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#the idea of what we could've been but aren't
remaking-machine · 3 days
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Little Voices
tw: blood, impalement, scars, amputation, sharp objects
Chapter 8: The Adventurer
(This voice does not sound happy)
A knight is on a path in the woods. And at the end of the path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is an adventurer.
He, the barbarian, and the doctor stood on the porch.
"So," the doctor meekly perked up. "You just walk around and search for anyone in every cabin?"
"That's the plan," the knight replied.
"... Aren't you... Worried?" The doctor raised his eye brow. "Any one of these cabins might have been just normal cabins with people living in it and you'll just be rudely waltzing in, but...
I don't know- maybe, that would be more out of place than it already is."
"Well, we don't need any of those what-ifs, doc," the barbarian said, even mockingly. "We're here to get everyone out of here. And maybe find whoever trap us here and show them our wrath," he grinned.
"I'm not sure about the wrath thing, but he's right," the knight reached for the knob and turns it open. "Let's just go inside and get the prisoner-"
"The what?!"
The knight flinched, the doctor yelped and the barbarian threw his hand in front of him as a voice suddenly shouts as they opened the door.
The inside is a mess of warped and bent wooden boards, with some of their splintered edges poking out. Actually, they're not wood upon seeing the shine on them. They're sharp, bent metal boards designed like they're wooden. It's just a bent table and shattered windows here. Oh, and of course the mirror is the only intact object here.
"O-oh," That's new. The knight looked back and asked the two softly, "I'm not the only who heard a voice, am I-"
They didn't get to answer when they heard muffled screams of someone furiously fighting against what sounded like chains on them, the sound bouncing all over the walls, making it louder than it should be.
Well, they found the prisoner and he doesn't sound very happy. His nasally high voice runs through the battered door,
"Hey!
I don't know who you are, but you're not going to keep me down here forever!
I'll break these chains before these blades get to me, you hear?!"
Blades?
"What do we do? What do we do?!" The doctor whispered in a panic as he cowers out of the doorframe. But the barbarian cackled, "Ooh, he's feisty. I like him.
Now don't just stand there! Say something!"
The barbarian yelled at the knight, who has to recoil and recover from the loud noises. Since he has the most protection on him, the knight steps in and shouted back,
"Hey! Calm down- We're not your guards! We're not gonna hurt you!"
The unseen prisoner below slowly stopped his struggles and has to take a few breaths from all of that. That seemed to do the trick.
"You're," he wheezed from the exhaustion. "You're not?"
"No, we're here to help you! We were trapped in our prison cells too!"
"Not. Helping," the doctor muttered under his breath.
"Oh, really?" The prisoner yelled back in retaliation. "How would I know you're not lying? How would I know that you're not going to do something to me if you get here?"
He's doubting already. The knight could've seen that coming, to be fair. But he never expected that someone would hear him up here this time.
"We're not," the knight called back. "We're just trying to help. You just have to trust us!"
"Him," the barbarian corrected, which confused the knight. "Excuse his shit wording and pipsqueak voice, he's a better people talker than the rest of us. Not that it's a strength we need or anything. Grk- Point is, just let him help before his head explodes."
Thanks. That is very rude.
"Oh! You want me to trust him then? You want to help for the sake of humanity?" The prisoner raised his voice like it's the stupidest idea he heard all day, even mocking at the last question. The chains jingled violently as he shouted, "Then stop fucking around and Get. Me. Out of Here!"
Okay. He's more rude than the barbarian. The doctor cleared his throat and he sternly asked,
"What's the magic word?"
"... What?!"
"The Magic. Word."
"Not now," the knight sighed. He really needs to save the prisoner already if the basement is that bad and this is not helping.
"Look," the doctor whispered. "I am all for helping the helpless, but if I were you, I would not tolerate such foul bickering from the likes of him. I could barely contain myself with Mr. Businessman back there."
"He has a point," the barbarian said. "Is that how I sounded like when you first met me?"
"A little. At least you have some faith."
"Yeah," the barbarian chuckled. "Even if for a little twig like you-"
"You know I can hear you, right?" The voice calls out, a little softer this time. And he sighed,
"Just get me out of here. Please?"
"Much better," the doctor sighed. "I think... That's your cue."
The knight nodded and stepped forward. But as he walked up the door, there's something on the table he had never seen before.
A golden key.
The knight just stared at it. So did the doctor. So did the barbarian.
"Was... Was there a key where we left off?"
"Don't ask me," the barbarian whined. "I barely notice the room!'
"N-no, I don't think so," the doctor said.
"You have the key? That's perfect!" The voice perked up below. Yeah, it should be a good thing, but... There was never a key in anyone's room. Not even placed on their tables.
"Well?"
The knight looked at the door.... Hesitating.
"Should we tell him?" The knight asked. This is weird. This doesn't make sense.
"Tell me what? What now?" The voice called out.
"Hey. You're the decision-maker around here. You decide-"
"Obviously!" The doctor cuts off the barbarian. "Who wants to be kept in the dark in a place like this?"
"Thank you!" The prisoner below groaned. The knight pinches the bridge of his nose.
He is surrounded by loud bickering.
"Look, just spit it out already, alright? What the hell is going on?" The prisoner asked, almost begging for answers. Right, he's telling him,
"You're in a basement of a cabin. We were all trapped in our own basements in other cabins. Different than the last. There... There was never a key for us in those cabins, so that's why we were so confused!"
"... What?" The prisoner asked in shock. "Wait- Were you in chains?"
"Yes," the three answered in unison.
"Without a key to use?"
"We had to break some chains and maybe our arms to get out," the barbarian said proudly, despite the grimace of the other two.
"Were those "cabins", by any chance, trying to kill you?"
That's an odd question with an oddly convenient answers,
"There were... E-eyes and-and arms eventually?"
"Mine tries to bury us alive. Sucker."
"... I know mine wasn't that bad, but it was still a terrible place to wake up in."
"... Shit," the prisoner can be heard almost whispered. The knight shook his head and swiped the key as he walked back to the door,
"I'll explain later- I'm coming down-"
"Knight," the barbarian teethed.
"Just stay put! You'll get out of here!" The knight tries the key on the doorknob. It doesn't fit. This is definitely the key for the clamp.
"Hurry!" The prisoner yelled. But the doctor stopped him,
"What are you doing?! This isn't right! What if it's a trap-"
"It's fine-" the knight turned the knob open, "It's going to be fine- Aah!" And he tripped on a protruding sheet of metal. The two watched as the knight tumbled down a warped, jagged, spiral set of metal stairs, along with the prisoner's surprised shout, before he disappears out of view.
The barbarian attempts to rush in, only to be met with blades sprouting from the walls of the stairwell. He and the doctor jumped back as they suddenly spread out of the door, stopping in the middle of the room. The doctor froze in fear but the barbarian pushed himself off the floor and barrels towards the blades.
----
The barbarian is thrown out of the cabin and onto the ground. He hissed in pain as he tries to get up. But he sees a stump of his right arm... And his right foot. He glanced to see exactly those hand and feet, intact but broken off like a statue. That's... Not good.
He disregards his injured body as he whips his head to the scream from the cabin. The doctor.
Thankfully, the doctor can be seen scrambling out of the door, a shard of metal embedded into his melting arm. The barbarian watched as the doctor stumbles down, ripping the shard out with a gasp, and throws it away to hold his arm.
For him, he can't tell if he's bleeding but the pain eventually goes away. Is that... A good thing? Whatever. The doctor turned and gasped at the barbarian trying to attach his broken hand to his stump. Disturbingly, he can control his fingers. Perfectly. The barbarian looked at the doctor, and sighed heavily,
"Doc. Do you have anything to wrap it up?"
Him? The doctor? He wasn't sure at his skill on it, knowing he woke up one day with no recollection, but after seeing the physically massive man this helpless, it's worth a try.
But he pats around his clothes to find nothing to make use of. Even so, wouldn't his ugly mass of remains he called arms just infect the stumps? He never thought he'd say this but,
"We're going to need their help."
And the barbarian never thought about them as any help at all. The doctor doesn't really trust the rest at all and the barbarian always believed he's more capable at this kind of situation. Now, they are in a terrible position and they really need some help.
"... Freak?" The barbarian looked at a bush, and the doctor got a little spook when he saw two white eyes under it. The survivor reveals his face with the crow skull, holding fresh leaves in his hands and some thin strips of wood in his mouth.
"How... How long have you been there?" The doctor asked, relieved that he brought something to make use of.
"Since I heard the screams. The Pain. And the silence of... The other..," the survivor muttered. The doctor wasn't sure what he meant at first. But then it clicks. Horribly clicks. As the barbarian in turn looked at the cabin, the survivor asked,
"Where.... Is he?"
----
Wake up.
He needs to wake up. Everything is dark and it feels nothing. This isn't good.
He has to wake up. The prisoner needs him.
Wake up. Wake up. Wake-
"-Up!"
His eye squints tight at the sudden voice. He struggled to flutter it open, as the bright, reflecting ceiling stings. Once he does, he felt a wave of pain flooding from his head to toe. While it burns, it didn't felt like they're jelly, so he managed to sit up. He looked at the stairs, fractured metal jammed into the walls. He swore they were moving on his way down. The room looked wrong. The ceiling looked narrower than the floor. The metal walls idly towering over him and the... Prisoner.
"Hey," the familiar voice came out of his mouth. "Are you okay? Did you hit your head?" Oh, he hit everything, alright.
The knight forced himself up to his feet. He sees the prisoner in a big, furry cloak slightly ripped and shed off of its hairs, with trickles of blood on the floor around him and the chains on his left hand. Alright, he's here to save him now-
But suddenly, a long blade springs from the cracks of the floor, and the knight narrowly dodged before it even touch his face. As he fell on his back, he tries to recover but another, smaller blade emerges in front of him. He tries to move to his side, but another pops up. Then another. Then another. They're blocking him.
As he shuffles away, he hears chains shifting. The prisoner reaches out for him but the chains hold him back, and in his dismay, he strained and pulled at the chains, his feet uselessly sliding on the smooth floor as he tries to run but is still held in place.
"Don't struggle!" The knight cried out. "You're going to break your hand. Trust me!"
The prisoner huffed in pure frustration and dropped the chains. Meanwhile, the blades slid back into the floor. The knight is not taking the chance and chose to back off, but not without standing up first.
The knight takes a good look at the prisoner. His eyes are wide with round, charcoal eyes. A tooth gap on the side of his teeth. Even his hair looked wild and fluffed up. Damn, he had been through a scruffle, hadn't he? With all the blades somehow sticking out wherever and whenever they want. It takes a hardened man to endure that.
The prisoner was staring off the distance while he catches his breaths when he looked and realize the knight is looking at him. That is one... Disheveled knight-
"Oh, you looked like you've seen better days. Were those cabins that bad?"
"... Yeah."
"Wait, how many cabins did you enter?"
"Uhh... 7, in counting-"
"7 Cabins?" He raised his voice. "Holy shit."
The knight looked down at himself and realized how... Awful he looked. Scratches, dents, dirt and now even sludge. Even the dent on his left arm still continues to give him bad memories.
"Is it..," the knight rubbed his neck, his face flushed as he looks away and hides his stained self with his cape. "Is it bad?"
"No! No, no, no, It's-" the knight looked up to see the prisoner beaming but stumbling on his words, "It's impressive! Like- They're like signs of a fight and you made it in the end of it! You must be really proud of yourself."
"I am more worried for myself than proud. I almost died."
"Well, at least you're alive," the prisoner snorted. "And you made it here! After seven cabins- I'm sorry but that is a lot. I don't even know how you survived falling down the stairs!"
Oh. He sounds quite the adventurer. Now that he isn't yelling at him, his burst of energy is quite infectious. It's almost encouraging. The knight flinched at the sudden brief sting in his head. He had to hold the endearing moment and his temple for minute.
"Oh- Sorry," the adventurer said. "Are you hurt, though? I watched you literally crumple when you landed here."
"Oh, my head hurts," the knight groaned, but really it's his whole body. "But I should be fine. I'll just get the key and get you out of here-"
The key. Where's the key?
The knight spun around and found the key near the corner. He must have dropped it on his way down here. He went to grab it and as soon as he reached down, small blades sprouted around the key for a second and he pulls away immediately. He huffed and tried to get it again, but they keep popping up. For the fourth time, he grabbed it and pulls away with a slice on his finger. It's small but it bleeds.
"That's new," the adventurer commented, leaning over to see it. The knight seemed to forget that even a step across the room only activates blades to block him. But he relents and runs pass it, only to be overwhelmed by more blades rapidly emerging until one knocks him off his balance.
"Just toss it!" The adventurer shouted, even wanting to help but he is shackled. The knight gets up, fumbles with the key and tossed it. But the room has better ideas and a thin blade hooks the hole of the key as it stabs the wall, leaving it sliding down to the opposite wall, dangling.
Well, that's not fair. But it's so close to the adventurer, he just needs to grab it-
He jumped as he felt another blade slicing at the back of his cloak again and the pull of the chains felt shorter. He glanced to see the blade hooked through the chains into the wall. It held him farther from his reach. From the key. From the knight-
"Oh, you Son of Bitch!" The adventurer screamed at the chains, his frustration more profound than ever, and he violently pulled at the chains again.
What is this place? The cabins before this were bad, but this one's cruel. It's fighting against the adventurer, and now the knight. Saving him is the right thing to do right now and he needs to do it fast.
But as he stepped forward, the floor shifts and it glides with the knight on it far from the adventurer as the room is quickly filled with blades from every direction.
It happened so fast. The adventurer froze as he sits with his back on the wall. He is crammed with blades, some cutting into his clothing and his skin. Any movement will cut him even more. His eyes darted around to look for his savior. He can't lose him yet, not like this.
He thought for a second that the knight is impaled by blades around him, but he is relieved to see no blood or punctures on him. The blades even... Bend around him.
The knight gasped as he moves his arms away from shielding his face, scraping noises grating into his ears. He survived but he is now trapped.
"What is... Happening?" The knight whimpered as his exposed fingers get cuts from trying to pry away the blades that trapped around his waist in place. This is the worst. They're going to die here if he doesn't get his whole feet on the ground to push himself out of this.
"I think I know what's happening," the adventurer croaked as he shifted his position to look at the knight properly. "Someone is clearly trying to stop me from escaping. And, since you came, now they're trying to stop you from saving me."
The knight stopped his squirming and looked at the adventurer. No, that's impossible- There was no one working in any of those cabins.
"Well- That would imply that there was someone watching us. Someone must be watching me and the others escape and did... Nothing!
So why now? Why did it had to be you? That's not fair for you, is it?"
Ah. So, this is really new for him. The adventurer sighed in disdain, more for the knight. This isn't fair for him, either.
Then he smirked, "Maybe it's because I figured it out. I knew that someone in charge here is planning something- And the cabins you mentioned just confirms that someone is playing on us.
Like some kind of a sick game."
"A game?" The knight clutched on the blades even more. "But I don't want to play a game- I'm just a knight! O-or at least, I am now..."
"Well-" the adventurer choked back. "I'm just a guy in an orstrich carcass, but the key? The blades? No. They want something from me. They want me to do something. And you know what? I'll play along."
The blades slowly slide back where they came from, giving more space for the adventurer to finally stand up and the knight to scramble back on his feet.
"Well, I won't," the knight sighed. "Whatever they are planning, I did not sign up for it. Neither did you. We have to get out of here."
"I am as eager to leave as you are, but it looks like we're not getting out of here without a fight," the adventurer grinned as he crossed his arms.
"It's not a lost cause, yet. Just get the key and toss it to me. It won't be easy but we are not losing to a living house!"
"But I'm nervous," the knight said. "What if more blades come out everytime I come close?"
"That's what they want you to think. Because you have already come so far, now they probably trying to scare you from getting close to rescuing me.
Don't. Let them."
Those three words lit up a spark in the knight. Of course. He has to remember his mission.
Don't let them win and let them keep the adventurer here. Don't let him die here.
"Alright," The knight starts to inch and bend his way around the blades that stayed stuck with his cape wrapped on his shoulders.
"I can do this. I won't leave you."
"That's it, show 'em!" the adventurer, despite being trapped, cheered. "We can beat this stupid basement. I'll even deal with the bastards who put us here. Mark my words."
Wow, that's three prisoners out for revenge already.
The knight scrapes some of his protective armor as he makes his way until he grabbed the key. Using his weight, he pushed his arm on the thin blade down. It bends until it snaps. The key slip onto the knight's hands and then another blade slice pass his cheek. The cabin seemed upset.
The knight tries to proceed but he felt as if his left arm was caught between something. The two blades managed to trap his arm, and unfortunately, this sends the knight into a rapid panic attack. When he tried pulling away, another sliced pass his plumes. They're multiplying as the knight is struggling with his arm and in his mind. The adventurer in turn tries reaching out again, as the knight is holding the key towards him.
"Mate- Stop!" The adventurer cried as the knight snapped back.
Recognizing that he is making it worse, the knight proceeds to toss the key to the adventurer. Just as he is about to catch it, another blade parries it down to the ground. He tries to grab it but the chains is pulled tighter and small blades pops out and back in.
The adventurer decides to use his foot and stomps on it, but the blades trapped him in place. Sure, his boot prevents them from actually hurting him, but now he is desperately pulling his foot free.
"Uhh," the adventurer nervously perks up. "A little help?"
The knight got over his traumatic reminiscing and pulled his arm free to see the adventurer struggling. There's no way he'll make it there in time through these blades. He scrambled down and crawls on the floor under the blades.
As if the room is now realizing how close he is getting, a blade presses on the knight's back to stop him. But the knight's hands grabbed unto the small blades to pull them apart to free the adventurer's boot. With enough wiggle room, the adventurer forcefully slides his foot with the key under it and he reached down to grab it.
Just before the adventurer could unlock the clamp, one last diagonal blade strikes close to his chest and neck. As it grows, it is moving dangerously close to him, hindering his free arm to reach for the key hole.
The adventurer presses back, holding his breath as the blade gets closer to his neck, until the knight grabs onto the blade, bending it as he gets up and pulls it away, cutting into his fingers as adventurer catches his breath and shove the key on the keyhole.
"It's over," he declared through gritted teeth as he unlocks the clamp free and it fell down as all the blades are sheathed back, leaving an empty room once more.
The knight backs up, dazed and sick, looking at the scratches on his armor and the bloody hands, until he is tackled by a laughing adventurer as the knight spun away to regain his balance from the impact.
"We did it! We won!" The adventurer exclaims as he dangles while hugging the knight tight. He hugged back, relieved that it's all over-
All of the sudden, a scraping noise is heard within the walls. It's not over. The two disperse, and as the knight beckons to leave immediately, the adventurer pushes him to the side before another huge blade could slice him.
Instead, as the knight is recovering, he helplessly watched as the adventurer fell on the floor, writhing, screaming and covering his right eye in pain. The blade slashed onto his face.
The knight tries to get up but gasps when he felt a sharp pain shooting up from his left hand to his arm. A blade on the wall impaled his hand, though the metal, fingerless gloves. Adrenaline rises as he tries to pull his hand out but not long before he saw blades from the other wall, aiming for him.
The blades thrust forward until heavy chains are tossed and they fell on the blades, breaking them into pieces before they can reach the terrified knight. He watched as the clamp is then pulled back and he turn to see the adventurer pulling the chains out of the walls.
His right eye might be shut close with a huge scar bleeding down his face, but the anger can be seen in his other eye, his tears, and his breaths. He roared as he swung the chains at the blades attacking him, then using the clamp to punch the bloodied blade that ruined his face.
The adventurer rushes to the knight's side. "Here. Let me-," he smashed the protruding blade so that the knight can slide his injured hand off with a gasp of pain.
"L-Let's get out of here!" The knight regains his strength and gets up with help of the adventurer as they dash for the staircase before the room is filled with blades.
The adventurer raced up ahead of the stairs, smashing every blades popping out and tearing at his cloak with the chains wrapped in his right hand and the clamp on his left. The knight hangs onto his shoulder, cape tightly clutched as everything is pointing at them, stairs shifting and shattering under their feet.
Just as they are about to reach the door, the stairs gave way and they both fell. But the adventurer hooks his clamp onto one protruding blade, sending them swinging and the knight held him tight as he turns on his back to the jagged, metal walls, enduring the painful impact just so the adventurer won't get any more injured.
The adventurer relentlessly climbed the chains until something is forcing itself from the door. Claws. Steel claws.
As soon as it inches a gap, it was swung open by the barbarian above, an arm and a leg wrapped in leaves and wood.
"Grab on!" The survivor beside him is hush but louder as he yelled, as the adventurer grabbed onto the barbarian's hand, his free arm around the knight as they are thrusted upstairs. There is no time to celebrate, as they run out before every blades starts emerging from the basement and into the cabin-
...
The survivor stayed still outside, clutching someone in his arms, as the blades stood still at his back. Okay. He's alive. What about him?
The survivor shifted to see who he is holding... The doctor. For a second, he thought he was dead until he hears his quick breathing. One of his glasses... Cracked. Not from falling. The blade. It almost hit him, the survivor thought. He could've died.
The doctor thought so too. He sighed shakily as he raised to touch his broken left lens. He's... Alive. They hear a grunt and turn to see the barbarian... Pulling himself off of the blades that strucked and slashed at him.
They left a huge gash on his torso and a stab on the right side of the chest. He shouldn't be alive, and yet he is. And he's not worrying.
The barbarian tiredly cackled, "Well, that's not that bad."
They were greeted by sounds of someone celebrating. It's the adventurer, triumphantly jumping around and pointing at the cabin filled with blades that sprouted outside.
"Ha! Yes!" The adventurer jumped as he yelled at the cabin. "Take that, you Bloody Cheaters! Screw you and your master, you sons of a b- Ack!"
Then the adventurer felt a sting of pain on his eye as he groaned in pain. Right. It took a number on him. As the three, despite the barbarian's injuries, rushes to help, the knight drags himself to the kneeling adventurer. He ripped a long strip of his cape and tries to wrap his face, but the doctor said,
"Your hand."
The knight doesn't want to acknowledge it. He doesn't want to look at it. But the wet, metallic pain is hindering him right now.
"I'll take care of it," the survivor gently grabbed the strip while the doctor pulled the knight aside. The survivor wrapped the strip around the adventurer's scar on his face who is both cooperative and idle.
The barbarian knelt down to the adventurer and said, "Oh, you've been trapped there for a while? Now, that is very dangerous prison. You're a strong one."
"Thanks," the adventurer responded blankly. "It's my will to confront the shit out of the game maker around here that kept me inside."
This made the barbarian chuckled. Meanwhile the doctor packed and wrapped leaves on the wound and around the knight's hand, stinging but it's soothing.
"Uhm..," the knight mutters but continues. "Can you please go get the others..? I... Wanna talk to him in private," he cocked his head towards the adventurer.
"Uh," the doctor raised an eyebrow for he really wasn't sure about the three, but knowing two of them are greatly injured, something has to be done.
"Fine. They'd better make themselves useful other that sitting around and do nothing," the doctor huffed but not at the knight. "Don't worry. You'll be fine."
The doctor gestures the survivor and the barbarian to follow him down the path.
The knight sat there in silence as he glanced at the adventurer, tired but relieved that he is free. Injured, though.
"... I'm so sorry."
"Hm? For what? My eye?"
The knight sheepishly scoots over.
"Yeah that. I- I thought we could at least... Leave with a little scratch or something. Not with an injury that could have been avoided," his voice trembled and the pain in his hand did not help. "Not with your face cut off like that! If only I was a little faster and- And-"
"My face is fine," the adventurer shifted himself forward to the sniffling knight. "It won't be that bad for long. You should be worried about your hands..."
He ripped a two pieces of his cloak with his teeth and continues the doctor's work to wrap around both of the knight's hands. They're soft and fuzzy, the knight has to fight the urge to squeeze them.
"Don't feel guilty for me, alright? You're only doing the right thing. And I am..," Silence, and a sigh with a small smile he continues wrapping. "Very grateful for that. Thanks for helping me down there, mate. I mean it, really."
The knight tiredly giggled, even despite the pain, "You're... Welcome. Thanks for saving me."
"Eh, of course. Anything to return the favor."
Something shines at the corner of their eye. A mirror, laying on the ground behind them. That's new. The adventurer curiously reach for it, in which the knight reached for his arm.
"Don't bother. It... Would only disappear when you touch it."
"... And then what?"
"I... Honestly don't know."
The adventurer touched the mirror regardless. Or rather, the ground. There is no mirror. This confused the adventurer greatly. He scanned his surroundings and realized the identical cabins the knight was talking about.
"... What the hell is this place?"
----
The rogue is intrigued but queasy watching the survivor dab a wet fur over the adventurer's open wound on his face. It's an ugly sight.
"Why not just... Let the doctor stitch it up?" The rogue asked. The survivor answered immediately,
"The other is more injured than this one. On his hands no less..."
"It's alright. Just give me few days and I get a hell of a big scar," the adventurer spoke blankly, but almost enthusiastically.
"Alright. If you say so," the rogue put down the make-shift stone bowl of water, barely deep enough hold half of one. "So... The cabin tried to kill you?"
"Bullshit, right?" The adventurer nodded. "I'd call it a torture chamber more than anything, as if being locked up in jail isn't bad enough.
"I couldn't agree more," the survivor casually mentioned, as he begins to wrap the drier strip of cloth around the scar. "I was trapped with an animal who was out to eat me. It was an eternity until I was rescued."
"I'm more astounded that you managed to survive that long," the adventurer chuckled in which the survivor's eyes sparked at that compliment. Knowing a bond is shared the rogue eagerly said,
"You know, I was in an awful cabin too! It's a small space with really big and constricting roots around me, but I did managed to slip out of my chains before the knight came in."
The two blinked. The rogue awkwardly sits there, smiling.
"Oh. How... Uncomfortable, honestly-"
"Okay-" the rogue caught on the sarcasm and waved his hand around. "It's not "deadly", but it's a prison- Of course, I hate it there. I would rather sit in a big, beautiful room like the other guy did-"
"You'll get lonely there, you fool," the slave- the guy in question- piped in from the other side of the nest. For a sad guy, he's quite a party-pooper. With nothing else say, the rogue scoffed,
"Don't you have a guy to mend?"
The slave said nothing and minded back to his business; holding the knight still as the doctor stitched his impaled hand. The rest are wrapped in cloth. The knight wants to watch the doctor's handicraft but he hates seeing the damage it was done to him. It's not just the fact the blade stabbed his hand, it's also the way it held him back, trapping him so he won't get away from his near doom. Just like last time.
"There..," the doctor muttered as he cuts off the string- a strand of the knight's hair- and wraps it up. "I know it hurts a lot but we have to keep it intact and protected- What are you doing?"
The doctor stopped the knight from standing up, so did the slave but only because the doctor did so. Though, he really want it to be over with.
"I need... To go," the knight, as tired and in pain as he is, sighed as he tries to reach for the helmet beside him. He's relentless, isn't he?
"No, you don't-'
"Yes, I do. I can't stay here while there are more-"
"You were literally dying back there- You need to stop-"
"I can't. What if they're in danger like him?"
The adventurer heard it and sighed. He understands the will to rescue but even he can see the knight loosing his strength. The doctor squeeze the knight's hands as he hushed him.
"You're not going back like this. Do you understand?"
The knight went silent. Reluctantly, he nodded. The doctor then said,
"Just rest. You'll save them when you feel better."
And as if on cue, the knight passed out again onto the slave's lap, who yelped. The doctor check the pulse on his neck and sighed,
"See? Just give him time."
"Wha- Why am I the one to hold him?" The slave complained as the doctor stood up. The doctor ruffled his white hair as he walked away,
"To give you something to do for once."
The slave slumps down and pouts. Oh well. He looked at the knight and just idly ruffled his hair. It's actually nice.
The cloaked man is actually the one mending the wounds of the barbarian near the camp. The brute in question is very cooperative, with the pain not as severe despite the size of the damage. The cloaked man just wiped away the blood until nothing is coming out of the beautiful cracks that the edges formed.
The cloaked man was watching the knight struggle and pass out. He can't help but... Hum.
"Oh, look. He's growing desperate. How unfortunate..."
"Get off his back," the stubborn idly spoke. "You can't stop him until he's got everyone. He'll wake up eventually and do this all. Over. Again."
"Yes," the cloaked man nodded. "Hopefully it won't be a detriment in the long run."
That sounded like sarcasm. A prediction. An... Anxiety waiting to happen.
The doctor puts the back of his hand on the adventurer's forehead, warm from the cold and exhaustion.
"What happens now?" The adventurer, eager despite this. The doctor sighed and shook his head as he adjusts his already broken glasses.
"Rest. All of you. You will feel better once you wake up."
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vvanessaives · 31 minutes
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yunymphs · 3 months
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𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 ✘ 𝐠𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐮
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❤︎ synopsis: your arranged husband’s idea of making things up to you is taking you to bed. ❤︎ contents: MDNI. arranged husband! satoru, fem!reader, heavy arguing, satoru’s an asshole, heartbreak, porn with a plot, somewhat heavy angst to smut, oral (f. receiving), dom/sub dynamics, fingering, cum eating, body worship, pet names, praise, aftercare, etc ❤︎ wc: 3.5K ❤︎ authors note: hai dis is the first time ive ever written smut or high intense arguing scenes pls be nice dankuuu ૮꒰ྀི >⸝⸝<꒱ྀིა tagging: specifically, @staryukis ! @elusivemoon @luv-gin @maeby-cursed @driaswrld @thomae @starrfacee @forest-hashira & so much love to my followers n mutuals , i treasure u all so close to my heart
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"maybe if you just fucking let me talk!" you yell at your arranged husband, stumbling into the front door. your silk dress gapes in front as you lean forward to bunch the fabric. your feet feel like needles, heels pinching the side of your toes with every step.
"like you of all people could've done that any better." said husband scoffs, following you in the door and immediately dragging a heavy hand across his tie to loosen the fabric choking him up.
his neck has felt like it had been suffocating all evening. through his sips of dry champagne that made his throat ache and the fake smiles he's had to flash the cameras tonight on top of, now, his arranged wife scolding him for a misinput during a speech in front of a thousand people.
gojo tried terribly to indulge himself in the champagne in an attempt to block you out the entire night, and he figures that his bubbly notes of crisp apple and pear taste better than your snarky attitude.
needless to say, he was exhausted and needed nothing more than to forget the outline of your face and flop himself into bed.
he’s surprised when you keep talking.
"i could've done it better, actually!" you retort, turning back at him just for a moment to give him your hardest glare.
gojo mockingly puts his hands up on either side, as if to say you got me.
he makes a stupid face.
you make one right back at him.
he sighs before turning, and you immediately clock him.
"and, where the hell are you going?" you ask, and gojo shrugs, not sparing you a glance.
"wherever the hell i can to get away from you."
"well, i'm not done with you!" you scoff, reaching up to grab his shoulder, "i-i've tried nothing but to be the best wife for you!— you’re walking away? how about, i’m sorry for being a shitty person?”
gojo turns to you, eyes piercing with rage, "we aren't even together! why do care if i walk away?!" he yells, hitting you right where it hurts.
"you don't like me and i sure as hell don't like you, so why do you care?!" he stares down at you, his voice booming, "tell me!"
god, and the worst part is, he knows it's wrong.
"tell me!”
he knew his words hit the minute your eyes softened, and tears trickled at the corner of your lashes.
a beat of silence.
"all i wanted was for you to let me have the microphone for a second— or you could’ve at least mentioned me!" you begin, trying to steady your voice.
"and you couldn't do that because you have this little reputation in your head that tells you that you can't look bad in front of the press? and what about the script we practiced?"
"oh, don't give me that. if anyone knows that, it should be you—"
"i’m your wife!" your voice raises, "whether you like it or not. why is it so hard for you to get that?"
"why is it so hard for you to care about me...?" you ask, heart aching with the drowning feeling of incompetence.
“do you really hate me that much…?" you whisper.
it suddenly feels like any progress previously made between the two of you dissipated in the solid four hour event.
"i thought things could've been different. i kinda liked you..." you murmur, the feisty tone completely dissolving into hurt.
you hated the idea of really falling in love or trying to make things work for the business.
was it nothing more than a fantasy?
gojo has always lived between two worlds: expectation and reality. he carves himself into a pedestal in the stone of the ground and deems himself untouchable. gojo remembers the times he put on a face for his business, when he tripped over his own two feet trying to make up for being handed the crown. chaos ensues, running a business alone feels like fighting two battles while his own sword is pointed at him too. he's always persevered and done everything for the company.
to be or not to be is the biggest question, but since when did he care about chasing after a dream that wasn't even his to begin with? 12,445 days of his life spent on trying to be nothing more than the most perfect successor. his silence is deafening, and he's trying to choose between his legacy and the woman who twists his heart in her very hands.
guilt nips at his soul, pinching it in different directions until his own morals snap against themselves like a rubber band.
you take his silence as an answer, quietly pivoting your heel from the conversation and him.
gojo moves immediately after.
he chooses.
"wait."
you freeze.
"i'm sorry." he whispers.
your heart tugs at his tone, and those two little words that mean everything.
gojo swore to never use those words again. his father always told him it meant vulnerability, and it tastes so unfamiliar on his tongue he thinks he almost forgot how to even pronounce the damn word.
your silence indicates it's not enough, so he keeps going.
"i'm sorry that i…” he swallows hard.
“i’m sorry that didn't let you speak while we were at the event. i just wanted things to be perfect," your arranged husband explains. "even if it was at the expense of you. i was an asshole.”
you turn to face him, and his heart aches in his chest when he realizes your tears fell. glossy cheeks glimmer in the dim foyer light. you’re even more shocked to hear his words and his apology.
"i know you want to be perfect," you sigh, "i just wish you considered... me."
gojo nods, his eyes hinting at a sense of eagerness and dependability that he can't verbally express. his heart warps inside of him.
why does it hurt him to see you cry?
“can i hug you?” he asks, his hands stiffly by his side as he teeters on both feet. gojo’s always known that hugs are supposed to make people feel better, right?
the second you open your arms, he forces a step forward and suddenly wraps his arms around you. there aren't any cameras around; he's hugging you simply because he cares about you. gojo's arms tighten around your shoulders, bringing your chest so close to his heart that it makes your shoulder blades ache.
it's a good pain.
it's quiet as he holds you, his nose pressed against your forehead as he takes you in. when you relax in his arms, gojo finally releases a breath he didn't know he was holding.
the two of you are so close and it makes him… nervous.
"i'm sorry" he sighs softly, mumbling against the warm shell of your ear. "can you forgive me...?"
he pulls back just to meet your eyes, searching for any hint of hope in your eyes. anything that could possibly tell him that you understand him.
you sigh quietly, "just don’t do it again, okay?”
“i won’t. i promise.”
“i'm not good with my words either. i can't talk at all sometimes." you laugh softly, understanding his struggle.
his glances to your lips.
they look so inviting in the warm foyer light.
"then don’t talk," he whispers, gently taking your face in his hands. his soft lips finally meet your own.
gojo kisses you like he's afraid you'll break if he isn't gentle. his nose prods yours, his lips moving against your mouth to create a harmony made of warmth and passion. he tastes warm and familiar, and for a minute, he forgets that you're the enemy.
he’s not kissing his arranged wife.
he’s kissing the woman he loves.
"gojo—" you gently pull away from him, "we can't do this."
"why not?" he asks.
"the two of us could seriously get in trouble!” you whisper yell, as if there are other people in the empty room, "what's gotten into you…? are you trying to ruin both of our careers?"
"i don't care!" he replies frantically, though he lowers his voice to keep it from getting out of control. "i don't care if i get in trouble. i don't care about anything except you and me, right now... please.”
he gently takes your hand, gently slipping his fingers between the cracks of where your fingers meet your palm. you can't deny you feel the spark between the two of you, it crackles to life and burns bright.
you know he feels it too.
when you shake your head, he continues.
"why can't we do those things? we're married, aren't we?" gojo prods, tilting his head to meet your eyes.
he's so close to having everything and nothing at the same time, and it scares him.
"gojo..." you sigh, head and heart at war.
"i hate when you do that."
"do what?"
"call me gojo," he frowns. "that's what business people call me. not... not you though, please."
your eyes widen, and he presses his forehead against yours, as if he's pleading. gojo feels you exhale before your shoulders relax, his thumb gently drawing a circle on your lower back in an attempt to win you over. it’s working, and you hate it.
"what happens after this?" you whisper, a glimmer of fear laced in your words.
"we'll figure it out." gojo reassures you.
"will you regret this— regret me?" you gaze up at him. your fear is met with his gentle nose nuzzling into your cheek.
"the only thing i'll regret is not choosing you earlier," he mumbles, lips pressed to your forehead. "i'm such an asshole."
"you are," you laugh.
"yeah, well, let me be a classy asshole at least and take you to bed and make it up to you." he tuts playfully, leaning down to kiss you again.
gojo groans when your tongue meets his,, his lower half suddenly feeling hot as you're eagerly trying to reach his lips. he can't deny his feelings anymore. hell, he's been holding them back for too long. all former boundaries and rules made between the two of you are being broken tonight.
"jump," he mumbles against your mouth, holding you by the thighs as he picks you up with ease.
your lips work against his, eager to taste every corner and crease of his mouth. he tastes warm, the faint undertones of champagne still littered on his tongue. his movements are gentle, increasingly getting sloppy as his feet try to remember where the hell your bedroom is.
just having you this close is making him lose his goddamn mind.
gojo stumbles up the stairs and into the master bedroom. he curses under his breath when his foot hits the door, earning a giggle from the deity whose arms rest on his shoulders. he hastily puts you down on the mattress before pecking your lips one more time.
you look absolutely beautiful, lips full and swollen from his constant ministrations.
"jesus," he whispers once he gets the gut to pull away. his body towers over yours as you gaze up at him, anticipating his next move.
gojo gently takes your ankle in his hand, lifting it and placing the sole of your sleek heel on his clothed crotch. even through the thin fabric of his dress pants, you can feel his hard on. the silk fabric slips down your lifted leg, sliding down to the plush of your thigh. you mewl quietly in response, face feeling warmer than ever after feeling so exposed.
"do you see what you're doing to me?" he whispers, entirely breathless as his eyes meet your face.
"satoru—"
"oh, don't look away now, princess." gojo chuckles, grabbing your chin while taking a clear look at your face, "you did this.”
"y-you're so mean." you whine, his teasing feels like salt on the wound. the kiss he presses a butterfly kiss to your cheek to serve as the temporary bandage for your bubbling sexual anguish.
"i know, i know." he hums, taunting you further, "i'm so mean, aren't i? i’ll make it up to you, sweetheart."
to his surprise, you nod shyly.
gojo leans forward, kissing the tip of your nose to thank you. he moves down, trying to memorize the curve of your elegant neck and silk fabric that separates him from his gift from the gods: you.
he kisses the soft shell of your ear, lips traveling down the column of your neck. gojo doesn't mind providing, but the second he feels your hand trail up the spike of his undercut before gripping the fluff above— he's surprised he doesn't cum his pants right then and there like a teenager. he groans against your neck, the sound resonating like a grumbling volcano about to erupt.
"you're killing me," he groans, his hands gripping the fabric of your dress. "can i take this off?"
you nod, gasping when he haphazardly bunches the dress at your waist before it slips over your head. gojo tosses it behind his back carelessly, and you laugh, grabbing his shoulders.
"satoru! that dress was a gift from your parents!" you squeal, and he chuckles.
he drags his pink lips against the lace shell of your bra adorning your left boob.
he’s going to be the death of you.
"i should've known. you looked too damn good in it," is all your husband mumbles before continuing down the curve of your upper chest and descending towards where your tummy ends and the line of your panties begin.
gojo feels his breath hitch, settling between your thighs. if heaven was a place, he's sure it would be here. he places a gentle kiss on the soaked center of your panties, heavy hands gripping the flesh of your thighs to keep you in place. you're so responsive to every little touch, and he's eager to explore the canvas of your body with the brush of his fingers.
"satoru—" you gasp, watching your panties end up tossed carelessly on the carpet as well, cold air immediately hitting your sensitive lower half.
he presses his lips on the pearl of your clit, eliciting a sigh from the angel laying in front of him. your husband dips his head, taking a taste of heaven all for himself with a hesitant kitten lick. you're warm on his tongue, and the way your back arches in pleasure makes his head spin. gojo feels himself losing his senses, overwhelmed by your presence.
he’s going to love you here, right here.
with his suit on still.
"s-satoru—!! wait–!..." you whine, hands going down to grip the softness of his hair in an attempt to distract you from the growing wetness of your cunt.
“shh, i got you.” your husband purrs against your inner thigh, lips attaching themselves to where you need him most. your back immediately arches in response. you feel him snicker against your cunt, and you’re close to slapping that smirk off of his face.
gojo shifts, grunting before lifting your hips. he grumbles, putting your legs over his shoulders and holding your thighs in place. your shimmering red heel dangles off of your foot, and your husband is almost sure he can cum his pants at the sight of the moonlight catching the color of scarlet leather.
he’s determined to give you everything.
"think i wanna take my time with you," he mumbles against your warmth, "is that alright, pretty girl?"
you're too far gone to refuse, replying with a trembling nod.
“‘s o-okay…” you pant, capturing the plump of your lip between your teeth, biting down as hard as you can to distract you from the soft, pink tongue bullying itself against your wetness.
he's enamored by the sight of your puffy, soft folds and the sensitive contractions of your clit. your husband hums against your labia, his warm fingers gently separating the sticky folds before he continues kissing and sucking against your pussy.
“mph—... can’t believe you were hidin’ this from me the whole time.” the white haired man chuckles.
"s-satoru...! hah—! please..." you wail, trying to shake off the iron grip of his arms holding you down in place, "f-fuck, 'sgood... so, so good..."
your chest heaves with every heavy breath, and your body relaxes the moment he finally relents. your husband presses an adoring kiss to your lower tummy. the orgasm was enough for your mind to convince itself that the man in front of you was your real husband.
hell, he was eating you out like you were his real wife.
“‘m close,” you pant, and he chuckles, a large finger prodding your entrance. gojo slips two heavy fingers into your pussy, chuckling when your insides clench around his digits, a heavy thumb meanly pressing into your needy clit.
it didn't take much more until you're toppling over the edge, crying out and trying to push away his eager lips— it’s no use, gojo’s desperate mouth attached itself to your pussy like a man gone mad.
you came early, and gojo prides himself on that.
“w-wait—!” you swallow hard when he continues scissoring his fingers into you, your legs trembling in a way that feels so pathetic.
it's unusual for someone as sure as yourself.
your body buzzes with electricity before finally you come down, chest heaving with every breath as he finally draws his fingers from your cunt.
gojo drags his fingers out slow, focusing on letting you feel every ridge of his knuckles and smooth of his fingernails.
you quiver, mewling quietly. you watch him wipe his glossy bottom lip with the fingers soaked in your milky essence.
he shamelessly reaches for your face, smearing the sticky substance against your lip. when you take his thumb into your warm mouth, he groans.
“dirty girl.”
gojo pushes himself up, his lips catching yours in a kiss once more. he sighs against your mouth, pushing you further into the mattress with every aching kiss. his lips taste tangy and sweet. his head rests against your forehead.
he’s pretty like this, lips puffy and flushed from his sloppy giving. his hair tickles your forehead, and he’s barely holding himself together.
the man exhales.
after a quiet moment, you’re afraid he’s already distancing. before you can question if things could ever possibly work between the two of you, his velvet voice pulls you out of your thoughts.
“are you okay?” your husband asks, meeting your eyes with his own— eyes that reflect the shoreline. gentle waves of memories and experiences in the shade icicle.
you nod, sighing softly as your legs find themselves nestling into the bedsheets. your body feels entirely relaxed from the entire experience.
you laugh when you feel your husband’s weight— he lays on you like a cat.
“satoru, you’re heavy.” you whine, earning a playful pinch on your behind.
you pat his back and shift, letting him rest his head on your chest while he delivers gentle kisses to your neck.
gojo catches a glimpse of the expensive dress laying on the floor, wrinkled fabric falling into itself. he laughs and remembers how desperate he had been to get it off of you.
your eyes flicker from the dress, back to your husband.
“imagine if your parents saw that dress on the floor.” you chuckle, running a lazy hand through his tufts of white hair.
“they’d kill me.” he grins against your skin. “good thing i don’t care about those types of things.”
your cheeks flush, and you're shocked at how a little bit of tension got you this close to him.
"you get on my nerves, you know that?" you tease.
“you weren’t saying that about five minutes ago.”
“asshole.”
“you love it.”
when you don’t respond with your own snarky comment, gojo knows he’s won you over— tonight at least. you’re too focused on quieting the hammering of your heart in your chest to acknowledge him. his hand trails from your breasts down your waist before resting on your hip affectionately. his hand fits perfectly in the space where your hip bone belongs.
you look lovely, perched on the pillows with bed sheets scattered around your frame like you fell out of a renaissance painting right into this timeline with him. gojo chuckles, leaning up to peck your cheek.
“how about a bath?” your husband sits up.
“yeah. you need one, stinky.”
“not for me. for you, idiot.”
you watch the man in front of you kick his legs off the side of the mattress, standing confidently. he slips his black, suit jacket off, clicking at his expensive watch and removing it without a care. his white button up displays his broad shoulders clearly, and for a minute you shamelessly drink him in.
“gonna run the bath for you, princess. do you need anything else?” your husband turns.
you shake your head.
things feel uncertain. what does this make the two of you? how does this change the current relationship? everything seems to hit you all at once. it's not normal to have relations with your arranged partner.
bath water runs and you lean against the headboard.
you try to forget how soft his lips felt against your own.
i’ll stand by him a bit longer, you think.
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© YUNYMPHS 2024 modifications, reposts, and translations of any kind are strictly prohibited.
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ozzgin · 3 months
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Yandere! Yakuza x Reader (IV)
Happy Holidays! Remember your plans to visit friends and family back in your home country? Scratch that. The Yakuza men have other ideas for you in this cozy Christmas special. And you finally get to meet their fearsome Boss, who has a request for you.
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]
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You stare at your phone in disbelief, rereading each line and hoping you've misunderstood the kanji. Daitou and Kazuya are quietly frowning behind you, unsure how to help in such a situation. Their lack of response only confirms it.
The brief paragraph is written in bold, red font: Due to weather conditions, all flights are cancelled until further notice. Passengers have been refunded and will need to repurchase their tickets at first convenience.
One glimpse at the last-minute prices and you're certain of it: you won't be going home for Christmas. You slouch and sigh, somewhat at peace with the idea. What else can you do? You might as well get yourself a KFC bucket and stare at the holiday lights in the city center. You and the couples taking cheesy Christmas selfies, who will later wonder about the gloomy loner behind them philosophically crunching on spicy wings.
"Don't look so defeated, (Y/N). You can just spend that time with us instead. We're not such terrible company, are we?" Kazuya jokes, trying to cheer you up.
"We could even go on a trip around New Year."
Your eyes light up in anticipation, the sadness vanishing almost instantly. 
"Can we go to one of those hot spring inns? I've always wanted to visit an onsen." You put your hands together pleadingly. 
"Whoa! Take me out to dinner first if you're that eager to see me naked." The blonde man winks at you smugly. 
"How would I see you naked? The baths are separated, aren't they?" You inquire. 
"We can't go to the regular ones." Daitou pulls his collar slightly downwards, revealing a fragment of his traditional tattoos. True. A yakuza would never be allowed among the civilians. "We'd have to book a private bath, so there wouldn't be anyone else."
You blush at the prospect of being alone with the two men. Kazuya notices your nervousness and is about to continue his teasing, but Daitou speaks before him, unbothered and oblivious:
"Besides, you've already seen me naked. I can tell you Kazuya doesn't look much different. There's nothing to be shy about."
The blonde man can only gawk, taken aback, and you shove Daitou in a flustered panic, fumbling to find an excuse or a change of subject.
He didn't have to make your business public like that, or he could've at least announced it without you being present. Judging by the blonde's speechless reaction, you're guessing he hasn't been told about your sneaky office smooching that led to the occasional sleepover. If you think about it, there's nothing shameful about being intimate with your boyfriend, but...It's not something you're fully accustomed to yet.
As promised, after the coworker incident you were soon greeted with a job offer in the neighborhood. When you went to your old office to discuss the mandatory year contract, the managers nervously handed you an approval for resignation and refused to discuss any details. You were free to go, no penalty or obligation. They had a fearful demeanor and you hoped Daitou didn't dismember anyone involved. Regardless of his means, you were now at the liberty to pursue other careers.
On the other hand, you were rather anxious about your new workplace. You had flashing visions of drug cartels and gambling parlors, with thugs rattling their drinks at you and demanding proper service. Windows breaking and masked men rolling onto the floor, armed to the brim. Ginza hostesses scurrying behind you and asking for help against an angered client. The night before your first day, you restlessly shuffled in your bed, plagued by second thoughts. What could you possibly do for the yakuza? What ghoulish demands would they prepare for you?
Daitou was the one to accompany you in the morning. He showed you to your desk, and you could discern the blurred frames of people angrily discussing matters in the opposing meeting room, separated by a large window. You gulped.
"They're building a new apartment complex two streets down." Your boyfriend mentioned casually, helping you settle with your belongings. 
"Huh?"
"Oh, sorry, I thought you were curious about their talk."
"I mean, I am, but...Is that it?" You gazed at him incredulously. 
"What else? This is a real estate office. Upstairs is the stock investments."
"Oh...Oh...I thought..." You were a little embarrassed. The imaginary scenarios of bloody battles and crimes that kept you awake felt quite ridiculous now.
Daitou seemed to have picked up on your assumptions, because he chuckled and ruffled your hair, following with an explanation. 
"Boss is very strict with our Ninkyo-Do. If you're caught with drugs or petty theft, you're excommunicated. We used to have a bunch of gambling casinos as main income, but nowadays there's too much pressure from the police, ya know? Half of our members aren't even officially registered with the Yakuza, so they can't be tracked. We mostly do stocks and real estate. That's where the cash is. 
Heh. Kinda boring, ain't it? I'm afraid you showed up way after the golden times. Even I'm too young for it. If ya want, I can ask one of the retired seniors to tell you about it. He has a lot of great stories."
You held your tongue from bringing up his frequent killing sprees and just nodded, amused by the fact that his code of conduct didn't register human casualties as wrong. The Yakuza have strict rules of ethics that set them apart from regular mafia. Depending on the Oyabun, or Head of the Family, this chivalrous way of living is reinforced to all members or conveniently swept under the rug. Daitou's Boss seemed to fit in the former category. 
Therefore your "office job" turned out to be an actual office job without the quotes. Although you were often reminded the people passing by weren't your regular salarymen. Many of them were entirely transparent with you, striking up conversations about their latest arrest, or complaining about the poor quality of their pinky finger prosthetic they'd ordered from the Philippines. 
But this isn't the time to reminisce. The prolonged silence is unbearable and one could fry eggs on your hot, burning cheeks. Kazuya is the one to break the awkwardness. 
"Oh, yeah...You coming to the Christmas thing this evening?"
"We'll be there." Daitou smiles innocently, unaware of the discomfort he just caused.
Kazuya raises his eyebrows in surprise and looks at you.
"Did you...?"
"Yup. It's all fine." The dark haired man nods reassuringly. 
"Then I'll see you at dinner, little (Y/N). Don't catch a fever with all that steam blowing out of you." He laughs at your still baffled expression and places his large hand on your head, departing.
Daitou holds the door open for you and you hurry inside. As you both walk down the hallway of the luxurious restaurant, you can't help the nagging feeling that he's once again omitted some vital information. 
"Can you tell me again who else is coming? Just Kazuya?"
"Oh no, it's a Family meeting. So Boss and the rest of the Seniors, too."
You gasp in horror, but before you can scold him, you find yourself behind the canvas screen divider, facing a table of older men in suits, holding their drinks and eyeing you suspiciously. 
"Oi, who the fuck is this, Daitou?" one of them growls. 
"I already told you before, (Y/N). My girlfriend."
"Huh? Did you seriously just bring a civvy to our meeting? I knew you got a loose screw, boy, but this tops it all."
Daitou frowns and steps in front of you, visibly annoyed. 
"If ya got a problem with my woman being here, I can settle it for you, old man. When was the last time you fought someone?"
"'s that supposed to mean?"
"It means you've gotten too comfortable sitting up there and barking orders. Let me remind you why they leave the killings to me."
The thick tension in the air is quickly dispersed by a loud, relaxed laugh. At the end of the table, a heavily scarred man with grey hair is clapping his hands in delight, seemingly amused by the events unfolding. He glances at you and pats a cushioned seat to his right. 
"There you are! Come join us, miss (Y/N). Ignore those rusty grumps, they ain't seen a woman outside a host club." He throws the instigator a brief glare. "Is that any way to talk to my guest, Oota?"
The man swallows dryly and mutters an apology. He goes back to his drink, preoccupied, and the rest follow suit. 
You hesitantly kneel down to your designated place, sheepishly peeking at the mysterious figure. Could it be? As if reading your mind, Daitou places an encouraging hand on your waist and lowers his head to your ear, swiftly whispering "that's Boss" before going to greet the others at the table. 
"I-it's a pleasure meeting you, Sir." You mumble nervously.
"No no, pleasure is all mine. I'm Eiji Ijichi, 8th Head of our Family." 
His introduction is unexpectedly warm and his easygoing way of speaking reminds you a lot of Daitou. The faintest grin threatens to appear, but you cover your mouth. With enough imagination, this could be the equivalent of meeting your in-laws. This is Daitou's family, after all. A criminally scary one, but nonetheless you've been welcomed with open arms.
"Do you drink?" The older man asks you, raising his porcelain cup.
"Naturally." You exclaim and lift your own cup enthusiastically. 
"Attagirl!"
As the night progresses, the men at the table are loosening up under the influence of expensive alcohol. Kazuya seems to be caught in a terribly involved conversation with Daitou and one of their Captains, gesturing dramatically and occasionally raising his tone. You notice your glass has once again been filled by the waitress and take another sip, satisfied with observing their fun from the sidelines. Boss has a similar approach, gazing nostalgically over the rowdy group of thugs.
He reaches for his pack of smokes and you scramble to pick up the lighter, politely bowing as you light up his cigarette. He smiles at your gesture. 
"I see Daitou's trained you already."
He ponders for a moment, gently blowing a cloud of smoke upwards. 
"You'll make a good wife."
"Excuse me?" You question, startled by his sudden remark. 
"It's hard to tell, but I'm getting pretty old myself." He snickers at his self made compliment. "Soon it'll be time to pick my successor. I have no children, unless you count that rascal I picked from the streets." He says as he tilts his chin towards Daitou. 
"I love him like my own kid, but I'm sure you noticed he's a little off. Everyone is terrified of him. You can't have a leader if everyone runs away from him, ya know? I was starting to get worried I'd work myself through retirement. Kazuya can only do so much!
Then he comes up to me grinning like an idiot. I thought, 'There it is. He finally lost it', but instead he asks me if I want to see a photo of his girlfriend. Girlfriend?! I was ready to witness some crusty body pillow, my hand was on the phone to call our Family doctor. He shows me a cute foreigner standing next to him. Now I'm pretty sure he's not smart enough to fake photos like that, so it must be the real deal. 'How the Devil did ya pull this one?' I asked him. Cause listen, I was rather handsome back in my day and I still wouldn't have been this lucky.
And would ya look at that, it's the miss that moved into our apartments! How's the living conditions, by the way? Everything going fine?"
You nod energetically.
"Good, good."
He crosses his arms and nods himself, satisfied. He turns to gaze at you intently, with a face you can't quite read.
"You gotta excuse a drunk old man for rambling so much. What I'm trying to say...well...
Take care of him when he becomes the 9th, will ya? If he has you, I'm sure he'll manage. But don't tell him I said that! You gotta keep them humble. See, that's a lesson for you too. If there's one person the Head of the Family bows to, that's his wife! But I doubt he'd let the power get to his head."
You both turn to Daitou. He just finished pouring more sake to his superior and notices your stare. He blushes slightly and waves, unsure why he's suddenly being observed. 
"I think so, too." You respond, waving back. 
How would that look on a CV? Ane-san of a Yakuza family. 
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verstarppen · 6 months
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summary; slowly but surely that fake dating plan you cooked up starts leaving its confined lines
pairing; mick schumacher x fem!reader [ no faceclaim ]
a/n; babe wake up star finally made a mick smau this demands a national celebration; title is count me in by they. because i was listening to it when this story idea appeared between my brain folds TW for mention of food poisoning and hospitals (comedic purposes) but if you're in a place where this might make you uncomfortable i strongly suggest you avoid this post and i'll see you for the lando series update tomorrow, take care
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ynusername favourite necklace
view all 63,029 comments
georgerussell63 I so desperately wish my ability to read would disappear.
ynusername you got us in this mess now suffer the consequences georgerussell63 I didn't do shit, it's entirely on your shoulders.
mickschumacher why aren't you holding them
ynusername no hand holding before marriage please
houseofwebber if they ever break up you'll see me on the news actually
eastcoastbearman babe wake up micky/n are alive
lewishamilton Embarrassing.
ynusername just like this comment
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ynusername took the dog out for a walk
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rothgothgasly stop calling me single in 29 different languages
albonite PARENTS ARE PARENTING
julyestie maman and papa
filipe3596 Hi God it's me again
setbackhamilttel mick the type of guy to say "i don't argue with my girl she tells me to shut up and i do"
ynusername it's true mickschumacher yeah setbackhamilttel THE LEGENDS REPLY!?
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mickschumacher visiting my favorite corpse
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ynusername EXCUSE YOU I CAN EAT SOLID FOODS NOW
mickschumacher i did that on day 4 get good ynusername sorry that my guts aren't as cool as yours mickschumacher let me rearrange them, then ynusername that was smoother than my throw up
mclandolorian HE ESCAPED
baconforza weren't you also a corpse like 2 days ago
armstrongslayer ARE THE RUMOURS ABOUT THE FAKE DATING TRUE
ynusername anything to piss george off
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ynusername if a doctor sees this for legal reason these are old pictures :)
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lewishamilton And to think this all could've happened sooner had you people had the balls to say what should've been said.
ynlantern just like a bowl of cereal that's been collecting dust for an hour, it's still delicious in the end innit lewishamilton All's well that ends well, I guess.
vertiddieenjoyer the only people on earth that can go on a first date after 12 months of dating
nandogoat ao3 friends to lovers, fake dating, only one bed, 294k words, alternative universe - europe, no beta we die like mick's career in haas
osc_pastry i don't think they realize how funny this is to watch from the sidelines
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pic credits: instagram and pinterest
blog taglist: @coffeehurricanes @iifloweringnightsii @jsjcue @lanando4 @fastcarsandshit @christianpulisic10 (hi besties hope you're having a lovely evening and you aren't also crying about the qatar quali)
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unclewaynemunson · 8 months
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I definitely think it takes Eddie a while to accept that Steve changed. He remembers what he was like in high school.
When Steve asks him out, for whatever reason, Eddie says yes. But he’s determined not to fall in love, because deep down Harrington’s still a dick. But he’s cute, and Eddie can smile and play pretend.
But then! Steve goes full happy relationship mode, he tells Robin (obv), introduces Eddie to the other adults as his bf, and is just generally being sweet.
MY SWEET ANON I HOPE YOU'LL STILL SEE THIS!!!
I'm so sorry it took me ages to answer this one! But I really loved the idea of this (the good ol' steddie + misunderstanding about what they mean to each other with a dash of terrible communication skills my beloved) so i wanted to give it my proper attention, which i didn't have enough time for over the past few months. Buuut the words have finally found their way to my keyboard so here is the first part of what probably will turn into a 3-part ficlet, I hope it's something like what you had in mind when you sent this ask to me <3
---
Eddie has been acting weird all day. Maybe Steve is too much of a romantic, but he can't help it: he wanted to celebrate this day. Exactly a month ago, he asked Eddie out. And it's been good. They've spent a lot of time together. They've been on lots of dates, spent plenty of nights together... But today, things are different, somehow. Eddie is different. He turned Steve down for a dinner date, he didn't stop by Family Video during lunchtime, and when Steve shows up at the trailer to surprise him with flowers, he merely frowns and pulls back from their kiss before it can even properly get started.
'Everything alright?' Steve asks, trying to catch his boyfriend's gaze – which isn't exactly easy with how Eddie is turning away from him to not-so-gently put the flowers down in a corner of the trailer's living room.
'Yeah, sure,' Eddie mumbles, not really looking at him. 'It's just – I didn't really expect to see you today. We didn't have plans.'
Steve chuckles, trying to get the tension out of his chest. 'Didn't know I was expected to schedule an appointment before coming here.' He tries to play it off as a joke, but the tone of his voice doesn't really want to cooperate.
Eddie finally turns back towards him and Steve catches the end of an eye-roll.
'I'm just not feeling too great today, alright?' It sounds a bit stiff and Steve pauses. He wonders if he did something wrong, if he somehow invaded Eddie's space – even though he has showed up at the trailer on countless evenings in the past month.
'What's wrong?'
'Nothing,' Eddie answers, a little bit too fast. 'I told you, I'm not feeling so well.'
And now that he can see his face properly, Steve notices that Eddie is indeed looking paler than usual.
'Hey, don't worry about it,' he says. 'I can stay to take care of you, if you want to. We don't have to do anything. You can go to bed early and I'll keep you company. I can make you some soup, read to you... You could've just told me you're not feeling good, you know. I would've picked up some fruit on my way over here and stopped by the library for you.'
'You don't have to do any of that, Steve.'
Steve tries to ignore the fact that it's been ages since Eddie has last called him by his official first name. He doesn't like the sound of it.
'But I want to,' he says instead. He takes a step towards Eddie, lifts his arms to wrap them around him – but Eddie swats his arms away before he can properly embrace him.
'Don't.' He sounds cold and detached, so different from how he usually sounds. 'Don't act like this is something it isn't.'
'Like this is something –' Steve echoes, completely caught off-guard by this turn of events. 'Like what?'
'Jesus Christ, you really don't know when to stop, do you?'
'What?' He takes a stumbling step backwards, driven away by the force in Eddie's words.
'We're not – like that,' Eddie stutters out. 'We're just fucking around, aren't we? So you don't need to pretend. You don't need to bring me flowers. You don't need to take care of me when I'm sick. You don't owe me anything, alright? You can go home.'
Steve takes another step backwards, until his back collides with the door of the trailer. He blindly grabs the door handle behind him.
'Alright,' he says, trying desperately not to let his voice tremble audibly. 'I hear you, loud and clear. I'll – I'll leave you alone, then.'
Read pt2 here (Edit: it's actually 5 parts now. You can read the whole thing on ao3 here)
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thef1diary · 1 month
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Little Big Fan | Six
— Little Big Gifts
Series Masterlist
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wc: 1.9k
You watched as Isabella tugged Max into yet another store with a tight grip on his hand. At this point, you were losing track of how many stores you've been in and out of.
Falling behind a few steps, you took that moment to notice how Max and Isabella could've easily resembled a father-daughter duo to the strangers around you.
Pushing that thought away when Max looked for you, he smiled and held out his other hand—that was still holding a few shopping bags—as a gesture for you to come closer.
"How much money are you planning to spend on her?" You asked, looking at the increasing shopping bags in both yours and his hands, everything bought so far was for Isabella.
You had to physically stop yourself from grasping his bicep, cursing internally when you remembered that it wouldn't be the right thing to do. But you desperately wanted it to be a normal habit.
The first—and last—time you tried to pay was when you were checking out at the register in the first store of the day. Max lightly shoved you aside and tapped his card before you could notice what happened.
The cashier noticed and even commented, "let him pay for it, darling," with a cheeky wink directed at you.
Max looked at you, almost offended at the question you asked. "Until my account is empty," he stated with a shrug and a growing smile on his face when you shook your head. This would've been the perfect time to lean against him and smile at him, but once again you didn't.
"It would take a long time before that happens," you responded and he gave you a knowing look, "that's the point."
Isabella was roaming around the aisles with you and Max following behind. Every time she liked something, she would pick it up and look at you two with the cutest smile on her face while muttering the word, "please."
It reminded you of the day you first met Max through Isabella, since she was doing the same trick as today.
The only difference was that every time that happened, Max looked at you for permission as well and it felt like you were facing two versions of Isabella.
"Mama!" Isabella exclaimed when she laid her eyes on the prize, which happens to be hair accessories.
Little clips with bows, glittery ones, some even had flowers, and she loved it all.
"Pick out the ones you really, really like, Bella." If you didn't limit the items, Isabella would pick one too many. You stood beside her, holding each item that she handed to you.
There were lots of options, but your little girl was picky and this was one of the few times you were grateful for it. She picked out a total of six items, "because I'm six, mama," was her reasoning behind it.
You chuckled, "you can pick out seven things when you turn seven then, okay?" She nodded, and began counting how many months were left until her birthday.
Max watched the whole interaction with soft smile on his face, wondering how he had such amazing luck that he was able to befriend the sweetest mother-daughter duo.
Then, Isabella spotted earrings and asked if she could buy those too. "Your ears aren't pierced, angel." She frowned, "why not?"
“Do you want to get your ears pierced?" You asked, knowing it was a question you'd have to ask one day and it seemed like a good time right now.
"Yes please," Isabella nodded, and looked at both you and Max in anticipation. This time, you looked at Max for reassurance, wanting to know his opinion as well. Though you had no idea why his opinion mattered so much to you.
"It's going to hurt," Max commented or more so stated directed at Isabella, wanting her to know the process behind it. "I am a big girl!" She responded with enthusiasm, and by the tone of her voice, you knew that she had already set her mind on it.
"Okay, big girl, let's get you some piercings after we buy all this," you stated and she smiled brightly, holding onto your hand as you neared the cash register.
As Max reached for his wallet, you placed your hand over his to stop him, and he looked at you with a questioning gaze. "Max, you already did too much," you whispered, ensuring that your daughter doesn't hear you.
"What if I want to do more?" He countered, and you sighed. Then he added, "plus I promised Bella that I would buy her the clips she wanted, and she also asked for ice cream."
You knew he wasn't going to budge, so you let him pay but you needed to have a conversation with him about it.
You weren't used to this sort of treatment, and even after Max reassured you that it was truly his choice to pay, you felt bad.
As you walked out the shop holding Isabella's hand, who was beaming because of the new purchases, you looked at Max, "are you going to let me pay for the piercings?"
He debated it, knowing that if he kept paying, you might never take him along for shopping again. "If you insist," he shrugged and you smiled, quickly placing a kiss to his cheek in appreciation.
While you and Isabella continued walking, Max faltered and stopped midstep. He brushed his fingers against his cheek that you kissed with a small smile growing on his face. Then, he continued walking before you were able to notice that he stopped.
Isabella's nervousness almost matched her excitement as she sat in the chair. The piercer was a kind lady who understood both Isabella's nervousness and excitement.
She explained the process as it was your daughter's first time getting pierced. "Are you sure you want to do this, angel?" You asked, watching her wiggle around in the chair.
Still, her nod was just as firm, "yes mama."
Once the piercer marked Isabella's ear so the placement was precise, she looked towards you and Max then back at Isabella.
"Why don't you hold on to your mama and daddy's hand, you'll forget the pain and we'll be done in no time."
Isabella grabbed onto your hand but then shook her head, "he's Maxy, not daddy," she clarified. Max took a slight step back after her words, the realization dawning on him that he might've gotten a little too comfortable too quickly.
"I'm going to hold onto mama and Maxy's hand," Isabella stated, holding out her hand towards Max with a wide smile on her face, as if she didn't realize the words she spoke just moments ago.
Technically, she wasn't wrong which was why you didn't correct her. But, the truth of the situation wasn't something you focused on until recently, especially after the words Tyler spoke yesterday.
"Can you count to three for me?" The piercer asked Isabella, deflating the tension.
Your focus was completely on your daughter, mainly because you didn't want to think of the possibilities about your future with Max just yet.
The piercer didn't wait until Isabella finished counting, instead surprising her by piercing her ear a second earlier.
Max rubbed her hand soothingly as he noticed her eyes beginning to water but she didn't let a single tear drop. Inhaling sharply, she commented, "that didn't hurt too bad."
"You're a brave girl. Now let's do the other side," the lady commented and Isabella's eyes widened at her words. "The other side?"
You couldn't help but chuckle at her words, "yes, angel, she has to do your other ear unless you only want one earring?"
Isabella shook her head, and sat through the same process for her other ear.
"Good job!" The lady gave your daughter a high five, then she walked away to gather the items needed for post piercing care.
You kissed your daughter's cheek, carefully avoiding any accidental touches to her ear, "my brave girl."
The chair she was sitting on was higher up, so Isabella held her hands out towards Max. He took a step closer and easily wrapped his arm around her, helping her stand firmly on the ground. “You're going to be the coolest kid in first grade," he told her which made her eyes widen with excitement.
"Really?" Isabella asked. "Of course! You got a new bag, new clothes, and even new piercings. You are going to have so many friends."
After Isabella shared her fear of moving to first grade after kindergarten, you and Max tried your best to reassure her that it isn't as scary as she thinks it is.
You went up to the cash counter to pay and the lady explained the steps that should be taken after a piercing for proper care.
Meanwhile, Max was holding Isabella's hand and whispering to each other but stopped once you returned. "Where to next?"
"Ice cream!" Your daughter cheered, and you couldn't say no to her even if you tried. After all, she did deserve ice cream since she put on such a brave face for her piercings.
After buying three different flavours of ice cream, one for each of you, it was time for a much needed break. You knew that Isabella was close to wanting a nap since you saw her eyes droop slightly once you sat down to enjoy some ice cream.
She leaned against you and wandered off into her own imaginative world. "I think we're done for the day," you turned your head towards Max as you spoke the words.
"You didn't get anything for yourself yet," Max commented and you shrugged, "I don't think I have the energy to shop for myself, plus you didn't buy anything for yourself either."
"And you're sure that you're not saying that because you don't want to spend my money?" He asked and you had a sheepish smile on your face that gave you away, “that too.”
Max tried to understand why you were so adamant on that topic. He didn't know why you were so hesitant to spend his money. He knew that if it were someone else, they wouldn't have hesitated. But then again, you aren't just someone else, you're you.
"Fine, mister rich, don't look at me like that. I'll empty out your pockets one day and then you'll realize what a mistake you made," you teased him, knowing that you would never do that. "But, I seriously don't have the energy to continue shopping."
"First, it won't be a mistake if I ask you to do it, and second, I'm here whenever you need me—or in this case, my card—just give me a call."
You were glad that Isabella was not listening to your conversation, because you wouldn't know how to explain it to her.
"You can't say things like that," you nearly whispered. "It's actually true, I'm free for the next ten days. During that, we're going shopping again."
You shook your head with a smile on your face, "I'll take you up on that offer then."
"Good." You leaned closer to him, without actually leaning on him. Even that little inch closer, brought a smile to both your faces but neither commented on it.
Then, when you looked at Isabella, she had almost finished her ice cream but you laughed when you noticed quite of a bit of it smeared around her mouth. "Oh, Bella." She giggled as she tried to wipe away as much as she could with her tongue before using the tissue that you passed her.
Taglist: (let me know if you want to be added or removed) @xjval @mrsmaybank13 @cherry-piee @urfavnoirette @solphin @burningcupcakefire @nessacarty1 @dreamsarebig @omgsuperstarg @fanficweasley @redbullgirly @llando4norris @wonnou @randomgirlnumber13 @dark-night-sky-99 @chanshintien @leilanixx @gisellesprettylies @peachiicherries @monsieurbacteria6 @67-angelofthelordme-67 @arian-directioner @distancedss @morenofilm @sachaa-ff @lighttsoutlewis @teamnovalak @casperlikej @sadg3 @d3kstar @lewisvinga @lpab @queenofmanydreams @glitterf1 @honethatty12 @drunk-teens-doing-drugs @its-avalon-08 @yourbane @oconswrld @noneofyourfbusinessworld @ssrcsm @softtina @hockeyboysarehot @formulaal @namgification @tallrock35 @bloodyymaryyy @formulanni @ellouisa17
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yoongiseesawmp3 · 4 months
Text
anything but - jeonghan
summary: roommate!jeonghan. you thought living with your best friend, jeonghan, would be easy. fun. like a sleepover every night. but as he watches you struggle week in and week out with crushes that don't like you back or dates that never seem to go well, he decides to take matters into his own hands.
word count: 8.2k
warnings: none rly, afab reader, unedited, sry
masterlist
jeonghan is ready to go to sleep. he had a long day, followed by a good, but tiring, night with friends, and he's been thinking about his soft sheets for the past two hours now. he's also been thinking about you, thinking about how happy he gets seeing your face light up when he walks through the door, but he knows he won't see that tonight. you're going on a date, dinner with some loser who's not him. he knows he could treat you so much better, but he can't just say that. things would get weird, and jeonghan can't afford the rent on his own. so selfishly, he keeps you and his feelings at arm's length. he's still thinking about you as he puts his key in the lock, wondering if he can stay up late enough to make sure you get home safe. when he opens the door, he changes his mind.
"what are you doing here?" jeonghan asks with a bit of anger in his voice, finding you laid out on the couch scrolling through your phone. "you told me you were going on a date tonight. did you cancel on him?"
"nope," you reply, popping the p as you sit up to stare at your roommate. "he cancelled on me. ten minutes before he was supposed to pick me up, actually, so i got ready for nothing."
that's when jeonghan notices the nice clothes you have on, your hair done up but mussed now that you've been laying on it. and, with a pang in his chest, he notices your makeup that looks smudged with tears. he knows you've been having dating trouble lately, and it's definitely been getting to you. but it makes his heart ache to think that you've been home all night crying over some loser who couldn't even bother to take you out.
"why didn't you call me?" he asks softly, joining you on the couch as he lifts your legs to lay them over his lap. he keeps a comforting hand on your calf as you explain, a slight tremor in your bottom lip as you say, "i didn't want to interrupt boy's night."
"baby, come on," he sighs. "you should have told me. you could've come to boy's night!"
"right," you scoff, rolling your eyes. "and hear all of them talk about their beautiful girlfriends and being so happy in a relationship? i'd rather eat drywall."
"we talk about other stuff," jeonghan laughs. "i told them about you getting us tickets to that soccer game and now i think they like you better than me. mingyu might be calling to see if he can take my ticket."
"never," you smile at him, sitting up and swinging your legs from his lap. "well, it's late. you're probably tired."
"eh," jeonghan shrugs, looking over you carefully to gauge if you're upset. "i could stay up a little longer, if you wanted to watch something."
"we're caught up on all our shows though," you pout. jeonghan sees an idea cross your face, so he asks, "what are you thinking?"
"nothing," you shake your head. "i remembered i didn't watch project runway last week, but you don't like that show-"
"put it on," he nods to the tv, looking over you one more time and noticing your clothes must not be that comfortable. "or you go change, i'll set it up."
"you don't know what episode i'm on though," you squint at him, and he shakes his head.
"nope, you're two weeks behind," he says. "i remember, because we went out the week before and you were ticked off that you were missing it."
"you pay too much attention to me," you mumble as you finally get up from the couch, jeonghan barely hearing you as he checks you out from behind. you're right, he does. too bad you haven't realized why.
when you come back from your room, you're wearing a hoodie that's seen better days and shorts that aren't quite doing their job. jeonghan clears his throat, trying not to stare, but when you sit down and put your legs back over his lap he can't help but skirt his hand over your skin, getting too close to your thigh without realizing.
"that tickles," you giggle, pushing his hand away. "you're annoying."
"ha, sorry," he laughs nervously, not sure what to do with his hands now so he reaches for the remote to press play. not far into the episode you curl up on your side of the couch, your knees tucked up beneath you as you lay down. jeonghan keeps an eye on you the whole time, attune to all your reactions and movements. he notices when you shiver, up in an instant to get a blanket.
"where are you going?" you call out, and he comes back wordlessly with the comforter from his room. he wraps it over you, using the rest of it to cover himself as he gets comfortable again. you find yourself dozing off, waking up every few minutes to see the progress on your favorite designers. you sleep through a whole section of the show, whining that you need to rewind, but jeonghan quietly explains what's happened and you're satisfied enough.
"do you want me to turn this off?" jeonghan asks after he sees your eyes closed again after you just complained about missing part of the show. you shake your head, not much of it visible outside of his blanket. you're noticing how nice his blanket smells, recognizing it as the same fresh scent that follows jeonghan around. it makes you feel at home, and that's part of what's making you so sleepy.
"i don't wanna go to my room," you admit shyly, feeling the tears from earlier just a moment or two away. "i'll stay awake, promise."
"do you want to sleep out here?" jeonghan asks, and you think about it for a moment. it wouldn't be the first time you had a little sleepover of sorts, both of you squished awkwardly on the couch or sleeping far apart from each other on someone's mattress that's been dragged out from one of your rooms. your silence decides it for jeonghan, and he says, "i'll go change, and then we can go to sleep." all you do is nod, getting comfortable beneath his comforter again as jeonghan slinks back to his bedroom to get ready for bed.
he comes back out and laughs to himself, your messy hair and scrunched sleepy face pulling at his heart. he knows someday he should tell you how he feels. he knows what you're looking for, and he knows he's perfect for you. it's just a matter of time before you figure that out, too.
-
a few days later, jeonghan was in the middle of a nap when he heard mumbling in the hallway and the sound of someone slamming doors. he was worried for only a few minutes, thinking it could possibly be an intruder, but as the mumbling gets closer to his door he knows there's a very frustrated y/n on the other side. he groans as he hoists himself up, shuffling to the door so he can peek out at you putting laundry away in the most irritated way possible. it's like you're trying to punish the towels for existing, and jeonghan can't help but laugh at the annoyed look on your face. it's cute, he finds himself thinking, but his chuckle pulls you from your dark thoughts and brings your anger to a new victim.
"what."
"nothing," jeonghan says defensively. "i thought someone was breaking in, you know, with all the banging around."
"shut up," you mumble, shoving the washcloths into the hall closet before slamming the door. you turn to your best friend and roommate, finger pointed accusingly, "i'm in a bad mood so don't piss me off."
"that explains the stress cleaning," he notes, and you ignore him.
"i'm going downstairs to put the dishes away," you grumble as you pass by him to get to the stairs, and he puts a timid hand on your shoulder.
"maybe do something that involves less breakables," he says coolly. "go punch a pillow or something."
"that's a good idea," you say, face lighting up slightly, and he laughs nervously as he finally asks what's wrong. "you remember that bitch of a dude who i was talking to a couple weeks ago?"
"gar bear?" jeonghan asks, and you roll your eyes.
"gary, yeah."
"what about him?" he asks, watching you unlock your phone and scroll to find something. you shove it into his hands, open to a very disturbing picture of a very ugly dick. "no."
"yeah. at three pm on a fucking thursday."
"stop making me look at it," he whines, pushing your phone back to you. "that's what made you mad?"
"yes!" you shout. "how did that thought process work? oh, this girl who i led on and then gaslit and then weirded out, she really needs to see my dick right now. it's the middle of the day! get a job! contribute to society!!!"
"why's he posing like that?" jeonghan asks, noticing more about the photo since you haven't locked your phone yet. "he looks so stiff."
"please stop," you say, but jeonghan sees a smile pulling at your lips.
"so what did you do?"
"i said 'what is your problem' and then i blocked him," you shrug, and he laughs.
"remind me to never piss you off," he says as he wraps an arm around you. "i'm sorry guys are assholes."
"i think i'm gonna become a nun," you mumble into his shoulder, staying in his hold maybe a minute too long. he presses a quick kiss to the crown of your head before letting you go, a blush on your cheeks that he takes pride in.
"you'd suck at being a nun, you're not nice enough," he jokes, and the way you glare at him makes him smile. "plus you fuck too much, aren't they supposed to be celibate?"
"forget punching pillows, i'm gonna punch you."
"sure baby," he chuckles, looking back at you as he walks downstairs. "you want food or something? i'll do the dishes. you just focus on not burning down the patriarchy."
"no promises," you mumble as you follow behind him. "but yeah, i wanna try this recipe i found the other day..."
it's over dinner that night that you realize how perfect jeonghan is. if only you could find a guy just like your best friend. someone who supports you, makes you smile, know how to get your heart to skip a beat. take, for example, his compliments. you like to joke to jeonghan that you need validation on your cooking, like tinkerbell, so whenever you cook for him the praises are nonstop. he's nothing if not supportive, so he tries to find things to comment on that he knows will make you blush. it works, and you do your best to tell him to stop without making it obvious that your heart is doing somersaults at his words.
this is what you want from a relationship, you find yourself thinking. you want to be comfortable with them, feel supported, all the things that jeonghan gives you. that night, you scroll through your dating apps, looking for a guy you think could meet those standards. in reality, you spend the whole night comparing the men on your screen to your roommate, subconsciously thinking of all the things you like most about jeonghan that these losers don't possess. you fall asleep like that, phone open to an empty chat, with jeonghan still on your mind.
-
so, a downside to living with jeonghan is you get the brunt end of all his weird energy. sometimes it's fun, and manifests itself in silly ways. like when you go thrifting, he takes it upon himself to find the weirdest thing in the store and insists on bringing it home. it means your apartment is decorated uniquely, but some of the stranger things you make him keep in his room. you haven't figured out yet that he only does this to make you laugh, loving how you smile sweetly at all the funny trinkets littered around your house. anything that goes into his room is eventually donated back to goodwill, its purpose served, doomed to delight another unassuming shopper some day.
other times, his weird energy comes out in worse ways. like today, he's not home, but you can feel that something's wrong. you know jeonghan is helping his friends with some video shoot, and he won't be home until much later. but there's a vibe in your apartment when you walk in. something is off, and it doesn't take you long to realize it. jeonghan has moved everything around, the couch where your kitchen table should be, the chairs from the table lined up in place of your couch. he's a strange one, your best friend, but it makes you laugh nonetheless, sending him a picture of the chairs and asking, "how am i supposed to fall asleep watching tv on this?!"
jeonghan smiles when he gets your text, shooting back, "watch tv in your room if you know you're just gonna fall asleep!"
really, he did the switcharoo for you to let your guard down. yes, moving furniture around is something silly that he would do, but he hid something further in the house that he wants you to find. he's hoping he'll be home when you do, but just the mere thought of your reaction has him chuckling. he goes back to whatever vernon wanted him to do, curious at each buzz from his phone, wondering if it's you.
jeonghan got the best of you, like usual. you did just go to your room, putting on one of your comfort shows so you could relax after a boring shift at work. you only get up to make a quick meal, dozing off again with the empty plate beside you. when the tv wakes you up you figure it's just time for you to go to bed, so you shuffle to the kitchen and notice a light coming from under jeonghan's door. he must have come home while you were napping, but it's late, so you go about your business. you drop your things off in the kitchen, returning upstairs to grab a washcloth and towel from the closet before you lock yourself in the bathroom. jeonghan is listening intently as you move around, waiting for the sound of the shower curtain pulling back and-
"JEONGHAN?!"
with sock clad feet that send him crashing through the now open bathroom door, he greets you with a shit eating grin. "you rang?"
"what the FUCK is that doing in here," you bellow, pointing at the plastic skeleton jeonghan found at the party store earlier that day. he thought it would be funny to hide in the apartment, at first just thinking about propping it up in the kitchen like the dead guy was making a meal, but the idea of scaring you a little was too good for him to pass up.
"man, when was the last time you cleaned your bathroom?" jeonghan jokes, "he must've been in here a while."
"fuck you," you spit, heart still racing from the surprise. that's when jeonghan notices something: you're naked. well, not entirely. like, you definitely don't have clothes on, his eyes flicking down to see your discarded panties and sleep shirt on the floor. he can't see the goods though because you're dangerously holding a towel over your body, one edge of it slipping as you reach out to try and punch jeonghan.
"what, you don't like him?" jeonghan pouts, stepping out of the bathroom to protect himself. "i thought you said you wanted to start decorating for halloween."
"this is not what i meant and you know it, you jackass," you try to say meanly, but jeonghan finds it cute. "it scared the shit out of me."
"i'm sorry," he says finally, hands twitching to reach out and grab you by the waist so he can rub comforting circles on your skin. but he can't. he physically shakes his hands out, a thing he does often enough to reset his mind that you look at him quizzically.
"why'd you do that?" you ask, and he clasps his hands behind his back defensively.
"felt like it," he shrugs. you roll your eyes and reach for the door, grumbling more expletives at him as you try to shut it in his face. "um, y/n?"
"what."
"you gonna shower with him?" jeonghan asks, pointing to your new friend. "i gotta admit, i'm a little jealous-"
"oh my god," you groan, grabbing the skeleton and throwing it at jeonghan with a comical clangor of plastic bones. "i hate you."
"love you too baby," jeonghan laughs as he closes the door for you, hefting the skeleton over his shoulder to go hide him in another corner of the house.
-
a few days later (jeonghan has hid the skeleton twice now), you come home from a date, dopey smile still on your face. you gasp when you see a body on the couch, thinking it's that stupid skeleton again. you breathe a sigh of relief when you realize it's a snoozing jeonghan instead. he looks angelic, his soft features shining brightly even in the dark room, illuminated by the tv. you don't realize that you're staring, nor do you realize jeonghan is peeking at you, the sound of the door waking him up.
"hey," he calls quietly, startling you. "sorry. i can go back to sleep and you can keep staring."
"i wasn't staring," you say defensively.
"sure," jeonghan nods, checking you out. "you look nice."
"who's staring now?" you ask as you cross to the kitchen. "i went out to dinner, but the portions were too small. do you want something to eat?"
"no, i'm good!" jeonghan calls. "was it a fancy place?"
"what?" you ask, coming back into the living room with a bag of chips. "i couldn't hear you."
"where you ate," he clarifies. "you dressed up, the servings were small, must have been a fancy place this guy took you to."
"how'd you know i was on a date?" you pout.
"y/n, i know you better than anyone else," jeonghan chuckles. "it was obvious. how'd it go?"
"good," you nod, ears burning under jeonghan's close attention. "don't wanna jinx it though."
"ok," jeonghan nods. "well i'm glad it was a good date. you deserve one of those."
"how was your night?" you ask. jeonghan shifts on the couch so there's room for you to sit and join him. once you're settled he explains how his friend seungcheol had come over for drinks, but he left a little while ago.
"i think he's got a girlfriend and doesn't want to tell me," jeonghan says, "because he feels bad that i'm not seeing anybody."
"you want me to find you a lady?" you tease. "you know my friends love you, i'm sure it'd be easy.''
"no," he shakes his head so some of his hair falls in his eyes. it makes it easier for him to stare at you without you noticing. "i'm good."
"well, it's a standing offer," you say as you get up to return the chips to the pantry. when you walk back through the living room, you ask, "where's jack tonight? i'm about to shower, i don't want another heart attack."
"i put the skeleton in your bed," jeonghan smiles with an impish glint in his eyes. "i figured it would be a nice surprise for the poor sap you might have brought home."
"you're annoying."
"thanks!" jeonghan chirps, and you laugh before telling him goodnight. he watches you go, smiling at something on your phone. jeonghan feels a pang in his chest ever so slightly, but he shakes it off, turning the tv off before he goes back to sleep trying not to think about you.
-
the following week, you're acting off. jeonghan notices immediately, but he doesn't bring it up to you at first. he's not sure if maybe work is stressing you, or maybe you've got family stuff going on...whatever it is, he'll give it a day or two before he checks on you, knowing how you like having time to yourself before someone swoops in to help.
the reality is, you really like this guy you've been talking to. that first date was amazing, and you wanted to go out with him again as soon as possible. you talk all the time, always ducking into your room when he calls while you're around jeonghan. you're actually ignoring jeonghan a lot, which you feel bad about, but you just can't get enough of this new guy. even though you're talking a lot, it's hard to set up another date with him because you're both busy with work. you've got plans to hang out on sunday, and for the first time in a long time, you're excited for a date. not nervous, not dreading it, just pure schoolgirl crush excitement.
that's why it's so crushing when, a few hours before, the guy texts you and cancels. you play it off at first, asking when he's free to reschedule, but his response is basically telling you to get lost. it hurts your feelings more than it should, because he is just some loser dude, but you also didn't know him that long. you have no reason to be so devastated over this, but you are.
jeonghan knew about your second date with this guy, so he made plans to be out of the house for as long as possible on sunday. as selfish as it was, he didn't want to be there for the giddy getting ready (you always ask him for outfit advice and he always tells you that you look great) or for the nervous pacing while you waited for the guy to pick you up (jeonghan always distracts you with jokes to calm your nerves). he also didn't want to be there after the date, if you happened to bring the lucky guy home. so he's out running errands, bothering his friends, and killing time until he's sure he won't walk in on anything he doesn't want to see.
when jeonghan gets home, it's late. after his day of farting around he went to his friend wonwoo's apartment for a while to heckle him while he played video games, and wonwoo finally kicked him out.
"don't you need to go home to your girlfriend?" wonwoo had teased, and jeonghan kicked him from his spot on the couch.
"y/n's my best friend and my roommate."
"so basically your girlfriend," wonwoo smiles that little smile of his, and it annoys jeonghan.
"she doesn't think of it like that," jeonghan mumbles, looking for his phone so he can head home anyway.
"because you're being too subtle."
"i'm not trying to be anything!" jeonghan says defensively. "i don't want her to know."
"why not?" wonwoo asks, finally turning to look at his friend. "you afraid she'll say no? because we all think-"
"i'll see you later, ok?" jeonghan says quickly, his shoes barely on as he tries to unlock the door. "hope cheol doesn't kill you again."
"in his dreams," wonwoo mumbles, his attention effectively back on the game and off of jeonghan.
jeonghan comes home to a mostly dark apartment, the stove light in the kitchen the only indication that you got home before him. he stops at the door to make sure there's no...unpleasant sounds coming from elsewhere, and when he's met with silence he kicks his shoes off carefully before heading to his room. he's exhausted, hiding from you all day being a good way to wear a person out. when he passes by your room something catches his ear, and his heart stops. were you moaning?
jeonghan knows he shouldn't, but he presses his ear against your door, telling himself he's only doing this so he can decide if he needs to stay somewhere else tonight. he's waiting to hear another voice, a man's voice, but he's met with a quiet whimper, followed by some sniffles. his heart roars back to life hearing that, almost breaking to pieces when he realizes you're not moaning, you're in your room crying. he's opening the door before he knows what he's doing, and you jump out of your skin at the unwelcome intrusion.
"go away," you whisper. jeonghan ignores you, coming to your bedside and looking down at you with concern in his eyes. "jeonghan, please. go away-"
"why are you crying?" he asks, and you don't say anything. "what did that asshole do?"
"nothing," you sniff again, willing your tears to stay back as you try to appease your roommate long enough for him to decide you're fine and leave you alone. "h-he was bu-busy and had to cancel-"
"fuck him."
"yeah, whatever," you say shakily. "it doesn't matter. i'm fine. now leave. please." your eyes are closed, trying to hide the tears that are welling up, and jeonghan is so quiet you assume he left, but he's trying not to let his own emotions show as he calls your name.
"y/n," jeonghan whispers, and when you look up at him you can't help it. you start crying again seeing him so upset over you being so upset, and before long you're back to bawling your eyes out. you barely register jeonghan cooing softly at you, climbing into bed and scooping you up into his arms. his lips are pressing soft kisses up and down your hairline, and it makes you cry even more. this is what you want, you think. this is what you need, what you've been missing. you want a boyfriend that will care for you like jeonghan does, that will be there for you like jeonghan is. it physically hurts you to think that you may never have that, that there's a possibility you'll never feel that kind of romantic love from someone. and you want to say that, you want to tell jeonghan why he came home to you pathetically crying so much, but he doesn't care. he just wants you to stop, so he'll hold you in his arms whispering sweet jokes to you until there's no more tears. he gets the slightest smile out of you right before you doze off, hands bunched into his shirt holding on for dear life. jeonghan holds you tighter, pressing one last kiss to the tip of your snotty nose before he drifts off to sleep with you.
-
you wake up later, not quite in the morning, but a few hours have passed. you're not used to sharing a bed with someone, especially when that person has such a vice grip on you as jeonghan does. once your mind has registered that you're awake, you also feel the burn of someone's eyes on you. sure enough, when you peek into the darkness of your room you see jeonghan staring back, eyebrows creased and teeth nibbling his bottom lip.
"stop chewing your lip," you tell him, reaching out to tug it from between his teeth. "i'm fine. you don't need to worry about me."
"wrong," he replies, watching you intensely as he brushes a strand of hair behind your ear. the quiet that follows has your face heating up, and the heat spreads through the rest of your body. it feels like every point where jeonghan's body is pressed against yours is on fire, and you want to pull away. but you don't.
"why aren't you in your room."
"because i wanted to sleep here," he replies. "i hope that's ok."
"it's not-"
"bummer," jeonghan cuts you off. "i'm not leaving."
"i'm not crying anymore though," you point out. "so. i'm fine."
"nope," he shakes his head. his bangs fall back into his eyes, and you think briefly he must need a haircut, but you hope he doesn't get one. the long hair suits him, even if it keeps him from seeing sometimes. you don't think about it, your hand unclenching his shirt and instead reaching up to brush his hair out of his face. jeonghan watches you carefully, and your breath gets caught in your throat when you look back down to his eyes. he's staring at you so intensely you can feel it in your chest, and that's when it hits you: jeonghan. you want a boyfriend like jeonghan. well! jeonghan's right here! what are you gonna do about it?
"jeonghan, i..." you trail off, staring at him like you're seeing him in a new light. he waits patiently for you to go on, thinking you might explain the situation a little more, but you don't know what to say. you just get hit with the intense need to bury your face in his chest, breathing in his scent and listening to his heartbeat as you fall back asleep.
"what?" he asks, trying to encourage you to keep speaking.
"um, can i just-" you try, but instead of speaking you just nuzzle into his chest, nose at the base of his neck tickling his skin. "i want to go back to sleep."
"then sleep baby," he whispers as he squeezes you tighter, afraid to let go. as you fall asleep, you let your hands relax against his chest, one of them laid right over his racing heart.
-
the next morning, you wake up to an empty bed and almost convince yourself you dreamed up jeonghan last night. like an oasis in the desert, he came to you when you needed him most. a little part of you wishes it wasn't real so you could go back to a time where you didn't know your true feelings for jeonghan, but your mussed sheets proves it wasn't a dream. jeonghan's scent is still lingering on your extra pillow, and you take a deep breath and remember how it felt to be wrapped up in your best friend.
jeonghan comes back into your room with two coffees in hand and he sees you nuzzling your face into the spot where his head laid just minutes ago. he lets you wallow for a moment before he calls your name softly. you jump up, cheeks warming as you look at jeonghan in your doorway.
"morning," he smiles. he hands you your coffee, your cold hands brushing his and sparking warmth across his skin. he stops himself from leaning down to kiss your forehead, knowing that whatever intimacy you shared last night is probably left in the past. you were sad, and jeonghan was there to comfort you. he'd happily do that a million times over, but he doesn't think you feel the same way he does.
"jeonghan, i'm sorry about last night," you try to apologize, but he shakes his head.
"don't," he stops you. "i would do it again if you needed it."
"well if you find me crying over some loser again tonight you have full permission to slap me," you tell him. "one night was enough."
"noted," he laughs, awkwardly standing in your room, unsure if he can get back into bed with you. you pick up on the way his eyes keep flitting from you to his spot, and you pat the empty space so he'll sit down.
"stop being weird," you say, bumping shoulders with him once he's comfortably next to you again. "so how'd you sleep?"
"pretty good," he starts out, "but there was this really annyoing sound coming from your side of the bed?"
"oh you mean me crying?"
"no, like this really loud, obnoxious snoring, kinda like-" jeonghan starts demonstrating, sending you into a fit of giggles and a pushing match to get him to stop.
"i think that was you!" you shriek, carefully trying not to spill your coffee. "don't spill that in my bed, i'll kill you."
"and then who are you gonna cuddle at night?" jeonghan asks, regretting it when he feels the tension between you both.
"i could always cuddle with jack," you joke to break the awkwardness, and jeonghan rolls his eyes.
"i hate that you named the skeleton."
"the skeleton is a guest in our home," you tease him. "show him some respect."
"whatever, freak," he says before downing the rest of his coffee. he gets an idea then, turning to you to ask, "what are you doing today?"
"um, nothing except work," you reply. "but you know my job is barely real so i'm basically doing nothing."
"let's go get coffee," jeonghan says, a playful look in his eyes.
"we just had coffee," you point out.
"no, no, we'll get good coffee, you can do some work, i'll watch you do some work, it'll be great," he insists, getting up and pulling you out of bed with him.
"if you're still trying to cheer me up i swear i'm fine," you say through your laughter, pressing back against jeonghan trying to push you toward your closet. "you don't need to take me for coffee or do anything else to make me feel better. i'm fine now."
"glad to hear it," he smiles softly, squeezing your hand that's clasped firmly in his. "but i still want to get coffee, so get dressed or everyone at the cafe will see you in that god forsaken t shirt."
the t shirt in question is one that jeonghan found for you during one of your goodwill visits. for whatever reason, it says 'i shaved my balls for this' and it got the biggest laugh from you all night, so jeonghan had to bring it home. despite being awful colors (light blue paired with neon yellow) it's actually quite comfortable, and you love the way it makes jeonghan laugh every time you wear it. it's unironically become your favorite sleep shirt, but you are mortified at the thought of anyone aside from your best friend seeing you in it. you quickly change, grabbing your work laptop from your desk before you head into the living room to find jeonghan waiting for you.
it's not unusual for him to take you out on random adventures, but this one feels different. he stays closer to you than normal, insists on buying your drink, and you catch him actually watching you work.
"get a hobby," you mumble, looking down at your laptop so he hopefully won't see your blushing cheeks.
"this is my hobby," he says. "i'm hanging out with my favorite person."
"seungcheol's going to be very sad to hear he's been demoted," you tease.
"he knows where he stands," jeonghan says, still watching you intently. you can't take it anymore, staring back at him.
"seriously, pretend to read or something! you're distracting me."
"i'm distracting you?" he smiles. "why? i'm not doing anything."
"i'm sending this email and then we're leaving," you say, and he shrugs.
"if you want, baby."
baby. it hits you harder this time, jeonghan's silly little nickname for you. you thought it started off as a sarcastic thing, but recently you feel like it sounds sweeter and sweeter coming from his lips. after last night, it makes your heart skip a beat, and that's when it hits you: are you on a date with jeonghan right now?!
"wait. waitwaitwait. hold on," you say, pointing at jeonghan and then yourself. "is this a date? are we on a date?"
"what? no baby," he shakes his head, and now you're confused. "no, if we were on a date you'd know."
"what's that supposed to mean?" you squeak out.
"do you want us to be on a date right now?" jeonghan counters, and you know your blushing cheeks have you in trouble. "you do?"
"i-i don't know-"
"hm, you wanna go on a date with me," jeonghan says matter of factly. "well, that's good to know."
"what are you doing?" you ask as he starts cleaning up his space.
"oh i need to go back to the apartment," he says. "gotta get my laptop so i can start planning a date that's worthy of you. i'll see you at home?"
"jeonghan, what?" you're left sputtering as he heads to the door, not looking back even though he knows your staring. he's afraid you'll see the excited/nervous shake in his hands, so he needs to go cool off. well, that and plan the best date of your entire life. he's got a lot of ground to cover. thankfully, the idiots you usually grace your time with have set the bar pretty low. jeonghan is determined to bring it higher, so high in fact that you won't be able to go on another first date without comparing it to his. if things go right though, maybe you won't have to go on a first date ever again.
-
jeonghan left the coffeeshop before you, so it would make sense if he was at the apartment when you got back, right? wrong. you come home about an hour later to an empty home, no sign of jeonghan. you think that's fine, it gives you a chance to actually get some work done. but jeonghan being mia has you a little nervous. what's he doing? he said he was going to plan a date. for you. and him. you and jeonghan...on a date? that's crazy.
you've done a good job ignoring that whole concept, trying to get ahead on a project you need to present later this week. you're so hyperfocused that the whole day goes by before you realize it, and when you finally emerge from your room you really expect to find jeonghan in the living room. he's still gone, so you decide to text him, asking casually if he would be home for dinner. the domesticity isn't lost on you, and it makes jeonghan smile when he gets it. he decides to call instead of texting back, balancing his phone against his shoulder and his cheek once you pick up.
"you miss me or something?" he asks, and you can hear the smile in his voice.
"i was just curious," you reply nonchalantly. "you've been missing all day."
"i've been busy."
"oh ok."
"i'll be home soon though," he tells you. "don't make dinner, just make sure you're dressed in an hour."
"for what?"
"a surprise."
"i need more information and you know that," you scoff, and you hear jeonghan chuckle.
"dress nice, but not fancy. and wear something blue so we'll match," he explains, and you feel your cheeks warm. "i gotta go, but i'll see you soon, baby."
hearing that coming from jeonghan now makes your heart skip a beat, and it makes you wonder if you've always felt like this and you just didn't notice. you keep thinking about him as you get ready, steaming out a dress you were planning to wear on a date that didn't happen. it's a soft blue with long sleeves and a low tie in the front. you worry for a moment that it might be too revealing, but checking the time rushes you into action. you're almost ready when there's a knock at the front door, which you ignore. there's another knock, this time louder, so you grumble your way to the living room to peek through the peephole. you gasp when you see what's on the other side.
you throw the door open, revealing a visibly nervous jeonghan with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. he's wearing a blue shirt, almost the exact shade of your dress, and he openly stares at you with a happy smile and a look in his eyes that you've never seen before.
"jeonghan?" you ask, pulling him from his intense focus on your chest.
"y/n," he smiles, eyes flicking up to yours. "you look stunning."
"i'm not ready yet," you pout slightly, checking the time on your phone. "you weren't very specific about when you were coming home."
"you look perfect," he says, checking you out again. "what else could you need to do?"
"wouldn't you like to know?" you tease, and he rolls his eyes.
"i can give you ten minutes, but any longer than that and we'll be late."
"late for what?" you ask as he passes you the flowers. "these are beautiful by the way, carnations are-"
"your favorite, i know," he smiles softly. "you buy yourself a bunch almost every time you're at the grocery store."
"i can't remember the last time someone bought me flowers either," you mumble, opening the door enough for jeonghan to come inside. "what are you still doing out there? it's your house, come in."
"finish getting ready," he laughs at you, reaching for the flowers again. "i'm putting them in a vase, weirdo. you'll get them back when you're done getting pretty."
"i'll be back," you whisper, running off before he can see how nervous you just got. you try to calm your nerves as you finish your touch ups, panicking last minute over which shoes and purse go with your outfit.
jeonghan is sitting on the couch, your flowers in your favorite vase on the coffeetable. he perks up at the sound of you shuffling down the hallway, but he pouts when he sees you holding up all your shoes.
"y/n, we're gonna be late."
"i don't know which ones to wear," you say simply, and he smiles as he comes up to you, analyzing the choices. he picks the white shoes and the white purse.
"glad we're still keeping this tradition alive even though i'm the one taking you out this time," he says proudly, watching you get situated. you stand back up, mussing your hair one last time before he asks, "ready to go, beautiful?"
"i don't know why i'm so nervous," you tell him, taking his arm as you leave the apartment. "we hang out all the time."
"yeah, but this isn't us hanging out," jeonghan says as you wait for the elevator. "i'm taking you on the best date of your life. nerves are completely valid."
"are you nervous?" you whisper, leaning in so jeonghan gets a good whiff of your perfume that he loves finding traces of all through his life. he holds your gaze, eyes flicking down momentarily before he shakes his head.
"no, i thought i would be, but i'm not," he replies simply as you get on the elevator.
"ok good, so i'll just freak out for the both of us then."
"would you? that takes a lot of pressure off of me," jeonghan jokes, and you pinch his arm. "ouch! so mean to me when i've made the perfect night for you."
"and what does this perfect night entail?" you ask. jeonghan just shakes his head, leading you out into the lobby of the building. he takes you a different way, not walking to the parking garage but instead to the main entrance of your building. "jeonghan, are we walking there? i don't think i can make it in these shoes-"
you stop mid-sentence, spotting the shiny baby blue mustang convertible parked outside. you look at jeonghan, mouth open in surprise. he has to tug you down the hallway and out into the cool night air, helping you into the passenger seat with ease. you watch on in shock as he gets into the driver's side, finally cutting through the fog in your mind to ask, "do you even know how to drive this?"
"yeah," jeonghan says coolly, opening the glovebox to hand you a scrunchie of yours that he stole. "here, you might wanna put your hair up."
"you're insane," you tell him, playing with the scrunchie in your lap as he starts the car. you can't believe this so far, and the date's barely begun. what other surprises could he possibly have in store for you?
-
after a quick ride out of the city, you find yourself at a retro drive in that's completely empty. you have a sneaking suspicion jeonghan rented it just for the two of you tonight, but you don't have a chance to ask. once he parks, he's asking you to open the glovebox and you smile when you see the stack of movie theatre candy boxes he's stashed away. you take them out, turning back to jeonghan to see he's produced a tub of popcorn from somewhere and a couple of your favorite sodas. you stare at him with your mouth opening and closing like a fish and he just smiles proudly in return.
"jeonghan, what did you do?" you finally ask, and he laughs.
"do you like it?"
"what are we doing here?"
"watching a movie," he says obviously. he shifts the snacks, the drinks going into the holders by the radio and the popcorn and candy going on the dashboard. "come closer," he mumbles, tugging your arm. the smooth vinyl of the seats sending you flying into jeonghan's side, and you giggle nervously as you adjust your dress. jeonghan lays the snacks out over your laps and drapes his arm across your shoulders for good measure. he looks at you to gauge whether you're settled or not, and when he decides you're ready he presses on the horn once. the screen in front of you lights up, and you gasp as you see the opening credits for your favorite movie flashing before you.
"where did you get the idea to do this?" you ask him with a smile, taking a few pieces of popcorn to give you something to do with your hands.
"just thought it would be something different," he shrugs, and you leave it at that. you can barely focus on the movie, hyperaware of how warm jeonghan is next to you and how every glance he casts your way sends your heart racing faster and faster. a few minutes into it, you remember your hair is still tied up from the ride, so you shuffle out of jeonghan's grasp to pull the scrunchie down and reset yourself. you know jeonghan is watching, so you mumble, "watch the movie, weirdo."
"i've seen it before," he whispers back, eyes still heavy on you. "i'm not missing anything."
"you've seen me before too," you point out, leaning back into his side once you're done moving around. "quite a lot, actually."
"yeah, but i've never seen you on a date before," he says. "and on a date with me? whoa. i gotta soak it all in."
you turn to look at him then, admiring the way his hair falls so slightly into his eyes, the way his lips stretch over his shy smile, how his eyes glisten when they meet yours. you could kick yourself for not noticing any of this sooner. who knew you had exactly what you were looking for right here?
"jeonghan, i-" you start, but realize you don't have the words to tell him what you want to say. you stop, staring at him with your brows furrowed cutely.
"what, baby?" he laughs, his thumb coming up to trace the creases in your forehead. "you're gonna give yourself premature wrinkles like this."
"why are you doing this?" you ask quietly. "why are you so...wonderful? all the time?"
"because," he shrugs, his hand falling from your forehead to rest just below your chin. "i've been trying to show you what it would be like. took you long enough to come around."
"show me what?" you ask confused.
"what it's like being loved by me," he smiles back. you feel your breath catch in your throat, and you want to say something. you want to tell him how you feel, how you're sorry it took you so long, how you love every moment you spend with jeonghan by your side. instead you just lean forward, lips brushing over his. you bring your hands up to his neck, wrapping them in the soft hair at the back of his head as you scoot impossibly closer and try to press all your love into this one kiss. jeonghan keeps his hold on your chin, thumb stroking softly at your cheek. he's the first one to pull back, laughing when you try to bring his lips back to yours so quickly. he leans his forehead against yours, soft hair tickling your skin as he asks, "so you get it now?"
"yeah," you nod, knocking your heads together and sending you both into a fit of giggles. jeonghan steals a few more kisses, and when you finally calm down he pulls you back into his side, squeezing you as close to him as possible. you lay your head down on his shoulder, pressing your lips into the closest part of him you can reach. "thank you, jeonghan. my jeonghan."
"my y/n," he sighs, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "my beautiful, kind, funny girl."
"stop staring," you whisper bashfully. "you're missing the movie."
"i'm not missing anything," he repeats, but he takes one last look at you before he kisses the top of your head and finally turns back to the screen. this might be your first date with jeonghan, but it certainly won't be your last.
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battydora · 10 months
Text
"DISOBEY"
masterlist | rules
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CHARACTERS: hantengu clones, demon reader
CONTENT: nsfw, dubcon, noncon, minors dni!!, gn reader (afab), reader is upper 1, reader forces the clones apart and makes them sumbit to their pleasure, power dynamics, strong dominant/submissive dynamics, power abuse, threats, sexual frustration, graphic descriptions of blood and mutilation, fivesome, angry sex, stress relief sex, cunnilingus, breast play, bruises, hate sex, small plot, slight vouyerism, restrictions, teasing, praise/praise kink (a tiny bit), reader's a demon whose emotions are intense and usually overwhelming (specially anger), so any intense and/or positive emotions can counter the effects negative emotions have on them, sexual stimulation being the example today, reader is referred as "they", "ma'am", "mistress" & "my/our lady", barely proof read
A/N: hey demon slayer fandom how we feelin bout s3......... you know the drill, these fuckers are hot and i'm here to please the disgusting person i am. MINORS DNI!! I'M SERIOUS, I WILL BLOCK YOU.
DISCLAIMER: this is a dubcon/noncon fanfiction (the first one I ever made), please take in consideration I'm against non-consensual practices and I DO NOT promote them by any matters, I'm choosing this gender merely for the fact that hantengu such as the reader are demons and as we know so far, demons' interactions with eachother are ruthful and cruel, senseless in average human intercourse since they feel and act differently the way humans do, I could've done this any other way but I chose to stick to kimetsu no yaiba's logic. self-contradictory but just stick around with reader being upper one and gyutaro still being the sixth, i was lazy to make it sense.
WORD COUNT: 3.1k
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it certainly was shocking news for the upper moons to find out the sixth was slayed by the demon slayer corps. otherwise there wouldn't be any other logical reason for the demon king to summon all of the, remaining, upper moons, in the infinity castle. including yourself, upper one.
akaza was asking about you but he didn't know you were already there, listening to all the rambling he and the rest of the upper moons were having seconds ago. however, you voice didn't make an appearance until the biwa lady made clear you were present from the very first second, akaza's eyes widening with awe and concern. gyokko remained in place silent and hantengu whimpering terrified at your mere presence, like he usually did. kokushibo looked up, you were in a building nearby, your demonic figure sitting upside down on the ceiling, your hands sitting modishly on top of eachother, waiting patienly for your king.
"i arrived way before any of you did."
"oh (y/n)-sama, you've been here all the time... aren't you pleased to find yourself meeting with me after so many years? ah, you're stunning today, i bet you've becoming much stronger these past decades." douma's carefree voice reached everyone's ears, touching a nerve inside akaza, his bad mood being worsened by the women eater demon.
"douma" your mysterious and harassing voice called upper 3's name, sending a raw shiver down the latter's back, gyokko and hantengu trembled at your mere voice, which sounded horrifying "give up your brattish behaviour" your shiny and dangerous eyes glare at him across the castle, threatening "know your place." another quivering and breathtaking shiver hitting his senses cruely.
you weren't entirely in the mood to deal with these bastards, you always found yourself hating each one of your demon associates, an inmense desire of finishing each and every one of them was what kept your mind daydreaming about, the mere idea was something that made your body tremble with excitement and unwanted sexual arousal but it was always an impediment to know that you had muzan kibutsuji's evil eyes fixed on your back and that he could make you dissapear within a blink if you did anything against his experiments. so you remained in line, interacting with them whenever you had to.
the meeting was as shitty as you were expecting, muzan scolded every single one of you and left you more angered than you would've wanted, this anger that kept building inside of you made your body tense, your eyebrows were frowning as your body temperature continued to raise in anger. once muzan leaves, you look around the room, your eyes landing on hantengu, the poor demon was trembling in a corner, he felt your harassing gaze towards him and looked at you, who was suddenly standing infront of him. your black hand reached his clothes and he cried out the moment you picked him up. "you're coming with me, you have a task to complete before fulfilling the king's desires."
and out of the blue, your figures dissapeared from the castle. you had taken the small demon to the forest, no one around, only a river running a few meters from you. hantengu was crying and mumbling nonsense, fearing at the look in your face that was... certainly frightening, your eyebrows frowning, your eyes wide open, your teeth clenching in pure fury and drops of saliva falling off your lips. your hands held his body and your sharp nails digged into the head and body of the old looking demon, blood spreading on your fingers as you pulled both ends to behead upper 5, tearing his skin apart and violently ripping his head off. he grunted and yelled in pain, his body splitting apart entirely to your inhumane strength as a pool of blood spread on the ground beneath you. you let his head and body fall to the floor as you watched each part regenerate into two separate demons: sekido and karaku. you walk to sekido who was staring at you entirely upset at your behaviour, you gripped his clothes and pulled him towards you returning the same angered expression.
"how are you allowed to do this, upper one?" you raised both of your brows to his words, furious at his statement.
"you are not in position to scold me, do not." you stated before gripping his hair and fiercely rip off his head, letting his other clones show up: aizetsu and urogi.
"how come i never seen our upper one this upset? this is kind of exciting" karaku spoke this time, standing up from the ground and walking towards you "have anything special in store for us tonight, mistress?~" his voice was charming and intrigued, a wide grin taking over his face as he licked his upper lip, showing the black kanji tattooed on his tongue.
"it saddens me to be the ones to deal with (y/n)-sama's anger... hantengu ran away to hide in the woods already..." aizetsu joins the conversation, looking up at you with pleading eyes.
"how can you be sad about this? sekido is being scolded by our lady" urogi chuckled out a laugh but their focus returned to you once again, you seemed upset.
"everything just makes me so angry... the demon slayers, douma, akaza, all of the upper moons... our demon lord... you all just find a way to GET ON MY FUCKING NERVES!" you began to rant, your body itching at the intense frustration and fury growing inside of you each second, you fell to your knees consumed by rage, teeth clenching hard enough to seem like they were about to shatter "please me, hantengu, make your stupid blood demon art useful and cease these intense emotions inside me" further on, you started undressing, your hands helping you body to get rid of the kimono that was denying your skin the ecstasy of being naked. all the clones looked closely, frozen in their places.
once all your clothes were scattered on the floor, you lifted your gaze to meet theirs, you were infuriated, they could tell. so the first one to react to your angered gaze was aizetsu, as a natural reaction towards threat and probably for being used to sekido's mistreatment towards him, whose anger paired yours in that moment. the sorrow demon let his spear fall to the ground and walked carefully towards you, afraid of disobedience. he knelt infront of your exposed figure and kissed your lips, cupping your cheeks while doing so. the kiss was well welcomed, you kissed the blue demon fervishly and hungrily.
then karaku followed, sitting beside you and hugging your torso, pulling you closer to kiss your neck with intensity. you opened your eyes in middle of the kissing and stared at sekido and urogi, who were standing there, urogi looking at the other two clones get their way with your body, a senseless excitement hitting his body at the view, making his wings quiver. and as for sekido, he was clenching his fists, his jaw almost hurting out of fury, how dared you use his clones to please yourself? were they some kind of toy to you?
you frowned at them, your left hand made its way to aizetsu's crotch, squeezing his clothed cock which lead him to break the kiss to let out a soft whimper, breathing heavily and closing his eyes. your right hand did the same to karaku's, making him grunt into your neck.
"m-my lady..." "oh, that's...oh~" their voices cried out holding onto your body as you massaged the areas for a little while. aizetsu mumbled nonsense into your left ear, pressing his body against your own seeking closeness and karaku making sure to do the same on your right side moaning softly, licking and biting your earlobe, both of them entirely poisoned by your touch.
"why are you just standing there? i gave you an order" you demanded once again, it infuriated you to see sekido so so upset with you, your body filled with rage and excitement hoping your provocations were enough for them to fucking move. urogi gulped, hesitant, before walking towards the three of you, placing himself behind you, arms wrapping your torso and animal-like hands cupping both of your breasts, squeezing and massaging lively, stealing a grunt from you instantly.
sekido's mouth was half open, astonished at the view of you having complete control of each one of them. the grip on his weapon tightened, unsure of what to do now, he wished he could fight you but he knew quite well you would destroy him within a second, he just wishes to... agh! he just wished you would just vanish, you arrogant piece of-!
"sekido" his raging thoughts about you were cut off when you called his name, your tone of voice switched instantly, it was deep and threatening, you could just let him stand there and take a great look at what you were doing to his counterparts but you wished to have him doing something so much better, you wanted him, you wanted him to pleasure you, to watch his face clench into annoyance and anger because of you. your hands made their way to aizetsu's hips and moved him aside, letting him sit beside you so you could open your legs widely, karaku and aizetsu couldn't help but stare down at your soaked cunt, its scent captivated the three demons around you and karaku's such as aizetsu's hand tried to reach it to please you in their own ways but your own stopped them, with a serious expression and your eyes never meeting theirs, the latter only fixated on sekido.
"no, let sekido take care of that, maybe it'll hit some sense into him before he ever thinks of disobeying me again."
the three of them looked at him and was aizetsu the one to speak, for someone who was often saddened everytime sekido spoke and scolded him, this was impressive and sort of satisfying "sekido please... you know what they can do..."
clearly upset, your statement made the anger demon throw his weapon to his side with rage a few seconds later.
he walked to you, aizetsu and karaku doing you the favor of holding your legs wide open for you, the red eyed knelt infront of your body, taking a good look at your wet cunt, pausing for a moment as he contemplated you. he looked up again, his eyes meeting yours, unsure of what to do next.
"put that blabbering mouth of yours to good use" you commanded, your bright eyes staring directly into his before he got his body to fully lay on the ground, face inches away from your slit, he purposefully digged his nails into the skin of your thighs, tiny drops of blood painting his fingers.
"yes, ma'am" every drop of anger was poured into that "ma'am" of his as he broke the distance between his lips and yours, his tattooed tongue licked from the bottom to the top in a slow motion, sending a shiver through your abdomen, you moaned out loud and grinned the second his tongue landed on your clit.
you felt urogi's cock twitch against your back, you threw your head back to land on his shoulder, looking at his yellow eyes with a serious gaze. "are you hard already, urogi?" at your words, the joy demon gulped and nodded "yes, my lady..." his voice is sweet and a bit shy, you smirked at his response and tilted your head.
"should your upper one do something to fix that?" the seduction on your voice did not help urogi to keep his composure at all "please... please do" his pleading voice was music to your ears, it almost made you feel sorry for him, you only chuckle before giving a response.
"i'll treat you if you continue touching me. does that sound fair?~" excitement quickly filled his orange eyes "yes, my lady" as his hands continued to massage your chest and his mouth reached the back of your neck, biting and sucking passionately. karaku and aizetsu exchanged glares interested in your words, would they get a treat too if they please you? they couldn't take chances so they continued to kiss and squeeze your body, arousal growing bigger inside them each second more.
it was karaku who, holding your right leg open, started grinding against you, slight pants leaving his mouth as he was trying to satisfy himself somehow, the whole situation got him excited and needy for some touch, he almost couldn't hold himself back. you noticed his motion right ahead and stopped him. "you're not allowed to do that, karaku" his eyes widened and he gulped "but mistress..." he pleads but takes his words back the second you glare at him, intimidating "how... how can i earn my release, mistress?"
you chuckle at his question, an evil grin showing up.
"huh? earn it? that's the deal, karaku, you don't- hah~" a broken moan escapes your lips, sekido's tongue made sure to hit your sweet spot just in time "oh sekido, you're hitting it just right~ keep going~" you praise, the anger demon didn't want to admit that you calling his name like that actually made his stomach flutter. how could he find this exciting? how do your praises make him so eager to fulfill your request? his anger was being condescending.
karaku frowns, a grimace expressing his need to do something about the tent of his pants, but how can he disobey you? he wanted to be selfish, but urogi and sekido being praised and paid for what they're doing, made him feel jealous, he has been good from the beggining, didn't he deserve a prize too? an urge to compete against his counterparts rushed through his body, maybe like that he could get your attention. but he couldn't do much from there, urogi was working on your chest and sekido had the best part... it all feels unfair for him, he had to try another ways, so he leaned in and kissed you passionately, hoping your attention was drawn at him. the kiss caught you offguard but you decide to play along with his idea, you smiled inbetween the kiss, noticing what he was doing.
aizetsu in the other hand, was kissing your neck and leaving gentle marks along it, listening to what you were saying to karaku. however, when the green eyed kissed you, aizetsu felt left a little behind, he felt your touch fading away each second karaku spent kissing you, he didn't want that, it saddened him to not being touched and payed attention at by you, he needed you too. he took karaku's actions as a provocation, a threat to his territory and being so he couldn't allow karaku getting away with you so he came up to your face and held your chin lovingly, making you pull away from the kiss to make you kiss him, you give in smiling, sensing both of their jelousies compiting over you.
karaku was offended and tried to draw your attention back at him, insisting in kissing you again. you look at him from the corner of your eye, kissing aizetsu passionately at the same time. you were teasing him, watching his face twitch in jealousy for seeing you kiss his counterpart so vively, so intensely, as if you really were enjoying aizetsu more than you enjoyed karaku. his hand instinctively pressed his aching cock when he saw you biting aizetsu's lower lip, sharp teeth pulling his skin with desire, making him moan softly, never breaking eye contact with karaku. he was having enough, he was about to beg for you but chose being rough, he leans to your mouth even when you and aizetsu were kissing and tried to kiss you. aizetsu didn't give in and keeps fighting for his place, turning the kissing into a kiss of three. saliva being exchanged between your mouths. you laughed between the kiss at their little competition, this is so exciting!
your senses were through the roof, pleasure continuing to build up inside of you, a wave of sensations hitting you body as the clones did their job, sekido being more skilled in his area than you originally expected, his mouth working you to your climax, tongue licking and lips sucking in the right places, making a mess beneath him. your legs broke free from karaku and aizetsu's grip, suddenly sandwiching sekido's head almost making him lose focus as he made you cum. a loud moan drowned in your kiss with the other two as sekido licked your clit to help you go through your last bits of orgasm.
you pulled away from the wet kiss and rested your head on urogi's chest, sighing in relief for finally getting the release you needed all night, you held onto karaku and aizetsu's shoulders as you breathed in and out, chasing breath regulation; the winged demon massaged your belly and waist until you recovered your breath completely, he smiled with satisfaction at the view of you exhausted for all the job they've been doing for the past moments just to please you, it made his stomach flutter with excitement. your body continued to release an inhumane amount of hormones, all the fury contained in your body earlier had completely vanished at the mere touch of upper 5, you were contented and pleased, yet... you weren't satisfied, if someone offered you another round or more, you would accept without hesitation. you suddenly felt sekido crawling onto you, you contemplated him, his angered expression continuing to grow as his mouth drooled spit mixed with your fluids, his kimono subtly falling off his shoulder exposing his skin, you couldn't lie, that was kinda hot, you grinned at him.
"had enough sekido?" you teased playfully, chuckling at him.
"not quite" he growled and positioned himself between your legs, approaching you as he undressed his torso "how fucking dare you? are we just some toys to you? you're disgusting, upper one, leaving me and my counterparts stupidly aroused, you don't deserve being done for the night"
"hah? who said i was done for the night? it's funny that you mention it, actually, i could just get up and leave you and your pathetic clones here and let you starve without my touch, i would love to see how you would handle from there. you're all hard as a rock and i don't need to see it to prove it, you weak creatures, whining and begging for my attention, it would be so fun if i just left!" your voice gained a mocking manner, a cocky attitude hitting in as you allowed sekido between your legs, a short laughter escapes your lips "but... how could i... you were all such good boys, my heart squeezes with pity, i come to the conclusion you deserve at least a prize. so, sekido, if you want yours, form in line, i'm not done with all of you just yet."
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thanks for reading!
1K notes · View notes
merchelsea · 4 months
Text
sacrifice - lando norris
pairing: lando norris x fem!reader
summary: you and lando have a long distance relationship due to your hard work. you rarely have free time to attend to his races, the only one you actually attend every year is monaco's. you understand things will have to change when lando gets into a crash and that makes you want to be there with him at everytimes.
author’s note: i hate making myself go through this.
word count:
warnings: lets pretend lando crashed duriung the interlagos gp, not the LA one, for the sake of the plot :)
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"hey, babe!" you mumbled as you stirred from your nap. originally meant for a quick rest before the race, it turned into a marathon of sleep that spanned the entire duration of the race. checking the timing, you muttered, "shit."
"were you asleep?" he chuckled.
"yeah... I'm sorry babe. I was just trying to catch up on some sleep debt before the race. I am just tired..." you explained with a low rumble. lando always had a away of understanding things. "anyways, how did it go?"
"not so well, i am kind of glad that you didn't watch it, you would've freak out unnecessarely." he sighed
"why? what happened?" you sat up, eyes squeezed shut in alarm.
"it was nothing serious, just a crash." he reassured. the word 'crash' froze you, an unsettling feeling settling in your chest. "I'm fine now; I'm at the hospital doing some tests."
you didn't answer him and he immediately sensed your worry, it was your usual reaction whenever he had an incident. it was your own way to deal with stuff. "I'll have to stay here in brazil for some extra days. we don't want to rush things. everything is alright, but still."
"yeah, I know. how are you feeling? any pain? wasit bad? why are you at the hospital? is there anything they're worried about?" your thoughts rushed out, anxiety evident. you wished you could've been there with him, knowing how much he disliked going through hospitalization alone.
"calm down, baby. I'm fine, no pain. they gave me painkillers for my headache," he began, his voice carrying weariness and sadness. "the crash felt horrible from inside the car, but I've seen the footage, and it wasn't that bad. I don't think they're worried about anything specific, just my racing career," he added with a hint of self-deprecating humor.
"shut up. you know those jokes aren't funny, right?" you retorted, hating his tendency for such jokes. "anyways, I miss you so much. you have no idea." placing your phone on the bed, you awaited his response as you searched for your notebook.
"I know babe, I miss you like crazy too. and i won't be able to be home for some more days, as i told you. i hate it." you both sighed. "but it's okay, i'm glad you weren't here this time."
although you felt the honesty in his words, you could also know that it was pure bullshit. he wanted you to be there more that anything, and the fights you two had over the past weeks showed that clearly.
lando felt your support fading away and, as always, he talked about it with you, but there was nothing you could do, you could not just leave your work and follow him around the world.
your life had to come first. you couldn't be financially dependent. you had never wanted that for yourself.
"I love you, lando. you know that, right?"
"i know. I love you too." anuncomfortable silence lingered, more apparent to him than to you, as you were preoccupied with booking a flight to brazil. "look, I have to hang up to do some exams. I'll call you as soon as I can, yeah?"
"yeah, okay. keep me updated, for the love of god." he laughed and silently hang up.
as soon as you were able to, you called your boss, letting her aware of the whole situation, who, understandingly, granted you a week off, more than you needed. grateful, you expressed your thanks in every single way you could.
as you couldn't just fly there without someone knowing, you called lando's dad to let him know that you were going. he was thankful that his son had found someone who cared so much about him, and as so helped you through everything.
you would obviously be staying at lando's room with him, so you didn't need to worry about that, but there were things you actually needed to deal with and that's where he was an absolute angel, taking care of everything for you.
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the flight proved to be torturous; sleep eluded you, your mind consumed by worry for your boyfriend, presently hospitalized in a foreign country that held no appeal for him. the inability to communicate with him intensified your anxiety, and the endurance of such a long flight was a challenge unfamiliar to you.
the only thing keeping you focused on trying to sleep was knowing that you'd see lando soon and that you needed to be sane.
once you arrived in brazil, adam had already sent an uber to pick you up and drop you at the hotel. you were eternally grateful for him. your appreciation deepened when, upon entering the hotel, you found everything seamlessly taken care of, allowing you to reach his son without delay.
he drove you there himself, the casual conversation during the car ride centered uiquely around the topic most dear to both of you—lando's health.
every detail adam shared heightened your awareness; lando was okay, but not as well as he should be. the information failed to ease your mind, creating a lingering unease.
after reaching the hospital, the attending doctor informed you that lando was still asleep but encouraged you to enter. you opened the door to his room, and an immediate sense of tranquility washed over you. lando's peaceful slumber tugged at your heartstrings, and the sight of his features made you want to cry; you had missed him so damn much.
you took his hand, staying by his side as he slept. despite your exhaustion, the anticipation of his awakening kept sleep at bay.
lando woke up and confusedly stared at you for five minutes straight. in his head, he was trying to figure out if you were real or if his desperation had just made you up. you squeezed his hand and that seemed to clear his mind. you were in fact there.
"love?" he muttered, scared of being wrong.
"hey baby" you whispered to him, smiling softly.
"you're here? what are you doing here?" he hurriedly sat up, his expression filled with worry, like he wasn´t the one on a hospital bed.
"i'm here to see you." you extended your hand and let it travel through his face. "got the week off, couldn't leave you alone." his smile was priceless. he rushed his arms around your waist, since you were standing now, and pulled you closer to him, head in your belly.
when he told you he had missed you like crazy, he didn't define it well enough.
he locked his lips with yours as soon as he had a chance. you missed that feeling, you missed it too fucking much. you missed everything about him too fucking much, and maybe this misfortune was just what you needed to realize that something had to change. you couldn't miss him like this all the time.
it was literal hell, for the both of you.
adam entered the room after some time and, from his face, you could see he carried good news.
and you were right. "you are free to leave today, all the exams cameback with positive answers. you still have to stay in brazil, of course, a flight so long could jeopardize your health, so you'll have to stay for a bit longer, but you two can go stay at the hotel for tonight.
you and lando celebrate this little "victory" with each other and then you start talking about going home, anticipating what you'd do.
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the room was uncharacteristically quiet as he payed attention to the TV and you lost yourself in your own mind.
"I think I might quit my job." you let out with your head layed in his chest. he twists his head to look at you. "what?" he asks, clearly confused, in his head, trying to figure out where all of this was coming from.
yes, it's true that he didn't like to travel around the world every year and leave you behind, and it's also true that this past year, he felt your support fade away, but he didn't want you to leave your life in second place for him. he knew, and understood, how important for you it was to have your financial independence.
he had started to feel guilty, even though this was not his fault.
you thought and rethought about it during your flight, since it was the only thing you could do. of course you never wanted that, but you also couldn't bare the distance anymore, and his accident showed you that.
you wanted to be there, to be able to celebrate every single one of his podiums by his side and not over the phone, you wanted to be able to hold and support him whenever he needed you to do so.
six years into your relationship, neither of you envisioned it ending anytime soon. if it did, you had your savings, but for now, you craved closeness.
"seriously. i want to be with you. i think i never noticed how affected i was by your absence, but i am a lot." you admitted with a sigh. helistened intently. "I want to be able to be with you."
"are you for real?" he asked, concern in his eyes. "I don't want you to feel pressured to do that. I love you whether you're here or on the other side of the world."
"I know, lan. it's not like I would stop working. I just have to find something within my capacities that allows me to travel around the world with you. and it's not like you're going to break up with me, leaving me with nothing. I have my money."
"it's not like I'm gonna break up with you, period." he smirked. "we're a forever thing."
turning you around as if you were as light as a pillow, you wrapped your arms around his neck.
"I love you," you whispered against his lips.
"I love you too," he whispered back.
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dragonlands · 5 months
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There's so much negativity around Izzy's death so I wanted to address some of the points I keep seeing thrown around.
"Izzy's death was pointless"
No, he just had his big speech about how basically they can kill him but they cannot kill the movement. That is a clear paraller to a lot of real life protestors of unjustice. He died protecting the community, he died so the community could go on.
"Izzy's death made his healing pointless"
No it didn't. Healing is always good, feeling happiness and belonging are ALWAYS worth it. We never know how long we've got, doesn't mean we gotta stop trying to be better or happier. His healing was still real. It still mattered.
"Izzy's character arc was left unfinished, it's bad writing"
Oh my god. If you open any writing guide about how to write impactful deaths, and the first thing that comes up is to leave some part of their arc unfinished. And his arc did go through quite a beautiful line, sure there could've been more but his story didn't end like, mid arc. As a writer, of course you want to make the audience sad when a character dies. It's good storytelling. Good stories are supposed to make us feel.
"Izzy died on the arms of his abuser"
Where the hell did this idea come from? Ed and Izzy have been in a toxic codependent relationship way before this show started. You could argue that Izzy was Ed's abuser, but that is not the argument I want to make here. Yes, we saw Ed driven to madness shoot Izzy on screen, but we know Izzy's the one that forced him to be Blackbeart when he didn't want it anymore. There's turmoil all around them. But the final moment is them finally meeting as people, not as components of Blackbeard.
"Izzy's death was unnecessarily awful"
His death was sad, yes, but it was quite beautiful as far as deaths go. He was surrounded by family who cared for him. He was loved, and accepted as he is. He knew his legacy will be carried on.
"They killed off the only character that showed us healing is never too late"
Did we watch the same show? That begins with then unhappy 40+ year old Stede deciding it's finally time to reach for his dreams? Where we see Blackbeard slowly gaining back his humanity? Where Black Pete starts off as toxically masculine dude but ends up in a soft gay marriage? Where most of the crew wanted to mutiny but then they realized being soft is good, actually. Jim's whole purpose in life being revenge but them learning to let that go and instead concentrate on love and fun and family. And so on. Izzy's arc is beautiful, but he's not the only person healing who thought it was too late already.
"Izzy's death was bury your gays trope"
No, what, no. In a pirate show where everyobody is queer some queer people will die. Bury your gays is about only having one or few queer characters and killing them off while the straights get their happily ever afters. This is so far from that.
Also, I want people to be aware of the phenomenon, where creators of diverse shows are subjected to more critism than those of non diverse shows. If this intrests you, Sarah Z on Youtube made a great video on it called Double standards and diverse media. Our flag means death has given us so much, queer love story with a happily ever after, finding community, nonbinary character. And the creators have always been so kind to fans, so let's show them tht kindness back. Because critizicing this one aspect can easily turn to seeming like the whole story is just unwanted. That stories like Ed and Stede's aren't worth telling. And I'm so aftraid that will happen, when just now for the first time in years we are finally getting queer stories.
Also, I understand people are sad. I am sad too - Izzy was an amazing character and his death was sad but that's just. Good writing. You can grieve, but trying to turn it into a moral or dramaturgy issue is just not a good look. And attacking the creators of this wonderful show is just horrible.
Remember - this fandom is a safe space ship 🏴‍☠️🏳️‍🌈
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AITA for purposely violating boundaries that weren't communicated in order to test a friend?
My friend (32F) has this habit of bottling things up until she can't take it anymore, then blows up. It's a complete disaster. Anyway, I (27F) didn't know that until it happened. We had been friends for half a year, and she blew up at me for, idk 🤷‍♀️ to this day, I have no idea what she was mad about because she spoke very vaguely about what bothered her because she didn't even remember it, from the bits I comprehended, I assumed she was upset about my sense of humor, and wrote a whole AITA about that because she didn't previously mind my jokes at all and engaged with them. The final verdict was ESH, but does it matter if it turned out she's mad about something else?
Anyway, we made up but we set boundaries between us. One of her boundaries was not to joke like that in front of coworkers, but she said it was okay to do it in private. And I made her promise that she stops bottling things up and tell me immediately when somethings bothers her, because in many cases, turned out most of the things that upset her were misunderstandings. And in case it's not a misunderstanding, I need her to let me know so I can stop these behaviors.
Anyway, I knew some certain jokes bothered her, so I didn't make them again even if it was just the two of us, despite her supposedly being okay with it. Instead, I changed my sense of humor completely. I made sure not to use insults as a joke. Thing like, "you're going to drink milk, aren't you?" "If you bring milk to my counter I won't bill it" because she's lactose intolerant and keeps drinking milk and regretting it later. And things like "wear your seatbelt because if I get a ticket for it you're the one who's gonna pay it" (we carpool in my car)
However, since it was a misunderstanding and that the jokes themselves aren't exactly what upset her, I ended up making her mad again simply by interacting with her normally. She broke her promise by not communicating with me, however, this time I was very attentive of her reactions and body language that I started seeing patterns. I knew exactly how she laughs things off and starts joking around when she's in fact, angry. and I made a mental note of the things that made her react that way. They were things like, telling her I care about her, reminding her of things she forgot (without joking about how forgetful she is), asking her questions to understand her more as a person and attempt small talk, mundane things like that that I assume she took the wrong way. This continued on for 2 months.
Personally if she wanted me to stop, I will, even if I find nothing wrong with it, but I continued on purpose because I wanted her to communicate like she promised she would.I could theoretically be the one to communicate, but I refrained this time since I was already questioning if this friendship was worth it. It's tiring being the only one to communicate all the time, so I tested her by violating those "boundaries" to see if she was going to say something. Her last straw was when I told her I care about her health and she need to rest instead of waiting for me to finish my work by standing behind me, which bothered her, even though she complains about back pain after a long shift. To make things clear, she wasn't even standing behind me to talk with me or anything, she just did it for no reason when she was supposed to wait for me by the exit which has seats she could rest on. Apparently she insisted she was just waiting for me, which had me confused since she never did that before, and I asked her "why?" and she blew up at me for making her "sit alone" when she wanted to "talk with the girls" even though she never said that. She said she was just waiting for me? She could've explained and I would understand instead of lying and blaming me for not understanding what she wanted to do.
She ended up blowing up at me again because she "told me to stop these sort of things" even though she literally didn't and I was waiting for her to explain why she doesn't accept these behaviors, she was angry to the point of not wearing her seat belt 10 minutes prior getting home and opening the door before the car stopped to get out. Lucky for us it was nearly 2 AM and the street was empty, otherwise she would've caused a serious accident. The area she lives in is very dangerous to drive in and she admits that.
She never spoke to me again and I thought good riddance.
(Additional information: this friend is too attached to me, despite what this post might indicate. She's more interested in making this friendship work than I am, but isn't taking the initiative to communicate and expects me to magically read her mind. She avoid communication like the plague and blames me when things aren't working between us. That's why I made her promise to communicate with me in the first place, she could have refused but she didn't because i would end the friendship otherwise.)
TDLR: My friend promised to let me know if certain behaviors bothered her, but she didn't keep her promise. I picked up on what behaviors bother her becauseI learned how she pretends something doesn't bother her. But because I wanted her communicate, I didn't stop in order to test her but instead she ended up endagering our lives in her anger. AITA?
What are these acronyms?
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heartfullofleeches · 11 months
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You know what i would like to see a goldfish reader cause i mean goldfish can be really tiny and can get fairly big, maybe reader is from a pet store and gets bought for a young rich yandere and gets absolutely pampered and gets huge, clifford the big red dog style
"Sorry, I can't make it this year."
"Mom won't drive me out that far....."
"Maybe next time?"
"Next year."
Next year... Next year.. They'll be forty by the time that rolls around. It's always the same. People stick around for the lavish parties and taste of the high life, but the second they want to downgrade for something small with close friends and family everyone's suddenly too busy to come see them. The presents have always been shit too. Flashy jewelry or clothing from brands they couldn't care less about. Whatever happened to giving kids toy trains and dolls? They're sick of it. Sick of everything. Why can't anything turn out right-
Auryn hurls their phone at the door, anger fleeting as it smashes into a million pieces. Mommy and daddy will just buy them a new one, and while it won't do a scratch they love the idea of burning a hole in their pockets. Wasting all the money they gave them instead of time. The door creaks open once the coast is clear and in peaks a frightened maid. Her eyes fall to her arms, soothing whatever she held with a soft hush. They return to her master, waiting for their answer.
"Come in."
The maid opens the door completely and steps inside. In her hands was a glass bowl. "From your parents."
Auryn drums their leg against the frame of their bed, wondering why their arms were still empty. "Well?"
The maid shoves the bowl into their chest as passive she could, prioritizing the creature within over her annoyance. They look into the glass. Floating at the bottom; staring right back at them, was a little goldfish. Poor thing had been startled awake by the loud thud and trying to squeeze its tail into the castle it had already outgrown. It still couldn't have been any bigger than their hand. Beyond its human features, there was nothing special about it. A fish.
A fucking fish. Out of all the things they could've sent. The maid could sense their rage flaring. "Please give it a chance. Your brother couldn't keep it, and he knew you'd be the next best owner."
Their nails scrap the glass. That only makes it worse. Their family dumping their trash on them was a new low. What were they going to do with this thing? They should put it out of its misery. Abandoned, weak, unable to feign for itself.... just like them.
Auryn looks at the goldfish again. They stick a finger in its tank, swishing it around as the guppy takes interest. It swims up to them and puts its mouth around the digit, nibbling at the skin. They smile a bit, pulling their finger away which in turn causes the fish to dart away. Their brows furrow in worry.
"... I'm..sorry for scaring you. You're just like me aren't you? Alone. Afraid. I'll take care of you. I promise. Why don't we start off by getting you a new tank?"
.
.
.
"Noooooo"
You shake in their arms as the divers attempt to fit their measuring tools around your tail, successfully knocking two of them away and sending the third packing. Auryn strokes your tears into your scaly flesh, fighting a laugh as the hired help resurfaces.
"I don't want to get measured!"
"Shhhh. It's okay. If even one scale is missing off that gorgeous tail I'll cut their oxygen and add a few bricks to their suits."
You still aren't convinced. Auryn melts at the way you curl against their chest. The first time they held you like this you were about the size of a puppy. Now, your tail alone was bigger as their entire torso and your arms were tree trunks compared to theirs. They had done exactly as they said. After you came into their life no one else mattered. They got you a nice large tank to start off with, fed you a healthy diet with plenty of treats since your speak lessons were going so well, and spoke with you for hours. You were already half their size by the end of the year. They used to take you on walks in your little bowl, then they had to buy a wagon to carry you around, and now you lived in a glorified swimming pool no one else had access to besides care beyond their capabilities. Having you turned them into a more compassionate, but closed off person, and got them through the worse in life. They were successful in nearly every endeavor and it was all for you.
Auryn gets close to your ear as their voice rises in pitch. "But if you reaaaally don't want to - I'll have to find some other guppy to give all the brine shrimp I have in the house to."
Your tail cracks against the pool's wall, ripping the water's surface with tidal category waves and pushing the workers back down under. "I'll be good! I will- please!"
"Haha - ok, ok." They give a thumbs up to the divers as they climb in the pool. You work with them this time, channeling your fright as their tools stretch and stick around you into the grip you hold on Auryn's arm - careful not to apply too much. They grit through the pain and as one of the divers comes up again they take the measuring tape still held by the rest and lines it up to your head.
"4 meters!"
Auryn exclaims in glee and grabs you by the cheeks, cooing and kissing your nose as they laugh. "Look at you! A whole nother meter in just one year. Keep this up and we'll have to buy an island."
A servant knocks on the sliding glass door. Auryn excuse themselves with one final kiss to your wet lips as they hop out of your tank. They hand them a phone.
"It's your parents. They are in town with your brother and would like to take you out for your birthday this evening."
Auryn gets real close to the receiver as they speak. "Eat shit and die. Stay the hell away from us."
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ultfreakme · 2 months
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Actually you know what, thinking on it, Sokka's sexism in the original was really weird and when writing fic, I had a hard time understanding where that even came from. We've been told Gran-gran left NWT because of the sexism and stayed at SWT, Hama was a fighter, Hakoda didn't condemn Katara for fighting or learning bending, there's a trivia thing where we learn Hakoda actually wanted to find a waterbending teacher for Katara. Now sure you can say fighting doesn't mean sexism wasn't present, but Sokka's conveyance of that sexism didn't work if that's the case.
Sokka specifically underestimates girls in fighting. That's how his sexism is largely expressed. Kanna wouldn't have raised Hakoda that way and in turn Hakoda wouldn't have raised Sokka like that.
He would be overprotective of Katara and stifle her as a bender, but not because he's sexist, but because Hakoda said "Hey you're our last warrior"- and this is actually the crux of his character.
One big argument people make is that Sokka's character arc with Suki apparently won't happen. But interviews state that the new focus on Sokka-Suki would be about them finding strength and solidarity as non-benders. In the original we do see Sokka trying to figure out his place and part in the war and among Gaang, he does feel insecure about his strength and ability to protect people. I think taking the new direction would connect well with the Serpent's Pass reunion.
I understand why people are hesitant but I just saw posts saying Sokka's sexism is inherent to his character as Toph's blindness is!?!?!? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU????? There's so much to unpack there I don't even know where to begin. Like this is getting ridiculous and in trying to say Sokka's sexism is good actually, you guys forget that the original was kinda fumbling its way through Sokka's sexism arc. It's not that fast or easy to make someone dismantle sexism, and the Kyoshi Warriors + Suki are playing into the idea that a woman is only equal to a man when she has combat prowess (I still kinda cringe at Suki saying "I'm a warrior....but I'm also a girl" she says that about her romantic interest in Sokka and kissing him, like why is being a girl or romantic interest associated with 'girl'?). They could've stretched out the arc and included Yue in helping Sokka learn that women aren't inferior but all talks of women's equality was restricted to combat.
I ADORE the Katara v Pakku fight and I think that was a far better discussion and showcase of misogyny and commentary on inequality. Because yes it was a fight, but it was, underneath all that, about Kanna and Yue.
It is the first time we see that actually, Kanna and Yue should get to choose because that is a fundamental right they should have. Healing was allocated entirely to women, but Katara learned it and it was never seen as an inferior form of bending. Everyone should get to pick if they wanna fight or they wanna heal or both. Katara'a fighter, a healer.
So I just wanna ask; Do you want Sokka's sexism to be there to comment on the unfairness of gender inequality? Do you want it there to give this one male character a character arc (because Sokka never talks to Katara- the one whom he hurt most with that attitude- or acknowledges his contribution in suppressing her advances in bending after this little lesson he learned from Suki)? Or do you want it there because the og did it so it has to be there? Because if it's the first, KATARA's arc does it a million times better and that's still in the show.
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adventuringblind · 4 months
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Joint Coping
Lestappen x Reader
Genre: Angst
Dialouge: "Help me understand."
Summary: Max helps his partners learn to cope in healthy ways
Warnings: Selh-harm, unhealthy Coping, blood, Ferrari, Max being the sane one of the group
Notes: I would like to emphasize that this is a thing that does happen. I know because I've done it. This specifically is not something to be glorified at all. Self-harm done in groups can become competitive. This is a pretty toned down version of things I've experienced and it's less toxic. THIS IS NOT REACHING OUT. Just wanted to clarify :)
This is part of my 1000 follower celebration! Requests are still open if you'd like to participate (the link will take you to the request form).
Masterlist
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Max knows something is wrong with his partners. It's like an itch in his brain he can't scratch. A sixth sense, if you will.
The two Ferrari drivers are struggling with their team. Every problem is their fault. They have become the Ferrari scapegoats. When they do poor, it's the driver. When they do good, it's the team and the car.
He's coming to the end of his patience. If he has to hear them self deprecate one more time he might actually consider making them stand in the mirror and say nice things about themselves. Can he fuck it out of them? Is that a possibility? He really doesn't know but is desperate and willing to try anything.
They both DNF at the next race. Max is a man on a mission through media and debrief. He needs to see that they are okay. At the very least not sitting through some kind of lecture a parent gives to a child.
He sprints to the Ferrari garage and runs into Carlos. Despite his injury that took him out of the season, he still comes to support his team and teammates.
"Carlos!" The Spainard spins around to face him. "Have you seen-?"
"They already left over an hour ago. Did they not text you?"
There are warning bells going off inside of his head. Something is clearly wrong and they aren't telling him about it. He's about to sprint away when Carlos stops him.
"Before you go, you should that there were some awful things said by their engineers and they looked really upset about it."
"Thanks Carlos."
Max is back at the hotel as fast as he can manage. He tried both their cells with no answer. It's killing him from the inside out with anxiety. He's probably just overthinking, but it'll feel better when he sees they are okay.
He keys the door open and doesn't bother taking off his shoes. The lights are off aside from the one in the bathroom. Maybe they decided a nice relaxing bath would do the trick. Max could also go for one. He pushes that thought aside for now.
He knocks gently on the door. "You two in there?" No response. Or at least - not one to him directly. There are a few hushed whispers, but nothing loud enough for him to hear.
He waits Aproximatley ten seconds before he can't handle it anymore and swings the door open. He expects to see fogged mirror and water on the floor. Instead he's met with the sight red wrists and thighs.
He's lost. Max Verstappen has no idea what to do.
They are stripped down to undergarments. Legs dangling over the side of tub. A switchblade in the hands of Charles. They both look teary eyed and doped out. Are they enjoying this?
God, he feels so stupid. Weeks of having Sex with no lights on, sweatshirts in hot weather, no swimming and doing private ice bathes away from trainers. He should've noticed. Max could've stopped this sooner. He wants to rewind and tell them to come to him instead of relying on this to get the through.
"Guess you caught us." Charles let's out a half assed laugh. "You gonna stare at us all night? Or can we get the yelling part over with? Last three partners left us when they caught it. I understand if it's to much. Not your burden."
Max had been a later addition. The two in the bathtub had been together since their teenage years. Had they been Coping like this for so long?
"Sorry about the mess. Relapses are hard. We made it all season until a month ago." She leans her head onto Charles' shoulder. How can they make this type of environment endearing? This is unreal and they need serious help. Which Max will eventually get them when he can get his act together.
He kneels on the floor in between them. Max is just now registering the tears on his cheeks. They'd been in pain for so long. It hurts him just thinking about it.
"I'm not going to yell-" he looks at one. "-I'm not going to leave-" he looks at the other. "But help me understand. I want to help."
"It's easier to do with someone else around. It's more therapeutic." The lopsided smile on the female's face is not helping Max. He has to many questions.
First, he gets them cleaned up. Neither of them flinch when he disenfects the wounds. They don't look at him as he wraps them in whatever gauz is in the first aid kit. They look ashamed as he puts the knife in his bag and rinses the tub.
The one that gets him, however, is the look of pure confusion when Max hugs them both so tightly. It's like they don't know how to respond.
They sit in a circle on the bed. It's comfortable and Max can see both their expressions clearly.
"I know the struggle." He starts. "Punishing yourself is better then someone else doing it, right? But I had Daniel there reminding me to reach out."
"It's just easier this way."
"Easier isn't better. Look at the state you're in. I'm not leaving, but I am getting the both of you help."
He followed through with this the next morning. Then looked supposed to see him when they woke up. He, and his childish mind, kissed all the cuts and scars. Every single one of them received proper treatment.
The female cried and thre her arms around Max. Charles had looked away in shame. The reasons they started this are still foreign to him, but that's not his priority.
He gets them help. All of them, mind you. They do group sessions as the three of them to find healthier ways to cope with each other.
Reasons seem to fade into the background because they don't matter as much. The important thing is that Max caught it in time. That he didn't lose them to their own minds. They are partners, and Max would be devistated to lost someone he loves to those dark places.
He rests easier now that the itch has been scratched. His partners are doing better. They smile and laugh at his stupid jokes again. A bit of confidence regained.
And Max reminds them daily that nothing is worth it if you have to destroy yourself for it. Drivers or not, he loves them regardless.
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blossomthepinkbunny · 29 days
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Charlie as an underdeveloped character
One thing I was genuinely dissapointed by when watching Hazbin Hotel was that they never cared to dive into Charlie's Morality more.
I feel like a lot of people can agree that Charlie felt very flat/sidelined in a show she was supposed to be the main character of and I think that that's because they ran out of Character Moments for her. Her Backstory is pretty much just infodumped at the start so there's nothing you can really explore there (except for her relationship with her parents ig but they only really brought that up and resolved it in one episode). Alastor has the mystery behind him of what his goals really are, Angel Dust has his arc about standing up to his abuser, Vaggie has her dramatic backstory reveal thing and Sir pentious gets focus as the one real guest at the hotel and with his goal to be redeemed.
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Charlie really has no conflict at all, which is weird since the whole plot is that her idea is relentlessly mocked and never succeeds until the end. But she doesn't have a personal conflict. All the issues she faces come from the ignorance of the people around her who don't support her, but never from who she is. She never has to change. They try to hint at this with her being possibly invasive and not respecting boundaries in the Angel Dust and Valentino episode. But the episode doesn't focus on her and Angel as they talk it out and she realizes how she might have to change as well (from how I remember it). It focuses on Husk and Angel's relationship instead.
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I feel like the easiest route they could've taken for her character was that of a moral dilemma. Charlie believes in second chances and being able to change demons and her opposite is Adam, who doesn't think demons should be redeemed and should just be killed instead. But it's never specified if Charlie truly believes everyone deserves a second chance or if there are restrictions to that. Adam sings a song in the first episode and explaines his reasoning for why he believes demons shouldn't be saved, which is that they had their chance to be good and didn't choose it and now they can't expect another one (I guess the real reason is that he's just an asshole who doesn't care but that's because Vivzepop can't write Villains so I'll just pretend like that's his real reason).
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The problem is that Adam is presented as fully in the wrong and I just don't agree with that. I'm not saying he's right with killing random demons of course but the show never takes the time to consider that sometimes people go to hell because they are actually terrible and have done inexcusable things. Like yeah, someone who had an addicition or a mental health problem while they were alive obviously doesn't deserve eternal suffering without any chance for redeemability, but we know that those aren't the only people that go to hell (in the pilot it's literally confirmed that real life criminals like Jeffrey Dahmer are also down there).
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The show blatanly shows us characters like Valentino who are shown to do irredeemable things and be purely evil.
My question is just if Charlie would also look at someone like Valentino and say: "Yeah they deserve to be saved and get a second chance". She obviously thinks Valentino sucks, which we see in the Episode were she meets him.
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So like, what would she have done if in the second episode someone like him stood at their door and wanted to be redeemed instead of Sir Pentious. Does she draw a line? Or would she have really heard him out? Her morality with this "everybody deserves a second chance" attitude is so underexplored even though it would have been the perfect place to develop her more. If they had confronted her with an actually tough situation, where she is presented with a truly terrible person, they could've had two interesting ways to take her character.
She could've accepted the person and with that she'd have taken her role a fully 'good' saviour for the demons. Someone who is truly without judgement, or atleast believes that there is good in everyone that just has to be brought out. Which would've also given room to think about if people like that are even inherently good, if they can 'excuse' the actions of terrible people and still want to help them. This would have made her a very extreme character in her believes, but something coherent and definitive is actually something Charlie desperately needs for her characterization.
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The other way would've had her reject the person and with that she would have to face the idea that maybe Adam isn't fully wrong. In that situation she would have found herself in a similar position to the Angels in heaven, where she basically is the one deciding over what's acceptable and what isn't. This could lead to her having a moral dilemma. Is she even a good person if she's deciding what's moral and what isn't? Can she just be okay with making exceptions to her idea to protect her people? Does she even want to view EVERY demon as her family? Or does she think there are some demons that maybe deserve death?
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I'm just really dissapointed that the show takes such an interesting idea and such a difficult topic and then just does nothing with it. What we view as bad and good and which people we judge harder than others will always depend on social norms and the situation. It's a topic with no real right and wrong answer because there are so many things to consider. But this moral grey conflict that is literally one of the MAIN CONFLICTS in Hazbin Hotel is so incredibly underwritten, that it's not even funny.
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Instead of acknowledging the difficulty of the subject Hazbin does what it does best and takes the easy route with seemingly clear right and wrong sides. This is especially stupid, since morally grey characters are supposed to be the point of the show. Like there are these demons who have done bad things and who aren't perfect, but that doesn't make them bad people. Its about revealing that a person has layers (which the writing doesn't). This is also a big point in Helluva Boss, where characters like Blitzø or Stolas who mess up repeatedly, are supposed to be shown as still having interests, aspirations, and good things to them.
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The easy route which is taken constantly in both shows however makes it so that Charlie is completely in the right and anyone who criticises her is one of the evil people who try to ruin her plan, just like Adam. Who's also such a straw man for anyone who even dares to bring any objection to Charlies ideas, because everyone who does is apparently a hypocrite who just doesn't understand her and would rather side with genocide (I wonder were Vivzepop takes her inspiration from).
Charlies writing was just really dissapointing with almost never any reflection being done on her part. She doesn't have really striking moments, discussions or ideas to her in a show she's supposed to lead. That's just an issue that comes with Vivzepop never really putting as much work into her female characters, even tough they would desperately need it.
I know that only the first season is out so far, but I highly doubt thay they'll bring up a discussion like this in s2. Especially since Adam is dead now and the Angels will probably try to work more with the demons, after Sir Pentious' redemtion and the reveal of the exterminations to them. Also the Vees, Lillith and Alastor will be more of focus from what we can assume by the ending scenes.
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I just don’t like that Viv can take interesting conflicts and write them to be completely one-dimensional and boring.
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