#and loving it for the brief amount of time they have it

[hearts4werka]

NNN day 6 | Birthday Tears

summary: today was your birthday, the day you’ve never got to actually celebrate because of some family issues. Youve now always avoided your birthday and didn’t want to celebrate it, when you were coming home from the grocery store you were met with a sweet surprise when entering the house…

warnings: FLUFF, brief mentions of family issues but aside from that nothing else!

authors note: day 6 is now complete ! Big thanks to my honey @/strnilolover for the idea and the other ideas, luv u sm💋. And tysm for all of the support throughout this whole thing, I rlly appreciate very single one of you sm. Hope y’all enjoy this one

no nut november | masterlist | guestlist

The crisp autumn air hung in the space around me as I clutched the grocery bags and carried them home, each step filled with a heavy amount of memories I wish to forget everyday. Today was my birthday-the day I’ve avoided for many years now, it’s always been a battlefield in my family and it just serves as a reminder of fractured connections and unmet expectations. Each year I have tried to wish it away, for it to vanish and forever be forgotten by everyone on earth, pretending like the specific date held no significance to my well being.

I arrive at my shared apartment with my roommate Madi and set the bags down in the kitchen counter, the delicious scent of fresh basil and ripe tomatoes filling the air as a reminder to the pasta I was planning on making for tonight’s dinner for me and Madi if she wouldn’t be staying at her boyfriends house again. Just praying I won’t burn it, like it happened the previous times. I dismiss the slight sorrow hollowing a hole in my heart at the thought of others celebrating their birthday and looking forward to it, while I was avoiding it at every cost and turn I made.

My hands moved over to the grocery bags, taking each product outside and placing them one by one in the fridge at their designated spots. Just as I turn around, my attention was immediately brought to flickering lights coming from under the door leading to the living room. Did I forget to turn off the lamp before I left? Curiosity piqued as I took a step closer, my ears picking up the soft hum of perhaps my favorite sounds. Laughter but genuine, joyful laughter. Was the TV left turned on too alongside the lamp?

I paused for a moment, my heart slightly racing as trepidation coursed through me. Maybe it was best to retreat my steps back into the comfort of my lonely routine and worry about it later but something, perhaps a whisper of longing and something I lost a long time ago, pulled me towards the room without my consent. Cautiously I creaked open the door, expecting to see the same mess of a variety of items I was going to clean up when I got back home but instead I was met with colorful confetti scattered across the floor of the room along with a chorus of “Surprise!” Which caught me completely off guard.

The confetti danced in the air as I stood at the doorframe, completely surprised but then I scanned the living room. Alongside the festive chaos was standing my boyfriend, Christopher and surprisingly my roommate Madi without the presence of her boyfriend along with some of my other friends who managed to somehow scrunch into the small space of my modest living room. My heart swelled, shocked by their presence as it was unprepared for the flood of overwhelming emotions all coming down at once.

Chris moved to stand next to me, wrapping a loving arm around my waist and pulling me closer to his side as I admire the whole surprise still. “Happy birthday, ma” He celebrated, glancing down and chuckling at how well the surprise worked on me. The warmth of his small embrace scattered across my whole body and enveloped me in a safe space I never knew I needed to feel, urging away every of the shadows that clung to my heart on this day.

“What is all this?” I stammered, continuing to try and process the sight placed in front of me. On the small coffee table landed a homemade birthday cake topped off with several candles, decorations created from paper and a pile of gifts wrapped in pretty shiny wrapping paper. “We figured you finally needed to stop avoiding your birthday, everyone deserves to celebrate their birthday after all.” Madi beamed as she stepped closer to where me and Chris were standing while Chris adds, “We couldn’t let another year go by without making it special, y’know?”

Realization washes over me, the overwhelming kindness in their gesture felt like a balm to all of the years I’ve neglected my own birthday. I didn’t expect anyone to remember, let alone plan a whole celebration surprise party in my honor. “I- thank you guys. I honestly don’t know what to say.” I finally managed to speak, my voice faltering. I suddenly felt vulnerable, emotions catching right in my throat as the memories of family disappointment flooding back. Yet, while standing among my friends, a new warmth takes me into an embrace. This was love but uncomplicated and genuine which makes a soft tear roll down my cheek.

“Well let’s get this party started now, shall we?” Chris grinned, grabbing my hand and leading me to the couch, where they had already set up laughter-filled games and a playlist of my favorite songs. The atmosphere radiated with joy, and those initial bad memories and emotions I felt faded away, replaced with surprise and joy.

As we celebrated, each laugh, each honest word, chipped away at the walls I had put up to protect myself. The clinking of glasses, the sugary taste of cake, and the joy in my friends' eyes began to stitch together the lost fragments of my broken heart. I realized I wasn’t celebrating the absence of what had been, but rather embracing the promise of what could finally be.

When the time comes to blow out the candles, I wish for something different this year. Not for the day to disappear and be forgotten, but for the future where birthdays would mean love and connection. Laughter and joy echoes through the walls of my soul, when I open my eyes I was met with smiling faces, and I knew, despite all that had been, today had changed my perspective on birthdays.

This birthday was the beginning of a newfound respect for the day I had so long tried to erase—a day I could finally acknowledge as my own, filled with sweetness, acceptance, and the warmth of friendship. Today, I felt more than just celebrated; I felt alive.

Guestlist!

| - @sturnsxplr-25 - @strnzzvsp - @luvvs4chriss - @sturniolosweetheart33 - @pussypie456 - @choclatestarfishwithahat - @venusxsturnio - @bagsbyclair0 - @sturnstvs - @dykes4chris - @hoe4matt - @cayleeuhithinknot - @strnilolover - @marrykisskilled - @phone4pills - @emely9274 - @cupiidk1lls - @lily-strnlo - @nicksgirlfriend - |

[umbramoons]

TECH MOMENTS PT. 5

The Bad Batch S1 E1: Aftermath

This one's a doozy, my friends! Enjoy 100+ bullet points and 50+ pics of our favorite clone genius!

- Running through the droids, putting an explosive on everyone he can get his hands on. ❤

- “Hey, clanker! Catch!” (This was the moment I realized that I like him. My brain did a double take, like: "Wait he's attractive.") ❤

- Kicking a droid for no reason ❤

- Walking off the battlefield like it wasn’t even hard.

- I love the little distracted wave he gives General Billaba. Everything about him is just so endearing to me. 

- His voice is a little more deep and raspy than usual while he’s talking about the war ending. Gosh, I’m down so bad for this man.

- He’s the only one who doesn’t have a blaster drawn when they first approach Caleb.

- Tech is one of the ones sent to talk to the regs about what’s going on. Echo makes sense since he’s technically still a reg, too, but why Tech? Because he’s the least likely to cause a problem.

- He’s also the first one to run to talk to the regs. Taking initiative once again.

- Tech: “The regs have been ordered to execute the Jedi.”

Hunter: “What? Which Jedi?” 

Tech: “All of them.” The disbelief in his voice is subtle but there.

- This is a glow-up, people (a small one since he was already pretty, but still)! Tech is gorgeous, and no one can tell me otherwise. ❤

- I love his tiny smile when he finishes explaining how long they’ve been gone.

- The disappointed look on his face when Wrecker doesn’t understand his explanation of how long they’ve been away from Kamino.

- He has the smallest smile on his face when he hears that General Grevious has been defeated.

- “Just like I said.”

- He looks so done when Wrecker punches him.

- When the clones pass by with the body of a Jedi, it’s Tech Hunter shares a look with.

- “Excuse me, trooper, what division are you from?” *gets shoved aside* “Oh. Well, they seem the same to me.” ❤

- He immediately starts working on something once he gets back to their barracks.

- All the formulas and calculations on his bunk wall… a result of his sleepless nights, I’m sure.

- I love the curious look he gives Crosshair when he says they didn’t complete every objective.

- “And my exceptional mind.” I love him an unhealthy amount.

- “My guess is we are immune to the effects of the programming.” *looks at Crosshair* “Though I can’t be one hundred percent certain of it.” He looks so. Kriffing. GORGEOUS.

- “You are more machine than man. Percentage-wise, at least.” His little reassurance to Echo at the end.

- Hunter: “This is one meeting I don’t want to miss.”

Tech: “First time for everything.”

- The way he’s just looking at his datapad throughout the meeting.

- Stepping out of line to ask Hunter what’s wrong. First of all, noticing something’s up with him. And second, it takes some serious courage to break formation like that during such an important briefing while all your superiors can clearly see you.

- “Still don’t think the regs are programmed?”

- Crosshair: “Republic, Empire, what’s the difference?” 

Tech: “The systematic termination of the Jedi is a big one for me.” ❤

- “Adolescent human female. Origins... uncertain.”

- Tech’s mouth quirks up in a tiny smile when Omega says she was wondering when they’d come back. He already likes her.

- His look of surprise when he realizes Omega knows his name.

- The way he stares after Omega in wonder. ❤

- There’s this split second (right after Hunter says "everyone's talking about it) where it looks like he’s looking directly into the camera, and it’s just like, “Well hello there, sir.”

- “Hopefully not mental. Clearly, we’d never pass that.” It's okay, I'm not neurotypical either, babe.

- Leaning around Hunter to see Omega.

- “You want to sit with us? That’s never happened before.”

- He can’t stop grinning at Omega after she says she likes him and his team for not fitting in. ❤

- I love the way his expression shifts when Hunter asks where Omega’s family is. Like, "that's actually a really good point."

- The way his face instantly drops when the regs make a jab at them. At Omega. He’s used to being pushed around, but he’s not pleased to see this precious girl being mocked.

- I love the way he’s all squared up in the background of this fight.

- Calling out a warning to Echo and then running over to the clone who knocks him out. It doesn’t show it, but Tech definitely threw a punch at the guy for hurting his best friend. ❤

- “We’re more deviant than we are defective.”

- “Then we are not being reprimanded?” He’s so used to getting in trouble.

- His eye roll when Wrecker charges into battle without thinking. I thank God every day that we can always see his eyes with those goggles. ❤

- He’s not at all phased by passing through live rounds to get to Wrecker. He’d gladly walk through fire for the people he loves.

- “Wrecker, are you alright?”

- That little head shake when Hunter signals a plan to him. Like he doesn’t think it will work, but he knows they have no other option.

- Wrecker: “Aw, I hate hand signals!” 

Tech: “Perhaps if you memorized them?” 

Wrecker: “Why don’t you memorize them?” 

Tech: “I have.”

- They’re in the middle of a battle, but he’s sitting against those barriers so casually.

- The way he stops Wrecker from crushing the droid.

- Reprogramming the droid, then choosing to ride on its shoulders like a legend. (Note that it looks like he’s the only one to specifically get an impressed reaction out of Tarkin with his performance in this simulation) ❤

- Can I also just say how impressive that was? He completely reprogrammed a hostile droid to follow his commands while under heavy fire. In less than a minute. What a man, what a legend.

- “Wrecker. Look alive.” I feel like he has the capacity to lead, he just doesn’t want to.

- Reaches out to Wrecker (who calls him buddy). “I’m -” *flops down* “not going anywhere.” ❤

- I love the way he takes a deep breath and straightens his posture for a second after Echo and Wrecker help him up.

- “There’s a fundamental difference between taking fire in battle and being used as target practice.” I love how upset he is about this. Also, he’s also backing up Wrecker’s feelings with his own here.

- None of the others make eye contact with Tarkin when he’s examining them. Tech does and practically glares at him. ❤

- I love his expression shift when Tarkin says the insurgents are Separatists. I can’t place the expression, but I love it. It’s almost like “Come on, I thought the war was over. Oh well.”

- I love his little disappointed look when Echo says he can’t crack the files. And then how he immediately offers to help.

- “That’s not going near my rack. I refuse to sleep by a projectile again.” AGAIN?!

- Tech comes right behind Hunter to exit the ship (and then leads them for a significant portion of their walk). Possibly symbolizing his position within the squad.

- Echo: “What was that?”

  Tech: “You don’t want to know.” 😑

- “Easy, Wrecker. Your programming’s kicking in.” I legit laughed out loud at this when I first watched the show. ❤

- His datapad lighting up his eyes makes him look so beautiful.

- Hunter always relies on him.

- The way he instantly senses that something’s wrong when he can’t see any droids in the camp.

- “There aren’t any droids, Wrecker.” You can tell that he’s starting to get a little agitated about this situation.

- Defending both sides when others choose one.

- Tech is the first one to ease up and stand down. Almost the second he hears Hunter start talking, like he knew he was going to tell them to back off. (And his eyes look stunning in that shot when he does. They immediately soften and become non-threatening.) You can just tell how much he and Hunter respect and trust each other. ❤

- He looks so pretty in this warm light of the camp. Who am I kidding, he looks good in every lighting.

- Geeking out over Saw. (And Saw is absolutely staring him down as he does. Like, they’re having a staring contest until he’s handed a weapon to examine. I don’t like that foreshadowing.)

- I also love the look on his face when Cross says “Is that a request?” I just always love his expressions.

- The way he leans forward with the tiniest hint of concern when Saw tells them to look at the insurgents they were sent to destroy. Anyone who says Tech is emotionless hasn’t been paying attention to him at all.

- His offended look when Saw said he thought he was the smart one.

- He is absolutely GORGEOUS in that shot where Crosshair says that the war is over. He’s literally flawless, and he’s perfect.

- “At least with the Republic, we knew where we stood. Tarkin and this Empire are a whole different story.”

- He literally jerks back in surprise when Cross says that Hunter isn’t fit to lead their squad.

- The concerned and confused look on his face when Hunter brings up Omega.

- “I would not discount Omega’s insight. A state of heightened awareness is not unusual for an enhanced clone such as herself.” Standing up for Omega before he knows her that well. ❤

- “When Nala Se spoke of five clones, Tarkin assumed that meant us, but Echo’s a reg. The fifth is Omega.”

- “Well, I thought it was obvious.” Leans against the doorframe like he couldn’t care less. ❤

- That glare when Crosshair suggests leaving Omega on Kamino.

- His little breath before saying “this is unusual” just makes him feel so alive to me.

- I love how he’s constantly glancing over and making eye contact with Crosshair. These two were so close.

- HIS BLACKS. TECH IN HIS BLACKS. Hallelujah for this scene. We wouldn’t be nearly as familiar with everyone's body types without it. Gorgeous man. Everyone likes to talk about Hunter's tiny waist, but Tech's is just as snatched.

- “Well, the mission wasn’t a total failure.” Of course he’s the first one to notice Omega. ❤

- His face is so warm and happy when he sees Omega. And then he immediately shifts to unamused at Crosshair’s complaint. ❤

- He shoots another tiny smile Omega’s way when Hunter says they were looking for her.

- “I never thought you disobeying orders was a problem.” Facts, love.

- Crosshair never directs his anger at Tech. It’s always at the others. Even if Tech does say something he doesn’t like, he doesn’t get mad until someone else expounds upon it, and then he snaps at them. Cross clearly has a favorite here.

- Cross starts shaking his head with clear distress and frustration when Wrecker says that they disobey orders all the time, and you can see that Tech notices it. He tilts his head and frowns a little bit. ❤

- The concerned look he and Echo exchange when Crosshair starts to confront Hunter again.

- He looks freaked out when the guards hit Hunter. 

- Reaching out for Crosshair when they take him away. That broke my heart when I first noticed it. ❤

- The way he bounces his leg when he’s thinking hard. ❤

- “I’ve got it! Why didn’t I think of it before?”

- He talks with his hands. ❤

- Covering his mouth when Wrecker talks too loud.

- Running his fingers over the wall to see where the weak point is. ❤

- The confusion and worry on his face when Wrecker says it still didn’t work. Gorgeous, gorgeous.

- The way he glances over at Hunter (or probably the guards) before going over to help Wrecker. Ugh, he’s literally perfect.

- “Oh, yes it did.” ❤

- Bending a metal panel with his bare hands like it’s nothing. My man is strong! I love how he doesn’t follow the trope of the nerdy character being weak.

- Wrecker: “I’ll never fit through that!” 

Tech shakes his head. “Astute as always, Wrecker.”

- I love the way he rolls his eyes and facepalms when Wrecker blows their cover.

- Grabbing a blaster and stunning the last conscious guard. He shoots twice, just to be sure, and carries the blaster. He’s such a boss.

- Turning to confirm the guards aren’t dead (or going to follow them) before leaving the brig.

- Tech looks so cute when he tells Wrecker to hold still.

- I love how Tech serves as the unofficial medic (with Echo’s help, of course).

- Omega: “I guess I got lucky.”

Tech: “She's not the only one.” *gestures to Wrecker without looking up* ❤

- "What's the plan, Hunter?"

- Omega: “What about your friends? Could any of them help us?” 

Tech: “That would be a short list.” 

- The way he leans in and smiles so brightly when Omega asks that question.

- His smile when Hunter tells him to plot a course for J-19. ❤

- I love the way he shakes his head with clear affection when Wrecker cheers this time.

[mifustudy]

Lisa Miller vs. The Screen

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a six-volume graphic novel series that was published in 2004 by Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley. Through the growing fan base surrounding the novels, its story was adapted into four types of media, the most notable being the movie. The franchise boomed in popularity since its 2010 motion-picture adaptation, proving that as the years go by, most of the series' fans come from the hour-and-fifty-two-minute-long self-described epic. Gradually becoming a staple in pop culture, it was difficult to miss in online spaces, but one component of the story slipped through the cracks: a character named Lisa Miller. Completely scrapped from the movie script, fans of the Scott Pilgrim universe who are unfamiliar with the original graphic novel series will be pleasantly surprised if they look back on the source material; Lisa is a far richer character than the other adaptations fail to depict. She is more than a mislabeled "manic pixie dream girl" and contributes to the plot's progression in a major way. 

Zeroing in on the well-known film adaptation, entire storylines were scrapped from the script, one of which follows Lisa closely. Introduced in Volume 2 and then properly utilized in Volume 4, she is established as an old friend of our protagonist, Scott Pilgrim. Meeting in high school, Lisa and Scott became fast friends then created a band together with drummer Kim Pine called “Sonic & Knuckles.” This flashback that lasts about 34 pages gives the audience a peek into how these characters came to know each other while Volume 4 builds on Lisa’s motives and feelings towards Scott.  

Lisa, abruptly entering Scott’s life after around a decade, strains his relationship with his current girlfriend, Ramona Flowers, leading her to believe he is cheating. The couple quarrels on and off throughout the book as Lisa looms on the sidelines. The two have a big fight, leading to Scott getting kicked out of the apartment for the night. Stuck with nowhere else to turn, he calls Lisa, and she lets him crash at her place. There seems like she has an ulterior motive; she dressed suggestively, subtly moving closer to our unassuming protagonist within each panel, causing an alarming amount of tension. Scott comes to his senses and proclaims his love for Ramona to Lisa, rejecting any and all advances and closing the door on her one-sided infatuation. The three of them move on from this, Scott and Ramona remaining a couple and Lisa leaving for California to pursue an acting career.  

This (very) brief summary of her arc fails to capture the depth of Lisa’s character. Discussing her Volume 4 actions further shows that this character propels our two protagonists, Scott and Ramona, through their own respective character arcs. Giving our main characters more than their regular relationship—as regular as “defeating seven evil exes” can be—creates a refreshing plotline within an episodic graphic novel series while simultaneously developing the audience’s understanding of the two. Illustrating a clearer image of Scott and Ramona’s relationship beyond the rose-colored glasses applied to the audience in the first couple of volumes is beneficial for the development needed to maintain undivided attention throughout the story. 

Let’s discuss how Lisa's presence affects Scott Pilgrim’s character arc. Her short-lived appearance in Volume 2 set the stage for Volume 4, with most of the reason Scott decides to reconnect coming from nostalgia. Bringing Lisa around the group shortly after their reunion, this nostalgia-driven get-together expanded their individual connection, branching out into her connecting with everyone else; the only person Scott worries about is Ramona, his girlfriend. The undeniable discomfort present on his face as the two women interact feels uncalled for—considering Scott has not done anything inherently wrong—as he remains on edge the entire time they interact.

The coup de grâce of it all is when Scott stays at Lisa’s place the night after his big fight with Ramona. She finally comes clean about how she has been acting since they have reconnected; her dressing “all tarted up” specifically for Scott because he “couldn’t take [his] eyes off [her].” She felt awful about her actions, but she kept going anyway. When Scott tells her why he is there, he is greeted with a romantic advance. The panels fade to black and open back up to the next morning. Lisa filled Scott in on what happened: he chose Ramona over her—the panel explains it far better than I could summarize. Lisa plays a significant role in Scott's character arc, demonstrating how much he has matured and improved his relationship skills, realizing he feels genuine love for Ramona and should confess through Lisa’s actions.

Ramona’s growth is not as extreme as Scott’s but still offers further characterization absent in the film adaptation. Like Lisa, the two women have little to no character development; Ramona at least stars in the movie while Lisa lands a namedrop. The blonde’s introduction back into Scott’s life damages Ramona’s trust in their relationship, partly due to the fact she had not once heard of her before this, that the two have been spending an awful lot of time together, and that he is too dense to realize the subtle advances Lisa had been making the entire time. Creating friction and hostility between the couple generates a peek into Ramona’s mind, an infrequent occurrence throughout the six volumes. The two women share multiple “manic pixie dream girl” attributes—this is a complicated movie trope to dissect here, but a simplified definition can suffice. The MPDG is a female character portrayed as eccentric and desirable used only to push the plot in a film forward. They have no other character traits besides that, they are sort of like props. Lisa falls into this category and Ramona falls here only in the context of the film; Lisa’s existence prevents Ramona’s mischaracterization in the movie from happening within the books, acting as a character foil or “Evil Ex” for her in a way. 

Winding down from intense character descriptions, Lisa Miller plays a pivotal role in the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World adaptations. While she may not be involved in the most popular portions of the franchise, she still holds up as an important part of the original story. With occasional references here and there, Lisa remains a piece of the oversized puzzle of Scott Pilgrim. Fans of the film unfamiliar with the graphic novel series’ story are highly encouraged to read back on what they are missing: the character of Lisa Miller is far more nuanced than she is usually portrayed as online. She serves as more than just a “manic pixie dream girl” and has an enormous impact on the plot's progression.  

[quixotical-lymbo]

You saw my post, you saw how I’m obsessed with Bee there’s literally no way of hiding it

Headcanons with bee with a gn or fem reader (whichever you want) who’s sick? Idk if transformers can get sick or not but uuuuuhhh let’s just pretend!

If this isn’t getting your creative juices flowing up there then no worries! Don’t feel pressured to write it!

Pairing: B-127/Bee x gn!sick!Reader Rating: SFW Summary: Getting sick isn't a breeze, but with your honeybee beside you it's easy.  A/N: More Bee content because a certain someone is a simp/j Warnings/Tags: Cybertronian reader, sick!reader, brief mentions of vomiting and general stuff involving sickness, happens after the movie, fluff.  Word Count: 850+ words

Feeling iffy 

🐝 For some reason, you've been feeling off ever since you got a cog

🐝 You worked in lower levels with your conjunx and eating enough energon to be half full was a rarity.  

🐝 Now with Iacon entering a new era, having a cog and having a conjunx 'working for the government' as he put it, you had all the energon you could ever want.

🐝 Of course, you weren't scarfing down on it, but it was definitely an improvement than before you left the mines.

🐝 Your symptoms ranged from overheating, sneezing, to even feeling nauseous to the point you couldn't walk straight. You couldn't even keep down the energon you'd consume in normal amounts. 

🐝 One thing was for sure, something was wrong.

Finding out 

🐝 You figured trying to deal with the issue by yourself before Bee found out would work.

🐝It didn't. 

🐝 Bee could tell something was wrong with you after a few cycles of your symptoms persisting. 

🐝 He cornered you in your shared home and that's when he found out you were sick.

🐝 Of course he was upset that you didn't tell him, but more so upset at the fact you were still trying to do daily tasks (whether that was doing your job or helping Elita-1 and Optimus along with him) despite being sick. 

Taking care of you 

🐝 He had to physically drag you to a med-bay to get checked out

🐝 Turns out your condition wasn't too serious, but you needed to get some rest so your body could get used to the fast transitions of having a cog + surplus of energon. 

🐝 Bee heard 'rest' and ran with it.

🐝 He plucked you up from where you sat and carried you out in his arms while yelling about getting you to bed quick. To say you were as blue as, well, energon was an understatement. 

🐝 Now in your shared berth, Bee has taken over the role of being your nurse. 

🐝 He servo feeds you, refuses to let you lift a single digit, and even began reading berthtime stories or what he and Optimus done for the day to get you to fall asleep faster (we all know how much he loves to talk). 

🐝 He could drone on for a longggg time and when you'd eventually drift off into recharge, he'll kiss your helm before he'd leave to give you the time to rest. Sometimes you held on too tight to his servo and he couldn't leave, comm'ing Optimus that his conjunx refused to let him go was a...interesting conversation.

🐝 As much as you appreciated his efforts, you had to remind him you could still function by yourself. 

🐝 He looked confused.

🐝 You offered to get out of the berth and moved to get up, but Bee coaxed you to lay back. 

🐝 You gave him a look. 

🐝 He returned it with his own smirk and a "...don't you dare." 

🐝 You jumped off of the berth and ran off laughing with Bee yelling behind you who gave chase. 

What he does to comfort you

🐝 When Bee is away and not there to 'tend' to you, it gives you a breather to do what you want, but still the symptoms make it harder to find enjoyment in anything

🐝 You could be enjoying a nice energon cube, hurling it back up again until you're pissed and exhausted. 

🐝 When Bee comes back to seeing you in this state, he'll help you back to the berth and cuddle you for the rest of the time he's free.

🐝 Expect to be sung to and him using cheesy nicknames (my sweetest of sparks, energon of my optic, the light of my spark, andddd you get the picture). 

 

🐝🐝🐝Drabble🐝🐝🐝

Your optics fluttered open and the first thing you noticed was a pede in your face. You blinked back the drowsiness and reeled your helm back. Lifting your gaze you noticed the haphazard position your conjunx was in, sleeping next to  you while the upper half of his frame hung off of the edge of the berth. 

You held back a giggle and used one digit to push the bottom of his pede away. Bee's snoring paused as he abruptly woke up and screamed as he fell off of the berth. 

"Huh?! Wha-?" Bee looked up to see your laughing face peeking from the berth. "Ha ha, you think you're very funny, huh?" 

"Oh, I know I am," You coyly retorted as you watched him rise to stand on his knees. He leaned close and stared into your optics, you raised an optic ridge wondering what he was going to do until he lowered his gaze to your dermas. 

"Ah, ah," You moved your helm to the side as he attempted to swoop in. "Not until I'm better." 

 "I know," Bee pouted as he reached over to cup the side of your face. "Can't blame a mech for trying." 

 

"You're adorable and stupid at the same time." 

"Hey!" 

"You're my adorable and stupid mech." 

"Now that's more like it….wait." 

😼 - I do not give permission for anyone to translate, copy, republish, or plagiarize any of my written works. I provide no permission for any of my literary works to be used in artificial intelligence. like my writing? consider buying me a kofi :)

honeycomb banner(s) by @thecutestgrotto!!

[nethhiri]

Frankenheat's Monster

Warnings: sex (including threesome MFF and brief MM mention), somnophilia, reanimation?, classic old-timey mob violence

Setting: Frankenstein era-ish?

Finally finished my Halloween fic! Sorry it took so long! I hope you all enjoy it. It's a bit sillier than my typical writing.

"It lives! It lives!" You laughed excited. "Look at him, Freja." Your lovely assistant was just as excited as you were.

You grabbed each other's arms and spun in a circle celebrating. The creature on the table began to stir. His chest rose and fell, his eyes blinked, and he groaned. The man you had painstakingly assembled had finally been brought to life by a stroke of lightning. No one would understand the amount of work that had gone into him, the hours digging up fresh bodies looking for parts, thousand of needle pokes between the two of you sewing him together, and of course peeping through every window in the village on the hunt for biggest cock available.

What mattered the most was that your creation was beautiful and your crimes went unnoticed. He was tall. He was sculpted. He had the biggest, brownest sad eyes. And he was the proud new owner of the best cock in town, certified pre-owned.

You and your assistant took the leather restraints off of him. He struggled for a moment to gain control of his muscles before sitting up in a jerking fashion. He looked between you and Freja, cocking his head to the side. A few groans left him, like he was trying to say something.

"Take your time." You patted him. "It'll be a minute before you can function like a human." Your hand lingered on his thigh, appreciating the warmth it had now. You put your hand on your chest. "My name is Victoria Frankenheat."

"And I'm Freja," your assistant added. She picked up his hand and modeled shaking it. "Nice to meet you."

He groaned again. "FFfffnnnheeet." He clenched his fists, concentrating. "Hhhhheeeeee." Mimicking what you had done, he put his hand on his chest. "Heeeaat. Heat."

"Is that you? You can pick any name you want."

"Heat." He patted his chest.

"He's learning so fast!" You clapped your hands together, excitedly looking at Freja.

The two of you helped him stand, keeping him steady on his wobbly, baby giraffe legs. The two of you guided him to the room you had set up. It was simple. He had a twin bed, a dresser, and a mirror. The best part about creating a man from scratch was that you didn't have to reteach it everything. Some of the residual memories from the previous owner remained, which allowed him to speak and recognize objects. Freja went to the dresser and pulled out some clothes for him, helping to put them on. The pants were first. They may have been too small for him. It was a slight struggle to lace them up over his package. And even laced all the way, a tuft of blue-gray hair, matching the long locks on his head, poked from the waistband and trickled toward his belly button. It was an odd color but it matched his slightly gray skin tone. It, the skin, was barely noticeable, you hoped. The shirt fit much better. It wasn't much, just a thin linen shirt. You weren't sure if this would work or what size the creation would end up being, so you didn't have many clothes for him. You would have to go to town to get more.

Over the next several days, you played house. You and Freja cooked for him and taught him about various things he would need to function on his own. The two of you helped him bathe and showed him how to take care of himself. You even showed him how to tighten your corsets and lace up your boots so that he could help you both get ready to go to town.

_______________________________________________

Perhaps his appearance was more noticeable than you thought. As the three of you walked arm in arm, with Heat in the middle, the townsfolk gave him strange looks. Freja was just as surprised as you. Maybe the two of you had been over eager to take your creation on a walk. Every time you tried to walk into a storefront, they would hastily lock the doors and pretend to be closed.

"They're afraid of me."

"What? No! It's not you, hon." You squeezed his arm. "Freja just stinks horribly."

"Hey!" Freja protested but leaned into Heat. "Who cares if they're scared? We're not scared of you. We know you're a gentle giant."

Heat remained dubious.

The three of you walked on, to a part of town that would pay less attention to odd things. There was someone you wanted Heat to meet. You arrived at a battered bar. It hardly looked open but you were familiar with the owner. You went inside, helping Heat duck to fit through the doorway. A short, feisty woman smoking a pipe addressed you and slapped a shotgun down on the bar top.

"Well if it isn't the good doctor and her lovely assistant," Nan said sarcastically, blowing a puff of smoke toward them. Her eyes moved to the large gentlemen between the two of you. "So this is what you've been up to, huh?"

She held her hand out to the man. "I'm Nan."

Heat was pleasantly surprised to be directly addressed, and by someone who didn't appear to be afraid of him. He shook her hand. "Heat."

Nan observed the skin of his hand. "I recognize this one."

"Your... other business came in handy, literally." You smirked.

"Too bad this one worked. I could use some extra coin." Nan sighed, dismayed.

Nan moonlit as a grave robber. She was able to procure some of the parts that Freja and yourself were unable to find. She rummaged behind the bar and turned around with two drinks.

She nodded to Heat. "Can he drink?"

You and Freja shared a look and shrugged. You picked up one of the glasses and offered it to him. Heat sniffed it experimentally and threw it back in one gulp, wrinkling his nose and coughing immediately afterward.

"Whoa! Not so fast, big guy!" Freja patted his back.

Heat put a hand over his stomach and appeared distressed. A moment passed and Heat burped so intensely, a small flame burst from his mouth.

"Is that normal?" Nan asked skeptically.

You and Freja glanced at each other and shrugged again. Nan shook her head with a dubious look in her eye and poured another drink for yourself and Heat.

The three of you sat in a dark corner of the bar while Nan fixed drinks for others. There weren't many there, but they kept to themselves for the most part. They still shot wary glances towards Heat though. The three of you sipped your drinks and discussed getting Heat some better fitting clothes.

Freja took the empty glasses back to the bar when you had all finished your drinks. On the way back to the table, one of the more rowdy customers pulled her into their lap. She elbowed him in the chest and he released her, only to grab her wrist before she could walk away.

"Keep your hands to yourself," Freja spat, trying to break free from his grasp.

Before you could interject, Heat calmly walked to their table. You hadn't realized how much he towered over the average man until he was right next to them. They were practically white with fear when the intimidating construct reached them.

"That isn't nice." Heat grabbed the man's wrist until he released Freja, then let him go.

"Is that so? What do you know about "nice", you abomination?"

"I am not an abomination. My name is Heat."

The man stood up, sadly only coming up to Heat's chest in height, and stood toe to toe with him.

"I don't care what your name is. Something about you isn't right."

"Leave him alone," Freja shouted at the man.

Nan was unbothered by the scene, suggesting some regularity of occurrence.

"Heat," you reminded him, "it's okay to defend a lady... and yourself."

Heat turned back to the man, appraising him, before swiftly knocking him out and sending him flying into the bar. He looked back at you for confirmation that he did well.

You nodded once. "We should go."

Freja took Heat by one elbow and you laced your arm through his other one.

"Sorry, Nan." You called over your shoulder as you left.

"I always hated that guy anyway," she replied.

The three of you left before his friends could get upset, not that they would dare do anything now that they've seen how strong Heat was. Before you headed home, you ran into a store on your own and managed to get clothes that would fit him better. Heat had a somber air about him and was deep in thought on the trip back. For the next few days, he was like that. You and Freja reassured him that he wasn't "an abomination" and that people were uneasy because he was different. Both of you gave him extra affection and attention in an attempt to make him forget about it, but ever since that day, there was sadness in his eyes.

_______________________________________________

Several months had passed and Heat refused to go to town again. Occasionally you would have to chase off kids, and adults for that matter, who "wanted to see the monster". Heat enjoyed reading books from your collection, so if either you or Freja went to town, you would try to bring him a new one. It helped him with his vocabulary and learning to be human. He actually turned out to be much brighter than you had originally thought. He was also very perceptive and capable of critical thinking.

"May I ask something?" Heat looked up from the book he currently had.

"Of course," you answered.

"When you kiss Freja, it's on the mouth. When you kiss me, it's on the cheek. Why is that? Is it different?"

The question took you off-guard. "Well, yes." You cleared your throat. "Freja and I love each other and we're in a relationship with each other." You quickly added, "And we love you, too. It's just in a different way."

"Why?"

"Um, well, we love each other romantically, and we love you platonically, as a friend."

"But why can't it be the same way?"

You thought for a moment, trying to find words to explain. Of course, initially, he was created to be a companion for the two of you, however, since he turned out quite intelligent with a will of his own, it felt wrong to make those decisions for him. He was more of a good friend, an excellent friend really.

"I suppose it could be. It takes time for that to happen."

"How will I know?" He was asking all the difficult questions.

"You'll know. There's a warm feeling whenever you're with them. Your heart skips a beat whenever you look at them. You don't want to let them go once you have them in your arms. And so on."

"I see." Heat continued. "And do you think it's possible? For someone like me?"

There was a tinge of sadness in his voice. It was only fair that he thought like that, seeing as everyone he's encountered has been afraid of him, and that he was essentially a constant third wheel. He probably felt isolated.

"Of course it is." You stopped what you were doing and went to him. Gently, you removed the book from is hands, setting it aside. You wrapped your arms around him and squeezed. "You're perfect in every way. I know because that's how we made you."

He returned the hug, albeit a bit stiffly, softening his embrace at the end.

_______________________________________________

On an intensely stormy night, not unlike the one he was created on, Heat was awoken by the claps of thunder and bright flashes of lightning. This was the first storm he had experienced and he decided he was not very fond of them. The thunder shook the walls and he was scared it would bring the entire house down. Before he knew what he was doing, he found himself outside the door to your room. He thought maybe he should be there in case the house did crumble to the thunder. It was also a habit at this point to go to yourself or Freja when he needed comforting.

He pushed the door open slowly as the lightning illuminated your sleeping forms. Heat knelt on the foot of the mattress, trying the figure out how to squeeze himself into the bed too. He felt like he could go back to sleep if he was nestled between the people he cared about most. Gingerly, he pulled the sheet back. Both of you were wearing nightgowns, but they were pushed up by the tossing and turning in your sleep. Heat couldn't help but put a hand on the exposed skin of your leg. It was so soft, without any scars or marks. It was so different than his own. Freja's was the same.

The storm was all but forgotten as Heat became enchanted by the differences between himself and you. He ran his hand up the smooth, perfect skin of your leg, amazed by how soft you were. He had pushed up the rest of your nightie and was shocked to find that there was no dangling things like he had. The medical texts that you used weren't in your library, they were in the lab, so Heat was unfamiliar with the details of anatomy. Heat did the same to Freja for comparison. Equally as soft, equally as un-membered.

His hand traveled up the gown, under the fabric, and there were more soft things. Where his chest was firm, yours was malleable and squishy. Freja's was the same. Heat pondered these discoveries. As he did so, he became aware of his sleep pants becoming tight. He looked down and was taken aback by his dangling thing, which was less dangling and more poking now. He let it free from its confines, curious as to what it was doing. He gave it an experimental touch. It felt good, really good.

Freja stirred in her sleep, moving her leg and allowing Heat a better view of what biological females looked like. Heat still didn't see any dangling, or poking out, things. Though it looked like there could be something within the crevice. Heat didn't know that what he was doing was considered wrong. He thought he was doing some scientific type of investigation, like what you did in your lab. He, with great care, separated the two folds, expecting a secret dangling thing, but he only saw an opening. Heat thought for a moment. It looked about big enough for a finger. Maybe the dangling bit was inside and it came out to pee. He slipped his finger into the opening. There was nothing in there, but it was warm, and squishy, and wet. For some reason, thinking about it made his own dangling-now-poking thing jump and twitch, spilling some fluid from the tip.

Heat moved his finger around, making sure he didn't miss something. Freja made a noise in her sleep. He couldn't tell what sort of noise it was. It had't occurred to him that he might be hurting her, so he quickly retracted his finger just in case. He observed the fluid clinging to it, clear and just a little bit sticky. It had a sort of sweet musk. He gave it a tentative lick. It didn't taste bad. Then he tasted the fluid that leaked from the tip of his own thing. It was definitely different.

"Heat?" A sleepy voice came from Freja. "What's wrong?" Freja blinked sleep from her eyes, not startled by Heat, but noticing he had a... growing problem. They knew one day they would most likely have to help teach him about these things. "Oh, my sweet, do you need help?"

"It just happened." Heat seemed bashful. "I couldn't sleep because of the storm and I came in here. Then I was feeling how soft your skin was and trying to find your dangling thing and it just happened."

Freja noticed how both of your nighties were pushed up. She knew that he wasn't purposefully doing anything nefarious, just exploring. She nodded understanding.

"Let me help you with that and we can go back to sleep, yeah?"

Heat nodded.

Freja touched him experimentally. They did very well on him, she had to say. It took both hands to fully sheath him. She spit onto his shaft and jerked him off, showing him how to do it with his own hand.

"You can do this if it happens again. That feel good?"

"Mhm."

"There are other ways, but this is for when you're by yourself."

"What about the other ways?"

Freja laughed. "You want me to show you?"

Heat nodded.

Freja moved his hand away and took him in her mouth. She hummed an amused response when he let out a squeak of surprise. He wasn't expecting that the mouth was one of the ways. Freja covered him with saliva and used it as lube, putting her hand at the base of his erection and jerking off the portion she couldn't reach with her mouth. Again, she hummed her satisfaction with the member they procured for him. Freja bobbed her head up and down in time with her fist, reducing Heat to a confused bundle of sighs and moans.

"S-something's happening." Heat pushed Freja off his cock, worried about his body doing something strange. He didn't want to hurt her.

She attempted to slap his hand away, knowing full well what the "something" was, however he was very strong. As soon as her lips left him, he came, spurting white, viscous cum onto her nightie. Her hand was still around him and she worked him through his orgasm unit his dick stopped twitching.

Seeing the look of confusion on his face, Freja reassured him, "That's normal."

"That felt really... good."

Freja yanked off the dirty nightgown and tossed it to the floor.

"Is there... Is there a way I can do that for you?" He was momentarily captivated by her naked form revealed.

Freja quirked a brow. "There is."

"Can you... show me? I want to return the favor."

Freja thought for a moment. "I think it might be easier for me to demonstrate than for me to teach you on myself."

Freja wasn't going back to sleep now. She was plenty awake. She may as well make you just as awake as she was. It's only fair that way. She moved to your feet, carefully parting them to make room for herself between them.

"Watch what I do." Freja added, "Also, you should never do any of this to people while they're sleeping, unless you've agreed upon it beforehand. And we have."

Freja laid on her stomach and curled her arms underneath your thighs. She adjusted herself until she was comfortable, then she licked a fat stripe up the center of your pussy. Freja buried her face between your legs, slipping her tongue between your folds and swirling it over your clit. She made sure to point out to Heat where it was and explained that it was the most important part to pay attention to.

Heat watched her intently, fascinated by the way she made you twitch and moan while you slept. There were some noises that sounded a bit like you were in pain, but Freja reassured him that they were positive sounds. Heat was particularly interested when Freja added her fingers. It didn't hurt after all. In fact, it seemed the opposite was true. Her fingers pulled the moans from you more readily, until it seemed like you were shaking. Then, with one last cry of pleasure, your eyelids fluttered open and your back arched into the mattress.

When your orgasm subsided and you shook the sleep from your body, you finally noticed Heat in the bed with you. You were expecting it eventually, even looking forward to it.

"I was showing Heat how to give pleasure to a woman," Freja explained. She also recapped the prior events.

"Hm. I see."

"Can I try it?" Heat asked.

You and Freja exchanged a glance.

"Let's show Freja some love, hm? It's her turn."

Heat mimicked everything that Freja had done on you, very pleased with himself when Freja started to give him some feedback via moaning. You removed your own nightie and joined in, playing with her breasts. You took one of Heat's hands and placed it onto a breast, guiding him to squeeze and massage it, and give attention to the nipples. You coached him through it, telling him all the ways to make Freja unravel. He caught on quickly. Soon he didn't need any help and you could sit back, watch, and play with yourself. You didn't miss the way Heat's eyes flicked between what he was doing and what you were doing. And you definitely didn't miss the way his marvelous cock was getting hard again.

As Freja came, Heat lapped up everything she gave him. It was instinct you supposed. He wiped his face off on his shoulder, then became acutely aware of his own erection.

"Why did it happen again?"

"Did you like what you were doing? What you saw?" You asked.

Heat nodded.

"That's why."

Heat looked at Freja with pleading eyes, like he wanted her to "help" him again.

Freja smirked. "Let's do something else this time."

Freja and yourself had Heat on his back and stripped of his pants. You positioned yourself on top of him and stroked him, appreciating his size. You grinned. Freja and yourself did pretty well putting him together. You were proud of your work.

"What are you doing?" Heat appeared confused.

"I'm going to ride you, which is when I put your penis in my vagina and I sit on top," you pointed to the appropriate parts as they were mentioned. It was less than sexy to put it that way, but this was educational, not recreational.

"That's... not going to fit."

You laughed. "It will."

"Will it hurt?"

"No. But if you ever want to stop just say so."

Heat nodded.

Briefly, you took him into your mouth, lubricating him with saliva. Then you positioned yourself over him, guiding his cock into you slowly. Heat reflexively grabbed your hips when his cock pushed into your cunt, sharply inhaling and grunting. It was a tight fit, but his length disappeared completely after some work at it.

You moved your hips, slowly gyrating them at first so he could get used to the feeling. Then you transitioned to working him up and down. He used his grip on your hips to help you. You also let him set the pace. This wasn't so much about you getting off as it was Heat learning, so you wanted him to get the pleasure he desired from it. You bent down to kiss his chest, moving up his neck, and then to his lips.

"I thought you said kisses on the mouth were for romance," Heat questioned.

"They're not exclusive to it." You explained. "And many people reserve sex for romance as well, but you don't have to love someone romantically, or even at all, to have sex with them."

"But-"

You put a finger over his lips. "Ask me later, big guy. Let us help you feel good."

"C-can you do it again? The... kiss?"

You grinned, planting another kiss on his lips. You continued to ride him, waiting for him to moan so you could slip your tongue into his mouth. He made a surprised squeak but tried to mirror what you were doing. When you came up for air, Freja didn't let him rest, moving in to have a taste of his lips for herself. One of his hands left your hips to tangle into her hair and pull her in. You bounced on him faster, grinding your hips down onto him periodically. The string of whines that Freja devoured from his mouth was a reassurance that he was enjoying himself.

"It's- that thing- is happening again," Heat whined.

"That's okay. Let it happen." Freja cooed.

Heat panted heavily, letting out a long groan, eyes clenched shut. "It's- It's-"

"Good boy. Let it out."

Heat's expression changed into one of pleasure. He threw his head back and gave in, letting the feeling permeate his body. The hand that remained on your hip had you in a bruising grip as his dick twitched inside you, releasing ropes of cum. His whines and grunts subsided and he was left panting.

You pulled yourself from him and lay beside him on the opposite side as Freja. Both of you peppered him with tender kisses, relaxing into his side. He appeared dazed, maybe lost in thought.

"Was that okay?" You wanted to know what he was thinking.

Heat nodded. "When can we do that again?"

Freja answered, "Whenever you want, big guy."

That day was spent teaching Heat about different positions and techniques. You and Freja took turns, tagging out when each of you was tired. Heat, on the other hand, seemed to have boundless energy, and cum. He wasn't even particularly horny. It seemed like he was just trying to learn. It was the same reason he liked books so much. He wanted to learn everything there was to being human. The next few days, he insisted on practicing, not giving up until he could make each of you cum. The next few weeks, well, that wasn't simply learning or practicing. They had created a monster... figuratively. Of course they didn't think of him as such in a literal sense. In fact, he rarely slept in his own bed anymore, preferring to be with the two of you, even if sex wasn't involved. He craved touch and affection. It made him feel like less of a monster.

_______________________________________________

In the next few weeks, there was an increasing number of people trespassing on your property, sometimes with torches or pitchforks, raving about the "creature" and his crimes. Heat hadn't left the vicinity since that one and only trip to town, so neither you nor Freja had any idea what they were referring to. Freja had planned on going to town soon anyway for a few items, so she would investigate.

While she was away, you had Heat up on a table in your lab. It been some time since you created him, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. It was diligent, however, to make sure. You didn't want him to suddenly fall apart or anything. Carefully you inspected all his sutures. Nothing was amiss.

"Looks like everything is fine. Does anything hurt or bother you?"

"No," Heat replied.

"Do you feel okay in general?"

"Yes..." Heat hesitated.

"What is it?"

"Do you remember when you were explaining the differences in love?"

"I do."

"I think I understand now." Heat sat up and shifted his gaze to you. "Whenever I'm with you a-and Freja, I feel normal, human. My heart beats faster when I think about you. When Freja left, it made me sad to watch her leave, even though I know she'll come back. It feels right when I have you both in my arms."

You smiled warmly at him. "I agree. I think you understand now."

Even sitting on the exam table he was taller than you. Heat put his hand on your cheek and bent down, hesitating only to make sure you didn't pull away before gingerly placing his lips against your own. You returned the kiss, deepening it, letting him slide his tongue in to tangle with yours. It was fair to say that you and Freja both felt the same way for him. It was hard not to when that's what he was created for. It wasn't just that though. He was smart and kind and thoughtful. Whenever he went for walks, he would bring back a little wildflower for both of you. He learned how each of you liked your coffee or tea so he could bring it to you in bed. He even took care of you and Freja after long romps in the sheets, without either of you teaching him to. He was perfect.

Heat switched places with you, lifting you to sit on the exam table. His hands slid under your skirts and found your bloomers, which he promptly took off. He kissed your neck.

"You're so soft," he mumbled. "Not like me."

You traced the scars on Heat's face. "I don't want you to be like me. I want you to be you: perfect." You kissed every scar you could reach from your position. "Do you hear me? You're perfect."

"I am glad you think so."

"It's true."

Your lips met again and Heat's hand traveled to your hip, where he kneaded the plush flesh there. His other hand was at the back of your neck, pulling you into him, like he couldn't get enough of your taste. Heat pulled your hips to the edge of the table and pushed your skirts up to expose you. Your legs trapped his waist and pulled him into you, while your hands blindly searched for the ties to his pants, unwillingly to break the kiss to figure it out with your vision. You could feel the swelling within their confines, which soon sprung free into your hand. Heat's hand moved to cup your sex before slipping two fingers into you. He made a few experimental pumps, testing your wetness. Satisfied, he spread your slick down his shaft and positioned the head at your entrance. You signaled your urgent need to have him by tightening your legs around him, forcing him forward. Heat needed no other encouragement, sheathing himself inside you in one motion.

"Ngh, oh, fuck," you moaned.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"No, on the contrary, it feels good. Very good."

"I never want to hurt you," he breathed, leaning in.

"You won't."

You closed the distance and covered his mouth with your own again. Your lips and his couldn't be apart for long. They always came back together, sharing the same breaths. Grabbing hands wandered, tugging, pulling, and gripping, desperate to force your bodies as close together as possible. Eager hips rutted together as if they were trying to meld into one body. You needed him to feel how much you cared for him. It was like you wanted to pour your love on thick, a shield that would protect him from the unwarranted hatred he felt from the village.

"I love you, Heat." You buried your face into his neck.

He waited for you to look at him before he replied. "I love you, too." He wanted to look into your eyes.

Heat lowered you down until your back was to the table and he was bent over you. His fingers intertwined with your own as he held your hands against the cold steel. Your moans echoed from the walls to the tall ceiling. This feeling was intoxicating. You wanted to be enveloped in this moment forever. Your kisses became sloppier and your moans more frequent as you began to unravel. Your back arched off the table. Heat's thrusts became more fervent, trying to push you over the edge without pushing himself first.

The wave of pleasure washed over you not long after. You cried out and your thighs nearly crushed the air from Heat's lungs with how hard they squeezed around him. Heat pressed his face into your shoulder and groaned as his own release followed yours, unable to resist your wet, gummy walls fluttering around him. You were both still, swimming in your shared orgasm, as you recovered.

"Well. It looks like I'll be disinfecting this room," Freja sighed from the doorway.

You jumped, only because you hadn't heard her come in, not because Heat was draped over you, still balls deep and you were ashamed about it or anything.

"Oh, you're back! That was fast," you remarked.

"I've been gone for hours."

"Really?" You looked at Heat bashfully, as if asking confirmation.

"It's been quite a while, my flower." He kissed you tenderly on the forehead before straightening himself up.

You sat up and pushed your dress back down. "How long have you been watching for?"

"Too long." Freja rolled her eyes. "But... I love you both, too."

After cleaning up, you and Heat joined Freja in one of the common rooms. Freja handed Heat a small parcel containing another book from town, something she picked up while investigating what was going on in town. He flipped through the pages while you two talked, eyes flicking up to listen every so often. Freja had gotten some information from Nan and had found out that livestock had started disappearing weeks ago. More recently, people had mysteriously stopped coming home after venturing into the outskirts of town, but only at night. Even more disturbing was that they had recovered one of these missing folks, and they looked as if they had been dehydrated, not simply a lack of water, but nearly reduced to dust. The skin of the deceased crumbled when they tried to bring the corpse back to the village. People were afraid to leave their homes after dark.

Naturally, the village turned on Heat, the "monster", the first scapegoat they could come up with. For a while, they had forgotten about the strange construct that lived in the strange laboratory on the edge of town. Unfortunately, they remembered him very quickly once this mystery materialized.

As Freja was talking, Heat became more and more fidgety. He felt guilty that the two of you were worrying about him when he was the cause of your problems. It was only a matter of time before the villagers did something drastic. They were already emboldened enough to come to your front door with violent intent. While you and Freja discussed how they were going to handle the inevitable influx of angry villagers, Heat was already drafting a goodbye letter in his head.

For the first time in a long time, Heat didn't spend the night crammed between the two of you, and in the morning it became clear why. A very neatly written letter was left where you were sure to find it. In it, Heat apologized for being a burden, and he apologized for leaving like this, but he wanted to protect the two of you from the anger of the village. There was no doubt that both of you were devastated. If you could only have made him feel more secure, then maybe he would have stayed. Even the constant reassurance that has was loved and wanted wasn't enough.

For weeks, Freja and yourself had searched the surrounding areas for signs he had been there. It was harder to search near the village. The people were aware of your connection to Heat. The last thing you wanted to do was accidentally lead them to him before you could find him and bring him to safety. Every day that passed was tougher for the two of you. There was less hope that you would find him. He may have gone on to the next town, or even the one after that by this point.

This night, you and Freja ventured further out than you had before, not noticing the fast fading light. The lantern's low golden light was enough to see the path home, but not much else. Every so often, a branch would snap and startle you both. The forest was eerily devoid of noise. Even the crickets were silent. Without admitting fear, you both walked faster. An inky black shape moved into the path in front of you, stopping you in your tracks. It was taller than any man, even Heat, that you had seen.

"Beg pardon, sir. We are retiring to our home this evening and would like to get by."

The figure stepped closer to your light, illuminating his large stature further. He had dusky skin and jet-black hair. His facial hair was groomed into sharp points that were aimed at his mouth, nearly as sharp as the teeth inside aforementioned mouth.

"All alone this evening, ladies?"

"Not that it's your business, but we're looking for a friend," Freja said, narrowing her eyes.

"What sort of friend?"

"Tall, scarred, has peculiarly colored hair and inexplicably sad eyes," you answered.

An odd expression crossed his features for a moment.

"I see." The man stepped forward again. "And if I find such a man, what shall I tell him?"

"That he is dearly missed and to come home."

The man stopped walking as he was about to pass you, running a sharp nail through the brooch of flowers that you were wearing. "Pretty flowers. Do you know what they are?"

"No. These were the last flowers our friend gave us before he left." There was a hint of sadness in you voice as a few dried petals broke and drifted to the ground. You swallowed. The man was giving you a bad feeling.

"Wild garlic." The man mused. He continued walking, now behind you, and added, "They can save your life, you know." The man walked on without an explanation.

Neither you nor Freja had ever run so fast back to your home. You swore that man had red eyes. When you went to bed that night, you kept those flowers close. You hadn't noticed, but Freja had seen the man hiss as he touched the brooch. Neither of you slept well. What if Heat has succumbed to whatever thing was killing villagers? What if you had narrowly escaped it tonight?

The next day, Freja suggested venturing further out towards the next town. The encounter the night before had shaken you both, causing you to worry more about Heat's safety. You hadn't gone that far before, mostly because it was at least an entire day's journey to the next town and neither of you wanted to spend the night there in case Heat came back home while you were away. By the time you were almost there, the sun was already sinking, and both of you had dwindling energy. As you crested one of the larger hills, a building you hadn't seen before came into view. It was a small, but looming castle. It looked abandoned if not for the smoke tendrils reaching out of the chimney.

Approaching cautiously, you gradually made your way to the intimidating building. Shadows grew as the sun sank under the tree line. There was still light, though thin. Curiously, the windows seemed to be boarded up. A sliver of light shone through a small gap in one of them. Someone was home. Neither of you wanted to be here after dark, and people were known to be kind to travelers around here. Before knocking at the front door, you decided that a peek through the window would be appropriate. What if it turned out the murderer lived there, or the strange man from last night? The best case scenario was that Heat would be there. Maybe he sought refuge here. Unfortunately, the gap in the window was slightly too high for either of you to see into. It was decided that Freja, as the more petite of you, would sit on your shoulders in order to get a good view.

"What do you see?" You asked.

"Nothing yet. It doesn't look abandoned inside. The furnishings are quite nice. Looks like someone's bedchamber."

"What else?"

"Shh. I heard footsteps I think," Freja whispered.

You stumbled, causing Freja to lose visual for a few seconds. When you recovered and she was able to see, she gasped.

"What?!" You shout-whispered.

"It's him! And he's- oh my god he's biting someone. There's blood!"

"Who! Who is him!?"

"The tall stranger." Freja gasped again. "And the someone- the someone-" Freja choked back a sob. "It's Heat! It's our Heat."

"What's happening? Is he okay? How much blood?"

"It's not that much and- oh he's smiling? I don't understand." Freja's voice cracked. "What's going on? They're- oh. OH!"

"What!? Let me see!" You were impatient and Freja was being less than revealing.

"They're naked."

"Huh?"

"They're- yeah they're naked." Freja covered her, now dry, eyes. "Oh my!" She peeked through her fingers. "Our boy is- well, we taught him quite adequately."

You managed to switch places with Freja, just in time to see Heat going down on, sure enough, the stranger from the night previous.

"Oh heavens, he's swallowing that thing whole. Good for him," you remarked. "It's the size of a small child. Seems we didn't get the best of the best after all."

"That's what you're concerned about right now?"

"Shut up! I'm just saying!"

Your voice was a few decibels too loud and when you next looked, there were red eyes locked on yours. You made a squeak of fright and fainted, promptly throwing Freja off-balance and sending you both toppling. Freja rolled down the hill a bit, hitting her head on a log. Thus, you were both incapacitated.

_______________________________________________

When you woke up, you had forgotten what had happened, only remembering the events when you looked around and saw you were not in your own room. Freja was in a separate bed and had also woken up. A tall, lean-muscled woman in a maid's uniform was pouring tea. When she noticed you, she smiled.

"You're awake? I'll let the master know." She introduced herself as Brigette and hurried away.

Shortly after, the strange man appeared, followed by Heat.

"Heat!" You exclaimed. "We were dreadfully worried about you. What happened? I'm glad you seem to be okay."

"Might I explain?" The stranger spoke. "Let me start with an introduction. My name is Wire."

"You're the creep from the other night!" Freja accused.

"Yes- well, no, I'm not a creep."

The man, Wire, went on to explain that he had come across Heat the very same night that Heat had left. This man was a fabled vampire, and he had meant to attack Heat, but was caught off-guard by his interesting flavor, no doubt due to the mix of various parts he was created from. Heat, being the good little student of science that he was, explained what he was to the man, hoping to enlighten the man's palette. Yet, it intrigued the man. He wanted to know more. Heat had told him of his life thus far and confessed to him that he was leaving the village because of these strange happenings, in order to protect his loved ones. Wire felt somewhat guilty about being the cause of that.

Over the next few weeks they had bonded. They were both "monsters" misunderstood by people. Heat was misunderstood anyway. Wire was an unapologetic blood thief. The night that Wire had met you two, he knew that you were the love ones Heat referred to. He had told Heat about meeting you and Heat was torn. He missed you both fiercely, but he had also found something new with someone who understood him like no other. Still, he thought you deserved closure, and had planned on seeing you one last time. It turned out you would show up right on his doorstep, worse actually, as Peeping Penelopes.

"I'm sorry that I left. I didn't know what else to do," Heat was conflicted.

"Heat, we're just happy that you're okay," Freja opened her arms for a hug.

Heat hugged her and came to embrace you as well. "I found someone that I don't want to let go of."

"Oh, Heat." You kissed him on the cheek. "I'm happy for you." You bit your lip. "I don't want to make this difficult for you. As much as we adore you, you don't have to come back with us. You are free to make your own choices."

"About that." Heat glanced at Wire.

"None of you are going back." Wire stood in the doorway.

Freja and yourself exchanged a troubled glance. He was holding you against your will? He was going to eat you. That must be it. You had seen too much.

"You need to work on your delivery, love." Heat grinned at the tall gentleman. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but last night, we could see from the hilltop that our old home was aflame. It was good timing that you had left when you did. The village finally came for us." Heat hated to think that even without him there, you had been in danger. "What Wire meant to say, was that you are welcome to stay here. In fact, I want you to stay. Even if our home hadn't burned, I would want you to stay."

Wire nodded in support.

"I have a few questions." You squinted at Wire.

Freja interjected. "Do not ask about his hog."

"I have considerably less questions. Zero, in fact," you stated definitively.

It was awkward at first, maneuvering around the various relationships. You wanted to be respectful of Heat and Wire, yet you and Freja both missed your third partner. It wasn't an issue for long. Heat reassured you that you could do as you liked. Wire hardly minded sharing, and he even indulged your hog wrestling fantasies. Heat and Freja thoroughly enjoyed the show, too.

In the end, most of the townsfolk succumbed to terminal anemia. They deserved whatever came to them. The only exception was Nan. Wire was forbidden to touch Nan, the only person that treated Heat with kindness. The other condition was that when he went to town, he had to bring you two along so you could say hi. Brigette, who drove the carriage to town, took a liking to Nan as well, so the four of you hung out during these excursions. The bar was usually loud enough to cover up any screams anyway.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

what is your favorite thing about charles and your favorite thing about erik? separately, as in what you like most about their characters :]

a devious question this one is, my friend!!! it's hard enough for me to explain my thoughts cohesively, but having to pick ONE thing i particularly love is difficult. with characters like charles and erik, theres been so much done with their characters over the decades and so they have so many components to them that make them so interesting and fun to observe. BUT I TRY FOR YOU TODAY. under the cut i kinda ramble and the size of this text box makin me anxious

i think if i were to be simple and broad, what i enjoy most about charles is his determination to help others, even if he isn't really thanked and/or if people don't even like him. ofc, this isn't to say he hasn't done wrong- to be honest, the fact he does wrong/questionable things at times is another aspect of him i really enjoy, maybe because- broadly speaking- he's meant to be altruistic (intent vs outcome and all that). i don't know if that's super exciting to most people, but it is for me

as for erik, my reason for liking him is easier to explain tbh. To Be Simple And Broad, his progression from villain to antihero over the decades has been fun to observe (as much as i have so far anyhow) and analyze. i think to be a bit more specific, him using his rage and pain as justifications for his villainous actions is definitely what compels me the most: hurt people hurt and the sort, an idea i've always found interesting (something something vicious cycles and the like). yet now, he recognizes this wasn't really. A Just Thing To Do and is beginning to change that, which i enjoy

[lilnasxvevo]

A fic that looks like it’s about to be a Wangxian kid fic because WWX is seriously considering adopting A-Yuan because all of A-Yuan’s living relatives are too old or too sick to take care of him except for Wen Qing, who is an ER doctor and just simply does not have the time to do that and be a single parent of a little kid, so maybe, because A-Yuan loves you so much, Wei Ying, you could adopt him, and then what’s left of his birth family could still stay in his life…

But HERE COMES JIANG WANYIN WITH A STEEL CHAIR and a “We could get fake married and I could help you take care of A-Yuan, it’s not fair that you should have to give up your nephew just because this country has so few accommodations for single parents, I’m really good with kids (probably) I’ve always wanted to be a parent (kinda) and it’ll be a totally 100% platonic marriage because I’m DEFINITELY not secretly in love with you” and then the rest of the fic is chengqing fake relationship AU

[jekyll-doodles]

for the emojies ask... I choose red heart (what is their love language), for all the wakey wakey lords in "the after"

❤️ RED HEART - their love language(s)?

Nigredo - Words Of Affirmation

Albedo - Quality Time

Citrinitas - Acts Of Service

Rubedo - Physical Touch

This really applies to most stages of their unfortunately long, complicated lives.

[crackwhorism]

you'd think losing people would stop hurting as much after you've gone through it a bunch of times but I guess if humans can learn to love over and over with the same or even greater intensities it makes sense that the following pain of losing said people you give that love to is proportional each time too

[chuunibyou-showdown]

Setsuna only got in last year so I could beef up the contestant number to be 32 but now he has a chance as a contestant again,,, truly the underdog (collar) candidate

[kaurwreck]

for the ask game: LILAC CHARCOAL AND RASPBERRY

anon this is so sweet 😭

[ask game provided below for reference; if you'd like to play, please reblog from OP here:]

[glorious-spoon]

the thing about friends-to-lovers is that, done properly, the tension comes from the fact that you can love someone so much that they’re like a part of your soul without ever wanting to date, fuck, or marry them, so knowing for a fact that the person you’re pining for loves you doesn’t actually help much. makes it worse, in some ways.

[amitykinz]

.

[cipher-the-sidhe]

At this rate it’ll be MerMay again before I have enough backlog to post What the Tide Keeps ;-;

Or idk, maybe being trapped inside over winter will help me write more. When community obligations die down a small bit… a SMALL bit. Because I DO want to be posting it. I want tooooooo

[pastel-rights]

And then I finally end it off with some doodles of them… they make me feel things.

[dopaminestarvedsim]

i think my new favorite thing is to wake up absurdly early and sit down at my lil pc with my lil cup of coffee and edit my lil screenshots of my lil sims 🥹