#//wondering how many know the book series

[rikas-things]

🗣️Rika's Yappfest Hours🗣️

⚠️¡¡WARNING!!⚠️

This post contains light spoilers for Twisted Wonderland Book 7! Read at your OWN RISK

💚💜💚💜💚💜💚💜💚💜💚💜💚

Hello, fellow Twist fans! I just wanted to bring something like this into question since it's been on my mind for a minute since the latest chapter update for Book 7.

I've been seeing a lot of unrest in regards to the pacing and/or additions of the character cards and whatnot and I thought I might want to add my two cents to this.

The biggest questions are what if the addition of the other dream segments were just there for padding/card development? And what if Book 7 ends up with a rushed/unsatisfied ending where Malleus or Idia don't get any spotlight?

For the first question, I think most of the unrest mainly comes from waiting for the next releases of each part. As a long time manga fan, I know the full pain of having to wait for your favorite series to get new content (cries in One Munch Man ꈨຶ⁠ ⁠˙̫̮⁠ ⁠ꈨຶ) and I'm sure you guys know that whole song and dance too.

A LOT of the comedic stuff can be annoying when all you wanna do is get to the juicy ✨drama✨ but I'm willing to bet had the part been done all the way through like the other books, they wouldn't have stung as hard.

Upon replaying certain parts (and fights) the pacing didn't come off as painful and I'm sure, again, once the part is over, we'll all have a great memory of it.

And as for the later, I think only time will tell. I think, with the wait time of each piece being the way that it is, that I doubt Yana and the writers would willingly put subpar chapters given how they want to tie everything together, themes and such included.

Asides

This is even more of my ramblings, things that aren't necessaryly related to the main talking points above. Can't you tell I wrote this late at night? 🤪

*Speaking of the dream segments, I remember there was some mention of how stuff like Savanaclaw Rook and Kalim's school could have been vignettes and on hindsight I'm just wondering...how could these be vignettes?

I only say this bc of the fact that the dream segments are supposed to be desires/thoughts of the people in the dreams, and I doubt the Twist team would want to make an entire vignette on something that was essentially a flashback.

They probably wanted to answer the burning questions of what Rook looked like before he transferred, or like, in Kalim's case, they wanted to tie up any loose ends that were not addressed in the earlier chapters.

Let's be honest: aside from Riddle and Idia, everyone's (the Overblotters) trauma didn't really get handled with a lot of the seriousness it should have been- or at least, there was a lot swept under the rug, and I think the dream segments could be a means to really explore the inner mechanics of the characters as well as how they plan to handle that trauma from here moving forward.

*"How was Silver able to keep using his magic without overblotting or building up blot?" ...I actually have a theory about this. Remember what Lilia said while confronting Malleus?

This would explain why many others can use their magic so freely, Silver included. Bc the dream world makes it so that the bodies of the hosts aren't affected apart from being put to sleep. I mean, it would be pretty lame if you're in a dream world and you could only do so much due to your magic not being the best, right? But what do you think?

That's all I gotta say for now. Think I'm wrong? Or maybe you agree with me? I'd like to discuss it. Thank you and bye bye!

[jadedbirch]

Girls don't want boys; girls want to battle ancient gods to the death!

My friends, the time has finally come for me to review the entire Burning Kingdom's trilogy by Tasha Suri. I've mentioned it before in my rec list of queer historical novels, but that was before I completed The Lotus Empire, the last book in the series. And now I can say with conviction: Tasha Suri is the only writer out there who truly understands love and romance and WHAT SAPPHICS WANT. 🙌🏻

To back up, the Burning Kingdom's story takes place in the imaginary kingdom of Parijatvipa (a reimagining of South East Asia/India with a lot of magical realism flowing through its veins). One of our heroines, Malini, is a princess who has been told all her life by the clergy and her younger brother the Emperor that her destiny is sacrificial immolation. Our second heroine, Priya, is a priestess in the ancient and mystical temple of the Hirana, where for centuries Temple Elders and Temple Children have worshipped the Yaksa (ancient nature divinity spirits that were supposedly destroyed at the end of the Age of Flowers). Their love story begins when Malini is sent by her brother to repent at the Hirana for her unwillingness to be burned alive and Priya is assigned to be her servant/guard.

The trilogy follows the two women as they clash against each other like waves, or like two powerful tornadoes that destroy everything in their path. Their love might be easier if one of them was softer, but what makes Priya and Malini such a power couple, is that they're both incredible badasses with spines of steel and nerves of fire. The stakes cannot be higher and only keep rising. It starts out as one Princess vs The Patriarchy, and ends with Gods vs Nature, Humans vs. Gods, and Sapphic Love Conquering All. I feel it is very important to let everyone know that the trilogy has a very satisfying ending, despite the many devastating and heart-breaking twists and turns along the way.

While this trilogy is incredibly Girl Power and is full of countless badass lady characters, I must say that one of the reasons I enjoy Tara Suri as a writer is because she also understands how to write good male characters from the female gaze perspective. Sure, some of the men in this book are horrid villains, but then she gives us truly complex and good boys like Rao (I would die for Rao), Aditiya, Jeevan, Ganam, and Rukh along the way.

This series is really riveting and never stops delivering. We get really wonderful gay/lesbian solidarity. We get so much great ladies supporting ladies content (Bechdel test? LOL Tasha Suri straight blows right past it into a different dimension of female solidarity.) We get hot girl on girl under the waterfall action. We get gorgeous rumination on the nature of faith and sacrifice. But most importantly, we get two very deeply flawed women who love each other so powerfully and so beautifully that their love literally reshapes the world.

I am begging everyone to drop whatever they're doing and read this series. It's really up there for me as some of the Best Gay Shit Ever.

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 21

Notes: And we're back! Some lovely big bro moments with Sonic and Knuckles in this chapter. Exploring how this Sonic is more emotionally matured than the original Sonic thanks to his relationship with Shadow as well! Also, if you're curious what "the incident" Sonic and Knuckles speak about is, read my mini-prequel to this series, 'The 30th' linked below! Hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day and don't go broke after Black Friday!

Summary: Shadow and Sonic visit Knuckles for help.

Chapter Select!

Link to my AO3!

Prequels: Something I'm Made For ; The 30th

Start:

Angel Island is exactly where it typically is, floating high above Mystic Ruins. Shadow didn’t visit the island often, admittedly. It was sacred. Almost holy in how it was the closest thing they knew as a home for Chaos itself on their planet. Where it originated from in their history books.

Shadow was the opposite of this in many ways. He wasn’t natural. He was created. And certainly not with sacred holiness of any sort. More like demonic alien DNA and corrupted chaos energy. 

And a smidge of hedgehog sprinkled in there to mix things up.

He was quite literally the man-made forced creation of a prophecy on Angel Island’s own walls.. one that spoke of Sonic. He felt like a fraud on that island. It was a mere reminder of everything he was suppose to be that he never truly was. 

And so he avoided it if he could. But current circumstances weren’t very considerate of his mental battles, and he needed all the aid he could get in getting back home. So here he was, approaching the island at top speed on his flying bike. Sonic the Hedgehog 2.0 holding onto him from behind with a stupidly wide grin. Shadow’s uneasiness only growing as the island gets bigger and bigger with each passing moment..

How the hell is he suppose to land this thing???

“How the hell am I suppose to land this thing???” Shadow huffs, his previous excitement over the bike once again being replaced by anxiety and frustration at not knowing how to properly drive the damn thing.

“There’s a landing sequence,” Sonic calls over the sound of the wind whipping in their quills, chin rested on Shadow’s shoulder as he points at the control panel on the tank of the bike. Shadow looks at it and does indeed see a landing sequence button. Auto-pilot, he assumes. Convenient.

“The Dark Flyer should recognize the landing strip we built a few years back on the island,” Sonic explains, “It’ll take us straight to it.”

“I don’t have to do anything??”

“Don’t think so,” Sonic shrugs, and why does that answer not comfort Shadow??

With no other real option, Shadow taps the landing sequence button on the screen and watches as a radar of sorts pops up, an arrow spinning to point the direction he assumes he needs to lead the bike much like a compass pointing north.

He steers the bike west, circling around the island until he does in fact spot a clearing of a strip of land, a hut near it. He wonders if the Angel Island back on his world has this as well, or if this is just a Alternate World Exclusive sort of addition. 

Once in range, the radar disappears and is replaced with a button that simply reads ‘Engage?’ to which Shadow taps and immediately feels the handlebars stiffen up in his grip to control themselves. He holds on, feeling the machine vibrate differently a bit under him and Sonic’s tan arms tighten around his waist as they begin to descend.

It’s pretty seamless. The bike lowers towards the landing strip, and Shadow only feels a bump and then brake that makes him and Sonic lurch forward only a little before they’ve landed safely and are slowing to a stop along the strip. Skidding at the end, Shadow watches in amazement as the bike slowly powers down and the wings fold back in beneath it. 

Screen reading: ‘Landing Success: Welcome to Angel Island’.

Pretty damn sick in his opinion.

He wonders what other locations this thing is programmed to recognize.

Turning the bike off, the roar of its engine powers down slowly rather than simply cutting off as it usually would. Sonic swings a leg around to hop off the bike, turning to Shadow and offering him a hand only for Shadow to swat it away with a roll of his eyes and climb off the bike himself. Sonic just smirks at this, resting one hand on his hip and letting the other dangle at his side casually. Emerald eyes shift towards the hut nearby, rubbing under his nose as he speaks, “Doesn’t look like Knucks is at the landing center. Probably at the altar.”

Shadow glances to the hut Sonic is looking towards and then looks to the jungle surrounding them, “Well then let’s go to the altar.”

Sonic eyes him from the corners of his eyes with a little grin and quirk of his brow, Shadow ignoring the feeling of the hedgehog’s gaze on him and simply crossing his arms over his chest as he takes in the island around them.

It, like the rest of the world, doesn’t have any major changes to it. No obvious anomalies or shocking additions or subtractions from their world that Shadow can recall.

But again— he’s not super familiar with Angel Island for his own personal reasons.

That on top of the echidna never was too fond of having visitors on his island from what Rouge had told him.

Or maybe that’s just Rouge..

“I’ll race you there.”

“What??” 

Shadow turns to look at the Hedgehog, but he’s already gone, leaving a trail of blue behind him and a gust of wind kicking up dirt. Shadow’s eyes immediately roll with a scoff, “Typical.”

But then he’s right behind him, paying one last glance to the Dark Rider before his air shoes rocket to life and he’s skating after the blue rival.

He catches up quickly, though he’s sure that’s because Sonic doesn’t actually want to lose him. Just wants that typical adrenaline of a quick and friendly race. They zip through the jungle, running up cliff sides and jumping from branches to swing across decrepit and sketchy bridges.

Shadow admittedly doesn’t know the exact way to the altar, so he’s forced to stay slightly behind Sonic the entire time as to let the hedgehog lead the way. Sonic will give him little glances and grins as they run to which Shadow tries his damndest to ignore.

They approach the altar in no time, the familiar green glow of the Master Emerald at the top of the tree lines ahead of them letting Shadow know which way to go.

So he speeds up, skating to be side by side with Sonic rather than behind him. They each press forward, eyes burning with the sting of wind, locked on the finish line.

They each burst from the treeline simultaneously, skidding to a halt at the bottom of the altar’s steps.

“I won!”

“As if, Faker.”

“I did! I was a solid three milliseconds ahead of you!”

“You did not win. Especially not by that sort of landslide.”

“Puh-lease! De-Nile is a river in Egypt, Shadow. You lost!”

“I did no such thing, you smug rat!”

“Hey! We’re the same species!”

“I’m a hybrid!”

“But you look like a hedgehog!”

“And you look like a loser!”

“That’s rude!”

“Ahem.”

Sonic and Shadow both blink and turn to the echidna who stands glaring at the two with a his arms crossed, a confused sort of look on his face at their bickering.

“Sonic. Shadow,” he addresses with a nod to them each.

Sonic immediately grins with a sheepish little chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck and giving a wave, “Hey Knucks. How’s it hangin’??”

Shadow just huffs and crosses his arms, looking up at the altar rather than the echidna. Again. Looks the same. Same giant rock at the top. Same ancient texts carved along the temple’s walls. Same red echidna watching over it all.

Knuckles eyes Shadow as if expecting some sort of acknowledgment, but Shadow gives him none. Knuckles raises a brow at this, “…You two having some sort of spat??”

“We have an emergency of sorts,” Shadow finally speaks, acknowledging the echidna with crimson eyes meeting amethyst ones, “One I suspect you may be of some help with.”

Knuckles smirks at this, pounding his fists together, “Need some help kicking Eggman butt again??”

“Not quite,” Shadow rolls his eyes.

“Let’s start from the beginning, huh??” Sonic offers with a little smile, “First of all, this isn’t our Shadow.”

Knuckles blinks at that, looking at Sonic, then Shadow, then Sonic again, then Shadow, “…What?”

“The Shadow from our world got swapped with a Shadow from another dimension,” Sonic explains as simply as he can manage for the guardian, “That’s why this Shadow can be such a—“

“Watch it,” Shadow warns with narrowed eyes to which Sonic chuckles.

“I was gonna say introvert.”

“To be fair, our Shadow is kind of an introvert too,” Knuckles points out.

“Yeah, but this one is wayyyy worse,” Sonic insists with a dramatic motion of his hand, “Like the dude is seriously stunted socially—“

“Is any of this relevant??” Shadow huffs, growing impatient.

“Right- sorry. Anyway, we kinda figure he got here through some sort of chaos energy anomaly or something,” Sonic shrugs, hand going back on his hip as he looks at the echidna, “Shadow here thought it would be a good idea to ask you for any sort of intel on what could have happened and how we can fix it since you’re the Chaos expert.”

“Well, I’m not really an expert,” Knuckles replies with a smug grin, rubbing under his nose all cocky with his fist.

“You’re the closest thing we’ve got to one,” Shadow mutters with a small frown, “And this is kind of dire.”

“Dire??” Knuckles frowns, looking at the hybrid with a concerned sort of expression now, “How’s it diar?? Don’t we need to just send you back??”

“Well- Tails seems to have this theory that with all this being a time and space sort of thing, it may all just implode on itself if we don’t put it back in its proper order soon,” Sonic explains.

“..Meaning..?”

Sonic knocks his fists together,  opening them as he spreads them apart and making an explosion sound with his mouth— simulating the world exploding.

“…Well, that’s nice,” Knuckles grunts sarcastically, looking at Shadow, “All this because of you??”

“I’m afraid so,” Shadow frowns.

“Let’s not point fingers,” Sonic quickly interjects with a reassuring smile, “He was just trying to stay alive in a sticky situation. We all would’ve done the same thing in his shoes.”

“Wait— so when our Shadow used chaos control on the last mission and was knocked out… it was actually..?”

“This Shadow we found and took home to nurse back good as new, yeah,” Sonic confirms with a little nod, “They switched during the chaos control.”

“Huh..,” Knuckles ponders thoughtfully, looking this new Shadow over, “..So how’d you figure out he was a different Shadow?? They look the same.”

“A hedgehog always knows his man, okay??” Sonic smirks with a wink.

“He had no idea. The fox figured it out,” Shadow deadpans.

“I had a hunch!” Sonic scoffs defensively, “He was being an asshole to me. But I honestly just thought he hit his head and potentially lost some of his memory again or something. He isn’t exactly new to head trauma..”

Knuckles smirks slightly at this, “Fair. I’m not shocked Tails figured it out, though. Kid is smart as a whip.”

Shadow nods in agreement, “He’s currently working on some way to potentially communicate with my world. The theory is if we can get my alternate version to use chaos control with the fake emerald at the same time as myself again, we’ll switch back..”

“What if that just makes things worse??” Knuckles prompts with a frown.

“What you mean?” Sonic’s brows furrow, looking at the guardian as if he hadn’t considered this yet.

“What if it just makes whatever anomaly thing you guys keep talking about bigger?? Wouldn’t our world go—“ he mimics Sonic’s previous fist explosion demonstration, “—a lot quicker??”

Sonic and Shadow blink at him. Then each other. 

“…Surely Tails has thought of that,” Sonic assures with a little nervous smile.

“I’d feel better if you joined us back at the fox’s workshop,” Shadow adds, looking back to Knuckles, “You know more about the chaos side of things and he knows the science. It’s safer and more efficient to have you two working together.”

“Sounds good to me,” Knuckles shrugs, glancing back to the Master Emerald at the top of the altar, “I have time to kill.”

Shadow nods, “Great. Then you’ll help.”

“Sure, man, what are friends for??” the guardian smirks with a playful punch to Shadow’s shoulder.

Shadow just narrows his eyes at this, turning around without saying another word to go back to the Dark Rider, “We have no time to waste. Let’s go.”

Knuckles watches the hybrid walk away with a frown, looking at Sonic with a quirk of his brow, “What’s with him??”

“We’re all not exactly.. friends on his world,” Sonic explains with a little sigh, a tired smile on his muzzle, “This Shadow might actually be more complicated than ours.”

“That’s possible??” Knuckles says with a snort before blinking, “wait— so are you two—“

“Nope,” Sonic answers with a shrug, “Not where he’s from. We apparently hate each other or something based on how he acts. Haven’t quite figured it out.”

“Damn,” Knuckles chuckles, walking with Sonic now to follow after Shadow towards the treeline, “Bet that was a fun revelation for him when he woke up here.”

“He was pissed when I just touched him,” Sonic huffs with an eyeroll, Knuckles laughing a bit more at this, “Thought he was gonna rip my arm off just for trying to help him drink some water.”

“Kinda wish I had seen that,” the amused echidna grins, “Can’t remember the last time I saw you two like that.. probably since Metal Overlord.. maybe even before??”

Sonic shrugs, “It sucks. But he’s not my Shadow, and I gotta keep telling myself that..”

Knuckles’ amused look turns a bit more empathetic when he sees how Sonic isn’t taking this as light as he is, nudging him in the side with his elbow, “Hey.. I’m sure our Shadow is fine wherever he is. He can take care of himself..”

“I know..,” Sonic sighs, keeping a neutral smile on his face in case Shadow looks back at them. Doesn’t want him to see him looking down. “I worry about him, but I know he’ll be alright.. it’s just scary thinking he’s in a world where there’s a me that doesn’t care for him like that… I’m kinda the biggest part of his support system, ya’know?? I just hope he doesn’t get all down on himself without someone there to assure him he’s more than he thinks he is..”

Knuckles isn’t great at emotions, but Sonic has seemed to open up to him more the past couple years. Sonic has opened up more in general, honestly. He’s pretty sure that was Shadow’s doing. Encouraging the hero to not be so perfect and rely on his friends more. That they wouldn’t leave him just because he showed some weakness or emotion other than confidence and joy now and then.

Knuckles has tried to be there for his friend through this.. even if he isn’t the best at it.

Especially ever since the incident..

”He’s grown a lot, Sonic,” Knuckles assures, “He’s gotten help and learned coping mechanisms on his own. He has those little sensory exercises he does, too. He’ll be alright..”

Sonic sighs a bit, nodding at this and looking at Knuckles with a grateful smile, “Thanks, Knucks..”

Knuckles just smirks and pats Sonic on the back, “…There’s more, though. Isn’t there??”

Sonic chuckles at this, rubbing the back of his neck as though he’s been caught, “Yeah, well… it’s just been a little hard on me.. seeing a version of Shadow like this again. All cold and distant.. it takes me back to—“

“We’re not reliving that,” Knuckles stops him with a shake of his head, “…This Shadow may be an asshole like ours once was, but he doesn’t seem weak in the slightest. In fact, he reminds me a lot of how you use to be.”

“What ya mean??”

“Refusing to show any weakness at all. Putting on a brave face with no vulnerability,” Knuckles explains with a quirk of his brow, “Maybe he just hasn’t gotten the help he needs back on his world to… open up some??”

“I tried to get him to open up,” Sonic frowns, “But he shut me down.. maybe I pushed too hard, though.”

“Gotta go easy on the guy. You don’t know what he’s been through..,” Knuckles assures with a little shake of his friend from under his arm, having it wrapped around Sonic’s shoulders, “You can’t force him to be okay just because you want him to hurry up and get better.”

“I know, I know..,” Sonic chuckles with a small smile, “…I just-… I know how happy he could be.. because I see it in my Shadow.. so I just-.. I want this Shadow to be that happy too.”

“I know, buddy,” Knuckles assures with a small, understanding smile, “But he’s not our Shadow,.. and when he has to inevitably return to his world, he won’t have you there to show him how to stay happy.”

Sonic sighs at that, looking at Shadow walking ahead of them.. why doesn’t the Sonic from the other world care for him??? He doesn’t get it. It pisses him off.

“As harsh as it sounds, he’s not our problem..,” Knuckles explains bluntly, “Not because we don’t care, but because you can’t go back with him, and he can’t stay. His world ended up how it did for a reason. If he’s meant to be happy in it, he’ll find a way.”

Sonic frowns at this, not seeming at all content with the answer but knowing it’s an honest and truthful one nonetheless. Shadow and him just.. may not be meant to be in every universe. And he’s gonna have to live with that.

“I’m still gonna help him while he’s here,” he says determinedly, “..Even if I can’t go back with him, I’ll send him back with the memory of what he could have if he’d just try..”

Knuckles snorts at this, “You’re so damn stubborn,” he playfully shoves Sonic away from him as they walk, Sonic stumbling with a chuckle only to shove him back with a smirk.

“And helpless,” Knuckles adds with a teasing grin, “You’re whipped for the guy no matter what version of him it is.”

“What can I say?? I have a type,” Sonic grins with a smug little shrug.

Shadow keeps walking, pretending he can’t hear any of this..

[nadinescholtes]

In my poll I did, many of you were surprised that I did Invader Zim art. I going to sound old (which I am) I began drawing IZ art over 10 years ago when I discovered Devianart for the first time, it was also the first time for me using the internet.

Back then Devianart was fun, I met wonderful artists and friends, who also had an obsession with Invader Zim. We drew each other gifts and fanart of each other's Ocs. Did contests, memes, and livestreams. I also learned how to take commissions.

To be honest, those years were very dark for me and Devianart was my refuge. People then may have noticed that I was a strange person. I didn't know if I was acting normal, I didn't even know that mental health exists. I was always told by adults to have good grades and ignore my issues.

I discovered another fandom, Homestuck I may have drawn like 2-3 pictures. But I preferred to watch and not do my own fanart, same with Undertale. I also found Tumblr and posted my IZ and other art here.

Over time I wanted to draw my own original stuff. I started to like drawing comics and did my own series.

So I deleted almost all of my IZ art and put the most I liked into one post (and yes I regret it), which you see here.

In 2019 I began working as an Illustrator and working on books and some time later began my Webtoon series Cool Uncle.

Then a few years ago, I wanted to stop using Tumblr, only for lurking and deleted almost everything.

Last year (2023) I drew all my old IZ OCs in one illustration, for old time's sake.

A few months ago I became more active here on Tumblr and I began drawing TSBS art. So here I am.

If you want to see some old drawings that survived you can find them here (I'm not active, I only drop my art there):

[ravarui]

New Muse added (Request only):

Morzan from the book series Inheritance Cycle

Biography of him can be found here Temporary FC is S.ebastian S.tan.

[cocoabubbelle-newblog]

SCOGUE-“Tember”

Day “10”: 90s AU

A suggestion by @withjust-a-bite (so so so so sorry it took this long!)

Loosely off of this iconic comic page:

(Idk how to properly export decent time-lapse vids I’m sorry!)

[cerealbishh]

"Henry cares for Faran. The Liars normally have to be the ones caring for others. It just makes me melt!" - Zaria on Twitter about Henry(x)

[toytulini]

i want to put the dungeon meshi squad into the leviathan series and see what happens

[siena-sevenwits]

Disclaimer: These thoughts are more emotionally than logically expressed, and reflect my own experience and preference.

[kikuism]

the amount of books i’ve gotten from the library is actually stressing me out help

[thursdayg1rl]

didn't realise that the summer I turned pretty season 2 was still going lmaoo. I finished episode 6 and was like well damn I guess this is it. here we go again ig

[in-tua-deep]

i need you to know that ever since three years ago when you posted the first part of your tua hogwarts au, i have been deeply obsessed with it. it has lived with me rent free for three long years. nonstop.

adfsSFDghASDF i'm glad !! i do really have a guilty pleasure for hogwarts aus, though it's for a version that i've built in my head based on my siblings retellings and fandom over the years! admittedly i,,, never actually read the whole series even as a kiddo

though fun fact: one of my earliest memories is going to see the first harry potter movie in 2001 when i was like, four-ish? i fell asleep and woke up during the part where the unicorn is being vampire'd which certainly made an impression lol

sometimes i think i'd like to properly write it up but that would require a deeper dive into hp than i'm willing to make tbh, though i get away with surface knowledge and quickly googled questions in my little scribbly tumblr posts ;3c

[xxxemilyg1996]

Me *sitting at home with my sister, slightly upset because my doctors appointment went poorer than planned because I have no money*

My mom* texts me multiple paragraphs about not giving up and to keep trying and that she loves me more than anything*

Me "did you tell mom I was gonna kill myself again?!"

[louisa-gc]

how to start reading again

from someone who was a voracious reader until high school and is now getting back into it in her twenties.

start with an old favourite. even though it felt a little silly, i re-read the harry potter series one christmas and it wiped away my worry that i wasn't capable of reading anymore. they are long books, but i was still able to get completely immersed and to read just as fast as i had years and years ago.

don't be afraid of "easier" books. before high school i was reading the french existentialists, but when getting back into reading, i picked up lucinda riley and sally rooney. not my favourite authors by far, but easier to read while not being totally terrible. i needed to remind myself that only choosing classics would not make me a better or smarter person. if a book requires a slower pace of reading to be understood, it's easier to just drop it, which is exactly what i wanted to avoid at first.

go for essays and short stories. no need to explain this one: the shorter the whole, the less daunting it is. i definitely avoided all books over 350 pages at first and stuck to essay collections until i suddenly devoured donna tartt's goldfinch.

remember it's okay not to finish. i was one of those people who finished every book they started, but not anymore! if i pick up a book at the library and after a few chapters realise i'd rather not read it, i just return it. (another good reason to use your local library! no money spent on books you might end up disliking.)

analyse — or don't. some people enjoy reading more when they take notes or really stop to think about the contents. for me, at first, it was more important to build the habit of reading, and the thought of analysing what i read felt daunting. once i let go of that expectation, i realised i naturally analyse and process what i read anyway.

read when you would usually use your phone. just as i did when i was a child, i try to read when eating, in the bathroom, on public transport, right before sleeping. i even read when i walk, because that's normally a time i stare at my screen anyway. those few pages you read when you brush your teeth and wait for a friend very quickly stack up.

finish the chapter. if you have time, try to finish the part you're reading before closing the book. usually i find i actually don't want to stop reading once i get to the end of a chapter — and if i do, it feels like a good place to pick up again later.

try different languages. i was quickly approaching a reading slump towards the end of my exchange year, until i realised i had only had access to books in english and that, despite my fluency, i was tired of the language. so as soon as i got back home i started picking up books in my native tongue, which made reading feel much easier and more fun again! after some nine months, i'm starting to read in english again without it feeling like a huge task.

forget what's popular. i thought social media would be a fun way to find interesting books to read, but i quickly grew frustrated after hating every single book i picked up on some influencer's recommendation. it's certainly more time-consuming to find new books on your own, but this way i don't despise every novel i pick up.

remember it isn't about quantity. the online book community's endless posts about reading 150 books each year or 6 books in a single day easily make us feel like we're slow, bad readers, but here's the thing: it does not matter at all how many books you read or what your reading pace is. we all lead different lives, just be proud of yourself for reading at all!

stop stressing about it. we all know why reading is important, and since the pandemic reading has become an even more popular hobby than it was before (which is wonderful!). however, there's no need to force yourself to be "a reader". pick up a book every now and then and keep reading if you enjoy it, but not reading regularly doesn't make you any less of a good person. i find the pressure to become "a person who reads" or to rediscover my inner bookworm only distances me from the very act of reading.

[fanaticalthings]

Give me crime lord!Jason who's actually on good terms with the batfam. Not only would it actually be helpful when it comes to missions surrounding underground/illegal operations (Jason would be able to retrieve way more insider knowledge) but also I think having a supervillain family member that you're chill with is just untapped comedic potential that needs to be taken advantage of.

---

Damian gets into a petty fight with Bruce, and the next day, instead of waiting for Bruce to pick him up from school, he calls Jason, who shows up in full Red Hood regalia and just rides off with Damian.

Of course everyone at school sees that Wayne's son just got snatched by Gotham's most notorious crime lord, so ofc when Bruce gets there, sees Damian missing, and hears a series of panicked whispers about a gun slinging, criminal biker riding off with a prince of Gotham, Bruce immediately knows what's up and just sighs, already anticipating the many publication companies he's gonna have to bribe to stay silent.

---

Sometimes, they need Jason's help with intercepting certain illegal trades within the underworld of, not just Gotham, but just common areas where shady businesses are most prevalent. And when Bruce requests that Jason brings evidence of said illegal shipments to the cave, Jason will smugly respond with "I can, but it'll cost ya"

And Bruce is all exasperated like, "Jason, please, this mission's been going on for a month, I just want to get it over with."

And Jason's just looking down at the crate of smuggled materials, recognizes that it's highly sought after by many rogues (maybe it's machinery parts or rare chemical substances, etc) and ofc Jason's about to be petty as hell when responding to Bruce:

Jason: I don't think you have any idea how valuable the stuff I have is. If I sold this myself in my part of the underground, I'd make a fortune!

Bruce: Jason

Jason: Butttt, if you're not willing to pay me for this, y'know, despite being a billionaire, I guess I could just auction this off to another willing client

Bruce: Jason

Jason: I hear Lex Luthor's been cookin' up something new for Superman. I wonder if he'd be interested?

Bruce: Son, please.

Jason:

Bruce:

Jason: I'll give you a family discount.

And it's just a back and forth of this EVERYTIME. And Jason only does it when he's collaborating with Bruce. None of the other bats have to deal with Jason demanding money.

---

There was one time, during a Wayne gala where practically ALL the kids (except Jason, dude's still legally dead), had to show up. And around halfway through, the Red Hood just crashes through the skylight and then just fucking kidnaps Bruce Wayne, in front of everyone. And of course the gala has to be cut short.

Meanwhile, Bruce, in Jason's custody: I CANNOT believe you, son. WHY of all times would you do this? You are GROUNDED, I don't care if you don't live with me anymore, this is just UNACCEPTABLE-

Jason, completely ignoring him, holding up a tablet with news article headlines about this incident: Bruce, look at this shot they got of me crashing through the ceiling, I look fuckin' badass

And then when the fam (in costume) come to "save" Bruce, in a blink and you'll miss it moment, Bruce catches Cass and Jason whispering something to eachother in the corner and them fist bumping before Jason books it out of there. He can already feel a headache brewing.

And generally speaking, I feel like the batfam could be way more efficient with this arrangement. You got the regular team of bats, investigating from above, as well as being able to infiltrate socialite environments as Waynes. Then you got Jason, who can keep an eye on all the lesser exposed and lucrative activities whilst he keeps the underground businesses under his control. I feel like it would be a win win situation that would be hella interesting to see explored.

[dreamwritesimagines]

Sunshine [7] - Heat Wave

AN: My loves, thank you so so much for your wonderful support and lovely comments and HCs! ❤️ You’re amazing! ❤️

I hope you like this as well, and please don’t forget to tell me what you think, thank you! 🥰

Pairing: Logan Howlett x Female!Reader

Summary: There are many ways how a first date can end.

Word Count: 4400

CW: Explicit language, mentions of sex, drinking, adult themes MDNI

Series Masterlist

A rational and emotionally mature person would know that drunk calls were normal, and the aftermath was inevitable. Drinking too much sometimes led to that, everyone knew, and a rational and emotionally mature person was supposed to just handle it with dignity.

Too bad you weren’t that person.

“So you’re avoiding the hot lumberjack?”

“Can we stop calling him that?”

You repressed a laugh and filled Nik’s cup with coffee.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m avoiding him,” you said. “It’s just…you know, I’m sure Logan is a very busy individual so if anything, I’m doing him a favor by not distracting him. For all we know, he could be on a mission right now. Do you really want him to die because he’s answering my call? I couldn’t live with that on my conscience.”

“Sunshine—”

“He could be saving the world,” you pointed out. “Do you want the world to end because he is answering my call? Do you want me to be the person who causes the extinction of the whole humankind? I mean honestly what am I, a tech CEO?”

“You’re so avoiding him.”

You heaved a sigh, then leaned against the counter.

“I texted him the next morning.”

“But you didn’t call him?”

“I can’t call him,” you whined. “I’ve made a fool of myself.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Nik said and you tilted your head at Jamie who was eating his breakfast.

“How are you being so quiet about this? I thought you’d be thrilled that I’m avoiding him.”

“I am but I can’t comment on this whole thing, I have a conflict of interest.”

“Conflict of interest?”

“Yeah I hate the guy’s guts,” he stated before nodding at you. “Keep avoiding him, you’re better off without him.”

Nik gasped. “Jamie!”

“Babe, that guy is a walking red flag.”

“Even if it were true, he also looks like he belongs on the cover page of those vintage romance books my grandma has in her library.”

“Fabio?!”

“I don’t know his name Jamie, but in Logan’s case I’ll allow a little red.” Nik stated. “It’s been years since she got laid.”

Your jaw dropped. “No it hasn’t!”

“I’m half scared she’ll join a convent,” Nik said, motioning in your direction and making you roll your eyes.

“Guys.”

“She’s not just going to get laid, she’s already talking about moving to the mountains with that asshole.”

“It’s not a mountain, it’s a cabin in the woods!” you argued and Jamie shrugged his shoulders.

“Whatever it is.”

“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to hear from me after that night,” you said. “I mean I totally made a move on him and…”

“And he turned you down because you were drunk!” Nik said with a smile and Jamie made a face.

“That’s like the bare minimum, don’t get impressed by that.”

“And when he maimed three guys for her?”

“The least he could do, considering what they threatened her with. Should’ve killed them if you ask me.”

A shiver ran down your spine but you made yourself busy with the tablecloth, wiping at the counter while Nik raised his brows.

“Driving her home so that she wouldn’t walk in the rain? Fixing her car? Going all the way from school to her neighborhood because he was worried about her being drunk and outside?”

“What are we, keeping a list now?”

“Darling I know you’re very adamant about hating this guy but you do have to admit the things he’s been doing for her are the opposite of a red flag,” Nik said, patting his hand as if trying to console him and Jamie heaved a sigh.

“I hate this.”

“So you think I should call him?” you asked Nik and he nodded.

“You should.”

“I disagree.”

“Well aware of that Jamie.”

“I hate him.”

“Figured that one as well, strange as it sounds,” Nik said before turning to you. “Call him.”

You nibbled on your lip, then motioned at Stacey and held up your phone, making her nod before you made your way out of the diner. Taking a deep breath, you found his name on the screen and touched it before taking the phone to your ear.

It rang only once.

“Hey princess.”

“Logan, hi!” you said, your heart pacing in your chest. “Um, are you busy?”

“Not at all,” he said. “Took you a while to sober up huh?”

You could feel your lips curling into a smile at his teasing remark.

“I may or may not have been avoiding you,” you admitted, biting at your nails. “I’m sorry.”

“Not a problem,” he said with a small chuckle. “Why were you avoiding me?”

You shrugged your shoulders as if he could see you.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled. “Reasons.”

He hummed and you shifted your weight before you leaned back to the wall of the diner.

“Thank you by the way,” you said. “For…that whole night. And I’m sorry for—for making a move on you, that’s very unlike me and I—”

“Are you free tonight?”

Your head shot up, your eyes widening at his question and you felt your breath catching in your throat before you swallowed.

“Me?” you felt the need to ask and he paused for a moment as if he didn’t know how to answer that.

“…Yes?”

“As in tonight tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Uh—sure!” you said, your voice going high pitched for a moment. “I’d love that!”

“Great, I can pick you up from the diner—”

“No!” you cut him off as you looked down at your uniform, frowning slightly. “I need to drop by my place first.”

“That’s fine,” he said. “I can pick you up from there then. Does 8 work for you?”

“Yeah!” you said breathlessly as you nodded your head so fast that you got dizzy for a second, blinking fast. “It totally works for me.”

“Great,” he said. “See you tonight then.”

“See you,” you said and hung up, then let out a squeal and pressed the phone to your chest, jumping up and down in your spot. You took a deep breath, then fixed your hair and made your way back into the diner to rush to the counter again.

“He asked me out!” you whispered to Nik, grabbing his arm. “Just now, he asked me out!”

Jamie let out a whine and buried his face into his palms while Nik grinned at you, patting Jamie on the back in a reassuring manner.

“See? Told you.”

“We’re meeting tonight! At 8!” you said and paused for a moment. “Oh my God what do I wear?”

“A Regency gown.”

“Jamie I love you but not now,” Nik told him before he turned to you. “We’ll videocall okay? You, me and Julie.”

“Okay.”

“And after you and Logan become a couple, we can have a double date.”

That was enough to make Jamie lift his head from his hands. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll convince him,” Nik told you and you let out a giggle, your insides all warm with excitement.

“Nik,” you said. “I really really like him.”

Nik let out an “aw!” and reached out to squeeze your hand.

“That’s good!” he said. “I mean granted we will grill him about his intentions with you but it’s a great start.”

Jamie opened his mouth to disagree but Nik elbowed him, shooting him a glare. You suppressed your laugh as Jamie heaved a sigh, then turned to you.

“Just…” he said. “Be careful. Please?”

“Always am,” you promised him with a grin. “The pie is on me by the way. For emotional support.”

                                            *

It wasn’t that you hadn’t been on dates.

Nik was quite the matchmaker, so was Julie. In fact, for the last year, they had been acting like their sole purpose in life was to find you a boyfriend so if anything, you had been on too many dates.

Not that—

Not that you assumed this was a date.

Even if you were wearing matching lingerie underneath your dress.

You were basically buzzing with anticipation as you stared at your reflection in the mirror, fixing your hair before smoothing down your dress. Your wardrobe looked like it had exploded and for a moment the possibility of bringing Logan back to your apartment crossed your mind, making your heart skip a happy beat. You gathered up all your clothes into your arms to push them into the wardrobe, then put your hands on your hips, tilting your head to the side.

“Good enough,” you mumbled and walked to your vanity to check on your makeup, then went to the living room to approach the small fish tank. You grabbed the fish food next to it, then sprinkled it into the tank carefully before dragging your finger over the glass, following their movements.

Theo was going to be so happy when he saw them.

Your head whipped around when you heard the doorbell ring, your heart beating in your ears and to make it worse you knew very well that he could hear it but you refused to dwell on it, so you made your way to the door to open it.

Fuck, you were beginning to think you were never going to get used to just how hot he was.

“Hi!”

“Hi princess,” he said, his deep voice making your stomach do a happy flip as he looked you up and down. “You look beautiful.”

Oh dear God, you were not going to survive tonight.

“Thanks, so do you,” you said with a smile before you turned around to get your jacket and purse. “So um, where are we going?”

Where you were going turned out to be a cozy bar with soft music playing in the background. It was somehow so Logan, there was no chaos, no deafening noise or blinding lights.

Just pure comfort; the kind that made you almost lightheaded, warming your insides.

“So why exactly were you avoiding me?” Logan asked as the waiter put his whiskey and your cocktail on the table and you took a shaky breath, forcing yourself to focus on the question rather than how handsome he looked under the dim light of the bar as you crossed your arms on the table.

“I mean…” you trailed off, scrunching up your face for a moment. “I was embarrassed.”

“Why?”

“Uh I don’t know if you remember that night,” you tried to joke your way through discomfort. “But it wasn’t what one would call dignified.”

He shot you a lighthearted glare and you shrugged your shoulders.

“I turn into a very impulsive person when I’m drunk,” you admitted and his lips quirked into a smile.

“Yeah I don’t know that many people who buy fish when they’re drunk.”

“Oh you don’t know the half of it,” you said with a laugh. “I have a worse drunk story actually.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah, on my senior year in high school, me and my friends got drunk and in our town there was this guy who was a dog breeder,” you said. “And we knew he was terrible to them, we wrote petitions and everything for the town council to do something but there was no use. So one night, we knew he was out of town so we broke into his house and stole all the dogs.”

He raised his brows, smiling slightly. “Seriously?”

“Yeah! And we kept all of them at my friend’s house and one by one we got them adopted. The guy knew we did it, but there was no chip or anything so he couldn’t do anything.”

“Wow,” he said, a chuckle vibrating in his chest. “So you turn into a vigilante when you’re drunk, got it.”

“I do,” you said, raising your cocktail in a mock of toast before taking a sip while he leaned back. “I love animals. I was actually studying to be a—” you paused for a moment. “Well, studying is a big word for it considering I dropped out without even completing my freshman year, but I was studying to be a vet before Theo.”

He tilted his head. “Really?”

“Mm hm.”

“Classmate?” he asked and you licked your lips, an icy spark replacing the happy warmth inside of you.

“Uh,” you said, trying to sound nonchalant. “T.A actually.”

Logan pulled his brows together and you took a sip of your cocktail.

“Trust me, I know how fucked up it sounds now,” you said with a small laugh. “But back then I didn’t and it worked out very well for him.”

“That guy really sounds like he needs to get his ass beat.”

“Oh Jamie actually beat him up once,” you pointed out. “In what became known as The Legendary Bar Fight. We celebrate it once a year with drinks.”

“You could give me his address.”

“Absolutely not, and I don’t even know where he is to be honest,” you said. “Anyway, why are we talking about him? Also why am I the one doing all the talking yet again?”

“I like listening to you talk.”

You could feel your cheeks growing warmer and a smile curled your lips.

“Until I give you a headache.”

“Never gonna happen.”

 Your smile widened as you looked down at your cocktail, shifting your weight.

“Well, either way,” you mumbled. “It’s your turn now.”

“Oh, my turn?”

“I barely know anything about you,” you admitted. “Other than the fact that you have been saving me a lot since we met.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want to know?”

“Whatever you’re willing to tell me,” you said. “What did you want to be when you grew up?”

“Alive.”

Your brows pinched together as you took a deep breath.

“Limited options, got it,” you said. “Were your family also mutants?”

“My brother,” he said. “Victor. We don’t…talk anymore.”

Something in his tone was distant, so you decided not to push it.

“Do you like working for Professor X?” you asked, steering the conversation to safer waters and that seemed to pull him out of his thoughts as he nodded his head.

“Yeah,” he said. “Charles is the best man I’ve ever met. Don’t tell him I said that though.”

“Cross my heart,” you said with a giggle, proud of yourself for finding a better subject. “How did you meet him?”

“He found me back when I was a cage fighter.”

You blinked a couple of times. “Sorry, a cage fighter?”

“Yeah I was uh…” he paused for a moment. “Wandering.”

“How does one become a cage fighter?”

“Wrong crowd,” he joked, making you let out a laugh.

“I’d bet. And now you are part time teacher, part time…going on missions.”

“Mm hm.”

“And you have a costume,” you mused as he shook his head slightly. “Any chance I’ll get to see you in it?”

“If you ask nicely.”

A fire spread over your cheeks at the teasing tone in his voice and you scrunched up your nose at him.

“I’m always nice,” you pointed out nonchalantly. “Or has it escaped your attention?”

“Trust me, it hasn’t.”

His lips twitched when a smile warmed your face and that soft light started gleaming in his eyes.

“Okay,” you said, sitting up straight. “Another question.”

“Shoot.”

“You really didn’t get a handkerchief?”

He scoffed a laugh. “You remember that?”

“Unfortunately.”

“As I said, I had other priorities in mind.”

You narrowed your eyes a little. “I could see you in period clothing, now that I imagine it...”

“Please stop imagining me like that.”

“Like those long jackets, long boots—oh my God,” you gasped, making him raise his brows. “Logan!”

“I’m not gonna like what you’re about to say, am I?”

“A top hat!”

Logan nodded to himself. “Yep, called it.”

“No seriously,” you insisted. “On Halloween—”

“Absolutely not.”

You let out a small laugh.

“Nik throws these amazing Halloween parties and the theme was ‘write your own story’ a couple years back,” you said. “So I got this huge dress, like…17th century huge, with a corset and everything, and no one really thinks about it but it is quite hard to unlace a corset—" you tilted your head when you saw his smirk. ”Hey!”

Logan held up his hands, gesturing surrender.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Let me guess, you’re painfully familiar with how to unlace a corset?”

“Still not saying anything.”

You hummed, trying to adapt a serious expression.

“Anyway, Casanova,” you said. “So my story was, there’s this girl, who was betrothed to the love of his life, and then he gets lost at the sea and everyone is convinced that his ship sank, but the plot twist, he wasn’t dead so he comes back but he’s a vampire, and he turns her into a vampire as well –obviously with consent— and they live happily ever after.”

“Quite the love story.”

“Thank you,” you said happily. “So no handkerchief?”

“No handkerchief.”

You hummed, then heaved a sigh.

“Very well then,” you said and grabbed your purse to take out a pen, then pulled the napkin on the table to yourself to write your initials on it. You pulled back to look at it better, then held it out for him.

“There you go, Mr. I had other priorities.” you said with a grin. “A make do handkerchief.”  

The fond look on his face was enough to make your heart skip a happy beat as he stared at you, then took it from you and folded it before he pulled out his wallet, making your eyes widen.

“Oh I was just—you don’t have to actually keep it, it’s a silly joke,” you stammered and he shot you a glance of disbelief as if he was surprised that you thought he wouldn’t.

“I’ll keep it,” he said while placing it into his wallet in such a careful manner that one simple observer would think it was something incredibly precious for him rather than just a bar napkin. You blinked a couple of times, gawking at him.

“Really?”

“Really.”

You were painfully aware of the heart eyes you were giving him so you forced yourself to drag your gaze from him to your cocktail and took a huge sip, your heart still beating in your ears.

“Okay then,” you said, taking a deep breath. “I hope you’re ready for more questions, because I have like a million of them.”

                                            *

You had insisted walking after leaving the bar. It wasn’t that far away from your apartment, the weather was so nice, and you had hoped it would make him see you were completely sober, just in case it had escaped his attention how you had only drunk one cocktail in like two hours.

You had plans for tonight and it included him and your bed, God damn it.

“So you actually were a lumberjack?”

“I was cutting down trees and turning them into logs.”

“That’s what a lumberjack does,” you insisted as you walked beside him. “Julie has superpowers, I swear…”

“Hm?”

“Nothing,” you said quickly. “And you had a real cabin in the woods?”

“Something like that.”

“Are they still hiring?” you asked him, making him let out a laugh. “Seriously, I want a cabin in the woods.”

“For your Hi-Horse?”

Your heart skipped a beat as you stared up at him. “You remember that?”

“Of course,” he said as if he wasn’t melting your heart with that simple fact and you licked your lips.

“Did you have a horse?”

“Nope.”

“You had a cabin in the woods and you didn’t have a horse and two dogs and a cat?” you asked, pretending to be scandalized. “That’s just being short sighted, Logan.”

“Not all of us want to have a zoo, sweetheart.”

“It’s not a zoo!” you said with a gasp, making him grin.

“A farm then.”

“It’s not a farm,” you argued. “Farms have sheep.”

“Oh you don’t want sheep?”

“Of course I do but that’s beside the point,” you said. “It’s not a farm—”

“What are the sheep’s names?”

“Shearlock and Wooly Wonka,” you muttered, coaxing a chuckle out of him.

“Very creative.”

“Thank you,” you said. “I think it’s against the law to not have animals if you have a cabin in the woods.”

“It’s not.”

“Well it should be,” you said without hesitation and he bit back a smile as you stopped in front of your house.

Anticipation was swirling in your stomach, filling you with excitement and making your heartbeat faster. You knew he could hear it but for the first time, you didn’t mind it.

Desire was too strong to let you feel anything else.

“Um, so before I say what I’m about to say,” you said after a beat, turning to look at him better as you leaned back on the wall of the building. “I would like to point out that I’m completely one hundred percent sober.”

He tilted his head to the left, a mischievous light playing in his hazel eyes.

“Like, in case it has escaped your notice I only had one drink and it was a cocktail and it was a pretty light cocktail so like, half juice really,” you said. “And I’m not even buzzed, and even if I were buzzed, we walked here so fresh air would’ve helped. Which, it has no reason to help because to repeat I’m not even buzzed. I will blow on anything—that sounded wrong,” you corrected yourself, pulling your brows together. “Um, a breathalyzer I mean, if I blew into a breathalyzer it would come out a zero because I’m so sober, and—and—I don’t know if you paid attention to it, but I walked all the way here in a straight line, which should be the proof and if you didn’t, I can walk in a straight line right now to—”

You didn’t get to finish your sentence when he pulled you into a kiss.

You could swear the rest of the world stopped existing the moment his lips touched yours. His arm sneaked around your waist while he cradled the back of your head with his other hand, making your breath catch in your throat. Desire turned into fire in your veins, reaching your chest before it sent the warmth all over your body, making you dizzy. You gripped his shirt tighter in your fists, standing on your tiptoes, a soft whine escaping from your lips as soon as he pulled back, resting his forehead against yours.

“Fuck…” he whispered and you blinked up at him, nearly drunk in the haze.

“No I—I wanted you to do it,” you tried to find the right words through the fog of desire and he licked his lips, looking down at you before he shook his head slightly.

“You shouldn’t,” he rasped out and you pulled your brows together.

“I shouldn’t want you to do it?” you asked him, still trying to catch your breath and he nodded.

“I’m not…” he trailed off against your lips. “I’m no good for you.”

Your frown deepened before you let out a breath, and slowly reached out to cup his cheek. His eyes closed for a moment as if your mere touch was anchoring him to the moment, pulling him out of his own mind before he opened his eyes again to look at you. A tentative smile curled your lips and you thought for a moment before clearing your throat.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” you said, your voice soft. “I’ll be the one to decide whether you’re good for me or not. Alright?”

His eyes searched yours before he let out a breath, then nodded his head.

“Alright,” he said, his voice a murmur before he dipped his head down to kiss you again. A squeal escaped from you as he picked you up, making you wrap your legs around his waist and walked into the building. You had no idea how he didn’t lose his balance or hit anywhere on his way but you couldn’t bring yourself to care when he was kissing you like this, and you only noticed you had in fact reached your door when he pressed you against it.

“Inside, inside!” you giggled as you fished your keys out of your purse, and he held you with one arm, making your eyes widen while he took the keys from you and opened the door, then walked in and kicked the door shut behind him.

Oh God.

Oh God this was happening.

Now you understood what all those romance novels were talking about. You couldn’t pull yourself away from his kiss even if you wanted to, the fire had taken over your whole body until every single thought disappeared; the only thing that existed was him, and how good his lips made you feel. You wrapped your arms around his neck as you both fell on your bed, his weight taking your breath away for a moment before you unbuttoned his flannel and pushed it down his arms. He tossed it somewhere in the room and got rid of his white shirt underneath, making you let out a breath at his muscular body.

Jesus Christ.

Your fingertips grazed over his broad shoulders before slipping down to his hard chest and he helped you up to unzip your dress, his lips finding yours as if he couldn’t stand not kissing you even for a moment. He pulled back only to pull the dress off of you, but he froze as soon as his eyes fell on you.

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” the whisper left his lips like a prayer and you felt your heart skip a beat despite the ever-consuming fire.

“Not really,” you teased him. “I just planned it.”

He raised a brow, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes and he slid down to the foot of the bed, then grabbed your ankle to pull you down, making you let out a small scream before you giggled, propping yourself up on your elbows to see him better.

“What are you doing?”

He gave you a wolfish grin, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine as he knelt down at the foot of the bed, his fingers drawing lazy circles on your inner thighs.

“Well, princess,” he muttered, your heart leaping up to your throat when you realized what he was about to do. “You’re not the only one who planned things.”

8 - Scorching