#Not every specialized tool can be rented either

[losech]

Anytime a how-to video starts off with a specialized tool, I'm not going to watch it. Unless there is absolutely no way to do the thing without that tool, I don't want to see how it's done that way. I need the bare bones DIY basic toolbox kit version, thanks.

[joehomebuyer]

How to Sell My House Fast Moreno Valley

Selling a house quickly in Moreno Valley can seem like a daunting task, especially if you're unsure of where to start. Whether you need to relocate for a job, downsize, or simply want to move on, selling your home efficiently is likely at the top of your list. Here's a guide on how to sell your house fast in Moreno Valley, answering some common real estate questions and providing actionable tips.

What Are the Best Strategies for Selling My House Fast in Moreno Valley?

To sell your house quickly in Moreno Valley, you need to make your property appealing to potential buyers. Here are some effective strategies:

Price It Right: One of the most crucial steps in selling your house quickly is setting the right price. Overpricing can drive potential buyers away, while underpricing might leave you with less profit. Research the market, understand the value of similar homes in your area, and price your house competitively.

Enhance Curb Appeal: First impressions matter. The exterior of your home is the first thing buyers see, so make sure it’s in top shape. Simple improvements like landscaping, painting the front door, and cleaning the driveway can make a significant difference.

Declutter and Stage Your Home: A clutter-free, well-staged home allows potential buyers to envision themselves living there. Remove personal items, clean every room thoroughly, and consider hiring a professional stager to highlight your home’s best features.

Market Aggressively: To reach the right audience, you need a robust marketing strategy. Use high-quality photos, virtual tours, and list your home on popular real estate platforms. Additionally, social media and word of mouth can also be powerful tools in getting the word out.

Be Flexible with Showings: The more accessible your home is for showings, the faster it will sell. Be flexible with your schedule to accommodate potential buyers. Weekend and evening showings can often attract more interested parties.

What Are the Benefits of Selling My House to a Cash Buyer in Moreno Valley?

Selling your house to a cash buyer can significantly speed up the selling process. Here’s why:

Quick Closings: Cash buyers are often investors who can close deals quickly, sometimes in as little as a week. This is ideal if you need to move fast or avoid foreclosure.

No Need for Repairs: Cash buyers typically purchase homes "as-is," meaning you won't have to spend time or money on repairs or renovations.

Fewer Contingencies: Traditional home sales often include contingencies like financing or inspection, which can slow down the process. Cash buyers usually skip these, making the sale faster and more straightforward.

Certainty of Sale: With a cash buyer, the sale is more likely to go through without issues related to financing, reducing the risk of the deal falling through at the last minute.

How Can I Attract Cash Buyers in Moreno Valley?

To attract cash buyers, you need to make your property appealing to investors:

Highlight Potential: Cash buyers are often looking for properties they can either rent out or flip for a profit. Highlight the investment potential of your home, whether it’s a good rental market, low property taxes, or potential for renovation.

Advertise "As-Is" Condition: Many cash buyers are looking for properties that they can buy quickly and renovate themselves. Emphasizing that you’re selling "as-is" can attract these types of buyers.

Work with a Cash Buyer Specialist: Consider working with a real estate agent who specializes in cash sales. They often have connections with local investors and can help you navigate the process more efficiently.

Is Selling My House Fast in Moreno Valley Without an Agent Possible?

Yes, selling your house fast without an agent is possible, but it requires more effort on your part. Here’s how you can do it:

List on FSBO Websites: Websites like Zillow and FSBO.com allow you to list your property without the help of an agent. This can save you money on commission fees.

Hire a Real Estate Attorney: While you may not need an agent, a real estate attorney can help you with the legal aspects of selling your home, ensuring all paperwork is in order.

Handle Marketing Yourself: You’ll need to take on the responsibility of marketing your home. This includes creating a compelling listing, taking professional photos, and spreading the word through social media and other channels.

Negotiate Directly with Buyers: Without an agent, you’ll be responsible for negotiating with buyers. Be prepared to handle offers, counteroffers, and any contingencies that may arise.

What Are the Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selling My House Fast in Moreno Valley?

When aiming to sell your house quickly, it's essential to avoid common pitfalls:

Overpricing the Home: Setting the price too high can lead to your home sitting on the market for too long, making it less attractive to buyers.

Neglecting Minor Repairs: Even small issues can turn off potential buyers. Address any minor repairs before listing your home to ensure it’s in the best possible condition.

Skipping Professional Photos: High-quality photos are crucial for online listings. Professional photos can make your home stand out and attract more buyers.

Ignoring the Importance of Staging: A well-staged home can make a big difference in how quickly it sells. Don’t underestimate the power of professional staging.

Limiting Showings: Being inflexible with showing times can deter potential buyers. The more available you are, the more likely you are to sell your home quickly.

[deluxelimousine2]

Reasons Why You Should Consider Exclusive Limo Services

The limousine has always been considered of luxurious and for wealthy people. The picture these vehicle services give to many of us is that, it is a means to carry around celebrities, executives and foreign dignitaries. Nevertheless, this vehicle also has several uses, which could suit clients from different places of the world. This is to say that it is not only for professional people, celebrities or politicians, as anyone can get a ride from this chauffeur driven motor vehicle today. Do you need an exclusive Limo for a special occasion? Do not hesitate to visit a car rental near you, for the best bargains. limousine service near me

There are a number of Limo services in every city. This should not leave you into confusion as you can use the internet as a tool for sourcing out a reliable company. You will be able to make a wise decision depending on the reviews that earlier clients have posted. Once you get the service provider of your choice, you can also finalize the deal from the comfort of your home. It is always advisable to select the services keenly, to get the best offers.

These Limos may be used for several occasions, such as parties, weddings and birthdays. Business executives are not left out either as they also use the services regularly. For instance, picture out how the celebrities such as the artists, love using the posh vehicles while on their business trips. It looks more executive when one steps out of such a vehicle into a red carpet. los angeles party bus

As opposed to other transport services, the Limo service prides itself for offering an enjoyable and relaxing service. Once in a while, you will find that some people are getting a ride from this luxurious vehicle with no destination in mind, the reason being that the experience is worth remembering and even sharing with friends. The service providers in these companies are friendly, which makes the experience comfortable. Unlike the unfriendly taxi drivers, the limousine driver knows one thing for sure, that he or she must give their customer high-class service.

This vehicle will offer you transport service anywhere around the city, and sometimes outside the city. Since the services are not cheap, you can join with a group of friends to share the cost of the service. This way, you will be able to have fun at a low-cost and make your dream come true. party bus los angeles

If you want to select the best car rental company, always select the one that has excellent services. Although, all this will be determined by the money you want to spend on the ride, the time you are renting it and what you are renting it for.

View More: anaheim limo service

[newgentilingsblog]

5 COMMON QUESTIONS REGARDING SHOWER LEAKS 

Shower leaks are a widespread problem that can be easily fixed. If you have a leaky shower, here's what you need to know: 

Why is my shower leaking? 

There are many reasons that a shower can leak. The most common causes for leaks are: 

Poor caulking around the base of the tub or shower pan (the metal or fiberglass structure that holds up your bathtub). Caulking should be replaced with an elastic sealant every couple year because it dries out and shrinks over time. You need proper shower caulking service in Melbourne to improve shower leaking. 

Poor installation of the shower head, which leaves gaps between pipe connections and walls/ceilings that allow water to leak into surrounding drywall or insulation. 

You may also want to consider hiring an experienced contractor who specializes in plumbing repairs if you notice any of these issues: 

My shower was caulked a few years ago and it is leaking now. Why? 

If you are experiencing a leaky shower, it is likely that the caulking was applied incorrectly. The most common reasons for this include: 

The caulk may have been applied too thin. If the gap between your bathtub and tile is too large, or if there is any damage to the surface of either item (such as chips or scratches), then it will be difficult for any type of sealant to create an effective bond with both surfaces at once. For caulking to work properly, both sides must be smooth and flat so that there are no gaps between them. This means that if one side has been damaged somehow, then it will not stick well enough when you apply new caulk around the edge where these two things meet each other--and even worse yet--if your old caulk has already started cracking over time due to weathering conditions outside like extreme temperatures inside your house/apartment building being higher than usual levels outside during summer months which causes expansion within materials like wood floors underfoot etcetera 

Do I need to hire a professional for shower leak repairs? 

If you find yourself in a leaking shower, do not panic. It is common and can be easily repaired. However, if the leak is severe enough or if you are not sure how to fix it yourself, it is better to hire a professional plumber instead of trying to do it yourself. A professional will have all the tools necessary for fixing any kind of leaky shower problem and can usually get the job done quickly and efficiently. They also know what parts need replacing based on their experience working with similar models before yours--something you may not know about your own model until after doing some research yourself. You can contact New Gen Tiling for shower sealing service in Melbourne. 

What is the best way to clean my shower? 

The best way to clean your shower is with mild soap and water. Do not use abrasive cleaners, such as toilet cleaner or bleach. Avoid using steam cleaners because they can damage the surface of your tile or grout. Also, avoid any cleaning products that contain ammonia because they may cause discoloration or other damage to your tile and grout. 

How can I prevent my shower from leaking in the future? 

Keep your shower clean. 

Keep your shower caulking in good condition by cleaning it regularly, or have it replaced if necessary. 

Use a shower sealing service to ensure that all surfaces are properly sealed and watertight before use, especially if you're renting or buying an older property where this may not have been done recently (or ever). 

Get any leaks fixed quickly by hiring a professional plumber who specializes in leak repair services 

Conclusion 

If you're concerned about your shower leaking, we recommend calling a professional. They have the tools and experience needed to diagnose the problem quickly and effectively. In addition, they can offer advice on how best to prevent future leaks from happening again. 

[projectoffice5487]

Furniture Moving Company Newlands

Intercity Auto Movers are car relocation assistance transports in Newlands. Intercity Auto Movers offer automobile relocation assistance in all places in Newlands. Car transport also recognized as car transport, car movers, auto movers, car shippers are transport logistics firms that transport automobiles from one location to a different. Car transport refers to either businesses that need to move fleets of cars, or personal people that solely need to transport one or two automobiles. We know of a legitimate business that's incessantly operating in your space.

We’ve obtained groups in Durban obtainable at any day of the week, together with public holidays and in a single day transportation. If you have any concerns or special requirements for your transfer in Durban, just let us know forward of time and we can plan accordingly to provide the smoothest and most easy moving expertise Moving Company Newlands possible. When it comes to moving furnishings to second and third floors, Wise Move groups use a hoist rent to effortlessly lift your possessions either outside or inside the constructing. All of this might be confirmed and communicated with you forward of the transfer for your peace-of-mind.

We move furnishings and have clean blankets to protect scratches in your precious furnishings. Thank you for every thing I am very happy about your service. I just wished to thank your staff for the superb service we acquired. Her furniture was well handled and though it is in storage for now she is happy that there were no damages.

The open-plan areas are just as suited to centered graft as to collaboration. And whenever you want a closed place for telephone calls, interviews or meetings, there are privateness pods, a studying room and a bookable boardroom full with conferencing audio-visual tools. Need to maneuver round whilst you strategise or a change of scenery on your break? Grab a espresso from the skilled on-site barista and head for the dialog couches or out of doors areas. Why restrict your self to a static space when the unpredictable demands of the common enterprise day modifications moment by second. Shopperholics can get their fix at one of the massive malls.

Successful removals in Durban are a mixture of expertise and tools, working collectively to get your stuff the place it needs to go. Professional movers on Wise Move have the expertise coated, and when it comes to the equipment, each staff is provided with the best professional-grade instruments to get the job carried out. On the day itself, your specialists will handle all the massive stuff – the loading of huge furnishings and heavy objects.

We are Google Verified and welcome all suggestions from our shoppers. Make certain your subsequent transfer is a move that can go away you prepared in your new beginnings. Small Load MovesandShared Movesin Cape, or too Cape Town not solely Moving Company Newlands saves you time and money, it additionally takes away the stress of hiring a moving truck and a crew for loading your goods and unpacking your items. We have Moving Trucks Nationwide amassing and delivering all through South Africa on a weekly basis.

So if your furniture removing needs are for a giant workplace transfer or family furniture and even only a few or a single merchandise, Careful Movers is able to help you. From Pretoria to Johannesburg, each of our agents is acquainted with the local areas they serve. We’re ready to handle Moving Company Newlands all of the logistics of your upcoming transfer. In addition to coordinating residential strikes, our skilled brokers additionally organize business moves and company relocations. Even if you’re moving outdoors of Pretoria, our agents will decrease your stress stage by making the transfer go as easily as possible.

These suburbs also have a variety of the finest private colleges in South Africa, which is a cause why many young families relocate here. These are the leafy suburbs of Cape Town and as such have attracted quite a few English-speaking households in search of the quiet life, good facilities and pretty surroundings. The area is nice for canine walks and rambling as nicely as enjoyable drives along the Cape peninsula. Spots of observe embrace Table Mountain National Park, which contains Newlands Forest, and Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. These Cape Town suburbs boast many good faculties, well being facilities and buying centers.

[catgirltoofies]

how to wash your witch: a step by step guide

step 1: identify your witch's type

this is relatively easy. witches fall into a number of different types, but there are a few things to watch out for.

the most important is open flame. in many cases, if a witch has an open flame, it's important to maintain it, so you can't, for example, submerge her.

witches with electricity are similarly dangerous around water, and generally have to be washed either alone or alongside other electric witches.

also important are witches with multiple bodies - sometimes you need special methods if she either has multiple forms (in the case of charlotte) or multiple connected bodies (in the case of ophelia)

step 2: identify your witch's size

witches come in a number of size categories. there are four primary size categories to work with.

first, the smallest size category, these are the witches that are roughly smaller than a person, for example Charlotte in her doll form, or candeloro.

second, and next largest, are the witches that are roughly person sized.

third, another size up, are the witches substantially larger than a person, roughly the size of a house. oktavia von seckendorff is a good example.

and finally, the largest category, are the excessively large witches, that could be described as mountainous.

step 3: select your cleaner

different witches require different cleaning fluids. for most witches, clean water and plain hand soap will work fine. witches with hard carapaces or thick hides might need stronger soaps, while particularly thin or fragile witches might need gentler soaps. of particular note, witches with particularly cloth-like bodies will need very gentle soap.

as mentioned earlier, witch types incompatible with water will need alternative cleansers. sand is an excellent alternative, especially for the electrical witches. fire extinguisher foam works wonders, but that's for the very narrow category of witches that can't be cleaned with water and don't have an open flame to contend with.

step 4: set up a schedule

witches are creatures of habit. when you want to clean your witch, make sure you and she agree on a consistent schedule for the cleaning. for some witches, a daily bath is the best, while for others, particularly the larger ones, the cleanings need to be spread out further. in any case, make sure you stick to the schedule. a missed bathtime can upset a witch greatly.

step 5: tools of the trade

while discussing the schedule with your witch, you should bring up the tools you want to use. your witch needs to agree with the tools you want to use, while you need to make clear that if she wants a very small tool, that she can't leave the bath until you're finished cleaning her.

for especially small witches, a toothbrush or natural sponge is incredible. for slightly larger witches, a loofah works great.

for large witches, a queen- or king-sized mattress works surprisingly well as a makeshift sponge.

for especially large witches, you just have to put the time in.

step 6: washing your witch

this is the part you've been waiting for. using everything you've learned and gathered, carefully and gently wash your witch. get her into a designated washing area - a sink, a bathtub, a pool, a backyard, wherever you think best. just ensure you wash in the same place every time you can, so don't go renting a public pool for yourself if you can't afford it consistently.

step 7: cleanup

often overlooked, but extremely important. dispose of the waste water safely, dry or brush your witch, and clean your tools thoroughly. ensure that next time, everything will go smoothly, especially if things weren't perfectly smooth this time. then begin preparations for the next washing well before it's scheduled.

and that's how you clean your witches!

[missmentelle]

Tips for Living With ADHD (From Someone Who Actually Has It)

There is a lot of advice floating around online for how to manage the symptoms of ADHD. 

Most of it is bad. 

A lot of the advice available for coping with ADHD has been written by people who don’t actually have it. Much of it is either aimed at parents raising ADHD children, or it simply amounts to “just try harder and figure out how to remember things better”. It’s hard for people who don’t have ADHD to understand that there’s more to it than “being easily distracted”, and the advice they give for managing the disorder is sometimes woefully out of touch. 

Luckily, I have ADHD, and I’ve had to deal with it all my life. ADHD has not prevented me from getting a master’s degree, writing a novel, keeping my apartment clean or advancing in my career, because I’ve figured out some coping strategies like:

Train yourself to do the “keys, phone, wallet” dance. Misplacing things sucks, and it happens a lot with ADHD. To keep at least the important things from going missing, I have taught myself to physically tap my keys, wallet and phone before I leave any location. Getting into this habit took a few weeks, but now it’s muscle memory - and it’s saved me a lot of headaches over the years. 

Start a Bullet Journal or find a good day planner. My bullet journal is my life. For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, bullet journals are basically grid notebooks written with a special system that lets you quickly keep track of and organize all the things you need to remember. Their customizability lets you organize things in a way that makes sense to your brain (and there’s no need to make them as fancy as the ones on Instagram). Plus, the fact that it’s not an app or online tool helps me avoid distraction.

Do a daily 15-minute sweep of your apartment. Household chores can quickly get away from you, until your apartment is so overwhelmingly gross that you don’t even know where to start. Keep things to a dull roar with a fifteen-minute daily sweep - bag up garbage, move the dishes to the kitchen, throw laundry into a hamper, wipe up obvious spills. When your space is less overwhelming, it’s easier to tackle bigger chores when you need to. 

Set reminders to reply to emails and messages. If I don’t answer a message immediately, under normal circumstances, there’s a 50/50 chance I’ll never remember to answer it. If I know I need to reply to a message, I’ll set a quick reminder in my phone to respond - Siri can set reminders for me instantly, and it helps a lot with communication. 

Prioritize tasks and do the most important ones first. My brain has a limited ability to concentrate on tasks that I’m not hyper-fixated on. Attention is a finite resource for me - once I start to get tired or burnt out, the odds of me completing a task I’m not interested in drops to almost nothing. Order your tasks by importance, not difficulty; sometimes I’m only able to do 1-2 very simple things in a day, and it’s important to make sure those are the things that most needed to get done. 

Use the Pomodoro method for getting things done. I need pressure and deadlines to get things done, which is sort of difficult to replicate after college - the only person who cares if I work on my art or write a novel is me. So I use the Pomodoro method - this is basically where you set a timer for 25 minutes, work until it goes off, set a time for 5 minutes, relax until it goes off, and so on. There are even apps like “Focus To-Do” that automatically use Pomodoro timers and can even track how many you do on each task per day. 

Put reminders of daily tasks in places where you can see them. I have several houseplants, and the only reason those houseplants are alive is because they have brightly-coloured sticky notes on them that say WATER ME EVERY FRIDAY. Putting up visual reminders might seem tacky or childish, but if that’s what works for you, then that’s what you need to do. Putting a chore chart for yourself on the fridge is way less embarrassing than getting a pest problem because you lost track of chores. 

Tackle chores and cleaning in stages. Deep-cleaning my whole apartment in one day is simply not going to happen. It’s just not. So when it’s time to deep-clean, I spread it out in stages - one day is the day to tackle the fridge, the next day is the bathrooms, the day after that is closet organization, etc. Breaking things into manageable chunks is how I’ve tackled everything from my graduate thesis to moving - I accept that I need to spread big tasks out across more days than other people do, and adapt accordingly. 

Audiobooks and podcasts are your friend. If I’m doing a task that doesn’t require a lot of concentration - like mopping, or dishes, or walking the dog - my mind wanders... and it often wanders to another task I could be doing, causing me to abandon what I’m working on. I’ve found that the best way to prevent that is to keep my mind occupied. Throwing on some headphones and listening to an audiobook (which I rent from the Libby app for free!) has been a win-win situation for me; it helps me stay on-task, and it helps me reach my reading goal every year. 

ADHD can make it difficult to thrive in a world that wasn’t built for our brains. But when you find the right strategies, it’s possible to accomplish your dreams and navigate the world in your own way. 

[superhero--imagines]

Etsy Store Here l Ko-Fi l Commission Info

Part 2 Here!/ Part 3 Here! / Playlist Here!

* Sorry guys but this mans been living in my head rent free

* So the first time you see Satoru it’s with those black specs he likes to wear and you get a glance at those GORGEOUS eyes

* He meets your eyes for a second before looking away, it’s the briefest of interactions

* But your heart is racing and you can feel the familiar heat of attraction starting to lap at your face

* ‘He looks just like a prince’ you think

* You find out pretty fast the ‘prince’ similarities stop at appearance

* “Ah it’s not my fault you’re so weak~” You hear him say with the princely smile as he teases Utahime

* It looks like he’s held something so high she can’t reach it

* “Try your best, if you drink plenty of milk I’m sure you’ll be tall enough one day~” he says before laughing with that same princely face

* “You shouldn’t pick on those that are weaker than you” Geto intervenes, somehow making the entire situation worse

* You watch as Gojo laughs

* You’re starting to think he might be the real curse you need to exorcise

* You continue watching him as Utahime tries to kick him in the crotch

* “You silly girl, did you forget there’s an infinity between us?” Cue Gojo’s “A-hahahahaha” laugh

* Yeah, he’s definitely a demon

* You keep your distance, Gojo’s beautiful and all, but you’re not dumb, you’ve heard about the Satoru clan.

* “Hey Geto-Kun, who do you think would win in a fight me or a lion?”

* Besides that guy is way too reckless, you’d rather not get all mixed up in that if you can help it

* You watch as Satoru takes his shirt off, his well defined chest glistening

* Still, you’re grateful for the show

* Little do you know the famous Gojo Satoru has taken note of you as well

* Naturally given his ability he notices everyone, but he especially takes note of you

* It’s not because you stand out, quite the opposite

* You blend into the background easily, supporting others when needed

* But not to the degree where you unable to defend yourself, or you’re sacrificing your own life for someone else

* He grins

* Looks like he found something interesting

* You’re at the vending machine eyes racking over the drink selection

* But there’s another thirst quenching sight right next to you, their hand resting on the vending machine, that princely smile aimed right at you-

* “So what do you say?” Satoru asks, and you start to wonder if that princely smile seems just a bit wolfish “Do you want to be my lover?”

* You’re kind of annoyed

* What an impetuous question, you can count on one hand how many times you’ve spoken to each other, and you only need both hands to count the words said in each of those encounters

* “No”

* You turn your attention back to your drink choices, it’s pleasant weather so you don’t want anything hot.

* Anything carbonated is out of the-

* Gojo moves closer, peering into your face with that grin

* Ugh does he have to stand so close

* “Why ‘no’? I know you think I’m attractive”

* “I also think you’re a womanizer with a god complex”

* And really why shouldn’t he be?

* He’s probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen in your life, not to add the sheer power he contains in that body of his

* But just as he has the right to be a womanizer with a god complex, you have the right not to take part in that narrative

* He backs away, leaning back against the wall

* So he’s not going to deny it

* Well, at least he’s somewhat self aware

* Those clear blue eyes catch yours again, and you have to fight against every human instinct from showing any human reaction

* You turn back to the vending machine making your selection when a smile lilts onto his mouth

* “Friends then”

* “Just colleagues” you reply, grabbing your drink

* But as you walk by you push a canned beverage into his chest.

* It’s a can of green tea

* It’s his favorite drink

* He looks to you seeing a bottle glinting in your hand

* So you didn’t sacrifice your own thirst, but you also didn’t ignore his needs

* He feels that same wolffish grin curl onto his mouth

* “What an entertaining person”

* After that if you’re anywhere within a 50 feet radius of him he’ll go out of his way to get your attention

* “Oh wow, looking especially radiant this morning (Y/N/N)” he’ll say with a playful seductive wink

* When you don’t respond he tries annoying you instead

* “Ah you can’t reach that? Here let me-” and then he’ll proceed to hold it even further out of your reach

* He’s expecting you to jump up and down, or at least give some sort of response but you just walk away

* Well that wasn’t what he expected

* He feels that grin spread across his face again

* Very interesting

* His attraction to you is pretty shallow

* He’s interested you because you’re entertaining

* And you’re entertaining because you aren’t interested

* Which only makes him that much more interested in you

* Its a paradox

* You watch him flounder around, annoying Utahime for a giggle

* Well it doesn’t matter anyway, you know how he is, he’ll get bored soon enough and lose all interest in you

* He’s not the strongest {f*ckboy} for nothing

* You see him turn to meet your gaze, offering a boyish smile and a wink

* You make sure not to give any reaction, turning to listen to something Shoko is telling you

* You hope he can’t sense the twinge of heat you feel on your face

* You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find the attention a little flattering

* I think for the most part you’re right, Satoru is mostly playing around-

* At least at first.

* You’re just something new and fun no one knows about, and wildly entertaining since you never respond the way he thinks you will

* You’re kind, but not at the expense of yourself, and he likes that

* Besides you’ve got this quite sort of consideration for others-

* It’s not flashy, it’s so subtle most people hardly notice

* It’s in the way you bring an extra snack for Utahime when she’s running herself ragged training

* “They were having a two for one special”

* Or the way you’ll get your teacher a plushie you saw at a shop at the station because you know he needs more

* “I just thought it was cute, but I haven’t got any room for another one”

* You’re quiet, someone who hears things and she’s things, but never says anything about them

* A wallflower

* But you’re not weak

* There’s something about those two things put together in the same person that entertains him to no end. Like a paradox or a puzzle he can’t seem to solve no matter how hard he tries

* Satoru’s had at least a hundred lovers, and a great many of them had provided him with their own brand of kindness and consideration

* But he’s never felt something as warm as when he see’s a lunch box in his dorm after he hobbles back from a mission that lasted a little longer than expected

* He peers at the note attached, it’s not even signed but he knows it’s from you

* “I know you think you’re god or whatever, but even gods have to eat”

* He doesn’t know why, but he’s overcome with the urge to cry

* He gulps hard- it’s not like this a lunch you made by hand or anything, it’s just something from the convenience store

* And it’s not like this note is particularly affectionate or special either, he’s gotten entire love letters from his previous lovers

* So he’s not sure why he saves your note, placing it behind a picture frame where only he’ll know it is , or why he thinks that convenience store lunchbox is the most delicious thing he’s ever had

* Even though he knows he cares about you, and that he’s grown quite fond of you -

* I don’t think it clicks for him

* And part of that is because well, he’s Gojo Satoru

* He collects lovers like some people collect photographs or memories

* They serve their purpose, and he lets himself be entertained by pretending all the feelings are real, and then he moves on to the next one

* It’s just what he’s used to

* And this whole paradox you two have going on could go on for a few years until something finally shifts

* He went a little too far with one his half-flirting-half-tormenting pranks

* And for the first time you give him a reaction, it’s only for a second, but annoyance and anger mar you face

* And then just like that, it’s gone and you turn and walk off in the other direction

* Sh*t.

* He went too far didn’t he?

* It should be fine right? You’re not too mad at him right? You’ll get over it-

* Right?

* But for the next few days you don’t speak to him, and you don’t make eye contact

* It bothers him more than it should

* Normally he would be annoyed that his toy would have the gall to blatantly ignore him like this-

* But this is different than that.

* He’s-

* He’s feeling regret

* He shouldn’t have acted that way to you, maybe if he had just done something differently, or said something differently-

* It’s not like the way things were between you two was ideal or anything,

* But at least then you would at least speak to him

* ... and every once in while he would get to see you smile

* It’s never at him, it’s mostly when you’re with Shoko or Utahime

* Occasionally when you’re with Nanami or Geto, who you’ve been talking to more recently

* He’s pretty sure you three are talking about him, just one day away from forming a “down with Gojo Satoru” club

* Still that smile when you laugh-

* The way you look so carefree and young and so full of life is worth all the slander in the world to him

* He needs to see that smile, to know something that wholesome and kind exists somewhere in this cruel world

* Satoru’s thinking about how to go about apologizing to you

* He’s caught between buying you a Lamborghini or buying you a special grade tool when he ends up running into you

* “Ah, could you help me with something?”

* He would quite literally give you the clothes on his back right now if you asked

* You stand up on a a chair holding a glass of water

* “Apparently this is supposed to help with concentration or something” You say pressing the glass full of water to the ceiling

* “Can you hold this broom?” You ask and Satoru nods, holding the broom handle steady as you make sure it’s pushed against the glass holding it steady

* You nod approvingly down at him

* The rest happens pretty fast, you’re off the chair, carrying it away

* “The broom is actually a special grade tool, so cursed energy won’t work on it”

* You grin

* “Have fun figuring how to get out of that Baka Prince!” You say with a laugh

* And Satoru is dumbfounded

* But not because you just pranked him into a holding up a glass of water with a broom

* But because as you were rushing away, you showed him your teasing grin

* It’s the first time you smiled at him

* And as he looks up at the glass of water, a smile slowly spreads across his face

* It’s not the wolffish smile he usually has when he’s around you, or the princely smile he uses when he’s trying to get something

* It’s a genuine smile

* Ah, so that’s it

* He’s fallen in love with you

* If you’re not the one entertaining him, then he’s just not interested

* Ah geez

* He was so focused on trying to get you to fall in love with him that he really didn’t see this coming

* Well he’ll have to start being serious about pursuing you now-

* Though for you to pull off something like this on him tells him you’re his ideal match without a doubt

* A wallflower with a mischievous streak, he likes that.

* He scratches his head with his free hand

* “I wonder how I’m supposed to get out of this?” He muses looking up at the glass full of water

[gravitywonagain]

For the lovely @dovebeast here are some of my wwx’s thoughts about lwj’s scars. Thank you for the inspiration!

[M, 1k, Wangxian]

~

Wei Wuxian wakes with a start.

A nightmare. Sunshot. Voices.

Normal.

The nightmares are less common than they used to be.

Lan Zhan’s breath is even, his body turned. He hasn’t slept in the Gusu Lan corpse pose in years, preferring to hold Wei Wuxian, or to be held by him until they both fall asleep.

Now, shirtless and loose from their evening activities, he sleeps soundly even as Wei Wuxian stirs beside him.

He’s beautiful. Always. But this beauty is raw and open. Soft and vulnerable.

With his skin bare and his back turned, Wei Wuxian’s eyes sweep over the tangled web of scars on his back. Moonlight soaks into the jagged lines until they shine like silver poured between cracked shards of porcelain. The skin is smooth where it is silvery. Stretched taut to hold rent flesh together, a rebuilt bridge. It is smooth but not soft.

Wei Wuxian likes the feel of it under his fingertips. The grace of healing.

He follows one line as far as he can, from where it curls over Lan Zhan’s left deltoid, snakes around his shoulder blade and across his ribs until it crosses--

Rage flares.

It’s only a moment. Only a quick flash of hot anger.

His finger pauses only briefly as it crosses Lan Wangji’s spine.

The thing is -- and they’ve talked about this before -- the thing is that Wei Wuxian is familiar with whip scars. Intimately familiar. His old body bore four of them: three on his back, one on his right leg. They were short, straight lines that sprouted branches like the patterns lightning leaves when it strikes a meadow.

(Sometimes he wonders what Lan Zhan would have done if he’d seen them when they were young. At the time he thought Lan Zhan might have approved of the punishment. Now he thinks Lan Zhan might have stormed Lotus Pier himself.)

Not every lash from Zidian leaves a mark, but when Madam Yu wanted a lesson remembered, it would be written into flesh. She was a master of her weapon. She could use it to sting, to stun, to slay. She could flick an accupoint from five paces away. Wei Wuxian remembers a time when she wrapped the tail around his arm and his fingers stayed numb for four hours.

He also remembers that she never crossed his spine. She never lashed beneath his ribs, nor struck his front. She was especially careful to never let any part of the whip near his neck or his heart.

When she struck him, it was for discipline.

Wei Wuxian follows the scar further, down to Lan Zhan’s right hip. The scar is wider as it curves over unprotected vital organs.

His hand starts to tremble.

This whip was not wielded by a master. Or if it was, that person was cruelly negligent. Unforgivably apathetic. Heedless of the potential consequences to their Second Jade.

They could have crippled him. They crossed his spine twelve times, they cut into soft, vulnerable flesh.

It was a compromise, Lan Xichen had told him. A reduced sentence. It was meant as a kindness, a stay of execution in deference to all he was to the sect.

It is a miracle he wasn’t killed by this kindness.

The first time Wei Wuxian saw the scars, he was too stunned to notice the placement. He saw a wall of scar tissue with too many lines to count and far too little time in which to count them. His only coherent reaction was shock.

Lan Zhan’s cultivation is so high. Has always been so high. There are only two reasons that he would ever bear scars on his body: either he wanted to or he was struck with a weapon designed to overcome even the strongest of mortal golden cores.

A discipline whip is an incredibly specialized tool of torture. It is made to cause agony. Made to leave marks. Made to harm.

They struck him thirty-three times.

Wei Wuxian’s trembling fingers clench into a fist and his whole body shakes with it.

It was for him, after all. It was for protecting him, associating with him, not leaving him to die alone and insane. A punishment for Yiling Laozu, borne by Hanguan-jun. Borne by Lan Zhan.

Infinitely more effective than if they’d lashed Wei Wuxian himself, not that they could have possibly known that at the time. A constant reminder that others will always suffer the consequences of his actions. No matter how hard he pushes them away.

Slowly, he uncurls each finger, one by one, until his hand is flat. He smooths his palm over the rough topography of his husband’s back.

Almost five years have passed since the last time he laid awake like this in the night and inadvertently summoned Wen Ning with his rage. Eleven years since the first time. He doesn’t think he’s in danger of it now.

It will be better if he can focus on the good things, the lighter things.

Lan Zhan is healthy and whole. The scars still pull, his shoulders and back still go stubborn and stiff in the winter.

Yet there is no mortal man as graceful with a sword as Lan Zhan is. There is no living person who is as good; truly, beautifully good. A goodness he’s passed onto their son. A goodness that is embedded deep in his character, more steadfast than stone.

Wei Wuxian traces a different line. One that broke skin and tore into muscle, but didn’t threaten Lan Zhan’s life, didn’t nearly paralyze him.

A tear falls before he even notices the way his eyes are stinging. The puddle of it shimmers on the border of silver scar and pale skin. The muscle beneath it jumps.

“Wei Ying?”

Lan Zhan’s voice is heavy and sleep-rough. Wei Wuxian isn’t even sure he’s actually awake, moved from sleep by worry. By love.

“Ah, Lan Zhan,” he can hear the sadness on his own tongue, but presses on, “I’m here. I’m here. Go back to sleep.”

“Come with me.”

“Okay. I’ll go with you.”

He curls his body around his husband.

It’s easy to fall asleep like this, in the calm quiet of their home, in the soft warmth of their bed, pressed close enough to feel the steady beating of Lan Zhan’s heart. Lan Zhan’s ribcage expands with each inhale and Wei Wuxian matches the pace, counts.

Sandalwood.

Mountain air.

The soft sound of wind through the trees.

It’s not the Cloud Recesses, but it’s theirs. And it’s home.

Wei Wuxian’s eyes fall closed and he dreams of nothing.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Facebook shouldn't be in charge of how you use Facebook

The Facebook whistleblower’s testimony was refreshing and frightening by turns, revealing the company’s awful internal culture, where product design decisions that benefited its users were sidelined if they were bad for its shareholders.

The big question now is, what do we do about it? The whistleblower, Frances Haugen rejected the idea that Facebook’s power should be diminished; rather, she argued that it should be harnessed — put under the supervision of a new digital regulator.

Regulating tech is a great idea (assuming the regulations are thoughtful and productive, of course), but even if we can agree on what rules tech should follow, there’s still a huge debate over how the tech sector should be structured.

Like, should we leave monopolies intact so that we only have to keep track of a few companies to make sure they’re following the rules? Or should we smash them up — through breakups, unwinding anticompetitive mergers, and scrutinizing future mergers?

For me, the answer is self-evident: if we don’t make Big Tech weak, we’ll never bring them to heel. Giant companies can extract “monopoly rents” — huge profits — and cartels can agree on how to spend those profits to subvert regulation.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/starve-beast-monopoly-power-and-political-corruption

We need to fix the internet, not the tech giants. The problem isn’t just that Zuck is really bad at being the unelected pope-emperor of the digital lives of 3,000,000,000 people — it’s that the job of “pope-emperor of 3,000,000,000 people” should be abolished.

I believe that people who rely on digital tools should have the final say in how those tools serve them. That’s the proposition at the core of the “nothing about us without us” movement for accessible tech, and the ethos of Free Software.

Technologists should take every reasonable step to make their products and services suitable for users, and regulators should step in to ban certain design choices: for example, algorithms that result in racial discrimination in housing, finance and beyond.

The law should step in when sites or apps are deceptive or fraudulent or otherwise harmful; people hurt by negligent security and other choices should have remedies in law, both as private individuals and through their law enforcement officials.

But even if we did all that — and to be clear, we don’t — it wouldn’t be enough to deliver technological self-determination, the right to decide how the technology you use works.

For example, when the W3C was standardizing EME — a shameful incident in which they created a standard for video DRM — there was a lot of work put into accessibility, including safeguarding closed captions and audio description tracks.

But even the most inclusive design process can’t contemplate all of the ways in which users will need to adapt their tools. My friend Jennifer has photosensitive epilepsy and was hospitalized after a strobe effect in a Netflix stream triggered a series of grand mal seizures.

EME could have accommodated that use-case by implementing a lookahead algorithm that checked for upcoming strobes and skipped past them or altered their gamma curves so that they didn’t flash. The committee rejected this proposal, though.

But that wasn’t all they did. They also rejected a proposal to extract a promise from the companies involved in EME’s creation to refrain from threatening toolsmiths who added this feature on their own, either to help themselves or on behalf of other users.

The reason such a promise was necessary is DRM enjoys special legal protection: distributing a tool that bypasses DRM — even to prevent grand mal seizures — can be prosecuted as a felony under Sec 1201 of the DMCA, with 5 years in prison and a $500k fine for a first offense.

The companies making browser DRM said that they didn’t need to promise not to destroy the lives of toolsmiths who added accessibility features to their product because they would add every necessary accessibility feature themselves.

Except they wouldn’t. They blocked an anti-seizure tool, and Dan Kaminski’s proposal to shift color palettes to compensate for color-blindness, and a proposal for automated captioning tools to bypass DRM to ingest videos and run multiple rounds of text-to-speech analysis.

And even if they had accepted all of these measures, it wouldn’t have been enough. No one can anticipate all the ways that people need to adapt their tools. “Nothing about us without us” can’t just mean, “Some people with disabilities helped design this.”

It also has to mean, “I, a person using this tool, get a veto over how it works. When my interests conflict with the manufacturer’s choices, I win. It’s my tool. Nothing about me without me.” That’s the soul of technological self-determination.

Not only is Zuck a bad custodian of 3b lives, but every company is a bad custodian — or at least, an imperfect one — when it comes to its users’ lives. Companies often do good things for their users, but when user interests conflict with shareholder priorities, users lose.

Companies should try to do good things, and we should have minimum standards, and also we should have ways to further adapt their tools to suit their own needs, first, because companies can’t anticipate all those needs, and second, because they have conflicts of interest.

In response to the whistleblower’s testimony, Slate Future Tense has an article by Louis Barclay describing his misadventures with a Facebook add-on he created called “Unfollow Everything” — a tool that helped people use Facebook less and enjoy it more.

https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/facebook-unfollow-everything-cease-desist.html

Unfollow Everything unfollowed all the friends, groups and pages you followed on Facebook. This eliminated Facebook’s News Feed entirely, and then users could either manually check in on friends (unfollowing isn’t the same as unfriending) or selectively follow them again.

Users who tried Unfollow Everything really liked it. They found themselves spending less time on Facebook, but enjoying the time they spent there a lot more. Both Barclay and his users felt “addicted” to Facebook and this helped them “control the addiction.”

I’m not a fan of analogizing the habitual use of digital tools to “addiction,” but that’s not the point here — before Unfollow Everything, these users didn’t like Facebook but kept returning to it, and after, they kept using it, and liked it more.

It would be really interesting to understand this phenomenon better. After all, Facebook has spent a lot of money on internal experiments where social scientists and designers collaborated to increase the time users spend on Facebook (AKA “engagement”).

In his spittle-flecked rebuttal to the WSJ’s Facebook Files, Mark Zuckerberg insisted that the point of this research was to increase user satisfaction, and the extra ad revenue from additional pageviews were just a coincidence.

https://mashable.com/article/mark-zuckerberg-refutal-whistleblower

I don’t think this is true. But it’s a claim we can empirically investigate, and Unfollow Everything would be a great tool for such an investigation. That’s why a group of academics at Switzerland’s University of Neuchâtel sought a collaboration with Barclay for a study.

That study never happened and probably never will, because Facebook had Unfollow Everything deleted from the Chrome store, kicked Barclay off the service and threatened to rain legal hell upon Barclay’s head if he ever made any Facebook tools, ever again.

Like the companies that standardized DRM at the W3C, Facebook says its users’ wellbeing and satisfaction are primary factors in its product design and demands a veto over any modifications so it can deliver the best product to those users.

And like those companies, Facebook actively opposes — and wields its legal might against — toolsmiths who adapt its products and services to reflect the needs of users when those needs conflict with its shareholders’ interests.

Time and again, Facebook demonstrates that it cannot be trusted to wield a veto over how we use Facebook. Think of how the company is attacking Ad Obervatory, an academic project that recruits volunteer Facebook users to track paid political disinformation on the platform.

Facebook falsely claimed that Ad Observatory compromised users’ privacy, and directed researchers to its own tools for analyzing content on the platform — tools that are riddled with errors and omissions and flat-out misleading distortions:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/06/get-you-coming-and-going/#potemkin-research-program

(To be fair, Facebook did once have a reliable research tool, Crowdtangle, which produced accurate and thus unflattering data about FB, so Facebook neutered the tool, disbanded the team that worked on it, and forced the founder out of the company)

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/15/three-wise-zucks-in-a-trenchcoat/#inconvenient-truth

As part of its smear campaign against Ad Observatory, Facebook argued that it has to shut down this kind of activity, because that’s how it defends us from privacy-invading scumbags like Cambridge Analytica.

It’s true that Cambridge Analytica did “research” on FB that compromised millions of users’ privacy, but Facebook has already disqualified itself from defending us from Cambridge Analytica by failing to defend us from Cambridge Analytica.

If the specter of platform abuse — racial discrimination, harassment, infringement, malware, fraud, privacy invasion — grants Facebook a veto over independent modifications of its products, FB will fail to protect us, and will kill the tools that can protect us (from Facebook — and other bad actors).

And yet, Facebook really is used in ways that harm its users. Sometimes, the abuse comes from third parties that create plugins, bots, scrapers or other interoperable tools that modify Facebook. But you know what? Many of these abuses come from Facebook itself.

That’s why Facebook can’t be in charge of the Facebook Cops. That’s why Facebook can’t have the final say over how we modify Facebook (and why no tech company should have the final say over how its users adapt the things they buy and use).

Which brings me back to the whistleblower and her call for regulating Facebook. Yeah, we need to do that. We need to have things like a federal privacy law with a private right of action, robust protections against harassment, vigorous enforcement of anti-fraud rules.

That’s how you distinguish between good mods and bad mods — by passing democratically accountable laws that tell us what we are and are not entitled to. Not by letting Facebook (or Apple, or Google, or Netflix) decide what is and isn’t acceptable.

This is the thesis of “Privacy Without Monopoly,” the EFF white paper Bennett Cyphers and I wrote on how to balance interoperability and privacy: we do need privacy protections, and we can’t rely on monopolists to decide what those should be.

https://www.eff.org/wp/interoperability-and-privacy

As I said at the start, a digital regulator isn’t a bad idea, assuming the rules are good ones. We don’t have to wait for the creation of a new regulatory agency to get partway there, either. The FTC can use antitrust settlements to impose conditions on Big Tech.

For example, a settlement with FB could require it to seek permission from a “special master” before it could threaten to sue an interoperator like Ad Observatory, Unfollow Everything, Friendly Browser, GBWhatsApp, or any of the many other independent tools FB has pursued.

The special master could determine whether FB was engaged in privacywashing (or securitywashing, or safetywashing, etc) in a bid to make harming its users to help its shareholders seem legitimate.

Users don’t always make wise choices about how to use their tools, but tech giants can’t be trusted to distinguish between “preventing harms to users” and “preventing harms to the bottom line.”

That should be obvious, but if there’s any doubt, surely the Unfollow Everything scandal settles the matter.

[tsaritza-mika]

The Main Six LI’s as YouTubers!! Because why the hell not!?

Nadia

Nadia has a few things on her channel, and it keeps her image very intriguing to her subscribers

MAKEUP TUTORIALS!!!

This woman can work with any skin type and tone in the damn rainbow, and she proves it every damn day!

Often has Asra and Portia over to demonstrate different skin tones and types

Nail art anyone?

Videos on current fashion trends and making your old clothes work for newer fashions. It’s very frugal for those who may be tight on cash

Also well known complex puzzle solver! Subscribers and professional puzzle builders send her things to try and solve. Her favorite ones usually take many varying methods to figure out a single phase before unlocking the next

Will also do time lapse videos of her own mechanical creations!

She waited until after gifting Portia a three-foot music box to post the reaction video

Asra

Anybody watch Snake Discovery? Because Asra would be that!

Loves that special time of year when all the new clutches are ready to hatch and he and Faust can welcome them into the world!

Tips on proper housing, feeding, and reptile care

Explanations on the hows and whys of snakes and various other lizards he’s come to know on his own, and with Faust’s help!

Bo-Ho pottery? Jewelry and homemade clothes? Damn tootin’!!

Time Lapse and ASMR vids of him making his own stuff to sell on his Etsy!! Rent won’t pay itself

TRAVEL BLOG VIDS!!!

Cool places he’s traveling now, where he’s been, souvenirs with stories, and how time consuming it is to get through customs

FOOD REVIEWS!!! From the weird to the fashionable, from the savory to the salty and even to the sweet, Asra’s got your international foodie hookups, and you’re not gonna want to miss a second!

Julian

Honestly, he’s probably done it all, but he has his staples

A new vid every week where he watches a new episode of whatever medical show he’s working thru/random movies with a lot of medical references and corrects the bad medical shit they have on tv/movies

Are you fascinated by weird medical history? Well you came to the right place!

Dating Sims and how to unlock every character and special ending

SURGEON SIMULATOR!!!

Anyone for a dance video? The man has the moves and will put his money where his mouth is! Wanna learn how he does those fancy moves? Just catch his instructional video at the end of the week with surprise guests! Who will it be? Depends on the moves! Stay tuned!

Living with a Corvid and how to properly care for the little shit!

Has videos reviewing pretty much every drink at Starbucks and which he would recommend for the season

LINDSEY STERLING LEVELS OF MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT!!!

This man will pull out all the stops for his music videos! Originals, covers, there’s nothing he won’t play! Be sure to check out his album this September, available on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Amazon! Move quick and get the special signed editions with limited copies!

Muriel

Ever see those videos of the guys who literally wander off into the wilderness and build mansions out of nothing but dirt and palm fronds? Yeah, that’s Muriel

He doesn’t talk in them, he just turns dirt and mud into cool 1-2 person dwellings, often with a small pool and running water

Wood carving time lapse videos and what tools are best for different levels of detail

Leather working for long-term wear and weather protection

Foraging and making meals from scratch

INANNA CAM!!! WATCH HER SHE’S WONDERFUL!!!

Deep forest w/ fireplace ASMR and sleep and meditation sounds

Protective charms w/ Asra and how to make them so they work against goats... or whatever else might be bothering you!

Portia

My GOD the things Portia has done for her channel! Hers is definitely the most eclectic of the group, but they’re all just so her!

Want some supernatural stuff? Portia’s got it, and she’s ready to get spooky! She’ll read from either her own story collection, Creepy-pastas, or viewer recs. Three times a month join her for some Tarot readings, divination, or classic Ouija board spooks in a collab with Asra!

Remember the beginning of Tangled? Yeah, Portia does all of that! And there’s a video for all of it!!

Cleaning and gardening tips, candle making, games of all kinds!

Ways to tame that crazy, curly mane and other cool hairstyle collab vids with Nadia!!

Cottage core ASMR w/ purring sounds provided by Pepi!

Anyone for some classic Nevivon cooking? Portia’s got you covered, and she’s making a new dish every week with special appearances by everyone’s favorite salty Grandmother, Mazelinka!

Lucio

Lucio’s unboxing vids are the envy of the internet~! What doesn’t he get in the mail to unbox? It’s like X-mas every day when you get a new box of cool mystery swag!

Makeup and fashion collabs with Nadia

Dance and musical collabs with Julian

His most surprising hobby? Gold-leaf, duh! He’s got surprisingly fancy handwriting, and besides, there’s never enough gold!

Do you love dogs? Of course you do! You’d have to be crazy to not love M&M! Dog park and play cams!

Hell, why not! You just love animals? Every week take a walk with Vesuvia’s biggest collection of albino animals and meet a new one in every video!

Spirographs? ....yeah, spirographs. They’re easy, they’re fun, and just look at all the colors!! We’ll add more gold though. There’s never enough anyway.

Your favorite Count demands cookies!! Collabs with Portia trying to teach this disaster how to make his favorite snacks and sweets! Special appearances by his new best friend, the STOVE SALAMANDER~!!!

[alarawriting]

Writeober 2020 #21: Dragon

How to Care For Your Pet Human

Congratulations! You’ve made the decision to adopt a human. Humans are excellent pets – intelligent, loyal, longer-lived than most other pet animals, and hypoallergenic, producing far less dander than the average mammal or bird. But they can be a challenging pet to care for as well. Here’s what you need to know to keep your human healthy and happy!

Committing To A Human

Like any pet, a human wants a forever home it can stay in for its entire life. Unlike most pets, a human can live for close to a century, if well cared for. It’s a big commitment! Make sure you’re ready for it.

Humans are incredibly intelligent, and if you do not provide sufficient enrichment, they will find it… one way or another. Everyone’s heard a story about a dragon who left their human alone in their lair, only to find the human gone after they returned. There are very few predators that are dangerous to a human, so if you don’t smell that another dragon has invaded your lair, and your human is missing… they found a way to escape whatever enclosure you had them in, and they may never return. Don’t let this happen to your human!

Humans are also incredibly social. If you’re not willing to take on more than one human, you must find a petsitter when you nap. The isolation of being alone while you’re asleep for a year or two may kill your human – and, of course, humans need food and fresh water every day, so you’ll need to make arrangements for them to be fed while you’re sleeping. We also recommend strongly that if you cannot care for more than one human, you frequently bring your human for play dates to a friend with a human, or a human rescue center.

Most breeders and rescue centers will be able to tell you if your human has the trait of “introversion.” Such humans are valuable and may cost significantly more, because introversion allows a human to be left alone for much, much longer than the average human. An introverted human can get all of their social interaction from you, as long as you provide enrichment for them to entertain themselves. You’ll still need a pet sitter when you sleep, but you don’t have to take them on frequent play dates. Other humans without the trait will be stressed by the lack of human companionship even if you interact with them frequently. We strongly recommend that in general, if your human is not introverted, they will be happiest with a human companion or two. Because they’re low-allergenic and they’re (for the most part) very clean animals, and because they enjoy socially sharing food, most dragons find that it’s easier to care for multiple humans than it is for just one!

Human Nutrition

Some dragons claim that humans can live on a purely carnivorous diet. While this is technically true, humans are obligate omnivores – they must consume vegetable matter to get all the nutrients they need – and they will die much younger on a purely carnivorous diet. So no, you cannot feed your human nothing but scraps from your kills.

We don’t recommend human chow. It’s well balanced for human nutrition, but firstly, most humans crave variety in their diets, and if you don’t provide it to them, they’ll go hunting for it… which may result in them being accidentally poisoned! Secondly, one of the most entertaining parts of keeping a human is watching them handle flame to process their meals into something they find easier or more palatable.

Yes, we did say flame. Alone of all animals, humans are adept at managing fire! Of course, they’re just as vulnerable to it as any other animal, and they can’t breathe it, but if you breathe a spark onto some charcoal or wood for them, the majority of humans will be able to maintain the flame, and will use it to prepare their food.

Remember what we said about variety? Humans can eat many foods that no other animal will touch, or that only insects and other invertebrates care for, because they can use fire to make some foods edible to them. There are tools you can purchase and provide to your human to make it easier for them to do this.

The healthiest diet for most humans is approximately a third meat, with the remainder being grains and vegetables. Give a human a haunch of pig, and watch them roast it slowly over the flame you gave them! They may even share their food with you – humans enjoy providing food to anyone they love and trust.

Your human probably loves fruit. Give it to them occasionally as a special treat, but don’t let them have access to too much of it. Humans who gorge on fruit usually suffer digestive problems as a result. And while they usually keep themselves clean, humans who’ve consumed too much fruit may have accidents. Do not punish your human for such accidents; firstly, it’s probably your fault, because you let them eat something they shouldn’t have, and secondly, your human already feels shame over their accident and will try to avoid having them if they can.

Humans and the Outdoors

Human lack of fur, except on the top of their heads and a few other specific places where they concentrate pheromones, helps to make them distinctive in appearance and gives them a great deal of heat resistance. But there’s a price they pay; they’re more vulnerable to ultraviolet burns from sunlight than creatures with more covering. You may be tempted to keep your human inside your lair all the time, safe from ultraviolet light, but most humans actually require a certain amount of sunlight to maintain their happy, energetic dispositions!

Pale humans are more vulnerable to sunlight than darker humans, but any human can suffer ultraviolet burns. Your local pet store or apothecary can provide you a compound to put on your human to protect them… because humans enjoy being outside, and will stay outside to play much longer than they should. Humans’ delicate paws, with dexterous opposable thumbs, are usually better at applying the compound fully, so if the human doesn’t spontaneously put the compound on, you may do it once or twice. After that, let your human apply it to themselves.

If your lair is close to water, be careful with your humans and supervise them outdoors! Unlike most non-aquatic animals, most humans enjoy playing in water, and their layers of fat make them buoyant… but they don’t usually know how to swim, unless they were born at a reputable breeder that allows them to spend at least twelve years learning from their mothers. You may consider paying for swimming lessons for your human, but even an experienced swimmer may be taken by surprise by an undercurrent, so supervise them.

In fact, in general, your human is very curious and will explore its territory as far as you allow it to… so supervision outdoors is always a good idea. While a full-grown adult human isn’t in danger from most predators, there are some – large cats, bears, wolves – that present a serious threat to them.

The greatest threat to your pet human may be a wild human. Wild humans roam in packs, and they will usually either kill a pet human, or steal it. Either way, if wild humans get too close to your pet, you will never see your human again.

Treat your human as part of your hoard; don’t let it out of your sight when you’re outdoors.

Should I Leash My Human?

In a word, no. Humans dislike being leashed, and with their extreme intelligence and dexterity, they will find a way out of the leash.

If you do choose to leash your human, always use a harness, not a collar! Humans’ evolutionary adaptations for the wide variety of sounds they can make result in them having weak and vulnerable necks. It’s very easy for a human to choke, and a human leashed by the collar will die if they fall any significant distance while on the leash; it will break their necks.

Nothing can substitute for supervision!

But what if you’re too busy – or too sleepy – to supervise your human as often as they need outdoor enrichment? No worries, there are several strategies to help you out!

Enclosures are not one of them. No matter how cleverly designed your human enclosure is, a sufficiently determined human will find a way out of it. It’s going to require giving up a lot of your time or a little bit of your hoard to make sure your human gets sufficient outdoor enrichment in a safe way.

-          Human care centers: In a human care center, your human will get social interaction with other humans, constant supervision, and all the enrichment it needs, including outdoor time.

-          Pet sitters: Most pet sitters are experienced adults, but even an adolescent dragon can usually be trusted to supervise a human, and many of them are looking to add a little bit to their hoard.

-          A supervisor human. Yes! You can rent a human to supervise your human! Supervisor humans are trained especially to keep watch over other humans and keep them out of danger. Many supervisor humans can even provide first aid for an injured human!

Occasionally you will encounter a human that is very content to stay in one place, or even one that doesn’t like going outdoors. If your human doesn’t like going outdoors, make sure it has sufficient indoor enrichment, including activities they can engage in to get exercise. Get your human some play equipment. They love climbing, swinging, sliding, exploring tunnels, swimming or bathing in safely enclosed pools, and throwing things, especially things that bounce. If you give your human a bouncing ball, they may get hours of entertainment from it… and if you have more than one human, expect to see them play together, and even make up contests with rules!

Mental Enrichment

Humans, as mentioned, are very, very smart. You must provide your human mental enrichment. But what kind of enrichment is best for them varies widely, depending on the human. Some humans enjoy having a pet of their own – dogs and cats are popular, and they will eat your scraps. Some like to use dyes and paints to create pictures on stone tablets; some like to use clay to make shapes. Some use their amazing vocal talents to sing, or mimic sounds they hear. And many humans enjoy watching other humans – provide them a crystal ball that connects to one viewing other humans, and most humans will be mesmerized.

Your human will also probably spend a great deal of time stimulating its genitals. This is normal. Humans are actually constantly in a mild form of heat or rut, and are almost always ready to mate. This produces a great deal of physical tension, which they alleviate with their hands. If you have more than one human, they will probably mate. This is true no matter what genders of humans in what combination you have.

Should I Have My Human Fixed?

That depends a great deal on your human, and what you hope to get out of them. Castrating a male human may produce a lot of behavioral changes, some of which you may not enjoy – an energetic and active male may become sedentary, for example.

There are multiple strategies to fix a female human. To fix your human without changing her hormonal balance and potentially disrupting her behavior, you can have her ovaries disconnected from her uterus (the mammalian organ she uses to gestate her live young). Or you can have her ovaries removed, which will end a painful bleeding cycle she undergoes approximately every moon cycle, but will also radically change her hormone balance. Your vet will be able to advise you on what might be best for your human.

If all of your humans are the same gender, we recommend not fixing them. They’ll satisfy each other’s mating urges, but they won’t breed.

If you do, in fact, want to breed a human, you should read our companion manual, “Breeding Humans.” Breeding a human is a very difficult and dangerous process that will change your humans’ lives forever. If you’re thinking that you may at some point breed your female human, but you aren’t sure whether you’re ready to support her through such a complicated process, you can get a medication from your vet that you can provide to her in her food, or train her to voluntarily take, and she will be able to mate with male humans without having young.

Fur Trimming

In most varieties of human, the fur on top of their heads needs to be trimmed occasionally, or it will become matted and unmanageable. For the males, the same is true of the facial fur.

Humans have difficulties trimming their head fur, and if you have only one, you will need to bring it to a groomer occasionally. If you have multiple humans, they will usually trim each other’s head fur, if you supply them the necessary tools.

A young male human will need to be exposed to an older male human to receive training in managing his facial hair for himself.

Training Your Human

Humans are incredibly trainable! They have a language of their own (several, in fact, just like dragons do!), and, if you breed a female human and end up with a human child, the child may very well learn to mimic some of your language or even learn to almost fully understand you! You can also purchase older humans who already have that trait.

Humans can be trained by being allowed to watch other humans performing a task. They can be trained by allowing a human who speaks their language to tell them about the task. And they can be trained in the same way as other animals, but are generally much faster to figure out what you want them to do.

In fact, every single human you have ever interacted with was trained by other humans. Humans have defective infants who lack most basic instincts, but do have the ability to mimic sound and learn language. A baby human must be cared for by an adult human; do not try to provide care to a baby human yourself, without a human who is experienced in caring for children present! Dragons have successfully taken care of baby humans as young as three, but doing so makes the child behave as if it thinks it’s a dragon, and makes it nearly impossible to mate the human or have another human train your human. Don’t do it. No matter how cute they are, you should never adopt a human younger than 12 unless you have humans who have cared for children in your possession.

By the way, both male and female humans can care for children – they are like birds in this way. An infant human must be cared for by a lactating human female, or, you must provide the human caring for them with human milk substitute and specialized bottles to feed the baby. But male humans are just as capable of caring for children who are eating solid food as female humans are. If you have somehow acquired a child who is too young to be without care from a human, you can often rent a human child carer to provide the care, or a couple of them. Couples are better, because caring for human children is stressful, and it’s easier when two of them are working together to do it. Be aware that if you do this, you’ll need to rent them until the child is twelve, and longer in some cases.

Why Twelve?

There are many specialized tasks that a human can perform for another human which are difficult for a dragon to do, from preparing and mending the artificial coats they must wear in most climates, to using fire to prepare food. Humans must learn almost everything they do, and there’s a lot to learn!  

Twelve is generally the youngest age at which the child is prepared to do the things humans must do to survive and thrive. In fact, many humans benefit from being allowed to remain with their parents for longer, and are usually happiest when adopted after they are fully grown adults… but children are adorable. We confess we’ve adopted our fair share of human children, just because they are so cute!

If you have an adult human or two already, you can adopt a young human without doing them much harm. Most adult humans are happy to train younger humans in any number of skills humans enjoy learning. In fact, if the human or humans you already have are experienced with children, you may be able to adopt a very young child, but be careful. Most humans will bond to some degree with any child, and most humans who are experienced with children are very good with them… but some just won’t bond to a young child to the degree that child needs for optimal care, and some bond, but are not careful or responsible enough to leave a young child in their care.

What If My Human Won’t Learn What I Want From Them?

Occasionally you’ll encounter a human who just can’t seem to learn a particular skill. This can happen for several reasons:

-          The human you found to train your human doesn’t speak the same language

-          You are very bad at demonstrating to your human what you want them to do

-          The task is one that that particular human finds very hard, often for physical reasons

-          The human knows how to do it perfectly well and is just stubborn and doesn’t want to

A qualified vet can usually diagnose the reason why your human is having difficulty.

Some dragons believe that if they limit enrichment to the tasks they want the human to learn, it will facilitate their training. Nothing could be further from the truth! If you have arbitrarily limited the tasks you will allow your human to perform, and prevented them from performing ones they enjoy, they will become resentful and angry, and often will start refusing to perform for you. Always leave your human plenty of free time to play and engage in the activities they choose, even if you are training your human as a service or performance animal!

What Do Humans Need?

Here’s the basic, minimum amount of stuff you need to care for a human.

-          Water dispenser and hand-held human water cups. Humans don’t lap water from bowls; their heads are poorly designed for it. Give them a dispenser that provides them clean, fresh water whenever they like, and water cups to pour the water in. They’ll drink from the cup, holding it in their paws.

-          Food bowl or plate: Humans are very prone to diseases from food contamination, so provide them with many of these or wash them constantly. You can train a human to wash their food bowl or plate themselves.

-          Bed: Humans’ bipedal stance causes back problems as they age, and almost all humans prefer to sleep on something soft that cushions them – children prefer it because it makes them feel safe, and adults prefer it because a stone or dirt floor is hard on their bodies. Don’t expect your human to sleep on the floor like you do. Get it a bed.

-          Clothing: Unless where you live is very warm, humans require artificial coats to replace the ones they don’t have. Speak to a vet, a pet store employee, or a dedicated human clothier to find out what kind of clothing your human needs for your climate.

-          Shelter: Most dragons need this too, and a lair usually provides shelter from the elements that is perfectly adequate for a human. But if your lair is exposed – for instance, if you den outside in a desert – you will need a separate enclosure to shelter your human. They don’t have scales, or even feathers or fur, so the sand in the wind will harm them.

-          A plan for letting them have access to other humans they can play with. Humans have excellent memories, almost as good as dragons, and they form strong attachments. For most humans, you’re better off giving them a small but stable number of other humans they have opportunities to play with than to constantly expose them to new humans (although some humans do enjoy that!)

Enrichment is vital for humans, but some of you have lairs that already provide all the enrichment a human could want, with plenty of climbable handholds, tunnels to explore, underground lakes, etc. Others may need to purchase toys and other enrichment equipment. Make sure what you get is age-appropriate; a twelve-year-old will love a climbing frame, but if you’ve adopted a fifty-year-old from a rescue shelter, it will not enjoy that nearly so much. Older humans tend to have already learned a set of tasks they greatly enjoy performing for fun, and a reputable rescue will be able to tell you what your new mature-years human’s favorite activities are.

Your hoard can be a form of enrichment. Hide items from your hoard, and if the human brings them to you, praise them and give them treats. Because they can go into smaller and deeper tunnels than you can, at their small size, humans may find gems or ore in underground caves, and if you’ve trained them to bring your hoard back to you, they’ll bring you whatever they find.

Tools to prepare their own food are also a form of enrichment. Some humans prefer not to do this and will eat human chow. Don’t try to force a human who’s uncomfortable with food preparation to do it; they may not have been trained in it, or they may have been burned at a young age and are afraid of fire. But if your human makes use of a firepit and a stake or spit for holding food above it, they will probably enjoy other food preparation tools as well!

Your Friend For A Lifetime

Treat your human well, give it the enrichment, social interaction, and food variety it needs, show it attention and care, and your human will be a truly loyal pet until the day it dies.

Make sure only to get your humans from reputable breeders or rescue shelters. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to capture and tame a wild human! This has occasionally resulted in packs of wild humans with sharp metal tools descending on a dragon’s lair, injuring or even killing the dragon! If you don’t interfere with the wild humans, they will leave you alone, but attempting to take one as a pet can bring the whole swarm of them down on you.

(At this point, generally someone brings up the legends of wild humans leaving adolescent females out for dragons to take. This does happen sometimes. No one knows why the humans reject certain females, but the behavior of leaving adolescent females usually happens when dragons encroach too closely on wild human territories, and seems to be an attempt to bait dragons away from the dwelling spaces of the rest of the humans. These females are typically traumatized and do not make good pets if they have not been rehabilitated. Take such a female to a rescue, and stop foraging for food near the wild humans; the next step, if their sacrifices of adolescent females don’t lead you away from their territory, may be to try to swarm and kill you!)

While there are definitely challenges to caring for them, humans do make wonderful pets who will bring joy to the lair of any dragon who adopts one. You and your human will make an amazing journey together, and sometimes, your human may even teach you things you didn’t know about yourself.

Enjoy your new human, and take care!

[dumbass-mha-simp]

Hawks x Reader: Bad Idea

Another self indulgent Hawks fic that I've literally had in my notes for months. He lives in my head rent free along with my other 22 fake boyfriend's because I'm ✨mentally unstable.✨ It is a song fic tho, Bad Idea ft. Shiloh Dynasty https://youtu.be/kH9hJnT7KkE

Tw: food, depression, Hawks is honestly just feeling it bro- same dude,

Word count: almost 2k? I think

Requests are open! Honestly I'm probably terrible but the only things I can think to write are those imaginary situations I put myself in

(Y/L/N)- your last name

(Y/N)- your name

Thoughts or emphasized talk are in italics

Also idk why but I imagine he removes his feathers to shower since they probably need different cleaning conditions and also they just seem like a hassle in showers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Here he was, the number two prohero. Everyone assumed his life was perfect, anything he wanted served on a gold platter. He felt the guilt creep up into him.

I should be thankful. The thoughts ate away at his mind in the rare seconds he got alone. You shouldn't be so selfish. So annoying. So insufferable.

Takami pushed these thoughts back. "No one needs to know how you think, Keigo." He whispers out to himself in his office.

He scrawled at paper work, trying to not let the self depreciating thoughts feast away on his mind. Unfortunately for him, different thoughts came up.

His best friend, Rumi had this friend. (Y/L/N). Smart, attractive, sometimes a little rough around the edges, but amazing. He found his mind wandering to them all too often.

They were mostly unknown, despite their insanely strong quirk. They preferred to stay out of the lime-light, through that irritable exterior sat overwhelming anxiety and shyness. But they always denied it.

He stopped himself as he realized he's spent 10 minutes only thinking of them, a friend. Yeah right.

He lazily walked out of the office waving to all his employees as he made his way outside. His eyes slowly dragged to the darkly faded blue sky, dusted in clouds. Cold, tired, aching. Just how he felt.

He took a slow brisk flight to his house, feeling the wind bash his face and the air flow through his feathers. He gently placed a foot on the metal railing of his balcony, taking a deep step to the ground and opening the door.

The emptiness rung through his apartment like a blaring siren. You have everything. How can you still want more?

The voices in his head screamed and clawed their way out. You're nobody. No one ever loved you. You're so alone. You're nothing but a tool to the commission. You're actual character is useless.

He shed his coat, boots, and pants. Looking to himself in the mirror as he removed most of his feathers. He looked exhausted as he stumbled into the shower, numbly.

The next ten minutes seemed to elude him when he wondered how much time has gone by of him staring at the shower wall blankly.

He dried off a bit then looked around his kitchen for something to eat. Have I eaten today? The buzz and light of his phone on the counter startled him.

"Hey, Hawks." A single, simple message from (Y/L/N). Okay don't panic.

"What's up?" He replied swiftly.

"I had this feeling something was wrong and wanted to check up on you."

"Why would you think that?" He tried to play it off like it wasn't true without actually lying.

"I'm not sure. Do you maybe wanna join me?" You asked.

"Where?"

"Well, every once in awhile when I need a break I go and stargaze with a night picnic. It helps me relax, and if you think it might help I'd want to. I can tell something's off." You were always so convincing. It felt like you weren't too nosy or snoopy but you understood.

"Text me where to be and when?" He let out a gentle smile at his phone.

"The dollar store on 4th in 10 minutes? So we can choose some snacks together?"

"I'll be there."

Did Takami think any problems where going to be solved with some food in the dark? No. But would he skip the opportunity to be with you, to find out how he really felt when it was just you two? Absolutely not.

He landed down on the broken pavement outside of the old dollar store, scanning around to see you.

"Boo!" A bump from behind had him flinching to see the sound as you stood behind him giggling. "Got ya."

"Very funny (Y/L/N) the most amazing trick yet." He rolled his eyes with a slight smile.

"C'mon let's go grab a bunch of terrible snacks and call it a picnic, bird brain."

You two walked into the store and walked a large circle around it, choosing chips and candy and drinks at your leisure. Once you got to the counter, he fights you to his wallet.

"It's my picnic."

"And I'm the very special guest who was so generously invited. I'm paying." He grins as you pout at him.

Grabbing the bags you placed them in the back seat as you offered passenger side to him.

"I don't like cars."

"Why not?"

"Cramps my wings."

You look at him with the biggest puppy eyes you can manage. "You already agreed to keep me company and pay for the snacks, let me do something for you?"

"Fine, but only cause you're pouting kid."

He gently sits in your passenger seat as you strap yourself in and turn the car on. The car hums and the music playing softly on the radio are the only things heard. The peace feeling too good to break.

Once you pull your car up into the parking lot of a small park and grab your bags, you begin leading him to your usual place.

"Hold these." You hand him the bags as you jump and climb up on top of a big metal container. You peer over the side with big eyes and a smile as you say to him, "now hand me the bags and do what I did!"

He looks at you with a wide smirk before simply flying up to join you. "Or you can do it the cheater's way." You pouted and bumped his shoulder.

"It's not cheating, it's using my resources." He says with a triumphant smirk.

"Your cheating resources." You pull out your gummy candies and started eating as you leaned back till you were laying down.

"Do you like the stars, Hawks?" You say like your sleep talking, staring into the night sky.

"Keigo." He shifts to lay down about a foot away from you. "You can call me, Keigo. And... I don't think I've ever taken time to look at the stars."

"No sneaking out away from parents to sit on vans and stargaze? Or watching the sunrise with a partner while eating fast food?"

"What kinda date is sitting in a car for hours staring at the sky and eating?" He laughs.

"Ah one that never really happened, he just said he would. But never mind that repressed shit." A sad laugh forces itself out as you stare between the stars.

"Was he cute?" He tried to sound funny but it came out more sympathetic.

"Sometimes," you laugh with him. "But he had really nice hands."

"Hands? That's an odd thing to find attractive." He turned his head over to look at you as your eyes seemed to burn holes in the dark milky blue sky.

He continued laughing with you about this guy but couldn't help an overwhelming feeling of jealousy. Who was he? Did he look anything like him? Was this recent?

"Keigo?" A voice snapped at his train or thought, "Yes, (Y/L/N)?" He replied rushed.

"Do you want your mini cookies?" You ask looking to him with the bag.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." He mentions grabbing the bag from your finger tips.

He ate his cookies and thought as you seemed either lost in your head, or lost in the stars.

Loving you would be selfish. As such a high ranking hero, he's made a target for himself and anyone around him. He's broken down, can't feel. You obviously have other people on your mind. Someone like you wouldn't be single long.

"When did he leave?" He blurts out without thinking. Maybe it's a sore subject-

"Long ago." You look lost, your eyes searching and wandering but never grabbing hold of exactly where you should be. "Why?" Well I guess if I'm gonna start prying might as well go all the way.

"He thought that maybe he could love me. But now that's just ridiculous," you laugh coldly. "Who would love me?"

"Falling in love with you seems like a really bad idea. But not on your part." He whispers into the wind, hoping it'll carry his words away from you.

"What do you mean?" You look completely confused, almost scattered.

"You're quiet, and I'm someone who puts a spotlight on practically anyone around me. You'd constantly be put in danger. Plus I'm arrogant and cocky, nothing at all like you." He acted like he could see the stars as you could. He stared into them finding any way he could to avoid your eyes.

"You could get hurt or I could annoy you." He whispers.

"I had no idea you felt that way, Keigo." You whisper back, shock keeping your voice quiet.

His eyes burned holes into the night sky, he felt he shouldn't look at you. The mental image of you already wouldn't go away.

"You wanna know something, Keigo? I can read people like books, I can read stars like stories, and I can read in-between lines like they were in bold font. But, you always catch me off guard. Reading you is like a mystery novel. Sometimes intense, sometimes peaceful, but always keeping me wondering." You smile into the stars, you can tell he desperately doesn't want to see your eyes. "You're always leaving everyone on the edge of their seat, and when you leave you can't stop thinking of the next time you'll come. What you'll bring."

"I....I don't think I understand (Y/L/N)-" Keigo's soon cut off.

"(Y/N)"

"Well, (Y/N)- I don't think I understand." He tries to sit up and look at you.

"You catch me off guard, something about you speaks to me in ways I know you never actually would. I can see it, the way you stumble or hesitate. I can tell somethings scared you into silence." You've never had much chance to talk about the ways you analyze people, you wanted to tell him how you could tell the way he acted wasn't always good.

"I think you might be reading too much into this, kid." He tries to intervene.

"I get if you don't want to tell me." You stared up at the stars, waiting for him to do the same. "You see there?" You pointed to a star. "That's a constellation."

"They just look like stars." He seemed a bit disappointed that he couldn't see stars the way you did, with such knowledge and wonder in your eyes.

"That's cause they are," you giggled to him, "it's not like I can actually see the pictures either."

"You.. you can't?" He looked to you confused but slightly hopeful, how could they look at them but not see too?

"That's the whole point, Keigo. It's being able to see what's not really there. Sometimes I stare into the sky hoping to see any semblance of hope, but that's not how it is. You have to teach yourself to look at what could be there." He stared to you, a small content smile graced your face. You were beautiful.

"(Y/N)?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe, loving you isn't such a bad idea.." he looked remorseful, staring into the stars. Maybe he could see it too one day.

"What do you mean?" You glace to him.

"You see so much, you can read and see the things I want to see. I want to learn, (Y/N). I want to see how you do."

The smile on your face spread.

"I'd love to show you."

[whimsywispsblog]

ALL’s Not Fair in Love and War (edited)

A/N: Hey Wispies! Here’s the edited version of chapter 1. So, there’s not much of a change in the plot. It stays the same. Hope y’all like this one!

CHAPTER 1- PAIN

2 Days Before Leaving for West Berlin

21th February, 1981

"I cannot believe you Russ! How could you!" Rei shouted. This was the nth fight she was having with her husband. Adler sat on the sofa, frustrated, his hand in his hair. "A fucking child! You're tormenting a fucking child, Russ!" Her face was red, she looked livid. She had always been against using the MK-ULTRA program on anyone, but now, they wanted to use it on a 16-year-old kid. What annoyed her more was Adler treating the kid like a tool- a loose end that needs to be tied up once they've achieved whatever they need.  "That kid should be out there with other children, enjoying and partying- not in a lab getting fried and then getting killed!" She screamed, her body shaking from anger.

The same fight on the same topic, just like the last two weeks ever since Adler had saved a kid from a near-death situation in Trabzon in Turkey- not just any random kid, no. But this kid was one of the few members of the inner circle of men Perseus trusted. Damn, he was one hell of a kid with a burning determination to survive. And to not give in to any amount of torture and interrogation thrown at him.

As a last resort, when Hudson finally lost the last drop of patience he had left for answers he "ordered" Adler to perform Mk-Ultra on the kid, which Adler could have easily denied to do, just like how he killed Qasim, despite Hudson's 'orders' to bring the man back alive.

As she kept shouting, Adler finally lost his cool. "Damn it Rei! Every fucking day- do you have to throw this shit at me?" Adler stood up. Adler ran his fingers through his hair, frustration and anger written all over his face. "You have fucking changed so much over the last few days- what is wrong with you?" Adler was never the kind to let his anger take over. He would always put on his calm facade, but today, he lost all his patience. A part of Rei wanted to back down- she knew she pushed all his buttons. But she didn't, she was just as adamant as Adler, if not, more.

"That fucking kid is a spy! He worked for Perseus-" Rei chuckled darkly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Perseus, yes. The only person you've been obsessed with. Wow, Adler!" Adler walked closer to Rei. He towered over her 5'2'' petite frame. "You fucking know why." He growled, deeply. "And from when did you start caring about a random kid so much?" Tears had already started streaming down her face. Her once beautifully painted eyeliner smudged and running down her cheeks. "Really? You don't know why I care so much?" The hiccups kept swallowing her words. "Adler that is a fucking 16 year old child! You are going to torture a child! What if this boy was someone like Ril-" Before she could complete her sentence, Adler slammed his hand on the table, earning a soft gasp from her.

Why is Perseus so important to Adler, you ask? Well, for one, it's the era of the Cold War: the legendary glaring competition between the United States and the Sovient Union. Second, the United States was hardly united on anything. Sadly, for Clandestine Special Officer of the CIA, Russell Adler, it was his job to make sure that with the current situation, Perseus should get NOT A SINGLE CHANCE to shift the balance of the Cold War, unless he wanted to be a part of the grand cremation of the West, sponsored by the USSR.

"Riley is fucking dead, Rei! Get the fuck over it" Adler shook Rei's shoulders vigorously. But once he saw her flinch after his sudden outburst, he knew that he messed up. She looked pale, like a small petrified cat. Her lips quivering and her eyes wide open. She stared at Adler, deep into his eyes- the anger in it now turned to regret and sorrow.She shook her head lightly, in disbelief. "You're an asshole, Adler."

She pushed Adler off her. Taking her jacket, she left the cosy warm house into the biting cold streets. The house was a mess. Papers and files everywhere, clothes thrown on the floor and a hell lot of bags. With a frustrated sigh, Adler went to the kitchen to get a drink. "Fucking hell." He muttered, pulling out a bottle.

Hours passed since Rei stormed out. Adler had dozed off on the couch after finishing an entire bottle of Bourbon. The room was dark, with only a small ray of streetlight illuminating the room. He groggily woke up to the telephone rininging. Cursing under his breath after tripping over a chair on the way, he finally made it to the phone. "Hello?"

"Adler, it's time. West Berlin, by tomorrow night." It was Hudson. It was time for them to start off.

"Rei." No answer. "Rei?" Adler called out for her softly. Still no answer. His muscles tensed and heartbeat rising.

He walked into their bedroom. Opening her closets, there were only a few clothes that belonged to her. Papers- divorce papers. And a letter. 'Sign the papers. I will take the rest of my belongings after the mission.'

Letting out a deep sigh, Adler crumpled the letter and threw it away, after reading it. It was from Rei. Lighting a cigarette, he walked to his balcony. A lone tear fell off his eye as he looked out to the bright stars of the night sky. He missed her and he wanted her back.

-

"Are you sure that's all you have?" Park asked Rei once more, before leaving for the airport. "Positive."

"Alright then."

When Rei left the house, she ran into Park at a little Café. Lucky for them, the plan was that Rei and Park travel together first, where they meet up with Lazar and Sims at the safehouse, while Adler join the team with Bell.

Special Officer Helen Park, from the MI6, personally recruited by Russell Adler for the hunt. It was one fine morning in London, one of the few days when sunshine actually seeped through the windows of her apartment that she got a call from Adler for the mission. It was easy for Adler to pull strings of Park, she being one of MI6 best assets especially in international assignments and biological warfare and because of their prior business.

Park and Rei's friendship goes long before both of their entry to the world of Intelligence, war and espionage. They were in the same college, Oxford. Although Park dropped out earlier after the death of her brother, they maintained their friendship through the years.

"Rei, I know you're against the whole idea of Mk-Ultra on Bell. But...now we know quite a lot about Perseus."

"It's not just about performing the programme on him, Helen. It's the whole idea of what happens after. For now he trusts us, and just like how he was betrayed by Arash, he'll face it again with us once we're done. Neither the CIA nor Adler will let him live." Park glanced briefly at Rei. Her eyes were swollen from crying.

"I know they won't. But since we made Bell a spy from Mi6, I think I can pull him out slowly." Rei smiled lightly, hoping that it would be possible. "Besides, the boy knows a great deal about Perseus. I'm sure he'll be of some use to MI6, with Perseus and his brilliant cryptography skills and multilingualism."

Adler was not the type to ignore an order unless he was convinced that there is either another way round or that the order might have adverse consequences. In this case, a very complicated case, Adler's stance was understandable, but Bell does deserve the benefit of doubt, doesn't he? Maybe Park and MI6 could pull him out of the sticky situation.

The rest of the ride went quietly. The airport was not crowded, much to Rei's happiness. A crowded airport was an unbearable one. Too many people, too much noise and too sweaty. Now all they had to do was finish their formalities, rest in a lounge and then go to Germany, finally to the safehouse that included two helicopter rides. "Ugh what a pain." Rei muttered, a scowl on her face.

-

"That wasn't so bad." Park chuckled nervously at a highly sleep-deprived and hungry Rei getting off the helicopter, walking towards their rented car. They had just finished their exhausting long journey. Airplanes and anything that flies- Rei hated them with a burning passion. Ironically, the girl loves to travel to different countries. Right now she was like a zombie. Rei just groaned. "Can we at least get some food before going to the safehouse?" She wailed softly. Park smiled at the girl, shaking her head lightly. "Alright. We'll get some take-out and go to the apartment first, freshen up and change and then head to the safehouse."

"Great!" Rei hopped towards her car, taking the driver's seat.

Taglist

@sophtheunlikelybakeryfestival​

@pookolokon​

[pascal-istheway]

Watch Where You’re Going

Read It Here on AO3!

Fandom: The Mandalorian, Star Wars

Rating: Explicit

Characters/Relationships: Din Djarin x F Reader 

Word Count: 4k+

--------

“I have calamari flan, will that work?” the customer said.

“Of course! If you can’t trade, flan is acceptable,” you place the items in a box, exchanging them for the small squishy discs.

“Thank you, love, you’re a lifesaver. You know how tough it is growing food out here these days. We really rely on you guys here in the market when things get rough,” the man said, smiling before picking up his box and turning to leave towards home.

“I’ll see you the same time next week Galan!” you shout after him, waving goodbye.

It had been a long day at your little shop in the vendors square. You were one of the few vendors that actually had fresh food to sell that wasn’t offloaded from the docks. What you didn’t hunt, grow, or craft yourself came from whatever the cruisers brought in from off-planet. The stuff they brought wasn’t the worst, but nothing beat fresh or homegrown food.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make a small living for yourself. You were one of the lucky ones though - with no other family to depend on you, your earnings, however small, were all for yourself. After you paid whatever dues you owed for the rent on your shop space and for your farm on the outskirts of the village, you’d have enough tucked away for yourself for special occasions and emergencies.

The sun had already started to go over the tops of the trees outside the town, setting off the street light’s automatic sensors. “Time to close up shop and get the hell outta here!” you told yourself, packing up your belongings and anything you had left in your stall for the day onto your small handheld pushcart. The boxes weren’t overly heavy, enough that you could push it all yourself with some effort. Sure, you could use some of your money on a droid but there was something about having one around that bugged you. Why get a droid to do the work when you could just as easily do it yourself?

You’d just about finished packing up, laying the blanket over everything, and getting the straps laid over the top when you heard heavy feet pounding on the earth around the corner. A man, about your age, came bolting through the door of a house, nearly tripping and falling but not without taking some of the stall’s things next to you down behind him. You gasped, hand flying to your chest as he barreled around you screaming, “move! Out of the fuckin’ way!”

The dirt puffed up in clouds behind him, dry dust making you cough and swat the air in front of your face. It was enough that as soon as you picked up the handle of your cart, you didn’t see the second person, a Mandalorian, running straight for you. Apparently, he didn’t see you either because he had zero time to stop and completely pummeled over you, trashing your cart and more than enough of the things in it. The fresh fruit went flying, squishing in your face, hair, and clothes.

His jetpack ignited, lifting him up from the ground as he yelled a very pitiful, “sorry!” from the air, and continued on his pursuit. You laid there, stunned in silence as a crowd gathered to see the now destroyed supplies laying on the ground with you. You look down at your now disgusting clothes, covered in the soggy mess that was once fruit and spotchka.

“Dank fucking farrik!” you yell, hands flying up in exasperation at the scene at your feet. “Fucking Mandalorians…”

Your neighbor and fellow vendor helped you to your feet as you brush yourself off and you sigh, feeling helpless at the now ruined supplies. She was an older woman, had been here longer than most of you, and was one of your closest friends.

“Oh hun, it’s ok. It’s only your cart, not your life. What you had here isn’t enough to shed any tears over,” she pats your hand, smiling warmly up at you.

“I know Ada,” you sigh, looking up and blinking away tears, “just startled, that’s all. We’re tougher ladies than that,” you chuckle.

“That’s my girl,” she pats your cheek, giving your hand a squeeze. “Come on, let’s get this mess cleaned up and get you home.”

With the help of several bystanders and other vendors, you and Ada clean up the mess. Ada lives in the hut directly next to you so she helps you take the salvageable things home on her cart. Unfortunately, yours is just ruined. You’d have to repair it before using it again. The two miles home, you had insisted that you push her cart since she was so insistent that you put your things on hers, but per her usual fashion, she refused.  Ada was just like the grandmotherly type you wish you had around growing up. She took care of you when you were sick, helped you set up your stall when you first moved to this side of the planet and even helped you set up your farm - teaching you all the correct farming techniques for the soil. She really was the Maker’s gift to the planet.

You both lived in a small village outside of the main city. It really was one of the most peaceful places you could’ve settled in, a place where kids could play safely and farmers could live in peace. Many of the members were former rebels which made a lot of the elders feel safe here. We had a nice little thing going here and didn’t want any disruption. As for you? You’d fought with the best of them, but nothing in any official capacity.

The village operated on the market and the farming. Every night, you’d gather together for a community meal after vendors returned from the market and the sun had set. Stories would be shared or maybe someone would play music. There was a small school where the children would learn and on occasion, you’d get a passerby that would stay for a while before moving on. It was a safe place, for the wounded, the needy, the outcast. No judgment, no resistance, no sides. Just peace.

By the time you got to your little home, you’d almost completely forgotten about your incident in the market earlier in the day. The sun wasn’t quite set so you decided you had just enough time to attempt to repair the pieces you’d saved of your cart. Thankfully, you were handy enough to know your way around a set of tools and you set yourself out to work on the broken pieces. It was no use. The more you hammered, the sweatier and more frustrated you got.

“Maker be damned!” you shouted, throwing the splintered wood down in frustration. “Fucking Mandalorian couldn’t have had worse fucking timing!”

“You know, with language like that, people will mistake you for a scrapper,” Ada snuck up behind you, laughing as she pointed her swollen knuckled finger towards your failed project. “Giving up so soon?”

“It’s no use, the planks are cracked right in half. I need completely new boards at this point,” you sigh, sitting on a nearby stump and resting your elbows on your knees. Ada comes and sits next to you, looking out at the small village you live in. The kids squealed as they ran around the fire playing a made-up game. The fondness you had for them made your heart swell. You were happy here.

“Hungry?” Ada handed you a bowl of stew.

“Starving,” you grab the bowl and dig in, eating peacefully with her at your side, watching the sun fully set over the trees in the distance.

The sunset on Sorgan was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to what happened after. It was one of those things that you couldn’t describe to someone, you’d have to show them. The bugs didn’t have a name, just a color. They would shine a beautiful fluorescent green and light up the entire sky if you were quiet enough, like the embers of a fire burning low, flying up into the sky. It was incredible. Completely takes your breath away, no matter how many times you see them.

You and Ada finish up your meals in silence before bidding each other a good night and promise to see each other in the morning for the market. She instructed you that you can use her spare cart until you get yours up and running, to which you mentally think of some way you can repay her. Maybe you can slip her something extra, or make her a nice trinket. A new pair of shoes, she’s been needing a new pair for some time now. Yeah, that should do nicely.

You decided bathing was the first order of business before you turn in for the night since you still had remnants of fruit stuck to your scalp from earlier. A clean pair of clothes were waiting for you in your hut near your bed and you grabbed them along with a towel and wandered off to the river for a quick - and what you thought would be a private bath.

This section of the river is far enough from the village that no one would bother you. You approach the bank of the river, staring down into the dark cold water. The sound of the water rushing against the banks calms your frustrations from earlier. You close your eyes, taking a few deep breaths in before opening them and slowly moving to unbuckle the belt wrapping around your waist, letting it fall to the ground.

Slowly, you remove the fabric that’s draping over your chest, leaving you exposed to the rapidly cooling night air. You slide out of your boots, then your pants, leaving you completely bare to the world. There’s something that excites you about this vulnerability - something erotic about it.

You think back to earlier in the day, the incident that had you all bothered. The way that guy ran over your things was one thing but the way that Mandalorian completely took you out and then jet packed out of there . The feeling of him up against you before he took off after that guy. You couldn’t get the image of him out of your head all day. At first, it was a curious fascination. You’d encountered a Mandalorian before, but not one like that .

But then you felt rage. You were pissed he ruined your stuff. Sure, he yelled a half-assed “sorry” from the sky… But you were stuck between this line of wanting to punch him and wanting to fuck him. “Maker, you needed to get laid,” you think to yourself. Maybe you wouldn’t be ready to jump the first aggressive-looking guy if someone would just fuck you properly every once in a while. For now, you’d have to do it yourself, not that it would even come close to satisfying enough.

Once splash in the cool river is enough to change that thought process though. You dip your toes in, one foot at a time and slowly at first, but then rush in past your hips, hissing as the cool water caresses over your skin and tickles under your breasts. It would never really be enough to quench that feeling deep in your belly, but it was a start.

“Fuck, that’s cold!” you yelp, breathing out harshly. You dunk yourself to adjust quickly to the water. Reaching out to the bank, you pick up the soap you made earlier that month and start to lather it between your fingers. The earthy scent fills your nostrils as you work the bar between your fingers before placing it back on the grass and then push your nails into your long tendrils.

Your lips part, a moan of ecstasy as you start to scrub your scalp to remove any residue from the day. You tilt your head to the side, moving your hands lower towards the ends of your hair before arching your back to dip your head into the water, your breasts becoming the only thing exposed to the air, the contrast of the temperature hardening your nipples to tight peaks.

Your hands run over your neck as you float there on your back, running over your bare skin. No one is here, no one would know if you took care of yourself right now. You let yourself float in place, eyes closed as you drift your hand lower over your breast giving your nipple a gentle roll between your fingers. Your lips part and another moan came from your throat. You squeeze a little harder, feeling a zap of pleasure between your thighs.

Your hand dips lower between your legs, finding the slit wet with a different kind of moisture. This is slick, warm - thick. You guide your finger between the skin, dipping one in, then another, moaning at the pressure. The water rushing over your ears creating a muted sound to the world around you. It was intense to say the least. You move your fingers, pumping slowly in and out, spreading and moving them to massage yourself before moving to that small little nub. From under your lashes, you see movement and your eyes spring open and you’re faced with your worst fear...

Standing upright, your eyes fully open to come face to face with a shiny plate of beskar glistening in the moonlight. Your entire body flushes with embarrassment.

“Ooooh fuck…” your voice draws out quietly under your breath, your eyes roaming up from his boots to his thighs, all the way up to his broad chest to that goddamn helmet. The one that was so recognizable. The Mandalorian from the market. You snap your thighs together, feeling a familiar warmth starting to build. You immediately shut it down, now is so not the time for this.

“You,” your voice comes out choked, you suddenly realizing he’s looking directly down at your naked body. Your hand flying to cover your chest, cheeks flushing a brilliant shade of crimson. “What the fuck are you doing here?” you get angry, practically yelling at him. Not only embarrassed for getting caught in the act but angry that it was him that caught you. He doesn’t speak, but instead just shakes his head at you.

“Well? Does he speak? What the fuck do you want?” you’re fuming, you drop your arms, shoving water at him as you start to back away, barely missing his boots. You hear him chuckle in a modulated tone before saying, “yeah? Ok…” and then his jetpack ignites, bringing him to the other side of the river bank.

“I can play this game all day little bird,” he says, “You cost me a bounty.”

“I didn’t cost you shit, if anything, you cost me a cart and an entire day’s worth of food so who’s the real fucker now asshole?” you back away back to the other side of the bank, sinking down into the water up to your shoulders. He just laughs, flying back to the other side of the river.

“I don’t think so,” he continues to laugh, making you furious. You stand, holding your arm out, aimed and ready to unleash a massive splash of water over him. You think at this point maybe if you get his jetpack wet he may not be able to use it and then you’d have an actual fighting chance of getting away.

“Ah, ah, I don’t think that’s a smart move,” he holds a hand out, ready to catch your arm. But you yank back and fire, a giant splash washing over him, and to both of your surprise, it actually worked. The one thing you didn’t count on, however, was how fast he would be after he dropped to the ground. In one swoop, his feet hit the ground and his hand grasped your arm, pulling you closer to his other hand could weave in your freshly washed hair and pull you up closer to his warm frame.

“I told you,” he groaned, “that wasn’t smart. Do you just like to bathe out here for anyone to see? Is that it? You just want anyone to see you?”

“Fuck you, Mando,” your hands reach back to where his hands are wrapped in your hair and he grabs you around the throat, lifting you clean from the water and letting your legs dangle in the air. You kick and start to scream.

“Go ahead and scream, no one is going to hear you,” he laughs. “When is the last time you were fucked properly, little bird?”

“When is the last time you fucked anyone properly Mando? Other than fucking me over today in the market?” you quip back at him. “Let me go and you can find out,” Maker what is happening. One minute you go from this angry fireball to a horny goddess.

“Is that what you want? I won’t do it unless it’s really what you want. I came to apologize for earlier, but then seeing you here, washing your hair in that river,” his hand slid from your neck down your chest, cupping one breast and giving a gentle squeeze, “I know what it looks like when a woman hasn’t had a proper fuck in a long time and maker - you haven’t been fucked in a long time. Tell me I’m wrong.” He was practically begging you at this point. He needed you just as much as you needed him.

“Yes,” you pant, parting your lips and letting your tongue glide along with them, “please, take me, I need it,” you beg.

“Get on your knees,” he drops you on the ground, letting you turn and your hands find their way to his buttons. You practically rip it open, a button flying off in the process. Reaching inside, you’re greeted with smooth skin, hardened and pulsing with lust. You pause, looking up to see him looking down at you as he nods to give you the ok to continue. The fabric moves under the pressure and he springs out in release, the most beautiful cock you think you’ve ever laid eyes on presented in your face.

“Maker - you’re…” you gulp, “ you’re massive…” you look back up at him. He threads his hands in your hair, directing your head forward as you part your lips, slowly easing the soft tip between them. You can taste the salt mixed with skin, pulsing on your tongue. As soon as you swirl your tongue in a circle around him, he jerks, inhaling sharply before grabbing your hair and pushing slowly deeper into your face.

You moan with pleasure, a rush of it going straight between your thighs. One of your hands rests on your breast, gently kneading while you let the other drift lower towards your center. Your finger finds your slick folds already soaked, and not from the river you were just yanked out of. One finger slowly slips between, circling slowly around your clit making you cry out as Mando pushed in and out of your mouth. Both of you climbing higher and higher towards a release.

You close your eyes, enjoying the pure ecstasy of every nerve that’s been set on fire. But suddenly you’re being lifted from the ground and hoisted over his shoulder.

“I ca-ugh-gah….ca-can’t finish here…” he’s out of breath, clearly was on the verge of orgasming.

“Then where?” you can feel his muscles under you, the movement pulling you further and further away from your own orgasm.

“My… m-y ship is right through here…” he keeps walking, his cock freely hanging from his pants as he trudges through the trees towards an old Razor Crest. You whine, rubbing your legs together in frustration.

“I was so close,” you cry.

He laughs but then you feel his hand snaking up your thigh as he carries you. Suddenly, you gasp as a gloved finger slips between your legs, inserting itself in your most intimate part.

Your hand slams down, grasping at his cape, “oh - fuck, YES!” you scream. He pumps his finger in and out of you, slowly enough to torture you but fast enough to keep the momentum going.

“Don’t fu-fuck- oh, oh god… don’t,” you can barely speak.

“Yeah I get it, don’t stop…” he finishes for you.

“Yes! Yes! Fu- fuck!” the edge of an orgasm creeping up on you as his finger massages the walls of your cunt faster and faster.

You can see the universe explode behind your eyes as you explode, your entire body vibrating. He doesn’t stop, if anything he keeps going and this just causes you to shake even more violently. You scream out, practically sobbing, as you grab his cape and bite down, desperate to hold on to anything to keep you tethered to this planet. Who knew that just something as simple as that would shatter your entire world.

As he gets you to his ship, you’re practically mush, but he is harder than beskar and has absolutely no intent on stopping. He places you down on a small bench, kneeling down in front of you, and stretches your legs up over each shoulder.

“You ok? Is this ok?” he checks before continuing. For someone who was so ready to take what he wanted, he sure was being a gentleman.

“I will kill you if you stop right now Mando, do you understand me?” you reply, grabbing him around the neck and pulling him closer. He nods, and then slowly sheaths himself within you. You both groan at the same time, feeling your walls constrict at the same time his cock twitches inside you.

“Ma - ke.. I, fuck.. J’just like that… f-fu” he can barely speak as he thrusts. “S’so perfe-ct,” his body working in slow movements as he starts but then he starts to pick up the pace, moving quicker and quicker, bodies moving together in sync.

You hear skin against skin echoing in the hull of his ship, the sound of being fucked properly as he grunts and groans through his helmet. He pins your legs open, taking one hand and rubbing his thumb against your bundle of nerves making your head flop back against the metal wall loud enough to make a crack. He brings his other hand around the back of your neck and pulls you up, your bodies closer than ever.

“Fuck - this… this what you needed?” he wheezes, his pace turning ferocious. “I know you needed this, little bird.” he can barely breathe he’s fucking you at such a fast pace. All you can hear is your own screams mixed with the sound of your thighs against his.

Your eyes start to roll as another orgasm barrels through you, “Mando! Fu-fuck I’m cum-” is all you get out before you gush out all over him, the evidence of your orgasm flowing between the two of you.

“W’where can… where can I -” he was so close, he didn’t even think he had time to ask before he came, exploding within you. You didn’t have time to tell him that you had an implanted contraceptive, it was safe. But he did, nonetheless, explode inside you. The two of you mixing into one giant mess.

You both sit there for another few minutes, breathing in each other while you come down from this incredible high you just experienced together. Unsure how to even approach what just happened, he simply waited for you to readjust yourself before he got up and went to his quarters to get you a wet rag and a blanket and brought it to you to clean up and wrap yourself in.

“I know you were just bathing but I do have a pretty nice shower in here if you’re interested in cleaning up again… at least... Uh.. at least the water will be warm.” he rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.

“That would actually be really nice. Haven’t had an actual warm shower in… well I don’t know how long. But my… uh, my clothes.” you look longingly back out towards the river, “they are all back out there.”

“You can borrow a pair. It’s the least I can do after I ruined your stuff…”

[atlafan]

Take it Slow - Part Sixty-Six

a/n: okay this is my first shot at a harry:y/n fic, and it will be multiple parts. y/n had a bad experience with an ex over a year ago, and finally accepts her coworker and good friend Niall’s invitation to go on a blind date with his friend Harry.

Warnings: Fluff. Smut…there’s, um, some more butt stuff…

Masterpost (all previous parts can be found in the masterpost)

Friday after work you meet Harry at the first of three locations he wanted to look at. He really trusted your eye and vision for things. You didn’t like the first location.

“Not enough foot traffic. You’ll want people to be able to walk in and make appointments.”

He agreed with you. Harry’s main thing was to make sure there were two offices in the back. He needed a private space for himself, and for Mariah if she decided to join him.

“You should also see if you can sell frames and other products to help add to your profit. You could offer special deals for those booklets you make.”

“Good idea. That’ll give Isaac somethin’ to do too if he comes along.”

You liked the second location the best out of the three. It was closer to home, and near a park. There were other businesses and a ton of foot traffic. There were two offices, one in the back, and one upstairs. Harry liked the idea of it being two stories. There was also a large storage closet.

“With some paint and some new furniture, this could be a really great place.”

“Yeah, and the price is right in my budget.” Harry says looking over his paperwork. “Are there many offers on this space yet?”

“Not yet, but it’ll move fast. Take the weekend to think things over and let me know Monday, yeah?”

“Alright, sounds good.”

You and Harry were having Mariah and Isaac over for lunch Saturday, so that would give everyone time to think a lot of things over.

“You have the money in your budget for renovations and stuff like that?” You ask him as you get into the car.

“Yup, I think I’ve thought of just about everything. I’d need to put my two weeks in at work quick though because I’d need to spend my free time fixin’ the place up.”

“Which means you’d need to file for insurance soon…”

“Yeah, and I’d need to get my LLC insured too. This is all happening so fast.” He says excitedly. “When can we start working on the website?”

“How about tomorrow night? Once we know if Mariah’s on board we can add her info to it.”

“Thanks again for helpin’ with all this, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He gives your hand a squeeze.

“I’d do anything for you, Harry.” You smile at him and he nearly starts to cry.

//

“So…what exactly are we doing here, other than to have lunch?” Mariah asks as you set a plate of sandwiches in front of everyone.

“Well, I’m finally jumpin’ into my own business, and to be up front, I want you both to come with me.”

“Me?” Isaac asks in shock.

“Yes.” Harry hands them his business plan. “It’s all right there. Y/N and I looked at some spaces yesterday and found one we think could suit all of us. My freelance work alone would be enough to sustain us, so imagine the few people you work with on top of that Mariah. And Isaac, there’s no one else I’d trust bookin’ shit f’me. I know I’m asking you to leave something comfortable, and it might seem rocky at first, but I think this could be great.”

“What would you call the business? Or is it just a space we’d use together?” She asks flipping through.

“Well, that’s somethin’ we could talk about. I mean I’d want us to have business cards that match. It could just be our last names or we could come up with somethin’.”

“I think we should just call it Styles Photography.” She suggests.

“But you’d be my partner, so where does your name go?”

“I’d be working for you, and it would go on my business card. Your name should be everywhere, this is your thing.” She smiles.

“Harry, I have to say, I’m really impressed with this. I mean the salary you’re suggesting for me is way more than I make now.” Isaac says.

“It’s what you deserve to be paid, you work really hard. And Y/N suggested we sell other little things to help offset other costs, which I think is brilliant.”

“Yeah, we could sell some of those techie frames where you digitally load the photos. People go nuts for those.” Mariah says. “Fuck it, I’m in.”

“Me too.”

“Are you both serious?! I wouldn’t be able to provide many benefits…that’s the only thing.”

“I’m still on my parent’s insurance for a couple more years.” Isasc says.

“So am I, actually.” Mariah says. “So we’d have time save up for all that.”

“My question is, when would we start?”

“Well, I’d be leaving Plant Geo far before either of you. I need to lease the space and fix it up. I’d say by June we could be up and running. Y/N’s going to help put a legitimate website together for us, and she’s going to do this social media campaign to help get the word out.”

“Harry, do you think you could have some legitimate contracts made up for us?” Isaac asks.

“Definitely. I could have them to you by the end of next week probably. So we’re doin’ this, I can go lease the space?”

“Yeah! Do you have any pictures?” Mariah asks. Harry hands her his phone. “I was thinkin’ of putting a wall up in the back and adding a small kitchen area. There’s an office in the back for you, and I would take the one upstairs. Huge storage closet for all our shit. I was thinkin’ of getting a custom desk made for you too Isaac.”

“Can you do all that yourself?” You ask.

“Yeah, I’m pretty handy. So are Lou and Niall, they could help when I need it.”

“My dad could help too…” You bite your bottom lip. You hadn’t really spoken to your dad in a while.

“We’ll see…” Harry smiles. “Anyways, I’m really excited you guys are on board.”

“Me too, I’ve been getting sick of all the drama there.” Mariah says.

“Chris is gonna flip losing her three best people.” Isaac says.

“You two need to keep quiet that you’re comin’ with me. I’m not even tellin’ her I’m getting my own studio, I’m just telling her I’m going to freelance full time.”

“Good idea.”

The three shake on it, and Harry tells them they’ll get proper contacts soon. After they leave he calls the realtor and tells him he’ll take the space and will have a check for him Monday.

“Once I get the blue prints of the place I can get the permits I need for renovations.” He tells you. “Do you really think your dad would help?”

“Sure, I mean it would be good to have him there in case you stumble into any electrical mishaps. Plus he has a ton of tools. He could borrow my brother’s truck and meet you out there. And he’s free labor. Well, mostly free, you’d need to buy him a beer or two.”

“What’s his number I’ll call him.”

“You wanna call my dad?”

“Why would I have you call him? So he can ask you a ton of questions and make you angry? No way, I’ll talk to him.”

You give Harry your dad’s number and he dials it on his phone. He picks up after a few rings. Harry puts the phone on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hi Mr. Y/L/N, it’s Harry…”

“Oh! Um, hi. Is everything okay with Y/N?” You two smile at each other.

“Yeah, she’s fine, I asked her for your number actually.”

“Oh boy…you’re not calling for the reason I think you are?” Harry’s face goes beat red.

“Uh, no, no, no, not yet anyways.” He laughs nervously. “She actually told me to call you because I’m officially renting my own studio space and I’m going to be doing some renovations to it. Y/N said you could be a great help.”

“Oh! Well, that’s a much better reason to call.” You roll your eyes and Harry swats an arm at you. “What do you need help with?”

“Well, a lot actually.” Harry takes the phone off speaker and walks away so he can explain everything to your dad.

About an hour or so later Harry comes back to you and plops down on the couch. He takes a deep breath and looks at you.

“Your dad is a chatty guy.” He laughs.

“Yeah, no shit. Did he really think you were calling to ask if you could marry me?”

“Yes, and he talked my ear off about how even though he knows we love each other, we just need to slow down a bit and that it’s too soon for all that.”

“I’m sorry.” You can’t help but laugh.

“S’alright. Don’t really need his permission though do I.” It wasn’t a question.

“Nope.” You smile. “So what did he say about helping?”

“Oh, he’s all for it. Said it would give him somethin’ to do. He said your brother could probably help too. He said once I get all the right permits he’d be able to jump in wherever.”

“That’s great!”

“God, I can’t wait to give my two weeks to Chris on Monday. Been there for four years, feels way longer.”

“I’m so proud of you Harry, this is going to be great.”

//

Monday morning Harry walked into Christin’s office and handed her his two weeks notice.

“What’s this?” She asks looking up at him.

“I’m leavin’ Plant Geo. I’m goin’ to invest more into my own work. No hard feelings, I just can’t do this anymore. The work doesn’t make me happy like it used to.”

“There’s nothing I can do to convince you to stay? You’re the best photographer we’ve got.”

“I’m sorry, Chris. It’s just not what I want anymore. I wanna be my own boss.”

“I understand.”

“I’d like to keep this quiet, I don’t want anyone makin’ a fuss.” She nods and he walks out of her office to go to his own.

//

Harry made a ton of phone calls all week to get the ball rolling on the permits he’d need to start making renovations to the studio. He also worked on the contracts he’d need to give Mariah and Isaac. He asked Rachel if she’d be able to help paint once it was all ready for that. Harry felt lucky to have so many friends that were willing to support him.

Every night you and Harry sat at the dining room table getting his website together. He loved watching you work. He was beyond grateful for you. You’d make sure everything looked the way he wanted. You both worked really well together.

“As you’re renovating we should post on Instagram to show everyone updates. You’ll need to give me the login to your professional insta.”

“Should we just make a brand new one for the LLC?”

“No, we can just update yours. Then we can post an announcement to Facebook, and let everyone know about the site. I can set it up so they book with you on the site too. Isaac would have the final approval on the reservation of course, that way you wouldn’t get overworked.”

“I’ve told a few people and they said they were really excited. A lot of people have more time during the week to get their pictures taken than I thought. Plus I can still freelance for other magazines if I want.”

“Did Christin tell you that?”

“Yeah, we spoke and she said if I ever needed the work she’d give it to me.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah, I appreciated it.”

//

A couple of weeks later, your dad started helping Harry with the renovations. Your dad was actually impressed that Harry had a lot of the proper things he needed like masks and goggles. Harry made sure to take before and after pictures for you to post updates on social media. One night he came home in a pair of jeans, workboots, and a longsleeve shirt. It was starting to get warmer out, but the longsleeve helped keep dust and other scraps off his skin.

“I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but I’m actually havin’ fun with your dad. He’s helpin’ me get the kitchen together this week.”

“That’s great.” You bite your bottom lip while he runs a hand through his hair.

“What?”

“Nothing…you just look…hot. Where’s your tool belt?”

“Left it in my trunk.” He smirks. He comes over to you and rests his hands on your hips. “Why?”

“Be nice if you brought it home some night.”

“You should come by one of the mornings your dad isn’t there.”

“I’m not fucking you in your studio.”

“C’mon, why not? Now that would be hot.”

“Harry.” You suck your teeth and pull his hands off you. He pulls you back closer to him.

“Okay, okay.” He presses his forehead to yours. “I have a wedding to shoot this weekend.”

“I know.”

“So we won’t have much time together again, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m gonna spend some time with Rachel.”

“Oh good.” He kisses your nose. “I needa shower, I must smell like a goat.”

“A very sexy goat.”

//

Rachel comes over Saturday while is off taking wedding photos. You’re enjoying catching up with her. She tells you how excited she is to help paint at the studio, and how excited Mariah is to work with Harry.

“I’m really glad she’s my girlfriend, she’s awesome.”

“I’m so happy for you! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.” You take a sip your tea. “Can I ask you something kind of personal?”

“Always.”

“Well…you know about the things Sarah and I bought for the boys?”

“Oh yeah, she filled me in on all that.”

“Okay cool, so it’s been a while since Harry and I dove back into all that. He’s just been so busy with everything, I’ve sort of felt bad asking you know?”

“Sure.”

“So like…how do straps work?”

“Oh my god, you wanna peg him?”

“You have no idea how badly I wanna get into that ass.” You both laugh.

“Yes, oh my god, okay, well, I’ve never used one in someone’s butt before, but using the strap in general just makes it easier to like hold onto the person. It’s not like using a dildo where you have to keep your hand gripped on it.”

“But how do you know what you’re doing?”

“You just feel around, talk to your partner make sure they like what you’re doing. Does he know you wanna fuck him like that?”

“Yeah.”

“And he’s cool with it?”

“He didn’t seem not cool with it. You should have seen how amazing he looked when I used the plug on him, Jesus, he was beautiful.”

“I never expected you to be into something like this, I love this for you.”

“I didn’t expect it either. I just don’t know how to bring it up. He hasn’t had a free second.”

“Have you had sex otherwise?”

“Oh sure. We always make time for it. We just haven’t had time for the things that take a little longer.”

“Do you think he’ll want to do it to you?”

“He’s not really a give to get kind of person. I don’t want it for myself and he knows that.”

“Oh that’s nice. Yeah, I don’t really like the strap used on me, I don’t need the dick.” You both laugh.

“So sex with Mariah is good then?”

“So good. I’ve never really connected with someone the way I’ve connected with her.”

“That’s great Rach.”

“Please don’t keep me in the dark about if/when you actually peg Harry. I’m gonna need all the details.” You both start laughing just as he’s walking in.

“Oi, what’s so funny.” He smirks at them, loosening his tie.

“Hi!” You say blushing. “Did you just walk in?”

“Mhm. Hi Rach.”

“Hey Harry.” She smiles at him then at you. “Well, I’ll get going, I have some projects I need to grade actually. God, summer cannot come fast enough.”

“I hear that.” You stand up to walk her out. “Thanks for coming over today.”

“Course! It was fun to catch up. Bye!” You turn back to look at Harry.

“She didn’t need to leave.”

“Oh she’s been here for hours it’s fine. You’re home earlier than I thought.”

“It was an early morning wedding, and they didn’t need me for the reception, just family shots, so I got outta there as soon as I could.” He slips hit suit jacket off and walks down the hall to your bedroom. You follow him. “What was so funny when I walked in?”

“Hm? Oh, I can’t even remember. Sometimes we just get into these laughing fits.” You sit on the bed and watch him undress. He hangs up his suit and looks at you. “You know Aunt Flow left yesterday.”

“Did she now?”

“Mhm.”

“Is that your way of tellin’ me you wanna bone?” You giggle and bite your bottom lip.

“Maybe.”

“Well, we gotta make it quick. I need to go to the studio and get some things done.” He stands between your legs and you can’t help but pout. “Whatsa matter, angel?”

“We’ve been making it quick a lot lately.” You say looking up at him. You put your hands on his hips.

“Aw, you want us to take our time baby?”

“Yes.”

“How about a quick shag now, and then tonight when I get back we can take our time, hm? We’ll do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?”

“Sure.” He smiles. “Now take your pants off.” You grin and stand up to take your leggings off.

Harry fingered you until you came and then fucked you into the mattress before he left for the studio. You got caught up on some homework while he was gone and made dinner. He got home around seven, exhausted.

“Please take a day off from it tomorrow.”

“I will, I will. I just wanted to get some things done. Your dad is comin’ back to help Monday so I brought some lumbar over and some other things we’d need.”

You both eat quickly. He goes over to sit on the couch, but you put your hands on your hips and make a grunting noise.

“What?” He looks at you just as he was about to turn the TV on. You point to the bedroom. “Babe, I just need-“

“No, you said when you got home we could do whatever I wanted. Now get that ass up and into our bedroom.”

He couldn’t say no to that, so he stands walks with you into the bedroom. He sees that you’ve pulled out the special box and stops short.

“You…you wanna do this tonight?”

“Neither of us have anywhere to be tomorrow, and we haven’t done it since the first time.” You bite your inner cheek. “If you don’t want to we don’t have to.”

“S’not that I don’t want to…what’s the end goal here?”

“I want to be able to fuck you in the ass.” You say bluntly and he nods. “Are you okay with that?”

“I think I could be.” He sits down on the edge of the bed and you stand between his legs. He looks up at you. “I’ve been reading into it a little.”

“You have?”

“Yeah, can’t say I’m not curious…but there’s gonna have to be things that you’ll have to do. I mean you’re legitimately going to need to finger me to stretch me out and stuff. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Maybe if you shower first.” You giggle.

“Alright, let me go shower.” He stands up and starts taking his clothes off. “I want you naked on this bed ready f’me when I get out. I’m still a little hungry, and I really only want one thing.”

You do as he says and excitedly get on the bed and wait for him while he showers. Harry makes sure he’s all clean and comes out to you. He gets on the bed and hovers over you. He kisses your lips and then makes his way down your chest. He takes your nipple between his teeth before sucking on your breast.

“Ah.” Your head rolls back while he sucks on one and kneads the other.

He makes his way to suck on the other, wanting to give equal attention. He kisses down your chest and belly. He kisses one of your hips and sucks on the skin harshly letting it go with a pop. He spreads your legs apart and dives in. He licks a flat tripe up from your center to your clit. He laps at your folds and sucks where he pleases. His tongue goes up inside you while his thumb works your clit. He was really taking his time, only make small, slow circles. Your chest was rising and falling rapids. When he wraps his mouth around your clit, your hands fly to his hair. His middle and forefinger plunge inside you, going in knuckle deep.

“Shit.” He looks up at you while your eyes are rolled back.

He took a great deal of satisfaction knowing that even though in a few minutes you’d totally be in charge, but no matter what he’d always be the one in control. If he really wanted to he could fuck you so hard you wouldn’t be able to walk for a week, let alone stand.

He curls his fingers up inside you while the tip of his tongue flicks back and forth against your swollen nub. You tug at his hair harder. He feels you start to clench around his fingers as he hits that spongy spot you love so much.

“Harry.” You moan. You moan his name over over until you’re coming. He takes his fingers out of you and slips his tongue back inside to suck on you. He wanted all you’d give him. “Fuck.” You were out of breath.

He sits up between your legs and wipes chin with the back of his hand.

“Go get the towel and the lube.” He says to you.

You practically squeal while you grab everything. You lay the towel down for him and he sits on top of it.

“Are you sure it won’t be easier on your stomach?”

“No, I want to be able to look at you while you do it. I’ll just hold my legs up like last time.”

“Okay. I’m just gonna blow you for a few minutes first.”

“Sounds good to me.”

You smile and lick up his shaft. You wrap your lips around his tip and slide down. His hips buck up slightly. He felt like he could explode at any second. Going down on you really got him going. Your tongue slides back forth on his slit, lapping up at his precome.

“Shit.” He groans. One of your hands cradles his balls and massages them lightly. “So good, babe.”

You come off him with a popping sound. You grab the lube and put some on your fingers. You warm it up as best you can. You look at him.

“All clean right?”

“Mhm, I sprayed the water right up in there.” You both giggle.

“Okay.”

You lean up and press your forehead against his while he hooks his arms under his knees to give you better access. Your finger tip lightly grazes around him. You start laughing and so does he.

“I’m sorry, I’m just nervous.” You look at him.

“I am too, it’s okay. We can laugh through it, we don’t need to be so serious. S’kinda funny anyways.”

“Yeah, like, my bare finger is gonna go into your ass.”

“Yup.” You both laugh again. “Hold on, before you push in, just like squirt some of th lube directly on me.”

“Won’t that be too cold?”

“It’s fine, I’ll adjust.”

You grab the bottle and put it directly on him. He clenches at how cool it is but he relaxes again. You kiss him as you lightly play with his hole, getting him to relax more and more. Eventually you start to push your middle finger inside of him. He winces at first.

“Nail’s a little long.”

“Shit, I should have clipped them.”

“S’okay, just be careful.”

You continue to kiss him and you feel him relax around you as your finger goes in deeper. There was so much trust between the two of you and you were so happy. You get it all the way in and you pause.

“What should I do now? Curl it up? Move it?”

“Bring it out all the way slowly, put more lube on, and then put it back in.”

You nod and do just that. Eventually you’re able to get a second finger in, and he seems to be enjoying it by the way his cock twitches.

“Doing okay, Harry?”

“Mhm.” Beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead. “Doesn’t feel too bad actually. DO you wanna get the plug now, think I’m stretched out enough.”

“Yeah!” You pull your fingers out of him. “I’m just gonna go wash my hands, one second.” You race into the bathroom and scrub your fingers quickly. You return with the plug in your hand. You get it lubed up and start to push it inside him.

He gasps but relaxes. You had done a pretty good job of stretching him out. Once you get it all the way in, you focus your attention on his cock. You wrap your mouth around his dripping tip and suckle on it.

“Did you…did you wanna try…” He was panting. You look up at him and you can’t help but smile at the beautiful blush covering his cheeks.

“What is it, Harry? Tell me what you want.” You coo as you pump his dick.

“The, uh, you know…the dildo.”

“Babe, it doesn’t have a base.”

“So tie somethin’ around the end of it.”

“Is that safe?”

“I just…I need somethin’ to go deeper.” Your mouth falls open and then you bite your bottom lip.

“Okay, don’t be mad, but I did buy something else.”

“Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know, we haven’t done this in a while and I didn’t want you to get freaked out.”

You get off the bed and go into the back of your closet. You grab a bag and your hands shake as you take the item in it out.

“Oh.”

“I…I’m a little nervous to put it on. Is this going to be weird for you?”

“I think we’ve crossed the point of weird, don’t you?” He chuckles.

“But it’s going to be me…with a penis.”

“Not really. Let’s just remember to laugh, okay?”

“Okay.”

You slip it on over yourself and you look at him.

“Straps around your ass look nice.”

“Stop” You laugh. “Should I put a condom on it?”

“Um, I think just the lube should be fine.”

“Okay.”

You take a deep breath and get on the bed. You carefully pull the plug out of him.

“You’re about this, we don’t have to do this, Harry.”

“No, I want to.”

“Not just because I want to?”

“Y/N…” He cups your cheek with his hand. “If you’re too nervous, we don’t have to go this far tonight. I’m honestly okay.”

“Alright.”

You take the lube and squirt it into your hand. You rub it all over the dildo attached to the strap.

“Ready?”

“Mhm.” He keeps his legs held back for you as you slowly slip inside him. He lets out a deep breath and relaxes as much as he can.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“How does it…how does it feel?”

“Lotta pressure.” He says through gritted teeth. He looks up at you and smirks.

“What?” You start chuckling.

“You just look…sexy, I don’t know how to describe it.”

“It is pretty hot isn’t it?”

“Little bit, yeah.” He relaxes more and you’re able to fit the whole thing inside him. “Holy shit.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, opposite of hurt.”

“Oh! Maybe I hit your prostate.”

“Look at that, you’re a natural.” You both laugh.

You starts to pull out a little and you get some more lube on the dildo to add to his comfort. You thrust back in slowly and he lets out another breath. Eventually it actually starts to feel really good for him. You pump his cock while you go in and out of him. Keeping your eyes on his face the whole time to make sure he’s alright.

“You’re doing so well, Harry. How’s it feel, am I making you feel good?” The tip of the dildo keeps brushing against just where he needs it to, and your hand wrapped around hip, thumb working his tip, was pushing him over the edge.”

“I think I’m gonna come.” He gasps. “Oh my goooodd, please let me come on your tits.”

His moans were really getting to you. You angle his dick towards his chest, and with a couple final pumps and thrusts he was coming all over you.

“Fuck, Y/N.” He groans.

You both take a second to catch your breaths. You slowly slide out of him and take the strap off. His legs fall onto the bed. A lot of the lube comes out of him, but you try not to look. You straddle his hips and hover over him. You hug him close to you, neither of you really caring about how messy everything is.

“Are you okay? You did so good, sooo good Harry.” You give him gentle kisses on lips and cheeks. “Thank you, thank you, we don’t ever have to do it again if you didn’t like it.”

“Babe.” He says breathlessly. “I’m good.” He cups your cheeks in his hands and brings you down to kiss him. “We can do it again.”

“Really? It felt that good?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard.” You smile at him. “And you looked…I mean…it was hot.” You kiss him again. “Not an all the time thing though…maybe for like…special occasions?”

“Sure! How ‘bout if you’re in the mood for it, you tell me.”

“That sounds like a good deal.”

“How are your legs, you had them up for a while?”

“They’re fine, just tired. I feel like I have a whole new respect for what I put your body through all the time.” You giggle and kiss him.

“Would you like me to draw us a bath? Get all clean and cozy?”

“Yeah, I think that would be nice.”

“Okay.”

You climb off him and he watches you go into the bathroom. His asshole was on fire, but he couldn’t muster the energy to care. He was exhausted. You throw a bath bomb into the water and the room fills with the smell of cinnamon and apples.

“Baby? Tub’s all filled.”

“Okay.” He swings his legs over the edge of the bed and you help him up.

“I’ll clean the bed up when we’re done.”

“Alright.”

He lets you get into the water first so he can sit in front of you. He leans his head back against your shoulder and closes his eyes. He just needed some time to come back. You massaged his scalp and peppered light kisses to his temple.

“Y/N?”

“Yes, baby?” You coo.

“Do you think you’ll ever want to try it?” He tilts his head to look at you. “M’just curious.”

“I…don’t know. Maybe. I could try the plug some time I suppose.”

“Only if you want.”

“We’ll see.” You smile and he nestles back down. “So…did it hurt at all?”

“Um, it’s not that it hurt, it was mostly like discomfort for a little bit. But then it sort of just started to feel good, I can’t explain it. You were really careful with me, I appreciate it.” He takes of your hands and kisses the back of it.

“I love you, Harry.”

“I love you too.” He sighs happily.

“Wanna watch a movie tonight? We could get cozy on the sofa in our robes, and I could do your nails for you, and I could pop some popcorn.”

“I will never say no to you offering to do my nails, that all sounds great.”

Harry gets into his robe and meets you to the sofa after you’ve cleaned the bedroom. You come over with some popcorn and a couple of beers. You let him pick through your polish colors, and you let him pick the movie. Believe it or not he really wanted to watch To All The Boys I Loved Before.

“Read the book when I was younger.”

“Don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

You take his old polish off and file his nails. You end up painting them a nice pastel blue and purple.

“How’s it look?”

“Perfect, thank you.” You lean in to kiss him.

“You’re more than welcome.”

“Now, come lay with me so I can spoon you. Time to may some attention to the other bum in this house.”

You giggle and lay down with him, one of his legs slipping between you. He holds onto you and you both enjoy the movie. When you think about what had happened only an hour or so prior, you feel like anyone on the outside looking in would think it was weird. Or that maybe Harry wasn’t as into women as he led on. But you knew none of that was the case. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought because it wasn’t weird for either of you. And if there was one thing Harry loved, it was a vagina. It wasn’t really about him needing or wanting something up his butt. It was about the two of you exploring something together, and seeing where the journey took you.

You roll onto your back and he looks down at you with an eyebrow raised.

“I love you.” You say.

“I love you too.” He says back, and gives you a tender kiss.

Even though he had just been freshly fucked, and he honestly still looked like it, he had caught a second wind. Before you knew it the two of you were giggling with your legs over his shoulders while he fucked you on the sofa. Yup, he still had complete control.