#Still working on ch 3 but it's actually nearly finished

[cypreus-and-willow]

"Rest well Kazutora. It’ll be over soon. The Toman we loved, will finally rest with us."

Retribution Chapter 2 - iv. Tragedy Summary: It goes like this: Comedies end in weddings, Tragedies end in death and Histories are retellings of the past. Without purpose, Kazutora is lost. This is how he self destructs.

Read on AO3

[exhaslo]

Puzzle Pieces Ch.3

(Mafia!Miguel x Shy!Reader)

Ch.1, Ch.2

Warning: Eventual Smut so Minors DNI, mentions of abuse, blood, murder, language, fluff, bullying, mentions of sex

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It was another rough day at work for you. The only ray of sunshine you had all day was the scary, Miguel O'Hara, actually talking to you. He was so good looking that it made your heart flutter. You knew he was bad news, but you were desperate for anything to make you happy these days.

Stepping out of the supermarket with a small bag of groceries, you sighed as it started to pour. You had an umbrella, but someone stole it right before you clocked out. It wasn't too far of a walk, but you were still going to get soaked.

Taking a few deep breathes, you decided to make a run for it. Your place wasn't too far away. The rain could stop at any moment. It was fine! Yelping, you whimpered as you slipped and fell into a puddle on the sidewalk. Your groceries falling everywhere.

"N-No," You whimpered, trembling as you picked everything up alone.

Tears rolled down your cheeks as you kept whispering that you were fine. You were tired of this life already. You flinched as a foot appeared beside your canned corn. You glanced up, shaking as Miguel stood before you, holding an umbrella out.

"Need a lift?"

-----------

A few minutes prior, Miguel was sitting in the back seat of his chair, listening to Lyla over his phone. She was repeating his schedule out to him for his official job. Miguel groaned lowly, not wanting to have to deal with any of Alchmax's partners.

Hearing the rain, Miguel glanced out his window. He noticed you standing in front of the supermarket, staring at the rain before making a run for it. He told his driver to slow down, wanting to watch you a bit longer while Lyla kept talking.

His eyes widen slightly as you fell. Miguel told his driver to stop and hung up with Lyla. Looks like his little bunny needed saving. This wasn't something new, but you weren't like other girls. You weren't going to throw yourself onto him like the others.

Miguel smiled casually as he grabbed an umbrella and approached you. He stopped and held the umbrella over you, watching those tears stream down your cheeks. You were so fragile. All the more delicious to break in bed.

"Need a lift?" He offered, observing the shape of your body through your soaked clothes.

"U-Um..." Your lips began to tremble as you finished picking up the last of your dented groceries, "I-I don't w-want to be a b-bother. I-I appreciate the...the offer...but..." You kept avoiding his gaze, still crying.

Miguel was adoring this new treat. How easy you were to approach. No girl would hesitate to get in a car with him, yet here you were. A shy little bunny afraid of the big bad wolf. Miguel was enjoying this game. He reached out and easily wiped a tear from your eye,

"I wouldn't have asked if I thought you were a burden. My car is over there, I'll take you straight home." Miguel offered once more.

"A-Are you-" You stopped, seeing him get slightly annoyed, "T-Thank you, sir. S-Sorry again...for burdening you," You apologized again.

Miguel felt a rise as you called him, 'sir'. How nicely it rolled off your tongue. Miguel kept his eyes on you as his driver opened the door for the both of you. Your groceries going in the truck. Miguel sat beside you, having the heat turn up since you were shivering.

"Where do you live?" Miguel asked. You flinched,

"R-Right! S-Sorry!" You stuttered and told the driver your address.

Miguel leaned back in his seat, watching you put your seatbelt on. He nearly scoffed at the sight, finding you hilarious. You kept playing with your fingers, apologizing for everything. Hell, at this rate, Miguel was going to have to apologize to you for fucking you later.

"You're very naïve," Miguel said bluntly, causing you to flinch, "Never enter another person's vehicle. You're lucky that it was me, conejita. (bunny)" He warned.

"I'm sorry,"

"You wouldn't want your boyfriend to worry," Miguel glanced at your reaction, wanting to see if his prey was taken or not.

Not that it mattered.

"I-I don't have one...E-Even if I-I...I did, he...he wouldn't care." You said sadly, recalling how many times Eddie left you to fend for yourself.

Miguel noticed the small things about you. You were gripping your sleeves tightly while your body shook, not from the cold, but from mentioning your ex. Your cheeks started to burn as tears threaten to spill. This was not an easy topic for you.

"So, single and living alone in the big city? Haces esto demasiado fácil. (You make this too easy)" He hummed.

You glanced over at Miguel, admiring him. You knew better than to enter a stranger's car, even if he was a regular. Honestly, at this point you didn't care. Maybe it was for the best if someone took you away. Pinching yourself at the thought, you decided to keep the conversation going. To distract yourself.

"I...I had to leave...I-I thought I'd be...I'd be able to s-survive here. But...I guess I can't."

"You just need some help," Miguel noticed the area they were driving into, "You live here?"

"I-It's all I could...a-afford." You stuttered before sneezing.

You whined softly as you kept sneezing. Sometimes you had these spirts. Once you finished you saw Miguel's hand getting closer to you. Recalling times where Eddie would hit you to be quiet, you flinched and covered your head.

Miguel withdrew his hand as he noticed your reaction. He furrowed his brows before the car came to a stop. He knew that reaction all too well. Glancing at the shady apartment building, Miguel got out of the car and opened the door for you,

"I'm not going to hit you," He said and helped you out, "Let me walk you upstairs."

"Sir, this is-"

"I know where we are." Miguel hissed lowly and followed behind you, "Wait for me down here and don't make contact with anyone."

---------

You were shaking as you tried to open your door. Miguel was right behind you with your groceries. You felt embarrassed for reacting the way you did. All he was doing was helping you. Once you were finally inside, you quickly gave him a glass of water before rushing to change.

Miguel took this opportunity to look around your shabby apartment. You were grabbing his attention faster than anyone else. Miguel was starting to want you for himself. A cute little trophy to have in his room.

"S-Sorry I took s-so long," You stuttered, coming out in all long sleeves again. Miguel felt his eye twitch,

"No need to apologize. As you know I do more than just shop at your work." Miguel watched you carefully, "I'll get to the chase. You're new to this city and I've taken an interest in you."

"H-Huh?! Y-You h-have...but...but..." You sat down, covering your lower face with your sleeve, "I-I'm n-nothing...s-special."

"Estás seguro de que te hizo un número. (You're ex sure did a number on you.)" Miguel muttered and approached you once more, "Allow me to get to know you before you make such assumptions."

"Mhm," You looked away from him, sinking into your seat.

You weren't sure if you ready to see anyone, but this would be a good way to distract you. Miguel did seem kind to you at least. Biting your lower lip, you had to remind yourself about Eddie. He was kind to you at first too. You needed to have faith in people. Glancing back at Miguel, you gulped,

"O-Okay, I-I'll g-give you a chance."

Miguel just grabbed your free hand in response and kissed it. He smiled towards your flustered reaction and made his way out. You followed him, waving him goodbye before closing the door. You bit your lower lip and sat against your door.

"P-Please...be g-good to me."

---------

Miguel sat in his car, listening to Lyla lecture him. He had his arms crossed as he glanced at where you sat prior. He wanted to know more. Especially about what you've been through. Miguel wasn't going to have his new prey already broken.

"Lyla, I want you to gather as much information on (Y/N). I want to know what egg shells I need to avoid."

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@migueloharacumslut @18lkpeters @deputy-videogamer @leahnicole1219 @synamonthy @thedevax @jolynesposts @thraetor @freehentai @2099hitmylineyline @vvampir3s @dontfollowmepleaseitsannoying @secretadmirerisnowonline @jadeloverxd @bunnibitez @oharasfilipinawife @randomgoosegame @lilbanas @daisy-artfield @axi-moore @mimiemie @darkfairy102190

🔮🕯🍃🥀🌑🌌♊️

next chapter

[storiesofsvu]

Decadent Desires Ch 3

Emily Prentiss x reader warnings: language, alcohol, minor political conversation, minor mentions of sexual encounters.

It was the sound of your coffee pot automatically brewing that originally roused you from sleeping, the beeping signalling it was done the reason you finally got out of bed. Traipsing down the stairs still in your silk pj set you yawned, starting to stretch out your body, dropping your phone on the breakfast bar before padding through the living room to open the blinds. The sun slowly rising through the sky and you deemed it warm enough to crack one of the windows, letting yourself actually get some fresh air on a work day. Wandering back to the kitchen you pulled down a coffee mug, adding a bit of creamer from the fridge before filling it with coffee. Right as you went to take your first sip, your phone buzzed on the countertop and you let out a huff, scooping up the device to a text from Heather.

‘You can work from home, it’s a low day.’

‘Thank god. I really didn’t want to put real clothes on.’

‘Well you’ll have to at some point. You’ve got lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill at two.’

‘Who am I schmoozing for you?’

‘Emily Prentiss.’

‘The fed from yesterday? What’d’ you need with the FBI?’

‘She asked to meet with you. You’ll have to discuss it with her.’ ‘Put it on my card.’

‘Alright. Thanks.’

‘Wear that Tom Ford blouse I like so much.’

‘The blue one?’

‘It brings out your eyes.’

‘I’m beginning to think you might have ulterior motives going on here...’

‘Enjoy your lunch.’

You dropped the phone back onto the counter with a huff, knowing you weren’t getting another word out of her on the subject. It wasn’t unlike Heather to send you in to do a certain level of dirty work when it came to getting other politicians to do what she wanted. It was technically part of your job, she would simply just suggest you use your assets in a way she couldn’t to get them to lean her way, and it almost always worked. Still, you couldn’t possibly imagine what a Section Chief from the FBI would want with your skill set, surely the bureau had their own type of publicists to deal with whatever kind of a situation this was.

You glanced to the clock above the stove to find it was barely eight o’clock and nearly debated going back to bed but you knew that was a bad idea and turned to your coffee instead. You thought about what to do for breakfast while you grabbed your work phone and laptop from your bag, setting them up on the breakfast bar before opening the fridge. You settled on some easy eggs and avocado on toast and restarted the coffee machine to brew a fresh pot, turning on an instrumental playlist on your phone to get your day going and your brain running.

Finished with the food, you refilled your coffee and settled in at the counter to start sorting through emails, shooting one off to Heather with reminders of all the upcoming week’s appointments, meetings and appearances. The rest of the morning felt rather dull, the anticipation of lunch piquing your curiosity more often than not, sending you down spirals rather than focusing on your actual work. You caught yourself leafing through FBI websites and any news articles you could get your hands on, and considering the status you held, that was more than the general public.

Finally around eleven thirty your brain couldn’t get through another email and you opted to jump over to the gym for a quick workout to distract yourself for a bit. You left more than enough time to shower, making sure you were fresh and styled, selecting the blue blouse Heather had recommended before finally leaving your house.

Old Ebbitt Grill wasn’t far, it only took you ten minutes to get there, especially considering the lack of midafternoon traffic. You’d been there a few times before, a standard choice for business lunches among the elite of Washington, close enough to Capitol Hill that it was convenient but just far enough away that it was slightly more away from eavesdropping ears. You pulled up the drive in front and were offered valet service that you accepted, passing off a five for a tip before heading inside where you were greeted by a young bubbly hostess.

“Hi,” you smiled back, “reservation at two, could be under Walton, Prentiss or Dunbar. I think it’s only for two.”

Her finger began scanning through the reservation look in search of one of the names, “oh! There you are.” She beamed up at you, “Walton for two. You’re the first to arrive, would you like to wait or be seated?”

“I’ll sit.” You laughed softly, “god knows I could use a drink.”                                                    

“Of course, right this way.”

You were led past the bar area to the dining room and directed to a green velvet back booth, white table cloth adorning the table. You slid in as the hostess scooped up the extra place settings and wine glasses,

“Can I get something started for you?”

“Uh… two waters and a glass of pinot grigio would be fantastic, thanks.”

With another smile she was gone from the table and you were left to settle in, glancing at your watch you realized you were practically twenty minutes early and let out a soft sigh. Punctuality was almost too much of your strong point, but at least you were never late for things. You scanned the menu quickly, sliding it off to the side to pull out a work file that you’d been putting off looking through, thanking the server that came back with your drinks.

*

When Emily entered the restaurant she wasn’t entirely too sure what she was getting into, it almost felt weird to be doing this during the day, especially on what was technically a work day. She’d gotten an out of office lunch and work from home afternoon approved so she didn’t have to drive back, and it was Friday so she just kept telling herself it was an early weekend. The hostess picked up right away that she was meeting someone and offered up your last name to confirm before guiding her through the room.

The moment they were through the bar Emily had eyes on you, neatly tucked into a booth, a pen in your hand and a file folder in front of you that all your attention was focused on. Your hair was pulled back off your face but most of it still down and loosely styled. The make up on your face was slightly more detailed than it had been when she’d met you at the office, a little heavier around the eyes, a slightly less neutral lip. Your outfit hugged your frame, accentuating your body perfectly, blue top dipping slightly to expose a tasteful amount of cleavage, black pencil skirt leaving just enough leg out to be admired, and of course designer heels on your feet. It was all accented with a silver bracelet, necklace resting on the swell of your chest and jeweled earrings to match your shirt. You glanced up at the movement coming toward you, a smile taking over your face as you greeted her.

“Agent Prentiss,” you smiled as she slipped into the booth, “or, is that a demotion? Should it be Section Chief Prentiss?”

“That’s way too much of a mouthful.” She laughed, “just Emily’s fine.”

“Alright.” You shot her a grin, flipping the file shut and capping the pen before you slid it back into your purse, “sorry, work never ends.”

“I didn’t keep you waiting, did I?” While she was concerned she may have been late, she was happy to see that you were completely content on your own, and that you took work on the go, already another green flag in her book.

“Oh not at all, I have a habit of being insanely early wherever I go.”

There was a slight pause as the server came over to ask about drinks and Emily glanced towards you, your eyes flicked to your half empty glass and you thought about it for a second.

“You may as well bring another one.”

“Heather okay with you drinking on the clock?” Emily asked with a small grin.

“Have you met a politician who doesn’t?” You laughed, “you know… I think that’s the biggest difference between our branches of government, you’re usually armed. The only weapons we carry are our words and nefarious blackmail.”

Emily chuckled at that, watching as you took a sip, “well I took a half day.” She turned to the server, “I’ll have a sauvignon blanc please.”

A few moments later they returned with Emily’s wine and the two of you placed an order for a round of appetizers consisting of scallops, beet and burrata, calamari and the bread service. Conversation flowed easily enough, chatting here and there about the day, how the weather seemed to finally be warm enough to enjoy being outside, little tidbits about work. Emily found joy in the fact that you could keep up with her when she mentioned work, that it didn’t take an extra three tangents of explaining details for you to understand what she meant. By the time the food came out, the two of you were fully comfortable around each other and after a bite of a scallop, you decided to make the jump to attempt to get to the point.

“So, I know I’ve heard that the BAU’s in a bit of hot water right now, but I didn’t think you needed a full PR takeover. Don’t you have your own communications team for those kind of things?”

Emily stalled, quickly popping a piece of calamari into her mouth to spare her a few seconds to figure out how to start things. “Uhm….” She swallowed the food down, chuckling awkwardly, “that’s not exactly why I wanted to meet. Heather… recommended you for something else.”

“Ah…” You leant back against the booth, your elbow draping over the back of it, “I knew Heather had ulterior motives about today but I didn’t realize she was passing me off to utilize the extra skill set.” You chuckled, having now figured out exactly what Emily was alluding to, but you weren’t going to let her off that easy, you wanted to hear her say it. The corner of your lips twitched up at the way she tensed across the table from you and you went in with another tease and false lead. “You want to know what other PR teams I’m close with, whose assistants have loose lips or an axe to grind, dig up a little dirt on someone. Director Bailey? AG? Who’s the thorn in your side, hmm?”

The knot in her stomach burst at the latter part of your sentence, suddenly distracted she glanced up at you with a furrowed brow, “wait, you could really get in with the AG for me?”

“Mmhm.” You nodded over a sip of wine, “she thinks she’s a good friend, would you like me to do some nosing around?”

“No, no.” She waved you off, “that could get you in trouble.”

“Emily, believe me, with most of them all you need is a few too many glasses of wine, a little flattery, maybe a hint of an illegal substance and they’ll tell you whatever you want.”

She let out a low laugh, “I’m going to ignore that last part.” You chuckled as she picked up her wine, taking another sip while you scooped up another scallop. “You certainly have some kind of pedigree, don’t you?”

“I had a lot of ladders to climb to get where I am now, and a decent education and quick thinking always helps.”

“Was PR always the goal, or did you have your eye on Capitol Hill?” She asked and you nearly snorted.

“Where I am is where I want to be. Communications Major at UCONN, followed by a stint at Georgetown.”

“What does a ‘stint’ consist of?” She asked with a raised brow.

“Just a little law degree, never really intended to use it just wanted the knowledge.”

“Did you write the bar?”

“Mmhm.” You nodded, taking another sip of wine, “passed with flying colours. Just never really saw myself as a lawyer, fighting in courtrooms isn’t my style.”

“So why bother with the extra three years then?”

You shrugged, “Heather paid for it. Said if I was overqualified for a role I could bargain for better pay.”

“Wow…” Emily’s eyes widened, “she must really like you.”

“We’ve known each other a long time. She always knew she wanted me working for her in some capacity and she needed someone who she could trust, someone who was going to know what they were doing and was right for the field. When you work for Dunbar you have to fit the brand. Now making sure that brand is upheld is my job, she had to start with someone.”

“You enjoy working for her? She’s a good boss?”

“Are you kidding me?” You laughed, “being on her payroll is better than any other politician in the country, maybe even the world. She has a much higher level of expectations that always need to be met, she knows quality, she knows class and she demands it out of everyone. So she supplements with extras to make sure we know how appreciated we are and to keep us loyal.”

“Sounds like she knows what she’s doing.”

“She always does.” You leant forward, bracing your elbow on the table so your chin could rest in the palm of your hand, “which is why I know whatever she suggested I help you with is exactly what you need. But I’m starting to feel like I have to sign an NDA to even have this conversation.”

Emily sucked in a deep breath letting out a sigh before reaching for her wine glass, “well… I am hoping for a certain level of discretion and the previous couple of times I’ve tried this it didn’t exactly work in my favour.” She glanced back across the table to find your head still perched on your hand, eyes full of curiosity as you looked back at her and she nearly gulped.

“Do tell… what is it you want from me Agent Prentiss?” Your voice was lowered, both an attempt to get her to own up and to make sure you weren’t overheard, “I work in PR, I know how to uphold an image and believe me, I know how to keep a secret.”

She swallowed down a gulp of wine before slowly beginning to speak, “I’m… looking for someone who is willing to spend a night or two a week together, could be friendly company, could be more if you’re comfortable. And I’m willing to pay.” She winced, suddenly stopping herself, “wait, that sounded bad.”

You chuckled softly, smiling across the table at her to urge her to continue.

“Basically, I’ve got a bit of spare time and extra finances. I need someone who understands I can’t always be around, that work can and will upend plans constantly and suddenly. Someone who values privacy. I don’t have time to do the whole dating thing, the strings that come along with that.”

“Casual intimacy in exchange for fancy dinners, pricey jewels and lavish vacations?” You murmured softly, your head tilting in her direction and she nodded, “well… now we’re finally on the same page.”

“And you’re comfortable with that?”

Your eyes slowly raked over her, taking in her beauty, a small grin on your lips as you nodded, “Mmhm.”

“And the stipulations that come along with my work?”

“Not an issue. As you know, I have my own career and working for Heather can be a twenty four seven, seven days a week job and similar to yours, it includes a lot of travel. Discretion is easily attainable and I know how to uphold a certain image.”

“Good.” She let out a low huff of a laugh, “the last couple of dates I went on before this were garbage.”

“Mmm… I think you likely got caught with the ‘professional’ babies… they don’t want to work; they just want to get paid for being hot.” You rolled your eyes, “they don’t care about careers, they want to be center of attention at all times.”

“And lord knows I don’t have the time or patience for any of that.”

Before you could reply your phone began a series of buzzes on the table top, your eyes flicking to the lit screen and you sighed, “hold on, it’s Heather.” You picked up the device to swipe open the text chain, half muttering to yourself, “bitch said I could work from home today but god knows I can’t go twenty four hours without having to put out a fire.”

“Duty calls?” Emily asked with a near grin, watching as you finished your wine.

“Unfortunately.” You cast a smile in her direction, “and right as we were getting to the good part, sorry.”

“No apology necessary, go. I’ll take care of this.” She gestured to the table.

“Are you sure?”

“All things considered; I think it’s my responsibility.”

“Right.” You laughed softly, popping your phone back into your purse as you slid out of the booth, “you have my number?”

“I do.” She nodded, “I’ll make a reservation for next Friday, we can do dinner and discuss this further?”

“Of course.” You smiled at her, “I’ll see you Friday Emily.”

_______________

@mickey-gomez @momlifebehard @daddy-heather-dunbar @maybe-a-humanbean @rustyzebra @leftoverenvy @kades95 @dextur @supercriminalbean @emilyprentisssluvr @lex13cm @zizzlekwum @emobabeyy @riveramorylunar @scorpsik @onmykneesformarvel @inlovewithemilyprentiss @regalmilfs4me @ara-a-bird @five-bi-five-mind @inlovewithmiddleagewomen @hotchs-bitch @ollysmulti @kmc1989 @irishavengersassemble @hopedoesntknow @venromanova @waitaminuteashh @noahrex @imlike-so-gaydude @wittygutsy @cx-emerald-cx cx @momily @nilaues @borinxnovak @soverign @v3nusxsky @blackbird-brewster @mccdreamys-writes @l4yne @obsessedwjill @supercorpstan97 @asolitaryrose3 @honeyycatt @trauma-factory @lisqueen

[daisies-daydreams]

Office Hours - Chapter 3 (Professor!Miguel O'Hara x F!College Student!Reader)

Pairing: Professor!Miguel O’Hara x F!College Student!Reader Category: Smut (18+) with a pinch of angst Warnings: Phone/Video Sex, Dirty Talk, Mutual Masturbation, Panty Sniffing Word Count: 2.3k+

Summary: Miguel rewards you for working so hard.

A/N: Finally finished with chapter 3! Wrote this one by the seat of my pants ngl. I hope you enjoy! (Next chapter will be even spicier, hehe).

Ch. 2 <- -> Ch. 4

Your face was glowing as you walked down the hall. Halloween decorations lined the halls despite it being nearly Thanksgiving (not that you were complaining). You hummed as you slotted your key into the door before stepping inside. Your bright expression fell when you saw a familiar Brit sitting in your kitchen alongside your roommate.

“Hey,” he said with a small wave, a deck of cards in his other hand.

"Hi," you replied as you closed the door behind you. You hung your coat up before kicking your shoes off.

“How’d your meeting with O’Hara go? He was a real hardass when I saw him during his office hours,” Gwen piqued. Your entire body stiffened as your face went blank. Hobie shifted in his chair, a small smirk stretching across his face. You swallowed. 

“O-Oh, you know…that man is never pleased,” you stammered as you waved your hands. Hobie pursed his lips as Gwen sighed. 

“Sorry, sis. Just don’t take it personal-I heard he’s been like that for the past year or so,” she replied as you made your way towards the fridge. You snagged a protein shake before shutting the door with your hip. 

“Where’d you hear that?” you asked. Gwen hummed as she shifted her cards around.

“One of my friends who had him last semester had to retake the course this year,” she explained. She suddenly narrowed her eyes at Hobie. He returned her expression with raised brows. “I call bluff,” she said. His rolled his eyes.

“Damn, you’re good,” Hobie muttered as he laid his cards down with quiet defeat. You couldn’t help but grin as your roommate took a pile of chips from him.

“Anyway, she said that O’Hara actually used to be nice,” Gwen said. 

“He is!” you blurted out. Both of them stared at you as your ears burned. “I mean…I’m sure he is, sometimes,” you muttered. Hobie raised a brow while Gwen shrugged. You glanced down at your phone. “Alright. Guess I’ll go finish my homework,” you said as you walked towards your room. 

“Have fun," Gwen snorted. "Oh! Hobie and I have a gig tonight so no wild parties!” she jested. 

“Okay mom!” you teased and poked your tongue out before closing the door behind you. You smiled as soon as you saw the sweet sanctuary of your bed. You instantly collapsed on top of your cozy comforter as your bag fell next to you.

You smiled into the soft fabric before pulling your phone out. You blinked when you brushed your hand against a bright post-it note. You plucked it from your bag before your heart stopped.

A phone number with Miguel's name was hastily written on the piece of paper. You bit your lip as you peeked at your phone. You snatched it before quickly typing his number in, your heart trembling as your finger shook over the message button.

“Hey-“

No. 

“Hi-“ 

No. 

You huffed as you tried to think of the perfect thing to say. Your mind was still fuzzy from the earth-shattering orgasm he gave you, your thoughts muffled behind your glossy eyes. You sighed as you rolled over, the skirt of your dress starting to bunch up as you typed into your phone. 

“Hi. This is (Y/N) :)” you typed. You bit your lip so hard it stung as you glanced at the send button. You swallowed the heavy lump in your throat before you squeezed your eyes shut and hit it. You opened your eyes and squeaked as you chucked it away. You scooted down your bed, your heart pounding in your ears as you stared down your phone.

Nothing.

You sighed and let your head fall onto your pillow. Your eyelids felt so heavy, body still shimmering with afterglow. Maybe a small nap wouldn't hurt. After all, it's been a long day and-

DING.

You shot up as you scrambled over to your phone, hands trembling as you opened the message. 

“Good to hear from you again, conejita,” Miguel replied [bunny]. You sat on the edge of your bed as you watched three dots bounce up and down. “Finish your homework already?” he asked. Your face hardened a little as you crossed one leg over the other. 

“Not yet,” you replied with a frown. You waited a few minutes before your phone dinged again. 

“Be a good girl and finish your homework first, then you'll get your surprise,” he texted back. Your heart skipped a beat as you bit your lip. 

“Okay. I’ll try not to be too long, then ;)” you replied. You snatched your laptop from your bag before getting to work. You sat on your bed cross-legged for what felt like hours as you typed away on your computer, sipping on your protein shake every once and a while. You heard your phone ding again. 

“A little sneak peak…for motivation,” Miguel texted. Your jaw nearly dropped when you saw a picture of him raising his shirt up to reveal a pack of his chiseled abs.

You wanted so badly to rake your fingers through each divot and crevice of his muscular body. You swallowed when you saw a trimmed patch of black hair running down from his belly button to beneath his pants. You couldn’t help but notice your thong hanging from one of his pockets. 

You hummed to yourself as you considered sending him a photo in return before there was a knock at your door. You nearly dropped your phone, scrambling to hide it behind your pillow as Gwen cracked the door open.

“We’re heading out. Want anything from Monty’s?” she asked. You shook your head as you clutched your comforter. 

“I’m good,” you said, hoping she didn’t notice how your voice cracked. Gwen nodded, her short, blonde hair bobbing with her head. 

“Okay. See you later!” she said. You sighed as she started to close the door, only to nearly kick your laptop across your room when she opened it again. “Don’t study too hard! Make sure to take a break,” she winked. You nodded, your eyes widening as you felt your phone buzz again. Your roommate gave you a bright smile before she shut the door behind her. You released a long sigh as you threw your head against the wall. 

Your mind felt numb as you dug around for your phone. You bit your lip as you opened a message from him, your heart stopping when you saw the image of his tongue swiping over the crotch of your panties. 

“I can’t wait to see what the rest of you tastes like,” he wrote. Your mouth went dry as you sucked in a sharp breath. Your core felt like it was buzzing as you began to type a message before pausing. You still haven’t finished your homework.

You gripped your phone when a thought crossed your mind. You bit your lip as you spread your legs, the cool air hitting your slick pussy lips as you angled your phone. Your heart nearly leapt out of your chest as you quickly snapped a picture. You held your breath as you typed in a message. 

“Here’s a little sneak peak…for motivation,” you typed. You bounced your leg as you sent it, quickly hiding your face in your pillow. Silence loomed in the air before you finally sat up and sighed. You finished a few more equations before your phone buzzed again. You glanced over, your body tending as you eyed your phone. You glanced at the message: 

“Traviesa” [Naughty]

You giggled as you heard his husky voice sneer in your mind. You wiggled on your bed, a wave of lust suddenly washing over you as you imagined him pleasuring himself to your lewd image. You gently rocked your hips back and forth before stopping yourself. 

Focus. 

You shook your head as you blinked a few times, retraining your eyes to your laptop. You furiously typed on the keyboard as thoughts of Miguel bombarded your mind. Him bending you over your kitchen counter, folding you in half on your bed. It felt like hours before you finally finished. 

“Fucking finally,” you breathed as you closed your laptop. You sighed as you rubbed your eyes, your mind completely spent. You jumped when you heard your phone ding after a few minutes. 

“Did you finish your homework, cariño?” Miguel asked. Your eyes lit up as you replied. 

“Yes”. Your heart thumped as you waited, your face leaning towards the screen. You squeaked when your video chat ringtone started to play. You scrambled to grab your phone before hastily swiping it away. Your limbs turned to jelly as you saw him staring into your screen, his head propped up by his palm. His perfect, chiseled chest was on display, his muscles shifting as he slid his glasses off. 

“Hi,” he smiled with a half-lidded gaze. You flushed as you returned his grin. 

“Hi,” you said as you wiggled your shoulders a little. Your professor’s face softened as he suddenly stepped back. Your jaw nearly dropped when you saw a dark happy trail lead down to his flushed cock.

“I think you’re ready for your reward now, hermosa,” Miguel lilted [beautiful]. You nodded quickly, making him chuckle. “Ser paciente-I want you to do something for me real quick,” he added [Be patient]. You bit your lip and waited with  anticipation. Miguel leaned closer to his camera. 

“I want you to prop your phone up and spread your pretty legs for me,” he murmured. Your eyes widened as you saw his cock throbbing between his muscular legs, his flush tip oozing with precum as he squeezed his shaft.

You let out a quiet moan before crawling on your bed, grabbing a few throw pillows and placing your phone against them. Every touch against your blanket felt like fire as you hiked up your skirt, revealing your glistening pussy to him. 

“Mmm there’s my pretty girl,” he groaned as he swiped his thumb over his dripping slit. You released a shaky breath as you slowly pulled your labia apart, your fingers slathered in your slick as you gently rubbed your clit. Miguel grunted as he wrapped his fist around his thick cock. “That’s it, cariño: keep playing with that cute little pussy of yours,” he inhaled sharply. 

“Miguel,” you whined as he bucked into his palm, his heavy balls slapping against the side of his hand as he moaned. You threw your head back against the wall as you drew tight circles around your bundle of nerves, making sure he had a good angle of seeing how engorged it was. Miguel’s eyes glistened as he grunted, his jaw clenching as he watched you slide a finger up and down your drenched slit. 

“Ay, coño,” he breathed as he pumped his girthy shaft [Oh, fuck]. You whimpered as you heard the soft squelch of your pussy, your fingers sliding along your folds as you rubbed your clit a little faster. 

“Shit, daddy,” you moaned. Your jaw dropped at your own words as you gasped. 

“Daddy, hm?” Miguel clicked his tongue as gazed straight into the camera. You stammered, your cheeks filling with heat as your chest tightened. He licked his lips as he stepped closer to the camera. “I prefer Papi if that’s alright with you, princessa,” he murmured lowly [Daddy; princess]. You gulped and nodded before pinching your clit, a small whine leaving your lips. His eyes lit up with hunger.

“Why don’t you stretch yourself open with those pretty fingers of yours, hm?” he purred. You couldn’t stop the moan that tumbled past your lips as you nodded. His breathing grew heavier as you slipped the pads of your digits over your tight entrance. You stared into the camera as you parted your lips, slowly pushing two digits inside your gushing hole. 

“Fuck, look at how tight you are,” Miguel sucked in a sharp breath . You pumped your digits in and out of your walls, each stroke leaving you dizzier with each passing second as you imagined his thick fingers stuffing your warm cunt. 

“Yes, Papi!” you mewled as you curled your fingers against your g-spot. Miguel groaned as he rubbed his shaft. 

“S-Sí, muñeca. Keep making those-mierda!” the man released a guttural growl as his cock twitched [Yes doll; shit]. You gasped as you watched ropes of thick, hot cum spill from his cock and down his large hand.

Your walls suddenly clamped down on your digits as you cried out, his name falling from your lips like a mantra as you reached inside your snug pussy. Your head rolled the side as pleasure washed over your entire being, enrapturing you in a state of pure bliss. 

“Miguel, Miguel,” you chanted as you felt your muscles contract and squeeze around your slick fingers. You swallowed thickly as the last of your release faded, blinking slowly as you focused your attention back to the screen. You frowned when you saw tears streaming down Miguel’s sharp cheeks, his bottom lip sticking out a bit. 

“Miguel?” you asked as you went to reach for your phone. He flinched like a wounded animal being cornered, his pupils constricted and face tight. Miguel released a low, stuttering breath before glancing into the camera. 

“I-I’m sorry, (Y/N). I have to go,” he muttered as he looked away. Before you could reply, the call was suddenly disconnected. You sat there, the warmth of your afterglow slowly fading as you stared at your blank phone screen.

----

Thank you for reading! ❤️

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[lostdreamr-blog1]

Outrun the Future G.Cleven Ch 3

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch4 Ch 5

Ch 3

A gentle shake had Marley nearly jumping out of bed. Betty was standing over her, robe wrapped around her body, trying her hardest to wake the pilot up without waking the others. “Captain Sutton just came by and told me to get you. Looks like ya’ll are headed out this morning.”

Marley let out a deep sigh and nodded her head. “Thanks, Betty. Sorry you were woken up so early.” She didn’t have to look at the clock to know it was before sunrise. Mission days always started the same and it was clear that a change of location wasn’t going to change that.

“It’s no problem.” She paused for a few seconds, trying to figure out the best way to say goodbye without actually saying it. “I better not see you in medical later. As much as a few of us would love to see your handsome brother around, something tells me he wouldn’t do well with you hurt.”

Marley chuckled as she got out of bed and gave her friend a hug. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

The base had a different feel to it this morning. Majority of the men and women were still asleep, not knowing the small group of fighter pilots were getting ready for a mission so soon after getting there. It made Marley feel on edge as she walked to the mess hall to try and eat whatever would stay down. Their base prior had a few different squadrons housed there, making go days loud and energetic from the moment feet hit the ground.

But with only ten of them here, the base stayed in a state of slumber while the group made peace with whatever God they prayed to.

Marley walked into the mess hall to find a handful of kitchen staff working and most of the pilots sitting at two tables next to each other while the rest stayed empty. Grabbing a plate of food, she sat next to Sparky, thanking him for the wakeup call. “Not a problem. Have any idea where we are flying today?”

She shook her head, “No idea. Can’t be too big if the 100th aren’t headed out.” While the P-51’s mainly provided air support for the bombers, they quickly realized that when the 100th wasn’t called out, the mission was typically a shorter one. Or at least they hoped.

The morning went by faster than any of them would’ve wished for and before too long, the planes were being fueled and preflight checks were under way. The sun had started peaking over the horizon, signaling the day was taking charge and soon the base would be buzzing with life.

Sparky walked up to her plane and watched as she finished her checks. “Are we just going to ignore the fact that your brother has no idea you’re flying today?”

Marley hummed in response as she ran her hand across one of the wings. “If I had told him, I would be getting a lecture right about now and another one when we get back. By not telling him, I have now reduced the amount of nagging to one sitting. Call it time management.”

Her friend shook his head but didn’t argue. He learned that when she had her mind set on something, there was nothing anyone could do to change it. “Be safe out there. I know it’s a short flight to France today, but you know things always seem to go bad on the easy ones.”

She gave him a small smile and told him to do the same. He gave her a small boost into her plane and tapped the side of it as he walked back up to his. The small group of ten was ready to take off all before anyone had left their bunks.

John Egan took pride in knowing what was going on at the base. His job title made sure of it. So, when he heard the sound of planes starting up at the ass crack of dawn, he sprinted out of bed. Standing outside in only his boxers, he watched as all ten P-51’s took off without hesitation. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be shocked, scared, or angry at the fact that his little sister just flew off on a mission without so much as batting an eye in his direction.

The door opened behind him, and Buck stepped out with at least more clothes on than his friend, extra jacket in his hands. “Might want to get dressed before the guys see you. You’ll never hear the end of it.”

Bucky took the jacket, not taking his eyes off the dots in the sky. “She didn’t tell me.” His words were quiet, but Buck heard them clearly. He had a feeling the younger Egan didn’t wake them up so they wouldn’t worry as much. But she didn’t realize how much that would piss off her brother.

He took a small step back when he saw Bucky shake his head. “If she makes it back in one piece, I’m going to make sure she’ll never fly again.”

“When. When she makes it back.” Buck tried to keep things positive, but he knew it was a lost cause in this moment. Because right now, it wasn’t Major Egan standing outside watching the planes get smaller. It was big brother Egan who didn’t get to say goodbye to his baby sister.

Bucky was on edge for the next few hours. Some of the guys tried to lighten the mood but nearly had their head chewed off by the Major. Soon, everyone but Buck had left him alone.

The two of them were sitting in the jeep, eyes in the direction the P-51’s left in. Neither of them had said a word for the past half hour, making Buck antsy. John Egan always had something to say no matter the situation. Most of the time you couldn’t get him to shut up long enough to get a word in. It was one of the reasons why the two of them worked well together. Buck was never one for the spotlight.

But with brunette silent, Buck felt like he needed to say something. “She’s going to be fine.”

Bucky shook his head, “First she didn’t tell me she followed me into this damn war and now she’s runnin’ off on missions without so much as a wave. I deserve better than that.”

He agreed with his friend, not liking the way things happened this morning. They all knew what could happen out there and robbing your family of one last goodbye is something that will haunt a man.

Conversation stopped as they both saw the first plane come into sight. Bucky got out of the jeep and counted each plane as he was able to see them, praying one of them held his sister.

His jaw clenched as he counted and counted again. “Am I blind or is that only seven planes?” Buck wished he could’ve corrected him, but he too counted three less than what should’ve been.

Each plane landed without issue and they both had to wait until the fighter pilots jumped down. The grounds crew rushed out to assess the damages, already trying to work on what needed to be fixed.

After what felt like ages, Bucky’s shoulders dropped with relief as he saw the familiar braid jump down from her plane. “Go easy on her.” Buck’s voice drew his attention.

“Like hell I am. She deserves everything I’m going to give her.” Bucky went to walk towards her when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned and saw his friend giving him a somber look. “Only seven planes came back.”

And it was like cold water had been thrown on him. Bucky was so wrapped up in his sister making it back, that he didn’t think of the pilots who didn’t. Three teammates were lost, and he didn’t know how close they might have been or if she saw it happen. While no one wanted to become a prisoner of war, it was still a chance of possibly surviving.

Now, instead of walking over there to chew her ass out, he needed to make sure his sister was okay.

As he got near her, he could see a faraway look in her eyes. It was like she was physically there, but her mind had escaped to some place dark. He took that moment to look her over, making sure there were no injuries. A quick glance at her plane showed bullet holes riddled throughout the structure.

Each piece of information he was learning had the grip on his heart tightening. Never would he have wished this life for his sister, but he knew he needed to learn to cope with it for both of their sakes.

“Come here, Mar.” His voice seemed to snap her back to reality, shocking her with how close he had gotten without her noticing.

Marley shook her head, tears already pooling in her eyes. “If I do that, I’m going to have a breakdown on this runway, and I really don’t want to ruin my mascara. I didn’t splurge and get the waterproof one.”

Bucky gave her a slight smirk, “When have you ever known me to listen?” He didn’t give her a chance to back away as he tightly embraced her.  

And there the two Egan siblings stood. One, feeling like the world was crumbling around her. And the other, holding his entire world in his arms.

[fyreflys]

I’M WRITING! I’M FINALLY WORKING ON SWAN UPON LEDA. I’M ACTUALLY MAKING SOME DECENT PROGRESS! Someone cheer. I’ve barely touched this thing since the last upload I’ve written over 2k just today alone usually when I go without touching something for this long it means the fic is deadzo. Someone tell me they’re proud. I’M DOING GREAT! (Someone please tell me I’m doing great I desperately need affirmations & attention)

And yes, as always, because I can never seem to help myself, HERE’S A (very long awaited) SNIPPET!!!

Spoilers for ch 7 - you can go find ch 6 in my pinned! <3

——————————

On a sober day, Haymitch arrives with a tiny ratty teddy bear. He pauses and fiddles with it for a moment before he says anything to her.

“This was my brother’s.” He swallows. And then he sets it on the kitchen counter next to Katniss as she tries to make a sandwich that will satisfy her raging taste buds. “I want you guys to have it.” He says softly.

She pauses, and looks at him. This isn’t the first, nor the second time, that he’s brought something of sentimental value for the baby. But the other times Katniss is pretty sure he was at least tipsy. She can tell by the clarity in his eyes that this was a completely sober decision. And it seems to have unsettled him slightly.

“Are you…sure?” She asks gently.

He swallows again, and nods. And then tries to produce a smile. “As long as that little booger doesn’t tear it up, yeah.”

Katniss returns the smile. “Thank you, Haymitch.”

He gives a curt nod, and then turns to go.

“Wait.” Katniss says.

When he turns back she feels like there’s a lump in her throat. She’s not entirely sure why she stopped him. But she realizes she wants to say it to him, that he probably needs to hear it. To know that she understands what it’s like to lose a sibling, someone close to you. Knows how hard it would be to gift their belongings to someone else. To give away what little physical evidence you still have of their existence, what still exists to show that they loved and were loved.

This time she’s the one to swallow before she speaks. “I’m…I’m proud of you, Haymitch.” She says softly.

It feels strange giving her mentor praise, especially when their usual dynamic is always teasing one another and poking at tender spots in each other's armor. Not to try and crack the other, but as a— what Katniss now realizes isn’t so healthy— way to show each other where they still need to toughen up. And as a twisted act of solidarity, that they both can acknowledge that they know the other still has wounds and hurts. It’s an understanding of sorts. An odd one, but it works for them. They’re never sincere like this. When it’s serious it’s always deadpan and to the point, more of a salt coating than a sugar one, making it sting a little more— as if they’re only playing it up— that way it’s easier to brush off and pretend it doesn’t hurt that much. It’s what they’ve always done. And Katniss feels like she might be breaking it.

She says the rest anyways.

“I- I think they would be proud of you too. I know- I know this means a lot-“

“I’m gonna stop you right there sweetheart.” He holds up a hand. “Just- that’s enough.”

It’s a quite brisk brush off, almost rude in the way he nearly snaps it. But Katniss knows the reality is that being sincere with him hurts a little too much to handle, and that’s why he reacts this way.

And then he surprises her. He decides to break their usual dance as well.

He steps forward and crushes her in a tight hug. He smells like smoke and sawdust and dirt. But it’s Haymitch. She hugs back, acutely aware that the last time they did this was over six years ago, just before the quell. She’d been the one in tears then.

“Thank you.” He says quietly into the top of her hair, voice both soft and gruff in the same breath.

When he pulls back he does his best to hide the tear, making to wipe it like his eye was itchy. She doesn’t point it out.

“Outta go finish that crib Peeta started. Make me a sandwich too, would ya? I’m starving.” He quips like their moment never happened.

She rolls her eyes.

[duhragonball]

Phantom Blood Liveblog JJBA ch.39-41

Yep! We'll never have to worry about bizarre adventures again! From now on, it's smooth sailing!

One thing I forgot about was that Tonpetti and Straitz were there during the climactic Jonathan vs. Dio battle. Why didn't they get involved? Well they were too busy fighting Dio's zombies. Here, we see four of them---Page, Jones, Plant, and Bonham, who all look like weird bug creatures. I hae no idea how Dio managed to alter their corpses to achieve this look, but they're really gross.

They try to quadruple-team Straitz with an attack that involves using their own blood vessels like tentacles, but Straitz just leaps clear and drops a chandalier on them before finishing them off with Hamon. I mostly point this scene out because this is the first time we see this blood vessel thing, and it'll come up again later.

So Jonathan's on his own, but that's no problem, because Dire's trick with that Hamon-charged rose showed him how to get past Dio's freezing power. He gets the sword he received from Bruford and plans to send Hamon through the blade. That way he can strike Dio without getting his own flesh too frozen to produce the Ripple. But he also manages to pick up a bunch of roses and throws them at Dio to distract him. This is like foreshadowing to Part 3, where Dio threw a bunch of knives at Jotaro to overwhelm him. I suppose this moment with the roses was when the tide turned against Dio, and as we'll soon see, he'll have plenty of time to think over that mistake.

Jonathan manages to cut at Dio's flank, then when Dio tries to strike back with his right hand, Jonathan chops off his entire arm! And before Dio can deal with that, Jonathan brings the sword down on Dio's head! Fuck yeah!

So Dio's defeated, right? Wrong, because even getting (nearly) chopped in half like this isn't enough to kill him. Jonathan has to deploy the Ripple, but he can't because...

... Dio managed to flash freeze the sword and Jonathan's hands. I guess this worked because so much of the sword is in Dio right now, that Jonathan's hands are too close. The whole point of the sword was to increase Jonathan's range, but he still came in close to attack. And now Dio's going to stick his fingers in Jonathan and turn him into a zombie.

What about Jonathan's legs? He can send Hamon through those too, right? Yeah, but Dio makes sure to freeze Jonathan's feet too. I'm... pretty sure you can't freeze this much stuff just by rapidly evaporating the moisture in your own body. The idea that Dio can rapidly evaporate the water in his body is kind of sketchy to begin with, but now he's just being Iceman. It would have been simpler to just say the Stone Mask gives you Iceman powers on top of the rest of it. It doesn't surprise me at all that Araki came up with Stands and never looked back. As much as I enjoy Parts 1 and 2, both stories practically cry out for a concept like Stands to neatly explain a lot of these bullshit powers the characters use.

But Jonathan has actually outsmarted Dio here. The sword was intended to give Jonathan a longer reach, but not to keep Dio at a distance. No, he wanted Dio up close, while the sword reached for one of the torches on the balcony.

Basically, Jonathan knew Dio would find some way to freeze him, so rather than looking for a way to avoid it, he looked for a way to warm himself up after it happened. If Dio had just frozen Jonathan completely, this would be over, but he left part of Jonathan unfrozen in order to take his blood. And that, plus Dio's gloating, allowed time for Jonathan's sword to heat up in the torch and thaw out Jonathan's hands. And that...

... doesn't accomplish much, actually. Jonathan manages to free himself and land a blow, but Dio manages to freeze Jonathan's hand again just from the brief contact of the punch.

This gives time for Dio to put himself back together, and we see that blood vessel thing again, as he fetches his severed arm. So Jonathan's back to square one. All he's accomplished so far is to earn Dio's respect.

But no, Jonthan doesn't see it like that at all. Dio goes on about how humans are too limited to overcome the kind of powers he has, but Jonathan argues that humans can evolve to overcome problems. Having experienced Dio's freezing technique and survived, Jonathan can come up with a counter for it. And that counter is lighting his own hand on fire. I'd call this an example of Part One-y mayhem, but Part 6 topped this when Jolyne lit her own everything on fire. It runs in the family.

And it works. Jonathan goes for a double punch, and the fire is too hot for Dio to freeze his hands, so when the punch connects, Dio gets a full dose of Hamon through his chest. Cool!

The best he can muster is to shoot a high-pressure burst of fluid from his eyeballs, which is so powerful that it rips through Jonathan's hand and forearm. "Joke's on you, stupid," Jonathan says, "I already set my hands on fire, so they hurt too much for me to notice!"

This power is probably the most potent weapon Dio had at the time, so it's kind of odd that he waited so long to use it. I mean, it continued on past Jonathan, through at least two zombies, and through a stone column. Joseph Joestar came up with a way to block it, but that won't happen for another fifty years. I'm pretty sure Dio could have sniped Jonathan's entire group before they ever got into this building.

But that's not Dio's style. I'd even suggest that Dio might not have even come up with this eyebeam thing until that very moment, when he wanted to hurt Jonathan but couldn't do anything else with his body. Up to that point, he was content to watch his enemies struggle against the zombies, or to freeze them.

And that kind of sums up the way Dio fights. He's not interested in going on the offensive. He'd rather send a bunch of henchmen to fight in his place, and if anyone manages to confront him directly, he'll let them make a move just to demonstrate how utterly useless it is. The freezing power is perfect for him, because it only works if you touch him, and you can't really fight him without touching him. The World's power is baiscally the natural extension of that idea, where you're supposed to figure out that Dio's power is unstoppable, and despair at the thought of getting close enough to him to experience it.

Dio wants to be this absolute force in the world, an obstacle no human can possibly overcome. As a human, he tried to achieve this by accumulating money and using poison to snuff out his victims. As a vampire, he surrounds himself with lackeys and protects himself with a seemingly unassailable power. But he just assumes that if that works once, it will work every time. He doesn't reckon with the human ability to adapt and overcome. Why would he? Dio never adapted or overcame anything. He just took shortcuts, like using the Stone Mask. To him, the idea that an enemy might get better at fighting him while they fight is inconceivable.

Dio falls over the balcony, and everyone is pretty much satisfied that he's done for. Jonathan collapases with exhaustion, and Speedwagon explains to Poco that Jonathan feels somewhat sad about killing Dio, since they grew up together. "But I didn't grow up with that motherfucker," Speedwagon adds, "so I couldn't be happier! Rest in piss, Dio!"

Of course, there's still all of Dio's zombies to deal with, but Tonpetti and Straitz take care of them. Except for that one zombie that kills George Joestar in 1920. Annnnnd...

... Dio himself, who manages to cut off his own head before the Hamon attack can destroy it. This way his body is consumed by the ripple, while his head can survive. But big deal. His head can't do much on its own, and the sun will be up in a few hours. Except for...

Wang Chung, who just happened to be lurking around at the base of the cliff. He recovers Dios head and runs off with it. So, yeah, Tonpetti and Straitz really left a lot of loose ends on this night. To be fair, Straitz would make even worse mistakes later on...

But for now at least, the crisis is over and the Stone Mask is found and destroyed, and Dio is defeated. Or is he?

No. No he is not. Look, Wang Chung's running off with his severed head. This is very bad.

[one-way-dream]

The King's Shadow - Ch. 2

Rating: General

Words: 3000+ (4600+ Total)

Media: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic and the Black Knight

Pairing: Sonic/Lancelot (Sonic/Shadow)

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Developing Feelings, Pining, Alternate Universe - Medieval (Check AO3 for any tag changes!)

Warnings: Canon-typical violence

Chapter: 2/3

Link to the original work

AO3 Summary/Excerpt:

The other’s embarrassment slowly melted away into a resigned sigh, before turning into a smile; mischievous in appearance, but nothing short of putting the sun’s radiance to shame. And then Lancelot truly felt the carefree and trusting weight, the sheer warmth of the newly crowned king’s hand in his own.

And he knew more than ever that his life now belonged to him.

Author's Notes: WOW sorry this took so long! nearly two years..... truth be told it's just been sorta sitting there but i finished up the chapter tonight (ya boy got medicated finally) and i hope to get the next one eventually too! hoping to get it out within the next 5 years /j

thanks for reading and for all the support!! ❤❤❤

Previous/Next

Lancelot came to learn that King Sonic was not fond of excessive armour.

Surely, it was made clear enough by the fact that he only sported a gauntlet most of the time during his time as a self-proclaimed knight. Though despite being crowned as king, he still insisted on minimalism.

“It’s just a little too much, y’know?” Lancelot barely picked up on words that still sounded slurred to his untrained ears, “It’s easier to run with less of that metal stuff on me.”

Said “metal stuff” lay in a carefully discarded heap in the grass by the entrance to the moat, which would undoubtedly be picked up by one of the castle’s workers after the king would accidentally forget about it. Despite being polished daily and in pristine condition, there wasn’t a soul alive in the kingdom to actually wear that armour for more than two hours a day.

“Alright, patrol time is finally over! Ready to move out, pal?” Sonic glanced back at the knight keeping a respectful distance between them, who gave a silent nod in agreement. Lancelot’s visor generally hid his face during daytime patrols – the sunlight had been stronger and brighter than usual, bouncing off dirt paths and stone walls all the same. It was a bit too harsh for the knight, who preferred the cool whispers of the evening air dancing through his black and red quills. It was quiet. It was safe.

The king technically wasn’t obligated to wear armour if he didn’t please, but Lancelot noticed that Sonic at least attempted to wear it once a week, even if it was just for show until they were out of sight from the prying eyes of townspeople. The knight assumed it was a way of balancing his lifestyle of freedom with the customs that a life as king expected from him. In a sense, Lancelot found it to be rather noble.

He could only imagine the turmoil he faced leaving his people – it became clearer each day that there was a major cost, a sacrifice, to staying in a different world as their king.

As they made their way into the open meadows, Lancelot watched the other hedgehog stretch to the best of his ability, locked hands reaching above his head suddenly swooping down to the flower-adorned grassy field under them, fingertips grazing the white straps of his well-loved ruby sneakers. 

“Y’know,” He starts, posture reverting back to a casual stance as he turns towards Lancelot, “I didn’t really expect to have to wear all this bulk.”

The knight felt his frown deepen without him meaning to.

“That ‘bulk’ is a royal heirloom, passed down from monarch to monarch, your majesty.” But as soon as he processed the sound of his own voice, Lancelot regretted his tone. “…I— I beg you to forgive me for my insolence, sire.”

Sonic could only shrug, as if Lancelot hadn’t just spoken abrasively to him like he was some low-ranking squire. As if their relationship weren’t that of a legendary king and one of his many knights. As if their relationship didn’t have complexities woven into it through the gaps between each fibrous cross of thread. Impenetrable, so to speak, – not only to outsiders, but also to them.

“I mean, you’re not the same as him, but I’ve definitely heard far worse.” He smiled back at Lancelot even brighter somehow, like he didn’t have a care in the world, “Don’t sweat it, Lance.”

The knight’s expression grew even more perplexed.

“What?” Sonic stopped, expression mirroring Lancelot’s own, or at least whatever he could make out through his visor, “Surely that painfully abrasive tone meant that you’re a little more comfortable around me right?” He said with a sarcastic grin, motioning with a nod of his head for them to keep moving and conversing.

“That’s a good thing then! You can let your quills down and be as casual as you want, and in return I can give you a nickname. That sound like a fair trade?” Sonic laughed breezily, grazing the back of his hand against Lancelot’s arm in a half-hearted but friendly nudge.

Warmth stirred in Lancelot’s chest at his words, at his touch; like a sweet nectar that trickled down his parched throat and made him feel alive.

“You know, back home I have a friend who goes by a nickname. He’s like a brother to me, so nicknames came pretty naturally after I met him.” He spoke fondly, not catching the way he had Lancelot’s attention rapt thoroughly and genuinely, “His full name is Miles Prower, but we all call him Tails. Actually, he looks a heck of a lot like the blacksmith we have back in town! A kind and brilliant kid… just like him.”

Lancelot tried to crumple the odd feeling he got at the mention of “brother”. The conversation had more or less settled into its usual back and forth of the day as they continued strolling through the field of sweet violets; admittedly, one of Lancelot’s favourite parts of each day.

Usually these hours were somewhat one-sided conversations, but only in the sense that the king loved to talk, and Lancelot was more than content to listen and affirm. Though, he kept silent mostly out of respect and necessity – he had a responsibility to focus and protect the king, after all.

But today, when the winds are quiet and gentle and the skies bloom with iridescent clouds above them, somehow everything shifted on its axis again; for once, Lancelot was willing to finally hold up his end of the conversation. His heart throbbed loudly in his throat, in his ears, as he took a few short breaths and practiced his next few words in his head.

“I… have a sister.”

There. He said it.

He breathed her back into existence, and never again could she be kept buried deep inside of his soul.

The king slowed his pace, glancing to the side at Lancelot who still kept his eyes hidden under a visor. “Yeah? That’s really nice to hear!” Sonic immediately perks up, livelier than ever at the fact that his favourite knight companion was finally, finally opening up to him, “What’s she like? How old is she?”

Lancelot’s hand slowly reached up to his visor, hovering by the edge as he contemplated, before lowering his arm again and letting it settle by his side, not catching the way the king’s ears drooped slightly at his actions. He let a smile play on his lips instead, reminiscing about sky blue and moonlit gold.

“She’s… a good person, and she’s a little older than me. Full of love; always eager to share it with those around her, even if that means giving up parts of herself.” Lancelot spoke wistfully, affectionately, and in the back of his mind he realized that this was the most he’d ever divulged to anyone about her, “Whenever she’d scold me, there was never any harshness to it – even that was always out of love. She wasn’t perfect of course, but to me she was the closest anyone could ever be. More than anything, I… I think I miss her stories and her mischief the most.”

“Oh… what happened to h—” Sonic’s eyes widened in realization as bit his own tongue into silence, shaking his head and hastily covering up his tracks, “I’m so sorry— please disregard that, you really don’t have to answer anything you’re not—”

“…It was illness, your grace.” He solemnly answered.

“And it’s alright, please do not apologize. We live in difficult times, after all.” He gave the king a small smile, though he didn’t doubt that he could see right through his mournful expression, “I do miss her dearly, but… now that I have shared a piece of her – proof of her existence and a piece of my soul with someone like you, I do not think she will be forgotten so easily.”

The king comes to a standstill and turns to face the other, and it’s only then that Lancelot’s mind catches up with the gravity of what exactly he’s said. He hadn’t said enough to betray how he truly feels, surely, but he can’t help but feel his joints lock up anyway. The first emotion that rushes to him is dread, but then he remembers who Sonic is in the first place, takes in his charming smile in a single brave glance, and relief cleanses every bit of dread out of his system.

“Still…” The king steps closer, reaching out and letting his hand gently hold onto the other’s arm. It takes every bit of self-control Lancelot had been taught in training to not have a visceral reaction at the contact, “I really am sorry for your loss.”

But Lancelot had not been prepared for the faraway look in Sonic’s eyes as soon as he chanced a glimpse at his face. There was something… unreadable. Almost sorrowful in its nature; although something told him that King Sonic wasn’t just mourning the loss of his sister.

For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to listen to his gut feeling.

As quickly as his expression had come, it was gone like the wind, replaced with another casual smile. A rare glimpse of his walls unguarded. Lancelot thinks carefully – but even if Sonic was going to pretend that nothing happened, he couldn’t let it go so easily. The knight wills his heart to settle before taking the dive.

“Do you miss it?” He finally says it, quiet enough that the other could disregard him if he so pleased. “Do you miss your home world, sire?”

“I…” Sonic opens his mouth, then shuts it with a shake of his head, as if to shake an unwanted thought out of his mind, “Nah, I’ll go anywhere an adventure takes me.”

But somewhere in his heart, Lancelot felt that he wouldn’t.

He would tire of this adventure.

He would tire of his duties.

He would tire of this world.

Would a free soul like King Sonic be able to bear the crushing weight of a kingdom in pain? His kindness had seemingly no end in sight, but for how long until he runs on empty? How long until he may have to realize that there were more mouths to feed than plates to give? Or worse: more sick people than there were beds in monasteries? Would Sonic give out pieces of himself at that point, or would he have the courage and humility to step down?

Rather, would Lancelot be able to bear the sight of seeing the king’s spirit broken until it was a mere ghost of what it used to be?

“You’re thinking way too hard about this,” Sonic spoke somberly, as if reading the other’s mind. “I’ve got no plans to leave just yet.” Lancelot felt his heart leap out of his chest from being caught off guard. “Did… you hear what I just said?” he paused, “Sire, did you perhaps use witchcraft to listen in?”

Sonic stopped in his tracks, turning on his heel with an incredulous look on his face only to find that Lancelot was completely genuine. He laughed, bright and lively.

“No, of course not. I just have decent intuition… erm, sometimes.”

They continued in silence for some time, taking in the scenery around them and Sonic carefully stepping around the flowers the best he could. Things continued as normal, walking side by side for once instead of Lancelot acting as King Sonic’s tail. They watched the sun slowly dip closer to the horizon – but there were still many hours left of the day, and many more hours to spend with each other. The thought alone made his heart squeeze for a moment, and he selfishly let his mind wander with thoughts about the other world, wondering if he could ever be a part of it, even if only in his dreams.

And then, against all odds, Lancelot made a request for the first time.

“Your majesty, if you don’t mind… could you tell me more about your world?”

-x-

Another month had passed peacefully.

The king and Lancelot had gone on their patrols together as usual, Lancelot never needing to prod Sonic for answers about his world, as the latter happily indulged him with hours upon hours of grand adventures and small tidbits about his dear group of friends, and occasionally, rivals. It was the one time in the day, besides the mere minutes he spends in his chambers before inevitably crashing from exhaustion, where he felt like he could truly let his guard down and be free.

Lancelot smiled to himself. Even under the rule of a king, he felt free for the first time in years.

In the present day, King Sonic had an audience with the duke of a neighboring kingdom, accompanied by Merlina. Though one of the knights generally accompanied the king, he insisted that he could manage the meeting this time, especially with Merlina’s assistance. Lancelot casually shrugged – another unique quirk that he adapted from Sonic through his behaviour and his stories alone, although he made sure to only ever do it when the two of them were alone. It makes him both nervous and happy that he’s able to learn so much from him, that he’s able to grow even closer to him as his right-hand – his most trusted knight.

Both Sir Gawain and Sir Percival had invited Lancelot to a sparring match between the three of them, as a means of refining their skill over the course of the meeting, as well as during Sir Lamorak and Sir Galahad’s absence. If he had recalled correctly, the two of them had been sent on a great expedition.

Percival and Gawain clashed viciously, sparks flying as they both met their match. Sir Percival knew all the right points to hit; she had a keen eye for weakness and vulnerability, which meant that letting one’s guard down could be fatal within seconds of realizing it. The latter had to be the most powerful of the knights – sheer, raw, energy channelled directly into Galatine as he threw himself head on towards Percival. Lancelot personally preferred a more strategic method of fighting, but even he couldn’t deny that his strength had the potential to overwhelm him.

He stares up at the overcast sky, already missing how blue it was that day he had a heart-to-heart with his king. As the other two finish their match, with Percival as the victor, his gaze eventually settles on the dirt floor before him. Now that he really thinks about it, before he met Sonic, he’d… never really noticed these things about the others.

“…Do you know if the rumors about the king are true or not, Sir Percival?” Sir Gawain was the first to speak, chest heaving from their intensive sparring match.

Lancelot’s head shot up from the ground, any fluttering thoughts screeching to a halt as he stood from his place on the bench.

“Sir Gawain, I do not wish to partake in the spread of—”

“Rumors…?” Lancelot interrupted, taking the other two knights by surprise. It was rare enough for the black hedgehog to speak, let alone intrude on a conversation. Gawain cleared his throat, looking hesitantly between Lancelot and Percival, before he continued, “Yes, I thought… you might have already known, given that you are closest to King Arth— I mean, King Sonic.”

Lancelot continued to look onto Gawain in questioning silence, his breath caught in his throat.

“King Sonic is said to depart back to his world in a week’s time.”

Everything slowed down to a crawl for Lancelot, and he couldn’t fathom why. It was a simple sentence, but one that had the power to shatter his entire world.

A week’s time? He couldn’t be serious. It just didn’t make sense to him how or why everything was happening so suddenly.

But more than anything, even if it wasn’t true, why couldn’t Lancelot simply be happy for the king returning to his beloved home? Nausea brewed inside him, twisting and thrashing around in his stomach – anger only adding acid to the mix as he stormed up to the other knights, eyes locked onto the red echidna.

“Sir Gawain.” Lancelot says coldly, looking straight at Gawain’s confused expression and feeling relief in the back of his mind that he left Arondight propped against the bench. He didn’t know what he would do if he brought it with him. What had King Sonic even done to him to make him feel this way? “If these allegations prove to be false, and lest I find that you show yourself to be the perpetrator of these lies… there will be consequences.”

“What… do you mean by ‘consequences’?” Gawain’s look of confusion sharply morphed into one of intimidation, shoulders tense and letting out a low rumbling growl under his breath as if to challenge the other knight, “Tell me, do you doubt me, as your fellow knight? Do you doubt the loyalty I have for our king?”

Something ached inside Lancelot’s very core. Whether it was burning him up inside or settling him with a pit of grief, he couldn’t begin to differ.

“That is quite enough.”

Percival speaks up next, deep and commanding – enough to make them less tense, but not enough to break their unwavering eye contact, ruby upon amethyst in a deep scowl.

“If you are not guilty of any such crimes, then you shouldn’t feel the need to bare your teeth back at me.”

But Lancelot was the first to quickly mellow, the guilt setting inside him and taking the anger’s place as he realized that he was being impossibly defensive, far enough to threaten a fellow knight. It gnaws at him, because he knows well enough that he’ll regret this action in the coming hours – especially if the king hears about it.

He steps back, giving up and tearing his gaze away from Gawain in defeat as he clenches his jaw, heartbeat in his ears loud enough to make them twitch.

“All I was… —all I am ever after, is protecting our king’s honour.” Lancelot watches Gawain lower his guard as well, rage fading from his features as he also takes a step back, seemingly willing to listen. “I will not let his image falter.”

“That is all there is to it.” He lied.

[cadybear420]

Cadybear's MC Wardrobes: Adelaide Zhou, ROD (Part 1). Featuring some edits by me!

How this series goes: With each book, for a MC I'm invested in, I'll assess each of their in-game outfits. How much do I like or dislike the outfit? Is this something that suits my MC's style, or does it make me go "My MC would NOT wear/own this"? And for the outfits that my MC would not wear or own, how would I alter or replace them? I'm not going to use screenshots from the actual game because I can't be arsed. Also I want to use the different sprite expressions to express how my MC would feel about each outfit.

I like to think this is a good opportunity to elaborate on my MCs' dress styles, and show off some edits :D

And now, presenting the first MC wardrobes post made freshly after having finished its respective book! Let's see how well the ROD closet does justice to Addi Zhou!

Directory for the other parts will be included in the reblogs after I've completed the posts for all of the book!

Ch 1: "At First Sight" Premium Party Dress/Default Starter Outfit

Yeah... hard no. The solid fabric is nice, but the skirt is just far too short for her. The sheer waist lace is extra not for her. And the necklace is just... odd. The bracelets are alright though.

Verdict: Addi would NOT own this. Replace entirely. Keep the bracelets, but ditch the rest.

Here's an outfit that would suit Addi much better.

Ch 1: Default Pajamas

Definitely her style. I like.

Verdict: Part of Addi's wardrobe. Keep it as is.

Ch 1: "Dream School" Casual Outfit

I like it. It's simple and it looks good. She'd like this style.

Verdict: Part of Addi's wardrobe. Keep it as is.

Ch 2: "Fastlane" Premium Outfit for meeting Logan

Nopitty nope nope nope. Addi does not do crop/midriff tops or short shorts. She'd love that jewelry though.

Verdict: Addi would NOT own this. Alter to make it longer. Keep the jewelry for other potential outfits, but ditch the rest.

Here's what it would look more like in Addi's style.

Plus, that edit I made of Aiden (AKA her cousin, in my headcanons) wearing the original outfit, because it looks better on him.

Ch 3: "Changing Gear" Premium Outfit for avoiding Dad's suspicion

Hell yes to the plaid shirt, bracelets, and tank top. Hell no to the short shorts and shortness of the top. Granted it's tempting for the basic style it's going for... but overall, it's not worth the diamonds.

Verdict: Only partly in Addi's wardrobe. Alter by replacing the shorts and lengthening the top.

Here's what this outfit would look like in Addi's style. I like to think this becomes her preferred casual outfit post-graduation.

Ch 5: "Picture Perfect" Premium Outfit for Senior Yearbook Photos

The cardigan is nice, the top is cute... not so much the shorts though. They make the whole look feel weirdly off.

Frankly I think she'd prefer to wear her Langston sweater for this.

Verdict: Only partly in Addi's wardrobe. Keep the sweater and the top for future potential outfits, but ditch the rest.

Ch 6: "Drive 'Em Crazy" Premium Outfit for Driving Test

Ehhhh... it doesn't violate her style nearly as egregiously as many of the other outfits do, but it's still not her style. The top, she'd maybe be okay with. But not really the skirt. I like the jewelry though.

Verdict: Only partly in Addi's wardrobe. Maybe keep the top, but ditch the skirt.

Not sure I'll make a replacement outfit. Driving tests don't really call for nice outfits unless you're Cher Horowitz IMO (speaking of, my HSS:CA MC Cher would probably like this outfit).

Ch 7: "Paint It Black" Premium Outfit for Heist

GENDERRRRRRRR

This is the only premium outfit I really really like, tbh. I want it as her casual default outfit. At least for when she's doing work with the MPC.

Verdict: Part of Addi's wardrobe, and is Addi's official casuall outfit for MPC era. Keep it as is.

Ch 8: Underwear

It's alright. She'd like it... but I think she'd prefer boxers. And a more red color.

Verdict: Only partly in Addi's wardrobe. Alter by recoloring and replacing the bottoms.

Here's how her undies would actually look. Yes I did steal the boxers from Logan. They look better on her.

Ch 9: "Work It" Premium Outfit for job

I actually quite like this outfit and think Addi would wear it too. It looks light and comfortable. I think she'd like it as a summer/beach outfit. (Also I want to play the game with at least one outfit that lets her show off her tattoo).

Verdict: Part of Addi's wardrobe. Keep it as is.

Ch 10: "Neon Rainbow" Premium Outfit for Hyrieus rave

Noooooooooopey nope nope.

Verdict: Addi would NOT wear this. Replace entirely. Keep the jewelry for other potential outfits, but ditch the rest.

Here's a neon rave outfit that Addi would prefer.

Ch 11: "Sweet Dreams" Premium Outfit to unlock sleepover scene with Riya

The pattern is cute! The style though... not so much.

Verdict: Addi would not own this. Replace entirely.

Of course, I kinda wanted that sleepover scene, so I bought the outfit. Luckily I could change the outfit in the scene. Sadly I could't change her to her regular pajamas. Instead I figured the Langston sweatshirt would do... so here's her Langston sweatshirt in pajama mode.

Ch 12: "Lady Luck" Premium Outfit for sneaking through the boutique and into the casino

I don't think Addi would want to waste time stopping and changing into a new outfit while on the run. While this dress is pretty nice, it's not quite nice enough for her to stop during an escape run.

Verdict: Addi might wear this, but it wouldn't have become part of her wardrobe. Replace.

If Addi needs an outfit to wear to a casino, she'd far prefer something like this.

Ch 14: "Pretty in Pink" Premium Prom Outfit

I'm actually kind of mixed on this. This is a really pretty dress, from the color to the floral pattern. And the floral pattern kind of goes with her tattoo as well (the color does not, sadly). The only thing Addi wouldn't like is the leg slit and the arm band, but other than that, it is something she might like.

Though I still think Addi farrrr prefers a suit for prom (and other formal events).

Verdict: Addi would not quite wear this. Alter and replace.

Here's what the outfit would look more like in Addi's preferred style. Plus a blue version, which goes with her tattoo much better in my opinion.

And of course, a suit version.

Ch 14: Free Prom Outfit

It's not exactly a prom style... but she'd probably feel more comfortable in it than in the original premium outfit. It matches Colt's suit at least.

Verdict: Part of Addi's wardrobe. Keep it as is.

Aaaaand because that's the 30 image limit, we'll return in Part 2!

[stobinesque]

WIP Weekend!

Once again tagged by @steves-strapcollection for a WIP game! (Gerry you are like half the reason phryctoria is nearly done, lol)

THE RULES

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

THE WIPS

wigwag (AKA Stobin go to Indy and Steve gets some (OMC) dick; AKA sequel to phryctoria, which is now revisions (and ch. 2 should be up tomorrow)!)

S4 Fix-it: Lucas POV

Stobin soulmate au

steddie week: day 1 [hunger] {I never finished or posted this one, but I want to start getting my Steddie week fics up on ao3!)

Not tagging anyone, but please please join in and tag me in to say I tagged you if you want to participate. (I'll also make note of it for the future!)

SNIPPET

from wigwag! alas i am not particularly close the nsfw bits yet, so it's entirely PG below the cut

"Guess what I have?" Steve asks when Robin dumps herself into his car on Friday afternoon.

"Please tell me it's something edible," she groans. "I'm starving."

"Unfortunately not, but I can make us some pasta when we get to your place."

"I would love you forever," she says with her puppy dog eyes. No wonder he'd tricked himself into thinking he had a thing for her. She's adorable.

"You already do, dingbat."

"Yeah...well..." she trails off like she's searching for an argument to that point. "That's true," she says, giving up. "So what is it then?" She asks as she buckles her seat belt.

Steve reaches into the cup holder and pulls out the plastic card there.

"Oh shit! Is that my fake?"

Steve laughs. "It is indeed. Your name is Rowan Buck and you were born on January 10th of 1965."

"Eugh. A Capricorn."

"What in the heck is a Capricorn and what is your problem with them?"

"Oh puh-lease--don't act as though a Leo such as yourself doesn't read your horoscope on the daily."

"Okay fine, I know what a Capricorn is, broadly speaking. I still have no idea why you'd have a problem with them."

Robin shrugs. "I don't, really. Just thought it would be funny to say."

"You're hilarious," Steve deadpans.

"Okay, you say that like you don't think it's true, but need I remind you of 'I've laughed more this summer than I have in a really long time'?"

"I never said that."

"You did."

"Must have been an alternate version, then."

"Yep," Robin says, popping the 'p' with a smug little smile. "Also known as 'truth serum Steve.'"

"Ugh, whatever, fine: you're hilarious," he concedes.

"Thank you." Robin holds her new ID up to the light. "You're sure this will pass inspection?"

Steve shrugs. "I got it form the same person who did mine."

"Yeah, sure, but we're dealing with small town dives down here, not big city bar tenders."

"Yeah, actually, I think the fact that we're up against everybody-knows-everybody-itis in Hawkins makes is more impressive that my fake works anywhere. Also--I don't think Indianapolis really counts as a big city."

"Touche."

"So...tomorrow? Wanna try our hand at hitting up a gay club?"

"I'd love nothing more, Stevie."

[daisies-daydreams]

Try: Chapter 2 (College!Simon Riley x F!Reader)

Pairing: College!Simon Riley x F!Reader Category: Fluff, Light Angst Warnings: Sexual References (No smut), Implications of Minor Character Death, Swearing Word Count: 2k+

Summary: Simon finally hears from you a month after the incident.

A/N: This part takes place about a month after the events of Chapter 1. I hope you enjoy!

Ch. 1 <-•-> Ch. 3

Image Source: Pexels

MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DNI

“Why don’t you just text her?” König asked while spotting Simon. The Brit puffed out a breath of hot air as he raised the barbell over his head. His bulky arms burned, sweat dripping down his temples as he raised and lowered the heavy weight. The large man standing behind him lowered his hands, helping him set it back on the rack after he finished his set.

“Because, I messaged her every day for three weeks and she still hasn't replied,” Simon panted as he sat up. He reached down and took a large swig from his water bottle.

“I'm sure she just needs some space,” König stated. Simon sighed as he closed the lid, resting it next to his feet as he pulled off the weights from the bar.

“I know, but she's just-,” Simon snapped his mouth shut. König scratched the back of his head.

“She's just what?” he asked, his head cocked to the side. Simon's nostrils flared as he heaved the weights into their correct place.

"Nothin'," Ghost huffed. König's face suddenly grew pale.

"You're not going to-Oh, mein Gott, Price would murder you," he stammered. Simon turned to him, his face relaxing a bit.

"No, I don't want to...not this time. I actually want her instead of just wanting her, you know?" he said with a slight grin. König shook his head.

"Nein," he simply replied. Simon sighed as he placed the dumbbells back in their proper place.

“Anyway, it’s getting pretty late, and I've got an assignment due at midnight,” he said. König winced.

"Why didn't you just go work on it after practice?" he asked. Simon shrugged.

"I need to get my strength conditioning in. Besides, I always manage to submit my stuff just before then," he rationalized aloud. König hummed and started walking back to the locker rooms, Simon following close behind.

"Have you told Coach about...you know?" he asked. Simon shook his head.

"No. I'm pretty sure it's obvious to everyone-what with his offer to give me a free penectomy and all," he grunted. He saw König's shoulders bounce in his peripheral vision as they strolled into the locker rooms.

"All dad's who have girls are like that," the large man stated. Simon quirked a brow.

"Yeah? How do you know?" he asked. König glanced down at him.

"Because I have four older sisters," he explained. Simon's jaw dropped. Jesus, if they were anything like König, they must be massive. König hummed to a simple tune as he opened his locker, pulling out a fresh towel.

"Do you have any siblings, Riley?" he asked. Simon's heart hardened, his veins in his temples bulging slightly. König's relaxed expression fell.

"I used to," he said in a dull, cold tone. König became silent. The two men quickly showered and changed into a fresh pair of clothes. Simon breathed in the crisp air as he walked outside. The sun was already tucked behind the horizon as they headed in opposite directions.

“See you at practice tomorrow,” König waved.

“G'night,” Simon said with a nod. A nice breeze blew across his damp skin. Sounds of cars passing by and several students walking together blended in a nice harmony. As he passed by some students having an outdoor movie night on his way back to his dorm, his mind began to wander.

What would it look like-you leaning on his side while watching a movie outdoors? What would you wear? Probably something more casual. Yeah…a pair of jeans and maybe some flannel. No, a hoodie. His hoodie. You’d refuse to return it, and if you ever happened to leave it behind after being in his dorm, he wouldn't want to even wash it.

Simon’s heart nearly burst as bright lights shone across him. The bus honked angrily as he held up his hands, quickly crossing the rest of the street. He clutched his chest as he puffed out several uneasy breaths. Simon gazed up at the window of his dorm. The lights were dim, changing colors every so often. Nothing unusual. He walked into the building, a familiar, exhausted face greeting him.

“Surprised you don’t have a bird with you this time, Simon,” the desk assistant, Bridget, quipped. Simon handed her his badge while she gnawed on her bubblegum. Her blonde ponytail swayed to the side as she tilted her head. A smirk suddenly stretched across her face.

“What?” Simon huffed.

“Nothing,” she hummed as she slid his card back. He eyed her before heading towards the elevator. Simon yawned as he stepped inside, his limbs aching and heavy from his workout. He couldn’t wait to finish his homework and collapse in bed. He strode off of the elevator, scowling when he saw a sock wrapped around the doorknob.

“Jesus Christ, Johnny,” he muttered under his breath. Simon slipped towards a bench in the hall, pulling out his phone and checking your social media.

Last Updated: 1 Month Ago

“Fuckin’ hell. Where are you, (Y/N)?” he thought aloud.

A few minutes had gone by before Johnny’s new girlfriend, Eileen, walked out of the dorm-her shirt on backwards and hair done in a messy bun. Simon and her met eyes for a split second, her cheeks turning bright red before she quickly slipped into the elevator. Simon strolled into his room, the smell of sex hanging in the air.

“Took you two long enough,” he retorted. Johnny wore a smirk as he finished changing the sheets on his bed, his boxers messily hanging from his firm hips.

“Thought you’d be out until late tonight,” he shrugged. Simon grunted as he shut the door behind him.

“So, any word from (Y/N)?” Johnny asked. Simon shook his head as he tossed his duffel bag at the foot of his bed. “Sorry, mate,” his roommate replied.

“It’s fine,” Simon said as he slid into his swivel chair. Johnny hummed as he climbed into his bed.

"How late you stayin' up?" he asked.

“Probably not long after midnight,” he explained. "Got some assignment I forgot about due to practice," he continued. Johnny stretched in his bed.

"You know what sign they put up at the last Procrastinator's Anonymous meeting?" he asked. Simon didn't even want to indulge, though he still gave a grunt in response.

"'Meeting Rescheduled'," the Scotsman snickered.

"Very subtle, Johnny," Simon replied as he rolled his eyes. Johnny sighed.

“I'll be here all night," he chuckled as he bowed slightly. Simon read over the prompt for the discussion, groaning as he tried to find decent responses to reply to.

"I'm actually scunnered. Keep the brightness down, will yah?” Johnny yawned.

“Yes, princess,” Simon teased. He felt a pillow hit the back of his skull, just barely pushing his head forward.

“Haud yer wheesht,” Johnny grunted. Simon pressed play on some music and turned it up along with the brightness of his laptop.

“Sorry, I don’t understand!” he raised his voice. Now a shirt was flung across his head.

“I know you do-you’re just bein’ a bastard!” his roommate yelled while tossing a sock on top of the shirt. Simon chuckled before turning the music and brightness down. Johnny collapsed back into his bed, the soft sound of snoring following not long after.

+++

You giggled as Simon pushed the two of you into the closet.

“Hush, lovie. Someone could hear us, you know,” he warned with a smirk. You bit your bottom lip, your hands wandering up and squeezing his wide shoulders.

“Let them hear,” you purred. He groaned as he grabbed your hips, his lips ghosting over yours. His heart raced as Simon closed the gap between you two. Sparks exploded inside of him when he captured your soft, sweet lips with his. The feeling of your mouth on his own was intoxicating-wrapping him in a blanket of bliss.

One of his hands came up and cupped your cheek as he tilted his head. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen before he finally pulled back. His heart pounded against his ribs as he drank in your shadowed features. Simon's broad chest rose and fell as you leaned towards his ear.

“Simon-"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Simon gasped as he jolted awake. His alarm screamed incessantly before he slapped it. He grumbled and stretched, his body slightly aching from his previous workout. He doesn't even remember slipping into bed last night, his mind completely drained from doing homework so late.

“Have a nice dream?” Johnny hummed. Simon’s eyes widened when Johnny held his phone up to his face. He frowned when he saw a picture of him hugging his pillow and messily kissing it.

“Delete that. Now,” Simon grumbled. Johnny pulled his arm back.

“Nah-I think I’ll keep it…maybe even show the team,” Johnny grinned cheekily. Simon lunged forward and snatched the phone. “Hey!” the Scotsman protested. Simon tapped the picture and quickly deleted it. “You’re no fun,” Johnny huffed as the Brit handed his phone back to him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Simon muttered. He grabbed a ready-made protein shake from the fridge before stuffing his laptop into his backpack.

“I’m off to class,” he said.

“Make good choices!” Johnny sang in a more high-pitched voice. Simon rolled his eyes despite the smile that crept over his face.

“I’ll do my best, Mum,” he called back before shutting the door. Simon cracked open his protein shake, taking a swig as he walked to his Intro Psychology course. He was by no means a psych major-he just needed the gen Ed credits to graduate. He would probably enjoy it…if it didn’t start at seven-thirty in the morning. The classroom was almost full by the time he walked through the door.

“About time you showed up,” Kyle said as Simon lumbered over to the desk across from him.

“Class hasn’t even started yet this time,” he said as he put laptop on his desk.

“This time,” Kyle emphasized with raised brows. Simon sighed as he pulled up his notes.

“Good morning,” Professor Laswell said as she strolled into the room. A few “mornings” were thrown around the room. Simon stared off into space as the professor booted up her computer. The large screen in the front of the class blinked a few times before coming to life.

“Remember, everyone: your essays on classical and operant conditioning are due a week from now,” she reminded as she pulled up the virtual meeting for the online students. Simon groaned internally, remembering the abysmal state of his essay. It wasn't that he hated doing schoolwork-it just took too much time away from rugby. Simon's eyes lit up when he saw a name pop up on the wide screen in the front of the room.

(Y/N) Price

He glanced down at his laptop. There were plenty of students who were still joining the meeting. Surely, he wouldn’t be noticed that easily…

Simon opened his email and clicked the link to the meeting, quickly typing up his name before entering. The professor clapped her hands.

“Alright, I think everyone is here. Now, let’s recap what we discussed on Tuesday,” Professor Laswell began. Simon opened the chat box. He took a deep breath as he typed his message.

“Hey”

He bounced his leg and held his breath as he waited for your response, the lesson fading into background noise. His heart fluttered when he saw a new message.

“Hi”

A wide grin spread across Simon’s face. He adjusted himself in his seat.

“I didn’t realize you were in my psych class,” he typed. A few seconds passed.

“Maybe if you didn’t fall asleep all the time you would’ve noticed,” you replied. Simon chuckled quietly.

“Do you find positive forms of punishment amusing, Mr. Riley?” the professor lilted sarcastically. His smile fell as he looked up. All eyes were glued on him.

“No,” he said. The professor’s lips twitched slightly.

“I see. Mr. Riley, could you tell me the name of the psychologist who utilized classical conditioning by using dogs in his famous experiment?” she asked. Simon’s palms felt sweaty as he dug through his digital notes.

“Well…it’s-“

“Ivan Pavlov,” you said. Simon smiled down at his screen.

“Ivan Pavlov,” he stated. The professor raised her brows.

“I’m glad you’re finally paying attention to the lectures,” she said. A few chuckles were heard around the room. The tips of Simon's ears burned as Professor Laswell turned back to her presentation.

“Thanks,” Simon replied.

“Don’t mention it,” you typed back. He tapped on his keys for a minute and bit the inside of his cheek.

“Did you get my texts?” he asked. Simon wrote down some notes while he waited.

“Let’s just focus on the lecture,” you finally said. His shoulders sank when he read your message.

“It's been a while since we've talked. I-” Simon paused. "I want to see you again"-is what he wanted to say. He rubbed his chin and sighed. "I wanted to make sure you're okay," he finished. Several minutes passed after he sent it.

“I’m fine,” you said. Simon’s brow arched at your response. He wasn’t about to push you any further, though...you've already been through enough.

“Okay,” he replied. The professor droned on about positive and negative reinforcement. Simon scratched his chin before an idea popped into his head.

“So, I'm not very good at this psych stuff,” he typed. Silence. “I was thinking that maybe, if you're free, that you could help me out with my essay?” he asked. A longer stretch of silence followed. Simon nearly jumped out of his chair when you finally replied to him.

“I don’t really feel like going anywhere,” you said. Simon tilted his head.

“Maybe I could come over to your place?” he suggested. One would think his leg would flip over his desk with how quickly he was bouncing it.

“Are you sure? My dad's gonna be there,” you said. Simon lost some color in his face as his leg stilled.

“You live with your dad?” he typed.

“Yeah. It’s a bit of a drive, but it's way less expensive than living in a dorm,” you replied. Simon nodded as if you were right there talking to him.

“Does Sunday work for you?” Simon asked. He held his breath and leaned closer to the screen of his laptop.

“Sure. I'm free around 3,” you said. “PM, not AM,” you added. Simon’s shoulders bounced slightly as he laughed as quietly as he could.

“It’s a date, then,” he replied. His breath hitched right as he hit “send”.

“See you Sunday,” you simply replied. He stared at your message, over and over again while trying not to spring out of his seat.

“That’s all for today. Please make sure you finish module two by next Tuesday and the essay by Thursday,” the professor stated. Several students closed their laptops and started to shuffle out the door. Simon scowled when Kyle nudged him with his elbow.

“Have a good chat with your girl?” he teased with a cheeky grin.

“Yeah. Oh, and your mum says 'hello', by the way,” Simon retorted. Kyle rolled his eyes before slipping out of the room. Simon shook his head before a bright smile crossed his face.

He was finally going to see you again.

———

Thank you for reading! ❤️

@notthatfanfictionwriter @mrswhitethornbelikov

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 4/18/2023

I said I was gonna do it and I did it: I finished chapter 4, which as predicted, ended up being chapters 4 and 5. (I really don't know how I thought it could be otherwise...even after the split, Chapter 4 ended up being the longest chapter in the whole thing, nearly twice as long as most of the other ones). Yesterday, I re-read Chapters 1-6. I had to kinda steel myself, because I was honestly terrified it was going to be Terrible, but it's Not Too Bad, Actually! I sent Chapters 2 and 3 off to the beta. I want to let 4 and 5 simmer a little longer before I do a little more minor editing on them, but it shouldn't be much. I definitely thought Ch 6 was going to Tonally Off, but it's actually ok, too.

It's really hard to emphasize the mess this thing was as recently as two weeks ago. I honestly cannot believe I have pulled it into the shape that it's in. I mean, I'm not gonna claim this is my magnum opus or anything, but it's sort of a very personal accomplishment. Part of that is because it's easy to write nice romance stories where they kiss at the end, or straightforward angst, but writing a prequel about a weird time in someone's life where they go through a really uncomfortable transition is not easy and it's sort of fundamentally unsatisfying. Of course it is, because it's a building block of a relationship that's going to take another 40 years before it starts looing up again. I don't particularly know if it's something people want to read, but it's what I wanted to write and I did.

Anyway, I am feeling very high on my horse today, but I do still have one chapter left to go. It's got three scenes. I have not looked at them lately, but two of them are Mostly Okay, but need endings. The third one really was Tonally Wrong and also I pillaged it for dialogue in another scene, so that will take some work, but overall, it's a lot less than I had to do last week and feels very doable.

After that, it'll still need some minor edits and polish (plus there's always the chance my beta is going to be like Polynya, this is gibberish, not that she ever has, but it'll happen one of these days) but maybe you'll get to see it soon! Believe it!!

I have been really off my art game and it's primarily because this fanfic has been eating my brain. I might do a little sketch requests thingie? For a treat? After I'm done, obvs. I am also going to work on that smut I started weeks ago. I didn't lose interest in it or anything, I just got really wrapped up in this one.

Anyway, because I love you and you have all been very, very patient with me, you can have a lil baby excerpt this week.

from Chapter 3

Rukia isn’t sure what she expected to see when she enters the dojo, but it certainly isn’t Renji sitting on the floor, poring over a large book. “Where’s Mr. Mochida?” she asks.

“Not up yet, probably. I don’t know,” Renji says, flipping a few pages.

Rukia narrows her eyes at him. “I thought you said it was time for training.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“But Mr. Mochida is in charge of training.”

“Well, yeah, but I found this book yesterday, you see, and I really want to try some of the stuff in it.”

“So when you said ‘training’, what you meant was ‘Renji bullshit.’”

“Sure, okay, but you wouldn’t get out of bed if I told you it was Renji bullshit.”

Rukia levels a death glare at him, but it is deflected by the protective layer of Renji bullshit hovering around him. She tries a different tack. “Renji, look at my yukata. Look at it, Renji. It’s got bunnies on it. Little itty bitty bunnies.”

Renji looks up, stares at her for exactly ten seconds, and then jabs a finger at his book. “Body weight exercises, Rukia! They require no equipment, so you can do them anywhere! This book has them all broken out by which muscle groups they make stronger!”

Rukia gives up, and hunkers down beside him. “Oh! It has pictures.” “They aren’t pictures, they’re diagrams,” Renji informs her pompously. “I want to do this one. It’s called push-ups. It will make our arms really strong!”

[jmagnabo92]

It’s A Twin Thing - Ch 3

Trevor and Jeremy bond and tell embarrassing stories of each other to the women ghosts, including the Great Switch Fiasco of ‘97.

AO3

***

Of course Trevor wasn’t going to be the only embarrassed one in the living room, hence the brothers trading their most embarrassing stories and until the last one that Jeremy tells because Trevor just has to interrupt, “Wait a second, that one wasn’t me.  That happened to you!”

Jeremy smirks.  “Well, everyone thought I was you – so I think it counts.”

“It doesn’t count as an embarrassing story for me when it was actually you.”

“I think it does because you got teased about it and never corrected anyone,” Jeremy counters.

“Fair,” Trevor says, laughing.

“Exactly how many times did you two switch places?” Alberta asks.  

“Oh, based on the number of stories that Trevor has told me – all of the time.  I am still certain my theory is true,” Hetty offers, getting confused looks from Alberta and Flower.

“Theory?” Jeremy questions.

Trevor hums.  “She thinks that we switched the day I died.”

Jeremy laughs.  “So, you think he’s really Jeremy, and I’m really Trevor?”

“It is entirely plausible as none of us knew Trevor or you.”

Jeremy smiles.  “I’m impressed that you think I could pull it off for twenty-two years, since I would have the more difficult job if I were actually Trevor pretending to be Jeremy, but I can honestly tell you that we did not switch that day.”

“It’s not like we switched all of the time.”

“Exactly.  We only really switched when we wanted to have some fun – liven things up and believe me, none of those switches happened at Trevor’s office or whenever he had one of his parties with his bros after the Great Switch Fiasco of ’97.”

“That sounds juicy,” Alberta says, eagerly.  “And embarrassing.  You must tell us.”

“Oy vey, please don’t,” Trevor begs.  He did not want them finding out about Ari this way.  

Jeremy gives him a look.  “They don’t know?”

“It wasn’t really something I went around announcing – especially with … everything,” Trevor says, knowing Jeremy would know what he’s referring to.  

Before Jeremy could respond, Flower jumps in with, “Is this about you and Ari?  Because Alberta and I have known about that for years.”

“Wait – what?”

“Why are you surprised – we’ve literally talked about this?” Flower asks, confused.  “We’re best friends – we talk about everything… well, not everything…most things.”

“I’m not surprised about you – I’m surprised about Alberta.”

“Really, Trev?  As your ghosts’ roommates knew – your sexcapades were fun to watch,” Alberta states.  “And I wanted to be entertained.  Besides, I didn’t get to watch the first year because Flower kept it a secret, but after that –”

“Oh my god,” Jeremy says.  “You watched him have sex?”

“Well, yeah, it was entertaining.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense – most ghosts are clearly voyeurs.”

“You say that until you hear about what happened the night before the memorial,” Trevor says, shivering.  “Oy gevalt, now that is in my head.”

Jeremy is giving him a questioning look, when Hetty huffs.  

“I thought you let that go – we were just making sure that all of your efforts to reunite your parents were not for naught.  Particularly since your father had already made a complete dunce of himself by taking that work call and you had to sext him to get things back on track.”

Jeremy nearly chokes on his sip of water.  “Is she saying what I think she’s saying?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“You watched our parents have sex?”

“NO!  I just wanted to get them back together – I got the hell out of there as soon as it seemed possible.”

There’s a lot of overlapping conversation regarding what happened during that visit, which got more and more confusing, so Trevor eventually stopped all talk by telling the whole story of what happened during the memorial weekend, including his and Sam’s plan to get their parents back together and finishing with him realizing that it wasn’t his death that caused the divorce.

“You were always the hopeless romantic – I can’t believe you didn’t notice how awkward they were as we grew up,” Jeremy states.  “It was so obvious that I assumed that they had already gotten divorced, and dad just didn’t want to move.”

“Yeah, well – I didn’t realize it, okay?  They seemed … perfect…”

“It’s not terrible to believe the best in people, and at least it worked on one of us,” Jeremy offers.  “They just didn’t want to upset us – mainly, you, because they knew it would.”

“You weren’t upset?”

“When I first realized it – yeah, but I recovered quickly,” Jeremy offers.  “Although, do you remember the year we decided to throw them a fantastic anniversary party?”

“Yeah, when we were sixteen?  They were celebrating twenty years – that was the year that we convinced Uncle Charlie to send them to Hawaii as a treat …”  it takes a second for him to realize.  “Oy vey.”

“Yeah, that was my attempt at getting them back together – so I am not surprised that you attempted the same thing,” Jeremy states.

“That was way better than my attempt.”

“But it didn’t work.”

“Yeah, but it was still a better attempt.  They did come back a lot happier.”

“To be fair, you were at a disadvantage.  I mean, I spent months planning with you and Uncle Charlie, and you had a day where you couldn’t actually do anything since you’re a ghost and relied entirely on Sam and Jay – and hoping that mom and dad didn’t find things too awkward.”

“Plus, it worked,” Flower says.  “It just got ruined by Tara Reid.”

“Yeah, I heard about that,” Jeremy states with a grimace.  “I didn’t realize that was going to happen, but I figured if you’re here – it could be… nice.”

“It was nice – until the end,” Trevor states.  Then he leans over and whispers, “And someone tried to pretend that she didn’t remember who Tara Reid is when she walked in.”

Hetty huffs.  “I cannot remember everything.”

“Uh-huh, or you just wanted my attention because I was busy with my parents and the memorial.”

“It worked,” Hetty states, smugly.

Jeremy laughs.  “You two are adorable.  I still can’t believe you managed to find a girlfriend in the afterlife.”

As Hetty had moved behind him to sit on the arm part of the couch, she squeezes his shoulder.  “It surprised us both, too.”

“But it’s been a good thing,” Trevor says, leaning his cheek against her hand before turning to kiss it.

“It wasn’t surprising to me – I thought it was only a matter of time,” Flower states, smugly.

“Really?  You seemed pretty surprised when it came out,” Alberta asks.  “I’m still trying to figure out how I didn’t know.”

Flower laughs.  “I was surprised that I didn’t already know.  I feel like I should’ve known.”  Then she looks up at Trevor.  “We’re supposed be best friends, Trev, you’re supposed to tell me everything!”

“And I would have – but considering how everyone reacted, keeping it a secret was probably a good decision while we figured things out.”

Of course, they hadn’t exactly figured things out, but they knew that they were committed to each other, and they want to be together, confiding in each other and supporting one another.   And Trevor had only kept things a secret because he was trying to respect Hetty’s wish for secrecy.  He’d thought about admitting that their fight had been faked to Flower after that chaos but had deciding against it.

“I wouldn’t have judged you,” Flower mutters, obviously upset.

“I know, but it was just… better to figure things out in private.”

“Besides, sneaking around is hot, as Trevor would say,” Hetty offers.  

Jeremy grins.  “Well, he is an expert at it.”

“Ooooh, dish,” Alberta says, quickly.  “Does this have something to do with the Great Switch Fiasco of ’97?”

“It does, actually,” Jeremy says, cheerfully.  “And it’s funny now, but it was not funny then.”

“Please don’t tell the story,” Trevor begs.

“Do tell!” Alberta says with Flower humming in agreement.

Jeremy grins, devilishly at Trevor.  “Hetty can either tie it or break the tie.  What’s your vote, Hetty?”

Hetty looks back and forth between the pleading Trevor and the hopeful Flower and Alberta.  Knowing that Jeremy’s going to tell the story anyway, Trevor gives her a slight smile.

“Out voted again, my dear.”

Alberta and Flower cheer as Jeremy launches into the story.  

Jeremy had been visiting that weekend, and as always when he visits, Trevor tries a little too hard to get him to ‘let loose’ and as a result is always hungover Monday morning while Jeremy laughs at him.  Generally speaking, Trevor asks Jeremy to step in for him before lunch – there were always these awful and useless Monday morning meetings that he just had to be present for and that way he could get better and return to actually working after lunch.  

Usually, Trevor and Ari went out to lunch together (which ‘Jeremy’ would join them for in these switching times) and rewarded themselves for making it through those meetings afterward.  Thus, Trevor had never told Jeremy about this little fact – since he hated the thing Trevor and Ari had going on – and Trevor usually got to the office in time to enjoy the reward and lunch as they would make the switch during lunch without Ari noticing.

Unfortunately, on that particular Monday, the meetings ended early, and Ari had apparently decided the reward should be before lunch.  So, he invited ‘Trevor’ into his office once it ended and had immediately gone for it – kissing and touching Jeremy, who was so surprised that it took him a few minutes before he slid away.  Unfortunately, Ari had thought it was part of one of their games and since Jeremy didn’t know the code word, he had chased after him.  

Well, that was until Jeremy kneed Ari in the crotch and Trevor appeared in the doorway, unfortunately not alone.  Others had heard the chaos and were worried about what was going on.  It didn’t take long before everything was figured out.

All three of them had gotten into serious trouble – Ari for trying to have sex with Jeremy in his office, Jeremy for assaulting Ari (even if he was defending himself), and Trevor for having Jeremy stand-in for him since he technically broke his job contract.  Ari and Trevor had both been lucky to keep their jobs (and were banned from being alone together in the office while their thing was going on – well, at least for a while), and because Ari knew how important Jeremy was to Trevor and that he’d been wrong to chase after him (even if they played those types of games often) hadn’t gotten him into trouble.  Although Jeremy was banned from the office after that – and Trevor had to constantly answer questions that proved his identity whenever he went in for months.  

The Fiasco had taught them to be a bit more careful with switching lives.

“And so, never again – at the office.”

“To be fair, it was hot sneaking around at the office,” Trevor states.  “I just – learned that you have to be careful.”

“If you had told me that you and Ari had decided that Mondays you have sex in his office after those horribly boring meetings, I would’ve never gone in his office!”

“It had been working for years – and I – I wasn’t anticipating that happening, okay?  I was pretty sure he knew when we traded places.  I didn’t think I had to worry that he would – you know.”

“Yeah, well, he did,” Jeremy states, sourly.  “He was a terrible bed buddy, and I can’t believe he couldn’t tell the difference – besides, he should’ve known better since it wasn’t the first time.”

“Ooooh, when was the first time?” Flower asks, excitedly.

Trevor groans.  “We were in college – our first semester at Penn, and we had started fooling around, mainly when we’d been drinking, but hadn’t established anything.  Jeremy had surprised me with a visit and since the door was open to my room, he just entered like he owned the place…”

“…Ari was there, just doing his thing, but got excited to see me.  It was clear that he was already a little tipsy and he had assumed that I was Trevor because somehow, he didn’t realize we were twins.  And I went along with it – until he kissed me.”

“You shouldn’t have answered to my name!”

“We ALWAYS answer to each other’s name!  Besides, you didn’t tell me you were sleeping with your roommate!”

“That’s because we were just fooling around!”

“Yeah, well, you know – if you had told me…”

“Alright!  Alright!  Fair enough,” Trevor states.  “Besides, he certainly became more vigilant after that – man, you realize that’s twice you kneed him?”

“He’s lucky I don’t make it a third time after finding out about the lake.”

“You can’t go and knee him just because he threw my body in the lake – besides, the sort-of blackmail worked in our favor since it helped Sam and Jay keep the house and we got back at him during the watch thing.”

“You’re going to have to explain that.”

“It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got time.”

[gliyerabaa]

4, 23, 29 for the writer asks :)

hehehehehehe thank you Carson I love doing these <3

4. How many WIP's do you have right now?

Oh jeez, the actual number is not one I'm willing to count... But WIP's with the intention to finish and post... I think I'm sitting at around 4 right now?

Per Aspera ch. 24

angsty one-shot (the premise of this is actually really cool- an AU where Glinda goes with Elphaba after DG, becomes a healer on the front lines of the fight)

smutfic sequel, currently at nearly 6k words and still more to go 😔😔😔😔😔 (not actually *sad* about this necessarily, just like... all these words, going to smut...)

WIP that I may finish, it's more just a few sentences of ideas than anything, based off of this song

23. How do you choose where to end a chapter in multichapter works?

Ok so in my years writing, I've gotten a lot better at 1. writing outlines and 2. actually sticking to the outlines. Take Per Aspera for example, I have the overarching plot written down in a 13 page bare bones outline, and then I flesh each chapter out with its own outline more.

The only times I break in unplanned places is if the word count is getting to be Too Much. Chapters 13 and 14 of Per Aspera were supposed to be 1 chapter, but I decided to break it into two for readability's sake. Might wind up doing the same with the second part of the smutfic. We'll see.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic.

I've decided to share the unfinished doc that was the very root of the inspiration for Per Aspera Ad Astra. It's the beginnings of a short scene about the summer heat that I wrote in the dead of the coldest winter I've ever experienced. A lot of it is just scenario and context, but this unfinished doc is literally what started it all

It was a particularly hot summer afternoon, and Glinda was absolutely overcome with boredom.  Her parents were out of town yet again, and all her popular friends were on vacation- without her. They had all practically abandoned her the second she even mentioned the possibility that she might not be straight.  Small town life as a mostly-closeted lesbian wasn’t easy. Nearly everyone in the tiny Kansas town of Shiz had made their stance on ‘them strange city folk’ very clear.  And by ‘strange city folk’, they meant anyone who wasn’t straight, white, or Christian.  Her phone buzzed twice.  2 new messages from Elphaba Speaking of not straight, white, or Christian…. -hey.  -bored as hell, wanna hang out? Glinda sighed. Elphaba was her best friend and, to put it nicely, the town freak. She was the atheist daughter of the pastor of the only church in town, she was inexplicably green and unashamedly queer.  And Glinda was stupid enough to catch feelings for her.  She was bored out of her mind and needed something to do, but the very thought of spending time with Elphaba made her stomach flip in the best possible way.  She decided to type an ambiguous response. -idk. it’s sooo hot out and there’s nothing to do here anyway The response was almost instantaneous.  -we could drive to Wichita, do some shopping. I know how much you love shopping Wichita was almost two and a half hours away. There was no way she’d survive that long in such close quarters with the girl of her dreams. She needed an excuse. -ugh that’s so far away, besides, my parents just got me a bunch of new clothes for my birthday, I don’t really need anything -besides, you hate shopping -yes, I do. but it makes you happy and that makes me happy  Glinda blushed. Why did Elphaba have to be so infuriatingly nice? Before she could recollect her thoughts, her phone buzzed again. -we could go to Nanny’s. then figure out if we want to do anything else from there? -ooh, I’m starving. Nanny’s it is then.  -great, I’ll be right over Glinda’s heart was racing. She knew that she had no right to be crushing on her best friend this hard.  But her mind would always wander to Elphaba’s emerald green skin, her dark, captivating eyes, her gentle smile that she usually kept hidden from the rest of the world, that sweet, sweet smile that she wanted nothing more than to kiss- no, she banished the thought.  Needing to refocus her mind, Glinda rolled out of bed and decided she’d better get ready. She checked the weather on her phone: 90 degrees with 55% humidity, basically ridiculously hot.  She switched out of her t-shirt to a pink tank top and shorts. She heard Elphaba’s truck pulling into the driveway, so she kicked on her sandals, grabbed her purse, and hurried out the door.  The heat outside was oppressive. Glinda didn’t realize how much she relied on air conditioning until the few seconds she was forced to go without it. 

And that was all I had written in the doc. This is from February of 2019 so the style and characterization is a little outdated by my current standards. But, there it is. What would have happened, had this played out more:

they get lunch at Nanny's

they drive around in Elphie's truck, stop somewhere for ice cream

drive to a lake, unrestrained summer fun ensues

a first kiss in the back of her truck in the night, surrounded by fireflies

[valentinsylve]

ooh! 3, 5, 11 and 15 for the ao3 wrapped 🖤😘

Hello, gorgeous, thank you for the asks! As you know, 2022 was my first year of publishing work on ao3.

3) The work I'm most proud of from 2022... They're all so very different from each other and I love all my children equally, but the one I have put the most work into and FINISHED is the most recent. "Breeding and Button-Stitching" was nourished with my blood, and I took chances with writing I never have before, including my first explicitly pornographic, passionate sex scenes (TWO Marlana scenes!) and first fanfic OCs (remembering being 12 is painful but I think I created something beautifully conflicted and aching in those awful baby Society girls...). However, I have to express my pride in one which is still only 2/3 posted, "Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs", because my efforts to write something funny and in-character seem to have worked, and that's exciting for me!

5) One which got more feedback than expected was my debut, which is pretty much a drabble! I was so nervous hitting that "publish" button, and experiencing all the love was just... elation...

11) The one which took me longest to write was actually the Freddie/Zeller fic! It lived in my docs for months. I originally planned to write a 3-parter, extrapolating their relationship in each season, but that ended up being more than I could promise myself or anyone. That was a great learning experience for me, because I made myself buckle down and make a finished story with a beginning, middle, and end, and just get it out there. And the notes can always be used later.

15) I have 2 official WIP carryovers in my docs: Ch. 3 of "Tossed Salads" and... the big bear I challenged myself with, which I originally proposed for Hannigram Tropefest, but I had to drop out because I knew I wasn't going to get it done in time. I have nearly 13000 words, but I haven't touched it since December 1st. Stay tuned, though :D

[windowlessatmosphere]

Family Business, Ch.3

Summary: How Prapai’s family meets, and comes to adore, Sky near the beginning of their relationship.

Pawana has been waiting a long time for at least one of her children to meet someone they want to bring home. It’s never happened, but she refuses to give up hope. Now, at least, she finally has a shot at it. Her eldest, Prapai, actually has a boyfriend. At last. He’s been running around for such a long time, she’d nearly given up and focused on her two younger children. It surprises her that Pai is the one to find a relationship first, but she couldn’t be happier. Especially because Sky is handsome, kind, smart, and polite.

Of course, there is, as always, a caveat. She hasn’t actually met Sky. Everything she knows about him she’s had to shake out of Prapai, or one of his siblings. She’s brought up the idea of meeting him what feels like a hundred times at this point, and yet, nothing. It’s frustrating, to say the least. As Prapai seems to be allergic to the idea of a family dinner, she’s taken to calling Plerng and Phan, insisting that they try and arrange something. They both adore Sky, another sign that he’s a fine young man, perfect for her son. It’s really quite sweet, how all three of her children dote on him so much. Or it would be, if she could only meet him.

Good fortune comes to her after a too-long wait, in the form of a text from her son. Not Prapai, of course, that would be too much to hope for. Plerng texts her, asking if she wants to have family dinner that night at their favorite restaurant…with Sky. She texts back in the affirmative immediately, telling him to find out if Sky had any food allergies or dietary restrictions. He replies in the negative, and she calls to book a table at once. She makes the reservation for five out of habit, before remembering to bump it up to six now that Sky’s joining them. A second later, it hits her that Pakorn is out of town on business, and she adjusts it back to five. She apologizes effusively to the woman on the phone, excitement clear in her tone.

“Special occasion?”

“It certainly is,” she replies, beaming. She texts the family group chat, making it clear that all three of her children are expected to be there, and on their best behavior. She sends a separate text to Prapai, letting him know that Sky is absolutely expected as well. She can’t wait.

A few hours later, she’s done getting ready, nervously smoothing her hair into place. Generally, it’s the boyfriend who would be nervous to meet the parents, but, well…Prapai’s never brought anyone home. She arrives at the restaurant early and they seat her quickly, well aware of who their family is. There’s a fluttering in her stomach, and she takes a few deep breaths to calm herself.

Phan arrives first, and she wraps her daughter in a tight hug, demanding to know all about her day. She laughs and starts a story, only pausing when Plerng arrives, both of them hugging him in greeting. Phan finishes her story, and Pawana is torn between the urge to laugh and the urge to remind her that schoolwork should not be left until the last minute.

Finally, Prapai arrives, with Sky in tow. Even if she hadn’t been aware of who he was bringing, it would be obvious with the way her other two children jump up to greet him, hugging him and calling his name. She lets them get their energy out, standing up as Sky and Prapai approach.

“Sawasdee khrap,” Sky says, hands together in a wai.

“So polite!” she praises, smiling widely. “Call me mom,” she insists, drawing Sky into a hug. Finally.

“Yes, mom,” he smiles back nervously when she lets him go. “This is for you,” he takes a gold-wrapped package from Prapai and offers it to her, still looking shy.

“How sweet!” She’s completely endeared. “I see why my children all adore you so much,” she adds, a playful twinkle in her eye. He blushes at that, which gives her a rush of fondness.

“That’s very kind of you to say,” he answers diplomatically. So. Polite? Check. Kind? Check. Handsome? Absolutely check, she thinks, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair. Smart? She couldn’t imagine otherwise, but takes the opportunity to find out.

“My son tells me you’re in school for architecture,” she sits down as she speaks, gesturing for everyone to do the same. “Why architecture?”

“Well, I love math,” he answers seriously. “But I guess I always loved the idea of getting to create things, to help build the world.” Pawana beams at him, pleased with his answer. Her children are obviously endeared by it as well, based on the chorus of praise it elicits. Prapai puts a proprietary arm around Sky, giving his younger siblings a look as he does so.

She sighs, utterly content. Prapai has not only met someone, but that someone seems to be everything she could have asked for, and fits into the family perfectly. Yes, she thinks, she’s glad to have another son, even if the first two were…well, a handful.