#i just really want her to be the smallest but packed with power in a way. she has to be tough

[heliosphere-underthesky]

Heliosphere: Under the Sky

Meet the dwarf planet, Ceres! Unlike most dwarf planets, she lives in the Asteroid Belt.

Ceres was discovered back in 1 January 1801. She was designated as an asteroid back then, until she was promoted to dwarf planet status back in 2006 along with the discoveries of other objects in the Kuiper Belt with similar characteristics as her.

Ceres (NASA page)

[cameronspecial]

Let Me Try To Understand, Angel

Pairing: Frat!Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings: Being Stressed About School and Burnt Out

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 0.6K

Summary: Y/N isn't acting like she normally does and Rafe is on a mission to help her out.

Masterlist

As their first semester as sophomores comes to an end, Rafe has noticed the way that Y/N has been withdrawing from the world. He has been trying everything to get her to come out with him, but each text is met with a simple no thank you. Instead of anger filling him, worry is the only thing that Rafe can feel. He hasn’t been in her dorm often because his private room in the frat house is more intimate for them. He quietly knocks on the door, waiting for someone to let him in. Very little light from the room spills into the hallway. Y/N’s hair looked a little greasy, so she threw it up into a bun. She is wearing a large oversized hoodie with sweatpants that are just a little too big for her. Her eyes are droopy and she looks like her soul has been sucked out of her body. The smile that normally spreads across her face doesn’t appear and this tells Rafe that something is wrong. “Angel, are you okay? You haven’t been answering my text,” he questions, stepping closer to her with his hands reaching for her shoulder. She uncharacteristically steps away from his hold, “Yeah, I’ve been busy.” She doesn’t add anything to her statement. 

“Oh. Well, maybe I can just hang out in your room right now. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” he offers, hands falling to his side. She shakes her head, trying to push him out the door, “Rafe, I really don’t want to be around anyone right now. Can you go?” “I will, but I can tell something is wrong. Your room is so dark. It’s not like you,” he confesses. 

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then let me try to understand, Angel. I can’t do that if you try to push me away. Maybe, I can help or I can just listen.”

At the offer of having someone to vent to, a huge weight feels like it is being lifted off of her shoulders. She collapses into his arms and buries her head into his chest. “I just feel so burnt out. Everything I have to do, even the smallest of tasks, takes so much out of me. I haven’t read a page of my book since last week. I’m just going through the motions of life. I don’t think I can do this anymore, Rafe,” she rants to him. His hand smoothes down her hair and he kisses her temple, “I’m so sorry, you are feeling this way. What can I do to help lighten your load? Do you want me to pay someone to do the rest of your assignments? Because I will. I will do anything to help you.” She lets out a snotty giggle with a shake of her head, “No, no. I can get through my own assignments. But do you think I can stay at your house for a few days and can we take a shower together?” This would be something new to them. She stays at his house a lot, but she only sleeps over every other day. This would be the first time she slept more than two nights in a row at his house. “I just need to be with you,” she adds in a whisper. He kisses her head, “Of course, you can stay as long as you want. Why don’t you take a really quick power nap? I’ll pack your stuff up for you.”

As she watches her boyfriend get her stuff into bags, she can’t help but be grateful that she met someone as caring and loving, whose attention is always on helping her well-being. 

Taglist: @winterrrnight @loves0phelia @thelomlisrafecameron @wickedlovely121 @queen-shadow22 @victory-in-the-llama

[gatheringbones]

genuine question: how do you stand the loneliness? i'm in my mid 20s and ive never been loved in a way that didnt hurt. i dont want to have to run after ppl begging for the smallest scrap of affection anymore but i keep turning up ppl who, even though they are interested in me and seem generally decent, arent ready to lower their walls and let me in, so its either that or nothing, and im so fucking lonely. i try to bury myself in work and going out as much as i can, but sometimes it hits me, and i dont know how to stand it anymore. i just want to be able to be kind to someone and treat them with all the love and affection i have, and not have to guard myself at the same time or be afraid of them or feel like i can never be sure with them. i think you've been lonely like that for a long time, too, and i dont have anyone who understands. i know the only advice you can give is probably "endure and continue to have self respect", but i dont know how to do that without also becoming small, and sad, and worn out from all the loneliness. if there's anything you can think of that helped you get through it, please tell me--i dont want to burden or overwhelm you, but i dont know what to do anymore, and like i said, you seem like you've survived a couple of those sorts of droughts and i dont have anyone else to talk to about this

so on those first few early dates with c when she was either driving an hour up north or I was taking the bus two hours down to see her, I was so rattled by the experience of building intimacy with someone else that I couldn’t really think of what we ought to do with each other on our dates. In the end I decided: we would just do what I ordinarily did to build intimacy with myself, which meant taking lots of long walks all over residential seattle. and I’d been living there for over ten years at that point, getting around either by walking or by bus. before that I’d lived in the sticks. before that I’d lived in the part of the sticks that wasn’t connected to the power grid. my earliest memories are long lonely walks. long lonely walks were my primary coping mechanism for debilitating post traumatic stress and survivor’s guilt. and with c it was wild because. it was exactly like going on these walks with myself, only I was more of myself and these walks were more of what they were. what’s more the internal map of the city I had built in my feet over a decade was suddenly of use. all of the time and neurons I had put into building it were relevant to the present situation.

i packed a backpack once. water and a cheeseboard with a little cheese knife and a can of prosecco and a can of kirin for c and lots of little cheeses and salamis and fruits and veggies and chocolate almonds. And I took c on a long meandering walk that I knew from memory; fremont to the crown hill cemetery to the stairs leading down to golden gardens to the beach at sunset. all places I’d been by myself and taken my friends to before. places I’d taken myself to after packing myself a snack and bringing my journal and quite literally staring across the water at a home that would kill me if I ever returned to it. all that time mattered. the time I had spent in that place making those friendships and mourning that life and building that intimacy with myself and the city mattered.

All the years before— giving, giving, gifts to those who could not care, would not give back. How well we made a feast together. Those years of waste were over.

[originalwinnercheesecake]

What pokemon would make up teams owned by the Characters in Star vs The Forced of Evil

I am back making my lists, and its time to do Star vs the forces of evil. So like my previous lists (TOH, GF, Amphibia) this show had a large cast. This show was also had a longer run time than any of them, 4 seasons, and who the important characters were depended on which season. This list contains my picks for Star, Marco, Ludo, and a handful of Star and Marco’s close friends. If you do not see your favorite character here, and have an idead as to a pokemon they would be a really good trainer for feel free to put them in the comments.

Star Butterfly

Star was a really easy one to make a team for. Most of her magic moves with her wand involved conjuring up animal based creatures, and I just transfered them over to pokemon.

Cetitan: Star’s trademark attack is her “Narwhale blast” and when looking up Narwhale pokemon (and double/triple checking I got a actual pokemon and not a fanmade one) this is the pokemon that came up for Narwhal pokemon.

Joltik: The smallest and (In my opinion) the most adorable of the spider pokemon, also packs a powerful shock. A near perfect representation of Star’s strongest spell: Spider with a top hat.

Yamper: a cute and playful little yellow dog pokemon with a heart symbol somewhere on its body. Its the closest I could find to the Laser puppies Star gifted the Diaz’s with on arrival.

Galarian Rapidash: Star had a love for Warnicorn’s, their speed, their furosity, and did not want an adult life were she had no time to ride and have fun with them. So I will give her a Rapidash.  An Galarian rapidash because those fit Star’s style better and add a fairy type to her team.

Makuhita: Star does not always really on magic to fin a fight though, She also knows how to brawl/box. So I wanted to give her atleast one fighting type. I picked Makuhita while its a heavy hitter and a real tough pokemon its also got a very cute and tubby design; it looks like a Sumo pikachu. Like Star its adorable from a distance, threatening up close.

Nidoran girl: represents her bond  of friendship/romantic with Marco. He has a boy one.

Marco Diaz

Solrock: Marco was originally going to be named Sol. He is also represented in that Prophatic image as the Sun right? Star is an actual star and Marc is the sun, they are together? Pretty sure I remember that. If Marco is represented by the sun n the show than it’s only fair I carry that over onto my team by giving him a solrock.

Lucario: Marco loves and does karate, so I picked a fighting type that’s method of fighting it more simlar to karate for him.

Shiny charizard: I really wanted to give him a dragon type to reresent his dragoncycle Nacho’s. The Original one I had picked out was another Fame made non offical pokemon (I have to be more careful of those). Of offical pokemon Charizards Shiney form. I think its still fair that this be his strongest. He did spend decades training and fighting with Nacho’s in Hekapoo’s dimension

Kirlia: a graceful and feminie pokemon to represent Marco’s super popular princess persona Princess Turdina. Also to give him a fairy type as well.

Nidoran boy: represents his bond of friendship/romance with Star. She has a girl one.

Ludo Avarius

Mimikyu: A fairy and dark pokemon that has issues with its appearence as well as mentality, and can also mess with the mental state of others. I am not sure if Ludo and Mimikyu would make each other better or worse, or worse than better (hopefully that one). But that they would be a very intresting and entertaining partnership of that I am sure.

So Ludo’s monster henchmen in season 1 were not the best as we can all agree (Sorry about that Buff Frog. We all know you did try). But in season 2 he had a pretty strong team, what with Bird, Spider, and those rats. To represnt them I will give him a Sparrow, an Aridos, and a Alalon Rattata. 

Rufflet and Vullaby: These represent his brothers and sisters. The ones who after going through everything he did, he was able to go back and save from their awful parents. 

I gave these three teams of six since they were arguably main characters. The rest of the list will be notable secondary characters, who will each get three.

Janna Ordonia

Haunter: Both it and Janna like to scare/prank people

Nickit: a theif pokemon that helps Janna swipe other peoples stuff

Klefki: It helps Janna break into places she is otherwise not allowed

Tom Lucitor

Scorbunny, Litleo, Fennekin.

I gave Tom each of these three for the same number of reasons. Firstly they are all fire types, and Tom is a fire demon. Secondly all of them are fuzzy and adorable, and in the show Part of Toms anger management therapy involves soothing himself by petting/playing with cute fuzzy animals. I could see eaxh of these three being part of his therapy (yes I did look up “fire bunny pokemon specfically to find one to represent Marshmellow) Lastly while they are in no threatening, cutesy, first forms now, they all evolve into very strong battlers. Once Tom got his own temper under enough control that he could handle pokemon battles he could do pretty well with these three.

Jackie Lynn Thomas

Chimecho: She has a very soothing appearence and personality. She also told Marco that one time she is into soft rock. So I gave her a soothing, soft toned, music pokemon

Baltoy: She also told him she was really into studying history. Baltoy may not be a fossile pokemon, but it is historic. In addition to that it has great balance to stay perpetually spinning in place like that. Jackie also has great balance on her skateboard

Vaporeon: So despite fans best efforts and theorising, the show creator never did reveal Jackie to secretly be a mermaid, who’s able to live on land becasue her shell necklace is actually a magical amulet that when worn exchanges her see tail for a pair of land legs. But it was a great theory, and she does give off very beachy, merlike, vibes. So idecided to give her  a merlike water pokemon, that could travel both in water and on land. Also I had to exclude Vaporeon from my Gravity Falls list, and still really wanted to give it to someone cool.

Kelly.. Huh looks like she was about the only character to not get a last name. Wow. Okay just Kelly

Galatian Moewth, Mankey, Tangrowth

Like with Tom all three of Kelly’s Pokemon were ones I picked for the same reasons. Those reasons were that all three are tough, scrappy, pkemon; completely covered from head to toe in wild, untameable, hair.

Eclipsa Butterfly

I wasn’t gonna do Eclipsa at first, simply becasue I wanted to keep the secondary characters evenly split between earth and mewni characters. But she is like the third most iconic character in the show and I had to do her.

Spiritomb: You know dark types would be her favoite, and I feel like the more sinister lore with Spiritomb would really intrigue her and make her want one.

Honchkrow: eyes in the sky to replace he all seeing eye spell . They also have basically the same taste in hats, so there’s that.

Roserade: She says in the beganing of season 3 that she loves roses.

Oskar Greason

(why does he get a last name when Kelly didn’t?) Here let me throw Oskar in as well as Eclipsa to keep numbers more even.

Toxel: To represent his interest in playing music.

Furret: Because he has a pet ferret

Noibat: goes with his whole bad boy musician vibe, and with the added bonus that it would maybe be able to freak out his mom’s boyfriend whom he is implied to absolutely hate.

[the-pinstriped-hood]

Going Beyond Home: a Prologue

Welp! Here it is! I'm working on this more to tell more stories and I've had plenty of help from friends. Thank you to @goldrose-star for beta reading my work! @soupbabe's OC is Angel Ortiz.

Evie belongs to me

This is a revision of my past three Lost Boys cannon x OC fan fics. David Powers x Evie Pierce.

Evie wandered the boardwalk. The place was crowded with many colorful people. She needed some type of distraction while she waited for the locksmith to get back to her tomorrow. Hopefully she wouldn't be late for work. Her hair was shiny and sopping wet from the water, like cascading rivers of honey pouring over her shoulders. Needing to have a quick rinse from the showers on the beach from all the flour that had gotten into her hair from a bag of it thrown by a pack of bikers earlier at work today.

They had been like a tornado, throwing things around, harassing the female customers and making a massive mess of the store. Evie had been tidying up the next aisle over when the massive bag had broken over her head, dumping an entire content's worth of flour all over her and knocking the poor girl to the floor in the commotion. She got up just in time to find her boss yelling at the bikers to leave and Evie being harshly pulled to her feet by her wrist, making eye contact with, what looked like the head biker. He sported a blonde mullet that was practically white. He smirked at her and winked as he and his band of misfits were thrown out of the store.

That had been several hours ago. Since then she had to clean up the store, try and get home, only to realize the lock to her front door was broken.

Her stomach rumbled as she passed by a few stalls, a brunette woman putting the open sign of the Jolly Freeze Ice Cream stall up as the colorful lights turned on. The sound of Evies stomach was soon joined by the loud roaring of a few motorcycles blocking her path forward.

Meeting eyes with the platinum mullet who had tormented her, her own steel gray meeting icy blues that stared the girl down as he made the last pull of his cigarette and crushed it under one of his grungy black bootheels before he spoke.

"I remember you..." he purred.

"I really wish you wouldn't…"

"Last time I saw you, you got caught up in the crossfire…"

Quiet jeering chuckles came from the head bikers friends. She could feel their stares inching up and down her form as if they were sizing up a meal.

"If you don't intend to ruin my day anymore, can you let me by? I think you and your friends have done enough damage."

Her tone was bordering on sarcastic, one hip resting on a leg and her arms crossed. The head biker leaned forward, a cool sly grin playing on his lips as if he knew how to turn this conversation in his favor.

"Are you hungry?"

"What's it to you?" Her counter question was accompanied by another loud stomach rumble. The food around the boardwalk was absolutely tantalizing. Funnel cakes, corn dogs, hotdogs. All things Evie had never tried before but was eager to get anything in her stomach at this point.

"Can't let a pretty girl go hungry, can we boys?"

Another collection of agreement as the boys parked their bikes off to the side and grouped up around the young woman. "Anything you want, doll. My treat."

"You're sure?"

The blonde nodded, hands busy with pulling another cigarette out of the inside of his jacket and lighting it up with a lighter that the tallest guy pulled from his belt buckle. They watched Evie look around, her nose and stomach trying to decide what would taste the best. "I bet it's all bad for you but it just smells so good…"

"You've never had boardwalk food before?" The baby faced blonde asked, draping his arm over Evie's shoulder as the leader blonde eyed him warily. He was the smallest of the group just about Evie's height. All the boys could smell the flour as well as fresh fruit and what had to be cookies from the store bakery.

"I'm Marko, by the way." He introduced his friends as Paul, Dwayne, Angel and the leader who has taken a liking to their supposed meal, David. Evie couldn't help but giggle. "And here I thought you guys would have names like Boneskull or Flesh Ripper. But, I like 'David'. Suits you…" she smiled over at him. "And yet, we haven't learned your name, cutiepie…" Paul grinned, walking backwards but still keeping time with the young woman. "Evie, my name is Evie."

David took over as Marko fell behind pulling Paul with him, arms clasped casually behind his back.

"Well, Miss Evie, I hope us buying you dinner can make up for earlier today…" He leaned on the counter as Evie ordered a basket of onion rings, watching the delicious grease drip tantalizingly off the deep fried delicacies as they were pulled fresh from the fryer. The lead vampire handed over a 5 dollar bill and handed Evie her food. She didn't mind the heat and tore into the most delicious meal she had ever devoured in a long time. The bikers watched her finish most of the whole basket of eight large rings in seconds and wipe the grease off her face with the back of her hand. Angel chuckled, having an arm around David's waist as he watched Evie devour her food. Angel laughed in amusement, he's been in her place before. "Food's good, huh."

The feeling of bliss couldn't be described. The heat in her cheeks was overwhelmed by the absolutely delicious waltz on her taste buds.

Angel gently leaned over, stealing the last onion ring, "If you're still hungry, I recommend the soft pretzels 'round the corner. Best things on the boardwalk."

"It's just that, I've never had any deep fried food before! I guess you could say I was a REALLY sheltered kid." She glanced at her watch. "oh I better get home, um, my locksmith is gonna be here soon and I should really meet him there. it's important." Evie deposited her tray and thanked her new friends. Angel jogged up to her, gently grabbed her shoulder. Evie looked back, the taller man's glasses glinting off the light and revealing his gorgeous heterochromic irises: One brown, one green. "If you ever wanna hang out sometime and get those pretzels, we're always here." Evie nodded quietly. He flashed her a friendly smile, teeth gleaming and let go of her shoulder, finally leaving their view.

They watched her walk down the boardwalk with Paul crossing his arms and smirking.

"Liked what you saw, David?"

"Maybe I do, Let's just go home. It's almost sunrise."

Divider was by @firefly-graphics!

Thanks for reading! I am in the process of redoing Meatcute at midnight if anyone would like to read.

Tagging: Tagging: @rottent33th @slaasherslut @devil-doll13 @bluecoolr @ajarofpickledtears @shonkgobonk @soupbabe @slasherscrybaby @solmints-messyocdiary @ahmnom @probably-a-plant-thing @damien-mlm @kalid-raven

[mcbex]

**Fullness **

I'm packing away the last of our Christmas gear. Which basically means I'm putting away the remains of a year gone by. I can't help but reflect on all last year brought me and all the hopes I have for the new year. With a new season I am making plans! I'm mapping out roads to run on, chair lift dates, plays I want to see and so on. It seems so full already and it's only January. But there are faces I need to see, conversations that must be had, dates and dreams and life. The fullness I feel isn't the overwhelmingly busy kind. It's the kind that's built on the breathe of life itself. It's the fullness we feel of a life well lived.

While looking for a verse to fit this theme I came to a quote by Voltaire- "God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well."  I really like that because of its simple truth. Life is a gift. Sometimes I get frustrated that it took me so long to see that. Then I feel a little distressed for those that have yet to understand the gift. As long as we have life there is still time. So I won't get down hearted about it. I will pray.

As I continue packing I'm not only looking back at 2023, I'm considering the person I've been and the person I'm becoming. I am a work in progress. In fact I'm a mess at times. So much so that I wonder how anyone could love me.

I recognize the brokenness of people and of the world we live in. I acknowledge that I too feel splintered. Until recently I had merely been treading water, not recognizing that I had been the villain in my own story. Now as I submit to the hurt broken parts of me I allow them to be part of who I am but I no longer accept them as a representation of who I have to be. In fact the more I embrace her sheared and tattered frame the more I embrace the life that is mine to live. I am now able to listen in and lean on others only to find them equally as fragile as I am. Although I feel like there are days when I am on a mission to improve the spirit of those around me, most often it just feels comforting knowing we all have struggles or pain. I never saw that before. I hate that I didn't see it because I know now that we all need the pieces of each other to make this beautiful heap work.

I see it in the way we talk to others and how we feel about others and how we expect others to know how to relate with us, then how we get frustrated when we don't get what we need. I am guilty of it. I want to give the love others want or need of me to but I can't always muster the way to do it. Even the smallest gestures can be so difficult sometimes. Changing your heart is hard. It's also frustrating when I bank everything God wants from me on the change he's making in me then fail to achieve the goal.

I wrap each ornament, eventually carrying them to my attic where I will put them aside, and in time I will pull them back down and reminisce again as I decorate my tree with trinkets and bobbles. The loop is finite but for now it feels endless. Much like my struggle to try be the person my heart so badly wants to be. I yearn to love. I ache to know others better. I pray for the skill to be stronger for anyone who needs to lean on me too. Most of all I hope this year will find me more open, fragile, caring and familiar the process of a changing heart.

The Bible says draw near to God and he will change you. Let us all be changed for those we love.

Ephesians 3: 14-19 For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

James 4: 7-10So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites! Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Psalm 51:10 Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.

[shadowsshowdown]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Shadow’s Showdown 46

The Shades Of Gray.

Detroit. Laura's apartment.

Laura burst into loud tears, but she knew this was how it would end. Adam must have been extremely angry and disappointed because he didn't take Vanilla or his things. Wanting to push the bad thoughts away she started cleaning. The washing machine was still running, so she couldn't hang up the laundry. Laura thought about packing Adam's things and taking them to Chiron so that he would not have to see her. She abandoned that thought very quickly for fear that he would be even angrier with her. The hacker walked around the living room and kitchen though her feet were burning. All her dreams shattered, burst like a soap bubble. It had been over an hour since Jensen had left. Every minute that went by took away her hope the way one loses one's breath. She stood over the sink washing dishes even though she had a dishwasher. She had to do something without stopping, or the bad thoughts would kill her. When she finished washing up, she wanted to get on with more cleaning so she went out into the hallway to get the vacuum cleaner. She didn't hear the door opening and the increasingly loud footsteps.

"You should lock the door, Miss Werner," the hacker heard that distinctive husky voice, but she thought it was just her imagination.

Suddenly she was pressed with her back against the wall. The man put down the rectangular object, wrapped in elegant paper and tied with a ribbon, on the top of a chest of drawers standing nearby.

"You must have come back for your things. You're right you shouldn't be messing around with a mere whore..."

He interrupted her with a firm, long kiss. He rested his outstretched arms on either side of her head pushing himself close enough that she couldn't escape.

"Please let me decide who I want to mess with," he said firmly, with a certainty that took the power from her legs.

She thought she was about to faint. Adam was so determined, he knew so decisively what he wanted and he wasn't taking ‘no’ for an answer. When he pulled his lips away from hers, after a second hot kiss, he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger lifting it up slightly.

"You were not, are not and will not be a whore," he said looking into her eyes. "Don't ever talk about yourself like that again."

She was ready for anything. She had already accepted the rejection, resigned to her fate, but Adam had decided to spoil everything. Spoil it in such a wonderful, somewhat brutal way. Her debt to him was mounting, but she knew Jensen would be angry if she mentioned it.

"Get the word 'debt' out of your vocabulary, too. I know you well enough to know you are capable of thinking that way," he muttered kissing her forehead.

The Security Chief moved away from the hacker but only to take off his coat and shoes. He took the mysterious object with him and went with her to the living room. They sat together on the sofa next to the sleeping cats. Vanilla rested her head against Stalker's neck and embraced him with her paw. The black tomcat didn't even twitch when they came in.

"This is for you as a symbol of a new beginning," he announced handing her a package. "What is it?" she asked raising her eyebrows. "See for yourself," he replied mysteriously. The hacker untied the ribbon and unwound the paper. Adam noticed she paid attention to the smallest things and really didn't want to tear up the packaging. "A diary?" she said surprised. "Mhm. You can write in it how handsome, manly and gorgeous I am," he said feigning pride.

The woman moved closer and said in his ear: "I won't miss mentioning your elephant either."

Adam grunted, she also noticed how he blushed slightly hearing her words. Laura decided not to embarrass him further though she had a few more comments in mind.

"If there is something you want to confess to me, but can't say it aloud, you can write about it and give it to me to read. It's just a suggestion, if it would help I think it's worth a try?" "You always have a solution to every problem," she smiled sliding her fingers across the leather blue cover of the diary. "I wish I did," he replied. "Go back to bed. You should save your leg," there was a mixture of maternal concern and medical firmness in her voice. "You should get some sleep too," he returned with the paternal order.

They both walked to the bedroom where the hacker immediately pulled the curtains. What Adam had feared most, namely sharing a bed, turned out to be nothing compared to the rest of the events. They agreed the man would sleep on the side of the balcony door and she on the one facing the bathroom. The Chief of Security tried to lie on his left side, and Laura did not want to cuddle him for fear of his wounds. He came up with the initiative himself. He put his arms around her waist as soon as she rolled over onto her side and pulled her slightly towards him. They were so tired that they fell asleep almost immediately, and slept the rest of the day and the whole night.

The day was breaking in brutally through the blue jacquard fabric of the curtains. They would probably have continued sleeping had they not been roused from their half-sleep by the insistent ringing of the telephone. Laura muttered a few inappropriate insults under her breath as she patted the top of the nightstand until a vibrating, rectangular object came under her hand.

"Hello?" she growled in exasperation, not even checking who was calling. "Well, at last! How many calls can you make?!" she moved the phone away from her ear hearing Faridah shouting. "Connor and I will come over today after work. Let’s say after five, and we're not taking ‘no’ for an answer!"

Before the hacker had time to answer, Malik hung up.

"Who called?" asked Adam in a sleepy voice, rubbing his eyes. "Faridah and Connor are coming today. I haven't had time to say anything, but their visit is inconvenient." "This is a good opportunity for you two to talk. After all this time, I think you need it." "You're right," she admitted with a deep sigh."

Spare yourself the cleaning and all the preparation. You must be exhausted ;) F.

Laura read the message hearing the buzz of the phone. She was taken aback by the wording suggesting she was not alone. She stretched and yawned.

"I forgot something," muttered Adam mysteriously.

"What is it?" she looked at him rubbing her eye.

"A good morning kiss." Jensen moved over and kissed her gently on the lips.

The woman began to wonder how long the affection would last. Usually, after a while, being together gets routine and monotonous, and any act of tenderness passes. She returned the kiss just as gently and unhurriedly. When Adam went to the bathroom Laura noticed blood on the pillow. Apparently, the bandage had soaked through or worse his wound on his back had opened.

"I should change your bandage, but I forgot to buy the necessary stuff."

The Security Chief tilted his head looking at her investigative. "I don't think there's any need..." He didn't finish, seeing the stain and sighed. "I'll order the necessary items. We'll do some shopping, by the way."

The hacker was already about to open her mouth to offer to pay for the shopping, but the ex-SWAT sensed her intentions.

"I'll pay for everything," he announced. "Don't even try to disagree," he warned pointing the index finger of the hand he was holding the phone at her when she tried to protest.

A loud gasp swept through the bedroom like a hurricane and the woman sank heavily onto the bed, much to Adam's amusement. An hour later she was taking two deliveries several minutes apart. One was a supply of bandages, disinfectants and bandages.

"Happy New Year," she heard from a young man in a company green Shopping Express jacket.

Through her mind raced the events of the past days, which formed a clear but sad picture. Absorbed in arguments and jealousy they had missed the moment. An overwhelming sadness came over Laura when she realised that 2027 had begun and she had not spent Christmas or New Year with Adam. Not the way she wanted to, anyway.

"Likewise," she replied as she signed the delivery receipt.

The second time she heard the polite wishes again. She felt even more pain. She immediately unpacked the bag with food and put some of the items in the fridge. The other Laura carried to the bedroom. The woman wanted to cross the threshold already but had to be sure there was not a shadow of sadness on her face. She rocked back on her heels, took a step back and took a deep breath summoning a smile.

"I've taken care of the shopping and I can change your dressing," she said to Adam who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

The man nodded permissively and sat deeper on the bed. He wriggled for a moment, wanting to find as comfortable position as possible for his body between pains of varying intensity. Laura, meanwhile, had prepared everything she needed. She carefully peeled off the plasters, which the Security Chief didn't even seem to feel. While removing the bandage Adam hissed quietly and she felt him twitch. Thankfully the stitches weren't torn, it was just excess blood that had seeped through the layers of gauze. With the utmost delicacy and care, the woman washed the stains of clotted blood off his skin and cleared the wound. She knew it was not pleasant but necessary. Jensen moved his injured leg, arranging it more comfortably." What did the doctor say about your knee?" she asked completely unexpectedly.

Adam knew this moment would come, but he wasn't ready for it. The steel-heavy silence hung over them in a thick cloud. He wanted so badly to lie, to say that in a few weeks everything would be back to normal. He wanted to so badly, but he couldn't. The truth would hurt her, but at least he wouldn't be plagued by remorse. At least they would be honest with each other. Just this once. Jensen's fingers tightened on the silky smooth sheets. He bit his lip and closed his eyes.

"My leg will never be fully functional again," he replied in one breath before grief managed to block his throat.

Laura's hands froze on his back as soon as she finished cleaning the wound. They began trembling harder and harder. He heard her crying but couldn't turn away because he himself might be unable to bear the weight, and one of them had to be strong. He felt a terrible burning sensation when a few of her tears dripped onto the wound but he managed to remain unmoved.

"I have ruined everything. What could have been destroyed is now a pile of rubble. If I hadn't been so selfish. If I hadn't wanted you so much."

Jensen overcame the pain filling his body and turned to face the woman. He took her cheeks in his hands, gently rubbing the flowing tears with his thumbs.

"Look at me," he commanded firmly. "Laura, please..."

The hacker lifted her head. Her eyes were red and her lips were pale. The Security Chief could not allow her to suffer like this. He wasn't, isn't, and never will be like Kratos, and Laura can't act like she did when she was his prisoner.

"I did it because I chose to. And I would do it again. If it wasn't about Kratos would you feel guilty too?"

Adam was right. Her behaviour was dictated by her past, but if she hadn't left the ball nothing would have happened.

"Sarif will fire you. You'll lose your position!" she squealed. "So what?!" he said clearly irritated. "I will find another job. Here or elsewhere what does it matter?" "Your life was all sorted out until I came into it and shattered everything." "Life? More like lasting from one day to the next. Watched my time pass by. You still don't understand that?" "What is it I'm supposed to understand?" "You've managed to break down the wall I'd used to separate myself from others, to make me finally care about someone and something. You pulled me out of a cold and dark void. Even if it was chaotic and out of my control. If you don't believe me, ask Rupert, Connor and Faridah."

Laura wanted to say something, but with each attempt, she merely opened her mouth and wandered her eyes over bandages, bedding and furniture. No one had ever confessed anything like this to her, and she didn't know how to bear it, how to deal with it. The world for her had always been black and white, so she didn't know what to do with the gray. The warm kiss Adam placed on her lips threw her off balance, making her lose herself even more. Each touch of his lips was different, arousing different emotions, dancing on different senses. Each time she met him from a different angle, but she enjoyed them all just as much.

"I should take care of the dressing," she interrupted the lovely moment.

Adam surrendered himself to the care of her tender hands with undisguised pleasure. He sat up more comfortably, feeling all pain leave his tired body. Laura washed the wound once more, then kissed the skin next to it gently and put on a clean bandage. The man twitched, wanting to return to his former place and lean against the wall enough to avoid the pain again. He was stopped by the somewhat firm pressure of her hands on his shoulders.

"You're monstrously tense," she muttered. "Do you mind if I try remedying that?"

The Security Chief permissively nodded which should have been enough for her answer. He felt her fingers firmly but gently loosen the muscles of his shoulders piece by piece as if she were untying tight knots. She kissed the side of his neck, and he murmured in satisfaction. Her fingers made circles on his skin, applying pressure to certain points. Warmth spread under the skin, bringing a soothing and pleasant tingling sensation. The hacker had an uncanny touch and during this moment of massage she never once caused him pain. He was sure she had done it before, that someone had taught her how to do it and it certainly wasn't Kratos. Adam slowly tilted his head wanting to look at her face. There were still traces of the events of the last few days, but they were only scabs now. The woman leaned down kissing him on the forehead. He squinted his eyes catching a few lazy breaths. He immersed himself in her scent and her closeness. Into this wonderful oblivion. They didn't even know what time it was. Only the rumble in their stomachs reminded them that they had not eaten yet. They both reluctantly left the bed and then with a laugh drew tickets to see who would occupy the bathroom first.

"It would be simpler if we took a shower together," she suggested, overwhelmed with curiosity as to whether Adam would read it as a joke.

The blush on his face showed he thought it was a genuine suggestion. The Security Chief grunted looking for the crutch she handed him. Unfortunately, his serious face shattered the light atmosphere letting in a choking cloud of smoke. The man hastily left the bedroom limping towards the bathroom.

"Just kidding!" she exclaimed after him, puffing out her lips. "I don't like jokes like that," he muttered closing the door.

He had to lie. He had to keep his poker face because the mere thought that they could be in there together aroused dormant fantasies in him. The kind that Laura didn't know about. All this time she had thought of him as a polite and steady man and he was not like that. He struggled to contain his desires. He wanted everything to be right, for Laura to feel like the woman he wanted but not in this primal, animal way. He knew that if he agreed to this proposal now, Miss Werner would be immensely hurt and disappointed. He did not dare to confess it to her directly, but he feared that he would have to do so if they were, to be honest with each other.

Laura looked at him with that sad look of hers as he left and they passed each other in the doorway. She hadn't spent much time in the bathroom today, as if she suddenly stopped caring about anything. They both went to the kitchen silently. Adam already knew that the spicy details couldn't wait. They'd eaten cereal today because there wasn't much time left until dinner, and then they'd have guests. Laura wondered if they will guess that she was not alone. While waiting for the hacker woman to warm the milk, he watched the cats eating. They had bowls next to each other, each in a different colour, and still Vanilla ate from Stalker's bowl and he from hers. In addition, Stalker's head was under Vanilla's belly.

"It was just a joke," she sighed being halfway through eating.

The Security Chief let out a loud breath through his nose, put down his spoon and grabbed her hand, which she wanted to pull back but didn't manage to.

"Listen to me for a moment then I'll try to explain," he offered, to which the woman nodded. "I reacted that way because I chickened out. I covered myself with a menacing face to avoid this conversation. I'm not the polite guy you probably think I am. If we had found ourselves in the shower together as you wanted, we would have ended up with something we both didn't want. I'm almost certain I wouldn't have been able to control myself, and I might have unintentionally hurt you."

The hacker wrapped her hand over his, wanting to tell him she understood, but unable to say it out loud after what she had heard. He was right, she saw him as a man who was perfectly capable of controlling himself and who approached sex and general intimacy with great detachment, even more; he was predictable and boring in that regard. Adam was hiding a lot more than she thought. She was immensely grateful to him for the respect he had for her. He was right, she would regret it if it happened here and now. First, they must rebuild the foundations they had destroyed together, and then the rest. Otherwise, their growing feeling would wither.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "You understand me better than I understand myself."

As they finished eating Laura remembered that she had to hang up the laundry. Adam, meanwhile, sat in the living room with his leg stretched out along the sofa and delved into another volume about Wallander. Despite what Malik had written, she cleaned up and then started thinking about dinner. Time was chasing them more and more, so she decided that today they would have tagliatelle with bolognese sauce. Lured by the smells, Jensen hobbled into the kitchen, peeking over her shoulder.

"Can I help you with something, Miss Werner?" he muttered a question right to the side of her neck. "You are supposed to rest, Mr Jensen," she replied turning to face him and gently jabbing him in the nose with her spoon."Mr Jensen has understood and is on his way out." He couldn't help but steal a kiss from her. "I'll call when dinner is ready."

The man had almost left the kitchen but stopped at the threshold. "Miss Werner?"

"Yes?" "I would like to see you in that apron again someday," he said looking at her. "It is feasible." "In just the apron," he added with a playful smile.

Laura felt her cheeks light up with a blush. Adam could be cruel in that most enjoyable of ways.

"Whenever you want," she earned a retort that made Jensen's gaze grow restless and wander around the table, the cabinets, focused on the cats.

"I'll go back to reading," he grunted and left.

The hacker laughed. A quarter of an hour later they were sitting at a table across from each other eating in silence. The woman could not keep her mind off the question of whether what she had prepared tasted the least bit good to him or whether he would eat it so that she would not be sorry. Laura decided to keep the questions to herself. Adam had finished eating before her. Laura looked at him, tilted her head, and her brow arched.

"Something wrong?" he asked confused.

The woman leaned over the table reaching for his left cheek. "Tomato Jensen," she muttered laughing as she wiped the sauce stain away.

The Security Chief grabbed her palm and kissed the inside of it. "It was delicious," he admitted honestly, to which she answered him with a smile.

There was still some time left before the guests arrived so she baked the kanelbulle. Laura immediately counted everything into a double portions. Adam noticed that she was lively and cheerful which pleased him immensely. He felt like he was in a real home with her, where someone was waiting for him and needed him. Vanilla jumped onto his lap, curled up in a ball and fell asleep.

All  chapters can be found: [AO3], [dA], [Wattpad] and [Tumblr]

[gelastocoridae]

This isn't an all-encompassing addition, but I actually have physics-based reasoning for why so few hooves predators exist! (I'm also running on exhausted brain, forgive me if Im forgetting things)

Most predatorial mammals are digitigrade, where instead of the whole foot touching the ground, only the toes do. And most hooved mammals (not extinct) are unguligrade, where contact with the ground is reduced to the hoof's surface. The toes vs the toenails, if you please (see: elephants flat "foot" but still technically standing on the very end of their toe bones).

Digitigrade limbs with muscle throughout provide extra leverage compared to plantigrade without sacrificing the flexible toes (and claws) for grabbing and holding onto prey, digging, or traction on all sorts of terrain. After all, they have to hunt, stalk, lure, chase, tackle, climb to, leap to, dig out, or outmaneuver their prey while avoiding/surviving any of their prey's weapons, and without dulling their killing tool (usually their teeth, if it's not actually sheer blunt force. like my husky could knock a man out with just a punch to the face from her nose). Paws are also very good for stepping quietly, quickly, and evenly all at once.

Unguligrade limbs - typically long and thin with most of the muscle as close to the body as it can get - provide the most torque for launching the animal whichever direction it wants to go, giving them the smallest point of contact with the ground necessary to push off of with the least necessary energy input. This even provides the advantages of being able to stand on almost completely vertical surfaces (mmm, that mineral...) and deal incredibly powerful kicks at their whim.

The rigid spine and shape of an ungulate also aids the torque thing, while most predators that chase them have nice, flexible, uber-muscular backs for the springiness of battle.

And as your prey gains ways to evade you, the best tools to catch them win out. Note: herbivory doesn't provide a lot of energy hence the usefulness of low-energy limbs, and most of our current predators wouldn't benefit more from hooves than their claws or other predatorial body traits. This is actually why cheetahs are so lanky and move Like That, reducing drag and increasing speed as much as possible in their digitigrade body, but struggle so much to maintain that energy requirement. Going unguligrade would help, but theyre too used to flexible spine, big counterbalance tail, and using their paws to trip and grip an antelope to really take advantage of hooves.

It would be like. Well. Imagine a mule deer trying to take down an elk like a pack of wolves would, but it still has the rigid body of a deer and the only way it can grab the elk is with its mouth. Hm.

[edit: I would mention pigs but my brain seems to fearfully suppress info i learn about them and forget the Horrors™ so I can be calm around them at work]

HEY TUMBLR BIOLOGISTS (ZOOLOGISTS?)!!!!

I have a question 👀✨

Why is it that (presumably) no predator mammals have hooves?

Like most of the ungulates/hooves mammals I have seen are primarily herbivores (heard that sometimes cows n deer eat other animals for calcium n shit but it's very rare. Anyway). Why is that??

Were there any hooved mammalian predators in the past?? Are there, perhaps, any hooved, mammalian omnivores I'm forgetting about??

Would love to know more. :]

[being-of-rain]

Lots of my spoilery thoughts on The Power of the Doctor! It was jam packed episode so there was a lot of things to have opinions on!

Overall, it was fun! A big action-packed blockbuster filled with cameos and fan-service, and that’s the most I was hoping for really! For me it was easily better than all of Thirteen’s season finales, and both of Sacha Dhawan’s other appearances as the Master. It feels like the plot held together better than usual too, mostly because basically all the nonsensical parts of the plot can be explained as ‘The Master did it for fun and laughs,’ which is entirely believable with this incarnation. I’ve always enjoyed Chibnall’s fun runarounds (eg. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship) more than any other Doctor Who eps he’s tried, and that fits with this ep, which really feels like a celebration. That makes sense since it’s the centenary special, something that I kept forgetting about after I had something else to call it because I just don’t care about the BBC itself jslkjsdfj.

Honestly, when I first heard the rumours that the Doctor was regenerating into David Tennant at the end I was like ‘I wouldn’t like that if it happened’- but because the rest of the ep felt like a cameo-filled madcap celebration, it actually didn’t feel out of place at all! I disagree with people who say the scene undercut Whittaker leaving (because to me it felt more at home than most other post-regeneration scenes do in their eps) or Gatwa arriving (because if he gets more than a 30 second filler scene in the coming special, it’ll be technically more of an introduction than any other new Doctor). But I can understand people not liking it from the point of view of Tennant just being brought back for the PR, or that he’s going to attract all the worst kind of fans. I’m just lucky that I have an easy time ignoring those type of people I guess.

What with all the cameos and returning characters, I was surprised to see that most of them got substantial things to do! Chibnall or someone else must have taken note of how bad that issue got in The Vanquishers. I’ve seen people say that the Cybermen attacking UNIT plot wasn’t necessary, but it made sense to me, and was positively vital compared to a lot of the plots in the last third of Flux. Though I can’t believe Dan got written out 10 minutes in, presumably to help avoid the problem of too many characters?? Can’t think of any other coherent reason to do that. He’s hasn’t done much or had much plot his entire time as companion and this was the funniest possible way to have him leave. I laughed when I started a rewatch and saw John Bishop get one of the top billings in the opening titles.

The only person who really badly fell victim to the unnecessary character syndrome was Vinder, who also had the least reason to be anywhere near this episode. He’s one of my favourite minor characters from the era so I was happy to see him, but literally the only thing he does is threaten to shoot the Master because he isn’t the Doctor’s companion so he’s allowed to. The most hilarious thing is that this is the one and only Thirteen episode that the Doctor explicitly gives a companion permission to use a gun, for exactly the reason Vinder uses it. And Yaz was right there. No one tell Vinder, he’ll be crushed. In any case, Vinder also gave Thirteen an excuse to put a welding goggles on, so he’s excused.

I was sad that Bel only got the smallest possible reference, since she was such an important part of Vinder’s character in Flux and I love her too. And even more so with Ryan Sinclair (who’s still probably my favourite of Thirteen’s companions)! Felt so weird that he was missing while all of Thirteen’s other companions were there- I hope it was because his actor couldn’t/didn’t want to, because if I found out Chibnall arbitrarily just didn’t want to include him I’ll be mad. Grace O’Brien didn’t get a reference either, which wasn’t strictly necessary but did irritate my liking of bookends in a series, considering she was such a huge part of Thirteen’s first episode.

But I did love who did return. Graham and the Martin Doctor got the biggest cheers from my brother and I while watching the episode, I was so hoping they would make an appearance. Shame that it was an AI Doctor rather than the real thing, but it was still an absolute joy to see her appear for what I assume was the most amount of time since her first episode (which is still a massive highlight of Thirteen’s era).

When the AI Doctors turned up I did worry it was going to be The Vanquishers all over again, but they worked really well as simple plot propellant and fan service with Tegan and Ace rather than completely overshadowing everyone. Weirdly the Five and Tegan conversation touched me a lot more than the Seven and Ace conversation, even though the latter is a relationship that means more to me (although Seven referring to Ace as his child was so touching). It was maybe because of the episode aggressively ignoring all EU (surprisingly even the SJA retcon of Ace running a charity, which doesn’t get a mention), which I saw coming and didn’t really bother me, but still made the Ace and Doctor relationship a bit less meaningful to me when they have SO much more history in whichever branch of the EU you want to accept. Also so many authors seem determined to say that Seven and Ace left on bad terms huh. I think they liked each other actually, and Ace went to Gallifrey with good memories.

The plot itself of the episode was great fun! Can’t wait to see all the Game of Rassilon fans to say that their podcast did it first, which is very fair jsdlkjf. So much of the plot seemed to be solely devoted to the Master getting to dance to the song Rasputin while dressed as Rasputin, and it was 100% worth it. Sacha Dhawan is just as fun as I could have hoped in this episode, and honestly steals the show. Him becoming the Doctor was a wonderful plan fit for a final episode like this, was executed very well, and given so much delicious flavour by the Master’s line “don’t let me go back to being me.” Plus I saw someone point out that it’s basically just the Master’s plan from the TV movie, which I’m always here for. And the “dress for the occasion” reference was icing on the cake. (Although here’s a nittiest of nitpicks: the Master described forced regeneration as “the ultimate sanction for breaking our laws,” when it clearly wasn’t. When they did it to the Doctor, it was after the Doctor bargained them down, and in the same episode they straight up erase some dudes’ timelines.)

Unfortunately the final showdown and mortal wounding of the Thirteenth Doctor was one of the episode’s weakest scenes imo with lots of missed potential. The quaranx is a generic mcguffin depicted as an unremarkable CGI light ball, and could’ve been so much more. Sounds like a lot of people including me drew a link between its child form and the Timeless Child- why didn’t it stay in its child form later to reinforce that link, which was a heck of a lot more visually striking anyway. The Doctor telling the creature to destroy the cyber-moon, something it could’ve done all along, could’ve been so much better framed as the Doctor convincing a child to embrace their power or fight their fear. And the Master suddenly taking control of the random laser beam wasn’t built up to either, which feels like something that should’ve been established considering the Doctor dying is rather an important part of the episode. Think of the Doctor being mortally wounded because she wouldn’t give up trying to save a little girl, even though she knew the risks.

Anyway, a touching end to Thirteen’s Doctor. I can’t honestly say I was moved to tears by her departure; I always felt like Jodie Whittaker could’ve done more with better scripts, and the fact that she was avoiding confiding things in Yaz this episode shows she didn’t too much over her lifetime (I laughed Tegan being faced with that awkward repression, because her Doctor was exactly the same). Although Yaz and the Doctor being so upbeat and hopeful at the end felt like a great pay-off to all this Doctor’s talk of hope for the future, and probably added to the reason I wasn’t so sad myself. I’m similarly touched but not awfully upset over Yaz leaving, sorry jskldfj (her showing off her firearm training sure is one way to end her run of avoiding any police discourse during the late 2010s/early 2020s, thanks Dr Who). But it was emotional to see them both agree that it’s time for Yaz to leave, because continuing just wouldn’t be the same for either of them. It’s nice that all of Thirteen’s companions have left because the time is right, after the RTD and Moffat eras seeming to think that the only possible exit was tragedy.

Anything else? Obviously, seeing all the past Doctors was a real treat, and Seven and Eight bickering made everything worth it. Like I said, the episode felt like a celebration, and the next episode being part of the 60th anniversary makes it feel like the celebrations just keep going! Only thing I have to be bitter about is that the 50th anniversary was an emotional tale about restoring Gallifrey, and now we’re going into the 60th with it destroyed again (still easily the worst story decision in Thirteen’s era). And it’s a shame to wait a whole year for more Doctor Who, but I’m really hoping that after that the waits between seasons will become more regular.

[piercethelenn]

💫The Occult Club.

ㅤ

Chapter 8: tourmaline.

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of death and illness || Word count: 550.

"See you soon"? Really? Why did he say that? Did he sound awkward? Was he overthinking again? In his defense, it wasn't everyday that Jungwon had the chance to text someone other than his usual friends, so it is understandable for him to worry about giving a good first impression, right?

          一Yah, Jungwon一 He said to his own reflection on the bedroom's mirror, trying to make a serious expression but failing miserably, all thanks to a pair of dimples that poked out of his soft cheeks 一You have more important things to focus on right now一 he scolded himself and exited the room to look for the only person he knew that could help solve this enigma: his grandma.

          The old woman was outside, watering her plants while immersed in a conversation with some of them, something about wanting the carrots to grow bigger than last year. Jungwon opted to ignore the last part and cleared his throat to get her attention.

          After offering to help her water some other plants, he started talking about Y/N's case, even getting into the smallest details, as she attentively listened to him. As the story came to an end, the senior tarotist started talking slowly, in a low tone as if confessing a very important secret.

          一I think it's my turn now to tell you a story一 The boy looked at her in confusion, but didn't interrupt. 一A very long time ago, many years before you were even born, your mother had a best friend一 Jungwon's entire body tensed at the sudden mention of his mother, putting the watering can down. 一The girl was just like the one you told me about, she had no experience with magic, but she had a very bad luck. One day, your mom used a rune that attracted only good things into the girl's life, making her happy again一 The woman picked up the can and started watering the tomatoes. 一Your mom felt so proud back then, because her magic was capable of helping the people around her, but eventually, that led to overusing the power of runes on her friend; she fell severely ill a few months after, I'm not even sure if she's still…一 There was no need to finish the sentence. The message was clear enough, and Jungwon, even if a little stunned by the sudden mention of his mother, felt thankful still, because his grandma was letting him learn from this story about the consequences of messing with the natural order of things.

          一Thank you for telling me this, it must have been hard for you, too一 Jungwon held her hands in a comforting way, and tried to sound as confident as he could 一I know my mom had no bad intentions, neither do I, and I will make sure not to commit the same mistake; that way my client will finally have nice dreams again一.

          As the sun started to settle down at the small but packed garden, Jungwon decided to change the subject and started discussing about more trivial things, like how school was going, or choosing a dinner menu. Sure, they liked to discuss magic and divination from time to time, but moments like those, where the pair acted like ordinary grandmother and grandchild, were also precious for the two.

ㅤ

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[restlessfandoming]

“family holiday” (pt. 1) (chilumi fic)

[SPOILERS FROM 1.1 STORY QUESTS]

Lumine finally arrives in Snezhnaya and takes Childe’s offer of visiting his home (mansion). 

(some domestic fluff uwu) 

lots of ppl have been asking for more and i love that! tysm for the encouragement and support <3 sorry this took so long to upload, i am trying very hard for all you lovelies ;__; 

also this is being split into two parts bc it is a bit longer than my other fics...but i swear im writing part 2 as fast as i can!! i just wanted to post this now so i wouldn’t keep you lovelies waiting <3

[Fic Masterlist]

“family holiday” (pt 1)

“Lumineeeeee!” Teucer shouted as she walked through the door of Childe’s home. He tackled her into a hug. 

“Well hello to you too, Teucer,” Lumine greeted back. Just as energetic as I remembered… 

“Hey! Paimon’s here too!” Paimon crossed her arms. 

Teucer broke his hug and waved energetically at Paimon. “Hi, Lumine’s toy!”

Paimon’s jaw dropped, ready to go on a rant, but Teucer already turned his attention away. 

“Big brother!” he cheered, tackling Childe into a hug as well. 

“Teucer!” Childe said enthusiastically, picking him up and slinging the little boy over his shoulder before swinging him around. Teucer erupted into gleeful giggles. 

“Big brother? Is that you?” a soft voice called. Coming down the grand stairs was a little girl who looked exactly like Childe and Teucer, her long brown hair tied in a half-up crown braid, her large blue eyes like innocent doe eyes. She looked about eight. Behind her, another sibling came trudging down the stairs, scowling, his hair appearing more ginger than the rest of the family; his face had a splattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks, more prominent than Teucer’s. He was a bit older, around 11. 

Childe set Teucer down, and smiled. “Tonia,” he greeted her, gentler. He got down on one knee, and Tonia ran down the steps—her white dress flowing behind her—and jumped into his open arms. 

“It’s been too long!” she said, her voice muffled by Childe’s shoulder. 

He laughed. “It certainly has, princess.” He looked to the last sibling still standing by the stairs. “Come on, Anthon. Come here.”

Anthon let out an exasperate huff, but still made his way to his older brother, and joined Tonia in their embrace. “We don’t have to make such a big deal out of this,” he grumbled, though his arms tightening around his brother betrayed his attitude. 

“Looks like we’ve been sidelined,” Paimon muttered. 

Lumine tilted her head. “It’s kind of nice to see though…” 

Anthon’s eyes flickered to her. “Who are you?”

Tonia broke from the hug, ducking under Childe’s arms to look at Lumine, while still gripping tightly to his jacket. 

Teucer bounced over to the traveler, and placed his hands proudly on his hips. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Lumine!”

Tonia gasped and skipped over to her, her eyes bright. “Lumine?! Like from the letters?” Teucer nodded enthusiastically. 

Childe stood and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yup, the one and only. This is her first time in Snezhnaya, so everyone be on your best behavior.” He gave Anthon a look, to which Anthon crossed his arms. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Tonia and Anthon,” Lumine said. “Your brothers have told me a lot about you two.”

Tonia smiled shyly and peered at Lumine’s face. “Woooow,” she whispered in wonderment. “You really are just as pretty as he said!” 

Lumine felt a shock to her system. Childe told them I was pretty?

Childe let out a nervous laugh, quickly scooping Tonia off the ground and ruffling her hair. “Very funny, Tonia! Why don’t we decide on dinner plans, hmm?” 

Paimon, after grumbling in the corner about being ignored, perked straight up. “Food?”

“Let’s celebrate brother and Lumine coming home! We should go to the bestest restaurant in the city!” Teucer suggested. 

“You don’t want to eat brother’s cooking?” Tonia asked, a bit of sadness tinged in her voice. 

“I think that’s a great idea, Teucer,” Childe said. He patted Tonia’s head. “How about we eat dinner at the restaurant, then we can come home and I’ll make you your favorite cake?” 

“Yay!” Tonia cheered, jumping from Childe’s arms, and joining Teucer in celebration. 

“Anthon? What would you like to do?” Childe asked. 

He shrugged. “Whatever sounds good to me.” 

“Then it’s settled! Let’s all go get ready then, okay?” Childe said. The children all ran up the stairs, and soon the foyer was quiet once more. The Harbinger let out a heavy sigh. 

“Whew! They’re a handful!” Paimon said. 

Lumine nodded. “How do they even survive while you’re away?”

Childe chuckled. “Year round I have a dedicated staff of servants and maids to look after them and the house.” (Mansion, Lumine thought.) “I gave them the weekend off while I’m back.”

“You can handle all three of them?” Lumine asked. 

“Oh? You don’t think I’m capable?” 

“I just can’t imagine you as a child raising type,” she said, recalling their various battles together. How bloodthirsty he could get. 

“The battlefield is different,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. He glanced at the stairs. “I’ve been raising my siblings since we were little.” 

No parents? She thought of her and Aether. On their own for as long as she could remember, having to explore and learn alone. Except she and Aether were twins; she never had to look after a younger sibling—let alone three. 

“Ready!” Teucer announced, bouncing down the stairs. 

Childe crossed his arms. “Just your hat? Where are your gloves? Coat? Boots?” 

Teucer giggled. “Oops! I forgot!” He raced back up the stairs. 

“And you?” he asked, turning to Lumine. “You don’t look ready either.”

“I was okay on the journey here,” she answered. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head. “It’s almost dark now. Snezhnayan nights are freezing, even more so during this time.”

“Ahh...well...we didn’t really pack...anything…,” Paimon said sheepishly. 

“Paimon I expected, but you, Lumine?” 

The traveler crossed her arms. “I’ve been a bit busy.” 

He scoffed. “Right, right. Well, we can’t have you freezing to death in the street. I’m sure there’s extra coats around here,” he said, heading up the stairs. “Come with me.”

“Oooo, Lumine, they’re probably super expensive and fluffy! Let’s go!” Paimon said, flying after Childe. Lumine rolled her eyes and followed. 

The three passed by the children’s rooms, all clothes being thrown around and excited chatter, before coming to a large door at the end of the hall. Childe’s room. He opened the door and they entered. 

It was a grand room—octangular in shape with huge windows and a tall ceiling—large, spacious, and empty save for a large bed, standing wardrobe, and side tables. There was a fine film of dusting covering all the surfaces, and the bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in for a long time. The colors were sparse, only grays, whites, blacks, and the occasional red accent. 

Childe opened the doors to the wardrobe, revealing an assortment of heavy winter coats. He pulled one out and held it out for Lumine. “I think this coat is a little older—probably the smallest one I have.” 

She put it on, the sleeves running a bit long to her fingertips, the feathered hood obscuring her face up to her nose. Childe laughed, and she stuck her tongue out at him after pulling the hood down. Despite it being old, she could still pick up a faint scent of Childe: a smell remnant of ocean waves and sandy beaches. Unexpectedly pleasant...

“If that’s too big, she can have one of my coats!” Tonia said from the doorway.  

“That is very nice of you to offer, Tonia,” Childe said. “But I think your coats might be too small.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, we’re all ready now, brother!”

The family—plus Lumine and Paimon—gathered back in the foyer with everyone bundled in their coats, hats, and gloves. And then they were on the way to the restaurant. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Lumine, look!” Teucer said, pointing at a large pond. “There are so many fishes!”

They were waiting to be seated in the restaurant lobby. A large, grandiose building, with marbled floors, vaulted ceilings, and gold furniture. There was a large pond in the middle—a miniature waterfall flowed into it. 

Too extravagant, Lumine thought. And I thought Liyue was expensive...

“Do you think we could take some fish home to eat?” Paimon asked, peering into the pond. 

Lumine gave her a deadpan expression. “Go ahead. I’ve always wanted to see how Snezhnayans deal out punishment.”

“On second thought, nevermind…”

Tonia pulled on Childe’s jacket. “Can we go to the toy store after this?”

“Toy store! Toy store! Toy store!” Teucer chanted. 

“Yes, yes, of course,” Childe said. The two children cheered. 

“They’re always so loud,” Anthon grumbled from his seat next to Lumine. 

“They’re just excited your brother is back,” Lumine said. “Aren’t you excited also?”

“I guess…” He looked at her. “Why are you here anyways?”

How do I explain that I’m on a quest to find my brother after we were banished from our journeys by an unknown god? “I want to meet all the gods of Teyvat.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, right. That’s impossible.”

“Actually I’ve been quite successful,” she told him. “I’ve already met a few.”

“Really?” His brows were furrowed. “What’re they like?”

Venti: drunk. Zhongli: broke. “They’re...interesting. Very powerful.”

Childe walked over to them. “Is he bothering you?” he asked Lumine. 

“She was just telling me she’s met some of the gods of Teyvat. Is that true?” he asked, scrutinizing. 

“Very much so. She’s quite strong, so don’t get on her bad side.” He gave Anthon a wink. 

“Strong enough to beat you, brother?” 

“Of course,” Lumine said, standing up. “I’ve beat your brother before.” 

“Paimon can confirm that! We kicked his butt!” 

For the first time, Anthon’s eyes seemed to light up. “You did? How?”

Childe chuckled through gritted teeth, disguised as a strained smile. “Now, now, Anthon; you seem like you want me to be beaten.”

Anthon frowned. “No, I didn’t mean that.”

“Sir? Your table is ready,” a waiter said, approaching the family. 

As Childe went to wrangle up the younger kids, Lumine stayed behind and tapped on Anthon’s shoulder. 

“Hey,” she whispered. “Why do you want to beat your brother so bad?”

Anthon shook his head. “You guys have it wrong. I don’t want to beat my brother…” His pale face flushed a bit red. “I just...I want to be stronger than him. So he doesn’t have to work so hard to protect us…” He stopped and watched his siblings sit around the table in the distance. “He shouldn’t be the only one protecting us. I can see it’s really hard work for just him. I want to be strong enough to protect him, Tonia, and Teucer also.”

Lumine’s heart warmed at Anthon’s love for his family. She missed Aether a little more. “I’ll help you.” She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I know what it’s like, wanting to protect a sibling.” She then gave him a teasing smile. “Plus, I’ve already beaten your brother, right?” 

“Right!” He had a little smile as well. “And he’s the strongest person I know! Well...I guess that person would be you now, right?”

Tonia came marching up to the two. “Come onnnnn, let’s go eat!” She grabbed both Lumine and Anthon’s hands and dragged them to the table. 

Afterwards, the family enjoyed an exquisite meal, and were all stuffed full of expensive foods and cheerful laughter. (The children were amazed at how much both Lumine and Paimon could scarf down.) 

The children, very quickly after finishing their meal, practically teleported to the toy store. As the children ran through the store, Lumine and Childe took the moment of rest, silently watching over them. (Paimon had retreated back into her world to recover from the feast.)

“I don’t know how you do it,” Lumine said. “I had a hard enough time with just Teucer in Liyue.”

“It’s not easy,” Childe confessed. He looked at his siblings softly. “But when I see them smiling and happy...despite everything bad in the world? I think it’s all worth it.”

How nice… His love for his family definitely matched her love for Aether. Something we have in common. She found herself enjoying this time with Childe, and his family, more enjoyable than any time she had been adventuring. It was almost like...she was...back home…

Soon enough, everyone was lined up, toys all selected and ready for purchase. Teucer tiredly tugged on Lumine’s coat, then silently held his hands up. At first, Lumine blinked, not understanding. 

“Teucer, just ask her to pick you up,” Anthon said. 

“That’s okay,” she said, pulling Teucer up off the ground—now understanding—and placing him on her hip. I think this is how you carry a kid? She didn’t have much experience with kids, save for the few she had met while in Teyvat. And those kids are far from normal... She let out a little sigh of relief when Teucer relaxed, laying his head on her shoulder. 

“Are you tired too, Tonia?” Childe asked. She shook her head, tightening her grip on his hand, clutching a doll in the other. Teucer was hugging a hilichurl stuffed animal, and Anthon held an action figure of a Lawachurl.

Upon reaching the toy seller, the old woman at the counter smiled at Childe and Lumine. “You two have such beautiful children,” she said. 

Lumine almost dropped Teucer. What?! 

“Though I have to say, they do take after their father quite a bit,” she remarked. “A shame, seeing as the mother is so beautiful.” 

Before Lumine could explain, Childe spoke. “Yes, what a shame indeed—I completely agree,” he said while smiling. 

...WHAT?!

[part two]

[glitxhwayventeen]

The Sickly One

Wonwoo

Characters: Wonwoo x female reader

Warnings: mentions of war, mentions of health issues, mentions of blood, mentions of sexism, mentions of misogyny, lying, self image issues, let me know if I missed any because I write these chapters during different days and I forget!

Author’s Note: Wonwoo’s will also have a part two just because I didn’t want to make one super long chapter for him either.

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

Paved With Good Intentions Masterlist

Tag List @babyminghao

🥀 & ☁️

Bold- Dialogue Italics- Thoughts Pink- Native Language

The Sickly One Part 2 & Part 3

It seemed like every other day: the trees were blowing gently in the breeze. The birds were chirping their usual harmonious song.

The grass was its normal green color Wonwoo was so used to. He had no idea his entire world would be turned upside down in a matter of hours.

——

The pack was outside playing. San was absolutely determined to show all the boys he was the best at soccer so most of them were on their make shift field letting him show them up. After his injury, they had all been babying him to no end to be sure he healed properly. That included letting him win every soccer game. The less energetic boys were sitting on the sidelines, watching the whole thing take place when a taxi stopped in front of their driveway.

Which was weird: they normally never had taxis stop in their neighborhood, let alone in front of their home. Yet immediately, Wonwoo felt a type of feeling he had never felt before… a sort of euphoria maybe? It didn’t make sense.

Not really anyways because when he looked around, his brothers looked curious whereas Wonwoo was positive the powerful feeling he felt must’ve made him look incredibly confused. It wasn’t until the back door to the taxi opened that he understood what was happening.

San ran up and whispered something in another language into his mom’s ear, who was coincidentally sitting on Chan’s lap beside Wonwoo. Whatever he said caused the older girl to jet up from her place and head towards the opening taxi, much to her mate’s dismay.

A girl that seemed to be around Chan’s age stepped out of the vehicle with clothes a bit too warm and pretty for the weather and social climate they currently had, and immediately, Wonwoo was hooked.

Your features were similar to that of Chan’s new mate: darker hair, strangely bright eyes, small form. And when you fully got out of the taxi, Omi hurriedly opened her arms to give you the biggest most bone crushing hug she could and you gave the brightest most dazzling smile Wonwoo had ever seen.

Your figure seemed to was surrounded by an array of heavenly light he hadn’t even known existed. He tried to rub his eyes in an effort to erase the glow surrounding you, but when he opened them again, he realized that not only did the light just get more defined, but the colors of objects around him seemed to have almost dulled by comparison.

He gulped only loud enough for the few boys next to him to hear. They gave him a knowing look, like they already understood everything that was going on with only Wonwoo’s doe eyes as a clue. Whoever you were, you were his mate.

“______!” The smallest mate shrieked, “I’m so glad you’re here! But You told me you were coming in tomorrow!” Omi pouted at you in an almost scolding tone.

You just grinned back with a blinding grin, “Yeah I know. Sorry!” You apologized with an accent behind your Korean similar to Omi’s as you went to the trunk of the car and attempted to pull your big luggage out from it, “They moved my flight and my phone died before I could let you know,” You tried to tug at your suitcase, “I hope that my earlier appearance isn’t-” You tugged again, “an issue…” You finished without actually being able to grab your bag.

Omi sent Chan a look and he went straight to you to grab your things, much to Wonwoo’s relief, “No no! It’s fine! We’re just surprised is all!” She replied to you before standing next to her mate, who had managed to pull your suitcase out with ease, and lovingly grabbed his arm, “And this is Chan, my… boyfriend! Chan, this is my sister ______!”

She had spoken to you about him already. You knew he was a werewolf only a little older than you that he lived with his pack. She also mentioned that she and San now lived with them since it was safer than the two of them living alone.

“Nice to finally meet you in person,” He exclaimed as he held his hand that wasn’t holding your bag out to you.

You gladly took his hand in yours before speaking again, “It’s wonderful to meet you! Omi’s told me much about you and your friends! I hope my coming here doesn’t cause you too much trouble or inconvenience you all in any way.” You bowed your head politely, seemingly apologizing in advance for your abrupt appearance, not that Wonwoo was complaining about it personally.

Chan just simply waved off your concerns, “Not at all! I’m glad to actually meet some of Omi’s family members who don’t hate me!” He half joked, which caused you to giggle slightly.

Your brother had told you a little about your sisters new boyfriend too in a not so wonderful light. It wasn’t even necessarily that he didn’t like or approve of him once he understood the situation. He was just concerned for your sister and your nephew’s safety.

“Yes… I apologize for my brother,” you slightly winced out in reply, “He’s… just very overprotective. He still feels bad about that whole situation if it’s any consolation.”

The pup quickly paid the cab driver for his time and then lead both of you to rest of the boys just up the sidewalk.

“Hey guys! This is _____, Omi’s little sister.” He informed everyone while he gestured to you and your sister, who was glued to your side like a tick.

San also took it upon himself to charge at you while yelling your name in the cutest way possible, causing your already giant smile to get bigger in size as you bend down to pick up your little nephew and smothered him with kisses, which of course practically made Wonwoo melt in place.

“Hi _____! I hope you made it here okay. I know the airports here can be nuts sometimes.” A bulky dimple faced boy you had been told was the alpha spoke to you first, “I’m Seungcheol! Chan let me and the others know you were coming. You’re more than welcome to stay with us as I know your probably want to be with your sister,” Cheol repeated the same movements Chan did only moments ago and you reciprocated them.

“Thank you very much! I appreciate the offer,” you stated as you repositioned your nephew in your arms, “But I’m sure with so many of you living here there’s not much room for me. And I would not want to impose so I suppose I’ll just stay at my sister’s old house down the street till the lease is up while I search for an apartment!” You chirped, seeming a bit sad at the thought of staying away from your sister after having been far from each other for so long, but nonetheless grateful at the older male’s hospitality.

Before Wonwoo could even register his own thoughts, his mouth seemed to have a mind of it’s own, “You can take my room. I’ll stay downstairs or room with one of the others.”

This definitely took you for a spin, I mean, what grown man would willingly give their room up to some girl they don’t even know?

But just as you were about to politely decline his offer, you met his eyes and it felt as if time itself stood still. Like the only two people around were the both of you. Like the only thing that mattered was the cute bookworm looking boy speaking.

You found yourself having to blink up at him a few times to regain some composure, “I- I umm- that’s- that’s very kind of you….?”

“Wonwoo” Your sister, who had picked up on what had happened after Chan gave her a nudge, oh so mischievously let out with a slight giggle.

“Wonwoo! Yes right, I knew that!” You exclaimed with glee, making Wonwoo’s heart flutter in his chest at how excited you seemed to be that you remembered his name.

Your sister had given you brief descriptions of the boys and had even told you of some stories involving them. You remembered all the kind things she had to say about the pretty boy with the glasses. About how soft spoken, shy, and smart he was. But she left out just how downright gorgeous he was.

“That’s really kind of you, but really, I couldn’t take your- your room from you. That wouldn’t be very nice of me as a guest…” You ducked your head down and held the back of your neck with your free arm to try and hide your shyness/embarrassment and rosey red cheeks.

Seungcheol would’ve intervened to let the both of you know that he had already made arrangements for some of the boys to share a room to accommodate you, but he ultimately decided not to. Usually, Wonwoo was quite quiet and reserved to strangers. This situation gave him the perfect reason and subject to break the ice with you, so he just left it and let the sweetly awkward encounter play out naturally for his younger brother and his new mate.

Wonwoo’s eyes never failed to leave your angelic face, even as you struggled to lightly pull your nephew from you so you could properly speak with him, “Please, I insist. You should get to be around your sister and nephew as much as possible.”

As the battle of where you were going to stay was raging on between you and your new found mate, not that you knew that small detail yet, you noticed that your dear sister was whispering and laughing quietly to her own mate.

You knew that your encounters with boys usually didn’t end so well because of your upbringing, but you didn’t think you were doing a laughable job at attempting conversation with the tall guy.

If anything, you actually felt semi-comfortable speaking with him, which was completely unusual for you since you crashed and burned every conversation you’ve ever had with others. But Wonwoo’s aura was a nice shade of lilac and his voice was incredibly deep. Both were calming to you. It was just the audience around you that made you a little nervous. You never were one for public speaking.

The conversation ended with Wonwoo not backing down and his brothers and your sister backing him up on his proposition. So it was decided you would stay in a crowded house with them whether you liked it or not and that you would be staying in Wonwoo’s room while he stayed with one of the other boys.

Once everyone went inside, the whispering began. It made you feel… strange? Almost as if they were trying to hide something from you.

Now you were used to men not keeping you in the loop and basically treating you as if you didn’t exist as in your home country, women were basically just objects with zero power now because the war empowered boys to do whatever they wanted. Women had no say in anything and the males could do whatever they wanted like literally everywhere else in the world, except now there weren’t any repercussions when they went too far. You were used to the whispers and the secrets. But what you weren’t used to was being the center of attention and being talked about in a country that was supposedly free. You just didn’t get it.

-

It had been a little over a week of staying with the boys now. You still got strange whispers and looks, but you soon realized they didn’t feel malicious, just more so… childish? It felt like they were keeping some sort of crush’s secret from you on a playground and were giggling amongst themselves about how you didn’t know about it. It was kinda funny if anything, so you didn’t even mind it much anymore.

They seemed to do the same thing when Wonwoo was around too which… also confused you to say the least. But again, it wasn’t your place to mention it or stop it in your eyes. He didn’t seem to care, so you didn’t. You figured they just thought you had a petty school crush on him and were trying to tease you both about it. Which you felt bad about, because it wasn’t like they were wrong…

You couldn’t really explain why, but you really liked being near him. There was something about him that was just so… pulling. You couldn’t really place or name the feeling. You just knew what you felt whenever he walked into a room.

It felt like the world was spinning at light speed and all the oxygen had gotten sucked into a whirlpool around you leaving you dizzy. Like you had been lost in a sea of darkness and solitude then he came around and showed you what light and happiness was. It was truly the most intoxicating thing you’d ever experienced. But you’d never tell him that. You were 4 years younger than him after all, what would a guy like him possibly see in a girl like you?

In another world, you’d love to be with someone like him. He seemed thoughtful and caring, he never seemed to get angry or upset, and he was incredibly smart. He tutored his packmates because he didn’t want them to get behind on their studies and he was amazing to your nephew who he played with constantly and made sure he was always taken care of. He’s everything you could’ve ever prayed for in a significant other. And before you came to Korea, your hopes of being able to find that yourself were practically nonexistent.

Now you had the ability to do what you wanted whenever you wanted and it was amazing. But at the end of the day, you and Wonwoo just weren’t meant to be. He was a werewolf who was apparently destined to find a mate one day and you… well you already knew you weren’t gonna be it for… several reasons.

It sucked, but it was what it was and you were who you were. There wasn’t a thing you or anyone else could do about it.

Still, you knew they shouldn’t tease him like they did, it wasn’t his fault you were apparently bad at keeping your fondness for him in check. You made a mental note to yourself to try and talk to Omi about it to see if she could get them to stop. They did after all listen to her quite a bit more than anyone else. You figured it was because she was a mother and acted the part all the time. But truthfully, that was just how your sister had always been since your mother passed away.

As you were walking downstairs to go to the kitchen for breakfast, you heard voices talking and the conversation seemed to catch your attention. So you stopped moving your feet and started to listen. You didn’t want to eavesdrop, but you also didn’t want to walk in and intrude on their conversation.

“Just admit it!”

Admit what? Someone needed to admit something? Who needed to admit something?

“Shut Up.”

That voice sounded familiar… Wonwoo…? Who was he telling to shut up? Hell, WHY was he telling someone to shut up? That wasn’t very like him…

“Oh come on dude, just admit it and all your pain and suffering will be over!”

Wonwoo was suffering? Why was he suffering? What happened to him?

“No. I won’t do it.”

What won’t he do? Why don’t he do it? And what could possibly be happening to him that was so bad he was suffering?

“Well if you won’t tell her, I will. She’s basically my sister anyways now. It’ll be easier coming from me.”

Channie? Who was he talking about? He said her. There were only two other girls in the house other than you, and he was mated with one of them, so you highly doubted she would be who he referred to as a sister. That left you and Sam, Seungcheol’s mate. But she mainly kept to herself and she seemed closer with the quiet ones in the pack and as much as you loved Chan, he definitely was not quiet. So that left one person. You.

“I don’t want her to know. End of discussion.”

Could he have been talking about you? He couldn’t have been. You hadn’t done anything to upset anyone… right?

“Yeah well what are you gonna do if she can’t find a place soon huh? Then you’re gonna be stuck eaten a rock and a hard place. LITERALLY.”

Yep. They were definitely talking about you. But why WERE they talking about you? Had you upset Wonwoo without realizing it?

Just as Wonwoo seemed to want to speak again, you heard movement behind you signaling someone was about to come down the stairs. And as you didn’t want anyone to catch you was dropping on their conversation, you continued on.

“Hello everyone!” You announced to everyone as you made your way downstairs into the kitchen/living room, quickly noticing Wonwoo’s toned form sitting on the couch.

There he sat next to Jeonghan and Chan looking worn out. Yet when you made your way to his line of vision, his eyes immediately darted to you, squinted as if he was looking at something that disgusted him. You couldn’t tell if he was actually mad at you or if he just plain couldn’t see you because he didn’t have his glasses on. Poor boy was blind as a bat.

You were hoping for the last option though. You didn’t want him to be upset with you, you liked him too much. You’d hate to have actually done something to hurt him at all.

When your voice rang out, all the boys in the living room turned to face and welcome you with various hey’s, hi’s, and morning’s. But all you could focus on was Wonwoo. Maybe the others were within their right to tease you for your not so itsy bitsy crush on him.

You finally took in his appearance in full. He was sitting with an uncomfortable face while holding his neck as if it were hurt with one hand and cuddling a blanket with the other. His eyes looked blood shot and he had deep gray bags under them. And that’s when it hit you like a brick through a window.

Holding his neck, tired and sore looking eyes, blanket on the couch, the conversation from earlier. Oh no. They WERE talking about you. You took his room.

You were an intruder in his space and all but forced him to sleep on the couch every night since you’d been there. He was too sweet to tell you he needed his bed back. He was too kind to tell you that you were overstaying your welcome. He was too caring to even let his brothers do it for him. He probably thought it was wrong for him to ask you for it back given that everyone basically thought you were in love with him.

You felt as if all the heat had been drained from your body and had gone straight to your eyes in hot painful tears as they began to form at your waterlines. You tried to blink them back as best as you could, but you were sure at least Chan and Wonwoo picked up on it as your practical brother in law came over to you asking you to “help him with something” and Wonwoo quickly fixed his posture and demeanor to be straighter and in less pain.

You felt bad. You felt awful. You felt sick to your stomach. You took away a sweet guy’s bed and for what? Because you missed your sister? Because you were too scared to be left alone in a house given your current circumstances? You could’ve came to see her anytime you wanted, she lived down the street. You could’ve told your sister and explained the situation to save Wonwoo the trouble of losing his room.

But you didn’t. You were a selfish coward. A stupid, lovesick, selfish coward.

By the time Chan brought you back up to your sister’s room, the tears were pouring down silently from your eyes. You couldn’t help it. You were already an emotional mess, hurting someone you really kind of liked (even if you had no shot with him) was really the icing on the shitty cake that was now your life.

Omi had Chan take San downstairs to play with the boys and to eat a little something the second she saw the water running down your depressed face.

“What’s wrong ______? I thought everything was okay. Did something happen?” Your sweet sister cooed at you and held you as you sobbed into her shoulder.

She was always your rock. You had lost your mother when you were little and ever since, Omi had taken care of you as if you were her own. Your father disliked the both of you as you were daughters and not sons. She protected you and your brothers as the oldest and always found ways to make you feel like you weren’t alone. You were one of the few family members to stand by her when she ever so bravely went against tradition and defied her husband to save herself and your nephew.

Now here you were wailing like a baby to her after all she herself had been through. What you were going through was nothing in comparison to what she had gone through in your mind.

She survived literal hell and you… well you just had migraines and a sad heart. You couldn’t bother her with your real problems. So you decided to hide some of the truth from her to save her the trouble of having to listen to them.

“I- I am okay. It’s just- just so different from home here,” you spoke to her quietly in your native language. You knew the boys couldn’t understand you even if they could hear you, but you knew your nephew probably could as he was bound to be a wolf someday and no doubt already had the super hearing abilities of one.

Your sister chuckled at you adoringly, “Aya, I know _____, but it’s really better for us here. There’s no war, no plagues or famines, and we can actually have a good family life here.”

Right. SHE could actually have a family. A good one. A better one than the one you had both been born into.

The most human part of you hated her for it, but the sister in you knew she deserved it more than anyone else you had ever known. She deserved to know the happiness you always wished you had. She deserved a family just like you had always dreamed of. She deserved love that neither of you had ever known growing up. She deserved the world.

You lightly laughed along with her while batting the newly formed scorching tears away with your eyelashes, “I know, I know. I’m sorry for crying. It’s just- it takes some getting used to is all.” You lied.

You were already used to it. You loved it. But you refused to let your sister’s newly formed life disappear. You couldn’t have it all come crumbling down for you, which you know she would let happen if she knew the truth. It was best she be kept in the dark. She’d forgive you eventually. She wouldn’t have a choice. She’d have to.

“Oh I know sweetie. But don’t worry, the boys and I will help you as much as we can!” She informed you.

Right. Focus ______. You had to fix your wrongs. No chickening out now. It wasn’t fair for the others to have to take you in. It’s not fair to your sister to have to take you in with how your life was going. They needed free from you.

You gripped onto the sleeve ends of the sweater you were wearing and balled your fists tightly, “Oh right- about that…” You trailed off before taking a deep breath in, “I think- I think it’s best I stay at your house until I can find an apartment for myself…”

She was clearly taken back by your statement as she all but jumped up at the mention of you leaving, “What?!? Why would you do that? You’re staying here! Why would you want to leave?”

“B- because,” you stuttered, “Because I- the boys they-” was all you could get out before she cut you off.

“The boys? What did they do? Did one of them make you feel uncomfortable? Did one of them hurt you or do something to upset you? I swear if they did I’ll-” She interrogated you at lightening speed.

You could tell very well by her angry face that if you let her questions go on much longer without interruption, she’d go downstairs and tear each boy a new one till she found some sort of problem.

“What- no no! Down girl! It’s nothing like that! I just- I- I feel bad. They shouldn’t have to put up with me. I’m not related to any of them or anything like that. I’m just your little sister. And you shouldn’t be responsible for me either.” You didn’t want her to be. Not with what was to come. She needed space from you. She had to have the space from you. It was the only way, “I just- I would just stay over at the other house until I could save up some more money and get a steady job. I feel sorry for even asking to stay there but I wasn’t allowed to bring much with me when they signed off on my visa-”

“You don’t need to feel bad for that ______.” You sister sweetly scolded you as she played with a lock of your hair that would no doubt be gone before the months end, “You’re my sister. I’ll always help you. But I don’t want you to feel that way and I’m positive the others don’t either. We’re happy to have you here.” But others were suffering for you.

People that shouldn’t have to deal with it have to because they’re too polite to put you out. You had to be the bigger person and do it for them before you ended up seriously screwing up one of their lives by being there as an extra mouth to feed. Not to mention, you wouldn’t be so easy to have as a roommate soon.

You gulped down the lump forming in your throat. You knew your insistence on leaving was hurting your sister, her natural glow was turning a gray color, but you had to think about everybody in the house as well as her future mental health, “I just- I think that it would make more sense for me at the other house. Plus that way, no one would have to deal with me being up in the middle of the night with my weird hours or have to give up their room for me. It’s better this way.”

“Wha- what do you mean? If you’re worried about Wonu I can assure you he’s fine just where he is-” You could see the pain in her eyes as she spoke. You could hear the pleading tones in her voice. You just got each other back after years apart. You knew she needed you around to make up for lost time.

But it was better for everyone for you to be gone. The clock was ticking and time was running out.

“It’s not about Wonwoo.” Liar. It was about him. Well, mostly about him anyways.

You wanted to leave so he could have his room back sure, but that’s not the only reason. You were also worried for your bubbling feelings for him on top of his comfort and your sister’s well being. You were already so screwed up, you couldn’t afford to have a broken heart too. And he shouldn’t have to put up with it just to spare your own pathetic feelings.

She huffed loudly with glossy eyes, “Then I don’t understand why you don’t want to be here. Am I- am I spending too much time with Chan? Am I- am I neglecting you too much? Is that it? Because _____, I’ll stop.” She promised you with tears now sliding down her face, “I’m such a bad sister I know. And I know I get too caught up with him sometimes but you’re always a priority to me.”

No. You couldn’t let your sister think she was a bad sister. If anything, YOU were a bad sister.

You had come all this way, jumped through all these hoops and loops just to get here to a free country to be with her when in all reality you were gonna just… no. You couldn’t have her think that.

You pulled your older sister into the biggest tightest hug you could muster with your lack of strength, “No Omira. Listen to me.” You mumbled into her soft hair as you held back a stream of tears that would no doubt never stop if you let them fall once you opened your inner Pandora’s box of feelings, “You are- you are the BEST sister ANYONE could ever have. I don’t EVER want you to think any of this is on you. Remember that. It’s all me okay?” You sniffled, praying your sister heard your words and would remember them when things went bad, “It’s just me. I don’t want anyone to worry about me s’all.” It was true. It was all you. You didn’t want anyone to worry about you, especially her, “And I don’t want you to stop spending time with Channie for me. You deserve the happiness. Don’t ever let anyone take it from you. I’ll be alright.” You pulled back and wiped some of the water that had made its way down her face, taking in every inch of your loving sister’s pretty face and hoping that you would never cause her beautiful smile to falter for too long.

It was better this way. Everyone would be better off. No one would be inconvenienced now. Now one’s feelings would be messed with. And no one would be hurt for longer than they had to. You were making the right decision for everybody involved. You just prayed that one day, no matter how mad they’d be at you for everything that would transpire, that they’d all see you were only doing it for the greater good.

-

It took some more convincing, but eventually she understood that your mind was made up about the idea and agreed to let you leave. And you all but had to beg Chan to make sure she stayed at the house with him so he wouldn’t be separated from his pack.

You hated people being separated from loved ones. You had been for most of your young life and it killed you. You didn’t want to be the cause of your sister staying away from her mate that made her unbelievably happy. And you definitely didn’t want to be the cause of a wolf being separated from his pack, especially when that pack was kind enough to take you in without hesitation.

So that night, right before everyone got home from their classes, you grabbed what little personal belongings you had with you and drug them over to your sister’s old house.

You figured it was best you did it without most of them knowing. They’d just try to stop you. They didn’t even fully really know you but you knew that because you were a mate’s sister that they’d refuse to let you leave. But you had to, for everyone.

So you left a small note thanking Wonwoo for letting you use his room and another for Seungcheol, thanking him for his hospitality, before you left. You knew that it would probably be best to stay away from their house for a few days to hopefully give some time for Wonwoo to enjoy his room guilt free.

Sure It was scary being at the other house all alone, but to you it was scarier to have to stay with the pack. You wanted to be sure your sister wouldn’t get too used to having you around again. You wanted to not burden anybody.

And really, above all else, you just had to be sure your feelings for Wonwoo wouldn’t progress any further for your own sake. Everything would be okay. You just kept repeating the phrase to yourself over and over like a mantra, everyday, in an attempt to convince yourself that everything would, in fact, be okay one day.

But little did you know, everything would very much NOT be okay.

(Edited 10/30/2022)

[jjungkooksthighs]

When she scrabbles in her speech and scrambles ever closer between his legs, he laughs so darkly even the shadows lose their way around him. “If you understand, then take your fucking punishment and stop whining about it.” His hand hastens along his shaft, the wet sound of it making her cunt throb and her mouth water as she stares. “You will not have earned my forgiveness until you feel exactly I did.” He squeezes, his hand twisting up before it descends down his member, “And when I make myself come, the only thing you will be doing, Pack Omega Lily, is licking it up off my stomach and cock.” With his eyes closed, he can’t see the disappointed pout on her face. But then, he doesn’t need to have them open to know that’s what she’s doing. He’s been around her long enough- has watched her long enough- that the smallest of her habits he now has memorized as if some sacred secret that could never be forgotten. Which is why when the hand he has grabbing her chin lifts just so that he can push his thumb past her parted lips, he orders, “Suck on that like you’ll suck my cock when I’m finished.” “As you…as you wish, Pack Alpha Jungkook.” She answers obediently. She knew that when he used that title, there was no room for disobedience. None who used it when addressing him ever did. It was a title of respect. More than that, it was a title of power. No other title was coveted and revered like that of this one that was reserved only for the leader of the alphas. And likewise for her title, the overseeing and presiding leading omega. Warmth envelops his digit as she obeys without pause. And the moment she hallows her lips around him, her tongue swirling around his thumb, he tugs on his length once, twice, and then he’s coming with a loud, drawn out groan. His essence spurts from his tip like some erotic fruit, and gods, she wants to taste. He knows it. Of course he does as hot beads of his juices land all over his belly. Still, he keeps his head back and his eyes closed as he works himself through his end. She licks her lips as she ogles the way the creamy release coats his toned stomach while she leans forward, her body moving entirely on its own as she watches his cum slide between his defined abs. He hears that. And he’s not done with her yet. She still has much to atone for. “Don’t you fucking dare put your mouth on me until I tell you that you can, whore.” He rasps.

The sight of his throbbing cock tells her that he's close, and her hands twitch, the urge to push his hands off and let her take care of the rest eating away at her. No.. this.. this wasn't.. this isn't fair!! "A-alpha!" she wants to shout out, but, she's far too tired to do anything more than whisper. He doesn't pay attention to her. He knew exactly what he was doing. And fuck.. he was doing it well. "a-Aalpha.. alpha! N-no! Alpha! P-please!" She pleads him. This wasn't fair.. this wasn't fair at all! Just when she's about to shout out once more, he pushes the two fingers he has in her mouth inside roughly, gagging her for just a moment, tears springing to her eyes in the process, leaving her a whining mess on the floor. A loud whimper leaves her at the sight of his upcoming peak, and before she can even think about it, she leans forward, just about ready to lick it all of, wanting nothing more than to taste her alpha, and to earn his praise. He- he can't just do this! He.. he wouldn't go through with it, right? He'd let her do this.. he wouldn't be so mean. He'd show her some mercy.. right?.. While her eagerness did send shivers down his spine, it also stirred about the snuffed out ire once more. “Don’t you fucking dare put your mouth on me until I tell you that you can, whore.” He rasps. Before she can respond, however, she sees him tip his head back, his shoulders slinking back in the arm chair in a relaxed manner as he moans her name over and over, louder than ever. No... Her chest heaves up and down, almost furiously. He really did go through with it. Fuck.. He'd just given himself the pleasure she was supposed to, and now.. she can't do it again. No.. No! This.. this is not fair.! Before she knows it, frustration and sorrow seep through her all at once as they bubble up to the surface, escaping her in the form of a low, almost feeble growl. "Y-you're... y-you're being mean, alpha!" she growls out brattily, the sound of it rupturing the silence in the air. His eyes fly open to gaze at her with a lazy smirk, his forehead gleaming with sweat, an eyebrow raised, his head tilted to the side in an almost predatory stance, as if enjoying how frustrated she seems to have gotten. The sight of it has arousal and frustration swimming through her all at once. "Y-you can't just do this!" Her lips tremble as she stares him in the eye, and she can't help but want to cry at how he simply arches an eyebrow at her, barely acknowledging her. However, tears don't make their way down her face. She's far too angry, frustrated and utterly shocked to cry. That in itself riles her up even more. He couldn't just do this! No! Her hands ball up into tiny fists as she weakly pushes against his chest while she throws a tiny tantrum on the carpeted floor below him. He doesn't seem to appreciate it, but, she doesn't seem to notice. A low growl leaves him in warning, but, she pays no heed to it. "N-not fair, alpha!" she cries out, a quiet shriek leaving her frustrated form, pushing against his chest once more, but to no avail. He was far too strong for her to be able to move with a mere flick of her wrist.. "T-this is not f-fair!.. not fair, alpha.. y-you're.. no!.. " she rambles with shrieks and a frustrated pout as she glares up at him. "not fair!"

What had been a flare of amusement in his eye had soon become a storm as anger takes him over. The more she whines out, the more palpable that emotion becomes as those eyes of his become dark and clouded by fury's pitch.

"Not fair?" The vocables are heavy and pelt her more than any rain could. "You dare say that this was unfair, whore? After everything you have done to me?" He jams another finger between her lips, his soiled hand releasing itself from his cock to wrap around her throat unforgivingly. "You do not get to say that to me after all of that." He closes his hand tight around her neck. "You did not deserve to pleasure me. And you know, I was going to consider letting you taste me, but after this display?" He lifts his lips to bare his teeth, "I think not."

[maletfsstories]

The International ("Soju 🇰🇷")

Requested By linxiaopei

"Newcastle"

-"You are here" Said Matt’s boss in a drunken tone as Matt walked towards the table his boss and some coworkers were seated in.

-"Jesus Christ how much have you guys drunk already" Said Matt as he sat down and observed a mountain of empty shots and beer mugs.

 

-"Not enough and you haven’t had any yet" One of Matt’s coworkers said as he continued drinking from his mug.

-"If you guys forgot I'm the one driving all of you home so I can't drink" Said Matt rather tired as he wanted to be at home instead of in a bar filled with drunk and obnoxious people.

-"Just buy yourself one and bring us another round of beers" Said Matt's boss as he passed him a coupon for a free drink.

 

Matt begrudgingly got up from his seat and walked towards a small area where a female bartender was passing a few drinks to a waiter.

-"Hello Sir how may I help you?" Asked the bartender as she pushed a menu in front of Matt.

Matt turned around and counted the number of people that were seated around his boss.

 

-"Could you give me four pints of beer please?" Said Matt as he looked back towards the bartender.

-"Sure" Said the bartender as she rapidly started to fill four large glass mugs with beer.

-"You seem a little stressed sir, are you alright?" Said the bartender once she noticed Matt's blatantly obvious impatient demeanor.

 

-"Sorry, the thing is that I shouldn't be here at all" Said Matt with a little bit of anger in his voice.

-"Same here, today is my first day on the job and I already want to call it quits" Said the bartender as she placed the first mug of beer in front of Matt.

-"Why haven't you?" Asked Matt

-“Even though I don't like large crowds and this bar is the worst I at least get more than the minimum wage” Said the bartender as she placed the second mug of beer in front of Matt.

 

-"So are you going to continue working here for the rest of your life?" Asked Matt

-"Not at all, I'm working here to pay for my studies, unlike the rest of my family I prefer to work for my stuff” said the bartender as she placed the third mug of beer in front of Matt.

-"Your family is rich?" asked Matt with little intrigue in his voice.

 

-"Yup, they are a bunch of snobbish idiots, my father doesn't work because he inherited a lot of money from our estate and my brother is an influencer who wins a lot of money by posting revealing images of his gym routines on his Instagram" Said the bartender as she stopped filling the last mug of beer and turned back to face Matt directly.

-“Wow, I can't imagine you see your family very often" Said Matt

-“No I don’t, my father lives in our family estate which I don’t normally visit and my brother is currently traveling around the world with his group of roided meatheads”. Said the bartender as she rolled her eyes.

 

-"It must be a fun life, kind of wish mine was like that" Said Matt with a little bit of melancholy in his voice

-"It does seem desirable but I frankly believe in working hard for one’s stuff" Said the bartender with a smile on her face.

-"What are you studying?" Asked Matt as he made himself comfortable in a small seat placed in front of the bartender's workstation.

 

-'' I'm studying accounting at Newcastle University" Said the bartender.

-"Well I'm an accountant ..." Said Matt with a small amount of surprise in his voice.

-"Really? How is the job? I mean I love the classes I'm seeing but I don't know anything about how to apply them in a real-life scenario" Said the bartender with a glee in her eyes.

 

-"Well I've been an accountant for the last five years and believe me when I say that the scenarios in class are way easier than the ones I've experienced in the job, it's hard and complicated but I still kind of like what I do" Said Matt in an attempt to reassure the bartender's career choice.

-"Why are you taking so much!"

Matt turned around and saw his drunk boss moving slowly towards him.

 

-"Sorry I was just speaking to the bartender," Said Matt as his boss leaned on the bar, meanwhile the bartender immediately completed filling the last mug of beer and placed it in front of Matt.

Matt's boss looked at the four beers and immediately frowned -"Where the hell is yours?" He asked.

-"Sir I can't drink I'm driving you and everyone else home" said Matt in an attempt to stop his boss's insistence.

-"Nonsense, just drink a small bit, that's all I'm asking from you" Matt's boss said as he moved closer towards him.

Matt momentarily looked at the bartender as she grabbed the smallest glass size possible, while she was doing that Matt looked at the menu that had been placed earlier in front of him.

In the meantime, Matt's boss rapidly drank his beer and walked away toward his table with the other three that were left.

-"Is this good?" Asked the Bartender as she showed Matt the small glass, Matt immediately looked up and nodded.

-"Do you have something that is similar to vodka but isn't that powerful?" Asked Matt as his boss approached him again.

-"Well, we do have Soju, it's from South Korea and it's in a way an exact match to Vodka, the only difference is that it's mildly less alcoholic, will that do?" Asked the bartender.

-"Please give me one in the small glass you showed me earlier" Said Matt as his boss was now standing next to him.

-"What did you order?" Asked Matt's boss.

-"I ordered some vodka" Lied Matt.

-"Wow Matt, I thought you didn't want to get drunk tonight" Said Matt's boss as he laughed like a clown.

In the meantime, the Bartender had poured Matt's drink from a small green bottle with Korean lettering onto a small transparent glass.

-"I hope you enjoy it sir" Said the Bartender as she placed the drink in front of Matt.

-"Here goes nothing" Though Matt as he swallowed every drop of Soju in an instant, because of this he immediately felt a burning sensation in his throat, luckily it wasn't as bad as the one produced by drinking vodka.

Matt then gave the empty glass to the Bartender and looked at his boss. -"Are you happy now?" Asked Matt with a little sarcasm in his voice.

-"Where is the fun in only one?" Asked Matt's boss.

-"You can't be serious, do you want me to get arrested" Said Matt in a raised tone of voice as he was tired of being pushed around by his middle age child of a boss.

-"Don't you dare to speak to me that way, I'm your boss, if you don't drink another shot I'll fucking fire you" Said Matt's boss in an aggressive tone.

Matt momentarily looked at the bartender who had a sad expression on her face while still having the green bottle of soju between her hands.

-"Another one please," said Matt as he finally relented to his boss's order.

The bartender immediately grabbed the empty glass and filled it with the crystalline liquid -"Here you are sir" said the bartender as she passed the drink to Matt.

As Matt grabbed the glass and drank its contents he wished he could end it all, to have a new life where he didn't have a boss or any type of responsibilities.

Once Matt placed the empty glass in front of him the bar where he was in seemed to disappear and was rapidly replaced by the interior of a luxury hotel room.

-"What the hell" Said Matt in a worried tone as he was about to get up from the bed he had suddenly materialized in, before Matt could completely get out of the bed a strange pain made his stop.

This pain was due to Matt's five feet nine stature increasing to six feet three, while that was happening Matt's slim build changed into a more muscular one. His flat chest developed a pair of juicy and muscled pecs, down below in Matt's stomach a few small tires of fat were rapidly removed out of existed which left him with a flat surface that was rapidly replaced by the growth of a six-pack.

Meanwhile, in Matt's skinny arms his biceps, triceps, and forearms grew as new muscle mass filled them, a few veins also appeared here and there, as that was happening Matt's back also became incredibly shredded.

While all the changes to Matt's upper body were occurring all the healthy patches of hair that covered the majority of his body disappeared leaving him completely waxed.

As the majority of Matt's upper body had gone through a certain amount of changes the next area to change was his lower body.

At first in Matt's pelvic area his equipment grew larger and larger. This made him immediately aroused as a moan escaped from his mouth, this moan however was very masculine and in a way, it sounded like that of a huge beast.

When Matt's dick reached the ten-inch mark his ass became the next target of the changes, it grew until what was left was a perfect round and bouncy bubble, then Matt's thighs and calves grew larger leaving him with a pair of powerful legs.

Because of the new growth in muscles around Matt's body, his clothes became extremely strained, as Matt suddenly moved his clothes finally gave in, they broke into small pieces which immediately disappeared, the larger pieces which were still attached to his body also disappeared leaving him completely naked.

A few seconds after Matt's clothes had disappeared a pair of black underwear and black swimming shorts now covered his private area while still leaving his upper body completely exposed.

-"Shit" Said Matt out loud as he noticed his new body and the weird clothing that had replaced his shirt and dress pants.

While Matt continued looking he felt a weird sensation as his face lots its Caucasian features which were replaced by more Eastern Asian ones

Matt's lips inflated only a small bit, his nose became fair and straight, his eyes became slightly slanted and his pupils became dark in coloration, the last thing to change was Matt's hair, it became coal black and his previously office neutral haircut was replaced by a more trendy one.

With the changes now complete Matt got up from the bed he was laying in and grabbed an ultra-modern Samsung phone that was placed on a sleeping table next to the bed.

Matt unlocked the phone with his new face and immediately opened the camera, he was obviously shocked and amazed at the beautiful young Asian face that was looking back at him.

-"너무 이상해" (This is so weird) Said Matt in fluent Korean with his new deep voice, the Adonis looking back at him through the camera shared nothing in common with his old nerdy self, the only thing that was the same was the pair of black glasses he was still wearing.

After exploring his new face with the camera for a little more Matt finally decided to look at Instagram for any info about his new self, Matt opened the personal profile which had the name "Gan Sangwook" displayed next to a picture of Matt's new self flexing with a dumb grin plastered on his face.

Matt after looking at the name and picture also noticed that the new him had a following of almost a million people and that his account was verified meaning that he was relatively famous and well known.

Matt then proceeded to scroll down, as he did he saw dozens of images of the new him working out in gyms surrounded by similarly muscled men, there were also some pictures of him in different locations from around the world and a few pictures were modeling and sponsor type posts.

As Matt continued looking at the pictures a new personality and identity became more dominant in his head, during the process of Matt's old life and memories being eliminated the door of his hotel room opened with a loud bang.

With the door now wide open a group of five heavily muscled Korean men entered the room, Matt remembered seeing some of these men in the Instagram profile but now he somehow recognized all of them and felt a deep personal connection with them.

-"이봐, 여기서 뭐해? 늦었 어. 해변에 가야 해" (Hey dude what are you doing here, it's late. We should be on the beach) Said the bigger of them as the others around him cheered with their deep dumb sounding voices.

-"해변 친구들을 위해 준비된 것 외에 제 인스 타 그램을보고 있었어요" (I was looking at my Instagram, other than that I'm ready for the beach dudes) Said Matt as he started flexing his muscles, the men he now recognized as his gym crew also started flexing their muscles.

-"그럼 가자!" (Then let's go!) Said another one of the muscled men as Matt got up from the bed and walked with the men through the large hallways of the most luxurious resort in Jeju Island.

After a short elevator ride, Matt or Gan Sangwook walked with his friends toward the private beach owned by the resort.

-"수영하러 가기 전에 여러분 사진을 제 인스 타 그램에 올려도 될까요?" (Dudes before we go swimming can I post a picture of all of you to my Instagram?) Asked Gan as he and his crew were a few feet away from the sea.

All of the men said yes and Gan got into position, once he took a few hundred pictures he posted the one he thought looked the best with the caption "해변 준비 😎💪🏻" (Ready for the beach)

After Gan took the picture he continued walking toward the sea, as he did the last vestiges of his old identity of a thirty-year-old British accountant were eliminated what was left was in its place was Gan Sangwook, a young and muscled South Korean jock whose only worry in the world was to keep his body in shape and his one million Instagram followers happy.

[qslovebot]

KISS FOR YOUR LIFE: SPENCER REID

Summary: A BAU case leads the reader to take on an undercover role to flush out a ten-person mafia. Before the work can begin, things go awry and the reader has to improvise and pretend to seduce Spencer to keep her cover and arrest the real unsub.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings/includes: talk of murder, mentions of sex, suggested past experiences with misogyny, suggestive jokes, unsub is a radical feminist, swearing, arrests, guns, making out, sort of fluffy end.

Word Count: 4159

A/N: Written like an episode. I removed Rossi so... AU? First actual fanfic on here, tell me what you think?

Today was your first official day at the BAU, switching from two floors down as an underestimated agent to upstairs, with the Big League. Agent Hotchner decided he needed new, young-minded blood. He was notorious for picking the best of the best and after an intimidating interview with him and his brooding questions, he decided he wanted you on his team.

You had been here before, of course. You frequently visited the ever-chatting Penelope Garcia for lunch, sometimes in her office, sometimes heading downstairs for a slice of pizza or a salad. She vented about her issues, while you talked about the constant misogyny that ran through the men on your floor. She was five years older than you and decided that as your 'elder' she would put on the angry soccer mom look and kick their asses. But, lucky for you, two floors upward, the men didn't act like children on the job, so Garcia could keep her regular look.

Here it was, glass entrance, high ceilings. The air smelled like paper and was filled with a fresh sort of low mumbling and the small clicks of the keyboards. A semi-fresh start. Today you would organize your new desk, sort files, meet the others...

"Agent (Y/L/N), we have a case in Boston, we will be briefed on the jet. Get your things ready, we leave in twenty-five minutes," Agent Hotchner said as he walked by. He didn't stop for a single second, those dark dress shoes clomping heavily to the desks of your new fellow agents to inform them as well. So much for your plans.

Not wanting to appear unready, you rushed to set your things down and grab the few things you needed for the case. Hotchner had said always bring three spare outfits rolled to the smallest packing size possible, toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, and feminine hygiene products) as well as one extra pair of shoes. Those were already packed into a small bag, so in with those went your notebook, pens, and highlighter. You came prepared, so in no time, you were on the jet for the first time, exhilarated.

A hand was extended to you when you took your seat. It belonged to a man with caramel skin and a dazzling smile, "You must be (Y/L/N). The name is Derek Morgan." Anyone who used 'the name is' seemed like they felt superior in some way. It was used in the media to introduce someone of importance. 'The name is Bond, James Bond', ran through your head as you gratefully shook his hand.

"My name is Emily Prentiss and I... didn't quite catch your first name," a woman with a v-neck sweater also reached to shake your hand. "I think I may have heard it, but I must have forgotten."

"(Y/N)," you replied with a small smile. It felt nice to be greeted with kind eyes, rather than greedy ones. "It's not a very memorable name, don't worry."

Emily looked apologetic, but soon reverted to her previous smile. I was greeted by the blonde woman across the aisle, too far to shake my hand. "My name is Jennifer Jareau, I'm the media liaison, but you can call me JJ, everyone does. It's really great to meet you- for a moment I thought Penelope had made up a friend as a result of too many hours in front of a screen."

You laughed a little, ruffling your hair. She seemed outgoing, but I had already started profiling Derek Morgan and I wanted to stop there. Agent Hotchner sat down with someone I had never noticed on my visits to Penelope. I had noticed everyone else here on this jet at least once before, but... not him. How had you missed him?

He stood at about six-one, maybe six-two? He was thin, much the opposite to Morgan's greatly muscular arms. This man was calm-looking, quiet. His clothes said that maybe he was meticulous and orderly- he looked like the kind of person who didn't own a single pair of sweatpants. His face was chiselled, with a sharp jawline and cheekbones that carved the shadows on his face. His eyes, however, were much softer. Long eyelashes and dark eyes made them bigger, but they were slightly blocked by bronze-toned brown curls that at the end of his combed and gelled hair, wrapped around his jaw, neck, and face.

He was beautiful, if you were entirely frank with yourself.

And he didn't even notice you were there until Hotchner nudged his arm in a way that said 'say hello' the same way one would introduce two toddlers. You were sure you weren't a toddler and nor was this man, but it appeared you both may have been the youngest there.

When he looked your way, you wanted to look away, but couldn't. He seemed surprised to see you there and you were trying to play off the staring by introducing yourself. "Hi, I'm SSA (Y/N) (Y/L/N). I don't think we've met, it's nice to meet you." You extended your hand and he just shook his head no, his lips pressing into a tight line.

He didn't shake hands, you realized. Probably a slight germophobe. You cleared your throat, "I'm sorry if that was an uncomfortable gesture, I didn't know." Humiliating.

The tall man opened his mouth to say something, shut his mouth, opened it again but then turned a little pink and sat down immediately next to Hotchner and stared at his hands that were folded in his lap. You had thought you nailed pretty much every introduction, but this one? Fuck.

You reverted back to your business with a sigh, patting your knees. It felt like you had somehow lost something. JJ whispered to you, silently pointing to the tall man, "Dr. Spencer Reid, human encyclopedia, dictionary, and knows pretty much everything." You nodded a thank you and she nodded back.

Derek Morgan, however, tapped Emily Prentiss on the shoulder and mumbled, "Reid did his 'pretty-girl-freakout'."

Emily gasped, "Oh, he did!

The two seemed to have forgotten you were in front of them and they noticed your confusion in unison, both of them freezing up and chuckling nervously. You smiled an extremely awkward smile and left thinking about Dr. Spencer Reid for later as you got to the case.

This was about a female mafia boss who seemed to take on the personality, style, and characteristics of the taste of rich men and kill them after having sex with them. The woman was reported and seen by one witness to see her and that was the only person outside of this mafia who had seen her face, so they were working with the sketch artist and would have the picture ready and accurate upon our arrival.

Victimology was simple, she was after men who had too much power. She probably identified with being a radical feminist. She was after their money and had sex with them to dethrone them on the way. Possibly bordered on a personality disorder considering she seemed to be entirely all-in to her 'disguises'.

The funniest thing was the way they all looked at you when you announced those lines. Perhaps you would work yourself out of the 'child' stage faster than you thought.

The BAU hit the precinct in much less time than I had expected and on the ground, running. You were immediately given things to do and you were on top of it all, every order. That was until the drawing of the Mafia leader AKA 'The Seductress' was pulled up and the whole BAU gasped at how she looked EXACTLY like you.

"Do I need my cuffs?" Morgan joked. You had covered your mouth in disbelief and the rest of the room was doing double-takes.

You laughed nervously, "I swear... that isn't me, but oh my god..." Morgan was laughing and Emily and JJ whispering and had confused smiles. Spencer Reid stood in the corner, his hand on his cheek, seemingly studying the photo. He looked statue-like, borderline godly.

"Can this be used to our advantage?" Hotch launched back into technical thinking, brow furrowed. You looked at him, mouth open, but immediately shut it out of professionalism. What was going on in his head?

Reid spoke up, "If we position her just right and at the right time in one of the hotspots for that group, we can possibly get her to somehow trick the other members into some sort of turn-in."

Her. Indirect. Did you do something wrong?

"Or a simple appearance could start gossip and a possible flock to where she was spotted. As long as people aren't seeing double or reaching to do so, she can play as The Seductress." Emily said, looking at you. "Are you up to try, (Y/L/N)?"

All eyes on you. Your first day turned to chaos. But this was your job and you would prove your place here. So you agreed and in a whisk of an afternoon, you were transformed into the mirror image of The Seductress while you were talked through the plan through a radio. Turned out, so prove a professional place, you needed to make yourself look ridiculously unprofessional.

Pinned up hair, dark cat eye makeup, a dress similar to hers that happened to be on hand. Long, deep red, with a long slit up the side and your tits were practically falling out of it, but the dress fit and they were secure, so you dealt with it. There was no other space for a gun other than the side of your thigh where The Seductress kept hers knife. Now, you had to get going, meaning you had to face the BAU in the getup.

When you walked out, Derek Morgan hooted and whistled and Emily gave him a look that said 'oh lord' like an annoyed sibling. You smiled a little and essentially just kept walking, figuring if you moved, it would give them less time to stare at your tits.

Turning the corner, you noticed that Dr.Spencer Reid was much redder than he had been earlier on the jet. So maybe he really did think you were pretty. You caught yourself smiling at the thought, but shook your head free of any ideas. Professional! No crushes on Spencer Reid!

You arrived near the scene, dropped off by Hotchner. "You know what to do. Reid will be going with you to the crateyard, he will also be nearby when you head in. If you see The Seductress, do not make the arrest. If you can, lure her."

You nodded. Wow, first time in the field with the BAU and you had the leading role. No pressure, no pressure, just... everyone depending on you. But the pressure came back when you realized you had heard right and Reid was going with you, alone. You had done really well with the job so far today, minus finding the tall doctor extremely attractive. He came to stand beside you and since he was much taller than you were, you were sure he could look right down your dress without even trying. Not like anyone had to try, but he had the upper hand.

You ached to cover yourself, but that was a major risk. The Seductress was confident, she wouldn't cover-up. You got into the tinted car with Reid, him in the driver's seat and you in the passenger's seat. Silence crept up, but he turned the engine over and headed east to where the mafia was to meet up.

"Some first day," you mumbled nervously.

Reid seemed to think you had said something to him and he talked to you directly for what seemed like the first time. "P-pardon?" He had a stutter when talking to you and to be honest it was cute but there was no time to crush!

"Oh, I was just remarking to myself on how this is my first day and I'm already... so... out there." You sighed and pat your knees. The jitters crept up, but so did butterflies. "Nervous, I'm nervous."

He looked over and swallowed hard, so hard it was audible. Was he fighting the same urge to be friendlier or was he just fighting the urge to look at your tits like a twelve-year-old boy would? Either way, you were glad he was with you. He smelled like books, leather, and cologne and it was oddly calming.

You reached the other side of the crateyard in a few more minutes and he handed you your gun, which you shoved into the holster on your thigh. "You're going without a vest so... k-keep focused," Spencer said- and it seemed like he had so many words jumbled on the tip of his tongue, but refused to say them. You thought he was afraid to annoy you, as you knew he liked to give lengthy explanations. "I'll be behind, uh- the crates."

You smiled at him and watched him look away, his curls falling in his face. God, he was so gorgeous. If this went wrong, you were glad you would go with that shy look of his in the front of your mind. He pulled on his vest and you put out a hand and stopped him. "If they see you with the vest at all, in any way, they'll know what's happening."

He nodded, keeping his eyes from yours as he pulled on a plain black jacket over the vest. For a genius, he seemed to have his mind a little fuzzy tonight. In the dark of the night, the only lights were flickering lamps on high-beamed poles. Your heart was beating hard as you waited for the signal to begin to move.

"G-good luck," Spencer's words fumbled out of his mouth and I looked at him for a moment where he looked right back at you. He chewed on his bottom lip, eyelids fluttering as you tried to look anywhere else and there it was- the radio signal. The tension that was there in that brief moment defused. You gave him a small smile before opening the car door and standing tall, in the aura of The Seductress.

Spencer waited until you were out between the crates to leave the car. You heard the door shut gently behind you, but his footsteps were silent. Much quicker than you thought, there was a gruff voice that didn't belong to Spencer. "My lady, may I say what an honour it is to have you join us this evening." You spun to face a man in a dark suit. You didn't have The Seductress's voice, so you nodded in the most gracious way you could.

"Bernard and Lolita are waiting inside the abandoned building for the small exchange as well as the rest of us, but Mamacita... you're being tailed by the FBI." He said, pointing to the crate that hid Dr. Spencer Reid. Fuck, fuck, fuck. "I'll go kill him for you!"

So flat out, he wanted to kill Spencer Reid, a rotting smile on his face as if it was an act of kindness. He knew Spencer was there, he saw... but you weren't busted? God, this man was stupid.

"No," you said, in a quiet, yet strong voice, grabbing the gruff man by the shoulder pad. "He is my kill."

The man grinned an evil grin and you did your best to smile evilly in return. You showed him your gun and he rubbed his palms together. "The gluck and Glock," he chuckled. "Can I watch?"

He thought you were going to fuck and kill Spencer. Your heart skipped a beat and you tried hard not to show it. Oh no... how to work your way out of this... Spencer couldn't help you. Or... could he?

You glared at the man, "No, but I know that his team is on the way. Get Bernard, Lolita, and anyone else in on the next killings from that abandoned building and run straight west. Do not stop. I will catch up to you once I'm finished with the agent here." You improvised the best you could and this stupid man bought it. Little did he know that the team was stationed Westbound.

"Got it," his face was dazed and malevolent. "But I'm not leaving until I know you've got this handled, my lady."

"You question my skill?" You shot back, still acting.

He looked scared for a moment, "No, not at all, I just... You're a lot shorter than I was expecting."

You stared daggers, "And you insult me?"

"Just wanted to know you had it covered... in case something is fishy here..." was he really catching on or was he confused and just running through the precautions?

Fuck, you had been so focused on the cover you forgot you were a profiler. This man was small-minded, probably brought into this ordeal through family ties. Since he was so stupid, he was trusted with less... hence why he was outside the building as the lookout, rather than in on the meeting.

Why he wouldn't leave- he was so incapable of proper interaction he had never had the chance to be with a woman. Watching was the only way he would ever see. He was stupid and he was stubborn. He was not going to leave until he saw the beginning.

The best thing would be to let him stay for proof. "Fine. But when I give you my look, you run and get everyone running straight West." You narrowed your eyebrows at him and he looked like he was going to sweat out of his skin. But... this meant...

You had a few seconds, you rushed over to behind the crate to where Spencer stood, his gun in hand. "W-what are you-" he questioned in a whisper-yell.

"He's onto me, I need you to go along with this- can I kiss you, Dr.Reid?" You whispered back. His eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed pink. Once again, being professional called for being unprofessional. You really didn't want to kiss him- at least not now, not like this. He wouldn't speak and the mafia man was coming. "Reid, if I don't do this, he won't flush the group West and we'll both be shot and if not shot, targeted by a mafia!"

"Y-yes!" he practically squeaked, his back to the crate he was hiding behind. This really was the only way- this other man would not be talked down, because he was taught to just shoot, rather than listen and understand. "I'm sorry if I-"

You cut him off by reaching up, grabbing the collar of his shirt and kissing him. It took him a moment, but he kissed back. You could feel the heat off of his cheeks. The first day on the job, you had embarrassed yourself, gotten dressed like a Mafia killer, played the part, and now you were kissing Dr.Spencer Reid in a crateyard... and he was surprisingly not a bad kisser. He was a little sloppy the first few seconds but moments later, he figured it out. His one hand went on your jaw, the other on your waist, both of them shaking. You could tell that the shaking wasn't because the man watching you both right now had a gun, it was you.

You were making out with him, hard. Your body was pressed to his tightly against the crate and Spencer was holding you there. Your hands were still gripping his shirt. Messy altogether but your lips met in every perfect way. It was good, but for work. This was when you knew to stop- you had convinced the other man. You pulled away, turned your head and mouthed to the mafia man, 'GO' and he ran.

Now things would be extremely awkward. You pushed yourself away from Spencer whose hands stayed on your waist and face until you were entirely out of his reach. You laughed anxiously and he stood there, hands behind his back. That was... that was wow, but... it was for the case. For the case.

It was time to get moving. Spencer knew it, you knew it. The real Seductress was on her way. You turned your head over your shoulder and he was moving slowly, head down. You fought off a small smile. He was entirely red, gun still held loosely in his hand.

You turned your head and were met by a sharp blow to the face. Both of you had let your guard down. Stupid.

"I don't like impostors," said the female voice that was the source of the blow. Hell, it was her. Spencer clocked his gun into place and you turned, elbowing The Seductress in the chest. She returned with another hard blow that you ducked, spinning around her and kicking the back of her leg. She recovered quickly and shot up, punching you in the stomach. You lost your breath for a second and she took the opportunity to punch you in the jaw and pull a knife.

"Put the knife down!" Spencer called. His voice was stronger facing a woman with a sharp knife than it was when talking to you alone. "I know who you are, you want what's right for women, correct?"

The Seductress narrowed her eyes at him like her next meal, leaving you on the ground. Would Spencer shoot if she threw that knife? Odd she didn't have a gun on her. She must have been relying on the others for more protection. You stood up quietly, watching her slowly advance on Spencer. He had your lipstick smeared over his lips, he looked rough, but he held his gun out in front of him and had the other hand up to reason with her. "Men like you think yourselves above women. You, FBI, you think yourself better than men and women alike because you're the authority. Tell me, how do you like your women, Agent?"

He gulped, eyes flickering to you. You pulled out your gun. "I think... I think I'm a weak man and I'm no better than anyone. I don't deserve women." Spencer said, looking at the evil lady. In person, she looked a lot less like you.

"Lies. It's the instinct of men to feel superior to women. You'll have a lot less instinct when you're dead!" She snarled, lunging at him with her blade out. You pulled the trigger, she fell to the ground. Not dead, but wounded to pass out. Spencer narrowly jumped out of her way, watching her knife clatter to the ground.

You looked up at Spencer, bewildered. You had done it. You saved the case, took down a murderous mafia boss. It was only when Spencer pointed at your face and said, "Y-you're bleeding, (Y/N), are you okay?"- that you noticed your cut lip and the blood pouring from your forehead. But you also noticed he called you by your first name.

He reached a hand forward but retracted it when you winced from the sudden pain. Adrenaline took the pain away temporarily, you supposed. There were still things to be done. Spencer called for backup and a medic and watched as you cuffed the woman. She wasn't going to die, but she did need help.

Once medics arrived, Spencer drove you both back to the Westward situation, where ten arrests had been made. You were in a state of haze, so how Spencer's jacket got around your shoulders was a mystery. When you stepped out of the car, you were greeted by the rest of the agents.

"Are you okay?!" Prentiss was the first to greet you both. She grabbed you by the shoulders and looked at the nearly-dried blood on your skin. "We got worried when you didn't follow soon after, you got her?"

"Yeah," you smiled tiredly.

She grinned back. "Fill us in on the details on the way back, okay? Let's get you two cleaned up."

But Derek Morgan found Spencer, "Hey pretty-boy, is that royal rouge you've got on your lips there?" he teased. Spencer panicked and looked into the mirror of the nearest car, seeing that he did in fact have your lipstick on his mouth. He tried to wipe it off with his wrist, but it still stained. You wiped your own lip with your thumb and Derek caught you. "Okay, Miss Newbie, I see you."

Your eyes widened and Emily raised her eyebrows at you, a teasing smile on her lips. "It was to keep my cover. It's what sent those guys your way, one of them has serious sexual issues." You made sure they knew it- to save yourself and to save Spencer. Derek Morgan spun away with a huge knowing grin, back to Hotchner who was conversing with the Chief of Police. Emily pulled you away to the other medics and you shot Spencer a smile as you went.

He smiled back, still wiping off his mouth.

-tags

@ellyhotchner @softhairedhotch <3

[spacetimewraithwrites-archive]

Excerpt Partners III

(tw: nudity, drug and sex mention)

↳ "Where's Maura?"

Reagan's bedroom had been stuffed to the rafters with cardboard boxes of all sizes. Boxes strewn across the bed, stacked on the floor, balancing precariously on the end tables and vanity. None of them labeled, some of them opened, and all of them full of what appeared at first glance to be photographs. Ben peered into one perched on the bed, next to a black box that appeared to be the smallest one in the room.

"A party, I think," Reagan said with a tired sigh.

Ben looked at him carefully. "What kinda party we talkin' about here?"

"Oh, you know. Lots of cocaine, lots of sex. I miss it so I'm living vicariously through her."

"Ha ha," Ben droned. "Not that you've quit the sex parties in any shape or form."

Reagan waggled his eyebrows, pulling a cigarette out of a pack from his back pocket. He stuck it in his mouth and gave Ben a pointed squint, holding his lighter out to him.

Ben rolled his eyes. He snatched the lighter, bringing the flame he produced to the end of the cigarette. "I thought you said you were quitting again."

"I thought you said you were shut up."

"I don't think I ever said that."

"Want one up your nose?" Reagan grinned, exhaling smoke out of the side of his mouth and pocketing the lighter. "Maybe twist it around a bit, get it straight to the brain, cut out the middle man? Hm?"

Ben made a face. "You say such sweet things…"

Reagan turned to navigate the wall of boxes in search of his wardrobe. "Help me sort these photos."

With a concerned glance at the boxes on the bed and a quick rifle through an open one, Ben's eyes widened. "Are all of these…of you?"

"Yeah. Promotional shots and the like." Reagan took a white lounge shirt from the wardrobe and draped it on a stack of boxes so he could remove the red button-down he had on. "I didn't know I'd been accumulating them until I tried to find one to show Maura. Now it just looks like I love myself a little bit."

Picking up a box from the floor, Ben scoffed and dropped onto the bed. "You love yourself, alright. Often."

Reagan finished changing and joined Ben in their quest to sort the possibly hundreds of photos. They worked in silence, other than when Reagan explained the occasional bizarre magazine photoshoot or movie promotion that went unpublished. A particularly lengthy period of quiet continued until Ben caught sight of the black box again.

"Why does this box look different?" he asked, grabbing it and bringing it onto his lap.

Reagan froze. "Uh…"

Flipping the lid up, Ben didn't even realize what was inside at first. It just did not register. He did not, could not fathom the idea that at any point in his life he would find himself looking at photos of Reagan's naked body. Some of him reclined on a chaise, some of him posed with the grace and power of a Greek statue, some of him in an erotic embrace with beautiful but unfamiliar female models, equally nude. Professionally shot and quite stunning, if he did say so himself, but without a lick of covering save for a few where Reagan had a silk sheet hung loosely across his lap as he stretched over a stone bench.

When it finally clicked, Ben's brain nearly ruptured. He recalled a conversation they'd had many years ago, when he threatened a world of hurt if Reagan ever did nude shoots, coming from a place of worry that his best friend had started to become an exhibitionist. He remembered very clearly that Reagan imbued him with a cryptic smile in response and walked away.

"You really did do one of those shoots," Ben muttered, stunned. He couldn't pry his stare away.

"Mm." Reagan went back to sorting. "Twenty-four of them, actually." He pretended to ignore the strangled noise from Ben. "Haven't done one in years, though."

Ben shuffled through the photos, already somewhat acclimated to seeing more of Reagan than he'd seen in quite some time. "...Oh, look at her."

He'd stopped at an image shot from above of Reagan laying with a brunette, his head resting handsomely on her stomach as she cradled him close to her. Her hand was splayed out across the back of his right shoulder, covering an indecipherable black shape that he quickly determined wasn't an error in the photo development.

"...What's that?"

"That would be my penis," Reagan muttered without breaking his concentration.

"Fuck—no," Ben snapped, startled. "No, this. On your back." He flashed the photo at Reagan.

Reagan did a strange double-take. He squinted again, lifting his eyes from the picture to meet Ben's expectant stare, hesitating as if he wasn't sure how to answer. "Probably a smudge on the film."

Ben watched his behavior with growing suspicion. "...You're gonna tell me or I'll be forced to see it. Either way, I'll find out." He picked up where he left off. "These are very well done anyway, Reagan. Very tasteful. They paired you up with some very pretty women." He pulled another handful from the box. "How'd you manage not to completely humiliate yourself with some of these—"

He halted. One of the photos he uncovered boasted a very noticable difference than the rest—Reagan sitting against a blank wall, cigarette held between two fingers, a knee drawn up with another pair of broad shoulders lying on his leg. An arm draped across a flat chest sprouted with generous curls, a well-groomed mustache and slicked-back hair.

"That's…" Ben said, and he didn't know how he'd managed to round up enough voice to exit his face. He leaned to peer into the box again, seeing more and more masculine bodies as he removed them. "...Y'got some dicks in here, Reg."

"So what?" Reagan had turned to look at him again early on, almost gauging his reaction.

"...So…" Ben cleared his throat in what he hoped was a casual manner. When he spoke again, he sounded softer than he intended. "...If there's somethin' you wanna tell me, I want you to know that I love you no matter what—"

"Oh, give me a break," Reagan laughed, more amused than defensive. "They're just photos. I like celebrating the human body. The only difference between those and the ones with the girls is the sex of the person I'm posing with."

Ben looked down at the ones in his hand. The photo on top of the stack was in black and white, and showed Reagan locked in a passionate embrace with a blond man from behind, looking off-camera with half of his face buried in the crook of the man's neck. He seemed comfortable, not at all like he'd only done the shoot for a paycheck. He truly didn't have an issue with being naked around other men, touching them, and it appeared he didn't have an issue with being mistaken for someone who could find himself doing those things in a private setting.

Unsure of how that particular realization made him feel, Ben tilted his head. He then became aware that he was frowning, not in anger but in sorrow.

"...Ben?"

"They're just photos," Ben said. He reset his expression, taking up his previous task of sorting once more. "Dirty hippy."

Reagan laughed.

They resumed their silence, but Ben couldn't bring his mood back up for the rest of the day.