#and we can't have that /silly /lighthearted

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

As a Mumbo Kills-a-lot Jumbo fan, I have a shiny new suggestion for my fellow TMA fans on what the K in Martin K Blackwood's name might be

[marrfixated]

(More thoughts and drafting! Some weird formatting I know but it was all one block in my notes)

Emma is doing just fine. Average. It’s really not so bad.

She’s just been dealing with a lot of change. And with too many things not changing.

Which is… an odd thing to struggle with.

Because she likes change. Daunting challenges. The unpredictable. Doing new things every day and never being scared of them. And she likes independence.

She had thought so, at least.

After the show, she had been hit in the face with just how… isolated she was. She had only had two friends before the first season, but she had left them behind. Her mother wasn’t doing the best, and she didn’t have any nearby family.

She found herself laying in her bed in the middle of the day most of the time, scrolling through her contacts and old conversations.

Or scrolling through her comments on TikTok.

A few weeks ago, she had tried some stunt involving a motorcycle and an inflatable pool. She probably wouldn’t have messed it up if her hands weren’t trembling.

(She had forgot to check the breaks, and wasn’t sure if they were working.)

(They were.)

The blood dripping down her face and the gash in her lip didn’t sting as much as it did watching the video.

She looked ridiculous, and she probably always did. It was better when she had someone else to do it with. Maybe she was losing her touch.

She didn’t post the video.

She turned back to dancing instead, which did feel less embarassing, despite the constant mocking feedback. Sure, the jokes were “funny”, but she didn’t care about any of it. She didn’t feel the rush, she wasn’t planning every day, and she wasn’t known or loved for anything.

Except for what she lost.

And, the show, to an extent.

-Ugh, she misses the show. She shouldn’t, but as stupid as it sounds, she really did. She missed doing crazy things and talking to people. Having a chance of winning. Beating everyone. Being cheered on. It wasn’t always great, but at least it was something. She misses doing something.

And she really misses Bowie. She missed Bowie, but she knows better than anyone that she can’t go back to that. They just- have better things to do now. He probably does.

He’s got Raj- which is great! And she’s happy for him! She’s happy for everyone. For Wayne, however he’s doing, for Julia, despite everything.

And Caleb. For having Priya.

Emma is jealous that Bowie gets to have someone.

Emma is jealous that everyone else gets to have someone.

Emma is jealous that, unlike everyone else, winning the show probably wouldn’t have made her any happier.

She isn’t sure what would.

[angeltism]

sorry but oh my god i am CACKLING tumblr r uu serious rn

[lunarmoves]

"have you—" you started, then stopped to mull over the phrasing of your question.

"have i?" sun's lighthearted response came a moment later when you hadn't yet said anything. he straightened up from where he'd been cleaning off one of the art tables in the daycare and spun his head around so he could peer at you backwards.

you twisted your lips to the side, your gaze directed skywards in thought. "hang on, i'm trying to figure out how to phrase this." your legs dangled from where you sat atop the security desk, swaying back and forth idly as you strung words together. sun was patient, though you could see the way he glanced around at all the messes he still needed to clean when you looked at him.

slowly, you spoke. "have you ever had like"—you tapped at your chin, eyebrows furrowed—"had any... involuntary actions?"

sun's head tilted to the side, his eyes squinting slightly. "depends. define 'involuntary'."

"well," you said with a hum, "like, i don't know. if something startled you, i guess."

"ah! you mean reactions," sun said, a finger in the air as he came to the realization. "reflexes, in a sense."

you snapped your fingers and pointed at him. bingo! "yeah! exactly that. you ever had any?"

he smiled at you and turned away so he could resume his cleaning. "can't say that we've had! it is an utterly human thing, i'm afraid."

you frowned, shoulders slouching at his easy dismissal. you watched him pick up some scattered crayons on another small table. "really? not at all?"

"nope!" he replied cheerfully. "each and every action we take is done after careful computation, making them all completely voluntary." he tossed the crayons in his large hands into their designated container, then turned to look at you with his hands on his slim hips. "for example, the probability of you answering with 'are they really' is approximately 93.456 percent."

"are they—" you caught yourself from responding in the middle of his explanation, closing your mouth with an audible click. sun gave you a wide grin.

"see? and as such i am able to properly give a response! there is no scenario that i am unprepared for!"

you pursed your lips and discretely reached behind you. "but what if i did"—your fingers snagged onto a crumpled ball of paper and you whipped your hand forward to throw it right at his dumb face—"this!"

without even a blink, sun reached up and caught the wad of paper before it could hit him. his white eyes crinkled into slim crescents. "even that was accounted for, friend!" he tossed the paper off to the side and it landed perfectly into a nearby garbage can. you resisted a groan.

"how could you even account for a stupid action like that?" you asked, huffing slightly out of your nose. talking to sun sure was frustrating sometimes.

there was a small pause. "because i know you, my dear," sun eventually said gently. his smile strained slightly at one side of his face. "and i know how much you like your silly questions."

you rolled your eyes, but didn't deign that with a response. instead, you pouted at him. "so you're just always computing situations and probabilities in your mind, then executing them?"

"right you are! we are capable of analyzing hundreds of thousands of scenarios in an instant, you know."

you mulled over this for a bit, thinking back to all your previous encounters with sun. he went back to tidying up, the silence of the daycare interrupted only by the jingle playing through the overhead speakers.

you weren't about to just let this go. you were nothing but persistent, it seemed. "what about when i've caught you off guard?" you questioned soon after. sun tilted his head again, but didn't turn around to face you this time when he responded.

"you have never caught me off guard, friend," he said, his voice oddly clipped.

your jaw dropped open at the blatant lie. you knew for sure, you'd said or done things he had not expected. "oh that's bullshit, i definitely have! it's always written all over your body language!"

"language," sun warned you, straightening up so he could toss some stray plastic balls back into the ball pit. he brushed off his hands of invisible dirt, then made his way closer to you. he stopped just before you, his shadow casting itself over your seated form on the desk. he booped your nose, a motion that made you cross your eyes to look at his finger. "you have not. i already told you; there is nothing i am unprepared for and nothing i cannot control."

"right," you said, unconvinced. a sudden thought popped in your head just as sun began to turn away, and you opened your mouth to voice it. "what about that thing you do with your hands?"

he stilled, halfway turned from you. "what thing?"

"you know, the—" you made a motion with your hands, flexing your fingers like you were grabbing something invisible. sun watched you from the corner of his eye, pupils of white on a backdrop of cloudy grey. "that thing. or when your rays twitch. are those voluntary?"

like clockwork, one of his rays twitched until it stopped with an audible click. he stared at you, unrelenting in his gaze. you felt wholly exposed underneath it. "...those are simply minor calibrations."

you gave him an unimpressed look. "dude, you're not fooling me. you even sound off right now, you're telling me you're doing it on purpose?"

"yes." he turned back around to face you and laced his fingers together. there was a smile on his face still, but it was frigid. static. "to simulate human behavior in accordance to the data i am being presented with."

you scoffed. "i'm not data, sun, i—"

he leaned down towards you, making you shift back slightly on the desk. a pit was starting to open at the bottom of your stomach. "oh but you are. what do you think i am processing right now if not the data that you consist of?"

your jaw tensed, and when you replied, your voice was stiff. "you know what? i'm going to pretend like you didn't just say that to my face." you glanced down at his hands, where his fingers were twitching against each other. you pointed at them. "is that voluntary too?"

his pupils darted down to look at his hands, then he swiftly tucked them behind his back. "yes, completely." his smile thinned, something lining his voice that you couldn't quite identify. "friend, we have been over this—"

"sun, why are you so—"

"what do you want me to say?!" he snapped out over your own voice, and it was so unexpected that your jaw snapped shut. "that i am not in control of certain actions? that the robot doesn't work like it is supposed to anymore?"

you opened your mouth to respond. but before you could utter a word, a cool palm covered the entirety of your lower face, silencing you. sun moved until his head was inches from your own, his pupils piercing through your own as the lights behind his head cast his face in a deep shadow.

"because i can assure you, friend," he said lowly, grip tightening on your jaw, "you do not want that."

[aptericia]

Not proud to be here.

--

Ok, here goes draft like 5 of this fucking post. I spent 4 hours tossing and turning in bed last night thinking about this, and then this morning I found a tumblr post that really helped me understand what I was trying to say.

The post talks about how aromantic "advocates" claim that "aros don't take up resources, so there's no reason not to include them!" And if that's actually what people believe, I think I can finally articulate why it is that I feel so alienated in queer spaces.

It's because aspecs in general aren't "welcomed" by much of the queer community. We're tolerated. We perhaps get the luxury of not being contradicted on our own identities, or not being specifically kicked out of LGBTQ-only spaces, but that's the whole point: what we get out of the queer "community" is people NOT doing things, not actually doing things FOR us. And that, frankly, is not enough. We deserve conversations about us. We deserve to have others consider our feelings, even when making lighthearted jokes. We deserve varied, respectful representation in media. We deserve the active deconstruction of amatonormativity in society. We deserve to have space made for us, rather than at most being told we should "go take up more space!" ourselves.

Of course, the reality is that my being aspec is a personal matter that does not inherently affect anyone else. But the same can be said for literally any queer identity. Your being gay doesn't say anything about me, so of course I shouldn't hurt you for it, but why should I help you either? Because your happiness and comfort are important. The same goes for aspecs.

And most of the time, I don't even need anyone to make space for or expend resources on me; I can live fine in everyday, non-queer-specific places without mentioning my identity at all. But it's the queer community that claims it will make that space for me, doesn't, and then acts defensive and morally pure if I call out the hypocrisy because "we're queer too, you can't erase our identities to advocate for yours!!!!"

Again, this post isn't about specifics. I have queer friends who are incredibly thoughtful and supportive about my identity, just as I have non-queer friends who are. I find more solidarity in aspec-only communities, as well as trans/genderqueer ones, although there are still many exceptions. This post is also not about amatonormative ideology, which is extremely common from queer and non-queer people alike. This post is about the reason I've felt so betrayed by the queer community.

--

On a personal note, I remember being so excited when I started identifying as aromantic (and later asexual). Fitting myself into labels has been a lifelong struggle for me; to this day I still can't confidently say if I'm White or PoC, neurotypical or neurodivergent, abled or disabled, cisgender or not cisgender. I continue to struggle making friends because I don't fall into social cliques. To discover that I officially, certainly, was LGBTQ+ lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. And now I'm just so sad to find that despite that, I'm still stuck in the middle. I didn't get rewarded with a community. I still feel alienated from both queer and non-queer people. I know it was silly to get my hopes up when there's such vast diversity in both groups, but it really was a disappointment. Going to my first Pride parade last year was really the moment where I realized this.

[li-x1nyu]

asking your husband "can you get out while i shower?" as a prank

w/ zhongli, neuvillette, kaeya, tartaglia x gn!reader (separate)

silly genshin fluff mostly, angst if you squint, implied nsfw (kaeya) no descriptions

a/n: i get all my ideas from instagram couples

incredibly respectful.

would just hum and get out, no questions asked.

internally, zhongli would be a little confused.

usually, you invite him in with you, but this is new

would ask you a few hours later, at dinner or something

"love, should i always step out when you shower from now on...?"

when you explain that it was just a silly prank, he'll sigh in relief, "oh good, i rather enjoy those private times with you."

"get out of my clothes, or get out of the room...?"

isn't sure what you meant, after all he still thinks humans and their little pranks can be confusing

when you say the room, he just goes, "oh... okay." and leaves before you can get a word out

neuvi won't bring it up again but secretly will be sad and will leave the room when you start to change, shower, etc.

you better give him kisses and apologize

was probably looking forward to NOT getting out, but since you asked, of course kaeya will leave the room

not until he asks some questions of course

"but we always shower together?"

confused while you giggle hysterically

kaeya thinks giggling is a good sign. means you're not mad at him, so he makes lighthearted jokes

"it's not like i haven't seen everything before!"

hopes on the inside that he didn't do something to upset you, but then he remembers

"you're telling me to get out after what we did, like, thirty minutes ago?!"

tartaglia gets up and leaves at first, he probably wasn't even listening to what you said

does a double take and turns around before you close the door of the bathroom,

"WAIT, wait, what?"

you can't help but laugh at his confused expression

will make you repeat the question

"but we're MARRIED? you're self conscious after, like, 5 years?"

"oh you're being serious..?"

tiny frown on his face as he grabs whatever he was doing, mumbling "oh, i'm sorry..."

smile comes back when you laugh and hug him, asking why he's sorry

"you know, i just- don't want you to feel like you can't have privacy!"

happily obliges when you drag him into the shower with you

hope you enjoyed! my ask box is now open for requests ฅᨐฅ

[moonxknightx]

 ♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ : SERENITY : :;

╰┈➤ ❝ [PAIRING] ❞ Hugh Jackman x F!Reader

・❥・GENRE: Fluff :))

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆FANDOM: RPF

ੈ✩‧₊˚ WARNINGS: None!

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥SUMMARY: You finally convince Hugh into doing a spa at home day. A short oneshot filled with fluff!

YOU FINALLY CONVINCED HUGH TO HAVE A SPA DAY AT HOME. He had been reluctant at first, but your enthusiasm and promises of relaxation won him over. Now, you were both lounging in the living room, surrounded by an array of spa supplies. The smell of lavender and eucalyptus filled the air, creating a serene atmosphere.

"Okay, first things first," you said, opening a jar of a creamy, green face mask. Hugh watched you with a mix of amusement and curiosity. "We're starting with the face masks."

He leaned forward, and you began to apply the cool, smooth substance to his face. He flinched at first, then relaxed, his eyes closing as you worked. "This feels... interesting," he murmured.

"Interesting good or interesting bad?" you teased.

"Good," he conceded with a smile. "Surprisingly good."

Once both your faces were covered in the green mask, you handed Hugh a fluffy robe and guided him to sit beside you on the couch. You picked up a couple of magazines and handed him one. "Now, we just relax and let the masks do their magic."

He took the magazine, flipping through the pages with a bemused expression. "I can't remember the last time I read one of these."

"That's the point," you said, snuggling into the cushions. "It's all about unwinding and doing something different."

You both settled into a comfortable silence, the occasional rustling of pages the only sound. After a while, Hugh began to chuckle softly. "Did you know avocado is good for everything? According to this, we should be bathing in it."

You laughed, peeking over at the article he was reading. "I'll make a note for next time."

As the masks dried and tightened on your skin, you felt a sense of calm wash over you. The simple act of being together, doing something silly and lighthearted, was refreshing. You glanced at Hugh, his face comically frozen in a green cast, and couldn't help but smile.

After the allotted time, you both headed to the bathroom to wash off the masks. Hugh splashed water on his face, laughing as he tried to get every bit of the mask off. "This is more work than I thought," he joked.

Once clean and refreshed, you returned to the living room. Hugh sank back onto the couch, looking more relaxed than you had seen him in a while. "Alright, what's next on the spa agenda?"

"Foot massages," you announced, holding up a bottle of lotion. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t protest as you sat down at his feet.

You took your time, kneading the tension out of his feet, feeling the muscles relax under your touch. He sighed contentedly, closing his eyes. "I could get used to this," he murmured.

"That's the idea," you said with a smile. "Everyone needs a little pampering now and then."

When you finished, Hugh pulled you up onto the couch beside him. "Your turn," he said, taking the lotion. His hands were strong but gentle as he returned the favor, and you felt the last of your own stress melt away.

As the day came to a close, you both sat entwined, basking in the shared sense of tranquility. "You know," Hugh said softly, "you were right. This was fun.

You smiled, resting your head on his shoulder. "Told you so."

🏷️: @khxna

If you want to be added to the Hugh Jackman taglist, let me know! 💙

[estrellabayos]

Gojo Satoru X Pregnant Reader

You were lying in bed, feeling the gentle kick of your unborn child. Your due date was fast approaching, and you couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. Suddenly, the door opened, and Gojo walked in, his eyes immediately filled with a mixture of worry and awe as he saw your round belly.

Gojo carefully approached the bed, sitting down next to you and gently placing his hand on your belly. He could feel the slight movement of the child inside and a soft smile spread across his face.

"Are you feeling okay?" Gojo asked, his voice filled with concern.You nodded, leaning back into the pillows. "Yeah, I'm fine," you replied. "Just a bit tired, that's all."

Gojo stroked your belly, his touch gentle and comforting. "You're almost there," he said, his voice filled with pride. "Won't be long now until we meet our little bundle of joy."You smiled, enjoying the feel of his hand on your belly. "I know," you replied. "I can't believe we're going to be parents soon."

Gojo leaned in closer, his eyes lighting up. "I've been thinking about names," he said, his voice filled with excitement. "Any preferences?"You thought for a moment, a smile playing on your lips. "Well, I've always liked the name 'Aiko' for a girl, and 'Hiroshi' for a boy," you said.

Gojo nodded, considering the names. "Aiko and Hiroshi," he repeated. "They're both beautiful names." He then chuckled softly, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "But you know me, I'd probably end up calling our child something silly like 'Baby Gojo' or 'Little Sorcerer.'"You laughed, playfully swatting his arm. "Please don't do that," you said, rolling your eyes in mock annoyance. "Our child deserves a proper name."

Gojo chuckled, feigning innocence. "But come on, it'd be funny," he said, a grin on his face. "Just imagine me calling out "Hey, little sorcerer! Mommy needs your help!"You shook your head, unsuccessfully trying to suppress a smile. "You're ridiculous," you said, trying to sound disapproving but failing.

Gojo chuckled, his hand still on your belly. "But you love me anyway," he said, a cheeky grin on his face. "And let's hope our child takes after their adorable mother."You playfully pretended to pout, but then a thought crossed your mind. "You know, if it's a girl, she might inherit your insane amount of confidence," you said, raising an eyebrow.

Gojo laughed, his eyes sparkling mischief. "Oh, you think so? Sounds like she'll be a force to be reckoned with just like me," he said, visibly proud already.You chuckled, imagining a tiny little girl with Gojo's trademark confidence. "And if it's a boy... well, I hope he won't have your stubbornness," you teased.

Gojo pretended to look offended, placing his hand over his heart. "Hey, my stubbornness is one of my charming qualities," he protested. "Our son should be grateful to inherit that from me."You laughed, enjoying the lighthearted banter between you both. "And let's not forget about your endless energy," you said, rolling your eyes playfully. "I can already imagine our child running circles around us all the time."

Gojo smirked, his eyes lighting up. "Well, then we'll just have to keep up, won't we? And the more energy they have, the more entertaining their little antics will be."And with that, the conversation continued, filled with laughter and lighthearted banter. The room was filled with a warm and comfortable ambiance.

Finally, Gojo leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on your belly. "Little Sorcerer or Little Sorceress, we're going to be the best parents you could ask for," he whispered, his voice filled with tenderness.

As you watched him talk with your stomach, a smile tugged at the corner of your lips. You had no doubt that your future as a new family would be full of love, adventures, and endless energy.

[angclnumber]

"I MEAN, MAYBE IT'S BOTH . i think it could be both ." marti replies with a shrug, her head tilting with the words . their chin rests in the crook of their hand as they study juniper, humming before saying, " everyone has red flags, june . we can't be too judgmental here . especially considering her matching jacuzzi ." an arch of their brow . " the jacuzzi is pink by the way . and she's very generous with it ." marti has to take a moment to squint at juniper at the question, studying them with more thoughtfulness than the question probably warrants . "... red . i think it would really make your eyes pop ." marti smiles in approval before they're shrugging and adding, " you don't have to hide in a corner though . you could come ." she brightens and straightens with it, bending half way across the thrift store's front counter to exclaim, " we could double date !"

" is it really fate or is it the heart shaped pool blinding you to the red flags ? which , ironically , are the same color as the pool itself . " if marti's wellbeing wasn't at the top of juniper's priority list , they probably would have played along ; instead, affection morphs into a form of gentle criticism . " by the way , the adjectives primal and visceral do not make me feel better . i'm about to put on a wig and sit in the corner booth during your next outing . should i go platinum or red ? "

[jacesbeloved]

handmaiden ✷ j. velaryon, b. targaryen

✷ ⎯ summary: wherein jace and baela’s marriage looks for just a wee bit more spice and who better than you, their favorite handmaiden.

✷ ⎯ pairing: jacaerys velaryon x handmaiden!reader x baela targaryen

✷ ⎯ warnings: 18+, consented threesome, m/f/f, slightly innocent!reader, oral (f and m receiving), fingering (f receiving), slight voyeurism (probably more i just forgot abt some)

A soft call of your name from inside of Princess Baela's and Prince Jacaerys' chambers disrupts your current activity. You were busy in assisting the other handmaidens with their daily chores when their call echoed through the corridors.

You had grown rather fond of the couple, having known them ever since you were just a little girl when your mother was still teaching you her ways. Sometimes, you'd even get scolded by your mother because of how much you stay with Jacaerys and his brother. Whenever Baela visits King's Landing with her sister, of course, you stay with them as well.

It takes a minute for you to arrive at their door but when you do, you knock and there's no response. You knock again and you hear Baela's voice calling you inside.

"Yes—Oh my, I'm sorry. I'll come back another—" surprises screams through your tone as you hurry out of the room after seemingly barging in during an intimate moment. Baela was straddling Jace's lap, making out with each other.

Your eyes go wide as you clutch your chest, breathing heavily while leaning on the wall beside the door.

What in the actual seven hells did I just see?

You swore Baela called you inside, it wasn't just some hallucination or anything, she really did. You remember it as clear as day. If you didn't hear her clearly, you wouldn't have came in the first place. You're not that close with them.

"I thought you heard us called you?" The voice behind you makes you jump. Baela's head peeking from their door. Words get caught in your throat. Nothing but a confused, stammering mess as you tried to reply to her. "You, uh, you and Prince Jacaerys were busy. I apologize for intruding on such a time I just heard you, uhm, yeah."

"I know, silly! We were calling you."

You point a finger to yourself, scratching the side of your head with your other hand. "Me...?"

Baela lets out a lighthearted huff, looking around the corridor before pulling you inside of the chambers by your wrist. The sudden contact making you stumble inside as you stand there frozen like a statue with your eyes closed shut.

You hear their chuckles around you. Still hesitant to open your eyes in fear of what might be in front of you.

"It is okay to open your eyes, don't worry," you hear Jacaerys' soft voice speak from somewhere inside. "She's cute, closing her eyes." Baela adds on and you already know she's smiling.

Slowly, with a few more convincing from the two, you open your eyes. As if the world has not surprised you yet, it's definitely surprising you now.

The top of Baela's dress was down, hanging around her waist as it would only take a simple pull from you and everything she had covered in her southern region will be out in the open. You glue your eyes above her neck, trying your best not to look at the beautiful pair of breasts that she displayed proudly.

Your throat goes dry as you still can't find the right words to describe what you're feeling.

"You're scaring the poor girl, Beloved. She looks like she'll faint any minute now," you internally thank Jacaerys for noticing that. You honestly didn't know how you can handle the situation, your mother never trained you for situations such as this.

"Please don't faint," Baela frowns, holding your hand. Your heart instantly beats faster than before. "We haven't even gotten to the fun yet."

You inhale deeply, "What fun?"

The woman in front of you grins, tightening her hold around your hand before bringing you to the enormous bed where Jacaerys had been sitting on since earlier. His lips puffier than it already is, numerous love marks on his chest.

"Okay, for your sake, let us explain first in very simple terms," you nod at Baela's introduction, still keeping your eyes above level as you see Jacaerys eye her chest down, his hand lovingly holding one breast before he presses a kiss on it like you weren't there.

"We want to invite you to our bed." Baela says in a straightforward manner, with a smile.

"Your..?"

"Yes, as in our bed. Here. Now." She adds, looking at you with a genuine look but confusion was the only thing you felt.

Why were they inviting you of all people?

Baela answers the question on your mind, "We want to try new things in the bedroom and frankly...you're the only one we trust the most to be with."

"We don't want to pressure you to do things you don't want to, okay? You don't have to accept the invitation right—"

Your head nods before you can even overthink your decision. The couple just as surprised as you were. They look at each other, a laugh eliciting from the both of them making you laugh awkwardly as well.

"Are you sure?" Jacaerys asks, his eyes expressing concern.

You nod again, "Yes, my prince, I am very...sure."

Your voice came out breathier than you had intended but who could blame you? They may be a friend of yours but the way they looked at you now is like they're ready to swallow you whole.

"You need not to call us formally. Jace and Baela are perfectly fine. We are friends here, and we'll not do anything you are not comfortable with." Jace notes, signaling to Baela with a nod.

"You can start by pulling off my dress, sweetheart," Baela says, guiding your hand to the dress pooling at her waist. With careful hands, you pull it off, finally letting your eyes wander across her body until you've fully pulled the dress off.

The older woman steps out of it, reaching behind you to undo your own dress which takes her no more than a minute to do so.

Her eyes marvel at the sight of your naked breasts. Not being able to stop herself as she presses a warm kiss on the two erect buds. A soft moan coming from you as you feel her tongue circling your nipple while she pulls the rest off.

Now, you were both fully naked. You turn your head to Jace's direction, the prince slowly palming his trousers making your cheeks heat up.

"I think Jace needs some help, sweetheart," Baela grins as she takes a quick glance at her lover. The said man's lips stretching into a smile as Baela helps you onto the bed, hitting your ass excitedly.

You sit next to him, Jace taking the liberty in initiating the kiss first. His tongue swiping across your lip as you happily open your mouth, letting him explore every part. You could feel his hand groping your chest as you let him do as he pleases.  A groan escapes his lips making him pull away. Your eyes dart open and you see Jace looking down on where Baela was, his cock out and angry as she runs her hand up and down. You feel a surge of heat in your core when Baela licks the underside of his cock all the while batting up her eyelashes at both you and Jace.  Baela notices you press your legs together and so she gestures at you to come to her. You do as she wants, going on your knees to crawl to where she was and you feel something foreign from behind. Without any warning, you feel Jace's tongue on your hole making you yelp. Your eyes roll to the back of your head as you halt due to the sensation. You melt into the mattress with no more care anymore. Wanton moans resonating around the walls.  "How does Jace's mouth feel, sweetheart?" Baela coos, holding your face up to press a kiss on your lips before lying down on her back in front of you. You feel your throat go dry when Baela spreads her legs right in front of your face, her drenched cunt looking so enticing that you didn't even notice you staring directly at it. She reaches down to tap your chin, "I asked you a question."  You whine, "It feels so good." Satisfied with your answer, Jace inserts a finger, pumping it slowly inside you making you moan louder. Baela spreads her own folds, calling your attention. "Have you eaten out a woman before, sweetheart?"  "I haven't," you say, thinking to yourself How hard could it possibly be to pleasure a woman?   "Don't just look at it. Eat it," you first dive in, licking her slit before swirling your tongue on her clit. She tasted heavenly. Saying it was better than any meal you have eaten in your life is not much of an exaggeration. The long and satisfied moan that you hear from her spurs you on more as you lap her juices faster.  For someone that hasn't done anything with a woman, you definitely exceeded her expectations.  You try to focus on licking and flicking your tongue across and inside of her folds but Jace is making it hard to do so. He's become a lot more aggressive with his ministrations, pumping in three fingers while he sucks on your clit hungrily.  Jace hits just the right spot and you had to pull away from Baela's pussy to cry out from the pleasure. Feeling so close to the edge. Baela props herself on her elbows, watching your blissed out face.    He feels you clench around his fingers, tell-tales of your orgasm prompting him to quicken up. Soon enough, your head drops down with a loud moan. Your legs quivering on his face as he licks every drop from your pussy.  "Sit up, come on. We're not finished."

[earthnashes]

Hello there! If I may ask about your oc Sakura, how did you go about conceptualizing her? Was there any characters or media that inspired her design? How did her character change to what it is now? Apologies for this many questions, feel free to choose just one when you have time; love your work!

Hello! You may indeed ask about my baby! 🥹

So for context, Feathers and Flowers' birthing concept was about a girl summoning a demon because she was lonely but too shy to make her own friends, so she concludes summoning a demon would somehow be easier. In that iteration of the story, Sakura was meant to be a side character; a friend to the main characters that acted as the ultimate foil to basically everyone around her. She combated Kaela's crippling anxiety by being confident and overwhelmingly outgoing, contrasted Evangeline's bossy, bitchy attitude with being kind and friendly, and be the opposite of Mal's stoic, silent character with being expressive and chatty. I also needed a character that could conveniently know enough about niche media to reasonably be able to help Kaela summon her demon in the first place, so I ended up making her a huge geek: she loved anime, video games, and had knowledge on obscure things... including occult summonings xD

So I worked off that idea to form her appearance. Again her core direction was to be a foil to all of the main cast: Kaela was short and soft. Evangeline was tall and thin. Mal was tal and hard. I wanted Sakura to be the biggest character, so she originally started started out compact and wide. Her face was what I started with: I wanted her to look somewhat like an anime character, and her inspiration was based off of the older episodes of Dragonball, Pokemon, Tenchi Muyo, Ranma, Inuyasha. I basically wanted her to have Goku vibes (his wide dark eyes, his big smile, his open and easy personality) but with Inuyasha's hairstyle (she originally had long hair).

But then the story changed; it wasn't about a demon being summoned in a silly slice-of-life story but a Spirit getting lost in a magical modern era, still very much slice of life.

That ultimately shifted Sakura's design into something more athletic; football specifically. I wanted her to keep her dorky traits but pair it with the popular star athlete trope, so she became leaner, taller, and more "top heavy". She also became more oblivious; she remained sweet and friendly and outgoing, but in turn she didn't understand when someone liked her. In fact she was later canonized to be asexual originally didn't have romance planned for her character.

Fastforward to now: the story of F&F has changed again. While the core remains mostly the same (found family), it ironically shifted into something much closer to one of the earlier concepts of the story; something more serious and not slice of life, something that focuses more on the good and bad of a world instead of being predominantly lighthearted. So with that change the characters had to get a tune-up to their characterizations. Sakura received the biggest change, I think.

Her core remains true: she's relentlessly kind, expressive, a dork. But I decided to make that her biggest strength and her biggest flaw, as well as making her loving personality be conflicted by how the world views her by changing her appearance. That's how we get current Sakura: she's kind, she's loving, she wants to help others. But people think she's a threat, a ticking timebomb, because of what she is. So her once open smile is now more manufactured, a wall to protect herself, a farce to try and make herself look less like a threat. She's now a pushover; she can't establish her boundaries without it being misinterpreted as being aggressive, so her coping mechanism is to grin and bear it. She can't get visiblt upset or angry, so she has to fight for calm to have even the smallest chance of being listened to. She's "nice" because it's all she's allowed to be.

Hence her appearance change! She is now the largest character in the main roster, the physically strongest. Her smile is now "tainted" by sabre teeth she can't hide, her size contradicts her gentle nature.

It's late for me so I'm sure I forgot a few things but that's what I got for now! If you're interested I could show older concept work of Sakura to illustrate how she looked then vs how she looks now too. But ye! Thank you so much for asking about my character! 🥹🙏

[thatbuddie]

ok so bear with me here, this theory is based on nothing but vibes and dreams and delusions.

buddie is going canon in 8x12 which is also episode 118 of 911.

i still find it so interesting that they decided to make bi buck canon (i will never ever ever ever get over bi buck canon, btw) in episode 100 of the show. i know that nowadays episodes 100 of shows are not as big as they used to be (mainly because shows rarely make it to them) but they still mean something big. something big enough to warrant press and cakes and such. and what did 911 do with their 100th episode? they made it about bi buck. in a way that forever links the essence of 911 and bi buck forever. and i find that so incredibly beautiful.

it would be logical to argue that episode 8x12, which is episode number 118 of the show that revolves around station 118, has the potential to be something different and special too. i think that the best way to honor this would be by making it a mostly lighthearted team-focused episode. give me bottle episode at the station where the team receives 0 calls all shift, give me an episode from the 3rd person pov of the people that they help on calls and how they view the 118, give me a the 118 gets locked in a room silly episode, just give me something fun and heartfelt that shows the 118 as the family that they are!!! and then.... and then....

give me the first real confirmation of buddie going canon at the end of the episode. and i mean the very last scene of it.

they already connected a big episode (7x04 aka episode 100) with a very big moment that many many fans had been waiting for (bi buck). why not connect the other very core episode of the show (their 118 episode which is nothing really and yet so special of them) with the other big anticipated thing that fans have been dying for for years.

and like y'all, bi buck is important in and of itself and i hope we all know that. but bi buck is so intrinsically connected to buddie too. and i mean both in fandom and in the canon as well. like we know what subset of fandom has been reading buck as bisexual for seasons now and it's not most of the casual viewers (though i hope some did). it was the buddie fandom. and in 7x04 the way that buck's realization arc was so incredibly connected with eddie and their friendship is astounding. like i still can't believe that it went that way. and that is a deliberate choice. there were a thousand ways in which they could have done it and then said "we are putting eddie diaz, evan buckley's best friend and the guy that everyone who wants bi buck ships him with, in the center of it." so it would be very on brand for producers and writers to give us the actual buddie of it all in episode 118 which could be an episode to touch the core of the show -found family, the firefighting aspect, the hope- which at this point includes buddie as well.

now we know NOTHING about s8 right now so this is where more vibes just get added but it would also make sense that it happens in 8x12 because that it the second half of the season. i feel like s8 is gonna start a little "dark" (and i just mean sad) for the 118. gerard is gonna be ruining their lives and making everything wrong. and eddie is gonna be doing badly, y'all. of course he is. so we can use the first 8 episodes to "solve" these things. eddie can finally be in therapy again for more than his ptsd. the 118 can be fighting to get bobby buck. the bucktommy relationship can be worked towards a break up that moves buck to the next stage of where he's going. and then s8b starts. and we have a "lighter" feeling. hopefully chris is back. bobby is back. buck and eddie are single and we can see that there is something there but for now it has been things that still maybe not everyone can catch on to. so then 8x12 happens and BOOM. buck and/or eddie realize/aknowledge/voice the truth of it all: it's always been about buddie. and then we have 6 more episodes in the season to explore that!!! which is a pretty fair number, i think.

so yeah, that is my-based-on-nothing-but-i'm-now-convinced-is-happening theory for a buddie canon confirmation in 8x12 aka episode 118 of 911.

[ari-cuno]

A little drabble I wrote after some inspiration and a little break between drawing some art <3

I just wanted to experiment and see how an interaction like this would go between them. It was supposed to be angst but I couldn't help changing it a bit. >3<

Please let me know if I did the couch potato justice @zu-is-here and if there's anything else I could've done better!

“Aim…” Axel mumbled, looking as if he were ready to crumble or disappear from the anxiety in his soul. It formed a painful lump, making his words struggle to come out properly. But under all that was the undying love and trust of the man before him. In all his unconditional love there was still part of him that needed to know, it needed to know that Aim was truly there, and that he was his, no matter how murky the waters they swam in were. Of course it was a silly question though. He knew that answer well enough. Aim was his, but…was Axel himself Aim's? 

“...I need you, Aim.” His voice finally managed to say. “...But I don't know if you need me.” He admitted quietly, his voice suddenly breaking.

Aim, sitting on the other side of the bed, turned to look at the distressed skeleton, offering him a look of comfort with some sort of humor attached to it. “What do ya mean? Of course I need you.” He said, sounding slightly surprised by how the shorter skeleton only seemed to look sadder at his reply. 

“...No- just- ugh! You don't understand!” Axel cried out as he sat on the opposite side of the bed. “You seemed so fine before I came back to find you. Part of me wonders if I'm being selfish by asking so much of you. You don't owe me your companionship. But…but I want it, I crave it, and I crave you.” He said, looking frustrated. 

“...Heh, you have no idea how nice it is having you around.” Aim said, laying back on the mattress, his arms resting above his head. That response made Axel look at him with surprise. 

“If anything I probably need you more. I mean, I must've been really stuck in your head to make you come back after so long. Like a rattle in your skull?” He said in a lighthearted tone, watching Axel's face flush as he looked away. 

“Hm…something like that.” Axel said quietly. 

“This whole thing between us isn't bad. You've already done so much for me and-” Aim paused, noticing the little glitter from a tear that streamed down Axel's cheek. Oh no, had he said something wrong? 

“You're right. You have been stuck in my head forever, and you have no idea how great it was to see you again, but…I don't want to push my feelings on you like this.” Axel said quietly, letting out a little laugh through a few sobs. 

“Stars…oh stars…how are we going to make this work?” He said meekly, voice full of raw vulnerability and sorrow. His soul fluttered intensely in his chest any time he laid eyes on the man before him, couch-potato and lazy-bones aside. 

“Axel, you're crying-” Aim tried, sitting up. 

“Of course I am…this is never going to work!” Axel cried out, trying to wipe his tears away. “I can't even kiss you-”

“You can.” Aim replied. 

“...what?” Axel said, lifting his head up to look at him, surprised by his answer. Aim looked at him with a more genuine smile. “Is that why you are so upset? Are you afraid to ask me for a hug or a kiss?” The larger skeleton asked with a little grin. 

“I might not get it, but we're a team. One member just can't pull all the weight, I'm too heavy for you to be carrying all the weight of us. I can try my best for you if it will make you happy, just ask. There's nothing wrong giving back to my ‘partner’, eh?” Aim grinned, winking under his goggles. 

Axel stared, the glitchy skeletons gaze was  less upset, and more just shocked and moved by his words. “...you'd…you'd do that for me? Aim please…your boundaries, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable.” He said gently, trying to be careful with his wording. 

“Oi! I don't mind as long as you're happy by the end of it, I gotta keep the hand who feeds me happy, don't i?~” 

Axel rolled his eyes, sighing. He wiped the tears from his eyes, taking in a steady breath to calm himself. “Well…” he said, moving closer to Aim, their bodies close in contact. 

“...I've always wanted to see you without your goggles. The real you. I miss your beautiful eye lights. Please…let me see you.” Axel whispered, shifting his potion, sitting right in front of Aim as he reached out to the ever important goggles that hid Aim's orange eyelights. 

Aim seemed to hesitate, looking unsure as Axel grabbed the edges of his goggles with care. “Heh…they really haven't changed much.” He said, struggling to keep the smile on his face. “Are you sure it's worth your time?” The larger skeleton asked. 

Axel frowned, lifting his goggles above his head gently. “...I'm sure.” He said firmly, cupping Aim's face with his hands, lifting himself up and settling amongst his partner's lap. He moved his face closer to Aim's, a small smile of appreciation and adoration flashing across his face. He was warm, very warm, and the way his eyelights stared back at him caused Axel's soul to flutter intensely with delight. 

He leaned it, pressing his nose against Aim's, an affection nuzzle. “...Is this okay?” He asked after a few tense moments of silence, staring into Aim's face. The other skeleton seemed quite relaxed, his eye lights faintly illuminating the space between them like a dim light, a small light compared to the blue hue spread across Axel's face.

“Of course.” Aim said calmly, “...you know, you're actually pretty light, heh.” He teased. 

“Feeling better?” Aim asked for a few moments, the warmth between them being pleasant, like a warm blanket on a cold day. Axel hesitated, his hands resting on Aim's chest as he let them go from his face. 

“...May I kiss you?” Axel asked, before stopping to think for a second. “-and more?” He asked with an added huskiness to his voice, his soul beating heavily against his ribcage in a flurry of emotions. 

“Sure.” Aim said simply, leaning back. His simple response caught Axel off guard. Stars, did he really trust him that much? Axel looked starstruck, staring at Aim with sparkling eyes full of a swirl of positive emotions, the tears on his face long dry. 

Aim noticed, looking a little concerned, “You alright-?” He questioned, before he was cut off, his words swallowed up as Axel leaned in, pressing their mouths together in a soft, delicate motion. Axel held himself there for several moments, his breath held as he made contact with Aim, a warmth spreading over him, and a warmth he missed once he pulled away. 

His voice came out in a soft tone, full of emotion. 

“....Everything is fine.”

[jo-harrington]

Standard Operating Procedures 1.05 (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: It's a normal Sunday night. You're just going over to have dinner, smoke, and listen to music. It's not a date. What could possibly go wrong?

Previous Part: Standard Operating Procedures 1.04

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. Mutual pining, alcohol and drug use (wine, beer, and weed), R has a minor panic attack while high, fluff, lighthearted smut (petting/groping/dry humping), minor angst, misunderstandings and miscommunication, driving probably a little under the influence, slight anachronism (slapping the bag)

Note: Big note for this one if you've read the most recent installations of SMVerse that I've posted...this is NOT in chronological order. SM and Eddie are not together in this one, we are rewinding back before Closing Time. This chapter and the next one are both a little longer and have been lingering in my head for quite a long time. Almost a year. So without further ado, please enjoy SOP 1.05.

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other writing.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

Sundays were your favorite days, hands down.

They sort of always had been, even before moving to Hawkins. Now, though, you had an extra special reason why they were your favorite.

Sundays meant that you could be yourself after you clocked out. They meant standing in the mirror and wiping away the layers of glitter eyeshadow and scented nail polish off. They meant shedding the overly sparkly jewelry from work and the trendy clothes from the JCPenney or Madigan's Juniors department that were definitely cut for a teenage body.

No matter how young you still were, you just weren't sixteen anymore.

You could finally breathe a little easier.

No more Dress to Impress, no more preppy popular girl, no more customer service voice.

Sundays meant freedom.

Lately, part of that freedom meant walking out of the store, taking the most freeing breath you could, and walking right up to your crush best friend so you could spend those last few dying hours of the weekend together.

Shooting the breeze, laughing, and getting to know one another. Getting to really see one another.

Tonight, though, there was just this cloud hanging over you as you stood in the store's bathroom after hours and shucked off the plaid vest and fashionably unmatched skirt you'd chosen for the day in favor of a t-shirt and comfy stirrup pants.

Summer was over, school was back in session, and you hadn't gotten to see Eddie as much as you normally did.

Which, in the grander scheme of things, a lot of things changed with the new school year starting: a bunch of your associate's schedules changed, a few of them even left town for college, and business started to slow a little during the week for the first time since the store opened.

Still, you missed him.

It felt weird from practically seeing him every day to only seeing him in passing or on the weekends.

What if he didn't want to be friends anymore?

Well, that was just silly. Some remnant of fear about the fickleness of your friends memories in childhood. Besides, the first shift after school started back up, he immediately came running to your store and talked your ear off about the new kids that he forced to join Hellfire.

"God, they're such losers," he reminisced with a sparkle in his eye and a smile on his lips. "They have so much potential. I can't wait for you to meet them."

Tonight though...

Tonight was like any normal night; you were getting together after the mall closed and picking up pizza.

However, instead of any of your usual haunts or shenanigans in and around Hawkins, Eddie insisted you come over to his place. Totally normal.

"And we can smoke," he added as an afterthought.

"You know I don't smoke Eddie," you reminded him. "My grandpa and his crackly lungs? I've taken him to enough doctor's appointments."

"Doesn't stop you from sucking up the air around me when I'm having a cigarette on break. No. I mean smoke. Reefer. Weed. Jesus, don't act ignorant Miss Goody Two Shoes."

"Excuse me," you choked. "How am I Miss Goody Two Shoes?"

"Because," he began with dramatic emphasis. "For all of your stories about garage beers and parties that your work friends dragged you to, you've never mentioned partaking in any sort of illicit substances. You're being obtuse on purpose or you're afraid."

You were caught like a deer in the headlights.

"I...I'm not."

And you weren't; it wasn't fear. It was just...inexperience.

Back home you were always careful, even when you hung around friends from school or work; with your overprotective father and uptight mother and two brothers who wouldn't hesitate to rat you out if they found out you broke some kind of rule? It would be over.

So you never got too wild at parties. Disheveled clothes could be straightened, and you could pretend that swollen lips were just a side effect of getting a little sick. You never drank more beer than whatever made you feel a little floaty if you weren't sleeping over at a friends. And you never smoked weed.

Ok so it was fear, in a way; residual fear. Just not the way Eddie thought.

"Hey, don't worry," Eddie said in the most understanding way he could. "You just tell me and I'll drop it, if you're afraid."

You wanted to tell him, wanted to explain it, but in a moment of reflection and wanting to assuage his worries, defiance got the better of you and you told him that you weren't afraid and it would all be fine.

You were going to be with him; you never needed to be afraid when you were with him.

Now though, staring at yourself in the mirror as you got ready to go and meet Eddie you realized you might have made a mistake.

Hanging out with your crush friend alone at his place? Fine. Sitting close on the couch as you ate pizza and listened to music? Cool. Drinking and smoking together, knowing that you got a little bit chatty when you loosened up a little bit under the influence? Uhm.

What could possibly go wrong?

---

The spread that you and Eddie had created was impressive.

Pizza and a six pack and red vines and...and...and...

Eddie was usually very thorough when it came to providing snacks or planning outings where you could get a nice little treat together. Tonight it was partially your fault.

You'd originally planned just to drive to his place after work and the pizza would be delivered, but he said that when he'd called to place the order at Lou's--large pepperoni and a box of cannoli--they told him that the delivery driver was out. Takeout only.

But then he also forgot to stop at Bradley's for soda.

So you offered to go to Bradley's while he picked up the pizza, and you might have gone overboard.

Soda and a box of wine and peanut m&m's and...and...and...

"And you say that I'm bad," Eddie scoffed as you walked in, arms laden with shopping bags.

"Excuse me, this is the once in a blue moon you let me pay for anything, I'm gonna take advantage of it."

Wayne was still home getting ready for his shift when you got there and he simply shook his head at your bickering with a fond smile, then pilfered a little of everything for his own dinner before leaving you both to it.

Once he was gone, the festivities began.

You were both overzealous, talking a mile a minute over each other about your days as you set up for the night. Eddie divvied out food--creating a plate that reminded you of the Peanuts' Thanksgiving feast, overflowing with multicolored candies and popcorn and pizza slices--as you took care of the drinks.

You were a little smug that you got to teach Eddie something during these little Sunday night not-dates for once.

"Where did you learn this?" he asked skeptically as you ripped into the cardboard box. "What even is Franzia? Sounds fancy."

"It is the least fancy thing you can get," you grinned maniacally and freed the floppy plastic bag full of pink liquid from its confines. "Honestly I should have thrown it in the fridge but it's fine. You can put it with some coke; it'd probably taste better anyway."

He made a face.

"I'll just have a beer."

"Oh my--Eddie! Live a little." You settled the bag on the coffee table and gestured to it. "You don't have to drink it...chug a beer, I don't care...but you need to slap it."

He huffed and shuffled across the carpet on his knees to settle beside you.

"Is this a Claire's thing?" he asked, he looked up at you through his bangs.

"No it's not a--well...no. It doesn't matter! My old store manager, Jen, made us do it whenever we went to parties and hung out at her place. It's fun."

"Why does this feel like a lie?"

You reached out and smacked your hand against the plastic, listened to the liquid slosh inside. He let out a long suffering sigh but gestured for you to go ahead and he settled on the floor as you squealed with glee.

Eddie popped the little tab on the spout and the cheap wine poured freely into his mouth; he maintained eye contact with you the whole time, even as he choked on the unfamiliar taste of the pink zinfandel.

When you'd hung out with Jen and your coworkers and friends, it was just...a silly thing. Now, though, it was just you and Eddie; you stood over him with the bag gently held in your hands over his mouth and his hand rested on your calf as he drank. It was tense and intimate and as you started feeling a little hot under the collar, you wondered if this was a mistake.

Regardless, when he'd had his fill, he shut the spout and raised his hand and slapped the bag so hard it soared out of your grasp and across the living room.

You both burst out laughing as it swished and sloshed with a pronounced glorp on impact with the floor, and Eddie collapsed against your legs as the giddiness got the better of him.

"Ok, that's better than a keg stand." He looked up at you and wiped a hand over his mouth. "Blagh...probably gonna need that coke if I have any more though. Your turn, sweetheart."

Then the tables were turned, but unlike Eddie, you stood toe to toe with him as he held the bag for you.

To avoid the tense eye contact, you kept yours closed as you pulled mouthful after mouthful from the bag. You almost felt a little smug; you'd always been good at this, despite how awful the wine burps were gonna get after. You knew Eddie's competitive nature--always seeing who could finish a blizzard from DQ first and giving himself a brain freeze in the process--so you were hoping to last a little longer, hit the bag a little harder, and get him to concede.

You counted down in your head and finally when you couldn't take the heartburn the wine caused any longer, you shut the spout and released it, ready for victory.

Of course, opening your eyes provided nothing of the sort.

Eddie stood there, inches away from you; his pupils were blown and he was breathing a little heavily and for a split second you thought to ask if he was ok.

Until he leaned a little closer.

Close enough where you could smell the laundry detergent and the general amalgamation of mall scents coming off of him.

Then you noticed that his eyes were locked onto…your lips?

Was he gonna kiss you?

You already thought…well…and in the van the other week? When he licked frosting off your hand? You'd thought...

Except that was the thing, you always thought, you never acted. Too stuck in your head weighing and judging the options and if you could just do something about it. If you could just lean forward a little, you could stop worrying and have your answer right?

And if it wasn't meant to be and things were weird? If he didn't actually mean to try and kiss you? You worked retail; you could bullshit with the best of them if worse came to worse.

Then you'd just pretend that your heart didn't ache from rejection for the duration of your friendship. You were already familiar with disappointment; this would be no different.

Alright, that's it, you weren't gonna chance it anymore. All the worrying you did back at the store was enough. You were just gonna kiss him. Just lean forward; just go. Just go. One, two...two and a half...

Eddie's eyelids fluttered a little bit, and your heart clenched in hope, until he leaned away and cleared his throat.

The wine bag was tossed onto the coffee table and Eddie gestured to the plates he'd prepared.

"So, pizza?"

---

Music was the next event of the night.

And the weed.

Funny how all of your anxiety over smoking flew out the window when you were anxious about something else.

Because you just couldn't get your feelings out of your head after Eddie walked away from a kiss like that.

Was it even going to be a kiss? Or was it just the awkwardness of your positions in that situation? Were you overthinking the overthinking?

On and on those thoughts spiraled.

Until Eddie said he was going to get his stereo to start your comprehensive education of metal.

"We really don't have all night Eddie," you said and threw a balled up napkin at him as he fiddled with his tapes.

"Ok, maybe not fully comprehensive," he held his hands up in surrender. "Nothing sounds better than vinyl and I have all of that at Rick's. And my mom's records. You wanna talk about classics? We've gotta spend a whole weekend there."

He put a tape into the slot and hit play and the room was immediately filled with guitar riffs and singing and shouting; he turned the volume down immediately.

"I've gotta give you the whole history sweetheart," he explained. "So you've gotta hear me too. This song's not so important...I'll turn it up when we get to the good part."

Of course, Eddie's music history lesson...started with him.

"Picture this," he said, arms waving as he walked over to his school things that had been haphazardly thrown in a corner of the room: a wilted canvas backpack, a black binder, and a dented metal lunchbox. "11-year old me, fresh after my mom's funeral and everyone she knew was coming up to us but I refused to talk. Wayne kept making excuse after excuse. But Rick, bless him, said 'gotta make him cry.'"

And on he went as he spilled the contents of the dented lunchbox on the coffee table and began the fine work of rolling a joint.

"Took me to the record store, let me pick out whatever I wanted. Of course I chose Sad Wings of Destiny because the art was cool. Little did I know that would change the course of my life forever."

You didn’t know what to focus on and that made you spiral a little bit further. The words, the music, his lips and his fingers as he followed steps that he seemed to know but didn't feel the need to elaborate on were all very appealing targets; the music and his story was what was important here though and you made the attempt.

He told his story in a way that only Eddie Munson knew how to—arms flailing, minute details, expressions and voices and everything you loved admired about him. He took a moment to swap cassettes and crank up the volume before he fell onto the couch beside you in a mess of cushions and limbs and hair.

"I would say ladies first," he began as he presented the joint to you. He then stuck it between his lips and continued talking around it. "But I'm nothing if not a gentleman and I need to teach you how to do this. It's a little different than cigarettes."

It was a comprehensive lesson and you'd gotten the hang of it quickly, but the proximity did nothing to help calm your nerves; Eddie's knee touching yours, his face and hands so close to yours as he held the joint to your lips, then one hand your shoulder as he soothed the cough that escaped you after your first hit, and finally the way he inhaled along with you as you took another.

Want burned in your lungs along with the smoke, but it didn't leave you when you finally exhaled.

You were very much looking forward to the light and mellow feeling that Eddie promised once the weed hit your system.

"Until then," he grinned and took another hit himself before dropping the smoldering stick into a nearby ashtray. "We just dive into the mind of the great Ronnie James Dio."

You rested back against the cushions and turned your head to really watch him; it was strange just...observing him. You had never done it like this before, close and quiet at this distance. Your time together was always spent with conversation and laughter, your observations and mental notes about him done in little snapshots as he moved through life like a blur.

Now you got to experience the simplicity of his presence in private and the addictive frequency that he emitted.

It was nice.

You watched the way his lashes brushed against his skin as he melted into the sofa beside you and closed his eyes. The way his plush lips pursed and then stretched as he hummed along to the music. You closed your own eyes for a second as he matched the sharpness of the lyrics with his voice, hushed and then shrill, and then hushed again.

And when you opened them back up to watch him some more, he was watching you and practically vibrating.

Your heart skipped a beat...

"Sweetheart," he reached out and touched your wrist. "You ok?"

Wait...he wasn't vibrating.

You were.

Then you noticed that your heart skipped many beats, then the beats suddenly tripled, and then it all slowed again, pounding harder and faster in your chest than you believed to be possible.

Did your chest hurt? Or were you imagining it?

It felt like the few times you ran the mile back in high school, but you hadn't run.

Had you?

Your legs felt like jelly. Your arms too.

So you must have run...but when?

No wait, you were forgetting something. Your chest, your heart, your lungs. You had to focus on them first, you needed them to live.

You tried to fix it all by taking a great gulp of air in--if you felt like you'd just run the mile, surely catching your breath would fix it--but you found that it didn't fix anything. In fact, you seemed to lose even more control of your body. You floundered, breathing heavily over and over, quicker and quicker to try and get a hold of yourself.

And the panic set in, unlike anything you'd ever experienced before in your life.

Your consciousness became untethered from your body and you sank deep within yourself. Like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Only instead of a rabbit hole, the you that existed in your mind fell away from your eyes and deeper into your skull then out the back of it and into the so-soft cushions of the couch.

But this wasn't sinking, this wasn't melting. This was being buried alive.

You remembered Eddie’s taunting before, about being afraid of smoking. Why hadn’t you told him that you didn’t want to do this? Why hadn’t you told him you were afraid? You were a stubborn idiot and now you’d die here, buried amongst pilling fabric and lost change and lint and a few cheerios that were stuck between the cushions.

You would die here on Eddie's couch...

"Eddie!" you practically sobbed and reached out for him, remembering suddenly that he was there with you. Why wasn't he doing anything to keep you from sinking? "Help!"

"It's ok hey!" He grabbed your hands now and pulled you back from the void, hooked the tether back onto you and saved you from the depths. "It's ok, breathe. No, not like that. Slowly, deep breaths with me. In and hold it and out. Whoooooo."

You focused on the whooshing sound of the air that escaped his lips and you tried to make the same sound yourself. Over and over, slowly as he guided you.

"That's it," he smiled. "Good girl."

You slowly grounded yourself through Eddie, escaping whatever horrible clutches had just grasped at you. You began to feel better, lighter; more centered within yourself but…nicer?

Had that awful feeling been the high? Or was this?

Maybe everyone got caught by a demon when they smoked and then if they escaped they felt a nice light flutter and instead of a heavy beating heart that threatened to burst out of their chests, they felt...silly. Happy. Bubbly.

Like you did whenever you were around Eddie.

Only now it was better, and it was all getting better as he spoke to you and smiled and wiped at the few tears that had escaped your eyes.

Breathe in, breathe out. Good girl.

You kept breathing and staring at his lips.

Breathe in.

Lips.

Breathe out.

Eddie's lips.

Good girl.

You thought about earlier...minutes or hours you couldn't tell for sure...about the way Eddie leaned close to you and almost kissed you. All the worry you'd had about not being able to make a move because you were thinking so much you couldn't act. Here you were now, thinking again. When his lips were right there and you could do something about it.

With one last shaky breath, bubbly infatuation flooded your body; you smiled and said one final farewell to your nervous thoughts, and you surged forward. Your hands shook his away and grabbed at his face, as your lips slid clumsily against his.

Your noses bumped and teeth clacked painfully but it didn't quite matter because the sparks that emanated from your joined lips shot through your limbs and made you both feel tingly and pleasant. At least, you assumed they did for Eddie because he let out a sound that was somewhere in between a giggle and a moan.

But he didn't push you away; in fact, his hands clapped over yours and smushed them further into his cheeks.

He wanted you to kiss him. He wanted to kiss you. He...liked you.

It was a euphoric moment of joy and realization, but your need to put your lips on him outweighed that. So you tried again. Gentler this time.

Eddie followed your lead for a little while as you pulled him towards you; one of his hands found your waist as the other arm rounded your shoulders, and he became your anchor to prevent you from being buried by the sofa again. As thanks for his chivalry, you gifted him with soft caresses, quick pecks, and sharp little nips.

Your fingers developed a mind of their own, and seemed to love his cheekbones and getting tangled in his hair, although they couldn't quite decide which they loved more so back and forth they went.

The rest of you, though--mind and body--just basked in the kissing.

You were good at kissing; you liked kissing. And you liked kissing Eddie, more than you ever thought you would. Kissing under the light, buzzy influence of a beer or two was nice, and it might have been the weed or it could have just been Eddie himself, but this was nicer. Floaty and tingly and transcendent.

The music itself had stopped, but Eddie himself continued to provide the soundtrack to the night. Instead of guitars and vocals and pounding drums, it was a symphony of soft hums and sweet sighs.

Eddie, who often pilfered bites and nibbles off your plate and cited that he was a "growing boy," seemed to prove that his hunger was greater than yours the way he bit and nibbled at you too, appetite growing the longer you kissed. The pace you set no longer fed him the way he wanted and he started to feast a little more; that was a side-effect of being high, right? Hunger. Insatiable hunger?

His mouth pulled away from yours and started to explore your jaw, the column of your neck, the junction between your neck and shoulder. You let yourself get lost in the feeling of his attention, of his lips and hands as he gave and took, of the floaty feeling that settled comfortably in your limbs now, all the nerves of the day forgotten.

Before you knew it, your own hunger grew as well. You wanted him closer, needed more of him now that you had him.

You let yourself drift back along the pillows until you were laying comfortably and pulled Eddie along with you; one hand still lingered in his hair as the other fisted the collar of his shirt and got him right where you needed him to be.

Of course, you couldn't just take without giving as well, and as he settled onto you, your hips bucked up into him. You both moaned--savoring the proximity and delicious friction that his jeans and your leggings provided--and then giggled together as he collapsed on top of you, unprepared for the sudden surge of delight.

His breath fanned across your neck and jaw as he laughed breathlessly, and your hands caressed his head and shoulders fondly as you mirrored him.

He strained his neck a little to look you in the eye; his grin accentuated all the lines in his face, and for a second he struggled to form words. His mouth opened and closed silently and then he licked his lips to compose himself. The next thing you knew, his hand was coming up and squeezing one of your breasts with an exaggerated "honk" as he fell back against the other one and pressed his mouth to the swell over your shirt.

Back into the throes of unadulterated giggles you both went as he continued to honk and kiss and suck at exposed skin.

One of the highlights of the whole night was when he blew a raspberry against your neck; the feeling of goosebumps that erupted along your body and the spittle that sprayed across your skin would be a sensation you would remember and cherish forever.

"No fair," you whined and shifted against him again, both to protest the fact that you currently couldn't return the favor of all the attention he was giving you. Nevertheless, you treated him to the attention that you could, and you bucked your hips up again, only to be met with the feeling of him grinding down onto you.

Giggles began to mingle with desperate pants as he began to shift against you and settled into the cradle of your thighs; he grew harder and ground and rutted against the covered softness of you, faster and sharper, and your body eagerly responded, wanting to be as close to him as you could. As close as either of you could honestly fathom at this point, feeling too good like this to consider that there was more pleasure to be had if time went on and clothes came off.

Sunday nights together were truly gleeful and hedonistic, and tonight was no different. However, instead of snacks and arguments accentuated by the sounds of light-hearted talk and laughter, it was your writhing bodies and mingled breaths that took center stage; the two of you never stopped, only paused for your lips to smack wetly against one another, for your nails to rake through his hair and scratch against his scalp, and for him to grasp at your hips to pull you closer and closer as he drove you higher and higher.

"Eddie, I'm--" you broke away from him and keened, and he responded with a husky "uh-huh" and pressed his forehead against yours. Both of your eyes closed as you felt the pleasure building between the two of you, as he moaned and your toes curled...

As keys jingled in the lock of the front door of the trailer.

...and suddenly it was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over the both of you and you froze, all thought of completion forgotten.

Your eyes shot open and you stared into Eddie's panic-filled, pleasure-blown pupils. He shifted sharply and then paused, almost like a glitch, and then he was off you, across to the other side of the couch in the blink of an eye. You watched, dumbstruck, as he panted heavily to control his breathing, and he held his head in shaking hands.

"No, no," he muttered. "Shit. Shit."

You reacted quickly as the door started to squeak open--throwing your legs over the edge of the sofa to sit upright as your hands clumsily fixed your disheveled clothes--and Wayne walked in. You took the extra second as he grumbled at the threshold and fiddled with his keys to look at Eddie, hoping for some kind of...secret conspiratorial smile or...or heated gaze...just something but he refused to look at you.

Suddenly, all of the good feelings that had flooded you since the moment that Eddie had chased your panic away...they vanished. The sweet giggles and shared pleasure were gone; even the love bites you were sure Eddie had left behind stung instead of blissfully buzzed.

And in their place, an acute clarity of what the two of you had just done.

"You wouldn't believe the mess I walked into tonight," Wayne chuckled with disbelief as he finally shut the door.

No kidding Wayne, you thought bitterly.

"Some of the machines were down when I got there and it took a few hours to figure out the problem. Some rusted old part..." On and on he chattered as you spiraled, stuck in your thoughts once again.

You and Eddie, Eddie and you. You and your secret crush...had just...on his couch. You and your best friend, your only friend in town...got high and kissed and canoodled and now he refused to even look at you.

You didn't know if it was the weed again or if it was just you, but you could see stars in the corners of your eyes and you felt lightheaded as the panic settled back in. And it only got worse the longer you sat there and tried to get some kind of sign from Eddie, only to be left with nothing. Such a stark contrast from just moments ago where you were giving and taking and responding to one another so freely.

Giving and taking...was that really what it was? Or did you just...do this to him? Do this to the both of you? Effectively tank your friendship the way you'd worried about since the first time you'd hung out and Eddie had specifically said it wasn't a date?

You abruptly got to your feet and Wayne stopped his chatter and looked at you questioningly.

"I..." you felt your throat closing up with emotion. "I just forgot I have a really important call first thing tomorrow. I...need to go!"

Eddie finally looked at you with wide, shocked eyes.

Were those tears? Oh god...

"I...it was nice to see you Wayne, sorry..." you scrambled to grab your bag from where you'd tossed it by the door and then looked back at both Munsons. Back and forth at Wayne's curious expression...and Eddie's devastated one. "I'm...sorry."

And you bolted out the door, into your car, and back across town to the lonely confines of your apartment, where you would wish for a second chance at Sunday all over again.

Because until tonight, Sundays had always been your favorite days.

Next Part: Leave of Absence

[0cta9on]

Hi I hope this is ok for you a fluffy short with cute younger girlfriend winter with her older boyfriend malereader having fun at Aespa back stage with the members playing games

Hello yoohyeons-puppy98! Fluff requests are absolutely okay :] I don't exactly know what backstage at a concert looks like, so I just kinda winged in :> Hope you like it regardless!

Everyone told you it wasn't possible, the relationship would never last. Maybe they're right and you're just too stubborn to listen, clinging onto what could already be falling apart at the seams. But none of that matters right now. Minjeong—er, Winter is going on stage soon and you want to show your support without worrying her.

You knock on the door, carrying plastic bags full of snacks for the girls. Their manager warned you about their diets, but a little snack before performing never hurt anyone. At least, you hope not.

"Baby!" The door swings open, revealing Winter's ecstatic look as she runs to you, arms wide open. As you swing her around in your embrace, the two of you giggling like schoolchildren, you're reminded all at once why you put so much effort to be here in the first place.

"Hello, my love," you say, smiling from ear to ear. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you." She plants a delicate kiss onto your cheek, spreading her warmth to your entire body. "Our makeup artist did such a good job, didn't she?"

"I doubt she'd have a hard time making you look beautiful," you quip, earning a playful slap on your shoulder. "Oh, I stopped by the store on my way here and got some snacks for you and your friends. I don't know what they like, so I just got one of everything."

"Aww, that's very sweet of you. Come inside, I'm sure the girls will want to meet you!"

Winter pulls you into the green room, which you can only describe as "organized chaos" as an array of staff members run around doing their jobs while the rest of her members goof off on the couches. Despite there only being three of them, they somehow manage to stay the loudest in the room with their cackling laughter amidst the hum of last-minute preparations.

"Guys!" Winter calls out to them, grabbing their attention. "My boyfriend is here with some snacks!"

"H-hello." You awkwardly wave at them as they get up to greet you. Even though you've talked to them in passing while on Facetime with Winter, you can't help but feel a little starstruck at meeting celebrities in person. On top of that, their intricate stage outfits and fierce makeup looks only made them look more intimdating.

"Wah, thank you!" Karina says, taking the bags from your hands and placing them on the table. "I need something sweet before we go up on stage."

"Winter, your boyfriend should play mafia with us!" NingNing suggests. Winter hops with excitement while you offer her a quizzical look.

"Uh, what's mafia?" You ask.

"It's a fun game we like to play while we wait. C'mon, I'll tell you the rules."

"Oh, uh, I don't know, I'm not really good at these kinds of things," you shyly admit. She cups your face gently, calming your nerves with a simple look. You're supposed to be the one calming her down before she has to perform, yet here you are, getting all nervous about a silly game with her friends.

"It's okay, baby. It'll be fun, I promise," she soothes.

"Yeah, we don't bite," Giselle adds, smirking. "Maybe Karina might- Ow!"

"Yah!" The two get into lighthearted cat fight, spiraling into even more laughter from NingNing who watches from a safe distance.

"Maybe I should sit this one out," you joke. With a grin, Winter pulls you towards the couches, adamant that you join in on the fun.

At most, you probably spent 20 minutes with them, playing and joking around like you're children at a playground and not full grown adults jobs and responsibilities. Yet somehow, it feels like hours pass by in a blink of an eye. Even if you can't see each other often, it's comforting to know that Winter is surrounded by such great friends. Like all good things, this too must come to an end.

"Girls, be on standby! The concert is starting soon," their manager announces, earning a wave of disappointment from them. Even you feel a little bad about having to end the fun already.

"You'll be watching, right?" Winter asks while the rest of them get ready.

"Of course, my love," you assure her. "I'll be front and center, cheering you on louder than everybody there."

She giggles, blessing your cheek with a kiss. "Give some cheers to the rest of the girls too, it's not a solo concert y'know."

"Hmm, maybe I can give them a shout or too," you quip, earning an overdramatic glare from the rest of the girls. You chuckle awkwardly, offering a supportive thumbs up.

Winter holds your face with a gentle touch, tracing your face with longing. You know what that look means. Your heart breaks every time you have to see it.

"We'll get dinner after the concert, okay? Just you and me," you say softly.

She sighs, wrapping you up in a warm embrace. "I wish we could do more than just dinner. I wish I could stay with you forever."

You blink away the tears building in your eyes. No point in trying to make her feel worse. "Me too," is all you can utter without giving away the cracks in your voice.

"Winter," her manager says. "We have to go. The people are waiting."

She breaks away from you slightly before capturing your lips in a tender, heartbreaking kiss. It's brief and fleeting, yet the velvety feeling of her lips stays imprinted in your mind like a fond memory. She gives you a brief smile before following her members out the door, waving at you right as it shuts behind her.

Goodbyes are always the hardest, especially when you don't know the next time you'll get to see her, but you know in your heart that you'll reconvene like no time has passed at all. You'll get to see that smile and hear that laugh again, that same one you've adored for years. This love may be difficult and exhausting and downright painful at times, but nothing in this world is more gratifying than being the one to hold her heart. Despite the odds, you'll do anything and everything to protect her.

[lilacthebooklover]

shadow milk is such an intriguing character to me because so many things he shows us are a facade. we see him constantly belittling other cookies, calling them "fools" and "silly", yet he himself can't seem to count to four. we see him act lighthearted and jokey, only for wrath to emanate from him as he blasphemes this world's version of gods (his whole deal with the witches is something i'd very much like to go into). we watch his performances and his own interpretation of why he was sealed away, only for the witches to go further unmentioned as the story focuses on the "fool king" (clearly bearing no resemblance to elder faerie cookie, what are you guys on about smh, it's just a sad coincidence). we don't know his true intentions- he seems to have a lot of fun tormenting pure vanilla and apparently wants his soul jam back, but has made no move to take it, instead repeatedly stating that he wants to introduce pv to the other fallen heroes once they're released. he seems on the surface like a being of chaos, but we find out how much of a perfectionist he is through the white lily/dark enchantress puppets. he twists the narrative in his favour so much that he fails to see how someone might deviate from the script, he has no qualms about turning cookies into mindless puppets or even killing them (rip elder faerie), and yet he treats the group like more of an amusement than a threat. he's smart but arrogant, able to pick apart minds while still not yet strong enough to take over pure vanilla's, and he's incredibly proficient at identifying someone's weaknesses. there's so much about him that we don't know yet, and i'm getting more tempted to make a full cohesive analysis on him by the minute