#I went to find the number and saw that they have online ordering

[foldingfittedsheets]

My betrothed handed me a phone and asked if I’d like to call in our order for burgers tonight. I was like, “I haven’t looked at a menu- do you know what you want?”

“I want the classic burger, which is what you want too.”

“I- I might get something different!”

“You always look at the menu and get the same thing. You’ll want it without the onions or tomato, though. And they have tots, so you’ll get those.”

The mortifying ordeal of being known is so real. I feel both cherished and called out.

[gloomy-kitty]

𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 | 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

minors don’t interact!!!!! 18+ only mature content under tab

synopsis : sol was obsessed with you the moment he laid eyes on you. you were his soulmate. he’d make sure no one else would touch you. he is the only one who can satisfy you. don’t you know that?

warnings : yandere, masturbation, obsessive behavior, stalking, somnophilia, cnc, dubcon, predatory behavior, smut, long word count, drugging, grinding, penetration, very rough sex, whiny submissive Sol at one point, and dominant Sol at another point.

author’s note : if you just want to read smut skip to sections with the 🍋 icon

long word count (11.7k+ words) i mean this might as well be split into different chapters but i don’t want to do that, also i decided to change him referring to you as pumpkin to something else sorry. gave him a tongue piercing because it sounded fun >:3 also i hate tumblr formatting so read on ao3 if you want . (gloomy_kitty)

also not 100% lore accurate

thanksss to my friend who proofread this for me!!

Sol was obsessed with you and had been since you first arrived at the school. The moment his scarlet eyes landed on you something strange was awakened within him. It felt like love at first sight—no it was love at first sight. Did you remember your first encounter? No, it was so long ago you probably hadn’t. He did though, he remembered how he felt so vividly. His heart pounded in his chest, butterflies fluttered in his stomach, and his breath hitched making it difficult to breath the moment he had seen you. That cute library assistant that worked on campus. He remembered how he had walked up to you at the counter, asking for a book for class. How you went out of your way to help him find it, not complaining a single time.

“You absolutely need this book for your class right?” You asked him, sighing in defeat after nearly an hour of searching the library.

“Yes, but if you can’t find it don’t w-“ Sol began, a bit irritated that this was required for his passing grade. But he’d just ordered it online and prayed it arrived on time before finals.

“No. I know we have it. Don’t worry I’ll find it. Just give me another day. Here write down your info and I’ll give you a call once I do.” You said determinedly, sliding a sticky note and pen towards him. “O..okay.” He mumbled and wrote down his information. He fully expected you to not ever find the book or just forget to call him to let him know of your findings. But the very next morning he received a call from an unknown number. “Hello?” He answered.

“Hi this ______ from the school’s library. I found the book you were looking for. It’s reserved at the front desk. If I’m not here just let whoever is at the counter know your name.” You said, he could tell that you were quite happy.

Sol’s eyes widened in shock, you really found it. He responded back with a simple thanks and during a free period he went to the library. There he saw you shelving away books, a content expression on your face. Awkwardly he walked up to you clearing his throat, when he realized you had an earbud in. You jumped in surprise, dropping the book you were holding. Then, at the same time you and Sol reached down to grab the book. Your hand on top of his for a brief second before you pulled away. It felt like a bolt of electricity shot through him. “Whoops! Oh hey you’re the guy from yesterday!” You laughed quietly as he handed you back the book. With that you checked him out reminding him that late fees would occur if he didn’t bring it back on time. You explained how you stayed over an hour after your shift to find what he was needing, then it turned out it was in the completely wrong genre! A historical book tucked away with comics, how egregious!

When Sol asked why you did that you shrugged, simply saying, “I don't want anyone to fail their first semester because I was too lazy to find a book for them. It’s my job after all.” You flashed him a smile. As you handed it over your fingers brushed over him for another brief moment. That same electric feeling coursed through his body. It was that moment something had awakened inside Sol. He was obsessed now.

That memory played in his head for over a year, he had found out your first name. One day when sitting in the library “studying” he overheard you telling a blonde girl about how excited you were for your art class in the fall then you explained what period it would be. Since there was only one introduction to art class that fall semester for the period before lunch, he was going to enroll in art class regardless so might as well make sure he was in yours. Everything had been planned out. Sol didn’t leave any detail forgotten.

He got to class early, sitting in the back of the classroom. He placed his backpack on the chair next to him and anyone he tried to sit next to he glared at, causing them to scurry away. Now he just needed to wait for you to arrive, you’d have to take the only available seat open next to him in a full class.

Like he planned There were no more seats left in class, you had arrived a bit late, only barely beating the bell. He watched as your eyes darted around the classroom looking for somewhere to sit, then a relief look washed over your cute face when you spotted the open seat next to him. Quickly you made your way over pulling out the chair, “Is this taken?” You asked him, already beginning to slip off your backpack.

“N..no.” Sol replied avoiding your gaze, he was focused on his sketchbook, his pencil tapping against the book as he tried to control his breathing. “Oh thank god.” You sighed in relief, finally taking your seat. Rummaging through your backpack you pulled out all the essentials you’d need for art class. It worked. His plan went perfectly!

Sol found it difficult to concentrate on the professor’s words as he discussed basic art fundamentals, he just kept glancing over at you. Your perfume smelled so intoxicating, it drove him wild. The way you studiously jotted down notes was so adorable. Then class ended much to the man’s horror, he hadn’t written down a single thing but most importantly you gathered your things to leave without saying a word to him. He lingered in the classroom a bit, slowly shoving his sketchbook back into his backpack.

A couple days passed before he could see you again, and the whole time he found it difficult to think about anything else other than you. Sol was a bit angry at himself for not even speaking to you, that was his chance to reintroduce himself. He would talk to you next time, he promised himself.

The next class came and you were once again in the same predicament as last time. Arrived to class right before the bell went off and the only seat opened was next to the same guy as before. Not that you minded, he seemed nice enough. “Hey.” You greeted him quietly as you sat down before taking a seat. “Hi.” He returned your greeting quietly. He once again didn’t speak to you and that cycle went on for some time, before finally he had an excuse for the two of you to speak. He wasn’t sure why he kept shying away from you. Shit, he could barely even concentrate in class.

Then the next class came. “Everyone, please pair up with the person beside you, I want you and your partner to discuss today’s chapter.” The professor mumbled as he took a seat back down at his desk, immediately kicking his feet onto the desk and tapping away on his phone.

Turning around with a sigh you looked at your partner with a smile, “Hi. Thanks for always saving me a seat. I’m ______.” You introduced yourself, then gave the dark haired man an encouraging nod to speak. I know what your name is. He thought. Sol rubbed the back of his neck, nervously avoiding your eyes, his gaze fixated to the side. “Yeah it’s no problem. I’m..Sol.” He introduced himself back, hoping that maybe you remembered him.

“Nice to meet you, Sol.” You chimed in reply, holding your hand out. He looked at your hand, then back at you before he shook your hand back. “Yeah, same.” He said, a small smile making its way to his pierced lips. The moment your hands touched, he felt his heart do a leap, and without meaning to he held onto your hand for a bit longer than usual. Though upon realizing that, he quickly pulled his hand away. Either you didn’t mind or just didn’t notice it, as you immediately turned your attention back to the textbook. So you didn’t remember him, that was okay it’s not like he ever went out of his way to speak to you at the library.

“So, this chapter…” you began as you pushed the textbook to the center of the table so you both could share. Sol didn’t speak too much, he was more interested in what you had to say, he nodded attentively and hummed in acknowledgment when he agreed with something you said. The professor didn’t seem too interested in teaching class, so the reminder was spent just conversing. You giggled as Sol said something as you playfully slapped his arm, “What, no way? You did not!” You quietly exclaimed as Sol told you a story. He nodded, “Yeah I really did. It’s embarrassing but it’s the truth.” He laughed softly. Every single fucking thing was so adorable about you; your name, laugh, appearance, personality, every single thing was so adorable. Then just as Sol was about to open his mouth to speak again, the bell rang.

Jumping up in your seat, you pushed the chair back, quickly gathering your belongings. “I gotta go, Sol. But you’ll save me a seat again right? I really enjoyed talking to you.” You asked, looking at him with the cutest expression. “Yeah of course.” He reassured you. “Thanks, you’re the best!” You said and with that, you rushed out of the classroom.

As Sol finished gathering his own belongings, he noticed something sitting on your chair. Your jacket was left behind. He grabbed it and quickly walked out of the classroom to see if he could catch up to you, but of course you were nowhere to be seen. ‘I’ll hold onto it. Give it to her next class.’ He thought to himself.

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“Woah, that's a cute jacket! You seeing a cute girl?” Hyugo asked his friend. The pair sat at their usual spot on the rooftop eating their lunches. Sol rolled his eyes, “No. The girl who sits next to me in art left it, I’m going to give it to her next class. I just didn’t want it to get lost.” He explained as he continued to eat. He could bring it to you at the library where you worked part time but no, he just wanted to hold onto a bit longer. It was a cute jacket, he couldn’t lie - it was black with striped sleeves and an adorable black cat patch was ironed onto the front. It suited you perfectly.

“Aren’t you so sweet?” Hyugo teased, causing his friend’s face to heat up. Sol grumbled under his breath as he just ignored the comment and continued to eat, only causing the other to laugh. As the bell rang, signaling that their final class of the day would begin and marking the end of their lunch break, the pair stood up. Sol gathered the bento boxes, placing them in his backpack.

“Are you doing anything after class?” Hyugo asked before they parted ways. Sol wasn’t, but he needed to spend some time alone, there was an issue he needed to take care of. “Yeah.” He simply responded. “Aw okay, I’ll just go to the arcade by myself then.” He shrugged before walking off.

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It was dark already when Sol arrived back to his small studio apartment, the short winter days meant it would always be night when he got home. The dark haired man sat his bag on a chair, taking out the bentos to wash. He remembered your jacket was still in his hands, so carefully he placed it on the top of the couch. And so he did his usual evening routine; cleaning dishes, cooking dinner and lunch. The television was playing a show he really had no interest in watching, but it was good background noise.

But he just couldn’t stop thinking about you, eyes flicking to the jacket on the sofa as he prepared his and Hyugo’s lunches. Sol felt the crotch of his pants tighten uncomfortably against him, he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat as his heart rate accelerated. But he remained focused just hurrying to finish dinner as soon as possible so he could shower and lay in bed. Tomorrow was early classes after all.

Finally after some time Sol had showered and flopped onto his bed, an exhausted sigh escaping his lips. He closed his eyes as he tried to focus on anything other than you. But his boxers were so incredibly tight, his erection wouldn’t go away no matter what he tried to do. It felt wrong to touch himself to you, so resisting the urge Sol finally fell asleep. Tonight at least he was able to resist the urge.

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The next day of classes came and nothing extraordinary happened. Sol couldn’t spot you anywhere, he supposed he would have to wait until tomorrow to see you and return the jacket. His evening routine was more or less the same, but as he laid in bed tonight, the urges were getting harder and harder to resist.

Sol tried to squeeze his eyes shut, trying to think of anything else other than the raging erection in his pants right now. His gaze kept flickering to your jacket, he was reminded of how amazing you smelled. He just wanted to smell the perfume again, there was no harm in that…right? Quickly getting out of bed, he snatched your jacket from the couch, immediately pressing it to his nose. Oh god, you smelled so fucking good. He was intoxicated by the scent, his eyes rolling back as he took in your smell, and without even realizing what was happening, his hands trailed down his torso until they slipped under the waistband of his boxers. His long slender fingers immediately wrapped themselves around his erection.

Sol began to pump his cock, a whimper leaving him as his thumb grazed over his tip. Precum was already pooling at the slit, his face still buried in your cute jacket. He could only imagine what it would feel like to have his face buried in your hair, neck…your pussy. He fantasized how amazing you would taste as his face was between your thighs, he’d make you feel so good. He had wanted you for so long now.

“_____…._______….” Sol whimpered your name, scarlet eyes fluttering shut as his pace quickened. At this point he was panting heavily, a complete mess and if your mere scent was doing this to him, he couldn’t imagine how he’d act during the actual act. His cock twitched in his hand and legs trembled; he collapsed onto his knees. He was now thrusting himself eagerly into the palm of his hands, precum lubricating his cock. Sol’s moans echoed throughout the apartment and he felt the warm sensation building up in his core, then with one final thrust he came loudly. “Oh fuck ______!” He cried out, his cum making an absolute mess of his boxers.

Riding out his orgasm he finally came to a stop and dropped the jacket onto the floor. His chest moving up and down as he tried to catch his breath, the whole of his body was a hue of red and warm to the touch. Dark hair sticking to his face from the beads of sweat that had formed. He made sure to toss your jacket onto the couch before he removed his hand from his boxers. A wave of embarrassment and guilt washed over him when he saw sticky cum coating his hand. I shouldn’t have done that. It felt so good though. He thought with a sigh as he stood to his feet. I should go wash up.

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Class was the next day, and that meant Sol could finally see you, he could return your jacket. He waited until after class, when you both were in the hallway. A part of him debated on not giving it back, he wanted it forever, to always have you with him, but he decided against it and it was worth it. The look on your face when he had handed you your jacket back was worth it. “Oh my gosh, Sol. I was so worried I had lost my favorite jacket forever. Thank you so much!” You exclaimed as you hugged him briefly, before you slipped it back on. “Yeah..of course. I tried looking for you yesterday to return it but I couldn’t find you anywhere.” He explained. A tinge of red evident on his pale features as he was reminded of what he did the night before with it. He violated your poor jacket, but of course he would never tell you that.

You shook your head, waving your hand dismissively, “Sorry about that! I was in such a rush to leave. My other job needed me to cover a shift.” You explained. You had another job besides the library?

But he didn’t mind; he was just glad he could keep your jacket safe from anyone else. Fumbling in the pocket of your pants you pulled out your cell phone, “We should exchange numbers! Just in case one of us needs to get into contact with each other.” You suggested, swiping your finger across to unlock the device. He watched as you typed away on the screen before handing it to him.

Sol’s heart was beating so quickly now, you were really asking for his number? He looked a bit uncomfortable, like he was rejecting your offer, because you began to pull away your phone looking at the floor embarrassedly. “S-sorry. I shouldn’t ha-“ you began but he cut you off, gently snatching the phone from your hand. And within seconds he typed in his number, he already noticed you made a contact name for him. Sol ☀️

But something else caught his attention as he felt the phone vibrate in his hand.

Crowe 🐦‍⬛ : You’re still coming over tonight, right?

Something inside of the dark haired man awakened when he saw that text. He froze in place, his blush that tinted his features now went away. Who the hell is Crowe? He thought bitterly. Your boyfriend or a coworker? He only snapped out of his thoughts when you retrieved your phone back, your thumbs danced across the screen then he felt his pocket vibrate.

“Did you get it?” You asked curiously, tilting your head so cutely to the side. “L-let me check.” Sol quickly said and pulled out his phone. His boring black phone background was illuminated with your text.

Unknown: hii! it’s ______ :D

Without a moment of hesitation he saved your contact. ______ 🌙

His contact was saved with a sun by his name so it only made sense that you were the moon. With that, you two said your goodbyes and Sol watched as you walked down the hall, he stood in his spot with a small smile on his lips.

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It was the weekend which meant Sol would do his weekly cleaning of his apartment. Loud music echoed throughout the apartment as he cleaned, humming softly to himself. Something caught his eye as he was vacuuming under the couch, a small piece of rectangular plastic glittered as it caught the light from the ceiling fan. Crouching, he picked it up and his eyes widened instantly when he realized what it was. Your ID had fallen out from the pocket of your jacket, he assumed. And all of your information was on it.

“______ ______..” Sol whispered your full name. He didn't know what it was before. Your address was there too, and it looked recent, judging from the picture and expiration date. The card shook ever so slightly in his fingers as he was practically salivating that he would now be able to find so many more things about you.

Halting his cleaning for the day, he shut off the music and instantly opened up his laptop to begin searching your name online. Hours had passed, day turned into night. Sol’s scarlet red irises were glazed over, his lips dry and mouth a bit parched. He hadn’t left his laptop screen in hours, too engrossed with finding out every single detail about you. Your social media wasn’t private, how foolish of you. And he scrolled through the dozens of pictures you had posted, finding out everyone you associated it with. The page refreshed and a new picture was posted. You are with a group of people at what looked like a bar, with the caption: Love my friends!! Tonight was so fun, let’s do it again!! :D

Sol remembered the text from this “Crowe” earlier and he began to examine the picture, trying to find out who this Crowe was. His eyes narrowed when he saw the man next to you in the picture. A long haired brunette with tan skin, he swore he had seen that face before. This Crowe was behind your frame, hands resting on either of your shoulders. To anyone else they would have assumed that you and the man were friends, nothing in the pose indicated anything romantic, but to Sol it was too much. He didn’t want to see another man behind you touching you like that. Standing up he slammed his laptop shut and decided he needed to go to bed before he got too consumed by his jealousy and anger.

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As days turned into weeks, then eventually into months, Sol and you grew closer. You were regularly texting and hanging out. He had found out that your lunches consisted of junk food, and that was even if you brought lunch to campus. So he decided to start prepping your lunches, and even dinners as soon as he found out you ate cup noodles nearly every night. God, you were cute albeit a bit useless, he didn’t mind cooking for you, it only made him feel wanted - and the look on your face every time you ate his meals just made him filled with so much joy.

You were so kind and introduced him to your friend group, Crowe was kind enough and he kept his hands off of you in Sol’s presence. But he knew that man looked familiar, and Crowe looked at him with suspicious eyes and a fake smile. Sol only remained cordial with your friends though, if they made you happy he’d pretend to be friendly with them. But the man never returned your ID, it was his now. You complained about having to buy a new one, but he made sure to slip some extra cash into your backpack one day when you weren’t looking. The text he received that night was so adorable. “Omg Sol I found some cash at the bottom of my backpack. I’m eating good tonight! >:3”

It was so worth it. But Sol had a dirty secret that he couldn’t tell a living soul. He was slipping sleeping medication into the dinners he made you, he made a copy of your apartment key, and he was letting himself into your home every night. It was all in an attempt to make sure you were safe!

“My neighborhood is so unsafe. I really need to find somewhere else to live. There’s been so many recent break ins and assaults, and I live at ground level.” He remembered you complaining.

“You can stay at my place, _______. It’s a decent neighborhood. Lots of old people, so it’s quiet.” He offered.

“Sol! No, I can't do that. You already do enough for me. I got new locks on everything and alarms.” You retorted with a pout. He knew you wouldn’t change your mind, you weren’t that type of girl. You were independent, but that was okay. Sol would still keep an eye on you. Knowing you kept a spare key hidden away, he found it and while you were at work he had a copy made, then placed the key back without you being none the wiser.

Tonight wasn’t any different, Sol waited until you were asleep and he slipped into your quiet, dark apartment. He could navigate your home in the dark. That's how familiar he was with the layout, but the dim street lights also did aid him. Your bedroom door was slightly ajar and he quickly made his way in.

The streetlights illuminated your room, he saw your sleeping form on the bed, one hand hanging off the side of the bed and your blankets messily thrown on top of your body. In fact, the blankets barely covered any of your body. You wore an oversized t-shirt and the cutest panties - the shirt was raised and exposed your bare torso. “Were you waiting for me dear?” He whispered as he knelt down at your bedside. Folding his hands on the edge of the bed, he rested his chin on top, his gaze was so loving - but there was something so dark about the way he looked at you. Raising a hand up, Sol’s slender fingers brushed aside the hair on your face. “So cute…” he breathed out.

You shifted, your eyes squeezing shut as a quiet groan left your lips. When you moved through, your shirt lifted just a bit more, revealing your breast partially. Sol felt his face grow warm and he tried to avert his gaze, but it was like you were practically begging for him, looking so cute and innocent. He choked back a moan as he felt his dick get hard, his fingers wrapped around the wrist of your limp hand and he placed his cheek into your warm palm. His eyes fluttered shut as he let out a content sigh, “You're asking me to do something, huh dear?” He mumbled. That had to be it or why else were you wearing such an outfit is that why you left your bedroom door opened? You were inviting him in, right?

Sol leaned down to press a kiss to your exposed neck, he nibbled softly at the skin. A quiet whimper escaping you as your brows furrowed. So cute. He thought, still nipping at the skin, leaving a faint red mark. His hand trailed down your neck until his fingers reached your breast, he gently massaged it for a brief moment. Another quiet whimper came from you. He let your hand that was cupping his cheek fall onto the bed for a moment, as his fingers fumbled with the belt of his pants and with a swift motion his dick was out. Already hard from anticipation, he positioned himself in your hands, he laced both your and his fingers together. He let out a moan feeling your fingers wrapped around his dick.

His whole body shuddered in pleasure at the feeling, and he buried his face between your breasts to quiet his moans as he began to rock his hips back and forth. His sensitive tip fucked your palm as he moaned out your name from between your breasts. Tears pooling at the corner of his closed eyes as pathetic needy whimpers left him.

“You’re mine. Mine..you’re mine ______. I love you so much.” He cried as he felt himself about to cum. Then, with another thrust he came hard into your and his laced hands. As he calmed his breathing down he slowly lifted his head up, you were still asleep, oblivious to the lewd act he just made you do. “You’re so beautiful, dear. You feel so perfect.” He whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips.

Standing up he pulled his pants back on, then walked to the bathroom to wash his sticky hands. Grabbing a rag he wet, he walked back to clean up the mess he left on your hands. “Crowe..the paper...” you mumbled in your sleep. Sol’s scarlet eyes widened in shock at the name, why were you talking about him when he was right here. His fists clenched and eyes narrowed, a dark cloud casting over his face. “You really ought to stop talking about him, dear. Crowe doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t understand you like I do.” He hissed through gritted teeth. You were just confused - that’s okay, Sol was patient. He leaned down to press a kiss against your lips once again before wishing you a good night. With that, he quietly slipped out of your apartment.

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The final day of class before winter break came the next day. You and Sol sat in art class together, sketching your final assignment. The classroom was quiet as everyone worked. You kept glancing at the dark haired man next you, a faint blush on your face as you remembered the brief dream you had of him last night. You dreamt that he was having sex with you, you heard his moans as he fucked you. Then, just before the dream actually got good, your mind decided that all of a sudden you were going to dream about you and Crowe finishing up your finals paper for English class that you had done earlier yesterday. God! Why did his stupid pretty face have to ruin the best dream you ever had!

Class couldn’t end any sooner and the Professor motioned for everyone to turn in their assignments. He reminded the students to check their emails during the winter break to see their grades. You quickly stood out of your seat, the chair nearly falling back as you fumbled with putting your things away. Sol noticed that something was off about you, you wouldn’t look at him at all. Surely you didn’t know what he did with you last night, right? He slung his backpack over his shoulder as he watched you as you zipped up your backpack. “Want to go to the arcade?” He asked you suddenly, “Hyugo and I are going since classes ended early today. Like right now.” He added.

Snapping your head up, you actually looked at him for the first time today. Your eyes meeting his, “O-oh…umm. I’d love to but I don’t have any…money.” You mumbled, voice trailing off at the end. “Campus library let go of all the part timers a few weeks ago, remember? And my other job cut my hours. So it’s tight right now.” You sighed sadly. “I wasn’t asking you to pay. I just asked if you wanted to come with us?” He said.

Sol noticed a strand of hair hanging in front of your face so reached a gentle hand up to brush it aside, tucking the strand behind your ear. “I’ll pay. You know I’ll always take care of you, ______.” He reminded you with a kind smile that made your heart flutter. It was something he always told you, you weren’t sure why he was so kind to you when you had nothing to offer him in return. You were a broke college student who couldn’t even cook your own meals. A faint blush dusted your cheeks as you shyly looked away, “O..okay. Then yes, I want to go.” You shyly said as you tugged at the sleeves of your favorite jacket.

“Alright, good. Here I’ll carry your bag. Hyugo should be waiting at the entrance.” Sol said, taking your bag from you with a swift motion. You tried to protest but he was already walking ahead so you were more focused on catching up to him.

The walk to the arcade didn’t take long, but you were shivering from the cold winter breeze. Sol noticed you shivering and he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, bringing you close to him. You looked up at him before looking away shyly. Once inside the arcade, the three of you played games for some time. You pointed at a claw machine, wanting to win the cute cat plushie, you tapped at the glass before looking back up at Sol with big pleading eyes. “Aw, it's so cute. Do we have enough coins to win it?” You asked excitedly. Sol patted his pockets and sighed, shaking his head. “No, but I can go get some more if you’d like?” He asked, he just wanted to see you happy.

Hyugo nodded, “Yeah let’s play some more games! Oh, let’s get some food too. I’m starving!” He exclaimed, nudging Sol’s side. Sol looked at you, waiting for your answer. “That sounds good to me. While you two do that, I’m going to head to the bathroom. I’ll meet you back here.” You said. The pair nodded and with that you went your separate ways.

You found the restroom. It was located in the back of the arcade and once done, you hummed quietly as you made your way back to the claw machine with the plushie you wanted. But you unbeknownst drew unwanted attention to yourself; you hadn’t even stepped a few feet back out of the bathroom when you were immediately cornered by a much taller and bigger man than yourself. He backed you in between two large pinball machines, leaving you trapped. “Hey sexy. You got a boyfriend?” He slurred, it was obvious he was drunk. He had both of his arms on either side of your head so you could barely move. “Not interested.” You spat as you tried pushing him away, but to no avail. That seemed to only anger him more as he lowered his face to be at eye level with you. “Come on, don’t be like that. I’ll treat you nicely.” He said, though this time his voice was much darker. The stench of alcohol lingered with every breath he took. You turned your face to the side, but that seemed to only anger him and this time he grabbed your jaw roughly in his hands, forcing you to look at him.

“Don’t turn away, sweetheart. Just come on let me sh—“ he began, but suddenly his hand was ripped away from your face and you closed your eyes, fully expecting to get hit. You heard shouting and skin hitting skin, you still kept your eyes shut, flinching with every sound. The noise of the arcade was too loud and you slid down the wall, covering your face with your hands as you buried your face against your knees.

“Don’t you fucking touch her! I’ll kill you!” You heard a familiar voice shout, it was then you uncovered your face and your eyes widened in shock as you saw Sol fighting with the man, both with bloody noses. Hyugo pulled Sol away while a random person held back the other man. The two men were still shouting curses at one another, though you were so overwhelmed you could barely understand what they were saying. You noticed Hyugo was having trouble holding back Sol, so you quickly scrambled to your feet and stepped in front of the dark haired man, pressing your hands against his chest. “Sol! *Enough!*” you pleaded, tears forming in your eyes. The drunk man had lost his balance at some point and fell to the floor, but he was still threatening you and Sol. The man called you every name in the book, and he was mocking you - but you didn’t care. You just wanted to get out of here. There was a terrifying look in Sol’s scarlet eyes and it turned your blood cold. “Sol *please,* let’s just go.” You pleaded with him once again.

As soon as Sol heard your voice waver, he stopped and his eyes widened in a mixture of horror and guilt as he realized that you were crying. He cupped your face in his hands, shaking his head, “No, no, no. Please don’t cry. I’m done. We can go.” He said in a panic, “He didn’t hurt you, right? He didn’t touch you?” He asked. You shook your head, “No. I’m okay.” You reassured him, just wanting to leave. Your lip quivered as you looked up at him and you simply nodded, taking his hand in yours as you dragged him out of the arcade. Though when Sol was certain you weren’t looking, he turned back to the man and spat at him before he followed you out.

Once outside you wiped your tears away with your jacket sleeve, smearing your makeup a bit in the process, but you didn’t care. You didn’t dare let go of Sol’s hand, afraid that if you did he would turn back and actually kill the man. Hyugo sighed, rubbing his temples, “We should leave before the cops get called.” He mumbled. Sol clicked his tongue in annoyance, “We didn’t do anything wrong. That low life touched ______. I just defended her.” He spat back. You tugged Sol’s hand, “I want to go home.” You sniffled. “I’ll walk her home. You go ahead, Hyugo.” He said. The blue haired man raised a brow, by the way he looked at his friend you sensed that maybe he didn’t want to leave him alone. “You’ll call right? As soon as you dropped ______ off at home?” He asked, his brows furrowing.

Sol had already wrapped his arm around your waist, your and his backpack slung over his shoulders. “Yeah, I will. See you later.” He said pulling you along to walk off in the other direction. Hyugo just nodded watching as you two walked off.

Sol didn’t let go of your waist for the whole walk home, he held you protectively, glaring at anyone who looked in your general direction. Once you arrived back at your apartment you fished around in your jacket pocket for your keys, eventually finding them and unlocking the door. “Do..do you want to come in?” You asked Sol shyly. You were really inviting him inside! He felt his heart skip a beat and he swallowed nervously, “Sure.” He smiled and stepped inside after you, setting down the bags onto a stool by the door.

You untied your sneakers and left them at the door before you looked up at the tall man. “Do you want tea? Coffee?” You asked him.

“What do you want? I can start the water.” He asked you back.

“Tea sounds good. Something relaxing.” You replied, motioning him to follow you into the kitchen. You poured water into the electric kettle on the countertop as you reached into the cabinets to grab two cups. “Make yourself comfortable. I’m going to change real quick.” You smiled before walking off towards your bedroom to change. Sol already knew where everything was located, so he grabbed two tea bags, setting them into the ceramic mugs as he waited for the water to boil. Then a thought ran through his mind as his hand absentmindedly rested on his front pocket. You didn’t get to eat the dinner he made you for tonight which meant you wouldn’t sleep well.

So before the water was done boiling he pulled out a small bag in his pocket, and broke apart the sleeping pill, letting it dissolve in the hot water. He just wanted to make sure that you’d be able to sleep tonight was all.

When you walked back out of your room, your tea was already made and Sol was sipping on his as he leaned against the wall. He looked at your outfit, did you wear something like that on purpose to tease him? You wore tight shorts, a tank top, your favorite jacket unzipped, and the cutest bunny shaped slippers. “Thank you so much, Sol.” You smiled at him as you held the mug in your hands and slowly sipped on it. He nodded, “Of course. Anything for you.” He said returning your smile. You chatted with him for a while it was obvious that you were just stalling, you didn’t want him to leave. You were still shaken up from earlier, from both how Sol reacted and to what may have happened if he wasn’t there to save you from that man.

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You sat on the couch, legs crossed as some random show played quietly in the background. Sol sat across from you, you both had long finished your tea. He could tell you were getting a bit more sluggish, “I’m sleepy, Sol.” You yawned. “You should go..it’s getting late. Hyugo is probably worried about you.” You mumbled, rubbing your eyes with your sleeve. Sol frowned, “It’s okay. I don’t mind. I want to make sure that you’re okay.” He replied back, he didn’t want to leave you alone.

“I’m okay. I just don’t want to be alone..” you sniffled. “I think someone has been breaking into my house.” You then said, flicking your gaze up to look at him with a worried expression. Sol froze, his breath hitched in his throat. “W..what? Why do you think that?” He asked, trying to remain calm. Folding your hands together in your lap, your eyes darted around before landing back on him, “Sometimes things are out of place.” Is all you said, “So please don’t leave me alone.” You then pleaded, suddenly leaning over towards him on all fours.

Sol’s eyes flickered to your face and to the gap between your shirt, he could see you weren’t wearing a bra and he shifted awkwardly in his spot on the couch as he tried to remaining eye contact with you. Placing a hand over his crotch, he let out a cough, a dark red blush making its way to his pale features. “Okay. I won’t. I’ll stay as long as you want me to.” He responded, a look of desperation in his eyes. You smiled, feeling butterflies in your stomach when he said those words. Then your mind wandered back to the dream you had last night, you sat back legs now folded underneath you.

“Can you come lay down with me in bed?” You asked him, looking away shyly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to stay up much longer. Plus it’s more comfortable than staying out here.” You added. Sol found it hard to even speak now, he nodded and bit his lip. You stood up and began to walk towards your bedroom, turning off the lights along the way. Before you rounded the corner you noticed that he was still sitting on the couch, “Are you coming? You don’t have—“ you began only to be cut off by him springing up, “I am.” He mumbled shyly as he followed you into your familiar bedroom.

Your bedsheets were messily strewn about on your bed, like always. Clothes tossed haphazardly throughout the room, he watched as you shrugged off your jacket, tossing it on the vanity chair and you kicked off your slippers. You crawled into bed, pulling the sheets over your cold body. “What do you usually wear to sleep, Sol?” You asked him curiously, waiting for him to come lay down as yet another yawn left you.

“My..boxers.” Sol replied shyly, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided your cute gaze. “You can sleep like that here. I don’t mind.” You mumbled motioning with your hand for him to come lay down. “A-are you sure?” He stammered, already unbuckling his belt, his hands shaking a bit in anticipation. “Mhm.” You hummed reassuringly, squeezing your legs together tightly. Sol wasted no time in taking off his clothes, it was a shame the room was so dimly lit so you couldn’t see him. He sat at the edge of the bed, still unsure of what he needed to do.

You tugged at his wrist, “Lay down with me. Under the blankets.” You encouraged him in a sleepy voice. He let you pull him down onto the bed, his heart was racing so fast he found it hard to breathe. As you both now laid under the covers he could feel your body heat, you were so close to him. Your bed wasn’t big by any means, so your bodies were practically touching. “I really like you, Sol.” You suddenly said, you weren’t sure why you blurted that out, maybe it was your drowsy drugged state that made you say something you didn’t mean to.

Sol’s eyes widened in shock as he turned his head to face you. He could make out your soft features from the dim city streetlights that peaked through the curtains. Your hand now was on his chest, you could feel how fast his heart was beating. “You take care of me. You’re so kind. I’ve never had anybody care for me like you do.” You mumbled, leaning over until your noses touched.

Sol raised a shaking hand to cup your face, his thumb caressing your cheek. “I’ll always take care of you, ______. I’ll be here. No matter what.” He whispered back. His words were so kind and gentle, yet there was darkness in which he spoke. You blushed and looked away, your eyes closing shut as you finally closed the distance between your lips. You were a bit unsure on how to kiss him, not wanting to mess with his lip rings too much, but as soon as your lips met something clicked inside the raven haired man.

He returned your kiss desperately, not wanting to stop. Were you really doing this? Was this seriously happening?! He thought. It was a shame you were half asleep, but it still didn’t stop you from your next move. You rolled onto of him, your legs straddling his waist as you cupped his face in your hands, kissing him with inexperience. It wasn’t like Sol minded though, he was also just as inexperienced. His hands were on your waist, fingernails digging into your soft skin as he let out a needy whimper when he felt you grinding against his dick.

“Do you like me, Sol?” You asked him, breaking away from the kiss for a few moments as you continued to grind against him. When he took too long to answer you paused and lifted yourself up about to get up. Feeling utterly rejected by him, humiliated. But his hands slammed you back down on top of him. A crazed look on his face, “Y-yes I do. I like you. You’re my soulmate, ______.” He desperately spoke, his eyes flickering trying to read your expression. All you heard was “yes”, as you began to fade in and out of consciousness, despite desperately trying to stay awake.

“G..good.” You mumbled against his lips, beginning to grind against him again as you cupped his face. Sol returned your kisses as he let out whiny moans of your name, begging you for more. He wanted to feel your pussy, god knows how long he had waited to fuck you. His hands let go of your hips and now tugged at the waistband of his boxers. He managed to slip them off and when he felt how wet your panties were a pathetic whimper left his lips. He pushed your panties aside and now he could really feel how wet your pussy was. His dick pushed between your folds, you shivered as you felt his tip slide over your clit. “S-sol.” You whimpered his name.

Oh god, just you saying his name so lewdly was almost enough to push him over the edge. “A-ah.” He cried out as he felt your pace quicken. He loved the way you were using him, like he was nothing more than a toy for you to hump to reach your orgasm. The head of his dick was so sensitive and he felt your clit rubbing against it. “I..I’m gonna cum.” He warned you. Sol’s fingers digging into the plush skin of your thighs as he bucked his hips upward. “I-I wanna fuck you…please. Feel your pussy…please.” He begged, biting your lip. But you ignored him continuing to grind against his hard dick as your moans became a bit louder, your thighs shaking. You could feel yourself about to cum, but Sol suddenly let out a yell. “A-ah ahh ______.” He cried as his hot cum shot out. He threw his head back, eyes squeezing shut as tears pooled in the corner of them, his back arched, and fingernails scratching your thighs enough to leave a mark and draw some blood. His body shook under yours.

You felt the warm sensation rising from your core, your clit becoming more sensitive by the seconds. Sol’s thick cum now providing more lubrication. His whimpering of your name and pleading was enough to push you over the edge and moments later you joined him in his orgasm. You cried out his name as you buried your face in the crook of his neck, holding onto him tightly as you rode out your orgasm. Honestly you weren’t sure if you were or not, your mind was so hazy. Then you suddenly came to a stop, your body shaking a bit as your eyes closed shut.

Sol caught his breath, his hands rubbed up and down your back and he realized you had fallen asleep. The medicine had taken its full effect. He wrapped his arms tightly around you pressing a kiss on top of your head a content smile on his lips. “You’re mine. Mine…you’ll never have to be alone again.” He mumbled against your hair. His scarlet eyes gazing at the ceiling as you were fast asleep against his chest. At some point he fell asleep still holding onto you, with his dick between your thighs.

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You had awoken the next morning a bit groggy, you realized you were in bed with someone and you stared down in horror as you realized that you had slept with Sol. You only remembered bits and pieces of the nights before, and your sticky panties confirmed that you two had been intimate in some way. You wiggled out of his strong arms as quietly as you could and rushed to the bathroom, grabbing your phone careful to not wake him up.

After you cleaned yourself up and changed, you sat on the ledge of the bathtub typing away rapidly on your phone.

Crowe I NEED YOU NOW!!!!

What’s up? You okay?

NOOO. I think I just messed up. I think I ruined a friendship.

Woah calm down, ______. Is this about him?

YES. Can we meet up at the cafe? Please. Right now.

Yes. I’ll be there in a few.

Thanks.

With that you clicked your phone shut and quickly got dressed into your clothes from yesterday, not wanting to disturb Sol’s sleep. You peeked into your room and still saw him resting. You left the house getting your wallet and keys and tossing them into your jacket.

Sol woke up not long after you had left the house and when he didn’t feel your presence he immediately shot up in bed, panic beginning to set in. Where were you?! He grabbed his phone getting ready to dial your number when he saw a text appear on the screen.

I’ll be back soon. :3

He calmed down a bit, laying the phone in his lap as he ran a hand through his messy hair. Why didn’t you tell him you had somewhere to go? Why would you leave alone in the morning after everything that had happened last night? It was then he felt a bit angry, wondering why you were sneaking around. Snatching his phone back up he called you but you kept ignoring his calls, finally though you answered.

“Hello.” Your voice came through on the other end, there was also another voice on the other end too. It was one he recognized. It was Crowe. He felt himself grow even more angry as jealousy filled him. Why the hell are you with him?!

“Who are you with?” Sol asked, his voice as sickly sweet.

“Shhhh be quiet. Yeah, hi Sol, I’m with a friend. Don’t worry, I’ll be back home soon.” He heard you shushing Crowe. His grip tightened on the phone, if he squeezed any harder he may have shattered the screen. “When will you be back? Where are you?��� He asked, this time his tone wasn’t as sweet.

“Sol…please don’t worry about it. I promise I’ll be back home soon. I gotta go.” You reassured him before hanging up.

Sol was furious, he slammed the phone face down onto the night stand, the glass screen shattering. Why is he interfering? Why does she keep hanging out with him? Doesn’t he know ______’s mine?! So many jealous thoughts flowed through his head as he quickly got dressed. He freshened himself up before he left your apartment, storming on the busy streets. What you hadn’t known was that Sol had installed a tracker on your phone many nights ago. He was really trying to give you the chance to tell him where you were without having to resort to using the tracker, but you wouldn’t tell him. He had no other choice but to use it, and make sure you were okay. He had to make sure that filthy Crowe wasn’t touching you. And he needed to show the brunet who you belonged to.

It was a rainy day and he didn’t care if he got wet, he was determined to find out where you were. The tracker led him to a busy coffee shop where he saw you and Crowe sitting near the window. His scarlet eyes met bright blue ones, belonging to the last person he wanted to see. Sol’s eyes narrowed, and all the brunet did was return a sly smirk before mouthing something to you. You whipped your head around just as Sol stormed into the coffee shop, immediately making his way to the table you two sat at. He tried to maintain his composure, his chest rising with every deep breath he took as he glared at the man sitting across from you.

“Sol? H-How did you know I was here?” You asked him in shock. He ignored your question continuing to glare daggers at Crowe, who sipped on his coffee nonchalantly. “Hey there. Care to join us?” He asked with a polite smile, motioning with his hand to the available seat.

“No. ______, we’re going home. Now.” Sol demanded, now turning to look at you. He grabbed your wrist and you tried to jerk away, “Ow, Sol!” You cried out, which caused him to immediately drop your hand. “Are you okay?” He asked, his angry expression now etched into worry. You frowned, rubbing your wrist, “Y..yeah. I told you I’d be gone later. Please stop this.” You pleaded, looking at him with big eyes.

“You should be gentle with her, Sol.” Crowe scolded half heartedly. “______, you should go. Don’t keep him waiting. We can talk soon, I have to get to work anyways.” He smiled warmly at you.

“But I—“ you stammered, but the brunet cut you off with a wave. “Seriously, it’s fine. Just remember what we talked about, okay?” He winked, it was purposeful, he was trying to get under Sol’s skin and it was working.

Sol grabbed your wrist a bit more gently this time as you stood up, “We’re leaving. Bye.” He spat, glaring at the man as he dragged you out of the coffee shop. All the while Crowe watched with furrowed brows and a forced smile. He didn’t like Sol, he didn’t like him at all. But whatever made you happy, he’d tolerate.

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Sol was dragging you down the street as you squirmed under his tight grasp on your wrist. The whole time you demanded to know what had gotten into him! This wasn’t the Sol you knew. Ever since the arcade, you noticed a sudden shift in his personality, it was instantaneous. As you two arrived back at your apartment, he shoved you inside with a forceful hand, slamming and locking the door shut. “What the hell is wrong with you, Sol?!” You screamed at him as you tossed your phone, keys, and wallet onto the kitchen counter.

Sol’s eyes were narrowed still as he walked towards you, instinctively you stumbled backwards until you found yourself with your back pinned against the wall with nowhere to go. His tall frame towering above you. “What’s wrong with me? You’re the one sneaking around with that bastard.” He hissed as he slammed his palms on either side of your head, pinning you between his arms. “I’ve tolerated him long enough. Doesn’t he know you belong to me?! I’m the one that’s caring for you and protecting you. While he does nothing.” He snapped angrily.

You cowered beneath him, beginning to grow a bit scared, “Y-you’re scaring me, Sol.” You whimpered. He clicked his tongue in annoyance; he didn’t like you pretending to be innocent in all of this. Perhaps you and that bastard needed reminding of who you belonged to. Sol crashed his lips against yours roughly, you felt his tongue trace the bottom of your lip. But when you were tightening your lips together to deny him, he bit your lip causing your lips to part open in surprise and with that his pierced tongue forced its way into your mouth. One hand on your jaw forcing your head to tilt up. You tasted like coffee and sugar, he didn’t mind at all though. It suited you.

You cried against him. He was being so forceful it was terrifying. He pulled away panting heavily, a string of saliva connecting your and his lips. His hand was still firmly holding your chin. “I don’t think you realize, dear. That you’re mine. No one else can have you. Ever. I won’t allow it.” He muttered. He noticed that your eyes were watery and a sympathetic smile made its way to his pierced lips. “Aww..please don’t cry, baby. I don’t want to make you cry. I promise I’ll make you feel good. You just need to be reminded that you’re mine.” He said in a gentle voice as his thumb wiped away your tears.

“I’m scared.” You whimpered.

Sol leaned down to press a much more gentle kiss to your lips, “You won’t be for long. You’ll be feeling so good in a minute.” He purred and with that he picked you up holding you so gently in his arms bridal style as he continued to kiss your lips. Once inside the bedroom he tossed you onto the bed and hovered over you beginning to tug at the waistband of your pants. “N-no Sol.” You whined but your arousal said otherwise. The truth was you were so turned on by him. You had wanted him in this way for so long.

Sol ignored your pleas and within a couple minutes he had you stripped of your clothes. You laid on your back on the bed as you looked at his nearly naked body, he stood only in his boxers. And now with the sun peeking through the blinds basking the room in a bright light you saw just how big Sol was. His body was well toned, just perfect. You saw the erection in his pants and you swallowed nervously at just how big he was. You weren’t sure if he was even fully hard yet.

You didn’t get to stare at him for too long though as he got to his knees, kneeling in front of your legs. “I’m going to make you feel so good dear. You won’t ever think of anyone else but me.” He said it almost came out as a warning. His slender hands pushed your legs apart and the look of pure lust was on his face. You tried to cover yourself up with your hands but he wouldn’t let you. “So pretty.” He whispered. God, he dreamt for so long to be buried between your thighs eating you out.

You jumped when you felt Sol’s tongue licking your pussy, the muscle dragging slowly between the slit. You felt the cold metal piercing drag along sending a shiver up your spine. He let out a moan as he tasted you. God, you tasted better than he could have ever imagined. He pushed your legs further apart and spread open your pussy, you squirmed a bit at being so exposed. Your hands balled up the fabric of the bed sheet beneath you as you felt the ball of his piercing roll over your clit, causing you to let out a loud moan. You knew you messed up when you gave him that reaction, because he immediately began to suck at your sensitive clit, rolling his piercing over it every single time causing you to moan louder. His tongue moving from teasing your clit to probing your wet hole. He wanted to taste every bit of you, this was pure bliss for the raven haired man.

“So good.” Sol praised. It was hard to focus as he sucked the sensitive bud, your head spinning as your legs quivered. He wouldn’t let you close your legs, no matter how much you tried. His tongue worked so expertly, he knew exactly how to get you whimpering under him. “Sol!” You yelped when you felt his tongue enter you, causing your hips to buck and your back to arch. It was such a strange feeling but god it felt so good. He was trying to fuck you with his tongue. Your hands tangled in his dark loose hair as you tilted his head back up to focus on your clit. “I-I’m gonna..” you gasped, squeezing your eyes shut as the warm sensation began to build more and more. Your breathing became more frantic and with another roll of his pierced tongue against your clit, your legs closed, Sol’s face still between your thighs as you held him there cumming all over his face. You were practically screaming his name as he continued to suck on your overstimulated clit. You begged him to stop, so he did and instead decided to clean you up.

Sol’s tongue lapped up every last bit of your juices, you tasted so amazing. He was drunk off of your scent—taste. Everything about you drove him crazy. He could spend the rest of his life buried between your thighs, licking your pussy and letting you cum all over his face. He was yours to use. “N-no more. Please.” You begged, your body falling limp.

Sol gave you one last taste, his tongue swiping up the full length of your pussy before he sat up. He licked his wet lips, “See..I’m the only one who can make you feel this good, dear.” He said matter of factly. He stood up pulling down his boxers revealing his hard dick. When you looked at him you nearly choked on your own spit. How the hell were you supposed to take him? He hadn’t stretched you out with his fingers to prepare you. “I-I can’t take you without—“ you began. But Sol leaned forward kissing you, shutting you up. “It’s okay. I’ll be slow.” He mumbled against your lips.

His tall frame towered above you, it was so intimidating, the way he looked at you with half lidded eyes and a small smile on his face. His arms were on either side of you pinning you between him. You felt the tip of his dick poke at your entrance. Sol continued to gently kiss you as he pushed himself inside you, he let out quiet whimpers as slowly filled you up. His body shuddered at the sensation, your tight pussy was everything he had ever dreamed off. “Fuck…oh god you feel so good, ______.” He moaned as he sat up now. Placing his hands on your inner thighs, he spread your legs apart as far as he could without hurting you. He wanted to see how well you took him.

Inch by inch Sol sank into you, it was agonizing how slow he went but by the look on his face he was savoring every moment. He was panting quietly trying to control himself, he did want to hear his soulmate after all. You squirmed under his strong grasp as he filled you up beyond belief. You weren’t ready to take him, he was so big it hurt. “S-Sol.” You cried, tears pooling in the corner of your eyes as you felt the tip hit deep inside, causing you to flinch in pain.

“It’s okay. You’re doing so well, dear.” He praised you. And without warning Sol snapped his hips back and slammed back into you, causing you to yelp. He couldn’t resist himself as he began to roughly fuck you. His fingernails digging into the soft skin of your thighs and quiet moans left him. He stayed quiet because he wanted to hear your sweet sounds.

He watched the face you made as every single time he hit that sweet spot of your pussy. The way your lips parted as you moaned his name and the how your back arched as he fucked you. The way your breasts bounced up and down with each thrust. He noticed the creamy white ring forming on the base of his cock. You felt so perfect, it was as if..”We were made for each other, ______.” He whispered. Sol let go your thighs, confident that you’d keep your legs spread out. He now cupped your breasts, fingertips lightly teasing your perked nipples as he watched you shudder under his touch.

Sol frowned, “Something’s missing.” He said in between pants as he continued to relentlessly fuck you. His pace was not slowing down at all, you were exhausted already, your pussy ached from how hard he was slamming into you. You weren’t sure you’d even be able to walk in the morning. “W-what?” You asked confused by what he meant but he didn’t answer you, instead leaned down to bite your neck. You cried out in surprise. He actually bit you. He nipped and sucked at the sensitive skin on your neck, not caring if he hurt you. After all, everyone needed to know you were his.

Your hands tangled in his hair as you squeezed your eyes shut, tears now running down your face. Your legs wrapped around his waist as he slipped one hand between your thighs. You body twitched when you felt the pad of thumb rub your clit, all the while he never stopped fucking and marking you. He let out a low laugh when he felt your body twitch underneath him.

Sol could tell you were close to coming, by how your breathing became more erratic, how you held him closer. “Are you going to cum for me, dear?” He asked. You didn’t say anything, which annoyed the dark haired man. He sat up, ripping himself from your grasp and stopped rubbing circles against your sensitive clit. “You need to answer me.” He growled and just to emphasize the point, he pulled nearly all the way out before he snapped his hips forward. You cried loudly, biting your lip and nodding eagerly, “Y-yes. I wanna cum for you, Sol.” You whimpered, looking up at him with the cutest expression.

Sol smiled lovingly at you, satisfied with your answer, “You’re so cute when you beg, dear.” He spoke gently and with that he returned to stimulating your clit. Your mind was hazy as you felt your orgasm building up, you were only focused on one thing and that was coming. Your hands reached up to dig their fingernails in the skin of his bicep. “You’re so close. I can tell. Just cum for me. Please. I want to feel it so bad.” Sol begged in a whiny, desperate tone as he quickened his pace. And just like that you practically screamed his name, your body shaking as you came around his cock.

You orgasming and screaming his name was the most beautiful thing Sol had ever witnessed. He had dreamt of this moment for so long, it was better than he could ever imagine. He felt your pussy tighten around him and soon after he was coming too. Sol threw his head back as his dick twitched, coating your insides with thick cum. He was buried deep inside you, holding your thighs firmly so he could adequately fill you up. “You’re so beautiful. So pretty, full of my cum.” He mumbled, gazing down at you now.

Sol gently pushed your legs apart as he pulled out of you and watched in awe as his cum leaked out of your tight pussy. It was a heavenly sight. He sighed in satisfaction, flopping down onto the bed as he wrapped his arms around your tired body, pulling you onto his chest. You buried your face into the crook of his neck as you clung into him tightly. “No one will ever make you feel this good, dear. You were made for me. We’re soulmates.” Sol said barely above a whisper as he gazed at the white ceiling. “You’re mine. I won’t ever let anyone come between us. Ever. I love you so much, ______.” He said, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. His embrace tightening around you when he said that.

There was something threatening about the way Sol spoke. You were a bit scared, but you had no reason to be, right? He just loved you and you loved him. “I love you, Sol.” You sniffled. Sol just smiled at your words. He finally had you all to himself.

[violetarks]

“baby keep talking, but nobody’s listening!”

anime: jujutsu kaisen

characters: gojo satoru, choso, fushiguro toji

summary: they find you on a date with someone they've never seen before, but they don't need to look for long to see how bored you were. deciding for you that it would be the first and only date you ever went on with that man, they come to your rescue.

warnings: afab! reader, she/her pronouns used, reader is on a date with a man, said date sucks ass (trying to regulate what y/n eats, snarky comments, egotistical, rude to hospitality workers), shoko/itadori/shiu help set you up on a date but they suck at it

↣ gojo satoru

"satoru, you have to get out," you huff at him, crossed arms over your chest. he sat on your cough, flicking through tv channels. "my date is coming here in ten minutes!"

"you mean the stranger that shoko met at the mall and said would 'totally be your type'?" he says, looking over his shoulder to you. you raise a brow. "c'mon, blow him off. we need to finish 'the last of us'!"

"don't you dare watch it while i'm gone, satoru, or god so help me—" your phone rings, interrupting your threat. you answer when you see the number of your date. "hello? oh, yes, this is y/n."

you begin to walk to grab your keys and your bag, satoru following after you when you suddenly stop.

"oh, uh... you want to meet there?" you say, tilting your head, "no, that's fine, i'll leave now. see you—..."

"he's not coming to pick you up?" satoru questions, watching as you take out your car keys.

"he's actually already there. and he's ordered for me." you say with a bit of doubt in your voice. satoru can hear it. "it's fine, i should go now. don't you dare watch that show, i will kill you. see you, satoru."

the whole time you're gone, he can’t do anything. he’s sitting in silence for an hour, not even looking at his phone. he felt angry at himself.

so he followed you, obviously.

he looked up the restaurant you had mentioned to him before and saw the pictures posted online. it looked like such a nice first date place. and that boiled even more jealousy in him. of course he had to follow you.

and luckily he did; you looked miserable.

he takes out his phone as soon as possible.

“you know how many calories are in that meal?” your date said after the waiter left your table, “way better for you than what you wanted.”

you had just told him your favourite dish in the menu. and he told you he ordered you just a salad. while he got two meals because he was ‘bulking’.

when shoko showed you his instagram, you had to admit that he was cute. he was fit too, and you did your fair share of exercise. he had a nice smile and he also posted photos of his dog. but that couldn’t shield you from what was right in front of you.

you found out he was a model for a magazine you’ve never heard of, and while that was impressive, it was his whole personality. you asked about his pet, and he somehow turned it back to his career and how he did a fireman themed calendar last year. you’d think he was surely more than that, but it didn’t seem it. you had barely talked about yourself. it didn’t look like he was interested anyway.

“hm, what did i do today?” he thought out. you cringed at the way he tapped his chin, pretending to think. “i hit the gym at 5am, walked my pet for an hour and a half, took some photos for my resume since i’ve got a new deal coming up, and spent time from then to now just at the studio.”

you were waiting for him to ask about your day. he doesn’t.

“and you know, i’m actually the most valued model at my studio. they always call me for shoots, i’m always first on their list. you’d think i could catch a break every so often,” he chuckles out, rubbing up and down his arms. you hold back from rolling your eyes as you sip your water. “but it’s hard being so… handsome.”

you stare at him and fight the urge to roll your eyes once again.

"what about you?" the moment you've waited for comes a little too late. you're not even interested in speaking about yourself.

"well, i did some grocery shopping this morning—"

"what did you buy?"

"me and my friends are having a movie tomorrow, so i just bought some snacks for us," you explained for some reason, "chocolates, popcorn, chips—"

"junk food?" he scoffs back, "no, no, you don't need all that. you oughta' bring it back and get some fruit. way better for you."

you down the rest of your alcoholic drink you had ordered (the one thing he did let you choose) and look away.

that is when you feel a hand rest on your upper back.

"excuse me, ma'am," you look up and widen your eyes when you see satoru standing before you. he's wearing a white button-up, black slacks, dress shoes and a black waist apron. you freeze up. "the gentleman over there asked me to give you this, already paid for."

you look over to where he was pointing. nanami sits in his own suit as he waves his hand at you, pained smile. satoru places a mojito in front of you. your date stands up.

"the hell? doesn't he see that i'm here?" he scoffs as he stands up. his chair screeches against the floor, which collects everyone's attention in the restaurant. "he's insulting me! what a prick! i'm gonna fuck him up!"

"hey!" you stand up as he begins trudging over. satoru places a hand on your shoulder to stop you, and you see nanami roll his eyes and stand up as well, ready for the fight. "what are you two doing here? and why are you dressed like that?"

"i'm the ultimate undercover agent, of course," he replies. he begins pulling off his apron and dropping it on your seat. he hooks his arm with yours and smiles. "let's get outta' here."

"but my date—"

"he's fine," you watch as nanami dodges one of his punches with and irritated face. "nanami will take care of him."

you let him whisk you out of the restaurant while everyone is watching the two men fight (not really). satoru walks you to his car and starts the engine. you see nanami's car behind his.

"did you seriously bring him along to get me out of that date?" you chuckle as you stare at him. satoru purses his lips and looks away. "thank you, satoru. you didn't have to."

"you're welcome, gorgeous," he responds to you, "i could tell from the phone call that he wasn't all that. wonder what barrel they fished him out of."

you let out a small sigh and look out the window. you were embarrassed; this was the first date you've ever been set up on, and it went horribly. you knew you should've left earlier, not wait until satoru came along. he was your saviour for today, you had to admit.

but what was even worse, you seemingly let than man talk to you like that. you could chalk it up to just being friendly and giving him the best benefit of the doubt, but deep down you know you would never have let that slide with people you know. hell, yaga could speak to you that way and you would still give him an earful.

"don't be sad, y/n, now we can go to yours and watch our show," satoru attempts to cheer you up. he flashes you a smile. "i promise, i won't eat all your food."

"you're a liar, satoru." you laugh back.

"seriously though, that guy was a wreck. why did he keep talking about calories and stuff?" he mumbles out with a disapproving shake of his head, "i had to shut him up somehow. i should've just spilt the drink over him."

"oh god, what about the food? i didn't pay for my meal."

"you mean the salad you didn't want? i cancelled it for ya'."

"why aren't you this nice all the time? you usually bully me." you claim in a joking matter. satoru pouts at you. "i appreciate this, a lot. i guess guys who only ever think about themselves aren't my type."

there's a quietness in the car as he turns on his indicator. you enjoy the little noise coming from the radio, a song that you've heard quite a lot.

"you know, yuuji, nobara and megumi?" he clears his throat.

"yeah?" you respond to him in confusion.

"yeah," he hums with a nod of his head, "i think 'bout them a lot. they're good kids."

"they are," you agree with him. it takes you a few seconds before you look at him again. "satoru, that's not what i meant."

"so am i your type?"

"oh my god."

"answer the question, y/n."

↣ choso

"yuuji?"

"yeah?"

"do you know who this is?" choso shoves his phone into his brother's face.

"uh, that's y/n." yuuji responds in a bit of confusion. the two of them were sitting in a new restaurant with ramen on their tables. choso’s sat nearly untouched for the past ten minutes as he flicked through some pictures you sent to a groupchat with him in it. yuuji was halfway through chewing noodles when choso asked him about the photo you sent a few minutes ago. “why? she looks good.”

“no doubt,” choso mutters in response as he zooms in on the other figure in the picture you took of your reflections in the window, “i mean him.”

“oh, that’s the guy who me, nobara and y/n saw last week at the movies,” yuuji responds, “he asked y/n for her number, so i think they’re out together right now.”

he looks at yuuji in disbelief as the pink-haired boy starts slurping on the soup. it takes him a few seconds to properly react.

“are you serious?” choso says a little loudly. people turn to stare at the pair. “you let him get her number?”

“what? he seemed cool and y/n didn’t seem to mind that i gave it to him.” yuuji holds his hands up in defense as choso angrily glares at the photos on his phone screen. “you said you weren’t gonna’ make a move on her anyway!”

“that doesn’t—” a groan leaves his lips as choso holds his head. he lets in a deep breath. “okay, it’s fine.”

“i’m sorry, choso.”

“no, it’s my fault, i did say i wasn’t going to ask her out,” he tells yuuji, who slowly goes back to eating, “i… i missed out, i guess.”

yuuji frowns as the guy in front of him sadly eats his food.

“you know…” he begins with a small smile. choso looks up to him. “they’re just out for lunch nearby. y/n told me where they were going. we could—”

“yuuji! hurry up!” choso has grabbed his jacket and is rushing to the door before yuuji can reply, “we might miss them!”

yuuji scurries out of restaurant after he gobbles down his ramen. it isn’t too far of a drive, actually. it took about 15 minutes to get there and choso had easily spotted your car in front of a cozy cafe. he parks next to it and almost ducks when be notices you in the chair facing the window, facing the two of them, with your date sitting in the booth — your favourite spot. choso always let you sit in the booth side.

choso clutched onto the steering wheel with gritted teeth. yuuji looked towards you to get a better view.

“huh… she looks annoyed.” yuuji points out.

“this guy…” choso grunts.

inside the cafe, you had taken a few photos of your food and your drink. you’re glad yuuji suggested this place, you loved the service and the food here. the servers were always so nice and helpful and quick, and the food was amazing too.

it was obvious to you that your date didn’t think the same.

“god, everything in here is so…” he begins as he examines the design on his waffles. he cringes a little. “girly.”

“it’s just a bunny design,” you point out as you sadly stir the cat-shaped foam into your hot drink, “it’s cute.”

“it’s embarrassing,” he reiterates. you purse your lips and sip your drink. the delicious taste was enough to make you forget his sour tone. until he speaks up again. “can’t believe your friend told us to go here.”

“i love this cafe,” you state, “everyone here is so nice.”

“the service is slow and they gave me the blueberry waffles instead of the normal ones like i said,” he complains. you set your drink down and hold back from rolling your eyes. “i don’t care how busy you are, you always check five times that the order is correct.”

you don’t even reply to him after that, only trying to enjoy your meal that you paid for. he wasn't helping at all. you thought that because he was so charismatic when talking to yuuji that he was probably a good catch, but you couldn't have been more wrong. maybe he was just putting up a front in order to score you. you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover anymore.

"hey. over here," he begins to snap his fingers and nodding at a server with four full plates of food. the guy looks over frantically, obviously under pressure. "i wanna' ask you something."

"ah, right, give me a second, sir—" the guy was trying to distribute the food with the customers who he was serving.

"i told you, slow service," your date scowls towards you. could you be any more embarrassed right now? the server finishes off his task before coming over to you two. before he can even ask, your date is holding up a nearly empty cup of coffee. "this is the most bitter coffee i have ever had in my whole entire life."

"oh, well, you ordered an americano, sir," the poor server explains, "they tend to be bitter."

"what? no, no, no," the guy in the booth starts shaking his head, "i ordered a flat white."

"you..." the server begins. he was the one who had taken your order too.

"you ordered the americano, actually," you pointed out. the guy raised a brow at you, unamused. "it's okay, you can just order a flat white—"

"god, i did not order an americano." he claims.

but you distinctly remember him saying 'americano' for his drink. and the server repeated the order back to him before it was confirmed annoyedly. you stare down at his nearly empty cup.

"y'know what? just put the flat white on the tab, i will pay for it." you sigh out as you rub your neck.

your date looks more pissed off as the server leaves.

"he was wrong, you don't have to pay for another drink." he mutters out.

"it's nothing, don't worry." you retort and stare back down at your food. you didn't have an appetite anymore and a few minutes pass in silence.

the flat white comes out after such a long time of waiting. your date drinks it quietly, but you notice that he makes a face to show he doesn't like it. you quickly excuse yourself to go and pay at the counter for your food (he insisted on splitting the bill since he didn't like the place) so that you don't have to hear him bicker about it.

"hey," you turn behind you to see choso standing there in a baggy hoodie, a bit nervous, "fancy seeing you here..."

your eyes flicker to outside, where you see yuuji waving at you from choso's car. a smile lands on your face.

"nice to see you, choso," you mutter back as you fish out your wallet. the cashier rings up your total and you press your card to the reader. "how was your lunch with yuuji?"

"good. we cut it short to save you," he bluntly says. you blink as he glares at your date. "i don't like the guy you're with."

"me neither," you sigh out, "i think this is the last time i'll see him. but i gotta' tough it out for the rest of the date."

"you could just leave now." choso adds. he looks at you with furrowed brows.

"ah... i'm not that confident—"

"a takeaway box and takeaway cup, please," choso asks the cashier. she had been sitting there and silently agreeing with you that the guy you were sitting with was a total jerk. "thank you."

he places them in your hands and pushes you gently towards the table.

"who the hell is this guy?" your date scoffs and glares at choso, who does the same back.

"look, i'm not really having a good time on this date," you say as you play with the takeaway boxes. choso hastily takes them from you and fills it with your food in an organised matter. "i think this is the farthest we go. please enjoy the rest of your food, though."

"you serious? ditching me for some jackass?" he accusingly points at choso who wears a shit-eating grin on his face. "this is bullshit!"

"calm down, god..." you groan and rub your temple, "i just don't like you, you're so rude."

"me? you're the one who dragged me to this shithole!"

"shut your mouth before i drop you right now," choso scowls as he pushes the guy back into the booth seat. everyone was watching now, quietly thanking choso for showing up and dealing with him. "grow up, man. you act like a child."

choso grabs your hand and tugs you out of the cafe. you both thank the service with your takeaway in hand. yuuji gets out of the car with a wide smile once you two get closer.

"so, how did it go?" he asks with wide eyes.

you throw your keys at his chest.

"you're driving my car back to my apartment as punishment for setting me up with that asshole," you say with a small frown. you all knew you didn't really blame him, though. "never giving my number out to anyone ever again."

yuuji apologises thoroughly before getting into your car and driving off in the wrong direction. choso opens your door and gives you the food. once he's inside the car himself, he starts it up and begins driving.

you rest a hand over choso's on the middle console.

"thanks, choso," you sigh out, "i should've done that earlier."

"it's fine, y/n, i just wished i came sooner." he replies.

you stare at the side of his face, how irritated he looked just thinking about your date. a smile settles onto your lips and you brush your thumb over his knuckles. he falters and looks back to you for a second before muttering a 'what'.

"i'll take you out for dinner as a thank you," you state, which makes his ears go red, "you're a sweetheart, choso."

"i... uh, yeah, i'll go out with you," he mutters, "thanks..."

the laugh you let out is worth ruining thousands of your dates.

↣ fushiguro toji

"have you ever been to france?" the conceited finance guy in front of you asks, fixing his tie. he wears this smirk on his face that proves that he just knows how rich he was. he wasn't coy at all. you force a smile and shake your head slowly, trying to enjoy your meal at least. "really? that's a shame. i've been plenty of times before, and i've gotta say, the best part is..."

you begin to zone out, sighing to yourself as you move your pasta around on your plate haphazardly. he had chosen such a nice italian restaurant to absolutely ruin your perception of this guy after the first ten minutes of talking to him. you look to your watch, showing it had been only two hours since your date started.

cursing out shiu in your head, you cautiously look out the window to the sky. it wasn't that dark yet, but it felt like your night had been taken away. your mind wanders to yesterday to your conversation with shiu.

shoe

you're getting picked up at 5 tomorrow

y/n

am or pm?

shoe

???

shoe

don't show him how stupid you are, he's a rich guy. maybe he'll bring you to a yacht

y/n

why would i want to be on a yacht for our first date? is he nice?

shoe

he's rich, y/n. that's all that matters.

sometimes, you wonder how he managed to meet all these people. but then you remember that assholes attract assholes. they move together in flocks.

you stare at your red wine and tap your finger on your cheek.

"what do you think about it?" he questions, getting your attention again. you look up to see his smug face. did he really want to know?

"oh, me?" you asks, sitting up straight. you had no idea what he had been saying for the past 15 minutes.

"well, who else would i be talking to, silly?" he says in this mocking tone.

'yourself, it's who you've been talking to all night', you internally say. you had wasted such a nice outfit too. it was such a shame.

"mmm, well, it's a bit—" you begin, only to get interrupted.

"it's insane, isn't it? how could you lose so much money in only a year?" he barks out a laugh, as obnoxious as he was. the table shakes as he bangs his fist against it, waiters and guests looking towards you two. "it's absolutely preposterous! i would never make such a decision like that."

you chew out an awkward laugh before turning to your wine, sipping it.

unknowingly to you, toji was waiting in the car outside the building, getting a good view of you and your new date. he cursed shiu in a huff; not only did he set you up with someone, but the guy was a total prick. he couldn't have done a worse job, and he was broke. he pulled his seat back, watching him with pointed eyes. that guy's mouth hadn't stopped moving ever since you entered the restaurant.

and you? you looked gorgeous, your dress hugged you just right, so much so that he was jealous. toji knows it should've been him to go and take you somewhere like this.

he snaps when the guy calls the waiter over, complaining about his half-eaten food and causing a scene. you looked so uncomfortable. standing up, you excused yourself to the bathroom. and toji is quick to get out of the car.

"he's such an asshole." toji claims as you exit the ladies room. you freeze, pressing out the creases of your dress before walking closer to him at the end of the hall.

"when did you get here?" you ask, hand on your hip, "and how do you know he's an asshole?"

"been watchin' the whole time from the car," he tells you, watching as you widen your eyes and tilt your head at him, "what? couldn't help myself. shiu said you were on a date with some rich guy, 'n i had to see it."

"yeah, well, remind me to kill shiu. he's got the worst taste in men." you sigh out, crossing your arms as you lean against the wall with him. he peers at you. "you know he asked to try every single wine they had before we ordered? and he complained about the merlot not being darker. not only that, he saw my plate and said 'are you gonna' eat all of that?'. the dickhead!"

"that shit looked good." he commented, shaking his head, "who wouldn't finish that food."

"right? ugh, i hate him so much. and he hasn't even asked me about myself other than my name. he explained to me his 'entrepreneurship' and dropshipping. wanted to clock him in the face." you complained more, only fueling toji's own hate for the man.

he lifts himself off the wall, grabbing your arm and dragging you with him. "go 'n get your things. we're gettin' out of here."

"what? what am i supposed to say to him?" you mumble, stumbling behind him, "where are we going?"

"don't say anything to him. if ya' feel bad, pay for your own food." he explains to you, hand moving to rest on your back, "i'm not lettin' you waste that pretty little dress on someone like that guy."

you stare at the back of his head before falling into step with him, stopping at the table with your date. he does a double take once he sees toji, slowly standing up.

"who's he?" he asks, scanning him up and down.

"none of your business." toji retorts, looking down at him.

you begin to grab your purse when he holds out his hand to you. "where the hell are you going?" your date asks you.

"here. for my food." you say, handing him a fifty. the note flutters onto the table in front of him, which he stares at in awe. tugging on your jacket, you stare back at him with furrowed brows. "good luck in life."

with that, you turn around and begin to walk to the exit. behind you, toji sticks his tongue out at the other man and follows after. his hand finds your back once more and you wait to cross the road, sighing out to him, "thank you, toji. saved me."

"no problem." he replies, opening the door for you.

"how did you get in my car?" you ask, sitting in the driver's seat.

"don't ask." he tosses you the keys, making you wonder even more. he gets into the other side, looking back at you. “we’ll hit up that restaurant downtown. the one you always talk about wanting to go to.”

“but you said you don’t like their cuisine.” you claim, starting the car.

“it’s the only place i know that’s fancy.” he explains, looking out the window.

“sweetheart, i wouldn’t say that’s fancy—”

“do you want to go out or not?”

you laugh, reaching out a hand and holding his. he gives a small smile before looking back at you. “thank you, toji.” you say, stopping at a red light. you glance at him, sincere look in your eyes. “it means a lot that you care.”

“jus’ saving you from being stupid as fuck.” he tells you, making you roll your eyes and snatch your hand back, “could ya’ not tell he was a tool when he didn’t knock at your door? motherfucker waited in his car.”

“my god, you’ve been watching since then? toji!” you jokingly reprimand, looking at him for a split second, "i should've known from the start though... he was on his phone the whole time, in the car ride. on bluetooth speaker too."

"i woulda' jumped out the car." he retorts, shaking his head, "we should jump shiu."

"we really should." you laugh, smiling at him, "maybe for our next date."

toji can't help but roll his eyes. he knows deep down that you were hoping shiu was going to set you up with him instead. he can see it on your face, a smile that is pushing through on your lips. you're secretly happy that it was toji who 'ruined' your 'date'.

"i say that because i know you can't pay for dinner."

"did you think i was paying for this one?"

you scoff back, elbowing him, "you leech."

"you know you love me." he says it teasingly, but he knows better than anyone that you actually do.

[doberbutts]

We have a little free pantry in our front yard (toothbrushes, tampons, shelf-stable snacks bottled water, etc.), and I read a lot about people's experiences having one online before we put ours up re: expectations about potential interactions with people using it, but nothing prepared me for how weirdly aggro *other* people sometimes get about us having it as a form of "activism" as opposed to some other, more nebulous idea of broader social change. "Don't you think it'd be better to volunteer at or donate money to a homeless shelter, so those people can get the actual help they need?" "Shouldn't you focus more on trying to campaign for policy changes that will help more people than one street corner if you care about this problem?" "Isn't doing that a waste of time?" "Aren't you just encouraging people not to get help?" I do that other stuff when I can. This is something small I can do - in addition to raising awareness and fighting for bigger change, when I have the time and money and spoons - and at least, when I don't. It's crazy to me to approach social justice issues with such an all-or-nothing mindset as some people seem to. I've met enough of the individuals who utilize it to know it makes a difference in a very tangible way for the people directly around me.

No, I agree entirely.

Corny and dated as it is, there's a reason the saying is "be the change you want to see". If no one within the community puts in the work to fix the community's problems, even in little bits and pieces, then how will anything change? Raising awareness only goes so far. What happens when all anyone is, is aware? Aware, and still doing nothing, waiting for someone else to put in the work.

Sometimes, that someone is going to need to be you. You can't just wait around and wait for someone else to do it for you.

If I see someone digging through the trash for food, I wave them over and offer them food from my house or fresh food from a store or take them to a restaurant where they can order whatever they want. If I'm getting groceries and I see someone very obviously homeless struggling to pay for their food, I tell the cashier to add it to my bill. No one starves in front of me. Ever since I stopped needing to rely on food stamps, no one starves in front of me.

This past summer I saw someone splayed out on the sidewalk in 95F weather in direct sunlight. I couldn't tell if he was unconscious from drugs or passed out from the heat or just simply had fallen asleep in the shade and then the sun moved. I was getting groceries so I added a bunch of hot chicken to my order plus several bottles of refrigerated water. I went over to him and woke him and explained that I was worried he needed medical attention. He'd passed out because he was tired, he told me. I offered him the hot food and the water and he thanked me, telling me he'd run out of water the night before and food the day before that and didn't have any money to get any more.

Everyone else had been walking around him like he was just an obstacle on the sidewalk. No one had thought to offer any help. When I walked away, some folks who saw me told me that that was very nice of me. I don't think it was nice of me. I think that's just what you should do if you see someone obviously in distress. They agreed that he seemed like he needed the help. They didn't act. They agreed that the compassionate and right thing to do was to offer assistance and make sure he was okay. But they didn't do it. They waited for someone else to do it.

I've mentioned in passing that I volunteer for the local teen LGBT club, helping lost gay kids find their way and maybe not kill themselves about it. It's not much. I mostly just text back and forth with whatever kids get my number from the adults that run the thing. Sometimes I give them tips and advice. Sometimes I'm just the cool gay uncle they tell about their latest school drama. Once or twice I've served one of them lunch on my couch while my dogs smother them with affection and they cry about their latest heartbreak. I don't do speeches or history lessons or anything like that. I don't think I'm qualified for it, in honesty. But if even one of them doesn't commit suicide, if even one of them doesn't self-harm, if even one of them no longer feels all alone in the world because I'm there when they reach out to me, that's enough.

Today on my commute to work, the guy in front of me had a major wipeout on his motorcycle. I stopped my car in a position that none of the other cars could hit him, and asked if he was okay, and waited until his friend (also on a motorcycle) had circled back around to help him off the road and check him over. I left once his friend waved me away. I offered to call an ambulance but he refused.

A couple weeks ago, also on my commute, a woman was stopped on the side of the road, waving her arms at drivers, shouting for help. I stopped. The other drivers didn't. Her car had died, she was new to town, and she was somewhere that notoriously doesn't get cell service. I helped her call a tow truck. It wasn't a trap. She didn't want to hitchhike. She just was stuck and panicked about it.

I stop and help animals get off the road. I've lost count on how many turtles I've carried to the other side. I helped my neighbor search for a dog he saw get hit by a car so he could take it to the vet. I shoveled my elderly neighbor's driveway for her, and talked my boss into giving her a major discount for her little dog's dental in which pretty much every tooth needed extraction or he would die. When I still lived in that rental with my roommates, we were surrounded by kids. Every kid on the block knew we were a safe house to go to. If they needed food or water, if they needed entertainment, if they needed just somewhere to be, they could be at our place. When covid started, I did a "reverse halloween" since Halloween was canceled, and I put bags of candy on every doorstep that I knew had kids inside. I've done a "neighborhood santa" putting a small toy plus a small gift card for the parents on every doorstep that has kids, for as long as I've lived around kids.

When I say activism requires action, I don't mean that every single person is required to save a thousand lives. The honest answer is, unless you have a lot of disposable time and money, you probably won't. But you can still make a difference. To one. To ten. To twenty.

And you know what? I'm not saying black people specifically came up with this- but how can you be surprised to know this is how I live my life when I say over and over that I was raised by black activists who lived during MLK Jr and Malcolm X and knew community action would have the longest-lasting effects? Of course I do all this. That's what being part of a community *is*.

[my-darling-boy]

Hi! I know your expertise is WW1, but I don't know anyone with more military clothing knowledge, and I've been trying to find the meaning of the numbers/abbreviations on the inner pocket label of this morning tailcoat I got off ebay a while ago.

From what I've been able to gather so far:

The numbers/abbreviations is similar to some sort of post-WW2 army thing I came across while researching online, where they would put that sort of thing on those inner labels like that

Regarding the phone number, it looks to be around 1940s/50s perhaps?

Hey! It is most likely late 30s/1940’s morning coat purely by the look of the label alone. Moss Bros & Co Ltd. (as in MOSS, a suit shop and men’s formalwear in the UK for those who don’t know) during WW2 used this label on a lot of their officer garments as they also did produce uniforms and kit. There’s a chance the coat could be into the 50s, but just having seen that label before on the WW2 clothing, I’m willing to bet it’s probably 40s. It’s a pay to access thing to see the whole page, but there’s a newspaper advertisement from Jan 1940 placing Moss Bros & Co Ltd. in Covent Garden with the same telephone number although yes they appear to be reachable there into the 50s.

As for the numbers, they’re more than likely garment batch numbers, style or cut codes, and/or something used to identify the customer’s order as I don’t believe the UK used things like WPL and RN numbers which are for textile manufacturing in the US. I saw another one of their jackets with a written “A” followed by a string of five numbers and three more numbers much like your garment here on the same label, so this also isn’t likely to be something written by any subsequent sellers once the coat went into second-hand circulation. Not sure what the two standalone letters are, this is pure speculation, but if they are “MJ”, it could be the shop’s way of abbreviating the garment type “Morning Jacket”, could be initials, or just a part of the one of the codes mentioned above, but the paired letters like that I can’t seem to find on their other garment labels. A flight navigator’s blue tunic from WW2 had “BLT” written on his label from Moss Bros, didn’t match his initials, so unless he ordered a sandwich, it’s probably a garment abbreviation or a part of the item ID.

If this looks more familiar to anyone else though, definitely feel free to chime in of course!

As a bonus, here are a couple adverts I found as well from the 1920s, 40s, and 50s.

[dr-xanders-diary]

Our beginning.. I love you..

From the very first time I ever saw you at that whos-it party, I knew I loved you. At first I just didn't know how I loved you. That detail would come later, but from the very first time I saw you, I knew, you were meant to be mine. You were meant for me. A perfect match. God himself couldn't have made us more perfect for each other. At the time, you just didn't know this.

God himself couldn't have made you more perfect. From the way you held yourself, the way you walked, spoke, your voice, your hair, down to the very fiber of your being. You, in all your perfection, standing there amidst the noise of everyday life, like an angel to calm a storm. In the very first moments of seeing you I knew, you'd change me. I would change for the better, I'd grow confident, sociable, I'd gain all the things that I had previously lacked. And that, that is when I decided in that very moment, to change the very course of both your life and my own life.

I took the first steps, I walked up to you, smiled and mustered all the charm that I could. Every romance book I had read, every detail of a loving relationship I had studied, and watched in envy, all came crashing within me and prepared me for this very moment and every moment to come. I was going to make you fall in love with me, I was going to become your prince charming, I was going to be your knight in shining armor. You didn't know it yet, but you would fall in love with me, and you would be deeply in love with me.. soon. Very soon.

In the moment, things went so quickly. I smiled, gestured a small wave with my hand, and reached out and gently took yours and said, "Hello, I'm ********** (X), you must be-.. sorry I don't think I quite caught your name-, or your number. I have a terrible memory do you mind reminding me". In that moment I could see you, your eyes gleamed, I'd never seen someone so perfect this close before. That moment changed my life, it changed me. By the end of the night we exchanged numbers and had spent several hours talking, I got to walk you out of the party and to your vehicle.

An handed down tan 1996 Toyota corolla, that your dad gave to you so you could get to work and home easily without having to worry about taking the train and bus. Which I learned upon looking into you.

You are smart, charismatic, kind, and so fucking gorgeous. The way your mind works, I could spend several hours listening to you and what you thought. You are everything I never thought I'd find in a person. Perfection, at least to me. I spent the next day checking and looking into every single detail I could find, about you; your past, your family, your history of dating, the schools you've attended in the past, your friends. Learning, studying, watching every video of you I could find, digging through thousands of pages of information of you I could get my hands on.

One thing I've learned, is you're very open about what you like; what you do, where you go, where you've been. I've learned your favorite to-go orders from your favorite restaurants' you have visited in the past. Places you've traveled and for how long, your therapists name, your doctors and the things you struggle with. You know.. you really should put your social media profiles on private. Someone dangerous could come across them and get the wrong idea of you. I need you to be smarter, safer than how you have been. The last thing we need, is someone coming along and finding out who you are, how special you are and taking you, away from me. With the amount of information about you, that you've shared online, I've learned what things you would like, and what things you wont. The algorithm I created for you, tediously curated to suit your tastes, will come in handy in order for me, to keep you happy.

As time went on, as we went on dates, on outings, I got to learn in depth, of the things you enjoy, we spent hours in libraries, museums, gardens, walking and hiking, going to new restaurants'; ones I recommended. I didn't think you'd be so into physical activities, but of course you are, you're perfect. I had a bit of catch up to do, to get into shape and gain the same stamina as you at first. But now I can outlast you tenfold, I can lift more than you much more easily, I can out run you, I can last longer than you running. I knew it, I knew you would make me a better person. I am better, because of you. I learned where you lived in the past, where you live now, plenty before you ever dare invite me over. I just had to know where you stayed, what you did when you were home, what you wore.. how you, pleasured yourself. So I could be the best person for you, so I can be the only person for you.

Of course the first time I ever went over, I didn't get to step inside on the account that I was only picking you up for a date. But later. While you worked, I took the liberty to go visit your ever so humble abode. I have to admit, you've quite the green thumb, darling. And your taste for interior design isn't bad at all, your apartment is-.. so very you. And you left me a present, leaving your recently worn night clothes out, half-hazardly hanging on the corner of your bed. What.. are you tempting me? Of course you are, and I just so happen to not be able to help myself; you'll probably blame your shirt missing on the dog. I took your night shirt in my left hand and brought it up to my nose. Inhaling your scent, still fresh. You smell so good. So fucking good, I can almost feel you here with me. I almost couldn't contain myself. 'Fuck. No. I can't disgrace your space like this' So, I stuffed most of that shirt in my pants pocket, the other part hanging out. Just for now, you'll never know it's missing and if you do.. well.

You know.. the inside of someone's home, or apartment is so telling, every detail you think doesn't matter. Well it says a lot about someone, and you, you're a clean person, a neat person, sophisticated. Like me. We are the same. Almost. But a good thing I learned, is that your dog is very friendly, he couldn't hurt a fly even if he wanted to. He's very sweet and loving, he's honest, and will think of me as a new friend by the time we 'officially' met.

I didn't mind playing the slow game, especially with what you've been through with your shit exes. I made sure to do things right, for you. For us, and finally it paid off. But you know, by the time you invited me over and showed me your favorite books, I already knew, I read them prior, for you.

You thought that I was smart, charismatic, and charming. So much so that, that night you invited me into not only your home, but your bed. Every touch against your skin, every kiss, every slow bite. Methodical, every rhythmic movement, careful and oh-. Your gasping, panting and moaning with every touch, every movement, just the way you like it. I knew that everything would come in handy, because I'd never seen you so pleasured. Especially when my lips wrapped around your- oh, and I trailed my tongue up along every crease and crevasse, teasing and swirled around your- oh. While I occupied my left hand to slowly apply pressure just above your pelvis, and glide my fingers in and out of your- ah mmn. And did you just-? How fast. But I know you're not done, I know that you can go again, that this is just the beginning of a well spent night.

We spent hours groaning, moaning, slow grinding and thrusting over and over, touching, grabbing and gripping onto each other until finally you couldn't go anymore. I made sure to wear you out well, to drain you of every orgasm in you. And I, well I had a great time making love to you in a way I hoped you could never forget. After, you had such shaky legs you could barely stand. I made sure you laid until you could walk, caring for you, making sure you went to the bathroom to pee, and drank water and had a snack. Before we laid and cuddled. You fell asleep in my arms as I spoke to you as calmly, comforting and loving as I could.

"That's okay, just feel the beat of my heart, the weight of my chest rising and falling against your own. Breathe in slow with me, inhaling and exhaling. You were wonderful. You made quite the mess~." "Ah yes, I did. I'm glad I was." "Yes. You did very good, amazing actually. You're such a good-" "You're really gorgeous, and your eyes shine like no other. They hold galaxies."

By morning we were officially dating, calling each other love, darling, honey. You were finally saying you were, mine. And that I was yours.

The long game does pay off.

This was just our beginning.. I love you.

And now you love me too, just like I said you would..

[ac3may]

" the wag diaries "

How You Met

~ Mary Earps ~

~~~~~~~~~~

meeting Mary came alongside your introductions to all your new teammates when you joined Manchester United

having previously played only in the Championship League there were equal nerves with everyone

just settling into the club was scary enough, you didn’t have time to think about crushes even if you wanted to

one thing you had seen as a little odd though was when you came home and the same car from training was again next to yours

this time at the house next door

the following morning you strode through your front door, keys spinning on your finger

and saw the one and only Mary Earps climbing into that very vehicle in the driveway beside your own

what began with waves and morning greetings quickly progressed into carpooling together, and soon came invites to dinners, movie nights and post-training exploration of Manchester

(disguised as a simple tour guide act, just welcoming you to the city, obviously!)

after three months of shared rides and teasing jibes at each other constantly, came the sudden announcement of lockdown across the country

you were together during the initial announcement

and still a few hours later when it was decided that training would be cancelled for the foreseeable future

quickly it was decided that if you were to get cabin fever, you would rather do it with your new friend by your side

unbeknown to you at the time the world would be shut down a lot longer than expected

you developed a strong routine though, cooking together, training together, taking your daily walk together

Mary talking you out of adopting a dog on every walk you took

there were also the less enjoyable moments

arguably though they were the ones that bonded you more

picking Mary up from where she lay sobbing, questioning her worth and her skill, vowing to help prove it to her

you went online to order a goal for your back garden the moment she fell asleep cuddled into your lap that night

Mary picked you up too

particularly upon finding out your dad’s cancer had made a recurrence and knowing you could easily make it ten times worse if you travelled home

so walking back into training post-lockdown, there was no question of who your best friend was

you could rival Lessi & Tooney with how close you became

there was an obvious improvement in Mary’s goalkeeping following the lockdown

and she only continued to develop as you encouraged her into extra training sessions

benefitting just as much, as a striker yourself

the following year she finally received her well-deserved call-up as Sarina’s number 1

you couldn’t be prouder! sending flowers the second you heard

unfortunately within that year, you had left Manchester and coincidentally lost contact with Mary

you had returned home to care for your siblings when your father's condition had worsened

taking a break from football entirely since the day he passed

but upon receiving your congratulations the older girl took it as an olive branch to reach out

getting in contact she tried to convince you to return, if not to Manchester then at least to football in general 

she was determined to help you to the England team just as you had fulfilled your vow to help her

you were hand-in-hand, knees bouncing anxiously, sat together when her efforts were proved successful 

Mary’s call-up came first, and hours of nervous waiting later, yours followed

it was earlier that morning that you had admitted the more than friendship feelings that had been realised between you since your return to Manchester

having woken up to find yourself sharing your bed again

(you had honestly lost count of how often it happened)

and you had refused to ignore it any longer

pulling her tighter in your grasp rather than slipping away

you soon found yourself spilling it all 

hence beginning a beautiful journey together in both romance and football as you prepared to head to Australia 

~~~~~~~~~~

I hope everyone continues to be as excited as I am about this series!! Big Mary day today🩵

[gossamerufansubs]

Who was "Eiyu Club"?

Eiyu Club, simply put, was a small independent production company in the late 1990s to late 2000s who primarily did low-budget android heroine tokusatsu movies. 

[A behind-the-scenes shot from Eiyu Club production Red Lilac: Dream of Shudder, presumably on the state-of-the-art landing pad for the action scenes.] 

It's been difficult to find an English-language summary of who they are, so I've done a bit of a dive into their history and how they worked. Join me below the cut to figure out who exactly Eiyu Club was, and how they made their films!

Now, at the risk of saying “I’m so sad Eiyu Club is dead… sometimes I can hear their voice”, there is still an iteration of Eiyu Club alive, although the focus in this post is on their earlier work, which definitely had a different flavor to it. They go by Akase Planning now, and while some of their more recent work hasn’t been as robot-girl focused, it looks like they may be doing more of that soon based on some recent video clips they’ve posted.

In regards to the Eiyu Club that once was, with immense help from @centrally-unplanned, I have cobbled together a vague picture of how Eiyu Club operated. Given the time period that I’m looking at (late 1990s, early 2000s), many of the webpages are gone but a few are saved via the Wayback Machine, which provided a large part of the information here. 

How did they sell their works?

For example, here is a snapshot of the Eiyu Club website at a time when they were preparing to sell “Dream Monster Ciao” DVDs. 

“We've kept you waiting for a long time. We are now accepting pre-orders for the Dream Monster Ciao DVD. The main feature and making-of are 22 minutes each, for a total of 44 minutes, and the price is 3,000 yen. It will be released at the end of February. We will include a photo with those who pre-order this time.”

Some classic hallmarks of Eiyu Club films are present here: the “making of” being nearly as long as the feature itself, the movies occasionally sold with add-ons (such as the photo), and pre-orders clearly meant for the fans of the group. Clearly they had a sales system for their merchandise, and had enough fans that pre-ordering from just the hype was even an option. 

But the VHSs and DVDs weren’t just sold online. Some, such as Red Lilac: Dream of Shudder, were sold at a hobby store Nipponbashi “Jungle” in Osaka. Apparently there was an event called the Indie Heroine Festival on March 28th, 1999, and Cyber Lady Suzuka - according to this information page - was presumably sold there.  

["Jungle" Hobby Shop in Osaka.]

Several of the videos were also sold at WonderFest (more casually known as WonFes).

[Red Lilac and Seria showing off VHSs of their works at WonFes 2002]

It looks like they attended on February 3rd, 2002 (image obtained via a WayBack Machine archive of the site).

They also sold Cyber Lady Suzuka during at least one Comiket (Summer 1999) according to one of the product pages, and were selling it at Video Market in Shinjuku, Tokyo, as well. According to this page, they sold about 350 units within 7 months of publishing. It can be difficult to find hard numbers on units sold, so this little factoid helped paint a picture of the scale that Eiyu Club was working at.

How did they get the word out?

Events were key to getting the word out about Eiyu Club’s work. One such event that Eiyu Club attended was Heroes Century ‘99. In a blog post about the day of the event, several other indie groups also attended, and other movies were screened as well. It was the first time the actress for Suzuka saw her titular film screened in front of an audience, causing her to be nervous, but it seems the event was in good cheer and it went well. 

[Meetup photo at the end of Heroes Century 1999]

Something else to note about the blog post is that apparently Heroes Century 2000 was supposedly held in the “Jungle” hobby store in Osaka, which I had mentioned earlier as a place that sold Eiyu Club merchandise. There is also an event listing on the Jungle website for 2001. 

Eiyu Club also apparently sold other items in addition to their movies, such as the Cyber Lady Suzuka Soundtrack. Akase Planning, which is the production company that Eiyu Club became, has a merch website where you can buy a keychain for their upcoming android girl video, although I can’t find information on if they sold such merchandise for their other works as well. 

[Cyber Lady Suzuka CD cover]

Something else that has interested me about Eiyu Club is the variety of locations that they frequented. For example, one of the Cyber Lady Suzuka filming locations was Kujime Motors, in Aichi, which is apparently still open and running today, 26 years later. In the credits for Cyber Lady Suzuka, they gave a shout-out to the Nagoya chapter of the Eiyu Club fanclub (as it appeared a lot of the film was filmed in the area). As noted before, Jungle in Osaka was another place that was a locus of activity for them as they did events and sold Eiyu Club merchandise. (Their website from this era says they focused heavily on independent movies, which makes sense for how strongly they championed Eiyu Club.) Since a lot of otaku culture was centered in Tokyo at the time, the breadth of their fanbase really showed in how widespread Eiyu Club enthusiasts were.

Who were the members of Eiyu Club?

Speaking of the credits, you can see from the cast and crew on Eiyu Club’s productions that it’s often the same core group of people. (Check out the Gossameru Fansubs website to see full credit lists from the movies.) According to the HEROINE Magazine Volume #2 article on their work, Eiyu Club members had pooled their money together to create their earlier works such as Cyber Lady Suzuka (1998), Red Lilac: Dream of Shudder (2001) and Blue Lilac: Pure Heart (2002), slowly upgrading their equipment as they went. The article also mentioned that Ausencia Memoria was their first work to use hired actresses, which was a huge step up for the group. The depth of community that group had in the early days shows in how their names repeat throughout the productions, and many times one person has three or more roles in the credits, showing a willingness to work extremely hard to finish the movie.

They worked with other groups/companies, such as SIGMA Modeling Studio (modeling as in, plastics modeling for masks and costumes) and If Action group, an action-oriented original character club. Nishida Special Effects Laboratory, which has a fairly extensive resume, did the explosives for Red Lilac.

There’s also the participation of individuals who worked outside of companies. On a page written by the person who did the costume design for the character of Blue Lilac, they also mentioned the person who did the sewing for it, who now does resin food modeling. There’s a person from the “Toyota City Hall Film Club” who says they did some of the music in Red Lilac (who can indeed be seen named in the credits).

Beyond what I’ve seen, I’m sure there is more Eiyu Club information to be found. Given how long ago this specific era of Eiyu Club was, much is lost to the ravages of time passing on the internet, or the decay of physical media. If anyone has more insights into how the group worked at the time, websites with more information, or more magazines that featured them, please share that information with me - I'd love to hear it!

[aurora567]

Little Mouse Ch. 29

Warnings this fic will contain mature themes. Such as but not limited to teasing, kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome, very unhealthy relationships, some elements of non-con/rape, threesomes, drug use, breath play, voyeurism, branding, sex.

Summery: Rin is suspicious and has Skeptic looking into Hawks. Also some more sexy time with Dabi and Rin.

Word Count: 3122

Last Chapter Next Chapter

Rin did not expect that finding information on one single human being could be so hard. Whoever was pulling Hawk’s strings worked incredibly hard to keep the hero and the man well split apart. Hawk’s the hero was everything. But the blonde haired nameless man was almost a ghost. Sure some hero’s kept their personal life’s as separate from their hero life’s as they could. But Hawk’s almost did not seem like he was human at all. No real name could be found. No family ties, no information about his childhood. No information on where he went to hero school. Then again maybe all that would come to light if she could just learn his real name. And yet she even stooped so low as to beg the annoying string bean under Re-Destro to go hunting for her.

After all, Skeptic was a pretty good hacker it seemed. She had to strike a deal with him. Swapping what knowledge she knew of hero’s and the works for what he could find out about the winged hero that called himself Hawk’s. Though even Skeptic seemed to struggle. Weeks were passing and Rin was getting nowhere with her attempt to figure out just who really is under the alias of the winged hero Hawk.

And said hero was an annoying pain in the ass. He seemed to be trying his hardest to hang around those who were higher ups. Working his way up to trying to chat with the lieutenants. Most paid him no attention. But poor Twice was the only one who seemed to put up with the annoying blonde. Rin had started to wonder. Was Twice lonely? Did he feel a need to try and always make new friends? Or was he just too nice and gullible?

The hero could not be trusted. His persona was fake. She had seen it many times among hero’s. The hero persona was a completely different person from the human behind the mask. At first she had assumed it was a type of dissociation. A way to leave the job at the agency and not take it home. Especially the hero’s who saw more grueling sights. Those who dealt with the true scum of the underworld or those who helped after disasters. Seeing a lot of death and just how horrible the world could be wore a person's brain down slowly.

Those people would wear their hero name the same as a mask. The hero and the human behind it were not always the same person. Was Hawk’s persona a symptom of his line of work? She did not think so. Nor originally. She had remembered him being much the same as when they were younger. His fake smile had been plastered on the blondes face since the first time she saw him grace her tv. It made her believe that the persona was not a way of coping. It was simply something he seemed to do for some reason. She assumed it was to get people to like him, to trust him, to hide what was really behind the persona. A lying slithering snake felt like it had made its way into her home.

And she did not hesitate to voice said thoughts to Dabi. Even at that moment as she laid among their bedsheets naked she watched Dabi’s naked ass as he bent over to pull the pack of cigarettes out of his discarded pants pockets.

“I don’t like him. Slimmy pest. It doesn’t sit right that we just let him come and go as he pleases,” she complained as she listened to Dabi give an exasperated sigh. She was sure that the poor man was tired of listening to her bitch.

“He passed the test. He killed the former number 3 hero in order to be brought in. All we can do is hope that annoying fuck can find something online,” Dabi says as he stuck the cancer stick into his mouth and proceeded to light it up with a pretty blue flame.

She frowned as she mulled that information over. She would have to have Skeptic look into that. Fuck she hated dealing with the creepy man who she was sure hated all the league members. But he was indeed valuable. She could see why Re-Destro kept him so close.

“Are you sure he was dead?” She couldn’t help but ask. The look he gave her told her that he was sure and she was sounding stupid.

“I’ve seen enough dead bodies. I think I know when someone is dead,” he growled at her with an exaggerated puff of smoke in her direction as he sauntered over to the bed before sitting down on the edge.

“I trust you. But I don’t trust that blonde pigeon. Till I know who owns his leash I am not going to be able to relax. Just thinking he could be walking around snooping makes my skin crawl,” she snarls herself. It reminded her of how it felt when she stayed with Overhaul. It felt like there was no privacy and someone was watching her. Great, she was growing paranoid. Her sanity was surely gone now. Oh well she was embracing it now.

“You got that skinny fuck working hard looking for you. If there is anything to be found he will probably find it. Just wait,” that earned the man a snort.

“Being told to be patient by you is fucking hilarious,” she said unable to help the snort as she struggled not to laugh. Of course Dabi did not appreciate that. The hard glare she earned herself would have once scared her. But now she saw it almost like a challenge. One that she rarely backed down from any more. Even though her body was still reviving from their last round only minutes ago. She would happily go again with him.

“Don’t fucking test me,” he threatened the half smoked cigarette still sitting between two fingers. Her eyes lingered on it as the tip turned bright red as he took a drag on it. Hmm she almost wondered would it hurt the same way to be burned by a cigarette than by his fingers? Did she want to learn the answer to her own question? Yes. But maybe not tonight, her body was already sore enough as it was.

“Mmm but it’s so fun,” she purrs at him as her half lid eyes move to look up from the burning cigarette at his lips up to those beautiful bright blue eyes of his.

“Fucking slut,” Dabi growls at her. Though she just giggled at the insult.

“You fucking love it,” she teased with a playful smirk.

She watched Dabi’s lips curl up into a wide smirk. But before he could do anything a knock at the door cockblocked them. Both contemplated ignoring it and just starting to fuck. But another loud knock had them both glaring at the door.

“Put on clothes and open the damn door. I have found something,” it was Skeptic who yelled through the door at the pair.

Rin perked up with excitement that finally something had been learned. She slipped from the bed. Throwing Dabi his pants before she stole his old white shirt, pulling it down her body as she was walking up to the door and swinging it open. She watched the string bean glare down at her.

“And you couldn’t put on more clothes?” He glared at her.

“Be happy we ain’t fucking while you talk,” she returned with her own glare as she watched the man look at her as if someone had suddenly slammed a piece of lemon into his mouth.

“Disgusting,” he spits at her.

“Just get this bull shit over and done with already,” Dabi calls out from his sat position on the bed. A second cigarette sitting between his lips but not yet lit up.

“Fine. Rin, what can you tell me about the Hero Public Safety Commission?” He asked, looking back at her after glaring at Dabi.

Rin paused as she blinked and thought over the question. As a sidekick she had dealt with the commission a little bit. But not as much as some hero’s would.

“They are a branch of the government that is responsible for hero civilian relationships. They are not hero’s themselves though. They are responsible for the hero licensing exams and a few hero related events. But honestly I never payed them a lot of attention. They don’t usually pop up too often in everyday stuff,” she said after a moment of thought as she tried to think of the last time she even talked or saw someone from the commission.

“Close enough,” the string bean grumbled, “they appear to have some sort of connection with the number two hero. They appear to be his benefactors. In short I found a trail of money that leads from the commission to the hero Hawks. I also found another regular payment going to another person. This one was less hidden as to their identity. When I looked into them I found that it was simply some old woman. No record of being a hero or a civil servant.”

“Where are you going with this long ass bull shit,” Dabi barked.

“If you would shut up and listen then you would quickly learn,” Skeptic snapped back. Ah yes the man did not hide his hatred for the League members well. Rin and Dabi both fell silent as a sign to try and encourage the man to continue.

“I traced some regular payments to one woman. A Tomie Takami. It seems she lives completely off of the Commision. It was odd, a woman with no past job, no obvious connection to the commision. She does have a husband who is in jail due to his list of felonies. I feel like she is someone who should be talked to,” Skeptic said as he pulled his laptop almost out of thin air and proceeded to pull up some informational page about this woman.

Rin took in the view of the woman. Her shaggy blonde hair looked very similar to that of the annoying blonde pigeon she hated. If this woman was not related to Hawks she would have been surprised.

“You’re a genius Skeptic,” the woman smirked as she took in the information he gathered on the middle aged woman. Her praise just earned her a scoff. Whatever she would no longer have to put up with the man’s sour mood now, “can you print me off all the information about her you learned?”

“Of course. Now if you do not mind, never ask me for anything again,” the string bean announced before he shut his laptop, turned on his heel and started walking away as Rin rolled her eyes before closing the door to their bedroom.

“I’m gonna roast that fucker,” Dabi growled about to stand up and chase after Skeptic to no doubt follow through with that threat.

“Sit your ass back down. You can’t do that even if you want to. First, that annoying bastard is important. I hate his annoying ass too. But his skills are important and we still need him alive,” she said, pressing her right hand on his chest when he started to stand up and pressed Dabi back down to the edge of the bed. She watched his scowl at her about to yell at her before she moved to straddle his lap. That seemed to have his temper simmer down a little as his hands started to roam over her soft flesh and under his shirt.

“We should go talk to that Ms. Takami. See what information she may have on the commission and our annoying pigeon,” Rin said as she straddled Dabi’s lap. Her hips started to find a slow and languid pace. That earned her a soft hiss as air rushed through clenched teeth beneath her.

She was simply teasing Dabi with her body and they both knew it. But neither were complaining. Her hips found themselves grinding against him with a lazy ease. It did the job, he was already growing hard beneath her and it kept Dabi from chasing after that fucking asshole who showed them no respect.

“Yeah yeah we will look into things but not right now,” Dabi said, biting back a groan.

Ah yes Rin liked how much more easy going Dabi could be some times when he was horny. Well sometimes. It was never a guarantee that sex would keep his anger at bay but sometimes it did offer a distraction.

“Thanks,” she purred at him as she ran her finger along the marred and unmarred skin of his chest. She leaned forwards and started to trail kisses over the line beside his lips and followed the line of mixed skin. Careful that she did not do anything to irritate the staples or the injured skin. She assumed the burnt skin could not feel anything. Still that did not stop her from gently trying to show the skin some attention. Gentle glances of her fingertips along the staples, kisses along the lines of good and damaged skin.

Her hips moving against him. The material of his pants against her bare pussy was not enough for her. And knowing the only thing between her and that wonderful dick was the rough material of his old worn pants was annoying. As much as she wanted to explore the body beneath her to her heart's content, she didn’t have the patience to do so. Fingers danced down the marked chest before reaching the pants that were in her way. Fingers were swift as the button was undone, and the zipper nearly ripped open.

His hard cock sprung free with ease once the confinement of his pants was removed. The muscles in her body were still screaming from their last round they had barely finished before being interrupted. And yet she was not going to let some sore muscles stop her from having a little fun. Hot hands had grabbed her hips as she found herself being pulled closer to him.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she nearly clung to him. Her hips shifted and his length slid along her folds. The cold feeling of the metal bar on his tip earned a hiss from her at the sudden cold sensation at the first touch. Luckily it warmed quickly with the heat from both bodies. Then the ball became a lovely feeling any time it glimpsed her swollen and still very sensitive clit.

She was already letting out soft moans and pants and Dabi wasn’t even buried deep into her body. She needed to fix that and she was going to fix it now. Her hips shifted and she let her body drop lower. The stretch burned slightly from the earlier abuse. And yet she loved it. She let out a low slow moan as her hips met his. His hard cock buried deep within her hot body. Her head nuzzled into the crock of Dabi’s neck as she panted. Her hips moved slowly as she tried to keep him buried deep in her and just gave slow rolls of her hips.

The stench of burnt flesh filled her nose as she buried her nose against the damaged skin. It was far from a pleasant smell, and yet it was all Dabi. And in a way she loved it.

The hot hands on her hips finally took control as the man grew tired of her languid pace. The hands tightened their grip before they started to lift her up and nearly lift her off of him before she was dragged down fast and hard. It drew soft screams from her lips in pleasure. She did not fight him as she let his hands control the pace of her hips and his hips would thrust up to meet her as she dropped.

She was chanting Dabi’s name as if that the man fucking her was some god. Then again to her he was one. If Dabi told her to do something she would do it without hesitation. His words were law, her life was his to do what he pleased with her. Her body was for him to use as he pleased. And so when the low growl in her ear told her to cum she was unable to stop it. In a second her toes had curled. Her head was thrown back and she screamed out as an unexpected orgasm crashed into her hard. She could feel him fill her with more of his cum. But she couldn’t focus on the fun as she was slowly blinking her eyes as she waited for her orgasm to finish crashing into her body. Her body went limp once the sensation of her orgasm started to fade.

Her face crashed into a shaking chest. She grumbled an almost inaudible, “what?”

“Well aren’t you a well trained little pet,” she listened to him taunting her. Ugh she did not have the energy to deal with him. And yet she still slowly pushed away from him so she could look up at him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” She asked, looking unimpressed with him.

“You just came on demand. Like were you even close before I told you to cum?” He asked as he chuckled at her. She opened her mouth about to bite back that of course she had been. But then again she wasn’t so sure. Sure she had been having a hell of a fun time. But had she been ready to cum? She did not think so.

Did she really just cum on command? Like some dog told to sit and she did. Fucking hell that was both hot as hell but also embarrassing as she watched the smug look on his face.

“No. I had been about ready to cum. I had simply been trying to find the right time to cum,” she said simply. But they both knew that was a load of shit. Sure she had been incredibly turned on. But she had not been ready to cum when she did. And holy fuck it has been a hell of a good orgasm. She could only hope she could do that next time.

“Ugh I’m too exhausted to deal with you right now. Let me nap,” she grumbled as she snuggled up into Dabi’s warm chest as she let out a yawn.

“Nap. Then we will see if we can find that woman Skeptic mentioned,” Dabi offered.

“Yeah sounds good,” she mumbled as she closed her eyes and let herself drift off while Dabi’s cock was still buried deep into her.

Next Chapter

[inevitablesurrender]

Since everyone's gotten their gifts already (why wait when you observe nothing in particular, honestly): I went shopping at Meow Wolf's online store. Yes, the people behind Omega Mart, House of Eternal Return, et all. There was a sale, there was an additional coupon involved because some newsletters are actually interesting, and I made the mistake of actually looking at their store.

...........50% off and very irresistible to me personally. Because it seems to have been made for me personally. ...Gotta give yourself gifts sometime too. It is actually so much brighter than this in person, it's so good.

Pins for Schala! I had the "bunny shark" pin in my cart before I even saw its title was "Power in Numbers", so extra yes. And the 3D rainbow pin was going in the cart no matter what, but there was a big bold "20% of proceeds will be donated to the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico" next to it, and fuck yes, please and thank you.

I still don't know if it's a glitch or a feature, but the mug I snagged for the housemate is not find-able through the web site if you're just browsing products. You have to text search for "mug" before it pops up, and I frankly really enjoyed that so of course this was needed. Yes the hole goes all the way through, and it's a very solid quality mug so it's not nearly as lightweight as I thought it might be. Not a complaint. (I also got him a hand-woven scarf because I hadn't ordered it fast enough last time it was available and pounced on it this time, but I... forgot to get a picture of it.)

But the thing I saw that assured me I needed to give them a little of my money?

I. Needed this. I am non-binary, but this is so... This is so. I have not tried it yet. I may save it for my actual birthday, we'll see, but I didn't particularly buy it for the very real drink inside. I just hope it tastes as good as they're making it sound, but if not... it's still worth $5 for the can.

Also, in case anyone is interested in browsing their store, the order was very carefully packed and arrived with no trouble at all. Understandably nervous ordering a carbonated beverage in the mail anywhere near this time of year, but this one worked out fine.

[blue-moon-island123]

Personal Tangent on my Weightloss Journey

I've been on a weightloss journey/health and fitness journey and today just really made me realize how far I've come since September 2022, which is when I started focusing on my health.

For so long, basically my entire life, weight has always been a struggle and somewhere in my early to mid 20's I accepted myself, I loved myself. I was size 22/24 and I loved myself as I was and didn't have the drive or mindset really to want to change. I felt good where I was, my mental health improved and I stopped caring about other people's perception of me, if a random stranger had a problem with me, that was on them and their problem not mine. That mindset hasn't changed.

But lo and behold a few years later, between my own health concerns and a death in the family that hit me hard, I wanted to make a change to better myself. So I started working on overcoming my anxiety for the gym (Covid and germ related anxiety), and being a bit more mindful of what I ate (I was already doing this before hand to try and manage my migraine/cluster headaches...I had a really bad episode summer of 2022). I didn't count calories, I was just being more picky and not people pleasing and basically being selfish. I went to the gym...and eventually...after like a month or two of exposure to the environment, my anxiety lessened to the point that I no longer had anxiety.

Then in like January 2023, I decided that for me, just to make myself accountable, I was going to track calories. I was a little hesitant at first because I didn't know how this would affect me mentally, if it was make me obsessive or worse. But for me, I thankfully did not, it just helped as a tool to see my habits, see if and where I needed to change a little.

And I guess what I really wanted to rant about was how I still perceive myself as I was. I've lost over 70lbs but I don't always see it. I still wear the same clothes I wore as a 22/24, I know and feel how baggy they are and I know I'm smaller in size but I still have a hard time perceiving it. And today my mom convinced me to go dress shopping at the mall. And I was (still kind of am) convinced that I wouldn't find anything I like in my size because that's how it always has been... I've either needed to order my size online or essentially stick with stores that cater to plus size women. But after not finding anything in the plus size section at Macy's (unsurprisingly), my mom wanted me to try the other section. I figured I'd amuse her, knowing that none of the dresses would fit, that I'm still too big. So I took the biggest sized dresses they had (size 16) in the regular dress section. And to my fucking amazement they fit...almost every fucking dress I tried as a size 16 fucking fit (a few did not, but lets just say the girls were a little too big for the cut)...and I realized and really saw myself for that moment in time just how much smaller I am. And I just...I can't get over my perception of myself...it will be a mental struggle as I start to love the body I have worked hard for...the body that is healthier...the body that makes me feel better and is stronger.

And I know I will have difficult days ahead because even though I know woman's sizing are not standardized and the number will fluctuate depending in the brand, I will not always fit into the same size in every brand I try. But still I can't believe that last year I bought a size 24 dress and today bought a dress in a size 16.

Just kind of needed to go off a bit as I process the day. Thanks for reading if you got to the end!

TL;DR: Went from a size 24 to a size 16 in 8 months and needing to process that fact as I come to terms with my new body.

[mariacallous]

It was an opportunity too good for Meta to ignore: On January 19, TikTok, one of its biggest social media rivals, was set to go dark across the United States when a new national security law went into effect. In the days and weeks before the ban, as millions of Americans were scrambling to find a suitable alternative to TikTok, Meta found ways to promote Instagram and Facebook as the answer. The tech giant made a flurry of design tweaks, rolled out new features, and ran advertisements that all positioned its platforms—and especially its video product, Reels—as direct competitors to TikTok.

Instagram has scaled back its in-app shopping initiatives in recent years, but on Friday, Meta showed off a new feature that appears to be directly ripped from TikTok Shop, TikTok’s widely successful ecommerce platform. In a promotional video, two shopping creators working for Meta explained how influencers can now “more prominently display” products they are marketing in Reels. Instead of putting an Amazon or Walmart link in the comments, they can add a banner directing viewers to click on the item at the bottom of their videos—just like how it works on TikTok Shop.

Some of Meta’s other efforts were just as pointed. Right before TikTok stopped working for roughly 14 hours on Saturday, some people reported that among the last things they saw on the platform were sponsored posts for Instagram. “Unsurprisingly, as TikTok goes down tonight, Meta is flooding my FYP with ads for Instagram,” one person said in a Bluesky post, referring to TikTok’s AI-powered For You Page feed. “In my last hour of TikTok I saw ads for instagram,” another person said on Threads.

TikTok’s Ad Library, a transparency tool that allows anyone to search what paid campaigns are running on the platform, shows that Meta ran dozens of sponsored videos about Instagram and Reels in January that were collectively viewed by millions of users. But the tool includes data from only a select number of countries—mostly in Europe—and doesn’t cover what ads TikTok users may have seen in the United States. Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Facebook, a number of people reported seeing a different promotion appear on their news feeds last week, encouraging them to link their TikTok accounts to their Facebook pages. “Build your social presence across apps by showing your TikTok profile link and follower count on your Facebook Page,” one version of the message read.

Given the timing, “this feels a bit passive aggressive,” one user wrote on X along with a screenshot of the banner. “Facebook is trolling users by suggesting we add our TikTok accounts to our Facebook pages,” joked another person.

The prompt appears to be connected to a feature Meta launched last month that allows users to display their YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram handles and follower counts on Facebook. However, the banner that people reported seeing in recent days mentioned only TikTok by name. The feature makes it easier for creators’ followers on other platforms to find and follow them on Facebook.

TikTok announced it was coming back online in the US on January 19, after president-elect Donald Trump signaled he would sign an executive order following his inauguration the next day extending the deadline for the new law to take full effect. But Capcut, the beloved video-editing app run by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, remained inaccessible for many people until Monday. Meta rushed to fill the gap, announcing it was launching a new editing app called Edits that appears to be a clone of CapCut. It will be available on Android next month.

Meta also announced a slew of new Instagram Reels features last week that bring the app closer in line with TikTok, not all of which were welcomed by existing users. One is a new tab that lets people see what Reels their mutuals are liking and commenting on, as well as a “reply bar” to engage with that activity. Instagram users can also now upload Reels up to three minutes long, up from 90 seconds (TikTok allows clips up to 60 minutes).

Perhaps the starkest change Instagram made, however, was to suddenly switch the shape of photos and videos on every user's profile from square to rectangular, mimicking how such content appears on TikTok. The move was met with swift backlash, and many Instagram creators complained that the aesthetic grids they had carefully cultivated over years on Instagram were now ruined.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, acknowledged the negative feedback on Monday and said that the company would make it easier for users to customize their own feeds moving forward. “One of the mistakes I made was not giving people enough of a heads up,” he said in a post on Threads.

It’s not clear whether Meta’s strategy will be enough to convince loyal TikTok users to join its platforms or spend more time on them. During the hours that TikTok was inaccessible, Instagram and Facebook appeared to receive only a modest increase in daily active users and downloads, according to the market research firm Sensor Tower.

At least so far, many of Meta’s overtures have been met with suspicion. When TikTok came back online, conspiracy theories began spreading on the platform that Meta was going to take a stake in the company. Horrified creators specifically pointed to what they believed was a “new” official Facebook profile on TikTok as evidence. In reality, however, screenshots from the Internet Archive show that the account has existed since at least 2022.

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Here at GQ Recommends, we spend countless hours toiling in the e-comm trenches to curate cool things to buy so you can shop like one of us, whether you’re looking for a new suit or a fresh 3-pack of boxer briefs. Our unrivaled window shopping brings you everything from the best new menswear to the hottest menswear deals. But do those selects always align with our own personal order histories? They do not. So we thought we’d give you a tantalizing peek into our very own actual non-imaginary shopping carts, courtesy of our absolute favorite purchases of the entire year, 16 products that GQ staffers enjoyed the most in 2024.Ian Burke, Senior Commerce EditorJ.CrewRugby Shirt With Striped PlacketI've always liked rugby shirts, but since I started coming into the office three days a week, I've really leaned into the look—probably to a fault. (If outfit repeating is a crime, I'm getting multiple life sentences.) I snagged this dress-it-up-or-dress-it-down joint from J.Crew in all the colors they offer, and honestly, I wear them more than I should. They fit great and make your shoulders look jacked, too.Bowen Fernie, Visuals EditorKoala EcoStarter CollectionI’ve been on the hunt for nice-looking, refillable, non-toxic cleaning products that would make my house smell good without wrecking the environment. Koala Eco checks all of those boxes, and I can’t recommend them enough. 5 stars for the laundry detergent and kitchen spray. Catch them while they’re not sold out!Gaylord Fields, Copy ManagerSandwich Isles/First BreakVintage 1960s Hawaiian JacketSomeone once described my fashion sense as “early ’60s civil rights worker.” But it’s the opposite of passive resistance when I accentuate my typical uniform of oxford shirt and slim-fit chinos with the psychedelic Polynesian patterns of a vintage Sandwich Isles sport coat. This is blazer number six since I began collecting this long-defunct Hawaiian brand in the aughts, but thanks-no-thanks to its recent discovery by tikiphiles worldwide, I paid more for this one jacket than my other five—combined.Mick Rouse, Global Research DirectorWilsonPro Staff 97 V14 tennis racquetMy trustiest of companions! I've been playing tennis with Wilson's Pro Staff line of racquets for over 15 years now. Over the course of 2024, I demoed pretty much every other racquet on the market, thinking it might be time for a change. Ultimately, though, I wound up right where I started, but with Wilson's latest (and arguably most beautiful) iteration of the Pro Staff 97. Don't get me started on strings, though...Kelsey Niziolek, DesignerComme des GarconsComme des Garcons “Series 6 Synthetic: Tar” FragranceWhat's better than smelling like asphalt and car exhaust? I can't stop sniffing my wrist when I spray this stuff on. It's much easier than walking past the gas station to get a whiff of gasoline (my favorite smell).Raymond Ang, Associate Director of Editorial OperationsMott NYCHaircut at Mott NYCIn a moment of temporary insanity, I went to Mitch Wolf, my trusted hairstylist of almost a year now, and told him to give me whatever haircut he thinks I should have, completely letting him have his way with my mop. After about an hour of queasily avoiding to look at the mirror, I looked up to find my overgrown mane transformed into a short fringe—something I would’ve never thought to get but turns out, compliments my pork bun-shaped cheeks. The new haircut eventually went multi-platinum in my DMs. Sometimes, I guess, you have to roll the dice a little.Martin Mulkeen, Global Commerce Category DirectorWrangler13MWZ Cowboy Cut Original Fit JeansA few months back I picked up my first pair of Wrangler's after a colleague tipped me off to a ludicrous sale, and boy, I haven't been this excited about breaking in stiff-as-hell denim since walking into the ocean in A.P.C. New Cures 15 years ago.Michael Houtz, Art DirectorTodd SnyderItalian Suede Snap Dylan JacketWhen I saw a black suede Dylan surface online for half the price (NWT!), I said to myself; don’t think twice, it’s all right.Gerald Ortiz, Style Commerce WriterKlean KanteenRecycled Stainless-Steel Water Bottle with Loop CapAs much as I liked my old water bottle, I'm trying to limit the plastic in my life. So like any neurotic professional shopper, I searched for a very specific water bottle, one made of stainless steel, with a wide mouth for easy cleaning, dead-simple construction with no extraneous parts, and a handle. Turns out, it's not that easy to find. I eventually landed on this one from Klean Kanteen and have never been more quenched.Anthony O'Baner Jr., Executive Assistant to the Global Editorial DirectorThank god for a naturally fast metabolism, because I have consumed at least 30 bags of this candy since summer 2024. There's something magical about the crunch quickly followed by the gummy texture. I haven't felt true nostalgia like this since rewatching Ed, Edd, and Eddy.Peter Lee, Associate Director of Social Creative for GQ SportsPumaScuderia Ferrari Suede XL Desert Motorsport ShoesPuma has been dropping some serious heat with their F1 merch line and their recent collab with Ferrari for the Vegas Grand Prix might be their best yet. The desert inspired remix of the Suede Classic is both super comfortable and has a unique faded red (pink?) colorway so I find myself constantly wearing it. With Lewis Hamilton joining Charles Leclerc next season, Ferrari is probably the coolest F1 team to rep on your kicks.Stephanie Tran, Visuals DirectorSaint LaurentNour SlippersI got the last pair in a textured leather at the SoHo store and they're the most elegant shoe I have laid eyes on in 2024. Maybe ever!Michael Nolledo, Associate Commerce DirectorStudio NicholsonSorte PantsHow big should your pants be? It’s a terrible dilemma. After a few seasons of my bottoms getting bigger and wider at the expense of my poor legs, I spent the last year on a serious hunt for my preferred fit, trying on a pendulum swinging's worth of different silhouettes. Turns out my appetite for wide-legged pants is still strong because the best ones I bought all year were these big honkin’ high-wasted chinos from Studio Nicholson. It has a perfect weight for all temperatures. The peached cotton fabric rumples handsomely. And the exaggerated single pleat could cut a man. They’re the most voluminous pants I own, and somehow also the most versatile. It could be easy to scoff at copping pants as spendy as these, but regrets, I have none.Tyler Chin, Associate Lifestyle EditorEngineered GarmentsTrucker JacketCorduroy is a year-round fabric, and I'll die on that hill, even if it means I'm all shriveled up in the middle of August while wearing cord shorts. I guess fall and winter are the best times for the fabric, and my trusty new Engineered Garments jacket has been waiting for its time to shine since I bought it back in January. It's the perfect boxy fit, slightly cropped to hit right above my waist. It's lined and heavy, good enough to keep me warm when it's around 40 degrees, but works great as a middle-weight layer under an overcoat when it's really truly corduroy season.Yang-Yi Goh, Style EditorEasy CowboyCustom Leather Tote BagSometimes, the algorithm really does deliver. One fateful day last December—during that interminable, vacuous week between Christmas and New Year’s—I had entered into a near-unbreakable symbiosis with my couch, buried beneath a freshly fallen layer of Ferrero Rocher wrappers, when I spotted something intriguing on my Instagram Explore page.It was a rolltop duffel bag, exquisitely crafted from undyed natural leather and covered in a sublime smattering of handpainted illustrations: a trio of greyhounds on the racetrack here, an ’80s Toyota pickup there. A couple taps later, I’d learned that this was the work of a fella named Erich, a.k.a. Easy Cowboy, from my hometown of Toronto; a few more taps and I’d sent a DM asking if he’d make me an everyday work tote.And boy, did he ever. Two months later, I picked up my glorious new It bag, which Erich had painstakingly decorated with a jumble of words and images I’d picked out—some aspirational, like the old-school Volvo station wagon I hope to own someday; some goofy, like Kermit the Frog in a cowboy hat; some meaningful, like the name of my late and deeply beloved pup Ziggy. It’s been a joy to carry to the office every day this year, not merely because it’s exponentially more functional and distinguished than the worn-to-threads New Yorker tote I’d used previously, but also because the leather deepens and ages and grows more beautiful with each use. I can’t wait to find out just how good it’ll look five, 10, even 50 years down the road.Reed Nelson, ContributorNothin' SpecialNOrange Double-Knee PantsI got a pair of Nothin’ Special’s NOrange Double-Knee Pants in July and they became one of my favorite pairs of pants immediately. They’re handmade in Brooklyn by designer Ryo Matsuoka, and you’ll find more consideration in a randomly selected square inch of these tanks than you will on most pants in their entirety. I’ve treated mine with the kind of reckless abandon that normally gets documented in a police blotter, and they somehow look better than they did on day one. (I also dry them regularly, without consequence.)Avidan Grossman, Senior Commerce EditorDr. Dennis GrossAlpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel PadsExfoliating is good for your skin. We know this. You know this. But, like going to bed early or doing more cardio, it’s one of those tidbits of information you come across online and think Huh, I should really do that...before un-pausing Netflix and forgetting about it entirely. Enter Dr. Dennis Gross’ gentle face pads, a duo of pre-soaked wipes that come packed with a who’s who of nourishing ingredients, like lactic acid, willow bark extract, and colloidal oatmeal. A 5-pack costs less than 20 bucks, and they’re ridiculously easy to use. Swipe your face with one, wait a couple of minutes, then do the same with the other. That’s it. The whole process is as seamless as ordering in Chipotle—if an overstuffed burrito bowl (double chicken, extra guac) came with the power to help you feel holiday-party ready. Source link

[norajworld]

Here at GQ Recommends, we spend countless hours toiling in the e-comm trenches to curate cool things to buy so you can shop like one of us, whether you’re looking for a new suit or a fresh 3-pack of boxer briefs. Our unrivaled window shopping brings you everything from the best new menswear to the hottest menswear deals. But do those selects always align with our own personal order histories? They do not. So we thought we’d give you a tantalizing peek into our very own actual non-imaginary shopping carts, courtesy of our absolute favorite purchases of the entire year, 16 products that GQ staffers enjoyed the most in 2024.Ian Burke, Senior Commerce EditorJ.CrewRugby Shirt With Striped PlacketI've always liked rugby shirts, but since I started coming into the office three days a week, I've really leaned into the look—probably to a fault. (If outfit repeating is a crime, I'm getting multiple life sentences.) I snagged this dress-it-up-or-dress-it-down joint from J.Crew in all the colors they offer, and honestly, I wear them more than I should. They fit great and make your shoulders look jacked, too.Bowen Fernie, Visuals EditorKoala EcoStarter CollectionI’ve been on the hunt for nice-looking, refillable, non-toxic cleaning products that would make my house smell good without wrecking the environment. Koala Eco checks all of those boxes, and I can’t recommend them enough. 5 stars for the laundry detergent and kitchen spray. Catch them while they’re not sold out!Gaylord Fields, Copy ManagerSandwich Isles/First BreakVintage 1960s Hawaiian JacketSomeone once described my fashion sense as “early ’60s civil rights worker.” But it’s the opposite of passive resistance when I accentuate my typical uniform of oxford shirt and slim-fit chinos with the psychedelic Polynesian patterns of a vintage Sandwich Isles sport coat. This is blazer number six since I began collecting this long-defunct Hawaiian brand in the aughts, but thanks-no-thanks to its recent discovery by tikiphiles worldwide, I paid more for this one jacket than my other five—combined.Mick Rouse, Global Research DirectorWilsonPro Staff 97 V14 tennis racquetMy trustiest of companions! I've been playing tennis with Wilson's Pro Staff line of racquets for over 15 years now. Over the course of 2024, I demoed pretty much every other racquet on the market, thinking it might be time for a change. Ultimately, though, I wound up right where I started, but with Wilson's latest (and arguably most beautiful) iteration of the Pro Staff 97. Don't get me started on strings, though...Kelsey Niziolek, DesignerComme des GarconsComme des Garcons “Series 6 Synthetic: Tar” FragranceWhat's better than smelling like asphalt and car exhaust? I can't stop sniffing my wrist when I spray this stuff on. It's much easier than walking past the gas station to get a whiff of gasoline (my favorite smell).Raymond Ang, Associate Director of Editorial OperationsMott NYCHaircut at Mott NYCIn a moment of temporary insanity, I went to Mitch Wolf, my trusted hairstylist of almost a year now, and told him to give me whatever haircut he thinks I should have, completely letting him have his way with my mop. After about an hour of queasily avoiding to look at the mirror, I looked up to find my overgrown mane transformed into a short fringe—something I would’ve never thought to get but turns out, compliments my pork bun-shaped cheeks. The new haircut eventually went multi-platinum in my DMs. Sometimes, I guess, you have to roll the dice a little.Martin Mulkeen, Global Commerce Category DirectorWrangler13MWZ Cowboy Cut Original Fit JeansA few months back I picked up my first pair of Wrangler's after a colleague tipped me off to a ludicrous sale, and boy, I haven't been this excited about breaking in stiff-as-hell denim since walking into the ocean in A.P.C. New Cures 15 years ago.Michael Houtz, Art DirectorTodd SnyderItalian Suede Snap Dylan JacketWhen I saw a black suede Dylan surface online for half the price (NWT!), I said to myself; don’t think twice, it’s all right.Gerald Ortiz, Style Commerce WriterKlean KanteenRecycled Stainless-Steel Water Bottle with Loop CapAs much as I liked my old water bottle, I'm trying to limit the plastic in my life. So like any neurotic professional shopper, I searched for a very specific water bottle, one made of stainless steel, with a wide mouth for easy cleaning, dead-simple construction with no extraneous parts, and a handle. Turns out, it's not that easy to find. I eventually landed on this one from Klean Kanteen and have never been more quenched.Anthony O'Baner Jr., Executive Assistant to the Global Editorial DirectorThank god for a naturally fast metabolism, because I have consumed at least 30 bags of this candy since summer 2024. There's something magical about the crunch quickly followed by the gummy texture. I haven't felt true nostalgia like this since rewatching Ed, Edd, and Eddy.Peter Lee, Associate Director of Social Creative for GQ SportsPumaScuderia Ferrari Suede XL Desert Motorsport ShoesPuma has been dropping some serious heat with their F1 merch line and their recent collab with Ferrari for the Vegas Grand Prix might be their best yet. The desert inspired remix of the Suede Classic is both super comfortable and has a unique faded red (pink?) colorway so I find myself constantly wearing it. With Lewis Hamilton joining Charles Leclerc next season, Ferrari is probably the coolest F1 team to rep on your kicks.Stephanie Tran, Visuals DirectorSaint LaurentNour SlippersI got the last pair in a textured leather at the SoHo store and they're the most elegant shoe I have laid eyes on in 2024. Maybe ever!Michael Nolledo, Associate Commerce DirectorStudio NicholsonSorte PantsHow big should your pants be? It’s a terrible dilemma. After a few seasons of my bottoms getting bigger and wider at the expense of my poor legs, I spent the last year on a serious hunt for my preferred fit, trying on a pendulum swinging's worth of different silhouettes. Turns out my appetite for wide-legged pants is still strong because the best ones I bought all year were these big honkin’ high-wasted chinos from Studio Nicholson. It has a perfect weight for all temperatures. The peached cotton fabric rumples handsomely. And the exaggerated single pleat could cut a man. They’re the most voluminous pants I own, and somehow also the most versatile. It could be easy to scoff at copping pants as spendy as these, but regrets, I have none.Tyler Chin, Associate Lifestyle EditorEngineered GarmentsTrucker JacketCorduroy is a year-round fabric, and I'll die on that hill, even if it means I'm all shriveled up in the middle of August while wearing cord shorts. I guess fall and winter are the best times for the fabric, and my trusty new Engineered Garments jacket has been waiting for its time to shine since I bought it back in January. It's the perfect boxy fit, slightly cropped to hit right above my waist. It's lined and heavy, good enough to keep me warm when it's around 40 degrees, but works great as a middle-weight layer under an overcoat when it's really truly corduroy season.Yang-Yi Goh, Style EditorEasy CowboyCustom Leather Tote BagSometimes, the algorithm really does deliver. One fateful day last December—during that interminable, vacuous week between Christmas and New Year’s—I had entered into a near-unbreakable symbiosis with my couch, buried beneath a freshly fallen layer of Ferrero Rocher wrappers, when I spotted something intriguing on my Instagram Explore page.It was a rolltop duffel bag, exquisitely crafted from undyed natural leather and covered in a sublime smattering of handpainted illustrations: a trio of greyhounds on the racetrack here, an ’80s Toyota pickup there. A couple taps later, I’d learned that this was the work of a fella named Erich, a.k.a. Easy Cowboy, from my hometown of Toronto; a few more taps and I’d sent a DM asking if he’d make me an everyday work tote.And boy, did he ever. Two months later, I picked up my glorious new It bag, which Erich had painstakingly decorated with a jumble of words and images I’d picked out—some aspirational, like the old-school Volvo station wagon I hope to own someday; some goofy, like Kermit the Frog in a cowboy hat; some meaningful, like the name of my late and deeply beloved pup Ziggy. It’s been a joy to carry to the office every day this year, not merely because it’s exponentially more functional and distinguished than the worn-to-threads New Yorker tote I’d used previously, but also because the leather deepens and ages and grows more beautiful with each use. I can’t wait to find out just how good it’ll look five, 10, even 50 years down the road.Reed Nelson, ContributorNothin' SpecialNOrange Double-Knee PantsI got a pair of Nothin’ Special’s NOrange Double-Knee Pants in July and they became one of my favorite pairs of pants immediately. They’re handmade in Brooklyn by designer Ryo Matsuoka, and you’ll find more consideration in a randomly selected square inch of these tanks than you will on most pants in their entirety. I’ve treated mine with the kind of reckless abandon that normally gets documented in a police blotter, and they somehow look better than they did on day one. (I also dry them regularly, without consequence.)Avidan Grossman, Senior Commerce EditorDr. Dennis GrossAlpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel PadsExfoliating is good for your skin. We know this. You know this. But, like going to bed early or doing more cardio, it’s one of those tidbits of information you come across online and think Huh, I should really do that...before un-pausing Netflix and forgetting about it entirely. Enter Dr. Dennis Gross’ gentle face pads, a duo of pre-soaked wipes that come packed with a who’s who of nourishing ingredients, like lactic acid, willow bark extract, and colloidal oatmeal. A 5-pack costs less than 20 bucks, and they’re ridiculously easy to use. Swipe your face with one, wait a couple of minutes, then do the same with the other. That’s it. The whole process is as seamless as ordering in Chipotle—if an overstuffed burrito bowl (double chicken, extra guac) came with the power to help you feel holiday-party ready. Source link

[ellajme0]

Here at GQ Recommends, we spend countless hours toiling in the e-comm trenches to curate cool things to buy so you can shop like one of us, whether you’re looking for a new suit or a fresh 3-pack of boxer briefs. Our unrivaled window shopping brings you everything from the best new menswear to the hottest menswear deals. But do those selects always align with our own personal order histories? They do not. So we thought we’d give you a tantalizing peek into our very own actual non-imaginary shopping carts, courtesy of our absolute favorite purchases of the entire year, 16 products that GQ staffers enjoyed the most in 2024.Ian Burke, Senior Commerce EditorJ.CrewRugby Shirt With Striped PlacketI've always liked rugby shirts, but since I started coming into the office three days a week, I've really leaned into the look—probably to a fault. (If outfit repeating is a crime, I'm getting multiple life sentences.) I snagged this dress-it-up-or-dress-it-down joint from J.Crew in all the colors they offer, and honestly, I wear them more than I should. They fit great and make your shoulders look jacked, too.Bowen Fernie, Visuals EditorKoala EcoStarter CollectionI’ve been on the hunt for nice-looking, refillable, non-toxic cleaning products that would make my house smell good without wrecking the environment. Koala Eco checks all of those boxes, and I can’t recommend them enough. 5 stars for the laundry detergent and kitchen spray. Catch them while they’re not sold out!Gaylord Fields, Copy ManagerSandwich Isles/First BreakVintage 1960s Hawaiian JacketSomeone once described my fashion sense as “early ’60s civil rights worker.” But it’s the opposite of passive resistance when I accentuate my typical uniform of oxford shirt and slim-fit chinos with the psychedelic Polynesian patterns of a vintage Sandwich Isles sport coat. This is blazer number six since I began collecting this long-defunct Hawaiian brand in the aughts, but thanks-no-thanks to its recent discovery by tikiphiles worldwide, I paid more for this one jacket than my other five—combined.Mick Rouse, Global Research DirectorWilsonPro Staff 97 V14 tennis racquetMy trustiest of companions! I've been playing tennis with Wilson's Pro Staff line of racquets for over 15 years now. Over the course of 2024, I demoed pretty much every other racquet on the market, thinking it might be time for a change. Ultimately, though, I wound up right where I started, but with Wilson's latest (and arguably most beautiful) iteration of the Pro Staff 97. Don't get me started on strings, though...Kelsey Niziolek, DesignerComme des GarconsComme des Garcons “Series 6 Synthetic: Tar” FragranceWhat's better than smelling like asphalt and car exhaust? I can't stop sniffing my wrist when I spray this stuff on. It's much easier than walking past the gas station to get a whiff of gasoline (my favorite smell).Raymond Ang, Associate Director of Editorial OperationsMott NYCHaircut at Mott NYCIn a moment of temporary insanity, I went to Mitch Wolf, my trusted hairstylist of almost a year now, and told him to give me whatever haircut he thinks I should have, completely letting him have his way with my mop. After about an hour of queasily avoiding to look at the mirror, I looked up to find my overgrown mane transformed into a short fringe—something I would’ve never thought to get but turns out, compliments my pork bun-shaped cheeks. The new haircut eventually went multi-platinum in my DMs. Sometimes, I guess, you have to roll the dice a little.Martin Mulkeen, Global Commerce Category DirectorWrangler13MWZ Cowboy Cut Original Fit JeansA few months back I picked up my first pair of Wrangler's after a colleague tipped me off to a ludicrous sale, and boy, I haven't been this excited about breaking in stiff-as-hell denim since walking into the ocean in A.P.C. New Cures 15 years ago.Michael Houtz, Art DirectorTodd SnyderItalian Suede Snap Dylan JacketWhen I saw a black suede Dylan surface online for half the price (NWT!), I said to myself; don’t think twice, it’s all right.Gerald Ortiz, Style Commerce WriterKlean KanteenRecycled Stainless-Steel Water Bottle with Loop CapAs much as I liked my old water bottle, I'm trying to limit the plastic in my life. So like any neurotic professional shopper, I searched for a very specific water bottle, one made of stainless steel, with a wide mouth for easy cleaning, dead-simple construction with no extraneous parts, and a handle. Turns out, it's not that easy to find. I eventually landed on this one from Klean Kanteen and have never been more quenched.Anthony O'Baner Jr., Executive Assistant to the Global Editorial DirectorThank god for a naturally fast metabolism, because I have consumed at least 30 bags of this candy since summer 2024. There's something magical about the crunch quickly followed by the gummy texture. I haven't felt true nostalgia like this since rewatching Ed, Edd, and Eddy.Peter Lee, Associate Director of Social Creative for GQ SportsPumaScuderia Ferrari Suede XL Desert Motorsport ShoesPuma has been dropping some serious heat with their F1 merch line and their recent collab with Ferrari for the Vegas Grand Prix might be their best yet. The desert inspired remix of the Suede Classic is both super comfortable and has a unique faded red (pink?) colorway so I find myself constantly wearing it. With Lewis Hamilton joining Charles Leclerc next season, Ferrari is probably the coolest F1 team to rep on your kicks.Stephanie Tran, Visuals DirectorSaint LaurentNour SlippersI got the last pair in a textured leather at the SoHo store and they're the most elegant shoe I have laid eyes on in 2024. Maybe ever!Michael Nolledo, Associate Commerce DirectorStudio NicholsonSorte PantsHow big should your pants be? It’s a terrible dilemma. After a few seasons of my bottoms getting bigger and wider at the expense of my poor legs, I spent the last year on a serious hunt for my preferred fit, trying on a pendulum swinging's worth of different silhouettes. Turns out my appetite for wide-legged pants is still strong because the best ones I bought all year were these big honkin’ high-wasted chinos from Studio Nicholson. It has a perfect weight for all temperatures. The peached cotton fabric rumples handsomely. And the exaggerated single pleat could cut a man. They’re the most voluminous pants I own, and somehow also the most versatile. It could be easy to scoff at copping pants as spendy as these, but regrets, I have none.Tyler Chin, Associate Lifestyle EditorEngineered GarmentsTrucker JacketCorduroy is a year-round fabric, and I'll die on that hill, even if it means I'm all shriveled up in the middle of August while wearing cord shorts. I guess fall and winter are the best times for the fabric, and my trusty new Engineered Garments jacket has been waiting for its time to shine since I bought it back in January. It's the perfect boxy fit, slightly cropped to hit right above my waist. It's lined and heavy, good enough to keep me warm when it's around 40 degrees, but works great as a middle-weight layer under an overcoat when it's really truly corduroy season.Yang-Yi Goh, Style EditorEasy CowboyCustom Leather Tote BagSometimes, the algorithm really does deliver. One fateful day last December—during that interminable, vacuous week between Christmas and New Year’s—I had entered into a near-unbreakable symbiosis with my couch, buried beneath a freshly fallen layer of Ferrero Rocher wrappers, when I spotted something intriguing on my Instagram Explore page.It was a rolltop duffel bag, exquisitely crafted from undyed natural leather and covered in a sublime smattering of handpainted illustrations: a trio of greyhounds on the racetrack here, an ’80s Toyota pickup there. A couple taps later, I’d learned that this was the work of a fella named Erich, a.k.a. Easy Cowboy, from my hometown of Toronto; a few more taps and I’d sent a DM asking if he’d make me an everyday work tote.And boy, did he ever. Two months later, I picked up my glorious new It bag, which Erich had painstakingly decorated with a jumble of words and images I’d picked out—some aspirational, like the old-school Volvo station wagon I hope to own someday; some goofy, like Kermit the Frog in a cowboy hat; some meaningful, like the name of my late and deeply beloved pup Ziggy. It’s been a joy to carry to the office every day this year, not merely because it’s exponentially more functional and distinguished than the worn-to-threads New Yorker tote I’d used previously, but also because the leather deepens and ages and grows more beautiful with each use. I can’t wait to find out just how good it’ll look five, 10, even 50 years down the road.Reed Nelson, ContributorNothin' SpecialNOrange Double-Knee PantsI got a pair of Nothin’ Special’s NOrange Double-Knee Pants in July and they became one of my favorite pairs of pants immediately. They’re handmade in Brooklyn by designer Ryo Matsuoka, and you’ll find more consideration in a randomly selected square inch of these tanks than you will on most pants in their entirety. I’ve treated mine with the kind of reckless abandon that normally gets documented in a police blotter, and they somehow look better than they did on day one. (I also dry them regularly, without consequence.)Avidan Grossman, Senior Commerce EditorDr. Dennis GrossAlpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel PadsExfoliating is good for your skin. We know this. You know this. But, like going to bed early or doing more cardio, it’s one of those tidbits of information you come across online and think Huh, I should really do that...before un-pausing Netflix and forgetting about it entirely. Enter Dr. Dennis Gross’ gentle face pads, a duo of pre-soaked wipes that come packed with a who’s who of nourishing ingredients, like lactic acid, willow bark extract, and colloidal oatmeal. A 5-pack costs less than 20 bucks, and they’re ridiculously easy to use. Swipe your face with one, wait a couple of minutes, then do the same with the other. That’s it. The whole process is as seamless as ordering in Chipotle—if an overstuffed burrito bowl (double chicken, extra guac) came with the power to help you feel holiday-party ready. Source link

[chilimili212]

Here at GQ Recommends, we spend countless hours toiling in the e-comm trenches to curate cool things to buy so you can shop like one of us, whether you’re looking for a new suit or a fresh 3-pack of boxer briefs. Our unrivaled window shopping brings you everything from the best new menswear to the hottest menswear deals. But do those selects always align with our own personal order histories? They do not. So we thought we’d give you a tantalizing peek into our very own actual non-imaginary shopping carts, courtesy of our absolute favorite purchases of the entire year, 16 products that GQ staffers enjoyed the most in 2024.Ian Burke, Senior Commerce EditorJ.CrewRugby Shirt With Striped PlacketI've always liked rugby shirts, but since I started coming into the office three days a week, I've really leaned into the look—probably to a fault. (If outfit repeating is a crime, I'm getting multiple life sentences.) I snagged this dress-it-up-or-dress-it-down joint from J.Crew in all the colors they offer, and honestly, I wear them more than I should. They fit great and make your shoulders look jacked, too.Bowen Fernie, Visuals EditorKoala EcoStarter CollectionI’ve been on the hunt for nice-looking, refillable, non-toxic cleaning products that would make my house smell good without wrecking the environment. Koala Eco checks all of those boxes, and I can’t recommend them enough. 5 stars for the laundry detergent and kitchen spray. Catch them while they’re not sold out!Gaylord Fields, Copy ManagerSandwich Isles/First BreakVintage 1960s Hawaiian JacketSomeone once described my fashion sense as “early ’60s civil rights worker.” But it’s the opposite of passive resistance when I accentuate my typical uniform of oxford shirt and slim-fit chinos with the psychedelic Polynesian patterns of a vintage Sandwich Isles sport coat. This is blazer number six since I began collecting this long-defunct Hawaiian brand in the aughts, but thanks-no-thanks to its recent discovery by tikiphiles worldwide, I paid more for this one jacket than my other five—combined.Mick Rouse, Global Research DirectorWilsonPro Staff 97 V14 tennis racquetMy trustiest of companions! I've been playing tennis with Wilson's Pro Staff line of racquets for over 15 years now. Over the course of 2024, I demoed pretty much every other racquet on the market, thinking it might be time for a change. Ultimately, though, I wound up right where I started, but with Wilson's latest (and arguably most beautiful) iteration of the Pro Staff 97. Don't get me started on strings, though...Kelsey Niziolek, DesignerComme des GarconsComme des Garcons “Series 6 Synthetic: Tar” FragranceWhat's better than smelling like asphalt and car exhaust? I can't stop sniffing my wrist when I spray this stuff on. It's much easier than walking past the gas station to get a whiff of gasoline (my favorite smell).Raymond Ang, Associate Director of Editorial OperationsMott NYCHaircut at Mott NYCIn a moment of temporary insanity, I went to Mitch Wolf, my trusted hairstylist of almost a year now, and told him to give me whatever haircut he thinks I should have, completely letting him have his way with my mop. After about an hour of queasily avoiding to look at the mirror, I looked up to find my overgrown mane transformed into a short fringe—something I would’ve never thought to get but turns out, compliments my pork bun-shaped cheeks. The new haircut eventually went multi-platinum in my DMs. Sometimes, I guess, you have to roll the dice a little.Martin Mulkeen, Global Commerce Category DirectorWrangler13MWZ Cowboy Cut Original Fit JeansA few months back I picked up my first pair of Wrangler's after a colleague tipped me off to a ludicrous sale, and boy, I haven't been this excited about breaking in stiff-as-hell denim since walking into the ocean in A.P.C. New Cures 15 years ago.Michael Houtz, Art DirectorTodd SnyderItalian Suede Snap Dylan JacketWhen I saw a black suede Dylan surface online for half the price (NWT!), I said to myself; don’t think twice, it’s all right.Gerald Ortiz, Style Commerce WriterKlean KanteenRecycled Stainless-Steel Water Bottle with Loop CapAs much as I liked my old water bottle, I'm trying to limit the plastic in my life. So like any neurotic professional shopper, I searched for a very specific water bottle, one made of stainless steel, with a wide mouth for easy cleaning, dead-simple construction with no extraneous parts, and a handle. Turns out, it's not that easy to find. I eventually landed on this one from Klean Kanteen and have never been more quenched.Anthony O'Baner Jr., Executive Assistant to the Global Editorial DirectorThank god for a naturally fast metabolism, because I have consumed at least 30 bags of this candy since summer 2024. There's something magical about the crunch quickly followed by the gummy texture. I haven't felt true nostalgia like this since rewatching Ed, Edd, and Eddy.Peter Lee, Associate Director of Social Creative for GQ SportsPumaScuderia Ferrari Suede XL Desert Motorsport ShoesPuma has been dropping some serious heat with their F1 merch line and their recent collab with Ferrari for the Vegas Grand Prix might be their best yet. The desert inspired remix of the Suede Classic is both super comfortable and has a unique faded red (pink?) colorway so I find myself constantly wearing it. With Lewis Hamilton joining Charles Leclerc next season, Ferrari is probably the coolest F1 team to rep on your kicks.Stephanie Tran, Visuals DirectorSaint LaurentNour SlippersI got the last pair in a textured leather at the SoHo store and they're the most elegant shoe I have laid eyes on in 2024. Maybe ever!Michael Nolledo, Associate Commerce DirectorStudio NicholsonSorte PantsHow big should your pants be? It’s a terrible dilemma. After a few seasons of my bottoms getting bigger and wider at the expense of my poor legs, I spent the last year on a serious hunt for my preferred fit, trying on a pendulum swinging's worth of different silhouettes. Turns out my appetite for wide-legged pants is still strong because the best ones I bought all year were these big honkin’ high-wasted chinos from Studio Nicholson. It has a perfect weight for all temperatures. The peached cotton fabric rumples handsomely. And the exaggerated single pleat could cut a man. They’re the most voluminous pants I own, and somehow also the most versatile. It could be easy to scoff at copping pants as spendy as these, but regrets, I have none.Tyler Chin, Associate Lifestyle EditorEngineered GarmentsTrucker JacketCorduroy is a year-round fabric, and I'll die on that hill, even if it means I'm all shriveled up in the middle of August while wearing cord shorts. I guess fall and winter are the best times for the fabric, and my trusty new Engineered Garments jacket has been waiting for its time to shine since I bought it back in January. It's the perfect boxy fit, slightly cropped to hit right above my waist. It's lined and heavy, good enough to keep me warm when it's around 40 degrees, but works great as a middle-weight layer under an overcoat when it's really truly corduroy season.Yang-Yi Goh, Style EditorEasy CowboyCustom Leather Tote BagSometimes, the algorithm really does deliver. One fateful day last December—during that interminable, vacuous week between Christmas and New Year’s—I had entered into a near-unbreakable symbiosis with my couch, buried beneath a freshly fallen layer of Ferrero Rocher wrappers, when I spotted something intriguing on my Instagram Explore page.It was a rolltop duffel bag, exquisitely crafted from undyed natural leather and covered in a sublime smattering of handpainted illustrations: a trio of greyhounds on the racetrack here, an ’80s Toyota pickup there. A couple taps later, I’d learned that this was the work of a fella named Erich, a.k.a. Easy Cowboy, from my hometown of Toronto; a few more taps and I’d sent a DM asking if he’d make me an everyday work tote.And boy, did he ever. Two months later, I picked up my glorious new It bag, which Erich had painstakingly decorated with a jumble of words and images I’d picked out—some aspirational, like the old-school Volvo station wagon I hope to own someday; some goofy, like Kermit the Frog in a cowboy hat; some meaningful, like the name of my late and deeply beloved pup Ziggy. It’s been a joy to carry to the office every day this year, not merely because it’s exponentially more functional and distinguished than the worn-to-threads New Yorker tote I’d used previously, but also because the leather deepens and ages and grows more beautiful with each use. I can’t wait to find out just how good it’ll look five, 10, even 50 years down the road.Reed Nelson, ContributorNothin' SpecialNOrange Double-Knee PantsI got a pair of Nothin’ Special’s NOrange Double-Knee Pants in July and they became one of my favorite pairs of pants immediately. They’re handmade in Brooklyn by designer Ryo Matsuoka, and you’ll find more consideration in a randomly selected square inch of these tanks than you will on most pants in their entirety. I’ve treated mine with the kind of reckless abandon that normally gets documented in a police blotter, and they somehow look better than they did on day one. (I also dry them regularly, without consequence.)Avidan Grossman, Senior Commerce EditorDr. Dennis GrossAlpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peel PadsExfoliating is good for your skin. We know this. You know this. But, like going to bed early or doing more cardio, it’s one of those tidbits of information you come across online and think Huh, I should really do that...before un-pausing Netflix and forgetting about it entirely. Enter Dr. Dennis Gross’ gentle face pads, a duo of pre-soaked wipes that come packed with a who’s who of nourishing ingredients, like lactic acid, willow bark extract, and colloidal oatmeal. A 5-pack costs less than 20 bucks, and they’re ridiculously easy to use. Swipe your face with one, wait a couple of minutes, then do the same with the other. That’s it. The whole process is as seamless as ordering in Chipotle—if an overstuffed burrito bowl (double chicken, extra guac) came with the power to help you feel holiday-party ready. Source link