#HELLO I MISSED THEM A LOT SO HERE IS THIS GARBAGE

[cursivebloodlines]

"Still, a bit extreme, don't you think?" Although on second thought, maybe not. Lydia was well aware of the importance of needing to be careful but even this seemed a bit like overkill. Besides, what was it he had said before? That if someone tried anything, he would know about it faster than she could even blink? Oh, and that nobody would even try anything because of his reputation. In different words and probably far fewer words but that was a reminder swirling around in her head. Did he really think people were pathetic enough to try and cause chaos on his wedding day? That being said, she supposed she could understand to a degree, given whatever he involved himself with. After finding out about her father, she'd never been the same since. Their relationship was rocky at best, and even Lydia knew she needed to tread very carefully around the man. At least Ivan was honest with her and she knew where she stood with him. If he caught her trying anything with him, she'd be dead. Heck, if she were a man, she would already be. They already had that conversation. But her father? Lydia knew he did not hesitate to stick a knife in someone's back, and she knew all it would take was a fraction of a second for him to turn on someone. He used people to his advantage, took what he could get from them to get ahead, and disposed of them when they weren't of use to him anymore, or a better offer came along. Whatever means necessary. He'd told her that to her face. The thought of him trying something today, his daughter's wedding day, had crossed her mind a couple of times but she dismissed it because he was too on board with the idea. Too eager. Which only made her unable to stand him even more. Encouraged her to stay as far away from the man as humanly possible. And she never even considered Ivan may have been concerned about him since they came up with the stupid idea between them and Lydia was forced - and very bitterly so - to go along with it. Deep down, though, she thought maybe somewhere, deep, deep down in whatever was left of his soul, he still loved his daughter but had the most peculiar way of showing it. That if it boiled down to it, he would not put his only daughter in jeopardy. To say she trusted him would be bullshit, though. Lydia didn't trust anyone, not anymore. Trust needed to be earned, and so far everyone proved time and time again that she could not trust anymore, no matter what.

His question about whether she could see her feet earned a laugh leaving her lips. A laugh! Was she actually laughing at something her husband said? Without any indicator of sarcasm or malice? That had to be a first for her today. Not to be mistaken for softening up for him because that wasn’t the case and would never be. At least, that was what she convinced herself of. She couldn't stand him or anything he stood for. Yet there were all of these filthy thoughts lingering in her mind, thanks to before. “No, not that I need to look at my feet but now I definitely can’t…Not with you and your big head blocking my vision.” A pathetic rebuttal, really. And a weak one for her. But it wouldn’t be Lydia if she didn’t come up with something or other. Or at the very least tried to sound like she was composed, put together. But this time, instead of it being spoken in the usual sour tone she had especially for him, it was more teasing and even playful. It was literally anything to distract her from all the other thoughts running rampant in her mind, trying to forget whatever that was back in the elevator. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to only moments before. God, this man was going to be the death of her. "Maybe they would. But now we'll never know because the hero of the hour is upon us. My two brain cells are eternally grateful." Quite possibly the nicest thing she had said to him this far. Were they...bantering? Such a peculiar feeling it was. She had grown accustomed to dishing out snide remarks and hearing sneering retorts in return. This? This was a bit different. Like they were actually joking. Like they were actually tolerating each other. Whatever. It meant nothing. She was sure it wouldn't take long before they were hurling insults at each other once again. With the buckles of her shoes removed, Lydia stepped out of them, letting her feet brush against the floor. Making no effort to put on the new pair.

Yet...the atmosphere changed once more. With a question from her husband's mouth, there was the sexual tension permeating the atmosphere once again. All that mental effort to sort herself out and shed whatever feelings she'd had back in the elevator, the attempts evaporated into thin air with a few mere words from Ivan. A wicked smirk graced the woman's lips as she carefully eyed him, considering her answer with a thoughtful hum, which turned into a quiet but audible gasp as his hand came into contact with her skin, brushing against her leg. Her pulse quickened, her stomach doing flips laced with both anticipation and excitement. "Need? Oh, I don't know - needing and wanting are two different things..." she teased, goosebumps rising against her skin at the contact. Growing impatient, Lydia needed him to do something - anything at this point. Preferably without interruption, but she was growing restless. How could she think straight when he was on the floor before her, his fingers exploring underneath her dress? His lips followed suit. "Ivan, please -" she let out a breath, breathing pattern growing heavier as his lips pressed against her thigh. Closer, but still not enough. And she was impatient. Lydia's eyes almost widened at the sound of her own voice, how needy she sounded - almost like she was about to beg him. But no, of course, she wasn't about to do that. She let her fingers brush through his hair, beckoning him a little more forward with a light push, adjusting herself so he was that little bit closer to where she so desperately craved him. "I think it's time you got that answer to your question back in the elevator," she murmured, her other hand reaching down to her dress, attempting to lift it up higher. His words echoed through her mind: If I lift up that dress, are you going to be wet? So bold, and if she were in the right mind, she would've ought to have slapped him for that. But at the same time, he had caught her off guard - and it didn't help how hot it sounded, coming from his mouth. She couldn't stop thinking about it. The what ifs. But hopefully, now she was about to get the answer to that question. Hopefully. "Now, preferably," Lydia added at the end, a signal of her impatience.

"I don't even trust my own shadow, princess" Ivan wasn't going to bluntly tell her that he didn't trust her father one bit. Her father looked like the kind of person who couldn't wait to stab anyone who presented a threat to his organization, no matter if they were allies and if he did it from behind. Ivan wasn't paranoid, he was just being careful. Especially if a dangerous man like Lydia's father was involved in the equation. He didn't care that he was married to the man's daughter, if Ivan had to guess, it made him an even bigger target because it had put him right under the man's radar. The fact that he was married to Lydia probably meant nothing to the man who hadn't hesitated to 'marry off' his daughter to a very dangerous man like him to begin with. That was weird cause, who would do that? but Ivan was glad he had gotten away with it without any conflict with her father after all. Even if they took her father out of the equation, the mere fact that she was married to him put her at risk. Just as Ivan had worked his way to the top with blood and sweat, he had left more than one unhappy person along the way. His wedding day would be a good day to get something done with all the attention on the celebrations. He made a mental note to have a talk with her in the next days. Lydia needed to be exactly aware of the danger she might be in. Well, she always had been due to her dad but now she was also married. Ivan saw no point in keeping her in the dark, smart as she was, knowledge was power in Lydia's case. She couldn't know everything or the dirty details but she needed to know she should have her eyes open. He needed her to understand the importance of trusting her instincts. If anything ever told her to get the hell out of a place, Lydia had to understand that she had to do that and then call her husband. With some luck she would keep her eyes open to anything that seemed strange and tell Ivan right away. Although something told him that she wouldn't call him cause she was just that proud and currently hated him that much no matter what her body said.

His fingers caressed her skin slowly. Her skin was warm, it was soft and Ivan could swear that he had the same scent of jasmine as her perfume. He rolled his eyes at her when he heard her "Yeah, sure, I bet you can" Her voice was full of sarcasm. Hopefully she could even see what color her shoes were. Ivan looked up to her and raised his eyebrows. "Can you even see your feet in this dress?" He replied with a mocking tone. If he were in her place, Ivan couldn't see his own feet. Mainly because in order to be able to take off her shows, Lydia needed lift her skirt and take off her shoes. Unless his wife was Wonder Woman, she would need help, and Ivan had known enough about Lydia in the past two hours to know that she was headstrong enough to risk a fall and break her neck rather than ask for help. the "I bet both of your brain cells would have a field day trying to bend down and find your feet at the same time you lift your skirt, sweetheart" He had every intention of sounding funny. At least if he was messing around he didn't have to think about how tempting she looked right now and the fact that for the first time since they were husband and wife, they were alone within four walls. Ivan ran her fingers through the buckle of one of her shoes and undid it before doing the same to the other. Ivan wanted more, he wanted to do something more than feel her skin on her fingers. If he had been up to it, he would have taken Lydia right there in that elevator without a problem. He would just stop the thing but he wanted to take his time exploring his cranky little wife.

"Do you have anything else for me around here, wife?" The tone shifted and now it was suggestive. That was a much nicer way for Ivan to ask her if she wanted something else from him. Something like his fingers or his mouth somewhere else. Now he knew for sure after the elevator thing that he wasn't the only one who was feeling all that sexual tension and heat when they were together. Also all that could be part of the flirtation that both seemed to have in that tug-of-war just married relationship. The position Ivan was in, still crouched in front of her, opened his mind to a universe of possibilities. Among them, doing something much more fun and satisfying for both of them than having to be eating dinner and greeting guests downstairs. In fact, if it weren't for face-saving reasons, Ivan would have no problem screwing everything up and staying in that bedroom with Lydia for the rest of the night. His fingers slid under her dress to just above her knee, caressing her skin and giving her a gentle squeeze "Or maybe you need something else from me?" His other hand moved up the fabric of her dress gently before exposing much of her legs and kissing the outer side of her thigh. It was a bold move but with everything that had happened in the elevator, Ivan hoped it would pay off.

[auras-moonstone]

hi! i love the way you write and was hoping if you had time for this rec :) ethan x reader

it's inspired by 'the summer i turned pretty'

y/n is the bailey's childhood friend, she was very close to ethan and quinn growing up, but when she comes back to newyork, richie is suddenly very interested in her and the shitty brother that he is, he know that ethan had a thing for her.

"You think she's pretty?" richie asked ethan one day.

"Yeah, and you do too," ethan replied already annoyed, trying to brush it off.

"I hadn't noticed, really," richie said, smirking.

"Come on, man. I've noticed you noticing"

richie is the it-boy of the town, always gets what he wants, cocky and arrogant. y/n was the only thing ethan had for himself only.

sorry if its long 😭😭 its mostly angsty id say, y/n is surprised someone like richie likes her but her heart has always been yearning for ethan whom she thinks will never see her that way.

childhood best friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes so i really had a lot of fun writing this! hope you like it💓🫶🏻

you’re my best friend — ethan landry

word count: 2,465

pairing: ethan landry x fem!reader

summary: when y/n goes back to new york city she finds out two things—she’s still crushing on ethan and richie took an interest in her.

WHEN Y/N AND HIS FAMILY HAD TO LEAVE NEW YORK FOR LONDON, THE BAILEY’S WERE LEFT HEARTBROKEN, ESPECIALLY QUINN AND ETHAN. Both of their families had been close since forever, so Quinn, Ethan, Y/N and Richie grew up together and the first three developed a really close friendship.

Y/N’s dad got a promotion, so they had to move to England, where Y/N finished high school and started college. Now, though, her dad had been offered to go back to New York if he wanted. And because he missed the city and his friends, he said yes.

The first thing Y/N did when she found out was text her best friends—Quinn and Ethan, with whom she had kept contact with despite the distance. She was excited to see them, and wondered what she would feel when she finally saw Ethan again. She’d like to think she got over her crush, but that’s because they hadn’t seen each other in four years.

And there she was, about to find out. Y/N was standing in front of the Bailey’s house with her parents behind her. The door opened and Y/N’s chest grew tight in anticipation, and then she held a sigh of disappointment when Wayne’s face appeared.

The older man greeted her parents with enthusiasm, and when it was her time to say hello, the man opened his mouth in shock “Oh my! You’ve grown a lot! It’s nice to see you again, Y/N”

“You too, Wayne” she hugged him awkwardly. Y/N wasn’t his biggest fan, she still remember all too well the way he treated Ethan. Always comparing him to Richie, making him feel like garbage.

“Quinn and Richie are in the kitchen” he informed her. She nodded and made her way to said place.

As soon as she set foot on the big kitchen, she was attacked by a hug. “Oh my god! You’re here!” she recognized the voice of Quinn.

“I’m here! I missed you” she broke the hug to take a look at her friend’s new hairstyle “Red is definitely your color, Q. You look so good.”

“And London certainly benefited you, holy shit. You look hot. Give me a chance?” the red-head joked.

“Absolutely” she laughed, hugging her once more. “I can’t believe I’m back”

“Hi, Y/N” Richie finally managed to find his voice. He had been completely entranced by the girl. Quinn was right, she got hot. He had never noticed her, because well, he had always seen her as his sibling’s friend and because she had been 15 when she left. Now, she was 19 and super attractive.

“Oh, sorry. Hi, Richie. Nice to see you again” she gave him a little wave. Y/N wasn’t sure she liked the way Richie was shamelessly checking her out. “Where is Eth?” she tried not to sound so excited.

“Oh, he’s in his room, as always. Drowning himself in text books and having no social life whatsoever” Richie rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“He doesn’t know you’re coming today, so go surprise him” Quinn said, eyeing the way Y/N’s knuckles turned white. She had always hated when people talked badly about Ethan, and apparently, it didn’t change.

Y/N walked up the stairs, anguish filling her stomach and her heart beating so fast it made her cheeks turn red. She stood in front of the door, trying to gain the courage to knock. There was just one door separating her from Ethan, the guy who had been her first crush ever. Her best friend in the entire world.

“Come in” she heard, and almost fainted. Not because she was seconds away from seeing his face after four years, but because she noticed the change in his voice. It was deeper, raspier and… hot.

Y/N took a deep breath and opened the door. There he was, lying on his bed, headphones flattening his perfect curly hair and book open on his lap.

His round brown eyes found hers, and he jumped off the bed so fast he got dizzy. Y/N laughed and ran into his arms, that were instantly wrapped around her lower back to pull her up and against his chest. Her legs locked around his waist.

“Please tell me you’re real and I’m not making you up” Ethan said, face between her neck and shoulder blades.

“I’m real” she laughed. “And I’m back to stay. Holy shit, you got so fucking tall”

“And you have not grown and inch” he joked, letting her feet touch the ground again.

“Mean” Y/N punched his arm playfully. “Where is your Justin Bieber haircut?!”

“That was a phase I don’t want to remember” he shook his head. “What, you don’t like my curls?”

“No… I love them. You have amazing hair” Y/N complimented.

Ethan blushed, and took his time to let his eyes take in her face. Her factions were more defined, her lips were fuller, eyes a little darker but still very bright, and smile as warm as ever. She had grown a bit, but she was still short compared to him, her head barely reached his shoulders. She looked even prettier than before, and Ethan couldn’t believe he would be able to see her everyday.

The tall boy had also changed a lot, and Y/N needed to figure out how to stop looking at him before she weirded him out. His jawline was sharp as a diamond, his cheekbones more defined, and surprisingly, he had muscles. Enthralling, captivating muscles. He was pretty, adorable and hot at the same time and Y/N’s doubts faded away—her crush on him was still very much intact.

“You look stunning, Y/N/N. I missed you” he said in a low voice. They were so close, his arms still around her, and the moment felt intimate and cozy. It was at that moment Y/N realized how much she had missed her home.

“I missed you too” she smiled, happiness was radiating off her. Y/N was so happy she could cry. “Can I hug you again?”

“You don’t have to ask. You know I love your hugs, and I missed them. So, you’ll have to hug me a lot to make up for the lost time” Ethan answered, chest almost exploding for the amount of adoration he felt for her.

None of them knew for how long they stayed in each others arms, if it had been just minutes or hours, but they did know that either way, it hadn’t been enough. They could’ve stayed like that forever.

SAYING THAT Y/N CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF EVERY BLACKMORE STUDENTS WOULD BE GOING A LITTLE TOO FAR, but she certainly had the attention of the people she had classes with. Not only because of her looks, but also because she entered in the middle of the semester, which was extremely unusual. Y/N hated the twenty pairs of eyes on her, but she was thankful she at least had Ethan by her side.

The nerdy boy felt a little uneased by the reaction Y/N caused. She had always been someone only Ethan used to notice—thought he never understood why, because she was the most amazing girl in the world—, and the thought of that changing made him panic. Because there were so many guys who were better than him, and now that she had options, Ethan knew Y/N would never choose him.

“How is your first day going?” to her surprise, Richie asked.

“Um, good?” she said, unsure. It was weird, Richie and her had never been friends. He had never cared about her well-being, what was his deal now? She didn’t know.

But Ethan did, he could see it in his brother’s eyes. Richie was interested in Y/N and it made his blood boil. He knew Ethan had feelings for her, but of course he didn’t care.

“Great. If you need anything, feel free to tell me” he said, winking at her before leaving.

“That’s the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. Is he okay? Did he fell from the stairs and hit his head or something?” Y/N asked Ethan.

The brunet laughed “He kind of became the ‘it’ boy of college, which fed his ego and makes him brave enough to flirt with every hot girl that crosses his path. You’re his next target.”

Richie had always been popular amongst girls—he was attractive, had that attitude girls found hot, and was sometimes funny—and exactly the type who would never look at Y/N’s way, or so she thought.

She couldn’t imagine herself with him, not only because ‘it’ boys weren’t her kind of boys, but also because her heart yearned for Ethan. Even when she knew he would never look at her as more than a friend.

“Well, time to damage it boy’s ego” Y/N said.

Ethan looked at her surprised “You are not into him?”

“Ethan, what the actual fuck? No!“ she laughed in shock. Wasn’t it painfully obvious that she had a crush on him and not Richie? Guess not. Or maybe Ethan was way too oblivious.

“Okay” wasn’t she imagine it or did she actually hear relief in his voice?

ETHAN AND RICHIE SAT ON THE BEACH CHAIRS NEXT TO THEIR POOL, THEIR EYES ON THE VOLEY MATCH HAPPENING IN FRONT OF THEM. It was Quinn and Y/N vs. Tara and Mindy, and Ethan’s eyes were specifically focused on Y/N’s figure. Richie couldn’t pass the opportunity to tease him.

"You think she's pretty?" Richie asked him, sarcasm present in his voice.

"Yeah, and you do too," his brother replied, already annoyed, trying to brush it off.

"I hadn't noticed, really," Richie said, smirking. He enjoyed seeing his brother angry so much, and he knew Y/N was his weak point.

"Come on, man. I've noticed you noticing. And she did too” Ethan said, frowning.

“She does? Maybe I should ask her out, then.” Richie said, hoping this would make Ethan fume.

However, the nerdy boy gave him a smile. “Do it.” he tried to suppress a smirk at his brother’s confused reaction.

“Hey, enjoyed the game?” Y/N asked. They had been so sumerged in their conversation they hadn’t noticed the match ended.

Ethan flashed her his sweet pretty smile, which she mirrored “You’re good, Y/N/N.”

“Thanks, Eth” if her cheeks hadn’t been already red from the heat and the exercise, Ethan would’ve noticed the effect his words had on her.

“Do you want water, gorgeous?” Richie asked, with a sly grin. Ethan clenched his jaw and Y/N tried not to make a disgusted face.

“Yes, but I’ll go get it” Y/N said walking to the kitchen before Richie could beat her. Ethan followed her, feeling Richie’s eyes on the back of his head. “Does he not get the hint? I have given no signs that I like him”

“I should probably warn you, he’s going to ask you out” Ethan told her, leaning against the counter and she poured water in a glass.

“Oh god, you know what? It’s fine, I’m just going to tell him he’s not the one I’m interested in” Y/N said.

Ethan stiffened “What do you mean by that? You’re interested in someone?” his chest contracted.

Y/N then realized what she had said. “Oh… well, yeah.”

The boy nodded, trying not to show how much it hurt “Are they from London?”

Y/N shook her head “No, he is from here.” she admitted.

“Oh… you met him at college?” he asked. Why was he asking? He was a fucking masochist.

“No… but he goes to our college”

“So that means you met him before you moved to London” Ethan deduced.

Y/N nodded “Waay before I moved. I have known him my whole life” she said. He’s got to figure it out now.

“I have no fricking idea” Ethan laughed. “I don’t remember you hanging out with someone who wasn’t Quinn or me.”

“Ethan are you serious?” Y/N groaned. Guess he really was oblivious. Ethan looked at her, very lost. “I’m talking about you, you idiot. Honestly, for someone that smart you can really be dumb sometimes.”

“Me? You like me?” Ethan pointed at himself in disbelief.

“I have liked you since we were fourteen, Eth. Never stopped liking you” Y/N smiled nervously. What was going to happen next? Rejection or reciprocation?

“Are you sure?” he asked in a low tone.

Y/N let out a giggle “Yes, Ethan, pretty sure I know my emotions. Do you know yours?”

“I win” Ethan said, making her frown, not understanding what he meant. “I have liked you since we were thirteen. So I won.”

The girl rolled her eyes, smile painted on her face as she walked closer to him and hugged him. “Well, guess the loser is the one who has to ask the question” Ethan raised his eyebrows in amusement, liking were this conversation was going. “Ethan, would you like to be my boyfriend?”

“I would love to be your boyfriend, Y/N” he replied. Y/N could feel his heartbeats through his shirt as his arms were wrapped around her lower back. “Can I kiss you, girlfriend?”

“Yes, you can, boyfriend” she closed her arms around his neck and brought him down to meet her lips. Mint got mixed with cherry, and their soft lips danced with each other in one perfect and very awaited kiss.

The slow and calm kiss turned into a rougher and wilder one. His hands went under her white tank top as hers messed with his soft curls. Ethan turned them around, so that she was now pressed against the counter. But soon, he lifted her up and set her on it. She opened her legs so he could step between them and deepened the kiss.

“You’re my best friend” Y/N whispered breathlessly against his lips.

Ethan smiled “You’re my best friend, too. I love you”

“I love you” she said back, before kissing him once again.

Quinn, Richie, Tara and Mindy entered the kitchen and stood still at the scene happening in front of them. The two teenagers were so engrossed in their lustful kiss that they didn’t notice them until Quinn yelled “Not in the counter, we use it to cook!”

“Kids nowadays have zero respect” Mindy shook her head.

“This is a family house!” Tara exclaimed. Richie just stood there completely dumbfounded, which made Ethan feel even more victorious.

“Oh, we have been waiting this for years, leave us alone” Y/N rolled her eyes, but got off the counter anyways. Ethan draped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“They’re cute, you have to give them that” Tara said to Quinn.

“Are you two official?” Quinn asked, now unable to hide her smile.

“Yes” they said in unison, smiling to each other.

[gaybananabread]

Hii!!! This is gonna be a long one lol and also I feel a bit weird so sorry in advance🙏🙏 had this random idea about day 11 where it was hurt/comfort, percy jackson heroes of olympus, lee!leo ler!will and leo has to stop by the infirmary after coming back to life to just make sure everything’s alright and he was having a shit day and Will notices and asks him about it and he tells Will about all the things he’d been through (throughout the books or what we’re told previously), and Will gives him a hug and is comforting him and stuff and he accidentally tks him and asks for confirmation if it’s okay and then hugs him and tks him

I KNOW THATS A LOT SO I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU CAN’T TAKE THIS ONE OR IF YOU’D PREFER NOT TO BUT WHICHEVER WAY THAT ENDS UP BEING THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU HAVE. AGOOD DAY/geN

TickleTober Day 11 - Hug

~Uhm, HELLO?!? I LOVE this prompt! Never feel bad for giving me a lot; I love hearing y'all's ideas! (⁠ ^w^ ⁠) It's been a hot second since I've read the books, so I'm sorry if they feel OOC. This takes place in The Hidden Oracle when Leo shows up at Camp HB. Thank you so much for requesting, and I hope you Enjoy!~

Lee: Leo Valdez

Ler: Will Solace

Summary: Leo is feeling like flaming garbage after returning to camp. He visits Will to make sure everything inside him is how it should be. Luckily, the healer knows just how to mend his broken spirits.

Warnings: spoilers for HOO and TOA! This is a tickle fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!!

“Please keep off that leg for a few days, okay? I know it feels fine, but I don't want you damaging any tissue that didn't fully heal.”

Will smiled tiredly as he sent off the last injured camper from his medical tent. The Colossus had done quite a bit of damage; he'd been helping folks almost the entire day.

With a groan, the blonde collapsed on a clean cot, running a hand down his face. He missed the sound of the tent flap opening, keeping his eyes closed.

“Uh…howdy, stranger.”

The boy jolted upwards, grabbing the nearest item and pointing it at the intruder somewhat menacingly. His face fell when he noticed that, one, he was holding a glove balloon he'd made for an upset camper, and two, Leo was the one in the opening.

“Oh…Leo! Hey, sorry about…yeah. I'm just frazzled.” Will lowered his “weapon,” hopping off the cot to greet the boy. “What's up?”

“You're cool, man. Just wanted to get a checkup, make sure all my insides came back right.” Leo chuckled, poking his own side in an attempt to lighten the mood. He and Will weren't super close; he didn't want things to be awkward.

“Right…right! How could I forget?!” Will immediately sprung up, reinvigorated by guilt and frantic panic. What if Leo's intestines didn't come back right?! It was a godly cure, and they weren't always keen on demigod safety…

“Woah- hey! It's cool, man, it's cool! You've been busy; we're good.” Leo smiled, though it was a little off-putting to Will. He seemed…less. Less excited, less energetic, less snarky.

Less himself.

After he had Leo situated on the cot, he tried to sneakily ask him how he was doing during the checkup. The fiery demigod didn't seem like the type to readily discuss his feelings.

“So how have things been since…ya know.” Will awkwardly asked as he checked Leo's reflexes. The boy's leg kicked out healthily.

“Interesting, I guess. Wish I'd gotten a cool scar or something. Would've been worth it,” Leo joked, though a small part of him was serious. A sick, bad-boy scar wouldn't have been the worst side effect.

“Hmm. Alright…” Now Will was worried; jokes like that weren't a sigh of good mental health. He'd sacrificed himself to save them, but he'd done it pretty secretively.

“Can I touch here? I need to give you a quick physical.” Will pointed to his middle, not wanting to move forward until he had consent. With Leo's nod, he continued.

“I mean, it wasn't horrid, ya know?” Leo began to ramble, trying to fill the semi-awkward silence. It was suffocating. “Sure, it hurt, but… I didn't see the underworld or anything. No real damage done!”

“Leo…” The blonde paused, furrowing his brows. Nope: that was getting addressed.

“Are you okay? Mentally, physically, all of it?”

The brunette bit his lip, feeling his eyes water. Damn it! He'd been trying so hard to stay upbeat; he'd just have to lie.

“I…” Leo's voice broke, and he cursed himself for it. Before he could bury his face in his hands and combust, a strong pair of arms wrapped around him.

“It's okay, Leo. You don't have to be perfectly happy. You're allowed to feel broken.” Will's voice was steady and soothing as he reassured the shorter boy, squeezing him just tightly enough to feel secure.

For a few minutes, Leo just melted into the embrace, letting the tears and the sounds that came with them flow. He'd been bottling up so much since he was revived, and even beforehand.

When it felt like his lungs weren't trying to kill him, Leo attempted to speak. He hated how weak his voice sounded.

“Sorry, I…yeah. Didn't mean to fall apart.” Leo's gaze fell, though quickly snapped back up when he fell Will pull away. The other boy's hands remained on his shoulders, grounding him.

“There's nothing to be sorry for, Leo. You needed to cry after literally dying and coming back to life. That's completely valid.”

How could that boy be so calming, yet make him so sad?! Leo blamed Apollo children's poetry skills.

“O-okay, okay, I get it! Quit making me all mushy, you jerk,” Leo snapped, though he instantly melted back into the hug when Will pulled him in.

“Just making sure you remember.” Will chuckled fondly, feeling a protective urge wash over him. He wanted Leo to feel safe and secure. “You wanna talk about it?”

“I…yeah. Yeah, actually, I do.” Leo nodded, feeling a bit surprised by himself. He usually hated talking about his feelings, but Will was such a nice friend; he felt secure enough to open up.

Leo told him about everything: his mother, the Wilderness camp, the fear of making his decision, the guilt from lying to his friends on the Argo II, the all-encompassing agony he'd endured during his death, the guilt he still felt from making his friends cry and coming back after Jason was gone.

Will listened to all of it, still holding Leo and helping him vent. While most of the content was saddening and serious, the blonde was happy Leo was getting it out.

“I just don't know what to do, ya know? How do I stop feeling so…ick?” Leo splayed his fingers out, trying to show his general unease with his hands.

“There's a few ways, though everyone copes differently. What're you hoping to feel instead of ‘ick’?” Will spoke gently, trying not to use too many big, mentally-concious words. It was still a miracle that Leo opened up at all.

“I dunno…happy, I guess? Less heavy. I wanna go back to feeling like I'm alive, rather than…well, ya know. Burdened.” Leo laughed at that; it felt weird to actually say “burdened” in context.

Will searched his mind, trying to remember something that would help. His thoughts wandered to one of Nico’s bad days, remembering how he'd cheered the boy up. That could work…

“Do you trust me?”

“What?” Leo tilted his head, wondering why Will just suddenly asked that. Random… “Uh, yeah. Why?”

“Hold your arms out. If you hate it, tell me to stop, and I will.” Will's words were cryptic, of course; he didn't wanna spook Leo by outright asking for the goofy permission. He really did think it would help.

“Uh, okay?” Leo did as he was told, holding his arms out by his sides. The scenario felt vaguely familiar, though he couldn't place why.

Will wrapped his arms around Leo's middle once again, holding him close. Before the son of Hephaestus could question him, he felt ten wiggling fingers on each of his sides.

“Pfft- whahahahat?! Wihill!” Leo squirmed in place, his arms snapping down to his sides. Will's were already blocking the way, so he couldn't really protect himself from the tickles.

“What? Everyone needs a good laugh sometimes. These are a good way to lighten up.” Will shrugged, settling his chin on Leo's shoulder. He could feel the abnormal heat radiating off the boy, but it only made him even more comfy.

“S-seheheriously? Thihis is duhuhumb!” Wriggling around, Leo tried to pry Will's hands off. Thanks to their position, he could really only swipe at the blonde's forearms and complain.

“If you don't like it, just tell me to stop. You know I will.”

Ugh, that wasn't fair! Leo didn't actually want him to stop, but he was basically making him admit that! It was ruining his bad boy image!

“Shuhut uhuhup, Solace!”

That made Will's dumb grin double in size. Leo couldn't see it, but the sunshine boy was really happy that he was enjoying the tickles. One, he found another friend that enjoyed them, and two, he was actually helping Leo feel better. Two birds, one stone!

“I wonder if your ribs are ticklish…” Will thought out loud, moving his hands up to scribble on the backs of Leo's ribcage. He wasn't disappointed; belly laughter quickly replaced the giggles, filling Will's ears.

“CRAHAHAHAP!” Leo's warm hands settled on Will's shoulders, squeezing as he tried not to violently squirm. A very not-nice word slipped through his laughter, making Will gasp.

“Leo Valdez! Language!” Will pretended to be angry, doubling down on the rib tickles. Okay, maybe that was hypocritical—he’d said much worse during stressful moments—but it was too fun to pass up. “I won't tolerate profanity in my med bay!”

Leo snorted—dear gods, snorted—as the sensations intensified; he was losing control of himself. His hands were heating up more and more, and that only led to one thing.

“OHOKAHAHAY! *snort* STOHOHOP!”

Will immediately stopped the tickling, switching to rubbing gentle circles on Leo's back. His palms rubbed over the backs of the giggly boy's ribs, helping to ease the phantom sensations.

Leo flexed his hands as he calmed down, feeling the heat recede back into his arms and deep into his chest. Despite nearly losing control, he felt…really damn good.

“W-wohow.”

“See? Told you it would help.” Will's fond tone was appreciated, though it appealed to Leo's more mischievous side; he was already plotting revenge.

“Fihine, yeah, you were right.” Leo tried to be sarcastic, but the weight had been lifted off his chest. Even if it was only temporary, he felt relieved. “Thanks, Will. Seriously.”

“No problem, Leo. If you ever need another quick dose, I'm always here.” Will gave Leo's side a little poke, earning a giggly growl.

“Watch it, Solace. You've got one coming.” Leo gave the blonde one last hug before heading out of the tent, feeling ten pounds lighter than when he entered. He was definitely going to return the favor…

Will smiled, quickly sanitizing the cot Leo was on before allowing himself to fully relax. Man, that was fun; the stress from before was gone, leaving him tired, but happy.

After a few minutes of rest, he hauled himself out of his cot and went to find Nico. Some cuddles would be the perfect way to end such a busy day. And hey, maybe he'd drop a few hints about Leo's treatment.

Laughter is the best medicine, after all...

[nsokolow]

Transformers One: Charoite

Chapter Eleven

“So, what is this tunnel?” Charoite asked as she and B climbed up the tunnel.

“Well, this is the new autobot base. It was a failing store that allowed miners in. You know, before they found out they were born with cogs and being lied to their whole lives. Me included! Tunnels got built after all the Sentinel stuff went down and the energon came back.” B gasped and looked back. “Wait! Did you know the energon came back?”

“I assumed, since miners aren’t a thing anymore.”

“Okay! Great! Anyway, there’s been some renovations, including some tunnels for safety reasons, like if someone needs to rescue a bot being chased by other bots because she was involved with an evil fake prime!”

Charoite nearly laughed, but hearing Sentinel called, “evil,” was a punch in the stomach. Even if…it was…true.

“So, B, do you miss mining?” Charoite asked.

“Well, here’s the thing: I actually didn’t mine. I mean, I worked in jobs more or less related to mining, but I didn’t actually mine. Optimus and Elita did, though! So did…Megatron. I kept getting moved around from job to job because I had mad skills! I mean, I must’ve, since the higher-ups would get mad and argue with each other over who I should work under. For the longest time, I was in this area called, ‘Sub-level 50,’ where I would gather garbage and—oh! We’re here!”

Light assaulted Charoite’s face as B, now out of the tunnel, extended a hand. She grabbed his hand and climbed out.

There were…lots of floors and walls. It was surprisingly empty. Charoite however recalled B saying that there were renovations, so it must’ve not been done yet. After all, mining had only stopped being a thing, what, two months ago?

“Pretty clean, huh? I helped! I transform into a car, so I put these scrubby caps on my wheels, covered them in soap, and drove all over the place! It was slippery, but it made it more fun!”

“No kidding!” Charoite smiled and nodded. She looked around the area and saw a a staircase with light shining from the top.

“That’s where Optimus lives! Oh! Where are my manners? I’m supposed to take you to Optimus! Come on!” B ran up the staircase as Charoite followed him.

“I mean, some of us live here, some of us don’t. Mainly the ones who didn’t used to have cogs live here, since a lot of us lived in the Miner’s Barracks. I live here, and so does Elita-1! There’s also this guy, Jazz, and this girl, Arcee. Jazz is so happy to have wings now. Seriously, it’s all he could talk about forever! Who knew he was a flyer? For context, he was one of the so-called ‘miners,’ and—oh! We’re here! Hey, Optimus!”

A tall bot, blue on his head and feet, his chest red with…the Matrix of Leadership inside of it, sat on a couch and read a book. Upon seeing Charoite and B, he stood up and walked to them. “Hey, B! We have a visitor?”

Charoite noticed he had a warm, welcoming smile. She was put even more at ease.

“Optimus! Hey!” B put a hand on Charoite’s back and gently pushed her. “You remember Charoite, right? I don’t know if you formally met; she was the bot who was Sentinel’s secretary and one of his racers, even though she hasn’t raced yet, then he said she died, then it turned out they got into a relationship, then a lot of bots hated her—”

“—We haven’t formally met, no!” Optimus extended his hand. “Hello, Charoite. I’m Optimus Prime. Welcome to the Autobot Base. Glad to see you’re alive!”

Charoite felt more touched by this than she wanted to. He threw his best friend out of Iacon City when he tried to save it! “T-Thank you! I’m Charoite, though I guess you already knew that.”

“So, how did you and B meet?”

“When I came back to Iacon City, I was being chased down by a bunch of nut jobs because of Sentinel, and B told me to get into a tunnel over there, and we hid. Talk about a welcoming committee, huh?”

Optimus let out a small chuckle. “Well, that’s what we Autobots are here for. We protect, and we don’t let rumors blind us from doing what’s right.” Optimus turned to B. “Glad you thought to use the tunnel. Thank you.”

“Wow! Thank you! I looked out the window and saw these bots flying after her, and I really wanted to do something. I mean, I can’t fly, so I thought ‘Oh! Right! We have tunnels! Time to be a hero!’”

“So, Charoite, where were you when everyone thought you were dead?” Optimus asked.

Charoite froze. She realized she made a huge oversight as a spy.

“I was…on the surface. I went with Sentinel to one of his trips. I didn’t know what he was going to do.” Charoite became a bit calmer, hoping making a true statement would be enough.

“You…just hung out on the surface all this time, then?” B asked with a raised eyebrow.

Great.

“I mean, we were stranded on the surface not too long ago, but we couldn’t transform or fly, and even then, it would’ve taken forever to make it back, unless it was too dangerous. Yeah, it probably would’ve been too dangerous.”

In her mental rush, Charoite wished she could’ve come up with a more interesting, and less painful story. At least some of the truth would work. Besides, Megatron said it would be helpful to play up the fact Sentinel abandoned her and broke her spark. “Well, yeah. That’s close to what happened to me. I saw the truth about Sentinel and the Quintessons, then when I didn’t kneel to them, the Quintesson leader chased me down and stabbed me. Sentinel almost stopped him, but he didn’t.” Charoite didn’t feel like bringing the last part up more than she had to.

Optimus put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry he betrayed you like that. Tell me, how did you survive being stabbed?”

“Yeah! There’s a little hint of a circle on your chest!” B piped up.

Oh no.

“Well, I, uh…welded myself back together!” Charoite tried to read Optimus and B’s expressions, hoping they bought it.

“No way!” B exclaimed, “That’s so cool! It must’ve been so hard! Losing all that oil while trying to keep yourself alive and put yourself back together! You should write a memoir, then it could be made into a movie!”

A laugh escaped Charoite. “Yeah! Maybe more bots will say my name right!”

Optimus’ eyes widened. “Oh! Have we been pronouncing it wrong?”

“Oh! No, it’s just that I sometimes get ‘Chariot.’ Like, who’s named ‘Chariot?’”

“Oh, okay, good.” Optimus smiled.

“So, could Charoite stay here?” B asked. “We have some empty rooms, and since she has a lot of haters now, she’d probably be safer here.”

“Of course she can, B. Even if she had a place to stay, which I don’t think she does…” Optimus gave Charoite an unsure look.

“No,” Charoite replied, a hint of fear in her eyes. She planned to get a hotel if Optimus had said ‘no,’ but she didn’t know how long she could pay for a hotel room, or when she’d be able to get her own place again.

“…it probably wouldn’t be as safe for her anywhere else, considering the…controversy. So B, why don’t you show her around? She can pick one of the empty rooms.”

“Holy scrap! Thank you so much!” Charoite ran up to Optimus and tightly hugged him.

“Haha, you’re welcome.” Optimus lightly patted her back.

“Come on, Charoite!” B grabbed Charoite’s hand and took off down the stairs. “I can’t wait to tell you everything about this place, then tell you everything about me! I wanna know everything about you! You’re not a very quiet bot, but you’re still pretty mysterious. I talk a lot, but I like to consider myself kind of a mystery! I don’t want you to feel not at home, so ask me anything any time you want! I’m an open book!”

[miyoron]

Anime of Note 2024 Edition

Hello hello, it's 2024 end of the year so I'm throwing out my usual anime garbage! As always, these are in the order I watched and remember things, how great and well organized I am!

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Past Write Ups

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Freiren

Frieren was one I actually started watching last year but it's definitely one of my favorites I watched through the beginning of the year. The story is very simple: we follow an elf from a heroic party that defeated a demon king and join her many many years after her original journey. Frieren is not very good at socializing or picking up on the cues involved with them. It all comes with the territory of being a long lived race perhaps. Or Frieren is just that awkward of an elf, who can say.

The show is very nicely animated and the cast is super fun too. Fern and Frieren's dynamic is very fun, and so is good boy Stark. I enjoyed all the fun little expressions, even when it's something as simple as a pout or a "nyoron" ass look of disappointment. The show is soothing and a little melancholy given the subject matter, but there's also action in between to go along with it. It's enjoyable to see Frieren going through her journey to meet up with her old party member Himmel, even if she's more than content to take as much time as she pleases to get there. Sometimes that means getting stuck in a Mimic's grasp and crying about how dark it is. Frieren is a good time, highly recommended.

Dungeon Meshi

I wrote about Dungeon Meshi the manga on a previous year's list, and now it's out in anime form! By Trigger no less! The show is pretty much everything I could have asked for, except being trapped in Netflix jail which means I probably won't be able to get a bluray of it which is stupid. Actually the only thing it's missing from the manga is the stat readouts of the food when it's completed.

But again, Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon is a manga about an adverturing party returning to the mysterious dungeon where they're trying to get back a beloved party member who was eaten by the Red Dragon that took them all out. They don't have enough money for supplies though so they must learn to live off the dungeon itself by cooking and eating the monsters within. With help from a new dwarven party member, who's very used to cooking these things, they venture forth!

Dungeon Meshi is really good still and I'd recommend both the manga and anime. I even went to a Dungeon Meshi collab cafe on my Japan trip this year. Can't wait for season 2.

Happiness Charge Precure

If you've been keeping up with these lists, you'd know every year me and my friend Cheapsteaks have been watching minimum 1 old Precure series. Well this year we made it to the final old show, Happiness Charge. Going in, I've been told a lot of bad things about this one, that it's one of the worst and all. Of course worst by Precure standards still usually has something in it I enjoy? And I'd agree that it was not one of my favorite seasons but atleast it has Hime who gives it more good will than it probably should have.

The villains are pretty silly too, I love a doofus trio though they're nowhere near as fun as say the Smile dorks. It's not a bad little season but I can definitely see why it's not held in as high regards as the others. Blue just sucks like…a whole lot. But I guess what can you expect from religion right? Also the fact that he has atleast 2 underage girls with a crush on him is awkward and bad. You suck Blue, get outta here. Again, atleast there's Hime who kinda carries the whole show on her dumb noises and faces.

Ojomajo Doremi

In absence of another older Precure, we have now broken the glass on the Doremi option and have now latched ourselves to this series for the next 4 years. Ojomajo Doremi is the story of a young girl, the unluckiest pretty girl in the world, who wants to become a witch. With good luck, she's able to meet a real one! Unfortunately, that means the witch's secret is out and she's been transformed into a witch frog. Good work Doremi. Thanks to this, Doremi has to work at the witch's magical shop as an apprentice until she can turn her back. Doremi is a cute little show with fun characters. You have annoying little sister Pop, nerdy and laughs at dumb joks Hazuki, tomboy and street smart Aiko and celebrity and pro hater Onpu. I also love Doremi's little faerie DoDo (stupidest faeries need the MOST care).

The series is very silly but throws in some episodes that are actually really heart felt in there and are like man, that's pretty deep show for babies. The fact a major plot point of Aiko's is living in a divorced family feels like something you don't see much in magical girl shows to be honest. Anyway, the Ojomajos are fun and we have begun season 2 already where now Doremi has to raise a witch baby because the Witch Queen cannot be assed to herself.

Wonderful Precure

Dog Precure! The dog Precure is here! I think Wonderful has easily been one of my favorite Precures in recent memory, maybe because it feels different than most of them. Usually you get the thing where Precures are just kicking and punching the bejesus out of dumb monsters before purifying them and letting people get their dreams back or something. Well this time you can't really do that because these monsters of the day are usually corrupted animals and that would be just mean. So the fact the cures have to basically calm them down and be gentle/smart about it is a welcome new angle.

The main cast in this one is really solid too. You have Iroha, who is our usual good girl who just wants to do her best, who is accompanied by her dog Komugi who is a dog. Her character is dog and it rules because it causes so many random issues by her suddenly talking in public. There's Mayu, the new girl in town who is socially awkward, especially when she is hyper focused on something like knitting a gift for a friend and you have her cat Yuki. Yuki's character is cat, so she is aloof but loves Mayu best of all and will murder for her. The secondary cast is good too and has Satoru who is the nerdy friend who helps out but he's the first one of those who I don't think is a twerp in any way (not like Syrup, you suck Syrup). He also has Daifuku who is his bunny who is just hyper chill. Wonderful Precure rules and they even got a crossover episode set with Shin Chan where both characters got to be on the others' shows.

Wan-derful!

Oshi no Ko Season 2

Oshi no Ko was pretty good this year, I liked the continuation of last season, even if the opening song was not as good. I really enjoyed getting to see the exploration into both Aqua and Kana's past experiences that made them act how they do today. I also just liked watching the characters put on the play amidst the drama inside of it. Plays within a play are usually fun and I liked the designs of the characters in that play, and the original manga creator's design too. I guess I like the designs of a lot of the things in this show most of all which is kind of what drew me too it initially. Season 2 needed more Mem-cho though.

Girls Band Cry

Girls Band Cry is a wonderful little show that Toei didn't want us to watch it felt like. Sure, the graphics are a bit janky but I think that gives it a fun style all its own and they can get pretty expressive to be honest. Following the trials and tribulations of little anger gremlin Nina as she tries to find herself in the world was a good, if sometimes painful, time. Forming a band with Momoka, the former lead in a band that sang the song that changed her life, leads to all sorts of adventures. Like learning what the middle finger is and then making your OWN middle finger too.

This show probably had one of my favorite opening songs of the year, just really good at getting you pumped up. I also liked the cast a lot, all my ladies love Rupa and you can't deny it. Like it's a hard one to write about cuz it's one where it's like "no I like this one. It was good and the chars are good." I don't know what else you want from me.

Bang Dream! It's MYGO!!!!!

Another girl band anime, this one was actually from last year but I just got to it this year. The story of a girl who collects rocks outside the school yard and all the sea creature band-aids that she can and how she manages to get girls who all wanna be in her band. Honestly, I don't know what all to say with this one, it made me feel sad when the characters were sad and I felt happy when they were happy. Also Raana is here and I was amused any time she did anything..or any time she just left cuz she thought everyone was being boring women. Raana is good.

Mayonaka Punch

When I was visiting Japan, I saw an episode of this and we were intrigued by it since…couldn't really understand it fully being non-subs. Coming back and putting it into my weekly rotation though, I'm glad I did. The character designs in this one are also really top notch, I like Live and Fu's a lot. Plus the thought of a streamer who got kicked out of her group for knocking the shit out of one of the other members having to start a whole new channel with a bunch of moron vampires is great.

Also this show is pretty gay and that usually gets you some points on my end. Is it a bias? Sure. Will it stop me from saying I like it? You bet your ass it won't. It's a cute little show with some good jokes and even some good dramatic moments too. You really want Live to get the blood she so desires and you want Masaki to hit a million subs! Also it helped me with memorizing kanji for my college course because one quiz had "mayonaka" on it so thanks anime!

Ranma 1/2

Ranma is a series that has long been a part of my anime history. It was one of the first ones I rented from the video store back in the day, and one of the first ones I downloaded to watch episodes in the early days of file sharing servers. So the fact they remade it and did it so well is awesome. It's a lot more like the manga and even retains a lot of the original cast for some of the most important characters. And those who are newer cast are super great too like Tomokazu Sugita as Kunou and Aoi Yuuki as Azusa. If you liked old Ranma, I guarantee you will enjoy this new one.

Seriously it's just so good to see these old shows I have nostalgia for getting GOOD remakes. It's been fun watching with friends and seeing how they animate it all. Seeing something that inspired a lot of my creative endeavors through the years is enjoyable too because…not gonna lie I got a lot of my dumb character ideas thanks to Ranma. Can't wait for season 2, Rumiko Takahashi rules.

Dan da Dan

This one is one I came a bit late to and I can understand why some would be a bit wary on it. The first episode is understandably intense with a situation in it and I would not fault anyone for not wanting to continue because of that. Scene aside though, everything after has been good and has honestly some of the most fun cast I've seen in a shounen series in a while. Everyone is equal parts smart and dumbass and they're often just screaming about dumb shit at each other. I really love it. Also Momo's fit is on point at all times pretty much. Also it's by Science Saru so like..hell yea you know?

It's a fun show, I think it has good character designs and a fun set up with fighting against both spooky spirits and fucked up aliens. The cast are all likable idiots and we get more next year so..yay!

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night

A lot of parts of this series definitely made me think of my own struggles with regards to creative things. I have often run into times where I just do not like what I draw so a lot of Mahiru's struggles hit close to home. I've never outright hated my work but it's a very relatable feeling and I think this series touches on it well. The show is a fun little series, sometimes dramatic, often cute with girls forming an online band and tryin to show the world that they can do it on their own.

From cool vibes former idol Kano to strongest vtuber and gender gremlin Kiui, I really enjoyed a lot of the characters and their arcs in this one. There's even a fun side character who is a mom in her 30s still trying to make it as an idol (her daughter is her biggest fan). It's really fun and the music is good too and the visuals and designs are really fun. I would definitely recommend it if you ever feel like you're in a creative slump of your own.

Love Live Superstar!! Season 3

This year we had the third, and presumably final, season of the Liella cast. We got to meet up with the new cast members, former rival Margarete, and younger Onitsuka sister Tomari. It starts with an interesting premise of Kanon leaving Liella to form her own side group with the newer girls, something Chisato is okay with because she feels it'll make both sides stronger. It's an interesting way to start, delaying the pay off of them teaming up that everyone watching (and all the other students) is waiting for.

There's a lot of fun little side stories here, getting to explore Natsumi and Tomari's relationship, some amusing little bits with Shiki and Mei, and even a trip to Shanghai. It's nice seeing them all again, even if part of me kind of wishes the other shows got 3 seasons too, but I'll take it. We even got giant isopod costume again so, overall I'd say a win!

Here are some little side things that one was a movie and one is just dumb. I hope you enjoy.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era

This is a movie that Cheapsteaks and I watched on a Friday night in an empty theater in Heiwajima this summer. We had 0 subtitles but it's not like it was a hard plot to follow. This was a fun time and I'm putting it on here more for the experience than the content but I had a blast with this movie.

Special Deer Award: My Deer Friend Nokotan

Nokotan, you did it. Seriously, that opening song is an ear worm. Or a deer worm. Deer tick?

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So that's it! That's anime for the year! Did I spell check this? Not really! Do you or I care? Probably not!

Happy new year! Try to keep it safe and fight on! As Nox Ryugasaki says "Goodbye sekai!"

[hydrangeyes]

Macaque x Dragon seme Male reader 🍋🍋🍋

So if you don't know, Yes this already existed, my old account was deleted (accident but I can tell I won't be getting it back), and am reposting my old x male reader works!

I don't know if I saved all of them but here is one that was saved to my AO3 account.

Edit: So shuffling through my docs It's been brought to my attention that wattpad (who I use as backup) Cut a lot of my fics in half??? anyway I'll be trying to fix that also

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porn porn porn some plot porn

requested by Kai_Mitsuo

WARNING: THIS IS VERY EXPLICIT, I REPEAT HOTNY O CLOCK, DONT READ IF IT MAKES YOU UNCOMFY (also pls skip if you are a minor, seriously)

Think I uh had too much fun with this one lolol

Anyway: Macaque goes to see an old..... friend of his. Placed not long after his first appearance on show I guess

2nd Warning: Macaque in heat, Rough smut, hinted scent kink, gagging, blowjobs, anal sex, slight fingering, begging

Notes:

current: A/b/o but not a/b/o lmao

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Was it weird for him to come here? Maybe. But here he was anyway.

A gentle breeze moves past him, carrying the sounds of your workers and devotees alike with it. He anxiously stares up at the palace you called home. The deep greens and warm blue decor were a sort of comfort to him outside of red now.

Macaque has been standing on those stone steps longer than he wished but, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Would you be happy to see him? Especially if he shows up like this?

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Of course, you were. Having heard through a spy of yours about his return, you almost rushed to him immediately.

But you knew he needed to come to you, so you waited.

And sensing him enter your side of the celestial realm caused you to start pacing the palace to relieve the exciting tension.

The rush of relief at catching a single sniff of familiar blackberries and peaches. You felt no shame, in saying all your senses focused only on him.

From an outside view, the servants watched as their Lord paced around dragon-like tail wagging like a pup.

Not able to stand it any longer you rush out, shoving the door open. Welcoming him with a tackled hug. A pleased rumble leaving you when, after the shock, macaque practically clings onto you in return.

You tilt your head to nuzzle into his scarf, a little annoyed it was in your way of his neck. You can't help but tease him.

"You idiot, how dare you finally visit me then smell like garbage." You grumble, pushing your head away. A habit you both would make when things began to feel too sappy.

Macaque lets out a sharp laugh, tail curling around your own, as he looks up at you bemused. "And you still stuck at saying hello."

"You don't smell like mine anymore." You huff not even letting him go as you both got up off the ground. Not that macaque was trying to untangle himself from you anyway.

Said trickster chuckles softly, relaxing into you as you carried him inside.

"Well, it has been ages. Lend me your bath?"

"Mm, a meal and then a bath." You answer back signaling a few servants to get that started.

"I've missed you my sweet phoenix."

"Hah, been a while since I last heard that......

.....I've missed you too..."

-------------- SMUT BEGINS ——————-

Macaque let out a pleased his as he sinks into your personal hot springs, slipping the towel around his waist off. Dipping under to get his head wet, purring once he surfaces.

You smile and hold back a purr of your own as you watch him happily swim around and eventually come back to the edge to lay his head on it.

It wasn't the first time you both have seen each other naked, but every time you couldn't help but feel something stirs in your gut.

Nothing new but the urge to jump him was stronger than you thought. Then, with nothing but his natural scent you caught a more heavier sweeter scent.

Adjusting your own towel around your waist, you move to sit next to him on the edge, Preferring to just dip your legs in for now. Keep a cool head

"Better?" You coo, gently moving to run your hand through his fur.

"Mhm~" He closes his eyes and hums leaning into the touch, even going so far as to place his head on your lap instead. It's been so long since he's felt this relaxed, feeling safe enough to.

Macaque unconsciously nuzzles your thigh, letting out deep purrs and soft moans as you work to detangle his fur and massage any tense muscles. Even letting out a hurt whimper when you begin to stop.

You try your best not to react to it. But seeing his flushed cheeks, how sweet and eager he was to stay under your touch. You shift feeling your cock twitch in interest.

'Get it together n/n, you just got him back, you can wait to jump him right?'

while you inwardly try to fight back your increasingly horny thoughts, macaque cracks an eye open in confusion. you stopped your petting and were squirming around and he wanted to know why.

imagine his surprise, when he gets an eye full of your half hard cock. he didn't realize he was this far on your lap and put two and two together.

Suddenly it wasn't just the hot springs making him flush. with hooded eyes, macaque slips in between your legs, snapping your attention back to him.

"Aah sweetheart, that's um.. I can smell that you're.."

"hm in heat? did you think I didn't notice?" he purrs bodly leaning forward to rub his cheek against your covers crotch. Something in you snapped.

Here your plum was acting so boldly. You run your hands through his fur, and pull his head back. Watching his eyes dilate and a hitch moan leave his mouth. "I was trying to be patient. Be a good mate for you" You rumble, tugging him up to play a kiss on his cheek then ear, then neck.

"Allow you to gather your strength for later tonight." gently opening your mouth to glide a fang over his neck. Mcaque shudders, reaching out to grip your thighs to keep himself up. Looking you in the eye, he gives you a little smirk. "I rather you fuck me senseless now."

With that macaque doesn't even hesitate ducking back down and tug off your towel. Letting his mind finally sink and let his heat take over.

He happily moves to lick and teasingly kiss your hard cock. His eyes never once leaving yours, snapping what was left of your restraint.

Gripping his fur and signaling to him you thrust into his mouth. Both of you letting out a pleasure groan as you his the back of his mouth and down his throat.

"Is this what you wanted?" You growl not letting up in fucking his throat, taking pleasure in each gag macaque makes now and then.

Macaque himself letting out the sluttiest of moans and greedily moving his tongue to get a taste of you, sucking hard and deep as if to never have you leave his mouth.

Your toes curl under the water in pleasure. "F-fuck miss this slutty mouth of yours." You coo, yanking his head back to let him breathe. Looking over the mess you made his face, spit and pre cum sticking his lips as he open mouth pants.

His eyes looked watery and if you looked further you can see a hand pumping his own cock quickly.

"A-ah Mm n-n/n please~" Macaque whines trying to nudge his head forward to lick and suckle on your tip. Your cock twitches and you buck to rub it against his face. "Please what pet?~" you growl loosening your hold more for him.

"Fuck me~ please? Need you to fuck me, fill me up with your cum~" Macaque chirps, giving one more kiss to you dick before climbing up onto your lap. Desperately kissing your jaw and neck, arching when you run a clawed hand down his back to tap then rub at his eager hole.

Earlier when macaque was washing up he made sure to be thorough. Hoping for this out come even. His heat having started the moment he entered your home.

That and knowing that you wouldn't be able to resist him for long if he so wanted didn't help.

Macaque flinched and let's out a gasped moan when suddenly your hand smacks down on his ass. Feeling how relaxed his hole was thrust two fingers in easily, finding it already slicked up and a little loose.

"Ah the perfect slut in heat I swear, you planned this didn't you? Touching yourself before getting in here I bet~ not even warning me that you were starting~"

Nodding quickly macaque grips onto your back to buck his hips back to try and rude your fingers, tail curling around your wrist and arm. "Y-yes! Didn't ah! Mh want to wait!" He groaned nuzzling your neck and taking in a deep sniff.

Your heady scent coupled with the hot steam of the spring almost made him dizzy. The feel of your fingers pumping and curling inside him almost to much.

"Fuck! C-come on, I-" he gasps, mouth wide open drooling. He tilts his head to the side when you nudge it, almost coming when you sink your teeth into his shoulders. You growl and adding a third finger, thrust them in deeper to hit his prostate.

With a few more well place bites, you finally pull your fingers out. Cooing and rubbing macaques' back as he shudders and whimpers at the empty feeling.

"Mm good boy, not coming after that~ good to know you're still well trained." You whisper into his ears, carefully unwinding his tail from your arm. Taking the base of your cock you guide it to slowly enter macaque.

Macaque sucks in a breathe, arching and gripping your shoulders with a hiss. How could he forget how thick you are. The hot flesh stretching just shy pass his limit, causing his legs to tremble and his own cock to spit out even more pre cum.

Of course then there's you. Curling over him and spreading his cheeks to get an eye full of his ass greedily taking you in. Fuck he was just as tight as you remembered. Macaque yelps feeling you cock pulse and get even harder. "S-stop watching it!" He half heartedly protest, letting out a throaty moan when he finally feels all of you in him.

"Mm your still able to speak?"

You grip his hips, slowly lifting him so that just your tip remained in him. Then slamming him back down to the base.

"That won't do~"

Macaque cries out in pleasure, scrambling to dig his claws in you deeper as you set a fast and hard pace.

Not giving him a second to breathe,you keep it up, even moving to light a leg over your shoulder thrusting deeper.

"Nghgh!!! N-n/n wa-AH-IT!" Macaque hiccups, hands shaking to grip tighter on your shoulders. His eyes rolling back as he gets lost in the pleasure.

You, yourself grunt and growl at the tight heat surrounding your cock. Biting your lip as a way to stay focus enough to not pop a knot. Not yet, later, later.

The scent of Macaque's slick and heat didn't help at all. In fact, only driving you to drill the slick hole harder. Macaque almost swore he saw stars with each hit to his prostate, tightening around you as if not want you to leave but also suck you further in.

"Ah~ so good sweetheart~ fill mmh! So good around me!" You pant out following instincts to nip and bite his nipples and exposed skin. Wanting others to see your claim not just smell it.

"C-close! Pleaseee" Is all macaque could get out, mind mush with nothing but pleasure and your name in it.

You chuckle darkly looking down to watch the way his ockc twitched and spurt out streams of precum. Ah you both were a mess down there.

Adjusting to free a hand you reach down to grasp the vase of his cock and pump it at the same speed of your thrust.

"Cum~"

And like that macaque does. Letting out a silent scream as his body flinched and trembled, cuming hard enough to get it on his neck and your face.

Shuddering in delight at the sight you thrust as deep as you could without knotting him and groan happily toghtening your hold on him. Cuming and just barely slowing your thrusts to milk the orgasm.

After a bit you finally slow down, listening to macaque babble and purr about you stuffing him full.

----‐-----------

*runs away* stopping this here! Sorry if it's shitty was writing this in between work and classes! Idk how to end this!

Edited: Uhm that and edited down as I got....very descriptive *clears throat* ANYWAY HOPE YOU ENJOYED!

[ravcns]

My Darkest Hours

Dick grayson x fem!reader

info: somewhat inspired by after hours the weeknd seeing your ex who broke up with you without explanation, reader is a civilian

It was official, you hated galas. The previous night you debated not going since without a doubt he was going to be here. It was unavoidable though since you needed to keep up public appearances, plastering on a fake smile for the media your parents beside you doing the same. The public didn’t know but they had been divorced for two years both having their own hookups here and there. It was the same routine once the flashing lights of the cameras were gone they would split ways, leaving you alone to fend for yourself. Mingling with the wealthy was not one of your strong suits. He used to keep his hand resting on the small of your back, reassuring you that he was still there. Even after all this time had passed you found yourself seeking him out in the crowd.

Dick grayson in all his glory, surrounded by all the daughters of these high end families. They all flock towards him, fawning over his money and looks. Mostly the money though everyone knew the Wayne family was very well off. While you were staring at some point the youngest of their family Damian had walked up to you. “You should go over there.” He advised. “And look like I’m desperate? No thanks.” You replied. “Grayson may not admit it but he misses you.” He explained. “Did he send you over here to say that?” You asked. “L/N, this is extremely painful.” Confusion took over your features, “What?” “You two keep looking at one another when the other looks away. Look at him does he look happy?” Damian asked. You took the time to study your previous boyfriend surrounded in the crowd. Dick didn’t look happy at all, having a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, and overall looking tired. “What do I even say?” Great, you were asking the fifteen year old for advice. “Just start with a simple hello.” He nudged you in the direction of them.

Making your way through the crowd you tried to calm the feeling of anxiety that clawed at your chest, threatening to steal your breath. Technically you two didn’t end on bad terms so there really wasn’t anything to be nervous about. Moving through the multitude of girls you came face to face with Dick Grayson. “Hi.” You said with a smile. His face lit up no longer showing the previous exhaustion. “Y/N, hey. Do you wanna sit at the bar?” He whispered his question, trying to escape the girls. You grabbed his hand leading him to two seats.

“Thank you. That was suffocating.” He told you. After ordering drinks you spoke. “So we have a lot to talk about, Dick.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Either you start explaining or go join those girls over there again.” You stated, swirling your drink. “I owe you that much. To start off I still do really love you but, let me tell you why we needed to end things.”

a/n literal garbage but there will be a part two

[lillylvjy]

Stuck forever (by the glue)

A/n// hello! So this is a small thing that I thought of today, so sorry if it’s absolutely terrible! But it’s something to put out before I put out a long fic and finish request. So I hope you all enjoy!

Warning// kissing, swearing maybe?, jealous Wilbur, Wilbur and reader being cute, a pinch of angst if you look close enough, but pure fluff other than that. This is complete garbage :) (If I missed anything please tell me )

“Did you see that?! You saw that right?!” Wilbur asked James as he pointed at where you stood.

You and a bunch of your friends were at a get together with a bunch of different people. And when you went to go grab another drink for you and Wilbur, you got stopped by a guy you’ve never seen before, but you gladly made conversation with him.

Wilbur had other thoughts. He was never the “jealous” type. But he definitely didn’t like when other people looked at you like….that.

“Will, what are you talking about?” James asked, confused as he also watched the two interact with each other. “He literally did nothing.” He said looking at Wilbur with a scrunched face.

“No. No. He looked at them like…… like the way I look at them! Like they’re the most perfect thing in the world. I mean.. I’m happy he thinks it too but I can only look at them like that!” Wilbur struggled to get out as he looked at James quickly with desperate eyes before returning them back to you and the mystery man.

James quickly realized what Wilbur was at and smirked. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?” He asked as he turned his body towards Wilbur.

“I- What?! no! I’m not jealous! I’m just… angry? I don’t know! I just don’t like the way he’s looking at them.”

“Like a completely normal person?! Will just admit it. Your jealous. It’s fine, I get it! But trust me when I say, you’re fine. Y/n loves you. A lot.” James reassured Wilbur as he fell back on the couch and sighed.

“You’re right. Thanks James.” Wilbur said as he fixed his beanie over his hair, the hair you kept bugging him about to get cut.

“Anytime. Now go over there and get out of here. This party sucks anyways.” James said as he down his drink and walked over to where Aria and Ash were.

Wilbur sighed and walked over to where you were talking to the guy. ‘Ok Will. Just act normal. You’re fine.’ He thought to himself.

“Hello darling, who’s this?” Wilbur asked you as he slipped his arms around your torso from behind you. He looked at the man as he rested his head on top of yours.

“Oh! Wilbur this is John. John this is Wilbur-“

“Their boyfriend.” Will cut you off, cockily smirking at John.

“Oh? Boyfriend?” John asked, his face falling into one of realization and panic. As this all happened, you just smiled at the ground and held Wilbur’s forearms that were around your waist, knowing full well your beloved boyfriend was jealous. “I- I actually have to go. Uh, it was lovely meeting you!” John said as he quickly grab a drink and left.

“You too!” You yelled over the music and the distance already put in between you both. “Really? Was that necessary?” You asked Will as you turned in his arms and raised your eyebrow at him.

“Yes, now let’s go home. I’m tired and want cuddles.” He said as he took your hand in his and started to pull you towards the door.

“Wait Wil- Ok well! Bye guys, get home safe please!” You told James and the others with him as you past them. As you both finally left the apartment and into the fresh, yet cold air, you took a deep breath in before looking at Wilbur. “Ok. What was that back there? Were you jealous?!” You slightly yelled at Wilbur as you both started walking back to your shared apartment.

“Can you be quiet?! Also no I wasn’t! I was just simply telling that man-“

“John.”

“John, that you are not available. Simple as that.” Wilbur concluded as he looked at the ground and shoved his hands in his coat pocket, a frown evident on his face.

Your face fell as you soon realized what Wilbur was getting at. “Hey, woah, woah. Talk to me. What’s wrong?” You asked him as you stepped in front of him, stopping him from walking and looked him in the eye. “What’s going on?”

“I- I’m afraid. That you’ll find someone else. Someone better. And I know you love me but that thought still lingers in my head every time someone talks to you. And I don’t know why.” Wilbur looks down at the ground again as you sigh and gently push his chin up to look at you.

“Hey. Look at me. I love you. So much. And if you think me talking to some person I probably won’t ever see again will lead to me leaving you, you’re insane. You are my other half. I can’t be without you, Will. I love you. And only you.” You finish as you lean up and kiss him. Wilbur gently kisses you back as he wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you into him. The kiss continued for some time, gentle and full of love, until you both had to pull back for air.

Wilbur sighed and placed his forehead on yours. “I love you more, my dear. Only you. Always. I’m sorry for being jealous.” He whispers the last part, not wanting to admit his feelings.

“See! You admit it! And it’s fine darling. I promise.” You say as you take his beanie off and mess up his hair. “Also, if you love me that much, you would get a haircut.” You tell Wilbur as you started to walk away from him.

“Ok fine. I’ll set up an appointment, just for you.” He said as he grabbed his beanie back from you and tucked his hair back into the hat. You grabbed his hand as you both fell into a steady motion.

“Hey. Think about it this way. We’re stuck together. Like glue. Forever. Sounds fun right?!” You ask him as you looks at him.

“Sounds absolutely fantastic my love.” Wilbur said genuinely as you smiled widely at him and kissed the back of his hand.

[bisexual-horror-fan]

Tentatively Tending To Trauma. Poly!Camping Boys X FEM! AFAB! Reader. Chapter Two. "Fixing It Up."

Hello! So! I know, over a year since I posted the first chapter of this, been working chapter two on and off ever since, hopefully I can get back into a better schedule with this, but I make no promises with how my life has been lately. Regardless, I hope everyone is as excited as I am! I missed Buddy and Sam, and this fic is important to me and deserves some attention. I promise it won't be another year before chapter three, at least! Chapter one is back here if you need a refresher.

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Rating. SFW, for now. Length. 5.7K. Eventual Sam Wescott/Buddy Swanson X FEM! AFAB! Reader. She/Her Pronouns. Warnings: Movie Spoilers. Set After Stage Fright AND You Might Be The Killer. Still Very Light So Far. Mild Alcohol Consumption. Building Of Friendships.

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Your first night sleeping at camp went surprisingly well, a lot of the time you had trouble sleeping in new places, but you think the drive and overall excitement wore you out so much that you became practically comatose once your head hit the pillow. You wake up in the cabin alone, you take some time to lay in bed, enjoying the time to yourself. When the kids get here, sleeping in will be difficult if not impossible, even on some days off, so you decide to soak it up now. You make yourself get up eventually and start getting dressed. T-shirt and shorts today, you would be working outside basically all day, it was going to be hot, hair out of the way, socks on, sneakers, hat and sunscreen smeared, you head out. 

It isn’t too bad yet. It’s still early, the sun isn’t high in the sky, the fresh air is nice, there is dew on the grass, and you are ready to face today’s tasks head on. You go to the mess hall and find the serving trays full but the line itself is empty, you must be one of the first people up. You don’t wait around, you serve yourself, eat eggs and bacon and toast quickly, down coffee and juice and with a water bottle filled with ample ice you make your way back out, intent on getting serious work in. 

Wanting to get to right to it once at the boathouse and pull the key out of your shorts pocket, and you open the door, you look over everything and start to break down what you need to do and then get to work. First up is cleaning out the boathouse. It’s a little dusty, a little cobwebbed, some garbage about and while working on cleaning you notice there is a loose floorboard. You find a tool box and nails, and you really get into it. Some of the shelving is screwed up, you take to fixing that up too, and when doing that you also rearrange the boathouse to your liking. You figure you might as well since this is going to be your work station for the next three months. The floors had been swept, the window cleaned letting in some of that wonderful summer sunshine, the garbage all bagged up, you press on.

Throughout all this you assess the boats and decide they need some sooner rather than later maintenance, while working on the boathouse you found some still sealed cans of paint, after checking out the colours you made the call that after fixing them up you could even paint them. You make this the new priority, the paint was appropriate for the job, must have been bought for the last time the canoes were painted, but after they are cleaned up they will need a while to cure up properly. Even when the kids arrive you will have some time, all the kids who are going to use the canoes have to pass a swim test as well as being informed of the general safety prior to getting in one. If you are lucky, the first canoe rides will happen before the end of the first week of them being there. 

After some asking around to the other counsellors you find out there is a belt sander available, which is perfect because hand sanding this many canoes would be very time-consuming, this is going to speed up the process exponentially. The one thing that eventually pulls you out of the work is realising how hungry you are, not even sure of what time it is, but the sun is much higher, the temperature way hotter. You make the call to go to the mess hall, see if it is lunchtime. When you arrive, the place is empty. You worked through lunch and missed it, judging by the clock on the wall you’d been almost an hour past the allotted window. 

Fuck.

What are you going to do? You did bring some snacks and maybe retreating to your cabin to get something to tide you over was the move, you were thinking it over when the doors leading back to the kitchen opened and your eyes were drawn to the sound. Upon seeing Buddy up front, apron on and busing tub in his hands, you gain hope back for a second. He smiles and calls out, “Oh, there you are.” 

You begin to make your way up to the serving line where he is, “Hey Buddy. Hate to be a bother, is there any lunch left?”

He tells you in a light tone with a raise of his eyebrows, “You’re a little late.” 

“I know, I know, I got really caught up working, but still, do you have anything?” You asked, and he said, “Of course I do.”

“Wait really?” You asked, and he said, “All the food passes through my hands personally when serving, so when I didn’t see you I knew I should put something aside.” 

He gives you a single finger raise, the busing tray is set down, and he comes forward, reaches under the serving line, roots around a bit before pulling out a bag. He gestures for you to come closer, and you come up, he holds the bag out, and you take it. Opening the brown paper to find a wrapped sandwich, a fruit cup, cookies, veggie sticks, cheese and crackers, “Wow, quite a spread.”

“Hey, I know you’re working hard, gotta be well-fed.” You appreciated it, the look in his eyes conveyed that he believed it and that it meant more than just the job he was hired and brought here to do. 

“Thanks, it’s really nice of you.” He shrugs and brushes you off, saying it’s no big deal, he also tells you that he intends to stick to this, will always make sure something is put aside and even if you are late at times he encourages you to check the fridge in the back. 

You end up sitting at the table and eating the food he made, an easy conversation is struck as he is cleaning up the mess hall around you, since it was just the counsellors so far it was relatively easy, but he wants to keep in the habit of keeping it all cleaned up. 

“So, how goes the set-up?” You asked him, and he said, “Oh great, kitchen just needed a good deep clean, I’m basically all done, I just want to reorganize the fridge.” 

“I totally get what you mean, I did the same thing with the boathouse.” You tell him and he asked, “Already? You work quick.”

“Well it’s mostly done, right now I’m working on fixing up the canoes.” 

“They need much work?” He asks, and you tell him confidently, “Nothing I can’t handle.” 

“How foolish of me to doubt your immense talents.” He said easily as he loads another tray into the bin. “Very foolish indeed. I’m glad to hear the work is going well, but what about the assignment I gave you?”

A brow quirks up at that as he questions, “Assignment?” 

“Yes, to help you not be an anti-social loner this summer?” The recognition hits, and he says, “Oh, that.” 

“Yes. That. Have you made any friends yet?” He has finished picking up the trays and was going to start to walk to the back, and he says, “No, not quite yet-”

“Buddy.” You say his name and that makes him stop. A shared look, and he says your name in kind, and you push, “You promised.”

“I’m going to try, seriously, just been busy so far and also ease up we’ve been here like a day.” You take a bite of your sandwich and squint at him, an unconvinced hum, and he groans, eyes rolling back as he tells you, “I mean it, I’ll try okay?” 

You finish chewing, swallow and tell him,“That’s better. You deserve a fun summer, and I am not always gonna be able to be around to make sure that happens.” 

“You made the sale, now stop selling.” He says it lightly, and you thank him for listening to you. 

He brings the trays to the back and comes back out, he is wiping down tables as you talk, the conversation is good, there is a levity to it that makes you smile, the back and forth you’d already started to develop brings a smile to your face. You are sure he is going to make friends and have a good summer. 

Soon enough the food is done, you are giving him another thank you and getting up to head out the door, he calls out, “Once those canoes are ready, you’re still gonna take me for a ride right?”

You turn and call back, “You’ll be the first one I take out on the water, alright?”

A smile is thrown your way along with the call of, “Alright!” 

Back out in the sun and back to work you go. The time flies by while you are hard at work under the slowly sinking sun. You know another few hours have gone by when Sam comes by and tells you as such. He comes up with a friendly wave and an apology about how long he has taken to get over to you, you tell him that it’s, “-no trouble, I’ve been busy.” 

“So I can see.” he says with a look to the tools and things spread around in the grass. He has a small cooler with him, he opens it and pulls out a water bottle, he holds it out and says, “Take a break?”

You do just that. 

You and he sit on the grass, and you ask him how his day has been, “Busy, been getting pulled in every which direction, but I’m managing.”

“Almost like that’s the head counsellor’s job or something.” You tease and he laughs. He has a good laugh, you wish you could hear it more, a kind of laugh that makes you want to laugh too, infectious. You hope after camp is going, and you are all more settled into it, that he would feel more comfortable and relax some more. 

“How’d you get into doing this?” He asks, and you tell him, “My favourite activities at camp were the water based ones, swimming and of course canoeing, I loved it a ton. I got to a point of being an unofficial helper at my old camp with all that stuff.” 

“Wow, impressive.” He sounds genuine, and you toss him a sideways smile before you take another healthy drink from the water bottle he gave you, it feels so good and needed in the beating down heat of the summer day. 

The conversation meanders until you ask him, “So what about this camp, what’s the history of it?”

He opens his mouth to start to tell you when there is a shout of, “Sam?!” You both look to see another one of your fellow counsellors coming towards you both, seeking help, and Sam sighs. He gets up and tells you, “I’ll fill you in on that soon, okay?”

“You better stop running out on me soon, Sammy, or I’ll get the impression you don’t like me.” You call as you watch him go, with another laugh and a promise he’ll improve.

After some more work and a quick shower, you have dinner with the other counsellors, and you are determined today to stay up for the fire. You feel bad about being so tired and bailing, bonding with your fellow staff before camp starts up is important to you, foraging new friendships and relationships is important to you too. Dinner was good, better than yesterday even, and when you were going to return your tray and a few others upfront, you didn’t want to make Buddy have to run around cleaning them all up. You managed to catch him, offering up the trays, he smiled and took them gratefully. 

“Hey Buddy, thanks for dinner, it was fucking great.” You praise, and he said with a half-smile, “Thank you, glad you liked it.” 

“Just giving credit where it’s due. You coming to the bonfire tonight?” You ask, and he says, “I am and actually about that, it’s s’more night tonight and I could use a hand, mind helping me out?” 

You’d be happy to. 

Following along, you thought about how you hadn’t been inside the kitchen before tonight, the place looked good considering the fact it was post dinner, but again he just had to worry about feeding the counsellors, you are sure it might be a different story when all the kids are here. He was running the trays through the dishwasher and had gotten a box out while the machinery hummed behind him, he was loading it up with what was needed, graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate and the rest as you watched him. 

“So is this what you always wanted to do?” The question filled the space, even though it didn’t need to be filled. Buddy looked up at you and said, “What?”

“Cooking. Being a cook, is this what you always wanted to do?” You asked and one of his shoulders picked up, a half shrug as he said jokingly, “I think the term you are looking for is chef-”

He gave you a look-out from under his curls and the playfulness found in his blue eyes as well as his soft looking pink lips curled into a smile had quite the effect on you. What he said next was not as humorous, but it was warm, more honest, ”-and kind of. Always wanted to open a restaurant.” 

You feel there is more he isn’t saying, but you two are very new to knowing each other, maybe he will tell you more about it another time. Instead of really pushing, you just give a simple, “Really?”

He smiles wider, you see a flash of his teeth, “I mean, everyone needs their raison d’etre, right?” You laugh, “Oh man, busting out the French, hm?”

“I’m Canadian.” He said with a fond roll of his eyes as he picked up the box, adding on, “I’m allowed. Now come on, let’s get down there.” 

You and Buddy make your way to where the bonfire is meant to be that night. Starting the fire was easy enough, and soon other people were joining. You and he make s’mores together, toast marshmallows, break apart chocolate squares and assemble the confections together, pile up a plate with the sticky sweet delights you crafted, partially wrapped in tinfoil, both have a drink each during the process. After that, you are walking around with your bounty to share with everyone. Before you know it, you are with Sam again, he is standing alone and looking stressed, you ask him, “You want a s’more?”

He looks over at you and gives you a nervous smile, mumbling, “Thanks.” He takes the s’more but doesn’t take a bite. You quirk a brow at that and ask, “You wanna share with the class or?”

Sam’s eyes move towards you, and he exhales a simple, “What?”

“I can tell something if bugging you, so open your mouth to tell me all about it or to shove that damn s’more into it.” You tell him with a smile before taking a sip from the cool can you have in one hand, the other occupied holding the plate of s’mores.

You see the ghost of a smile pass his lips, head tipping forward a little, before he starts to tell you, “I’m just worried about getting everything ready in time for the camp’s opening. Worried about making this a good summer for the counsellors and kids alike too, honestly.” 

You can’t help the laugh that spills out, you have to grip the plate harder for fear it might slip from your grasp. You laugh so hard it takes a moment for your shoulders to stop shaking, and you inhale hard as you catch your breath, Sam asks for the second time tonight, “What?”

“Sorry, sorry! I just-” You giggle before saying, “Sam, that’s fucking ridiculous.”

“Oh gee thanks.” he scoffed, and you jump to say, “No, no, I just mean, I’ve been seeing how hard everyone has been working, the camp will for sure be ready and as for having fun? I mean, come on, I saw the draft of the activities, everyone is going to have a killer time!” 

You set the can down on the picnic table you had both been standing next to, you reach out and set your hand on his shoulder, you give a reassuring squeeze and a smile that radiated as much warmth as the camp fire burning a few feet away. The smile seemed to infect him as well, you could feel his shoulder relax under your touch. He asked, “You mean that?”

And you confirmed sincerely, “Course I do! Now loosen up, eat your s’more, have a beer, kids won’t be here for a good long while, get your relaxing in now! It’s not like we can keep working on what needs to get done in the dark anyway, right?” 

He exhaled, amused and nodded, “You are very right, and uhm, thank you. I really feel better getting that out, I think I needed to hear that.” 

“Anytime, and I mean that, now I am not leaving your side until you get a drink in, you wouldn’t let me drink alone, would you?” A slight pout and he says, “Well, I am supposed to be setting an example to the other counsellors-” He reaches into the nearby cooler and takes out a beer. 

You and he drink together, people come by for s’mores and the night wares on. You have a good time, and eventually you and Sam drift apart, and you talk to your other counsellors, and Sam does the same. At one point you look over at him and see him talking animatedly and excitedly, at least three drinks deep, face a little flushed and laughing to some joke, it makes you happy to see. 

You go to bed that night much later and wake up the next day much later as a result. You get ready and make your way to the mess hall for a late breakfast, when you are in line getting served Buddy teases you, “Sleep alright?” 

A small laugh, “M’ fine, I hydrated before bed, no hangover for me.” 

“Smart cookie.” He praises as he heaps scrambled eggs next to your silver dollar pancakes, and you grin, “That’s me.” 

The breakfast is great, you eat the food, get some orange juice and coffee in you and fill up your reusable water bottle with ice and water before heading out to get back to work. 

Falling back into the rhythm of it is easy, you work hard, work so hard in fact you work right through lunch, again, you shouldn’t make that a habit, but you are finally caught up on everything. You are starving but happy, you make your way to find the head counsellor before going to get some food, too excited and desperate to tell him you are all caught up, you find him after a while, calling out , “Sammy!”

You approach him with a wave, and he looks up from his task, chopping wood, a smile of his own, he waves in return as you walk up to him. “Hey! Missed you at lunch, was going to swing by soon to check on you.” 

“Sorry, was busy working, but I had to come tell you, I finished my tasks, so if you need my hands anywhere else I can pick up some slack.” 

Sam’s brows lift, and he seems genuinely surprised, he sets the axe down, leaning on it, your eyes linger just a bit, he is missing the flannel, and you can’t help but notice how nice his arms look in his camp branded t-shirt. “Wow! You work quick!”

“Thanks!” You say with a big smile, feeling genuinely happy to hear the praise, Sam tells you, “I appreciate the hustle, seriously, but you worked so hard, you can totally take the rest of the day off. If you want you can help with some of the final clean up in the last few areas tomorrow.” 

“Awesome! Totally would be happy to help out, I’ll see you at dinner.” You say, and he stops you, “Just one second. I have a question.” 

“Shoot.” You prompt him, and he says, “How did you get the rest of your work done so quick?”

“C’mon, man, I worked through lunch.” You say with a smile before tacking on, “And I’m just that good.” 

“Well, you didn’t eat then?” You shake your head and Sam tuts, he leans the axe against the pile of good as he tells you,  “That’s no good, dinner is hours off yet, follow me.” 

That is the first time you find yourself in Sam Wescott’s office. It’s nice, homey, the windows let in a lot of natural light, his desk is organized. There is a shelf with pictures from summer's previous, you recognize locations from around the camp, Sam was a cute kid. He offers up half of his own sandwich from lunch and a small bag of chips. You grin and take them gratefully, “Oh, thank you so much!” 

“Least I can do, you can’t go hungry.” He said easily enough with a nod. “Now go enjoy the rest of your day.” 

You turn on your heel with another thank you, and you hear him say after you, “Thank God you joined up this summer.”

The feeling was mutual. You ponder how well fed you were between Buddy and Sam as you munched on turkey on wheat on the way back to your cabin. You caught a power nap and a chapter of your book before dinner. 

After another great meal, where you made sure to thank Buddy profusely for the dinner he teased you, “Seriously, I missed you at lunch again, you gotta stop working so hard, you’ll burn out, and we aren’t even a week in!” You told him you appreciated his concern, but that you’d be fine.  After dinner, you had nothing going on, tonight there was no set activity, seemed everyone had been working themselves very hard, it was a free night, do whatever. You go to your cabin again, gather your things, and go have your first proper shower since arriving. You really scrub yourself down, much more involved than the quick rinse the other day, the rest of the night is spent relaxing and reading one of the many books you brought along. 

You pass out and wake up mid-morning to the sound of knocking on your cabin door. Stumbling out of bed, you make your way to the door and pull it open to find Sam standing outside. “Hey! Oh, my God, I am so sorry, did I wake you up?”

A glance down at yourself still in your tank top and sleep short shorts, you shrug, “Yeah, but no worries, what’s up?”

He nodded and said, “I was just wondering if you could show me around the boat house after breakfast? And then I can show you where else we might need your help?” 

“Oh yeah, sounds great!” You tell him with a nod, you try to smile but end up yawning, you cover your mouth slightly embarrassed, and Sam says, “Great, see you post breakfast.” 

You wave, “See you then.” You close the door and since you are awake you set to getting dressed and ready. You head out over Buddy serving you French toast and bacon, he greets you with a surprising amount of cheer for it being so early, you suppose you are making an impression. 

“What are you doing today?” He inquires, and you ask, “Why do you wanna know?”

“I’m done with my work, wondering if I could get that canoe ride?” He asks, and you tell him, “Sam has to check over my work and I said I would help out some other people, but I can totally make a bit of time for that today.”

“Yeah?” He asked, and you told him, “Absolutely! I’m excited about it, dying to get out on the water already, it’s been too long.” 

“Amazing, maybe after lunch?” He asked, and you said genuinely, “I’ll do my best.” 

Post breakfast you grab Sam and steer him in the direction of the boat house, you show him everything, walk around pointing out all you did and Sam is very impressed, “You REPAINTED the boats?!”

His mouth was hanging open, he reminds you a bit of a fish, and you laugh, “Well most of them, this one was in surprisingly good shape!” You say, patting the side of it. “They look like new, right? I even redid the camp Clear Vista on the sides.” 

“I am speechless.” He had his hands on his hips, shaking his head in disbelief, and you felt very, very proud of yourself, “Where else do you need me?” 

“Oh yes! About that-” He clapped his hands together and said, “-I asked around and turns out everyone is all caught up, so everyone gets a free day!” 

That IS very good fucking news. You have the whole day to do whatever you want! You ask Sam, “What are you going to do?”

“I am going to finish up some last minute paperwork, look over everyone else's work-” The way he shares his admission is slightly shy, he rushes to tell you next, “-but I will be able to join for the fire tonight!”

Stifling a laugh, telling him, “Sam, you work too hard, you better have some real fun tonight.” You sigh after, and he promises, “I will.” 

Satisfied, you wish him well on the remainder of his work, and you make your way back to the mess hall. You head right back to the kitchen, and you push open the door calling out, “Oh Buddy?”

The fridge closes, and you see his curly haired head pop into view, “Surprised to see you here already.” 

“I’ve got good news! Sam told me everyone is all caught up, everyone has a free day, so I am ready whenever you are.” You tell him, and he says, “That is very good news! I’ve got some of my own too, today is grab and go for lunch.” 

He gestures to the trays on the table, “I am gonna put em out there and people can get whatever they want, I did it, so everyone could grab whatever to finish their work, but now I guess they can grab it and go wherever they want.” 

This is wonderful all around. You help Buddy put everything out for anyone to grab before he tells you, “Let me just finish the cleanup, I’ll meet you at the boathouse in a half hour?”

You nod and go off to get some things ready. You love even this, getting everything together to go out on the water, the  half hour passes easily and Buddy joins you, he lets you take the lead, and you help him get in the boat, and you are pushing off. Buddy’s curls are hidden from view, wearing a bucket hat, he is wearing some of the sunscreen you brought, he had packed some of the lunch stuff for you guys to enjoy. The conversation flows like the water the boat is in, you talk easily but also share comfortable and companionable silences. You talk a bit about technique, how to maintain balance, steering, and Buddy listens to every word. 

He breaks one of the bouts of silences by saying, “You really know your shit.” 

A light laugh, the running water and rustling of the trees clear in the backdrop, “I’d hope so after all this time. Can’t tell you how many hours I have spent under the sun and in a boat.” 

While you guys are paused, simply floating, eating lunch, he says, “I think I get it.”

You hum questioningly and Buddy says, “Why you like it. S’ real calming.” 

Brightening considerably, you tell him, “Yeah it is! Very calming, I love how still and quiet everything can be out here. Gives me a chance to reflect.”

“Could use some of that from time to time?” He asked, and you nodded, taking another bite of your sandwich, “Yup, you?”

He sighed before parroting you, “Yup.” 

“Canada that stressful?” You ask, and he laughs, a small startled sound, “No, no, the country is not.”

“How would I know? I’ve never been. Could be a lawless wasteland for all I know.”

“It isn’t that different from America, you know.” He teases, and you say, “Then why’d you leave?”

He shakes his head, “Oh you know, just…Wanted a change of scenery. I’m young, why not get outta the country, see some of the world?” 

Fair enough. Can’t fault him for that. 

The rest of lunch is nice, you get him back to the shore, and you say, “We should do this again sometime.” 

“I would love that, make it a regular thing.” He took off his life jacket and passed it over and told you, “I have to go get a start on dinner, thanks again for the ride.” 

“Anytime.” You wave, and he returns it, you watch him go before cleaning up, getting the canoe out of the water and back in place. Back at your cabin, you do some more reading for a while until you feel a little restless.

You want to enjoy the nice weather, take advantage of it, back outside you go and during your walk you come across Sam, finally done with his work. He seems more at peace just from the relaxed expression on his face. You end up sitting on this hill together, you can see most of the camp, the sun is starting to set, dinner will be soon.

Sam says, “This is my favorite place at camp.”

You glance over at him, the orange light playing off his features, the shadows that fall and your eyes follow his lips as they move, “It’s nice up here, the view is great, just the air feels better out here you know? Fills up my lungs in a way that they don’t get filled up anywhere else.” 

You let him talk, and he continues, “I am so excited, this place means the world to me, and I am dying to make this even better than it used to be when I was a kid, you know?”

Meeting your eyes, he says, “Thank you for all your help, not to be a total sap, but I’m really grateful.” 

It has only been three days, but you already feel closer to Sam, you have a really good feeling about your blossoming friendship. 

“I don’t think you are a sap, I can tell this is really important to you. I’m happy to help make it happen.” You said, you stretch before leaning back on your hands, the grass feels cool, you look up at the colourful sky and say, “I want the same things you do, you know. I want to make this the kind of summer I remember having as a kid, and hey, maybe it is a little selfish, but I kinda wanna try and recapture some of that for myself.” 

He was a little vulnerable with you, no shame in being a tad vulnerable back. 

“I hope you can.” Sam sounded so sincere, it was utterly endearing. 

Dinner was a bigger deal tonight, Buddy and Jason poured a ton of effort into it, and there were many thanks all around. You talked excitedly with your fellow counsellors about the busy day ahead tomorrow with the first batch of kids arriving. After dessert, a make your own sundae bar, you had seconds, everyone headed back out to the fire pit. 

Alex, one of the other counsellors was going to be song leader, he came out with his guitar, he plays songs and everyone sings along, Buddy is less than impressed, you offer to sit with him and do so at the fringes of the group. You and he are having a drink and that is when Sam comes over. 

“Not singing?” Sam asks, and you laugh, a gesture of your head to your brunette and not so musically inclined haired companion, “Buddy isn’t a fan of singing and I didn’t want him to sit alone.” 

Sam seemed surprised to hear of this and said, “Nice of you to not leave him lonely.” 

Buddy hums and takes a drink, a nod before saying, “Yeah she’s been great at checking in on me, we went out on the water earlier.” 

“She took you out in a canoe?” Sam asked slowly, and you said confidently, happiness apparent, “First go of the season! It was so fun, Buddy had never been in a canoe before, can you believe it?” 

“I cannot.” Sam laughs, “I do believe about her checking in on you, she’s been doing the same with me.” 

“Oh, thanks by the way for showing me that spot on the hill, totally gorgeous, you might bump into me there on my own sometimes.” You say with a cock of your head and a raise of your brows, and Buddy not wanting to be left out, asks, “Spot on the hill?”

“Yeah, there’s this nice place that you can see almost all the camp from, Sam and I sat up there, had a good talk at sunset before dinner.” 

“A conversation at sunset.” Buddy mused, can at his lips, “You’re real busy, aren’t you?” He asks with a nudge of your shoulder, and you put your hands up, “Guilty.” 

You see it then, a look on Sam’s face at the easy physical contact between you and Buddy, there was something to it, you look over at Buddy and see them both looking at one another, almost considering each other. You look between the pair and the realization starts to sink in, you are starting to like them both and if the way they are looking at each other and reacting to hearing how you have been spending time one on one, they might be beginning to like you too. 

Maybe this summer is going to lead to more. But how could you ever pick between them?

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Hello! I’been writing a play for a long time now. Started it on march 2022, hit a wall that I didn’t know how to move through and decided to give it a break, let it breathe. The thing is, I can really feel I have something special with it, special for me and for what it means to me, but it’s like I can’t even figure out WHY, and how to give form to it. It’s like an abstract thing inside my brain that I’m not sure how to bring to life in a logical way yet. Cut to 2023, for a short time now I’ve been trying to do it. Do the old trick of “just write even if it’s garbage, but write” and I don’t know how I feel about this. There are moments when I feel that I’m going somewhere, where it just flows. But from a technical and objective point of view I can see that it’s really discursive and nothing really HAPPENS. I fear that I will turn out with something too abstract and with little action, but at the same time, the play revolves around the theme of “being stuck” so that is a big part for it not involving a lot of action. Anyways, I don’t know how to feel and would very much appreciate some advice for this weird kind of blockage 😅🫶🏼

This is a hard part of the writing process to get over, because when you hit this wall, it's hard to see around it. Realistically, you know you have to push through this crappy draft version to get to anything concrete. In practice, though, that's hard to do, especially when you have this grand vision that you just can't get down on paper. Here are some ideas to try:

The sounding board of a second opinion. Often talking your writing woes out with someone will help you figure out how to solve them, even if what that person suggests isn't anything close to what you actually want to do. I went through this process with my writing group earlier this week - in explaining a vague idea for Nanowrimo, a fellow writer made a suggestion that wouldn't work for my story - but it did help me figure out a missing piece of the puzzle to get that concept into a working story. Talking to people about your story can help.

Rubber duck it. Finding people you can comfortably talk to about writing is much easier said than done. Sometimes you slog through alone, and when that's the case, pull out the rubber duck method. It works for coders, it works for engineers, and it can work for you. Slap your favorite figurine or stuffed animal down in front of you, and let yourself talk through the problem. It'll feel awkward, and it might be slow-going, but it can really help if you try. I have a plushie of Gritty who sees all and judges, but dang is he helpful in working out what to do.

Speaking of Nanowrimo... I know you're worried about writing a lot of stuff that won't work out in the long run, but sometimes that's how writing works. You need to push through it, and sometimes writing a lot of garbage is the only way to do it. Erin Morgenstern originally wrote THE NIGHT CIRCUS during Nanowrimo - but as she admits, 100k of that original work didn't even include the main character and never made it to the final version. You gotta be okay with writing garbage. You will find your way through it, even though it might seem like it's going nowhere.

Nanowrimo is coming up, and I recommend taking advantage of it to push yourself through. Find a local group, join a discord server, and give yourself permission to suck. You can push through this and find the story you're looking for.

[finalmemesx]

Red, White & Royal Blue

By Casey McQuiston

“What’d you steal today?”

“Anything good this week?”

“That one is true.”

“Oh yeah, that was a wild night.”

“That can’t possibly be a real class you’re taking.”

“Whose wedding?”

“You’re going to ask them to dance, then?”

“Something is wrong with both of you.”

“Could be weirdly effective.”

“Do either of y’all know what a viscount is?”

“It’s cute how you think everything is about you.”

“It should be, honestly.”

“Do you know how to waltz?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“Looks like it’s your lucky day.”

“I believe perhaps you should consider switching to water.”

“I want so badly for you to explain to me how this is funny.”

“Please, tell me another joke.”

“Is it too late to take the faking-my-death option?”

“Are you really not understanding how much I don’t care at all how you feel about this?” “You won’t miss anything.”

“So there’s really no way I’m getting out of this?”

“I don’t know what else to do, is the thing.”

“Shakespearean in that hopefully I’ll get stabbed to death.”

“I can’t believe I have to learn this garbage.”

“That’s because you are a nerd.”

“Everything looks like a museum.”

“Have you practiced what you’ll say tomorrow?”

“I think you’ve got the right idea.”

“Do you mind?”

“This is your fault!”

“How is this possibly my fault?”

“I cannot believe even mortal peril will not prevent you from being the way you are.”

“So you do have some fight in you.”

“I’d rather not be the little spoon.”

“Do you really want to have that conversation?”

“I didn’t realize you heard that.”

“I feel like you’re missing the point.”

“How can I be wrong about my favorite? It’s a personal truth.”

“It’s a personal truth that is wrong and bad.”

“You exhaust me.”

“I enchant you.”

“I’ll call security.”

“Fair enough.”

“Wow, I thought I could trust you.”

“It was like you were tying to set him on fire with your mind.”

“What is your point?”

“Bring them to the house.”

“Are you done? I have some actual work to do.”

“Because we all knew better than to try and stop you.”

“Just bring me my pizza.”

“It ever make you laugh to think how much this pisses assholes off?”

“You really think it’s such a bad idea?”

“You don’t think I was out of line?”

“You were in on this, weren’t you?”

“Did this man just say ‘sweat drop down my balls’?”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“I’m going for a fun, and you’re coming with me.”

“You’re not surprised?”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Is this a diabolical scheme of seduction?”

“Cool to see you’re not dead or anything.”

“Do you mind?”

“Find your way here okay?”

“You’ve been dodging me for weeks.”

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“I don’t like that look.”

“Hey, don’t threaten me with a good time.”

“Call it historical curiosity.”

“So you’re upset because the rumors aren’t true.”

“You are a wanker.”

“I’m going to need you to not call me that right now.”

“You’ve always backed me up until now.”

“Why don’t you say whatever it is you need to say?”

“I’m not sure I’m following.”

“It’s not about that. This time is different.”

“Hello, excuse me, can we get another round of these please?”

“Have I mentioned lately that you’re a demon?”

“I trust you can handle yourself?”

“Bisexuality is truly a rich and complex tapestry.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Would you describe it as supersonic?”

“Can y’all go sit somewhere else?”

“Awesome, fuckin’ love doing things out of spite.”

“Has anyone shown you around the clubhouse yet?”

“You really are determined to get shoved out of an emergency hatch one day, huh?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Well, I hope it was fun, because if anyone ever finds out about this, we’re all fucked.”

“Yes, we can unpack the ironic symbolism later. Go.”

“If you finish that sentence, I’m going to spend tonight in jail.”

“Okay, I’m clearing my schedule for the afternoon.”

“I don’t believe in systems when I’m on vacation.”

“How long have you lot come out here?”

“Hope you’re ready to fuckin’ party.”

“Fuck off, five-nine is average.”

“Can’t you ever just do one thing without having to be so goddamn extra about it?”

“Do you have any idea what that means?”

“You think I don’t care as much as you?”

“You’re sure as hell acting like it.”

“I never said you were a coward.”

“Your hair in the mornings is truly a wonder to behold.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Yeah, don’t let it go to your head.”

“I suppose we do have to face the consequences at some point.”

“When are you going to tell us who you’re dating?”

“You gonna fight me?”

“I want you to tell me why.”

“You’re not the same.”

“How the fuck did they get these?”

“You’re giving my ulcer an ulcer.”

“But short for a stormtrooper.”

“Thank God you’re here. I was about to come get you myself.”

“I fucking love you.”

“You’re too young to understand.”

“That is the bravest son of a bitch I’ve ever met.”

“Oh, will you all shut up for a second?”

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“I said, you look great, baby!”

“My life is a cosmic joke and you’re not a real person.”

“You should have tried to stop me.”

“Are you actually quitting for real?”

“How are things over there?”

“Wanted to come by to see if I could help with anything.”

“Will you please just help me pick?”

“Fire under my ass for no good goddamn reason.”

“You’re kind of hot when you get all indignant.”

[bitchdafuqyousay]

The Usual Business

The night was warm and sticky, especially so after the rain they’d gotten in the afternoon. Alex wrinkled her nose with distaste as she stepped out of the car- the whole street smelled like wet dog, piss and probably every alcohol that’d ever been invented. And trash, of course. Couldn’t ever forget the fuckin' garbage rotting in the streets right alongside the people who lived here.

The nasty smell and shit weather didn’t deter the walking sort of trash from being out here however, God could send another flood and a lot of these punks would spend their last seconds in the redlit sector.

“Be careful, yeah? Oh, but be quick too, Yammi! I dun’ wanna be on this street for long.” The young man who drove huffed and slumped onto his steering wheel.

She waved her hand dismissively as she double checked the receipt in her hand, before tucking it back into a folder she was carrying “Yeah, yeah Sammy- I don’t intend to hang around. But don’t worry too much, you’re not hot enough to get propositioned. Not here at least, you’re way overshadowed by the actual streetwalks.”

She could feel him pouting at her behind her back, didn't even need to look at him to know his freckled face had scrunched up and he was sticking out his lower lip far enough that it could be his collarbone's own umbrella.

“You dun’ gotta be mean about it, you’re always so mean to me Yammi, thought you’re supposed to be the nice one here.”

“I am the nice one here. Stop whining at me and just wait for a bit, kay? This shouldn’t take long at all.” 

He grumbled something under his breath as she shut the car door and walked up to the double wood doors; plastered in posters and advertisements to drum up business and finished with the word Käzchen's Club painted on them. As if someone would somehow miss the neon red sign on the top of the building and would have no idea which brothel they were currently at. 

Alex grunted as she pushed open one of the heavy doors and she was greeted by a burly man, he was short, but no less intimidating. He waved lazily at her from where he was standing at the top of the two small stairs you’d need to go up to actually get into the club portion of the place. To the credit of the staff here- especially the owner, Riche- it wasn’t a bad place. Definitely leagues over others in the same area. Any bastard coming in here had to have actual money, not just a few dollars they scraped together to toss pitifully on stage. And you could bet your ass you weren’t getting even close to an upstairs room with one of the ladies if you didn’t have full pockets. The interior was nice enough as well, but not her taste. Too… fussy. But still nice.

And the man in front of her wasn’t gonna let just any lowlife in this establishment who might ruin that niceness. He would block entry with violent force if he felt he should. A man would also be removed with even more violent force if it were necessary. Breaking the “no touching the dancers or bottle girls” rule was a sure fire way to get some teeth knocked out as well as a broken nose when you get thrown out the doors face first onto the street.

“Slugger! Good to see you, how’s it been?”

The man simply grunted, just nodding his head in response to her greeting as he stepped aside so she could pass by him.

“Riche upstairs, or is he smacking people who get too rowdy around the floor with an improv weapon?”

“...Upstairs.”

She brushed past and made her way to the far end of the main floor, waving politely at the working women who called out their hellos in high, flirty melodies. A couple customers stopped her too, asking about her boss and if they were after any gigs currently; she politely told them that they’d need to actually call her boss if they had any legitimate inquiries and excused herself quickly.

She was here for work, not socializing.

Last time she’d been here she was discussing the fees for an order Riche had put in with her company. He’d been asking for a pretty large amount of cocaine he could sell out to the fuck ups that came here to satiate themselves. He sold it here, and her company- a great group of renaissance men- dealt it out as a middleman. Match made in heaven. But during their conversation there was some commotion downstairs- it was so loud and so disruptive that the man marched downstairs with Alex in tow to see who was ‘making a ruckus in his good establishment’. Some piss-drunk dickhead had climbed on stage and tried to get aggressively handsy with a dancer, and then stabbed one of the bouncers when they dragged him off the poor woman. Riche had stormed over and beat the man’s face in with a custom made shiny black stiletto. By the time he finished exacting his righteous punishment and was screaming at Slugger to get this ‘useless, limpdick, piece of rotting dog shit bastard’ out of his building the shoe had transformed into a red bottom. A real treat for Alex to witness. But she didn't want to see it this evening. She was too tired for such excitement.

Once she got to the staircase and shut its door behind her the music dulled into a distant sounding thumping, conversations and laughter faded into a monotonous buzz. She sighed, steeling herself for the new sounds she was about to be assaulted with. Said sounds getting increasingly louder as she climbed the stairs and actually reached the second floor. Her target was the large, red door at the very end of the hallway. That's where Riche was, but to get there she had to walk past the sounds of men who got too caught up in a sugar trap and the women who were profiting from it.

Beds creaking and hitting the walls, shuffling of fabric, the high pitched and perfectly practiced falsettos from the women who worked here, calling out names and giving perfectly timed praise. 

Their acting was actually pretty good. Though Alex still wondered how the johns fell for it and thought it was real.

She finally reached the end of the hallway and lifted her hand to knock on that red door, but she was startled by it opening as soon as she did so. There was a quick beat of silence as the two people stared at each other in surprise. The other one broke it first.

“Ms. Yammada… hello…”

She stifled a giggle, but had trouble forcing her grin down, “Smiles! What a wonderful surprise.” Her eyes went over him a few times, taking in his appearance. His shirt was uncharacteristically rumpled, the ever present yellow mask with the cartoon grin on it was a bit crooked, and she could see smears of lipstick on both sides of his neck, on his collarbones, and she even thought she saw a couple of bite marks disappearing into his shirt.

“Hm. Well, I suppose you have an appointment with Riche. I’ll be going then.” He stepped around her and began walking away.

“Oh, Smiles! Wait a moment! You missed a belt loop.”

He stopped and began looking, patting his hips to try and find which loop he’d missed and Alex burst out into laughter, not bothering to suppress herself this time. 

“Ah. I see. You are teasing me. How humorous.” He gave her a quick glare over his shoulder, but it didn’t hold any actual anger. The two actually got along decently, well, as much as he would allow anyone to get along with him.

“I hope you continue to enjoy your night, good doctor.” She called out to him, and he leveled her with another pointed look in response, but then the glare softened and his good eye squinted in a way that meant he was smiling at her.

He left with a friendly-ish wave over his shoulder, and she turned to knock on the red door; which was already open. She was only knocking out of politeness and to alert her arrival before she walked in without waiting to be invited.

Riche was sitting at his vanity, reapplying his favored blood red lipstick. 

“Yammi baby, don’t tease him too much-” he turned around on his stool and feigned a disappointed look “-you know how flustered my handsome beau can get.”

“He only gets flustered with you, Riche. He’s totally emotionless with everyone else. You can find a broader range of emotion on the face of a flat Stanley doll.” 

Riche chuckled demurely, covering his mouth with a graceful, satin covered hand that was followed by a brief stretch of quiet as he finished fixing his makeup and Alex looked around for a place to sit.

“Oh, here baby, you take the vanity seat.” The man stood up and gestured to said place before sauntering by and draping himself over his bed, stretching out a lean arm in order to reach his cigarette pack on the nightstand, tossing it onto the silk covers next to him before going and patting about the nightstand again. His perfectly groomed brows scrunched up a bit.

“Baby, is my lighter over there on the vanity? I swore I left it here, though.”

Alex reached into her pocket and pulled out her own lighter; she herself didn’t smoke, but Hans and her boss did, so she kept one on her in case they needed a light for whatever reason. She smiled sweetly as she leaned over and lit his smoke for him.

“You probably knocked it to the floor somewhere while you were throwing the good doctor around.” 

“Ooh, probably. I just hadn’t seen my man in a while, y’know? That pretty thing's been so busy lately I was practically starving. So I-”

“I don’t wanna know what poses or shapes you twisted him into, Riche. I just need to affirm costs with you and get you to sign something for me.”

“I know, I know. Always business as usual with you, isn’t it?” He huffed but crawled over to sit at the edge of the bed anyways, swinging his long legs over the side and crossing them. He took a quick drag from his cigarette and left it hanging in his mouth as he took the lengthy receipt from Alex. She also handed him the printed transcript from their last conversation so he could compare the two. Alex had already done the math, and her math was flawless as always. But it was a good business practice to re-discuss things with clients before moving forwards. And she was a good businesswoman. 

“I don’t know why I even bother looking, really. I trust Maroon Company to get the details right, and if you’re the one handling the paperwork and numbers, baby, then I don’t have anything to worry about…” He paused, “Aside from where I put my pen. Hang on I need to-”

She pulled one out of her breast pocket and extended it to him.

“Always so prepared. Lighters, pens, whatever else a person might need. Tucked into your little pockets.”

“Tucked into my cleavage too. I’ve got a fine tip sharpie in there if you’d rather use that.”

“Pfft-” he covered his laugh with the back of his hand again, “-no Yammi that's alright, this ballpoint is just fine.”

He scribbled the mess that was his signature and handed her papers back for her to tuck into her folder. At least he wasn’t at a big risk for fraud. Nobody could convincingly reproduce that bullshit.

“Alright, well that’s it, Riche, thank you. You’ll get a call when it arrives at the warehouse. Have a good night, okay?”

“You too, baby. But a call is so impersonal, my goodness, none of you visit often enough. You only show up for business and only god knows how long it's been since your boss showed me her beautiful face. Give her my well wishes and tell her stop by some time, yeah? I’ll even mix her a drink myself!”

“I’ll pass it on to her! See you next time!”

Alex all but jogged down the hall, the later it was in the night the noisier it was in the rooms and Alex really wasn’t interested in hanging around to listen. It was raining again when she got back to the car. Sam was sitting slumped in his seat, probably still moping. She opened the passenger door and climbed in, shutting it the second her ass touched the old leather seat. Sammy shifted out of park and pulled off before she finished buckling. She didn’t care though, she wanted to get back to the office decently quickly too. She was tired.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and snorted when she saw the collection of frowny faces he’d drawn on the driver's side window, little crying faces traced into existence when the wet, humid night air had fogged the windows up. She didn’t comment on it, though. She was the nice one here, after all, so she’d leave Sam and his sad little faces to themselves for now.

[hilarychuff]

All the Best People See You (All the Best People Know), Chapter 7

hello it's finally time for another installment in my pre-season 4 robin/chrissy inadvertant desert hearts movie date au!!! exciting!!

“You should’ve seen the way she looked at me,” Robin sighs, slumping back against the counter for support. “I swear, for just a moment there…”

read it on ao3 here

Robin steps up next to Chrissy’s locker right as the bell rings for fourth period.

“Hey! So I wasn’t sure where you’d want to go, but I remembered you said that you don’t like to eat in the cafeteria because it gets too loud, so I was thinking maybe the bleachers outside, but then I wasn’t sure if the gym classes might bother you? I also know there’s a band room open now if you’d rather go there, but the class right next door is jazz ensemble this period actually, and even though it’s not really that loud with all the insulation, the horns can still be kind of a lot — and trust me, that’s coming from a trumpet player myself — so then I kind of felt like maybe that would not really be ideal either? But I couldn’t think of any other, uh — I can keep brainstorming, though! I’m sure there’s a good spot somewhere that’s private — or, uh, quiet or…”

It’s the start of early lunch, and Robin’s been trying to come up with good spots to eat for the last four hours at least. By the time second period rolled around, she thought she’d settled on two good options, and her plan had been to fill Chrissy in on the walk to Civics. Unfortunately, when she went to find Chrissy at her locker, Jason Carver was already there.

Robin had watched from down the hall as Chrissy’s boyfriend wrapped her up in his letterman jacket, then slung his arm around her shoulders. He’d led Chrissy away from the lockers and down the hall, and Robin had followed from a distance like an idiot, unable to look away even though the sight of them made her feel slightly sick. They were like something out of a magazine, some nostalgic ‘50s Coke commercial, and she’d tailed them right up until the moment that Carver dropped Chrissy off at her classroom door.

Only then had Robin stopped, half pretending like maybe she needed a drink from the water fountain across the way. She’d watched while Jason disappeared into his own class, waited while more students filtered through the hall, stalled practically until the bell rang to start the period. Only at that last moment had she finally ducked in to find her own seat, slipping into the room right as Mr. Strickland started the lesson.

He’d talked all the way through the next hour without leaving a single second for interruption. Even if she wanted, Robin wouldn’t have been able to get a word in edgewise. Instead, she’d just spent the entire period staring at Chrissy’s back. Staring at Jason’s letterman jacket.

When the bell rang again, it was Chrissy that turned around in her seat.

“Meet me at my locker for lunch?”

She didn’t bother to mention where her locker was. Maybe she just assumed Robin knew. Maybe she assumed everyone knew, and maybe everyone does. Chrissy is practically a celebrity at Hawkins High, after all. Maybe her locker location is just common knowledge, the same way everyone knows her name, that she’s head cheerleader, that she’s dating Jason Carver.

Robin hadn’t asked her to explain, though. Chrissy was right. Robin didn’t need her to. She’d just nodded dumbly without saying a word. Watched Jason tuck Chrissy under his arm when he met her at the door. Walked behind the two of them all the way back down the hall. She proceeded to spend the entirety of band missing cues and hitting wrong notes while her broken brain bounced between conjuring up images of Hawkins High’s blondest couple and spontaneously generating reasons why all her possible lunch locations were worse than rancid garbage.

Chrissy snaps her back to reality.

keep reading

[moonnue]

Show Off

Ascended!Astarion x Tav/Reader (2nd Person POV)

Rated E! It’s smut! 18+ only!

Word Count: ~2.5k

Summary:

When new guests arrive, Astarion always likes making a good first impression. He summons you, his beautiful trophy wife, to show everyone else just how much better he is than they are.

Notes:

Hello! Long time no see! I bring new garbage! :D Truth be told, I've got lots of WIP's. Just haven't been in the mood to finish any of them! Finally got around to this one. I was thinking: you know? We don't really see a lot of fics where Tav is just as fucked up as Ascended!Astarion. So, here it is! There is one named side character, Lord Wingate, that gets involved. I'm not sure what other tags to give this work, so if I missed a good one, let me know! (Or, hey, even if I missed a tag that could help people avoid this kind of story. I get it!) Anyway, hopefully you enjoy! ♥

—

"My Lady?"

You turn to the open doorway, where a servant stands. Poor dear won't meet your eyes. She's wringing her hands as she mutters, "Lord Ancunin has requested your presence in the throne room."

Your skin buzzes. It's been a while since he's made this request. Considering all the possibilities, you nearly shiver. You beckon her over with a crook of your finger. You watch with a wicked grin as she approaches, still avoiding your gaze.

"Don't be nervous, sweetheart." You say as you show her your back. "The naked form is nothing to be embarrassed about. You shall see once you undress me."

Soon enough, you're walking through the hallways bare. Shoulders squared and chin raised high. There are mixed reviews from the castle staff. Some are used to it, though each individual has their reaction despite it, ranging from modest to deranged. Others avoid looking at you altogether, just as that new servant girl tried to do in your quarters. Regardless, it makes you smile.

'Look upon me,' you think, 'And weep that I belong to him.'

Read The Rest on Ao3 ->

[ghost-town-story]

Hello and happy STS! :D This would be especially hilarious for The Astral Chronicles, but feel free to choose which WIP you inflict this question onto. ;) If your main characters were sucked into our world, The Devil Is a Part-Timer-style (i.e., dropped into our world without the resources/status they had in theirs, transformed into basically human with no powers, and the only thing they've got are the clothes on their back and their memories), how well would they fare? What would they do to survive, who's failing at adapting and how, and most importantly, who is working at McDonald's?

Oh my god this question is great

The funny thing about this for Astral is that I actually have a half-canon storyline where this actually happens. And considering Aiden is from our world, the answer ends up being "find Aiden and enlist his help in getting back to Astral"

If they're tossed into our world with no way of getting back tho, hmm... Rose would be doing her best to adapt, but also be having several breakdowns of "oh god I left my brother behind D:". Jared would absolutely get fired from most minimum wage jobs because he has a problem with authority, but he also has the energy of "will scavenge garbage cans if that's what it takes."

Will and Finn would be the ones to end up working at a McDonald's, as an "ok, this is what we have to do to survive I guess." There would definitely be a lot of I'm so done with this shit looks happening between them though. Customer service yo *jazz hands*

I also thought of Space Pirates for this question, because there's a lot more differences between that world and ours and it's very entertaining, so here goes:

Reizora, Artemis, and Deva adapt the best. Reizora spends the first hour or so straight up crying because Artemis has her body back, then she kicks Artemis onto bed rest and starts figuring out how the hell to make sure she and her crew survive this new world.

The answer is basically the same way they survived their world: Robin-Hood-type piracy XD They'd end up with a reputation for fucking with corporations and helping out the local community of wherever they end up.

Artemis would accept the bed rest mandate for maybe a week before she gets tired of Reizora's overprotectiveness and insists on joining the shenanigans. There are things she misses about her old world, but she can't deny she likes having a body again and seeing that associated guilt lifted from Reizora.

Syl (the Medic, alien with many tentacles) and the Engineer (unnamed so far, round and fluffy with many arms) are both annoyed with their lack of appendages. The Engineer will use her mouth and feet to hold things instead.

Aeryz has the hardest time adapting. She has a hard time adjusting to the fact she can't shapeshift anymore, she hates not being amongst the stars, and depending on where they all end up, she might not even be able to see them. She really just wants to go home :(

As for the Imperial kids, I think it would be really funny for Caelan and Rossano to be working at McDonald's in this scenario. I just have this image of Rossano as a wannabe influencer who's always like "I'm gonna quit the second I get enough followers, just you wait." Meanwhile Caelan is just like "ya know what? This is 10 million times less stressful than the rest of my life has been. I'm content staying here forever."

[normanbased]

i’ve been trying to ask you for anthony perkins movie recs for like three days in a row but every time i accidentally write “do you have any norman bates movie recs?” and then i close the ask instead of sending it. anyway. recs? 👀 i skimmed his imdb page but a lot of them look pretty bad ngl so i figured it’s best to get some pointers

So many of them suck you’re not wrong 💕💕 like the MAJORITY of his filmography is kinda mediocre….. BUT there are lots of good things spattered about, and for the most part any garbage movie you can guarantee that he’s the best part about it — (we don’t talk about the late career work some of that stuff is just awful 💀)

Here’s five goodies tho :]]

• Friendly Persuasion 1956 — His second film and his only Oscar nomination — An Amish family wrestles with their philosophies on non-violence and other vices during the civil war. He plays Josh, the eldest son :]]

• The Matchmaker 1958 — Hello Dolly! without the music. Arguably my favourite role he’s played. Two store clerks get bored and go to New York to find girlfriends. Lots of cute moments between Tony and Robert, worth watching just for that.

• Psycho AND Psycho II — this is a Psycho II propaganda blog at heart, I’ll stand by this movie til the day I die. It had no right being as watchable as it is.

• Catch-22 1970 — it’s not really much about Tony’s character but he’s in it quite a bit and it’s still a good movie, and in the book he’s a way more important character. The first line of the book is still insane to me and I’m shocked there isn’t more middle aged men yaoi about Yossarian and the Chaplain 💕 watch the film then read the book that’s how I enjoyed it

• The Trial 1961 — Knowing the production history of this movie makes it so funny to me, Tony and Orson were losing their fucking minds by the time they’d finished it 💀 it’s also just a good movie I’ve seen it a few times now, switch up your rewatches by imagining different mystery crimes for Joseph K to have committed

The rest of his filmography is sooo hit or miss so explore at your own trepidation. I like Pretty Poison even if it’s a bit stilted, it’s not bad for a late 60s flick. OH Crimes of Passion is silly, and I like the Fool Killer even if everyone else doesn’t (the book is on archive.org, you’re WELCOME everybody 🙄) and ermmmm…. OH THE TIN STAR TOO 💕💕💕💕 SILLY SHERIFF COWBOY MOVIE 💕💕💕💕

let’s ask the audience 🙏😇 @ all the Tony girlies what are u recommending?