#I'm coming back before Cory trust

[33tomatoes]

every time i see a notif of u liking my posts or smth i get so genuinely shocked like ur so cool how are we even mutuals (i love ur art SM btw)

AHH HEHEHEHE IVE BEEN DISCOVERED (AWHHH THANK YOU)

i just really like what you repost n stuff!!

im not thatt cool (I need to post..) but ITS NICE TO TALK TO YOUU!!!!

[screamlet]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by no one, stolen off the dash- the numbers are outrageous because i've been writing in fandom since 2009 🫠 here's my whole ao3 profile ("back catalogue") lol.

1. How many works do you have an AO3? 144

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 1,624,724

3. What fandoms do you write for? right now: 9-1-1 and bts

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? the cleverness of me (star trek, kirk/spock) an upbeat kind of dirge (star trek, amanda/sarek, kirk/spock) visit philadelphia (hamilton, hamilton/laurens) every day is a gift that's why they call it the present (hamilton, lots of pairings) you are cordially invited (star trek, kirk/spock)

5. Do you respond to comments? not... really... for a really stupid reason! which is that my hamilton fics (especially the first two) were some of the first posted on the ao3 and the comments blew up so much i couldn't catch up and never caught up. years later, i have 3100 unread comments but i read them all the time 🥹

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? the five year mission (star trek, kirk/spock). read the tags!!! though i kind of love the comments that are like "i didn't read the tags/warning and holy shit i should have."

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i'm a sappy romcom bitch at heart, so most of them do. off the top of my head, the most recent: what are your intentions? (9-1-1, bucktommy) and out of the woods (into your arms) (bts, namseok). i think happiest is relative to the time/agonies it took to get there and these two warm the hell out of my heart.

8. Do you get hate on fics? no thankfully.

9. Do you write smut? When The Story Calls For It

10. Do you write crossovers? not opposed to them but i haven't come across an idea where it would work.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not that i know of and let's keep it that way!!!!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? yes, mostly into russian and mandarin

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes!!!! but not in a long time, god knows how it would go these days because i might be more Exacting these days. or it would go great! driven outside and driven in (princess diaries 2, mia/nicholas) dexterity (star trek, amanda/sarek) 14. What's your all time favorite ship? honestly bucktommy is working its way up there because i love love love buck so much. SO MUCH. OUR SPECIAL BOY. but long term it's: kirk/spock (star trek, every version), nicke (nicklas backstrom)/ovi (alex ovechkin) (hockey rpf), and cory/shawn from boy meets world (I KNOW).

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i try not to post WIP's because i really avoid reading WIP's unless i trust the author. but there's one fest fic that i'm going to finish if it kills me: table for him and you and me (bts, rapline ot3). there's also an unposted bts star trek au that i haven't touched in two years that is my white whale that i have to finish one day, goddddddd

16. What are your writing strengths? dialogue, and it comes so easily, it comes first

17. What are your writing weaknesses? everything else, lol. describing people's appearances? if you don't have a visual reference, i am fucked. 18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i don't like when it's italicized. it feels too much like making it ~exotic, but that's my own very personal and subjective opinion i don't want to argue about. AND i did it in a recent fic, so. idk. 19. First fandom you wrote for? probably lord of the rings or harry potter in the pre-ao3 days, and all of them are lost to history/livejournal 20. Favorite fics you've written? a lot of hockey rpf ones, i don't know what was in the water but i love them still (all nicky/ovi, all archive locked) the arrival of 290287 backstrom the washington royals did you ever stop to love me

my three boy meets world/girl meets world fics (cory/shawn/topanga): it's just the rest of our lives for bts: my namseok regency au, the other 100k+ fic i've written. i love it and i don't think you need to be a bts fan/namseok shipper to read it. if you like regency stuff, agony, mutual pining, childhood sweethearts to estranged husbands to reconciliation: i think you'll love it! like the ocean needs the waves (bts, namseok, 121k) and recency bias is a thing but man i love my six precious bucktommy stories i've posted. especially what are your intentions? i have a lot of long comfort fics that i've read over the years that i love going back to over and over again, and yes i wrote it but this is one of them for me (and i hope it becomes one for other people)

passing this on to anyone who wants to think about their writing at 12:30 AM! but also @waldorph @rcmclachlan @cecilyv @dadvans @liminalmemories21 @geddyqueer

[gabessquishytum]

Sorry you’re feeling bad ☹️ glad biker gang dreaming made you feel better! Here is a little more.

Dream doubts hob’s devotion but Hob is determined. Not a day goes by that dream doesn’t walk into the clubhouse to see hob arching his back as someone rails him for behind. He always notices dream, no matter what’s going on. Always opens his eyes and finds dream again, as whoever’s using him works him to a healthy flush.

Dream doesn’t quite dare believe it though. He thought Cori would never betray him and he spent ten long years in jail.

Hob isn’t just getting fucked though.

He gets trained to fight a little, taught to ride a bike, gets a couple of club tattoos—at each step, Dream expects hob to give in. But he doesn’t.

One day he comes across hob practicing how to throw a knife and he watches him the whole time. Until finally hob looks at him.

“What can I do for you?” Hob asks.

Before dream answers hob slides to his knees before dream and leans his cheek against his thigh.

And dream…figures once can’t hurt. And hob wants it so badly.

He fucks hob’s mouth—it’s been so long since he’s been with anyone—and before Dream knows it, he’s pressing hob against the wall, wrestling his jeans down and burying his tongue in his arse, eating him out until hob begs for his cock.

He fucks hob while he babbles how dream makes him feel, how he’ll serve the whole gang but he wants to be dreams. He knows dream’s life is unsafe, but hob doesn’t care. He will risk it all, if only dream lets him.

Dream decides to let him.

Thank you friend!! I'm starting to feel a bit better, hoping that life will get a bit easier as the week goes on. Here's the link to the last biker gang ask.

Hob’s devotion to Dream is so incredibly hot. He loves serving all the other guys and gals in the clubhouse because he's basically serving Dream by keeping them satisfied. 24/7 he's thinking about Dream, thinking of ways to prove himself and ways to make Dream notice him. He practices all his new skills so that ever some of Dream’s most trusted gang members become quite impressed with him. He's invited to join them for more exclusive meetings, where he further impresses them by using his mouth in all kinds of interesting ways.

But it's Dream he's really thinking about. And all that hard work seems to be paying off? Aside from their initial liason at the club house, Hob finds himself invited out for a ride with Dream... just the two of them. Hob nearly falls off the damned bike when he sees Dream stalking towards him in full leather gear. It's a good thing that Hob has practiced riding with an erection...

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.25

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

As it gets later, out of curiosity, I follow some of the specialists and find myself in a canteen that looks like one in an old barracks. When I see the sad state of this place, I can only roll my eyes. This building is far from up-to-date. In search of a quiet place, I walk past it, turn a corner, and step into a notch. I put my hand on the building wall, connecting myself with the building to bring the look of the canteen and its decoration closer to modern standards. 

Instead of a large square room, I rounded it off with large windows that look out onto the inner garden, which most people have probably never seen before. I also gave it a first, second, and third floor, with a large chandelier hanging from the much higher ceiling, ending at the third row of windows. The first floor covers three-quarters of the ground floor, while the second covers two-thirds, and the third floor covers half. The tables are more luxurious, made of sturdier wood, and the chairs are almost as comfortable as those in a palace. However, columns sometimes make the large rooms narrower.

A squeak escapes my throat as I come back to myself. "Shit, dude. What the fuck?" I asked the person who snapped me out of my head.

"Where were you?" His heated voice, different from the calm and relaxed one I'm used to from him, is already making me nervous.

I look for a way out, ready to dodge all his questions, but he smacks me in the back of the head before I can do so. With my eyes wide open in shock, I'm ready to unleash a torrent of words at him, but he hits the back of my head again, leaving me speechless.

"You're such an idiot!" he shouted at me. "I was worried when I didn't find you in the hospital room," he mumbles further. "Do you even know how many rooms there are here?"

"Well, I do, but I'm sure that's not the point."

"Of course not, you fucking idiot!" His fists are clenched at his sides. When I finally realize that I messed up, I hang my head.

"I'm sorry, okay? My mind is a bit foggy, but I can't tell you why, after all, you're as much of a traitor as my parents; you have to accept that I'm not going to tell you as much as you'd like." Seeing that he's about to argue, I raise my hand. "Don't you dare say otherwise!" I warn him. "My grandfather is no longer my ally, nor my family; after all, he is forcing me to marry someone I met once. Cory. Once! This hasn't happened since the Vulcor tragedy; that only happened because a member of my family was forced to marry someone he didn't love." I repeat our world history. "What's going to happen this time? Is the rest of our world supposed to drown in our seemingly endless oceans?"

I can't explain my anger, but I'm ready to put Cory in his place for the rest of our lives. While I'm sure it wouldn't help us move on to greener pastures together, it would calm the raging anger in my heart.

"Only when you swear your eternity to me will I let you back in, but until then I will never accept you as a friend or an ally because I simply cannot trust you."

I push past him without giving him a chance to say anything else, and I shove his shoulder so hard that he almost flies against the wall. I walk past the new canteen with long strides but still take a quick look inside. A gentle smile graces my lips as I see how much more comfortable it looks now. But unfortunately, I also meet the brown eyes of a certain specialist who I don't want to talk to right now.

Sky raises his hand and waves at me, but I avert my gaze and run away quickly, my steps faster than I intended. I jog around a group of girls, bowing my head slightly so they don't get any funny ideas. They can't be trusted either. I have no idea where I'm running, but I'm not stopping either.

It's only when I reach the room where I'm supposed to sleep that I finally stop jogging. When I get inside, I see all my things lying on a bed, which I'm sure Sky put there. Once I reach the bed, I dig through my stuff until I find my sword, the rusty beauty that will surely one day be as legendary as it is meant to be.

With the weapon, which feels like an extension of myself, in my hand, I step back into the hallway, walking straight ahead, past the main entrance, all the way down, then taking the hallway to the right, at the end of which I can barely make out the door I had been sleeping in while recovering. I head down the hallway to the right, away from this room, and walk until I reach another circular room. Although there are other corridors, my gaze remains fixed on the large wooden doors in front of me; it looks like no one has ever been here beforehand.

Honestly? It's not even a miracle; considering the inside of the building is about a hundred times bigger than it looks from the outside, it's a pretty cool magic trick.

I put both hands against the doors and opened them easily. Behind them is a small staircase, with two statues on either side looking down on a large open space. From where he stands, he can easily reach the statues as they are level with my feet, but just a few steps in front of the statues, the level drops immediately.

I go down the stairs, but only when I get to the bottom can I see the entire room. It's clearly a training hall, perfectly tailored for specialists and fairies. While the left side is just for the fairies and the right is just for specialists, the middle is a battlefield with activatable walls, simulated buildings, and everything a warmonger's heart could desire. It's only rudimentary, as I've never trained in a place like this—part simulation and part real world—but I'm sure it will work.

I ignore everything, as it's just a shortcut right now. I head straight to the other side, where there's a perfect mirror image of the entrance. After opening the doors, I enter another round room that leads to changing rooms. As before, the right side is designated for the specialists, while the left is appointed for the fairies.

When I look at the two doors, I don't go through the pink one on the left—even though I'm a fairy myself—but through the blue one on the right, just so the fairies don't mistakenly conclude that I'm a pervert again. I can only roll my eyes at the thought. It still gets on my nerves to no end.

As I walk in, I see that the room is also circular. Everyone has their own small cubicle with a safe, a locker, a bench, and even towels hanging there. The only problem is that, despite the presence of several hundred students, only about 24 people fit into one of these circles. The only solution was to make more circles. As I continue straight ahead, there are several rooms to the left and right; it almost looks like a room with endless mirrors.

It takes me a minute to reach the other side of the long changing room, but when I get there, I leave immediately and find myself in a hallway, facing several more doors. But this time I turn left and almost immediately reach a door that leads outside. It's one of two back doors. The second door is on the other side of the building.

Finally getting outside, I breathe in the fresh and slightly humid evening air, the perfect time for some exercise.

The sounds of the nearby forest, the singing of birds, the buzzing of insects, and the cracking of old wood are more relaxing than I first thought.

From the exit, I walk a bit until I am almost directly in the forest. Between the trees, I come to a halt. I turn to the side, straighten my back, hold the sword in both hands, raise it above my hand, and swing it downward. I repeat the movement over and over again, with the same intensity and strength. It doesn't take long before I feel myself slipping into the rhythm as my mind goes blank—exactly what I needed.

Completely relaxed, like I haven't felt in a long time, I swing my sword as if there were no tomorrow. Nothing can stop me—not the looks I can sense from somewhere, not the bird that nests on my head, not even the few smaller animals that sniff my legs.

Except for the icy, biting breeze. I am jolted back to reality as my body suddenly trembles from the cold. As I look around, I can barely see my hand in front of my eyes; the faint moonlight just isn't enough to make out anything about my surroundings. Because of my long training, my entire body is covered in so much sweat that I almost freeze my butt off.

My teeth chatter without my consent, and my hands clench around the hilt of my sword. Even though I'm still fully clothed—I haven't even bothered to put on my gym clothes—I feel like an idiot. Everything is almost glued to me. Sometimes I truly wonder where my head is. It's obviously not where it should be—in my skull.

Trembling, I walk back to the building, only to realize my mistake from earlier. Looking along the side of the building, in the pale moonlight, I can barely make out the corner of the front of the structure, only a few hundred meters away. Rather than walk all the way back into the building, I should probably just go around the outside.

With a satisfied groan, I keep standing there for a second to enjoy the warmth, but at the same time, to my surprise, the lights in the hallway turn on by themselves. I am taken aback, but after a short moment, instead of confusion, a smile crosses my lips. However, I can only thank the building inside my head because I am too exhausted to do it any other way.

With slow steps, I walk back to the main entrance of the school, where the boys' dormitories are located. But the closer I get, the more I notice how quiet it is. Not just quiet, but dead silent. Only then do I realize how late it actually is. When I'm almost back at the door to my room, I'm still thinking about what to do. But when I remember my roommates, my decision is already made because I don't want to be near two of them. Who knows what they do if they got their hands on my unconscious body?

I like my life, so instead of going in there, I walk a few meters back to one of the arches at the start of the hallway leading off the round foyer. Behind the arch is a living room with many couches, books, games, a fireplace, and a TV. It is rather old-fashioned.

I go deeper into the room, close to the fireplace. I turn it on, and the house lets the fire burn endlessly. It quickly warms up my ice-cold body. I pull one of the sofas closer and lie down on it, and not a second later, I already feel cozy and sleepy. The first day is over. Now there are only five years left. It can only get fucking worse.

[Masterlist]

[windsweptinred]

my dear, your last post gave me this idea: Desire convinces Daniel to wear something radically different from his usual aesthetic. What could it be? 👀 How would our Nightmare react? 👀👀

Oooooo!! 😏 Well I've always wanted to see Daniel embrace Morpheus's more... Outlandish outfits. Like that rather fabulous admirals attire. Twin that with your headcanon about Dani wearing Cori's coats... And well, one particular garment came to mind...

(Dream's Bedchamber, the Dreaming)

Daniel: This looks familiar.

Desire: No it doesn't. Since when have you worn anything that wasn't white, off white or white adjacent. Honestly Danio, frosted bangs and white trousers, twinned with a white top... Are you trying to look like you escaped a 90's boyband?

Daniel: I'm really not sure it's appropriate sibling.

Desire: Oh pish, Dream's had a penchant for his slutty little sailor suits since he crawled out from under mother's skirts. You'd cause more controversy not turning up to a family dinner in a frock coat and an utterly ridiculous hat.

Daniel: Must it be green?

Desire: It brings out your eyes. Trust me Dandelion you look an absolute peach. Now come on, chin up, shoulders back... Best tit forward.

Corinthian: My lord before you leave... Wait, is that... Mine?

Desire: Oh would you look at that, so it is. Well, if you'll excuse me boys. I'll see you there Daenerys.

Daniel: My appoligies Corinthian, it appears my sibling had enjoyed a joke at my expense. Here, let me return....

Corinthian: No! Leave it on... And the stockings.

................................................

Death: Will Dream not be joining us today?

Desire: Oh, he's just a little held up. You could say he had a.. wardrobe malfunction on route.

(The outfit that inspired Dani's... John Galliano for Dior 1998-1999 Couture Show)

[auriel187]

The More Things Change. (S1 E8)

Word Count: 4328

Series Masterlist

A/N: If anyone doesn't like the fact that the oc is black, go away.

TW: Racial slurs.

"Ah, the 43 million man." Cory smiled happily, taking a look at the article. Shawn pulled out a chair for me and took the seat next to me. I had my hair in two low pigtails with a braid crown. He had told me that I looked like an angel, that my hair was a halo. I was proud of my hair today.

"Why do they call him that?" Minkus asked, approaching the table.

"Because that's what he's getting paid to play baseball for six years." I muttered, taking out my battered copy of Red Dragon.

"7.6 million a year?" Minkus guffawed.

"If that's what it comes out to, yeah." Shawn said, before he started reading over my shoulder.

"You could calculate the value of a baseball card and yet you can't...Oh forget it. I'll save this conversation for when I have cake?" I mumbled before I continued reading. Shawn continued reading over my head shoulder.

"He happens to be one of the top guys in baseball." Cory nodded, continuing to read the article.

"Well, I happen to think Mr. Feeny is one of the top guys in teaching and he makes about 40 thousand a year." Minkus said and that's one of the few things I've ever and will openly agree to.

"That stinks." I look over at the blue eyed boy over my shoulder. He looks back at me with wide eyes.

"Finally. Something we agree on." Minkus nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Feeny ain't worth that kind of money." I threw my head down onto the table. I felt someone pull my chair away from the table.

"Thank you, Cory." I mumbled with my head on my lap. He ran his hand over my back while they continued their conversation.

"You thought I meant he was overpaid? I meant that Mr. Feeny is grossly and tragically underpaid." Minus said and again I nodded in agreement.

"Minkus... May I call you Minkus? Does spelling ever change? No. Does history ever change? Uh-uh. Does Feeny ever change? Never. Know why? He doesn't have to. Know why? 'Cause nothing about... teaching sixth grade ever changes."

"Yeah, instead year after year he has to deal with kids like you guys who don't listen." I kept my head down.

"Well, I think you're wrong." Minkus looks at the curly haired boy. Cory was definitely wrong.

"Well, I think l'm right. I think in about five seconds, Feeny walks in here, takes a sip from the drinking fountain, flicks his mustache, goes to the coffee machine, sees us, asks Raven-Anniya about what books she just finished before he turns to me and says, "Good morning, Mr. Matthews. "I trust you've done the homework". Every day, the same thing. He's so predictable." Cory stated just as our teacher walked into the cafeteria. We watched the older man do just as Cory described.

"Good morning, Mr. Matthews. I trust you've done the homework." He says, just as Cory said he would.

"Yes, I did, sir." The curly haired brunette said. He wasn't genuine but to the untrained eye he may've been sincere.

"But my little sister ate it." They said together before Mr. Feeny walked away saying something along the lines of "You are so predictable." I had to agree and because I knew he was so predictable I knew that this was going to end up with a lesson for them. I just wonder how much I'm going to have to pay for.

+=+=+=+=+

I had spent the better part of my day contemplating just how much of a mess this'll turn into. Cory has no clue what it took to be a teacher so how was he going to learn a lesson?

"This Week in Social Studies we'll be talking about prejudice."

"Good, 'cause I'm prejudiced against the scungy food in the cafeteria." Cory joked, which caused the class to fall into a fit of laughter.

"Then why do you keep eating it?" I asked. Nobody answered.

"We will be discussing black slavery in the American South," The kids all looked to me. "The Jews in nazi Germany and several examples of prejudice throughout history. Tonight your assignment... is to read the first pages of that book." Mr. Feeny said as he handed us the book. The Diary of Anne Frank. This book was amazing. I'd read it years ago and cried.

"Aw, man, it's a book about some girl." And there it was! Cory's definitely done it now!

"Maybe it's time to veer away from picture books Cory?" I looked over at him as he glared at me.

"Rave? I'll take your book suggestions seriously when Storm becomes Shawn's favourite X-Men character." Oh, please.

"Who's your favourite X-Men, Shawnie?"

"The one who kind of looks like your mom.She's cool." Shawn answered absentmindedly, looking over the book he'd just been given.

I turned to Cory with a smug look on my face. "If you're not going to read it because it's about a girl, that's on you. Good to know that you wouldn't want to hear about the experiences of people who don't look like you." I mumbled the last part to myself.

Just as Cory was about to respond, the bell rang and we all started packing our things. I made sure to put my copy of the book in my bag. I heard Mr. Feeny call Cory to stay back, but Shawn had already taken my hand and started pulling me out of the school.

+=+=+=+=+

"So, Sunshine," Shawn said as I took a seat on the swing. "I have something for you." He looked straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact.

"You do?" Shawn had gotten me another gift?

"Yeah. It's ummm not much but..." He pulled a little book out of his bag, but it wasn't a regular one. It looked homemade. When I opened it I came face to face with pictures of me, of us, over the years. From my first day at school together, my mom must've taken them from my dance recitals and our Halloweens. On the very last page written in Shawn's handwriting "Happy 11th Birthday, Raven-Anniya!" And just underneath it, "Shawn P. Hunter & Cory Matthews"

"Thank you, Shawnie." I rested my hand on his shoulder. "You know my birthday was over a month ago, right?" I laughed.

He chuckled. "Yeah. But I wanted to wait for Cory to finish the book before I can give it to you." He rested his head on mine.

"So...social studies is going to be hard for you. If you need me to-" Shawn started but I stopped him.

"It's okay, Shawnie. Most of the kids in our class don't know any non-white people outside of school. You remember when Cory got his hair straightened?" Shawn nodded. "Well the girls he thought were making fun of him for his curly hair, were actually making fun of Dwayne Friedrick talking about why they wouldn't invite people like him to their stupid party. Making fun of his naturally curly hair because they could." I rolled my eyes, my mood suddenly sour.

"Those girls are just dumb then." Shawn put his hand on my head.

"But there are more people like them. People who will do more than not invite me to a party." I could see the confusion flash behind his eyes but I didn't want to tell him about it. He was still young. And this was nothing he'd have to experience but I don't want him to be as ignorant as the people I was talking about.

"You'd...you'd tell me if they..." He started but he stopped. I knew what he was talking about.

"Maybe." I answered honestly. He looked kinda hurt. "Sometimes Shawnie, you can't fix things. Not things like this."

"But I want to. I want to be able to help. For you." He rested his forehead against mine.

+=+=+=+=+

"Raven!" I heard Jazmyne call me from downstairs. I went down to see her trying to balance boxes worth of school supplies in her hand. "Little help, please?" I quickly grabbed the smaller boxes.

"What's all this stuff for?" I asked, noticing half the random stuff in the box.

"I'm doing a project with my friends Linda, Tamara and Eric." She answered before unloading the boxes up in her room. "It's a multicultural thing."

"Cool."

"Yeah, so if you need me for anything, just call the Matthews house. Especially if Mom has a work thing." She concluded before she started working on the assignment.

"Okay." I nodded before going to my room. My ballet class was canceled today but my teacher said we should practice our routine. The calming music contrasted with the sharp moments, I tried to correct my movements using my shadow but it's easier to have someone else tell you what you need to fix.

+=+=+=+=+

"Good morning, class. For the rest of the week I'm going to be your Social Studies teacher." Cory said the second I walked into the classroom. I froze in the doorway.

"Mr. Feeny? What's going on?" I asked, slowly took my seat beside Shawn and now diagonal from Mr. Feeny.

"Don't ask me. He's the man in charge." Mr. Feeny pointed to Cory and I groaned. This is going to suck!

"That's right, Raven, my friend. Me. I'm your new teacher, and my name is... Hey... Dude. That all right with you... George?" He wrote on the board.

"Mi clase es su clase." Mr. Feeny said, leaning back in the seat.

"And you guys know that rule about no baseball caps in class? History!" I watched as the boys in the class excitedly put their caps on. Topanga put her hand up, causing Cory to roll his eyes. "Yeah! Yeah, Topanga."

"If we're going to eliminate the cap rule can we also discard the dress code in its entirety?" I saw Cory's eyes widen fearfully.

"Why? You're not thinking about showing up... like, naked tomorrow, are you?" He asked her suspiciously.

"No. Although I find nothing shameful about nudity. I was thinking about wearing garments from cultures more in tune with the goddess. A sari, perhaps, or a pareo." She said assertively.

"Because nothing says cultural sensitivity like a white girl dressed in cultural garb she doesn't understand." I mumble to myself.

"Yeah, fine. As long as you're covered up."

"No, not fine! She can't just come to school dressed in someone's culture." I spoke up, staring at Cory only to realize the rest of the class had turned to stare at me.

"I just want to express my appreciation for their cultural beauty." She pouted but I didn't care.

"Do you even know the names of the goddesses you're planning on emulating? If you can't name them, say who they are and why they're prayed to, you shouldn't get to play dress up with something you don't understand." I slumped in my seat.

"People, people, people. Are we going to do our Social Studies work today?" Minkus called attention to himself.

"Minkus, Minkus, Minkus. Shut up." Shawn mocked.

"OK, guys, for homework tonight... read the first pages in Whatever that book was that George assigned us yesterday."

"The Diary of Anne Frank, you doofus." I muttered.

"But that was the assignment last night."

"Minkus! Not long ago, I was a student myself and I remember that sixth-graders don't always do their homework so this way, everyone gets a second chance."

"Excuse me, Mr Hey Dude, but I did my homework and I'm sure my Raven Beauty did too." Minkus bragged. That caused Cory to snap.

"Minkus, get a life. That's your homework assignment. Get a life." Cory exclaimed before the class erupted into complete chaos. I just sat back and continued reading Red Dragon.

It was sad that nobody was taking anything seriously.

+=+=+=+=+

We were sitting in class the next day, Cory was trying desperately to get Shawn and I to help him. I wasn't listening to it. "Look, you have to help me get the class back under control."

"Hey, you're the one who let it get out of control." I looked up from my book to Shawn. He was right.

"Well, you're the one playing poker with Feeny." Cory rebutted. I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe if you took this class seriously, the class wouldn't be out of control." I continued reading. I had finished Red Dragon, so I started Silence Of The Lambs.

"Lighten up, man. You're starting to sound like a teacher." Shawn said before continuing to shuffle the cards as the bell rang. Cory walked to the front of the class as Topanga, who came to school in a sari, started moving her desk out of the way.

"Topanga, what are you doing?" Cory asked.

"Moving my desk out of the way. I've decided I'd rather sit on a traditional yoga cushion." Topanga sat on her cushion as Minkus moved his desk out of the way.

"Oh, come on, Minkus, don't tell me you want to sit on a yogurt cushion!" Cory whined.

"No. You told me to get a life. Now I'm going to be as fun as the next guy." Minkus started bouncing on a ball.

Cory let out a defeated sigh. "OK. I know things got a little loose here yesterday but we've got a test day after tomorrow and it's time to get down to business. Let's start With the roll call." Cory started doing the attendance. "Archer, Raven-Anniya." I raised my hand.

"Lawrence, Topanga." The girl was sitting in the lotus position.

"I'm channeling. I will only answer the name..." she growled. Literally.

"OK. Present, but not all here. Hunter, Shawn." Cory continued and I'm just now realizing he's not doing it in alphabetical order. "Hunter, Shawn." Again, Shawn didn't do anything. Cory was waving his hand in front of his face.

"Out of my face. I'm stacking the deck." Shawn pushed him away.

"Hey. Where's Mr. Feeny? I mean, George." Cory asked, looking for our previous teacher.

"Hey, dude. Sorry I'm late. I was chillin' with my homies." Mr. Feeny walked in dressed in a Philly's jersey. He sat in Cory's seat facing Shawn as he picked up the cards. "I'm in." He said as he started playing. He looked around the class with a depressed look on his face.

"Minkus, this is Social Studies. Stop making those paper turkeys." He tossed the book onto Minkus' desk.

"They're flamingoes, and quit calling me Minkus. You call everyone else by their first name... so start calling me Stuart." Cory whined.

+=+=+=+=+

When the bell rang after school, I was shocked to see Jazmyne by my locker. Shawn smiled her way, waving as he walked me to her. "Hi Jazmyne." He said carrying my books as I opened my locker.

"Hey, Hunter. Sorry to have to steal your little bird today but Brianna said I've got to take her to the mall with my project partners." Shawn's smile fell for a second but he nodded.

"It's okay." Shawn rested his head on my shoulder, giving me a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sunshine." He pinched my cheek before he turned to his locker.

I put my books in my bag and started walking behind Jazmyne towards her classmates. I knew Eric but I didn't know anything about Linda but she was a very pretty Asian girl. I sat in the back of the bus clutching my book as I read. When we got to the mall, we went from store to store, me still reading and being careful not to walk into anyone. Eric and Linda were a bit behind Jazmyne and I when someone walked into me and stepped on my book.

"Watch it, kid." The man said, pushing past me and hitting me with his bag. Jazmyne was helping me up off the dirty floor as Eric and Linda went to confront him.

"Hey man, she's just a kid!" Eric said, pushing the jerk.

"Yeah. You didn't have to push her." Linda said. The man rolled his eyes and started walking away but Jazmyne pulled him back.

"You need to apologize. You walked into her." She said, glaring at the older man.

"I don't need to do shit." He said pushing Jazmyne off of him. Linda stopped Jazz from falling over.

"Hey!" Linda said, loudly. The jerk took a step towards the two teenage girls and Eric stepped over them protectively.

"You need to back off." He said to the jerk.

The dude scoffed. "You need to back off. Take your chink and your niggers and get the hell out of here." He pushed Eric, which caused a domino effect with the three teenagers, making them all topple onto the floor.

Linda started tearing up, Jazmyne just got quiet and I sat there with tears in my eyes. It's not something I wasn't used to but it still hurt when it happened.

"Come on, Birdie. Let's get you out of here." Eric said taking me to the bus stop. We hopped on the bus, each of us sitting in silence. Eric took my hand as tears fell over torn pages of my book. He rested my head over his shoulder. We got off the bus and walked into the Matthews' house.

"Come on, let's go sit on the couch, all right?" Eric guided all of us to the couch and I finally broke. I was sitting on the chair sobbing. Jazmyne came up, holding my book out to me. I didn't even notice that I dropped it. I opened it and pages came falling out. I started crying more as the book fell from my hand.

"Eric?" Cory asked, looking around the room at all the sad or angry people.

"I've got it, Cor." Eric consoled a crying Linda. "Everything is going to be oK, all right?"

"Eric?" Cory looked over at me, pointing at my tear stained face.

"I'll talk to you later, Cor." Eric said in a more assertive tone.

"It's getting chilly out there." Amy came in.

"Linda! Linda! What's wrong with Linda?" Morgan rounded the corner and saw Linda crying. She looked over and saw me. "What happened to Raven?" She walked over and hugged my head.

"Some jerk at the mall called us some bad names." Jazmyne said. She was sad too, but her sadness was mixed with anger too.

"Where? Our mall?" Cory asked.

"What did he call you?" Morgan turned to Jazmyne.

"It's not important, Morgan." I spoke between choked sobs.

"In our mall right here?" Cory asked again. Morgan gave Linda and I tissues.

"Thanks, Morgan." When I got the tissue.

"A boy at daycare once called me poo-poo head." Morgan tried to console us.

"That's not very nice." I replied as she handed a tissue to Linda.

"Thanks, Morgan." Linda smiled graciously.

"Mom." Eric looked over at her, pleadingly.

"Come on, Morgan. Let's make some hot cocoa for everybody." Amy grabbed a hold of the young blond. Eric held my hand.

"Man, sometimes people can be total idiots." Eric looked at his brother, not accusingly but the venom behind his eyes was evident.

"This happened today?" Cory said, disbelieving. He looked at me but I looked away.

+=+=+=+=+

The next day, I walked into class with Shawn only to see Cory in a suit and tie.

"Hey, Mr. GQ. Nice neckwear." Shawn said jokingly. He's been joking around all morning. I know he knows something is wrong but I have been denying everything. I didn't want to burden him.

"Excellent Windsor knot. Did your mom tie it?" Minkus said as I slumped in my seat. I had no motivation to do anything today.

"Minkus... Stuart, I need your help. You're the smartest kid in class... maybe if you pay attention to me some of the other kids will."

"Why should I help you? You made fun of Mr. Feeny, and said he gets paid too much." Minkus crossed his arms defiantly.

"Look, Minkus, I'm only coming to you because Raven isn't doing well today." Cory glared but the bell rang before he could say more.

Mr. Feeny walked in and looked at Cory. "Hey, dude. Ooh, that suit. It's not cool."

"Class, I'd like to talk to you today about prejudice... and how it still exists in today's world." Mr.Feeny turned to Cory as he spoke. "I didn't even know that till last night when I saw some really smart, totally cool girls... crying their eyes out because some idiot at the mall... called them bad names. My lesson for today is that when people treat other people badly... because of their skin color or their religion or where they come from...then real smart, totally cool people... can really suffer." Cory passed my desk, dropping a note between my elbow and my head.

'I'm sorry for this. I just need to get to him' as well as a quote from the book. I looked over at him, as he nodded his head towards Shawn. I then realized that aside from Mr. Feeny, I was the only one really listening.

"Hey, George, this isn't gum. These are Rolaids." Shawn said, looking at our teacher.

"Deal me out of this one, Mr. Hunter." Mr. Feeny said, giving Cory more attention.

"What? Why?" Shawn asked.

"OK. You win. I'm a crummy teacher, and I resign. Hey, Shawn, before your mother got married... what was her name again?" Cory turned to the blue eyed boy.

"Cordini." He answered.

"Cordini. So, that would make you a wop, right?" Cory said, nonchalantly.

"CORY!?" I yelled. I didn't think he was going to do that.

"What did you call me?" Shawn looked up at Cory in shock. Shook his head, festering in his anger.

"You heard what I called you." Cory spoke clearly, before he looked at me and nodded.

"Whatever, man." Shawn rolled his eyes and started playing solitaire.

"I guess I understand why you don't care. You spend your day with a monkey and her family of crows. It's astonishing how smart she is though. I honestly expected Ebonics when we first met her."

I looked up at him in fake shock. Did he really think that? No. Before I left his house last night, he asked Jazmyne what kind of things people have said to her and her family. Cory didn't even know what Ebonics is this morning. He literally held up a paper and asked me what it was this morning. I expected him to say this. What I didn't expect was for Shawn to slam him into the door.

"What did you just call her?" Shawn practically snarled, slamming Cory into the door. Nobody said anything.

"Do I need to say it again?" Cory quipped, sarcastically. He seemed unphased when Shawn slammed him to the door again.

"Say it again, I'll kill you!" Shawn screamed.

"Mr. Hunter!" Mr. Feeny intervened.

"Did you hear what he called her?" Shawn looked guffawed.

"Yes I did. And I heard what he called you. What are you going to do about it?"

"He's the teacher." Shawn looked at Mr. Feeny confusion.

"What are you going to do about it?" The older man asked. It seemed to trigger Shawn.

"I'm gonna knock his head off!" Shawn pushed Cory.

"What if you couldn't? What if you couldn't do anything about it?" Cory exclaimed, pushing Shawn back.

"What?" Shawn buffered.

"What if you lived in a country where I could kill you just because of your mom's last name?" Cory spoke loudly for the class.

"Cory, what are you talking about?" Shawn asked.

"A -year-old girl is dead! Doesn't anybody care?" Cory faced the rest of the class.

"Cory..." I sat up slightly, trying to calm him down. He looked at me for a minute before holding the book over to Shawn.

"She was like Raven, Shawn. She was real smart and totally cool. She wrote this book. Her name Was Anne Frank." He pulled his Cory up. "They say she died of typhus but they killed her... because her name Was Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a victim of antisemitism." He said incorrectly but I was so proud, I didn't think I should say anything.

"Anti-Semitism." Mr. Feeny corrected.

"Thank you, Mr. Feeny. You have to read this book... and you have to pass this test... not because of me but because when someone calls someone else a bad name... it's not good that just that one person jumps up. We all have to jump up." Cory pointed at Shawn approvingly. Cory turned back to me. "Raven-Anniya?" He nodded to the book.

"In spite of everything... I still believe that people are really good at heart." I quoted.

+=+=+=+=+

On Monday after school, Shawn and I were sitting in the park when he pulled out his test. He looked really nervous when I unfolded it. He got a B. "You got a B!" I was beaming.

"Yeah, I really wanted to do well." He nodded sheepishly.

"And you don't want to do well on all your other stuff?" I asked, jokingly poking him but he grabbed my hand.

"I wanted to do well because this was important. When it's something important I want..." he stopped before he could finish. "I wanted you to be proud of me." He answered honestly.

"I am proud of you. You defended me when nobody else did. I'd be proud of you anyway." I hugged him. He chuckled.

"You spoke up first, Sunshine." Shawn flipped my hair over my face.

We stayed in the park for a few more hours. I had spent most it reading The Diary of Anne Frank again.

[mysticstarlightduck]

OC in 15 or less Tag

Thank you for the Tag, @cowboybrunch (here)! <3

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

I'm doing half of this for my OC Cory Blythe, from Mutant Inquiries, and the other half for Augustus Grimmure, from Enchanted Illusions for this tag!

Cory Blythe

"Listen, douchebag, I'm far too sober to deal with whatever this bullshit is right now and I'm already running late for my fucking job - by the way, I'm far more scared of my boss than I am of you. So how about you go mug someone else and I don't stab you with these heels?"

"And you seriously thought involving 'Miss Trust Fund' over here in our mess was a good idea? No! You just signed our early death certificate." [...] "Why? Oh my god, I don't know, Becky... maybe because her infamously overprotective dad is the CEO of a fucking multimillionaire enterprise and you just dragged his only daughter to the middle of a conspiracy?! I don't care if she wants to help! That's Violet Villarosa, for fuck's sake. We're dead now, we're so dead - I'll have a closed casket for sure."

"The more I live, the more I realize I might be the sanest person in this group of idiots. And that scares me."

"Are any of you going to explain why there's a random dude bleeding out in my brand-new car? No? Okay then."

"Becky," [they take a deep breath] "My best friend, my surrogate sister, the caffeinated cutie-pie of my life, I say this in the most polite way possible - I'd rather be waterboarded with lava than hear that plan ever again."

"Teague, let's make one thing very fucking clear - I'm following my side of the contract, so you can do whatever you want to me in the meantime. But my friends - my family - they're off limits, and if I ever find out you sent any one of your thugs after Rebecca or any of them again, it'll be the last goddamn thing you do. I don't care if you're the head of the mob, or if I'll be food for the fishes afterward - you're not the only one here with a pocketknife, fucker."

"I call dibs on the fluffy socks and the cereal!"

"Look, just because I'm not a mutant like you guys doesn't mean I can't seriously fuck somebody up with a shotgun. Now, one of you might want to take the wheel of this car 'cause I'm about to do just that."

Augustus Grimmure

Augustus felt rejuvenated - like he’d just woken up from a nice nap, adjusting his bloodstained dapper suit and glaring at the now soulless corpse. “Oh -" He looked down, noticing the crimson splatters on his coat "That’s just nonsense! Look at this, it's all ruined and covered in blood! It was my new suit! How dare he stab me.”

"My, my, it's a great deal of a fall from up here. I'm not so sure about this anymore, Hattie-" He looked over the speeding train's railing, turning to Harriet with a shaky, nervous chuckle. As he did, he noticed the outline of the two goons clambering into the wagon behind them, guns ready. "Oh, well, as some say - ladies first!" Before she could say anything, Augustus pushed her over the railing - summoning a portal beneath her. Two bullets flew past the spot where she'd just been standing, instead lodging themselves in the young necromancer, who jumped into the portal just before it closed.

"Well, you could attack us, boys, and I'll merely consume all your souls - string by string, painstakingly severing the cord between your life and afterlife until you're all empty husks. You know who I am, and what I can do to mercenaries who threaten people I hold dear." His eyes glowed in the dark, the mark on his wrist causing the mercenaries to stumble back in shock, as shadows swirled around him. "Now, are you sure this is a wise decision to make in the name of your boss, a man who was too lazy to even come get his own hands dirty?"

"I can't tell you more about it, love." He shook his head with a dejected smile, clutching his own arms in a vice grip. "About my deal, about the Deathbringer and what I did. I can't. It's, no - they're just too dangerous, and I made a mistake. I fear it... it won't end well."

"For some reason, I don't think your cousin likes me very much, Harriet." Augustus spoke under his breath after Vincent stormed out, a playful but somewhat serious lilt to his words, concerned. [She replies "It's not about you, per se. Vincent doesn't really like anyone"] The necromancer chuckled. "No, this seems so very personal."

"My grandma used to bring me to this place, when I was a kid." He mused, fiddling with the blue flower between his fingers, before placing it inside the book. "For a lonely commoner kid with a strange magic that everyone was afraid of, these dusty books were paradise. A world where maybe I really could be anyone."

"May I have this dance, darling? We may as well enjoy this uppity evening on our own terms, before anyone makes it otherwise."

Tagging - @oh-no-another-idea, @dreaminggoblin, @mitchell-nihil, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams,@yet-another-heathen @talesofsorrowandofruin, @thetruearchmagos, @writernopal, @i-can-even-burn-salad, @clairelsonao3, @little-peril-stories, @memento-morri-writes and @saltysupercomputer

[coridotmp3]

thanks for the tag, cori! your wip titles are immaculate. I absolutely must know about 99.3 kiss fm, jason sudeikis must pay, and mickey mouse the matchmaker.

:) thank you darling !!

99.3 KISS FM

This one's a college! bob floyd x reader !! bob, reader (nickname: cherry, pronouns: they/them), and various other daggers work the late shift at their college's radio station!! there's just endless amounts of mutual pining, a dash of miscommunication, and so many song references that only i will understand <3

have a little taste:

As the studio filled with the slow strums of “Trust” by Lucy Dacus, you made sure your mic was off before turning to the blob on the couch across from you. 

“Was that still too wordy? I’m really trying to take Penny’s note about brevity to heart but how else am I supposed to fill time?” 

Bob’s eyes shot up from where they had been focused on his laptop, composing his next setlist for the shift after yours. “I don’t think it was wordy but I think your pacing is more of an issue here. You literally said take a breath, but talked too fast to take one yourself. You’ll sound less like you’re rambling if you just slow down, speak with confidence.”

"If I had realized this job would be so stressful, I never would have begged Penny to let me sign up." You pouted, slumping in the desk chair as much as you could without falling off.

“Cherry, you’re fine! It’s not like the 12 people listening to a college radio station are gonna be concerned with your takes between songs. Not when you have the best song queue out of the whole lineup bar one.”

“If that one is you, I’m gonna smack you upside the head, Bo. I’m not listening to a whole night of The Cars, not again.”

“You love The Cars!”

“Yeah, in moderation! Not when I have to hear “My Best Friend’s Girl” eight times in a row at 2 in the morning!”

“I take back every nice thing I’ve ever said about you, obviously you have no taste.”

jason sudeikis must pay aka the hangster sleeping with other people au

two lonely souls in college agree to lose their virginities to each other, only to spend the next ten years having very strained relationships with sex. When they meet again in a sex addicts support group, Jake and Bradley decide to use their renewed friendship to help each other heal. Maybe, in more ways than one. (and also rhett abbott is there because i needed a scapegoat thank you <3)

something to whet your appetite:

"He came through every few weeks on one of his bull riding tours or to meet with vendors. He never stayed more than a night before he went back to her, and I was left with this profound emptiness in his absence.

I let myself get wrapped up in his world. I deluded myself with these fantasies that one day he would stay. All I wanted was for him to stay. I just wanted to be enough for him, so I broke myself apart into something I thought he would want. There's no telling how much of me I lost pursuing that pipe dream.

"Must have been a pretty good pipe to string you along like this for the past ten years."

"Oh shut up, Bradshaw."

"No, I'm serious! What, is it ten inches? Is it made of gold? Can it vibrate? What about him and his magical two foot long dick had you so spellbound?"

mickey mouse the matchmaker

this one is soooooo very self-indulgent. it's bob x mickey's cousin (x reader for now but that is subject to change). BASICALLY, mickey and bob have been good friends since their OCS training in Rhode Island all those years ago. While they were stationed in Newport, Mickey and Bob would go and visit Mickey's cousin while she was in school in Providence. Bob and the cousin got along like a house on fire, but were both too scared to do anything about it (even though mickey knows they both want to). Fast forward a few years, and she moves out to San Diego where the daggers are now stationed. AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, READER NEEDS A PLACE TO LIVE AND BOB HAS AN EXTRA ROOM !! Mickey's masterplan is all coming together

(there's no excerpt for this one because the whole fic is just various one-liners strung together with a wish and a prayer)

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR WIPS DARLING !!!

[valentinerose529]

Tag Game: Oc Ship Songs

thanks to @dancinginsepia for the tag, and also for making the tag game!

rules: write about two to five songs from them that represent your a ship between your ocs (it can be platonic or romantic or a secret third thing). then add a quote from said wip (if possible!) underneath it.

and boy oh boy this is the right tag because you know who's been making playlists and imagining music edits instead of, yknow, actually writing something? this gal!! Anyways, relationship: Coraline and Ixora because I am Unwell over them. They're a bodyguard and a charge that eventually turned into like platonic soulmates sorta thing, in that they know each other so well but still insist to strangers it's only a job. This is gonna be fun to decide on anything because i have pages and pages of backstory but very little current dialogue and interaction written between these two--they've actually spent more time apart and affecting each other's lives than they have interacting on page! (the solution is to write more of them interacting. i'll get back to you on that)

1. Die For You by STARSET This has been an Ixora theme song for like. Years. The man's loyal as hell. And in a relationship like theirs, how do you determine the line between Ixora-specific loyalty or bodyguard-general dedication? He'd follow her into hell if she asked. (She did, once.)

"You promised to protect me," Cory gasped, and the words were a knife in his own heart. "I failed," he replied. Words clawed up his throat, but he couldn't get them out—how could he say what she meant to him? He would have given her everything before today; he made himself her protector because he believed in her. Because he trusted her.

2. If I Killed Someone For You by Alec Benjamin I haven't quite gotten under Cory's skin yet to get a writing handle on how she ticks,but I know she's very self-centered and righteous. I love exploring their dynamic--here's a power imbalance with two irascibly stubborn people on either end--and how much Ixora will simply cede to her rather than arguing. And how far would he go for her without her needing to ask?

“I thought I’ve been banned from your events,” Ixora said, in a tone I’d only ever heard when he was trying to start a fight. “You’ll behave yourself tonight, won’t you?” [asked Louise.] "I'm not coming anyways. I can’t leave Cory; I’m her protector, remember?” "Oh, but you're invited too, Miss [Coraline]." All eyes turned to Coraline. She and Ixora looked at each other. Her eyebrow twitched in question, he set his jaw in response, and Coraline replied smoothly, “If you insist, Miss Louise, then it’s in our best interest to attend.” Ixora’s wings quavered; I couldn’t tell if he had agreed with Coraline or not.

3. House of Memories by Panic! At The Disco This one ends up on a lot of my oc playlists cause everyone's got backstory and lore. But these two for sure really have a plethora of memories together! They know nearly everything about each other--the way they move and fight and their daily rhythms. But when strangers ask, they'll insist it's a strictly professional relationship.

“How do I look?” “Like you walked off the cover of a dime romance. Impractical and useless in a fight,” she added coolly, shutting down Ixora’s dreams. “You flatter me, sweetheart,” he informed her, and tossed an apple at her from behind his back. “Here, I know you skipped breakfast.” He read her thank you in the flick of her ears as she caught it. “Are you all packed?” “Since yesterday. You? That bag of yours doesn’t look big enough.” “I can borrow something of yours if I need.” “See, I knew you’d say that, just like last time, and the time before that, which is why I packed that red shirt you hate.” “God, with the shiny buttons? You’re a menace.” “It means you won’t steal it, yeah?” he shrugged, the movement carrying through his wings.

I ran out of quotes (i really need to write more of this story instead of letting it grow a full-on mold colony in my head) so i couldn't add all the songs i had in mind.

Gentle tagging if you want to participate, plus open tags! if you see it then join in! ♥ @isilee @inked-fables @lame2882 @sarah-sandwich-writes @sabinabardot @eldritchpiper @1legitconnor @nascentmorimur @sam-glade @sparrow-orion-writes @cat-esper

[jaceeverett]

Letting out a breathless laugh as Cori tried to get herself up to speed, Jason knew that he wasn't much help -- avoiding his brother and the entire situation meant that the details were scarce, and a part of him… was very, very grateful for that. "I can't say that he told me specifically because he wanted to debut his new honey, but it felt like the kind of thing that you tell your brother before you've moved on with someone else. Or are thinking of moving on with someone else, whatever," he waved it off as though the details were trivial, and maybe to some extent, they were. He didn't know if it would change all that much if he did have the whole story, knew every last detail of every aspect of what had been going on. "I think Delia saw them together at the Renaissance Faire. Tessa, I think… somewhere in town? They had no clue, and it's not like I could tell them, because it's not my thing to tell, but that made me feel like shit," he pressed a hand to his chest as he said it, because he had been gone for so long, had missed out on so many things, being the protective brother was one of the biggest. Isolating him from the only family that he had, it had felt awful, something that he was relieved to overcome when Tessa had showed up at his place and he had talked to Delia. "My dad's just an ass," he stated bluntly, squaring his jaw. "I ran into him back at the carnival, never really said anything because… it is what it is, you know? But he started in on the army bullshit, how disappointing it was that I chose to come home, how disappointed he had been to find out that I hadn't reenlisted," he reached for his beer again, bringing it to his mouth to take a long swig. "I walked away, trust me. It was either that or forget I'm a pacifist these days."

When Jason began to explain what sounded like the reason he had been laying low recently, Cori sat quietly, sipping on her beer as she listened. It sounded like she had missed a lot in a short period of time. As the story went on, Cori's expression grew only more and more confused. This was the type of information that took a bit to process and she needed a moment to simply let her brain catch up to everything that had just been relayed to her. Finally speaking, Cori's head shook, still confused. "Wait, wait, wait.. Let me get this straight.. You brother managed to get secretly divorced somehow and decided to announce it now cause he got caught with not new chick? By your sister? Sisters?" She had so many follow up questions, some because she was nosy, but mostly because she figured she may have to also call Cordelia after this revelation. It all sounded incredibly messy. And with the Brownings, messy was never good. "And did you say you saw your dad? What's his problem now?" Cori had grown up close to the middle Browning children, she was well aware of the behind the scenes dynamics within this family. However, she questioned just why their parents acted the way that they did, as it seemed that not much had changed in her friends' adult years. Except maybe now the siblings were taking turns in being that moment's family disappointment, embarrassment, however their parents saw it at any given time. Or at least she assumed that that would even the playing field a little, confused as to just why any disappointment was being put on Jason yet again.

[gabessquishytum]

So if catboys dream and Cori are mad that Hob’s been around another cat boy, imagine what they’d do when they find out about hob’s friend destruction the dog boy. This, hob is keeping a secret. He doesn’t want them to know because they’d be so mad…and also hob can’t stop.

Destruction belongs to death, hob’s friend. He is huge and so sweet and gentle usually, but he is utterly savage in bed. And poor hob just can’t resist him.

Death thinks it’s pretty amusing (and hot) watching her sluttiest friend get on all fours so destruction can pin him in place and pound him while hob moans and cries and comes. He’s never been spread to wide. He sobs into the carpet while destruction licks his neck and the side of his face, careful not to crush him while they’re knotted. Death might go ahead and put her feet up on hob’s back, since he’s down there.

Hob actually feels guilty about it. So he always showers and washes his clothes before he goes home to his boys. But he doesn’t have an excuse for how his arse aches after he’s been over at death’s. Or, one day, when destruction can’t help it, for the bite he leaves on hob’s neck.

Hob: I'm a cat person! I promise!

Death: 👀

Destruction: 👀

Dream & Cori: 😡����

I genuinely love the idea of this au SO much. The possibilities for slutty shenanigans, rivalries, cute pet hybrids. It brings me so much joy.

So, when Hob comes back from visiting Death, he's a little sore and tender as always. Dream and Cori immediately snuggle up to welcome him home - they're never quite sure why Hob is always like this after a visit with his friend. Or why he comes back smelling so clean... but this time, there's an extra bit of evidence. Dream spots it at the back of Hob’s neck. Teeth marks!! A purpling bruise, the skin almost broken! He hisses and immediately investigates further while Hob sinks into the sofa, waiting for the inevitable recriminations.

In short order he's pinned down and thoroughly scented all over. Through their yowls and hisses, the boys demand an explanation! WHO has been biting their Hob?! And so he explains and tells them about Destruction - that lovely big dogboy with the floppy, gingerish ears and tail. About his massive cock and his knot, and how his heavy weight pressing Hob into the carpet feels so fucking good. Dream and Cori listen with surprising patience (and with their claws digging into Hob’s sensitive parts).

To be honest they've already forgiven him. They've always known that their dear Hob is an incorrigible slut. It's no surprise that he can't control himself. And there's no way a dogboy can ever be trusted to respect other people's territory. They don't know this "Destruction" but he obviously doesn't get the chance to be dominant very often, so the boys are inclined to be lenient with him. This time.

That doesn't mean that Hob will be getting away with his behaviour, though.

Before he knows what's happening, Hob’s clothes have been clawed away and both Cori and Dream are eagerly pressing their little hard cocks into his arse. With no lube, the barbed shafts ache - especially because Hob’s poor hole has already taken a knot. He squirms and begs for mercy, but he's no match against his kitties when they team up on him. The wiley creatures even manage to bind Hob’s hands using their tails!

Hob ends up thoroughly fucked, with his hole a puffy and swollen mess. His back is scratched to ribbons and his neck has been savaged. But he'll have to get up tomorrow, because he's promised to take the boys to meet Destruction...

He can practically hear Death's laughter already. God, how is he almost looking forward to it?!

[dollanganger-in-the-attic]

Hi, I'm new to the fandom side of VCA (aside from adoring complete VCA when it was running), and I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of information about why everyone seems to hate AN? I don't have any strong feelings on him, but if he's a bad person, I want to beware. I'm sorry, I didn't know where else to go or who to ask.

Hmm im not sure if i know of like a mega thread with all the reasons many VCA fans dislike him so i can only speak to what I feel and what others have told me.

For me its really only a matter of opinion. I still enjoy the books he’s written, the Landry series is prob my second fav vca series in fact. I just don’t agree with certain decisions he’s made. And a lot of it might even be coming from the publisher rather than him personally.

For example: its hard to trust Andrew Neiderman when he was introduced to us under false pretenses. When he took over ghostwriting for VCA, fans were told that he was just finishing the manuscripts and ideas that VCA left behind. But that ended up being a lie and he was just writing new material under her name. He’s even stated that there were no manuscripts ever given to him, before changing his statement. And the family confirmed that none of Virginia’s unfinished work for the casteel series was used in the final books. Anyway to me it seems strange he was chosen at all, considering VCA wrote a lot about what it means to be a young girl terrorized by men- so… you replace her with a male writer? Strange choice. That’s probably why his identity was hidden by the Andrew’s family for quite a while.

To me that wasn’t egregious on its own. He was under contract to create so many books for the VCA brand anyways. But my thinking changed when the fanfiction works started being published. After VCA’s last close relative died, Andrew Neiderman suddenly started taking over works that he didn’t write. He started messing with the original series like Flowers in the Attic and My Sweet Audrina. It felt very disrespectful that not only was he trying to add to a series that was not his own- but he tried to change the canon that Virginia created! He published the Diary series and brought Cory back to life even though Cory was not his character to toy with. It upset a lot of the fans because it was a blatant cashgrab. One that he is still milking with the “first corrine” books. Mind you, his original contract stated that he was PROHIBITED from creating any stories with existing VCA characters. They tried to protect Virginia’s original works and i guess once no one was left alive to stop him, he thought it was free game. Which is yucky.

Another personal grievance of mine is that I’ve seen him be introduced in articles and interviews as the creator of Flowers in the Attic when that is absolutely untrue. Stolen valor lol it feels like he isn’t confident enough in his own work that he needs to tie himself as tightly as he can to Flowers in the Attic. Its like he completely took over the name V.C. Andrews and believes he IS the real Vc Andrews since hes written more books under the name than actual Virginia did. And so with the name he thinks he now owns all of her works- such as Flowers in the Attic etc

Even this biography feels disrespectful and untrustworthy. It feels very much like another cash grab because AN knows he can say anything he wants about Virginia because she isn’t here ti dispute it.

I don’t blame anyone who likes him and his works. And i dont think every fan needs to be in the know about this sentiment. Its ok to just be a fan of the books and not look into the ghostwriter’s approval ratings. It’s just something I feel a bit strongly about so I tend to speak up on it. I hope I shed some light on where I’m coming from. If you’re interested to know more I’d suggest joining one of the VCA fangroups on facebook and asking around. There are people who feel stronger than I do and have more insight :)

[serpentbearer18]

So, are we gonna talk about the fight Bradley and Laura had?

And, you know, everything that was wrong with it?

(This has been in my drafts ever since watching ep4, and I wanted to post it before watching ep5.)

Let me start by saying my thoughts on the kiss. I don't think Bradley kissed her just to evade the question, but it was definitely one reason. Like, I think she was attracted to Laura, and thought Laura was attracted to her and suddenly, she needed a way out of the conversation so... Kiss.

I liked them together, especially when Laura gave Bradley advice about Cory - and seriously, what was that?? You're telling me Bradley "Trust Issues" Jackson decided it was a good idea to share personal details of her relationship with her friend/boss to someone she'd just met? A journalist no less? Only thing on my mind in that scene was Alex warning her about Laura and Bradley saying something like "This isn't my first time doing interviews, I've got experience." Do you??

I could see Laura getting a calculating look in her eyes and was expecting her to encourage Bradley's attitute, but, instead, she gave her solid advice, "He's your CEO", "Make them an ally", "Don't make them your enemy", and all that - so what if that's pretty much the same thing Bradley's team had told her and she'd ignored them? At least someone managed to get through to her.

And Bradley did listen, went to Cory, gave him something that couldn't even be considered a half-apology until he pushed and she finally said "I'm sorry", and they are friends again, I guess.

But then - THEN - Bradley went to talk to Laura and that's when everything went to shit.

Laura saying Bradley should come out and making her feel bad about not having done that? I mean, what the hell was that??

I get that Laura would feel envious of her for having the chance to come out without as much backlash as Laura had, I even get that she could resent her a little bit for that, but thinking that means Bradley was, what? Wrong? To not come out? No.

Maybe Bradley is repressed, and maybe she's not ready to come out, and maybe that's the reason why. Or maybe she's not repressed, and maybe she's completely ok with herself and still doesn't want to come out. Whatever.

In any case, it was not ok to make her feel like she owns anyone information on her sexuality.

Up until then, I was completely on Bradley's side.

And then. She broke. A vase.

I mean... ?????

I still didn't agree with Laura, of course, but now I felt both of them were wrong.

You don't get to throw a vase on the ground in the middle of a conversation just because you're mad in any situation, but it was made worse by the fact that it was Laura's vase (her property) in Laura's apartment (a place she's supposed to feel safe).

I suppose it's a small mercy that Bradley threw it at the direction of her own feet, and not at Laura's direction, but it was still a terrible thing to do, not to mention a red flag.

Maybe I'm making a big thing out of this, but the truth is, throwing things in a fight is actually an indicator of an abusive relationship, so I don't know if they're gonna use this to introduce a storyline that Bradley has some experience with abuse - either her own or maybe her mother's, we remember her father has a history of alcoholism? And that doesn't mean he's abusive and/or a bad person, of course, but it would tie back to her trauma-induced obessessive search for the truth in s1 - but I do hope they're at least going to address that because. Girl. Therapy. Consider it.

I also don't know if Bradley/Laura are endgame, or if they're even gonna have any sort of established relationship at all.

But if they are, I really hope the show doesn't just sweep this under the rug and pretend it didn't happen just cause Bradley apologized - and Laura hasn't even done that yet.

[fcrafcrtnight]

"I KNOW, SWEETHEART. I KNOW. AND I'M HERE, YOU KNOW? FOR ANYTHING." it felt as if everything had slipped out of their reach when he had been gone and no, he never wanted that to be the case again. he never wanted to have to leave her again and yes, he'd make sure that he would not. he just had TO. no matter who it was that he had to kill? he was going to make sure that he stayed here. "fucking cory. let me guess, he made things worse and painted a pretty ugly picture before he died? THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED. HE ALWAYS HAD THAT DRAMATIC SIDE." sighing, because.. yes, cory had been a friend but that was where he had drew a line. where he was always going to draw a line, because no one hurt cecilia and got away with it. she was the only family that he had, right? "if you ask me? I THINK HE'S SCARED. WE BOTH KNOW HOW THE.. JOHN SITUATION AFFECTED HIM BEFORE. if he believed that it was happening again? he may have gotten scared. pulled away, before he got hurt like that again. he just.. you just need to remind him that he can trust you. as he did before," he had a feeling that the two of them would be alright. "don't worry, we have it covered. we'll have him back here within the hour if we need to. you just have to say the word, but.. be patient, okay? he loves you. dearly. we all know that. HE'LL COME BACK." @xtinyslip

"I LOVE YOU TOO. YOU DO KNOW THAT?" edgar had been the first of her family to show her even a moment of kindness, and it hadn't stopped with a moment. he had done more for her than she could most likely ever repay back and she knew that no matter what happened. she would always be grateful to have him. "… i went to cory. i wanted to use him to publish an article confirming i was still alive to pull my father's focus from will. i was tired of letting him down and i wanted him home. i didn't inform parker of the plan straight away… he found out through cory who is now… dead." was that a long story cut as short as possible? well, yes. she didn't know how else to condense that down. when she felt his arm on her shoulder, she tucked herself into his side. after all, he was one of the first people she let comfort her after her father's first stunt of trying to starve her to death. "i'll always love him. i loved him when i wasn't even aware of what real love was but i -- why doesn't he really want to come home to me?" she'd fought parker on this and she'd lost. miserably. not that she was proud to admit that but she had. "time," she just chuckled sadly. had they not already had over a life time's worth of time apart already? "i would like to see that. hm, alright. agreed." she'd give him time or she'd try, considering she wasn't the best at not getting her own way and they'd see. either way, he was coming home. yes? @fcrafcrtnight

[calif0rnia-lovers]

safe haven.

A/N: Don’t mind me, just giving J a normal high school romance--one where his family is not involved. Set in S1 of Animal Kingdom. First time writing for this guy, so let me know what you think 

Pairing: Josh Cody x Black!OC

Rating: 💙 A soft piece with the youngest Cody, and the girl he tries to keep secret from his new found family. 

Request: Convincing J to study bc he's too caught up in the family business to worry about midterms

Words: 3.3k

Josh tightens his grip, crushing the letter in his hand. Left inside the unaddressed envelope, the letter remains unread. There is no point in reading it. J got the gist of the letter from the conversation with the counselor. He discards the crumpled mess in a nearby trash can.

The end of the school week produces a flood of excited teenagers emptying into the parking lot.

J's mind is on the previously discarded letter.

It was a letter of truancy, addressed to his grandmother, his current guardian. It has been months since the passing of J's mother. The school's patience has spread thin. His grades have not dropped, but his attendance has.

His mind is on the letter when he fishes his keys out of his front pocket. His pace slows before he comes to a complete stop a few feet short of his truck. The truck is where he left it, but there's a new addition.

It now has a powder blue backpack on the hood. Seated beside the backpack is the prettiest girl in school.

Cori Edwards has a familiar pair of black shades concealing her dark brown eyes -- now J remembers where he left them. She has abandoned the denim jacket he caught a glimpse of her in earlier. A knowing smile spreads across her face as she watches his eyes linger on the sundress she wears. As his eyes return to hers, J can't deny the smile on his lips.

The last time he saw Cori, for longer than the brief seconds they pass in the halls, was a month ago. This year, it appeared fate wanted to test the two. They had the same classes, the same teachers, but never at the same time. A few months ago, this meant they spent all of their free time stealing kisses at lunch and in the halls. They would then make up for lost time as soon as the school bell rang.

But things have changed too much. 

J's mother didn't keep track of his movements. His grandmother and uncles, J came to learn, analyze his actions. Keeping secrets has become second nature to him since moving into the Cody House. The one secret he swore he'd never reveal was Cori. He hasn't introduced her to Smurf or his uncles. He hasn't shared much about how his life has changed, upon his moving into their house, with Cori.

After so many vague responses, Cori understood it was better not to ask questions. She didn't want to spend her limited time arguing with J. Only, in the last month their limited face time has dwindled. Fizzed out to nothing.

A few texts here. A few long spread out phone calls there.

It was after one of those texts that their last reunion had taken place.

J might have been slightly drunk -- sober enough to drive, and park his truck a block from Cori's parent’s house. He had climbed through her bedroom window. The act itself was not graceful. His tumble through the window at three am woke her dad. Her dad came in to find Cori “still sleeping,” the toppled over AP Calculus and Physics books on the floor enough incentive for him to return to bed.

Once the coast was clear, J managed to strip before climbing into bed alongside her. All she received was a quick kiss before his arm was around her. He was out before his head hit the pillow. He left Cori with no time to inquire about his reasoning behind showing up drunk. Or about the black eye and busted lip. He had to sneak out in the morning before her parents got up.

Rumor has it J’s been showing up to school, even if Cori's rarely seen him there. He shows up for three days, almost like clockwork. Technically, it is enough to stop the school from legally reporting him for truancy. Until the counselor concluded it was time J stopped playing that game--which brings us to J's current situation.

He's standing in the parking lot, keys in hand, staring at his girlfriend -- at least he thinks she's still his girlfriend. Is it weird if he leads with that question?

As he stands before her, the only thought in his mind is how much he's missed her smile.

Jingling the keys in his hand, J regards the innocent smile on Cori's lips before shaking his head.

“You got a tracker on me, I don’t know about, Edwards?”

“Nope. It’s just a Cody sighting is kind of a big deal in these halls,” Cori sighs lightly as her eyes pass over the crowded parking lot. “Word gets around pretty fast when you actually show up.”

Cori’s words don't receive a verbal response. Her eyes are covered, but J knows what look lies inside them. The look causes his eyes to avoid hers. His hand rubs against the back of his neck, a soft chuckle leaving his lips.

"Haven’t seen you around lately, Josh." She continues, the warmth of her fingers against his chin lifting J's gaze. Cori raises her sunglasses, her eyes passing over his face. "Nice to know your black eyes is gone."

"Yeah--sorry about that night." The smile on his lips is sheepish as he watches her study his face. He mentally kicks himself for the following line--he knows it's getting old. He says it anyway. "I had some family stuff-"

"That left you drunk with a black eye and busted lip?"

J takes in her raised brow, his shoulders sink.

What can he say?

I got my ass kicked after I was caught in the act of stealing some guy's car. Granted, my uncle saved my ass, but not before I got a black eye and busted lip?

No. He can't say that.

If he does, then he would have to explain why he was stealing a car in the first place. And that is a rabbit hole J isn't willing to jump down--not with her.

The passing of her fingers through his hair causes J to speak up.

"Sorry. I know you're tired of bullshit excuses." He shakes his head.

"I'm used to it," Cori sighs, her hands falling to her lap.

Before he can stop himself, J's hands are on her thighs pulling her closer. His lips are on hers.

"I'm sorry. You look nice," he smiles as his lips press a second kiss against hers.

"Hmm?"

"I’m serious," he chuckles as his hand finds her waist.

"Trust me, I know it’s true," she laughs. "I’m just trying to figure out why it’s taken you so long to say it."

"I’ve been busy," he begins. "With-"

"Family stuff," Cori nods, her hand waving to dismiss the subject. "I know, but that's not what I tracked you down for. I have so graciously blessed you with my presence because you owe me two things."

"What are they?" J's brow arches, a soft smile on his lips.

Cori drops her hand for his cheek. J's eyes remain on her as she leans back, weight resting against her palms.

"I need a ride home," she lightly pats the hood of the car. "And I need a study buddy."

J lets off a light scoff at the latter.

If there is one undisputed fact, it is Cori's academic ranking. She is top of their class. Between the two, J needs a study buddy to catch up to her perfect GPA.

"Okay. When?"

"Tonight, genius," her eyes roll as she pushes against his shoulder. "Josh, please don’t tell me you forgot we have midterms Monday."

J's eyes briefly drift shut.

"Shit--I have a family thing tonight."

"When?” Cori smiles as his eyes pass over the parking lot. The corners of J's lips turn up into a smile before his gaze returns to hers. “I’m just saying...it’s technically not nighttime yet…and being as you haven't seen me in ten thousand years...the least you can do is study with me...”

"What’s it gonna take for me to get out of this?"

Cori pauses to think.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

Shaking her head, Cori smiles as her hands find his shoulders. "There is absolutely nothing that you can give me for me to drop this."

"Damn."

"Unless,” Cori bites back her smile as her playful eyes meet his. “You want to tell me how much you missed me.”

“If that’s it,” J sighs, his lips stopping short of hers, “You might want to go ahead and find another ride home--”

“Shut up,” she giggles as his hands find her waist.

Helping her down, J steals a kiss before following Cori to the passenger side of his truck.

"I'm just giving you a ride home."

"Uh-huh." Turning to face him, she smiles as his lips press against hers.

She allows him a second kiss as J's arm wraps around her waist.

“To sweeten the deal,” she beams. “I’ll even let you take me out.”

"What is it?"

Cori's eyes remain on the surfers visible from the parking lot. She watches the girl who manages to ride the swell longer than the rest of the group. When she glances across the truck, she discovers J watching her. 

"What do you mean?" 

A low chuckle escapes J as he watches Cori busy herself with the task of finishing her milkshake. 

"What's on your mind?"

Despite her asking him to stop and grab something to eat, Cori hasn't said much to J. Even if she had, he knew her well enough to grasp Cori was waiting to ask him something. Her brown eyes raise to meet his gaze before she lets out a breath. 

"It's kinda stupid."

"Coming from you?" His brow arches as his fingers interlace with hers. "I doubt it."

Cori's gaze remains on their interlaced fingers as she speaks.

"It's just, the winter formal is coming up. I figured we could go together."

She glimpses up once her suggestion is met with silence. J's brow is a furrowed, a hesitant smile on his lips. 

His thoughts are racing--he's praying this is the initial time she's breached the subject. That he hadn't missed any hints in his haze the past weeks.

"Seriously? You never want to go to those things."

Cori's eyes roll. J's right. In the last two years, neither of them have attended the school’s dances. 

She bites her lip before opting to take another sip of her strawberry shake. 

"You really wanna go?" A light shrug is what J gets in response. "If you want to go, I'll go."

"It's just--we're going to be done with school soon. We have to go to at least one--"

"And prom?"

"That's not up for debate. Your ass is taking me to prom, Joshua Cody." Cori laughs as J's lips press against her fingers. 

J's smile fades as a ringtone interrupts the conversation. He releases Cori's hand before retrieving his cellphone from the truck's console. 

She silently observes as he reads the name on the screen. 

Baz. 

She remembers the name--he is one of J's uncles--but that's where her knowledge ends. The furrow of J's brow sets in as he declines the call.

“So...this family thing," she notes, as his eyes meet hers. Before she can get the rest of her thought out, a text comes through recapturing J's attention. "It must be pretty important.”  

J's shrug seems outlandish when held alongside the urgency of his uncle. In the time it took to eat, J's phone has got several notifications. Each time, he pauses long enough to silence the call and proceeds as if it never came. 

“It’s just a thing with my uncles.” His mood is light as he sets the phone back down. His easiness returns as he meets her eyes. "Smurf's pretty serious about everyone being home for it." 

He can notice the slight hesitance in her eyes before she offers him a smile in return.

Leaning across the car, J presses a kiss against her cheek. His lips drift to her neck. 

"I'll get the tickets Monday," he mumbles as his lips retrace their steps. "Promise."

J's truck is parked engine idling. His left-hand rests against the steering wheel, his eyes on her.

Cori has removed her seatbelt. Her body is turned in the seat so that she faces J. She toys with the hem of her dress instead of moving to get out.

"It was good to see you, J."

"Yeah," J agrees. Her eyes lift to meet his, the soft smile on his lips stretching into a grin. "You too."

J opens his mouth to continue the thought, but Cori has already turned away from him. He watches as she retrieves her backpack from the back seat.  

"Cori," J clears his throat. The action hinders Cori's opening of the door. Her hand hovers over the handle. "Maybe we can hang-"

"Nope.”

J blinks. His brow furrows as a silence falls over the car.

"If you want to see me again," Cori teases, her hand falling from the handle. "It will be in school."

"Why do I have a feeling you're not gonna let this go?" J's eyes roll softly as Cori leans across the car. "You’re serious?" 

"Because I'm not letting this go," she smiles sweetly, ignoring the chuckle the action pulls from J. "And, I'm 'lock my window' serious, Josh. Show up if you want, and I’ll leave you outside."

The smile on Cori's lips grows as J's gaze falls from hers. His tongue passes over his lips as she leans closer.

His eyes drift shut as her giggle fills the car before Cori presses a kiss against his cheek. She leaves a second kiss before moving away. Hopping out of the truck, Cori slips her backpack onto her shoulders.

"Think about what’s important to you, Cody," she beams before shutting the door.

J picks up his phone. The screen lights up as a new text message appears.

6 missed calls. Baz

7 missed texts. Baz

1 missed text. Craig

He opens the most recent notification from Craig.

Dude. Call Baz back so he'll stop losin his shit. You know we got that thing tonight

Cori is in the process of unlocking the door when she hears the sound of his car door slamming. Looking over her shoulder, she smiles as J crosses the driveway backpack over his shoulder.

"Two hours,” he concedes. J is powerless to the tug of her hand as Cori pulls him inside. “Then I have to go. Baz is blowing up my phone.”

"Then we better get started."

J's fingers comb through his hair, the brown eyes trained on him forcing him back to reality.

Judging by the look on Cori's face, this is not the first time she has spoken. Heat rushes to his face as J's gaze reverts to the stack of notecards in his hands.

"Uh--yeah," he clears his throat as he shifts in the computer chair. "That's right."

He steals a second glance at her, the smile on Cori's lips not helping with his current situation.

"Of course it is," she winks. Her gaze returns to the review sheet. She stops to make a note alongside the term The Baroque.

The two are currently in the midst of an AP European History review.

J isn't much help, but Cori doesn't need it. Each of her responses is correct. That's good for J. He's spent the last thirty minutes distracted.

It's a good thing Cori claimed the bed, laying on her stomach as she pulled out her notebook. J took the computer chair opposite of her. If Cori had let him join her on the bed, no studying would have taken place.

It doesn't matter that a month has passed. J hasn't been able to keep his eyes off Cori Edwards since her arrival freshman year.

A smile creeps across his face as J's eyes meet Cori's for a second time.

"You need a break, Cody?" The grin on her lips widens as Cori rests her chin in her hand. "You seem distracted."

"Just thinking about how you don't need these." J lifts the cards in his hands before discarding them on the nearby desk. "You never have."

"Hmm..." Cori's eyes return to the review sheet. She pauses to add more to the notes written neatly in the margins. "True, but you do."

Pushing herself up, she passes over the review sheet. Written neatly in the top right-hand corner is J's name.

"I made this for you Tuesday night."

J studies the sheet for a moment, his fingers massaging his temple as he takes in Cori's study guide.

Shit--she's right. He does need it. He missed the review session on Tuesday. The thing about AP Euro is that it's not as straight forward as Trig. J can ace his Trig midterm in his sleep. AP Euro is a whole separate story.

"Thanks, Cori," he sighs. The grateful look in his eyes as he watches her cross the room earns him a warm smile. "You didn't have to-"

"Oh, trust me, I know." Taking his hand in her, Cori lowers herself down onto his lap. "But, I know you have a lot going on. Besides, making the sheet helped me review for the test."

"I love you. You know that?"

"As you should." Taking his face in her hands, Cori smiles as J meets her gaze. She closes the remaining distance between their lips. "I love you too."

As her lips drift to his neck, fingers slipping beneath the hem of his t-shirt, J pushes her dress up her thighs.

"I thought we were studying," he chuckles, his lips returning to hers.

"We're taking a break," she giggles. "You’re useless when you’re distracted."

When he wakes, J knows he’s overstayed. He was meant to leave by four. It’s four thirty. 

The cellphone, humming on the surface of Cori’s desk, sounds through the bedroom. J doesn’t lift his head from the pillow. Instead, he watches her face scrunch in irritation as the sound gradually pulls Cori out of her sleep.

“You gotta go?” She breathes, her eyes remaining shut as she tries to fall back to sleep.

“I should,” he chuckles. His finger traces the curve of Cori's shoulder. “Your parents will probably be home soon.”

“You’re right.” A soft giggle follows as J's arm wraps around her waist, pulling her body across the bed. “You should probably go.”

Despite his words, J makes no move to leave the bed. He sinks his face into her neck. His weight presses her into the mattress as her arms wind around his neck. He stays there for almost ten minutes. His eyes closed, listening to the delicate pattern of her pulse. Neither says a word. Cori knows the time has come to let him go when J presses a soft kiss against her skin before forcing himself up.

“I have some family shit I gotta handle,” J huffs as his palms rub against his eyes. “So, um, I probably won’t be on my phone for most of the weekend.”

“Okay.”

J proceeds to redress, his body in no rush to leave, as his phone starts again.

He needs to go. Now.

J has prolonged his return to reality, and the Cody House, long enough. If he doesn’t call back shortly, Smurf might have a heart attack.

J tugs his t-shirt over his head. His eyes focus on the bedroom window. He’s shocked Smurf's car is not parked out front. It wouldn’t be the first time his grandmother has tracked him.

“I just meant--I might not be able to pick up if you call,” he crosses the room to meet Cori. The faint smile on his lips brings one to her. “You can text me.”

“Maybe,” Cori sighs as J's lips caress her cheek. “If I have time. I’ll have to check my schedule.”

She catches sight of his sparkling eyes before J’s lips are on hers. The kiss itself is soft, another step in his lingering goodbye. His lips linger against hers before pressing against hers a final time.

“Hey,” J pulls back, his fingers interlacing with hers. He gently squeezes her hand as she meets his gaze. “Thanks for today. I missed you.”

“You too.”

“I’ll text you later,” J smiles before retrieving his phone and backpack.

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[phoebe-delia]

Song number 79, please and thank you!

I'm really looking forward to reading all your stories because Taylor Swift is the best, as are song prompts!

Hey nonnie!! Thanks so much. Your song is "New Romantics" by Taylor Swift, of course. For this fic I have chosen to continue my little series called Androgynous, which features Draco, who generally uses he/him pronouns but has a nonbinary drag persona, named Tarasque, who uses they/them pronouns. Draco has a found family consisting of Pansy, Blaise, and a few drag queens (Claire, Cori and Silver), and they're all very close. Of course, he also has Harry, who is supportive and wonderful.

This will be a prequel, so Harry and Draco aren't together yet. This story--this series--is a love letter to the people who love us, support us and help us become who we are: our family. No matter where your family comes from or what it looks like, it isn't defined by blood, but by the ties you knot between you.

This series is, as always, dedicated to my own found family @moonstruckwytch @starlitsilvereyes and @apr1cots. Love you guys. <3

CW: homophobia

Generations ago, in ancient Galatia, there was born a dragon. Bred from Onachus and Leviathan, the creature lurked in treacherous waters, waiting for the right moment to leap out and strike, claiming men to feed its insatiable stomach. With sword-sharp teeth, poisonous breath, and a constellation of spikes across its back, this fearsome beast was the fright of man and the envy of demons.

They call it Tarasque.

Draco wiped the tears that spilled down his cheeks, his suitcase levitating behind him. The angry snarls from his father still rang in his ears, cruel and sharp.

"I'll not have a disgraceful poof for a son." Lucius hadn't looked at Draco when he spoke, the distinguished, aristocratic features facing the ancient walls of the Manor. "You have five minutes to collect your possessions and then you will leave this house."

So there Draco was, trudging through Knockturn Alley and avoiding the curious stares of those passing by him. It was getting dark, the western sun setting in the distance. He shivered against the biting, frigid air. He felt a rush of gratitude toward Pansy for letting him stay in her flat while he got back on his feet. He knew his mother, who'd come to her senses and left his father for a townhouse in France, would gladly take him in, but he knew if he left London he'd never gather the strength to return.

As he walked, he saw a neon sign out of the corner of his eye. "Deliquesce" shone in bright letters like a beacon in the darkening alleyway, beckoning Draco inside.

He sighed. He deserved a firewhiskey to calm his nerves.

He ended the levitation charm on his trunk and then shrunk it to fit into his pocket. He then walked along the cobblestone street and entered the bar.

A man wearing a tight red t-shirt and leather trousers looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"ID?"

Draco sputtered, searching his pockets until he found his identification card and handed it to the man for his scrutiny. The man pursed his lips as he looked over the card and then handed it to Draco with a grunt and a nod. Draco took that as permission and walked the rest of the way in.

The bar was dimly lit. A few tables surrounded a small dance floor and a stage. It was relatively quiet since the night was still young, but a few people were sitting and talking in hushed conversations. One person danced by himself to the upbeat song, uncaring of the world around him as he undulated his hips to the music.

Draco stood, stunned, until he felt someone bump his shoulder.

"Hey! Watch it--wait, you okay, hon?" Someone with long purple hair and a kind, open face looked at Draco in concern.

"I'm fine," Draco's voice was rough from crying, and he was sure his tear-stained cheeks and red eyes undermined his attempt at nonchalance.

The person's worried frown deepened. "Aren't you that Draco Malfoy kid?"

Draco flushed and turned away. "Not anymore," he croaked.

The person shook their head. "You're not who they wanted you to be, are you?"

Draco let out a shuddering breath. "No," he said, his voice tight. "I'm not who he wants me to be. I'm not his son."

Suddenly, he felt a warm hand gently take his own. "Come with me, kid, I think I can help."

They lead Draco into a back room. A row of mirrors and chairs lined the wall, as people chattered and sipped cocktails and ran around with wigs, half-done makeup, clothes, and heels. Draco blinked, stunned.

"What is this place?"

His guide smiled. "This is the dressing room. Not many people get a backstage pass like this but--well--you seem like you need some help."

Draco nodded dumbly and let himself be led to the person's station as a thought struck him.

"What's your name? Er, what do I call you?" He flushed at his own lack of manners.

The person smiled as they sat in their chair, patting the one next to them for Draco to sit. "My drag name is Nex Doughty, but my friends call me Cori."

Sitting down slowly, Draco nodded. "And um, I don't mean to be rude, but are you a man or a woman?"

The person chuckled a little. "Neither. I'm nonbinary. I use they/them pronouns."

"What does that mean?"

Cori shook their head with a small, amused smile. "I'll send you a few websites. For now, just use my pronouns right and we'll be fine."

Draco nodded dumbly. "O-okay."

"Don't be nervous, kid, you'll be fine. We're a family," they gestured to the other people in the room.

Draco's eyes widened. "This--this is your family?"

Cori laughed. "We're not related, but yes, they're all my family."

"But--aren't they your friends then?"

"Don't you have friends you'd consider to be your family? That you might even like better than your blood relatives?"

Draco let the thought linger for a moment. He considered Pansy and Blaise the siblings he never had, and it wasn't as if his Father had really raised him.

After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Cori smiled. "Then there you are." They leaned back in their chair and looked past Draco. "Silver! Claire! C'mere, I wanna introduce you to someone."

Two people came up to them, both with friendly smiles and expectant looks at Cori.

"Draco, this is Silver and Claire. Guys, this is Draco."

"Hi Draco, I'm Silver." said someone with red lipstick and short black hair cut in a bob that reminded him of Pansy.

The other person, who had short blonde hair and blue eyes smiled at him. "Good to meet you, I'm Claire."

Draco nodded. "Likewise. And are you no--nonbinary too?"

Silver smiled. "Cori's been a good teacher, I see. And I use any pronouns. Claire uses she/her."

"So--are you...what is this place?"

Cori smiled. "This is a drag bar. We're drag queens."

Draco's eyes widened in understanding. He'd only heard his father grumble about drag queens when he'd had to go to Knockturn on business ventures, and he'd been taught that they were "freaks."

With a pang, he remembered that, to his father, he was a freak too.

"Draco? Everything alright?"

He shook himself and looked back at Cori, whose face was set in concern again.

"I'm fine. Just..." he trailed off, taking in the sight of the three queens in front of him with more clarity. "Gods, you three are gorgeous," he breathed.

They all chucked. "Thank you, dear," Cori gave him a knowing look before tilting their head in thought. "You know," they said with pursed lips. "You'd look just darling in drag."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Silver nodded. "Totally. You have the bone structure for it."

"I can definitely see it," Claire added with a smile.

Excitement bubbled up in Draco's chest. "Er, do you think you could help me?"

Cori looked at the other two queens, who grinned and nodded in agreement. Then they turned to Draco and gave him a soft smile. "Sure thing kid. Stick around after the show and we'll try it out."

Draco watched as the queens performed one by one over the course of the night, his leg bouncing in anticipation. He was mesmerized as they captured the crowd's attention, dancing and lipsynching to the songs with practiced ease.

When the show ended, Draco and Cori sat at their mirror while Cori applied powders and liquids he'd looked at with curiosity on his mother's vanity. While Cori didn't let him look in the mirror until they were finished, he loved the sensation of the brush against his skin and felt himself transform into something new, yet familiar. As if something had been living dormant in his skin, just waiting to be revealed.

Finally, Cori looked at him with a satisfied smile. "There. Are you ready?"

Draco nodded, no trusting himself to speak.

Cori nodded and turned him around in the chair toward the mirror. Draco gasped.

He hardly recognized himself. His gray eyes were enhanced by thick eyelashes and his face looked thinner, more feminine. A dark wig framed his face and brushed his shoulders. The red lipstick was bright and striking with his features. It felt like meeting a different part of himself he'd never known could exist.

Draco started to understand what Cori meant, earlier. The connection to masculinity had faded with the makeup and wig, and yet he didn't quite feel female, either.

Draco felt fierce, strong. They felt invincible.

Draco recalled Narcissa reading him bedtime stories of dashing knights and magical creatures, but his favorite had been of a powerful dragon that had defended against attackers with sharp teeth and poisonous breath. Saint Martha calmed the beast into submission, and then villagers had stoned the dragon to death.

He'd lie in bed after she'd gone, wondering if perhaps the dragon had reasons to attack. Maybe the villagers meant to kill it. Maybe it wanted to be left alone. Or maybe that's all it knew.

When Lucius had kicked Draco out, he'd felt helpless and terrified of his own shadow, much like he had during the war. Now, the fear still lingered in the back of his mind, but Draco knew there was more to the world than he'd once known.

And maybe Draco could learn to be fierce, too.

Suddenly, Cori put calming hands on Draco's shoulders. "So, what do you think?"

"I love it," Draco said breathily. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Cori said with a smile. "I can teach you how to do this yourself if you want."

Draco nodded quickly. "I'd like that, please, thank you."

"Well, you'll have to think of a name for your drag persona. Of course, you can use your real name if you want, some people do that."

"I've got a name."

"Oh? What is it?"

Draco looked in the mirror, gray eyes sharp with a newly ignited fire.

"Tarasque," Draco said, not glancing away. "Call me Tarasque."

Send me an ask about Harry Potter, broadway/musicals, The West Wing, and/or Taylor Swift! Or just about life in general :).

Also, I have a playlist of my 99 most listened-to songs of the year so far. Pick a number 1--99 and send me an ask and I'll write you a fic based on it!