#I GOT THEM ALL DONE UNUSUALLY QUICK AND I WANT THEM OUT BEFORE I PASS OUT

[cubbihue]

What if Peri got his tail caught in the rotors of the Au-Pair, I would imagine that would hurt.

Well, now that you've pointed it out!!! Peri won't stop thinking about it!!!!! Congrats, you've just given the Fairy more anxiety.

Fairies can lose their tails. It can also grow back, like lizard tails do. But they still feel pain and growing the tail back is a bother.

There's the loss of balance, the sudden instant sprouting when it comes back, but you don't know when it'll grow back so now suddenly your pants has a brand new hole in it because the tail decided to sprout out facing down instead of straight and, ough. Annoying!!!

Bitties Series: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

[hon3y-y]

──★ ˙🧷 ̟ !! maybe satoru got a little ahead of himself when he told you to throw away all of your vibrators…

cw : smut (surprised?), sex toys(again, is anyone surprised?), sub-ish!reader, dom-ish!satoru he’s more cheeky than anything, overstim & edging, etc etc…

*not edited*

when satoru was young and immature two weeks ago, he hated vibrators. maybe it was jealousy but when he found your little collection, he became a pouty mess. am i not good enough? do those make you feel better than i do? he even went as far as giving you the silent treatment, stating it was a ‘betrayal’.

you just rolled your eyes, taking his overreaction as immaturity and allowing him to throw his tantrum by himself. it didn’t last long, coming to its end one late saturday night where he climbed into the bed with a cheeky smile on his face.

“show me..” he mumbled, pressing kisses into the soft skin of your neck. his eyes were wide, pleading almost, lip tucked behind his teeth, his hands caressing your exposed skin and slowly unbuttoning the sleep shirt you wore.

“oh but i thought you wanted me to ‘throw all of them out’?” your words made him scoff.

“that wasn’t exactly what i said—“

“toru, i saw the tears in your eyes—“ before you could continue, his lips were on yours. it was rough, trying to shut you up which only made you smile. “you done being a big baby?”

satoru nods before moving to pull off your sleep shorts, “c’mon, i just wanna see”

so of course, that’s what got you into this predicament. you laying down with your head on the pillow while satoru lays on his stomach between your thighs, eyes glistening with mischief as he stares at your panty clad mound. Throughout the past couple of days, toru has made you use a couple toys to help get off, realizing extremely fast how it was becoming his new favorite hobby.

he took in how quick you were to cum, thighs clenching around the toy while you creamed, sticky substance leaving strings on your panties when he became impatient and pulled them off. it was almost addicting. you became so sensitive, eyes welling up when he began to fuck your swollen pussy, “s’too much!”

he just pounded into you harder, mockingly cooing at you. “oh, it’s too much? fine, i’ll stop.” satoru would pull out mid thrust, teasingly rubbing his fat tip against your clenching hole. he would do it until your legs wrapped around his waist to try and push him in, he smiled at the annoyance that came over you, still feisty even when being fucked dumb. “you’re so greedy—can’t ever make up your mind” shaking his head, toru would shove it back in while rubbing your clit making you squeal, an unusual reaction that he was growing accustomed to.

Those toys became his best friends and it was only a matter of time before he wanted to be in control of them. satoru personally loved your wand vibrator, pulling an orgasm out of you quick while also being used in so many different methods and positions. so it wasn’t a shocker that it was that one he picked.

you were comfortable, something he had been checking the whole time. He felt giddy, dick hard just from thinking about it. He made sure to start off slow and ease you into it, putting it on a low setting before teasingly dragging it up and down the crease of your panties, biting his lips after hearing your breath hitch whenever the tiny vibrations passed your aching clit.

“how does that feel, pretty girl?” he kissed your thigh softly, turning up the vibration to hear the gasp as you opened your mouth to speak.

“g-good!”

your words got choked up in your throat, hips bucking as he pushed it down on your bud. meanwhile, satoru watched in fascination as the damp spot on your panties grew bigger and bigger, mouth watering as he gently pressed his nose against it before his tongue lolled out to take a swipe. “satoru!” you gasped, hands moving to tug on his hair and pull it back, a heat climbing up your body in embarrassment.

he smiled sheepishly, turning up the vibrations another level which quickly made your hands loosen as your jaw fell open to let out a moan. “now's not the time to scold, dear~”

he pulls away, shutting off the vibrator while sitting on his knees. you felt a little light headed, eyebrows furrowing, “you're done?”

he shook his head, instead, pulling your panties down and flinging them across the room, fingers moving to play in your wetness before slowly dragging his soaked appendage to your clit to swirl around, “just lay back and relax your pretty little head. i know what i’m doing.”

he picked the vibrator back up, once again on its lowest setting and began using it to dip into your messy hole and spread the juices to the rest of your pussy. he felt like he was painting a pretty picture, eyes zeroing into his muse while his other hand wrapped around your thick thigh to pull it open.

he did this for a while, secretly watching and enjoying the way you were growing frustrated, pussy clamping around nothing as a frown overtook your lips. “toru—enough!”

he smiled, biting back a laugh at the whining. “fine..” you huffed, leaning back on the pillow.

you heard it before you felt it, the vibrations sounding stronger. you sat up, confused before the feeling of pure euphoria washed over you, causing your jaw to loosen and your eyes to cross and roll back. you felt like you couldn’t breathe, the stimulation almost too much, your hands moving to push it away, “too much! please—i can’t!”

but satoru just clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment, “first it’s not enough, now it’s too much… this stupid thing can’t satisfy you, huh?” he pushes your hands away, positioning himself between your legs in a way that made it hard to shut them. “what do you think baby?”

finishing his sentence he began to move it up and down, the feeling making your stomach lurch and shedding some of the tears that gathered in your eyes. it felt too good, borderline brutal against your sensitive pussy.

you couldn’t even acknowledge his question, whimpers and pants filled the room along with mindless babbles of his name. “i’m—s’close! oh fuck—satoru! d-dont sto—p”

your hands claw at the sheets as you begin to tremble, your vision going blurry and the pressure in your stomach is released in pleasurable waves. you didn’t realize you had passed out until you feel a light tapping on your cheek causing your eyes to open slowly. At first, you’re too disoriented to focus. your vision is splotchy and your ears have a small ringing in them.

it takes a couple of seconds for you to register where you are and what just happened, finally taking in your surroundings. the first thing you see once your eyes adjust is satoru staring at you with a shocked grin. “babe..” he leaned down to kiss you, “–that was so hot” his hand reached between you two to pet at your cunt, cooing at the sharp intake of breath you had.

“let’s try again… i’ll leave it on a low setting, i promise” liar

safe to say toys became a frequent tool after that, even going as far as him ordering new ones to “try” including a cock-ring that leaves you both overstimulated, whiny, messes...

the end

a/n; two releases in one day??? who tf am i?? ik, it’s been soooo long but i didn’t have any inspiration</3 i honestly wanna right more sub!jjk characters so if anyone has any ideas they would like to present to the class PLEASEEE🙏 (especially nanami, cause i loveeee him)

[bruisedboys]

jealous finnick?

jealous finnick will be the death of me!!!!!!

finnick odair x fem!reader

Breakfast in District 13 is an unusual affair. Nothing like you’re used to, being from District 4. It’s the same every morning — boring grey oatmeal with either honey or berries, depending on the day. It’s only as you take your seat next to Finnick that you realise you’ve forgotten the very crucial toppings.

“Oh no, I forgot to get berries,” you bemoan. They’re definitely all gone by now, seeing as they’re in popular demand — the oatmeal served in 13 tastes like cardboard without them.

“Here, have mine,” Gale says from across the table. You open your mouth to protest but he’s already spooning a big heap of berries into your bowl. They bleed red and purple into your otherwise plain oatmeal. “I don’t like ‘em, anyway. Too sour.”

“Oh.” You smile at him, flattered. Gale’s been nothing but kind to you since you arrived in District 13. You haven’t put it down to anything other than friendliness. Though it’s possible you’re too enamoured with the blonde next to you that you’re completely oblivious to other men’s advances. “Thanks, Gale.”

Gales smiles back and shrugs. “No problem, Y/N.”

Next to you and unbeknownst to you, Finnick scowls. He hates that Gale’s so nice to you. Loathes it. He knows it’s because you’re a ray of sunshine who draws even the coldest of people in (believe him, he’s experienced it), but the fact that Gale gave you his berries before Finnick could even offer his makes his blood boil. 

Who does he think he is? Everyone knows you’re Finnick’s girl, he’s made it very clear. It’s the whole reason you’re here, after all — Finnick specifically requested you be picked up from home before the Quarter Quell ended, to prevent anything from happening to you.

Breakfast passes without further incident. If you notice Finnick’s sour mood, you don’t mention it. You’re leaving the canteen with everyone else when Finnick grabs your waist and pulls you to the side, into an empty hallway. He peers over your shoulder to make sure Gale’s good and gone, watching the back of his head with a glare that could kill, before turning his attention to you.

“Finnick,” you say, clearly confused at his sudden manhandling. “What’s the matter with you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Finnick says shortly.

“You look mad.”

“I’m not.”

You squint at him. “You’re definitely mad. Why are you—?”

Finnick forgoes restraint and yanks you forward, pressing his mouth to yours before you can say anything else. His chest burns with molten hot jealousy, it climbs up his throat and pours into the kiss, hot and sticky. The heat ebbs though, when you kiss him back just as fervently, replaced by a fuzzy warmth only you can make him feel. It buzzes in his chest and down his arms, flares out his palm as he takes your face into one hot hand.

He pulls back just as suddenly as he’d drawn in. “You know Gale’s flirting with you, right?” He says abruptly, thumb pressed to your cheekbone.

You blink up at him, still dazed from his kissing. “What?” You ask, half laughing. “No, he’s not.”

“He is. He gave you his berries. I was going to give you mine.”

You raise both eyebrows. “He was just being nice to me.”

“Yeah, well, that’s my job.”

Finnick supposes he sounds quite pathetic. He doesn’t really care, not when your eyes go all gooey and you reach up on your tiptoes to push a curl from his forehead.

“Are you jealous?” You ask him softly, tucking his hair behind his ear. Your breath fans over his mouth and your hand lingers at his throat. “You sound jealous.”

Finnick rolls his eyes. “So what if I am? Just— have mine next time, okay?”

You smile at him, pretty as starlight. “Okay. But you don’t have to be jealous, you know? I only want you.”

Woah, Finnick thinks. “I know,” he says, too quick, his voice a notch too high.

You raise your eyebrows at him. “Do you though?” You ask, definitely teasing now. He supposes he got off lucky, you could’ve done much worse finding out he’s so sickeningly jealous over Gale, of all people.

Still, Finnick narrows his eyes at you. “Alright, that’s enough.”

Your answering giggle is smothered as Finnick swoops in to kiss you again.

-

thank you for reading! please consider reblogging if u enjoyed 🤍

[soapssuds]

I love Wrio too!! And thanks for requesting!! I didn't know that someone wanted a part 2 to this little angst oneshot XD

I hope you enjoy! <33

Just Being Nice Pt. 2

Pt. 1 can be found here.

Wriothesley x Reader / Neuvillette x Reader

Warnings | angst with comfort, use of "y/n"

Wriothesley knew, deep down, that what he had with Lumine wouldn't last. Especially once she got done with her business in Fontaine. The breakup between them was quick, to say the least. Though, Lumine did offer to let him join her. To have Wriothesley travel with her and help her find her brother. The offer, at first, was tempting, but he knew his place was in Fontaine. He knew his place was with the Fortress of Meropide.

Not to mention that the thought of leaving ... hurt for some reason. He couldn't quite place the feeling.

Whatever that feeling was.

So he tried to ignore the ache in his heart by delving more into his work. Everyone seemed to take notice how he took less and less breaks throughout the days that passed. Though, most did seem to see how he would relax just a little when you would come by with reports.

Everyone knew who you were. You worked as Neuvillette's second in command and were always tasked with giving and receiving reports to and from Wriothesley. It was how the the chief justice and the duke kept in touch with each other.

And Sigewinne took an immediate notice how Wriothesley started to count the days that you would show up over the next few months ever since the traveler left. It was cute.

"Has y/n ... shown up yet?"

It was a question that he found himself frequently asking, and at first he didn't know why. Well, until he went up to the surface one day for a 'personal day' as Sigewinne liked to call it.

The sun was bright, it made his eyes squint and try to adjust. The air felt too fresh, the breeze too cool. He started to miss the darkness the Fortress provided.

And as he was walking around, people avoiding him and him avoiding people, he came across a small patch of rainbow roses. They were pretty. And instead of thinking of Lumine. He thought of someone else. He thought of you.

His heart clenched at the mere thought of you. Made his breathing hitch and his eyes to sting.

Oh, archons. He knew what this feeling was. Over these past few months, he fell for you. Despite rejecting you all that time ago, you never once brought your personal life to work. You were professional, independent, and you never let your weakness show. Wriothesley liked that about you, and as you would visit him for work, it was only a matter of time before he felt the same way about you as you had about him.

But .. did you even feel that way- do you still love him?

"Your Grace?"

He heard your voice immediately, and he couldn't deny the pain he felt when you didn't call him by his name as he had asked you to when he first met you all that time ago.

Not to mention that it surprised him slightly to hear your voice here of all places. Out in the open, with bystanders walking past.

"Oh, y/n. I didn't know you would be here," he said as he turned to look at you, and he couldn't stop his the way his breath caught in his throat. You were all dolled up. You looked so pretty. The clothes you were wearing were way different from the usual work attire he saw you in.

You smiled, "the same can be said for you. It's unusual to see the great duke of the Fortress to be out and about like this."

He noted how your smile seemed happier. He was glad that you were starting to be your usual self again even if he wasn't the one to make you feel this way.

"Well, what can I say, Sigewinne has been continuously telling me to take a personal day, so here I am. And how about you? Are you also taking a personal day?"

You could immediately feel the way your face grew hot, the tips of your ears feeling as if they are on fire, "you could say that... I'm actually spending my off day with someone..."

"Oh?"

"Yeah... I'm-," you seemed to gather any courage you had within yourself and took a breath, "I'm on a date."

"A...date?"

He felt his ears start to ring as if someone had punched his lights out in boxing cage. His heart seeming to thump loud in his chest.

He opened his mouth to ask who you were on a date with, but his unanswered question was soon answered.

"Ah, there you are y/n."

A gentle hand patted your arm before sliding into your palm, your fingers intertwining with his own.

"Neuvillette, you're right on time."

"As always, y/n."

As always, Wriothesley thought, that means they went on more than one date.

"Wriothesley. It's odd to see you here."

He chuckled a bit and decided to hide his pain, "it seems it's odd to see any of us here since we three are usually known for being at our desks and hard at work. Anyway, I hope you two will enjoy your date, so if you'll excuse me."

He gave them a nod before turning to leave.

"See you at work tomorrow, Wriothesley!"

He smiled as he turned to wave at you, at least you called him by his name this time.

And even though he regrets not reciprocating your feelings all those months ago and foolishly being with someone who he knew was going to leave him one day to look for her brother ... he was also happy to see that bright smile on your face.

"Are you alright, y/n?"

You leaned your head against Neuvillette's shoulder, eyes trained on Wriothesley's retreating figure, "yeah, I saw him standing here all alone, so I was just being nice and decided to talk to him was all. Besides, I promise I'm ok. I'm with you now, remember?"

You stood on your tippy-toes and placed a gentle kiss to Neuvillette's jawline since you weren't quite able to reach his cheek.

Neuvillette was at a loss for words by your declaration, but seeing as how it didn't rain for the coming weeks - it was safe to say you had a positive impact on his life.

[heytherelysia]

hello, i really enjoyed your work so far & i saw that your reqs are open! i was wondering if you could do ayato aishi x gn reader who is anxious and dependent? reader is almost like a sheep, following the crowd and attaching themself to their friends. thank you and i hope you have a lovely day/night 🤍

ayato aishi x anxious + dependent reader

you guys don't know how happy i get when i see requests 😭 good crumbs anon! as much as i like an independent reader who knows how to stand up for themselves, there's a special spark in a reader who is very reliant on others and in any way fragile. you guys have a lovely day too!

gn reader, not proofread, alludes to kidnapping, pretty tame for the most part.

you never shared a glanced at each other, not even once, but he was hooked on you when you accidentally spilled your drink on one of the delinquents.

"oh no... i'm sorry i'm sorry! i- ...please forgive me."

it was distressing. you didn't mean to be such a klutz, especially in front of a crowd of people, and now you got into such a mess with one of the delinquents.

the way he looks at you with annoyance, not even bothering to say a word. you know he's mad, rightfully so.

"i'm sorry... i'll buy you another uniform if you want..."

"don't bother. how do i know you won't dirty the uniform when you can't even hold your drink correctly and look where ya going? now move outta the way."

your friends help you stand up as the delinquents pass you by. by the time you look up, you no longer see the crowd of eyes that was practically shooting daggers at you. they continue their mindless conversations before your accident. although embarrassing yourself made a stain in your reputation, it's refreshing that an ocean of eyes is no longer staring right through you. you'll worry about the gossips regarding your clumsiness later.

much to your dismay, gray eyes were observing you the entire time. there was no spark in their eyes since the moment of their birth, they had no soul, they had no purpose, but to be a functioning citizen, when they are just flesh and meat without a sense of mind.

but you helped them. you helped them gain the spark in their eyes, you helped them become their own person, and you helped them find their purpose in life. you've done it all without ever acknowledging them.

ayato snaps out of it when your friends start to escort you away from the scene, rubbing your back and shoulders.

the apologies emitted from your mouth, your hands you were playing with in pure anxiety, your shivering body. he wants it all, he wants all that you can ever give him.

your sheepish personality does not benefit you, but it gives all the pros to ayato. he loved it when your breathing went stiff when he went up to you to say hi.

you've always needed company. wherever there is a crowd, you'll squeeze yourself in, just as long as they don't look at you like you have murdered a family of seven.

but ayato was an unusual company.

at first, it seems like he was just walking past the hall until his feet stops by the bench you're sitting on.

ayato aishi, he is commonly praised for his mother's victory in court when she was accused of murder and the disappearance of five girls. even so, he is still an average student, he hasn't done anything extravagant himself, unless we're talking about his effort to learn everything about you.

"hi."

he's... straight to the point. you try to at least look at him, but you are quick to look away when you see that his face is barely an inch away from you.

"...oh! uh... hi!" you're looking at everything but his face, he just won't stop staring.

he loves it when you're anxious, trembling, jittery and all. but he wishes that you could look at him again more thoroughly, like he is an art piece at a museum.

the next thing you know, he is walking away as he looks at you with half-lidded eyes and a smirk. oddly enough, you maintain eye contact with him until he eventually disappears down the hall.

he never talked to you again after the interaction but something always feels like it's watching you.

one thing that he does not like about you is that you surround yourself with familiar faces and rely on your closest companions. it makes it difficult for him to stalk you without alarming anyone. and with the other, it's rather a jealousy thing of his. one day, when he gets you all to himself, you will depend your very existence to him. rest assured, he'll take care of you, cook you delicious food, and shower you with praise. none of your friends are able to give you what he can, he is special, as he likes to think.

(bonus!) "ayato's darling shrine"

portrait — a photo of my darling watching the sunset. they look a thousand times more beautiful.

broken earphones — my darling threw this away on their way home. i wish we can listen to music together with these headphones.

gel pen — darling's favorite pen. they were upset when they lost it, i almost wanted to give it back to them.

crumpled paper — scrapped essay for their research. they forgot to throw it in the trash out of stress. their handwriting is cute, should i write them letters one day?

...

i loved writing this °՞(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞°

[anon-e-miss]

Reformation - 4

Jazz had suspected Prowl would not be thrilled to know he was carrying. There was no Autobot more focused on the Cause, not even Prime. No one worked harder to see the Autobots through famine, energy shortage, victory and defeat. Having an Omega in such a senior and specialized position was unusual but Optimus Prime was unusual. He had a few Omegas in important positions and he treated them as he would an Alpha. The only difference was that the Boss Bot was a bit more protective of his Omega Autobots, knowing full well even within his own ranks, there were Alphas who might do them harm. Neither Ratchet nor Prowl had ever needed his protection, both were fierce and self-assured. It was startling to see Prowl now, meek and dejected.

“Y’re okay,” Jazz assured him. Prowl shook his helm. He had to feel worse than low to actually admit he was in anything but perfect form. “Want to tell me?”

“No.”

“Okay,” Jazz replied. Prowl turned his helm. His expression was different, his optics were different. The pain was raw. Jazz held him, and he would hold him until the Praxian could keep himself upright.

“Okay?” He asked.

“I get it’s my business to be noisy but ‘m not ‘bout to interrogate ya, Prowler,” Jazz told him. “Ya got the right to keep yer peace.”

“I had thought, I had hoped maybe because it never happened before, he had not finished it,” Prowl explained.

“What to ya mean?” Jazz asked.

“I was bitched,” Prowl said and the saboteur’s spark went cold.

“‘M so sorry,” Jazz told him. What else could he say? It was the thing Alphas feared more than anything, even death.

“I don’t remember how long he had me,” Prowl said. “Three heat cycles passed but they have never become regular so I do not know how long it was. Quartexes, I guess. He raped me every mega-cycle. They just lasted longer in the heats.”

“What was his designation?” Jazz asked.

“He’s detained on Garrus 9,” Prowl replied. “He will never be charged for what he did to me. The hits he committed were considered more significant.”

“His designation? Jazz asked again.

“Why?” Prowl asked.

“So I know who to kill, Prowler,” Jazz said. “Ain’t that a given?”

“He is detained in Garrus 9,” Prowl said.

“Eh, ain’t that hard to bust out, can’t be that hard to bust in,” Jazz replied. Prowl dimmed his optics and leaned his helm on Jazz’s shoulder.

“You are needed more here,” Prowl said. “Or out on one of your ops.”

“Gimme the designation, Sweetspark, ‘n I’ll figure it out,” Jazz told him.

“Lockdown.”

“I know the designation,” Jazz said.

“Someone paid him to bitch me,” Prowl said. “He never admitted who. Since he was never tried for it, he was never forced to undergo mnemosurgery to force the truth out of him. He laughed and said he would have done it for free. I watched the interrogation tapes. I should not have.”

“‘M glad he didn’t make ya heavy,” Jazz replied. Prowl nodded.

“At first, I thought maybe he had done so much damage,” Prowl said. “He broke my pelvis, dislocated my hip, cut me all over. I thought maybe my frame could not be primed for it in those conditions. Then I had a heat, away from him. The enforcer did not seem to come any closer, nor did any of the Alphas after. I thought maybe Lockdown had not quick finished unmeching me.”

“Yer still a mech,” Jazz told him.

“I am an Omega mech,” Prowl said. “If a Beta is half a mech, what is an Omega then?”

“The most powerful force in the universe,” Jazz replied. “My Ori taught me better than to think Omegas weaker than me. He sure ain’t.”

“My progenitor taught me Omegas are all whores,” Prowl replied. “The one who bore me was caught in the act with another Alpha. He pled his innocence but my progenitor had seen him overload and dismissed him for being weak and disloyal.”

“That’s disgustin’,” Jazz said. “Ain’t an Omega’s fault. Halfwit Alphas’d rape Omegas to death all the time if Omegas frames didn’t have some defences. Ain’t weakness, Prowler, or disloyalty. It’s survival ‘n what helps ya to survive sometimes bleeds yer spark.”

***

Prowl had survived and to a degree sometimes he felt he was just still surviving. It had become easier in Iacon where no one knew what had been done to him. Though he had tried to remain not just in Praxus but at his precinct, after his broken struts had healed, it had not been possible in the end. His commanders had  been afraid to demote him or release him from his duties for fear of how it might look to the media but his command prospects had evaporated. Who would want an Omega for Praefectus? What Alphas would obey one? Barricade had taught him not to cow as Barricade had never cowed and for a time Prowl had thought he could continue. When he had closed his first case after returning to duty, he had felt reassured that his processor was still his. He had been in denial. He had entered heat while still on duty and the enforcer that had won the promotion that had previously all but certainly been Prowl’s had taken him into one of the interrogation rooms and bred him there before dragging him off to a nearby scraplet motel. Prowl had heard Nightstalker brag about fragging the stick out of his aft and Garboil and been audibly drooling when he said he hoped he caught Prowl his next heat. There was no way Prowl could have allowed him the chance. Barricade had been angry, not at him but at them but even his unflinching cousin had agree Prowl needed a fresh start.

“I want to go home,” Prowl said. He was defeated. It would not reabsorb. He did not have that kind of good luck. There was no point in terminating it because it would trigger a fresh heat. Omega code had cruel failsafes.

“Maybe my place?” Jazz offered. “Ricochet ‘n me got a place off base. I think ya knew that. He’s out on an op. You might like a long oil bath ya don’t have to reserve.”

“That would be good,” Prowl replied. Generally when he came out of heat, Prowl could not get away from the Alpha that had relieved him of it fast enough. But he felt clingy to Jazz. Perhaps because he was gravid. Has his frame decided he belonged to this mech. Though he shuddered at the thought, Prowl was not strong enough to resist.

“Okay,” Jazz said. “Let’s get outta here.”

Jazz had a nice place. Ricochet was an artistic mech and both his paintings and his sculptures dotted the walls and surfaces, along with instruments Jazz seemed to have collected. Prowl was glad to devest himself of his armour in the washracks. He may audibly have signed when he saw the jacuzzi tub. It was a considerably nicer oil bath than any within the base. He jumped when Jazz touched his hip, noting a spot when the armour had pinched. Of course, Jazz was to blamed for it. The armour had not wanted to close over Prowl’s belly, still very much round with Jazz’s all too virile transfluids. Prowl stood still as Jazz noted other pressure sores. As hot oil filled the tub, the Alpha doctored them. How were they supposed to work together if Jazz felt ownership over him? Would he even be allowed to work with Jazz’s progeny growing in his forge?

“Better get some new armour cut for ya,” Jazz said. “I don’t think ya wanna be pinched all the time.”

“No,” Prowl replied. “I do not… but they will not allow me in office in something… revealing enough to fit me now.”

“Optimus ain’t gonna lose ya ‘n all yer good work ‘cause I got ya in the family way,” Jazz assured him. “There’s armour that’ll give ya some modesty without hurtin’ ya. I’ll sort it out.”

Prowl had largely avoided Omegas as an Alpha, preferring to work through his ruts. That was not to say he had not enjoy a couple as a young mech, Omegas of his progenitors choosing. He had been grateful they had not kindled. Was he more or less grateful now. Rather than a progenitor, he was to be an originator. This protospark, lest it reabsord, would grow into a newspark and emerge. It would emerge through Prowl’s valve. When he thought about it, it was horrifying. Sometimes Omega’s needed c-sections. Would getting it cut out be better than pushing it out his valve? For once Prowl hoped his Omega code would take over and make him feel this was all perfect and natural and joyous.

“Climb in, Prowler,” Jazz told him. He held Prowl’s servo to make sure he did not slip. “I’ll bring ya some ruby tea.”

“Ruby tea?” Prowl asked.

“My Ori’s cure-all,” Jazz explained. “He’ll want to meet ya. If it sticks, I mean. He’d be good for ya, I think. Since he’s carried… ‘n if ya choose to let’m know what happened, he’ll be sure to cut off Lockdown’s helm if I don’t get to’m first.”

[curious-kittens-ocs]

I'll Watch Over Her

Dakota Evans x Spencer Reid (OTP: Coffee & Pistols for Two)

Everything was drained from Dakota, all of her energy, her thoughts, her emotions. Everything was nothing. She had returned from the crime scene where they had arrested another Unsub.

After days of sleepless nights and endless terrible take-out food. Finally they had cornered the Unsub, she had known she was caught.

"Alright everyone, do what you need to do. Go home, get a drink, whatever it is you need to do to decompress." Hotch sighed rubbing his eyes - clearly exhausted.

"I'm going to bed, call me if you need me." Derek wove goodbye, dropped his bag on his desk and u-turned out the door.

Dr. Reid had noticed that everyone was unusually quiet, especially Dakota. She hadn't said a word the entire flight back to Quantico. She had just blankly stared out into the night sky during the plane ride.

Gideon watched the Doctor focus his eyesight towards the woman who passed in between the two men. She didn't bother dropping off her bag, she kept it with her as she moved to the break room and shut the door behind her.

"Spencer," Gideon muttered taking a foot towards the young man. "it seems our newest addition might need a bit of help after this case."

"Me? What am I supposed to do?" Spencer dropped his scarf onto his desk and met Gideon's eyes.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she's hurting Spencer." Gideon watched the emotions cross over Spencer's face. He saw concern, anxiety, sadness, and realization. "Just be there for her if you can, she tends to keep things close to her chest."

"I guess I'll do my best," Spencer paused a moment seeing Gideon's expression change to compassionate to fatigued rather quickly. Even the talented Gideon knew this case was going to take its toll on the team. "I'll watch over her."

Gideon pat his back and made his way up the stairs to his office.

Spencer took a deep breath and made his way to the breakroom door and knocked quietly. He waited a beat before entering the room. Eyes scanned until they locked onto the small figure sitting on the couch. She didn't move or even acknowledge the Doctor.

"Kota..." Spencer tried to probe for a response. Nothing. He ventured closer to her then halted his movements. He let her have her space. he grabbed a mug from the cabinet and started to grab a drink mix.

"Could we have done anything?"

"No. She was determined to go out the way she did." Answering the question wasn't going to bring either of them comfort. He popped open the microwave and set a timer. "There wasn't much we could do."

"It didn't seem like she wanted to die," Dakota adjusted herself on the couch and observed the Doctor in the kitchenette. "You would think that she would prefer to be alive given we finally found her son."

"She believed that the others were we son, and she eventually realized what her actions were and how what she'd done would end up having the repercussions they did." Spencer grabbed the mug out of the microwave and gave it a quick stir with a spoon. "Dakota you came from California with no experience in profiling." Dakota shot the Doctor a glare in her lack of knowledge.

He walked over to the coffee table and sat on it. He sighed and held out the mug to her. "While in California, you single handedly found an Unsub who was going after women who worked in strip clubs, went undercover to find him, found him, almost got yourself killed in the process I might add... and ended up saving another woman."

She took the mug from Spencer and smiled realizing what he had made her. "I get that Doctor, I just can't understand it..."

"If anything this job has taught me is that the way the mind works is always going to be unpredictable until you ask certain questions."

Dakota took a sip of the drink and smiled over to Spencer, "Hot chocolate?"

"You can't stand cold coffee, even if we are in the hottest place on earth you still get hot coffee. It makes you feel better about the cold and horrible things we see. Plus chocolate can increase levels of serotonin, the "feel good" hormone. It also contains compounds that can help reduce stress levels and promote relaxation." Spencer rubbed his hands on his slacks to try and focus on the actual facts rather than emotions.

She smirked up to Spencer. "You can't help but enter a fact or two into every conversation you have, can you?"

"It made you smile didn't it?" Spencer quipped quickly. The smile remained on Kota's face causing Spencer's own smile to grow. "When you're done with your drink I will take you home. I'll be in the bullpen working on paperwork until then." Spencer stood up and walked over to the door.

"Hey Spence?" Dakota called over to the man. He turned back after hearing her voice. "Thanks."

"Yea... of course Dakota."

~~~

Forever tag:  

@arrthurpendragon , @superspookyjanelle , @bravelittleflower , @eddysocs , @twofacedharveydent

(If you want to be added, or taken off of a tag. Just shoot me an ask, specifying. Thanks!)

[revescares]

right where you left me | Park Sunghoon

Synopsis - Soomin does the same thing every day. Wake up, take the train to school, spend hours on end learning, take the train home, study, sleep, and repeat the process. One unlucky day, it is all put to a stop. And a certain school mate is there to help where he can.

Warning - Gore, zombies, death. Based loosely off Train To Busan,

Soomin’s day started like every other weekday. She woke up to her blaring alarm screeching for her to wake up. It was cold, like every other morning. She shivered as her bare feet touched the hardwood floor of her room. She didn’t spare a second glance at anything as she marched to her bathroom door. 

She continued on doing her usual routine. Brushing her teeth and hair. Putting on her itchy dark blue school uniform. Waking her mother and father out of their deep sleep. Less to say, her morning was normal.

“Do you still have that test today?” Her father asked as he made two cups of coffee. One for him and one for his still half asleep wife. “Yep, studied all week for it.” She simply said, stuffing her feet into her shoes. Both socks were different colors. She could never find matching ones when she looked, no matter how hard she tried. 

“You’ll pass. You always do.” Her mother said, slouched as she walked into the kitchen. This was a normal occurrence. Her mother, who worked long nights at the hospital, always struggled getting up. Her father picked up whatever morning slack there was. Which there wasn’t a lot. Most of the cleaning and cooking was done by Soomin. 

She didn’t mind the work though. In fact, her parents disagree with all the work their daughter puts on herself. But she enjoys the work. She likes being busy. 

Soomin smiles at the praise and gives her mother a kiss on the cheek. “I have to leave early today, Mina wants to ride the train with me and I have to walk with her.” Soomin saw a flash of worry in her mothers eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat real quick?” She rushed out, watching her daughter ready herself. 

“I’ll stop by a convenience store and grab a snack with Mina, don’t worry.” Soomin explained while grabbing her keys from off the table. Her mother pushed her father’s arm, as if to get him to agree with her. Him, having not been paying attention, looked cluelessly at the both of them. Soomin just laughed before rushing out, not wanting to be stopped. 

-

“Mom’s pissed that I wanted to take the train today. Say’s this is the only bonding time we get because she’s always working when I’m home.” Mina said, looking into her compact mirror, fixing the pink roller in her bangs. 

Mina’s fights with her mother weren't unusual. Her mother begged for more time with her only daughter, but Mina was a wild child. She had friends to see and places to be. At least, that’s what Mina always told Soomin. 

“I mean it wouldn’t hurt to spend a bit of time with her…” Soomin mumbled, not glancing at Mina for she knew the look she was getting from her friend. 

Mina and Soomin had been friends since the beginning of High School. It started when Mina moved from Japan to South Korea with her mother. She got friends easily and if she wanted, she could have more. But for some reason, she was drawn to Soomin. So then they became a black and white swan duo. Well at least that’s what Mina called them. 

“You’re joking! All she does is complain about my grades and smoke a pack of cigarettes. And when I tell her the smell makes me nauseous, she gets mad and says she smokes because of me!” Soomin had heard this from Mina before, this wasn’t new. But it still hurt to hear how Mina was being treated.

“And before you say you're sorry, don’t.” Mina didn’t mean anything rude by her words. She just knew her friend's reaction would be to apologize. And she wasn’t the person she wanted an apology from. 

“Anyways, I’m glad you’re joining me on the train. Plus, it’s Friday! The week is nearly over.” Soomin tried to dispense the somber mood. Mina nodded happily and quickly groaned aloud while walking, earning looks from different people on the street. 

“We have a math test today!” Anger seeped through Mina’s voice. “It’s just simple multiple choice. It’s not that hard.” Soomin tried to give her friend some confidence but sadly failed. By the look on Mina’s face, she wasn’t feeling any better.

By the time they reached the train, the conversation had turned into what their plans were for the weekend. Mina went off on how her mother wanted to take her to the mall for a bit and eat out which she deeply attested her dislike for the idea. Soomin just said she would be sleeping in and watching television for as long as she wanted. What she wasn’t going to tell her is that she would be going to the bookstore with both parents. 

Soomin often lied about her relationship with her parents to Mina. Yeah Mina knew her parents were happily together and that they were a picture perfect family at the seams. Yes they had their faults but their relationship with one another was healthy. 

But Soomin made it a habit of not telling the full truth. She was scared it would hurt her friends feelings, something she would beat herself over if she did. 

“Well, have fun. You should sleep in for a change. You’re always studying and shit.” Mina said, once again fixing her hair roller. “I’m sure you and your mom will have fun. You both love to shop.” Soomin said carefully as she walked to the conductor. She proceeded to pull the white ticket from her coat pocket and showed the man. Mina did the same. 

The morning train on Friday’s wasn’t very crowded. Two train cars were full of businessmen and women. Two were semi crowded with students littered around. Leaving many other empty (or close to empty) train cars. 

The two girls sat beside each other in one of the unofficially designated train cars for students. 

“Did you hear what happened to Goeun?” Mina said after a few minutes of silence. Soomin had heard. Everyone had. The Senior was attacked by a homeless man on a bus. He bit a chunk out of her shoulder and now she was in the hospital. 

“Yeah, my parents don't know yet. They probably wouldn’t have let me ride the train today if they had.” Soomin knew her parents were extremely protective. They called multiple times a day and constantly checked her location. Seeing as Soomin didn’t do anything considered bad, she didn’t mind. It wasn’t like she was going to get caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. 

“Mom found out by parent gossip. Donghyun’s mom said she was sexually involved with the hobo and that’s why he attacked her.” Soomin furrowed her eyebrows at the clearly false news. Goeun made it very clear she didn’t want to date simply because she wanted to focus on her studies. Why the hell would someone even make a rumor like that?

“I wonder where Donghyun’s mom heard that. It’s obviously fake. You know that right?” Soomin questioned her friend. One fault of Mina was that she couldn’t help but listen in and sometimes believe the gossip that ran amongst the students. 

Mina rolled her eyes. “Yeah I know it’s fake. I mean of all the students to make that rumor about, Goeun is the wrong one.” Mina proceeded to push down the table attached to her chair and pull out makeup and her compact mirror. 

“It’s weird though, right? All of the students know Goeun isn’t the type to do that… So who would make up a rumor like that?” Soomin said, leaning back in the stiff chair. “Probably a parent.” Mina simply said, putting drops of concealer on her face. 

Soomin shook her head before pulling out her phone. She tended to do that a lot. Make something out of nothing. While in some cases, that could be a good thing. You turn something nice out of something bad. But in her case, she always took a situation that was simple and made it complicated. 

“Hey, have you heard the new NCT 127 album-” Before Soomin could even answer her friend, a man ran down the corridor, looking behind himself periodically as he went. In his rush, he bumped into Soomin, knocking her phone out of her hand. 

“Dude! Do you know what manners are?” Mina yelled at him but he didn’t even spare a glance. “What a douche…” Mina mumbled before continuing fixing up her makeup. 

Soomin leaned out of the seat and picked up her phone. Before she completely sat up she saw another man. This one in ratty clothing and no shoes. Soomin kept her eyes on him as he twitched about. 

“Um… Mina, look at this guy…” She trailed off standing out of her seat. Mina followed her and looked over the seats toward the man standing a few feet away from them. His hand clutching his side as blood seeped out and pooled around him on the floor. 

“Yo? Are you okay?” Mina called out putting her hands on the seat in front of her. The man's head snapped towards the two girls. 

“R-run.” He gurgled out.

[milflewis]

dantteri + 38 🤧

38: because they’re running out of time

When Valtteri finishes Daniel’s joke, cutting in with the punchline, tired and heart sore, Daniel only stands there. He’s half frowning, despite the delighted smile stretching across his face. Valtteri can’t begrudge him for his confusion — it’s not something he should’ve known.

How is Daniel to understand that Valtteri has lived this day thirty seven times already, each time hearing the same joke.

Lewis wins, not because Lewis wins all the time, but because his tires are gone to shit and the car is flying under their hands and Valtteri and Sebastian are nipping at his heels and this is just what Lewis does.

Lewis wins, and Valtteri comes a very close p2 behind him with Sebastian stubbornly in p3. This rarely changes, though Sebastian and him switch twice when Valtteri got sloppy, freaked out and unsure at the beginning.

Valtteri wins once, on his twenty first go around, knowing exactly where Lewis is going to put the car on Turn Two and snaking around him. He throws himself into the arms of his mechanics, the feel of their hands slapping his helmet and the thrum of their cheers familiar even before Valtteri got stuck in this loop. Lewis laughs on the podium when Sebastian catches them both in the face with champagne. Valtteri falls asleep in a toilet stall that night before twelve and wakes up in the car, heading for the racetrack, listening to the same podcast he could recite from memory at this point.

It’s not the first time Daniel has gone out with them after the race, unusually loud and chattering and always in Valtteri’s space. It’s not even the first time Valtteri has found Daniel pressed up close in one of the booths to him, tucked in on either side by mechanics, bare knees warm and bony against each other.

It is the first time that they end up being left alone, everyone drifting away before Valtteri can realise it’s the time for it. He blinks, looking down at the amount of glasses that are his on the table.

It’s more than usual.

“Good race,” Daniel says casually, arm going across the back of their seats as he turns to face him. Valtteri hums.

It was not good for Daniel. For the fifty-third time, Valtteri wonders if he wants Valtteri to lie and return the favour. He wonders if Daniel said this to the media instead of his usual little side comments.

That’s not fair, Valtteri thinks, and the thought sounds like Lewis. It’s been a while. Not since — not since Redbull.

He watches Daniel look around awkwardly, biting at his lip. He looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here. Then leave, Valtteri wants to say to him. Then just fucking go. No one is keeping you here. What do you want from me?

Valtteri opens his mouth to ask Daniel if he wants another drink like he’s done every time before, wanting an excuse to get out of all of this. His eyes catch off the gleam of sweat on Daniel’s neck, the light circles under his eyes, the bridge of his nose.

It is dark here, tucked away in the corner. Valtteri can barely seen him through the quick flashes of club light. No one can see them, and even if they could, who cares? When he wakes up tomorrow, it’ll still be the same day.

He doesn’t know the exact time but the tug in his stomach gets stronger by the passing minute and knows midnight is slowly approaching.

He’s lived today so many times over and he will continue to do so but looking at Daniel now, tank loose around his shoulders, it feels like he’s running out of time.

“I am going to do something,” Valtteri says, and Daniel’s eyes go instantly to his, a little wide. “You can say no — that’s okay, okay? Just, just don’t make a thing out of it.”

“Uh.” Daniel is doing that thing where he’s pre-emptively smiling because he doesn’t know what’s going on and is never good when he feels like he’s missing out on something. “Alright.”

Valtteri nods. Daniel goes impossibly still under him when he places a hand on the bottom of his neck, right where it meets his shoulder. He doesn’t touch Daniel’s face when he kisses him.

Daniel doesn’t move for a moment, Valtteri staying there, lips dry and chaste together, horribly uncomfortable, before he is pushing against him, hands going to his cheeks.

He tilts Valtteri’s head to the side, opening his mouth and exhaling, almost a sigh of it didn’t sound so furious.

Valtteri keeps his eyes open as long as he can, taking in how tightly shut Daniel’s are, the bruises pressed into his skin, the length of his lashes.

Daniel’s nose smushes into his. His lips are chapped and his mouth is warm. Valtteri can’t remember a time when he didn’t want this.

When he blinks, his stomach swoops and the world starts spinning and he knows it’s midnight and then he’s back in his car, sun streaming in through the windshield.

He takes a hand off the wheel and touches his mouth with the back of his knuckles.

[systemrestart]

I finally got the 1st Seihou Project game, Shuusou Gyoku, to run on my computer!! And I got my first Normal 1cc. So to celebrate I wanted to make a post discussing my feelings on it so far. (Plus links to download the game for yourself)

[NOTE: This is exclusively about gameplay, from the perspective of a Touhou enthusiast, so no lore or history, sorry!]

Seihou was meant to be a sort of "sister series" to Touhou, and it definitely shows in many of the patterns, but there are some key differences.

Seihou tends to have lower bullet density overall, but the bullets themselves are Much faster, and the enemies are much more aggressive, with little time to take a breath during bosses and midbosses. Some bosses/enemies even try to tackle you rather than shoot.

Because of this, routing and memorization are more of a factor, but, pulling off a pre-planned dodge for a pattern that would otherwise obliterate you before you even saw it coming, is very satisfying. And there are plenty of areas that can reward improvisation or quick thinking too, so it's not ALL memorization, which I like. A decent mix of both, at least for Easy-Hard difficulties.

Seihou also highly prioritizes grazing; you fill up a gauge as you graze, and this both increases the score you get from the star items, and gives you some extra powerful shots when you collect them. While figuring out Exactly where the hitboxes are can take a bit of trial and error, pulling off a long graze combo and then decimating the enemies with your extra firepower is also super satisfying, AND the benefits kick in at just 1 graze, so even in low density patterns you can milk the rewards by chasing stray bullets to keep the gauge filled.

The only downside to this system is that a lot of the best grazing is done on bosses, and since the bosses never drop star items you can never use your extra shots against them. (With the exception of when the Stage 4 boss sends out some killable enemies)

As for the general design; while the stages can be a bit simple overall, there are some segments that shake things up or try to catch you off-guard, like enemies coming in from the sides to tackle you, or a cool unusual pattern, which I appreciate. The bosses are more challenging and some of them have pretty cool attacks, but sometimes they can also be a little plain...... and sometimes they can be total BS.

Which brings me to my critiques........

There is no way to earn extra lives via good play. You get 3 extra lives at set points (Stage 2, 5, and 6), and that's it. So the only reward for excellent grazing/dodging/scoring is, well, the score itself. Not unusual but I tend to prefer games that give extra rewards for good performance

The hitboxes on the Bomb and Life items are WAY smaller than they appear, so much so you can pass straight through the left or right sides and still not collect them. This can make catching them a pain, particularly in stages where you are Instantly shot at after they drop. Come on, man, just make the hitbox the size of the sprite for vital resources........

The sound and graphic design is....... mixed. The music is pretty good, but the sound design is not as clean as I'd like (plus certain bullets/lasers being...... slightly eardrum-piercing), and the graphics can can cause visibility issues. The biggest offender is Stage 4, which has some backgrounds that make it near impossible to read the enemies flying down at you. Borderline unfair at points.

There are also some bullets that are super tiny, and they're usually used as 'spam' IN COMBINATION with either homing or complex patterns, making them a HUGE pain in the ass. Might not be a Criticism per se but I did want to complain lmao

There is no grace window when you're hit, but dying doesn't cancel out a bomb activation, so what will often happen is: you'll see you're about to get hit, press Bomb the second you do, and then you lose BOTH a life AND one of your freshly replenished bombs. Very frustrating

I think that's it for now! There are some quality of life improvements I wish it had, like item magnetizing or deathbombing, but overall I've been having a LOT of fun with this game, and I think people who love the Touhou games should give them a try!!

For anyone who wants it, here is a link to download it, as well as links and instructions for getting it to run on modern hardware. There is also apparently a fanmade patch released recently, that allows it to run without 3rd party help? Here is the page on that if you wanna check it out

[the-gamer-blog-for-anyone]

Hey, I figured I’d update y’all on why my posts have been few and far between. It’s a bit of venting but nothing terrible. Read if you want.

I’ll start by saying that I’m sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth every so often. I don’t mean to do that, life gets in the way a lot.

Now onto the stuff.

The major I was in (Music Ed) was a big factor this past semester. I got so stressed about things I had to get done that I got sick, not once, but twice in a row with the exact same illness. Mind you, this was within the span of a week or so, not a month; I have never had that happen before. My immune system is pretty good, so I usually heal pretty quick and am back on my feet, so twice with the illness, especially with it being almost worse the second time, is a problem. Even though it wasn’t something detrimental to my health (like pneumonia. Again.), I still know that if that stress had kept up, something like that could’ve happened.

Unfortunately, music education requires hours, and that moves into classes that need them for you to pass. I had already told the school that I didn’t have a car, but even that did not stop them from assigning me to somewhere that would require one. I thought I had it worked out because I was going to go during spring break, but that was when the illness I had the week before decided to make another impromptu visit. Yippee.

On the other end of things, I basically live in a glorified dorm right now at home. My mom, my brother, and I share a room (stuff and all). That leaves no space, which also leads to even more stress. Living with someone who wants us to wait on them every time we are home is not helpful either (meaning the three of us serve them), but we’re working on boundaries, even if they don’t want to participate.

The last thing is that I had already injured my leg before, but because of that injury and the surgery they did, I was informed recently that the increased leg pain I’m having is just something I have to live with until I can get it replaced (which can’t happen until you’re over 55). Considering I just turned 20 over a month ago, that already feels unusual; Most people my age are doing things I can’t do. It’s not that I hate that them for being able to do those activities, nor do I think that they are judging me for my lack of ability to do them (at least not logically), I just wish I could be a normal 20-year-old who can do them.

I’m mainly telling you so 1) you know why I may be somewhat depressed or go radio silent, but mainly because 2) things are getting better, and I plan to be back.

I’ve already changed majors- Bachelor of Arts as opposed to Music Ed- to take some of the stress away. Taking that off my plate already helped a lot. Plus, now I can actually get back on track for my Psychology minor (which has led me to question what my future goals are, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it).

In terms of housing, we recently heard from a friend about a better place to live temporarily until we can get a house of our own. That would help us a lot if that happens, but even if not, we can work it out. My family knows I need space, and I know they need it, too. After talking recently, we’ve figured out how to work it.

PT is doing good for at least keeping my leg stronger than it has been, and that’s a step in the right direction, even if I still have to get surgery within the next year or so.

Are there things that are still stressful and complicated? For sure. Here’s the thing though:

On top of all this, I know I have a good roommate for this coming year who knows me and my quirks. I also have, aside from my moots and friends on here, good college friends I can hang out with and know I can trust to understand if I need a break (love you @lovelyunknown and @joannaksworld). That makes life so much more bearable knowing I’m not alone.

Anyway, I plan to be back making plenty of happy posts very soon… Unless I have no ideas, which is definitely not impossible.

With that, I hope you have a great day. I love you all!

[dominimoonbeam]

Long Time No See - 9

tags: FLIRTING, communication, darlin thought spirals, but mostly fluff! yay go me!

Asher/Darlin/David

If you want to check it out from the beginning it’s here on ao3.

Long Time No See - Part 9

Darlin continued to act weird for the rest of the night. It was a different sort of weird than usual and it was definitely something that Asher was in on and amused by.

It didn’t take David long to realize that Darlin was not leaving him alone with Asher for whatever reason. Since it all seemed to be in good fun, and whatever the stupid game was, Asher knew and was grinning the whole time, David just rolled his eyes at them and let it go.

They stayed up and watched two movies.

When Darlin finally passed out midway through the second one, Asher leaned into his side, mouth tipping toward his ear to whisper. David tipped his head down to meet him, listening while the movie blasted on in an endless run of explosions.

“I overheard Darlin masturbating,” Asher said and if his tone wasn’t so even, and the whole night hadn’t been proof of something, David would have called bullshit. “They were wearing your hoodie and breathing my name.”

David shuddered, his whole body struggling to stay put and stay still. He looked at his mate, eyebrow raised. “Are you fucking with me?”

Asher smiled and shook his head, looking way too happy to be joking.

David glanced to his other side, at Darlin where they’d fallen asleep against the arm of the couch. They were still wearing one of his hoodies. Had they really? He tried to push the thought away as soon as he leaned into it. This was definitely not the place to let himself imagine any of that. But how could he not? “Their lip?” he nearly grunted.

Asher sucked on his own lower lip, staring at the TV again. “They bit it…during.”

David had to hold his breath to keep from groaning.

He got up.

Asher looked up at him, that shit-starting smirk in place. He blinked innocently up at him in a clear, “where you going?” way.

He picked up the remote and turned off the tv, plunging the living room into near darkness. He considered leaving Darlin where they were, asleep on the couch, but he didn’t want them to wake up and feel left. He leaned over and palmed the side of their head, thumbing their temple to wake them a little. “Bedtime, troublemaker.”

They stirred a little, hand on his hand.

“We’re going to bed. You want to sleep on the couch?”

Darlin huffed, nodding, and gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting go.

It was hard not to kiss their head, but he didn’t. He did put the blanket over them though.

Asher followed David down the hall, to their bedroom. When he closed the door and flopped back onto the bed he finally said, “Okay. Tell me everything.”

Asher grinned and crawled up beside him, settling in with his cheek to the pillow to whisper every detail, every word, to David.

 -

 Darlin was up early and ready to go for their run just like usual, only they wouldn’t quite meet his gaze. That wasn’t entirely unusual. Darlin didn’t make eye contact much at all unless they were deciding if someone was a threat or challenging that threat.

David couldn’t be sure if he was just reading too much into it.

Asher had told them that they were interested in more than friendship if Darlin was interested… It sounded like he’d done a good job of that conversation. Better than David could have done, that was for sure. Asher was good at that stuff. He was good at reading people and appearing unthreatening.

David knew it was a fucking trap when he was dealing with people he didn’t like. Asher was never as soft, stupid, or weak as he liked to lead people to think. But it was honestly gentle with pack and people who were scared.

They headed out on their run. The weather was nice. They shifted when they hit the woods and Darlin’s thoughts were carefully quiet. The run seemed impossibly long and tense. He was exhausted by the time they got to the other side of town, shifting human again and running up the road toward the den.

When they reached it, they were both catching their breaths. David punched in the code to unlock the door, holding it for Darlin and then following them inside. The building was quiet, empty, and they made their way toward the kitchen. It was routine. Darlin opened the fridge and pulled out two water bottles, passing him one.

The silence was officially unbearable. David was going to have to break it and he knew he’d somehow fuck that up.

“He told you,” Darlin said, breathy and low.

It wasn’t a question but it still waited for an answer.

David ran his gaze over them before nodding.

Darlin blushed and drained their water.

“He also told me what he told you.”

Darlin fixed their gaze on their shoes.

“You don’t have to worry about me making a move on you or something. You decide what you want and we’ll go with that.”

Darlin’s gaze flicked up to his and then away again. There was something there he hadn’t expected. They chewed their lip. “What if I want you to make a move?”

David’s water bottle crinkled when he nearly crushed it. “What?”

Darlin huffed like they were annoyed. “You really expect me to hit on you?”

“I mean, you could,” he snapped back, smirking. “I think I’m worth a little effort…”

Darlin laughed before they could stop themself. He couldn’t tell if they were blushing or just red from the run. “I don’t…I don’t want to mess anything up,” they admitted.

He nodded. He knew that. “You won’t.”

“If you guys were anyone else, I’d think you didn’t know what you were getting yourselves into…” Darlin added, looking at their shoes again.

David took a step closer, so that his shoes were in their view too. “We know you.”

Darlin exhaled, nodding, their chin almost to their chest and their hair sticking to their face.

David was about to take a step back and head for the showers when Darlin tipped their face up. They leaned in and kissed him. It was the softest kiss he’d ever had and not at all what he’d imagined being kissed by Darlin would be. It was quick and then they were the one stepping back. “I might just tease you for a while, okay?” they mumbled, a smirk around the words.

David snorted, following them toward the locker rooms. “Sounds about right…”

 -

 Darlin hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. To stop thinking about what Asher had said about them wanting Darlin. Anyone else, and they would have thought it was bullshit or some sort of proposition for a onetime, sometimes, threesome. And though a part of their brain still wanted to lean into that familiar cruelty of thoughts, they knew that wasn’t what he’d meant. Because it was Asher. Because Asher had been so clear and there was no way they could believe he was trying to set them up for a joke.

It was Asher.

Asher and David.

And they would never hurt Darlin.

So they’d stewed on it all night and all morning and through their whole run with David.

There were a hundred reasons why they shouldn’t make a move, why they shouldn’t risk their friendships or their feelings. But these months with them had been some of the best of Darlin’s life. They were safe. They were happy. And they could have more if they wanted it.

If they wanted it.

That was the part that made it all irresistible. For once in their life, it was all up to them. And they knew, in their bones and their blood, that Asher and David would never do anything they didn’t want them to do.

Kissing David had felt like the craziest thing they’d ever done, but it also been natural, like finally just letting go and fucking falling.

They had never been more aware of him than they were in the locker room after that. Everything had changed but nothing happened, because Darlin was going to decide when things happened, it seemed. So they just stole long glances at each other which turned into outright staring.

Darlin took off their top, more self-conscious than they’d ever been in their life, but somehow it wasn’t a bad thing. It wasn’t pins and needles, cold shame, or racing thoughts of escape. It was something else. It was warm and hyper aware while somehow calm, focused on absolutely nothing but here and now.

They dragged a hand through their sweat damp hair, shaking it out as if the scattering of those strands would hide their own eyes watching David pull his shirt off. They’d peeked plenty but this was the first time they looked while he watched them. Darlin had to click their teeth to keep from biting their lip.

They stripped off their pants and heat flushed their skin when they heard David groan low in his throat. When they looked, he was the one biting his lip.

It felt good, really good, to be wanted but not pressured.

They watched David strip down, not missing the smirk tucked in the corner of his mouth when he dropped the last of his clothes in the pile they’d made on the floor.

Just about anyone else, and Darlin would expect them to try to make a move now, but David, half-fucking-hard, walked away toward the showers, knowing they would watch him.

Darlin growled, wondering who was the one getting teased here.

They followed him, catching a glimpse of David in a shower stall just as the water came on. He ducked his head into the spray but his gaze flicked over his shoulder to them as they passed. Darlin stepped into the shower right next to his, hit the button and started cleaning up. “So…” They swallowed, trying to make their voice sound somehow steady and unaffected. “How would it work?”

“How would what work?” David asked and they could fucking hear him grinning now.

Darlin dropped their arms and just stood under the spray for a second. Where they really going to ask? Be point blank about this whole relationship thing? Was it a relationship? What if it wasn’t?

They turned off the water and took the handful of steps around the divider to stand on the edge of his stall. He turned, shoving water and hair out of his face to look at them. His gaze dragged over them and they shivered despite the steam. “I forgot shampoo,” they said, like they’d ever fucking brought their own before. Like they didn’t usually just use whatever was left in the stalls or steal Asher’s or David’s from their locker.

He pressed back a smile, deciding not to call them on it and picked up the shampoo bottle. He held it, not quite out to them, thinking. “Do you want help?”

Darlin felt heat rush their face. They would usually say no to help. They stepped into the stall, into that tight space with him, sharing the spray of the shower. They swallowed and turned around, giving him their back. They twitched when he uncapped the shampoo. “Would…Would it be like…I mean, you two are together. Would I be like, a friend-with-benefits situation?” They tried to keep their voice casual but it was breathy.

There was a still pause before he put the shampoo bottle back on the rack. “No,” he said, palming the back of their head gently, fingers working the soap into their hair. “Unless that’s how you wanted things? We want you with us, Darlin.”

Darlin closed their eyes, spine tingling. They realized suddenly that they’d never had anyone wash their hair for them before and suddenly thought this wasn’t the smartest way to get information. They weren’t sure they were listening. They wanted Darlin with them. Not just friends-with-benefits.

 -

 David massaged their scalp, reveling in having them close and in such an intimate situation. It wasn’t like they’d never seen each other naked before or ever even showered together before, but this was nothing like all those other times. And they’d definitely never showered in the same stall at the same time, let alone washed each other.

He literally watched their shoulders relax when he dragged his fingers down the back of their neck.

“Are there rules?” Darlin mumbled, sounding dreamy and far away.

He would have smiled at how easily they’d turned to putty if their question hadn’t thrown him. “Rules?”

“Like… Who can do what when and with who?”

Rules. Like they could only fuck around when they were all present and accounted for? “No. Just being honest, I guess. If you’re not into something, or if you want something, I need you to tell me.”

Darlin lifted their head, eyes open against. “Okay.”

A jolt shot through him and his fingers stilled, pressed into their skin. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” they were quiet but steady. They turned slowly to look back at him and they looked more certain than he’d ever seen them. “Deal. I’ll be honest with you.”

He shivered.

“I like your shampoo,” they said suddenly. Were they trying to change the subject?

“I like when you use it,” he admitted.

They smiled a little. “Why?”

“Because then you smell like us.”

Darlin’s eyes darkened and their breath caught. He almost leaned in when a door clapped on the other end of the locker room.

Darlin jumped back. They were so fast sometimes. They flashed a smile, biting their lip to try to keep it down before ducking around the partition to rinse out their hair in the other stall. Less than a minute later a couple other pack members were coming in, talking and laughing after a run of their own.

David cleaned up, got dressed, and headed back to the main rooms of the pack house. It had a big kitchen that they tried to keep stocked with easy foods, mostly breakfast things. He felt Darlin coming out of the back hall. He didn’t need to look. Nothing gave them away. He was just that focused on them, that used to them. Their hair was still wet but they were dressed, hands stuffed into the pockets of their jacket. “I’m headed out,” they said in that vague blunt way that could be addressed to anyone and no one.

David grunted back.

Darlin paused on the other side of the kitchen island, rocking on their boots for a second like they were considering whether or not to say anything else.

David waited, eyebrow raised. He expected them to tease him again, to flirt or maybe say something fantastically lewd before walking away.

Darlin chewed their lip, not looking at him, at the empty warehouse and the door on the other side. “I like smelling like you,” they admitted, and then walked away.

David groaned, leaning against the island and watching them go. He smiled to himself when they door clapped shut and he turned toward the kitchen.

Milo stepped out of the back hall, brow creased.

David huffed, pulling the oats from the cupboard. “Your stealth is rubbing off on you.”

“I think you were just distracted…”

David paused. There was an edge of discomfort and possible anger in his friend’s voice. What the fuck was— Oh. He glanced back in the direction Darlin had gone and then at Milo. He didn’t have to explain himself, but that feeling broke fast against the realization that Milo wouldn’t be the only one to jump to that obvious conclusion if they caught David and Darlin making moon eyes or whatever the fuck they were doing.

David took a step back, leaning against the counter and looking at Milo.

Milo looked back at him. He had seen his friend pissed plenty of times, but not like this. There was something heavy here, like David was breaking something between them.

“I’m not cheating on Asher,” David growled, because there was no other way he could get those words out. “We’re… We’re both…” Fuck. He was tempted to call his mate and make him explain it to Milo, but that was weak. He had to be able to do this. Who knew when it would come up again or how. Better to get it out and let it pass through the ranks of gossip. “We like Darlin. We both like Darlin.”

Milo blinked, all anger and hurt quickly replaced by surprise and dawning understanding. “Oh.”

David grunted.

“OH!”

David rolled his eyes and went back to getting a pot out. “Do you want oatmeal?”

“Do I fucking want oatmeal? No, I want you to explain how that happened.” He flapped a hand in the direction Darlin had gone. “They’re not exactly… flirty.”

David snorted, wanting to argue that it turned out that wasn’t true at all, but also not willing to give that away. It was something only he knew, and maybe Asher. If Asher hadn’t figured it out already, he was pretty sure he was going to find out.

 -

 Darlin felt good.

Too good?

The sort of good that got them feeling nervous like something bad was definitely about to happen. They never felt this good, like they couldn’t stop smiling, couldn’t stop thinking about David back at the warehouse. Nothing had really happened. They’d barely kissed. But they’d talked and there had been the shower and fuck, Darlin felt like they could run another lap around Dahlia and die happy.

Yep. Too good. Definitely too good.

They didn’t deserve this. They’d fucked up so many things in their life. They had nothing to offer. What would David and Asher want with them? How could they really do anything but make things worse? They didn’t know how to do relationships. Not really. They’d never had to do anything but try to get the fuck out of relationships in the past. They were something that just sort of happened. This? This wasn’t like that at all.

“Hey!”

Darlin jerked hard at the voice close by. They’d been so in their own thoughts, spiraling, that they hadn’t realized how fast they were walking or even noticed Asher catching up to them in front of the building.

His arm shot out and caught their waist before they could bump into the brick wall. He laughed easily, even though his eyes were making a quick study of them. “Shit, sorry babe, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Darlin exhaled and felt their muscles relaxing, only realizing then how tense they’d been.

“The hell you thinking about so hard?” he asked, still smiling, still in that effortlessly easy way.

Darlin relaxed more, leaning into him rather than away and blushing. “Sorry. Nothing.”

Asher hummed like he didn’t believe that for an instant. He put his arm over their shoulders and steered them into the building. “How was your run?”

“Good,” they answered fast and felt heat rushing to their face when they thought about David again.

Asher hummed again and jabbed the button for the elevator.

Darlin cocked an eyebrow. “We could just take the stairs.”

“Too many stairs.”

Darlin bit back a laugh. “How are you the laziest person I know and also the most hyper person I know?”

Asher grinned, unraveling from them when the elevator doors opened and he stepped in. “Just talented, I guess? I save my energy for important things, like running and eating, fighting and fucking…” The joking words broke off when they flew from his mouth, like he hadn’t meant for them to, like they might mean more now than they would have a week ago.

Darlin stepped onto the lift with him and leaned back against the shiny metal wall. All their bullshit thoughts were gone, like somehow he’d chased them away. They knew they’d just been spiraling but they couldn’t remember the fine details—the bits that seemed to be driving home that old spike of doubt and self-loathing. Yes, they had a stack of bad relationships behind them. And no, they couldn’t imagine what Asher and David would see in them. But they trusted them.

“I asked David what the rules were,” Darlin pushed the words out before they could get comfortable in silence.

Asher’s head snapped toward them.

Darlin looked away, realizing they were in an elevator and didn’t really have anywhere else to look. “He was pretty vague. But I don’t really know how to do relationships…” Their voice was getting quieter and they winced because they’d wanted to make this sound casual, maybe even make a joke about it.

The elevator door opened and neither of them moved.

The doors started to close again and Asher jarred into action, catching the door and holding it open.

Darlin walked out, digging the apartment keys from their pocket. Asher was right behind them.

“You talked to David about…being in a relationship with us?”

Darlin fumbled the keys and almost dropped them, shooting Asher a look like he’d done that on purpose.

He grinned. “You like us, Darlin?”

Darlin rolled their eyes but felt the heat in their face. They jammed the key into the lock and rolled it back. “Yeah…” they mumbled, pushing into the apartment.

Asher followed, closing the door and leaning back against it. He was still smiling.

Darlin shoved their keys back into their pocket and then hung up their jacket. The same peg as always. Routine. Home. “Knock it off,” they warned but could feel his smile infecting their mouth.

“So…You gonna ask me on a date or something?”

Darlin groaned dramatically. “Fuck you.”

“I mean, yeah, you can jump to that if you want…”

Darlin stared, definitely blushing now, trying not to imagine anything.

His smile softened but he stayed there, leaning back against the door. “It’s okay if you don’t know how to do relationships. There’s no rules, Darlin. We’ll figure it out together… If that’s what you want.”

Darlin exhaled a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding. Whatever they wanted. They took a step closer, their boot bumping his sneaker. They nodded. “Yeah.” They leaned in, farther than they would have had to if he was standing upright, almost to the point of having to lean against him. Asher’s breath caught but he didn’t close the distance, he just waited. Darlin kissed him. It wasn’t as fast as they’d kissed David, but it wasn’t deeper either. Maybe a little less nervous, a little bolstered by that first interaction. Asher sighed and it made Darlin feel fucking invincible.

They leaned back, swallowing and looking down at some point on his t-shirt. “Do you…Um…” Darlin squirmed a little. “Do you want to go get lunch or something?” the words rushed out in a whispered mess.

Asher was silent.

Darlin flicked their gaze up to see his reaction.

He was practically beaming. “Are you asking me out? Like a date?”

Darlin groaned, dropping their head back and about to turn and tell him to just forget it.

Asher sprang off the door and scooped them up, arms around their back, lifting them off their feet. “Yes! Fuck yes! I’d eat a salad for you!”

Darlin pretended to hate being picked up, grumbling and squirming a little until he put them back down. “Who said anything about salad? David’s at work, we’re obviously going to that fried chicken place he says isn’t sanitary.”

Asher opened the door and grabbed their jacket off the hook before they could do it. “Yes! I’m so glad you’re on team junk food, babe!”

Darlin led the way back out but this time took the stairs. Asher caught up and slung an arm over their shoulder.

[solarisjoon]

Cause every single touch don’t mean a thing And every time you’re calling out my name We know that it’s just not to be alone We’re loving like we’re animals (Animals by Alex & Sierra)

A/N: Whoo! This is finally done, and I’m quite happy to say that smut is easy and fun to write!  I will be posting a weekly/bi-weekly schedule tomorrow that I can truly follow now due to getting my mental health in check.  The third drabble will be posted tomorrow as well.  Feedback would be appreciated!!

Based on this ask from my Drabble NSFW Asks: anonymous said: For the nsfw drabble: d, 3, 63, and dom!hoseok, possibly an abo au? Id kill for a good dom/Alpha au rn love you btw

D:  3: “You’re such a useless whore.” 63: “Keep going, bitch. I want to see tears rolling down your cheeks.”

Pairing: Dom!Jung Hoseok X Reader ABO!AU Genre: Drabble Word Count: 2164 (Not really a drabble anymore huh?) Warnings: SMUTTY SMUT SMUT

Cause every single touch don’t mean a thing And every time you’re calling out my name We know that it’s just not to be alone We’re loving like we’re animals (Animals by Alex & Sierra)

Receiving the text had caused a rush of heat to flow through me, and I clenched my thighs as I licked my lips:

Hosuck: My apartment, NOW

I hadn’t graced him with a response as I hurriedly shoved my books into my bag and bid my study group adieu for the day.

“Where are you going, Y/N?”  My best friend, Kim Taehyung, asked, concern etched onto his features.

“Heading home for the night Tae, don’t worry about me.”  He stood quickly and grabbed my arm, his nostrils flaring as he scented what I tried hard to conceal.

“You’re going to see him, right?  Don’t lie to me, I can smell you Y/N.”  He shook his head at the small noise I made in protest.  "I thought you were done with him, all he’s going to do is hurt you, he doesn’t care about you.“

Pulling my arm away, I narrowed my eyes, "I know Tae, all we do is fuck, and it’s none of your business who and what I do.”

The growl that reverberated through the room caused a shiver to run through me and I whined, tilting my head to show submission to the angry alpha in front of me.  Taehyung’s eyes widened and he backed away from me, “Shit Y/N, I-”

My eyes watered as I glared at him, “Forget it Tae.”  I left him there, rushing out of the library with shame coursing through me at the display I had just given every Alpha in the room.  Taehyung had never handled me in that way before, albeit how unusual and pressing it was for an Alpha and Omega to be best friends, we could control our instincts around each other.  It was upsetting, and I worried my lower lip between my teeth as I debated blowing Hoseok off for the night so I could go home and have a good cry.

As I passed his dorm complex, I could smell Hoseok, surprise rang through me at that, and I hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time.  Entering the entryway, I glanced around and found Seokjin hurrying to the entrance, shoes barely on and a strange look on his face.

“Jin?”

He realized it was me standing there and breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh Y/N, thank gods.”

I cocked my head as he pulled me into a quick hug, the comforting scent of a Beta wrapping around me.  "What is it?“

"It’s Hobi, he went into rut early, I barely got out of there.”

My eyes widened as I realized the issue, and I pushed Jin away, “No, no.  Hobi and I agreed not during heats.  You know as well as I do what could happen.”

Jin’s eyes twinkled as he grinned, “Well, that wouldn’t be a bad thing, now would it?”

“He doesn’t feel the same as I do, Jin.”  I mumbled, turning away and hanging my head.  "I’m gonna go, just call Hanyu for him, he needs another Alpha to help him.“  I started to turn, pushing the door open as I went, cutting Jin off mid-sentence and hurrying home.

After arriving back at my apartment, I stripped and showered, trying to keep my mind from thoughts of Hanyu and Hoseok together.  Finishing up quickly, I threw on some comfy, yet old, pajamas and settled in front of the TV for a good binging session of Say Yes to the Dress.  Sighing, I shoved a spoonful of rocky road ice cream into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully as I thought of myself in the brides’ places with Hoseok as the-

Okay, ending that train of thought right now.

Sitting up fully, I set the ice cream down on the coffee table in front of me, stretching my arms above me when I heard a loud bang come from the front door of my apartment.  Before I could react, a sweaty, shirtless, Hoseok came into my living room and the overwhelming scent of cinnamon was washing over me.  I let out a low whine and showed my neck to the Alpha before me, slick gathering between my legs at an alarming rate.

“I texted you,” Hoseok growled, fangs on display and anger making his eyes grow gold with his Alpha fully presenting.  

“Jin told me it was your rut and-” I gasped as I was suddenly pressed up against the wall, Hoseok’s knee between my legs and his teeth at my throat, his nose rubbing against my cheek.  

“I called you,” I froze, my mouth going dry and I glanced towards my phone sitting on the coffee table.  If Hoseok had called me in the midst of his heat did that mean…?  No, I wasn’t going to go there, he wasn’t thinking straight and neither was I due to his scent wrapping me in cinnamon cloves.  The Omega part of me wanted to just submit to the Alpha scenting me, it wanted me to spread my legs and take him like a bitch in heat.

I had to stay focused, if I let myself go then Hoseok could accidentally mark me, and I didn’t want the Alpha to be angry when he came back to his senses, marking an Omega like me.  I felt the nip before I saw him move, the growl resurfacing, ”Why do you smell like another Alpha?“

"It’s just Taehyung, I was at a study group with him and-"  Hoseok shut me up with a bruising kiss, his tongue licking into my mouth as if to gather every bit of my essence for his own.  I keened, my back arching into his body as his knee pressed against my center, rubbing against my clenching entrance.  A blush coated my body at the feeling of slick running in rivulets down my parted thighs, I was sure by now I had soaked through his jeans.

”He touched you, he touched what’s mine.“ He had pulled away from my mouth, licking at my lips now.  His words had me gasping as I ground against him, euphoria washing through me at the blooming feeling of hope in my chest.

"H-Hoseok…”  This was dangerous, I was letting myself slip into his rut, into him, and yet I loved it, I was excited by it.  I clenched against him, trying to hold myself back, as well as trying to stop more slick from escaping; the wet sounds of my grinding against his thigh were a bit embarrassing.  "Please…“ I broke, giving in to his lust and my love.

The salacious grin I was grace with let me know I was in trouble for running away.  ”Good girl.“  The rumbling of Hoseok’s Alpha voice set me on fire, and I gripped his hair before pulling his lips to mine, fighting for dominance with my tongue and tracing his canines gently.  Hoseok groaned, rutting his hips into my belly, and I realized just how affected he was by me.

Steel pressed into my stomach, rubbing a burning trail along my navel and making me beg for more.  Hoseok happily obliged, flinging me over his shoulder and spanking my ass as he did, the keening cry I let out urging him on quicker to my bedroom.  The air split around me as I was thrown onto my mattress, a soft oof leaving me at the force of his throw.  A ripping sound echoed around us as I realized he had ripped my pajama shorts and panties in half, tossing the tattered threads behind him as he set his gaze upon what he wanted.  

"Hey! Those were expensive!”  I was more upset at the loss of my favorite pair of lacy panties than my sleep shorts, and even though he was the Alpha he needed to know what he had done.  

“I’ll buy you as many pairs as you want, just let me touch you now.”  Hoseok growled, his hands already sliding up my thighs as he crawled towards my center.  His devilish tongue lashed out and licked a burning stripe up my slit, causing me to cry out at the pleasure.  "Just like that baby girl, let everyone know what’s going on.“  The puff of his hot breath against my core made me tremble, his lips brushing against my clit with every word he spoke.  

Glancing down, I saw his golden eyes watching me as he lapped at me, a slow grin curving at his lips before he truly set out to devour me whole.  Almost immediately, two fingers were shoved deep into my pussy, stretching me and hitting my g-spot in rapid, quick strokes.  I keened and clawed at his hair, pressing him deeper into me, craving the pleasure he so willingly gave.  His tongue lashed me, swirling about my clit and then tapping it quickly, keeping me so close to the edge but not letting me get there.

”You’re such a useless whore, letting me have my way with this pretty pussy while you just whine and cry.“   Again, his words caused me such great pleasure, lips teasing my clit in such a perfect way that I cried out and came, stars shining in my head.

When I came back down from my high, Hoseok had undressed himself the rest of the way, his golden eyes watching my chest heave from under my vest top, and lips still shiny from my release.  ”Get rid of that before I do it for you.“  I scrambled to pull it over my head, so I wouldn’t have to deal with yet another ripped item of clothing, and watched as his gaze zeroed in on my chest, more specifically, the way my nipples hardened under his watch.  My own gaze focused on his leaking length, the purple head absolutely dripping with precum and his balls heavy with his release.  I tracked the veins that wrapped his steely shaft, and watched how his knot flared gently at his base, ready to lock me to him.

I went to move onto my knees to give him some relief before Hoseok held me back, ”Later, now I want you to ride me.“  I nodded and sat up, watching as his cock bobbed while he settled against my pillows, a grin lighting up his face as I crawled over him, slick dripping onto him.  I took him in hand and held his head against my entrance, breath hitching as I pressed down, my body taking him with slight difficulty as he seemed to be much larger than normal.  I moaned as I sank onto him, my clit rubbing against his navel with every breath.

At the slow growl that  left him, I started to move, my hips pounding down onto him with such force the bed creaked in protest.  The slick sounds of our coupling entranced him, as he watched where we were joined with rapt attention, licking his lips and letting out groans of pleasure.  Every slap of my body against his had my energy sapping and a whine flying from my throat, a sudden, sharp smack to my ass had me jolting and opening my eyes to see the Alpha, my Alpha watching me.

“Keep going, bitch. I want to see tears rolling down your cheeks.”  I obliged, slamming myself harder with each smack against my rapidly-bruising ass cheeks, my slick pooling onto his stomach by this point and making everything that much wetter.  Tears started to gather in my eyes at the overwhelming pleasure I was feeling, Hoseok’s cock swelling with each stroke.  Suddenly, he grabbed the back of my head and slammed his mouth into mine, licking into me and making me taste my own pleasure on his tongue.  I kissed him back with as much vigor, pushing myself to finish with my Alpha, as his knot was catching on me with every pull out.

Hoseok pulled away from my mouth and trailed kissed down my neck, nibbling little galaxies into my skin and making me cry out his name.  ”Shit,“  He growled out, hands grabbing my thighs and nails digging in deep enough to make me feel the bruises I would have.  He thrust up with a force I didn’t know he had and shoved his knot into my waiting pussy, his cum flooding me and filling me to the brim.  His teeth were in my scent gland in a flash, and I keened and came around him, walls pulsating and milking more of his seed from him, my own, slightly smaller canines digging into his scent gland, marking Hoseok as mine.

Hoseok smiled at his mate, her sleeping figure covered in love bites and bruises from his hands, sufficiently marking her as his.  Of course, the mark that covered her scent gland attested to that fact, and the many other rounds that had followed the initial marking.  Their combined scents of cinnamon cloves and jasmine surrounded him and made his Alpha happy; they had their Omega, finally, and no one could take her from them.  She truly was his wolfsbane.

[ambrosiasaladofthebrain]

Ambrosia Salad of The Brain

Ch 1: Meet Jake

The teacher’s note read like it usually did: “Nice Job” written under a circled 100% and a smiley face creating a small triangle of pen ink. Jake knew it was childish, it was because he was far younger than all of his classmates that his math teacher always left small notes of encouragement and excitement on his tests, but he supposed he didn’t care. He still cut each one out carefully before throwing out the test and placing the scrap onto the growing pile in the box he kept under his bed.

 He would show his sister the pile someday and she would be impressed with how well he had done. That day would probably be soon, hopefully soon. For now he would stack them until the box burst. With the ringing of the bell the school day came to a close and he scrambled to collect his things and leave before the mass of bigger students could trample him.

He was quick to make it to the front steps, wanting to double check his items before he left. Someone had stolen his first aid kit but he still had his second one which was good enough. There was a father a couple blocks from school who had started robbing from the richer district people who came to feel better about themselves and show off. These people often had bodyguards with some pent up emotions they needed to release. Jake couldn’t stop the man from doing what he could for his kid but he could apply his basic knowledge of first aid. He might be an amateur but where he lacked in practice he hoped his mind and memory made up for it. He supposed living in a hospital and watching professionals daily had to have upgraded his skills somewhat. 

He also needed the bread he had saved from lunch, a pack of rats had taken root in an alleyway he had to pass to get to the hospital and their attacks on random passerbyers were getting worse, as long as he threw them a good chunk of food however, they seemed to leave him alone. Simon had tried to protest Jake’s sharing of half his lunch with rats but he understood that certain measures had to be taken, and not a week later after the incident he had started carrying bread for a gang of rats on his block as well.

With his rusted swiss army knife prepared he was ready to walk home. He just needed to check in with Simon and Piet who were unusually late. They were usually at their meeting spot first, skipping their class to share a smoke, or, he thought they still smoked, they promised they had quit but they still carried packs and lighters and the smell never left their fingers and breath, nor their sweaters he needed to return.

“Hey kid!” Simon called as he left the building and hopped down the steps, tripping on a hole, and stringing a colorful display of words together as he stumbled to a stop. “‘Hey! Hey,” he corrected his volume with the second ‘hey’, looking apologetic, “Guess wha’ we got.”

“We?” Jake looked around, expecting to see Simon’s ‘better half’.

“Yeah, uh.” Simon looked around, before swearing again, “I lost her. No! The love of my life! Gone! Sorry, gone,” he corrected his volume again, really trying not to be so aggressively loud. “I’ll nev’a see ‘er again. Lost, to the chaos of the school, or maybe the lunch lady,” he shrugged, flopping down on the school steps, “Beauty like that will surely be missed, I’ll nev’a love anoth’a,” he clenched a fist to his chest, suddenly being tackled from behind

“That’s right you won't! But maybe I will! Leave your girlfriend to the demise a the lunch lady? She works out y’know. Too buff even fer me an’ you leave me! Ah Jake, ‘ey kiddo. how’d’yer test go?” Piet sobered down sitting on Simon’s back, pinning him to the ground as she reached for the 100% paper Jake handed her. “‘Ey, nice job, though I wasn’t all that worried, the one about explainin’ how ya did the work kept trippin’ ya up when we studied but ya’always pull through.”

“Thank you,” Jake blushed.

“I nev’a doubted ya either,” Simon added.

“Ah shut up,” Peit smacked his head lightly, “Anyway you got the goods?” 

“Duh,” Simon rolled his eyes, pushing Peit off and pulling a small cardboard box from his cardigan pocket. “Here ya are mister smarty pants.” He ceremoniously tossed the box to Jake who fumbled with it a moment before catching it properly and giving it a suspicious glance. 

“You didn’t,” He mumbled, cracking it open. “How? Where? The school doesn’t have a-”

“Eh I found some chips lyin’ ‘round an’, well, Peit has some chickens so we jus’ needed a stove ‘n a few other things,” Simon shrugged, Peit shrugging with him. 

Jake picked up the two chocolate chip cookies from the box, they were sloppy and a little flat, nothing like the images he had seen online but the last time he had had chocolate chip cookies had been with Zoey. He wondered if he could save one and find some milk but quickly shook the idea from his head remembering the growing prices.

“Thank you,” he whispered into the cookies, almost too quiet as he tried to stop the prickling of his eyes.

Piet let out a soft swear, raising a hand; “‘Ey don’t cry now, we were bored.”

“Yeah, it really wasn’ that hard even!” Simon added. 

“Or expensive, I mean, we stole most’a the stuff.”

“Sh!” Simon elbowed her, “No, we bought it, promise, promise,” He lied.

“Thank you,” Jake whispered again, breaking one of the cookies in half, then breaking that into two quarters, “Here.”

“We couldn’-” Piet began.

“Really?” Simon asked, “You sure?” He grabbed a quarter with excitement. Piet looked disgusted at him for a moment before taking her piece. The treat was dry and somewhat burnt yet uncooked all at once. It was very sweet, which was better than bitter Jake supposed, it would definitely benefit from a glass of milk though.

“Oh wow,” Piet coughed.

“You, don’ ‘ave to eat that Jake,” Simon grimaced, “I can throw that out.”

“No!” Jake held the small box close, glaring, “No, I’ll keep it, they’re not half bad.”

Simon’s watch on his outstretched hand buzzed, “I gotta get to work, you’ll be ok by yourself?”

“I walk every day by myself.”

“Doesn’ mean I can’t be worried.”

“You got your stuff?” Piet interrogated, “Books, pepper spray, pocket knife?”

Jake shuffled through his bag then pockets making a show of making sure it was all in place and hadn’t been stolen throughout the day despite having just done these actions moments ago, “Yep.”

“Alright. Get home safe bud,” She waved bye dragging Simon along with her.

Simon was still calling out to Jake; “I’ll be at the gate in the mornin’, and make sure to watch out for those rats, oh and cases of,” as they rounded the corner his calls disappeared with them. Jake giggled at them as he took another bite of his cookie and started his own walk. His first stop would be the rats and he needed to come up with good names for them.

He was still thinking of names for the rats when he left their alleyway. Rats are terribly smart creatures and Jake had always felt akin to them in some odd way. He was close to his next stop now, which meant he should get his swiss army knife ready. The Robber Father would never harm him but this wasn’t always his haunt, it was a very popular place for muggings to occur either way. However, while most let him by some people had become very desperate with the rising prices and crack down on crimes the President himself had initiated to help clean up the district.

Jake slowed, nearing the alley and peaking in. At first he didn’t see anyone but someone shifted in the pile of trash bags and Jake entered recognizing it as Robber Father. He squatted next to the man poking his arm with the dull knife. 

“Sir?”

The man groaned, sounding in pain, Jake scrunched his face looking for injuries. When he couldn’t outright see any stab wounds or broken bones Jake slapped the man's cheek, trying to wake him.

“Sir?” he called a bit louder.

This scene was reminding him a little too much of when he had found his sister. She had been warm, Jake felt the man’s forehead but his temperature felt normal enough. She had also coughed a lot as well as had a scratchy breath that seemed to tug at her throat, trying to stick to the sides. Jake brought his ear to the man’s mouth. His breath was soft if not slow.

“Siiiiirrrr!” Jake drew out his call, slapping the man's face repetitively.

“Wha? Who’s ther?” The man slew out, sitting up and focusing on Jake, “Oh, hey Doc, ‘ere for my checkup?” He rumbled as he sat up.

“What happened?” Jake asked, wanting to get to the point.

“Eh, this rich prick came into town lookin’ for trouble, I beat ‘em up but he got a couple hits to my stomach. Nother one’a those hit where it can’t be seen’ things, ya’know?” He lifted his shirt to show off the patchwork of bruising, “Could’a done better but I forgot to eat today.” He chuckled, Jake didn’t join him, rolling his eyes at the obvious lie. He pulled his gift box with the last half-a-cookie from his bag and handed it to the man before he could change his mind.

“Eh? Wha’s this?” Robber Father took it with a quizzical look, and gave a soft oh upon opening it, “A cookie? In this economy? Pretty impressive kid, you're basically the richest kid I’ve met now,” He went to hand the box back only for Jake to shove it back to him.

“You can have it, my frie-” Jake bit his tongue on the slip up, “Simon and Piet gave them to me, I already ate one, you have the rest.”

“The, ones who babysit ya at school?” Jake nodded. “They rich or somethin’?” “Nah, just stupid.”

Robber Father huffed a laugh, “Teenagers. My Rose ‘s turnin’ 14 soon y'know, you wanna come to the party?”

Was that a joke? When most kids invited him to a party it was usually to laugh moments later. Also people usually brought gifts to birthday parties and he had no money or anything to give.

“You don’t have to bring anythin’ kid, your, like, six-”

“I’m 8 (timephrame),” Jake informed, then realizing he’d interrupted quickly added a “Sorry!

“Point is, you wouldn’t need’ta bring anythin’, it’s next week, at that one park near the gas station with slushies, I can tell ya more details later if ya want?”

Jake nodded before looking at his watch, he needed to continue walking if he wanted to make it for the cafeteria’s dinner. He quickly waved goodbye and headed back out of the alley, pocketing his knife.

By the time he made it to the hospital the cafeteria was bustling. Jake quickly grabbed his food, it was watery soup and bread today, before leaving the loud area.

Jake balanced his meal tray in one hand to knock on Zoey’s door. After a beat of silence he opened the door.

“Hey Z! I’m back from school, I still needa check in with Joy but I said hi to a couple other people on my way here so she probably already knows. She’s been real strict ‘bout knowin’ where I am lately. I think it's prolly ‘cause I got picked up by that gang last week, they didn’t do anythin’, I was jus’ hangin’ out with’em, but I guess social services didn’t like that I was hangin’ out with a,” he set down his tray and threw off his backpack to use his hand for air quotes, “‘violent gang’ such as the Cat’s Claws. They’re honestly not that bad.”

Jake drug the armchair closer to his plate and Zoey’s bed, picking up his milk carton to clink it against her feeding tube gently. He drank his soup slowly, enjoying the few pieces of meat and feeling proud every time he chewed a potato. He had been helping in the hospital garden when he could. Something social services had made him do to keep him off the streets but he still enjoyed it.

“Y’know, S.S’s been strugglin’ lately Z. Well, they always are, but really, after all that trouble I told ya ‘bout they’ve been breathin’ down my neck lately. They don’t like the idea of me livin in a hospital, this one worker told me I was goin to disrupt the peace, or waste people's time, y’know cause it’s a hospital and doctors an’ nurses need to focus, but I’ve been tryin real hard to blend in, I stayed out late to not clog the hallways but then they yelled at Joy ‘cause I kept gettin inta trouble, even when I wasn’t!

“Jus’ cause I hang out with criminals doesn’t make me one! I mean, someone has’ta take care of ‘em, else they’re all gonna die of infections, I tell ya, one time I met a lady who had let a lill’ stab wound get infected, it was so gross, but nobody wanted to help her so I looked at it and guess what, she just needed to wash it out a bit and properly bandage it. I showed ‘er how to make bandages from scraps like ya taught me. I’m ramblin’ uh.

“Oh yeah, so after they gave me that curfew I started tryin to make friends with the other patients and they were all real nice but S.S. didn’t like that either for some reason, somethin’ ‘bout it not bein professional, I can talk to other patients my age an’ that's it apparently. Like that makes sense. So now I ‘ave’ta check in every day after school, an’ before Joy leaves, an’ she locks us in here now! Have you noticed? She always unlocks it at five the next mornin’ but still. It’s been real borin.”

Jake pushed a strand of hair from Zoey’s face, it was to her shoulders now, she’d probably want to cut it when she woke up. Or maybe not, Jake was pretty sure she had only cut her hair in support of him having to cut his, she’d always had these really detailed hair styles before that. He wove a messy braid into a small bit of her hair and smiled at the attempt. 

“Sorry fer ramblin’, I know it’s annoyin’. But, uh, when ya wake up can you teach me how’ta braid hair please? Ok, I’mma go check in with Joy now, love you.”

He waited a moment, breathed in, breathed out. When nothing followed he quickly got up, pushing his chair back into place and collecting his dishes.

In the cafeteria it had quitted just a bit, most people had gone back to their rooms and work now. Entering the kitchen wasn’t really allowed but, like in many things, Jake was an exception. Entering the kitchen always felt like going under water and only hearing the muffled voices of the surface. 

The kitchen staff always talked in soft voices that mixed with the cling and clack of kitchen utensils. The sound of people in the cafeteria would worm it’s way through the walls and dance with the quiet music that played quietly from a trashy radio someone had fished out of a trash and repaired years ago. The smells of food stuck to a schedule just as much as the food. Today had been potato soup so the music was samba, Chef Maya’s playlist. 

She always danced her way around the kitchen but on samba days her movements would grow smoother like they’d been defrosted especially for the day. 

Jake quietly started running water over his dishes, happy to be looked over in the bustle. Tomorrow was fresh bread Friday so the kitchen was moving in a muffled hurry to prepare. Usually Jake would love to help, bread was one of his favorite things to make, but he still needed to check in with Joy so he quickly waved to the welcoming chefs and left. 

Joy was on the second level like always. She was checking in on a patient who had come in with a severe case of  Stardust yesterday. They hoped he would wake up in the coming days but it wasn’t likely. Jake hoped he woke up soon. From the door window Jake watched as Joy drew his blood and added it to her vial already filled with another liquid. She shook it until the red changed to a silvery metallic color, knitting her brows at the reaction, Jake mimicked her face, scrunching his brows in a similar fashion. 

Doctors had done this to Zoey every so often, more frequently when she first arrived, when they still had higher hopes. They’d let him shake the vials until the colors changed as a sort of morbid entertainment. 

Sighing, Joy zipped the blood sample into a contamination bag and checked the rest of the patient's vitals. When everything was in order she headed to the door, spotting Jake in the process. She knitted her brows at him and he quickly jumped off the stool he’d drug over to the door and carried it back to her desk. A minute later she walked out of the patient room and over to Jake, taking off her medical mask, and tossing her gloves into a garbage.

“See this line?” She pointed to the obvious silver and navy hazard line painted into the floor. 

Jake looked at it, taking another step behind the desk that was outside the line that separated the Stardust ward from the entrance of the floor.

“You see it, right?” Joy said again, tapping her foot on the line twice.

Jake nodded, eyes fixed on the simmering silvery lines nestled between the blue. Apparently the floor had been originally closed off with a temporary tape made for the epidemic but when it became a-

“You’re not supposed to be lookin round this floor,” She nagged, pulling Jake from his thoughts.

“I know,” he mumbled. When it became a permanent issue-

“If Social Services found out I was lettin’ you wander ‘round they’d move you again.”

“I know.” When it became a permanent issue they painted the line.

“That’d be what? 5 houses in 11 months? I mean, y’know they hate you livin’ here, and I can’t really disagree, it’s no place fer a kid.”

“I know.”

“As soon as a place opens up they’re gonna be itchin’ for a reason to kick ya.”

“I know.”

“Yeah, I bet,” she sighed, sitting on the floor next to him, “You're lucky we got yer sister moved for you, ya’know.”

Jake gave her the look, he gave her every time she said that, like he was lucky the hospital had given up on Zoey’s recovery enough to move floors, like they were waiting for her bed to open up, like he was lucky social services was so overworked that they were desperate enough to send a 13 year old [timephrame] to live in a hospital, in the same room as his comatose sister. 

“Don’t give me that look,” she sighed.

He scrunched his face more, hoping to double whatever feeling it caused.

“Stop,” she groaned, squishing his face, causing him to freeze, “Sorry, uh,” she withdrew her hands and tucked them between her legs, “Sorry, yeah, yer not lucky, but, yeah. Take the wins kid. You're close to her, I mean, you practically lived here even ‘fore you officially got signed over. And now you get to have me as your legal guardian!” She pointed at herself excitedly, “How awesome is that?”

“You?” Jake asked quizzically.

“Yeah.”

“Hm,” Jake hummed, pretending to think hard about how great it really was, “I don’ know. I had this one real cool guardian who taught me boxin’.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” Jake popped the p, doing it a coupe times, liking the small pressure it caused in his chest and throat.

Joy chuckled, “How’d that work? Y’know, with the whole,” she waved her hands at him, not finishing her sentence.

“Uh, I don’ know, she jus’, took it real slow an’ had me practice with a dummy or spar with her but she wouldn’t spar back, only block. That took a while for me to be comfortable with. I almos’ got comfortable enough to have a normal practice, our goal was by the end of the month,” Jake smiled, remembering how excited she was to realize Jake trusted her that much.

“What happened? If you don’t mind?”

“Huh?” he cleared away the memories like a sticky residue,”oh, uh,” he thought for a second, trying to recall which offense matched her and not another guardian, “Oh! She was stealin’ from the district over, uh D-12, y’know the one with all those orchards, yeah they didn’t like that she was stealin all that produce, so she was sent to care for a field until she could properly make up for all the lost product. Should’a known somethin’ was up with how many smoothies she made me,” Jake smiled, remembering the apple milkshakes she’d make, at first he’d thought they’d be gross but let it be known he’d never turn down free food and sure enough they’d been a hit.

“Harsh. I think I hear Akuno’s passin’ a law ‘bout border crossin’ soon.”

“I think that’d do D-20 some good, wouldn’t have so many rich idiots passin’ through just to laugh at us.”

Joy hummed, patting her legs before getting up, “Alright, thanks for checking in, if not a bit late,” she added with a joking scolding voice, “I’ll check in before bed,” she turned to leave but suddenly turned back, “Oh, and, uh, so last week, right, Monday I think, we went to the library and I got the place’s number but I lost the slip and can’t remember it. I hate to do this but could you help me please?” She made an apologetics face clasping her hand in front of her.

Jake hummed trying to remember; last week, Monday, they had gone to the library, it had been sunny, but rain looked to be rolling in. Jake had been excited about that. He had wanted a book on observing vocal tone and needed to return his book on how to understand a person's body language. He’d found it, remembered where it was from the last time he visited, right next to a thick red book and a squat maroon book. When they left the librarian checking them out had talked to Joy, they’d had red hair, it was very pretty, Jake had thought their freckles were very pretty as well, he’d always liked freckles, the librarian had written down the library's number and handed it to Joy, and, oh! He had seen it then, in the exchange of hands.

“It was 218-734-345-3455, the five’s coulda been six’s though, they didn’t have the best handwriting.”

Joy wrote down the last number, making note of the five to six bit, “Perfect, thank you so much, I’ll call about that book fair for you asap, promise.”

“Ok.”

Jake waved goodbye, as Joy went to fulfill the rest of her tasks. First he went to the roof, helping with the garden, the potatoes had needed to be pulled today. Heading to the kitchen next they were still preparing bread and he found himself helping add things to mixers and memorizing recipes he was excited to try some day. Chef Ron loved to share tips on how to substitute expensive ingredients with cheap items. 

His brother, Remmy, always shared how to safely eat overdue food, he technically couldn’t share these items with the public but he would “accidently” leave items for Jake after “accidently” talking about the processes needed to safely eat the food or after they had already been prepared.  

Jake was writing a paper for his English class when Joy came to say goodnight.

“Hey sour patch,” she entered, chuckling at Jake’s huff of annoyance at the nickname he never understood, “Bed time,” she sing-songed, setting her bag on the floor, “Y’all ready?”

Jack hummed, focused on finishing his thought. Joy walked over to Zoey’s bed, flattening the odd wrinkles and fixing her stray hairs. Smiling at the girl, her eye’s softened for a second, then hardened with something like resolved. She inhaled, sipping air like it would solidify the emotions she was trying to press in place, not seeing the way Jake watched her. He had finished his thought, but finished or not he always secretly watched as Joy fussed with Zoey before getting him ready for bed.

Jake found himself copying her routine in the morning, making sure it looked just like how Joy did it. He could never perfect the tiny curl she would draw against Zoey’s cheek with a strand of hair.

“I’m ready,” he mumbled, setting the laptop in the nightstand drawer. 

“I better not find out you were on that all night,” Joy warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jake lied. 

They both knew it was a lie, But this was a lie he wouldn't get punished for because one: it wasn’t really a lie as they both knew the truth, and two: Joy encouraged studying even if she didn’t approve of him studying into the early hours of morning. It was his own fault if he was tired in the morning and couldn’t focus at school, and that was punishment enough. 

“Pjs?” Joy scanned.

“Check,” Jake lifted his arm, revealing his soft pig sweater.

“Teef?”

“Check,” he widened his gums as if to prove they’d been scrubbed.

“Bed made?”

He pointed at the small cot in the corner, perfectly made.

“Window locked?” She walked to the window herself, checking the bolt and trying to lift it open. She turned away satisfied when it stayed closed, “Alright, school tomorrow, then right back. Amanda,” she sneered the name with a fake and horribly inaccurate posh accent, “is checkin’ in at four, so best behaviors. Now, in bed.”

She herded him into his cot, pulling the blanket over him and tucking in his feet.

“We gotta cut yer hair soon, it’s like a curtain in-fron-a yer eyes, how-d-ya even see?”

Jake crossed his eyes, pulling a curl and watching it bounce. Dad wouldn’t be a fan of this length, it was already too long, long enough to pull, reaching his nose and covering his ears.

“I don’t really know,” He lamented, “I jus sorta look through the gaps.” He swayed his head, watching the curls move back and forth, then looking through the gaps made with the movement.

Joy huff, “Right, Well, for now, I’ll bring some hair ties with me tomorrow, I can cut yer hair later this week, a’right?”

“Ok.”

  Picking up her bag again she turned off the light, “I’m gonna lock the door now, you don’t need anythin?”

“Nope.”

“Ok,” she smiled, “See you two in the mornin.” 

Jake smiled back, “See you tomorrow, bye.”

Jake listened as she locked the door and her footsteps receded. He waited a minute before climbing out of his bed and into Zoey’s. He technically wasn’t supposed to do this, however Joy, upon catching him one too many times, had shown him the best way to sleep close to her while watching all the medical instruments plugged into her like a computer. 

“Hey Zoey,” he whispered, “I’m not gonna stay long promise, jus wanted to talk real quick see-” Someone jiggled the door knob to their room, and Jake zipped back to his bed. Joy must have forgotten something, she did that sometimes, forgetting to mention something or forgetting to give him something. The jiggling stopped, Jake held his breath a moment, waiting for Joy to properly unlock the door and walk in but nothing happened. Maybe one of the patients was walking around, sometimes they got confused.

Jake made his way back over to Zoey, crawling into the bed, “Weird,” he mumbled, “I heard one of the new patients is a sleep walker, I wanted t’talk to ‘em, see what it was like. I wonder if they dream when they walk, if the dreams affect how they interact with the world. Anyway, I scored well on that test I told you ‘bout. I knew I’d do good but confirmation is always nice. Oh, and I got invited to a birthday party today. I think it was a real invitation, not a joke, Imma ask more questions tomorrow. Oh, an’ Peit and Simon, y’know my babysitters, made me cookies today. With chocolate chips, I know they definitely traveled districts for that, maybe they’ll take me with ‘em one’a these days, probably not, I’m a bit of a liability. Plus, I think it’s like a date thing for them, I wouldn’t want’ta third-wheel.”

Jake paused, listening to the bustle of the hospital.

“Hey Zoey,” he looked up to her, patting her cheek. He told himself he wasn’t trying to wake her up, but there was always hope that maybe she’d rustle awake at the touch, “could I sleep with you tonight? It’s been 46 days since the last time I did.” Jake waited, a car passed outside; somebody walked past their door, casting a shadow under it; somewhere in the building someone laughed. “Alright, thank you.”

Jake curled himself into Zoey’s side and under the cover, inhaling and exhaling slowly, until sleep finlay came, and he woke up in his library.

The Library was not, against most people’s assumptions, organized. There was a desk when Jake first entered. Here a Jake that looked exactly like him sat, this Jake, he was often just called Desky, had a little laptop like Jake’s out in the real world and it ran somewhat slow. If real Jake wanted to remember something like “yesterday's lunch” this was his best bet but for things more complicated like the phone number from earlier today, he found it easier to travers his mind and find the memory he wanted with context.

Memories were often accessed like doorways for most people and Jake was no different even with his advanced memory. If he wanted to remember last Tuesday's lunch he’d first find last Tuesday in his library, then remember lunch time, who he’d been with maybe, what the menu at school had had to offer, something key like a fist fight breaking out. This sounded organized but his mind was still somehow a mess. 

Memories sat on the ground and were strewn across the shelves in odd orders, remembering a duck could remind Jake of green which would remind him of apples so of course those memories shaped like books were all currently stacked on top of each other on the floor. There was a crate somewhere in this library that moaned and tried to grab Jake’s attention but he had hidden it behind so many other random memories that he could only access it by really trying to remember those memories, or something reminded him of them, but he never wanted to think about them anyway so the box stayed hidden and Jake didn’t know were in The Library it was. 

Sometimes when Peit and Simmon wanted to talk without him hearing they’d ask him to think about how many pigeons he’d seen last Monday and he was always too naive to realize why they were asking at the time so he would delve into his library looking through Monday’s book, looking for birds he had seen and counting each one. When he would resurface the two’s conversation would be interrupted with his answer, their conversations had already been finished anyway.

As much of a mess as it was Jake loved his library. The odd ‘roof’ above was a deep swirling blue galaxy, shifting in hues and twinkling with stars. Vines laced their ways around  books and objects, red roses and other flowers blooming from oblong the body. Forget-me-nots timidly grew from crevices here and there, and while there was no smell inside his head except the wafting of a memory Jake liked to imagine it smelled of lilies and old books, crinkled and weary with age. 

The shelves ran high, decorated with ladders that stretched taller than buildings. The shelves housed more than books, flowers and shrubs burst from their counters. Toys and food stuck in time sat on display. Some of the books, placed between a puddle and a bowl of cereal were actually books he’d read and taken the time to perfectly reconstruct in his mind.

He was never lonely here either, versions of himself walked aimlessly, one version from each birthday, a version from hard to erase memories, and versions from mundane days. Each one would never exist again, only here could they remain like a copy of himself in that moment. Jake hated to even look at some of them but he knew even still, in some odd way he was never alone. Or maybe he should take Joy up on that offer of therapy. 

Sometimes Jake wished he could dream but being in the muted quiet of his head, organizing his memories and objects, he felt he was resting enough. Jake smiled as he picked up a book filled with all the recipes he’d learned, deciding to create a shelf for food related memories. Memories could be held on more than one shelf so he left this first version on the floor next to the book on pigs.

Jake spent his sleep organizing his memories on his new shelf, finally after some time he felt himself start to drift, starting to wake up. He stretched his hands over his head, it didn’t achieve much but he felt like one was supposed to do this after a bigger task so he did it anyway. Taking a step back to admire his work, something cold settled under his skin and panic wiggled it’s way into his heart as instead of hitting the hardwood floor or even waking up in bed his foot sank down. Instead of hitting the ground he fell into the floor.

Chapter 2

⭐️Hello hello! This is a story I've held close to my heart for a long time but haven't written a lot of. The other day I realized that when I started writing it I had expected be done with the first book by 2024. I'm goin to try n write a chapter a month (it'll probably be pocmarked with spelling mistakes ngl) but it's a challenge I hope I can keep up with 🌙

[weaselle]

ususally i write fantasy or sci-fi but someone once said write what you know, so here’s this blurb

Helix was struggling to keep her rhythm.

The little galley kitchen could accommodate two cooks, but they only scheduled one on Sunday nights, which, usually, Helix preferred. When she got slammed though, it was a mad, mad symphony she had to conduct. She had a rail full of tickets, a stove full of pans, a flat top full of food, and an oven full of dishes, and the printer would Not. Shut. Up. She swore the noisy little thing actually sounded as if it was saying “check-a-ticket, check-a-ticket, uummm, check-a-ticket��� every time it printed.

Some nights she had nightmares about that sound. Thank gods it was almost eight o’clock, the rush was almost over. She just need one last strong push and then she could spend an hour or two doing the nightly deep cleaning of the kitchen. It was amazing how a single night in a restaurant kitchen could result in the same kind of mess you’d expect out of a month of not cleaning the kitchen at home. “check-a-ticket, check-a-ticket--”

She thrust seven dishes at the pass, yelling “Out on three! Up on fourteen! Out on nine, please!” pulling the three tickets off the rail and placing them next to the matching dishes. Then she pirouetted, tossing empty strainers, used spatulas, and dirty pans into bus tubs, sinks, and corners. A quick sweep of her towel wiped her board clean of odds and ends into the compost before she moved to the printer and lifted a streamer of tickets like a magician’s handkerchief, scanning the contents and cursing under her breath.

Shifting her existing tickets as far down the rail as they would go to accommodate the newcomers, she was careful to leave the blank space between the eight tickets she was currently working and the four she hadn’t even started yet. She skimmed each new ticket as she slid it into the rail next to those four. You had to read ‘em; sticking them up there without reading them was a rookie move. It was best to be sure as early as possible that there were no surprises, such as an order for the stuffed portobellos (she’d told everyone they were out of them at the pre-shift meeting, but unsurprisingly she’d had orders for them twice). Or an unusually large table she’d want to think ahead about. Or a table with only one person, who’d ordered a well done steak with no appetizers... which was the ticket she found now.

One-top done steak no apps. Great. That meant some person dining alone had ordered a steak well-done, which would be nearly twenty minutes from when it hit the grill, which on a busy night like tonight could be fifteen or twenty minutes before it even got started if she left in sequence. Waiting 20 minutes to start was fine for a table with salads leading a couple sautees (Helix could put out a sautee in five to seven minutes when she was in the zone) but would push the well-done steak into a 40 minute wait, plus however many minutes the server had spent rushing around delivering hot food and making drinks before they had managed to put the order in. One-top and no appetizers was the nail in the lid, as it meant that the person with the well done steak would spend the entire 40+ minutes alone with no food on the table and nothing to do but fume, glaring at their server and taping their foot. 

Helix moved that ticket to the front with the tickets she was currently working and put the steak on right away. Then, rail full of new tickets, Helix turned and took a calm look at the chaotic kitchen. Ignoring despair, she conducted her much needed survey, struggling to get an order of operation together in her head.

The boil pot full of strainers containing pasta took up only one burner on the range. The other five spots all had sautees going at various stages of readiness, and she had three prepped pans off to the side, first ingredients already in them. She had three egg parms and six lasagnas in the oven, set to come out in their various groupings at 9:59, 10:01, 10:03, and 10:06, plus a couple each in the salamander that were almost done browning. Some of them had to be ready at the same time as some of the sautees on her stove, some were matched to hot sandwiches on the flat-top, one to a club sandwich on her board. Some of the sandwiches were going with sautees, some were paired. One sautee was by itself, but waiting for the slow diner at the bar to finish their soup. She had to keep track of a hundred, a thousand, a million particulars; a host, a myriad, a multitude of things could go wrong with the food, all while she threw herself around this cluttered, dangerous little room.

Full of knives. Fire. Hot oil, boiling water. Right next to the open flame of the front left burner sat the pressurized explosive canister of the brulee torch. Haphazard stacks of heavy metal boil pots and large sauce pans slouched on their rickety shelf above her head. Oil and water insisted on maintaining separate kinds of slippery on the floor. Everywhere was hazard. She spared no thought for any of it.

check-a-ticket, check-a-ticket-

In thirty seconds she would need to deglaze the primavera pan, in forty seconds, she needed to flip the corned beef and lay a slice of swiss cheese on it. Before that happened she would have to flip the single/done steak for the grill marks and right after the cheese went down for the ruben, she’d have to pop some bread on to toast. She had to remember that the primavera for ten needed to be no black pepper, remember to get some more parsely chopped for garnish (how the hell was she out of garnish?) by the time the spaghetti for thirteen was ready to plate, and she would need to complete steps for the four other sautees in between all that. She had to remember which tables were out on apps, and which weren’t, keep an eye on the clock for the things in the oven, and she couldn’t forget the salamander or she’d have to start two 9 minute egg parms and two 12 minute lasagnes completely over.

-uummmmm, check-a-ticket

She needed to run to the back and grab another couple bottles of wine, she needed to refill her parmesan from the lowboy, she needed to get whoever was least busy to get her the back up bin of mixed veggies from downstairs. A dozen other adjustments and procedures screamed and clamored. The alfredo for ten wasn’t thickening right and needed attention. If she mistimed anything, something would burn, needing to be re-done, or would not be ready in time to serve with the rest of the table.

Anything, a mere question about a dish she wasn’t focused on, could tangle the insane dual mental and physical dance she was attempting. Helix clamped down on the tired, familiar panic just in time for her boss to run over and tell her “I need a medium burger sub swiss no tomato, and a primavera no carrots extra parm on the fly for table two, the order never got put in and they’ve been waiting twenty-five minutes already. Oh! and hold on sixteen, the salads came back and I’m resending apps.”

check-a-ticket check-a-ticket, uummm, check-a-ticket

[essiestarr]

The Kid's Are ( 'nt ) Alright

°Age Swap AU. Part 2- Chapter 1

Ao3, Part 1, Part 3

~~~~~~~~

Jonathan Hopper-Byers isn't in today Nancy Wheeler notes, waving goodbye to her bestfriend and taking her seat behind his empty desk.

~~~~~~~~

 Joyce as always is the first to wake, he feels her shift and extract herself out of his arms pressing a kiss to his lips before heading off to shower.

 Hopper allows himself to doze, relaxing into the bed and allowing the muffled sound of running water to lull him back to sleep.

  The bed dips again and he can smell the familiar scent of their shared shampoo as Joyce presses another kiss to his lips.

 “Morning Hop”

The words are whispered unto his lips, warm and minty. He opens his eyes to see his wife, hair damp and eyes soft, she’s stunning.

  “ Morning Joyce…”

Her nose crinkles, eyes shining with teasing mischief. “ That’s quite the morning breath you’ve got there Hop”

  She’s resting on his chest, warm and toasty from her shower, there's nothing but a towel between them.

  “ Really ?” he asks, then he kisses her.

They get pretty distracted.

—

  “ Have you seen my keys?, i can't find them”

“ Have you checked the couch?”

 “ I have, I–, oh never mind”

They're both running late, Hopper’s hair still damp as he fixes them some toast, passing a plate to Joyce as she hurries into the kitchen with both their keys in her hands .

  “ Where? –”

“Table”

  He nods in thanks, placing them in his pocket and observing the unusually empty quiet kitchen.

“Kids coming in today?” he asks grabbing the last toasts and shutting off the machine

  “Not sure about Will or El, they checked in last night and said they'd let me know if they have to stay over to get things done, but Jonathan will be back by this evening.”

 Joyce pauses at that, a slightly perturbed expression overtaking her face. Hopper waits for her to continue

  “It's just.., Jonathan didn't check in last night but i didn't want to call, just in case he was having fun and i interrupted them or something”  she sighs “ it's his first sleepover and i just hope it going well, i really can't help but worry–”

 “Joyce”

 She stops fiddling, hands caught gently between his. He bends and kisses her forehead

 “ If it helps i'll stop by and pick him up after school and drive him over to the station, he’s been dying to get some pictures for some reason”

 Joyce huffs into his chest “I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to do that”, Hopper shrugs, he technically isn't.

   “I'm sure as the chief I can make an exception for my kid, and by tonight we’ll be back and he'll tell you all about how it went. Now c'mon we're late”

 Joyce hums in reply an amused smile on her face as he herds them out the door. A quick goodbye kiss and they're off. 

  Today is going to be a good day, Hopper thinks.

—

Behind them in the empty house, the lights flicker. A phone rings

—

 Will likes having breakfast with the Hendersons; maybe a few years ago that wouldn't be the case but that was Before and this is After so Will sits, eating the overly salted bacon Ms Henderson serves and watches. He’s good at that, at smiling softly as Dustin debates something with his mother. It’s easy, familiar watching their dynamic, he can recognise the look of love and soft adoration in Ms Henderson’s eyes towards her son, the wide warm smile she turns unto him after it becomes clear she’s won whatever argument she and Dustin were having.

  “Well then how is your project going?, do you think you two will get it done in time. Maybe then Dusty would let me see it. Oh would you like more bacon and eggs dear?”

Ms Henderson is a whirlwind, swiftly puttering around the kitchen as she talks. Will thinks she might be attempting to make cookies and abruptly realises that they should be leaving soon.

  “ Oh no thank Ms Henderson, we’ve only got a little bit left and a free period both so we should get it done then. Thank you so much for having me over, Dustin and i should be–”

 Dusty himself previously absent after stalking off to wherever finally reappears, crashing loudly into the kitchen almost knocking over a plate, their project in his hands hidden from sight.

 “Mom!, we’ve got to go or we’ll be late, i’ll fix it once i get back. Come on Will. Love you bye!”

And very much like his mum, Dustin has them bundled up out of the house with dizzying speed, a rushed goodbye and careless slam of the door, cutting off  Ms Henderson goodbyes.

 “Come on Will, we’ve got a busy busy day ahead of us. Let's move!”

With that declaration Dustin transfers the project into the backseat of his car. His current pride and joy, a vehicle Will as the son of the Chief of Police knows he most definitely should not be operating. But a vehicle Dustin operates either way, anyway between him and Max, the only two in their group who in loose definition can drive. Will has no complaints about settling into the front of Dustin’s second hand Ford.

 Dustin starts the car and puts on the radio taking a few seconds to flick through songs before eventually deciding on Super Trouper, which draws an admittedly over dramatic sight from himself.

 “Dude, ABBA really?”

    “You’re such a music snob Will, honestly it’s ridiculous” Dustin snorts, easing the car onto the road.

 “I’ve just got taste is all” he retorts and receives a snort in reply.

There’s a smile tugging at his lips as he turns his head to stare out the window. He can practically feel Dustin's shit eating grin as he begins humming obnoxiously along to the song. Will lets out an amused huff but says nothing, he doesn't really mind the song letting Dustin’s energetic warbling wash over him as he drives.

 No, he doesn't mind at all.

—

  Jonathan isn't here today Nancy Wheeler notes, waving goodbye to her best friend and taking her usual seat behind his empty desk. It’s unusual and Nancy can't help but like unusual things, odd things, things that don't belong, mysteries.

 Will Hopper-Byers is in she knows that much, having seen him and Dustin Henderson’s car as Holly drops them off. Mike beelines straight for his friends without even a goodbye much to Holly’s annoyance. 

 “ Alright then Nance see you in a bit. Have fun”

Nancy feels a bit a vindictive pleasure in ignoring her older sister and slamming the boot a bit too hard as she gets her bike out.The guilt however at Holly’s devastated look forces a mulish goodbye out of her mouth before she turns to leave, wheeling her bike over to the middle school bike racks.

 She’d looked up in time for Dustin to spot her, he waved a wide grin on his face and for a moment he looked like he might yell her name. Panicking Nancy had turned and sped walked away, something she feels a bit bad about. Now she's sat in history class and Jonathan isn't here, it's weird.

  Of course it occurs to Nancy that he might just be home sick but once that theory is discarded when she spots Jane Eleanor with Max Mayfield when they're outside for sports, the two are too far away to spot exactly what they're doing but the two are recognizable enough. If Jonathan were sick, either one or both of the twins would be off school, electing to stay with him instead since their parents are pretty busy, something she’d heard Mike whine about a number of times.

 Nancy doesn't quite realise how long she’s spent obsessing over Jonathan’s absence till it's lunch and Barb is squinting at her, perplexed and questioning, Nancy guesses she’s been trying to get her attention for a while.

  “Jonathan Byers isn’t in today” she blurts out, as if Barb who has more classes with him than she does wouldn't notice. She sounds more freaked out about this than she reasonably should be.

  “Its just that the twins are in but he isn’t, and those two like would never leave him alone if he were sick or something so its just weird, i don't know what i'm obsessing over it so much. Sorry what were you trying to say–”

 “Nancy” Barb cuts her off, a bemused grin on her face. “We could just go over and ask Will after school. They've got A.V club thing with Mr Clarke right?”

“Oh” 

Nancy feels a tad foolish in the face of Barb’s easy steadfastness and calm reassurance. “Right ok, we’ll do that”

 The issue is halfway resolved now so Nancy forces all her attention unto Barb and they talk.

They’ve got a plan now, it’s ok.