#Especially if they start chewing on my wires

[doberbutts]

I would feel bad for the mice that get caught in my traps if it were not for the fact that I have now killed 3 in the span of 2 hours to the same trap. I feel like if you keep sending members of your family out to forage for food and they keep going "ooo! Yummy peanut butter :)" to the same very obvious trap in the same location, at some point that's kind of on you.

So now my reaction to walking into the room and seeing the exact same trap with yet another mouse inside is "...idiot" instead of "poor thing".

[artdcnaldson]

hiii it’s 🎀 coming off anon :0 i finally caved and made a challengers fixation blog

n e ways …. puppy art with his needy little puppy teeth has been chewing the wires of my brain bc this mf is not used to getting denied, he’s usually such a good boy and gets everything he wants and more (deserved) !! but i also think he has a brat streak that doesn’t come out until he’s more comfortable, especially when patrick enters your dynamic.

maybe you and patrick start getting closer. the two of you end up taking on a sort of mommy and daddy type dynamic for art when he’s in his puppy headspace, which translates well to the two of you occasionally hooking up when art is busy (cough and talking about him while you’re getting each other off, but he doesn’t know that). he notices that you and patrick get more comfortable with each other, more casually affectionate, and it spikes jealousy in him at the worst time bc all of you are busy and can’t play that week for whatever reason. so, art starts acting out. he’s snappier with you, he’s passive aggressive in general, he’s serving balls to patrick that feel distinctly aimed at his face.

need him to brat out so bad that you and patrick are forced to punish him. he’s been a bad puppy and bad puppies don’t get treats. bad puppies have to watch patrick give you orgasm after orgasm while he’s not allowed to touch. bad puppies have to sit next to the bed, hard and drooling. he starts out so huffy and angry, rolling his eyes and growling at you both, but by your third orgasm, the bratty attitude is long gone. little sobs are catching in his chest. he’s literally watching you like this.

he’s rethinking all his choices :(( he doesn’t wanna be a bad puppy, he doesn’t wanna be in puppy jail :((( he wants to be a good boy again but he’s sunk so deep in his headspace he can’t talk anymore, just whine and cry :(((

aaaauuuuuuughhghghhhhhh

Oh he’s so possessive, so bratty :((( it’s not fair that mommy and daddy get to play when he’s not there :((( he wants to know what you’re talking about, what you’re thinking. What you do to each other.

Patrick kisses you in front of him, before you head off to work on a major project for one of your classes and leave them alone at the courts. It’s a hungry, intense kiss. He sees your tongues licking into each others mouths and he scowls. When you go to tell him bye, you go for a sweet kiss on the cheek and he turns, captures your mouth hungrily, clumsily. His teeth clack against yours, his tongue presses between the seam of your lips and he imagines he’s licking every trace of Patrick from inside of your mouth.

His eyes are a little wet around the lashes when he pulls back, his anger clearly visible. You give Patrick a look over your shoulder, he just shrugs. No use on worrying about it now, not when you all had shit to do.

But then Art starts talking back, getting a bratty little attitude. You text him hey, wanna watch a movie tn? He responds shouldn’t you ask patrick?

It makes things click. Patrick had dealt with his attitude on the court, his icy demeanor. You were dealing with getting ignored and his bitchy, jealous attitude.

You have established plans on Saturday, ones Art wasn’t going to back out of and just give you two the chance to fuck around without him. The second you walk into their dorm, he’s on you— his hot tongue licking at your throat, his strong body pinning you against the door.

You’re quick to strip, to reveal every inch of your body that he’s been dying for all week. He strips obediently, until he’s bare and aching for you to touch him, to let him use his body to please you. “Patrick next,” you coo, and he’s on Patrick immediately, kissing him hungrily as he peels off every article of clothing on the brunette.

“Missed you,” he whines.

“Yeah?” You ask softly. You meet Patrick’s gaze over his shoulder, smirk slightly. “Well, mommy and daddy think you’ve been a bad puppy this week.”

He huffs, jaw clenched as he steps back from you. Patrick grabs onto his shoulders, pushes him down onto his knees beside the bed. His cock twitches where it stands upright between his thighs, all pink and droopy with need.

“You can’t have a treat if you’ve been bad, Art,” you tell him. “We don’t want to reinforce bad behaviors, and you’ve been so territorial lately.”

He gets so pouty when he doesn’t get his way— he’s so good at bringing pretty little crocodile tears to his eyes. “I just don’t want to be left out,” he whines. “I’ll be good, just lemme—“

Patrick silences him with two fingers deep in his mouth. Art’s moan is muffled around them. “Puppies don’t talk. Now sit there and watch so we can rub your nose in it.”

He starts salivating at the sight of your bare pussy— all wet and needy, aching to be filled. Patrick purposefully takes his time, spreads you out with his fingers so Art can really see the needy flutter of your hole. He growls, really growls, feels himself sinking deeper into the headspace as he’s denied what he wants.

“This could’ve been yours to play with if you weren’t such a bad boy, Art,” Patrick says with a grin. Art watches as Patrick sinks one finger into your cunt, then a second. He’s so close he can smell your need, that he can hear the wet pass of Patrick’s fingers fucking in and out. He huffs, goes to turn away, only for you to grab him by his hair and force him to watch. His jaw clenches and he rolls his eyes.

Three thick fingers buried in your pussy, art whines at the sight of your body accommodating them— at the peek of pink inside. You cum easily like that— stretched on Patrick’s fingers with his thumb on your clit. Art’s cock leaks pathetically on his lap, kicking and drooling stringy beads of precum that pool onto his thigh.

Art’s mouth waters when Patrick eats your pussy, sloppy and messy and feral. He feels his mouth filling with drool, has to swallow it down over and over as he itches to lap at your pretty, glistening folds. Patrick moans at your taste, slows down so art can really watch the way his tongue parts you, the creamy arousal that clings to his tongue. The tip of his tongue flicks at your clit, makes your thighs twitch and tremble.

Art’s tongue lolls out of his mouth, he feels himself drooling but can’t help it. He’s so lost in the punishment, in being a good puppy and learning his lesson. Your hands dig into Patrick’s hair, rough and needy as you guide his mouth where you need it. Your hips cant off the bed as you desperately grind against his face, seeking your finish.

A gush of wetness escapes you, soaking Patrick from nose to chin. He grins, licks his lips, and cleans off the mess between your thighs with his mouth. Art’s squirming by then, hips bucking up against the air, drooling down his chin, needing attention, needing to taste.

He wants to just die when Patrick sinks into you, when he watches your pussy stretch to fit his fat cock inside. He wants to lick at the place where you’re joined— taste your slick off the base of Patrick’s cock, clean the ring of creamy white that forms with each rough thrust. Your nails dig into Patrick’s shoulders, leaving angry red scratches as he pounds you.

Frustrated, pathetic tears slip from Art’s eyes, and he whines over and over again, desperate for attention. You finally reach over, scratch your nails through his hair affectionately. He gives a pleased little whine, watches Patrick fuck you as you pet him.

Patrick’s balls press against you with each thrust, make a soft plap against your arousal-slick flesh. He wants Patrick to cum, to empty his balls into your cunt so Art can be good and clean you up. Patrick looks over, moans at the sight of Art so disheveled and fucked.

His face smeared with drool, pupils blown, flushed down to his chest. Pretty pink nipples drawn all tight, cock throbbing an angry red. God, it’s so hot when he gets this way.

Originally, Patrick planned on torturing art a little longer, but how can he when he’s so fucking adorable? He cums, spills hot and thick inside of you. When he pulls out, your twitching cunt expels a gush of his seed, pretty pearly white and slipping down towards the sheets.

“C’mon, puppy, clean up.”

Art’s on you in a second, licking at your cunt with a fervor neither of you have seen before. Long, quick laps of his tongue as he grinds against the mattress. All he feels is the hot pleasure of friction on his cock, the taste of Pat’s cum and your juices. He could’ve been down there forever— he loses time. He’s just being a good boy, doesn’t even notice when he cums and goes oversensitive. He just keeps humping the bed and licking at your cunt.

You cum hard into his mouth, warm and wet, accompanied by another rush of Patrick’s cum slipping out. He cleans it up, keeps licking you until you can’t take it and you have to pull him by his ear to join you at the top of the bed. He licks your neck your cheek, anywhere he can reach.

“You’re such a good puppy, Art. You made mommy and daddy so proud, didn’t you?”

He nods, sucks a bruise onto your throat. You click your tongue, keep your voice soft. “We need to hear you say it, okay? Need you to come back to us now.”

Patrick rubs his back affectionately as you hold his face, make him hold eye contact with you, breathe slowly. You see his gaze return to normal, lose that haze. He kisses you softly on the lips, then turns and kisses Patrick.

“I made you proud,” Art repeats, and the words feel a little foreign on his tongue after not speaking for a while.

“Mhmm,” Patrick says, scratching his hair. “You just needed some training. But you’re our good puppy again, baby.”

[bradshawssugarbaby]

Full of Surprises - Bob Floyd x Reader

A/N: Inspired by @galaxy-of-stories's post

pairing: Lt. Robert Floyd x reader

warnings/content: virgin!bob x fem reader, oral (f receiving), p in v, swearing, hangman actually being a decent friend towards bob.

word count: 3k

minors dni below the cut

Bob chewed on his bottom lip nervously as he watched you from across the beach, his dark blue eyes watching you intensely from behind his wire framed glasses. He rarely took part in off-base activities with the rest of the Dagger squad, but today, he’d been coaxed out by Rooster and Phoenix to join the team for a relaxing beach day. What he didn’t know though, was that you would be there. You were Maverick’s niece, and Bob had pretty much instantly fallen for you. Smart, funny, beautiful and friendly - Bob thought you were the whole package. He loved the way your eyes lit up whenever you spoke about something you were interested in, the way your cheeks blushed whenever Maverick and Rooster started reminiscing about your childhood, having grown up playing with Rooster on occasion when you were little, and he loved the way you were so outgoing, and so unlike him. He always hated his incurable shyness, the fact that he struggled so hard to come out of his shell, he resented it, especially now that it made it next to impossible for him to hold a conversation with you. 

“Hey, Baby-on-Board, you coming?” 

Bob turned his head around to face one of the pilots on his squad, Hangman, calling over to him. Bob rolled his eyes at the nickname Hangman had given him and shook his head quickly, his cheeks turning red again. He prayed that the UV rays were strong enough that day that he could lie and say the reddening of his face was due to too much sun exposure, but he knew that wasn’t likely going to work as an excuse on anyone, much less Hangman. The tall blonde pilot raised an eyebrow at Bob as he folded his arms over his broad chest. 

“Jeez, Bagman, don’t you ever wear a shirt?” Bob laughed dryly as he poked fun at Hangman, who had long ditched his t-shirt to show off his sunkissed skin, trying desperately to attract any female attention he could get on the beach.

“Hey, at least I don’t keep mine on the whole time at the beach.” Hangman shrugged as he sat down on the sand beside Bob. “Why do you anyway? I mean, you do all the same workouts as the rest of us do. It’s because you’re covered in chest hair isn’t it?” Hangman smirked as he playfully shoved Bob, flipping his sunglasses down over his eyes.

“No, I just don’t like to,” Bob shrugged his shoulders, “You know me, I’m not one to draw attention to myself.” 

“I hate to break it to you, Bobby, but you’ve definitely drawn someone’s attention,” Hangman grinned at him as he pointed towards you with his thumb as he spoke, “Mav’s niece hasn’t been able to stop herself from giving you the bedroom eyes, it’s hilarious that you haven’t noticed it yet though.”

“Bedroom eyes?” Bob laughed and shook his head, “What the hell are bedroom eyes?” 

“You know,” Hangman put his sunglasses atop his short blonde hair and grinned, imitating the lustful look he was referring to, the one he was so convinced you had for Bob.

“I have never seen anyone make that face in my life, Bagman. Are you bullshitting me?” Bob raised an eyebrow as he leaned back on his palms in the sand and sighed softly as he watched you again. The breeze blew your long hair back and the sunlight hit your tanned skin just right, making you appear to have a sunkissed glow. The sight alone was almost enough to drive Bob crazy. 

“Hah!” Hangman grinned as he pointed at Bob’s facial expression as he watched you, “You’re doing it to her right now!”

“I am not!” Bob protested, shaking his head. “Look, don’t you have something better to do?”

“No, I know I’m a shitty wingman half the time, but this time, I’m making it my personal mission to be yours.” 

Bob sighed again as he rolled his eyes. He knew he wasn’t winning on this one, and Hangman wasn’t going to leave him alone anytime soon. He just wasn’t ready to make a move on you yet. He’d had a handful of girlfriends over the years, but he’d never gone any further than making out for one reason or another, usually due to nerves. As badly as Bob wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to be humiliated in front of you.

“I’m fine,” Bob said through clenched teeth. 

“Dude, you can tell me what your hang up is. I’m not gonna go blab it, I promise,” Hangman said, placing his hand over his heart playfully to show that Bob’s secret would be safe with him.

“Fine…” Bob exhaled and shook his head, “I don’t know what the bedroom eyes are or anything because I’ve never, you know…gone to the bedroom…with anyone,” He said as he gave Hangman a pleading look, his facial expression begging him for some sympathy and compassion instead of the relentless teasing he expected from him.

“You mean, never?”

“Never. Not even close. I think I’ve made out with a girl once. I was like 18 though.” 

“Wow,” was all that Hangman could muster out.

“So now you get it?” Bob asked softly, “It’s not that I don’t want to ask her out. It’s that I’m scared I’ll screw it up because of that.”

Bob sighed and shook his head again as he stood up. He brushed the sand off his shorts and forced a laugh.

“I’m gonna head home, Hangman. See you later.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Hangman laughed as he put a hand on Bob’s shoulder, his firm grip stopping Bob from walking away, “You’re at least gonna talk to this poor girl. She’s been interested in you the whole time she’s been here visiting Mav. Christ, even Mav’s noticed it,, and we all know how observant he is.”

“What if you’re wrong though and she’s not interested in me? Maybe she’s just being nice. I bet you’re more her type anyway.” Bob frowned.

“Me? No, she’s uh…she’s made it very clear I am not her type,” He laughed softly, shaking his head, “I tried. She outright told me “the cute guy with glasses” is her type. And how many guys with glasses are on our squad?”

“Just me…unless she meant sunglasses. Then it could be anyone.”

“Robert, I swear, you’re the dumbest guy I’ve ever met sometimes,” Hangman laughed as he rolled his eyes, “She meant you, jackass. She likes you. She told me. Now, what are you going to do with this information?”

“Talk to her…?” Bob tried, a nervous laugh escaping his lips as he thought about it.

“Attaboy, Baby-on-Board, you got this,” Hangman grinned as he stood up, “Now, do me a favour? Try to look a little less like you’re about to shit your pants over this ok?” 

Bob rolled his eyes and took a deep breath as he approached you, a friendly smile on his lips as he nodded his head towards you. 

“Hi, I don’t think I ever properly introduced myself,” Bob offered his hand out to shake and smiled, “Lt. Robert Floyd, everyone calls me Bob, sometimes Bobby though.” 

“Hi Bob,” you grinned and shook his hand, “Y/N. Nice to meet you. My uncle’s told me a lot about you. You’re a WSO, right?”

“Yeah, I’m the backseater, it’s kinda fun, I’m a big nerd, so I get to use a lot of math in it to calculate where to aim the lasers and all that.”

You let out a giggle as he explained his role to you and he couldn’t help but smile and laugh along with you. Hours passed between the two of you conversing together, Hangman proudly watching Bob impress you from the background. After a while, the rest of the squad cleared out from the beach, leaving just you and Bob there by yourselves. It was beginning to get dark outside when you stood up beside Bob and smiled warmly.

“Want to come back to my aunt Penny’s? She’s not gonna care if I bring you over, she and Uncle Mav speak very highly of you. Aunt Penny always says you’re incredibly polite, and Uncle Mav called you a “good kid” so I doubt they’d mind if you came back to hangout for a little while.”

Bob nodded his head and smiled politely at you, the sunset making his eyes shine as he turned to face you. He leaned forward gently and pressed his lips to yours in a soft, gentle kiss. He pulled away after a moment and shook his head. 

“God, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I did that. I’m not usually that forward. I mean, I wanted to, obviously,  I just normally ask first. And now I’m rambling, fuck sake,” He laughed and shook his head again.

You smiled and leaned in to kiss him again, quieting his anxieties and insecurities as your lips met once again. He moved his lips in time with yours as he kissed you, his tongue tracing along your bottom lip, as if he was asking permission for it to enter your mouth. Your tongues swirled together with passion and lust as you made your way across the sand and over to the front steps of your aunt and uncle’s home where you were staying, your lips barely breaking contact as you walked. You felt Bob put a hand gently on your waist as you pulled him inside through the patio door, into the sunroom where you were staying. You breathlessly pulled away from Bob to come up for air, shrugging your cardigan off your shoulders as you did so. Bob, finding a sudden burst of confidence, grabbed you by the waist with one hand and pulled you into his body tightly, pressing his lips to your neck. As his lips found your sensitive spot on your neck, his hands palmed their way over your breasts, gently cupping them and squeezing them as he felt you up. 

“Mhmm, Bob,” you groaned softly as he made contact with your sensitive skin. 

Bob pulled away for a moment and frowned slightly, remembering his earlier confession to Hangman. He let out a deep exhale before turning to face you, his facial expression full of concern as he spoke.

“Listen, I have to tell you something before we go any further, ok?” His voice was quiet and low, almost in a whisper as he spoke.

You nodded in response and waited, listening intently as Bob spoke.

“I’ve never…you know,” He finally said.

“Never?”

“No, never.”

“Do you want to though…?” You asked after a few moments of contemplation.

Bob bit his lip and laughed softly as he nodded his head quickly. 

“Believe me, I really do.”

“Then I’m honoured to be your first,” You nodded your head and kissed his cheek gently.

His cheeks flushed a bright scarlet red as you spoke. Without further hesitation, Bob leaned in and kissed you passionately again, tangling his fingers gently in your hair as he pulled you in closer to him. He pulled away ever so slightly as he spoke and laughed nervously.

“You’re going to have to tell me if I’m doing any of this right, ok? Kissing is about the only thing I know how to do.”

You giggled softly as you nodded your head reassuringly to Bob as he drifted his lips down your neck to your collarbone. He gently ran his hand up your leg, his fingers brushing against the hemline of your sundress as his hand drifted slowly up your thigh. You felt him take a deep breath as he pressed his lips to your collarbone again, his fingertips grazing your underwear gently. He looked up at you without saying a word, his lips still hovering above your collarbone, as if to ask for permission to keep going. You bit your lip, holding back a grin as you nodded your head, giving him the signal to continue.

Bob’s fingertips grazed against the dampening fabric of your underwear again, moaning softly into your collarbone, he looked up at you as he slowly dragged them down off your legs and laughed softly. 

“Wow.” he said, trying to hide his mix of arousal and curiosity, “You’re uh…you’re pretty into this, aren’t you?” He laughed as he tossed your underwear to the floor. 

“Mhmm,” You smirked at him as you guided his hand, his fingers gently brushing against your folds, feeling your arousal as it began to gather on you. 

“Shit,” Bob laughed softly as he shook his head, “This is where I start to not know what I’m doing.” He gave you an apologetic look.

“Everyone has a first time, Bob, I’ll show you what to do,” You smiled reassuringly at him as you continued to guide his hand along your core. He smirked as his wandering hand found your clit, two of his fingers pressing against the sensitive nub as he discovered it. The sound that fell from your lips was almost enough to make Bob lose all self-control on the spot. He arched his eyebrow at you as he continued to gently draw circles on it with his finger. 

“Y-you can use your mouth there too,” you nodded, trying your best to think clearly as he pleasured you.

Bob bit his lip gently as he positioned himself between your legs. He took his glasses off and sat them beside your leg as he ducked his head down in between your legs. He gently pressed soft kisses to your folds, his tongue carefully lapping up your wet arousal as he kissed at you. You let out a loud moan as Bob’s lips made contact, but before he could lift his head up to see if you were ok, your hand was grabbing a handful of his sandy blonde hair, pulling his head into you gently to tell him to keep going.

Taking the hint, Bob continued to leave soft kisses on you, grinning as he heard you moan out. 

“Feels s’good, honey, keep doing that,” You encouraged as he began using his lips to suck at your sensitive clit, your hips bucking upwards against his mouth, your body craving being as close to him as humanly possible.

Your compliment to Bob’s skill turned something on in him, and suddenly, he began moving his lips in the same rhythm but with more passion, like he’d just discovered his God-given talent on this earth was using his mouth to pleasure you into oblivion. As you reached your boiling point, Bob continued to lap his tongue at you, his lips sucking on your clit as you rode it out. He pulled his mouth away from you before pulling his t-shirt over his head. He wiped his mouth on his shirt before discarding it to the floor and working to unbuckle his belt before dropping his shorts to the ground. His boxers were tenting with arousal as he looked down at you, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. 

“Do you…do we need anything?” He asked as he tried build up the confidence to do what he was about to.

“I’m clean and on the pill,” You nodded your head and laughed softly, “So you’re good.”

“Right,” Bob chuckled softly as he nodded his head before peeling his boxer briefs down off his body. 

Bob stroked his length before lining his hips up with yours. He took a deep breath and looked to you for an indication that you were ready, that you were sure you wanted to go through with this. As you flitted your gaze to him, biting your lip as you sized him up, you couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle. Bob looked at you, somewhat mortified as his eyes widened.

“What? What is it?”

“Nothing, you’re just…bigger than I’d pictured, if you get me. You might need to take a pause once you get started so I can adjust to you, mkay?”

“Gotcha, don’t worry darlin’,” Bob nodded knowingly and laughed as he ran a hand through his hair. 

You let out a sharp exhale as Bob lined his hips up with yours and gently pushed himself into you. As promised, he paused for you to adjust to his size, waiting for you to tell him you were ready for him to start. Once he heard you give the ok, he began thrusting his hips in and out of you, a deep grunt escaping his lips as he felt your body tighten around him, your arousal dripping from you and onto his cock. 

“Fuck,” Bob groaned as he thrusted deeper into you, finding his rhythm, “You feel so good, darlin’.”

“Keep going, baby,” you purred at him, encouraging him to continue before throwing your head back in ecstasy, moaning his name loudly.

Bob felt your walls clenching against him, gripping his erection tightly as he pumped himself in and out of your body. He felt as you arched your back against the bed, bucking your hips upwards into his thrusts as you came close to your climax again. He groaned loudly in pleasure as his thrusts became sloppier and more frantic.

“Fuck, darlin’, I’m so close,” He hissed as he let out another flurry of sinful sounding moans and grunts as he came.

The two of you sighed in unison as you rode your pleasure out together. Bob panted as he pulled himself out of you, his cheeks red from breathlessness as he tried to compose himself. He hovered over you, a smirk forming on his lips as he leaned down to kiss you. You pressed your lips to his passionately, moaning softly against them as your overstimulated body struggled between wanting more from him, and wanting to take a break.

“How was I for my first time then?” He grinned at you. 

“I never would have believed you if you told me that was your first time after we’d done it. I also don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before this either.”

Bob smirked as he laid himself down beside you in bed, putting his glasses back on.

“Well, apparently I’m just full of surprises, aren’t I?

[watatsumiis]

(A soft, fluffy continuation to this post about Xiao's reading and writing skills (or lack thereof)

Teaching Xiao how to read and write would be a tedious and difficult endeavour for everybody involved. He may not catch on to what you're doing at first, but once he does he'll do everything in his power to try and avoid it. He's super embarrassed at how far behind he is, and he doesn't want to be perceived as weak in any way, shape or form, especially not by you, someone he's sworn to protect.

It may seem like he's pushing you away at first, and eventually an intervention needs to be staged - whether you bring in Zhongli and some of the other adepti to help explain it all, or confront Xiao on your own, he'll respond better once you've been open and direct with him about what you're doing and why.

Though he is genuinely trying his best, Xiao simply isn't accustomed to sitting still and trying to learn. He's hard-wired for vigilance and combat, so it's nigh on impossible to get him to stay in his seat. He's up and about, wandering the area and trying to keep an eye out for any possible danger, no matter how much you assure him that there's none to be found. You can only get him to sit down for five or ten minutes at a time before he needs a break, or else he starts to get destructive.

Once he's settled a bit and started to write, it comes out stiff and awkward - he always holds his brush like a weapon, no matter how much you try to teach him otherwise. You can say it as often as you like, but Xiao simply cannot pull himself out of combat mode. To him, this is a battle like any other, he's just conquering worksheets instead of demons.

He always makes an utter mess of the inks and chews on the writing tools when you take your eyes off of him - he likes the texture of the wood splintering between his teeth.

His embarrassment and shyness also mean that he finds it really difficult to speak up when he's having trouble with something, no matter how much you reassure him that it's okay to ask for help. He also does well when you're working alongside him, even if it's on something else.

Teaching Xiao these skills is an arduous task, but he retains the information well, even after long gaps between lessons. You may find that occasionally rewarding him with little treats may also boost his productivity somewhat. Not necessarily food, but small trinkets, head scritches and hair brushing tend to be great bribes to coax Xiao into working towards a goal.

He'd never tell you, but one of the main reasons he said yes to your teaching proposition is because he wants to be able to read and enjoy your favourite books alongside you. He even ends up spending some extra time around others so that he can ask them for the definition of words he's not sure about as he slowly but surely progresses through the book during quiet restful periods of time.

One day, you'll find that he's speaking in an awkward, stilted sort of way, perhaps saying things that don't exactly fit into the context of the situation. How quickly you realise depends on what your memory for quotes is like, but you come to the conclusion in the end anyways - he's quoting your favourite books to you, trying to tell you that he read them without outright saying it.

He's secretly really proud of himself for being able to make it through an entire book. Though he may not fully understand certain parts of it, and the deeper meanings still elude him, he's just delighted that he was finally able to share something so special and meaningful with you.

You may even start to receive mysterious, unsigned letters on important dates and holidays - rolled up in pretty, loose ribbons and covered in blocky, awkward handwriting. Unsigned, but filled with love nonetheless.

Please don't repost, steal, copy or otherwise plagiarise my writing! I do not consent for my works to be translated and posted elsewhere, or copy - pasted into bot or AI technology

[teaandmisanthropy]

We had to say goodbye to Snookums a few weeks ago, on August 16, 2024. These are some of the last pictures I have of him.

He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable as a result of (probably) lymphoma and had been losing weight for a couple of months and his digestive system was deteriorating.

He got lots of attention and extra treats at the end of his life, and he lived to the age of fifteen and was a happy, goofy, lazy snugglebug who was full of affection for us and friendly to everybody, including multiple dog acquaintances. He was a devoted, biddable sidekick to the BB (Arwen) (2007-2021) and a wonderful adoptive uncle to Tristana (2020, adopted April 2021-). And despite being a mellow fraidy cat who had always been submissive before, he didn't hesitate to become the senior boss cat and tell off Anubis (who is young and unusually strong and was about half again his size) and actually defended Tristana from Anubis's attempted attacks a few times when he managed to breach containment.

Snookums was my baby, and what you might call my familiar animal or one true cat, from the time we brought him home. He spent three days hiding in a blanket cave in the sauna at our old apartment in Turku and wouldn't eat for over 24 hours, until I finally got him to by feeding him from my hand.

He was afraid of crackling noises and especially plastic bags and loved chasing/ collecting hair elastics and chewing on rubber bands and silicone oven mitts and old wired earbud wires, all of which had to be hidden from him. He loved kisses and his method of kissing was to headbutt you in the head, earning him the nickname "butthead".

He was also the most talkative cat we had ever met when we got him, and used to meet me every time I came home and make a long speech that I referred to as the Kittysburg Address. He purred very loudly and was terrible at cleaning his own claws, which was perhaps partly because he was already missing a couple of the tiny teeth when we got him at age 1.5, but mostly because he was lazy. So he had to have toe gunk cleaned from his claw sheaths basically his whole life and he hated it, but was fundamentally non violent, so the most resistance he ever offered was occasionally squirming in a half hearted escape attempt.

When he was young he also used to wake me up in the middle of the night wanting to play, and I woke up many times back then to find his toys (usually hair bands and silicone oven mitts) in or around the bed. But even when young and irrepressible, Snookums was pretty lazy and spent much more time snoozing and snuggling than the BB, who often ran around bouncing off the walls without him, even though he was her constant companion and playmate.

In later years he got more lazy, as well as becoming more like himself in other ways (snuggly, silly, food-motivated), and he also acquired diabetes, which reduced his energy a lot. But he lived for about six years with his diabetes under control after his diagnosis, and was doing very well recently. The final illness was probably not related to his diabetes.

For many years, actually since he was very young, I used to periodically just start crying while I was holding him in my arms, because I loved him so much. The spectre of losing him someday, even when it was far in the future, was already scaring me. (We got him two years after the death of @waxjism's One True Cat, Lily, so this wasn't out of left field.) Maybe I did some of my grieving in advance. I felt like I didn't have time to grieve right after, but even though the sadness is massive, I have had an easier time adjusting my brain to the new reality than after the loss of past pets. Cornish rexes are very snuggly and affectionate cats and most of them spend a lot of time lying on people's laps, giving out hugs, basically, but Snookums is the only pet I've ever felt was comforting and soothing me just as much with his snuggles as I was soothing him.

[anna-neko]

I'm terrible at reports, so here's some unorganized notes frm the NYC Dndads live show

--- while having Charleston Chews shaked into hand, "listen..if i can't take candy frm strangers on the street in the middle of the night, why even bother leaving the house"

being complimented on my cosplay, by the most perfect Trudy ~♡ ~ "I've seen you on Tumblr!" -- uhhh... then you must be sick of seeing me by now < beat > -- wait.... if you don't have shoelaces, I don't know what am supposed to say?!?!??

Mad props and shout-out to all the cosplayers and cool nerds ~♡ The jingle bells on devil horns! Ron with their actual work business card! The mofo full giant mascot head Teeny!!

Being given not just a bracelet with lil skulls, but also a hair bow and "proud of you, kiddo" magnet ....im not crying...mascara just got in my eye...shut up

Apologies for goin full autism category 7 because my brain wants to ALL THE COMPLIMENTS but we aint at emoji-keysmash IRL stage of evolution and forget how to words....

WAFFLES vs PANCAKES Absolutely Beth May's lane and why is it socially acceptable to get a stack of pancakes but only 1 waffle. According to Anthony pancakes are just failed waffles. Matt derailed the entire conversation by bringing crepes and french toast into it

--- how in the fuck can Freddie pull off rocking out on the guitar this frellin hard while wearing slides and an Animal Crossing shirt (fittingly, DJ KK)

--- Apparently everyone's first impression when meeting Anthony was "this guy hates me", while Anthony's first impression of Beth May was "she looks sad". Freddie's first impression of everyone seems to be "this person's cool!"

--- Henry dad fact, and Will spent all day working on it: Oakvale is sometimes called The Big Apple...because one time someone found (saw?) a really big apple there

--- Glenn dad fact: the best place to go in NYC is.... the times sq Disney Store. At this point Freddie pulls out a Chip (beauty and beast) bubbles blower, starts blowing bubbles everywhere while talking about how Glenn would just need to figure out how to backwards engineer this blowing action, some tools, a couple wires and it will be a great bong! come on, Mrs Pots is your mom??

--- the adventure tonight was UFC, goin to rescue Paeden's friend Celery! the theme tho, was your inner child voice. All of them. Especially about 4 levels deep as hella high Glenn realizes he soooooo complex u gaiz....

--- Darryl asking how much does it cost to buy a child (300 gold). Then asking how much selling a Honda would earn (400) ......next 10 minutes are spent sorting out exactly _why_ is Darryl not selling the Honda Odyssey .... (its on lease, not fully paid off yet... so they'd only come out w/ 25gold or somethin)

--- UFC WEIGHT OFF! Anthony mentioning how now he can't get that close to her while Beth May is on her knees or he'll be canceled forever...so he's immediately made to gets on his knees too (and they do the angry head bump stare-off)

--- THE SLAP(s) HEARD AROUND THE WORLD!!! (context: instead of rolls... the LOUDEST SLAP was gonna win. Beth May slapped Anthony twice)

--- the smug way Anthony leaned back, kicked his feet on the desk and started outlining how this will go. Oh yes, they'll be using the mechanics he came up with before. For episode 3. But they completely destroyed all his plans back then by dropping pants in front of children.... --- Darryl Wilson immediately takes off his pants and starts twirling his axe

-- Matt counting out monster cards, 29 of them O_o; Beth points out then Ron will only fight 0 monsters and proceeds to roll stealth ...with Inspiration frm an earlier joke...

--- Anthony, "and if you all die...then you'll just be replaced by identical clones and the WIKI can stay the same"

[youhavehitawall]

Didn’t want to spam your ask box, but I realized I was forgetting what I wanted to ask so here it is, maybe. Some of it might’ve been lost.

You mentioned at one point that Ratchet had mobility issues, but not what they were exactly.

Ratchet and Reg are battling to be my favorite, Austin is too similar to me to be my favorite unfortunately.

I can’t help but what to meddle with stories I really like, for instance I want to be a bit of a stalker and send Firestorm a picture of Ratchet in Backwater Downs, maybe with a clue on the back. I feel like that’s a fun idea to mess around with.

Most of Ratchet's mobility issues are in the parts of him that self-repaired instead of being fixed by a mechanic. His Plymouth Fury heritage gives him advanced self-repair, which is what kept him alive (that, and the roll-cage) during and after his crash. The mechanic that fixed him was hesitant to undo the self-repair's work since Ratchet was so precarious. The mechanic also did a lot of jury-rigging work, as Plymouths are a rarity in Australia. Now, his biggest issue is, his parking brake is useless. He can't do big hill starts anymore. Reg often drives behind him so that, if he gets stuck on a hill, he can roll back into Reg and do a normal hillstart. He also slips near cliffs or on beaches, and will roll if he falls asleep on an uneven surface. He can also be physically pushed around even with his brakes on. His left side axles were crimped in the crash and he can't go full lock to the left anymore. He also struggles with offroading, anything more than a dirt track is very difficult for him. He can't race on dirt at all anymore as it puts too much stress on his chassis. His A, B, and C pillars are all dented and were hammered and self-repaired into shape. His eyesight is much poorer than it used to be, and his muteness comes from the same damage. His brain simply can't connect the words and the sounds anymore. The front of his chassis rails are permanently twisted inwards which can feel uncomfortable for him, especially when he's turning hard - again, no offroading. His tailfins are not quite symmetrical anymore and it throws him off his line at high speeds and makes him stray to the right. His headlights also don't work 100% of the time, and his highbeams flicker terribly. The wiring is fucked.

His jaw clicks when he chews. This isn't a mobility issue but it didn't do that before the crash.

Austin I feel like doesn't get the full rep he deserves on here. It's very difficult for me to pack his entire character into a little comic because he has so SO much character. He is motivated by rage for decades and it twists him up inside. He's angry and bitter and anxious and horny and that's his 'good day'. He loves the dead and used to steal parts from graves and upgrade himself without anaesthetic. There is something deeply deeply wrong with him. He's absolutely my favourite because he is so fucked up but he's also so kind and loyal all the time. He would do anything for his friends and partners at the drop of a hat. But he also 100% is waiting for Reg to drop dead so he can take that delicious V10 for himself. And I do mean delicious. Which is to say just remember the version of him you see here is PG rated.

Realistically, Firestorm would never believe a picture of Ratchet (known to him as Ricochet) if he got one. Firestorm's business is perfectly legitimate, but he's not above running illegal stock behind the scenes. His association with Rundown also makes him a lot of enemies even in the criminal underbelly. Rundown has very few allies. So a picture of Ricochet, he'd just take that as an enemies' baiting attempt, albeit one in poor taste. It doesn't matter that the Fury in the photo has Ricochet's funny little twitch in his smile. Doesn't matter that he has matching warbles in his left fender, just like Ricochet had, from Firestorm's first attempt at panelbeating. Doesn't even matter that there's a red-eyed ragtop Hornet in the background, a model of car nearly impossible to find, who has Austin's missing tooth. Firestorm would never take the bait. He might store the photo away and he might lie awake at night, wondering about it, wishing desperately he was younger and more naive and stupid enough to pursue it. But he won't risk his family or his life. He has to make a decision, between chasing ghosts and raising his kids, and as much as it pains him he lets the photo sit in the dark album and gather dust with all the others.

BUT let's play in this for a second. Assuming there's a way to make Firestorm believe this isn't doctored, well, it doesn't matter that Backwater Downs is not even a town name, isn't even on the map. Doesn't matter that Ricochet has been missing for sixty years. Within a month of getting that photo, Firestorm is landing in Darwin International Airport. He storms out, buys a drum of water and drives south into the great flat lands.

Firestorm finding Ricochet is probably the worst way for them to reunite, because it makes Firestorm so incredibly, extremely angry. Sixty years and Ratchet never tried to reach out. Firestorm is so sick and tired of trying to hold his sibs together and he's sick of being forced to watch them drift away, and DIE, from apathy or petty arguments. Also in this timeline, Ratchet feels obliged to explain that he left because Robyn tried to kill him - shot him and everything. That would turn the whole situation into a disaster. The happier versions are when Ratchet comes back to America and reunites with Firestorm. He never reveals Robyn's crime, and he even allows Robyn to apologise to him, though he doesn't forgive her. She did a lot of damage, even if she hadn't meant it maliciously. And Firestorm is so happy to have Ricochet back home, he chooses to gloss over that yawning gap of "why didnt you call or text or write or fax or come home or-" that plays in his head constantly.

Fun fact, when Ratchet reunites with Firestorm, poor Rico gets a "Jr" tacked onto his name. Firestorm called him Junior on occasion, but thisis the first time Rico has to confront the fact he was named after someone that his dad missed dearly. And he hates being a Jr. He immediately tries to race Ratchet for his honour back and he gets his ass kicked. Ratchet then takes him out for beers and ice-cream and Rico Jr decides he has the best uncle in the whole world.

[bookqueen1755]

Or Else - Chapter 2

- Synopsis: When Liv Olson, a cynical, ambitious photographer, is given the chance of a life time to come to Tokyo and start her career, she finds that she may have bitten off more then she can chew, especially when she discovers Tokyo's superhero in the form of a large metal man is actually famous baseball player, Ken Sato. Things get even crazier when her best friend is kidnapped by a secret organization known as Nebula and it seems the only one she can turn to is Ultraman. But his arrogance and ginormous ego means Liv is less then enthusiastic to trust the guy, and how's the best way to secure someone's trust? Simple: blackmail. Forced to work together, Liv and Ken must join forces to stop Nebula, realizing they may share a common goal. But can they push aside their differences and rivaling egos to save the people they love most and work as a team...and possibly more?

- Content warnings: None in particular. Just a bit of violence and the occasional cussing, nothing that wasn't in Ultraman: Rising. - Quick Side note: This story takes place after the events of Ultraman: Rising and acts like a sequel.

“This is totally awesome!” Dean hollered, throwing himself onto the beds thick crispy white sheets. Liv rolled her eyes good naturedly as she stood in front of her own separate bed, unpacking the clothes from her suitcase. Their room was large and grand with pearly white walls, fluffy black carpet and a large tv across from their beds. A bathroom veered off to the left of their suite and two glass doors near Liv’s bed lead out to a jutted balcony overlooking the city. They’d arrived in Tokyo during the late afternoon and Liv could just make out the sun through in between the tall glass buildings stretching across the city, still barely hanging above the horizon from their hotel balcony. Looking at the view, their room and the fact they were on one of the highest floors of the building, she was once again grateful Mrs. Arakawa had insisted on paying for their stay as she was sure even spending a day here would leave her completely broke. Only asking for in return one of the best pieces of photographic art she had ever seen. No pressure at all.

“I still can’t believe you were able to convince your work to allow you a whole month off.”

“Come on, who can say no to this face?” He shot her a bright smile, propping his head up on one hand. “And anyway, I built up a crap ton of annual leave, I never took any sick days off, I worked during thanksgiving and Christmas because my parents took a trip to Puerto Rico to visit family and refused to buy me a ticket, so I am good to go.”

“Doesn’t Dr Cole miss his favorite assistant back at the lab, what about the oh so secret and revolutionary project you’ve been bragging about helping him make or has he found someone more competent to help him?” Liv teased.

Dean scrunched up his face mockingly. “Ha, ha, no he hasn’t. Dr Cole and I have a deal. He was chill with letting me come to Tokyo, if, I find something interesting to post on my channel, Uncovering Myth and Matters.”

Liv starred at him, deadpan. “You have a weird relationship with your boss Dean.”

“It’s an awesome relationship. And Dr Cole’s got everything covered. The machines pretty much already to go, he’s just got to work out the last of the wiring and it will be ready for the gala a week after we get back to LA.”

Liv raised an eyebrow at him, grinning. “Oh, so it’s a machine.”

Dean shot up almost hurtling himself off the bed, waving his hands vehemently. “Gah, no I wasn’t supposed to say that! You can’t tell anybody, it’s top secret!” He shrieked.

“Oh no I’m gonna tell everyone. I’m gonna run to the top of the hotel and shout about it for all of Tokyo to hear.”

Dean narrowed his eyes at her, threateningly. “Do that and I will push you.”

Liv hummed, unmoved by his threat and checked her phone with a huff. “It’s five now, we should probably get going.”

Dean leaped off the bed, pumping his fists in the air. “Yes, I am so pumped, I’ve been waiting for this moment all week!”

 Liv groaned. “I can’t believe you actually bought yourself a ticket to sit around for three whole hours and watch a bunch of grown, sweaty men, stand around a field, hitting a ball around.”

“Correction. I brought us,” he flipped out two white tickets, beaming, “tickets to sit around for three whole hours and watch a bunch of grown, sweaty men, stand around a field, hitting a ball around.”

Liv snickered, grabbing a clothes hangar from the wardrobe across the room. “There are baseball games on literally every other week back in LA, why do you want to see one here so badly?”

“Because Liv, those games don’t have Ken Sato, the greatest living baseball player on their teams!”

Liv tried to recall who he was referring to. The name sounded familiar. Liv had heard Dean bring it up on one or two occasions, more than that probably. “Are you talking about that Japanese guy that you always used to rave about? I thought you said he played for the Diggers or something?” She asked, her brain faintly remembering Dean coming home excited one day, waving around a sport card with the image of a tall, lanky Asian man swinging a baseball bat.

“Dodger’s and that was over nine months ago woman, keep up! When I found out he was being transferred over to the Giants and moving back to Tokyo I was super bummed, I ranted to you about it for days!”

“Aw, is Dean in love?” Liv gushed, batting her eyes at him.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Very funny. My only love in life is science. And Quesitos.”

“What am I, chop liver?”

“No, but I wouldn’t love you if you were that either.”

She swiped a pillow from her bed and tried to throw it at his head, but he dodged it, snickering. Liv growled and snatched her last stack of clothes from inside her suitcase, storming off toward the bathroom. “I am going to get changed, I’m not going out wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. I swear that taxi driver that dropped us off cut the cost of our ride in half because he thought we were poor.”

“We are poor.”

“The rest of Tokyo doesn’t need to know that!” She slammed the bathroom door behind her.

[bluepeachstudios]

GitS Asks!

Ohhh yeah you KNOW that man is panicking and his boys are trying their best to calm him down and force him to relax.

I cannot answer this because spoilers, but my god I want to. I want to gush about the movie stuff so badly. I can say that Ghost would definitely prefer to be taken instead of Raph. He thinks the boys should stick together.

Oh boy, yeah it do! (:

Oof you're torturing my boy here, I see. I think after very emotional words and feelings turmoil he would stay. He feels like the boys need protecting at this moment. He wants to keep them safe, and... Well. He just doesn't know what's happening with his brothers.

Ghost likes that when Splinter spends time with the kids, the kids are super happy about it. He likes watching them watch Lou Jitsu movies. He likes that Splinter uses nicknames instead of their full names all the time. He likes that Splinter makes them soup when they feel bad. He likes that when the kids talk about their childhood, Splinter is a constant. He likes that the boys love him, and he loves the boys.

Ghost doesn't hate Splinter. He just hates that he's not his dad.

I won't give spoilers if it's something that hasn't already been covered. Sometimes I'll go off about what's going on in Ghost's head, but that's because that's already going on. ;)

Ough Ghost would hate that. He doesn't want them to see that.

Yes to both! Meditating is something that's been ingrained into him since he was little, so he hasn't stopped now. From best to worst, Raph is the best. Mikey is second best, if he's moving while he meditates. Donnie's... Decent. Leo's horrible at it. He can't stay focused.

Ghost did find that directing them through certain katas and letting them do those motions on repeat is a good way to let them meditate. They do a much better job when they're moving.

Ghost does seem to be getting hurt a lot....... Wonder what that's about. (:

It's a little of both! Ghost wasn't mutated on purpose, and the mutagen itself wasn't meant to make soldiers of any kind, so his mutation doesn't make him as sturdy as genetically engineered weapons of war. On the other hand, Ghost also is still working off the physics of his universe, at least somewhat. It means getting hit hurts. there's no "comedic effect" going on with Ghost. He gets hit, he gets hit.

Yup! Ghost can cook! He especially likes baking. Ell and Mike can as well. Spirit... Eugh... Let's just say he survived with a rice cooker, takeout, and a healthy fear of anything that produces heat.

Ghost has already fought these particular Foot, when they first showed up in the Rise series! He asked Splinter about them, and he confirmed they were in fact THE Foot. Ghost has them burned into his mind now.

He also has no idea they run a shoe shop. He will eventually find out, yes, and the story is about Ghost, so also yes!

Yes. It worked very well.

There was a stray cat he fed when he went to the surface to get food. He looked like Klunk. Donnie thought about taking him back to the hideaway, but started thinking about having to clean out the litter box, worrying about the cat knocking things over or chewing on wires, feeding him every day, giving him attention, and he just... Couldn't handle all of that at the time.

Nothing that I can think of off the top of my head? Ghost was building trucks with dozens of missiles in it by the time he was 15. He likes to encourage Donnie's creativity.

Uranium is just a no-go because they don't have a way to safely contain it and use it. And Donnie's 14.

Donnie has theories. This is actually a spoiler, because Donnie's whole theory is a spoiler! Don't worry, we'll see Donnie's theory soon (;

Honestly, Ghost is a little worried about that. He's hoping that the kid won't turn out like the fucked up man that's in his universe. Like, he's still a kid! If Splinter can be how he is, and Leo can be so different from his Leonardo, what's to say that this kid isn't also different?

First round, babey!! It's my headcanon that 03 Donnie was subconsciously more interested in watching than he was in participating. It wasn't a life-threatening event or anything, it was a fun warrior vs warrior, honorable battle. He was in another dimension, of course he was excited and wanted to see things!!

In Big Mama's Battle Nexus, things were to the death. Nothing to poof you away if it would hurt you too much. He had to take every hit and feel it. He won out of necessity. He didn't enjoy a second of it.

Ghost probably would get further than he did in the last one, but I don't think he'd win. For him, fun fighting is sparring with the kids. His heart wouldn't be in it.

[qqueenofhades]

I don’t know if you’re currently taking any sort of ficlet writing prompts, but this popped into my head earlier. Fedyor to Ivan as newly graduated grisha trying to figure out where they stand with each other after having spent all of training hating each other, “you want to fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid and don’t you dare deny it”

It is a sad but common fact of Fedyor Kaminsky's life that Ivan Sakharov absolutely loathes him. This isn't exactly news, because as far as anyone can tell, Ivan Sakharov absolutely loathes everyone. The tall, skinny, angry northern kid from Chernast with a permanent chip on his shoulder and an apparently pathological aversion to making friends, taking it easy, or even smiling at anyone in the dining hall or the dormitories, ever. Even the other junior Heartrenders, including Fedyor, think he's a little much, and they tend to start conversations with any of their fellow trainees by apologizing for whatever Ivan did to them all yesterday. It's an oddly common currency for cross-Order friendships at the Little Palace. Who knew.

The thing is, which Fedyor doesn't get, is that Ivan seems to especially hate him. This doesn't make sense, because Fedyor is about as friendly and outgoing as a Heartrender can possibly be (maybe that's why he's so offensive to Mr. Doom of the World over there?) He can get along with almost anyone, he's the only one who has attempted to stand up for Ivan when the rest of his friends are bagging on him, and it just seems unlikely that of all the fledgling Grisha, Fedyor is somehow the most intolerable. It bothers him, not least because the two of them have had what you might call moments. A few of them. From time to time. It's hard to tell with Ivan and his complete inability to grasp basic human emotion, but still.

Now, however, it's the celebration for the newly minted Grisha cadets, allowed an evening of drink, food, and revelry before they're all packed off to the Fjerdan frontlines tomorrow and get to prove how much that training was actually worth by whether they stay alive. Fedyor has been enjoying it with his friends, raising toasts and convinced, as every young soldier is, that they're in fact immortal. But he's also taken note of Ivan sitting in a corner and glaring at everyone daring to do something so heretical as enjoy a party, and after his third cup of wine, Fedyor sees no need to put up with it. He gets to his feet, brushes off the heavy new black-embroidered red kefta that they all officially get to wear, and marches over. "Sakharov."

Ivan eyes him up and down, chewing his tongue. There is a very long pause. Then he snaps, "Kaminsky."

"Look at us." Fedyor, displaying more bravery than the entire Second Army combined, flops himself down directly in Ivan's lap. He is running a real risk of being the first casualty of the autumn campaign, but while a muscle leaps in Ivan's cheek at this unbearable familiarity, he doesn't actually try to murder Fedyor on the spot, and therefore Fedyor knows in smug vindication that he is, in fact, correct. "We're real soldiers now and everything."

"Get off," Ivan says, after several moments too long, "my lap."

"Actually? No." Fedyor snuggles closer. "Because you want to know what I think, Sakharov? I think you secretly like me. More than that, I think you want to fuck me. So bad that it makes you look stupid."

Ivan stares at him. Fedyor stares at himself (you know, metaphorically). Even with three cups of liquid courage, that is more than he has ever pushed it before, and he winces and braces himself for his heart to abruptly stop. Still, it doesn't. Ivan's muscles are coiled as tightly as steel wire. His gaze flicks over Fedyor's head at the other partying young Grisha -- who, probably for their own welfare, haven't noticed anything. He doesn't move for a final instant. The entire world hangs and waits.

Then, all at once, Ivan gets up with a jerk, dumping Fedyor ignominiously off his lap and onto the floor. Fedyor hits with a thump, too surprised to catch himself, but he doesn't have long to wait. Ivan reaches down, seizes him by the wrist, and yanks him to his feet. "Fine, then," he says, in a growl that should not excite Fedyor nearly as much as it does, but here they are. "Come on and stop talking."

(Fedyor moves all his clothes and belongings into Ivan's room two weeks later. Ivan gets back and discovers it already finished, grumbles helplessly for a few hours, and then gives in. They have been together ever since.)

[annakie]

Fixing The House Part Four - I Really Want to Stay at My House

Part One: I Do Not, In Fact, Have the Power

Part Two: Let’s Spend Lots of Money!

Part Three: All These Things That I've Done

Another week(ish) gone by, another update.

This one is both more and less exciting than the last few.

Let's start with the more exciting thing. It's not exciting in a very good way.

PART ONE: I Don't Have Some of the Power

Thursday morning I had a Doctor's appointment to go to. Before I left, the lights in my Office (which, you may recall, is the room that most people would use as their living room) started flickering and my PC was turning off and on. Well, that's not great.

I just shut everything off and left for my appointment.

I got home a couple of hours later and turned my desk lamp on. It started flickering. My PC did not turn on AT ALL.

Honestly, I was exhausted and had taken the rest of the day off so I just went to bed.

Like a half hour later I started hearing a popping and buzzing coming from my bedroom closet.

The closet which held the fusebox. Errrk.

I quickly located the fuse that was the problem and turned it off. Annnnd of course it was the fuse for both the office and half the living room, the part with all the Internet equipment on it. :v

(Note from later: Also, all of this burnt out my power supply on my computer, which was like, six months old. So I had to replace that, but thank GOD my PC was fine otherwise.)

So I already had Arturo coming that day. I just went to sleep for a couple hours, then when I woke up I pulled out the 'ol hotspot yet again, thanks work.

Right around the exact same time, Arturo arrived as well as Jose, Maria and what I assume was their son.

They got to work staining the fence!! And I showed Arturo what was going on with the fuse. In case you might be thinking that he did something that caused this, he literally had not actually touched the electricity when he'd been there before, we'd just discussed what I wanted done.

After some examination, he told me he wasn't sure he could even find a replacement for the 60-year-old fuse but would go to the speciality shop and try the next day. I sighed and asked him how much it would be to install a whole new fusebox. He said they'd also need to move it outside so it'd be up to code and get inspected. And then I asked how much it would cost to rewire the whole damn house. He gave me a price which sunk my stomach but let me chew on it.

Arturo did tell me that I was damn lucky that I was home when this happened (I hadn't explained that I'd been out for a few hours that morning) because there was a real good chance, especially with the clothes in the closet right by the fuse box, that the house could have caught fire and burned down.

Errrrrrgh. But I believed him, with what I'd been hearing.

He was very cool and rerouted all the power for the office/living room to run on the same circuit as the guest bedroom, which rarely even gets used. So I had internet and power back in the most important parts of my house (after the kitchen.)

So then he got started doing most of the things I'd called him out for originally.

So first of all, I have power on the Patio!! An outlet covered by a little waterproof box! I can plug things in... outside! That runs through the same circuit as the washer/dryer.

He also rewired the outside wall light and ran the wire so my ceiling fan could be installed.

And then...

I have an outlet in my master bathroom! Maybe I'll actually use that bathroom again at some point?

Don't love how the outlet very much doesn't match with the pretty silver plate I got but I'll deal with that later. The important thing is that someone could like, actually blow dry their hair in that bathroom now. :p

And best of all...

Holy CRAP I have LIGHTS in my OFFICE!! Recessed lighting with a DIMMER. It's... so beautiful. I can actually see in this room at night.

(Yes you can see where the "accidental skylight" sas and it's still not painted. We'll get to that.)

The lights are all on the same switch, and like I said, on a dimmer. Honestly, I'm still not used to it.

It's actually I think now TOO bright. I think when Arturo comes back I'm going to ask about getting the front 2 lights on a different switch from the back 2. I just keep them on the dimmest setting. And when I go to bed, I turn them off and turn the desk lamp back on because I like to give the illusion that somone might be awake, and the recessed lights are way too bright shining down the hall into my bedroom.

I've also forgotten they're there and forgotten to turn them on in the morning like, three of the seven days that I've had them, lol. I remember eventually.

But I do really, really love having them. It was a stupid little dream of mine for so long that actually came true. Like the fence.

HEY speaking of the fence...

Part Two: Dark Walnut

In the meantime... staining was happening!!

Took a picture mid-work! Wanted a comparison picture. I absolutely loved the color going on!

And then it dried!

And it's different, but I STILL love it!

Here's some pics I just took tonight, featuring Feral Peter:

So yeah, the neighbors fence got stained, too. We had permission. The older wood does not at all match the new wood. But it's fine. At least it's closer to the same color now. I can live with it.

A little piece of drama that happened after this is that when they sprayed, I know they used some cardboard to try to mitigate the mist coming from it. But when they sprayed the gate in the front next to my corner neighbor (who already had the fence), some of it still drifted to their white SUV in their parking lot.

My neighbor was very cool when she let me know. I offered to pay for her car detailing. The Detail didn't get it out. Erk.

I did some research and let her know that rubbing alcohol or paint thinner should work so sayeth Car Dudes on the Internet. I also had a pair of Clay detailing mitts overnighted for them because that was also supposed to help.

I should text her tomorrow to make sure that it's all good now. I've asked her a couple of times to send me the total they spent and a method to pay them, haven't heard back.

Anyway, hopefully that bit is done. I need to talk to Joel about it still.

And yes, there's still all sorts of stuff back in the yard. I do need to drag that old rusty grill to the cub still, too. TBH that was the last I've seen so far of Jose and Maria. Let's skip ahead to Sunday...

Part Three: Sunday Visitor

I sent Joel a long text of "Here's what needs to be done still" on Friday. I'd noticed a little hole in the facing on my roof, there's some dirt and garbage that need to be moved/thrown away, and most importantly, there were three small leaks in the patio roof that needed to be taken care of before the patio ceiling could go on.

Joel showed up Sunday and fixed the little hole and leaks himself. We talked about the gutters that need to go up and when the ceiling can get done. He said sometime this week, it hasn't happened yet. I just texted him.

I also talked to my insurance about getting a discount now because of all the work. I need to send them receipts/work orders and pictures. Waiting to get the receipts/WOs from Joel. Don't worry -- I haven't paid him in full yet. If he wants to get the rest of the money, the works gotta be done, and I do believe it'll get done soon.

*Update*: Patio should be done tomorrow. Gutters on Saturday.

Part Four: I'm Going to Get the Right Power

I talked to my parents Friday morning, also. Talked through my finances, and the cost of the electrical work. Asked some friends who had theirs done and they agreed that Arturo's price was fair.

Decided to pull some money out of a savings account I really didn't want to touch, but decided that having my house not catch fire and burn down was worth it. Also to just finally have all my electronics grounded.

So I called Arturo back and asked him when he could come rewire the whole damn house.

We're still working on the date. And I keep a real close ear on the closet for any more 60+ year old fuses failing until then.

Savings... who needs savings? :p So that'll be a whole new update.

Part Five: Conquering the Mountain

OK so other news... the Garage and Laundry Mountain.

Wednesday night I had gotten almost all of the clothes out of Laundry Mountain and taken into the Guest Bedroom. I did a couple of loads of laundry along the way, too.

Friday I spent a little more time doing the rest of the major parts of the cleanout. Got all clothes out.

The towels are in their own pile in the garage still, and the sheets/blankets/pillowcases in another. But the clothes are... being dealt with first.

I threw away about three 12 gallon garbage bags of old, ratty, worn out or stained clothes.

I set aside about 2 bags for donate. That pile is going to grow.

Once the Mountain was inside, I then set to sorting it. Underthings and socks were semi-sorted in the garage originally, but I finished that. Pants went into two piles: Ones that fit, and ones that didn't. Then all shirts got sorted the same way. Coverups/jackets went into one pile and dresses into another.

Pants that were too small all got put away into the guest room dresser, as did a big drawer of shirts. Anything new that was too big got bagged up.

There's still a TUB of Too Small shirts sitting in the room. I thought I'd be able to put them in the dresser, but instead I discovered two drawers full of jeans that was given by someone a long time ago that I had completely forgotten about. Score. Those stayed. Gonna be a big money saver later on. :)

I got all the dresses and most of the jackets/coverups hung up. Socks sorted into pairs / singles.

And that's kind of where we are now. Big pile of shirts that fit, and I need to pull all the clothes out of my bedroom dresser for sorting, as well. Then things can start getting put away and I can make bigger decisions about what I want vs. what it's time to get rid of for what still fits.

For now.

That's a whole other post I've been meaning to make for a few months. Maybe when all this house drama is done.

Tuesday Trash Day the trash can was totally full. My recycle bin is totally full. I left about six more bags of trash, plus two old laundry hampers full, and several large boxes out for the bulk trash removal guys to take care of.

Look, the garage is still a disaster, but it's like, only 50% of the disaster it was a week and a half ago.

Once the clothes are dealt with in the next day or three, the towels and then the sheets/pillowcases are next. All of the rest of the STUFF in the garage can wait until it's not 100 degrees outside again. I've made such a huge dent that it shouldn't be too hard to finish... later.

Part Five: Odds and Ends.

I've done a bit of other cleanup. Tonight I grabbed some trashbags and did three (only partially filled but HEAVY!) bags of random garbage, mostly big rocks of cement, from my backyard. It still doesn't look great, but at least there's not chunks of debris scattered around. Aside from the obvious things in those pics above.

There's obviously a lot to be done to make the backyard nice, and I don't know when I'll have the money for it, but i did price out the one other big thing in the BY I've been dying to do since the day I moved in. It'll be about $700.

But I'm finally gonna do it.

Also, life is finding a way. From the ruins of my fallen tree...

Hard to tell but you can see that sprout in the first pic above of my completed fence. The tree that fell over in the storm onto the fence is trying to regrow.

I think I'm going to let it. Let's see what happens.

Probably update again after the house is rewired and I have a porch worth sitting under. :)

[broiderie]

Lost Princessa: Meet the Reaper 14

Here's 14. It's a filler and you can probably tell it, but I have edited it too many times. It's just going to have to be good enough y'all.

Warnings: cursing, mentions of weapons. I can't think of anything else. Let me know if I missed anything.

Don't steal my shit.

The bike shop was only fifteen minutes away, so Creeper rode with Megan and Hank. He threw a fit when Megan started to get in the back though. “Nah, Little Princess. You ain’t taking the back seat in your own car. I’ll ride with the pooch,” he said.

Hank had let the top back down so that they could feel the morning sun, so the ride was more than pleasant. Bishop, Taza, and Marcus led the way and Megan grinned. She was slightly windswept when they got there, but she was smiling happily. None of the men who’d been with her the first day missed the contrast.

Hank came around to open her door aws Creeper got out on his side with Rex following him. “Alright, mi princessa. Think you’ll be alright this time?” he asked.

Megan smiled. “Yeah. I think so. Just don’t look at the prices, right?” She handed him her kutte.

“Right, Chica,” Taza said from beside them. He took her kutte from Hank.

Inside they all scattered. Taza went to the counter with Bishop to collect her patches and get them sewed on for her. Usually, she’d sew them on herself after being awarded them, but that wasn’t an option with her arm right now.

Marcus drew Megan over to the side where there were Harley accessories for dogs. Hank smiled and followed her, putting his hands in his pockets.

Creeper glanced around and headed for the electronics section. He was determined that Megan’s bike needed a better stereo - especially since he’d have to wire the new intercom system anyway.

Megan immediately noticed a leather leash when Marcus showed her the dog section. The leash that Happy had given her was nylon and a little rough in her fingers. She absently picked it up to look at it. She showed it to Hank. “What do you think?”

“I think it matches your gear better than the nylon one, and it never hurts to have multiple leashes, mi amore.” Hank smiled.

Megan bit her lip. “True. We should probably get an extra harness at some point too…”

Marcus picked up a set of food and water bowls. They were stainless steel with Harley logos around the outside. “Here we go. Rex needs food and water bowls still, right? You can keep the temporary one in your car for when you need it.”

Megan nodded, “Alright.”

“What about for at the clubhouse?” Taza asked as he joined them. “Get a second set that can just stay there too.”

Marcus added a second set.

Hank chuckled as he realized that Megan wasn’t freaking out about price when it came to her precious pup. He picked up a couple of chew toys shaped like motorcycle tires, holding one down for Rex to take immediately. “Gotta get him some toys too.”

“Yeah, but there aren’t a lot here. We’ll have to go to the pet store when we get home,” Megan said absently as she looked at the shelves.

Taza smiled. “We could order them online and have it all waiting at the ranch when we get home…”

Megan perked up. “Really?”

The men chuckled. “Really.” Taza answered her. “We’ll get you set up on Amazon on your phone when we get back to the casino, Chica. Then you can order away.”

“A doggy door would be nice for the back door…” Megan said.

“Whatever you want, Sweetheart. Doggy doors for every door in the house and clubhouse. The prospect can put them in,” Taza promised.

Megan laughed. “Thank you, Papa.”

“Of course. Now, we’ve got about a half hour to kill while they finish with your kutte. Let’s go look at human accessories,” he said with a smile. He drew her gently over to the women’s section. “Look. These are hair wraps. They help keep your hair from snarling on long runs.” He pointed to the long pieces of laced leather. “We need to get you some for your braids.”

Megan bit her lip. “Well… it would be nice not to have so much brushing to do after riding…”

Taza grabbed two in every color there. He also grabbed two more of the scarfs that Coco had taught Megan to use as dust masks. “One for each bike…” he explained.

Bishop called her over. “Hey Poquito - come pick out some more sunglasses.”

“But Tío- I already have a pair…”

Yeah, well, a girl deserves options and these are safety glasses too. They won’t shatter like regular ones do if you wreck,” Bishop pointed out. “You need some to keep in your car too. I”d rather it be these than some cheapos that’ll hurt you if they break.”

In the end, Megan chose three new pairs of sunglasses before Bishop was satisfied. Hank smiled as he watched Megan try to argue the other men in her life out of buying her more things.

Creeper came to her rescue. “Hey, Little Princess, come look over here. There might be some things you want for your bike.”

Megan glanced at Hank who nodded that he’d follow and went to look with Rex.

Creeper had already chosen a stereo system for her bike that would fit with the new intercom Bishop had bought her. But there were many other options to customize her bike. “I don’t even know what I’ll need though,” Megan protested.

“Think about being on your Pop’s bike. Anything you’d change if you were in the driver’s seat?” Creeper asked.

Megan thought. “Papa has to sit forward a lot on his bike - and it’s too tall for me. Even the footpegs in the back are a stretch from the bitch seat.”

“Alright. So your handlebars are closer to the rider and the bike is shorter. That takes care of most of that. That’s why they got you the Slim. It’s got a better seat height for a smaller rider,” Creeper explained. “The tank is painted to match your helmet, but it’s got a standard seat on it still.” He pulled up pictures on his phone to show her. “I’ll add the intercom and stereo when we get home.”

“It’s such a pretty green,” she said with a smile.

Creeper chuckled. “All I did was match Hank’s paint job. He chose the color.” He pointed to a phone holder and a GPS. “I’d suggest one of these, or preferably both. You’ll be a new rider - AND new to the area. This would mean your less likely to get lost if you ride alone.”

Megan nodded. “Probably a good idea then.”

Creeper picked them up with a smile. “Not that I think it’ll be a problem much, but I’d rather you have them if you need them.”

Hank smiled softly as Creeper walked Megan through his reasoning behind buying different electronics for her. She even allowed him to pick up another cell phone holder and GPS for her car. The bald man was patient and explained things carefully enough that Megan never questioned how much he was buying. By the end of it, her bike would be the most tricked out bike in the club, and he loved that Creep managed to do it without setting off her panic. He used logic and reason to keep her calm and convince her that she needed things.

Marcus caught his eye and lifted the finished kutte to show him. Hank grinned. It was perfect. “Alright, mi amore. Your kutte is ready. Ready to go?” Hank asked as she and Creeper paused.

Megan grinned. “Sure. Are the others done shopping?”

“Looks like it,” Creep said, pointing to the door where Taza a Bishop sat with bags. “Go on, Little Princess. I’ll meet you guys over there. I’m gonna have them ship the parts to the yard for me.”

Megan squeezed his arm gratefully. “Thanks, Creeper.”

“You’re welcome. Be there in a minute.”

Megan and Hank made their way to the others to meet up with Rex trailing along faithfully. On the way there, a jewelry counter caught Hank’s eye. “Just a minute, mi amore.” He tugged her over to the counter where there were various forms of Harley themed jewelry. This spot had everything from cheap children’s necklaces to a few high dollar pieces. He pointed at a small case of charms for charm bracelets. “I think earning your patch deserves a charm, Princessa.”

Megan smiled a little. “You might be right…”

The clerk behind the counter came over. “Looking for anything in particular, ma’am?”

Megan held up her left wrist to display her charm bracelet. “Just a charm to remember today.”

“Are you the one patching, honey?” the older lady asked.

Megan nodded. “Yeah… I am.”

“Well, I’ve got a few here that might work-” the clerk pulled the case out and shifted through them before laying out a charm that looked like a kutte, one that looked like a top rocker, and one that matched the crossed pistols on her new patch. “Any of these feel right?”

Megan touched the rocker with a tiny smile. “Is it engravable?”

“Sure is.”

“Would you put ‘Mayans M.C.’ on it, please?” Megan asked.

“Of course. Be right back.”

Megan smiled up at Hank, who kissed her gently. “Look at you. Picked it out all on your own too. I was expecting a fight.”

Megan shook her head with a small smile up at him. “No. You’re right. This one deserves a charm.”

“Good.” He kissed her again and squeezed her waist, before pulling out his wallet to pay for the charm before the price was announced. Luckily the nice lady either seemed to understand or she remembered Megan’s breakdown last time. She rang him up without question.

“Have a nice day, you two. See you next time.” He handed Hank the little organza bag with the charm in it.

“You too!” Megan said as they went to meet everyone else.

They all loaded back up and headed back for the casino. Creeper was fast becoming good friends with Rex. The big dog was perfectly content having his ears rubbed by the bald biker in the back seat.

“So… what exactly is the procedure here?” Megan asked. “I assume it’s more than just handing me the kutte, or Tío would have done that at the store.”

Hank chuckled. “I’m not actually sure either since the vote already happened. Usually, you’d wait outside Templo while we vote, we’d most likely scared the shit out of you making you think we’d voted no before Taza would hand you your new patched to sew on before the party. At least that’s what we do to prospects.”

Creep laughed. “Yeah - that ain’t gonna work this time. He’s probably just going to present it to you when we all meet for lunch before the Galindo meeting, Little Princess. We’ll combine your patch party with your birthday party when we get you home.”

Megan shook her head with a smile. “Y’all are determined with this party thing, aren’t you?”

Hank kissed her knuckles with a smirk. “You’ll enjoy it. Promise.”

Creeper half-grinned. “Damn right you will. We’ll make sure of it.”

“Maybe we should see if Venus and maybe Tig, Happy, and Chibs want to come down for it. Maybe we’ll have good news for them by then,” Megan suggested.

“Your party, mi amore. You invite whoever you want,” Hank assured her, pulling into a parking space.

Taza came to help her with her door as Hank, Creeper and Rex got out on the driver’s side. “Well Chica - what would you like for lunch? We’re ordering up to the suite,” he asked.

“I’m really not hungry, Papa - “ she said, looking up at him.

“Just something light then? You should eat before the meeting. We’re not sure how long Galindo will need us,” Taza explained.

Megan shrugged a little. “If you say so…”

“What about a salad or something, Princessa? Or a sandwich?” Hank suggested.

“Actually - a salad does sound good,” Megan admitted.

Creeper brought her Rex’s leash from where he’d taken him to do his business. “Yeah. I think so too.”

Taza chuckled. “Alright. Is chicken okay? Get a little protein in there.”

Megan laughed. “Sure, Papa.”

He kissed her head. “Alright. Your padrinos and I will order lunch and round up the others for Templo. You go rest a bit. Take your medicine. You should be overdue for it.”

“She is,” Hank said. “C’mon, mi reina. Let’s go decompress for a bit.”

Megan took Rex’s leash from Creeper with a smile and leaned in to the arm Hank slid around her waist as they headed for the elevators.

In the room, Hank encouraged Megan to lay down for a while after he got ehr to take her medicine. She protested, but he promised her that her papa had plans for them this evening and she’d enjoy them more if she wasn’t too tired.

“Will you stay with me?” she finally asked.

“Of course, mi amore.” He grabbed his book from his bag and sat himself against the headboard so she could snuggle down with her head in his lap. Once she was situated, he stroked her hair and neck gently. “Rest, mi princessa.”

An hour or so later, Taza poked his head in with a smile. “Lunch is ready, hermano,” he called softly. “Galindo will be here in about two hours.”

Hank sat aside his book. “Alright. I’ll wake her up.”

“Good. Her padrinos want her to have her kutte before lunch. They’ll be ready when you bring her out.” Taza patted the doorway and looked at Rex. “Rex, come.”

The dog looked to Hank.

“Go on Rex. Go eat,” Hank encouraged.

The big dog stood from where he was laying at the foot of the bed, shook himself, and followed Taza from the room.

Hank smiled down at Megan sleeping peacefully in his lap. He smoothed some stray hair back into her braid. “Time to wake up, mi amore. Your papa and tíos are ready with lunch.” He gently traced her cheekbone with the back of his fingers.

Megan’s eyelashes fluttered open with her little wake up squeak. “Mm?”

“Are you awake, baby?” he asked with a smile.

“Mmhmm,” she smiled and nuzzled against his thigh through his jeans.

He chuckled and shifted a little. He could feel the heat of her breath through his pants. “Are you comfy?”

“Very.”

“Good, but we still need to get up so we can get lunch in you before we need to meet with Galindo.” He rubbed his thumb gently along her jaw.

“Okay.” She stretched where she could before sitting up slowly.

Hank guided her up before pressing a kiss to the back of her neck. He pulled his own boots back on, before going to help Megan with hers only to realize that her new ones had zippers on the sides. She slid her guns back into the holster she still wore and the knife back into its sheath. Sleeping had loosened her hair enough that she simply untied it and brushed it down with the fingers of her good hand.

“My kutte should conceal the weapons, right?” she asked, eyeing the discarded flannel.

“Should, mi amore. If we meet on the casino floor, we’ll have to check them anyway. Tribal law says no firearms on the casino level,” Hank assured her.

Megan nodded. “But my knife…”

“Can stay with you, as can Rex. Law only covers guns,” he said with a smile.

“Alright then. Let’s go eat.”

Hank shrugged into his kutte from where it was hanging on the chair in the room. “Alright, mi princessa.” He followed her out to the common room.

The entire Santo Padre chapter was waiting for them. Bishop stood front and center flanked by Taza and Riz with the other men behind them. Megan stopped in front of her tío. Bishop smiled down at her. “Last night, we voted to appoint you our armorer for the Santo Padre charter of the Mayans Motorcycle Club, Megan. Today, you get your kutte. This kutte is the symbol of your connection with our M.C. It’s as sacred as anything can be in this life and the true symbol of the brotherhood we all share. Always remember that.”

Megan nodded solemnly. “Yes sir.” She swallowed hard.

Bishop turned to Marcus who was standing back, holding Megan’s kutte folded over his arm, and reached for it. Marcus handed it over. Then he turned back to Megan, but he looked at Hank. “Tranq, we couldn’t decide who would patch her in. Marcus can’t - he’s not SanPad. Taza is her blood. Bylaws say blood sponsoring blood isn’t recommended. I didn’t feel right doing it when Marcus and Taza can’t. So… it falls to you, hermano.” He held the new kutte out to Hank. “Patch in our Armorer.”

Hank smiled and took the kutte from Bishop before going to help Megan put it on by easing her sling and slipping it over her casted arm before supporting that arm for her so she could slip her good arm in the kutte. He quickly redid her sling before smiling at her. “Megan Morales - Welcome to the tribe.”

Megan smiled back up at him as the men whooped and cheered.

Megan got hugs from everyone as Rex bounced excitedly around the room.

They sat down to lunch where Megan got her salad, but she barely ate any of it between talking to everyone. The men debated whether they should head directly back to Santo Padre to start planning her patch party after the Galindo meeting. Megan continued to insist that she wasn’t a patch and therefore there shouldn’t be a patch party.

“Fine then - your birthday party slash ‘appointment’ party then,” said Gilly.

“We need to give people time to come, man,” Coco said. “Bet the Reapers would come if we called. Oakland will probably want to represent too.” He glanced at Marco and José. “Right?”

Marco laughed. “Oh yeah. I’ll make the calls if you want. Give us time to get here.”

José nodded seriously.

There was a knock on the suite door and Bishop nodded for EZ to answer it. Adam stood there. “Mr. Galindo has arrived. We put him in the big conference room.”

Taza nodded. “Thank you, Adam. We’re on our way down.”

Adam nodded. “Don’t forget to check your weapons at the desk, please.”

Bishop nodded.

Megan took a deep breath and called Rex. She put his new leash on his collar, before looking to her father and Bishop. They both nodded in satisfaction. Hank pressed a hand to her lower back and she relaxed a little.

After checking all guns at the front desk, the club made their way to the large, comfortable conference room. It made Megan smile a bit as they passed the room where she’d waited so nervously to meet Taza.

Inside the room, Miguel Galindo waited with the older man Megan had met with Marcus - Devante. A blonde woman was there too, dressed professionally but obviously on Galindo’s arm. The men all greeted each other with handshakes.

“My wife, Emily,” Galindo said, “will be joining us.”

“Of course,” Marcus said with a smile. “Mrs. Galindo,” he greeted her. Then he waved Megan forward. “We’ve made some additions to our club as well.” Megan stepped up, keeping her head high. “You remember my god daughter, Megan. She’s also Bishop’s god daughter and blood daughter to Taza. She’s going to be handling our armory from now on. Princessa, this is Miguel Galindo.”

Megan held Rex’s leash tight and nodded to the cartel boss and his wife. “Mr. and Mrs. Galindo.”

“Ah yes. The little princess from Tennessee. Good to see you’re relatively unharmed from your run in with your… brother, was it?” Galindo asked.

“Foster brother. But yes, sir.”

“Good. I’ll have to make formal introductions to my head of security later, I’m afraid. He’s currently handling another situation, but you remember Devante,”  Galindo said with a smile.

“Of course,” Megan gave a brief and business-like nod.

“We should get to business then,” Bishop said. “Megan…”

Megan stepped back to stand beside Hank as Marcus, Bishop, and TAza took seats with the head of the cartel and his advisors.

Miguel Galindo outlined the deal that he was forced to sign with the feds calmly and deliberately despite Devante protesting. When he was done, all the Mayans were tense. Then Miguel explained that he had an ace up his sleeve. His security detail escorted a young woman that they all recognized into the room. Adelita, the female rebel leader of Los Olvidados. The woman that the M.C. had been trying to track down for months.

Megan sucked in her breath and glanced at the rest of the M.C. for their reactions. Strangely - Angel, Gilly, Coco, and EZ looked the least surprised. She had expected Angel, at least, to blow his top.

“My organization is no longer at odds with Los Olvidados,” Miguel stated. He went on to explain that they wanted the Santo Padre Mayans to be the third party that they used to keep each other honest. 

The arrangement was discussed in detail, with all parties agreeing. Megan stood back with her mind racing. The LO were huge. They had so much control over different parts of Mexico all along the border. It’s what made them hell to try to track. Did they have access to a port?

Hank leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Are you okay, mi princessa? Need a breather?”

Megan shook her head subtly, and stood on her toes to whisper back, “We need to meet with Adelita without Galindo.”

Hank frowned a little and ducked his head so he could hear her better. “Why?” he asked simply. He knew that her mind had seen something that the rest of them had missed.

“The LO,” Megan explained. “They could be our answer to our port problem. They’re huge. You can’t tell me they don’t have access to a port in Mexico,” she whispered quickly.

Hank’s eyebrows hit his hairline.

“And for the twenty percent we were going to offer the Vatos - that’s a lot of supplies for Adelita’s orphans…” Megan explained with a small smile.

Hank grinned and couldn’t help but kiss her, hard. “Damn, Princessa. I love you and the way your brain works.” He glanced at Taza who was looking their way curiously. “Let’s run it by your papa.” He beckoned to Taza.

Megan’s father excused himself from the main group for a moment and came to meet them against the back wall. “Everything alright?”

Megan grinned at him as Hank answered. “Just La Princessa proving we were right to give her that damn kutte. She may have a solution to our Irish problem.”

Taza’s face went from shocked to absolutely proud as hell. “Alright. I’m listening.”

Megan outlined what she’d told Hank about the LO. She’d been listening more than they knew when they discussed the hunt for Adelita. “And,” she said, “it tied the LO to us as much as to the cartel, lessening the chance of a double cross even more,” she finished.

Taza smiled from ear to ear. He pressed a kiss to Megan’s forehead proudly. “Chica, you’re fucking brilliant. We’ll talk to Bish and El Padrino as soon as this breaks up. We’ll make sure to have contact with Adelita.” He nudged her chin with his finger. “Proud of you, Chica.”

Megan smiled some more. “Thanks, Papa.” 

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[loveofbots]

I was thinkin about Red Alert and tryin to fix my writers block, Red uses She/He pronouns- reader can have any gender

Warnings: 18+, needy reader, soft and fluffy

Red Alert was out surveying hot spots on Luna-1 once again. His backstruts groaning from the strain of being bent over all day. The mech rolled her shoulders and sat down for a moment, simply taking in the quiet of the moon. Her peace was interrupted when a private comm message came through.

Y/N: I miss you

Red smiled, knowing his lover must’ve just woken up without him there. He conjured the mental image of them laying in bed all sleepy and cozy waiting for his return.

Red Alert: Good morning, Love.

The red and white bot’s spark hummed a little harder at the thought of you snuggled up into his chassis. One of these days she’d take the morning off just to stay with you.

What Red Alert didn’t know was how much you longed for him. You felt empty without your sparkmate by your side. Chewing on your derma you debated sending the next message, but your spark yearned for Red, and it couldn’t wait.

Y/N: I need you to come home, I can’t spend another klik without you here right now.

This made the mech stand up right away, sending several messages asking about your well-being and if something happened. Quickly you reassured him.

Y/N: I’m okay sweetspark, sorry for worrying you. I’m just…

Red Alert held his venting in anticipation. Were you hurt? Surely you would tell him if you were.

Y/N: I need to make love to you right now.

Suddenly a blanket of heat drenched his frame. Oh. Red felt a familiar ache in his panels and transformed into his alt mode. This time his work would wait.

Red Alert: I’ll be there in 5.

Not even that long, Red opened the door to your shared hab suite venting a little heavily. You could tell by the gentle tremble in his frame that he was feeling the same as you. Especially when he walked over and captured your derma with his making you moan into his mouth. You pulled him back into the berth with you, arms wrapping around him and tangling your legs together. With a huff you broke the kiss and began attacking his sensitive wiring around his neck and made him groan. Red Alert’s hips canted into your thigh plating to create some friction and it started to drive you wild.

“What… hah, what got into you today?” The mech gasped out when your servos groped his ass. Through bared teeth you whispered your reply.

“Needed you. It’s been much too long since I…” You were cut off by a moan that bubbled up in your throat when Red’s digits caressed the cables in your hips and thighs. “Since I made love with you.” The rest came out in a whine that nearly broke Red Alert’s resolve right then and there. The two of your started to grind against each other.

“Where… how do you want to do it?” Red could barely speak between all the kisses you shared with him. His vents sputtered when he you parted and he saw the absolute love and adoration in your optics.

“I need to be inside of you.”

………………………………………….

Red Alert’s faceplate heated up. It wasn’t like this was your first time together, but it was that hungry, carnal look you gave him with your face so close to his valve that made her shake. Your digits ghosted the base of his spike and around the soft lips of her valve. You were drinking it all in. Finally you wouldn’t wait for what you wanted, and pressed your mouth to her wet cunt. Immediately he threw his head back, bucking his hips when your servo wrapped around his spike and started to pump it up and down in tandem with your soft licks.

Primus, there was a reason he chose you. For your smarts, your reliability, and so many other things. But the best treat of it all was how lovingly you tongue fucked her valve. She never lasted very long with you. Maybe it was for the best, as your spike leaked trans fluid and valve becoming slick as well. Red’s moans became louder and louder as she neared her overload. His servos found your helm and held it gently as you continued to lap and stroke his spike. Breathily Red Alert praised you.

“Feels so good~ I love that you make me feel this way.” Swirling your tongue around her node made Red arch his back, exhaling sharply. “Primus! So close-“ A few more aggressive kisses and curling your fingers around her spike just right, Red overloaded hard. His vents came hard and heavy as he released his transfluid all over his stomach and into your mouth.

Hungrily you licked it all up, cleaning Red Alert as well. He cooed to you softly and held your cheek. You had made him overload so hard and you deserved to overload as well. He kissed you deeply, tasting himself on your derma as he flipped you over and straddled your hips. Your gentle servos guided her hips over your spike and he gently caressed your face to make you look him in the eyes while he sank down on your spike.

Your digits gripped the berth, hanging on as his valve fit your spike just right. He drew moans from you just by sitting on your hips, it was too much.

“Still with me?” He chuckled a bit and kissed your helm, servos resting on your chassis. Her voice brought you out of the mind numbing pleasure and you nodded. Albeit a bit dazed and drunk on love. Your servos grabbed at any part of him you could, trying to ground yourself. When you finally did you looked down where the two of you were connected and grew warm.

“It’s always a pleasure to see us like this.” You muttered lovingly, making Red’s spark melt. He chose the right Conjux for sure. “You can move now.”

So she did, her calipers squeezing your spike and transfluids running over your bio lights. Red enjoyed the show of ecstasy on your face while he rode you. Spike hitting every part of his valve that made him shiver. He picked up the pace and your hands found his hips. Propping yourself up on your elbow you kissed Red Alert sloppily, trying so hard to stay in one place.

“Sweetspark if you keep going like this I won’t be able to hold back much longer.” The way your digits scrapped his paint made him chuckle, teasing you by swirling his hips. “Please.” You begged. Optics screwed shut in concentration. The way your spike jerked inside Red Alert made the two of you moan together. She leaned down and your chassis pressed together, groaning to you softly.

“Show me you love me.” The words made a growl start in your throat. It was thrown out with a deep, whimpering moan. At just the right moment your arms wrapped around his body, holding Red still as you pounded up into her. Transfluid already dribbling down your spike from her valve you began to fuck yourself stupid. Watching Red take you again and again made you whine into your lovers neck. Moans turning into grunts as you fucked both of you into overload. Your transfluid spilling into his valve you couldn’t stop until his calipers milked every last drop out of you.

With one final thrust Red collapsed onto you. Leaving the two of you venting hard holding each other on the berth. While he recovered you peppered Red Alert’s face with kisses and mumbled how much you loved him. After your spike depressurized and panels slid back into place you laid your lover on her side. She smiled at you and pulled you closer again not letting you leave.

“You did great Y/N.” His arms pulled you close and your buried your face into his chest, finding comfort in Red Alert.

“Mmm, couldn’t have done it without you.” Red laughed at your joke and kissed you softly again. Her humming spark lulling you back into recharge.

Whatever you needed him for, he’d be there.

[bunposting]

hi!! new zealand rabbit anon here again! i hope i’m not a bother but i love your posts and love adding my own advice and stories!

but for those wondering about rabbits in the heat, i raise in texas, my rabbits live outside year round, and here’s how i’ve managed!

- for starters, the wire hutch thing is totally true. my rabbits have large wire hutches with lots of air flow, and a roof raised about six inches above the tops of the cages to provide even more air flow. the cages are large enough for them to completely stretch out in (which they should be regardless) and they spend most of the summer days stretched out to get what little breeze they can. the hutches are also placed in the most sheltered and shady part of the yard, so they only have direct sunlight for a few hours a day at most

- electrolytes!! i bought a huge bottle from allthingsbunnies.com for pretty cheap and it’s lasted me multiple years. i try to provide them year round but especially in the summer. they increase water intake and help them to hold onto that hydration. super awesome!

- RABBIT POPSICLES! i love making these haha. i chop up some fruit, throw it in muffin tins, fill them with water and freeze for a few hours. the rabbits love them, and they’re a fun and enriching way to get them a bit of extra water for some tasty treats. i mostly use strawberries because that’s what we have on hand always, plus they have lots of water. i also occasionally, on those 100 degree days, provide ice packs. i tried the frozen water bottles but just like you, mine chewed right though them. now i use the hard plastic ice packs that can resist all kinds of chomping and stretching, and give the rabbits something cold to lick and lean against

i’ve been meaning to try out the granite/ceramic tile thing but never got around to it. thankfully my rabbits are pretty heat resistant, and i’ve never had a heatstroke yet! (anxiously crossing fingers lol)

and sorry, one last ramble for the other ask you answered. rabbit bucks are so sweet! mine would make a fantastic pet, and likely will when he’s ready to retire from the breeding scene. he’s cuddly, friendly, smart, and totally brave and curious about new things. he loves to be held. he won’t let me pour his food in the morning if he doesn’t get adequate head scratches first. if he’s outside in his playpen and not getting enough attention, he’ll jump the fence and come over for cuddles. the only downside is that he’s a sprayer. i’ve gotten it in my mouth before 💀. otherwise the sweetest rabbit you’ll meet.

my does are certainly not the same! even after having them for three years, one still doesn’t like me, and the other has only just started liking me within the last six months. they are much more temperamental, the only exception being when they are pregnant and nursing, likely from the oxytocin going on. i adore them regardless, but honestly if you’re looking for a sweet rabbit, get a buck!

thus ends my miles long ask. apologies for totally rambling in your inbox. have a lovely day!!

No need to apologize for the rambling - you've made such awesome additions here!!! Thanks so much for the ask!

[ninjastormhawkkat]

Mouse Man AU

So I was talking about an au idea I had with eris in the dms about Steven Boxleitner and I finally got a title for it.

So in this au the accident happens, but Steven does not get fused to Squeaky. Instead he gets spliced with mouse genetics. Squeaky is fine and Steven can unfortunately understand him now and other mice. Steven becomes half human and half mice. He looks like Dr. Two Brains but without the mouse brain and no evil. Steven still has an appetite for cheese but it is not as strong as tb's and he usually makes his own cheese or buys them. He deals with his new mouse instincts and traits in his job, social life, and his family life as well.

As for who takes the mad scientist role of Dr. Two Brains, I was originally not going to have someone else take Two Brain's role and just put other villains for his episodes but with different gimmicks. Steven just has more of an active role in helping Becky with her hero stuff in these episodes. But I decided to change that.

I decided to make Eris's oc Dr. James Jenkins as the mad scientist villain. The reason for turning to villainy was that he became disgruntled with how the science community treated him and one day he snaps. He uses villainous schemes to show Fair City just how much of a great scientist he is. He does not get fused to an animal throughout the au. The henchmen are his henchmen in this au.

The Mouse Brain Takeover is a bit like Eris's lab mouse au. Steven at one point gets tired of dealing with his mouse genes and tries to build a ray to reverse the genes back to human genes. The ray backfires and instead it switches Steven's human brainwaves for mice brainwaves and now he thinks he is a mouse and act like a mouse would. So now Becky not only has to stop Dr. Jenkins' latest scheme she also has to deal with saving her dad. Steven snaps back to normal after chewing electrical wires shutting down Dr. Jenkins' goop ray he was gonna use on Wordgirl as part of his scheme to capture and defeat her with his brilliant invention in his quest to prove to the scientific community just how great of a scientist he is. The electrical wires shock Steven's brain back to normalcy.

Eris also made the idea where for the brain swap episode. Steven and Becky swap minds while Bob and Dr. Jenkins swap minds.

I added this part: Jenkins tries to do evil with Bob's body, Steven tries to control Becky's powers. Becky deals with mouse instincts - runs into a few cats oof. Bob is trying to wrestle with Jenkins. The Henchmen don't know what is going on.

Eris said at the end Steven is able to subdue Jenkins and is able to build another mind swap device with Becky's super speed.

So a bit like the canon ending.

A running joke I made for this part that also applies to my Mousekit au is that all the adult villains around Steven's age try to flirt with him and take him out on a date after the meet him. Becky unfortunately figures it out pretty fast. especially when the villains start making deals that they would stop their crimes if they get to date the mouse man or ask Wordgirl to give him flowers and romantic gifts since they know she is friends with him. They ignore that the hero they fight is close friends with Steven because they find him cute.

Dr. James Jenkins is an oc created by @drtwobrainsstuff

@melodythebunny

@liloskull343

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

…Thoughts on Beck?

Oh, so many.

First of all thank @nctzenkane for getting me into this brainrot because he wouldn't stop dropping Victorious memes into our conversations. I did watch some of it when it was first airing when I was younger, but the main Dan Schneider Nickelodeon show I remember watching was iCarly (which was very beloved to me), and I did watch a lot of Drake and Josh - but oddly enough, I just remember Drake and Josh being on TV, but I don't remember specific moments from it.

Also, even though it was from longer ago, I have so many distinct memories from watching The Amanda Show. I remember their skits about the wizard with a scar shaped like a chicken wing, and at the time, I didn't even get the joke, because I watched that show before I was into Harry Potter. Which is weird.

Anyway - Beck?

Idk if I should keep this PG-13 because the show is technically about high schoolers and the number one way to get drawn and quartered on the internet is to write about high school fictional characters in an inappropriate way. Even though I'm the same age as them (the actors - and I was the same age as the characters when the show was coming out) - and my inappropriate thoughts started when I saw Avan Jogia make a comeback on tiktok purposefully thirstrapping everyone who thought he was hot when he was on Victorious. idk. it's confusing.

All of my thoughts about Beck are really about Beck and Jade as a pair. Like if you follow me, you know my brain is so poly wired, and I have become obsessed with the idea of being in a poly relationship with them because clearly they could use some balance in their relationship - some to mediate for them and balance them out.

One thing that really sticks out to me while rewatching the show is this one moment at the beginning of season 2 - when Tori is being tricked by that guy who dates girls just for good grades, and Jade really snarkily says 'wow, that must have hurt when you found out', and Beck immediately turns to her and says 'okay, time out!' and Jade tries to argue, and Beck is fully serious, and makes her go sit on the stairs for a timeout.

Like - it screams casual dominance in a sub/dom relationship to me. And there are few other times when Beck really seems like the dominant one in their relationship ("two sugars!" "I know what to do" like the subtle CARING UUUUNG I'M CHEWING ON THE FURNITURE) - but when he does, it comes off so naturally. Especially because when Jade breaks up with Beck during her emotional jealousy fit, she bawls and cries and falls apart, and it really seems like she relies on him for so much subtle support that a dom would give.

He is someone who is more reserved and quiet and thoughtful, but like his gentle dom energy is so - interesting.

That's what I'll say for now. Interesting.

(I have many more thoughts but I am afraid to unleash them.)