#🟣 says something

[blu3bl00d3d]

....

we need a hug now... :(

-🟣+🎮+🟢

[euclydya]

completely fucked up our sleep schedule with a Nice Nap At Like 10 30 but like who care. i dont

[steddieas-shegoes]

heaven and hell were words to me

for @steddiesmuttyseptember prompts 'soft and slow' and 'bruise'

rated e | 2732 words | 18+ only, minors dni | check ao3 for tags

🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣

steve is somewhere between heaven and hell. is that purgatory? he thinks they read about it in school, but he didn’t think it would ever be relevant for him. he didn’t exactly believe in a higher power.

but the first time eddie munson kisses him, he thinks that god had to have something to do with his creation.

he’d never been kissed the way eddie kissed him. hungry, but reserved. soft, but with a promise of more. hands floating and finding every sensitive place to touch while their bodies are flush against each other.

and when he kept doing it, every day after school when steve picked up dustin and eddie was there waiting to see him, after visiting steve at work, after a date, steve started to wonder if all they’d ever do was kiss. and while he’d probably find a way to be content with that because this kissing was unlike anything he’d ever done before, he wanted more.

it took him two months to say anything. two months of tongues tracing teeth and lips, two months of wandering hands that never quite wandered far enough, two months of wondering if eddie didn’t want anything more from him.

they’re boyfriends, they’d had that talk surprisingly quickly after their first kiss.

steve just needs to know if he’s the reason they haven’t done more. that’s all.

this particular purgatory is the waiting. waiting for eddie to finish up hellfire, waiting for the kids to all be picked up by parents, waiting for them to be alone for the first time all week. he thought about waiting for eddie at the trailer, but he’s pretty sure wayne’s off tonight, and if the conversation goes the way he hopes, wayne shouldn’t be around to hear what they get up to.

finally, five minutes later than usual, the kids file out of the auditorium side doors, laughing and talking excitedly amongst themselves. it must’ve been a good campaign.

gareth and frankie exit next, heading to frankie’s car parked behind the auditorium. he gives them both a small wave from his driver’s seat, they wave back.

steve sighs as he checks the time on his phone a couple minutes later. eddie usually stays to clean up, but he rarely takes this long.

just as steve shuts off his car and opens his door to get out, the side door opens and eddie comes out holding his folders and bag of mini figures.

“eds!” steve calls.

“stevie! what’re you doin’ here?” eddie walks over to him with a grin. “thought we were meeting at my place.”

“i was actually hoping we could go to mine?” steve feels nauseous, worried that eddie will immediately sense what his plan is and tell him no. break up with him, even.

“sure, sweetheart.” eddie kisses the corner of his mouth. “i just gotta stop for gas and then i’ll be there.”

of course eddie wouldn’t say no. steve feels instant relief.

“okay. be safe.”

“always. you too. you seem stressed.”

“i’m okay. i’ll see you soon.”

****

they’re making out in steve’s bed when he finally gets up the nerve to say something.

eddie’s hands are holding his hips steady, keeping him from getting friction on his neglected dick, and he’s pretty sure if he doesn’t ask, he’ll combust.

“could we…like…touch each other or something?”

eddie pulls away and frowns. “we are touching each other.”

“no, yeah. we are, i guess. but i meant like, can i touch your dick and you touch mine? or can our dicks touch?”

eddie snorts. “did you really just as if our dicks can touch?”

steve groans. “yes! my dick is desperate! i get so hard when we do this and then i have to hide in the bathroom to take care of it because you don’t seem interested and that’s okay! like i don’t wanna pressure you or anything, but i just wanna know if that’s the route i have to take or if we’re ever gonna do more than this.”

he covers his face so he can’t see eddie’s reaction and so eddie can’t see how red his face is. at least his dick isn’t throbbing in his jeans anymore. the embarrassment seems to have made him go softer.

eddie’s hands pry steve’s away, and steve thinks that the look on eddie’s face is probably similar to how a lion looks before it tackles its lunch.

“i was waiting on you to make a move,” eddie explains. “robin said i should take it slow so you know i’m serious about you.”

“you won’t fuck me because of robin?”

eddie shrugs. he cups steve’s face in his hands and leans in to press a soft kiss to his lips.

“if you want me to have sex with you, all you gotta do is ask, sweetheart.”

“will you please have sex with me?” steve has literally never said those words before, but eddie gives him a lot of firsts, and this might as well be one of them.

“yeah, stevie. i’ll take care of you.”

it’s still slow, slower than steve’s ever done anything in bed.

eddie kisses down his neck, careful not to miss a single inch. he only pauses to take his shirt off, then continues kissing his shoulders and collarbone, across his chest, sucking on his nipples until steve is breathless and arching his back for more.

steve’s never felt taken care of like this. he’s always been the one taking care of someone, in bed, in life, in friendships. he’s not used to melting into sheets while a tongue traces lines between his moles on his stomach and sides. he could be, though, if this is what it’s always like with eddie.

“you okay with a mark?” eddie pokes a spot on steve’s side. he looks down to see the heart-shape patch of freckles under his ribs. he nods, feeling weightless and like he weighs a ton the moment eddie’s searching gaze rests on his eyes. “tap my head twice if you want me to stop.”

steve nods in agreement and his stomach does some kind of swooping maneuver that he didn’t think was possible outside of roller coasters and skydiving.

eddie’s mouth is hot and wet against his skin, his tongue darting out to taste him. he hopes he doesn’t taste too sweaty. unless eddie likes that.

teeth nip at his skin, tugging it further into eddie’s mouth as he sucks gently at first. steve moans. he thinks he could probably come like this if eddie doesn’t stop, which would probably be even more embarrassing than admitting he jerked himself off in the bathroom while eddie thought he was just taking a piss.

the pain gets sharper as his skin rolls between eddie’s front teeth. he knows he’s leaving a bruise now, and that makes everything blur a bit.

every time he sees the bruise, touches the bruise, presses the bruised part of his body against a counter or table, all he’ll think about is being under eddie.

this is heaven.

eddie pulls away what could be hours later, looking at steve with glossy eyes and red lips.

“good?”

steve can only nod. his voice has drifted far away and he doesn’t even mind if it never comes back. as long as he can have this, he doesn’t need to speak.

eddie unbuttons his jeans and slides them down, kissing down his thighs as he does so. steve’s shivering under his touch, his gentle care as he strips steve’s underwear off too.

steve’s leaking against his stomach, drops of precum adding to the light sheen of sweat across his waist and upper body. it’s not even hot in his room, it’s just the proximity of eddie’s body and the excitement of finally getting what he’s wanted.

“even better than i pictured,” eddie says against the inside of his thigh. his eyes haven’t left steve’s twitching dick since he finished taking his pants off. “can’t wait to get my mouth on you.”

“you’ve had your mouth on me all night.” steve’s being a shit, and eddie’s raised brow and shake of his head tells him eddie knows that.

“but i haven’t had you begging for me to let you come in my mouth, have i?”

steve feels heat blossom on his face.

“you’re gonna let me come in your mouth?” steve feels overwhelmed suddenly, too caught up in the thought of eddie licking the precum off his dick.

“if you’re good for me.”

“how can i be good for you?” steve dares to ask.

“oh, sweetheart. i’ve got so much to teach you.” eddie half-laughs, half-moans. “for now, as long as you stay still, i’ll let you finish once i’ve had my fill.”

steve can’t help but notice that eddie’s still fully dressed, but it doesn’t bother him the way he thinks it should. in fact, his cock jumps at the thought of being completely bare while eddie just stares at his vulnerability.

just as steve feels the blush on his cheeks shifting further south, eddie’s tongue licks a stripe up his length, from base to tip. steve clutches at the sheets, doing his best not to buck up and slap eddie’s face with his cock. he’s not sure eddie would be into that, and even if he were, now isn’t the time to test it.

“good. already so good for me,” eddie says before he takes half of steve’s length in his mouth and sucks.

is there something better than heaven? if so, steve’s there.

eddie was made to suck his cock. he’s gonna tell him that the moment he can breathe again.

eddie moans around him and swallows, and steve has never come in the first ten seconds of a blow job, but he thinks tonight might be yet another first for him. eddie does it again, and steve looks down to see him smirking up at him. he knows exactly what he’s doing.

“fuck, baby,” steve gasps when eddie takes him further, the head of his cock hitting the back of his throat. “need to come.”

eddie pulls off of him with a pop, spit dripping from his mouth. “not yet.”

his hand circles the base of steve’s cock, tightening around him until it’s almost painful.

“please, eddie.”

“i wanna enjoy this more. you can hold off for another few minutes, can’t you?” the way eddie asks feels like he’s teasing, and steve kind of loves the shame it brings him.

who knew he was a little bit of a freak?

eddie turns his head and bites down on steve’s inner thigh. it hurts, but his hot breath sends chills up steve’s spine. he throws his head back and moans.

“i’m taking my time with you, stevie. you’re getting cherished tonight.”

steve melts further into his mattress, and he hopes he can hold his orgasm off. he wants to give eddie what he’s asking for, and he wants to let eddie have his way with him, but his body is coiling up, ready to spring forward and end the night too quickly.

“i’m trying, i promise,” steve says softly, feeling tears in his eyes.

eddie looks up at his tone and immediately scoots up his body and covers his face in kisses.

“you’re doing so good for me, stevie. i know you’re all worked up and this is hard. i promise it’ll be so worth it if you can wait just a little longer,” eddie says between messy kisses.

steve giggles— he didn’t even think he knew how to giggle— and bunches his shoulders up. eddie’s breath tickles against his jaw and neck, but he doesn’t want him to stop.

he’s already thinking about calling out of work tomorrow so he can stay in bed with eddie for as long as possible.

“more?” steve asks, scared to make a demand, but happy to have found his voice.

“anything you want, stevie,” eddie says against his shoulder.

he kisses back down his body, leaving steve a trembling mess before he even gets his mouth around his cock again. steve’s fingers are tingling, his heart’s racing, and his stomach is fluttering at the attention.

it’s almost too much. it’s hard for him sometimes to see that he’s worth all this. he doesn’t understand how eddie can look at him like the sun shines from his pores, how eddie can spend so much time in his presence and not get tired of his needy behaviors.

he doesn’t see how eddie could want to give him everything when he hasn’t done anything to deserve it.

“you’re thinking too much,” eddie’s voice rumbles against the head of his dick. “what’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”

steve looks down at eddie and finally decides he needs to touch him. his hand settles in eddie’s curls, fingers gently scratching at his scalp.

“i just feel like you’re doing more than i deserve,” he admits.

eddie kisses the tip of his dick. it would be comical if his eyes weren’t burning with desire and he wasn’t opening his mouth to argue.

“you deserve the world, steve. and i’m gonna give you as much of it as i possibly can. i want you to feel so good you can’t think straight. is that okay?”

steve nods and watches as eddie does exactly that.

he’s never heard some of the noises he’s making, but eddie seems to like them. he’s moaning around steve’s cock every once in a while, eyes closing as he pushes steve to the edge.

“eddie. gonna come.”

eddie nods and pulls back so just the head is resting on his tongue, eyes watching steve intently. his fingers reach up to trace the bruise he left on steve’s side.

steve’s eyes bore into his as eddie’s fingers press into the bruise.

steve comes down his throat, shaking apart at the seams, quivering until he goes numb. the sharp pain of the pressure on his bruise, the overwhelming pleasure of his release, the warmth of eddie’s mouth, all more than he can handle.

he taps eddie’s head twice, hoping that will still be enough to get him to stop. he needs a second to wrap his head around what’s happened. he needs to focus on feeling human instead of like an angel in the clouds.

eddie pulls away, wiping the corner of his mouth.

“okay, sweetheart?”

steve laughs. “never better.”

eddie kisses over the bruise, lets his lips linger as he blows cool air against the wetness. steve shivers.

“kiss me?” steve breathes out, scared to break whatever moment is happening right now.

but eddie just smiles and kisses his hip before moving back up his body and kissing the corner of his mouth.

“a real one,” steve pouts.

“let me brush my teeth first,” eddie laughs as he tries to pull away.

“wanna taste though,” steve pulls him back down and smiles against his lips.

they kiss until there’s only the taste of them, until steve has to pull away for air.

he doesn’t know how long they’ve been here, and he doesn’t care. he could stay here forever. he hopes he gets this forever.

“oh,” steve’s eyes widen as it hits him.

eddie is surrounding him, the weight of his body and his gaze enough to keep steve anchored to the earth despite the sudden flight his heart has taken.

“i love you.”

he realizes the risk the moment the words leave his mouth, but he’s not taking them back. he feels safe.

eddie’s quiet, but steve isn’t worried, smiling up at him and letting himself feel it all. every ounce of love he has for eddie is there in bed with them.

“you do?” eddie finally asks.

“i do.”

eddie stares at him, opening and closing his mouth, probably trying to figure out how to let steve down gently. steve doesn’t think he will, though.

“you’re mine,” he finally says.

steve beams back at him. “i’m yours.”

eddie says i love you in a lot of ways that night, and the next day when he misses school and steve calls out of work.

steve’s covered in bruises for days after, for weeks, months. anytime one fades, eddie adds a new one to his skin, a temporary tattoo of possession.

but the love isn’t temporary, and steve thinks he’s lucky that he gets to have heaven right here on earth.

[grllmx]

"Ragatha in Wonderland"

🌻 Them side by side for height difference 🌻

Heya!! Y'all wouldn't mind some info dump, would ya?

But before I share my thoughts and ideas for this au, note that I am making this all for fun and that I am only merging two concepts at once because they sound fun in my head!

-- So without further ado, let's start shall we?

Ragatha in Wonderland is a fun silly lil' au I thought about in my spare time (Though I am aware that I'm not the only person who had similar ideas) buuut! Here's my take on how this concept goes ~

💜🟣🎀- - - - - RAGATHA IN WONDERLAND - - - - -🎀🟣💜

🌻 Wonderland is similar yet different from the Circus. Many possibilities await in this newly found land, but wait... How odd, suddenly everyone and everything is of new variation! Did things really stay the same? Are things different? It's a confusing world that warped and transformed the original digital land into something new. New places to explore, new outfits! New concepts... New people? It seems everything changed. Perhaps even... True death is possible now.

Ragatha - Plays the role as Alice. Confused and bewildered at first but Ragatha progressively adapts to the world and the surroundings around her. Acts like herself for the first portions of the story but as she dwells longer in this 'wonderland' she loses herself, her identity, as if the place was sucking out all of 'her'. She'll meet a lot of familiar faces. She feels comforted, knowing that she isn't alone in this newly found world but little does she know - they are not what she seemed.

Jax - The white rabbit leading Ragatha to wonderland. Jax was the one who dragged her in this, so Ragatha's first instincts was to follow him, hoping he knows where the exit is. Though he often plays tricks, teasing and playing with Ragatha's head whenever given the chance. Maybe he doesn't sound like a reliable shoulder to lean on, but he is Ragatha's key in terms of escaping wonderland.

Gangle - Starring as the mouse and the dormouse. The first person (other than Jax) Ragatha meets in wonderland. Gangle is skittish and has an extreme fear of cats. She does not like hearing or mentioning them, her mouse-like features says so otherwise. Though, in later unfortunate events, Ragatha scares her by mentioning, you guess it, cats. And then flees elsewhere.

Zooble - Following the (possibly tobacco) smoke trails, enters in the wise caterpillar. Meeting for the first time was not fun, in Ragatha's case mostly. Zooble asks Ragatha a lot of questions, typically centering around herself which gradually starts her descend into madness. Zooble's questions hit hard for Ragatha, making her realize a lot of things and learn more about the world. Though one question stuck the most, "who are YOU?"

Caine - The Hatter/Mad hatter. Need I say more? Hehe, anyways... Caine, alongside Bubble, is notably the most mad or insane person living in wonderland. Always yapping about random things (Riddles, jokes, factual statement... you name it) that can either be truth or made up, which Ragatha can't tell the difference of since they are always so surreal and deranged, or in other words, utter nonsense! He is another character that made Ragatha's mental state and mindset deteriorate. (Ragatha wishes to never meet him again)

Pomni - It's Pomni! Though, something is off... Pomni's role is the Cheshire cat. She's willing to help Ragatha escape, even suggesting ideas that felt to be possible, but are things really that easy? No, of course not! She is a red herring, a person filled with mischief that fools and plays with her victims until she deems them boring. Ragatha meets Pomni in the woods right after she ran away from Caine, and just like Jax, Pomni plays with Ragatha's head. But eventually helps her out and leads her to the kingdom's garden.

Kinger - Sometimes, a king is fit to be queen. Kinger is the Queen of Hearts, a short tempered, bossy but childish queen. After first meeting, Ragatha didn't deem Kinger as a threat at first, even playing a simple game of croquet with him. But as she starves and remembers that hunger was present in this land, she secretly ate the queen's well-known 'tarts'. This resulted into the seething rage of Kinger, declaring a court trial in which Ragatha was later proven to be 'guilty'. Hence, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

🌻 So, spoiler alert -- Just like in original tales and stories inspired by Alice in Wonderland, this was all in Ragatha's head, a dream! I'm debating to either turn this into a comic or not, because I think it helps further explain my ideas, but who knows? Maybe with the right motivation and energy, I might do it.

Thank you for reading! Have a nice day/night 🌻

[thewritetofreespeech]

Gale x Tav

WORDS: 1994

RATING: E

PAIRING: Gale x Tav (post game pairing)

SUMMARY: Gale's perspective on how his lovely little ring went while he was all alone, watching Tav through his projection's eyes (part i part ii)

TAGS: magic sex (literally. but also metaphorically), f/m, voyeurism, Gale using magic for naughty reasons, masturbation

-------------------------------🟣--------------------------------

Some of the most gifted, magically academic minds were in this hall right now. And all they could do was argue about table settings.

Gale sighed and stood up from his chair with his drink. Already tuning out the lively debate about Faerûn midcentury design and how one professor could tell that its wood was clearly Zazesspur from the pre-capital era, while another professor stated she was clearly being absurd as the lines in the wood were obviously from a wood in a much more norther region like Neverwinter.

He left his wife home alone for this?

Gale left the company of his fellow academics for his quarters. No one seemed to notice. There was a time when Gale himself would have been immersed in the lively debate along with his other book beaters. Sparing wits and parring with obscure contextual footnotes for no other reason than to prove they were the smartest in the room. It all seemed so trivial now.

Once you’ve brushed against death, not once but twice, and fought the destruction of the world with your bare hands, academic strife seemed…pointless. Absolutely pointless. Like the rest of this week had been.

When he originally received the invitation for the summit, Gale had been overjoyed. Honored, more like. To be recognized as a man of distinction at the school he held so dear, in education in general, for only just starting was a great achievement for him, he felt. Now he wonders if it was just that no one wanted to go, because it was so boring.

He wished that he could have just projected his consciousness here, like Tav suggested, so he could be home with her now. With his much better wine and much less blow-harded company.

The door to his quarters clicked into place behind him and Gale sighed at the quiet. Enjoying it for just a moment, until he opened his eyes and saw just the small desk, by his small bed, in his small room, with his small window. Oh to be home…..

Gale took a seat at the desk as he wasn’t quite ready for bed. He sat his wine down. His magic lighting the few lamps in the room for him to see as he debated about reading or reviewing the agenda plan for tomorrow in want of something to do.

Then his eyes caught a glint of the ring resting on the oak (or was it Neverwinter ashe?) and picked it up. A gift from his wife. One of those spontaneous, no reason, ‘I was down by the market & I thought you would like it’ kind of gifts. Gale smiled wistfully at the memory of her giving it to him. And he thought he was the romantic out of the two of them.

His thumb brushed against the smooth silver. Admiring it, like he wished he could be admiring her right now. This was the longest he and his beloved had been apart since they got married. A few days here and there, but nothing this consecutive nor extensive. Gale doesn’t like it.

He tries not to be obsessive with his love, but when Gale loves he loves passionately. And Tav has been a big part of his life ever since she pulled him out of that misbehaving portal. They’ve built a life together. She’s the first person he wants to tell everything about his day, and eager to hear what she’s been up to when they were apart. And at night...well, let’s just say that it was a good thing this place had the option for bracing cold baths in the morning.

Gale examines the ring further as his teeth pull in his bottom lip. ‘I wonder if it will work’ He mused to himself as he pondered on a spell he had created a few months back but never put into practice.

It started out purely from an academic standpoint. He wanted to make that very clear! Just a simple…trans configuration experiment on magically linking two objects together and see what the effects would be. He hadn’t intended for it to turn into a sort of randy parlor trick, but he had impulse control issues.

Setting the ring down, Gale recalled the simple incantation and gesture needed for the spell. Focusing his magic and the Weave to press not just into the ring but also link to his beloved. He hoped Mystra had her back turned for a moment while he cast this one.

Spell incantation done, Gale picked up the ring and gave it a small nudge. Nothing happened. He supposed that should be obvious. The effects would be on the other side of the link and not here with him. Gale tried it again, hoping to feel some kind of magical sense of confirmation, but still nothing.

Humming to himself in befuddlement, Gale looked over at the clock in his room and did some quick math. It was almost 2:30 in Waterdeep. Which meant that it was almost time for his normal office hours at the academy. Perfect. If Tav was there, which he was certain she would be as she was dutiful to a fault, then Gale knew exactly where they were, and he could see if his ‘gift’ was working out well for her.

Calling on the Weave again, Gale focused his consciousness and perception to separate from him and fly back home to Waterdeep. Silently wishing it was that easy for him. When his projection landed, and the mental link between them righted into a clear picture, Gale’s mouth went slack as he saw Tav. "Gods above...." Her cheeks were flushed. Her breath panting. Her body in clear stages of pleasure as her hands braced herself on his desk. Gods! What he wouldn’t give to be there right now to make love to her on that definitely Sword Coast mahogany.

“Hello there!”

Tav’s head jerked up at his projections greeting, and Gale groaned at the wild look in her eyes. Surprise first, but then bridled arousal. Just waiting to be unbridled and throw her into loss, but his dutiful love was well aware she was still in public and in a school.

When she spat an accusatory remark about him doing this to her and Gale touched the stone of the ring now on his hand. He watched Tav’s knees quake in response. It worked. Oh....goody.

He moaned in tandem with her image but then told his specter to tell her what was going on. Gale didn’t want to leave her in the dark. Tav seemed to accept this, but then asked about all the practicalities of him doing this at work and getting caught. Wouldn’t that be a shame?

He tells his image to tell her about his office hours and the locked down, then moaned along with her as her hold finally became unbridled and she fell into his chair. Limbs asunder as she just accepted what was happening to her and gave into the pleasure.

Gale continued to touch the stone with one hand, while the other went to his belt and quickly undid it. He’s been hard since he first saw her against his desk. Now seeing her give loose to the pleasure, Gale might cum in his pants like he was a novice back in school and Gods could you imagine if he had someone like Tav for a teacher?? He’d still be in his Active Principles of Elements & Arcane lectures.

His hand stroked his erection with the same speed as his massaged the stone. “Tell her I’m happy she likes my present.” He orders his projection. Watching her through their eyes. It did as it was told and Tav opened her eyes to stare right back into them. Gale moaned. The heat in her eyes, the desire, that cheeky grin coiling on her lips almost make him double over against his own desk.

“My present, eh?” Tav answered back, and Gale bit his lip so hard he nearly tasted blood.

“Yes. Of course. I did this for you.”

The projection relayed his response, but that doesn’t seem to convenience Tav. “Just for me?” Gale watched, transfixed, as his beloved began to open her blouse ‘in front of him’.

He whimpered at the sight as his thumb brushed over the aching red tip of his cock. He had to swallow the drool collecting in his mouth before he could respond with, “yes” for his projection to repeat. But the damn thing went rouge and blurted out his secret, so he pressed his thumb harder against this stone to distract Tav from its honesty.

Soon, Tav was begging him to fuck her. Desperate and needy. Mewling like a wanton kitten; or maybe that was just him. She asked if his projection was anatomically correct like last time and before it could fully answer, Gale ordered, “no!” He didn’t want to watch an illusion of himself make love to his wife. It was silly to be jealous of a projection of himself, that he created, but Gale wouldn’t have it.

If he couldn't have her, no one could. Not even his illusions.

Tav whined and looked ready to just do it herself. Gale gulped as he watched her hand move to the front of her pants, prepared to slide down and--Gale gripped the base of his cock to stop himself from cumming. He wants them to cum together, but it seemed rude to have Tav finish herself off.

Conjuring all the magic he could, Gale used the mind’s eye of his projection to summon Mage Hands. They touch her everywhere he wanted to, all at once. Tav seemed delighted, although overstimulated. He would have to remember that for later. Her delicate sweet hands gripping the armrests of his chair as her body arched and bucked against the hands. Gale watching it all as he jerked himself closer and closer to the edge. “Tav…!” He knew she couldn’t hear him, but he had to say it. Almost a reflex at this point as he came.

His hand was a mess. Portions of his desk splattered with it too. Cold baths only negated the symptoms, not the cause. So he was quite backed up since coming here.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

Gale and Tav look up at the projections ask. Taking it upon itself to check in on her. What a good little ghost.

She told it yes, and Gale felt his cock twitch at the look in her eyes. Perfectly sated and happy, but still that glimmer of ‘more’. He tells the projection to let Tav know that the door would be opening soon, and she should get righted with herself; lest they be discovered. She made a very clever retort about him deciding to do this here if he was so concerned, which made him smile and love her all the more.

Gods how he missed her.

“Ask her if she would like to do this again tonight. When we're at home, and a little more private.”

The projection did as it was told, and Gale groaned as Tav bit her lip before giving an enthusiastic yes. Then, Gale severed the link, and he was alone again. Alone with only his hand and his memories.

He cleaned himself off and thought about going back downstairs for a final nightcap, as he was too riled up still to sleep. But when he opened the door, and heard the architecture debate still going on, only now they had switched to stone, Gale closed the door and rested his head on whatever cheap wood this terrible door was made out of.

He had to get out of here. He had to go home.

So he spent the rest of the evening coming up with a clever plan and semi-lie about how his wife needed him. “Emergency. Unavoidable. Must get home before my wife spontaneously combusts…without me. Should probably leave that last part out.”

[cosmic-ghost-hermit]

Take what resonates. Leave the rest behind but always be open to new perspectives! Also followers I will be answering my inbox soon. I just needed a day of rest because my life is busier than initially expected.

PILE 1

plushie: Rainbow Pastel Grim Reaper

astrology: Aries ♈️, Capricorn ♑️, Aquarius ♒️, Cancer ♋️

Welcome, pile 1! Your psychic abilities help you make decisions and keep yourself safe from harm. Often you aren’t given the time to use this ability because of people rushing you and not respecting your time. However, when you are given the time to listen to your heart and mind, you make such intuitive decisions. You have a mixture of clairvoyant, claircognizant and clairsentient. Clairvoyance is when you can see the future in different ways. You could see visions of what is to come or have prophetic dreams. Clairsentience is when you can feel the future in your gut. Claircognizance means “clear-knowing” which means you can know information just by tapping into your abilities. The combination of them can be a little odd to experience. You could enter an environment and immediately know who you can trust and who you can’t trust . You just know. There is no explaining it or proving it because you just know it and you can feel it in your bodily response. That’s how your claircognizance presents itself. You are especially good at lie detection. If someone tries to deceive you or has ulterior motives you can see the motive dripping from their words. It’s like you get the ICK but you couldn’t really say why. Or perhaps you dreamed someone would betray you or that someone was crushing on you, then it became real. Please don’t ignore your hunches or your dreams just cus there is no proof. The two different fool cards in your reading tell you to trust your gut because if you listen closely you will never be wrong.

🩵🎀⚜️🟣🏳️‍⚧️🔮💓🥣🪁🍭🏳️‍🌈🍇☂️💦🌨️🪺🦋🦄👛💘👚💅🏿😈🔀💝👾🥶🎐⚛️💖

PILE 2

plushie: Gray Grim Reaper

astrology: Leo ♌️, Sagittarius ♐️, Scorpio ♏️, Pisces ♓️

Hi, pile 2! Your psychic abilities help you to naturally alchemize time and pain. You are a healer, clairaudient and clairsentient. It looks like you have been through so much pain that your clairsentience has helped you remain positive even when life gets tough. You usually transmute your pain into creative projects as a way of healing from that hurt. I see that you might absorb others' pain when you touch them. So, you might not enjoy physical contact very much. People really like your physical contact though because it takes their pain away and soothes their emotional wounds. Your clairaudience is very strong but it looks like it is a fairly inactive skill of yours while your clairsentience is used regularly. Your clairaudience is most active when you are in a deep focus state. When you are reading or watching something you are the kind of person to predict the twist ending before it even happens. Your psychic abilities make you a master of art and creative endeavors. They also make you a master of energy manipulation.

🤍🍏🥚⛅️☘️🐣🐯💛⏲️🚕🧩🪀🎾🧂⚾️🥡🍯🐻‍❄️😶‍🌫️🌽🥦🍌🍋🧪⚱️💚🖼️

PILE 3

plushie: Plague Doctor

astrology: Libra ♎️, Taurus ♉️, Gemini ♊️, Virgo ♍️

Hey there, pile 3! Your psychic abilities include telepathy, claircognizance and manipulation. I know manipulation sounds kind of scary to hear if you have the view that manipulation is a negative thing. I promise the kind you use isn’t that way. It honestly focused on uplifting people rather than putting them down. I also see you use it to open people's perspective up to new ideas. You use your telepathy as a tool to do this. Same for your claircognizance. You are incredibly intelligent. You may not exactly read minds but you might as well be by the way you read body language and micro expressions. You use all these abilities to do very good stuff. Which is very honorable and noble of you honestly. You could do so much malicious shit with psychic skills like you have. People might mistake your skills for being an empath. Despite how good you are at filling up other’s hearts, you are quite new to the ability to persuade them. That feels like a newer ability that you may have started honing recently. I see you probably have ADHD or some kind of neurodivergence that works in tandem with your psychic abilities. You are so powerful pile 3. I honestly can’t say that enough.

❤️💙🌹🦋💥💦🍒🫐🍓🧊🎸💎🎯✈️🧲♿️🎈🧿🚭🛜🩸🔷♦️💤🪭🥶💔🇦🇺

[abirddogmoment]

I love seeing Rory run in the field!! Bird dog doing bird dog things!! You said in the tags you had different training and priorities with her vs Mav re: offleash running like that. What kinds of things did you do differently with Rory to be comfortable having her offleash at a distance with reliable recall?

I was writing a whole novel but really it boils down to this chart. Under the cut because it's (vertically) long.

In short, it's just as much about what I didn't do with Maverick as what I did do with Aurora.

(Edited to add: I am extremely fortunate to live in the prairies where the kind of visibility I need is easy to find. Use my experience to inspire your own training if you like, but don't use it as a recipe. I have my own goals and my own priorities and those are likely different than yours.)

Maverick:

🔵 Supremely confident from day 1

🔵 Came home in August (extremely good and exciting time for outdoor adventures)

🔵 Prioritized specific sports behaviours over foundational building blocks like engagement and cooperation

🔵 Learned bad habits from my older dog at the time (prey drive > recall)

🔵 Was indiscriminately prey driven. If it moved, he wanted to kill it.

🔵 I phased out treats too fast and didn't want to use an ecollar or long line

🔵 I focused on "social media dog behaviours" (think like walking extremely close to me on trails) and got frustrated when we couldn't meet these rather than meeting my dog where he was at. This created a lot of frustration in our dog adventures.

🔵 I practiced recalls constantly when I didn't have to, making them a tedious behaviour for him. I would recall him 20-50 times a hike for everything from "you're too far away from me" to "I want to take a photo".

Aurora

🟣 Came to me a little insecure and looked to me for reassurance

🟣 Came home in December (a cold and relatively boring time for outdoor adventures)

🟣 I prioritized engagement, cooperation, and name recognition from day 1

🟣 Practiced good habits by walking offleash in the snow either alone or with Pike (amazing recall)

🟣 Is extremely birdy, but is very very focused. She easily calls off deer or people/dogs in the distance because she mostly cares about birds.

🟣 Literally always gets offered a high value snack for recalling or voluntary check ins (I will never phase this out, I will carry chunks of cheese on offleash walks for the rest of her life)

🟣 I never practice recalls if I don't need them. This one is hard to explain, but once Rory understood that long whistle = come back as fast as you can, I don't whistle unless I really need to. I recall her an average of 0-3 times per hike (*based on visibility or wildlife*) and trust her to make good decisions otherwise. I keep my eyeballs on her 100% of the time and choose areas with good visibility, but I don't recall her just for being far away.

🟣 I limit hikes where I have to nag her often (think, in the woods where I dont have a great line of sight and have to remind her to stay close to me) to a few times a month or less so she doesn't start getting frustrated about it.

🟣 I trust the training I put into her and choose to run her in areas with (relatively) reduced risk if she makes the "wrong" choice. I don't nitpick everything she does and I let her make her own choices, within reason.

🟣 I have an interrupter cue to ask her to stop doing something before I call her back (if she's digging a hole and I want her to move on, I use "Rory, enough! Here!") instead of whistling at her.

🟣 I don't force her attention on check ins. If she runs back to me and doesn't want a snack and wants to run straight back out, I let her run back out.

🟣 I have anticipatory cues for the end of a walk so I don't have to recall her when we get to the end of the field.

I want to say that it's nerve wracking to watch my dog sprint at full speed hundreds of yards away from me. I have to fight the impulse to recall her just because she's far away. It's an exercise in trust because I'm always worried about her going over the horizon, or running into a wildlife, or falling into a hole, but it's an important thing to work on if you have a dog that needs that trust to thrive.

Mav and I were a good team, but I never fully trusted him outdoors. I always had my finger on the ecollar buttons ready for him to do an evil and need to be vibrated. It was exhilarating to watch him in the field, but it wasn't really fun or relaxing.

Rory and I built a much stronger foundation of trust (I personally never would have been able to do this if I had more than one dog). She doesn't know any tricks yet, but I'm super confident in her recall and ability to take direction in the field, even when she's sprinting as fast as possible.

[unforgettwble-sumii]

SICK ｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ˎˊ˗

(Wednesday x Fem!reader oneshot)

> swearing/cursing, reader gets sick

🟣 After running out in the rain like a crazy maniac without a raincoat or at least something to cover you, you got sick. As expected. Wednesday volunteered to nurse/aid you back to normal. Thing being with you to keep you company and help you as well.

—–·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—

"ughhhh" you groaned turning on your side and putting an arm over your forehead. "shit, I should've wore a raincoat" you said, clearly struggling.

"yeah you should've. Now I have to nurse you." Wednesday says going inside your dorm. She brought a tray with her, with medicine, breakfast and water.

It was a school day today, but considering your current predicament, you couldn't go to class. Miss Weem's had excused you from your classes.

To everyone's surprise, Wednesday Volunteered to help you out. What a sweet thing to do, Addams.

"shut upppp, you volunteered yourself." You say groaning even louder. Your reply caused Wednesday to shoot you a glare. But honestly, you were right.

"why wouldn't I? I would be classified as a bad girlfriend." Her reply stunned you. You meekly sat up, you wanted to see Wednesday in a better view.

Her reply caused your already red cheeks to heat up even more as you stared at her. "What? Anything wrong?" She asks shooting you a glare.

"...no... nothing" you say with your hoarse voice, giving her a closed eye smile. Wednesday just sighs and mentally rolls her eyes. "You're lucky I'm even doing this." She mumbles, causing you to giggle.

She placed the tray on the nightstand beside your bed. She grabbed your breakfast - which was soup, and sat at the foot of your bed.

"Here, eat this." She says moving closer. "What's this?" You ask peaking at the bowl she was holding.

"what does it look like to you?" She says, glaring at you with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Geez...sorry, I was just asking" you say leaning back into your beds headboard. Your lips started to form a little pout.

Wednesday just stayed silent, as if she was trying to think of a reply carefully in order not to upset you any further. "It's soup...it's one of my grandma's (Granny frump) special recipes. She used to make it when Pugsley or....me got sick. Ofcourse now, she doesn't make it for me since I don't get sick." She carefully replies looking up at you.

"and you learned to make this recipe...just for me?" You asked with questioning expression, a gentle smile, and your cheeks heated up just like awhile ago.

Wednesday glanced at the lamp beside you and nodded a little. "But only because you're sick. I'm only doing this for your sake." Her reply caused you to smile even wider.

"And I had to ring my parents up just to get this recipe so you better be grateful and eat it." She added, glaring at you.

"Thank you, Wen" You were truly grateful to have her. Wednesdays cheeks were very lightly coated with blush, she nodded at your reply.

"You should eat this now. It's better to eat it while it's still warm." She says glancing at the soup infront of her.

You nodded your head and picked up the spoon full of soup, you were honestly kind of struggling.

Wednesday saw your struggles, sighed and she carefully took the spoon from you and fed you herself. Small act, but it caused you to get butterflies in your stomach.

"Eat it." She says moving the spoon closer to you. "..but I'm not hungry" you say pouting. "Amor, you need to eat" Once again, you were stunned.

Her reply caused you to open your mouth lightly due to shock. She used that opportunity to shove the spoon in your mouth.

"Swallow." She sternly says, After that she continued to feed you until you finished the whole bowl.

"Drink water and eat this medicine I prepared for you." She carefully grabs them from the tray. While you ate and drank it, Wednesday studied your face intently. You felt the pressure of her stare but you brushed it off.

"Good. Now, I have to get to class, Thing will be here to keep you company and bring you lunch and anything else you need." She says glancing at the appendage.

Thing gave her a thumbs up in reply. "While I'm gone you should take a nap. I know how much you lack sleep, so please Amor."

She gives you a concerned look and holds your hand. "I want you to get better." She says looking at you with a loving stare, Something she only ever does to you.

You gave her a nod as a reply, you leaned closer to her to give her a quick peck on her cheek as a good luck for her school day.

"I'll be back soon Cara mia." You both gave each other a small smile and she went off to go to class.

ଘ [ 5 : 30 p.m ] ଓ୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊

You had a hard time smelling and your nose was stuffy, so Thing rummaged through your nightstand and pulled out a tiny jar with liquid in it.

Thing open it and rubbed some of the liquid on the top of your nose and a little bit on your collarbone.

The aroma of the liquid made you realize that it was eucalyptus oil. You gave Thing a thankyou since you could smell much better now.

But, you had wondered who put that tiny jar off eucalyptus oil there? You asked Thing and he took out a notepad and wrote 'Wednesday' , you gave him a nod and a smile in return.

You slowly glanced at the clock beside your bed, "They've been out for a while..." You say sighing. School usually finishes at 3 pm, So Wednesday and your friends should've been back about 2 hours ago.

You've been waiting for hours, Thing being by your side and keeping you company while Wednesday and your friends were gone.

Thing woke you up awhile ago at around at 12 : 10 p.m, to eat your lunch. After that you scrolled through your phone - However, you immediately stopped and put your phone away after realizing that it caused you to get headaches.

You and thing decided to play chess for a bit - both of you ended up in a tie. While both of you were having fun, Thing made sure to check your temperature every 30 minutes. (He recorded them on a notepad to show Wednesday later.)

'Don't worry, I'm pretty sure Wednesday's on her way here.' Thing signed in attempt to cheer you up.

"Yeah you're right..." You replied...tho you still felt a little down, but you brushed it off. You thought that maybe you should just go take another nap, so you did.

A little while later Wednesday came back. She moved closer to your bed and noticed you soundly asleep with a folded wet cloth on your forehead.

Thing was right beside you making sure that the wet cloth didn't slide off your forehead. "Thankyou for the help, Thing. I'll be sure to give you a reward by making an appointment to your favourite nail salon" Thing moved his fingers around as a way to say thankyou.

Wednesday nodded and sat beside you. Thing moved and gave the wet cloth to Wednesday. She carefully wiped the cloth on your face then gently put it back on your forehead.

While she did that, Thing went to grab the notepad where he recorded your temperatures (and some other things he noticed) and gave it to Wednesday.

Wednesday thanked him once again and the little appendage went out of the room to give Wednesday and you some time alone, and also to find Enid.

"I promise to double your reward." Wednesday said as Thing was on his way out of the room.

She looked back at you and noticed you stir from your sleep. "..Wen..is that you..?" You say rubbing your eyes.

"Yes Amor, it's me." You pull her down so she was laying down right beside you. Both of you remained silent and enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of the room.

A few seconds later Wednesday spoke, "Sorry for keeping you waiting...Enid dragged me along to the Carnival. And I uhm, I got you something"

She pulled something from behind her.

"I hope you like it, Amor." She whispers giving it to you.

You smiled at her and gave her a peck on her cheek "THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOUUU" you squealed in response.

You were hugging it as if your life depended on it, it made Wednesdays black heart warm up.

You always made her feel like this. You felt incredibly lucky to have her, Wednesday felt lucky to have you aswell. You were her lucky charm, Her treasure. Nothing else compared to how much she treasures you.

She pulled you closer, the adorable plushie was right in the middle of you. It was quite a silly sight to see but it was still adorable.

You treated the plushie with such care, as if it was yours and Wednesdays child. That thought popped up in Wednesday head and she couldn't hide her blush.

You noticed her face started to lightly heat up so you put a hand over her forehead, "Wen, I think you might be the one that's sick" you giggled.

Wednesdays lips curled up into a small smile. Oh how she was head over heals for you, just like how head over heals you are for her.

After all that giggling, your body felt more tired, Even after napping the whole day. You melted into her touch and both of you cuddled up each other.

"Get well, Amor" Wednesday whispered as you were soundly asleep. She dozed off after a little while. Both of you truly enjoyed the nap.

until Yoko and Enid called you guys for dinner.

They happened to catch you guys cuddling with the little plushie in the middle.

They couldn't help but take some pics. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well for your wolf and blood sucking friend after Wednesday found out that Enid posted the said pics on her blog.

But that's a story for another time.

a/n:

Oml, this took way longer than intended and I am so sorry for that. Oh, and I didn't proofread it so I apologize for any grammatical errors or basically any mistakes. (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠🎀)

Its 11 pm and I have a toothache so I apologize if nothing makes sense. I swear I feel like I'm high or smth. (⁠●⁠´⁠⌓⁠`⁠●⁠) [pls don't take that seriously, I'm not high.]

Howeverrrr, I'm FINALLY done with thissss and I'm very gladdd.

I started to continue working on this after I ate dinner so imagine my happiness once I finished HAHAAHHA

If you have read my other oneshot, the "go to bed, Amor" you would have known about the bat plushie

૮₍ ´ ꒳ `₎ა

I'm rlly tired so I'm gonna go to bed now ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

I luv u all, byeee!! 🎀 - unforgettwble-sumii

©unforgettwble-sumii's work. Pls do not repost, steal modify, or translate.

[enb-y]

↬ 07 DONATELLO COMFORTING READER WHO’S HAD A BAD DAY.

2007 teenage mutant ninja turtles.

request: ❝ hiya! i hope you’re doing good!

could i request some headcanons for a female reader x 2007!donnie, and the reader has had the worst day and she has a temper like raph’s and like basically how donnie would try to comfort her after finding her crying ❞ — 🟣 anon.

warnings: nothing too serious, mentions of crying.

characters: 2007 donatello

writers note: sorry if this seemed short, I’ve actually finished this in one day, I have actually been feeling a bit more motivated to write since I’ve been struggling with off and on writers block. I’m sorry for getting to ur request late.

readers pronouns are not mentioned.

✶ honestly, donatello probably would give you some advice for your temper, but he highly doubts it’ll work since some of it barely works for raph. maybe, because he doesn’t listen or merely doesn’t care. but he really does try with you and try to calm you down, especially if your day has been crappy. he won’t talk to you if that’s what you want. you’re more than welcome to stay in his room (lab?) if you’re needing a quiet space.

✶ when donatello came over to your place, who you specifically had a bad day, the worst day and was very stressed out to the point you broke down. he honestly didn’t know what to do. he’s never seen you cry, yell? yes, but rarely ever directed at him, which is good. the first thing he asked was if everything was okay and what was bothering you. he’ll allow you to vent, tell him about your awful day and try to comfort you (I don’t think he’s good at comforting others).

✶ if you want to cuddle, then that’s fine. he’ll cuddle with you and play with your hair as he holds you close to him. he’ll even have some kind of background music for you, if you wish to listen to something as you cry on him.

✶ he’s actually a good listener, and will listen to everything you have to say. as cliche as this sounds, this man will wipe your tears away, because he thinks that’s best and comforting. his hugs are pretty nice. he’s the type to rub your back as you cry on his shoulder and he’ll have another hand combing through your hair and answering back to you so it doesn’t seem like you're talking to a brick wall.

✶ he’ll put on a movie for you, any type of movie and he’ll be the one to order you food, you know? he’s decent at comforting, but he’s not the best, because there were times where he didn’t know what the hell to do— he’s a scientist not a therapist. but he does try his best with you in comforting you. he also has his stressful moments.

✶ this man also has a nice voice, it's soothing. his voice will be the most comforting in the moment as he tries to ease you. donatello will do everything you ask of him, just so you aren’t stressed out anymore. donnie has his moments of sweetness, there are times where he’s just bluntly honest.

end - live laugh love 2007 donatello. also, sorry if this made him seem ooc, I gotta rewatch the movie 💀

[blu3bl00d3d]

👥🌱☀️🌊🌺🌾

For the did/osdd ask game!

👥 Is there a person you all can be yourselves around?

Unfortunately, we are really only ourselves on the internet. We don't really tell people who know us IRL that we are a system, due to some pretty heavy trauma the last time we did.

🌱 How open are you about your DID / OSDD?

Not very, unless it's on the internet and we have that layer of anonymity. This is due to the same reason above.

☀️ How do you all prefer to communicate?

We scream at each other in our inner world. We rarely write down things to each other because we forget what we have written in or forget what to write all together.

🌊 Any inside jokes in your system?

I (Toby) have a joke with Micheal; anything named Michael/Micheal is him, any character that is gay is him. It's kinda spread and almost everyone does it now.

🌺 Describe one part of your inner world.

The Backroom! It's like a massive warehouse with warehouse shelves and rooms that are most likely offices. From what I am told, it's quite dark in there and really cold.

🌾 Any songs you relate to DID / OSDD?

I'm pretty sure we had one and forgot about it! I guess we could say Amnesia was her name by Lemon Demon because of the tons of ✨amnesia✨ we deal with. I don't really know how to explain it, you will just need to trust me or listen to it.

-🟣

[euclydya]

do you ever think of your source self and wonder if they'd be proud of who you are or am i just stupid. idk

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 24

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 23 🟣 Part 25

A reverse harem vampire AU ft. Mikey, Marshall, August and Sherlock

Series summary: Somehow, you've managed to live with your boyfriend and his roommates for months before finding out they're vampires, but the real shock first comes when they find out you have a special quality. A quality the guys would love to make use of...

Warnings: Fluff, ongoing vampire shenanigans, mentions of drug abuse, addiction, tragic backstory, August's completely unwarranted hatred of jellybeans.

Word count: 2.7k

A/N: Family trip!!!

@geralts-yenn @deandoesthingstome @ellethespaceunicorn @summersong69 @mis-lil-red

@sillyrabbit81 @livisss @itsrubberbisquit @ktficworld @proud-aroace-beastie

@plaidcat4815 @wa-ni @lovemusicpart2 @lizzystuffsthings @manysecrets2020

@sarcasmoverlordxo

“Tell me something,” you whispered to Mike, who was sitting in the way too comfortable chair next to you, reclining the seat — probably without feeling any guilt towards Marshall and Sherlock, who were sitting behind him. They had plenty of leg room left. “How are we flying first class right now?”

“August refuses to fly coach,” Marshall answered that question for Mike. The answer didn't surprise you. Like, at all.

“It’s not like we can't afford it,” August snapped from the seat in front of you. The one next to him was empty.

“Charles would be proud of you,” Mike taunted. You didn't see the smack that followed, but you heard Mike's pained grunt all too clearly.

“Please don't break him,” you laughed. Mike snuggled into your side, glaring at the seat in front of him and kicking it for good measure. “And you can stop this tantrum right now, or sit next to August.” It was a good thing he was so damn cute.

“He's not wrong, though,” Sherlock pointed out, a hint of amusement to his voice. “Charles is the only other member of our family with the same insistence on certain levels of luxury.”

“Do I count as a member of your family?” you chuckled. All of your guys looked at you as if you'd gone crazy. And it was a silly question; of course you were a member of the family. “Because I think I might just be learning to appreciate those standards.”

“And exactly how expensive are dates going to get now?” Mike asked with a smile. “Because… Just because they are all fucking loaded, doesn't mean I have unlimited access to those funds…”

“Mostly because an ungodly amount would be spent on Jelly Beans, and an even more ridiculous amount would be spent on videogames,” August sneered. Mike just shrugged — he could hardly deny it; the fact that your arrangement meant Mike didn't need his mountains of Jelly Beans anymore, hadn't exactly meant he wasn't still eating plenty of them, much to August's chagrin.

“August, just because you live a boring, joyless, Jelly Beanless life, doesn't mean I have to,” Mike sighed.

“How long has this been going on?” You asked Marshall and Sherlock.

“I'd say since the invention of the Jelly Bean,” Sherlock said, “but Mike wasn't around back then. I believe that happened somewhere in the late eighteen hundreds…”

“As long as Mike has been around, then?” you asked, not wanting to ask them too many invasive questions such as ‘how in the hell do you know when the Jelly Bean was invented?’

“At least for as long as they've known each other,” Marshall answered, explaining that that hadn't happened until about thirty years ago. Still, that was a long time to have a whole feud over candy, you pointed out.

“It's a long time to be addicted to candy,” August growled.

“Eh, I guess an “addiction" to Jelly Beans beats all of those other addictions I had,” Mike shrugged. “Oh…” His cheeks flushed when he saw the troubled look on your face. “I guess I never told you…”

“Much of anything, Mike,” you said softly.

“It's not the best story.” He tried to shrug it off, but you could tell something was bothering him. “It's, eh… It's not exactly a version of me I want you to know about, either.” He looked at you, the sadness in his eyes becoming more and more pronounced as time went by, and it took some serious effort to convince him you loved him for the man he was now, not who he was forty years ago.

“Alright, fine,” he sighed. “What do you know? So I know where to start…”

“That Marshall ran into you in the eighties and that you were hanging out with a bunch of goths and goth-adjacent figures,” you summed up quickly, eager to get to the rest of the story.

“Alright, well… What’s important is that you know we're talking about Berlin in the eighties. My dad got a job there, so we moved from here to Berlin when I was six or something. That went well for a few years, and then my dad died when I was fourteen. I didn't think much of it at the time, but over the years… Something about it doesn't check out, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if my mom killed him because he had an affair with his secretary, but whatever. Water under the bridge, I guess.”

“Mike! The fuck?” He said it so casually…

“Sweetcheeks, it doesn't matter, okay? Dad was gone, mom worked all the time to keep a roof over our heads, and I became completely unbearable—”

“And that never went away,” August said. You could tell he was smiling.

“Hey, thanks!” Mike replied, rolling his eyes. “Anyway. I'm a completely unmanageable teen at this point, and Berlin in the eighties was not the place for that. Like, it goes wrong shockingly quickly. I think I was sixteen when it really started going south.  Like I said; Berlin in the eighties was something else.”

“There were two things the government couldn't exactly get a handle on,” Marshall interjected. “One was vampirism, the other heroin. The two went hand in hand, more or less.” He looked down at his hands, clearly not at ease.

You had just decided not to press the matter when Sherlock offered an explanation. “Junkies were… not simply easy targets, although it would be hard to deny that they were.” It actually took you a while to notice that Sherlock and Mike had switched place, and that while you were looking straight at Sherlock, who was now sitting next to you. “Back in the day, addicts and vampires were connected by the mutual illegitimacy of their existences — although the vampires naturally had several advantages over humans from marginalized communities—”

“Anyway,” Mike cleared his throat and appeared next to you again. “The thing about a junkie is that they'll do pretty much anything for a fix. Including volunteering to feed vampires in exchange for some cash. Now, those were not the people you've heard us talking about up until now…”

Apparently, the goths you'd heard about had been the ones who took Mike in, the ones who tried to get him clean. “And they succeeded,” Mike said with an apologetic grin on his face. “Several times, even. My mom had stopped caring at that point, and then when I was nineteen — a few weeks before Julia, my ex, ran into Marshall — mom died, too…”

“He found out what I was not much later,” Marshall said.

“How?”

“I walked in on them, after Julia and I broke up, except I didn't walk in on what I at first expected to be walking in on, if you catch my drift.”

“Went about as well as you'd expect from the guy who's pretty much okay with everything,” Marshall laughed. “We did really well for a few years.”

“We'll spare you the lengthy, boring part with all the domestic bliss,” Mike swooped in before Marshall could elaborate. “When I was… twenty-two? Fairly sure I was twenty-two, yeah… Anyway, I met a girl—”

“Of course you did,” you blurted out before you could help it, immediately looking up at Mike with what must have been the guiltiest look of your entire life so far on your face.

“I don't blame you for that. Anyway… She was in trouble — the kind of trouble I'd been out of for years, at that point, and I thought I could be to her what Julia and Iris had been for me, but—”

“You relapsed?” you tried. Right on the money.

“Yep… Even years later, Hedwig — that was her name — pulled me right back under. Wasn't her fault, of course. It's not like she put a gun to my head and forced me to stick a needle in my arm or anything. Can't even say it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't met her. Anyway, the point is; it happened… Not a great time. I—” He nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “I’m happy to tell you the rest, but… later?”

You took his skittish look at the other passengers to mean he’d prefer a more private setting. Deal.

A left turn and the change from smooth asphalt to crunching gravel beneath the tires of the car startled you enough to let out a loud, disapproving hum and lift your head. You hadn’t been asleep, per se, but definitely dozing off a little, your head resting comfortably on Marshall’s shoulder. Mike’s hand was on your thigh, eerily — vampirically — still ever since you’d asked him for the third time if he could stop moving it because it tickled. He enjoyed tickling you, you were not a fan.

“We’re here, princess,” August said from the front seat, and you leaned over to look out the window, seeing nothing but forest, forest and more forest.

“We’re where?” you asked, surprised at the absence of the house you’d expected to see.

“The estate,” Marshall noted calmly. And exactly how big was this estate? “Big enough.”

“Charles likes his privacy,” Mike noted. His fingers were tapping a gentle rhythm on your knee now, and his legs restlessly bounced up and down with excitement. “You’ll love this place!”

The car finally pulled into something that actually looked like a driveway — that is to say, it was the same gravel, the same road, but you could finally see that there was a house attached to it. Mansion. Villa. Actually it was closer to something resembling a small castle, but this wasn’t Europe, so…

“Charles also likes extravagance,” August snarled his answer to your unasked question.

“I can see that,” you muttered breathlessly as you followed Mike out of the car when it came to a halt in front of the stairs that led to a pretty grand front door. “Where is Sherlock?”

“Right here, darling,” he called from the top of the steps, where August was also already standing — holding both of your suitcases and your backpack.

“Wait, how did the three of you travel so… light?” And how had it not occurred to you to ask that question before now?

“We have everything we need here,” August explained. “Mike, get her up here!”

One of the heavy wooden doors opened the second Mike put you down, and a small woman stumbled through it. She was a little older than you, with long, black hair down to her waist, and she looked absolutely exhausted.

“Priya!” Sherlock said, grasping her elbow to steady her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Holmes,” she replied before turning to you and reaching out her hand. “Hi, I’m Priya. I’m—”

“Dinner.” Oh, for the love of god, why did you have to snap at her? You didn’t even know the woman, but the thought of her feeding your vampires was entirely too much. “Sorry! I—”

“I get it,” she chuckled. “My sister, Nalini, has your… talent. She’s protective of her family as well. And you’re not wrong, just a bit impolite.” You deserved that.

“I don’t know what came over me,” you said. “I’m so sorry.” Not to mention how rude you would have been if you had been wrong… What if this woman hadn’t even had any idea she was visiting vampires?

“Are you sure you’re okay, Priya?” Mike asked, his brow furrowed, and his voice concerned.

“I’m alright, guys,” she laughed — but it took a lot of effort to do so. “I’ve been sick before, I always survived.” With the back of her hand, she wiped the sheen of sweat from her brow, and you noticed an intricate reddish design on her palms. She caught you as you tried to get a better look. “From my eldest sister’s wedding,” she said. “I can show you pictures later this week, but I really have to go. The sooner I get home, the sooner I can start sleeping off this cold, or whatever it is.”

“Please let us know when you get home,” Sherlock said as he walked her to the cab you’d just stepped out of.

“That was unnecessarily rude, princess,” August snapped when the car drove off.

“I said I was sorry,” you muttered quietly, not daring to look August in the eye. “I… You’ve all known her for a while, haven’t you?”

“She’s been coming here for years. About a year before Sherlock and Mike moved away,” Marshall explained. “Now, what’s really bothering you about this?”

“I thought you’d never been in this kind of… arrangement before,” you muttered, also avoiding Walter’s eyes.

“And we haven’t. You heard her; she’s not like you.” Marshall ushered you into the hallway, where the others were already waiting. The sound of the door falling shut behind you made you jump. “Charles was willing to pay a small fortune to drive her out here. Once a month, just as usual. And all the rules of the Bank still applied, just as usual. So, if you’re worried for so much as a second that you’re not special to us, you can stop that now.”

“Did she say she would be back later this week?” you asked softly. Part of you hated the thought of anyone but you feeding your vampires — even the ones you hadn’t met yet…

“She’s a friend of the family, not just… dinner.” The unfamiliar voice behind you startled you more than the closing door had, and you spun around as quickly as you could — but not quicker than the owner of the voice, who had apparently already walked around you, and was now standing behind you. “Would you stand still and let me do the moving, please?”

Two hands descended on your shoulders and gently turned you around, so that you were now face to face with the ‘new’ vampire. He was handsome, his face all angles and edges, with kind eyes and a charming smile. Judging from the sour look on August’s face, this had to be Charles.

“Charles Brandon, pleasure to meet you,” he said softly as he took your hand in his and shook it briefly. Perhaps too briefly? The charm of his smile almost made you overlook the sadness behind those kind blue eyes. Almost.

Next to you, Mike was swaying back and forth on his feet, waiting for introductions to come to an end so he could— Before Charles had even fully let go of your hand, Mike lunged forward to hug the man. “Alright, kid,” Charles laughed, “you’re home. It’s okay.”

“Where’s…” Mike asked as he let go so the others could subject Charles to similar treatment of warm ‘glad to be back’-hugs. Of course, the one between August and Charles was short and tense, but other than that, it was a perfect display of warm familiarity.

“Right behind you,” another unfamiliar voice spoke. This time, you didn’t bother to turn around — a wise call, as a split second later, another man appeared before you.

“Melot,” he said as he reached for your hand, raising it to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to your knuckles. For some reason, it made your heart skip a beat. Melot looked much younger than Charles, or any of the others — younger than Mike, even — and you were fairly sure it didn’t have much to do with the dark, shoulder-length curls that framed his face. “I’m glad you’re finally here.”

“He’d ask you how your trip was, but… he already knows,” Charles noted, adding to your confusion. “I see she hasn’t been told much about him? Does the same apply to me?”

“She knows enough,” August growled, followed by a grunt as Marshall kicked him in the shins.

“August, that’s enough, go to your room!” Sherlock snapped. It was absolutely hilarious to hear those words from him, but what really had you in stitches was the fact that he actually walked away — presumably to the aforementioned room.

You only stopped laughing when Mike gently nudged your side with his elbow, at which point you looked at the others in the hallway, who were all looking at Sherlock in bewilderment. After a strange, tense silence that lasted far too long, August joined you again.

“Would someone fucking explain to me why he got to do that, here?” he sneered.

Melot chuckled softly. “It would seem that our hierarchy changed with the coming of our queen.”

[thewritetofreespeech]

Gale x Tav

words: 811

rating: G

summary: basically there are too many things about Gale being 'the perfect husband' and having 'the perfect marriage with him', but even the best couples have bad days and fight.

----------------------------------🟣---------------------------------------

It’s been hours. And the two of you still hadn’t talked.

You pull the covers tighter around your body. Surely a pseudo comforting mechanism to make up for the phantom cold you were feeling. It was an emotional chill, not physical. This might be the first night in a long while that you might go to bed alone, and it’s certainly the first night in a while you aren’t going exactly willingly.

You and Gale had a huge fight. You can’t even remember what started it exactly. It was something small. Simple. Yet it seemed neither one of you were willing to get over your mole hill and now there was a chasm between your two mountains.

Playing the fight over in your mind, you were trying to figure out where you went wrong….

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m being ridiculous!” You snap back at Gale. “Ridiculous. Yes. I’m being ridiculous because I asked you to help out in your own house.”

“And I said I would get to it later!” Gale snapped back. He rubbed his temples with his hand across his eyes. “Gods above, would it kill you to have a little patience from time to time??”

“Perhaps. If we had it your way we’d still be on that beach by the nautiloid for how long your ‘laters’ take.”

Your husband glared at you. “Insulting my character. My, what a fine fall we’ve made for decorum in this house.”

“I’m not insulting your character, Gale. But what about you! You just called me ridiculous and that’s not insulting my character?!”

“It’s not insulting your character if it’s true! And you’re being ridiculous!”

It had all gone downhill from there. More insults. More backbiting. You both said things you didn’t mean, like you saying you should have stayed in the Gate if this was how things were going to be and Gale wishing he still had his orb because it seemed the only way to get out of this conversation.

He had taken off not long after that with an “I’m done” and stalked off to some remote, quite corner of the tower to cool off. You hadn’t seen him since.

Now that the fight was over, and night was closing in, you wished you could talk to apologize. But you didn't want to be the one to go to him. You didn't want to 'lose'. Which you knew was toxic and childish, but you couldn't help the way you felt.

So, that never happened and for the first night in a long while that you go to bed alone. Quiet tears on your pillow.

The next morning you wake up. Face puffy. Eyes red. No real sleep to call your own, so you went downstairs to get coffee.

You find Gale already there. His own cup in his hand. Looking equally disheveled and un-well rested. But, and most importantly, another cup across the counter in front of him. It’s steam wafting up from the mug so you knew it was fresh. Cautiously, you move to the counter and take it. “Are we still fighting?”

“Do you want to keep fighting?” Gale asked back. Not trying to instigate the fight again, but gauge your commitment to continue it.

“No. I don’t.” You sip your coffee carefully. Even though you’re fighting, it was still perfect. “Where did you sleep?”

“In my study.” There is an ornate couch in there. Leather. Expensive. More of an art piece than a comfortable piece of furniture. His lack of sleep may just be from trying to sleep on that rather than the tossing & turning you did last night. “I didn’t think you’d want me.”

“You could have come to bed.”

You probably wouldn’t have talked, and it would still be ‘cold’, but it was still his bed too. “I don’t like it when we fight.”

“It’s not my ideal way to spend an evening either, my love.” Though he said it his ‘my love’ doesn’t have the same warmth in it it normally does. “Look…I’m sorry if I upset you.”

“I’m sorry too.” You apologize back. “I didn’t mean to….”

“We both said things we didn’t mean.”

The two of you sip your respective coffees. Not really sure where to go from here. Yes, you apologized. The fight was over. But apologies weren’t like the incantations Gale threw around all the time. They weren’t actually magic words to make all the hurt you felt a moment ago go away.

“Do you want a hug?”

He didn't say anything, but Gale sat down his coffee and came around the counter to you. You both wrap your arms around each other, but it’s awkward. Stiff. There is love between you in the hug, but that chasm you built last night was making it harder to each one another. It would fill. You both would mend. But for now it was just going to be a little uncomfortable around the house.

The two of you separate and go back to your coffees. Sticking to safe topics like what you would like for breakfast. Hopefully you couldn’t disagree to harshly on that.

[zimithrus]

PLEASE PURPLE 🟣 FOR ZAKKURA I MISS THEM

AH YOU GOT IT!! 💜💜

(The list for the curious)

🟣 Something Soothing/Domestic

"1...2...3...4... For the love of Odin, Zack how many boxes of these did you buy??"

Cloud glances out from the kitchen, incredulously frowning at his partner who happens to be following along with workout videos on the TV.

"8." He says so easily, too easily. Not even breaking his eyes away from the screen.

"Did you really have to buy 8 boxes of these brownies?"

Zack actually pauses and looks at him fondly. "Well of course, Sunshine. They're your favorite."

Softly stunned, Cloud bites his tongue. He glances away with a faint blush, "Whatever, it's your money."

Thanks so much for the ask Kaz!! 🫶💜😁

[selective-insomniac]

Rottmnt fics i found, ao3 edition. Join me in my misery

Updated: March 14, 2023

Key

word count guide:

🟣 - long finished (70k+)

🔵 - long unfinished (70k+)

🟢 - short finished (70k-)

🔴 - medium unfinished (20k-70k)

🟠 - short unfinished (20k-)

🟡 - comic

Subject:

🐢 - Future Leo

🐬 - Crossover

🐙 - Recovery/Aftermath

🌈 - LeoSagi

🦍 - Trapped Leo

📦 - Seperated Au

🐆 - Different World

🌂 - Donnie Centric

🦊 - Mikey Centric

🍓 - Raph Centric

🐊 - 2012/other iteration

💧- Major Character Death

Ottherwise, it’s Leo-centric lol

🟣📦Red Rover Red Rover Send My Brothers On Over! - Theserpentsnight

🟣🧢🐢🐆His World - SkylerSkyHigh

🟣🌂👾The Dawning of the Hour - Faiakishi

🟣🌂🤕Causa Scientia - urlocalllama

🟣🐙🧢Aftershocks - Katiemonz, McBethins, octolingkiera, theashemarie, this_kills_the_man

🟣🧢🐢💧Dead Man’s Deal - loneAnonon

🟣🐬🐊Dagger From the Mirror - TotallyNotASecretAO3Account

🔵🧢🐢Mutant Ninja Midlife Crisis - a_platypus

🔵🐬A Tale of Spirits - unorthodoxx

🔵👓🧢I May Be Invisible, But I Still Look Good - Dandy

🔵🧢🌈Worlds Apart - ash_kunoichi1925

🔵🐙The Aftermath - Starcrossrose

🔵🧢Change of Perspective - characcoon

🔵🧢🐬Shredder’s Vendetta - Cass_Phoenix

🔵🧢🐬Two Souls - Virgilisspidey

🔵🧢Like Father Like Son - eternalglitch

🔵📦Blood is Thicker than Ooze - mybrainisacandywrapper

🔵🧢🐬💧Tattered Remains (the sequel to Frayed Knots)

🔵🧢🌂🐙Brother Dearest - Wardenov

🔵🧢🐢Trial and Error - ApatheticRobots

🔵🍓🐬The Eldest Brother - dEBB987

🔵🐙Power Up - pickledcarrotsandradish

🔵🦊A Mystic Connection - rytheoneandonly

🟢🧢🌈🐙Rest With Me - sometimesimakebadchoices

🟢🧢🐙The Call Back Home - Gooselnsurance

🟢🦍🐙What Happens After - Fandom_Brat

🟢🧢🐆The golden flowers of life - Fandomnerdfrogs

🟢🐬Recoil - unorthodoxx

🟢🦊Empathy Amplified - Filsamek

🟢🦊🐬The Fight for Mikey - hinacu_writes

🟢🌂 Unmaking - corvidown

🟢🧢🐬Of Leo’s and Leonardo’s - Toothlessbored

🟢🍓First Words - less_depresso_more_espresso

🟢🧢Would It Really Matter? - Angelpuns

🟢🐢Remember Me - VanillaVengeance

🟢👾👓🐙So Many Different Ways To Say It - CupidsAroAce

🟢🐢🧢🦇if i don't make it back from where i've gone, just know i loved you all along - purpleturtle9000

🟢🌂With (Internet) Friends Like These - StormFireGirl

🟢🧢🌈Paper rings - lydiasgrace

🟢🧢Games We Play - NewFallenLeaves

🟢🌂Dial Tone - SleepyCyborg

🟢🧢🐬Frayed Knots - renawaywithme

🟢💧Fading Memories - HellsTrojanHorse

🟢🐊B.E.A.S.T - skylerskyhigh

🟢💧🌂🦊Quiet Your Mind - daedelweiss

🟢Bed bargain - VeryCoolKid69

🟢🌈🐙give me something that’ll haunt me when you’re not around - taizi

🟢🐙🐬waiting on a miracle - lydiasgrace

🔴🧢🐢Odd man out - cosmoscrow

🔴👓🐬Behind the Scenes - catboycamdotcom

🔴🐢🧢At My Worst - teainthesnow

🔴🐢🧢Yesterday (it was so far away) - Midnight_Duel

🔴🦍🧢Never Do That Again - DiscowingSuit

🔴🌂Carapace - SkeletalConstellation

🔴The Same Little Faces - awkwardusagi

🔴🧢🦍Adrift - Zanrelle

🔴🧢🐬Neon - characoon

🔴🧢🐢We’ll meet again, soon - chiangyorange

🔴🍓📦We Share Blood - Clovrtree

🔴🧢🐆Rotten Reflections - Nicoforlife

🔴🐊Fusions - AmevelloBlue

🔴🐊🐬The hogwarts remix aka screaming and magic at all times - cxlesstial, HeyAssbuttImBatman

🔴🌂🐙Do The D. A. N. C. E. - Pariscite

🔴🧢🐢Last Grain Of Sand In The Hourglass - TjLockticon

🔴🌂📦Nothing Left To Lose - halfwayzone

🔴🌂Donatello’s guide to overanalyzing things - LasciviousEnby

🔴🌂🐬👓Ghost in the Shell - AmevelloBlueb

🔴🦁Fracturing Time - ofdogsandwriting

🔴🐬🐊🌂Arcadia - SkylerSkyHigh

🔴🧢🌂👓The Old College Try - theashemarie

🔴🦁Too lucky to count - iooiu

🔴🧢And… We’re Off!! - SailorSaysAhoy

🔴🧢🐢🦇In The Bottom Of The Bottle (I See Your Reflection) - BeeCeit

🔴🦁🐢Just this once, everybody lives - TheDragonTribes

🔴💧🦊Mystic Hands - characoon

🔴🧢🤕Every Night the Longest Day - ashtreelane

🟠🧢🐢🦁🐀Not quite kintsugi, but close - katterv

🟠🧢🐢Three-Sided Coin - Willow_Wept

🟠🧢Let’s Make A Deal - BeeCeit

🟠🧢🐢To See Another Day - teainthesnow

🟠🌂🤕Young Root, Old Rock - SirryGray

🟠🐢🦇Traveling Memories - Camiliero

🟠🧢🦍💧Ghost with the most - Moth_mutant

🟠🐢I think I would prefer the prison dimension - PurpleCatGhost

🟠🐬💧Different Places, Different Faces - RoyaltyStudios

🟠🌂🦊🐬The Purpleest Man Alive - Cloud_Hater

🟠🧢🦍Krang Graveyard - Blue1Pheonix

🟠🧢🐢Wrapped in Regret - Vallmo_05

🟠🐙🌂Seven Times - Fastern

🟠🐬Is This A “No Way Home” Reference? - ShadowOfFandoms

🟠🐙🧢In Time, We’ll Be Alright - MetamorphicRocky

🟠👓Brotherly Snippets - Secret_Universe

🟡🍓🌂The Brains and the Brawn - jadethestone

One shots:

Shellshocked - redhairedmuses

On Understanding Caring Hearts - ParvumAutomaton

Lined with gold - mad_and_thick_as_thieves

Catch - Annkey

Promise? - TechnicalMachine

Indigo Sunset/Indigo Sunrise - TheObsidianSun12

Bar the door - ApatheticRobots

A Throbbing Headache - DiscowingSuit

Someone just as inspiring - mad_and_thick_as_thieves

🦊Angelo - daniartonline

Leonardo's Secrets - ofdogsandwriting

Patterns - FanGirlFreak16

🐊In The Aftermath - sccredhead

Nothing to Say - morning_sun

It’s About the Peace of Mind - characoon (sequel to Neon)

🐙🦊Hold him tight (and never let go again) - ItzZaira

Somehow It’s Worse - Filsamek

🌈Fifty Cents - emiartse

🌂Switch 404 (dead man's error) - VeryCoolKid69

💧Meteor Shower - Surmie

Lay It All Out - NicoleAW

💧🐀A Ninja’s Greatest Weapon - get_scrambled

🐢🐙Chiquitita (Or, The Complicated Act Of Forgiving Yourself) - Bubbly_Kandy

💧🌂🍓Rocks fall, everyone dies - Tenka

💧🌂Forget-me-not - TheArchetypeArchives

Feel the Colors in Between - GalacticDreamer

🐙Electric Blue - MidnightDuel

😷Who’re you hiding - sunflowerstarfruit

🤕Sword and Shield - The_City_Kitty

🤕👾This heart of mine that’s guilty, not remorseful - strawberryfwog (karamarinara)

🤕🌂🧢I Feel You - GriffinStone

I guess this is my life now

[isbahstudio]

Reading & Retaining

🟣 As an avid reader, it can sometimes feel like my books are flying by.

You read a book. You finish it. You don't remember it. You start a new book.

This can turn into a vicious cycle.

Here are some tips to help you retain the books you read!

🟣 Read Slowly - I know we all have our reading goals to meet. But don't let superficial metrics ruin the actual pleasure of reading and immersing in books. Slow your pace down a bit, so you can actually digest what you are reading.

🟣 Summarize Each Chapter - You can do this mentally or in written form if you enjoy journaling about your books. Take a few minutes to reflect on the chapters you have read. Summarize the key plot points either mentally or in written form. You can even stick a small post it note on that chapter's page with 3-4 bullet points about the main events.

🟣 Tell The Story To A Friend - If you have a friend or family member that likes to hear about your books. Summarize the book when telling them about it. This will prompt you to reflect and synthesize what you read.

🟣 Take Short Breaks Between Books - Take a 2-3 days off between books. This will give you some time to reflect on the book and really feel the impact of the book.

🟣 Diversify Your Book Reading Sequence - Another reason why it is tough to remember books is because you are reading too many similar books in a row. Say you read a Sci Fi Dystopian novel. Break it up and read something light hearted and contemporary after. This will help your brain categorize all that you have read.

➡️ I hope these little tips help you on your book reading journeys!