#for our shoppy if you even care

[leggywormy]

BEWARE OF DOGGO - THEY HAVE KNIVES!!

Dw there are more angy pride doggos on the list, but those are the ones I made so far Any flags and/or specific doggo breeds you'd like to see? Also *seductively turns towards the camera* if you'd like to see more, pls follow on instagram

[flowerdeliveryphilippines]

Check out our latest blog post, The Ultimate Guide to Flower Delivery and Gift Baskets in the Philippines: Delightful Surprises for Every Occasion by Flower Delivery Philippines.

Shop GIFT BASKETS at our online store:

In today’s fast-paced world, sending gifts to loved ones, friends, or even colleagues has become more convenient than ever, thanks to the rise of online shopping. Whether you're miles away or just around the corner, you can effortlessly send flowers and gift baskets to the Philippines to make any occasion memorable. But what makes a gift truly special? It’s not just the thought—it’s the care, detail, and love that go into picking the perfect gift basket, hamper, or flower arrangement.

[whumpcereal]

the road to hell, part one

@darkthingshappen and I have joined incredibly dark and twisty forces to bring you this @the-whumpers-soiree entry, featuring our delightful whumpers Alexsei Volkov (from Tay's Brother's Keeper) and Ivan Peters (from my Behavior Modification), and our brand new co-created whumpee, sweet Jesse (with a quick but special guest appearance by @quietly-by-myself's Faolan). This is part one of two--and part two gets extra spicy, so buckle up. We might be persuaded to write more if people like it.

content warnings for part one: adult language, creepy/intimate whumpers, forced drugging, manhandling, kidnapping, and the suggestion of and prelude to (but not yet explicit) noncon

part one:

Jesse smiled as he watched Landon play to the crowd.  Landon bounced back on stage for his encore and the place, as always, went nuts.  It was a big gig tonight, one of those large outdoor amphitheaters with enough space to really pack them in–and Landon always packed them in.  

Jesse shook his head fondly.  This was what Landon always wanted.  To be a star.  And he was made for it.  Everyone loved him–and Jesse loved being along for the ride.  It was fun.  He had no desire to be on stage, but getting to travel had always been his dream, so being in Landon’s orbit worked well for him.  

Jesse had always been Landon’s number two. Even when they were kids, and Landon was holding court on the playground, Jesse was right there with him. Everyone knew that wherever Landon was, Jesse would be too. He never minded coming second. Landon might have lapped up the attention and applause; Jesse liked watching. He liked to see things, and maybe to know he’d help make them happen. Landon was more of a doer. They balanced out well.

“Thank you, Austin!” Landon flashed the crowd a grin and shouldered his guitar. “You’ve been great! We love you, and we can’t wait to see you again soon!” 

The crowd roared in response, and Landon bowed, shaking sweat from his blond curls as he came back up. The air was electric. This is what he was meant to do. 

And Jesse? He was happy to be there when Landon ran back into the wings. 

“That was fucking awesome, dude!” Jesse grabbed Landon’s guitar and clapped his friend on back. “As always.” 

Landon shrugged, spreading his arms so that a few of the PA’s could take care of his mic and monitors. He smiled again. “Well, you know. I try.” 

“You don’t have to,” Jesse said. 

He shepherded Landon toward the green room, flipping through his clipboard.   

“Oh, hey, this came by post for you while you were performing.  It looks fancy. Some kind of invite, I think.”  Jesse handed a thick, square envelope to Landon and went back to the agenda.  “The tour’s over the day after tomorrow.  Just the Dallas concert left to play, then it’s back home to sunny Tacoma.”  

They both giggled at the thought of ‘sunny’ Tacoma, Washington, the sky only came in shades of gray.

Landon nodded, tearing into the envelope with curiosity on his face.  “Huh. Yup, it’s another party invite.  But this one looks super fancy.”  He read through it, scrutinizing the date and time.  “Damn.  I’ve already got plans that night.”  He looks at Jesse.  “Hey… the tour’s over the day after tomorrow.”

“And…? You said that already.”  Jesse thought maybe the busy tour schedule was starting to get to Landon.  “Do you need to lie down?  You feeling okay?”  He moved his hand to Landon’s still sweaty forehead.  

Landon laughed and swatted him away.  “No, goofball.  You should go to this party.  You’d love it.  It’s in a city you’ve never been to.  And I know how much you love to explore new places.”

“I don’t know.” Jesse frowned. “We’ve been so busy lately with this tour, and then the potential tour in Europe?  I mean, everyone wants a piece of you. They’re not angling to have your assistant show up at their event.”

“Nope!  I’m insisting.  Consider this your reward for a job well done.  And for being my best friend for all these years.” Landon elbowed him. “Come on.  I’ll even take you shopping.  I know I don’t pay you near enough.”

“You know it’s never been about the money.”  

And it hadn’t. Jesse had been just as happy when he was moving all of Landon’s equipment from shitty club to shitty club all by himself. He knew that Landon needed him, that Landon trusted him, that he was part of what kept Landon grounded.  

“Still, let me treat you,” Landon insisted. “I’ll pay for everything.  Even a nice hotel room.”

Jesse cocked his head to the side and snatched the invitation from Landon, looking at the embossed calligraphy. 

“I have always wanted to go to that city,” Jesse wheedled. 

“Okay then!  It’s done.”

“Okay.”

Jesse smiled. This should be fun. What was wrong with a little adventure, right? 

*!*!*!*!*

A month later, Jesse found himself in a painfully hip hotel lobby, nervously shifting in his new leather shoes. Landon had really gone all out; not only had he made sure Jesse was decked out in style– charcoal Prada suit, fresh shave and haircut by Landon’s personal stylist, and brand new Ferragamo wingtips–he’d even gotten Jesse from point A to point B in first class. 

“I don’t have a private jet–yet,” Landon had teased. 

Jesse felt a little out of place, but part of him was thrumming with excitement. This felt exclusive. The door man even had an earpiece, like he was in the fucking CIA or something. 

Yeah, Landon was going places–and so, it seemed, was Jesse. 

The black-suited attendant took Jesse’s invitation and raised his eyebrows. 

“Oh, Mr. Shaw. I’ve heard so much about you. I know our hosts will be pleased you’ve made it.”

Jesse laughed nervously. “I’m afraid I’m Mr. Shaw’s assistant. Jesse Barrow. A little reward for a job well done. Hope that’s okay.” 

“I’m sure we’ll be able to make do with you, Mr. Barrow,” said the attendant with a smile.  

Something about the man’s expression unsettled Jesse’s stomach, but maybe it was just the event’s caché - this was way nicer than he was used to. 

The attendant turned for a moment to the valet stand and produced a glowing blue bracelet. 

“Now, this will get you everything you need. Food, drinks, you know. This is a very exclusive event, so we need to be able to verify on sight that all attendees have indeed been–invited.” 

“Sure.” Jesse watched as the bracelet was fastened, tight, around his wrist. There was another twitch in his stomach. “I guess that makes sense.” 

“Wonderful. Now, if you’ll just proceed to the elevator, the operator will take you to the penthouse.” The attendant smiled again, and he extended his arm to point the way. “I do hope you’ll enjoy yourself, Mr. Barrow. I have a feeling tonight will be one that you’ll never forget.”

“Uh, yeah.” Jesse went to the elevator, where another suited attendant was waiting. Jesse showed him the bracelet. “Um, penthouse, please?” 

The man nodded and pressed a button, and the steel doors slipped shut. When they opened again, Jesse’s jaw nearly hit the floor. 

He’d been to plenty of parties with Landon, but never one like this. Since Landon had started gaining traction, it was expected that he bring camera-ready plus-ones with him to events, so Jesse had missed out on most of the catered affairs. Not that he minded, but damn–this was nice. 

“Penthouse, sir,” said the attendant. 

Jesse resisted the urge to whistle. “I guess so.”

The lights were low, blue and amber, and trays of hors d’oeuvres floated around the bar and leather chairs. The room vibrated with the soft titter of conversation, and from what Jesse could tell, everyone was well-dressed and very good-looking. 

Shit, Landon had really made it, hadn’t he? Jesse was grateful for the suit that Landon had bought him. He wasn’t sure he’d blend in, but at least he wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb either. 

“Thanks,” Jesse said breathlessly.

He stepped out and headed straight for the bar. There was no way he could do this without a little liquid courage. 

“Hi.” He nodded at the bartender. What did people drink at parties like these? ”Uh, vodka–vodka tonic, please?” 

That was fancy, right? He dug into his pocket for his ID–he’d only been 21 for a few months, after all–but the bartender seemed nonplussed. 

“Lime, sir?” 

“Sure.” 

“Right away, sir.” 

Okay, Jesse could definitely get used to this. 

*!*!*!*!*

Alexsei Volkov and Ivan Peters sat in a darkened corner, chatting with Finlay Iver. They watched the new arrivals as they stepped off the elevator or got drinks at the bar. Plenty of lovely toys from which to choose.  And the men had the perfect seats–no one would have really noticed them unless you already knew they were there.  

Ding! The elevator door opened and let out a slight man, who inspired a wolfish grin from Finlay on sight.  

“If you two talented gentlemen will excuse me, my prey has just arrived.  I can't leave my little Faolan waiting. Happy hunting.”  He raised his glass and toasted their good fortune, then walked towards the bar.  

“He seemed nice.  A bit too focused for my tastes, though.  I like to hunt, not shoot for fish in a barrel,” Alexsei commented as he scanned the room for potential toys to break.  

Ivan took a thoughtful sip of his Manhattan. “Well, I do think a–singular focus can provide unique opportunities to really get to know your–what did he call it?--prey.” 

“Have you ever shared… prey, before?” Alexsei asked, testing the waters.  

“I suppose that depends on what you mean. Do I collaborate? Not typically. But I did share my first boy’s broken pieces with the man who loved him before I ruined him. Return to sender, you might say.” Ivan smiled. “I hear the poor thing still misses me.” 

“Mmmm.  Well, I have gotten tired of some of my previous conquests and let my security team have them.  That’s always fun to watch.  They always think they can sink no lower, and then being discarded drops them just that much further.  I’m usually ready to sell them by that point.”  Volkov looked at Ivan.  “Oh, I’m sorry, are you okay with the idea of selling people?”

“I suppose I might have said no a few years ago. But I work for WRU now. Are you familiar with them?” 

“I've heard of the concept.  You ship people in boxes, yes?”

“Yes. Like living dolls. I’m working on reshaping WRU’s training protocol, and I must say, the idea of having something I’ve made out in the world–I quite like it. So, yes, I’m comfortable with selling people.” Ivan chuckled to himself. “Though I suppose they’re barely people at that point.”

“That is a fascinating concept,” Volkov said archly. “But–back to sharing.  What I mean is, have you ever… fucked a boy, or girl, at the same time as someone else?”

Ivan spread his legs just a bit wider. “I have not. But I can’t say that I haven’t thought about it.” 

“Hmm. I am the same.  And the reason I bring it up is because tonight seems the perfect opportunity to give it a go.  Given our conversation with Finlay, I’d wager you’re about as sadistic as me, and I think we could find some new and devious ways to enjoy ourselves.  What say you?”

“No time like the present, right? What do you go for?”

“I’m up for anything, but currently, my tastes are running to young dark haired men.  You?”

“Ha! What a coincidence. Turns out we have that in common as well.” Ivan looked about. “Do you see anything we might like?” 

“There are a lot of very fine choices.”  Volkov’s eyes wandered over to the bar.  He saw Finlay dragging his choice toward the back elevator that so many had already discreetly used.  “The night is early, but I think we can find someone suitable for our tastes.”

He eyed a young man that had just ordered a second drink.  Volklov had noticed him when he first came in and was surprised that, in the time he and Peters had been sitting here, no one had snapped the boy up.  

“What about that dark haired lovely at the bar?  He’s got beautiful eyes.  They’d be gorgeous full of tears, don’t you agree, Ivan?”

Peters followed Volkov’s gaze, and his lips quirked into a smile. The boy was tall and lean, and sure enough, Ivan could see a pair of lovely bright green-blue eyes peeking out from beneath his dark brows. And he already looked a little bleary. Perfect. 

“Oh, I certainly do. Especially when he’s looking up at you from his knees, don’t you think?” 

“Presumably with his lips stretched around one of us?”

“Precisely. But if we’re sharing,” Ivan raised an eyebrow, “what would the other one be doing?”

“I would assume the other one would be buried in the other end, having a marvelous time.  We can always take turns.  It’s a long weekend.  And I don’t have to be back to my lovely boy for a bit yet.  He’s currently under the impression that he’s free.  But I’ll be reacquiring him soon.”

“Well, then you’ll need something to keep you occupied in the meantime. I think this could work quite well. Quite well.”

“Indeed.”  Volkov drained the last of his whiskey.  “Shall we?”

“Oh, yes. Let’s.” 

Ivan stood and crossed the room, sidling up to the young man Volkov had pointed out; Volkov followed, flanking the boy on the other side. They were both careful not to touch him–neither wanted to spook the poor thing, not yet–but they were close enough that they could feel his heat. The boy’s glass was almost empty. 

“Hello there,” Ivan cooed. 

The kid looked back at him, blue-green eyes a little unfocused. He was a child, probably barely old enough to drink–and certainly not old enough to know his limits. He would do nicely.

“Hey,” said the kid. 

“Having a nice time?” Ivan asked. 

“Shit, yeah. This is a great party. I’ve never been to a party with free drinks that didn’t come in Solo cups, you know?” 

“What are you drinking there?” 

The kid looked down at the glass like he couldn’t quite remember. “Vodka tonic, I think?”

“Two whiskeys and a vodka tonic–with a twist, if you please,” Volkov said from the boy’s other side, flashing his red arm band at the bartender.  

“Wait, what’s with a twist?” the kid asked, eyes bobbling as he turned to look at the big Russian on his other side.  

“Oh, you don’t mind, do you?  I was just having drinks with my friend there when we decided to come over here to be closer to the bar.  You’ll like the twist: it's a splash of grenadine syrup with a cherry on the bottom.  Makes the vodka go down a bit easier.  I used to order it like that all the time when I was around your age.”  

Volkov winked at the younger man.  

“I mean, I guess that does sound kind of good,” the kid mumbled. 

“Oh, it is,” Ivan assured him. “What’s your name, kiddo?” 

The kid took his pink-tinged drink from Volkov’s hand. “Jesse.” 

“And what brings you here tonight, Jesse?” 

Jesse took a sip of his drink, lips puckering as the ‘twist’ washed over his tongue. Ivan and Volkov met eyes over Jesse’s dark head and smiled. 

“An accident, actually,” said Jesse. He took another sip. “Hey, this isn’t so bad.” 

“Be sure and drink all the way to the bottom.  Then you get to eat the cherry.  It was always my favorite part,” Volkov put in.  

“Like a Shirley Temple, right?”

Ivan laughed. “Just like a Shirley Temple. But better.”  

“Though I do wonder, should we have ordered a Shirley Temple for you?  You have a bit of a baby face.  Are you sure you’re old enough to even be here?” Volkov asked innocently.

“I’m 21,” Jesse said, the slightest defensive edge to his voice. “I mean, I can show you my ID if I need to. Is there, like, an age limit for this thing? I’m not even really supposed to be here, so–” 

“You’re not?” Ivan let his eyes go wide in faux shock, and he slid just a bit closer, pressing Jesse between his hip and Volkov’s. “Why’s that? I thought this was an invite-only soirée.” 

“My friend was the actual invitee, but he couldn’t come.  So, he sent me instead.  He’s a famous pop musician.  He gets invited to these things all the time.  He said it could be my reward for doing such a good job managing his tour.  I mean, ‘M not ‘is manger… jus… jus ‘is assistan’”  Jesse’s words started to slur and he took an unsteady look at his glass. “Fack, tha’s strong.”

“It’s only a little twist. And you haven’t even tasted the cherry, yet. Isn’t that right, Alexsei?”   

“Absolutely.  Like I said, my favorite part.  I love cherries,” Volkov said with a smile.  “You’re almost there, kid.”

The kid stared at the cherry in his glass. “I am?” 

“You are, sweet boy,” Ivan murmured. He tapped at the base of Jesse’s glass, and the cherry trembled. “Drink up.” 

Jesse tipped the glass sloppily to his lips. “An’ then I think ‘m done.”  

He drank until the liquid was gone, but the cherry was still stuck past the level of the ice.  The two older men watched with hungry eyes as Jesse stuck his tongue into the ice and moved it around, and around, and around until he was finally, messily, able to get the cherry.  He licked his lips as he turned his overly bright eyes first to Volkov, and then to Ivan.

“All done?” Volkov asked.  “You’re a bit damp.”  He picked up a bar napkin and wiped the boy's pink tinged lips for him. 

“An’ sticky,” Jesse put in helpfully. He pitched heavily toward the bar, and he let Ivan brace his elbow. “Actually, I–I don’ think ‘m feelin’ so good.”  

“Oh, kitten, let’s get you cleaned up and somewhere safe to rest for a bit.  I think you’ve overdone it on the vodka.  It can sneak up on you.  I’m Russian.  I would know,” Volkov sagely stated, wrapping an arm around Jesse’s middle and helping him to stand.

“I–I jus’ need the bathroom,” Jesse slurred. 

“Let us help you,” Ivan said. He steered Jesse’s elbow away from the bar; the boy was snared between the two of them now. 

“I’m okay.” Jesse tried to wriggle from their grasp, but he tripped over his own feet. The bartender smothered a laugh behind them. “I jus’--oh, man. Shit.” 

Volkov tightened his grip, not enough to cause pain, but enough to ensure that Jesse stayed upright. They continued to the elevator.

“Your place, or mine, Dr. Peters?” Volkov glanced over the boy’s head.  “Since I’m only visiting your country, I only have a modest house. Do you have something more… accommodating for our plans?”

Jesse groaned between them. “I don’--no–I jus’ need–” 

Ivan ignored him. “Funny you should ask–I’m visiting from out of town myself, and I booked a suite just downstairs. Large. Discreet.” He bent his nose to Jesse’s hair and inhaled; the boy shook his head, but his movements were becoming increasingly slow and uncoordinated. “Thick walls. If you catch my meaning.”

“Wha’?”  

“Hush, kitten,” said Volkov. “That could work. But what if we want to continue our fun past this evening?  I do have a jet available should we need it.”

The boy’s breath quickened between them.

“Well,” Ivan considered as they approached the elevator, “as I may have mentioned, I am adept at shipping and handling, as it were. This sweet little thing seems like he’d fold up real nice.” Jesse made a noise that could have been a whimper. His feet dragged, and Ivan took on more of his weight. “But I’m not sure I could pass up a chance to join the mile high club…” 

“No,” Jesse slurred. “No, pleas’, I don’–” 

Volkov shoved his thumb in between Jesse’s slack lips, pressing the boy’s tongue down until his words flattened into a rough moan. 

“It is a very fun club to be a member of.  Would you like to join me?” Volkov asked, pressing the button for the elevator with his free hand. “If so, I’ll need to make a call.”

“You have a car here? If you handle the call, I’ll make sure we get our precious cargo out of here without any issue.” 

“Done.”  Volkov pulled his phone out and pressed a button.  Within seconds he was rattling off fast paced instructions in Russian.  He ended the call and turned to Ivan.  “Pilot says he’ll be ready when we arrive.”

The elevator doors opened, and Ivan brandished Jesse’s blue-banded wrist for the attendant to see. The man smiled and let them enter.

“What do you say, sweet boy? Want to go for a ride?” 

Ivan dipped his head and nipped at Jesse’s throat as Volkov palmed the boy between the legs. Jesse’s blue-green eyes were hooded now, and no one waited for his answer. 

tagging: our ever faithful @oddsconvert, whom I heard was excited about this collab. Let us know if you want in on part two! 😈😇

[marshmellowmin]

Reluctant Love | Mafia!Jaemin AU pt. 1

This is a collaboration between myself @marshmellowmin and @specsforwoo. Please support us as we continue to release content related to the overall theme that can be found on either of our blogs. Thank You!

CW: gun violence, death scenes, light use of swear words-please dni if any of these might be triggering to you!!

*this is a complete rewrite and repost

The light from your computer burned your eyes as the clock turned twelve, signalling that you had been stuck at your desk for well over twelve hours now. One more paragraph, you told yourself. You had been telling yourself the same thing for the last four hours at least and this time, you meant it. You were on the last paragraph of the second to last chapter of your new book and you decided this was a good stopping point for the night. You could edit what you had written in the morning and finish with some daylight still left-hopefully. You sat up and stretched, your eyes slightly watering from your lack of blinking in the last hour or so. Your body ached but you ignored it, making a mental note to take more breaks tomorrow when editing so your spine won’t hold a grudge against you again. Walking out of your home office you headed to the kitchen to take a melatonin and make some warm tea before retiring for the night. Your apartment wasn’t small but it wasn’t grand either-perfect for you and your cat Boob that you’ve had since childhood. Your tea kettle whistled angrily and you poured your tea, taking a sip way too soon and burning your tongue in the process. I have got to stop doing that, you think as you turn off your apartment lights and retire to your bedroom.

“Boob!” You called out into the dark and empty apartment, hearing the bell of Boobs collar and tiny footsteps running your way. Boob ran into your bedroom and you closed the door and settled into your bed with Boob at your feet. You grabbed the remote to your lights, your favorite and most useful investment by far, and turned out your lights. The last thing you remember hearing is the sound of sirens in the streets below.

The next day and the days following were largely uneventful; finishing the first draft of a new novel being the highlight of your week it seemed. Friday morning however, your phone rang with the contact name for your manager popping up on the screen.

“Hello?” You answered, curiosity and caution in your voice. This call could be the one that tells you how much of your novel needs rewriting, or if publishers will even publish it at all. You always erred on the side of caution but you couldn’t help but hope for good news anyways.

“Y/N! Great news honey-you’re getting a book signing event! Isn’t this great? It’d be your first one in Korea and your gateway to winning the Korean public's hearts.” Your manager rambled, it was their specialty. They never knew when to take a break and let you speak. It was a part of their charm, you guessed.

“Uh yeah it’s great. Um, when is it?” You asked, running your free hand through your messy and unkempt hair. A light rush of panic ran through your body as your manager replied with “Monday at noon,” meaning you had the weekend to become presentable as a well known and respectable author. You made mental notes to schedule a hair appointment as soon as possible and get your nails done and refresh your entire image to basically look like you haven’t just holed up in your home for three weeks straight. Your phone call with your manager ended and you immediately called your favorite salon to check for any openings this weekend at all. You managed to slip in on Sunday at 2:00pm thanks to a cancellation and you called the nail salon next, scheduling an appointment for noon Saturday. I guess it’s a self care kind of weekend, you thought as you dressed yourself in brown plaid wide leg slacks and a white turtleneck and put a beret on, a perfect outfit for the chilly October weather. Finishing the look with some Mary-janes and a light coat, you went shopping.

As with any shopping trip, your first stop was coffee. Nothing could get done without an iced latte in your hands-but today the universe seemed to be testing you as your favorite coffee shop was closed due to internal renovations. Heading about a block out of your way, you found a new coffee shop that was much quieter than the one you frequented. It had concrete and steel architecture with oak wood accents. Much of the building was either gray or black, the chairs and tables matching the oak wood decor and the low hanging lights setting a dark mood in the shop. It was cute, but far from your usual coffee shop that was painted white and had a turf patio with cute little bumblebee chairs and bees painted on the walls.

You would be the only customer, if not for the man who aggressively cut you off and walked in before you. Impatient much? You thought as you walked in and waited behind the rude man to order. You weren’t much of an eavesdropper usually, but you heard the man order a ‘namericano’ and you couldn’t help but be intrigued. Did he just mispronounce “Americano'' or did he mean to say that? You were curious but you weren’t about to let it get the best of you. You ordered your latte and would’ve been on your way if not for the rude man with the black trenchcoat and black boots that quite literally knocked you into the wall as he was walking out. He did nothing but sip his coffee, which pissed you off to no end. Fucking blind bitch, you thought as you shook yourself off, grabbing your coffee from the pickup counter and leaving the building. That’s the last time I come here.

Monday came hurtling through the weekend and soon enough you were sat behind a foldable table covered in a red tablecloth and piles of copies of your novel Through the Red Falls, your most popular release to date, as well as your only release. You were only 22, having one famous novel under your belt was impressive enough at your age.

Something felt off to you. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the bookstore hosting you was large and well known and the event had an adequate amount of security. The line began at the door and was long-from what you could see anyways. You couldn’t figure out what was off​, so you ignored it and went on with the signing event. By about halfway through you felt like screaming. So many fake smiles, so many difficult people. “Make it out to my mom! Can I get three copies? I need your signature to look perfect so go slowly.” If you heard another person complain and make a ridiculous demand, you probably would scream. Eventually though, lunch break came and you got an hour break from everything.

“God I can’t stand people sometimes. So demanding to a person they don’t even know. Wish I could just speak my mind sometimes,” You said to no one in particular, but your manager was the one who responded.

“Speak your mind and I’m dropping you.” They spoke harshly but you knew they were mostly kidding. They never looked up from their food and all you could do was let out a little chuckle and go back to eating in silence. Everything resumed without a hitch-though your wrist kind of ached from signing books all day. Then, three strange figures walked in. You immediately took notice of their presence, feeling a little off about them but you carried on as usual. Your gut wasn’t telling you to run quite yet so you went along signing books and greeting fans. Soon enough two more figures entered. They seemed different from the other three but still felt off. At this point your gut feeling was getting worse-the feeling of running was setting in and fear was rising in you. The three figures were in all black with baseball caps and black masks on, making it extremely hard to see them. You could see the other two figures easier, one was wearing a white t-shirt and a black jean jacket with skinny jeans and the other was wearing a familiar looking black trench coat and jeans as well. Neither had a hat on but they both had dark colored hair that was long enough to cover their foreheads and shield their eyes.

Ignoring your gut feeling was difficult as the three figures donned in black approached your table. The two other figures were behind them in line and could hear some of their conversations as they moved up the line.

“Dude I think they’re here for her,” the shorter of the two stated. You didn’t hear the tall ones response as the group of three had finally made it to your station. You managed to fake a smile and ask “Shall I make it out to anyone?” The tallest one of the three responded.

“Yeah, make it out to Y/D/N.” He spoke with a sense of arrogance about him and you froze. How do they know my dad-wait, they can't be-

Before you even finished your thought you could hear the other two figures shouting to the innocent crowd to leave or be shot. The tallest one remained in front of you, locked onto your every move while he held a gun to your head, the barrel positioned right in between your eyes just above the eyebrows. A straight shot to the head that would kill you instantly. You didn’t dare to breathe too hard in case that would set him off. You heard the taller of the two other figures shout in the distance.

“The fuck would they want with a Y/A author?”

Suddenly shots were fired. You couldn’t see where they were coming from or who was shooting, but the tall man holding you at gunpoint turned to check it out and you took your chance. Grabbing the hand with gun by the wrist, you headbutted the man with all the force your smaller figure would allow and took the gun and ran. Your manager was long gone, they must’ve hid during the initial siege and you dared not think the worst. These people knew your dad, which meant they were probably from the Chinese mafia-you had to get out of there before anyone got hurt unnecessarily. You escaped the bookstore through the back and ran as fast as you could down the alley. You needed to put as much distance between you and your Chinese attackers as possible. You were about to turn a corner when you ran straight into someone. So much for distance, you thought as you backed away from the person who had previously blocked your way. Luckily for you, it wasn’t the Chinese mafia members from earlier, but the two other strange figures. The ones behind the Chinese members in line. Particularly the taller one with the black trench coat.

“Watch where you’re going-you never know who’s gonna be around the corners here,” The trench coat snarled, making you roll your eyes and turn away from him-only to find his shorter accomplice.

“Ignore him, he’s sort of like an unrestrained guard dog. You can treat him like such too, just don’t try to pet him. He bites,” He spoke with a humorous tone that was unfit for the circumstance at hand. The taller one scoffed in disagreement behind you but said nothing.

“Sure, anyways, it was nice meeting you both but I really do have to go-” you attempted to run but you were immediately glued to your place by a new voice speaking up from the direction of the bookstore.

“Running off before giving your father’s debtors a proper welcome? That’s very bad manners my dear. I’m afraid we’ll have to punish you for that,” the only girl in the group of Chinese mafia members spoke to you directly, her tone being playful and downright sadistic. It made your blood run cold. You heard the two men behind you questioning your enemy’s choice of words, but there wasn’t a single thought in your head besides running far, far, away. Your grip on your stolen gun tightened and you raised it to aim at the girl in front of you.

“Oh darling, you’ll have to do better than that shaky gun stance. I could knock you down in no time at all-not to mention you’re wide open,” The woman spoke, taking her own gun out and pointing it at you. Before you knew it though, she was shot in the rib from somewhere to your left. Looking over you found the two men from earlier, the shorter one holding a gun fitted with a silencer.

“What the fuck,” you breathed, lowering your gun slightly, “was that for?” You finished your sentence just as someone came up behind you. Hearing their footsteps you turned just to confirm they were the Chinese mafia-which they were-and shot them. You couldn’t see where the bullet landed but it definitely hit your target. You turned back to the boys to see them both standing with a partially stunned expression on their faces.

“What the fuck was that?” The short one spoke, though his words were cut short as the last Chinese mafia member approached. The tall man who previously held you at gunpoint didn’t even get to speak before he had a knife in his neck. You and the shorter man looked towards the taller man, who had just thrown the knife. Where he had gotten it, you had no idea. All you cared about was the people who were after you today were dead. Though you knew that if they were sent here, they’d for sure send more.

“Dude you’re the one who was like ‘let’s not kill anyone today we need someone alive.’ DOES THIS LOOK LIKE ALIVE TO YOU?” the shorter one scolded the man with the knives as he went to retrieve his knife from the neck of the man he just killed.

“Well the other two were already dead. And besides-I can’t let you show me up,” the taller one spoke casually as he drew a handkerchief from his pocket and began cleaning his blade.

“Lot of questions. One: who the fuck are you two? Two: how the fuck did you know this was going to happen? Three: the fuck do you mean ‘need someone alive’?” You spoke in rapid fire, retiring your stolen gun from it’s position in the air to your waistband, deciding you were definitely going to need it still.

“To answer your first question, I’m Renjun and the asshole is Jaemin. We can’t exactly disclose the kind of information needed to answer your other questions. All we can say is you need to come with us.”

[snicketsleuth]

Slackin’ with the Sleuth: reviewing Netflix’s “The End”

There were many goodbyes, and there were many beginnings.

“The End” is perhaps the strangest and most controversial episode to date. It’s difficult to assess the actual quality of the episode as we are constantly reminded of all the ones which preceded it.

At the risk of sounding like a fool rather than a prophet, it’s possible that Netflix’s version of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” will go down in the history of adaptations. We’ve never had quite a literary retranscription like this one: no one has dared to go as deep into the source material, its themes, its inspirations, since, perhaps, Peter Jackson’s recreation of “The Lord of the rings”. The amount of mindwork necessary to make the imagination of the original author fit the screen is absolutely comparable. Let’s wrap up the series after the cut.

Let’s get the elephant out of the room: why would you give the longest book in the series less screentime than the others? The only other example which comes to mind is David Yates’ attempt at adapting “The Order of the Phoenix”, an achievement in shoppy editing, lighting mistakes, script derailment and overall cinematographic incompetence. That is not a strong pitch. Worse of all is the fact that the idea apparently came from Daniel Handler himself! In his words, “The Penultimate Peril” is the real ending while “The End” serves as more of a coda. Even though the ending, by classical tradition, is only supposed to come after the denouement. It’s right in the name of the hotel, for crying out loud. As moving as the montage to “There’s no happy endings, not here, not now” is, its inclusion could have worked just as well in the final episode. In fact, it already worked as the conclusion of the first season!

The reasoning behind this choice is quite skewed, because "A Series of Unfortunate Events" already had a coda: it's called "Chapter Fourteenth". It's short, it's sweet, it's symbolic, it serves as a moral compass for the entire series. It's the only epilogue the series deserves. On the surface, of course, the decision to fusion "The End" with "Chapter Fourteenth" is perfectly reasonable; even the fans don't know whether to classify "Chapter Fourteenth" as a chapter of "The End" or as a fourteenth book which just happens to be published in the same volume as "The End". It's also doubtful that Netflix would allow the showrunners to release a 10-minutes episode as a conclusion. We get it. But somehow, the show writers have convinced themselves that fusioning the last act of the story and its coda turns the entire final act into a coda, and... that's simply not how narration works. There's simply too much going on in that book in terms of plot, character development and themes to adapt it in less than an hour without something missing.

There may be several reasons behind this change. One might be a personal dislike for that particular book, a reluctance to certain chapters of it, a desire to get it over with as soon as possible. But it's unlikely given that the screenwriters adapted the story rather faithfully (the deaths of Kit and Olaf, in particular, are pretty much verbatim) in spite of the time limits. We personnally believe that budget may have had something to do with it: "The End" was always supposed to be filmed last, at a time where budget may be scarce. Recreating the illusion of many exterior shots when the series is filmed mostly on soundstages can't have been cheap, and most of "The End" happens on the outside, in a tropical location. So condensing the book could work as an excuse to cut corners when it comes to money: less screentime, less sets to build. What makes it believable is the fact that "The Penultimate Peril" was officially the most expensive episode to film because of the large crowds and the many returning cast members. Prior to the season, screenwriters had sold this format to the fans as a "mega-episode", which would be longer than the others. But in reality Netflix"s version of "The End" lasts 52 minutes, while the first part of "The Penultimate Peril" stands at a whooping 55! Unless official sources deny it, there's a strong possibility that the showrunners had originally planned a hour-and-a-half episode and had no choice but to "trim the fat" as buget ran out. As we explained in our review of "The Slippery Slope", production of Season 3 was more troubled than we were led to believe, and the final episode could be its greatest casualty yet.

So what did we lose exactly? Well, namely plot elements which drive home the most important themes of the book. The island of "The End" presents the fantasy of an utopia: an opportunity to flee society and regular contact with other human beings, as well as all your problems. But as the history of the island unfolds, we see that this utopia is impossible, nefarious, even. Society inevitably recreates itself, and schisms occur. Beatrice and Bertrand tried to turn the island into a force for good in the world, but that scared the refugees who only wished to be left in peace, away from the rest of humanity. So the Baudelaire parents, who had worked so hard for the happiness of the islanders, had to be banished. And there lies the contraduction: in their effort to flee from oppression, the islanders had to resort to exclusion themselves. The Baudelaire parents tried to break the schism only to create another. And the worst part of all that is that it didn't even work. In their desperate efforts to disengage from the world, the islanders installed Ishamel as a tyrant... only for a second schism to occur when he killed them all as he started to lose power. And even before that, islanders had started another schism by aligning themselves with Olaf and freeing him from his cage. The island is not an utopia, it is just a microcosm of the world at large and a poetic recreation of VFD's tragic history. A failed experiment which only reinforces the issues it tried to solve. And that's the real reason the Baudelaire orphans decided to leave the island at the end of "Chapter Fourteenth": they know that safety and neutrality are an illusion. Had they stayed there, chaos, dissession and conflicts would have occured eventually. Accepting our inability to control things is all part of growing up.

Therefore, the question is: did Netflix's version of "The End" manage to convey that philosophical discussion? Not really. There's simply too much going on in these 52 minutes for anyone to stop and think for a moment about the moral consequences or thematical implications of staying on the island or leaving it. What we get on a screen is a mostly plot-focused adventure where characters do the things they do in the heat of the moment, because they're forced to react to other brisk events. It's not badly written, as their decisions make sense, but it's undeniably a lesser product than the original. A story of this quality needed some room to breathe and explore its symbolism.

Then again, there is another point of adaptation where Netflix's version is actually superior to the books. You see, alongside "The End", a supplementary material called "The Beatrice letters" was released, detailing the actual ending of the Baudelaires' story. It focuses on Lemony, years after the events of "The End" and now famous for writing the books, being chased by a mysterious "Beatrice". He eventually realizes that this Beatrice is actually his niece, who was raised by the Baudelaire orphans, and who is tracking them down once again. This fundamentally changes the ending of the series as 1) Beatrice's survival strongly implies that the Baudelaire orphans are alive too, 2) Lemony, after losing so much of his friends and family members, once again has someone to care for. This is in stark contrast with Lemony's depressing "rock fall, everyone dies" conclusion to "The End". Most readers will never read "The Beatrice letters" or even know it exists, which is infuriating as it contains the "real" ending of the books, one that the author very much intended. So one has to applaud the screenwriters' decision to end the series with the reunion of Beatrice and Lemony. They had obtained a deal to adapt "A Series of Unfortunate Events", not "The Beatrice Letters": they were under no contractual obligation to do so, but we're glad they did. It prevents the series from devolving into mere nihilism, and instead proposes something more interesting.

But more impressing is this episode showing how the TV series has truly come into its own in two aspects. The first one is the aesthetic, as the overly-saturated scenery engulfs the actor. The show has always dismissed realism as a passing craze, but this is the most extreme example of how cartoony the world of Lemony Snicket would look: it’s so fake, it’s real. As the island is a pretty good allegory of purgatory, it makes sense that the story would take place in a completely surreal atmosphere. The care taken to the production design remains, in our humble opinion and careful hypothesis, the real reason “The End” was cut so short, but that money is well-spent. As your eyes get used to the CGI, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish what’s real and what’s not. However even this exploit has its limits: the arboretum is a far cry from the biblical majesty of the scene as depicted in the books, but it will have to do.

The second aspect where marked improvements are to be mentioned is the acting, mostly that of Louis Hynes and Malina Weissman. We were lucky enough that they were decent at all in season 1 (casting child actors is a pretty hit-or-miss line of work), but as of season 3 they really stand head and shoulders with the rest of the cast. They deliver the right emotion in every single emotional scene, in spite of the challenge. Klaus and Violet have come alive. Their recollection of their own tragic existences in the trial scene of “The Penultimate Peril” is particularly impressive.

But the real standout of “The End”, of course, remains the death scene of Kit and Olaf. For a moment, everything goes quiet and we forget that we are watching an adaptation. It was perfect in the books and it’s perfect here, to the letter, although letting Olaf look intently into the Baudelaire orphans’ eyes as he mutters his last verse is a welcome and tasteful addition. We were all wary of the way the showrunners were going to adapt the end of “The End”: the Netflix series has taken a comedic approach and this is the least comedic scene imaginable. It should have been a monumental failure, but judging by everyone’s reaction, it seems to have worked. So bravo to the production team for having the nerve to take a risk and deliver the tragedy of it all in spite of tonal dissonances with the rest of the show. Hard work pays off.

So is this the adaptation of our hopes and dreams? Of course it’s not. But is it the best possible story we could have hoped for in the Hollywood system? No, it’s much better than that. There’s something particular about the age of streaming television which somehow allowed this adaptation to happen. We hope it’s no a fluke, and we hope the success of Netflix’s homage to “A Series of Unfortunate Events” will give inspiration to many other creators. It’s a teachable moment on how to nail down the emotion and message of an original work. And that’s perhaps why the end of the TV series is a tad more hopeful than its book version: because its showrunners were happy, so happy they could complete this project the way they had intended, in spite of impossible things. So of course they put a few less deaths into the conclusion of the overall story. Happy people write the most frightening horror stories, and, in spite of its reputation, horror loves a happy ending. After all, the publication of the books was an anomaly, a miracle in and of itself. Daniel Handler has confessed many times that he’s still dumbfounded at their success.

So for now on, and in spite of our many gripes and nitpicks, let’s be grateful. There are so many fans of other works out there who have it worse than us, guys! But not us. We had the books, we have the show, and we will have each other. At long last... we’re the fortunate ones.

[powerpuffnstuff]

First Impressions: Shopkins Shoppies Rosie Bloom

I finally saw this doll in person, and while at first I didn’t like that she came in a party dress instead of her red overalls and gloves like the Happy Places version does, she was still cute enough to get. This doll isn’t exactly new, but it is the first full sized Shoppie I’ve ever opened (I also got Cocolette months ago shipped to the states so I haven’t seen her yet). Shoppies are like a cross between Strawberry Shortcake, Lalaloopsy, and Ever After High packaged with Shopkins. I guess it’s a winning combination because I noticed they don’t sit on store shelves for a terribly long time.

Like most packaging here in Canada everything’s written in both English and French...which I’ve been ignoring.

The doll is pretty much what I’d expect from looking at it. She has a stand with a rotating base and peg for her shoe. I find that neither of them stays attached very well. Her flower headband is awesome, paint flaws aside, and her shoes give me Monster High/ EAH vibes, nice and detailed. The rose on her skirt is ribbon, kind of cheap, but it makes sense so I’m ok with it. The skirt swapping concept seems so limited for dress up. I wonder why they don’t just make these toys with fully molded outfits.

She comes with 2 Shopkins, a brush, and a VIP card I forgot to photograph. I did download the app so I could see what it did. Personally I’ve never been that interested in actual Shopkins. I neither love them nor hate them. They’re fine for what they are. These are my first, Sweet Petal Cupcake and Rosa Basket. Rosa’s roses aren’t painted on the back side. Oops. I am impressed by how unnecessarily detailed and distinctively Rosie’s this hair brush is. Unfortunately if you want her curls to stay presentable you shouldn’t brush her hair at all.

Speaking of hair, my Rosie came with her right curl (our left) perfectly styled while her other curl was a separated mess. I used bobby pins and boiling water in an attempt to recurl it. It doesn’t quite match the default ponytail, but I couldn’t stand it like it was.

It would have been cute to get this bigger doll in the Lil one’s outfit. I wonder if I could make some overalls and a kerchief for her and maybe raise up her ponytails a bit. I have some “My Life As” mini doll shoes that are a loose fit but look proportionate to her heels and would make decent replacements.

Overall, I like the doll. Her face is adorable. I really like the detail put into her shoes, brush, and headband. The Shopkins are fine, even with missing paint. Her hairstyle was well executed (on one side), but trying to fix the other side was not really a bother, if you care about that sort of thing. I wish her bangs were longer so I could style them, but that is a minor gripe. I want to try to customize her, but I’m also happy with her as she is.

[hayleyshorriblethoughts-blog]

Introductory.

I’m beginning this blog on a sort of impulse here which I do not wish to share just yet. I can assure however, if you asked me this morning if I were starting a blog on my “feelings”, I’d tell you to shove it. But here I am doing the exact opposite of what I feel is right all for the sole purpose of believing if I do not get all my emotional baggage off my chest in some way, I’m going to explode. (Shit that sounded intense didn’t it) And oh boy is there a whole crap fest going on in my head as I type this. Yes, just little old, insignificant me. With swollen red eyes and matted curly hair, typing on a blog post nobody will see or care to read. One thing to know for sure is that I’m absolute shit at writing. So it’s a real shame that it’s one of the only things I take joy in doing. I pray what I sit here writing isn’t too shoppy and incoherent to understand. But it’s alright though, nobody is really here reading this anyway. I can’t really blame you for it either.

Now onto the reason of me beginning this blog, you might think it’s a completely petty thing. And hey, we are all intitled to our own opinion. But this one seemingly petty thing may be stupid to some….but it means a great deal to me. Sometimes I wondering if my feelings are even valid, let alone valued. That’s aside the point. I’m getting side tracked again. I honestly don’t know where to begin. I guess it would be Monday. The first day of our spring break.

So anyways, that Monday I asked my good friend Jacob to go to the movies with me on Friday night and he said he would think about it. Me, I was naturally excited seeing as this is my first chance to interact with Jacob outside of school.

A particularly valuable detail to mention is that I have a raging crush on Jacob. I had been pining after Jacob for about 4 months. And endless late nights spent texting him, and the long hours spent flirting with him in band class generally turned us into really great friends. He had always initiated the flirting, so naturally I thought he would totally be down to come to the movies with me but I was sorely mistaken.

I’m pretty sure I, well, we, fucked everything up on Wednesday night. We were texting like any other time and it must have been about 2 o'clock I’m in the morning. We were just joking around and sending each other memes when suddenly he sends me a statically diffrent text it read,

Hey baby Girl what’s up. Naturally the only human reaction to your crush calling you babygirl, is to freak the fuck out. He advanced his flirtinting with me after that. All his innocent flirtations began morphing into something hotter, erotic even. I told him I liked it when he called me babygirl.

Then my kinky side took over and I called him “daddy”

And he seemed really fucking into it.

After that, it seemed only to fuel his fire. Figuratively speaking. He described all the stuff he wanted to do to me and I was both shocked and incredibly aroused by this.

It was long before we started, well, kind of role-playing? Idk if that’s what I would call it. It was basically us, describing what we would do to each other if we were there together. He told me how he’d fuck me and call me babygirl, and I was hanging on to every sentence he typed.

And then he asked me for nudes.

This is not as big of a deal as it may seem because I had already sent him pictures before. Just one time. And he had been my first and ofcouse he’d sent some back, but that was nothing like right now. Right now we were not just friends. Right now it was hot and Jacob was getting me all aroused with his words.

So I consented and sent him a picture of my chest.

Then he sent me a picture of his dick and I think I was more turned on at that moment than I’d ever been.

He obviously jerked off to my pic too. And something about that made me proud. Like wow I actually turned on a guy.

I went to bed that night feeling satisfied and happy. My last thought was probably 2 words.

Baby girl.

The next day I woke up late and attempted to get a conversation started up with Jacob so maybe we could talk about the nights past events but I could get no response.

I didn’t worry too much though, he was probably just busy.

But by Thursday night my anxiety has eaten a soccer ball sized hole through my stomach. And I still had no reply.

I finally got a reply around 12 ish and it was a short blunt text from Jacob saying that he was sorry he wouldn’t be able to make it to the movies on friday

My brain automatically jumped to a thousand conclusions of why he wouldn’t come. But I chalked it up to…

1.hes no longer interested because he got what he wanted, and he didn’t like what he saw.

I could shoot my self, I was so stupid. I felt and still feel like an easy whore. I should have never sent him pictures. I wanted to crawl in a hole and freaking die.

In an attempt to find some closure I texted my best friend of 5 years Sydney. I knew she would make me feel better. So I invited her to the movies instead. And I soon got a reply saying she couldn’t come because she was trying to save money. I quickly responded saying I would pay for her and pick her up but she still declined saying she was busy.

In an attempt to save my self esteem I stopped asking so I didn’t seem like a desperate loser, no matter how much it stung.

I felt bad because my mom has already bought tickets and she’s bought an extra for no reason. So I decided to call up, in a last resort, my cousin, Taylor. I lied to him saying my mom had ‘Accidentally’ bought an extra ticket instead of my other option which was to explain that nobody would go with me.

Keep in mind I already felt like shit about everything that has happened priorly. So, I was more than pleasantly surprised when he responded back enthusiastically that he would love to go. I smiled and thought to my self, wow. If there’s one thing you can rely on, it’s family.

I was mistaken yet again.

Nearly 2 hours later I was in the shower washing my hair in order to look nice for the nights event, when I heard my phone beep.

I quickly dried off before running to my phone. (I think a part of me was still holding out for Jacob)

It was Taylor texting me remorsefully about how he couldn’t come with because he would have to work extended hours at his job.

I felt sorry because he had been the only one who truly wanted to go tonight.

I told him it was alright and we could hang out some other time.

Later that night when I went to the movies with my parents I was feeling more than one emotion. I felt lonely. And like I wasn’t good enough or worthy of anyone’s company. I also still felt like a stupid whore so that didn’t help matters either.

My problems felt petty and insignificant, but they still consumed my whole being.

I couldn’t focus on the movie.

When I got home I sat on my bed wanting nothing more than to disappear into the dark lonely abiss that was my mind.

I checked my instagram instead.

Imagine my surprise when I see that my cousin Taylor had instead of working late, has gone fishing with his friends.

I couldn’t really blame him. I coudnt blame any of them. I wouldn’t want to hang out with me either.

I turned off my phone and went into the bathroom and cried.

Pathetic, I know.

But I can’t seem to stop fucking up.

My mom tried to hug me when I walked out. And I didn’t hug her back. She had done nothing wrong it wasn’t her fault I was a fucking idiot. She had been the one to buy the tickets and drive me there. And I pushed her away.

I was a fucking bitch. And I always make everything worse. I was screwing up every time I turned around.

Naturally my mom got pissed and she came into my room and yelled at me and I just sat there and took it because I knew I deserved it.

When she left I cried some more.

Now, I sit here, typing this god awful situation. I don’t even know what to say.

Oh that’s right, Welcome to my Blog. :/

[words-and-fangirling-wonder]

A is for Athletic Wear

Eustass Kid Week 2017 - Day 5!

Ahhh, I’m posting this so much later in the day than I wanted to! I ended up trying to edit it myself because @fitgirlfaith24 is still sick, which means I rewrote it like six times and probably still missed some grammar mistakes, so I apologize for that!

Once again this is kind of half from Kid’s perspective and half from Law’s. The first part is more setting up for the prompt so it still flows with the previous stories, so bear with me.

Oh, and if you haven’t watched all of the 10th Doctor there are some vague possible spoilers for Doctor Who? Kinda? Fair warning.

Author: fangirlwonder (WordsandWonder on AO3)

Pairing: Kid/Law

Prompt: Athletic Wear

Rating: Teenish?

Kid was back on his feet in no time after finally caving and taking his antibiotic, and while he was really happy to see them suddenly getting along, Kid wasn’t sure how he felt about Law and Killer suddenly ganging up on him and berating him for waiting so long. He’d had to resort to physically separating them to make it stop, which he did by picking Law up, taking him into his bedroom, and proving to him just how much better he was feeling. That tactic was more effective than Kid had planned, because he’d forgotten how loud Law could get, and apparently being in a poorly sound-proofed apartment didn’t deter him one bit from expressing his appreciation of Kid’s cock. It did, however, deter Killer from making eye contact with the doctor for about a week.

“Killer’s been calling you “Doctor Feel Good” lately,” Kid informed the raven-haired man smugly as he plopped down next to him on the horribly uncomfortable couch.

Law raised an eyebrow as he took a handful of popcorn, but didn’t say anything.

“Wanna know why?”

“Does it have something to do with him overhearing us having sex?” the surgeon guessed.

Kid’s smirk turned into a full-blown shit-eating grin. “Yuuuup.”

“Then no,” Law stated firmly. Then, after a brief pause he added, “… asshole.”

“Fine, spoilsport. What are we watching?”

“Doctor Who,” he replied, before pointedly turning up the volume.

“Awww, man. You know I don’t get this show, babe,” Kid complained.

Law, predictably, ignored his complaint in favor of watching the Doctor and his companion ride in a magical phone booth or whatever it was through time and space. Despite his grumbling, Kid didn’t actually mind watching this show. The main dude was kinda hot, and the brash lady he hung around with was funny. Kid just wasn’t really that interested in sci-fi, and he couldn’t understand half of what they said because they talked too fast with their accents, but he put up with it because it was Law’s favorite show.

“He’s changing you, you know,” Killer had said a few weeks ago, before he’d gotten used to Law. Kid hadn’t seen it then, but as he shifted around trying to get comfortable (an impossible task, because seriously fuck this couch) to watch a British TV show about a time traveling guy who wouldn’t tell anyone his real name and basically kidnapped girls and took them to really dangerous places across space and said “run” and “sorry” a lot, Kid could maybe see where his friend was coming from. If any of his past flings had tried to get him to do something so far outside of his comfort zone, they would have found themselves single pretty quick. But when Law pulled the same crap, Kid usually just found it endearing.

Kid twisted his body so he was laying on his back with his head in Law’s lap, causing the doctor to look down at him momentarily. “Don’t get comfortable there, Eustass,” he warned.

The mechanic pouted. “But this couch sucks. This is the only way I don’t get cramps in my legs,” he protested.

“You get cramps in your legs because you don’t get enough potassium, not because of my couch. Eat a banana and quit whining about my furniture,” Law insisted, but he made no move to dislodge Kid’s head, so Kid made no move to adjust his position.

Onscreen the Doctor and his redheaded companion explored a giant library, and Kid laughed. “Hey, it’s us,” he joked. “It’s like when you dragged me to that huge library a couple weeks ago.”

“Hardly. They’re about to be attacked by carnivorous shadow creatures, and I’m pretty sure the most dangerous thing in our library was a silverfish or two.”

“I dunno, carnivorous shadow creatures might have made that trip more exciting, doc.”

Law swatted him playfully on the shoulder and shushed him, but Kid could see his lips quirking up into a small smile. They fell into comfortable silence as they watched the time lord try and fail to save the explorers he met in the library. A buzzing in Kid’s pocket distracted him just as the man on-screen started asking who turned out the lights.

“What’s up, Killer?” he answered, much to Law’s annoyance.

“IborrowedyourshortsandIruinedthemI’msosorry.”

Kid scowled as he sat up so quickly he almost made Law spill his popcorn, eliciting a disgruntled noise of protest from the man. “Come again?”

“I’m so sorry, man. It all happened so fast. I borrowed your shorts and I was just hanging out with Wire …”

“How bad could you have messed them up while you were wearing them? You know I don’t really care that much about a stain as long as it’s not in the crotch or something.”

“Yeaaaaah,” Killer hedged uneasily. “I kinda … didn’t just stain them.”

“Okay, well what the fuck happened to them?”

“They sorta … caught on fire.”

“…”

“Kid?”

“They caught fire,” Kid repeated.

That got Law’s attention, and he paused the show to look at Kid in concern. “What caught fire?” he mouthed.

“My fucking gym shorts caught fire,” he explained. “Killer, how the fuck does that even happen?”

“I don’t even know, man. I was hanging out with wire and you know he’s got that gas stove, the kind with the open flames? And I guess I wasn’t paying attention or something and next thing I knew I was on fucking fire.”

“Shit, are you okay?”

Killer was silent for a minute. “Wait, seriously?”

“What do you mean ‘seriously’?” Kid demanded. “You were on fire, are you fucking okay?”

“You’re not mad?”

“I mean, I’m kinda pissed I have to buy new shorts, but are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I got them off quick enough and Wire had some burn cream. You’re seriously not mad?” Killer sounded absolutely incredulous, and it occurred to Kid that normally he would be mad. Maybe the doc really was rubbing off on him.

“I’m not mad. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“O-Okay. I can pay for the new shorts…”

“Yeah, you fucking better,” Kid agreed.

Killer laughed. “Annnd there’s the Kid I was expecting. Damn, you’re a lot more mellow when you’re getting some on the regular. I thought you were gonna kill me.”

“Keep talking and I still might, asshole. Well, I guess I’m going shopping then. Outdoor starts next week already. We need anything?”

“Toilet paper and milk. I’ll give you cash for the clothes when you get home.”

“Yeah, okay. See ya.” Kid hung up without waiting for Killer to respond and flopped back into Law’s lap with a growl of frustration.

“If you make me spill this popcorn you’re cleaning it up,” Law warned halfheartedly.

Kid shrugged and buried his face in the other man’s stomach. “I hate shopping,” he grumbled.

Law unpaused the show and absently ran his hand through Kid’s scarlet locks. “I’m sure you will survive one shopping trip, Eustass.”

Kid’s reply was too muffled by Law’s shirt for the doctor to make out, so he ignored in in favor of focusing his attention back on the show until Kid sighed heavily and sat up.

“I better go. Get it over with.”

Kid was pretty sure that one of these days the doctor was going to sprain his eyeballs rolling them like that as he once again paused the show. “Fine,” he muttered, leaning in absently to kiss Kid goodbye.

Kid was having none of that. Rather than let the man get away with a simple peck, he wrapped a hand around the other’s neck and pulled him close. “You can do better than that, doc. I’m going to my death here,” he murmured against Law’s soft lips before nipping at them playfully.

“In all my time as a doctor I’ve never heard of death by shoppi-“ Law’s snarky reply was cut off abruptly by Kid sealing their mouths together.

Kissing Law had quickly become one of Kid’s favorite things. Whether he was kissing him slow and deep or like the world was ending, the feeling of his lips pressing against Kid’s, his tongue sweeping against Kid’s, always left the mechanic dizzy and craving more. Law let out a pleased moan and opened his mouth when Kid licked along the seam of his lips. His goatee scratched against Kid’s clean-shaven chin, but Kid didn’t mind. It was just another sensation that made kissing the doctor unique. He pulled away regretfully when breathing became an issue.

“I’ll be the first, just watch,” he breathed.

Law pushed against his shoulders with a laugh. “Buy a new phone while you’re at it.”

Law’s dislike of Kid’s ancient cellphone was an old joke between the two of them now, so Kid just shrugged it off with a grin as he put his shoes on. “Buy a new couch,” he shot back.

He was almost out the door when he heard the doctor mutter, “Doctor Feel Good is an extremely unoriginal name, anyway.”

Perhaps Law hadn’t really meant for him to hear, but Kid chuckled all the same. Then, in a breathy, high pitched voice he moaned, “Oh! Eustass! Feels … Feels so good!” then ducked out the door, still laughing, just in time to miss getting hit with the pillow Law threw at him.

                                                                +++

Law was a very busy man. Even though today was his day off, he still had a mountain of paperwork to do for the hospital, and a deadline coming up for the article he was writing for a medical journal. He really didn’t have time today for any distractions. And yet here he was, sitting in Kid’s apartment with his computer open on his lap (having somehow let the other man convince him that he could work just as well at the mechanic’s place), doing absolutely nothing at all. Capable of doing absolutely nothing at all. All because of a pair of gym shorts.

Yes, from the moment Eustass stepped out of his bedroom, dressed for his first volleyball practice of the season, Law’s focus had been directed entirely at how his ass looked in those shorts.

Law was not an athletic person, and he was certainly not any kind of sports enthusiast. Far from it, in fact. He would rather be stuck doing nothing but appendectomies for a week straight than run around on a court chasing a ball for an hour. He was much more of a more of a Tolkien reading, tea drinking, sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast. And really, in his head, a guy who looked like he was heading to the gym wasn’t his type. In his head, he was attracted to similar-minded, geeky guys with glasses, unkempt hair, and a keen sense of style. But in reality, if you put both types together, hands down Law would find himself drooling over the heavily muscled guy in the hoodie and warm-up pants every time.

So there Eustass was. Just sitting in that armchair, looking like he was ready to sweat. ‘Well, if it’s a workout you want, look no further,’ Law thought appreciatively, images of all the ways he could give Eustass a workout he wouldn’t soon forget flashing through his mind and sending waves of heat through his body.

The way those damn shorts hugged the redhead’s ass was mouth-watering as he got up and moved to the kitchen for a glass of milk. Completely unaware of the doctor’s hungry gaze devouring every inch of him, Kid stretched his arms above his head, making Law realize that he really loved hoodies, too. Because you just couldn’t keep them down. Ahh, there it was. That sexy little bright red happy trail leading past the elastic waistband into territory Law had become very well acquainted with over the past few months. God, it was enough to make him dizzy.

Eustass groaned and leaned back a bit, his muscles pulling taut as he deepened the stretch. That was good. He would need to be limber for what Law had in mind. Kid chose that moment to finally look at the raven-haired man on his couch, noticing the absence of the sound of typing that had previously been filling his apartment.

He let out a surprised laugh at the look he was getting from the surgeon. “Damn, doc, what are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about you bending me over this couch right now,” Law thought. He was willing to bet those low-riding athletic shorts would slide right off. No fumbling, no delays, nothing between them but a thin layer of shiny polyester blend fabric. He let out a needy whine at the thought (which he would later adamantly deny).

“Jesus, Law,” Kid rumbled, stunned by the sound and the heat in the other’s gaze. “Quit looking at me like that. I don’t have time for whatever you’re thinking about. I gotta leave for practice in like five minutes.”

But as Law set aside his laptop and stalked over to the redhead, his gaze positively predatory, Kid knew he was going to be late.

[legocitytoys]

Join the PSToyReviews Crew - subscribe here Today we are opening up more Hairdorables. These new dolls are just too cute. They have big hair and they don't care. Each blind box package comes with one doll and lots of cool accessories. There are 36 to collect. Who will we find today? #pstoyreviews #toyreview #toyunboxing Hairdorables can be found here This is an affiliate link Thanks to Just Play for sending these to us for review. All opinions expressed are our own. **************************************************************************************************** Welcome to PSToyReviews where Paul, Shannon & Simon the cat open all kinds of fun toys. We love blind bags here including Shopkins, Disney, My Little Pony MLP, LOL Surprise, squishies, Lego & tons of others. We also love hidden surprise eggs & mystery toys. You will find us opening unboxing toys, playsets and all sorts of kids toys including reviews, play & arts & crafts fun. Don’t forget bath bombs or slime either because it’s so much fun. Leave a comment while you are here, we love hearing from our fans. **************************************************************************************************** Other Places To Find Us **************************************************************************************************** Check Out Some Of Our Other Videos In Playlists Shopkins - all seasons, Playsets, Shoppies Blind Bag Treehouse Episodes Paul vs Shannon - Who Will Win? Bath Bombs Fizzies Play-Doh Surprise Eggs & Challenges Blind Bags Paloozas Disney Fun Including Princesses Arts & Crafts (Crayola Coloring, custom DIY Shopkins & more) Toy Hunting, Surprise Presents & Hauls **************************************************************************************************** Don’t forget to like, subscribe and share our channel with your friends. This way we can keep bringing you even more videos. :-) **************************************************************************************************** Business inquires only pstoyreviewsofficial@gmail.com ****************************************************************************************************

[followthatfreckle]

It's the circle of lifeeeeeee

Tanzania day 2 This country rocks!! I really do love it. I wouldn't have thought that there would be a big difference between the two counties, but there is. It's just so beautiful here! We got up early this morning, had breakfast, and then left for a morning game drive back through Tarangire national park. I didn't mention yesterday that this park is 1,100 square miles and is the 6th largest park in Tanzania. There are so many parks it would be impossible to see them all. It was a little chilly to start off, and the animals were shy at first, but they finally made an appearance. We saw some Cape buffalo herds, and then we saw a few lonely ones. We learned that the ones by themselves have become too old and the young males chase them away. It's not wonder they are grouchy. I would be too if some young whippersnapper came and kicked me out of the family. Out in the distance we saw a male lion. Oh wait, two male lions. Oh, that's a lie, make it THREE brothers. They were walking and then just plopped down in a perfect row, not far from some of the aforementioned buffalo. It was amazing. Yeah, I wish they would have been closer, but still. There they were, making the same face, sitting in the same pose. Sitting in their natural habitat. Freaking cool! We drove a little further and saw a herd of elephants. I probably have 800 pictures of elephants. They are just so interesting to watch. We learned that the female leads the herd, I mean, duh. We also got to watch the leading lady dig a hole in a dried up waterbed so her baby could suck the water out from below. Apparently elephants can sense water from super far away AND they essentially walk on their tippy toes even though they are massive!! We could have sat there and watched them all day. You can learn so much from just sitting across the road from them. A Dik Dik! A what? Yeah, I typed that correctly. It's the smallest little deer you ever did see. Let me hit you with a couple of super romantic facts that Wolfy gave us. He said it with such charm too that you can't help but love these little guys. Anyways, Dik Diks mate for life. So, they travel just the two of them together. When the female uses the restroom, the male does his business right on top of hers so other males can't detect her and try to steal her away. They also have a gland under their eye that helps them trick predators. I think it has a laser beam in it or something... just kidding. It does secrete some nasty stuff they can rub on tree branches though. What cute, strange little creatures! We also saw more elephants! Shocker. However, these ones were right by the road and some of the young males were having a fun little battle. They fought for a little bit and then one must have gotten tired because he just flopped right down on the ground. Apparently they don't tend to do that because they weigh so much, so we can add it to the list of cool animal behaviors we have seen here! Wow, it's not even noon yet! We drove for a bit and then our guide pulled over so we could try the red banana that grows in this region. Does it taste different than a normal, yellow banana? No. It's just cool because it's small and red. Like me! To break up the drive we stopped at a place just outside the conservation area so people could pee and spend money. Those seem to be the two most popular reasons to stop. The big thing to buy here is tanzanite. Obviously, we are in Tanzania, so a few of the girls bought some rings and such. I struggled here today because I couldn't get myself to buy one and I just can't wrap my head around it sometimes. Did I not buy one because I'm a cheapskate, or did I not buy one because I didn't want one? I'm really proud of myself. I paid for my own trip. I pay for all my own things, but some people get it so easy. They don't have to pay and they get gifts on top of that! I don't want to say I'm jealous, because there is a strong sense of pride for being able to do what I do, but sometimes it just sucks. So I went to sit with all the non-shoppy people and eat french fries and hang out. If I want something next time around I just have to buy it! Lesson learned :) We had a little bit more of a drive to the entrance of Ngorongoro conservation area. We don't get to go down into the crater for a few more days, today we just tickle the rim as we head to the Serengeti. We stopped for a quick break to grab a coffee or some souvenirs while the guides bought our tickets. They have a big model of the crater (actually a caldera) in there with a bunch of the animals you can see. We have seen all of them but one. I couldn't even believe it. We have to see a serval cat in the next couple of days! In Swahili it's a mondo which is pretty fun to say, so I hope we see one. Maybe I miss my kitties at home! Upon entering the park we saw a bunch of baboons. There were even a few baby ones. They look too much like hairy human babies for my liking, but they also have this strange cuteness to them. They just sit and lick fleas off of each other and they definitely don't care if you watch. We definitely watched! The drive around the caldera is amazing. Looking down into it doesn't seem real, but obviously it is. It will be even more exciting to do a game drive through it in a couple of days. Anyways, we stopped to learn about why this area is the cradle of mankind. We saw fossils and bones and stuff that date back way before my time! Students still come to this area every year searching for stuff and they continue to find it! We were way shorter back then, but them and I have the same size of feet. My little feet have come up too much on this trip. Lucy is the name of the first person they put together, so I essentially got to meet her. There are 7 visible layers of sediment in the gorge where they believe a lake used to be millions of years ago. It was pretty interesting if you're into evolution and history and that sort of thing. If you want more info the place is called Olduvai Gorge. It was misnamed, however, as they meant to say Oldupai. You can google it! After this it was finally off to the Serengeti! There are two gates into the Serengeti from the conservation area. The first gate was where we saw our first freshly circumcised Masai warrior. You can tell they just went through it because they have painted their faces white and they have to leave for 6 weeks while it heals. Shows strength or something. It's also a great chance for them to charge you to take their picture. The park isn't enclosed, but the whole perimeter is marked with white pillars so the Masai know they can't pass. No one can live in the park, but the animals are free to come and go as they please! Serengeti is the Masai word for endless plains, and it definitely lives up to its name. It's hard to believe anything can survive here because it is so dry. There were little gazelles grazing on something though. They apparently eat the new shoots of grass to get food and water. Smart, but we just can't see it. We also saw some zebra out there, but really not too much life. We hit the second gate a little bit further in, and this is where you pay and all that jazz. We had a cheers with a beer while our guides bought our tickets! What a nice way to start another great journey! We entered the park and what did we see first? A warthog. Also a Corey Bustard bird. Then, 3 lions napping under a tree. All within 10 minutes of entering the park. This place is going to be epic! I mention the bird because it sounds like they are saying bastard, which it technically should be named because they abandon their babies. I don't much care for birds usually, but these countries have had some really cool ones. The lion king rock is real, guys! I saw it! Ever since then I have had all the songs stuck in my head. The sun was peeking through the clouds in a very magical way also. So I would consider today a win. Driving to our new hotel in the park we also saw quite a few hyenas. We saw some elephants and the usual subjects and then an excellent sunset. We arrived at the hotel just after dark and it's another pretty cool one. I could get used to the 5 star life, but I don't think my checkbook could. We are getting up tomorrow for another game drive and I'm super excited to see what the Serengeti is all about!! Until then!