#Barrier-Free Home Design

[tasteleeknow]

handled.

minors dni. minho x fem!reader. hands on necks (not exactly choking but choking adjacent). dirty talk. slightly rough piv. soft!dom minho.

It's not what you expect, the first time someone reaches out to wrap their fingers around your throat. It's during a lesson in self-defence, part of a compulsory skill. You flinch away as their fingertips graze your skin, scrunching your shoulders at the unnatural feeling. It's not a neutral act, a simple experience of skin on skin.

There's something deep down, an instinct designed to make the feeling of another person's hands around your neck inherently discomforting.

It takes many attempts for you to build a tolerance to it, the anxious feeling never settling completely despite your ability to hold still.

It was hard to imagine how the act could ever elicit anything other than that deep, instinctual urge to squirm away.

Until him.

His fingers flex as he tugs the black glove down his wrist a little further. It's a vital part of his costume as far as your concerned, a last minute addition ties up his all-black theme perfectly.

"Are you having fun?" you question, back pressed against a wall in a dark corner of the room.

The New Year was around the corner, the costume party in full swing around you. It'd taken a doe eyed look and a soft kiss to his neck to convince your boyfriend to join you.

He offers you a small lopsided smile, the delicate lip ring balanced prettily on his lower lip. "Mm," he hums with a small nod.

You tug him a little closer, "You sure? I know it's a little more crowded than I—"

"I'm fine," he says, the bare fingers of his glove free hand stroking gently over your wrist. "I'm all good."

If you were being totally honest with yourself, a (not so small) part of you hope he'd ask to leave. Getting him dressed up like this was the best part of the entire night, you'd decided. Now, you'd very much rather be at home taking the costume off him than stand around in a crowd of drunk partygoers.

The lip ring presses into his plush lip a little as he nibbles at it for a moment. You could leave the accessories on him. The ring, the silver necklace hanging around his collar—just long enough to tickle your chin if he was above you... and then there was the glove. Your eyes drop involuntarily to the hand in question.

"What about you?" Minho asks, tugging your eyes back to his.

"Hm?"

"Having fun?"

You blink.

He smiles, keenly aware of your propensity to drift elsewhere. "What you thinking about?" he asks. You would have answered him. You were too far into your relationship to be timid about such things. But then... then he reaches up with that hand... the dark, smooth fabric cool against your skin as he tilts your chin up a little. "Talk to me," he encourages gently.

Oh, he knows. Of course, he knows.

"Do you like my costume?"

His eyes drop down your body quickly. "Mm," he hums. "Very pretty."

"I like yours too."

He fails to suppress an amused, knowing smile. "Yeah?" His hand drifts from your chin along your jaw, coming to rest just below your ear. It allows his gloved thumb to play with your lobe a little as he steps into you a little more. "What do you like about it?"

"Fishing for compliments?"

"You seem desperate to offer them."

You frown, "No."

"No?" he questions, stepping even closer. He's pressed against you now, warm and dark—a barrier between you and the rest of the room. "My sweet girl wouldn't lie to me." He leans over you, lips brushing your jawline. "Would she?" he adds with a whisper. His breath tickles, hot against your sensitive neck.

You realise your error then. It was too late. The time had passed for you to drag him home and tear the dark clothes from him in the privacy of your shared apartment.

It was happening here.

Your eyes flick quickly across the room before you're grabbing his wrist and tugging him along with you, dodging drunk friends and acquaintances as you beeline for the hallway door.

Minho chuckles behind you, letting you tug him along without resistance.

You'd let you of tomorrow contemplate the decisions you make next. When you find each room taken, occupied by a couple or a group of intoxicated friends, you tug open the laundry door and slam it behind you both. There's a small lock on the door handle. You twist it.

"You like it that much, then?" Minho says from behind you.

He's leaning against the washing machine when you turn, arms crossed—sleeves rolled to his elbows.

You take in a few shallow breaths before he's stepping towards you and lifting you off your feet. It shouldn't be as easy as it is for him to lift you on top of the dryer. He settles between your legs, hands gliding up and down your thighs a few times.

His dark hair has loosened a little over the evening, the hairspray you'd used to keep it in place off his forehead giving into the humidity and copious tousles by distracted fingers. There's a lock hanging just over one of his eyes.

You reach up to brush it aside delicately.

"I lied," Minho whispers, seemingly prompted out of silence by your action. "When I said it's pretty..." he thumbs at the hem of your dress where he's slipped it up your thigh. "...I lied." His fingers brush your skin on one thigh, the fabric of his glove is cold against the other. "Pretty isn't right," he continues. "It makes me want to hold you down... sink into you..." His gloved hand snakes up your side slowly, coming to rest at the base of your neck. His fingers are splayed out across your collarbones, just below the point that would normally make you itch to squirm away.

"Min?"

His eyes flick up from your neck. His fingers twitch against you. "Mm," he hums. It's a sweet sound, in total contrast to the way he looks at you. Like he wants to tear you apart. You find you like the idea. You also find... that you wish his fingers would inch up just a little.

It's not a thought you dwell on. Instead you reach up slowly, like he might spook, and wrap your fingers around his wrist.. then slowly... gently... you guide his hand up to your throat. His eyes stay fixed on yours; his fingers ghost light on your skin.

"Don't look at me like that," he says as your fingers squeeze his wrist. "All fucking sweet like you don't want me to—"

"Please," you interrupt.

He leans forward with a groan, lips pressing to the side of your neck. He squeezes slightly at the movement. It's enough to have you dropping your head back.

It's different. It's so different to how it'd been with a stranger, with someone other than him. This makes you want to crawl under his skin, beg him to hold you and consume you—to take you. His. His. His.

"Minho," you gasp as his lips part and suck at your neck, his wet tongue poking out to lave at the marks he leaves as he goes.

His hand stays at your neck as he works, a comforting and steady pressure. He's got you, it says.

A tiny clink breaks you from your trance. His lip ring is gone when he pulls back, fallen into the dark and bouncing off things around you as it goes. You could not care less. You tug him back towards you, hands at the back of his neck to guide him. His lips are wet and hot against yours, moving with a laziness that did not at all align with upbeat music and countdown starting outside.

His tongue slips out to meet yours, his body falling over you a little in a desperate attempt to get closer. 8...7...6... the partygoers chant. Your fingers grasp at his hair, tugging a little. He whines. 3...2... You could be anywhere... you ponder as the cheers start and the new year begins. You could be anywhere and anytime, and all that would matter would be whether he was there with you.

His breath comes out in deep gasps when you finally part. It's a brief reprieve. He's on you in the next second, tugging your hips towards his and burying himself inside you. It's your turn to attach yourself to his neck, kissing and biting your way through his sharp drives into you. The dryer bangs against the wall behind you with each one.

"This what you wanted?" he gasps as you fall back on your hands. His hands grasp your hips. One warm. One cold. "Hm?"

His lips glisten with spit, a mixture of each of you. You're about to reach towards him again, desperate to taste him, when he releases one hand from your hip.

It's the bare hand this time, that wraps around your neck. It's worse—better. His fingers twitch each time he pumps into you. Your pulse flutters against them. You can feel it.

Then he pauses, tugs you flush against him—buried deep. "My sweet girl," he says. He presses his fingers into your skin at each side of your neck. It doesn't cut off your breath, instead, your cunt clenches around him—your high taking you off guard. It's a rush, a heaviness in your head that seems to match perfectly with the heavy, fullness of his cock buried deep.

There's something deep down, an instinct designed to make the feeling of another person's hands around your neck inherently discomforting. And then... there's this.

[ham1lton]

the talk.

pairing: lando norris x fellow driver’s sister!reader.

format: mixed media smau.

summary: when o/s asked you to apologise to lando she did not expect for you to start dating him? you decide to break the news over lunch at her favourite restaurant. we’ll see how that goes…

author's note: your favourite sisters on the grid are back! the baddest bitches. also you all voted on giving o/s a bf so keep an eye out for that. if you’re confused on the addition of o/s’s bff - read party in the u.s.a. for more clarification!

— part of the nepo sister universe —

liked by oldersister, oldersisterbff and 367,691 others.

yourusername: beachtime!! also someone needs to teach those girls in the second slide some manners…. nasty 😒

oldersister: you’re just jealous.

-> oldersisterbff: she doesn’t understand us pookie bear….

-> yourusername: sometimes it shocks me that you’re both older than me and also considered as the best in your respective fields….

user7: the beach designs are so cute!!

user1: what i would give to have o/s gently put her leg over my arm…

-> user2: what i would give to gently put my leg over o/s/bff’s arm…

user8: you think you’re so slick with the soft launch…

-> oldersister: omg i almost didn’t see it…

-> yourusername: THANKS A LOT user8 😒

-> user8: my bad bae 😩‼️

————————————————————————

————————————————————————

DINNER TRANSCRIPT BETWEEN OLDER SISTER L/N AND Y/N L/N

-> as detailed and described to her boyfriend LANDO NORRIS.

Y/N (monologue): so to start, i obviously allowed her to take us to a restaurant that she liked to get her in a good mood. i even get there early. i’m all ready, let be rephrase, i was all ready and early, when my sister walked in. she already was mad so i got a start on ordering my food so she’d have to pay the bill.

LANDO: you and your free dinners.

Y/N: keep talking and you’ll fund my ubereats for the next month. this is a monologue lando.

LANDO: got it babe. mouth zipped. no more words.

Y/N: okay so she sits down and gives me a glare. i’m like ‘oh my beautiful amazing sister who funds my eating habits. i wonder how i have annoyed you on this glorious day’.

Y/N as O/S: stop talking shit and tell me who you’re dating.

Y/N: oh no! my sweet glorious sister! i can’t tell you that! you might cut me off your credit card!

Y/N as O/S: i would never do that. i am a fair and sweet sister. i love you y/n and i will give you a lot of money to prove this.

Y/N: oh thank you! love you. then that’s the part where we hugged it out.

LANDO: has anyone ever told you that you should go into acting babe?

Y/N: yes! you think i have a future in it?

LANDO: yes! now tell me what really happened.

Y/N: i said i was dating you. she spat out her drink and started choking on something. we had to call the ambulance and take her to the hospital. she woke up and thought it was a nightmare. then i told her, she vomited and she fainted. to be honest…. i was expecting it to worse. that’s pretty tame. i think she likes you!

————————————————————————

liked by rollingstone, user67 and 1,283,892 others.

oldersister: thank you to rolling stone for photographing me as a part of their front cover. being interviewed in my own home seemed daunting but it was so seamless and fun.

we talked about betrayal, fashion and navigating being a barrier breaker. go read the full article on rolling stone’s website or in the physical march copy!

oldersisterbff: my best friend is so hot and sexy i love you 😍

-> oldersisterbff: hot, sexy and smart? what can’t you do bae?

-> oldersister: lots of things. like ending climate change.

-> oldersisterbff: i think you could 🤷🏼‍♀️

user17: yourusername hasn’t liked this… um…

-> user72: she doesn’t have to like every one of o/s’s post. you forget she actually sees her sister in person.

user455: i love listening to her thoughts. she’s so intelligent i love it.

-> user12: she has two degrees! one she got and an honorary one!

-> user23: unlike lando. does he even have his gcses?

-> user89: stop comparing the two lol. both of them have complained about how annoying it is.

-> user23: comparison is a part of the job. get over it.

user61: she’s so hot. need her sooo bad actually.

rollingstone: we loved having you o/s as our cover girl!

-> oldersister: i loved being your cover girl!

————————————————————————

————————————————————————

liked by oldersisterbff, yourbff and 308,727 others.

yourusername: my bitch pose is NAYYYSSTY…don’t ever play with the cat…. that ELBOWWW…

landonorris: when you said you were hard launching me… this isn’t what i was expecting tbh.

-> yourusername: u look cute mwah 😘

-> landonorris: i’ll take anything you give me stink 🤤🤤

oldersister: just vomited actually…. trigger warning next time please.

-> oldersisterbff: i’m omw babe.

-> oldersister: hurry i can feel the light fading from my eyes…

-> yourusername: BOOOOOO!!! you are not florence pugh.

user56: is this the betrayal o/s was talking about in the rolling stone interview??? she’s so dramatic lmaoooo.

oldersister: this is your man?

-> yourusername: yesss 😍😍😍

-> landonorris: hey sister in law 😁

-> oldersister: blocked for harassment.

-> landonorris: NOOOOOOO 😭

user73: how she a nepo baby twice. got f1 connections through her sister and her boyfriend?

-> user89: not how nepotism works tbh….

user67: he looks so goofy lmaooo.

-> yourusername: good keep thinking that. more for me.

-> user67: girl i want you not him 😭

-> landonorris: nuh uh 🙄👎🏼 you can’t have her user67.

————————————————————————

taglist: @23victoria @luckyladycreator2 @mxdi0 @booksandflowrs @charlesleclercsonlywife @molten-m122 @casperlikej @nichmeddar @decafmickey @evie-119 @ironmaiden1313 @d3kstar (wanna be removed? send an ask!)

— wanna be tagged in any future works? join my taglist! —

[motorsportbarbie13]

What's A Soulmate? Part 4

In which you finally come back home.

Warnings: alcohol use. angst. Pairing: Lando Norris X SainzSister!Reader Word count: 1.9k plus social media posts

- What's A Soulmate? - Part 1 - What's A Soulmate? - Part 2 - What's A Soulmate? - Part 2.5 - What's a Soulmate - Part 3 - Master List

LittlestSainzSis honey, i'm home. user433 isn't it weird she's working for McLaren and not Ferrari??? >>>user3928 nope! hope this helps! user2918 press officer job right out of school? must be nice being a nepo baby >>>user328 she literally worked for Carlos and Lando for two years before going to uni at NYU??? And she has a double degree in PR and business??? >>>usesr322 just say you're jealous next time, it'll be quicker. McLaren So glad to have you back in the paddock!!

LittlestSainzSis fast cars go vroom OscarPiastri so you're who Zak was yelling at to get behind the barrier over the radio??? >>>LittlestSainzSis oops!

LittlestSainzSis that feeling when you wake up and realize it's race day!! user3928: face card never declines user298: blah blah, proper name, place name, back story stuff LandoNorris: don't let that cute face fool you, she was yelling at Oscar and I ten seconds after I took this. >>>LittlestSainzSis neither of you were listening!!! God, this is 2019 all over again, isn't it? >>>user992 ariana what are you doing hereeeeee??? >>>user9383 seriously the first time Lando's in the comments in literal years. tf??? >>>user938 so we're all just going to ignore him calling her cute??? okay???

LittlestSainzSis the boys are ready for race day!!! McLaren best press officer award goes to you bby! >>>user382 admin is unhinged today, I see user0392 i just love seeing Lando back on her feed. >>>user3938 seriously. i feel like mom and dad are back together again. >>>user3844 i'm so glad i don't have to be a child of divorce anymore.

LittlestSainzSis caught someone being a grumpy gills today during the presser. LandoNorris i was probably hungry >>>LittlestSainzSis i think oscar had just told you he was getting sushi with Lily tonight and you got all pouty >>>user948 not her selling out Lando in the comments user938 Chaos Gremlins back to terrorizing paddock! war is over!

Miami May 2024

“Fifteen times Lando Norris has stood on the podium, but never on the top step, until now! It’s a landmark day for Lando! Lando Norris wins for the first time in Formula One! It’s victory in Miami for Norris and McLaren! The British drivers dream is realized and at the 110th attempt, he’s done it! He’s won it! Look what it means to Zak Brown! At long last, Lando is your winner!” 

Tears stream down your face as you listen to Alex Jacques call the end of the race in your headphones, his voice filled with glee and excitement that matches the feeling in the McLaren garage. After yesterday’s DNF for Lando, it had been pretty doom and gloom on his side of the garage. 

Your heart had ached when you caught sight of him that afternoon, sitting in the glass enclosed conference room that the team used to go over race data. He had been all alone, spinning aimlessly in one of the chairs, face drawn and shuttered. You had wanted to go to him then but hadn’t worked up the courage. 

Things were still…delicate between the two of you. After that first night in Australia, Lando had kept his promise to win your friendship back. You more often than not found your morning coffee order sitting at your desk waiting for you during the week with a silly note written hastily on a posit in his chicken scratch writing that only you seemed to be able to decipher. 

A few treats and free coffee weren’t going to be enough to bring back that casual intimacy that you and Lando had though, you both knew that. The walls you had built up so high around your heart designed specifically for the British driver were still solidly in place and you refused to go running back into his arms so easily. 

And then, Miami happens.

The hot sticky humidity clings to your skin as you watch Lando climb out of the car behind the black and white number 1 sign, the first time he’s been able to park his Formula 1 car right in the middle of parc fermi. You’re not entirely sure where the humidity of Florida ends and the tears still falling from your eyes begins, you’re such a mess. 

If you were to think too hard about it, the fact that you were a complete puddle of jumbled up emotion would surely scare you a little. Those walls, they couldn’t be crumbling now, could they? They couldn’t be slowly tumbling down, allowing for the while possibility of allowing Lando back into your life like he had been before? 

You don’t have time to get too lost in those dangerous kinds of thoughts though because soon after he hops off the car, he’s running straight over to the garage crew and leaping into their waiting arms. He’s waited for so long for this, so many poor performances, so many mistakes and problems with the car had sent him spiraling for so many years. There had been too many nights you had spent with him when he was barely more than a teenager, sat on the floor lamenting about how shit his car was, how shit his driving was, and if he was destined to be one of those midfield drivers that never won anything in their career. 

All of those doubts are erased now and your tears are falling again as the weight of what he’s done settles over the paddock. His engineers and mechanics eventually place him back down on the ground and he’s hugging Zak next, the CEO of McLaren more of a father figure to him by now. Will gets a hug too, his engineer since he joined the team five years ago. 

And then, icy blue green eyes snag yours and everything else falls away in a muted hush. He’s smiling at you, that megawatt grin making his eyes crinkle up at the corners. It’s one of those genuine Lando smiles that you haven’t been on the receiving end of for far too long. Your heart stutters to a stop when you realize you’re his next target. What is he doing? You think frantically, mortified that you’re about to be the center of attention if he does what you think he’s going to do. 

And he does. He throws his arms around your shoulders and buries his head deep into the crook of your neck, a move that has camera shutters clicking furiously all around you. You, of course, instantly find your arms wrapped around his shoulders, squeezing him to you despite the metal barrier between you. 

“You’re here.” He sounds surprised that you’d miss this moment. 

“Of course I am. My best friend just won his first Grand Prix.” You whisper into his ear as the crowd continues to grow louder. 

Lando pulls back then, tears shining in his eyes. The weight of your words settle on his shoulders and you don’t think you’ve ever seen him look at you the way he is now. He tucks a strand of hair that’s fallen out of your pony tail behind your ear, looking at you like you’ve hung both the moon and the stars in the sky just for him. “I’m so glad you got to be here for this, pretty girl.” 

God, that nickname. It’s the first time you’ve heard it in years and it does significant damage to those carefully constructed walls. 

You smile up at Lando, a little bashful that everyone is watching you two talk so closely together. He returns the smile before turning around to answer a question from one of the officials. He needs to take care of post race inspections, which he does but not before turning back and tossing a wink at you over his shoulder. 

LittleSainzSis It has been a pleasure and privlidge watching you grow over all these years. Life may have taken us in different directions over the last few years but when I say there is no place I would have rather been this afternoon, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Your friendship means the entire world to me, Mr. Norris. I'm so proud of you. One win down, so many more to go. LandoNorris so glad you got to be there today, pretty girl xo >>>user948 WE GOT A PRETTY GIRL COMMENT. >>>user0383 i can die happy now user0832 i'm sorry but guys, she literally just friendzoned him so hard in that caption. >>>user9383 yeah, poor lando

LittlestSainzSis You're going to smell like champagne for weeks LandoNorris worth it user948 EXCUSE ME WHAT IS THAT FACE. explain yourself lando norris. user928 did we mean to post this on main ma'am??? user9482 @/littlestsainzsis giving us what we all crave: lando thirst traps. >>>littlestsainzsis don't say i never give you guys anything ever again ;) >>>user9482 omg hi queen

LittlestSainzSis find yourself a man that looks at you like Lan looks at that trophy user0382 LANNNN??? >>>user9484 I am unwell CarlosSainz He's sleeping with it tonight, isn't he? >>>LandoNorris who told you that??? user9383 i feel like i'm interrupting something here... user0309 this picture is...a choice...

The music of the Miami night club pulses through your body as you sink deeper and deeper into the VIP booth later that night. Lando hadn’t given you any room for arguments after all the media duties were done. You were coming out with him and the rest of the team to celebrate. You had barely tried to refuse, not giving him much of a fight because you secretly wanted nothing more. 

Now you sat in the leather booth situated high up in the dark Miami Beach night club that had invited Lando out the moment he had crossed the finish line earlier in the day. There were what felt like thousands of people, most of them were there to celebrate with Lando, hoping to get a glimpse of the driver. 

Alcohol burns at the back of your throat, blurring your vision nicely as you wait for Lando to return from the bar. You had insisted that he wasn’t the one who should be making drink runs tonight but he had insisted on getting you another one and hadn’t taken no for an answer. Carlos is sat next to you, nursing a drink while talking to Charles on his other side.

A small glass is set down in front of you, drawing your attention away from the DJ booth, where you had been starting. 

“Vodka sprite for my pretty girl.” Lando murmurs in your ear, the words sending a cool shiver up your spine.  

You desperately tamp down the way that being called his makes you feel. You cannot be going down that road. Not now when the friendship between the two of you is so fragile. You knew what it was like to lose him in your life and you weren’t sure if you were willing to risk losing him again. 

The same worries you had back before it all went sideways worm their way back into your consciousness. He was too important to you, too integrated into your soul that when he disappeared, it left you broken in a million pieces. You couldn’t risk that again. This had to be strictly platonic between you if it was going to work. You couldn’t afford to lose your best friend again. Those walls around your heart needed to be reinforced and brought back into working order because there was no way you could let this happen. 

“Dance with me?” The question is a husky one, whispered in your ear so no one else is privy to it. 

You know it’s dangerous. You should say no. But the vodka already in your system convinces you that it’s fine. It’s just Lando. So against your what your sober self would consider the best judgement, you feel yourself nodding, allowing Lando to tangle his fingers with yours and pull you out onto the dance floor. 

If you had been paying better attention, you would have seen the looks Carlos and Charles exchanged behind your back. They were well aware of the frosty relationship that Lando and you had over the last few years and this was a development no one had seen coming but everyone had been hoping for all the same. 

The EDM beats are strong and sensual as Lando leads you out onto the floor, hand firmly gripping yours. He finds an open spot and pulls you towards him, the heat of his body radiating off of him in waves. His hands land on your hips, fingertips gripping at your skirt a little harder than really necessary. You shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’t want his hands on your hips, his breath mingling with yours, his curls so dangerously close that you could easily rake your fingers through them. You shouldn’t and you can’t because he’s left you before and he could do it all over again. He’s abandoned you and didn’t come back and every sane thought in your body is screaming at you that this man is dangerous. He is dangerous to your heart and your head is thrashing around so loudly but it’s drowned out by the music. 

You simply can’t fight it when he pulls you impossibly closer, hands sliding from your hips lower, lower, lower until it’s almost indecent. The alcohol blurs the edges of your usually sharp judgement and it’s not helped by the fact that this man seems to have cast a spell over you. You can’t want this. Can’t love how the weight of his hands feel on your skin. Can’t adore how his lips tick up at the edges when he sees you walk into the garage during a race weekend. 

This is Lando after all. Your best friend. Your best friend who abandoned you once and had only barely just come back begging for forgiveness. You can’t allow him to knock down those walls so quickly, can you? 

His lips flutter over the damp skin at your temple, dusting the slightest kiss there, almost as if it’s a test. A test to see if you push him away or allow him in. 

A test that you fail. 

Because the moment his lips touch your skin, it feels like a bucked of ice water has been splashed over your head and you realize what the fuck you’re doing. Its too hot. Too close. Too much and you simply can’t have him touching you anymore. No, this isn’t how it’s supposed to happen. Panic races through you as you stumble back out of his arms, logic finally winning out over your own heart’s stupidity. 

The delicate balance you had struck with him shatters in an instant because you both knew there was supposed to be more between you but you’re desperately scared and Lando is so wretchedly full of regret he can’t stand it. 

“I’m sorry.” Is all you manage to choke out before fleeing. 

Tag List: @anilovessadbooks, @shelbyteller, @formulaal, @martygraciesversion381, @longhairkoo, @samantha-chicago, @stelena-klayley @dark-night-sky-99 @luckylampzonkland, @chlmtfilms , @inarabee @aykxz98 @forensicheart @cheer-bear-go-vroom @lieutenantchaos @willowsnook @sltwins @linnygirl09 @powerfulmess @technicallypleasanttree @meglouise00 @mixedstyles @strawberryy-kiwii @secret-agents-stole-my-bunnies @unknownmystery22 @mrosales16 @charlesgirl16

(Some of the tags aren't working? LMK if you want to be added/removed but I'm like 99% certain I have everyone!)

[bob-artist]

Just found you via your funny dream comic. Good stuff 😆. Definitely gonna read the rest, and I was surprised you had your own website. Looks good on mobile too. I’ve got a comic that some friends keep trying to build me a site for but I’ve been telling them no because it seems like between webtoon and social media nobody is interested in personal sites anymore.

Have you noticed an uptick in engagement from your site? Would you recommend going that route? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

I’m also interested in how you decided to build/host it, if that question isn’t too lame.

Anyway, glad I found your comics!

Ah thank you for checking out Into the Smoke's website!!

Oh, I have SO many thoughts about independent webcomic sites and why people should have them. I have so many thoughts, and I'm so so sorry.

Why did I decide to have my own webcomic site?

First of all, this is not a lame question and I wish we could all have this conversation more often, so I could maybe write just a paragraph instead of this whole dissertation!

1. Because I lived through webcomics history.

I launched my first webcomic in 2011. I watched the webcomics scene shift over the years from self-hosted sites to third party sites, and I saw what it meant for independent creators. We lost vital infrastructure, relationships, habits, and control over our own work. I think self-hosted sites are an important backbone for creators, even if/when their largest *numbers* come from a third party site.

We’re all supposed to be helping each other, not fighting each other to satisfy the algorithm. Our early tools (webrings, link trades, comic databases, sharing each other’s posts) were small but meaningful, and they also helped us maintain a community mindset in a long and sometimes lonely line of work. When we started leaning on hosting sites, we let a lot of those tools and relationships decay. And now a lot of people are locked into imbalanced relationships with hosting sites that leave them with very little agency and control over their work and how it’s shared (or isn’t shared).

Hosting sites are great for removing barriers to entry (cost/time to build a site). And a lot of them have large built-in audiences. But the big ones aren’t run by people who care about creators. They’re designed to extract the maximum value from your work while giving you the least they can get away with. Use them if you want (I do), but don't be dependent on them.

2. Comics are the main thing I do for a living, and a website gives me the tools to promote my work and build relationships with my readers.

Most apps and third party sites actively prevent or suppress these things. On your own site, you can share all the info you want about your upcoming Kickstarter, your tradpub book release, your merch, etc. You can collect email addresses for your newsletter. You can literally just talk about your weekend, and you’re not gonna have a 150-character limit.

Yeah, not everyone wants to read a wall of text (ha ha...), but acting like a person reminds readers to treat you like a person. This is one of my main gripes with the apps and social media - they suppress human connection and present you like a cog in their machine that only exists to churn out free content.

3. I have a consistent home base and full control over how my work is displayed.

I don’t have to fight against an app that’s trying to direct my readers toward whichever content is most profitable for them. On an app, the readers “belong” to them, not you. (Who has their email addresses?) So if I'm putting effort into promoting my comic, I'm promoting my own site. (oh look, I just did it.)

Hosting sites/apps aren't designed to showcase your work. They showcase the app’s collection, and they're designed to keep readers on the app, jumping from creator to creator. This can help readers find you, but it also devalues your work and dilutes its impact.

And the app might not show your work to anyone anyway. Tapas is a great example; they recently redesigned their site to prioritize their Originals, and independent creators are hidden away in a “community” tab with barely any discoverability anymore. This is always the struggle on a third party site.

4. I hate censorship.

Into the Smoke is Teen 16/17+ and Demon of the Underground is R/18+. My comics aren’t even explicit, but I still can’t post my true, uncensored vision for either story on third party apps governed by Apple’s App Store and Visa/Mastercard’s tight content restrictions.

If webcomics exist exclusively on apps with heavy censorship, we’ll never have the diversity of storytelling and freedom of expression that’s necessary for groundbreaking or subversive art to happen. And that’s bad for everyone.

Adult brains need to engage with adult concepts. Difficult and triggering topics need to be explored in creative spaces. Artists need freedom to stretch their creative muscles without falling into the damaging patterns of self-censorship that come from having to tiptoe around arbitrary platform rules.

We can’t let the rules of like 3 American companies dictate what every webcomic reader around the world is allowed to read.

5. An independent website can’t easily be taken away from you.

Just make regular backups! You can always move to a new web host and redirect URLs if needed, and you won't lose your readers. On the other hand, you can easily lose the bulk of your audience on a third party site based on circumstances outside your control.

Let’s talk about Smack Jeeves, a formerly popular webcomic hosting site that was bought out and then shut down, leaving lots of cartoonists homeless. Or we can talk about the Tumblr NSFW purge of 2018, where I lost a huge chunk of my first webcomic’s following and most of my webcomic mutuals, even though my own account stayed within the rules. Or Musk buying Twitter, the platform where I once found my literary agent through a publishing event but now get no traction at all.

Have I noticed an uptick in engagement from my site?

I don’t have analytics on my site yet. But, up until a few days ago, that's where people were reading, thanks to my own efforts and the support of my comics friends and all of y’all who shared my ITS posts. (THANK YOU ALL!) I didn't have any discoverability on Webtoon or Tapas yet.

I got 10-15 new patrons between May 25 and June 5. Up until a few days ago, I even had more ITS newsletter subscribers than Webtoon subscribers.

What happened a few days ago is my Webtoon mirror suddenly blew up with 100+ new subs a day. I don’t know where I’m being featured, but I know I’m only getting those readers because Webtoon suddenly chose to grant me visibility. That can end just as instantly with an algorithm tweak or them deciding not to show my comic anymore. (When my first webcomic was in one of their pay programs in 2018, I went from $300 or $400/month to $0 overnight due to a policy change.) So I’ll enjoy it while it lasts, but I won't de-prioritize my website.

The new Webtoon readers are awesome and supportive, and I’m 100% thrilled to have them. But the Webtoon influx isn't resulting in a Patreon influx like my website launch did. I wouldn't expect it to, this early in the story. But it's consistent with my past experience polling my patrons: even when 50% of my readers came from the apps, 90% of patrons read on my website. (Your audience may vary.) And since I depend on crowdfunding for my comic, that's important to me.

Would I recommend going the route of having your own site?

For anyone who’s just testing the waters with webcomics, it might be overkill.

But for anyone who’s committed to their webcomic, I recommend having your own site AND mirroring on every third party site you can, provided you’re cool with their terms of service. It's important to meet readers where they are. Let those hosting sites lend you their readers. Some readers will even want to visit your home site where they can read ahead, read the uncensored version of your comic, get more info, or sign up for your newsletter.

Just remember, no one will discover your independent website all on their own. They’ll only find it through the work you put into promotion. But the reader that cares enough to come to your home site is a special type of reader.

So how do you get readers to visit an independent webcomic site?

Find your allies

These are people who work in similar areas as you who want to help you succeed, and whom you want to help succeed. Chat with each other, help each other, promote each other, boost each other, link to each other (psst, my links page just went live!), be there for each other - behind the scenes and in public.

God, I am SO bad at approaching people, but this is important, and not just for comics.

Be part of a community

Really, this is an extension of the above point. It's easier to find your allies if you're part of a community.

I’m a member of the Cartoonist Cooperative, and they’re a GREAT group of talented people all across the comics industry. The mission of @cartoonistcoop is to help create better conditions for comic workers through cooperation and collective action, and I’ve found so much help from them with Into the Smoke and comics as a whole. (JOIN! They're great!!)

The goal of the co-op isn't to drive traffic to your website. But being part of it has helped me at every level of crafting my comic, including promoting it and making it good enough that I can take pride in promoting it. And it's helped me ground myself as part of a community after I lost so much of mine in past years of burnout and platform enshittification.

Another option: @spiderforestcomics is a great webcomic collective full of supportive creators, and I believe they’re open to submissions till the end of June! They also have an awesome collaborative community mindset, and I've known some of their members for years.

Direct readers to your RSS feed and newsletter

Getting readers to your website is great, but they need to keep coming back for future updates, and it’s hard to remind them without an app notification. You may need to teach younger readers what RSS feeds are. Inoreader is a great RSS reader for the 2024 era.

The dreaded SEO

That’s Search Engine Optimization - optimizing your website so that people can easily find your comic via search engines. That’s a topic for another day, but feel free to research it!

Paid promo

This can be tricky, and I really only recommend spending promo money if you’re making a comic on a professional basis, because then it’s an investment you'll make back.

That said, Comicad.net is a great independent site where you can buy banner slots on other creators’ sites. I just ran small campaign myself. (And no, I won’t ever be offended if you outbid me!)

I haven’t bought any Tumblr Blaze slots, but I got BOPPed (blaze other people’s posts; apparently that’s what it’s called, lol) once on this account and once on a side blog, and both were highly impactful. (Thanks, friend!!) So I consider it a solid option, and it looks really cheap compared to other social media sites. (Never trust Meta.)

And where can you learn more about building a webcomic site?

I know you didn't ask, but if I'm gonna share all this, I might as well give folks a starting place to actually do the thing.

Now, I’m *bad* at offering cheap and easy web solutions. My specialty is hard and expensive. But my one piece of advice: PLEASE make your webcomic site mobile friendly for the current generation of readers! When we talk about barriers to entry, remember that more people have phones than computers, and many can't afford computers.

Anyway, here's some webcomic website resources from OTHER people!

The Cartoonist Co-op has LOTS of great resources on building webcomic sites! Several of them! Check them all out!

@screentonescast has a podcast episode on webcomic web design and one on RSS feeds!

@jeypawlik also has a great comic about how RSS feeds work.

So, congrats if you made it this far. Go make a website, y'all! And if you read any indie comics, go visit the creator's website!

[kingprinceleo]

Vampire Au Master-ish Post

Summary -

Angel Island is the only life Sonic has ever known. Being trapped within the permanent barrier encasing the 8 islands isnt quite his style, so finding a way to destroy it and explore the world below has been his goal for as long as he can remember. Hes got a number of other things keeping him occupied however, trying to prevent the Robotnik family from taking over total control of the islands. 

When he isnt fighting them off, hes hanging out with his friends, living his best life being a vampire both day and night. When he wants to get everyone off his back, and feed from his favorite vampire hater, Shadow, he uses his magic staff to change his appearance into an alter ego, Hoax the "Tenrec.”

–

Vampire au is a generally slice of life episodic style au, mostly focused on being lighthearted and goofy. 

Occasionally plot driven with slightly heavier themes though. (And sometimes I hit the angst button for funsies)

Major Locations-

Angel Island- One main island and 7 smaller islands surrounding it, completely encased by an impenetrable barrier powered by the chaos emeralds. Separated into the Wild Zones and City Zones. 

City Zones are Geralds surveillance state, a massive sprawling city with high tech from Ivo. The second sector of the city, a bit farther out, is Ivos sandbox, filled with casinos and terrible attractions, and many of his bases. Both plan to expand further into the island, they beef a little over who gets what. 

Wild Zones are less developed areas further away from their reach, more community based overgrown homes. Left to nature and the recovery from old ruins. Sonic protects these areas with his life.

Sol- A pocket dimension, a society of majority vampires and mobians living peacefully together. The kingdom of Sol is a deep cave underground, with strange lush vegetation and ceiling so high it mimics the sky. There's massive tree roots buried deep in the canyon, an important food source for the vampires. 

Accessed by a closed gateway hidden deep within Angel Island. Sol is the origin of vampires.

The mainland- the rest of the world outside of Angel Island 

Characters-

Sonic- Bitten by a vampiric Chao around 5 years old, Sonic is a free spirited vampire who likes to live life a day at a time. He's thinks of himself as a smooth charmer, and he's a bit of a dater.

He loves the thrill of any sort of adventure he can dig his claws into on Angel Island, mostly stopping Eggman's onslaught of bots from trying to turn the untouched wild areas of the island into his newest casino. 

He's up both day and night, usually only crashing to take naps, or otherwise being forced to sleep by his friends. Though the sun hurts him, he finds himself always missing the days where he could soak in its rays.

Hoax, Sonics night form, is a purely cosmetic change he shifts into with his star staff, a gift from Amy. He uses it for days when he wants a break from people trying to Get Him 24/7. He used to use it to break into Eggman's bases, where a strange, but tasty artificial blood was being held. More recently it's become a way to secure drinking that blood from the host himself.

Shadow- Shadow is a paranoid mess of a man, with a deep running hatred for vampires, decked out in silver to keep them away. Though he prefers to be left alone, he will take any and all opportunities to kill a vampire if he suspects they want anything to do with him. It is often misguided. During the evening he works as a cook under Knuckles. During the night he heists the Robotniks facilities with Rouge, looking for any goods. 

Whenever he travels out to the city zones, he wears a mask and full outfit designed after a vulture to hide his identity since he's wanted by the city. 

Shadow has a special blood type, artificially made and containing black arms blood, it has strengthening and healing properties and tastes good to vampires ! Shadow tries to protect himself and his blood at all costs. Unfortunately he made a deal with Hoax to feed him. Also has no idea he has chaos control, the power is dormant in his body. Though he can manipulate the energy from Chaos Drives a little bit. He relies on guns and knifes day to day.

Amy- A half vampire seedrian witch. She's full of life and a bit quirky. She is learning to incorporate magic into all aspects of her life. A lot of attempts tend to cause chaos but she's always learning something new! She has a little bit of a crush on Sonic and has always dreamed of proposing to him with a ring that would protect him from the sun, though she isn't skilled enough to create it yet. Being a seedrian vampire means the flowers on her head need to photosynthesize under the moonlight to eat rather than drink blood. Though she does have a deep and instinctual urge to kill plants.

Tails- a lonely engineer, working on the edge of the city. New to teenagehood, he's edgy and grumpy all the time. He's very distant from his friends, incredibly insistent he's all grown up and needs no one but himself. 

Knuckles- a hard working farmer out in the wilds, using his produce to supply his pizza food truck, which recently upgraded to a brick and mortar restaurant. In his free time he goes around Angel Island to treasure hunt and learn about the history of the island, littered with many ruins of ages past. 

Rouge- a sneaky vampire who lives off the grid, completely unknown to the surveillance state of the city. Shadow lives with her in her home carved inside of a mountain to hide both of them. Huge fan of bat and blood themed decor. Shadow does Not know she's a vampire. Vampirism enhanced her bat features, incredibly good hearing to the point she needs to constantly wear noise canceling earbuds, and a massive wingspan.

She likes to rob the city, and exchange those goods for information from her shady dealers about gemstone hotspots on the island. Eventually she smooth talks her way into a position of power working under Queen Blaze of Sol to spy on Gerald.

Blaze- Queen of the pocket dimension Sol. A few gateways exist on Mobius, one residing on Angel Island, though it has been cut off for years until Rouge reactivated it. A cold but caring ruler, she controls the artificial sun in their kingdom, keeping all of her vampiric subjects safe and happy. Rarely ever makes time for herself. 

Silver- Blazes best friend who lives with her in the castle. (Need to add more for him :(). Works with Rouge and Mephiles dealing with matters on Angel Island. Eventually gets shark teeth from fusing with Mephiles too often.

Mephiles - Blazes comically evil advisor, she keeps him around because he's an old family friend, and an Ancient Vampire with vast power. Has no mouth to drink blood with, so he needs to possess the bodies of others. Silver willingly lets mephiles fuse with him, to feed, and to grant silver a power boost.

Gerald- after losing Maria he became very unwell, spending years accumulating power and taking control of the city. He's lost himself. Shadow was stolen from him years ago. He's still looking for him.

Black Doom- Doom wed that old man. Visited the day the barrier went up, now he's stuck here. Now that he's no longer able to take over the galaxy, his next evil plan was to become a landlord. Terrorizing people who live in the city. 

Maria- Died in a targeted mob attack on Angel Island, Chaos and Tikal pitied her and let her have a spot in the master emerald ghost club. 

Random lil plot stuff- 

Sonic is a regular at Knuckles pizza place, likes to be annoying. One day they Will make him a chili dog pizza. Knuckles hopes he explodes but Shadow actually wants to kill him. He's not allowed to jump Sonic on the clock or else his pay gets docked </3

Random little bits about Sonic trying to steal from the claw machine and getting stuck, and trying to get a “delivered in under 30 minutes or free” pizza from the restaurant.

Sonic started a trend of extreme gear racing in Hydro City. He can also do a bunch of little party tricks with his star staff and knows nothing useful.

Shadow has massive gaps in his memory due to repression, he barely knows anything about his life before 16 (present day he's 19).

Knuckles and Shadow are close, knuckles being the first to find him. Since Shadow can't buy anything under his own name, Knuckles got him a hover motorcycle for deliveries.

When Shadow tells Knuckles about his deal with Hoax for the first time, Knuckles punches hoax so hard it turns him back into Sonic, making Knuckles the first to learn his identity outside of Amy, who helped him create the form.

Amy likes to follow Sonic on dates sometimes and mildly inconveniences them with her magic. Sonic usually finds this game more fun than the actual date

Maria and Tikal haunt the pizza place. They can eat pizza . They crave it. They also feed it to Chaos. Maria tries to talk to Shadow but he doesn't know who she is.

When making the blood deal with Shadow, Hoax had no idea Shadow was the guy under the vulture mask. He would have thought twice if he knew. Shadow also cut Hoaxs right hand during their first fight, its a permanent scar. Shadow says hed do it again.

Hoax slowly realizes how deeply unwell this little freak is. 

Right when they kinda start getting comfortable with each other, a weird artifact that knuckles finds allows them a glimpse into the future. Sonic and Shadow are married. Hoax has to play it cool while Shadow starts loading his guns. This haunts the rest of their relationship development.

Amy delves into dark magic when she starts getting desperate about how slow she's progressing with her magic skill. It has adverse effects on beings created by her magic once she goes too far.

Mephiles lives in a comically evil wizard tower in the Sol castle. Mephiles can also shapeshift after drinking peoples blood, he can only shift as long as the blood is in his system.

Silver really wants Shadow to explode for trying to kill vampires, his friends and family.

(Things are still in rework state and also im forgetting things rn so more will probably be added)

[knightswaypoint]

Merlinktober Day 19 (on day 23): Scales

A celebration of some Dragon!Merlin fics I’ve enjoyed! (close-ups and fic links under cut)

In a World of the Same, You're Different by @thepenguinclub

Rating: Gen | Word Count: 8,058 | Chapters: 1 “You know,” the prince started, and Merlin grunted in frustration, turning away. Princes were always the same, “I don’t appreciate you talking about my father like that.” Merlin stopped and narrowed his eyes, before slowly looking back at the prince. He studied the prince's face intently. “And who, exactly, would your father be?” he asked, fury crackling through the calm sounding words. He was not in the mood to be played with by a prince. “Uther Pendragon,” the prince said calmly. Merlin’s tail lashed so hard against the rock next to him a large piece of it chipped off, rocketing through the air and over the edge of the mountain. --- Merlin was cursed to be a dragon, which was fine. It was fine, he was fine, he was happy, thank you very much. Everything was great. Except for all these knights and princes that kept bothering him. That, that was not fine. It was annoying. It definitely wasn't the only human interaction he ever got, he was fine. So if this odd group of knights and their king would leave, that would be wonderful.

A Dream of Dragons by @slantedknitting | with Art by LFB72

Rating: E | Word Count: 40,640 | Chapters: 1 Merlin, a fierce dragon, is captured and held prisoner in a deep cave under a castle. He believes he will perish, miserable and alone… until a second prisoner arrives. The man is small and annoying at first, but gradually they get to know each other, and soon enough the cave is almost tolerable. Then the man escapes, and Merlin realises his whole world has been changed.

running back home by @sourw0lfs | with Art by @kokoshka67

Rating: M | Word Count: 25,126 | Chapters: 7 With another growl, the monster surges forward, pressing its full weight into Arthur and toppling his footing. They both go down hard with just the damaged sword as a barrier between them. Arthur’s arms shake with the effort to keep it that way, pressing upwards with all the strength he can muster to free himself. The monster barely budges, lips pulling back in a snarl that reveals a mouthful of half-sharp, half-dull teeth. Through his panic, Arthur finally realizes why this monster seems so different from the attacks in the past. His gaze trails from the jagged teeth snapping angrily at him to the side of the creature’s face that isn’t covered in scales, to the side that’s so obviously and glaringly human. Because the monster isn’t a monster at all. It’s something else entirely, some kind of cursed hybrid never before seen. Worst of all, though, Arthur finds that he recognizes the human face beyond the scales and fangs. “Merlin?”

Tales of a Dragon and His Prince by @0hheytherebigbadwolf

(Summary for the first in the series) Rating: Gen - E | Word Count: 42,121 | Works: 15 They cannot have even one hunt without something going wrong on some level. A horse throws a shoe. A crossbow string breaks. A storm blows in. A giant beast attacks. Merlin turns into a dragon. The usual things.

(and also With the roar of the fire my heart rose to its feet because it's a similar dragon design and both fics are so very fun)

[paintedstories]

Y/n was tired of being stuck in the castle, Only being known as the king and queen’s daughter. She wanted to experience the world, So she snuck into the village and met hwang hyunjin, Local troublemaker and peasant. Kinda a jack and rose plot where they don’t like each other at first, but y/n keeps going into the village and they eventually fall for each other, Hyunjin sneaks into the castle during a party and they fuck each other in her room trying not to alert the guards. And also hyunjin being like a huge perv towards reader but in a charming way😭😭

pleaseeee I NEED THIS from ur beautiful mind🙏🏽💕💕

PHILOPHOBIA

♥: Thank you for the request and kind words! 💋💌

⚠: cussing ; weapons; almost caught up s3x ⚠: This is an AU meaning the SKZ band does not exist, and Hyun-Jin does not know any of the members. ⚠: Reader is a female 🚺 She/Her ⚠: Peasant Hwang Hyun-Jin x Royal reader ⚠: SMUT ⚠: Master list 📃 halter*= the design of the top of the dress(go search it up it'll help visualise better)

"Fuck it, I'm done with all this bull-shit," the Daughter of the golden king said to herself, she hated being perfect in the peasant's eye, hated being the pretty image of her mother gold and father golden, hatred was a small word for the sentiment she felt for her family, whom wanted to marry her for money. Dreadful washer life to say the least.

While looking outside the beautiful floral decorated garden an idea came up to her beautiful head, which everyone thought was all but mischief, only innocence could be seen through her eyes, which was a good advantage in the big castle when she had to lie her way out.

And this is how she is in this situation, lying to her father about going to sleep faster than usual and pleading with him to let her leave before the royal dinner, is not like it was something special, just her, her mother, and her father.

Fortunately, he agreed, as she tried to contain the excitement in her eyes she got the front of the dress in her hands and rapidly walked to her room, chuckling slightly when her dad ordered her to walk like a lady.

Closing the door to her room and getting the gown that she had with her own "incapable" regal hands made so she will look like the other peasants. Putting her hair in a messy ponytail and getting the leather shoes she made so the fit will be a total success she looked in the elegant golden framed mirror to see herself, unrecognizable she thought with a smirk. Finally, she will see the world, finally!

Climbing from her beautifully decorated window full of drawings she made of flowers and happy couples who found love by destiny not by the force of family she smiled and jumped on the branch from the big old tree from her childhood that stayed in front of her window as a welcome to escape the prison her golden family called the perfect home and finally be free, for a little while sadly.

Looking down from the tree while making the dress shorter by folding it in a spiral mode and knotting it at the front she jumped on the next tree and the final one that had the branch thick enough to go and jump from the tip on the big stone made barrier that kept her away from the world for so long.

the click of her leather shoes was heart on the rounded stones from the so called unbreakable golden fence.

Her hopes were almost taken away when she saw how far the imperial village was, but seeing a horse-drawn carriage, fortunately, by a peasant and not one of the guards, she jumped on the dirt path and walked rapidly to the peasant while fixing her dress and asked the very kind old man if he could leave her in the center of the village.

the man smiled and gestured for her to go and sit next to him, the man looked kind had blue eyes and a crispy-looking beard, he was bald and had a sun hat that was made of dried hard leaves, the traditional, and in the carriage was dried grass.

They talked and she asked where he was from, she found out he lives in the out-gate of the village but he had work in the center, that's why he accepted to let her come with him.

She found out that he had a beautiful wife and unfortunately event of her miscarriage, but they still hoped and prayed to god to give them a child. She was happy that the first person she meet was so kind, and on the 30 minutes of her listening to the poor man talking about his life, she silently prayed for all the happiness to come to him, when they arrived she hugged him and left the man shocked and smiling as she waved to him and ran to the deeps of the center, where all the people where.

Then she saw a guy with long black hair and dirty white clothes steal from a lady that was paying attention to three singers in the middle, the angry girl ran after him screaming.

"Hey you coward come back, stop stealing!" she screamed after him and when he turned on his track to look at the screaming girl he got annoyed and angry, who was she to scream after him!?! he just glared at her and showed her the middle finger while he kept running, thinking he will lose her and eat the sweet he stole from that hag, little did he know that she was trained and she had the stamina of a soldier. when he thought he lost her he turned to look behind him while jogging and saw that she was still running after him.

"What THE FUCK! WOMAN, STOP FOLLOWING ME" he screamed while he continued to run and slowly start to gasp for air, realizing that he was going nowhere he jumped onto wooden casks, but when his foot touched the cask he flew on the floor, as they were empty and very old, meaning, very fragile.

She watched as he fell on his ass grunting and rubbing his back, she then rush walked to him and punched him in the face. "what was that for?!" he screamed while rubbing the part of his face where she punched him. "for being a coward thief and not getting a job like normal humans and living in poverty because you're lazy and a coward" she repeated the word coward to him twice because of the anger she felt, she hated cowards, and hated thief's even more!

"How can you live like this!" she screamed at him. He truly didn't know the answer himself, for a second you could see the pain in his eyes as he registers the harsh words of the girl.

"fuck off, you don't know anything... stupid woman" he pushed her off of him and then handed her a hand to get up and she, unfortunately, accepted, when she got up half a meter he let her hand go and she fell with a squeak, cute, he thought before shaking bis head and smirking while gesturing to her that now she could trust him by grabbing his hand but he did not grab it, instead she swatted his hand away with anger "fucking peasant" she muttered under her breath while getting up and leaving the boy dumbfounded.

she started walking away from him, mumbling to herself while patting the hem of her dress and sleeves.

but he wasn't having none of her stubborn attitude and with his long feet slowly walked to her, with a mischievous smirk.

"you're new here, never seen such a stubborn lady around here," he said while grabbing her by the waist. Swatting his hand away and walking further ahead without responding to him. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead, feeling annoyed about the girl not being like the others.

Y/n decided to ignore the boy, as she said in her mind.

"he is not worth enough to deal with, I have to see other things than talk with a thief" and she continued her adventure through the village, for another 1 hour and a quarter when she came back to the castle fortunately with the same man as when she left, she found out he goes to the village every day. "perfect," she thought, she will sneak out and go with the man.

for the past three days, Y/n kept sneaking out, of course, her family thought it was weird how all of a sudden she was happy, but glad she was they did not disturb her with unanswerable questions.

as the day's passed of the beautiful girl sneaking out of the palace in the village, sometimes (quite often) meeting with the handsome boy, whose name was Hwang Hyun-Jin, she found out after an unfortunate encounter of him bumping into her the 100th time, she could confidently say, he became more and more annoying, she hated him and knew he hated her too, always pinching her waist or taking a bit of her hair and yanking it. He was the dear devil.

it was the 35th day of her sneaking out, keeping track of her sneakings was always good, of course very well hidden under a plank of wood of her floor.

the sneaking went as it always went, no one said, saw, or discovered anything, or she thought so.

but while being in the village, walking without any thought where, she started thinking about tomorrow's party, again needing to act as the perfect spoiled princess, glad could say she was that only royals would be, but as fast as she entered her thoughts a rather someone or a one rather annoying Hwang interrupted her thoughts. "Oh hello ~ There princess" he purred in her neck as he circled her, how did he know?! she thought scared but without showing an expression.

"Come on Princess, I've known from our first encounter, knew something was different with you," he said while sneaking his arm around her shoulder making her feel trapped. "and what if I am?!" she said annoyed. "nothing, nothing, just curious what a spoiled princess would want to do around here" rolling her eyes she swatted his hand away and went back to the man who she saw was going to his horse carriage and hoped in with a huff after of course greeting the old man.

Laughing slightly the man made the horses start walking and in no time she was at the back of the palace after he left she started climbing on her spot, but little did she know that a certain someone was watching her.

and as fast as that, the next day came and everyone was on alert to get ready, themself and the party.

and as the days always pass, the party came too, after the dinner, where she should have been, she could excuse herself in her room, as always, only the face, nothing more, only a pretty face.

Walking towards her room in the annoyingly long hall while huffing she finally arrived in her room and after closing the door and lighting a candle as it was getting dark she heard shuffling from her window when she turned to look around she almost screamed but the stranger slapped his hand accidentally too hard around her mouth while turning her around with her back to his chest.

"shh princess, we don't want anyone hearing us now do we?" he said, his breath tickling her neck sending shudders down her spine. "what, do you want?"

she manages to mutter after removing his hand from her mouth. "Oh, nothing sweetheart, I just, came here to get a taste from the mysterious girl" he smirked behind her while he kept holding the scared aroused girl in his strong grip, making her feel trapped.

He took her breath away when she was thrown into her bed by the man, and started kissing her hungrily, he told himself that if she wouldn't kiss him bake he would leave her, but she started kissing him and grabbing his hair.

When the girl started moaning, he knew he could continue.

Smirking into the kiss he motioned to her that he wanted her Halter, when she nodded he removed it and started kissing her chest making her whimper, slowly sliding down to grab the corset and untie it from behind her after making her stand in a sitting position and freeing her from the dress.

Seeing her naked body made him even more hungered by the girl. Kissing her softly on the lips then going down to her chest and tummy like a starved man, making you whimper and shakily call his name. "shh, sweetheart, don't let them hear you" he smirked while moving his hand down to your undergarments making your legs close. "no need to close your legs on me, I desire to see all of you, my dove" he said then slowly entered her making her whimper. " I love you my dove, every since- ngh fuck- I saw you" Her eyes widened, and cummed instantly after hearing him confess to her, he started pounding into her harder after feeling her clench on him and hearing her heavenly moans, few more thrusts and he got out cumming on her stomach while his eyes rolled to the back of his head and whimpered then let half of his weight fall on your body.

*knock*

*knock*

*knock*

"mistress is everything alright, I heard a moan of pain."

"oh n-no Brunhilde I just stumbled my toe to the leg of the bed, haha you know how clumsy I get when I'm tired, no need to check on me, you can leave, and tell the others not to disturb me as I'm going to my much-needed slumber!* she said trying o sound normal. only if her maid knew what happened. fortunately the maid left, leaving the two alone.

"so mistress what are we?" he said with a smirk moving his face at the crock of her neck and kissing her while leaving a hickey at the back of her neck not visible when having her hair down.

"I don't know, my father would never let me marry you..." she said with sadness in her voice and eyes.

he hugged her back to his chest and kissed her naked shoulder while moving his left hand soothingly on her waist up to her underboob and down to her ass.

"lets run" he said with devotion in his voice.

OH my god hi love!!

I'm sorry for responding so late but I loved the ask so much that I had to remake it 3 times haha.

If you liked it please reblog, it helps a lot ♥

[clubdionysus]

[BAD DECISION #58] Obstinancy

warnings: heavy petting, starluvrs r sooooo in luv, and i am in luv with them!

wc: 5.4K

bd total wc: 540k (ongoing)

AO3 | MASTERLIST | MINORS DNI

"Look, we raised enough money," Jeongguk stresses into the room, though he isn't directly addressing anybody. He's refusing to look anyone in the eye, which is strange considering he'd die for every single person within these four walls without hesitation. 

In the backrooms of the gallery, the last duty to undertake is finalising the bids—and he saved the best until last.

The main light is off, expertly placed lamps illuminating the meeting space in a warm hue. Whoever designed the space did a fantastic job creating a calming ambience; even so, Jeongguk is still on edge. He's pacing the room.

"Rescind the bid," he says as he finally stops to face you all, though he isn't looking at you. After all, you're not the person who made the bid. "It's okay."

You're sitting beside Seoyeon, who's watching Jeongguk just as intensely as you are—though he isn't looking at her, either.

The auction had continued with bemused chatter and daring bids. Opening it with such a huge donation set the tone. Got people a little reckless; eager to show off their financial prowess. By the time the final tallies were in, enough had been raised to match that first, unbelievable bid.

Wire transfers complete, the business account (which had previously just had some of Jeongguk's savings in it) is now bursting at the seams. Contracts have been signed, business emails exchanged. Namjoon's advertising space was auctioned off to the Ryu marketing team. Jimin's newest client is some finance bro who definitely buys all of his homewares in black or chrome because he doesn't know how to style anything else. Taehyung's art now has half a dozen new homes. It had been a roaring success by all metrics.

Still, Jeongguk is being stubborn about this one.

We are the company we keep, and Jeongguk's stubborn nature was nurtured by someone equally intransigent.

It comes as a surprise to absolutely no one when Yoongi defiantly shakes his head.

"Me and Seoyeon ran the numbers," he shrugs, pushing forward the proposal plan he'd been stewing on for the best part of a week. There's a slight bend to the centre, where it's been curved into his blazer pocket for the entire evening. This wasn't done on a whim. Nothing Yoongi does ever is. "I've been after a new unit away from the workshop, and the building you're after has what? Space for three commercial units? Four, if you convert the apartment on the top floor."

"Yeah, but—"

"But what?" Yoongi deadpans, knowing that Jeongguk is being an idiot. "It makes sense. I've got the capital to buy the building outright. It gives you the premises you want, and me the space to expand. I'd be forking out just as much wherever I ended up. This way, at least you're free from the barrier of relying on the banks, or anyone else."

"But we've raised enough—"

"You haven't," Yoongi says again with such stoic command that you know he's already been over this plan a hundred times in his own head. Knows the pros and the cons, the ins and the outs. Again, nothing Yoongi ever does is on a whim. "Take away my bid, you're left with what? 125mil, give or take? It's good—great, even—but you have to factor everything else into that, not just the building. This way the building is taken care of. You rent the space from me, no rent until you guys are up and running, and it means you can spend the rest on shit you need, like actually fitting out the space."

"But—"

"Gguk!" Yoongi sighs. In his head, it's a no-brainer. He's failing to consider that even though he's been over the numbers a dozen times, this is new information for Jeongguk to digest. He hadn't even considered this as a possibility—which is funny, because Yoongi saw it as an inevitable outcome ever since they first started discussing the restaurant. Even if he got funding from the bank, he'd have still offered a similar move. "Do you not want the unit? Is that it?"

"No," Jeongguk sulks a little. "I want the unit."

He doesn't mean to be a baby. Really.

It's just that he wanted to earn it.

Similarly to you arranging the auction, it feels like other people are doing the hard work for him.

When it comes to motivations in life, Jeongguk has always been intrinsic in how he seeks gratification. Superficial rewards like money don't bother him. He sets goals, and his brain is scratched just right when he achieves them. It's like a sharp pencil ticking off a box, or a gold star being smoothed onto a fridge chart. He wants to be the one to do it. There's no fun in watching other people score the winning goal, when he knows damn well it should be him to do it.

He's set in his ways. Bull-headed. Was born in the year of the ox, so it's only natural he should share such tendencies. Knowing him as well as you do, and well-aware of exactly the issues you ran into when he found out you'd been planning the auction, it comes as no surprise.

"I was gonna wait to bid until my offering—save me having to make furniture for anyone else—but you being a stubborn git forced my hand. Don't be a twat. Accept the bid."

"Look," Seoyeon interjects, knowing that Jeongguk and Yoongi can both be as bad as one another when it comes to sheer stubbornness. They both have well-weathered heels that love to get stuck in the mud. Instead, she looks at and offers a smile. "Why don't you two speak about it? I'll go get the car running. C'mon, Yoongi. Give them a little time."

"But—"

"C'mon," she interrupts Yoongi, much like he had done to Jeongguk. No matter how assertive Yoongi may be, they both take it in turns to wear the pants, or so to speak. She gets to her feet and encourages Yoongi to do the same. "We're giving you a ride, right? To your place?"

"Think so," you confirm, knowing that it had always been the intention. Seoyeon hasn't been drinking—is on a post honeymoon detox, apparently—so is the designated driver for the evening. Glancing over to Jeongguk, he throws you a quick nod, still stewing in his stubbornness.

After all, it's not your place you're heading to. It's his. Seoyeon just grouped you in together, and funnily enough, neither of you noticed.

You place your hand over Seoyeon's as she gives your shoulder a squeeze, before she drags Yoongi out of the room with her.

"Don't be too long," she says.

Realistically, she doesn't expect you to actually discuss much of the night at all. Just thinks that Jeongguk needs a few moments alone with you.

Jimin had invited everyone back to their place, so peace and quiet really won't be an option for the rest of the evening. It's a night of celebration, and yet Jeongguk looks as if you've just told him his favourite coffee place is closing down.

When the door clicks shut, Jeongguk turns away from you. Walks to the window. Presses his palms against the windowsill and lets his posture ease.

"Y'know for a guy who just got given a golden ticket, you don't seem very happy."

You're met with silence, an unmoving Jeongguk continuing to look out of the window at the sprawling blanket of midnight veiling this part of the city. Building lights twinkle, and light pollution stops the stars from shining quite as brightly as they should do.

Still, as you get to your feet and walk around the table, Jeongguk doesn't need to see the stars to know they're there. Can feel them infuse his bloodstream as your arm slinks around his waist.

Relenting, Jeongguk lifts one of his arms to drape it around your shoulders. Presses a kiss into the side of your head. Squeezes. Derives a comfort from you that can't be found anywhere else. Concedes, "It's just a lot, isn't it?"

"Yeah," you softly agree. "It's a lot."

He could be talking about the money. Could be talking about the evening as a whole. It doesn't matter. You don't ask for clarification.

There's no point in trying to talk him down from this state of stubborn resistance. He needs to feel it; to process it. You know him like the back of your hand at this point, and are certain that he doesn't need you to be reasonable or rational on his behalf. He just needs you to hear him.

"It's a big burden on Yoongi, too," he hums. "If the business goes to shit, it's a wasted investment. He's putting his ass on the line. I feel bad."

You don't think he should. Yoongi is more business savvy than the rest of you combined—it's how he managed to grow his business so well—and so you know this won't be a hastily made decision on his part.

Squeezing your arm a little tighter around his waist, you decide against telling as such. Instead, you simply say, "Your friends love you, Gguk. There's nothing to feel bad about, okay? And Yoongi aside, you've got more in your business account than the bank was ever prepared to give you. Gguk, this is happening."

Standing up straight, you pull away from him ever so briefly to get him facing you. Reaching up, you rearrange a little bit of his hair, preening him for no reason other than loving him.

While a smile so soft Jeongguk thinks you must be made of stardust, you whisper, "You did it."

There's a sweetness to the bashful smile that blossoms on Jeongguk's lips. He's trying not to count his eggs before they hatch, but god damn, it feels amazing to hear you say that. He begins to play with your hair now, preening you for no reason other than loving you right back.

" We did it."

Balmy in the way he looks at you, Jeongguk's eyes are full of so many galaxies it feels as if you've just started studying astronomy. Full of wonder, you can't quite believe that he's your boyfriend. That he loves you. That he considers his achievements to be yours, too.

"Course we did," you smile. "We're, like, the dream team."

"Oh yeah?" He grins, now, pulling you closer. Nudging his nose up against yours, Jeongguk is in just as much disbelief as you are. If he'd have been told on that first night he met you that you'd end up here, he'd have objected. Wouldn't have believed it. Would have said that shooting stars are impossible to catch—yet here you are, in his arms. "Dreamy, huh?"

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you nod and rise to your tiptoes. Let your nose nestle in beside his. "The dreamiest."

Lips sinking between his, it's as if a star is whizzing through your nervous system. Everything sparkles. You, him, the way you both feel.

The way in which Jeongguk kisses you is cosmic. Always has been. Time and space ceases to exist for those moments you spend lost in his embrace. Perhaps it's why it's always been so easy; perhaps you've found exactly where you belong. Nothing else felt comfortable, because nothing else was him.

"Dreams aren't as good as this," he husks against your lips. Hands reaching down to your thighs, he leverages you into a position that is far more indecent. Wraps your legs over his hips, and presses you against the window pane. Grunts as your hands tangle in his hair. Pulls away just to say, "Pretty, perfect star, aren't you? Keep makin' wishes on you and they keep coming true. How'd you do it, baby?"

If Jeongguk actually wants you to speak, he's got a funny way of showing it. Has his tongue in your mouth as soon as he's done making such unreasonable demands. Renders you speechless.

The window you're pressed against is thick, but part of you worries about a freak accident that'll have you transforming from a star into a meteor. You're less concerned about prying eyes. The office space is to the back of the gallery, with only a mountain and the moonlight for a voyeur.

Pulling back from the kiss, you soften the intensity of it all. Whisper, "Magic."

"Magic," he agrees. Doesn't get the memo about potential death. Kisses you again. "And it's all mine, isn't it?"

"Surely it's mine?" You retort with a smile in between the barely-there kisses that he's intent on delivering every half-second.

"Uh-uh," he shakes his head, letting his nose nudge against yours. "What's yours is mine."

"We're not married."

"Doesn't matter," he tells you. Believes it. Knows that this is the kinda love you take to the grave, marriage or not. "Mine. Isn't it?"

As sweet as he is, you'll never let a man claim you like that. Will never reduce yourself to be the possession of someone else. Would rather die than say—

"Yours," you needily mumble against his lips, because apparently feminism is taking a day off.

"Yeah, you are," he arrogantly agrees, and doesn't give you a chance to argue back.

Jeongguk has a point to prove. Lost a bidding war earlier and somehow equates it to losing you. Needs reassurance. Confirmation. Obscene affirmations.

His kisses are cardiac, and you're not sure how long your body will be able to survive before it succumbs to everything he is.

He's always thought you'd be the one to eclipse him. If you knew that, you'd think he was mad. How the golden haze of Jeon Jeongguk could ever be tainted, you'll never know. The sun to your stars, he shines just as brilliantly—if not more so.

"Koo," you whine as his hips begin to rut up against you. The buckle of his belt is pressing against you. Gets you feeling all kind of fucked up. Gets you keen. Needy. Wet.

"Yeah, baby?"

"We can't," you tell him, as your hands aren't cupping his jaw, and you're not pulling him back in for more kisses.

They're feverish. Feral. You're a mess of lips, tongue, and teeth, and neither of you cares to be pretty about things. It's beyond that point. Truth be told, the desperation you have for one another only serves to make it an even more gorgeous display of intimacy.

"Told you earlier," he says, his lips dipping to your throat, as he begins to elicit the loveliest of sounds from you. "We ca—"

"Oh, Jesus Christ, get a room," Yoongi almost gags as he barges on into the room, door handle hitting the wall.

You scramble down instantly, beyond thankful that Jeongguk hadn't pulled the front of your dress down like you know he was just about to. Though you're standing now, trying to smooth your dress out, Jeongguk remains in the same position. Hands pressed either side of your head against the window, he's keeping you trapped in. Preserving your dignity, though there's not that much left.

"Do you mind?" Jeongguk grits back to Yoongi. His head hangs a little low, but he casts his eyes to yours to ensure you're okay. Cheeks blushed, your teeth are pressing into your bottom lip, holding back a giggle. He fights a smile, 'cause he's still annoyed with the entire situation, but just can't help himself. Gives in. Silently says, "Love you."

You wanna kiss him again. Tell him you love him too. Tell Yoongi to fuck off—but you owe him one.

As annoyed as he is, Jeongguk knows he owes Yoongi, too.

Turning to face him, Jeongguk keeps you covered. Reaches back. Tucks you a little further in.

It's sweet, admittedly, but it's unnecessary. You don't need protecting, not from Yoongi. Clasping his hand, you walk out from beside him. Stand side by side. Wince a little as you notice the incredibly parental look on Yoongi's face.

"On a technicality," you cheekily reason. "We did get a room."

Though his stern expression persists, there is a slight tremble to Yoongi's lips. Approval, almost.

"I thought the laser tag place was bad, but this was worse," he assures you. "I swear to God, if I walk in on you two going at it one day—"

"You'll owe us," Jeongguk says. "People would pay good—"

He's cut off by the back of your hand lightly tapping his chest. "What Jeongguk means to say is 'you won't'."

You really hope you're right. Walked in on Danbi and Taehyung once. Still carry the mental scars. Never want to inflict that on anyone else.

"Good," Yoongi snorts as he leans against the doorframe. "'Cause I'm already giving you fuckers enough money. Now, are you ready to go?"

"Not before you say sorry," Jeongguk asserts.

The demand takes even you by surprise. Glancing up to Jeongguk with a look of bewilderment, you recognise the look on his face immediately. He's stropping, still. Was annoyed earlier, and is now doubly annoyed for being interrupted. You're not gonna ask, but you'd hazard a guess that his cock is painfully hard in the constraints of his formal trousers. You also don't glance down, for fear of embarrassment if it's obvious.

It's not like Yoongi isn't aware of exactly what the pair of you get up to when you're alone, it's just that no one wants to see their friends' boners.

Or at least, most don't. When you and Jeongguk were just friends, you wanted to see it all the time. Just bestie things, really.

"Sorry?" Yoongi laughs. "I just saved your ass—"

"You made me look like a shitty boyfriend!"

Jeongguk is too busy pouting in Yoongi's direction to notice that you're holding back a laugh. Yoongi did no such thing. Yes, he interrupted the bidding war between Jeongguk and Seokjin, but everyone was too shocked by the bid to care about why Jeongguk might have been bidding in the way that he was.

Realistically, Jeongguk doesn't care about anyone's opinion. Just doesn't want your shitbag of an ex to ever try and use it against him in a pissing contest. Can almost see the smug look on Seokjin's infuriatingly good-looking face as he'd gotten outbid. He did then also realise he'd been outbid, and ended up slinking out of the gallery shortly after.

Jeongguk has never experienced Seokjin's finance bro social circle in the way that you have. He doesn't realise that they'll be reminding Seokjin of his pathetic failure to win on a weekly basis for at least the next six months, or until the next time one of them loses everything to a crypto collapse.

"No," Yoongi corrects Jeongguk. "I sacrificed the money I was gonna make Seoyeon bid on my furniture for bloody painting date instead." He looks at you and grits his teeth apologetically. "Sorry. No offense."

"None taken."

Yoongi nods in your direction, then looks back to Jeongguk and continues. "You know what I was gonna do, Gguk? Was gonna win that furniture, and fit out your restaurant, free of charge. But now? Now I have to make a fuckin' dining table for some rich wanker who wants it shipped to his holiday home in Jeju. Jeju! I'll need to get a shipping container!"

"Or," Jeongguk suggests, 'cause he forgets he's supposed to be having a tantrum. Remembers quickly enough to deliver his solution with an attitude, but not to stop himself from giving a solution altogether. "Go on holiday to Jeju and make it there."

Yoongi purses his lips. Narrows his eyes. Really doesn't want to laugh, but Jeongguk's petulant nature gets under his skin and tickles at his ribs.

"You're annoying," he tells Jeongguk—but he is grinning, now. "C'mon, Seoyeon's waiting in the car. We'll talk business tomorrow. Jimin's got enough alcohol to open that damn restaurant, apparently."

"He has?"

Yoongi nods. "Mhm. He just called. Wanted to know where we were. Said he'd popped to the mart on the way home. Put it all through on the card you guys use for bills. Drinks on you, or so it would seem."

Jeongguk purses his lips. Scrunches them up towards his nose. Wants to play petulant still, but you're tugging on his hand and walking to the door.

Turning back to face him, you smile. Refuse to let him sour this moment with his own stubbornness. "C'mon. Let's celebrate."

And while he can say no to Yoongi, it's far harder to say no to you.

He manages it, though, even if just to say, "Yoongi just give us like, five seconds. Please."

"Five seconds," Yoongi calls back, walking ahead. Knows he walked in on something incredibly illicit and isn't dumb. Knows there are things that need sorting that concern no one but the pair of you.

As soon as the coast is clear, Jeongguk turns away from you. Fiddles around a little, sorts out the angle of his boner so that it doesn't fuckin' ache, and then tosses you your underwear. 

"You'll probably want these in their car."

"You're probably right," you awkwardly agree as you also sort yourself out.

"Want them back later, though," he mumbles as you drag him out of the office space and through the hallways of the gallery.

Though his feet are heavy, and he whines all the way back to the car, Jeongguk'll go wherever you drag him. Down to hell, or across the seven seas. He'd go anywhere. Everywhere. Insane, if he had to.

But as he rubs his thumb over yours in the backseat of Yoongi's car, you know you really don't have to try all that hard.

By the time you arrive, drinks are flowing. Jimin's got a playlist running through speakers, and the sink is full of ice and cans. A few bottles, too.

With one in his hand, Jimin cheers as he notices you all walk in.

"The man of the hour," he beams. Could be talking about Jeongguk or Yoongi. Truth be told, even he doesn't know who he's talking about.

One thing he is sure of is that cheap alcohol needs to be drunk quickly and in abundance. Passes over the bottle he's been swigging on to Jeongguk. It's some shitty cava that Jeongguk is pretty sure should be legally labelled as sparkling wine, 'cause there ain't no way this is the authentic stuff. He grits his teeth as he takes a swig and finds it goes down just as terribly as he thought it would.

Still, he passes it over to you. Says, "tastes like piss."

You drink it regardless. Grit your teeth and hiss a little bit just like he did.

"It's not that bad," you almost choke.

Jeongguk laughs, and takes the bottle from you, swigging down another mouthful. Jimin's already acquired another bottle, so this one belongs to the pair of you now. You could get glasses to drink from, but what's the point? Who cares?

Almost all of the seats in the living room are taken. Danbi and Taehyung have squeezed onto the sofa right between Hoseok and Namjoon, much to their dismay. S'what they get for downplaying this whole totally not a crush thing they have going on.

Jeongguk pulls on Jimin's ear, pulling him out of the armchair across from the sofa.

"Ow, ow, ow," Jimin hisses as he hops up, body contorting into the strangest positions.

Jeongguk turns to face you, then nods towards the now empty chair. "Sit."

"Don't!" Jimin tries to assert, but Jeongguk pinches his ear with a little more strength, and Jimin starts wailing again.

With a terribly hidden grin, you do as you're told. Let the pink of your cheeks blossom quite marvellously, both embarrassed and proud of how easily you fold to Jeongguk's demands. Embarrassed, because letting a man dictate your moves is shameful. Proud, because you know he'll never instruct anyone else like he does with you. There's a confidence to him that he didn't have this time last year. Rejection isn't something he fears, or so it would seem.

"You two dating is the worst thing that's ever happened to me," Jimin sulks when Jeongguk finally lets go of his poor ear.

"Us?" You question. Look to Jeongguk, and are pleased to see him mirroring your expression of utter confusion. "Dating?"

"Oh my god," Jimin groans.

"Jesus, have you taken something?" Jeongguk says with just as much bewilderment. His eyes are so wide that you're surprised they're still in his skull. With a laugh and a shake of his head, Jeongguk continues, "No, no no. We're just frie—"

"Mum," Jimin calls out, very much aware that his mother isn't in the room. It's not who he's calling for. "Dad. They're doing it again!"

Sighing, Yoongi and Seoyeon give each other a subtle look of helplessness—and then they both look at you and Jeongguk with the exact same expression.

Holding his hands up, even though one of them is still wrapped around the neck of the bottle, Jeongguk feigns innocence. It's enough to satisfy them, and as soon as Jimin takes a swig on his drink, he's distracted by Taehyung and Danbi's conversation, of which he quickly inserts himself into.

He also inserts himself into the sofa, right between Danbi and Taehyung. Gives them a taste of their own medicine. Namjoon and Hoseok are further squished into the sides, both just as woebegone as the other.

"He's really quite impressive, isn't he?" You muse as Jeongguk perches on the arm rest. Both of you are looking towards Jimin with bemused smiles on your faces.

"He sure is something." Leaning back, Jeongguk hushes his voice. Says, "Impressive is a stretch. If you need reminding, I'll take you to his room right now—"

"Shut up," you laugh, softly tapping his arm with the back of your hand. He twists slightly in his position so that his arm can rest on top of the chair, allowing for you to cosy into him. Feet on the seat, knees up, your hand slinks over his thigh. It's not indecent or inappropriate in any fashion, just a very undeniable indication of how much you care for one another. "Behave yourself."

It's an unnecessary request, for everyone is letting you and Jeongguk indulge in privacy—or as much as they can when you're in the same room. They just haven't seen this smile on Jeongguk's face in a long time, and nor has Danbi seen a similar one on yours for just as long. It'd be cruel to tear you apart.

"I am," he promises, his eyes glittering with sincerity. Or maybe just with reflections of you. It's hard to tell. "You're the one touching me up."

"Oh, so I can't even touch my boyfriend, now?"

Jeongguk hasn't thought about dying in a little while. Maybe, like, a whole 6 hours. One little acknowledgement of precisely who he is to you? Oh, call the funeral directors. Get Yoongi crafting a casket. He's done for.

"Do you think they'll notice if we go to my room?"

"Yes."

"But—"

"No," you laugh, prizing the bottle from his grasp to take a sip. "I told you to behave."

"I am," he insists, a slight pout on his pretty pink lips. You shake your head, passing him back the bottle, of which is instantly pressed to those lips of his you love so much.

It doesn't take much for his insatiability to rub off on you. The glisten of a little alcohol on his lips, and the way his eyes are so soft despite the stern look he gives you, just gets your tummy feeling all funny. His lips press in on themselves as if he's giving serious consideration to the situation.

Squeezing his thigh, you shrug. Give him a look that his brain instantly translates as trouble—and then his tummy is feeling all funny, too.

"Be a good boy for me tonight and I'll show you how much I appreciate it when we get home," you quietly assure him.

He sinks into the chair like a deflating balloon. Groans. Whines. "B."

"What?" You giggle, as if you don't know exactly which buttons to press. "You gonna behave for me?"

"I'm gonna die," he says. "That's what I'll do, and it'll be all your fault."

"Please don't," you say, then grimace. "I like my men alive."

"Plural?!"

"Stay alive and it'll be singular."

"Fine," he huffs, narrowing his eyes. Shakes his head. "Gonna be the death of me one day, babe."

So wrapped up in your own conversation, you don't notice the occasional glances that find their way to you.

There's not a single soul in that room who doesn't cast their eyes in the direction of you and Jeongguk at some point or another. Nonjudgmental. Kind. Quiet observations of a couple who are somehow both quiet in their affections and yet so abhorrent loud it's almost distasteful.

It's not that your PDA is excessive, or that your conversations are overly loud, or anything like that. It's just that people's eyes are naturally drawn to the brightest stars in the sky.

When Hoseok glances at you, and finds you both smiling in a way that wouldn't look out of place on a dental hygiene ad, he frowns. Isn't sure he's ever looked at anyone like that. Wonders if he ever will. Has had—and currently has—crushes so potent they lingered for months. Has had relationships that did the same. Yet he's seen the way you two amplify the very best of one another without reservation or competition and knows that it's special.

All of your friends know it. Most of them knew before you did.

It's a relief to see you together like this.

As much as Jimin likes to whine and moan about the pair of you, he wouldn't have it any other way.

But by the time he's drunk his bottle dry, he does decide he'd rather have the pair of you being insufferably sweet together in the darkened shadows of Dionysus.

"Not got long left to use your tab," he tells Jeongguk, as if Jeongguk is actually the one who uses it. "C'mon. Let's go."

"Y'know, me and B might just stay—"

"Nope," Jimin interrupts, and before Jeongguk's tipsy brain can react, Jimin's pinching his ear. Getting his own back. Pulling Jeongguk towards the door. "You too, DB. Off we go."

Casting a glance to Danbi to check she's coming too, you sigh. Roll your eyes with a smile.

All you want is to be alone with Jeongguk. It's not even the sex that you're wanting. Just him.

"If you dip after a drink or two, I won't tell him," Danbi whispers, letting go of Taehyung's hand and looping her arm around your waist instead. You reciprocate, glad to be with the people you adore the most in the world.

By the time you're out of the apartment, you're perplexed to see Jeongguk and Jimin both pinching one another's ears. Waiting by the elevator doors, neither of them are enjoying it very much—but they're both very much enjoying the discomfort they're causing one another.

"Toddlers," Yoongi mutters as they waddle into lift together.

The elevator isn't full, and you can all fit, but you need to walk some of the alcohol off. You know your friends and also know damn well that there's no such thing as 'one or two' drinks. You'll be getting starfuckers. That much is a given.

"Gonna take the stairs," you say without much thought.

Jeongguk drops his grip on Jimin instantly. Tugs away and reveals that he could have gotten away the whole time. He just likes being stupid with his friends.

"I'll come with," he offers, darting out of the elevator before it closes.

But like a bad smell he just can't get rid of, Jimin does the same exact thing.

While he loves you both, he absolutely does not trust either of you to actually make it to the club. Will chaperone you there himself even if it forces a detour out of him.

Beaming as if he can't see the scowl on Jeongguk's pretty little face, Jimin leads the way.

"C'mon, besties. Dionysus awaits us."

[canary-prince]

Ways For US-Americans To Help If You're Abstaining From Voting

Can't vote on moral grounds, but still raring to do something? Stuck in America and unsure of how to meaningfully serve your community? Here are some ideas that I, a social worker serving house-bound citizens, can share out of personal experience. Feel free to add other ideas or links. We are not powerless.

Volunteer (these are just examples/sources of info)

Planned Parenthood needs volunteers for nearly every non-medical department

See if your state has a volunteer stewardship program, where you can help weed out invasive plant species and defend your natural ecosystem

If you have medical skills, become a street medic

Contribute to the preservation of Queer History

Put your labor towards the upkeep or repair of properties in Indigenous communities

Adult literacy is not great right now, and we're harder to lie to if we're literate; volunteer to help your neighbors who were failed by the school system

Resources to help the unhoused constantly need volunteer counselors, cooks, and someone to sort donations

The sick and elderly are very under-served, particularly if they're broke, so reach out to a local hospice to see what skills they need

Give (if you can't physically volunteer but have money to spare)

Donate to an abortion fund; this one is for Native peoples specifically

Donate to a book gifting program or book mobile; this link is for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Donate to preserve the histories of communities of color; this fund is specifically for preserving African American historical sites

Donate to protect the natural environment

Donate to help free those caged in prisons; this link is for the Innocence Project, which aims to challenge wrongful convictions

The arts are for everyone, but wealth gaps interfere; this fund is for art initiatives that contribute to community building, including increasing accessibility

Learn (resources that many communities have but aren't widely educated on)

Community Action Agencies: these are non-profits and private companies that act in service of their communities' human rights and quality of life. Many have utility funds, run food banks, manage emergency shelters, provide education and job skills opportunities, and participate in social activism.

Area Agencies on Aging: Non-profits that serve elders (and non-elderly disabled citizens) in a designated service area. They primarily offer services to prolong independent living (free or low cost in home care, meals on wheels, home safety modifications, and Medicare guidance) or help with transition into assisted living.

Habitat For Humanity: They aren't just in disaster zones or on foreign soil; they have local US chapters that provide critical repairs to families in need. They repair roofs, address barriers to access, and perform electric and plumbing work.

Durable Medical Equipment Loan Closets: Communal sources of vital medical equipment including wheelchairs, walkers, canes, hospital beds, shower chairs, and more. May be able to provide incontinence supplies or diabetes supplies. Rarely but sometimes provide oxygen.

Non Emergency Medical Transportation/Alternatives to Mass Transit: Transportation for elderly, disabled, cognitively impaired, and low income citizens to help them reach medical providers, dental care, physical therapy, and eye exam appointments. Can also provide transit to shopping centers, the grocery store, religious events, cultural events, and polling stations. Offer door to door services for the housebound. IF YOU HAVE MEDICAID, YOU SHOULD NOT EVER BE PAYING FOR THIS. MEDICAID IS OBLIGATED TO MAKE SURE YOU REACH ANY AND ALL MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS.

Legal Aid Clinics: Sources of pro-bono or sliding scale legal advice and representation.

[spooniestrong]

Home #Test2Treat program for COVlD and flu saves lives. Let’s fight for it!

#Test2Treat was designed to reduce barriers to care for those underinsured and without healthcare coverage by offering FREE tests, telehealth, and treatment for both COVlD and flu — and even though 100 million people are eligible, the program was recently ended. Tests and treatment help our communities manage current sickness while lowering the chance of #LongCOVID and #LongFlu.

Join us in advocating that our government restore, expand, and widely promote #Test2Treat as a critical layer of protection for ALL!

Sign a letter to NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli: https://bit.ly/4bwHhnO

Also write to the White House and your representatives: https://bit.ly/3TX5gGM

[t-the-ring-master]

This will be made as a male reader mostly because I feel like there isn’t enough with female characters and I just want dad character to Brightbill. However, feel free to imagine it as however you like, they are robots so not much happening in that area, so do what you like. And please make sure to salt your purple next time, gives it flavor.

If anyone wishes to be tagged in any future The wild robot posts or anything else, please comment, ask through ask box or just message me!

Imma try and ask C if she can draw T as a Rozzum one of these days. I also wrote this over like an hour. My face hurts so not as long as I wanted it to be but oh well. Hope you enjoy!

I also just added the last part for fun. Also if someone wants to request a continuation of this.

TW: none? No use of Y/N, I use (Name). Mentions of mates and partners I guess? Everyone ships you with Roz I guess.

Request: circus anon

Requests: open

Taglist: @cs-cabin-and-crew @the-lavender-clown

❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦❧❦

Roz x Robot!reader

You had crash landed in the woods. Your metal package and your transmitter to contact your built site had been damaged as well.

So you decided to try and find the person whom had ordered you.

Yeah that didn’t go well.

You had been kicked, attacked, chased and more within just the span of 6 hours before giving up and sitting in learning mode to fix the language barrier you’ve found yourself trapped in.

Due to being in learning mode, you hadn’t been paying enough attention to your surroundings, causing you not to notice the Rozzum unit analyzing you.

Fink: what is it Roz?

Roz: it seems to be a Rozzum unit, but I cannot tell the number nor model.

Yeah you scared them when you came out of your learning mode.

(Name): hello! I am the new and improved (Name) Unit: 0001. I am a one of a kind prototype! Here for any needs or demands!

Fink: I’m getting flashbacks.

Roz lead you to her, Bightbill and Finks home. She hadn’t ever seen your model before, so she excitedly asked you questions.

Roz: I’ve never seen your make or model. What are you designed for?

(Name): I am designed for many things. Cooking, shopping, manual labor, heavy lifting, childcare-

Roz: child care?

(Name): indeed, is this something that interests-

Roz: I have a kid.

(Name):…. Alright.

She proceeded to bombard you with questions on what your childcare program provided, which as per your programming, complied.

When you arrived to the home of the Rozzum, she led you inside and began showing you baby pictures of her “kid”

(Name): this is your child?

Roz: yes, he is called Brightbill.

(Name):…. He has your eyes.

You ended up staying with Roz, Fink, and eventually Brightbill when we returned for the spring.

It took a lot of getting used to the fact that you could no longer follow protocol here. But at least some of your programming helped you and the others a bit.

Such as you being more stronger than the Rozzum, as well as having better and hardier equipment than the other models. Fink definitely appreciated your heating mode (which is often used in your caregiver function to help a baby fall asleep) during the harsh winter…. And so did many of the other animals.

Pink tail likes you, since you watch her kids when she needs a break.

Pink tail: you found a good mate Roz. Possums aren’t so lucky when it comes to that.

Roz: what do you mean?

Pink tail: some of us don’t have life mates. (Name) seems to be a pretty good parent though.

Roz: Mate?

Que Roz studying “mate’ and “partner” which rabbit holed her down into “Spouse” and so on.

Fink ships it.

Brightbill ships it.

Pink tail…. You guessed it. Ships it.

Que all the animals trying to keep you two together.

Pink tail: Hey, Roz. (Name) is looking for you!

Fink: hey (Name) I think Roz wants to ask you more questions about your programs. I think she’s at the beach.

Brightbill: hey mom, (Name) wanted me to tell you he’s at the beach.

And so on.

Yeah you both confused by it all.

Eventually you two do end up spending some time together. Actually it was where Roz first met Pink Tail. You were busy analyzing some of the plants around you (as per your programming to search plants in case they have useful properties or are dangerous) while Roz sat there observing.

You two had a good time…. Ignoring the fact that a certain Fox and goose were stalking the two of you.

A couple weeks later, Brightbill let it slip and called you dad. You didn’t mind.

At this point you’ve become just as much as a wild robot as Roz has. And we’re very useful to your new family as you were able to repair minor things for yourself and Roz, which made it easier during winter.

You now also have your own picture with the rest of the family.

The other animals like you, you just kinda have a reputation of being more aloof and less soft compared to Roz.

Unless it’s the young… you are shockingly good with young. (As if you weren’t programmed to take care of them-)

The next winter, you had found an egg and brought it home.

Roz: here we go again.

Brightbill:…. Well I was upset at not having siblings-

[xaphrin]

Midnight Promises Broken at Dawn

It's Halloween! (just barely) and this is part of the colab I was working on with @inverted-typo. We decided to go with an Eros and Psyche theme.

There's so much more that's set to come out, because (of course) it got way out of control. I am aiming for the next part in two weeks, and I will post it to AO3.

Thank you so much for everything, and for being patient!

---

Damian felt the tug of someone breaking the seal that lined the wilderness of his estate. It was like a spider web thread snapping in the back of his mind, the delicate fiber straining until it broke and hung limp and loose against someone’s skin.  

Curious. 

The seal was designed to create a barrier along his sacred land so that wandering humans would have the sudden urge to panic and flee in the opposite direction. Anyone who managed to break through was either very powerful or very stupid. Or, maybe even a little desperate. After all, desperation bred fools. 

He glanced up from the sketch he’d been working on and stared out the window into the dark gray of a blizzard at twilight, a mild annoyance creasing his brow. Damian may have been the grandson of a god, and have some minor powers of his own, but even he couldn't command the weather when it was like this. 

Unfortunately, whoever had broken through his barrier would be allowed to remain close to his land until the storm calmed down.

Damian frowned and let go of a heavy sigh, glaring at nothing in particular. What an annoyance.

-

Raven could at least say that she had been given some small graces, even tiny ones. She had managed to harvest a few late mushrooms and set up additional traps in the woods farther from her cabin. It would have been better to have the traps be a bit closer to where she was currently taking shelter, but the storm had moved in faster than she anticipated, leaving her food sources scarce, and her choices even moreso.  

The wind whipped overhead, shaking snow loose from the trees and scattering it over her shoulders. The noise was somehow both ear-deafening and eerily quiet. It shook her bones, but somehow never made a real sound.  

With a curse staining her lips, she picked her way back along the path she created, making her way back to the dilapidated cabin she was taking shelter in. Her feet couldn’t move her fast enough. She felt strange being on this land, as if she wasn’t supposed to be here. It felt like a tug in her chest, a panicked feeling that made her breath short and her body shiver hard. But necessity drove her this far away from the cabin, and her options were growing more and more limited. 

"Someday," she muttered to herself, brushing snow-wet hair from her eyes, "I am going to learn to live with others. In a society. With people." 

It seemed more like an empty promise than a real one, and it was one she made at least three times a week. It had been well over a year since her bastard of a father had thankfully died, but his heavy shadow remained on her shoulders - oppressive and domineering. Her world should have opened up and grown larger with possibilities and friends, but the fingers of his crazed fear sank too deep into her own mind. And if she was honest with herself, she doubted she would ever be free of them. 

For the protection of the world, you must remain alone. You are a stain here, Raven. Nothing better than a whore of Babylon. 

Fuck him. Cursing his grave (wherever it was), she kicked at a rotting stump and made her way back to the abandoned forest ranger cabin that had become her temporary home. It didn't have much in the way of modern comforts, but at least it had a hand pump for water outside, and an outhouse. After some of the places she had stayed with her father, four walls around her while she did her business was practically palatial in comparison. 

Raven made her way through the snow, following the marks she had left in the trees to show the path. The storm continued to rage around her, growing more and more violent and bitterly cold with each minute. Even the shelter of thick, ancient pines couldn’t shield her forever. She pulled her worn coat tighter around her, and eventually found her way back to the cabin. 

When she stepped over the threshold, the pitch black of night had fallen, and the storm eased marginally. Small blessings, even if they were a little late. 

Walking carefully over the packed dirt floor, Raven stoked the coals still smoldering in the fireplace, and sank down into the ragged remains of an armchair by the hearth. She looked through her ever thinning supplies until she located her last can of soup. Sighing, she tucked it near the coals of the fire, warming what was left of her food. She wasn't sure when she'd be able to go on a supply run into town, and she didn't feel great about the traps she set today, so she was going to have to make this last as long as she could. 

Raven pulled herself close to the fire and tucked her thin blanket around her legs, feeling every muscle in her body ache with exertion. She was weary, and not just from the daily struggle of trying to survive. She was weary of being so utterly alone and isolated. Her father, in spite of all his bullshit, was at least some small amount of company. After he died, she had no one.

Her chest grew tight, and grief filled her until it was so heavy she wasn’t sure if she could bear the weight. A cold tear spilled over her cheek and she wiped it away with her sleeve. She wasn’t sad for his loss, but was sad that she had no one to turn to - no one to help her move forward in the world. She was, for all intents and purposes, alone. 

Raven watched the coals' red glow fade, her mind drifting in and out of consciousness as she slipped into a half-sleep, where her dreams seemed far too real. 

"A human. How pathetic."

Raven grit her teeth against the insult. She might have been a pathetic human, but she would survive out of spite, and that was a threat. 

Her head rocked to the side, staring into the dark shadows of the half-rotted cabin. Hearing phantom voices and seeing unexpected things became a usual occurrence after being alone for so long, but this voice sounded different than it ever had before. "You're not any better…" She paused, trying to think of something to call this new hallucination. “…you ass.”

Very clever.   

The was a soft grunt, proving that it was obviously not insulted by her weak name calling. The shadows moved like smoke, staying tight to the deepest part of the darkness. Raven felt something staring at her, as if trying to understand what she was. She turned her head and stared into the rafters, hearing the creak and groan of the roof under the weight of snow. 

“What are you doing out here?”

“It’s public land. I am public.” She closed her eyes, trying to let herself fall deeper into sleep, but the shadows kept talking, much to her annoyance. Sometimes she wished her phantoms would just shut up.  

“Not all of it is public land. You stepped past those boundaries.” 

“Oh, please.” Raven snorted. “Will some absurdly rich recluse really know if I trap a few hares on their thousands of acres of unused land?” 

The shadows responded with a strange breathy noise, as if it wasn’t sure whether or not she made a valid point. 

“See?” Raven let her point seep into her tone. “Even you agree.”

There was another long pause, and the darkness spoke again. “Perhaps there is a reason to keep you off the land.”

“To make sure that their investment of land holdings is properly protected?”

“Hm.” The shadows moved like ink in water, spreading out against the walls as the coals’ light dimmed even farther. Finally it moved closer to her. “You seem to think you know a lot for someone who lives in a stolen hovel on public land.”

“Circumstances don’t always dictate the totality of a person.” 

The shadows didn’t seem to know what to make of that comment, and stayed silent. Raven closed her eyes and let her body sink into the remains of the armchair, wrapping the threadbare blankets tighter around her. She shifted onto her side and faced the fading heat of the coals. The world grew heavy and dark, and Raven felt her body finally succumb to exhaustion, as she slipped into a dark, empty dreamless sleep.  

But, she swore she heard one last word from her half-dream of shadows along the wall… 

“Curious.”

-

She haunted his thoughts and that infuriated him more than anything. 

This ragged slip of a human, who squatted in abandoned cabins and had the gall to tease him. Him. The grandson of a god, and a demigod in his own right.

And yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wondered if the traps she set remained bare, if she had managed to find food or warmth, and even if her firewood was dry enough. It was unbearable. Every moment he wasn’t completely focused on something else, she entered his thoughts.

Against his better judgment, Damian found himself visiting her again a few nights later, unable to stay away. He thought that if he saw her again, he might be less enamored by her - at least, that was what he kept telling himself. 

She was interesting, even if he didn’t admit it out loud. There was something about the way she spoke to him that piqued his curiosity. It was as if she thought he was an echo or a dream, and not real in any sense of the word. He had spent most of his long life being surrounded by those who worshiped his grandfather, and while Damian appreciated the reverence and kowtowing, it felt almost refreshing to have someone treat him… normal. 

Almost.

She should still have some verneration for him. He was technically still a god. 

When Damian slipped into the shadows of the abandoned cabin, he found her floating in that space between awake and sleep where things seemed almost real. Her eyes lifted to the dark corner where he stood, trying to discern his shape from between the shadows. 

“You came back.�� Her voice was a slow drawling sound that slid over his skin like a spell. “I thought you’d disappeared. It’s been a few days since you’ve haunted me.”

Part of him wished he hadn’t returned here, and he had forgotten all about the trespasser on his land. But, here he was, watching a strange woman sleep on a rotting armchair. “You’re still here…” He trailed off, leaving the question unspoken in the air. 

“Raven,” she muttered with an annoyed sigh. “I would have thought you would have at least known my name since you insist on following me around and invading my inner peace.” There was a long pause and he thought she had fallen asleep. Finally, her words slipped from behind her lips. “I’m here because I have nowhere else to go.” 

He blinked and continued to watch her, letting her words settle. There was a story there he wanted to know, but he wasn’t sure if he should pry. Prying meant that there was a part of him that cared about her, and he didn’t. But… perhaps he was a little curious. 

“You have no home?”

“Even if I did, it would not be a place I would go back to." Raven sighed, as if this conversation was exhausting her. “And, if I can't find strength in myself, then who else could I possibly find strength in?”

Damian was about to say something brave and gallant, but he stopped himself. He was not the type of person to offer platitudes and words of encouragement, and he certainly wasn't the type of person to offer help in any sense of the word. He liked his solitude and his privacy, and the only reason he was here was because this human was upsetting his perfectly manicured life. 

Still… 

“Seems to be a lonely life.”

“It is.” She gave a dry laugh, her blunt answer cutting through the weight of the room. There was a sorrow that clung to her, and a longing for something more than she had now. “After all, I'm talking to the shadows on the wall about my lack of home.”

He wondered if she would believe him if he said he was real, but chose to keep silent instead. 

“You should go away, you’re keeping me from my well deserved sleep. You’re like an annoying fly buzzing around my head.” She gave a halfhearted wave, as if shooing him away, before she turned her face to the warmth of the fire. Her breath deepened, and Damian stood there for a long while, watching this curious human sleep. 

There was an odd, uncomfortable stirring in his chest, as though his heart was waking up after a long, deep sleep. 

His lips twitched in annoyance, and he glanced around the small cabin, taking stock of what she owned. It was so little, that it seemed as though she had simply walked out of a place one day with whatever she could carry on her back. A few clothes, a threadbare blanket, a backpack that had certainly seen better days, and…

His eyes rested on several beat up paperback books poking through the holes of her bag. That seemed like an odd choice, having books when she seemed to have such limited resources in the first place. Damian turned that observation around in his head for a moment, unsure of what to make of it.

Ultimately, it didn't matter. Mortals were of little concern to him.

Raven included. 

Ignoring that strange flutter in his chest, he slipped back into the shadows and disappeared from the cabin.

[the-soliloquies-of-sadists]

#349

“You look surprised to see us in your home.  C’mon in we have things to discuss.  If you are looking for a place to run, Bubba behind you will make sure you don’t do that.  You should feel free to come into your own home.  Get in.  Bubba close the door….

“You seem too calm for this.  It’s like you expected three strange men to be in your trailer home out here in the middle of nowhere.  Do you know why we are here?  Yeah, you do.  You raped a fourteen-year-old girl, and then due to a technicality got off. 

“We have no idea who this little girl is, nor who her family are.  We don’t even know who the friend of the family is who contacted someone who contacted someone who contacted us.  We were provided your pic, your address, and who in town still cares for you.  Nobody.  We were sent here to make sure you never do it again. 

“Bubba.  Hold him.  You ain’t going anywhere.  Here, this collar will help with that.  Zeke hand me the lock….  And… it’s on.  Bubba let him go. 

“Ok Shithead.  I will give you one second to run, if you can get free then you are free.  One, two,… three. 

“Ha! Ha!  Your one second didn’t even get you to the door before that shock collar knocked you on your ass.  That delivered a punch, hunh?  Keep in mind that was on setting one.  There are five.  Each of us have a remote, and we can up it to any setting we feel like.  A few things about that collar, first it isn’t just an animal collar; it was designed by some very twisted men in Berlin.  There are three terminals, so that at least one will be in touch with your neck.  There are sensors that will monitor if you should want to put a barrier between the contacts and your skin.  There are other sensors in place should you want to cut it off.  Basically, you’re fucked.

“…Well, figuratively fucked.  The literal fucking will happen as soon as you get up….  Get up bitch….  There you go.  Now strip for us.  We want to see what we get to play with.  You heard me.  And take your time.  We are going to enjoy you putting on a show for us. 

“Shirt first.  Look at those pecs!  Nice abs too.  Your chest hair is kinda weird, like it’s all in one spot between you nips.

“What you don’t know about us three is that we prefer men.  I know I am getting a chubby.  How about you guys? 

“Now shoes and socks….  Pants and undies!...  Well lookie there….  You go commando.  More men should do that.  Average dick.  Zeke! Look at those balls.  They are huge! 

“Zeke likes balls….  Bitch, don’t you pull away.  We are going to be doing some nasty stuff to you.  We have every right to access every part of your body.  You don’t have any say in that.  You got that? 

“Now turn around and show us your asshole….  Damn! That’s one bubble butt.  Boys, I think we hit the jackpot with that.  Oh man….  Now show us that hole.  That’s it, bend over and pull your cheeks apart.  Damn!  That’s a virgin hole for sure.  Bitch, you a virgin back there?...  Hot damn!  We get to smash yet another cherry.  Hoo-wee!  Face us and get on your knees…. 

“Guys show him your remotes….  See them Bitch?  That’s so you don’t forget what non-compliance looks like.  Nod if you understand….  Good!

“Now which of us three do you want to rape you first?...  What the fuck?...  Pleading now?  None of us care about you other than being our cumdump pain freak.  So, you have three seconds before you experience shock level two.  Who do you want to take your cherry?  One… Two…

“Me?  Wow.  I haven’t been selected in a long time.  Our victims usually go for Bubba or Zeke, foolishly thinking that the quiet ones aren’t as much of an asshole.  OK bitch, crawl over to me and take my cock out of my pants.

“There you go.  Reach up and feel my bulge.  It’s big hunh?  All three of us are.  Unzip me and take me out.  I too go commando.  Look at my dickhead.  Just think that’s going to be shoved in deep in just about a minute.  Right now, your job is to get as much spit on it as you can.  Throat slime would be better.  That’s the only lube I will use when I smash your cherry.

“If you want a lot of slime on it, try to touch your chin with your tongue.  Like that.  Here let me do this.  Your throat opens up nicely with that.  Choke and gag on this dick!  I can feel the slime coating my cock.  Remember this trick.

“Keep going.  You’ll want to get your hole to relax.  We are going to be using it all day.  All three of us are multiple cummers.  But we are going to do other things too.  My arm will eventually go in your cunt.  Zeke will be destroying your balls.  And Bubba will sit on your face for a deep tongue cleaning.

“We are here until around midnight.  We don’t want to be seen leaving with you secured in our truck.  And when Bubba torches this place, we want to have it burn completely to the ground before the fire department comes out.  Yeah, you are not going back to the shambles of your previous life.  You are going to disappear into the underground where you will be sold into a much different existence.  No one will care that you are gone.

“Guys, there it is; the realization has hit him.  Get him bent over his couch…  Hold him down.  Let him struggle futilely as he grasps the last moment of being a man.

“Bitch, we were paid to rape you and make sure you never do it again.  And if you are wondering how we will prevent you from doing it again, let me just say that Zeke grew up on a farm and he knows how to castrate bulls.  Your balls are the only verification the person who hired us wants.

“Hot damn!  Here it goes.  Scream fucker!  Scream!  Goddamn!  I love smashing virgin cunt!”

[peachandpinwheel]

I have ADHD and a history of disordered eating and weight loss behaviours, so I struggle with both exercise and exercise culture.

Alas, I am now in my 30s, and if I don’t move my body with some regularity, it impacts my neck, my back, my digestion and my anxiety.

This year I’ve been working on finding ways around the barriers to exercise for me (in short: it’s boring, it takes too long, it’s a sensory nightmare) and I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learnt in case it helps anyone.

So for people who struggle to exercise regularly for various reasons, I offer some encouraging literature from actual peer-reviewed science:

Limitations to your movement or energy? Static stretching can stimulate muscle growth

Struggling with the dreaded 10,000 steps? It’s an arbitrary figure. Yes, walking more and walking regularly is good for you, but getting just 4000 steps a day can lower your mortality risk.

Struggling to find time for cardio? 5 minutes of running a day at any speed reduces risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality

Struggling to workout regularly? One 20 minute resistance session a week sees results for many people - 1 set done to failure, for 6 exercises, and you’re done. 

(You can choose your own adventure on the exercises based on your needs or goals, but the original paper recommends multi-joint movements that occur in daily life such as pulling, pushing, and walking-motions for the most holistic benefits.)

(Side bar: the same paper also notes that if you have previously done training but stopped, you’ll likely get those muscles back quicker on return because your neural pathways are already built. Time spent is never wasted!)

There’s actually a company that specializes in training you this way (I can’t speak for them as they’re not in my country, but I like the concept - workouts are designed to be sweat free, done in street clothes, 20 minutes a week).

And of course, a standard Tumblr plug for Everyday Calisthenics, for short daily workouts you can do at home and adjust to your abilities.

If you’re struggling mentally with exercise, I found No Sweat by Michelle Segar (free audiobook on Spotify Premium) really helpful (though I will caution it does include some occasional references to losing weight that could be triggering).

The focus of this book is the idea that exercise doesn’t have to look or feel a certain way. All movement is good movement, and only enjoyable movement is sustainable in the long term. It’s just as meaningful to dance to your favourite song for 3 minutes as it is to go for a 1 hour boxing session, if that’s the way you enjoy moving.

If you have any further recommendations, please don't hesitate to add!

[harveyguilleniconodelamoda]

Welcome to Harvey Guillén: Icono de la Moda!

A blog for celebrating the unique style of queer, Latino, plus size fashion icon Harvey Guillén.

Please do not send donation or post boosting requests to this blog. Any such requests should go to my main blog, @darkshrimpemotions.

To explore what's already here, click or tap on the tags on this post! For some explanation on the purpose of the blog and how things are tagged, check under the cut!

About This Blog

Over the last few years, Harvey Guillén has emerged as an important voice in the conversation around inclusivity in fashion, repeatedly making best dressed lists at red carpet events with his bold choices and taking every opportunity to advocate for greater diversity and inclusivity in the fashion world.

Since 2022 he has gone from mostly styling himself for his public appearances (and even for some of his roles!) to having a team of artists dedicated to helping him look his best in the spotlight. Through all of those changes, what remains consistent is the way he ignores the gender- and size-based limitations placed on fashion.

With excellent tailoring, bright prints and colors, bold flashes of skin, and the seamless integration of masculine and feminine details in stunning combinations that go beyond simple androgyny and venture into the realm of joyful, defiant genderfuckery, Harvey's personal style is all about obliterating barriers and inspiring others to do the same.

Here you'll find posts analyzing the costumes of Harvey's most iconic characters such as Guillermo de la Cruz, Cousin Blobbin, Andy from Cursed Friends, and others as his filmography continues to grow! You'll also find deep dives on Harvey's red carpet looks, street style, casual wear, and photoshoots, examinations of recurring motifs in Harvey's personal style, and deep dives on his staple pieces, accessories, and more. Wherever possible, links will be included to the actual clothing items and/or affordable options for similar styles.

Is there a costume, outfit, or staple piece from Harvey's style you'd like to know more about? Feel free to send a request via the ask box!

Tagging Method

All posts are tagged with Harvey's name, "fashion," and a basic category for the occasion/purpose of the featured look(s), and the names of any key designers or brands mentioned within the post.

Posts about Harvey's staple pieces we see over and over are tagged "staple pieces." Any general blogging or research updates are tagged "blog update." Posts featuring brands that have size ranges that include plus sizes are tagged "plus size fashion." Posts focusing on accessories are tagged "accessories" and posts featuring interviews or excerpts from interviews with Harvey are tagged "interviews."

The basic categories I use for the various looks featured here are:

Character Costumes - Costumes worn for/as fictional characters in feature films or scripted series, or BTS photos/footage of in-character outfit options that may or may not appear in the final product.

Photoshoots - Outfits worn in photoshoots.

Red Carpet Looks - Outfits worn to red carpet events, including award shows and film premieres.

Work Attire - Outfits other than character costumes worn to rehearsals, stunt rehearsals, table readings, voice recording sessions, etc.

Street Style - Outfits worn out and about in public, but not to a planned media event.

Casual Wear - Outfits worn to family and friends events in private spaces, i.e. outfits Harvey wears at home (please note - I am only ever sharing these photos here if they were shared publicly on social media and are relevant to the subject of this blog).

TV Appearances - Outfits worn in unscripted or live television appearances, i.e. talk show appearances, guest hosting spots, or Drag Race and other competition reality show guest spots.

Media Event Looks - Outfits worn to planned media events that are not necessarily red carpet events or award shows.