#And not with the good scotch tape either | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

m00nl1ghts1vt · 26 days ago

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Scavenger Hunts & Cinnamon Rolls - Chris Sturniolo

Babydaddy Chris - Positive - Mama - Changed Woman Pairings - Babydaddy!Chris x Fem!Reader Summary - You and Chris put a last minute scavenger hunt together for the boys as a way to reveal your pregnancy. Warnings - Strong language, pregnancy announcement, lil fluffy, Word Count - 2419 Authors Note - Looking for a new label for the reader!! 🤔 give me suggestions! At first I had Changed Woman and Scavenger Hunts & Cinnamon Rolls as once big ass post but I broke them up lol. I hope everyone like it! I had a lot of fun putting the little notes together. Masterlist Current Series - City of Love Check out my dividers!

“They’re pulling up,” Chris beams from the living room, rushing to the kitchen island where you were sitting. He had been running around like a jittery school kid all day. Finally deciding it was time to tell Nick and Matt, you two pulled together a last-minute scavenger hunt in hopes it’d make the news a little less intense. Chris had no clue how they’d react, telling them they’re going to uncles for the first time was going to be shocking news, but he knew it had to be done. Both of you were tired of making up excuses when Matt would complain about you in the bathroom almost all day, every day. Or when Nick asked why you were wearing Chris's wardrobe and taking a hiatus on drinking.

Everything was prepared. All the envelopes were placed in their designated spots around the house, sealed with a piece of scotch tape, and marked with either your neat handwriting or your boyfriends sloppy handwriting, each one leading to the next. Chris sent his brothers on a few errands after breakfast which made sense because they had a few errands of their own. The three being so close, they took notice of Chris moping around the house, attempting to get it out of him but he suppressed his true feelings every time, refusing to confess the secret he had been holding in the last few weeks. Needless to say, when Chris asked them to pick up a few things for him, they didn’t object. He made sure to give them a long list, keeping them out for a few hours so the two of you could get everything ready. Chris taped the first envelope on the front door just minutes before they arrived, your neat handwriting scribbled across it - “let the games begin. The first clue is where you store your shoes. Good luck twin!”

A mixture of anticipation and nervousness boiled deep down in your gut. At least that's what you thought it was since the feeling was quite different from your constant state of nausea you had been in the last few weeks. You hear the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut, “is this for a video?” Nick asks, poking his head around the corner, “I need to change first if it is.”

“No. No video,” Chris stutters, breaking eye contact to look at you. His face said he was second guessing it all, so you put on your best reassuring smile and nodded him on, trying to give him as much encouragement as you could without physically saying it. Matt takes notice pretty quickly, “what’s wrong with you, kid? You look sick,” his voice laced with concern and his eyebrows scrunched together. Chris swallows the lump in his throat, shaking his head, “got a big surprise for you guys. C’mon, find the next clue,” he eggs them on while wrapping an arm around you, desperately trying to wipe the ghost-like expression off of his face.

You and Chris walk into the living room, watching as his brothers absolutely destroy the organized shoe rack. It was nearly impossible to find the next note, you had stuffed it in a pair of Nick's shoes that he barely ever wore. Matt jumps in excitement as he pulls the crunched up sticky note out of a pair of old, dusty sneakers. You laugh as he thrusts it in the air and shouts, “got it!”

He brings the note back down to eye level, clearing his throat, “‘now that you found the second clue, go to the fridge and crack open a Mountain Dew,’” he reads off the words you pieced together. You weren’t much of a rhymer, Chris told you what to say on most of them because he knew it would’ve taken you all night. The scavenger hunt being a spontaneous whim of his, you didn’t argue when he sprung the idea on you, you were just happy he was ready to tell them. “Who drinks Mountain Dew?” Nick snorts, knowing it was only in the fridge for company that came over.

“It rhymed,” you retorted back to him, shrugging your shoulders, “and we have Mountain Dew in the fridge.” Nick and Matt were too excited over the silly scavenger hunt, and they were really letting their competitive sides show. They resembled little kids running around the playground at recess as they raced each other to the fridge, earning laughs from you and Chris as they pushed one another out of the way. Nick gets there first, swinging the fridge door open, “my hand is literally on the door!” You let out a laugh as he argues with Matt, making him pout and cross his arms over his chest, “it’s okay, buddy. You’ll get the next one,” Chris tells him in a playful tone before rubbing a hand down his back. Matt quickly shrugs it off as Nick begins to read the third clue aloud, “clue three will keep you on your toes, check where Matt keeps his clothes.”

Before you or Chris can say anything, Matt turns on his heels and foots it to his bedroom, “this one's mine!” You erupt in laughter, Chris following quickly behind as you watch Nick chase after Matt. It was funny how competitive they were, not even knowing the prize would be finding out they were becoming uncles. Just as you’re about to walk up the steps you hear Matt yell at Nick, “back door! It says ‘wanting more? Check by the back door,’ hurry up!”

Before you have the chance to get out of the way, Nick is barrelling towards you, jumping down the last few steps to get a head start. Chris snakes a hand around your waist, swiftly yanking you out of his way, “watch the fuck out! It’s not that serious!” he calls after his brother who dismisses his words by waving a hand over his shoulder. Chris looks at you, “you okay?” You force a smile, nodding to him, “I’m fine. Let them be excited.”

Matt stomps down the stairs, calling out to Nick, “did you get it?!” Nick shouts from the back of the house, “‘no bitchin’, take that ass to the kitchen!”

Matt picks up his pace, quickly making his way to the kitchen. You and Chris follow behind him silently, refusing to give out any hints. The boys had one more clue until they revealed the big secret. So many thoughts run through your head as Matt inspects the kitchen - what were their reactions going to be? Were they going to hate you? - you felt like you were telling Chris all over again, like you were telling your overprotective older brothers, and that felt even worse. Matt puts his feet in action, moving across the kitchen in long strides. You watch as he picks up the white envelope you had taped to the cookie jar. Before he tears into it, you open your mouth to stop him, “read that last one together, Matt.”

He looks up at you, nodding as he clenches the note to his chest as if he didn’t trust himself. A few moments later, Nick appears around the corner, giving Matt all the initiative he needed to tear open the envelope. He holds it out, “‘hopefully this isn’t too heartbreaking, check the oven to see what’s baking,’” he reads loud enough for the room to hear. His face crunching in confusion, “heartbreaking?”

You had a feeling Nick could care less about what the notes said, it was obvious his competitive side had taken over. He rushes to the oven and swings it open, revealing a leftover cinnamon roll from breakfast. Chris put it in there hours ago after he realized buns were the only thing you didn’t have. You watch as Nick doubles over to pick the rock hard cinnamon roll up, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, “a cinnamon roll? Why would a cinnamon roll be heartbreaking?” He looks between you and Chris, “they were pretty good at breakfast, probably stale now.”

“Well,” Chris chokes out in a nervous manner, “we didn’t have any buns.” You let your eyes bounce around the room - Chris scratching the back of his neck like the nervous mess he truly was. Matt rereads the last note over and over again, trying to put two and two together while Nick was looking at the stale dessert dumbfounded. As much as you wanted to scream out your confession, you decided to let Chris do all the talking. Besides, telling his family was something you wanted to leave to him, after all it was his family. Telling your own family was something you were dreading.

“What the fuck?!” Matt spits out, making you and Chris look at him. The color flushes out of his face like he’s the one who just found out he was about to be a father. Nick was still staring at the cinnamon roll, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, “I don’t get it.”

“Y/n’s pregnant, dumbfuck!” he chews out. You couldn’t tell if he was pissed or just taken back, and by the look on Chris’s face, he wasn’t sure either. Nick drops the roll, letting it bounce off the tiled floor before he slaps a hand over his mouth, “what?!”

A strong silence casts upon the kitchen. The familiar feeling of anticipation is no longer in your gut as the four of you eyeball each other, struck for words. You didn’t know what to say or do, but the need to break the tension was weighing down on you like a thousand bricks placed on your back. Deciding to break the awkward silence, you force a toothless smile, letting your small voice croak out, “surprise!”

“You’re fucking joking! Where’s the cameras?” Nick pushes out a shocked laugh, looking around the room to see if he could spot any hidden cameras. Chris clears his throat, “we’re not joking,” running a hand through his hair. His serious demeanor made his brothers come to a realization; this silly scavenger hunt wasn’t a prank, and you were for sure pregnant. He was the most unserious out of the three, his goofy personality is what attracted you to him the most. He was a major goofball and if you were being truthful, this did seem like a prank he’d put together for the hell of it. Except, it wasn’t a prank at all - it was the real deal.

You let your worries get the best of you. Feeling hot tears brim the waterline of your eyes, you quickly blink them away before looking down at your hidden bump. Chris’s hoodies did a fantastic job at hiding your baby bump these last couple weeks. You panicked when you started showing, even though your bump was barely noticeable, you didn’t want anyone to catch on before your announcement. The only indication you were pregnant was the constant puking in the hall bathroom Matt and Chris shared and you wanted to keep it that way until you were ready to confess. All eyes were on you as you smooth a hand over your bump, making the hoodie hug at your waist, showing your small. You could easily say you were bloated and get away with it. Nick and Matt gasp in harmony as you lift the hoodie up to expose your growing bump. It wasn’t much, but it was still proof of your baby's existence, proof that your baby was growing. Nick peels his hand from his mouth to speak, “you’re already showing?!” He makes his way to your belly, holding out a hand like he’s asking if he can touch. You nod him on, “yup, it’s real,” he says out loud, making you snort. Nick was really trying to convince himself this was reality. The last few weeks, you felt the same, so you couldn’t blame him.

“How far along are you? Why didn’t you guys tell us?!” Matt shoots out questions like a disappointed father. He wasn’t upset that you and Chris were expecting, he was upset that Chris would keep such a big secret from him when they told each other everything. Some things they didn’t even tell Nick or you. “We’re telling you now bud. She’ll be eleven weeks this friday,” Chris jokes until he realizes Matt’s hard expression isn’t budging, “I don’t know. I was scared, didn’t want you guys to be mad at me.” You can hear the sadness in his voice, almost like a kid who was apologizing to his parents for bad grades. “I’m not mad you’re having a baby. I’m upset ‘cause you didn't tell me sooner. We all could’ve been figuring this shit out together Chris,” he lectures him like the true big brother he is. Matt moves his feet to walk towards you, “how long have you known?”

“We found out at 7 weeks,” you manage to get out before he places a hand on your belly without warning, “yea that’s real,” he confirms, shooting looks between his brothers and back down at you. “I want to know about the next one as soon as it happens,” he grumbles, keeping his hand on your stomach. Nick snorts, “please,” taking a hand off your belly so Matt could get better access, “you were probably in the next room as they conceived it.”

“Don’t call my baby an ‘it’. He’s a boy,” Chris argues, a grinning spreading from ear to ear. His comment makes both Matt and Nick look at him. Already knowing what the next question would be, you decide to chime in, “we don’t know yet. He’s just been manifesting the whole time.”

"Hold on," Chris nearly shouts, rushing out of the kitchen, and quickly returning with two extra copies of your first ultrasound you had gotten a few weeks prior. The same bright smile stretched across his face as he hands over a copy to each of his brothers, "doesn't he look like a boy?"

"Chris, it looks like an alien," Nick snickers, earning a playfully gasp from Chris. Matt studies the black and white printed picture, "yup,” he pops, "looks just like you, Chris."

"Funny 'cause you look just like me," Chris shoots back quickly. He still felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, you were bringing a new life into existence in just a few short months. He wasn't ready for it at all, but he was glad his brothers were there to help him, and you, through it.

🏷️ - @lvrsturniolo @ribread03 @unknvhx @m11rx @emely9274 @loveparqdise @sweetshuga @frickin-bats @katie-tibo @leila-marie4

#♡‧₊˚ cheyenne's works #♡‧₊˚ babydaddy!chris #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo x you #chris x reader #chris sturniolo imagine #chris sturniolo smut #chris sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo fluff #matt sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo

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yourstruly9489 · 20 days ago

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Distortion Fanart (michael centered)

(saturated version on the left, og on right)

This is long, so a break before closeups start!

Closeups:

Text reads "The Distortion" (the o has a spiral inside of it)

More closeups but the doors on the left page are open, left to right, top to bottom:

Text reads: That was very stupid

Text reads: I am the throat of delusion incarnate

Text reads: There has never been a door there, Archivist

Text reads: How would a melody describe itself, when asked?

Text reads: "MICHAEL" That is a real name

Text reads: Does your hand in any way own your stomach?

Text reads: My very existence, tied to my pointlessness

Text reads: Did you notice which door she left through?

Text reads: I am not a "who," Archivist. I am a "what"

And that's the end of the closeups :D

All the text inside the doors are quotes from Michael Distortion btw. The only exception being "MICHAEL" bc Jon says that, but Michael does respond by saying "That is a real name" so I think it counts as a Michael quote. At least enough to be included.

I'd also like to thank a couple members of the "michael enjoyers" community for helping me come up with enough quotes. I do not remember your names, but thank you :D

The decision to make this spread was fairly impulsive. It started by me doodling spirals on a scrap piece of paper while trying to design a birthday card for a family member. While doing so, I thought, "why not fill a full page in my sketchbook with spirals?" And that turned into "I could make it into a Distortion spread."

And so, we have ended up here with a full Michael Distortion spread.

It was lots of fun to do, and has possibly gotten me out of artblock. Although, trying to come up with 9 unique doors that weren't yellow was quite the pain. Alongside the 9 different spiral patterns inside said doors. (although a couple of the spirals are copies of another)

And now a couple fun facts.

I am currently listening to "More Doors For Me" by elybeatmaker. I thought the song would be fitting.

I have only watched the first 14 episodes of TMA, and none of the TMAGP episodes. Everything I know about TMA is from my sister and Tumblr. For this reason I did only Michael, bc I know him far better than Helen. (she appears less in fanworks)

This spread took me five days. This is because I was either busy, or didn't have the motivation to work on it. The doors took the longest.

There is so much tape. The black background on the left page is black construction paper taped in, the spiral patterns underneath the doors were taped in, the doors themselves were taped on, the yellow door was also taped in, along with the hand and the wrist, both separately taped. It's a good thing I want a thick sketchbook.

My sketchbook's paper is a bit thin, so you can see the spiral behind the yellow door on the back of the next page. (I have since drawn over it, so I don't have a pic)

Each door has a separate color chosen to be the main color of said door. The colors include: Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Lime, Green, Light Blue, Blue, Purple, and Brown. The only one that is a normal door color (brown) has Michael inside it.

If you look closely at the right page, you can see where the lines start to get uneven in the background spiral.

I really like the idea of showing someone this spread and have them randomly open the doors, just to see a surprise Michael. :)

Materials used: generic pencil (for the initial sketch) 05 Micron pen random Prismacolors a cool multicolored lead pencil I don't know the brand of kingart twin-tipped brush pens Sipa fineliner pens scotch tape X-acto knife kid scissors black construction paper yellow cardstock A5 Fabriano sketchbook that I hate with a burning passion

Since you read this far, have some bonus Michael doodles!

^This one was variations of a scene from a dream.

^This one is from a doodle page I have laying on my desk, hence the scribbles nearby. I did not color in the lines (yes, that is nendou from TDLOSK to his left) This was also the first time I ever drew him.

I love giving him spiral cheeks :)

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paisholotus · 2 months ago

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𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗. 8

Play: moments in love~ Art of Noise

Narrative

The boys all sat in the living room at Denki's house. Izuku, Denki, and Sero was watching a movie. While Katsuki, Kirishima, and Shoto were playing cards. Mina was in the back laying down for a moment.

"Take 4 Icy hot! What the fuck are you doing?!" Katsuki yells, impatiently bouncing his leg. Shoto gave him his usual stoic expression and sighed taking the cards. Kirishima laughed and shook his head, "bakubro, you need to calm down. It's just a game. Remember we said we'll work on your anger?" Katsuki just grunted scowling down at the table.

Izuku playfully scoffed and looked over to the table, "that will never happen. Wasting your time." He said, and started laughing. Katsuki snapped his head at Izuku, glaring at him. "NOBODY ASKED YOU SHIT, DEKU!" Izuku stuck out his hand and smirked, "point made." He said, making Katsuki growl lowly.

"Ok, can y'all both shut up. I'm trying to watch this." Denki said, not taking his eyes off the tv. Kirishima and Shoto shook their head knowing Katsuki was going to say something. "Oh, so you want to get your ass beat again, sparkplug?" He said, making Denki huff and cross his arms on the couch. "Fuck you, Bakugo." He said, making Katsuki laugh.

"So, I invited some people over." Sero said, looking down at his phone. But, he could feel them staring at him.

"Who the fuck told you to invite random people over to my house?" Denki asked, knowing that's what everyone else was thinking too.

Sero smiled and looked at Denki, "it's people we already know. Those girls." He said, making everyone look at him confused. "Which one? Who did you text?" Kirishima asked. Sero smirked putting his arms behind his head, "that short fine chica. Nadia." He said, making Izuku glare lowly at him. Sero noticed and smacked his teeth, "the hell you mad about? You're the one fucking avoiding her because you're scared of being in relationship with her. I mean really Deku, she doesn't seem bad. Not like that other puta" Sero said, making everyone hum and nod.

Izuku waved him off knowing he was right. Izuku didn't like relationships. Not anymore. The last one he was in really fucked him up. It turned him cold in a kind of way, he wanted nothing to do with women. He just wanted to stay to himself. But, with Nadia back it was giving him feelings he didn't want. Last time he saw her he wanted nothing more but to kiss her and get close to her, but last time that happened he ended up getting done in the worse way. So, he genuinely didn't know what to do, but to keep distance.

"But, her sister." Sero whistled, "Mami is fine as fuck." He said, making Katsuki quickly looked at him with a glare on his face. "She's already taken, scotch tape!" He yelled, making Sero raise his hands up in surrender.

"What about the one with the big ole ass? Gimme that one." Denki said, rubbing his hands together. Izuku rolled his eyes and tapped Denki telling him to shut up and nudged his head to the table, Shoto looking at him with an icy glare, letting him know that Deja was spoken for as well.

Denki smacked his teeth and pouted. "Y'all, always taking the good ones." He said, folding his arms looking back at the tv.

Mina comes from the back into the kitchen and walked to the table sitting down on Kirishima's lap, "maybe you'll get a girl when you stop acting like a player wannabe." Mina said, to Denki laughing.

Denki scoffed and looked at everyone. "Yall, gon stop talking shit about me." Katsuki smirked at Denki and leaned back into the chair, "we'll stop talking shit when you stop looking like one of the aliens off Men And Black." He said, making everyone laugh. "Get in the gym fucker." Katsuki said, making Denki flick him off.

There was a knock on the door making Sero smile and get up. "They here." He said.

This could either be a mess or a good time....who knows?

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flowerbetweenfangs · 7 months ago

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Cream Filling: Chapter Six

CW: Alcohol Consumption.

This is part of an ongoing series, you can read the previous part here.

Chapter Text

It was odd seeing the restaurant when it was set up as a bar.

Elle hadn’t been in the building post nightfall since her interview with Ramses.

Wrecks had stressed it was casual, everyone just there to unwind.

When she pulled open the door, the soft rock music rumbled through the air, paired with a strange scent that made her nose itch. The lighting was mellow, glinting off the glasses across multiple tables. There were a few dishes, filled with half-eaten food on the tables.

A few sticks of incense were at the tables, propped up in ashtrays. Something about it brought a wave of calm over Elle.

“Hey, Rookie! You made it.” Horac waved before leaning over a pool table, sinking what sounded like multiple balls. The antlered bartender stood opposite him, patiently holding a cue.

Elle smiled, giving a wave. Everyone seemed to be in jeans and either a T-shirt or the equivalent. She felt a little overdressed in her… dress.

It wasn’t too fancy: solid green with a drawstring top. There had been too much time spent in the bathroom mirror, agonizing over if she would wear the charm or not.

She’d ultimately decided not to. After all, these weren’t random customers breezing in and out, but people she’d worked with (or at least were under Ramses) so…

Trusting them seemed like the best idea.

Aki and Wrecks were playing darts, with the cat boy looking more and more frustrated with the drider’s accuracy.

“You’ve gotta be cheating!” He protested, tail thrashing back and forth. “I thought you said that you’d never played!”

“It’s not cheating if you’re just naturally good.” Wrecks smirked, before giving a nervous wave to Elle. She returned it, wondering what skills he had learned that would possibly transform into the ability to throw darts well.

“Bah!” Aki frowned, before looking at her hopefully. “Miss Shepard, you want in on the next game?”

“Maybe in a little bit.” Elle smiled.

Ramses was behind the bar, mixing drinks. He was wearing his vest and button-up shirt. It figured the boss wouldn’t dress down with the rest of them. Elle wondered if he truly got a day off.

“Glad you made it.” He dropped down, before coming up with various glass bottles. They had some sort of bright green tape on them. “HF” was written on it in marker.

“I mean, you invited me, so why not?” Elle smiled, before becoming serious. “Don’t give me anything too strong, I need to drive home.”

“Of course.” Taking a glass, Ramses began to mix the contents of two bottles together. Elle noticed he was wearing gloves, much similar to the pair Wrecks had given her for the catering order. She grimaced at the thought of what would happen when he took them off.

“We’ll start you off with rum and cola, yeah?” He made sure to go heavy on the cola. “And don’t worry about paying. Drinks and food are free tonight.”

Her favorite kind. One step above “cold”.

Horac came over, walking the pool cue next to him. “Can I get some scotch? Or is Elle the only one allowed to drink the “human-friendly” batch?”

“Fine fine.” Ramses started to pour another glass. “Just leave some for her, eh?”

“Please!” Elle snorted, sipping her drink. “I don’t drink normally anyway, so don’t worry.”

The flavor was rich. She smacked her lips, brows coming together. It tasted… Weird. But not bad. Not the usual sugar-loaded sweetness she expected from it.

“Looks like you got the organic crap,” Horac remarked as he swished around his drink.

“If you don’t like it, more for Elle,” Ramses remarked, casually mixing something and setting it down.

“You’ve got enough here to run a second bar! I’ll need three new livers before I can drink this all.” Elle protested as she nursed her drink. It tasted terrible, but there was extra rum, so she wouldn’t care about the flavor before too long.

“I told you to buy the normal ones.” A legion of voices purred, a dark arm with tapered fingers reaching over her. Elle spun around on her stool to see the Bartender. Even in his band tee and jeans, he still was handsome.

And having him leaning over her, almost pressing on her knees…

“But you insisted only the best.” He took the freshly prepared drink, a long tongue lapping it up.

Elle felt her cheeks flush at the thought of what such a thing could do. She tried to hide her squirming, cheeks feeling like they were on fire.

“Anymore lip outta you, Chorus,” Ramses started, before chuckling and turning to Elle.

“Bah. You at least like it, right?”

His crooked smile showed off those fangs. And Elle suddenly felt a desire for them to be at her neck.

Ugh… Why did she work with so many hot men?

At this rate, she was going to have to start downing a few more drinks to justify the blush creeping to her cheeks.

Stop it, Elle. He’s your boss. Don’t put him in a bad spot… Again.

“It’s the best price you could offer.” She set the half-empty glass down. “I will never complain about a gift.”

Ramses rolled his eyes, but the smile didn’t fade.

God, why does he have to be so hot!?

Standing up, she decided to distract herself and sauntered over to the dart game. Her sightly bow-legged walk could be blamed on the alcohol, right?

“Oh, good.” Aki flitted behind Elle. “Please tell me you have a circus background and can throw knives or something?”

“Sadly, not.” Elle picked up a dart, rolling it between her fingers. “Wrecks, go easy on him.”

“He won’t let me!” The drider protested as he collected his darts, before stepping away from the board.

“I have to have some degree of pride!” The Cat Man protested. “Let Miss Shepard be my proxy.”

“No pressure.” Elle stared at the board. It seemed to stretch out so far, yet so close. “Just don’t bet anything you’re not willing to lose.”

After a few test throws, Elle was confident that she did not, in fact, have a secret talent for throwing sharp objects at targets. When the darts actually hit the board, they were barely on the edge. Several thumped against the wall or took a nosedive before even getting close.

“Well, now you know who to take to the carnival to play that balloon game. Win yourself an asbestos-riddled teddy bear.” Horac snarked, racking up the pool balls again.

The next dart Wrecks threw went way off target, sticking into the wall instead.

“Please don’t damage the property if you can help it,” Ramses called out, with the same nonchalant tone as if he’d told them the specials for the night.

“Sorry, Ram.” Wrecks went to get the dart, having to give a hearty tug to dislodge it from the wall. Elle was amazed that a piece of the wood didn’t come with it. He muttered something about Horac and meddling, before going to stand behind the line.

Elle prepared to throw the last dart. The little she’d drank hadn’t been enough, she needed to be a little more inebriated if she was going to play games like this.

Oh come on, you’ll be in a foursome on stage in front of a bunch of strangers jerking off, but this is what has you flustered?

Then again, that was the difference. She would never see the strangers again. And they had at least provided her a mask. Plus, “Miss Lamb” was different from Elle. A honeypot, a creation of Ash to create the perfect trap.

And with Cadence… He understood.

Right?

Aki’s tail brushed against her, the end swatting the hem of her dress, and Elle realized how close they were standing. He was staring… So intently at the board.

His pupils were completely blown, ears disappearing into his hair with how flat they were laid. A warm hand rested on her shoulder, nails barely tracing her bare collarbone. She could feel his heartbeat thudding between her shoulders.

The ache started, and Elle bit down on her lip before something came out that would get everyone’s attention. It seemed like all the demons in the room had made it their mission to fluster her

“One more.” Aki insisted, sounding dazed. “I’m sure you’ll get it this time.”

“Nekokuro, do I have to get a spatula to dislodge you from Shepard?” Wreck asked, raising a brow.

Cool air rushed over Elle’s skin as Aki stepped back, sputtering an apology.

“It’s fine,” She waved it off. “I wasn’t throwing anything, so it’s okay.” And she was grateful that Wrecks was quicker on all six of his feet than she was on hers.

Her legs shook as she took aim. And when the dart left her hand, there was no force behind it.

Then, she felt it. With the snap of magic, something was visible, warping the air in front of her, a shadow rolling over the dart. It was gone just as quickly, but the projectile was back on track and soared into the center of the board hard enough to shake it.

“Um…” Wrecks looked ready to comment again but instead cleared his throat, the silence falling around them as tension began to rise. “So I guess we’ll give that one to you.”

Elle slowly turned around to see Aki, who seemed dazed.

“Aki?” She waved a hand in front of his face, and he shook his head, the blush now gone from his cheeks.

“I… Think I’m going to call it here. Don’t want to be handling things like this if I get a few more drinks in me.” He was cheery, but Elle could sense a bit of fear in his words.

“Did Ramses ever tell you about the time he first put the charm on the loft in place?” Chorus asked, walking over and breaking up the group.

“Not this story.” Ramses groaned. “I’m not a mage, and I had just learned how to draw the runes needed.”

He refilled Chorus’ glass, before making one for himself, sliding the first down the bar to the demon, who took it.

“I thought all demons could do some degree of magic.” Aki’s tail briefly formed a question mark, brows raising.

“Doing and being good at are not the same thing,” Ramses insisted. “I was never a good student compared to my brothers. Not the worst, mind you, but far from the best. I prefer devices that can do it for me. And why I hire you all to work for me instead of doing all the heavy lifting myself.”

Brothers? Well, it made sense. Elle found her mind drifting, wondering if they all looked like Ramses, or…

“Forty years ago, when the first Hellmouth had cracked open…” Chorus laughed, the many layering voices making Elle’s hair stand on end and derailing her train of thought before it pulled into the ‘brothers gangbang fantasy’ station.

Forty years? Elle was reminded how everyone in this room, minus Horac, was all probably old enough to be her Grandfather. Maybe an ancient ancestor. A mayfly amongst dragons, as some would say. She went over to the bar again, sitting in front of Ramses.

Without a word, he began to mix her another drink.

“You had Mr. Pendragon over here decide he was going to try and keep people who got too tipsy and handsy from going up the steps to fool around-”

“That was not the only reason,” Ramses interjected. “There was also a lot of drinks and plates being left up there.” He turned to Elle, opening his mouth to say more, but closed it.

She thought there was a bit of a blush between his scales, but it could have just been the red of his vest bringing it out.

“So anyway… He doesn’t realize you have to be out of the circle before you drop the spell unless you want to be caught up in it. I’m in the basement, and I hear this loud WHAM.” Chorus slammed a fist into his open palm.

“I come rushing up, thinking Mammon himself has nestled on top of the building. And I see Ramses slowly sliding down the front window, crap from his arms making it look like he had the inkiest-”

“I told you the glass was worth it!” Ramses interrupted, before changing the inflection of his voice. “Get the cheaper glass, Ramses, no one’s going to try anything in the Mammon district, Ramses…”

“Well, you got your wish when that pack of Werebears showed up and you had to call backup…”

More stories spilled out, and drinks and food were consumed. From hilarious to serious.

Soon, they had gravitated around the bar, laughing and reminiscing. The tension had dropped, the violent dart throw forgotten.

Aki had taken up the stool next to Elle, legs swinging as he took in everything. It felt… Odd not being the new employee anymore. She wondered if that had anything to do with why he was sitting closer to her. Maybe there was an unspoken kinship?

Oh, you wouldn’t mind sitting closer to him, maybe on his lap while-

Elle blinked rapidly, crossing her legs and shifting. Sober thoughts were well on their way to becoming drunken words. She set her glass down.

“So I’m pinned to the wall by a Drider,” Wrecks explained, taking a swig from his bottle. “And I hear the door open. I’m thinking, “Oh thank Arachne, Horac is coming to rescue me.” But nope.” He moved his index and middle finger up his arm to indicate walking. “Here comes Shepard, one third the size of Calamity-”

“I was easily half!” Elle interjected, feeling rather warm, and emboldened. Yes, it was time to stop with the alcohol. “Calamity was not that big!”

Although knowing that Wrecks had fond memories around that time did make her feel somewhat giddy. She found herself trying to hold back laughter, but a few giggles tittered out.

She could see the collective “Okay, time to cut her off ” look shared between the others.

Aki snorted. “I’m trying to imagine you in the maid outfit trying to be intimidating.” His tail swished lazily back and forth, ears perking up as he took another bottle and poured himself a shot. “You’re easily the smallest one here, and you had to rescue him?”

“Don’t go treating him like a wimp!” Horac interjected, “You shoulda seen him his first day, all the bravado and rep from the Underdark. Had three lamias come in and try to start trouble. This kid.” He patted Wrecks’ leg closest to him.

“Just skittered right up to them and… I dunno what you said, but seeing three grown snake men about to wet themselves was a great way to start the day.” He laughed with vigor.

Wreck scratched the side of his nose. “Oh, that. I am amazed I didn’t get jumped later.” The blush of intoxication was creeping up his cheeks.

“The naivety of youth.” Ramses shrugged. “We all think we’re invincible at one point.” He tilted a bottle in the direction of Aki. “If I recall, I had to rescue you twice over when Tanpopo pissed off someone he couldn't run from and threw you under the bus.”

Aki groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t remind me. Those clubs oni swing around can do some damage. If I had nine lives, I’m sure I lost four that day.” He shuddered. “I don’t even know how he got ahold of that fruit, it’s banned in like… six of the seven districts!”

Elle nearly choked on her drink at the mention of the Kitsune and fruit.

Although she was sure of the berry in question, she had to bite her lips from slipping into that story. The words soaked into her lips, trying to spill out past them.

Focus on not saying something you’ll regret. Get him to do the talking.

“You know Foxy?” The three words were a chore to push out. And once they were out, she instantly regretted it, emotions swirling around, her mind too foggy to decide on which one to latch onto.

Aki gave a quick nod, looking over at Ramses, a slight bit of anger flickering across his features. The primal energy coiled through his muscles, and Elle worried he was about to hop over the bar and attack the demon.

Instead, he tapped the neck of his bottle to the shot glass, making sure to get every drop, before picking it up and holding it above his head, toward the center of the odd semi-circle they’d made. The anger was gone quickly as it arrived, but there was still a hunter’s glint in the yokai’s eyes.

“To new beginnings. And another successful year at Ramses’ Brew, eh?” The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but everyone lifted their drinks up and gave a half-hearted cheer, before downing their respective beverages.

Horac spoke first, checking his watch in an exaggerated gesture and giving a theatric yawn.

“I don’t know how the night crew does it, but it’s barely past nine and I am beat. ” He slipped off the barstool, pointing to Chorus. “Next time, you’ll have to show me how to do that trick shot.”

“If I teach you, then it’s no longer a trick.” Chorus shot back, before the two shared a laugh.

Clapping the Boarman on the back, Chorus walked him out the door, their chatter continuing into the night.

“I should probably get going too.” Wrecks sighed, rubbing his face. “If I stay up too much later, then I’ll be exhausted when I come into work.” He grabbed his coat off the rack, giving them all a polite nod, before exiting the bar himself.

Elle looked back and forth between Aki and Ramses, feeling the tension in the room start to rise again.

“Well, I suppose that’s the cue to lock up for the night.” Ramses finally said, breaking the silence. “Thank you both for coming and I hope to see you here again next year.”

Aki grunted, slipping off the stool. “Thanks, Mr. Sesbrun.” He paused, licking his lips.

The corner of his mouth twitched, anger and gratitude warring on his face.

At first, Elle thought the lights were flickering, before she realized it was a strange fog coming off the cat man.

“For everything.” Then, it was gone. Despite the smile, there was venom in the last two words. But without another word, he was picking up his coat and shouldering it, giving a wave and exiting the bar.

Elle swallowed, the sight sobering her up. She looked at the glass in front of her, sliding it away.

“Thanks, Ramses.” She hoped her words sounded steady. The fog around her mind started to lift.

“Thank you, Elle.” He said, taking the glass. “I know this time hasn’t been… Easy, but I appreciate you being here all the same.”

“Well, there’s no better boss in the world.” Slipping off the stool, she went and slipped on her jacket.

“Elle.” Ramses called, not looking up from her discarded glass.

“Yes?” She swallowed hard.

“I mean it.”

She smiled. “I know you do.”

Once she was outside the bar, it locked behind her. Magic sprung up, and Elle felt a rush of energy in the air, before the lights dimmed.

Ash couldn’t replace this, no matter how much he played to her darkest desires.

Going to her car, she paused at the sight of Aki leaning against the wall, facing away from her. The image of him braced against the stone, weak and shaking flooded back into her mind. Slowly, she approached him, but kept her distance.

“Aki? You alright?”

Slowly, he turned around, expression somber. “Sorry if I scared you.”

“I… It’s…” She paused, not sure if she should question which specific instance he was referring to. “I just was worried for a minute. It seemed like Ramses poked at an old wound.”

“I know logically it wasn’t on purpose, but emotionally…” He lifted his hand and wiggled it. “It’s… Tough. I’m the new guy, and I know, and everyone really, doesn’t like me… Especially Ramses.”

“I’m sure he does,” Elle interjected. “He just… Has an interesting way of showing it. I’m sure Wrecks likes you too, he’s just… That way with everyone.” And probably a little intimidated from the weird dart throw.

“And Horac… He’s a dad. His mind’s always on his family.” She didn’t want to speak for Chorus, but she was sure the Legion Demon fell into the same boat. He at least seemed cordial, and if he was Ramses’ oldest friend, then there had to be some degree of trust and respect between the two.

“Still… I need to be better, I didn’t want you to be scared of me.” He paused. “So… That’s it I guess. Sorry if it feels like I ambushed you, but it was going to be ringing in my head unless I said something.” He swallowed. “Being… A little buzzed isn’t an excuse to go flying off the handle like that.”

“It’s appreciated.” Elle licked her lips. “We’ve all done stupid things, but what we do now is what matters, yeah?”

Aki scoffed, before catching himself and slowly nodding. “Right… But I’ve got… A lot of mistakes to make up for.”

Another demon. Another few decades, maybe even centuries of sinning. Elle swallowed.

We’re not all sinners.

Looking around, Elle realized her car was the only one in the parking lot. “Are you going to walk home by yourself in the dark?”

Aki arched a brow. “I mean… Yeah?” He held up a hand, showing slightly longer than normal nails, sharpened to a point. “I’m a lot tougher than I look.”

The same nails that she’d imagined teasing-

No. Not the time. Focus!

“Well, you’ve been drinking.”

“So have you!” He chuckled. “Man, now I know you waltzed right up to the Lady Drider.” He mumbled something else under his breath, but it was hard to make out.

Elle shook her head, stifling a laugh. “Look, you shouldn’t be walking home by yourself anyway. I’m sure this place is safer than most areas, but still.” The anger was completely gone from him, and Elle wondered if it looked worse than it was.

“Is this your way of saying you like me too?” A grin tugged at Aki’s lips, his tail whipping back and forth, ears alert.

“Sure.” Elle gestured to her car. “Behold. The chariot awaits.”

Aki slid into the passenger seat. The heater kicked on, and to Elle’s surprise, he laid his head against the dashboard. There was a strange rumbling. It traveled all the way to the steering wheel, making her let it go.

At first, Elle thought it was the engine acting up, but then she realized it was the Cat Man purring.

Oh no. She could feel her heartbeat quicken. Shifting in the seat, she cracked the window, hoping a bit of cool air would help combat the illicit thoughts now racing through her head. Now she was sure she could do every sobriety test backward.

“Lean back and buckle up.” She said sternly. “I don’t want you going through the windshield if we’re in a crash.” That would be a way to end the night for sure.

And I want you to stop playing into my fantasies!

“What, all 25 miles an hour we’ll be going?” He stayed hunched over the dashboard. “Empty streets in the Mammon district, the only thing we’ll hit is either the Police or the Guardians out late.”

“Aki,” Elle said sternly. “My car, my rules.”

Sighing, Aki straightened and put on the belt, but extended his arms and rested his hands over the heating vents. His fingers wiggled, and Elle wondered if he was a lot more drunk than she thought, or if he was just that much of a feline.

Still, he was belted, so Elle pulled out of the parking lot. Once she turned onto the street, the lights in the restaurant finally went out. At least when driving, she had to focus on the area around her.

“Miss Shepard,” Aki said as they drove down the strip, the streetlights flickering. “You’re playing a dangerous game, working here.”

“I may be,” Elle admitted. “But I’ve got friends here who wouldn’t let anything bad happen.” Although come next shift, she would be wearing the charm again.

“Friends.” Aki prodded. “So… You and Wrecks?”

“What about me and Wrecks?” Elle raised a brow.

“You guys are a…” He raised his pinkie at her. “You know?”

“Friends….?” Elle drug out the word, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“Oh!” Aki’s own cheeks were red as he sputtered. “Sorry, I just thought with the spider necklace… And the gloves…”

Horac’s outburst probably didn’t help. Inwardly, Elle groaned and felt her stomach flutter.

She shook her head. “No! Nothing like that. Wrecks just likes making things.” She couldn’t look at him. “He and I are just friends. Horac was just teasing him when he said we were flirting and-”

She paused, realization slowly coming over her.

“Wait, why do you want to know?”

“Er, well…” It was Aki’s turn to be flustered. “I just didn’t want to jump to any conclusions or try and-” He inhaled sharply. “Never mind.”

“You’re a little drunker than you let on, huh?” Elle didn’t mind giving him an out. Inhibitions lowered, the proximity, all the laughing and friendliness from earlier…

Oh no, now she was doing it. She needed to be the responsible party.

They pulled into an apartment complex, a bit more run-down than what Elle would have expected from the Mammon district. It was better than her building but compared to the sparkling and brand new architecture of the rest...

Aki stared ahead, hands continuing to rest on the heating vents. Slowly, he went to unlock the door, before dropping his hand.

“Elle.” He said softly. “Do you… Have anyone waiting for you back at your place?”

“N-no,” She looked at the steering wheel. Was this where the night was heading? It wasn’t a bad way to end things. Certainly better than the empty restaurant. But…

“Aki. You’re nice. But you’re drunk. If we do something, it’s me taking advantage.” Responsible. Yes.

“I’m not that drunk.” He insisted. “Look, if you don’t want to do anything, it’s fine. But… If you want to, I’m sober enough.”

Elle arched a brow.

“Could a drunk guy do this?” Throwing open the car door, he took a few nimble steps away, turning on his heel, putting one arm to his waist, and bowing dramatically.

Then, he suddenly leaped in the air, flipping backward and landing on his hands, holding the position. His tail lashed around, but he stayed statue still. His legs rocked, and he finished the flip, landing on his feet.

Then, his legs buckled, and he rolled backward. Springing up by his hands again, he flipped to a light post and swung around it, knees bent.

“Aki!” She yelled, getting out of the car and running over. “You’re going to fall!”

“I find your lack of faith a little insulting!” Aki called out as she walked over and grabbed his leg, stopping the spin he’d built up. “You want me to start walking and sing the alphabet backward?” He stared at her, his tail thumping against the back of her hand.

“Alright. I get it. You’re sober enough.” She squeezed his ankle, and he wavered, before becoming stiff again. “Just stop being weird about it.”

Aki’s arms relaxed, and slid down, landing right in front of her. His chest was heaving, his face flushed, then he began to laugh so hard tears welled up in his eyes. It slowly died off and stepped back, tail swishing behind him.

“So. I guess this is good night then, huh?” He didn’t sound hurt or disappointed, just… Matter of fact.

Elle felt her cheeks burning. She knew the right thing was to say no. The responsible choice. This wasn’t a lust berry poisoning, a club performance for a favor, or helping a friend out during their mating cycle. It was like she was a damn teenager again, fooling around on school grounds.

“Aki, if you weren’t drunk-”

“Still not drunk.” He insisted, starting to get to his feet. “Or do I need to do the back handspring again to prove my point? Maybe I can do a backflip this time.”

“Aki Nekokuro. Listen to me.” Elle snapped, feeling the power crackle through the air. She made a fist, instantly regretting her choice to use his Name.

Aki froze, his fur standing on end. Slowly, he sat back down. His pupils dilated, nearly overtaking his iris, before violently constricting.

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Elle said quickly. “I just want to make sure you’re okay with it. You’re not doing it because of some weird attempt to comfort me because I saw your anger, or you’ve got a secret dark side who thinks it’s fun to mess around with humans, or-”

Snorting, Aki shook his head, jumping to his feet. He closed the distance between them. If he blinked, then she was sure his eyelashes would have brushed against hers. Sure enough, his tail was tracing the hem of her dress.

“Or, what if it’s something as simple as ‘I think my coworker is cute’?”

Elle’s mouth closed, and she swallowed. Her lips tingled as his breath rolled over them. She could feel his fur brush against her bare skin. His hand closed around her jacket’s zipper, slowly pulling it down.

“And green’s my favorite color.”

“Cute, huh?” She asked, as he stared and pushed the jacket off her shoulders.

“And magic to boot. What better pair than a witch and her black cat?”

“I’m not a mage.” Elle hissed. “Anyone can use a Name.”

“True. But I was being honest.” His chest rumbled with a purr.

“Cute,” He kissed her cheek.

“Hot.” Her brow. “Sexy.” Her jaw. “Gorgeous.” Her neck. “Unbelievably attractive.” Her shoulder.

Slipping his finger under the now exposed strap of her dress, he pushed it down and planted another kiss at her collarbone. “Magically so.”

“Aki…” She snorted. What a cheesy line. “You use all these on people you wanna bang?”

“Pick your adjective.” His tail brushed against the back of her thighs, starting to go between them, tracing higher under her dress. “Because I think all of them and more.”

Elle’s heart thudded loud enough she was sure he would hear it.

“I’m not looking for… A relationship or anything like that.” She managed to get out. “I’m single, and I want to stay that way for… A while.”

“Good,” He rubbed his cheek against hers. “So then there’s no harm, no foul.”

“Can we at least go inside?” She felt herself shivering, her skin aching for his touch and warmth when it left. Less in a carnal way, but more for body heat reasons. “It’s a little chilly out.”

“I can tell.” His finger traced her nipple through the fabric snickering when she inhaled sharply, a wavering moan working past her lips.

Ears went straight up, alert at the sound. He tried to go back to a more serious expression, but his smile started to break through the thin line of his mouth.

“Sorry. I forgot that you humans have… Almost nothing to keep you warm once you take these-” He gave her other dress strap a tug, letting it fall down her shoulder. “Off.”

“I think we’re past the point of being subtle.”

“Oh thank God.” He doubled over, hands resting above his knees, body shaking with laughter.

His hand wrapped around hers. “So-”

“Wait!” She turned on her heel, running back to her car. “Since someone decided a backflip-”

“Back handspring.”

“- acrobatics were a good sobriety test. I didn’t turn it off!” The door was still open! If she had been in the Leviathan district, she could have had someone sneak in and steal it.

Leaning inside, she quickly turned the key and yanked it out of the ignition, snatching her purse from the backseat.

Then yelped as Aki looped an arm around her waist, lifting her onto his shoulder, kicking the car door closed behind him.

“I gotta admit, I expected you to be a little racier in the underwear department,” Aki commented as he walked, tail swishing in front of Elle’s face.

It brushed against her nose, the tickling making her sneeze. When she went to open her mouth to try and banter back, it nearly got into her mouth. She managed to get a decent grip on the waist of his jeans and keep her face from smacking into the overly excited appendage.

“Next time I go to a work party, I’ll put on my best ‘I’m getting laid’ thong,” Elle grunted as she attempted to straighten herself. “And be sure my dress is long enough so when I’m being caveman carried, my coworker doesn’t get an early peek.” She swatted him on the ass with her purse.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” Aki warned, wiggling his hips, stopping to unlock the door of the complex. Before he opened it, he swatted her on the rear, loud rather than hard. “Or you’re going commando.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Elle squirmed at the thought. Was she going to be a brat tonight? Or was the power struggle part of the game?

“Try me,” He teased, hand slipping down and teasing at the edge of her panties, nail sliding under the fabric. She could feel the material strain, before he placed his hand back on her rear, giving it a hearty squeeze.

“And keep your voice down,” His tone shifted to serious. “There’s a lot of old ones who live in the building trying to get some sleep.”

Elle shifted trying to get a look around.

While the lights were on, the lobby they’d walked into was void of people. Small blessings, she supposed. There were a few bulletin boards, papers tacked to them, plastered with stock photos and advertising community events.

She tried to imagine the overstuffed chairs and benches filled with a bunch of elderly people, clutching walkers and canes. The image was… Rather peaceful.

“Do you like it here?” Close to work. And within their price range? Possible rules about after hours noise?

“It’s alright.” He shrugged, jostling her. They got to an elevator and he pushed the button to call it. “Although you have to be at least one hundred and fifty to live here.”

Elle groaned. It figured. These things always came with a catch.

Aki chuckled, before stepping into the elevator as the doors opened.

There were handrails on the walls. Elle grabbed one, taking in a deep breath. “Please tell me you’re almost there. I can feel the blood rushing to my head.”

“Oh?” Aki’s tone was mischievous. “I think I’ll be taking advantage of that sneak peek now.” His arm around her hips tightened.

“Don’t you dare drop me.”

“Then it’s in your best interest to stay still.” Aki’s left hand ran up her thigh, fingers running across her clothed sex.

“Well well, Miss Shepard,” He noisily sucked on his fingers, making Elle’s heart jump. “You’re drenched.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

Aki’s tail thumped against her cheek rhythmically, as if scolding her.

After a few test strokes, Aki slid a finger under the fabric, his claws barely tracing over her. Elle’s breath caught and she went rigid, her grip on the rail becoming white-knuckled.

“Relax.” He purred against her thigh. “I’ve done this a time or two before.”

Aki teased, nails pressing just enough for the pressure to be noticed, but never actually causing pain. As he slid his fingers back and forth she could feel them start to become slick. She bit her lip, trying to muffle the moans.

While he never stuck a finger inside, he pumped hard against her, finding her clit and beginning to circle it.

He’d give one lazy swirl, then an agonizingly slow stroke, then go back to circling, alternating between counter and clockwise. And he made sure to wipe the wetness on her thighs, smearing evidence of his work all over.

“Longest elevator ride of your life, huh?”

The ding and the creak of the doors couldn’t come fast enough. Elle was panting heavily, almost unable to let go of the bar as Aki began to step out. Her vision was filled with black spots, every part of her aching to shed her clothes and be filled.

Once he’d unlocked the door he took a few steps into the apartment, wood creaking under his feet. As he moved around in the dark, she could hear a click, and amber light flooded the room.

Blinking rapidly, Elle covered her eyes. There was a thud as her purse hit the floor. After a few seconds, she peeked between her fingers.

“I’ve got you,” Aki reassured her, kicking off his shoes at the entrance, before untying her sandals and letting them fall to the ground.

“Are you planning on putting me down at all?”

“Yep.” He passed an overstuffed couch. At first, Elle worried he was going to put her on it. Her head was spinning so much that she knew that keeping her balance would be almost impossible.

He opened the door to his bedroom. Like the rest of the apartment, it was pitch black. A few slants of light illuminated a bed, showing a navy blue comforter. The frame also seemed to be a dresser, as there were handles on the side.

Before Elle could take in the rest of the room, she was suddenly airborne. The bed creaked as she landed on it, the comforter floating up on either side of her. The hem of the dress had gone up to her ribs, but she didn’t care.

Aki stood in the doorway, amber eyes almost glowing in the dark. His steps were slow, like a wild cat stalking prey, as he approached the bed.

“Couple things,” He began, tail swishing back and forth behind him. “No, my cock is not barbed.”

The tip of the tail brushed against Elle’s nose, making it wrinkle again. “The further away from the base, the less sensitive my tail is. That being said: If you pull on it, I will not be responsible for what follows, usually a scratch or bite, and not in a sexy way.”

Lifting a hand, he flicked the claws, reminding Elle they were there. As if he hadn’t been teasing her with them for the past fifteen minutes. Then, he traced over her throat, lips following his fingers.

Elle moaned softly, about to grab him. He caught her hand in the air and put them on either side of her head.

Finally, he pointed to his ears, and they wiggled. “Ears are just like yours, but a lot more sensitive. So don’t go tugging or biting on them willy-nilly.”

He hunched over Elle’s form, hands twined with hers, legs squeezing hips. His jeans scratched against her bare legs, his hardness visible. Leaning down, his voice barely above a whisper, he asked:

“Do you still want to do this?”

She nodded.

“I need to hear you say it.”

“You couldn’t have gotten me out of the elevator if I didn’t want to.” Or through the front door, for that matter.

Pulling her dress up, he slid it off her and dropped it on the floor. He stared, finger tracing the V of her neck and collarbone.

Trailing lower, he circled her nipples with his thumb, before lowering his head and giving both a loud suck. She could see a flash of pink between his white fangs, the tapered tips grazing the delicate skin.

Each time his lips closed on her, it sent a shudder through Elle. Grabbing the comforter, she gripped it tight, doing everything in her power to not buck her hips. Not beg him to go faster. Not demand that he stop licking everywhere but the spot he’d been so intent on teasing earlier.

He hooked his thumbs under her waistband after what felt like an eternity of drawn out licks and light nibbles, peeling them off slowly. The friction of the fabric across her skin only served to light the white hot desire further, and she moaned as they finally came off.

Grabbing her legs, Aki hoisted them onto his shoulders.

“Now, I’m going to get this out of the way because everyone I’ve been with wants to know.”

Elle’s sound of confusion became a squeak as he put his mouth directly on her and purred loudly. It was nowhere near what she imagined, and she devolved into a fit of giggles.

Aki looked up at her. There was a light in his eyes she’d never seen before, maybe because the smile finally reached them. Something about it made Elle happy. Surely he’d heard her laugh before, but he’d never looked at her like… That.

“Figure it’s a good tension breaker. I know a lot of people can be… Nervous when it comes to…” He gestured to himself.

“You aren’t,” She managed to gasp between giggles. “My first demon, don’t worry.”

“Yokai.” He insisted. “Although if you want to get technical, half yokai and half fae.”

Elle managed to catch her breath. “Fae?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I… My dad was a nekomata, my mom is a puca.”

That explained the weird fog then. A spirit of a cat and a shape-shifting creature. She knew more about the latter than the former, but still, it wasn’t much.

“I’d rather not think about them right now, so…” Aki’s hand ran up her thigh, “Distract me?”

Hooking her ankles behind his head, Elle ground her hips into his face. He groaned against her, squeezing her thighs and pushing them apart.

Even though he’d proven not to have a rough tongue, she was sensitive to each lick, jolts of pleasure arcing through her. The moans encouraged him further, his tail swishing back and forth as he continued to feast.

She wanted the domestic cat to be put away and have the wild tiger come out to play.

Like before, he’d chosen to be agonizingly slow, drawing out each roll of his jaw. His warm breath made her skin pebble, and she could feel him smile at his work. Running the soles of her feet across his back, she tried to subtly push him closer.

Instead, he rose, pressing his lips to her clit, tongue flitting across it. The sudden speed made Elle see stars, her moan evolving into a scream. Her hands left the comforter, tangling in Aki’s hair just behind his ears, holding him fast.

The barrage continued, claws sinking into skin and raising Elle’s hips. His tail whipped back and forth, stroking her ankles and calves, hard enough for her to gasp.

Rather than a purr, she heard a growl from Aki.

“Come for me.” The words were white hot against her. Elle could only hold tightly, trying to edge herself out a little more.

And then the barrage began again, not letting up.

She finally lost her grip, her whole body shaking. His tongue was unrelenting, alternating between circling her clit and then plunging in and out of her. When she tried to scoot away, he pulled her back, nails scraping delicate skin.

“I said: come for me.” He slapped Elle’s thigh, squeezing it tight, shifting her up so the blood began to rush to her head again. As the world began to spin, she felt herself finally let go, the orgasm rushing out like a geyser.

Growling, Aki began to plunge even deeper, making her scream.

Then, he was gone. Elle’s head continued to spin, hands closing on empty air and feet lowering. But before she could put them on the comforter, he came between her legs again.

“How are you feeling?” He was panting, the slight movement making her quiver.

Elle let out a wavering whine, trying to find the words. The whole room was spinning, and while she felt sensitive, her body was still aching to be filled.

“I think you got to fuck my brains back in.” She managed weakly. “Words are hard.”

“On it.” Aki ducked out of her legs again. A zipper pulled, and he wiggled out of his jeans.

When he turned back to face her, she saw that he really was covered with dark fur all over. It thinned out a little around his hips and abdomen, but he was hirsute. And sure enough, he wasn’t barbed, but he was hard.

There was the tell-tale crinkle of a condom wrapper. As he fiddled with putting it on, he leaned over her.

“You’re going to keep your shirt on?” She tugged on the fabric, sliding her hand underneath it. His stomach and chest were warm, and Elle found her touch climbing higher. But before she could rest against him, Aki pulled away.

“You ever get cat hair all over your clothes?” Aki said matter of factly. “I’d like to not have to hose you off tonight. Or get one of those little sticky rollers.”

He picked up a bottle from the nightstand. It was a clear liquid, with a large silhouette of a large humanoid with horns embracing a smaller form, hearts over the groin region. She’d seen, and used, the brand before. It helped with interspecies couples who found their genitals were a little too large for the orifices of their partners.

He squirted some directly onto the covered head, and gave himself a few strokes, coating his cock in lube.

Grabbing behind her knees, Aki raised them again. Resting her legs on his shoulders, he lifted Elle’s hips. Between the wetness and the lube, he slipped right inside.

Gasping, Elle shuddered, feeling herself clench. It filled her just the right amount, the pulsing of his cock making her sex throb. Even without the lube, he would have gotten in just fine, but she wasn’t one to argue.

She went to try and wrap her legs around him again, but Aki held her fast.

Aki slid in and out of her, taking in deep breaths. Each thrust, while slow, went deep as he could manage. Grinding his hips, he rubbed against Elle’s clit, drawing another moan from her. He sighed in response, closing his eyes and resting his cheek on her knee.

Then, his grip on her legs tightened. Biting his lip, he continued to roll his hips, drawing the act out again. Every time he hilted, it was followed by a withdrawal that would tease him completely pulling out. But before completely exiting, he’d push his way back inside.

While nowhere near as aggressive as before, Elle was still sensitive. Shaking breaths followed the gentle thrusts, and he finally dropped her legs. They were shaking so much it was a miracle he didn’t accidentally gouge or scratch her with his claws.

Forming an arch over Elle, he put one hand at the nape of her neck and the other at the small of her back.

With their bodies pressed together, Elle found her own arms encircling him. Resting her chin at the curve of his neck, she inhaled his scent as he began to pick up speed. His hips continued to grind against her with every thrust, and his breathing hitched.

“You tasted so good around my tongue.” He hissed, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up.

“Now I wanna feel you come on my cock.” It wasn’t a demand like before, but it still rumbled through Elle.

She buried her fingers into his shirt and her face into his neck. Thrusts sped up, panting and slapping filling the air. His skin became slick with sweat, and she could feel his cock twitch, begging for a release.

His pubic bone drug across her in a deliberate motion, hips rolling and pressing deeper than he had before, a hand fisted in her hair. Lips latched onto her neck, sucking loudly, before finding her shoulder and doing the same.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she felt the soles of her feet brush against the base of his tail, catching it between her toes.

Aki snarled, hard mouth covering hers. He caught her lips between his teeth, sucking hard, and snarling. His grip on her tightened, pinning her to the bed.

Yanking Elle’s head back, he exposed her throat to him, lips running down it. A growl vibrated through his chest. Fangs traced over the delicate skin, before latching hard onto her shoulder.

Elle gasped, back arching as she felt another orgasm rip through her. She clenched so hard Aki cried out, thrusting into her as his cock emptied. They were in seconds of one another, but time stretched out long enough to where it felt like an eternity.

They stared at one another, panting. Bodies slick with sweat and the condensation of each other’s breath.

Aki broke the gaze first, slipping off and out of Elle. He lapped at her shoulder apologetically, before resting his chin at the curve of her neck, warm breath making her skin tingle.

Peeling off the condom, he tied off the opening and tossed it into a small bin next to the bed.

Through shaking breaths, he planted a gentle kiss on her temple.

“Let’s get cleaned off, huh? You don’t want to try and help me brush this out.”

In the shower, Aki let Elle rest against him, arms circled around her waist. The hot water was a welcome respite. They didn’t say anything, just let it roll over them.

Then, when Elle felt she’d had enough, Aki helped wrap a towel around her. Then, he walked her to the bed and had her side, before closing the bathroom door again.

The roar of a hairdryer quickly followed. She had a feeling that it would least likely be the sound neighbors would complain about.

Elle sat, staring at her clothes on the floor. Part of her wanted to just leave right then and there. But… If Aki had wanted her to, he would have said so, right?

While she was sure dating was off the table for a long while it was… Nice.

Sex without extenuating circumstances, bargains, or expectations for something else. No pressure for more or what was next.

She checked her phone for notifications, sighing when she saw it was empty.

Hopefully, Ash would call her soon with the great news that Adrian was captured.

Then she could figure out what the next step would be. Her thoughts started to run together, and she found herself dozing.

Aki came out of the shower, rapidly blinking at her presence. Despite his stoic face, his fur puffed up. It was almost comical, but Elle was barely able to hold her head up.

“S-Sorry. I didn’t want to leave without saying ‘good bye’.” A weak excuse.

“I’m… Actually kind of glad you stayed.” He admitted, “Driving tired is almost bad as driving drunk.” Staring at the bed, he cleared his throat.

“We, uh, don’t have work tomorrow, but you can leave first thing in the morning.” His tongue flitted across his lip.

“Or… You can stay for a bit. Don’t feel pressured either way.”

She couldn’t help but smile. At least they were on the same page. An understanding.

Temptation had nothing on this.

“You know what… That sounds like a great idea.”

You can read the next part here!

#monster love #monster lover #monster x human #monster romance #monster boyfriend #monster fucker #monsterfucker #terato #monster smut #cream filling

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im-normal-about-everything · 5 months ago

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Do you have angsty hcs for Darry and Soda's relationship

their relationship means sosososo much to me

-darry gets kinda jealous of how good soda is with people

-like he knows it's just how Soda is more approachable then him, but he wishes that people (specifically pony) trusted him as much as soda

-after pony ran away, soda kinda cling onto Darry because he couldn't imagine losing his last family member

-soda knew Darry was upset after he dropped out so he immediately started working hard to prove he could be some what useful

-soda is like the only person that really ever sees Darry cry/break down

-it doesn't happen that often either, Darry just kinda stops functioning and soda has to figure out how to help

-after their parents died, darry went to bucks bar to get wasted but he got there and saw soda there too and dragged him back home

-that night was the worst condition Darry had ever seen his brother in, until pony ran away and Sandy left

-soda would make darry's favorite food whenever he had a really bad day but couldn't find it in him too cool the week pony was away

-darry didn't cook either so they both didn't eat much, just snacking on whatever the gang brought them

-soda was a Mama's boy and always took after her so he tried his best to keep everything together when it was breaking

-soda and Darry are gonna super glue and scotch tape their family together no matter what

#the outsiders #darry curtis #sodapop curtis #ponyboy curtis

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yellowjacketsfashion · 2 months ago

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HOW TO MAKE MISTY’S EQUIPMENT MANAGER JACKET (Part 1):

Supplies:

* Gold/Navy Windbreaker

* Printer

* Cardstock

* Colorfast White Fabric Sheets (these work for Inkjet printers but you can use any other fabric sheets that work in your printer).

* Heat ‘n Bond

* Black Fabric Paint

* Thin Paint brush

* Exacto Knife/Box Cutter

* Clear packing Tape/ Scotch Tape

Optional:

* White Thread

* Needle

Step 1: Aquire your jacket.

It’s supposed to resemble the jacket Misty wears so you can either try to find one on your own or look at the close matches I found for the coat Here. I bought mine off eBay but if wanted to you could probably sew one or buy one brand new etc. It is important to do this first because everything else builds off of this step.

Step 2: Size Patch Designs.

You can use the photos I provided below or your own but you’ll need to paste them into a word document. From there you can size them up or down to reach the size that you like for printing.

Depending on the size of your jacket your patches can be bigger or smaller, but once you’re happy with the sizing you can then move onto the next step.

Step 3: Print Patch designs

The “Equipment Manager” design is to be printed on cardstock to make the stencil sturdy. If you had to you could also print it on normal paper but you’d have to be more careful with it and it might not work as well.

The Yellowjackets logo is to be printed on the fabric sheet because it will be turned into the patch. Follow the instructions on the fabric sheet container to make sure you print it right.

I found it helpful to make a mark on a regular sheet of paper before I printed it so that I could see which side the design gets printed on as that’s very important to know for when you put the fabric sheet in the cassette.

Step 4: The Equipment Manager Patch

* Once you’ve picked the size of patch you like best coat the front and back of the design in clear packing or scotch tape. This step is important so that the paint doesn’t seep into the paper and potentially create unwanted smudges on the jacket.

* Once you have the tape in place you can cut out the letters with an exacto knife (I didn’t have one so I used a box cutter but either one works fine). For letters containing holes (e,p,a,g, etc) you could either leave a little strip to hold the holes onto the outside of the stencil (which you’d have to paint in after the rest is painted) or just remove them entirely and free hand the inside lines of the letters.

(Also it’s a good idea to cut this on something that is thick so you won’t cut through the surface you’re working on. I used a sewing mat but thick cardboard can work too).

* Once finished it should look something like this:

* Before you paint the design on it’s a good idea to put the coat on to determine where you want the design. I based the position of mine on where the words were in relation to Misty’s collar so the letters are in a similar spot.

* From here you are ready to paint the design onto the coat using the stencil. Make sure you push the stencil down when painting otherwise paint can get underneath it and mess up the design.

Also, don’t move the stencil around when painting (I taped mine down to combat this), keep it in one place and don’t lift it up until you’ve finished.

Something else to keep in mind is not to gob the paint on near the edges because it can smear underneath (especially if you don’t have the stencil pushed down enough).

* Once you’ve finished painting the design, let it dry down before you remove the stencil so you don’t smudge the paint.

* Once the stencil is removed you can go in and clean up the edges of the design. The lines won’t be super sharp and you may have some small smudges so you may need go in and fill it in to make it look nicer. I found a small brush very useful for this step.

Before:

After:

(if you’ve got the black paint in spots you can’t fill in you might want to get a yellow fabric paint that matches the jacket to paint over it).

* You’ve now finished this side of the jacket!

In the next part I’ll be using the heat n bond to attach the Yellowjackets logo patch to the jacket (an possibly using thread to seal the edges of the patch but I’ll have to see if I can get it done). If you’re doing this for Halloween and I don’t get the second part out before then you can look at my Letterman Jacket post for essentially a tutorial on how to use the heat n bond for patches.

If you have any questions about my process feel free to ask! I’ll work on getting the next part out soon!

#yellowjackets #fashion #costume #misty quigley #diy

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thekrakenlolz · 9 months ago

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Start up fic - Ellie Williams x Reader (Part 2)

part 1

Summary: You switch dorms at your boarding school after you and your girlfriend go through a messy break up and you no longer can handle being roommates with her. Only your new one is a different kind of problem

a/n: Hiiii, so I still don't know what the overall plot will be, so feel free to suggest any and everything. Sorry this is so incredibly short. In my defense, it's exam period and I really can't afford failing bio-med rn. This prolly isn't worth the wait but it is what it is. I swear a proper third part will be out on the weekend. And I'll come up with an actual name by then<3

As always, pls don't mind the grammar mistakes, English is my third language

°_*-°_*-°_*-°_*-°_*-°_*-°_*-°_*-°_*-°_*-

You were stood on your bed, taping fairy lights to the ceiling.

"So, Ellie" you ripped another tape stripe off with your teeth "how long have you been here?"

"Oh uhh, since fifth grade" she hadn't expected you to start talking.

"Since the very start, huh?" You tore off another piece, readjusting it for the forth time.

"Yeah, I guess. You?"

"Tenth. So pretty recent. My parents thought it'd look good on my college application"

Ellie chuckled "this shithole, seriously?"

You moved onto posters "yeah, well, the name sounds high brow. Also the building looks very...... generational wealth-esque"

"If you say so." You could hear her shift in her seat "Probably aiming for a prestigious uni then. What do you wanna study."

You sighed, tossing the scotch role onto your desk

"Law"

"You don't seem too excited"

You jumped off your bed, taking in your work from a little distance.

"Yeah well, it's not really a choice. It's either law school or my parents pretty much withdraw financial support." You said, trying your hardest to sound nonchalant.

"Jeez, that blows"

You spun around, sitting down on the edge of your bed.

"Kinda. What do you want to do?"

She stood up, slinging her leg over to the other side and resting her arm against the back of the chair. You pushed down a smile, realizing she made the conversation 'official'.

"Not sure, but prolly astronomy." You scooched backwards and rested your back against the cold concrete wall.

"Oh, so you're smart smart." You flashed her a smile.

She rolled her eyes "says you, Mrs. Law school."

You dragged a fingernail across your knee, watching the now flaked off dead skin create a white stripe. "Oh please, wanting to go and actually getting in are two completely different things."

"Same thing goes for astronomy." She stated

"Fair enough."

Your gaze fell onto the pile of stuff Ellie had hastily gotten of your part of the room not so successfully hidden under her blanket. The corners of your mouth involuntarily rised up.

@bready101 @melissatheblob @elliesexual

#ellie the last of us #ellie x reader #ellie williams #tlou fanfiction #tlou x reader #boarding school #ellie tlou #ellie williams the last of us #roommate!ellie

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taffywabbit · 3 months ago

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I used to really like weaysl as a portfolio site, but idk about how the user base is doing I haven't used it in years. And that's not a tumblr alternative so much as a DA/FA alternative.

It's such a shame about cohost, i loved cohost...... I feel like this is finally the push i needed to set up a neocities page to just post art.

I always get Weasyl mixed up with That Other Furry Portfolio Site That Sought To Tarnish The Good Name Of My Favorite Animal and it takes a long moment of confusion to remember which is which, but yeah as far as I know Weasyl was only ever meant to be an alternative for furries who were tired of FurAffinity for whatever reason (either due to some kind of drama or just because FA is fuckin ANCIENT and held together with scotch tape and prayers). I don't know many people who still use Weasyl, I see it listed in people's "where to find me" contact lists or whatever sometimes if they have accounts on Basically Every Website but I've never heard ANYONE actually talk about using it so I'm not sure what its benefits are besides "FA but different". gallery/portfolio sites aren't really what I'm looking for anyways, there are always plenty of solid options if I ever needed one of those, since they aren't usually very social and you can kinda just plant yourself wherever and then link people to your gallery as needed

#ask #orchidbark #webbed site #i wanna comment on the neocities thing too but i feel like i might just make a separate post for that cuz it's come up a lot with friends #and i have a lot of thoughts about it

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aoyama-division · 4 months ago

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Thank you!

With that, Tomi's birthday has sadly come to an end (though he's probably not complaining). As always, thank you to everyone who sent him a gift (even if it did hurt him in some form or manner). I hope you will all show Ivelisse the same amount of love when her birthday rolls around near the end of October. Until then!

Also, just a reminder: I'm still in need for teams to head the Collab Tournament Event coming up in November. I, so far, have six teams, so I need two more to make the tournament complete. If you wish to see your OC lead a team in the tournament, either PM or IM me. The deadline to submit a team is slowly approaching, and it is sadly first come, first serve, so be quick.

Tomi stands outside the balcony in his room, overlooking his city, a void look in his eyes. In one of his hands is a glass of scotch, and in the other, a lit cigar. After the fiasco with that alleged "sex tape" being posted everywhere, the young Chōten boy's reputation was in shatters. What's more, rumors were spiraling that a divorce was now eminent between him and Miho, the woman whom he had deeply loved, yet somehow had betrayed. And what's more, he wasn't even sure how it happened.

So now, here he was... a lone man with nothing safe his money left... and no one to share it with.

"...You know..." Tomi spoke, speaking to no one in particular. Perhaps, he was speaking to himself, but it was unknown. "I actually tried to change for the better. Despite me not understanding a thing about how these peasants operate or how they live, I really wanted to understand them, not the least because of my brother, Kunio, but because I thought doing so would make me a better man and a person."

"Even after all the hate thrown at me, all the ridicules, all the embarrassment, all the foolish, insignificant things sent to me, I still tried to change! ...But what did I get in response? The love of my life left me, and my good name smeared in the mud. The good Chōten name, now nothing more than a laughingstock. All because I wanted to understand those beneath me."

"...So you know what?"

Suddenly, the socialite throws his bottle of champagne at a nearby wall, watching it shatter, the glass pieces falling to the floor, along with what little liquid was inside the glass. His hair covers his face, obscuring it until he slowly looks up, an angry look in his eyes.

"...I'm done. I'm done trying to understand you peons. I'm done trying to be nice to you sycophants and worthless beings. I'm done wasting my time trying to get you to see that I've changed. I'm done letting you filthy creatures walk all over me. Enough is enough. It's time for a change."

Walking back into his room, he walks to his desk where a stack of papers is located. On each one, a familiar face of individuals is shown:

Reika Aichi Worthless Hag

Reiaki Suzubayashi Filthy Vagrant

Eko Seishin Confused Peasant

Kanon Hojo Sociopathic Simpleton

Kito Sakura Less Than Nothing Criminal

Aranai Norikoru Dirty Thing

Sumire Shinomiya Humanity's Bane

"You all think of me as a villain? Some pitiful antagonist for you all to slay? Like in some storybook?"

Crumping the papers in his hand, the socialite throws them into his fireplace in his room, watching them burn up and turn black. The angry look in his eyes still hasn't dissipated.

"Fine then. If a villain is what you all want, then a villain is what I shall be. And when this villain makes each and every one of you beg for mercy, just remember..."

The papers inside the fire are now all turned to ash, showing nothing left.

"...you all asked for this."

#hypmic #hypnosis mic #hypnosis microphone #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic oc #tomi chōten #happy birthday tomi 2024

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stumpyjoepete · 6 months ago

Note

18 - Pro or anti tchotchkes? 19 - What's your go-to tape?

since, y'know, packing

For 18: Near the end of college, my parents wanted me to clean out most of the stuff from my childhood room. I donated a lot of stuff. I boxed up some books for long-term storage. And other stuff I either packed in my suitcase, or I set aside to take when I moved out. But I allowed myself to have a single bureau drawer of stuff I was keeping for no particular reason other than sentimentality. A drawer of tchotchkes. And years later, I opened that drawer up, and half of it I couldn't even remember what it was, and the other half just had no emotional resonance for me. And of course, I didn't actually interact with these tchotchkes or even look at them in the intervening years. It was serving an emotional need to hold onto those things. A fear of letting go. A fear of forgetting. A fear of past good times receding into the distance. A fear of losing relationships with people I would never really interact with again. My sister still has this same hyper-nostalgic attitude about things. She wants every family gathering we had as children to repeat annually with the exact same set of people, the exact same locations, and the exact same traditions. It's comforting. Psychologically, I'm built the same way. But I don't think it really makes sense, at least for me. Tchotchkes are nostalgia tokens to ease the burden of passage of time. They're fine I guess. But time still passes, and I continue to become a different person who either can't remember or doesn't care about the things I used to.

For 19: I almost never use any kind of tape, but over the last week, I've used rolls and rolls of that brown packing tape you can rip with your hands. It works great. Love that tape, and I sure wish I still had some of it. Less than 24 hours after our landlord did the initial inspection, my wife flipped the toilet seat-top up and just tore it right off its brittle plastic hinges, so I had to go to home depot on Saturday to buy a new one. Since they had packing materials there, I got some extra boxes and whatnot instead of making an additional trip to the uhaul store. Unfortunately, all of their boxes are slightly different sizes than the uhaul ones. And their "packing" tape is basically just an enormous roll of wide clear plastic tape. It's horrible. You can't rip it. It doesn't fit the dispenser I already had for scotch brand tape of a similar format. And it's really hard to cut off pieces of tape without the end of the tape falling back onto the roll. This was all right before I needed about 200 short pieces of tape in order to secure bubble wrap around every dish in my cupboard.

#stumpy answers #personal

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doubleddenden · 10 months ago

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I have done the Worst Possible Pokemon Day prediction. I have done the NO Way in Hell Will it Ever be This Good prediction. Time for the "realistic" prediction.

Nostalgia bait video of game progression throughout the years or scene of everyone playing Pokémon

Pokemon Go is doing a thing I guess, probably BW2 Kyurem

Unite- they're adding Miraidon and have already told us, but they need to take up time.

Masters has a bunch of gems and events idk. Looks like someone is getting a Mega Tyranitar I guess

Cafe ReMix is gonna do a thing- did they already add Miraidon? I don't keep up with it tbh, looks boring

Pokemon Sleep has some kind of thing. Maybe more pokemon added?

Merch announced- its bland and over priced, but someone will buy it. The only thing I want are hats

Pokemon Concierge season 2 trailer?

Next Pokémon game- most likely ILCA Unova remakes (I'll argue this if I have to, but they're just short of a cowboy and large mole driving a car and honking a Driftveil inspired La Cucaracha carhorn through the streets of New York with the obvious hints they're dropping in games and in literal NYC right now lately).

Legends Unova or something in that vein announced for either December 2024 or January 2025. This will be the last Switch mainline game.

Music video, probably Hatsune Miku

Less likely to happen, but on the table

Gb, GBC, and GBA ports to eshop or NSO

New Pokémon movie announcement featuring the first mythical since Zarude- most likely the Horizons cast

Something about Horizons anime- Sprigatito evolves?

New anime mini series based on SV DLC? Maybe centered on Carmine, Kieran, the BBE4, and Ogerpon.

After that is where you start getting surprises, good or bad. Side games won't replace a mainline game release or dlc as proven by PMD DX, so they could do whatever from here.

Reasonable but random predictions, not all but maybe one or more could happen, most likely not

PMD Explorers Remake

PMD Mobile game with micro transactions and live service

Pokemon crosses over with something

tcg digital card game on Switch

Pokemon racer game

Will not Happen, imo:

SV dlc pack 2. They seem pretty done with it tbh, even with all the loose ends. Can't blame them for being tired of adding content to a broken game that's still not finished and is being held together with scotch tape and Elmer's glue

Johto re remakes YET: simply because I think those will be an early Switch 2 title to get as many people on board the next system akin to how LGPE drew in the Go, genwunner, and main crowd to the Switch, and they can't announce it because Nintendo hasn't officially revealed the Switch 2 yet. I'll say they'll announce that next year.

Kalos- yeah I see you there, you dumb bastard, still huffing that Kalos Copium 11 years later. Let it go, man. Let. It. Goooo. Southern Kalos is NOT happening dude. At least, not this gen. It didn't happen in Alola, not in Galar, and it's not happening in Paldea. They're not skipping gen 5 to get to you first.

Overall I expect a similar response to the 2021 Pokémon Day Presents. A mixture of under, over, and straight up whelmed. Thorough disappointment for everything but Legends Arceus, from what I remember. Maybe they'll make my day and surprise me with something amazing, but I feel that the ILCA Unova Remake will probably piss a lot of people off while the Legends game excites me and everyone else.

#dd from the future: being fair kalos came out of left field #it's kinda funny but don't be dicks about this please

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setediconoscenza · 2 years ago

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CRASH COURSE IN ROMANCE EP 12

Let's talk about the good things first: the bed scene???? PROBABLY one of my favourite domestic scenes in all kdramas, they're so intimate and cozy I CANT

Now, bad things: it was obvious that it was Mr Ji, I can't believe I even doubted Huijae for a moment but my brain can't keep up with the speed of his actions towards Haengson. Deleting the message??? Trying to hurt her on the yacht?? And why the hell does he have so much scotch tape in his room?????? And the scene in the preview of next episode, with Haeyi wondering around alone, I'm so scared

I'm also very scared about the exam paper, I am so afraid that Sua will find out and tell that bitch of her mom and the consequences will go on Haeyi

Honestly, expect for Nam family and Chiyeol (most part) everyone else is so pathetic and evil

Anyway, are we team Sunjae or Geonhu? Part of me wants Haeyi to not get with either but if I have to choose: Geonhu

#crash course in romance #kdrama #korean drama #kdrama netflix #jung kyung ho #jeon do yeon #roh yoon seo #shin jae ha

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storiesofsvu · 2 years ago

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Journey to the Past Ch 26

Bryan Kneef x reader Just a whole lotta fluff at this point friends

You were honestly surprised when it was only a few days later that you came home from work to find the guest room empty, sheets over the smaller furniture that you planned on keeping and painter’s tape framing the walls. After confirming which pieces you agreed on for the nursery Bryan had ordered as many of them as possible, not letting you lift a finger when it came to either paying or talking about setting things up. He reassured you that he’d hire people to take care of everything, after all, what was the point of having money if it wasn’t that?

He was your complete rock and support, having read even more than you at this point about pregnancy and babies. You had to scold and remind him on a few things here and there, things that were outdated (especially when he tried to take away your coffee) but otherwise you were not complaining in the least. If he got home first, he’d always have dinner going, delivery or otherwise, making sure that you had a full healthy meal to eat, and that there’d be leftovers for lunch. If you managed to beat him, he’d check in with you, making sure you weren’t too tired and you’d usually shoo him away, handing him a scotch and pecking his cheek gently.

It was on those days specifically that he always made sure to take care of the cleaning up and dishes, pulling your feet into his lap for a massage once he was done. He was the epitome of perfect father to be, making sure you had absolutely everything you needed to have a healthy, happy pregnancy. Despite still being terrified himself, he was doing his best to be incredibly supportive and reassuring you that everything was going to turn out perfectly. He knew that you were much more prepared to be a parent than he was, but it was more about making it to the finish line that was worrying you. So he was sure to ask every annoying question possible at the doctors and go through the risks and warnings of any procedures suggested. He was at every single appointment, no matter how last minute it was or how much shuffling around at work he had to do. He knew just how important this was for the both of you and he wanted to make sure that you knew just how involved he was going to be for the entire thing. Scared or not, he was ready to be the father of your children, ready for that life that he never thought he would actually get to experience. He was ready to shift from his ways, he’d found a woman he loved, one that he knew he always would, one that he was very willing to settle down with and create a new blended version of life with.

He caught himself daydreaming about the family life more often than not, he’d always thought that a minimum of two kids was ideal, but if there were two of them you’d need to move to a bigger place. An actual house, in a good school district where the kids could live next door to their friends instead of in an apartment building. He managed to shake out of it as his car came to a halt at his destination, remembering that there was an order to do these things in, get through baby number one before thinking about the next one.

As he’d suggested a couple of weeks ago, you’d gone through the Tiffany’s catalogue and selected a few pieces that had caught your eye. You’d also thrown in a nice watch and couple of new pairs of cuff links for Bryan as a little treat for him, even if he was the one footing the bill. Naturally, he put the order in online and had a couple of the pieces customized, altering size or colour of diamond or the like so it took a little bit longer before it was ready for pick up. He easily jogged up the steps and pulled open the door to Tiffany’s, smiling when he was greeting immediately by one of the clerks.

“Mr. Kneef, they told me you’d likely be coming by today.”

“Just here to pick up an online order.” He replied with a grin.

“It’s in the back, have a look around and let me know if I can help you with anything else.”

“Thanks Jessica.” He nodded, watching as she disappeared into the back room, leaving him to wander through the store.

Being that it was the middle of the work day it wasn’t a busy store, a couple over in the corner looking at the housewarming gifts section but that was basically it. A pair of earrings caught his eye that he hadn’t seen in the catalogue, one that matched the original necklace he’d given you after your first date and he made a mental note to add those to the order when Jessica returned. His eyes drifted through the watches but if he was honest he preferred to get his watches elsewhere, the only one that he actually liked was the one you’d already included in the order for him. He did however, stall completely when he got to the engagement rings, his eyes gazing through them as he thought back to your joking conversation that night.

You’d been completely correct with the insistence of no pear shaped, he found himself grimacing at the design of them. Others had too much colour or the design was simply too gawdy, they looked tacky, like knock offs. You deserved better than that, something classy, sophisticated with just the amount of gems to make it known whoever had given you the ring cared about you and about style (and had the money to back it). One of the rings caught the sunbeam coming in through the window perfectly, sparkling toward him right as he was about to move on and he took a step back to examine it further. It was a classic cushion cut, smaller diamonds extending out onto the band and the only thing holding it back from being perfect was the karat size. He made another mental note and continued wandering through the store, unaware that Jessica had already returned from the back as she neatly packaged up the online order.

He'd stumbled into a section of the store he hadn’t even known existed by the time she caught up with him from the other side of the counter.

“We’ve got a further selection of items online for baby showers if that’s what you’re interested in.” She greeted and Bryan nearly jumped at the sound of her voice.

“Uh, any chance you’ve got any stuffed otters?”

“No, bears and elephants is it unfortunately.” She frowned for a moment and Bryan’s eyes returned to the elephant.

“You can add the elephant in, they’re her second favourite.”

“Of course.” Jessica smiled, retrieving one from the case to add into the bag, “anything else catch your eye?”

“The Victoria Diamond Vine Earrings.”

“Silver or rose gold?”

“Rose gold please.”

“Excellent choice.” She smiled softly, a gleam in her eye as she spoke next, “and am I correct that I caught you looking at the engagement rings? Or were you just browsing through that section?”

“Oh. Uh… hmph…” he scratched at his beard for a moment, “can I ask you something?”

“Of course, always here to help, Mr. Kneef.” She replied with a smile and he couldn’t help but laugh. Jessica had been his go to employee at the store for years, helping him make proper choices, there was no doubt she’d picked up on the fact that he’d been steadily seeing someone he cared about through his purchases alone.

“What’s… the timeline protocol on proposing?”

“I think that always depends on the couple.” She answered quickly, nearly cutting him off “I have friends get married after less than a year and friends who were together for a decade before getting engaged.”

“And what if it was about three weeks ago that she found out she was pregnant?” He nearly winced, “obviously a surprise for both of us, but I want to make sure she knows that I was already thinking about it before, and it’s not just because of the baby… kind of situation…”

“Oh.” Jessica’s eyes widened ever so slightly before the smile took back over her cheeks, “well first off, congratulations.” Bryan thanked her quietly, “and…. I’m not too sure in that case, it gets a little mucky doesn’t it?” She laughed softly, “for me personally, I think I’d like my partner to wait until after the baby was born, but obviously not in the delivery room kinda thing. Even if we talked about it before and I knew it was happening, just like, to separate those two milestones and make sure they both have their own special significance in your lives.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Bryan laughed quietly.

“If you have your eye on something now we can always put it aside for you?”

“The cushion cut double halo.”

“Oh, that’s my favourite one. Great taste as always Mr. Kneef.”

She swiftly moved back over to the engagement ring display, Bryan following from the other side of the counter watching as she pulled out the ring for him to inspect.

“It’s a little on the small side.” He commented and she chuckled.

“I figured you’d say that.” With a grin she turned around to pull out a customization form, “we only have the sample right now but I can put it on order for you and have you called when it comes in?”

“That’d be great.”

The two of them moved through the order form rather easily as Jessica filled it out and added it to the bill with the earrings and elephant. She was quick to make sure that everything was gift wrapped exactly as he wanted it and that the order info for the engagement ring was tucked away in a separate envelope for him to slide into his suit jacket pocket to keep the element of surprise. As usual, he palmed her a couple of bills for her help and guidance before finally leaving the store and making the trip back to STR to finish out his work day.

You got home first that evening, crossing paths with the work crew as they finished packing up their things. The nursery was already complete and part of you really couldn’t believe it, Bryan’s people knew how to work well and work quickly. They went over a few things with you and made sure you were satisfied with how everything looked and where it was placed within the room and you assured them it was all perfect.

Once they were on their way out you wandered down the hallway to change out of your suit, sighing in relief at the cozy material of clothing now against your skin. You would admit, today was a tired day, you’d been incredibly blessed in not having too many bad symptoms of pregnancy, especially through the first trimester (although a few symptoms back then would’ve given you a little bit more warning). You didn’t want to bother with cooking tonight, but you were starving and there was no way in hell you were waiting for Bry to get home, get relaxed and then finish cooking a meal so delivery it was. You scrolled through the app, scowling over the fact that you couldn’t have sushi and finally decided on Mexican, adding in a variety of things for Bryan to choose between when he got home.

Somehow, Bryan had managed to intercept the order between the main door and your apartment, arriving at the same time as the driver. You heard his keys in the lock and the sound of him coming down the entry way before rounding into the kitchen. You’d just pulled the fridge open to grab some sparkling apple juice, an attempt to feel somewhat fancy tonight alongside Bryan’s wine. He placed the bags down on the island and stepped to you, wrapping around your back and you leant into the embrace with a happy hum. Bryan kissed your neck gently, his hand moving down to softly cup your tiny baby bump before he spoke.

“How was your day?”

“Mediocre.” You murmured, turning in his arms to kiss him, “certainly better now.” Your eyes flicked to over his shoulder, seeing the tell tale blue bag beside the take out. “And it looks like you have presents, so things just got even better.”

“Well my plan was just to pick up that online order.”

“You can never resist though.” You teased and he rolled his eyes, pulling out the small box containing the earrings.

“You had to have the matching set.” He then pulled out a second gift wrapped bag, larger than you’d expected, “and I thought this could be something special.”

“Oh?” You raised a brow as you took it from him, fingers slipping into the tissue paper to pull out the elephant, glancing back towards him.

“Little guy needs something to play with.”

“Or girl.” You warned with a grin and he chuckled, leaning in to kiss you, “and I’m sure they’ll love it no matter what.”

“I got an email saying the nursery was done?”

“It is.” You nodded, “and it got my stamp of approval so no nasty emails to contractors please.”

“Promise.” He pulled down a couple of plates as you began to tear into the take out, figuring the rest of the Tiffany’s could wait until later, you were clearly prioritizing food. You dolled out what you wanted and slid containers over to him as the two of you got settled at the island for dinner. “You have any thoughts about weekend plans?” He asked and you nearly froze, having almost forgotten your midmorning run in.

“Uh, I do actually…”

“Ditching me for Kim I assume?” He teased and you laughed.

“No. I actually ran into Nate today…”

“Your senior partner at your first firm here?” He asked and you let out an internal sigh of relief at no sign of jealousy washing over him considering the last time you’d seen Nate, nodding in response. “How is he?”

“Well… not great.” You frowned, “his wife’s sick, they’re in and out of the hospital constantly. They don’t have other family in the State and could really use a hand, so I offered that we… or I… could take the kids on Saturday, maybe Sunday too if they have fun. They’re only six and four, they don’t really understand what’s going on and Nate just wants them to have some kid time not stuck in a hospital room. I figured maybe the zoo, aquarium, might be a nice little test run kinda thing.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Bryan smiled and you let out a tiny laugh.

“Really?”

“Weather’s supposed to be great, and lord knows I could use the practice.” He chuckled, “have you met the kids before?”

“A couple times here and there, not sure how well they remember me, but I have spent time with them before, they’re great kids.”

“I’m happy to help anyway I can.” Bryan shot you a smile before the conversation dwindled as you ate, small comments about work or legal cases taking over. Though in the back of his brain he couldn’t stop thinking about Nate and their family, how terrifying the world could be even after you’d gotten everything you wanted. The thought crossed his mind of something happening to you leaving him with the baby and no other family in the area.

“Hey…” you suddenly asked, nudging at his foot, “you still there?”

“Sorry.” He shook out of it, casting you a warm smile, “what were you saying?”

“Did you want seconds? Or should I put this in the fridge?” You asked and he realized you were already standing, empty plate in your hands.

“I’m good.” He leant in, kissing your cheek and you raised a brow.

“If you don’t want to babysit, that’s more than okay. I can handle them on my own.”

“No, no.” He laughed, “I uh… it just made me think of something.”

“Okay?” You cocked a brow once again, crossing to the sink to rinse the plates before sliding them into the dishwasher.

“Have you told your parents?”

“About Nate?” Your brow furrowed heavily as you straightened up to look across at him, “they’ve never met him and I don’t talk to them, why would I?” Bryan chuckled, beginning to pack up the leftovers and slide them across the island in your direction.

“I meant about the baby.” He explained, frowning at the way your shoulders sagged before you turned back to him.

“No.” You let out a sigh, picking up a container of tamales to toss in the fridge, “and my plan was to leave them out of it until this little bean is born happy and healthy. I don’t need or want them involved in every step of the way and I don’t want them fucking up my kid’s life the way they fucked up mine.”

“Okay.” He surrendered quickly, sliding you the last container so you could put it in the fridge.

“Do you think I’m in the wrong?” You asked hesitantly, glancing up at him and he instantly shook his head.

“Absolutely not. You have a very different relationship with them than I did with my mom, I was just…”

“Caught up thinking about what would happen if something happened to me?”

“Yeah.” He admitted with a sigh.

“That’s what godparents are for.” You smiled softly, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to his temple, “and Kim has already agreed to that, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Alright.” He let out a small laugh, wrapping an arm around you as he stood from the stool, “now.. I know the nursery is done, but how about we catch up on some tv while we go through the rest of the crap we’re going to need for this.”

“Oh yeah, what’ve you got in mind?” You asked with a chuckle, leaning in to steal a kiss before you let out a small squeak when Bryan tugged you down onto the couch.

“Well you’re gonna need a pregnancy pillow soon, and I figure we should talk midwife vs hospital, natural vs epidural.”

“Oh epidural all the way, I don’t fucking care.”

Bryan laughed softly, his hand coming up to caress at your cheek as he leant in to kiss you softly, his lips moving with ease and grace against yours. Yes, he was scared about a lot of what his future had to come, but he also knew that no matter what, he had you to do it with, and that made him completely and utterly relaxed. You were his rock, his assurance that he was finally doing something with his life that made him worthy, that made him loveable, that made him understand love again. It didn’t matter how worried he was about changing diapers, doing soccer pick up, being in charge of bake sale days, he knew that with you by his side the moment he held your baby girl or boy, he’d feel that burst and know that he was exactly where he was supposed to be. Because no matter where that was, if he was with you, he could accomplish anything.

_______

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#bryan kneef x reader #bryan kneef #the good fight #journey to the past

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