#highway or intersections in the way

[lex-feldz]

Okay. I am a native New Yorker. And I— I hate it when people who HAVE NO CLUE WHAT NEW YORK LOOKS LIKE writes about it like it’s just one small town with a couple buildings behind it— InCoRrEcT. Please, it’s not that hard to just do a quick google search of New York, and New York City, PlEaSe I beg of you.

New York has high rises and low rises, due to the sediment it’s made up of. The low rises, queens, Bronx, etc, are usually low rise, two to five story buildings, a more rural area. Manhatta (SoHo), Brooklyn, and some parts of queens have the tall skyscrapers you see in the movies. The entire city is made up of islands ie, Staten Island, Long Island, and peninsulas (land surrounded by water on three sides but still connected to land. (Manhattan)

It takes anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour to reach suburbs like Scarsdale, New Rochelle, White Plains, Mamaroneck, and Yonkers. Yonkers being more of a subsection of The Bronx.

[jojolimons]

hate driving in new york

[exceptionerroralex]

the person in the lifted truck that decided to sit and wait in the literal middle of the intersection and still went when their light wasnt green

you. american adult with a drivers license. can you tell me who has the right of way at a 4 way stop

[lycorid]

Complaining fixes things sometimes!

The stupid crosswalk sensors that would freeze over and be completely unusable have been replaced with some nice fat buttons. Those still get frosty but you just have to push down slightly harder.

[arandomnomad]

It's a bit jarring to see how un-walkable a city can be when you are forced to walk.

[fireladybuckley]

Please reblog! And in the tags put where you’re from, I’m curious how this differs based on location :)

Also I was going to add “driving in bad weather” but I left it out because that makes everything more stressful for just about everyone!

[cleolinda]

Taking the pulse

I’ve mentioned before (often) that I live in Alabama. On the way home from my surgical consult, on the highway, I saw an SUV next to us when we stopped at an intersection. The back window was covered in stickers. One of them was a BLM sticker. The other two said

Kamala Harris

For the People

and

Ka

Ma

La

The red light turned green, and as my mother turned, I saw the driver. It was a white woman. (Like me, maybe Gen X or a bit younger.) What I’m saying is, even in Alabama, Kamala Fever is setting in.

[sunderedstar]

good books of 2024

according to meeee.

there is no order here, at least one of these was published ages ago, I'm just working my way through my 2024 timeline, godspeed spiderman. 🫡

Metal from Heaven

surprise hit of 2024. top of the charts. stunning, spectacular. gorgeous. Metal from Heaven FUCKS. almost every single main character is an explicit spicy toxic hot mess of a lesbian committing literal highway/train robbery, the bad guy is literally named Industry, leading to such peak sentences as "I am going to kill Industry." the prose is synesthetic in a way that most writers cannot sustain for a full novel but which here culminates in a moment of pure blissful Neon Genesis Evangelion that I will not elaborate on due to spoilers. the author pulls out the FUNNIEST lines, and also the most abrupt and heartbreaking tragedies. we're not here to be subtle, we're here to put the pedal to the metal until the engine explodes. such a damning, whip smart condemnation of industry, capitalism, power. all in the form of Lesbians. also the phrase 'clown orgy' is mentioned. this shit is like gideon the ninth with CRUNCH. NSFW.

but don't take my word for it. take amal el-mohtar's.

Absolution

Absolution is a hard book. requires thought and rigor at all times to absorb what's going on - and also a reread of the entire trilogy beforehand, because there's time travel nuance involved, which makes it next to impossible to sum up the plot coherently on its own without spoiling things. jeff vandermeer described it partially as 'fuck that alligator from the movie' and - valid. the first 60% had me; the later section...swapped gears drastically, which meant it took a while to hit its stride (aka until it reached Area X again). in hindsight I was just not prepared for one of the POVs to be the Freudian, violently stoned, unreliable narrator love-child of Karkat and Dave Strider whose perception/conception of the heart of the Southern Reach is extremely phallic. and then suddenly cannibalism happens. I liked Annihilation and Acceptance better, but damn. it almost feels like this should be the set up to another trilogy. much 2 think about.

Yield Under Great Persuasion

I don't know why I didn't hear anything about this one before it came out! (instead, I only saw posts about rowland's other book released this year, running close to the wind - which sadly did not hit for me at all). Yield Under Great Persuasion is just ridiculous enough to be fantastic. stubborn little gremlin man, big mad about Pumpkingate years after the original inciting incident that set him at odds with his love interest, attempts to pack his little rucksack and run away from all his self-inflicted gay problems, fails, is forced to deal with said personal problems by direct goddess-intervention. you know it's gonna be good when the guys are hate-banging by page 2. a short, delightful mix of (extremely silly and low-stakes) enemies to lovers and hurt/comfort and working out your emotional and communication issues on page style comfort food. self-indulgent in a fanfic way that is rowland's trademark in a taste of gold and iron (which was also fantastic and probably deserves a reread now.) NSFW.

The Spellshop

between this and yield under great persuasion there's an odd cozy fantasy pairing here. a self-isolated shut-in spellbook librarian who lives for her work escapes the fall of her city and sets up shop back in her old hometown on a severely magic-deprived island. there's some internalized trauma being worked through, against a simply charming backdrop of community and solidarity and magic spells. really. I was. charmed. which is a rare reaction on my part.

The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low

the curveball of the list, The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low is a translated (gay) Korean web novel, and it's the perfect intersection of a decent translator meeting an author who knows what they're doing. notorious tumblr user @spockandawe has a write up of the plot and its major themes here, but in essence it hooked me with its hunter/super-hero meets Pacific Rim setting, its themes of gifted kid burnout and unacknowledged trauma with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the fact that the author clearly plotted out all of this in advance, with minor details from the opening chapter being extremely plot relevant a hundred chapters later. also, the characters are FUN! the relationship compels me. clownery abounds in all the best ways, while the world-ending stakes are also scarily sky high. its translation is currently incomplete as far as I'm aware, which is literally this story's only downside right now, since you can read it online for free - but so much of the main story is up and translated already that it's hard to imagine how much higher the stakes can go, and I'm dying to know if these two make it through and get the happy ending they deserve. a delicious repast.

Apostles of Mercy

I'm gonna rant here. this is the story of a series that got the redemption arc it deserved.

if you don't know, axiom's end is lindsay ellis's blatant Bayverse Transformers female lead alternate history fic. period. she has openly admitted this. you can easily and clearly pick out the Optimus/Megatron/Starscream expies. and that first book was GOOD. it understood the assignment. loved it.

then...truth of the divine happened. book two of the series. was frankly. god awful. it was like twilight's new moon, where the main character's depression saturates and therefore stagnates the entire narrative, in this case to its detriment. it dragged. the entire appeal of first book of the series is the bond between the main character and her new definitely-not-a-Transformer life partner, and book two managed to both sideline that - the entire point!!! the main thing you're reading it for! the alien time! - and introduce the most skeevy and (for me) unpleasant to read human hetero romance of all time. it was so unpleasant I actually forgot how bad it was.

somehow. somehow. palpatine returned. after I spent three years mourning what could have been. book three saved it. Apostles of Mercy addresses the whole damn skeevy toxic mess that was book two and refocuses on what matters - the alien love interest and a LESBIAN love interest. yes. it's true. once again the sapphics won. we now have a book where the main character is reliving lesbian sex memories as an alien-robot-insect-definitely-not-a-Transformer mindmelds with her so I mean. good job team? her love interest also acquires an alien life partner of her own to expand this into potential alien foursome range? the assignment is once again UNDERSTOOD. in terms of the action scenes, to quote myself while reading it, "I can't believe I'm saying this but you needed to channel far more Bayverse" [for book 2], and doing so for book 3 has produced a work of art. I would say skip book 2 entirely and thank me later, but experiencing how bad the series got at its darkest point is part of what made book 3 such an exhilarating high in comparison. possibly that was the goal all along, impossible to appreciate until now. I just need lindsay ellis to get the contract to write the currently-in-publication-limbo books 4 and 5. because the series deserves it. it only just got good again! NSFWish because I can't remember currently how explicit they got all these months later, forgive me.

The Deep Sky

yume kitasei is new to me, but this book hit some interesting notes as a sci fi debut. it too is about gifted kid burnout and imposter syndrome, funnily enough, in a thoughtful take on the standard sci fi concept of 'a bunch of rigorously trained young adults are sent out into deep space as an ark to save a dying humanity' that actually does discuss how fucked up that is as a concept, both for the kids as they grow up under enormous pressure to win a spot on the mission and for all those people being left behind, in what might just end up being an overhyped waste of resources, since civilization sure is still kicking when they leave. the summary on the book is somewhat misleading - asuka, the main character, doesn't fall under suspicion until wayyyy late in the book, and spends the majority of it in a pseudo-detective role that is absolutely sanctioned by those in charge. she's not 'an immediate suspect' like the book blurb insists. go figure. it didn't knock me out of the park like most of the books above, but it was an engaging little read.

The Bees

a weird one from 2014, picked up on a whim - it's literally about bees! fictionalized bees! with personalities and priesthoods and caste politics and everything! I cried about it to be honest. very plotty, somehow all of it neatly taking place within the Lifecycle of A Bee™️, which takes some real craftsmanship to pull off and make compelling as a narrative. since I'm an unrepentant Raksura fan, I was like 'wow...how Raksura coded...' knowing full well that Raksura are dragon bee people, not the other way around. also the Raksura could never be as toxic (complimentary) as these bees are. 😂 it's just good literature your honor.

honorable mentions:

Heavenly Tyrant

has not come out yet. but let's be real. it's on the list in anticipation. it's what she deserves.

The City in Glass

I love nghi vo's work, have read and adored all of the singing hills cycle novellas. it took a month for my library hold on this book to be available. and then I promptly got distracted by metal from heaven and the hunter's gonna lay low 😂 I will read it!!! the first eight pages were good! vitrine's voice is very good! I've just had a very busy end of the year interrupting my everything. (update: I read two more pages and it immediately and promptly popped off. whoops. guess I'm reading that next. whenever I have free time again...)

[echoingalaxies]

cw: hospital/medical stuff mentions, unspecified illness or injury

“You wanna pick up some food on the way?” Caretaker asked, steering her car out of the parking garage and to the intersection.

Whumpee, sitting under a blanket on the passenger seat, watched the hospital disappear as they drove away on the mostly empty highway. He rubbed the pit of his elbow where a small bandage remained to stop the slight bleeding from a cannula.

It had been a long day. New bottles of medicine rattled in the pockets of his jacket when he shifted into a more comfortable position and leaned their head against the headrest. They had sat in the waiting room the whole evening before finally being admitted, and discharged only a couple of hours after. Caretaker hadn’t even tried to argue with the staff anymore. It always ended like this. Not enough beds and not enough people to take care of the ones lying on them.

Whumpee knew he was lucky. He knew he’d be safe going home with Caretaker. But it didn’t mean he didn’t keep dreaming about the day he’d be taken seriously. He’d receive proper care. Otherwise he’d just have to keep going back, over and over again. More pills, more bills, more wasted hours.

“Hello?”

“Oh, uh,” Whumpee blinked, realizing he hadn’t actually given Caretaker a response. “No, I… we should just head home. You’ve got work in the morning, and it’s already way past midnight.”

His stomach let out a loud rumbling sound just then, and Caretaker gave him a quiet look, which Whumpee pretended to not see. He could fix himself a bowl of yogurt at home. Caretaker needed sleep. She deserved it, after putting aside her own responsibilities just to stay with him again.

“What if I told you I already took tomorrow off?”

"What?" Whumpee turned to her, shaking his head. “Caretaker, no. You shouldn’t have.”

Caretaker shrugged. “It’s Friday, we get to have a head start for the weekend. Won’t that be fun?” Her smile faltered slightly and her voice shifted lower, to more serious. “The nurse said someone should keep an eye on you — and I wouldn’t want to leave you, anyway. You still need help.”

Whumpee knew that. He looked down, fidgeting with the hospital wristband. If he’d kept every one of those he’d got even during the past year, he could probably sew them together to make full sleeves for both arms. Money was already tight, as Caretaker worked to support the both of them, and Caretaker missing work because of Whumpee’s various appointments and frequent trips to the ER had had their effect on their income.

“Yes, but…” he said, the familiar tearing feeling of shame finding its place. “I thought we would call Friend or Sibling to stay with me while you’re at work. We have before.”

“Now we don’t have to.” Caretaker glanced at him, frowning. “Do you not… want me to stay?”

“Didn’t they say you can’t keep doing this anymore if you plan to keep your position?” Whumpee asked. “You like your job. I don’t want you to risk losing it because of me.”

“They will understand. I told them it is a family matter.”

Whumpee’s cheeks got hot and he moved his focus away from Caretaker again, watching out of the window instead. They were passing by shops, parks, and pubs, taking many turns in the little streets of their labyrinth of a hometown. Whumpee hadn’t even noticed they had left the main road, but he definitely recognised where Caretaker was heading.

“You didn’t have to lie because of me,” he mumbled, as Caretaker pulled into the parking lot of a local, 24-hour barbeque restaurant they both loved. “About it being a… a family thing.”

Caretaker turned to Whumpee, finally being able to give him her undivided attention as she turned off the engine, smiling softly.

“I didn’t.”

[stumpyjoepete]

Driving just outside NYC has greatly increased my opinion as to the competence and professionalism of LA drivers.

I think when you get your license here, you must flip a coin, and it either comes up psychopath or schmuck. If you're a psychopath, you have to drive 30 mph over the speed limit, never use your turn signal, treat zipper-merges as some form of gladiatorial combat, and occasionally just do something crazy like drive into oncoming traffic in order to turn right in front of the person in the right turn lane who is already turning right.

If you're a schmuck, you have to forget to take your turn at a 4 way stop, always use your turn signal but then leave it on for the next half mile, zipper-merge so timidly that your entire lane falls behind 5 cars from the other lane, and occasionally get stuck in the exact middle of an intersection making a left turn because it turned red and who knows, is it even legal to go when it's red?

How are all of these drivers on the same roads? At one point, I was stuck behind a guy driving 10 below the speed limit and his trunk was totally caved in. Apparently past experience had not convinced him to change his highway driving behavior. I was simultaneously getting tailgated by a guy with a dented hood. Similar levels of stubbornness. I do not want to share the road with either of these people, much less be stuck between them!

[longreads]

What do you do when they tell you that you'll never race again? You run farther than you ever have before. Our latest Atavist Magazine excerpt highlights Todd Barcelona's recovery from a traumatic brain injury.

On the afternoon that changed his life, Todd was driving home from work in his sky blue 1994 GMC Sierra truck. He had purchased it used and lowered the suspension so it sat closer to the ground. It did not have airbags.

Todd approached the intersection of Austin Peay Highway and Old Brownsville Road heading north. A Shell gas station, fields of crops, and stands of trees filled his view. The light ahead turned yellow, and he continued through the intersection. A gray Honda Accord driving south made a left at the light at the same time, failing to yield the right of way. It smashed into Todd’s truck almost head-on.

Visit Longreads to read the full excerpt.

[milkpup]

｡⋆ʚ♡ throwing it back for the blue

‹𝟹 nsfw! 18+ oneshot

art creds: soy / twitter -> https://pin.it/6GKWjQW

ʚ ao3 ɞ / ʚ kofi ɞ / ʚ fic masterlist ɞ

by cafekitsune

›› toji fushiguro x reader ›› 18+! f!reader/m ›› date published: 12/8/23 ›› 3k words

‹𝟹 summary:You're tired from exams, hoping to rush home and take a quick shower and sleep. Unluckily for you, you get pulled over on your way home by Officer Toji Fushiguro.

‹𝟹 fandom: jjk , jujutsu kaisen

‹𝟹 genres/warnings: police au, insults, dubious consent, power imbalance, impact play

‹𝟹 tags: police au, police uniforms, uniform kink, cop toji, rough sex, manipulation, coercion, people pleaser, public sex, sex on a car, abuse of authority, au - no powers, dubious consent, being called a good girl, praise kink, degradation, choking, spit / spitting, spit kink, face slapping, slapping, spanking, vaginal sex, dry humping, cunnilingus, hair pulling, breeding, vaginal fingering, fingerfucking, name calling, pet names, dilf toji, toji is his own warning, toji has a big dick

‹𝟹 notes: this story is originally posted on my ao3! hope y'all like it here too! i just wanna say that this is all fantasy. i am actually against cops but ima be real.... i still got fantasies lmfao X_X enjoy!

--

Throwing it Back for the Blue by milkpup

It’s finals week at your college. You had your last final of the week, and it ended late at night. Yawning as you’re driving, you want to get home as soon as possible. You silently curse yourself for living off-campus, it would have been nice to live at the dorms and have a short walk back. You valued your independence and freedom, however, and that is why you opted for a more expensive off-campus living arrangement.

You look at the clock on the dash of your car: 10:43. You just want to hurry up and shower, snuggle in bed, and drift to sleep. It wasn’t worth it taking the main highways, there would probably be lots of traffic from people going out on a Friday night. You take a less-used road, it won’t add much more time, and you could honestly make up for it if you went a little faster. Plus, cops don’t usually care enough to check out back roads.

--

Toji specifically chose this intersection because it wasn’t used as frequently. He didn’t want to camp out on a main highway, that’s more work, and for what? He always lived by the motto of working smarter, not harder.

He’s backed up on a street, lights of his motorcycle turned off. The abundant foliage and trees add more darkness, and it doesn’t help there’s very few street lights on these roads. Toji wanted to just take a break, smoke a cigarette, and wait until his shift was over. He already met whatever “quota” for traffic citations he was tasked with, he just needed to wait until he was off at midnight and could make his way back to his apartment.

He leisurely sat upon his motorcycle, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. He exhaled and watched as the smoke dissipated in the cool air. He clicked his tongue. He was slightly ticked off he hadn’t taken a patrol car instead. He usually used the motorcycle, but the brisk fall air was not pleasant against his uniform. The black button up hugged his muscles and body, he was glad he at least chose the long sleeve today. Although he had a bad habit of rolling his sleeves up anyways, constantly creasing and wrinkling his uniform. Thick but tight black pants with a gold stripe running along the sides provided him minimal warmth, however. The long black leather boots all motorcycle patrols wore made up for the inadequate coverage on his legs.

He groaned, feeling the cool air start to affect him. His moment of complaint didn’t last long as he watched a car run right through the stop sign in front of him. He clicked his tongue again. Whatever, at least it gives me something to pass the time. He quickly dropped his cigarette and snuffed it out with his boot, before turning his headlights and sirens on.

--

As you flew past the intersection, you saw red and blue flashing lights appear not too far behind you, picking up speed and getting closer.

“Fuck.” You groaned out loud. You were sure no cops would be there; why would they ever be there? They never were before. “This fucking sucks. I definitely fucked up.” You pulled over to the side of the road soon after.

The first thing you see as the officer approaches your window is how built he is. How taut his clothes are against his skin. You gulp. You feel like a fucking pervert, thinking these kind of thoughts in this kind of situation.

“Good evening, miss,” the officer greets you as your window finishes rolling down. “Do you know why I pulled you over tonight?”

You try to gulp again, but your mouth is instantly dry. You feel like a deer caught in headlights. In a way, you are. “N-no… officer. I’m sorry I don’t know.” You’re looking everywhere but this officer. You have confrontation issues in general, and a person with authority absolutely kicks your anxiety into overdrive. You’re sweating so much, you once read in an article to act like you don’t know why you’re being pulled over.

Toji clicks his tongue. “Little miss, you were driving exceptionally over the speed limit, not to mention you completely flew past a stop sign before I pulled you over. Do you understand how reckless that is?” You can’t see into his face very well with his helmet covering his head. You chose to look at his abdomen, but that’s not much help either.

“I-I understand,” you meekly stumble out. Your cheeks are flush, and you feel like you’re about to cry. You don’t want to get in trouble; you’re instantly apologetic for not being more careful.

Toji smirks. “Very well, license, registration, and insurance please, little miss.”

You shuffle around, pulling your bag into your lap. Grabbing your license and insurance card out of your wallet before reaching into the glove compartment to retrieve your registration. Your shirt hikes up a bit as you lean over to grab your stuff, and Toji takes this time to observe the scene. At least, that’s what he says he’s doing. In reality, he’s looking at the exposed skin from your shirt lifting and your leggings that hug your body. He licks his lips, thinking of an idea.

You move back up, handing him the materials. “Thank you, darling. Wait here while I run your information.” He says as he retreats towards his motorcycle. He radios dispatch, giving them your plate number and other necessary information.

He’s flipping your ID back and forth in his hand. He shamelessly takes a picture of it. He wants to remember you and where you live. Is it an abuse of power? Yes. And he fucking loves it. Your record is clean, tags are up to date, and the only thing wrong was your reckless driving this one time. He might just be nice and let you off with a warning.

He returns to your car, handing your documents over. He places an arm against the door frame, leaning against it. “Miss Y/N. I can tell you’re tired, and it’s probably because you have finals at the local university. I sympathize with you, and I’ll let you off with a warning this time. You have a clean record, and seem like a good girl who means no harm.” Toji smirks while looking down at you. You meet his gaze, feeling a wave of relief come crashing against you. You’re about to sigh with relief, before Toji finishes his statement. “However, because I’m such a nice guy willing to overlook a careless mistake for you, I need you to do something for me.”

You’re momentarily confused, as he’s reaching above his head to take off his helmet. His inky locks fall into place as his helmet comes off. He has vibrant jade eyes, piercing right through you as he looks down at you. “If you resist detainment, I will have no other option to arrest you. And we both don’t want that. So be a good little bitch and listen to me.”

Your heart is pounding so loud you could barely hear him telling you to get out of your car. “Step out of the vehicle, now.” You do not want to fuck with this guy, and you’d do anything if it meant you would still have a clean record.

As you’re opening the door and about to step out, he grabs your wrist and flips you around to pin you against your car. You can’t see much in the darkness, the only lights around to illuminate the area were his bike’s headlights and your car’s. He’s pressed up behind you, holding your arms against your back. His muscular and rigid body felt warm against yours. You couldn’t help but feel yourself getting wet as you could feel his hot breath against your neck behind you.

Toji was taking in every feeling of your body that he could. He spread your legs apart with his thigh, pushing against your core. You whimper as his thigh pushes against your cunt. You could already feel your juices soaking through your thin layers. Your black leggings didn’t do much to provide any modesty, he could see every curve and dip. He felt moisture as his thigh pushed into you more, and he had a cocky grin plastered on his face.

“Are you really getting turned on from this? Such a fucking slut that getting pushed against your car by an officer has you dripping already?” Your mind started spinning as he started degrading you. Your only response was a pathetic moan as he bit your neck slightly. He was leaving a mark on his toy for the night. It wasn’t going to be the last one he makes.

Toji groped your ass through your tights, feeling how soft and plush they felt. He felt his cock start straining underneath his pants as he pressed against your ass. Toji picked up speed and pressure, increasing the friction as he dry humped your ass. Your pants and squirming under his touch was a sight he could barely handle.

“Will you be a good toy for me, Y/N? I don’t want to get you in trouble, doll.” He muttered out as he kept pushing against your ass.

“Yes, sir.” You barely get the words out as Toji grabs a fistful of your hair and pulls you up. He tilts your head towards him slightly.

“Open, bitch.” You comply immediately, your cunt gushing more everytime he insults you. You’ve been used to praise your whole life, people taking care of you and treating you gently. But this? This was new and exciting. He spat in your mouth before pushing you against the car again. “Good girl,” he hummed.

“Strip from the waist down but leave your panties on, sweetheart.” He moved away from you, allowing you space to take your leggings off. You quickly removed them, tossing them back into the car.

In the time you took your leggings off, Toji moved to the front of the car. You finished undressing stood in front of him before he pushed you down against the hood of the car. He lifted your leg by the thigh, leaving one to support you and pushing the other on top of the car.

He spit on his fingers, moving them towards your already dripping cunt. “Tell me how this feels, doll.” He coos as he pushes one thick finger into your needy hole, pushing your panties to the side. You shamelessly moan as he pushes deep inside with his index finger. Toji immediately feels how tight your little cunt already is with just one of his fingers. He licks his lips devilishly, excited at the idea of stretching you out with his thick cock.

He adds another finger, and you already feel like you can’t take much more than this. He’s relentlessly fingerfucking your cunt as you’re pushed against your car. Your juices are dripping down his hand, as you’re panting and feeling your body heat up more.

He snakes a hand towards your neck, choking you as he pulls you up. “Do you like this, you little slut?” He asks you as he continues fucking your tight hole with his thick fingers. You’re too lost in the sensations to answer, a pathetic whimper the most you can manage. He pulls you by the hair to again, forcing you to make eye contact. “I asked you a question, didn’t I bitch? Fucking answer me.” He grunts out as he spits onto your face.

“It feels sho good, sir…” You slur your words. He’s fucking you with his fingers than any of the men you were with could do with their cocks. You’re already hooked, and he isn’t even fucking you yet.

He pulls his fingers out, much to your disappointment and groan of protest, before he licks his fingers and tastes your cunt. Fuck, she tastes fucking amazing. Little whore has a cunt that is just begging me to eat it.

He lights your other leg and flips you over onto your back. You can finally meet his gaze where you notice he’s staring at you like you’re his prey. He smirks as he drops down to his knees to be at eye level with your cunt. He normally doesn’t care for eating out the women he fucks, he usually only care about his own pleasure. But your taste, your moans, your body… they’re all intoxicating. And he would never pass up an opportunity for a free meal.

You feel his breath against your cunt as he approaches. He starts by kissing your inner thighs before reaching your core, where he gives a teasing flick of his tongue.

He looks up at you as you react, grinning against your pussy. He moves his tongue up to your clit, swirling around it. Your body trembles under his touch. He kisses and sucks your button, before giving it a gentle nibble. He wants to see how your body reacts whenever he does anything. Toji moves back down towards your tight hole, before he pushes his tongue inside. He rubs your clit as he tongue fucks your cunt, causing you to buck your hips against his face.

He moves back up to your clit, not wanting it to feel left out. He pushes another finger in your hole as he sucks your button. You moan profusely, feeling something build between your legs. You grab his raven locks and push him against your cunt more. “Please! Ah! I’m close-“ you stumble out as you feel yourself approaching the edge of pleasure. “More! Please! Fuck!!” You can barely get even one-syllable words out between your moans.

Toji fingerfucks you harder and faster, trying to get you to cum on his mouth. You whimper and tremble as you feel yourself being pushed over the edge, causing quite a mess. Toji is surprised, he didn’t realize you would be a squirter, but he laps up every last drop of essence as you orgasm.

He moves away as he reaches to unbuckle his belt. “Good girl… now it’s my turn.” You’re practically panting as he frees his cock from his tight uniform pants.

He moves towards you, lining the tip up with your hole. “You’re gonna take this like a good slut for me, right?” He deviously smirks while looking down at you.

“Yes, si-“ you begin to say. But before you finish, he bottoms out and forces his whole length inside at once. You yelp in shock, and a bit of pain. He’s exceptionally big, and the thickness is not helping either. He grunts as he stretches your tight hole. He lifts both your legs above his shoulders, pushing his body against yours. He has you in a mating press, ready to fuck you until you can’t even move after.

“You’re so tight, Y/N. Tighter than any bitch I’ve ever had in my life.” His jade eyes look down at you as he says that. Your walls clamp around his thick cock at the compliment, you get high off of being praised.

“Open, sweetheart.” Toji commands you once again, before he spits into your mouth again. This time though, he follows it up with the most aggressive kiss you’ve ever felt. He’s forcing every part of his body against yours, tugging at your bottom lip and biting it. He tastes the metallic essence, and feels his cock throb. You moan against his forceful kiss, while he fucks you hard and deep.

He pulls back until just the tip remains, before slamming back into your hole at full force. You moan at the action, feeling his cock hit your cervix. You’re sure he’s going to bruise you, but you don’t care. You wrap your arms around his neck as he drills his cock into your cunt.

He pulls his lips from yours, and spits on you again. He moves a cock to your neck, applying pressure that makes your head dizzy. You can hardly breathe, your head feeling lightheaded as he fucks you dumb.

“Your cunt is amazing, sweetheart. It’s perfect for me.” He coos as he releases his grip around your throat and allows you to catch your breath. Your moment of respite is short-lived, as he slaps your cheek, leaving a red mark. “I might have to make you my bitch from now on. I can’t stand the idea of someone else fucking this tight hole.” He smacks you again, and you look up at him through half-lidded eyes.

You look like you’re enjoying every second this goes on, and Toji notices it. He moves his hand towards your cunt, lightly rubbing your clit. He fucks harder into you, causing your eyes to roll back. “You like being a good bitch for me, huh? I already knew you liked being praised, so I considered going soft on you. But you’re actually a dirty girl who likes being degraded and used, as long as I finish it off with a bit of praise, aren’t you? You’ve probably dreamt of someone having their way with you, roughing you up, and insulting you.” He spit on you again, and you clamped down around him tighter the moment he did so. He rubs your clit more, noticing you’re approaching the edge as well.

“Fuck, Y/N. I’m gonna cum soon. I’m going to fill you up with my cum. Be a good toy and cum with me, sweetheart.” He fucked into you harder, increasing speed and changing the angle to hit your sweet spot more. “I’m gonna knock you up, baby.” The moment his words rolled off his tongue you felt yourself cumming harder than you thought possible. You had a death grip around his cock as you clenched down, trembling and shaking under his weight. The added friction and pressure sent Toji over the edge as well, as he painted your insides white with his thick cum.

You were both panting, trying to catch your breaths. Toji lifted a hand to your cheek and caressed it before kissing your forehead. “That was amazing, doll.” He pulled out from inside of you, adjusting your panties so none of his seed could drip out. He wanted to make sure you stayed full until you got home.

Toji zips his pants and buckles them back up, before reaching inside your car to get your leggings. He hands then to you, watching you get dressed in front of him.

“So, as per our deal, you are let off with a warning. Please understand the consequences of your dangerous actions. There won’t always be someone nice like me to let you off and get you off,” He finished as he smirks. You blush after hearing his words.

“Thank you, officer. I really appreciate it.” You respond back to him, meeting his gaze once more.

“I’m going to follow you home, to make sure you get back safely.” He grins. You smile back at him and thank him, before getting into your car. You won’t speed away this time.

--

‹𝟹 end notes: i hope you enjoyed it! feedback is ALWAYS appreciated! originally posted on my ao3! i post there more consistently!

‹𝟹 notifs: @vvxxccaa @arylaa @navi-n0 @starshipxoxo @comicalgrievance

ʚ join my notifs ɞ

(･ω･)つ divider creds to @/cafekitsune and @/eloquentreverie

[elucubrare]

that post about different modes of transportation & their effect on your experience of a city is a really frustrating piece of rhetoric for me - i don't necessarily disagree with the unstated underlying point (that cities need fewer cars)*, but arguing that by positing personal experiential data as universal is bad rhetorically.

driving makes your city feel like a few islands, pockets of space where you regularly go and new ones you discover only when brought there for a purpose, but all amidst an ocean of just, filler

driving made the city i drove in feel connected - i saw the ways the roads flowed into each other & the places where they were overburdened because more people went there; i saw the ways that the roadbuilders worked with and around the landscape; as i drove, the wildflowers and grass blew around the highways, and when i reached a high point I saw the city laid out below me, its intersections and its pathways.

Taking public transit makes your city feel like a network of corridors, a glowing grid along which you may discover new things, but whose alternate winding paths you only take when given to by circumstance.

taking public transit made my city feel like it consisted of two points, the station i went down in and the station i came up in; the rest of the city presumably existed, but while i was on the train it could have been vaporized and I would never know.

My point here isn't that my experiences are right - quite the opposite, actually. My experiences are specific to me and to my cities - i'm sure i'd feel differently about public transit if my experiences were with above ground trains rather than below ground. My point is that 1) the second person in the OP is really carrying a lot of rhetorical weight to attempt to universalize a single experience and 2) this is essentially a policy argument & neither my experiences nor OP's are really relevant to it.

[starlightvld]

Bait & Switch, pt. 8

<< Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 // Part 8 // Part 9 >>

Based on "I wasn't in that tunnel."

Call of Duty, soapghost // CW: Hurt/Comfort, MWIII spoilers

---

Tensions are high as Price backs out of the garage. Ghost keeps his body loose and his eyes moving as the outside world comes into view. The windows are tinted and the vehicle bullet-proof, but that won't stop heavy artillery.

They'll need to be vigilant.

Price drives carefully, weaving between buildings in the small Eastern European city that Ghost doesn't even know the name of. Hell, he's not even sure what bloody country they're in anymore. Ghost keeps his eyes on the buildings silhouetted by the dawn light, sweeping for broken-out windows or long barrels sticking over the edges of rooftops. 

Soon enough, though, they leave the town behind, replacing sidewalks and buildings with open fields and clumps of occasional forests. Ghost lets the tension seep away slowly. He stays vigilant, but as they continue on with no sign of pursuit, he lets his mind wander back to the way Johnny had looked when he shoved his gun into Ghost's hand — too wild-eyed, too frightened, and just... wrong. Wrong in the same ways these past three years have been wrong.

It will take time for Johnny to recover, but the reality is that the brash, cocky side of his sergeant is likely gone forever. Not that it makes much of a difference to Ghost. Johnny is alive and back in his arms. He doesn't really give a fuck about anything else.

They drive for several hours before stopping to fill up at a small station. He, Soap, and Gaz duck down in the back to make sure they aren't seen through the open doors. Laswell pays well in the local currency, which the station attendant seems to appreciate, and they move on down the road. They're only on the road for a few minutes, though, before Laswell lets out a vicious curse and murmurs something to Price. As they make a hard turn down a dusty road, Ghost sees the reason for Laswell's displeasure through the side window.

A border checkpoint in the distance.

"That's not supposed to be there, I take it," Gaz says in a tense tone.

"Nope," Laswell replies. "We'll find another way through."

They pass three more checkpoints before Laswell calls a halt. She pulls up her laptop and begins scanning a satellite map. After a few minutes of tense silence, she disconnects and directs them to a dirt track a few miles down the road.

"We're off-roading it, boys. Better buckle up if you aren't already."

Trees rise up around them, branches scraping along the sides of the car as they bounce over the eroded trail. With another turn, they begin a slow descent. Price dodges a young tree growing in the middle of the track, losing his side mirror in the process. Ghost holds on to Soap as the car bounces around, throwing them into each other despite the tight hold of their locked seatbelts. His stitches protest the violent movement, but there's nothing to be done about it.

The border is protected by nothing but a fence with a gate cut in it, which they assume the locals sometimes use to avoid the check points as well. They pass through and get tossed around a bit more as they drive over more barely-there dirt tracks. Finally, the brush falls back to the sides, and at the intersection of another trail, it evens out into a more well-used dirt road.

"We're through," Laswell murmurs. "Just keep driving west for now."

The roads gradually widen and become more well-maintained, though they stay on the back roads for another few hours. The next gas station sits at a barren crossroads and doesn't have an attendant, though the rustic pumps hum to life when Price picks up the nozzle and lifts the lever. A sign written in Polish in the nearby shack says to leave the money inside, so they fill up, leave the correct change, and continue on their way, this time with Gaz behind the wheel again. By the time they merge back onto a proper highway, the sun is setting.

Still, Laswell keeps them moving. Johnny falls asleep on his shoulder.

The sun sets fully, but it isn't until Ghost notices the signs have switched to German that he begins to relax. Signs count down the kilometers to Berlin until they finally pull into another garage in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.

"I've got a contact here," Laswell tells them as they file into the surprisingly roomy safehouse. "He's trustworthy, and he can get us to Mexico. It'll be a while, though, so we're going to hole up again."

Ghost just nods. Mexico means Alejandro and Rudy, people they can trust and who have the resources to protect and counter attack. He fucking hates Mexico for so many reasons, but if that's where Johnny will be safe, he'll take it. It'll be nice to see the Vaqueros again, too. They've been on a few missions together since Johnny was... taken, but nothing long term.

As they gather in the kitchen off the garage, Soap sways on his feet. He's been napping on and off all day, but his eyes are bloodshot, and he looks one strong wind away from falling over. Ghost wraps an arm around his waist, and Soap leans into him.

"One room downstairs, three rooms up," Laswell says as she quirks an eye at Ghost.

As much as he wants to take the downstairs room for Johnny's sake, tactically, it makes more sense for one of the uninjured, such as Price or Gaz, to be their first line of defense. When he says as much, Price nods.

"I'll take the downstairs. I assume you two are good to share?"

"Yes," Johnny says a little too quickly.

Ghost hides his smile behind his mask as usual. He nods to the others and leads Johnny upstairs. He finds the room with the biggest bed, curls around Soap's shivering body under the heavy blankets, and lets himself drift away.

---

The next few days are much like their days in the first safe house, though this time they have more space. Ghost exercises as much as his wound allows while keeping an eye on Johnny, helping him through the withdrawal. The hallucinations scare him, but Johnny hasn't once lashed out or otherwise seen Ghost as anyone but Ghost. He takes it as a good sign.

It's becoming more difficult to keep his hands to himself, though. Every night, as they press together, Johnny's head on his chest or Ghost's buried in the crook of his neck, he thinks of kissing Johnny, of sliding a hand lower, of hearing those soft moans of pleasure he's been missing for years. Despite the mistreatment, Johnny's body is still beautiful, and Ghost wants. 

And yet Johnny deserves time to heal before Ghost pushes his own feelings on him. What kind of a partner would he be if he pushed for something while Johnny was still in the throws of withdrawal?

So he aims for comforting when they share a bed — and wanks in the shower every chance he gets.

Four days after their arrival, Laswell's contact picks them up and drives them to a small airport two hours south of Berlin. They are ushered into a small plane and presented with new clothes, including hats, glasses, and fake passports. They change clothes in the plane on the way Paris, where another jet is waiting to take them to Mexico.

It's not until Ghost sees Alejandro's severe expression as he approaches them at the airport that Ghost thinks to be cautious. Ale steps up to Soap and scans his face as if searching for something.

"Alejandro," Soap says by way of greeting as he holds out his hand. "Good to see you again, mi hermano."

"Dios mio," Ale whispers, eyes wide.

Ghost is about to step between them when Ale suddenly slaps Soap's hand aside and grabs him up into a fierce hug. There's a lot of pounding of backs and coughing to cover the crying, but Ghost lets his muscles untense as Ale murmurs how good it is to see Soap alive and well. Over Soap's shoulder, he gives Ghost a nod.

Ghost nods back.

"Come, my friends!" Ale says as he pulls back from Soap, though he keeps an arm around his shoulders. "Let's get back to base and figure out our next steps, eh?"

---

The base is even more highly secured than the last time they were there. It takes two major checkpoints and dozens of guarded doors before Ale leads them into a building in the middle of the base. Rudy is waiting for them inside the conference room, and he goes through much the same process as Alejandro, taking a moment to really look at Soap... and then grabbing him up in a tight hug.

"It's a miracle," Ale murmurs. "Do you know how it was done?"

"Some kinda serum," Ghost says. "Laswell knows more, I think."

Sure enough, as they quiet down and Laswell begins speaking, it's clear she's been busy the last couple of weeks. She's narrowed the traitors down to three of the seven generals on the multinational council that replaced Shepherd.

"I can't be sure, but intel points to all three of them being involved to some degree." She clicks forward a slide and three pictures come on screen. "Generals Havisham, Dinly, and Patel have had dealings with the supposed 'supersoldier' serum, though it's possible Dinly isn't aware of who they're truly working with to develop the serum. I've received confirmation that all seven generals will be detained on our mark, just in case."

"So... what's the plan, then?" Alejandro asks. "Are we moving against Makarov directly?"

Laswell looks at Ghost.

No. She looks at Soap, who is standing directly in front of Ghost, back pressed to his front.

A chill runs down Ghost's spine.

Laswell's gaze does flick to Ghost's for a brief moment before she looks at Ale. "We'll be setting a trap. Soap is the bait."

"No."

The word is out of Ghost's mouth before he can stop it, an arm circling around Johnny's shoulders to crush him against his chest.

"We're just spreading the rumor that he's there," Laswell says. "When Makarov shows up to collect his wayward experiment, we'll be there instead."

Ghost relaxes a bit, though a sick, curdling feeling in his gut tells him to keep his guard up. The meeting continues, planning the location, the angles, the coverage. Ghost listens with half an ear, but his focus is on Johnny.

On the soft breaths that waft over his arm where it rests on his collarbone.

On the desperate grip curling around the meat of his forearm.

On that strange, sick feeling that only grows more pronounced with every word from Laswell's mouth. 

He trusts her. He does. But he also trusts that she'll do what's necessary for the greater good. And that Johnny will go along with it if he thinks it's the right thing to do.

So he listens. He watches. And he makes a few plans of his own.

---

<< Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 // Part 8 // Part 9 >>

[bleedingcoffee42]

Transcribed under the cut with spelling errors intact. From Dick Winter's Talbert file. Gems like "Your Devoted Soldier Forever" and "you kept officers like Nixon Welsh with you and gave me Spears" "You son of a gun! I love ya!"

Dear "Dick",

I find it very difficult to call you "Dick" as far as I am concerned you will always be my "Bird Colonel". You feel I did I job for you, do you know you were my total inspiration. This is understandable because all my boys felt the sa,e way! You were a GI's soldier.

Do you remember the time you were leading us into Carentan. Something happened to the other platoons. I told my boys to follow me and we came through. I ask you one question as I passed you, which way should I turn at the dead end. You told me to go right. I lost Tipper + carried Lipton out on my shoulder from that intersection. We continued on clearing houses, some on fire, and a lot of mortar. Again seeing you in the middle of that road wanting to move was to much.

I don't know if you know this or not. I remember only two major withdrawls during the war. The first was a small town in Holland, cannot remember the name, you gave Lt. Peacock and I the orders of march. We were to move out on our right flank and attack and secure this small village. You advised us there was approx a platoon of Germans there. I will not go into all the details. I lost 5 or 6 men + Randleman stay in a barn all night. We had four English tanks in support. The Germans let us get well into the town. They knocked the two lead tanks out, burned and lost all the crews. At this time I know there was two Tiger tanks one on each flank. Lt. Peacock had the right ditch I has the right. My lead scout Mars got hit in the cheek + a couple more (Van Clinking) was killed at that time. My decision was to withdraw. As we initiated this action the Mortars were really something. I remember the first house we came to had a pool table (we were actually withdrawing through the houses) Cpl. Dukeman who was one hell of a solider and were shooting pool as a joke as the boys came though. We worked our way through the houses and reached an open field. I knew I had to get Lt. Peacock + the boys back across the road to continue the retreat. Peacock through his carbine onto the road. He would not more. Honest to God I told him to retrieve the carbine + move or I would shoot him. He did as I directed. I liked him he was a sincere + by the book officer, but not a soldier.

As long as he let me handle the men he and I got along alright. NOw I know I have got to face you!!! As I come down that long lonesome highway. Ha! there you were in the ditch waiting. You were really pissed off. I gave you my report and you put me in reserve. You brought up more troops to handle the job. Now I am in Co. reserve. We settled down made some coffee + K rations guess what I got committed to attack on your right flank. You know the rest of this story. You son of a gun I Love Ya!

Dick this can go on + on. I have never discussed these things with anyone on this earth. The things we had are damn near sacred to me.

I remember you got pissed at me. You wanted to send me to some OCS. At tines like these you made me say yes sir + no sir. I feel I did more for you as a Sgt than I ever could as an officer. The only thing I could not understand was why you kept Welsh Nixon +officers like that with you and gave me Spears probably had Sobble still been there I would have had him. Ha! I have alot more to talk to you about in San Diego. Thanks for the picture brings back memories. I will try to identific as of now Gordon ?(not sure what this says) Wynn.

Your Devoted Soldier Forever

[wpnovakcrystal]

Linked Universe Monopoly - Intro

Edit Because I forgot to add it: Part 2 Here

(Doing a round of Monopoly with some Computer players for New Years tonight, so I decided to name them all after the boys lol. Figured it'd be a good time to get some writing practice while I daydream about the interactions!) (Will try to update in real-ish time over/after how long it takes to fully play as fast as I can write it all out lol. Apologies for the resulting rushed/poor grammar)

Legend grumbled as he hurried his car down the main stretch of road, grabbing a handful of fries as he did. He was thankful that the gang had invited him to their New Year's party after all that had been happening, but a bit malcontent with the when and where. It was already dark out at 4:30, and there was too much traffic for what otherwise would have been just a regular Tuesday, and of course it had to be all the way out at the Ranch. He was primarily lucky that he was able to get out of work in time, knowing that traffic to the countryside on a night like this would have just gotten worse, and that any restaurant he wanted to hit might have been closed, though the latter appeared to be accounted for.

Now past most of the congested commercial part of the suburbs, Legend signaled right onto one of the residential side streets, muttering to himself about one of the minivans in the left lane that he felt was boxing him in. He sped himself down the narrow residential streets, occasionally making note of some of the Christmas displays that lit up the sidewalks as the Suburbs likewise began to pass. Reaching empty fields and tree lines, he came to a stop at a T intersection, and after a brief dejection about the oncoming traffic, he turned left and flipped his brights on. The road continued straight for a while before it began to curve uphill to the right, further isolating him from the well-lit city he had just driven through. Illuminated with nothing but reflectors and barricaded highway chevrons, It came to an end about a mile or two up, right at the Ranch's mailbox and gate to the gravel road, which had been freely left open for him.

He slowly proceeded up the hill as the house and stable came into view. From there he could see everyone else's cars already parked by the front door, as the porch lights illuminated the completely black abyss that was the Ranch at this hour. But yep, they were all here. Wars' Sedan, Four's Compact, Wild's mechanical hodge-podge that barely resembled the "Jeep" it was supposed to be, and one of the guy's trucks, either Twilights' or Time's, He couldn't tell. He didn't see Hyrule's Hatchback yet, but he suspected that Sky, and most certainly Wind, had car-pooled. Pulling his coupe up behind the truck, he killed his lights and engine, grabbing his two bags and two drinks of dinner between his arms.

He opened his door to the blistering darkness; and Fuck, it was cold. While the snow and rain that fell before Christmas had all melted, the cold remained. It was supposed to fall below freezing that night, but the wind hadn't picked up, which was good news for tomorrow, aside from the anticipated flurries. Elbowing the door shut, he walked with the bags under his arms up the front step and to the front door. Once again assuming his welcome, he grabbed hold of the handle with his right hand and opened it to a blast of forced air heating and warm yellow lights.

Wild and Four were on the couch directly in his line of sight, but it was Wind who peeked his head up from the front sofa on his left and welcomed Legend with a smile.

"HEYYY! Legend's here!" He chirped enthusiastically. Legend responded with only a huff, as his cold and tired body yearned only for the food he had bought.

The other two looked up at him; Four first, and with a look of disapproval. Warriors now also reared his mug from around the stairwell.

"-Did you stop for food BEFORE coming to a New Year's Party?" Four oh so warmly welcomed.

"You guys didn't exactly tell me what your plans were, and I didn't feel like driving 20 minutes after work in the dark without at least SOMETHING to eat!"

"After all our Champion has done to prepare this meal for us, you've decided to be ungrateful before you even showed?" Wars snarked, which he then complimented with a pat to the shoulder. "That's a new low even for you!"

"Oh, Shut up, you twit. As if you ALSO didn't grab lunch out today!"

Knowing he had already won, or that perhaps he was also guilty, he lowered his left from Legend's back and simply smirked.

"Hey Malon! Legend's Here!" Wind called.

Her head also peeked out from the half-wall in the kitchen, as she too offered a smile.

"Well, Hey there! We were wonderin' when you'd show! I heard ya had work today?"

Legend sighed.

"Yeah, and let's not talk about it." he dejected, dropping himself onto the couch next to Wild. He wrapped his bag of food up and set it on the end table, in defeat. With the real food prepared, his sandwich was to be reheated later, and the fries were likely to be sacrificed to a lukewarm fate. He retrieved his phone and began loading his weather app as the others continued their small-talk, primarily Twilight talking to what must have been Sky in the kitchen with the dishes, and Wind who was shifting his attention back and forth between Wild and peering out the window.

"Food should be ready soon 'nuff! Hope you boys worked up an appetite!" Malon said in earnest.

The other four heroes shot Legend another judging glare, which he again ignored. Checking the temperature, he saw it was an even 32 outside. Typical; Now it was time to check socials. This was about when Wind began to peek out once more, this time in response to the glare of approaching lights.

"Is that Him…? YEP, ITS A HATCHBACK! HYRULE'S HERE!!!!!!" he nearly squealed. What a shrill little child, Legend thought, but now at least someone he could appreciate was here.

The Young teen eventually made his way into the foyer, his large and furry winter coat rivaling that of Twilight's daily tunic, and conveying a snowy wonderland that didn't presently exist. Wind went up to greet him, and likely 'award' him.

"I hope I'm not too late!"

"You're the last one here, congratulations." Leg sneered, with Wind also quipping something snide.

"You're perfectly on time." The old man remarked as he came into view of the living room guests, with his descendant in tow. "Dinner is just about ready, and the table is set, so make your way over."

Wind dashed around the quickest, followed by Wild and eventually Hyrule. Four sat up and followed behind, as Wars also began his slow approach.

"…. You really going to commit to that couch, and not a home-cooked meal?"

"I'll make it there on my own time. Buzz off." He snarled, refusing to look up from his guilty catharsis of reading Ravio's sappy fluff on social media.

"Well, that 'Time' is now, so if you want something worthwhile, you better get yourself up. Unless YOU want congratulations for being last." He grinned before exiting.

With another mopey groan, he got himself up and finally shed off his coat; "Staying a while" as Malon remarked. Making his way to the dining room, most everyone had already assembled behind a chair. The dark wood table, ornately decorated with blue and white china, lit up the similarly well-kept and immaculate dining room. Dare Legend say that this arrangement was better than the Christmas dinner last week?

Everyone besides Sky, who had already taken his seat apparently, now began to take their own. Malon and Wild paired up to bring the serving dishes out, while the boys in turn settled them on the table. With a prayer of Thanksgiving and well-wishing from Time, the boys all began to dig in. The food was all passed around for serving, then again for seconds, and for some even thirds, until most everything in the serving dishes had been depleted in less than a half hour. And as it was Wild who prepared it, believe me, It was good food. But in all due honesty, Legend felt it was nice to just have the 9 of them (plus Malon) sharing in fellowship together. Telling their stories, freeing up some pleasant secrets, and revealing certain other, more embarrassing ones. Of course jokes about the rabbit and his hair came up, as did his deflections to either Hyrule's cooking or Wild's more reckless antics, but the enjoyment remained shared.

Pleasantries and conversation continued well after the food was finished, as nobody excused themselves except to briefly retrieve another drink from the fridge or wash up their hands. Dessert was going to be a good hour or so away, so nobody really had anything else to do aside from socializing.

That was until one portion of their banter manifested. Wind, who had at some point followed Malon away from the table, returned back carrying a big box in his hand.

No- Rather- THE big box.

He and Malon had found the Monopoly.