#Six Figure Success: Time To Think Big - You Can Do It

[thepersonalquotes]

Every day there are opportunities for me, and I take them.

Stephen Richards, Six Figure Success: Time To Think Big - You Can Do It

[quotelr]

If you solely focus only on financial survival then that is where you will always be.

Stephen Richards, Six Figure Success: Time To Think Big - You Can Do It

[maybefae]

Blessings Coming In!

Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3

Remember, this is a general reading and it may not resonate for everyone or completely. Tarot is a tool to help guide but you are responsible for your actions and life, you choose your path.

Tips!

Pile 1

Tarot: The Empress, Ten of Wands, Nine of Pentacles, Three of Swords, Knight of Pentacles, Page of Pentacles, Four of Swords, Queen of Pentacles, Five of Cups, Knight of Swords, The Hanged Man and Three of Wands

Oracle: Seeds (New Ideas, hope, open-mindedness), Oak Tree (power, courage, strength)

You’re getting your mojo back! You could be getting over some heartbreak, probably losing a couple of friends or a relationship. Or you had finally cut off people that weren’t healthy for you. I see this heartbreak happening before this reading and you come to this reading in the process of figuring things out. That’s not to say that you don’t go through moments of grief though. I see you working your abundance, things that fill up your cup. This takes many forms. But I do see you also taking small steps in getting a business or project started and out into the public and I do see this growing faster than you expected! The love and work you put into it will pay off and your doubts will be soothed over from the response you get. 

For the people who are trying to get back out there to find friendships/a partner, I see you taking a very lighthearted approach. You aren’t putting your full heart into them just yet but you are being open, friendly, and slow-burning the progression. You’re feeling very sure of yourself, trusting yourself, and finding the courage (even if it’s a little nerve-wracking) to open up your heart again to new connections. These people could be completely different from who you’re used to connecting with, types of people that you could’ve always wanted to connect with.

For those dating around, I see two different people. One is very grounded, maybe even slow-moving, and you are probably not sure if they even have feelings for you or if they are emotionally available. But I think they have high standards and are as cautious (albeit open-minded) as you are. The other likes what they see, and they are probably very cheeky and knows how to talk to you. Very cunning. May have really intense eyes, “bedroom eyes.” I don’t see these two getting far with you since you’re being selective but I think you will have fun talking to them. You are keeping your options open. And since you’re the Empress, you could be looking for someone to fit the Emperor role (any gender). 

Pile 2

Tarot: Nine of Cups, King of Cups, The Sun, Four of Cups, Page of Wands, The Devil, Three of Pentacles, Four of Swords (Reversed), The Tower, The Star, Queen of Swords, Six of Wands

Oracle: Bee (Community, cooperation, sweetness), Autumn (Bounty, balance), Snow (Rest, contemplation)

Before I even pull cards, The Artist card that solely belongs to this deck was shown to me and I head “As an artist myself, I know they can be a little flighty. Head in the clouds.” But I also thought of David Bowie? Some of you could be really successful when it comes to selling your art. And I’m talking gallery level prices in the thousands of dollars. But I suppose this can be applied to any career field. “Six months time.”

Now that I’ve pulled your cards, I can confirm the previous message of money and/or success when it comes to your career coming in. I think this is coming after some burnout, which could be a bad habit of yours that reoccurs. This burnout probably left you uninspired and you could get inspiration back. Easier said than done, but please rest. You can’t do the things you love without rest. There could’ve been a big setback before that left you hopeless and burnt out. But you could be having a moment where it reignites the spark for you and that could feel like the biggest blessing since nothing seems as dull anymore.

I feel like your blessing has everything to do with abundance. Happiness, a resurgence of hope (maybe you get validation that you’re on the right track), and money from something you created from all your love and hard work. 

So, for those wanting a connection (platonic or romantic), I do see that someone could be coming in very out of the blue. I had to pull an extra card and it came out while I was looking away while shuffling. You won’t see this person coming. This could be platonic (friend or work partner) or romantic.

Pile 3

Tarot: Queen of Cups, Nine of Cups, The Sun, The World, King of Cups, The Hermit, Three of Wands, Queen of Pentacles, Nine of Wands, Page of Wands, Five of Cups, The Moon

Oracle: Rain (cleansing, purification, hydration), Sickle (focus, regrowth, letting go), Mushroom (recycling, breaking down problems)

I haven’t pulled cards yet but I am using a deck I haven’t used in a while. As soon as I pulled the cards, I got a whiff of glue.

And now that I pulled the cards, the glue is about uniting. This pile is for the people in long-distance friendships/relationships. After so many tries to finally see them, something always went wrong and you had to cancel plans. This could also be an issue about not having enough money at the time. 

The stars had to align, the moon had to be at a certain lunation…You finally get the chance to see your loved one that’s at a distance! Your wish for that is coming true. In a way, you had to kinda “give up” on the plans and now you are being gifted the opportunities since you weren’t focusing on it heavy. It’s like you had to take care of other things before you could make it happen. 

I’m being advised to tell you not to control it too much! Don’t have a tight grip on plans. Continue to go with the flow and enjoy the present with this person. You will have an amazing time together!

Decks Used: Ophida Rosa Tarot by Leila and Olive, Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck by Matt Hughes, Modern Witch Tarot Deck by Lisa Sterle, The Green Witch Oracle by Arin Murphy-Hiscock and Sara Richard

Dividers: @inklore

[stariekis]

ops ... just got caught !

pairing : idol!ni-ki + fem!reader . genre : fluff . cw : kisses and i think that's all <3 . wc : 2.3k

— synopsis : you must be very careful confessing your feelings, that said person might hear you ...

— notes : i love my silly lil awkward ni-ki 🤲🏻 i really hope you guys like it <3 as always reposts are very welcomed here ! ~

— 'Oh my god yes I do have the biggest crush on her can you guys like leave me alone'. the other six boys that were sitting on the table right in front of ni-ki were in complete shock.

For a bit hit of context ; Ni-ki and you are childhood best friend, both of you traveled together to Korea wanting to be idols. But some years later you found out that maybe the idol life wasn't for you and decided to stop training and started studying again. Both of you kept in contact, even though he have the busiest scheduel ever he always makes sure to save some time of his day to talk to you.

Because of your studies you've been living abroad for some time now so you and Ni-ki haven't seen each other after the day you move to your current city. This lead us to the current situation.

You were standing behind his tall figure, your mouth hanging open as you heard what the boy just said. Today was the last stop of their 'fate tour', which happens to be the city where you where currently living, and you decide to surprise him at the restaurant where they planned on eating after the concert ended.

When Ni-ki saw all of his friends looking behind him with such expressions he turned around slowly. That's when his eyes met yours.

He didn't know what to feel, he was happy obviously but when he realized that you might have heard what he just said he felt a wave of awkwardness taking over his whole body.

He turned around as fast as he could and tried to hide his face in his hands, wanting to avoid your gaze. — 'Well hello to you too big boy' you said giggling a bit, you came closer to him and gave him a back hug while he was still sitting on his chair.

While hugging him you took his hands out of his face and gave him a quick peck on his red tinted cheeks — 'You heard that didn't you?' Ni-ki asked, tilting his head to the side a bit to look at you, finally able to look at your eyes.

You nodded, your hands intertwined with his as you play with his rings — 'And if you want an answer, i also have the biggest crush on you' and right after you gave him your answer to his confession he turned to you and got up from his chair.

He stood in front of you, his hands holding your face. He looked at your eyes and mouthed a silent 'are you serious?', as soon as you nooded your head he closed the gap between the two of you, kissing you softly.

— 'You two, this might be a private area but we are still here, save it for later' said Sunghoon. Ni-ki pulled away and look at his older brother with the most terrifying gaze he has ever give them.

All eight of you spent the rest of the night together. They kept asking you about your life there and you gladly told them, all of this happening while Ni-ki looked at you with the biggest loving eyes ever while listening to you.

What a better way to end such a successful tour than this ?

tag list (open.) : send an ask if you want to be added <3

[grison-in-space]

Hello!

Since my elderly cat just died, I’m starting to bat around the idea of seriously training an at-home service cat. Pesterbot, routine nudges, maybe as much grounding pressure as they can give me (time for a big fluffy boy?), and if they pick up on med-alert cues, great.

I’ve chatted with the local rescue already - I figure I want one cat whose early life and temperament have set them up for secure attachment and assertiveness, and another to be a buddy for them, ok if they’re more skittish of humans. Ideally ~6-8 mo so the adult personality has started to show but I still have some relatively early socialization window.

Any thoughts on rescue vs breeder, breed, how to look for a breeder who *actually* values temperament and health, the odds of known ancestors and a known-good early life making that much of a difference? I’m liking the look of the forest cats (especially NFCs and Siberians) but also, $$$$ (though with a purebred cost is probably just something to plan for)? Or anything I’m missing in thinking through this?

No, I think you've hit just about everything that occurs to me. With a purebred cat(s), you're dealing with a history of selection that might be a little curtailed, which means you'll want to look for genetic disorders known to run in that line of cats and also that you will want to cross-reference opinions from multiple people in the breed if you can. With a rescue cat, you're looking at a whole lot of unknowns that can be really hard to predict, especially with respect to temperament at maturity.

I am not sure that NFCs or Siberians are the best temperamental range for that kind of work, though: you want an opinionated and socially oriented cat, and my understanding of the reputation of the forest cats is that they're like... slightly more active Ragdolls? I'd ping in @pangur-and-grim and @followthebluebell for assessments of breed temperaments. You're also going to want a relatively active cat who is interested in watching what you're doing and responding to your environment: remember, you'd be paying this cat to come interact with you when you're stuck / when an alarm goes off, and you'll have the most success with that if your cat likes thinking and moving with you.

This is also the sort of cat my spouse and I like best--active, bold, interested in interaction, easily bored--and we've been eyeing up some potential purebred options as well as considering rescue after, well, my last rescue kitten developed severe pica at around six months. That's less likely to happen to you with a 6-9mo adolescent kitten--I got Arthur at 10 weeks and he was obviously neurodivergent in some way by then, if only by virtue of his blindness--but it was pretty catastrophic for his ability to have unfettered access to me, for example.

From my perspective, the biggest benefit of purebred cats are that a lot of the cat breeds have selected clearly for specific ranges of temperament over time. It's definitely going to be easier to find someone else going "a bossy, energetic cat who wants to be Interacting With You frequently? boy howdy, I'd love that!" among the ranks of, well, Serious Cat People.... which includes a lot of cat breeders, but not a ton of cat owners. A lot of people seem to pick cats based on color, proximity, and kitten cuteness, which still blows my mind a bit coming from dogs!

I can tell you straight up that the best way to pick a rescue cat by temperament is to (ideally) aim for a foster based rescue, contact an adoption coordinator directly, and explain that you are looking for a cat based on personality rather than based on looks, that you're looking for a fairly high-demand cat, and ask them if any candidates come to mind. (My experience is that not caring about appearance and being open to cats which are not very young kittens motivates those coordinators to think of their favorite individual cats to suggest.)

You could also look for local cat trainers in your area--a specialty that is getting increasingly popular! look near veterinary behaviorists or cat-only vets--and see if they have recommendations, since they probably have a lot of experience with high-demand cats and people who invest a lot into their cats in your area. Basically, find yourself a way to talk to people who have interacted with a lot of the cats locally up for adoption, especially because the ideal temperament for a service cat is not necessarily going to be everyone else's cup of tea for a pet cat.

I can tell you that a big chunk of the people I have found actively breeding for that kind of temperament are involved with the various wildcat cross breeds, particularly Bengals (which is where I'd start rather than Savannahs or Chausies, personally: it's easier to find F5+ individuals, especially if you're looking for people who are really interested in breeding for trainability). My sense with the purebreds based on my reading is that Abyssinians or, if you can find them, Havana Browns might also be worth a look.

Consider if and when approaching a breeder or rescue: what are you going to do if one or both potential cats wash out of service work? Would you rehome them and try again? (To whom?) Would you keep them as ESAs and add a third cat? The natural concern that a lot of people will have about being approached for a service animal, especially one like a cat, is "what happens if it doesn't work out?" I think your plan is to go "well then I still have pet cats," but that should be clear to your potential cat sources, too.

But anyway, that's why I tagged Greer and Bluebell: both of them have way more personal experience with cat breeders and purebred cats than I do, and I think they'd be good resources if you want to aim in a more purpose-bred direction.

[callistocalavarni]

shifting to the 60s

hii I havent posted in a while, I've been trying re group from multiple shifts while getting my life back in order but I think I'm back.. Anyway I have a bunch of stories from so many places I'd like to share and im currently working on how I want to post them. But I don't see a lot of storytimes so I think it would be fun to share some. So i'm gonna rant about some shorter ones here.

shifting with sleep paralysis

I wanted to talk about this shift because it stuck out to me and I can't stop thinking about it.. I had shifted about 2 times in the span of 30 seconds. For a whole week back in October I was waking up at 3-5 am in the morning without being able to go back to sleep. So as you can guess I woke up at around 4 am and was restless. At around 6 am I got tired again so I started my method and I know people say that symptoms don't exist but in the time that I have shifted all I can say is that I disagree.. Anyway, one moment I was saying affimations and then the next I woke up all tingly and in a weird sleep state I've never been in before. I didn't even say to myself I wanted to shift I just did. It was like my mind was on autopilot. Didn't say affimations, didn't go through my script in my head, didn't even try to use the 5 senses. I just started seeing myself in 1st person and what I would be doing in my dr without any forethought and shifted. The first shift, I was on a track running with a couple of men and we all were wearing 60s running wear. I had an orange and red tank top with matching orange shorts. It had felt like there was an orange filter in this reality.. if that makes sense. I was on the track about to run and I just recall looking around laughing.

When I shifted to this moment its like I felt my consciousness leave my body; Which is the weird part because I've never really experinced this before. It felt like I was being pulled up by something and all I could hear was constant noise. I don't even know what noise I was hearing it was like someone was screaming right in my ear or veryyy loud ringing/static. The noise was SO loud. I was in the middle of sprinting when I shifted back because I thought I was the one making the noise, I thought I was screaming..Thankfully it was not me. But When I came back I was still In that state and I could look around me but my eyes were still closed. It's like I was seeing everything from a different perspective. There was a spider crawling on my wall right next to me when I shifted back so I freaked out and the noise got even louder ! The spider was leaving black spots all over my wall,, I could not figure out what was going on in the moment ( when I was writing this in my journal I figured out it was sleep paralysis ) It felt like I was tripping on a bunch of pain killers when I shifted back. I still couldn't move so I shifted again to the same reality but this time I was in the shower... the noise got even louder. The noise made it feel like a bad trip and I ended up shifting back here to try and stop it. It took my like an hour to get out of sleep paralysis. Unlike the method, this reality was very enyjoyable. It felt like a Nina Brodskyaya song, I lived alone and I was successful. I think I worked at a cigarette company, which is ironic because I hate smoking. But I don't know for sure as I didn't stay long enough to find out.

Lumari is a country I scripted, Forlina being one of its nations.

This reality was late 70's early 80's and one of my favorite drs. I stayed here for about a year. I was in Forlina living in an all girls home. Forlina gives free housing to students so I moved out of my parents house to start collage. About six girls are given a room to share together, don't worry they are pretty big. I loved our room. It had big sliding windows that gave a view of the tropical forest. We each had sunken in beds, some girls who were home sick shared beds for a couple of weeks. It took me a while to get use to the amount of noise in the morning. There was this one girl who would blast music on the radio while getting ready. I only had to worry about this sometimes because I woke up pretty early. Art was one of my classes and the professer would make the class times either 7 am or 9 pm which also took me some time to get use to. idk the guy was kind of weird. I rode my bike everywhere here. I miss being able to ride down a bike trail and see the ocean. I've been thinking about shifting back here for some time. I might post more about this reality in more detail later.

<3

[arkaniske]

Say it like you Mean It

AO3 Link \\\ Chapter Five: Red Camellias.

2200 words \ SFW \ Jayvik

Beta read by @kitcatkim

Summary: Five times Jayce brought flowers for Viktor and one time Viktor brought flowers for Jayce.

All this time, he’d been building a wall of petals and stems, hiding behind them to say what he couldn’t with words. But now, he understood. No wall would ever be tall enough to contain his aching heart. He would tear it down without hesitation if it meant standing face-to-face with Viktor.

Chapter One: Daffodils \\\ Chapter Two: Sunflowers Chapter Three: Bluebells \\\ Chapter Four: Gardenias Chapter Five: Camellia \\\ Chapter Six: Red Camellias Chapter Seven: Language of Flowers

The bell above the door chimed softly as Jayce stepped into the flower shop, the warm scent of blooms wrapping around him like a comforting embrace. The air was alive with the fragrance of roses, lavender and a faint trace of citrus, a haven of quiet beauty that stood in stark contrast to the chaos of thoughts he found himself in. He lingered near the entrance for a moment, eyes wandering over the vibrant displays, unsure what to do next.

“Mister Talis?” Julianna’s familiar voice called from behind the counter, gentle and welcoming. She stepped out from the backroom, a bundle of daisies cradled in one arm and an easy smile on her face. “It is good to see you again. What brings you by today? Another occasion?”

Jayce managed a faint chuckle, stepping further into the shop. “Ah, no big occasion. Just, um… Something I want to get right. Really right.”

Julianna tilted her head slightly, her curiosity softening into something warmer, more understanding. “Come on, let’s figure this one out. What’s on your mind?” She gestured for him to come closer.

Jayce joined her at the counter, hands clasped and coming to a rest at the table. “I… I don’t know.” He admitted, his voice quieter than usual. “I’ve been giving flowers to uh, someone. Trying to say things I can’t- It’s… I know the words, I have them, I can practice them like a speech but then, when I step in front of the audience I just…” His sentence trailed off at the thought of Viktor, even now just thinking about him had his heart fluttering like the lovesick puppy he once tried to deny the existence of.

The florist’s expression softened, and she leaned her arms against the counter. “That is a start, you know.” She said, her tone encouraging. “It means you’re already thinking about them. Really thinking about them.”

Jayce’s gaze shifted to the rows of blooms behind her, his nerves starting to show. “Have you ever done that?” He asked hesitantly. “Used flowers to… uh, say something? I mean, it seems like you’d know how, considering all this.”

Julianna’s eyes warmed with understanding, her smile turning a little more personal. “Oh, I have.” She said, nodding. “When I proposed to my partner, actually.”

Jayce blinked, he’d expected maybe flowers for an apology or a celebration. “You used flowers to propose?”

“I sure did! And! It worked!” She straightened and stepped around the counter, motioning for him to follow with her hand. A golden band around her finger telling him of the successful outcome. “I spent like weeks obsessing over what to pick. I wanted something meaningful, something that said everything I was feeling. Something with the right intention. It became a whole mess towards the end, I got a little too obsessed.” The confession made her wince with embarrassment, but it didn’t fester.

“I did realise, however,” She continued as she stopped them in front of a display of white gardenias. The scent pulled a warm memory from Jayce’s mind, he felt the lingering warmth of a hand in his as cold evening air brushed over his skin. If he stared long enough at the white blooms he could almost imagine golden embroidery on their petals. “That it wasn’t about the flower, really. I know that’s a bad thing to say as a florist but…” She shrugged one of her shoulders.

“It’s about you and it’s about them. The flower might just be a bridge, but you still have to meet in the middle.” A soft smile crossed her face as she reached out for one of the flowers. “I ended up choosing gardenias. You’re familiar with them, yes? From your gala? They’re one of my spouses favourites. For me, these felt like a promise— a way of saying, ‘you’re it for me, no matter what’, you know?”

Jayce froze, his eyes locked on the white bloom in Julianna’s hand. His heart did an unsteady flip, the warmth of her words sinking in before the full weight of them hit him. Gardenias. Oh. Oh. His mind reeled back to the balcony, to Viktor’s quiet acceptance of the flower Jayce had given him. I gave him a gardenia. I gave him a gardenia.

“You… uh, proposed with gardenias?” Jayce stammered, his voice climbing a little too high. “I-I mean, that’s beautiful, of course it is! I- I just didn’t think they meant- Not that I wouldn’t have meant, eventually, maybe, but not— I mean, uh-“

Julianna laughed gently, her warm and knowing smile both comforting and mortifying. “Easy there, Mister Talis,” She said, holding up her free hand as if to calm a startled animal. “I can see your brain running in circles. Take a breath.”

Jayce sucked in a sharp breath and nodded, though it did little to steady the rush of thoughts. Does Viktor think I’m proposing? Did I just hand him a flower that said “please, oh God, please marry me?” Oh no. The image of golden embroidery on a white suit sent a jolt through his system, it was made no better when accompanied by the clear visualisation of Viktor’s little smirk when saying ‘I do’— Jayce stopped himself there. His ears burning hot as he realised just where his thoughts were heading.

“It’s not the same, you know.” Julianna said, her tone calm and reassuring. “That was what the gardenias meant to me and my partner. But for you, they meant something different, right?”

Jayce blinked, her words cutting through his panic like a cool breeze. “I— Yeah. Yeah, they did.” He paused, the sound of wedding bells swapped with that little hitch of Viktor’s breath before their interruption. It filled his chest with a quiet ache as he thought of what the flower had meant to his confession. “It was… Yeah. It was something different.”

“Well, there you go!” The florist said, tone filled with encouragement. “See? The meaning doesn’t belong to the flower— it belongs to you. It’s your story. Your feelings. And you get to decide what to do with it.”

“I just… I don’t want to ruin anything before it even has a chance to be something.” The confession was too vulnerable than what he expected it to be, especially for a Wednesday afternoon in a flowershop. He would have to tip the florist a therapists fee after this. Why he found himself spilling his heart was hard to tell, perhaps it was the anonymity of the situation. To be allowed just for a moment to be a man buying their crush flowers instead of someone changing the trajectory of his life. Or perhaps it was just the scent of lavender that made him dizzy.

The florist’s expression shifted to something more tender. “Can I tell you something I learned when I was picking those gardenias for my spouse?”

Jayce nodded carefully, eyes locked on the flowers as if he looked anywhere else he might lose his bravery to stand there.

“I spent so much time worrying about getting it perfect,” she said, her voice steady and warm. “I was terrified I’d pick the wrong one, or that they wouldn’t understand, or that it wouldn’t be enough. That they wouldn’t understand how much I adore them. But when the moment came? God, they did not care about any of that. They cared about me. And the fact that I was standing there, telling them how I felt, in the way I knew how. That’s what mattered.”

Jayce swallowed hard, gaze dropping to the floor. “Just… Me, then?” His voice felt small as the realisation settled over him. All this time, he’d been building a wall of petals and stems, hiding behind them to say what he couldn’t with words. But now, he understood. No wall would ever be tall enough to contain his aching heart. He would tear it down without hesitation if it meant standing face-to-face with Viktor.

Julianna smiled, her hand coming to rest on Jayce’s shoulder. He found a little comfort in it. “Just you.” She said softly with a knowing look. “Because at the end of the day it isn’t about the flowers, or the secret messages or if it’s perfect or not. It’s about the heart behind it. It’s about you saying what you feel, in whatever way you can.” She gave a little squeeze to his shoulder. “It’s you. And it’s him. That’s all that matters.”

All that matters. ‘It’s you, everything you are.’ His own words from the night of the gala echoed through his thoughts. He hadn’t been brave enough to say all that he wanted, not in the way he wanted to. The words had been too big, too fragile, and now they sat heavy in him and all but demanded to be spoken. But even if the words were lodged deep in his chest, he could still build the bridge and run over it to embrace Viktor. That he could do.

Jayce let out a soft, awkward laugh, running a hand through his hair. Her words landed softly, but they sank deep. It was almost overwhelming how easy she had read him. “You’re, uh… You’re good at this, huh?” He said, trying to lighten the moment.

The florist just gave a shrug of her shoulders with a smile, stepping back to give him some space. “It’s my job, Talis. Flowers and feelings— you’d be surprised how many flustered scientists walk through my door. You are not the only one, though you are my favourite.

“Ah, well. In that case I am very honoured.” He answered with a light chuckle. “Thank you, really.” Jayce gave her a warm smile and a slight bow of his head in gratitude. With his chest feeling a little lighter his eyes finally free to wander the shop.

He wanted to do this right, not to comfort his own perfectionism, but because Viktor deserved right. It had never been about the flowers, it had been about showing Viktor piece by piece what he saw in him. That he was adored, cherished, desired and above all that he was loved. Jayce could do that. He could show him that.

Jayce’s eyes came to a stop at red blooms.

“I’ll get three of those.”

Julianna followed his gaze to the flowers and grinned. “Perfect, I’ll get them wrapped up for you.”

\\\

The soft creak of the lab door echoed faintly as Jayce stepped inside. He was holding his breath as he looked around, eyes searching for the familiar shape of his partner but- no. He found himself alone in the room, Viktor’s chair standing empty.

Jayce released his breath, nerves thrumming as he stepped further in. The quiet absence was both a relief and a pang of disappointment. The entire walk from the flower shop he had imagined Viktor being here, imagined their eyes meeting as Jayce walked into the lab. He could almost hear Viktor’s sharp and witty comment disarm whatever awkward attempt Jayce would have made at explaining himself.

Instead, it was just him and the three flowers he held.

He approached Viktor’s desk, the scent of the blooms trailing with him. Jayce stared down at the workspace, its precision and purpose made a perfect reflection of Viktor himself. Every tool had its place, every notebook filled with clever words, even the empty beaker in the corner of the desk seemed intentional like it was waiting for a new confession. It was a space Jayce had always respected, even revered. To stand here now with something so delicate and fleeting in his hands felt like crossing into something sacred— an offering to something much bigger than him.

He hesitated, the flowers trembling slightly between his fingers. His mind swirled with all the moments that had led him here: Daffodils, Sunflowers, Bluebells and Gardenias. It told the story of just how deep Jayce had fallen for his partner. With every warm smile, with every laugh, every stolen glance, hidden smirk, soft words— with every loving touch. It had all been an ember.

Now, Jayce found himself fully ablaze. No longer wanting to control the hot surge of affection burning through him every time he as much as thought of Viktor. He understood now he would no longer be able to hide behind flowers; this was the last stem he could place before the walls he’d built around himself crumbled completely into the pyre of his adoration.

With a careful breath, Jayce leaned forward and placed the flowers at the centre of Viktor’s desk. He turned them slightly, the petals facing outwards, almost like an invitation to be taken. It rested atop an open notebook, its vibrant colour stark against the dark, inked pages. His hand rested there for a moment, he knew he couldn’t bring himself to pick the flowers up again after he had let them go. This was it. His thumb brushed against the stem. The gesture felt so small, but its weight tightened his chest and left his throat dry.

He let go. Stepping back slowly, his heart pounding as he stared at the flowers. Red camellias.

Unyielding love.

He lingered in the doorway, one hand gripping the frame as he glanced back one last time. The flowers seemed to cast a glow in the room, like a candle burning and shedding its light. A singular splash of colour in Viktor’s world.

And then, with a final breath, Jayce turned and walked away. Leaving the flower, and his heart, behind.

[tgmsunmontue]

Season to Taste - 23/? WIP

Explicit Hangster - Celebrity Chef Bradley and Naval Aviator Jake Seresin who have a relationship spanning the globe before they realize how tightly bound they are to one another. Heading into this little world.

PROLOGUE/ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FORTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN EIGHTEEN NINETEEN TWENTY TWENTYONE TWENTYTWO

HERE BE SMUT - very light D/s, switching, intercrural, great communication + lack of communication, edging, light praise kink, marking. Yeah. I think that's it.

CHAPTER TWENTYTHREE

                The soft-opening goes really well, better than he could have ever hoped. He’d invited all of the people who’d supported him of course, and the people he’s met over the years who have reached out and either come on as silent partners, or offered business advice or opinions on a whole range of different things. He’s had some of them come in and help refine the menu, knowing that some of these people are the ones who will get the name of his business out there, that will help ensure his success. Or his failure.

                “Knew you before you were famous.”

                “Yeah. Don’t forget the little people when you’re up upon high, hmm?”

                “You think they’d let me get a big head?” Bradley asks with a laugh, looking over his shoulder at Leandro and Silvia, who are arguing over how the serviettes should be folded.

                “True, there is a man who knows the value of keeping a level head and remaining humble.”

…            …            …

                The rest of the week goes really well. He takes Leo out dancing, teaches him basic line dancing, which he’s terrible at but still seems to enjoy. Then Leo comes with him to babysit his nieces and nephew so Sandy and Daniel can have their date night. This way Jake can spend time with his nieces and nephew, and Leo offers to cook dinner. He doesn’t quite understand the look that Sandy and Daniel exchange when he turns up with Leo and says they’re going to cook dinner, but they still leave, muttering about better food at home and he supposes Leo could probably make them something just as good as they’ll get in the restaurant.

                He still spends hours with his sisters, either helping on the farm, or visiting with his dad and helping him in his vegetable garden, his mom’s vacant look or confused frown not bothering him now that he’s had a good day with her. He calls his dad Chuck when she’s like this, so it doesn’t upset her that there’s a fully grown man walking around calling her husband dad. Leo makes him bring home tomatoes every day. Or rather, Maria foists tomatoes onto him and tells him to deliver them to Leo, that he’s ordered and paid for them and Jake can at least make himself useful. The house smells of nothing but cooking tomatoes, but it’s a smell that’s always reminded him of home and they’re not eating them so he considers that a win.

…            …            …

                Bradley has been thinking about it, and it’s started consuming more and more of his thoughts the closer he gets to Sunday, when his flight home to New York is scheduled. He knows Jake is strong, knows he’s good in bed and generous and careful but… But. He needs to talk to him about some things, and maybe this conversation should have happened earlier, but they’ve been figuring things out as they go, not shy about what works for each of them in bed. However, they haven’t discussed anything more in-depth than basic preferences. Briefly. Sort of. Vaguely. And yet...

                “You know what I really want?”

                “Breakfast in bed?” Jake asks, eyebrow quirked and Bradley laughs, shakes his head, because he can understand why he might think that, however it is definitely not the case.

                “No. It’s not food related at all.”

                “Hmm. So must be sex related then… What do you want?”

                “I want you to fuck me so hard I’ll feel it for days.”

                “Jesus…”

                “Not right now, just want you to think about it. Want you to hold me so tight you leave bruises on me… Sunday morning. Want to leave knowing I can see traces of you on me.”

                “Fuck. Yeah. Okay. What else do you want from me baby?”

                “You ever edged someone?”

                “Ha,” Jake’s bark of laughter is loud. “No. Time’s always been of the essence. Never really gotten to take my time before…”

                “Yeah, well… you can take you time with me. I want to have something to remember, that I can jerk off to while we’re apart. That I get hard thinking about it. Think you can make that happen for me?”

                “I’ll die trying baby…”

…            …            …

                Now that Leo has put the idea in his head he can’t think of anything else. He ends up pulling up a private browsing window on his phone and searching for tips and ideas, because holy shit does he want to make it good. Leo’s voice, saying those words, Jake wonders what phone calls with him are going to be like, whether Leo will talk to him like that, because he’d never seen the appeal of phone sex before, but now? Yeah, now he definitely sees the appeal. Probably a good thing considering it’ll probably be the only sex he’ll be having while he’s deployed, although it’s still likely going to be better than no sex at all, which he’s also lived through and it’s not bothered him before. These last ten days have spoiled him, and he has no regrets other than the fact he’s going to have to say goodbye too soon.

…            …            …

                They’ve become very comfortable with each other over, and he knows it’s because they’re spending so much time together. Both in bed and out. Since he voiced what he wants he’s found Jake just watching him silently, speculatively; eyes dark with arousal so Bradley feels quietly confident it’s not turned him off at all. Jake’s asked a few questions, which he’s answered freely. There’s always excitement and pleasure getting to learn someone’s body, but if they’re going to do something a bit more, then they need to have very open and honest conversations. And yet there’s still one topic that hasn’t come up.

                They’re in bed, early hours of Friday morning and he’s very firmly in denial about the fact that he can now count his departure in hours. Jake’s stubble rasps against the skin of his shoulder and he shifts, turns his head so he can press a soft kiss to the center of Jake’s forehead. A warm feeling uncurls within him, he squeezes Jake to him and Jake hugs back, the movement pulling Bradley a little more on top of him. Bradley’s thigh slides between Jake’s legs and the mood suddenly shifts, want twisting sharply in Bradley’s gut as he feels Jake start to harden against his hip. Underneath him Jake’s body goes from sleepy and relaxed to taut in a heartbeat, muscles of his stomach flexing under Bradley’s palm. Bradley tilts his head up again and all the softness is gone as Jake kisses him again. This kiss is hard and claiming, Jake’s hand winding tight in Bradley’s hair to hold him steady under the onslaught. Bradley gives back as good as he gets. Jake feels all sleep-warm and rumpled, and Bradley wants to ruin him. Jake tries to roll them, but Bradley braces his elbow and shoves him back down.

                “Nuh uh,” Bradley says, lips breaking free of Jake’s for just a moment. “This time I’m going to take you apart.”

                He can feel the moment of indecision, Jake’s body tense under his hands and then Jake suddenly relaxes, his whole body stretching out loose and pliant beneath him.

                “Gorgeous, sweetheart,” Bradley murmurs. “You going to be good for me?” Jake’s breath catches, his eyes going dark and then he’s shifting, legs spreading a little wider. Bradley hums appreciatively, but also they haven’t talked, not about this… Fuck. Maybe he should put a halt to this and have the discussion right now. He doesn’t want Jake to agree to something just because Bradley wants it. “I asked you a question, sweetheart.”

                Jake’s eyes are wide, green irises a thin band around the blown-wide depths of his pupils. He nods, licking his lips.

                “Yeah,” he croaks out. “Yes,” he adds, like maybe Bradley didn’t hear him the first time, of maybe somehow wouldn’t have taken him at his word.

                Usually, Bradley prefers to bottom, when he can be bothered with penetrative sex. He needs a partner he likes and trusts, and one who also won’t disappoint him. Jake is all of that and more, and right now he wants to show his appreciation. However, Jake’s never made any indication of wanting more, wanting Bradley like that. But he’s not saying anything to the contrary right now. He doesn’t smirk, but he does feel a flare of smugness, tugs at the hem of Jake’s t-shirt and Jake shifts, stretches to lift his torso up off the bed just enough to let Bradley strip the shirt from him. The move shows his abs off to full advantage, and Bradley feels his mouth flood with saliva, desperate to taste and Jake’s now looking smug, like he knows what Bradley is thinking. Asshole. He bends to capture Jake’s mouth with his own, lets his cock press down into Jake’s.

                “Leo,” Jake gasps, and the press of his hips upward is clear. “Please.”

                Okay then. That’s definitely something. Bradley smooths his hands, down Jake’s shoulders, brushing over Jake’s hard nipples, the ridges of his ribs, the defined cut of his lower abdominal muscles. He doesn’t stop until his hands are firmly clasping Jake’s hips, thumbs framing the bulge of his cock where it’s trapped beneath the soft fabric of his underwear.

                “Patience sweetheart…” He moves just his thumbs, a firm slide up the base of Jake’s cock through the fabric, just an inch or two up and then back down. “I think it’s my turn.” He meets Jake’s eyes, making sure he has his full attention before continuing. “How does that sound to you?” He sees Jake get it, understand that Bradley will stop in a heartbeat if it’s not what Jake wants. Even though the flush on Jake’s cheeks deepens, he clears his throat and forces the words out.

                “Good,” he says. “Fuck, Leo that sounds so good, please.”

                Bradley smiles, gives Jake’s cock a firm stroke of his hand, feels his cock jerk through the soft fabric, pressing into his palm as Jake groans.

                “I’ll take care of you, sweetheart.” His own voice rough with arousal. “Now what do you think I should do?” He goes back to teasing Jake through the soft fabric, cupping and rolling his balls, brushing his thumbs up the shaft, watching idly as Jake’s cock twitches, a damp spot growing where the tip of his cock is leaking steadily; thumbs the head of Jake’s cock where the fabric is damp and clinging. He can feel Jake struggling to stay still beneath him, trying not to buck up into the light touch.

                “I could finger you,” Bradley suggests, and he’s really fishing, wants to get a real reaction from Jake. He runs the tip of his index finger down behind Jake’s balls, presses lightly against his hole through the fabric. Jake’s breathing is unsteady, a little hiccupping whine escaping his throat and Bradley presses more firmly. “Or I could blow you?”

                “Or maybe I could do all of that,” Bradley muses, running his fingers feather light to trace the outline of Jake’s cock again, rock-hard in sharp contrast to the soft fabric. “And then I could fuck you,” he adds, voice quiet. The words seem to hit him like a lightening strike, entire body jerking upwards, pressing into Bradley’s touch.

                “Jesus fuck,” he whines. “Leo, please. Yeah. That.”

                “Yeah? That’s what you want?” He edges the waistband downward, little bit at a time, is going to have to actually shift given he’s in between his thighs. He kisses Jake again, quick and hard. “You want my mouth, my fingers, and my cock? Are you hungry for all that sweetheart?” His hand grasping Jake’s bare cock, making him jolt again with a strangled moan.

                “Jake… I told you what I wanted. Can you tell me what you want?”

                “You. I want you.”

                “You got me sweetheart… Jake. Just…” he pauses, something squirming uncomfortably in his gut. “You’ve done this before right?”

                “Yeah…” Jake says, but his head is thrown back, arm covering his face and the expression on the part of his face Bradley can see is no longer the happy blissed out one he’d been working on. “Once.”

                “Oh.” Shit. They really should have had this conversation earlier, and it’s not like he’d maybe expected that it might be the case, and it’s fine. Some people just don’t like it, it’s never been a deal breaker and won’t be now.

                “Yeah. Wasn’t… great.”

                “We don’t have to.”

                “No. I want to. It’s just… I trust you.”

                “Good. I’m glad you do… I trust you too. But –”

                “But nothing. Come on, show me a good time…”

                Bradley rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but also he knows enough about Jake to know once he’s got an idea stuck in his head he’s not going to let go come hell or high water.

                “Yeah. No pressure.”

                “You always seem to rise to the challenge…”

                For a second he thinks Jake is making a reference to one of his cooking shows, but there’s no other indication and he realizes Jake is probably making some other type of innuendo and he leans down and kisses him, shifts so he can pull Jake’s underwear off, pushes himself off the edge of the bed which makes a mess of the sheets and blankets but he throws the underwear to the side, presses a kiss to each of Jake’s ankles and just lets himself stare up the entire length of his body. He’s got weird tan lines all over the place from days spent in the sun, but he’s got firm muscles that Bradley is already familiar with. Jake has pushed up on his elbows a little to watch, and Bradley just maintains eye contact as he works his way up his legs, switching between one and then the other.

                “So gorgeous sweetheart, you going to give me a little more room to work?”

                He runs his hands over the exposed skin, enjoys the scrape of Jake’s leg hair against the palm of his hands. Finally he reaches Jake’s inner thighs, leans forward and licks the smear of wetness from the tip. Jake’s legs are trembling underneath his hands as he leans in again, sucking the head of Jake’s cock into his mouth fully. He hears Jake’s shuddering groan, and it makes him smile around Jake’s cock as he sucks it in deeper. It’s definitely not the first blowjob he's given Jake, but it is the first with the clear intention that it’s leading to more. Probably anyway. He takes his time, isn’t intending to tease Jake at all, but he does want him relaxed rather than tense and nervous. Another time he’d get him off and then work him back up again, but it’s not the time or place.

                So he takes his time, already knows how much Jake likes the occasional scrape of his teeth, or the lapping of his tongue just under the crown. He’s being deliberately inconsistent, making sure it won’t get Jake off. Jake shudders but doesn’t ask for Bradley to go any faster. Finally Bradley pulls away. He reaches into the bedside drawer, pulling out the lube. He slicks his fingers, aware of Jake’s eyes on him the whole time and he wonders if he needs to check in. He opens his mouth but Jake is nodding, cheeks pink with arousal and maybe a little embarrassment and Bradley nods back.

                “Nice and slow okay?”

                “Yes, hurry up already…”

                He’d make a quip about patience, that nice and slow and hurry up are counter intuitive, however he’s pretty sure Jake is deflecting his nerves by expressing impatience. He sinks one finger to the base, feels how hot and tight Jake is inside and groans. Shifts so he can wrap a hand around the base of his own cock, squeezing tight until he calms down a little. He opens his eyes, surprised to find that he closed them, to see Jake watching him, mouth open and lips trembling. He sucks in a shuddering breath, pumping his finger in and out a few times, feeling Jake’s body twitch around it for a few seconds before relaxing.

                “You feel so good Jake,” he breathes, slips a second finger in, watches Jakes face but feels him relax and just give way to the extra width of the second finger.

                “Fuck...Leo.” Jake’s hips are moving restlessly, unable to stay still.

                “Fuck, but you’re gorgeous,” Bradley says breathlessly. “Another one okay?”

                “Yeah,” Jake says before the words are even finished. “C’mon, Leo. More.”

                Bradley adds more lube, pushes back in with three fingers, has to close his eyes against the sight, worried he’ll come before he even gets inside at the way Jake looks opening up around his fingers. The angle is different, but he knows he’s got it just right when Jake keens, clenching down tight around his fingers as if to hold him right where he is.

                “Jake? Is that good, sweetheart?” Bradley asks anyway, pumping his fingers slowly but making sure that he hits the same spot every time.

                “Fuck, you know it is,” Jake breathes. “C’mon, Leo, I’m ready, I’m so ready. Fuck me. Come on…”

                “Yeah. Yeah okay…” Bradley breathes. He pulls his fingers out. His hands are shaking a little as he wipes them and reaches for a condom. He’s been hard so long his cock feels sore as he rolls the condom down and slicks it with lube. Then he’s pushing in in in, feeling Jake’s legs tighten around his waist, his back arching and his breath stuttering into gasps. He starts slow, gentle undulations of his hips which Jake presses back into slowly to start with and then, as he slowly increases his pace he’s met with Jake’s enthusiastic response.

                Jake feels good, hot and tight, and he knows he’s saying as much, muttering under his breath as he settles into a brutal pace, Jake’s nails scratching across his back and sides. He’s trying to keep his weight off him, but with every thrust forward he feels Jake’s cock sliding hard and wet between them. The scent of Jake surrounds him, clean sweat and the smell of Bradley’s bodywash, a peppermint-rosemary-green-tea blend which he inhales from Jake’s neck, knowing he’s going to forever associate the smell now with this moment.

                “Leo… Leo Leo Leo,” Jake is panting, in between punched-out little noises every time Bradley shoves in deep, “Fuck, think I’m close.”

                “Yeah.” Bradley can feel his own orgasm gathering, twisting tight, from the base of his spine to where he’s buried inside Jake as deep as he can go. “Touch yourself, sweetheart. Come on Jake… come for me.” He feels him shift as Jake wraps a hand around his own cock, fingers sliding up and down as the tip peeks out of the grasp of his fingers. It’s too hot, too fucking pretty, and Bradley feels his strokes go erratic, desperate, as the pleasure twists tighter and tighter, his balls drawing up, sweat prickling all over. Just when he thinks he can’t hold out any longer Jake moans, his whole body tightening up and then shaking as his cock spurts, spilling over his chest and belly.

                “Don’t stop,” Jake pants, and Bradley realizes that his pace has faltered. He drives into Jake again, strong and steady, presses his forehead to Jake’s collarbone and lets go, feeling the pleasure rush up from his toes to his spine, pressing in deeper as the wave crests. Jake is still shuddering in a way that milks Bradley’s cock, drawing out his orgasm until he’s dizzy with it, his own body shaking. The wave rushes over him and he’s left boneless, limbs heavy and languorous as he pants against Jake’s neck.

                “Jesus…” Jake breathes and Bradley can’t help feeling smug and also so fucking relieved, because this was a bit of a gamble in and of itself. He captures Jake’s mouth in a kiss, bites his bottom lip a bit harder than probably necessary as he pulls himself out slowly, places softer kisses in apology and then rolls to the side and lets out a long breath. Jake seems a little dazed, one of his hands reaching out to scrabble at him, reaches and holds his hand with a death grip like he needs an anchor. He removes the condom one-handed and drops it to the floor before he snuggles back in, pressing up all over and placing little kisses wherever he can reach with his mouth and feels Jake sag and relax against him.

                “Huh.”

                “Hmm?” Bradley murmurs, happy to lie there and hold him, although shower and food are going to be needed soon enough.

                “Thank you…”

                “For what?” Bradley asks, amused.

                “Uh. That.”

                Bradley huffs in amusement, because that is probably why they haven’t talked about it, Jake’s inability to say it and his very good deflection techniques whenever Bradley tried.

                “Rocking your world? Mmm. You’re welcome. It was definitely a huge hardship for me.”

                “God you’re a dick…”

                “Yep. Sometimes.”

                “Hmm. You going to feed me now?”

                “Shower first. Come on.”

                “Ugh. Fine.”

…            …            …

                Leo comes with him early to help with the market, clearly not wanting to spend more time apart than they have to, now that they’re in their last full day together. He has plans for today; he’s done a lot of reading, Leo has shared links and he’s read up like he’s studying for an exam. He guesses he sort of is, a practical one. Not one he thinks he’s going to struggle with passing. He insists they go out for dinner so there’s no washing up to do, and then they go dancing. Leo is marginally better at line dancing than last week, but he’s still not great. Jake still doesn’t care. He has fun, and Nicola is there to dance with properly. The two of them put on a show while Leo watches appreciatively, lips around the mouth of his beer bottle suggestive and Jake can’t help the thrill of knowing he’s going home with him.

                He doesn’t mean to, but it strikes him suddenly as he comes, Leo’s hand wrapped around his cock, lips on his neck and he can’t believe he just got a handjob in his truck like a fucking teenager. But the fact that Leo hadn’t been able to keep his hands off him had been heady, and he’s very glad for over half the lamps being broken, knowing that they haven’t been seen. Probably. Leo is working his own pants open and Jake reaches over, stilling his hands.

                “Oh no baby, you don’t get to come…”

                “What?” Leo asks, but his hands have stopped and Jake swallows.

                “Mmm. Starting now… no orgasms for you.”

                “Jake…”

                God he loves the sound of his name in Leo’s mouth, breathy and whiney and a little bit pained. He wipes his come covered hand on Leo’s shirt, smirks at the annoyed expression and hopes that maybe he’ll leave his dirty washing with Jake. He wouldn’t mind wearing his clothes.

                “You came this afternoon when we had a little afternoon nap. It’s not even going to be twenty-four hours. You’ll be fine…”

                The little whimper that Leo makes has his cock throbbing unexpectedly, and he hadn’t thought he’d get this into it, but Leo is rubbing his crotch and groaning, head hitting the headrest of the passenger seat and Jake sucks in a breath.

                “Uh uh, no more touching. Just a gentle edge this time hmm? You’re not that turned on. But I think a little delay, maybe a long period of foreplay and preparation tonight means tomorrow morning I can really put all the things I’ve read about to the test…”

                “Fuck. You don’t do things half-assed do you?”

                “Never. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it properly. Do you properly.”

                “Oh my god Jake…”

                He grins and hums, starts his truck and starts the drive to Leo’s rental.

                “You done this before, right?”

                “Yeah…”

                “How many times baby?”

                “Huh?”

                “How many times did they take you to the brink of coming before pulling you back?” Jake asks, because Leo had said three before, when they were discussing it, wants to check in and see if that’s the same goal or if he can be a little ambitious.

                “I… three maybe?”

                “Hmm. Yeah. Should we aim for four?” he asks, even as he’s mentally thinking that he might try for five. He’s always been an overachiever, but he also doesn’t want to fuck this up. Leo groans though, and Jake is pretty sure it’s a groan of anticipation. “Too much?”

                “No. No. God no. Just… yeah. I’m all yours.”

                Something inside Jake breaks open at the trusting admission and he vows to never break that trust if he can help it. He drives carefully, parks up and then follows Leo into the house, not resisting the urge to palm his ass, because it’s a gorgeous ass and he’s going to try his very best to mark it up. Carefully. They’ve got differing opinion about giving and receiving pain, he stands by his that bruises don’t usually happen without a little pain. But Leo is insistent that it’s not pain, not for him, and Jake finds himself wavering over wanting to inflict pain if it’ll get Leo going that much.

                First though, they both need a shower, the dancing and handjob in his truck leaving him feeling sticky and hot. Also he doesn’t need an excuse to want to see Leo naked, hadn’t been at all joking about the drawn out foreplay and preparation starting right now. Because he has plans and he has everything he needs in the bedroom. He strips as he goes, smirks as he hears Leo swearing under his breath, and he knows enough Italian now to know he’s being sworn at, but he also loves hearing Leo speaking any other language, so his smirk just grows. He grabs the little toiletry bag he’d put the items in and walks into the bathroom, tosses a wink over his shoulder.

                “Come on baby…” Jake says, and he pulls out the lube and slender plug

                “Thought we were just going to shower,” Leo says, his eyes on the lube and plug, Jake raises an eyebrow.

                “We are, but I think I might have some fun as well. Aiming for four remember? You counting the time in the truck?”

                “Cazzo… I’ve created a monster…”

                “That’s not an answer Leo.”

                “Yes. Fuck you. Yes.”

                He laughs a little, supposes he shouldn’t be surprised that Leo is already hard again, because he didn’t get off nearly an hour ago. Jake has never had so many orgasms in such a short period of time, even when he was a teenager there were too many sisters and other people around, and then he was in the Navy, personal space and time hard fought for commodities. The last two weeks have likely ruined him. Tonight may just be the final nail in his coffin. They step into the shower and Jake’s already half-way to hard again, and he fully intends to get off again. He’s not the one getting edged and he’s pretty sure seeing him come is going to help drive Leo to the brink. As he’d said, he’s never intentionally edged someone, but he feels like he could draw Leo to the brink over and over if that’s what he wanted.

                They wash themselves, Jake squeezes the bodywash Leo has and rubs it all over, not quite sure why Leo is whimpering when he’s hardly touched him, although their slippery bodies brushing against each other does feel incredibly intimate and he leans in, captures Leo’s mouth in a kiss and grinds against his thigh, runs too-light fingers over Leo’s erection. He’s aware he might push too far, that Leo might just fall over the brink any time and the only thing that may stop him will be his own will power, seeing as Jake doesn’t know his body that well despite the last two weeks.

                “You want to put the plug in yourself or want me to do it?”

                “You… please.”

                Jake had been hoping that would be the case, has plans to slowly stretch Leo open on his fingers, maybe while stroking his cock, or maybe sucking him, but none of it can be enough to get him there. It’s like trying to deliberately be bad at sex so that it can be really good later. He opens the shower door and reaches for both the lube and plug, which is dark blue, slender and silicon and had good reviews online about being good for beginners and for sleeping with it in all night. It has a delicately flared base and he places it carefully on one of the shelves.

                He’s glad there’s an infinite supply of hot water, angles the showerhead so he can kiss Leo without getting a face full of water or spray, lets their bodies rub and press, Leo’s erection bumping and grinding against Jake’s stomach and he pumps out two squirts of lube and then runs his finger down between Leo’s ass cheeks. He brushes over his hole, feels Leo press back and he kisses harder, grabs an ass cheek with hard fingers to given himself a little more room to work, runs his fingers back, jerks his hips forward at the same time and sucks Leo’s bottom lip into his mouth. He’s rewarded by Leo jerking in several directions at once, clearly trying to chase after multiple different sensations. Yeah. He can work with this.

                “Just… you stay stop and I stop okay?”

                “Yeah, yeah. I know. Please…”

                Of course, they’ve talked it through, stop is a sufficient word between them to halt things. But Leo has warned him that he’s going to beg and Jake isn’t sure how that’s going to make him feel. But he’s an over achiever and goal orientated, so he’s going to try his best to ignore a whimpering begging Leo so he can edge him and then fuck him hard. Yeah. Goals. He slides a finger just against the rim, knows he’s going to want to use plenty of lube if the plug is in fact going to stay in all night. It might not of course, but Leo has goals of his own. He lets one finger slide inside to the second knuckle and feels Leo grind back.

                “Jake…”

                He doesn’t answer with words, simply moves a hand, wraps it around Leo’s cock and starts fisting him hard and fast for a count of fifteen before suddenly just releasing, leaving nothing but the patter of water hitting his skin and the sound he makes is wounded but so sweet. He reaches for the lube again, dodges Leo’s attempts to grind against him and swats him on the ass playfully. Then he’s sliding a finger and more lube inside and Leo is swearing under his breath, then he’s reaching for Jake and pulling him in for a kiss and he goes, doesn’t stop moving his finger despite the increasingly awkward angle his wrist is at.

                Then he grabs Leo’s cock again, repeats the same hard and fast count of fifteen and Leo swears again, his breath coming in shorter and raspier pants. Jake lets go and slides two finger tips very carefully just inside the rim, pressing and stretching until Leo is pressing back. It’s back and forth like that for an age, Leo becoming increasingly worked up and Jake finds himself just squeezing around the base of Leo’s cock a few times while he jerks, eyes clenched shut, as he clearly tries not to come. His ass and thighs are absolutely slick with lube, and Jake’s plan is changing even now. He shifts them, puts Leo’s hands on the shower wall and make him stand with his feet should width apart, and then he runs the plug down the length of his crack, nudges against the relaxed and stretched hole before pressing it in slowly. Leo almost sobs with it and Jake is infinitely glad he steered away from the prostate massaging types, although they’re definitely worth looking at for the future.

                “Shh shh shh…” he murmurs, mouth at the curve of Leo’s neck, placing little kisses as he holds Leo to him and feels him tremble.

                “Jake…”

                “You’re doing so good for me baby. So pretty like this. Think you can sleep with it inside you?”

                “Oh… yeah. Yeah I think so.”

                “Okay, you let me know if it gets too uncomfortable. You can take it out yourself, I don’t mind. Just… thinking about tomorrow morning and you already being stretched a little. Already lubed up. Just taking it out and sliding right in…”

                “Fuck.”

                “Yeah baby, thinking about waking you up with my mouth, getting you hard until you’re leaking on my tongue…”

                “Jake.” His name is almost a sob.

                “Yeah, getting you close but then stopping. Not letting you come. But I get to come, don’t I baby?”

                He encourages Leo to shift again, to press his legs together and then he slides his cock between Leo’s thighs, can feel the head of his cock bump up against his balls, and it’s warm and tight, he can feel Leo’s entire body is tense with the effort to hold back and he lets himself rock backwards and forwards, reaches around to feel how turned on Leo is. Feels him press and turn his head into a sloppy kiss against Jake’s jaw.

                “Going to come all over you and you’re just going to have to wait…”

                The sound Leo makes isn’t even intelligible now and Jake just holds his cock tight, hopes it’s enough to stop Leo from coming as Jake thrusts harder and faster into the tight space between his thighs. It definitely feels counter intuitive, trying to stop Leo from coming, but as he jerks and comes he thinks he’s managing okay.

                He rinses them off, is careful now to keep his hands perfectly practical, and even then Leo jerks occasionally, making little gasps as Jake kisses him and dries him carefully, watches as his cock grow softer, less of an angry red, but still clearly aroused. He gets them both glasses of water and just stands close as they brush their teeth side by side, presses soft kisses to the naked skin of Leo’s back. He puts everything he thinks he’ll need on the bedside table, mindful that Leo is watching and then he slides into bed, wraps his arms around him.

                “Okay?”

                “Yeah… so okay. Sleep well sweetheart.”

                “You too baby. Wake me up if you need me though okay?”

                “Of course.”

…            …            …

                He wakes the next morning and as he had hoped and expected, Leo is pressed along his back, his morning erection pressed against Jake’s ass and he bites his lip, the memory of said cock in his ass making his skin prickle. It has been intense, unexpected. He’s still not sure how he feels about it all. Of course it had been good, amazing even, but he doesn’t think he could do it too often.

                He runs a hand over the smooth skin of Leo’s cock and smiles, shifts to face him and then he shuffles, moves down under the covers, presses a kiss to Leo’s thighs and then takes the head of his cock into his mouth, sucking hard and fast, fully expecting the sudden jack-knife jerk of Leo’s body and he presses him down, hears him swear, muffled by either his own hand or pillow and then the blankets are being pulled away and Jake looks up the length of Leo’s body to see dark eyes watching him, mouth open and panting.

                “Morning…”

                “Fuck me…”

                “Eventually, I promise.”

                “Man’s got jokes… Jake. Please…”

                “Hmm. Nope.”

                “You’re going to kill me.”

                He remembers last night in the shower, Leo’s body trembling as he held back his orgasm and Jake wants to get him back to there again, to have his entire being focused single-mindedly on the one task of not coming, for him to be unable to form words. He sucks him down again, hears more muffled swearing, feels Leo’s fingers curling in his hair. He keeps going, knows Leo’s tells for getting close from a blowjob pretty well, and sure enough, just as he’s about to pull off Leo is scrambling, trying to pull away.

                “Close. Close, so close. Oh my god, Jake…”

                He pinches the skin on the inside of Leo’s thigh, knows it’ll offer a spark of pain that will bring Leo back, probably, then realizes that it might bruise and if it does then Leo is going to be a fan. He moves back up Leo’s body, gives him a kiss which he accepts hungrily and Jake feels so incredibly lucky.

                “That’s three huh?”

                Leo lets out a huff of laughter, but he’s nodding and shifting, rubbing himself against Jake like he can’t get close enough. He reaches a hand behind him, lets his fingers run down Leo’s crack, half-expecting the plug to have been removed during the night. But it’s still there and he tugs at it a little before letting it sink back in, sees Leo’s eyes roll in pleasure and yeah, that’s fucking hot. He does it again and Leo’s entire body shudders.

                “Please. You said… please Jake…”

                “Yeah, I know. I’ll take care of you,” Jake says, because he had said a lot of things, every single one of them something he wants to make a reality. He’s hard, but he’s got no urgent need to immediately get off, which is just as well because the final part of his plan in edging Leo is to have him almost come on his cock only for Jake to back off. It’s going to test his stamina, but coupled with Leo’s desire for hard Jake is pretty confident he can make it happen.

                He shifts away, smirks at Leo’s pout but he grabs the condoms and opens one, slides it on, the whole time Leo’s eyes are on him. Then he’s smearing lube on his cock, wiping his hands and then shoving at Leo.

                “Come on baby, roll over. Hands and knees.”

                “Want to see you…”

                “You said you wanted it hard and bruises to remember me by. Which do you want the most?”

                Leo doesn’t answer with words, but he’s rolling over, his ass in the air, head resting on his arms and Jake can see the plug very clearly. He tugs at it again, smirks at the moan Leo lets out and the jerk his body gives. As he admires Leo’s ass he wonders what it would feel like to get his mouth on him there. He’s never thought about rimming someone before, but he’s having a lot of firsts with Leo. Something else for another time. He should start making a list. While he’s been musing he’s been tugging and twisting the plug almost absently, Leo’s body rocking back and forth and Jake remembers.

                Hard.

                He swallows, knows it isn’t going to be any problem whatsoever, his own cock hard and throbbing and he pulls the plug all the way out, watches and Leo’s hole stretches open and then closes. He smears more lube, places the head of his cock at Leo’s hole and then just presses forward, hears Leo grunt but feels his body press back and he grabs at his hips, digging his fingers in to bring him in tight close to his body and holding him there as he just grinds in place for a few moments, enjoying the tight hot heat of Leo’s body surrounding his cock.

                “You feel so good baby…”

                He draws back slightly and pushes forward again, his fingers not letting go of Leo’s hips, moving them in counter to his own movements. He hears Leo groan and he bites his lip, speeds up and then they’re off, settling into a rough hard fuck that has the blood thrumming in his ears, heart pounding and he can see circles of white around each of his fingers where they’re holding onto Leo hard. His balls feel a little bruised from the force he’s been using; bodies slick with sweat and he wants to lick Leo all over, taste his skin in every spot. He stops suddenly, remembering that he was trying, hoping, to aim for a fourth, but had forgotten with the distraction of Leo’s body.

                “No no no… please. Jake please… want to come. Need to come. Please…”

                Leo’s entire body is shaking and Jake presses a kiss to his head but pulls out, hand careful to hold the condom in place.

                “Roll over.”

                Then he’s shoving a pillow beneath Leo’s hips, leaning down to kiss him as he slides back in and he gets to watch as Leo’s eyes flutter closed and his mouth drops open and as he looks at the dark red, almost purple cock jutting up from Leo’s trimmed auburn curls at the base of his cock he realizes he’s going to get to see that too. He shifts one of Leo’s legs onto his shoulder and rolls his hips, digs his fingers back in and hears Leo’s sharp intake of breath, eyes squeezing shut tight. Jake resumes the same fast and brutal pace, but this time he can watch Leo come apart.

                And he does, between one breath and the next, he’s shaking apart and coming, his cock jerking between them, untouched and looking painful, even if Jake knows the relief of release must be overwhelming for Leo right now. He pulls out, presses an apologetic kiss to Leo’s cheek for the lack of any warning, but then he’s jerking off his own cock, wanting to add his own come to Leo’s and maybe smear it all over. Just a little. A different kind of mark to go with the bruises. Leo’s sucking in huge shaky breaths, not quite a sobbing wreck and Jake brushes back his hair, it’s dark with sweat and he presses little butterfly kisses along his hairline.

                “Shh shh shh,” he shushes, “I got you baby. You did so well. So fucking gorgeous. Just perfect,” he murmurs, and he means every word. If Leo makes any comment about not wanting to leave, Jake isn’t going to be able to let him go.

…            …            …

                “Here. Made you something.”

                “Is this… Did you make me my own supply of sauce? Stupid question. Of course you did,” Jake says with a grin.

                “Yeah. Small batch run, limited edition. Intended audience of one, although Maria likes the smoky one so maybe keep it away from her.”

                “God I’m going to miss you,” Jake mutters, because it’s nothing but the truth.

                “Yeah. Me too.”

                “Going to miss the sex too, but I’ve grown pretty fond of you too…”

                “Feelings mutual. Let’s see how this goes huh?”

                “Yeah. Let’s see how it goes.”

TWENTYFOUR

[a-random-whovian7]

What your favourite Doctor says about you (just like the Master and Companion lists, this is all just jokes and my own terrible takes, absolutely no offence intended towards anyone). This is gonna be a long one, so good luck:

One (I think):

Is somehow able to sit through The Keys of Marinus whilst completely sober. Their feelings on Twice Upon a Time completely depend on whether they are able to accept that TV shows made in the 1960s will inevitably have some outdated bits or not. Loves slow-burners and less science-heavy stories, and wishes the Doctor would go back to trolling his companions again. Prays every night for The Celestial Toymaker and Marco Polo to be found. Hates the Timeless Child with a burning passion.

Two:

Two fans deserve a lot better. Despite a large chunk of their era being limited to surviving audio, PowerPoint presentations telesnaps and the, er, mixed bag of animated reconstructions, they still contribute a lot to the discussion of Classic Who and are usually well versed in the lore of the EU. 2nd Doctor fans are remarkable, as they are able to get along with pretty much every other group of fans. However, there is plenty of infighting thanks to the UNIT dating controversy and which story should be reconstructed next. If they ship Two/Jamie, they have fully earned your love and are surprisingly good if you pass them the aux.

Three:

Pretty much blows a gasket whenever some idiot says that the modern era is 'too political'. Like, I'm sorry, but was the "England for the English" scene in the Claws of Axos a little too subtle for you? Were Malcolm Hulke's scripts absolutely apolitical in your eyes? Does the mere existence of The Green Death mean nothing to you?! Oh, well maybe you should try WATCHING THE SHOW and DOING YOUR RESEARCH before you start claiming that it's become 'tOo pOLiTiCaL' because the main characters aren't always played by Whiteguy McStraight now, shouldn't you?! YOU AND YOUR MEDIOCRE OPINION SHALL COWER BEFORE MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE THIRD DOCTOR'S ERA AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!

It is for this very reason that 3rd Doctor fans get along particularly well with 13th Doctor fans. Perfectly nice people with a great sense of humour and an excellent taste in episodes, unless a conversation resembling the above occurs, at which point you will see how much damage the repressed urge to do Venusian Akido can do. Refuses to admit that The Ambassadors of Death is two episodes too long.

Four:

Either a child of the 70s or chaos incarnate. Yes, 4 is pretty much the universally recognised Doctor, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the most unhinged Doctors. Loves more gothic horror-themed episodes and can ignore the somewhat questionable production qualities of early Baker stories. They have almost certainly attempted to make The Scarf at one point; whether they were successful or not entirely depends on their talent for knitting. Is surprisingly ok with admitting that Tom Baker stayed for a little too long and that his later seasons were a little underwhelming. Hasn't stopped them from watching every version of Shada though.

Five:

The tired parental figure of any group they are in. They immediately related to this Doctor when they saw 5 trying to hold it together whilst his multiple adopted humans argued, whined and got themselves trapped on doomed freighter ships. Has tried to play cricket once, but a general confusion over the rules and a few broken windows stopped that. You can take care of the cinnamon roll that is the standard 5 fan by providing them with cups of tea, giving them lots of hugs and removing all copies of Time Flight from your house.

Six:

Best fashion sense out of all the fans... somehow. Their favourite episodes are usually Vengeance on Varos or Revelation of the Daleks (both bangers), although they lean more heavily towards EU and Big Finish material, where the stories are more consistent and the costumes are less yikes. Either the best or worst fan to be around, either giving fair balanced views on the show or just being an absolute arse. Loves cats. Hates Michael Grade. Kind of ambivalent towards Mel.

Seven:

If 2nd Doctor fans are well versed in the EU lore, then these individuals are fucking academics. Constantly annoyed that 7 had two of the best seasons of Classic Who and was the darkest Doctor but is only remembered for Time and the Rani for some reason. Their favourite companion will always be Ace, which is what motivated them to watch Power of the Doctor. Usually excellent taste in stories, but is completely capable of dragging you to the depths of the EU. Wishes the Doctor would commit a few more genocides. Their religious beliefs can be summarised in the phrase "Cartmel Master Plan". Still annoyed that the most strategic Doctor was killed by the two most American things (guns and bad healthcare), but gets along well with 8 fans despite that. Somehow understands Ghost Light after just 3 rewatches.

Eight:

Big Finish fan. Basically willing to explain the entire plot of Dark Eyes if you ask them. Thinks the TV Movie is just OK, and has rewatched Night of the Doctor too many times to count. Loves a sad boy, and has definitely referred to 8 as a "poor little meow meow" at some point. Wishes 8's TARDIS interior was still intact and that he'll get his own live action series. Had an actual heart attack when he appeared in Power of the Doctor. Usually a bisexual from my personal experience, and looking at Paul McGann in the 90s, I can see why.

War (or is it Nine?):

We're stepping into the depths of the Moffat cult with this one. Wants a more traumatised Doctor, and kind of wishes we saw more of the Time War beyond the laser battle in Day of the Doctor. Content to sit back and watch due to the fact that the War Doctor had the perfect arc in his one episode, although they are happy that the War Doctor still pops up in the EU. Bridging the gap between the modern and classic series means they get along well with everyone except Shalka fans.

Nine (the Curse of Fatal Death one):

Does this one count? Just loves the classic series. Still praying for Joanna Lumley as the Doctor. Nowhere near as obnoxious as the Shalka fans and surprisingly funny.

Nine (the Scream of the Shalka one):

They pride themselves on being 'against the trend' and being fans of an overlooked bit of Doctor Who history. Doesn't quite realise that Scream of the Shalka was basically an B-tier Big Finish story with janky animation. Wants Richard E Grant to show up again. Constantly attempting to upset Eccleston and Hurt fans, only to get angry when everyone forgets Scream of the Shalka existed. They definitely listen to Weezer.

Ten, no, another Nine (the Eccleston one):

The word "fantastic" is permanently superglued to their vocabulary, and yet it never gets old. Owns a leather jacket too. Wishes that the BBC hadn't been stupid and Eccleston had stayed on for another series, but doesn't hold it against Tennant. Knows the Daleks were at their best in S1. Really wants the Reapers to return, and was utterly distraught after Chibs kind of ruined 9's role in the wider arc by blowing up Gallifrey again. Major nostalgia for the 2000s with this one, and is slowly becoming a member of the Big Finish cult thanks to Eccleston's return. Understandably forgot Adam was a thing. Both loves and hates John Barrowman.

Ten? Eleven? Ten and a half? The Tennant one. I hate numbers:

Their first experience to Doctor Who was during the golden age- wait, no, sorry, the RTD cult has threatened to terminate my membership if I'm not honest with this one.

Either a child of the 2000s, a member of the aforementioned RTD cult or someone who just likes the show to be more emotionally resonant. Well, that or they are the blandest person alive. If they acknowledge how good 10's arc was in terms of deconstructing the Doctor and setting up his fall from grace via misplaced attachments and vanity, then absolutely someone to be around. If they simply say "because he was popular", definitely bland. We all know Tennant was popular, it's still not one of the many valid reasons to love him. They have an easygoing relationship with 4 and 11 fans, and otherwise OK relations with the rest of Doctors fan groups, although there is a bit of friction between 13 stans due to 10 being dragged into a lot of 13's media post-2020 to boost ratings. They didn't like it because it cheapned 10's return and era whilst also overshadowing 13. 13 stans didn't like it because it basically gave the message that the BBC had given up on 13 before her era had finished.

Definitely excited for the 60th after the regeneration and the announcement of RTD's return. Has tried owning a pair of converses, only to find out that they aren't exactly cheap. Has fought for the Ten/Rose ship on multiple occasions. Tried hair gel once, with disastrous consequences.

Huh. This one was incredibly easy to write. All I had to do was look in a mirror.

Thirte- no, Eleven:

Major ADHD energy in the best possible way. Saw the chaotic excitable Doctor and immediately fell in love. They will not rest until they have forced every former Doctor to read the "Hello Stonehenge" speech. They have also cosplayed the most out of any fan, due to the availability of fezzes and bow ties. Definitely the most fun to be around at a party. Was disappointed by Matt Smith's decision not to return for the 60th, especially after the absolute banger that was Day of the Doctor. If they ship 11 with River, they're cool, even though 11 was very asexual in S5. If they ship him with anyone else, then yikes. Wishes for the show to return to a quirky fairytale tone again.

If they were present during the SuperWhoLock days, keep an eye on them. You're only one drink away from dragging us back to 2013, and I ain't reading any of that fanfiction again *shudders*.

Fourte- FUCK, Twelve:

A certified member of the Steven Moffat cult, or just someone who likes some of their stories to have a slightly more mature tone. Has tried to play the electric guitar more than once, only to be forced to stop by their partners or housemates. Either willing to admit some of the flaws of the era or strongly defends it, with no inbetween. Absolutely correct in their assertion that S9 and 10 absolutely slapped, although this cam be undermined if they try to defend Sleep No More. If they ship River and 12, then you can trust them with anything, and they will offer you good relationship advice. If they ship 12 and Clara in a romantic way (which is strange to me cos i always got platonic BFF vibes from them, but that's just me), they definitely have relationship advice, although waiting 4 billion years to get your memory wiped is a questionable means of resolving conflict. They have a pair of the sonic sunglasses. Cried when Capaldis majestic floofy hair got shaved off for a superhero film.

Thirteen? That's right? Phew, finally getting the hang of this. Ok, Thirteen:

There are two types of 13 fan. The first is cinnamoniest of rolls. Is just happy to sit back and have fun, thus allowing them to enjoy pretty much any episode (something that a lot of people could learn from). Immediately realised that Jodie is an amazing Doctor and deserves more praise and justice. Definitely shipped Thasmin, and are the best at constructive criticism, recognising what worked and didn't in a respectful, polite way (again, something we could all learn from). Wierdly enough, they get along well with all the Doctor fans, as they are a wholesome ray of sunshine that reminds us that every era has something to offer, no matter the general consensus.

The second type masquerades as the first, but gets all hipster-y and more than willing to use the term 'overrated' when RTD or Tennant are mentioned (so basically a healthy 80% of the #antiRTD tag).

Both are convinced that the Chibnall Era will receive a massive reappraisal like the 12th Doctor's era did, despite the odds of that happening being the same as an on-screen Thasmin kiss. I'm so sorry, that's a really mean line to end this bit on. Let's instead end by saying Haunting of Villa Diodati is an absolute banger of an episode.

Ruth:

Loves the admittedly cool concept of a mystery incarnation. The rest depends on their theory of where the Ruth Doctor fits in. If they use the season 6B theory, then they have an encyclopedic knowledge of the classical series and the EU regardless of whether they have watched it or not. If they use the Timeless Child/Division theory, then they basically settled for the easier version of 6B after looking into the insane asylum that is classic who and EU discourse (wise choice). If they think she's from an alternative universe, thinks that she's Omega, Rassilon, The Rani, The Master or any other figure, then they practically have a gold medal in Mental Gymnastics. Either way, all of them don't like to admit that they are unfortunately limited to 4 episodes (three of them being fairly mid, the other being a mild car crash) and a pretty good comic. Cool fashion taste. Gets along with 13 stans and, surprisingly, 2nd Doctor fans.

Fourteen- oh for fucks sake:

YOU ARE TENTH DOCTOR FANS. GO BACK TO EARLIER ON IN THE POST. YES, I KNOW THAT'S THE BBC'S OFFICIAL LINE AT THE MOMENT. YES, I KNOW YOU'RE HYPED FOR THE 60TH, I AM A HYPED RTD CULTIST TOO. JUST WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER. P L E A S E.

Fourt- no fifteen- no, fourteen- BBC, HAVE MERCY:

Only in the Doctor Who fandom can a Doctor who has only appeared in a brief clip and some photos have a fully developed fanbase. I should know, I've already joined it. Ncuti's photos in that suit sealed the deal. Either an RTD cultist or someone just looking forward to a fresh new direction. Also very fashionable. Has a somewhat complicated relationship with 13th Doctor fans due to the fact that Ncuti's first season and casting completely overshadowed S13 and the specials, but Ncuti also had to deal with the same levels of toxicity from the same 'fans' who threw temper tantrums at Jodie's casting in 2017. Best haircuts out of all the Doctor Who fans. Strange but true.

Full Fathom Five:

Y'all scare me.

Zagreus:

Y'all terrify me.

The Watcher:

Y'all confuse me.

The Valeyard:

Has wanted a darker series since god knows when. Was kind of annoyed when the Time Lord Victorious arc wasn't dedicated to a whole series. Also, the Valeyard is the Shadow the Hedgehog of the Whoniverse. I refuse to elaborate any further.

The Curator:

"Alright gang, let's see who the Curator fans really are!"

Pulls off mask

"Fourth Doctor fans?!"

All jokes aside, they just want a more experienced Doctor. Accepts that the show will have to end one day, and is cool with that, since they already have the perfect ending. Either cool grandad vibes or an actual grandad. Good knitwear. Their response to everything is simply putting the kettle on.

Doctor Moon:

Now these ones are very, very rare. I personally love the theory that Doctor Moon is a future version of the Doctor who is keeping River and the Library safe, but limiting your favourite Doctor to two episodes and an endorsement of the theory from Steven Moffat? Now that takes guts, and I like it. Usually partial to classy clothes, and talks in a very formal tone. Their best subject is usually maths.

Dr Who (Peter Cushing):

Unashamedly insane. Saw the absolutely glorious cheese-fest that was the 1960s Dalek movies and ended up loving one of the most unique versions of the Doctor. Is absolutely fine with bypassing 90% of the TV shows lore, making them really fun to talk to. Time Lords? Nah. Sonic screwdriver? Nope. Their Doctor is a wacky grandpa who built a multi-dimensional time machine in their back garden, and they love it. Is a sucker for Alternate Universe stories and usually loves classic B-movies. Knows that the movies kind of suck as adaptations, but as pure 1960s camp, they are unbeatable. Absolute legends.

All of Them:

The glue that holds this fanbase together. Enlightened individuals who have to check in every now and then to make sure that we mere mortals are behaving ourselves. They just simply enjoy the show and hold no biases. Absolutely infuriating to talk to for that very reason.

[thepersonalquotes]

A self-limiting belief is no stronger than the flimsy rope that tethers an elephant by its foot.

Stephen Richards, Six Figure Success: Time To Think Big - You Can Do It

[screamlet]

"old school" comfort fic recs

tagged by @liminalmemories21 and @rcmclachlan

What are your old school comfort fics? The ones from fandoms that haven't been active in yeeeaaars, but you've read so many times you can practically quote them.

big big BIG caveat: lol. these are not old school fandoms, as such, but the truly old school ones i grew up with died with livejournal and del.icio.us. however!!! all these fics are 5-10 (or more) years old and that's about as old school as my bookmarks get.

i don't have tumblr usernames for these authors, but if they're around let them know? or don't!

fandoms covered: bts, check please, hockey rpf [all archive locked], star trek (aos and rpf), and the untamed

---

BTS happy that we met each other (jinkook, @/fictionalmissp, @/pearlowrites)

Jungkook is trying to adjust to life after military service. Seokjin is dealing with his recent divorce and being a dad. Everyone is trying their best.

someday we'll know (rapline ot3, @/fadetomorrow)

Six years ago, Hoseok walked away from Big Hit and an opportunity to debut as part of an idol group. He's worked hard to build a name for himself halfway across the world when he and the people he left behind collide again.

rivers and roads (til i reach you) (namseok, @/undercoverjikooks)

Namjoon is a lonely, anxious businessman who finds comfort and peace in sex worker slash grocery store clerk Hoseok, who's convinced that he's only worth leaving.

Should Never Fall So Easily (namseok, @/murderoustannie)

It’s not that Namjoon sleep-walked into his relationship with Hoseok, exactly. Mostly because that would imply a total lack of pain and embarrassment, giving the whole ordeal a dream-like quality to it that Namjoon doesn’t think it deserves. But if you asked Namjoon how it happened, exactly, he would have a hard time pin-pointing it.

---

CHECK PLEASE! for all of the perfect things that i doubt (series) (kent parson centric, mostly kent parson/omc, @/idrilka)

and in that series: no lightning, just thunder (kent parson/omc)

At thirty-five, Kent wins his fourth Stanley Cup. Two months later, he retires from the NHL.

Lord, What a Difference a Day Makes (kent parson/alexei mashkov, @/coffeestars)

Kent time travels (he thinks; it’s either that or he’s gone off the deep end once and for all), gets married to some Russian guy built like a tree, acquires two children, one of whom isn’t even his, freaks out, and grows up. In that order.

---

HOCKEY RPF

double digging for the successful transplant of organic cultivars (michael latta/tom wilson, @/rest)

Tom likes working with his hands, but it is a solitary life. He would much prefer to be married. Leaving and settling elsewhere is his surest chance for having that. (aka "The Space Western Mail Order Bride AU")

love on a deposit of frozen pleistocene carbon (nicklas backstrom/alex ovechkin, @/saintsideways)

Sasha is the only person to have lasted more than a year at Wrest Island Arctic Research Station, except, of course, for Dr. Bäckström. Or: Sasha's head over heels, in a slightly more than figurative sense.

human resources (nicklas backstrom/alex ovechkin, @/babygotbackstrom)

Sasha knows he's going to marry the angel who works in the finance department.

i want to belong here (sidney crosby/evgeni malkin, @/cathedralhearts)

“Can I come to Russia with you?” Zhenya’s brain fritzes out for a second. “Sorry?” he asks, thinking he’s misheard. Years of pining can do that to a person -- make you believe that the object of your affections wants something more than they really do. Sid’s gone bright pink and is staring at the floor, so maybe it’s not pining-induced insanity. Sanja will be pleased.

the light through the windowpane (tyson barrie/gabe landeskog, @/underwaternow)

or, the one where Gabe and Tyson fall in love, break up, Gabe gets married, Tyson falls apart a little, they don't speak to each other for awhile, and then they finally make up. colloquially referred to as “sad fic” but there's very much a happy ending

Big Horny's Guide to Finding Love (and Then Some) for the Modern Man (erik johnson/nate mackinnon, @/venvephe)

ExtraJuicy 🍑🍑💦 Both sporty and spicy. Not a horse girl, but likes to ride. Have a sense of humor and we’ll see where it goes. “Is that Grindr?” Gabe gasps out, and EJ elbows him deftly in the side as several heads swivel in their direction. Fucking Gabe and his big forehead and bigger mouth. “Erik Robert Johnson, have you learned how to sext?”

---

STAR TREK (REBOOT) strive seek find yield (aka SPOCTORIA) (kirk/spock, @waldorph)

Spock is heir to the Federation throne, Jim is Prince of America because his fucking brother abdicated, and the Klingons are on the verge of blowing shit up--a love story.

---

STAR TREK (RPF) merry bachelors (chris pine/zachary quinto, @/therumjournals)

Ten years from now, Zach reads a promising script. (Aka Chris and Zach make a movie about Cary Grant and Randolph Scott)

chris, nicky, and the nanny (chris pine/zachary quinto, @/thedanveresque)

Chris hires a hipster manny for his son Nicky.

---

THE UNTAMED all the time in the world to get it right (series) (lwj/wwx, @/belle_abroad)

on a rainy morning wei ying, debut novelist, ducks into lan zhan's bookstore, the quiet room, and never leaves. (lan zhan's heart. he leaves the store, a couple of times.)

[puckpocketed]

29/06/2023 - the Montreal Canadiens select Jacob Fowler 69th overall | y // 1/09/2023 - Inside the Canadiens Draft Meetings, 2023

Jacob Fowler — an introduction, a collection of media

I’ll give you three shooters, and you can tell me if they’re righty, lefty, passer, or shooter. Perfect. Okay. Harvey, Chicago? He’s a passer. He’s a lefty. Lefty. (pause) Perron? Perron’s a shooter and he’s a righty. He’s got a really good shot. Fine? Fine’s a righty. Didn’t see too much of him this year. I’d say he’s a — he’s probably more of a passer, yeah. So you know your stuff. I do. You could probably go up and down the whole USHL and I could name… righty, lefty… Okay, now, how did you… When did you start studying it like that? I don’t think it was ever a ‘study’ as much as just — not even a photo memory — just; you play against those guys and if you want to stop those guys, you’re going to figure out real quick if he’s a righty or a lefty if you want to stop the puck. I mean you can’t… You can’t play your short side wrong if it’s a righty on his one side or a lefty on the other side, so… I think if you don’t know what hands they are, or if they’re a shooter or a passer, you’re not going to be very successful.

[Fowler at the scouting combine, speaking to a Canadiens psychologist] But I’m more interested in the guy who’s really inside, right? Yeah. Tell me about him. Tell me what makes him friggin’ tick. I’ve been, y’know, doubted and… Yeah! Here we go! I’ve had to prove people wrong my entire career. Of course you have, yeah! I sat in my living room in a shirt and tie with my whole family and watched, y’know, five or six hours of the entire OHL [Ontario Hockey League] Draft, the entire USHL [United States Hockey League] Draft and — to never see your name pop up on that screen is… It’s a pretty crappy feeling. To know that you played in the National Championship, you played in the national tournament twice; you’ve won just about every youth championship you could win in North America… To never be talked to, or to never see your name pop up is — it’s terrible. I don’t read too much into the different awards, but… To win the award of Goalie of the Year in this league that I was undrafted [in] — nobody wanted me. There were 16 teams and not a single one of them wanted me. I had to go out and prove that, every single night, that you messed with the wrong guy and Youngstown was just fortunate enough that I ended up in their corner. That feeling sticks with me every day, and… The last thing I want is any organisation to look back and wish they would’ve taken a chance on me because all I’ve done is prove people wrong.

Where do I even begin with Jacob Fowler? Scouts and pundits and fans have taken note — the Canadiens have had a distinct vision with their past few drafts under the Kent Hughes regime: culture and character. Jacob Fowler is yet another piece. In what I figure is typical Montreal media fashion, he's being hailed as the next goalie-of-the-future, as Carey Price come again. Big hair, big expectations, and a big fucking chip on his shoulder — that's Jacob Fowler. Also Jacob Fowler: a goalie who has always performed, always been at the bleeding edge of every leader board, a goalie who makes every net his.

The stats are the least notable thing about Fowler. Plenty of young goalies have put up good stats. It's not about his sv%, for me. It's about all the rest of it. It's the candidness with which he tells his story. It's the intensity of his complexes — borne from years of being overlooked.

Jacob Fowler rattles off skaters and their tendencies and thinks of it as a given that you should know these things by rote if you want to make saves. Jacob Fowler knows how good he is, he remembers every single instance where he'd been ignored when it came time to pick, and he's seemingly simmered this anger for just as long as he's understood it. That's what makes me care.

There's love of the game, and there's this. He's a fascinating case study: undeniably elite, yet somehow passed over again and again; confident and on the verge of cocky; calm, but only in the way the surface of a rip current hides it's pull. He's picking a fight with everyone who doubted him each time he gets in net. He's looking at the yawning chasm of where Carey Price used to be and he's going to jump. Against the searing lights of playing in Montreal? He says, "I don't think I could write the script any better. I want to be a Montreal Canadien, and I want to win a Stanley Cup for them. As a competitor, I don't want it to be easy. I think — I want the bright lights, I want the big stage, and y'know I said earlier pressure is a privilege."

It might all be bluster. It might be a media-trained, canned response. I was convinced.

x | y // x | y

[Exchange between the Canadiens' scouting team] Martin Lapointe: So, Billy, you're saying you would put Fowler ahead of [redacted]? Bobby Ryan: Yes, 100%. Fowler shows up every time and wins. It's, it's like almost — it's crazy. No one's saying Fowler was 'good' growing up. He was the best growing up. He's (redacted goalie) not better than Fowler. Like if we're playing a game right now and I said, "Alright, I'm gonna — you pick your team, we all got..." Vincent Riendeau: We're talking about the NHL today? They're not facing the NHL today. These guys will face them at 24, 25. BR: I know, but what I'm saying... He's ready — he already mastered... He's mastered his position. The other guys haven't. They have the tools. They haven't figured out in their head how to fuckin' win games. This kid does it. He's been doing it since he was like 10 years old. And he wants to do it. [...] We're all working towards the same goal. We're trying to win a Stanley Cup and... I'd want the kid who wins the most. Never been not the top goalie, ever. Ever. Look at the numbers. He's never not been the top goalie in the entire league. Not like — not the starter. He's never not been the highest save percentage in every league he's ever been in. VR: I can't deny it... I can't — but... BR: I just think we're going to regret not taking this kid.

I'm cheering for Jacob Fowler not because I think it's a sure-fire bet — he might never make it, and more promising prospects have fizzled out before — I'm cheering for him because I'm unbelievably excited to see him try.

[magnifythesun]

CCO Anthony Padilla and President Ian Hecox of Smosh

ooooooo let's goooo!

post writing notes: YAY OKAY IVE DONE IT!!! so i read this and immediately assumed you meant a business au and i for the life of me have not been able to think of what kind of business they would run in this fic SO it is "the company" and they make money and also have shareholders and they call their employees their "crew" and dont ask me any details i was unable to figure it out!! but i think this turned out pretty cute?? more angsty than i was anticipating but with comfort i promise.

also i stayed g rated since i wasn't sure what rating you were comfortable with but Company(TM) President Ian and CCO Anthony could get it on i think if anyone wants that in the future lmao, just don't expect any details on what the hell they're selling sorry lmao! also i know nothing about business

bonus points if you can spot the direct reference to the wikipedia article for the term CCO.

---

The responsibility of being in charge of the company weighed heavily on Ian. It had been at its worst when Anthony had left, the fear of driving the company into the ground, of not being a good enough leader, of failing to thrive without his right-hand man.

When Anthony had returned, it was like a breath of the freshest air. Although Ian maintained his position as President, Anthony taking the role of CCO was possibly the best business decision Ian had ever made. Anthony had always been best with the marketing and business strategy, with an eye for the best trends to get their company booming. A huge weight felt like it was moved off Ian's shoulders. He could just focus on the top-level stuff and taking care of his employees and leave the marketing, which Ian had always hated, to Anthony.

Still, this didn't mean Ian didn't get stressed anymore. Ian loved his work, but sometimes it became overwhelming, the way his mind spun around, worrying about the whether he'd assigned the right person to the right project, whether his employees were happy, and so forth. Over the course of each work week, the panic would build up inside, setting him on edge until he would lie awake at night, staring up at his bedroom ceiling as his mind flew.

Reprieve came from an unexpected corner.

There was a routine now. At the end of the work week, there was always a meeting, and he and Anthony would attend. Ian would mostly listen, too stressed and sleep-deprived to think of any meaning contribution. Plus, Anthony was better at leading the meeting anyway, as it was mostly about that week's sales. Afterward, Anthony would talk him down from all his worries, and Ian would be able to breathe until the next week began. This week was no different.

At the end of the meeting, everyone filed out, excited to book it home for the weekend, leaving Ian and Anthony alone in the big meeting room. Ian let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging, letting the last shards of his confident facade crumble and fall. Anthony glanced over at him as he shuffled his papers back into order.

"You alright?" He asked this every week.

"You know me," Ian waved a hand dismissively, "I get in my head."

"You're too hard on yourself, man," Anthony tapped the papers on the desk with finality. "Didn't you hear anything I said just now? Our sales are up, stockholders happy, and we even get to give a big bonus to the whole 'crew,' just like you always talk about doing."

Ian shook his head like he could knock the words away, standing up to face the big window that was letting in the light of the late afternoon sun.

"This year is going great, Ian! Why won't you let yourself celebrate this success that we've built?"

Anthony sounded tired. Ian couldn't blame him. They'd had this conversation every week for the last six months. However, this time, Anthony's words just couldn't shake the dread inside him.

This year, things were going great. But it wasn't that long ago when it had been the whole company on Ian's shoulders, margins in the red, the heavy weight of responsibility for all of his people's livelihoods crushing him into the ground. What's to say this year's success wouldn't be short-lived? Was there already something he wasn't seeing, some sign of trouble to come?

And what if, when things got rough... What if Anthony...

A gentle warm grip on his wrist startled him out of his thoughts. Ian turned, surprised. They'd had this conversation a million times, but Anthony always talked him out of it, sitting over at the table while Ian paced out his anxieties. He'd never come to join him by the window, and certainly had never—

Anthony tugged him slightly so that they were facing each other directly, the sunlight filtering through Anthony's hair so that the light brown highlights he'd gotten sparkled. Ian, for a blessed moment, couldn't think of anything else at all. Then, Anthony's hands took his own.

"I," Anthony started, not seeming sure of himself, "I get this feeling. Every week, I reassure you about the company. About how we're doing. About how our 'crew' seems really happy about where we're at, how we're seeing success at levels we could barely dream of back when we first started this." Anthony paused, his face filled with such genuine worry that Ian felt the hot sting of guilt roil in his stomach. "But, Ian, telling you all that doesn't seem to help you for very long."

Ian sighed, looking off to the side. "I'm sorry, I don't know-"

"I think I do," Anthony cut him off, reaching up to grab his shoulders instead. "Ian, I don't even know if I can say this in a way that will fully convince you, but I—," He pushed through with growing confidence, "I'm not leaving this company again."

How did this man always see right through him?

"I'm not leaving you again," Anthony said, quieter, and Ian couldn't stop the tears that were coming to his eyes. "Ever. Do you understand?"

Ian reached up and swiped the tears away. "Yeah," He said, shakily.

"I'm not leaving." Anthony shook him slightly, the look in his eyes so serious that it began to chip away at the pit in Ian's stomach that had sat there for years.

"Right. Yeah," Ian nodded his head.

"I'm not. We're gonna be running this thing for years," Anthony smiled, "Into the ground if necessary."

Ian laughed, "Okay, okay. I believe you." And he actually did. Another, heavier weight that he hadn't realized he was still carrying felt like it was melting away. "Alright, good."

They stood there just a little too long, Anthony's hands warm on Ian's shoulders, the sun bringing out each delicate shade of brown in Anthony's eyes. And again, for a moment, Ian couldn't think about anything else.

"Right, so." Anthony let go and walked back over to the table. Ian took in a slow, deep breath and let it out as Anthony grabbed his papers and shoved them in his briefcase. "I don't know if you even realized with your President head so far above the clouds, but we just wrapped a fiscal year!"

Ian rolled his eyes. "Of course I know that."

"Just checking!" Anthony beamed at him. "So, wanna celebrate? How about soup at your place?"

That startled a sharp laugh out of Ian. "That's the biggest celebration you can think of?"

"Look," Anthony held up a haughty finger. "As your CCO, I think making soup tonight will allow us to achieve our long-term objectives."

Ian scoffed. "Yeah, your long-term objective to have me cook you soup," Ian said dryly, grabbing his own briefcase and heading toward the door.

"No, hey, hear me out!" Anthony followed him out. "I've got a whole pitch for it and everything!"

[ursa9909]

Sammy Knows AU

(I'm running on like two hours of sleep so this might be hopping a bit in every direction lol)

Headcanon that towards the middle to end of the second season (if half the season they're on the ship give or take) we have a scene where like Yas or Ben is about to get eaten when Sammy goes full cowgirl and starts rangling the dino on its back, ropes over it's maw to keep it from eating her friends, etc...and it's successful, until the boat gets hit by the approaching storm.

Then we see the big metal cargo containers and dinos start falling into the ocean, the last shot with the five camp fam is them rushing towards her, but it's to late. A cargo container does a glancing blow on Sammy and the dino knocking them and the rest can do nothing but watch as dino and Sammy take a plunge and don't come up. Yas and/or Ben almost caught her, traumatizing them even more their seam of six now down two.

The rest of the shenanigans happens and like with the ending of the first season we get Brooklynn, only this time she's out at night backlit by moonlight when a soggy figure emerges from the water. Her only words, "Do you remember?"

There's a something in her hand, it's the same devices to disrupt the chips that were once used to make dinosaurs fight, only this time it was to keep a mind from remembering. A safeguard. Brooklynn would complete her mission no matter what (just like her conviction with keeping the laptop away from Dr.Wu)

Sammy looks at her, looking more like a drowned rat than anything else. Her head is killing her, and it's like the poisoning all over again, the pain behind her eyes, the fogginess in her head accompanied by a killer headache, like her nerves were set aflame.

She looks at the unwelcomed ghost come to life again, she agreed to this, knows that Brooklynn is doing what she thinks is right and Sammy would help a friend in need, especially one that she considers family. But the others were far away, she saw them as they scrambled for a life boat before Sammy went under.

Ben was right to be suspicious of her, even if she and Brooklynn were doing this for them.

Sammy sighs heavily, lets her memories clash with one another; she wonders what permanent damage has been done to her brain, wonders if she'd ever remember anything in the correct order without feeling like she put one piece in front of another at the wrong time.

"Yes"

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Hii! First off I absolutely adore your writing and I'm super excited for your upcoming fics, but I was wondering what are your favorite go-to fics (by other authors) that you want to read again and again?

Hello, love!

I did this once, but I can’t seem to find the post (go figure) so I’m happy to do it again. ❤️ I actually have a folder on my Kindle titled Comfort Fics and these are what’s in there. (I also have a bunch of fics from the same authors, but I thought it best to rec one per author. Check out their other stuff if you haven’t already.)

Most Re-Read Fic

🏈 Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can’t Lose by dolce_piccante

This fic has, without a doubt, my most favorite version of Louis ever written. But more than that, I think that this is just a very nostalgic fic for me, because it was released about six months into me falling into the fandom, and so it kind of reminds me of that time where I was discovering fics and fandom and Larry for the first time. I feel like whenever I go back to it, it feels like that slice of time all over again. Epitome of a comfort fic.

Snack Fic Re-Read

🌬️Fugue by iwillpaintasongforlou

This is just the most perfect single-sitting fic ever. It has everything you need to feel like you’ve read something full and all consuming. I’m a really big fan of the romantic build up, and I love that this has that, even in what is technically an established relationship trope. Love, love, love.

Fave Bedtime Re-Read

🕊️ Counting the Steps Between Us by zarah5

I keep crawling back to this fic like a long lost lover. It’s just written in such a way that hits the spot every time, with the perfect amount of tension and storytelling for you to feel like you’ve earned it by the time they get together.

Best Smut Re-Read

🫦 Hike Up Your Skirt (and Show Your World to Me) by Brooklyn_Babylon / @twopoppies

When this was being written, I told @twopoppies that it was going to overthrow Are You Gonna Be My Girl? by LoadedGunn as my holy grail smut fic and I wasn’t wrong. I mean… this fic’s reputation precedes it. It just gets the job done in the most delicious, dark, dirty way. I get that the themes might not be for everyone, but it’s definitely for me. If you’re specifically looking for something that can only be described as delectable debauchery, you’ve found it. (Read the tags!)

Specific Mood Re-Read

🪐 Saved Tonight by Anonymous*

Harry's the world's most persistent seduction-baker, a questionable dog-sitter, and Louis' biggest fan. Louis hasn't written in years, is trying to pass loneliness off as cynicism, and absolutely hates his fans. It's probably destiny.

This fic is just really, really special to me. It’s soft in the most weird and wonderful way, and I’ve not found another fic that makes me feel the way this does. I think the best way to describe this is that it’s a fic that envelopes you in such a specific setting that you find yourself going back to it to live in that place for a little while.

*The author has since taken it down, and I don’t know by what username they prefer to go by, so I just listed it as Anonymous.

A/B/O Re-Read

🐺 Where You Lay by HamPalpert

When Louis's upcoming heat threatens his success at his new dream job, he asks the best (and only) person he can think of to help him through it: his best mates' best mate, Harry Styles. Harry reluctantly accepts, and together the two navigate a strange friends with benefits relationship that quickly turns complicated.

A/B/O is my most favorite trope ever, but because there are a lot of different permutations of the “rules”, it’s often hard for me to find an A/B/O fic that includes everything I really really really love about the trope. This is that fic for me.

Best Soft Re-Read

🎵 Make Your Words A Weapon by HelloAmHere / @helloamhere

The way Harry is written in this fic is everything to me. This fic is soft in the most lovely way, and there’s something so healing in the way it discusses trauma without ever sacrificing the romance in the fic. This has a piece of dialogue that I think about nearly monthly, but I won’t share it cause I want you to experience it for yourself first.

Holy Grail Re-Read

⏳my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach

Let me start off by saying this fic is an investment, but Jesus is it worth it. This is just the most unique blend of canon and Larry lore ever, and it just does it so, so perfectly. If you’re looking for a fic that will make you see Larry’s love story as the most perfect insider version of it ever, this is the fic. It’s so good that I never want to read/watch the original Time Traveler’s Wife. As far as I’m concerned, this is the original. (Don't forget to read the companion piece feel myself fall, make a joke of it all.)

Honorable Mentions

(I haven’t re-read these yet only because I feel like I’ve just finished them and I’m giving myself some time to miss them so much that it feels like the first time all over again.)

🗽 Mine Would Be You by @crinkle-eyed-boo

An exes-to-lovers for the ages. This fic is painfully beautiful, and there’s something about these characters that have stood (and will continue to stand) the rest of time. I think this is a gorgeously mature fic that deals with the complexities of love and romance in a way that’s rare. This is one of the most realistic depictions of Harry and Louis that feels true to who they are in every era.

🦋 of the divine by @thedevilinmybrain

Harry in this is literally ethereal, but also, the way the romance is layered over religious themes is just done in such a fulfilling and delicious way. I love fics that manage to marry such specific knowledge with a story that’s still romantic and wildly sexy. This is a journey, and just thinking about it makes me want to pick it up immediately.

[moonlightdreamzz]

merry christmas, pls can u do ateez overall view of do they view themselves as underdogs outside of big4 they kind of have had to take the longer route to getting recognition and even then people still like to shit on them and whatnot compared to even skz who are still massively followed and supported it seems ateez have it harder and i wondered if there was any stigma against small agency groups or whut cause they did an interview with an indian lady and it got removed it just feels like they have to really fight for their success.

Disclaimer ✰ Tarot readings are for entertainment and insight, not definitive predictions. When reading about public figures or celebrities, remember that these insights are based on energy and perception, not facts. Always take it with a pinch of fun and curiosity!

Does ATEEZ view themselves as underdogs? (10 of Swords + 8 of Wands

The 10 of Swords is that moment when you’ve hit rock bottom. It’s like everything feels like it’s gone to shit, and you’re sitting there wondering, What now? It’s not just one bad thing—it’s a pile-up of painful experiences that leave you feeling stuck, like you can’t even move forward because it hurts that much. Sometimes it represents betrayal, or just this overwhelming sense of being defeated. For ATEEZ, I feel like this reflects the struggles they’ve gone through—times when it felt like the odds were stacked against them, or like no matter how hard they worked, it wasn’t enough to break through.

But then you’ve got the 8 of Wands, and that’s where the energy shifts completely. This card is all about movement—things picking up speed and opportunities coming out of nowhere. It’s like the universe decided to finally throw them a bone, and now everything is happening so fast. Their recent success, especially with their comebacks, feels like this card: it’s pushing them forward and giving them a renewed sense of energy and hope. The 8 of Wands is basically saying, Yeah, you went through hell, but now it’s time to fly.

So, I’d say that while they probably do see themselves as underdogs because of everything they’ve been through, they’re definitely not letting that define them anymore. Things are finally starting to take off for them, and they’re making the most of it.

I’d also add that it’s not just about opportunities, but also the pace at which things are happening. It’s like their hard work is finally paying off, and now everything is moving so quickly, almost like they barely have time to process it all. There’s this sense of momentum that feels unstoppable—like they’ve been launched into this upward trajectory, and things are falling into place faster than they expected.

Basically, there’s a lot of good shit going on, but it’s happening very fucking fast 😭. Which I think they are grateful for but that doesn’t mean they know how to handle it just yet. And I also get the energy of them being like … oh so now yall see the potential??? now yall want us on your shows??

Is there a genuine stigma against groups that aren’t apart of the big 4? (Knight of Pentacles, 6 of Pentacles + 7 of Swords, and Page of Pentacles)

The Knight of Pentacles really lays the foundation here. It speaks to the journey that smaller groups in the industry face: long, steady, and full of hard work. These groups don’t always get the same shortcuts or easy breaks that come with being from a big agency. There’s no skipping steps—they have to show their dedication every step of the way. It’s not that they don’t have talent; it’s more that they have to work harder to be noticed, especially when competing against the well-established Big Four. Success doesn’t come easy for them, but that’s what makes their journey unique.

The Six of Pentacles and the Seven of Swords are where things get a bit murkier. The Six of Pentacles is all about reciprocity—what you give is what you get. In this case, it reflects the behind-the-scenes deals that often happen in the industry, where connections and favors can mean more than raw talent. This energy is reinforced by the Seven of Swords, which brings a sense of dishonesty or underhanded tactics. It doesn’t mean everyone’s playing dirty, but in a competitive industry, reputation, power, and the ability to exchange favors often win out over potential alone. This dynamic is tough because smaller agencies don’t have that same safety net. They can’t rely on a network of powerful allies to boost them into opportunities.

The Page of Pentacles here feels like a reminder of the potential that these smaller groups carry. They’re working their way up, slowly building what they need to succeed, even if it means doing more with less. They’re learning and evolving, often without the massive backing that Big Four groups have. It’s like being a student who’s hustling to graduate at the top of their class, even if they don’t have the same resources. When they do get their break, it’s not because they were handed it; it’s because they earned it.