#i turned this into a button as a tester and it came out cute~

[kairiscorner]

miles x reader gn! or fem! idrc 🪿

can write one where reader is peaceful baking/cooking something in her apartment, but while she is baking she's dancing or singing to the music (it can be sunflower 🔥🔥🔥). Then Miles decided to visit her and caught her dancing/singing.

I'd really appreciate if you can write this 🥺🥺🥺

HELLO 🦆 omggg this is so cute WHAT hope ya like it anon :>

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

it was a slow weekend for you, and with no chores, no homework, and nothing else to catch up on and do right away, you decided to brush up on a hobby you loved–baking. your parents weren't exactly opposed to your hobby, they were just opposed to the messiness that resulted from your efforts.

however, those efforts ceaselessly yielded wonderful results; they would know, they were always your default taste-testers. however, your parents were both out of the house today, each running errands of their own. that didn't deter you from wanting to bake, though. if anything, it encouraged you to bake while they were away, to surprise them with goodies of your own at the end of the day once they came home.

you readied all the materials and ingredients you needed, and instead of a recipe, you readied a playlist of yours that was approximately three hours long. you never really used recipes, the only recipe you needed was your intuition, your gut; and your gut knew exactly what was absolutely delicious for the treats you were going to make.

you hit the shuffle button on the playlist, and as soon as the music played, you got to work immediately. it didn't take long for the music to whisk you away into your own little world, this small place for just you and your craft.

you didn't mind getting flour on yourself, spilling some milk, putting too much sugar in the bowl or accidentally adding a few bits of eggshell in the batter–these were all little mistakes that, though nobody really says it out loud, is always part of the process.

you found yourself practically skipping and dancing a few moves boldly, confidently–which were things you never usually did when there were people who would stare, who would look. but you were in the comfort of your own home, no one could possibly interrupt you now. at least... not with you realizing that someone was about to interrupt you from your dancing trance.

you were finishing up the last batch you could make for your baked goods, and as soon as you worked on that last batch, the opening beat to your favorite song–sunflower by post malone and swae lee–came on. when you heard the singer's vocalization and the rhythm you were far too familiar with, you soon lost all control and restraint that you never realized you were inflicting upon yourself and just–danced.

you danced, and that dancing soon was coupled with singing. not lip syncing, not humming, but full on singing. you were a little conscious of your voice, you were no full-fledged singer, but you were a professional shower singer--to yourself, of course. but what did it matter? you felt so free in your own space, making a mess as you waited patiently for your treats to bake and performing a whole musical number on your own; missing a few notes and mixing up the lyrics with a smile on your face and laugh escaping your throat--you were so beautiful like this.

as the song finished up and the timer on the oven dinged, you heard a faint clapping noise from the window nearby. you swiftly turned your head to that very window, and your expression became one of embarrassment as you saw--right outside your window, hanging upside down--was spider man, who was also your boyfriend, miles morales.

"man, this is one of the reasons why i love you." he said with a slight chuckle as he took off his mask and as you walked closer to him, sheepish as you didn't know how long he was there--or if you even wanted to know how long he was there. "you saw everything?" you asked with an awkward chuckle. he took off his mask and smiled at you. "every bit of it, well, when sunflower came on. now, i know it's kinda creepy, but can you blame me? i love it when you don't hold back how you feel, i never wanna interrupt you when you're happy being so... you." he confessed as you opened the window a little wider, a small gust of air came in and blew a breeze into both of your faces.

"and the other reason?" you asked as you looked into his brown, hazel eyes. he smiled up at you and put a hand to your cheek. "it's also because you make the best darn treats i've ever tasted, and will ever taste." he complimented you as his smile became a smirk, trying to get you flustered in a more gallant than cute way, but he just ended up looking cuter to you. "so... those treats..." he prompted, to which you crossed your arms and raised and eyebrow at him with a grin. "what about them?" you asked. "care to spare some for your favorite friendly, neighborhood spider man?" he asked, hopeful for your answer.

"hmm, maybe..." you said as you scrolled through your playlist on your phone and pressed the song sunflower again. "but come in here, you aren't eating outside. and besides..." you said as you pulled him closer to your face. "...i wanna dance with you, miles." you admitted as you pulled away, leaving him in awe at just how bewitching and gorgeous you looked up close. "ah, hey! you can't just tease me like that!" he called out after you with a flustered face after he snapped out of his brief daze as he climbed in to follow you as the song played in the background, fading into the banter you two were sharing in your own little world--only with each other to think about as the rest of the world passed you two by.

a/n: i wanna bake now 🧁

tags !! @thecoolerdor @miguelswifey04 @binibinileonara @ii01vq @luvstarrstruck @maxoloqy @k4tsu3 @solecitoszn @toneystank-3000 @fictarian @zalayni

[konaharts]

Sorry for the SKT spam LOL I’m still emotionally compromised over Peanut and Sky leaving. So I’m just digging up all the cheebs I drew during LoL streams and finishing them up. /sob

[artemisbarnowl]

I look like Victoria era Baby Spice who allowed this???

I "self drafted" this pattern, which normally means just cut out rough shapes and wing it but today meant actually draw shapes on paper and then use that to cut out fabric. Well done me.

I have never gathered sleeves before, and these are only the 3rd (pair of) sleeves I've ever set, so I did a practise sleeve to test the gathering amount and shape. It was a smart choice because my original sleeve pattern was a rectangle up to elbow but based on my wrist measurement, forgetting I have forearm muscles 🙄. After the tester I made the sleeve head deeper and wider which was a good move for extra puff. The foresleeves are a little long but can be adjusted while wearing coz they're very fitted. The wrist hems (is it a wrist hem? Or is it called something else? Is it a cuff if it's not a seperate piece?) Got a bit stretched as my wrists are much narrower the machine and i had to stretch it around the machine to sew it (no i won't sew by hand don't ask) but that should be fine with a wash.

I've also never done a turtleneck before and that went pretty well (after the first attempt where I forgot to turn it right way out before attaching to bodice), it's a little wide but I dont mind that. The shoulder seams are a bit long, I gave myself a generous (for me) 1. 5cm on either side for seam allowance but then used my 'overlocker foot' and binding stitch which meant the seam allowance was way smaller. The paper pattern was actually accurate and next time I'll stick to it. I may bring in the pointy bit under the armscye in just a little.

Perhaps DON'T try to use the overlocker-like technique over gathers though, I broke my first needle into 4 pieces 😶 it was my only ballpoint so the sides were closed with a regular needle which worked fine but i know is not great practise.

The inside of this top looks the neatest of anything I've ever sewn, so this is good reinforcement for actually finishing seams. (I didn't press anything and i know it did make some things harder I just don't have room to set up the ironing board atm)

I got 2 metres of this fabric as part of a big bag that was someone's destash and I'm glad I didn't pay money for it because although it's cute, sewing with poly blend fucking sucks. There's fluff everywhere and my shit pins wouldn't have a bar of it. Also my scissors which are Very good and practical new struggled with 2 layers even though it's quite thin.

I'm very pleased finally set up my little sewing nook, and that I knocked this out in one evening. I'm going to wear it tomorrow (on Wednesdays we wear pink), even though the style is a bit unusual, I don't really care about that. I've got my sewing groove back and am very excited for when my walking foot arrives and i start The Overalls Project. That will involve 1. Wearable mock up in sturdy cotton (I will then cut to be short overalls/romper). 2. Pink cordorouy overalls. The wale on the pink cord is quite narrow so these will be a low stakes extra mock up/bonus pair that let me practise with metal buttons and handbound button holes (don't love the way my machine does it). 3. The real deal yellow overalls. Which came to me in a dream and will have a patch above the knee of the little white forest spirit from Toroto.

[chubbology]

The Munchies

prompt: a stoner feedee's girlfriend uses him to test out new edibles and deals with his munchies

Remmy returned home from visiting relatives on the last day of December, and he was very glad to be back. They’d fed him well and his pants were tight, but all the small talk and bad vibes had been as much of a drag as usual.

He opened the door to his apartment and breathed in a familiar, potent scent.

“Baby!” Brianna ran from the kitchen and tackled him.

“Happy almost New Year! Wanna hear my resolution? Baking and getting baked. Check it out.”

She brought him over to the counter, where she was almost done filling up three containers of what Remmy had no doubt were various edibles. He ignored the kitchen mess.

“I’m liking what I see,” Remmy laughed.

She preened and then pinched his love handle. “I bet you do."

"These aren’t your typical brownies, though," she said. "This is gourmet.” She kissed her fingertips in a muah.

The first container was full of moist shortbread, the second with a kind of apple crumble dish that looked divine. Last but not least, the third had a jumble of what like peanut butter cups.

“Try something!” Brianna gushed. She seemed to be a little floaty already. “You’re gonna be my new taste tester. I think I could really be good at this. Make some cash, too.”

So Remmy tried one of the peanut butter cups. His eyes widened, and he smiled. “Bri, these are incredible.” He ate another.

“Take it easy. Two should get you stoned. So says the recipe anyway.” Brianna rubbed his pudgy forearm as he eyed the rest in the container, biting the inside of his lip. “Hey. If you’re just hungry, I can fix that. You wanna eat?”

“I’m starving,” Remmy said. A lie, since he’d had a big lunch before driving back. But he could eat.

“Okay, I’ll get you something! Pay day was Monday. Let’s splurge. What do you want?”

McDonalds, Remmy’s mind supplied easily, in an almost salacious tone. His relatives thought they were too good for McDonalds, and now his body thrummed with the desire to just get a truckload of those greasy combos and revel in the guilt and satisfaction of eating every last unhealthy bite.

Then again. Brianna probably wasn’t okay to drive right now, he didn’t feel like getting back in the car, and the scale told him he’d hit 240 recently, “Let’s just order in.”

“Sounds good to me.”

That night, as they ignored the idiots on television bringing in the New Year, the two of them picked at the apple crumble - which tasted as brilliant as Remmy had suspected - and lounged around, enjoying their high. Brianna barely touched her Chinese takeout, and Remmy ate all of his. Then hers. Then he started grazing the kitchen for more food.

Over the course of the next week, the two of them finished off the rest of what she made, plus some more recipes that turned out delicious. Brianna got a pleasant high every time, and Remmy enjoyed the edibles, too, although his experience was slightly different. It was just—

He just—

He got hungry. Munchies but on unholy overdrive. Cranked to eleven and a half. With every high, Remmy became a little more overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food he felt compelled to pack away, savory and sweet. Takeout and fast food and quarts of ice cream. Nuts and fruits, too. Jar of peanut butter here. Tub of icing there. He’d never been very active, so it came as no surprise when his clothes began stretching over his chest and belly and thighs and ass. He popped a button getting dressed one morning and couldn’t stop thinking about it the rest of the day. He hadn’t realized it would happen so quickly, his body converting all the calories into flab. Flab that padded him out chubbier than he already was, and then more on top of that. In the mirror, he started to look big.

Brianna seemed unfazed by her boyfriend’s growing girth. She took to her baking resolution with as much gusto as she did anything that interested her, and even into March, April, and May, she was selling the edibles well and raked in money that almost made her day job obsolete. Remmy was constantly praised for being “the bestest taste tester ever” and enjoyed a steady stream of free highs to balance out the lows of spending most of his time working his IT job from home.

Working, gaming, watching old movies. Remmy already stayed sitting most of the day, but as he gained weight, gained a lot, filling out his desk chair to its limits, crumbs becoming his constant companion, he felt even less like standing up. His weight climbed to 280, 290, 300.

June, July, and August passed uneventfully, and pretty happily, too. Brianna stopped asking him what food he wanted from the grocery store and just bought him things. Bought him things she knew he’d eat when he got high, things that made his ass spread wider on the couch, his arms round out like sausages, his pudgy chest start to really droop. The scale said 320, 330, 340.

Remmy gave up trying to gain control of the new appetite Brianna’s heavenly edibles seemed to install in him irrevocably. When he craved, he ate, and he ate. And like a dam breaking, his body surged with so much excess fat he began spilling out of even his newest clothes.

He was a little ashamed, sure. But quite a few of his relatives were fat, so they couldn't talk, and it felt like sweet revenge to embarrass his irritating parents by becoming so overweight. As for everyday life, well, he just moved around from room to room slower, wore the same stretchy clothes a lot, and that was it. Remmy did mention his weight in passing sometimes to gauge Brianna’s feelings about it, but Brianna only ever giggled, called him cute, and passed him her venti sugary monstrosity of a coffee concoction, which he thoughtlessly sucked down to the dregs, ingesting a thousand-plus calories just like that. This made her eyes sparkle, huge and utterly endeared.

“Like a piggy,” she said, thumbing his fat cheek. “Always willing to eat.”

In bed, she made it clear she liked him the way he was, and was becoming. And it wasn’t long before Remmy realized he was into how big he was becoming, too.

They continued like this. Getting high together and watching movies and making out and snacking. Well, Brianna snacked. Remmy feasted. Gorged himself, to put it precisely, with Brianna’s enthusiastic help. “You look good soft,” she’d tell him, playing with belly fat that his stretchiest t-shirts couldn’t cover anymore.

Remmy would swallow another bite of a snickers and spread his huge thighs a little, with effort. “You call it soft, but I’m the one who gets tired moving from the office to the kitchen.” I’m so heavy, he wanted to say. God, I’m so heavy.

“Just move your computer to the kitchen then,” she said. “Duh.”

It was a seed planted that came to fruition a month later - when Remmy’s food cravings became unmanageable and his weight climbed past 360 - that he felt he would simply be more productive during his day job if his breaks to get food from the kitchen were shorter.

By November, whether he was high or not, Remmy was grazing all day, everyday. What Brianna got from the store became insufficient, and he started a habit of ordering take out most days. In big portions. His scale creaked at 375. When Brianna wasn’t home, he sometimes ate takeout on the scale to see if the number would rise.

On Remmy’s birthday in early December, Brianna made a fresh batch of his favorites again: the peanut butter cup edibles. After ordering pizza for delivery, she got in the shower, and Remmy scarfed down three of the big cups as soon as they cooled. Then he waited, leaning against the counter, scrolling on his phone, belly hanging, feet hurting. He didn’t want to go to the effort of sitting on the couch and getting back up again when he could just stay in the kitchen, where he knew he’d end up anyway.

He scratched his supple underbelly. Found a pack of Twizzlers and started eating those.

Soon enough, his breathing slowed as he felt the high slowly come over him. And, as expected, his whole body immediately began to tingle for satiation. Fattening food sung to him from the pantry and fridge and freezer all at once, and it was all going to make him so huge and heavy he wouldn’t be able to stand on his own wide feet, but he wanted it anyway.

He didn’t care if he was pushing 390 now. He’d blown up, yeah. Inflated from a thick guy to obese and waddling. At this point, he was so pumped so big with blubber that he couldn’t twitch without jiggling, but so what? He was hungry. Being high made him want to consume, and so he did. He couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to.

Remmy opened the fridge and took out his birthday cake, which Brianna must have stuck in there after getting home from work. He couldn’t wait to eat it properly. There was no way he could wait until after the pizza came. Besides, it was his birthday. Remmy took off the plastic lid of the round, triple chocolate cake and felt his nerves light up with anticipation. He was going to eat it all, and there was no stopping him.

He found a knife and cut himself a slice three times the size any reasonable person would take. Desperate to get the goodness into his mouth without delay, he skipped a fork and bit right into the gooey, dense cake and mouse and fudge. God, Brianna was so perfect for getting him the unhealthiest cake imaginable. She knew he didn’t care if he was ten pounds heavier tomorrow, if his fat ass ripped his sweatpants open, if he ate so much he couldn’t haul himself to bed—she knew he needed this.

He ate slice after slice, and it was mostly gone when Brianna got out of the shower, looking sexier than usual in her matching purple lingerie. She’d gotten chubbier with so much junk food in the apartment, and fat clung to her in all the right places. But her pudge was a far cry from his angry-red stretch marks and neck rolls. Hell, his moobs had grown bigger than her tits.

She found him in the kitchen, eating and holding his drooping belly, and she rubbed his back, cooing at him when he apologized.

“It’s okay. I figured you wouldn’t be able to wait all night. How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Remmy said, but all he could think about was getting his next bite. As she watched him, he tried to hold out. Tried to prove he could stop eating for two seconds. Three seconds, four - his resolve broke and he crammed the rest of a slice into his mouth and chewed, choking back a moan.

“You get the munchies so bad, don’t you?” Brianna grinned and leaned against his belly, patting and cupping his weighty breasts in the way she knew pleased him. “Let’s get you sat down. I’ll bring you what you need. Just sit and relax and watch whatever you want.” They moved to the couch and Remmy sat, the cushions wheezing, his thighs and belly quivering. Brianna tucked the remainder of the cake into his pudgy hands. “Don’t worry about a mess. It’s your birthday. And there’s more where that came from.” She winked. “I just needed to keep this cake refrigerated because it’s fancy. There’s a whole sheet cake on top of the fridge that’s cheap and huge. Covered in icing. Perfect for munchies.”

Remmy could only feel a wave of relief at this news. There would be more cake. And after that, there’d still be more junk in the cabinets. There was pizza coming. His high was just right. Brianna turned on the television to his favorite show and he settled further back into the cushions, feeling his second chin swell out and engulf his first. Everything was just right. He was lucky to have Brianna and food. So much food.

A year later, around the same time, Remmy skipped his usual trip to see his relatives for the holidays. At 520 pounds, it was simply too much effort to move.

*

Thank you to the reader who commissioned this work!

I'd love to write more. Check me out <3 etsy.com/shop/Chubbology

[seostudios]

we’re such a cliche - c.s

pairing: choi san x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst if you squint 

warnings: none

word count: 4.k 

synopsis: two oblivious best friends in love? one-sided. one is too shy to confess his love the other is ashamed to confess.

a/n: ugh i remember this was my only good story so i hope you enjoy and show me how much u loved this! i always enjoy feedback

a black and white checked short, v-neck dress woven in viscose fabric. short sleeves, button full length of front, and flared skirt with gathered tiers. your newly dyed brunette hair. your makeup was simple, yet so elegant. with mascara to define your eyes by enhancing your lashes. a brown eyeliner pencil along the lashes with a thin line that helped you enhance your eye shape. for your lips you opted for a natural pink lip. for your feet you wore suede sandals with covered block heels and an adjustable ankle strap with leather linings and insoles. of course in black. your jewelry was a set of pearl stud earrings paired with a silver pendant necklace with the name 'san' written on it. you never take it off as it was a gift from your best friend. as of now you were absolutely stunning wearing such simple clothing. you were heading off to kq entertainment's newly debuted rookie's dorm. ateez. coincidentally one of the members is your best friend. choi san. the only person you ever have and will rely on throughout your life. he's been by your side no matter what. and you were on his. cheering him on all the way of his dream of becoming an idol. walking up to their doorstep you hesitate to ring the bell as it was your first time seeing him after his debut. it's also your first time meeting his band mates. quickly taking out your phone camera your check yourself out. you have never been this nervous when it comes to san. why were you now? you build up courage and ring the doorbell stepping back. it's been almost three minutes since you rang the bell. was no one home? you thought to yourself. until it swung open to reveal a purple haired boy. he seemed about 5'8 and he was absolutely gorgeous. "may i help you?" he asks politely. "uh yes!" you say quickly avoiding eye contact with him. you continue, "is san inside?" you ask looking back up fighting the urge to look away. god did he make you nervous. "yes he is. do you want me to call him?" he asked you with a small smile. you nod waiting as he left the door open and jogged down the hall to get san himself.

"hyung. some really pretty girl is asking if your here. she has this cute dress on with her brown hair and you should see her hair!! she looks like an idol sannie. it's like brunette hair with a dark purple streak." as wooyoung was explaining and low-key fangirling over you san was very confused on who you were. but once wooyoung mentioned the purple streak it instantly clicked for him on who this mystery girl was. he instantly jumped from his bed and ran to the front door. all you saw was a guy running towards you and kinda almost made you piss yourself from the scare it gave you. "y/nnnnnnnnn" the voice said squeaking. you noticed it was san running when you heard his voice but honestly when you saw him running it didn't look like him. what a glow up. his hair was green, well it was a sage green and had darker green streaks all over. his muscles got bigger. seemed more tone. healthier and happier. his ears were pierced too he always complained to you of how he was scared to get them done but look at him now. opening your arms letting him embrace you. his arms snaked around your waist pulling you up and your went around his neck. hugging like your never going to see each other again. it's almost been nine months since you've seen him so it's understandable. you even brought him a present. it was the exact same silver pendant necklace he got you on your 15th birthday. but instead of 'san' it said 'y/n'. you hand him the gift but you make sure he doesn't open it til later. you give him a friendly peck; though you two were strictly just friends you never acted like it. you two were each other's everything. yet no romance sparked. you were each other's first kiss, were the first to take each another's virginity, the gifts. it was like you two were dating but nobody ever said anything you just told people you were best friends.

"come in" he tells you taking you by the hand. while you take your shoes off and san calls his band mates down to introduce you. "ah what is it now." a deep voice said echoing the door. "i was napping." one whined. they all come down laying around the living room lazily. "comee why are you so shy today." san tells you dragging you to the living room. "guys this is y/n." he says cheeks rosy pink. "who?" a dark haired boy says. "your girlfriend?" another boy with a slightly orange hair asked. "nonono!" you say suddenly budding in. "were just best friends." you say cheekily looking at san who smiled back. "doesn't look like it." said the purple haired boy from earlier. "wooyoung.." a blonde boy said from beside signaling him to shut it. "what? they don't! she has a necklace with his name on it! and they are holding hands!" he said loudly pointing. "we are just best friends. i bought her the necklace on her birthday couple years back. we are..close" san told wooyoung. "well.. i'm yunho" said a voice from behind. turning around you look up at a tall tall boy with dark brown locks munching on potato chips smiling down at you. it was warming. he seemed comfortable and wasn't making you awkward. "hi i'm y/n" you say back at him. "that blue haired one is mingi, the purple thing who screamed is wooyoung, the faded carrot top is yeosang, blondie is hongjoong the scary tall one with his arms crossed is seonghwa and the other brownie is jongho." yunho quickly explains to you. the boys say hi simultaneously back. "what's that" seonghwa asks san pointing at the bag. "y/n got me a gift." he says giggling like a fanboy. both of you sit down on the couch in front of the rest of the boys as san opens the gift. the boys eyeing the bag filled with curiosity of what you could've gotten him. he pulls out a small velvet box. looking at you already knowing what it was. "no.." he says as a big smile grows upon his face. he recognized what you got him immediately. the box gave it away. on your fifteenth birthday the necklace san got you came in an ugly red velvet box with the store logo on the front written in silver lettering. he decided to get a custom box but this time it was a black velvet box with your name written on it in gold lettering. this time around you did the exact same but his name. "yes." you said to him. you chuckled a little while he opened the box grabbing necklace. "it's beautiful." he tells you. you take the necklace from him putting it on him. "wow sannie your so beautiful." you tell him. he embraced you playfully leaving pecks on your cheek causing you to laugh aloud.

"best friends" yeosang mocks you two quietly to wooyoung as they giggle. "look guys were matching now. he shows the guys your necklaces. they smile agreeing how cute it was. san has been meaning to ask you why the sudden visit. "y/n how come you just dropped by randomly?" he asked curious. "i recently opened my bakery down the street remember sannie i told you this! you never listen." you whine punching the side of his arm. pretending to be in pain and yelling in 'pain' he tells you "hey! i have a lot of things to remember sorry i forgot but the main question is when are you going bring me those delicious blueberry souffles you make??" you sigh remembering how san was always your little taste tester when you bake and he had a special liking to your blueberry souffles. "i'll bring you some after work." you tell him combing your fingers through his hair. "speaking of work. it's almost lunch i gotta get to work." you say getting up bidding your farewells giving san a peck before leaving. "san-ah are you sure your both just friends?" hongjoong asks laughing. "yes! we are friends.." he says sighing leaning back on the couch playing with he box the necklace came from. "were just best friends, well to her." he said voice getting quieter. the members could notice how you two were together. it didn't seem one-sided. "i don't think it's one-sided." jongho says. "you two literally kissed more today than i've ever kissed the members." wooyoung says raising his brows. "that's the thing. we act like a couple but when someone asks us she'll panic and say no were just best friends." he said getting up, putting the empty box in the gift bag. "i'm going to take a nap." he told the members before heading upstairs.

you were making your way down the street peacefully enjoying the scenery. i can't believe they thought me and sannie were dating. you thought laughing to yourself. i mean sometimes i wish i could say 'yea we are' but i don't think i'll be good. you sigh. you've always had strong feelings for san but you don't think your good. good enough for a guy like him. he had everything, looks, talent and now he has millions of fans. compared to idols, models, actresses, you are just ordinary. you seem bland. you've never seen yourself as anything other than basic and having feelings let alone date an amazing unique person like san who was out of your league was just funny to you now. but your feelings grow more everyday. you two act like one why not just be one but it was never that easy. you thought san was playful and lovey dovey with you just for laughs and pure entertainment. on the other hand it was pretty hilarious to other people who weren't oblivious to the two of you. you both thought it was one-sided. one is too shy to confess his love the other is ashamed to confess.

you ended up baking some mini cookie's and cream cheesecake bites for the boys. but you didn't want to disturb them again so you went home with them hopefully bringing it to them tomorrow morning. hoping into bed going on with your evening til you got a message from non-other than san. smiling you unlock your phone to read the text. 'call??' he texted you. not feeling the need to reply you hit the facetime icon on his contact, now ringing. "hey" he says answering the call. it looked like he was comfortable on his bed laying down with his shiber beside him. "hi." you say smiling, you were cooking actually. you needed dinner one way or another and take-out was getting pricey near you. "what are you making" he asked you curiously adjusting his place in bed. "i'm just making some chicken with my salad, haven't had anything remotely healthy for the past few weeks from being surrounded by sweets." you tell him laughing in the process making him laugh a little. after cooking, getting ready for bed and even when you got in bed he was still on the other line. "i'm tired sannie" you quietly tell him trying to let him know you both need some sleep. "okay um goodnight y/n sleep well" he tells you in a bunched up sentence. "ah goodnight you too" you murmur in your sleepy voice before saying "see you tomorrow" ending the call and placing your phone on your night stand falling into a deep sleep.

you woke up to the sun rays over your closed eyes. you could've gotten an extra twenty minutes in bed as you alarm hasn't rung yet. sighing and covering your face with the blankets you decide to be more productive since to you, you were a slob. a basic slob. getting up you grab your outfit for the day and head to the shower, hoping out at least ten minutes later you go to put on your outfit and put some makeup on. you picked out a black short a-line skirt with a high waist and buttons at the front, and for you top you wanted to seem modern to fit in with today's fashion so you picked out a white cropped top with a drawstring-front and long puff sleeves. you decided to pair them with some tie-strap sandals in black with crossover foot straps and long straps to tie around you ankle. your makeup was the same as always; regular eyeliner. but instead of a thin line you wanted to try out a tiny cat-eye. after doing that you put on mascara and some powder to cover your acne scars finishing off you look with some light pink tinting lip balm. you try your best to look good you always knew it was ordinary and basic but you tried to at least look appealing basic or not. you straighten your hair today instead of letting out your natural beach waves out. you wanted your purple hair to stand out knowing it was the only non basic part of you. you grab your house keys, phone and you couldn't forget the cheesecake. walking out going down the street.your house was about a twenty minute walk from the bakery although some would find it exhausting to walk that long just to work that they would just buy a car but to be honest you enjoyed the scenery.

you arrive at the boy's dorm beforehand to hang for a little and hand them the treat. ringing the bell it swings open not even a minute later. "y/n!" it was mingi. he was by far one of your favourite people at the dorms probably because you two clicked fast with similar interests. "hi mingi~" you say giving him a side hug letting yourself in. "i need all eight of you here in the living room." you tell him as he zoomed away collecting the members, you go to the dining table and take out the cheesecake and grab a juice box for yourself. "why are you here so early" san moans aloud with a sleepy voice. "thought you were coming til ten-thirty" he tells you lazily going to embrace you. "i had to go in early today due to one of the workers having trouble with the locks." you tell him. "i brought you guys some cheesecake bites i made the other day" you say cheerfully as they all make eye contact with the treat on the table "keep her around please.." hongjoong says going in to grab a bite. "don't worry she's not ever leaving." san says to hongjoong with a cheeky smile assuring him playfully as you all laugh. "we have no dinner for tonight the cabinets are EMPTY!!" yunho says out of the blue. "if you guys want i can bring some takeout. my bakery is right beside a bunch of yummy stores and a grocery store if you would rather have home cooked meals. i can make you boys some kimchi fried rice." you tell them looking down to your feet. "we don't want you to do all the work cooking it's okay y/ thank you." seonghwa tells you. "i can meet you at the bakery before you close up and we can get takeout..!" san tells you. nodding with a smile you bid your goodbyes heading to work.

"i want to tell her." san tells the boys facing them with a stern look once you left. they were happy to help but he declined wanting to do it when he picked you up from work today. "how are you going to do it." jongho asks curious. san thought of making it so rejection or not you'd both laugh. he wanted to be corny but not where it touches you but to the point where it's so corny you laugh and get red. but he had no idea how. "you know how she owns a bakery? why don't you get a baked good and write it in icing?" wooyoung suggested the most perfect idea that literally made san squirm in excitement. running back to the dorm he kind of wanted his outfit to match with yours so he put on a white dress shirt that would define his figure well making him look very very hot as if he wasn't already. he paired it with regular black pants and went downstairs to get the members approval of how he looked as they approved he put on some random shoes and went out the door. his hair was in a middle part making it so he didn't look too basic nor too fancy. he walks swiftly past your bakery to another one to buy a small cupcake. he wanted to place a small heart on the frosted good. as the worker did that he was looking around waiting and pulled out his phone snapping a picture forwarding it to you. 'where are you?' you texted him after opening the attachment. 'buying mingi a little something' he replied scared if you would notice his current settings. "here you go sir." the worker said placing the cupcake on the counter. "would you like it gift wrapper? just a small box with it." she asked. "yes are there any choices?" he asked excitingly. "yes we have the boxes in blue, black, pink, red, purple and white with the ribbons in silver, gold, pink, black and blue. you can also write something on the top." she told him. this is where it san wanted to make it a lot more meaningful as if it wasn't enough. "may i have it in a black box with golden ribbons with the name y/n on top." he told the worker. if it's even possible san got more happy and excited than he already was. "thank you" san thanked the worker paying and leaving. his mask and coat made his identity a secret from you and fans if there were any. he decided to look through the big window you had for viewing in your bakery. he noticed you trying to frost some cheesecakes. he wanted some but couldn't risk it so he went home. "how is this?" he asked yunho who was the only one in the vicinity when he came home. he showed the box and opened it a little to show the red velvet cupcake with white frosting. it had small heart candies all over the frosting. "whaa i'm jealous of y/n now. didn't know you were so romantic sannie." he told san playfully nudging his shoulder as the two laugh. he places it in the fridge and goes to shower as you would close the shop up in three hours. he didn't realize how much time has passed until he was in the shower.

"suminnie!!" you say to your girl best friend. sumin has been busy overseas with college and finally came home after graduation. you two already set a date to hang out but she surprised you early to see how your new found business was. "hi baby" she says kissing your forehead. you hand her a treat as you two chat until you close up. "how are you and your boyfriend" she ask's as you flush red and laugh at her locking up the bakery. "were not dating." you tell her. "were just friends i know he doesn't see me the way i see him. even if he did, he shouldn't like someone like me." you say leaning against the wall. "your perfect y/n. not basic. not too outgoing. your perfect. you don't know how badly i wanted to be you while we grew up. you could always rock blond, brown, black, red, blue hair always with your iconic purple strands. your body is outstanding and you eat sweets all day. your great at everything. i grew up jealous of you. your perfect i can't see why san wouldn't like you back." she tells your patting your head telling you how amazing you were which was true. everyone saw it but you. the insecurities always got at you. but you accept what sumin tells you to feel better about yourself for tonight. you stand up knowing she should head home now which was in the opposite direction of you. "bye i love you see you tuesday." you tell her while she runs off. you wonder where san is and just that second he spooked up behind you. "boo." he spoke into your ear from behind. you jumped a little turning around to give him a small hug as you two walk down the lit street. "can we sit at the bench over there for a second y/n?" san asked you, honestly he wasn't even waiting for a reply. he took your hand as you two cross the empty street to sit at a bench at a nearby park. "what is it sannie" you ask him really confused and nervous for what's to come. "here." he shyly hands you a black box with golden ribbons in a bow with your name on it. opening it you see your favourite cupcake. a traditional red velvet cupcake with frosting perfectly swirled at the top with small heart flakes all over. you were oblivious to what he was meaning by it but you found it kind of corny either way. cringing you take out the small cupcake removing the wrap a biting into it a pleased sound coming from your mouth happy with how it taste. san was googling the cupcake obviously wanting a bite. you feed him a bite. but you still didn't know why. "sannie what is all this." you asking him taking another bite. he still had some cupcake in his mouth he was chewing down but after he wanted it to be straightforward. "it's me telling you i love you. a lot." he spilled casually wiping his mouth of frosting looking up at your blanked out expression. you didn't know how or why he could like someone like you. you were assured by sumin how there were millions of reasons on how a man like san would fall in love with you but you brushed it aside because you couldn't believe. "tell me you love me too." he told you. he hoped you would. he really wanted you to. you were speechless though. although you were happy he was in love with you as much as you were with him. you were scared to commit, scared to admit. c'mon y/n this is your chance you tell yourself mentally finally looking him the eyes. starting to lose hope in you san looks away tears brimming in his eyes. he knew deep down he shouldn't have. why am i afraid? you thought. "sorry." you tell san cupping his cheek with one hand looking him in the eye. "please." he told you, both of you looking into each others eyes. though you were too afraid to admit it verbally you had enough courage to let him know physically. using your other hand to cup both his cheeks you close eyes pulling him locking both your lips. you had kissed before, multiple times in fact. but hey were all pecks. kisses on the cheeks and quick hi and bye kisses. nothing deep and meaningful, but tonight you made sure it was long and meaningful. his lips immediately reacted pushing back and now kissing with a slow pace. his arm was placed in your elbow going up to hold your hand before you break the kiss. staring into one another's eyes you muster up enough courage still high off that kiss to tell him. "i love you." you tell him breaking eye contact. "so much" you say quietly to yourself but audible enough for san to hear. this resulted in him embracing you pecking your cheek. you were both relieved to feel mutual about each another but you were still scared but one thing you knew you deserved was happiness and now you finally feel happy with your new found love, choi san.

this was supposed to be a series but i rushed the ending so i could fit it all in ! hope u enjoyed reading this~ show love please  (by reblogging and liking) make sure to leave feed back and everything

[simplyotometrash]

Smile for Me

A Kiro x Alex (OC) piece! 

Days dragged on and weighed on his body. He didn’t hate touring. In fact it was the opposite. He loved going on tours, meeting fans, performing onstage. All of those things were great. Superstar Kiro could act, sing, write and play music. He knew he was very handsome and cute. He loved games. He was an international sweetheart. The whole package. But none of the many things that he was, none of his millions of fans, could fill the hole left by the lack of his partner. 

He missed Alex so much! Awkward, adorable, agoraphobic Alex. His little video game designer! They were so talented and no one even knew it because they didn’t reveal themselves as the creator of ALeeGames online. He loved when he would hear people talk about their games or see threads online discussing how cool the designer for the games must be. Oh if only they knew! His little storm cloud would be so embarrassed if they knew some of the things being said. Alas, Alex tended to avoid threads about them. They only looked at threads regarding their games to gain input and insights on what they could do better or what people wanted to see. They even had separate social media specifically for their game handle.

As if on cue, his phone buzzed in his pocket. A video chat request from Alex! Ah! They had to be connected if Alex was calling while he thought of them! 

“Hey, cutie pie~!” Kiro beamed at his phone. Oh the sight of Alex made his heart dance. “I see you redyed your hair. Sticking to green for now?”

“Hiya, sunshine,” Alex laughed, blowing the camera a kiss. He heard a meow in the background come from Alex’s cat-son and his adopted cat-son, Kimchi. “Yeah, I thought I’d stick to green for now. I wanna try blue or purple but I just don’t know if I’ve got the guts to change it up.”

If only they had all the time in the world to talk. Kiro was in his dressing room before a concert. He didn’t have nearly enough time. No amount of time was truly enough to make up for the longing that long distance stirred within his heart. He couldn’t wait to be home with them.

“You would look good with any color, my little storm cloud. Wait until I come home! Then I can help you pick.”

“Ten minutes before go, Kiro,” he heard Savin say through the dressing room door. Plenty of time to get in some much needed Alex time. 

“I hate time zones,” he whined. “I can never sing you to sleep anymore because I’m so busy when it’s night for you.”

Alex laughed, shaking their head. Kimchi the cat came into frame, rubbing his head against Alex’s face. “I know, babe. I miss it, too. But you’ve got meet and greets and CD signings during the day on your tour. And you need to take naps before concerts. I’m just glad we find the time to call each other.”

The time differences sucked. He was so far away. Sometimes he would wake up at 3 in the morning because he heard his phone go off with a good morning text from Alex followed by an apology because they forgot what time it was for him. It only got worse the more he traveled. There were days he couldn’t even remember what time it was because the times changed from place to place. Further proof that time was just a human construct! A construct meant to keep him from his love!

“I will always find time for you! I even squeeze in checking both your personal and work social media accounts! I can’t wait to come home. I can beta test your new game for you, right? Right!?” Alex was almost always had to be their own beta tester. They were a perfectionist and didn’t want anyone to see something that was less than their idea of perfect.

“If my game isn’t finished before you come back, I’ll consider letting you beta test,” they said. There was a brief pause between them. “I...I did design the main character after you.”

Tears of joy pricked at the idol’s eyes. But he couldn’t let them fall! He had to go onstage and crying would stuff up his nose! “Alex, that’s so sweet! I’ve always wanted to be a video game character!”

There was another, much longer pause. Kiro knew the wheels in Alex’s head were turning. They had that look in their eyes. The little hamster in their brain was doing laps. Something was on their mind.

“I miss you so much.” Alex looked a bit downcast. They both knew he still had three months before they could be together again. Three long months.

“Hey, hey, no frowns! Your Superhero Kiro wants to see his storm cloud looking happy! If you smile, I know I’ll have a great concert!” Kiro made a little heart out of his thumb and forefinger, a bright smile on his own face.

Alex couldn’t help but laugh and smile back at their sunshine. He was always so supportive and bright. Like the sun. Alex was more like the moon, reflecting the light of the sun. 

“Five minutes, Kiro,” Savin popped his head into the dressing room. He got a look at the star’s phone screen and shook his head with a smile. “I’ll take care of him, Alex, he’ll be home before you know it.” He closed the door as he left. Savin was strict on Kiro’s routine but he was very caring. Like a father.

“I hate that we’ve gotta end the call but I need to get to my place to go onstage.” He pouted.

“Kiro, wait!”

His thumb hovered over the “end call” button, his head now cocked to the side. “What is it, Alex?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Call me when you get done if you’re not too tired?” Alex sounded hopeful. Though they knew it may be a long shot. Kiro needed his rest after all. They couldn’t be selfish and keep him awake.

“I will, I promise. I wanna fall asleep with you being the last thing I see.”

Thanks for reading!!!

[avengerscompound]

Positive - Chapter 1

Positive:  A Bruce Banner Fanfic

Series Masterlist

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bruce Banner x F!Reader

Word Count:  1917

Warnings:  Angst to the extreme, unplanned pregnancy, miscarriage, smut

Synopsis:  After a bad reaction to antibiotics makes you sicker than you should be, Bruce asks you to take a pregnancy test to set his mind at east.

When it comes back Positive you have to then weight the pros and cons of having a child when the pregnancy is so high risk.  It doesn’t help that while Bruce would rather you terminate, Hulk is adamant you don’t.

Chapter 1

The wound in your shoulder looked bad.  It was a few weeks since you had been shot in the field and you stood in the bathroom in just your underwear looking it over.  The stitches had started dissolving so it was closed but you kept having to pick pieces of thread from it.  It was also red and inflamed looking.  Probably due to an infection under the skin.  You poked at it and hissed at the sting.

Bruce stepped into the room.  “How’s it look?”   He asked coming up behind you.  He touched the exit wound and you flinched.

“I think it’s infected.”  You answered.

He kissed your shoulder just beside scarring.  “My poor, brave, agent.”  He teased.  “You remembering to take your antibiotics?”

You turned to face him.  You liked when he was in a playful mood.  He had a cute smile and you really liked seeing it.  Plus you liked when he was feeling safe enough to get handsy.  “Yeah, I’m taking it.”   You said, hooking your fingers into his belt loops.  That was the truth.  The only problem was that they upset your stomach badly and made you throw up pretty much constantly.  You had started to wonder if they were actually staying in your system long enough to be effective.

He let himself get pulled closer to you.  “You should go see one of the doctors today, get something stronger.”  He said as his hands ran up your sides and encircled your waist.

“Whatever you say, doc,”  You teased.

“Can’t have my agent girlfriend having to take unnecessary time off.”  He said, kissing your throat.

You hummed and started to unbuckle his belt.  “I would have thought you’d like it if I had to stay home for longer.”

“Not if I have to play your nurse.  You are not fun when you’re sick.”  He countered unhooking your bra.  You tossed it aside and he leaned down and pulled one of your nipples into his mouth.

You moaned and pushed his pants down.  When his cock sprang free he ground it against you.  It strained against your panties and you moaned softly, longing for more.  Bruce pushed your panties down and lifted you onto the vanity.  You wrapped your legs around him and carded your fingers through his hair.  He made a little purring noise in response and with a snap of his hips, he sunk his cock deep inside of you.

You moaned and wrapped yourself tightly around him, burying your face in his neck.  “God, I love you so much.”  He sighed as he started to rut into you.

You pulled back and looked into his eyes, warm and brown and all him.  “I love you too.”  You whispered.

He smiled and leaned in, capturing your lips and kissing you hungrily.  The passion of your kiss was matched by the thrust of his hips.  Each coming quickly and penetrating deeply.  You moaned against his lips as your tongues swirled together.  He nipped at your lips and started moving faster and faster against you.

The world became hazy.  Sweat beaded on your skin and you tore his shirt off and pushed it down his back.  Your fingers dug into his skin as you found yourself getting closer and closer to your release.

“Oh, god.  Bruce.”  You panted.

His thumb came to your clit and he rubbed it erratically as he continued to fuck you.  Your hips bucked hard against him and you came, your head falling back and crying out loudly.   He kept rutting into you and as the last shudders of your orgasm passed his released, filling you in waves.

He slipped from within you and you hopped off the counter.  “Good morning to you too.”  You teased.

“It is a good morning,” He agreed.  “Though you just tore all the buttons off my shirt.”

“Well you're always doing it,” You teased.  “Thought it was my turn.” You pushed his ruined shirt off and threw it in the hamper.  “Since we’re both naked how about we take a bath together?”

You had met Bruce Banner a few years ago.  You were a new agent recruited by the Avengers and despite the fact you actually rarely spent any time with him and technically the rare occasions he was in the field with you it wasn't him for most of it, you'd hit it off.  Bruce seemed to have a thing for fighters and you guess you must have a thing for lab geeks because even though you barely understood anything he talked about you could listen to him talk about science all day.

It had been a slow burn.  It took him a while to trust himself with you.  The whole Hulk factor and all.  You had had to put away any idea of ever having children, he'd been adamant that he couldn’t be a father, biologically or otherwise.  He was worth it though.  The lives you had built together was good.  Happy.  You weren't married and maybe that wasn't on the table for both of you, but you lived together.  You both knew you were safe with the Hulk, but more importantly, you were in love.  You wanted to share a life together.

After your bath together you went about your day.  Bruce disappearing into the lab while you went to see the doctor as you promised.  They gave you a shot with a stronger antibiotic and over the next week or so it seemed to work with some side effects.

It was itchy a lot.  You couldn’t stop scratching at it as it healed and any time Bruce caught you doing it he’d slap your hand away.  It seemed to create a general ache in your whole chest, not just the wound.  Your breasts too.  The nausea never went away, even after you’d stop taking the pills.  You’d wake up feeling nauseous, and it persisted into the early afternoon.  Often accompanied by vomiting.  Plus generally, you were more tired lately.  In the afternoon you would often come down and just nap on the couch.

It was two weeks later when you woke from a nap on the couch to Bruce coming home.  “Still?”  He asked coming over to you.

You lifted your head and when he sat down you put your head in his lap.  “Yeah.  This should have passed by now right?  The wound is hardly even noticeable anymore.”

He pulled the neck of your shirt down and looked at the bullet wound.  “Yeah.  I think it looks fine.”

“Then why am I still so sick?”  You asked.

Bruce sat quietly stroking his fingers through your hair.  “I know logically all these are normal antibiotic side effects but you don’t think that you could be pregnant do you?”

You smiled up at him and touched the end of his nose.  “You always worry that it’s that.  It’s never that.”

“Yeah, I know.  I just… you know… passing this on.”  He stammered.

“Yeah, I do.”  You answered.  “I’ve been taking the pill same time every day.  It’s never impossible I guess.”

“Isn’t there a thing, about antibiotics and the pill?”  He asked pulling out his phone out and starting to click around.  He furrowed his brow.  “Okay… it says only certain ones, except that… you’ve been sick right?”

You chuckled.  “Weren’t you just worried that the being sick was because I was pregnant?”

“Maybe one caused the other?”  He suggested.

“Bruce, you’re going to worry about this all night aren’t you?”  You asked.

He nodded his head but looked slightly ashamed with himself.

“Go up to the medbay and see if you can get a pregnancy test.  Pretty sure they have them.  I’ll take it when you get back down.”  You said sitting up.

“I’m sorry, honey.  I wish I could relax about this kind of thing.”  Bruce said.

“I know you do.  It’s okay.”  You assured him, kissing his cheek.

He got up and headed back out of the apartment.  While you waited you flicked absentmindedly through tv stations.  He returned after fifteen minutes and you got up right away and took the test off him.  “Okay, back in a minute.”

You took the test in the bathroom, peeing on the stick and putting the cap back on.  After washing your hands you came back out holding the stick.

“What does it say?”  He asked.

“Haven’t looked yet.  Says it takes five minutes.”  You answered taking a seat next to him.

He took the test out of your hand and stared down at it.  “That’s the tester line right?”   He asked.

The two of you had been through this numerous times.  It was always negative.  The one dark pink line would show up right away and then you’d sit waiting for five minutes and nothing else would happen.  He would then keep it around for another half an hour checking it just to be sure.

You looked over his shoulder to where he was pointing.  “Yeah, that’s the tester line.”

“Is - Is …”  He stuttered and his hand started shaking a little.  “This isn’t… is this a line?”

You took the test off him and held it in front of you.  You’re heart stopped.  Right beside the dark pink line telling you the test had worked was a much fainter line that was very gradually getting darker.  “Bruce…”  You said and dropped the test, turning to him and taking his hands.  This was everything he had been worried about.  His fear of passing on his genes and cursing someone else with their own Hulk.  The fear of the Hulk coming out and hurting a child.  His child.  Or worse that he had not been able to shake off his own abusive childhood and was doomed to relive it as the abuser this time.  You hadn’t meant for this to happen.  You had been taking your birth control but unlike Bruce, part of you did want to be a parent.  The thought of aborting even with the valid concerns Bruce had made your stomach churn.  You didn’t know what to do but you knew the first thing was calming Bruce down because otherwise, it would all be moot.  It wouldn’t be Bruce you were dealing with.  “Bruce, we can deal with this.”

“You’re pregnant,”  Bruce said shaking his head.  “You’re pregnant… I can’t… I can’t…”

He got up and started pacing, you could see green starting to creep up the side of his neck.  You jumped up and stepped in front of him taking his hand and trying to look into his eyes.  They darted around the room and he was breathing heavily.  “Bruce you had better fucking not.  You have to deal with this.”

His hand went to his chest.  “I don’t… I can’t…”

He doubled over and you jumped back as his body started to change, his shirt tearing as his muscles rippled and grew.  You didn’t want to cry, but it was too much.  It was one thing to be pregnant and know even though you might actually want this baby your partner was going to push for an abortion.  It was a whole other knowing you had to do this alone because he’d just left you.  The tears broke and you collapsed on the ground in front of the Hulk.

He looked around the room blinking and then moved quickly, crouching down and putting a large green hand on your back.  “What Banner do?”  He asked, you looked up at him, not even sure where to start.

// NEXT 

[darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts]

Devil’s own Luck pt5

Warning: Mobstyling warlords

Masterlist link

---

Chapter Five – New Plan

Mitsuhide guided [Name] around some of the building on their journey to dinner. He was enjoying watching her reactions as he opened doors like on a game show, she was mostly awe struck. It was true the building was large; the top six floors were part of the private housing complex they used and he was more than aware after visiting her apartment that any one of the rooms within the building would have swallowed her modest one-bedroom apartment whole with room to spare.

It appeared that after a feature length style lecturing from Hideyoshi that the others had made themselves scarce and crawled back to their perspective holes to lick their wounds. Introductions would be easier if they were present. After wandering around doing his brief mini tour he stopped outside of one door and turned to her.

“We still have time before dinner my dear so how about we see what is on the menu hmm?” He gave her a pat on the shoulder as he turned the handle and pushed the door open. The air was buzzing with smells of spices and sounds of food cooking. It also was carrying the rather disturbing sound of someone singing rather badly out of tune. Ah, I knew it …  he’s here.

She moved carefully into the room as he beckoned her lightly with his hand. Her large eyes looking at the bright space before resting on the counter top looking admiringly at some of the dishes that were finished waiting to go out. Aesthetically pleasing to be sure. Flavour … well he would have to let someone else guess that as he couldn’t.

– La la la, <SMASH, BANG, CLATTER> –

“Face to face, out in the heat… mmm mmm mmm mmm. For the kill with the skill to survive…” The loud intermittent tuneless warbling of Masamune got closer as he appeared from deeper within the space to put another finished dish up to the pass. Glancing towards the door he stopped his private karaoke session and gave his best 1000W smile at his visitors. Mostly towards the girl, Masamune was a bit of lad when it came to the opposite sex.

“Well now if I’d know exactly how much of a cutie our little Princess was, I might have busted into that room myself.” Masamune propped himself on the counter with one elbow as he leaned down below the heating elements of the food warmer to get a clearer look.

“If you had ‘busted’ into the room there would have been more broken about you than your ability to kill a decent song.” She snipped back just as fast as any of the other men would have. Equal parts lightly joking and threatening. Oh, this one can play …

“Pft… Ha, Ha. Oh, that’s great Lass. I see I won’t have to worry about you. I like that fighters spirit you got.” Masamune laughed heartily whilst pinning her with an admiring gaze.

“I’m not much of a fighter.” She had backed up ever so slightly and she was now standing close to Mitsuhide’s elbow. You aren’t seriously trying to hide behind me, are you? Mitsuhide was slightly shocked by her apparent trust in him. Poor little thing … you either have appallingly bad taste or no sense of danger.

“There are several innocent sake bottles that would argue differently Princess.” Mitsuhide jovial tone poking a little and he smirked as he watched her glare at him.

“Oh, yeah I heard about that. Hideyoshi was saying the hallways are dangerous enough without some lunatic smashing up bottles in it.” Masamune was back busying himself with some pans on the cooker again.

“I often wonder what must have happened to the guy to have such a grudge against hall ways. It’s like he think’s they are a secret assassin or something.” Masamune’s musings earned a sniggering laugh from Mitsuhide who noticed [Name]’s confusion.

“Ah, sorry my dear Hideyoshi is … well shall we say he is a bit over protective. Think mother hen and you wouldn’t be far wrong.” She smiled at his description and moved out from hiding clearly relaxing more. Timid curious little mouse. Hideyoshi will probably be even more over bearing when he sees you.

“So, um… are you the chef?” [Name] looked between the food and Masamune quizzically.

“Um? Oh well I can see how you’d think that Kitten as Mitsu here hasn’t exactly introduced us properly.” Masamune glanced back over his shoulder. “But no, I’m not I do the cooking because I like it and it’s been a great way of helping my business. Live-in testers you see.” Masamune was fiddling with some spices and something that was bubbling in a frying pan.

“Kitten!? How did I become a kitten all of a sudden?” [Name] had a look of indignation on her face. I wonder if she gets compared to animals a lot and it annoys her? But then if that’s the case why has she never chastised me for all the times I called her a little mouse?

“Because you’re cute, you don’t hold back on using your claws and it reminds me of my pet and how he plays too. Anyway, as I was saying I run the hospitality enterprise ‘Aoba’.” Masamune spoke clearly over what he was doing as he poured out the contents of the frying pan over a large fish and in a cacophony of fizzing and crackling the skin of the animal popped, curled and cooked under the intense heat of it.

[Name]’s eyes widened at his statement. Apparently, the Kitten remark was acceptable as that subject was dropped quickly.

“You mean you are that catering entrepreneur that was in the news for a while? You took over several companies really quickly and turned them around so fast people started calling you a dragon because it all went so fast like magic.” Her eyes were practically sparkling as she recalled information that she knew to the forefront of her mind.

“Ha, yeah that’s right Kitten.” Finished plating another dish he turned to lean over again fixing her in a flirtatious grin. “Masamune Date, the One-Eyed Dragon.” Mitsuhide chuckled at the sight as Masamune flipped a kitchen knife in his hand as an extra risky flourish.

“You seem rather well informed about our resident potato peeler.” Mitsuhide joked teasingly. Mitsuhide looked down on [Name] as he made a move to re-join the conversation. She was clearly interested in food and had a keen knowledge of at least the publicly accessible news on big business. I wonder what else she is interested in. Wait, did he seriously just think that?

“Hey Man I do a lot more than just peel potatoes! Masamune’s agitated retort pulled Mitsuhide mercifully out of his train of thought.

“Indeed, you do my apologies. Would you like me to taste test some of the dishes to make up for my faux par?” As innocently as possible Mitsuhide smiled back at the chef who still had the knife in his hand. You want to start a fight don’t do it in a room full of useable weapons and cleaning supplies. Although if you were sure you were going to win then there are far less well stocked rooms to do it in.

“What would be the point in that? You can’t taste anything anyway. I have no idea how you manage to eat what you do and keep it down you must have a cast iron stomach.” Masamune put the knife with the rest of the used items in the dish washer as he finished up his cleaning.

“You can’t taste anything?” [Name] inclined her head in his direction. That look of confusion really does suit you my dear…

“Mmm? Oh no I can’t.” Mitsuhide shrugged in response as if it was nothing and gave her a thin smile.

“Word to the wise there Kitten, if he offers you food, treat it as highly suspect until proven otherwise. He gave Ieyasu a rice ball that he made once had the guy choking.” Throwing her his tip over his shoulder as he pressed buttons to start the washer Masamune wrinkled his nose at the memory.

“Why, was the rice under cooked or something?” Curiously [Name] inquired the look of confusion deepening on her face.

“It was stuffed with a ghost chilli bean paste. Honestly, I know Mitsuhide can’t taste anything but you’d think he would be able to smell that.” Masa replied in disbelief at the memory.

“I apologized to Ieyasu, I thought it was quite good personally. And I know he loves hot spicy food.” Mitsuhide pointed this out after [Name] cast him a searching glance.

“Yeah Yasu does like spicy dishes, but there is a limit. I still can’t believe you can eat what you eat without being sick Mitsuhide.” Masamune gave a shudder as if recalling all the revolting dishes he had ever see Mitsuhide eat.

“It is your ability to turn basic ingredients into weapons of mass destruction somehow that is exactly the reason you are no longer allowed near the cooking. Well looks like that’s everything.” Masamune gave the space a once over with an approving eye.

Waving a hand over the hot plate as if displaying the dishes on a shopping channel. Masamune yanked off his apron and finally emerged from the heat of the kitchen walking cheerily towards them. Casually throwing an arm over [Name]’s shoulder as he did so.

“Shall we go to dinner then Kitten? I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.” Masamune proudly declared with a cheeky smile, leaning close to her ear.

She shrugged off his arm putting some distance between them as she looked his square in the eye.

“The last man that guaranteed I wouldn’t be disappointed and touched me without my permission ended up with a black eye and as you only have one I don’t like your chances of being able to see tonight.” She stood there firmly with a straight back and fixed a glare at Masamune that would have put Ieyasu to shame.

Standing stunned the two men looked at the woman in front of them until finally Masamune burst out laughing and Mitsuhide joined him.

“I like you Kitten. Ok, how about I be your friend?” Masamune offered his hand in a friendly handshake.

“Ok I’ll accept that.” She nodded and shook his hand with a smile.

“We’ll discuss benefits later.” In a conspiratorial tone Masamune winked at her still gripping her hand.

“NO BENEFITS! There will be NO benefits!” She nearly shrieked as she yanked her hand back free of his grasp.

She swatted at Masamune’s head as he nimbly dodged her attack and they left the room. Mitsuhide followed on smiling at the entertainment in front of him.

Masamune’s flirty personality did little to mask his genuine interest in the princess. It was practically all over his face when he looked at her like she was a meal and he was a starving animal. Mitsuhide was happy to see her holding her own against him, at least it looked like he wouldn’t have to clean up a broken-hearted mess after she leaves.

---

On the outskirts of the city…

It was a dark and wet night with a biting wind that cut right through to you bones. The sound of his shoes as he walked solemnly to the side door of the meeting place was the only other sound around him. He raised his arm and banged on the door, water dripping off his sleeve as the rain continued.

A short, fat man dressed in what appeared to be a well-worn security uniform answered.

“Yes?” The man’s face was etched with fatigue and he appeared sluggish as if he had just been woken up.

“I’m here to see Him.” It was a brief exchange but the sleepy security guard nodded to him and stepped aside to allow him to enter.

Guided in silence along the sides of large shipping containers that caused the lighting in the building to fall strangely on the floor. After a short while the wall of containers seemed to open before them and in the middle of a large pool of light sat the man he had come to see. Propped next to the man’s chair was a walking cane, it’s brass ornamentation glistened in the florescent lights.

“I see you are well Takahasi. What news do you have for me?” The light cast a shadow over the deep scar that ran from above his eye to his cheek, across the bridge of his nose making him appear even more intimidating than rumours suggested.

“Sir. I’ve come to report that we were unable to crack down once again on the Azuchi group.” Takahasi lowered his head after delivering his news.

“I see. Damn that Nobunaga and the devil’s luck he embodies.” Rising from his seat with the aid of his cane he came closer to Takahasi. Peering down at him with glossy black eyes.

“What will you have me do now Sir? They are aware of appearances and the rumours haven’t proven to be enough to trigger them to make mistakes that mean we can get involved in making arrests.” Takahasi looked attentively waiting for instructions.

“Takahasi you are no longer my subordinate I have long since lost my position in that regard. I am thankful however for your continued support and unwavering loyalty.” The man moved towards one of the container walls, the click of his cane on the ground as he moved echoed in the warehouse, and stared at a collection of photographs, newspaper cuttings, print outs and lots of coloured scribbles plastered on its side.

“I understand Sir but we haven’t forgotten you in the office. You were the best Boss we had and your men will still follow you and your orders. What happened wasn’t your fault… Kennyo. We will stand by you and see Nobunaga Oda fall.” Takahasi’s words were full of a resounding strength that Kennyo had admired for years. Ever since he had first joined his vice squad back when other men questioned if he had what it would take to actually survive the spartan style life of cracking down on hard crime. Kennyo had seen the determination in the young mans face and taken him personally under his wing.

“We need to adjust the plan. I may have to push a few buttons in a different direction to get my playing pieces to move how I want them. But I will have Nobunaga’s head for what he did.” Rumbling anger in his voice permeated out of his body and seemed to colour all around him in darkness as Kennyo looked at a section of clippings on the wall.

“Of course, Sir. Just say the word and we will follow.” Takahasi stood patiently watching Kennyo as he awaited orders.

“You willingly follow me into the fires of Hell?” Kennyo didn’t break his focus on the wall as he muttered his question.

“We will follow you to Hell and back Sir. For what has happened and what will… we will follow.” Takahasi affirmed resolutely nodding.

A grim smile spread across his face as Kennyo tapped a clipping on the wall. ‘Takeda Inc. crumbles’

“So be it…” Kennyo’s voice was low and colder than the bone chilling wind outside as he set his jaw and began to formulate his next move.

---

[oliverpdaniel]

Advent of Code 2020: A (very timely and not late at all) Reflection on Days 15-25

...Um. Oops?

Honestly, everything has been happening so much lately, I'm not super frustrated that it's been a clean month between finishing these puzzles and commenting on them. During these weeks, along with finally finishing my first-ever Advent of Code (as did my roommate! Well done, buddy.), I also wrapped up my second semester in quarantine, including a few brutal final projects and exams. After a nail-biting few weeks of awaiting grades, I finally had the confidence to withdraw for the second semester, and to begin hunting for work. (If you're reading this and I'm not hired yet, hire me!)

Anyway, the obvious downside to the sheer magnitude of the delay is that most of these puzzles aren't super fresh in my head, and thus my commentaries may not be as detailed as I would like. Hey - if I ever get such a massive executive-dysfunction-killing buzz as I did over the winter break to finally clean and redecorate my room, maybe I'll revisit these too.

Day 15: Now we're seeing some REAL slowness! The primary data structure for both parts here was the dictionary, mapping "seen" (spoken) numbers to the last turn on which they were spoken. That being said, I don't know what I was thinking in Part 1, with code like this:

Code ``` for k in seen.keys(): seen[k] += 1 ```

As soon as I saw the spicy thirty million in Part 2, I knew my naive solution wouldn't even touch it. [1] I had to do my least favourite thing - off-by-one debugging, but I ultimately came up with a relatively clever insight:

Spoilers Storing not just the last turn on which a number was spoken, but the last *two* numbers (if they exist). Doing this allows for a three-case scenario, for some current number `curr`: 1. `seen[curr]` is empty or doesn't exist. This is the base case of a new number; output 0, as stated in the problem. 2. `seen[curr]` has 1 value. It's only been seen once, so we can calculate the number of turns since it was last seen. 3. `seen[curr]` has 2 values. This number has been seen twice, so we can simply subtract the first- and second-most recent turn numbers to get the gap between them!

This problem took a bit of fiddling, but runs okay. Python really shows its ugly side here, as even a fairly efficient solution like this one, using efficient data structures, takes quite a while on Part 2.

Day 16: Boy oh boy. I spent far too long on this one, and perhaps if there are any to revisit for a future post, it's this one. My solution for this one features no less than:

regex;

closure functions;

constraint satisfaction;

functions that return tuples of variable length; and

walrus operators.

I consider this problem a 'sweat' for future years; I learned a lot about what makes constraint-satisfaction engines tick, and how it's important to assign constraints to the smallest possible element of a search space (here a column, rather than an entire permutation of columns). I think there's a much more concise and semantic way of outlining this problem, that lets the solver do much more of the work than I did.

Day 17: Not much to say here; it's a cellular automaton with extra for loops. I'll share two cute things that I'm proud of:

Spoilers 1. I experimented with various thresholds for the size of the 'infinite' space, making specifically sure not to to index checks, so that I could have the smallest possible subspace to check over. I ended up settling on a value of `20` units in each direction from: 2. the origin I specified, which is simply `LIMIT // 2 - H // 2` (where `H` is just the dimension of the input grid).

My roommate complained that it took him a long time to parse and understand the problem; I'll confess that I barely read it. I guess that's the advantage of experience, in that I saw "Conway" and "space" and knew immediately what needed to be done.

I didn't do anything special for Part 2; it's just my Part 1 code, copied and pasted, with an extra for loop here and a variable there. sum(sum(sum(sum())))s for everyone!

Day 18: I think that, out of all 49 unique problems in this year's Advent of Code, I'm most proud of my solution to this one. It's (relatively) fast; the code is pretty easy to read and works for both parts (and more! [2]); and I came up with a solution before knowing the name for what I had built. (Update: it's a shift-reduce parser. Hooray for stacks!) One especially cute thing, that incidentally ended up defining my approach to a lot of the later problems, was

Spoilers creating a lookup table between a certain input symbol, here math operators, and an internal function, here the builtin `int` math functors. This allowed for a dead-simple evaluator function, for when the top of the stack was ready to be converted from an expression to a workable number. Also, I had the bright idea to recursively evaluate bracketed expressions, in such a way that an expression like `(((1 + 2)))` would quickly reduce down to `1 + 2` before the rest of the parser got to it.

Day 19: Aaaaaaaaargh! Herein begin the Two Days of Terror - the two hardest problems. Lucky I had returned from my partner's by now, as I think they would have been quite upset with how much I was ignoring them to code. After solving Part 1 in the morning I finally finished Part 2 at around 7pm, having forgotten to otherwise eat or attack my household responsibilities, and only after my roommate sat down with me and pair-programmed for a while. This one stung the most, because... I'm a linguist, for crying out loud! No generative grammar problem, especially ones over a finite search space like this, should be causing me such grief.

Day 20: I am still emotionally recovering from this problem. My roommate somehow managed to get both parts to run instantly, using the most cursed CSP setup I've ever seen. I still need to study his code better to understand just how he did it. Also, his usage of scientific Python packages finally shows its rewards, as convolution over a matrix is a friggin' builtin function. Grr.

Day 21: I consider this day an apology for the previous Days of Terror. Some fun, but not terribly difficult, set-fu. My relative inexperience with set theory shows its stripes here; I'm sure there are much more semantically sound ways of accomplishing what I tried to do here (e.g., manually removing an allergen from each ingredient's list of hypotheses once it was confirmed to go with a certain ingredient).

Day 22: Spicy spicy numbers! It would have served me much better to read the instructions before starting, as then I would have known that

Spoilers in Part 2, players don't take their entire deck with them. Since, y'know, that would just cause an infinite race to the bottom.

Day 23: Even spicier numbers! If you're going to be cute like me and establish 9 as a constant, make sure that you don't use it in Part 2 when constructing the initial circle, or you'll wonder why 9,999,990 of the cups aren't attached to anything.

Day 24: I couldn't sleep, so I solved this problem at 3 in the morning. Not going to lie, a little disappointing for a penultimate problem, especially Part 2. Part 1 required at least a modicum of cleverness to develop a meaningful coordinate system, but then Part 2 just felt like a relative rehash of the Conway Cubes problem. 3 cellular automaton problems out of 25 is a little bit much, considering how formulaic they can be.

Day 25: As true evidence of how much I learned over this Advent of Code, I was able to finish Day 25 on the couch without even bothering my partner. Utilizing what I had learned about pow made defining the transform (i.e., repeated multiplication and mod) incredibly easy. Though, I did get a little bit lucky, due to a small oversight in problem setting...

Spoilers Rather than having to generate and test a whole bunch of different pairs of loop sizes for the card and the door, it turns out that if you `zip` together two streams of all such valid loop sizes for the card and door, respectively, the correct size for both (i.e, the solution) appears at the same time; for me, just the second such pair of sizes.

Day 25 Part 2, as always, was a delight and a pleasure. If you've never clicked that final button before, crack open a text editor and start solving challenges until you can. It's deeply satisfying.

I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude to the entire AoC team, setters, testers, and maintainers alike, for all that they do. A daily stream of bite-sized (or, sometimes, sea-monster-sized) challenges is just what I need to keep me going, and my skills sharp, over the dreary holiday season. Especially in a year like this, it was just what I needed to keep me moving, motivated, and thinking about code. I can't wait for next year's challenges and, hopefully, I'll convince the roomies to do it with me again.

Sorry about the little delay, and the relative lack of detail. But, the enemy of perfect is good enough. If you're reading these at some point in the distal future, I hope you've enjoyed watching my journey through these problems, and maybe learned a little bit about what it means to think like a programmer. Thanks for tuning in!

[1]: I tried it anyway; it obviously didn't work. And, once my roommate turned me onto tqdm, I was able to see just how long before the Heat Death of the Universe for it to run. It was about 3 days. Lol.

[2]: The way I constructed the code, it would be extremely easy to add in the remaining integer operations.

[purgatoryandme]

Dangerous Affairs

///MC with some seriously life-endangering kinks and a prelude to filth warning ahead I’m so sorry that I’ve sunk to this///

MC sat alone in her room (nearly alone in this big mansion of Ray’s...where were the other people? Was there anyone else? Wasn’t he lonely?), staring shocked at the phone in her hand. She had been on the messenger with Ray, smiling as she listened to the little theme he’d made for himself (a delicate waltz - how cute!), when he said something...unexpected. 

Ray was usually sweet, a little naive, and, on occasion, intense and morose. There was no way way he meant... MC’s face burned with the intensity of her blush. He was coming to see her. He couldn’t express his feelings properly without seeing her. Ah, her heart was racing, even though she knew Ray couldn’t possibly be interested in her as more than a game tester.

Her heart refused to slow down throughout their walk in the gardens. Ray looked so handsome underneath the moonlight and all of his words were possessive. They clutched at her and she found herself wishing that he would do the same. That he would simply grab her...

“So please, I ask you to let me in...” Ray was saying, causing her heart to stutter violently.  “So that we...so that I can get inside you.” Jesus H Christ. Her mouth ran dry due to the combination of his words and that...that expression (dark, foreboding, and intense). She felt (much to her embarrassment) her panties getting wet as she submissively mumbled, “Anything for you, Ray. I’ll do whatever you say.”  His smile told her that she was in trouble (it promised pain...but maybe the kind she liked), but he led her inside soon afterwards.  She didn’t sleep at all that night (was she scared? A little. Turned on? Significantly more than was appropriate). 

“I almost grabbed you when you were going into your room...without even realizing it myself.”  MC choked reading that message. Did this man have any idea, any idea at all, what he sounded like?  “I wish I could code your mind.” She thought about Ray taking over every inch of her. Controlling her actions, her thoughts, her speech patterns...just like his AIs. She knew it was something she shouldn’t find attractive. She knew Ray was serious. But... Her whole body shuddered at the idea.  “So that you’ll like me and me only.”  Only thinking of Ray. Only ever being with Ray. Being his personal pet...sounded pretty good. He could make her feel good, couldn’t he? If he owned her, he could make her feel however he wanted her to.  Her hand snuck into her panties as Ray continued to type. He wouldn’t notice if her responses were a little slow. At least, she hoped he wouldn’t notice. It would be awkward (her spine arched) if he were to come in now (her door wasn’t locked to him...what a thought that was. He could waltz in when she was gone...or sleeping...or doing this...). At midnight he offered to take her to paradise and she decided to interpret his words however she liked. He told her he’d put a seed inside of her, let it bear fruit, and it would bring them both happiness. She let the words echo in her head and she flicked her clit, far harsher than she usually would, and the pleasure/pain took her straight over the edge (would he hurt her? She wanted him to).  “Please, plant your seeds inside of me. i want to grow into something that is yours and be happy, Ray.” She typed, her fingers shaking and her heart beating rabbit-fast. He paused for a long time, his waltz playing along with her heavy breathing, before he finally replied, “You want to be...mine? Just mine?” Before she could type (moan, beg, whatever) yes, Ray abruptly stated that the chat was becoming unstable and that he needed to fix it, leaving her behind (but not without calling her his princess).  God, she had a problem.

The following evening, he spoke to her about happy endings and obsession and she...she just couldn’t help herself. He had to stabilize the messenger since one of his AIs was catching onto him, but... She called him. She wanted to hear his voice (while she took herself apart).  “MC? I’m so happy you called me - your voice is so bright that I wish you’d call me forever - but I’m really busy right now.”  He said, his voice a little rougher than usual, “Could I bring you dinner later? You need to make sure you eat enough. I won’t let you get sick or waste all your time talking to those AIs. You deserve better...”  He mumbled. She closed her eyes and let the threads of his possessive (obsessive) nature wash over her. She wanted to hear him talk about the AIs that he hated for taking her attention away. She wanted to hear him demand that she tell him whatever he wanted to hear.  “Ray.” She whispered, drawing one long nail down her ribs slowly,  “Can I come to you? Or can I just listen to you work? I need you.” He inhaled sharply, “Come to me? Ye- no, no, not while I’m doing this. My coding is a secret, though I’d love to share it with you. I don’t want to keep any secrets from you, not like V, or that red-haired liar. But you haven’t, you haven’t gone through the ceremony...” MC cut off his rambling with a heavy voice (one she’d used in many bedrooms before, but never on the phone),  “I’ll do the ceremony. I’ll do whatever you want. Just...stay with me, Ray. I want to hear you.”  His silence was thick and she let her mind wander. Was he hard right now? Did he even understand what she was implying? He had to realize the power he had right now.  “You’d do the ceremony? Right now, without even knowing what it is? Even if it took you away from everyone and anyone you’ve ever known?” He asked (voice dipping even lower, shaking just the slightest bit with restraint), “You can come to me. But you won’t be allowed to see anything. Somebody will come in and blindfold you.” Her fingers were buried inside of herself and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to remove them even if somebody came through her door. As long as Ray was on the phone she would continue (spreading her fingers, stretching painfully, getting the edge of burning that she’d lusted after ever since-). “Yes.”  She agreed, ready for further instructions (”Put in another finger, push harder, use your nails and scratch-”). Her voice had gone breathless and high. “You can’t touch anything either, so I’m going to tie your hands. You’ll only move when I let you move. You won’t try to leave me, right?” She could only moan in response, but it seemed to be good enough for him. “Put your hands in front of you, close your eyes, and wait at the door.” He ordered and, though she whined at having to move her (now very sticky) hands, she obeyed. He didn’t say to clean herself off, so she wasn’t going to.

MC gasped when, blindfolded, half-dressed, and with cum-stained hands, Ray wrapped a length of rope around her wrists. It wasn’t rope designed for playtime (it hurt...she preferred that). She wondered if he had any idea of the fact that she reeked of sex or that her wetness was flaking underneath her fingernails.  His finger trailed along her right hand and he exhaled like he’d been punched. He knew. He had to know.  She leaned in the direction she thought he was in, blindly trusting him to hold her. Ray startled badly when her breasts pressed into his arm, but he didn’t let her fall (she wished she could be on the floor for him, however that would have to wait...). His hands wrapped around her neck for just a second (a stuttered heartbeat) and she pressed her throat into his grip obligingly.  The door to the room they were in slammed shut. Whoever had escorted her here sure left in a hurry. She wondered what expression Ray was making - was he angry? Was he letting that intensity bleed straight through his naivety at last?  “What are you doing? Are you trying to get secrets out of me, too? Is that why you really wanted in here?”  He demanded. releasing her neck and withdrawing from her body. She leaned forward and, without hesitating, he lunged for her again (she shouldn’t find it sweet. She shouldn’t enjoy that he was this...attentive).  “I almost grabbed you.” She said, speaking directly into his ear due to the way he was holding her,  “Without realizing it myself. I didn’t want to let you go.” Ray shuddered, his hips twitching forward, pressing the buttons on his coat into her stomach (she burned, she was actually burning up, this was ridiculous-). “Touching you feels so pure like this. There’s nothing in this room but you.” She went on, pushing his buttons with her body and with her words (look at me, obsess over me, only me, please, please, please). Dangerous men were always looking for an excuse to fall into pleasure. She was giving him an excuse. God, she hoped he would take the bait. “If you and I become one, will it always feel like this? Like there’s nothing in my life but you? Nothing would make me happier.”  She mumbled, letting her tongue flick out between sentences to brush the shell of Ray’s ear (she could almost feel it heat up beneath her tongue). She heard his computer beep in protest somewhere in the back of the room, but she didn’t care if his AIs hacked him. They weren’t real. This was real.  Ray’s breathing had gone erratic. His hands were convulsively clenching her arms and she could feel how heavy and hot his erection had grown (pressing into the soft skin of her stomach like a knife).  “You...”  His breath hitched as MC rocked forward, “You need the elixar. You need to be changed before I...before I...” Impatiently, she sunk her teeth into his neck (hard enough to bruise), “Change me. I want you to change me. Own me. Put a piece of you inside of me so that I will never be able to get away. The elixar might make me one of you, but this,” She squeezed her thighs around one of his (wishing she could squeeze her throat around his cock instead, that she could choke on it and be a good girl),  “Will make me part of you. Just. You.” 

When he finally entered her, it was with brutality and no finesse. There was no preparation. No mercy. There were only his hands around her throat, his erection pulsing inside of her, and his voice demanding one thing of her.  “Call me Saeran.”  When she had the air to scream, his name was the only thing she said.

[adrenalineguide]

VW Beetle: A Fond Farewell

Text and Photos by Michael Hozjan

Cruising around in the 2019 Beetle – because that’s what you do in a Beetle, you cruise, you don’t drive, I began reminiscing about all my days, nay years, behind the wheel of a Beetle. Maybe it’s because this will probably be the last time I’ll be behind the wheel of a new Beetle for quite some time. Unless you’ve been living on a mountaintop in Tibet for the last year or a cave in Afghanistan I’m sure you know that Volkswagen is again ceasing production of the Beetle.

And so it was that as I looked at the road ahead through the Beetle’s curvaceous windshield my mind went back and forth from old to new. My first Beetle was a ’64 that I purchased for $200 when I was 16 and couldn’t bring home for two weeks until I turned 17 so I didn’t need my father’s signature on the regi. Which he wouldn’t have signed anyway. A few months later I bought my “winter car” a ’63 for $50. As fate would have it the ’63 would prove to be my main ride well into the following summer as the ’64 went into project mode. Numerous other VWs followed in short succession, including a ’61 convertible, a ’56 combi van, a 68 bus. Two of my favorites were a black ’57 and a black ’56, commonly know as an oval window. Neither however were mine. One I found for a friend who clearly was not meant to drive a 36 horsepower vehicle, especially when only a few years earlier he was running a 300+ hp ’69 Camaro. He burnt the motor within weeks. The ’56 car was luckier it went to another friend who customized it over the years to a head turning, show stopper. I drove both cars before their owners did and must admit I was jealous that I hadn’t picked them up for myself. Both cars were bought for under a hundred and were pristine.

If cars have souls then the ’56 certainly felt me yearning for her that fateful day that we were towing it with a long rope to a storage garage on Montreal’s Plateau.

It’s all in the windshield

And so it came to be that as I gazed out the windshield of my tester I went back to looking out the tiny windshield of that black ’56 and realized how far the Beetle has come. Yet I still can’t help but feel some sadness, not for the Beetle’s latest demise but it’s failure to rise to the stature it once held when the Mays & Thomas designed New Beetle debuted back in 1997. Has it been 22 years already!? Over styled, overly cute and who wants a flower vase? The New Beetle proved that design and marketing fowl ups were not limited to Edsel. Even with my long arms I couldn’t clean the base of the windshield on the inside or the dash.  Of course that has all changed with the latest version. How I wish that this car had been released in 1997 and wonder if it would have brought the Beetle phenomenon back? At least one thing is certain sales would have been better, with even the most die-hard macho male attesting that this is by far a more masculine looking Beetle.

An inviting interior

The latest car features just enough retro touches to make the old Beetllephiles like myself fall in love all over again. VW has chosen some odd stich patterns for their seats but they seem to work in providing a merry interior. You can’t be serious with the Beetle after all. The suitcase storage bin behind the rear seat backs, where many of us kids rode in on the way to the beach is gone. Yes the trunk space is still limited when compared to other compacts but you can still fold down the seats. Foot leg and headroom are paramount in the Beetle, at least if your in the front, the back bench is another story and depends wholly on how tall the front seat occupants are if you’re hoping for lots of leg room.

Power  

Whether I was going down Decarie Expressway in my ‘64’s forty horsepower mill or my buddy’s 36 horse, it didn’t make a whole lot of difference, making it to 60 mph was a feat celebrated and depended on whether there was a back draft pushing you or not and if you were going downhill or uphill. Thankfully with 174 horses on tap from the 2.0 TSI Turbocharged four that isn’t a problem anymore, scooting my tester to 100kph in just under 7.5 seconds and reaching the 200 k mark in 32 seconds. Sadly VW has eliminated the manual transmission from the package, vowing instead to give us the Tiptronic with paddle shifters for the six-speed. Oh and the tiny four wheel drum brakes have been replaced by discs.

A lot to like, but…

I won’t go into all the infotainment mumbo jumbo as most cars in 2019 feature all the same gizmos. Nothing revolutionary just a lot easier to circumnavigate the various buttons and functions than some of the competition. One thing that stands out that I have repeatedly praised is the Beetle’s back up camera smartly hidden from the elements behind the large VW logo. Oddly enough the high end Atlas keeps the camera in plain sight like the competitors make its camera prone to road dirt. Go figure. My tester the, Wolfsburg trim, also came with the swivel cornering lights, standard equipment on the Dune but an option well worth considering if you’re going with the entry level trim.  They’re wonderful and a must in lighting up country lanes at night.

One thing that has puzzled me for years is Volkswagens refusal or absence of foresight to release a GTI version of the Beetle.  Undoubtedly it would have been a huge success particularly in the VW racing/hot rodding community without taking anything away from the Golf, especially seeing as how in recent years that has been alienated to a four-door iteration.

Prices start at a measly $24,475 for the base Wolfsburg sedan and $28,475 for the convertible, not bad for an instant classic. I can see the classic car auctions in a few years; “The last production gas Beetle ever made of which only 30,000 were made and this is serial number …”

If you read between the lines you’ll see that I’m betting that the sun has still not completely set on the Beetle and an all-new Beetle will be rolling out of Wolfsburg in a few years…an electric Beetle. Now that would truly make it a People’s Car, but please no flower vase.

Oh and if you think a car doesn’t have soul, that black ’56 found it’s way to my garage almost forty years later, but that’s another story.

[duckydoesthings]

MONSTER

Summary: Riku is forced into a new reality, when his father Sephiroth pulls him out of the Midgar University and puts him in the ShinRa Military Academy. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to go through. CHARACTERS: Riku Jenova: Born to Sephiroth and Aqua, he is the youngest son out of the quadruplets. Unlike his brothers, Riku is passive and even dreams about being an artist. When his mother died of cancer, he changed his dream to being a paramedic.

Sephiroth Jenova: Father to his sons and husband to late Aqua. Retired military and now currently works as a tester for ShinRa's weapons project. While he deeply cares and loves his sons, he is very strict and has OCD.

Aqua Jenova: Mother to the boys. She worked as a materia and magic specialist at ShinRa before she was diagnosed with lung cancer and was laid to rest two years ago. Unlike her husband, Aqua always pushed her sons to dream big and to follow their heart.

Yazoo, Kadaj and Loz Jenova: Riku's older twins. Yazoo is more chilled out and spends a lot of his time outside, doing work around the house. Kadaj gets his anger issues from his father and does various different martial arts to help control his rage. Loz is a major sports geek and bit of an airhead, but also wears his heart on his sleeve. Loz best gets along with Riku.

Tseng of the Turks: Little is known about Tseng, with the exception of being the leader of President Rufus ShinRa's personal protection service. He dresses in a black suit, and always puts his shoulder length hair in a ponytail. It is also known that he has a tattoo on the back of his neck of a white lily with the stem being loosely wrapped with a pink ribbon.

Kairi Evelon: One of Riku's online friends. She lives on a luscious set of islands where the Jenova family go in the summers. They had been friends for several years and she also helped him through the grief of loosing his mother.

The sound of the Skype call tone interrupted the calm silence of his bedroom. Riku tapped the answer button and set the tablet up to face him.

"Hey Kai. How was the drive over here?" "It was good! I really like Midgar so far!" Riku smiled at her enthusiasm for his home city. It was endearing and really cute. "Its so different then Destiny Islands." "Are you sure? I've been to the islands during the summer." Kairi laughed, leaning back into the hotel chair. The hotel she was staying in was cheap and run down. He offered to help pay for the hotel, but she refused, saying something about how the trip was about him. "You have a point, but there is a considerable difference between the islands and Midgar, Riku." "You're trying to sell a sweater that I've owned my entire life." Riku pointed out, smiling again. He definitely was happy that she was here in the city and he was looking forward to seeing her again. It had been a few years since they had visited their summer home, it was really nice to have that type of relaxed feeling again. "Oh! Sassy Sue over here. Come on Riku, don't look so dazed. I'm here in Midgar for you." "I have a feeling that you're not telling me the full story." "What do you mean?" Clearly she was playing innocent. He knew her well enough to see that. "Why would you come all the way from Destiny Islands to Midgar just to see me?" Kairi shrugged, and leaned forward to grab an envelope. She sat back and started to open it. The white envelope was ripped open and it looked used for a notebook as well. This only made him worry for a second. "Miss Evelon," She started to read the letter, trying to hide her mouth with the paper. It was easy to see she was beginning to smile. "We have reviewed your application and essay, and after careful considerations, we at Midgar University have accepted your application." Riku listened carefully and was absolute shocked. She had gotten accepted into MU too? He couldn't stop the ear to ear grin that appeared on his face. "Kairi! That's so cool! Congratulations!" The redhead put the letter and envelope back onto the desk, matching his grin with her own. "I didn't want to tell you until I was here, so we could tour the campus together!" To him, the way she said it sounded like a date. His cheeks turned a light pink at the thought. "Of course! I just can't believe you kept this from me!" He exclaimed, keeping the smile on his face. From the second floor, he heard the door open and close. Clearly it was his father, coming home from work. "I'm not sorry. Seeing your face made it all worthwhile." She chuckled, pushing her bangs out of her face. She noticed that he had turned away from the screen and towards his door. "Riku?" An older man's voice called faintly through the door. The boy turned back to the tablet and frowned. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" "Yeah of course. Text me later.." After waving to his friend, he ended the call and shut off the screen. Honestly, he hated to end the call there, but his dad called for him and it was just best to go. Leaving his tablet on the desk, he pushed out of his chair and headed towards the door. 'What could he possibly want now?' Riku thought to himself as he exited his bedroom and headed down the hallway towards the stairs. As he made it to the stairs, Kadaj poked his head out of his room and saw his youngest brother, giving him a knowingly smirk. "What do you want Kadaj? I don't have the time." The boy started for the stairs only to have his big brother block the stairway. "I just thought you would like to hear what I heard the other day." Kadaj crossed his arms over his chest. Out of all his brothers, Kadaj was the one he liked the least. He was always acting like he was better than everyone else and it drove Riku crazy. "I could hardly care less, 'Dajie." The older brother flinched at the childish nickname. "Let me pass, dad called for me." Kadaj moved out of the way, but as Riku started to move for the steps, he said something to get him to stop. "Dad was talking to the head administer of MU a few days ago." Riku turned swiftly and looked at his brother. His mind raced but the only question he wanted answered was 'Why?'. "And?" "And, you should be careful. Dad probably has something up his sleeve." Kadaj shrugged and turned back towards his room, leaving Riku to find the answers himself. He took one last look at his brother before proceeding down the stairs. What did he mean by be careful? Kadaj almost never tried to protect him, especially when it came to their father. There were many times he would throw Riku under the bus even if it was his fault. Riku's stomach twisted into knots as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Slowly he walked past the foyer and into the sitting room to the right of the stairs. Each step he took made his heart race faster and faster. His heart seemed to stop the moment he passed under the white arch and saw his father standing with his back to him, facing the large bay window. Rain decorated the glass with little splatters. If he wasn't so anxious at the moment, he would have thought the scene was so calming. "You called for me, dad?" Riku asked, taking a few steps forward towards his father, heart practically in his throat. Kadaj's warning kept echoing in his head, causing his already high anxiety to skyrocket. Sephiroth kept looking out the window as he spoke in a low monotone voice. "Take a seat, Riku." Obeying his father, he took a seat on the white leather couch, sitting as far away as he could. Was he scared of his father? No doubt about that. Whenever his father got angry, he would reserve himself into a cold and calculating manner and would attack with the determination to break the inner core of the person he was angry at. It was great for when he had served in the Wutai War, but being a father to someone with some mental issues was Riku's one way ticket to a nervous breakdown. Sephiroth turned towards his son with a blank expression on his face and took a seat on the other side of the couch, blatantly passing the armchair that he could have sat in. The house was an eerie calm as Riku waited for his father to speak. "I've pulled you out of Midgar University." Riku sat in shock the moment he heard those words. Did he even hear him right? Everything that he had worked for, vanished the moment his father opened his mouth. He sacrificed a lot of his free time to enter the university right after high school ended, mainly by making sure his GPA was a 4.0 and had several scholarships lined up. He even had a summer job lined up to pay for things that the scholarships didn't, like books or extra items. "Why would you do that?!" Anger flared inside of Riku, causing him to stand up and raise his voice. Never in his life had he even so much as gave his father a dirty look without immense fear he would retaliate in some way, but this was the last straw. His hands started to shake so bad he curled them into a ball and held them to his side. Sephiroth's eyebrows scrunched together and his aquamarine eyes hardened. The boy knew he screwed up bad, but his anger only clouded his judgement. "Sit down, Riku. I will not ask you again." "Not until you tell me why you ruined my life!" Riku turned around and took several steps away from his dad, running his hands through his long hair. He hardly got mad but when he did, he would absolutely loose it. His anger was one of the horrible traits he had gotten from his father. He knew better than to lash out at Sephiroth but there was clearly something else going down that only made Riku's nerve spike to fight mode. "Ruined your life?" Standing up, Sephiroth growled at his son. He crossed the room in three strides and grabbed his wrist, spinning the boy around. Shock crossed Riku's face as he stared at his dad, the anger subsiding rapidly. "You're the one that ruined my life. If it wasn't for your mother, I would have gotten rid of you a lot sooner." Time froze for Riku in that moment. The words echoed in his head, combining with the pain of his wrist being squeezed started to break him down, though he refused to let tears fall as he started to snap out of his paused state. "W-What?" The word came out as a croak. His mind was still processing what his father said. The grip on his hand was released, as Sephiroth stepped away from him. Clearly his goal was to hurt Riku beyond compare, and it worked. He stumbled back and hit his back against the pillar for the door. "I don't need to explain my actions to you. For your mother's sake, I'm sending you to a private college." Again, what? For his mother's sake? If Sephiroth hated him so much, why was he going out of his way to send him to a private college? Nothing was making sense, and it only made his head hurt with swarming thoughts. It was as if his father shook a nest of wasps and let it loose in his brain. "Private college?" Riku took a moment to let his heart calm down before speaking. His hand started to shake a bit. Combined with his racing heart, he could only assume he was on the verge of a anxiety attack. He had to leave the room soon or he wouldn't be able to hide his broken side, only which would be ridiculed by his father. There was a moment of silence between them as Sephiroth watched his son with cat-like eyes. Riku adverted his gaze down, his bangs covering his eyes to hide the tears that started to well up. He had to curl his hands tighter to keep them from shaking further. "Yes, private college. You leave in the morning." Morning? That wasn't much time to pack his things or say goodbye to his brothers. "M-May I be excused to pack?" The words were choked and wobbly, a side affect of his throat tightening. His eyes looked up through his screen of silver hair to see his father wave him away as if it didn't matter to him whether or not he was going to pack. Riku gave his father a curt bow before running back to his room upstairs, where he shut the door and fell against it. He slid down to the floor and covered his mouth to hide his uncontrollable sobbing as much as possible. How could his father do this to him? Unlike his brothers, he was as much as an exemplary son as he possibly could be. He would never miss curfew, always landed on the honor roll, and was always offered to help the family in every way he could. Riku couldn't possibly think of why his father hated him with such a passion that he would even say something like that. Even going as far as sending him away, only re-sparked the fire in his self-hatred pyre. All of this only made him cry harder, tears staining his shirt. As his started to calm down, and the anxiety pressure lowered, there was a chocobo wark that interrupted his thoughts. It was Kairi's personal text tone, one she set for him. It always reminded him of the time when he first met her. She had nearly bowled him over on a runaway chocobo, only to later teach him how to ride them. Riku crawled over to his desk and grabbed the phone, then resumed to sit on the floor with his back against the desk. Whenever he had his panic attacks being down on the floor helped ground him faster. He really didn't know why it helped but he wouldn't complain when he would come out of a panic attack faster. [Kairi: r u ok??? pls txt me] His fingers stumbled as he proceeded to type his response to her, causing him to rely on auto correct to fix his mistakes. [Riku: Are you at the hotel? I need to see you ASAP.] Barely half a minute later, her response came in.

[Kairi: yes im here. do i need 2 get u???] [Riku: No, I can get there by myself. I'll be there soon.] [Kairi: kk. c u soon] The phone was set back on the desk as he got up. He needed to get out of the house so bad that he didn't care about escaping through his window. What did it matter anyways? If his dad hated him so bad, then sneaking out wasn't going to be a huge problem. Grabbing his converse from the shoe rack in his closet, he slipped them on and sloppily tied the laces. As long as his laces wouldn't get caught in the bike chain, he didn't care about how they were tied. Before he left, he made sure to grab his hoodie and phone. The sun had almost finished setting as Riku pushed open the window and peered out. It was early June, yet it was still warm even as the sun had almost completely hidden itself among the horizon. He had only escaped from his room a few times, each time making his anxiety spike from the overall act of defying his father. This time was different. His heart started to harden from his anxiety attack and listening to his father's abusive poison. Riku slipped out of the window and hung onto the frame, digging his fingers into the eggshell white painted wood. This side of the house was flat, and the only way he could get down safely was risking a jump to the tree that sat at least five feet away from his outstretched hand. It was quite the jump and the previous times he risked it, he made it and always thanked the Six for not falling. He could only hope that this time would be the same. As he jumped, there was a moment of serenity as the wind pushed back his hair and he felt as if time stopped in one moment to allow him the brief second of peace. That moment ended when his face came in contact with the bark of the tree. The boy fell several feet, hitting branch after branch until he managed to catch himself, his body dangling in the air. "F-Fuuck!" Riku cursed as his shaky muscles strained to hold onto the branch. There was a good ten feet to go before his feet would touch the ground. His muscles were screaming at him, combining with the now several scraped and bleeding cuts on his hands and face, he lost his grip again and fell. There was no way he was going to be thanking the Six now. His ass felt like it was broken, or at least really badly bruised. Luck or no, he was just glad he landed next to the roots and not on top of them. Slowly, he rose, dusting off the dirt and bark that clung to his clothes. The only real damage was done to his head, where a an open cut to his eyebrow allowed blood to cascade down his face. He touched the wound and realized that he'll need to put something on it or it'll get worse. Making his way towards the garage, Riku checked over his shoulder out of paranoia. Maybe he wasn't as uncaring as he previously thought he was. Still he ventured forth, opening the back door of the garage and slipped in. The garage was dark, even with the last rays of the sun coloring the windows in a dark pink and red glow. It made the room have an eerily feeling, with all the dark shadows lurking where the the little bit of light wouldn't reach. Even as he slowly made his way to the front corner, the hairs on his arms and neck stood on edge. There was still a bit of a fear of the dark that rushed his actions towards the med-kit, where he hastily slapped a band aid on his eyebrow; proceeding to grab his bike and leave the house behind, wind stinging his scrapes as he pedaled his way towards the hotel where Kairi was waiting for him. Her heart jumped to her throat. She was so wrapped up in the game she was playing, that when someone had knocked on the door, it scared her just a bit. Kairi quickly rolled off the bed and opened the door to a sight she wasn't ready to see. He had looked like he was just in a life or death fight with a lion. "Oh my God, Riku! Are you okay? What happened? Was it your brothers? I'll kill them." Her words started to run together as she rushed to her bag and dug through the contents to find a med kit she always carried. He stepped into the hotel and closed the door behind him, taking a set on the edge of her bed. "Kai, I'm fine." The redhead found the small white box and pulled it out, a pair of purple lace panties falling out along with it. Riku noticed it, but couldn't say anything as she turned his face to her as she sat on the bed next to him. "Tell me what happened." He noticed that her voice changed from frantic worried for her friend to calm and authoritative. It made him follow her command, his skin tingling where she touched his jaw. "I fell right into a tree, trying to jump out of th-OW!" His story was cut off as she ripped off the makeshift band aid. She got up, and left him alone in the room for a brief moment. Riku could hear the water running as he assumed she was going to wash his face for him. His cheeks burned at the thought of her holding his jaw with her soft hands. "You were saying?" Kairi interrupted his thoughts, sitting back on the bed, once again holding his jaw with one of her hands while the other dabbed at the now dried blood on his face. "I pissed off a earth nomad, and they exacted their revenge on my face." He joked, pulling his lips into a smile. They were so dry, they cracked easily and started to bleed. Out of habit, he licked the blood away, awarding himself with a bap to the cheek from Kairi. "Riku, please don't do that. It's gross and I have a towel." Wiping away the blood on his lip, she returned her attention to the cut on his eyebrow. "Good news, your cut doesn't look too bad. It'll hurt for a while, but you'll heal nicely. Maybe even have a scar." "A scar? On this perfect complexion?! I can not have it!" He retorted sarcastically, watching her expression turn from pure concentration to the smile he always knew she would wear. It made his heart skip a beat, knowing that she was here for him. Not only for his mental needs, but that she was sitting with her leg pressed against his. Kairi chuckled as she stopped dabbing at his eyebrow and turned away to grab a bandage and a butterfly band aid. In that moment, Riku took a shaky breath that he realized he had been holding in. His heart was pounding like crazy, beating loud enough he thought that she had heard it too. 'Was this even the right thing to do? We're going to be in different schools... I don't want to chance it...' He looked down at his lap, where his hands laid in curled balls to stop the shaking. Maybe I'm just not ready for this.. "Riku?" As he turned to look at her, his body seemed to make up his mind for him. Her lavender eyes sparkled as their sight connected and in that instant, the world and pain seemed to melt away. In that moment absolute peace calmed his manic energy, as he found himself leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers. Time seemed to stop in that moment of pure bliss. All his fantasies of kissing Kairi had finally came to the climax as they kissed. For a moment in time everything was right. Kairi pulled away and looked at him, nibbling on her bottom lip. His mind started to race with anxiety and instantly shaming himself for making a bold and stupid move. "I.... I didn't know you felt that way, Riku." Her voice was in a cracked whisper, the kiss absolutely shaking her to her core. Yet she didn't make a move to leave Riku's side. He turned his head away, cheeks burning hotly. He messed up and it was probably best for him to go. The constant thoughts of his actions assulted his mind in how badly he just screwed up their friendship due to his feelings for her. Kairi must not have thought so. She reached over and touched his chin, turning his head back towards her. Their eyes met again, as her hands moved to caress both of his cheeks. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the street below as the merchants were saying goodbye to the last of the customers before locking up and heading home. None of that mattered. The world didn't matter. Not while Kairi was holding his cheek. "Kairi, I...." A thumb was placed over his lip to silence him. "Shh. Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong." She smiled a sweet smiled, pulling his face towards hers again, moving her thumb right as their lips connected again. The world melted away again, leaving them in their own little void of bliss. She seemed to know exactly what made him weak in the knees, as she slipped her fingers into his hair, and dropped a hand to his thigh, using her thumb to make little circles. Riku closed his eyes, feeling more comfortable with himself as he twisted his body to face her more. His hands grabbed onto her hips, pulling her onto his lap. It broke the kiss for a mere moment, but in their passion, they both continued even as her pushed his back against the bed. The bandages fell to the floor, being long forgotten by the two teens as they kissed. Kairi had given Riku full control, letting him set the pace, even if it turned from a simple lip to lip to full on tongue play. The boy pulled away after a little bit, resting his head back and sighing happily, eyes still closed. He felt everything in that moment like his entire body was a giant heart, beating together as one strong unit. "If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed you've made out with other people before." Kairi giggled, getting off of him and grabbed the band aids off the floor. She didn't forget the original mission, and patiently waited for him to sit up so she could take care of his wound. "Thank the Six for your dream of being a paramedic." Riku stated, resting against his elbows as she ripped open the paper wrapping then setting the band aid on his face. He watched her, as a smile came onto his face. Even sitting in her pjs of a tank top and Tinkerbell fuzzy sleep pants, she looked so beautiful to him. Maybe they could make it work after all. "We'll be 'medics together, Riku." She smiled, applying the bandage around his head a few times. In that moment everything came crashing down again. That was the real reason why he was here. Was to tell her what happened, not make out sessions. Although he would have preferred the latter. As she sat back on the bed, he sat up, turning his head to the other side, refusing to look at her. She could tell his mood shifted quickly, and she knew that something major had gone down. Kairi put a comforting hand on his shoulder as she returned to sit next to him on the edge of the bed. "My dad pulled me out of MU." The redhead sat in shock for a moment, trying to wrap her head around the sudden actions. Truthfully she was still thinking about their kiss, and now that the words escaped his mouth, all hope that they would be a couple flew out the window. "Tell me everything, Riku." He turned to look at her with sad eyes and told her everything that happened, from when he left the skype call all the way up to him arriving at her hotel room. Never did he stop looking at her, desperate to savor every second he would have with her. As he finished his story, her hand found his leg, gently rubbing it to keep him calm. "He can't do that." Riku looked at her with a questionable expression. "Kai, I'm not 18 yet. He can do whatever he wants as long as it fits along the guidelines of CPS." At that moment he lost her. She pushed away from him and started pacing the room, curling and uncurling her hands. Kairi was clearly more upset than him in that moment, although he had reserved himself to a state of numbness. "That abusive fuck! He has no respect for you, or your mother. How could he even say he was sending you away for you mother's sake?! That's like beating your child but telling them that it's for the good of their future. God, I'm about ready to go over there and give him a piece of my mind." The silver haired boy sat quietly allowing her to go on her rant. She wasn't really going to go, but it was just better to let her complain. He hated that he had to tell her, but the alternative of not telling her and she finding out another way was worse. "Kai, I don't like it either. I had my heart set on going to Midgar University and studying to be a paramedic, but now??? I don't even know where I'm going, let alone being able to be a paramedic." His throat tightened, as tears started to well up in his eyes. The realization was starting to set in that all this was happening and he couldn't handle another round of tears. His body was so worn out from his panic attack earlier, combined with his scrapes and the long distance he had to ride to get here, he was hanging on by a thread of strength. She returned to his side and pulled him to rest against her chest. He heard her heartbeat, a constant steady rhythm beating life through her, it started to lull him towards dreamland. Combined with the calming strokes she did against his back, Riku almost slipped away. "I should probably take you home." With Kairi's help, Riku managed to get his back tied to the top of her light blue Volkswagon Bug. It didn't exactly matter to him, but if he intentionally allowed someone to steal his bike, his mother would be ashamed from the lifestream. The time that he spent with Kairi on the drive back to his father's house was spend in a soothing silence. She kept her hand on his thigh, as if trying to send him good vibes. It was the least she could do since he was basically going through this all alone. Before she left, she kissed him one last time. A sweet and lingering kiss, with promises for the future. He watched as she drove off, the powder blue bug soon turning to a speck of dust along the streets of Midgar's Sector 2. The boy didn't remember how he had gotten to bed. The gap in his memory completely okay with him as he crawled into bed, kicking off the converse and surrendered himself to a blanket cacoon that swallowed him whole. That night he slept a dreamless sleep, slipping into a void of nothingness while he resigned himself to his inevitable fate.

[goingrvway]

Put Your HORSE on a Leash!

Ok, so it isn’t a horse…but it is tall enough to be a miniature horse, and I would hate to have to carry around a poop bag for this baby.  I don’t understand WHY some people think their dog is too good for a leash.  First noticed this friendly monster as I took Bubba and Skruffy for a walk after we changed sites at the Florence Keller Park…more on the change in a bit.  As I walk by the site this large group of people were at I noticed this HUGE dog, with a short lady holding onto its collar.  Its head came up past her belly button…but the dog did not fight her, or do anything but look at Skruffy and Bubba as they past by.  Skruffy did not see the dog, but at the last minute she smelled it and just started to run over that way until I gave her a small tug.  Bubba did see it, went over by it, but just did nothing but keep walking.

To be fair, in both of these pictures the dog is on a leash.  But it was running around off leash for a long time.  Just prior to this picture I was outside at our new site sitting on the bench.  I look down and it is looking right at me.  Then it looks at its owner, then back at me and takes four steps my way.  Then stops and looks back at the owner, who is oblivious to the dog, and the dog is smart enough to know this, so it takes four more steps, looks back, sees it is clear, and trots over to me.  It is very friendly, and I tell it hello and pet its head, which is eye level with me as I was sitting down.  Then the “master” calls for it, and I tell it to go home and not to come back.  Next time I see it, it is on leash.  However, a few hours later I see it is off leash again.  PEOPLE, you might think YOU have a nice dog…but the dog someone is walking by your site might not think it is so nice, and a fight could come fast and furiously. 

Here is our new site…it is the largest pull through in the campground…site “B”.  Why some are numbered and some lettered beats me…I think this portion of the campground is not as old as the numbered area.  After two nights we decided that we needed to catch some free WiFi to download some movies from Amazon.  We first tried Walmart, but it was very slow…but we did buy just a few things while there.  Then we tried Starbucks, but the Home Depot signal came in better…but I was still thinking we could do better.  We headed over to the Public Library, and before I went inside I tried to find some WiFi…and to my surprise, the State Park Headquarters across the street had a good, fast, strong WiFi, and we sat there for a couple of hours downloaded about six movies.  While there, I decided to finally try a DVD in our GPS Sound System…I had told Marcia I thought a DVD could play in it, and yes, it can.  So we watched “Quiet Man” for about the tenth time in the past couple of years.

You can see between the two pictures above that this pull through is very large…however, if you have a 40-45’ motorhome, keeping your tires on the pavement might be hard to do as it curves around these trees.  However, a truck and trailer combination would work just fine.  We would have pulled into the spot we had the past two nights, but some car with a tent took it from us.  We did not try to save it because we were only 90% sure we would return…and return we did.

All of the sites come with a picnic table which is made of hard plastic or rubber…I am sure it uses recycled materials, it is very firm, very durable, and you don’t get splinters in your butt.  There is a fire ring, and a nice place to pitch a tent if you are so inclined to do so.  All for $15, and there are many water spouts throughout the park, along with toilets…although many of the latter are the kind you see along side the road in work areas…if you know what I mean.  And their trash bins are made to look like tree trunks of cut-down trees…cute, but without signs I think many people don’t even know they are there.

In every RVer’s life comes death…death of your batteries.  I have noticed that our battery charge is getting shorter and shorter.  Once we got down to one of three lights, but after just an hour or so it would go from three lights to two lights on our meter reader…and I have voltage tester that I plug into a 12V outlet and it dropped from 12.6 volts to 12 volts in less than an hour with very little juice being used by us.  In normal use we could stay above 12.4 volts for a few hours.  So instead of waiting for a full death, I decided to get new batteries today (Saturday).  Being so close to Oregon, where not sales tax exist and typically cheaper prices, we headed to Brookings to Fred Myer.  This Fred Myer was as big as the one in Soldotna Alaska that we used a lot last year, but the parking was smaller…go figure.  However, they only had ONE of the Interstate batteries that I wanted…but as luck would have it, there is a place right across US 101 from Fred Myer called Carpenter Point S Tire & Auto Service, and they had two of the batteries I wanted.  Total price was $295, but we will get $30 back on Monday when we return the old batteries.  Went up to the rest area just north of Brookings where I “thought” we were going to change the batteries.  Thought about it and remembered a Passport America park just south of the border that we had been to before, so I called Salmon Harbor Resort (I hate when they use that resort name when they are nothing but a park), and they had one last spot that we could have for $19 per night.  So we turned south, declared no fruits or fire wood at the border check, and we pulled into the park in less than 20 minutes.  After resting for about an hour I took out the old batteries and put in the new…An hour later we were back in business with power.

     Salmon Harbor has some nice views…especially if you are one of the dozen lucky enough ones to get the waterfront spaces as seen in the picture above-right.  For everyone else, you are stuck in the other area which has little space, little privacy.  For us, however, we just wanted to get the batteries installed and give them a nice charge before we camp in more secluded areas.  Sunday night we will most likely stay at the Lucky 7 Casino and give the new batteries a try.

This is the office, game room, etc.  They have laundry, showers, and about 2/3rds of the sites have mobile homes in them.  Salmon Harbor has been a family-run business since 1989, but eight months ago the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation (which owns the casino) purchased the Salmon Harbor Resort and some other surrounding lands, about 60 acres in total, which are historical lands of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation.  For now, nothing has changed in the park…put people who have lived in the park for a long time are worried that it will shut down.  This area along the shoreline was a major village of the Tolowa Dee-ni’, there was a large Native American city in the area which was destroyed in 1853.  I think soon the whole area will have a new name…Xaa-wan’-k’wvt Village and Resort.

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