#BL elevator pitches

[the-golden-comet]

Hello! Hi! 👋 Nice to meet you! I write BL Romantasy Novels (18+)

Your Wish Is My Command is a slice of life, magic in the mundane novel set in a college university. The protag, Noah, finds a lamp during a field study and inadvertently gains a genie roommate. The genie, Ali, is an aloof extrovert who wants to see how the world has changed since his last imprisonment. Noah, on the other hand, is an antisocial, agoraphobic introvert that hates people and would rather just focus on graduating.

The novel follows their antics and how they get along living together and finishing up grad school, with Romantic Comedic elements that are interspersed with some heavier topics about identity and mental health.

Below the line is a comic that I made parodying the soup skit by PurpleEyesWTF on the Code MENT/Geoss abridged series. Check it out if you haven’t done so already! (This is totally how they interact) 👇

elevator pitch me!!!!! tell me about ur projects!!!! hiiii

[twig-tea]

With 23.5 finally coming out, the people are rejoicing at finally getting a high profile gl from GMMTV. But there have already been several gls airing this year, including my fav TsukuTabe, that have been flying under the radar with fandom, and in general there are more gls already out there than folks seem to think. I just know you have a list of all the gls we should be watching, please share with the class!

Thank you for the ask! How did you know I had a draft of GL recs to make at some point? [Trick question, I mentioned it to you.]

It may seem like I'm out here hating on GL because i've made a couple of negative reviews of recently airing series recently (Love Senior and Chaser Game W in case you're curious) but I actually have lots of GL that I love and that I wish were better known! Thanks for sending this ask so I am inspired to actually finish it! I've limited myself to series so that I could keep the list and this post to a reasonable length. Where possible I've listed where you can find each of these and included a link. And I've included an 'elevator pitch' summary but I am NOT in marketing for a reason, so please don't roast me too hard for my terrible comparisons. Alright, enough waffling!

Twig's GL Rec List

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat S1 & 2 (Japan, 2022 & 2024, both seasons fansubbed by @furritsubs; if you need help accessing this show feel free to DM me!)

Elevator pitch: Our Dining Table with lesbians and an even slower burn. Watch for beautiful food, acespec rep, mental health and therapy rep

What might turn some off: Extremely low heat, and quite slow-moving; warning for a disordered eating and family trauma plot (v gently handled)

Let's start with the one you've already mentioned. This is a heartwarming slice-of-life slow burn in which an autismspec-coded woman who likes to eat is invited by her neighbour, a femme acespec woman who loves to cook, to come and eat her food. It starts from a very practical place (when you love making food you need someone to help eat it), but their relationship grows as they spend more time together. The story follows them as they both move towards self-actualization in several ways: as a lesbian, as asexual, at work, with their families, with their friends, with each other. This show is so careful to say the important words aloud. And there is so much delicious cooking! Each episode highlights a particular recipe, and the food porn is real. Do not watch while hungry, but definitely watch. The found famiy vibes in this one one are also immaculate.

She Makes My Heart Flutter (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Younger lesbian friend group tries to help out (slightly) older lesbian bar owner with mixed success. I can't think of a good BL equivalent, The Moment Since feels the closest with its similar bartender/patron romance

What might turn some off: Comedic tone; short runtime; struggles with being closeted

This is a gem of a miniseries about a bar owner and an interior designer who smoulder at one another while an intrepid group of younger bar regulars (including the bar owner's neice) meddle. This series is really cute, solid, and full of sapphics! Once again found family vibes are immaculate (you may sense a theme in my faves). Run don't walk.

Fragrance of the First Flower (Taiwan, 2021, GagaOOLala)

Elevator pitch: Right-person-wrong-time/second chance romance; tonally is a little like We Best Love 2: Fighting Mr. 2nd but with an ambiguous ending.

What might turn you off: Medium heat, second chance romance means they break up once, internalized homophobia, adultery/cheating, at one point there's a creepy dude, child with autism (depicted well), ambiguous ending

At its core this is a story of a woman who can't stop getting in the way of her own happiness. This series is a little more sad than the rest of this rec list but I couldn't not include it because this relationship is so poignant. Plus there's a s2 that supposedly is to come out in 2024 so maybe we'll get our happy ending after all?

Love Greater Than or Equal to 70 Degrees C (Korea, 2019, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ingredients but with lesbians staring at one another over beautiful tea pairings! What more could you ask for?

What might turn you off: Low heat; short runtime; ambiguous ending; like Ingredients this is essentially a long ad for the café it's filmed at.

This is a Korean miniseries about passionate tea sommeliers making really fancy tea while staring at one another a LOT. Perfect sapphic representation, 10/10 no notes. This one packs a lot of the drama tropes into its short runtime, so even though it's short it's full of butterfly-inspiring moments.

Sleep With Me (Philippines, 2022, GagaOOLala/iWantTFC/Netflix w/VPN set to Philippines)

Elevator pitch: The Truth About Cats and Dogs but the self esteem issues are handled without catfishing. BL equivalent: Hmmm. Closest I can think of is Gaya Sa Pelikula.

What might turn you off: There's some ableism (treated as such) in this show; Open ending.

Stellar GL between a late night radio DJ and an insomniac who listens to her show. One of the main couple is a wheelchair user and the show tackles ablelism and navigating disability in relationship as well as feelings of inadequacy in a relationship and how that manifests as interpersonal conflict.

Our Relationship Ended Before it Began (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Along the lines of I Cannot Reach You; the show gives both perspectives and they are held back by queer angst.

What might turn you off: No kiss (but they make it very clear both want to kiss), internalized homophobia

Really sweet miniseries about having a crush and being afraid of being hurt so you don't actually make a move. I really like the way the girl who has not dated a girl before defaults to gender roles and it throws the more experienced lesbian lol I also really like the way this show makes clear that both of them are waiting for a kiss, and that if you get in your head about things, it can get in the way of your own happiness!

Pearl Next Door (Philippines, 2020, Youtube)

Elevator Pitch: Gameboys but with lesbian vloggers.

What might turn you off: Love triangle, lots of teasing but low heat in the end, a lot of (good) conversations about mental health issues, ambiguous ending

This is the GL spinoff to Gameboys, starring Pearl from Gameboys. Pearl ends up being fought over by the two gorgeous women in the gif, an old love and a new. I love the queer friendships in this story as much as the relationships. I will say it's an open ending (that felt a bit like the showrunners didn't want to decide between ships) and definitely the love triangle features prominently but even in the face of these aspects that would normally turn me off a series I had a good time. The characters and interpersonal conflicts feel very real, and are allowed to be complex even when the show tone is comedic.

Dear Uranus (Taiwan, 2021, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Schoolgirl ensemble GL; a little like My School President but without the singing.

What might turn you off: Short runtime; ambiguous ending; a little bit of bullying; very standard romance trope execution

The first Taiwanese GL miniseries, this series was produced by a Taiwanese lesbian couple (Rabbit & Wolf)! Lots of excellent drama tropes, and incredibly gorgeous women (I think the entire watching audience fell in love with Erol.

Lily Fever (Korea, 2015, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Complete crack; YYY but with more kissing and frankly an even less coherent story.

What might turn you off: The lack of coherent plot; less a romance and more a very thirsty lesbian kissing everyone she can

This miniseries is utter chaos. Nothing really makes sense, it's all just random excuses to cause very suggestive moments (and kissing) to happen. I love so much how this series depicts women being so absolutely thirsty for one another (and yes that date isn't a typo, this series is ~9 years old). Not an "happy ever after" ending but it really isn't that kind of story.

Chasing Sunsets (Philippines, 2020, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ocean Likes Me with lesbians. Resort romance with a mental health twist.

What might turn you off: Some of the mental health stuff gets intense, this was filmed in 2020 so the pandemic features heavily; hopeful but slightly ambiguous ending.

A complex story from the Philippines covering mental health and finding yourself. A woman shows up to a resort and befriends one of the women running the resort. They get closer as they spend time together, and the resort owner realizes something is off. There's also a BL side couple in this series.

Show Me Love (Thai, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: A little like My Day the series with lesbians, in that they work together and fall in love and it's full of tropes

What might turn you off: The advertising for the Miss Grand competition, there is some bullying and cheating (though way less than I was expecting tbh), not a lot actually happens, the editing gets a bit wonky at the end

This is essentially a massive ad for the Miss Grand Thailand competition; this GL was produced by the same company that produces that competition, and the stars are mostly Miss Grand competitors. The main pairing were shipped in the actual competition, and the company decided to make a GL about them. It's very slow paced and low-stakes, and there are better kisses than I expected considering everything I just said about where this show came from. There are a lot of cute moments!

Girlfriend Project (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Love Class with lesbians

What might turn you off: One of the leads is kind of mean in that pgitail-pulling way? It ends abruptly (but happily)

This is a short miniseries about two girls paired in a class that are assigned to "date". The chemistry is chemistrying. And there is a kiss (a good kiss, and a tiptoes kiss at that!). This show also has one of my favourite tropes, in which someone who seems like a pushover stands up for themselves and their partner finds it very attractive. For the record, in this show they are watching another GL by the same company, Love Tech.

Lulu (Philippines, 2022, Vivamax/grey)

Elevator Pitch: Present Perfect with lesbians (but with a better ending).

What might turn you off: Depictions of panic attacks, brief depiction of drowning, pandemic lockdowns, illness, exes, waffling, happy but open ending (which I actually liked for this story)

Two women trying to move on from the garbage in their lives meet at the beach of a B&B (where one saves the other from drowning) and become one another's company during their escape and then something more. They both have baggage that seems determined to keep them apart even as they continue to be drawn together. In the end, they decide to stick it out and see where they end up, with no guarantee of happily ever after, which I found very sweet. Requires either a VivaMax account or searching the grey for it, but it's worth the effort (check MyDramaList comments for suggestions on where to find it). Plus one of the leads has a cactus as a pet.

Welcome to the Lesbian Bar (Korea, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: A little like Fudanshi Bartender but without the fudanshi bartender and all of the bar patrons are lesbians lol

What might turn you off: Short, can get a little bit preachy, abrupt ending

Cute short series with different very stories every episode as different patrons visit the bar. The stories range from women who have been together for awhile, to people meeting from an online app for the first time, to someone visiting a lesbian bar for the first time; and yet the story all weaves together in a way that's satisfying though ends abruptly. Includes some solid marriage equality propaganda.

GAP the Series (Thai, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Kind of the vibes of Together with Me but lesbians and in an office instead of school. Angry boss falls for charming new intern and

What might turn you off: This one is the highest heat of all these recs; homophobia especially amongst family, brief depictions of death by car, brief mentions of suicide, cheating, bullying, abuse of power in the office.

A list would not be complete without this one! Honestly the plot is a bit wobbly but the show is a lot of fun. The girls are very cute, the feelings and tension builds really well between them, the friend group is excellent, and in the special we get a wedding.

---

The rest of these have caveats of one kind or another, but i couldn't leave them off a rec list, so here are the side couples and censored stories that are still worth your time anyway (I might do a separate more detailed post for these, as well as for films, one day if there's interest):

Nevertheless (GL side; Korean, 2021, Netflix) Not sure it's worth watching a whole kdrama for side lesbians? Search soljiwan on youtube. They are great. Even the Netflix account stans them. I watched this (ngl, I watched the SolJiwan cut) as it aired and was constantly braced for it to let us down but it did not! A really good friends-to-lovers story.

Friend Zone 2: Dangerous Area (GL side; Thailand, 2019, YouTube): These sapphics are messy and I love them. Decent conversation about dating someone with mental health issues in this series, and they're one of the only couples in this ensemble to get a happy ending. If you're just watching the lesbian couple (which you can, their story is pretty self-contained) you don't need to have seen s1.

Six Survivors (GL side; Japan, 2022, Viki) This show is a horror comedy and it is SO MUCH FUN. Warning for zombies and blood, but way less than you might think. One of the eponymous 6 survivors is a lesbian who keeps trying to convert them to veganism lol. If you watched Chaser Game W you'll recognize one of the actresses in this, the lead actress is from Kamisama no Ekohiiki, and one of the guys is from the prequel series His as well as I Want to See Only You! And yes there is a kiss. Also a surprising number of Mallrats references. Not for people who can't handle gore or relationships being complicated/not a "true love" story/ambiguous ending.

Kamisama no Ekohiiki (complicated question of is it GL in parts, Japan, 2021, furritsubs once again coming through to save the day) This one is a bit complex because there's bodyswap, but the girl who falls for the bodyswapped boy-in-a-girl's-body is clear that she is only interested in the girl. One of the better bodyswap stories because the bodyswap is not a secret for very long, so instead there's a lot of introspection about what gender means and who/what they are attracted to. Feels wrong to call this GL, necessarily, but it's very queer.

Couple of Mirrors (Censored GL, China, 2021, Viki) Story of a rich girl and her assassin girlfriend. This production did an amazing job getting away with what they could, just don't watch the last five minutes and we've got essentially a happy lesbian family.

Legend of Yunze (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) Very cute very low budget xianxia miniseries with two seasons and a special. The special is set in modern times in a future lifetime so if you want a cute censored-but-clearly-a-soulmate-love-story this is the one for you. Don't be thrown off by the weird cuts/abrupt episode endings, that's in line with cdramas in general.

Led Astray by Love (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) A very fun and adorable isekai story in which a modern day girl is transported to a wuxia novel setting and has to figure out how to get home, and gets romanced by the princess along the way.

And a few additional links for people who even more content:

My Indian sapphic webseries rec list

My suggestions for content with toms (Thai category that's similar to but not exactly the same as butch lesbians) in response to this post.

This really good GL MyDramaList list (not made by me!) lists what seems to be everything I've mentioned and about 200 more. Even I haven't seen a few of these!

My YouTube playlist of sapphic content: This includes anything I stumble across or find in my searches, a lot of music videos and random shorts as well as some microseries and miniseries that I don't consider GL but are WLW/sapphic in addition to true "GL" content. For serialized content, I add just the first ep. A complete mess, but you can trawl through to find stuff to watch, like Hetero!

SOONOTSUE: The same producers of She Makes My Heart Flutter have other short series on their channel worth checking out; if you liked that one, try Out of Breath!

Shakeshoulder: Thai YouTube producers of very pulpy (read: low budget and dramatic plots) shorts

FuFuKnows: This YouTube channel is owned by a gay Taiwanese couple that produces shorts every week, including some with GL mains and sides. These are very low budget but cover a whole swath of queer themes.

@douqi7s is a godsend providing subtitles for all kinds of content, including sapphic shorts and more series than I've listed here. Check their tumblr for links to all of their content; A Practical Guide to Being a Superstar's Assistant has one of the best setups to giving us great moments in the guise of something else so that they get past censorship I've ever seen; I also recommend The Vampires if you're into genre fiction, as well as Legend of Yunqian if you enjoyed the xianxia parts of Legend of Yunze. @wlwcatalogue did an excellent summary of many of the non-wuxia options here.

Quick pitch for the streaming platform GagaOOLala; it's affordable, has a ton of content, including a whack of GLs (originals, license series, and a ton of shorts), and is run by queer people out of Taiwan who care about good quality queer content being made and having an audience, and using the soft power from those successful series to support social change. And if you can't afford a subscription it's worth checking out what they have for free, they open up temporary free access to some things for various events throughout the year.

In searching for gifs for this post I found fellow tumblr user @drowningparty 's WLW compendium list; they've listed more series and films so check it out if you still need more content!

*wipes sweat off brow* that should be enough to be getting on with, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg! If there's something specific you want to see with sapphics let me know and I can tell you if I know it exists. Anyway, I hope this gives you and everyone else a taste of what all is out there! I of course always want more, I am serious about being a sapphic dragon hoarding every crumb i can get my lizardy hands on, but I do think what we have should also be appreciated more. If I missed one of your faves, please tell me!

[absolutebl]

hi!!! do you have favorite bl movies (maybe with happy endings too)?👀❤️

Top 10 BL Movies

(as of end of 2024, in no particular order)

My personal favorites will always have HEAs (or at least HFN). I don't love ambiguous endings and I hate sad ones. I'm going to include the Korean stuff that has been recut as movies, because I can.

1 Seven Days

Japan 2015

AKA Seven Days: Monday-Thursday AND Seven Days: Friday-Sunday

This is a cheat as it's 2 movies, but that's still less run time than your bog standard marvel tent pole these days, so it counts.

One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes. The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

2 Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine

AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? AKA Vending Machine Sabi Koi

Japan 2023

This movie is utterly adorable, impossibly awkward, and kinda old fashioned. About a cute nerdy little office worker (he's out!) who has a big'ol crush on the tall hulking vending machine guy. They fall in love. And that’s it. And it’s charming. There’s some first name eroticism (because Japan) and there's emphasis on communication (so not Japan) which turns this into an organically loving and talkative relationship. There’s a bit of an age gap and our office cutie may or may not have a muscles fetish (the hot bod, not the shellfish) because (if I’ve told you once I’ve told you 1 million times) Japan always goes kinky. And you know what, I loved it.

3 Restart After Come Back Home

AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Japan 2020

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning.

4 His

Japan 2020

His is about being a grown adult and still struggling with coming out. It addresses the consequences choosing a life disingenuous to identity. Nagisa turns up on Shun’s doorstep with his precocious daughter in tow. This is a touch confusing to Shun since they were each others first love and Nagisa broke his heart. Shun has retreated from society, rejecting the world before it can reject him because without Nagisa he never had a reason to fight. Nagisa went the opposite, pretending to be something he was not, ending up with a daughter he adores and a wife who hates him. This movie is beautiful and the setting is unique and interesting but I'm not wild about the ending, it's HFN (happy for now). Honestly, I think I mostly liked this because I have a mad crush on Miyazawa Hio (Shun).

5 After Sundown

AKA Saengrawi

Thailand 2023

It's from Mandee and horror (neither really my thing), yet I liked it. It's oddly sweet and wholesome, for a ghost story. Phloeng and Rawee enter into an arranged marriage for confusing prophetic reasons. Twists of fate demand that they solve the mystery of a past that is haunting Phloeng's family and harming Rawee. Honestly, it makes no actual sense, but it's kinda historical, and very pretty, so I enjoyed it more than I should.

Korean BL that aired as shows but are cut together as movies & great

In some of these cases the movies are better than the originals, in some they are exactly the same.

6 Color Rush

2021

A unique paranormal twist elevates this classic high school drama into a pitch-perfect allegory for the queer coming out experience and one of the best BLs of all time (I will fight you on this).

7 Semantic Error

2022

The ultimate enemies to lovers, also the prettiest. Sexy older boy discovers pouty younger boy has outed him as a slacker, starts out bullying him, accidentally falls madly in love instead. Korea hits it entirely out of the Parks by doing a university BL with everything we expect from BL just done exactly right. Korea's signature quality executed perfectly with added bonus good story, great pacing, stunning visuals, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL.

8 To My Star

2021

Hwang Da Seul directing this show about a neurotic actor (actual puppy) who takes refuge with a grumpy chef resulting in sparks, cooking lessons, and LOVE! It’s is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams. I adore this show so much. Limited use of BL tropes makes this feel more of a sweet contemporary gay romance between an actor plagued by scandal and the chef who accidentally adopts him, but the gentleness will appeal to fans of the BL genre.

9 Long Time No See

2017

This originally aired as a series but I have only ever seen it as a movie. So I'm counting it.

Catfishing assassins on either side of a turf war fall in love not knowing they are on opposite sides. Or do they? Suspenseful plot, good fight sequences, mature characters, hot sexitimes, and even hotter beating the shit out of each other and kissing while covered in blood (this came from KOREA?), plus an HEA. One of the greatest hidden gems of the BL genre.

10 Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart

2020

Set in the music industry featuring a talented singer and the pianist who falls in love with him (and his music), this is subtle and achingly adorable. High production, low heat, short run, very tame, and Korea, so all the pretty. Slow burn and lots of pining.

(source)

[cinammonelles]

Hi again Riri do you have time to learn about our lord and savior a silly I'm obsessed with Tamamori from hit bl visual novel Hashihime of the Old Book Town. Elevator pitch & propaganda by successfully dragged in friends included. This is more of a desperate plea than a recommendation. But it is also a recommendation (outside of one route) (maybe 1.5 routes actually)

I always have time to learn abt my beloved mutuals' blorbos😌

I must admit I'm not a very visual novel person but this sounds SO intriguing, I might just give it a try!!

[no-body-needs-to-know69]

Yandere! Villain! Todoroki x Hero! Reader

Warnings: slight gore and bl*od, possessive behavior, unhealthy relationships, stalking, non-consensual touching, non-consensual kissing, mentions of mugging, mentions of drugs, slightly suggestive (shoto kisses reader and things get a lil steamy so)

if you are not comfortable with yandere things and all the stuff that trope includes, please do not read!!!!!

Summary: You come across a man in an alleyway outside of your office building. Alarmed, you treat his wounds and he goes off into the night without so much as a thank you. Unfortunately, it causes you a lot more trouble than you could ever imagine. It seems that the man likes being in your care, whether you like it or not.

————

The bang outside your office window is what initially woke you up. Your body jolted for a brief moment, surprised out of your late night nap. You sleepily began pulling your head up from the small desk and blearily looked around while your eyes blinked to adjust to the bright lighting in the small room. Grimacing when you saw that the sky outside was pitch black, you reached for your phone. It was well past midnight.

Exactly how long had you been sleeping?

Hearing the chair creak as you moved, you groaned at the uncomfortable, stiff feeling in your neck. That was going to be annoying.

A long day of doing loads of paperwork (mostly over property damage) had apparently taken a lot out of you. Sure, being a rescue hero was significantly easier than being your more powerful and reckless superiors, such as heroes like Deku and Dynamite, but the work was still taxing. You were pretty sure that there was ink on your face from drooling on the stack of papers. You definitely knew that you looked like a mess even without a mirror.

You glanced down at the papers, the one on top of the stack half filled in. You’d do it tomorrow, you had already been in the agency building for much longer than you had planned. Yawning and stretching your arms above your head, you focused your eyes on the ceiling.

Another sharp bang came from outside. You jumped at the sound, all drowsiness leaving your sleep riddled mind. Caution and curiosity quickly replaced the warm feeling of fleeting sleep. Getting up from your seat and quietly making your way towards the second floor window, you leaned over to gaze out of the small pane and squinted into the dark alley that ran between the two buildings.

With the aid of a lone street lamp, you made out the silhouette of a tall figure leaning against the wall with their back pressed against dark brick. An arm moved to wind around their stomach, their pale skin a light contrast against black clothing. Your eyes widened as you looked down at the struggling person and watched their chest heave as they leaned on the wall for support. You felt your heart rate speed up as dread pooled and weighed down your chest.

Had they been mugged? Considering how late it was, it was highly possible that they had been walking home and had gotten stabbed. You lived in a big and busy part of the city, these things happened. Beside a hero agency though? The poor man was really unlucky to have encountered the most desperate mugger in the city.

You groaned, hurriedly grabbing your bag and gracelessly stuffing an emergency first aid kit into the side pocket, which you had on hand. You chose to take the stairs, the elevator would take you down at a snails pace while humming a prerecorded, happy tune that would do little to express the urgency of your situation. You preferred to be able reach the mysterious figure sooner rather than later.

When you approached the exit of the building, you pushed open the doors as swiftly as you could. Apprehension began to creep into the back of your mind and you urged your feet to move forward, the gentle scuffling against the pavement of the sidewalk the only sound in the dark night air. You stayed close to the wall that led into the narrow opening, slightly craning your head outwards to gaze into the wide, illuminated mouth of the alleyway.

They seemed to not notice your arrival, too focused on trying to steady their own breathing. You cautiously took a step towards them, hands gripping onto your bag.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Their head snapped up, wide, panicked eyes now solely centered on you. Now being able to see past their bowed head, you studied the face of a man with slender and defined features. Two-toned hair spilt down the middle framed his narrow face, swaying because of the sudden movement. Damn. He’s cute.

When your gaze traveled down, you saw that a dark, wet spot had formed around the area where the man’s hand grasped his side.

“Jesus Christ- Do you want me to take you to a hospital?!”

The man didn’t respond. His eyes were as cold as they were contrasting, one a deep blue and the other a dark brown. He regarded you with a reserved gaze and you matched his stare as his eyes narrowed. A hostile mix of emotions swirled within his glare.

Distrust. Apprehension. Fear.

You took another step forward, and he pushed himself farther into the alleyway. You saw the slow movement of his hand coming away from the wall.

You hurriedly rushed out, “Wait! I just want to help!” He stilled, narrowed eyes scrutinizing you, roaming over your figure with a judging glare. You slowly reached into your bag. He tensed up, and for a moment the ridiculous comparison of a cornered stray cat crossed your mind.

You gently pulled out the first aid kit. “Relax. I’m here to help, I swear.” Your feet stayed flat on the concrete, but you gingerly inclined your head towards his hip. “I can stitch that up for you.”

He made no move to relax his muscles, nor did he give you any sign that it was alright for you to aid him.

“I can handle it myself, thanks.” The stranger’s voice was deep, a clipped thing that seemed to suit his nature.

You pressed back a groan. “Really? Is that why you’re heaving in an alleyway in the middle of the night?”

You sighed, dropping your head towards the ground in slight irritation. You lifted your head back up to meet those unique eyes and huffed, exhaustion and exasperation showing in your body language. “Look. I just want to help.” You stared back into his closed off expression, speaking with finality in your tone. You silently urged him with a flick of your wrist.

The man gave you a calculating look and, for the first time since you saw him, let an expression of conflict pass over his face. He warily glanced down from your stare to the small box held in your hand. Sighing, he removed his hand from dark, wet area that was steadily seeping and spreading into the ruined fabric.

“Alright.”

You walked forward at the encouragement but didn’t hesitate to roll your eyes at his demanding words. Despite his assertive tone, you could still see that he was still very tense. He really didn’t seem to want your help, but was reluctantly accepting it. You bit on your lip to prevent an exasperated laugh from slipping out.

Taking long and slow strides towards the young man, you closed the distance between the two of you easily. He kept his eyes on you the entire time, and you wondered what exactly had put him on edge to make him act so paranoid. That made some red flags pop up, but you just as quickly dismissed it as shock. If you got had gotten mugged and injured late at night, you wouldn’t be very trusting of strangers either.

You took your time observing his wound. The sight caused you to cringe immediately. It was torn and long, an irritated gash that seemed to be quite shallow. A bit too messy for the small, sharp knives muggers usually used. Your brows furrowed; this man had been attacked by someone other than a random person that desperately needed money. This looked like a glancing blow, and would have probably been much worse had it not grazed its target.

The tear was still bleeding steadily though, and you hastily opened the first aid kit. While you cleaned the wound, you could feel those eyes practically burning holes into the top of your head. You didn’t look up to meet them, too tired and irritated to care.

“Hold still, alright? This is gonna hurt.”

Hovering the disinfectant covered cloth above the open part of the injury, you lightly covered it with a firm hand and dabbed the wound with a practiced gentleness. You heard a hiss sound from above you once you slightly applied pressure. “Sorry.” You whispered, as you couldn’t help feeling slightly responsible for the man’s discomfort. Truth be told, you weren’t an expert when it came to medicine, but you were well versed in treating surface wounds.

“Are you sure you know how to do this?” His voice came out strained, though that didn’t make his comment any less snide. It soured your already fragile mood.

You gave an unimpressed snort in response. “No, it’s just what I do for a living,” You paused, then glanced up at him and briefly locked eyes, “I’m your best bet. So shush.”

You could practically feel him brooding, though he made no further comment.

Taking advantage of his silence, you told him that there was a hospital a couple blocks from here and that he should go there immediately. You cleaned and treated the wound the best you could to avoid infection, but you knew that it was best for him to seek professional help as soon as possible.

As you gently wrapped the gauze around his lower abdomen, he finally seemed to relax into your light hold, letting his facade drop and allowing his exhaustion to slip through for a brief moment.

Pulling away from the stranger, you felt satisfied looking at the makeshift ring of bandages that you had made. You’d say that this situation was handled pretty well in the hands of an amateur medic. Surprisingly, he wasn’t staring at you anymore. You quietly observed as the man ran a hand along the gauze. His long fingers gently brushed over the waxy material and when he turned to look back at you, there was something like gratitude in his features. Not completely trusting and maybe a little surprised, but gratitude nonetheless.

Small victories.

The silence stretched out and neither of you dared to utter a word. For a moment, you just continued to stare at each other, him slowly pushing himself up from the wall and you trying to figure out what was going through his mind.

“...Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to the hospital? I understand not wanted go pay for the medical bills, but this is ridiculous.” You let out a nervous laugh, which died once he didn’t offer a response. The quiet created a tense air around you. A pit formed in your stomach.

You breath hitched as he averted his gaze and slowly took a step towards you.

“Sorry about this...”

Your heart sank in your chest, dreading pooling in your stomach. That couldn’t be good.

“But I really can’t risk you following me.”

He was on you in a second. You had no time to awe at his reflexes or wonder how his hand had already wrapped firmly around your wrist. You only knew that he was pulling you towards his chest. He settled you against his solid torso, crowding into your space and caging you in with his body.

You nostrils were immediately filled with the smell of iron and some kind of cologne. You craned your head up to gaze into his eyes, and you observed as he gazed at you with a curious expression. He didn’t look hostile or angry, but he didn’t look guilty either. There was just a shine in his eyes, something akin to respect or appreciation. You could have found it intriguing if your heart wasn’t pounding in your rib cage. The grip on your wrist remained firm, but it wasn’t painful. It gentleness of it scared you more than anything.

You caught the movement of his other hand in the corner of your eye which had moved to hover over your shoulder. You froze when you felt a gentle prick in the side of your neck. Tears stung at your eyes and fell down your cheeks as fear, and whatever drug he had just given you, made you unable to move. You weakly fought against his hold as your vision went blurry.

“Maybe I’ll see you again.” He murmured it softly to you, without an ounce of hostility lacing his words.

The hopeful tone in his voice was enough to strike horror into you before you blacked out.

————

The next day, you woke up with a pounding headache. Your mouth felt like it had been filled with cotton, and the back of your neck was so sore that you moaned as you lifted your head.

...You were in your office. Though only now the lights had been turned off, and sunlight streamed through the window beside you. Your jacket had been neatly folded into a makeshift pillow, though you felt something move on your back as you shifted.

“What the fuck...?” Vaguely, the first thought you had was that you had just gotten hammered last night and now you had a bitch of a headache. But you didn’t remember getting drunk last night, or even going to a bar.

Suddenly, you remembered. Falling asleep at work. The stranger in the alleyway. Your hand shot to your neck as you panicked. You couldn’t believe that you had somehow gotten drugged and placed back in your office. Had he done anything to you while you were unconscious? What was the purpose of drugging you and then putting you back in here?

You struggled to remember any specific details from your encounter despite trying your hardest. The memories were fuzzy and your mind was groggily functioning at best.

You sat up and quickly, or as quickly as you could manage, started checking your desk for anything out of place. Something fell from your shoulders. Twisting around, your eyes landed on a thick black coat that you didn’t recognize as yours. It had fallen into the space between the chair and your back, had it been put there as a makeshift blanket? Cautiously, you picked up the coat and held it out in front of you. It looked like an expensive brand, and it was clearly made both to keep someone warm and to look stylish. What was it doing here?

As you hastily searched and went through your office, you found that nothing was missing, and nothing had been moved. The only thing out of place was the black coat, currently sitting across your chair. You felt stupid for watching it wearily, but you couldn’t help the sense of unease that came with knowing someone had brought it in here while you were unconscious. It was evident that you hadn’t dreamed up the encounter, at least.

Hearing a knock at the door, you jumped, being startled out of your thoughts. Your coworker pushed open the door, not bothering to wait for a response from . Without looking up at you, they started “Hey, have you done the report on-“ They stopped once they took in your disheveled appearance. You could only imagined how you looked right now. You were still wearing the same clothes from yesterday and the sudden intake of unsettling information had left you a bit shaken.

“...Is everything okay? Did-did you sleep here?”

“I’m calling in sick.” Glancing back, you snatched the coat from your desk and left the building in a rush.

————

You practically sprinted all the way to your apartment. The burning feeling in your legs distracted you from the terrifying implication of what you had found in your office. You clumsily pushed your keys into the lock with shaky hands, trying to control the ever rising panic in your chest.

Swinging the door open, you clambered through the doorway and shut the door behind you with a little too much force. Heaving, you let out a groan and slid back against the door.

A bitter part of wanted to laugh. The irony and embarrassment of the situation crawled into your addled brain for a moment, though you quickly dismissed it. You shouldn’t blame yourself for being a decent person.

The most you could do was file a report and notify your superiors, but after that? He didn’t seem to do anything drastic. Not that knocking someone out is morally correct, but he had brought you back seemingly unharmed. Nothing was stolen, and you couldn’t really do anything to a man you couldn’t find.

Sighing, you peeled your back from the door and sagged as your tired feet took on all your weight.

Purposely slouching, you carried yourself to your bedroom and fell onto the bed, mentally and physically exhausted.

You mournfully gazed at the clock on your dresser. It was a little past midday. Sunlight streamed into the room through a small window, so you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to be comforted by the pleasant warmth. You rolled over, fully prepared to lay in bed for the rest of the day, until your hand brushed something on your nightstand. It was soft but slightly rubbery, a texture different from the hard case of your phone or the cool metal of a lamp. You reluctantly peeled your eyes open and looked over in confusion.

Lying on your nightstand was gauze. Regular, white medical gauze. A new roll that looked to be untouched, like it had always been in that spot, you just hadn’t noticed. You certainly hadn’t put it there. Suddenly more alert, you snatched the roll up, holding it tightly as you stared in disbelief. Something fluttered towards the floor.

Warily, you looked to the source of the noise. A small card had landed innocently on your apartment floor. The white card stock gave off a formal look, which was further enhanced by the neat cursive written on the front. You bent over seconds after it hit the ground.

You scoffed as you realized the swooping lines formed two initials: T.S.

You opened the card.

“A small way of paying you back.”

You released a shakily exhale, rereading the neat handwriting in hopes that you could find another explanation. You didn’t want to believe that he had somehow gotten in your home, if you did you would surely panic and turn into a paranoid mess. Still, your heart raced. Your eyes began to water. Something was constricting the heart in your chest.

Bouncing off the bed, you marched down the hallway. Both the card and the gauze were shoved far back into a drawer until you could no longer see the cursive writing in your mind. Each lock in the house was checked, every alarm was reset, and any exit was closed off as well as it could be on short notice.

After running around the small space for an hour, you felt slightly more secure. Part of you knew that if he really really wanted to get to you he would- but at least then you’d be able to call the cops. Now you were just stuck. Not knowing if you should give into paranoia and keep up your guard or hope this was all he wanted from you. For you to accept a token of his appreciation.

As waves of fear crashed over you, you vaguely hoped that this would the last you would ever hear of him. He was just an odd man with an odd way of thanking people, which included breaking into someone’s house just to reimburse them for a momentary action of kindness.

You stumbled back to your bedroom after eating a short dinner and fitfully slept, although barely, with the lights on that night.

————

You had fallen into a routine for the past week or so. Wake up, check every inch of your living space, eat, and then go to work. Though you had started it as a precaution that initially filled you with a slight fear that you would find something, like another polite roll of gauze or a misplaced note with elegant handwriting, it became a chore that made you feel a bit silly. You counted it as progress that you now idly threw your bathroom shower curtain back with an air of boredom while wielding a spatula rather than your usual determined scowl. It still freaked you out, but now you were becoming more and more sure that he wouldn’t come back. You almost felt safe enough to stop the whole routine completely, but then a picture of a man in an alleyway compelled you to check under your bed just one more time before leaving.

Walking into the hero agency building, your feet begrudgingly carried you to your office. You had gotten more work as of late, so everyday dragging yourself out bed seemed to become more of a challenge. Some fire and ice big shot had decided to visit your side of town, and though he was well known as an infamous villain, you were mostly annoyed at him for making your work almost double in difficulty.

The air was uncommonly tense as you stepped on your floor. Everything was quiet. No one seemed to move and most turned to watch you as you walked out of the elevator. You warily ignored the worried glances from your colleagues, though the one who had barged into your office a week ago called out in a weak voice.

“Y-Y/n, wa-“ Someone harshly shushed him. Slowing, you felt a familiar pit of anxiety form in your stomach, though before you could ask what was wrong, you noticed the cool temperature of the room. Without your coat, it would’ve been freezing. Your footsteps, now heavy and fearful, halted as you saw the source.

There was a thin sheen of ice covering your office door. It was disturbing to see how it stood out from all the others, those being nearly untouched by the gleaming frost that wrapped itself around the once pristine wood almost coldly.

Your coworker, the same one who had tried to warn you before, spoke up. “H-He only wants to see you, (Y/n).”

He?

Everyone was looking at you. Staring at you, with so many different emotions. Some were fearful, for you or for themselves it didn’t matter, some stared with a mix of confusion and terror, and some stared with hostility, blaming you for bringing in whoever was behind that door. Everyone stopped, waiting for you to go in. You had a sinking feeling in your chest, and ironically the fear was the only thing keeping you from hyperventilating because you couldn’t move. You had an idea of who was beyond that door and you didn’t want to move, didn’t want to be the person to resolve whatever he had come here for.

Though, like on that night, your feet were already moving for you. Moving, moving, moving, until they stopped and you were already reaching out for the crystallized handle. It froze there. The cool ice melted under your sweaty hand, but the metal was still cold to the touch. You forced yourself to push down.

You swiftly opened the door and slid yourself inside, eyes to the ground as the door closed behind you with a threatening click. You saw only carpet, no flash of black or a mix of white or red. The silence stayed, so much so that for a moment you could convince yourself there was no one else in the room.

“Were you not expecting my visit?”

The deep voice was recognizable even if this was the second time you had heard it. Your eyes flitted upward, and you came face to face with the same two-toned hair man that you had saved a week ago. You nervously huffed, a sound you didn’t register coming out of your own mouth.

“...No. No, you were the last person I was expecting to see today. Actually, I didn’t expect to see you again. Ever.” So why couldn’t you keep it that way?

His eyes roamed over you briefly, contemplating, it seemed, over what, you could guess. The man walked around your desk, stalking towards you with an air of confidence he lacked in your previous encounter. You craned your head up to look at him as he got closer to you. You could do nothing but keep your hands firmly on the cool metal of the handle.

His hand reached to float above your face and you suppressed the urge to flinch. It came to rest on your cheek, his fingers curling around your face to press against your bottom lip as the others rested under your chin.

“You’re afraid.”

The bluntness of his voice was laughable in this situation, and you couldn’t help the retort, slightly amazed and dazed in nature, that slipped out.

“Because there’s a villain standing in my office.” And he’s not killing me.

His eyes took in your wide-eyed expression, breath hitching as his hand, the one not caressing you, wrapped around your wrist and tugged, only to pull you around and settle you against the desk. You could no longer feel the cool, comforting metal under your hands. They balled into your coat simply to have something to grip onto.

With you leaning against the desk, he now seemed to tower over you even more, his face hovering closely above yours with a thoughtful expression on his face. He seemed to be aware of your fear, of the absolute terror he was inflicting on everyone around you, and he took it with grace.

“...I wanted to thank you. Properly.”

The gauze and the paranoia was enough, thanks. That’s what you wanted to say. Any words that you could muster would only come out in a whisper, though, and you did not trust yourself to speak as his fingers pressed harder into your lip and hovered so, so close to your neck.

His lips were now dangerously close to you, and you could feel his breath bouncing off of yours in short, controlled puffs. He was not afraid to meet your gaze as his hand tilted your head up to put you impossibly closer to him.

“I think it’s only fair,” The room seemed to fade, all you could see was mix of brown and cyan. “...Don’t you?”

When your lips met, you cringed as your eyes closed. They were surprisingly soft, you could taste the mint that he seemed to faintly smell of, though the almost forceful press of his lips was not something you were expecting. A tingle shot up your spine as he moved his body to mold into yours, his chest covering you as your hands remained clutching your coat. His lips moved with yours and you responded almost instinctively, and though the kiss was brief you were still out of breath and panted as he released you. Is this why he sought you out? Because-

“So that’s it...it’s because- Because I’m entertaining?”

He chuckled. “Sort of. I see you. I want you. You’re an intriguing little thing, would you let me seek you out as I see fit?”

You didn’t really have a choice in this situation, and he knew that.

“You can call me Shouto, darling.”

————

[unluckyhoneybee]

Enough time (Daniel Ricciardo)

The pressure from the season have given Danny some problems. Gladly, you have always been a good friend. Smut.

Note: this is soft Danny and nothing more because he needs love. Soft Danny is very much needed in general.

Warning: +18. Sub!Danny. Bl*wjob. Face riding. Penetrative s*x.

Danny was just starting his break as was grumpier than ever. Blake, Michael and I were watching him, tossing around and cursing under his breath.

We were waiting for him, ready to take a plane to some island and enjoy the first break days before going to our homes. We were his little support team and needed some time to relax and be together outside a track or with work involved.

"I can't find the passport" He groaned.

I giggled and looked up at Mike. He was looking at the ceiling and wasn't breathing while Blake was trying to hide behind me.

"Why are you three laughing?"

"You hand" You told him.

He looked at his tattooed hand and blushed. He had the passport there.

"Fuck... Don't laugh. You are all fired. Let's go" He left the apartments and got alone in the elevator while the three of us had a little laugh attack.

On the plane, he put his headphones on and didn't speak for a while. I was sitting next to him and tried to get some jokes out of him, but nothing. The Danny Ric we knew was nowhere to be seen.

The flight was long and soon the other fell asleep.

"Dan, hey"

He looked at me and pushed back his headphones.

"You can talk to me, you know that, right?"

He gave me a tight smile and nodded.

"I know"

"Fine" I squeezed his hand.

"You can use me as a pillow" He said softly.

I giggled but laid my head on his shoulder anyway.

..........................

Three days into our holidays, Daniel was still grumpy as an old man. And oh, it was frustrating. We just wanted to get out of the racing stress, we just wanted him to relax. But no. He spent the whole time groaning.

"Hey" Mike pushed him with his knee. We were all sitting in the beach, a sweet drink in hand and having just come out of the water. All but him. He was on his phone. "Stop playing with your phone, we are on Maldivas, mate"

Daniel scoffed and looked up.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to have fun" Michael said.

"I'm having fun. Look" He gave us a super fake smile.

"Dan. C'mon. Tell us what is going on" Blake pressed.

"Nothing is going on!"

Daniel was getting flustered by each second, his chest and face turning read and his eyes avoiding us.

"Dan. Is it the team? Did Zak said something to you?" Michael sat closer and touched his shoulder, making Daniel pull away fast.

I frowned.

"It has nothing to do with that!"

"Mate... The season..."

"It's not about fucking racin, shit! I haven't fucked anyone in months!" Daniel exploded and the three of us gasped. "I haven't had sex in months and I'm so horny all the time."

He was furiously blushing and Mike, Blake and I shared and uncomfortable look.

"Fine. There you have it. It's so fucking embarrassing" Danny got up and walked to the sea.

"I wasn't expecting this" Blake muttered.

"Yeah" I said looking at Danny, who was now waist deep in the water. "I thought he..."

"Yes"

He had met so many girls on this last months. Each race weekend, dozens of girls tried to get to him on clubs. I just assumed that he had got some sex. He was Daniel Ricciardo after all.

"Tonight, we are getting him a girl." Michael decided.

.....................

Night came and I hadn't stopped thinking about Danny. There was something on the pitch of my stomach and I couldn't stop thinking about how he should be feeling. A shitty half season, a shitty car, an asshole boss plus not having sex on months.

Michael and Blake were convinced about getting him a girl for the night. We would go to a party and they were sure that there would be lots of girls in there.

But when I walked down the stairs and found Danny wearing only sport shorts and drinking a beer in front of the TV, I knew that I wouldn't happen.

"Hey." I said softly as I walked to him. I touched his shoulder and he squirmed. "Sorry"

I retreated my hand and sat next to him.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded, picking the paper on the beer bottle.

"Don't be ashamed, okay? We won't judge you"

Daniel looked at me and bit his lip.

"I was just trying to focus on racing. I almost got it with some girls. But I... I couldn't."

He looked down at his crotch and I bit my lip. Oh.

"I'm even considering seeing a doctor because I'm fucking 33."

"It can happen, you know? It has been stressful. Just use this days to relax. And you will get it to work again"

He sighed.

"Don't tell them" He whispered.

"I won't." I touched his tattooed leg. "Are you coming tonight?"

He looked at me and lift an eyebrow.

"To the party, Dan."

He chuckled.

"No. I... I want to stay"

"Okay." I leaned and kissed his cheek like a grandma would do, giving him so many kisses and keeping him in place with my hand. He ended up laughing and trying to push me away. "Things will get better, you'll see"

On the party, I could stop either. He was probably alone at the villa, thinking about some pretty girl or watching some disgusting p*rn, trying to get something but not being able to.

I felt my panties dampen as I drank from my beer. Dan probably didn't need a random girl fucking him. He needed to be taken care of.

"Mike"

He turned to me. He was talking to some brunette.

"I'm leaving. Tell Blake"

"Leaving?"

"Yeah. No questions"

He just nodded.

................................

I opened the door slowly and sighed. He was still there, the same beer bottle on the table and a half eaten pizza on a plate. There was a tiny water bottle too and some stupid film on TV.

"Hey"

He turned his face.

"Hi"

I closed the door.

"Why so soon?"

I shrugged.

"I didn't feel like being there thinking of you here alone."

He chuckled.

"Were you thinking of me?"

I bit my lip and walked a bit closer. He took a deep breath.

"I can help you, Danny"

He opened his mouth and stared at me.

"Only if you want." I whispered and reached my hand to him.

"How?"

"I will need you to trust me"

"I do"

"Then come with me"

He slowly nodded and took my hand. I felt the nerves setting then. I wanted him to feel good. I wanted him to have what he had missed all this time.

I guided him to my bedroom. His hand was tightly wrapped around mine.

I closed the door behind him and locked it.

"You can leave. I'm not trapping you or something. I just don't want Blake or Mike coming in here"

He laughed and nodded.

"It's fine"

We were finally there, alone and together and I would make him feel great.

"Do you trust me?"

I grabbed both of his hands and pulled him closer. He breathed through his nose and then licked his lips. His eyes roamed all over my face.

"Yes"

"Do you want me to make you feel good?"

"Fuck, yes" He answered out of breath.

"How long has it been?"

"5 months and 6 days."

I bit my lip. That was a lot.

"Okay, that's enough time... I'm gonna make you feel good today" I cupped his chin with two fingers and kissed his cheek, then the corner of his lips. He pressed his forehead on mine gently and his finger ran over mine.

"Please..." He begged

That was all I needed. I pulled him in for a kiss. I started with soft pecks. I wanted it to be slow and take my sweet time with him. I wanted him to enjoy.

"I'm in charge here, Danny. If you want to stop. We stop. If it's to much. We slow down or stop. You are safe here, Danny. Okay?"

He nodded.

I pecked his lips back and then pulled his hands and guided him to the bed.

Daniel sat and I tapped his legs so he would open them, then I walked between them. He looked up at me, his mouth half open and his cheeks already pink.

"Tell me, Danny. How much do you want this?"

"So bad"

"So bad?"

He nodded.

"So... Are you gonna be a good boy for me?"

"Yes, YN"

I smiled at him, feeling my cheeks warming and my pulse getting faster.

"Yeah? Can you untie this for me?"

I turned and he pulled instantly the thin straps of my dress. It fell on the floor and he gasped.

Then I turned and his eyes landed on my chest. He swallowed.

The heat was pooling on my panties. His pupils were big, he was excited. I wanted to get him there, where he couldn't take it anymore.

So I took my bra off and he licked his lips. It made me smile because he desired me too.

I put my finger on his forehead, gently playing with a wild curl that had fallen. Then I went to his eyebrow and followed its shape to his cheek. A few days long beard scratched my fingertip. He was beautiful.

"You are really handsome, Danny"

He bit his lip. Oh those lips. I leaned and kissed them, sucking on them and tasting him properly. He moaned on my mouth and I grabbed the back of his neck, deepening the kiss and slowly dragging my tongue over his. He tasted so fucking good.

I pulled back but Daniel kep his eyes closed, giving me an idea.

"Don't move"

Turning around, I opened my bag, looking for a bandana and something else I could use. I came back to him, who was devouring me with his eyes.

"Can I blindfold you?"

He nodded.

"Words, Danny"

"Yes"

I gave him another kiss and then signaled him to lay on the bed. He sat on the middle of the bed and I crawled until I was between his open legs. I looked down between them. Still nothing.

Daniel cleared his throat and I felt stupid. He looked uncomfortable.

"Sorry... It's..."

"Hey." I cupped his cheeks. "We will take it slow. Okay?"

He nodded. Talkative and energetic Daniel was slowly letting himself fall. He was slowly giving up all control.

"Okay" He whispered. "Can I touch you?"

"Not yet."

I gave him a kiss and showed him the bandana.

"Close those beautiful Eyes"

He smiled and blushed as I covered his eyes. It was so nice to see him smiling. It made my hear clench.

I covered his eyes and then stroked his cheeks.

"How does it feel?"

"Better than I thought" He whispered.

"So nice."

I put all the pillows I could get around him and then pressed his chest.

"Hey, lay back baby"

Daniel obeyed, sighing when his head rested on them. He looked so good, blindfolded, half dressed and fully on display only for me to enjoy.

"You are so pretty, Daniel. So handsome. This tattoos..." I ran my nails up his chest to his arm, earning a soft gasp from here. "This neck..." I stroked his pulse point with my thumb and he pressed his mouth in a thin line. "And oh baby, these lips..." I leaned and lick them.

Danny opened his mouth and looked for mine, tongue slightly reaching to touch mine. I gave him that, sucking on his tongue and playing with mine. He moaned.

"I want you to only think of me, Danny. It's just us now. Okay?" I whispered on his lips.

"Yes"

I gave him one more kiss before retreating.

"W-where are you going?"

"I'm right here."

I walked around the bed and gently touched his legs, going up his thighs until I found the elastic of his shorts.

"Is it okay if I take them of?"

"Yes."

Daniel swallowed as I started pulling them down his legs. He wasn't wearing underwear. I bit my lip. He was hot. He was so hot.

Once I got rid of the trousers, I didn't waste a second. I attacked his thigh. I started kis soft kisses on his knee. Then a bite on the flower tattoo. He gasped and moved a bit.

"C-can I move?"

"You better not. Keep your hands over your head baby."

He obeyed. "Good boy"

I ran the tip of my tongue over the ink lines, following them. He opened his legs for me. I stroke the inside of his thighs, getting closer to his crotch and he moaned. His member twiched already semi hard. I bit my lip. I was getting it.

I bit down the flesh again and he groaned.

"Does it feel good?"

"Yes"

I smiled and found a gap between his tattoos, sucking the skin and thinking about the mark I would leave there.

Daniel had started whimpering with each bite, and now that I was sucking his skin, it was becoming more intense.

I was feeling my panties getting wetter. It was a lot. He was so perfect.

I kept leaving wet kisses up his thigh to his hip, biting once again the soft skin in there. My nose bruised the trimmed hair over his member and he gasped, his hips bulking trying to get closer to my mouth.

"Patience, Danny. I will gave it to you. Just wait a bit"

He swallowed hard.

I kissed the base of his member and he moaned. He was finally hard and ready for me to take him.

"See? You just need to relax" I said caressing his lower abdomen with both of my hands.

"I- I need you"

I trapped his nipple with my lips and he whined.

"Please. I need you so bad"

I pinched his other nipple and he panted.

"What do you need?"

"You"

"My mouth?" I whispered on his lips before running my tongue over them.

"Yes. Yes please."

I brushed his nose with mine before leaving another wet kiss on his lips. He moaned on my mouth and tried to slid his tongue in. I pulled back and kissed his cheek.

I reached down and ran my finger over him, from base to tip. His whole body tensed and his fingers grabbed into the headboard. Abs, arms, neck,... All muscles perfectly carved by Gods. (Or by Michael Italiano)

"Please, YN. I have been good". He begged.

"You have, right?" I grazed my fingers over his neck and he nodded. "Waiting for so long. You deserve this, Daniel. You have been so good. Driving that shitty car every race and accepting their rude words with a smile."

I kissed him softly and he whimpered.

"Please"

I wrapped my fingers around the base and spit on it.

"I'm gonna make you feel so good. You deserve it, right? Do you?"

"I deserve it"

I bit my lip he was beautiful, he was perfect and he was good.

I leaned and kissed his tip. He gasped and pushed his hips forward.

"Shh"

I started with slow hand movements, warming him up. He was red and swollen, leaking and just waiting for me.

"It feels so good. So much better than my own hand" He whispered.

"Thank you, Danny"

I kissed the tip again before giving him a tentative lick. Then another and another. Soon I found myself bobbing my head up and down, listening to his soft moans and getting lost on how much he was enjoying.

My hand was on his balls, massaging them while I pushed him down my throat.

"Oh, fuck. You are so good. So so good"

I pulled back smiling, although he couldn't see me. He was making me blush. He was so receptive.

"It's feels so good"

I switched to jerk him slowly, pressing my fingers around the tip while I mouthed his balls. He groaned when I liked a long stripe up. Then sucked again.

Daniel left a high pitched moan out, sign that he would cum soon. But no. I wanted it to last longer. He had waited for so long, he could wait longer.

So I pulled back. He gasped and tried to reached me with his hands.

"YN, please"

I grabbed them.

"No, baby. Put them over your head."

I kissed his palm and pushed them.

"I want to cum, YN. I need it so bad."

"I want you to do something for me, please" I said feeling goosebumps on my skin.

"Yes. Tell me. Please."He sounded so desperate and needy.

"Could you use this pretty mouth?" I said sitting on his abdomen and running my thumb over his bottom lip. "Could you use it on me?"

"Yes."

Gently, he run the tip of his tongue over my fingertip.

I pulled back and took my underwear off before straddling his head. His hands grabbed hard on my thighs. I was shivering.

"Show me that tongue"

And he did. When finally his mouth met my core, I let a moan out. It felt like heaven. Moving my hips back and forth, I rode his face, letting him do his best job on me as he licked, kissed and sucked.

"Oh Danny, yes baby. You are doing so good"

His nose, that nose, was brushing my clit with each movement and oh fuck, it felt amazing.

My hands were on his hair and on his chest, keeping him close and steadying my movements. At some moments, I doubted if he was breathing or not. But fuck, he was so willing to make me feel good.

"Yes, Danny. Keep going, baby" I was feeling my orgasm building fast. I wanted it soon. I was desperate for it. Thoughts about Danny and helping him this way had been on my mind since he confessed his secret on the beach.

Danny was sloppy, almost making out with my core as he tried to please my. His tongue made wonders on my and his lips felt like heaven.

"Give me you hand" He reached his hand for me and I took it to my breast, guiding him and showing exactly how I wanted it. "That's it, good boy"

He moaned.

I was in heaven. I was riding Daniel Ricciardo's face and I had him at my complete mercy. It was the best feeling ever. I was feeling euphoric. And then the orgasm hitted and I almost fall.

"Oh, fuck. Fuck. Keep going. Please. Keep going" I didn't stopped moving until that feeling went away. Then, the only thing I could do, was sitting on the bed next to him.

When I looked down at his body, I swear I could have come again. He was sweating, blushing and his face was covered on my juices. He was panting.

Then his hand grabbed mine and it took my breath away.

"Don't go... I need you"

"No... I won't. I'm here" I kissed his knuckles and climbed on him. "I'm right here. Do you wanna cum?"

"Yes. Yes, please."

I kissed him once again. Enjoying my taste on his mouth. His hands were grabbing my hips.

"I'm gonna ride you. Do you want me to?" I said sliding the condom on him.

"Fuck, yes. Yes, please."

I kissed him again and reached down. Slowly, I pushed down. I gasped, feeling him filling me.

"Oh fuck, Danny. You feel so good. You fill me so well"

I was bitting my lip, my hands were on his chest and he was grabbing on my wrists.

"Oh. You feel so good. You feel so good, YN. Oh fuck" He was probably sensitive, the previous ruined orgasm had left him even more desperate.

I started with slow movements. Danny was moaning and his legs were tense. He was trying to thrust up on me.

"Shh, baby. It's okay."

"Please, please."

I touched her face, feeling him nuzzling into my palm.

"You are so pretty, Dan."

He felt amazing in me, and by the way he was reacted, he was enjoying as much.

Daniel needed it so much that it took him only a couple of minutes. When he was almost there, chanting only my name, trying to grab into me.

"YN, I want to see you. Please"

I moved faster and grabbed the blindfold and pull it from his eyes.

He came a second later, grabbing into me and moaning high. I kept riding him, letting him enjoy his high.

Suddenly he pressed his hands on my waist.

"Stop, stop please" He looked into my eyes. His were glassy and his breath was ragged.

I did. Sliding off him. "Oh fuck" I sat next to him and tried to recover my breath. "Are you okay?" I asked him cupping his cheek.

He looked into my eyes and nodded. Then closed them and leaned into me.

"You did so good, Danny." I kissed his forehead and his cheeks. "I'm so proud of you"

He nodded slowly. He was going numb, loosing slowly the streght. He closed his eyes.

"Can I clean you?"

"Mhm"

I tried to be fast and not let him along for long. I cleaned myself and then wet a towel.

I found him just as I had left him laying on the bed with his eyes on the ceiling.

"Hey" I knelt next to him and he looked at me. "You look pretty"

He smiled and reached to touch my face. I kissed his palm and took the condom off, then cleaning him. He whimpered.

"Sorry, too sensitive" He said with a hoarse voice.

I chuckled.

"It's okay."

I cleaned him carefully, whipping the sweat and other fluids away. I kissed his cheek, then his neck and then his shoulder as he threaded his fingers on my hair.

I looked at him and saw his lip trembling.

"Danny?"

He closed his eyes.

"What do you need, Danny? Tell me"

I cupped his cheeks.

"Hold me."

I laid on the bed and he cuddled into me, his whole body wrapped around me. I pulled him closer and covered him with the sheets.

"It's okay. I'm here." I gave him a bunch of kisses around the face.

"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you so much"

"It's okay" I pecked his lips. "Did you like it?"

"Fuck yes. I hadn't come so hard in ages"

I laughed and hugged him closer. I was feeling so good, so satisfied. This was exactly what I wanted.

I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Thank you, YN"

"It's nothing. You are a really good boy"

I looked down at him. He was blushing.

"Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course, baby"

"And..." He cleared his throat. "Can we repeat it sometimes?"

It was me blushing now.

"You liked it that much?"

"I couldn't even get hard before."

I kissed his forehead.

"You just have to not think about your shit"

"I know. It was just nice thinking of you"

I kissed his lips because I was unable to say anything else.

........................

I was eating cereal when Danny appeared.

"Good morning!"

Mike and Blake shared a look.

"What? Not angry anymore?"

"I hope you didn't tire your hand too much. We have work for today"

I almost choke. Daniel laughed and sat next to me.

"I didn't have to use my hand much" That's all he said.

I laughed and leaned to kiss his cheek. The idiot had to be cute but also funny.

"What is this about?" Blake asked.

"Wait!" Michael looked at us with realization. Danny and I just laughed.

I was feeling so good, so happy. And now Danny had his hand on my leg and he was looking down at me with so much love on his eyes.

OMG. This was my first time writing a Dom POV. I hope it's good!!! Feedback is welcome!!

[mochinek0]

2021:18-Mended

To say the Bats were shocked was an understatement. In the Batcave, sat Marinette on her legs, mending their suits. Robin was the first to move. Carefully, he approached her.

"Angel?" he spoke.

"Hmm?" Marinette questioned, not even glancing his way.

"Are you...awake?" he asked her.

Marinette finally turned and looked at him. He could see the exhaustion rolling off of her in waves. She had 'panda eyes', as she fondly called them. Marinette yawned and continued to sew his cape.

"Finally sleepy." she murmured, "Finished Jagged and Clara's outfits for the gala."

"How much coffee have you had?" Robin questioned, kneeling down next to her.

Marinette froze, trying to think of a number.

"What day is it?" she asked instead.

The young vigilante flinched. He knew he had been busy, but he hadn't expected her to dig herself into a fashion pit.

"Habibiti, what day did you start the outfits?" he pressed.

"Monday." she spoke, continuing her work.

"It's Thursday." he growled out.

"Then Sunday is when I started drinking coffee. That's when I started the designs and zoom conferences." Marinette answered.

Robin stood up, took a deep breath and let it out. Slowly he walked away, regulating his breathing, and began to unmask. When he got back from changing, he found no one had moved.

Their eyes turned towards the elevator as it descended and open to reveal Alfred. They expected Agent A to worry about their safety and that protocol had been breached, but he only moved closer to the young lady.

"Are you quite done, young miss?" the butler asked.

Marinette yawned and answered, "Yes. Thank you, Alfred."

He could feel the gaze of the young masters on him, but they would eventually get their answers.

"Tikki, did you finish eating?" Mari spoke, out loud.

From out of Agent A's coat flew out a red creature.

"Yes! All done." it answered in a high-pitched voice.

"I also made sure to get you a heating blanket. Miss Tikki informed me of your tendency to 'hibernate' should you get too cold." Alfred spoke.

Mari sighed, "Right." as she finished Robin's cape.

Damian picked her up the moment she set his cape down.

"We'll speak of everything in the morning, Angel." he declared.

Marinette didn't answer him. Instead, she curled up in his arms, yawned, and proceeded to fall asleep. Tikki shook her head and flew over to Damian, taking a seat on his shoulder.

"Will she be alright?" Nightwing asked.

"She might sleep well into the afternoon or dinnertime." the red bug replied.

"At least, I don't have to force her to sleep when she's done with her work." Damian stated.

"It's the creative bursts that take their toll." Tikki winced.

Damian nodded and walked away, holding his not-so-civilian girlfriend and her magical bug.

The Waynes looked at Alfred, as the couple took the elevator up.

Batman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "An explanation, please."

"The young miss is of no danger to any of us." Agent A stated, "She found the cave, but is disoriented."

"She fixed the suits! What do you mean disoriented?" questioned Red Hood.

"She is much like Red Robin, when there is a case that needs to be solved. Sewing comes naturally to her. She was half-asleep; muscle memory, if you will." the butler explained.

"Will she remember the cave?" asked Nightwing.

"I am unsure, but I have no doubt that you will all question her. May I remind you that she has a low tolerance to liars and should she ask, Lady Tikki will answer her. She has no loyalty to this family, only to the young miss." Agent A concluded.

"Continue as routine." Batman declared, "Suits off and to bed."

They knew they could trust Mairnette. Damian trusted her and that was all that mattered. Thy knew she had changed since she had met Damian; she was more open. He had mended her heart after everything that happened to her in Paris. Damian had changed the most. She had mended his heart from the damage Talia had caused.

@maribat-calendar-events

PERMANENT TAGLIST:  @animeweebgirl​ @animegirlweeb​ @abrx2002​ @blueblossombliss​ @thepaceperson​ @alysrose-starchild​ @marveldcedits20​ @09shell-sea09​ @nickristus-dreamer​ @saltymiraculer​ @icerosecrystal​ @vixen-uchiha​ @a-star-with-a-human-name​ @meme991001​ @fandom-trapped-03​ @dood-space​ @moonlightstar64​ @insane-fangirl-of-everything

[whimsicalworldofme]

Saving Grace: Chapter Thirty-Five

The calm and routine of daily life is disrupted when a tabloid gets hold of some pictures of Grace, leaving her to face a problem and have a conversation with her family, and Steve that she'd been trying to avoid.

Just a few more weeks and Steve’s home for good, Grace thought happily as she rode down the elevator to the office she kept on the same floor as Pepper’s in the tower. Despite the fact that she’d had it for several years, she still never felt like she deserved it. Pepper liked having her right across the hall though, so that she could bring Grace in on projects, letting her continue to get a feel for how the business ran, and allowing them to chat about her ongoing projects and easily share lunches.

Steve was due to arrive that night, since it was his weekend to come to her and she was nervous. Despite having to be somewhat long distance again, life was going remarkably well, maybe a bit too well. Things had been calm with the Avengers, so they didn’t have many missions pulling them away, which meant more time with her dad, which was always great. She and Harry had made their pitch to Pepper and Tony together the month prior and now their foundation, to provide people prosthetics and assistive devices, and the maintenance for them, at absolutely no cost, was in the startup process.

“You didn’t have to give a presentation,” Tony had insisted after they had given their long thought-out and well-crafted pitch, which included a PowerPoint, cost analysis, and the like. “You’re my kid. You want to start a charitable foundation, just ask me straight up for the money.”

“Dad, I want money to start a charitable foundation,” she stated.

“Give me an amount and I’ll have a check for you in the morning.”

It was as simple as that. They were partnering with Stark Industries for production and had been given a whole floor of office space in the tower for free. Grace popped down there to the fifth floor regularly to perform her duties as co-chair. Harry had made plans to move up to the city in the next year to help run things with her, once he found a suitable replacement for his practice in Tennessee. There was plenty to do, so Grace dove right in. Sipping from her reusable water bottle, she worked diligently in silence for hours until her father slipped into her office, unannounced and shut the door behind him.

“Dad, hey,” she smiled, seeing him holding something behind his back. She wondered if maybe he’d bought theatre tickets for them again. Last time he’d dropped by unannounced he’d scored tickets to Hamilton. “What brings you down here?”

Without a word, he tossed a tabloid onto her desk, sending papers skittering. She grabbed the loose papers before they could float away and onto the floor.

“Dad,” she groaned slightly. “What’s going on?”

“Tony?” Pepper poked her head in the door, having seen him come into the office. “You can’t whisk Grace away today. We have a joint meeting after lunch.”

“I’m not…” he trailed off, looking from his girlfriend to his daughter. “Could you close the door, please?” He looked back to the redhead in the doorway.

“Sure,” Pepper frowned, clearly confused, as was Grace who plucked up the gossip magazine her father had slapped down on her desk. Pepper stepped fully into the office and shut the door behind her. Tapping the windows, she changed them from clear to opaque so that no one could see inside, a Stark innovation that was in every window in the building.

“Page twenty-seven,” Tony stated, dropping into a chair across the desk from Grace. “You might want to sit down for this, sweetheart.” He looked to Pepper who grew more alarmed, taking a seat beside him.

Grace grabbed the magazine and turned to page twenty-seven.

“Shit,” she nearly shouted. Her stomach turned when she saw a picture of herself on the page. A picture taken in a pharmacy two weeks prior. “How the hell did they get this?”

Her father had a brilliant PR team that worked around the clock to keep pictures of her out of magazines and off blogs. There were some that were allowed to get out, to help boost her and the family’s public image. Pictures of her and Tony doing cute father-daughter dates were always permitted, like when they had been caught by the paparazzi having gone into a Build-a-Bear on a whim because Grace saw they had Doctor Who bears. And of course, there were the pictures of the whole family attending events like the symphony, new exhibit openings at various museums around the city, and charity fundraisers. But Tony had the PR people work extra hard to make sure that Grace’s life remained as private as possible, which is why there were no photos of her and Steve anywhere public. There were rumors, but since no one could get photographic proof published, it was all dismissed as speculation. This would raise some questions she didn’t want to answer.

“How is this the one thing that slipped through?” Grace groaned.

“What is it?” Pepper asked, leaning across the desk and taking the magazine gently from her.

“I didn’t even read it,” Tony pressed his fingertips to his temples, trying to soothe himself.

“Oh boy,” Pepper exclaimed, seeing the photo. She began to read the description aloud. “Dr. Grace Turner, only daughter of billionaire philanthropist Tony Stark, more famously known as Iron Man, was spotted in a CVS purchasing multiple pregnancy tests.”

Grace groaned and held her head in her hands, elbows propped on her desk. She found a particularly fascinating pattern in the woodgrain to stare at.

“It has long been speculated that Turner is dating none other than Captain America, Steve Rogers,” Pepper continued. “Is it possible that a bouncing baby Avenger is in our future?”

“Fuck,” Grace spat, running her hands over her face. “How did they get this?”

“So, it is you…buying those…”

“Pregnancy tests, Dad,” she sighed when he couldn’t manage to string the question together. “Yes, it was me. It’s very obviously me in the picture. I’ve been feeling off, so I got tests.”

“I didn’t want to believe it,” he shook his head before staring up at the ceiling, slumping down in his seat.

“Grace,” Pepper’s gentle voice spoke up. She looked up and saw her father’s girlfriend’s soft, calm face, gently smiling in an “everything is going to be ok” sort of way. It made her feel momentarily at peace. While she didn’t seem as alarmed as Tony, Grace knew she had to have thoughts rolling through her mind at high speed as she assessed the situation. “Are you pregnant?”

“I don’t know,” she couldn’t meet Pepper’s gaze and let her eyes drop to the interesting pattern in her desk again. “I haven’t taken the tests yet.”

“Does Steve know?” Pepper continued.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Tony grumbled, making her roll her eyes.

It all felt overwhelming and the timing was just awful, which is why she hadn’t told anyone. Honestly, she’d been trying to forget all about it, hoping everything would resolve on its own. The idea of telling Steve had been daunting and she still hadn’t decided what to do exactly if she was pregnant.

Now is a really bad time for a baby. This isn’t how I wanted to have a baby.

“Grace?” Pepper pulled her out of her thoughts and when she looked up, she saw her watching her, gentle kindness in her eyes.

“No,” she shook her head. “I couldn’t figure out a good way tell him last time we were together and I honestly didn’t know if I should tell him before I even took the tests. I mean, there might not even be anything to tell.”

“I’m not gonna kill him, I’m going to castrate him,” Tony muttered, a murderous glint in his eye.

“Dad,” she frowned at him, getting him to pause momentarily from running his hand along his jawline. “It’s not like I’m sixteen and he knocked me up then disappeared. I’m twenty-seven and Steve and I have been in a committed relationship for years. And also, we don’t even know that he knocked me up.”

Tony leaned forward, letting out a growl as he propped his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands.

“I’m too young to be a grandfather,” he insisted. “I don’t even have gray hair.”

“Tell that to your standing monthly appointment with Deb and her bottle of hair dye,” Grace quipped.

Tony’s head shot up so he could glare at her as Pepper snorted in laughter. He looked between the two of them, Pepper struggling to fight back the giggles and Grace grinning wickedly.

“You’re out of the will,” he said, pointing at Grace, who laughed, before he turned to point at Pepper who was holding her chest as she laughed even harder. “You’re on thin ice too, Miss Potts.”

“I’m sorry,” Pepper gasped for breath, waving a hand and shaking her head. “But you walked right into that. Oh,” she struggled for breath. “Oh, she is your daughter, one hundred percent.”

“She’s my daughter and she’s too young to be having kids of her own,” Tony insisted.

“Dad, how old am I?”

“Twelve,” he stated firmly.

“Twelve for four years now,” Grace nodded and leaned back in her seat. “That must be a record. I think I should at least be sixteen by now.”

“Sixteen is still too young to be pregnant,” he pointed out, shifting in his chair to sit up a little straighter.

“We don’t even know if I am,” Grace felt herself breaking down at the stress of it all. “And even if I am, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Her eyes started burning and she sniffled, finally forced to take the time to mull the situation over, instead of keeping busy and ignoring it. She hadn’t wanted to think about this today and definitely hadn’t wanted to break down crying but there she was, trying to hold back little sobs as she held her head in her hands. Next thing she knew, a set of strong arms wrapped around her as Tony knelt beside her and cradled her close to his chest. Pepper stood on her other side, rubbing her back.

“I’m sorry,” she sputtered. “I just don’t know what to do. It’s not the right time to be pregnant.”

“Hey, hey,” Tony kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair. “It’s gonna be ok. I mean, I joke, you know, that’s my coping method, but if you’re gonna have a baby, Gracie, that can only be a good thing. You’d make an amazing mom. More of you in the world would only improve it. Even if it is half Rogers.”

Grace heard a thwack and a grunt and figured Pepper must’ve swatted him.

“No matter what, Grace, we’re here for you,” Pepper reassured her, still rubbing her back. “Why don’t we take an early lunch?” She suggested. “We can go upstairs and make grilled cheese and tomato soup.”

“You don’t like grilled cheese,” Grace whimpered.

“I can make an exception,” Pepper chuckled. “Come on.”

It took a minute for Grace to compose herself enough to leave the office, wiping her eyes. Luckily there were very few other people who worked on that floor of the office and none of them seemed to notice as Tony and Pepper bustled her into the elevator to go back home and stuff her face with comfort food. Fortified with food, Grace felt calmer and insisted on facing the rest of her day as planned. It wasn’t easy, keeping her mind on track.

Would Steve have seen the picture? She couldn’t help but wonder. It had gotten out online and was spreading. Is he going to be upset I didn’t tell him right away? Mad?

The weekend visit she had been so looking forward to that morning had become a stressor by the end of the day. At the end of the work day, she went up to the penthouse and retrieved the tests from where she’d hidden them in her bathroom and headed back down to Steve’s apartment to wait for him. That was the plan anyway, the tests in a little brown paper bag, clutched in both hands behind her back as she bounced her weight from her heels to her toes. When the elevator doors opened though, Steve stood there waiting for her. A strange mangled expression marred his handsome face, something between sorrow, pain, and anger.

“We need to talk,” he said in a stern tone that made her want to hit the button back up to the penthouse.

Is he mad? She felt her stomach turn, but she nodded and stepped off the elevator, walking silently alongside him to his front door. He’s never really been angry with me before. God this is such a mess.

Steve opened the door and ushered her inside, shutting it again once they were both in. He walked past her as she lingered in the entryway, making his way to the living room and dropping heavily onto the couch. That same slouchy leather couch they’d sat on in Brooklyn during therapy sessions and in D.C. when they’d snuggle up together late into the night to talk about deep things long after movie night. She watched him rake the fingers of one hand savagely through his blonde hair as he sighed heavily. Turning his head, he scrunched his brow when he realized she hadn’t followed him and still stood at a distance.

“Grace, come here.”

The command came flat, but not cold. When she didn’t move, he got up and made his way back over to stand toe to toe with her, towering over her as he always did. He took her hands in his and looked her in the eye, his own solemn and pained.

“Have I ever given you reason to be afraid of me?” He asked gently, clearly worried. Something loosened in Grace’s chest and she shook her head no. “Then come sit down so we can talk.”

Grace nodded and allowed herself to be led over to the couch, where they sat on opposite ends, facing each other. She set the bag down on the coffee table and Steve eyed it warily. They sat in tense silence for a moment and she pulled a throw pillow into her lap, wrapping her arms tightly around it.

“Grace,” he finally spoke up, “why did I have to find out from a gossip rag that we might be having a baby?”

“Because some greedy asshole with a camera violated my privacy and another greedy asshole published the photos before I could figure out how to talk to you about it?”

Steve kept his head down, eyes focused on his hands as he wrung them in his lap. He nodded briefly.

“Why didn’t you tell me right away?” He asked, glancing up only with his eyes, his long doe lashes veiling them. “How long ago did you buy those?” He pointed at the bag. “I assume the tests are in there?”

“Two weeks ago,” she nodded and saw his shoulders droop. “I wanted to tell you, I did,” she insisted. “I didn’t know how, couldn’t work up the courage.”

A puzzled look replaced the sorrow and Steve cocked his head to one side, trying to make sense of what she’d said. Scooting closer, removing all distance from between them, he laid a hand on her knee and looked her in the eye.

“Grace, a baby is good news,” he let out a small, joyful laugh, his eyes bright. “Why would you be afraid to tell me?”

“Because I don’t know if I want a baby right now and I’ve been hoping it would just go away,” she blurted out and Steve recoiled as though she’d actually slapped him in the face, shock and pain mingling on his face once more. “Please don’t look at me like that,” she pleaded, feeling the tears start up again. “Don’t…it hurts me too, you know.”

“I don’t understand,” Steve blinked. “When we talked about the future, we agreed we both want kids.”

“Yeah, in the future,” she exclaimed. “Not this year, Steve! I’m heading up several projects at work, I’m starting a charity, not to mention I’ve got a slew of lectures scheduled at colleges around the country in the next few months. And you’ve got missions you’re running regularly, not including your jaunts with Sam to try to find Bucky, and new Avengers to train. It’s a terrible time to have a baby.”

“But if you’re pregnant…” he trailed off, unable to voice the thoughts in his mind, the thought that was on hers too. That a pregnancy didn’t need to turn into a baby if the timing wasn’t right. “Grace, it’s ultimately your decision what happens, but we should at least consider everything. I’d give anything to have a baby with you.”

“If I’m pregnant, I don���t think I’d want to have an abortion,” she allayed his fears. “I’m just…I’m not ready to give up my career,” she sniffed, eyes dropping to her lap. “I always thought when I had kids, I’d be at a place where I could comfortably put my career on hold. If we have a baby now and I walk away from my work, what if I end up resenting our child? And you?”

“Grace.” Steve shifted them around with his ridiculous superhuman strength before she even knew what he was doing. All she knew was somehow he had ended up sitting where she had been and she was now in his lap, cradled against his chest by his impossibly large arms. “We’re a team, remember?” He smiled gently down at her. “If we’re having a baby and you’re not ready to step away from work, then I will.”

“You will?” She stared at him.

“Absolutely,” he nodded. “I’m just a guy in a star-spangled suit,” he joked. “The team can get by without me for a while. I can’t save the world forever and being a dad seems like a very good reason to walk away from it.”

Grace laid her head on his chest and pulled in a deep breath, suddenly feeling silly for being so afraid of what would happen. Nestling into him she imagined life in the tower, Steve being a remarkable stay-at-home dad, their baby as a toddler running into her office to show her their latest crayon drawing, Christmases and birthdays, with obscene stacks of presents courtesy of her dad.

“Make me a promise?” Steve asked, brushing her hair back behind her ear. She looked up at him, questioning. “If this happens again, please tell me before you do anything else. You don’t have to go through any of this alone.”

“Promise,” she sighed. “I should probably deal with this, instead of hiding from it,” she added. “I really didn’t want to find out alone.”

“So, we’ll find out together.”

He kissed the top of her head and gingerly set her to her feet. Taking her by the hand, he snatched the bag off the coffee table with the other and pulled her towards the master bath. In a matter of minutes, they were staring at three different brands of pregnancy test, timers set on their phones, waiting to see what their future held.

“Why three?” Steve asked, glancing over at her, arms crossed over his chest.  

“If there’s one positive and one negative, the third is the decider,” she explained. “My roommate in med school taught me that one.”

He raised a brow at her, clearly wondering if she personally had used the method in the past, but before he could ask, the timers went off. They had set the tests on the bathroom counter face down so they couldn’t see the results right away.

“Ready?” Grace sucked in a deep breath and took hold of two while Steve took hold of the other and nodded. “One, two, three.”

They flipped them together and looked back and forth between all three to see if they matched.

“Negative,” Steve said, reading off the test in his hand before glancing over at hers.

“Negative and negative,” Grace held them over so he could see properly.

Despite it being the result she had hoped for, she felt her stomach sinking as she set the tests back down on the counter, heels of her hands holding the weight of her body as she leaned against them. Steve plucked up the tests and dropped them into the trash can before gently turning her to face him, hands on her hips as he held her close.

“Hey,” he looked sad too, but he smiled. “It wasn’t the right time, right?”

“Right,” she nodded, sniffling again, her bottom lip trembling.

“When the time’s right, we’ll have a baby,” he said. With a nod, Grace leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his chest. Steve wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked in the freezer we can split.”

“Sounds good,” she nodded. She took a deep breath as he took her by the hand and led her back out to the kitchen. She took a seat at the island while he went to retrieve the ice cream and spoons. “You know, I’m kind of glad things turned out this way. I have a feeling if I had been pregnant, you’d have fished out my engagement ring from wherever you’re hiding it and proposed right there in the bathroom. That’s not how I want to be proposed to.”

Steve froze, hand on the freezer door, looking back at her with a furrowed brow.

“What makes you think there’s a ring anywhere in this apartment?”

“Oh please,” Grace laughed. “I know you, Steven Grant Rogers.” She propped her chin in one hand, elbow resting on the countertop. “You went out and bought a ring immediately after my first trip to D.C. I’m just impressed you’ve managed to keep it hidden all this time.”

“You’ll never find it,” he confirmed her assessment, pulling open the freezer and nabbing the pint of ice cream. He pried the lid off as he came over to stand on the other side of the island from her. He set paper carton between the two of them and slid a spoon within her reach. “It’s somewhere you can’t reach.” His eyes sparked impishly. “I wouldn’t propose to you in the bathroom,” his eyes fell down to the ice cream, waiting for her to take a spoonful first before he dug in. “I have a plan and not even a baby could alter it enough for me to be on one knee next to the toilet.”

“I knew it,” she smirked. “Fortunately for you, I’m not the snooping type, so wherever it’s hidden, it’s safe, even if I had my stepstool in hand. It’s satisfaction enough to know I’m right,” she popped another bite of ice cream in her mouth.

“You’re wrong about one thing though,” he stated and she raised a brow. “I didn’t buy your ring the day after you left D.C.”

“Oh?” She asked, spoon going back into the carton for more.

“I bought it the day I first asked you to go out with me,” he said with a shrug. “Back in Brooklyn. I’d known for a few months then that I wanted to marry you someday.”

“Oh,” she felt warmth in her cheeks as an unstoppable smile lit her face.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Masterlist

Chapter Thirty-Six

[forcebook]

could u give me the elevator pitch for cherry magic 👀

as in why you should watch it?

oh babe, i’m terrible at explaining things but trust me when i say that cherry magic is one of THE best bls out there and so much more in itself.

like, it uses this japanese urban legend that you get to read people’s minds once you hit 30 and are still a virgin (now i know it sounds dumb, everyone thinks so at first, the actor who plays the main character thought so at first aldjskdjskdj) to create this whole narrative about loneliness, about insecurity, about appearances, about not having everything figured out at the age of 30, about friendship, about communication, about love, about how not everything is about romantic love, about dreams, about sincerity, about kindness, and it does so in one of the healthiest ways i’ve ever seen. like, you won’t find a bl less problematic than this akdjskdjsj

cherry magic set so many standards for the genre, while being funny as hell and sweet as hell and heartfelt as hell. literally it’s just so good. i cannot stress enough!!!

like. just watch it! don’t overthink it! and then thank me later ❤️

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - People of Earth we have VERSE rep in 2 Thai BLs! Amazeballs!

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

March 2024 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 2 of 8 (10?) - Everyone seems to be a bit of a player and I’m not mad about it. It’s nice to see high-grade flirting, and I really love how very gay the leads feel. Not BL gay. Actual gay. We shall see how it goes, I suspect we are in "messy gay" territory in which case, I predict utter carnage and that this show will drop ranks precipitously for me. But right now? Of all the Thai BLs airing, I'm enjoying this the most. How bizarre. 

I like the side couple (thrupple?) too, despite the prat fall kiss and possible cheating. They very pretty:

To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand grey) ep 4 of 8 - oh dear NO honeychild, face masks are gross tasting!

Rule no 966 of the BL world. He’s never asleep. 

Argh Achi wants Ji so bad. Nice mutual kiss tho, despite Ji's baggage. I guess Ji knew what would happen if Achi stayed? But why is he so scared? Just deeply closeted? The backstory is very high school achy and I feel like it explained Achi but not Ji. And the crying in the movie was lovely, so we totally understand Achi's but Ji is just messed up and confused? I admit to being a bit confused too. Why is Ji the one so angry?

On a totally different aside, I really like how the set dressing is done in Ji’s apartment. It looks lived in and not staged. Super rare in Thai BL. I'm reminded of Ai & Pond's dorm room in Love By Chance, which actually looked like a real college dorm.

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 7 of 12 - Why is it always the pulps that actually trot out the best communication, conversation, consent, and healthy relationships? Yes I'm still wincing over the truly bad acting but I’m enjoying their good relationship. The sex scene was sweet and tender, although the likelihood of rose petals getting stuck places wigs me out. (Flower petals + lube = terrible combination. Just FYI.)

ALL PRAISE VERSE REP! And a bottom who owns it! Yay! 

1000 Years Old ep 5 of 12 - How ridiculously colorful and flirty they all are. There is nothing at all vampire about this show. I’m a bit bored by the restaurant plot but I'm tuning in for the bonkers approach to goth. How dare they be so cheerful with my precious emo youth, but also, how very Thai pulp of them.  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues Youku YouTube) ep 4 of 11 - oh it’s SO GOOD. Reading the yaoi and crying. COME ON TAIWAN HAVE MERCY. The red wrapping of the hands (red thread, yes yes we get it). The boy who doesn’t want to box for so many reasons. Not the least of which is how unpleasant it is to spar with a lover. 

This is easily the best BL currently airing and it is going to hurt us. But I don't care. I love it.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) eps 8 of 10 - This show is dangerously cute and I’m scared for everyone involved, including me.

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Gaga) ep 2 of 6 - Poor baby thrown in all willynilly amongst a pack of queeny bitchy gay intellectuals. I'd be lost too. It's the worse kind of fight, one you have to philosophize your way out of.

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 10fin - They are extremely adorable and it was a very good ending - mature, adult, and bittersweet. I liked it a lot. But I didn’t love it the way I wanted to.

The promise of this show, younger cook courts older divorced office worker, should have been my catnip. I mean if someone pitched this to me in an elevator I would have downloaded it by the second storey. Unfortunately, it did not exactly fulfill that promise, not in the way I'd hoped. Did I still enjoy the ride, yes, but I feel just a little let down. 8/10 

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) eps 5 of 8 - Honestly now I’m just shipping the two girls getting together. Frankly, I really don't like this show, and normally I'd DNF but there's only a few eps left and nothing else is airing rn.

It's done, ready to binge, maybe I'll finally get to it this weekend

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps

The Servant and the Young Master (Vietnam YouTube)

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will watch eventually.

It's airing but...

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - it's finished now, I dropped it at ep 4. Should I bother?

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (Thai ViuTV grey) 10 eps - I'm exhausted by this franchise and the variety pack style of BL. If there is a particularly good couple (or installment) I might watch it, but I'm letting others decide for me.

A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV grey) 10 eps - I watched the first ep but grey is too much work for this inferior of a show. I may pick up and binge if it gets distribution but for now, it gets a DNF from me. KimCop might have held this crap together but Kim without Cop? No thank you.

Lady Boy Friends (Thai WeTV grey) 16 eps - reminds me a bit too much of Diary of Tootsies only high school, not my thing. DNF unless it turns a corner and is truly amazing for some reason.

Gossip

The choreo controversy - Deep Night vs OnlyOneOf. Look, like a musical rift, or a styling photoshoot, there are no new ideas in choreo, I feel like Madonna did this pose too, a long time ago. Certainly someone in the 80s. Or whatever. Anygay, it's an ironic thing to see a Thai BL being called out by a gay-branded Kpop group when both are exploiting eroticized homosexuality for commercial profit... just saying. (HOW DID WE GET HERE?) Not to mention that BOTH are ALSO exploiting the kink community. We live in interesting times, BLabies. In the end, it's a good publicity stunt all round. And I think Nine knows exactly what he's doing (and why he is doing it). Finally: Drama drama drama around coreo? That is V gay boys. Fun fun fun, carry on everyone.

Strike a pose.

You're being recorded for posterity.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting

3/21 Two Worlds (Thai IQIYI) 10 eps - One of those "he's dead Jim so time travel" thingames staring MaxNat. I'm over this concept but Asia flipping loves it and I do enjoy MaxNat. Phupha (Gun) and Khram (Nat) love each other but Phupha is murdered. Then Khram is pulled to a parallel world where, 12 years ago, Khram and Tai (Max) were in love. However, Khram was killed by Tai’s dad. Now Tai finds alter-Khram apparently alive. But then there is ALSO an alter-Phupha to deal with. (Phupha is played by Gun Thanawat who was Khom, the repressed butler bodyguard from Unforgotten Night. We like this, we scared of the love triangle aspect.)

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Forgive me a moment of industry noodling?

Have ya noticed that it's slender pickings right now but it shouldn't be? This is not the mid summer slump nor end of year lull. We should be getting some heavy hitters on first quarter release. (Side eyes GMMTV. Perhaps those painful Japanese acquisitions were a bigger issue than any of us realized?)

Anygay, IMHO, Thailand's BL bubble has popped and sponsor money is drying up. This is my shocked face:

Look, the 2021-2023 level of release and growth (exponential) was never gonna be sustainable, so I'm not surprised. I suspect that in 2024 Thailand will actually produce fewer BLs than 2023 (73, 64 in 2022, and 40 in 2021).

I know I'm sticking my neck out predicting any film industry but... I have seen this kinda thing before and it just *feels* like shrinkage. Thai BL's load has been shot, my peeps. (Not to be crass or anything.)

Oh, don't worry you pretty head about it, it's not going away, just getting less prolific.

Don't we all in our old age?

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

My favorite trope, sniff him!

Queen. (both Deep Night)

King. (City of Stars)

Verse rep verse rep verse rep!!! Can you see me doing a little dance this side of the screen?

(Last weeks summation)

Streaming services are listed by how I'm (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are too much work.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will add you to the template. Easy peesy.

[iwannafuckyexiu]

A TEASE A DAY BRINGS YOU CLOSER TO DEATH  000

▎basically where y/n flirt with any decent thing he see, thinking he should be a top (nope). --- bnha x male!reader, aka harem/np © 嘤嘤嘤, 2019

[ slow updates, bl, suggestive, can be ooc ]

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

TODAY, WILL BE UNFORGETTABLE MY FRIEND "wait what did i do again today "

"Wake up motherfucker!"

Y/N lets out a groan at the tinge of pain at his rib from the kick. Lifting his head sluggishly, he twists to stare at the culprit of the kick and where the voice is coming from.

"What are you looking at? Fucking move you asshole!" a blonde boy scowls and lugs Y/N up by his collar harshly, their faces so close that their noses are almost touching and Y/N can feel his spit right up against his skin.

Y/N squints his eyes to get a better look at the boy and don't ask me how he can tell that the boy is good-looking from such a close distance but he murmurs under his breath, "Holy shit. Is this my lucky day or something, I see a fucking bishounen bottom here."

Clearly, Y/N isn't fully awake as you can tell from the sluggish response but he soon freshens up with the nice view in front of him, "Ah, as you were saying?" A lopsided grin rises onto his lips.

"I said," deep breath, "MOVE YOUR ASS, YOU'RE BLOCKING THE WAY TO MY SEAT!" Tsundere-kun pops a vein comically and threatens him by hoisting a fist up, ready to land a fist on Y/N.

"Woah woah woah, alright. I'll let you through my mans." Raising two hands up, Y/N backs off his chair and it makes a piercing wail as it drags on the floor — which caused the other participants nearby to cringe at the sound it made and turn to glare at the creator.

Tsundere-kun walks across and lets out a 'hmph' as he passes by him (Y/N's never gonna tell him that the 'hmph' actually reminds him of that one school girl in that one shoujo anime when she got shy).

After about like the only interesting person in close distance has gone far far away from him, Y/N returns to the state of liquid — aka the state where he's just sprawling over the desk in front of him like a pool of impure H2O. Present Mic's words just go into one ear of his and then out of the other just like earwax when Y/N picks his ear with his pinky finger of the left hand. Waiting for time to pass, he reminisces the beauty in the nickname of "blonde Natsu" with his sharp jaw and wHole FUCKIng FAcE.

To other people, Y/N just looks like he's staring at the head in front of him, aimless and plain with absolute boredom until a blaring "PLUS ULTRA!" snaps him out of his trance. In like 0.00001 seconds, everyone is surging out of the room whilst most scream incoherently for some reason. Shaking his head, Y/N stands up from his seat and leisurely strides towards the competition grounds for the practical test.

He enters the district, and only three seconds later danger comes literally flying at Y/N in the form of a blob of yellow which he attempts to catch and succeeds. But soon a crackling noise makes him aware that the fucking ground is breaking apart.

"Shit," Y/N snarls as he leaps onto the nearest surface that isn't split open and flips the blob of yellow onto the ground with a weighty clonk, "whoops, sorry."

"I ... It's fine ..." the blob of yellow moans as he picks himself up, patting off the dust on his bottom, and faces Y/N. He says with gleaming eyes and a vivacious grin, "Thanks man, that was awesome!"

Cheery and upbeat type bottom (ahem no 是小狼狗*), Y/N notes as he plans to bring this poor boy into his harem with the tsundere type bottom he met just before the practical exam.

Y/N responds to Sir Sunshine-a-lot with a raised brow and a teasing smile playing by the side of his lips, "Well if you're really thankful, maybe you can pledge to be mine* or something?"

Perhaps due to the fact he has probably never been flirted with by a male being, a tint of scarlet creeps up Sir Sunshine-a-lot's cheeks and the tip of his ears which honestly made him look even more like a bottom according to Y/N. "W-What?" Sir Sunshine-a-lot lets out a slight stutter, eyes peering wide at Y/N with a glossy shine to it that makes Y/N just go crazy internally at.

"It's okay we'll go slowly," Y/N gives him an "I get it" smile, "anyways, I'll see you later. I gotta go or else I'm not gonna be able to see you again if I don't get in!" A wink that is supposed-to-be-seductive is sent Sir Sunshine-a-lot's way as Y/N zooms the fuck out of there, ready to conquer the world (no).

"CALL ME! IT'S 1-800-7327!"

Sir Sunshine-a-lot, Kaminari Denki, is just left like a pack of chilli sauce back down there staring at where the rascally boy stood just a second ago. That was a first, being teased by another guy, he mocks.

Back to Y/N, we can see him just bouncing up and down from walls to roofs to even someone's head (which earned him a "Mom, what did I do again?!"). As Y/N spots a nearly-defeated robot from a safe distance, he sprints towards a closer vertical surface to the robot, springs up high enough and plants a foot on the wall. He then launches from the wall with a push-off and propels a roundhouse kick into the right side of the robot's jaw!

K.O.

Y/N alights on the ground lightly and remains there on his knees, taking in deep breaths and wiping away the beads of sweat on his forehead with the bottom of his sports uniform shirt. Clearly, he doesn't see the fuming figure standing just in front of him.

Obviously, the human campfire soon realises too that Y/N's ignoring him so he steps forth and once again pulls Y/N up by the collar. Faced with familiar zoomed in features, Y/N dazes out for a second until he reacts, "Ah, it's Tsundere-kun you again. What's up?"

"You fucking stole my kill!" Gritting his teeth and eyes almost popping straight outta his skull, his fist clenches around the collar in his hand.

"Oooooh, yeah. About that ..." Y/N grins gallantly and lifts a hand to tap at Tsundere-kun's shoulder, "I thought you were in danger and I wanted to help since ya know I take pleasure in helping people like you ahahah."

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN PEOPLE LIKE ME?!"

"Beauties like you of course." Wink.

"Y-Y-YOU—" before Tsundere-kun can even hurl his explosives at the flirtatious boy, Y/N flicked a finger at his wrist and nyOoms off at full tilt, since as much as he likes pretty boys and girls, he doesn't want to get a second or third-degree burn.

And another victim of Y/N's flirtatious skills has been left by his own with cherry ears and protruding blood vessels as he glares at Y/N's back just parkouring from one building to the other.

Switching to Y/N here. Catching sight of another person falling from a high distance, he dashes across the tall roofs and with a vault, then he grasps onto the person's waist swiftly and scales down to the ground by a nearby wall.

"Dontlookdowndontlookdowndontlookdowndontlookdown," Y/N mutters in a low voice, his words all mingled up and incomprehensive when suddenly, "AH FUCK IT!"

"What?" the girl squeaks, doe eyes staring at him with utter confusion.

"Get ready because you're in for the ride of your life," he says to the girl in his arms and gives her a charming (rigid) smile. Before the girl can even ask what the actual fuck does he mean and maybe get flustered at his smile, he does it.

He heaves himself off the wall, thirty fUCKING meters from the ground. And this becomes the scene where a boy with a girl in his arms just screeching: "FREE BUNGEE JUMPING DON'T WORRY I GOTCHU!" and the hapless girl's face going white with panic.

Stop.

Okay, what was Y/N thinking when he did that shit? Well, his mind went a little bit like this before the jump: "Alright, don't look down and you'll be fine. Height is nothing and you will not be a fucking pussy that fell to your death just because you're afraid of heights. Calm down ... calm ... ca—NO I CAN'T FUCKING DO THIS, NO I'M GONNA JUMP AND LET FATE DO ITS SHIT! I MEAN, IT'S BETTER TO DIE NOW THAN DIE LATER RIGHT???? ALRIGHT I'M GONNA DO THIS WOOO—" Cut. And that was Y/N's mental journey in those few seconds of "Don't look down"s.

To the main story, Y/N jumps like fucking Jack with Rose in his arms and in the moment where he just falls and everything just goes silent, and he goes through the marquee of his life where it's just full of shit like him running away from the teachers that roam the school grounds during lesson times and the era when he and his sisters were just pure ruffians on the streets that steal and fight.

Fortunately, the marquee doesn't continue further (mostly because his life is too short ngl) but also due to Y/N's power. At the last second, he realises that he needs to get a chance of at least living (he'd live even if he doesn't try so—), and tries his best to turn himself so his feet are facing the ground. Let's just say that it did help to make his chances of surviving a fuck ton bigger but the force when he landed was too abrasive and ...... he broke his feet and legs.

Before he can even scream out in agony, black spots fill his vision and he just goes unconscious (he attempts to land on the floor gracefully before he passed out but he probably just looks like shit to other people).

、、、

Walking down the streets at a leisure pace, Y/N whistles the melody that he recently heard on the radio. He strolls from the rowdy districts where neon signs illuminate the night to the area his apartment is in, dim and ominous.

Y/N goes up to the eighth floor with the old elevator with the buttons often breaking down, to that he's just gonna say that the management is shit and never listens. He strides towards 834 and presses down hard on the doorbell.

"Coming!" a rather high-pitched and sharp voice yells and footsteps can be heard stomping close. And the door opens, with his little sister there and the big grin on her face, "why are you so late today onii-chan?"

Albeit speaking, she backs to the side to let him through then closes the door and locks it. Y/N heaves a deep sigh, "Well, your onii-chan broke his legs but there was recovery girl to help so," he places his shoes down on the shoe rack hard, "I don't have a valid excuse to skip work."

"And also I woke up too late from the nurse's office too, so I had to stay longer for the part-time," Y/N resumes to tell the unfortunate day to his sister as he leans on the kitchen counter and waits for the water to boil as the kettle brimmed with layers of black at the bottom lays on the stove. "The day was overall shit, but I also saw a lot of good ass lookin' people so that's a plus."

S/N chortles unmannerly and slaps the table like a seal, "AhaHAHAHAHh! Did you get their names?"

"Sadly no," Y/N responds with a shrug whilst the intrusive shriek of the kettle plays in the background. Swivelling to his back, he switches off the stove with a twist and begins pouring the scorching water into the cup noodle packets as he continues chatting to S/N, "Anyways, how's school nowadays?"

"Trash, I just went to school, listened to lessons, ate during lunch, listened to more lessons, got out of school, ate at this shitty restaurant then came back and binged drama."

"Well, that's not a very interesting day."

"Yeah sure you had an interesting day, now stop eating my fucking Tim tams."

"Watch your language, motherfucker. And I was the one who bought those Tim tams."

"BITCHASS YOU WANNA FIGHT? I BOUGHT IT!"

"DIPSHIT, I DID!"

"CRAZY BASTARD!"

"LITTLE SHIT!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, SOMEONE'S TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" a slightly muffled voice disrupts them. Seems like it's the guy from the floor below. Man, the reasosn of why living in an apartment where the soundproof is shit are enough to fill a whole essay.

"SORRY, WEIRD GUY THAT WATCHES PORN LOUDLY EVERY AFTERNOON AT FIVE!"

"Y-YOU—"

"Sounds like someone passed out from jacking off too much." Y/N's words end up with the two stifling their giggles until one of their faces turn blue with the lack of oxygen and then they just both roar with hilarity until another neighbour screams at them to "shut your fucking mouths up for the sake of Jesus shitting Christ".

And the night goes on with moments with bellows of laughter and hushed tones discussing whether MFC is better or Rice King. These are the qualities that make a home feel homely to them.

Their house is worn out to say the least, with the large amount of cracks on the ceiling to doors that creak so loudly that you can hear it from the floor below and the terrible soundproof surfaces that always make the two teens wake up at like three in the morning just wondering is it a threesome or foursome the floor above is having tonight.

Albeit the apartment is quite broken-down, the duo attempts their best to embellish the home so it at least feels clean and tidy to make themselves feel better. But even if it isn't polished and neat to their standard, as long as they have each other, home can be anywhere.

.

TO NOTE

小狼狗；used to describe younger guys that are more domineering/secretly domineering. ( that's probably it idk )

pledge to be mine；以身相许, but i don't know how to really describe it in english to fit the scenario.

but anyways i hope yall enjoy this preview-ish chapter to the whole story! thank you~

NOT PROPERLY PROOFREAD

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 6x10

Ok, so this week’s episode, ‘It’s All About The Money, Honey’ delivered two of my season 6 wish list items: Kelsey and Charles working together as a supportive team and really getting to see their dynamic and relationship (I sometimes forget that they have a whole history BL - Before Liza) and Liza and Charles getting drunk and handsy at a bar. I’m not even kidding, when I wrote my season 6 wish list I word for word wrote that. So thank you for those Alison Brown, I am simple folk and I am happy. I would also like to show my appreciation for a number of throwbacks that were nice little nuggets from previous seasons.

I don’t know whether it was deliberate or not, but this ep seemed to really play very obvious set ups, where you could see what was coming and kind of hoped it’d play out differently because eek! but then nope. I have no idea if this approach has a name in screenwriting, it was sort of like set-up slapstick, for absolute lack of any better description (I’m sure ‘eek!’ is a technical term somewhere…). I am writing much of this on a plane on my way to holiday time (yay), which may mean nothing or something but I think my point is that I may miss a few bits and pieces here and there. There’s much to discuss so let’s do this! 

After their declarations of love last week, this episode opens with Zane, a towel, his abs and Kelsey chatting about her trip to Chicago to ‘beg for money’, which nicely sets up a few themes for the ep. The issue of not being taken seriously as a woman in business is quickly flagged, along with the appropriate foreshadowing of future faux pas with Zane’s reassurance that Kelsey will get their attention being the only woman in the room (as he very unsubtly opens her shirt while staring at her chest) and Kelsey’s quip that ‘I guess I have more assets than you’ (boobs, she means her boobs ICYMI).

Liza and Charles are also saying their farewells, with Charles continuing to be supportive boyfriend no. 1 as he tells Liza to stop feeling guilty before reassuring her that everything is going to be fine, which we all know means it absolutely will not be. I’d like to officially welcome back the ‘miss you’ texts because a) they’re adorable and b) I do love a good text distraction as a giant poster of a woman and her ex goes past on the side of a bus just when that woman is floating along blissfully thinking of her current bf. As she passes another poster, it’s only a matter of time until Liza comes face to face with, well, her face. On the side of a building. Eek! indeed.

Naturally Liza’s first instinct is to call Kelsey, who is at the airport with Charles, to ask her to stop him from seeing the ad until she has the chance to speak to him. I feel like a phone call to Charles instead in that moment would’ve sorted it all pretty quickly, but then we would’ve missed out on his smile at the pic of Liza that comes up on Kelsey’s phone and the funniest moment of the episode, Kelsey’s sudden onset escalator phobia (‘I don’t like them, they’re weird’ LOL). The absolute highlight of this episode for me was seeing Kelsey and Charles working together. From the moment she’s filling him in on the investors they’re meeting with because she’s done her research to Charles saying that she can do the job without investors sticking their noses in (Bryce reference noted, what a dud) to Kelsey redirecting him to the elevator and him confused but obliging without question, their dynamic from the get go was fab and a lovely build on last week’s ep.

Meanwhile, luckily for Liza Lauren is at work, which is really lucky for all of us because Lauren now only referring to Diana as Diva and Diana clearly very ok with it is all I’ve ever wanted and my mind is filling in all the blanks about what the two of them would have been sitting there talking about while waiting to see if the people they sent to catch their food return (this line = yes Diva). I loved Lauren’s 'here?’ when Liza asks if she can talk to her (then 'so here, ok’ as she sits down lol) because it certainly feels as though Lauren is trying to keep the moment about Diana and the excitement of getting the appointment at Kleinfeld and is reluctant to let Liza make it all about her (which she of course does and Diana calls her out on it and I am here for it every day of the week). 

Liza’s obsessive focus on the ad campaign and the need to speak to Charles about it really consumes her for the entire episode and blinds her to the needs of any other characters in way that seems uncharacteristic, but is also quite on brand considering some of the self-absorbed moments we’ve seen from her throughout the series. I guess it just seems uncharacteristic for season 6 Liza (or at least my understanding and construction of this character at this point), with a lie no longer in play and able to live her life honestly, as she’s been hoping to do since season one. I’m unsure whether this fixation and her consequent behaviour was meant to be funny or highlight the point that clearly there is more to the poster than it just being about clothes (we get it, there are FEELINGS), but I have to say that I really struggled with it considering Liza’s journey to where she is now and also this show’s usual tendency to be more nuanced.

Despite Liza’s persistence with Lauren re: Infinitely 21 at Kleinfeld (my concern that Lauren was harbouring some ill feeling towards Liza following the lie reveal was quashed when she revealed that she’d phoned Shelly to say Liza was uncomfortable with the ad. I mean, ‘I left a voicemail for you!’ is as ‘I’ve got your back’ as it comes), we were given a delightful moment between Diana and Liza as they reminisced about their first weddings and it’s conversations like this that I would like to see many more of. These two talking as women who have shared life experience is everything. It is then revealed that Infinitely 21’s campaign is going national which leads Liza to bail on the bride to frantically make a dash to Chicago, but my main takeaway from this scene is that Diana is going to have the wedding celebration she damn well deserves and quite frankly, this Trout/DeLuca “event of the year” cannot come fast enough.

Turns out Liza is not the only one getting on a big jet plane, as Claire fills Josh in on the amazing promotion to Senior Project Manager she’s been offered at Google, which will set Gemma up nicely. The only catch is, it’s in LA. Josh is understandably upset and as Claire assures him they’ll figure it out, he also spots the Infinitely 21 poster for the first time, because the only thing better than finding out your daughter might be moving across the country is being plastered all over the city in a pic with your ex who you’re still in love with. One of my favourite friendships on this show is that between Maggie and Josh, so I enjoyed seeing him go to Maggie to talk over the revelations of the morning (what a morning!). You’ve gotta love Maggie’s, ‘it’s not a sign’ to snap Josh out of the wallowing (and Josh’s ‘it’s literally a sign’, ha), her encouraging him to fight for Gemma and use the Infinitely 21 success to his advantage was a solid suggestion (though I am a little disappointed that Maggie didn’t ask if he’d consider moving to LA as one possible option to keep Gemma in his life or at least throw it out there on one of her famous Maggie ‘these are your options’ lists).

Josh meets with Shelly, who makes zero attempt to hide her thirst and it’s pretty darn hilarious and I actually love this entire interaction. Josh’s idea of franchising Inkburg, mentioned at the retreat in episode 6, remerges in the form of a collaboration with Infinitely 21 (Retail-tainment). Inkburg Midtown would offer a set of flash pieces exclusive to Infinitely 21, it is all very well pitched and I like seeing Josh in business mode because he’s clearly pretty decent at it after all these years, but not as much as Shelly likes it and him and everything which leads to her basically groping him in store (‘I’m a hugger’, yeah sure Shel). I have to believe that Josh’s move to establish the partnership with Infinitely 21 is so that he has clout to replicate the idea in LA and establish a national presence if he wants, rather than to try and keep Claire in New York by saying he can support her financially (unless we discover that is what Claire actually wants). Josh has been written as way too woke to do something to sabotage the career of the mother of his child, especially considering his experience with Liza and knowing what she went through. I, for one, will watch this space.

Another space I have watched closely is Kelsey’s, especially as she’s grappled with the role of publisher and really found her feet in the last couple of episodes. Her brilliant boss mode continued this week and seeing Kelsey so nervous before the pitch meeting, but still keeping her level head even after discovering Jacobs was the only shot at keeping the company alive, demonstrated again how much she has grown. From the moment Jeffrey and Ennis greet Kelsey and Charles, and by greet I mean look straight through Kelsey at Charles, you just know that this is going to be a tough gig for Kels. The men very obviously talk only to Charles, patronise Kelsey asking 'do you even know what those [precious metals] are?’, ugh it’s all so gross but also a bit too real and familiar. I love that Charles makes a point of saying 'we’ and emphasising that they are a team and it is obvious he is not comfortable that even when Kelsey is speaking they still look at and talk to him. Seeing Kelsey interject confidently and intelligently (although when she tells that room of suits to follow her on Insta it was a definite Eek! moment) was so satisfying, she read the room, commanded it pay attention and it did. Charles is proud and impressed and lets her hold the floor (as he should but it was great to see) and I could legit watch a whole series with these two as kick-ass business partners.

Just when I thought my new fave dynamic duo couldn’t have any more golden moments, Kelsey and Charles getting celebratory drinks happened. After last season saw a lot of tension between these two characters, seeing this relationship shift to one of mentor/mentee that is truly symbiotic (I have no doubt that Charles is learning as much from Kelsey as she is from him), where Kelsey still needs reassurance about how the business world works and Charles expresses his eternal gratitude for her amazing work…seriously, did I mention how much I love this? It is an actual dream.

Of course it is just after a commemorative glass clinking moment that Liza arrives, much to the elation of Charles (‘this day just keeps getting better and better’, ugh) and wariness of Kelsey, who immediately questions Liza’s real reason for being there.  Upon hearing that the Infinitely 21 campaign (yes, we’re still talking about that) has gone national so Liza came to speak to Charles, Kelsey looks at her with the same ‘you have lost the plot’ look I had on my face, before telling her, ‘not now…we are celebrating’. Liza agrees as smitten, happy Charles looks over but this high school drama-esque carry on is really a bit much at this point. All I can say is thank goodness for the scene that followed, because it very quickly made me forget that I was getting annoyed.

First we get the revelation that Liza made out with Chrissie Hart on Shelter Island, which was also the last time we saw Charles and Liza drunk together but they were also not actually together, so it was very much that moment that sparked my need to see them out and drinking again some time.  So yes, sharing great stories as they all sit around, check, they are all so carefree and jovial and then Charles and Liza just start making out in front of third wheel Kelsey and I cannot and this is 100% the quality content that my trashbag heart lives for. But it is Liza and Charles bidding Kelsey goodnight when she says she’s heading back to her room, and Charles saying, ‘bye’ before turning to Liza with a soft, ‘hi’ that completely undoes me. Seriously, project this entire scene on loop on my tombstone for I. am. deceased.

Drunk Kelsey back in her room responding to Zane’s message with a boob shot = I am DYING again but for different reasons. Kelsey Lorraine indeed, Lauren seeing it on Insta stories is every kind of second hand mortification and poor Kelsey waking up and realising what she’s done is yikes (but lbh it’s also a little bit hilarious, special thanks to the messages left on her story: A tale of two titties, Nippy longstockings and my personal fave, Did you mean to post this? It’s Liz from the gym). Kelsey’s waking nightmare is contrasted by Liza waking up to her fantasy of her, Charles, coffee and paper (you and me both sista), but my fantasy is quickly shattered when Liza spots that pesky ad on the back of the newspaper and grabs it from Charles in a totally normal way, which he interprets to be playful and suggestive, until he realises it is not.

Liza’s reveal makes it pretty obvious that she’s feeling guilty but that is quickly interrupted by the frantic knocking of Kelsey, the bearer of more bad news. Liza greeting her with ‘he’s seen it’, countered by Kelsey’s horrified, ‘Charles saw my boobs?’ before Liza corrects her with, ‘no, the Infinitely 21 ad’ is just so mind boggling, I mean, what person in their right mind opens the door to their best friend’s incessant knocking and thinks ‘they must be beside themselves to find out if I told Charles yet?’ I get it, it’s consuming Liza because it’s dredging up feelings so that the triangle can be revived after lying dormant (presumed dead) the past two seasons, but Charles having to hear about Kelsey’s mistake (though Liza’s ‘you look good’ is v. funny), as well as process that Liza didn’t come to Chicago to surprise him and Kelsey at all just makes me pretty sad.

Kelsey continues to be impressive as she owns her screw up and humbly explains herself to the room full of gross men. I do love how they’ve been cast, so much brown fabric. Charles’, 'it’s just too much of a good thing…I mean Kelsey’s internet presence’, is awks af but he’s really trying to throw his support behind her. Ennis Jacobs asking Kelsey if she’s considered distancing herself from the Millennial brand (dude, she IS the Millennial brand) and saying they are still interested in investing if Charles is publisher made me want to scream for her, Charles’ assertion that 'she is a woman who has made nothing but smart decisions since she’s been in a position to make decisions’ met with the biggest decision Kelsey has made yet; stepping down as publisher.

I do see it, the juxtaposition of how a man embroiled in a scandal (publisher having an affair with a 28 year old assistant) is treated vs. a woman whose potentially scandalous error was accidental, that the ultimate ramifications for him are minimal because look, he’s now back where he was not that long ago (though I also see the mirroring of Charles having to step down due to the scandal and now Kelsey having to do the same…so maybe they’re just the ultimate tag team?). I am going to wait to see how the rest of this season plays out (on all fronts), but if at seasons end, Charles is publisher again, and it’s all basically as it once was, then what was the point of any of this beyond making that statement? I mean, there are a number of ways it could go, so I am interested to see what this means. I am just really heartbroken for Kelsey because in that moment, she put the need of the company ahead of her own ambition and I am also heartbroken because she really had FINALLY come into her own as publisher and I was excited to see what she would do next.

After the horrendous meeting, Liza is waiting for Charles to finish the conversation about the ad and Charles suggests that she fly back to NY with Kelsey, because ‘she needs you now’ (seriously, if Charles is in your corner he is IN your corner). I love that Charles knows what Liza flying to Chicago really means and calls her out on it, that he is not bothered by her past or relationship with Josh, it’s the fact she felt she had to get on a plane that makes him wonder if there is something to be worried about. Call me boring but I have always appreciated that these two have actual proper adult conversations and don’t avoid issues and this was no exception.

Charles puts it to Liza that ‘everyone has a past, but in order to have a future, you move on from it’, to which she responds that ‘other people live in the past in order to have a future’.  Yes, Liza had to live a younger life in order to build a new future for herself but now that she has re-established her career and her real age is no longer a secret, is that what she wants to keep doing? I do believe Liza realises she isn’t being fair to Charles but I think we all know that even if her pledge not to see Josh anymore was genuine at the time, it is not going to be upheld and was probably a bit of an over-promise. But I do appreciate that Liza really is choosing Charles in that moment.

It’s the escalator ride (which is weirdly relatable for some reason) once Kelsey and Liza are back in New York, but neither want to go home, that shows that even if Liza does want to move forward, she is still stuck between these two worlds. I have to say, Kelsey losing her job and being publicly humiliated somehow being on par with a 42 year old woman feeling sad that she can’t be friends with an ex because she’s confused about her feelings is ridiculous and I personally feel like the final moments of this ep should have been focused squarely on Kelsey. I do agree with Liza that Kelsey will get it back though, that was the correct response.

The painfully longing glances at the giant poster of her and Josh can be taken as a letting go of the past and moving forward (time will tell) but it also undoubtedly indicates that Liza’s days of once again oscillating between these two men are very much on the horizon which is, to be frank, really disappointing at this point in a series. My biggest issue is the fact that we keep being told that this show is not about the triangle, it’s about the women and the friendships yet it’s constantly being made about the triangle. In always pulling the focus to the triangle this show is making it about the men, which is the very thing it so brilliantly admonishes society for doing.

While I am absolutely reserving all judgement until I see how the rest of this season unfolds, I have to believe that if the triangle does make a comeback, it is being dredged up again to bring it to a head once and for all, so that we can all move on and focus on the many far more compelling aspects that make up this wonderful show.

[vintagemiserie]

anyways i hate content so much. im just thinking about the elevator pitch for the webtoon im working on and its making me so mad. saying "a bl slice of life drama" would get more clicks than "a grunge band navigates relationships, including one within the band, as they strike it big" and yet the former doesnt actually describe the comic whatsoever (not to mention the fact that it uses a pretty gross term). it just pisses me off that if i want any kind of audience i will have to pander to cishet girls who want to see two men kiss rather than actually making the story i want to make. even though im still gonna stick to my guns and write what i want it still sucks

[tb5-heavenward]

Harvard!Christmas - 2

Continuing on from here. Harvard!John + Christmas + A Kitten

It takes an hour.

It takes an hour of patience and hope and careful, deliberate ministration to a feeble, shivering little body---but it works.

And by the end of this hour and because he's had no one else to talk to, the cat is the only other entity in the whole entire world who knows that John Tracy is a drug addict who hates his life and resents his father and misses his family, and who occasionally plunges into a state of depression so deep and dark and hopeless that he's not sure if he'll actually survive it---but it's also alive and slowly rallying, with tiny little mews and meows and an apparent desire to remove itself from John's lap and go bumbling around his apartment.

And even if he is a drug addict who hates his life and resents his father and misses his family and occasionally considers wandering into heavy traffic, John has managed to save a tiny little life that would've been lost if he hadn't brought himself back to Boston. If he'd been even five minutes later than he had, if he hadn't happened to take a shortcut through the alley behind his building---it's a tiny, minuscule difference to make in the world, but he's still made it. And in spite of everything, John feels a bit better.

So that's something, anyway.

"Good job," he murmurs, and gently discourages the kitten from clambering its way out of the little nest he's made, with the bath towel still across his lap where he sits cross-legged beside the radiator. Its movements are still stiff and feeble, and it doesn't make much upward progress before John scoops it up and carefully lifts it to eye level, to get a better look at its watery eyes and smudged face. "Merry Christmas, by the way."

He gets the loudest meow yet in answer, though this is still a high-pitched, scratchy sort of sound, and probably mostly in protest to being picked up and peered at.

It's well past midnight now, though John hasn't actually looked at the time, and he's missed the transition. His phone is in his coat pocket, and he's still resolutely pretending that that he'd just been so worn out from all the travel that he'd just gone to bed and forgotten to turn it back on. He'll get to it in the morning. By morning he should be braced to deal with the onslaught of disappointment, whatever his family will have had to say about the fact that he'd just up and left without a word to anyone but his father.

At least he has a cat. John's always been fond of cats. He can already tell he's starting to get fond of this one, which doesn't bode well if he wants to continue to abide by the terms of his lease. He's dangerously close to considering himself the owner of this cat.

"We never had cats, growing up. Scott's allergic," John informs the kitten, carefully adjusting his grip on the little animal as he starts to get to his feet, stretching and twisting his hips as he stands, straightens. His tailbone's gotten numb and sore from sitting on the hardwood, and the side of his body that had been closer to the radiator feels a little bit toasted. "We had a dog, but he hated me. There were barncats at the farmhouse, but they were all halfway feral, and we weren't supposed to pet them."

Not, crucially, that this had ever stopped John or the rest of his brothers (minus Scott) from petting the barn cats, not even after the one summer when Gordon got fleas.

Housecats are a different story, and while John's aware of this, though it's gotten very late and he's starting to get hazy. He's got a full twelve hours of travel behind him, and it's a solid four of those since he'd last taken a pill. It's a mark of the comedown that John's mind starts to wander, the lens of his usual laser focus starts to fracture at the edges, distorting the beam. He's mentally running through a list of the things that are essential to the cat's continued survival, and he comes up with water, food, and a litter box.

The first item he can manage. The latter two are going to need to be improvised.

"C'mon, cat," he says, and nestles the little creature in the crook of his arm. The kitchen is his first stop, though he's already aware that he probably won't find much. He wasn't supposed to be here for Christmas, after all, and it's not like he keeps a great deal of food on hand in any case. The fridge offers nothing but a collection of aging takeout containers that he doesn't especially feel like dealing with, but near the back of his pantry he finds a couple small, dusty cans of tuna, sharing the shelf with a jar of peanut butter and a few cans of soup. He scrutinizes the dates on the labels and finds them within acceptable limits.

He's draped the bathtowel over his shoulder, and he gathers up one of the only three bowls in the kitchen, both cans of tuna. The next stop is the bathroom. The bathtowel is nestled into in the bathtub and the kitten is gently placed in the middle of this. John fills the bowl with lukewarm tap water and puts it down at the other end of the tub. There's a pull tab on the top of the tuna can, and when he pulls this off, the kitten reacts to the sound with something like excitement, struggling its way out of the little nest and limping over to the open tin. In a few moments it's buried its face in the can and can't seem to help making tiny little noises as it devours the contents.

Signs point to the fact that the cat is familiar with the trappings of domestication, but John's pretending that he doesn't appreciate the significance of the fact. He disregards the implication as he comments, "Oh good, you know about food. If that'll hold you for a few minutes, I'll be right back."

The plan for a litterbox involves a trek down to the front lobby again, to steal a few pounds of coarse sand from the bucket that sits out front of the building, meant to be scattered on the front walk and the steps up to the lobby for traction on the ice. There's no one around to catch him at it, considering it's the very earliest hours of Christmas morning, but he's still nervous enough that he takes the stairs instead of the elevator to minimize his chances of running into anyone. This makes him regret the fact that he lives on the fourth floor, but he makes it back all the same, and feels better once he's back in his apartment, with a few pounds of stolen sand in a paper bag to show for his efforts.

The search through the kitchen for food had turned up an old aluminum foil lasagna pan, which he'd found under his sink when he'd first moved in. He'd had no use for it, couldn't even be bothered to make the trip to the trash chute at the end of the hallway to throw it away, and now it turns out that it's going to be useful. The sand he's collected is still icy cold to the touch, so he deposits it in the pan and then leaves it by the radiator to dry out and warm up. He returns to the bathroom to find his bathtub emptied of both tuna fish and kitten, and spends a few mildly frantic moments taking his entire bathroom apart, before locating the animal in the space behind the toilet and beside the sink. John is six feet, two inches tall, and his bathroom is the bathroom of a small, modest one bedroom apartment. It takes some contortion to get down and extract the cat. When he pulls the little creature out, there's another disproportionately loud meow, a drawn-out and high-pitched whine of protest.

This is met with very little sympathy.

"Well, if you don't like it, then maybe don't scare me like that."

This just gets him yelled at again, as he lets the cat clamber across his lap. It seems like a much sturdier creature now, warmed up and fed and watered, with the moisture dried out of its fur and the life coming back to its limbs. It's skinny, but not as underfed as he'd first taken it to be. It starts to purr as he pets and plays with it, and presses its head into his palm as it passes beneath his hands, obviously soliciting affection.

John's still actively refusing to come to the obvious conclusion that the animal belongs to anybody else. It's not like he's in a position to do anything about it yet, anyway. It's the middle of the night and even with the kitten for a distraction, he's still running on fumes.

"I need to go to bed," he tells the cat. "What're you gonna do, if I try and go to bed?"

The answer to this question---though John makes a genuine attempt to settle the cat back down in the bathtub with its newly thawed out litterbox, its big fluffy towel and its water bowl and another can of tuna, summarily devoured---turns out to be a great deal of piteous mewling and scratching and carrying on from the other side of the bathroom door. John holds out for all of half a minute before he relocates the cat and all its associated accessories to his bedroom, and closes the door.

John's apartment is a Boston brownstone, and the bedroom is really the only place where he's made much of an investment in anything like the comforts of a home, mostly manifested in the form of extra blankets across the end of his bed. There's a laundry basket on the floor of the closet, and this is where he deposits his clothing, dark slacks and a polo shirt and a cashmere sweater, all the trappings of a respectable traveler. He could've done with a shower to wash away the long day of travel, but his bathroom had been otherwise occupied, and it can wait until tomorrow. He changes into a pair of blue flannel pajama pants, fishes a grey henley out of his top drawer and pulls it on. He's cold in the way he always seems to be, before getting into bed, and gets colder still when he's required to get down on the drafty floor in order to extract the cat from the underside of his bed.

It's probably an exercise in futility, probably as soon as he's asleep the cat will be back up and exploring his bedroom---but he deposits the animal on top of the bed anyway, pulling back the duvet and climbing beneath the blankets himself. The cat explores the peaks and valleys created by his limbs beneath the blankets, as John permits himself a sigh and a weary groan, sinking back against feather pillows with his eyes closed. "This morning's going to be bad," he declares, though he's too tired to do much more than be aware of the fact. He can't quite muster the energy to care. On impulse, he lifts a hand, rubs his fingers together. The sound draws the kitten's attention, and moments later there's a fuzzy little skull butting up against his palm, the purring started up once again. "When I turn my phone on again, I'm pretty sure it might actually blow up."

He hasn't even brought it into the bedroom, and he's certainly not about to get up and go get it. Getting in bed at the end of the day, these days, is like hitting some sort of master override. His entire body starts to enter a state of automatic shutdown from the moment his head hits the pillow, and there's not much use in fighting it. The next to last burst of effort John can summon goes towards turning off the bedside light, and curling up beneath the blankets.

He's dimly aware that the cat's curled up too, because he can hear it, purring loudly in the dark beside him. He reaches out to rest the palm of his hand against the curve of the kitten's spine, and the warmth and the softness of its fur against his skin is the last thing he's aware of, before drifting into a dreamless sleep. He means to say good night, but doesn't quite remember.

[maritzaerwin]

6 Common Physician Assistant Interview Questions & How to Answer Them

Today, physician assistants have not only career prospects but also a high credit of trust.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the demand for Physician Assistants (PAs) will increase by 31% by 2028.

A survey by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), in turn, revealed that 93% of US citizens trust these specialists, and 91% believe in their significant contribution to the quality of healthcare.

Given these statistics, it is no surprise that every new representative in the profession must meet high standards to justify patient expectations.

An interview is your first chance to prove yourself as the right person for the position. To seize this opportunity, check the common physician assistant interview questions and prepare winning and comprehensive answers using our tips.

4 Tips for Answering Physician Assistant Interview Questions

Given the high competition and increased responsibility for your role, the interviewer will study your candidacy from every side and collect all the necessary information to make the right decision.

Therefore, be prepared for typical job interview questions — questions about your strengths and weaknesses; and more specific questions to check your knowledge of the profession, understanding of responsibilities, and to identify your behavioral patterns.

In any case, stick to the following rules.

1) Your answers should be informational and to the point — For this purpose, listen to the interviewer carefully and do not rush to answer right after the question. Think about the facts that can prove and strengthen your words. Remember that a short but reasoned answer is better than an unfounded word salad.

2) Be honest, and don’t embellish the facts — It is easy to check all your successes in academic programs and your achievements in medicine. Therefore, do not create an embarrassing situation. The employer is more likely to turn a blind eye to knowledge gaps or lack of practice than to accept a lie.

3) Do not try to guess the correct answers for behavioral questions — An interview is not a school test with only one right option. The recruiter wants to understand the personality of the candidate, their tactics, and their plan of action in certain situations. Therefore, rely on your own experience and principles instead of guessing what they want to hear from you.

4) Be sure of your benefits — If you do not know why you are a worthy candidate, then the potential employer definitely will have no idea. Create an elevator pitch or a cover letter that proves your professional aptitude and motivation. If you have not dealt with a cover letter for physician assistant, this link with samples and tips will come in handy.

6 Physician Assistant Interview Questions and Answers

We have selected the most popular items of different types that recruiters tend to ask during interviews. Each of them has either the correct answer or a winning response strategy. Arm yourself with the following hints and outlines, but feel free to improve each answer using personal experience, knowledge, facts, and beliefs.

1) What Is the Difference Between Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner? Why Did You Choose the PA Role?

Your understanding of the difference between healthcare roles proves your explicit professional self-identification, including the area of expertise and scope of practice.

Therefore, keep in mind these main distinctions:

A patient-centered model and disease prevention guide NPs. Meanwhile, PAs are focusing on a disease-centered model with an emphasis on biology and pathology.

Most PAs are generalists initially. Later they can choose a specific area of specialization if desired. NPs, in turn, must determine their specialty in the early stages of training.

NPs can have independent practice, while PAs work only under the supervision of a physician or hospitalist.

The study of widespread pathologies can be an appropriate reason for your choice. It allows you to diagnose diseases in the early stages, thus preventing their progress and simplifying the treatment process for more patients.

2) What Is the Difference Between a Physician Assistant (PA) and a Medical Assistant (MA)? Why Did You Still Prefer PA?

The similar names of the professions should not mislead you.

To show your awareness when answering this question, remember the following:

MAs perform clinical and administrative duties at a healthcare organization, including documentation, laboratory services, and recordkeeping. PAs are healthcare providers who are responsible for diagnosing and treating patients.

PAs have irregular working hours. They can work in the early morning, late at night, and on the weekend. MAs have set hours without emergency calls.

Arguing your choice, make it clear that you value direct interaction with the patients and the chance to help each of them. Your mission is to provide high-quality healthcare services. To achieve it, you are ready to sacrifice a comfortable schedule and a stable working environment.

3) What Are the Main Difficulties in the Work of the Physician Assistant?

This is a good question that shows your readiness for the position and awareness of the pitfalls and challenges that you will have to face. Your answer, in this case, should prove that your choice is conscious. If you mention a problem you have already dealt with, add a few words about how you overcame it.

Here are some examples:

I know firsthand about the large flow of patients, which leads to a rapidly changing and stressful environment. However, such an experience taught me to prioritize and manage my time correctly.

I understand that many patients are confused by the “assistant” annex to my post. Sometimes, it makes them doubt my competence. Therefore, I intend not only to refer to the physician’s decisions but to argue the expediency of my actions to earn a credit of trust.

4) What If the Patient Refuses to Follow Your Order and Take Care of Their Health?

This question tests your willingness to solve problems. The physician will not be with you regularly, so the success of your work depends on your ability to take the upper hand in individual cases.

Check the following answer examples.

I will remind the patient what happens in their body every time they break a prescription. I will describe in detail all the negative consequences of such neglect. This tactic may seem too straightforward, but the real picture is sometimes more sobering than pleas and instructions.

I will describe the path that the patient has gone from the first visit to this moment and emphasize all the health gains they achieved during treatment. It will help evaluate progress and prove that the patient has something to lose.

5) Are You Ready to Be a Dependent Practitioner? How Will You Build a Connection With the Physician?

The employer must be sure that you, as a specialist, feel comfortable without autonomous practice. Your goal is to prove that the need for ongoing reporting to the physician will not affect your productivity and motivation.

I appreciate the opportunity to adopt the best practices of the doctor and improve my skills under their guidance. I plan to report on the patients’ health condition and the selected treatment methods daily through the mail and make the necessary adjustments right after feedback. I believe that my responsible approach will help build trust.

I am ready to work under the doctor’s leadership because I put the benefit and health of the patient above my ambitions. Besides, I believe my fast learning ability and attentiveness to all recommendations and observations will help me expand my freedoms over time and achieve productive collaboration.

6) What Do You Value Most in the Physician Assistant Position?

One of the main goals of physician assistant job interview questions is to understand your motives and intentions.

To succeed in your answer, focus on the following points:

This position enables you to practice in various industries, including dermatology, pathology, family medicine, and so on. Therefore, you can become a versatile specialist and help more patients.

Unlike a physician, you can spend more time with patients. It allows you to keep abreast of any changes and support them during hard times, which contributes to a favorable outcome.

Wrapping Up

The physician assistant job does not imply autonomous activity. But this fact does not detract from its importance and value to patients. Therefore, you should not expect low role requirements.

Instead, prepare yourself for this highly competitive role with a winning self-presentation. Prove that the healthcare hierarchy does not affect your performance and motivation. Clarify that you are ready to provide services on equal footing with doctors.

Rest assured, your commitment and qualifications will be your ticket to the position. And preliminary answer preparation will just add to your confidence.

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Hi!!! Your posts are always amazing and I have so many bookmarked because you create the best little collections. Anyway, I am in a big BL rut right now and I can't seem to get into anything. Any fast-paced, recs that can bring me out of my slump? Thanks so so much :)

Oooo, fast paced is pretty subjective lemme think...

Imma got with the narrative sense of the word pacing (rather than just an in-your-face fast-moving plot, although that too,) so: good tension, craft, and narrative. Here's my pulls - I went broad and into the well, in case you had seen some recent stuff.

10 Fast-Paced BLs to Pull You Out of a Slump

(I'm assuming you have seen KinnPorsche)

I did a quick pitch for each cause I'm drunk so maybe they're funny, all spelling errors are my own and the result of growing up in 3 different English speaking nations and 2 non-English ones.

Someone wanted more elevator pitches a while ago, here ya go!

Our Dating Sim - nerds in love, reunion, deadlines, gaming, teasing, pining tiny idiots, ADORABLE

2. Semantic Error - you cannot be a BL fan and not have watched this, the ultimate enemies to lovers, also the prettiest

3. To My Star - neurotic actor (actual puppy), grumpy chef, sparks, cooking lessons, LOVE!

4. We Best Love - defines fast paced in romance, literally when asked why his character fell in love so fast Yu said, "well I only had one 20 minute episode." Yet... we BELIEVED IT.

5. HIStory 2: Crossing the Line - it's a perfect sports romance, don't bother me with trifles

6. Not Me - also how do you say antidisestablishmentarianism in Thai? + hot boys kissing who probably shouldn't be and convoluted soap opera identical twins plot... someone at GMMTV thought it made sense, we just here for the tattoos and the the Pride scene

7. The Eighth Sense - who let Korea be this angsty? SO MUCH TENSION.

8. Unintentional Love Story - omg the plot, forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the eyes EMOTING at us in PAIN

9. HIStory 3: Trapped - hot cop falls in love with hotter mafia boss he is chasing for MURDER (bonus weirdly domesticated switch-blade wielding hit-man obsessed with geeky police tech support - COME ON)

10. Long Time No See - assassins, cat fishing, either side of a turf war, HOT sex scenes then even hotter beating the shit out of each other and kissing while COVERED IN BLOOD (this came from KOREA?)

There.

All kinds of flavors.

One of them just HAS to work!

If not, you could go for shorts. Try Strongberry:

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