#Also I am. SO fucking sweaty for no good goddamn reason and I fucking hate it here

[technofinch]

I'm about to call out all of my coworkers by name in what critics are calling "the world's most doxxable vent post" but i don't CARE these people are trying to KILL ME

Aleris leaves everything dry over the weekend and Matt doesn't check liners so half of it is SOPPING wet and Mushtari leaves the sprayer in gh5 and when I get there to move it I find out she left TWENTY FIVE gallons of tank mix in it and I can't dump it out now bc there's people working in here and it's full of pesticides so now it's twice as heavy as it should be and I have to lug it all the way back UPHILL to gh2 and I've only been here an HOUR

And not to mention zach, who isn't even here, fucking SCOLDING me last night for being ~slightly~ witchy in a group chat with our boss even though I was RIGHT and I don't give a shit about being polite to my so-called superiors!!!! I've been here longer than Caleb has I do NOT need to pander to his every emotion if he's giving me useless fucking complaints I can tell him that!!!! I'm not here to pick boots motherfucker I'm here to grow plants!!!!!!

CORRECTION: it was Blanca who sprayed gh5 and the release valve was broken & she couldn't take it back bc jenny had already started the fog in gh3 so she and mushtari are absolved of blame but I'm still gonna be a huge bitch about it

[benjinoff13]

Black widow suits: Age of Ultron

It’s finally time for me to talk about my hatred for natasha’s Age of Ultron suit, if you don’t like negativity this post isn’t for you because I really don’t have anything good to say lmao

Let me start off by saying that I am biased, my opinion on the suit is influenced by the fact that I really don’t like Age of Ultron, it was one of the mcu movies that had the most potential to be amazing but it was just executed so porely 

Now let’s talk about why we’re really here, I’m gonna make a list of reasons why I don’t like the suit 

1. Fabric

The material just straight up annoys me, I don’t like the way the folds look idk how to explain it but it just looks cheap, rough and uncomfortable, I’m a big fan of using different kinds of fabric (like with the Winter Soldier suit) but it just doesn’t work here, the stitches look bad, and there is a lot of unnecasary patches that just don’t look good like the ones on her shoulders 

2. Glow thingies

Those goddamn glow sticks, what was the reason???? So enemies can spot her better? It just doesn’t make any sense, I wouldn’t have minded it if it at least looked good but it doesn’t 

3. Gloves + weapons 

Why so big?? I’m guessing betweeen Avengers and Age of Ultron Stark might have created some new weapons for the group including Natasha which is why her widow bites look different than in the other movies but they just look so heavy and unnecessary, she always did fine without that canon strapped to her wrists so why add them now? Again it looks cheap, it’s giving CW instead of MCU, I also just really don’t like the red gloves it’s a good idea in theory but it’s was executed porely, it would have worked better if the suit had been all black, I also don’t like that the gloves cover her fingers, I think fingerless gloves like the ones in Black Widow work way better, it’s definitely easier to work a gun that way and it doesn’t get hot and sweaty like normal gloves would 

3. Boots

WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING FUCK ARE THOSE?? I’m not gonna pay too much attention to the heels cause we all understand that that’s stupid by now but overall they’re just ugly, how does she tighten them?? Where are the laces?? Why the fucking platform, what are those straps underneath her calves? that would be so annoying while running I’m just so tired by now I’m actually getting fed up looking at this picture so I’m stopping now 

4. Chest

Now, as someone with a similair chest size to natasha I am telling you it is horrible. This?

is NOT going to work, just look at her chest in the Age of Ultron suit compared to the Black Widow suits 

The black widow suit does what a sports bra does, it pushes your boobs closer to your chest so it’s compressed and that way they don’t move around when you run, jump etc, now when you compare that to the Age of Ultron suit you see that that suit is doing the exact opposite, it has boob cups (I hate them so much) so the stichting underneath and around the boobs and the additional fabric actually lift them up and bring them out more, it kind of has the effect of a push-up bra and that would really really get in the way while fighting and exersizing believe me, your boobs would go absolutely everywhere, it hurts and it slows you down, it does. not. work, it’s just a bad design, I wouldn’t be surprised if the costume desginer got told to design it that way by the men in charge of this movie 

Anyway that was my presentaion. Does anybody have any questions? 

[zodiyack]

Rude! (3,000+ Follower Fic Special 1/3)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Female!Hopper!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Billy stuff, lyrics, fluff

Song: Rude by Magic!

Words: 1,798

Summary: Billy's love for Hopper's daughter is too strong to be stopped by the tough Chief Jim Hopper. Despite being told "not in a thousand years", he plans to love her regardless.

Note: Thank you so so much! I love you all, and writing your ideas, as well as sharing mine with you, has been so fucking fun and amazing! I'm sorry for my lack of words, I wish being an author came in handy with writing this, however, all I can say is that I love you all from the bottom of my heart. I've seen people do shout-outs, and ask-related stuff with their follower things, and I may do that, I'm not sure. For now, I hope you enjoy this... Thank you all, again!

Also 1/3 means that there will be two other fics released for the 3,000+ follower present!

Taglist: @urie-bowie-mercury, @matth1w, @redspaceace-writes, @fandom-puff, @darling-i-read-it, @simonsbluee, @sebastianstanslefteyebrow, @dpaccione

Masterlist | Stranger Things Masterlist

"Saturday morning, jumped out of bed and put on my best suit. Got in my car and raced like a jet all the way to you. Knocked on your door with my heart in my hands, to ask you a question, 'cause I know that you're an old-fashioned man. Yeah."

Billy was freshly graduated, working as a lifeguard whilst his girlfriend worked her own job, both saving up for their chance to ditch Hawkins and move to California. Sweet Cali. Billy was excited to show the love of his life around the place he called home. Though, physically, he left the salty ocean and windy beach behind, the place never truly left him.

You could see it in his eyes. The waves crashing in his blue orbs. He swore the scent had just barely clung to his belongings; the smell of the tangy air that followed a majority of the state. Working at a pool was the closest he got to the memory of California. Chlorine was most certainly not the salted ocean waters, but with the circumstances, he decided it'd do.

The way his face lit up whenever he talked about his home...it made Y/n more and more excited to see it. His girlfriend had grown up in Hawkins, stayed there her whole life. Never once did the Hoppers leave Hawkins.

But the second that was introduced to Billy, he knew it had to change.

Although they were saving for a big move, Billy had...other things in mind with what to do with his first large pay-check (or series, rather. Working as a lifeguard didn't pay well with just one check). He began to work more shifts to make up for the money he'd spent, and one day after calling in for a day off, he decided to put his plan into action.

"Billy, stop messing with the tie."

"It's annoying." Hands slapped away his attempts of adjusting the black silk tie.

"Well it won't stop being annoying if you keep fucking it up."

For the first time in a long time, Neil Hargrove was calm. Not happy, not amused, not pissed off for some unjust reason- just calm. He wasn't wreaking havoc and he wasn't being an asshole to his son. Billy hadn't seen this side of his dad in quite some time, in fact, he thought something important was going on and he was about to fuck it all up. And then, Susan retreated to the living room with a camera and a freshly ironed suit.

"You're not putting me in that."

"And who asked for your opinion?" Neil deflected with a raised brow. One heavy sigh later and Billy was leaving the bathroom, dawning the whole black and white getup.

Susan clasped her hands over her mouth, a tear leaving her eye, "You look so handsome! Just like your dad!"

Billy rolled his eyes, "Great."

However, his careless attitude was swept under the rug when the blue Camaro pulled up to the police station, interrupting a clearly distressed Chief Hopper bickering with his daughter. Billy had to get himself together before stepping out of the car, jaw slack after seeing the beauty he got to call his date.

"Hello Mr-"

"Don't even try play nice with me, Hargrove. She's not going anywhere with you. End of story." Hopper kept his eyes trained on the blond, body tense like a snake preparing to strike it's prey.

Y/n grabbed Billy's arm, slowly directing him to the car, "And in the sequel, we find out I am going with Billy. End of that story."

"There is no 'sequel.' The writer got drunk and lazy." She paused, turning to face her father who stood tall, arms crossed and face unamused.

"So his daughter picked up where her father left off, and then the sequel was published and the two lived happily ever after, the end."

While her dad attempted to search for a line that would better hers and force her to stay, she pushed Billy toward the driver's side and slid into the car as fast as she could, rolling down the window as Billy started it up. "Bye! I'll be back before midnight!"

The two drove off toward the school, leaving behind a trail of dust and very, very, pissed off Hopper.

Prom was better than Billy thought it would be. He didn't want to go at first, but after Max found out and spoke to her mom about it (the little redhead a cupid-in-the-making), Neil pushed him to go (as he was "doing something else besides being a lazy-no-good rebel"). It was then that he called Y/n and asked if she'd be going.

The suit came in handy. Clashing with his rocker aesthetic, he put it back on once more. The once-annoying tie proved to be somewhat okay in the end.

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know. You say I'll never get your blessing "till the day I die, tough luck my friend, but the answer is no!"

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I'm human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I'm gonna marry her anyway. Marry that girl, marry her anyway! Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say! Marry that girl, and we'll be a family! Why you gotta be so rude?

With a deep breath, he ran-over the conversation in his head once more. Like a script for an actor, he had thought of every possible outcome and every possible line for him to face it with. He almost chickened out as his fist rose to the door, but it was too late, for his knuckles rapped against it before he realized he was even knocking.

El opened the door, eyes wide when she saw the familiar mullet and button-down. "Papa..." She muttered as she backed away and out of view.

Hopper traded places with her, his lazy expression sobering up instantaneously, replaced with a grumpy scowl. "Hargrove."

"Mr. Hopper, sir."

"What are you doing on my front porch?"

He swallowed roughly, palms sweaty against his sides. "I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"You seem to be doing just that right now, Hargrove." Hop crossed his arms and clenched his jaw.

Well, this was certainly not something Billy had thought of. He was on panic mode internally, attempting to find any response that could save his hide and accomplish what he set out to do. Unfortunately, the word-vomit button seemed to be misplaced under the button labeled "help".

"I'd like to marry your daughter, sir."

Hop's eyes grew just as big in size as El's had when she opened the door. He choked on his own surprise, coughing it off, then glaring at the boy in front of him. "Over my dead body, Hargrove. If that's all, I'd strongly advise you to get off of my fucking porch while you're still alive."

I hate to do this, you leave no choice; can't live without her. Love me or hate me, we will be boys- standing at that alter. And we will fly away, to another galaxy, you know. You know she's in love with me, she will go anywhere I go-

"Billy, he's just stubborn."

"No, no, I don't think he likes me."

Y/n sighed, rubbing her boyfriend's back. He hadn't told her of his proposal plans, only that Hop seemed to have it out for him. "It'll take time, but he'll warm up to you!"

"It's been how many years since he's met me?"

"To be fair, your reputation wasn't doing you any good until now..."

"It's not like that was fucking obvious." He slouched further down in the front seat of his Camaro. To Billy, all hope was lost. If he couldn't get Hopper to give him his blessing, he was sure he'd lose his goddamned mind.

Y/n frowned. Her frown flipped around as an idea popped into her head, her lips finding Billy's knuckles and quirking his attention. "Even if he never likes you, I'm not going anywhere."

Billy laughed softly, "he'll fucking kill me if you go against him."

"Eh, that's only if he can catch us."

"You're out of your fucking mind, Y/n Hopper."

"I know."

The rest of the night was spent in the Camaro, of course, doing one of Billy's favorite pastimes. By the time the sun rose, Billy was sneaking a kiss to a giggling Y/n before dropping from her window in the cabin and running to his car, parked far enough that Hop or El wouldn't notice. He blew her one more kiss, which she pretended to catch, then he broke into a sprint.

Maybe, he thought, just maybe; there was still a chance.

His knuckles hit the door again, shifting on his feet nervously. It swung open to reveal Hopper, an unimpressed look bringing no surprise Billy's way. It was quite expected, honestly.

"What." His tone made it clear he wasn't up for fucking around.

"Mr. Hopper, if you just give me one chance to prove to you that-"

"No, no, no, no, no. Let me make it very clear to you that I want you to have nothing to do with my daughter whatsoever. No marriage, no friendship, I don't even approve of you guys fucking or whatever-"

"We're in a serious relationship, sir. It's nothing like you think it is."

This made Hop laugh. He continued to do so, holding his stomach, until he realized Billy was unamused. "Oh, you're serious?... My answer is still no, Hargrove. My answer will always be no. Go find someone else's daughter's heart to break. You're not hurting mine."

"It's not like-"

Before he could even get the words out, he was met with a door in his face. Turned down, again.

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know. You say I'll never get your blessing "till the day I die, tough luck my friend, 'cause the answer's still no!"

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I'm human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I'm gonna marry her anyway. Marry that girl, marry her anyway! Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say! Marry that girl, and we'll be a family! Why you gotta be so rude, rude?

Again, again, and again, Billy incessantly pleaded with Hopper. Different tactics were all met with the same answer; rejection.

He held up a sign outside the cabin, only for Hopper to close the curtain and chuckle as he sipped his coffee.

He asked at the door again, only for Hop to threaten to give him a black eye (which was met with "aren't you the sheriff? Isn't that illegal?").

He raced past the police station, Max leaning out the window with another sign, only for Hop to threaten them with holding cells.

He even went as far as to ask Max and El to help, but Hopper had none of that, and sent Max home with a rant full of nos.

However, if Jim Hopper thought any of it would get it into Billy's head that getting his blessing was just not happening- he was as wrong as Nancy when she claimed not to have feelings for Jonathan.

Billy had another plan in mind, and this one was impossible to say no to.

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life? Say yes, say yes, 'cause I need to know. You say I'll never get your blessing "till the day I die, tough luck my friend- but no still means no!"

"Hopper." Billy stood before his desk, interrupting his nice date with a delicious doughnut, and earning a very annoyed glare. "I got Miss Byer's blessing. Aren't you two a thing?"

"You son of a-"

"I got Eleven's too."

"Hargrove, I'm gonna-"

"Before you cuss me out, I think you should know that I've got a stable job, an interview with a mechanic so I have a job when the pool closes for the winter, and I've got a house on the market I'm looking at. I'm devoted to your daughter and she's devoted to me. You may not like me, but I think you're a great dad, better than the one I was unfortunately stuck with. You raised a strong and amazing woman. She's incredible and I admit, she deserves better than me-"

"You don't have to say that twice." Hopper huffed, crossing his arms.

"I know she deserves so much better than me, I'm surprised she's even with me too. But she loves me, and I think you can see that. I love her too. I would never, in a million years, break her heart."

Jim stayed silent for a few minutes. The silence brought uneasiness to Billy, but that was intentional on Hopper's behalf. He finally piped up with a cough, clearing his throat, before his piercing eyes met Billy's blue orbs.

"I'll hold you to that, Hargrove."

Why you gotta be so rude? Don't you know I'm human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I'm gonna marry her anyway. Marry that girl, marry her anyway! Marry that girl, yeah, no matter what you say! Marry that girl, and we'll be a family! Why you gotta be so rude? Why you gotta be so rude?

Bonus:

(after the wedding)

"What was that about a no?" Billy quipped with his infamous smirk.

"You're lucky I'm sheriff, Hargrove."

Why you gotta be so rude?

[hornime]

home workout | bokuto koutarou x gn!reader

“i’d let you do- do anything. anything you wan’ to me. i’m yours. all- all,” his voice raised a few octaves as the inside of your thighs brushed past his cockhead, “yours. all yours.”

warnings: 18+, sub!bokuto, jealous!reader (i mean who wouldn’t be when bokuto, your goddamn boyfriend, is perceived by other people the fuck), also lowkey possessive!reader, lotsa licking and sucking, nipple play, some praise (from reader) and some begging, brief mention of dacryphilia, kinda soft at the end

w/c: 1.5k sheesh

a/n: bokuto brainrot has me in literal tears. him being completely clueless to people flirting w him cus he doesn’t recognize romance from anyone but you has me so soft. i luv this man w my whole heart !!!!! ALSO THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE ON THE BAKUGO FIC I JUST ABOUT SHIT MY PANTS WOOWWOWO

you weren’t an idiot. you knew that your boyfriend was attractive in literally every aspect of the word. he was sweet, patient, and kind, and what he lacked in academic smarts was made up tenfold in his emotional maturity and ability to read people. big and beefy, bokuto was all yours and all you wanted to stay trapped within his arms forever. unfortunately, to maintain the figure you adored so much and stay in shape for the volleyball season, he had to leave the four walls of your shared bedroom far more than you liked, having a daily obligation to spend a few hours at the gym.

once again, you weren’t an idiot. the few times that your work schedule and his training schedule aligned, you’d been able to work out together. and despite your knowledge of just how good-looking bokuto was and the fact that other people could perceive him (much to your chagrin) you were shocked at just how much people shamelessly flirted with him. 

cute girls with matching leggings and sports bras practically clung to his biceps, gushing about how strong he was and how he could probably pick them up with just one hand. their incessant giggling, mesmerizing hair twirling, and teasing touches pissed you off to no end, and you’d tug your boyfriend away before their breasts got too close to him for your liking.

something else you noticed was that, no matter how blatantly obvious the girls seemed to be, the guys were somehow worse, flirting through terms you couldn’t even understand. they compared deadlift weights, bicep curls, hip thrusts; you gritted your teeth thinking about whether they’d ever compared cock sizes in the locker room—you wouldn’t put it past those thirsty gym rats. sneaky bastards.

and bokuto, of course, was oblivious to it all. how could you blame him—he was so used to being adored! you knew that, to him, all of their praises paled in comparison to yours, but you couldn’t help but feel jealous. he was all yours—should be all yours—and you hated sharing him with the world.

you woke up saturday morning with a ringing in your ears, hand smacking the nightstand trying to turn off that god-awful alarm noise, bleary eyes barely able to focus on the text notification from your boyfriend.

[5:33 AM] kou: gm babe!!!! i didnt wanna wake u up cus u looked so peaceful! im heading to the gym rn. text me when ur up! love uu

[5:34 AM] kou: should be home around 9!! gym bud wants to show me something so i might be a little late for breakfast.

just to reiterate, you weren’t an idiot. for all the annoying flirting you noticed when you were with bokuto, there was no doubt in your mind that there must be a lot more when he was at the gym alone, which, unluckily for you, was most of the time since he was a freakin’ pro athlete and all.

you couldn’t prevent the pool of envy from swirling in your gut. gym bud? are you serious? who could that be? the girl with the arm tat or the dude with the dreads? no, maybe its that yoga instructor with the ass—

you shook your head, clearing your brain. you’d be here for hours if you went through everyone at that stupid gym that had ever shown interest in bokuto. the clock read 9:53 AM and the green flame in your body only burned brighter. just as you were about to call him and ask where he was, the front door slammed open.

“babe! i’m home!”

you silently put your phone down, teeth still clenching in jealousy. for some reason, hearing his voice only exacerbated the tension in your shoulders. you needed him. now.

“babe?” his voice creeped closer as he tread through the hallway towards the room. “you up?”

you peeked your head out of the doorframe, cheery voice masking your devilish intentions, “kou!"

his eyes brightened as he made eye contact with you and flashed his trademark smile. “hey! what’s u-” he took in the mischievous glint in your eyes “-p?”

you grabbed his burly forearm, yanking him behind you and walking towards him, forcing him to stumble and fall back on the bed. “wait! i’m all gross and sweaty,” he said, “gym showers were broke-”

“i don’t care. take off your shirt.”

“wow, someone’s eager. missed me that much?”

“watch it,” you glared. “i’m not in the mood, kou.”

he gulped at the dominance radiating from your voice, scrambling to take off the t-shirt that stretched between his pecs perfectly. with the fabric off and throw haphazardly to the side, he looked to you expectantly, the epitome of innocence.

your eyes wandered over his sculpted chest, the remnants of a soft sheen of sweat from his workout making it shine in the sunlight pouring through the blinds. your heart stuttered in your chest—he looked like an angel. coupled with the way with his bottom lip was tucked under his front teeth and the wide, anticipating look in his eyes, fuck. you almost smiled how blessed you felt in that moment, to see him in such a raw, alluring position, before a jarring thought caused your lips to twitch back into a frown.

everyone else can see him, too.

your eyes hardened. maybe they can see him all big and strong, you thought, but they’ll never get to see him like this: submissive.

and so fucking sensitive.

within an instant, your lips were latched on the soft spot above his collarbone, causing him to whimper in pleasure. you continued to travel along his throat, slowly working your way to the other side of his neck and crossing back to nibble at his adam’s apple.

you unexpectedly pulled away, drawing a short whine from him, before repositioning yourself so that you were straddling his outstretched legs. slowly, starting from the hem of his shorts, you dragged your tongue between the ridges of his abs, moving up towards his pecs, tasting the saltiness of his sweat and feeling the muscles tense underneath.

“fuck,” he groaned. as your lips puckered around one of his peaked nipples, he uncontrollably jerked his hips up, inadvertently rubbing his sensitive cock between your legs. overwhelmed by the sensation, he moaned. “fuck.”

“you taste good,” you muttered, grazing your teeth over his other nipple. “just wanna taste you all the time. you’d let me, right?”

thoughts muddled by just how good everything felt, he nodded mindlessly. “i’d let you do- do anything. anything you wan’ to me. i’m yours. all- all,” his voice raised a few octaves as the inside of your thighs brushed past his cockhead, “yours. all yours.”

you paused. raising your head from his chest, you made eye contact with him, so intense he almost closed his eyes to shield himself from the blaze burning in your dilated pupils. “why’d you stop,” he begged, “i want more. feels so good and i wan’ mor-”

“say it again,” you demanded. “tell me that you’re mine.”

his eyes, glossed over and prickled with tears precariously close to falling, squeezed tightly as he spoke, unable to control the growing volume of his voice. “’m all yours. always. all yo- yours.” he gasped as you resumed your movements, pinching the sensitive skin around his v-line while fervently leaving sloppy kisses on his chest. 

“good boy.”

he keened at your praise. another light touch to his cock combined with the passage of your mouth had him trembling, and his breath hitched as he cried out in warning, tears now flowing freely over his flushed cheeks. “m’ gonna cum, ‘m gonna, gonna cum.”

“yeah?” you whispered, lips brushing against his strained abs. “go ahead then.”

“fuck!” he whined, blabbering as you sat back and watched in awe of the beauty before you, a big strong man like him reduced to nothing more than a moaning mess. “fuck, fuck—you always make me feel so, s-so go-od, fuck i love you.”

with soaked shorts and an exhausted sigh, he dropped his head back onto the plush comforter of the bed. you flattened your palms on his quivering body, reeling from the aftershocks of his orgasm. he panted, running his fingers through your hair before nudging your face to look at him, staring at you with an expression of pure bliss and adoration. he studied you for a bit before declaring with a soft smile, “you’re the best. so fuckin’ happy that i’m yours.”

driven by affection, he sat up and reached his arms around your waist, snuggling his chin over your shoulder and mashing your chests, yours clothed and his naked, together. “kou wait!” you shrieked. “you’re all sweaty again! it’s gross!”

he chuckled. as if you hadn’t been spoiling him by licking it up just a few minutes ago. “you’re right. i‘m probably sweating more now than i was after my workout.”

at that, your ears perked up. “well maybe you should do home workouts more often then,” you teased.

“you’re right,” he repeated with a grin, “maybe i should.” if it meant more mornings like these, he’d forego the gym in a heartbeat. 

that night, he canceled his gym membership. after all, he reasoned, it’s offseason anyway.

© property of hornime 2021. do not plagiarize any of my writing and do not repost/copy my writing onto any other sites.

[pridewhatpride]

Do you have any gx rival shipping fanfic recs?

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for far too long. Prepare to get linked to half the Manjoume/Judai tag on Ao3 (FF.net is impossible to navigate and most of the works there are... questionable?).

I'll try to make this organised in some way...

My absolute favourite on Ao3 is Sour Candy by Aamalysstuff. Chapters: 1 Word count: 23,522 Reasoning: It's just... nice. It captures an aspect of teen romance that I just love- the awkwardness of sharing a room with someone you think you could never get along with just to find yourself wishing to never be apart from said roommate. And they share candy and music- what more can you want?

Moving on, there's Colour Theory by Sophisticated_Adult. Chapters: 1 Word count: 1,850 Reasoning: Well, I am a sucker for soulmate AUs and honestly? This is genius. This is the instance in which the only colours you can see before touching your soulmate are their eye and hair colour. So imagine poor Judai only seeing in greyscale and thinking he doesn't have one at all. Also this author is just great in general, in my humble opinion.

Another soulmate AU! All the King's Men by Souless_Robot. Chapters: 1 Word count: 2,434 Reasoning: Do you like pain? Do you want to see Manjoume suffer? Well, I do. So take the sweet promise of soulmates and flip it on its head by making Haou Manjoume's soulmate, while Judai is happily paired up with Johan. Don't we all love unrequited GX Rivalshipping?

A 2020 special: A Man in Uniform by Draconicmaw. Chapters: 1 Word count: 3,011 Reasoning: Has quarantine made you starved for interaction? Do you love platonic Manjoume-Asuka? Great! This fic has Asuka acting as the best wingman to Manjoume, who is the world's most disastrous bisexual. Judai is the sweaty and buff UPS man.

There's also Jun's (questionable) guide on how to go out with your crush by SheepySeconds. Chapters: 1 Word count: 9,567 Summary: In which Juudai stays at Jun's stupid apartment, keeps on getting injured in increasingly stupid ways, looks at Jun with those stupidly pretty eyes, and is stupidly impossible not to ask out, because Jun never claimed to have good taste or anything.

The last one-shot! parallel. by kaibaboy. Chapters: 1 Word count: 13,754 Summary: judai has never really had a 'special summer memory', and he finds himself wanting nothing more than to be able to understand the feelings of joy and euphoria surrounding the warmest season. manjoume ends up getting roped into his scheme, as always, but he finds himself going on yet another journey with judai — except this time, it doesn't end with them going in circles. this time, they finally meet at the intersection, and summer becomes sweeter than it had ever been before.

On to multi-chapter fics. Now. I haven't finished some of these (and some are even just on my to read list but deserve to be mentioned regardless), so I'll give you a summary instead of my own silly commentary (I also sometimes just don't have much to say ;;;;).

Straying by 111 (Insert). Chapters: 27 Word count: 219,653 Summary: The next time Manjoume saw him, Judai had a head full of spirits and a desperation that almost showed through. (I am recommending this just because a friend said it's good, honestly. I have yet to start reading it...)

Crushed by 111 (Insert). Chapters: 19 Word count: 150,973 Summary: Manjoume Jun should be dead, but he's not. The guard who throws the cell door open shouts a title different than the name running through his head over and over again. "The Supreme King has requested your presence." (Again, if Haou is mentioned, you know you're in for some fun pain.)

Take me home where I belong by space_lace. Chapters: 32 Word count: 43,668 Summary: For as much as Jun knew his brothers hated him, he never would have thought that they would be so willing to kill him. (In case you didn't hate Chosaku and Shouji enough- also, Manjoume struggles to live working as a cashier.)

Soul Reversal by Sophisticated_Adult. Chapters: 12 (Ongoing) Word count: 22,458 Summary: The roleswap AU no one asked for, featuring clueless rich boy Judai and bitter Very Much Not Rich Manjoume. Behold as two idiots with equal social skills just kind of flail around at each other. (This is just a dream come true. I love this author lol.)

Bonus Round! I'm now throwing unfinished stuff and pwp at you. Also two fics I just want you to read.

Saving You Saves Me by Osidiano. Chapters: 15 (Unfinished) Word count: 67,169 Reasoning: You see, this one has Manjoume as an actual believer. The Society of Light was not just brainwashing. The Darkness in Judai is also... strong. There is a lot of violence, but it's just... worth reading. I'm devastated it was never finished. It's honestly so so interesting.

Pentadic by spellcastersjudgement. Chapters: 1 Word count: 7,458 Reasoning: ... Technically it's Misawa centric. It's Misawa watching porn, which just so happens to be a camshow by Judai and Manjoume. It's honestly very fun to read. Misawa is very horny. Manjoume is a victim.

Super Stud by Hambone. Chapters: 1 Word count: 3,708 Reasoning: Manjoume is a people pleaser and he just so happens to encounter a horny fan whose name is Reginald Van Howell III. But Ulri! That isn't GX Rivalshipping!!! Listen. It's funny as fuck and Manjoume has an undying crush on Judai in it. I will die defending this fic. It's not my fault Jun is a hoe.

haven't you people ever heard of using the goddamn door by chancellorxofxtrash. Chapters: 1 Word count: 2,187 Reasoning: When I say that the polyamorous relationship Edo-Manjoume-Judai is amazing, this is what I'm talking about. This fic. It's godly. Nobody can touch this fic and get away with it. I will personally come and murder you Edo style.

The last entry is some shit user pridewhatpride has written. Don't actually read it, it's bad. Anyways, the new work in the series is coming out soon, so... Yeah, no skip this one. Unless you want your eyes to bleed. Bad fic boys. Nothing to see here. The first work is called Playing Rivals, but like... really. Don't.

Please read my shitty drabbles.

[bosspigeon]

not if it's you

Prompt: Day One: Cooking, Day Two: Cuddling💕 Pairing: Mason/Male Detective Words: 3293 Summary: Mason is sick. Mason's not supposed to get sick, but magic tends to not give a shit if you're a big, tough vampire man with a reputation to maintain. A prompt fill for @wayhavensummer that I wasn't sure I'd finish, but I'm glad I decided to. I combined two prompts into one, along with the inclusion of the bonus challenge, "love languages!" Juni's love language is Acts of Service~ CW for emetophobia. Nothing actually happens, but it is discussed!

“I’m not a vampire, Mason,” Juni said to him when he clicked on the lamp on his dresser and Mason growled loudly in protest. “I’m sorry, but I can’t see in the dark.”

Mason's growl became a long, low groaning noise as he dragged a pillow over his face. It helped more than he cared to admit, being immediately plunged into soothing darkness and smothered in the warm, sweet scent of the detective buried in his pillow.

Still, he feels like absolute shit.

The illness should run its course in just a few days, from what Juni’s relayed to him about Nate’s research—since he won’t leave Juni’s apartment (he’s not going to say can’t, because that implies weakness, implies that he couldn’t even if he wanted to, and he could, he just won’t, and that’s all there is to it) until he’s well, and refuses to go crawling to the Agency when he just needs to wait things out.

If he went to the Agency, he’d just be “waiting things out” the same as he is there, only he’d be doing it alone in a stiflingly empty observation room, bored out of his fucking skull until someone decided to come poke at him for science. At least here, he’s got Juni fussing over him.

It’s sort of… nice, being fussed over.

And Juni would be fussing whether Mason was here or not. He’d probably be driving himself crazy with worry, making himself sick with it, if Mason were stuck at headquarters without him, and the thought of that makes Mason feel even worse than he already does. It’s really best for the both of them that the vampire is here, buried in a metric fuckton of blankets (because even if he feels like he’s going to burn alive, the second he leaves them the sweat cools on his skin and leaves him trembling) looking into the blank, beady eyes of a patchwork plush cat.

His entire body aches, throbbing dully from the top down, but he reaches out with a heavy arm and turns it around so it’s not fucking staring at him anymore.

Juni’s been gone for a while, but Mason can hear him over the low ringing in his ears, puttering around in the kitchen. His senses are weakened by the bizarre magical illness Juni’s likened to the flu after hearing the symptoms, but he hears the detective humming quietly to himself, smells some spices and herbs he’s too exhausted to bother identifying over the low thrum of something metallic and familiar.

Mason's stomach growls at the same moment it churns. Hungry, but the very thought of consuming anything, blood included, makes him feel nauseous.

He doesn't know how Juni managed to sweet-talk Adam into handing over Mason's blood rations for the few days it would take this sickness to work its way through his body, but it makes him faintly irked he'll have to disappoint the detective when he tells him he doesn't even think his traitorous stomach can handle it, no matter how hungry he is. Juni always looks so pitiful when he can't help, soft doe eyes and pouty mouth and genuine, heartfelt distress rolling off him in waves. Mason groans into the pillow and comforts himself by drawing another detective-scented breath deep into his lungs.

And then Juni knocks on the doorframe (of his own fucking bedroom, because he's ridiculous, and Mason's chest squeezes) and calls, "Still alive in here?" softly teasing, his voice carefully lowered in deference to Mason's throbbing skull.

He makes a rough noise and tosses aside the pillow, because the only thing better than being buried in Juni-perfumed sheets is taking in the scent of him right from the source.

Juni always looks so different when he's at home. He relaxes, softens, like a bird coming to roost. His shoulders aren't so tense, his eyes stop darting like he's waiting for an attack (something Mason noticed even before Juni was actually under attack every other week) and he just, he looks settled and safe. After the shit he’s been through, he deserves to feel safe.

He opens his mouth to say something, but Mason just awkwardly squirms his way out of the blankets to free his arms enough to reach out.

"C'mere," he grunts.

Juni laughs, and the way his cheeks curve, the way they make his eyes crinkle at the corners, makes Mason hate whatever magic bullshit allowed him to get sick in the first place with a burning fury that feels like it's immolating him from the inside.

Or maybe that's the fever.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Juni teases when Mason growls. It's not as fierce as he hoped it would be, which is more than obvious when Juni only smiles indulgently at him.

He perches on the edge of the bed and smooths a hand over Mason's clammy forehead, making a soft, commiserating cooing noise. Mason wants to be annoyed, wants to growl again, complain about being coddled, but the sound that comes out of him is not a growl, or a curse, but a soft moan. He pushes up into Juni’s hand and closes his eyes.

“You’re still burning up,” Juni sighs, sinking his fingers into the vampire’s hair and scratching at his scalp. He moans again, lower and rougher. A little awkwardly, he adds, “Nate said you should, y’know, drink something.”

Mason’s stomach turns, and he grits his teeth and shakes his head.

“Mason.”

He shakes his head again, turning his face into the pillow again when it starts to make him dizzy. He wants to break something. He feels so pitiful.

“Mason, you’re not gonna get better if you don’t—”

“You ever seen someone puke blood, detective?” he snaps. Juni’s hand retracts sharply, and Mason keeps his eyes closed. He doesn’t want to see the hurt streaking across that soft, expressive face. “It’s not pretty,” he adds gruffly, and it takes all the strength in his flagging body to roll over and turn his back.

Juni’s quiet for a long moment, before soft fingers are sliding into his hair again,rubbing at the nape of his neck. “I had kind of a weird idea that might help, if you think you can stop pouting long enough to hear me out,” he says.

“You sure know how to sweet-talk a guy, huh?” Mason grumbles, but his body, an aching knot of sweaty tension, starts to slowly loosen up under the gentle petting.

Juni goes quiet again, and then, with a little laugh, he says, “Would it make you feel better if I told you you’re really cute when you’re all whiny?”

“How fucking dare you,” he snarls impotently into the pillow.

Juni laughs, and when Mason rolls over again to glower at him, he snorts trying to stifle it. “Do you want to hear my idea or not?”

“Not exactly in any position to stop you, am I?” Mason scoffs.

The detective pokes his nose. “Nope!” Mason nips at his finger, but his reflexes aren’t exactly great at the moment, and Juni just pulls it back with a smile. “I wanted to ask before I, like, ruined one of your blood rations for a weird experiment, but I’ve been doing research on different recipes that use blood—” “Why?” Mason interjects.

Juni flounders a bit, shoulders drawing up to his ears. “I… Well, I know you don’t like to eat human food, for good reasons, but sometimes I can convince Felix and Adam to try stuff I make, and Nate likes to eat sometimes, and I like… I like cooking for people? And I can’t really do that for you, because I know how overwhelming your senses can be, but you’ve said they’re kind of dull right now, so I thought maybe I could make, well… sort of a blood soup?"

Mason blinks at the detective.

Juni nervously babbles on to fill his befuddled silence. "If I thinned it out with a mild broth, I figured it would go down easier. And I know ginger is really strong on its own, but it also settles the stomach, and with the blood and the broth, it might help? I thought about adding some other things, but I tried to be picky with it, because even if your senses are dulled, I don't want to overwhelm you."

Mason chews it over, and even though he can tell his silence is making Juni nervous with every second that ticks by (fidgety, fussy, open and honest to a goddamned fault, a ball of nerves Mason wants to drag into bed and shield from the world) he can't really think of much to say, except, "Sure. Why the fuck not?"

"That's okay! I figured it was a long shot anyway, and—" Juni freezes, his knee-jerk anxious capitulation cutting off like he’s run into a brick wall. "What?"

"I'm already overwhelmed, sweetheart," Mason groans, and honestly, even talking is getting exhausting, his aching throat protesting every word he can manage to eke out. He wants Juni closer, wants to bury his face in his neck and hide like a wounded animal crawling its way home. "It honestly can't get worse at this point. If you think it'll help, I'll try it."

Juni still looks stunned, but is also clearly jangling with nervous excitement. Nate's used the term "puppyish enthusiasm" before when describing the way Juni lights up when he's actually able to help, and it's almost comically accurate.

Juni's bolted from the room before Mason's sluggish brain has a chance to even process the humor at the observation into a snort.

He's alone again, and if Juni were still here, he'd call what Mason's doing pouting, but he's scowling, damn it. Not that anyone's around to see it save for Juni's stuffed animals. He pulls the pillow to his chest, half-burying himself underneath the blankets again. He keeps his foggy focus stretched far enough to hear Juni in the kitchen again, making a game effort not to clatter around noisily and failing spectacularly. It's the thought that counts, Mason supposes.

It doesn't actually take all that long for him to come back, but it still feels like ages with how shitty Mason feels. He's painfully aware of every single ache in his body, radiating down to his bones, of the fever burning him up, the mutinous turning of his stomach even as it gnaws itself apart with hunger. He’s becoming so bogged down in the prison his ailing body has become, he almost doesn’t notice Juni pattering his way back into the room. Almost.

The second he crosses the threshold, Mason senses are honing in on everything they can about him, his smell, his warmth, the way his cozy sweater (it’s midsummer, for fuck’s sake, and sure the AC is cranked due to Mason’s fever, but it always is, because Juni’s body regulates temperature like a goddamned lizard and he hates the heat almost more than Mason does) makes him look soft and touchable. It takes him a long while to even notice the detective is carrying a tea tray with a bowl on it, as well as a glass of water, and when he does, he’s honestly not sure what to make of the smell.

Human food is overwhelming, usually. But usually, Mason’s sinuses aren’t swollen and borderline useless. Juni is walking as carefully as he can, and there is a palpable relief when he sets the tray down on his bedside table without incident. “I made the broth already, because I didn’t want it to take too long if you said yes. It actually smells, like, really good? Is that gross of me to say?”

Mason tries to push himself upright, and his muscles protest loudly enough that he can’t quite bite back a grunt of pain. Juni makes a sound like he’s been shot, and his hands are on Mason with an urgency that vibrates through his skin. Still, his touch is an instant balm to the vampire’s overwrought senses, his hands gentle as they ease him upright and fussily pile pillows behind him to support him. It fucking sucks to be so weak, but at least it’s only Juni seeing him like this. He can’t quite express why, when it feels like his head’s stuffed full of cotton, but he thinks it would suck a lot more if he were riding this out alone, or in a sterile room at HQ. He lolls his head towards Juni, his cheek smashing against one of a half-dozen goddamned pillows piled around him, and laughs weakly. “Gonna feed me too, Nurse Fenn?”

Juni blushes, and the usual rush of his blood doesn’t smack Mason in the face like usual, but it washes over him in a gentle wave of warmth, that tempting smell tickling the back of his tongue. “Do you need me to?” he asks, and it’s pretty clear he’s trying to make it sound teasing, but it comes out much more earnest than anything else.

Mason almost wants to say yes, but he also doesn’t want Juni to be in the splash zone if his stomach decides it can’t handle the detective’s little experiment. “Nah, I got it,” he grunts, reaching for the tray. It trembles dangerously when his shaking hands lift it, but Juni’s quick to steady it and guide it to his lap. He mutters a quiet thanks, and Juni mercifully doesn’t rib him for his uncharacteristic politeness. “You’d make a cute nurse, detective,” he says to cover the strangely loaded silence.

Juni laughs and sits on the edge of the bed, close but not quite touching. “I’m too squeamish,” he offers with a shrug that rubs their shoulders together.

“You just made me soup out of blood,” Mason says dully.

“I also have a borderline breakdown giving myself the same shot I’ve been giving myself every week for the last decade,” Juni retorts. “Do you really think I could do it for someone else?”

Mason snorts. “Probably not. Would kill to see you in one of those little dresses, though.”

The only thing protecting Mason from getting a hilariously ineffectual swat on the shoulder is the bowl of soup in his lap. He’s not even sure his current feeble condition would be enough to stop Juni otherwise. “Eat your soup, asshole,” Juni groans, covering his burning face with his hands. He peeks through his fingers after a moment’s hesitation, “And maybe I’ll show you the Halloween costume Tina got me as a joke a couple years ago when you’re feeling better.”

Mason’s whole body reacts to that, and he can’t be sure if the chill that rolls down his spine is due to the illness, or something else entirely. If nothing else, choking down some soup will be worth it, just for that promise.

The first spoonful goes down surprisingly easy. He doesn’t really taste much, at first, not even the coppery tang of blood. It’s thin, as Juni promised, so it doesn’t quite coat his mouth the same way fresh, raw blood would. Juni’s watching him with obvious concern, eyebrows scrunched together and plush bottom lip caught between his teeth. Either concern that Mason’s body is going to reject it fully, or he just won’t fucking like it. Probably both.

“It’s not too hot, is it?” Juni asks, touching Mason’s knee lightly through the blanket. He swallows his mouthful hard and bites down the urge to ask the human not to stop touching him.

“S’fine,” he grunts, trying to parse what exactly he makes of it at all. The warmth feels nice, soothing his raw throat. He takes another bite. He thinks he can sort of make out the individual spices underneath the taste of the blood and the broth (slightly watered down bone broth, he;d guess) but he can’t really smell them either. The ginger, at least, is obvious. He knows the smell enough to guess the taste, even with the complete lack of culinary experience. It’s, strangely enough, not horrible. It does taste mostly like thinned-out blood, which is weird, and gives him a sense of dissonance from the texture he expects blood to have. “Weird.”

Juni doesn’t seem to take offense to that. “Well, you’re not spewing it across the room like you’re possessed, at least, so weird is better than bad?” he laughs, squeezing Mason’s knee. “How’s your stomach?”

Mason takes a second to consider. “Not great, but not terrible.”

Juni almost deflates with relief. “And the taste? It’s not too much, is it? I can be kind of heavy-handed with my seasoning, so I tried to be really careful. It’s really only a pinch of salt, sage, and ginger, with a little bit of licorice root, which I know is kind of weird, but it’s good for sore throats?”

“Tastes like…” Mason screws up his face, realizing he has absolutely no context to work with. “I don’t know. I think I like it?”

Juni smiles like the goddamned sun, and it somehow makes his snarky little pet name for Mason that much funnier. “Really?”

Mason’s not sure he’d be saying the same thing if his senses weren’t dulled to near-uselessness by his traitorous body, but the way Juni looks, like he couldn’t be happier to be dealing with a sick, cranky vampire hogging his bed and sweating in his sheets, makes him bite his tongue. There’s always a brightness to the human when he brings food to the warehouse for Nate and Felix, he smiles so wide his face almost cracks when Adam crumples under the weight of those puppy eyes and takes the smallest portion of whatever concoction Juni’s brought to nibble on, and offers the most awkward compliment he can manage. Juni just likes doing things for people, providing for them any way he can. Food is his usual go-to, but if he can help at all, he’s happy.

I can’t really do that for you.

It almost makes Mason wish he could enjoy whatever the detective whips up in his cramped little kitchen, just to make him smile.

Christ, his brain must be more addled than he thought.

He manages a few more spoonfuls of soup before his stomach starts to feel uncomfortably full, but the gnawing hunger of going too long without drinking has gone away, and he doesn’t feel so much like he’s going to puke like he did earlier. He feels heavy, and tired, and honestly that’s one hell of an improvement. Juni’s quick to take the tray and spirit it off back to the kitchen, bending to press a quick kiss to Mason’s cheek before he goes, and when he returns, the vampire is slumped in his pillow nest and half-asleep, eyes shuttered to thin slits.

He feels more than he sees Juni approach, and when a gentle hand smooths over his clammy forehead, he pushes up into it with a raw, weak noise he has zero energy to be embarrassed by anymore. He reaches out blindly, tangles his fingers in the knit of his detective’s sweater, and tugs. He can’t be sure how it happens, a jumble of movement and complaining muscles, but Juni winds up in bed with him, slouched comfortably against the pillows so Mason can rest his head on the soft curve of his belly. The human plays idly, sweetly with his hair, twirling damp curls around his fingers.

“I’m sweaty,” Mason halfheartedly protests. Juni’s stomach rises and falls beneath his head. It feels like being on the ocean, like being rocked to sleep on quiet waves.

“I don’t mind,” Juni murmurs, thumb stroking the shell of his ear.

Before he can think of anything to say to that, he’s being pulled under, dozing off between one breath and the next.

[knuffled]

Just Practice - Chapter 14

here’s the latest chapter! hope you all enjoy it! if you could leave a comment, it would mean the world to me! not that many people commented last chapter sadly. 

ao3 link for people on mobile

Out of all of Annabeth’s friends, Piper undoubtedly had the largest house. It was a beautiful three story house with a modern minimalist aesthetic, but it somehow also managed to retain a homely atmosphere. As an aspiring architect, Annabeth thought that it was a feast for the eyes, but Piper had never liked it, mainly because her father was hardly ever home. That was ideal for someone like Annabeth, but Piper was a huge extrovert so she found it unbearable having such a huge house to herself. Piper did her best to circumvent that by having friends over whenever possible, a role that usually fell on Jason’s shoulders, but Annabeth had dropped by after school instead to work on a partner project that they had been assigned for their history class.

Piper greeted her at the front door, practically half-asleep. She was wearing pajamas that had smiling cartoon cupcakes printed on them, her choppy hair was thoroughly disheveled, and her eyes were dazed and unfocused. Annabeth was particularly amused by the impression left on her face from sleeping with her cheek pressed against the seams of two sofa cushions.

“You look positively glamorous, darling.”

Piper half-heartedly rolled her eyes and led her to the living room. “Shut up, I was doing hot girl shit.”

“I didn’t know napping qualified as ‘hot girl shit’,” Annabeth said, making air quotes.

“There’s a reason they call it beauty sleep, babe,” Piper said.

They stopped at the living room, and the sight there only made Annabeth’s smirk widen. It was a complete mess, strewn about with empty bags of cheetos, bottles of kombucha, and half-empty oreo trays. Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest and gave Piper a significant look, wondering what sort of excuse she would come up with, but Piper just flipped her off and dove belly first onto the sofa.

“Before you ask, I was too busy to clean,” Piper said, voice muffled by a sofa cushion.

“Busy doing hot girl shit?” Annabeth prompted innocently.

Piper turned her head to glower at her. “You’re such a bitch sometimes.”

Annabeth bit back a smile and lifted a half-empty bottle of kombucha from the coffee table. She gave it a ginger sniff and gagged at the fermented smell.

“I don’t know how you can drink this stuff.”

“It’s good for your digestive system,” Piper said, sighing.

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think it’ll be enough to offset the fact that your diet consists solely of flaming hot cheetos and oreos.”

“I’m seriously like ten seconds away from kicking you out of my house,” Piper warned.

Annabeth laughed and said, “Alright, alright, I assume that means you’re ready to start working on the project then?”

Piper groaned into the sofa and forced herself to sit upright. “You’re an absolute menace.”

Annabeth rummaged through her backpack for her laptop and the project rubric instead of looking at her. “I love you, too.”

Piper sighed melodramatically and cleared the coffee table of its aforementioned debris so that they had a place to work. They spent nearly two hours researching content for their project, and Annabeth was happy with the amount of work they were able to get done. For all their bickering, she and Piper had always made an excellent team, and this project was no exception. That being said, by the end of the two hour mark, Piper was beginning to burn on fumes.

“God, why on fucking earth did I ever think taking AP Euro my senior year was a good idea,” Piper groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Spring break can’t come soon enough.”

“It’s still over a month away,” Annabeth laughed. “We could take a break if you’d like.”

Piper looked up at her abruptly with wide eyes. “Who are you and what have you done with Annabeth?”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and said, “We got a lot of work done, so it’s fine if we chill a bit.”

Piper pressed a kiss to Annabeth’s cheek before she could react and beamed at her. “Want something to eat? I’m getting hungry.”

Annabeth scowled and rubbed her cheek. “Uh, do you still have Oreos?”

“Of course, I do,” Piper grinned. “I’m not a heathen.”

“Milk?”

Piper pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. “Oh, Annabeth, I am so proud of you.”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Annabeth laughed, shoving her.

Piper danced to the kitchen and came back a short while later with a fresh box of oreos and two glasses of milk. Annabeth’s step-mother was a health nut, so they never had junk food at home. She also had to adhere to a strict-ish diet because she was an athlete, so this was the first time in literal years that Annabeth had had the chance to eat an oreo.

“These are a lot better than I remember,” Annabeth said.

“You’re goddamn right. Oreos are gods gift to humanity,” Piper said.

Annabeth smiled. “Now, I wouldn’t go that far.”

“So ungrateful,” Piper sniffed. “You can get sent to hell for that sort of thing you know?”

“For not being obsessed with oreos?” Annabeth laughed.

“For having bad taste,” Piper said, giving her a significant look.

“Guilty as charged,” Annabeth sighed. “I mean, I’m friends with you after all.”

Piper groaned and shoved her. “Bitch.”

“You started it,” Annabeth laughed. “I was just enjoying my oreos in peace.”

“I have been nothing but a gracious host, and yet you come into my house and insult me and my all time favorite snack for good measure,” Piper said, shaking her head. “This is why whites don’t deserve rights.”

Annabeth raised her glass of milk. “I’ll drink to that.”

“Sometimes, I honestly wonder how Percy puts up with you.”

“Easy, he’s a lot nicer than you, so I don’t feel the need to sass him,” Annabeth said, shrugging.

“Sounds fake, but okay.”

“You’re just in denial,” Annabeth teased.

Piper rolled her eyes and said, “How is he doing by the way? I haven’t talked to him lately, but I know State is around the corner.”

“He’s doing okay, I think,” Annabeth said. “I haven’t really asked him about it.”

“No Valentine’s Day plans, I’m assuming?” Piper asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Nah, I don’t want to break his concentration,” Annabeth said, shaking her head. “How about you and Jason? Got a hot date lined up or something?”

“We were just thinking of getting dinner some place nice,” Piper said, shrugging.

“So that means Taco Bell is a no, then?” Annabeth asked, grinning.

“Very funny,” Piper said, narrowing her eyes. “I think we’re going to some Japanese place downtown or something.”

“Hmm, sushi sounds nice.”

Piper shook her head and said, “It’s honestly impressive how you somehow always forget that I’m vegetarian, even after all these years.”

Annabeth’s face turned pink. “Oh, right, sorry.”

Piper knocked elbows with her instead of saying anything and reached for another cookie. Annabeth watched her dunk the cookie in her glass of milk a little too vigorously, causing some of it to spill onto her pajama bottoms, and couldn’t help imagining how Jason would have chided her for it if he had been here. It was still endlessly bemusing to her how two people so diametrically unlike one another had so much romantic chemistry together.

“You ever think about how wild it is that you and Jason have been together for four years now?” Annabeth asked.

Piper laughed and said, “Definitely have a lot more since graduation is coming up soon. It’s pretty insane to me too.”

“What’s your secret, oh wise one,” Annabeth asked teasingly.

Piper rolled her eyes and said, “We just communicate really well, ever since day one. Neither of us hide anything from each other. If we are bothered by something, we talk about it. Sometimes that means we get into fights, but it’s still better than bottling everything up.”

Annabeth’s heart squeezed a little in her chest. In contrast, she and Percy hardly ever spoke openly anymore. The weight of all the things they had both left unsaid had snowballed and taken on a line of its own. She didn’t think it had brewed into bitterness, but it felt like ice on the surface of a pond. Shallow and liable to break at any moment.

“We also just genuinely like each other too,” Piper said. “There’s no way we would have lasted if we hated each other’s guts or got bored of each other. Kind of the opposite honestly. The more I got to know him, the harder I fell for him.”

“How could you tell?” Annabeth asked. “Was there a specific moment you realized or something?”

Piper hummed under her breath and stared up at the ceiling. “Hard to say. It wasn’t anything big or dramatic, just little things piling on top of each other, until one day, I just knew. Kind of like getting taller or falling asleep. You don’t notice it when it happens only when you look back.”

When Annabeth was silent, Piper continued and said, “I will say that the first time I can remember consciously thinking it was after a meet sophomore year. Don’t remember how it went, but I can still picture how he looked after the race. He was all gross and sweaty and caked with mud, but his cheeks were pink from all the running and it just made him glow. And at that moment, I just remember thinking ‘Wow, I’m actually in love with this guy.’”

There was something about the way Piper spoke that even Annabeth could hear how much she loved him just by her tone, that it made a lump form in Annabeth’s throat.

“I’m so happy for you two,” Annabeth said softly. “You are both two of the most amazing people I have ever met, so I’m glad you are together.”

Piper laughed and said, “It’s weird to hear you pay me a compliment, but thanks.”

“After that shameless display of ungratefulness, I would suggest you don’t get used to it,” Annabeth said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Piper rolled her eyes and sank back into the sofa. “Is there something going on with you?”

Annabeth furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

“You tend to ask lots of questions when you’re upset about something,” Piper said, shrugging.

Annabeth blinked. She had no idea that she did that.

“Nothing in particular,” Annabeth said carefully. “Just wanted to hear from someone that’s been in a relationship for four years. I’m still new to it, and I don’t want to fuck everything up.”

“Learn anything useful then?” Piper asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth was quiet for a while and tried to choose her words carefully. “The part about communicating was helpful.”

Piper gave her a knowing smile. “Really? Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

“I feel like it was easier when we were only friends,” Annabeth said.

“Hmm, Percy was just doing a lot of work behind the scenes for you to make you feel that way. Now that you’re in a relationship, it’s harder for him to do that, so it’s only exposing issues that were already there,” Piper said.

Annabeth frowned. “What do you mean?”

Piper shrugged and said, “Well, part of it is that Percy is stupidly empathetic, so he would anticipate your emotional needs and provide for them with you having to do much. The bigger problem is that you don’t really understand the way he thinks, so you are incapable of doing the same for him.”

A spark of anger lit in Annabeth’s chest. “Well, why don’t you spell it out for me since I’m apparently so ignorant?”

“Annabeth, chill. I’m not saying you’re a bad friend or that I know more about him than you do,” Piper said, holding her hands up in surrender.

“Then what are you saying?” Annabeth hissed.

Piper sighed again and said, “Look, I love you and everything, but you don’t fully understand that other people don’t think or see the world in the same way you do. I’ll give you an example. What do you usually do when you’re really upset about something?”

After a moment, Annabeth said, “I give myself some space until I am ready to talk about it.”

“Exactly,” Piper said, nodding. “Percy is not like that. When he’s upset, he wants someone to press him about it, like really press him. There are a lot of reasons for it, but one huge reason is that he doesn’t feel like his problems are worth anyone else’s attention, so you have to convince him otherwise.”

Annabeth was stunned. That had legitimately never occurred to her. She had always assumed that Percy would come to her if he needed to because that’s what she did whenever she was upset. She whenever she had given him space in the past, thinking it would help, it had looked like callous silence to him instead, a sign that she didn’t care enough to hear what was going on.

Her mind raced. How many times in the past had she fucked up monumentally because this had never occurred to her?

“Do you get what I mean now?” Piper prompted.

Annabeth nodded slowly and said, “I- I had no idea. I just sort of assumed he was like me.”

“That’s a perfectly normal thing to do,” Piper said. “Like I said earlier, I’m not telling you this because I think you’re a shitty human being or whatever. I’m telling you because the way that you and Percy communicate has some really deep, fundamental issues, and that it has been that way for years now.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Annabeth asked, trying not to let anger creep in her voice. “I could have done so much more to avoid hurting him.”

“Because you wouldn’t have listened to me,” Piper said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Your relationship with Percy is something sacred to you. You take pride in being close to him and knowing him really well. If I had said something contrary to that, you would have gone ballistic. You getting mad earlier was more than enough proof of that. I can only tell you now because you’re finally starting to notice issues for yourself.”

Annabeth grit her teeth and stared down at her lap. Piper was right. She was right, but it was so crippling to hear that Annabeth had been such a god-awful friend. Annabeth did take great pride in how well she thought she knew Percy, but ever since they had started fake-dating, she had started realizing she had deluded herself the entire time. It was incredibly jarring for her to realize that her vision of him compared to reality was so off, especially when she prided herself in the keenness of her judgment and intellect.

Piper squeezed her shoulder and said, “Look, I know this must have been a lot for you to hear, but you’re not alone. Almost everyone has trouble seeing people distinctly, as they are. People like Percy who do it naturally are the rare ones.”

“Then what should I do?” Annabeth asked tersely. “I feel so stuck.”

“Don’t assume so much. If you’re upset, tell him. If you want him to open up, ask him to. The only way to know what’s on his mind is to ask him. You don’t have to try so hard to read his mind for him,” Piper explained.

Annabeth nodded curtly and said, “I’m just so mad at myself.”

“I get it, but it’s not all on you. Percy also shoulders some responsibility, but it’s hard to blame him. Lord knows how much he has done for us,” Piper mused. “Besides, he has his own issues that he needs to deal with.”

“I-I’ll do what I can,” Annabeth said.

“If it’s you, I think you can do it,” Piper said, smiling softly.

As nice as it was to hear that, Annabeth had no self-confidence in her ability to be a good friend, not anymore. Still, Piper was right. Percy had done so much for her. If this could help him somehow, then she was determined to do her best.

After a few more minutes of silence, Piper said, “We should probably get back to the project.”

Annabeth smiled despite herself and feigned wiping a tear from her eye. “I never thought I’d live to hear the day you’d say that.”

:::

In keeping with tradition, Annabeth still somehow managed to find a way to be late to the State Swimming Championship. It was held at a neighboring high school not far from Westwood, but she had stayed up all night the day before painting a sign for Percy, which led to her sleeping through her alarm. She had brushed her teeth and taken as quick a shower as she possibly could before dashing out of her house, sign tucked beneath her arm.

By the time she made it inside, the first heat was already over. Annabeth scanned the bleachers and found all her friends sitting next to Sally. She took the steps three at a time and took a moment to catch her breath before she took a seat between Sally and Piper.

“Where’s Estelle?” Annabeth asked.

“Paul took her to go back some snacks at the concession stand. How have you been, dear?” Sally asked.

“I’m good. School is getting busy, but I’m getting by,” Annabeth said. “How’s Percy doing?”

“He seemed ready. Cautious, but focused,” Sally said.

“That’s good to hear,” Annabeth said.

Estelle and Paul returned with bags of snacks for everyone. They passed them around to all of Percy’s friends and squeezed past to sit next to Sally. Estelle was thrilled to see Annabeth and threw her arms around her neck.

“Annabeth!” Estelle squealed.

Annabeth laughed and hugged her back. “How have you been, Stella?”

“Good! I just lost a tooth last night. See?” Estelle said, giving Annabeth a toothy smile.

“Wow, did you get a visit from the tooth fairy?” Annabeth asked.

Estelle nodded vigorously. “I got five whole dollars!”

“What are you going to spend it on?”

“She used her money to buy snacks for everyone,” Paul interjected.

“Daddy!” Estelle huffed.

Paul held his palms up in surrender. “Oh, sorry, she told me not to tell anyone about that.”

“Thanks, Stella!” Annabeth said, smiling. “She’s a good kid.”

“She is,” Paul said proudly. “It’s the Jackson genes, I’m telling you.”

“Oh, hush,” Sally said, though she looked pleased anyways.

Paul grinned at her and turned to Annabeth. “It’s been a while since we have had time to catch up, Annabeth. I heard you got into Berkeley! That’s amazing!”

“Yeah, thank you,” Annabeth said, hiding a smile.

“It’s a wonderful school. I’m sure you’ll love it,” Paul said.

Annabeth was about to thank him, but they were interrupted by an announcement that the next heat was to begin for men’s free style. The State tournament was different compared to other tournaments held during the regular season. There would be a preliminary round of ten heats of six swimmers each, and then the top six swimmers would be selected based off their times to participate in a final round. The winner of the final would win the entire competition. It was therefore possible to have the best time in the prelims and still lose if someone placed higher than you in the last round. Annabeth had never been a fan of the way the tournament was run, but there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Percy was going to be in the penultimate heat, so there was still time before he participated. In fact, he wasn’t even out of the locker room yet. Annabeth knew that he was staying inside to maintain his focus until the start of his heat. She recognized one of his teammates that was in the next heat, so she paid attention to him even though it was hard to feel interested.

After the heat began, Annabeth was once again reminded of how much fiercer the competition was at State compared to the other meets. Percy hadn’t competed against many of the swimmers here because they lived on the other side of the state. It might have been a function of the fact that it was her first time seeing some of them, but the competition looked stronger this year than it had in previous ones. They were so skilled that Annabeth wasn’t sure Percy was a shoe-in for first like she had initially thought.

There was one swimmer in particular from the sixth heat, Castellan, that was particularly scary. The effortless, graceful way he swam reminded her a lot of Percy’s form, and he managed to win his heat by a wide margin. She had never seen him before in any of the other meets or from previous years either. He must have moved to the State sometime this season. Nevertheless, it sowed a seed of worry in her mind that continued to take deeper root even after his heat ended.

Eventually, Percy finally made his way out when his heat was announced. Annabeth was relieved to see the familiar cold intensity on his face that she was accustomed to. After the last meet, she had been afraid that his focus would still be shaky when State finally rolled around, but instead Percy looked more focussed now than she had ever seen him before. Everything about him gave off the impression that he was going to win.

When his heat finally began, Percy dove into the water clinically and quickly pulled ahead of the competition. Annabeth and the rest of their friends cheered loudly for him as he touched off the other side of the pool, almost a full body’s length ahead of the person in second. The rest of the race only solidified Percy’s lead as he pulled further and further ahead.

Once he touched the opposite wall, Percy burst out of the water and took a moment to catch his breath, but then he looked over to the opposite end of the pool and pressed his lips in a thin line. Annabeth was confused at first because his time was fantastic, and he had done so well in his heat, but then she realized his time had been slower than that swimmer from the sixth heat. Although it wasn’t an indication of how the finals would go, it was still damaging to realize that someone had done better than you in the prelims.

Annabeth worried her lip and turned to Piper when she felt her hand on her shoulder. “Why does he look so annoyed?” Piper whispered.

“That guy from the sixth heat, Castellan, had a better time than he did,” Annabeth muttered.

Piper blinked and looked back down at Percy. “Wait, really?”

Annabeth nodded. “Yeah. It’s not the end of the world or anything, but it’s gonna pile some extra pressure onto his shoulders.”

“He’ll be fine,” Jason ventured, from beside Piper. “If he keeps his cool, he can put up a good fight. Besides, I don’t think their times were off by a lot.”

“True,” Annabeth agreed. “It would have been a lot worse if it was a blowout.”

“There’s a break before the finals start right?” Hazel asked, speaking across from Jason.

Piper looked at the meet schedule and nodded. “Yeah, there’s a half hour to give the competitors from the later heats time to rest before the finals.”

“Should we go see him or something?” Hazel asked.

Jason shook his head and said, “No, there’s a chance that we just make him lose focus. Besides, there nothing we can really say to help him.”

“Well, that fucking sucks,” Rachel huffed.

Hazel nudged Rachel with her elbow and whispered, “Don’t swear! Estelle is here.”

Rachel winced and said to Sally, “Sorry, Mrs. Jackson.”

Sally gave her a mischievous smile and said, “You should be, dear.”

That got a laugh out of all of them, much to Estelle’s confusion. They talked amongst themselves during the break before Annabeth realized she needed to run to the bathroom. Annabeth wasn’t gone long, but on her way back, she ran into someone walking the other way.

“Ouch.”

Annabeth stumbled back and rubbed her shoulder. “Sorry, are you okay?”

“Oh, hey, look who it is,” Percy said, smiling down at her.

“Oh, hey,” Annabeth said, blinking. “I was just coming back from the bathroom.”

Percy laughed and said, “Yeah, I kind of figured.”

There was an awkward pause where Annabeth debated if she should continue talking to him or if that would break his focus. His body language was relaxed, but Annabeth could tell that there was some tension in his shoulders. The way he lingered there gave her the impression that he wanted to talk to her, so she figured it was alright to say something.

“How are you doing?”

Percy coughed and looked away surreptitiously. “Fine.”

Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t look fine to me.”

Percy blinked like he was surprised she had called him out. In the past, Annabeth would have ignored the signs under the assumption that he didn’t want to talk about it, but after her conversation with Piper, she didn’t want to keep making those mistakes anymore.

Eventually, Percy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you get a chance to see that Castellan guy from the sixth heat?”

Annabeth nodded and said, “Yeah, he seemed pretty good.”

“His time was pretty insane,” Percy said slowly. “Better than my PR.”

“It wasn’t that far off though,” Annabeth said, leaning against the wall.

Percy rubbed his chin. “That’s true.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say you don’t think you can beat him,” Annabeth said softly.

Percy looked up at her abruptly with wide eyes. “Uh...”

“Guilty as charged, huh?”

There was a pause before Percy laughed humorlessly and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. Usually, I never think about that sort of thing at meets. I’m only focused on doing my best. But now, I can’t help wondering if my best would even be enough.”

“I wish I could be super peppy and say that it definitely is, but I’ve had those thoughts too many times to say that to you. It would feel fake and you’d know it,” Annabeth started.

“That’s not exactly making me feel better,” Percy joked half-heartedly.

“Shut up, I was getting to it,” Annabeth said, knocking elbows with him.

Percy made a show of rubbing his elbows, which made her roll her eyes before she continued.

“Remember how you told me after the invitational that I had to believe that I hadn’t hit my limit yet, that I could still do better? I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, and I’m realizing that you were right. I’m killing any chance of improving if I believe it can’t be done. At the end of the day, I still want to keep competing, so I might as well believe in myself and keep trying.”

Percy was silent at this, so Annabeth continued. “My point is, you’ve gotta have faith in yourself. If that guy is better than you, make him prove it. Don’t do that work for him. You’re an insanely good swimmer. I know you can beat him. That’s not me saying that as a friend, but as another athlete. I know you have what it takes. Only question is: do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t think I’m good,” Percy said. “If it was just me, I wouldn’t be so worried, but so many people have put so much effort and faith in me that I can’t let them down. Like, I’ve always disappointed people, all my life, and there’s a voice in my head that tells me this time won’t be any different.”

“Fuck everyone else,” Annabeth said vehemently. “The people that care about you just want you to try your best.”

When Percy remained silent, Annabeth framed his face with her hands and forced him to meet her eyes. “Listen to me: all you have to do is go out there and swim. Nothing else matters. Okay?”

Percy was quiet for a while before he nodded slowly. “Okay.”

“You got this,” Annabeth said, squeezing his shoulders. “Give ‘em hell, Perce.”

“I will. Thanks, Annabeth,” Percy said, smiling. “I’ll see you after the finals are over?”

“I thought that went without saying,” Annabeth grinned. “There’s a chocolate milkshake from Martha’s with your name on it, after all.”

“Finally, something worth fighting for,” Percy sighed melodramatically.

Annabeth laughed and pushed him towards the locker room. “Alright, get going, champ. I’ll see you on the other side.”

Percy took a deep breath to steel himself and gave her one final nod before he made for the locker rooms. Annabeth waited for him to leave before she headed back to the bleachers. Piper gave her a questioning look as she sat down, as if to ask what took her so long, but Annabeth shrugged and remained silent.

The participants of the final heat left the locker room shortly after and stood in front of the pool. Percy’s lane was in the middle, right next to Castellan, from the sixth heat, but he looked composed and concentrated.

The swimmers stepped onto the diving boards and took their starting positions, bodies taut with anticipation. At the official’s whistle, they all dove into the water in unison. Percy and the other boy both quickly pulled ahead of the other four swimmers, but Percy lagged behind him ever so slightly. Annabeth leaned forward, forgetting to cheer, and worried her lower lip. She could tell Percy was trying to surge ahead of Castellan, but no matter what he did, the distance continued to remain unclosed for the first hundred meters.

Before they both touched off the wall for the final fifty meters, Percy seemed to lag further behind than he had all race. Annabeth’s heart sank, but somehow Percy surged forward on the last twenty meters and managed to pull alongside Castellan. At the end of the race, it was too close to tell who had won because they both appeared to finish at the same time.

Annabeth whipped towards the board on the far end of the pool and waited for the times to show, heart thundering in her chest. The subsequent seconds stretched like an eternity, but then numbers suddenly flickered on the board. It took Annabeth a second to process the results, but once she did, her heart soared in her chest.

Percy had won, but it had been unbelievably close.

Immediately, she looked back down for Percy and noticed the incredulous look on his face. It took his teammates tackling him for him to realize that he had won, a dumbfounded smile blossoming across his face. Annabeth clasped her hands in front of her mouth and tried to ignore the way her face hurt from smiling so hard. She could hear Piper and the rest of her friends going crazy beside her, but the noise felt distant like sound traveling through water.

They all made their way down to him, and Estelle and Paul were the first to speak to him before Sally pulled him into a fierce hug with misty eyes. After that, Piper jumped on his back and cheered while Jason congratulated him. Rachel and Hazel went next, followed by Frank and Leo, and through it all, Annabeth watched off to the side and tried not to tear up.

She felt so incredibly proud of him. All those years of grueling practice, nights spent staying late to get in extra laps at the pool, managing the pressure of his captaincy - all of it had paid off in the end, and she was so happy it had. He deserved all of it.

Finally, Percy locked eyes with her and slipped out of the arms of their other friends and wordlessly opened his arms. Annabeth didn’t even realize she was moving until she tackled him in a hug. He was still sopping wet from the race, so her shirt got wet but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Annabeth buried her face in the crook of his neck and squeezed Percy as tightly as she could.

It was hard to say how long they stayed like that, but eventually, she pulled away from his arms and looked up at him with a stupid grin on her face. “You did it! I’m so happy for you!”

Percy offered her an incredulous smile. “Somehow.”

“Shut up, you deserved to win. One hundred percent,” Annabeth said, poking his chest.

Percy’s ears turned red, and he tried to look away from her. “It was all thanks to a certain someone’s pep talk.”

“You’re giving me too much credit,” Annabeth said, but her heart felt ten times larger in her chest anyways.

“Seriously, I was really freaking out,” Percy said earnestly. “So thank you. Seriously.”

Annabeth bit back a smile. “You’re welcome. Seriously.”

“You never make things easy for me, do you,” Percy said, sighing melodramatically.

“Of course not,” Annabeth said. “I thought you would have figured that out after all these years.”

Percy shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a slow learner.”

“At least you’re not a slow swimmer,” Annabeth teased.

Percy rolled his eyes and said, “So what next? Martha’s?”

“You sure you want to celebrate with me and not your family?” Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh don’t worry about that,” Percy laughed. “I know they’ll monopolize me later today. But first, I want that chocolate milkshake you promised me.”

Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to get carried away by what he was saying. Still, she couldn’t help the feeling of exhilaration washing over her.

“Alright, Martha’s it is,” Annabeth said. “Go finish your shower and get dressed. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Percy nodded and left to tell his family their plans and to say goodbye to the rest of their friends, who were getting ready to leave. Piper gave her a knowing look on her way out, but Annabeth made a show of pointedly ignoring her.

A short while later, Percy met her at the entrance to the parking lot, his hair still wet from the shower. They drove to Martha’s in silence, only accompanied by the feeble radio in her dad’s car. The sun was just beginning to set, diffusing pink and blue across the spread of the horizon. At that proximity, Percy smelled distractingly of body wash, making Annabeth’s face prickle.

“I meant what I said earlier, you know?” Percy said, breaking the silence.

Annabeth glanced at him. “Hmm?”

“What you told me really helped,” Percy said.

“You’re being too nice,” Annabeth said.

“No, seriously, I was pretty sure I was gonna lose. Like on the last hundred meters, I kept thinking that it was only natural that I would let everyone down again, but then I heard your voice in my head, saying ‘All you have to do is go out there and swim’. I don’t know how or why, but that got me out of my own head and helped me win,” Percy explained.

Annabeth’s throat was dry. “I’m, uh, glad it helped.”

She caught his soft smile in the mirror. “Yeah, me too.”

“It’ll be your turn in April,” he said. “You’ll win State too, and then I’ll have to be the one buying milkshakes next time around.”

“Damn straight,” Annabeth said. “I can’t rest until I kick Reyna’s ass.”

“I can’t tell if you hate her or adore her,” Percy said, smirking.

“A little of both,” Annabeth admitted. “People that have never lost once in their lives piss me off, but Reyna’s a good person and fun to be around.”

“I did beat her at the batting cages,” Percy pointed out.

“Doesn’t count unless I’m the one doing it,” Annabeth said, shaking her head.

Percy’s grin grew wider before he turned away from her, making Annabeth scowl. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, I just thought that was a very ‘Annabeth’ thing to say,” Percy said, shrugging.

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“Hmm, I wonder,” Percy said, still grinning.

“Asshole,” Annabeth huffed.

There was a lull in the conversation while Annabeth began to turn something over in her mind. At first, it had seemed like a stupid idea, but the more that she thought about it, the more she wanted to go for it.

“H-Hey, I know you said you’d get me a milkshake if I won and all, but is it cool if I ask for something else instead?” Annabeth asked, fingers curling tighter around the steering wheel.

“Your wish is my command, your majesty.”

“Shut up, I’m being serious,” Annabeth laughed.

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Percy said, shrugging. “What did you want instead?”

Annabeth swallowed and said, “I’ll let it be a surprise for now. Just promise not to chicken out when the time comes.”

“You’re not gonna ask me to like run around school naked or something right?” Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Annabeth barked a laugh. “Tempting, but no.”

Percy hummed to himself for a while before he sighed and said, “Well, I suppose I’ll just have to trust you not to make me do something embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry so much. I promise it’s not that bad. Just wanted to ask you something. Besides, there’s no guarantee that I’ll even win, after all,” Annabeth said.

Percy yawned and curled up in his seat and closed his eyes. “I don’t know, I’m pretty certain you’ll win.”

Annabeth glanced at him. “Yeah? What makes you say that?”

“Dunno, I just believe in you,” Percy said simply.

Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek and resisted the urge to tell him that he was making a mistake. Honestly, she didn’t think she had a snowball’s chance in hell of beating Reyna at State, but she would still try her best to repay Percy’s faith in her. As a fellow athlete, he wouldn’t say something like that just to be nice. If he thought she had a shot, then maybe he was seeing something in her that she couldn’t.

The sky continued to darken, and Annabeth found herself thinking that even if she couldn’t believe in herself, maybe she could believe in how much Percy believed in her instead.

[pay-with-your-kinks]

Bratty Kitty

Pairing: Badboy!Minho x Reader

Summary: Minho, the notorious ‘bad boy’ at your university. To be quite frank, you found him pathetic- the boy was nothing but a rich, undisciplined kid who’d never been punished for being a brat- something you so dearly wanted to change.

College AU, Badboy AU, Enemies to Lovers AU

Genre: smut, fluff

Word count: 5.3k

Warnings: smut, sub!Minho, dom!reader, pegging, spanking, BDSM, slight pet-play, brat-taming

----

You groaned, waking up to the annoying, loud tune playing from your phone. Murmuring incoherent words and rolling to the side of your bed, you grabbed your phone and hit the ‘snooze’ button, immediately dropping it back onto your bedside table and stuffing your face back into your pillow, squeezing your eyes shut.

“Why the fuck did I sign up for morning classes,” You grumbled into your pillow, stifling a yawn

After two or so minutes of lying restlessly in bed, you realised you weren’t going to be able to fall back asleep with the sun beginning to rise, and, once again, you rolled over to the open side of your bed, shivering as you threw off the warm covers and stood up. You paused, breathing in and processing your surroundings before deciding you should probably get ready for the day.

“You’re up early,” your roommate commented from behind her bowl of cereal when she saw you come out of your room

“Morning classes,” You scrunched up your nose, and she nodded in understanding

“Breakfast?” She asked, pushing the box of cereal and carton of milk towards you

“Nah, no time,” You replied, grabbing your coat and walking out the door

The sun had risen far more quickly than your liking, and it blared in your eyes the second you stepped out the door. You squinted, blinking a couple of times and putting your hand against your forehead to shade your eyes.

“Oi, Y/N!” An- unfortunately- familiar voice called from behind you, and you turned around with your brow raised, being met with none other than Lee Minho

“The fuck do you want?” You sneered as he came closer to you “I have a class to get to,”

“Aw, don’t be so mean, baby girl,” He smiled condescendingly and leaned forward, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his leather jacket

“Call me baby girl again and you’ll regret it,” You threatened, and, before Minho could even open his mouth to retaliate, you turned on your heel and started heading towards your class

“Coward,” He called after you, and your eye almost twitched at the smile you could hear in his voice

The class, as expected, went by far too slowly for your liking, but you were satisfied with the notes you’d taken, and since you’d just woken up, you weren’t as drowsy as you would’ve been had it been in the afternoon, and you left the building in a surprisingly happy mood; that is, until you saw Minho again.

You groaned loud enough for the boy to hear you even while he was a couple feet away.

“Class not go well?” He asked, smirking

“Stop talking to me,” You deadpanned

“You never even try to make conversation with me baby girl- what if I have something important to say?”

“Oh, I don’t care,” You shrugged, beginning to walk away, sighing internally when he followed you

“Look what I bought today,” He appeared beside you, reminding you somewhat of the Cheshire cat

Rolling your eyes, you looked over to Minho, and saw that, dangling from between his fingers was a black collar with a nametag spelling out ‘kitten’. You made an appreciative hum before looking at the boy’s neck.

“You’d look good in it,” You said nonchalantly, but Minho furrowed his brows

“What?” He exclaimed, going in front and walking along with you backward “No- I bought this for you,”

You stopped walking, pausing for a second and blinking once before bursting out laughing, leaving Minho frozen in confusion.

“You- you think I’m a sub?!” You said once you’d finally stopped laughing enough to talk “No, kitten, I’m not,”

Minho seemed to come back to life when you called him ‘kitten’, and for some reason, the name sent heat to his ears and cheeks, something that you didn’t fail to notice.

“Eh? You like being called kitten, kitten?”

“No!! Shutup!” He said, looking around to see if anyone was in hearing range, and he stuffed the collar back into his pocket “I’m not a sub,”

“I find that hard to believe, baby boy,” you smirked, relishing in Minho’s wide and flustered eyes

“Don’t call me that,” He took a threatening step towards you

“Oh? It looks like the bratty kitty is finally getting a taste of his own medicine,” You mused, and Minho gulped

There was a moment of you two staring into each other’s eyes, Minho staring into your amused ones and you staring into Minho’s aggravated.

“Your pupils are dilated,” You whispered, placing your hand on his chest sensually before harshly pushing him out of the way and continuing to walk

This time, Minho didn’t follow you, only watched in annoyance as you walked off, pissed at not only you but himself for getting so goddamn turned on at your words. He always knew that you weren’t a full out sub, but somehow hearing you say it out loud, and then you basically degrading him managed to actually fluster him, and Minho’s mind immediately went to thoughts that he found simultaneously disgusting and arousing.

----

You opened the door to your apartment, an aggravated sigh leaving your lips as you thought back to your encounter with Minho. You weren’t going to lie to yourself- Minho was damn attractive, but he was also one of the brattiest, most annoying people you’d ever encountered. Judging from the clothes he wore, along with the entitled attitude he carried around with him at all times, you guessed that he was just a spoiled rich kid who got away with anything.

“He’s so fucking annoying,” You muttered to yourself

“Talking to yourself?” Your roommate’s voice came from the other side of the room, and you whipped your head around “Lemme guess- Minho again?”

“He’s just so- god sometimes I just wanna strangle him and make him take back everything that’s come out of his pampered mouth,”

“Kinky,” Your roommate mused, and you glared at her

“It’s not kinky he’s just an annoying little shit,”

“That you would absolutely love to have underneath you while you punish him and-”

“I get it!” You groaned loudly, and your roommate burst out laughing “stop sticking your nose in my sex life,”

“It’s hard to ignore when I hear the whimpering and begging of everyone you bring home- you’d think you were torturing them in there,”

You sighed and plopped yourself on the couch.

“Wow you really do like him,” she grinned

“I hate him,” You leaned your head back your gaze up towards the ceiling “I hate him so much that I want to just-”

You stopped talking and started making angry strangling motions with your hands, causing your roommate to chuckle.

“Well I’ve pried enough today- gotta get to a class, then I’m going out. Seeya later,” she waved as she went to the door and left, and you gave a half-hearted, distracted wave in return

----

Minho scrunched his nose and ran his fingers through his hair before kicking a piece of rubbish in front of him.

“Someone looks frustrated,” an amused voice came from his side, and Minho turned around to be met with Chan “What’s up?”

“It’s nothing,” Minho turned his head away, speaking curtly

“Oohoh, is it Y/N?” Chan raised his eyebrow and leaned forward, looking at Minho with a mischievous grin

“No!” Minho sputtered a little too quickly “How do you know Y/N?!”

“Her and I are friends,” Chan shrugged

“You’re friends with Y/N?” Minho furrowed his brows “How come I’ve never heard of this? And how the hell did you guess it was her?!”

“I’ve told you multiple times but it's never gotten through your thick skull,” Chan laughed, and lifted his fingers, flicking Minho in the forehead, to which the boy winced in return “And I guessed it was her because I know how much you pine after her,”

“It’s not pining,” Minho growled

Chan looked at him as if to say ‘are you sure about that?’

“It’s not!” Minho persisted “I just think she has a certain...allure about her that’s very...”

“I’ll give you a hint,” Chan leaned in and stage whispered in Minho’s ear “it’s cause she has dom energy and you’re a sub,”

“I’m not a sub!” Minho pushed Chan away, shooting a glare at the boy, and Chan laughed

“Calm down; you’re just proving me right,” Chan continued, and Minho’s ears grew red “You know, if you were willing to submit to her I’d bet she’d be willing to fuck you-”

“What, you speak from personal experience I suppose?” Minho shot

“You’ll never know,” Chan winked at Minho, and the Minho’s eyes widened

“What?!” He wacked Chan on the shoulder

“I’m kidding!” Chan continued laughing, and Minho scrunched his nose “But you might wanna think about what I said,”

“No way am I gonna do that,”

“Doubtful,” Chan shrugged “nice collar, by the way,”

Minho followed his friend’s gaze down to his pocket, which had the tip of a collar obviously meant for BDSM dangling from it. Surprised and flustered, Minho stuffed the collar deeper into his pocket and glared at Chan, who did nothing but continue laughing.

----

The air all around you was stuffy and claustrophobic, a wretched smell of cheap alcohol filling your nose, sweaty people all around you drunkenly dancing and singing horribly to whatever god forsaken song was blasting throughout the area. Somehow your roommate had managed to drag you off to a club late at night, claiming that she and all her friends were having a ‘girl’s night’, and that you should come to get your mind off of Minho. At first you thought it was a good idea- she was right, you did want a distraction from the boy- but once you’d actually arrived you began to deeply regret your choice.

“Group of hotties at four o’ clock,” You heard a shout from one of your roommate’s friends- whose name had slipped your mind

Absent-mindedly following the heads of everyone else in your small group, you looked over to a group of maybe nine boys, all around your age. You had no idea how anyone could see if they were ‘hot’- the flashing lights and overall dark and crowded environment made it impossible to discern one feature from the next. Before you could protest or escape, you were being pulled towards the other group.

“Hey there,” A confident, almost snide voice came from your side, and you rolled your eyes, turning to the boy who’d evidently come from the group you’d just been forced to approach

“Hey,” You replied in a bored voice

“You seem familiar,” it came again, and you felt hands rest on your hips, causing your eyes to twitch

“Yeah, so do you,” You kept your tone indifferent, but made no move to pull away

You weren’t lying- you could’ve sworn you’d heard the voice before, and the boy had an overall sense of familiarity to him. You told yourself you were just imagining it- with all the noise going on in the background, your mind could be making anything up.

“Why so cold?” He pulled your closer to him, and you cocked your head

“I don’t like cocky brats,” You deadpanned, and the boy seemed to pause

“You really do seem familiar,” he muttered, and you breathed out a humourless laugh

You were about to pull away, but you remembered why you agreed to come out at all tonight. You needed a distraction from a particular someone, and you’d take just about anyone for it.

Smirking and wrapping your arms around the stranger in return you moved closer to him, your hand lowering to squeeze his ass shortly, and you swear you heard a gasp from him, though it was hard to tell what was what.

“Hey-” he started, but was interrupted when you began to grind against him, and his breath hitched

“How about we get out of here, kitten?” You asked, sweetness dripping from your voice, and you saw that the whites of the boys’ eyes had widened

“Wait- Y/N?!” he yelled, pushing you off of him

You blinked, furrowing your brows before finally looking properly at the boy. A bright light flashed across the entire club for a split second, revealing a flustered Minho. Your lips parted slightly, the clear view of the boy gone as quickly as it had come- but it left the knowledge that you’d just made a move on the exact person you were trying to avoid.

“Oh come on!” You shouted, tossing your hands up “This is the exact opposite reason why I came out tonight! I’m leaving,”

Minho watched in stunned silence as you pushed your way through the crowd, jumping slightly as he felt someone elbow him, and he turned around to be met with Hyunjin.

“Isn’t that the girl you’ve been pining after?” He asked, nodding towards you

“I’m not pining!” Minho complained, almost stamping his foot, but deciding that that would only make him seem even more childish “Did Chan tell you that?!”

“No, I can just tell,” Hyunjin shrugged, and Minho glared “Why not go after her?”

Minho thought for a while before the condescending smile that he so often wore found itself back on his face, and without saying a goodbye to his friend, he started after you.

You silently continued making your way to the exit of the club, not looking back, but you were sure that Minho was following you. The moment you’d gotten out of the building into the crisp night air, your prediction was proven right, and Minho came out right after you, the stupid smile that you wanted to wipe off of him so much glued to his face.

“Fuck off, Minho,” You waved a dismissive hand at him, but he ignored your words and strode up to you, putting his arm around your shoulder

“Why not just talk a bit with me, baby?” He cooed, and you rolled your eyes

“Why not just go be a good kitty and-” You paused, cutting yourself off as a metallic glint caught your eye from Minho’s pocket “Is that the same collar as before?”

Minho looked down and saw the collar he’d shown you earlier that day dangling from his pocket- yet again. Cursing, he stuffed it back in, and you chuckled.

“You’d think you wanted to wear it- keeping it with you for so long,” You smirked, and his ears grew red

“I told you that I’m not a sub!” He hissed, and you laughed

“But you’d look so pretty in it,” You continued, speaking in a voice that suggested you were talking to a pet, and, regretfully, Minho gulped

“Baby girl,” Minho said in the most confident and steady voice he could muster “I-“

“You may as well stop calling me that, baby boy,” You interrupted him, and, even to his own surprise, he stopped talking “I wonder…what’s the worst punishment you’ve ever gotten?”

“The worst punishment?” Minho repeated in confusion, looking at you quickly before considering the question “I- I dunno,”

“Hah. So the spoiled brat really is just a pampered rich kid,”

“I’m not a brat,” Minho scowled and you laughed, only succeeding in making the boy even madder

Slowly, you stopped walking and turned to Minho. He followed suit, turning to you as well, regarding you with anger as well as caution. Wordlessly, you reached down and grabbed the collar from him pocket, holding it up as if to see how it would look on Minho.

“What the hell are you doing?!” He slapped your hand down once he’d processed what was happening, and you smiled softly

“If only you’d wear this,” You tutted “You’d look so good in it baby,”

Once again, just as you expected, Minho froze up, and although the lighting on the street was dim, you could tell how red his face was. You brought your hands up to his neck and slowly wrapped the collar around it, doing it up just barely too tight. Without speaking, Minho brought his hands up and gently touched it, his eyes staring into yours.

“You can be good,” you marvelled, which seemed to snap Minho out of his trance

He hastily looked around the street, seeming relieved when he saw that no one was in sight, and the gripped the collar around his neck more harshly.

“Take it off,” He ordered, growling

“You can take it off yourself just fine,” You smiled, and Minho faltered “Or is it that you don’t actually want it to be off?”

Minho didn’t reply, only glared as you smirked.

“Come on,” You said, and he looked at you questioningly “You’re coming to my place,”

“Wh- like hell I am!” he yelled, and you heard a bird squawk in return

“Guess I should just leave you like this, then,” You smiled, glancing down to the bulge in Minho’s pants, then back at the red-faced boy

“Wait I-…”

He let his words trail off, and then, instead of saying anything more, he grabbed the sleeve of your shirt softly, his head hung low. Your lips parted slightly and your heartbeat quickened- who knew he could be so goddamn cute.

The trip back to your place was uneventful except for when you got out the pair of flats you’d brought with you, put them on, and made Minho hold your heels for the rest of the walk back.

Finally, the pair of you had made it back to your apartment. You let Minho step inside before shutting the door behind him and abruptly pushing him back and shoving him onto the couch, causing him to yelp before looking back up to you with his completely red ears and cheeks.

“You’re being more obedient than I thought you would,” You mused, going to straddle the boy, putting your finger under his chin and making him look up at you

Minho furrowed his eyebrows and frowned, quickly turning his head so your fingers slipped from his chin. You laughed before harshly grabbing his chin, gripping it tightly and, once again, making him face you.

“You may as well stop trying to pretend like you’re not going to submit to me tonight,” You whispered

“I’m not going to,” he squinted at you, scrunching up his nose when you laughed again

“You’re wearing a collar, little kitty,” you mused, bringing your hand up to tug on the collar wrapped around his neck “You’re basically mine already,”

He opened his mouth the shoot back, but you stuck you thumb in and pressed it down on his tongue. Minho shook his head, trying to shake away your hold on him, but you forced him to keep still. He continued resisting, only stopping when you leaned forward, took your hand away and pressed your lips onto his. He gulped, pausing before kissing you back in a messy, open-mouthed kiss.

“Finally something that shuts you up,” You muttered against him before standing up “Why don’t you take off your clothes for me, kitty?”

His eyes widened at the sudden request before he turned away once again

“You’ll have to tear my clothes off bare-hand before I-”

“Oh, is that what you want?” You smiled, and the red on Minho’s cheeks deepened

Scowling he leaned forward and pulled off his shirt, throwing it aggressively at you, and you caught it, chuckling as you dropped it onto the ground. Minho began to unbuckle his belt, but quickly found himself getting nervous. He began going slower, his moves getting more hesitant and his face hotter, feeling your watchful gaze as he undid his pants and started pulling them down. He stopped, looking up to you with uncertain eyes.

“What’s wrong, kitty?” You walked up to him again and leaned down, grabbing the top of his pants “Getting nervous?”

“N-no!” He said before finally pulling his pants down and kicking them off his legs. You breathed out a laugh and began rubbing his completely hard cock through his underwear, causing him to moan

You began to straddle him once again, watching as his pre-cum made the thin layer of fabric practically see-through.

“You wanted me to fuck you, baby?” You whispered

“Please…”

“Say ‘please, mommy’,” You smiled, and Minho’s eyes widened, pausing in sudden shock before speaking again

“You’re delusional!”

“You’re the one who’s delusional if you think being a brat will get you any closer to cumming, kitty,” You said, beginning to get off of him, but Minho grabbed your arms, pulling you back down onto him, wrapping his arms around your waist and pressing your bodies so close together that he could grind his dick on you, and that’s what he did

“Please mommy,” He whimpered, moaning quietly as he began grinding faster

You bit your lip, feeling yourself get wetter at his little moans. Composing yourself, you spoke again.

“Wasn’t so hard, right baby?” You asked, wiggling out of his grip and taking off your shirt quickly and then, more teasingly, undoing your bra and tossing it aside

Minho’s breathing seemed to stop when he looked at you properly, and he couldn’t help but let his eyes drift to your breasts. You got off of the boy, and this time, he let you.

Grabbing his hand, you began leading him down a hall to your bedroom, and he wordlessly followed. You shut your bedroom door behind the pair of you and before doing anything else, you opened your closet and pulled out a strap-on and lube (which you somehow managed to not let Minho see as you tossed it aside) and a cat head-band. Minho hardly protested when you walked back up to him and placed the headband on his head, and he completely stopped resisting when you whispered how pretty he looked.

Slowly, you brought him next to your bed and got down on your knees, pulling down his underwear. Minho’s breath hitched as his cock sprung out and slapped against his abdomen.

“Mommy- ah-” he moaned as you wrapped your hand around him and slowly began pumping, spreading his pre-cum around and gradually beginning to get faster as it became easier to move up and down

“You ever been fucked, kitty?” You asked, licking the tip of his dick

“Wh- I’m not a virgin!”

“I meant…” you let your words trail off before slithering your hand behind him and brushing your finger over his hole

“Fu-” Minho moaned, and you felt his cock twitch “I- no…”

“Do you want to?”

“I…” He looked down at you, and you could tell he almost let a ‘yes’ slip past his lips before he seemed to jolt back “no! Like I’d ever let you-”

“Stop being such a brat,” you scolded harshly, taking your hands off him, causing Minho to whine at the sudden loss of contact “Tell me what you want or you won’t be getting it. It’s simple,”

The boy huffed cutely, blowing the hair that had covered his face out of the way. You almost smiled before you sat on the bed- almost.

“Come here,” You ordered, and Minho squinted his eyes at you, scooting towards your carefully

“What are you gonna do?”

“Discipline,” You answered simply, and Minho’s breath hitched “Come on kitty, be a good boy won’t you?”

It was almost an automatic response when Minho walked to you, letting your grab him and drape him over your lap. He whined as his cock met the fabric covering your legs, and subtly, the boy began grinding on you.

“Comfortable?” You asked sweetly, and Minho nodded

You sneered before spanking him harshly, causing him to jolt forward and moan.

“Fuck- again,” He whined, wiggling his ass in front of you

You cocked your head, surprised at his reaction, and somewhat annoyed at how much he seemed to be enjoying himself. Aiming a bit lower this time, you brought your hand back down and spanked him on the upper thigh.

“Mmm mommy that hurt- fuck-!” Minho started to speak, but cut himself off with a moan when you landed another harsh spank on his ass

You continued spanking him until his ass was red and hot, and the wetness that was Minho’s pre-cum on your clothes rubbing onto your thigh started to get border-line uncomfortable. You placed your hand softly on him again and began to knead Minho’s cheeks, smiling at the whimpers you got out of him.

“Does it feel good, kitty?” You murmured, purposely brushing a finger over his hole, and he subconsciously pushed his ass backward onto it

“Yes…” He whimpered, shaking as you continued running a single finger over the same spot

“Do you want mommy to fuck you?”

“Yes…please…” he whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut

“Say it louder for me, baby boy,” you teased

“Please fuck me mommy!” He said loudly “Wanna have my tight hole stretched by you, mommy,”

Your lips parted in shock before you chuckled

“Someone knows how to beg,” You mused, pushing Minho off of you and onto the bed

“Doms know what doms want to hear,” he stated, almost matter-of-factly

“It’d do you a favour to stop calling yourself a dom,” You put your fingers under his chin before leaning forward and kissing him sweetly “You’re mommy’s pretty little kitty, aren’t you?”

“Hah…yes…” He looked up to you, seeming to get drunk off the unexpected love in the kiss

You breathed out a laugh before getting off the bed and slowly taking off your pants and underwear. Minho watched intently, leaning forward and licking his lips at the sight. You smiled before going to where you’d put the strap-on and lube and picked them up, brandishing them to Minho, who didn’t seem to care where they came from- only where they were going.

“Get on all fours like a good kitty,” you cooed, and Minho immediately complied, unable to stop his hairs from standing on end from the anticipation

There was a moments pause, and Minho fought the urge to look back at you, but just as his resolve was up and he was about to look back, he felt a cold, lubed finger against his hole, and he whined, pushing his ass backwards against you yet again. You slowly shook your head before climbing on the bed behind him, spreading the lube around his hole before sticking your digit in, and, surprisingly, it slid in fairly easily.

“You’re pretty stretched already aren’t you, baby? Are you sure your pretty hole hasn’t been fucked before?”

“…I finger myself,” He said, and you laughed at the pout you could hear in his voice

Without talking more, you took your finger out and squirted out the lube again onto your next finger, rubbing the two together to get them evenly coated before sticking it back into Minho’s hole. You began to quickly move your fingers in and out, and Minho began moaning, shamelessly letting out his noises.

“I want mommy’s cock,” He moaned, dropping his face into the covers and leaving his ass up in the air, wiggling it around a bit

You rolled your eyes and took out your fingers, putting on the strap on and lubing it up generously before, as slowly as you could, lining yourself up with the boy. You were about to push in, but Minho pushed back, inserting the tip in himself, and he let out a quiet but open-mouthed moan. You quickly reacted with a harsh slap to his ass, and he whined.

“Please hurry mommy…” He whimpered, and he said it so cutely that you couldn’t even think about rejecting him

You began pushing further in, feeling Minho tense around you, and you could tell his eyes were screwed shut with pain.

“Just relax for me, okay kitty?” you soothed, caressing the boy’s thighs

“Mmm,” He whimpered, but you couldn’t tell if it was from pain or pleasure

Once you had the entire dildo in his hole, you stayed still for a while, softly caressing his thighs until he began to get fidgety, pushing back against you and shifting positions ever so slightly, as if hoping you wouldn’t notice.

Without warning, you began moving in and out, slowly at first, and Minho moaned, biting his lip and tightly scrunching the bed cover between his fingers. It wasn’t long before you could start going faster, and you did.

“M-mommy p-lease- please- ah!” He whimpered, eyes screwed shut

“What is it, kitty?”

“Please touch ah- fuck- p-please touch m-my cock-“

You leaned forward and wrapped your hand around the boy’s already slick dick,  immediately beginning to vigorously jerk him in time with your thrusts. Minho let his face fall into the covers, quickly feeling the spot where his mouth was getting wet from the drool coming out of his mouth. He tried to bite down on the covers, but it didn’t last for long, and he quickly let go, opening his mouth to let out his moans, dribbling out occasional words saying how good it felt.

“P-please- cum- please let me c-cum,” he wailed pushing his hips and moving around sporadically

“Go on kitty, cum for mommy,” you cooed

A couple seconds later, after feeling Minho’s cock twitch rapidly in your hand, he came, hot white ropes of cum spurting onto the sheets and across his torso. You pulled out and Minho fell down, whining at the feeling of the bed-sheets against his sensitive dick.

“You look so pretty, baby,” You whispered, taking off the strap and quickly re-joining Minho, running your hands through his hair

Minho turned around, lying on his back and looking up at you.

“What about you?” He asked sweetly, pouting

“That’s true,” You chuckled, suddenly being reminded of the wet heat between your legs “You don’t have to though,”

“No!” he scrambled to sit up and grabbed your hands “I wanna! Please let me make mommy cum…”

You smiled before letting go of his hands and cupping his face in your hands, bringing him forwards into a kiss before letting go, moving to lean your back up against the bed frame and spreading your legs, bringing your own hand down and stroking along your slit, making sure to show the boy the thick strings of pre-cum that showed each time you lifted your finger up. Minho gulped and looked to you, his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth.

“Come on, kitty,” You smiled, and Minho immediately went down, licking a long stripe against you, going to the top and licking your clit multiple times before attaching his lips to it

You moaned and laced your fingers in his hair, gripping tightly, but Minho barely seemed to notice. He brought his fingers forward and inserted two of them, beginning to rapidly move them in and out straight away.

“Mm- fuck kitty- ah- that’s a good boy,” You moaned, tugging at his hair and grinding against his face

“Mommy tastes so good,” He gulped breathlessly, keeping his lips against your pussy as he said it, letting you feel the vibrations of his voice

Minho continued eating you out, seeming to get more enthusiastic each time you praised him and pulled at his hair more harshly. It was only a couple minutes before you came, and Minho kept going, making sure to lick up all the juices before finally pulling away.

“Shit, kitty,” You breathed heavily, biting your lip as Minho moved level with you and captured your lips in a soft kiss, unintentionally letting you taste yourself

You wrapped your arms around the boy’s waist and brought him closer before smiling.

“Guess all that pretending you’re a dom bit you in the ass, huh?” You chuckled, grabbing Minho’s butt shortly, causing him to jolt, and then pout at you

“You’re mean…” He muttered

“Let’s go take a shower, yeah? You’re not too sore?” You whispered, and you felt the boy nod against you before shifting positions to get up

The night ended with a hot shower, a fresh change of bed-sheets, a couple surprisingly loving kisses, a bit of pillow talk and lots and lots of cuddling.

[snowflake-risotto]

Eurovision 2021 Ranking w Comments

1. Denmark - Look this is god tier, idk what all the twitter ppl are talking about. Yeah it may be "dated", but by that logic, so is Finland.

2. Czech Republic - Again, god tier, but odds are also saying it won't qualify!!! Maybe I am out of touch.

3. Bulgaria - "No doubt you're worth saving, when getting up is all you've got" FUCK I CRIED.

4. Russia - Everything Toy wanted to be. Fave backing singer is the sweaty man.

5. Australia - We actually served this year and chances are we won't qualify. Yes, I am mad cause somehow our 2017 song qualified and it was shite.

6. Lithuania - The verses, the chorus, the yellow costumes, the hand thing. It's just too hard to pinpoint my favourite part of the whole package.

7. Georgia - LBR this will never qualify, but up until we get the MYYYY LOOOVVVEEEE its my favourite song. Idk it feels like such a waste that some mindless pop might qualify instead of this (*cough* *Moldova*).

8. Ukraine - I prefer the original version. This is still amazing tho.

9. Croatia - Love it. Suck shit 5g conspirator lady.

10. Cyprus - Some of the lyrics are so stupid (hotter than sriracha on the body), but goddamn that shit is catchy.

11. France - Everyone is raving about her performance style, but I'm not a fan tbh. Love the song tho and she does sing it so much better live than on the recording.

12. Italy - Out of the two rock offerings this year, this one is more timeless. Also, HELL YEAH! FEMALE BASSIST!

13. San Marino - Flo Rida or no Flo Rida it's a banger. Lmao @ Flo rida tho for judging a bikini competition instead of coming to a little insignificant song competition.

14. Poland - My guilty pleasure. It's just way too chaotic to hate (kinda like daddy Serhat in 2019) daddy Rafał hold me like one of your fish.

15. Serbia - Look I was annoyed at first listen, but a few rum-ba-ba-ba-bums later, it's a chaotic masterpiece, not a chaotic mess like #33.

16. UK - Massive improvement! Congrats, I guess. HOWEVER, I feel that this will still struggle to make top 20.

17. Belgium - Remember how they fired their singer that was supposed to represent them last year, it is for this reason that I think this song is a diss track about her. LUKA WORE THAT JOHNNY CASH T-SHIRT.

18. Ireland - Similar to last year, but unlike Azerbaijan, there are enough differences to make it a likeable entry. This of course is helped by the fact Ireland was a bit of a guilty pleasure last year.

19. Netherlands - Jeangu's voice is so rich and beautiful. I love the lyrics, but it is naïve of everybody to think that the commentators ( I'm looking at you UK) won't make a joke about that one lyric that sounds like a vegetable. I'm not gonna say what it is, google is free yanno.

20. Switzerland - It's one of those songs that I needed to listen to several times to appreciate.

21. Iceland - I love his message and his wholesomeness. Overall I like it, but I feel like the eurofan choir was only thought of to please the public in the short-term.

22. Malta - I love Destiny. I love her voice, her personality and the fact that she grew so much as a singer in front of our very eyes. However, they could have given her something that does not sound like a Melfest reject.

23. Norway - Radiohead 'Creep,' but make it g rated with design inspiration from Azerbaijan 2008 and and Croatia 2019.

24. Sweden - It's Sweden. It's safe, good and polished, but far too safe, good and polished.

25. Austria - On one hand, I can see through it as a jurybait wannabe. On the other hand, I do get (a good) emotional listening to it.

26. Greece - Its a vast improvement. This song suits Stefania better, unlike the "hello fellow kidzzz" rubbish of last year.

27. Finland - Welcome to 2004.

28. Slovenia - Excellent voice. That's it.

29. Spain - When I listened to it for the first time, I liked it, but I haven't really listened to it since.

30. Estonia - Pretty standard song, nothing special. Everyone calling Uku "daddy" on twitter is kinda funny tho.

31. Romania - I prefer Bulgarian Billie Eilish.

32. Portugal - The song is alright, his voice however is a bit too nasal for my liking.

33. Azerbaijan - You literally sent the same song. No effort! Boo! However, I do like the 20 second shaky camera disaster at the end of the music video.

34. Albania - I feel bad putting this so low, but when you have a national final so early, I often just forget it exists come contest time.

35. Latvia - Since I didn't like Samanta's offer last year or Tamara's song from 2019, it's probably the blonde bob haircut that I don't like.

36. Is**el - Out of all the pop songs this year, I am the most indifferent to this one.

37. North Macedonia - Better luck next year.

38. Moldova - The bit where Natalia dances with ice cream cones is unsettling because it reminds me of the music video for les succettes where dancing lollipops/penises are in the vicinity of France Gall.

39. Germany - The one guy that insists on playing his ukulele in any given situation. If you thought that was bad, just wait for the beat to drop.

[tigerdrop]

okay kind of obsessed with the body swap art tho. idk why i just like benrey getting to bully gordon with his own body, his own voice, and i like gordon trying to navigate whatever weird shit benrey’s got going on. gordon not being able to figure out or control whatever organs in benrey’s throat produce sweet voice so it’s just spewing whatever emotions he’s feeling at random (including Horny? uh oh. can’t hide that as easily as a surprise boner can you gordon?)

this ask kicked me into actually thinking about it and your brain is so huge. massive. i lost control

last night i was struggling to articulate thoughts for the body swap thing but this is kickstarting me. i. really love bodyswap stuff........(sighing) i am yet again having to confront the fact that i latched onto an embarrassing number of Things after having first read about them in [REDACTED]. truly hate being alive

so like......potions. you can get into a whole lot of weird stuff with potions. truly loving that darnolds 5-minute existence gives me an excuse to think of the stupidest horny potions scenarios

and why in the fuck wouldnt he have a bodyswap potion just chillin in his lab. why wouldnt benrey crack that bad boy open and take a sip while darnolds bitching at him "dont you touch any of those goddamn potions. im not gonna tell you which ones which so if you die, you die"

gordon claps benrey on the back afterwards like "well, thats a risk im perfectly happy for him to take" but uh oh you fucking buffoon. the touch is what activates it. and shit just starts spinning and schlorping in his mind and he nearly falls over clutching the lab bench next to him and when he cracks his eyes back open, hes........shorter. and everybodys asking if somebodys okay but that somebody isnt him and hes kind of miffed about that

and then gordons head turns and he sees Himself being steadied on his feet by tommy and darnold and hes like.......guys? guys. hello! and the sound of benreys voice coming out of him with that irritated and loud timbre makes everybody turn to face him........b/c that is so insanely weird coming from him

im like way into the idea of benreys, like, Eye Darkness Thing transferring to gordons face when their bodies are swapped, too. its just his malevolent energies manifesting physically no matter what body hes in

Wait god wait. Like. Benrey in Gordon's body and he gets horny for some reason and has to live Gordon's fucking pained life of the suit edging the hell outta him- Bc now Gordon can actually fucking jerk off for the the first time in days. No edging bullshit from the hev suit

benreys newfound appreciation for why gordons such a bitch all the time

RRRRRRRRRRR gordon able to go wild beating his meat that night finally but right before he does he stops because hes looking down at. 8)!

YES EXACTLY....... gordon freeman humbled by the sight of benreys huge meat. except its his meat now 

at first he only feels mildly weird about jacking it when hes not even in his own body right now but hes been edged for days now and hes just thinking "if i can just get this out of the way now, ill be clear-headed for however fucking long im stuck in black mesa. maybe this is why ive been so goddamn stupid lately. yeah"

but then he gets some time and space to himself at long last and unzips and the shock of seeing benreys huge uncut dick instead of his own brings him back to reality like "?oh my god what the fuck am i doing"

embarrassment! guilt! but also hes still fuckin horny and eventually curiosity wins out. whats the harm, right. its not like he has to say anything about it. and gordon freeman is (mostly) heterosexual and hes never been this up close and personal with a foreskin before and hes just......curious. scientifically

maybe hes even.......locked himself inside one of the company restrooms while hes at it. just to make sure hes got privacy. and there is a mirror right there........  he was gonna just bust one out and leave as fast as he can but now hes curious

starts. thumbing the hem of his shirt under benreys vest. starts lifting it up experimentally just to see where all that hair leads. out of curiosity. and seeing the curve of benreys stomach peek out in the mirror makes him hiccup on sweet voice inadvertently 

weirdly enough theres a part of him thats both relieved and disappointed that hes never seen that color before

he never envisioned that seeing benrey like this would be a turn-on but like......with that vest and that helmet on he just looks like some kind of fuckin roundish rectangle shape. but now gordons intimately familiar with how his body feels to move around in......what hes gotta look like underneath all that armor and ill-fitting work clothes......and the hornier he gets the stupider he gets

takes off the helmet.......just to test the waters. if somebody manages to bust in, thats not so weird to explain. and hes surprised by the shock of black hair he finds under there. he doesnt know what he was expecting....but honestly, benrey looks, like, kind of nice like that. more like a person

im slightly obsessed with the idea of benrey just not even registering as a Real Guy, physically, to gordon, one that he could possibly be attracted to, until hes out of his work uniform.......like hes more of an icon of a person than anything up until that point. pure signifier. no substance

like......you know......the equivalent of how benreys HL model registers to 99% of people watching the series. sure, thats not necessarily anything youd register as "hot", most likely, but then u peel that away and its like........Oh

the model is the icon and the representation of the icon is the real

and gordon runs a hand thru benreys hair and tries out one of those shitty little smirks benrey likes to use on him and the effect is.......dizzying. is that him? is that what benrey really looks like to him?? he feels fuckin salacious doing this

he can even.........get his face up close to the mirror and really look at those teeth

run his tongue over them experimentally.......feel their sharp edges.......and, no, theyre not sharp like a knife, but they are definitely pointy. and surprisingly well-kept......hes never seen benrey brush his teeth before but clearly he must. theyre so smooth and slick under his fingertips

and then he flushes and drops his hand b/c hes getting some weird fucking thoughts right now........but looking back up at himself in the mirror and seeing benreys face all wide-eyed and red makes the issue worse

oh, you really like seeing him look like that, dont you. and gordons pissed b/c this isnt even his fucking brain but its still whispering the exact same neurotic, self-defeating shit at him that hes trying very hard to tamp down

and then he starts getting a little crazier. taking off the vest. he can explain that, no problem. its just kind of hot. heavy. he needed a breather! its normal. just in here to splash some water on his face and cool down, nothing wrong with that. but that just makes benreys shirt all the easier to access.......and he tugs the hem of it just a little higher and looks at himself in the mirror and runs a thumb over the curve of his stomach, where the hair is thickest, and he shivers

gordon freeman is deeply normal and would never get off to the sight of a guy with arms the size of his head tentatively dragging the hem of his shirt up, just for gordon to look at him closer

hands shaking from nerves as he decides to loosen his tie and start unbuttoning and he sees more and more hair-dusted skin and muscle and fat and a thin sheen of sweat reveal itself

> i could see gordon trying to tense and flex the muscles a bit just because hes normal

HE IS, AND HE WOULD

he doesnt know when "being horny b/c hes been pent up and edged for days and he just needs to get his rocks off real quick so he can be normal again" turned into "being horny b/c the way benrey looks under his uniform is scary good to him" but if he thinks about that too hard hes gonna have a panic attack

tells himself that its all just because he hasnt been able to get off. thats why hes thinking this shit. hell stop thinking it once he nuts

> hey this is a quick aside but yknwo how he talks to himself in third person sometimes? what if he does and then kinda does a mental double take at how his name sounds coming out of benreys mouth, with his voice. ok thats it goodbye

oh ym god thats making me go insane. doing it by accident and then.........saying it again. on purpose. just to hear benreys voice doing it

getting one knee hitched up onto the sink and leaning forward with his arm braced against the mirror and his forehead leaning on his arm and tugging benreys dick (no, idiot, thats your dick right now, stop thinking about it) and tentatively groaning out his own name and it comes out so hoarse and desperate that it punches him straight in the gut (too bad, hes thinking about it, he cant not think about it, not with the way he looks and sounds right now)

> remember in the series when benrey called him gordon one (1) time and he noticed immediately and was like..i think thats the first time youve called me by my name.

he looks so fucked out and slutty in that mirror that it almost makes him pass out

eyes darting like hes trying to commit every single detail of how he looks right now to memory (b/c he is. he fucking is. he wants to make benrey look like this so fucking bad. just for him. wreck him and get him flushed and sweaty and panting and moaning gordons name and jesus christ, okay, thats where his brains taking him. okay. cool)

hes dizzying himself thinking about it. he knows benreys hot for him by this point, theoretically. assuming his weird come-ons werent just jokes. benrey would probably let him do this to him. benrey would probably want him to touch his dick. gordon thinks about how good it might feel for his own hand to be on benreys dick and he cant get himself solidly into one headspace or another - hes gordon, hes benrey, he wants to touch, he wants to be touched, he wants to feel his own hand on this dick (and god, maybe he could. maybe he could ask. wouldnt that be crazy.)

benrey in gordons suit and gordons body and gordons face leaning over him, b/c fuck, he really is tall compared to benrey, hes figured that one out awful quick. and gordons (his) hand on his (benreys) dick and stroking him and leering down at him with those dark, dark eyes that dont even really look like his eyes, anymore, not with the way theyre shaded over, and hearing his (benreys) (his) voice moaning out his (gordons) (definitely gordons) name and all the little "pleases" and "thank yous" that he cant stop letting out b/c benreys voice was made for it, made to beg and whine and ask so nicely, and his heads spinning as he comes all over the fucking mirror and sink

> i wonder if this could be combine with the ideas that parts of the self or like mind is still a bit left behind if that makes sense, like with benrey also wanting this that part of the reason gordon wants to say those things

"do you want to fuck him or do you want to be him?" well my good bitch, perhaps you can have a little of both. welcome to my personal hell

hes never come so hard in his fucking life and the noise that rips out of him when he does, finally, after days of being jerked around (ha ha) makes his ears burn with shame

now if you really wanna go crazy. imagine that benreys up and walking around this whole time b/c being edged by his stupid broken suit is making it impossible for him to sleep, and he hears........all of this. stops and presses himself flat agains tthe wall to listen

he cant actually get into the bathroom to scare the shit out of gordon/offer to join in/etc, b/c this stupid flesh body of gordons cant even noclip, but he can press his ear to the door and. listen. and he can flush all the way down to his chest when he hears gordon in there, moaning out his own name with benreys voice

so thats what gordon wants him to do, huh. thats what hes thinking about.

poor benrey, tho. he gets to experience just a lick of the endless fucking suffering that gordon goes thru every single day just by being alive, and "the HEV suit trying and failing to suck him off to completion while his dick twitches against the hard metal of the interior every time gordon groans in there" is just one small part of it

anyway . see ya. my final message

[hyperfixationtimego]

the three wingmen of thh; Leon (chaotic), Kyoto (lawful), and Hina (neutral)

Kyoto was 100% the reason Celeste is dating Junko, it’s canon now. She is extremely involved in seating for extracurricular activities (i.e. the tea parties), and commonly puts them together. She finds putting Taka and Mondo apart...helps them?? She has no idea why but if they’re seated far from each other, they are immediately cuddling once they leave the room.

Grey-hair and Blue-hair girls are dating, no I do not take criticism (grey hair has braids I think and protects a mob guy?? and blue hair is the mastermind ig, she has black glasses apparently) - queer eye anon

oh my god yes???

Leon and Chihiro were some very powerful masterminds behind ishimondo ngl 👀 like chihiro’s brainpower combined with kuwata’s sheer strength of will?? UNSTOPPABLE those gay bitches never stood a CHANCE

although to be fair, most of their plans DID involve using a digital lock and/or utilizing alter ego to somehow force them into an empty room and keep them locked in there until they finally confessed 💛

Leon ALSO wingmans for sayaka because they’re besties who hate each other ❤️ he’s constantly cracking jokes with her about how she should just text Mukuro that she wants to fuck, or jokingly advises her to use raunchy pick-up lines on Sakura. He’s come very close once or twice to just. Blurting out “HEY MUKURO! SAKURA! SAYAKA’S GOT A HUGE FUCKING CRUSH ON Y-” only to have the idol clamp a hand over his stupid dumbass mouth <3

it’s okay because sayaka absolutely gets her revenge when she has to wingman for him and makoto (the only reason she doesn’t completely fuck up kuwata’s chances and embarrass him is because she’s besties with Makoto, too, and knows the poor guy’s ALSO got it bad. There’s a lot of Sayaka (and literally everyone else too) having to deal with some gross oblivious loveydovey pining from these fucking dorks, so she gets her fill of teasing)

And Hina wingmanning for Sakura???? Bruh okay u have no IDEA how much serotonin platonic sakuraoi gives me simply because????? Them?????? They????? Love???????? I love them???

And basically Hina’s just the right amount of empathy/sympathy and logic!! Her main, go-to piece of advice is “just talk to them!” And - surprise - trusting her on this usually leads to having fun and making good memories with the object(s) of affection !!

She’s such a sweetheart??? And like yes ofc she doesn’t have an answer for everything, because her heart is just a lil bit bigger than her brain sometimes (ok but mood tho like no shame this is both kin and projecting) but she’s trying her best!!! As she always listens to whoever needs her at that moment and gives the best advice she can - which isn’t even limited to romantic situations!!! She’s one of the go-to students for when someone’s having, like, an everyday problem or feeling stressed because she’s so non-judgemental and soothing to be around!!!

It’s Hina appreciation hours 💛

Anyway, Kyoko-

she also (unfortunately) is forced to wingman for Makoto and Leon, which means a lot of listening to naegi ramble on about how cool and nice and interesting and pretty and blah blah blah kuwata is (don’t get Kirigiri wrong, she adores Leon, but a girl can only take so much, y’know?)

and requests for Makoto to simply......TELL LEON are almost ALWAYS refused because nope no way in hell absolutely not and so she’s like great I’m gonna go bang my head against a desk because I seriously cannot take the two of you anymore

eventually she (secretly) goes and talks to Leon, without betraying Makoto’s trust or disclosing any information she feels he would not be comfortable with, does her best to subtly hint at the fact that hey. koto’s got a crush. you should fucking ask him about it before I go completely insane. Leon doesn’t fully get the hint but does go talk to Makoto, which FINALLY prompts some goddamn CONVERSATION about it thank GOD

also sorry sorry not to ramble but I just????? an idea hit me like a gd truck and I need to talk about it because I love???? I love????? I love

sometime after all this, Kyoko gets inadvertently wrapped up in co-wingmanning with Makoto for Komaru and Toko/Jill. Except. Those three have no clue about the fact that there is any wingmanning going on.

so kyoko’s like “why are we doing this”

and makoto’s like “because she’s my sister and she’s in love and I want her to be happy!!!”

“Okay but shouldn’t they work this out on their own”

“Not if I have anything to say about it!!!”

“*Sigh.* Goddamnit.”

And then Leon eventually hears about it, as well, because of course makoto’s gonna talk abt it with his boyfriend, why wouldn’t he, and anyway kuwata’s like OH?? POG??? because he and Toko and he and Jill are friends!!!! So he’s like I’ll totally help omg Fukawa and Syo are gonna STOKED

(Makoto does not comment on the fact that Toko most likely will not, in fact, be stoked by the idea of kuwata meddling in her love life, but does at least advise his dear 0-braincell partner to be careful ❤️)

okay okay sorry I’m a simp for tokomaru and syomaru on main but anyway back to kyoko and seating charts-

YEAH ON GOD???

And poor Kirigiri already has trouble comprehending how social interaction works that this kinda shit just???? Completely breaks her?????

“Why.....do people.....react different.......like I will accommodate for it but.....I do not.....understand......”

does not fucking compute

(Also shhhhh don’t let Korekiyo know that there was something about human behavior Kirigiri didn’t understand because somehow they will materialize from the shadows to go on a softly excited special interest infodump ramble/lecture that lasts hours and hours)

But yeah???? Ironically enough, she’s honestly the only person from her class who’s able to, for the most part, figure out how Celestia’s mind works, and so she’s able to use that to her advantage when setting her up with Junko!!! (The thing with Celeste was that it sort of became a case to Kyoko!! Celeste was so Obviously different in her behavior and mannerisms than everyone else that Kirigiri basically ended up treating learning about her the same way she would treat trying to solve a crime or something similar!!)

For ishimondo she chalks it up to “absence makes the heart grow fonder???” she guesses????? seriously she has No Clue

also she doesn’t pick up on it but they DO give each other pining puppy dog eyes from across the room the whole goddamn time like they’re just [y e a r n]

And OKAY ANON???? HEY ANON????? WHERE ARE YOU HIDING THE FUCKING GALAXY BRAIN JUICE???? HELLO???????

I. how is it possible to not know the games and yet,,,,,,,conjure up a concept so incredible????? Pekomugi,,,,,,,,,my g o d

Ok ok ok ok ok hold on hold on lemme gather my thoughts because holy fuck

FIRST OF ALL, Tsumugi is a GIANT nerd, so the thought of having a SWORD GF???? A GIRLFRIEND WHO IS A SWORDSMAN???? HOLY FUCK?????? she can live out her wildest samurai anime fantasies,,,,,,,because she quite literally has a swordswoman girlfriend who would protect her with her sword oh my g o d

SECOND OF ALL, Tsumugi also????? fucking loves sitting in on Peko’s training sessions to watch her beautiful incredible wonderful darling partner spar??? and use badass techniques and strategies???? Literally Tsumugi is always blown away??

and she ALWAYS comes and barrels into Peko to give her a gigantic hug and shower her with kisses once training’s over!!!! And Peko doesn’t understand because

“I am hot and sweaty. I am currently very gross, why are you kissing me,”

“No!!! You’re stunning and perfect and charming!!!! You make me swoon!!! Oh, dear knight, hold me in your sweet embrace....”

meanwhile peko’s just like babe pls let me go take a shower

and okay final thing I promise, but....Peko is absolutely astonished by Tsumugi’s cosplay abilities???? Like with a lot of her works, Peko can hardly even believe that that’s her gd girlfriend????? Like sweet JESUS her datemate is damn good at makeup and disguising herself and whatnot

“cosplay is an art and you have perfected it,” like catch tsumugi fuckinf crying

[babyybitchhh]

Thotty Thursday: Part 2

The second installment of Thotty Thursday is upon us. Rejoice, heathens!

Now, let me just say that I’m picking dudes at random while trying to keep things balanced between old shows and new ones but ... y’all really bout to notice some patterns the more we do this so I’m just gonna wait for someone to call me out tbh. 😰

FYI, I like to think of myself as an equal opportunist thirster and if a dude is hot then he’s hot. I’m not one to question this shit. But when you get right down to it I have like four types: high IQ smarty pants, dummy thicc, dad and bad boy bastard. Our next snack belongs in the last category, without question.

He’s honestly prettier than me and that is not an exaggeration but don’t let his good looks fool you

This Arabian Nights styled dime piece has a mean streak a mile wide. Because of Reasons, ofc, but that don’t change the facts

Not only did he once punch a child in the face for no other reason than to assert his dominance (fact) he also pretended to cry in front of the person he hates most just to laugh about how they fell for his (flawlessly executed) act

He honestly may or may not have a few screws loose but that’s part of the appeal, you see. It adds a dash of spice to the meal

And you know what they say about crazy bitches in bed 😏

Full disclosure, I started reading Magi: Labyrinth of Magic before the anime aired and his name was originally translated as Judal so that’s what he’s always going to be in my mind. The official translation is Judar, and I respect that, but at the end of the day I do not know her

Judar who?

Can I also just take a moment to point out that gloriously long, thick braid he’s sporting tho

This man has hair for days and there’s just something I find incredibly attractive about that

I want to take it all down and carefully comb through it, play with it and style it again 

Really show him the attention he deserves

If he decided to suffocate me with it, well, I guess I wouldn’t complain about that either

Now, the setting alone had my interest PIQUED right out the gate because I love Middle Eastern inspired aesthetics and I truly don’t think it’s utilized as a setting half as much as it deserves to be. It’s very beautiful imo and the anime team did a pretty good job of capturing that vibe but if I’m being honest I think the manga was better (up to a point)

However there ain’t nothing quite like seeing your man move on screen or hearing his voice with your own two ears and when I say Judal put on a show each time he showed up ... 🥵

I think I can safely say my pussy clenched whenever I got so much as a whiff of him possibly making an appearance, PHEW

He’s just so pretty and mean

My favorite combo tbh

“But why do you like mean boys so much 🤔?” You ponder aloud and my answer to that is “I don’t know. I just do.”

Judal gets my kitty purring for a variety of reasons but the biggest is probably that I can’t look at him without imagining myself as his feisty little slave girl, wearing nothing but sheer silk and delicate gold chains, completely at his mercy ...

Oops, did I say that out loud? 😳

I mean, can you really blame me when he’s running around in those baggy harem pants though?? Can you really???

So the first thing you probably thought was: damn. This guy kinda dressed like a thot 👀

And you’re not wrong

Does he HAVE to dress like that? Strictly speaking, no. But I am definitely not complaining about his fashion choices

His titties are so close to popping out of that tiny little shirt that we’d be getting nip slips left, right and center if he had any more meat on his bones than that and trust me when I say he did that shit on purpose

This boy is SUCH a fucking tease and he loves the attention it gets him - first and foremost because he’s used to being the CENTER of attention but we’ll get more into that a little bit later

Hes just a tad 👌 narcissistic, loves to show off, definitely bipolar and is in a constant state of feeling himself so he’s hitting all his marks as far as I’m concerned

In short, he’s perpetually oozing big dick fuck boy energy and I live for it

That’s why he’s always showing up with that stank ass attitude, he knows damn well he can pull the baddest bitch around AND her man too

He’d fuck you and your boyfriend at the same time just to prove a point, that’s actually how petty he is

Honestly though I’d like to see ANYbody maintain their resolve when he’s laying on the charm and Judal’s just cruel enough to do it for shits and giggles

Probably wakes up in the middle of his sprawling imperial bed at two in the afternoon and says something like “damn, I need a little pick me up today” and then proceeds to manipulate and harass his lucky unfortunate victim of choice

He’s relentless too and will stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wants, even if that means breaking you in the process

Again, I like the challenge he represents

But also I just like a man who can make me cry 🤷‍♀️

And I don’t doubt he absolutely would. Tears probably turn him on tbh and I’m positive he’s got a bit of a yandere streak too

Are y’all seeing those patterns yet??

So did you guys notice that wand he keeps twirling around like a goddamn baton?

He’s a magic user, or in this case a magi which means he’s literally at the top of the food chain in this universe

He’s special special

Every ounce of confidence he has is rightfully deserved and even tho he’s not the strongest per say, he IS extremely powerful and his destiny as a magi is to influence the world

THE WHOLE ASS WORLD YA’LL

That’s why he’s got such a big fucking ego

I promise these aren’t major spoilers, so you don’t have to worry about that

When he was still a (too precious for words) child, he was abducted by an evil cult so that they could manipulate him and use his powers to influence shit in a bad way. The exact details of what they did to him are hazy, but based on the snippets we did get it seems like they basically put Judal on a pedestal and raised him as if he were some kind of god or a king

I’m talking waiting on him hand and foot, giving him whatever he wanted, essentially worshiping him and using persuasive mind control magic to convince him that he’s the best thing to happen since sliced bread

And it worked

Can you tell exactly how fucked up this kid is right now

Keep in mind here that I’m not saying his screwed up personality isn’t the result of some seriously bad mojo

Magi are supposed to be what tips the scales of fate in this setting which, generally, means for the betterment of the world and this whack ass cult pointedly steered him down a path he otherwise would not have gone

But it’s this tragic past of his that really brings the whole package together

He could be a mean pretty boy for no other reason than because he wants to and I’d still drop into a split on his cock

I like mean for the sake of mean too

It’s just that knowing what made him the way he is gives us the perfect amount of insight to truly feel sympathetic despite all the bad shit he has done and will continue to do

Personally, it makes me want to be the one to show him genuine, tender affection no matter how much he’s initially appalled by the mere suggestion so in a lot of ways it’s similar to how I feel towards Hiei

But that doesn’t mean I want him to change and start being n - 🤢 start being nice - 🤮

He’s perfect just the way he is and there’s just something about big, confident egos that gets me going like little else

And Judal seems to truly believe he’s the greatest gift the world has ever received and he’s not wrong about that imo so yeah he definitely has an attitude problem

But that also means he’s a spoiled brat tho and he’s definitely one of those dudes who needs to be dommed on occasion to really get the full experience 👀

I am not too shy to pin him down and milk his cock for all it’s worth, that is all I’m saying fam

And can I just point out how breathtakingly gorgeous he’d look all flushed and sweaty, whimpering like a needy little bitch in heat while having his prostate relentlessly teased for hours on end?

Goodness, it suddenly got HOT in here, is that just me??? 💦

Ofc the only way that’s gonna happen is if he allows it - which I don’t see being a common occurrence - but that’s why you gotta take advantage of that shit when it does 👀

On the topic of Judal being spoiled, I want to mention that there are actually TWO very different backdrops that I can thot around with him in, and I like that

There’s the fantasy Middle East setting ofc which I personally can’t get enough of

I’m wearing the slave girl Leiah outfit in my mind right now btw

But he also spends a lot of time in this worlds version of ancient China complete with all the dramatic robes and elegant architecture to really set the mood

He has an entire imperial palace on lock and if that doesn’t get you even a little bit horny then idk what to tell you

The royal family for the most part treats him like one of their own despite not being related in any way, if that tells you exactly how much clout he pulls in this setting, and even tho they’re essentially using him for their own gain Judal doesn’t seem to mind it one bit

He likes being at the top and having the freedom to do whatever he wants so if that means doing a little dirty work for the Kou Empire then so be it

And I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be a ride or die on these little errands

Like, just imagine this pretty boy pulling up to you on his flying carpet (that’s not a joke or something I just pulled out of my ass btw) and asking if you want to come back to his crib for some fun

You say yes, because you might be a thirsty slut but you’re certainly not STUPID

And he straight up takes you to a fucking palace

Be honest with me guys, how fast do the panties come off tho?

Be real with me here

This is actually just the plot of Aladdin but with the gender roles reversed 🤣

Fr fr though, A Whole New World plays softly in the back of my mind every time I think about this dude, except it’s much darker and ... explicit 😏

But my point here is that Judal’s got basically everything he could ever possibly want so he really just needs a pretty little concubine at his side to complete the picture

And I dead ass feel like it should be ME

When I say this man could get it ....

OOF

He is TROUBLE in its purest form and I regret nothing about my choice in fictional men

Absolutely nothing

He could honestly fuck me up seven ways to Sunday and I’d thank him for the honor

Spit on me, king. Please. I don’t need nothing else to sustain me

Unless you want to throw some of that choice dick in for free? 👀

Lord  have MERCY

[emo-potato-virgil]

Desert road

Daryl Dixon X Male Reader.

Angst fic, character death.

I wrote this years ago for a challenge and found it again recently, decided to throw it out there.

Summary: Y/n picks Daryl up from a bar in town, miles from their home. Shitfaced drunk, Daryl experiences the most traumatic event in his life.

Warnings: Drunk Daryl. Verbal fighting. Daryl being an asshole. Injuries. Death.

Setting: Right before season 1 of twd.

Enjoy!

It happened on a Saturday, late at night, or maybe early Sunday. Not that it mattered. It was a memory that haunted him every night, every single night. It didn't matter whether he was asleep or not, the dark sky, the side of an abandoned road at night, a walker with bloody flesh hanging off its dead mouth, it all reminded him of that one night. If only he had known what would happen, if only he had listened, he could've stopped it. But he didn't know at the time, couldn't have known. And he didn't listen, too absorbed in other things to even cast a glance to the side. And he couldn't stop it, because it had already happened before he had the chance to turn around. He beats himself up over it every night, every single night. 

~

"Daryl, c'mon, we gotta go home!" The voice calling for him was familiar, but Daryl's drunk mind couldn't process who it was or where it came from. When did the music get this loud? He turned his head to the left, and then to the right, searching the sweaty, dancing bodies around him, trying to find the person who the voice belonged to. A hand on his shoulder caught his attention, and he whirled around to see the face of his lovely boyfriend. He tried to smile at him, but it faltered as soon as he saw the glare directed at him.

"Y/n? We, we can stay here! It's f-fun!" His words were slightly slurred, but he sobered up just by looking into his boyfriend's angry eyes. Y/n was never angry at him, annoyed, sure, but never angry. It's like Y/n wasn't capable of being angry, always smiling, trying to cheer people up or solve a problem. Y/n hated arguing, and often didn't see the point in getting mad. But this was different.

"We are leaving, right now." His voice was a bit lower than usual, just a tad bit intimidating to get through to Daryl. Daryl's mind barely had time to process the hand grabbing at his sleeve, and he soon felt the cold air hit him outside the bar. When did he start walking? His boyfriend was talking, probably to him, but he was distracted by the bottle in his hand that he hadn't noticed before. When did he get this? He took a careful sniff at it, and once he knew what it was, he took a sip. The alcohol burned his throat, but it felt good. Life had been cruel to him for too long, the only good thing about it being Y/n, and he needed a break.

The walk to the car was long and awkward and cold, and Daryl disliked every second of it, but so did Y/n. This was the third time in a month that Daryl had gotten so drunk he could barely walk, and Y/n was getting sick of dragging him out of a random bar in town before he could start a fight. Daryl got drunk often, started fights in bars, and seemed to have little to no respect for Y/n while in this state, but he loved the man, and he won't let such a thing ruin them.

Y/n slowly guided them down the sidewalk, making sure Daryl didn't trip over his own feet, and unlocked the car once they got to it. He lowered Daryl into the passenger seat and got into the drivers seat himself, glad he didn't drink that night. It was then that he noticed the already half empty bottle in his boyfriend's hand, and sent him a questioning glance.

"Seriously? You're still going at it?" He started the car, not really expecting Daryl to answer, and drove out of the parking lot. They drove in silence for a long while, stuck between not knowing what to say and not wanting to say anything at all. The longer they drove, the more tense the air became, until Daryl had had enough of it. He leaned his head against the cool window, watching the scenery pass by as he blurted it out.

"Y'know, I don't need you to babysit me. I can take care of myself." If he had been sober, he would've slapped himself for saying that, but in that moment, he couldn't think.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry for wanting to look out for my boyfriend. And I also sincerely apologize for keeping you out of fights, and for taking care of you when you have a hangover, and for driving miles through a goddamn desert to come get you, and for driving miles through a desert again to take you home. Wow, yeah, I'm such an asshole, and so unreasonable, and oh my, I think you should just get out now and walk the rest of the way, or maybe back to the bar seeing as you can't get enough of that whiskey." His voice was even, calm, and nothing like the tone Daryl's past partners have used in an argument. That's a thing Daryl loves about Y/n, he never raises his voice unless absolutely necessary, and he always listens to Daryl no matter how unreasonable he's being.

Daryl is about to snap back at Y/n, to say something he doesn't mean and will regret later, but he doesn't get the chance. His boyfriend slams down on the brakes, causing the car to make a screeching sound and stop in its tracks. Y/n's arm shoots out to stop Daryl from smashing into the window, and he turns on the mist lights, dark, scared eyes scanning the empty road around them. Daryl takes a few long seconds to process the sudden halt, and his drunken mind tells him to be angry.

"What the hell was that?! You can't just do that!" His angry roar breaks the silence, and Y/n visibly flinches. Oh. He didn't mean to scare him, but he doesn't realize that now, his temper worsened by the high percentage of alcohol and his reason nowhere to be seen. Y/n doesn't answer him, doesn't even spare him a glance, as his eyes search the road and desert around them, for what, Daryl doesn't know.

"What the fuck are you looking for? Hey, Y/n! Why’d ya stop driving?" He couldn't stop himself from snapping again, his words landing like a blow to the face. Y/n curls in on himself, eyes going impossibly wider.

"I, I just.. There was, I think, and I saw-" He takes sharp, uneven breaths, and points a shaking hand at the road.

"There was someone, a, a person, I think." Daryl scoffs, shaking his head as he looks where Y/n is pointing.

"There's nothing there, you're just seeing things." He leans back against the seat, expecting Y/n to start the car again, which he does. The car rumbles for a few seconds before it starts, and they continue to drive down the road. After a few, silent minutes, Y/n takes a longer inhale and tightens his grip on the steering wheel.

"Yeah, you're right. I think I'm probably just seeing things."

Dead trees and bushes flash past them, illuminated by the bright lights of the car. Y/n still hadn't turned off the mist lights, too shaken up by the strange, stumbling figure he had seen about a mile back.

"What if it was someone in need of help? What if they got stranded in the desert, injured, alone and without food? Why didn't we get out of the car to look? To ask them?" Daryl sighed as he listened to his boyfriend's rambling, sitting up a bit and turning to him.

"Look, Y/n, I know that you tend to worry about others, but we ain’t going back. If they need help, another car will come by sooner or later. And what if it was someone on drugs? Or a serial killer waiting for their new victims? Just take us home and forget about it."

"What if I can't?" Daryl's eyes snapped open at that, and he glared fiercely at his boyfriend.

"Don't you fucking dare." His warning didn't do anything, as Y/n turned the wheel and changed the car's direction, driving back the way they came too fast.

"Y/n! Y/n stop! You're gonna cause an accident!" Daryl tightly grabbed at his seat, desperate for something to hold onto as the car sped down the dark road.

But no one was prepared for what happened next.

It happened in mere seconds, but both of them felt as though it lasted minutes. The car slipped, the brakes stopped working, the car slid over something on the road, it spun around, three, four, five times, before it came to a halt, lower to the ground than it was supposed to be. The airbags had shot out, softening the impact of Y/n's head hitting the steering wheel. Daryl had been somewhat lucky, his hands clamped so tightly to the seat and window that he hadn't crashed into anything.

"Daryl?" He took another sip of the whiskey, which had also survived the almost crash, before he looked to his left, seeing Y/n with a bloody nose and a forming bruise on his right cheekbone. He wanted to worry, to wipe away the blood and place a soft kiss over the bruise, but his rage won the battle, settling deep into his core as he realized what had happened, and who had caused it.

He stepped out of the car, rounded it, and noticed that the two front tires were flat. He cursed loudly, opening his boyfriend's door and almost yanking him out of the car, pointing at the damage.

"You fucking idiot! Are you kidding me? You ruined our car! How are we getting home now, huh? How are you gonna fix this?" His voice was like thunder, and Y/n flinched out of his grip.

“I’m sorry, I really am! But I swear, there was something on the road!” He wiped at the blood on his face, this was the first time he was truly afraid of Daryl. But his boyfriend would never hit him, he never had and he never would.

It was quiet then. They didn’t know what to say or what to do. What could they do? Their car was ruined, and Daryl was so drunk he could barely keep standing.

“I’ll call Merle to pick us up, he’s probably still in town anyway.” He turned away then, leaving Y/n to himself. He muttered something about Merle probably being drunk as well before turning to the car and looking at the reflection of the window.

“Fucking great, lovely, it’s not like I have a goddamn job interview in two days.. Nope, not at all.” He hissed as his fingers brushed over the bruise, quickly pulling away. Daryl had walked to the side of the road, sitting down on a fallen tree as he tried to reach his brother.

“What did we hit in the first place, anyway?” Y/n wondered as he took a few steps away from the car, rounding it and searching the road for anything that could’ve caused the car to crash. He took out his phone and used it to shine a light on the road, noticing some red, sticky substance.

“Okay, well, that’s unsettling. Look at me, talking to myself in the middle of the night, looking at blood, sounds like a goddamn horror movie!” He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as he inspected the blood. But a long, vicious groan cut his train of thought off. It came from under the car.

“Okay, what the actual fuck. Daryl?” His boyfriend was still on the phone, apparently now arguing with his older brother, and he didn’t look up at the mention of his name. Y/n was about to walk over, when another groan came from under the car. His gaze snapped to the source of it, and he kneeled down.

“Please don’t be a poor dying cat, please don’t be a poor dying ca- WHAT THE HECK?!” A hand shot out, but not a normal hand, it was rotten, with flesh loosely hanging around it while black blood coated its fingers. It grabbed a hold of Y/n’s wrist before he could pull away. Y/n screamed, a loud, distressed sound which had Daryl drop his phone and jump up immediately.

Then a head came from under the car, dead and rotting and the stench was unbearable. It released another groan before diving its teeth into Y/n’s arm, biting through the flesh and muscle. But it didn’t stop there, it tore off the skin, turning the arm into a bleeding mess.

Y/n screamed again. A long, agonizing sound ripped through the air as he yanked his arm back, cradling it against his chest and staining his shirt with blood. His breaths came out fast and short as he struggled to move away, the pain in his arm so overwhelming he could barely sense Daryl’s hands on his shoulders.

“Y/n! Y/n, look at me, it’s okay, you’re gonna be fine.” Daryl’s face came in his vision, the familiar warm eyes and worried expression soothing Y/n’s incredibly fast beating heart. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Daryl’s attention was on the wound, his hands hovering over it as he tried to figure out what to do.

“Okay, it’s, it’s not that bad. Let me just, grab s-some spare bandages from the trunk, okay?” He made sure to place a reassuring kiss on Y/n’s forehead before standing up and heading to the car.

“Wait!” Y/n’s hand shot out, catching Daryl’s wrist.

“Please don’t go, I don’t feel so, so good.” A sweat broke out on his forehead and his cheeks flushed.

“What’s wrong, how can I help?” Daryl’s worried tone did little to no good as Y/n slumped backwards, too weak to sit up anymore. Daryl quickly fell to his knees beside him, putting his hand of Y/n’s forehead to check for a fever.

“You’re burning up!” His mind shot into panic, he didn’t know what to do. Things like this normally didn’t cause an instant fever. But normally, a not-so-dead corpse wouldn’t bite into someone’s arm..

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, Y/n I’m so incredibly sorry!” He cradled Y/n as he spoke, afraid that this would be it, that this would be the last time he could look into those beautiful eyes.

“For what?” Y/n’s weak voice hurt his heart, this is really it.

“For everything. For drinking so often, for yelling at you, for blaming you for everything. I love you, so so much, I never wanted to hurt you.” Tears streamed down his face as he cupped Y/n’s cheek, stroking it with his fingers.

“First of all, I forgive you. It’s okay, I stayed, didn’t I? And second, you act like I’m dying! C’mon Daryl, I’m fine!” He coughed then, long and hard. His vision blurred a little as he tried to sit up. What in the world was happening to him?

“Let me call an ambulance, please?” Daryl knew how stubborn Y/n could be, especially when it came to injuries, but he was just so worried. He could be dying for all he knows! Y/n sighed but nodded, watching as Daryl walked towards his phone.

His head hurt, his vision was blurred, he felt dizzy and the pain in his arm spread through his whole body, but he still smiled, because he had a reason to smile, he had Daryl. With that thought, his consciousness faded and his body slumped on the ground.

~

[derl30]

ALTERED STATES REVIEW TIME!

OK, this tumblr is, today, a vehicle for me to review ALTERED STATES. And you (the one person who stumbled on this review two-hundred years from n- oh who am I kidding, when the aliens from A.I. who show up to thaw out Haley Joel Osment and the teddy bear who was the real hero of that movie find this) should be very excited about this. Because this movie is insane. And highly entertaining.

Yes, the movie poster looks like ass. If I told you this was a movie where William Hurt (not the William Hurt from that awful 90's Lost in Space remake, or the one who slept through an entire performance as Duke Leto in the Syfy miniseries of Dune. This is before the body snatchers got him) took ayahuasca and got in a isolation tank and it blew his mind so hard he started devolving into a neanderthal and creating dimensional portals and he couldn't stop because he was addicted to finding the truth of existence... Well you wouldn't get that from this poster, would you? So let's move on. Shall we?

The film opens in 1967 with William Hurt's character, psychopathologist Edward Jessup, already immersed in a sensory deprivation tank, whilst his colleague and “buddy” Bob Balaban (he's just Bob Balaban in everything I'm not giving you his character's name look it up yourself if it's bugging you so much) oversees.

Now, you may notice I put buddy in quotes. The reason for that is that Jessup is a self-obsessed ass who seemingly has no reason to be around other people unless he can expound to them one of his various monologues. Bob Balaban barely gets a word in edgewise throughout the entire film. Bob Balaban.

See, Jessup loves the sensory deprivation tank experience. Unsurprisingly, as it allows him to be completely alone with himself for hours.

Later, at perhaps the lamest party ever, a bunch of faculty are chilling out and listening to the Doors. Everyone we see is talking about Jessup. Why? Well, much as Jessup is obsessed with himself, everyone else seems to follow suit by being obsessed with him. One young woman, Emily, (Blair Brown) is introduced to him in this very shot below as he arrives at the party:

Notice how is framed in holy light? There is a closeup after, of him framed in blinding glowing light followed up with a zoom in on Emily's face, enraptured with this incredible dynamic man. So much so that the moment he tries to make a goddamn sandwich she starts grabbing his celery (get your mind out of the gutter) and flirting with him. Which for these two that means talking science, immediately. Talking more at each other than with each other. This is often the way with Paddy Chayefsky's scripts.

PAUSE

Paddy Chayefsky is doubtless one of the great American writers for the screen. He wrote Marty, The Hospital and Network (which is a fucking incredible piece of work). He got an Oscar for all three. He also wrote this movie (Altered States, remember? Good lord) and disowned it completely three weeks in to production. His scripts tend to have very intelligent, driven characters at the center, who monologue extensively at each other. These scripts are not attempting to sound naturalistic.

Ken Russell, however, directed the film. He, like Chayefsky, is top notch at what he does (Direct. I said he directed the film like a second ago, come on keep up). His films, like Women in Love, The Devils, (which was banned in several major countries upon release and has never been shown publicly in its full, uncut form (by the way it's a masterpiece)) the Who's Tommy, Gothic, and Lair of the White Worm are all fucking gonzo nuts. I mean like, when you gave this guy the reins, you were going to Overthetopsville and there will be no stops on this trip. And god bless! I love directors who GO for it!

You're getting the chance to make a movie. Stop hemming and hawing and hit me over the head with what you want to say! Film is a visual medium, USE IT!

I feel I might have made my feelings clear here. So, moving on...

Ken Russell and Paddy Chayefsky immediately started butting heads, right from the start. Chayefsky was a BIG deal, and he wanted control over the picture in a BIG way. Ken would listen to his suggestions on everything to lighting and set dressing, and politely tell him, “No.”, and continue being the director of the film. Chayefsky hated him pretty quickly.

He had much more control over films like The Hospital. Which, if you watch The Hospital, well, it shows. You've got great actors (George C. Scott, Dame Diana Rigg (Dame may be the greatest official title of all time)) saying great dialogue. But its just two very witty bitter people sort of expounding on topics and speaking at each other and suddenly admitting they are in love and discussing what drapes they will have to buy for their new home. It's utterly preposterous, and it doesn't work in the way Sidney Lumet got it to work in Network, by literally making one of the lead characters realize his life is turning into a ludicrous soap opera.

So of course Ken tried to humanize, naturalize, the dialogue sequences. And it works! The film feels more human than the Hospital or Network. Despite the fact that Jessup is literally becoming more and more inhuman throughout the film. One of the ways he does this is by having the character's eat, drink, and work on other things during the dialogue sequences. This is perfectly normal in film, it's called giving the actor “business” to do, during the scene. Chayefsky HATED this. “They are mumbling my precious dialogue! Chewing through it! Sucking it through a straw!” Sorry, Chayefsky buddy. It works for the picture. Chayefsky also felt the actors were too emotional with his dialogue. Right. See, they call that acting.

UNPAUSE

Which brings us back to the first meeting of Emily and Jessup at the party. They are eating during this important scene! I can just picture Chayefsky seeing this, and running to the studio brass to tattle and get Ken Russell fired (as he got Arthur Penn of Bonnie and Clyde fame fired before Ken Russell came on board).

Emily and Jessup are, true to Chayefsky form, extremely intelligent, driven people and hearing them discuss topics such as anthropology and schizophrenia is quite interesting. It's just that what is to come, film being a visual medium, will eclipse just about any dialogue, no matter how good, from our mind thingys.

The two give up on the science talk and go straight to banging on her couch. After, she asks what he was thinking about. His answer is priceless. “God. Jesus. Crucifixions.”

She smiles.

Bwahahaha! Oh Paddy Chayefsky, you sure know women.

He admits he used to have religious visions. She listens to him from the sweaty couch whilst he sits naked on the floor, and starts going on about his father's horrible death of cancer and his loss of faith. And he admits to her that he's a nut. Her response is to call him a fascinating bastard. I think Lucas may have taken notes for Padme and Anakin.

So naturally, they get married immediately.

But none of that matters because Jessup gets back in the sensory deprivation tank and has his first vision. A nightmare of his dying father and lost faith in christianity. It's pretty great, filled with foreboding hospital rooms, his father's face being covered in a burning Shroud of Turin, everything covered by horrible blood red clouds and then THIS FUCKING THING SHOWS UP AND ITS ALIVE AND WRIGGLING

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

excuse me...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The many-eyed goat is slaughtered over a gold bible and suddenly Jessups screwing Emily again and we enter a blood vessel looking thing and the vision ends and he never mentions this again. Oh. Okay,

Emily continues on about what a nut Jessup is as they make marriage plans. Her monologue:

“You're an unmitigated madman. You don't have to tell me how weird you are. I know how weird you are. I'm the girl in your bed the past two months. Even sex is a mystical experience for you. You carry on like a flagellant... Which can be very nice, but I sometimes wonder if it's me that's being made love to. I feel like I'm being harpooned by some raging monk in the act of receiving God. (Emphasis mine)

"And you are a Faust-freak Eddie! You'd sell your soul to find the great truth. Well, human life doesn't have great truths. We're born in doubt. We spend our lives persuading ourselves we're alive. And one way we do that is we love each other, like I love you. I can't imagine living without you. So let's get married, and if it turns out to be a disaster, it'll be a disaster.”

It's a disaster.

As in, by the next scene. It starts off happy enough looking, they have kids and people are smiling. And hey, wow it's seven years later! But, well, see, whoops, they are getting a divorce. Well, not they. See, he is divorcing her because he considers the seven years with her a complete waste.

She still loves him, desperately. He doesn't give a shit about her or the kids. He tells Bob Balaban this, straight up. And then starts bugging him about deprivation tanks and Hinchi Indians in South America who have sacred mushrooms that can really fuck you up.

It's at this point you would like for Jessup to be hit by a Mack truck. But the movie continues on. By the way, this is one of the kids he doesn't give a crap about:

That's right. Drew Barrymore's first role is a kid that William Hurt doesn't give a shit about. Something that William Hurt would make a career out of with narcoleptic performances in Lost in Space and Syfy's Dune. So, Emily takes the kids to Africa for her anthropology work while Jessup goes to South America to go deeper into his own creepy mind.

The Hinchi Indians agree to allow him to participate in the drug ritual. They enter their holy cave.

This shot is beautiful. At this point the film becomes increasingly gorgeous. Ken Russell has started to go into overdrive, ladies and gentlemen. Buckle. Your. Seatbelts.

The Indians grab Jessup's hand and cut him, freaking him out. They pour his blood into the drug mixture. They begin to drink. Then he takes a sip. The intensity of the film here has quadrupled. The vision begins, fireworks going off all around him. He sees cave paintings of humans and komodo dragons and this:

The proper life he left behind with Emily. He's convulsing, sweating. The Indians are all around, masked. Snakes. He's laughing in pain. Energy spills from the void. A snake under the parasol strikes and begins to strangle him. He and Emily march toward a nuclear explosion as energy pours from the cut on his hand, becoming a lizard. From within a sandstorm, Emily watches him, naked. Jessup looks at her, entranced, as the soothing sands cover them both, slowly.

It's a beautiful sequence. A perfect film sequence. I can't overstate how strong the vision sequences are from this point forward. Great visual effects work and the madman mind of Ken Russell create something unforgettable, with it's own pace, independent from the rest of the film.

Jessup awakens with a komodo dragon laying before him, ripped to pieces. The Indians and the others all claim he killed it in rage. Jessup remembers nothing, takes samples of the drug to reproduce it, and goes back home.

Back home, Jessup keeps doing as much of the drug as he can and having Bob Balaban record results. They can't up the dosage any more so Jessup hops back in to the self deprivation tank to create a more extreme experience.

In his next session, Jessup states he is having a vision of early man, hunting a deer and killing it. Suddenly he states he is one of them, killing the deer. He begins to grunt like an animal. The two pull him out. He's incredibly pale, blood seeping out of his mouth. He can't speak, and has difficulty breathing. He insists they do an X-ray. It shows that there is a vocalizing lump in the front part of his throat. Jessup claims that his body had begun to revert to a simian state. The medical doctor agrees, stating the throat X-rays looks like that of a gorilla.

Luckily his throat returns to normal. So Jessup finishes up his day by having over a student of his and sleeping with her.

Our hero, people!

At this point we hardly feel sorry for him as his body suddenly begins to twist and bulge in the middle of the night, shifting in and out of neanderthal shapes. It's a horrific sequence, disturbing as hell. You certainly didn't expect the film to shift into body horror.

Jessup feels normal after a while. but sees visions of lava explosions, the birthing of the Earth all around him. Not a good sign.

He goes to pick up Emily from the airport the next day. She asks how he is doing.

“Oh, fine.”

Yeah right.

Emily has been told what Jessup has been doing and is worried, which of course pisses off Jessup even more. The guy is obviously obsessed with reaching the truth and root of existence, much as Emily surmised earlier, and we see he has no fear of even losing his own soul, again true to her word. The only thing that allows us to give a shit about him at this point is that Emily cares for him and she's decent people, okay?

So back Jessup goes into the tank with his ayahuasca or whatever it is. Alone. The tank door opens from the inside.

The hand that pushes it open is covered in thick hair. He's devolved.

Ape-Jessup escapes the tank room and chases a janitor around the building. Again, this scene is fucking freaky as hell. We can't get a good look at this screaming animal that was Jessup.

The janitor gets a guard to help and chases after him into the boiler room, where we finally get a good look at him when he assaults the security guard and escapes.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Ape-Jessup runs through the city at night, making his way to the zoo where he kills a antelope and eats it. The Ape-Jessup sequence goes on way too long, but is nonetheless unforgettable. The makeup is much more convincing than the above picture suggests, and whoever performed Ape-Jessup did an admirable job.

The cops find an unconscious Jessup in the zoo and bring him in. Emily picks him up and questions him. Jessup admits everything that he can remember. He also admits that he probably killed that security guard. And once again doesn't seem to give a shit. Prick. He calls it the most supremely satisfying time of his life.

Even Emily seems disgusted with him. But, she's also fascinated with what he's accomplished. As an anthropologist, his transformation fascinates her. And so, she agrees to help oversee his next session. Big mistake.

Before the big session Emily and Jessup romantically reconnect, and then into the climactic session we go!

Get your popcorn ready!

After a few hours in to the session, the video monitor shows Jessup begin to literally melt apart like goo, reverting to primordial ooze, the very beginning of existence. An attempt to open the isolation tank doors blasts everyone unconscious, as light and energy pour forth. Emily is the only one left. She sees Jessup's life energy pulse from within the tank.

Rain pours down around them. The pipes on the walls twist and turn like jelly. The ground is covered with a pool of swirling fog and energy. Emily advances toward the vortex of the tank.

In the emptiness of the beginning of everything, Emily seizes the energy before her and reconstitutes Jessup.

They take him home. While he sleeps, Emily rages over the fact that she loves such a insane bastard, and can't get over him. And, then, after Bob Balaban leaves, leaving Emily alone, Jessup wakes up.

He sweetly admits that the truth he learned was that there was no learnable truth, just unknowable horror, and all that's real is human experience. And he'll be a good boy from now on. Well too bad!

Because that horrible truth isn't done with him, and it's back to goo-Jessup! Emily tries to help him, grabbing him, but this in turn effects her, turning her into a shimmering lava form of herself. Both of them begin to self-destruct as Jessup, enraged, watching her in pain, struggles to retake his humanity, slamming himself into the wall, reforming himself through sheer will and physicality. He grabs her and brings her back, mirroring what she did for him during the final session. They embrace naked in the hallway. He finally admits, “I love you, Emily.”

Fade to credits.

Awww true love!

What can I say to sum up? Awesome 80's practical effects. Genius wacko go-for-it Ken Russell directing. Out of this world vision sequences. A awake and actually remarkable performance from William Hurt. An occasionally turgid but often fascinating script by the ever ornery Paddy Chayefsky. Whats not to like?

Well, the ending is a little rushed. The ape sequence goes on for a little too long and takes up perhaps too much of the films overall running time. The central love story is, well... a little hard to swallow, but hey, I guess there really is somebody out there for everyone. Even self-absorbed, deadbeat, cheating, sensory deprivation loving, ayahuasca dropping, Harvard teachers with a messiah complex!

And on that note, aliens from A.I. Artifical Intelligence, have a good day, and don't leave poor Teddy alone with no one to keep him company!

Sayonara!

[flannelpunkcalum]

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat - Part 1

backstreets back go tell a friend. I would like to have more of this written before I start posting it but given that i’m likely to have a lot more time to write now and, you know, maybe it’ll be a good distraction. anyway I hope if you read the original this has everything you liked from it and if you DIDN’T you should go read that. 

tdwk masterlist

ttlb masterlist

* * * 

He was fast. Aspen tried to counter his punch, but the blow glanced off her shoulder and knocked her back. Fuck. He tried to sweep his leg under her, but she jumped over it the second she saw his hips twitch. 

If she hadn’t been gasping for breath, she would have smiled. She was fast, now, too. 

She had half a second to think before the next blow came. She ducked, but she felt knuckles graze her temple. Close one. She couldn’t afford to get bruised, now, not while she had work. 

She could feel herself getting tired. This has to end, now, before he noticed her exhaustion, too. The second she found her centre she lunged, going for the takedown, but he darted behind her and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her. Aspen didn’t think, she just rolled, and she felt her foot hit bone behind her as she somersaulted her arm out of his grip. She wheeled around, and for a long moment she and her opponent circled each other. 

“You’re getting better.” Dick said. His tiny fists were raised. 

“I’m sorry I kicked you there,” Aspen said. She’s winded. Dick is not. It stings just as much as it did the first day, that she’s so unfit compared to him, but hey, he’s a circus kid, those are both advantages. She’d get there too, eventually. Dick took her on the trapeze the other day. 

“You didn’t hurt me.” Dick smiled, which was the only cue Aspen gots before he hit her with a spinning back kick right in the gut. It bypassed her own defensive stance, it was so fast, and it felt like someone threw a brick at her stomach. When she doubled over, he grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder on to her back on the mat, twisting her elbow and wrist with surgical precision until she tapped out. He let her go, then, offering her a hand up without a shred of pre-teen smugness. Aspen wondered, not for the first time, how this kid is so chill, how he managed to be this nice while kicking her ass, but she just closed her eyes and let her head collapse against the mats. 

Dick laughed. Good. Kid didn’t smile enough. 

“That’s enough for today.” Calum says. He’d been watching from outside of the mats, like he did every time she sparred with Dick. 

“Good work, Grayson. I’m just gonna stay here, do a quick quality control test of the mats. I’ll catch up.” Aspen nodded, not opening her eyes. Thank god they’re done. Some of this training felt good, she wasn’t going to lie, but about this time every morning she was tempted to just let Dick kick her ass until Calum let her go have a shower. 

She could feel Calum’s presence above her as Dick’s footsteps tapped off of the mat and then out the door. Calm didn’t move, and after a long moment Aspen cracked an eye open to see him looking down at her, with that face he does when he’s really trying not to be amused by her. He was, she knew he was. “Mats are good.” She announced, opening her eyes all the way and giving him a tired smile. Calum stuck out a hand to help her up, and this time, she took it. “Fairly high quality, good condition -” 

Halfway through helping her up, Calum knocked her feet out from under her and yanked on her hand, pulling her into his chest as she fell on top of him. Her head was spinning, but once she got her bearings she realized he was lying on his back, with her lying chest to chest on the mats. His grip is tight; he’s clinging to her. She can feel her heart thumping against his solid chest. 

“Focus, Penny.” Calum said. He had her right on top of him, his eyes sparkling into hers. 

“Oh, I’m focused.” She smiled. “What am I focused on, again?” 

Calum laughed a little. She felt lightheaded. She loved these moments before they kissed. “You’re in a bit of a scrape here, darling.” 

Aspen considered it for a second. Calum’s other hand was on her waist, holding her steady. He was smiling up at her. He was sweaty from their workout earlier, and his hair was all messed up. He almost looked normal like this. Like her gym-buddy-boyfriend in basketball shorts. Her heart thudded against his chest harder. “I’m in complete control of this situation.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

Calum flipped them over, supporting himself carefully over her. His hand is planted by her face; he’s careful not to hold her down. His other hand was still steady at her waist. “You sure about that?” 

Aspen smiled bigger. “You’ve fallen right into my cunning trap.” 

“That’s sure what it looks like.” Calum teased before he leaned in to kiss her. It was light, at first, but she pressed deeper, keeping him there. It felt good. She couldn’t feel her aching muscles anymore; she was out of breath for an entirely different reason. It felt so good she almost forgot to wrap her leg around his, trap his arm, and tilt her hips to tip him over on to his back. Almost. 

Calum let her grab his wrists as she straddled him, trapping his hands against his chest as she looked down on him. She knew he was letting her do this, she’d seen him in a fight. It still felt good, though. The first time she had tried that, he had just laughed. Now he was playing at being trapped beneath her. “Goddamn,” He said, obviously pleased. Aspen would be pretty pleased too, with a good-looking girl on top of her, but it was more than that. He was proud. Maybe he didn’t resist her maneuver, but he hadn’t been expecting it, either. 

After that, Aspen didn’t waste her time. She leaned in, knitting her fingers in Calums as she kissed him, and he opened his mouth almost immediately to let her kiss him deeper. She felt warm all over. Calum smelled sweaty and rich and it was driving her wild. 

Calum pulled back after a moment, and Aspen let him, just so she could catch her breath. She could hear him smile in the small space between them. But his hand slipped from hers to give her waist a gentle squeeze. “We have work,” he reminded her. 

Aspen dropped her head into the crook of his neck and pouted her lips, brushing up against his neck. He was right, she just hated to let go of him. It was so recently she got to kiss him at all, it still felt like a privilege. “I guess I’ll let you go this time.” She said, heaving herself off him. 

She was picking up her water bottle and towel when she heard Calum find his feet behind her. The mats amplified his sounds. On any other terrain, he’d be soundless. “And here I was gonna tell you to be more aggressive when you’re sparring.” 

“I can be aggressive when I’m not fighting a kid.” Aspen said, trying to focus in on the training again. “You saw the security footage.” 

Calum reached out and squeezed her elbow. “I did.”

Aspen looked over at him, and he gave her a little smile. Just recently he had seen the footage of Liam attacking her. He had asked her if it would be alright, if he saw it, in that initial talk after he gave her the lab. She had wondered if he had already watched it, but she gave him permission anyways. Based on that, the first moves he had taught her were focused on getting out from under someone. He still wouldn’t spar with her, in case the experience of having a guy try to take her down freaked her out. Aspen was kind of thankful for it. She’d felt nothing but safe with Calum, but she’d also had a few nightmares, and she was gonna take it easy in any way she could at that point. She was tough, and she was gonna stay tough, but that meant not overwhelming herself just to look tough. 

They split apart after that, going their separate ways without a kiss goodbye. Aspen had her own bedroom in the manor. She hadn’t been allowed to stay over, but she had a place to keep her work clothes and a four-piece bathroom near the manor’s gym to get showered in every morning. Calum had stocked the room with, she was pretty sure, the most expensive soap you could find in Gotham - the prices when she looked up the brands made her head spin. She left his place every morning smelling like a basil-lavender-sicilian-lemon-rose, and feeling only a little bit like the world’s most complicated one-night stand. 

There were rules, you see. And they were good rules, and she understood them and all. Her problem was just the fact that these rules existed. Aspen, historically, had not done super well with Calum’s rules. 

He didn’t want Dick to know about them. That was fine, that was something Aspen understood, she didn’t want to waltz into his kid’s life while there was a possibility of them not… not seeing this through. Aspen, for her part, wasn’t crazy about being linked to him in the public eye. She’s seen how his girlfriends get treated in the supermarket check-out line. So that meant she hadn’t been able to stay over, and Dick’s pretty involved in the whole “Batman” thing so she hadn’t been able to have Calum over at hers without raising suspicion, and she wasn’t gonna be able to fuck him at the office, and neither of them could really do the seedy-motel thing, and… 

Long story short, these rules meant they haven’t done much more than kissing, and Aspen was starting to lose her shit about it. I mean, if he wasn’t feeling comfortable emotionally, that would have been one thing, but if it was just from circumstance… 

Aspen, in the steam-soaked shower, slipped one hand delicately between her legs. God, if only Calum was here. Her body was aching, but she wasn’t tired out yet, and she just yearned for this final bit of tension to be released. 

She takes a deep breath and turned around, turning the cold water on until it hurt her skin and gave her goosebumps. 

Fuck. 

Or rather, Profound Lack Thereof. 

                                   ---------------------------------------------------

“I don’t think you should be there.” Aspen said, pouring herself a cup of tea. Used to be she only grabbed something caffeinated in the afternoons, when she needed a pick-me-up, but between early mornings training and nights in the Cave she was starting to need more of it.

“It wasn’t a question.” Calum replied, knife clinking against the plate. They were in the kitchen, having breakfast at the little table with Dick while Alfred busied himself around the stove. 

“You don’t need to be there the whole time with the DA. I’ll be fine.” She insisted, cracking open a scone. Honey ginger. Alfred was mixing it up this morning. 

“I know you’ll be fine, but I want to be there anyways. At least for this first meeting. You're my employee, it'll look good for me to be supportive and involved.” 

"Dick thinks you should come home after work and hang out with him instead of coming to the meeting. They grow up so fast." Aspen said, giving both boys a wide eyed, emotional look. 

"I think he should be at the meeting, actually." Dick piped up. 

Aspen snapped into a glare. "Seen and not heard, Grayson." Dick grinned at her and wiped yolk off his mouth. He knew there was no venom in it. Aspen looked back across the table at Calum, where he was still looking back at her. He could be hard to distract when he wanted to be. 

Dick had started watching their spat like a tennis match, poached eggs forgotten, as Aspen geared up for her rebuttal. “As far as the DA knows - and correct me if I’m wrong - Liam and I are just unfortunate employees of yours. I think it might be a little suspicious. You can stop by at the start or the end to say hi and continue your professional relationship with the DA’s office, but I don’t need you to babysit me through the whole thing.” She couldn't say it out loud, but she didn't want to make the DA suspicious that there was something more between them. Romance-wise or caped-vigilante wise. "I mean, you are also Liam’s boss. Do you visit him when he's meeting with his legal team?" 

Calum's eyebrow twitched, even though the rest of his face was impassive. Aspen smiled. She knew he loved it when she hit him with a good argument. "I was his boss, and he wouldn't want me there. Also, he did kidnap you." 

"Good point. Counter: I also don't want you there." 

Calum smiled and ducked his head. "We'll discuss this at work." He said, and Aspen couldn't tell if that meant she won or not. 

"I guess we will." 

Aspen turned back to her scone, buttering it pointedly. It took a lot of effort to butter something pointedly, but she was determined. She couldn't maintain her facade once she took a bite, though. The scone was still warm, melted butter running through the fluffy insides over chunks of candied ginger - fuck, she was going to have to take another cold shower. "Mr. Pennyworth, another triumph." She announced. 

"Thank you, Ms. McMichael." The butler called over from the stove. "Again, I did ask you to call me Alfred." 

"And I asked you to call me Aspen, so it looks like we're at an impasse, huh." She said, after another bite. 

Dick caught her eye as she set about buttering the other half of her scone, and something in his gaze almost made her pause. Hm. That looked like trouble. Maybe it was time she saw herself out. "I think I'm gonna head out now. My big meeting at the hospital is tomorrow and although I have some wealthy patrons and the like behind me, I want to be prepared." She took her napkin off her lap and downed the rest of her tea quickly, winking at her wealthy patron across the table. “Plus if we’re, uh, working late tonight I need to get it done as soon as possible so I can focus.” 

“Good luck!” Dick said cheerfully. 

Aspen gave him the stinkeye, even though she appreciated the sentiment. “I’m gonna kick your ass tomorrow morning.” She promised. 

“Like hell you will.” 

“Not at the table, if you please, Master Grayson.” 

Aspen stuck her tongue out at Dick as she left. Calum shook his head near-imperceptibly at her, but he was fond, she could tell. At least, that was probably fond. She’d put $5 on it. 

“Hopefully I won’t see you gentlemen tonight.” She said as Alfred came over to help her with her coat. 

“Let’s hope.” Calum agreed from the table. He hadn’t gotten up. “Let’s meet after lunch to discuss the meeting?” 

Aspen knew she wasn’t getting out of this. “Drop by the lab whenever.” She sighed. “See ya, boys!” 

She smiled to herself on the way out the door. One of the best things about this new life was finding a place at Hood Manor. She had been disconnected from her roommates ever since the promotion to PA, and now, with her fucked up hours at work and in the Cave, she saw them less than ever. It was nice to have somewhere she fit again, that was all. Being the person who drank tea with Alfred while Cal and Dick, for some reason, took decaf coffee. Being Dick’s godforsaken sparring partner. It felt a little bit like having a life. 

Aspen slid into the driver’s seat of her car. Her new car. Not just new to her, either, new new. There wasn’t a convenient transit route up to the Manor, and if she was coming up every morning before work and every night after, Calum figured he’d just… buy her a car. He didn’t fuck her on top of it, it didn’t get THAT shades of grey, but holy shit, she had a quasi-boyfriend who bought her a car. She still felt a little thrill every time she turned the key in the ignition. He had offered to pay for gas, too, but she had insisted on taking care of that herself. He would have, though. If she let him. He would have taken care of everything. 

Sometimes Aspen wonders what might have happened if things had unspooled differently. If, after Calum had kissed her that night, she hadn’t gone back to help Liam. Maybe if she had played her cards right she��d be burning in the sun in Mexico, or on an iron-wrought balcony in Paris. Maybe Calum would have been with her. Probably not. Aspen was almost certain she’d made the right choice, in the end. I mean, she had this car, now. But she wondered, every so often. 

She always took the long way to work, and today (after she took advantage of the parking spot with her name on it) she stopped by the coffee shop around the corner. It still felt weird, to be able to buy a tea in the morning without going into a shame spiral over wasting her money on something she could make at home, and how she was gonna waste all her money on this, and drink herself into poverty like some Charles Dickens character on hard Earl Grey. The baristas were starting to remember her. It felt surreal. She used to be a barista remembering people and trying to get a perfect ristretto shot -- not in Gotham, but while she had been in school. This was gonna wear off eventually, she was sure, getting knocked on her ass every few minutes about the intangible what-the-fuck-ness of her life, but for now… 

Her current project at work was teaching herself programming. Well, she called it teaching herself. Whenever she got really stuck, something she couldn’t fix with a google search and a prayer, she’d wander down the hall to whatever software engineer had the best opinion of her at this point. She was learning some basics - she was getting ambitious for sure, trying to code a machine-learning AI to create an index of violent deaths in Gotham, comparing the crimes to the villain they were attributed to or proven to be from. Anyone could look at a corpse with facial rictus and say it was a Joker special, but she’d be interested to see if there were any less obvious signatures from Gotham’s flourishing criminal community that they just hadn’t noticed. 

When she got really frustrated, she’d take a break, roll her chair back and slouch and try to collect her thoughts. She had a few tanks of critters Calum hadn’t noticed until after they had moved in, and she let him and Dick name most of them, so he wasn’t mad about it. She watched the axolotls, Martha and Achilles, wiggle around the aquarium for a minute. 

She hasn’t started a proper research project yet. She’s been running PCR gels and such for Calum, especially back at the Cave, but for a while she hadn’t been able to think of exactly what she wanted to dedicate her time and extensive resources to until Calum had to fight off a Venom-crazed junkie and came back bruised and bloody. That wasn’t exactly new, but the other guy hadn’t made it through the withdrawal combined with the stress from the injuries. Then Aspen knew. Might as well give back to the hospital that gave her her first stitches since that canoe trip when she was sixteen, right? They needed it most, too. Venom wasn’t really starting to get national attention yet, partly from the mayor’s attempts to keep it quiet. Cal had filled her in on that. 

Anyway, she was meeting with the board tomorrow to see if they’d approve the collaboration with her as chief liason. Which. She was gonna be one of the only people without “Dr.” before her name in that room and she was gonna be coordinating a big research project, hopefully meaningfully participating in it, and - it was big, was all. 

Maybe it was good that she hadn’t slept with Calum yet. Wouldn’t want to think that this was just because she was a pretty face. 

Well. Such as it was. She rubbed her scar absentmindedly, staring at her computer screen.

She heard Calum’s footsteps before he knocked on the doorframe of the lab. When she wasn’t doing wet lab, Aspen liked to leave the door open. If Calum happened to be swinging by, he’d be able to see her at her computer and know she was okay without having to duck in. Of course, he did also have cameras in the room, but she liked to think he noticed and appreciated this too. 

 She turned in her chair and gave him a smile before she spoke. She was still being careful about what she said to him at work, at least while the door was open. “How’s it going, boss?” She grinned, raising an eyebrow at him. 

That was careful for her, anyways.

“Always a pleasure, Ms. McMichael.” Calum didn’t smile back, but he had a warm look in his eye, and that was enough. “I was hoping to talk about the meeting at the DA’s this evening. May I?” 

His hand was on the doorknob. Aspen was almost squirming in her seat. “Please.” She said, in her most polite voice, and Calum closed the door. 

Immediately, Aspen stood up and started to walk over to him. Not too fast. He didn’t need to know how eager she was for him to just touch her again. Calum looked her up and down as she walked over, jaw flexing. “I really do want to talk about the meeting.” He said. 

Aspen didn’t reply until she was already within arm’s reach and Calum’s hands had closed around her waist and pulled her in. She leaned closer, the tip of her nose brushing his cheek as she ghosted her lips over his. “I know you do.” She said, so close she knew he could feel her lips flex into the words. 

Calum groaned, lips parted, eyes already closed, waiting for her to lean in and complete the kiss. Aspen knew that. She didn’t move. After a long, long second, Calum groaned again and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss with mouths already half-open, deep, totally work inappropriate. Aspen couldn’t help but smile against his mouth, pressing her body up against his so close she almost fell when he stepped her back until her back hit something he could kiss her up against. He smelled clean now, like boy and expensive cologne, and Aspen knew for the rest of the day she’d be smelling him on her skin. Fuck. 

After a few long moments, he drew back, keeping one hand tight in her hair so she couldn’t chase his lips. He’d picked up on doing that surprisingly quickly, and she kind of wished it didn’t turn her on so much. “You’re a terrible tease, you know that, darling?” He murmured as she tested his grip. 

Once she established that he wasn’t going to let her go for another kiss, Aspen leaned her head back, looking at him through half-lidded eyes, throat open and unmarked. “What’re you gonna do about it?” 

Calum closed his eyes and huffed out a breath, finally letting her go as he rolled so he was next to her, back up against the same wall. “Nothing. For now.” He conceded, finding her hand without opening his eyes. 

“Oh, good, no consequences.” Aspen teased once she had caught her breath, rubbing her thumb along his knuckles. Calum cracked his eyes open and turned his head to smile at her as she brought his hand to her lips and kissed the knuckle of his pinky finger, then the ring finger, then the middle, then the pointer. Then, once he had been lulled into a false sense of security, she slipped her fingers out of his and grabbed his wrist, pulling two of his fingers into her mouth to the first knuckle before he could make a fist and cut her off. She could feel him test her grip as she drew her tongue along the underside, but he was more than strong enough to break her hold entirely, and he didn’t. Aspen met his eyes and hollowed her cheeks, and when he experimentally pushed his fingers a few centimeters deeper she let go of him and let her hand trail down to grip his forearm, putting him in complete control. 

“Fuck, Penny, look at you.” Her heartbeat picked up as he experimentally started to fuck her mouth with his fingers. He never went deep enough to gag her, but he started to use a little more force, and she let him. Was this how it was gonna happen? Up against a wall in her lab? Would he bend her over her desk so she couldn’t sit down to work without thinking about his grip on her hips, his hand in her hair? Calum was looking at her like he’d devour her if he could, fixated on her lips wrapped around his fingers, but when their eyes met again he snapped out of it, withdrawing his fingers and using that hand to grip her jaw, palm pressed against the ridges of her throat. It felt like he knocked the breath right out of her. Aspen groaned and tested his grip, but she wasn’t going anywhere. 

Calum watched her squirm for a second, smile on his lips when she relaxed. “God, you’re a menace.” He said. She could feel the cool wetness of his fingers against her jaw. It had only been a few seconds, but the feeling would stay with her all day. 

She took a deep breath to try and calm the pounding of her heart, regain her composure. “Means a lot to hear it from you, sir.” She smiled. 

Calum moved in for a quick kiss, a peck, and he kept his hold on her the whole time so she couldn’t chase his lips and draw him back in. “You really have to stop that.” He said, letting her go, and this time Aspen was ready to focus and not try to make out with her illicit boyfriend. 

“Fine.” She sighed, walking back to the desks and pulling out a chair for him, too. Not that she had stopped her seduction entirely. She knew he was watching her walk away. “Step into my office. Let’s talk about the appointment with the DA.” 

In the end, Aspen got her way. Kind of. They decided together that Calum would accompany her to the DA’s office, but not stick around too long. He was not to be coming into the meeting with her. She was putting her foot down. He made it hard, given that he was adorable and kept trying to give her little touches to get her to cave. 

Unfortunately, she didn’t have to suck his dick to get him to agree. Next time, maybe. 

As Calum left, he paused with his hand on the doorknob. He hadn’t opened the door yet, which was the only reason he smiled and said “Be good,” after he kissed her goodbye at her desk. 

Aspen grinned lopsidedly. “Oh, I’m very good, sir.”

Calum sighed, fingertips still on the doorknob like he didn’t want to leave. “Stop. You know what that does to me.” He almost pouted. 

Aspen was delighted. She liked when they could have serious, intense, sexually charged moments, but this was fun. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, boss.” She said, without bothering to feign innocence. 

“Sure.” Calum shook his head. “I’ll meet you back here when it’s time to leave for the DA’s office, alright?”

“Sounds good. Have a very calm and productive day.” She said, and she meant it, a little. She didn’t want him distracted by their unbearable sexual tension for the whole afternoon. That would just be cruel.

He laughed as he opened the door to leave. “Likewise, Ms. McMichael.” 

Aspen didn’t say goodbye, just smiled at him as he left. She knew if she did, it would come out too soft, too fond, and if any of her coworkers were passing by they might hear it and get suspicious. It was fun, for a second, to feel like she was caught in an office affair without the violence and terror and legal frustration of the other half of her life. For a second, she pretended to be a regular scientist, just trying to violate HR regulations and fuck her boss. 

She smiled and shook her head to clear it. She had to get back to work. 

[jebentnietalleen]

*slams fist on the desk* i need a #1 or #30, please

Sixteen days. It doesn’t sound as a very long time, but it’s the longest they’ve been apart from each other even since they started dating. The worst part is, he has to wait 5 more days before he can see Eliott again. He’s on a well-deserved vacation to Italy with his parents, and Lucas want him to enjoy it to the fullest. He’s trying not to sound too desperate whenever he texts him, when they call or when they FaceTime each other.

But it’s hard, because he misses Eliott so, so much. It’s hardly a surprise that they would miss each other, lord knows how much time they’ve spent together the past few months. That still didn’t prepare him for this. For the way in which every little thing reminds him of Eliott, makes him miss him more and more every day, every hour, every minute.

There are days that are filled with laughing with friends, jumping into the pool, eating ice cream, going to the movies. On these days he still misses Eliott, like a voice in the back of his mind that says this is so much fun, I wish he was here, on repeat.

But it’s the quiet days that get to him the most. Days in which he has no plans, where everybody else has got something to do and he is by himself. That’s when it really hit him.

It gives him a lot of time to think, too. About their relationship, about who Eliott is as a person and how much he admires him and learns from him every day. He thinks about himself as well. About how far he has come and the differences between who he is now and who he was a year ago, or even 6 months ago. He wouldn’t go back and change anything for the world.

~ ~ ~

Clubbing has never really been his thing. It’s crowded and he gets sweaty and people always keep bumping into him. This time, it’s no different. He can hardly hear his friends over the noise of the music and not to sound like a broken record but goddamn it he misses Eliott. He misses feeling his boyfriend dance behind him. He misses being able to throw his arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. He misses getting just drunk enough to feel a little more bold than usual, flirting and anticipating what comes after they leave.

Eliott texted him earlier that night, wishing him a good time and asking for a selfie. He took a quick picture of himself in the mirror. Truth be told, he was quite contend with his outfit: black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt with a heart on it. He couldn’t resist pulling a face when he took the picture, knowing that it would probably make Eliott smile.

He sent the picture and threw his phone on his bed while he fixed his hair, forgetting all about it when Bas charged into his room and told him to hurry up.

Which is why he finds himself leaning against the bar, digging up his phone when the memory comes back to him. Maybe Eliott texted him back.

And he did: how do you manage to look more beautiful every day? i miss you like crazy lucas.He can’t resist the fond smile that takes over his face. miss you more, wish you were here xxxxSo maybe he’s a sap, and what about it?

He dances some more, laughing when Yann pokes him in the sides and takes his hand to twirl him around. Arthur says he is surprised nobody has hit on Lucas yet tonight, and Basile snorts and says he gets why: He keeps looking at his phone like a lovesick puppy. Anybody who looks at Lucas knows it’s no use to even try.Maybe it’s weird that he feels a surge of warmth at that, feeling proud. But maybe he doesn’t care.

Lucas feels his phone buzz, it’s Eliott, sending him a selfie back, looking miserable in bed with the caption: can’t sleep. call me when you’re home?

The boys are only slightly mad when he tells them he is leaving around 2:30 in the morning. Yann pulls in him for a hug and Lucas shoots them all an apologetic smile before he walks back to the coloc. He texts back a quick message: I’ll be home in 15 minutes and gets a smiley and heart emoji in return.

~ ~ ~

The phone rings three times before Eliott picks up.

‘Hi, not-so-sleepyhead. How are you doing?’ ‘Hi yourself, not-such-a-party animal. I’m okay, I guess. It’s just very hot here and I don’t know, I just couldn’t sleep.’ There’s a quietness to his voice, it could be the fact that it’s late and he’s tired, but Lucas thinks there might be more to it.‘Anyway, enough about me. How are you? Why are you home so early?’ Lucas scoffs, turning around in bed and rearranging himself until he is lying on his left side, head propped up his arm, looking at his alarm. ‘It’s not early! It’s nearly 3. Besides, I wasn’t really feeling it anyway.’He hears some rustling on the other side of the phone and pictures his boyfriend, who is trying to get more comfortable. ‘Why not?’ The question sounds a bit teasing, like Eliott knows deep down that the reason he wasn’t feeling it is because he wasn’t there. Lucas isn’t going to stroke his ego that easily.‘Oh, you know, just some random guys that kept trying to dance with me and wanted my phone number… it’s exhausting, being this beautiful’ Eliott’s laugh is bright and sudden and it is the best sound in the world. He tells him as much:‘I fucking love your laugh so much. Wish I could see it though’ ‘You can, if you want’ They turn on FaceTime, just for a little bit. It’s amazing to see him, to be able to look at each other and soak each other up. It’s also making him even more sad than he already was, because he wants to hold him, cuddle up and kiss him.

‘Do you ever think…’ Eliott starts saying, but stops himself: ‘Never mind. It’s not important’‘No, tell me. If it’s something you’re thinking about, it is important.’ Eliott smiles a shy smile and takes a deep breath: ‘Do you ever think about the fact that we’ve spend most of our lives without each other, without knowing the other existed? It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.’Lucas blinks, wonders where he is going with this. ‘I mean, yes, sure, it’s crazy to think about. Why do you ask?’ Eliott seems to hesitate a bit: ‘It’s just that, I can’t wrap my head around it sometimes. I managed to be a pretty decent person most of the time before we met, but now? It’s like you’ve crept into my bloodstream and are just always there. Always on my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, it’s just a lot’

Lucas thinks about this for a minute before he responds.‘In what way?’  ‘I mean, a lot as in, there are moments where I am so overwhelmed by how much I love you that I think I forgot how to breath without you. It’s not a bad thing, necessarily, just, like I said: a lot. You know?’ He hums at that. He does know, because he feels the same. ‘I get what you mean. I always thought I would hate sleeping next to a boyfriend, because during slumber parties Yann and I constantly fought about how much of the blanket each of us was entitled to. Never would I have guessed that a few years later, I could hardly sleep without said boyfriend next to me.’ ‘So you have that problem too, huh?’ ‘Yes but if you tell anybody about this I will deny it with every fiber of my being.’ This elicits another laugh from Eliott, who throws his head back against the pillows on the small screen of Lucas’ phone. ‘I can’t believe it’s almost half past 3 now. You know what? Your talk about not being able to breath without me just made me think of something’ ‘What’s that?’ ‘We could just keep listening to each other breath, tonight, keep the phones on? Maybe it will help with falling asleep. It’s not the same as feeling you next to me, but…’ He trails off, feeling a bit silly about the suggestion as soon as he’s said it. Maybe he’s more tired than he thought he was.‘I would like that, Lucas’ He should have known that Eliott, ever his savior, would never laugh at one of his ideas.

They switch back to calling without FaceTime and lay their phones next to their heads. Their combined breathes have the calming effect on Lucas he hoped it would have. Just before he drifts asleep, he thinks he hears Eliott whisper I love you Lucas, thank you for tonight. The last conscious thought that Lucas has is I’d do anything for you, I’d give you the moon and the stars if you’d ask for them.