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miraculouswolf99 · 4 years

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Miraculous Lemonade (Song Fic)

I love the movie Lemonade Mouth and thought that the favoritism shown to the athletes over everyone else on the movie was similar to the favoritism shown to those with high-ranking parents in Miraculous Ladybug. So, an idea instantly formed in my mind. Includes my original characters Lyon and Vallia Garden.

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*****

Adrien sat in the park outside of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, eating with is two friends from Greece, Lyon and Vallia Garden. The two were doing an exchange program that helped students from other countries experience other cultures. They spoke fluent French, so they came to Paris. Adrien met them years ago when his family went to a charity fashion show that was held at the animal and nature sanctuary that Lyon and Vallia’s family owned.

The three may be a “little” annoyed with what had just happened at school. Lila “Liar” Rossi had framed Marinette for cheating, assault, and theft. Adrien made, what he called, a “deal with the devil” to get Marinette back in school. But it seemed that after her first few days back, Marinette’s parents decided it was better for her to go to an arts school instead of Dupont.

What infuriated the trio the most was that the school made no effort to investigate any of Lila’s accusations. There was no checking the security footage, no dusting for fingerprints, not even any hearing of Marinette’s side of the story. They simply took Lila at her word and some easily framed evidence to expel the best student at Dupont. It made them all furious.

“You know the favoritism shown at your school is appalling, right,” Vallia raised an eyebrow as she looked at her friend.

Adrien sighed. “I know, I know. But what could I do about it? I’m the son of a fashion designer, not a politician like Chloe.”

“That brat’s a part of the problem, anyway,” Lyon scoffed. “The entire school was punished and she is the only one that gets out of it? I’ve seen less corrupt politicians in Gotham, and that says something.”

“I know people criticize me for being Chloe’s friend, but would you two give up a friend that you’ve had since you were a kid,” Adrien asked them.

“Honestly, no,” Vallia said. “We get how you feel, Adrien, but one day Chloe will do something unforgivable and you will have to choose between her and your other friends.”

“I think I chose a while ago but just didn’t want to admit it,” Adrien says. “Chloe had her chance to be a better person when she was Queen Bee. But even after getting to be a hero, she still got her father, Sabrina, and Aurore akumatized.”

“Is there anyone she hasn’t akumatized,” Lyon crossed his arms.

“Out of all our class, only Marinette and I have not been akumatized,” Adrien says. “And for everyone that has, only Max, Nino, and Lila were not akumatized by her.”

“Well, Lila being akumatized was probably her own fault anyway,” Lyon shrugged. “She lies with every breath she takes and one of them probably bit her in the butt at one time or another.”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you guys yet, have I,” Adrien thought he had told them already.

“Told us what,” Vallia asked.

“You two were not here when she had her real first day,” Adrien tells them. “Lila lied on Alya’s blog about being Ladybug’s best friend. She had met me after school and tried to lie about not only being the descendant of a hero but also being the holder of the fox miraculous.”

“Seriously,” Lyon raised an eyebrow. “She was actually that stupid? Why not just put up a giant light-up sign that says ‘Hawkmoth, come and attack me,’ with her address written in neon.”

“If she hasn’t been targeted, Hawkmoth probably knows that she’s a liar,” Vallia said.

Adrien nodded. “During our conversation, Ladybug herself showed up. She probably saw Lila’s interview because she immediately called Lila out for her lies. Ladybug obviously hates liars as much as Marinette. Lila ran away and the next thing I know, she is breaking into my house while akumatized as Volpina and once again claiming to be a hero.”

“So that’s how you know she’s a liar,” Vallia understood now. “But why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Because at the time she was only lying to get attention and friends,” Adrien said. “Have you seen my class, we’re all special in a lot of ways. Alya runs the most popular blog in Paris. Nino gets a lot of attention as a DJ. Juleka, Rose, and Ivan are members of a band that has been getting a lot of attention lately. Rose is friends with Prince Ali. Chloe is the mayor’s daughter. I am a model and the face of my dad’s brand. Even Marinette knows Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and has impressed my father and Chloe’s Style Queen of a mother with her designs. Compared to all of us, Lila’s lies are not that unbelievable.”

Vallia and Lyon actually see where he was coming from. Being surrounded by people her own age and yet they have accomplished so much, it made sense why Lila would want to lie about herself like that.

“But then she took things too far, right,” Lyon asked his friend.

Adrien nodded. “Once she came back from her, so called, trip to Achu, she started using her lies to manipulate the class, which you guys have seen. She lied about having tinnitus so she could sit next to me, lied about having a sprained wrist to get Kim to carry her lunch tray, she even lied about having an allergy to tomatoes to make Rose take them out of her salad for her.”

“Isn’t that why she was akumatized into Chameleon,” Vallia remembered Adrien telling them. “You told her to stop lying.”

“Yeah,” Adrien said. “When she suddenly left for her ‘trip,’ I saw no reason to humiliate her by telling people about Ladybug calling her out. Plus, it’s not like they had any reason to believe me since none of them ever believed Marinette when she told them that Lila is a liar.”

“And it does not help that no one in school ever tries to actually fact-check her stories,” Lyon rolled his eyes.

“It’s not like it’s hard, either,” Vallia agreed with her brother. “Jagged Stone published his autobiography three months ago. There is no mention of a cat, a plane crash, or anyone named Lila in the entire book. It even specifically says that he had Fang, his crocodile, since he was twenty. That is fifteen years that he has had him.”

“I know, I know, my school is full of the most gullible people in Paris,” Adrien sighed. “And now that Marinette is gone, it seems like Chloe and Lila have teamed up and are ruling the school with iron fists. I can barely get a minute without one of them hanging off my arm.”

“And it’s not like any of the teachers or Damocles are doing anything,” Lyon says. “I’ve seen you, ask, request, and even demand for them to let go of you and they never do. You’ve even done it in front if some teachers and none of them ever did anything.”

“It’s the daughter of the mayor and the daughter of a diplomat,” Vallia sighed. “They will, most likely, never do anything. Even if it involves the son of a rich fashion designer.”

“It’s not like we can do anything about it,” Adrien sounded defeated. “Damocles is too afraid of losing money from the mayor and it’s not like Chloe and Lila are ever going to change.”

He was rubbing his very sore and bruised upper right arm, which Lila had been holding onto very tightly for most of the school day. And he knew that he would also probably have to deal with more of her harassment at the next photoshoot that he has with her.

“But... can even Damocles deny change when the entire school is rallied against him and those like him,” Lyon smirked.

“Oh, I know what you’re thinking, Lyon, and I am in total agreement,” Vallia brightly smiled.

“Uh... mind cluing me in, guys,” Adrien was completely lost.

“Well, you know that Lyon and I are friends with Clara Nightingale,” Vallia started.

Adrien nodded. When the pop star had come to Paris to shoot her “Miraculous” music video, she had basically tackled the twins when she saw them. Apparently, she had met them years ago when she did a charity concert at their family sanctuary and even now treated the two like they were younger siblings to her.

“Clara had told us the reason why she started performing in the first place,” Lyon continued for his sister. “When she was our age, she attended a high school that focused entirely on athletics and nothing else. To the point where all other extracurriculars were pushed into the basement with no budget for any of them. So she used her music to spread the massage of what was happening. She wound up getting a sponsor for the music program that built an entire auditorium for her school even when the principal tried to deny it.”

“So, she basically started a music revolution,” Adrien summed up.

“Exactly,” Vallia says. “We can do the same here. Use music to show that not everyone tolerates the favoritism. It should prove more of a problem since all three of us are rich but also see it as a problem.”

“We should probably also add those that are not like us,” Adrien says. “Kitty Section could help, plus Luka and Juleka are not under Lila’s spell.”

“But Rose and Ivan are,” Lyon reminded. “Without them, we would not have a drummer or a singer. Vallia and I can sing, but neither of us play the drums. I’m classically trained on the violin and Vallia doesn’t play any instrument.”

“Kim plays the drums,” Vallia said. “And when Lila got Marinette expelled, he snapped out of her spell.”

“Guess we have our plan,” Adrien says.

“We’ll talk with Nathaniel and Marc,” Lyon said. “They can spread it to the rest of the school and we will soon have as much support as we will need before we perform and get the Board of Education involved.”

“But what about your father, Adrien,” Vallia was worried about her friend’s ‘stick-in-the-mud’ of a parent. “He would never agree with you being a part of any type of revolution.”

“Well, my father will just have to deal with it,” Adrien shrugged. “Plus, I can always spin it to make it look good for the brand when my fans see it as me trying to help those that are neglected because they are not rich.”

The twins smirked as they walked off to get their friends in on their plan.

*****

Luka and Juleka were more than happy to use music to change Dupont for the better. Luka went to an arts school, but Juleka wanted a normal school and she was currently regretting her choice. Kim was also very glad to finally be able to show that he was more than just a jock and that he was about more than just dares and jokes. Seeing the bruises that Lila and Chloe had been leaving on Adrien’s arms just motivated them even more.

They decided to give their performance at a school dance that was coming soon. The entire school would be there. And when they talked to Marc, his class’s president Aurore contacted the Board of Education and they were going to send a few members to check out the problem.

“You guys ready,” Luka asked them as he picked up his guitar.

“Ready as we will ever be,” Juleka answers.

“I’m just glad to finally be able to stick it to the man,” Kim grins brightly.

“The song you guys chose is certainly a good one,” Adrien looks at Lyon and Vallia.

“What can we say, we love American Disney movies,” Vallia smirked. “Makes us glad that we’re fluent in english.”

The dance got dark, allowing them to get onto the stage that was set up for them. They had convinced Damocles to let them perform, saying they had an important message to give out with their music. Since three of the performers were rich, he let them. It did not go unnoticed how he had rejected Kitty Section when they had wanted to perform at the last dance even when they had told him the same thing.

Adrien stood behind the keyboard as Kim sat at the drums while Juleka picked up her bass and Luka stood with his guitar. Lyon was taking the lead singing position while Vallia was back-up vocals and running their “special” effects. They all had their own mics for them they took turns singing their verses. They were going to get their message out whether people at Dupont wanted it to or not.

Adrien was just glad he managed to avoid both Lila and Chloe since there was no way either of them would have let go of him and let him perform. But after this, he hoped to never have to deal with either of them ever again.

The music started, the spotlights shining down on them. Lyon took the lead and began.

Lyon- “Hear it getting louder, a call for revolution Yeah, we came for what was ours, it's time for restitution We'll protect our own, take back the stone No, human nature cannot hold us down.” Luka- “Stranded at the bottom, but we're more than a whisper No, we'll never be forgotten, our blood's thicker than silver, yeah When worlds collide, it's do or die So tell me, is it wrong to stand your ground?” Lyon+ Luka- “Hear us howl, all or nothing Fangs are out, we ain't running Hear us howl, it's all or nothing.” All six- “Oh oh oh oh This is a declaration Oh oh oh oh Of a new generation It's now or never, we're in this together We'll fight through the highs and the lows No, we won't break, we're more than flesh and bone.”

Lyon gave a wink to his sister and she started the real part of the show. With members of the board in the audience, this was going to force some changes to be made.

She pressed a button, images and videos started showing on the giant screen behind them. If they could see the board members, they would have seen some very furious faces.

All of the images were of destroyed property, bruises or scratches on people, and even of old things like the destroyed make-up bag that Chloe took a marker to. Then was the clear message when pictures of Lila and Chloe were shown with GUILTY under their pictures then with pictures of the school staff with DOES NOTHING under them.

Lila, Chloe, and Damocles were all white as ghosts.

Vallia- “The world has gone crazy and no one seems to listen Gotta step in, no more maybes, and stop the demolition Is it hope or fear? Look in the mirror Everything we built is coming down.” Juleka- “No more hesitation, it's time we start to realize With all this separation, silence is still taking sides So use your voice, make a choice And tell me, are you standing with the crowd?” All six- “Oh oh oh oh This is a declaration Oh oh oh oh Of a new generation It's now or never, we're in this together We'll fight through the highs and the lows No, we won't break, we're more than flesh and bone.” Then videos were played on the screen. The first were from the day that Marinette was expelled. It was footage from the school security cameras that they got when Markov, the ever helpful AI, hacked into them when the group asked for his help. He was more than happy to help slap some sense into Max.

It clearly showed Lila taking the test answers and putting them in Marinette’s bag. It also showed her fake falling down the stairs and placing her necklace into Marinette’s locker. The video moved on to showing all the times that her or Chloe would grab onto Adrien and would never let go no matter how many times he told them to. The video also showed it happening in front of teachers and they never did anything.

More videos showed Chloe bullying, destroying other art projects that were not her own, and even all the things she did that got most of the class akumatized when it happened on school grounds. They also got videos from Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and every other celebrity that Lila lied about. All of them saying they had never met Lila in their lives. All six- “Ayy, ayy, ayy ayy We say no more bad blood, no more bad blood Ayy, ayy, ayy ayy No way, they can't stop us, no, they can't stop us Ayy, ayy, ayy ayy We say no more bad blood, no more bad blood Ayy, ayy, ayy ayy No way, they can't stop us, no, they can't stop us.”

More videos and photos identified every bully in the school. Each and every single one of them being rich, or have influential parents that Damocles was afraid of, or both. The other students all gathered near the stage, showing their support to the band and hardly anyone supporting the staff or the bullies. Alya was still speechless over Lila’s lies being revealed and what she had said to Marinette in “defense” of Lila. Sabrina was also pale as she remembered everything that Chloe ever made her do, like stealing Marinette’s diary and locking Juleka in the bathroom. Adrien- “History changes, but we lost the pages we wrote When you lose direction, can't see the reflection you know We came from the bottom then became the problem Now everything's out of control So hey, are you with me? Let's go!”

The students cheered and danced as the band all sang. They all knew that they were now going to finally be free of the bullies and liars that have been plaguing their lives for years. All six- “Oh oh oh oh This is a declaration Oh oh oh oh Of a new generation It's now or never, we're in this together We'll fight through the highs and the lows No, we won't break, we're more than flesh and bone.”

The band finished with a bang, staring down the staff with cold eyes that said that they regretted nothing. Everyone they stared as were about as pale as a person could be.

After the dance, the Board of Education members brought everything that they had learned and seen to the rest of the board. Actions were immediately taken over the weekend. There was an intense investigation into the school and every member of the staff. Not that surprising, but Mendeleiev was the only staff member that never did anything wrong but was constantly blocked from doing anything by the other staff members.

Damocles was revealed to have been using money granted to the school for things like locker upgrades and new textbooks for his Owl gear instead. Plus he was also found out to be taking many bribes from parents of the bullies to not only keep them from being punished but to also increase their grades if they were low. He was fired immediately.

Bustier also faces a lot of consequences. When the investigation was made known, dozens of her old students came forward. It was revealed that her methods have caused all of them pain. She had spent years coddling the bullies and punishing the victims. Many ended up in therapy while the bullies usually ended up in jail for mostly violent crimes. She had her teaching license revoked and was blacklisted from ever teaching again.

The rest of the staff were all suspended until they finished courses about how to deal with bullies, how to properly run a classroom, as well as all of them having to pay finds.

All of the bullies were either expelled or suspended, depending on how horrible they were. A lot of them were having to repeat the grade because of how much their parents had spent to keep their grades up while they did hardly any work.

Alya, while being sued for the lies she posted on her blog, did not do anything else beyond cyber bullying of Marinette. But that did get her another lawsuit from her former best friend’s parents as well as being suspended from school for a week. Her parents forced her to delete the Ladyblog.

Chloe and Lila were, of course, the worst of them all.

Chloe ended up expelled and it was found out that she was also banded from every private school in the city because of how well her bullying habits were known. Her father was also facing multiple accusations of abuse of power because of how he handled problems that his daughter caused. Chloe could also hardly ever leave the hotel without being sneered or yelled at by literally everyone in Paris.

Lila was not only expelled, but also had giant finds placed on her after she was arrested for her months of truancy. Every celebrity she had ever lied about was also suing her for slander, defamation, and libel. It was also revealed that her mother had taken away her diplomatic immunity once she had learned about all the lies that her daughter told her and everyone around her. Her reputation as a liar has spread all throughout France and she will never be able to use her schemes ever again. Her mother makes sure to inform all her future teachers and principals about her lying and bullying habits.

All while this is happening, the new band clinks their glasses together as they cheers for a job well done. And if Adrien also happens to be kissed by a certain Greek lead singer, that is just a bonus for him.

#lila salt #Lila exposed #alya salt #chloe salt #original character #music #lemonade mouth #z.o.m.b.i.e.s.#disney #damocles salt #bustier salt

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ootori-sibs · 3 years

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Kyoya's second shot

Episode sixteen: Boy's night!

Tw: hallucinations (mentioned), suicidal ideation.

10:29 - I haven't told the hosts that I've been grounded, they would likely ask why.

11:42 - Haruhi is taking the day off, almost didn't note this down, due to its obviousness. The hosts are attempting to fill me in on what I missed; they are attempting to claim she was cornered by many more then she was,

And scolding me for not paying attention.

"C'mon Kyoya-senpai, we're trying to fill you in here!" Hikaru whined, frowning at him, "what are you even writing?"

"I am paying attention, what I'm writing is notes on the situation." He rolled his eyes, what was it with the hosts and assuming he wasn't paying attention? Did they not know how he saw everything?

“What were you up to?” Honey had piped up curiously, “when Haru-chan was hurt? Tama-chan said you were busy.”

Well Kyoya couldn’t just tell him that Honey’s own brother was the reason for Kyoya’s absence. So he merely shrugged, “personally, I don’t see why that’s important information,” he also didn’t want to tell them he’d gotten hurt- they would be sure to ask too many questions.

Hikaru had been a bit rude this entire term, and this rule held firm now. He stared at Kyoya in suspicion, tone brash, “well it is important considering how you've been so damn rude to her this whole year!” It appeared he was angry. This was bad news, if one of the hosts doubted him, then it couldn't be too long until the others did as well. So Kyoya would have to quell their fears quickly- he may have to tell part of the truth.

He sighed, glancing down and putting on the expression of sadness. “Well if you’re going to accuse me, and truly believe i’d ever do that, then i am forced to tell you; I was in the hospital, I had sprained my ankle.” Silence fell over the hosts as he said that, eyes going to Kyoya’s ankle. Kyoya glanced back at Hikaru, seeing the instant guilt in the ginger’s face, “I didn’t want to tell you, because I felt it would be selfish when Haruhi required your entire attention.” That’s the kicker, the instan flash of guilt in his fellow hosts’ eyes as they realised how uncaring they’d been.

Tamaki gasped, clinging to Kyoya, "aw noo! Kyoooyyyaaa! That could never be selfish! You should have told us you were injured, we wouldn't have gotten angry or anything like that."

He had always been the sweetest person, Kyoya had to adore him even more in this moment. He just sighed and leant into Tamaki's touch, something he never did. The hosts reacted as he'd expected, surprise and the obvious reassessment of how they'd viewed any and all of Kyoya's recent actions- even Tamaki was surprised, pausing in his big dramatic comforting to wrap his arms around Kyoya gently, he was so warm… why was Tamaki always so warm?

Hikaru had apologized to Kyoya for being so accusatory, and Kyoya just sighed, "it's fine… I understand." He did, he understood, Hikaru was entirely correct.

"Hmm," Tamaki set his chin on Kyoya's head, he was always so clingy but Kyoya had to admit he loved it, "why don't we have a sleepover tonight? Just the boys?" Oh fuck, Kyoya knew that was going to come back to bite him. The other hosts seemed really keen on the idea, nodding and adding fun things they could do. Kyoya absolutely hated the idea of ruining his friends fun, especially if he was finally going to get the quality time with his friends that he'd wanted for so long.

He sighed, pushing Tamaki away. The poor king looked so confused and concerned, Kyoya couldn't look him in the eyes, hanging his head- the light hit his glasses in the wonderful way that hides his eyes. "I'm afraid I will not be able to join you."

"What? Why?" Tamaki sounded so hurt in that moment, but there was so much concern in his tone. Kyoya felt so much guilt as he heard the other boy's questioning.

"I've been grounded…" a heavy breath left his lips, he felt as if he had admitted to a crime, "I won't be able to attend the after-school session either, as father has forbidden extracurriculars for a week."

There was a silence that fell over the hosts, their expressions one of a deep shock- Kyoya never got in trouble, not to this degree at least. Not once before had any of his family been grounded either, the most being Akito getting forbidden from attending certain parties. Kyoya is an utter disappointment, and now the hosts could tell. "What did you do Kyo-chan? Why are you grounded?"

He swallowed in shame, not wanting to explain, he simply sighed, trying to come up with an excuse, "it's… it's nothing, you shouldn't worry about it. Enjoy your sleepover." Kyoya went to stand up, but Tamaki grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Kyoya wait, are you sure there's nothing we can do? If it's nothing then surely you can just talk to him about it? Maybe I can speak to him for you?"

"No!" Kyoya snapped, clasping his hands over his mouth, he never yelled, so the fact that it made him panic clearly showed the hosts that something was wrong, "I… I mean, it's not nothing but I just don't want to talk about such things, it's really not a big deal. Just have your stupid sleepover without me." With that, he yanked his arm away from Tamaki, grabbing his bag and heading to sit and wait in the classroom.

12:23 - The hosts will be having a sleepov Tamaki's being s The hosts know I am grounded and will be unable to join them for any activities for a week.

12:26 - I somehow feel even more alone

He didn't even help with the lunchtime session, ignoring the texts and missed calls. It didn't matter, it wasn't like he was of use anyway, he could do his one job from here. Which was how he spent all his freetime that day: doing the club finances. Tamaki sat next to him in every class, so it was nearly impossible to ignore him and Kyoya had to resort to speaking only when the question asked of him was of academic importance. It hurt him to ignore Tamaki like this, he loved him so much after all- but it had to be done, Kyoya had to keep the hosts from discovering the mess that he'd become.

It wouldn't be permanent anyway, his being a mess. Once he was with Tamaki, everything would get better, the world would be good again. Tamaki was so special, so wonderful, and Kyoya only needed a little bit of love to survive, and he'd fight for it; that love, he'd fight like he'd never fought before. He wanted to kill himself so much, but he promised himself that he wouldn't let that happen, in this moment he swore to himself that he could never kill himself until he had Tamaki.

I refuse to die until I am married.

He'd forgotten to write the date, he always wrote the date. He supposed it didn't really matter as it hadn't been too long since his last entry, only an hour or two. Besides; it wasn't like it was something that had happened in a specific time.

The first thing he did when he got home was breakdown in tears, leaning against the front door and sobbing. He knew this was dangerous; father could come along at any moment. So he got up, and he tried to wipe his tears, heading up the stairs to his room. Once he got up into his room, he broke down again, on the floor and sobbing. He felt horrible, he felt terrible, he couldn't breathe, he was shaking through sobs and gasping for breath. Kyoya managed to drag himself away from the door and to the window, laying down there and just sobbing his little heart out, staring out the window.

He'd never been grounded before, he'd never been such a disappointment in his life. He didn't know what to do or how to handle this, it was entirely new to him. Kyoya was a mess in the moment, tears spilling out in ways it shouldn't be; Kyoya wasn't supposed to be weak, Kyoya wasn't supposed to be a failure, Kyoya was supposed to be just like his brothers and perfect in every way.

He'd been laying there for a while, just crying and wishing he was never born. He had turned his phone off about three hours ago, he wanted to ignore the world for a bit. There was a knock… but it wasn't at his door, it was at his window. Hm, that wasn't where knocks were supposed to come from. Kyoya glanced over and- oh what the fuck? Why was Tamaki here?

"What the… Tamaki??" He sat up, rushing to open the window. He watched as Tamaki climbed in through the window, followed by the rest of the boys. It was certainly a spectacle and Kyoya found himself chuckling at the sight. "Why are you here??"

Tamaki sat up, smiling brightly, "well we couldn't just have a sleepover without you! Since you're grounded, I figured we'd have the sleepover here!"

God… that was the dumbest thing Kyoya had ever heard. He stared at Tamaki for a few minutes, unsure how to react, "are you trying to get me in trouble?"

"Noo! We wouldn't do that to you!" Tamaki clung to him, rubbing their faces together, Kyoya's face went red. "We'll be good, I promise."

Kyoya nodded, "alright then, but you have to be quiet." He stood up, wiping his tears and heading to his bed, were the hosts were gathering.

17:01 - For once, I feel loved.

So the hosts sat quietly around Kyoya's bed, whispering in hushed voices. It was almost fun to hide like this, the hosts almost made the fear fun. They spoke of spooky stories- the perfect topic for such a hushed tone. Keeping the lights off, they spoke of ghosts and ghouls, zombies and other assorted horrors.

When it was Kyoya's turn, he took the torch that was being passed around and took a level breath in. "Recently, only wednesday, Tamaki spent the night at my house," he began, noticing how confused the hosts were, that this story wasn't spooky in the slightest, he almost smiled, "it was after his argument with Haruhi. I had waited for him during it, though that part isn't important. What is important is the fact that I found myself waking up late at night, and whatever had woken me, didn't stir Tamaki in the slightest." He recalled the thing he saw, shivering, "it wasn't a human, it was too tall to be human. It was… almost a shadow with the way it looked, not fully corporeal…" he glanced back up at the hosts, noticing they looked a mix of hooked and concerned, he continued, "it flickered in the sliver of moonlight that came through the curtains, it's eyes gave off more light then that though. It was grabbing at the bedsheets, staring down at us with bright white eyes- I would have woken Tamaki if I had been able to move. It was a horrifying creature, not of this world. It caused no visible harm, but I still believe my story is superior.”

The hosts looked at him in shock, Tamaki's hands were shaking, “is that real? Did you really see it?”

Kyoya paused, god- did that make him sound crazy? He didn’t want the hosts to think him crazy. “N… no, no, it was… just a story. Nothing to worry about.” He smiled, passing the torch along. He was mentally kicking himself for having been so supid, why did he tell them that story? Why didn’t he make something up? Ugh, he was so stupid.

The night continued nicely, with the hosts sharing stories and talking about everything and nothing. For once in what felt like forever, Kyoya felt calm, he felt at peace. Eventually they went to sleep, all curled up on the bed in a big pile. Kyoya was incredibly warm, with his head resting on Mori and Tamaki clinging to his torso, the twins had their legs over his and were snoring quite softly. He was comfortable… he wished this could happen more often.

In the morning, the hosts snuck back out the window, not wanting to get caught. Kyoya woke up alone, colder than when he'd gone to bed. His first thought was that he wished they'd stayed, then he remembered that he was grounded and felt his heart sink. He noticed that the maid's had left him some coffee, but it was out of his reach, and he didn't want to get out of bed… so he just flops down and tries to go back to sleep.

#kyoya ootori #ouran high school host club #tamaki souh #tamakyo #kaoru hitachiin #hikaru hitachiin #takashi morinozuka #mitsukuni haninozuka #secondshot

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academiaipromise · 4 years

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Hello!

This is a series that was inspired by some stressed-filled Zoom calls that I’ve been having with some underclassmen for both my extracurricular organizations and peer mentoring programs. If you’re still reading this, chances are, you’re either going back to college soon or starting college for the first time in the year that is 2020. While we all are probably focusing on the safety of ourselves and our loved ones (as we arguably should), many incoming freshmen I’ve been talking to are also stressed about college things: emailing professors, study tips, how to balance virtual classes. So, in case you feel like reading a series of tips written by a 4th year undergrad who at least pretends to know what she’s doing, click below to read the second entry. Click here for the first.

Tip #2: Zoomin’, or Keeping a Life/Work Balance During Online or Hybrid Courses

When trying to figure out the order in which to post these tips, I was struck with the realization that I start school in a little over a week. So, if anyone is in this same boat, I figured it would be important to talk about class registration tips when there’s still time for you do something about it. This post is a long one, but here’s hoping you can find some advice in it.

So something to clarify right off the bat: when everything started moving to a virtual format, everybody and their mother on the Internet starting coming forward with tips on how to work from home. And while that’s kind of what’s happening here, I take issue with two things: working from home is not the same as working from home during a global crisis, and working from home is not the same as virtual college. So I’ll try to get as specific as I can, but also try to throw in some tips that might work better for you than they do for me.

Part One: Registering for Classes

Okay so this part you might have already done, but it’s good to keep in mind. While the recommended hours at every university is different, in my experience the average recommendation is 15 credits hours per semester. It’s important to note though that this is only an average: if you plan on taking courses in the summer, graduating early/later than 4 years, or taking on multiple majors, all of these things affect the credit hours you should be taking.

The unpleasant reality of registering for courses is there’s really no way to know how a specific class will be. There’s always RateMyProfessor.com or other tools, but who’s to say that professors will be like they normally are if they’re trying to figure out how to teach online/hybrid classes? Also, it’s a good thought to keep in mind that typically only two kinds of people leave public reviews of a professor/course: those who really loved the class, and those who really hated the class. So read and figure out what exactly they’re saying, not just how they feel about the course. And just know yourself - if someone from a humanities background says a statistics class is too hard, but you're great with numbers, that’s not always the best advice to heed. Listen to your gut instinct, both when registering and during drop/add week.

My advice for registering for classes right now? Whatever your instinct is, go a little less if you’re able. The reason I say this is because studying in 2020 can be...a lot, in the same way doing anything in 2020 is. I was only registered for 12 credit hours last semester, and even that became difficult to manage toward the end (moving back home suddenly, people you know getting sick, trying to protect high risk loved ones/yourself, all of which can and probably will happen again this semester). I would just say to go in overestimating how much time you need for yourself vs classes - there will be other semesters, and it’s better to take less classes now and not burn out or struggle mentally (or even just academically) in your first semester of college. Please just be kind to yourself.

Part Two: Zoom, or the True Necessary Evil

Maybe you used Zoom all throughout your last months of high school; maybe your university is using Microsoft Teams or something to that effect. Either way, here is what I’ve found to be helpful during my unforeseen five month foray into Zoom, seemingly with no end in sight.

1. Zoom is a tool. Yes, I kind of hate Zoom, and you may also come to hate Zoom if you don’t already, but there are benefits. You can send in written questions or raise your hand through Zoom if your professor allows that feature, both of which are very helpful in trying to show engagement while also trying to respect any kind of Zoom decorum. This post is going to be long enough, and my next post will have more to do with extracurriculars and virtual opportunities, but if you ever need to host a Zoom and want to just use all of its features, I’m more than happy to answer DMs. I’ve had to sit through so many Zoom tutorials for Student Involvement, and if I can spare anyone from that, I would love to.

2. Balance what you keep digitally versus what’s on paper. Okay, so this is definitely, definitely up to personal preference, but speaking from experience, I just don’t view online or hybrid classes as the opportunity to go fully digital if you’ve never been fully digital before. For me, I always take handwritten notes, mainly because when it comes to remembering things, I either have more of an auditory memory, or I can remember the way that I wrote something when I was taking notes. Considering online classes usually decrease the auditory memory aspect a lot, when things moved virtual I made a point to keep taking handwritten notes. However, something that I’ve found particularly appealing is using Google Calendar (or iCal, Outlook, whatever it is you prefer) to an excess. When scheduling Zoom calls, I always save the Zoom link in the description of the event on my Google Calendar. Trust me, this is a lot better than trying to go through your email to find the link that professor sent. So I would advice to think about your learning preferences and figure out a way to still play to your strengths, even if it might technically be a little less convenient.

3. Schedule screen breaks. This is so important for so many reasons. While I’ve invested in some blue light glasses because I am slowly losing my vision after years of reading books by flashlight or AO3 fics on my phone until late at night, I still get fatigued being on a screen for so long. Because it’s not just school that’s on the screen; it’s your clubs, your social interactions, maybe your job. I would recommend scheduling screen breaks that coincide with some sort of physical activity (I don’t necessarily mean an intensive physical activity, although if you want to feel free; I more am referring to getting up out of your chair and walking around your room or apartment. Or going outside. Ride your bike. Do some yoga. Eat some food. Etc.), but if you’re feeling particularly busy or overwhelmed, taking notes from a physical book works just as well. Even if you feel okay at the moment, scheduling breaks and following that schedule can save you from screen fatigue hitting all at once - it will take a lot longer to get over a headache between your eyes/your eye twitching or your neck and/or shoulder locking up than just allowing simple short breaks throughout your day.

4. Schedule time between Zooms. This may sound like the same thing as taking screen breaks, but what I’ve found is that Zoom is a lot more draining that in person classes. I used to schedule Zoom calls back to back like I would classes (again, personal preference, but I was always the person who would take all of their classes from 9:30-3:30 on Tuesday/Thursday, and no classes on Monday/Wednesday/Friday), but found out pretty quickly that I was wrecked after two or more Zoom calls in a row. Honestly, now I won’t schedule any two Zoom calls within a half an hour of each other - between calls, I like to walk around, grab a snack, stretch, close my eyes and try and suppress the social anxiety that seems to accompany every Zoom class or meeting I’ve ever had. (Tangent: I’m thoroughly convinced southerners were not meant to operate Zoom calls. No one knows how to hang up the dang call without being rude because we were taught to have 30 minute conversations in a doorway on our way out.) Maybe there are people who can go on Zoom calls for three hours or so (and I’ve done that with friends, whether just working on group projects or hanging out), but my personal recommendation would be just to space it out more than normal if you’re able.

5. Create an ideal weekly schedule. This is not “your most productive week ever,” or “this is the rigid schedule you will follow for eternity with no deviations.” One of my most difficult adjustments in college was the changing schedules; maybe you were planning on finishing an important paper on Thursday night, only for your group project to decide to meet that night instead. And that will happen, even with virtual meetings (maybe especially with virtual meetings, as people definitely tend to overestimate your availability when it’s digital). What I’ve found that helps is to create an ideal weekly schedule, both in general and a more specific one at the start of the week, because that means that when things get shuffled around, you actually reschedule that thing that you wanted to do, whether it’s homework, yoga, or just...being alone for a bit. It allows you to still feel like you’re prioritizing your time and activities, even when your schedule changes with little to no warning.

Part Three: Some Final Thoughts

If you can invest in a second monitor, now might really be the time to do it. If you’d prefer, I used a laptop riser for most of college before this all happened (yay nerve damage in my neck!) and an external keyboard and mouse. I would just compare models and figure out what works best financially if that’s something you want to do.

Ultimately, if this doesn’t come across in every tip I post, please just be patient with yourself this semester. This is a weird time, and I know that starting your first semester you might be 100% committed to starting off strong or making a great first impression. And that’s awesome, but sometimes that just might not be realistic. Look at last week’s post on contacting your professor, and reach out early just to introduce yourself. Establishing a relationship early on is always good, but especially considering that this semester really might have moments where you need some extra time or grace from them. Can’t focus? Can’t find motivation? That’s understandable; we’re in a global crisis right now. Just listen to yourself and always put your health and the health of your loved ones before school. I hope that these tips can at least help you navigate your first year with a little less trepidation.

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So that’s it for this entry! As always, if you have specific questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Again, I am a student at an SEC university in the United States, so I’m not claiming to be an expert in all things, but I have TA'ed multiple freshman seminars, and will be making this series for the freshmen that I know starting at my school this year anyways, so putting them on this blog is no big deal. Next post (which will hopefully be up sooner than this one was) will specifically be on extracurriculars and virtual opportunities, so if you have specific questions on that as well, I’m all ears.

#studyblr #college tips #study tips #academia #first year of college #first year advice #first year tips #academiaipromise #zoom tips

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antistudyblr · 4 years

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Merry, Eowyn, Dwalin for the tolkien ask meme

Merry: Who would you swear loyalty to, or to whom have you already done so?

There are numerous people I would die for, kill for, or hide the body for (the three standards of loyalty). To name a few: @zbutterfly0683, my platonic soulmate, my original ride or die, and my forever best friend; my good friend s.b. who my college ride or die and who has gotten me through so much the past two years; my sisters who deserve the entire world, which I will serve to them on a platter. @ridingthestruggle-bus and @dotted-half-note who constantly uplift me.

Éowyn: Have you ever overcome prejudice in a significant way?

I’m a queer Latinx neurodiverse woman with so my entire life is essentially making my way in a world that was not designed for me or people like me in the slightest, one where the very structures are designed to keep us out. I’m white-passing, which is a privilege that has made my life easier every step of the way. If you’re looking for specific anecdotes, I could pull any number of them, but I’ll give two school-related ones so this post doesn’t get out of control.

I graduated salutatorian of my high school, which was located in a small town in a deeply conservative part of Pennsylvania. This was a fight for a number of reasons: aside from procedural/legal issues my guidance counselor mother helped me to navigate (couldn’t have done it without her) I had to deal with a lot of straight-up sexism and misogyny, especially in high school, from male teachers that held me to a different standard than my male peers. Said male peers overlooked my accomplishments at every turn and constantly belittled me behind my back. Being queer and Latinx lead to its own struggles that could fill several memoirs and I was definitely subject to microaggressions from peers and but luckily I had a strong group of similarly queer friends and several other Black friends, Latinx friends, and mixed-race friends who could empathize with my situation and help me put my own experiences and privileges into context. They also constantly championed me and never told me that I couldn’t do it. I’m so thankful for all of them, and supportive teachers, for getting me to where I am today.

I recently dealt with a truly terrible professor who couldn’t teach, used ableist and homophobic tropes during discussions (and didn’t shut down students who used them), and just was dismissive of any attempts to bring issues of race into class discussion (and of anything I in particular had to say). It was terrible and I didn’t drop the class soon enough, but I made it through with the support of professors in my fellowship and they’ve given me some options to pursue to make sure that no one else has to go through what I did.

I guess in short the message I want to leave here is that, despite what Tolkien might tell you, you don’t overcome prejudice as an individual (maybe you can, but its a painful, lonely path). I have only been able to achieve what I have due to the support I’ve received from family, friends, loved ones, and good educators. Prejudice often boils down to structural issues that I alluded to earlier and it can be nigh on impossible to tear those structures down yourself.

Dwalin: Do you have any hobbies?

Yes! Writing drifts between a hobby and an obligation due to my major and extracurricular commitments. I also read a lot (similarly to writing, sometimes this is for fun). I listen to podcasts, occasionally knit/embroider, and I hang out with my friends and watch movies/play board games/play D&D sometimes.

answering an ancient tolkien ask meme (they’re really good though so feel free to ask more)

#isabel says things #ask answered #studyblr #prejudice #systematic racism #sexism #actuallyadhd #poc studyblr #neurodiversity #this shit doesn't go away #ladyoftheshield

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chilly-territory · 5 years

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Uchouten Kazoku 2, chapter 1 (part 3 out of 3)

This was chapter 1 out of 7 in total. As should be clear, the anime did make some changes; they’re not plot-impacting, but the novel definitely feels ‘fuller‘ and clearer, if you will. And yeah, I’m absolutely loving this novel, the writing style, the characters, everything.

The Eccentric Family: The Nidaime’s Homecoming (Uchouten Kazoku: Nidaime no Kichou) by Morimi Tomihiko

Chapter 1 (part 3/3, pages 52-67)

〇

I set my mind on visiting Akadama-sensei, currently working hard at his training, and delivering him some mamemochi [*1] as a sign of support.

That said, Kumogahata was awfully far away.

I planned to borrow my eldest brother's automated rickshaw for the trip, but my stingy brother just wouldn't give his permission. His reasoning was that Akadama-sensei in his seclusion was bound to be in a rotten mood, and it would be too late to cry if his precious rickshaw was to be accidentally smashed to smithereens in a misdirected explosion of sensei's anger. With no other choice, I went by bicycle, forced to pedal all the way, but the road was so long that soon I got fed up with it almost to death. I had lost count to how many times I had wanted to just wolf down the gift mamemochi and turn back as if nothing had happened.

Still, clenching my teeth and following the winding mountain trail, at long last I had arrived at my destination.

Since there was a tengu secluding himself in the mountains specifically to train, I was prepared for some great rumbling and shaking in the region, but Kumogahata's settlement looked peaceful as ever. Rays of the early summer sun shone through fresh verdure that the mountain hamlet was buried in and illuminated the vicinity, the old building of an elementary school and stone walls included, with the only loud sound coming from the water flowing in the irrigation channels leading to the plots of cultivated land. Time flowed sluggishly, like syrup.

I came as far as the branch office of the Kumogahata ward office and, slumping in the shade of a tree, took some rest.

Suddenly, a voice came from overhead.

"My, my, if it isn't Shimogamo Yasaburou."

I looked up in surprise and found a genteel elderly man in a white shirt coupled with a bolo tie sitting on the small concrete overhang of the branch office and slowly drinking grape-flavored Fanta. He was one of Akadama-sensei's few friends, Iwayasan Kinkoubou, running a used camera shop in the Nipponbashi neighborhood in Osaka after retirement.

"Oh, Kinkoubou-sama." I rose and bowed my head to him. "Did you come to see how Yakushibou's doing?" "Yes, sir. Seeing as I've found myself with a lot of free time on my hands." "Hahaha. Such a kind-hearted pupil, as always. Then let's go visit him together. We can climb to the tengu training ground from here."

In front of me were the steep stone steps leading to Kouunnji temple.

Following Kinkoubou, I started climbing them.

Rather than entering the temple's grounds, Kinkoubou proceeding along a small waterway on the left, setting foot in the mountains. Passing through a grove of trees glistening with new green, the waterway soon dived into the chilly cedar forest. Wherever you looked, all you would see were towering deep black cedar trees tearing into the very sky itself. The more the tranquil atmosphere of the small mountain hamlet receded, the more the solemn tengu presence grew.

A small gourd, dark brown in color, that hang at Iwayasan Kinkoubou's waist produced adorable little splish-splash sounds.

"It contains dragon water."

I knew that the area around Iwayasan-Shimyouin temple was the source of the Kamogawa river, but the fact that a few dragon stones were buried in the surrounding mountains was new to me. The liquid that seeped out of those stones was called dragon water and it was beloved by tengu and habitually used as an energy and vitality booster. What was in the gourd was collected for Akadama-sensei who intended to challenge the Nidaime to battle. It appeared that Kinkoubou had no slightest intention to try and stop this ongoing fight between Yakushibou Sr. and Yakushibou Jr.

"Tengu are creatures who know not how to settle things peacefully." "Good grief, both the father and the son are so equally difficult and ill-natured that I'm just stumped." "I'm thankful that you're worried about your mentor, but there is no need for tanuki to go as far as rack their brains on how to settle the fight between those two. Just let them do as they please."

We walked for about 15 minutes along the waterway until numerous fallen cedar trees, quite big at that, blocked our way on both sides. It was clearly a tengu's doing. Kinkoubou drew a seal in the air with his fingers and chanted some incantation, then made a gesture as if to open his linked hands, and the fallen trees rose one by one, clearing the path in front of us.

On the other end of the opened path was the tengu training ground.

On the clearing shaped like a footprint of a giant, in the part where the arch of the foot would be, there towered a lone enormous cedar with its top stabbing the sky. Beneath it was laid out the stale bedding specially brought here from the apartment behind the Demachi shopping arcade. Akadama-sensei, hugging a daruma in his lap, puffed on his tengu tobacco. For someone who had taken pains to seclude himself deep in the mountains, this sight hardly bespoke of any changes for the better.

Accepting the gourd with dragon water from Kinkoubou, sensei glanced at me.

"Yasaburou, what are you doing here?" "I was searching for tsuchinoko and got lost. This is mamemochi, a small present for you." "All you ever do is play around without a care in the world, huh."

At this point, sensei must have been aware that I, while knowing perfectly well about the Nidaime's return, had feigned ignorance. But with all the time that'd passed, he didn't throw a fit about it now.

"So... what is he up to?" "He keeps to himself at a hotel in Kawaramachi-oike." "Probably devising schemes upon schemes on how to cut off my head while I sleep. Mickle fails that fools think [*2]."

Akadama-sensei uncorked the gourd, gulped down the dragon water and wiped his mouth.

"That accursed fool. I see his bad habit of worrying about trifling things and straying off the path of sorcery is incurable. Nyoigadake Yakushibou neither hides nor runs! Time to do battle has cometh! Hi-hoo!" "He is not the same anymore, Yakushibou."

When Kinkoubou said that quietly, Akadama-sensei snorted and fell silent.

Back when I was a tiny little furball, Akadama-sensei would announce a so called extracurricular lesson, round up his tanuki pupils, toss them in a handbasket and fly to this tengu training ground. While the tanuki played in the grass-covered clearing, sensei smoked his tengu tobacco on the top of the massive cedar and amused the little tanuki by setting weirdly-shaped cloud afloat in the sky.

Seeing this cedar after such a long time made me feel nostalgic, and I slowly circled it. Because of its massiveness, the top was well out of sight. On its thick branches senjafuda [*3] were pasted here and there, as well as various other things lost or forgotten by tengu, such as sake bottles and onigawara tiles [*4] probably collected as a joke, with a discolored hand towel caught on a branch fluttering in the spring breeze.

When I was little, once, Akadama-sensei lost his temper and tied me to the top of this cedar as punishment. Forgetting all about me, sensei left, and I was left behind to sulk silently at the top of the cedar until my eldest brother came to get me.

When I narrated these memories, Akadama-sensei said, "Oh, I forgot that, I completely forgot that." "How awful of you to forget, sir." "Well, I used to tie up your father and before him his father, too, so how can I remember every one of you little critters?"

After a few moments, Akadama-sensei got up from his stale futon, gave the gourd a shake and approached the base of the cedar. Turning the gourd upside down, he let the dragon water flow until the gourd was empty.

"Are you sure?" asked Kinkoubou. "I've known this cedar for many years, so why not give it what's still left," sensei replied.

Sensei's profile as he poured the dragon water onto the roots of the cedar was full of dignity befitting a tengu by the name of Nyoigadake Yakushibou. It vividly reminded me of what sensei looked like in the past when he still reigned over Nyoigadake and spat on the world below in its entirety.

Pushing the now empty gourd back to Kinkoubou, Akadama-sensei took out a letter from his breast pocket. At first I mistook it for a love letter, but only until I saw the words 'letter of challenge' on it.

"Take this to him. Know that this is a honorable task."

I accepted the sealed envelop and prostrated myself.

"I, Shimogamo Yasaburou, am honored."

〇

I handed over Akadama-sensei's letter of challenge to the Nidaime in the lobby of the hotel in Kawaramachi-oike. Even as he accepted such a disturbing thing as the letter of challenge to an all-out duel from his own father, the Nidaime didn't so much as bat an eye, his face calm and indifferent as if what he'd just received was a routine mail order.

"I might go. I might not," the Nidaime said. " I would prefer for you not to assume I will."

In contrast to the Nidaime's apparent lack of motivation, the tanuki world met the news of a tengu duel with wild enthusiasm. Would Akadama-sensei win, like those hundred years ago, and kick the Nidaime out of Kyoto? Or would the Nidaime emerge victorious, carving a path to a new era open for tengu? Tanuki waited for the day of the duel with batted breath.

To begin with, tengu had always been creatures that peered down at the whole of creation from the pinnacle of haughtiness.

They were great because they were tengu, and tengu because they were great. According to the logic of tengu who carried all before them, the likes of tanuki were but furballs, the likes of humans but naked monkeys, and even all the other tengu but oneself were but paper tigers.

The only being of any importance between Heaven and Earth was oneself - that was what tengu were.

Consequently, a father was greater than his son, and a son greater than his father.

There was just no way this conflict could ever be settled peacefully.

〇

On the night of the duel, Akadama-sensei crawled with wobbling steps up and onto the main roof of the Minamiza theater.

From his wearing a hachimaki headband and a tasuki sash, it was evident that he was brimming with fighting spirit, but his swaying form crawling up the roof on all fours had not a drop of anything that made tengu tengu. To put it mildly, choosing the main roof of the Minamiza theater from which he had kicked down his son a hundred years prior as the location for the duel was a rush decision on his part. Still, sensei kept crawling on with indomitable drive, finally making it to the rooftop somehow.

"Freely flying through the sky is what defines a tengu, but... good grief."

Akadama-sensei sat down cross-legged and wiped the sweat, then lit up his tengu tobacco.

The night wind, cool and pleasant, dissipated the tendrils of the thick smoke.

From that spot, if you looked to the east, you would see the lights of Gion-Shijou stretching in a line like some sort of a night festival, and if you looked to the west, the radiance of Shijouoohashi and the downtown high-rise area would come into view.

From the rooftop of 'Restaurant Kikumi', located on the other side across Shijou-doori street, the night wind brought the delicious smell of cheerfully sizzling roasted meat. Its beer garden, illuminated with paper lanterns, was reserved exclusively for the Kurama tengu tonight, and it looked like the conference they were holding there, themed 'How to thoroughly mock and make fun of Yakushibou', had already opened and was well underway. They obviously planned to enjoy the show that was the duel between Akadama-sensei and the Nidaime from their box seats with a beer mug in hand. For to tengu, strife and duels were the best snack to go with their beer.

The Kurama tengu, bending over the railing of the beer garden and leaning far out into the space over Shijou-doori street, brandished folding fans and even a megaphone. "Yakushibou, fight without reserve!" "Leave it to us, we'll pick up your bones for you!" "Yeah, pick them up and throw them into the Kamogawa river after!" As they shouted these cheers no one asked for, the Kurama tengu clanged their beer mugs together, scattering beer foam and jeering loudly.

"You stupid little mountains acorns... Just you wait, one of these days, I'll drown you in Lake Biwa," sensei cursed through clenched teeth.

As a matter of fact, the Kurama tengu weren't the only ones burning with curiosity.

The area around Shijouoohashi bridge was teeming with innumerable tanuki who, shapeshifting into regular drunkards, gathered to watch how the duel would unfold. Even the Nise-emon Yasaka Heitarou accompanied by my brother Yaichirou were standing by somewhere in the vicinity of the bridge. Worth of mention was also the roof of 'Touka Saikan' on the opposite shore of Kamogawa shining bright with hanging lanterns, where Iwayasan Kinkoubou waited for his old friend's duel to end while drinking some aged Lao Jiu wine [*5] all by himself.

In due time, black from head to toe, the Nidaime descended down from the dark night sky, as if a drop of ink from a fountain pen. Putting a hand to the brim of his silk hat, he gave a shameless little bow to Akadama-sensei in greeting. And then spoke up in a manner of a total stranger just passing by.

"Good evening, elderly gentleman. What might you be doing in a place like this?" "I'm expecting some company." "What a coincidence. I am also expecting some company here." "...Who might you be waiting for?" "Someone quite worthless. I'd rather not speak of him." "Oh? Isn't that quite the coincidence. I'm waiting for someone equally worthless myself."

Akadama-sensei put out his tengu tobacco and stood up, wobbling precariously. Back still bent, he glowered at his son, laying eyes on him for the first time in a hundred years.

"That fool was my son and my student, but now he is neither. Barely halfway through his training, he did something as stupid as wasting time on a love affair and even defying me. How utterly deplorable for the man who was to eventually succeed someone as grand as myself and hold the world in his grasp, to be played by some little lass and stray from the path of sorcery. Since then he had disappeared without a word from him for all those years, and now, after all this time, he's suddenly back. Figuring he won't even have enough courage to show his face at my place, I took the initiative and sent him a letter of challenge. Thinking I might kick him down from here again," Akadama-sensei provoked, but the Nidaime said nothing, remaining unfazed.

The tengu father and son didn't move, only kept glaring at one another.

Soon, however, the Kurama tengu in the beer garden got tired of waiting. "Come on, come on!" "Hey, get to it already!" "Don't tell me you've made up!" "What friendly father and son!" they jeered and mocked.

The Nidaime raised a hand in a leather glove and took off his glamorously glittering silk hat.

Holding it to his chest, he made a quick motion that took only a moment, like praying to Heaven; without skipping a beat, he turned with a cold expression, facing the beer garden where the Kurama tengu were partying, and hurled his silk hat with ferocity. Apparently, that silk hat of his, intended for self-defense, was fashioned out of a shell for a cannon used in World War I. The silk hat smashed into the tables with deafening rumbling in its wake, silencing the Kurama tengu in one blow.

The Nidaime turned back around, tilting his head a little and fixing his hair with a theatrical gesture.

"If you think you can kick me down, by all means, try." "Rest assured, I shall. Prepare yourself."

What Akadama-sensei took out from his breast pocket then was the Fuujin-Raijin folding fan [*6].

〇

The Fuujin-Raijin folding fan was such a peerless fan that if you waved with one side of it, you could summon a gale, and if you waved with the other, you could produce a thunderstorm. Formerly, it was one of the seven tools of Nyoigadake Yakushibou, but in defiance of its value, sensei treated it roughly. When he presented it to Benten as what he called a 'commemoration of love' gift, he seriously pissed off both the tengu and the tanuki worlds, but last year, after much ado, the fan had returned to his possession.

As Akadama-sensei was at the present, he had no power to summon tengu winds. Even if he tried, pouring all of his might in it at that, it would be something like a spring breeze streaming across a field of blooming lotus flowers, capable of only gently fluttering the Nidaime's bangs at best. However, as long as he had the Fuujin-Raijin fan with him, even sensei could blow off the Minamiza without much trouble despite his old age.

"Say your prayers!" Akadama-sensei let out a thunderous shout and raised the fan overhead.

Only, the fan suddenly slipped out of sensei's fingers and flapped through the space toward the Kamogawa river. No matter how powerful a fan it was, it was completely useless unless you waved it. Akadama-sensei, panicking and trying to catch the fan that was being swept away, grabbed only at the empty air, losing his balance, falling with a thud and slipping off head first. The fan kept rolling down nimbly.

At this rate, the Fuujin-Raijin fan and our former mentor's life both would be in danger.

Appearing out of the dark, I dashed along the roof and, catching the fan, shoved it in a pocket, then took a firm hold of sensei and checked his slide.

Akadama-sensei got up silently and sat down next to me, crossing his legs.

There were tears in his eyes as he held his nose that he'd hit hard, but he didn't seem to have suffered any other injuries.

From above us the Nidaime's stern voice rained down.

"Is that you there, Yasaburou-kun?"

I immediately prostrated myself on the edge of the roof. "Shimogamo Yasaburou, at your service."

"What are you doing in a place like this?" "...Following the call of my idiot blood, I'm afraid." "So you came rushing to the rescue, huh," the Nidaime sighed. "Good grief, how truly foolish creatures tanuki are. I will admit that they are charming, but the fact that they are fools still stands irrefutably." "That is a rather tengu-like thing of you to say, Nidaime, sir." "I am not a tengu. What is a tengu? It's that senile old fool right there." The Nidaime pointed to Akadama-sensei with his chin. "After all his big talk, throwing his weight around and bragging about his magical powers, in the end, unable to even defend his own territory, he had been run out by the Kurama lot and forced to seclude himself in a filthy apartment for the likes of humans to live in. I'm sure even now he thinks of himself as great, when in reality he's but a laughable naked emperor. Incapable of making a single tengu whirlwind do his bidding, he can't even fly through the sky properly. What is he even capable of anymore? What truly meaningless and risible last days. This, however, is what a tengu is. What a tengu's ruin is. ....Aah, still, even knowing that, what a positively pathetic sight this is. To think you would still choose to live reliant on the pity of creatures such as tanuki." The Nidaime knitted his beautiful brows, gazing down at Akadama-sensei with cold eyes. "You should be ashamed. For shame!"

Probably unable to stomach the Nidaime's words, Akadama-sensei wobbled to his feet, pushed me aside and tried to crawl up the roof. Although slipping and sliding, after a few tries he managed to hold on feebly, then made another attempt to climb to the high place where the Nidaime stood.

Out of breath and with his white hair disheveled, he groaned out, "Don't you run away, just wait right there. I'll kick you down once again."

What the Nidaime haughtily peered down at in those moments from his high vantage point was not only his father frantically crawling up the roof, but also myself watching with batted breath, the city below and the masses wriggling and squirming in it - overlooking all of that at once. The only being of any importance between Heaven and Earth is I alone, his cold eyes were eloquently expressing. And I was enchanted with those glimpses of a dazzlingly blazing tengu beneath the veneer in the Nidaime who insisted he was 'not a tengu'.

Letting his white cheeks stretch in a derisive smile, the Nidaime said, "Oh, are you still not dead, father?"

Akadama-sensei replied through grinding teeth, "...If you want me dead, then try and kill me."

The Nidaime snorted with laughter at that. "You're not even worth killing. You can die in some ditch on your own somewhere, for all I care."

Not waiting for sensei to finish crawling up, the Nidaime jumped off the roof.

Easily leaping over the Kamogawa, he gave a slight bow to Iwayasan Kinkoubou sipping wine on the roof of 'Touka Saikan', then flew off into the sparkling night city.

Akadama-sensei could only watch him go with a gaping mouth.

And that was how the curtain fell on the tengu duel.

〇

"Good grief, he ran away again. What a pathetic fellow."

Akadama-sensei sat cross-legged in the middle of the roof and smoked his tengu tobacco, pleased expression on his face as if he'd just successfully finished a difficult task. I sank down to sit beside sensei, gazing absentmindedly at the brilliant radiance of the night city where the Nidaime flew off to and playing with the Fuujin-Raijin fan.

In due time, Akadama-sensei opened his mouth to say in an exasperated manner, "My goodness, what a tanuki you are, you seem to be positively everywhere." "I take the duty of being elusive and unpredictable close to heart."

Out of the blue, sensei asked, "Well?" and nudged my flank. "It's my victory, isn't it?" "...E-Erm, how did you come to the conclusion that you won, sir?" "If you can't understand, then there's no point talking to you."

Sensei watched the Kamogawa river beneath as it carried its waters from south to north, while puffing on his tobacco with satisfaction.

By the river, the noryouyuka cool-floor [*7] opened for operation, its night illumination casting phantasmagorical lights on the black surface of the water. It was a scene of a nighttime amusement that would suit Benten's taste perfectly.

My and sensei's thoughts seemed to coincide at that moment.

Looking toward the Kamogawa, sensei murmured suddenly, "I wonder where Benten is and what she's doing." "When she gets back - things will turn fun, for sure." "... Now, of all times, is really the time when that beauty should be here more than ever."

Sensei stared at the moon glittering in the night sky and said on a sigh, "How I want to see Benten. Oh how I long to see Benten."

T/N:

[*1] Mamemochi (豆餅): a rice cake with beans. Why did Yasaburou choose to bring mamemochi? Apparently, there is an old and popular wagashi shop (that is, specializing in traditional Japanese sweets), Demachi Futuba, located in the Demachi neighborhood which, in turn, is not far away from Shimogamo shrine. [*2] Mickle fails that fools think (下手な考え休むに似たり): this translation is not a widely used one, so just to elaborate a little if this is your first time seeing this proverb: basically, the sense here is along the lines of 'They to whom only bad ideas come might as well be asleep' and 'Inadequate ideas are worse than none at all'. [*3] Senjafuda (千社札) lit. thousand shrine tag: a name tag originally posted on shrine pillars by pilgrims (wiki) [*4] Onigawara tile (鬼瓦) lit. demon tile: ornamental roof tiles with oni/demons (wiki) [*5] Lao Jiu 老酒: a variety of rice-fermented traditional Chinese wines, a subtype of Shaoxing wine (wiki) [*6] Fuujin-Raijin (風神雷神): fuujin is lit. wind god and raijin is lit. thunder god [*7] Noryouyuka (納涼床): a wooden platform, a type of restaurant balcony overlooking the river for enjoying cool breezes, mainly in the evenings, laid out in summer (jp wiki)

#uchouten kazoku 2 #uchouten kazoku nidaime no kichou

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comfycozystudies-blog · 5 years

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how I made it to senior year

This is the main advice I have for anyone going into high school or starting sophomore or junior year! These are all the ways I have stayed happy and maintained As and Bs. It's a long one, so buckle in!

• Take Notes. Learn how to take good notes in a way that works for your learning. Finding out what works for you doesn't always come naturally, especially if you didn't take/like them in previous grades. Helpful, efficient, thorough note-taking often takes time, attention, and effort to figure out and is different for each individual.

•Drink Water. Your brain needs water to function well and your body needs plenty to feel good. No trendy detox can beat the effects regularly drinking water can have on you. Always bring a waterbottle to school with you, and keep it full! If you aren't used to drinking so much, keep a routine. Take a couple gulps before each class starts and after each class ends, and try not to hold it for too long if you have to go to the bathroom, but I know that can be difficult with school/teacher rules. And if it's a hot day, warm water isn't very appetizing, so leave a full bottle in the fridge overnight and take a glass with you to bed.

•Eat Lunch. Seriously! You will make it through the day so much easier if you just eat lunch. I know it sometimes seems inconvenient or not cool, but I'm telling you, no one cares that you're eating. You can spread it throughout the day if you need to! Some bites in between classed or during ones where it's allowed. It's a very unhelpful habit to go through the whole school day without refueling, so no matter how silly it seems, eat lunch!

•Plan. Keep a planner, whether you buy one, print one out, or make one. It's important to write down each assignment and due date so that you don't have to rely on your busy mind to keep up with everything. A planner can also help you visually see your schedule with extracurriculars and events so that you can plan homework accordingly. Designing and creating your own planner/journal can also serve as a creative outlet that you must sit down and engage in routinely. I enjoy it, but it's up to you!

•Express Yourself. School can be stressful, especially with personal life and the world getting in the way. Sometimes there are too many issues bouncing around and school just adds extra information and stress! If you find ways to express your emotions before suppressing them, you'll be able to focus better when you need to. Personally, writing helps me cope with the sadness, anger, and fear that I sometimes feel, but you may gravitate towards singing, yelling, drawing, painting, playing with your pets, going for walks or runs, or something else. And your expression doesn't have to be just one thing, but try to find something that isn't putting more info in, like reading or watching TV. These activities can be relaxing, but it's also important to get emotions, information, etc. out of your system by actively using your mind and/or body.

•Know Your Vocab. It's extremely helpful to feel confident in your vocabulary in high school. Whether big or small, it should be tailored to how you want it. If you want a larger, stronger vocab, download dictionary/word apps and start reading more and at higher levels. If you know more than you want to, start being more specific and focused when you pick the words you feel are right for a piece of writing or conversation, or just relax and let your intuition guide you. Vocabulary confidence is often overlooked. When you feel good about the words you can use, you feel a little better about how you conduct yourself, and this contributes to higher self-esteem and self-knowledge overall.

•Respect Everyone. It is extremely helpful to feel respect for yourself, your peers, and your teachers. You should be aware of how you respect people instead of just following society's rules. I'm going to make a separate post about the ways you can respect your teachers and yourself more.

•Be Grateful for Yourself. No one can force you to feel love for yourself, enjoy your company, or like what you create. However, there are a few things you can practice to get close to these things. One basic practice is never belittling yourself. You may feel bad about something you said, thought, or did, you may feel stupid, and this is completely normal for even the most confident people. It's about how you handle your feelings toward yourself. You may have a habit of calling yourself stupid or dumb or predicting you'll fail at everything. Whether or not you feel bad about yourself or have a negative outlook, you can build the habit of not thinking or speaking anything negative about yourself. The less you allow the words to form, the less true you'll feel they are. On the other hand, the more you repeat negative sentences, the more true they'll seem. Another practice is thanking yourself. It feels really good to be grateful for something you thought, felt, did, or said, even if you have to fake it for a while. The less you think "I'm so stupid" and the more you think "I'm really glad I did that assignment" the better you'll feel and the easier authentic confidence and positivity will become!

•Tidy Up. Clean your room/workspace and backpack and keep them tidy! It takes a little extra time and effort but saves you lots of discomfort and searching for that one pen. We all love our cute items, but try to keep your desk or table a blank space with essential work items close, and for the love of god try not to make a habit of doing schoolwork in bed! Your brain will mix your routine up and get sleepy or want to watch TV instead. Have individual areas dedicated to different activities to keep your mind and body on the same page.

•Stretch. You don't have to do a yoga routine every day, but there's a reason cats stretch every time they get up. When you wake up in the morning, give yourself a minute or two to stretch out however feels good and get into your body for the day. Try to take a moment to stretch, however big or small, between classes too. Your body isn't meant to sit all day, so take a few moments to care about that!

•And finally, relax! High school is not as big of a deal as it seems, so try not to worry so much about what happens in classes, how many friends you have, and if you're an officer of any clubs. It's all about balance and you don't actually need As and Bs, lots of friends, or tons of extracurriculars to end having a high quality life full of joy, love, and achievement. Regardless of how high school goes for you, a good life will still include sadness, anger, fear, and loss. These all create the balance of real living. What has helped me feel successful in high school has been focusing on my emotional wellbeing, healthily coping with negative feelings, learning about the world, and trying to appreciate those around me, whether we hang out or not!

#high school #advice #tips #back to school #surviving high school #mine

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love-the-little-wonders · 6 years

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Face to FaceTime

Summary: Tired of being isolated, Adrien reaches out to his friend in hopes of finding some comfort late at night. Adrinette <3

The sound of loud rumbling thunder fills the emptiness of his expansive bedroom. Adrien blows against his windowpane and draws a frowny face on the glass. Once again, his father confined Adrien to his room. He hasn’t seen his friends in what felt like forever. Normally, he’d use his isolation as a chance to escape as Chat Noir but with the storm raging outside, transforming was out of the question. Adrien looked to his small kwami friend and found him sleeping on top of a round of cheese.

Typical.

Adrien looked at the clock on his phone and it read 11:56 PM. He knew it was late but he decided to try to call Nino on FaceTime. Adrien stares at Nino’s smiling picture and it stares back at him as his phone rings and rings but Nino doesn’t answer.

Dejected, Adrien drags his feet as he shuffles towards his bed and with an ungraceful flop lays atop the blankets staring blankly at the ceiling. How many times has he looked up at this very ceiling and stared at the bleak nothingness that the white paint gives off? Rolling over, Adrien looks over to his nightstand and sees his Marinette lucky charm. He grabs it and holds it over his head as he looks at it. Boy does he feel unlucky right about now. Rolling the bead between his fingers, an idea pops into his head. He recalls Alya berating Marinette on several occasions for staying up so late working on her designs. Maybe the designer is still up. It is Saturday night. Plus, after the events with Gorizilla a month back, they exchanged numbers and have texted on and off since. Staring at her contact picture, Adrien decides to call her. Pressing the FaceTime icon, Adrien waits for her to answer, the rings echoing loudly in his empty room.

The vibration of her phone wakes Marinette up from her impromptu nap at her sewing desk. Her hair is disheveled and she has scraps of fabric and loose thread stuck to her face. She answers the call without looking at who called her. She hears his voice before she can make out his face through her groggy eyes.

“Hey Marinette”

That woke her up. Marinette rubs away any leftover bleariness from her eyes and accidentally knocks her phone on the floor. She fumbles to get a firm grasp on it and promptly bumps her head on the underside of her desk.

“Ouuuch! A-Adrien calling me late ?! What are you calling at late- um I mean I mean it's uh kinda late aaand you're calling me?” She winced at her poor communication skills with her crush as she rubbed her head.

“Is it alright that I called you? I know it's kind of late…it's just my dad wouldn't let me leave the house again and with all of my photo shoots this week I missed school and I still had my extracurriculars. It feels like I haven't seen you guys in ages” His voice cracked from the emotion he was trying to suppress. “I really miss my friends and I miss hanging out with you, Nino, and Alya, y'know?”

This was a lot to process at 12 in the morning for a short-circuiting Marinette. Adrien Agreste considers her a close friend and specifically said he missed her. Well, her and his other friends, but still!! He called her! Marinette wanted nothing more than to freak out but she needed to keep it together for Adrien’s sake.

“ He’s feeling lonely and really needs a friend right now and that's what I’m gonna be,” she thinks to herself as she slaps her face between her palms, “ I can do this! ”

Adrien quirks an eyebrow at her antics but chalks it up to Marinette being Marinette.

“Y-yeah you can call me whenever you like! Just not like you know 4 in the morning or something or if I’m helping in the bakery or showering I won’t be able to answer…” Marinette’s eyes bugged once she realized what she just said. Embarrassment tinged her face and ears.

“Really?! That really means a lot to me, Marinette! Thanks!” He was relieved to know that he wasn’t bothering her and that she didn’t mind talking to him this late at night.

“You mean a lot to me” Marinette sighed.

“What was that?” Adrien asked.

“Oh uh um well I said...” Marinette was floundering. Did she just partly confess to her crush over FaceTime?! Should she hang up and pretend this never happened?

“ No!! Adrien called because he needs a friend! ” she reminded herself. With a deep breath, Marinette continued, “I said that you mean a lot to me. You’re my friend and it...it hurts to see you hurting”.

Adrien was taken aback by how sincere she was. Eyebrows knitted and mouth scrunched, Marinette looked like she had fire in her eyes. Her expression was oddly reminiscent of his partner against crime.

“But really, if you ever need a shoulder to lean on or if you need to vent, I’m all ears.”

“I’m all yours too if you want me to be,” Marinette thought to herself.

Adrien couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have such amazing friends, especially a friend like Marinette. It made him happy to think about that but it also pained him even more because he wanted nothing more than to be able to spend as much time with them as possible.

Adrien sniffled and fought back the urge to cry in front of his friend. He shifted his position on his bed from sitting up against his headboard to rolling onto his stomach and propping his chin on his pillow and put his phone against his headboard. Hopefully, the pressure of the pillow could be enough to keep the tears at bay.

Marinette could tell that Adrien was hurting and suppressing his emotions just because he was talking to her wasn’t healthy. Softly she suggested, “you can cry if you want Adrien. It's ok. Everyone needs to cry every now and again and afterward, you’ll feel much better. I know I do.”

He really has been feeling miserable lately. Yeah, it sucked that he’s been seeing his friends less and has had a more rigid schedule than usual but what hurt the most was that right when it seemed like he and his dad had gotten closer, his dad decided to put even more distance between himself and Adrien. They had watched his mother’s movie together and it felt like he had a dad again. But that didn’t last long at all. His dad pulled away and put even more distance between them leaving Adrien feeling more alone and isolated than before. He missed his mom. He missed having a dad who cared even if he didn’t show it that well.

Adrien’s breath shuddered as he inhaled as he began to cry. Face down in his pillow he cried away his feelings of helplessness and loneliness. He didn’t call Marinette just so she could watch him cry but like she said, he really needed this.

While Adrien had his cathartic release, Marinette was overcome with guilt. ‘Oh no! I made Adrien cry!!! How could I be so cruel?!” Marinette thought as she dragged her hands over her face. Biting her nails, she grabbed her phone and quietly made her way from her sewing station up to her loft and into her bed. Sparing a glance to the little bed that she made for Tikki, Marinette checked to see if the little kwami was asleep or not. Marinette couldn’t seek the kwami’s advice while she was FaceTiming with Adrien but having her near was calming. Tikki was in fact fast asleep. Marinette sighed. She was just gonna have to navigate this new situation by herself. Marinette nestled under her covers and set her phone against her kitty body pillow. A few minutes later, Adrien’s tears began to subside and his breathing became more regulated.

“Feeling better now?” Marinette asked. The whole time he was crying, Marinette wished that she could be with him in person and hold him. The thought made her face heat up but she really did wish that she could be there instead of on the other end of a phone.

With one last sniffle, Arien replied with a slightly raspy voice, “y-yeah”

“Hey, Adrien?” Marinette asked as she nervously bit her lip.

“Yes?”

“What do you get when you cross a lemon and a cat?” She asked as she looked down at her lap.

“Um, what?”

“A sour puss” Marinette had to admit that it was a pretty lame joke but she came up with on the spot so…

Adrien gave her a small smile as he chuckled softly.

“What do you call a cat that lives in an igloo?” Marinette asked with a smirk.

“What?”

“An eskimew” Marinette could honestly say that she was proud of herself for coming up with these jokes. It seemed like her kitty was rubbing off on her. Maybe that explained why she was only coming up with cat-related jokes.

At that, Adrien let out a louder laugh than before. “That was pretty cute.”

Marinette blushed and smiled to herself. She was happy that she could make Adrien smile.

“Can I tell a joke?” Adrien asked propping himself up on his elbows and he hugged his pillow.

“Sure”

“What’s a cat’s favorite way of keeping law & order?”

Marinette had a feeling that whatever Adrien was going to say, Chat would love it and eat it up.

“What?”

“Claw Enforcement”

Marinette was right. She grinned from ear to ear as she laughed thinking about how much of a field day Chat would have if he heard Ladybug say that joke.

“D-do you want to hear another one?” Marinette asked.

“I’d love to”

“Okay, I’ve got a good one.”

As Ladybug, Marinette pretended to be exasperated with her partner when he punned but she actually enjoyed them. She just didn’t tell him because he didn’t need another reason to have his ego fanned.

“How do cats end their fights?”

“How?”

“They hiss and make up,” Marinette said with a pleased smirk on her face as she mimicked a cat swiping their paw as she hissed and then made a kissy face. Who doesn’t like a good cheesy joke every once in a while? She wasn’t a stick in the mud.

Adrien seemed to really like that joke because he laughed so hard that he rolled out of bed. How that happened, Marinette had no clue. She was supposed to be the clumsy one. Adrien righted himself on the bed and thought to himself that he was in a much better mood than he was an hour ago.

Looking out his window, he noticed that the thunderstorm had blown itself out and was now a soothing sprinkle.

“I didn’t know that you were so well versed in the art of cat jokes, Marinette,” Adrien said with a relaxed expression. Gone was the storm that raged outside as well as within Adrien.

Marinette let out a small laugh “What can I say, I have a friend who likes to tell me cat jokes constantly and I guess they’ve rubbed off on me.”

Adrien wondered who this friend might be. He’d love to meet them and exchange notes.

They talked some more for another half hour. Marinette filled him in on the ongoings at school that he missed while he’s been gone. Max had brought Markov in again and had it play a game of basketball against Kim and the robot and boy had surprisingly tied, Alix debuted her graffiti art series at school in the main quad, and Rose and Juleka announced that Kitty Section would be performing for the upcoming open house. Adrien wished that he could have been there in person but it was nice to hear Marinette talk and fill him in. He told her about his latest modeling shoots and what his father’s new line was going to be like. At that, Marinette perked up and grabbed a nearby journal to take notes on what to expect. Adrien even mentioned that they would finally be debuting the bowler hat that Marinette designed and Marinette let out a sound of delight.

“Hey, Marinette?”

“Hmm?” Marinette looked up from her notebook to look at the blonde boy.

“Can we do this more often?”

“This? As in talk more?” Marinette asked as her heart skipping several beats.

“Well, that too. I like talking to you. I’m happy we’ve grown closer over the past few months. But I mean if I can’t make it to school or hang out with friends, that you’ll fill me in on what I missed?” Adrien asked with a sad smile.

Marinette really felt for this poor boy. How could his father be this overbearing to keep his only son basically a prisoner and keep him from things that brought him joy? She wished that she could do more but for now this would have to do.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll do my best” Marinette let him know with a reassuring smile.

“Hey, I can do you one better. I can FaceTime you while hanging out with friends or at school or something if you're not there if you’re not busy” Marinette suggested.

“That’s a great idea, Mari!!” Adrien exclaimed as he pumped his fists in the air. “You’re the best!”

Marinette gave him a smile as her stomach filled with butterflies.

“I’m happy I can help,” she says as she stifles a yawn. She glances at her clock on her nightstand and read the glowing numbers 1:40 AM.

Adrien noticed her yawn and also took a glance at the time.

“Woah, I didn’t realize how late it had gotten. It’s a good thing tomorrow is Sunday” he said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes fighting back a yawn of his own.

“Thank you, Mari, for answering my call. I’m so lucky to have you as a friend” Adrien said as he gave her a heart-stopping smile. Marinette’s cheeks turned pink and she could feel them warm.

“You’re welcome, Adrien. I’m here for you anytime day or night.”

“I guess I’ll let you sleep now. Good night Marinette.”

“Good night, Adrien.”

They both stared at each other for another 20 seconds not wanting to be the first to end the call. Realizing that neither one was gonna do it, they both laughed. With another good night, Adrien reluctantly ended the call. Adrien plugged in his phone to charge and snuggled into his blankets. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep after a few minutes.

Clutching her phone to her chest, Marinette laid awake in bed for another half hour heart still hammering thinking about what she had just done. She talked on the phone and FaceTimed with Adrien ( ADRIEN!!!) for almost two hours and barely stuttered.

“Alya’s gonna freak when she finds out,” Marinette thinks to herself. The sound of rain taps out a rhythm against her skylight and Marinette finds herself slowly drifting off to sleep phone still clutched to her chest.

The next morning Adrien was awakened by Nathalie at 7 AM. Despite only getting 5 hours of sleep, Adrien felt completely rested. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this rested. Even though it may mean that Adrien missed out on something yet again, he looked forward to his FaceTime calls with Marinette.

#miraculous ladybug #adrinette #ml fanfic #ml spoilers #ml fic #marinette dupen-chang #adrien agreste #adrien x marinette #fanfiction #fanfic #my fanfiction #my fanfic #anansi #gorizilla

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comeondowntosouthparkrpg-blog · 5 years

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Kyle Broflovski

I hope you learned something today.

Kyle has been accepted! Please send in your blog link.

out of character info Name/Alias: Samantha Pronouns: she/her Age: 26 Join Our Discord: I’m in it Timezone: EST Activity: 6 Triggers: Password: fast pass my ass jimbo Character that you’re applying for: Kyle Broflovski Favourite ships for your character: anything tbh

in character info

Full name: Kyle Edom Broflovski Birthday: May 26th, 2001 Sexuality, gender, pronouns: bisexual, out, he/him Age and grade: 17 & senior Face claim: Harry Smith Personality: Kyle’s personality is often all over the place. To say he’s temperamental is an understatement, considering how quick to violence and harsh words he is. Perhaps it has to do with his New Jersey heritage, or the stress from the work he puts in, or maybe something else entirely. But the anger is a defining characteristic. Often this leads Kyle to getting into some various fight, be it with his mother or a peer, his wall or a tree when he escapes to the mountains to get away from the irritating people of South Park and forget about shit. Therapy or a yoga class would likely do him good, though Kyle often prefers to take his rage out on something a little harder. Because of his, his slender fingers are crooked and covered in scars from where the skin and bones broke during a fit of punches at a tree or door or brick wall. Or, if he’s lucky, someone’s face. Though Kyle isn’t angry all the time. There are plenty of times where he’s rather calm, such as focused at his desk writing in his various journals, finishing his school work, or reading. Being alone is cathartic, and peaceful. Though Kyle is often content and relaxed when he’s around those he cares about, he has the capabilities of being sweet, though he isn’t really aware of it. He does try, but often when he tries he falls short and hopefully he’ll learn to go with the natural flow and feel his emotions freely without overthinking it.

Which is another huge part of Kyle, thinking everything into oblivion until he’s lost in his own head and finding himself suffocated by his thoughts. Because of this he’s often insecure and paranoid, and desperate to forget about it. Which recently has gotten him into a bit of a sticky spot with someone else.

As well, if there’s one thing Kyle is that could be considered positive, it’s determined. When he knows what he wants, Kyle stops at nothing until he gets it. Case point for him is Yale, refusing to accept any other school that isn’t Ivy League. His classes are plentiful and filling his lunch breaks and several hours after class, leaving him with more than enough credits to have graduated. His determination has put him in various activities such as Student Council, DARE, Mathletes, Basketball and the debate team.

History: Kyle grew up in a fairly stereotypical Jewish household. Well, it was fairly stereotypical until he was ten and discovered his fathers very concerning internet hobby. But aside from that, it was Passover baskets, separate cooking utensils for meat and dairy. Absolutely no bacon. Or ham. Or mixing cheese and meat, which lead to a lot of envy over the other children who were able to eat cheeseburgers. But it wasn’t bad. The Christmas holidays often fell over Hanukkah, and even when they didn’t it was a few weeks off of school to bum around with his friends.

Everything with middle school was a preparation for high school, which was a preparation for college. Kyle worked to be top of every class, finding a taste for black coffee early on to stay up late and stay caffeinated for the school day. It began with sneaking instant coffee from the jar, to spending his allowance at Tweek Tweaks (by far the superior of the options, too). Cream didn’t agree with him, and he had to carefully monitor his diabetes.

As for family, Kyle’s current closest confidant is Ike, his adopted younger brother from the Great White North. Even though the kid was eleven, going on twelve, Kyle could tell he was going to far superior in intellect than he was. There was always the nagging jealousy over it, because Ike was a natural where Kyle just worked. Although Ike would often argue that it was worse, he felt like he had no passion. Kyle just chalked it up to preteen angst, although he wouldn’t doubt if it turned into strong teenage rebellion in a few years. He wouldn’t put it past his kid brother to dismantle governments before college. Now that Kyle was in high school himself, it was a whole new ball game. Or rather, the same game but what felt like a hundred times more stressful. He had no idea what he wanted to do in the future, no set career goal. Which meant Kyle needed to cover all options. The first semester of ninth grade had simply been used to assimilate him. Since the second semester of his first year, Kyle had worked with the guidance counsellor to get as many class credits as he could. Since then, he opted out of his lunch hour to fill it with more classes, and now in eleventh grade didn’t take the allotted study periods. Most used them to piss off school grounds and fuck around the city, but Kyle filled them with more classes. The workload was obscene, and Kyle spent every waking moment studying, working on projects. After school was used for extracurriculars, basketball, track. Kyle needed to cover all grounds. His goal was Yale, Harvard as a second. For what, he didn’t know, he simply knew he wanted to leave this shitty town and go Ivy League.

Anything less was unacceptable.

Headcanons: { 💥 } • Has clear anger issues, and attempts to manage them as best he can. Gives himself self-ratings from 1-5 in his head about it. One being general pissed offedness, three being angry as hell, five being blinding, inandescent black out rage. { 💥 } • Can forgive incredibly easily, but will rarely get over or forget wrongdoings. { 💥 } • Extra as fuck. This is the boy who went to commit murder, would have burnt down the school, and caused Canada to be nuked, after all. { 💥 } • While often portrayed as the logical one, Kyle’s most likely to react with passion as opposed to ration. He’s quick to violence, quick to make rash decsions, only to use reason after or when it doesn’t affect him. Kyle should practice what he preaches, but he tends to be a person that’s “do as I say, not as I do” type person { 💥 } • Always wanting to be bettering himself, which is a mountain he struggles to climb. But he always tries to go at least two steps forward one step back. { 💥 } • Absolutely hates when people put him into a box. He does not revolve around the fact he’s Jewish, he’s more than that, for instance. { 💥 } • Hates that his name means handsome redhead when he’s only one of those things. { 💥 } • Does not have freckles. At all. Do not even say he does. He does, however, have a strawberry shaped birth mark on his butt. { 💥 } • Started writing his anger down in notebooks in fifth grade when people (Eric) started pissing him off. Eventually it just became a good way to try to organize his life and now keeps them as a way to plan schedules, track lists, keep notes, things he’s learned, etc down. A lot of the ones from September have complex starbucks orders written down { 💥 } • Wears reading glasses. { 💥 } • Doesn’t stand for people blaming their actions on mental health problems. He tries to explain his actions as mistakes or poor judgement or decision making. Hates when people make excuses. Doesn’t blame his anger issues on his life, or his health issues, etc. Blames them on the fact he’s just stupid and makes mistakes. { 💥 } • Loves plants and trees. Is a nature freak. { 💥 } • Likely knows the woods better than anyone else in the town. Will be there most of the summers, and weekends in the warmer weather. Goes there to get away from people, and to calm himself down if upset. Has several favourite places. { 💥 } • Drives a 2017 Toyota Prius (White) { 💥 } • Will live and die eating Nutella { 💥 } • Is a fighter, obviously. Has no qualms throwing punches, and doesn’t intend to stop fighting until he’s physically removed from the situation. Kyle needs to have his eye contact actively broken, because he fights like a damn Rottweiler and sees eye contact as a challenge. { 💥 } • has probably the worst style known to man kind, if it’s ugly, he loves it. Specifically enjoys cable knit sweaters and corduroy pants.

Anything else: Family headcanons:

{ 🔥 } • Gerald has taken Sheila’s name. This is because Grandma Broflovski is Sheila’s mother, which means Gerald would have had to have taken Sheila’s last name. She’s a strong independent woman who needs no man but when she did she made him take her name. { 🔥 } • Got pregnant fairly young, and was unmarried, while living with her mother. Because her pregnancy helped Sheila realize she wanted to leave her jersey life, her and Gerald had a shotgun wedding before moving to South Park. { 🔥 } • Sheila had complications with her pregnancy with Kyle, and was no longer likely to have children after Kyle. { 🔥 } • Spent several years trying for another child with treatments before settling on adoption, ending up with a closed adoption and bringing Ike into the family. { 🔥 } • Gerald was once best friends with Stuart McCormick. Ended up resentful. Gerald moved to Jersey to continue his law degree. Gerald and Sheila chose South Park to move to from New Jersey because it was his hometown. { 🔥 } • Gerald, because of his fights with Stuart, thinks Kenny is a no good street rat and hates Kenny hanging around the house. Sheila, however, adores him. Gerald doesn’t complain about him while she’s around, but he has no issue with saying it around Kyle. { 🔥 } • Kyle, as mentioned, is a daddy’s boy. Because of how similar he is to his mother, they often butt heads. Gerald has dealt with this his whole life, and loves his angry wife and son and can handle them both just fine. { 🔥 } • However, Ike is similar to him in many ways, and this can cause Gerald and Ike to be distant to each other. { 🔥 } • Isn’t affectionate with Ike the same was he is Kyle. Sheila is far more affectionate with Ike, where Kyle pulls away. { 🔥 } • Sheila will believe Ike in every lie he says, without question. A lot of her favouritism of him stems from guilt from things like the Canusa War and forgetting his 13th birthday Photograph:

#kyle broflovski #Accepted #submission

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woohooligancomics · 6 years

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Webcomic Whimsy: Furry Experience!

Welcome to the Woohooligan Weekly Webcomic Whimsy! If you're a webcomic author and would like a review, you can see my announcement and review rules here.

Title: Furry Experience

Author: Ellen Natalie • Patreon • Facebook • Twitter

Site: Smack Jeeves

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Furry, Mormons

Rating: G (?)

Updates: Saturdays

My Starting Point (requested by artist): Page 182 (I'm not sure if they're arranged in chapters -- the archive doesn't seem to have chapter numbers)

Synopsis (from the About page): Three roommates attending college in Utah Valley. Between their different backgrounds, beliefs, and friends, there's sure to be lots of comedy and drama before anyone earns a diploma.

This starting page is probably a decent example of what you can expect from Furry Experience. Obviously the characters are anthropomorphic animals, as you'd expect from the title. The main characters are college roommates, so you would expect that kind of sit-com-esque, day-in-the-life humor. And the art is of good enough quality that we're not scratching our heads about what's going on here.

Ultimately, yes there's a good bit of comedy and a little drama in it, but the drama seems rather tame and the comedy seems very much of the family-friendly variety. I think where the story really excels is in a kind of smooth-seas, non-threatening character development. The characters never seem especially challenged by the events in their life, despite plenty of displays of emotion, and there are lots of scenes of friend and family bonding. To be honest, a lot of it feels to me like the TV commercials the Mormon church sometimes airs, where something ostensibly portrayed as bad seems to have happened, like the kids got their dress clothes all dirty, and just as the parents are about to lay into them, they start a water-fight with the garden hose instead.

I seem to always be waiting for something more outlandish or more personally challenging to happen to one of the characters and it never really does. Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm conditioned to expect that from the TV shows I watch. In any event, if you like friend and family bonding and g-rated humor, this might be for you! :D

The first several pages of this story arc is all three of the roommates continually changing the whiteboard to pass the dishes chore onto each other until Cat, who I presume is a dimwit stereotype, reaches the conclusion that the whiteboard is cursed, rather than that her roommates have been changing it.

Some people might not like me saying this, and fuck them. I like the fact that the cast is weighted on women. I counted fourteen female characters to six male on the about page. The reason I say I like this is because culturally, we've been programmed to expect the cast to be heavily male weighted. This programming is so strong, that when you ask people to estimate the number of women in a room, they usually will say "about half" when the room is actually only 20% or one in five women. Despite its sexist origins, Star Trek: the Next Generation did a better job featuring a 6-to-3 cast ratio in the first season, before Yar died, leaving the ratio 6-to-2. To be fair, Furry Experience isn't even that heavily weighted, the men are slightly less than one in three, so it's comparable to ST:TNG's first season.

The whiteboard joke ends abruptly after a few pages once Cat destroys it, and without showing any further bickering over the dishes chore, so those several pages are essentially a really short comedic subplot or a really long self-contained comic strip.

Then we're on to the next story which starts with Ronnie and her friend Vikki visiting a book-store at the mall. I have to agree with Ronnie here, I've been inside Mormon book stores and I'm not sure I would call it "culture". Mormons are if anything extremely conservative, so aside from picking up on some of their religious idiosyncrasies, the Mormon bookstore would actually restrict the amount of alternative views you're exposing yourself to, not expand them. I personally was raised Mormon (I'm Unitarian / positive agnostic), and my mother was Mormon until some time in my mid thirties. She still refuses to believe anything a liberal says, but takes on face value anything said by a conservative, like for example that Trump never said "grab them by the pussy" (even though he and his wife both admitted it on TV and during the debates), because the whole tape was manufactured as a part of a grand conspiracy. As far as she's concerned, the conspiracy is more believable than the idea that Trump said it, despite the fact that there are numerous TV apperances showing Trump bragging that he wants to fuck his daughter. :-/

But I'm off topic... Ronnie and Vikki are going to the Mormon book store. If you're unfamiliar with Mormonism, Utah is like the Mormons' Vatican... Well, Salt Lake City is, but also most of Utah. Mormonism is such an entrenched part of the state that it's actually somewhat difficult to live in the state without being Mormon, because you can't go or work anywhere without the Mormons in the office giving you crap about the fact that you drink coffee. (They have a religious prohibition on coffee like they do alcohol and cigarettes.)

Honestly, it's hard for me to say much about the following page except "agreed".

So they leave the book shop and they're talking about hanging out the rest of the evening and of course, like I said, it's hard to live in Utah if you're not Mormon, the subject comes up again.

Yes, that's really a thing, Mormons are supposed to have a "family home evening" (most of them do it on Monday), in which they have a gospel lesson... but because it's super hard to maintain that amount of bullshit for such an extended period of time (they all just spent three hours at church the day before), most of them don't manage to have their gospel lesson ready and then feel guilty and go out to eat somewhere with their family instead. And this isn't even mentioning the host of extracurricular church activities they're supposed to engage in, like their weekly study-buddies with other church members.

So the discussion about where to hang out leads to some mystery about what Vikki is hiding at her apartment.

Ronnie decides to stalk Vikki to find out what's wrong with her apartment, and thanks to the laws of sit-com world, what's wrong is that all three of Vikkie's roommates aren't just practicing Mormons, they even bought the "god is watching you" poster from the previous page.

Ellen told me that this series included furries, comedy, drama and Mormon's in that order. So I'm taking her word for it that most of the content isn't specifically about Mormonism, but she did start me out right in front of an arc about how annoying it is to live in Utah if you're not. Vikki's roommates are all attending "Furry Young" university in Provo (Brigham Young is the university owned by the Mormon church) and have stereotypically conservative, female career goals like school teacher, nursing and housewife.

When the discussion turns to the typical Mormon attitude that "of course everyone wants to get married", the story does briefly touch on one of the more awkward and imo hilarious aspects of Mormon religion: if you don't marry on earth, you get to marry one of god's soldiers in heaven! :P

It seems a little odd to me personally that Ellen sidestepped the fact that the Mormon church is polygamist, so it wouldn't matter that those soldiers had already married, because they would get to be wife #3 or 8 or whatever and should be just as happy with that. :P But damnit, Ronnie, don't use the G word in front of the roommates, it really upsets them, and Vikki still has to live with them.

I mentioned all the extracurricular churcch activities, right? Basically the Mormon church expects its members to fill every waking moment with church doctrine in some form. On the toilet? Great opportunity to brush up on Leviticus!

Okay, that's actually a sweet moment between Ronnie and Vikki, and as much as I think Vikki's approach was off, at least now I understand why she was going to the Mormon bookstore. This page was originally published in 2012... I don't know, it seems to me like using Google on your smartphone would be an easier way of learning the Mormonisms than frequenting their bookstore. Google? Why? I have libraries!

So Vikki's roommates want Ronnie and Vikki both to participate in their "family home evening" (which, when you're not living with family, necessarily beccomes "roommate home evening"), which involves praying, singing hymns and a lecture about the importance of marrying in the Temple (a place non-Mormons aren't allowed to go, so obviously you have to marry within the religion to do that). As this is about as appealing as sand-papering your eyeballs, Ronnie gets them out of it by suggesting a "more interactive" activity so she can get to know them better: doorbell ditching! Which, to Vikki's surprise, the Mormon girls are toally into! Because when Mormons do it, they leave cookies, so... for all their faults, at least they're engaging in random acts of diabetes. :P (Fun fact, Mormons use more sugar in their cooking, are heavier set, and have more diabetes than just about any other religion.)

And then rather than buy cookies at the store (it's Monday, they're allowed), they start baking cookies at the last minute to go doorbell ditch them. The point of this page is primarily about how jargon-laden Mormonism is and, although I'm unfamiliar with these specific terms, I don't doubt them.

This story wraps up with a sentimental exchange between Ronnie and Vikki, which seems to me to be much of the flavor of the series as a whole: yes, there's your typical sitcom humor, but the overall tone feels to me less "let's make this hilarious" and more "even Lifetime movies have comic relief". Obviously that's a personal opinion and mileage varies.

The following story centers on one of the few male characters, Hunter, who's also college age, though still living with his parents. He's decided to make (nude) modelling for college art classes his full-time job, which sets the story up for tension between Hunter and his mother.

It isn't apparent until the following page that Mom is aware that Hunter's job is getting nakedy naked in the colleges of the world's most sexually repressed city ... seriously, there's probably more fucking in the Vatican than in Salt Lake. Probably a lot more. Anyway, Mom doesn't like it, that's why she's helicopter-momming Hunter and calling to set up job interviews without his consent.

And like I said before, this is where the story gets real Lifetime on us, with Mom talking about Hunter's entirely non-sex job like he's an alcoholic or a drug addict and this is an intervention.

I definitely have some questions about the pirate job. If we're talking movie or theater, that might be pretty cool, but it would be so much cooler if someone's hiring crew for a replica of the Queen Anne's revenge to terrorize rich people on their yachts in Lake Erie. It's probably disappointingly, a mascot job for a seafood restaurant or worse pirate-themed tax prep. "We be takin' deduction ARRR!"

Yes, he's deep undercover in Salt Lake City, trying to recover state secrets stolen by the Illuminati and hidden in the Mormon temple. Okay, that may not be as funny to you, but it's hilarious to me... after growing up with my Mormon mom, who's now a non-denominational pagan (ask me about her salt altars) who obsessively watches atheist YouTube channels. :P

Honesty, yes... that goes over great with Mormons who're so sexually repressed their sex organs have literally shrivelled up and become vestigial. Seriously, these people think kissing on the lips is a sin.

Oh! Hunter's family are mormon, wow... I sort of assumed they were the rare non-Mormon family in Utah... When I was younger, I think my mom's reaction to me being naked for money would have been on the order of apoplexy or a stroke. But I can certainly relate to the sleazy sales company -- I've been on a few of those interviews, even tried to work those jobs once or twice. Ugh! The only bright side there is that when you do eventually go to hell (and you will), the job will have prepared you for it.

Yes, an hour is a typical amount of training in a lot of telemarketing jobs, and they're just as evil as the door-to-door sales job. I'm pretty sure I saw Stabby's owner on the cast list page, so I guess not all the characters know each other.

Called it! I really wish it had been actual pirating on Lake Erie. :-(

Meta joke! It must be about a webcomic I haven't read. I have no idea why Panda-Joel works as a joke.

Anyway that story ends with Hunter getting a concession job at a movie theater to replace Luke (Joel) and the end of the tension with his mother is that the job is great because it's mostly at night and fits neatly into his existing schedule so he can work both jobs and save up to potentially move out. Mom appears stunned at the news, which I'm guessing is supposed to mean she's not entirely happy with him moving out (and we know she wasn't happy with the art-modeling job he's still keeping). So I think the "punchline" there was "be careful what you wish for". As a former Mormon, I can't tell you how Mormon that whole thing feels. It's all so... mundane and uncomplicated. I'd have tried to end that story with a more challenging, possibly even surreal punchline, like the introduction of Stabby.

Artist insert. There's usually a single-page joke between stories and they're all labelled "filler page #". This one is 28.

I like the fact that the whiteboard changes mid-scene when it's obvious nobody's touched it. It may have just been a callback to the haunted whiteboard from the previous story, but I just think it's a cool bit of meta humor in general. I did the same thing with writing on the walls of the women's bathroom in the Pit (hell's bar, run by Azrael, who's Grumpy Cat's dad).

Again, this is Salt "No Sex Period" Lake City.

And just like they have a prohibition on sex, they also have a prohibition on ... you know, fun.

Tricking your kids out of things they want is really the job of being a dad if we're being honest.

Like I said before, the strip seems to focus primarily on friend-and-family bonding, sort of a furry, colorized Leave It To Beaver. So if you like family-friendly sitcoms, give Furry Experience a look!

If you are a webcomic author and are interested in a review from me, you can check out my announcement and my review-request rules here.

If you enjoyed this and want to help me make more reviews, you can contribute on our Patreon or if you're short on funds you can also help by checking out and sharing my own comedy and laughtivist webcomic, Woohooligan!

Thank you for sharing yourself with us! Sam

#review #furry #anthropomorphic #religion #family friendly

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onceuponamirror · 6 years

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11 questions game

tagged by @raptorlily, who prepared 11 questions for her tag-ees:

1. The core four + Kevin and Cheryl are attending a literary character party. What costume does each of them wear? Bonus: What costumes are the Southside Serpent characters wearing?

OH BOY. well, betty is elizabeth bennett. her instinct is obviously be nancy drew, but then decides she wants to play dress up a little bit. she tries valiantly to get jughead into a darcy couples costume, but his instinct is to just be sal paradise because he won’t have to buy anything for the costume.

betty tells him that if she’s not going to be nancy, he should go outside the box too. he then decides on dressing like the titular mummy from jane loudon’s the mummy! (he’s still a weirdo, remember)

veronica goes as daisy buchanan if not purely for the extravagant opportunity to dress like a flapper, archie comes as jim hawkins from treasure island, cheryl bucks expectation and attends as a female robin hood (she already loves archery), and kevin is absolutely sherlock holmes. he’d look so natural in a trenchcoat!

2. What extracurricular activities are Reggie, Ethel, Fangs, Midge, Toni and Sweetpea involved in?

besides sports, reggie’s extracurricular activity is definitely selling ground up oregano to middle schoolers and telling them it’s weed.

ethel is canonically a drama geek and that’s valid, but she’s also probably in band. i’m gonna go with....flutist.

fangs is also canonically a drama geek and a regular geek (less we not forget jughead used a larping club to lure fangs out of a self-imposed suspension) so i honestly am just waiting for him and kev to start up their dungeons and dragons club. (wow they are perfect for each other tho??? a dorkier bughead)

midge (RIP) was probably into 4-H bc i can’t get the concept of “klump farms” out of my head. she seemed like a genuinely sweet person who also was a regular teenager and was a cheerleader and probably volunteered at hospitals too idk

toni wanted to get laid so bad she became a cheerleader. or, ok, seriously i mean my headcanon is like, it’s bring it on, where toni was into gymnastics and dance in a v serious way but southside didn’t offer any curriculars that would allow her to do that, and she couldn’t afford gymnastics herself. turns out the closest thing riverdale has is cheerleading, which’ll do.

sweet pea is probably the lowkey nerdiest of them all. i was joking earlier that he’s probably secretly into anime, but more seriously: feel like he’d go for basketball officially and also probably has an interest in engineering. i mean, that interest began with pipe bombs, but. yanno. ya dreams gotta start somewhere!!!

3. Give me three of your favourite headcanons for Reggie

had a crush on betty until high school

does his dumbest shit for his dad’s attention, painfully unsubtle about it

is cripplingly afraid of being alone, which is why he surrounds himself by teammates at all times and/or can’t get past the pack mentality. has difficulty being vulnerable in spite of all that, can’t be honest with himself and/or with others.

4. It’s Saturday night and the core four are all hanging out by themselves at home. What is each of them up to?

betty is listening to the memory palace podcast while laying on her bed, feet crossed up in the air, doing her homework. cleaned her room earlier. wants to call polly. she doesn’t. stays up till two am for no reason other than her room is warm and full of golden light and it’s the only time the house is quiet. plugged back in her old nightlight, half out of spite after polly nearly threw it out, half genuinely. sometimes she thinks she’s still afraid of the dark. the irony isn’t lost on her.

jughead is working on his novel, american crime story is playing on the TV in the background, a bag of popcorn slowly rotating in the microwave. the trailer is empty and he chooses to think his dad is at work. emails his sister. he doesn’t remember when, but they’ve stopped talking about their mom. his tattoo itches. toni told him not to scratch at it.

veronica is drinking chamomile tea on a tray, scrolling through pinterest and making a european vacation mood board for the post-graduation trip she’d like to take with her friends. she wants to surprise them with it, all-expenses paid. she resists the urge to book flights years in advance. browses the barney’s website. doesn’t know why she gets such a thrill from online shopping. isn’t sure why she can’t stop.

archie is in the garage, his fingers strumming aimlessly over the strings of his guitar. wonders why his mother can’t be a lawyer here in riverdale. isn’t sure if music was ever his own, or something he thought he should want, because he didn’t want to work construction. or worse, because a woman found it attractive. brought his history textbook out with the intention to study. doesn’t. practices wonderwall, even though jughead laughs whenever the song comes upon.

5. What’s your headcanon for Jughead’s hat? Why does he wear it? What’s the origin story?

his mom made it when he was a kid, and growing up in threadbare clothes donated down the line of serpents or thrift store finds, it was the one thing that was truly his---made for him. with love.

being scrawny and quiet and outgrowing his pants too fast to replace them already set him apart. might as well let the hat seal the deal.

6. What is your Riverdale guilty pleasure ship? One that you don’t necessarily ship in canon but wouldn’t mind reading fanfiction for?

don’t think i have one, honestly?

7. Can Chuck be redeemed in your eyes? Any caveats or things that would need to happen to make this count?

yeah, it’s really interesting answer this question post 2x18, but---yes, i definitely think chuck can be redeemed. i never wanted him to be a villain in the first place, for so, so many reasons.

i mean, comics!chuck was a deliberate bucking of specific stereotypes that riverdale slid right back into without seeming to think about what it was they were saying by doing that. (related readings: x) and then the way they did it---ack.

outside of the vacuum of comics vs. show, i think that where we’re at culturally, we’re really asking men to unlearn their toxic masculinity. especially of adolescents who are still growing and changing---and what chuck did was certainly part of the vacuum of male privilege/toxic masculinity, but he faced consequences for that, and then he acknowledged it. actively has announced he wants to change, and i genuinely believe it at this point.

and while i wish chuck wasn’t the character they’re doing this with in the first place, “cancelled culture” can be really frustrating because it’s way too binary. it undermines the growth and self-crit we want people to be doing.

obviously, it doesn’t apply unilaterally, some people are abusive or cruel or malicious to the point where they lose their ability to profit off of it, and rightfully so---but with a character like chuck, whose main crime appeared to just be slut shaming, i actually appreciate a narrative where a male character owns up to how that was bad, why it was wrong, and how they’re going to change.

8. What is a storyline you’d like to see most explored on the show?

just---more familial dynamics. i cannot wait for gladys and JB, i think that’s going to be so meaty and tragic and emotional in the right ways. i want more of polly and betty’s relationship, and/or how betty feels watching her sister run away constantly, or just their dynamic in general. more of archie and fred navigating dreams vs. reality. i kinda don’t love veronica’s parents tho, and i’m not sure where they could take that in a way that i enjoy.

9. What is your favourite Riverdale fanfic trope or cliché?

pining, man. just. pining.

10. What is existing scene or storyline would you rewrite to better suit your tastes?

HAH. how much time do we have

BONUS: Archie starts a band. He settles on ‘The Archies’ but what were some of the other suggestions for the band name? Name three songs that show up on their debut album.

jughead’s suggestion is: red drum, red drum and he thinks it’s hilarious

three songs: midnight ride, smoking gun, and can’t fly

my 11 questions for my taggees

1. which twist did you least see coming? genuinely.

2. we all know riverdale loves hopscotching through genre elements (true crime, musical, grease, etc), and sometimes it’s too much, but which has been your favorite? what other ones would you like to see from the show?

3. riverdale does dirty on its secondary characters. what storylines would you give to reggie, kevin, josie, etc? or, what would you like to see for them in s3? anything you thought the show really fumbled? did right?

4. what are your backstory headcanons for sweet pea, fangs, and toni?

5. what’s your theory on the old riverdale riots?

6. it’s the ten year high school reunion. where did everyone go to college? (core four + the secondary pals) what’s your headcanon for their future careers? who’s still together? who wishes they were still together? who hooks up unexpectedly in a storage closet?

7. what’s a storyline you just didn’t buy this season?

8. any headcanons for the riverparents? like, how they grew up, who they were in high school, why they went the directions they did?

9. what’s one trope that you’d wish the show would do? or something you wish you saw more in fic?

10. thoughts on reggie? will he ever be fleshed out? will it make him more of a villain, or less of one?

11. if you could have anything happen in s3, what would it be?

and i tag @village-skeptic @stillscape @sylwrites @lessoleilscouchants @myrmidonofmelodrama @heartunsettledsoul @raptorlily (tagging back, bc i want your answers on these too!) @theatreofexpression @imreallyloveleee

or anyone who wants to answer!!! just tag me, i wanna see yer answers. these games are fun

#tag games #chuck clayton #reggie mantle

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assholemurphy · 6 years

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‘Til Action, Lust : Chapter 4

Also on AO3

The 100

Murphamy

Explicit

Summary:

Having just recently turned eighteen, Murphy decides it’s time he finally visit the Bunker, Arkadia’s BDSM club, in search of a dom. He manages to find one in Bellamy Blake, charming and sweet and prettier than any man has a right to be, in Murphy’s opinion. But after getting arrested vandalizing a cop car, Murphy’s brought down to the station where he runs into someone very familiar. Turns out Bellamy’s a fucking cop. Sleeping with a cop breaks every rule Murphy’s ever set for himself. He’s an anarchist, a rebel, a delinquent, and there’s nothing he hates more than a cop. So, he shouldn’t want Bellamy now, right? Except he does, but Bellamy has rules, too. He doesn’t consort with criminals. So, Murphy has to choose between Bellamy and his illegal extracurriculars. It’s an easy choice, but following the rest of Bellamy’s rules won’t be so easy. It’s not easy for Bellamy, either, because just when he’s gotten used to handling Murphy, he realizes he might actually be falling for him. Which sucks for him, because their relationship is purely built on sex, right? Maybe not, but just when he’s got things under control, they meet a switch named Atom that turns their world upside down all over again.

Beginning

<- Previous Chapter

“Okay, so, food will be here in half an hour. Want to go over the checklist now or wait until after we eat?” Bellamy asked, putting his phone back in his pocket.

He and Murphy had been at his house for all of five minutes before Bellamy had decided he didn’t want to cook because it would take too long and all he wanted was to get the paperwork out of the way so he could pull Murphy close and put his hands all over him. He’d picked him up after his shift ended and brought him back to his place, resisting the urge to run his hand up Murphy’s thigh the whole drive because honestly, the kid looked absolutely adorable and Bellamy couldn’t wait to see what kind of faces he made when Bellamy was buried inside of him.

“Now. We can at least start,” Murphy decided, pulling his papers out of his bag. He was sure his answers were uninformed and a little stupid, but he wasn’t afraid of being laughed at. Bellamy had shown he was more than willing to talk Murphy through things without making fun of him, so Murphy had nothing to fear. Besides, he was too excited for what was to come to be nervous. Even if Bellamy didn’t share all of his kinks, he knew there had to be at least a few they had in common and he could deal with sacrificing a few to have Bellamy.

Bellamy smiled and reached for his own papers on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch beside Murphy. He had to resist the urge to reach out and pull him into his lap because for fuck’s sake, it was like he’d purposely found his tightest clothes just to tease Bellamy and Bellamy wanted to get even, to make him squirm and beg and get just as turned on as Bellamy had been the second he’d seen him come out of his building, with his too tight jeans that looked like they were painted on, the same ones he’d worn to the club, and an old band tee that had more holes than cloth underneath his jacket and he looked like some punk you’d see protesting outside the governor’s office and Bellamy wasn’t sure when it had happened, but he’d come to realize that a certain level of defiance against the system turned him on more than he cared to admit. So, when he’d seen Murphy, dressed like he was ready to throw a brick through the station’s window, he’d had to talk himself down from jumping him the second he was in the car.

“So, you wanna talk kinks first or limits? Or do you want to discuss what we expect from the relationship?” Bellamy asked. He’d gotten a little information at the club, but he needed to know more. He needed to know what he could do and what Murphy was completely against. He knew they weren’t going to be a perfect match, that was rare, but he was willing to give Murphy almost anything he wanted. He had few actual hard limits, himself, he did have some, but as long as what Murphy wanted didn’t get too close to them, he’d do whatever he needed, within reason.

“Let’s go with the relationship, because most of my limits were covered in the checklist, so we can just go over them before we get to kinks.” He wanted to do the kink part last because he knew imagining Bellamy doing those things to him would only get him worked up and he didn’t want to have to wait until after they were done with everything to get what he wanted. He’d waited too long and he’d been turned on too much with going over the checklist to go through that again. Bellamy’s no touching himself rule was cruel, especially considering how often he’d gotten himself off before to the thought of doing more with Bellamy, even when he’d been pissed at him.

“Fine with me. What exactly do you want? I know we discussed it last time, so there’s not as much to go over, but more specifically, what do you want from me?”

Everything. For you to pin me down right now and fuck me senseless. For you to bruise me up and leave marks that don’t fade for days so I know I’m yours. Murphy choked back that answer and shrugged, “I would like a decent dynamic where I get to control my personal life, but my sex life is up to you. I don’t mind you having other subs if you want them-”

“I generally only have one at a time, actually. Unless it’s a polyamorous relationship with all of us, but as a standard rule, just one,” Bellamy told him. He wanted to make sure he could focus all of his attention on Murphy. He wanted to train him and earn his submission and honestly, in all of his years at the club, he’d never found anyone he’d wanted more than Murphy, not at first sight, anyway, save for Raven, but she was a dom, herself, so it hadn’t worked out. “Do you plan to have other doms?”

“No,” Murphy shook his head. “Just you. I’m not good with following rules as it is, having two or more sets of them would be too much.”

Bellamy nodded, “Alright. Go on.”

“I want rules and punishments, but not so many that I can’t live my life. I don’t mind your rule about touching myself, that’s fine, though unfair, but no more rules like your first one. I understand why you have that one, and I will follow it, but no more that control my personal life. I still want to have a life outside of this.” He just hoped that wouldn’t upset Bellamy.

“Of course. And for the record, that first rule benefits you, too, because otherwise, you’d probably get thrown in jail for good since you aren’t a minor anymore.”

Murphy scowled, but he knew Bellamy was right. He just didn’t want to admit it. “I would like it if we were casual, just for now, until we get to know each other more. I don’t mean I want to fuck other people, but I mean that I don’t want to dive headfirst into something until I’ve tried it out first, you know?”

“I understand,” Bellamy nodded. “I wouldn’t ask you to do anything less. You need to take baby steps, get used to how things are, then you can decide if you want more. Besides, we don’t really know each other well enough for an actual relationship.”

Though, Bellamy wouldn’t mind getting to know Murphy well enough for that. There was a fire about the boy that made Bellamy want to make him his in every way possible.

“That means I won’t be punishing you much, though. If you break the rules, sure, but I doubt you will much, seeing as there won’t be many.” Not until they took their dynamic farther, if they did. Bellamy wasn’t going to punish him for things they hadn’t agreed upon, and there wasn’t much he could punish him for in a casual relationship. “Besides, I think punishments should wait until you’ve gotten your feet wet. Until you know if you really want this or not.”

Murphy nodded, a little disappointed. He understood, but he really wanted to know what it would be like for Bellamy to punish him. He liked the idea of him flogging him or tying him down and fucking him multiple times without letting him come. He wanted it, but he did understand where Bellamy was coming from.

“That doesn’t mean there won’t be any, there just won’t be whole scenes dedicated to them. You act like a brat and I’m going to treat you like one,” Bellamy warned and Murphy’s dick twitched.

“Yeah, okay,” he swallowed hard. “So, how long until I get the real punishments?”

“Until you’re ready, until we both are. Then we can take the next step and I’ll give you more of them. But for now, there’s not much I’ll punish you for besides disrespect and blatant breaking of the rules.”

“What are the rules?”

“No touching yourself without permission. You don’t come unless I say you can. No disrespect, my orders are to be obeyed to the best of your ability and sass won’t be tolerated. And criminal activity, but we’ve covered that. That means nothing illegal whatsoever,” Bellamy told him, giving him a pointed look.

“So, like, I can’t even drink?”

“Is it legal for you to drink?”

“No…”

“Then that makes it a criminal activity.”

“Oh, come on, man. That’s touching on y personal life! I’ve got friends, we hang out, drink, smoke, it’s just what we do.”

Bellamy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Murphy had a point. “Fine. But don’t get caught and don’t do anything stupid. No more stealing stop signs.”

Murphy grinned, “I’ve still got it, too. I was thinking about stealing the Murphy street sign on the corner of twenty-fifth. Thought it’d be nice to put on my wall, too.”

“No. I’ll give on the drinking, as long as it’s not constant, but no more stealing government property.”

“What about the smoking?”

“You’re eighteen-”

“Not cigarettes, dumbass.”

Bellamy raised his eyebrows, “You’re already gonna get disrespectful?”

“It’s not disrespect if it’s true,” Murphy told him, resisting the urge to stick out his tongue like a child.

“It’s not true and I will punish you for it.”

“What are you gonna do? Spank me?”

“Depending on your kinks? I just might.” He’d love to see Murphy’s ass red with his handprints as Murphy apologized and begged to be fucked. He had a feeling he would, too. He’d mentioned he liked impact play at the club, so Bellamy was sure that it would turn him on. Maybe he’d tie him down and spank him before leaving him to watch as Bellamy got himself off. That would be a fitting punishment. “But I’m not gonna get pissed over you getting high as long as you aren’t doing anything that’ll fuck you up in a serious way. Pot’s fine, but nothing harder.”

“Cool. And it’s definitely one of my kinks,” Murphy said, grinning. He could just imagine what it would feel like for Bellamy to hit him, spank him until he was sorry for disrespecting him, getting him hard before fucking him hard and rough until he screamed and begged for mercy. He was getting turned on just thinking about it. They needed to hurry up and get done with the whole discussion thing so Bellamy would fuck him. “So, what do you want out of the dynamic?”

“Dedication. I want you to care about the relationship enough to keep it going. I don’t expect you to be able to fuck me whenever I want, but I do expect you to make time for me when you can. I understand you have a life, but I would like this to be part of it now.”

“I can do that.” God, could he do that. Hell, if Bellamy called, he was likely to drop everything and let him fuck him on the spot. There was nothing he wanted more than Bellamy, currently, and he couldn’t imagine that changing anytime soon. “Anything else?”

“Honesty and communication. I need you to feel comfortable telling me if you don’t like something or if something makes you uncomfortable. I want you to know that I’m never going to get angry at you for that. No matter what it is, no matter how small, I want you to tell me. And I’ll do the same for you. I’ll be open and honest and I promise not to push your hard limits. There are some limits I’ll push, but not those. Everyone has hard limits for a reason and unless you feel like getting over those reasons, then there’s no point to me pushing them. But you need to be clear about them and let me know what they are. They can change over time, some things may end up being something you want and other things may turn out to be limits you didn’t know you had, so just communicate with me so that I don’t hurt you. I never want to hurt you, not really. So, you have to be honest with me,” Bellamy told him. For any dynamic to work, honesty was key.

Murphy nodded, “I’ll do that. I trust you.”

“Good. For any dynamic to work there needs to be trust.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really. Just submission, but considering how well you did yesterday, I doubt that’ll be a problem,” Bellamy grinned. “I really wish I could have been there to see the faces you made.”

“They weren’t very sexy,” Murphy laughed. “But it would have been better if you were there.”

“Well, I’m here now, so once we finish with the checklist, I’ll finally get to make good on some of those promises,” Bellamy told him as the doorbell rang. “That’s the food. I’ll get it. We can eat and go over hard limits, then when we’re done we can talk kinks and see what we have in common.”

“And then you fuck me?”

“Harder than you’ve ever been fucked before,” Bellamy promised as he walked away and Murphy felt all the blood in his body rush to his dick. How he was going to make it through dinner, he didn’t know.

Bellamy returned with the food moments later and set the bag down on the coffee table instructing Murphy to open it while he got drinks. Murphy did as he was told, pulling the paper cartons out of the sack and arranging them on the table with the chopsticks next to them. He couldn’t remember what Bellamy had ordered, but he knew he’d gotten vegetable lo mein and there were veggie eggrolls to be shared. He set the sauce packets next to the Styrofoam tray that held the eggrolls waited for Bellamy to come back.

Bellamy walked back into the room seconds later, two glasses of coke in his hands. He handed one to Murphy and set the other down next to his spot on the couch before taking a seat and grabbing for a carton. “This is lo mein. That must be yours.”

“And this one,” Murphy held up a carton, “is Tso’s chicken. Which is gross, by the way.”

“Don’t like spicy food?”

“I’m fine with spicy, it’s just the sauce on it tastes weird. Like, give me all the peppers you want, but don’t use that sauce.”

“The sauce is fine. Where’d you eat it at?”

“Some buffet place Craig dragged me to. I don’t remember what it was called, but we had taken spring break and gone to Polis and he decided that was a good place to eat. It wasn’t bad, but Tso’s chicken is gross,” Murphy made a face.

“I’m willing to bet it was just the place that made it. This place’s sauce is great. Here, try it,” Bellamy told him, holding out a piece with his chopsticks.

“No, thanks.”

“Try it and I’ll go down on you,” Bellamy bargained, giving Murphy a smirk.

Murphy frown but leaned forward and let took the piece of chicken from Bellamy, letting him feed him, which should have been weird, but it wasn’t. He chewed for a second before shrugging, “Not bad. Not the best and I wouldn’t order it, but it’s not bad. Lo mein’s better.”

“What’s with all the veggies, anyway? You some kind of vegetarian?” Bellamy asked, taking a bite of his food.

“Yes, which is why I just ate chicken. Because chickens are actually plants,” Murphy snarked. “Nah, I just like it. It tastes better without the meat. I don’t eat meat in lo mein nor on pizza. I’ll eat it in eggrolls, but I prefer the veggie ones. However, I will never say no to a bacon cheeseburger with chili and cheese and a fried egg. So, definitely not a vegetarian.”

“That’s quite the burger.”

“It’s even better with ranch, pico de gallo, Funyuns, pepperjack cheese, and white cheddar Cheetos.”

“That sounds like a mess.”

“Which is probably why we call it a garbage burger. It was the creation of a lot of junk food and leftovers from Sal’s. We were stoned the night before, that’s the only explanation I have. But it was amazing.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Murphy laughed, “Yeah. I’ve eaten a lot of weird things, actually. Mostly while high, but some of them are good enough to recreate outside of the munchie fueled haze that surrounded us at the time of its creation.”

Bellamy smiled. Murphy was a little odd, but he liked it. A lot. “So, hard limits?”

“Bodily functions, for one. That’s the main one. And slurs. Other than that, I don’t want anything to do with electricity. That’s not a fun kind of pain for me,” Murphy looked at his checklist. “Abrasions, like, anything that leaves a scar is a hard limit. So is age play or any of that kind of thing. Pet play, as well. No cages or boxes or any of that shit. No mummification or masks. No permanent anything, if it won’t fade, it doesn’t happen. I’m not really in to blood play, but I mean, if you want it, I’ll do it, but I’d prefer not to do anything with drinking it or using animal blood, just on moral principle. I’m not going to do any domestic service stuff, either. Fantasy abandonment would trigger some serious trauma, so I’m going to have to ask we stay away from that.”

“I would never. I don’t like the idea abandoning my subs.”

“Good. I think there might be a few more, hold on,” Murphy skimmed through the papers for a moment before nodding, “No kidnapping. That would get you seriously hurt. I’m not okay with any kind of foot fetish or foot worship, nor am I okay with objectification, as in like, being property. I don’t mind the idea of you owning me, but if you’re going to treat me the same as you would this coffee table, that’s not going to happen.”

“Never. If I owned you, you’d be my most valuable possession and I’d treat you like it.”

Murphy was going to pretend that that didn’t make him swoon like he was in a romance novel. “That would be okay. No spitting on me, but I think that’s it. I have a lot. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I’d rather you have a lot and be sure of what you don’t want than too few and get into something you don’t like,” Bellamy told him.

“What about you? What are yours?”

“We actually share a few in common. No bodily functions or permanent damage, like scars. Blood play and kidnapping are out, as is any kind of rape scenario-”

“Forgot that one. Yeah, that’s out for me, too.”

Bellamy smiled, “Good. Cause I could never do that to anyone, even as a fantasy. Consent is very important to me. So, as for the rest of my limits; pet play and age play are out, and don’t you dare call me Daddy.”

Murphy grinned. He could use that to piss Bellamy off if he wanted.

Bellamy narrowed his eyes, not liking the grin on Murphy’s face, but he shook it off. “I’m not into prostitution, even as a fantasy. If you want to be loaned out, fine, but not under the pretense of prostitution. Other than that, I think that’s the end of my hard limits. There are things I’m not too comfortable doing, but if you want them, I’ll give them to you, just not all the time. I’ll let you know what they are if they come up. And you’ll see them on my checklist her in a moment.”

“So, we are going to exchange the papers?” That was good, because he didn’t feel like going through all of his answers out loud. Not only would it take forever but saying some of the things he’d written aloud would be pretty damn embarrassing.

“Yeah, it’ll be easier that way. I just wanted to know what was outright a hard limit, so that I could keep it separate from the stuff you just don’t like. I mean, I don’t plan to do either, if you’re really not into it, but I still wanted to clarify.”

“Because you’re overly cautious,” Murphy accused. He’d noticed that about Bellamy. He was gentle and caring and way too cautious to be a dom, except that Murphy had already been on the receiving end of that dynamic and Bellamy definitely defied expectations.

“Yes,” Bellamy admitted with a small chuckle. “But it’s better to be overly cautious so I know I won’t hurt you than to not be and do something that’ll upset you.”

“You’re too fucking nice to be a dom,” Murphy snorted. “Shouldn’t you be more demanding and stoic?”

“I don’t have to be. Are you saying I’m not a good enough dom? Because if you want someone else-”

“No, god, I’m joking, Bellamy. Stop with that. I don’t-” Murphy sighed, frustrated with himself and Bellamy both. “I don’t want another dom, okay? I want you, end of story. That’s why I’m here. If I wanted someone else, I would have found one by now, one who doesn’t require me to be an upstanding member of society, but I don’t. So, just stop with that, okay?”

“Okay,” Bellamy nodded, a little too pleased by Murphy rejecting the idea of another dom so violently. “But you are suggesting I’m not a good one, right?”

“It was a joke. I know you are. I just- You’re just not what I expected when I imagined a dom. I was imagining someone rough and rude who just cared about fucking me but you’re not that and I’m trying to get the image sorted out in my mind.”

“You’ve been watching some bad porn then, because that’s not how doms are supposed to act. Trust me, you want overly cautious, especially in this aspect. But don’t start thinking I’m going to be nice and gentle the whole time. Given the chance I will fuck you so hard you can’t walk the next morning,” Bellamy told him with a smirk.

Murphy rolled his eyes, “I’ll believe it when I see it. Give me your papers so we can finish this.”

Bellamy sat his empty take out box on the table next to the rest of the empty trash and grabbed a napkin to clean his hands, unlike Murphy who had simply wiped them on his pants and honestly, how did he even function in the adult world? He grabbed his papers and handed them over, taking Murphy’s and beginning to read over them, stopping short, “Murphy, do you even know what aromas are?”

“Like, smells and shit? I don’t get how it’s kinky at all, really, but to each their own,” Murphy shrugged.

“That’s not what it is. They’re called poppers and they’re like drugs. Well, they are drugs, and they’re illegal and not for human consumption. They cause a lot of things, like light headedness and giddiness and shit like that. They’re also an aphrodisiac and cause muscle relaxation in the anus among other things. But, again, they aren’t legal here.”

“That sounds fun.”

“But illegal and dangerous.”

“So, that’s a no?”

“That’s a no.”

“Fine. Killjoy.”

“If I used them I’d have to arrest myself and I’m not the one who likes being in cuffs, now am I?”

“Then I’ll use them and you can put me in cuffs.”

“Murphy,” Bellamy sighed and rolled his eyes. “Just read. Then we’ll discuss.”

“And after you’re gonna fuck me, right? Not like last time where it’s all just talk and then I can’t even get myself off?” Murphy wanted to make sure he wasn’t getting excited over nothing.

“Yes, Murphy, I’m going to fuck you. I’m going to tie you to the bed and have my way with you and there’s nothing you can do about it because I’ve been waiting for a chance to do that since we met and I’m not going to pass it up just because you decided to take two hours to read some sheets of paper, so if you would kindly get on with it so that I can, I’d be grateful,” Bellamy said, giving Murphy a look that made him feel somewhat stupid for thinking he wasn’t going to get fucked. That was the whole point of him coming here, after all.

Murphy nodded and shifted in his seat, his dick stirring at the thought of Bellamy having his way with him. He was glad it was a Friday because that meant he worked the late shift tomorrow night so no matter how late Bellamy kept him up, he could sleep in. And he hoped he kept him up for a good while.

Murphy looked back at the paper, reading over Bellamy’s answers and kinks. He didn’t even make it past the first five before he felt himself harden.

Anal Plugs (large): I want you stretched enough to take two dicks. Not all the time, but on occasion.

Well, fuck. That certainly wasn’t the hottest thing Murphy had read this week. He’d always fantasized about double penetration, but he’d never tried it with toys or partners or anything. He wondered if Bellamy would just use a toy or if he’d bring in a third party, either way, Murphy was totally on board with it.

He continued to read on, noting how often Bellamy wanted things incorporated into play and how much of a turn on they were for him. He wasn’t adverse to being fucked, which made Murphy bite his lip because while he certainly preferred to bottom, he could just imagine what a sight Bellamy would be riding him while he was tied up with a vibrator in his ass, torturing him with a slow pace that kept him on the edge until he couldn’t take it anymore and gave in and begged for him to speed up, to do anything to give him release.

Murphy shifted his weight again and fought the urge to unzip his pants. He hadn’t even gotten past the first page yet and he was already hard. This wasn’t fair at all.

He looked up at Bellamy who was reading over Murphy’s papers studiously, like he was going to be tested on it at some point. He didn’t seem nearly as affected, but then again, Murphy hadn’t been nearly as descriptive with his answers.

He smiled when he read that Bellamy was alright with asphyxiation. Not all the time, but sometimes, and Murphy could live with that. The idea of Bellamy’s hand around his throat as he fucked into him was too much to ignore.

Bondage Public (under clothes): I like the idea of you knowing you’re mine even in public.

Fuck, there was almost nothing that turned Murphy on more than public play. He had quite the exhibitionist streak and he’d actually managed to have sex with one of his exes in a car parked in a parking lot once, which had turned him on like nothing else ever had, despite the fact that it had been nearly empty and nobody had been paying them any attention. Going out in public with ropes around his body so that he could feel them and be reminded of who he belonged to caused him to have to bite back a moan. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to get through the whole checklist without begging to be fucked right there.

Cross Dressing: I’d like to slip my hand up your skirt and make you squirm.

Well, that was certainly something. Murphy had always been into wearing feminine clothing, but to wear it for Bellamy, like he’d always wanted to do for a partner, that was almost too much. To believe he’d get to do that, that he’d have that fantasy fulfilled at some point, it was almost too much to accept.

Exhibitionism: I’ll indulge you in this, if you want, but it doesn’t matter to me one way or another, because I’d much rather focus on you than the people around us. That being said, I’ll fuck you anywhere you want me to.

Murphy had to bite back a groan. For Bellamy to let him have that, for him to be willing to fuck him anywhere he wanted him to, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would be like. He knew he wanted it, whenever he got the chance, and knowing he could have it made him feel like he was in some sort of dream. It couldn’t be real, it was too good for it to be. He’d never actually expected to have anything like this, but Bellamy was more than he ever could have wished for.

“You okay there?”

Murphy looked over at Bellamy who was giving him an amused look. “I’m fine, yeah,” he managed to get out without betraying exactly how desperate he was getting. His cock strained against his pants and he could feel a growing wet patch on the front of his boxers and he felt like he might die if he didn’t get fucked soon because he was already so desperate for Bellamy and now there was this, but he didn’t want that to show. He didn’t need to make a fool of himself this early on.

“You sure?”

“Yep,” Murphy nodded, looking back at the papers. “I’ve only got a couple pages to go. “You?”

“Done.”

“Really?” That was fast. Of course, he probably wasn’t fantasizing about every little kink, either.

“Yeah. Just let me know when you are and we can go over it.”

Murphy nodded again and tried to focus on the words on the page.

Following Orders: You’ll do as I say, like a good little slut.

And how Murphy wanted to be a good little slut for him. Sure, he had every intention of being as much of a brat as he could be, but there was something about Bellamy that just made him want to submit, made him want to please him in any way he demanded. He liked punishments, but dammit, nothing beat having Bellamy tell him how good he’d been. So, he probably had a praise kink hidden away somewhere. Good for him.

Forced Masturbation: I’d love to make you get yourself off. Love to watch you whimper and moan and come for me like a little whore, begging me to fuck you.

Murphy couldn’t hold back the quiet groan that escaped his lips and he felt Bellamy’s eyes on him. He could practically feel his smirk. His cheeks heated up and he tried to cover it with a fake cough, but he knew it did no good.

Forced Nudity (with others): If you’re open to it, then I’d love to make you sit on my lap, wearing nothing so I can touch you, while others are around.

There was nothing Murphy would love more than to be naked on Bellamy’s lap in the middle of the club or a party. He’d seen some naked people at the club, so he knew it was allowed. He’d love to feel Bellamy’s hands all over him until he was so desperate and needy that Bellamy took mercy on him and took him to one of the clubs rooms and threw him on the bed.

He was okay with gun play, that was good to know, because the cop kink came with a gun fetish and he was quite excited to try that, eventually.

Lecturing: I’m not really your mother, but if we’re in a relationship, you can bet your ass I’ll be lecturing you whenever you do something stupid. I will admit to that.

Murphy snorted. He had no doubt Bellamy was good at lectures. He just seemed like he had that quality about him. Of course, they weren’t in a relationship, so he probably wouldn’t get any, but if they were, he was sure he’d get them often with all the stupid shit he pulled on a daily basis.

Rimming: I’d love to eat you out and make you come untouched just from my tongue.

This time Murphy couldn’t even pretend to hide his groan and he heard Bellamy snicker.

“Doing okay there, Murphy?”

“You do realize that there is no good reason for you to be this descriptive, right?”

“I can think of one really good one.”

“And what’s that?” Murphy snapped, not looking up at Bellamy.

Murphy froze when he felt Bellamy’s hand on his side, “It’s turning you on, isn’t it?” Bellamy’s breath ghosted over the skin of his neck as he whispered the words and Murphy felt himself shiver.

“Not a good reason. That just makes you an asshole,” he told him, his grip too tight on the papers.

“I think it’s a good reason. Cause the more turned on I can get you, the more desperate you are and the prettier you’ll beg to come later,” Bellay told him, brushing his lips against Murphy’s skin.

“Can you not? I’m almost done and you’re distracting me,” Murphy almost begged. The longer Bellamy distracted him the longer it would take for them to finish which meant he’d have to wait more to finally have Bellamy inside him and he just wasn’t willing to wait for very much longer.

Bellamy just chuckled and pulled back a bit as Murphy scanned the last page.

Voyeurism: I would love to watch you get fucked.

And Murphy would love for someone to watch him get fucked. It all worked out.

Finally, he read the last word and let out a frustrated sigh. He was harder than he’d been in years and all he wanted was some relief but they still had to discuss it first. Hopefully that didn’t take long.

Bellamy grinned at him, “Done?”

“Yeah.”

“Desperate?”

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me, Murphy,” Bellamy demanded.

“Fine, yes, I am, very. But we’ve still got to discuss this and I’m not going to play along with this stupid game cause all it’s doing is making me frustrated,” Murphy huffed, tossing the papers to the side.

Bellamy just grinned as he picked them up and sat them on the coffee table before resting a hand on Murphy’s neck and gently pulling him towards him.

“What?” Murphy snapped a second before Bellamy’s lips were on his.

Oh. That was okay. He could live with that.

Murphy parted his lips so Bellamy could deepen it without any prompting, wanting more, needing it. Bellamy slipped his tongue past them and wrapped it around Murphy’s. Murphy kissed back, pushing his tongue against Bellamy’s and sucking on it, trying to get Bellamy even a fraction of as ready to go as he was.

He moaned into the kiss when he felt Bellamy’s hand on the front of his pants, rubbing at his erection and giving him the friction he needed so badly. He bucked his hips, wanting to break the kiss and beg Bellamy to just take him there on the couch but at the same time, he didn’t want the kiss to end. Bellamy hadn’t kissed him the first time at the club, but damn, he was good at it. Murphy could barely keep up as Bellamy nipped at his lips before biting down hard on his bottom one and making Murphy groan.

He let out a whine as Bellamy pulled away, “Please.”

Bellamy just laughed softly and pulled his hand away from Murphy’s erection. “Not yet, we’ve got to discuss some things first, but I promise it won’t take long and then I’m going to fuck you until you’re begging for release. Get you all worked up so that you can’t think straight, the only thing you can think about is how good my cock feels in your ass as I fuck you open like a good little whore. Tie you to the bed and get you all nice and desperate until you’re squirming and begging for my cock, until you’ll do anything to get me to fuck you and then I’m going to take you apart until you’re writhing and screaming under me.”

Murphy just groaned and closed his eyes, “You’re an ass.”

“Yes, but you can rest assured it’s not an empty promise. I will have you screaming my name before the night is over.”

Murphy was torn between begging him to fuck him right that second and calling him a jackass, but he did neither, instead asking, “What do we need to discuss?”

“Well, are there any kinks you want that you didn’t see on the checklist?”

“I, uh, well…” Murphy trailed off and shrugged.

“What is it?” Bellamy prompted.

“I’ve kinda got a praise kink, I think,” Murphy admitted quietly.

“I can work with that,” Bellamy said, running his fingers along Murphy’s arm, the small touch sending a shiver down Murphy’s spine. “Anything else?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“Anything on there that you really want that I didn’t specify I was into?”

“Not really. There wasn’t anything you said no to that I really like. I think we’re pretty compatible with kinks, actually.”

“I noticed that. I haven’t had that many kinks in common with someone in a couple years. I mean, it happens, but I haven’t been too lucky with it recently.”

“That make me special or something?”

Bellamy laughed, “Very. Means there won’t be too much compromise, we’ll both get what we want.”

“You said you were okay with exhibitionism, right?”

“If you want it,” Bellamy nodded.

“I do, yeah. It’s like, top three biggest kinks,” Murphy admitted. He was well past being shy with Bellamy.

“What are the other two?”

“Impact play and slight degradation. Like, if I ever had all three of those, I don’t think anything could keep me from coming, no matter how hard I tried not to.”

“You realize that if you come without permission, I’m going to punish you, right?” Bellamy smirked, bringing Murphy’s hand up to his lips and pressing a kiss to the inside of his wrist.

“I’m okay with that. I’m just saying, it’d be too much for me to have very much self control. But I’d gladly take whatever punishment you gave me.”

“You like punishments, then?”

“I think so. I like being hit and I like pain and I like overstimulation, so I’m pretty good with all of them.”

“You like overstimulation?”

“Mhm,” Murphy nodded, letting his head fall back onto the couch as he looked at Bellamy. “How much longer?”

“I think we’re good.”

“So, you’re gonna fuck me now?” Murphy asked, hopefully.

“Yeah, baby, I’m gonna fuck you. Come on,” Bellamy instructed, standing up from the couch.

He headed down the hall to the basement door, Murphy trailing behind him.

Murphy couldn’t wait. He’d been fantasizing about this for the past two weeks and with all of Bellamy’s promises, he was sure his fantasies couldn’t compare to what was about to happen. Bellamy had been amazing that night in the club and it was all Murphy could do to keep his hands to himself as Bellamy lead him into the dungeon.

His anticipation turned to disappointment when Bellamy didn’t even touch him, instead he simply sat on the bed and stared up at him for a moment before telling him to explore, to get used to the room.

Murphy felt a little let down, but the feeling was quickly replaced with excitement as he looked around the room, taking in all the toys and things he hadn’t noticed the first time. He walked around, wandering over to a rack that held an assortment of floggers and crops that hung on the wall. He reached out to touch one, looking over at Bellamy for permission.

Bellamy nodded and Murphy ran his fingers through the leather tails, letting them slide across his hand. He shivered, imagining what it would feel like to have it used on him. He stared, transfixed, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Bellamy’s hand on him, sliding down his sides to grip his hips and pull him against him as he began to press kisses to Murphy’s neck, just like he’d done the last time they’d been in there, but this time it wasn’t just mindless teasing, there was intent behind it and Murphy moaned as he bared his neck for him.

“You like them?” Bellamy asked between kisses.

“Want you to use it on me,” Murphy told him, unashamed. He couldn’t wait to feel the marks it left behind, to see them on his skin the next morning and know that Bellamy had done them, that he was Bellamy’s.

“I will. Not today, but I will.”

The promise made Murphy moan softly and Bellamy smiled against his skin before scraping his teeth against it and sucking a bruise.

“The last ones you left lasted five days,” Murphy said. It hadn’t been long enough but he’d trailed his fingers across them every time he’d needed a reminder of what he could have if he just called. Of course, then there was the whole getting arrested thing, but even then, he hadn’t stop touching them or staring at them every time he saw a mirror.

“I can make them last longer if you want,” Bellamy offered. Considering how Murphy reacted every time he bit his neck, Bellamy assumed he liked being marked up.

“Would you?”

“Anything you want, Murphy, I’ll give you. You’ve just got to ask,” Bellamy promised before biting down hard and sucking a bruise he knew would last quite a while, Murphy squirming under him.

“Bell!” Murphy moaned out, grinding his ass against Bellamy’s semi hard cock and wanting nothing more for Bellamy to drag him to the bed and throw him on it before having his way with him. He was still desperate from reading the checklist and Bellamy’s touch was only making him more so.

“There’s still more to see. I want you to be familiar with the room, you should be comfortable in it. And I want you to know where everything is, so if I tell you to bring something to me, you can,” Bellamy said, pulling away from his neck and guiding Murphy over to one of the chests in the room. “First drawer.”

Murphy pulled it open and raised his eyebrows, “That’s certainly the collection you’ve got there.” The drawer held an assortment of toys, vibrators and dildos and things that made Murphy squirm. “You’re gonna use them on me?”

“Eventually. Not tonight, of course, tonight it’s just me and you because I want you to get used to me, I want you to know what it feels like to be with me without the toys. Then we’ll start using them,” Bellamy told him, toying with the hem of Murphy’s shirt. “Second drawer.”

Murphy opened it as instructed. “Plugs?”

“Mhm.”

There was an assortment of sizes, some that Murphy wasn’t sure he’d even be able to feel and some that made his eyes go wide. “There’s no way that’ll fit in me, you know that, right?”

“With enough prep it will. Then you’ll be open and ready for two dicks, you said you wanted that, right? On the checklist. You said it turned you on but you’d never done it so you weren’t sure about it?”

“Yeah. We can do that?”

“Of course. It’ll take some stretching and a few days, because I’m not going to let you get hurt, but it can be done. And I promise it’ll feel amazing. Nothing I do to you will ever feel less that good.”

“Even if it hurts?” Murphy asked with a smirk.

“You said you liked pain,” Bellamy said, sucking another mark into Murphy’s neck.

“I do, yeah. Fuck, Bell, you gotta hurry this up. Just point to the drawer and tell me what’s in it because I can’t take much more of this,” Murphy whined.

“Third and fourth drawers are clothes, lingerie and costumes and things. If they don’t fit, we’ll just buy ones that do. The second chest is more toys, beads and cock rings in the first drawer, lubes and other liquids in the second, and things that don’t belong anywhere else in the third. Third chest, top drawer is candles and wax plus other heat play things like creams and oils, second is sharper things, don’t worry, though, all the knives are far too dull to cut skin, and I’ve got some pinwheels and other things. Third is blindfolds and cuffs and other restraints. Fourth is blankets and a first aid kit and safety shears. It’s got a lot of essential stuff in it,” Bellamy told him, just as eager to get to the good part as he was. He’d love to take his time and show Murphy around properly, but having the boy so close to him, being able to touch him, it was driving him crazy and he needed him now.

“And what’s behind that door over there?” Murphy asked, pointing to a door in the corner.

“Bathroom. It’s useful to have a sink nearby for easy clean up. And a tub for aftercare, plus a shower in case we ever need it,” Bellamy explained. He began to guide Murphy towards the bed slowly, kissing his neck and sliding his hands under his shirt as they went, Murphy shivering beneath his touch.

When they finally made it, Bellamy let him go, pulling Murphy’s shirt up so he could take it off of him before gently shoving his side so he’d turn around. Once they were face to face, Bellamy pulled him into a bruising kiss that was no where near as gentle as the first had been and Murphy moaned into it as he felt Bellamy’s teeth on his bottom lip. Bellamy reached for the button on Murphy’s pants as he shoved his tongue past Murphy’s lips and began to explore his mouth, swirling his tongue around Murphy’s and running his free hand up his chest to find one of his nipples.

He ran a thumb across it as he pulled down the zipper on Murphy’s jeans, slipping his hand down them and rubbing Murphy through the fabric of his boxers, reveling in the quiet moans he got from him. Murphy bucked into his hand and Bellamy smirked into the kiss, pulling his hand away and trying to shove down his pants without breaking the kiss, but to no avail. He pulled back, stifling a groan at the sight of Murphy in his state of undress. He looked so pretty, not that muscular, but rough and wiry, like he could win a fight if he needed to, and Bellamy had no doubt he’d won plenty.

“Safe word?” he asked.

“Shakespeare,” Murphy told him.

“Use it anytime you feel the need to and I’ll stop immediately, okay?”

“Okay, yeah. Can we get on with it?” Murphy begged.

Bellamy nodded, ordering, “Pants off.”

Murphy scrambled to comply, stripping himself of his jeans and boxers and kicking the to the side, feeling a little exposed as soon as he was naked but he didn’t get much time to think about it before he was shoved back, onto the bed, Bellamy coaxing him to move up it so that he was close to the headboard. Bellamy was on top of him, grinding down onto him, the rough fabric of his uniform pants dragging across Murphy’s cock and making him whine because it still wasn’t enough.

Bellamy reached for something behind his head and Murphy looked to his side, curiously. He finally caught on when Bellamy began to secure the cuff to his wrist before moving to the other side of the bed to do up the second one. Now Murphy really felt exposed and vulnerable, but he loved it. He was so hard and all he could do was whine as Bellamy smirked down at him before capturing his lips in another kiss that didn’t last nearly as long but still left Murphy breathless.

Bellamy got off the bed and pulled off his own clothes, aware of Murphy’s eyes on him the whole time. Fuck, did he look like some kind of Greek god or something, Murphy wasn’t sure what, exactly, but he was too perfect to be human. All Murphy wanted to do was run his hands across his chest and down his sides and just worship him like a god should be worshipped, but even as he tugged on the restraints, he knew it was no use.

Then Bellamy was back on the bed, pressing kisses across Murphy’s chest and making him shiver and close his eyes as Bellamy took him into his hand. Murphy let out a quiet whine as Bellamy stroked him, feeling all of the anticipation for this moment give way to pleasure and he couldn’t believe he’d ever thought he could live without this. Even if it meant giving up his criminal activity, it was worth it to have Bellamy touching him like this, to be completely at his mercy and to know that no matter what he did, Murphy was sure to enjoy it. He trusted Bellamy and was willing to give up control for him, something that he’d craved all his life, and he couldn’t have found anyone more deserving of that trust.

Bellamy trailed kisses down his chest and stomach until he came to his cock, he smirked up at Murphy, who was watching him with need before taking him into his mouth, sucking on the head and making Murphy buck his hips.

“Fuck, Bell!”

Bellamy just hummed in response and pulled off to lick a stripe from base to tip and swirl his tongue around the head, teasing Murphy and making him moan as he tried to buck his hips to get him to take him down. Bellamy was undeterred and continued teasing Murphy, licking at the base of the shaft and taking his balls into his hand, playing with them as he went back up to suck on the tip, Murphy whining in frustration.

“Please, Bellamy! Please!”

Bellamy smiled and finally took him down, sucking on him and bobbing his head, swirling his tongue around the tip. He ran his tongue up the shaft and scraped his teeth against the head of Murphy’s cock, making the boy moan and tug on the restraints, wanting to tangle his hands in Bellamy’s hair and touch him, just touch him, but he couldn’t. It was both the most frustrating thing in the world and the biggest turn on he could imagine. He was glad the cuffs were soft because with the way he was tugging on them, he was sure they’d be digging into his wrists by now and as much as he loved the idea of the pain that would come with that, he didn’t want to have to explain it to his boss tomorrow. Maybe he should by some cover up or something next time he was at the store. He loved being marked up, but his job kind of required a bit of restraint in that area. He’d gotten bitched out by his manager for the hickeys on his neck last time. The owner had come to his rescue, but he was sure that anything more than a hickey would cause concern and he didn’t want to have to explain his kinks to Jaha or anyone else.

Bellamy drug his teeth across the bundle of nerves on the underside of his dick and pulled Murphy from his thoughts, drawing a loud moan from him. “Bell, please, can I- Fuck, please, Bell, I’m getting close. Can I?”

Bellamy pulled off and shook his head, “Not yet. How close? On a scale of one to ten?”

“Seven,” Murphy panted, he was close and he could come if Bellamy kept it up, but he didn’t want to disappoint him this soon.

“Tell me when it’s a nine, baby,” Bellamy instructed before taking him back into his mouth.

Murphy whined and bucked his hips, wishing he could just come but knowing there’d be a punishment if he did and he didn’t want to get in trouble this early. Sure, he wanted it eventually, but not tonight. Tonight, he just wanted Bellamy and everything he was willing to give him.

Bellamy bobbed his head, taking Murphy down as far as he could, his cock brushing the back of his throat and Bellamy swallowed around him, taking full advantage of his nonexistent gag reflex. He pulled back up and sucked on the head, scraping his teeth against it and smirking when Murphy bucked his hips. God, this kid was too easy. Everything Bellamy did got a reaction and he loved it. He was definitely the most responsive sub he’d had. He loved how even the slightest touch could make him shiver. He wondered what kind of reaction he’d get when he finally buried himself inside of him.

He kept up for a couple more minutes before Murphy stuttered out, “B-bell! I can’t. I’m cl-close. Fuck, Bell!”

Bellamy pulled off. “Nine?”

“Y-yeah,” Murphy nodded. “Can I please come now?”

“Not yet, baby. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait. Now I need you to take some deep breaths and try to calm down, okay? Tell me when you’re at a six again,” Bellamy instructed, sitting up and rubbing soothing circles to Murphy’s hip.

Murphy nodded and tried to slow his breathing, swallowing hard and trying to calm down. “Are you just like, torturing me or something?”

“It’s called edging and it might feel like torture, but I promise, when you do come, it’s going to feel better than ever,” Bellamy promised. “You thirsty?”

“A bit, yeah. You’re not gonna like, leave me tied up here and run off to the kitchen are you?”

Bellamy laughed, “No. I would never leave you alone when you’re tied up. That’s dangerous and I’m not going to put you at risk like that. I’ve got water in the fridge part of the nightstand.”

“Like the one at the club?”

“Yeah. I bought it from the same place. Actually, I got all my stuff from the same place. It’s a good distributer,” Bellamy told him as he got off the bed. He knelt in front of the nightstand and opened it, pulling out a bottle of water before sitting next to Murphy and twisting the cap off. “Sit up as best you can.”

Murphy scooted up in the bed so that he was up enough so that he could swallow easily. Bellamy lifted the water to his lips and Murphy took a drink, feeling himself calming down. When he was done with the water, he pulled back and sighed, “I think I’m good now.”

“Six?”

“Yeah. I’ll be alright for a while. How many times you gonna do this?”

“Just once more. Then after that I’ll let you come, okay?”

Murphy nodded, willing to comply. He trusted Bellamy and if he said it would be worth it, then he had no doubt it would be. “Are you gonna do this every time?”

“No,” Bellamy shook his head. “Not every time. Sometimes, but other times I’m gonna let you come as many times as you want. And sometimes, I’m gonna make you come again and again until you can’t anymore.”

Murphy moaned at the thought. He wanted Bellamy to force him to come over and over until he was so overstimulated it hurt. He wanted him to tie him down and make him come until he begged him to stop. “You are going to fuck me, though, right? Like actually fuck me?”

“Yes, Murphy,” Bellamy rolled his eyes and grinned at him. “I told you I would, didn’t I? I don’t lie.”

“Then fucking get on with it, dammit,” Murphy huffed, tugging at his restraints.

Bellamy raised his eyebrows and took Murphy’s face in his hand, making him look at him, “Don’t tell me what to do. That’s not your place, Murphy. Step out of line again and I’ll edge you an extra time before I finally let you come. I’m going to add one more every time you sass me, too.”

“Yes, sir,” Murphy nodded, looking up at Bellamy. “Sorry, sir.”

“Good boy,” Bellamy smiled, letting go of Murphy and opening the drawer on top of the nightstand. He grabbed a bottle of lube and a condom from the drawer and a cloth from on top of the nightstand and tossed it on the bed before climbing back on top of Murphy. “See? You can behave.”

Murphy laid back down, feeling content to be under Bellamy again. He was pretty sure he’d never felt better than he did in this moment, desperate or not, and having Bellamy on top of him was something he could get used to. “Only when there’s a damn good reason to,” he huffed.

“And you’ve got a good reason now?”

“Yeah. Less torture,” Murphy told him with a snort. “You ever been edged, jackass? You think it’s fun?”

“It think the process to getting there is fun. And yes, I have. Which is how I know that it’ll be worth it when you do get to come. So, just calm down and let me make you feel good, okay, pretty boy?”

Murphy’s stomach did a flip at the nickname but he tried to keep himself composed, “Okay, but if you don’t, I get to use the flogger on you.”

“If I don’t make you come harder than you’ve ever come before tonight, then you can use anything in the room on me that you want, deal?” Bellamy bargained, knowing without a doubt he wouldn’t lose.

“Deal. Now, will you just get to it?” Murphy asked, then, upon seeing Bellamy’s raised eyebrow, he added, “Please?”

“Sure, Murphy. Get settled and then I’ll get back to it. You still at a six?”

“Maybe a five. Won’t take much to get me back to a six, though. Just, fuck, Bell, will you please get back to it? I need you to touch me again,” Murphy whined, feeling a little pathetic.

“Yeah, baby? You still desperate?”

“Has the situation changed any?” Murphy demanded.

Bellamy snorted, “No, I guess not. Spread your legs for me, baby, and I’ll get on with it.”

“Good,” Murphy huffed, spreading his legs for Bellamy.

“Look at you, all on display like a whore,” Bellamy said, running a hand up Murphy’s thigh. “Bet you love this, feeling all exposed like this. Should take a picture so I can keep it to remind me of how cute you are when you behave.”

“You can,” Murphy told him, quietly. “If you want.”

“I don’t need to, baby. I’ve got something better than a picture. I’ve got you, and I’m pretty sure it won’t take long before you behave for me all the time,” Bellamy smirked, trailing his fingers down Murphy’s shaft, loving the way Murphy’s breath hitched.

He let his hand wander lower, rubbing the stretch of skin between Murphy’s balls and his ass before pressing a finger against Murphy’s hole, Murphy bucking down onto it. “So eager, aren’t you? God, what a slut. Just can’t wait to have your tight ass filled up. Bet you’ve been waiting for it all week, fantasizing about it, about how it would feel to have me inside you.”

“Mhm,” Murphy whimpered as Bellamy pulled his hand away and popped the cap of the lube bottle.

Bellamy coated his fingers and returned them to Murphy’s ass, pressing on in while Murphy hissed in pleasure, bucking down onto it biting his lip to hold back his moans.

“No, don’t do that. I want to hear you, I want to hear every noise you make, no matter how pathetic or desperate,” Bellamy said before pressing a kiss to Murphy’s chest. “Wanna hear you moan and whimper and beg like the whore you are.”

Murphy let go of his lip and took a shuddery breath as Bellamy thrust his finger insider of him. He let out a quiet moan and let his head drop back as Bellamy teased him.

“You back at a six yet?”

“I was at a six the second you touched my ass,” Murphy admitted.

“Good boy. Tell me when you’re at a nine, okay?”

“Uh-huh. Can you, it might be awkward, but do you think you could kiss me?” Murphy asked quietly.

Bellamy grinned and slipped a second finger in before coming up a little further on the bed, stretching so that he could cradle Murphy’s head in his other hand to pull him into a kiss. It was a little awkward, but the feel of Murphy’s lips on his made it all worth it. Murphy moaned into the kiss as Bellamy thrust his fingers into him, crooking them just right and finding that little bundle of nerves that drove him crazy. Murphy let out a loud keen and pulled back, resting his forehead against Bellamy’s as he took shallow breaths in between moans as Bellamy continues to hit that spot with each thrust of his fingers.

“Shh, I’ve got you. Feel good?”

Murphy nodded and pressed a kiss to the side of Bellamy’s mouth. “Want you to touch me.”

“Where?” Bellamy asked him, sliding his hand down Murphy’s neck.

“Anywhere. Everywhere. I just want to feel your hands on me, Bell. I need you. Please!”

Bellamy nodded and pulled away, adjusting himself so his position wasn’t so awkward so that he could run his hand across Murphy’s chest, finding one of his nipples and rubbing his thumb across it, Murphy arching into the touch with a groan as Bellamy added a third finger. He pinched at the nipple, Murphy letting out another moan that went straight to Bellamy’s dick. He latched his lips onto the other one, sucking on it and nipping at it while Murphy pulled on his restraints, wanting desperately to touch Bellamy but not being able to. He loved the restraints, but dammit, the next time they did this he was going to tangle his fucking hands in those curls and pull Bellamy up to his face so he could kiss him if he had to break the straps himself.

Bellamy twisted his fingers inside of him and Murphy let out a mewl that made Bellamy smirk against his skin. He pulled back, “What are you at?”

“Eight, almost nine. Don’t stop, please, don’t stop!” Murphy begged, panting and bucking his hips down onto Bellamy’s fingers.

Bellamy nodded and began to thrust his fingers faster, Murphy choking back a moan that would have been too loud.

“Don’t do that, baby. You can be as loud as you want. We’re underground and my neighbors keep their tv up all night. You can scream if you want to, so don’t worry. I want you to be loud, okay? I wanna know how much you like it,” Bellamy said as he angled his fingers again, rubbing against Murphy’s prostate with every thrust.

“Fuck, Bell!” The scream tore itself from Murphy’s throat. “Fuck, I’m there, Bell! Stop or I’m gonna come!”

Bellamy stilled his hand and pulled away from Murphy, grabbing for the cloth he’d tossed on the bed earlier so he could wipe the extra lube off his hand. “You doing okay, baby?”

“’M fine,” Murphy nodded, keeping his head on the pillows. “Wanna come so bad, though. You’re gonna let me after this, right?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna fuck you and you can come with my cock in your ass like a good little bitch, okay?” Bellamy said, back to rubbing circles on Murphy’s skin. “Need water?”

“Yeah. Please.”

Bellamy nodded and grabbed for the bottle he’d given Murphy earlier, crawling up the bed to sit next to Murphy so he could hold the bottle for him. Murphy sat up, covered in sweat and looking disheveled and fucked out and Bellamy thought it was the most adorable thing in the world. “You look so pretty, baby.”

“I look and feel pathetic.”

“You’re not. You’re desperate and it’s the hottest thing in the world knowing how badly you want my cock,” Bellamy smirked, holding out the bottle.

Murphy took a long drink before pulling back and taking a few deep breaths. “If I’m so hot, why don’t you kiss me?”

“Give me a second and I will,” Bellamy grinned, putting the cap back on the water and setting it to the side before straddling Murphy’s waist and leaning down to press a quick kiss to his lips before pulling back.

“That’s not a kiss.”

“Technically, it was.”

“Get your ass down here and kiss me properly,” Murphy demanded.

“Is that you stepping out of line?”

“No,” Murphy whined. “Please, just kiss me properly.”

“What’s the obsession with me kissing you?” Bellamy asked. “Not that I mind, of course, but I’m curious. Tell me, truthfully, and I’ll kiss you properly.”

“You didn’t do it the first time and you’re really good at it and I love the feeling of having you touch me and I just really want you to kiss me, okay? I like being kissed,” Murphy said, frustrated.

Bellamy grinned, “I’m good at it, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get a big head. I told you, now keep up your end,” Murphy said, scowling.

“How you can be such a little bitch even while this desperate is beyond me,” Bellamy mused, leaning down.

“It’s a special talent,” Murphy grinned before their lips met.

Bellamy licked at Murphy’s lips and pushed his tongue past them, Murphy moaning into the kiss. Bellamy ran his hands down Murphy’s sides, gently scraping his fingernails against the skin, Murphy whimpering at the feeling. Bellamy mapped out Murphy’s mouth, getting to know every corner before sucking Murphy’s tongue into his mouth and letting the younger boy have control. It was a little clumsy, but Murphy wasn’t bad. He tried to mimic what Bellamy had done and when he bit down on Bellamy’s lip, Bellamy let out a quiet groan that Murphy reveled in, pleased with himself.

Finally, Bellamy broke the kiss to ask, “Where are you?”

“Your dungeon.”

“Murphy.” Jesus fucking Christ. Bellamy was going to have his hands full with this one.

“About a seven. I’ll be good in a couple of minutes,” Murphy sighed, tugging on the restraints. “You know, I love these, but I don’t love not being able to touch you. Next time, you’ve got to let me touch you first. Then you can tie me up. But first I wanna touch you.”

“Funny, I would have taken you for a pillow princess with the way you look,” Bellamy joked.

“Hey, I give as good as I get. I just can’t with these things on me. Makes me feel useless.”

“You’re not useless. I like having you all tied up where you can’t do anything but moan and beg as I do whatever I want to you.”

“So, you don’t mind that I can’t make you feel as good as you’re making me feel?”

“But you are, Murphy. Trust me, having you just like this makes me feel just as good as you do right now. But, you’ll have plenty of chances to touch me later. Tonight, though, is about me showing you how good I can make you feel, because I already know how good you are.”

“All I did was suck you off.”

“And dammit if you don’t have some natural talent for it or something. I swear, I’ve met strippers with less skill than you.”

“You’ve gotten a blow job from a stripper?”

“I met him at my sister’s bachelorette party, took him home, it’s not a thing I brag about, but, it happened,” Bellamy shrugged. “Where are you now?”

“Six. You finally gonna fuck me?” Murphy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Only if you say please,” Bellamy teased.

“For fuck’s sake. Then just don’t do it.”

“Yeah? You sure about that? Cause I’ll leave you all desperate and tied up until you say please. And only then will I fuck you. But if I have to wait longer than two minutes, I’m not going to let you come at all,” Bellamy threatened.

“Christ. Please, Bell, okay? Please,” Murphy said, tugging at the restraints in frustration.

“You keep doing that and they’re going to rub marks on your wrists.”

“Let them. I’m gonna buy some cover up, anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You’re gonna cover them up?” Here Bellamy thought he liked having marks.

“Just for work. Otherwise I don’t care who sees. But Alie, my manager, is a bitch. She gave me hell for the marks you left last time, but Jaha, the owner, stepped in and told her to knock it the hell off, but she says that I’m scaring away customers by appearing taken,” Murphy shrugged.

“What if I told you I don’t want you to cover them up? What if I said I wanted everyone to know you’re taken and that if they touch you, they’re touching my property, and I’ll kick their ass for it?” Bellamy asked, curious.

“As much as I would love that, and as much as the whole possessive thing turns me on, I can’t jeopardize my job for a kink. I’d love to walk around and let everyone know I belong to you, and I plan to, but only outside of work. Inside that building, my ass is owned by Jaha and I have to do what he says,” Murphy shrugged, a little angrily. Jaha wasn’t a bad boss, but still, he hated working there, unfortunately, it was the only place he knew he could work where he wouldn’t get in trouble for his clothes or have to use a cash register. It beat retail and fast food, at least.

“I see.” That was a shame, because he liked the idea of Murphy appearing taken at work. Maybe then random people wouldn’t grope him. But, it was Murphy’s life. He could do whatever he wanted. “Still at a six?”

“Yeah. Can we get back to the actual fucking now? Cause I’m hard and I’ve been hard for over an hour now and I just really need to come, okay?” Murphy whined. “Please? Not that I don’t love talking to you, but there’s a time and a place and this isn’t it.”

“Sure, Murphy,” Bellamy nodded. He grabbed the bottle of lube from the bedspread and moved back so he was settled between Murphy’s legs. He tore open the condom and rolled it on before opening the lube and squeezing some into his hand so he could slick himself up before lining up with Murphy’s hole. “Alright, baby, you ready?”

Murphy nodded, biting his lip. As much as Bellamy loved hearing him moan, he couldn’t deny the sight was a hot one. He looked so debauched and needy that Bellamy couldn’t resist him. Murphy could have asked him for anything in that moment and he would have given it to him. He was glad Murphy agreed to the no criminal activity thing before they started this, because there was no way Bellamy would ever be able to say no to him now, criminal or not.

Bellamy pushed in, Murphy throwing his head back and letting out a loud moan, “Fuck, Bell!”

“You sound like a fucking whore, you know that? God, you sound so pretty. You look like a whore, too, all fucked out and needy, so desperate for my cock that you can barely stand it. You just need to be fucked, don’t you? You can’t stand not being filled up and fucked open like the little slut you are. Fuck, Murphy, you’re such a pretty little slut, too. Bet you’ve been fantasizing about my cock since that night at the club, haven’t you?”

Murphy just moaned as Bellamy slid in all the way, stopping for a moment to let him adjust.

“Tell me, Murphy. Did you? Did you think about how my cock would feel in your ass? Did you imagine what this would be like?” Bellamy demanded.

“Y-yes!” Murphy nodded, his hands turning to fists. “God, Bell, yes! Every night. Wanted to suck you off, wanted you to fuck me hard and rough until I screamed your name. Wanted you to fill me up and make me beg to come like a little whore. Wanted you to treat me like one, tie me up and fuck me whenever you wanted.”

“Fuck, Murphy, that what you want? You want me to treat you like a whore?” Bellamy asked, beginning to move slowly.

“Yes! Fuck, y-yes! I want you to use me, treat me like your little slut. Want you to order me to drop everything and fuck you whenever you want me to. Want to wear a plug for you so I’m ready to take your cock all the time. Want you to treat me like a whore and fuck my face until you come down my throat and make me swallow it all. God, Bell!”

“I’ll give you that. You want me to make you scream, Murphy? Want me to make you beg and moan and whimper like the whore you are?” Bellamy asked, speeding up his pace. He doubted either of them would last long. Murphy was already so close and Bellamy had been wanting this for too long to not give in and to it. Plus, if he carried it out for too long, it would only torture Murphy further and he was pretty sure he’d done that enough for one night.

Murphy whimpered as Bellamy sped up even more, setting a decent pace as he watched Murphy struggled against to restraints. He’d get used to them eventually, but it was quite the sight to see him trying to break free so that he could grab ahold of Bellamy. Maybe next time he’d fuck him without the straps, so Murphy could grab onto him and dig his nails into his back and Bellamy could press himself up against him.

“Bell, oh, fuck!” Murphy groaned, tossing his head to the side and exposing his neck. Bellamy grinned to himself and leaned forward, wrapping Murphy’s legs around his waist so that he could fuck him deeper and press more kisses to his neck.

The second Murphy felt Bellamy’s lips against his skin, he let out a whimper and bared his neck even more, wanting nothing more than for Bellamy to leave marks that wouldn’t fade for at least a week. Bellamy began to bite and suck marks into his skin as Murphy moaned.

He kept up that pace until Murphy begged, “Harder, please, Bell, harder!”

Bellamy sped up and started thrusting harder, wanting to make Murphy come harder than he’d ever come before. He’d already done that once, but he knew this time he could do even better if he tried. He thrust faster and angled his thrusts, searching for the spot that would drive Murphy wild until Murphy tightened his legs around him and let out a scream of “Bellamy!” followed by a choked sob, telling him he’d found it.

“You okay, Murphy?” Bellamy asked, wanting to check in to make sure he wasn’t getting overwhelmed.

“Fuck, please, Bell, don’t stop!” Murphy begged. “Faster, please! I’m so close, Bell.”

Bellamy obliged, speeding up and thrusting as hard as he dared, not wanting to hurt Murphy too much, since he had work the next day and Bellamy doubted he could ask him to stay over the first night, so he couldn’t exactly make sure he was alright in the morning. He fucked into him, hard and rough, but with enough finesse not to hurt him too bad. He held Murphy’s hips in his hands and pulled him down to meet each thrust as he left bruises across his neck. There wasn’t going to be much space left on his neck come morning and Bellamy was proud of that.

“Bell, can I, please, can I come?” Murphy pleaded. “I’m so close, Bell!”

“Number?”

“Nine. I don’t think I can hold back, Bell. Please, can I?” Murphy begged, closing his eyes and grabbing a hold of the straps so he had something to hang on to.

“Yeah, baby, go ahead,” Bellamy allowed, thrusting a little bit harder, Murphy letting out a loud keen that tipped Bellamy even closer to the edge. Bellamy took Murphy’s dick into his hand and stroked him in time with his thrusts, Murphy almost screaming in pleasure.

It didn’t take too many more thrusts before Murphy came with a scream of “Fuck, oh, fuck, Bellamy!” as Bellamy fucked into him, hard and fast, his own climax fast approaching. With a groan his came, fucking Murphy through it before slowing his pace to a stop and resting his head on Murphy’s shoulder as they came down from their high.

Bellamy took a few deep breaths, trying to reorient himself with the world before he was up, tying the condom off and then freeing Murphy’s wrists before gathering up the trash and going to get a washcloth to clean them up.

Bellamy returned quickly and wiped Murphy down while the boy rubbed his wrists a little shakily. “You okay, baby?”

“Y-yeah. My limbs feel like jelly, but I’m good,” Murphy assured him, scooting over in the bed so Bellamy could lie down next to him. Bellamy hadn’t been lying. That was the hardest he’d ever came in his life, he’d gone well past stars this time. “I’m just gonna stay here for a minute, if you don’t mind.”

“Stay as long as you want,” Bellamy said, laying down beside Murphy. “You did so good, pretty boy.”

“Yeah?” Murphy smiled. “Felt a bit pathetic, actually.”

“You weren’t.”

“I was desperate and needy and-”

“Sexy as hell, too, don’t forget that one,” Bellamy grinned. “I think it’s cute when you’re desperate. That’s why I do it. I like getting you all worked up. If I thought it made you pathetic, I wouldn’t do it. It doesn’t, baby, I promise.”

“As long as you’re sure,” Murphy shrugged.

“I am,” Bellamy nodded. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Murphy’s ear before pressing a soft kiss to hip lips. “You did very good, Murphy. Very good.”

Murphy smiled and cuddled up to Bellamy, feeling like he should be embarrassed by his willingness to cuddle up to him, but too blissed out to care. Bellamy wrapped his arms around him and stroked his hair, holding him close and whispering sweet words to him.

Next Chapter ->

#the 100 #murphamy #murphamy fanfiction #john murphy #bellamy blake #my fics #100 fic #murphamy fic #tal fic #okay so this is 30 fucking pages on word #it's over 13k words #and half of it is fucking smut #just pure fucking smut #bc i hate myself and love staying up til 4 am to write #that's who i am #next chapter coming soon #literally #haha i'm not funny

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