#Crazy Facts About Luxury Cars

[dumbblond3]

BITE ME

Ellabs x reader

CW: minors DNI, dubcon, vampires

They’re the hot older couple you see from across the bar. Abby with her arm resting on the back of the booth they sit in Ellie at her side. The lingering glances they cast make it clear they’re scouting out their next victim.

It didn’t take you long to notice them and god are they your type. Their intimidating presence, the natural dominance they exude. You think it’s too bad they’re together as you imagine what a night between them would be like.

Lucky you they take notice of your shy glances, your disinterest in the others that approach you, and the fact that the friends you came with seem too distracted to notice if you went missing.

Abby approaches you first coming from behind leaning down to introduce herself. You’re caught off guard at first but more than pleased to see her standing there. As she gets your name she brings up Ellie who you learn is her wife Abby tells you they’ve been eyeing you all night.

It isn’t long until Ellie appears at your other side pushing a drink your way, distracting you from the odd aftertaste of whatever she gave you with her sweet ramblings. Something about the way they talk to you is hypnotic their words hold this power, and when Abby’s in your ear saying how beautiful you are whispering that they could just eat you up, you know she means it.

It isn’t until Abby suggests that you take things somewhere more private that you realize how fuzzy your head feels. You struggle to exit the bar and before you understand what’s going on you’re in the back of their car.

Hands are all over you. One of them pulls you into their chest the other pushing the end of your dress up and you can barely manage a whisper to ask them what’s going on. Your worries are hushed with sweet promises of pleasure, saccharine kisses left on your neck followed by words of praise.

Soon you’re stumbling into their apartment failing to take note of its luxury in your drunken state, collapsing onto their fluffy duvet without a second thought.

With a quickness Abby and Ellie are latched onto either side of your neck making sure your mumbles of inexperience are drowned out by moans and whimpers. You end up with your back to Abby’s chest her tongue lapping at your right side as Ellie’s practically on top of you marking your left.

Their treatment becomes increasingly rough as you struggle to keep up mentally with the pleasure they give you as Ellie’s hands go lower their kisses get hungrier, and as you feel her push into you there’s a sharp pain at your neck.

The fogginess in your head grows tenfold as your mind is filled with them, their touch, their scent their teeth. The conscious part of your mind is trying its hardest to snap you out of this trance the realization hitting that they’re biting you.

No longer just scratches of teeth against your collarbone their teeth are deep in your skin as spare drops of crimson drip down your chest it’s far too late for you to do anything but take what they give you.

Ellie finally unlatches from her place in your neck and suddenly you’re reminded of her fingers deep inside you as she begins to move them with fervor.

The pleasure they’re giving you is too much, every sensation takes you further away from the reality of what’s happening, how crazy it is that you’ve ended up between these two.

By now your head is fully lolled onto Abby’s shoulder and you can distantly hear the sounds of her cooing words of encouragement as you’re brought closer and closer to release.

Your moans are getting louder and they know you’re close. Ellie’s forehead is against yours and Abby’s holding you tight to her chest as you cum- harder than you ever have before. As the waves of your orgasm wash over you it’s all too much for you to handle in this state, but even as your world fades you don’t feel fear only comfort in their warm embrace.

AN: thank you for reading, requests are open!!

[ithebookhoarder]

(BAU Headcanons) Spending a day off with your S.O.

Aaron Hotchner

Ok. So. First of all... Aaron's casual wardrobe is sinful and I feel like I need to mention it when talking about days off. After all, he's not going to turn down the excuse not to wear a shirt and tie, knowing jeans and his usual polo shirts are better suited to both relaxing and possibly chasing after Jack.

If you two ever got a rare day off then he would do his best to make you breakfast in bed, knowing that having an excuse to stay in bed is a luxury.

If Jack is with you, and not at Jessica's, then you know Jack would be right next to him in the kitchen, begging to help. I mean, if you watch Bluey, picture the episode where Bingo is trying to make that omelette for Bandit on his birthday... that's basically the vibe here.

Hotch wouldn’t try to force you out of the house if you didn’t want to go, as he’s perfectly happy to stay in and play with you and Jack. After all, you have the most recent lego set, which you bought him for his birthday, to finish building.

"You up for that buddy? Six hands are better than four, after all."

Or, if you don't have the energy or patience, then you three can curl up on the sofa together and watch movies and the backlog of tv shows you’ve missed out on whilst you’ve been away working. 

Fun Fact: Aaron would rather die than admit to the rest of the BAU that you got him hooked on reality shows like The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills or Below Deck -but he is. He finds them fascinating case studies in human behaviour... or that's his excuse anyway when you call him out on it.

However, if you do want to actually leave the house and get outside then he’d be pretty relaxed about whatever it is you wanted to do, as long as you could all do it together. 

He'd also love it if you both got the chance to go for a run, enjoying the rare opportunity to race you through the nearby park. You can just soak in the sunshine and watch the other people as they make their way through the world, before grabbing a coffee on your way home.  

David Rossi 

Rossi is a man who knows the value of creature comforts, as we've seen repeatedly in the show. You know this man enjoys having time off to indulge himself - and you too.

As soon as he knows he has the day off, you can bet he's driving you to the local farmer's market to buy all the ingredients needed for a home cooked feast. 

Despite promising to be there only an hour, you know he's the kind of person who would talk to each and every vendor, learning all their names and asking after their families as if they've been friends since birth.

You'd end up spending almost the entire morning - and part of the afternoon - shopping, sampling various treats and wares, and buying several bag's worth, before you're finally able to drag him back to the car.

As he's cooking, Rossi would definitely play his favourite records. He alternates between crooning along and telling you tidbits about the artists - and the many crazy memories he has about these records.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I first heard this? We were in this tiny little motel, in the middle of a horrific blizzard, and several whiskeys in..."

It's hard not to get distracted, drawn in as he pulls you close and starts dancing about the kitchen. You'd get so distracted that you almost let dinner spoil and only remember it's even there when you start to smell something burning.

"Ah! Merda!"

After dinner you know you'd end up outside on his patio, enjoying the view as the sun goes down, over a cocktail of his choosing.

Derek Morgan

You know this eager beaver would not be spending a day off with you doing nothing or letting the day ‘go to waste’.

He’d be at your doorstep bright and early, looking unfairly energetic for someone who has been running on minimal sleep all week.

Thankfully, he brings coffee and breakfast with him which is his way of bribing you to get your ass up and out with him. 

As for the day itself, he’d either have the day planned to a ’t’ or he’d have nothing planned at all. 

“Relax, sweetness, we’re letting the day take us where it may. Enjoy the ride.” 

He'd love having a reason to take you to whatever property he's renovating, hoping to share his vision for the place and getting your opinion on it all.

He'd even let you have a swing or two with a sledgehammer if there's a dry-wall that needs taking down. It's a great stress-reliever for you both, and there's nothing like hammering along in the time to beat of whatever playlist he's chosen.

He'd also order you a pizza, or whatever take-out you fancied, as payment for all your hard work.

You know he'd also been keen to help you wash up later, running you both a hot bath to soak in as you actually have the time to enjoy it.

And just between us - he knows Hotch and Rossi would have his guts his they found out - but he may or may not have left your cellphones on the bed-side table just to ensure you get an hour of peace, undisturbed...

Emily Prentiss

Ok. So. Emily loves having a day off almost as much as she enjoys working.

She doesn't require much in the way of plans. In fact, her ideal day off from the BAU involves you, a crossword puzzle, and your usual table by the window at the coffee shop around the corner.

It's right by the window, so you can bathe in the sun whilst you nurse your way through coffee after coffee.

The whole place reminds her of one similar that she spent her time in, in Paris. Just like then, she loves reading books, and completing the daily crossword with your help.

"Damn it. This is what time in Europe gets you - I forgot there's no 'u' in color. No wonder it wasn't fitting."

Emily also has a game she likes to play, watching the people around you, guessing what their stories are and imaging outlandish profiles for them all. It's a privilege to enjoy it when it's for entertainment and not out of a need to be aware of your surroundings or an ongoing threat assessment. 

Afterwards, you'd go for a stroll around the park and most likely visit the shops you rarely get a chance to.

You both spend ages going through the racks and modelling outfits for one another, knowing you need some new things to fill out your wardrobes other than work-attire. It's a like private treat for yourselves.

Once you're home again, I feel Emily would want to cook and would do a pretty good job when she has the energy. However, she is not above ordering takeout when you both can’t be bothered. 

After all, it gives you both more time together to lie in bed, with Sergio curled up between you, purring loudly as you take it in turns to pet him.

JJ

Depending on when you two got together (before or after Will), she would love to have a chance for the both of you to spend the day with Henry.

You're her family and the most important thing in the world to her. It's why she can't stop beaming as you spend the afternoon at the park together, running rings around the place and clambering all over the playground.

"I swear this kid is faster than most of the Unsubs we chase - and more sneaky too."

JJ would bring all your favourite snacks with her so you can all lie out on the grass and feast once your energy levels drop. She doesn't even mention the sugar content or how many E-numbers there are. You all deserve a treat, Henry included, so she's willing to put her 'mom hat' aside for a minute.

I feel like she'd also try and put her mom hat aside so you two can have some time without a child in tow. She'd try and make a last minute arrangement to get a sitter so you two can have some 'adult' time.

This normally involves making a reservation at your favourite restaurant, and insisting on you both dressing fancy just for the fun of it.

After all, you never get to play at being grown ups and just enjoy wearing something because it looks nice and not because you can run around in the field in it.

"I've had these heels for years and I swear I've only got to wear them like three times - and this skirt! I love this skirt."

Once you get to the restaurant, you spend hours just talking, drinking, and eating before taking a stroll on the way home.

You then curl up in bed and fall asleep to the sound of the TV playing your favourite movies, safe and warm in each other's arms.

Penelope Garcia 

This girl is the queen of relaxing. If she doesn’t have to be awake before noon then you can bet your ass she’ll be tucked up and toasty till 12:01. 

Once she's awake, however, she's a flustered mess, struggling to pick between her various plans for your time off together. There's just so much she wants to do with you and never enough time.

"What? I'm the queen of fun and I just want to make sure we make the most of our time together, sugar plum. I can't help it. I'm excited to have a day just you and me, not that I don't love the others too. I do, but you know, just having it be us is rare -"

You stop her rambling with a kiss, which of course makes her melt.

I feel like Penelope would always try and spend part of the day with you in the kitchen, baking a new recipe to take to work for the others to try.

She'd also love spending the day on the sofa with you, watching either a Rom-com or a Sci-fi marathon (depending on your moods).

Once the decision has been made, she'd insist on gathering supplies - AKA: onesies, takeout and face masks.

"It's the holy trinity of self-care," she explains, holding up your choices. "Now, do you want the tea-tree or coconut face mask?"

However, if you do feel like getting out of the house, then Penelope would take you on theatre trips - which are booked last minute but with amazing seats (courtesy of Penelope’s connections and slightly unorthodox know-how).

The others are still jealous after finding out she got you tickets to Hamilton, front row, with the original cast.

Dr Spencer Reid

You know Spencer is the kind of person that has a list of things the size of his arm that he’d love to do with you on a rare day off. 

You’d probably have to negotiate with him to figure out which ones you could reasonably do in just 24 hours - and you try to find a balance between appeasing his interests and yours. 

For example, you don’t mind sitting through a Russian movie festival if afterwards he agrees to let you wander around your favourite bookshop and spend as long as you want exploring the shelves - without him critiquing or spoiling the endings before you even have a chance to read the blurb. 

If you also happened to let it slip that you'd never watched every single episode of Doctor Who that's ever been made, then you know your future days off will be spent marathoning on the couch. 

"I'm just saying that he's underrated as the Doctor as arguably the narratives of his episodes are far better developed and reflect the point of the show, which is that the Doctor isn't perfect but rather a time-travelling refugee who acts as a healer, counsellor, and protector of the universe. It's why he calls himself 'The Doctor' ..."

He always looks so adorable when he gets excited about something he loves. It's hard not to fall in love with him all over again.

Apart from watching TV, you both also love spending days off on that couch, curled up together, reading your way through the stack of books you both had in your never ending ‘TBR’ pile. 

Spencer would love listening to you discuss whatever you're reading, doing his best to memorise the characters, plots, and your thoughts on both. It's the least he can do when you listen so patiently every time he starts rambling on about whatever his latest hyper-fixation is.

"Can I... can I borrow that when you're finished? I'm now curious - just don't tell the others, ok?"

Masterlist

[spite-and-waffles]

I always wonder whether Batfam fans really get just how fucking rich the Waynes are. Like of course we shy away from thinking about the fact that we're talking Musk and Bezos money, and focus on how Bruce funds the freaking Watchtower and has what is functionally a high-tech military base and lab and the world's most expensive vehicles. But this is the one time you don't have to factor in the implications of wealth-hoarding, so there's nothing preventing y'all from understanding exactly how much money we're talking about here.

For instance, there doesn't seem to be any concept of how palatial Wayne Manor is, simply going by the outer facades of it that appear in the comics and movies. Or how decadent the lifestyles that accompany that kind of ancestral home. Alfred couldn't run that place on his own even if he had super powers, which is why even the movies occasionally show a rotating probably-temporary staff in the background. The house probably has like 3 hundred-foot pools. Their garden is a protected heritage park.

The Waynes are 10x richer than Crazy Rich Asians. They buy and wear the jewelry worth hundreds of millions that belonged to royalty. They own private islands. The art in the house alone is worth more than the GDP of a small country. They went to school with like every US President since Teddy Roosevelt and still think the Rockefellers are new money. They're personal friends with Beyonce and can get her to perform at private parties. They can rent out an entire three-star Michelin restaurant and fly out to one for every date. They have top-line penthouse apartments in every major city in the world. They can buy a luxury sportscar instead of hiring a vehicle anywhere they visit and then just toss the keys to the nearest person on their way out (Arab royalty is known for this appearently. There's been some very lucky parking valets in the UAE iirc).

Bruce is as rich as Ra's Al Ghul, regularly make social calls to heads of state and his family has a history of being king-makers. Every one of Bruce's children, from Dick to Jason to Cass, is poised to inherit one of the largest and most powerful empires in the world. That means every time Bruce adopts an orphan off god-knows-where, the entire global elite is thrown into consternation and horror. Even Tim is barely acceptable to these people because he doesn't have the pedigree. I don't follow the reboot comics so Idk if Duke is adopted, but it would be so fucking funny if he was because they'd react a lot like the British establishment did to Meghan Markle (except the family and WE would have Duke's back completely). As for Damian, the fact that he's not white would get him snubbed if everyone who's anyone didn't 100% know who Ra's Al Ghul is. And they're fucking terrified because, for maximum hilarity, they probably figure that Bruce doesn't.

I just find it incredibly fucking funny when I'm reading fics that the writers can only imagine Bruce and the kids's civilian privileges extend only to "big house", "a lot of cars" and "Gotham famous". Lol. Lmao even.

...

Edit: Explanation for people justifiably skeptical that Bruce could be rich as Ra's (scroll down)

[yanderederee]

Hello! May i please request kokonoi with the letter Q! :)

I usually don’t have Koko in my immediate thoughts so I apologize if these aren’t quite accurate— this became a LOT more angsty than I thought it would… oops?~

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

Initial reaction, he’s downright pissed. Pissed in a way of how the hell did it even happen? He’s more concerned with what was wrong to allow the escape than the fact you abandoned him.

Actually throws up will worry. Koko begins to spiral thinking about the worst. The worst. He has flashes of Akane. He didn’t save her from the fire. He couldn’t save her from her fate— dying a painful meaningless death. Imagining you in her place. In your haste, what if you ran out in front of a car? Twisted your ankle while running and cracked your head open on the curb?

Kokonoi had you confined to a luxurious apartment with everything you may have ever needed. Everything. You needed for nothing. He was hyperventilating, confused as to why you would ever want to escape.

His heart is breaking. You were driving him crazy.

Upon gathering himself, he’s in a fit of rage, thundering out with bloodshot eyes commanding everyone under his disposal to conduct a thorough search from Fukushima to Shizuoka. You couldn’t have gotten far, so he would comb through Tokyo and spreading outward.

Honestly, with the amount of dedication and ridiculously high price he puts on your safe capture, it shouldn’t have taken more than a day to find you.

Koko stops eating all together. He doesn’t have to will to do anything other than sit in your once shared condo, surrounded by all the things he thought you loved. Your things. The things he bought you. You never asked him for anything, yet all he did was give.

Now, upon your death…. If you were to die… in his care, outside of it, regardless of how it happens. Kokonoi isn’t surviving it. He doesn’t outright commit an act to bring it upon himself. He just can’t do it again. The amount of pain he feels over losing you is just too much for him to take.

Eventually he could realize the reason you tried escaping would have to be to leave him. You hated him, right? The thought of you hating him is the final nail in the coffin. You would rather die than be with him. Oh, he is not recovering after that one.

Someone would have to take care of Koko to keep him alive, because no amount of bitch slapping or talking sense into him will bring him back to reality. It just won’t.

[cinamonqirl]

Drive you crazy

Kate Bishop x female reader

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

Summary: You and Kate run away from a boring party to spend more interesing time in her's mom car.

Warnings: smut (as always) 💋

A/N: this is your belated christmas present lol. I hope you like it and sorry if some mistakes are in english. I had to mention her hands, beacuse I am so gay for her. And happy christmas and happy new year everyone! 🏹

(You can listen to this song while reading)

*ೃ༄

Your back slammed into the back of the car before Kate's mouth was on yours again and her hands returned to your waist, squeezing your dress. You moaned into Kate's mouth as she began to grip your breasts through the fabric of the dress, that you fully intended to wear for her.

After Kate thought she could take a moment not to think about you, then when she saw you in a tigh dress, and archer arleady knew she couldn't stay away from you. Kate has dreamed of you for centuries, and every time she couldn't bear to see men drooling over you. But she didn't know that it was for her that you wore that dress, just to seduce her and finally understand your begging.

That's why you left a boring party when Kate she remembered that she had the keys to her mother's car in her pocket.

"Get in beauty" she muttered as she opened the door and nearly pushed you inside. You stumbled into the backseat and was on top of the dark-haired girl in no time before she even closed the door behind her. She bet you need her so much right now.

"So impatient, huh?" She noticed when you straddled on her lap. Which Kate found really appealing, because she'd always wanted to see you on her lap. There was a lot of space in the car, so it's not surprising because her mother has a lot of money, so the car is comfortable and luxurious.

Of course Kate also has her own car but she didn't take it to a party this time, which she regrets because she could show off and impress you.

"Maybe" you whispered, squirming on her lap to be in a more comfortable position, and Kate gasped at the gesture, paying her full attention on your hips. She thought you looked really hot sitting on her lap in a tight black dress that showed off your perfect figure and your hair fell over your shoulders. And a rather large cleavage, which archer has already spent enough time looking at. But she couldn't help but glance at your breasts, because it's not her fault that you're so beautiful.

"Have you wanted this, as long as I am?" she asked as her hands fell to your thighs under your skirt, as you feel her cold rings making you shivered against the cold metal and breath quiver slightly at the sensation.

"Yes, Katie" You confessed into her mouth, wishing Kate had done it sooner. She kissed you back hard, as if your confirm turned her on, and she started kissing you impossible fast. She undid the top two buttons of her shirt and loosened her tie eagerly beetween sloppy kisses and then she sighed with relief. "I wanted you so bad" you continued and slid down to her neck starting kissing and sucking her skin while she tilted her head back, jaw clenching until she growled at the gesture. Her hands tightened on your thighs when several sighs and curses escaped from her mouth under her breath.

Kate thought you were really bold, even though you don't seem like it, because you're always calm and cute. But seeing how hard you kiss her and guide her hands closer to your panties, and aside from the fact that you're sitting on her lap right now, it does not recognize you at all as you are with others, that is, innocent. You moaned into her neck as her hands squeezed your ass, and at the sound, Kate felt a pleasant sensation in the pit of her stomach. You are really driving her crazy.

"Do you like it?" You asked in a seductive voice against her neck that brought Kate's senses back, reminding herself that all evening she had thought only of making you feel good. She chuckled in a deep voice, and the butterflies in your stomach went crazy at that sound.

"Mmmm.." she mumbled relaxing and then ran her fingers over your lacy panties as if nothing had happened. She lifted your skirt to admire the expensive fabric with her hands, remembering how she had imagined the fabric clinging to your body. She could do a lot now when you are her's. But you had other plans, wanting to get into Kate's pants, but she grabbed your hands that were going to her strap, pulling them aside.

"No beauty, my job is to make you feel good. You are keeping your hands off my pants tonight" You bit your lip looking at her amazed.

Kate is aware that people might walk by from time to time, though she doesn't really mind because she would like others to know how good Kate fucks you. But she knew you might feel weird about it. So she put her hands on your ass, lifting you up like a feather to pull you up more onto her thighs so that she moved a little to the right with you to be obscured by the seat in front of You. And it turned you on even more knowing that she did it without a problem, proving how strong she is.

"I got you princess" she whispered putting her hands back under your dress, knowing full that it made you feel some type of way, flexing of her skills.

"Oh fuck you're so strong" you said in an almost squeaky voice, feeling lots of butterflies in your stomach. Kate chuckled hoarsely shaking her head, knowing that all those years of practice had finally paid off.

"My fingers are better" she added arrogantly. But you didn't deny it, you are sure she is right, and she is about to prove it.

"I don't know that yet" you teased as you waiting for her neat fingers to penetrate your lacy panties. Because Kate brags so much about how good she is with her fingers, but she hasn't proven it yet.

"Yet" she emphasized pressing her lips to yours kissing you passionately, becoming addicted to your lips. You kissed back as fast as you could, pressing your lips harder against Kate's. Now it was Kate's turn to caress your neck with sloppy kisses. You moaned as archer leaved a few hickeys on your neck, just to show everybody who you belong to.

You're moving on her thigh needing friction, probably messing around on her black suit pants. She knows what you need, but she wants to give you even more pleasure by touching you all over your body.

"Patience princess, I'll do whatever you want if you're a good girl" She spoke in a deep voice into your skin, leaning you back with her hands on your waist a bit so she had easier access to kiss down your neckline and shoulders. You don't know if you're going to listen to her, on the other hand, you'd like to be her naughty girl which will have its consequences, but also being her good girl has its advantages.

She continued, leaving hot kisses on your neck, enjoying your every little moan while you enjoyed the pleasure of holding her neck close.

"My beautiful girl" She murmured into your cleavage, sucking your skin. Her hand returned to your thigh, stroking it with her thumb.

You were about to beg for more, but her fingers found their way to your soaking panties, caressing your clit through the fabric.

"You're so wet for me baby girl" She snarled, surprised at what a mess she had made of your panties. She looked at you to find you breathing shallowly with your eyes closed. "Want me to fuck you?" she asked in a low voice waiting for your reply.

"Yes Kate" You gasped, biting your lip in excitement.

At your need, she pushed your panties aside to slide her fingers inside you, feeling your back arching up. You finally feel relived.

Her neat fingers moved slowly inside you trying to make you feel comfortable. You moaned quietly then Kate's lips find yours, and started to kiss you, but you had hard time to concentrate on kissing, so Kate slid down to your neck leaving there gently kisses.

You needed more friction so you sat more on Kate's fingers, so they get deeper in you. Archer noticed it, and sped up her fingers moves. Just to let a few moans and sighs come out from your mouth. You threw your arms around Kate's neck, keeping closer to her.

"Quietly princess, you don't want somebody to caught us, right?" she whispered into your neck with low voice, that just hit you to the core. You bit your lip trying not to let out a loud moan from your mouth.

"Please Kate, I need more" Kate was doing such a job with her fingers that you felt stupid begging her for more. but Kate didn't care, on the contrary, it motivated her.

"Yes ma'am" she used her thumb to rub your clit with circles. And you used your hips to move them and started to ride on Kate's fingers to speed up and quench your thirst. As she felt yours hips moved, she put her other hand on your hip to help you move. It really turned you on when she complimented you in her low voice, and as if she read your mind she leaned against your ear and uttered a few words.

"You're such a good girl riding my fingers" she announced running her other hand through your hair. You couldn't tell what Kate was doing that made you feel so good, but she defenietly knows she's doing it good.

"This is way better than that boring party, hm?" she asked the question to move away from you a bit, because she was definitely close, to admire you and your reaction to each quickening of Kate's fingers.

"Defenietly" Kate didn't expect an answer to her question because she knew you were focused on what she was doing with her hands, but the answer did not disappoint her.

Not even a minute has passed and you already have felt a familiar feeling in the lower abdomen, while you threw your head back in pleasure.

"Oh Kate" A moan escaped your throat as her fingers continued to move inside you to give you more pleasure.

She watches you with a smirk, as you choke on your moans and whines as she keeps her rhythm without a pause, aware that she can feel you clenching around her digits. she pressed her lips back to your neck to graze your skin with her lips, to give you more pleasure.

"Kate" you moaned as you cum on Kate's fingers, clutching her jacket over her shoulders. Her free hand went to your ass squeezing it. You sighed in relief, smiling coquettishly at Kate. Archer remembered how she had been dreaming all day about making you feel good, and now she could finally feel the satisfaction of having done it, and even in such a short amount of time.

"You're not that good at all" you stated with an arrogant smile after a moment of catching your breath. Of course you was joking, because Kate did a great job, and it still drives you crazy.

"So those moans were faked?" she asked amused, knowing full well that you were joking. You hummed, tilting your head to the side smiling. She ran her tongue over her lower teeth, narrowing her eyes. You were grateful to Kate that it wasn't awkward and you felt at ease around her. You knew it wasn't a one time thing.

She shook her head, then a mischievous smile appeared on her lips. She bent down pressing her lips to yours again, realizing she missed them. Your tongues met in a perfect dance as you moaned into Kate's mouth. You pulled away from her mouth to bite her lip.

"Just kidding, you were amazing" you admitted holding her close by the neck. Her charming smile made you want to squeal throwing yourself on her lips. And you could faint at the sight of her.

"Oh I know that my lady" she replied arrogantly at which you rolled your eyes sarcastically, biting your lip to keep from smiling amusedly. "Oh fuck you really driving me crazy" She growled, throwing her head back thinking you look so beautifully and hot. A mischievous smile appeared on your lips at Kate's comment.

"You do this to me too" You chuckled softly, "Especially by wearing this suit" You continued quietly, Adjusting her jacket. Kate smiled to herself, remembering how she thought of you while she was wearing this black suit, imagining what you would wear tonight and what you would look like in it, and those were definitely innocent thoughts. She close her eyelids as archer lifted her head from the backseat to smile innocently at you.

"The fact that I look good in it, turns you on?" She asked placing her hand on your thigh. It really puzzled her.

"Definitely yes. But I like your hands even more" You admitted smiling shyly. Her hands really made you feel butterflies in your stomach every time you saw them.

"What?" She asked frowning her eyebrows with a stupid smile on her face, obviously confused by your confession. You rolled your eyes sarcastically, taking her hand from your thigh, to show it to Kate.

"They are so slim, strong and really veiny" You explained looking at her hand "And skillful" You added quietly, smiling stupid, reminding how you imagine how skill her fingers could be.

"So..?" Kate looked up from her hand to look at you questioningly. You giggled at her confusion.

"This makes them attractive" You replied amused.

"And that makes you horny?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Ah-ha" you admitted humming quietly biting your lip. Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise. she didn't understand how you could enjoy it, but if you did, Kate is glad to know another way to tease you.

"So you must have been imagining my fingers inside you, hm?" Her smirk only grew as you nodded your head blushing. She giggled, as she shook her head at the new information, unable to help thinking that you were probably touching yourself thinking about her.

"Mh, good to know" she looked at her hand again, trying to figure out why it turns you on, but she couldn't find anything. You looked at her with a smile as you saw the confusion in her eyes. You move a little on her lap bringing her back to reality and her eyes connected to your body.

"Well, my hands excite you, and your whole body excites me more" she said boldly licking her dry lips, staring a little too long at your breasts. Her hands landed back on your hips and her hoarsly voice and her confession had you moaning. You and Kate enjoyed each other's company for a while longer, then decided to head back to the party and spent the rest of the evening smiling at each other decidedly innocently.

[hetafice]

soft!yandere china x reader

request: Hello! Do you write yandere characters? What about 2ps and nyo!? Could you do something for Yandere!China? If not can I get hcs or scenarios for China with a Fem!Darling?

I feel like you would have to be exceptional in some way to become the object of Yao’s affections. He appreciates beauty and intelligence, but he would place much more stock in a darling that’s graceful or poised. I don’t think he’s necessarily hung up on looks (he is thousands of years old- it takes more than just a pretty face to catch his eye), but he seems likely to try to cultivate sophistication in his partners as well. Elegance is closely associated with the feminine ideal in Chinese culture, after all. Regardless of how his darling identifies, he will strongly mold them to fit cultural/historical standards of comportment. 

Before Yao even thinks to start a relationship with you, he will observe you. Likely within plain sight. If you’re a country you’ll likely feel his eyes on you in a crowd. Before he makes such a big emotional investment, he needs to be sure of what he’s getting into. Once you exhibit a few of the qualities he’s into, you’re a goner.

His age strongly informs the way he interacts with his darling. He’s old enough to not be delusional. I feel like he’s the least likely to kidnap you. Instead, he’ll take a different route completely. Think crazy gifts (first class flights, expensive clothes and jewelry), and compliments. Is he obsessed? Yes. Is part of that obsession fed by a desire to control? Also yes. But he does not want to coerce you. Part of the fun is indeed having you, but another is getting you to come to him on your own. He looks down on the greener nations that rely on force. He will carefully manipulate your perceptions of him, and over time you’ll fall into his trap without even realizing.

Of course he’ll let you borrow the car to drive yourself home, or he’ll take you home to get clothes, but why would you need to when he’s got the entire Spring/Summer 2023 Mugler collection at the penthouse?? I’m tempted to use the term gilded cage, but you can leave whenever. That “freedom” could easily give anyone a false sense of security. And he takes full advantage of that fact. 

 He is truly devoted to his darling, but is not the most openly loving person. As such, he expresses his love by giving gifts rather than physical contact or romantic language (it’s giving sugar daddy y’all). As mentioned before, he will pay top dollar and move the moon to ensure his darling’s happiness. He is not worried about spoiling his darling at all. He does not mind a little bit of brattiness to spice things up as long as nothing goes too far. He rarely spends money on himself, but as his sun moon and stars, that reasoning cannot be applied to you. Ask and you shall receive.

Don’t let him fool you! This devotion does not come without a price, though. Complete obedience is expected. He uses his darling’s standard of living as leverage, so there is rarely a need for real punishments. His goal is to get you so accustomed to luxury that you’ll do near anything to keep it.

Because of his age and temperament, I don’t think Yao would be keen on harsh physical punishments, or any physical punishments for that matter.

If you’re lucky enough to catch Yao’s eyes, you will never lift a finger again. So long as you play the part of a gentle, grateful, and obedient lover, that is. But with a life like this, why wouldn’t you be? No need to question anything that seems off…right?

[shinenihs]

NOTICE ME

Pairing: Haechan x fem!reader

Genre: Slowburn, Angst, Haechan has a girlfriend.

Warnings: Contains smut, Sensitive language

Synopsis: Since Haechan has a girlfriend, you can’t just steal him from his girlfriend that easily. So you keep on doing things that interest him. In short, you’re obsessed with him.

You are in your senior year, which means you’re going to graduate soon. However, you have one last goal; Making Haechan Lee be your Boyfriend before the School Year ends. On the other hand, Haechan has a girlfriend. In fact she’s your academic rival. She has been your rival ever since Elementary school. Additionally, She has never won in any contest you both entered. It’s always you who gets the trophy home. Although, She has defeated you in some way. The boy you have been liking since you’re 11 years old is her boyfriend. Well I guess we could call that equal. Nevertheless, It will not stop you from doing your objective. 

You would often see how Haechan and his girlfriend flirt in school, Making you feel disgusted and jealous. Even though a lot of people admire you because of your beautiful face, great mind. There’s no way you will like any of them because they’re not Haechan. Besides, they're what you call “dumb” so you will think that they’re going to use you because you’re smart. Therefore everyday you would do absurd things such as; Insulting people when Haechan is around. He doesn’t really care what happens around him because he’s with his girlfriend all the time so the focus is on her. 

There are two weeks left before graduation and you have to think of a faster plan to steal Haechan from his girlfriend. Your friends are telling you that this is a bad idea and you shouldn’t do things just because you didn’t get what you wanted. Well this is you, you have everything but him. Until a rumor has been spreading all around the university, That Haechan is only with his girlfriend because the girl’s parents forced him to date their daughter because Haechan’s family is poor and working for the girl’s parents. Oh you do love gossip. So you went to the library to dig up information about the girl’s family. Turns out the girl’s family is crazy rich. Big ass mansion with 10 luxury cars. However their richness isn’t even close to yours. Your family is the biggest donor for your university, but they raised you to be Polite and shouldn’t look down on people just because of their social status. Well you’re nothing like what they raised you to be. Instead you became the smart rebellious girl everybody knows. Since you’re powerful you discovered that the rumor that has been going on is true. However, Haechan doesn’t look like he looks forced. He’s good at hiding, maybe because he’s in a drama club that you joined just to see him everyday. 

Going back to your plan, All of the things you planned didn’t work out. Including sabotaging the graduation ball that Haechan and his girlfriend won as Prom King and Queen. You have no other choice but to expose his girlfriend anonymously. You don’t want to ruin your reputation and waste the chance of being the Valedictorian so you’re going anonymous. 

After getting information about the girl’s family, you decided to go to class now. Once you entered the room. There it is, Haechan and his girlfriend making out infront of you. Also the girl is sitting on the table of Haechan’s seat. Little did they know… before everyone arrived you broke the armchair where Haechan’s usually sits and used glue to put it back again which will never stick that long. While they’re making out you notice his girlfriend keeps moving which means she’s uncomfortable because you can see that the table is cracking and will break eventually. 

*THUD*

Haechan’s girlfriend fell causing her to break her waist. You showed a little grin and saw that Haechan is scared because his girlfriend can’t stand up.

“Next time don’t make out in class” You said, causing everyone to look at you. Someone even mouthed “Thank you” because they’re making everyone uncomfortable.

Not long enough an ambulance came to take his girlfriend to the emergency room. Haechan didn’t go with her since the school is very strict nowadays and you have to complete your attendance before the graduation. It looks like someone won’t be able to graduate. 

Finally all classes have ended and you get to go home. You went up to your locker to leave things, While putting your books back, the door closed. seeing Haechan’s hand on your locker door.

“Oh hello Haechan, What can I do for you?” Giving him a sarcastic tone. 

“I know you’re behind all of this y/n” Hearing what he said, you became blank as space. How does he know that you’re behind all of these?

“I don't know what you’re talking about” You said while putting your books back again. But he closed your locker again.

“You may be smart but you’re not going to act dumb around me” Damn, He may be dumb at academics, but not when it comes to this. We’d really make a good couple.

“We’re done with this conversation” I said, locking my locker and leaving the university.

You quickly went inside the car and drove away, But this time you’re not headed home. You’re headed to your secret penthouse that your parents didn’t know.

When you arrived at your penthouse, you took a hot shower to calm your mind and finished all your requirements. You got busy and didn’t have time to cook dinner so you went ahead and ordered for delivery. While waiting for your food to arrive you suddenly got a message.

(My) Haechan sent you a message

 What does he want now? Yet you still checked what the said

“Call me right now” 

For one thing, you don't like being dominated. You’re always the dominating one. But you’ll be that submissive little brat for Haechan and will do what he says. So you called him

“I'm here outside your penthouse” He better not be kidding with you. Not even your friends know about your penthouse.

“No you’re not” 

“Aren’t you y/n y/sn who ordered these chicken tenders?”

“Fuck, yes that’s me just give me a minute” Screams are filling up the room as you panic every second.

10 minutes later you finally calmed down, and went to open the door.

“That was not a minute” He complained

“Come in” 

“You got a nice penthouse huh?” 

“Shut up, how did you know that I own this?” 

“Your penthouse is next to mine, the black one.” 

So that good ass looking penthouse was his!? I thought he’s poor?

“Aren’t you poor and your parents are working for your girlfriend's parents?” I asked without hesitation

“Yeah I am, but my Grandfather used to own that penthouse, my name is under his will” So he’s rich but his family is poor?

“If you’re not poor, why did you agree on that relationship thing?” 

“Hold on, How did you prove that the rumor is true?” 

“I'm good at this, now answer” 

“I'm doing this for my parents,  they owe my girlfriends parents a lot of money” 

“Why don’t you pay their debt?”

“They specifically said they don't need the money. Instead they wanted me to date their daughter” 

“But why are you working as a delivery man?”

“Oh I’m not, I just happened to see your food in front of the door. You probably didn't notice” 

“Well then, You can go now I need to be alone”

As soon as Haechan left, you went to your room with your food and ate while finishing the remaining tasks.

While doing your tasks you can’t help but fantasize about him. especially the interaction you just had. however fantasizing about him never distracts you. so you finished all in no time and went to bed.

A WEEK LATER

You found out that Haechan’s girlfriend will not be able to graduate because of the accident. That’s what happens to girls who can’t keep their hands off their boyfriend. You pretended to feel bad even though you’re the reason why she cannot graduate. Now that she’s not around, It’s the perfect time to steal her boyfriend 

You were about to go to class when someone suddenly pulled you to the storage room. 

“What the fuck” You were disgusted, wondering why would someone pull you here 

“I pulled you here so nobody could see us” Haechan replied. For what reason? his girlfriend is not even here.

“How is your girlfriend?” 

“We broke up” He said. You’re not surprised, you’ve been waiting for this. 

“Why? what happened?” You asked

“I don't love her, I never loved her. So I took the chance to break up with her” 

“And why are you telling me this?” 

“I know you like me y/n with those actions you’ve been doing just to get noticed by me” Looks like he does notice it

“Okay so what? what do you want me to do?”

“Im single now, And I also like you I just don’t have a plan to tell you” 

“Yeah it’s not convincing me much” 

“Maybe this will” 

After he said those words, he pulled you in for a kiss. Well who even are you to refuse, so you kissed him back. Making out with him feels like a dream, you were both thirsty for each other. For Haechan, Making out isn’t enough for him so he started touching you until it reached your short skirt. Revealing your wet panties.

“Already wet?” 

“I’m always wet for you, Haechan” 

He began touching your panties, making you whimper. You’ve never had sex before, therefore you’re sensitive. Looks like your new boyfriend doesn’t care. He loves hearing your sweet little sounds so he went in your panties, drawing circles on your clit. You’ve never felt so good before, You started to touch his pants feeling his crotch. Haechan unbuckled his pants with one hand. It turned you on, you helped him undress himself and when you took off his boxers his dick was hard. And very big.

“You looked surprised there” 

“I-i didn’t k-know you w-were this b-big Mmm- Ahh” Moans escaping your mouth as he plays with your pussy

“Suck it” 

You did what he said, you sucked his dick, bobbling your head as he moans out of lust 

That means you’re doing a great job. You jerked him off while he’s playing with your clit. Which makes you both moan together. Luckily the storage room was soundproof so nobody could hear what you were doing. 

“Im gonna cum”

“Cum, I'm gonna swallow it” 

“Oh fuck you always know how to turn me on” 

Loud noises filled the room, you both reached your climax and decided to not attend the classes for the day. Instead we went to my penthouse to spend the day. Who would’ve thought that the boy you’ve been liking since you were a kid is your boyfriend now? Graduating as Valedictorian with the love of your life. You’ve reached your last goal. Make Haechan Lee your boyfriend. 

TIME SKIP

Today is the day before your graduation. Everybody knows that you and Haechan are now officially together. Everybody expects it, people are telling you they know that you are going to end up together. Also, He introduced you to his parents. His parents are so welcoming, and caring. Now you know where Haechan got it from. Likewise, you also introduced him to your parents and they absolutely loved him. Not because he’s your first boyfriend, it’s because they know already that he will take care of you. But you know your father, Haechan and him talked separately because you know.

“Are you ready to graduate as Valedictorian, My love?” Your boyfriend asked you with a big smile on his face indicating that he’s happy for you.

“I was born ready, Now will you help me practice my speech?” 

“I’d be happy to” He said patting the seat beside him

This whole day was just you practicing your Valedictorian speech, giving thanks to all the people who have helped you to be this successful. After that Haechan took you shopping as a graduation gift. And you also gave him a graduation gift, Aside from sex you both went on a romantic date as your gift for him. 

GRADUATION DAY

You are now getting ready in line, your boyfriend is just behind you because you guys are walking in alphabetic order. Finally you heard your name and you went up on stage. Receiving a lot of medals. So many achievements, One of them is being Haechan’s Girlfriend. Looks like doing things that may look obsessed to other people's eyes works after all.

[famoussharkhairdoknight]

SOMENTHING SPECIAL ~Vinicius jr

Warning: +18, smut, English is not my first language

On one of the luxurious evenings in Madrid, Vinicius Jr., Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé were the center of attention in one of the most exclusive clubs in the city. The three friends used to celebrate until late at night, with reserved tables, expensive bottles and looks of admiration wherever they landed.

Vinicius, with a cheeky and confident smile, smiled at his friends as he poured himself yet another glass. Jude laughed at a not particularly brilliant joke, while Kylian shrugged his shoulders, amused by his friend's bravado.

“Dude, I think you're getting bored here,” Jude said, patting him on the shoulder. “By now every girl here has already tried to talk to you at least once.”

Vinicius burst out laughing. “And it's not my fault that they all fall in love with me, Jude.”

Just then, a movement caught Vinicius' attention.

You were walking into the club looking charming and confident.

“Wow, who is that?” Kylian asked, noticing you

Vinicius straightened his jacket with a cocky smirk. “We'll find out, leave it to me.”

---

Vinicius approached you with his usual conquering air. “Hi, I'm Vinicius,” he said in a tone that emphasized his fame, expecting an adoring smile in response.

You raise an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. "Ah, the footballer."

Vinicius paused for a moment, surprised by your reaction. "Aren't you interested in knowing anything else?"

You smiled calmly. “Only you should stop thinking that the world revolves around you.”

Vinicius was silent for a moment, speechless, and Jude and Kylian, who had been eavesdropping, stifled their laughter.

“You're... very direct,” Vinicius admitted, masking his surprise with a smile.

“And you seem very used to getting what you want,” you replied without batting an eyelid, sipping your drink.

Vinicius was not accustomed to encountering resistance; normally a smile was enough and the girl in question would fall at his feet. However, that evening, he felt caught between the desire to impress and the irritation of rejection.

---

Weeks passed, and Vinicius found every excuse he could to see you again. He invited you to exclusive events, offered you expensive gifts, but you continued to treat him with the same indifference.

Jude and Kylian, who had initially joked about how fixated Vinicius seemed, were now starting to realize that you presented a unique challenge to him.

One evening, after training, Vinicius invited you to dinner.

“Why would I accept an invitation from a playboy like you?” You asked, staring at him

Vinicius half-smiled. “Because maybe I could surprise you.”

You laughed, almost amused. “There are few things that can surprise me, Vinicius. But I accept, just because I like challenges.”

---

That evening at dinner, Vinicius decided to behave differently. He wanted to impress you, he wanted to show you that he wasn't just the arrogant image everyone saw. But, with you, it wasn't easy to keep calm, you drove them crazy, they wanted you.

“So, Vinicius,” you began, as you shared a dessert, “what do you want out of life?”

Vinicius was silent for a moment, such a simple question, yet so difficult. He wasn't used to thinking long term; his life had always been a continuous race between fame and parties. “I think I want to be happy. Continue to win, be loved by the public..."

You looked at him for a few moments, as if you wanted to dig deeper. “And do you think all this really makes you happy? Don't you think all this attention is... superficial?”

Vinicius realized that, for the first time, someone had confronted him with an uncomfortable truth. Maybe what attracted him to you wasn't just your beauty or charm, but the fact that you could see him for who he was, beyond the mask he'd been wearing for years.

You weren't fascinated by luxury cars, exclusive parties or the spotlight. You saw Vinicius as a boy, perhaps a little confused, who had never really had the courage to look inside himself.

Vinicius looked down, playing with his fork. “You know, no one has ever asked me these things. People… tend to only see the image of Vinicius, not what's behind it.”

You tilted your head slightly, smiling slightly. “Maybe because you let him.”

That sentence hit Vinicius like a punch. It was true: he had always allowed others to see him as the rich, spoiled boy, perhaps because it was easier that way. But now, for the first time, he felt the need to be vulnerable and show you that there was more to him than just his image.

Vinicius smiled and slowly approached you for fear of doing something wrong. Seeing that you hadn't said or done anything, he kissed you softly and you reciprocated.

Vinicius moaned into the kiss, smelling your vanilla scent that was intoxicating him and trying to bring you closer and closer; he sucked your lip and you moaned and that sound drove him crazy and he pulled away while he licked his lips and looked at you with desire.

“Why don't we bring this to my house?” He said patting your thigh and you immediately nodded.

•••

“Baby,” you moaned as Vinicius thrust into you once more.

You were stuck between his bed and his muscular body, but you weren't complaining in fact you wanted more.

Even though he had prepared you with three fingers before, you were still tight around his big cock and you were feeling the stars.

Vinicius kept thrusting further and further as he sucked on your neck leaving hickeys and then moved down to your tits to touch, nibble and suck as he thrust harder into you.

"V-Vini, please" you said with difficulty, you couldn't connect a word, the feeling of his cock inside your pussy was too good.

Vinicius groaned as he felt your pussy squeezing his cock and he went harder and faster.

“You make me feel so good” you moaned as you scratched his back as he went harder and harder making you come.

After four more thrusts he came inside you too.

You both were looking at each other and kissed each other passionately and you both smiled.

[diamondluxesugar]

Gifts and Being Spoiled - Non Allowance

Let’s discuss Gifts.

I’m not talking about $30 for a pedicure or a Starbucks gift card and tumbler. I’m talking about the jewelry, the cars, the thousand dollar bags and shoes, the stocks and bonds, the gold and silver bars, kinds of gifts. Unless you’ve grown up accepting gifts or have made enough money to buy these things for yourself, it may make you feel uncomfortable. Who wouldn’t? We’re talking about receiving thousands of dollars worth of gifts.

Hell, this is something that even the most experienced SBs have had to work to become accustomed to, and even now gifts of a certain caliber can make a lady a little bit nervous. The easiest way to become comfortable with receiving luxury gifts is by desensitizing yourself to the cost.

Note: this is not desensitizing yourself to just start swiping your credit card for whatever purchase you want. This is to remove the feelings of doubt, shame, and insecurity that surround owning expensive items while those around you may not yet share in your wealth.

One exercise I did was write down every single thing I wanted to purchase. I broke it into the following categories: useful, nice, frivolous.

The useful items are things I would use on a consistent basis. Think computer, KitchenAid mixer, exercise bike, spa passes, etc. These will be more tailored to your own needs.

The nice items are things that don’t make or break any given experience, but would be fantastic to have and would increase my quality of life. Think multiple pairs of running shoes, a $300 outdoor hammock swing, new matching bedroom set, etc. Once again, these are more tailored to your needs.

The frivolous things are anything else. Think of the Chanel bags, the jewelry, shopping spree at Bloomingdale’s. Items that won’t make it break your experience of life.

Throw literally everything you can on this list and include the prices. When you see something on TikTok, add it to the list. When your coworker is talking about that sous vide, add it to the list. Big or small, just add it.

At this point you’ll have an idea of what you like and want, and how your SD can best gift you. Maybe you aren’t a clothing girl, but will go crazy in the homegoods section. Your gifting doesn’t have to look like mine, and that’s okay. This is your time to be spoiled!!

This brings me to my second thought: using your belongings.

It can be nerve-racking and ostracizing being the only girl with real gold in your ears. You may want to leave your good items in a safe or only wear them on special occasions.

Don’t.

Shoes and bags and jewelry and clothing is meant to be worn, not to sit in a dust bag for admiration. Your exercise bike is meant to be used. Running shoes are meant to be worn down. Don’t be afraid to use your gifts, because you’ll appreciate them more and will become used to using your most expensive items.

The last thing I would like to leave you ladies with is simple: Gratitude. Be grateful for the gifts that come into your life. Be grateful for the person providing the gifts. Be grateful for the journey of becoming a woman who has the capacity to receive. It’s okay fantastic to thank your SD/SBF for gifting you with something. In fact, most of these men are surrounded by people that use and take from them. Say thank you and mean it and watch how your experiences change.

Happy Sugaring ✨

[heliosthegriffin]

Shadow Knight, and Magic Girls X

Ao3 Link: For those who have asked for me to put it up on site, I have listened. Also, my other stories on there.

Chapter Ten

--------

Jaune felt sleepy, as he leaned against the sun-warmed walls of the school, soaking in as much heat as he could, feeling abnormally like a reptile. He was waiting on Ruby to meet him out here.

He had taken off his blazer leaving his top covered by a white t-shirt, which he'd admit was little tight, and revealing.

Not like anyone wanted to see his body, it might be fit, but that didn't change how scarred and stained it was, nobody wanted to see that.

"Hey, best budd-eeeh!" Jaune turned to look at Ruby who had been approaching him with a big smile, only to have frozen staring as his chest.

Jaune looked down to see if he bled through his shirt. Nope. It was clean, just tight to his body.

Walking over he waved in front of her face.

"You ok, Ruby?" Jaune asked, confused. What got her so tight?

"Yes!" She said sharply. "I am just fine, buddy! Absolutely not distracted at all."

"Ok." Jaune nodded. "So, you ready to get going?"

The little-red banged girl was not listening only staring at his chest.

Seriously, he wasn't bleeding was he? He needed to know about that.

He snapped his fingers in front of her face, getting her attention back.

"Huh-wha?" She asked, like waking up from a dream. "Jaune how long have you been here?"

"About an hour, so you ready to go?" Jaune admitted.

"Doh! I didn't mean to make you that long, lets get going!" She said taking the lead, and Jaune's hand leading him down the sidewalk.

Jaune couldn't help but notice how small and fragile it felt, it was soft and warm too, though. He didn't feel like he had the right to hold it, it felt like too much of a luxury.

He couldn't retract his hand, though, her grip was far stronger than her size would suggest. Jaune didn't want to hurt her, though, so he'd let it be, but he got a suspicion that this was turning into a habit, as this was the second time he let her do this.

Crash.

Jaune turned his head around at prodgious speed, searching behind them, only to see nothing.

"Best buddy?" Ruby asked, feeling his tension.

"Nothing. Just thought I heard something." He definately heard something, in fact had that lamp-post always been bent? But, that's crazy nothing was there, maybe a car hit and ran, but there would at least be something. "Ruby, has that always been like that?"

"Like what?" Jaune looked at her.

Creak.

He turned back around, the lamp-post was fixed.

Jaune started to sweat. "Lets get going." He didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't about to get involved with Ruby here, and he didn't like his chances against a metal-bending ghost without a gun.

He put a protective arm around her, trying his best to shield her with his body.

Also, unintentionally putting her head next to his chest. "Where we going?"

Ruby didn't respond.

"Ruby?"

"Wha?" She spoke like she was waking from a dream. "What?"

"Where we going? You wanted me to walk with you?"

Creak.

"You know what, never mind." He picked her up under his arm, and took off at a dead-sprint. "We're getting a snack first." Jaune didn't mean that in the slightest, but he did not want to fight a ghost.

----

"Blake!" Yang growled. "I'm not letting them be alone together!"

"I just want to talk with them." Pyrrha said sweetly, metal warping around them.

"They're just hanging out, together. It's nothing to be suspect of." Blake said, restraining the two of them with magically controlled shadows, while trying her best to keep a 'don't notice me field' up.

She thought she doing good, but Jaune had still noticed them, if only slightly, which was more than a little embarrassing.

But, she had a mission, a mission to acquire smut. No, not literature dirty, smut that just so happened to have a good story.

She knew what she was about, and if it meant sacrificing Ruby to Jaune, so be it.

She seemed happy about it anyway, Blake felt if she was in her position she would be too.

However, she could see the shadows straining under Pyrrha and Yang's combined power. She wouldn't be able to hold them for long, the best she could do is distract them soon.

'Godspeed, you glorious bastards.' Blake thought, and Yang pounced on her, while Pyrrha took off after Jaune and Ruby.

----

Jaune thought he managed to get away from the specter, but for some reason metal was still bending behind him, and he thought he could hear footsteps getting closer.

"Ruby," Jaune picked her up, holding her eye to eye. "I'm going to hide you for a second."

"Ok," She squeaked, as Jaune pushed her into a corner, pressing her behind him, as he waited for something, eye's dilated and still as stone, waiting for something.

Jaune listened intently for footsteps, breathing, and feeling for anything, disturbances in the air, body heat, or smells in the air.

The next thing Ruby saw, though, was Jaune pinning Pyrrha against a wall, arm behind her back. "Jaune!" Ruby shouted. "What the frick!"

Jaune snapped back to reality. "Oh," He took a step back, releasing Pyrrha. "My bad, thought you were someone else." He scanned around, the metal had stopped bending.

Crap, he wasn't going crazy was he?

"I didn't hurt you did I? You look a little, red." Jaune notice that she was breathing heavily.

"No! I mean, perfectly fine," Pyrrha's smile seemed more real than it had before, she craned her head, looking at Ruby behind him. "I just couldn't help but notice that you two were leaving,"

Jaune stared at her. "And, that's your business, why?"

She looked a little shocked by his bluntness. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you following us, Pyrrha? What couldn't wait for tomorrow?"

"Uh, Jaune?" Ruby pulled at his sleeve. "You're being a little ... much?"

Pyrrha smiled. "Oh, no. He's being perfectly .... himself."

Jaune frowned, he didn't like being followed. He shook his head, he was being paranoid. Pyrrha was harmless, and he nearly dislocated her arm, what was wrong with him?

"I'm sorry, I'm stressed and lashed out."

"Apology accepted." Even if Pyrrha wasn't the least bit in danger, not that Jaune could know that. If anything she was more worried for him, though the fact he could pin her like that was ... very interesting.

"Now that issue is solved, I," Pyrrha thought of a lie on the spot. "Wanted to accompany you so that we could discuss," She lied like a expert. "Getting your grades up, and where we should start tomorrow."

Jaune sagged, he felt like a bastard, she just wanted to help his sorry ass. "Yeah, that sounds fine, you ok with that Ruby?"

"Yep! The more besties the better!" She cheered, the noticed she was still behind Jaune's bulk. "Uh, mind if we move, a bit? Kinda of cramped."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, I don't want people getting the wrong idea."

"I wouldn't mind." Pyrrha muttered.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm?" Pyrrha smiled.

"Nothing." Jaune was going to talk to Amber tonight about hearing voices.

-------

Jaune watched Ruby try and fail to be discreet, as she walked up to the bookstore with a fake mustache and sunglasses.

"Hello, my good fellow, as you can see I am too a adult man, so would you perhaps be holding certain book? I've been sent-"

The man shoved the book into her arms, as if holding it burned him. "Take it! Take it away from me! That's not filth, it's a curse!"

"I also, need-"

The man narrowed his eyes, shoving a brown parcel into Ruby's arms. "I know what she wants." The bookseller hissed.

Jaune turned away as Ruby tried to pay, but the man insisted she just leave. He scanned the shelves of books for anything that might be interesting.

His eyes caught the golden spine of book, 'The Greater Manual of Inter-Kingdoms Folklore, Myths, Legends, and Story's,'.

Taking it off the shelf, he felt it resist him, like someone had glued it to the shelf. He nearly fell backward with effort getting it out, and it's unusual weight.

He looked over the cover, a simple green and gold color, but it was old, faded, and barely legible. It was probably older than he was, maybe, older than his father. The pages were yellow and musty smelling, and took a pause, noticing that all the pages were hand-written.

He flipped to the front, no listed author, maybe it was an anthology? But, there were no one listed as author(s). No dedications, no foreword, and not even a table of contents.

There was not a date either for when it was written.

Jaune looked around the book. There was no price either.

He flipped open to a page.

'The Story of the Man who was like the Sun'

-----

'Once upon a time,

They're was a great hero of good character.

Wise as Water.

Strong as Earth.

Moved like Wind over the plains.

Burning like Fire among Men.

The Hero shone like a sun among his people, making great miracles for his people.

His people were wise and made him they're king.

He shone like a Beacon for his people.

The Hero was the greatest among them.

He was also the loneliest, for the Sun shines alone in the sky.

He was a King with no equal and his rule was a golden age unrepeatable.

Until the King fell ill, and met his Moon.'

----

"What are you reading?" Pyrrha's melodic voice asked.

Jaune paused, his finger gliding across the page. What was he reading about, a fairy tale? He had never heard this one before.

Pyrrha looked beneath his hand. "Tales for Children?" She giggled. "I guess you must be a boy at heart."

Jaune flipped over the book, that's not what it said.

"No need to be embarrassed, we all want to get back to simpler times." She smiled warmly at him. "You have any recommendations?"

Jaune shrugged. "This is the first book I've held in a while,"

'That I didn't write myself,' He thought. 'Journals probably don't count, though.'

"That's a shame." She paused, looking at the shelf's. "How about this, I'll find a book, and if it's good, I'll pass it on to you?"

Jaune frowned. He didn't really have time for that.

"I think that's more Blakes thing,"

Pyrrha put a finger to her chin. "Hmm, I guess." She smiled. "Well, just think of it as helping me, for helping you with your studies?"

Jaune looked at surprised her, she was devious than he thought. They all side they didn't show, though, didn't they?

Smiling, he nodded. "Alright, sounds good. I probably won't finish any of them as fast as you, I don't read that fast."

Pyrrha nodded. "That's fine, maybe you can give me insights I wouldn't have thought of, it'll be grand to talk about." She looked genuinely happy about that.

"Maybe, we can introduce it to the rest of the table?"

Pyrrha seemed to think on it. "I was thinking, maybe, we begin with just the two of us?"

"Why? Wouldn't it be more interesting to share with everyone?"

Pyrrha's smile seemed a bit frozen now. "I'd like it if it was a bit more intimate, and we wouldn't want to force something on everyone, would we?"

"That's a bit hypocritical,"

"Is it, though? It's just a favor between friends with us, Yang isn't much of a reader, neither is Ruby, Weiss is quite busy, and Blake ... Blake has her own set of literature. It'd be unfair to just force it on them."

"Well, I guess." Jaune relented, it was just a thought, Pyrrha knew them better than he did, and Ren preferred horror, and Nora was on a true-crime kick.

"Marvelous," She edged closer. "We can start after I finish this one," She picked a book off the shelf. "We should have plenty of time in between tutoring for us to exchange books."

"That's find, do you want my contact?" Jaune asked, pulling out his scroll. "I don't want to make you wait on me."

Pyrrha nodded, putting her scroll up to his, and soon enough, a new contact was added to his list.

"There we go." Pyrrha smiled. "I'll make sure to call you first thing tomorrow."

He hoped she meant at school. "Come on, lets go to the counter."

"Yes, lets."

At the counter, the Book-seller was practically forcing Ruby's hand from giving him money. "I tell you, I don't want it!"

"You deserve it!"

"It's on the house!"

"It's a tip!"

"We don't accept tips!"

Pyrrha and Jaune looked at each other, and smiled.

"Ruby," Jaune called out. "Just leave him be."

"But!"

"We're going to buy these, ones. So just let him be."

The bookseller looked with relief at them, he stared at the one Pyrrha had. "Oh, that's a good one." He ringed her up, and Pyrrha paid him.

Jaune handed over his. "I don't recognize this one." The Seller said, looking for a price. "You didn't accidentally bring this one in did you?"

"Found it on the shelves."

"Huh, must have been here before I started working, no price though, uh, hm." The seller went into thought. "Just give me 10 lien, standard fair."

Jaune nodded, it sounded reasonable. He paid the man, taking a look around the store.

He hardly heard the bell ring, and the door open.

"Excuse me," Came a low rumble.

Jaune nearly jumped, as he turned to see a absolutely enormous faunus man behind him.

He looked like he was too big to get through the doorway, yet he had managed, with weathered, old and scaly skin, he was very clearly some sort of reptile Faunus heritage.

His green-yellow eye made contact with Jaune, before the both looked away.

Jaune escorted Ruby and Pyrrha to the side, letting the man through.

"Afternoon, Gustav." The book-seller greeted him.

"Have any of today's new's papers?"

"Yes," The seller produced a paper copy. "No, idea why you'd want one, you're just about the only one who buys them."

"Hmm, practical, actually there, can't just be deleted like a file."

"Fair enough," The book-seller grimaced looking at the new's paper. "Another killing at the docks?"

As one, the three teenagers looked at the Seller. "Oh, I say that out loud?" He frowned. "Nothin to worry about kiddos, it's just gang violence. The authority will take care of it."

Gustav grumbles. "Not gang-violance, predator."

"What are you on about?"

"The way the body was broken, it wasn't something a normal being is capable of." The Faunus muttered. "Too violent, more like a animal. Something out there, dock-workers are sturdy bunch, been one for most a century. Salt, wind, waves, strikes, seen it all, stood strong whole times, things people wouldn't believe either, things in the night."

"You're not on about this again are you?"

"Just a warning," The enormous reptile faunus looked at them. "Stay away from the docks, crime, predators, serial killers on top, worse below."

Jaune made eye contact with him again, he felt a unsaid message transfer between them. 'From one hunter to another, stay away.' His spine chilled.

"Let's go," Jaune muttered, pulling the girls without resistance, as they made eye contact and nodded.

----

'The Hero was lonely while he sat on his throne.

He longed for companionship, but could find no woman able to be his queen.

He was too bright, too strong, too much like Nature than man.

He peered out over his kingdom from his kingdom, and looked beyond, and then beyond that, till he peered onto the other side of the world, and he saw a girl on top of a tower.

She was pale and beautiful like the Moon, and most of all lonely like himself.

The Hero-King set out to meet her.

His Moon was locked to the top of the tower by her father. A prophesy had said that she would be a greatest killer of men if she ever left, but he could not bring himself to end her.

The Hero-King was stopped by her father, who begged him not to let her leave, fearful of the prophesy.

The Hero-King felt himself torn between duty and desire.

He looked to the Gods and asked for wisdom, and they're answer was-

----

"Dang it!" Ruby yelled, bringing Jaune out of his reading.

The short girl was at a claw-machine, and Jaune remembered they were at a arcade, Ruby had brought him here, Pyrrha was at a light-gun game.

Ruby peered at the Corgi-plush, trapped by the cruel trap it was in. She looked around, she had already spent 5 lien, that was more than worth it's cost right? Maybe, maybe she could use her awesome powers to make sure she got it? No law against it ....

"What are trying for?" Jaune asked, making her jump into air.

"Don't sneak up on me, please!"

"Sorry, anyway, what are you trying to get?"

"Oh. Um," She scratched her face. "That one." She pointed to a red and black corgi. "It matches my colors, and Zwei loves new friends."

"Zwei?"

"He's the family Corgi, and the bestest dog in the world! Anyway, I don't expect you to get it for me, I a master of crane-games have thousands of-"

"Done." Jaune pulled the corgi out from the the machine. "Here."

Ruby looked at the plush, and then clutched it to her chest. "Thank you. How'd you get so good at that?"

"I have a lot of practice getting them for my sisters." Jaune said. "I just have a knack they don't."

"Sisters?"

"Seven of them."

"Woah."

Pyrrha appeared next to them. "Indeed."

"Ah!" Ruby squeaked. "Don't do that to me!"

"Sorry." She looked at the plush, and then looked at Jaune.

"Yes?"

"Nothing." Pyrrha made meaningful look at the crane-game.

"I'm not using it, so feel free to play." Jaune had all the social intelligence of a brick.

Pyrrha sighed. "I haven't played this before," Then a light went off in her head. "Would you guide me through it?"

Jaune shrugged. "Sure, I can try."

Ruby sided over, watching as Jaune took Pyrrha's hands and showed her how to work the machine, and tips to use, Ruby taking mental notes as to avoid further defeats at the hands of the machine, and by the end of it Pyrrha had a little knight plush.

"See, not that bad." Jaune pulled out another plushie, a little wolf, handing it to Ruby. "I don't need that one."

Ruby gave a smug look at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha didn't seem to care, though. "Thank you, Jaune. He's marvelous." She held up the little Knight to the light.

"Not a problem. Least I could do."

"Well, if you're willing-"

The door opened with a ring.

"Dad, why did you have to come with us?" A annoyed sounding girl moaned.

She was then seconded by a near-identical girl. "Yeah, we don't need you breathing over our shoulders."

"Well, then I guess you don't need any of my money, with all your loads of lien, I'm sure you two have." A older man followed them in, pulling out his wallet. "But, if you two don't want your old man here, spending time with you, I can go spend my lien somewhere else."

"Wait, wait," The first of the blonde girls said.

Her doppelganger followed up. "Yeah! We didn't mean it like that!"

"Alright then, now how about we play-," The man just happened to look across the room. "Jaune?"

The blonde young man looked at what could be him in 30 years. "Dad?"

-----

Jaune and his dad sat across from each other, his sisters having cornered Ruby and Pyrrha somewhere else.

"Son, where have you been? Nobody's seen you in almost two days!" His father breathed out.

Jaune was tense, and fought to keep his eyes on his dad. "I've been busy."

"With what, son? The last we've seen of you, you were going upstairs, and now you're here." He looked over at the girls. "You haven't done-"

"No! It's not like that, we're ... friends?"

"You don't sound very confident about that."

"It's a recent thing." Jaune leaned back. "I'm out running errands with them."

"Right." His father didn't sound convinced. "Son, what the hell is going on? Cut the bullshit, and level with me, what is going on? You look half-dead, this is the first time anyone in the family has seen you outside of the house in a year, with girls no less, you've been doing worse in school then ever, and you look like you haven't slept properly in days, what's going on?"

Try months.

"It's complicated."

"Make it not then!" His father's voice rose, the other people in the arcade looking at them, but his father ignored them. "Jaune, I'm worried about you. Don't brush me off on this." He lowered in voice. "It's not drugs, is it?"

Jaune looked at his dad like he was insane. "What?! No, what do you take me for!"

"I don't know, because you won't tell me!" His father's voice broke slightly. "You're not acting like yourself, and it's killing me, and I don't know what to do about it, son! Give me a damn hand, here." His father looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Jaune looked away, he could handle a lot of things, but hurting his family was something that he couldn't.

"I'm sorry."

"That's not what I want to here."

"I can't go into details."

'You wouldn't believe me.' He thought.

"Jaune, please. You live under my roof, we eat at the same table, and we share the same blood. Give me something, I'm your father, tell me if something's hurting you so I can stop, tell me if your in trouble so I get you out of it." His father pleaded with him. "If something's wrong, tell me. I'll do everything in my power to fix it."

Jaune sighed. "I got a job."

His father was stunned. "What?"

"I got a job, a night-shift."

"Since when?"

Jaune paused. "About a year ago." Not entirely a lie. "I recently got promoted, and that's why I disappeared, I'm sorry, Dad."

His father looked at him skeptically, but didn't seem to want to call his bluff. "Where at? Why, son? You're a boy, you should be having fun, not breaking your ass to make some bread."

Boy, oh boy, did he wish he could.

"I'm working at the Xiong Organization, I've been interned under The Big Bear himself."

"The Xiongs?" His father said to himself. "The Xiongs, the freaking Xiongs, son how'd you get wrapped up with them? Do I need to call in some of favors, cause I know how to deal with people like that."

Jaune hurriedly stopped his father. "No! I've been doing testing for them, and helping with experiments. It's nothing that I can't handle." Or, at least he hoped.

Papa Arc frowned. "I don't like this, son, you're working with Big Bear? I don't need to tell you all the things linked back to that man, he's no good."

"I know. But, I want to start my own future."

"Son?"

"I'm saving up for when I move out."

His dad didn't look happy to hear that. "Son, don't think we're pushing you out of the nest! You're welcome to stay as long as you need to at home."

"I know, but a man's got to strike out on his own, eventually."

"But, you're still my boy, my sweet little child."

Jaune felt himself embarrassed, facing turning red. "Dad, please."

"What? You're my son, don't feel embarrassed, I still remember you running around naked in the yard, and throwing up the first time we found out about your motion sickness."

Jaune put his hands in over his face.

Snap.

His father had taken a picture of him. "What are you going to do with that?"

Press.

"Oh, you know, putting it in family group chat."

Jaune groaned.

----

"So, what are you doing here?"

"With our brother?"

"Are you dating?"

"Is it you?" One pointed at Ruby.

"Or you?" The other at Pyrrha.

"Or both?" They said in unison.

Pyrrha and Ruby looked at each other.

"Or each other?" The twins said together.

"No!" Ruby exclaimed. "We're just friends, best buddies!"

Pyrrha nodded calmly. "Ruby is just a friend."

"Ah, so that means you are dating our brother!"

Ruby blushed. "No, just friends!"

"Or are you?" They smiled at the two. "Will it stay that way?" They paused, looking at they're toys. "Also, why did he not get us plushies?"

Ring Ring

"Oh?" One of the twins looked at the scroll. Smiling deviously.

-----

"Anyway, what about school? You can't just fail and go into the workforce, we don't live in my dad's age."

"I'm working on it." Jaune admitted. "I got tutoring scheduled for tomorrow and foreseeable future, you don't have to worry about that, my boss got on my case about it too."

His dad sighed. "Well, at least that's something. What about college son?"

"The Xiongs are willing to help put me through."

"They don't need to do that, I've plenty of lien from my sponsorships, and-"

"Save it for the twins then,"

"Fine. But, just know that we're here for you," His father paused. "Even when you don't want us to be. Come on, lets go. You're mom's got dinner ready in a bit, and she'd like to see you too." His father smiled at him. "She'll love to know what you've been up to, and with such pretty girls no less."

Jaune shivered. "Mercy, please." He looked at his scroll. "I got work tonight, so I'll have to leave after dinner."

His father didn't look happy with that, but nodded. "I understand, just don't forget about us."

The pair walked over to the girls, and Jaune paled when he saw what the twins were showing Pyrrha and Ruby.

"Ah, look at how flush he is!" Ruby called out.

"Would you send me that picture?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune fought the urge to go atomic with irritation.

Then strangely, found himself laughing, his sisters staring at him. When was the last time he actually been teased by them? It was nostalgic.

"Be careful around him, he's not all there." Viola the twin with the pony-tail on the right side said.

"Yeah, we've been waiting all of our lives for the day he snaps," Indigo nodded, her hair straight.

"But, we'll be there, when he does. " They said together.

And, Jaune knew they would.

[thesoftboiledegg]

A couple of thrift stores have opened in my area in the past year. I didn't expect to find any merchandise, but after @i-believe-in-unicorns-and-you showed me the Rick and Morty sweatpants she found at Marshall's and I thought about the crazy finds on @shiftythrifting, I figured I'd give it a shot.

And who knew: it was time for a thrift store roundup! 👚🧦

The first store had a section for gifts and accessories. My expectations were low, but when I rounded the corner, the shelves were loaded with Rick and Morty stocking stuffers. The first thing I saw was this bathrobe:

Hmm, that's a cute figure...maybe someone should draw Rick wearing that. 🤔

This sock packaging is adorable. It looks like a pint of ice cream!

On a similar note, I actually thought these were cans of pickle juice. Adult Swim has no problem selling Toxic Rick and Shrimp Rick energy drinks, so it wouldn't be off-brand, but nope: they're boxer shorts that advertise your SWAG.

I realize that Swag is the brand name, but selling Pickle Rick boxers with SWAG on the waistband isn't exactly helping the show's bro-y reputation. The can is cute, though.

Let's all celebrate Rickmas...with Pickle Rick!

Evidently, socks are a hot item. I think they're the new ugly Christmas sweaters.

In fact, Cool Rick wants you to buy these socks!

And you can complete your outfit with festive sweatpants.

Next stop: Marshall's. They continued the theme with an advent calendar. 12 days of socks!

Advent calendars have been getting more luxurious over the years. Some people spend hundreds of dollars on calendars loaded with jewelry, ornaments, food and beauty products. Apparently, 2021's most expensive calendar was custom-made and cost $10 million. Must be nice!

Anyway, back to the proletariat: I love the design on these boxers. OK, maybe Rick didn't think it through, but he's proud of his gift!

More sweatpants! "Anatomy Park" is one of my least favorite episodes, so I'd ask for the receipt for that one.

I did think John Oliver's character was funny. "Would you like to ride...the bone train?"

Finally, I went to Five Below. They had one of the strangest pieces of merchandise I've ever seen: a projector that casts a picture of Rick and Morty underneath your car.

I could see somebody doing that once for Halloween or another event, but all the time? Wearing merchandise isn't enough--you have to represent the show while you're driving? Are guys hoping that Dan Harmon will see this and be so impressed that he makes out with them a little?

Then again, I guess there's a reason it has a clearance sticker.

[roo-bastmoon]

Just a little reminder that since coming home from a crazy amount of Jikookery in Vegas in April, we've had:

--waiting deliberately to ride home from the airport in a car together

--JK singing With You on his vlog

--Jikook giggling and holding hands in the dark at Hobi's party

--JK accepting Kookmin Are Dating and Jimin's Little Finger into his In the Seom circle even though they had fewer experience points

--JK's tattoo artist inking JM and JK on his own arm

--cute interactions at awards shows and changed lyrics for June performances

--JK's brother liking Jikook + Bam family fan art

--Jimin giggling and chasing JK over eating ramen (knowing about his gluten intolerance before it was public)

--JK flirting in the car while sucking on corn ice cream

--JK smacking the hell out of Jimin's ass and doing couples flying yoga

--Jimin coming to visit JK in the dead of night for his birthday, bringing his own cake, snapping that intimate photo, posting on WeVerse two days in a row despite the fact he was also working in the studio that whole time

--Jimin's dad posting a photo of JK's old beloved dog on his birthday

--what sounds like Jimin's giggles in the background on JK's birthday live with Jin

--what sounds like JK whispering "JIMIN!" twice during Jimin's birthday live

--JK's birthday thirst trap for Jimin--which he posted on WeVerse specifically for Jimin, having not been on that platform himself in years

--The Busan live where JK looks on adoringly while Jimin slurps noodles

--JK offering up the story of his mom making seaweed soup just for Jimin which is culturally SIGNIFICANT

--Jimin razzing the shit out of JK for "Jungkook Marry Me"

--Jimin inviting JK to feast after the Busan live

--JK saying twice that he'll join Jimin on a live soon if he has time

--JK posting their special numbers on his selfie in Qatar

--Jimin posting about how cool JK's World Cup performance was.

Now look, they've both been busy with work and travel. What raises doubts about if Jikook are still close is the fact that JK goes out (seemingly mostly alone) to so many meat restaurants. I saw one video of him joining another person outside, but it was too shaky to make out much of anything. The coat and jeans looked similar to what Jimin wore to the airport for NYC, but I can't say that with any certainty so please take that with a grain of salt.

After 10 years of having every second of his life scheduled and strict diets, GOOD FOR JK. A restaurant tour of Korea while Jimin is holed up in the studio is a lovely idea, especially since it seems he's not super into cooking for himself.

Here's where fandom gets sticky.

JK also went bowling with Tae and friends, and did a TikTok dance challenge with Taehyung, who mentioned JK frequently before Taehyung went to Paris. Seems like there were plans for them to do a gaming live similar to Jin's but time didn't allow for it.

There's also unsubstantiated rumors of them going skiing this week with other people. You know, friendship things. Positive, healthy, harmless things you do with friends when you are young. It definitely suggests closeness, but not necessarily sexy times? People made a lot of assumptions that JK came right from the airport and spent the night in a luxury villa with Taehyung, but, actually, Taehyung is friends with the owners, and JK's pants are different than what he wore at the airport, and it could have been filmed at dusk, not dawn. Maybe they just, ya know, wanted to do a cool TikTok vid since their versions weren't included on the official choreo version Hobi posted.

What worries some folks is that there's no evidence of Jikook even doing friendship things since Vegas. Which, again, PJM1 is consuming Jimin's time... Plus also remember that whole traumatizing few months of mail tampering, doxxing, scandal in the press overshadowing Jimin's unpromoted OST, governmental manipulation over the Expo, stocks tanking, and military enlistment, plus rampant hate online and sometimes even death threats?

Those are all really good reasons to not share one's personal life or hint at a closeted homosexual relationship. Even under the cover of friendship and group outings, Jimin just may be sick of the scrutiny. He's not been going out with ANYONE.

And yes, it's fair to say that Jikook normally are always together and never really hid that before. I mean, there is an ENTIRE POP UP MUSEUM DEDICATED TO ALL THEIR INTERACTIONS. No other members have anything like it.

But 2022 is unlike any other year they've had before either.

Also something to think about: Jimin once recently mentioned that he and Taehyung Facetime each other practically every day. (It was during the live when he shared that Taehyung was the one who inspired Jimin's moon tattoos based on fan art he showed Jimin.) Think about that Vmin hug on the Busan stage--it was a chef's kiss. Just this week, Jimin insisted on a selca with Tae and Jin on his own phone.

We can assume their friendship is rock solid, but we rarely see much evidence of them interacting in their off time. In fact I cannot think of the last time Jimin and Taehyung hung out in person when not for a work thing. I can't imagine they are faking affection or bed hoping with JK. I don't require proof of them doing things together to think their friendship is real.

Maybe we could do the same for Jikook? Even if they don't post a selca this year? Yeah, it's a bummer, but it's not divorce papers, y'all.

Can I say for sure Jikook dated / are still dating? NO. I can't say that about any point in their relationship, actually. But I keep reminding myself to be patient, wait things out, because more always comes out.

There's all these little things, like JK knowing that Jimin won't be drinking champagne, but having no idea that Taehyung had given up alcohol for two months.

Clues always come out eventually.

I'll be so curious to see what happens after PJM1 drops. Will Jimin do very little promo, like with his OST? Will there be multiple videos, with choreo? Will his members be silent about this work too? Will he have more free time and thus poke his head up more? Or will he continue to be a lil ninja? I dunno. I'll be supporting him no matter what.

And even if his members don't publicly hype him up, I won't just assume that means they are jealous or don't care about him. Like Jin said: "Post, it's good. No post, it's still good." Will I be a bit unnerved? Honestly, yeah. But Jimin knows Jimin's situation best.

The honest truth is this: none of us KNOW what's going on with any of the members' relationships except the members. And that's how it should be because that's their business. They only owe us good music and dance performances. The rest is icing on the cake.

It's totally okay if you believe this is just one of those dry spells Jikook has over the years. It's valid if you think they broke up and are just being good friends and coworkers at a distance. If your gut is telling you Taekook is now real, I can't say I agree with you, but I'll never come into your spaces and argue with you.

It's up to you to seek out reliable sources of info and then make your own judgement call, if you feel if you have enough data. This isn't a cult. You are not required to "keep the faith" about anything.

Two months ago, Jikook were Jikooking like always. Now Jimin is quiet (except to tell us to keep warm and not get sick, bless his heart). And Jungkook and Taehyung are showing us they hang out (as they have done in the past--restaurants, gaming, trips with Wooga--though perhaps now they are doing it a bit more than when they all had an OT7 schedule).

And so the silence from Jikook and the hanging out from Taekook has the cult all whipped up and Jikookers feeling unsettled. I get it. It's normal to feel your feels. But also be sure to math your math.

Me? I honestly have no clue what's going on. I still feel like we're seeing so little of the full picture, it would be wise to withhold judgement quite yet. I tell myself: Be patient. Trust the members. There are things they can't tell us, but if we trust their words, that would be good.

In the meantime, please stream and vote and buy albums. That's our main job as Army, regardless of ship or bias. Soon all our boys will be serving, and the drought will be very very real. So let's try to celebrate, smile, and laugh about what we still can, okay? I think they'd want us to focus on that.

[bucket-of-f1]

im so excited to send things here i have SO many things to ask..

first (and im going to say this in way more words than i need to.. but idk how to not yap) why do older f1 cars look so much harder to control than modern ones?

f1 cars' steering and controllability seem to have smoothed out a ton in the 00s (could be wrong bc i dont watch a lot of onboards regrettably.. but thats my recollection) and in the present day it feels like almost every movement of the steering wheel is exactly what the driver intends for the car to move. but if you look at older onboards like even as recent as senna and alesi in the 90s, its like theyre wrangling a bull by the horns!! its like the car is this wild animal the driver has to keep at bay, the drivers hands on the wheel are wibblewobbling back and forth like crazy throughout every turn and it looks like they have the most insane reflexes on the planet in order to keep the car on track. it blows my mind every time!

so anyways what created that change in how manageable the car is? does it have anything to do with tyre or engine or balance changes, is it just new innovations in the steering column, is it just having the luxury of power steering?????????? even if you dont have a solid idea on the answer to this id LOVE love love to see what you think, and im souper excited to watch this acc grow :3 random super detailed extremely miniscule historical f1 fact blog sounds like actual heaven to me so i hope you have fun with it and keep filling my brain with nifty stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For some background, I didn’t have the time for a massive massive deep dive on this but I’m doing my best from memory and also I do go and check some of the more specific things I throw in.

Okay, so there’s a few things you gotta think about with this:

Engines

Tires

Aerodynamics

Electronic systems

Let's go down the list.

Engines have changed a lot over the years. The further back you go, the more wild the engines get, and the rules shift all the time. V10, V12, V16, turbos, rocket fuel, shifts in how much fuel can be used at a time, shifts in whether they could refuel (both of these could make cars heavy or light to a massively varying degree wildly affecting handling over the course of just a lap), etc.

Tires have also changed. At one point there was more than one manufacturer of tires (remind me to tell y'all about that one US Grand Prix). At one point there was like five or six compounds, including a "supersoft" built for insane lap times. For a while there in the 1990's-2010's we ran grooved tires, no slicks. Imagine everyone always using intermediates. That would affect grip levels like crazy. (does everyone know how F1 tire compounds work? maybe I should write about that)

As aero restrictions change, the downforce levels shift to an unprecedented degree. There was a time where there as technically no limit on how many wings a car could have, leading to some very interesting double wing, mini wing, and no-wing cars all racing at the same time. No-wing cars died out pretty fast once the benefits of wings became obvious, but it did happen. Peugeot ran the 9X8, a car with no rear wing, in the WEC LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) category for a little quite recently. Like, 2022-recently.

Anyway, the downforce changes definitely affect handling

The last, and most important, is electrical systems. The thing about those is that they change all the time. Sometimes, power steering as allowed, sometimes it wasn't. Assisted Braking Systems? Occasionally. Active suspension? Not anymore.

If you do go watch onboards, you'll see driving styles change with the cars. Nowadays, the style is a very smooth turn, no jerky or sudden movements of the wheel unless they've saving a slide. This is due to a combination of all those factors above -- it's just he driving style that fits the current restrictions. If you look in the 2000's you see the style get WAY more jerky, with micro-adjustments all the time.

As you noted (you being the lovely perfect amazing anon who asked a question, like the lovely perfect amazing anon that you are), in the 1980's and further back yes those cars we're absolute NIGHTMARE'S to control. If you watch Lewis Hamilton’s drive of Senna’s McLaren at São Paulo this year, you’ll notice the camera attached to the car bounces like crazy. The cars just weren’t the most stable — everyone had nailed down that power-to-weight ratio, but the fast-evolving and quickly-restricted aerodynamics innovations led to a bit of a mess on the downforce end of things. AND, they were still using stickshifts, and if you get far back enough it was H pattern shifting instead of sequential.

Imagine driving a V12 turbocharged rocketship on wheels and barely enough downforce with ONE HAND because you're trying to upshift out of a chicane while fending off some Brazilian kid on a warpath to take the world championship before the age of 30.

In the rain.

[bloodcandied]

Death Addiction 亡瘾 Chapter 2

My neck was strangled hard by the thin rope, and unlike my carefully selected tools for when I did it myself, the sharp pain when the thin rope was tightened instantly aroused and excited me even more.

To be honest, if there was ever an Olympic competition for hanging oneself, I could have most likely represented the Chinese team to secured the top three spots in the global group.

Being strangled by rope however was a common occurrence, and I skillfully touched the place where the rope was knotted, and stuck my fingers in to hold it in place, preventing it from continuing to tighten.

Noticing the anomaly, Xu Tuo covered my mouth and lowered me to the ground, "You enjoy playing with the rope?"

It still took a few seconds to recover from the slight suffocation, and my mind was still a little foggy, "Can ...... you ...... change the rope ...... "

"Hmm?"

"Slowly ...... change to thick rope ...... No, wait, why are you trying to kill me?"

As he got closer, I could smell a certain odor coming from him. In addition to the faint scent of cologne, there was some sort of odor that was familiar to me.

Ah ...... it seemed to be the odor I smelled in my nose whenever I tried to kill myself. When a person was near death, the brain secreted a strange odor, a bit like baby powder if I had to describe it.

I was so addicted to this smell that I was lost in my thoughts at such a time. In Xu Tuo's eyes though, my expression at the moment looked amazing.

"It feels a little gross to be looked at like that." He said.

"...... That strain on your collar, it's real blood isn't it?" I weakly raised my hand and pointed to his collar, "Could it be that you ...... were responsible for both of the murder cases?"

"Uh-huh." He admitted dryly. Then, a certain physical reaction between my legs was noticed by Xu Tuo, and he was stunned for a few seconds before laughing out loud, "What the hell ...... why does this kind of thing excite you? You, kid, are very dangerous."

-- It was true. When I was strangled just now, the matter of "dying without my control" did make me excited.

I was very overwhelmed by him discovering my secret and indulging me.

It was as if a luxury car enthusiast, who usually could only afford to ride a bike in his own neighborhood, was suddenly gifted a Rolls Royce by Xu Tuo ......

"Can you control your emotions? According to normal people's thinking, finding out a serial murderer is your house tenant should be slightly shocking," He patted my face.

I snapped back to reality slightly.

It was hard to associate serial killers with the image of Xu Tuo, who was textbook "likable". In contrast, I was probably more likely to be a high school student driven crazy by the pressure of schooling who turned to killing people as a source of relief.

I asked, "Will you kill me?"

"Will you tell?"

In that instant, a tacit understanding suddenly formed between us.

I wavered between telling on him and not telling on him for a few seconds - mostly, if I snitched, my dad would catch him, and maybe I could get a bonus from my unit, and my money to go on a school trip for the summer would be taken care of.

However, Xu Tuo had already followed my odd train of thought, "You're not calculating how much of a bonus you can get after Uncle Dai catches me, are you?"

"Do you know how much?"

"No idea, but I'd hate for that to happen, Xueming." Xu Tuo, who was half a head taller than me, pulled me up and crouched down to look me levelly in the eyes, "Look, if I kill you to silence you, I'll have to change my house, and your house has the best rental in the area. And then there's the fact that I love my uncle's cooking."

I liked my dad's cooking too, and could sort of understand his pain.

"I won't say anything about it. But you're not allowed to do anything to my parents either."

"It's not like I'm a homicidal maniac."

"...... That's very unconvincing of you."

"To get you to change your mind about me a little, how about buying you another Coke and fried chicken?"

I rubbed my neck where the strangulation msrks burned, "No. Where do you get your money from? It's not really from an IT company, is it?"

"That's an adult thing."

---

We headed back to the house. He still bought another fried chicken halfway there, and the two of us ate it as we walked. We bumped into my mom in front of the house and Xu Tuo was scolded by her for a long time, "Xiao Xu, don't buy him junk food."

My dad worked seven days a week, and slept in the office four days if he was busy. On Fridays, he was able to come home for dinner, and my mom helped him heat up the leftovee dishes, which he devoured in the living room.

I went over to him, "Dad, let me ask you something."

"What is it?"

"You said there was a murder in Old Town two years ago, so was that murderer caught?"

"Nope. There was a suspicion that the recent murders were also done by the murderer from two years ago, but there's always something that doesn't add up ...... Forget it, I'm not talking to you about it. Have you finished your homework?"

"No."

I went back to my room. The door to the room had just been pushed open when a hand reached out from inside and yanked me in.

The -- window was open, and Xu Tuo came down from upstairs through the window into my room.

"What's all this nonsense you were asking?" He whispered, "Dead kid."

"I didn't say anything!" I pried his hand off of me, "Just asking my dad. I was thinking you weren't in the city two years ago."

"Don't push every case onto my head, okay? I'm very meticulous."

"Fine." I mumbled and sat at my desk. The desk was next to the window, and when he came in through the window, he'd crumpled the papers on the desk into a ball.

Xu Tuo had to accompany me to clean up the trampled homework during which found the rope I kept hidden behind the desk and picked it up to measure it, "This is also too thick ......"

"It's not like I'm trying to strangle myself to death."

"Is it comfortable?" He slipped the noose around his own neck, "I'd like to try it."

I walked behind him, sized up the rope and hung the other end on the doorknob, "There you go, just sit down."

He looked at the rope on the doorknob, unhooked it and took it to the window. Outside the window was the outer case of the air conditioner, Xu Tuo hung the other end of the rope on the case shelf, and stood by the window.

I suddenly realized what he wanted to do, jumped over and grabbed him: "Are you crazy? You really will die!"

"I won't, with such a thick rope, I'll fall within two meters and still have almost five minutes to struggle." He laughed and adjusted the rope around his neck tighter, "You're afraid I'll die?"

"Don't die in my bedroom! How will I explain this to the others?"

"I won't."

He crouched at the edge of the window and patted the top of my head. I heard a sigh that seemed relaxed, as if he could finally sleep peacefully after long bout of labor.

-- Xu Tuo leapt off my window ledge, the thick rope straining for a split second, the air conditioner's outside case rack making a metallic sound.

I grabbed the rope as hard as I could and yanked upward. As far as males my age went, I wasn't the strong type, and it was too much of a stretch to yank another adult male back up out of the air - yell for Dad to help? No, it would be better to let him hang like this!

Regardless of all the strength I could muster, I couldn't drag him back. He was still breathing, but the force from the fall caused the rope to tighten so much that it became a giant noose around his neck.

This was the first time I had witnessed someone else's death process.

Xu Tuo's complexion had changed, his face turning blood red from the congestion. I poked half of my body out of the window and tugged at the rope around his neck, but my fingers were unable to snap into it no matter what.

At that moment, his hand lifted and raked upward against the window sill.

"Xu Tuo!" Following the force of his own upward climb, I endeavored to tug him back as well. Half a minute later, Xu Tuo finally returned to my room, his legs swinging out the window, his body lying on my desk.

I used scissors to cut the rope that had sunk into his flesh, and the tip of the knife poked him in the neck a couple times because the rope was so strong. He moved his head, took the scissors from me, and cut the ropes away sharply himself.

"Not a bad score for a first time, huh?" After coughing for a while, he smiled and asked me, "What are you panicking about? Shouldn't you be more relieved that I was going to die?"

My head was covered in a cold sweat. A serial killer about to hang from my window.. was it a good thing or a bad thing? I could have still found a way to tell my dad about his identity, so that my dad could close the case and not have to continue to hustle ...... but the thought of Xu Tuo dying pressed a wave of despair down on the top of my head for some reason.

--If he died, my life would go back to the way it was.

Going to school, coming home, homework, eating, cramming, and occasionally spicing it up with suicide ......

The only fun that was out of my grasp was Xu Tuo.

He rubbed my neck and sat up, tossing the broken rope into the trash. My mom came in at that moment to deliver the snacks and stared in surprise when she saw that he was actually in my room, "When did you get here, Xiao Xu?"

"Just now. Xueming opened the door for me. I helped him with his math."

"Oh ...... I probably didn't hear you in the kitchen." She didn't get suspicious at all and put the sliced fruit on my table, "What's wrong? Why are both your faces red?"

"He just can't learn the problems I've been taught." He said.

"Xueming you take it seriously too. Xiao Xu even came over after work to help with your homework." My mom rubbed my neck and collected the garbage bags from my room, "You guys go on. What do you want to eat for a late night snack? There's yellow fish wontons, Xueming's dad wrapped them himself."

In the end, Xu Tuo broke one of my favorite hanging ropes, downed a bowl of my dad's fish wontons, and walked away satisfied.

A week later, my dad's job loosened up a bit, and he was able to come home on time from time to time.

One day at dinner, Xu Tuo was at the table. My dad mentioned something about work while reading the newspaper, "Xueming, didn't you ask me about the old downtown massacre earlier?"

My mom put down her chopsticks, "Don't talk about this during dinner!"

"What does it matter, to exercise the child's tolerance." He said, putting down the newspaper, "I'm telling you, the murderer of the old downtown serial murders has been found."

"Huh?" My first reaction was to look at Xu Tuo. That guy was mentally tough though, surprisingly he just looked at my dad with a curious face, like an ordinary person waiting to hear gossip.

"Don't say it out haha, it hasn't been officially announced yet. The victims of the two recent murder cases ......"

"Stop it!" My mom was so angry that she banged the table.

"- are suspected to be the two serial killers of the old downtown murders. They were working in pairs over two years ago." Excitement bubbled in my dad's eyes as he said, "Two suspects in an unsolved case became victims one after another, and there's a new breakthrough in this case, we're investigating it along the lines of a vendetta. A part of the investigation was given to the provinces, to check the family of the victim of the old city murders, the family had a son who is now working in the provinces."

"Xueming, pretend you didn't hear him." My mom glared at my dad, "Alright, you can go watch TV when you're done eating, no more chatter."

Xu Tuo followed me as i walked through the house, pretending to take a math tutorial and flip through two pages. I squatted on the chair, staring at him with a gloomy face.

"Why the long face?" He had an innocent look on his face, "I told you that what happened two years ago had nothing to do with me."

"You didn't tell me you were a serial killer hunting serial killers."

"Isn't that good? You should be more at ease, right?"

-- But the original excitement was gone in an instant. He was only targeting criminals on the loose, and I wasn't a criminal!

Once again, Xu Tuo had become a controlled danger, and controlled meant no more fun.

"-And what are my dad and the others going to do when you're finished killing criminals?"

"He'll be able to come back on time to wrap wontons, isn't that good? I'm technically volunteering for them for free."

"So there's no big case bonus!"

"Big cities don't have so many big cases. And am I not giving you rent every month? You little brat...... you're not going to encourage your mom to raise the rent, right?"

I was actually already calculating whether to raise it by two thousand or three thousand.

"Then again, why do you think I don't like killing ordinary people?" He grumbled to himself as he graded the words for my English dictation, "It's neither fun nor challenging, and if ordinary people have a vigilance value of 10, those criminals on the loose have a vigilance value of at least 50 - have you ever seen a cat like to pounce on dull things that don't move? Definitely the more alert and lively something is, the more the cat likes to pounce ah."

-----

I sulked for two days.

In the words of the female class president, she thought she had read a suspense and deduction book, but it turned out to be a running sweet favorite. I wasn't very interested in those novels she was reading, but she was always inquiring about brother Xu who came to pick me up from school.

"Dai Xueming, it's a pity that you're planning to go out for your high school entrance exam." She wailed, "Doomed to split from him ......"

"Not necessarily ah, in the case that the tuition fee exceeds my budget, my father may not send me out."

Excluding Xu Tuo, I knew my life was just that of an ordinary aspiring international student.

My family would struggle to come up with the money to send me abroad to study, I would come back to China, get a job that's not good enough to live up to expectations, work, go on a blind date, get married, have a baby, and remember to kick that tenant out before I have the baby.

"You're taking life too boringly, too." The class president laughed at me, "The thing about life is that there are variables all the time, and no one can tell what's going to happen tomorrow."

--Life is a straight line. It's just a straight line with all the trimmings on it, and it's just a boring line going forward. The only variable is whether my dad can save enough money to send me to study abroad or not.

As for Xu Tuo, knowing that the guy's hunt was limited to murderers on the loose, he too became an ordinary part of my life line's trajectory. Nothing more than a slightly brighter color than the others.

I went home.

My dad didn't come home that day, which was not an uncommon occurrence, and everyone did what they had to do. My mom and her little sister were discussing where to go for a weekend get-together, I was listening to English listening, and Xu Tuo was sitting on the bed behind my desk, looking up information on his laptop.

"Hey, if, I mean if," I whispered to him as I leaned over my desk after finishing a paper, "if my family of three were to be burglarized and murdered one day, would you step in?"

"I would." He smiled and nodded, "Uncle Dai's wontons are delicious."

At that moment, the doorbell rang outside. I thought it was my dad coming back - mom went to open the door, her tone was surprised, "Why is Commander Zhou here ......"

He asked, "Who's Commander Zhou?"

"My dad's boss."

Xu Tuo became alert, closed the computer, and got close to the window to listen to the conversation below.

I brainstormed the craziest situation - if what this guy did was found out, the police force was extremely important. What if the captain led the people to rush into my house, kicked open the door of my room, and started a war with him ......

Then I'm sure I'll help Uncle Zhou, because he gives me year-end money every year.

"Dead child, you little fortune hunter!" Xu Tuo suddenly lowered his voice and scolded me through gritted teeth, thinking I had sold him out.

However no one rushed in.

We waited for a long time, wondering what kind of conversation was actually going on in the living room. And just five minutes later, I heard my mom's heartbreaking cries.

--My dad had been lost in the line of duty.

To be continued

[stargazer-sims]

So, I can’t get rid of the stupid plot idea I had for Taiji & Gabriel. It’s stuck in my head and won’t go away, and the more I think about it, the more elaborate it gets. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Taiji is a J-pop idol, but the problem is, he’s realized he actually hates being famous.

Gabriel is spending a year in Japan, teaching French at an international school.

Gabriel and Taiji meet by chance at a convenience store

Gabriel has absolutely no idea who Taiji is. Taiji not only finds this refreshing, but also sees it as an opportunity.

Taiji and Gabriel meet up a few more times, when Taiji can sneak away.

Eventually, Taiji tells Gabriel about his plan to escape his life of celebrity (i.e. faking his own death). To his surprise, Gabriel agrees to help him with it.

Gabriel suggests that he and Taiji should get married, so Taiji can legally change his surname, and then get a new passport.

It takes them a while to work out all the details of the plan, but eventually they are able to put it in place. They use Gabriel’s car, which he says he no longer needs anyway, since they’re both leaving the country.

While the media is going crazy over a fiery car wreck that has “killed” a pop idol, “Tai Perreault” with his new passport and new husband quietly leave Japan.

This is a total adrenaline rush for Taiji, until reality hits him. He’s married to a near-stranger and living in a foreign country, in a small town where neither he nor Gabriel know anyone.

Taiji is straight. When the reality that he’s married to another man sinks in, it’s distressing to say the least. Gabriel is bisexual, so being married to a man isn’t his problem. He’s struggling with the fact that Tai seems repulsed by him on some level (because it never occurred to him that a straight guy would ever agree to the whole marriage scheme, and he didn’t even bother to ask about Tai’s sexuality).

The house Gabriel has found for them is a fixer-upper, to say the least. It’s old and ugly, and Tai is positive it’s haunted.

Taiji doesn’t know how to do anything. He doesn’t know how to cook, and he’s never had to do any kind of housekeeping other than tidying his room, and making his own bed. He’s used to living in luxury, with staff to wait on him and cater to all his ridiculous whims. 

Gabriel has no idea how to cope with Tai being so high maintenance. It stresses him out.

Taiji has never lived in a small town before. It’s too quiet, and he’s finding that a bit scary.

Gabriel is from a small town. He loves it and can’t quite understand why Taiji doesn’t.

Because he is supposed to be dead, Taiji doesn’t have any contact with his family or friends. He’s finding it hard to connect with people, until he happens to meet one of his neighbors, who speaks Japanese and actually does live in a haunted house.

Tai and Gabriel try to meet potential new partners. It’s awkward for everyone.

Tai eventually has to make a decision about his future; admit the deception and go home to face his management company, his friends, the media and his fans, or stay and try to build a new life.