruelly, “there are way worse things I could’ve called her.” 

But another second passes and she’s giggling, tracing the sloppy letters, enjoying her own handiwork. It’s practically a compliment, coming from her. An endearment. A giveaway. Anyone she liked less would get something much meaner - but it’s Minnie.  

“I don’t give a fuck,” mumbles Minnie, fingers splayed lazily across the drenched sheets. Dazed and only half-alive, words melting into each other like honey. You laugh at the state of her because it’s hilarious, and you kiss her, because she’s gorgeous. She smiles against your mouth, murmurs, “Call me whatever you want.” 

(See, but she doesn’t really need to tell you that, either - you’ve known the entire time.)

-

It’s like that thing all the great filmmakers say: every single frame like a painting, Minnie at your mercy. Vaguely surreal, unbelievable, like she can’t actually be that filthy, that fucked, that beautiful - getting this all on camera; well, it’s something of an art form, if you actually think about it-

“What the fuck are you talking about?” exhales Yuqi, reaching out to brush your sweaty hair off your forehead, affection dulling the snark somewhat. Then: “Oh, God. You’re losing it, too.”

Too, she says, because Minnie’s already long gone, but that’s a given. “No, I definitely have a point,” you protest weakly, throwing a haphazard gesture towards the camera. “We could - like - win awards for this shit.” 

“There is something seriously wrong with you.”

You try in vain for a glare, about to fire back, but-

A breathless laugh. Half a wheeze, so scratchy you would be alarmed - but you know better. Minnie’s got her entire face buried into your shoulder, giggling deliriously, sounding partially like she’s seconds from complete lung failure, a marginally worrying and entirely familiar mark of exhaustion. She’s too adorable to resist, fucked out and hopeless. Yuqi stares, says, “Great. That’s great,” and opens her mouth again, like she’s readying another insult-

Minnie swivels just to tip her cheek into Yuqi’s neck, eyes closed and makeup ruined, a slight, dreamy smile gracing her lips. Yuqi’s mouth snaps shut.

“You were saying?” you prompt. 

“Go fuck yourself.” 

“Not a chance,” you say, delighted, too caught up in the moment to be anything else. “Not when I could be fucking you instead.” 

Yuqi rolls her eyes; she’d probably punch you if she didn’t think it’d disrupt Minnie. “Boo,” she says, instead, and throws you a withering look. “That sucks. You get girls with lines like that?”

Minnie’s laughing again, suddenly. She mumbles something incomprehensible into Yuqi’s neck, then tilts her face out, says to Yuqi, “It got you, didn’t it?” 

“Please,” says Yuqi, never missing a beat. “I’m only here because you guys are better than nothing.” 

But she’s stroking a hand through Minnie’s hair, the curve of her lips soft and honest in a way that she can’t be openly, sometimes; too tender, too shy. She doesn’t try to hide it, but she doesn’t announce it either. She’s content as you lean over, kiss the tip of her nose, make her laugh; content just to be there, with the two of you. Happy to give in, after all of it.

“Right,” you say, smiling back, because you’ll let her confess when she’s ready. “Let’s go with that.”

-

The dust settles, eventually; the camera’s shut off, the sheets are stripped and thrown in the washer, you distribute Gatorades, waters. You rebuild each other, afterwards. You clean it all up. Minnie needs it most, but she always does; she falls right into your arms, in the end. Fine, says Yuqi, I guess I’ll forgive you for dressing like a whore - but she’s laughing.

“Yeah, what was that?” you ask; it’s all unmasked, the curtains finally drawn back. You’ll thumb back through the script, double back on your lines. “I’ve seen Minnie in way sluttier outfits. That was kind of an intense reaction to a pair of shorts that I’m pretty sure she’s worn, like, forty times.” 

Minnie makes a tiny noise of protest - with the kind of money I have? you can imagine her saying, overdramatic and bratty to get a reaction; you know I don’t fucking repeat outfits - but now she’s too sleepy for any real argument, too sated to even want it.  

“I was looking for an excuse to lose my shit,” says Yuqi, shamelessly. She tilts her head, thumb tracing a circle on Minnie’s bare hip. “Plus, she liked it.” 

“I like you,” says Minnie, dreamily. She pokes your cheek, grin beaming like stage lights. “You too.” She pauses, briefly swerves into another train of thought. “Are you actually going to get eight strangers in here to gangbang me?”

“Of course not,” you say, entertained, before Yuqi can even open her mouth. “Yuqi’s too territorial. She’d curb stomp anyone who tried to go near you.” You stop, amend, “Except for me, obviously.” 

“Even you’re on thin fucking ice, by the way,” Yuqi adds, trying her best to glare at you. “No, I’d never have you do that, Minnie. That takes a certain kind of sadist, I think.” She shudders. “To make their girl get fucked by a group of random guys and film it.” 

“What?” says Minnie, smile growing. 

“Aren’t some people just into that?” you ask Yuqi. “Like, that’s what being a cuck is, no?” 

“Wait,” Minnie tries to interrupt, still smiling. 

“Okay, but I think at that point it goes past… cuckism. Like, if it’s on that extreme of a level - that’s just fucked up. For someone to get their girl-” 

“You said it again,” says Minnie. 

Yuqi glances at her, a crease appearing between her eyebrows. “Said what?” 

“I don’t think cuckism is a word,” you say, three steps behind.

Minnie shifts, sheets pooling around her hips. She’s exhausted; you both had to hold her up in the shower, wash her face, her body - she drifted in and out, repeating your name, tipping her face towards Yuqi as if asking for a kiss. Yuqi obliged, every time, cupping Minnie’s cheeks in her hands carefully. There are some things that don’t have to be said out loud.

“You said it’s fucked up for someone to do that to their girl,” Minnie says. “Like you wouldn’t have me do something like that because I’m your girl.” 

For a second you and Yuqi just blink at her, caught out and characters broken. Both of you have told her as much a million times while you’re fucking her - you own her, she belongs to you, like property, like a possession - but you know that’s not what she’s really asking, now. Eyes dark again, full of stars, wide and wondrous. Alright: not everything has to be said out loud, but then there’s this. 

“Jesus,” Yuqi mumbles, pressing a finger underneath Minnie’s jaw - and then she can’t do anything but kiss her. “Yeah, you are, okay? Fine. You’re our girl.” 

“Good,” says Minnie, and curls comfortably between the two of you, like she knows it’s exactly where she belongs. 

-

There’s another life where you’d compartmentalize all of it, draw clear lines. You’d fuck them both and leave without another word. Yuqi’d cut her losses, be just as cold as she pretends to be; Minnie’d slip back into her favorite façades, tall and imposing and intimidating. You don’t need to stay and never did. Truthfully, it’s crazy that you’ve all made it this far, but-

“Cuckism is a word,” Yuqi announces, scrolling through her phone. “I mean, if you consider Urban Dictionary a reliable source. Which I do, so.” 

“One of these days,” you say, charmed by her, “you’ll learn how to lose an argument.”

“That’s never happening,” says Yuqi. “I’m always right. I never lose.” 

She’s wrapped up in a king-sized bed, recently fucked and cheeks flushed, all three of you smelling like Minnie’s shampoo. Content to stay for the night, stay for all of them. Tuck away all her weapons and sheathe the blades. The morning will come, and Yuqi won’t feel the need to run - she knows what it feels like to be safe when she’s had it in her arms for months. 

“No,” you agree, quietly. “I don’t think you do.” 

-

October slips into the frame, eventually. There’s the leaves changing, that bite to the air; autumn’s everyone’s favorite season, here. 

Minnie’s birthday is on the horizon - fucking Scorpios, says Yuqi, rolling her eyes like that means anything - so you get caught up discussing outfits, presents, parties; they’ve got a gig at Club Cosmic a few days after that that they’re trying to put together a coherent concept for, something that goes with their songs, their vibe. They’re searching for something new, they tell you. Soyeon’ll be the one who comes up with whatever they end up choosing, probably - she’s the brains behind the whole operation and always has been. But in the meantime-

“Minnie just wants us all to wear lingerie and cat ears,” complains Yuqi, the three of you walking to your usual coffee shop, soaking up the sun and the weather. “Zero imagination.” 

“I’m saying we should be sexy cats,” says Minnie, unbothered. “It’s, like, a classic.” 

It’s one of those perfect days, more light than lust, more peace than power plays. You’re with your girls and the sun’s high in the sky, blanketed by clouds, hands brushing casually as you walk like you’re right out of a trite, cheesy drama, all three of you. “Ew,” says Yuqi. “What’s sexy about cats?” 

“Miyeon says it’s camp,” says Minnie, whimsically, which isn’t an answer. 

“Miyeon would rather throw herself into traffic than disagree with you,” says Yuqi. “Her opinion means nothing.” 

Minnie’s lips pull up at a corner, amused. “No,” she corrects, “that’s why it means everything.”

The coffee shop’s mildly busy when you enter, but nothing too stifling, occupied by the usual college students and not much more. Some are shamelessly in pajamas, faded sweatshirts, taking up outlets with their laptops. Cramming for exams, probably, writing essays; you’ve been there. Miyeon’s friend - Yunjin - is working the register, chatting with her coworker and the tall, graceful girl she’s with all the time. Yunjin’s saying something to make both of them laugh: the other girl hides her giggle behind her hand, leaning half on the counter. 

“Hey,” Miyeon calls from the table by the window. 

Her boyfriend’s by her side, thumbing through a heavily annotated novel, tiny post-its sticking out from the pages. Minnie draws out her wallet, redirects towards Yunjin - oh, she knows all your orders by heart, and she’ll be generous. She can afford it. 

“Hey,” you say, and you slip in the booth first, take the window seat. Yuqi slides in next to you. “Okay, so, Minnie’s birthday-” 

Yuqi groans immediately, and even Miyeon sighs lightly, moves to take a sip of her coffee like just the mention of it’s exhausted her. You’ve been rehashing this conversation all month, practically. They’re throwing a party, but that’s a given. No, the real dilemma is the presents. 

Here’s the thing about Minnie - something you already know, but Miyeon, who’s known her the longest and still knows her the best, corroborates immediately: she’s not picky, when it comes to gifts. She’s so easy to please, points out Yuqi. Minnie has everything, so she’s happy with anything; she’d be content with something with a sentiment, and that’s all - and it almost makes it harder. 

“What’s an appropriate present to buy your regular fuckbuddy?” you wonder out loud. “Like, what’s too much? What’s crossing a line?”

“Ugh,” says Yuqi, punching your arm. “I’m pretty sure if there were any lines, we’ve already crossed them all, dude.”

She’s got a point. Well, you think, recognizing that you’re sort of on a double date right now, sort of with your favorite people and their favorite people, sort of the happiest you’ve ever been - you’re here, and it already says all it needs to. There’s a silence, contemplating, and then-

“I need help,” calls Minnie loudly from the counter. 

You all turn just to see her trying to balance three to-go coffee cups in both hands, eyes wide and exaggeratedly desolate. Behind the counter, Yunjin’s snickering at her instead of coming to her aid, but that seems pretty on-brand. Minnie casts a dramatic, miserable look over at your table, repeats woefully, “Help, please.” 

She’s adorable. Half the students sitting at the far wall seem like they’re seconds from sprinting out of their chairs to help her, but - obviously - Yuqi’s never gonna let them get the chance.

“You’re so fucking annoying,” she grumbles, standing up to collect the coffees with her. “Stop making that face. Stop. Minnie. Nicha.” A disgruntled sigh, like she’s hopeless. “You’re not as cute as you think you are.” 

Minnie smiles in that charmingly lopsided way of hers. “Yeah,” she says, simply, “I am.”

Oh, you think to yourself - her grin’s too infectious to resist, and you’re sure Yuqi knows it too - neither of you can really argue with that. 

Nobody gets anything done that morning, except Miyeon’s boyfriend, who has an actual grown-up job and constant work, so you let him be. You and Minnie and Yuqi and Miyeon are content to be dumb college students, dicking around, drinking too much coffee, talking too much shit; Minnie goes to the counter, orders two more for you and her. Yuqi scoffs, says things are better in moderation - “Look who’s talking,” you point out, and she kicks your shin. Like you said - one of those days.

Yuqi’s gotta leave earlier, so you’re the one walking Minnie back to campus. Bids you farewell, in the usual way: “Bye, gorgeous,” she says, leaning in to drop a kiss to Minnie’s lips, then moves on- “Bye to you too, whore,” she says to you, but kisses you anyway, deepens it, nips your bottom lip - right there in public, like she’s thinking of inspiring complaints, disgusting any possible observers with the PDA - breaks it off before it can get too extreme, grin vindictive. “Don’t get any public indecency charges without me.” 

“That girl is a menace,” says Yunjin admiringly behind the counter, when Yuqi leaves. 

“Completely,” you agree.

“She didn’t bite me,” says Minnie, unhappily. She turns towards you, tips her face up towards yours, lips pouting. “Make up for it, please.” 

“Oh, nasty,” says Yunjin, somehow even more entertained. 

“Chill,” you say, and Minnie grins, drops the pout and the wide eyes. She’s never really as bratty as she pretends to be, never as demanding; all the things she wants are things she already has. You dip your chin, touch your lips to her hair. Complain, not meaning it, “The face, Minnie.” 

Minnie tilts her head, and in a second she’s fallen straight into sultry, eyelids shuttering in that almost sleepy, sexy way, eyebrows lifting, lips finding a curl. Bedroom eyes, sure - it’s the tone she goes for when she’s trying to seduce, inviting tempers, begging to be tortured. “What about now?”

“You heard Yuqi,” you say. “No public indecency charges without her.” 

“I’m seriously going to throw up,” says Yunjin, lowering her aviators with a manicured nail like it’ll help her examine you closer. “God. I hate people in love.” 

Oh: there’s that word again, like a sucker punch, like something to weaponize - or it would be, but it isn’t, today. The morning’s too beautiful. You’re all too close. Minnie’s in one of Yuqi’s jackets, and your bottom lip is swelling from where she’d bitten it, and you both kind of smell like her perfume. 

“I’ll remember this when you finally fall in love,” Minnie says to Yunjin, without any real animosity. “I’m gonna give you so much shit for it.”

It’s a way of relenting, a sort of confession in itself. Yunjin says, disdainfully, “Never happening.” Shakes out her hair, tucks her sunglasses into the front of her shirt, dark eyes sharp and prettily shrewd. “Love is, like, so fucking overrated.” 

And Minnie - Minnie, next to you, black hair pulled up and bangs falling in her eyes; wearing Yuqi’s hoodie, wearing your arm around her shoulder, proof of people who would do anything for her. Wearing a hickey on her collarbone like a necklace. Wearing her heart in her grin.

“Hm,” she says, and keeps it to herself, for now. “I think you’ll change your mind, someday.”

-

“So,” says Yunjin, passing you two matching vanilla lattes, hot and extra-large. “Are all three of you guys, like, dating, or-”

“It’s complicated,” says Minnie cheerfully, hand clasped in yours. She seems perfectly content to leave it there, so you do. 

-

(She’s a little bit of a liar. You think everyone knows it, already: it’s not very complicated at all.)

-

“I don’t exactly make a habit of sleeping with the same people,” Yuqi says, once. “Familiarity breeds contempt, and all that.” 

“Right,” you say. 

“I’m sorry,” says Minnie, “my brain stopped working after you said breed.” 

“Ew,” says Yuqi, pulling a face. “You’re into all that breeding shit? What the fuck is sexy about pregnancy?” 

“I think for guys it’s like a power thing?” you offer, then confess, “I don’t get it either, honestly.”

“No, no,” Minnie agrees, “it sounds like a fucking nightmare. I mean, the thought of being pregnant makes me nauseous - if anyone ever brought it up during sex, my pussy would probably dry up on the spot. Like, if you want to turn me on, threatening to put me through the excruciating pain of childbirth is not the way to do it.” There’s a pause; Yuqi’s already snickering, taken with her bluntness. “Miyeon was always super into it, though.”

“I’m sure her boyfriend loves that,” quips Yuqi. 

It’s another one of those days: clouds covering the sun, sky threatening to split and storm. You’re safe in Minnie’s bedroom, thrown about the room somewhat; Yuqi’s swiveling aimlessly in Minnie’s desk chair, scrolling through her phone; Minnie’s leaning over her vanity, doing her makeup. Suddenly, Minnie says, “He wrote this story about her.”

You turn towards her from your place on her bed, hugging one of her egregiously oversized stuffed animals to your chest. Yuqi looks similarly puzzled, brows lifting. “What?” 

“Miyeon’s boyfriend.” Minnie squints into the mirror, evens out the precise points of her eyeliner. “He’s a teacher, but he’s also a writer, you know? And he wrote this short story about her.” 

“Was it dogshit?” Yuqi asks, always ready to jump to the least flattering conclusion.

“I wish,” says Minnie, turning to meet Yuqi’s gaze. “No. It was gorgeous. It was like - it’s incredible, you know? To love someone so much that you can make something like that for them. In honor of them, inspired by them.” She stops, then tacks on, a little wonderingly: “I feel like - in another life, I could do something like that. I could love someone enough to make art for them.”

She purses her lips thoughtfully, casually returns to her makeup. Yuqi abruptly can’t stop staring at her. Minnie’s like that; she’ll say things without realizing how they come across, how personal and profound. Like she’s not making your head spin just by opening her mouth. 

“Oh,” says Yuqi. Then, haltingly: “I think I could, too.”

You watch her, can’t help yourself; the way her dark eyes seem to catch a spark, fondness like a wildfire, consuming everything it touches. It’s such a romantic idea, creation and love intertwined. You think that’ll be the most of it, but then-

“You already do that, though,” says Minnie, sweetly, simply, like it’s the most obvious thing. “Through your music.”

And it’s like you can see it - can see the moment when Yuqi’s heart works its way out of its chest and leaps right into Minnie’s hands. Like you can catch the split second, frame it as a photograph, in vivid, screaming color: if it was showcased and shown off, it’d be titled one word, four letters. A seismic shift; one slip-up and you’re falling. 

“Minnie,” you say, unable to fight your grin. 

Minnie glances over her shoulder, your tone alerting her. “What?” she asks, and then spots the expression on Yuqi’s face - and then she’s laughing, swiveling to look at her. Eyes lined in black, eyeshadow shimmering, glitter and gold. Beautiful like it’s something she was born for. 

“Yuqi,” Minnie says, and then, smiling, “Baby.”

“Shut up,” says Yuqi, hotly, and looks away, but she’s smiling too. 

-

Yuqi never actually finishes her point, whatever she was trying to say about not usually sleeping with the same people - but, in the end, you know she doesn’t even need to. 

-

“I was wondering about that, actually,” Soyeon says to you, one day, as you’re out grabbing lunch together. “It’s so weird. I’ve known you probably about as long as I’ve known both Minnie and Yuqi, but-” She shakes her head, purses her lips. “I wouldn’t have put the three of you together.” 

“It’s crazy,” you agree, tugging absentmindedly at the sleeve of your coffee cup. “What about it?” You add, before she can answer, “Minnie says Miyeon thinks it’s more than sex, with the three of us.”

“Miyeon’s like that,” admits Soyeon, full lips in a half-grin. “Hopeless romantic. Also - she’s in love, so she likes to see other people in love, too. She can’t help it.”

“Well, what do you think?” You’ve known her long enough to trust her judgment.

Soyeon’s silent for a beat, considering. Then she says, “You know how Yuqi and I write the songs for our band, right?” 

“Uh-huh.” You spend enough time with Yuqi that you’ve seen her bent over the small notebook she scrawls lyrics in, caught up in a moment or a melody, gaze darting from you to Minnie like she thinks she’ll discover prose in your eyes, her mouth. She smiles, sometimes, like she’s gotten what she’s looking for. Never once says what she finds. “So?” 

Another silence. “I don’t know,” Soyeon says, but her tone suggests entirely the opposite. “She’s just - she’s been happy, lately. Even if she won’t say it out loud, it shows in the things she writes, you know?” 

Yuqi, playing at detached and unaffected, until she isn’t - passion with a bite, affection still sometimes on the offense - and then a second, a misstep, features softening and eyes crinkling at the corners, laugh raspy and suddenly brazen, so gorgeous you think you could stop breathing, just looking at her face. Tucked under your arm hiding from some scary movie; leaning through the passenger side window to kiss Minnie’s forehead before she leaves. It’s all so normal, shockingly easy. Get her outside of the bedroom, and there’s that feeling again - peace. 

You get what Soyeon means. Yuqi won’t give it up that easy, but she’s also not the type of girl to lie about the things she wants for long. 

-

(A moment, a few weeks back. It’s a normal day, or it would be - you’ve all got nothing to do, and that’s the way it begins. 

Yuqi’s got her notebook open on her thighs, penning lyrics as they come to mind. There are points where she’ll pause, hum out loud, fingers tapping at the inside of your wrist like she’s trying to find the chords at your veins, notes in your bloodstream. She’s been inspired lately, she says. 

“Oh, I get it,” says Minnie, slyly, nudging your arm. Her eyes glitter, conspiratorial. “We’re your muses. The songs are about us.” 

“The songs are about sex,” says Yuqi, dryly. 

“Same difference,” you point out, and tug Minnie into your lap, grinning as she squeals. “There’s no one else you’re having sex with.”

There’s a pause, a significance. It’s the three of you crowded on Minnie’s couch, limbs overlapping; sometimes, you’re with them, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be. 

“No,” says Yuqi, finally, softly, like there’s something she’s confessing. “There’s no one else.” 

You turn, meet her eyes. Minnie goes still in your lap, reaches for Yuqi’s hand, tangles their fingers. You don’t say it out loud, but it’s there, anyway; you’re not going to be able to ignore it forever.)

-

“Yeah,” you say, to Soyeon, smiling. “I know.” 

-

It’s a Saturday, when they give you the full story. Rain, thin and misty outside the windows, streaking down the glass; you’re inside with tea and television shows, curled in blankets. Yuqi’s got some of her coursework on the coffee table, wavering between her textbook and her laptop. You’re all bored. That’s the first step.

Minnie’s recapping the story of how she got involved with the band - she starts with how she met Miyeon, which leads to a long, convoluted narrative of their best-friends-with-benefits arrangement that kind of went to shit - “It was then,” says Minnie, dramatically, “that I learned to never catch feelings for someone you’re fucking,” and you and Yuqi exchange an amused glance. Minnie’s got her legs in your lap and she keeps folding post-it notes into adorably lopsided hearts, tossing them in Yuqi’s direction. There are some phases you’re past.

“So,” you say; you’re pretty sure she’s leaving you in suspense for a reason. “How’d the two of you meet?” 

Yuqi’s fingers pause over her keyboard. She’s in one of your sweaters, hair finally lifted to a striking blonde, loose down her back. Throws Minnie one of her looks: purposeful, devious, smirk deliciously sharp. 

“It’s a slutty story,” says Minnie, after a moment, always too susceptible to the way Yuqi looks at her. 

You raise your eyebrows at her. “When are your stories not slutty?” 

Ah, there’s a point. Minnie smiles sweetly, readjusts her thighs, leaning back into the couch. She’s almost feline in her grace, her intention. “Does that mean you don’t wanna hear it?” 

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” you counter, and Yuqi pushes aside her laptop abruptly, picking up on a mood. It’s not the most suggestive expression - but it’s not the least, either. There’s a lot you could be doing with your mouth, right now; Yuqi stares like she’s calculating just how much, lashes flickering. “I’d love to hear it.” 

“Huh,” says Minnie. Then, demurely, “But it’s not even really that interesting, babe.”

“Fuck off,” says Yuqi, fed up with the games, and enjoying the theatrics regardless. It’s all about the contradictions, with her. “I’ll tell it.” 

-

They tell it together; they can’t resist. There was a party, they inform you. Something like lust at first sight, they say. There was a moment. There was a short dress and there were idle hands and the devil right there in the room with them - and like all bad habits, that’s how it starts.

“Miyeon had just broken things off with Minnie,” explains Yuqi, setting the scene, “so she was looking for a rebound, which meant she was in the sluttiest outfit known to man, which meant everybody in the room was staring at her-” 

Oh, you can see the image just fine; you remember how you and Minnie met. You know what it’s like to see her face and promptly forget anyone else in the world exists. You throw an entertained glance to Minnie, who shrugs, unaffected: she’s not ashamed of her coping mechanisms.

“-and I took one look at her and then I told Soyeon, if I don’t get that girl on her knees in front of me in the next ten minutes I’m actually gonna go fucking insane-”

“Cute,” you say. 

Minnie grins, somehow flattered. “Right?” 

You can see it so clearly - Yuqi will never admit it out loud, but she’s so easy when it comes to Minnie, when there’s a pose or a smile or a look in her eye; the light hits Minnie just right and it’s like Yuqi will drop dead if she’s not touching her. Some nights she won’t let Minnie out of her sight, won’t let anyone else lay a hand on her, won’t let anyone look at her without bringing the claws out-

Well, anyone except for you, but by now that’s old news. 

“And then,” continues Yuqi, and all of a sudden she’s studying Minnie a little too intensely, like she’s projecting the night on her all over again, scrawling the past across her skin, “I went up to her, and I was like, hey, and she was like-”

Minnie waves her hands in the air, giggling - “No, no,” she interrupts, “I was a fucking mess-” 

“She couldn’t even talk,” says Yuqi, smugly, sketching circles over Minnie’s bare thigh, nails blunt with a threat. “She was just staring at me.”

Minnie sighs, throws her hands up, shoots a helpless look over at you - can you blame me? she’s saying, with the rueful tilt of her mouth, and you’ve been right where she was, so you can’t. “I thought she was the hottest girl I’d ever seen,” she says. “Her hair was dark back then, and she was in, like, the tightest shirt, and this black miniskirt - I couldn’t breathe. And she looked at me like she wanted to kill me - and she didn’t even know me.” Minnie shakes her head, always one for the histrionics. “It was so sexy.” 

“Masochist,” you prod affectionately. 

“Yes,” says Minnie, despite it not being a question. “Yeah. I am. Everybody knows that.”

There’s a beat, meaningful. Yuqi cuts her gaze across at Minnie, doesn’t say a word. They’re both recalling history, the beginning of everything. There are no other details at first, but then-

“It was probably a bad idea to tell this story, now that I’m thinking about it,” says Yuqi, belatedly. “It always makes Minnie wet.” 

Yuqi wears arousal more subtly - she’s never as outwardly eager as Minnie, but no one is - but you can see it, regardless; you just know her too well. There’s an indication in the tense set of her jaw, the way she keeps clenching her hands to fists, like she’s already imagining strangling something between her fingers. Minnie’s hair, your cock, either of your throats in a chokehold - pick a poison. It’s that familiar gleam to her eyes: cunningly dark, devastating. They can’t hide a damn thing. 

“We’re all full of bad ideas,” you muse. “Isn’t that how we got into this whole situation in the first place?” 

Minnie shifts conspicuously between the two of you on the couch, bottom lip bitten into her mouth. Light pouring through the windows, the sea-glass green of her irises: she couldn’t be more fucking transparent. 

“Sure,” says Yuqi, carding a hand through her hair. She’d be something out of a classic old-Hollywood movie - the pale blonde, the red gloss on her mouth, the stunning sensuality - but she’s got that vicious edge to her, fatally gorgeous, too rough, too reckless. Well, you wouldn’t have her any other way. “So - you need a reenactment or something?” 

“Jesus,” you say, entertained. 

“I don’t know,” says Yuqi with a sigh. She tips her head, levels Minnie with a conflicted stare, false and facetious. “I’m thinking I need to elaborate a little bit more.”

She’s just looking for an excuse to fuck Minnie. She’s not terribly discreet, but none of you are. 

“I mean,” you say, already where she’s at. “Minnie does look great on her knees.” 

That’s an invitation, and Yuqi knows it; the look in her eyes is enough to whip up the rain outside, drown you all in a matter of minutes - she’ll take down the house, if given the chance. 

“Exactly,” she says, and the devilish line of her grin is so familiar you could cartograph it, pinpoint just where it leads. Redirecting the weather; there are better sources for a storm. Let the wind pick up and bolt all your shit to the ground and wait, wait, wait.

“If you say so,” says Minnie, smiling in the face of a tsunami, and lowers herself to the floor. 

-

They carry it out, right there in the living room. You ask if you should get the camera, but-

“Respectfully,” says Yuqi, the rasp in her voice reminiscent of knives on steel, her ass perched on the coffee table, one hand wrapped tightly in Minnie’s hair, “if I don’t get her mouth on my cunt right now, I’m gonna kill both of you.” 

Minnie’s knees are pressed to the tile floor - she looks like she’s seconds from worship, from complete and utter devotion - she’s tugging desperately at Yuqi’s shorts, at her panties; she knows an order when she hears it, knows a threat when it’s a blade pressed to her throat.

“By the way,” says Yuqi, her eyes locked on yours, “don’t even think about jerking off to this right now.” Minnie gets Yuqi’s shorts to her ankles. “Or you won’t get to fuck either of us for a month.” 

“Please,” you scoff. “Like either of you would survive that long without my cock.” 

Minnie stops, waits for permission, rests her cheek delicately against the inside of Yuqi’s thigh. She’s practically salivating already, but her eyes are big, expectant; she knows the deal by now. You’re all talk, really. You’re the one who wouldn’t make it.

“Believe me,” says Yuqi, grinning deviously down at her, and the dip of her chin’s a go-ahead. “We have lots of ways to entertain each other.” 

Minnie’s eyes snap to you for a millisecond, and you see a smirk so quick you could’ve mistaken it for your imagination - turning tables, proving points - but a second later and she’s perfectly meek again, and completely prepared to demonstrate exactly how good she is with her tongue, so:

“Minnie.” Yuqi’s hand tightens in Minnie’s hair, tendons straining under skin, pale and startling - voice breaking on a rasp, intoxicatingly husky - says, “Jesus, fuck-”

Minnie’s a demon when she’s giving head - when she’s got your cock shoved down her throat, when she’s lapping messily at Yuqi’s cunt - partly because she’s so damn good at it, but partly because of those eyes. 

She doesn’t let her gaze leave Yuqi’s face, not even once. A flick of her eyelashes, fingers curling tight into Yuqi’s thighs; she’ll leave bruises, but it’ll be allowed, for once. Yuqi can’t look away, and you can’t either - Minnie between Yuqi’s legs, tongue-fucking her pussy, so sloppy and filthy you can hear every slick, obscene sound, and that’s almost too much - it’s accosting every single sense, the way Yuqi’s trying not to moan and failing, thighs quivering around Minnie’s head-

“Fuck,” mutters Yuqi, voice low and raspy, cheeks flushed and chest heaving - and no one’s even touching you, but it doesn’t matter. “God - Minnie-” 

(You see a hint of it, then - everything that’s to come. Minnie’s nails are scarlet, digging into skin like she’s capable of drawing blood; her eyes flash somewhere near arrogant, half-lidded and calculating. For a second all her sharp edges - her collarbone, the points of her wrists, knuckles, jaw - turn weaponized, like she used them to kill once, like she could do it again. She’s been so submissive in front of you, so far. You forget, sometimes; she’s taller than Yuqi, imposing when she tries, intimidating when she feels like it. She’s got hands that know what they’re doing. The only reason she ever gets smacked and shoved around and fucked senseless by you and Yuqi is because she allows it.

It’s then and there, watching Minnie - her utter, striking satisfaction at making Yuqi moan her name - that you really start to wonder.)

But it slips away as you watch Minnie make a mess of herself, works her tongue like a professional, keenly aware of each stumble, each hitched breath, the way Yuqi’s face crumples as she comes closer and closer to cumming. Minnie’s the one on her knees, but she’s undoubtedly in control; it’s a side of her you never get sick of seeing. 

(Well - a side of her you don’t see enough of, really. You’ll get there.) 

So you watch, struggling against your own instincts, violent impulses - you believe Yuqi’s ability to follow through with a threat; she doesn’t believe in self-control, until it comes to a punishment. Forced to stay still and painfully silent as Yuqi’s head jerks forward, mouth wrapped around expletives, lips made to part and pant. Minnie’s eyes dart to you, again. She slows her pace. 

“Greedy,” she mumbles, eyebrow in a point like a challenge. “That’s the thing about you two, huh.” It’s not a question. “You’re both so fucking greedy.” 

She’s showing her hand. Yuqi’s hips rock, but she’s too keyed up to get a counterargument out - you’re the one on your knees, she could say, so who’s really greedy here - but Minnie’s licking her pussy again, sucking her clit; there’s no room to manage words. Not that she’d even need to; Minnie gets how to follow orders, knows her expression fixed in obedient innocence makes Yuqi just as wet as her mouth does, knows half the pleasure is in the power of the position, knows when she cums Minnie will lick it up like she does everything else - she will, and she does. 

Later, tracing a thumb over her chin, sucking cum into her mouth: “You’re good at that,” you tell Minnie, as Yuqi’s coming down, thighs trembling. 

Minnie’s clambering into your lap, palm brushing your cock through your pants; you’ve been good, you’ll get rewarded. “At eating pussy?” she asks, eyes exaggeratedly naïve.

At getting away with it, you mean. At maintaining control by letting someone else take it. At hovering in this impossible place between being a toy to use and being the one pulling the strings - at understanding that sometimes, you could tell her, if you let people do something to you, you’re really doing it to them. 

“Sure,” you allow, instead. “I mean, among other things.” 

From her precarious spot on the coffee table, Yuqi throws her head back and laughs radiantly. “She’s multitalented,” she says, as Minnie flicks her focus up at you from her place between your legs - now, you’re both gonna watch her prove it. 

-

It’s far from the wildest thing the three of you have done together, so it’s strange that this is the time that triggers it, but it does. 

“Hey,” you say, to Yuqi, a day where you’re alone together; she’s got her hair tied up and her eyeliner a little smudged, making her dark eyes look even wider, deceptively adorable, gorgeously hypnotic. You can’t stop staring at her - but that’s nothing new. “Can I ask you something?” 

You’re maneuvering through some video game together, something so gory it keeps making Yuqi flinch, reluctantly hide her face half in your shoulder; she’s tough, sure, but never as tough as she acts. “Whatever,” she says, gaze stuck on the game, chewing the inside of her lip. 

You get distracted, press a kiss to her forehead. “You’re cute.” 

“I’m literally not doing anything,” grumbles Yuqi, but looks at you sideways, smile flickering at her lips. “What’s your question?” 

“It’s sex-related.” 

“Naturally.” 

“It’s just…” You’re thinking of the other night, considering terminology. “Do you ever, like - not top? With Minnie?” 

Yuqi shrugs, unperturbed by the query. “Not really,” she says. “I pretty much always top.  I mean, it’s what she likes, with me. I know Minnie likes to top, too - like, she used to fuck Miyeon regularly, and Miyeon is literally the biggest bottom I’ve ever met - but… I don’t know. It’s just what works for us.” She glances towards you. “I’m definitely open to experimenting, though.” 

“Really?” 

Yuqi pauses, inspects your face. In the game, you’re dissecting a dead body; her gaze cuts twice as sharp. “You’re baiting me,” she realizes, caught between pride - she’s gotta respect a good game plan - and irritation; she hates being on the wrong side of a scheme. “You want something.” 

“I think I’m getting better,” you say, thoughtfully. “At the manipulation thing.” 

“You’re not,” disagrees Yuqi, irked, eyebrows furrowing adorably. Doubles back, “Well, you’re learning from the best”- she can’t resist the opportunity to flash her ego - “but - ugh - what’s your point?” 

“Minnie’s birthday,” you say. “We keep talking about how we don’t know what to get her, because she has everything, but…”

You make a vague gesture at Yuqi, drinking her in. Shirt oversized and slipping off a shoulder. Body softer than her words, thighs creamy and flawless, hands small and wrists dainty. Deadly in theory, five-four in practice. There’s a reason you like pushing her buttons, fighting her when you’re fucking; she’s so fun with her attitude, her antagonism, mouth like she’s contemplating murder. But for Minnie-

“It’s just an idea,” you say. “I mean, it’s the one thing she’s never had.” 

Hey, you’ve always sort of wondered what it would be like if Yuqi switched up the part she plays. It’d be a challenge for her, certainly, giving up those survival instincts. Getting someone else at the reins; dropping to her knees and following orders. It seems like it’d go against everything written in her code, but you’ve just got this feeling that-

“Aw, fuck,” says Yuqi, grin blooming, the concept taking root, finding ground. “I think I kind of like that idea.”

-oh, it’d be a challenge, alright, but she’s always loved one of those. 

-

(The one thing Minnie’s never had: complete and total power. Well, there’s a first time for everything.) 

-

So: Soyeon’s not the only one who notices all the recent developments. She’s with Yuqi all the time - she sees her side of it. But Minnie’s different, because when she’s not with you or Yuqi, there’s basically only one other person she spends all her time with, and that’s-

“Honestly,” Miyeon tells you, once, “I think you’ve been good for her.” 

You’re in the kitchen, collecting snacks. The apartment’s having something of a movie night, current partners included - or at least that was the prompt, so Miyeon’s boyfriend is here, and Yuqi is, too. It feels more official than if you’d put a label on it, somehow. You’re college kids, you’re dumb; sometimes that’s how it goes. The tiniest things mean the most. 

You cast a glance towards the living room. She doesn’t say Minnie’s name, but you know. “Really?” 

Miyeon lifts a shoulder, a resigned sort of nonchalance, but you get the secret significance: she doesn’t say things she doesn’t mean. “I think she was…” Her eyes follow yours, trail to where you can both hear Minnie laughing. “Not unhappy, exactly. But - I think something was missing, before she met you. Both of you.” 

“Oh,” you say, suddenly a little speechless. “You think so?”

Miyeon tilts her head. She’d cropped her blonde hair short maybe a month or so ago; it brushes her collarbone. She and Minnie are so close they’re practically joined at the hip; you can’t imagine a point where it wasn’t that way. 

“She loves being loved,” she says, like it’s so straightforward. “I mean, everyone does, on some level, but Minnie - she needs it to breathe, you know? Always has.” Her mouth curls at a corner, gentle and secret. “I don’t blame her. She’s just one of those people. So - so easy to love.”

She leaves it there, silence settling, like there’s something else she could say but doesn’t. A beat - another peal of Minnie’s laughter ringing out from the other room, bright and carefree - and it manages to be enough, anyway. 

-

(But you hear what she’s really trying to tell you: thank you. For being what I can’t. For giving her the things I couldn’t offer. I broke her heart, once; thank you for putting it back together.)

“I didn’t do it alone,” you feel compelled to say. “You know that.” 

“I know,” Miyeon says. “Don’t worry.” Her smile’s so soft it can’t possibly be anything but genuine. “I’ve already given Yuqi my thanks.”

-

“I don’t understand what you’re doing,” says Minnie, the morning of the twenty-third. 

It’s a perfect day, but that’s all of them, when you’re all together. You’re standing idly by, watching her get dressed. She’s making it a production more than anything - dragging her shorts up her thighs, buttoning her loose, long-sleeved blouse up the center, black and purposely, slightly sheer, showing off the lacy bralette she’s wearing - and only Minnie could make putting her clothes on feel like a striptease, but she’s pulling it off perfectly. 

“You take me shopping all the time,” she’s saying, drawing her hair out from under her collar; she’s been growing it out, letting it tumble loose past her shoulders. “And it’s not like you can buy me anything. I mean, no offense, but, like - you don’t exactly have money to burn on me.” 

You snort out a laugh. It’s not a criticism coming from her - just a fact, her tone genuinely puzzled. She’s filthy rich. She’s always the one doing the buying. “I know. So?”

“So this is suspicious.” Her nose crinkles cutely, arching a brow. “And where’s-”

Her bedroom door swings open, and Minnie’s jaw drops. 

Because standing there is Yuqi, blonde hair tied low in pigtails, in a godless fucking outfit. 

Top skintight and black, skirt tiny and dark denim. So much creamy skin on display, her thick thighs, the tantalizing cut of her neckline - somehow the flare of her hips seems pornographic, the sliver of bare midriff - but more than anything is the way she’s got her hands clasped together in front of her, and finally her front fits every part of her face perfectly: the delicate nose, the wide, sparkly dark eyes, so often too brutal to come across as adorable, in these contexts, but today-

Yuqi looks up at Minnie through her eyelashes, chin dipped, and says, “Happy birthday.” 

She can’t disguise the rasp of her voice, and she doesn’t try - but there’s something about it; you’ve spent so much time witnessing her spit venom, demand orders, laugh cruel and cold - and now there’s this new, unmistakable meekness, low and innocently soft, and-

Minnie says, “Holy fucking shit.” 

She’s just staring, lips parted. You run a hand almost demeaningly over Yuqi’s hair, like you would a pet. 

“Like she said,” you say, and grin meaningfully at Minnie. “Happy birthday.” Skate your fingers down the glide of Yuqi’s shoulder blades. “Here’s your present.” 

For anyone else, it’d require more clarification - Yuqi in a mildly slutty outfit, what’s really new - but Minnie observes Yuqi candidly, scrutinizing her like she would a film; there’s the body language, there’s the inflection, there’s the clothing, reflecting a character choice. Yuqi, making herself smaller, quieter, letting you touch her wherever and however you want. She gets what it means. She gets what’s being given to her. 

An opportunity, a power. A chance to switch sides. Minnie tilts her head, says slowly, “Cute present.” 

She’s falling into it fast. It’s a comment meant to degrade and it does its job marvelously. 

You hook a finger in the belt loop of Yuqi’s skirt and tug her forward. “Say thank you,” you instruct, plainly domineering. “She paid you a compliment.” 

Yuqi doesn’t sigh - doesn’t roll her eyes, doesn’t snap at you, doesn’t do anything she usually would in the face of a command like that - and complies, instead. “Thank you,” she says, carefully measured, and miraculously keeps it together. It’s a good sign; like you said, it’s a challenge and she’s rising to it wonderfully. 

(Well, she’s always been competitive: who’s better at being submissive, that’s a new one. Yuqi’s in front of Minnie - the best she’s ever seen do it. She’s got something to prove.)

“It’s your birthday,” you say, to Minnie, hand slipping to trace the hem of Yuqi’s godforsaken skirt. “Do anything you want with her.” 

“Anything?” 

You can practically see Yuqi’s teeth cutting into the inside of her mouth, regulating. She’s not used to being shoved around and humiliated like this; there’s a learning curve - but you dip two fingers between her legs, draw them back just to show Minnie how fucking wet Yuqi is - and you know she loves it anyway. 

“Anything,” you confirm, smiling. “No panties.” 

“Good,” says Minnie. Eyes half-lidded and lined, tongue skimming a corner of her lip, smirk drawing wide. Tone deceptively honeyed; the devil with a new host and a motive. “A slut like this doesn’t really need them, does she?” 

Game, set - Minnie’s got no such motivations. She knows what she’s capable of.

“You’re about to have way too much fun with this, huh,” you say, wryly.

Minnie steps forward, grasps your wrist in her hand, laughs at the slickness coating your fingers. Lets her gaze wander to Yuqi almost analytically; oh, the quirk of her mouth says, you’re so into this - a glint of teeth - oh, of course you are. Like she’d never expected anything different. Like Yuqi, in the end, is just like all the rest of you: so goddamn predictable. 

“It’s my birthday,” Minnie says, a deliberate echo. “Isn’t that the point?” 

Sure, it absolutely is, but you all knew that already. Minnie cocks an eyebrow coolly and grins with all her teeth, not bothering to press for an answer. Drag me to hell, the gleam in Yuqi’s eyes replies; it’s not like I was gonna end up anywhere else.

“Exactly,” you say, anyway, and she drops your arm. “Like I said - whatever you want.” 

-

Okay, fine - it’s October. You’re not, like, actually evil. Minnie wraps Yuqi in one of her jackets, shearling and soft black leather, collar turned up to the wind, says, “She’ll be way less sexy if she dies from hypothermia, I think,” and Yuqi cracks up.

“She’ll be way less hot, you mean,” you say, which seems like the obvious joke. 

“Eat shit and die,” says Yuqi, unappreciative of puns and immediately deadpan - but this hits Minnie so hard she almost tumbles into your side giggling, nearly sends you all careening across the sidewalk, narrowly missing a passing couple.

They send you dirty looks, which only sends Minnie into further hysterics - and then you’re all a mess, dying laughing. Well, that’s the thing about the three of you, when you’re together: forgetting anyone else exists, because it doesn’t feel like anyone else even needs to. It’s a habit you wouldn’t want to break even if you could.

-

“What do you think of this one?” 

Minnie holds the dress up to her body, swivels side to side. It’s a long, silky black slip, dipping dangerously low in the front, tied in thin, crisscrossing laces; you can imagine it on her as easily as you can imagine it on her bedroom floor. 

“Love it,” you say. You nudge Yuqi’s side. “Sweetheart, what do you think?” 

You can almost see the edges of conflict in her, manifesting physically: the dark, slicing sharpness of her gaze, dissatisfied pucker of her lips. Sweetheart: it’s her least favorite nickname to be called, meant to debase - but it’s a special occasion, so she takes it. 

“It’s pretty,” says Yuqi, the timbre of her voice delightfully docile. Opens her mouth again, says almost bashfully, “It’d look really nice on you, Minnie.”

Minnie’s lips curl, enjoying it tremendously. “Thanks, baby,” she says, and moves on. 

So far, Minnie’s been so mild. No getting a vibrator inside Yuqi and making her tremble and try and hold it together in public; no brushing up against her in an aisle, pretending the proximity is necessary. No, actually, the most Minnie’s done is encircle her fingers around Yuqi’s wrist and tug her throughout the mall, making her follow behind. 

It’s like she’s a puppy, Minnie commented, almost too casually - and that’s something that’s got you thinking of collars, leashes, Yuqi with her eyes brimming with tears, mouth open and tongue lolling - now that you’ve opened that door, it’s impossible to shut; there’s a dam rushing in, a flash flood - but clearly Minnie’s got other plans, today.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to come here,” she says casually, right before she leads the both of you into a very sparsely manned underwear boutique - there’s a salesgirl at the front who doesn’t even look up from her phone - and it doesn’t take a genius to know Minnie’s got an agenda. 

You can tell how impatient Yuqi’s getting, that’s the thing: any normal day and she’d be snapping and losing it by now. She doesn’t like to be the one kept waiting. You’re pretty sure she hates that all three of you keep bouncing from store to store and Minnie won’t just yank her into a dressing room and fuck her, won’t pull you in and get you to join, won’t just put her out of her fucking misery-

But there’s the other thing, which is that Yuqi’s just so game. 

“I’m kind of impressed,” you say to Yuqi, as you’re both waiting for Minnie to emerge from a dressing room. “You’re so well-behaved.” 

And Yuqi - a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a lamb where a lion used to be - turns to you, tiny smile on and lashes batting, says, “Aren’t I always?” 

She rarely goes for these angles - cute and coquettish, ditzy and charming as if by accident - but then there’s her big eyes, her adorably dainty features; it’s working perfectly. The pigtails, the pout; her outfit would ruin it, ordinarily, but she’s drowning in Minnie’s jacket and it somehow serves to make her look even more endearing.

“No,” you say, enamored nonetheless. “Absolutely fucking not.” 

Yuqi’s eyes narrow, but she winds one of her pigtails around a finger, laying it on thick. She’s ridiculous - but it’s so working for her. “What,” she says, “you need me to convince you that I’m a good girl?”

“Dear God.”

She’s smiling again, brows raising. “I’ll do anything,” she tells you, saturated in innuendo. It would be something out of some cheesy porn, not even an attempt at subtlety - but she’s just too hot, and she’s having too much fun with it. It gets you somewhere between exasperated and aroused and impressed with her audacity. Yuqi says, “I could take a page out of Miyeon’s book. I could call you sir.” 

“What?” Okay, that snaps the moment somewhat. “Does Miyeon call her boyfriend sir?” You pause, perturbed. “Her boyfriend that used to be her teacher? That feels - questionable. How do you even know that?” 

“How do you think Miyeon knows that Minnie likes to get fucked in the ass?” says Yuqi, and the crudeness is way more her than the character she’s trying to play. She’s cute enough to pull it off, too. “None of us are capable of being quiet.”

“Um. I’d assume Miyeon would know that because she and Minnie used to regularly hook up.”

“My point still stands.” Yuqi stops, back to considering possibilities, varying nicknames. Tries, experimentally, “Daddy?” 

There’s a short silence. “It’s not my favorite,” you confess.

“Fair enough. Not mine, either.” 

“Mommy?” you offer. 

It takes a second, Yuqi’s gaze sliding up to the ceiling like she’s imagining all the scenarios she could get out of it. “I could get behind that,” she agrees. “It’s hot.”

The curtain to the dressing room slides open, and - “Speaking of which,” you say.

Because Minnie’s standing there in an absolutely indecent pair of lingerie - and now Yuqi’s the one who’s speechless. 

Just the sight of her forces a silence, conjures suggestion - her eyelashes flutter and the world blinks out, leaves her and no one else. Straps delicate and tied up in bows, bra scooping low and panties cut high; intricate vine-like lace decorating her hips, her chest. Running her fingers through her hair, turning from side to side like she’s already posing for photographs. You’ve seen her naked countless times and somehow there’s something so alluring about her in lingerie like this, barely covering her cunt, so sheer you can see her nipples through the fabric, midriff drool-worthy and ass on display. If it were any other day, if you were permitted to shove her to the ground and fuck her senseless-

“I hope you’re buying that,” you say, fighting through fantasies. “I don’t think you’re supposed to just, like, try it on by itself. That seems unsanitary.” 

Minnie simply smiles, serenely, and raises an eyebrow at Yuqi. 

It’s futile. Yuqi’s just gawking, any sort of response clinging to the roof of her mouth and refusing to release. Gaze scouring Minnie from head to toe - ah, if looks could kill, if a stare could strip down to skin and bone - you’re certain Yuqi’s seconds from saying fuck it to the plan and just pouncing, then and there-

“Yuqi,” prompts Minnie, like she knows it’s all it’ll take to destroy her. 

You’re reminded of weeks earlier, Yuqi fucking the life out of Minnie for wearing a pair of shorts - you can’t believe she’s keeping her cool - but then you see the way her throat bobs, swallowing down her own instincts, and you realize that she’s not, really; not even close. 

Yuqi wraps her arms around her body, defense mechanisms obvious. “Um,” she says, and runs her tongue across her bottom lip unconsciously.

“Baby,” says Minnie, bordering a laugh, then crooks a finger. “Come here.”

She takes different strategies than Yuqi does; doesn’t bottle up rage just to let it boil over. The torture’s in the tease, the sweetness: getting Yuqi close to her as if magnetizing, as if skimpy lingerie and a wicked smirk are all it takes to channel gravity. Yuqi can’t disobey, not that she’d want to. She stops in front of Minnie, too close to be casual, too far to be imposing.

“You can touch me, you know,” says Minnie, eventually, sugary amusement underlining her tone. “You’re allowed.”

It’s less a concession and more an assertion of superiority - you’re only here because I’m letting you, that’s what Minnie’s really saying; darling, you’re only looking at me because I’m giving you permission. It doesn’t go unnoticed, or unheeded. Yuqi steps forward further, and takes a breath. 

“So,” says Minnie, as Yuqi’s hands trace her sides, fingernails grazing the thin lace, skimming the curve of her ass - she’s touching Minnie like she’s breakable, which you’ve never seen her do; cautious around her like you would be with a wild animal, waiting for them to coil and strike. “What do you think?” Minnie’s eyes track her face. Tacks on, like it needs clarification: “Of the lingerie.”

“It’s - it’s nice.” Yuqi’s voice unravels, stretched thin and hoarse. 

See, Minnie’s good, tapping into all her weaknesses; the one thing Yuqi can’t handle is seeing everything she wants when she can’t have it. Forbidden fruit, temptation personified. Minnie in black lingerie, something straight off a particularly erotic movie screen - you’re thinking of what constitutes a femme fatale, so hot you could call it villainy. 

“Nice, huh?” And now Minnie’s the one touching Yuqi, tangling her grip in one of her pigtails, threatening to tug. You’ve seen glimpses of this side of her - the sharp edge of a smirk one day, nail digging in like claws another, eyes like supernovas, collapsing - but they’ve never truly done her justice. “Any other adjectives you want to try?” 

“Minnie,” says Yuqi, voice breathy, and then Minnie does yank on her hair - and the whimper it gets from Yuqi is depraved. 

“That’s a noun,” says Minnie, and you actually snort out a laugh. “Try again.” 

“I can’t,” says Yuqi, almost furiously; her temper and her libido go hand in hand, but she takes note of the tilt of Minnie’s mouth, modulates, lets herself be pulled at, pulled in. “You’re so - hot.” 

“Aw.” Distinctly pleasant, voice bearing arrogance. “No, see, you got there.”

Her fingers deftly fall from the strap of Yuqi’s top to her hips, to her thighs. Yuqi can’t stop staring at her, ravenous and starved, knuckles bloodless from how she’s clutching her hands into fists. Minnie just laughs airily - “Oh,” she coos, “you’re adorable when you’re desperate” - and continues her path underneath Yuqi’s skirt, doesn’t inch higher than the hem. 

Yuqi’s chest heaves; it’s like she can’t manage another word. Minnie tuts like she’s chiding her.

“You’re so greedy,” she notes, a purposeful reprise of a weeks-old comment. “You just take what you want all the time, huh? You think you deserve it?” Clicks her tongue, expression measuring up to condescending sympathy. “Because you just can’t control yourself when you’re horny.” Laugh ringing out again, light and breathy. “Like a fucking animal in heat. No manners at all.” 

Yuqi’s mouth falls open. 

Look, Minnie doesn’t take the same war plans; doesn’t go for the jugular as much as a knife to the back, sneaky and sly, seduction as a battle tactic. Not even a lick of temper. Not getting mad so much as getting even. Minnie could handle Yuqi in the same way you do, matching her blow for blow, taking out fists and firearms - but it wouldn’t undo her like this does. Body wrapped in ribbons. Smile amicable and intact. 

“Let’s try this.” And suddenly Minnie’s yanking up the hem of Yuqi’s skirt, exposing her dripping cunt. You’re in public - the changing area’s barely closed off, anyone could walk in, anyone could see and say something-

But Minnie doesn’t even seem fazed. “How about” - an indulgent twist of her eyebrow, relentlessly composed - “you ask me very nicely for whatever it is you want.” Takes in Yuqi’s glistening pussy and spit-slick lips like it’s a daily occurrence, mildly comical and not much more. “Maybe even throw a please in there for once and I’ll think about giving it to you.” 

“Holy shit,” you mutter. Minnie’s grin widens a fraction, feral. 

Yuqi’s visibly caught off-guard, off-kilter - it’s obvious that whatever she was expecting, it wasn’t this - she squirms in place, thighs clenching - it’s obvious it’s making her so fucking wet.

“Minnie,” she says, tremulous. 

“That’s my name,” says Minnie, patiently. 

All the time you’ve spent with Yuqi - all her brutality and mercilessness and domineering sadism, all that insurmountable ego, all the power plays and viperous poison; heroes and their hubris - and it all crashes in an instant, here and now. 

“I - I just-” Yuqi stops, stammers, as if shellshocked by the sound of her own voice, the pathetic neediness in it: “I want you to fuck me. Please. Minnie.” Her name like a plea, like a prayer. “I’m so - so wet, and you - and I - I just want to get fucked.”

They’re so close together; another step and Minnie could slap Yuqi across the face, could wring her neck, could wrap her hand in the front of her shirt and tug her in for a kiss, put her out of her misery - but she only smiles, instead. 

“I don’t know if I’m convinced,” says Minnie, expression never leaving agreeable. “Maybe get on your knees this time.” 

It’s the perfect move - a punch, a pin pulled, a call for checkmate. There’s a beat, then two, three, then-

It’s a testament to Yuqi’s commitment to the character - okay, it’s more likely she isn’t even thinking about anything but getting railed right now, but who’s really keeping count - how she sinks to the floor, blinking fast and pupils blown, publicly in her place. Hands clasped firmly in her lap like she’s scared of what’ll happen if she doesn’t keep track of them. Chin tilted upwards like she’s praying to a god. 

And then she just breaks. 

“Minnie,” Yuqi says, a whine trapped in her throat, and everyone knows she’s about to start begging. “I really need it, I really need to get fucked, I need - your fingers, your tongue, fucking anything, I’ll do anything, I just - I’m sorry for everything, I’m sorry I was greedy, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know I’m so selfish, I just want to get fucked and you’re so hot and my pussy’s so wet and no one makes me cum like you do - please fuck me, I don’t care if that makes me desperate, please, please, please-”

It’s babbling, it’s nonsense, it’s her brain cutting off at the stem and seeping out. It’s embarrassing, it’s fucking hot. You can’t take your eyes off her, can’t even think of a way to make her stop - not that you’d want to, not that the look on Minnie’s face would even allow you to, but-

“Uh,” says the salesgirl, suddenly behind Yuqi. “Hey.” 

-well, that’s certainly a way to shut Yuqi up. 

Yuqi immediately moves to stand, but - almost coolly, gracefully - Minnie reaches out a hand and pushes at her shoulder, hard. It throws Yuqi entirely, sending her sprawling back to the ground, jerking a tiny, flightless gasp from her lungs, forced firmly to her knees. Skirt hiked up, cheeks flushing madly, unable to hold eye contact with anyone in the room - and you’ve never seen her so effectively humiliated. 

“Hi,” says Minnie to the salesgirl, seemingly unfazed.

“Please don’t have sex in here,” says the salesgirl. “I mean, I’m all for exhibitionism, but we’re severely understaffed. I don’t really want to clean that up.” Pauses thoughtfully, then says, “If you’re looking for a place to fuck, no one uses the bathroom on the second floor by the jewelry store. One-person. It’s pretty clean.” 

“Oh, nice,” says Minnie. “We’ll check it out.” 

“Cool,” says the salesgirl. “That lingerie looks awesome on you. Also, if you don’t buy it, we’ll have to toss it because you’re not really supposed to just put it on like that. But no big deal.” Then, apropos of nothing: “Happy birthday, by the way.”  

Yuqi chokes on her own saliva. It’s only then that you realize the salesgirl looks vaguely familiar. 

“Thanks,” says Minnie. “I’ll buy it. Hey, you’re coming to my party later, right?” 

“Yeah, Lisa told me about it.” Without even hesitating, like it’s totally normal, the salesgirl continues, “Okay, have fun,” and then turns on her heel and abruptly leaves the dressing room area.

There’s no chance to even let the silence sit. Minnie stands there in her indecent lingerie, features perfectly placid, beautifully untouchable, composure stitched together and tight. Like she’d meant to have an audience all along, planned for you all to be caught. It’s a stunningly sharp contrast to-

“What,” says Yuqi, on the floor and trembling, “the fuck, Minnie-” 

“Excuse me?” says Minnie, demure as she glances down at Yuqi, power dynamic firmly in place: Yuqi’s beneath her, in every sense of the word. “Thirty seconds ago, you seemed pretty adamant about wanting to get fucked. Needing me to make you cum.” She hums, juts out her bottom lip. “I didn’t realize it was supposed to be a secret.” 

“Fuck,” Yuqi mutters, under her breath, because she knows she can’t go toe to toe with Minnie and win - she’s too far gone for that. Too disarmed, too helpless; cheeks flushed and skirt yanked up and cunt bare and drooling. 

“Was it?” Minnie asks, brows sinking in feigned confusion, a gesture that indicates that the answer better be no. Voice taking on an edge. Stare like a cocking gun. 

“No,” exhales Yuqi, still shuddering, still shamed and furious and so turned on. “No. It wasn’t.” 

Finally - a smile. “I didn’t think so,” says Minnie, then reaches out her hand. “Get up, gorgeous.” White flags waving; you all know that’s only half the battle. “I’m not done with you yet.” 

-

Minnie changes back into her clothes, and purchases the lingerie, obviously. Says she’ll save it for a later date with a wink, a sly grin; well, that’s the thing about fantasies, with the three of you. You always find a way to make them true. 

-

“No one makes you cum like Minnie does?” you mutter on the way.

“Look, I don’t think you get it,” Yuqi hisses back. “I’m so fucking horny and pissed off right now - I will literally say anything to get that manipulative evil whore to fuck me-”

“Sorry?” Minnie’s voice lilts from ahead of you. 

“I didn’t say anything,” replies Yuqi, just as sweetly. 

Minnie lets it go, but her lips twitch, fighting off her usual breathless, raucous laughter. Oh, it’s fun to turn tables, but you all know the truth, in the end - she likes Yuqi mean and bitchy and temperamental; she wouldn’t change a thing. 

“You seemed to take your entire pussy being out in front of that salesgirl pretty well,” you tell Yuqi, impressed with her current self-possession. 

“I realized I know her,” says Yuqi, tugging down the hem of her ultra-short skirt. “Kim Jisoo - she’s Lisa’s friend. And she does not give a fuck about anything, that girl. A meteor could demolish the entire mall and she wouldn’t bat an eye. She probably won’t even remember this happened later.” 

“If a meteor demolished the entire mall, she wouldn’t be alive to bat an eye,” says Minnie, forgetting that she’s supposed to be pretending she can’t hear your conversation.

“You’re so right,” says Yuqi. “Wow, you’re so smart. Like, Mensa-caliber.” 

“Who’s Mensa Caliber?” Minnie comes to a stop in front of the bathroom, holds the door open for both of you. “Is she hot?”

“Scalding,” deadpans Yuqi. “Let’s get back in the game before I lose more brain cells.” 

A game, she says, reminding you all of the parameters - Minnie blinks and she’s back in it, places her hand to the base of Yuqi’s neck before she can pass through the doorway; Yuqi sucks air in through her teeth, freezes, lets Minnie’s thumb search for her pulse, proof of life like she’s aiming to carve it out. “Sorry,” Yuqi gets out immediately. “I’m sorry.” 

“Aw, honey,” says Minnie, merciful at the best of times. “It’s okay. Plus,” she adds, like it’s an afterthought and not the point, “I already know no one makes you cum like I do.” 

She shoots you a smile, like she’s just daring you to try and argue - but even you know better by now. 

-

Jisoo’s right about the bathroom - empty, decently clean, one-person, perfect to lock up and fuck in if you’re so inclined. Not that the quality of it really matters; you can tell by the look on Yuqi’s face that she’s largely forgotten all of her surroundings, like the shock of getting caught’s desensitized her somewhat. For a second you have to wonder if this was a deliberate strategy on Minnie’s part, but-

“Alright, pretty girl,” purrs Minnie, and oh, that’s something you’re learning today, how perfectly endearments fit in her mouth: “get on your knees.” 

-so, it’s not like you all got here by accident. 

Yuqi slips to the floor without question, follows the drop of Minnie’s chin, hands going for your pants. Sure, desensitized probably wasn’t the most accurate assessment: she’s kind of losing it, kind of out of her mind. Muscle ticking in her jaw. Tongue skimming her bottom lip, each breath like it’s a second from shattering. Voice unmoored and trembling, like it doesn’t even belong to her. 

Then, leaning against the bathroom counter, Minnie says, “Remember the first time you two met?” 

It’s a story you’ve both recounted for her before, too. A night in a cramped employee bathroom. The circumstances not so dissimilar to this, if you really think about it. Pushing boundaries until they crack, testing limits that were meant to bend and break; from that first day up to now, and maybe some things never change - that very first day: you, threatening to shove Yuqi to the ground, threatening to cum all over her face and make her walk out of there debauched and humiliated-

“Come on,” says Minnie, and smiles like she’s changing the subject, even when you know she’s not. “I want to see you suck his cock.”

Yuqi doesn’t fight back, but it’s not like she’d even try. 

It’s only after she’s halfway there - Yuqi’s lips wrapped around the head of your cock, you shuddering against the teasing lap of her tongue; you’re attempting to match Minnie’s inhuman poise and barely keeping up - when Minnie spots the way your fingers twitch and says, “Hmm.” 

It’s barely a prompt, but you glance at her just in time to see her mouth dart up at a corner, like she knew it’d get your attention anyway. 

“How about this,” Minnie says, spreading one hand wide, a barbaric business proposition. “Don’t do anything. Let her work for it.”

It’s only then that you realize she’s got her phone out, recording you. 

“What?” says Minnie, coyly, luxuriating in the eyes on her; doesn’t bother to reroute once she’s caught, doesn’t even try to act it off. Head put to the side and lens ready like a rifle. “I thought you two liked being on camera.”

Yuqi gazes dazedly right into the lens, mouth slack and wet. Blinks balefully. Considers herself on show, perverse performance art, the subject, the muse - then turns and fills her throat with your cock all over again. 

Your vision swims, spots, narrows to points. “Fucking Christ-”

You’ve rarely had your cock in Yuqi’s mouth in a way that wasn’t definitively aggressive - railing her throat, hearing her choke and sob and slobber, a way to punish her that she’ll just volley back in a matter of seconds - never been able to get her on her knees without pounding her mouth like it’s your right, your property, her fuming and features murderous-

A blithe laugh from Minnie. “Aw, look at her.” 

But that’s nothing like this. 

See, Yuqi’s almost careful, methodical - working her hands, her mouth, her tongue. It’s so spellbindingly smooth that it hits you how much practice she must’ve had, before she discovered she liked getting throatfucked better than giving actual blowjobs - and that’s a train of thought you’ll let run away with you. You’ve never seen her look so obedient, so subservient, so submissive; gorgeous eyes glimmering with effort, head bobbing, pigtails curled prettily-

“She’s such a good girl when she tries, isn’t she?” says Minnie, low, sultry. “Really makes you think, right?” Strokes a hand over Yuqi’s hair, like she’s praising a pet. “Maybe all she needed was someone to bring it out of her.” 

The implications are there: you’re the vessel, the weapon. The means, not the motive. Minnie’s putting you in your place just as much as Yuqi; maybe, she’s saying, eyes darkly derisive, all she needed was me. 

“See, I always knew she was a whore.” It’s almost conversational, the tilt of Minnie’s lips very nearly nonchalant. “But I didn’t realize she was so good at it.”

You’ve done your part to degrade Yuqi so many times before - fought with her while fucking, tugged her hair and swore at her, called her every disparaging name in the book - but there’s something viciously sexy about the calm with which Minnie does it, the constraint. Never tightens her grip. Never raises her voice; never even needs to. Lets her tone be enough, lets her intense eyes set the scene, decide the mood - lets the camera lens of her phone center in like a sniper, the suggestion of threat and no more - and, truly, that’s all it takes.

Yuqi makes an unholy sound around your cock, shuddering under Minnie’s palm on the back of her head. You watch her thick thighs squeeze together, trembling - there’s no way her cunt’s not dripping. Minnie makes her wet and worked up on a regular day; her with this sort of power is fucking lethal-

Minnie pulls at one of Yuqi’s pigtails, dragging her mouth straight off your dick. “Uh-uh,” she says, chastising, phone steady in her other hand, pointed right at your throbbing cock: “On her face.”

There’s a pivotal pause, and it’s just enough time for it all to click. 

“Minnie,” you’re in the middle of saying, incredulous - because she can’t really be planning what you’re thinking, can’t imagine she’d ever make Yuqi go that far, but - “Oh, fuck-”

Yuqi’s too far gone to see signs and storm warnings, throwing all caution to the wind. Too wrapped up in the motions and the way she spits on her palm, starts jerking your already saliva-slick cock. Too goddamn tempting with her eyebrows knit in concentration and her bottom lip tucked into her mouth right before she starts in on a filthy diatribe: 

“Please cum for me,” she’s whimpering, “cum all over my face, I was such a good girl for you, I deserve it, I need it-” A subtle, sudden switch, a gleam in her eye: “I know you wanna see my face covered in your fucking load-”

Your breath catches hard and violent in your throat. It’s all there: Minnie with the camera, watching like an ill-intentioned voyeur, like she’s planning to cut and distribute this, eyes bewitchingly predatory. I know you wanna make your mark on me, Yuqi means; I know you want picture proof that I’m yours. 

Well, no one’s gonna blame you for promptly forgetting how to form words. 

When you cum, it miraculously goes everywhere it’s supposed to - coating Yuqi’s face, her cheeks and her chin, her open mouth - her eyes shutter closed and she accepts it like the good girl she’s playacting as, today, without even a second thought - and that’s half the appeal, the way she just sits there like it’s your god-given right to do whatever you want with her, like you could use her hair as a cumrag, rub your cock through the cum staining her jaw, smack her across the face and make her take it-

“Alright,” says Minnie, amused, like she can somehow sense the violent impulse rushing underneath your skin, barely contained. She’s seen it firsthand; she’s taken enough hits to recognize it. “That’ll work just fine.” 

She shifts to press a kiss to your throat, open-mouthed and gentle, breath hot enough to inspire some sort of sensory overload - but she moves away again and it’s gone. For the best, really; you’ve got more pressing matters to attend to. 

Namely: Yuqi’s crumpled, tiny form on the bathroom floor underneath you; her tongue darting to the corner of her mouth, licking away a creamy glob of cum. She looks pathetic. She looks perfect. She looks up at Minnie like she’s seconds from bursting into tears, just giving it all up to fall apart, too worked up to really put it into words. Er, okay, any words except-

“Minnie,” says Yuqi, “I really, really need to cum.” 

“Oh, sweetheart.” Minnie fixes her with a pitying look, hand through her hair like she’s aiming to console - like she doesn’t know the threat of tugging on Yuqi’s hair is just going to make her wetter. “You can wait a little longer, can’t you? You’ve been so good for me already.”

“Minnie.” It comes insistent, desperate.

And it’s fucking intoxicating: Yuqi, who you’ve never once known to beg, to admit when she’s smaller, when she’s needy, when her cunt’s soaking wet and desperate; Yuqi, your cum staining her face and her eyes wide and watery, lips pink and swollen; Yuqi, who hates to accept when she’s lost and is somehow doing it anyway. Wanting to be fucked and filled so badly she’s willing to do anything-

Minnie’s mouth curls, calculating. Anything - that’s it, that’s the opening she’s been waiting for. 

“Well,” she says. “How about we make a deal?” 

She kneels so she’s face to face with Yuqi, mollifying and demeaning and elegant, all at once. “I can make you cum right now,” she says, kindly, and Yuqi still looks like she’s seconds from tears, “but you have to walk out of here with his cum all over your face.”

There’s a long, stifling silence. 

The writing’s been on the wall since the moment Minnie brought up the night you and Yuqi first met - but Yuqi’s been too busy with her efforts to please to remember her defenses and guards. Too drained to recall who she’s dealing with - Minnie, torturously beautiful, Yuqi’s chin between her fingers, the picture of polite tolerance; the devil herself isn't really about rage, that’s what you all forget; oh, it’s all about the long game - and so when you look at Yuqi, she’s genuinely shocked. 

“Minnie,” you say, again, conscious of boundaries. 

You’re playing back the night in question, the employee bathroom at the club, Yuqi’s visible panic when you’d brought it up. There’s no way, you’re thinking; even Yuqi has her limits. She’s too proud. It’s too public. The lingerie store with Jisoo was one thing, but that’s an isolated incident, that’s a baby step, that’s-

“Shh,” says Minnie to you, mildly, and nods pointedly at Yuqi’s expression. 

Eyes blown so wide, pupils swallowing her irises. A dreamy sort of slackness, half-dazed and somehow still completely devoted. Like she might just float away - like you and Minnie are the only thing anchoring her to the earth.

“Oh,” you say, stunned. 

The look on her face - not that you’ve broken her, but like she’s turned herself over to the two of you, regardless. Handing over her own body; this is your property, do what you want with it. Bruise it, hit it. Take a marker to it and label me every nasty thing possible. Cum all over my face and make everyone who sees me stare. 

“It’s up to you,” Minnie tells Yuqi, courteously, but she knows just as much as you what the answer’s going to be. 

-

It’s not even a question, really. It barely takes any time at all for Minnie to press her back against the sink, get a finger inside her, get three - she swipes her fingertips across Yuqi’s glistening cheekbone, grins as she lowers her hand, fucks your cum deep into her cunt, slow and purposeful. It’s so vulgar - so foul - so hot-

“You know,” says Minnie, gaze never leaving Yuqi’s face, sewn into lewd satisfaction, “for someone who talks a lot of shit about breeding kinks, you seem to really like me fucking his cum into your pussy right now.”

It’s not like Yuqi can even speak over her own moans, but that’s neither here nor there - her eyes are barely open, pressure everywhere at once, putty in Minnie’s hands - mold me, she begs, make me whatever you want - and Minnie smiles, goes back in for more, cum-stained fingers leaving a slick streak across Yuqi’s chin. Retracing steps as she fucks her, works her wrist, lets her other hand hook around Yuqi’s hip, keeping her firmly in place. “If memory serves, actually,” she says, and blinks over at you, commiserating, “I seem to recall we have a lot of videos of you getting your cunt fucked raw and filled with cum, Yuqi.” 

“I think we do,” you agree, breathless. 

“You know what I think? I think he was right. It is about power.” Each consonant gaining back their edges - fit to strip skin off the bone - Minnie’s fingers only get more cruel, but you’ve all gone too far to go back now. “And I think you secretly like it when you don’t have any.” 

Yuqi struggles against Minnie’s free hand on her hip, nails digging in, air vacating her lungs in a squeak. Aching for a killing blow. Begging to be put out of her misery, or she would be, if she could manage words - Minnie’s smile screaming you asked for this - playing mind games with the best of them like she’s the one making all the rules-

“You like someone else owning your body, huh?” It’s more than sex, but it always is - a mind-fuck, a manipulation. Yuqi’s cunt clenching around Minnie’s fingers the more she speaks like she’s drunk on every word, like she’s speaking in tongues - she can’t call it losing control when it’s getting fucked out of her with force-

“Doing whatever they want with it,” Minnie’s saying, the idea of it alone intoxicating enough. “Fucking it. Breeding it. You like being used like an object.” Her thumb on Yuqi’s clit, making her points and punctuating with a rasp: “You love that this cunt doesn’t even fucking belong to you.” 

When you look back, all you’ll remember are the raw details. Yuqi’s painfully wrecked moans; the lewd, wet sound of Minnie’s fingers buried in her cunt, curling; the way Minnie’s irises glitter, voice like its own siren song. The cum still splattered across Yuqi’s face, right before she dips her mouth to Minnie’s neck-

She’s not filming this part, but it’s not like you’ll ever fucking forget it. 

The one crack you’ve seen in Minnie’s composure all day, the tiny yelp she makes when Yuqi sinks her teeth into her skin - and then louder and strangled, as Yuqi bites down - and then-

It all crumbles in an instant, hairline fractures, fissures, earthquakes; Yuqi cums and it racks her whole body, sends her melting into Minnie’s arms. You’re there in a split second without even thinking about it, steadying her shoulder; Minnie reaches for you, lets your clasped hands link over the back of Yuqi’s neck. Keeping her upright. Keeping her together. 

“Good girl,” Minnie murmurs, carefully soothing; she knows the right way to wrap it all up. “There you go.” 

There’s blood beading on Minnie’s neck. She kisses Yuqi’s hair anyway. You don’t need to see her expression to know she’s smiling, but you tap your thumb to her chin, turn her face out just to see it - just to watch it grow. Minnie’s eyes connect with yours, irresistibly warm, unwinding rope, unbinding cords. Cutting you both loose just to watch you stay right where you are. 

“You’ve got a fucked up little mind,” you tell her, mesmerized. 

All Minnie does is laugh. “Hey,” she says, running her fingers down Yuqi’s spine, “don’t we all?” 

-

“You’re insatiable,” adds Minnie to Yuqi, as you’re putting each other back together, pressing a damp paper towel to the wound on her neck, somehow managing to make it sound fond anyway. “You know the point of hickeys is to suck, right? Not literally draw blood.” 

“I think it’s a kink,” you say. “Like, it turns her on to see the bite marks. And the blood, I guess.” 

“A blood kink? I’m pretty sure that’s just called being a vampire.” 

“I already do enough sucking, anyway,” says Yuqi, inexplicably finding the energy for a smirk. 

You flick her hip, pretending not to love it and failing. “Okay,” you say, “why are you allowed to make puns, but the second I make them you tell me to kill myself?” 

“I’m a hypocrite,” says Yuqi, unapologetically. “You’re just gonna have to make your peace with that.”

“Please,” you say. “If I were looking for peace, I would’ve lost your number months ago.”

Minnie’s the one who starts laughing first; she almost always is. It takes a second and you’re falling all over each other, in hysterics - Yuqi with Minnie’s leather jacket draped around her shoulders, you with an arm around Minnie’s waist, pulling them both in close. Everything’s funny, when you’re together, everything’s hot and humorous and carefree. Like every other pressing matter’s packed up and let you all be, for the moment. 

“I still might,” you warn, trying your hand at snark and partially pulling it off, judging by Minnie doubling over in giggles, Yuqi’s gasp, swatting at your chest and scandalized. “No - I really could, I absolutely could-”

“Fuck off.” 

“You’re so full of shit.” 

(It’s a flashback on loop, the perfect moment to hit. All those days of nights you stayed, of mornings you laughed through, of times you didn’t have to be there but you were anyway, and it meant something.)

Fine - you weren’t looking for peace, but inexplicably, you think you kind of found it anyway. 

-

It becomes almost immediately obvious that there’s been some sort of boundary broken, because as you drag Yuqi out of the bathroom, she, unbelievably, doesn’t even seem to mind. 

It’s like you’ve pushed her so far nothing can faze her. Walks right on out of the mall with cum on her cheeks and no panties on, her skirt so short she could absolutely get dragged in on a public indecency charge. Makes eye contact with an older woman staring near the entrance and says, unconvincingly, “Ugh, ice cream, am I right?” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” you say once you’re outside, obsessed with her nerve. 

“You’re the one who came on my face,” says Yuqi, somehow managing self-righteousness even with her pigtails fucked up, features glazed sloppily. “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” She catches Minnie’s eye, her pointed look; switches tone, bats her lashes, inexplicably pulls off innocence. “Not that you’re stupid, Minnie. I’d never say that.” 

“But I am?” you ask. 

“It’s not your fucking birthday,” says Yuqi - so, looks like obedience didn’t last long. “I don’t have to answer to you, dipshit. I was doing it as a courtesy before.” 

“Watch it,” says Minnie, and presses her fingertips warningly into Yuqi’s side. 

She’s obviously biting back laughter, but an order’s an order. “Sorry,” says Yuqi, and smiles like she means it. 

“I thought you were a good girl,” teases Minnie. “Isn’t that what you said when you were begging him to cum on your face?”

“Yes,” says Yuqi, immediately, unwilling to refuse any prompt from her. “Totally.” 

Minnie laughs out loud, and then - to both your shock and Yuqi’s - smacks Yuqi’s ass, hard. 

“Then fucking act like it,” she says, and leaves Yuqi spluttering for air. 

-

You take it back to Minnie’s place, and that’s what provokes it: all your best scenes get resumed. 

There’s Yuqi, costumed and choreographed - her skirt pushed up around her waist as Minnie fucks her with her fingers, and then discarded entirely - lets herself get shoved onto all fours, back arched and ass rapidly turning red under Minnie’s hands - and Minnie says to you, “Come on, babe, I wanna see this little whore get facefucked,” and there’s no better way to make use of her pigtails. Your fingers in her hair, making her choke on your cock - there’s the fantasy you were looking for, Yuqi’s eyes watering and woeful, brows knit together in perfect, concerted effort. Minnie in control of the strap-on for once, buried in Yuqi’s cunt, making her cum until she’s the one who’s moaning, breathless, panting fuck me, fuck me, fuck me-

“You’re so cute when you beg,” Minnie tells her, and the smirk she throws you is knifelike: “we should make you do it more often.”

“What do you think of that, sweetheart?” you ask Yuqi, but she’s whimpering too much to answer. 

It’ll be amplified under lighting and lenses, high fidelity - to you it’s all color without form, detached and unintelligible; to Yuqi it’s probably worse, fucked to to the point of losing recognition, distinguishing senses - or better, rather; you see the way she’s fucking cumming - and when you play it all back, all focus and film, you’ll realize Minnie’s better with a camera than both you and Yuqi combined, realize the definition of defilement when she’s panting in front of a camera, realize exactly what you’ve got in your hands. It’s earth-shattering sex. It’s some of the best you’ve ever had. Minnie will look back through the footage later and say this one’ll go in the hall of fame, ranking your sex tape like a sports commentator, and Yuqi will laugh so hard she’ll almost tumble off the bed, but you’ll catch her around the waist before she falls - and that’s the point of it all, wrapped up in a moment. Sex and safety and fun. It’s the theme of the day, but it always is. 

But for now Minnie’s on her knees on the soaked sheets, analyzing Yuqi, mouth wavering like she’s seconds from bursting into giggles. Yuqi’s choking trying to catch her breath, thighs trembling, one arm thrown over her eyes. You’re filming it; it’s the thing to do. 

“I’m gonna be honest,” says Minnie, “I can’t think of anything good to call her.” 

“Did you ever actually see what she wrote on you that one time?” you point out. “It was just fuckdoll. It wasn’t, like, that creative.” 

“Insidious bitch,” offers Minnie, spitballing, twirling the eyeliner pencil between her fingers. “Malicious hoe.”

“All too true,” you agree, sagely.

But Minnie smiles like she’s just remembered a secret, dips forward, and scrawls something across Yuqi’s stomach. Gently, despite everything, or because of it. You lean forward and laugh out loud when you read it. 

ours <3

“Oh, wow,” you say, enthralled. “That’s - surprisingly romantic.” 

“It’s my birthday,” says Minnie, unashamed, heart on her sleeve, on skin. “I’m feeling sentimental.” 

“What did you write?” Yuqi peeks past her arm at the two of you, dark irises dazed and twinkling. “Did you propose?” A silence, considering. “That’s kind of hot, actually. I’ll do it, dude. I’ll marry you for the eternal sexual benefits.” 

“Who?” says Minnie. “Me or him?” 

Yuqi’s grin tugs sleepily wide. “Why not both?” 

You’re not even dating, technically. It’s ridiculous that any of this is even happening at all. Minnie huffs out a breath, and then promptly buries her face in your chest, falling right into your arms, exhausted laughter hitting her all at once. Yuqi, inexplicably, starts snickering along, caught up in the infectiousness of the sound. She’s so right, you think to yourself, laughing with them and half-delirious, why not, why not-

“You really are greedy,” Minnie says to Yuqi, eyes curved gorgeously, luminous half-moons. “Can’t be satisfied with just one, huh?” 

“As if any of us ever could be,” Yuqi mumbles, and when you look at her, she’s beaming, hair pouring, too pale for gold but measuring up to something more valuable, somehow - like sunlight, like stars. 

Why not, indeed, you muse, kissing the top of Minnie’s head, and you let the scene come to a close. 

-

Oh, you’re creatures of habit, after all. You just can’t let each other go. 

“Happy birthday,” murmurs Yuqi when you’ve cleaned each other up, eyelids falling shut, trapped between you and Minnie; she’s smaller than you both and for once she’s showing it. “Did you like your present?” 

“Sorry we couldn’t get you anything designer,” you say, kidding. “Not exactly in our budget. Some of us actually aren’t descended from royalty, you know.”

“It’s okay,” says Minnie, smiling softly. She presses a kiss to your cheek, strokes her fingers through Yuqi’s hair. “I already have everything I want.”

-

Later that night, you all follow through on your plans, and throw her a party. 

Yuqi skips the first half or so because she can barely function after the fucking, but promises to join the fun eventually - do not let her out of your sight looking like that, she says, casting a vaguely hungry, territorial look over at Minnie, and then promptly falls asleep in Minnie’s bed, curled up in one of Minnie’s oversized t-shirts and her duvet. She’s earned it, hair towel-dried and fanning out on Minnie’s silk pillowcases, the sweet scent of her conditioner oddly soothing. 

“You heard her,” you say to Minnie, grinning. “Don’t leave my line of sight, okay?” 

“Who says I’d even want to?” says Minnie, head tucked in the crook of your neck. 

It’s codependent, it’s possessive, it’s fun. Well, with Yuqi out of commission, you’ve gotta be hostile and protective enough for the both of you. Today’s a day for switching sides, after all. 

It devolves almost immediately. Fit for the occasion, Minnie gets spectacularly drunk. 

Even as she gets dragged away in conversation throughout the night, you still end up staring at Minnie across the room, but mostly because Yuqi was right about the way she looks: she’s sporting a sash and a plastic tiara, but she’s also in a production of a dress, tight and hot pink and clinging to her hips, riding high on her thighs, tapering around her waist - she’s a vision, laughing and radiant, smile blown wide. She’s with this girl you sort of recognize - a brunette who must be smaller than she seems right now, heels noticeably tall, adorably sweet-faced and with a certain tilt to her head, not looking at Minnie at all. 

“The girl on the right?” Minnie’s saying, when you approach the two of them. She’s gesturing not-so-subtly towards the living room at Miyeon’s friends that you’ve come to be familiar with - Yunjin, with her ever-present sunglasses: the tall, graceful girl who’s always joined at the hip with her. “That’s Kazuha. Yeah, she’s so hot, but, like, so unavailable - she’s been dating her boyfriend for like five years, or something crazy. Which, I think - that’s true love. I mean, right? It has to be. When you meet that young, and you actually stay together-”

“Hmm,” the girl beside Minnie says mildly, watching Kazuha and Yunjin laughing over something. “That’s cute. And - the chick with the sunglasses-”

“Yeah, yeah,” says Minnie - and this is where you realize how intoxicated she actually is, because she’s rambling without reason, offering up nonsensical details; well, she does this sober, but it’s somehow even more extreme when she’s not. “That’s Yunjin. She and Kazuha are best, best friends. Um, Yunjin works at that one coffee shop - you’ve been there, you know, the one by campus…”

“Right,” says the girl, and nothing else, like she’s purposely making room for Minnie to go on. 

“I love Yunjin,” Minnie’s bubbling over drunkenly, switching from topic to topic less than seamlessly. “And - oh, wow, Kazuha’s shirt is so cute. Her abs, oh my God. Her boyfriend seems really nice, so that’s good. I mean, it’d suck if she was dating an asshole, because she’s so sweet. An angel, seriously. No, because, literally-” 

She’d probably continue on until the party filtered out, until the stars outside the window wrapped it up and left - but that’s right when she spots you, and promptly drops whatever train of thought she was on before she saw your face. 

“Babe!” she cheers, and practically leaps into your arms. 

“Hi,” you say, lips to the top of her head, grinning. “Having a good time?” 

“So good.” Her eyes are dreamy, drowsy, half-shut and glittering in low light. “The most good.” 

You smooth her hair out of her face. “You’re drunk.”

“The most drunk.”

You laugh when she pushes her face in your neck, mumbles something incomprehensible; she’s a cute drunk, giggly and sweetly optimistic, social like you wouldn’t believe. She’s been flitting from person to person all night, fielding birthday wishes and hugs and celebratory shots - so easy to love, you think of Miyeon saying, smile knowing - star of the show, center of attention, even surrounded by stupid wasted college kids. Speaking of which: 

“Hi,” you say, a little belatedly, to the girl she’s been talking to. It’s slightly unwieldy, considering Minnie wriggling and tucked under your elbow, but you make do.

“Hi,” the girl says back. She’s got this friendly, genuine smile, strikingly pretty eyes. “I’m-”

“Hel-lo.”

The cadence of the voice is like tugging on a leash - you and Minnie turn immediately, already caught in an orbit. All it takes is a look, a smile, a second. A single word and you’re both staring. 

Because there’s Yuqi, stunningly made-up, shorts denim and crop top tight and white, blonde hair wild and tumbling over her shoulders, one hand on her hip. She’s bruised at the neck, at the wrists - she’s got hickeys openly marring her pale thighs, not even a single attempt made to cover them up - and she looks fucking profane. 

“Yuqi!” Minnie slips out of your arms just to bury herself in hers. 

Yuqi plants a kiss to the corner of her mouth, wipes away the smudge of gloss, adjusts her dumb plastic tiara gently. “Hey, birthday girl.” Nods over her shoulder. “Why were you talking to that bitch?” 

You swivel in alarm just to see that the girl Minnie was talking to is now halfway across the apartment, picking up conversation with Yunjin and Kazuha.

“What’s wrong with her?” says Minnie, eternally ready to see the best in people. She’s clutching at the hem of Yuqi’s shirt with one hand and has the other tangled in your sleeve. The party swims around you guys, suddenly completely inconsequential, particularly rowdy background noise. That’s how it is, when the three of you are together - like everything around you is just static. There are more important things to worry about. Such as:

“She’s evil,” claims Yuqi, like that’s the end-all be-all - well, to her, it probably is. 

“What did she do?” you ask, mindlessly reaching out to fuss with her hair. 

“Nothing I can prove,” says Yuqi, somewhat venomously. She rolls her neck, gives you space. “But her vibes are so fucked up.”

“You would know,” says Minnie, wisely.

“What?” Yuqi looks flabbergasted; as if she isn’t fully familiar with the attitude, as if she isn’t bruised to hell and back from Minnie’s hands alone. You crack up. It’s always funnier when Minnie’s the one dishing it out. “Nicha, chill-”

“Don’t pull out the government name on my birthday-”

“You know what,” considers Yuqi, managing to backtrack and twist the sentiment all at once; it’s ridiculous, it’s absolutely a talent. “You’re right. I would know, because I’m the smartest. You were actually complimenting me. Thank you.”

“You’re obnoxious,” you tell her, but pull her gently to your side, anyway. Her blonde hair’s unruly, brushing your jaw. You’re captivated by everything she says and it’s blatantly obvious. “And fucking delusional.”

“It’s a gift,” agrees Yuqi, seriously, and Minnie bursts out laughing. 

It’s just one of those silver-screen nights, one of those perfect moments. Laughter on loop, boundless, endless, your favorite people and their favorite people - like you’ve had a million times since you’ve met them. You feel it constantly, but there’s a beat where it’ll just hit you, all at once, the two of them in your arms and giggling and gorgeous, happy like they don’t know how not to be. One of those moments that you hope you’ll have for a long time, after this. One of those moments where you think of turning to the two of them and saying I like my life a lot better with you in it, you know. 

But it’s a party, and Minnie’s drunk and beaming by your side, and Yuqi’s got the top of her head fit comfortably into the crook of her neck, and it’s not the time, or the place. You rarely get so sentimental. You’ll let it go for now. 

It’s alright, anyway. It’s just like you said - like a recording, like a rerun - you’ll come back to moments like this, again, and again, and again. 

-

(“By the way,” Yuqi says to Miyeon, when she sees her. “You are so fucking stupid. Like, I’m convinced you were dropped on your head as a child.” 

Miyeon ogles her, more amused than anything - well, she’s always been good at rolling with the punches. “Excuse me?” 

It seems self-explanatory, but Yuqi tells her anyway. “You used to have Minnie topping you daily and you gave that up for a geriatric old man?” 

“He’s twenty-nine,” says Miyeon, like that’s anywhere near the point. “Since when have you ever let Minnie top you?” Then she lets her stare fall to Yuqi’s clearly ravaged body. “Oh, wait.” 

“Birthday present,” says Yuqi, and doesn’t bother to elaborate. “Seriously, you’re fucking dumb, dude. She’s so hot when she gets like that.”

“I’m aware,” says Miyeon. 

Yuqi can’t help but stare at her - at her unaffected composure, the entertained glint in her eyes. “Then why would you ever give that up?”

The party’s in full swing around them, the people and the proximity, the hum of chatter, music. Miyeon’s in white, the pale shine of her blonde hair falling gracefully over her shoulders, something right out of a painting, every detail in place. It’s not that Yuqi’s ever felt she has to compete with Miyeon, but - but-

I know how it feels to be with Minnie, Yuqi could tell her; I don’t get how anyone could have her love and let her down, earn her heart and then break it - and she doesn’t say it in so many words, but Miyeon studies her, like she hears it anyway. 

“Look at it like this,” says Miyeon. “If I were still fucking her, she never would’ve started fucking you. And you never would’ve gotten the chance to get this far.”

She juts her chin across the room, where Minnie’s got her arms slung around your neck, your heads bent close together. Minnie, clearly talking a mile a minute, outrageously beautiful, plastic tiara askew on her hair; you, smiling like you’ve won a contest just being in the same room as her, content to indulge all her whims at once. 

You catch Yuqi’s eye; your grin does nothing but widen, obvious with your adoration, uncaring of who knows. Like no one could take your devotion away, even if they tried. 

“Really puts things in perspective, doesn’t it,” says Miyeon, knowingly. 

“Fuck off,” says Yuqi, and smiles back at you anyway. 

Miyeon huffs out a haughty little sigh, cuter than it should be. “Have some faith in the universe, Yuqi,” she says, and it’s only then that Yuqi realizes that Miyeon’s kind of drunk. Miyeon points up at the ceiling like she’s calling on a higher power - like she’s exactly the angel she pretends to be, like she’s got a direct line to heaven. “She knows what she’s doing. Everything works out exactly the way it’s supposed to.”

“You can’t possibly believe that,” says Yuqi, charmed by the idea nonetheless. 

“Why not?” asks Miyeon, mouth crooked at a corner. 

And Yuqi knows this about her - she always has. Miyeon’s had a life raised on passionate ideals, on novels and films and poetry; she’s got a man who’d do anything for her, who adores her enough to craft art for her, to create, to invent; she’s got the kind of love that makes her believe in impossible things, that grants her hope. She can’t see things any other way.

But - watching you from across the room, as you tap Minnie’s hip, point her in Yuqi’s direction, as Minnie sees Yuqi’s face and beams like she’s seeing the break of dawn - it’s the first time Yuqi feels like she understands it.

“Don’t let anything happen to her,” says Miyeon abruptly, then lets out a tiny laugh, like she’s recalling a secret. “Alright?” 

“Alright,” says Yuqi, so struck by the idea that she can’t even begin to dissect it, can’t find the angle. She searches Miyeon’s expression, like it’ll give her an answer. “I - you know we’d never hurt her, don’t you?” 

But Miyeon only smiles, serene and comprehending. Yuqi blinks, thrown. 

Oh. That’s when it hits her: there is no angle. No strategy, no tricks, no sussing out motives. Sometimes you love someone and you just need to know they’re loved, too. Sometimes you just need to hear it said out loud. 

“Yeah,” says Miyeon, “I know,” and it’s enough.)

-

Ah, like she’s taken the thought straight from your brain: why not, indeed.

-

Long after the party wraps up, you get Minnie to bed with all three of you in a giggling fit. Minnie’s the kind of drunk who’s exceedingly bubbly and completely hilarious, eyelids fluttering and laugh loose and happy, cracking up at the drop of a hat - and you and Yuqi are both obsessed with her, so you can’t help but join her. 

“Oh my god,” exhales Minnie, bundled up in her sheets, lifting a finger to the ceiling like she’s trying to find patterns in it, inventing constellations. “This is, like - whoa.” Falls into another peal of laughter; Yuqi’s rolling her eyes, stroking Minnie’s bangs off her forehead. “Like, the best birthday ever.” 

“You’re drunk,” you say, utterly enamored with her. “But - thanks.” 

Minnie lowers her finger just to wag it in your face. “Drunken words are sober thoughts,” she says, sagely, and dissolves into giggles again. 

You land a kiss on her forehead before you and Yuqi pile into the bathroom, scrubbing the night from your skin. Yuqi ends up perched on the counter, the two of you in matching, moisturizing sheet masks - self-care is for everyone, she says vehemently, and you’re not about to argue - and she’s playing some game on her phone, humming something under her breath. Breaks her own concentration just to glance over at you and smile. 

“What’s up?” you say, softly, and she slides off the counter. 

“Just - thanks.” Yuqi’s got a hand under your chin, tipping your face downwards. She’s always smaller than she pretends to be. “For being here.” 

“Well,” you say, tipsy and feeling a little philosophical, a little romantic, “where else would I ever want to be?” 

You’re getting in the routine of asking rhetorical questions of each other - will you stay, will you hold me, do you understand how much you mean to me - things you already know the answer to. Learning curves you’ve followed before. Inclines you’ve made it past. It’s fun to play your games, as long as you know when to pack them up and take them home. 

Yuqi smiles, slots her mouth to yours. A thousand places, she’s telling you, wrapped up in a kiss - you could be anywhere, but you’re here. Kissing you like it means something. Kissing you because you both know it does. 

“Can’t wait to see what you do for my birthday,” she says against your mouth, already grinning. “Are you gonna let me peg you or something?” 

And there is it - the charming crassness of her, the unyielding defiance - and there’s something else, the prospect of something living far into the future - and you laugh out loud, suddenly feeling like you’re seeing straight through time, at all the repeat performances you’ll have with her and Minnie. Something that lasts. Something that’ll never, ever get old. 

“Sure,” you say, and she’s laughing with you, too. “Something like that.” 

-

(You don’t know this yet, but a little bit earlier, towards the end of the party, Miyeon tugs Minnie into her room and drops a gift bag into her hands. It’d be unceremonious, but Miyeon’s smiling almost bashfully, tucking her hands behind her back afterwards. 

“Oh,” says Minnie, softly, drunkenly. “Miyeon.” A pause, gentle, fleeting. “Thank you.” 

“Open it,” is all Miyeon says in response, nodding towards the bag.

It’s a digital camera. Gorgeous, expensive, sleek and portable, the kind of thing Minnie can instantly see herself bringing everywhere, aiming it to the sky, to the scenery, to the people she surrounds herself with; to every beautiful thing that’s come to define her life, lately. It’s everything. It’s-

“It’s perfect,” Minnie finds herself saying out loud, voice strangely hoarse. 

The curve of Miyeon’s mouth is stunningly tender. She’s a little drunk too, or she must be; her shoulders are a little slumped, words a touch slurred. “I know a lot of your camera usage these days is pretty slutty,” she says, not meanly - Minnie breaks into breathy laughter, adoring despite herself- “but - well, you can absolutely use this one for slutty reasons, too. I mean, no judgment. You know that. Like, have your fun, you know?” 

“Get to the point,” chides Minnie, gently, cradling the camera between her fingers. 

Color sits high in Miyeon’s cheeks, eternally responsive to Minnie’s tone, her impulses, her certain, deliberate looks - I can’t help it, she’d told Minnie once, laughing; you look at me like you can read my fucking mind.

Minnie’s never managed to grow out of it even now, even after everything. She’s not sure she ever will. 

“I just thought…” Miyeon shrugs, shy. “I mean - I know how much you love photography. And I thought you could use it for yourself, whatever that-” There’s a break, searching for the right word. “Whatever that… entails.”

“Entails,” mimics Minnie, drunk and affectionate and stuck on the expression on her face. 

“Entails is a normal word.” 

“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”

“Minnie,” sighs Miyeon, and suddenly she’s pulling her in for a hug.

-

“Happy birthday,” Miyeon murmurs into her neck. And then, “You know you’re my best friend, right?” 

And here’s what no one will know, about Minnie and Miyeon, what no one will understand: love’s just not for them, right now. There’s nothing about them that could ever work out. But they’re inseparable, they’re other halves - they’re each others’ favorite people in the world, anyway. Here and now, that works perfectly. 

“I know,” says Minnie, and she does. 

“You and me,” says Miyeon, sweetly, distantly, like there’s some grand secret between her and a whole other universe. “Maybe in another life.” 

They’re both romantics, in all senses of the word; they’d both die for music, for melodrama, for scenes straight out of movies. See, Miyeon means it - that’s the thing. Means that she can see it so clearly, the two of them, side by side in some other world. Maybe they’re drunk. Maybe that’s all it is. Maybe - maybe-

“Maybe,” Minnie agrees, and she smiles.)

-

The morning after - that’s one cliché you’re readily familiar with. Hey, they’re well-loved for a reason.

“Um,” says Yuqi, in the kitchen the following day, and nothing else. 

It’s a gorgeous morning, or at least the kind you all love, sky dark and overcast, rain dripping down the windows. Minnie’s half-asleep on the counter, brilliantly hungover; the only reason she hadn’t fallen asleep in her makeup and her party dress last night is because you and Yuqi had taken painstaking care of her. Yuqi walked you through Minnie’s skincare routine, cleansers, serums; you’re not the fastest learner, but some people are worth the effort. Perks of being the birthday girl, you’d joked, and Yuqi laughed, unusually soft, said, well, we’d do this for her any day, wouldn’t we?

“Yes?” you say, noting her tone. Her attentiveness last night, her affection - the look on her face now. “You need something?” 

There’s always a turning point. Yours comes on a day where the sun’s hiding itself behind clouds, miraculously blanketed; giving you space to say what’s needed, granting you grace. Yuqi takes a breath, then says, “I actually have, um - I have a late birthday present.”

You watch her, confused. Yuqi’s usually immune to any sort of awkwardness, has a tendency to bulldoze past stumbling and silences without much care or tact - so this is something of a first. Even Minnie peeks up at her, crease appearing curiously between her eyebrows. 

“For me?” asks Minnie, voice half-muffled by the sleeve of her sweater. 

“No,” says Yuqi, sarcasm so acidic it might as well be poison: “for him. Yeah, Minnie, last time I checked, it was your birthday yesterday, so-”

“Yuqi,” Minnie says, straightens slowly, smile dawning in a storm. Yuqi only gets this bitchy in the face of vulnerability - when she’s on a cliff, on a precipice, when she feels herself falling. Minnie’s taking the high road, waiting for it. You’re right there with her. 

Yuqi huffs, lets her hair fall in front of her face, covering her cheeks, the blood rushing underneath her skin. Blonde on pink on pink - an echo of the night you’d met her, like someone’d seen her and pronounced her perfectly made, put in some effort to get her standing here, get her that gorgeous. 

“Fine,” she says, giving up the fight. “Fine. I - okay. Let me get it.” 

-

“Also,” admits Yuqi, reluctantly, prods your arm. “It kind of is for you, too.” 

(Because that’s the motif of it all, isn’t it? There wouldn’t be any of this without all three of you together. There’d be something missing. It just wouldn’t be the same.)

“I know,” you say, quietly, without smugness or ego, and there’s another point - Yuqi, in a room with the people who understand her perfectly, and she’s finally willing to give up the truth. 

-

Yuqi gathers you all in the living room, and then she goes to get her guitar. 

She’s bossy about it, too, tugging Minnie by the elbow, poking you in the small of your back, herding you both to the couch. That’s the thing about Yuqi: she makes it known what she wants, doesn’t apologize for it. There’s something strangely comforting about it, about being around someone who is so sure of herself, of every move and instinct. 

“Okay, it’s-” says Yuqi when she sits, drumming her fingers along her guitar, expression open and filterless. She tucks her bottom lip into her mouth, bites down, lets go. “It’s kind of… rough. I mean, not in a - not in a sexual context. It’s not like that. It’s just - unrefined, right now.” 

But now: tripping over her words, ready to pour her soul out, nervous like she’s unsure if you’ll both take it. You and Minnie, sitting in front of her, watching Yuqi’s lashes flicker, the morning painting her almost breathtakingly sincere. Now - the one thing she’s not perfectly sure about. Oh, she must have an idea, you think, exchanging a glance with Minnie, a soft, private smile; Yuqi must know, deep down. She must see the devotion, how it lifts instead of drowns, makes the room weightless; forget the tension, forget pressure. She must know how you and Minnie have never felt lighter. 

“Alright,” says Minnie, gently. “That’s fine.” 

A concession from the right person: Yuqi takes a breath, a moment. Fiddles with her guitar, plucking idly, tuning it up. And despite it all, despite the fact that you’ve seen a million times that she’s fine performing a stage, in front of strangers, speaking her mind through music, she says: “Don’t laugh.” 

Minnie’s lips part a little, surprised. Your voice catches in your throat. Yuqi rarely shows her nerves like this, lets them take hold and become palpable - but when she does, it’s only for the two of you. You lower your chin in a nod, gesture for her to go ahead: of course, you’re saying. It’s you. It’s you. Say anything and we’ll listen. 

Minnie murmurs again, carefully, “Yuqi.” Her name in Minnie’s mouth; it’s as mesmerizing as it always is. “We won’t.”

“Okay,” says Yuqi, believing it, and then she begins to play. 

-

Oh, it’s stunning, but of course it is. A revelation in the rasp of her voice, the nearly sensual hum of her guitar. Lyrics about sex and seduction and wanting to make time for someone, reserve a space in your life for them, in your heart, in your home. About waking up in the morning to love and nothing less. It’s not a sad song, by any means - it’s got a rhythm, an optimism, a playful lilt in the chord changes, the melody. It’s suggestive and a little filthy and honest and hopeful. It’s so completely her. 

By the time it’s over, you and Minnie are both wonderfully, completely, startlingly speechless. 

“Did you-” Yuqi can’t seem to muster up full sentences, working through her blush, her own emotions trapping words in her throat. “Did you guys - like it?” 

It’s so entirely sincere, and shy, and spellbinding. A remnant of a conversation from weeks earlier, about love and creation, about Yuqi’s heart in her music, about taking someone’s hand and saying here, I made this for you. 

“Yuqi,” says Minnie, grin leaking into her voice. 

Yuqi’s laughing, setting her guitar aside sheepishly; she can glean the answer from her tone alone. That’s the thing about love, when you’re in it - it saturates everything you make, everything you say. “What?” 

She barely gets a chance to get the word out of her mouth before you’re pulling at her hip, pulling her right into your lap. She squeals and Minnie’s there, throwing her arms around her neck, wrapping her in a crushing hug. The three of you, so entwined it’d take brute force to rip you apart. Well, let them try. 

“Baby,” you say, and Yuqi’s flushing pink again. “You’re so fucking adorable.” 

“I know,” says Yuqi, fiercely. She’s so good at taking compliments until they get too close to home. 

“And we’re obsessed with everything you do,” adds Minnie, helpfully, darting forward to press a quick kiss to the tip of her nose. 

“Fucking obviously.” 

But now she’s beaming like she could stop the pouring rain right in its tracks, burrowing herself further into Minnie’s embrace, tucking her knees up to brush your ribcage. The snark’s never been anything but a love language, truly. You’ve learned every turn of phrase by now. 

“It was brilliant,” says Minnie, then, vehemently, “you’re brilliant,” and then she’s laughing, kissing Yuqi’s face, throwing you that look in her eye when she’s too happy to do anything but show it, unable to process it in any way but the physical. Leans in to kiss you too, hand pressed gently to your cheek. “You two,” she says, then can’t even finish her sentence - it’s such a far cry from the character she’d played yesterday, but that’s the point-

“I don’t want to hear it,” Yuqi says, but doesn’t even try to leave your lap. “You two? I’m the one who wrote the song. He didn’t do shit.” 

“Did you or did you not just tell me that this song is about me?” you point out. 

One hand finds its way into Yuqi’s hair, and she lets it. “That’s slander,” says Yuqi. “I would literally never say that.” 

She’s dazzling when she’s blushing, bluffing, lying right to your face. “I really am your muse,” you say, entertained by the prospect. “That’s so sick.” 

“Half my muse,” says Yuqi, and pokes Minnie’s ribs until she yelps. “She’s the hot half.” 

“Clearly,” you corroborate, as Minnie laughs prettily, proving both your points - that’s a girl who can always take a compliment, any place and any time. Someone that gorgeous; she’s gotten used to it. “So I guess you’re stuck with both of us, huh?”

And here’s the point that should contain the purposeful score, with the camera panning out, with the confession and the slow motion. Oh, it’s not nearly so cheesy - never so theatrical, no tears or tortured secrets being revealed. It’d be a terrible whodunit, between the three of you: everyone already knows exactly how you got here, sees the fingerprints and the paper trails and the unsubtle clues. There’s no need for any grand reveal when you’re just unearthing what’s been there all along; no need for dramatically digging up graves when all you’re doing is opening a window, letting all the light in. It’s all so spectacularly obvious. It’s what you’ve always thought. It’s peace. 

“Fuck,” says Yuqi, content in your arms, and she’s not fooling anyone - so it’s a good thing she doesn’t need to. “I guess I am.” 

-

“I’m making an executive decision,” says Minnie. “We should all just date.” 

It’s so simple, so straightforward. All of you and your mutual obsession, wrapped up in a label, a ribbon to tie neat and tight. It’s insane that it could end in something so easy - oh, after the sex you’ve had, the rules you’ve broken, the boundaries you’ve thrown right out the window-

“Ugh,” says Yuqi, like she’s not smiling wide enough to split her face. There’s no possible way you’ve earned this happy ending, but somehow you’ve got it anyway. “Yeah, we probably should, shouldn’t we.” 

It’s not a question; no room for error. You can read her too well for that, now. Yuqi adds, belatedly: “I mean, just - like, logically.” 

“Absolutely,” you agree, infatuated with how she’s gunning for nonchalance and failing horribly. “It’s just like you said.” You pat Minnie’s hip, meet her radiant eyes, forever colluding. “We’re better than nothing.”

It’s a purposeful bait - you’re getting better at those. Hey, it’s all about growth. “Ugh,” grumbles Yuqi again, burrowing further in Minnie’s arms, squirming in your lap, torn between her attitude and her own need for honesty. “No, you guys - you’re like - you’re better than everything.” 

(This, hidden between lyrics, entire love letters scrawled in the margins of a screenplay: Do you understand how much you mean to me? Could you possibly?)

“Oh, wow,” you say, breathless, overwhelmed. “That’s so cliché. I thought you were a songwriter, Yuqi.” 

“I hate you.” At the sound of Minnie’s laugh, Yuqi swats at her thigh repeatedly, unable to even manage a scowl. “Uh, you too, bitch. You’re not exempt just because you’re a bystander. You let this happen. Realistically, we’re all here because of you.”

“What?”

“If you hadn’t wanted to get your ass fucked so bad that one day-”

“Oh my God.”

“-then he never would’ve caught us. And we never would’ve ended up here.” 

“Actually,” you cut in, mimicking. “Realistically, Yuqi, if you hadn’t decided that you just had to fuck me the moment you met me, I never would’ve gone to that first party, and I never would’ve met Minnie, so-” 

“Exactly,” says Minnie, smacking Yuqi’s shoulder triumphantly. “This is your fault.”

And there’s not a stitch of regret in it, nothing that constitutes actual blame. You’ve seen this film before. It’s the same every time. Sure, it’s her fault: her fault that you’re all the happiest you’ve ever been, that you’re having the best sex you’ve ever had, that you have somewhere safe to run after a bad day, friends to fill a home, a bed where you never have to be alone. Her fault that you slipped and fell right into a perfect ending, every stray thread wrapped up and stitched masterfully and closed out. A revelation. A kiss. A faultless flourish, and a cut away.  

(This, the question underneath it all, asked over and over again, slipped subliminally under each line of dialogue: do you understand how much you mean to me?)

“You know what,” says Yuqi, thoughtfully. “I’ll take it.” 

(The answer, the running theme, the credits as they roll: I do, I do, I do.) 

-

“What the hell are you doing here?” 

Well, in case you didn’t already know: there’s always going to be room for an epilogue. 

Call it a post-credits scene, something included just for kicks. This one centers in on a weekend - but doesn’t it always? - on the rush of a cool autumn night, on a dark club, on chatty strangers. It’s a single scene, bookended by names, labeled professions; there are more important things to worry about than this, but it’s your life. It’s where you’re at. It’s also exactly where you’d started. 

“You’re not even working today,” says Bona, perched daintily on a stool, scantily clad and seemingly amused by your presence alone. “You don’t need to be here, you know.” 

“I know,” you say, cryptically, settled comfortably beside her. “Just wanted to check out some of the performances.”

It’s obnoxiously vague. “Right,” says Bona, clearly suspicious. “Uh, have fun?” 

The band’s got more fans than they give themselves credit for - it’s like every extra’s right where they should be, prepared for any cue. You spot Lisa and Chaeyoung in the corner, laughing loudly with Jisoo and another brunette whose name you can’t place; at one of the tables, there’s Kazuha and Yunjin, who looks to be in a weirdly aggressive conversation with Club Cosmic’s manager; over at the bar, Miyeon’s boyfriend catches your eye and waves, one arm slung around Miyeon’s waist. Around them all, the atmosphere seems to glimmer, velvet and smoke and strategic lighting, placing them all somewhere mythic.

“I will,” you tell Bona, cheerfully, and hop up from your seat. 

Yunjin and Kazuha are the first to monopolize your attention, but that’s not especially surprising. Yunjin’s sporting some comically oversized sunglasses and losing her mind over some shocking celebrity breakup - two of her absolute favorite actresses, she tells you balefully, right before she downs her drink. Kazuha’s trying to console her, but also obviously trying not to laugh at her.

“I seriously don’t even believe in love at this point,” Yunjin’s lamenting, head in her hands, phone open to the news article. “Two years. They were together for two years.”

“Hmm,” says Kazuha, suddenly lost in thought. It’s then that you recall she’s been with her boyfriend for twice that long, or something similar. Nineteen and already tied down; but, you muse, stranger things have happened. You’re not gonna question love. Your life has too much of it. You can’t imagine believing in anything else. 

“Is that why you were arguing with…” You gesture discreetly towards Club Cosmic’s manager, who’s only a table or two away, making her rounds.

“Sakura’s such a bitch,” says Yunjin, not quietly, and - well, there goes discretion. “She’s like - oh, every celebrity relationship is PR, I don’t even know why you’re upset, it was probably fake anyway - and I was like, for two years? That doesn’t even make sense-”

“I can hear you,” says Sakura, turning abruptly. 

“Good,” says Yunjin. “Cunt.” 

“I could ban you from this place,” says Sakura, hand on her hip. She’s maddeningly gorgeous just by standing there - the big eyes and the flawless skin and the long, dark hair, swept up out of her face, ears lined with delicate silver jewelry. Every time she mans the floor, she gets just as much attention as the lingerie-clad performers; that’s a talent in itself. “Also, two years isn’t even that long for a serious relationship.” She smiles, tiny and catlike. “Not that you would know.” 

“I will key your car,” says Yunjin seriously, then, to you: “It’s fine. Sakura and I go way back.”

“No, we don’t,” says Sakura. “You’re an acquaintance at most. I barely tolerate you.” A pause. “Hi, Zuha.” 

“Hi,” says Kazuha, amiably. “Nice to see you.”

“Don’t lie to her,” says Yunjin, emphatically, and flips Sakura off.

They’re largely caught up in their own spectacle, their own stories and lives and loose ends. It’s none of your business; it’s a movie you don’t have a part in. Fine: you’ve got your own plot points to hit. You leave them to it. 

Minnie’s not flaking out on band duties for once, so Miyeon’s off the hook tonight, enjoying being in the audience. She’s the band’s biggest fan, she always says - she’ll have to fight you for that title, you return every time. She’s loitering by the bar with her boyfriend, and the second she sees you, she leans in and says, almost nonsensically, “Feels pretty good, huh?” 

You lean in too. “Sorry?”

Miyeon smiles. “I heard about Yuqi’s song,” she says. Then, “It’s fucking awesome being someone’s muse, right?” 

“Uh,” you say, somewhat startled - but, like, she’s not really wrong. “I mean, yeah, totally.”

Beside her, Miyeon’s boyfriend sighs tolerantly, one arm now around Miyeon’s slender shoulders, one hand sifting carefully through the ends of her hair. See, Miyeon’s exactly what anyone who’s ever read an artsy romance novel would picture as a muse: gorgeous in this elegant, almost demure way, like she’s perennially cosplaying as some sort of princess. Her boyfriend’s older, he’s seen more of the world, he knows what it has to offer; Miyeon’s such a classic counterpart for him, despite the age difference, the mildly sketchy circumstances. You look at the two of them and you get it - why someone like him would make art about someone like her. 

“All we have to do is exist and be beautiful and get fucked into oblivion,” says Miyeon, dreamily. “We’ve got it made.”

Right - she’s sort of drunk. Well, you could’ve seen that coming. “Why are you assuming I’m getting fucked and I’m not the one doing the fucking?” 

A tilt of her head. “Yuqi doesn’t peg you?”

“Uh - not currently?” 

There’s that bright laughter, her best sign of a break in character. Miyeon tucks her face into her boyfriend’s shoulder, only half-successfully stifling her own giggles. He smiles enigmatically over at you, the kind of expression that could mean anything from wow, women, huh? to yeah, yeah: she’s the love of my fucking life. 

“Baby,” he says to her instead, gently, hand still half in her hair. Lets out this endeared sort of huff, partly a laugh, eyes crinkling at the corners. Right, you think: love of his life it is, then. 

Miyeon turns her face out again, cheeks flushed and lids heavy as she looks at you. 

“You know what,” she says, candidly. “Yuqi was right. You are cool.” 

“Thanks, man,” you say. Inebriation’s clearly killed her filter a little bit. “You didn’t think I was before?” 

“Well, I was originally worried you might be too dumb for Yuqi, but…” She nods sagely, blinks at you slow and serious. “She’s dating you and Minnie. It’s obvious she’s into morons. Like, that’s definitely her type.”

So, that’s-

“What the fuck,” you say, and Miyeon’s boyfriend actually bursts out laughing, which only makes Miyeon start cracking up again - and that’s pretty much your cue to leave. Let them be sort of young and all the way in love. They deserve it, anyway. 

-

“Hey,” says Bona, over the music, when she finally circles back to your side. “Your girls are performing tonight, aren’t they?” 

Your girls, she says. Like music, like belonging, like a motion picture with all three of your names billed first, crossing the screen simultaneously. Like the last handful of months laced between the lines, a roll of film stretching out with no end in sight. Like something you could hear them called the rest of your life - your girls - yours. 

You swallow back your grin, and say, “How’d you know?”

But suddenly you don’t really need an answer. Bona nods towards the entrance, and that’s when you finally see them. 

(Oh - and about their outfits: 

Unsurprisingly, Soyeon vetoed Minnie’s sexy cat idea. No, she’d said, or so you’d heard secondhand; Club Cosmic’s a burlesque club, isn’t it? You’ve all seen those old movies, vintage costumes, coiffed curls. We already employ the art of the tease, all that shit; now we’ve got the perfect setting for it. Let’s lean into it. Let’s bring a fantasy to life.)

“God,” says Bona, voice suddenly faint, like just the sight of them together’s forced some sort of physical affliction. “You don’t even know how fucking lucky you are.” 

“Actually,” you say, your throat entirely too dry, “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

(Let’s bring a fantasy to life, she says, so they do.)

It’s very nearly fatal, the two of them across the room and so gorgeous your heart skips out of time; strings slipping, drums off-tempo, the pianist must’ve ditched and left you hanging. Your brain can’t catch up with itself, can’t reconcile that they’re here and they belong to you - in and out of focus like any possible camera work wouldn’t be nearly enough to capture this - can’t work out the fact that you belong to them-

“Pull yourself together,” says Bona, though she can’t quite seem to pick her jaw up either. 

“Dude, I can’t,” you say, hoarsely, and leave it there. They’re speaking for themselves just by standing there, anyway. 

There’s Minnie’s bodysuit, that’s the first thing: all scarlet fabric and scandalous cutouts, tucked seamlessly into a pair of tiny, tight shorts. Cords of glittering rhinestones dripping from her waist, dotting the crisscrossing threads of her fishnets. Strappy heels and shimmering jewelry wrapped snugly around her neck, something of a choker, something you’d die to hook your fingers in and tug on. She fits the aesthetic like it was made for her, every part of her perfectly arranged, tailored brilliantly. And Yuqi - all you can comprehend is the latticing detail of her stockings, everything trimmed in tantalizing black lace, the telltale straps of a garter belt. Dolled up in black, sweetheart neckline strategically low, skirt skimpy and primed to tease. Her boots, platform and buckled and beat-up leather, sending the whole look a touch theme-inaccurate, marvelously off-beat. It’s all about the details, the barely tamed wildness of her hair, nails blunt and black lacquer chipping, rough in all the right places. And it’s so completely her. 

You’re sure the entire place is staring. The room almost glitters around them, the scenery a perfect backdrop. Forget every single side character, every winding plot - it’s all leading up to the two of them walking in like this, side by side. That’s it. Nothing else matters. Cut it there. 

But you can’t - because you spot the exact moment the two of them see you, too.

You see Minnie’s mouth form your name even all the way across the dim club, her smile - lopsided, lovely - stunningly at odds with the allure of her outfit, her sultry sex appeal. Yuqi sees the look on your face and her mouth curls into a brilliantly red smirk, raises her eyebrows, aware of exactly what they’re both doing to you. 

It’s hypnotizing, the sight of it. They could have the entire room in the palm of their hand, but they’re only looking at you. 

Minnie says something you can’t hear over the music, waves one arm in a broad, indiscernible gesture. “What?” you say back, but then you notice the camera she’s holding - the one Miyeon gave to her for her birthday. Beside her, Yuqi puts a hand on her hip, mimes pouting and posing. 

Right. You throw your head back, laugh out loud, and that’s right when Minnie takes the shot. 

(She’s been taking them of Yuqi all night, you’ll learn later - while getting ready, in the car on the way here, outside the club. You’ll see it all after this, her blonde hair almost blown out, images soft at the corners. She’ll look inhumanly beautiful, like something magical, ethereal. God, Minnie will tell her, cycling through the photos, you’re so fucking gorgeous - and you’ll agree, slack-jawed and struck dumb.

Maybe, Yuqi will say, but don’t you get it? It’s me through your eyes, your point of view. She’ll take a look at herself on camera and laugh. I look prettiest when you’re the one photographing me. Do you understand? she’ll be asking, wonderingly. Could you possibly?

Oh, and you do. Love and art. Love and creation. Love and how it shapes the way you see the world, bit by bit, until you realize it - take a look around: you live a life full of beautiful things. You’ve got so much to be grateful for.) 

You’re barely ready, and it’s surely not flattering, but they’re both grinning at you anyway, so pleased with themselves. You, through their point of view, like the best you’ve ever been. An epilogue - maybe that’s not accurate at all, then. Maybe it’s all just a preview: a marker of everything that’ll come later. Sequel after sequel after sequel. 

(In twenty minutes they’ll both be up on that stage. Singing the song Yuqi wrote, the two of them sneaking glances at each other on opposite sides of the stage, catching your eye by the bar, in the crowd. Give them a little longer and they’ll both be running off the stage in record time, right into your arms - Yuqi will be complaining about a chord Minnie flubbed, Minnie will kiss her until she shuts up - and it’ll be a moment you’ll get to replay again, and again, and again. Every concert, every coming birthday, every moment, second, scene. Every night you’re gonna grin, and kiss them, and let them take you home. 

You’ve got a love that’ll keep coming back around, in the end. Forget the classics, forget convention - you’d be so repressed having one type and sticking to it. You’d be bored to fucking tears without the two of them by your side.)

But that’s all what’s to come. That, and so much more. 

For now, you watch as Minnie and Yuqi walk over to you, both of them trying to talk over each other at once - something about Minnie accidentally burning the side Yuqi’s neck with a curling iron; no, it’s not a fucking hickey, when has she ever tried to hide those - but all you can do is stare. 

“Hi,” you say, dumbly, smiling like an idiot.

“You’re such an idiot,” says Yuqi, predictably, her hip bumping Minnie’s.

“Hey,” Minnie says, beaming back, just as predictably, and it’s a start. It’s a step. A photo in a frame, cataloging your future in a single snapshot. The way she moves forward and loops her arms around your neck, and Yuqi wriggles close to her side, unwilling to ever be left out. 

“Oh, wow,” says Bona, who you’d honestly forgotten was even standing there. “You guys are nuts.” 

And you get exactly what she means. You’re obsessed with each other and you’re not shy about it. You’ll bicker as often as you’ll fuck, in private, in public. You’ll be fielding queries about the logistics for a while - the three of you? people will say, pulling faces. How? When? Wondering how you turned a habit into a home, a safe place to keep your heart. 

“Fuck off,” says Yuqi, muffled by Minnie’s hair. “Jealousy is a disease, bitch.” 

“I’m serious,” says Bona, but she’s smiling now. “And - Soyeon’s already in the back asking for you guys, by the way. She sent me out here to get you.”

It’s a lead-in, a prompt: wrap it up. Get it all out; you’re in the home stretch. A quip, a grin, a glance. A hard cut to a happy ending. This is the story you’ve got. 

“Well?” says Yuqi to you, eyes narrowing. Affection tilts her mouth. She’ll always let sincerity bleed through, when it’s all said and done. “Any last words before we go on?” 

She says it like she’s about to kill you; she’s gorgeous enough to get away with it. Minnie’s giggling openly, lacing her fingers through yours. They look like they could get anything they’d ever wanted and then some. Like they’re about to be put on pedestals and surrounded by snapping cameras, nosy paparazzi searching for a way behind the scenes, a glimpse of a masterpiece in the making. Them through your eyes, extraordinary in every light, every angle. That’s the thing about all the greatest movies, all your best narratives, love behind a careful lens: there’s always something new to discover. 

Fine: you’ll learn, then. You’ll stick around to see. It’s the story you’ve got - oh, and isn’t it a wonderful one. 

“Break a leg,” you tell them, laughing, and let it all fade to black. 

-

happy very very late bday to minnie! also one of these days i will write a smut that is not actually a love story in disguise but today is not that day <3

#kpop smut #kpop fanfic #kpop fluff #kpop fanfiction #idol x male reader #idol x reader #reader insert #male reader #idol x idol #minnie smut #yuqi smut #gidle smut

[soleminisanction]

The thing I keep coming back to, now that I've wrapped up the first part of "Batgirl, Repentant" and am starting to outline the second, is how much the book's hyper-focus on Steph hamstrings the story I think they're trying to tell.

I say I think because obviously I can't read the writers' minds so for all I know they taped the random lip service about hope and justice and fighting for the little guys onto the Stephanie-love-fest in a half-assed response to criticism, but I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that when the first arc ends with:

And that gets followed up two issues later with Steph telling Damian:

I want to take them at their word that that's what they're going for. But it's not the story they tell at all because, for all the lip service paid, there's not a single plot point that actually backs those themes up. Every single narrative element is instead 100% oriented around Stephanie, her feelings, her desires, and her ambitions, none of which involve helping or protecting other people.

Batgirl's first appearance in issue 1 isn't about bringing hope or protecting anybody, it's about, "Ooooh, who is this mysterious new Batgirl who's such a badass but looked down on by The Man for being a little chaotic? Ta-da, it's Stephanie Brown!!"

When she talks about promises being made to her mom (by which of course I mean lies, she's just lying to her mother) or the supposed "promise" she didn't actually make to Tim Drake, it's all framed as unreasonable expectations that other people are piling onto Steph's shoulders, without so much as a second thought for how the person she supposedly made these promises to might feel.

When Cass leaves her the Batgirl costume, it's not with requests to carry on the legacy or protect Gotham in her absence or even to look out for Barbara, it's all about Cass's relationship with Bruce (as though that was ever her motivation!) and then "Now the fight is yours, Stephanie" while she vanishes into the rain in her underwear. Like Batgirl is a toy she's letting Steph have her fair turn with now that she doesn't want to play anymore.

When Steph thinks about the symbolism of the Bat and of Batgirl, it's not about how it can be a symbol of hope and protection in the darkness of Gotham, it's about how it makes her feel powerful. Even when she worries about messing up it's framed as, "Nothing I do ever ends well" and "It's just a matter of time before I get caught," not concerns about the harm her previous attempts that "didn't end well" wound up doing to other people.

And despite the fact that there's a riot going on in the next few pages, she's not inspired to go out and help with that, but to assist a single dumbass cop who got in over his head.

And then again when Babs shows up to chew her out in the next issue, it's all about Steph and her safety. "You already died" this and "You have a death wish" that. Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, only gets to talk about the symbolism of Batgirl as it relates to Stephanie Brown -- "Wearing that Bat on your chest might scare off the smaller thugs, but you're literally asking, no, begging for attention from more dangerous criminals. You're a mark for anyone who wants to make theirs."

Again, even the fact that she fucked up in the past and hurt people is framed around Steph -- "The last time you tried being helpful, you accidentally brought Gotham to its knees." And while Steph pays lip service to "doing this instead of sleeping" because she "thinks it's right," she doesn't ever elaborate on what exactly is "the right thing" she thinks she's doing, and it's not like she's gone out to protect people. You can't even argue, like you maybe could with the street race, that she's doing a flashy display to show ordinary people there's someone on their side -- she's beating up random goons in an isolated chop-shop.

Then of course there's the fact that nothing about Scarecrow's whole Thrill plot makes any sense because he's not being written with any kind of coherent villain motivation, it's all just being done to set up moments for Steph. Why do some of his goons decide to spike the punch at a random college party and then run away at just the right moment to make themselves look as suspicious as possible? Because Stephanie's going to be there and they need to hook her into that plot.

And when Steph argues with Babs later about why they should work together to solve this case, does she express concern about her classmates or her university, or even point out that Barbara isn't working with an on-the-street agent like she has in the past and hey, maybe you'd be a little less stressed if you had someone to share the load?

Nope. It's just "I'm just as much a part of it now as you are!"

To say nothing of my eternal, teeth-grinding frustration over Barbara's characterization. "I'm only being so hard on her because I'm jealous that she's Batgirl and I'm not anymore." Fuck all the way off, Bryan Q. Miller.

This whole thing is so bad that when you get to the climax of this arc -- when they've tracked Scarecrow and his goons to their creepy hospital lair -- the stakes aren't that anyone is in danger, or that there's any chance that Scarecrow might be able to escape in the next five minutes before the police arrive. In fact, if Steph's actual motivation was to make sure Scarecrow saw justice, it would've been a better strategy for her to stay outside watching the exits so she could jump him if he tried to make a run for it.

But she doesn't do that. Because the actual stakes for the climax of the first arc are that if she doesn't swing in and beat the shit out of Scarecrow right the fuck now, the police will beat her to it and then Stephanie won't get the credit for saving the day.

They even try to clumsily raise the stakes by implying that Scarecrow works for Black Mask, a plot point that goes absolutely nowhere because -- whoopsie -- Black Mask is dead at this point and has been since before Steph came back to life. He only ever showed up again as a Black Lantern in Blackest Night, at which point Ivy fed him to a plant.

(They did not fix this in the trade paperback version BTW, I checked)

There's some effort to turn Steph's fight with Scarecrow into something more by having him spout some weird nonsense about how he's controlling people with drugs because, "Nobody truly has a choice little girl" while she represents free will fighting back against attempts to take it away, but that's seriously hamstrung by the fact that writing is all over the place.

Like, at the start of Steph's big dramatic speech, she's all but arguing against the concept of free will, echoing an earlier classroom discussion I've bitched about before, saying that people (by which of course she actually means herself) stay when things get tough "Because we don't know how to do anything else."

But on the very next page she poses the question again and answers it with... frankly complete nonsense.

Because the point isn't actually 'control vs. free will', the whole thing -- all of the forced, misunderstood philosophy that fills out this entire arc -- is actually just repeating the same question Babs was asking earlier, this time in metaphor -- why does Stephanie keep throwing herself into danger, why doesn't she just quit?

And her answers, apparently, are, "because this is who I want to be" and "because I don't know how do anything else." Neither of which spare even a passing thought for anyone but herself, which is kind of a problem if you're trying to present Batgirl's mission statement as bringing hope to the people around her.

Then there's the bit about "facing your worst self," which refers to slightly before this, when Scarecrow drugs Steph with Thrill (a move that makes no sense in-universe because again, Scarecrow is only here to set up set pieces for Stephanie and has zero internal logic of his own). What Steph sees during that sequence is her ex-boyfriend and previous identity tearing her down and telling her that she's not good enough to be a superhero, which implies that her 'worst self' is self-doubt, or possibly "letting other people make you doubt yourself." Again -- all about her, with other people framed as nothing but obstacles to her happiness.

And just to remind you-- she has no actual reason to be here. She's not "saving the city," the city is not under threat. She's not doing anything heroic by throwing herself into this fight. She's only doing this because she wanted the credit for saving the day. That's the only stake the story ever establishes.

It's like there's this standing assumption that she must obviously want to be superhero for selfless reasons, therefore they don't need to bring that up ever and can just focus on how much she wants to be one and how noble it is that she's willing to fight through pain and hardship to be one.

But that's just not how it works? Maybe if you were still writing for the Golden Age when the storytelling was simpler and characterization was optional, but not in 2009. Part of the purpose of a solo book's first arc is to establish/re-establish the core hero's motivation and, if it's changed, explain how and why.

Just as a contemporary example -- Red Robin sends Tim Drake off on what's literally a personal quest and spends its first arc establishing how he's darker and more alone than he's ever been before... but it still opens with him rescuing a kidnapping victim, reaffirming that, whatever he's going through and whatever he has to do to accomplish his goal, he's still, at heart, a hero who will put his own needs aside to protect an innocent. That's also the role that Tam Fox essentially plays in the second arc, giving him someone to protect even when he's isolated from the normal push and pull of the DCU.

Whether you're approaching Batgirl (2009) as a new reader who's never met Steph before in your life, or as someone who read her previous material, there is nothing in this first arc, or those that follow, that establishes her motivation beyond, "I want to be Batgirl and I won't let anyone tell me no." She'll occasionally say she's being selfless and heroic, but it's not backed up by her actions or her thoughts.

Perhaps the most blatant self-contained example of this "It's all about Stephanie and obviously she's a perfectly selfless hero so we don't need to bother establishing it," mindset comes in the denouncement of the first arc. They recreate the vow in the dark -- not the most iconic scene in Batman history but still one that's well-known, a moment that goes all the way back to the first appearance of Robin, when Dick and Bruce vowed an "undying oath" to fight together against crime and corruption and never to swerve from the path of righteousness, symbolically committing themselves to act as a light in the darkness and protectors of the innocent.

Batgirl (2009) recreates this scene... by having Barbara vow to support Stephanie Brown and only Stephanie Brown in everything that she does "for as long as she wants it" so she "won't go out alone" and end up in a chair like Babs did. Meanwhile, Steph's response boils down to, "Oh yeah totes me too," because, according to the book, she doesn't need to take an oath, it's just completely self-evident that she's already made her right choice and will obviously continue to do the same forever and ever, no doubt about it.

Two extra little details scattered throughout:

Through the entire series, Steph is constantly doing this obnoxious humble-brag thing of, "I'm Stephanie Brown, and I'm just a normal girl tee-hee" over images of her doing badass Batgirl things that are obviously supposed to be ironic, and she always uses her full name. The trade paperback version is literally called, "Batgirl: Stephanie Brown" because there's nothing else to say about this story. Tim Drake: Robin didn't use his full name this much and it was actually in the title.

And that's not even getting into how often they waste entire pages on splash images of just... Stephanie. Not Stephanie doing anything special, just, Stephanie, and we're supposed to be very awed and impressed by her because she's Stephanie Brown and she's Batgirl now wowie wow wow.

That one tiny little caption box in the upper-left corner of the last page of the storyline? That's literally the first and only time that the concept of "Batgirl makes sure everyone gets home to see tomorrow" is ever mentioned.

This his is all just the first storyline. This same pattern continues on into the rest of the book, only getting worse as they add in other Batfamily member guest-stars for Steph to show up and prove wrong, and stock civilians who do nothing but shower her with praise and adoration. The tiny little sprinkles they offer up of, "Oh yeah I'm doing this to bring hope to the people of Gotham!!" just don't compare to deluge of "Steph gets to be Batgirl because she wants to be Batgirl, that makes her the coolest motherfucker on the planet, and if you disagree you must be sexist."

---

TL;DR (and sorry this got so long) -- Bryan Q. Miller et. al seem to be either under the impression (or want to give the impression) that they're telling the story of Stephanie Brown, the plucky young girl who never gave up on her dream of being a superhero no matter the haters or setbacks she faced, and how seeing her succeed despite being so average and relatable inspires other average people to have hope and fight for a better tomorrow.

But the story they actually tell is of Stephanie Brown, a teenage girl utterly obsessed with becoming a superhero to the exclusion of all else, including her own well-being, future, and relationships with her friends and family, apparently just because she likes the way it makes her feel, has no self-control and can't imagine herself doing anything else, who is applauded and cheered for this by everyone she meets, save for a small handful of haters who are just there to be proven wrong, beaten up, or both.

The first could've been a good-ish story -- ish, because it doesn't actually engage with Steph's previous characterization, but that's a different post -- but it's just not the story they told.

#stephanie brown #batgirl #batgirl 2009 #batgirls #dc comics #dc #batman #meta #comics meta #barbara gordon #cassandra cain #hmmmm I wound up spending all day on this whoops #ah well it was a sick day and I needed to get it out of my head #there are worse reasons not to move for eight hours

[typicalopposite]

*paces the room*

So I just finished season 5!

So MUCH happened I swear going back to look at the episodes synopsis’ for this post I was like… wait that was in this season too?!? I stayed up ALL night TWICE watching this season because I just couldn’t turn it off! It’s crazy that people didn’t like this season (like vehemently didn’t like it at least on Reddit… BUT they say they don’t like s6 because its Buck centric and he “needs to be more of a background character” sooooo clearly I won’t read too into their nonsense)

ANYWAY this season is possibly one of my favorites! From the hackers the gps wrecks and tower scare, the zoo breakout (THE ZOO BREAKOUT OMG… THE ALPACAAAAAAAS! And Buck being scared LOL) to Jeffrey escaping and then Athena’s whole story line following! I was terrified for her and for Harry and ACK!!!!

Maddie’s PPD and leaving arc was so heartbreaking and frustrating at the same time! And I felt so bad for Chim (and Buck) and baby Jee!

OMG the homecoming parade crash and the mixup I was so Heartbroken for them! :(

Claudette… :/ hated her and her ending… but mostly her

Of course Lucifer (spn) shows up as an extremely bad guy but he wants to play dad of the year (ok the guy here at least is thinking of his kid more than himself… but still PARALLELS!)

MICHAEL AND DAVID! I hated to see them go! And that montage had me all teary eyed during one of my all nighters!

Toni’s little love story <3 and the girls from the oil spill! <3<3

Eddie’s panic attacks and leaving the 118 was so sad! But I get it… I also know he will be back because I came from season 7 *shrugs* so it wasn’t too sad, yanno?

I love that everyone still came together for Christmas tho, i was like poor Bobby and Athena </3

Madney reunion… sort of </3 but again…. I know how this ends lol. Also JJ and Kate reunion (criminal minds)

The kiss might be the one thing I truly disliked from the season because it doesn’t really do anything beyond being annoying.

WHY DOES EVERYONE USE BOBBY’S PAST AGAINST HIM WHEN THEY ARE ANGRYYYYYYYYYYYYY :(

Well I have a fear of sauna’s now (and stop signs… and exercising)

The mom that falls saving her daughters had me BAWLING!

Bobby and May’s relationship is everything to me! And ack I knew I didn’t like Jonah

I take back my original assumption of Buck having the worst luck. It’s Chimney. What the hell. Give this man a raise and a vacation… some amazing life insurance and some bubble wrap. How he is alive is beyond me!!

THE LAST EPISODE

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH <3

Toni getting married, and the drama about her missing Hen and Karen’s wedding. Buck’s face when Maddie texts Chim first. Bobby </3 was not ok, but EDDIE CAME THROUGH! And when he poured the whiskey out I was whooop whoooping out loud! THEN THE WEDDING I love Toni so much omg and everyone coming! PLUS no more Taylor :) hahahaha (sorry i just never liked her)

(Omg the maggots in the hair might have too the cake as the worst thing to happen… at least visually… for me)

SEASON SIX HERE I COME! You better be all about Buck like the pissy people on Reddit said you are! And y’all, send me strength for that mid season finale i have seen it dozens of times but this is gonna be different and I have never been so prepared to be unprepared for something in my life! O.o

#911 #911 abc #911 fox #911 show #911 spoilers #911 season 5 #911 fandom #118 firefam #bobby nash #athena grant #evan buckley #eddie diaz #hen wilson #chimney han #maddie buckley #911 cast #five days to the new episode you guys! #and I have a whole season plus half of the current one to keep me occupied

[discotitsposts]

true genius-

my actual favorite episode ever ever ever I’m SO INSANE FOR THIS EPIDODE

this is like the first one o watched on my own ITS SO GOOD

reid centered so yayy

this is how i fell in love w him

spoilers ahead

YAYYYYY NOSTALGIA!!!!!!!

lol typical making out in a car

DID I MENTION THISBIS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE EPISODE

FINN WITTROCK IS IN THIS TOO

the zodiac killer case is so interesting like wym dude never got caught

A FETISH FOR TREES

POOR BABY IS SO NERVOUS

ITS HIS BJRTBDAY IN THIS EP TOO

the cOUGHING

“yes a fetish for trees” HES SO AWKWARD I LOVE YOU REID

no he LEAVES NOOO

lol this guy runs a company

The way if reid was at a conference i’d run and be listening to every word

awww reid’s sad :(

rossi lol “no way” yes way

this is so interesting like how did bro get the original artifacts from the real case (i know how he did it)

reid reid reid!!!!

imagine if spencer knew how many people love him and write fanfic about him LMAO

he’d be a little terrified let’s be honest

but just a little

UGH EVERYONES SO HOT

“three can keep a secret if two are dead” i thought this was criminal minds not pretty little liars

i can’t even tell you how many times i’ve seen this episode

like this is MY episode i claim this one lol

CHESS YOUNKNOW WHO ELSE LIKES CHESS

SPENCER

bros playing chess on break

SPENCERRRRRR

lol enlightening

he wants the printed out version of the paper 💞💞

the way spencer just knew this wasn’t the real zodiac killer is why i was like this guys great 💞💞💞 my heart

AHHHHHHAHEJDJWBEWJWIROSOWBDBEKENFNF

IM SO EXCITED TI BE WATCHING THIS ONE

it’s so funny because i’ll be watching this show and this is my view

the barbie’s r like wtf

THIS GUY LYING ABOUT HIS COUISN

lol reid ended this guy

LOL

LUCKILY I GUESS ITS NOT YOUR COUSIN AHAHAH ATE

FINN WITTROCK💞💞

LOL his presentation

“your soulmate is standing before you now” is he talking about the lady or himself

i remember originally watching this because finn wittrock but fell for spencer/matthew instead lol

i like this detective from the local pd

“where do people find the time” lol reid

dr spencer reid i love your mind

“youre not as smart as you think you are” 😫😫😫💞💞💞SIR IM STUPID FOR YOU 💞💞💞

REID IN PURPLEEEEEE

OMG HES STANDING IN THE SUNLUGHT

y’all have to see this

UGHHHH💞🕳️🕳️🕳️💞💞💞

profile!!

REID AT THE COFFE SHOP STOEOEJDWH

dude has a detective board

lol he thinks she wants to call off the wedding

bro she doesn’t want you

REID NO YOUVE PASSED EXPECTSTIONS YOURE PERFECT I LOVE YOU

“How old are you 29,”

“I’m 30” NOOOOOOOOOOO

nikola tesla my beloved

emily lol

doesn’t he accidentally see a pattern lol dudes so smart

emily’s little smile lol

for he

god he’s so smart

the problem is i think i could understand the code and idk my iq but it’s prob not 160 or above

how do u even calculate that shit

reid’s face is perfect

the taxi driver, didn’t he kidnap the best friends wife from the back of the cab

i don’t think i made this very clear but this is my favorite episode EVER

i’m gonna fucking bite spencer if he keeps being so adorable

finn ain’t no angel in this

vegas!! matthew’s hometown

REID IN THE BACKGROUND

heTALKSK SO FAST I LOVENIT SM

mY leg itcjes

i also would like to catch the zodiac

REID ON THE FHAIR

staring at nothing

HAHAH

best friend activities

REIDS HANDS MOVE SO FAST

i need him now

aDmiT iT yOure HaVing FuUuN

i literally can’t get cozy

A CHESS SWUARE

listening to him💞 💋

no matches

doesn’t he plant a piece of evidence

yep

they found him

o love when reid comes up behind him

bro kidnapped his future wife

UEAH THEY KILLED SOMEONE OMG

it’s spencer reid’s world we’re just living in it

bro said “sanctimonious” wtf does that mean

“not really” 💞💞💞💞💞

the vest 😫😫💞💞

i don’t think harvey here is going to shanghai anymore he going to jail

SULPHURIC ACID dude that’s insane

LOL REID “i’m sure he’ll send you a postcard”

AWWW REID AND HIS COFFEE

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

spencer reid you’ve made the biggest difference in my life 💘💘💘

AWWWWWW HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPENCER

lol morgan the way he’s in his 40s now😭

awww him blowing out the candles he looks so happy

the end

MY FAVORITE EPISODE MWAH MY BELOVED 💋💋💋💋

#criminal minds #spencer reid #mgg #criminal minds rewatch #matthewgraygubler #dr spencer reid #true genius