#i’d add a read more tag but the last time i tried that on mobile it fucked up my post

[handsome-john]

John’s Summer Comprehensive-Reading Program

Tried really hard to make that and SCP thing.

A majority of my followers probably don’t follow me for SCP content, I don’t know why you follow me in general but I thought, as someone who’s been reading for a while, I’d make my own recommended reading list for those who are interested but just don’t feel like combing through all that. I’ll be listing some skips, tales, and canons I enjoy with brief explanations

I am one man with limited free time, and so this list is just stuff I’ve personally read. If you have something to add to this recommended reading list feel free to do so! If you do not like any of the things I’ve listed here then good on you for taking the time to read them and forming your own opinions on things.

There will be several scp pages linked here, please let me know if anything is linked incorrectly.

A brief guide to onsite terminology

Thought I should write this out just for those who have no idea what I’m talking about. Scroll past this if you’re already familiar

SCP stands for several things, Secure Contain Protect is the main mantra of the site but it more commonly stands for Special Containment Procedures. An SCP is anything the foundation has, or is attempting to, contained. Skip and Scip are just shorthand, pronounced “skip”.

Object classes are not how dangerous a skip is but instead how hard they are to contain. On a scale of Safe Euclid Keter, Safe being the easiest and Keter being the hardest. Thaumiel skips are skips that contain other skips.

Goi and Poi stand for Groups of Interest and Person of Interest. The Foundation is not the only group that deals with the anomalous. Some of these groups or people make anomalies some of them do other things. Have fun reading up on them.

Amnestics and Mnestics erase or help bring back memories. Click here for a full guide to the different types.

A tale is just any story that is not an Scp but takes place within the universe.

MTF or Mobile Task Force are the people that go out into the field to deal with uncontained skips or threats. They tend to have a funny little nickname to go with them.

D-Class are Death-class or Disposable-class depending on who you ask. Deathrow criminals the foundation throws at whatever monster they want just to see what happens.

The Personnel And Character Dossier is a very useful list of almost every character with a dedicated tag. If you notice a name popping up several times and you want to know more it may be helpful to check this out.

In a similar vein, The O5 Command Dossier is a helpful guide to several different version of the O5 council, the end all last decision makers in the Foundation. Their role in the Foundation and who fills those rolls depends on the canon and/or the writer’s personal preference.

I would also recommend reading the History Of The Universe for a history of the wiki itself.

Some SCPs I would recommend based on my incredibly subjective opinions on things!

On the site there are several Curated lists of the best/most popular SCPs, these are super nice if you don’t wanna dive straight in. I’ve tried to pick several that are not on these lists, but there’s some cross overs. If none of this interests you please go check those out!

2721 - Eli & Lyris. What if two space stations became sentient and one of them got hyperfixated on Homestuck and the other became a discord moderator.

5477 - Brokeback Labyrinth. What if instead of getting eaten by the monster they banged instead.

5434 - A literal love god failing at love. A love god starts an app for giving out romantic advice.

4525 - u come 2 dad go. An scp featuring Poi dado and an anomalous store.

6345 - Huesos Malos (”Bad Bones”). A sentient skeleton becomes a lucha libre, an oddly heartwarming tale.

2875 - The Town That Got Fucked By Bears. Bears repeating.

3088 - Law of the Land. Local mayor discovers the ability to turn legal law into laws of nature.

5056 - The Constant Companions. A Story about a man and the ghost that follows him. Not too much on it’s own but this acts as the introduction of the On Guard 43 canon, as well as several tales around Philip Deering and his Mirror Ghost.

5382 - The Cure, and What Ails you. An anomalous sickness caused by Poi Thilo Zwist who now wishes to fix his mistakes.

5281-D - The Man of the Hour. An interesting dive into both an scp and the process by which the Foundation disposes of an scp if the need arises. (I promise this is the last Harry Blank article on this list)

2902 - The Human Skeleton Closet (and his cat). A man who can remove his skin and skeleton at will and a cat he taught to do the same thing. (Previously part of Herman Fuller’s Circus)

1893 - The Minotaur’s Tale. An interesting format break that requires multiple read-throughs.

3493 - The Great SCP Foundation Collaboration. A look at several alternate realities and their collective goals. (Also consider reading SCP-1437 are a similar idea :D!)

1867 - A Gentlemen. A sea slug convinced he is a British explorer with the stories and artifacts to back it up. Lord Blackwood narrates several other tales (Lord Blackwood and the Great Tarasque Hunt of '83 and Lord Blackwood In the Land of Wonder being my favorites)

1459 - The Puppy Machine. A machine that rewards creative ways to murder puppies. Maybe I am going to hell for this but the Experiment logs are infinitely entertaining.

2206 - Maximum League Baseball. What if they added trench warfare to baseball? (Also take the time to appreciate this tale and scp 6206 also linked on the article)

1896 - Indoor Salesmen. A persistent and highly anomalous door to door salesmen.

5049 - Demon Dan's Discount Homunculus Depot. A fairly self-explanatory title, this guys sells homunculus bodies at a discount.

4231 - The Montauk House. A harrowing tale of domestic abuse and the effects thereafter. Heed the warnings. I would recommend familiarizing yourself with Dr Alto Clef before reading.

3999 - I Am At the Center of Everything that Happens to me. A similarly harrowing tale about Researcher Talloran. If you enjoy this scp please take the time to appreciate ... Like Clockwork, a series diving into Talloran’s experiences and self reflection.

A Special Appreciation to the contest contestants and winners

Including these here as separate from my recommendation list. For every 000 milestone the wiki has done a small contest for who deserves the big number.

1000 - Bigfoot (Other submissions)

2000 - Deus Ex Machina (Other submissions)

3000 - Anantashesha (Other submissions)

4000 - Taboo (Other submissions)

5000 - Why? (Other submissions)

6000 - The Serpent, the Moose, and the Wanderer’s Library (Other submissions)

7000 - The Loser (Other Submissions)

Series 1 skips

These guys also get their own separate section because part of my goal here is encouraging people to read stuff that isn’t series one, but there are several skips in series one that affect much of the greater lore of the wiki.

105 - Iris Thompson. (And if you like her I can recommend Scp-1465, Scp-3002, SPC-105, The Resurrection Canon, and Devil’s Advocate)

166 - Meridiana Clef/Wojcienchowski. Daughter of Dr. Alto Clef. (And if you like her I can recommend 0166, Scp-4166, and the tale Hawaiian Shirts). I do wish she had her own tag and there was more of her in general, but here she is.

73 - Cain & 76 - Able (Abel?) (As well as their estranged brother Scp-4840) If you like Cain I can recommend the tale Mementos. If you like Able can I ask why? I really don’t get it. (not judging you, he just doesn’t appeal to me as a character)

507 - Grabnok. (And if you like him I can recommend the tale Day Trip)

96 - The Shy Guy. Classic murder monster, not much to say. Here’s Dr. Dan’s tag.

408 - Illusory Butterflies. (Introduction to Dr. Kondraki, and if you like him I can recommend the tales Duke Til’ Dawn, Portraits of Your Father, and The King is Dead)

784-Arc - Posthuman Brain. Formerly Agent Adrian Andrews. (Read about him in Incident Zero and the 784 Incident)

239 - Sigurros. (And if you like her I can recommend the 239-B Incident and Adventures of Siggy and Robomonkey)

113 - The Gender switcher. Trans rights! (Also check out the tale Legally a Falcon (For Tax Purposes)! And SCP-6113)

353 - Vector. (And if you like her I can recommend the tale An Apple a Day...)

423 - Fred. (And if you like him I can recommend Murphy Law)

Scp-001

There are many SCP 001s, I wouldn’t suggest these as the first things to read as many are very complicated and connect to larger canons. Here’s a few that are pretty good.

CODE NAME: S. D. Locke - When Day Breaks

CODE NAME: S. Andrew Swann - The Database

CODE NAME: Lily - The World's Gone Beautiful

CODE NAME: Dr. Clef - The Gate Guardian

CODE NAME: Dr. Gears - The Prototype

CODE NAME: Pickman/Blank - The Frontispiece

Some Groups on Interest you may be interested in

As I stated before the Foundation isn’t the only one that deals with the anomalous. I won’t go into too much detail with them as you can read about them yourselves, but here’s some I recommend with related material.

Global Occult Coalition (Consider reading the casefiles and the Unfounded Canon)

Are We Cool Yet? (Consider reading The Cool War)

Gamers Against Weed (Consider reading Cool and Awesome Ways to Say No to Weed and Jude's Bizarre Adventure)

Herman Fuller’s Circus of the Disquieting (Consider reading the Dread and Circuses Canon)

Dr. Wondertainment (Consider reading the What a Wonderful World Canon)

The Black Queen (Consider Reading up on Alison Chao and her father Dr Gears)

Serpent’s Hand (And the Foundation’s sister site The Wanderer’s Library)

Shark Punching Center (I don’t have anything to recommend here but SPC sure is a thing that exists)

And many more!

There is No Canon

I’ve mentioned several Canons throughout this list and I though I’d give a full recommendation of Canons I enjoy. While the wiki itself has no all encompassing canon there are several mini canons that follow their own rules. Some of them co-exist, some of them don’t, some of them are complicated.

I promise these canons are not as intimidating as they may seem, and I would really like to see more of some of these. Here’s my personal Favorites.

On Guard 43 - One of the first canons I’ve read and my personal favorite. I’ve already linked several things from the canon on this list, hope you’ll give this one a chance.

Resurrection -  A plot heavy look into the Foundation’s attempts to weaponize Scps, specifically Iris Thompson. One day the authors resurrect the Resurrection canon. (Insert Second Devil’s Advocate plug here)

S & C Plastics - A very fun look at causal life in the Foundation universe. If you like character based stories or prefer something a little less world ending then you’ll enjoy this canon.

Unfounded - An interesting look into a universe where the Foundation never existed.

Broken Masquerade - Another canon that criticizes the Foundation’s main goal, protection of secrecy.

What a Wonderful World - A deep dive into the past and future of Dr Wondertainment.

Daybreak - Following the events of S.D. Locke’s proposal how does life move on from such an event?

Dread & Circuses - With Herman Fuller gone the “freaks” take over the circus for themselves.

End of Death - What if everyone suddenly stopped dying all at once? An interesting tale of foundation woes. (On a slightly unrelated note, the story 17776 has a much more lighthearted take on a similar idea)

Ship In A Bottle - I feel like I should put a joke here. If you enjoy a bit of tactless humor and you’re familiar with Dr Clef an Dr Kondraki then this is a small canon about being human and also putting your dick in plastic bottles. If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea then please at least read the tale Lizzy the Big Weird Dog.

I feel like I should also mention Lolfoundation, so there you go I’ve mentioned it.

Other

I don’t know if this post will encourage anyone to get into scp, I mostly wrote this for myself. If you like this post and weren’t turned off by how long it is then I’m glad! I hope you enjoy your reading. I may update this list in the future.

I also want to stick a couple other things here

I haven’t gotten a chance to listen to the podcast Find Us Alive, but I’ve heard good things and I’ll recommend it here

If you haven’t watched Lord Bung’s Scp Confinement go do that. It’s what got me into scp.

There is a graphic novel based on SCP-5000. I think it’s really cool and you can purchase it here.

Happy reading!

[scover-va]

Also I would love to just hear about your interpretation of Carla in general her lack of content among the 0.3 fans of the Hex is CRIMINAL

The lack of content IS criminal, anon

But! I have to rewrite a paragraph bc tumblr crashed, but that’s besides the point. Anyways! Actual info dump under the cut bc god mother fuckin DAMN

So as a kid, Carla was pretty quiet and introverted. Not as much as Lionel, but still. She stayed inside playing games as much as possible, and when Lionel got an interest in making games, it sparked her interest in programming, too. She stayed in Canada with her Tio Juanito and Tia María, due to her parents, Sosimo and Ivette, moving back to Mexico due to Ivette having health issues (Carla didn’t wanna leave her few friends in Canada, so that’s why. Her parents visit her whenever they can, and call often).

Carla was always a ‘take no shit’ kind of person despite her quiet nature, and definitely was sent home at least a few times for punching a kid (who, granted, were always asking for it, but still). She had a small friend group by high school, but she and Lionel were pretty much inseparable. Similar dynamic to Janis and Damian in Mean Girls. I know in the WW section of Walk, Lionel says the two weren’t all that close ever, but fuck that and I’m gonna say Lionel was just being an ass with that line. Maybe a ‘if i pretend we weren’t close, her leaving will hurt less’ type thing. Anyways, they also went to prom together as friends, which I’m in the process of writing a fic about.

As well, at some point in her preteen/teen years, Carla started her longest programming project. A game that takes place at a circus, with the main character, an unnamed female ringleader, being one of her favourite characters, even compared to ones she didn’t make. The design changed a lot over the years, but the basis of this woman being a ringleader was the same the entire time.

Upon reaching 18 and graduating, she went to college for computer science while Lionel worked for Gamefuna, starting up his own little group of programmers to start work on Combat Arena. Within the first couple weeks of him working for Gamefuna and Carla going to college, he offered her a position to work for him. She accepted, seeing this as a better opportunity, and dropped out of college, now out a shit ton of money. But it’s fine, she could totally pay that off using her high paychecks.

Noting the lack of girls in the Combat Arena lineup, Carla insisted she and Lionel make a couple characters. So, Lionel created Chandrelle. And since she was working for Gamefuna, and any game she published while working for them would then be owned by them thanks to their bullshit rules. So, development on her circus game was paused for the time being.

Since she still wanted to use her ringleader character, but didn’t want to fully give up her work to Gamefuna, she decided to use the ringleader girl. She named the character Sado, and made a promise to herself to use any remaining money after Lionel’s contract with Gamefuna ended to buy back the rights to Sado. And thanks to Sado’s original game being a passion of hers for years, she pushed the Gameworks engine to its limits out of the pure desire to make Sado loved by others just as much as she loved the character. Which included unique attacks and characteristics, such as being able to alter the way the game was played. And while Sado was largely considered op, Carla refused to let Sado get removed, especially after Chandrelle was removed, since they needed more female rep in the game.

Well then we know how Lionel started becoming an asshat. He’d pay his workers less and less, threaten to fire them over the littlest things, and this overall created the rift between Carla and Lionel. They grew to hate each other, Lionel seeing her as argumentative, lazy, and childishly stubborn, while Carla saw him as egotistical, a liar, and just overall scum. She only continued to work for him for the paychecks and to get Sado back afterwards. After all, as a drop out living without a car in an apartment, where else could she quickly work other than customer service or a fast food chain? Yeah, no, she preferred the man-child boss.

At some point during Combat Arena’s creation, Sado made her sentience known to Carla during a late night shift, when Carla was one of the last few people there. Carla thought she was going crazy from exhaustion, having a video game character chat with her, but the same thing happened the next day, where Sado chatted with her. Carla started carrying Sado’s files on a usb with her all the time, feeling almost like she had some sort of responsibility to fulfill due to creating Sado.

As well during Combat Arena’s development was one of the final straws for Carla, which just made her lose all faith in Lionel getting better. She asked for some time off, about a week, and he told her that she’d only get the time off if she finished all her work, having to meet an impossible deadline. She’d skip lunch breaks, come in early morning, leave after Lionel himself left the office, and pretty much was running on minimal sleep and food. Well, she didn’t meet the deadline, and was forced to keep working without the desired time off. She ended up missing her mother’s funeral down in Mexico. Not that Lionel was ever aware, but how do you tell your boss in front of all your coworkers that your mom just died? Her pleading didn’t work either, missing her last chance to see her mother, alive or dead.

When Secrets of Legendaria dropped, and overall bombed, Carla was immediately blamed for it. Lionel shouted at her in front of all her coworkers, blaming her for what happened at the end with Chandrelle and Vallamir. And why was she blamed? Thanks to the small messages she left in the game, each tagged with her name or her infamous duck insignia. She stormed out, bumped into Lou Natas, and managed to make a deal with him. She got the rights to Sado back, and could easily get her revenge against Lionel. And what did she give in return? Well, her soul, which she thought was a joke. She still thinks it’s a joke. Dumbass.

Anyways, post Gamefuna work, she has become angry and spiteful at the world. Her mother’s dead, she’s constantly on the verge of being homeless, and eventually even has to move back in with her Tia and Tio due to rising rent costs. When Waste World’s contents somehow get leaked to the general public, Carla sees a perfect opportunity. Creating the Boss Rush mod, she slaps in Sado as one of the bosses, telling Sado to do as she pleases to Lionel’s game. Sado becomes lost shortly after the event, and Carla isn’t really sure as to how or why. But with Sado gone, Carla’s left unable to do much.

Luckily, she’s become more sociable during this time! She’s gained more friends, more social skills, and learns how to manipulate people to do as she pleases. Which isn’t so good.

She eventually gets messaged by Lionel, asking her to upload some files into a game of hers, and release the game if something were to happen to him. She blocks him, but agrees to do it anyways.

Well, news easily spreads about game developer Lionel Snill’s death, and Carla hears about it. She follows news on it, and forums and the such dedicated to theories on his death, since there’s absolutely no evidence at the scene. No evidence of a break in, no dna, all they know is that he was beaten and strangled. And Carla’s obviously interested in the case, so she follows along, working on a game to publish his files into.

Only one theory catches her attention. That it was one of his game characters. Sure, the theorizer was mocked and ridiculed for the theory, but given as Carla knows the game characters are sentient, she’s very aware it’s entirely possible. She stays silent on what she knows, but follows along with the theory out of curiosity.

One day, she gets emailed Sado’s files back, by a woman named Amanda. The woman doesn’t explain how she got Sado’s files, but Carla thanks her anyways. And after some consideration (2 seconds), she adds onto Lionel’s files. A virus called SADO.EXE. Why? Well, to fuck up his files. One last big ‘fuck you’ to him, and to anyone who gives a shit about him in a positive way.

Since then, Carla’s stayed angry, extroverted, and manipulative. She definitely has been reading up on threads relating to the mysterious deaths of Kaycee Hobbes and Luke Carder, though.

[parasolparasol]

A redesign of Tumblr mobile

(Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Tumblr in any way. Any opinions I express in this post are my own. I’m just somebody who has been on Tumblr for many years and wanted to try my hand at redesigning it. I recognize that there may be potential flaws in the following post, and these faults are 100% my own and no one else’s. In an ideal world i’d have access to insider metrics, but in any case this isn’t meant to be collectively exhaustive in any way.)

Hello there! I picked up this redesign project in January and i’ve decided to publish this now, since I wasn’t sure how long it’d take me to do a full write up. I’ve talked to around 100 people over the course of these 2 months and i’ve ran multiple rounds of tests, and I felt bad about leaving everyone hanging. So, here are the results with brief explanations for now! I intend to type out the full process and design rationale at a later date. If you received a message about this within the last 2 months and answered me, thank you so much! 

Alright, let’s get started. At the time of writing, Tumblr for iOS is currently on version 19.0. (Warning: this is a long post, there are badly compressed big gifs.)

Adding Tags

During interviews and in surveys (n=83, python and excel really came in clutch when sorting through the data haha), people often told me they avoided reblogging on mobile due to the large hassle of typing every tag out, opting to save them to drafts instead and add tags later. In terms of data, given that people hit reblog (82% of all users surveyed), 84% of these people also liked to add tags, so it was clear that facilitating the tagging system would be important. To help solve this, I designed a method for people to quickly add tags to post topics they often reblogged. As well as being accessible from pressing the tagging area on the posting screen, this can be accessed from the hold menu, to speed up the interaction even more. 

Another issue that commonly cropped up was the multitude of possible ways to tag a trigger warning. If somebody missed out a tagging method for a TW, they still ran the risk of seeing it on their dashboard. I added a toggle for tagging something as a trigger warning, which would suggest what others commonly added (and you can type your own). This saves people from having to tag “tw:xyz” “tw: xyz” “tw xyz” “cw xyz” etc. (you get the point!) and makes sure that “xyz” is unambiguously marked as a trigger warning. (Can internet strangers be trusted to tag sensitive content properly? Quick study here)

(Reblogging with the hold menu on the left. Posting on the right. If Tumblr displays them top to bottom instead of side by side (I'll let it slide, I know they're reworking the web post editor right now), the top post=left. the bottom post=right. If you’re viewing this on my blog page, please click on the gifs!)

A bonus: A ‘read more’ button has been added back to mobile. Scrolling through long posts gets tedious sometimes, and people like to talk about more personal thoughts under read mores, so i’ve made it easier to access the feature.

Liking Posts

89% percent of users reported that they liked to hold on to posts for future retrieval. With this in mind, I added in a feature to categorize likes, making searching through your likes for future retrieval easier. The ability to like quickly without sorting is retained, added to a hold menu like a quick reblog. After liking, users are also prompted to reblog (PSA: reblogging helps spread OC around! please reblog OC you like more!)

(Liking on tap on the left. Quick liking with the hold menu on the right.)

Your likes can be found and sorted under your blog. 

Recommended For You

Tumblr is fundamentally about exploring and sharing content about topics you love, so I tried to rearrange the navigation to make it easier for users to look at new content about the things they like. The tabs are now rearranged so that new content is easier to find from the homescreen. To ensure relevance, followed tags are now toggles, so the user can pick and choose exactly what they want to see in the recommended tab if they want to. A radar post has also been placed in this tab to increase exposure to featured content creators. (Does being on the radar help out OC posters? Quick study here)

Exploring, and search results

Now that stuff recommended for you has been moved next to the dashboard, the explore page now defaults to trending posts. The top/recent page for tags you followed are now located in the search bar menu. Upon clicking on a search term, you can sort through recent/top posts and post types separately. For example, if you felt like looking at some new fanart that day, all you would have to do is sort by recent photo posts instead of having to sift through every recent post, making it easier for new OC to be discovered.

[boogiewrites]

No. 9: The Body CH. 6

Characters: Diego Hargreeves & OFC Eve Corpuz

Summary:  Eve explores the limits of her power. Diego is still stalking her and finds out more about her. Eve meets Klaus.

Warnings/Tags: Klaus. Talk of past trauma and phobias. Brief mentions of illness, injury and death. 

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. Please like, comment and reblog if you enjoyed it! It helps out us writers A LOT! If you’d like added to the tags, just let me know. This is a multi-chapter fic.

Eve had begun to notice changes in her shape from the training. Work wasn’t as strenuous and honestly, her ass was looking fantastic. Her body was adapting but she felt she wasn’t exercising her mind enough. Out of the two, trying to use her mind and powers was harder to find time for since it was so draining. Using them at work in small increments to help things along was now manageable, but there were no visible results from it. Nothing she could look at, try to heal, and then see healed. So that’s where she started.

Eve wasn’t a stranger to doing illegal things. If you took a look at her juvenile record that would be clear. What she was doing wasn’t exactly illegal but it was certainly breaking some rules. She was finding it surprising how much she could get away with by simply wearing her white coat with her ID and having a determined look on her face. People held doors open for her that she didn’t have clearance for, add carrying a clipboard around on top of that and she could’ve gotten into just about anywhere it seemed. She was starting to understand how Diego was so good at it, and more interestingly understanding why he did it. That little flush of her cheeks and rush of misbehaving came back to her, something she’d not felt in over a decade, fueled her powers, and gave her a little oomph to work with.

She started small, visited patients being held that was out of the ER after surgery, vehicle accidents, and the like, plenty of small cuts and scrapes that no one would notice were gone. She’d look in and find someone resting and alone, not hard to do most nights. She’d find some road rash, a smaller gash, something not too intricate. At first, she thought she needed to put her hands on the person to heal and woke up a few very understandably startled people. But after a few successful attempts, she started to push herself more. By focusing she began to be able to heal cuts over and no scar would be left in its place. Whoever she did this to, she would check on their file until they were discharged, making sure she wasn’t hurting them or causing bad side effects. So far they’d all made a full recovery with no complications. This was extremely promising and made Eve’s confidence grow and therefore emboldened her to push herself.

She’d worn herself ragged running experiments on what she could or couldn’t do. She had a journal she kept hidden that she kept her results in. So far, she’d been able to find some limitations and strengths. No matter how hard she tried, she was no match for cancer. She could help with someone’s side effects momentarily but be unable to cure it. The same could be said for viral and bacterial instances. Once something had infiltrated and infested a body, she could no longer help it. She could only manipulate the body itself. Her hopes of being able to be the cure for cancer, which she would admit was a bit egotistical, were broken after seeing many fade away after brief respites she’d give them from nausea or pain. It was nice to be able to help certainly but having to see suffering and not be able to fix it was a heavy burden she was having to learn to deal with.

It was never easy to lose someone. It was something she wouldn’t say you got used to exactly, but it was something you could come to understand with time. Or at least be able to come to terms with. Since Eve was an emotional person deep down, and the healing she’d been trying to do to help herself manage that was opening up old wounds and was making her feel raw. Every life that slipped through her fingers would hit her harder than it had months prior. Which is what led her to be so reckless, she guesses. So she tried to bring someone back from the dead.

It wasn’t uncommon sadly, for a child brought in after catching a stray bullet from a hit and run or gang violence. It felt so unfair, and the first time she tried the child was rolled in, DOA, her heart poured out for them. She gave it her all, paddles, compressions and when nothing moved the vitals she had a last-ditch effort. A tear-filled pressing of her hands to the chest of the child, nurses looked on with heartbroken eyes for the doctor as she had a rare moment of breaking on the job. For a fleeting moment, a blip on the monitor later ruled out to a technical glitch, but Eve just couldn’t muster it. She passed out onto the bloody floor from her attempts and was sent home.

She’d had mixed feelings about it. Had she almost done it? Could she get stronger? Or had she found a line that she couldn’t cross? The page entry for her recorded attempts had teardrops running her ink on that entry. She felt defeated and decided to take a break.

--------------------------

Diego watches Eve without her knowing, as he sometimes still does. He trusts her, but a part of him always wants to be sure. She’s in an unusual neighborhood, going into an apartment building he doesn’t know. He decided to wait on her to appear again instead of finding her inside. He didn’t have to wait much more than an hour before she appeared again, seeming uneasy as she stepped back into the now dark streets.

He followed behind, spilling out of an alleyway after she passed and started the task of getting closer to her. When he finally got close enough to reach out and speak he was met swiftly with a switchblade and a series of moves he’d taught her.

“Woah! Hey! It’s me!” He says defensively, only a minor rise in key from surprise as he jumped back.

“Jesus fucking CHRIST Diego!” She says with an expression he’s never seen before.

“Hey! Hey! I didn’t know you’d be so jumpy!” He keeps his hands up between them as she huffs out of her nose like a bull, the late winter night air just still barely showing her breath.

“I’m a woman. Alone. At night on the street, dude!” She states obviously and biting as she puts her blade away. “Of COURSE I’m jumpy!” She whispers angrily.

“Look, there are people around and the streetlights are on... I didn’t know I’d scare you.” He explains with hands now on her shoulders. “You okay? You’ve got that wild look in your eyes.”

“I’m just…” she sighs and shakes her head. “I’m fine. I just… Wanna get home.”

“Looks like we need to train on lying.” He smirks.

She stares at him for a moment with pursed lips then shrugs and turns back in the direction she was going.

“Mind if I walk with you?”

“No, I'd like that actually.” She murmurs.

“What are you doing in this part of town?”

“Do you follow me everywhere?”

“No…” he answers defensively playful. “I was around and saw you. Got curious.”

“You can’t send a text like a normal person?”

“Not my style.”

“Difficult is your style.”

“Hey, slow down there with the rapid-fire insults here. Did I do something?”

“Besides stalk me? No.”

“Then why are you being such a-“ he stops as she shoots her eyes his way. “Difficult person?” He tries to cover smoothly.

Once again she stares as if contemplating something. “If I tell you will you stop asking?”

“Sorry, no promises. Don’t think I missed where you didn’t answer why you’re here.”

“Fine.” She begins to walk again. “I’m here apartment hunting. Not so great street, but that apartment is really nice. And I have a fear… a phobia that you’re gonna laugh at me for so I don’t wanna tell you.”

“When have I ever laughed at you?”

She raises her brows obviously at him.

“Okay, I won’t now.” he emphasizes.

“I don’t believe you for some reason.”

“I swear! I won’t.”

“Due to… past trauma, I am afraid of the dark. And I don’t know this part of town and it makes me nervous. I’d catch a cab but I want to learn the subways so I need to walk it.”

He stays quiet for a moment. “Afraid of the dark?”

“Yes, my mom would lock me in the closet and read scripture and scare me and shit. Okay? And it traumatized me so when it’s dark and I’m overstimulated I get really... panicky.” She explains defensively.

“Don’t have to fight me over it, it’s fine. I...get it.”

“Don’t tell me you were locked in a closet too?”

“No, but he did do it to my brother. And it was a mausoleum and not a closet.”

“Fuck.” she exhales.

“Yeah. Pretty fucked up.”

“The more we learn about each other the more often we say that.”

“Get used to it.” He huffs out a laugh. They walk for a moment in comfortable silence while Eve tried to let her defenses down against him. “You know you could’ve just... asked me to come with you ya know? I am pretty handy when it comes to navigating the city. And being a bodyguard.”

“It’s not something I’m proud of.” She shakes her head. “Yeah, Diego? Hey, could you babysit me because I’m a child who’s afraid of the dark and not a grown-ass woman who can handle her own shit?”

“Well, it’s better than you almost stabbing me!”

“And whose fault was that?”

“...your moms if you want to get really technical about it.”

She lets out a weak laugh and he feels accomplished. ”Don’t forget your dad too”

“Oh yeah fuck both of them.” He says eagerly in agreement. They share a smile and he stays close to her side. “Why are you looking for an apartment?” He breaks the silence.

“Some asshole keeps breaking into mine.”

“Seriously.” He grins and smacks her arm.

“Well I’m on salary now and it’s good money so I can afford a better place.”

“Oh. I kinda like your place.”

“I don’t hate it but it’d be nice to have some more room. An office, a view.” They stand at a corner to wait for a light change. “I’d like a place with more privacy. Maybe a doorman for safety?”

“And that apartment had all that?” He motions back with his thumb.

“Yeah, it was stupid nice for the area. I was surprised it wasn’t more-“ both their heads snap to the car that passed far too fast and close, and luckily it wasn’t them, but a bike messenger up ahead that going to be the target.

They see it happen so fast, and they’re both instinctually moving towards the man that’s now on the ground and trying not to scream, holding his leg.

They were the only ones close out of the street and rush to help.

“Ah fuck, don’t call the ambulance I dont have insurance okay?”

“Well, you’re not walking anywhere like that.” Diego states obviously.

“Lucky for you I’m a Doctor. Let me see. Can you move it?” She moves his sock down to quickly see bone through skin. “Ah man, I’m sorry to tell you this but it’s really...broken dude.” She looks at him with sympathetic eyes.

“Ah fuck.” They cry. “My boss is gonna fire me for sure now. I can’t afford to get this fixed… I can’t take time off…” they begin to hiccup and tears come quickly.

Eve stares at the trauma site and furrows her brow in thought. “Maybe I can…” she whispers.

“Doc...?” she hears Diego’s voice, a warning behind her.

“I’m gonna try. I have to.” She says with wide eyes that convince him on impact. She turns back and puts her hands on the busted ankle, “Stay still if you can.” She mutters before going into her focused state.

“What are you? Listen lady I appreciate you stopping but I don’t think praying over it is gonna work.” They offer but their voice slows as they gradually feel the pain disappear. “What the…” they turn their ankle in a circle and their jaw drops. “HOW DID? WHAT DID?”

Eve shares a very excited glance with Diego before he yanks her up. “We’ve gotta get out of here.”

“Wait no! Don’t go!” A now on their feet and the healed biker was calling out as they both ran down the street into the subway below.

She felt alive. Exhilarated. A smile on her face and hand in hand with Diego as they bobbed and swerved through the crowd.

“Did you SEE?” She calls out as they make it sliding just in time into the subway car.

“YES! You didn’t tell me you’d gotten so good!”

“I’ve been practicing!” She says out of breath and glowing from a sheen of sweat that she’d developed in the rush.

“I’d say so! You just...POOF!”

“I’ll have to show you my notes.”

“Notes?”

“I’ve been keeping track of all my attempts. Like a scientific study. Well… sort of…” she shrugs and wipes her hair back.

“You would find a way to make this nerdy.” He laughs.

“Scientific method is not nerdy!”

He laughs out loud. “That’s the nerdiest thing you’ve ever said!”

“That was awesome though right?”

“Yeah, it was risky but...awesome.” He nods in agreement as they both calm back down and move into whispers of her trial and error.

——————————-

“You just have to remember to be defensive and not just offensive.”

“You know I don’t give a shit about sports Diego.” Eve laughs as she pulls her gym bag over her shoulder.

“I’m serious! You'll get-" he insists with a whine.

"You’ll get yourself hurt when shit gets real.” She says with him and rolls her eyes. “I know! Okay?” She says with a sassy hand motioned his way. “I’ll work on it. Like I always do. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, cut me some slack.” She groans as he walks her to the front of the gym to leave.

They’re met with a thin and friendly-looking guy their age who she thought looked familiar. Diego’s body language automatically tenses.

“Oh hello there you.” Klaus coos at Eve whose bright friendly eyes don’t match Diego’s already annoyed ones at his appearance. “I didn’t know my brother would be busy with a beautiful woman tonight, my apologies.” He sweeps his hands and takes her's to kiss the back of it.

“Hi.” She stutters with surprise. “I was just leaving. Had a training session. Works got weird hours so your brother is nice enough to see me at night.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’d see a lovely thing like you anytime you wanted.”

“Let her go, Klaus.”

“What is your name before our paths separate and never meet again. I’d never forgive myself for not asking.”

“It’s Eve.” She laughs. “You’re much nicer than Diego. Do you know how to fight too? Maybe you could train me since he’s such an asshole.” She motions to Diego and Klaus lets out an amused sound.

“Alas I’m fairly useless in such things but I make up for it in other ways.” He winks.

“Okay! GOODNIGHT EVE.” Diego says politely pushing her out the door. “Sorry about Klaus He's…an idiot.”

“No apologies he's rather charming.” She teases him more and waves goodbye as she exits into her cab.

“What the fuck was that?” Diego shoves his lanky brother.

“Eve hmmm? A sexy name for a sexy little-“

“Stop it.” Diego groans.

“That’s her isn’t it?” Klaus smirks and begins to float about as Diego closes up.

“Her who?”

“Your mystery doctor.”

Diego doesn’t answer hoping naively that Klaus would stop.

“Oh come on, I’m your bro, your bud. Your pal. You can tell me.” He insists with outstretched arms.

“Yeah. I’m training her.”

“She seems like she’d be the one training you if you catch my drift.”

“It’s not like that.”

“That smile you had on your face before you realized I was watching would say otherwise.” He lilts. “You’re a terrible liar Diego just don’t try.”

“I’m a great liar!” He barks back.

“You’re shit and you should just be honest with me, I AM the psychic after all.”

“You’re not psychic you see the dead and-“

“And what is the difference?!” Klaus flops just hands at his side and follows his brother upstairs.

Diego continues as if he said nothing. “You’d have to be sober to do that so so I’m not gonna hold my breath on that.”

“I actually have been. Not that you supportive lot would notice.” He prances into the apartment behind a grunting Diego. “Because your little girlfriend is causing quite the ruckus amongst the city’s dead.”

“What?” Diego asks with a raised brow.

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“She almost brought one back.”

“She did…” he seems deep in contemplation for a moment. “Wait so you HAVE been sober?” Diego’s eyes turn soft and Klaus groans as he’s quickly approached and hugged.

“You are missing the point here Diego dear…”

“I’m proud of you.” He says with emotion in his voice and Klaus manages a heavy sigh and a pat to his back.

“Stop it now before I have feelings…” he pats him and pushes him away. “What do we know about this Eve? She’s messing with the balance, she’s a powerful little thing. And gorgeous I might add, I’d be keeping her to myself too. Unless she was into being shared…”

“I don’t think she is.” Diego falls back into his monotone answering after a brief glimmer of earnest emotion.

“Different strokes, different folks.” Klaus shrugs. “So is that ass as breathtaking as it looked in those leggings or-?”

“KLAUS!”

“What? I’m just a red-blooded American male, I see a nice ass, I admire it.”

“I wouldn’t KNOW.” He answers from behind the doorway of his bedroom, door left open. “But I’d have to say yes.” He adds quickly.

“Ahhhh! There he is.” Klaus applauds his brother's cheeky smile. “Now that you’re not in a prudish mood, I actually do want to know about her. Details, man! Out with it! What’s my little private dick figured out on our newest sibling?”

“Ew don’t say that.”

“I knew you wanted to fuck her.” Klaus smirks.

“Jesus Klaus!” Diego groans.

“Not that it’s stopped any of us before, cough Luther, cough.”

“Hey, we’re not biological!”

“Defending Luther now? Number one? Daddy’s goodest boy? Diego’s sworn nemesis?”

“EW! No! I’m just… saying. It’s a fact so...it’s...valid.”

“Good thing you’ve got your looks hun.” Klaus tsks.

“Do you wanna know about her or you wanna talk shit and get hit?”

“So hostile.” Klaus shakes his shoulders. “Go on you party pooper, tell me about our new super doctor.”

@s-h-e-w-r-i-t-e-s​ @jaegeeeeer​ @diegos-butt​ @anglovesthis

[whitleyschn33]

22, 23 and 14 for the salty ask thing? rwby or any other fandom you want lol i’m not picky Also 14?- i for one have tried to distance myself from the rwby fandom after the last volume cause it can get really annoying and tiring. But at the same time i’m too curious and attached not to lurk a little bit lol. And i do love me some good whitley content

Ooh, interesting choices.

(I apologize for any mistakes, I'm on mobile and its 4am here)

22. Popular character you dislike.

Uh, quite a few in the last couple volumes, but honestly, I'd say Blake and Nora. Blake had been one of my favorites the first 3/4 volumes; I was the anti-social loner that read books in the corner, so i saw a lot of myself in her. Around V5, though, her character just fell flat for me. Her segments were the least interesting of the volume, her personality just took a nose dive in the tolerability department, and I just got so bored with her. V6 did not help things. Nora, I really liked the first 5 or 6 volumes, even if she started getting less and less funny in V5 and 6. However, hate only happened in V7 with the Renora kiss. I can't tell you how uncomfortable it made me to watch the character that should know Ren better than anyone notice that he's having difficulties that are affecting his relationship with her and tell her that he can't talk to her about it suddenly kiss him - like pushing their relationship further along is going to help anything. It seemed obvious to me that Ren is in a bad place emotionally, and pushing her feelings onto him when he's not able to communicate the way he wants... Lord, it rubs me so wrong. Add on a healthy dose of hypocrisy, and yeah, not happy with Nora.

23. Unpopular character you like.

....*gestures to this blog*

Okay, but seriously, outside of the obvious (Whitley, Ironwood, Ozpin), I'd have to say a character I like that I don't see get a lot of love... probably Oobleck and Neptune. Oobleck has wonderful manic energy and was a real standout in V2 - I'd love to see him again. Neptune just radiates cool, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm shallow enough to buy into it. Goggles are just great character design, what can I say?

14. Unpopular opinion about the fandom

@itsclydebitches has the only brain cell, and that includes me.

Otherwise - while I think the main RWBY tag is pretty crappy to the point of being willfully ignorant in terms of critical thinking skills, RWDE is just as bad if not worse a lot of the time. Seriously, I have my grievances with the show, but some of the RWDE tag is just straight up delusional.

I get what you mean. The only character tag I search for any more is Whitley, since Ironwood and Ozpin's are pretty full of hate and ice cold takes that I just don't want to deal with, and I never search the main RWBY tag. My experience with the FNDM is limited to a few blogs I follow (mainly Clyde, @ironpines, and a few other Whitley/Schnees blogs), and its honestly far better for it (though my block on a few certain members doesn't seem to be working anymore, since their content is still winding up on my dash via reblogs).

Thank you for the ask! It was nice to vent a little~ Have a good night!

[galacticnova3]

I don't know if you've answered something like this before, but when did you start to become attached to Lor and/or Nova? Is there a history behind it or did it just happen and kind of spiral. I love your stuff by the way, stay hydrated.

It’s kinda difficult to explain without delving into some personal stuff, but I’ll try to explain it as best I can. I can’t add a read more on mobile, so be warned this is going to be a long post. I’ll tag it as such. By long I mean I’m scrolling back up to add I’ve been typing for over half an hour. Might as well just call this half of my life story. Anyways...

Nova was the first of the two I developed a big interest in, hence why all my social media is named what it is. At first it was something I kept to myself because it was during a very difficult time in my life. To be frank, if it weren’t for me deciding to draw Nova one night, I probably wouldn’t be here. What started out as what I thought would be a temporary distraction turned into my first source of legitimate interest and motivation; I saw the drawing I made that night, what I thought would be my last contribution to the world, and thought, “Well this doesn’t look great. I can do better.”

And so I begun trying to do just that. Constantly drawing Nova, slowly letting the idea of him being just a mere distraction from the inevitable choice I thought I would make fade away. Because, for once, I actually had a solid interest, something to focus on that I could keep improving at and show others I was improving at. And when you start to improve at something, suddenly you feel a bit better about yourself.

In that journey of realizing I had more reason to live than I thought, I started getting attached to Nova as a character, and one I could relate to for a very long time. While most say Nova looks sleepy, I’ve always seen it as tired; not in the physical way, but in terms of emotions. Tired of waiting, of existing; lonely, too. I felt that.

I also connected strongly with the way Nova was always treated by the fandom, as I started interacting with it. Always in the background, overshadowed by others, and in general ignored; just like how I felt constantly. Everyone around me seemed to excel at something, or was popular and beloved, or otherwise was at least something. They were the Marxes, the Galacta Knights, the Dededes, Meta Knights, Kirbies.

I, on the other hand, was not. At best I was a collection of little somethings in a trench coat, stuff that didn’t matter but at least gave me some semblance of identity. I liked bugs, I liked video games, I liked going outside, things like that. A random assortment of different, miscellaneous parts, but no real idea what those parts made or what I was without them. Sound familiar?

Nova became a huge part of my identity in a matter of months. I lived and breathed Nova, I wrote bad Nova fanfic, I made doodles of Nova on possibly every paper assignment in school. I was, honestly, entirely obsessed.

That’s kinda when things started to change, some ways for the better, some for worse. Obviously, I had a massive level of interest in one specific random character that nobody else really shared. I talked about almost nothing but said interest, made content only of said interest.

People began getting annoyed, but I didn’t notice until it was too late. Suddenly people I was close to began to express dislike towards Nova because of me. Me, who identified in every way as something tied to Nova. People talked about me behind my back, vagued about me, and ultimately some made it abundantly clear that they didn’t respect me. Some of those people I still can’t avoid today.

That became another low point for me. My depression got bad again, as did my anxiety. Not quite as low as I was that fateful night, at least, but low enough for my self esteem to plummet to levels it still hasn’t reached again. That wasn’t helped by the fact that I constantly associated myself with a character that was lonely, depressed, and tired in general.

Eventually I had the unconscious realization that I had to find something else to split my focus with. For a little bit that was Star Dream, but ultimately it didn’t stick. I’m very close to someone who really likes Meta Knight, so I tried to fixate on him, too. That didn’t last either. Marx was a definite no, given past experiences with several Marx fans sending me hate and death threats for not liking him.

Eventually I realized the problem was that I didn’t relate to any of these characters in a meaningful way. There was nothing to latch onto for me. So, I went back to square one in having to figure out what my identity was, just minus Nova. Which was a lot harder than I’d like to admit. Seriously, even my favorite color was because of Nova.

My goal eventually became to find someone that had aspects of Nova that wouldn’t encourage me to identify as lonely and depressed at all times, who was strong and independent and likable and maybe even not a background character! Like... MAGOLOR!

And then I fell in love with his pretty boat instead.

But! All that gave me something to work with; Lor was, in essence, a blank slate; had the bare minimum qualifications to be considered a character. Kinda like how I felt I had the bare minimum things to qualify as a person. It became a case of doing exactly what I did with Nova, but with the goal of making her like someone completely different and unexpected. I slapped on random personality traits I had or had had and decided, hey, this works, I can trick myself into being a new person by pretending it’s a character! Which was in essence exactly my process with Nova, just in a conscious manner this time.

It was around this time I first figured out I was asexual, thanks to my oldest sister, and how perfect was it that both my old and new obsessions were machines? Bam, they’re ace too, so now I have a medium to explore what that really means for me. Same thing happened when I realized I was panromantic. This happened with a lot of stuff as I learned more about myself via treating myself as characters that needed a happy ending.

Nowadays I’ve managed to separate myself a bit, and made Nova and Lor more than just The Staples Of My Identity. It still hurts a lot when people are mean about them, especially when it comes to old trauma, but not as much as it used to. Nowadays they’re just my big faves/comfort characters, but they’re still extremely important to me either way.

If you got this far, thank you for taking the time to read through this, it means a lot to me.

[starship-squidlet]

New Music: Act 2, scene 7

Chapter summary: The aftermath of the fight with the Delanceys. Cora and Davey get to spend some time together.

Word count: 2,122

Warnings: blood tw, injury tw (nothing serious, but just as a heads up these are things that come up in the chapter)

Disclaimer: Preface

Tag list: @the-cowbi @i-am-a-wizard @xbanner-carriedx @chaotic-sunflower-galaxy (let me know if you’d like to be added to/removed from the tag list!)

Links: Spotify playlist, YouTube playlist, ‘Just the Way you Look Tonight’ on YouTube

A/N: Hey, look, I finally figured out how to put the keep reading links in mobile!!! Now y’all don’t have to scroll past mega-long chapters any more!!! I’ll go back and add them into the other chapters at some point, too. Also! There are some deleted scenes that I’m going to be posting today or tomorrow! Two are from this chapter, and one is from an earlier chapter and I just forgot to post it then (oops). So stay tuned for those!

Previous chapter: Act 2, Scene 6

Next chapter: Act 2, Scene 8

Davey turned around as the door to the club opened, ready to join the others in their typical gentle ribbing of Jack, Albert, and Race for being late, but his comments died on his lips at what walked through the door.

Race and Cora came through first. Even with her face buried in Race’s shoulder, the filth covering Cora’s clothes was obvious, and Davey immediately knew that something was wrong. This conclusion was supported by the next people through the door: Crutchie, clutching a bloodied handkerchief to his head and walking half-supported by Jack. They were followed by Albert, carrying Elaine on his back, and Mush, holding another bloody handkerchief over his nose.

Henry was the first person to move, running for the first aid kit Medda kept behind the bar. The others shifted into action right after him, getting chairs to set Crutchie and the girls down in, getting them glasses of water, and wrapping ice in towels to help with swelling and bruises. Spot took Mush by the shoulder and led him into the bathroom. Albert set Elaine on one of the bar stools and helped her out of one of her shoes, grabbing one of the bundles of ice and holding it to her ankle. Race set Cora down and gave her a quick, tight hug before picking up another ice bundle and holding it to his knuckles.

Henry went straight for Crutchie, checking out the bleeding gash over his eye first. “This isn’t actually as bad as it looks,” he said. “I don’t think it needs stitches. The bleedin’s slowin’ too. Keep pressure on it until it stops.”

Davey noticed Cora’s eyes flicking around the room, like they couldn’t focus on anything. With everyone flitting around, chattering with each other, demanding answers, he couldn’t blame her. He stepped forward hesitantly and brushed a hand against her shoulder. She flinched away, nearly falling out of the chair.

“I’m sorry!” Davey said. “Come on. Let’s go over there.” He offered his hand to her. Cora took it, trembling, and let him lead her to the other side of the club, where they sat down in a corner booth. The high seats blocked out some of the noise the others were making, like they were in a bubble. Davey looked down and saw Cora picking at the skin on her hands, pulling it away from where it had split over her knuckles. “Hey,” he whispered, reaching out to take her hands. She pulled away from him with a little gasp. “Sorry, I’m sorry,” Davey murmured. He held his hands up, then set them on the table. “I don’t want to hurt you, or scare you at all. I just want to help. What can I do?”

Cora shook her head and stared down at her hands. Davey nodded and crossed his arms on the table, resting his chin on them, hoping that his presence alone would help Cora relax.

Back over by the bar, an argument was brewing. Davey glanced over, trying to catch up on what he had missed.

“That’s it,” Jack was pacing back and forth, clearly furious. “That. Is. It. This is done. We’re done—all of it.”

“Jack, come on, you’re not makin’ sense,” Race said, shifting the ice on his bruised knuckles.

“No,” Jack snapped, spinning on him. “I said before—the last time—that we should stop before things got outta hand, but youse convinced me to keep goin’. Well, now it’s over.” He stalked over to Elaine and lifted her arm, showing a nasty scrape that went from her elbow almost all the way down to her wrist under the ripped fabric of her sweater. “Look at this. All of youse. Look at this, and at Crutchie’s head, and Mush’s nose. I’m not okay with this.” Elaine yanked her arm back and cradled it against her chest, glaring at Jack. “I ain’t gonna let anyone else get beat up over music.”

“What are you sayin’, Jack?” Mush asked, his voice low.

“It’s over,” Jack said, turning to face him. “All of this. The band. Over and done.”

“Jack, the Delancey twins have been beatin’ people up long before we started playin’ music and doin’ shows,” Albert protested.

“They didn’t start because of us,” Race added.

“Yeah, but we all became a target because of this,” Jack said. “Everybody knows that the Delanceys have been beatin’ up kids on Pulitzer’s orders since freshman year. Kids he couldn’t punish otherwise. Pulitzer wants to control us, that’s why he’s got Snyder and his goons patrollin’ the school all the time. If he can’t control us through legit means, he’ll do it through the Delanceys.” He flung his arms out. “Well, Pulitzer can’t control this. He tried—last night, he was the one who sicced Snyder on us, I’m sure of it. He’s doin’ whatever it takes to shut us down.”

“He’s doin’ whatever it takes, and he’s winnin’!” Mush snapped. “Because you’s lettin’ him! If we stop what we’re doin’ now, it’s tellin’ Pulitzer that we can be controlled, just like you was sayin’. It’s lettin’ him win and givin’ in to his pressure.”

“You’d really let him take away something that makes you as happy as music does over a couple of bullies?” Elaine asked softly.

Jack turned around and took her hands in his, looking up into her eyes. “If it would keep you—all of you, or even one of you—safe? Absolutely.” He kissed Elaine on the knuckles and released her hands, then turned around, looking at the rest of the group. “Look, youse may be okay with this, but I ain’t,” he said softly. “I ain’t gonna be responsible for anyone else gettin’ hurt.”

“You’re not responsible for this, Jack!” Finch insisted. “Pulitzer is. The Delanceys are. It ain’t your fault.”

“It’s none of our faults,” Spot said, taking a step closer. “The Delanceys is just a couple of meatheads. They ain’t thinkin’ for themselves. All they wants is to hurt other people. Pulitzer just gave ‘em an excuse to go after all of us. They was probably told that they could do whatever they wanted to us without gettin’ in trouble, and that just made us the easiest targets for them. The Delanceys have come after all of us before. It’s nothin’ new. Now we’s just easy pickins.”

“That’s the point!” Jack cried. “We’re easy targets to them. Why would they risk goin’ after anyone else when they could just keep pickin’ us off?” He grabbed Elaine’s arm again. “What’s it gonna take before we do let them win? Broken bones? Worse? What if they put someone in the hospital? What do we do then?”

Elaine snatched her arm back again. “Do me a favor, Jack. Don’t use me as an illustration.” She slid gingerly off the barstool and limped towards the door, stopping to pick up her bag. “It’s clear we won’t be getting any rehearsing done today. I’m going home.”

Finch sighed. “I’ll drive you.” He stood up and took Mush by the arm. “You too. Let’s go.” Mush didn’t protest, but let Finch pull him out of the club.

They passed Medda on the way out, and she gasped when she saw Mush’s face. “What happened?”

“The Delanceys,” Mush sighed. “Everyone’s okay. Henry’s patching Crutchie up now. Jack’s pissed, though, so fair warnin’.”

“Can I assume you all won’t be rehearsing today?” Medda arched an eyebrow.”

“Yeah, but we’ll be back tomorrow, don’t worry,” Finch grinned.

“I look forward to it,” Medda smiled. She patted Mush on the shoulder as she passed, and nodded down the street. “You’d better hurry and catch your girlfriend before she gets too far away.”

Finch glanced down the sidewalk and sighed. “Elaine! Wait! I said I’d drive you!”

Medda opened the door and stepped into the club. As advertised, the atmosphere was tense. Henry was taping up a gash on Crutchie’s forehead, Jack hovering nearby. Some of the other boys were close and seemed to be trying to help—Mike and Ike, Boots, JoJo, Specs. At the other end of the bar were most of the other boys—Spot, Blink, Albert, Race, Romeo, and Smalls. Medda looked around for Cora, concerned, but spotted Davey’s side in the corner booths and smiled to herself. She went to check on Crutchie first, and patted Henry on the shoulder. “That’s a nice job you’re doing there. If any of you need anything, I’ll be in my office.”

On the other side of the club, Davey glanced back down at Cora. She had her eyes squeezed shut, and her hands clamped over her ears. Davey raised a hand to brush against her shoulder, but thought better of it. “Cora? Cora, can you hear me?”

Cora opened her eyes slowly and looked over at him.

“They stopped fighting. It’s quieter now. It’s okay; you can uncover your ears.”

Cora moved her hands away for a moment. When Davey proved to be correct, she moved them down into her lap and started picking at her skin again.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Davey murmured, reaching out to take her hands in his. “It’s okay. You’re okay. No-one is going to hurt you. I promise. I won’t let them.”

Cora offered him a watery smile. Davey looked around, not really sure what to do. “Hey, Cora, what’s your favorite song? That we sing, at least. Or your favorite song to sing. Or perform. If… uh, if that makes sense.”

Cora stayed silent for a moment. Davey didn’t think she was going to answer, at first. But then:

“I like… I like when you sing Sinatra,” she said, her voice small.

“Oh yeah?” Davey grinned. “What’s your favorite Sinatra song?”

She paused. “Um… I can’t remember what it’s called. I liked the one you sang for your audition. That was real nice.”

Davey thought for a moment. “‘Moon River’? That’s a good one.”

Cora nodded. “It sounds real pretty when you sing it.”

Davey smiled to himself. “Thanks.”

They sat quietly for another minute. Cora shifted slightly and leaned into Davey. He very gently slipped his arm out from between them and wrapped it around her shoulders. “What other Sinatra songs do you like?” he asked finally.

Cora shrugged. “Lots. He’s got a nice voice. It’s soothin’. Like yours.”

Davey smiled down at her. “Thanks.” They lapsed into silence again. Once again, Davey was the one to break it, as he began to hum softly.

Cora glanced up at him as he began to sing quietly:

“Some day, when I'm awfully low,

When the world is cold,

I will feel a glow just thinking of you

And the way you look tonight.”

Davey didn’t miss the soft smile that was beginning to creep over Cora’s face, so he kept singing, emboldened now.

“Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm,

And your cheeks so soft,

There is nothing for me but to love you

And the way you look tonight.”

The rest of the club seemed to fade away. He could no longer hear the other boys talking—he wasn’t sure if it was because they had left, or if he was just so focused on him and Cora in their little bubble.

“With each word your tenderness grows,

Tearin' my fear apart,

And that laugh, wrinkles your nose,

Touches my foolish heart.”

The longer the song went on, the more Cora seemed to relax. She rested more and more of her weight against him, letting her head fall against his shoulder. Her breathing grew steady and even, and her hands relaxed in her lap, no longer tearing at themselves.

“Lovely, never, never change,

Keep that breathless charm,

Won't you please arrange it?

'Cause I love you

A-just the way you look tonight!”

Davey’s breath hitched in his throat and he stopped singing. Cora looked up at him, green eyes wide, but she didn’t say anything. Davey swallowed thickly and whispered the next words: “And that laugh that wrinkles your nose, it touches my foolish heart…” He found himself leaning lower, drawn by some magnetic force to Cora. His voice cracked, but he kept going with the lyrics, his voice getting even softer.

“Lovely, don't you ever change,

Keep that breathless charm,

Won't you please arrange it?

'Cause I love you

A-just the way you look tonight”

He swallowed again and pulled away. Cora looked down at her lap again, her hands shifting like she was about to start picking at them again. Davey took a deep breath, leaned down, and quickly pecked her on the cheek. When she looked up at him again, her eyes were even wider, shining happily as a beautiful smile spread over her lips. Davey grinned back at her.

“Just the way you look tonight.”

[sweetmeatdale]

Trying this one more time and hopefully this will be visible if you search the tags. But long story short I’m trying to figure out how to post a fic(or a link to one) and have it be possible to search for it on tumblr.

Edit: ok so depending on whether you see this on mobile or on desk top this is gonna be a difficult thing to read so sorry about that but if anyone has any information that’ll help I’d appreciate it

Re-edit it disappeares from being searchable whenever I try to add the link so the whole thing should be readable below and maybe I’ll get it edited in as a link soon, the “read more” is still behaving weird too

A Secret Admirer

It’s not like she hadn’t considered approaching Adrien as Ladybug, she certainly felt more confident and then on top of that she could keep her confessions of her crush on him anonymous, or at least as anonymous as ‘Ladybug’ was but that’s where the problem lied. If she did go visiting him as Ladybug to tell him how she feels then that always left the risk of making him a target for Hawkmoth, she risked making Chat jealous, and she risked his dad’s whole overprotective security house getting turned in a cage for him if he disapproved of the risks she’d be putting him in… basically she’d gone over the idea enough times to catastrophize every scenario in her mind and unlike her civilian approach Alya couldn’t directly encourage her past a lot of them. As much as she tried to convince herself it was safe to just go over and get a confession out of her system she felt Ladybug’s status made it all too dangerous, that was however not a problem that was linked to a new identity she’d acquired. Multimouse was perfect, only Chat knew her identity and she was a relatively unknown hero so it wouldn’t attract much interest, and if she was worried about a noticeable blush she could just be too tiny for him to see. So that was her new plan, she could just pop on over and tell him how she felt and then maybe with that first step out of the way she could work towards telling him without a mask to hide behind and she could finally make some actual progress with him for once.

Tikki argued that it was basically the same thing as visiting as Ladybug and that she was misusing the miraculous but Mullo didn’t seem against the idea of a short time out just to get her to finally be able to talk to Adrien for a few minutes. So she decided to run with the impulse before her doubts could take over and headed out into the evening.

—-

Adrien wasn’t planning to patrol tonight, he’d let Plagg wander off and do his own thing while he checked the ladyblog between doing his homework, that was until he heard something going on by his window. He turned to look but couldn’t see Plagg, instead there looked to be four things about the size of his kwami moving around the frame of his window. He moved closer to find a group of Multimouse trying to swing his unlocked window open. He used the remote for the tall windows to crack open the one they were pulling at slightly only for one of them to gasp that they’d been noticed.

“Mu-Mouse person? Who are you? What are you guys doing here?” He asked, remembering he wasn’t supposed to who Multimouse was.

One stood straight up in the windowsill while the others climbed down and announced, “I am the superhero akumas fear, Multimouse!” Striking a little pose while doing so and jumping to the floor with the rest of herselves.

“Ok, Multimouse, what are you doing here? Is there an akuma?”

“Oh! Right!” She said almost gasping for air out of panic realizing she hadn’t planned this far ahead, but Adrien assumed she was just winded from traveling at that size. “I’m training with Ladybug at the moment… I just needed to stop here and-“

“-And catch your breath?” He ventured a guess when she paused for a moment too long.

“Well, that too” one of them blurted out, “but we had something else for why we stopped here specifically”. Three seemed to huddle around the main one and whisper into her ear before pushing her forward from the group, “Adrien Agreste,” she began to announce before looking back to the others for support. “I am using this brief chance as a superhero to do something I cannot do as my regular self.” Noticing that this piqued his interest in what she had to say she took a deep breath and continued, “I came here specifically, tonight, because I needed to tell you finally that…” one of the Multimouse nudged her “Oh! Sorry I’m rambling, what I need to tell you is that I- um , is that I really like you” she forced out, “and I know that you won’t be able to know who this confession is from or if it’s nothing more than a fan confession but I promise you this love is genuine and real and I just tried so many times in person and couldn’t get past the fear of rejection.” She noticed a growing look of shock before she continued, “I just had to finally get the words out, even if they were anonymous. I hope you’ll understand and I hope that one day I won’t need this mask to help me say it. So- um yeah, I’m gonna head out before Ladybug notices us missing, umm, bye?” She gave a small wave before hoisting herselves back up to the windowsill.

Before the last one could jump back outside Adrien snapped back to reality enough to call out to her, “Multimouse, wait” he watched to make sure she turned her head at least, “if you get the chance again you can probably stop to catch your breath and chat some more later, jumping around the city at that size probably takes a lot out of you.” She smiled at that and wordlessly nodded before jumping back outside. And now Adrien was back alone.

“Plagg, I think Marinette might like me.”

“Finally pieced that one together huh?” He replied appearing out of wherever he’d hidden from her.

As much as Adrien wanted to come up with a comeback for that remark he had a much bigger problem on his mind, because Marinette thought that her confession was anonymous and if he didn’t want her to know he was Chat Noir then he had to figure out how to hide from her that she’d dropped this bombshell on him. He had no idea how to face her at school now knowing what he did. He needed to clear his head. “Plagg, Claws Out!” He shouted as he took off into the night.

_________

As soon as she thought she was out of sight of the mansion she detransformed and transformed into Ladybug to get herself home, she hadn’t considered it before she headed out but navigating the world at that size was certainly a lot more taxing than her usual way of swinging about the city. She decided to find a chimney to lean against and rest before going all the way back, or at least she would’ve rested had a certain Cat not managed to find the exact spot she’d decided to sit down.

“I thought you weren’t going to be out tonight?” She asked.

“I didn’t plan to but, I thought I saw Multimouse” he said, not completely lying but trying to come up with something she’d believe.

“You did? Where!?”

“Oh, you know just a few off that way,” he gestured vaguely towards his house, “but I Lost them so I thought I’d find you to see what was up.”

“Oh? Well not too much, just trying to train her a bit, you know just in case.”

“Where is she now?”

“Um, Marinette is on her way home, why?”

“Just wondering? How’d her training go? Looks like she took a lot out of you.”

“Yeah? Well guess you could say she’s all over the place, but I suppose that makes sense with that power. She’s handling it pretty well though.”

“So does this mean we’re going to be seeing more of her now?”

“We’ll see Kitty, Just don’t run off to gossip with her just yet, I don’t need another Weredad situation.”

“Fine, but could I get some warning for next time? I thought there was an emergency.”

“Alright, I get that but it was sorta spur of the moment so no guarantee that it’ll happen any time soon.”

“She’s a pretty great person so don’t go keeping her all to yourself, Bug,” he said with a wink, “unless you’re afraid of losing me to her?”

“As if,” she giggled, “go home already you big flirt, I’m sure you’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“Alright, just let me know what’s up later” he replied, turning to the way he’d come and jumping off shouting, “Good Night M’lady.”

“Good Night!” She shouted back finally standing up to head home.

——

By the next morning she was glad to finally get that weight off her chest, she resolved to see how far this freedom could take her, she even thought about bringing him some pastries for lunch. That was until she got downstairs to grab som and he was standing there in the storefront chatting it up with her parents.

“Oh, here she is now!” Her mother said as she came through to the front of the bakery, “ Adrien was just asking about you.”

“He- he was!” She sputtered out, wondering to herself if she had accidentally said something that gave her away last night.

Now more acutely aware of Marinette’s panic Adrien spoke up, “Well I just asked if you knew when she’d be down, I was just here to get some pastries.” Hearing a small sigh of relief from Marinette he continued, “Is there anything you’d recommend?”

“Oh! Ok, well… I have some of those passionfruit you said you liked before that I made last night!... or unless you wanted something else? There’s some mint cookies that’re new? And a peanut butter cake?”

“Well all of that sounds amazing, but I probably shouldn’t go overboard, are the cookies the smallest of those?” He asked turning back towards Sabine at the counter.

“I’ll ring that up for you and then you two can head out to school together.”

He paid for his pastries and tried not to stare as they left to cross the street to the school, he had to see her as soon as possible which is why he took his time deciding but his mind was still in a blur looking for what signs he might’ve missed that she liked him. There was so much he was wondering about, like when she said she’d tried before but stopped herself and he couldn’t figure out when she might’ve done that or what he would’ve done to make her afraid.

As they got to the doors of the school together he saw Alya give her a look of some kind, was that a sign? Did she know? Was that about something else?

He was probably a little to preoccupied in his thoughts because he was caught completely off guard by Marinette asking him if something was wrong.

“Does it look that way?” He hesitantly replied.

“Well maybe, you don’t seem upset but something looks like it’s bothering you. Did something happen? Were the cookies bad?”

“No it’s nothing like that,” he paused, wondering how could he say this to her without giving it away, “I sorta got an anonymous message from... an admirer? I guess would be the way to put it.” He definitely noticed her perk up at that. He darted his head away so she wouldn’t see him react.

“D-do you want to… find them?” She asked cautiously, Multimouse was already an identity she’d sacrificed once and she could certainly do it again but telling him outright probably wouldn’t leave the best impression. She knew he knew that responsibility from the Snake miraculous...

He broke her line of thought by speaking back up, “I don’t think they want me to know yet. I still want to, that curiosity is probably natural, I just don’t want her to think I’m disrespecting why she kept it a secret.”

Marinette thought about it for a second, she had wanted to get out the confession so that it’d be easier to talk to him so now was probably the time to take that advantage and go for it, “Well she probably wants you to know eventually, so why not keep an eye out for a girl who’s got her eyes on you,” he turned back to face her at that, “She’s probably closer than you think.”

She wanted to reassure him but looking into that smile trying to help him find her he realized just how much of a hold this little mouse had on him.

[izupie]

Ochako's Fanfiction

You might have seen this one in my drabble collection on AO3 already but here it is as a solo piece~ (I'm still chuckling to myself as I reread it lmao) Also I'm sorry for the long post - I'm on mobile and can't add a 'Read More';;

Anime: My Hero Academia

Ship: Implied Izuocha

Tags: Humour, Second-hand embarrassment

Summary:

It's usually very handy that computers place documents in alphabetical order. Until it's the very worst thing ever.

-----------------

Ochako tried to stamp down on the fluttery feeling in her stomach, but instead only managed to transfer it into a jittery motion in her leg that had it bouncing up and down. She’d been in tough training scenarios, nearly killed by villains, succeeded at assessments… failed at them too… and yet she’d never been quite as nervous as she was right now; standing in front of Mr Aizawa’s desk, waiting to find out why he had asked to see her after class.

The door slid slowly behind the last student to leave the classroom and Ochako caught a glimpse of Deku’s concerned expression through the narrow gap before it clicked shut.

Finally, her teacher looked up at her. She flinched.

A handful of wild excuses leaped into her mind at his stern expression, even though she had no idea if or what she had done wrong yet. She had very little experience of being in trouble at school so her panicked mind ran through many of the excuses she had seen in movies. None of which she knew would help her with Mr Aizawa.

Ochako waited through the painful silence for him to speak while her leg still bounced on the spot as if it could release some of the nervous tension coiling in her stomach.

“Uraraka,” he finally said.

“Y-Yes? - Um, sir?”

“When did you print your assignment?”

Ochako blinked. When? Her eyes were drawn to the pile of papers stacked on the end of his desk, all upside down as he liked them, knowing that hers was the one on the top. She cringed a little and scratched her cheek. “Well…” Did she really want to admit that she’d forgotten about the deadline and printed it right before class, slamming it onto the pile just before he walked into the classroom?

She sighed. “This morning. Just before class.”

His expression didn’t change even as he said, “I thought so.”

Ochako ran through any possible reason he could be asking but could only imagine maybe she’d printed it wrong or had missed a page in her haste to print the document and get to class in time for the deadline. Admittedly she hadn’t checked it before she’d grabbed it from the printer and added it to the pile – hers being the last one.

Mr Aizawa picked up a bundle of paper and held it in front of him so that she was still looking at the back, giving nothing of her possible error away. “I gave them a quick look earlier, and I was surprised to find the very first paper wasn’t what I had expected. I assumed it was yours, even though there was no name attached.”

She nodded, but her eyes were narrowed in confusion.

“Uraraka, I’d like you to tell me the name of the assignment I asked everyone to write for me.”

Ochako rubbed her arm. “It was ‘A Summary of Escapes’.”

Mr Aizawa looked at the paper in his hands and slowly lifted his sleepy gaze back to her. “Then I’d like you to tell me why I’m holding a piece of writing titled ‘A Summer Escape’.”

There was silence as she stared at her teacher, expression blank, while her tired mind tried to catch up to why that name would be familiar.

His eyebrows went up a fraction as he watched her struggle. “I’ll read it out and it might jog your memory. It begins, ‘The two heroes are so glad of their summer escape together alone. The brunette smiles happily at her green haired companion as they enter the pretty log cabin’…”

Cold dread crawled through Ochako’s veins as she slowly realised what she was listening to. “Oh no,” she whispered.

“… ‘but they are surprised to find that it only contains one bed.’”

“No,” she cried, slamming her hands on her burning cheeks. “No no no!”

This can’t be happening!

“Uraraka, please come down from the ceiling.”

Nothing but a thin high-pitched screech came from her throat as she shook her head violently, her back now resting on the roof of the classroom.

If she could just convince Mr Aizawa to open a window, then she could float out of it and away forever.

My teacher is holding a copy of my fanfiction.

Ochako didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Instead she curled up into a ball on the ceiling while her voice came out with a hysterical edge, even muffled through her hands. “I p-p-printed the wrong document!”

“I did get that impression,” he said as evenly as ever. Though even through Ochako’s current anguish she swore she detected a note of amusement.

Something strong attached itself to her ankle and pulled her gently down. Ochako peeked between her fingers to see Mr Aizawa pulling his scarf slowly, lowering her to the ground so that when she was close enough to the floor, she released her quirk and dropped to her feet with a soft thump.  

Of all the denials that she wanted to give, battling with her intense desire to simply make a dash for the exit or curl into a ball while wishing the ground would open up beneath her, the words that finally squeezed itself out of her mouth was a squeaky, “Does this mean I’ve failed?”

Ochako finally lowered her hands at the following silence and realised her teacher looked like he was desperately holding in laughter. After a brief pause to gather his composure, a tiny quirk of his lips was the only indication that he’d felt any amusement at all.

“This paper would get a zero, yes.” Mr Aizawa replaced it on the top of the pile. “But I won’t have chance to mark them tonight, so they’ll be staying on my desk until tomorrow.” He gave her a pointed look, his eyes dark with intensity.

“Until tomorrow?” she repeated, struggling to comprehend the significance of his words when the word ‘zero’ was echoing loudly through her ears. He offered nothing more and she looked at the floor while her heart was still beating loudly with the adrenaline of her embarrassment and her face still burned with a strong blush.

If he wasn’t marking them tonight, then that meant… Ochako’s face suddenly brightened. “Y-Yes sir! Th-Thank you!” She flapped her hands and made to flee, ready to print the correct document and replace it immediately.

“Uraraka.”

She stopped mid-step.

“You might want to take this with you.” He indicated the top of the pile.

“O-Oh yes!” Ochako whipped the story into her hands, but then she hesitated. “Could you, um, please, maybe not tell anyone about this?”

Mr Aizawa leaned back in his chair and blinked sleepily. “Tell anyone about what?”

Ochako ducked her head down and yelled a strangled, “N-Nothing sir- thank you- I-I’ll be right back,” as she dashed from the classroom, clinging to the papers tightly.

She thought she heard laughter as she went, but it could have just been the sound of her shoes hitting the floor as she ran to her laptop, clutching her fanfiction like it might leap out of her arms and reveal itself to everyone she passed.

(… Maybe she’d print out the sequel for herself too.)

[jofabray]

Stay, Stay, Stay

Tagging: Jo Fabray and DJ Berry @submissivedjberry

Date: September 14

Summary: It’s time to talk

DJ

DJ was far from excited about what she knew was likely about to come. Jo had been giving her weird looks throughout the entirety of their scene together the last 24 hours. And when they'd gotten back from class and DJ had been told to kneel in the living room and wait for her, she could only imagine it had something to do with wanting some form of explanation. But DJ didn't know if she could give her one. Didn't know if she had the strength to be honest this time. Because if what she thought was true...her heart was going to break. And she wanted to live in an illusion for a little while longer.

Jo

Jo had expected twenty-four hours of TPE to be hard.  What she hadn't expected was for it to be complicated by whatever was happening between them.  She already felt like a terrible Dominant for not being able to understand, and so at their first chance she'd ordered DJ to her room and had her kneel.  "So," she sighed softly, taking a seat on the couch.  "I think y'all know why we're here, DJ.  Something is wrong.  And I don't know what it is.  So I need y'all to help me.  Please, help me."

DJ

She looked down at her thighs, playing with the bottom of her shirt and clenching her jaw slightly. She felt awful for not just breaking down the minute that Jo asked for help. She was nearly pleading with her, but DJ was too scared to open up about it all. "I'm not sure what to say, Miss Jo." DJ responded instead, licking her bottom lip and then rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Lying felt wrong, it felt bad.

Jo

Jo frowned.  That was not what she'd expected in answer to her plea.  "Let me rephrase that, darlin'.  I don't want to have to do this, but ya can either tell me what's on your mind or I'm goin' to make it an order.  Y'all know I expect honesty from you, at all times.  And I know you won't disappoint me.  So please...again...help me out, DJ."

DJ

Her stomach churned when Jo said that if she didn't tell her what was on her mind, she was going to make it an order. That meant she would once again be ignoring and disrespecting an order from the Domme. What if after all of this...Jo decided that not only did she not want a romantic relationship, but she didn't want DJ as a submissive either? Her bottom lip trembled and she shook her head slightly.

Jo

Jo was broken now.  If this was so bad that DJ didn't even want to tell her what it was, then it had to be the end.  And if it was the end, then Jo truly didn't know what she'd do next.  DJ was her everything.  There was no way she could even stay at the school if this couldn't work, and deal with seeing her face every day.  "Dalia.  I am orderin' you to tell me what's wrong.  And if y'all say no to me again, rest assured I will punish you."  Her voice cracked and she looked down at her lap.  "Please...don't shut me out."

DJ

Her jaw clenched and she shook her head before looking up at the Domme. "I can't, Miss. I just...I can't." She expressed. She didn't want to be punished, didn't want to make Jo do this. But she also couldn't speak up. It felt too heavy. It felt like this was the end of it all, no matter what she did. She looked up at Jo, her heart aching at the sight of the look on the Domme's face. She looked lost, confused, and DJ wanted more than anything to make it better.

Jo

Jo's face crumpled.  This really was it, then.  She'd failed in such a profound way that DJ couldn't even speak to her.  She was silent for a moment, blinking back tears, and tried to focus.  She had one last job as a Dominant.  One more, before she let DJ go and headed for Bay.  "Then I'd like you to use the bathroom if you need to, then go lie on the bed in the spare room.  I'm going to tie you down, and you're going to spend the night alone.  You can call out if you're in distress, and I will hear you, but if you call out otherwise I'll add another punishment.  Do you consent, DJ?"

DJ

So she wasn't even going to get to spend her last punishment with Jo. She had pissed her off so much that she didn't even want to see her. She fought back the welling of her eyes and she nodded her head slowly. "Yes, Miss Jo. I consent." She uttered, slowly standing from the floor and making her way to the bathroom, her shoulders drooping. She should have known that this would never work out in her favor. After using the washroom, she made her way to the spare room and laid down on the bed. Staring at the ceiling, she tried to figure out how she had let herself get to this point.

Jo

Jo sobbed, stifling it behind her hand as DJ headed for the bathroom.  She had lost everything, and it had all seemed to happen at once.  Part of her just wanted to tell DJ to go back to her room, that she didn't have to be stuck with Jo any longer, but the rest of her just...wanted her close.  In any way that she could.  And for such a failure of a Dominant, the least she could do was follow through with one last punishment.  Heading into the bedroom, she made quick work of securing DJ's wrists and ankles before patting her on the shoulder.  "Good girl.  I'll be right outside if anything's wrong."

DJ

Her bottom lip trembled when Jo called her a good girl and simply patted her on the shoulder. It was such a non-intimate way of touching, but DJ tried to relish in it for as long as possible. "Yes, Miss."

Jo

Jo let her head fall, turning away and slumping toward the door.  She didn't close it, just pulled it across a little, and headed for the couch.  Never, in all the time since she'd arrived at the Institute, had she so badly wished for a drink.  Head full of horrible thoughts and a bleak future, she buried her face in her pillow and sobbed for everything she'd lost.  She was a terrible Dominant, as she'd always feared.  Her submissive, her relationship, it had all fallen apart without her even realizing - without her having a clue.  Perhaps, she thought, when Russell came for parents week she could just get a ride back to Alabama with him.

DJ

Being tied to the bed left DJ with a lot of time to think, too much time to think, and nothing to distract herself from any of it. She couldn't message anyone, couldn't read anything. She was simply stuck there, with the knowledge that Jo so badly didn't want to be anywhere near her that she had chosen a punishment that meant she wouldn't have to see her face or touch her for an extended period of time. Tears streamed down her face and a sob broke from her mouth, the submissive unable to hide the sound.

Jo

Jo wasn't sure how long she cried.  She hadn't cried that way in a long time - the kind of tears that felt like letting go of everything.  Not since she'd left Mobile, at the very least.  It ended up being almost two hours, at which point she didn't want to wait any longer.  DJ had served her time, and now it was time for aftercare - and then to set her free.  Jo carefully reentered the room, turning the lamp on beside the bed.  The distress that DJ was in was obvious, and she cursed herself for the millionth time that day.  "Come here," she murmured, undoing the ropes and easing her up into a hug.  "It's okay, DJ.  You did so good, and it's all over now."

DJ

The time that she was alone in that room could have been days to DJ. She was so lost in her thoughts, her heart feeling like nothing would make it feel okay again. She didn't know how they had ended up here. Just knew that she was somehow the person that had screwed this all up. Her hand gripped Jo's shirt tightly as she curled up into a ball. She sobbed, her body shaking with the force of it as she pressed herself into the Domme as much as she could. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Her eyes were sore, her chest felt like empty, and her entire world felt off kilter.

Jo

"Shh, shh," Jo held her close, rubbing her back.  If it was the last time that she'd get to hold her, then she was going to make it count.  "No more sorries.  You had your punishment, and it's all over now, so you don't owe me any more sorries.  Everything's forgiven."  Except herself.  But if there was one thing a Fabray knew how to do, it was hate themselves.  "Let it all out, Dalia, it's okay.  You did so good for me."

DJ

"I don't...I can't...I'm scared. I don't...I'm just me...I know that. I'm just me and you..." She babbled, her bottom lip trembling as tears continued to fall. What she was saying made absolutely no sense, even to herself. And she decided to focus on her own breathing for the next little while. She was just making an absolute fool of herself. Jo hadn't called DJ 'hers', at all in the time since had been there after class and it just cemented the fact that Jo was moving on. And DJ didn't want to hold her back if that's what she wanted.

Jo

"DJ - breathe," Jo instructed, taking her hand to hold against her chest.  "Whatever y'all need to say to me, it can wait until you catch your breath."  She hated seeing the girl so upset, even if this really was the end.  "Whatever you need to say - it's okay.  If you're leavin' me, y'all don't have to explain yourself.  It's not like I can blame y'all for it, darlin'.  Y'all deserve the very best, you always, always have.  And if that's not what I'm givin' you then I won't hold it against ya."  Her own breath was coming too quickly, but she needed DJ to know that whatever she was trying to get out really was okay.

DJ

When Jo brought up DJ leaving her, her breathing hitched and she shook her head. DJ would never be the one that left Jo, she couldn't be. But Jo...it felt like Jo was leaving her. She couldn't say how long she cried, letting things out that had been building for a while and that she had shoved down in an effort to get through the bingo event and allow them both to get points. Her grip on Jo's shirt hadn't loosened whatsoever and she bit down harshly on her bottom lip. "Miss? Wh-when you look at me..what...who do you see?"

Jo

Jo sat patiently, letting a few tears trickle down her own cheeks as she let her girl cry.  The way that DJ shook her head was confusing, but she had no choice except to wait for her to be able to breathe once more.  The question, when it finally came, didn't initially make sense.  If this was it, then what difference did it make what she saw?  But she was never less than honest with DJ, and she wouldn't start at the end.  "When I look at you?"  She was silent for a moment, thoughtful.  "My girl."  The answer was simple, but it was everything.  "The one I'm building a future with.  The one..." there was a hitch in her voice.  "I'm not tryin' to guilt you into stayin', but you asked me an honest question and you'll get an honest answer.  The one I love."  They'd never used that word.  Never spoken it aloud.  And how ironic it was, then, that it only came at the close.

DJ

"You love me?" She questioned, feeling the warmth that those three words brought, but also the confusion that she felt as well. She paused and glanced down at the her lap for a moment. "Is that...is it romantic? Or is it just...because I know you can love someone and it not be romantic." She mumbled, before chancing a look up at the Dominant. The moment, the first moment of Jo telling her that she loved her should have been a moment where she could have immediately returned the words, because she did love her...so much. But she couldn't return the words until she knew if they were on the same page.

Jo

Jo cocked her head slightly, confused about why it was that DJ sounded so surprised.  This was all - she didn't understand the conversation they were having.  Everything was upside down, and all that she could cling to was the fact that she would never lie to her girl.  "It's romantic," she confirmed, expression still sad but more than a little quizzical.  "I don't know any other way to love someone, darlin' girl.  Couldn't imagine how that would ever work."  She couldn't help but notice that DJ hadn't made any effort to say it back.  But that was okay.  She sort of figured as much.

DJ

DJ let out a slow breath when Jo said that the way that she felt about DJ was romantic and bit down hard on her bottom lip, knowing that she was probably going to split it again, but needing something to ground her, and the sharp pain of it always seemed to work. "I got jealous, Miss. When you told me about what you did with Tina. The way you surprised her. And took her into town. And did all of this cute stuff with her." The submissive explained. "But then that jealousy turned to worry. Because I couldn't remember...when the last time we went into town was. Or...even the last time we did something outside of your suite. And I started....I...it kind of felt like maybe you had changed your mind about the way that you wanted us to work without me even noticing. And then it...I didn't want to bring it up because I didn't want you to send me away."

Jo

Jo listened - that was all she could do.  The more that DJ spoke, though, the more her chest tightened and tears blurred her vision.  She truly had been a terrible Dominant.  Not in the way that she'd initially thought, perhaps, but in a way that almost felt worse.  The thought that DJ had doubted her feelings, her intentions, even for a second left a hollow ache in the pit of her stomach.  "Oh..." she started, searching for more words.  "I, uh..." that wasn't any better.  The feeling of more tears on her cheeks made her press her hands to her eyes.  Don't cry, Jo.  Don't you dare.  Women only cry to manipulate people.  Russell's voice was so loud in her head that she could swear he was in the same room.  "I didn't even realize.  I got so comfortable in here with you, and..." that was an excuse.  She wasn't going to make excuses.  DJ deserved better than that.  "I'm sorry, DJ.  I really failed you, if you ever felt that way.  Even for a second.  But...Dalia, I'm never goin' to put you out for askin' questions."  Her sigh was soft and deep.  "I really failed you," she repeated.  "More than I could have guessed."

DJ

"It's not that I don't like being in this room with you, Miss. Because that couldn't be further from the truth of it all. I love being here with you. Whether we're scening or not, whether I'm completing tasks for you or just doing my own homework. This...this room feels more like home than my own room here. Hell...more like home than my room back in New York. But I just..." She paused and dropped her head down against Jo's shoulder, feeling exhausted. "It just felt like maybe you didn't want to be outside of here with me. And I let my mind take things that weren't true and make them bigger. But I was scared." She expressed, biting down on her bottom lip. "And I'm sorry that I made you cry, I really never ever wanted to do that to you. And I just feel like I keep doing things that make you sad." DJ paused and pulled back. "Are you sure that I'm worth it?"

Jo

Jo tried to focus.  Her sadness didn't mean that she wasn't going to listen to her girl, for however long that she was her girl.  There was a lot to unpack in what she was saying, but the first thing to answer was the last thing asked.  "Darlin' girl.  You are worth everythin'.  And you never made me cry.  It was my own stupidity that did that."  She pulled DJ back against her.  "I'm sorry that y'all ever felt that way.  I'm glad that you like bein' here, but I never want you to feel like we can't be elsewhere together.  Like I somehow wouldn't want to.  And I'm sorry that you've been carryin' this around for...wait, how long have you been carryin' this around for?"

DJ

"It's mostly been really bad this last week. After you told me about what you did with Tina." She chewed on her bottom lip. "And then I couldn't see you because we were both busy. And not seeing you didn't help." DJ admitted with a sigh, nuzzling into her Domme again. "But you aren't stupid. Please don't call yourself that, Domina. You don't deserve that." She assured her, pressing a soft kiss to Jo's neck, before realizing that she had never actually said the words back to her Miss.  She pulled away and slipped her hands up to cup Jo's cheeks.

Jo

It bothered her profoundly that DJ had gone so long in pain and not only not said anything, but had a domme who didn't notice.  "I see, darlin'.  That's an awful long time to be carryin' that kind of weight around."  Jo couldn't really agree with what DJ said, but that wasn't a fight that needed to be fought.  She could continue to think it in private, and not worry DJ with it.  When she began to pull away there was still a panicked reflex in Jo, but she forced herself to let whatever was going to happen, happen.  With her cheeks cupped, she smiled at her girl despite her red-rimmed eyes.

DJ

It had felt like the longest year of her life, but Jo didn't need to hear that. DJ could tell that Jo could understand how long it had been just by the tenseness in her shoulders and the regret in her tone of voice. The tear stains and redness of Jo's eyes were mirrored in DJ's and she leaned forward to press their lips together. She didn't wait for permission, didn't even ask for that permission. They both needed this moment and DJ wanted to reclaim it for them.

Jo

The very idea of permission didn't occur to Jo in that moment.  That wasn't who they were; there were things that needed permission between them, but a kiss in an emotional moment would have been a stupid time to ask for or expect it.  She leaned into the kiss, arms wrapped around DJ and hands gently clasped on her back.  This was a start - but it was only a start.  If she planned to fix things, and herself, DJ deserved that the process start immediately.

DJ

She let them enjoy the kiss until air became an issue and then she pulled back, resting their foreheads together gently. "I love you. So much." DJ began, thumbs running along the Domme's cheeks. "When I look at you, I see the woman that I want to give all of me to. The woman that I'm trying to get better for. The woman that deserves the best that I can get her. I see the woman that wants to keep me safe...and is growing and working to be the best for me too. I love you."

Jo

The tears that she thought she'd stopped began to run again as DJ spoke.  There were so many things she'd expected out of the day, not least of which was the end of their relationship, and instead they'd used the three words they never had.  "Y'all," Jo's voice gave out, and she took a couple of watery breaths.  "Y'all don't have to be any better, DJ.  Y'all are perfect just like you are."  Jo took the last part to heart, though, knowing the journey toward making herself better for DJ had just begun.  "I love you too, my darlin' girl."

DJ

"I'm not perfect. I have things to work on. And you know that too, my Miss." DJ argued gently, pressing their lips together once again just for the sake of being able to do so without feeling like the world was falling apart. Hearing Jo profess her love caused her smile to widen and she hid her face in Jo's neck, letting this moment feel like it was the first time. Letting it warm her, letting it do everything it was meant to do.

Jo

Jo wasn't sure that she did know that.  But she also knew that her mind wasn't entirely focused.  The day had been a roller coaster, and she was more focused on what was wrong with her than what might be wrong with anyone else.  So she simply nodded, hoping that would keep from having to agree out loud.  Being kissed again, now, was the best thing that could happen.  And when DJ buried her face in her neck Jo wrapped her up tightly and rested against her, content that she didn't need to say anything at all.

DJ

"Miss Jo? Can I ask you something?" DJ questioned, pulling back slightly so that she could see the Domme a bit better. "Could we...maybe start doing somethings in town? Even just a dinner every once in a while?" DJ asked, chewing on her bottom lip. She figured that getting everything out there would help make things move a bit smoother.

Jo

Her heart raced a little at DJ's query, but she tried to remind herself that the worst was hopefully in the past.  Fortunately it was an easy one to answer, and she smiled.  "We'll make a habit of it, my girl.  Once a week, or once every couple weeks, I think we need a date night.  Where we can do somethin' a little special.  Spend a day in town, or see a movie, or somethin' that isn't on campus.  I'll need your help pickin' things sometimes, though."  Reaching out, Jo brushed a finger across DJ's lip.  "Easy on that lip, darlin' girl.  I like kissin' it."

DJ

"I like the thought of that, Domina. Thank you...for being willing to make it a regular thing." DJ expressed gently, nuzzling at her neck again with a small smile. She felt much more at ease. When Jo's finger moved across her bottom lip, she let her teeth fall away from it. "Sorry." She breathed out slowly. The chewing of her bottom lip was a much more obvious tick than the chewing of the inside of her cheek, so she'd have to be much more careful moving forward.

Jo

"Of course, darlin' girl.  You pick a day of the week for me, and we'll make sure that - school things aside - we keep that day free.  That's our day."  She cupped DJ's cheek gently with one hand.  "You don't have to apologize, darlin'.  Not at all.  I just don't like to see y'all hurting yourself."  She kept the hand there for a few moments, letting the moment linger.  She had a lot to work on, and a lot that she needed to get better at, but at least things weren't as dire as they'd seemed.

DJ

She leaned into the touch on her cheek and then turned her head so that she could press a kiss to Jo's palm. She loved her so much and to know, for sure, that that feeling was returned was an absolutely beautiful thing that she couldn't even begin to describe. They rested there for quite a long while before they decided that it was time to order some food. DJ's stomach was rumbling and she offered to cook, but Jo wasn't having it, not after the botched attempt at TPE and the emotional conversation that they'd just had. DJ had agreed and that led to them sitting on the couch, close together. Friends was on in the background, something that could be noise but that they didn't have to focus on too hard. As DJ scrolled through her phone, a bright grin formed on her face. "My Miss...I'm so proud of you."

Jo

With their food on the way, Jo was seated contently next to the woman she loved.  And who, amazingly, loved her back.  The night would be the start of something new, a new stage of their relationship as that learned and grew together.  And this time she would make sure the girl next to her knew just how much she was appreciated and loved.  When DJ spoke up Jo looked curiously at her.  "Not that I don't appreciate that, darlin' girl, but how come?"  She couldn't think what she might have done to be proud of, but it wasn't as if she'd ever turn down words like that from her girl.

DJ

"You got the second bingo, Miss. That's 350 points! You did awesome." She expressed, pressing her lips to Jo's cheek and then to her lips. "My Miss is the absolute best." DJ said gently, biting down on her bottom lip. Those points meant that Jo would be ready for a trial claim. And while DJ didn't think either of them were ready for that, it was nice to know that, as long as DJ also got a bingo, they would be able to when the time came.

Jo

Jo's eyes widened a little.  She'd forgotten there were were bonuses for the first couple of people to claim a bingo, and assumed until that point that she'd only be getting two hundred.  Three fifty would shoot her up into level four, and that...that meant they could really start to think about what came next.  They weren't ready for a trial, not right away, but the time would come.  "Only because my girl makes me that way," she smiled, leaning in for a kiss rather than admonishing DJ about her lip again.  Positive reinforcement.  "You know, that means I get a night pass.  Wonder what we could do with that."

DJ

The kiss caused a soft moan to be pulled from her lips and she smiled into the kiss. When Jo pulled away and began to speak once again, her head tilted to the side and she grinned widely. "I have a few idea, my Miss. But I'd like to know what you would like to do with your night pass the most." She paused and thought things over. "As long as I get my bingo, I should be at level 4 too, Domina. So...what if we use your night pass just as a way to get away from here...and then use my night pass as a way to celebrate whenever we do our trial?"

Jo

That smile.  That wonderful, perfect smile.  It had already been too long since she'd seen that happiness on her girl's face, and Jo could have cried all over again as she saw it.  "That sounds like a perfect idea to me, darlin' - a nice way to sort of mark the beginnin' of the next phase.  As for mine, I thought maybe we'd book a suite in the hotel - somethin' big and lush and romantic.  Get dressed up, go out for dinner and maybe wander town a little.  And then," she licked her lips.  "And then I thought maybe I could bring ya back to the room and fuck y'all until you forget your name."

DJ

DJ was trying not to argue against Jo spending that much money on their night together, knowing that it wouldn't really get her anywhere. She pressed another kiss against the Domme's lips and let out a deep breath. "That sounds really fun, Miss. I...would really like that." She expressed, moving to straddle her Domme, running her fingers gently through Jo's hair. "I love you. And I'm really glad that we're saying that now because it was really hard to keep from saying it."

Jo

Jo drank in the kisses like a woman dying of thirst would drink in water.  "I'm so glad ya do, my darlin' girl.  I think it'll be just the thing we both need, just to get outta here for a night."  Grinning at DJ as she straddled her lap, Jo hummed as fingers ran through her hair.  "I love you too, my girl.  And y'all have no idea how many times I thought about sayin' it.  I'm just glad somethin' finally forced my hand because you deserved to hear it from me."

DJ

"It's something that you deserved to hear from me as well, Miss. And I'm sorry that I didn't just own up to it like I should have. Losing you is just...the scariest thing I can think of and I was worried that if I didn't just adapt..." She shook her head. "That's not important. Just know that I'm yours. That's all I want to be."

Jo

Jo cupped her cheek gently in one hand.  "DJ...I really do need y'all to be honest, okay?  I never, ever want you to feel like ya have to adapt.  To become something or someone that you're not.  I love y'all for who you are, darlin' girl, and if that ever changed because of me I'd feel awful.  The only way you'll ever lose me is if you decided you wanted to end things, because I'm not goin' anywhere.  You are mine," she agreed.  "And I won't have it any other way."

DJ

Her eyes closed and she leaned her head into the touch with a soft sigh. She knew that she needed to be more honest and the people she had spoken with slightly about the situation had said the same thing, but it the fear had gotten in the way. She would need to be better if they were going to work and she wanted to be better, not just for their relationship or for Jo...but for herself. She needed to be able to better express what she needed, wanted, or how she felt. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest. I knew what I was doing but..."

Jo

"It's alright, my girl.  I get that you were scared.  And I get why bein' honest seemed like the scariest thing in the world.  But I need y'all to have faith.  In you, and in me.  That there's no truth, that there's no question, that's gonna make me not want to be with y'all.  To make me not want to claim ya.  Honestly is only ever goin' to help us.  And that's on both of us, because I need to get better at it the same as you do."

DJ

DJ nodded, letting Jo's words wash over her. If she was going to trust Jo with the rest of her life, she needed to start by trusting her with the simple things. She bit down on her bottom lip and then quickly stopped in order to press their lips together again. "Do you think...alongside the little date nights we are going to have...that maybe you could give me another rule to follow soon?" DJ questioned, head tilting to the side slightly. "I liked when you were choosing my outfits a lot and asking permission for orgasms too. And I want to see if maybe there's anything else that's really going to stick like those two."

Jo

The kisses were a balm on what had been a very bad day, and Jo felt like things were finally getting back to normal for them.  "I'd like that very much, darlin' girl.  We got a little out of sync there, but I will definitely give y'all another rule.  And with bingo week over I'm definitely goin' to get back to picking out your outfits.  I just didn't want to get in the way of any scenes.  I'm sure we'll find lots of rules that work perfect for us."

[ofieugogyshz]

F/O list

It has occurred to me that maybe I need a post version so I can link back to it for mobile.... So here's a basic copyedit of the desktop page. I apologize for the blown up icons. I have tried different ways to make this post and alas, it will only show up blown up. ....no wonder everyone is making carrds or other outside pages

Main F/O forever and ever is Lance from Pokemon.

It’s been about… 18 years??? long time. A very long time. And only recently has TPC/Game Freak been feeding us Lance fans some very good content. bless pokemon masters. His tags are #my champion, #notes from my champion, #notes from my husband, #notes to my champion, #notes to my husband, among a handful of others. Because we've been together for so long, I'm not comfortable sharing him, but it doesn't mean I won't interact! It'll just feel weird seeing shippy stuff with others ._.;

I have some familial f/os, though the idol kids are more like “best girl/best boy” and I don’t have an self-insert or interactions with them, to be honest. But I’ll proudly post about them and gush over how precious they are.

Speaking of the kids, here are MINE. I love these kids so much and they mean so much to me and bring me so much joy to see and light and I can't even begin to words how important they all are towards my happiness, so you'll just have to look in their tags and see.

Otoya is my most precious idol son, i love him so much, i have so many pins and an itabag for him. pls do not harm the sunshine or i will not like you. at all. eiichi. His tag is "my idol son"

Rin is also my most precious idol girl! She’s super energetic and ADHD and basically her and Otoya are practically the same person. Both super sunshiny idol kids who brighten my day! Her tag is "nyan daughter"

Nozomi is actually more like a little sister to me, even though she’s the Big Sister of the group! She likes to tease the others sometimes, but she’ll also offer advice to the group when its needed, and guided μ’s together from the shadow. She also reads tarot! Her tag is getting changed from “nozo daughter” to “nozo sister”.

Mari! I just vibe with her. Also the whole pretends everything is okay and tries to be super cheery and obnoxiously shiny. Plus, we both like metal. I love her and I feel for her okay??? Her tag is "shiny daughter"

Hanamaru too! she was the first aqours girl i liked, bc we’re both bookworms, and then she fell out as mari fell in (and the anime reduced her to zuramaru and *judges yoshiko*), but she’s fallen back in the more i see of her in the mobile game and in general! and i realize that we both aren’t the fit type but if she can do all the idol stuff then maybe one day I can too!! i forgot her tag, it might have been "zura daughter" or "book daughter"

I love all these girls and Rin and Mari tend to be the top two bestest girls. as a result of them being the high energy cheerful type, I’m anticipating that Ai will be my best Nijigasaki girl. so far, yes. Her tag is "aidol daughter".

Caulifla and Cabba are my saiyan kids but honestly i forget about cabba a lot whenever i try to list my son(s). their tag is “my saiyan children”, as i cba to make separate tags for them when I don’t come across posts of them as much anymore

I’m sure there’s others that I’m forgetting, but those are the main ones. I also sometimes reblog my friends’ fave llsif girls under “#tomato niece” “#rice niece” “#rubesty niece” “#buubuu niece” and "#mermaid niece". I’ll add links later . I also group the girls and otoya under the tag “my idol children”

There’s also my Pokemon family to consider, as I’ve come to realize that it’s more than just my husband!

This is my bratty stepson, Silver. He’s more Lance’s kid than mine. We snark at each other a lot, and there’s not much a “push come to shove” level of care between the two of us so much as “Lance would be disappointed in us if we let anything happen to the other”. But he’s grown a lot since Lance took him under his cape wing, and has become much better liked, even at the Dragon Clan. His tag is “Tsundere Stepson”

My cousin-in-law on Lance’s side, Clair. She doesn’t like me, like, at all. It wasn’t until our mid-twenties that she started to calm down on the major dislike she held for me. She felt it unfair that I wasn’t being held up to the same standards that Lance expects from her, and held it against me, though she’d never openly say why. Just a simple “I don’t like her!”, followed up by her searching for excuses when asked why. We still aren’t friends, and aren’t the first person the other would turn to, but we can tolerate being around each other. She’ll only do favors for/with me if Lance is the person asking her to help. Her tag is “Tsundere Cousin”

Miss Honey, from SwSh’s Isle of Armor! She’s so amazing, so pretty, and SUCH A GOOD MOM. She helps take care of the Dojo and its students, she used to be the CEO of a trading firm, AND she will kick your ass. She also helps the students’ mental/emotional health, she’s just so caring and kind and SUCH A GOOD MOM. did i mention she’s a good mom? because she’s my mom. Her tag is “Kickass Mom”

Cynthia is a friend!!! I’d say from.... was it 16 that DP came out stateside? Anyhoo she’s a very lovely person, can be pretty wise, definitely a fellow ADHDer, we get along about myths and can hyperfixate on those a lot, and she’s a good role model/big sister-type friend! She’s very helpful to those that ask for or need her assistance. also she shipped me and lance and stuck her nose into helping move that along but that’s another topic for another day . She doesn’t have a unique tag yet; it’s currently “cynthia tag tbd”

Lastly.... Moving out of Pokemon and onto the last member of my familial f/os

Say hello to my Grandpa Nevin. He is an old dragon and an outlier and should not be counted a very wise old man. He has so much wisdom and importance to me (and Chise) that I don’t think I would have enjoyed the series or cried as much as I have without him. He’s so very very wise and important. I don’t know what else to say, man. He’s just says important things that hit right to the heart. A different outlook on things, a way to make you rethink. His nickname for me would be something like “Teller of Tales” or something that alludes to me being a writer. He doesn’t have a tag yet.

Uncategorized: sometimes boogiepop is here and I’m not entirely sure why beyond “I strongly feel a connection to it”. Please behold the original cosmic enbity:

Anyways, that’s all! Thanks for getting through this list! 

[geometragic]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 & 𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄;  𝘔𝘶𝘯 & 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦 - 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘦.

Fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OCs still can make it somehow work with their own lore and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multimuses pick the muse you are the most invested  in atm.

Tagged by: The amazing @illdivine​ ! Thanks a bunch for tagging me ! ^^ Tagging: @extravachance​ @grandordergirl​ @kimintsugi​ @royaltywritten​ @daitoku​ @pragmarage​ @teniras​ @deviilscry​ @foolslaugh​ @wrathlead​ and anyone else who’d like to do this meme ! ^^

My muse is:   canon /  OC  / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG (( He was one of the poster boys for Sengoku Basara 4, so...that counts for something, right ? XD I don’t think that Sengoku Basara really has a protagonist, though. Just a bunch of different characters. ))

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO (( I’m putting ‘yes’ if only because Mitsunari, who never remembers anyone, remembers who Katsuie is. XD I think that, in general, some characters know Katsuie and others don’t ? ))

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (( Bad in-universe, somewhere in between neutral and bad in the fandom. ))

How strictly do you follow ‘canon’? — I’d say that I follow canon pretty strictly ! Though I do add my own headcanons. ^^ I need to update some of my pages so that they’re more in line with canon, though. Especially Katsuie’s modern verse, now that the Basara Academy anime has been out for over a year... XD

Sell your muse! Try to list everything that makes your muse interesting (in your opinion) to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —   Katsuie comes off as really normal and very chill at first, which lets him easily have a first meeting interaction with most muses without angering them / fighting them / killing them / etc. But the more you delve into his thoughts and the things he does, you can see how warped his mindset is when it comes to certain subjects / people. ^^ And he’s a depressed emo kid, so I'd imagine that a lot of people on Tumblr would connect with him over that. XD 

Now the opposite. List every reason why your muse might not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom think?).  —   Back when SB4 first came out, Katsuie got a lot of flak for his creepy obsession with Oichi, which is admittedly pretty bad. Since she’s, you know, married, and Katsuie’s willing to go so far as to kill Nagamasa, her husband, for a chance (?) to be with her. Not to mention Katsuie’s anime route, where he gets himself kicked out of the Oda clan, destroys his own hopes and dreams in the process by killing everyone in the Azai clan (Nagamasa, Oichi, and Maria), and finally gets mercy-killed by the former shogun. Yikes. ^^; I’m honestly surprised that, in my five years roleplaying Katsuie, no one’s sent in anon hate to me because of Katsuie’s behavior. (Unfortunately, a former rp partner of mine once got anon hate years ago for shipping Katsuie and Oichi. ;u;)

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄? —  Katsuie’s actually my very first muse ! ^^ I started writing him at the end of my senior year of high school. I think I’d been into Sengoku Basara for a year or two at that point, and I’d been reading translations that people were making for SB4. I’d also been following Sengoku Basara roleplayers / ask blogs (there were several active ones around back then), and I really enjoyed reading their interactions, so I wanted to pick a Sengoku Basara character so that I could roleplay with them, too ! I tried writing for a couple of potential muses in private to test them out, but it felt most natural to write for Katsuie, so I went with him as my first muse ! I probably chose him because I’d gone through a bunch of not-so-fun stuff in high school, so I saw Katsuie going through a bunch of not-so-fun stuff in the Oda clan and sympathized with that.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆?  —  To my knowledge, I’ve been the only one roleplaying Katsuie semi-consistently over the past five years ? He’s just such an interesting character to me —– it’d be too sad to close this blog and not see anyone’s Katsuie interact with other people’s muses anymore. ;u; It’s something I’ve been a little worried about recently because I know I’m going to be more busy in the future, since I’m (hopefully) going to finish up my research this year, get my master’s degree next year, and then go straight into a serious full-time job. I don’t want to give up rolepaying, but if I get too busy next year... >.< 

Also, playing the mobile game Sengoku Basara: Battle Party every day helps ! And my rp partners are awesome. ^^

𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could help them get more comfortable with you.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / IDK

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO

Are you good at accepting criticism about your portrayal? —  Yeah, I’d say I’m pretty good at accepting criticism !

Do you like questions which help you explore your character? —   Yeah ! I’m happy to answer whatever questions everyone has about Katsuie ! ^^

If someone disagrees with a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? —   Yeah, because it’s interesting to see how other people view Katsuie ! From my point of view, if someone disagrees with one of my headcanons on Katsuie, it means that they’re interested enough in him and have thought about him enough to have their own opinions on him. It’s so so so so difficult to get anyone interested in muses from a series as niche and JP-only as Sengoku Basara, so I’d honestly be happy if someone cared enough about Sengoku Basara and Katsuie to disagree with me on my headcanons for Katsuie, as strange as that sounds. XD

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? —  I think my answer to this question would be basically the same as the last one. I probably wouldn’t change my portrayal at this point, though ? I’ve had it for a long time and I’m actually really happy with it. ^^ Probably the only reason why I’d change my portrayal is if someone found / made more translations of the games that Katsuie is in (SB4, Sumeragi, Sanada Yukimura-den, Batopa, etc.) and I found canon details in the new translations that really clashed with details in my portrayal. In that case, I’d change my portrayal to match with canon.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? —  That’s fair, honestly, especially when it comes to things Past!Katsuie / Kaioh has said and done, and even just things Default!Katsuie has done. Katsuie’s a really messed-up dude, and his views on things can be really twisted sometimes. And hey, if someone hates Katsuie, at least that means that they care about him on some level, right ? XD Apathy is the one thing that really kills my muse.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? —  Sure ! If they can find them. XD I edit my drafts A LOT before I actually publish them, so usually I manage to catch all my mistakes, although the occasional mistake slips through every so often. Hemingway Editor is honestly a lifesaver when it comes to finding simple spelling errors and helping me write my sentences so that they’re a reasonable length and don’t have too many adverbs / phrases written in passive voice / etc.

Do you think you are easygoing as a mun? —  I think so ! ^^ I just want to roleplay my muses and have a good time watching them grow and form relationships with other muses, that’s all. If there’s something I don’t like, I know to mute / unfollow / block / etc. and move on. Life’s too short to get involved in drama.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵!

[stillthewordgirl]

LOT/CC fic: Holiday Jitters

It's Sara's first day at CC Jitters. And there's this annoying--if hot--guy who won't put down his phone...

*

I know. I have a lot to be writing on. But I've had a hellacious week that gave me no time for personal writing projects at all, and once I did have  few minutes, I couldn't kick my muse into gear on existing things.

I had to get out of my own head on it--so I tried to think of a popular fluff-trope I'd never written.

And here you go. My first coffeeshop AU. Sort of. I tried to keep it short (for me), but I'm already considering continuing it if anyone's interested.

Many thanks to Pir8grl. Can also be read here at AO3.

*

When Sara decided she needed a change of scenery from Star City, it seemed to make sense to make it Central. Her mom lived there, after all, and it wasn’t like the city was unfamiliar with the presence of vigilante/hero types. Not since the particle accelerator thing, anyway.

But even a hero needed some way to make ends meet—and the work she was doing with the martial arts studio and the women’s shelter didn’t pay much. So, here she was, standing in the employee coatroom at CC Jitters with her new friend Kendra and preparing to take on her first shift as kinda-a-barista.

It couldn’t be that different from working as a bartender. Right?

Kendra, whom Sara had met because she volunteered at the shelter, laughed as Sara determinedly plopped her fuzzy red and white Santa hat on her head. “Don’t look so unnerved,” she chided good-naturedly, reaching out to grab her nametag and handing Sara her own. “I’ve been seen you hand grown men three times your size their asses. What’s to fear at a coffee shop?”

Sara, attaching the tag, considered responses, then went with the truth, though she knew her friend wouldn’t understand all the background. “It’s just so…normal…”she sighed, glancing out toward the front of the shop. “And I…”

Her voice trailed off, but Kendra, bless her, just nodded. She didn’t know the full story, but Sara had danced around the edges enough when explaining her supposed martial arts training that she knew Sara had been in some not-so-normal situations, with a not-so-normal background.

“You’ll be fine,” she said gently, touching Sara’s elbow. “Now, let’s get out there. Oakley’s been on their feet since 5 a.m., and Amanda needs to get more baked goods in the ovens.”

And Sara took a deep breath. Nodded. And followed her friend out to deal with that most erratic of opponents—the public.

*

A few hours later, Sara had to admit, it wasn’t going too badly. Not nearly as badly as she’d feared, anyway. The customers had been nice enough, the regulars welcoming in their own way, and while Sara deferred to Kendra to make the more high-octane espresso drinks, she’d put her own spin on a few simpler things in a way that had been well received.

As the morning rush subsided (but before the lunch rush began), Sara took a deep breath, then turned, grinning at Kendra. The rush of triumph, she’d admit, was a little unexpected.

“I,” she pronounced with satisfaction, “actually liked that. And I think it’s going well.”

Kendra smiled back. “Well,” she said, starting to clear a space of the back counter, “it’s only partway through your first day. But you’re doing great.”

Sara heard the door open behind her, then, but didn’t turn around just yet. “Well, I know I’m not working too many hours here, but it’s just nice to be…”

She turned around mid-sentence and paused.

The man walking toward her…well, he caught the eye. Her particular eye, at least. Just something about him, a way of moving, grace and power despite his lean build.

Tall…yes. All in black, slacks and a sweater. Old enough for the close-cropped hair to be all salt-and-pepper, but definitely not in an unappealing way.

All this observation was in a heartbeat as he strolled up to the counter—unerringly, despite the fact that he hadn’t looked up from his phone once. Sara moved toward him, hearing Kendra say…something…behind her, torn between an unexpected attraction and irritation at the man’s focus on his tech.

“Can I help you?” she asked, trying to keep both from her tone.

He…muttered something. In a low, incredibly sexy voice, sure, but still muttered. Unintelligibly.

Sara kept her cool. “Pardon?”

Another mutter. His brow furrowed, Mr. Rude Hottie tapped his phone again. Was he sending a text?

So much for cool. Sara snorted.

“You know,” she said, placing her hands on the counter and leaning forward, ignoring Kendra making choking noises from behind her. “This would be a lot easier if you put that thing away and actually looked at me.”

The words—or the tone, or both—got through. Startled, the man glanced up at her.

Ooh. Oh, those were beautiful blue eyes. Sara kept her face stony, though, unable to regret her tart tone.

“It’s OK,” she finally registered Kendra saying behind her. “I know…”

But the man put the phone down, on the counter. He even pushed it aside, toward the pick-up area, giving Sara his full attention.

And…whoa. That full attention, complete with intent blue eyes and slight smile/smirk, was apparently enough to send a ripple of attraction through her in a way she hadn’t felt in rather a long time. Sara kept it from showing, she thought, and gave him a cool smile in return.

“I’m sorry,” the man actually said, in that voice, sounding fairly sincere. “I was being rude.” A pause. “I’m here regularly enough that I’m generally on autopilot. I apologize.”

Well, then. Sara tipped her head toward him as Kendra sighed behind her. “Thank you,” she acknowledged. “Now, what can I get you?”

Those blue eyes crinkled at the corners. “Just a coffee. The dark roast. One cream.”

“I got it,” Kendra volunteered, and Sara let her, content to continue her mutual inspection with the customer.

He glanced away first, eyes flickering toward the small chalkboard sign Sara had set out with her new creations. “Peppermint mocha, eh?”

“It’s good,” Sara informed him, wondering if he was a purist. One of those often-snotty “flavored coffee drinks are the work of the devil” types.

A shrug. “It sounds good,” he acknowledged. “Will admit, though, every one of those I’ve tried have been far too sweet for my taste.”

Ah. A challenge. Sara perked up.

“Try it out,” she informed him, turning aside. “On me. If you don’t like it…”

A good enough conclusion doesn’t come to mind. So, at the man’s chuckle, she merely reaches out to grab a cup. “Your name?”

The eyes crinkle again. “Len.”

“Len.” Sara writes it on the cup with a flourish, resisting the thoroughly inexplicable urge to add her number. “Got it. Give me just a minute.”

She lets Kendra take his money for the plainer coffee, focusing on the drink she’s making. Dark roast coffee instead of the more-often-used breakfast blend, dark chocolate syrup instead of the sweeter milk chocolate. Just a splash of cream. Enough peppermint to taste, but not enough to overwhelm. A mere sprinkle of the crushed candy canes they kept on the side.

With a grin, she moved to the pick-up counter, where this Len was waiting, other coffee in hand, leaning against the surface in a casual slouch. He put the other cup down and took the drink with a lifted eyebrow and the shadow of a smile, raising it in a toast to her before he took a sip.

The mobile eyebrows both went up. Sara resisted the desire to pump her fist and cheer.

“This is good,” he said, looking down at it, then up at her again. “Thank you…Sara.”

Right. Her nametag. Sara kept herself from shivering at the way he said the name. “Welcome,” she told him, leaning on the counter herself, angled toward him. “Sorry. Just the first one’s free.”

That got a chuckle. He took another sip, eyes on hers. “So, it going to be a regular menu item now?”

There was something in the question that led Sara to think he was asking about more than the drink. (And Kendra’s giggle from behind her backed that up.)

“When I’m here anyway,” she said easily, watching him. “Which will be mid- to late mornings, a few days a week, anyway. At least through the holidays.”

He tipped his head toward her again at the information, straightening from the slouch. “Good to know.” There was a pause…and then Len turned for the door with one last glance. “Thanks again, Sara.”

She stuffed down the flicker of disappointment. “Nice to meet you, Len.”

*

Leonard Snart was a busy man. He hadn’t really meant to be rude. He was just…distracted.

Juggling a security business with other…extracurricular…activities could get hectic, after all. He’d been out so late last night that he’d gotten an even later start than usual, and he’d had texts that were both business related and extracurricular related. He wasn’t precisely a chatty or social guy at the best of times, and the folks at Jitters knew him. He had, perhaps, presumed a bit too much.

Until he’d heard a new and slightly biting voice, and glanced up into a pair of sharp, bright blue eyes.

Smiling a little, Len took a sip from the unexpectedly delicious peppermint mocha as he sauntered down the street away from Jitters. The other drink was certainly getting cold, but he could reheat that when he got to his office. It wasn’t so far away, after all. Maybe he’d even go back later…though she’d said she’d be working mornings…

Len was so busy examining his unexpected interest in the new barista that he was nearly all the way to the end of the block before he realized. Crap.

He’d left his phone back at Jitters. His phone, full of information (though couched in rather coded language) about various activities that just anybody really shouldn’t see. All because he’d gotten distracted by…

“Len!”

Blinking, Leonard turned to see Sara hurrying down the sidewalk after him. She’d pulled on a coat, but the snowflakes drifting down from the sky were collecting on her golden hair…and his phone was in her hand.

He shook off a feeling of relief, stepping back toward her to take it.

Sara grinned at him. “I yelled at you a few times, but you seemed to be a little lost in thought,” she said, relinquishing the device. “Sorry. I didn’t notice until you were well out the door.”

“No, thank you.” Len studied her, then nodded, giving in to an impulse. “You working tomorrow?”

“No.” She looked a little regretful, putting her hands in her pockets and studying him in return. “But I will be the next day.”

“Good.” Len pocketed the phone. “Gotta get to work. Thanks again…Sara.”

“Welcome, Len.” She waited, then, until he was a few more paces down the street. “If you miss me at Jitters on Wednesday…well, you have a way to reach me.”

Len paused. Then he turned, watching Sara walk away, back toward the coffeeshop. And then he pulled out the phone.

There was a new contact added: “Sara—Jitters.”

Huh.

A smile crossed his face. Maybe she hadn't thought he'd been that rude, after all.

[angstchim]

Smash and Dash | jhs

Store Clerk Hosoek x Reader (Fuck Buddies) 

➻  A dirty fic that I’d like to dedicate to my dear mutual @chim-chimmie , Love you boo enjoy the filth!!!

➻  Rated: M

➻ Words:9.6k

➻ I am blaming inspired by these songs: Sexual Animals - Sarah Fimm & Toyfriend - David Guetta 

➻ !!: SMUT, usage of toys, protected sex :), squirting, orgasm denial, edging, dirty talk, language, casual sex, masturbation, sex at work, more to add if necessary, NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED, Golden Shower (not like you’d expect), Brat Tamer Hosoek, Brat Reader, Sounding, handcuffs, public sex, dominant hoseok, submissive hoseok, This is fiction so please take what occurs in this fic with a grain of salt and don’t try to attempt the things that the characters engage in, especially Sounding, that is something that should most certainly not be attempted by people who don’t know what they are doing. I’m not an expert on the act, don’t consider me one and PLEASE don’t attempt to do it without proper preparation and advise from people who know what they are doing because I don’t. Anyways enjoy! 

Preview 

Your eyes glued to your phone screen, your mobile bank account, eyes not leaving from the numbers displayed on the screen. A grin on your face when the numbers change, your paycheck deposited into your account. Tucking your phone into your pocket you threw on a jacket, a beanie and mask to cover your nose, mouth, and chin. Checking the time, it was late afternoon on a Friday and the drive to the next town over was at least an hour, a grin on your face you made your exit.

Tossing your bag and yourself into your humble vehicle your hands on the wheel, foot on the gas, tunes blasting you made your drive. Over the blaring music, and dead roads you felt a tingle in your stomach, excitement. You've been waiting two weeks to get paid, two weeks to make this trip across town. The coiling in your stomach increased tenfold as you got closer and closer to your destination. Pandora's Box. Your favorite sex shop and you were here to buy yourself all the toys to send you into oblivion.

Hood on, car parked and your face mostly covered you happily skipped into your favorite store. It was late compared to all the other times you had visited, the store dead compared to your other rendezvous. No one there besides the workers. Upon entering your feet led you to your favorite aisle. The vibrators. You had a sizeable collection, but you wanted one more, as for what kind, you wanted one to replace the one you wore out. Your hands running over the boxes, your eyes glossing over the speeds and types.  After finding one that could match the one you wore out your eyes trailed over to the dildos. A pink one with a width you hadn't yet tried, snatching the box your feet led you to the checkout.

Standing at the checkout wasn't the usual clerk, instead of the bleached hair and snarky smile of Yoongi, you had the bubbly smiles of a brunette. His smile too innocent to be working in a sex shop. His brown locks wisping over his crescent eyes. "Will this be all?"  He chimed, his large veiny hands scanning the two boxes you placed on the counter. You couldn't help but stare at his hands and he couldn't help but notice your stare. His glossy eyes fading slightly. "Do you have a membership here Miss?" His voice was a little deeper than when he last spoke.

Snapping out of your trance you remembered where is it you were. Looking up at the curly haired brunette,  "Yes, I have a membership." You felt strange saying aloud but it was true you went here so often you might as well be apart of their member program.

He gave a smirk, he grabbed some roundish lensed glasses from the side, slipping them on his nose. He looked to his screen. "May I get your phone number Miss?"

You nodded and relayed your phone number to him, your eyes watching how his long fingers pressed against the store's keyboard. His kept fingernails and thin digits, the fast clicks of the board and the way his veins popped as his hands glided across the keyboard. "You live out of town?" He chimed, his mouth clicking as he bit his cheek.

"I do."

"And you travel all the way here?" He asks, smirking at your toys as he bagged them, your cheeks dusting a faint cherry.

"Going to a shop in town.. well you know there's a chance I could run into someone I know." You explained, eyes everywhere but on him.

"Mhm, I guess that true", he glanced at the screen again. "You live a bit away from here and you have racked up quite the points. I'm impressed." He chuckled. His hand moving the monitor over for you to see just how much of your money you had spent there. Your cheeks heated, "You're worse than Yoongi..." You mumbled.

"Yoongi? You're already on first name basis with that skeez?" He chuckled, his eyes holding a glint to them as he glossed over a female who dared to say the blonde's first name so boldly.

You gave a cough not really realizing you said that aloud, but you gave a nod. "Well, we aren't on first name basis to be exact but we went to high school together and calling him Min never really stuck."

"Mhm.." The brunette hummed, "Calling him Min stuck with me. Are you an old flame or something?"

Your eyes narrowed, "Classmate as I said, and I'd cry if I ever got on any level more intimate than that."

"Why's that?"

"Just, I can't ever see Yoongi like that, it's bad enough he works here and knows every toy I buy." Your chest heaving slightly as you took out your cash.

"With me taking over his shift that's about to change." The brunette said with a smirk.

You squinted at him, reading his name tag. "Mr. Jung, isn't that a privacy violation?"

He chuckled, "Not when I'm holding your dildos while scanning them." He looks at the bag, "Not many buy that size, can you take it all?"

The question hitting you in the abdomen, your lip giving a slight quiver, your throat dry. "J-Jung.."

"Hoseok." He interjected.

"Huh?"

"My name is Hoseok, call me by my first name, you do with Yoongi." He huffed, his eyes glossing over you, he held your bag to you.

"H-Hoseok, don't you think that question is too intimate for a clerk and customer interaction?"

He glossed over you once again, he slid his glasses up his nose, his permed brown locks wisping across his face. "It may be, but we are first name basis now, we aren't 'on' clerk and customer basis are me anymore, are we Dear?"

Your hands swiped the bag from him, "Y-You set me up."

"Did not, you could have said no to all my questions." he chuckled, "You answered them though? Why is that? Do you find me as interesting as I find you?" He leaned across the counter, the store empty, as it neared closing hours.

"I-I.."

"Shh, anyways I find you interesting and from the looks of how often you come here I'm certain your pussy doesn't get played with much now does it?" He grinned his voice, Cheshire.

Your eyes widened, not sure whether to respond or just leave but your feet stayed put.

"Listen.." He began, "I think you're cute and if you're up for it I can give you, your fill. You don't have to say yes, there's no way I'd ever force you but the second you saw me you looked at my hands and I know you weren't just looking at them to admire them." He smirked as he etched his number down on a note, sticking into your bag along with the receipt. "Next time you visit, if you visit, after my shift I can take you to the back room and show you the new merchandise." He gave you a wink.

Your mouth agape, you simply gave a nod, not sure how to respond,  your abdomen flaming and your hands trembling as you ran out of the shop. Heart hammering so loudly you could hear it thuds ring. Feet leading you to your car, your hands shaky as you opened the door, tossing the bag aside. Blaring the music, foot on the gas you drove back home. Heart not slowing for anyone, but neither did your foot on the gas that night.

⋆⋆

Your eyes gloss over the number the flirty clerk gave you the previous week. You were too shy to actually contact him, you were caught in a trap. Almost. You knew you wanted nothing more for a man to hold you down but was Hoseok that man? Your thumbs glossing over the screen of your phone as you made a new contact for him. Breath held as you sent him a simple, Hey. [To Hoseok]

Jungkook I swear to god if this is you on another fake number pretending to be the chick I met I will send out those pics of you deepthroating a hotdog. [From Hoseok]

Who's Jungkook? Is this Hoseok and whats this about hot dogs? [To Hoseok]

oh shit, nvm jungkook he's not important, is this vibrator and dildo? [From Hoseok]

Vibrator and dildo is that how you refer to me?! [To Hoseok] Your cheeks huffed and brows furrowed as you looked at your phone screen.

To be fair you didn't give me your name dear. [From Hoseok]

It was on the screen when you looked at my account. [To Hoseok]

oh shit it was wasn't it? i'll still call you dear I like how it sounds. the face you make when i do that is cute. [From Hoseok]

are you coming to the shop today? [From Hoseok]

i want to show you around the store [From Hoseok]

bullshit, but yeah im coming...is this going to be a casual thing? [To Hoseok]

ofc, why wouldn't it [From Hoseok]

You bit your lip. Right anyways i'll come near closing hours. [To Hoseok]

perfect [From Hoseok]

You gave a sigh. You knew this wasn't the brightest of ideas, you knew it may not end pleasantly but nothing was holding you back. Your keys in your hand and your hair tied, you once again found yourself in the driver's seat your foot on the gas. This was your body acting and your heart and mind were taking a back seat for this adventure.

After the quiet ride, you once again parked in the oh so familiar lot. It's worn yellow parking guidelines and bright neon sign stood out as the sun started to set. The shops darkened windows and tinted glass showed only a single silhouette, a single frame behind the register. Pushing the door open, brunette hair greeted you. "There's my girl."

Your brows furrowed. His girl? More like booty call... You shook your head now wasn't the time to be thinking about this. "Hello to you too Hoseok."

"My shift is almost over, want to help me close up?"

"Am I even allowed to do that?" You asked.

He shrugged, "Yoongi used to do it with people like this it's not that big of a deal."

"Did Yoongi get fired or something?"

Hoseok looked at you huffing, "You sure the two of you had nothing?"

"I'm certain."

Hoseok shrugged, "He switched his shifts."

"I see." You nodded.  

"What do you mean Yoongi used to do this?" You asked.

Hoseok shrugged his shoulders, "He's a skeez, taught me a few things as a trainee, and now that I'm taking over his shift might as well put his wisdom to good use." The brunette grinned as he led you to a back room, his arms trapping you between him and the wall, his knee keeping your legs spread.

"L-Like what?"

"Like the best places to skip work, the best spots to nap and...." He lowered his mouth to your ear, his tongue planting a sly kiss along the shell of your ear. "The best places to play." His knee pressing between your thighs, giving your neck a swift kiss. "This is your last chance to turn away, what do you say?" He licks a stripe along the length of your neck.

A heat coiling in your abdomen, a whimper creeping up your throat, "G-Get on with it!" A smirk crossing his face as he pressed you against the wall, opened mouthed kisses dotting your jaw as he avoided your lips when you etched them closer to his. His hands making work of your jeans zip and button, harshly he shoved and tugged them from your body, your black thong greeting him.

"Black suits you." He smirked, his thumb grazing over the fabric of the thong, your clit more than eager to meet his caresses. "Take your top off."  

Not wasting a second your hands swiped the top from your body, bra quickly being disregarded as your eyes met his lidded coffee orbs. His eyes leaving you as he grabbed a fresh bottle of lube and a boxed dildo, one a size you haven't dared to try yet. "Say.." he smirked, "After I fuck you senseless mind if I play with your body? Teach you a few things." His grin Cheshire as he shimmied out his shirt and jeans, his body lean and fit. His skin sunkissed, and his thighs muscular, and his bulge sizeable, very sizeable.

You gave a shy nod, walking over to him your hand running along his chest, fingers meeting the band of his boxer briefs. "I've got nothing to lose. Teach me Hoseok."

His eyes held a glint to them as he pulled on the strings of your black thong. "That's more like it dear, now be a doll and take these off." He licked his lips as he let his gaze dropped down to his hips. Your eyes following as you rid him of his boxer, his hands nudging the thong further and further down your hips. "Bend over for me dear."

Your lip ensnared by your teeth, your face heated, you bent yourself over for him, your hands pressed to the wall. "Velvet"

Your brows furrowed as you looked back at him, "Velvet?"

He smirked as he squirted lube into his hand, "Safeword, we are going to doing lots of things we haven't before we need something like a safeword don't you think?" He grinned, tapping your clit the with his glossy finger, the lube giving off a welcomed warmth. "One more thing dear." He pumped the large width of the dildo, coating it fully with lube, he pressed its length against your slit gently rubbing it between your folds.

"W-What is it?" You gave a whine, pressing yourself against the silicon length.

"Call me Sir." He gave a low growl.

Your hips bucking as he pulled the dildo away from your eager core. "Y-Yes Sir!"

He gave a smirk. "Do I need to stretch you out, dear?"

You shook your head. "No, Sir... I can take it!"

"Can You?" He lamented to tease you. His voice hanging in the air. "You haven't tried this size yet have you?"

Your knuckles white as your fist pressed against the wall, "No, but fucking give it to me!" You whined feeling restless.

He gave a devilish smirk as he shrugged, "As you wish dear." He pressed the tip of the dildo against your core, the head pushing into your spreading your walls. "Mhm, Fuck!" He growled as he watched the dildo disappear further and further into you. "Look at you, such a good girl. Taking this dildo so well, tell me, baby. Is it a tight fit?" He smirks as he started to pump the thick silicon length into your soaking cunt.

"I-It's super tight... So tight!" Your chest heaving, biting your lip with determination to take all of it.

He pumped the toy further int you, his pace increasing steadily. The stretch increasing as you took the toy inch by itch. His wide crown slamming against your cervix, giving off euphoric friction against your bundle of nerves. Your fingers curling into your palms and your knees started to tremble.

"Does that feel good baby?" He drawled as he pumped the toy into you with a greater force, knowing exactly what he was doing.

"Y-yes Sir, it feels so good. Don't stop, please don't stop!!"

"What will happen if I do?" He increased his pace, your chest heaving as you gave out ragged pants.

"You better fucking not!"

"You don't make the rules here." He growled as he pulled the toy from your hungry cunt just as you were about to push over the edge of ecstasy. The coiling in your heat dulling. You gave off a frustrated whine.

Slyly rolling a condom onto his shaft he replaced the dildo with his own length, flipping you over as he did so. "Legs around me dear." His gaze was dark as he thrust into you. Your arms wrapped around his neck as he pressed your form into the wall. "Such a hungry cunt, I fucked you with that dildo and your still squeezing around me like a whore."

Fingers tugging at his curled locks, his mouth biting down on the nape of your neck as your nails scratched down his neck. "Fuck you can go harder than that can't you? If I'm so tight you should fix that." You taunted, ready for the release he denied you, your legs tightening to keep him trapped in your core.

He let out a guttural growl as he angled his thrusts, his hips slamming into you as he forced you against the wall, his weight slamming into you. The room echoing with the sound of his pelvis slamming into yours. "You're right, fucking take it!" He growled, his hips pistioning into you, your back arching, toes curling as a familiar heat brew in your abdomen, "Take all of it! Do you like how I shoved my cock into your hungry little cunt?! I bet you fucking love it."

"Oh!" Your hips trembling around him as you saw stars, "Sir, I fucking love it, I love it so much!" You played along as he fucked you through your orgasm his hips beginning to stutter as he threw his head back. Veins protruded from his pelvis as he came, slipping out of you he pulled off the condom knotting it before tossing it in the bin.

His chest heaving and his hair sticking to his forehead as he caught his breath. "That's the best fuck I've had in a while.." He chuckled.

"S-same here." You gave a shiver, wobbling slightly as you bent to grab your clothes.

"Want to come back to my place?" His voice rang throughout the empty storage room that smelled of sex. Somewhat ironic for a sex shop.

"Your place?" Your brow raised as you peered at him. "I thought this was just a fuck and done deal."

"It is... but I don't want to fuck you just once." He admitted, "Plus it's the weekend, I don't work and I'm certain you don't but correct me if you do."

"I don't work."

"Exactly, we are both free so why not fuck all weekend? We can take breaks, watch a movie, eat or something.."

"You want to be fuck buddies or something?" You asked a bit daringly, not really sure if you were mentally capable of such a thing.

"If you're willing, I'd love to fuck you every weekend." He chuckled as he got dressed.

You looked at him, teeth nibbling on your bottom lip. "Just me and you?"

"Of course unless you are okay with fucking other people too?" He asked, not bothered by the idea in the slightest.

"No!" You answered more strongly than you intended to. "I don't want other people getting caught in this." You shrugged nonchalantly.

He nodded. "I'm okay with that, I don't think I'd like to share my new muse with other guys."

"Muse? Me?" You asked as you pulled on your coat.

"Yeah, you and that cunt." He chuckled as he grabbed the dildo and loob cleaning them before slipping them into a bag. "I'll charge them to my card and we are taking these back to my place and I can show you  my toy collection." He winked.

"Are we taking your car back to your place?"  You asked following him out of the room.

"Car? I don't' have one, I walk to work or take the bus if I'm lazy." He slipped on his glasses as he rung up the dildo and lube. Grabbing his jacket he looked at you, "Want to take your car to my place, that way it doesn't stay here overnight?"

"Of course I don't want a parking ticket." You giggled walking him out to your car, unlocking the door for him.

He got into the passenger side, "I like this car."

"Why thank you." You giggled, moving the GPS screen over to him, "Type in your address for me Hoseok."

"Sure." He hummed, his fingers sliding across the GPS screen as you got the car started pulling out of the lot of the sex shop, listing to the robotic British voice that read off where to turn left and where to turn right.

"Mhm, If I'm staying the weekend what clothes will I wear?" You asked, "I only have the clothes I have on."

"You can wear mine, as for underwear I can spare a pair of boxers, but.." He smirked, "I wouldn't mind if you didn't wear any."

You rolled your eyes. "The sex is great but if I want some boxers you better hand them over." You stated as you pulled into his driveway.

"Don't beat me over it." He chuckled as he exited your car, you following close behind as he unlocked his front door. He flicked on the lights on reveal a clean and tidy living space. His shoes neatly piled by the door, next to his coat rack. He had a simple couch, coffee table and tv set up in his living room. A standard kitchen and living space. "Here's the bedroom." He led you down the hall to the bedroom, swinging open the door was a plainly decorated room, a lot of brown and white and a dash of orange decorated his room.  "Make yourself at home." He motioned to the bed, "I 'll get you a change of clothes."

"Thanks." You took a seat on the bed, letting your coat fall from your shoulder,s your bag sitting at the edge of his bed, you peered around. His shelf was adorned with albums, lots of them rap, some rnb and a few of which were of EDM and dance music. He had bucket hats sitting on top of his collection of bear figurines. Nearby hung a ton a fuzzy pouches and fanny packs, your brows furrowed at them. They were the oddest things you've seen.

Stripping from your clothes, you waited on the bed in your panties and bra, Hoseok returning with a shirt and pair of pajama shorts for you. "Mhm, you really did make yourself at home." He chuckled.

You huffed, "You've seen it already does it matter now?" You swiped the clothes from him, slipping them off swiftly. His eyes prying on your form.

"I suppose it doesn't but I like looking at you." He hummed.

"Mhm." You kept your lips pursed. Hoseok says he isn't looking for anything but it oddly doesn't seem that way. Is he just normally this friendly, he's not keeping you at arm's length as you'd expect from someone who proposed such a relationship. "Have you ever done this before Hoseok?"

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, he slipped out of his jeans and was once again in his boxers and tee. "Done what before? Watch a movie? Plenty of times."

Your eyes rolled, "No, I mean have you ever had a fuck buddy before?"

He looked at you, "Yeah, have you?" He keeps a straight face, as he leaned back onto the bed.

"No, I haven't but is it normal to be so friendly?"

He gave a chuckle. "I mean, it's different for everyone, I don't have the mean bone to keep things so stern and cold."

You gave a nod. "What things can't we do together?"

"Kiss." He responded quicker than you had expected.

"Kiss? We have sex but can't kiss." You furrowed your brows.

"Yeah, we already are having sex, but kissing to me is oddly more intimate... I can't kiss you." He looked at you, his eyes glossing over his form as the movie started playing. Strange enough it was Wally that appeared on the tv screen.

"I guess I can understand that." Your eyes trailed to the screen. "Why Wally?"

He smiled, "I love Wally."  Both of you watched as the lonely robot collected cubed garbage. All alone out in space. You looked from the screen to Hosoek, his eyes shone as he watched the movie with a dopey smile on his face. This Hoseok was not the same snarky man you met at the store just a week before. You looked back to the lonely robot, Wally reminded you of Hoseok oddly enough.

As the movie progressed the two of you stayed leaned back together on the bed, Hoseok kept you atop his chest, his hands ever so lightly traveling up and down your thighs. "You look good in my shorts."

"How good?"

"You love compliments don't you dear?" He chuckled.

"What can I say, it's a kink of mine." You giggled gently opening your thighs for his traveling hands.

He gave a hum, "Is that so tell me your other kinks then." He slid his shorts off you, his hand gently skimming over your panties.

Your cheeks dusting slightly, "That's for you to find out Sir." You smirked.  He gave a tsk, tugging your panties down.

"Brat."

"Your brat, Sir." You continued to egg him on.

"Yes, Mine." He growled as he leaned over grabbing a rope from his bedside drawer. "Since I have to guess what makes you weak, I suppose there's no harm in having fun my way." He smirks, before leaning close to your ear. "Remember the safe word?" He asks.

"Yes, Sir." You whimpered as he started to bound your hands. Keeping them tightly knotted with the rope. He reached once more and pulled out a collar, the front of the collar a loop for his to tie your hands to it.

"Don't tug too hard." He comments, he gave a harsh smack to your clit, watching your squirm and tug on the rope attached to the collar. "We've already played with a dildo, how does a vibrator sound to you? I know you just love to play with those don't you dear?"  

You gave a whine, "I like the sound of that Sir."

"Of course you do dear. Your hungry little cunt will like whatever I give it." He gave a smirk. You gave a whimper of protest, he wasn't even wrong. Dipping down to your hips he gave your clit a curious lick, the flat of his tongue rolling against your sensitive bud, his eyes focusing in on you. He let the tip of his tongue flicked your rosebud. Your hips bucked against his tongue for more friction a whine escaping your lips. You wanted more of his tongue.  He gave a tsk, he pulled his tongue away just as you began to rut against it.

"S-Sir, Please let me!" You gave a whine, he only shot you an evil grin as he grabbed a long sheer fabric, two long cloths, he gave a nod to the ceiling, there from the ceiling were hooks. He gave a hum as he tied the cloths to the ceiling, grabbing one of your legs wrapped in the cloth attaching it to the hook, he did the same with your other leg. The cloths keeping your legs spread for him, his eyes on your core as he picked out a vibrator from his collection. His collection could rival yours, he picked one that had a dildo as well as a smaller limb for clitoral stimulation. You chest starting to pound as he set the vibrator on the highest level.

"Tell me, dear should I wear a condom this time?" He drawled once more.

"N-No!"

He gave a smirk, "Why's that?"

"I trust you!" Your response was desperate as you core clenched around nothing, your slit glistening with arousal.

He hummed, "So desperate for my cock." He held up the vibrating dildo, squirting lube along its shaft,  "Let's see how well you take two cocks in your pussy." He smirked, as he spread lube across your opening, gently dipping a finger into you as he did so. You mewls desperate the longer he teases your opening. Your bound wrists tugging against the collar on your neck. "Don't struggle baby, be a good cockslut and I'll give you a good reward." He held the vibrator to your slit, the tip slipping into your walls so easily you almost felt a bit of shame. Almost.

Once the dildo was fully in you felt the crown of Hoseok's shaft nudging your slit. The vibrator's extra limb pressing against your clit the sensation making your walls tremble around the silicone cock. "Eyes on me dear." He ordered as he pushed his cock into your core to accompany the dildo, both lengths stretching your walls. A slight burn from the stretch. You gave a small hiss, which he soothed by running his finger along your slit, gently giving them a small message as he began to buck his hips slowly. "Fuck this is a tight fit."

You gave a whimper, his hand on the dildo pumping it into you to match his thrusts. His bottom lips trapped between his teeth. Eyes lidded, he flicked your clit once more, pressing the limb of the dildo onto it to add more pressure to your sensitive nerves. "Does that feel good? Mhm, how does it feel to have two cocks spreading open your tight cunt? I bet it feels great." He smirked as he increases his pace, his thrust getting harder and more angled as he pumps the dildo into you. The two heads kissing you cervix each time his pelvis met yours.

Your cheeks crimson, your breaths jagged and your hips trembling. "You feel fucking amazing, your pussy all stretched out and wet." He growled, his eyes glossing over your face, your eyes closed. "Open your eyes dear, look at me when I fuck you, watch the way your greedy pussy can take two cocks. Fucking watch."  His hand reaching to grab your jaw as he continued his thrusts, your eyes opening to meet his. A smirk on his face as he tilted you jaw down so you could watch him fuck you open, the dildo keeping you spread and the vibrator making your clit twitch.  "That a girl, do you like watching two cocks keep your wet cunt stretched? Do you feel full? Does having two cocks in you make you happy?" He growled.

"Y-yes it does! Ahhh" Your hip stuttering as your walls tightened, your hips raising. His thrust angled as he took the dildo away, just his cock slammed into you. Both his hands on the bed, his bottom lip tucked into his mouth, both his legs together as he began to slam into you with all his strength. The hooks on the ceiling causing the fabric around your legs to tighten as he gave more power to his hips. Your wrist sore, and aching as they tugged on the ropes that bound them to your collar. "H-Hoseok!!!"

He let out a growl and his thrusts got harder as he chased his high, "I" he gave a thrust, "Told" he growled "You" his knuckles white as he gripped the sheets, "To Call Me Sir!" He raised one leg as he slammed into you fastest he could. His head thrown back in pleasure. His hips stuttering as he used you as a fuck doll. His body turning still, he let out a deep growl as he filled your cunt. Your hips twitching as he did so.

"S-Sir.." You whimpered.

Pulling from your core, he gave a grunt as he watched pearlescent drops drip from your core. "My little cum dump." He smirked, "Do you like being filled?" He uses a finger to swab at the escaping cum, holding the tainted finger to your lips. "Say Ahh."

Your mouth open, tongue wrapping around his finger. Cleaning it. "Very much so Sir."

"That's what I like to hear. Let's get you untied so I can fuck that pretty mouth in the shower, then after I fuck it I'm going to cum all over that pretty face. I'm going to use my dick to press my cum all over you. You'll love that, won't you? Being a cumslut, getting on your knees just so you can have my cum dripping down your pretty face?"  He met every word he said and more.

His hands untying you, he gave your thigh a smack as you wobbled to your feet. "Get walking Slut." Your whimpers of pleasure echoed in the room as you wobbled to the bathroom, his footsteps following you.

Your eyes lidded, legs wobbly as he set the water, sliding the glass door to the shower open for you. His smirk was wide as he watched your eyes rake over his body, the water from the showerhead leaving him glistening, his once curly hair now stuck to his head as he motioned for you to enter. His voice a growl. "Get on your hands and knees and crawl over here bitch."

You gave a harsh swallow and nod, getting onto your hands and knees crawling into the shower with him, your body being greeted by the warm water that showered onto you.  His hands were quick to lodge themselves into your hair, the tug harsh but welcomed as you gave him innocent eyes, "Sir?"

His dick twitching against his thigh as he looked at you, "Such a pretty little face." He lamented, "Your mouth looks a little lackluster, however... I wonder how we can fix that." His eyes wondering over your parted lips. "Do you have any idea dear?"

You gave a nod. "Sir I have a really good idea." Your tongue swiping over your lips as your eyes glossed over his throbbing length. His vein running along its length as it twitched under your gaze.

"What might that be?" He smirked.

"Let me show you, Sir."  With that you inched yourself closer to him, your knees against the slippery shower floor, your hands wrapping around his length giving it a few experimental pumps to which he gave quiet groans that didn't echo well in the shower. Hearing his weak response a fire burned in you to make him scream. A sudden confident aura began to exude from you. Your pumps faster, and your mouth began to wrap around his crown. His tip perfectly fitting into your mouth. Your tongue swabbing the underside of his cock, the back of your throat accommodating him the further he etched into your wet cavern.

"What a dirty mouth," he smirked, his voice gruff as he grips your hair. "How many cocks have fucked it?"

Your eyes widening, your head bobbing, hands gripping his thighs, your legs rubbing against one another. The stretch of your mouth narrowing and widening the more your mouth slid from his base to his tip, his cock slightly curved. His crown poking into your cheek each time you pulled back. His face cherry, his hands tangled in your wet locks as he gave them tugs, the sting welcomed as it gave you a gentle burn you once again took his whole into your mouth. Carefully taking breaths between each stroke. Your gaze of him blurred by your tears, the way your tears gave him a shine as he threw his head back made your stomach coil.

His hips starting to stutter, his grip on your hair tightening as he started to thrust into your mouth. "Oh, Fuck, fuck." He growled, "I'm gonna fuck this mouth so fucking good. Mhm, gonna make you a fucking mute, you'll like that, losing your voice because of how much you suck my cock." he grunted as he fucked into your mouth. Your jaw on fire, tears running down your cheeks, his smirk quivering as he felt close. His thrusts were hard and angled as he made you gag. "That a girl fucking choke on it." He snarled, his breaths heavy, his chest heaving, his knuckles white.

The burn in the back of your throat numbed by his thrusts. "H-Holy shit!" He grunted, he pulled from your mouth, his hand rapidly pumping his shaft as he kept your hair in a grip. Your eyes lidded as they looked up as his glistening body, his bottom lip tucked into his mouth as he bit down on it. Ropes of white splattering against your cheeks and jaw, his head thrown back, he let out a loud moan. His eyes darkening as they took in your cum splattered face, his hand sliding from your hair to your jaw as he gripped it. "You look so good covered in my cum, bet you love being my personal cum dump, my little cumslut."

You gave a nod, your throat too raw to verbally agree to his lewd words. He gave a chuckle, his hand around his sensitive shaft as he pressed the tip of his cock against your cheek. The tip of his cock smearing his cum into your cheek, his eyes darkening as a thought came to his head. Something he hadn't done before but it piqued his interests.  He pulled away from your face, his cock aiming at your chest, the shower head running over his form. "C-Can I..?" He looked at your his demeanor calmer.

You looked at him confused before realizing what he meant, Your eyes looking at him, he sported a semi, your cheeks red under his layer of cum. "N-Not my face." You managed to squeak.

He gave a smirk. "Of course dear." With that, he pulled you into the shower head as he showered your chest, your mind hazed as you never saw yourself as the type for water sports. The water from the showered head raining on you washing you clean within seconds of his release. "You're the first girl to let me do that.." he smirked, cleaning your chest before wiping your face. "What a good girl you are, such a good girl." He praised as he pulled you from your knees leaning you against him as he took care of your weak form.

You gave a small whimper and nod, still too raw to respond with words. He only gave a chuckle his inner sir leaving him as he returned back to the bright soul you were watching Wally with just an hour before.

Shutting the water off, he dried off the two of you. He made sure your hair was dry before exiting the bathroom with you. "Do you need a change of clothes?" His voice was softer.

You gave a nod, and he nodded back as he headed into his closet pulling out a shirt and pair of shorts for you. "Here you go." He handed them to you as he slipped on some boxers.

"T-Thank you." Your voice was stronger as you slipped into clothes.  

"Hungry?" You shook your head no. Crawling into his bed fucked out, your body sinking into his plush sheet, a horse plushie sitting above the pillow near your head. Your thoughts wondering back to when you first arrived.

"I'll be in the kitchen snacking."

"Okay." You hummed, you bit your lip. You felt content with how things were, the sex was great, the two of you had chemistry but you never tried having this kind of relationship before. Sex always had to be with someone you connected with emotionally, why did it change when Hoseok came around. You swore up and down in the past you were a relationship girl, yet here you were laying in a guy's bed after he fucked you senseless.

Your teeth continued to gnaw at your lip.  You liked Hoseok, romantically no, but as a person yes. However, you knew yourself and you knew you'd end up falling for this man if things continued like this for long.

"Back" he announced as he crawled into the bed next to you. You closed your eyes, faking sleep. Hoseok looked over at you turning over, he stayed on his side of the bed the whole night. The rest of the weekend continuing in the same cycle. Fucking, sleeping and not much talking other than the obligatory conversation.

⋆⋆

The weekend of fucking at Hoseok's came to an end. Once again you were driving from work ton his side of town, your duffel bag in the back of your car. The two of you exchanging small talk and the time to come over via text. Feeling peckish you stopped at the grocery store a block from Hoseok's apartment, sexually things were better off than your one-sided crush. You weren't the type for fuck buddy relations, but you were crushing on him. Were hurting yourself? Yes. Did you care? No. Anything to be close to him, this was an internal battle with yourself.

Grabbing a basket you walked around the store in search of snacks. Your hands traveled the shelves grabbing the necessities. Reaching for the nutter butters, while your hands knew what they were doing your feet didn't. One foot stepping wrong and down you came. You let out a small groan, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"You okay?" A deep familiar voice asked.  

Your eyes looking up caught by surprise Yoongi stood there offering you a hand. "Yoongi?"

"Oh shit, hey doll." He smirked, "What's brought you to this side of town. Another toy?"

You gave his arm a swat. "No, I'm here for a friend."

"Me?" He chuckled, teasingly.

Your eyes rolled, "As if."

"A booty call?" He gasped.

You bit your lip.

"You're really stepping out of your comfort zone, first it was v neck shirts now it's fuck buddies." He chuckled. You gave his arm another swat.

"Shut up I wasn't scared to wear v necks in high school."

"I beg to differ, one time I threw a tissue into your tits and yelled 'Score' and you never wore one again." He huffed.

"That goes without saying, my boobs aren't your personal shoot bins."

He smirked, "Mhm, can they be? I'm quite the straight shooter."

"Yoongi!"

"Yoongi?" A new voice interrupted your bickering.

"Hoseok?" The two of you said in unison, Yoongi's hand around your wrist to keep you from swatting him. Hoseok's eyes narrowing in on it.

"Hey Hoseok, nice running into you here." Yoongi comments, his hand on your wrist still, his other hand tugging your cheek. "Found a friend here." He smiled at you.

"I'm not your friend." you huffed.

"Mhm, bullshit we are close. Especially in high school."

"High school yes, but what did you do? Fuck my best friend and then you dumped her and chased after me."

Yoongi sighed, "Don't bring that up. Because then we went to that party and in the back of my car we had se-" You hands covered his mouth, eyes darting to Hoseok.

Hoseok's eyes narrowed, "I expect you at my house in an hour." He growled, turning around he walked with what looked like tonight's dinner.

"Y-Yeah." You responded, pulling away from Yoongi.

Hoseok still within earshot. Yoongi chuckled, "I gotta say I miss your snaky little ass." He chuckled, before walking off. Hoseok pretending not to hear, the grip on his basket tightening as he checked out. You quickly following, checking out following him into the lot. "W-wait for me Hobi!"  

Hoseok felt frustrated, annoyed and angry, he took a deep breath. "Weren't you busy with Yoongi?" He huffed. He felt lied to. Sure, the two of you weren't dating or anything but he did ask you before if you had anything before and you said there wasn't anything. Yet, here Yoongi is hinting differently.

A tad taken aback  you looked up at Hoseok, "No, he just helped me when I fell earlier and we started to bicker." You felt odd for having to justify yourself.  "Wanna head back to yours together?"

Hoseok gave a sigh knowing his attitude was uncalled for. "Yeah, I just have to make a phone call, wait in the car for me?"

"Sure." You unlocked your car putting his bags with yours in the trunk, before slipping into the driver's seat as you entertained yourself with your phone. Your eyes traveling to your duffle bag where you packed a few toys you had just in mind for Hoseok this weekend. You wanted to return the favor from the previous week. Give him a taste of his own medicine.

Hoseok gave a sigh as his hand dived into his coat pocket fishing out his phone.  He quickly called his most trusted friend. Namjoon. Phone pressed to his ear he listened to it ring as he wandered away from the car.

"Yeah?" A groggy voice picked up.

"Talk some sense into me bud." Hoseok sighed.

"What's bothering you?" Namjoon asked, his voice slightly muffled, as there was click coming from his end.

"You lighting a cancer stick?" Hoseok sneered.

"Shut up, you know I'm a regular smoker."

"You should stop that." Hoseok comments.

"I don't want to hear that from an occasional smoker like you." Namjoon rebutted.

"I only do it when times are tough.."

"Doesn't matter."

"I'm still salty about thinking something was cooking in your kitchen because of the smoke but then I walk in and it's just you and your smoke cloud of lies." Hoseok chuckled.

Namjoon laughed, "Why'd you call? What's been eating you?"

"I have a fuck buddy...I asked her before if she used to have something with a coworker of mine and she told me no... but clearly, she lied to me when she saw him today and I happened to see them. I have no right to be mad, he wasn't doing anything to her and I was the one who proposed the fuck buddy idea but I feel so annoyed seeing specifically him around her."

Namjoon hummed, "You seem to like her more than a friend."

Hoseok groaned, "This was supposed to be a fuck buddy, smash her and dash type of deal for when we meet."

Namjoon took an audible puff of his cigarette, "Does it have to be that way? Do you really need to restrict yourself like that?"

"I mean I don't think I'm ready to devote myself like that to someone.."

"Do you fuck her exclusively?"

"Yeah, I do."

"So devoting your body to her is doable, but mentally being ready for a relationship is the challenge?" Namjoon asked as he took another puff.

"I suppose that could be it."

"Give it a shot, you two can fuck up but give it a shot dude, she may feel the same." Namjoon proposed.

Hosoek bit his lip. "I'll entertain the idea."

"Good now I'm going to relax."

"And watch hentai?"

Namjoon coughed, "W-what?"

"Don't deny it I saw your computer screen a few weeks back.  Stop hanging out with Jungkook you're picking up bad habits."

"Shut up I can shame your kinks too" Namjoon huffed.

"My kinks don't call my dick kawaii."

"You bitch."

"Byeeee" Hoseok hung up.  Feeling a little better he got into the car. "Let's head to my place dear."

"Alrighty." You started the car, driving to his place. Car Parked the two of you carried in groceries.  Setting the bags on the counter you took your coat off reaching for his apron. "I'll start dinner."

He snatched the apron before your hand reached it. "I don't think so you have some explaining to do."

You gulped, eyes avoiding him.

"From what Yoongi said today seems like you two were old flames." He commented, his eyes running over you.

"It wasn't like that, we used to "date" we used to in  high school but it only lasted a month..." You confessed, "It doesn't count."

Hoseok huffed, "Why doesn't it count?"

"It wasn't serious." You defended.

"Serious enough for him to fuck you in the back of his car." Hoseok growled.

"W-What does it matter? This is old news Hoseok, it started and ended in high school."

"It matters because you lied about it." Hoseok snarled, "Did he take your virginity?"

You stayed silent which annoyed Hoseok even more. it annoyed him Yoongi got a part of you he would never have, growling he gripped your hips. He was going to fuck you so hard you forget who Yoongi was. Pressing you against the counter, his eyes dark. Veins protruding from his neck, he tugged at your jeans, almost ripping them from you. "I'm going to fuck your sweet little cunt and I'm going to ask you questions and I expect honest fucking answers. If I feel like you are lying I'll fucking ruin you."

Sliding your panties aside he pulled the band of his sweatpants and slammed into you, his hips slamming into you as he kept your legs spread, his arms separating them as he gripped your hips. "Who fucks you better?" He growled, his dick slamming into your walls. The kitchen echoing with the sounds of skin slapping. His grip on your waist deadly as he continued to give it to you harshly. "Answer me whore!"

"Y-You!!!" You cried out your hands cupping your tits over your shirt.

He groaned, "Can he ever fuck you like I can? Does your pussy get as wet for him as it does me? Does it squeeze his cock like how it does mine?!" He snarled, his thrusts aggressive as his questions seemed to rile him more.

"No!! Noo he doesn't, he doesn't compare!! Fuck I'm only like this for you, just you.Fuckkkk!!" You cried out.

Emotions running as wild as his hips, his grip bound to leave marks as he lost himself in your mound. He had to fight the urge to bite down on your neck. Veins protruded from his pelvis as he angled, his thrusts. "Are you ever going to lie to me again?!"

"N-NoSir!!"You whined.

"I can't hear you bitch!"

"No Sir!!" You shouted, your walls tightening around him.

He let out a guttural growl. He felt close, letting out a loud moan, his thumb circling your clit, he filled you. You chest heaving, and toes curling as you felt your release shake your body. His head resting against your shoulder.

"Clean up and get started on dinner." He caught his breath as he pulled out, sliding your panties back in pace. You gave a nod, tripping the counter as you caught your breath. Grabbing your duffle bag with a wobble you made your way to the bathroom to clean up and change before returning to wipe up the kitchen before you even thought about dinner. Hoseok in his bedroom as he laid on the bed. Shocked by his own actions.

Returning to the kitchen your desire to give Hoseok a taste of his own medicine continued to brew, as you began to prepare food. Your teeth gnawing at your gums, as you continued to devise your plan of attack. Hoseok returning from his room to sit in the living room as you cooked. He put on once again another Disney movie.

Setting dinner in the over it had about an hour to cook and that was more than enough time for your plan to take place, grabbing your duffle bag you sneaked it into Hoseok's bedroom, "Hoseok can you help me with this?" You called out from his bedroom, a grin on your faced as you heard his footsteps approaching.

"What is it?" He asked as he peered at you, walking over to where you stood by his desk, his brow raised. You quickly pushed him into his office chair, your handcuffs swiftly found their place around his wrists. His eyes widening, "What's this?"

"What does it look like baby?" You smirked, "Payback."

His eyes darkened. "You're trying to dom me?"

"Trying? Oh, you must be mistaken. I am domming you." You gave a sly wink, your hands running down his chest, rope in your hand as you tied his legs to the wheelchair. "Now be a good boy for Mistress."

Hoseok gave a grunt the second you referred to yourself as Mistress. You hands tugging on his shorts, his cock semihard as it was released from his cotton confines. Reaching into your duffle bag you pulled out lube and a decently sized black casing. Unzipping the case you revealed to him silver rods of varying widths, and lengths. His brow raised. "What kink is this?"

You smirked, "Last week it was my turn to do something I wasn't sure of, this week it's your turn. You remember our word feel free to use it and I'll stop right away."

You got on your knees, giving his tips a soft kiss, before a gentle suck, taking the bottle of lube your squirted a more than generous amount into your hand. Your palm running over his tip, his breath stopping as he huffs, his chest heaves due to the sensitivity he's feeling. "I'm going to stretch you out okay?"

Hoseok looked at the rods putting two and two together he gulped and gave a nod. "W-What's this called?"

"Sounding." You responded, pumping him before grabbing the smallest rod, slicking it with lube placing it as his top, lining it carefully with his slim, the rode only a tad bit bigger than his slit. "T-This may sting a bit, say the word if fit becomes too much."

"I-I trust you." he shivered as the rod, touched his hypersensitive tip. Gently you began to push the rod into his slit, his cock twitching in your hand as you did so, your free hand giving him pumps to distract from the pain. His head thrown back, veins protruding as he bit his lip.  "You're taking it so well baby boy, so, so well." You inched the rod in further, his pelvis veins starting to pop, his breaths heavy. You free hand pumping, your tongue swabbing around the base of the rod where it met his tip.

"A-Ahh" He groaned, the pain there, but so was pleasure, giving the rod gentle turns and slow pumps he felt sparks. The feeling immense, his wrists tugging the cuffs and his legs tugging the ropes.

"Do I keep going?"

"Y-yes Mistress." he hummed as he looked into your eyes, then back to his cock where the thin rod pumping into his slit, your tongue circling his base as your hands pumped his shaft. His eyes lidded and his moan light as you continued your ministrations, your tongue and hands more determined the more he lost himself.

The gentle stings turning numb, your tongue lapping at his cock like a kitten as he continued to twitch. The rod continuing to slowly pump in and out of him a few centimeters at a time. His body trembling and twitching with pleasure. This was his first time being dominated. His first time letting a woman reduce him how reduces them. He craved for more.

The sensations building the more you pumped the rod, the more your tongue swiped over him, the more you slowly tortured him. The more you made him crumble. The more you made him moan and grown. The sounds echoing off the walls. "I-I"

"Speak clearly baby boy." You smirked.

"I-I'm close." He huffed, "Mistress please let me cum."

You pretended to think about it. "Since you were such a cooperative boy for me I'll allow it." You continued, to lick and pump him, his hips stuttering and trembling as you did so, giving a harsh grunt he let out a weak whine. Your thighs rubbing together. Removing the rob from his slit you were pleased to find it coated white, looking him in the eyes you lapped at the rod. Cleaning it before him.

He watched with tired lustful eyes.  You untied and uncuffed him. He stayed slumped over in the office chair. "Baby girl..."

"Yes?"

"That was fun." he smirked, his smirk fading the longer he looked at you. "Say.." he began.

"What?"

"D-Do you want to stop being fuck buddies?"

Your heart sank, your eyes starting to water. "W-What?"

He looked at you, "You were supposed to be a one-time thing turned fuck buddy but now I can't just be fuck buddies with you. C- Can we take a shot in the dark and try a normal relationship?" His voice slightly quivering as he tucked himself in his sweatpants.

You froze, not sure you heard him right. "A normal relationship?"

"Yeah."

You bit your lip, a blush on your face. "Y-yes , yes, yes."

He looked at you shocked, "I wasn't the only one thinking about it?"

You shook your head, "I've been thinking about it too, but I thought you wanted to stay strictly fuck buddies."

"A friend of mine convinced me to give it a shot." He confessed. He made a mental note to thank Namjoon later.

You inched closer to him, "Does that mean I can kiss you now?"

He chuckled and nodded, "Lay it on me baby."

You giggled connecting his lips to yours, your hands cupping his cheeks and his tangled into the back of your hair. A burnt smell filling the house. the two of your parted lips yelling in unison, "Dinner!"

[boogiewrites]

Choking On Sapphires 70

Title & Song: Killer Shangri-Lah

Characters: Alfie Solomons x Genevieve (OFC)

Word Count: 6600+

Summary:  Alfie and Gen take revenge on Nazi supporters in Manchester by making it rain blood and bullets upon a conspirators dance hall. They get to indulge in their blood lust together afterward. 

Warnings/Tags: Language. Canon-typical violence. Blood. Strong Antisemitism. Seducing the enemy. Gun and fist fights. Sexual content and themes. Protective Alfie. Jealous Alfie. Proud Alfie.

**Chapter song is Killer Shangri-Lah by Pshycotic Beats.**

Click on my icon then go to my Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters. (Had to do this since Tumblr killed links, sorry.)

You're in front of a large vanity in a hotel room in northern England. You're getting in one last good scratch to your compressed down hair before having to put on the light colored wig again that Freddie had picked out and sent you. You couldn't tell him what it was for exactly, but you told him it needed to be convincing. And it was.

You'd been wearing it ever since you'd gotten on the road to Manchester, a place you hadn't been to except for on business where this man's club resided. With Alfie, there was always a high probability no matter where he went he'd be recognized, seeing as his orthodox dress, cane and intimidating face with gingery beard and blue eyes was something hard to miss when all in combination. Add his thick accent in and it was easy to identify him. But you, you weren't as well known. People knew you by name, but not by your face. So you had elected to wear something only a mistress would wear, and a light colored wig to disguise yourself further. While on the phone with Freddie, you'd practice your German and the accent when speaking English with it. It'd been many years since you had to speak it and you had to pretend to be someone else tonight and the espionage was reminding you of your old jobs where you would lie, cheat and steal from old rich men. You didn't do as much murdering back then, but times change.

Alfie can see on your face you're in a particular zone. Your eyes cat-like and your posture pin straight as you secured your hair down. You were painted like a doll in a red dress that he would've highly protested against you wearing in public if you were, in fact, going as yourself. But you weren't, and as always, he tried to keep that in mind.

"I 'on't know 'bout you havin' to seduce this monster, Gen." he gruffs out, fully dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed looking at you with his elbows on his knees.

"It's only a job, darling." you say reassuringly, pinning the large earrings to your ears.

"I know 'at." he says with an annoyed sigh. "But why can't you just get him alone in some other way? Business? Ya already pretendin' to be a fuckin' nazi sympathizer, why not just talk shop with him?" he offers.

"Because it adds more hurt to the final product. I get to watch his face as I pull a knife out on him unexpectedly. Get to see that pompous, lustful look disappear from his eyes and see it replaced with fear and confusion. I want him to suffer before he dies. And I plan to use every weapon I have to do that as much as possible given the circumstances." you answer flatly, adjusting your breasts in the low cut dress.

He shakes his head, rolling his eyes and looking away. How was he supposed to argue with the sort of darkness you were channeling to do this job.

"Are you asking because you're jealous?" you question him unexpectedly. "Or is it a matter of principle?"

"I 'on't want his fuckin' hands on ya is what it fuckin' is." he says with a frown, not meeting your reflection as you looked at him in the mirror.

"His hands will not be on Genevieve and especially not Chanah tonight." you say in a softer voice, rising and moving towards him with your hands out. He watches you move, body shimmering in the dress like the red sea as it sauntered towards him. "Up, Ari." you say, tugging both his hands and making him stand. You put your hands to his cheeks. "They are not touching anything that is truly yours. They will be speaking and touching Lena, yes? I will not be kissing him. This I promise you. I have done this so many times, darling. I enjoy it most when I can get up close and personal. Let me enjoy this beyond a single victory for our people. Let me enjoy this as a criminal like you. I take so few of these jobs nowadays, let me fully immerse myself and everyone will reap the rewards. You'll have a happy girl and a successful mission. What more could a gangster want?" you give him a smile, moving your hands to around his back.

"Nobody touchin' you is fuckin' what." he grumbles and sighs.

"Alfie..." you scold.

"I know ya gonna fuckin' do it anyway. I'm just not happy 'bout it."

"My big stubborn bear." you coo and scratch his back. Do you want to go over the plan again before we leave?"

"Nah." he says shaking his head. "I'm ready when you are." he mutters.

"I'd say you are." you give him a sweet smile but his face doesn't soften. "What's with these muscles?" you asks, thumbs rubbing over his sides and up his chest. "Have you been exercising Alfie?" you say slightly distracted.

"Aye."

"Oh," you say impressed. "For this job?" you ask curiously, your brain telling you to touch your skin to his.

"I've been at it awhile. Ever since that went down with Niko. Not gonna let someone try 'n fight me for ya or some bollocks like 'at. Gonna make sure I can proper protect ya. Whether you fink you need it or not." his brow is hard and his voice is stern as he speaks of defending you.

"I'll have to properly observe the hard work later." you give him a little smirk before dragging your hands away from his body.

"Ya gonna feel it love, I'm gonna be fuckin' feral seein' someone look at ya the way 'is man's gonna and I'm gonna be takin' what's mine after."

"It's always yours." you give him a soft chuckle. "But you're always welcome to remind me."

"That part of it?" he asks with a nod of his chin.

"Hmmm?" you ask with a tilted head, turning back to him after grabbing your purse.

"This whole... ya bein' seductive thing. You want to come back to me and have me be all revved up and needin' to remind us both of who ya belong to? Do you WANT me to do that? Ya just antagonizin' me this way?"

"No, no, darling." you shake your head. "I just really enjoying seeing fear in a man's eyes before I kill him. That's all." you give him a smile that's so sweet it makes the words even more devilish.

"You talkin' like 'at not's helpin' matters any." he grunts.

You walk towards him with a low laugh. "Good." you answer back flatly. "My darkness does for you what your darkness does for me. How lucky we are to have found each other." you give him a brief kiss. "Ani ohevet otcha (I love you), Arioch."

"Ani ohev otach, Chanah." he responds and takes your hand, giving you a squeeze. "And to think you're about to pretend to an antisemite." he huffs out a laugh.

"I am a skilled actress, Ari." you give him a wink.

"You are skilled in many ways, Chanah. 'N all of 'em leadin' to bein' a pain in my arse." he laughs. ------------

You get out of your car, one of the younger non-orthodox boys drives you to the dance hall. You make your way across the darkening and damp street into the warmth and light of the building. Chandeliers hung in a row across the open dance floor which was scattered with people moving to the music. The sound emanated from the slightly raised stage where a band sat, lit up and in matching suits as they performed. Cloth covered tables covered the outer parts of the dance floor, a long bar to one side of the large room and a short set of steps leading up to the kitchens, offices and back hallways.

It was easy to see where you'd be taking the man to kill him as you made your rounds. A  hallway of doors with glass in them, boxy letters reading OFFICE on them with names in script underneath. The wooden hallways smelled thick of cigars and cologne, the smells of food from the kitchen wafting in from time to time as you sauntered about with a flute of champagne in your hand. After feeling out the hallways and backstage with no one giving you any trouble, you make your way back to the main floor to find the men you were searching for.

Alfie came separately from you, his dress an obvious statement as to who he was. He sees you walking slowly, deliberately to gain attention down the stairs. Your body language open and inviting. He would be allowing himself to drink in your appearance if he knew that every man who's attention you caught wasn't doing the same. You wore a red floor-length dress, arms bare, most of your back and a low cut front with the way it nipped in at your waist left little to wonder about your feminine form. With satin and lace, beaded and sequined your body shined as it moved, the bounce of your breasts distracting from it all. You had a light shawl around you, matching your outfit and Alfie found himself disgruntled at the fact that you were right about not needing a heavy coat for the dance hall. But then again, he'd never been in one and didn't expect the heat from the moving bodies to cause so much humidity in the air.

The room is loud, his eyes stay alert and hooded, a glass of wine he hasn't touched sits on the bar as he looks over the crowd, doing the same as you, identifying your targets. You can easily notice when the owners of the club, in their expensive three-piece suits that were not made for dancing start to watch Alfie. It gives them away as they whisper and the hierarchy becomes clear as some are told to notify the guards and some stay posted up against a booth in the corner. By the descriptions you were given, it was easy to pick out who was who and your target is acquired. You saunter about the corner of the club where they are, gaining attention, using your heavy accent more loudly than was necessary to bring their attention to it. It seemed to be working, and Alfie grumbled to himself as he watched the men's eyes watch you.

You pretend to just notice Alfie across the room, bouncing over to him and sliding next to him by the bar.

"At least your ability to gather the male gaze is going to good use." he says snarkily, as you speak in heavy pauses to assure the bartender is out of earshot, moving as needed when anyone would get near. He motions his hand to the wine on top of the bar. You take it and sip it, looking out over the floor.

"They've made it easy to notice them." you state, leaning closer as he gives you a kiss to the cheek. Making it clear you were at the least mates, but planting that seed that you were his mistress. As opposed to the idea as he was about you seducing the man, you were that opposed to the idea of having to be his mistress. You weren't looking forward to having to hear from people he was cheating on you, drawing gangsters out of the woodwork to try and steal you away. But it was all a set up that needed to be done. You didn't voice your concerns, as you were better at bottling up your grievances than he was.

"Certainly. Back corner where you were hovering, yeah?' he says, sliding his arm behind you as you stand side by side and look out into the crowd.

"Mmm Hmm." you nod. "The green vest is the man I'll be taking away." you state and Alfie appreciates the vague way you were discussing your plans. "The navy vest and grey suit is the second, and the all black is the third in line. Those are the three we are specifically supposed to... speak to." you say with a grin.

"I have to say I fuckin' hate this accent on you." he purses his lips and you chuckle into your wine glass.

"Good for you then, ja?" you laugh, putting your hand on his chest as if he'd said something funny. "The faster we do this the sooner you no longer have to hear it." you state with a smirk, taking another sip.

"And the boys they sent away. Two guards, I'm assumin'?"

"Ja." you answer and try not to laugh as he sighs at your German answer. "All in matching suits. Did you see?"

"I did. All the lads looked alike though."

"True. No surprise pale and blonde are popular here." you muse.

"Speakin' of I also very much prefer you with dark hair." he ways with raised brows and lowering his chin.

"Anything else of any importance you have to say, darling? Because none of that tone is helpful." you roll your head to look up at him.

He grunts and looks your way. "Once we sound the signal the room should clear. I'll be close enough to the second at least when you get out. So you try to find the third first, then we can get the little lads who're running errands for them. They'll probably be fightin' for 'em so while I'm hanging back, they'll be shootin' if they've got guns so you get the fuck behind somethin' and no bein' fuckin' brave."

"Yes, darling." you say moving in to kiss his cheek. "Love you, Ari. This isn't just about money." you whisper before leaning back and his arm wraps around you. "Remember that."

"I am." he nods, a swift smack to your bum to send you off to hide the genuine affection.

You look back and giggle and sway back to the floor, you dance a little, caught up in groups of women as you make your way through the crowd, you meet eyes with your main target and give him a smile before heading back to the toilets. You wait for just a moment, fixing your makeup and dress before exiting. He stands at the end of the hallway, and as you move slowly past him, you hear a throat clear.

"Excuse me, doll." he says in an English accent, you turn with a mysterious expression on your face, moving towards the sandy-haired man with the outstretched hand.

"Ja?" you say with your hands resting together in front of you.

"I've not seen you here before. I'm the owner. I prefer to know the names of woman as gorgeous as you when they come in." he gives a cocky nod and you move in closer.

"Are you always so complimentary with your patrons?" you grin.

"Only ones that look like you."

"Ah." you nod and give him a welcoming smile. "I am Lena." you say with an outstretched hand. He plants a kiss on top of your gloved hand.

"And you are not from here are you? I can't help but notice that charming accent."

"I am from Germany, as you can tell." you laugh and smile, swishing your hair.

"Whereabouts have you come from? You're awfully far from home." his voice lowers, and you feel the underlying predatory tone.

"Berlin." you answer simply.

"And what brings you here?" his eyes narrow.

"Rich men." you give a shrug and closed mouth smile.

"Ah." he laughs. "And an honest woman to go with this... body." his eyes rake you up and down and you put your hand on your hip to accentuate your shape.

"Brains too." you nod.

"If you are such a catch, might I ask why you are with that man I saw you by at the bar?"

"He has money." you answer nonchalantly.

"Plenty of men who aren't like him have money."

"Like him? You mean a gangster? I'm certain a mistress can make a good living for herself off of one. They always go for the wife if they want to threaten them. If they could catch that sneaky little Jew. She's rather..." you frown. "Difficult. I've heard."

He hears the way you say Jew and his eyes couldn't lit up any more noticeably. "You do not care that he is Jewish then?"

"We all make sacrifices don't we?" you shrug.

Why him then if you are not supportive of the Jews?” He asks with genuine interest.

“I have been in London and to the clubs of these powerful men and he took an interest. Their greed leads them to accumulate wealth. I thought I could benefit.”

“Why you?” He asks.

“I have been told his wife also has... large attributes.” You smirk. “Perhaps he is a fan. She is dark-haired though and don’t men usually go for a woman who is not like their wife in the ways they prefer? Get a younger better body and lose the nagging and guilt. Especially from their type.” You knew every stereotype and you ran with it. The man ate it up and you once again felt that disappointment that men used to fill you with at their ineptitude. Give them some tits and tell them what they wanted to hear and they were embarrassingly easy to manipulate and corner.

He stares at the large attributes you speak of. “What if he heard you say this?” He asks with narrowed eyes.

“I do not know how much he would care. We aren’t having some torrid affair. We fuck, he gives me money and jewels. It’s not that deep.” You shake your head.

“But he is a proud Jew.”

“Yes. But does not flaunt it around me. That is for his wife. Not me.” You answer flatly.

“Would you be interested in finding another man of power? Someone... superior?” He uses the langue you’ve read.

“Someone more like me? You may not be German like my ancestors and I but you seem to share a similar point of view.” You say slowly as you act like you’re trying to feel him out.

“It would seem as if we do.” He gives you a smile that sends a pain across your stomach but you nod and look at him thoughtfully just the same.

He moves in closer and speaks more quietly. “Would you like to discuss the separation of yourself from such a man? As it should be? Two people like us together instead?”

“I would.” You say as he takes your hand. “I’m sure we could have some very vigorous and deep, deep conversation together.” you blatantly flirt.

Alfie distracts himself by keeping an eye on the other men as you work. Keeping a straight face, pretending now to drink from a high ball glass as his eyes shift around the room, keeping an eye on the two men he was in pursuit of. He sees you move into the man's office, thankful to not see his Genevieve in your body language. You were a different person when you were working, or maybe just different around him now. Had you moved your hips so much when you were first out with him? You'd think he'd be able to recall such a thing. But he had lived in denial for so long. As the door shuts, he swallows hard, taking a deep breath and pretending not to notice it as he knows what's happening behind that door. He could so easily go in and shoot the man in the head himself before he got his hands on you, but then he wouldn't be acting very professional would he? And he was that. It was only that you were the one thing it seemed that made him want to act like a bloody idiot. So instead of fantasizing about murdering the man in the office, as he knew you would do it so well it would be classified as erotic to him, he channels it into a warm and familiar rage.

---- "Tell me schatz." you coo, pushing him into his large leather chair behind his desk and standing between his legs, keeping your hand on his chest. "Mr. Solomons is a rather large man." you smirk. "Do you think you can measure up?" you grin wickedly. "Do you think you can do for me what he does?"

"I can make you forget he ever existed, doll." he gives you a drunken smile, looking at your cleavage pressed together as you leaned over him.

"And what of money?" you ask, throwing one leg up to his side, pulling your dress up with your hands now. He watched the fabric inch higher and higher, exposing your thighs, you stop it short of your holster you wear high on your hip.

"What of it? I have more power and can get you anything you want, gorgeous." he says without making eye contact, hands moving down the sides of your breasts and resting on your waist.

"Irgendetwas? My goodness. Such promises you Englishmen make." you smile and let him pull you into his lap, taking his hands and putting them on your chest as you watch his eyes glaze over, he begins squeezing, showing you nothing that would lead you to believe he would, in fact, make you forget anyone's name. Well, perhaps his name seeing as he was pawing at you like a little boy seeing his first pair of tits. All horny and no tact. It was a small price to pay for the high you would be getting from him in a few moments. "Will you buy me a new dress when you ruin this one?" you laugh.

"I'll buy you a new house to put it in too."

"Oh yes, that is exactly what I want to hear." you purr, griding down on his lap, his nose twitching with a grunt. "What if there is something... more urgent that I want right now?" you whisper into his hear, leaning your chest in his face, rising and lowering your hips over him as you ran your palms over your body and his, keeping his eyes used to your hands moving so he wouldn't notice when you withdrew your dagger.

"Anything you want." he huffs out, licking his lips, head moving forward to get his mouth on your skin but you pull back and giggle.

"What if I want you?" you lick the shell of his ear and he shudders.

"You can have it." he groans, hands tight on your hips.

"Anything?" you grin, moving your hands to his chin, holding his face up to meet yours as you slide out your dagger.

"Anything." he nods, eyes dazed and lust filled, mouth slack and open.

"Mmmm." you give one nod, a confident one with a smile he doesn't recognize as threatening. "What if I want revenge?" you whisper, your accent is gone and your blade pressed to his throat. Your smile turns more sinister, your eyes dilating and your words hissed out through a tight jaw as your face looms so close to his your noses almost touch.

"Re-what?" his eyes blink fast and you see it. That look you had spoken of earlier. The thing that made you go into a life of contract murder. That look of a realization. The switching hands of power. The fear.

You moan and bite your lip looking down at him. "Revenge. For my people and what you and your kind are trying to do to us." you whisper and snake your head around his, playing with your food before you ate it, keeping the blade tight to his skin to keep him from yelling.

"Your people?" he stutters.

"My name is Chanah Lafitte. I've been sent to kill you," you answer coldly. "My men and I are waiting outside your club as we speak. You will be the first tonight. Then all my men will descend and kill all of yours. If you thought you hated us before, you will hate us more for what we will do to you in retaliation." you spit out.

"You can't kill all of us." he says defiantly as you press the blade into his throat, a quick light slice to scare him, make him think it was the final blow.

"And you can't kill all of us." your eyes are black, mouth salivating at the energy in the air, the feel of him stiff and terrified underneath you. You finish him for real this time. Holding your legs down tight, keeping him in his chair as the blood pours and spurts. You put the dagger Alfie gave you back into your holster, holding his face, blood running down your dress and hands as he fades. You speak to him in Hebrew. You tell him of your resilence, how they were not the first to try to kill you and they would not be the last and they would not succeed in wiping you out. The blood is warm and thick as it slows, he was gone, no longer a force only remnants running out into the river that had soaked you both.

You stand, admiring your work, feeling a jolt of energy, the rush of a kill and the promise of more in just moments. Knowing as you walked out you held the power to start a retaliation for something bigger than yourself. You stand with your hand on the doorknob and give him one last look back. Something was missing. You hum in thought, walking back over to him, drumming your nails on his desk.

"It should be known what you died for." you mutter, tilting your head and withdrawing your dagger again. -------- Alfie sees the door to the office opening and as soon as he registers it is your hand, he starts to move to a back hallway, making sure no one gets out that he wants to keep in. A hush falls over the room, the band slows and stops, a chord of broken notes puffed out as the room turns and looks at you, covered in blood and standing on the staircase that separated the dance floor from the higher levels that lead to the kitchen and offices. You move slowly, no one knowing what to expect from a woman covered in blood who looked so calm. You lean one arm against the large column at the side of the stairs. You see Alfie posted up and you catch the other two men you were supposed to take out nestled in a booth with girls under their arms. They'd waited for their boss, thinking he was going back for a quick fuck and would be coming back to spread his good luck but they got you instead.

You pull your favorite snubnose from your tits, a hiding place you preferred for concealing anything and shoot it into the ceiling in one swift, smooth movement. You move quickly, two shots off to the men in the booth, practically gift wrapped in their enclosed space fast. You can tell the innocent from the guilty in seconds. Women screaming and running to the exits, and you let them. Men protecting them as they usher them out with wild, wide eyes. The guilty pull their guns, the henchmen not sure of what to make of a woman behaving such a way.  As soon as the crowd flees like rats, your men rush in from the back behind you with Tommy guns.

"This can be over quickly. Or we can do this the hard way." you announce loudly, stalking over to where the booth of interest was on the level below you. Then men watching you, hands in their jackets and their dates no where in sight. "We were after only those two men. We have not been sent to retrieve anyone else. You boys can all go home tonight to your mum's, your wives and families if you choose to not fight. We only want these two. The choice is yours." you say, standing next to a large column for quick cover. "You can hold onto your loyalty, but it will only send you to your graves. So what will it be? Homes or graves?" you say, holding your gun out the to the crowd, some flee immediately and you let them go. A handful stays and holds their ground. "We have our answer, boys." you say, firing off a shot and then ducking behind a large column for cover.

The guns reign down bullets, their so loud your ears ring from standing so close, the shells bounce off the ground in front of you as you keep your head on a swivel, waiting for the bullets to run out. And eventually, they do. The smart ones had ran, so only the bold and reckless remained. So the third wash of blood begins for the night. You put your gun in the holster, Alfie's dagger in one hand, a brass knuckle handled one in your dominant one as you jump over the barrier and onto the dance floor to join in the fight. You see Alfie, with his double brass fists and hard brow, knocking down boys as he charges forward and keeps them from running. They'd made their choice and now he was there to let them know what a poor one it was. You make your way towards each other, wanting to keep one another close for protection. You sync without thought, you taking the high ground on the bar, kicking glass and breaking bottles as he uses stools across men's back to break them down to the floor. Someone grabs your ankle, knocking you down and dragging you behind the bar.

"GENNY!" you hear shouted, Alfie's cane landing within your reach as you use it to push the man off of you and choke him out, pressing it against his neck until it buckled. You pop back up, jumping over the bar as he turns for only a second to see that you're alright and it's just enough for the young lad to get a hit into Alfie's jaw and make him stumble.

"Fuckin' 'ell." he shouts, nostrils flared and feet planted firmly on the ground again. He charges, getting the man in a headlock and choking him. You move over to him, he shoves him towards you as he sees your hands are both weaponized again as you give him a swift set of kicks to the face, nasty cracks from your steel heels ricochet inside the man's head as everything goes dark, his face and neck cut and sliced as he bleeds onto the floor.

The ring you gifted Alfie continues to do damage as promised. You stand back to back and take on another wave of rebounded men. You get to fight together, keeping each other's backs. He aims for faces and you finishing them off as he makes them hit the ground. It's a dance that you'd never done so well with anyone else before. You read each other without trying, knew each other's weakness and strengths. It was an art piece to watch. You only wish you could've seen it unfold from the outside. As being a part of the art installation only gave you a limited view. But it made your blood surge and heart soar in a new way for him. He complimented you so well. And in every situation, you'd gotten in together thus far. You made music together and the only instruments were your bodies and weapons and you never wanted to stop performing. You watch him taunt, telling the last of the men left to get on with it as he motions for them to come closer with his fingers.

"Back's clear. We out?" the leader of the men Tommy sent shouts.

Your eyes find Alfie's and you share a nod, finding no one else standing.

"Yeah, lads. Get on." he shouts. You move back to retrieve his cane, knocking over the alcohol as you do so, Alfie finds his hat, placing it back as he reaches out for your hand. You toss a match into the back of the bar and watch it go up. He drags you out the side door and before you know it you're in the back seat of the car as it's speeding away down alleyway's just wide enough to hide and make a secret escape from the city. It had all gone according to plan.

You sit and breathe heavily. Both panting, him taking off his coat and hat, you shaking your hair out from your wig.

"Ya injured love?" he asks, reaching out and grabbing your wrist, pulling you closer and taking your cheek into his hand without permission. A pure dominant and protective, fluid movement that made your pulse race all over again.

"No." you whisper out breathily, gulping noisily. "Are you?"

"Nah." he grunts and shakes his head as you place your hands on his torso to check.

You share a few breaths, hands on each other before meeting eyes. They were dark and large, faces flushed and scratched.

"You were fuckin' brilliant out there, love." he huffs out.

"You were so bloody dominating I could barely keep my eyes on anything else." you admit, chest heaving forward, taking his face into your still sticky hands, letting your adrenaline and bloodlust fuel your actions.

"You fuckin' walkin' out of that office, drippin' in his blood. You are beyond compare when you are violent." he growls out from gritted teeth as you move to straddle his lap. He doesn't even hesitate, letting the dark part of his brain act for him, he pulls you to his lips. A biting and harsh kiss sets you both off. You groan and yank his head back by his hair, licking the sweat from his neck, your hand popping the buttons off his shirt as you yank it apart, starving to get your hands on him. You grind against him, finding him to be, no surprise, hard just as you were wet. His hands claw up your thighs past your weapons, lifting your skirt to your waist as he rips the crotch of your pants, hand reaching to free himself from the confines of his own.

"I fucking need you, Alfie. Fuck me. Right now." you pant with extended tongues in each other's mouths. Nothing graceful about how your bodies worked together now. Only pure lust and violence left to burn off.

It's fast and hard, his feet planted on the floor of the car, pumping into you as you hit down on him as hard and fast as you can. You lick at each other faces and necks and chests, leaving dark marks as you bite and suck hard, moaning as you take turns pulling the other's hair and moving their head as you want them. Hard slaps and pinches to your arse, to his shoulders and chest as you ride out the high together. You growl and gnash as you both come, diving back into a deep kiss that grounds you both.

"Sorry, mate." he finally gruffs out after clearing his throat to the driver.

"Didn't see a thing." the wise man answers even though you can both hear the laughter in his voice. You both keep kissing, hands much softer now, in each others hair and roaming with no destination across your bodies as you begin to laugh, it grew to break your kiss as your foreheads press together, leading to a well earned and exhausted sigh.

----------

Alfie sits in his office, reading the paper, a grin as he reads the report on the incident.

"You hear 'bout the men in Manchester?" he chuckles.

"In the paper? Yeah." he nods. He didn't know about the job, but he had assumed Alfie might have something to do with it even if he hadn't done it himself. "Never heard of anyone doin' that to anyone before." he shakes his head.

"Do what, mate?" Alfie asks.

"Finish the article." he says with a humorous smile before leaving the office.

"Well fuck me." Alfie whispers, a smirk on his face. "My fuckin' brilliant little bird. Fuckin' ruthless." he growls in excitement.

------

He walks through your bedroom door as you sit on your couch, braiding your hair as you'd just gotten out of the bath.

"Oh hell darling!" you chirp cheerfully. "You're here early!" you say with a big beautiful smile that warms him. But he certainly didn't need any warming right now. He was already red hot for you.

"Ya read the paper today?" he says in a deep tone. You can feel the power coming off him as he shuts the door and locks it behind him.

"No." you shake your head. "I slept in and didn't even eat breakfast, I haven't seen it." you voice now more cautious as you watch his eyes dark under a heavy brow, taking his hat off, then his jacket, his fingers beginning to work on his buttons.

"That man from Manchester. That was you that left him like that wunnit?" he grins, a smile that you know is full of pride blooms across his face, but it's intentions are dark and you feel a thrill run up your spine.

"Like what?" you smirk, your fingers loosening up the neck of your dressing gown to show him nothing was under it.

"You carved him up dinnit ya?" he nods slowly, taking the suspenders off his shoulders as he walks slowly towards you, pulling his shirt out of his trousers.

"Oh that?" you giggle and bite your lip.

"Yeah fuckin' that." he nods, taking his shirt off and throwing it to the side, kicking off his boots. "Ya carvin' Stars of David into Nazi's foreheads are ya love?"

"I am." you purr up at him, his hands now on the buttons of his trousers.

"My sweet little Chanah. Tsk tsk tsk." he shakes his head and growls as you untie your robe and he stands before you naked. "Brilliant work like 'at's gotta be rewarded dunnit?" he gives you a cocky nod and you blush.

You let your dressing gown fall off your shoulders, standing before him and practically drooling as he stood so confident, giving you a damning look of dominance but his eyes only held good news for you.  "If you will be doing the rewarding Ari... yes." you nod and give him a cheeky grin.

"I'm gonna be fuckin' praisin' this body for the fuckin' superb work 'is brain does, pet. I'm gonna start at that cunt of yours and eat me way to ya fuckin' brain so I can show ya how much I fuckin' love how it works." he growls and picks you up and you squeal with delight.

"Oh did you like it Ari dear?" you giggle. "I thought you might."

"Ya do it for me?" he asks, slapping your bum as he carried you to the bed.

"Might've." you shrug. "Might've done it for me as well." your voice dips lower and you hum contently as his hand paws away at your body.

"I would say what I'm gonna do to ya is all for you love, but we'd both know 'at was a lie. I fuckin' love doin' 'is to ya." he gruffs and bites your hip before tossing you onto the bed and pouncing at you as you giggle and squeal as he rewards your misbehavior.

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[knowfromme-blog]

5 Paid Life & Money Apps That Are Actually Worth The Money

Not too long ago, I wrote an article for TFD all about the fabulous free apps that attend me manage my health. And while I try to be as frugal as possible when using mobile apps, there are a select few that I’ve found really enact warrant the price tag. 

Here’s my breakdown of which ones made the slice:

1. Buddhify ($4.99; one-time purchase) Buddhify is a really glowing meditation app. It was recommended to me by a facilitator of a DBT skills group I took last year, and I’m so gay that I found it. It’s pretty unique in its layout — the way you pick a meditation is via its Wheel. There are 12 different options on the multi-colored wheel, with topics like Meditation 101, Stress & Difficult Emotion, Traveling, Going to Sleep, etc.  To be honest, I had a bit of a learning curve with this layout — I wasn’t used to categorizing the type of meditation I wanted before playing it. But once I got the hang of it, the process totally changed the way I meditate. Now, before meditating via Buddhify, I pause to consider what exactly I’m trying to accept out of my practice: enact I need something short to pass the time while on the train? Am I feeling stressed and need to find a way to unexcited down?  Taking the time to ask such questions allows me to maximize the benefits of my practice — I can choose the perfect recording for any moment. After a while, you’ll find your preferred tracks, which you can “Favorite” and save for easy reference. I particularly be pleased the Traveling and Walking tracks, which offer meditations specifically designed to be used on the disappear. I’ve yet to find another meditation app with such multi-purpose tracks.  I also really appreciate the fact that Buddhify is a quality app, but only asks for a one-time payment. Other, more expensive apps (i.e. Headspace) charge on a subscription-based model, which adds up over time. I like that I only had to invest $6.99 (CAD) up-front and can continue using the app for years to advance.  2. DailyPocket, formerly DailyPay ($5.99 premium version; one-time purchase) DailyPocket is a budgeting app that I’ve mentioned in TFD articles before. Although I employ many tools — such as my bank’s mobile app, or even Mint — to accept overviews of my spending habits, this itsy-bitsy app has served me well. Its premium version is 100% worth its weight in gold.  The concept is fabulous: you set a weekly budget, personalize a list of spending categories, and manually enter your purchases as you disappear. Then, the app calculates handy numbers — like how many days are left in the week, how much money you should spend each day to stay within your weekly budget, and what percentage of your weekly budget you’ve spent so far. You can also see visual breakdowns of your spending in the form of pie charts.  I’m not very wonderful at math (or spreadsheets), so this app does a lot of the work for me. I treasure being able to see exactly how much money I can spend for the rest of the week — it takes the guesswork out of budgeting. It kind of blends the process of manually entering expenses into a spreadsheet or journal, but combines that with the convenience of digital tools. I like to employ this app mainly for my weekly disposable income, and I employ other means to calculate larger figures (like my monthly savings, debt repayment, etc.). Again, this app only requires a one-time purchase, which makes its cost-per-employ very, very low. 3. The modern York Times Digital Access ($4 per month currently; promotional rate) When I first tried quitting social media for wonderful, I realized that there was a gap in my daily routine — I had been using Facebook to sustain up with a lot of daily news, from pages I’d followed and friends’ written posts. Without that constant stream of information, I needed a solid way to sustain up with current events.  Personally, I be pleased reading The modern York Times for the bulk of my news. I like the fact that it includes plenty of progressive ideas, but also has a healthy dose of conservative viewpoints. Even though I’m very left-wing in my beliefs, I find it useful to hear opposing perspectives in order to challenge my own ideas and understand their counter-points. I got a promotional offer that allows me to pay $4 per month for digital access, which has been totally worth it. Reading the NYT truly enriches my life, allowing me to sustain up with the news while also enjoying some leisure reading. If you’re trying to limit your social media usage, I’d definitely recommend trying this strategy out — find a reputable news source that you genuinely be pleased reading, and purchase a subscription (bonus points if you can find a promotional rate, which most publications will offer to modern readers!).  In the age of information overload, it can be refreshing to sit down and read wonderful journalism, instead of just scrolling through social media and taking in a haphazard selection of posts (most of which are probably not fact-checked). 4. QuickBooks Self-Employed ($7 per month currently; promotional rate) If you’re a freelancer or otherwise self-employed, I’m sure that you can sympathize with the hassle that is organizing your books and tax documents. There are many upsides to working for yourself, but having to prepare all of your famous financial documents is not one of them. When I first started freelancing, I found that I was getting indolent with record-keeping, which often meant that I was missing out on claiming real business expenses at the halt of the year. So, I ended up purchasing a subscription to QuickBooks Self-Employed (the Canadian edition), and it has been a valid lifesaver. It’s allowed me to sustain track of my accounting, book-keeping, and tax preparation pretty much on autopilot. I simply link my bank accounts/credit cards, etc., and the program automatically imports all of my transactions, which I can then brand as Business or Personal (I am a sole proprietorship, so this helps sustain things separate). I can also import images of receipts for cash transactions — the app then automatically reads the info and imports the data.  This software lets me enjoy a clear overview of my total net income per month, year, etc., and easily organizes all of my tax documents for the halt of the year. There are other options out there — like hiring an accountant or tax professional, or doing everything manually — but for me, this is what works best, and it is cost-effective. The app allows me to stay organized, and to avoid the hassle of doing lots of math (this seems to be a theme in my life), so the monthly price-tag is worth it. 5. Spotify Premium — Family ($4.99 per month; $14.99 price split three ways with family members) Lastly, I enact pay for Spotify Premium. My family members and I split this between the three of us, so we each contribute $4.99 per month. While Spotify isn’t the most novel service, it does enrich my life. I’ve tried free music apps, and I’ve also used the media apps offered through my public library, but they simply aren’t comprehensive or user-friendly enough for my needs. Shelling out the $4.99 is worth it to me, as a former musician who does really appreciate the act of listening to wonderful music. It adds a lot of joy to my days, allowing me to rock out in the shower, in my room, or even with headphones on the bus. And I like the offline mode, which saves me data charges on my phone bill. You could certainly trim this app from your budget if you were really trying to save, but at this point in my life, the subscription fee is manageable and seems reasonable for the enjoyment I accept out of it on a daily basis. Sometimes the itsy-bitsy pleasures in life really are worthwhile. What are your favorite paid apps? enjoy you slice certain ones from your budget, or added others? Let us know in the comments. Mercedes Killeen is a Toronto-based professional author and editor. You can purchase her book of poetry, tulips, at greyborders.com and order her freelance services at fiverr.com/killeenm. Image via Unsplash Like this narrative? Follow The Financial Diet on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for daily tips and inspiration, and sign up for our email newsletter here.

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