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phantom-0-writer · 7 months

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*standing menacingly at the door* i made u something

anyways lol. i had a lot of school work and was really busy freaking out and stress studying for a singular test that was 4 questions and would be over in like an hour and then i proceeded to cry about it in my car for various reasons.

but yk what that means!

time for our irregular and unscheduled update of

Gotham Academy's Mentorship Program

this episode featuring a fan favorite: Duke Thomas (aka The Signal - but thats kind of irrelevant for this)

you were supposed to read that like it was from a '90s sitcom and the off screen crowd cheers rly loudly.

some house keeping updates: this scene happens in the beginning of the school year (going by the american system should be september) danny meets damian (and upsurges tim on the same day) around midterm which is around october and then the stuff with jason and damian's drawing happens around december. i kinda accidentally burned the irl timeline for anything dc first scene so now im just gonna do whatever i want.

anyways with out further ado:

table of contents

scene 04: after school activities for normal kids

Duke stood around the corner of the classroom awkwardly, wondering if he had made the right call. Sure the bats and the birds had a plethora of hands on deck any time, but most of them specialized as night time heros. Not to say that they were incompetent or anything, they were some of the most skilled and innovative people Duke had ever had the pleasure of meeting. Sure if anything happened, they could handle it, at least until Duke could slip away and show up as the Signal- Alfred and Bruce had assured him so much. But Duke couldn’t slip the guilt of busying away more of his time to after school activities when he could be patrolling or studying instead,

But Duke had wanted to do something outside of those things, which was specifically why he had made the difficult decision to join a few clubs and after school activities. He could use a break from being surrounded by people who worked the vigilante life-style just to remember how to be a normal civilian. Let himself take a break from constantly be consumed by one case or another, one disaster or another, not being able to do enough no matter how much he tried or how much time he spent patrolling.

Duke needed to feel grounded, like his feet were on the ground and he could press the brakes and smell the fragrance of life. Even if the fragrance was a forgotten pile of dog s-

“Alright,” The instructor for their culinary club started with a weird German accent that sounded really fake. “I am Herman. You can call me Chef or Chef Herman or just Chef. I will not bore you all with the boring introductions, and let's head right into the cooking, yes. On this paper here I made the partners for all of you to cook with for the rest of the year. If you have problem with it then quit.”

This Herman guy seemed like quite the character, and was definitely not helping any of Duke’s previous anxieties. Many of Duke’s clubmates seem to think so too, sending their friends various looks. But no one spoke out, and instead shuffled to the front to look at the singular sheet of paper that would assign them their partners. Duke finally made it to the front and saw that he was paired with a Daniel Fenton at Station 7.

Crossing his fingers that Daniel had at least only a half-rotten personality, Duke made his way over to station 7. The station was already prepped with an assortment of ingredients and cooking equipment. Duke had already set his stuff down claiming the seat closer to the exit (in case) when a lanky kid comes over, “Uh, your Duke Thomas?” He asks hesitantly looking back at the front counter the partner assignment sheet was.

It took Duke an awkward second longer to realize that this kid was probably his partner. “Oh yeah I am.” He laughed apologetically, “You must be Daniel.”

“Danny’s fine.” The boy smiled, absentmindedly brushing his messy black hair out of his face, his glacier blue looking at the equipment. Duke couldn’t help but feel like there was something off about Danny. Not in Gotham’s usual psycho-maniac-out-to-terrorizer-the-city-and-kill-innocent-people kind of off, more in a he’s not in sync with the rest of the world off. While Chef Herman explained the general structure of various types of kitchen and kitchen hierarchy that Duke was already familiar with, Duke tried to get a read on him.

Weird did not mean threat, after all many of the Justice League- heck even the local Wayne/Batclan were pretty weird- and they (usually) didn’t mean any harm. It wouldn’t be fair of Duke to jump the horse like that.

Deciding he should try to be friendly with him, Duke leaned over, “Is it just me or is Chef Herman’s accent totally fake?” he whispered.

“Oh, Ancients,” Anciets? “I thought I was just going insane.” Danny sighed in relief with a small chuckle. There was a moment of silence between the two of them where no one said anything for longer than socially acceptable and Duke debated using his powers to see if he could find a clue or something. That seemed kinda invasive, though.

When the Chef had started instructions on making today's recipe, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Danny helped Duke measure out the ingredients. “So,” Danny tried again, “What are you in for?”

“What am I…” Duke repeated confused,

Danny chuckled awkwardly, “Like why you joined the club.”

Duke seriously needed to get his head in the present; this was getting embarrassing. “Oh.” He nodded in understanding, “I’ve always liked cooking,” Duke shrugged, “When I was little my parents and I would always cook together, and it was always one of my favorite things to do. And I’ve kinda always liked it, but I fell off of it for a while with school and stuff,” emphasis on the stuff “I thought joining a club could help me get back into it and get away from… everything.” That was a little more candid than Duke had planned on being with someone he had met quite literally a few minutes ago, but it felt good to have that out of his chest. The pleasant memories of his parents swimming in his mind. Mixing the dry ingredients, “Sorry that was kind of a lot.” Duke laughed genuinely this time.

“Dude, no it’s actually so cool that you like to cook.” Danny said admiration was easy on his face, and Duke couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

“What about you, then?”

“Ugh,” He groaned jokingly, “You can’t seriously be asking for my lame ass reason after you pulled out the flashbacks.” Danny whined, letting the oven preheat like Chef told them to.

“C’mon, it’s only fair.” Duke played along, already ahead of the other groups.

Danny sighed, “Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Okay, it can’t be that bad.” Duke could already feel the smile cracking on his face.

“It is.” Danny drawlled, “So I live in the dorms right, and I got to pull some strings and room with one of my friends from back home this year. And well, let’s just say my family has a bit of a reputation for causing problems, and the kitchen definitely wasn’t an exception. One time my dad tried to make some soup for my mom because she got sick.” Duke nodded approvingly, that was a sweet gesture, “It was all fun and games until the bomb squad had to show up and long story short we had to move.”

“You’re joking.” Duke gaped at the bizarre story, but at Danny’s solemn expression, Duke couldn’t help but be appalled, “A bomb squad over soup.”

“My parents were never really heavy on lab safety,” Danny added, as if that explained everything, “But I burn one pot of water and maybe make a few extra-crispy eggs, and suddenly its all ‘Danny you’re not allowed in the kitchen unless you start taking actual classes’ and ‘Danny that's a biohazard’.”

“You burned a pot of water.” Duke echoed, Danny nodded innocently, “Water doesn’t burn.”

“Well, maybe you’re just not trying hard enough.” Danny sneered, trying to crack an egg on the corner of the bowl only for all the shell to fall in the bowl and the yolk on the counter.

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s true.” Duke said, taking the bowl from him and expertly cracking an egg single handedly. Danny looked on in awe. “You said you live in the dorms?” Duke asked easily.

“Oh yeah, all of the non-local scholarship kids have to.”

Before Duke could respond, a girl from the station in front of them whips her head around, “You said you’re here on a scholarship?” She asked almost oppressively.

Danny just as taken aback as Duke felt, “Uh, yeah.”

“Me, too. Have you heard anything about the Mentorship Program here? Apparently we all have to join.” The girl’s partner was looking between Duke and Danny confused, but returned to their cooking uninterested.

“Oh, yeah. They make us all join.” Danny nodded.

“I heard from some of the older kids, that no one actually gets picked for that. It’s just like a weird formality thing.” The girl spoke animatedly, “What department are you in?”

“Applied physics and engineering design.” The oven beeps that it was ready but no one moved.

The girl seemed to deflate that answer, “Oh, I’m doing culinary science.” And with that solid conclusionary statement, she turned around and got back to her work station.

Danny blinked, processing what just happened and slowly turning to look at Duke for proof that just happened. But the second the both of them met each other’s eyes, they burst into a fit of silent laughter.

Bent vunuralably over the table, trying to catch their breath, they were accosted by Chef Hermon. “The two of you are having a comedy club, not a cooking club.” Chef crossed his arms at the edge of the table. Duke was pretty sure he was trying to sold them, but the fake accent was making it hard to tell.

Danny cleared his throat and striated up, “Sorry, Sir.” He apologized quickly.

“Chef.” Hermon peered at them, his hat looking comically large and lopsided on his head now that Duke was getting a closer look.

“Sorry, Chef.” Duke amended, trying to keep his cool.

“Yes, finish cooking your cookies.” He nodded satisfied, leaving their station.

“Okay so,” Duke tried to recount what the last thing they did was, but one look at Danny trying desperately to hold in his laugh had ruined all of Duke’s efforts as well. Barely managing to get their cookies in the oven, over Chef’s fake german accent and floppy oversized chef’s hat.

“So scholarship for applied physics and engineering design, huh.” Duke recounted from earlier, impressed.

“Yeah…” Danny trailed off embarrassed, “It sounds kinda snotty.”

“Dude. That’s literally one of the hardest departments to get into, and the scholarship is no sneeze either. There’s no doubt you worked your butt off to get that.” Duke assured Danny as they sat in their stools waiting for the cookies to finish.

“Thanks,” Danny smiled sheepishly. They sat in a much more comfortable silence now before Danny spoke again, “What grade are you in by the way?”

“I’m in 10th. General studies for now, but I was thinking of doing medicine. You?”

“I could totally see you as a hot-shot doctor.” Danny nodded approvingly, “11th. Technically, I’m your upperclassman then.”

“Technically?” Duke asked.

“I mean, how old are you?”

“15.” Duke supplied confused.

“Me too. I skipped a grade in elementary school, so we’re actually the same age.” Danny explained, sheepishly.

“Dude, you're actually way smart.” Duke gaped in awe.

“Hey medicine isn’t a day walk either.” Danny nudged his arm playfully, “I’m glad the mentorship thing is just for show, though. Now that we’re upperclassmen, y’know. I would not want my hands full with some random rich kid.”

Duke laughed, “Yeah, that definitely sounds like a lot of work.”

Easily unfolding the conversation into various topics and interests Duke found that he didn’t mind that the cookies were burnt. Or that Danny was definitely weird. But in a good way. Duke was glad they met and would get to hang out and cook with their weird not-German Chef every week. And if Danny and Duke exchanged numbers and planned to hangout outside of club activities, then well who was going to stop them.

#a little fluff to make our day better #duke and danny #the world definitely needs more of them #they start off a little shaky but their bffs at the end #danny heard the chef's weird accent and thought it was bc of time travel shenanigans and decided it was just best not to comment on that #duke will def be rubbing his friendship with danny in the other bat's faces once he gets indoctrinated #jack blew up his house over chicken noodle soup and no one lets him live it down #Gotham Academy's Mentorship Program #dpxdc #dp x dc au #batpham #danny phantom #duke thomas #signal #phantom

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haveyouseenherlately · 1 month

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pov: matty taking care of you after a night of too much drinking

mostly fluffy thoughts but with some slight smutty mentions.

this was something i tried to write months before i started this blog just to see if i could do it. that's when i quickly found out writing full fics is not my thing, lol. nothing special, just a stream of consciousness ramble really.

warning: smutty thoughts if you squint, alcohol. grammatical errors, typos.

masterlist here.

“c'mon, it's time to go home, love.” there’s this ungodly pounding inside your head, a confirmation that, yes, one too many pints were consumed this… evening? night? hard to tell, really. you have no idea what time it is or where you’re right now—all that registers is the warm feeling of his arm on your waist, leading you toward the exit of whatever this place might be.

the cold air bites your skin as soon as the door opens. wearing a short dress feels like a silly choice now, but he said you looked beautiful so that makes it all right of course. you lean into him as he drapes his coat around your shoulders, the same leather garment he's let you wear countless times before because he knows you love it so.

“okay, your flat's just a few blocks away. let's walk, get some fresh air. it will do you good.” his lips brush the top of your head before you both start to slowly stumble alongside the dimly lit streets of london. “i like it when you kiss me, matty.” he leans down to plant a soft peck on your cheek and for a fleeting moment it makes you wonder if maybe he feels the same way. just maybe.

walking never felt so difficult. perhaps it was when you were a child, but obviously you have no recollection. his arm around your shoulders continues to guide you as you just focus on placing one foot in front of the other until you reach your destination. it was a fast trek but you don't mind. in fact, you are thankful for it.

“don't think i’ve ever had this much trouble openin’ a fuckin’ door.” none of the keys seem to work, ugh. he chuckles behind you (rude) and grabs them from your shaky hands, unlocking and swinging the door open with ease (show off). you try to walk on your own, but it doesn't quite go as planned as you stumble on the mat right behind the entrance.

"shit, are you alri—“ you cannot help but quietly laugh at yourself and the embarrassing situation you're in, and it catches you by surprise when he picks you up, one arm under your knees and the other one around your waist. he gently places you on the green couch so you're finally sitting down, your drunk mind spinning as you gaze at the boy kneeled down in front of you, working on getting the patent heels off your feet.

“m’sorry you have to see me like this.” for a split second you wonder how it happened, how did you get to this state, but quickly realize that’s too much thinking for your clouded mind to process. you’ll figure it out later. it’s not often you get flat out drunk, especially outside the confine of the four off-white walls you call home. you prefer to drink in your flat as you don't like the thought of making a fool out of yourself in front of others. much like right now. oh well. it probably won't be the last time.

with your shoes off now (thank you, matthew), you slowly stand up and somehow manage walk over to your bedroom successfully without tripping over your feet. you sit down on the floor, facing your full length mirror as you take your earrings off and try to undress. “matty?” you attempt to reach the zipper on the back of your black dress, but your limbs just can't seem to bend far enough “please help me take this bloody thing off!” you give up after a few seconds and get distracted by the red marks on your knees from where you fell just a few minutes ago.

“hold on, darling."

you lazily stare back at yourself in the mirror as matty walks through the room to set a glass of water on the bedside table. he takes a few steps and kneels behind you, fumbling his fingers to undo the pesky zipper. it's maybe the alcohol in your system or some wishful thinking, but you seem to notice a blush on his cheeks when he realizes you aren't wearing a bra as the straps of your dress fall to the sides. for a moment you catch his eyes gazing at your reflection, making you smile as a warmth, familiar sensation in your navel continues to grow.

a smile of his own tugs at the corner of his lips when he holds your elbows to raise you up on your feet, your silk dress sliding and pooling at your ankles in the process. he turns you around so your eyes finally meet, big brown loving eyes looking straight at you.

your head finds his chest, you can hear his gentle heartbeat, a soft repeating thud that you never grow tired of. "i think i could jus' fall 'sleep right here..."

“unfortunately, i don’t think that’s really going to work here, love. c'mon, get your arms up so i can put this shirt on.” you obey by raising your flimsy limbs up to the best of your ability while matty attempts to get the fabric on you. it takes a few tries, but he manages.

you now find yourself dressed in nothing but your shirt and underwear. you watch as he pulls the covers off the bed, getting your spot ready. once it’s set, he grabs your hand and slowly brings you over.

“please stay.” it wasn’t much of a question as much as it was a plea for him to keep you company.

he doesn’t argue with you, he knows better than that. he nods. “i'll just be on the sofa in the other room but let me know if you need anythi—" you shake your head. "this bed is big enough for you, too." you lazily pat the extra pillow besides your head. you get scared as he doesn't say much, but you breathe again once he starts to walk over in your direction, lifting the covers and making himself at home next to you. he doesn't bother getting undressed, but maybe that's best for your (and his own) sake.

you rest your head on his chest, letting your body melt into his as your lids grow heavy from the mix of alcohol and exhaustion. “thank you for keeping me safe, matty.” you feel as he brings you slightly closer, one hand running through your hair while the other grabs on to your shoulder, his lips softly planting a kiss on your forehead. “always, darling.”

#matty healy #bf matty #bf matty blurb #matty healy x read #matty healy x reader #matty healy fluff #fluff #the 1975 fanfic #the 1975 fic

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milkywaydrabbles · 8 months

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Fluff number 18 my parents seem to love you. Alucard castlevania,

I think this would be really cute,specifically in a modern au, if you've seen the games at all, castlevania continues well into 2030s where Alucard works for a secretive government branch as genya arikado. If not then however you like, I just gotta spread the world on this lesser known lore lol.

A/N: SCREAMS I haven't played the games I'm a fucking fraud but I really want to soon bc when I hyperfixate on things it's so difficult to think of anything else but life is really busy right now cries. One day soon I'll do it!! AU where nothing fucking bad happens and Adrian gets to live a happy life with his mom and dad!!!! Hope you like it MWUAH

"My parents love you" x Alucard

“Adrian, I have no idea how you managed to catch her eye but you need to keep her.” Lisa teased, shoving her son playfully on the side. He would always be the butt of the joke whenever having dinner with his parents, and you-the absolute love of his life. Vlad stayed quiet for the most part, except for a chuckle here or there, and when he was feeling spicy a dad joke thrown into the mix. “I think he’s doing a fine job at keeping me, Mrs. Tepes.” You smiled at her, glancing his way for a moment. Adrian simply smiled, rolling his eyes in amusement.

It was a tradition at this point, having dinner with his parents at least once a month. More if there was a special occasion like a holiday or anniversary. It ended up being your idea, really. You enjoyed being around his family more than he thought you would. And honestly, it was a huge relief. Family was terribly important to Adrian, but he knew you had a broken family. Knew that being around family gatherings was difficult. He would never push you into seeing them more than you needed to. But you just, clicked so well with them. He had nothing to worry about.

The two of you had been together for nearly four years now. Your meeting was nothing exceptional, accidentally bumping into each other at the local bookstore you both frequented. And then bumping into each other again at a coffee shop. And then again at the bookstore. “Seems like fate really wants us to meet huh?” You joked, gripping onto the book you were perusing. From there it was like you had been together forever. None of the awkward dates trying to get to know each other. None of the weird anxious butterflies in your stomach that made you feel like you had to try hard to impress him. It just felt right. From the moment he asked you out on a date, it had been like the relationship had been established for decades.

It felt like Vlad and Lisa all over again.

And then you went to meet his parents-and he was a nervous wreck. Not because he didn’t want to introduce you, but because you had recently confided in him the harsh upbringing you had. He had no idea what that was like, and it broke his heart to see how bright and shining you were, feel small when telling him your past. But you wanted to meet them, make a good impression. It was important to you that they accepted you as his significant other. If my parents don’t like me, at least I have yours! You joked, laughing even if it was at your own expense. Meeting of his parents went...well. Interesting, but well. Vlad was as stoic as ever, stark difference to Lisa wanting to immediately smother you with questions of yourself, how you two met, what you do. She was his mother. Adrian tried to slow her down but you answered it all in stride, returning questions and asking her about her line of work specifically. And how the two of them were so brilliant. Everything from there? Well, it just clicked.

So to see you smiling so brightly at his parents and them returning the smiles sent him over the moon. The rest of dinner was smooth, you both bidding his parents farewell as you exited the castle back home. You walked hand in hand, Adrian looking at you like you personally hung the stars in the sky as you rambled about the different books you had been reading. You looked over when you didn’t hear a response with a quirk of your brow. “Earth to Adrian.” You waved, bringing him out of his lovesick stupor. “Have you been listening?” He hummed, noncommittal with his answer. “My parents love you, you know.” He blurted out, quite randomly to you. You blinked, cocking your head to the side with a smile. “I sure hope they do. You’ve been stuck with me for quite some time now.” You teased, leaning into his side. The grip on your hand tightened, turning his head to give your temple a kiss before returning to walking in silence as you continued with your stories.

They loved you, you knew that. But what you didn’t know was that this would be the final dinner you have with them before returning with a different title of fiancee. Earlier as you helped Lisa set the table, Adrian had shown his father the ring he planned on proposing with, and then Vlad distracted you enough with something in the study beforehand to show his mother. They loved you, as his girlfriend. And now, during your next dinner, they would love you as their daughter in law.

#adrian tepes #milk writes #alucard x reader #castlevania #adrian tepes x reader #alucard #alucard tepes x reader #castlevania (2017)#milk flufftober

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oomisluvr · 9 months

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No Caller ID

Your job at The Agency was simple. In fact, there was only one rule: Don’t lose track of your field agent. Unfortunately for you, Agent K is a difficult man to find.

warnings: agent!sakusa x handler!reader, international espionage, i was going for a james bond vibe, no graphic violence but there is a teeny bit of violence, hq! cameos that aren’t important to the story but i thought were fun to include, open ending i think, flirting (???), honestly freeform, i wrote this in 1 sitting lol, sfw, 1.8k words!

You’re on a date the first time he calls you.

The guy you’re out with is nice. Doesn’t interrupt you. Asks about your day. Laughs at all your jokes and pretends not to look down your shirt while the two of you eat. He works in IT, so you know he’s fairly well-off, too.

It’s too bad this is just to keep up appearances.

Your phone rings with no caller ID and you have to stop your eyes from bulging out of your head. In this line of work, it’s best to keep personal calls separate from ongoing projects. For organization reasons. For safety precautions.

It’s for this reason that you have two cell phones. The first is for private calls, to keep up with the life your current alibi would be living. The second phone is for The Agency.

And you’ve never received a call from your second phone before.

You excuse yourself from the table with a practiced smile, adjusting your clothing as you stand. Your date nods. Understanding, as expected. He didn’t notice that you took your purse with you. He must think you’re coming back.

Exiting the restaurant, you pick up the phone with a nervous hand, unsure of what to expect, “This is Pluto speaking.”

“Pluto? Who the fuck is that?” A man’s voice grunts, panting loudly and very obviously out of breath, “What happened to Rin?”

You clear your throat, “Rin has since left The Agency. I’m Pluto, his replacement.”

“That bastard. You’ve gotta be fucking kidding–” Sharp pops echo through the speaker. Possibly gunshots. The cursing that follows suggests that those were most likely gunshots. Everything is so loud.

“Agent K, if you’re requesting for backup, I can send over the twins–”

“Absolutely not. No backup, especially not from them.” Based on proximity, you can tell it’s K who fires next. Two quick rounds, followed by two dull thuds. Bullseye? “Everything is under control. Get me to Croatia before midnight tomorrow.”

The call ends.

The second time he calls you is to complain about the first time.

You defend yourself with all the aggression of a caged circus bear.

K quickly learns not to complain about your work.

Two months pass.

Your job at The Agency was simple.

Fortunately, there was only one rule: Don’t lose track of your field agent.

Unfortunately for you, Agent K is a difficult man to find.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up!” You scream into the phone. You’ve combed through the security feeds of every private business, traffic cam, and ATM machine, but still no sight of him.

The ringing stops, an easy voice floating through the phone, “Hello?”

“Why the fuck aren’t you in Buenos Aires?” You all but yell, “I’ve been searching for you for hours.” It’s silent on the other end of the receiver. You continue your verbal assault, “Are you even in Argentina? In South America at all?”

K snorts. “Where do you think I am?”

You’re furious, “How did you leave the airport without me knowing? I booked your tickets myself. I made the passport you’re using–”

“Don’t worry about it.” He cuts you off, “Do you really want to know where I am?”

His tone calms you, just long enough to answer, “Yes.”

“A baby shower.”

“A… baby shower?” You repeat dumbly.

“Well, I’m not physically at the baby shower, that would be a breach of contract. I’m sitting in an unmarked car, about 100 feet from the festivities. Watching my little sister open her gifts. She doesn’t even know I’m here.” He sighs, and it’s so different from anything else you’ve heard from him. “Nobody does.”

People who do what K does rarely ever have families. Alive, that is. You wonder how old he was when he left home, if his parents know what he does for a living. If they even know he’s alive.

Instead you ask, “Will you be having a niece or a nephew?”

He chuckles to himself, but it’s humorless. Empty. “That’s what I’m waiting to find out. I think the reveal is after they cut the cake. My sister is greedy enough to make everyone wait.”

You’re silent for a moment, at a genuine loss of words. The silence feels comfortable, and whether you’d like to admit it or not, you’ve gotten attached to Agent K. Fond, even. Just knowing he’s on the other end of the line, alive and breathing and not being shot at, gives you an enormous sense of relief.

You stare into the monitors ahead of you, at the sheer number of tabs you’ve opened, the energy you expended to make sure he’s safe.

“How did you get into this line of work?”

“Me?”

“Yes,” you can hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice, “You.”

Nobody has ever asked you that. Nobody is allowed to ask that, you think. “I had an internship the summer after I graduated. My boss at the time has some sort of connection to The Agency. She said I should apply and that she’d put in a good word. My interview was the next day, and I was officially hired by the end of the month.”

It’s silent for a beat, “You do realize you failed the test, right?”

“Excuse me?”

“You aren’t supposed to divulge any personal information to me or any other agents,” He quips, “Especially not any information regarding The Agency.”

“Well,” You start, “You aren’t supposed to run away from missions and lie to your handler about where you are!”

K laughs. An actual laugh. “Touche. Though I’m not running away from anything. This is simply… a brief layover.”

“Whatever. I’ve already booked you a flight from Hyogo to Buenos Aires.”

“You’re sharp, Pluto.” There’s pleasant surprise in his voice, and pride flares in your veins at having caught him off guard, “How’d you know I was in Japan?”

“Don’t worry about it.” You repeat his own words back to him, “Your flight leaves at 8:30PM, Japan Standard Time. Think you can make it by then?”

“Yes, ma’am.” K huffs, “Is that all?”

“Yeah,” you say, “And I’ll be sure not to include this ‘brief layover’ in my reports.”

“Thank you.” He says, and you can tell it’s genuine. For a moment, you feel appreciated, before he adds, “And from now on, please refrain from using fishing boats as a means of escape.”

“Give me enough of a heads up and I won’t have to.” You fight back a smile, recalling your first encounter, and the angry call you got 16 hours later, “But if you ever lie to me again about where you are, I’m leaving you stranded.” It’s a lie. In reality, if it came between you and him, you’re the expendable one.

“Deal.” He confirms, “Oh, and, Pluto?”

“Yes?”

“It seems like I’ll be having a niece.”

These days, your phone never stops ringing. Your second phone, that is.

“Where are you?” He preens through the phone. It’s the last question you’re expecting. You’re at a cocktail dinner for your job. The fake one. The one that The Agency placed you at to keep up appearances.

“Company dinner. Is there anything I can help you with?”

You’ve leaned over the balcony, nursing something with too much sugar and not enough alcohol. The venue is beautiful, probably some millionaire’s summer home, resting on a lavish hill and overlooking the ocean. The party blazes loudly behind you, a stark contrast to the stillness of the sea.

“Yeah. There is, actually.” He decides, “What are you wearing?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your clothes.” His voice is so smooth, sentences dancing off his tongue like a lullaby. “You’re wearing a purple dress, right? Say, is that silk?”

Your breath catches in your throat, your body suddenly alert at the implication of being watched, “Yes,” you find your voice again, making subtle movements to analyze your surroundings, “It was my mother’s.”

He hums, and part of you can hear a smirk in his voice, “Thought so.”

It bothers you that you’ve no clue what he looks like. How many times have you run into him without knowing? K was one of the most talented of this generation, able to adopt and shed identities as if they were clothing, able to blend into any crowd at any time, more dangerous than any traditional weapon. How many times has he been a friendly face on the street, a shadowy figure at the bar, and you simply had no idea?

“On your left.”

A man approaches you, dressed handsomely in a well-tailored suit. Shaggy orange hair falls into his bright eyes. His footsteps are quiet, practiced, holding a corsage in his right hand.

Without sparing a moment, he transfers the flowers from his grasp to yours before spinning on his heels and disappearing into the crowd once again. Your words die in the back of your throat.

The corsage is simple, but pretty. Purple petals to compliment your dress. Tied around it is a small gift box. You return your attention to the phone, “What’s this?”

“A thank you.” He says, “And an apology. And something else. Open it.”

You do. It’s a cartier bracelet, thousands of dollars worth of gold. You flip it over to find your name engraved into the metal. Your real name. You gasp.

“Congratulations on the promotion.” He says your name so differently than anyone has ever said it. You trace the letters in your palm, just faint enough that only you would notice. Just faint enough that you could keep it, and not have it jeopardize your position.

“Just doing my job.” You conveniently left out that the company celebration was for you. Well, you and the five other people who received promotions this quarter. Of course K would find out.

”Don’t get smart with me,” He groans, “But consider it an apology as well. I would have loved to be there with you tonight. You’re brilliant, and I’m lucky to have you on my team.”

You idly watch the yachts float by, some illuminated with neon lights, and some brightened with floodlights. If you squint, you can make out the fishing boat just barely kissing the shore. And the shadowy figure perched upon it.

“Don’t feel bad,” You hum, “Something tells me you aren’t too far off.”

“Goodnight, Pluto.”

“Goodnight, K.”

The call ends.

You clip the corsage around your wrist and return to the party.

i though this would be a fun little story! ok bye love as always, niko ♡

#i feel like i def fucked up the pacing #sorry #sakusa kiyoomi #kiyoomi sakusa #sakusa x reader #sakusa #msby sakusa #kiyoomi #haikyuu #msby #haikyuu sakusa #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #haikyuu fluff #sfw #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu fic #haikyu x reader

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gunilslaugh · 10 months

Text

Bitter Dislikement

I actually got inspired to write this while writing Another Member Dislikes You, so if one part seems very familiar it’s because it is lol.

Oh Seungmin and Kim Jungsu

Summary:Seungmin was your boyfriend and his member Jungsu didn’t like you, or so you thought.

WC:2.2k

Warning:grammar, bit more angsty than I thought it would be.

photo not mine credits to owner.

Seungmin was sure that introducing you to his members would be a simple thing. He couldn’t foresee any reason why something would go wrong. He loved you and they would too. At least that’s what Seungmin thought. He was right, the member seemed to click with you right away. You attentively listen to whatever story Gunil was telling. If anyone saw you and Jiseok and Jooyeon playing games together they probably would have thought that you’ve been friends for years. Even Hyeongjun and you were having conversations with minimal awkwardness. Everything appeared to be going smoothly. However, that was until it came to Jungsu. He was polite and exchanged a simple greeting with you, but after that he seemed to be a little cold towards you. Whenever you tried to have a conversation with him his answers were short and he didn’t seem like he was interested in talking to you, so you strayed away from him.

“Was Jungsu feeling a bit tired today or something?” you asked Seungmin as he was walking you back home.

“I don’t think so, why?” Seungmin responds, turning to look at you.

“I just thought he seemed a bit tired when we were talking, that's all,” you say, trying not to make a big deal of it.

“You know now that you say that he did seem to be keeping to himself. He probably was a bit tired,” Seungmin states. You tried to brush off the uneasiness you felt. Seungmin just confirmed it, Jungsu was probably just tired. There was no need for you to overthink things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, maybe you should overthink things. You’re currently in one of the practice rooms with Xdinary Heroes waiting for them to finish up. At first you told Seungmin that you would just wait outside, but he insisted for you to wait inside. It’s your third time interacting with Jungsu and he’s still just as cold. It’s not like he’s mean to you though. He’s just…civil with you. If you talk to him he responds back, but he never seems inclined about conversing with you. This leads to you and Jungsu having an odd, avoiding without actually avoiding each other, relationship. There was a sensible rift between the two of you.

Jungsu doesn’t like you and you're not sure what to do about it. You know that you didn’t do anything to him, but there must be a reason for why he’s acting this way. You don’t want to concern Seungmin about it either, because it might put him in an awkward situation. You suppose that you should try talking to Jungsu about it, although getting him alone to do that may prove to be difficult.

“Hey you ok?” Seungmin checks on you, breaking you from your thoughts.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about work,” a bitter taste landed on your tongue.

“Aw, is it giving you a hard time?” Seungmin questions, eyes filled with concern.

“Just a little stressful lately, but it’s nothing that serious,” you provided a fake smile. The bitter taste in your mouth growing stronger. You hated lying to Seungmin, but you didn’t know how to tell him the truth either.

“My poor baby,” he pulls you into a hug. You wrap your arms back around him, heart feeling heavy. You look over his shoulder only to lock eyes with Jungsu. You guys hold gazes for a moment before he quickly turns away. Jungsu’s face was unreadable. Weird. You think.

“Thanks, you ready to go?” You asked Seungmin, pulling away from the hug. He nodded, grabbing your hand and exiting the practice room. You turn your head back one last time when the other members call out their goodbyes. You call out your own goodbye, offering a wave as well. Just before you turn your head back around, your eyes lock with Jungsu’s once more. Again his face is unreadable and this time you're the one to turn away. You really need to talk to Jungsu.

Today is the day that you're going to bite the bullet and talk to Jungsu, or at least try to. Seungmin invited you to the studio to hear some of the songs he’s been working on. If luck was on your side you hoped you would be able to catch a moment to talk to Jungsu. It seemed like luck was on your side because you caught Jungsu walking by the studio room, through the glass window slit in the door.

“My colleague is asking me about work. I’m gonna step out and call them quickly,” you told Seungmin while holding up your phone. That bitter taste returned to your mouth again.

“Ok, take your time,” he smiled sweetly at you and it only made your heart weigh heavy. You stepped out of the studio.

“Jungsu!” You called out to him and you hurried to catch up with him in the hallway. Jungsu stopped walking, turning around to face your direction. “Can we talk?” you hesitantly asked, fiddling with your hands.

“About what?” He plainly countered.

“...Nevermind,” you backed out. Things between you weren’t that bad anyway. You were both civil, so that’s enough right? Jungsu sighed.

“I didn’t say no. I just asked about what y/n,” Jungsu tells. His voice is gentler now.

“Why do you hate me?” You questioned, unable to meet his gaze.

“Let’s not talk about this in the hallway. Follow me,” he states, beginning to walk again. You trail behind him. He led you to an empty studio and motioned for you to enter. You walked in and sat down in a chair. Jungsu sat in the chair next to yours.

“I don’t actually hate you,” Jungsu revealed. You finally looked up at him after hearing his words.

“Then why do you act so…cold towards me?” You pondered. Jungsu let’s out another sigh. Seemingly trying to gather his thoughts before responding.

“I’m sorry,” he starts. “I didn’t mean to make you think that I hate you. I just….” Jungsu trails off.

“You don’t have to tell me. I feel better knowing that you don’t hate me, so let’s just-”

“I like you,” Jungsu cuts you off mid sentence. “I like you, but your Seungmin’s girlfriend and I could never do anything that would hurt Seungmin. I thought if I just distanced myself from you that these feelings would go away, but it’s been months and I still like you. I feel jealous when I see you two being coupley. Anytime Seungmin talks about how much he loves you I feel so guilty. I’m so sorry,” Jungsu breaks down tears spilling from his eyes. The information is a massive shock to you, but comforting Jungsu seems more important right now.

“Jungsu it’s ok. You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not your fault,” you grabbed some tissues, walking over to Jungsu. You hesitated a bit before letting one hand rub his back. You handed him the tissues with the other. “I’m sorry too,” you told him.

“You have nothing to be sorry about y/n. I’m the one who caused this,” he tells you, wiping his tears. “Please don’t tell Seungmin. I don’t want him to feel bad,” Jungsu pleaded. There’s at least one thing you and Jungsu have in common, worrying about Seungmin’s feelings.

“I won’t, I won’t tell him, so don’t worry. Let’s just keep things civil between us ok?” You reassured him. The bitter taste on your tongue is there again and stronger than previously. Maybe you should just get used to it. Jungsu nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll get going now then,” you said.

“Yeah, yeah you should,” Jungsu responded. You feel bad for leaving when he’s still upset, but you’re part of the reason why he is upset, so it’s probably for the best that you leave. On the walk back to the practice studio where Seungmin was, you felt numb. Jungsu didn’t hate you, he liked you and he’s been beating himself up about it for months. You arrived back in the studio.

“Sorry that took longer than I thought,” you said upon entering.

“It’s ok I’m glad you’re back, I missed you,” Seungmin said, opening his arms. He can tell that something is off, but he brushes it off thinking that it was probably something work related.

“I was gone for what? Ten minutes?” You laughed as you walked into his arms. The bitterness still hasn’t left your tongue.

“I missed you the second you walked out the door,” Seungmin stated, readjusting his grip around your waist.

“How cheesy,” you sassed lightheartedly, quite contrary to how your heart actually felt.

“You like it though,” he retorted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Agreeing to keep things civil may not be working the best as you and Jungsu thought it would. The members were beginning to pick up on the uneasy tension between the two of you.

“Gunil asked me if you and Jungsu had a fight,” Seungmin brought up. The two of you were eating dinner together at your place.

“What?” You questioned. Thinking that feigning ignorance would be the best option.

“He said that there’s this weird tension between you guys and I’ve noticed it too,” Seungmin explained.

“Weird tension?” You laugh slightly. “You know me and Jungsu aren’t the closest, that's all. I guess we still feel a bit awkward around one another,” you answered, hoping Seungmin wouldn’t ask anymore questions.

“Maybe you two should try talking more then,” he suggested. We already talked and I think it made things worse. You thought to yourself.

“Yeah maybe we should,” you agreed. Once more that bitter taste filled your mouth.

After a few more weeks of things between you and Jungsu not changing, it seems like Seungmin had enough and decided to take matters into his own hand. He invited you over to their dorm. That’s how you found yourself seated at the kitchen table across from Jungsu, Seungmin on your right side.

“What exactly is the issue between the two of you?” Seungmin tentatively brings up. You and Jungsu exchange a look at one another.

“Some people just don’t get along,” Jungsu states.

“Me and Jungsu are two of those people,” you noted.

“Look Seungmin, we wished we got along too. We’ve even talked about it before,” Jungsu revealed.

“You have?” Seungmin questions. He never knew you talked to Jungsu about it.

“Yes, we came to the conclusion that we’re just oil and water, we don’t mix. We don’t have any ill feelings towards each other though,” you informed.

“Yeah we’re…..neutral,” Jungsu states. Now there’s a doubt in Sungmin's mind that there is something the two of you aren’t telling him, but he’ll leave it be.

“When did you and Jungsu talk?” Seungmin questioned you. He wanted to leave things be, but there was this feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t shake. He asked you about when you two were laying in bed ready to go to sleep. Your heart drops. How were you supposed to answer? Your mouth began to feel overwhelmingly bitter. You sighed, deciding to just tell the truth. You sat up in bed facing Seungmin. He sat up too mirroring you.

“That day you invited me to hear the songs you were working on,” you paused before continuing. “I had a feeling that Jungsu didn’t like me since the first day you introduced me. That’s why I asked if Jungsu was tired, cause I thought I was just overthinking, but the way he acted towards me didn’t change. I didn’t want to not get along with your bandmate. I thought that it could put you in an awkward position if we didn’t get along, so I decided that I would talk to him and sort it out. That day I didn’t call my colleague. I saw Jungsu walk by, so I went to confront him. Then we talked,” you came clean. The bitter taste finally left your mouth.

“So Jungsu really doesn’t like you?” Seungmin carefully asked. A pained laugh escaped from you.

“That’s where you have to talk to Jungsu. It’s not my place to say anything,” you responded.

“I’m sorry,” Seungmin suddenly proclaimed, arms collecting you in a hug.

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who kept something from you. I’m sorry,” you apologize, arms wrapping around Seungmin.

“For not noticing. I could tell that something was bothering you, but I just thought it was work related, but this is it right? You’ve been stressing over not getting along with Jungsu?” He rubs the back of your head lovingly. You nodded, relaxing into his arms. It’s been so long since you last felt relaxed.

“You really need to talk to Jungsu though. I think that’s the only way this can be solved,” you said, pulling away.

“I will, but that’s for me and Jungsu. You don’t need to worry about it anymore, just relax now,” Seungmin tells you, changing positions so now you’re laying down with his head on your chest. A part of you is scared that Jungsu might actually hate you after Seungmin talks to him, but the bitter taste in your mouth is finally gone and your heart feels lighter. Now you can only hope that things will finally begin to get better.

#xdh imagines #xdh x reader #xdinary heroes #xdh #xdinary heroes imagines #xdinary heroes x reader #xh jungsu #xh o.de #xh seungmin #o.de x reader #oh seungmin x reader #jungsu x reader

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spidereggs888 · 2 months

Text

Miguel bangs Dr Doom and the poor bastard asks for seconds

Miguel & You

ACT 3 | INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

Miguel O’Hara & y/n, any gender or non gender. Very casual writing style. TW Dark humor, dangerous situations, 18+ language. Y/n are sorta attracted to Miguel (why else would you be here?) but he doesn’t know you lol

(Seriously, if you haven't read ACT 1 or ACT 2, NONE of this will make sense)

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

“Okay? I mean you still got your job, yeah?” your friend says.

“It’s different now! I can’t- my job’s not enough- all my savings are GONE! All those data sticks were full of nontaxable credit and now it’s probably being hocked off for rapture! What the shock am I gonna do?!”

“Wait, wait! Hang on, lemme text Bryce! He gonna know something!”

“I REALLY can’t believe that O’Hara! We talked about this! I made my case pretty simple and he agreed to a follow up meeting- and now he’s just gonna CANCEL on me?!”

“Hey it’s not his fault! He doesn’t know what you’re going through.”

You are so mad you almost tell her the truth. But his secret identity could be a bargaining chip! Yeah sure that will be stooping low but he KNOWS you are one lost payment away from house hunting, which is a horrible experience in Nueva York, especially if you’re broke.

After some sounds of computer work on her end, Speshall re-emerges.

“Hold on… okay. Bryce says Mister O’Hara is back in the Alchemax Business Bureau building.”

“Good God, tell Bryce I said thanks!”

“You better hurry, cuz people who lost their shot yesterday are trying to catch him today. I don’t know how word got out that he didn’t choose anyone as a secretary, but yeah, they are scrambling to get a hold of him. You better hurry!”

You pull out your only spare jacket (the clear plastic one that only keeps off the rain), and throw on a new scarf. You are back at square one, where you gotta compete with all the other interviewees, including Suck-up Syd who’s gonna be even more desperate this time, and Beta-Brody, who just might actually appeal to O’Hara now that he’s about to have an uninterrupted audience with the guy!

Your chances are slim, but if you stand to lose everything, why the hell dwell here?!

░▒▓スパイダーマン▓▒░

When you exit the apartment complex, you run through all of the holograms offering a better life, past all the salesmen trying to convert you to the great house of Thor, and slam your palm down on the terminal button to call the apartment valet.

"Welcome back, tenant 27," the AI apartment valet greets, “Do you want-”

“YES! Give it to me!”

Your car roars out of its hiding place as if it knows today isn’t the day to worry you with her many problems. She is bright red with flaking paint, but she is here in your time of need.

“We refueled your vehicle. Do you accept the charges-”

“BILL ME TOMORROW!”

You rush and slide across the hood, executing the perfect slide and land on your feet on the other side. The door unlatches automatically and you climb in (that almost never happens), and you slam your foot down on the gas pedal.

“I’m comin’ for you, O’Hara!”

░▒▓человек-паук▓▒░

After dodging and slipping through traffic, you arrive at the Alchemax Business Bureau parking lot. The automated parking center kiosk accepts your money this time since your mom knows how to clean her gambling money (you have yet to learn this difficult process), and you get to enter the building in a more conventional way.

The lobby is already in chaos. People are fighting over the coffee machine for some reason, slapping and hitting each other. You turn your back on it and face the old man behind the receptionist desk. He grimaces at you.

“You don’t have anything to do with the crazy shit happening over there, right?” He asks. This was the first time he’s spoken to you in a while.

“Don’t think so. Uh, has O’Hara come through?”

“Heh. What do you think?”

You cringe at the sound of a coffee pot crashing to the floor. The receptionist opens a holoscreen and looks at you through it.

“He’s up in the temp office again.”

He discreetly brings a cup of black coffee up from behind the desk and sets it near you.

“Just pushing forward a favor.”

His eyes focus on the video call that pops up between you, and he continues, “We need custodial support in the lobby. We got some broken glass and hot coffee all over the damn place.”

≋≋≋（スパイダーマン）≋≋≋

You are on the elevator, coffee in hand with a pocket full of sugars. You decide not to drink it, you plan to give it to O’Hara (everyone else must have had this same plan, hence fighting over the pitcher of coffee.) The elevator lets someone else on. The doors open and you see the smoky eyes of Suck-Up Syd.

“Ah, you got past everyone else, I see.”

You reluctantly move over as she strides in. You notice she’s wearing a backless dress before she pulls her faux fur jacket back over her shoulders. She knows you saw, she chuckles and sighs.

“Don’t ya love this day and age?” she asks innocently.

“It could be better,” you say pleasantly.

“I just love how a woman can be herself and flaunt what she’s got…”

She waits for a word of validation but you say nothing to her. She continues.

“I got this dress from Michael, our last boss. Remember him?”

“Ah, yeah. The guy who gave me a second chance…”

“Yeah after the whole embezzling thing! Tsk, I’m so glad you didn’t get fired, you know that? Like really, you are the nicest person in this whole wide place! It would have been so unfair of him to let you go. But he’s very generous.”

You wanna say something mean to her but you are at a crucial point in your life to have stupid Suck-Up Syd karma in the mix.

The elevator door opens and you see a guy laying face down on the floor. He’s groaning in pain. It’s the nice Indian man from yesterday.

“Oh my, what happened here?” Syd asks.

“Ah just some stuff that needed settling,” says the familiar douchey voice of Brody, who walks up from the corner while rubbing his knuckles.

“Did you beat up that guy?!” You scold.

“Well, he got in my face,” he says with a matter-of-fact tone.

“I somehow doubt that!” You scoff.

Brody smirks and takes your coffee.

“Dude, that’s mine!” you complain.

He sips it while keeping eye-contact with you. He then immediately scrunches his face.

“Ew, you don’t add anything to your coffee?!”

“That’s very rude and gross, Broly,” Syd says with sarcasm, walking away towards the glass elevator. He hands the coffee back to you and swiftly follows her, and you reluctantly follow.

“I was just playing, Sydney, lighten up! Nice dress, by the way!”

“Thank you.”

“I mean... you flaunted it for Micheal, I bet you could do the same exact routine for O’Hara and get the job instantly! That's your in-an-out plan, right?”

“Hey, if he thinks hiring me will get him there then that’s on him, not me.”

“What are you pushing 38, going on 39 any time now? You can’t use your looks forever, tick-tock tick-tock.”

“Oh wow, says the guy who believes in that Alpha Male BS. You are aware that the same guy who coined that whole thing turned around and disproved it years later, you know that, right?”

“So it’s not true for wolves, but it’s definitely true for Man.”

“You are not even close to being a Beta…” you grumble.

He looks back at you with a fake smile. Syd laughs.

“Oh well check this out-”

He slaps the coffee down out of your hands and it gushes all over your pants and shoes. You jump back and kick your legs.

“Dude! That BURNS! What the FUCK?!”

“You got it on my dress, you fucking animal!” Syd complains, stepping back away from the dark puddle.

“Oh you were gonna take it off to show what’s left of your body anyway! Get with the now and lighten up!”

“You are SUCH an asshole!” You yell. You start kicking him in the legs. Syd joins in, thrashing him with her stiletto. The both of you back him into the corner as he tries to guard his face. The glass doors open and the three of you stop your squabbling as y’all realize there has been an audience for the last few seconds.

The pair of security guards from yesterday are standing near the elevator, both looking somewhat amused about the elevator fight, and two men are sitting on either side of the tiny desk, one of them being O’Hara and the other is your ex boss.

“Oh… uh, hi!” Syd stammers, taken aback by the present company. Brody pushes her aside and strides across the room with his hand extended.

“Hey, Mister O’Hara! The name’s Brody Tice! Nice to meet-”

“The hell are you guys doing here?” O’Hara asks.

“Hey, yeah, I didn’t get to meet you yesterday- had some stuff come up, but I heard you were here today, so I thought-”

“Then SIT,” O’Hara demanded.

“Actually, I do better standing!”

“Sit the hell down, Brody,” Micheal snaps, “Now’s not the time!”

[Brody mumbles something about being fine where he is.]

“Is everything okay, Micheal?” Syd asks, defaulting to an innocent tone.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Micheal says with glossed, lazy eyes. He always had this look whenever he was forced to care, “Someone formerly in our department just complained about some old history and we are trying to smooth it out.”

"Oh, this is beyond smoothing out," O'Hara said with an unsafe tone while smiling, "Yeah, this little game you have going on comes to an end today."

"What game?!" Micheal scoffs, leaning back in his chair.

“I’ve had my AI assistant cross-reference your employment history and your payment history and I did not like what she told me," O'Hara says, putting his giant paws together, "You’ve been withholding payment from your employees by not immediately updating their salary in the system after they were given a raise. And you’d neglect doing anything until they actually confront you about it, and even then, you never paid them the missing difference. And you did this, let's say, roughly eighty times in the past four years?”

Your blood boils. This man has been a parasite this whole time while you scraped by. Micheal looks back and forth at Syd and Brody, unable to keep eye contact with O'Hara.

"Wha- WHICH of you- Syd! I thought I could TRUST you!" Micheal stammers.

"What? Micheal! No! I didn't say anything about you!"

Micheal's gaze darts to Brody, but then he swivels his head to you instead.

"Was it you?!"

"Wow, you're really just gonna look for someone to blame, huh?" Brody scoffs.

"Whoever did this doesn't know who they're messing with!" Micheal says, his face red as he shakes, "I have too much as stake to be taken down by some rat!"

“It was ME!” you yell, not willing to take anything else laying down anymore, “I confirmed what happened!”

Micheal looks genuinely surprised at you yelling. Syd just blinks awkwardly and Brody grins. O’Hara is still sitting with his elbows resting on his desk, watching from behind clasped fingers.

“What on earth did you-”

“The ultimatum you gave me! You pulled me aside into the maintenance closet and made me choose between getting fired or demoted, REMEMBER?!”

“We took you into the maintenance closet because the situation was private-”

“You just didn’t want anyone with a brain noticing you were doing something illegal!”

“He was on vacation!” Syd said defensively, “You should have just waited-”

“Oh that’s SUCH bullshit! He wanted to see how long he could go without actually paying me what I was owed!”

“It was just a fluke in the system-”

“It was no fluke, it was CALCULATED!” You snap, stepping towards her with your finger in her face, “And you should know, Syd! You fucking stood there watching like the stupid little henchman you are! You KNEW Micheal was doing something illegal and you did NOTHING to report it! And we know why! Because you KNEW if I went down, you would instantly get my position as vice head PR accountant! You were a snake from the start and always HAVE been!”

“Oh shush! You were sniveling and crying like a BABY, begging to keep the job! I may be what I am but at least I have some dignity-”

“Sydney! Let’s not push it!” Micheal warned.

“That’s fucking laughable coming from you, y’know that?” Brody says to Syd, “You are the LAST person with any dignity around here! You dropped your panties for Ashton when I told you he was head of our department! You didn’t even try to research him or anything! You just did it because you’re a whore.”

“And you!” you yell, pointing at Brody.

“Ah, let’s hear it!” He retorts.

“You are the biggest lying asshole in this whole fucking industry! How the fuck has no one laid you out yet?! All that alpha dog bullshit has gone so far up your ass, I don’t know where your sexist bullshit ends and where your goddamn shit-eating grin begins! You gotta tear people down because you aren’t strong enough to hack it with the big dogs, are ya?! ARE YA, BRODY?! Oh, look at me! I’m Brody Tice! I’m too mean and stupid to make meaningful relationships work, so I bully others to assert a false sense of dominance! And if that don’t work, I resort to telling people I was diddled in the doo doo hole by my best friend Ashton because that’s the kind of LOSER I am!”

Brody’s pride is on the line, and he was not taking too kindly to you airing out his dirty laundry in front of O’Hara. He steps up to you, his fake smile now grinding into a dangerous sneer.

“Oh, NOBODY has laid me out yet because they CAN’T!”

“You are so full of shit!”

“Go ahead and make your move, then!”

“Everyone just stop!” Syd pleads anxiously.

“You can't always get away with everything you’ve DONE!” You say coldly. Blood is rushing in your ears and you can feel your neck getting hot. Brody jabs you in the shoulder with his knuckles.

“Make your move, bitch-”

Having seen enough, O’Hara stands up and swiftly grabs Brody by the front of his shirt. He leads the smaller man around on his toes as they come face to face. Brody’s eyes bulge.

“Wow, man! Your hands are massive-”

O’Hara picks the whole man up and one-arm slams Brody through the tiny desk. Just *bam* throws him down TLC style. Travel-sized bottles fly everywhere.

Brody stares up at the ceiling, making a long minuscule whining sound. The desk is finished and everyone is frozen in place.

“Quitar este loser,” he commanded, pointing down at Brody and flicking his finger at the door. The two guards grabbed Brody and lifted him out of the rubble.

“As for you two,” he said, turning to Syd and Michael, “clean out your desks!”

“W-why?!” Syd whined

“You can't do this!” Michael begged, his grey eyes bulging, "I have been with this department for thirty years! I was here when your father ran this place!"

O'Hara clenches his jaw and fists. His eyes flash dangerously.

"--Though you do a spectacular job as CEO, WAY better than... It-It really was an honest fluke, I get very overwhelmed with all my responsibilities- please! You can’t fire me!”

He stares down Micheal, considering him a little longer. He drops his scowl and lets his hands free.

“Relax, I’m not firing you or Miss Sarcoth here,” O’Hara says with a falsely kind tone, “I mean, you really should be fired, but a guy your age doesn’t stand a chance in the private sector, so I’m moving you both to the custodial department! They’ll love you there!”

“Oh... well alright,“ Michael mutters, eyes bugged out at the giant financial nuke that missed him by inches.

“Wait, why am I being dragged down too?!” Syd whined, “there’s no proof I was even THERE!”

“There's lots of surveillance of your complacency and possible cooperation, Miss Sarcoth. Don’t even bother trying to argue your way out of this one. Now both of you, off to your new jobs! C’mon! You only get one chance!”

O'Hara gives them both a clenched smile. Syd and Micheal exchange confused stares.

“Go on before I get pissed off,” he said in a colder tone.

They scramble to gather their coats and rush out of the room. Those two jackasses who screwed with your livelihood just to make themselves laugh are now fucking off to whatever hell hole O’Hara has decided to stuff them into.

O’Hara sighs and paces away. He grumbles about idiots fucking around with their goddamn money. You clear your throat. He straightens his anti glare lenses then looks at you.

“Have a seat, since you’re here.”

You sit down where Michael was seated before. You stare this guy down because this is it! You are ready for hellfire. You are ready for searing words and possible loss of a limb or head in the conversation to come. You squint at those red eyes behind the comically large lenses. How has nobody accused him of being a vampire? Either way, you are ready to gamble it all, to hell with being cautious!

You are gonna take this vampire down.

“You are wondering why I canceled our meeting, yeah?” He asks with raised brows.

You are relieved he brought it up first.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I decided I don’t need a secretary,” he said, “turns out it’s too damn stressful and stupid. I’ve been doing just fine with my AI assistant.”

“What about all the people who wanted to work for you?”

“They have their own jobs already, it’s not like they have nothing to go back to.”

“Well I don’t,” you say, gripping the edge of your chair. He makes a curious face.

“You have a job, what do you mean-“

“I’ve been cheated, blackmailed, rejected, declined, and robbed, all because of idiots like Michael and Syd… and that idiot Brody! I’m not about to let a dismissive playboy who fires people left and right, AND moonlights as Spider-Man kick me down without a fight-“

O’Hara comes back over and sits down in his chair quickly, making you flinch, but he’s smiling.

“So you WERE awake when I saved you!”

“Yeah,” you say quietly. You are now shaking but not breaking your stare from his amused expression.

“Now you know who I am and what I do… at least only the tip of that gargantuan iceberg… so what do you want? Money? You gonna blackmail me?”

“What fucking choice do I have?” You say heatedly, “I lost everything down there in that hell hole! My data sticks, my phone, all of that was my LIFE in order, and now I either go further into debt or I get a better job that will take care of me for the rest of my life!”

O’Hara leans back into his chair, his brow furrowed as he rubs his chin.

“Don’t think for a second I’m not grateful for you saving my life! I don’t know how you knew I needed saving but you did!”

“My AI assistant Lyla informed me your location was moving down to a notorious criminal breeding ground. I thought you were one of those Black Market Demons trying to infiltrate Alchemax for drugs.”

“What?”

“I mean the descriptors fit. I guessed you were financially unstable and turning to gambling because you had a Rapture habit. But… you didn’t seem physically unwell like a Rapture user. The only other possibility was that you were being kidnapped. Since I already met you and saw it about to happen, I just couldn’t ignore it.”

You look to the floor, feeling bad about readying yourself to fight this guy.

“I knew you needed help. I'm sorry about your data sticks and all your money. I didn’t know- you do have a bank account, right? I mean, you have a job-”

“My job salary goes there, yeah, but that goes straight into automated payments since I’m on the Alchemax home-employment plan… I have the data sticks because my bank won’t accept anything considered gambling money. And I don’t have enough earnings for an offshore account… so I kept it all on the data sticks…”

He is hanging on every word now. You look up at those sad bespectacled eyes.

“Also… I just wanted some personal spending money for myself. I just wanna wear nice stuff and eat something else besides mineral bars…”

He politely watches you try not to feel sorry for yourself. You are both quiet for a little spell. You can hear the wind outside, and an automated cleaning system starts spraying the shit out of the glass elevator. It sounds like a car wash. All that coffee on the floor is being washed away.

He sighs and looks out the windows.

“Well, I can’t say I wasn’t impressed at the decade and a half you put into PR work for Alchemax,” he finally says. You wipe away a single tear and look up at him as he pulls up your files on his neat watch. He picks out your best work with his calloused but beautiful hands, “You started running hot meals for the Alchemax elderly program at fifteen years old… went into mail room tech for a while there, occasionally doing lobby work and handling public events… not bad at all.”

"Thanks," you say modestly.

“Most of all, I really admire that you came here. I don’t know how you knew I’d be here, but you must have some great resources to pull that off. I'm impressed.”

You smile at him weakly. He smiles back.

“What do you think about taking Micheal's old job?”

“Wha- REALLY?!”

“Ah I’m sure you’ll do fine! Besides, I didn’t know who I was gonna pick as head of PR account and finances, anyway! So, what do you say?”

You stand up and so does he. You extend your hand and he takes it.

“Thank you for this opportunity, sir! I won’t let you down!”

“You actually don’t have a choice.”

You smile but then feel yesterday’s emotions catch up with you. The darkness with the dead bodies and freaky black market demons. Running until your legs were on fire and your lungs hurt. Being surrounded by those demons in the darkness. You dive in for a hug.

“Thank you for saving my life…” you murmur into his shirt.

“C’mon, I’m Spider-Man, it’s what I do.”

You hold your head against those mighty pecs of his. His dress shirt is so silky and soft and smells like the kind of detergent that goes hard like crack. You go ahead and wrap the other arm around him as you behold the heartbeat of a hero, something so rare in any day and age. You will never forget this sensation as he carefully pats your back.

“Ah, okay, just take it all in… I’m only allowing this once… hey, also promise me you'll keep my secret, okay?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I'm not kidding. If you go telling people I'm Spider-Man, I'll make you clean toilets. SPECIFICALLY toilets. And only toilets."

You start to giggle. He does too.

"Just toilets, all day and all night! I'm serious. I know we are laughing but I'm dead serious. No estoy bromeando! Comprendes?"

"Si comprendes," you manage to muffle out.

"Good, good... Okay get off me. Please.”

You smile and let him go. He gives you an awkward smile and rubs the side of his massive neck.

"So... seeing as I'm removing Micheal and pretty much any and all staff members who conspired with him, you’ll need to hire your own assisting staff. You have anyone in mind?”

≋≋≋（蜘蛛侠）≋≋≋

“I’m going to lunch!” You call out as you leave your glass paneled office.

“You want me to go ahead and send out this mass email, dear?” Your mother says from behind her grand desk.

“You let Speshall look at it, right?”

“It’s wordy but I’m sure it’s fine,” Speshall says from her office area. She returns to her phone, “Oh they eloped?! To where?!”

Your new staff has it's own habits but they are much better than the unjust monsters running things before. You walk onto the elevator (the only one since the other two are STILL broken), and the nice Indian man from weeks ago joins you.

"How's life, Arjuna?" You ask.

"Ah, in-laws are staying over for a month."

"Oh? Is that bad?"

"Not really. Let's say I just might jump out a window," he says, slyly.

"Well I know a few custodians perfect for the job!" you blurt out. The both of you crack up laughing. You fortunately don't have to ever see Micheal, Syd, and Brody on a daily basis since O'Hara sent them off to clean in the Alchemax Museum of Tech, but that hasn't stopped you or your friends from making them the butt of all your jokes.

You walk out into the lobby of the Alchemax Business Bureau, where you see your red Maglev Nova outside waiting in the rain.

“All fueled up, boss!” Says the old receptionist behind the counter. He’s drinking his coffee in peace.

“Thanks, Stan!” You say.

You walk outside to your car. The paint job was redone and all her internal issues gone as she hums cleanly, awaiting your arrival. You open the door to get in.

"HEY!"

You look over the Nova. You see O'Hara across the street.

“Miguel! Hey!”

“Hey! We doin’ this?”

“Yeah! I got some coupons for double thick enchiladas! Two for the price of one!”

“Ay, you and those coupons! I told you, I’m buying! Woah-“

He steps back as a truck flies past him. It drives right through a puddle, drenching the man. He stands there all stunned; his jacket was folded on his arm and his dress shirt soaked.

He gapes at you and you realize you are staring at the wet shirt clinging to his chiseled body.

“We- we can stop by the dry cleaners on the way," you stammer as you politely look away.

๋࣭ ⭑🕸 fin 🕸๋࣭ ⭑

Thank you for reading.

#miguel o'hara #spiderman 2099 #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara art #Miguel & You #miguel o’hara x y/n #miguel o’hara x reader #kinda but not really #enough to make a rando uncomfortable

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ghostdaichi · 2 years

Note

HI! could u do a robin buckley x reader where the reader works w her and steve at family video, and shes like not that talkative and robin makes it her mission to get to know her because she thinks shes pretty LOL? thank u!

Getting to Know You

Robin x reader

(No warnings I think, Keith being gross, Robin and Steve sharing one braincell)

Requests are open!

*************************************************

Look, if you told yourself from two years ago that you had to give up the safety of your job at The Book Spot for one at the Family Video, you wouldn’t believe it. The sweet lady who owned the book store loved you and was a family friend, so it was even harder for her to tell you she had to let you go. They couldn’t keep you employed because of losing funding from the mall, now the next issue, you needed a new job.

At the time of applying, Family Video seemed like the best option. It was like the book store but just with movies, it’ll still be a quieter environment or at least that’s what you thought. When you came in on your first day, dawning your new green vest, you immediately regretted your decision when you saw Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley loudly bickering about something behind the counter and Keith sitting in the back eating popcorn with his mouth open.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Steve and Robin became one-sided. Steve kept talking while Robin stared at you, full blown deer in the headlights moment.

“Rob- Robin, are you even listening?” Steve waves his hands in front of her face to get her attention.

“Who is that?”

“Who is who?”

Robin rolled her eyes. “The new girl dingus! How are you so blind?”

Steve looked over to you before turning back to his best friend. “Oh her? I think her name’s like (Y/n) or something like that. She used to work at the bookstore that Dustin dragged me to all the time. But good luck talking to her, I’ve only ever heard her say like four words.”

“Was it ‘I won’t date you’? Because that would be perfect.”

“Oh ha ha very funny. And no that’s not what she said…it was ‘I’m sorry but no.’” Robin starts cackling at Steve’s misfortune when you walk up to the counter.

“(Y/n), I see you haven’t met Robin yet, so here introduce yourself.” Steve pushes her forward towards you and leaves to pretend to be working. The brunette silently curses him before turning back to you. “Hi I’m Robin, but I guess Steve already said that.” “(Y/n)…” The two of you sit there in awkward silence for a moment when a customer comes in and breaks the tension. You go back to work, re-alphabetizing the children’s movies.

This interaction goes on for a month or two and Robin still knows very little about you. Any time she asks you something it’s met with a short answer and Steve adding another tally to the Robin Sucks board. Her crush on you has only grown and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for her to have any hope for a relationship.

“Look Robin if you want to get anywhere with her, you just have to ask her out.” Steve said as he drops another stack of tapes that need to be rewound. “Steve it’s not that simple! I can’t just go up to her like you do and be all like ‘Hey (Y/n)! I think you’re super pretty and I would really like to take you out sometime!’ Because that will never go over well Steve!” “You never know.” He shrugs but it seems like he was the only one to notice you blushing in the corner of the room.

The next day, the three of you are closing up the store and you go over to Steve when Robin’s back is turned. “Hey..can I have the keys? I’ll lock the doors I just…” You look back at Robin and he gives you a knowing look, handing you the keys. “Alright I’m going to take the trash out back don’t wait up, (Y/n) has the key.” Steve grabs the bags and makes a speedy exit towards the back door.

“What’s that about? He hates taking the trash out.” Robin looks around confused as you step towards her. “Robin..” At this point she starts to panic. “(Y/n) what’s going on because of you’re gonna beat me up I should let you know I fought Russians last summer and I’m not as uncoordinated as I look an if Steve put you up to this I’m gonna steal his car and drive away forever to hide from my shame-“ You stopped her rambling by putting your hand over her mouth. “Just listen..please.” She nods and you take your hand away. You breathe deeply and look at her.

Robin stares at you for a moment, trying to comprehend all of the words you just said because let’s face it, it was really fast. “Please tell me this isn’t an elaborate prank, I know it’s not a dream because in my dreams you wouldn’t be asking me out in a Family Video.” She begins to ramble again and you just smile. “No it’s not a prank, I’ll pick you up on Friday at 6:30 okay?” “Okay..” Robin stared in awe as you kiss her cheek before handing the keys back to Steve, who just returned from the trash bin.

“Goodnight Robin.” You smile and walk out the front doors. “Goodnight…” She turns to Steve, who pats her on the back and says, “You are absolutely whipped, let’s go.”

Robin couldn’t wait for Friday night.

#stranger things x reader #robin buckley x reader #robin buckley #stranger things #robin x reader #steve and robin

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shamera · 5 months

Text

NaNo day 19

I worked really hard to get to a point where I felt I could at least stop writing for the day without ending it somewhere mid-sentence, lol.

needs a lot of work, but I just need to push through this part first. xiaobao feelin' some things here. things he will not be talking about, no thank you.

He didn’t know how long he froze for, but his eyes were burning by the time Fang Duobing was able to look away from the dungeon boss, thoughts frantic and buzzing in search for the exit.

They fell in. He couldn’t even see walls, much less a place for them to have come from. The boss room felt like a dimension of its own, a protected bubble that would allow no exit once someone ended up there. If he had known… if he hadn’t taken off running…

They might have been food for the monsters if he hadn’t done that. Fang Duobing studied up on dungeons well enough the last several years to understand that they had gotten lucky getting the amount of crystal shards they did, as most dungeons had monsters that were difficult to kill one at a time, yet this one was filled with creatures that were rather weak but made up for their weakness in numbers.

The problem was when they needed only a few crystal shards, but couldn’t take on a swarm of dozens to hundreds of monsters at a time. He should have strategised drawing a few in at a time somehow, even if at the moment he still didn’t know how he would have done that. There must have been a way, at least a way better than running and then ending up in the boss room.

The first handful of years after the gates appeared, no one had been able to defeat dungeon bosses. Many Hunters tried once they discovered their existence, and ultimately lost their lives, and the lives of the teams they brought with them.

It was Jinyuan Alliance’s leader Di Feisheng who cleared the first dungeon, purposefully taking his sect into a do or die situation where they either took down the dungeon boss or didn’t come out. The first dungeon clear had been a shock, and then a cause for celebration as the gate disappeared entirely from a place that had once been a highly visited mall.

He declined all interviews, but the official statement from his PA Jiao Liqiao had been that he wanted to take the top rank, to push and prove himself as the greatest Hunter in the world. Di Feisheng’s persona was that of a cold man who cared not to do good but to become stronger and stronger. He didn’t focus on saving people, but rather on bettering himself.

Immediately after, Sigu Sect cleared a dungeon as well, and then two, and then three. Once it was proven that dungeons were, in fact, not indestructible, Li Xiangyi had turned it into a personal mission to clear dungeon bosses, with or without the help of his sect. While others planned weeks in advance and took large raid parties, by the third clear, Li Xiangyi took only a small group with him, usually with only a few people in excess to give them the experience and knowledge of how to fight a dungeon boss.

But as the dungeons collapsed into nothing, the media portrayed the remaining ones as… stronger, somehow. And soon the celebratory support behind the sects turned into that of doubt and suspicion as Hunters started protesting the closure of the dungeons.

Sure, the first dungeon would be easy to clear. Maybe the second and third as well! But once they closed ten, once they hit more than that… wouldn’t that make it harder for everyone else? If they wanted to close all the dungeons, then sure the last handful would be impossible to do! And it would be more dangerous for any civilians who fell through the gates as well! With the average monsters growing stronger as each dungeon boss was defeated, more Hunters would be put in danger.

But Sigu Sect and Jinyuan Alliance did not stop, and their successes spurred Hunter groups around the world to compete in closing dungeons, until there were less than a hundred all over the world. Until sects had to team up, had to send their best, for a hundred man raid battle against the bosses rather than dedication teams.

And then the disastrous day when Sigu Sect and Jinyuan Alliance fell apart in the middle of a raid, when they started fighting each other along with the boss, when both sects were decimated and most of them died. When the boss was finally defeated, when the dungeon shut down and everyone made it out, they discovered that neither Di Feisheng nor Li Xiangyi had been among the people who returned.

No one ever saw them again.

And then the worst came to pass: gates started appearing around the world once more, randomly, infrequently, but growing as if attempting to balance out the dungeons that had previously been defeated. Every several months, a new one would appear in the world. While the first wave had appeared in the brightest cities in the world, all the subsequent gates were scattered about.

Many over the ocean, some over deserts or rural towns, and there was no way to predict when or where one might appear.

The common speculation was that the gates would stop appearing once they reached their original numbers, and civilians navigating around them became the new normal. Dungeons existed alongside society, and new businesses supporting Hunters and selling scavenged items started popping up.

Many online wrote of their dissent, blaming the new dungeons and the civilian deaths associated with them, the danger of being caught up in a new gate, the feelings of anxiety over never feeling safe enough, all on the old Hunters. On sects like Sigu and Jinyuan, on people like Li Xiangyi and Di Feisheng. If they had only left the dungeons alone, many wrote, then the world wouldn’t be in such a situation! The gates and dungeons were here to stay, and to attempt to abolish them brought about the last decade of uncertainty and fear.

If only the Hunters left the gates alone, then no new ones would have to appear.

Fang Duobing didn’t think so, and spent too many hours of his teen years angrily flaming those posts on Weibo and Baidu forums.

How could the Hunters have possibly known what was going to happen? How could civilians blame them for trying to prevent more innocent people from falling through the gates, from property damage as the gates breathed in size? The sects had a duty to close the gates if they could! They were trying to protect people, and it wasn’t their fault that further gates appeared!

But country after country agreed to stop closing the dungeons, to let the numbers to grow back to its initial size, and Fang Duobing could only seethe in silence.

It was now illegal to confront a dungeon boss, as if any normal person could actually take one on.

It meant no one would be coming to help Fang Duobing, not unless his aunt convinced his parents to sanction the government for a special force to find him. But it would take hours, if not days.

With the way the large coiled creature was already starting to move, responding to Fang Duobing’s presence in its territory, he didn’t have that sort of time.

The only way to leave was through the boss.

But before that, he had to find Li Lianhua.

He had to find Li Lianhua, and then he had to find a way to… to leave somehow. If they could just find two other monsters who might have fallen in with them, if they could take those two out, then they’d be able to get the crystal shards to leave.

(Deep in his mind, Fang Duobing understood that those thoughts were delusional. Ordinary monsters would never enter the boss room, and he could see no exit in any direction.)

He shrunk back into the grass, giving a reprieve to his aching legs as he crawled through the higher grass, hiding and searching.

“Li Lianhua,” he hissed out frantically, unwilling to raise his voice and draw attention, yet also unable to stay silent. “Li Lianhua, where are you?”

As he moved, he could feel the creature waking, stretching, searching. The movements were slow and lethargic so far, just rousing from a deep rest.

“Li Lianhua!” Fang Duobing hissed out again, tone switching to despair. He couldn’t be the only one here, could he? Li Lianhua couldn’t have— how bad was the fall? How far had they fallen? With the way his shoulder felt, he would certainly need medical care after this if they could escape, but… Li Lianhua wasn’t a Hunter, he complained about having to walk after an hour or so, and needed frequent rests. He would spend days in bed when his illness flared up, barely able to eat and definitely without the energy to care for himself. Today’s exertion must have already been too much, and to fall at such a height, he had to—

There was a flash of something pale through the glowing grass, and Fang Duobing made his way over quickly, trying to ignore the rousing monster that was pushing his heart rate into a panic. Around thick clumps of grass, he saw Li Lianhua’s pale clothes, parts of his skin covered in dark red blood that had Fang Duobing reeling.

Li Lianhua was on his back, unmoving, but he didn’t look overly worse for wear. Fang Duobing didn’t know what to do, grabbing at the man’s cold hand to feel for a pulse, and letting out a breath in relief as he found it, slow but steady. There was the beginning of a bruise across his temple on the same side where he sustained the cut, and Fang Duobing didn’t know whether that was because of the fall or if it had been there before, but unseen due to the dim lighting. There were several scratches that tore through the sleeves of his shirt, and one long cut up his thigh, but it didn’t appear to be bleeding too badly. Other than that and the mud splattered across his clothes, he looked relatively alright.

Relatively. Fang Duobing didn’t know how to gauge.

“Li Lianhua, wake up,” he breathed out frantically, gingerly shaking his shoulder. What if he had a spinal injury? A concussion that meant he wouldn’t wake? What if Li Lianhua had internal bleeding that Fang Duobing couldn’t assess, and he was making it worse?

What if he was already too late?

“Wake up, we have to go,” Fang Duobing murmured with wide eyes, darting to look at the moving mountain, the monster that had yet to find them. “We have to hide—”

He must have made too much noise, as suddenly there was a loud roar that reverberated through the cavernous room, shaking the earth under them. The sound was deep, deep enough to settle in his bones and pool within his marrow, laying the foundation of fear.

It was that roar that finally roused Li Lianhua, the man twitching into awareness with a frown that left a deep furrow between his brows. A rhythmic thump spread across the ground like ripples in a pool, and the man’s hand twitched as it hit him.

“Li Lianhua,” Fang Duobing repeated, demanded, because they didn’t have the time for a slow and peaceful awakening. If he had to carry the man out of the dungeon himself, then Fang Duobing would do that. The thumps on the ground were quickly growing in frequency as Li Lianhua finally opened his eyes, awareness settling in quickly despite the way his eyes were unfocused. With that acknowledgement that the man was awake, Fang Duobing pulled him forward and up. “No time, we have to find a place to hide.”

To his credit, Li Lianhua didn’t protest or even indicate discomfort from his injuries, following along with Fang Duobing’s movement until he caught sight of the towering monsters that was rising from its coiled position, revealing more lines of sharp spines that curled around its form, twining its way down corded flesh that was starting to pulse with discolouration, the fleshy pink and browns sliding into an array of blues and purples that mirrored the colours of the gate.

He didn’t know where the reflex came from, but within a moment Fang Duobing managed to pull Li Lianhua all the way to his feet while he got up himself, and yank them both out of the way as a large tendril slammed into the ground where they had previously been. There was a shrieking sound from the plants crushed underneath the tendril.

The pulsing tendril hit deep into the earth, and pulled back slowly as Fang Duobing stared in shock and horror, hands grabbing tightly on Li Lianhua’s shoulder and arm, sure that he would leave bruises.

It was as thick as a dinner plate, yet nowhere as large as the monster. Where did it come from?

“Move!” Li Lianhua’s voice was raspy, and soon the two of them were stumbling away from the boss, feet bumbling over the ground as the thumps continued, attempting to trip them up.

The roar came once more, feeling like a wave crashing into them and pushing them as physical as a hurricane of wind.

Fang Duobing stumbled, crashing forward into the soft earth alongside Li Lianhua, who exhaled sharply in pain at the fall. Then he stopped, and yanked Fang Duobing toward him as he rolled away, and a moment later there was the crash of another tendril right where Fang Duobing had been, mere inches away and close enough that he could feel the resulting gust.

“Stop,” Li Lianhua commanded before Fang Duobing could scramble up, chest to chest as they drew panicked breaths. His thin arms were bracketing Fang Duobing, weight painful on his ribs. “Don’t move.”

Above them to the side, the tendril was pulling up, shining with a purple light like smoke as it slowly retreated, and Fang Duobing stared with bated breath as it withdrew toward the monster, and the thumping of the ground slowed and stopped.

The monster made another noise, this time less a roar but rather something higher pitched, and Fang Duobing stayed frozen.

“It’s movement,” Li Lianhua breathed against him. “It senses movement on the ground.”

They stayed utterly still, and the monster made another one of the pitched noises, its every movement rumbling through the dirt. Despite not being able to see the monster clearly as they lay in the grass, he could feel its movements as it searched for them. As they held still to the point of holding their breaths, the creature emitted noises like clicks, at first slow and then growing in speed and pitch. The sounds of shrieking grass became a chorus as the monster slithered and crushed it.

Fang Duobing’s eyes were wide, staring straight at Li Lianhua, afraid that even the motion of looking away might attract the attention of the boss monster.

They were tentatively safe for the moment, lying on the grass, but that safety wouldn’t last with the way the creature was moving around the cavern. It couldn’t last when they weren’t allowed to move, but the moment they did move, then—

Fang Duobing was fairly confident in his ability to take down some dungeon monsters, reassured of his martial training if nothing else. But the creature searching for them now was beyond anything he imagined fighting by himself. He didn’t even have a proper weapon, nothing more than a small wooden sword he carried with him for luck.

Above him, Li Lianhua’s mouth flattened into a stern line, likely reading Fang Duobing’s panic. He was always good at figuring out Fang Duobing’s thoughts with a look. It was something that fascinated Fang Duobing at first, and then irritated him later, until he was determined to do the same.

They could wait there, rest while they could, but with the way each sound the monster made was making his heart pound faster, it seemed more likely that the longer they waited, the more ill prepared he would be. Panic created mistakes, Fang Duobing knew.

No one was coming for them.

There was no way of getting out.

But he couldn’t afford to start a fight he couldn’t win. The fear crashing against his throat and faltering his breathing was screaming at him very clearly that he couldn’t win. He didn’t have the skills, he didn’t have the experience. Even if he did have both, he didn’t have a team to back him up. He was already injured. He had to keep Li Lianhua safe.

“If it could tell where we were by movement,” Li Lianhua muttered lowly under his breath, and Fang Duobing almost shushed him for it except the man looked too deep in thought to pay him any mind. “Then we would have been killed the moment we fell in. It didn’t do that. Why?”

Fang Duobing struggled with his urge to stay completely still to the point of not speaking for a long moment, but as the monster continued to move a direction not close to them for the moment, he risked, “It seemed asleep.”

“No,” Li Lianhua’s eyes were narrowed in thought. “Anything could drop in here. This cave is at the bottom of the dungeon. A creature that big would need to conserve energy, it can’t go chasing after every rock dropped into this room. It’s about secondary movement. Like a venus fly trap.”

Fang Duobing didn’t know anything about venus fly traps except for the shape and that it ate insects.

Another series of pitchy clicks erupted above them, and Fang Duobing tensed his jaw even as he stared at Li Lianhua worrying his lower lip in thought.

No one was coming for them. The thought bounced continuously in his head. His mother would be so mad. She always said that his obsession with being a Hunter, with dungeons, would get him killed. She had done everything in her power to lock that path from her only child, even as Fang Duobing raged and rebelled against her orders.

She was going to be so, so mad about being right.

He couldn’t give up. He had to… to…

It wasn’t until Li Lianhua shifted slightly above him to touch his shoulder that Fang Duobing realised he was shaking. The older man looked down at him and then closed his eyes for a moment, expression softening.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I have a plan. But I need you to do something.”

Fang Duobing couldn’t nod, but said, “Anything.” Li Lianhua was smart, so much smarter than he often let on, which was astonishing because Li Lianhua had never been shy about boasting his own intelligence. If anyone could come up with a plan in this situation, it would be him.

“Close your eyes.” Li Lianhua told him, shockingly intimate as they lay chest to chest and Fang Duobing found himself flushing in that moment where he hadn’t before. They were injured, dirty, and bloodied, yet Li Lianhua’s hair was escaping from his loosened bun, and the strands were tickling the side of Fang Duobing’s face. “Count to a hundred. All the way to a hundred. Don’t move before then.”

Fang Duobing made a face. “What? That’s not a plan— Li Lianhua—”

A slight movement, but it was enough that the clicking from the monster petered out, and a rough hand covered his eyes, prompting Fang Duobing to close them unintentionally. Li Lianhua’s skin was cold, his poor circulation not helped by blood loss.

“Count.” Li Lianhua told him, and in the absence of sight, Fang Duobing could feel the warmth of his breath. “And don’t move, no matter what. It’s part of my plan.”

And then he was gone. His weight, his warmth, the hand across Fang Duobing’s eyes… Between one moment and the next, he was gone and Fang Duobing squeezed his eyes shut to start mentally counting, trusting in Li Lianhua’s plan. He was smart, he always knew what to do—

The monster roared once more, and the thumping on the earth began once more, like ripples across a pond.

Locating movement, Fang Duobing realised now.

There were heavy thuds, great hits against the dirt that he could feel, at a distance from his person, and he wondered just what Li Lianhua managed to do that drew the monster away. Hopefully, Fang Duobing prayed, throwing stones to divert its attention. But where was Li Lianhua himself?

A heavy shaking, a great impact that had Fang Duobing clenching his fists, and then the creature gave out a pitched scream, discordant like the sounds of faulty machinery, the frequency vibrating through his bones.

A beat, another, and Fang Duobing continued to count even as his conviction wavered hearing the shrieking flowers from one area and another, and the feeling of the boss monster moving, the shaking of the ground underneath him overpowering even the rapid beating of his heart. Each moment built his anxiety, his fear, his uncertainty, and Fang Duobing felt like a bow string drawn tight, verging on breaking.

He was halfway through his count, his entire body a ball of tension, when he smelt it.

Beyond the pained shrieking of the creature was a sharp, heavy ozone smell. Metallic. Almost warm, in a way that alarmed his senses.

Blood. A lot of it.

He couldn’t stay still. He couldn’t keep his eyes closed. If something happened to Li Lianhua, and he sat back and didn’t do anything—

Li Lianhua was smart, so smart, but Fang Duobing was now remembering all the times the man would throw himself in dangerous situations or anger the wrong people with his sharp tongue, never once backing down despite being outnumbered and outclassed. How many times had Fang Duobing stepped in to stop a fight? How many times had Li Lianhua been in danger without him even knowing it?

He opened his eyes to the glow of the grass, the lights escaping up toward the ceiling, and found there was a plume of dust fogging the area high above. He shouldn’t move. Movement would draw the attention of the dungeon boss, and it might ruin Li Lianhua’s entire plan—

But the man never told him the plan. And he was never good at keeping himself out of danger.

With gritted teeth, Fang Duobing carefully and quickly pushed himself up and got his feet under him, crouching in the tall grass but now able to see over it. What he saw was the giant worm-like monster, except now it was halfway uncoiled, unravelled like the frayed end of a rope to reveal itself made of dozens of tendrils of purple-blue, pulling apart to reveal a dark abyss at the centre, so black it looked like a hole in the fabric of reality. Some of the tendrils had serrated edges, the spines he originally saw, and writhed wildly in pain.

Half the tendrils on one side of the creature lay cut and limp, leaking what could only be a blackened blood as the entirety of the monster flailed upward away from a figure and a shine.

A figure in pale clothes that landed before the monster with their back to Fang Duobing, hair unbound and wild, and one arm extended to reveal a glowing blue sword held firmly and with impeccable control.

It was a posture he had seen before many years ago. On a figure he in recent years came to know all too well.

And then the figure moved once more, barely having landed on the ground for a split second before he was back in the air in a display like a dance, twisting to evade two tendrils that shot at him and spinning the glowing blue blade to slice through yet another tendril, prompting the monster to let out another piercing cry and lash out blindly.

The movements were beautiful and almost otherworldly, speaking to years of experience and practised grace. He landed on a tendril, already off running before it could sweep down under his weight, and pushed on higher, higher in the air until he twisted above the monster entirely despite the size of it, hair a curtain trailing after him.

And then Li Lianhua came back down, in one sweeping move slicing through the rest of the monster tendrils.

#NaNoWriMo #mlc nano 2023 #i am both excited but also hold so much apprehension for the solo levelling anime help #and then today i fell right back into orv for a few hours #if my descriptions are bad i'm sorry it's 5am i am very tired and couldn't figure out fight scenes #didn't think I'd write much today because headache so thank goodness for painkillers hurrah!#see you guys tomorrow with more of my dungeon nonsense!

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obito76 · 1 year

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Lizardon888X on AO3 :

I have an idea for a chapter, how about Dick and Ravsn have sex in the gym in Titans Tower? It could be that Dick is going to the gym working out and he catches Raven there doing her own workout routine and he gets excited watching her voluptuous body in her gym outfit. They do their own workout routine the same time they flirt with each other, and then end having sex using the gym equipment with the risk of being caught in the act, so they need to be careful lol

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Chapter 41 : A different Gym

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She smirked when she saw him in the gym. He was wearing just a pair of gym shorts and his mask. His shirt was lying on the bench, drenched with sweat and long forgotten. His back was facing her as she walked in. Dick was in the middle of a set of squats as she went to the treadmill to work on her running. All she did was glide and he wanted her to be able to run long distance if the need arise beside watching him half naked was nothing but a treat to her.

“Nice ass.” Raven said to alerting him she was there. He just grunted in response and kept on exercising. She watched him as he moved to the pull up bar and started those. He looked at her in confusion as she kept running and staring at him.

“What?” he panted at her in exasperation.

“Well i was kinda expecting you to come here and atleast squeeze my tits.” She stated blankly in her fitting monotone.

“I will, after I'm done with this,” he replied watching her pensively.

“Aren’t you making this difficult for me?” She smirked.

“Just do your work and i will fuck you later in shower.” He laughed with her as she turned back to the treadmill to increase speed and check her heart rate. Dick went back to focusing on his pull ups, reaching one hundred effortlessly. Raven turned back to him and asked,

“Where is Starfire?”

“Probably in her room.” He said not even looking at her.

“That's good” She said, smiling to herself. Dick pause for a second and dropped down from the bar and made his way towards the treadmill. They smiled at eachother before he lifted up his arm and groped one of her bouncing tits, giving it a tight squeeze as she continued to run on treadmill.

“I love it, when you're so impatient and this ready to get fucked.” He told her chuckling as she laughed covering her mouth as her own hand encouraged Dick's to fondle her chest more.

“It's your fault, fucking me so good, i can't wait to have you inside me again.” Dick smiled as she leaned down and pecked on his lips. “Now go and do your set, you can have them laster,” she said. Referring to his hand, still squeezing her breast. Dick laughed before lightly slapping it upwards. Raven gasped and glared at him as she watched him waking towards the heavy machines, Asshole.

Titans tower, aside from a comfortable living area, incredibly expensive looking sauna and shower also held an impressive amount of workout tools. Dipping Bars, hyper extension bench, a smith machine, Ab bench, pec deck machine, Kettlebells, etc you name it. It was a like a gym freaks paradise. Raven herself had already finished her daily workout routine; ending it with a 30 minute yoga session like always.

When she had first asked Dick to join her, he was understandably exited . The leader had expected her to use this opportunity to fuck some more but to his surprise the pale girl had kept mostly to herself. Dick’s own workout plan was coming to an end as well but he didn’t feel like yoga. He settled for something more masculine instead. The bench press machine was his calling. Normally, he did 3 sets on 200 pounds but wanting to push himself more he decided to increase it to 215 pounds. It wasn’t his personal best of 245, but that was when he went to Gotham after becoming nightwing.

The leather of the bench felt good on his back as he lay down both legs spread far apart from like always. At first, he didn’t even feel the difference but after the 15 rep his muscles started to take notice. 'Maybe I should put it back to 200 pounds.' Dick thought as he reset the weight on the holder, having successfully completed his first set.

“What are you doing?” A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Crap, is she gonna tease now? His eyes slowly panned down from the ceiling to find his sexy partner standing before him.

Raven had just finished her yoga session and secretly sauntered over to him. Dick couldn’t help but admire her form. She was clad in a simple black sports bra, her cleavage shiny from the still fresh sweat. As Dick looked closer, he noted her nipples were erect. Must be hard with those breasts bouncing about. He mused. His eyes traced down from the burdened top, past her taut midsection and the cobblestones of her abs to her waist. Unexpectedly, she was wearing sport shorts. The confused man always assumed she’d wear leggings or yoga pants. However, the shorts clung to her full rear end very perfectly. Not that he was complaining about this one.

“You know. Just felt like finishing it up with a good old bench press. Nothing special.”

“That’s good to know. We are gonna need some serious muscle if we want to break out all villains. What you pulling?”

“215, nothing special.” Dick answered trying his best to play it cool.

“215? That is impressive” Raven said solely stroking the resting weight. “I like strong men.”

“Of course I happen to know some people who does 230.” Raven finished with a wicked smile. His little smirk vanished. Fucking tease, Dick thought as he flexed his hands against the bar.

“Really, I would have expected you like someone pulling something like 250 at least. This is nothing. I was just getting warmed up. I can do 230 easy.”

“I got you babe.” She commented, letting the affectionate term slip in. “Allow me to help you out in that case.”

Before Dick could come up with an excuse; let alone mutter an objection, Raven had already gone down to her knees and was putting on the additional 15 pounds on the rack

“There you go! Have fun.” She leaned over him, offering an eyeful of her cleavage and a pad to his shoulders as encouragement. “I in the meantime l'm gonna make myself a shake.”

While Raven’s butt was slowly swaying away Dick was left with the heavy bar hanging over his head reminding him an awful lot of a guillotine. Oh well nightwing, Can´t let her win now. Besides it’s just 15 pounds more. How bad can it be?

It turned out that it was a lot worse than even he had expected. By the 8th rep his shirt was drenched in sweat, at the 12th rep his muscles felt as if they were about to rip apart, by the 18 rep his leg started to physically shake.

“Good job Dick. Just 2 more reps and you can relax for a bit again.” Raven slunk back in, a shake in hand. She was also content to sit back and watch Dick work out. From what Dick could make out the shake had a very thick, white texture, with a heavy dose of crushed ice mixed to it. Raven relish it, moving around every sip into her mouth for a long time like you would expect a wine taster to do before finally allowing herself the granting herself the pleasure of swallowing. Surprisingly enough Raven had also used the time to wash her face. Dark violet eyes and natural face without anything on it, she looked fucking gorgeous. With an near impossible amount of self control Dick was able to do the last two reps. His arms heavy as lead fell down to his side the moment he let go of the bar. His breath was heavy, his body covered in sweat and his legs felt like they were made out of pudding. Back in the Gotham he only had to do one rep. He recounted the contest within him and Bat family where greater and greater weight was stacked upon the bar. He had come in 4th.

“Mmmh pretty good so far. Do you want to try out your earlier thesis? Want me to increase it to 250 and prove to me that you can do 250 too?”

“Fuck, I don’t know.”

“Just think about it a bit longer.” Finishing her shake with one last sip “Mmmmh. That was good but also waay too little. I just love my protein shakes after a good hard workout you know. The white goodness fills me up with sooo much energy. I can hardly get enough of them. The thicker the better. But you know what I am really hungry for right about now?”

“What?”

Raven sat down on the bench directly opposite Dick’s spread legs; so close that their knees were touching. If he could bend his head higher he would have a view of just how tightly bunched her shorts were. “What I really want is to taste your cum.”

Dick’s cock twitched at the thought of her between his legs. It was strong enough to nearly rip his boxers apart, such was the speed of his erection. Although, he had being tricked by her before when his all teammates were there, to fall for this again, at least right away. “Yeah right, you are just gonna give me some major case of blue balls again.”

“Hey, that is not fair!” Raven objected yet started to massage Dicks thighs nonetheless. “While I do love filling up those big balls of yours, last time I really wanted to give you some relief.”

She released his thighs and pulled back into a stretch. “After all you were ok with helping me out but then your girlfriend had to come and ruin all the fun. But lucky for you we are all alone right now.”

Dick batted her dark purple eyes and slunk down to his level. She dragged, achingly slow in Dick’s opinion, her body across his until they were face to face. “So what do you say? Are you gonna feed this girl or am I gonna have to beg first?”

Dick was conflicted. He did trust Raven when it came to anything related to him getting his rocks off. However, the way she war smirking was a clear indication that she was planning something. Add to that Raven’s erect nipples were rock hard and cutting into his chest like diamonds.

“Alright.” He murmured, resigning himself to whatever she had in store.

“What was that?” Raven’s smile widened and she cup a hand to her ear. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Alright!” He shouted.

“You will?! Thaat's my baby!” Raven kissed Dick full on the mouth before pushing herself off him. “Let’s get this started.”

Raven got up and stacked more weight onto the bar before sitting back so she was straddling his hips; the conspicuous bulge of his member practically pressing against her crotch. “The rules are simple. The more reps, the more pumps. The more pumps...well, I think you get the point.”

Dick sighed, sucking in a deep breath before unhooking the bar. His muscles strained for a minute; shaking against the bar and the added weight. Slowly, he brought the weight down until it was nearly at his chest before heaving against it. It rose back up until it was even with the rack. Dick managed to twist the lock and getting back into place.

“That’s one.” Raven commented. “That deserves a reward.”

She reached down between her legs and plucked at his shorts. His member, she already knew it was quite erect, was pressing out absurdly against the soft material. With a flick of her wrist the shorts crept down several inches and the base of his cock sprung into view. “I can’t get over it baby.”

“Huh?” Dick’s brain was fighting for blood.

“How big it is. Even flaccid like this.” She started to lovingly stroke the base. “It’s just so thick. And….mmm...full of life.”

Raven scooted slightly and yanked his pants the rest of the way down before continuing. Deft hands wrapped around the member and gave it a long, loving stroke. At the end Raven dropped her hands to her thighs. “Keep going. No pumping from me unless there’s pumping from you.”

Dick reached up and grasped the bars. Slowly, he repeated the maneuver. It was actually somewhat easier this time for him to complete rep. A fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Raven. “Did it faster did you? Well, I may have to up the challenge. But first, we need to wake up this gorgeous cock.”

As she promised, her hands once against pressed themselves against his member. Achingly slow, she stroked the cock fully. It was still not completely hard, but her hands travelled the entire length of it. With her effort complete, Raven did not drop back to her thighs, instead she let her digits explore further. Pushing aside his member, her fingers groped the edges of his balls. Her favourite cum factories sloshed in her hands when she felt them. Fuck, i really want to sniff them, Raven thought. In the back of her mind another thought occurred to her, Raven returned to her post. “Keep it up.”

Dick didn’t miss the double meaning of her words. So the game continued until his cock was good and hard. Hard enough to Raven’s liking. When she was satisfied Raven got up from her perch and knelt beside him.

“I think you’ve had enough of this weight.” Raven whispered in his ear. “How about we up the amount.”

Before he could answer she added more plates to either side. “There we go baby. Why don’t you give those a shot.”

Raven went to sit back down but yelped and stood up. Reaching down, she grabbed his member and pushed it out of her way. “Fucking hell. Your cock is so eager. Poking me like that. I really love that. I bet you’ve been a really lady killer.”

“Who knows better than you.” He managed to respond.

“Just look at how big this is and warm.” For a second she scooted forward and pressed it against her body. From base to tip it was an incredible ideal of a manhood, and snuggled against her stomach it reached all the way to the underside of her large bust. His muscles were not straining but the same couldn’t be said for his member. It was alive from his efforts; hard and throbbing. It slapped softly against her abs with the beating of Dick’s heart. Rubbing a thumb across the tip she felt a bead of precum forming.

Raven slowly swirled her finger around; spreading the delicious fluid around under it coated the sensitive underside of his cockhead. Dick responded to her tease by letting out a long sigh and tightly gripping the weight bar. Raven felt herself start to get wet; her tongue darted out and moistened her kissable lips. I could do this forever. She thought, still joyfully rubbing his member; oblivious to his discomfort. A part of her brain however remembered the challenge and she snapped out of her hypnosis. “Ooops, almost got carried away there.” She laughed, “Can’t reward you that easily.”

With a gleam in her beautiful purple eyes Raven hopped off the bench. She slid another 5lb weight onto one side of the bar then repeated it for the other before resuming her position. Dick looked at her curiously. “What’s that for?”

“Why the challenge of course.” Dick groaned but Raven held up a hand. “You want to be better than other men right?”

To emphasize her point, she tugged at his balls. Each one felt perfect in her hands. “So what do you say?”

Dick stared at the ceiling and sighed. “Alright.”

“Excellent.” She gripped his cock tightly before reminding him of the rules. “Let’s see what you can do. One rep, one pump. One set, one suck.”

Dick’s muscles burned and his entire body shook as he struggled with the increase in weight. He never before did this much weight and his entire body cried out in pain. Well, except one part. Raven’s smooth hands felt like they were massaging his aching member. In truth, she was just holding it, the strain he was experiencing was causing his cock to vibrate within her grip. Maybe it was the offer of a blowjob that pushed him onward, but he managed to finish a single set.

Raven held the cock next to her stomach. The tip drooled precum onto the underside of her sports bra. “I mean look at this cock. I don’t think I am ever gonna stop fucking you. It’s just too damn perfect. Starfire is one nasty bitch to keep this all to herself.”

That was hot. But Raven had a dick this big, if not bigger, inside of her. Who that studly cock belonged to would remain her little secret. “But, you did the reps so you get rewarded.”

Slowly at first, Raven pumped the entire length of his member; her hands managing to encircle the girth. The cock was already leaking a steady stream of precum. Raven licked her hand before gripping him again. More lube for this. She thought as she sped up, part in wanting to continue her game and part because something else was bubbling beneath her skin. Desire.

The head of Dick’s member was almost red in colour. So filled with blood that it quivered with her strokes; each one bringing more and more of his delicious, decadent precum out. After 10 strokes she stopped. She held the cock firmly at the base and slithered down until it was nearly at eye level. Raven licked her lips before planting a long kiss firmly at the tip. The scent of precum filled her nose and her taste buds when she pulled back. Was he just extra delicious today? The pale girl wondered. Reluctantly she pushed herself away from the towering member and did her dance once again. Another 5lbs hits both ends of the rack and she resumed her position between his legs. This time she held his cock in her hands.

Dick wanted to stop, his muscles burned and pleaded with him. Yet a sexy witch had him by the balls, literally, and he wasn’t about to let up. Sex or the promise of sex filled his thoughts as he fought against gravity and his body’s own desire to stop. You can do this. You can do this. He muttered, like a perverted tank engine trying to go up a hill, he slowly worked the bar up and down. The great strain of which caused his cock to vibrate. He didn’t see that of course, Raven certainly did.

Azhar, he’s going to make it. She thought. Raven was torn. On the one hand she wanted him to fail. On the other, she wanted him to succeed. She wanted to pleasure the cock that was trembling with each rep that he did. The cock that even now caused a pool of pre cum to coat her fingers. You’re losing it girl. To her shock and secretly: delight, Dick managed to finish another set at a weight that would injure a normal person. His head was bright red from the strain and glossy from his sweat.

“Good work honey.” Raven complimented, beginning to stroke his aching cock. Dick couldn’t muster a response; his breathing was coming in long deep breaths. His arms hung limply against the bar and he looked ready to pass out. Each stroke sent a shiver into her paramore before a splattered of juice came out.

Raven went in for a taste once again, her impatient lips wrapping around his cock like she had done countless times before. His seed filled her mouth and coated her tongue with it’s flavor. Even as she let more of his cock in, she savored his taste. Her tongue rolled and curled over the large intruder that she willingly let in. She backed out for a mere second, letting the tip of her tongue play along the sensitive slit of his member before driving it back inside. Raven pulled at her bra, trying to let some air into two perfect swell of her chest. God it’s hot in here. Her nipples pressed out like diamonds and scraped across the bench. Each little flick causing jolts of pleasure to run through her veins. Her mouth kept pushing forward; the throbbing dick was too much for Raven. The sensitive glans pressed against her throat and she willed herself to take it in.

Raven abandoned her challenge; pleasing the cock before her was all that mattered. Her self-control was slipping away. How long ago was it since she sucked his cock? How long since he fucked her good? Not too long, since they had mind-blowing sex last night. Raven bobbed her head up and down on his cock, even a little side to side whilst rolling her tongue around. Dick for his part, did not protest at this change of plans. His grip on the bar slackened but didn’t fail as he let out a moan. His cock throbbed under Raven’s talented ministrations. Her mouth was so warm, and throat so tight. It was exactly what he wanted.

Without any regard to her partner, Raven yanked at him; pulling him to the edge of the bench. She felt a distinct dampness forming between her legs as she continued to work his cock. Fuck! Raven popped free of the cock; disconnecting herself from it for a brief moment. Before Dick could complain, much less utter a single syllable, she pressed herself against his member. Her tongue lapped at the shaft and the cum that continued to drool out. She coasted down the shaft, peppering it with kisses until she reached the base. His balls, her favourite, barely restrained within their sack, felt warm as she pressed her nose into them, inhaling his scent deeply. Raven sucked one of the testicles into her mouth; rejoicing at how it felt even as it’s twin rolled around her chin. She sucked his balls gently, the skin rolling with her tongue. At the same time her free hand continued to pump his member. Her other hand pressed passed her full breasts and down to her crotch. The dampness was becoming unbearable. If Dick could see her, and he couldn’t, he’d see how her butt constantly shifted positions; her legs trying in vain to ward off the fire in her loins.

She released the one testicle only to suck in the other. Raven repeated her actions; rolling the ball around her hot mouth, teasing the sensitive skin with her tongue. She knew she was successful. Dick was a hot mess. One leg shook uncontrollably and a constant stream of groans erupted from his lips. Raven had enough of her teasing and popped out his balls from her mouth befor giving a small kiss to each of them.

“Mmmm,” She licked the shaft. “Do you like that Dick?”

Dick could only groan in response. The groan intensified as Raven slipped his dripping cock back into her mouth. To no one’s surprise, it easily slid in halfway before it encountered any resistance. Her desire made her actions desperate, frantic even. Up and down she bobbed her head upon the monolithic member. Her tongue savored the taste of precum as it dribbled down in fits and squirts. Dick’s dick seemed to flare in size; his orgasm building up. Yes, do it. Give it to me, cum baby! She chanted. Well, she would have chanted if she didn’t have dick down her throat. Not that Raven was complaining either. Down below, she held her right leg up against her sex; vainly trying to increase the pleasure she received.

“Are you two finished?” A call erupted from Raven’s right side from behind the close doors. It may have well been a shout. The girl tensed, tightening the grip on Dick’s cock to nearly painful levels. Her throat seized and she nearly gagged on the member. Raven grunted in annoyance before letting a long breath of frustration, though she was glad she locked the before coming in here.

“No!” They shouted simultaneously.

“You are now.” Vic shouted through the doors. How she failed to sense him, baffled her. Maybe for once Raven had gotten too far into her actions. “Pack up and let’s go. We are going to Titans East remember?.”

Raven looked over at Dick, her hands still gripped tightly on his cock. Precum still poured out of the tip like a delicious meal and it continued to twitch hard enough to make Ravens hand move. Somewhat reluctantly, she released it. “Sorry, you heard him.”

Dick sighed, this one wasn’t on her. Raven watched, almost disappointed, as his cock flopped down. It rested again his stomach giving Raven some visuals she will masterbating on later. Once more his balls were denied a chance to release a payload of cum across Raven. In her mind he could have coated her face with his sticky and hot cum.

“Ready to go bird boy?” Raven stated, clearly frustrated that she will have to wait again. She had too, lest she returned and finish the job she so desperately wanted to do. Behind her, Dick watched her well formed butt sway as she walked away. He carefully packed his member back into his shorts though it was still throbbing.

“I guess so.” He got to the door where Raven was waiting.

“Just one thing.”

“Yeah?” She opened a small cabinet and removed a spray bottle and towel; quickly shoving them into his chest before pecking on his lips.

“You’re leaving a mess. Go clean up after yourself.” Raven smiled and gave him another lingering kiss. Grumbling, he complied. He followed his trail back to the machine and scrubbed away any indication that they were here.

“Cleaning up?” Dick looked up to see Cyborg staring at him. The half machine was wearing a grey sweatpants and a sleevless t-shirt. Completely different than his usual look.

“Raven’s orders.” He went back to his work.

“You’re kinda being aggressive though.” he approached him, examining the bench press with a critical eye. “Did something happened?.”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Nothing, just Raven seemed to be little off when she saw me.”

“You really should work on your timing, Cy!” He growled and finished his job before leaving as well.

“What the heck, what did I do?” Cyborg rubbed at his head.

#robrae #dickrae #teen titans #raven roth #raven teen titans #smut #dick grayson #robin #smut prompts #dick grayson x raven #raven x robin #robin x raven #raven smut #teen titans smut #smut writing #shameless smut #send me prompts

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kyogre-blue · 1 year

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I’ve finished the major world quest of the 3.6 new area and, despite my own intentions, am about 80% through the exploration, so I guess I’ll quickly give my thoughts.

For the world quest, I set it to auto and didn’t read much of anything, though I’ll try to check out the summary on the wiki later (it’s not done yet). It was long! Not sure if longer than Aranara, but definitely long. And given that this is yet another race of squishy floating things, I really just... I do not care. That’s too many small creatures that we’ll never see again because they’re tied to a specific area. It’s not even NPC land anymore, we’re not even dealing with humans now. I’m tired of it all.

Regarding the lore, it seems to be just another round of “things got real fucked up 500 years ago and these brave souls died to stop it, btw your brother was here.” A mention of Dain too, but doesn’t seem to be anything actually new in all this.

I also did all the other local world quests except the time gated one with the Fontaine artist and the one for dealing with the tree circle gates or whatever.

Regarding the gadget, I hate it. It’s really annoying to have to switch to it and back all the time, since that always gets you a loading screen, and some of the mechanics require you to alternate between doing a thing as Sorush and doing a thing as Traveler. Almost as annoying is when you only switch in to press her skill once and then switch back out, which really feels like... why is there not an option to just have her use her skill while she’s following you?

But worse is the three axis movement. Going up is okay. But going down? It’s tied to left Ctrl key, and it is extremely unnatural. I also keep pressing Z instead which... exits the gadget mode.............. Awful design.

Speaking of the new mechanics, there are waaaaay too many. They’re all crammed into this one area, and it’s not like they’re complex, but it’s silly to have all these different tutorials just for mechanics that are going to get discarded in no time. Half the time, I don’t even engage with them. Yeah, Sorush can move that zipline, but you know, I can also just climb the cliff with less hassle.

It’s all just really intrusive, imo, and Sorush’s animations seem to be bigger and more distracting than previous pets too.

In regard to the actual area itself, it’s kind of a mixed bag.

Part of it is More Desert, there’s also More Caves, which are not good things. Part of it is a rather pretty forest, and there’s also the industrial areas from Khaenri’ah underground as well. I guess my overall feeling is that it’s simultaneously too similar to the rest of Sumeru but they also went too hard on the small details in an attempt to set it apart. It really just feels like a rehash of Aranyaka in a lot of ways, which isn’t great.

I didn’t necessarily feel the exploration itself was bad, but the up-down of the cliffs, combined with their difficult to climb shape, makes it not really enjoyable to traverse casually.

It’s actually somewhat reminiscent of Watatsumi. The way some of the puzzles will lead you around areas is similar from what I remember as well. A youtuber mentioned just after the version update that it seems like Genshin has several teams working on creating new areas, and the teams have individual quirks in how they design the maps, so I wonder if maybe the same people worked on this and Watatsumi. It’s just my speculation though.

But it looks like I’ll be able to wrap this place up before the flagship event starts, come back for the exploration event somewhere later in the patch, and then never return again. Just gotta make sure to get all the Kaveh flowers while I’m here lol

#playing genshin

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atxxzist · 1 year

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Hi. I just wanted to drop this here after binge reading Broken. I'm in shambles. Literally.. The more I read on the more I was drawn in. It's really been quite a while since I got to read some good Ateez [series] fics. Often times there aren't many series/long fics... I'm also unfortunately a sorta, picky reader so that makes it harder for me to just read anything. But still I applaud all Authors for putting in the effort and writing regardless!! It's not easy, but do what u love 🤍 As for yours, I'm convinced. Writing was on point as well. I absolutely love it so far. There are also a few things that truly spoke to me with ur writing! But I'll share those another time. Looks like I'm gona be sticking around for a while 🫡. I've completely fallen for the characterization of Yeosang!! Just so u know. I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT. BUT I WENT SEARCHING; AND READ FOR SAN, but ended up falling for Yeosang. Like what's even up with that. I'm just so exited to see what's up next. Again thank you for sharing ur work 🤍 I will be browsing through Tumblr with giddiness and restlessness for the next few hours. Sleep can certainly wait. & classes can certainly be skipped XD. BUT SERIOUSLY, Broken is gona be replaying in my head so much that there's even a chance I fall asleep and dream about it. 😭😭😭😭

crying 😭 first of all, ty 4 taking the time to send in such a long and thoughtful message. i honest 2 god have not been having the greatest time when it comes 2 writing 😭 i was rlly excited 4 the upcoming chapter but its proving to be a lot more difficult than i thought lol, and am just v swamped with life in general that even finding the time to actually sit down and write is hard. but enuff of that, i am glad you gave the story a chance bc y/n's pain has always been one ive been wanting to write 4 a very long time lmao and i hope 2 b able to convey it the way i have in my head.

more under the cut

and yeosang, omg. was honestly kind of worried abt his characterization at first bc he rlly isnt a bad person, but with how he acted initially, it is fair some would write him off as an ahole. im just relieved i was able to get that across, that he is a lot more than what he shows around y/n and what she thinks of him. and next chapter kind of breaks down his character more so i am also excited 4 his backstory. but by the time im answering this, i hope u got 2 sleep and attended your classes lmaoo. again, ty 💕 u made my day.

#ask[💌]#[foreshadxw👤]#fic: broken

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emometalhead · 2 years

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Aftershock Day 4 Recap!!

Here's the bands I saw: The Warning, Underoath, The Pretty Reckless, Bring Me The Horizon, Shinedown, and Muse

We were all pretty dead yesterday morning. We intended to see an earlier band, but weren't able to leave the house on time. Plus, an artist dropped out, so the entire schedule got moved up. Due to this, we only caught the end half of The Warning's set. They were amazing! I had high hopes, because I really love their music! I heard them on the radio a while back, and fell in love. Great music, plus I always love seeing+supporting all female bands. It makes me happy to see women having success in the rock and metal scenes. My dad and brother hadn't listened to them prior, but were really impressed with what they heard. Great start to the final day of the festival.

It was already hot out, and as I said before we were really tired. We ended up sitting down at the center barrier fairly close to the stage. We waited in the shade to rest up before the next band. The next band was Underoath! I knew a couple of their songs from the radio, and listened to a bit more prior to the festival. They didn't play anything I was familiar with, but they rocked hard! We were on the side barrier the entire time, so it was a great view. I also saw Caity Babs (from Sirius XM) walking by during the set. I took a picture of her! My dad and I were hoping to meet her this year, but we weren't able to work her meet and greets into our schedule.

Yesterday was definitely the calmest day in terms of how much stuff we did. We had a bit of time in between Underoath and the next set, so we got lunch. Lunch was nice. We were able to get a bench, and chilled for a minute before refilling our waters and going into another crowd. We happened to walk by the guys I was with for MCR! I said hi to the guy I met in the Mikey line, and we talked for a minute. They were at the same sets as me for the rest of the evening, but we didn't see each other again. It was cool to see the dudes for a minute though. The guys were all really excited to see me and say hi. That felt awesome. So happy to have made some friends. I'll definitely be meeting up with them again next year or if they're ever in town again.

The next set was The Pretty Reckless! I've been a fan for many years. Taylor Momsen is an icon!! I love her style and her vocals. She's a force!! The band was supposed to be at the festival last year, but canceled their tour. It was amazing to actually be able to see them. Taylor looked so hot, sounded better than on her records (which is crazy because her voice is phenomenal on her albums), and put on a great show! The band was so talented, and the crowd was a ton of fun to be in. There were a lot of crowdsurfers, and I got kicked in the head 🤦‍♀️. It was fine though lol. I ended up helping push a crowdsurfer, because her butt would've ended up on my face otherwise lol. There was this one really tall, muscular dude that was the MVP though. He was fully just carrying crowdsurfers across. It was crazy cool!

This was my second time seeing Bring Me The Horizon. They always put on an interactive show. They had so much happening on their screens, and it created an atmosphere unlike any other band I saw over the 4 days. We stayed pretty far back for them, because I wanted an easy exit to get close for Shinedown. Being further back gave me the advantage of having lots of space to move around. I gave myself a major headache from headbanging. I spent the entire set screaming and jumping around. It was so FUN!! I had a really great time. My dad got really into them after we saw them the first time, so it was cool to see how much fun he was having as well. My friend was with us, and it's a bit difficult to tell how much she is enjoying things sometimes. She is a bit reserved with her excitement. I could see her dancing around too though, and that made me happy. Oli Sykes said he was having vocal issues, but he still sounded awesome! (His exact words were, "I woke up, and my voice said 'nope'".) An artist canceled due to losing his voice, so I'm glad Oli stuck it out to perform for us!

If you know me well, you know Shinedown is one of my absolute favorite bands. I saw them live last time they were at Aftershock, and they made me cry during the last song. This time, I sobbed throughout 75% of the set. It was intense 😭. I knew I was going to cry during Daylight, but I hadn't anticipated that the tears wouldn't stop. I was sobbing while jumping and screaming the lyrics. The audience was packed, a pit formed next to us, and there were a ton of crowdsurfers. It was hot, sweaty, and so much fun. The energy was high! They had lots of pyro and even fireworks on stage! It was quite the spectacle! I would happily see them an infinite amount of times. Also, I forgot to take an outfit selfie before leaving the house. I had my dad take a photo of me while we were inbetween the first two sets, and I posted it on Instagram. The official Shinedown Instagram account reposted it to their story!! If you go to Shinedown's Instagram right now, you can see me on the story!!!! Very very cool!

Muse was the headliner. I'm going to be honest. I wasn't excited about Muse. I only know two songs: Uprising, because it is on the radio, and Supermassive Black Hole, because it was in Twilight. We stayed for about 30 minutes of the set before opting to leave early. We were all tired and ready to get off our feet. None of us felt incentivized to stay for the final hour, because we aren't very into the band. I enjoyed what I heard! The singer has an interesting voice, and they were heavier live than what I had previously heard. If I wasn't so tired, I probably would've enjoyed their entire set. (BTW if anyone saw my other post, me knowing Supermassive Black Hole from Twilight is the context of a dude saying "Twilight. That makes sense." to me. 😂)

Overall a really great day. A solid ending to the best weekend. See you next year, Aftershock. It's been a pleasure. Now for pictures from the day!

1. The photo my dad took of me that you can currently view on Shinedown's Instagram. 2. Taylor Momsen! 3. Brent Smith during Shinedown's set. 4. A graphic on the screens during Shinedown's set reading "don't let Sanjay down". Sanjay is a cameraman. Brent said he was going to tell the crowd to jump, and asked him to record us jumping. He told us we had to go all out as to not disappoint Sanjay. 5. The Aftershock sign. 6. The sign at the gates while leaving the venue.

#so tired but so sad to be back to reality #best 4 days ever #already can't wait for next year even though I'm still coughing up stuff and only barely got rid of the black snot #glamorous festival things lol #aftershock #ashley overshares

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littlx-songbxrd · 2 years

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Heyyy how are you? 😊

So random thought, but I was watching a video of a sims youtuber talk about being autistic and it brought up some memories and thoughts that I thought you might want to use as a reference for your character Nairne (I think that's her name I'm hoping I remembered that right).

If not that's totally fine dw.

Ok so autistic inertia "is the notion that when autistic people need to stop doing a task it can be difficult to restart and once we have started working on a task or project it can be really difficult to stop." - Kella Gehlert

Basically for me it affected my school work a lot because switching tasks for different subjects or even within a class was really hard for me. It's like being weighed down and needing some time to get up, I need time to pull my brain away from whatever it's doing. I can't do it immediately. I also feel this a lot when I play video games and my moms like "ok you need to set the table now!" Like.... I need time to process that and wind down before I can stop and save! Also adults don't really get that video games take time to save and exit and you can't just stop immediately lol. But that's a different problem. It takes time for me to process transitions. Which us also why I need lots of time to get ready before I leave to go somewhere.

Slow processing speed. I struggle with this A LOT. Basically it's your brain processing things more slowly. I speak pretty slowly be cause it takes me longer to think of words, figure out how to pronounce them and then say them. It also takes me longer to react to things which made my dance teacher hate me. Also if you ask me for the salt it will take like two minutes for me to register that, process it and then move to get it for you. This is also affected by auditory processing disorder which I'm sure you know about.

But if you don't it's basically a delayed auditory response or not being able to hear things clearly if they're too fast. That's why I need to watch things with subtitles. That's also why most fast songs sound like asghsdbbscvb to me so I need to look up the lyrics. It's also a symptom of ADHD.

Interoception is the next one, which is the awareness of your body essentially and what's going on with it. Autistic people often have poor interoception. We often don't realize we're tired, or hungry or that we need to go to the bathroom until it's absolutely dire, or sometimes not at all. There are different levels of this based on the person. But me personally, I'm bad with eating and with sleeping. But my insomnia also stems from my nightmares. This leads to me forgetting to eat or just not eating because I'm not hungry.

Which leads me to my next point. Tw for Eating disorders mention.

EDs are super common amongst autistic ppl especially autistic girls and afabs. For multiple reasons. Sometimes for a need to control things and obsessively monitor something, sometimes it's because of sensory issues with the texture and taste of food. And then sometimes you're like me and between not really feeling hunger and suffering from executive dysfunction I struggle to eat. I've never been diagnosed with an ED but I have gone days without meals so that can't be great.

That's all I can think of for now! Please let me know if you want me to send me any more stuff if you need help. Also, I think you mentioned you use music to write like me and I know you may have already made a playlist for Nairne or at least for your WIP. But there is a playlist I made for Rory full of songs that give autistic womanhood/ woman aligned ish type vibes. If you want me to send u it I totally can.

Some of my favorites include, Nightmare by Halsey, Teen Idol by Mariana and the diamonds and Strange little girl by POSEY.

Hiiiiii. I'm doing ok! Been working on some worldbuilding for a project and im trying to start painting again. Which like am i good at painting? No but. Fhjfjf besides that good good what about you?

OMG DEFINETLY AND YES THATS HER NAME. Thought now that i see you write it I wonder how you pronounce it. Thats really random im sorry. But its interesting for smth i can tell you about later!

Ok I'll be commenting and writting my notes as i go!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

1. That kind of reminds me of newtons law! Every object in motion remains in motion. So okok I think I can understand what youre saying. Again, object in motion stays in motion unless acted by unbalamces force. In this case you staying in the activity previous would be the motion and being pulled away would kind of be the unbalancing force! Can i describe it as that? Disruption from a task or processing transition needs its transitionary period on ots own.

2. I had actually researched some of this im internally doing a happy dance my research was right. But I will take the note on the speech thing! I always thought Nairne might be slower to express most her thoughts, but for how she feels I feel the best way to describe it. Its like she has a a whole river filled with thoughts and opinion but in order to comunicate she was given a spoon to scoop the water out.

3. you dont have to tell me twice about auditory processing disorder VDJDBBFDN. Most words come into my brain but I dont process them at all. Its made me almost flunk out a economics class cause i legit could not understans half the words my teacher spoke.

4. Ok I've read about the poor introspection thing!! I think i wrote a scene once where nairnes screwed up sleep schedule was explained kind of keeping this in mind. I think i lost it (victim to untitled documents) but

5. I think i get it. Idk if I can do this but sometimes i struggle to keep myself sat through meals and in my desperation to get up and get rid of my energy i just dont eat. Im not sure why that makes me understand this concept but yeah. I'll definetly keep it in mind

Also yep that is definetly not good. I wont say pls eat cause i know its a pain to control thinsg you cant but.

PLEASE SEND MORE I AM BEGGING YOU. ALSO CORRECT ME IF ANYTHING HERE IS WRONG IM SO GLAD YOU SENT THIS. I love knowing and you have a good way of explaining things. Would you mind if i tried writting some drabbles based on these and sent them?

Anyways pls send. Even if it wasnt for my wip its good to get more information on autism. Puerto Rico might be good for a lot of things, but I went my whole life till i found fandom spaces not understanding what autism was and I want to learn.

OH PLEASE SEND !!!!

#fae!!

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fizzingwizard · 1 year

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Haven't vented about work lately, but not for lack of material, lol

Recently my peace of mind at work is shattered. You'd think that would have already happened, given all the stresses, but I was comfortable. Not stress-free, but I liked where I was at better than any other place I've worked before.

Our school felt like a team where each member cared about each other professionally. Not just people who work together by coincidence. There was drama sometimes. But not half as much as other places I've worked. And we always tried to make sure we reached out to each other to support each other, and thought about how our actions would affect someone else. We didn't half-ass stuff because we care about our coworkers and our students.

But there are a billion things wrong in how the school functions, and in what the company expects of us versus what a human being is capable of getting done in a single day, even using up her own break time, or staying late - despite a salary of peanuts and no paid overtime for "prep" work.

If that was all, it was bad, but I really thought to myself, "Every job sucks in some way. If you go somewhere else, it might suck worse." Because unfortunately I know that from experience.

But now we have all learned our assignments for the new school year. Out of ten teachers, four are quitting. A fifth left earlier this year for medical reasons and said she'd be back, but it looks like she won't - and it also is sounding like the reason she won't be back isn't medical. A sixth left in the summer, saying she had unresolved issues with the company and couldn't stand it anymore. And a seventh left in March of last year, which I'm counting in the list of recent exits because her reason for leaving was work stress.

So seven school staff leave in one year. Many of them are veteran teachers with ten years of experience. Three have leadership positions. We have had several other teachers come for one year and leave, or come for half a year and leave. The staffing issues are chronic. You'd think the company would try as hard as possible to hold on to the veterans. But instead they're blaming them. I got told that these coworkers formed a group to quit together and it sounds like it includes some teachers at other campuses. I don't know if it's true that they decided this as a group or not. I also got told that our leaders did a bad job of leading, our school manager did a bad job of keeping the head office informed of issues our school was having, and that other leaders disliked how our leaders ran our school to begin with.

They just blamed and blamed and blamed. But the problem is, even if some of it is true, what I know is that it's thanks to those leaders that we got through these past years, which were really difficult in many ways. One leader was absent for weeks at a time due to medical issues, and we all wanted to support her, but it's true that her absence was tough on us. But it was toughest on her co-teacher, who was left with all the work for her class up to her alone. All the prep and planning and looking after the kids and communicating with their parents and being responsible for everything about them. This went on for half a year. We kept asking for her to have a permanent sub, but the best we could get, we were told, was random subs who would sometimes show up and more than often wouldn't. Some of them could only stay for half days. They didn't know the kids. They didn't help with prep work. This teacher was totally bogged down with way too much to do, and despite doing it all with a smile, she finally broke down and cried. And THAT'S when the subs appeared - before that we were all taking turns leaving our own classes to help in hers, because we kept getting told there were no subs, there were no subs. And we kept having to help after the subs were assigned anyway, because the school got so many new students but was hemorrhaging teachers. It felt like we were all needed everywhere all the time.

After about a month the subs just stopped showing up. Then in January, a teacher from a different class was permanently reassigned to the partnerless teacher's class. It was not either of their request or demand. The company just couldn't find anyone to hire, so it plucked a teacher out of the class she spent all year bonding with and dumped her in another without even telling her in advance. She found out the same way we all day: in our daily meeting.

Guess who's among those quitting? The partnerless, overworked teacher, and the teacher who was removed from her class two months before the end of the year. And I'm supposed to believe the problems at the school are their fault?? These people who worked and sacrificed more than anyone???

As for the leaders. The one who is sick can't help being sick. A different leader is the one dumping all the blame, and she told me about this leader's mental health. I didn't ask because I would never do that. I don't know that the laws in Japan are about medical confidentiality, but I think it's gross that she told me about my coworker's mental health problems without permission no matter what. She seemed so desperate to blame my coworker and make me be on her side instead. The only side I'm on right now is my own, but I'm also going to defend the people I think deserve defending. The sick coworker wasn't perfect and did give me trouble sometimes, but she was a hard worker and could also be very nice, and certainly did a lot for our school.

The one that bothers me the most is our second leader. The new leader blames her for nearly everything. She didn't make our schedules right. She didn't inform the head office of things right. She didn't follow through. She didn't this and that and and and. Here's what I know: This second leader is my co-teacher, and she's one of the best people I know. She is an excellent teacher, amazing with little kids, super patient even with the most intense students - all of which by itself should be enough to make ANY company try as hard as they can to keep her. (By the way, the whole entire world to its own detriment INSISTS on undervaluing teacher skills, especially skills with very young kids. Please knock on your own heads, everyone, and ask yourself if it is really so simple to take care of little ones who are nonverbal, don't understand time, have no fine motor skills, scream at the top of their lungs for hours, and don't even know themselves why they're upset a lot of the time, and do it in a way that is always loving and kind and also just challenging enough to push them to the next milestone. ECE is HARD WORK. Not saying it's the same as working in a coal mine. Not saying it's brain surgery. But it's real work and everyone has such high expectations of their ECE teachers while also treating them like the lowest kind of teacher there is.)

But on top of all that, the second leader also did everything she could to help us deal with the understaffing. She found ways for us to take breaks on days when it seemed impossible. We are not paid during break time, so the fact that we are always working through at least half if not all of our breaks is literally us working for free. She went from class to class herself helping wherever she could, even though she missed being in her own class. She listened to the complaints and did what she could to alleviate them. She organized events and simply made sure our school functioned.

How am I supposed to believe this person is to blame for our problems? As far as I can see, she is the ONLY reason our school didn't sink totally this year. Literally THE ONLY reason. Our manager this year is brand new, always busy, and never on top of everything. I like her, but she really needed the second leader's help. And even though the new leader says the second leader didn't tell her about the issues at our school, we are doubtful, because they certainly knew about it the fall when they finally started sending subs. (In fact, the new leader was one of the subs who would come! How did she not notice anything when she'd stop by? To be fair she would only come for half a day, but still.) And the new leader says she didn't know about the first leader's chronic absences. But why? Whose job is it to look at the attendance?

I don't know, maybe more should have been reported about that, at least for the sake of the coteacher who was so overworked due to being alone. What happened to her was definitely not far. But at the same time, this company clearly has issues with anyone dealing with anything but perfect mental health. I actually warned a new coworker just the other day to be very careful about mentioning her personal mental health to management because thanks to this instance as well as others I just don't trust that this company gives a shit. I do! Don't get me wrong. I think my coworkers mental health matters a lot for their sake, and also for our students' sake! You know, if you have kids, and you're very angry, better to take some time apart and cool off, even if you're afraid to be seen as a loser for walking away from a fight, because adults are so much more powerful than kids and losing your temper for a minute can be terrible! It's important for teachers not to be at the end of their rope. Or, like the rest of us, just completely exhausted from doing a workload meant for several more people than are currently staffed.

But the new leader is acting like these teachers decided to get "burned out." That is the issue. It's not about the leaders or the other teachers. The reason we struggled is because we were understaffed and have been for years, and it's gotten worse. On top of the understaffing, more and more work was piled on too. Last year I broke down at one point, because we were so unbelievably busy that getting it all done felt totally impossible, and I had just been told that we now needed to plan and perform a teacher's skit for the holiday performance, which was like a week away. It was so irrelevant - I promise the parents don't want to see us perform, this performance used to be for the benefit of the older kids in the audience, but due to covid there weren't going to be any! It was so ridiculous so I said, "We don't need you to add more stress, we need you to take some stress away!" And the skit did end up vanishing into thin air, thank goodness. It's stuff like that that really pushes me over the edge because it's so unnecessary. Like this week a coworker is being sent to a different school to learn their routine because she is transferring there next term. I'm like why? Why does she have to go now instead of learning in April like the rest of us? Maybe there is a good reason, but the fact of the matter is we are understaffed and we need all hands on deck, especially if anyone calls in sick. Yet this teacher's being sent away to learn something she won't need to do until next term. If she COULD learn in April, they should have done it then.

But they are doing this sort of thing all the time. Just take our staff and make them do extra things, then act so shocked when we say we feel overworked and neglected. "How can you feel that way! We had no idea you were stressed!" No idea?? You thought this amount of work was reasonable??? That's what scares me. Because here is the 100% truth: I don't even get the bare minimum of my job done. We have lesson plans we turn in every month, and they include art projects, sensory projects, science experiments, dramatic play activities, phys ed activities, activities for fine motor skill development, and more. All of which we plan and prepare all the materials for by ourselves. Guess what? WE DON'T GET IT DONE. I don't have the TIME to do it all. I do as much as I can, but even then I'm hurrying through things or working on them while the kids eat lunch (and eating my own in three bits lol). We don't have the money either lol. Company has a very strange idea of how far our monthly stipend can stretch. Why does a class with ten students get the same budget as one with twenty, by the way???

And I'm just talking about the bare bones of my job. That doesn't include: planning and preparing events and assemblies, cleaning the school, making posters, putting together student crafts and photos, holding conferences, having school meetings, doing progress reports, doing other paperwork, and prepping and teaching electives (which we are required to do - I am currently doing one which I'm not required to as well, but me and my coworkers were basically guilted into it because the teacher at a different school who was doing it before unexpectedly needed longer paternity leave and after we helped out for a month, we were thinking of saying no to doing it longer, when we found out the teachers at that school were complaining about us not being willing to help. Like, my dude, we already ARE. Anyway, we kept helping for six months lol. This class is our "choice" to teach but it sure didn't feel like a choice.)

These things take time!!! I get at most an hour of prep a day, usually chopped up into 15 or 30 min blocks. And we don't have any space. All the rooms are in use at all times and the staff room is basically a closet. I've done work sitting on my butt in the hallway. And I don't even always get that hour. That's why I use my break. Because I don't want my kids to suffer - and I don't want to be told I'm a bad teacher because I didn't get my work done. But it's impossible to do it. Literally just impossible.

It's ridiculous. They are two years olds. When I taught elementary school I did NOT have this much to do lmao.

And the company finds ways to cut costs everywhere. There used to be a cleaning service: now we clean instead (during our break time!) and the school gets a professional deep clean twice a year. There used to be only one teacher on nap duty. Now local law requires two. Did the company do anything to make up for the loss of prep time? Nope.

Some things are so infinitely stupid it drive me crazy. Like how after taking the kids' temperatures when they wake up, we have to write it down in two different places, even though management AGREES that one of those is redundant and parents dont even look at it. It was a covid measure of extreme stupidity. We've asked for it to go. Nope - it stays, despite being useless! And instead of that going away, we have now been given a THIRD thing we have to start recording that we didn't before! We have to write all these things down while also changing diapers and taking kids to the toilet and giving them snack and watching so they dont choke and making sure allergy kids get the right snack and cleaning up the tables chairs and floor and sending kids home with their parents and talking to the parents about things that happened during the day without forgetting any of it. Meanwhile the kids are kids and are playing. Who do they think is watching them with all this endless other stuff to do?????

BIG SIGH

So the teacher who aren't quitting: One is becoming a sub and based at a different school. Three are being transferred to other schools. Only me and one coworker will be left. ONLY THE TWO OF US!!!!

We will have an ENTIRE new team in April. I'm told there will be a few experienced teachers transferring in. But most will be new hires. And on top of that... The company CAN'T FIND enough new hires! So we will be understaffed AGAIN. Which is a BIG PROBLEM because GUESS WHAT. We are going to have even MORE students next year! And events and assembles etc will be much bigger and more involved than they were before, because we are returning to the pre-covid school calendar. I'm absolutely buckling under the pressure of thinking about the workload. It's not sane.

That's why I had the talk with the new leader. I really wanted her to understand from a teacher's perspective how absolutely bonkers it is that they want us to take on this many students with a staff this is almost completely new and still isn't up to the number of staff we're supposed to have. AND we'll be minutes both leaders! We will have the new leader, but she will only visit us now and then. The previous leaders were on campus every day (when they were healthy) and knew the school inside and out.

Like always I wondered if I'm totally overreacting because I don't like sudden changes. But all my coworkers are too. The ones who are leaving have been going out of their way to do whatever they can to make things ready for April. The ones who are staying (aside from me and the other teacher, the manager is also staying) are stressing out same as me. That's why I talked to the new leader, because I don't like sudden changes without reassurance that all the necessary preparations have been made. And I am NOT reassured. Mostly she just blamed my coworkers for everything! She didn't assign any responsibility to the company at all. It's not the company's fault it hasn't been able to hire any help for the past three years apparently! Surely it's got nothing to do with the lousy pay they offer or the very high English ability they require -__- My gosh, if you can't raise the pay then lower the English requirement. For heaven's sake. You can't act like you're Richie Rich's school with only the best of everything if you don't have the money. You certainly don't pay your teachers like they're working there. We scrub toilets on our breaks and then get a fifteen dollar raise at the end of the year, lol.

I have so much more to vent about here but this is already long and infuriating enough. I have strawberries in the fridge so I'm going to eat them.

On the bright side my students are adorable and I love them to pieces. The weather today was so beautiful so I let them play outside for a full hour. Would love to do that way more, it's a matter of the outside play area being small and other classes needing a turn too. But today we were lucky and could have it all to ourselves. I had the most peaceful time sitting in the grass blowing leaves around with my students. There was no stress then at all. And they didn't fight or argue or cry. They even shared toys without needing help. Literally a picture-perfect class as long as we were out there. That is the reason I love this job and this age of kids. They are so creative and so unrestrained by the opinions of others. This is the only time in your life you can be truly yourself without needing to make a conscious effort at it, and without being afraid of how other people will treat you for it. Honestly that's why I like kids so much better than adults. Kids can be horribly mean. But at least they're honest. Adults are nice to your face but hating you under the surface. I've always hated that, I think most people do, but unless we follow the social contract I guess we'd all be killing each other all the time.

Anyway, this innocent age is so important. So I want to keep working with these kids, but I don't know how much longer I can do it. Here, anyway. We'll have to see what else is out there that could be better. I'm not a money-minded person, but it would be nice to get paid more than peanuts, because I hear there aren't enough white babies *eye roll* and if you want me to go start making some I'm gonna need to be able to pay for them. But it's my own fault for choosing a job which pays peanuts. Taking care of young kids is vitally important but economically worthless, and having a baby is vitally important but economically worthless.. go figure *eyes rolling down the hill over the bridge down the lane.........*

#work

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