#i've been out of battery school for too long

[hippo-pot]

realized a few hours later he just meant 600 Watt-hours per kilogram. Not as bad a fumble as i thought

just heard a fictional tech bro refer to a battery as '600 Watt-kilograms per hour' 😭

[madamechrissy]

Girl I'm Into It

NSFW- WC- 1.4k- Request for heavy petting w/Gojo! College AU, lots of dry humping, touching, and teasing, Virgin Gojo blushing and whimpering for reasons lol <3

"Holy fuck the party's cramped." You mumble, sipping on this godawful punch in the middle of a rather insane frat party. The scent of smoke and cloyingly sweet liquor mixes with the endless amounts of men's axe body spray and cheap perfume. You look at Satoru then, shaking your head at him. "You really joining the frat, Toru?"

"Yeah, I mean why not? Suguru and Kento are."

"I know but... we play Digimon, Toru."

"Hush!" Satoru covers your mouth up quickly, looking around nervously, making you both laugh then. "You're the nerd."

"Me!?"

"You. Hey man, watch it!" Satoru shoves a dude who has bumped into you out of the way now, sighing as there are just far too many people, watching as you get nervous. "Wanna go to a room? Get away?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind?" You and Satoru had been friends forever, including now that you're in college of course, but parties weren't your thing, especially frat parties. But, you want to support Satoru in whatever he does. He leads you down the halls now, opening a room and peeking in, seeing a couple on the bed.

"Shit, sorry!" He closes the door, now opening another, grinning down at you brightly, his pretty blue eyes glittering under snowy lashes. "Got it."

"Thanks, Toru." You murmur, as he leads you in the room and shuts the door behind you both, the bed looks... questionable, so he instead sits on a big recliner, patting his long leg. You blush at the thought, hoping he can't see.

"Seat right here. The bed looks diseased." He says with a shiver of disgust, you laugh then, sitting on his thigh. You all had done this before at parties, you were good friends and it wasn't crazy but...

But Satoru's leg feels so good between your thighs.

So good you're nervous he can sense your heat, as you've both gotten older you've had more and more feelings for him. But now he's at this university, going to be in a frat, and you're over at an art school, he's right in saying you are a nerd...

"What's wrong silly?" He asks then, peeking at his phone, popping on a song, you try to relax a bit when his big hand is on your bare thigh so casually, he's leaning back to get comfortable, long legs sprawled out, pressing his thigh up even more.

"Um..." You gasp then, when your hips shift, and you feel your panties getting wet, panicking. He has on jeans thank god, maybe he doesn't notice!?

"Recharge that social battery." He teases, and you turn your head again, shifting your hips experimentally, he pauses now, lips parted, pouty pink ones you want to kiss so damn bad. "Fuck... you're..."

"Sorry, shit." You stand now, then look down in horror at the wet spot on his light blue jeans, covering your face in embarrassment. He gulps then, running a thumb over the sticky wetness, exhaling, blue eyes locked on it. "I'll leave-"

"Stop, it's normal yeah?" He laps it up on his thumb, moaning, and your pussy throbs around nothing. "Fuck it's... sweet?"

"It is?" You whisper, he nods then, looking up at you under those long snowy lashes, taking your hips carefully and spinning you towards him. "Gojo I've never..."

"Me either." You gasp at that, eyes wide, and he's blushing now, cheeks flushed pink on his perfect skin.

"How!? You're so popular, and gorgeous-"

"You think I'm gorgeous?" He asks, thin white brows drawn together, now you're between his thighs, his hands pressing into your hips, your entire body is reacting, your breaths quicker and quicker.

"Of course I do, Toru."

"Well I think you're pretty. So pretty." He says softly, and suddenly your hand is running through his silky white locks, as the other rests on a strong bicep over his long sleeved shirt.

"You do?" You manage to whisper, he nods, pulling you on his lap then, your thighs on either side, shaking as you kneel over him. "Toru what are..."

"Can we kiss? Please? Pretty please?" He bats his lashes, pouting, and you nod with a little nervous laugh. "I've done some things if you want me to show you?"

"Like kiss?" You whisper, lips pressing against his now, Satoru moans against your lips, you feel them, plush and firm against yours, his hot tongue slipping inside your mouth, you gasp then. You cling to his shoulders as your panties now brush against his lap, and you sink down, crying out at how good it feels, his hardness between your dripping folds.

"You're a good kisser." He murmurs, pulling back, pressing you down firmer now, and you're soaking your panties, ruining them completely, earning his groan. "I can feel how hot you are. She's so needy, hmm?" His tone goes husky, your lips part at it, gasping, your head falling back as you roll your hips again, grinding on his cock over his clothes.

"Satoru... need more." You whimper when he's kissing the tops of your breasts, then up your throat, licking and biting, bucking his hips up then, earning another cry of pleasure, heat pooling in your core. "Ngh!"

"Those sounds you make, fuck..." Satoru picks you up by your hips then, slipping a finger to your swollen clit over your panties. "They're soaked."

"Embarrassing... ah!" Satoru's little hum of satisfaction just makes you wetter, he's looking right at you, and you're drowning in that gaze, in the swirling blue depths of his eyes.

"Let me make you cum." He whispers, slipping past the elastic of your panties now, finding your soaking wet pussy with his fingers, you nearly fall apart at it, pausing your movements. He moans, hard cock shoving up more. "No, keep rocking on me."

"Y-you sure?" He nods eagerly, so you rock more on Satoru's cock, his finger rolling on your clit now in little circles, watching you, flushed cheeks, parted full lips. You kiss them as you cry out, grinding helplessly while he keeps rolling circles, then starts flicking back and forth. "Toru!"

"So wet, oh my god... so pretty..." He is urging you on more and more with every breath, every kiss, until you're about to fall, and he's sensing it, free hand grabbing your ass, shoving you further on his clothed cock, panties a sticky mess. You're dripping all the way down his finger as he's moaning, harder and harder between your lips. "Let go, I've got you."

"Toru I-"

"Cum." You scream out then, as if on command, shuddering as your wetness gushes all over, as you throb around nothing, making a mess of his finger, your panties, his jeans. He moans now, sucking on his finger before kissing you, grinding up more and more, gasping as you're trembling, clinging to him, wanting more and more...

suddenly the door knocks, and you both curse. "Go away." He grumbles, you giggle then, hips moving just a bit, and Satoru is now slipping down his zipper, you watch with a gulp as his cock is revealed, a sticky wet spot on his boxers as his pretty cock springs free, long and curved, making you wetter. " Can I... rub it on you?" He asks, you nod nervously, and Satoru now has slipped his pretty pink tip into your panties, rubbing on your engorged clit.

"Satoru!" You're gushing more and more, and he groans then, all flushed, clinging to your ass as he fucks your panties.

"F-fuck you're too wet, too hot I- ah- oh my god..." You feel something hot and sticky against you now, and you flush, looking down to see Satoru's cock is spurting hot white ropes of sticky cum agaisnt you. He rests his head on your chest, whimpering. "Fuck I'm sorry. Shit, shit shit..."

"Toru... it's okay." You whisper then, he is blushing as bad as you are when he tilts back, looking up, cupping your face gently. You place your hand down and lap some of it up, moaning. "You're yummy too."

"Fuck... let me..." Satoru picks you up then, taking off the panties he'd cum in, laughing a little nervously as you watch him, only for him to turn you and sit you on the seat, pushing your thighs apart. He fingers the sticky cum on your pussy lips, kneeling then.

"W-what are you doing?" You whisper, and he looks up at you with dilated eyes, kissing up your inner thigh.

"Gonna clean up my mess."

Virgin Toru is new for me aha, but he's adorableee

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Ethan is trying to do work and the reader distracts him which turns into more. Just Ethan being flustered and trying to focus while reader teases him. 🤗

I've done a version of this with Mindy

Warnings: nudity, teasing

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

‘’Did you see my green highlighter?’’

‘’No. I have a blue one, here.’’ You fished it from your pencil case, but Ethan didn’t take it.

‘’I can’t use blue.’’

‘’I have pink, yellow and orange if you prefer—’’

‘’No. That’s not what I meant. I have a color code. Green is for the things I understand, blue is for what I don’t understand and the glittery gel pen is for underlining things that I think are gonna be in the exams.’’

Fondness filled your stomach. He was so precious and nerdy at the same time. You reached across the bed to grab the collar of Ethan's henley and kissed him sweetly.

‘’Eh…what was that for?’’ Ethan asked, a little dumbfounded. ‘’I love your kisses, it’s just that we really need to study—’’

‘’You are such a nerd.’’ You kissed him again, lingering your lips on his. ‘’But I love you.’’

Ethan’s cheeks flushed the cutest shade of pink. ‘’I love you too.’’

You went back to studying, reading pages of textbooks until your eyes burned. Why was there so much to read in econ? Maybe you should switch majors?

‘’Have you read the chapter about taxation?’’ Ethan asked, a pen in one hand and a highlighter in the other. ‘’My mind is literally going to explode from the amount of information.’’ His eyes were fixated on his textbook, concentrated on what he was reading.

A breath of air left your lips. ‘’I have not. Sorry.’’ You ran a hand through your hair, flicking through pages with your other. ‘’I’m like…two chapters behind.’’

Ethan snapped his head up. ‘’Two?! What have you been doing all this time? Mrs. Coleman is gonna question us about these chapters next lesson.’’

He was right, but you had been studying for over three hours and nothing was sticking to your brain anymore. Your learning batteries were full for today. Maybe you’ll bring your textbook to your shift at the campus library tomorrow. Thursday afternoons are always quiet.

Before you, Ethan had returned to his reading, pen cap between his teeth while he was underlining long paragraphs. Sometimes, you wished he wasn’t so serious during study dates. School was important, but it doesn’t mean you can’t take a few makeout breaks.

You tried getting back to reading, but the words were not sticking. So you threw a paperclip at Ethan. It hit his chest and you grinned amusedly.

‘’Hey! Stop throwing shit at me,’’ he scolded, throwing it back at you.

‘’Let’s take a break.’’

Ethan shook his head. ‘’Can’t. I have another chapter to read and then I’m meeting with a study group.’’ He checked the time on his phone, making sure he wouldn’t be late.

A study group? You thought you were going out for late dinner at the café right outside campus. They have this new breakfast all day menu and you couldn’t wait to have waffles for dinner.

You pouted in disappointment. Guess there won’t be any waffles tonight…

‘’Can we at least cuddle before you go?’’ you asked, impatient to wrap your whole body around Ethan like a koala and kiss his face while he holds you back with his strong arms.

Your question was left pending and you were tempted to chuck a pillow at the curly haired nerd before you — but you didn’t. Instead, you took advantage of focused attention and removed your shirt and bra without him noticing. You felt a shiver up your spine when the cool air of Ethan's dorm hit your warm skin, causing your nipples to peak.

Ethan was addicted to your tits. Maybe he’ll put down his textbooks for a few minutes.

‘’This part is really important. Do you think we should make flashca—’’ Ethan cut himself and you heard him make a little noise, his bambi eyes falling on your breasts exposed right before him. The pen he was holding fell from his grasp and you smirked.

You felt the weight of Ethan’s eyes on you, all the information he just read suddenly swept away. ‘’What is it you were saying?’’ You let your hand crawl up his jeans-covered thighs and a swallow bobbed its way over his adam's apple when you almost reached his crotch. ‘’Cat’s got your tongue, love?’’

Ethan opened his mouth to speak, but your hand was getting higher and higher. A whimper slipped from his lip when you reached your desired spot, feeling him growing stiff beneath your palm. It’s so good to tease him.

He reached for your breasts, his palms enclosed over them, kneading into them as his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

You sighed in pleasure, grazing your fingers along Ethan’s jaw. ‘’How many chapter do you have left again?’’ 

—

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[jayflrt]

𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝟕𝟖𝟔 35. change my world

"I CAN'T STAY FOR LONG," were the first words out of Jay's mouth as soon as you opened the door for him. "I've gotta finish a project when I get back home. She changed the deadline to—hey, what's wrong?"

You looked crestfallen for a moment, but as soon as Jay pointed it out, you perked right back up again. He took a second to study your expression before stepping into your foyer. Your penthouse was always a little intimidating; growing up, Jay couldn't even imagine stepping foot in a place so lavish.

"Nothing. Just trying to make myself busy for next weekend so I don't have to visit my dad," you replied with an unamused laugh. "You free?"

"I don't think either of us will be; Jennie sent us all a text a few hours ago." He held up his phone to show you the messages. "She wants us to be free the entire weekend."

"Friday and the weekend?" you read off the screen before frowning. "Is that when we get hazed?"

Jay shrugged before he cracked a smile. "Guess you don't have to visit your dad, at least." This was perhaps the perfect opportunity for him to get more information on your family—a golden opportunity considering you brought up your father on your own. Before you could change the topic, he pressed on, "But why don't you wanna see him?"

"It's a long story." You sighed, but it didn't seem like you were unwilling to divulge. Your eyes were gleaming a little, and Jay wanted to believe that you were hoping he'd stay. "How about I tell you over ramen?"

He pulled off his jacket before reaching your dining table. There was only one bowl of ramen set out, so Jay paused before he proceeded to sit down. To his surprise, you sat a chair away, looking up at him expectantly.

"Where's yours?" He didn't mean for there to be an edge of suspicion to his voice, but Jay couldn't understand why you wouldn't make a bowl for yourself.

You propped your elbow on the table to rest your chin in your palm. "I just wanted you to try it. How does it taste?"

"You should eat, too."

"Later—just try it!"

Since you seemed so eager, Jay picked up the noodles with his chopsticks and ate a mouthful, humming with delight when the flavor hit his tongue. He looked over to see you beaming at him with anticipation, and he nearly felt his chest stutter from how flustered he felt as you stared at him.

"Good"—he coughed after swallowing down his food too quickly—"it's really good."

You swelled with pride, and before you could open your mouth to respond, Jay cut you off by holding up another mouthful of noodles to your mouth. His other hand was cupped below where the noodles were dangling from the chopsticks.

Like that, you and Jay started talking about school and the Order while you shared the bowl of ramen. Not about whatever was going on with you and your father. There wasn't much to catch up considering he had seen you several times over the past week, but conversation somehow felt so easy with you.

Jay had never been a people person; his social battery was low and he had no interest in expanding his circle. Ever since he moved to Connecticut, his world seemed to grow a little bigger.

And it seemed as though he had a space carved out for you in his heart, but Jay was sure he would be a fool if he tried to fill that void.

The conversation eventually moved to the couch after you and Jay had finished eating and nearly tackled each other to wash the bowl and chopsticks in the sink. Jay was feeling overly-conscious of your knee touching his and the faint scent of your perfume lingering in the space between you two.

It was when you were showing Jay a picture of your dog, Butters, when you brought up your father again.

(Jay had been secretly hopeful that you wouldn't mention him. The more you told him about your life, the more it tore him up inside as he realized he either had to betray you or his client.)

"Butters always gets so happy whenever I'm home," you said with a pout, staring at the picture of your Pomeranian facing the wind. "He must really miss my mom, too." You looked up at Jay again, grinning sheepishly when you saw the confused look on his face. "It was this whole thing from when I was a kid. My parents are separated, but they're not divorced... it's weird. Their relationship was rocky for a long time, but back in freshman year, my mom decided to just leave as soon as I left for Yale. I guess me moving out for college was what she was waiting for."

Jay's heart clenched painfully and he murmured, "I'm sorry. Is that why you didn't wanna see your dad?"

"Pretty much." With a heavy sigh, you leaned your head against Jay's shoulder. He stiffened up for a moment before relaxing—even scooting a little bit closer. "I just keep waiting for them to get together and make up again so that we can go back to being a family. It's, like"—you sniffled—"so annoying."

Another sniffle. You wiped at your eyes furiously, as if you were mad that they even dared to water. Jay kept his gaze down, unsure if you were comfortable with him watching you cry. He wished he wasn't so useless in these situations. You froze up for a moment when Jay brought his hand close to your face, but you closed your eyes and let him wipe a stray tear away.

"You can't tell anyone, okay? No one else knows about this, like, no one," you continued. "Especially not Sunoo."

"Of course I won't," Jay replied, eyebrows knitting together in confusion, "but Sunoo?"

"My mom and his dad used to date, apparently," you said, picking at your nails now. "That's why my dad thinks she wants to leave him."

"Sunoo's dad? But—"

"I really shouldn't get into it any further," you interjected quickly, "because that's Sunoo's business, too."

Sunoo never shared much about his family, so this was all news to Jay. Yet, he was sure he would have found out earlier if your mother was currently with Sunoo's father. Sunoo would've mentioned it, wouldn't he? What was your mother's motive then? Why would she walk out if her intent wasn't to leave her husband for an old flame?

Furthermore, Jay hardly realized that he kept gravitating closer and closer to you, but by the time your head was against his chest and his arm was around your shoulders, he realized he couldn't back away without offending you. He just hoped you weren't able to hear his heartbeat thundering in his chest.

"Is that why you two fell out?" he asked gently.

"Kind of." You angled your neck so that you could look up at Jay. "What about your family? You're always so mysterious."

"Mysterious? You've been to my apartment before."

"Not that—I just wanna know if you have secrets, too."

Jay swallowed thickly. "Everyone has secrets."

"But I wanna know more about you—your story, where you came from," you pressed, shifting your position so that you were facing him. Jay found it hard to breathe when you were so close. "I feel like you hide so much under the surface."

You have no idea, he thought, rueful.

Jay couldn't think of anything in particular that he could tell you, though. The only secrets he had were ones that he had to keep from you no matter what, especially when it came down to his work as a private investigator.

There was one thing, he supposed, that changed him forever. It wouldn't have done him any good to tell you about it—not when the very thought made his throat close up and his eyes water. He didn't even want to see the look on your face when you found out what he had done, what his client had on him.

"You're, like, insanely smart, too," you breathed out. "How is it you know everything? You even impressed everyone in the Order."

"I wouldn't say everything."

You shot him a pointed look. "Dr. Corvera literally offered you a research internship after lecture."

"Whoa." A faint smirk crept to his lips. "Are you stalking me or what?"

"I just happened to eavesdrop." Jay was far too delighted with the way you shied away from him. "But, seriously, why don't you give yourself enough credit? You're like... Master Oogway."

"The turtle? From Kung Fu Panda?" Jay deadpanned.

"Well, he's a tortoise."

"See? I didn't know that."

You scoffed lightly, voice dropping low as you rattled on, "And you're really good at Calculus, too... and you have a perfect GPA. Are you sure you're not—"

"I'm two years older, remember?" Jay cut you off before he could hear any of your theories, hoping that none of them implied that he was any more of an outsider than he felt. "I know how to code and I know around twenty programming languages, so the math sort of comes with that."

His answer only seemed to inspire more amazement in your eyes, and Jay suddenly felt hot even without his jacket.

"My only useful strength is talking to people," you said with a crooked grin, "which is why I'm pretty good at interviews and making people like me."

"I can tell. You're always the center of everything."

"Rude."

"That's not a bad thing," Jay said, shooting you a sideways glance. "People naturally gravitate toward you. You're just..." The whole package was what Jay wanted to say, but he was afraid that would get deeply misinterpreted, so he settled for saying, "You're just perfect."

Perhaps that wording was at greater risk for being deeply misinterpreted.

Your lips were parted for a moment—whether it was from shock or repulsion, Jay didn't want to know—and your eyes had a new gleam to them that he hadn't seen before. He wondered if his comment made you blush because you kept your head ducked down.

(And he wanted to kiss you. He really wanted to kiss you. This wasn't something Jay wanted to make obvious, but he found his gaze lingering on your lips for far too long before he managed to look away.)

He suddenly felt his mouth go dry while his heart did stupid backflips that you were sure to hear. How was he supposed to get himself out of this one? No, no, that wasn't what he meant—oh, but that was exactly what he meant.

"I'm not perfect at all," you said with a laugh. "Is that how you see me?" You shook your head. "I wish I was good at things like you are. I'm not as ambitious as you are either, which is a total waste. I always feel like someone else should've been born in my place."

That certainly would've made this mission much easier for him, but he felt as though your perception of him was misplaced. Ambition? Jay only wanted to help people, and he deduced over the years that he was terrible at that.

"I'm not that great as you're making me out to be," he said. "I'm really happy you think of me like that, but it's not like I've... changed the world or anything."

Jay remembered when he graduated college with Jake. Back then, Jay still had stars in his eyes and hopes for the future. Despite everyone who told him that his skills were better suited for a high-profile job complete with exploitation and corruption, Jay knew that he wanted to do something meaningful.

But that never happened. He was never going to save anyone.

You hesitated before you said, "You changed mine."

Jay sadly smiled at you, mostly because if you ever found out who he truly was, then you would quickly realize that he had probably changed your life for the worst.

Instead, he admitted in a soft voice, "You changed mine, too."

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SUMMARY ▸ private investigator jay park just wants to complete his mission quietly and move on with his life. you, his new assignment who keeps consuming his thoughts, don't make that very easy for him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE ▸ longish chapter to make up for the tiny break i took 🫶

TAG LIST ▸ @zdgx1 @smouches @heesdazed @teawithbucky @leep0ems @peachpie4you @niniissus @kgneptun @jaeyunluvr @zerasari @sophiko22 @iselltulips @hoondiors @baekhyunstruly @jays-property @woninluv @heerinnie @fakeuwus @yizhoutv @theothernads @y4wnjunz @dammit-jjk @en-happiness @mari-oclock @soonyoungblr @jakeslvt @taetaenic @jebetwo @fairysungx @hsgwrld @shmooooo @ineedsomezzz @mrowwww @enha-stars @seongclb @lockburn-castle @alyssajavenss @enczen @calumsfringe @w3bqrl @luvyev @uhsakusa @luvnicho @wildflowermooon @navsnct @hooniesuniverse @enhalov @enhypens-baby @isawritesss

[kokushibosbestie]

ok so idk if u do like x reader stuff but if you do, can u do like a Sally face fic or headcannons with Sal and Larry. I wanted to request what it would be like for them to have like a very busy s/o. Like I do marching band and outside of school I do volleyball and lessons for trombone and piano. Along with that I take AP classes and student council which give me more work to do so I feel pretty drained by the end of the day

♡~ Sal and Larry w/ busy S/O HCs ~♡

A/N: Yes, I take requests and do (Character) x reader headcannons! AND I'M SO SORRY IF THIS WASN'T GOOD AND I KNOW LARRY'S PART ISN'T LONG I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME ANON. ALSO IM SORRY THAT IT TOOK SO LONG, I'VE BEEN REALLY BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND I HAD WRITERS BLOCK FOR LIKE 3 WEEKS 😭🙏

Warnings: None, just pure fluffiness and love. GN!reader.

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

♪ Sal Fisher ♪

· HE'S JUST A FKN SWEETHEART 😭😭 · I will say that he is going to make sure to make your life easier no matter what · like doing chores, helping you with projects and assignments, and planning out your week · I don't think many realize this, but he is not the "badass player" people portray him as. 😔 · So, he will make you sit down with him on the weekend and ask how things are going. · And this is with everything. Work, school, family life, your relationship with him, your mental health, etc. · He is serious about it too. 😅 He cares a lot and he doesn't like to see you stressed. · So when you come home tired and worn out, he will not be happy. · he knows it's not your fault and you can't help it "Love, please stop doing this to yourself. You know this isn't good." · Like I said, he loves you 🥰 · istg this man HAS and WILL beg you to take a break · so when you come home, he'll already have a bath ready for you · once you're done taking a bath, he'll make you sit down on the floor in front of the couch so he can brush / comb your hair · and I honestly think he's not the best cook, but he will cook your favorite food no he won't, it's going to be takeout because he failed · your room is already cleaned and he bought you squishmellows to add to your collection · he'll cuddle you to sleep while playing with your hair · definitely the big spoon on nights like this "Relax baby, you need to get sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?"

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

☆ Larry Johnson ☆

· I'ma be fr with you, he would NOT notice at first · Not until Ashley said something but after she brings it to his attention that you need a little bit more attention, he will do exactly that · and istg, he WILL pick you up bridal style and carry you away from whatever you were doing 👀 · If you protest, he will glare at you and ignore it. · Any kind of work you do is "overworking yourself" to him · so beware · Imma be completely honest, this man CANNOT keep up with you · Your ship dynamic is literally "busy mastermind and their assistant who worships them but can't keep up." 😭💞 · larry is the one worshiping you "Look, I know you have a lot going on, so don't try to convince me that you aren't. I might be stupid in school but I'm not stupid with you." · he will say shit that doesn't make sense WHATSOEVER. 😔 · Ofc, he won't admit that he's trying to take care of you · or keep up with you · obvi 🙄 · I have my own hc that he actually does know how to cook nicely, so I think he'd make you food you'd watch a movie together and talk · once your social battery is completely out, he'll offer you to sleep on his chest. 🥰 · and when you wake up, he's gunna make you breakfast. "Don't try to keep yourself up babe. You've had a long day, so just rest."

DISCLAIMER: THE HEADER IS MINE, THOUGH THE FANART IS NOT. THE DIVIDERS ARE NOT MINE, ONCE AGAIN, THEY ARE NOT MINE. ALL CREDITS GO TO ORIGINAL POSTERS / CREATORS!!! ALL WRITING BELONGS TO ME!!!

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

More sugarbaby reader! For logan? I love how sweet and caring you write him in that verse while still being gruff, maybe how they met or how she gets along with the other people Logan knows?

When he walked into the jewelry store a bit before closing, all he wanted was a battery put in his watch. What he didn't expect to find was a pretty little thing that smelled so good he had trouble not growling at her.

There were a couple other girls. More than willing to throw themselves at him. He could practically hear them getting ready to bat their eyelashes and coo about this and that... he didn't have the patience for it. And their perfume made his eyes water.

So he waited for you to look up at him. Smiling and sweet. "How can I help you?"

"Just a watch battery, doll," he said, proffering the offending watch by one side of the leather band. "Not sure anymore what kind."

You frown thoughtfully for a moment and nod, "I think we can do that. No worries. It's a nice piece. Well loved." He watches you take it carefully and inhales discreetly. You even smell sweet, and warm. And like something he can't quite name. It makes him want to bury his face in inappropriate places. The thought makes him feel like a dirty old man.

He doesn't bother to stop it though. At his age, every 20 something is too young for him. "I've had it a long time- don't even know how long." Not true. It was older than you. Might even be older than your mom, depending.

No rings. No flashy jewelry. Dressed down but dressed nice. He wondered if you were the kind of girl who liked matching bras and panties...

"My dad had one like it, I think. Gave it to my brother, maybe?" You work easily and make short work of swapping the battery for him. Taking care to reset the time before you hand it back. "Good as new."

"Thanks, Doll," he hummed, taking it from you, "how much do I owe you?"

"$15," you tell him, clacking your way to the register. No upsell. No flirting. You must want to get home. He chuckled to himself. He doesn't smell a man on you, school? After work drinks? You'd all been closing and the others might be green with envy but they hadn't stopped.

He handed you the cash and took a recipt and smiled. He'd be back.

And back he came.

This time, you were wearing red. Red suited you. It brought out different tones in your skin and your eyes and he felt himself salivate.

"I was hoping you'd be here," he said, leaning casually on the counter.

"Need a new battery already?" you ask, eyes glittering, teasing him a little.

"I need a little help," he said, "shopping for a birthday present."

"Wife, girlfriend?" you ask, looking up at him, bouncing on the balls of your feet. Eager. Excited.

"Good friend," Logan clarified. Preferably something that would look good on you- not that he could say that. Yet. "Something elegant, but not diamonds."

"Hmm," you think for a second, "Ring, bracelet?"

"Necklace, I think," Logan mused. You had a beautiful neck. And he'd love to bite- he mentally slapped the back of his hand and refocused. "Something she can wear out."

"Does she like silver? Gold?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted.

"Well," you tell him, "I do like a challenge, let's see what I can find for you Mr.-?"

"Logan," he said, offering you his hand, "call me Logan. It's good enough for everyone else."

[hanhonymous]

The Trainee’s workplace authenticity

One of my favorite things about workplace TV shows is when the characters actually do work. AND when the details of such work are not only relatively accurate, but also essential to how the characters relate to themselves, the world and each other. So far, "The Trainee" is giving that to me in the first two episodes.

Having interned/been an assistant at a TV production company and later moving to entertainment journalism and managing interns/junior writers there, I can appreciate both Ryan's and Jane's POVs. Here's what I liked so far:

Good Pick's pink tube slide and movie theater seats in the lobby - A lot of these entertainment-adjacent companies take a cue from Silicon Valley and have this frivolous, frat-boy design aesthetic -- bean bag chairs, foosball tables, etc. I worked in an office that had a ping-pong table. The idea is to make it fun enough that people want to stay in the office and work longer, which isn't really all that great. You stop seeing that fun stuff after a while and just want to get home. That said, I'd love to work in a company with a fire pole in it, but that would be too much of a liability.

Ryan's fluke hiring - Baimon totally hearing what he wants to hear from Ryan in that sham interview is hilarious but sadly not all that unusual. What sucks is that this is unfair to the manager who then must work with the unqualified person, and unfair to that person hired also, who isn't the best fit for the position. I've been the person saddled by the unfortunate hire and have had to make do … and sometimes you can figure it out, but often you're left doing extra work to make up for their deficits. If it's just an intern, no problem -- they'll be gone in a few months. I felt Jane's pain!

Ryan's uncertainty & silence - That said, Ryan clearly wants to do well but is out of his depth since this was not even what he was learning in school. I remember the first day as a journalist for a small company where I kind of was on my own, and nobody told me what to do. I was like, "WTF??" Part of you doesn't want to ask questions lest you expose your imposter identity, but you're also wondering just how long you can do nothing before someone notices.

The printer always breaks down -- always. You get pretty good at troubleshooting everything until resorting to calling a technician

Jane's prickly demeanor - The fact is that in any company, people who are competent can move up, but that doesn't automatically infuse them with good managerial skills. I think workshops, etc. are a must for anyone who gets promoted and suddenly have people reporting to them. Everyone can get frustrated when they're overwhelmed, so I do have some sympathy for Jane. He does have one skill that I think is essential to be a good manager: identifying and acknowledging the strengths of an employee. It really makes all the difference that he finally sees Ryan as an asset, not a hindrance.

Ryan's skills aren't that bad at all - As soon as Ryan tells his family that he's no help to anyone at work, he immediately shows five different ways how much he's relied on by his family. Yes, people who are competent, reliable and can anticipate needs (like how his sister needs to be reminded to charge the battery after using the camera) will be able to apply those skills to other situations and can go far. Ryan just needs to familiarize himself with the industry first in order to know how he can fill in the gaps. (I believe in being able to change careers and taking big pivots in life.)

The interns banding together - OMG I remember sometimes just being unsupervised while trying to get a project together, and there is a strange bond you have being the youngest and least experienced. And you do have the most stupid conversations.

Being one cog in a bigger machine - I really appreciate how they show all the different departments that have to come together to make one project work -- especially when last-minute changes need to be implemented or a persnickety client has opinions. You complain, you worry, you put in extra late hours and have to make 11th-hour fixes -- but it's so satisfying to see it all come together. Shit goes down, and you fix it.

Hiring extras - The hiring of extras at Good Pick was different from what I've experienced. I actually have been an extra, and what I'm used to is being part of a company or agency that has you in their database, and then you get picked or cast by that company and sent to your gig. But that's in Hollywood and for TV shows & movies. It's probably different for ad houses or in Thailand, but I did like how they showed that it is still a casting process. There are deliberate decisions made, and certain looks sought out. I thought it was hilarious that Ryan's first thought for hiring the salaryman was to get an uncle from the same restaurant as the auntie. If he had his way, everyone in that restaurant would be hired for some gig or another.

Ryan getting scammed by the extra - I was screaming at Ryan as soon as he offered to pay that scammer extra. Just … no, boy. You had to have known that was shady. BUT despite being duped, he was willing to think on his feet and try to solve a problem by being proactive, and that does happen. And so do mistakes. He just needs to calibrate his radar for what is OK. (I'm glad Jane saw that.) Ryan is lucky that it only cost him 1,000 baht for that lesson.

Extras must be on hand and wait - OK this is a scene in the preview for Episode 3, but I was so happy to see it: Extras in Hollywood actually cannot just spend 5 minutes or whatever to do their job, even if that's how much you see them onscreen. There's a ton of hurry up and wait on film sets, and so extras have to stay in Holding -- usually just a designated area with some chairs (sometimes you get tables) -- until you're needed. And production schedules never run on time, so it can be hours or even days. You're lucky if you're there long enough to get a meal, if the temperature is nice, if you're able to make friends with the others and if there's wifi. Sometimes you bring your own clothes for wardrobe based on what you're told, and sometimes the wardrobe department supplements your wardrobe with extra pieces to help complete a specific look. And yeah, you're not able to leave except for the bathroom, so Ryan definitely shouldn't have let that one extra wander off.

"Ryan After Work" - I like these post-credit sequences that give extra insights into the job. And while the first one was more instructional, explaining how the production house differed from an agency, the second was more about the cohort camaraderie (and hinting at Ryan's positive feelings toward Jane). I hope the romance aspect of the show doesn't overshadow the work specificity going forward!

[pencileraser1]

dead poets society theater au headcanons

so for context, i'm a stagehand, i've worked for events as well as in community theater, so this is mostly based off of that. doing my part to add dps to the dps tag, and this was what i could come up with

ok they're all involved in a small community theater production of the tempest over the summer

neil is an actor, he's playing ariel, this is one of the first roles he's landed. he'd done theater in school as puck, which didn't go so well, but it's been a while since then. he's graduated college recently after studying medicine and is finally somehow at a point where his father has less control over him. despite this, he's somewhat unsure what he wants to do now, if he wants to continue with medicine cause it's what he knows, or try to make it in theater.

todd is the assistant stage manager, he was really unsure about taking the job, but the stage manager, cameron, who he was pretty good friends with, and who he'd worked on a crew with before, specifically wanted him. despite this, he's worried that he's too anxious and not assertive enough to do it

cameron is the stage manager, and a bit of a hardass, which means the crew loves him and a decent chunk of the actors hate him. he's good at his job, he's very organized and really good at getting shit done and people together, but he'll also chew you out if you fuck up

meeks and pitts are lights and sound respectively, they've worked on a ton of shows together before and are pretty close. every show they work together, they bring a bag of snacks with them for the crew to eat during performances

charlie is the prop master, and a stagehand. he has a knack for finding weirdly useful shit in random places, and is brilliant at constructing props. despite this cameron is constantly having to bug him to get his stuff finished on time. he and cameron have a sort of love/hate relationship, they clash really bad at times but they both understand that the show would not be as good if either of them weren't there

keating is the director! he works really well with newer actors, i'd imagine he's pretty similar to peter weir in a lot of ways. he can take a little too long to reach deadlines, as getting the show perfect is a lot more important to him, which annoys cameron a bit

knox is also an actor, he's playing ferdinand and is convinced that he and chris, who plays miranda, are destined to be together or something. chris doesn't see him like that though

chris is miranda, she was originally interested in the tech/design aspect of theater, but a while back they needed more actors, and she ended up volunteering. she started as crew when ginny first started acting, because ginny was nervous to do it alone

ginny is iris, she has more free time this show since her role is smaller, but is always at rehearsal whenever chris is there, so she ends up sitting around and watching a lot. she quickly becomes friends with neil, who is similarly always around todd

anytime he's not busy, neil is hanging around todd. he's started doing parts of todds job for him, getting batteries, taping doors, sweeping the stage, doing other miscellaneous errands. he spends so much time with todd that he somehow ends up as crew in the program in addition to ariel. he starts getting to the theater early when the crew shows up just to spend more time with todd. cameron has started treating him as an extra stagehand

[solarpunkani]

Solar Powered Community Fridges - Concept Art

So one of my grad school classes is a 8 week long group project to essentially come up with an artistic solution to a problem. Of course, my pitch was solarpunk in nature, and my group actually really liked it! Basically, the concept is to design a series of solar panel-powered community fridges, to help address food insecurity and build community in different areas without having to rely on a specific host building to provide power. What better time to show my concept art than Solarpunk Aesthetic Week?

Originally, I was just drawing up ideas with what usually comes to mind when I imagine fridges--upright fridges. Here's my concept art!

In these sketches, my main concern was imagining how these fridges would fit into the community alongside their power sources--I didn't want them to be too bulky, but I also wanted them to be available for easy access. I also figured they'd need shelter for the fridge's longevity, as well as to protect any users from the element. It'd also be nice to have them alongside other mutual aid sources like little free pantries, little free libraries, the like. One of my favorite designs is the sheltered community space on page 2, with the fridge, the seat, the pantry, and the library all in one protected structure with solar panels on the top. Having a table near the community fridge would also be nice to give people a place to rest as well.

However, around this time, I started trying to find out just how big of a solar panel would be needed to power a fridge like this, and the results were... a bit discouraging. Until! I was informed that chest freezers use way less energy to keep cool--cool air sinks, so opening an upright fridge releases most of the cold air that's been building up and makes the machine work harder to keep cool, whereas a chest fridge doesn't lose nearly as much cold air. In addition, some people have converted chest freezers into chest refrigerators for as little as ~$30 USD. Due to the insulation in a chest freezer, converted chest fridges use way less energy than their upright counterparts to keep cool, making it way more feasible to power them with solar.

So of course, I had to get to drawing again!

Since I'd already concepted a variety of structures for upright fridges, for the chest fridges I mostly focused on their design and possible convenience/accessibility concerns I had been worried about, one of the main being having to reach inside vertically instead of horizontally--several of my family members have difficulty bending, so I was worried having a chest fridge would make things more difficult for others like them. There are likely other ways to address this concern that I haven't thought of, but for now I've concepted putting a grabber tool inside of every fridge so people with trouble bending can still get things. How well it'd work in reality, I'm not sure...

Buuut these are my concepts so far! I hope you like them, I hope they're cool? Let me know what you think! I think these would be cool to have in a solarpunk future--whether they're entirely possible today or will have to wait until a somewhat-distant, 'solar panels can generate more energy with less size and fridges are also way more energy efficient' future I can't say, but it's cool to think about!

[Image 1: Pencil sketches of refrigerators connected to solar power. The annotations on them are as follows. An arrow points to a magnet caddy on the freezer door with markers and stickers, saying "Markers + labels for dating donations". An arrow points to a battery-structure at the base of a solar panel system saying "Doubles as charging station for phones & stuff". An arrow points to a slanted roof structure over a fridge saying "Bus stop-esque structure." An arrow points at a glass door grocery store-style fridge saying "any kind of fridge, any size."

Image 2: Pencil sketches of refrigerators connected to solar power. The annotations on them are as follows. An arrow points to a fridge under a slanted roof structure, saying "Paintings on the fridge itself." Over a portion of a brick wall is written "Murals can be on accompanying walls or on the shelter structure for the fridge." An arrow points to a wheel-mounted solar panel saying "solar panel". A community space is named at the top "The Free Community Space: Open 24/7" An arrow points to the outside wall of a community space structure saying "mural on outer walls". Items inside are labeled 'Freedge, Little free Library, Seeds, Pantry'. An arrow points to a couch, saying "Maybe a bench instead?" Written on the inner wall is "mural inside." An arrow pointing at the space says "Community built space w/ lights, solar panels, little free library, freedge, seed library, little free pantry, couch (???). Solar battery stored behind or on top. Plastic magnet door to protect from elements? Like those magnet curtains?"

Image 3: Pencil sketches of refrigerators connected to solar power. The annotations on them are as follows. An arrow points to a slanted structure over a mini fridge, saying "Solar panel on roof?" Another arrow points to the side saying "Chalkboard paint--anyone can art here." Underneath says "variety of sizes/energy needs mean wider availability". At the top of a curved shelter on a pole is written "solar panel", along the sloping sides is "curved solar panels" and "Or solar voltaic glass?" On the underside of the structure is a label saying "Could be in a park or smth (something)". An arrow points to a box at the base of the structure, saying "charging station" and another arrow labels a table and chairs.

Image 4: Pencil sketches of refrigerators connected to solar power. The annotations on them are as follows. Along the top of a slightly-curved roof structure is an arrow saying "curved solar panel roof. renogy curved 4ft x 2ft for example". To the side of the roof is written "4 panels each side, 0.45 kWh x 8 = 3.6 kWh/h". A chest fridge is labeled "converted chest fridge", and a glass-front box is labeled "Old cabinet/case now Little Free Library". A box sitting between them is labeled "I hear car batteries are good solar storage for cheaper?" A standalone chest fridge has the following labels: "Could paint on fridge exterior" "solar panel on top of fridge?" "most chest freezers are 22-28 in wide &24-38 or 54-68 in long. The longest wattage panel needed would be ~50 in long & ~26 in wide"

Image 5: Pencil sketches of refrigerators connected to solar power. The annotations on them are as follows. The inside of an open lid has an arrow pointing to a grabber object saying "Grabber for accessibility for those w/ trouble bending". A label points at a strap fastened to the inside of the lid saying "straps to help shorter people pull the lid closed." A variety of arrows point to a drawing of an open, decorated chest fridge saying the following: "Counter-balanced lid" "Baskets/crates for storage -> can slide or be removed to access underneath" "Murals on front & sides (not back)" ]

[iraprince]

Hoya I'm currently saving up for a tablet aswell, because I'm drawing on my school's ipad that I have kept well past the due date, but have to give back now that I'm moving out of my boarding school that I'm sponsored to be in, and i wanted to ask for tips/recommendations what to get, because I have literally no money, and am scared to blow it on a tablet that sucks or something

advice on what to get can vary, but i am VERY opinionated on what not to get: fuck wacom lol. this from someone who's been on an intuos pro for years, but while they at least have longevity going for them, mine has had constant driver issues and a major hardware failing -- years ago the port for connecting it to the comp AND FOR CHARGING IT via usb failed for no reason, which is apparently a common issue for my model, so for years i have been forced to 1. only use it via wireless connection, which makes the driver fussiness WORSE and 2. buy a separate universal camera battery charger, bc w the port failing that was the only way to charge the thing. wacoms are fucking EXPENSIVE, and they're lovely to draw on, but imo for the price they should be massaging my balls as a bonus, not breaking constantly and making me tear my hair out. they are just not worth it unless you have the cash to burn and you're a HUUUUUUGE stickler on all the really technical stuff.

rant aside. i have heard nothing but lovely things about huion, which is why it's what i'm switching to now; here and there i've seen ppl say the drivers can be fussy on mac, but it doesn't seem like a dealbreaker. huions are also pretty damn affordable if you're looking at a standard tablet rather than a screen one.

if a huion is outside your budget, i think i can recommend a monoprice -- my first tablet ever was a tiny wacom bamboo, but my first "serious" tablet that i used constantly/daily was a monoprice. it was dirt cheap and it worked absolutely fine and it lasted me for ages. i haven't used one in a very long time, so i can't speak to if the quality is the same as when i used one, but i always think fondly of the one i had. i remember the first-time driver setup being awful, but once it got working i don't remember ever having issues with it again.

in terms of just general tips: get the biggest one you can afford. it's better for your wrist, and even though it's scary to invest in something when you're not sure you'll like it, it's usually worse to pay for something crappy that you'll end up wanting to replace eventually anyway. even when i've had really cramped workspaces or no real workspace at all, i've never found that the compact-ness of a tiny tablet has made up for how ergonomically shit it is to draw on one; i would rather awkwardly wrangle a slightly-too-big tablet any day.

good luck, i hope this is helpful!

[febreze-bottle-without-febreze]

Tank/Darlin and Asher headcanons

I was going to post some ansty headcanons but I've had a change of heart after rewatching the Asher and Darlin video [Darlin They/he/it]

TW: cursing

Asher and Tank have four matching piercings

when Tank and Ash were in middle school they got suspended for starting a food fight the only reason they got caught was cause they started throwing food at people in class

These two are the reason Marie has grey hairs

every time these two hangout they make these drinks that taste like how you imagine battery acid to taste like and they'll chug it like it's nothing

Tank and Ash were in a band all throw high school

Tank did all of Ash's tattoos and piercings

they like watching people argue in public, they bring popcorn and everything

you can't leave these two alone together for too long you have to check on them once in a while, cause these two will start sharing brain cells and usually nothing good comes out of these two sharing brain cells

Tank: ya think I could build a sword

Ash: what?

Tank: I mean I know how to weld and I've built things out of metal before so how hard can it be

Ash: have you tried it before?

Tank: nope *long pause* yo ash want to help me build a sword

Ash: sure!

these two love dragging their mates into their dumb ideas

someone could be taking a cute picture and you look in the back to see Tank looking like something from hell, there's a pic of Baabe and Asher kissing, and right behind them is Tank with one glowing red eye setting something on fire with the biggest smile on his face

Wall Tank was in Washington Asher kept them up with the pack drama

Tank has nicknames for everyone in the Shaw and Keaton pack, Ash's is masher, no one really knows why out of any nickname Tank chose masher

Arden "ay Tank, I been meaning to ask why do you call ash masher"

Tank "do you remember that time when we were in college and someone dared ash to eat a dozen donuts at once so he mashed all the donuts together into some type of sandwich that was the size of a burger and it looked like he unhinged his jaw-like a fucking snake then preceded to eat the donut sandwich whole, no you don't cause I do." *stares into Arden's soul*

Ash, Tank, and Chrissy used to be a trio before ash became pack beta but Christain got kicked for obvious reasons

Christain may be Tank's friend but that didn't stop Tank from almost stumping his chest in for disrespecting ash

Tank had the biggest crush on Asher's mom when growing up and ash couldn't stand it

Asher was the only one who Tank really talk to well they were in Washington but they would text him the most random and out-of-pocket things

Tank: yo some asshole just ripped out my eye 😡

[m]Asher: which one, your good or bad eye?

Tank: wowww not even going to ask me if am okay if you really want to know it was my bad eye😒 *sends a pic of their eye*

[m]Asher: ewww🤢 have you tried putting it back in?

Tank: that's not how it works dumbass

[m]Asher: you don't know that

Tank: it didn't work.

Tank has been struck by lightning more than once and Ash has been there to witness it each time

[goldeneyedgirl]

Hi Lexie! So Hybrid Babyverse: so well written and well built, I love this version of hybrid a lot, mostly because is so unexpected to see Jalice being parents (and GOOD parents). I've been reading a lot of angst lately thanks to flowerslut and babyverse has been like a cozy day in a warm cabin to me (even if you already said it's not exactly a comfy story). So if you have more of this universe I'd love to read. Also, one of the most interesting things about this fic, for me, is how protective and loving Alice is as a mother. If I'd picture her as a momma, I'd do it exactly the way you did, responsible and put together even when the world is ending above her head (and probably a bit too liberal as well). I just want to emphasize how amazing you are doing with the characterization of Alice and Jasper in a universe we don't see much at all.

Aww, anon, thank you so much. At some point I'm going to have to get into the actual plot of the fic, but I have a very good time just writing little slice-of-life scenes that are low stakes. I'm really glad that you are enjoying it because I know the scenario is really out there, but it's just the right level of dramatic to appeal to me. 

And yeah, Alice is super liberal and a teenager, which makes her so much fun to write - she has her convictions, and sometimes she's just trolling everyone for shits and giggles. Some of her nonsense definitely gives Bella a little more confidence not to feel like she has to be as 'perfect' as the Cullens; it's okay to be messy and human. 

Alice does clash with some of the Cullens' more old fashioned and conservative beliefs at times. Jasper and Alice definitely discuss a lot of things privately, but when it comes to a lot of the discourse in the household, Jasper's response is something along the lines of 'I was a Confederate soldier in the 1800s, I trust Alice's judgement in this issue.' Or 'As Alice is the one possessing the uterus, I'm pretty sure her thoughts on the matter of abortion are far more relevant than mine.' 

(I, for one, am fixating on the idea that the one thing that Jasper puts his foot down about is the family wealth during Oliver's upbringing. No luxury cars or designer clothing, no outrageous toys, no luxury prep schools, and Oliver has to get into college on his own merit. Alice, from a foster care background, hates the idea at first but warms up - a kid doesn't need a battery-powered BMW to drive around the house or a private jet to go to Disneyland, they need loving and supportive parents, and a secure home. And the houses they live in are insanely nice places, and Oliver still has nice stuff. Just very much more of a middle-class image, than a 1% image. Oliver getting into a good college with a partial scholarship is one of Jasper's proudest moments.) 

(Is that a dig at the upbringing Renesmee gets? You betcha.) 

I could sit here spewing headcanons for Oliver and Alice and Jasper all day, but here's a scene I wrote for purposes that remain mysterious. Still toying with Alice being angrier at Jasper when he returns, and how their reconciliation looks. 

---

It’s not hard to find Jasper after dark these days. The Brandon house is helpfully tucked away from the road, so no one can see anyone who happens to be sitting on the roof. It takes no effort to join his brother, Emmett landing nearly silently next to him. “Long night? Alice kick you out?” He tries to make it a joke, but he knows that their tentative reunion is a sore spot for Jasper.

“No longer than normal,” Jasper shrugs, ignoring the joke but Emmett knows he’s hit a sore spot.

There’s a book next to Jasper; some heavy thing with the words ‘Child Psychology’ buried in the title, and Emmett nearly feels sorry for Oliver.

“She doing okay?” Jasper hasn’t been home much since they got back. He’s trying to get back into the Brandons’ good graces, and get to know his son. Jasper’s son. Those words are a mind-fuck - of all the Cullens to have an accidental kid, Jasper was bottom of the list; Emmett’s been trying to wrap his mind around the idea for the last few weeks. And counsel Rosalie through a lot of different emotions. 

It’s been a weird summer. 

“Tired, stressed, frustrated…” Jasper recites emotions like a catalogue, and Emmett can hear the frustration of his own in Jasper’s voice. “We’re talking, she knows I’m staying at night. Her fathers aren’t happy, and Cynthia’s still leaning towards violence but it’s something.”

“How’s Oliver?” Emmett can hear the disappointment in Jasper’s voice, and talking about the baby always cheers him up. If nothing else, he’s watching Jasper change. Kind of reminds him of when Jasper joined the family and was so bewildered and curious about how they all seemed to like and trust each other. The rare times that Jasper has been home lately, Oliver is one topic he will freely talk about - his relationship with Alice is almost entirely off-limits, as was whatever the Brandons had said to him. But he would almost always give this small smile and update them on Oliver.

And like clockwork, Jasper looks over and smiles. “He’s finally doing better in his own room. He took a while to settle, but he's sleeping now.”

Ah, the bedroom project. It had started two weeks ago - a freshly decorated bedroom of Oliver’s own in the Brandon house that everyone had heard about in great detail, mostly because Esme had been hanging on every word.

Things were … pleasant but cool between Alice and the rest of the family. There was a guest room ready and waiting for Alice and Oliver if - when - they finally stayed over, but Esme was absolutely bursting to get to work on two personalized rooms - a bedroom for Alice (and Jasper) and a nursery for Ollie. But for now, Esme was living vicariously through Simon and Alice’s nursery decorating and trying to gently encourage Alice to spend more time at the Cullens.

But after the bedroom was finished, it had been a struggle to get Oliver to sleep alone in there; he didn’t seem to want or need twelve hours of sleep at night, had disliked being left on his own, and had made that everyone in the house’s problem. Alice had been very short-tempered for the last two weeks. 

Jasper was perched in between Alice and Oliver’s bedrooms, with the soft glow of a nightlight filtering through the bedroom on the left. It was nearly certain that both windows were unlocked, and that Jasper had probably timed himself getting in and out of both of them, in case of emergency.

“D’you ever wonder…” Emmett begins before stopping. It’s a dumb question, he knows the answer.

“Wonder what?” Jasper pauses for a second; from his crib, Oliver lets out a grizzle and a gurgle, but resumes sleep quickly. 

“…what it would have been like if we’d stayed?”

Jasper lets out a bark of laughter; Emmett can hear the regret. 

“I think about that every day,” Jasper says, rubbing his hand over his face. 

And he does.

He imagines Alice telling him, nervous and afraid and desperate. He pictures her flat stomach curving. Getting to feel their baby kicking, looking at the sonograms. Planning for this bizarre future they had found themselves in. Getting to see and to hold his son within hours of his birth, and not months.

And being there for all the ugly stuff that the Brandons alluded to - Alice being unable to get out of bed, complaining of aches and pains, unending vomiting and fainting and seizures… he wanted to be there, to comfort her, to make sure she wasn’t alone. 

He wanted to be down in that bedroom right now, tucked up beside her with her arm thrown over his chest. Her face pressed against his shoulder. To kiss her cheek and read as she slept. 

He wanted it all so badly. 

Instead, he had this - sitting on the roof, watching over them in silence.

And he deserved it, for leaving her the way he did. She was being more forgiving than he expected, really - he had prepared himself for Alice to tell him to fuck off and never contact her again, when they returned. But for some insane reason, she had been willing to talk, willing to let him know their baby.

He just had to earn the love and trust back. 

“Every fucking day,” he echoes. 

“Sorry man,” Emmett shook his head. “It was a stupid question. But… you missed what, less than a year all up? Ollie’s not even one yet. He’s never going to remember a time without you here, being his dad. Alice will forgive you; she’s always been crazy about you, and she’s hardly going to let you sit on the roof if she was planning on kicking you to the curb. In ten years we’re going to turn around and it’ll be crazy that you and Alice weren’t always together.”

“I hope so.” Jasper looks both much older and so very young in that moment. “I… it was stupid to leave.”

Emmett let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, I think you made that clear. Edward’s still fixing his CDs.”

A light flicked on in the right window, and both of them could hear movement as Alice climbed out of bed and left the room. She returned a few moments later, the light going out.

“It’s gonna be okay, man. I bet you fifty that you’ll be dancing at your wedding before your kid hits middle school,” Emmett stood up, ready to head home to Rose.

“Middle school?” Jasper half-chuckled, half sounded horrified.

“I said before - and Alice didn’t look impressed when Edward and Bella announced their engagement. I think she’s more of the ‘live-in-sin’ kind of girl, myself,” Emmett shrugged.

“Go home before you wake someone up,” Jasper said, picking up his book. “Alice won’t care much unless you wake up the baby, but Cynthia will cuss you out from the bathroom window.”

[threadsun]

Ok, Sydney was robbed of a proper corruption ending so I'm here to write him one

We're actually going to keep the part where his original story "ends" You two make it to the prayer room get high and...fuck? weirdly hump each other while you're crazy stupid high? Who's to say, but that happens, ok? But after a while something just doesn't sit right with Sydney. Sure it felt like you two had sex but he's still a virgin, aside from any bruises you two might have left on each other there's no real way to tell if that all really happened or not. Not to mention how fucking sick of the church he's getting

He's been told all his life that people like you are evil sinners who will never reach haven, but those nights spent with you are haven! You are his haven, why should the church's opinion matter to him anymore? He's found salvation between your thighs and he'd rather die before letting go

He tells you his new plan while you two are in the library, just like last time. He tells you he's done with the church, he's going to revoke his vows tonight with you by his side, and after he does you're going to deflower him, properly this time. No tricks, no incense, no prayer room. Just the two of you fucking till dawn

Now, he could just leave the church quietly but he wants it to be a spectacle. He wants to see the shock and horror on those priests faces when he spits out the name of his god. and he does, oh fuck does he ever. With you by his side Sydney calls for a surprise sermon, making sure everyone in the temple is watching as he grabs you by the collar and makes out with you. No more having to keep his lips to your cheek, no more hiding, no more fear!

He tells them all that he won't be coming back to the temple after today, so he might as well leave them with a bang. He pulls a list from his pocket and reads off every sinful act he's seen within the temple with places, dates, and names. He leaves you two's sins for last, letting you tell them all about your nights spent in the prayer room. The last words Sydney speaks to them are used to clear your name, sure you were to one who temped him but if he hadn't wanted sin in the first place neither of you would be here right now

Everyone is too shocked to even stop you two from leaving, the both of you strutting down to Elk street. You both make your way to the porn shop, inside waits a rose petal trail to a blow up mattress. Sydney says it's the best he could do on such short notice, or he tries to any way, it's hard to make out what he's saying with his tongue down your throat. You to have sex that night, real sober sex, and you finally get to deflower him

After that night Sydney's schedule changes quite a bit. Seeing as he doesn't go to church any more he spends his after school hours at the porn shop everyday. Just because he's no longer a man of faith doesn't mean he's any less of a hard worker. He pours his heart and soul into making new and exciting toys for the lovely little sinners of this town, making sure to give them all a little test drive on you, of course

If you're in any sex work he also asks you for new ideas or needs in the market that haven't been met yet. He takes every cretic and suggestion from you seriously, even the ones you meant as a joke (Something something balloon dildo, that anon still haunts my nightmares) but he makes all of them work great!

His favorite toys to test are vibes because to get a good idea of how long their battery life lasts and how good the vibrations are he makes sure to wear them all day, he even measures their orgasms per minute, he's very through. He loves the ones with remote controls the most because then he can give them to you to fiddle with during class

I haven't played too much of the game so if there's any questions I left unanswered feel free to let me know and I'll make an addendum. Also yes, I've been trapped in your walls for sometime now. Let me out, please? I'll give you forehead kisses, and uh...cookies?

👀 OH I LOVE THAT!!! Sydney deserves to make out with you in front of the entire church and then leave for good >:3c And him putting all that work ethic into the store and testing toys and !!!!! it's all so good!!!!

Enticing me with forehead kisses and cookies.... you drive a hard bargain, but okay. You're allowed out of the walls :3c

[imonawholedifferentlevel]

𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘆 - 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ʏ/ɴ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇᴅ ᴄᴀʀᴏʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ ʜᴇʀ, ᴀɴᴅ ꜱʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀɴɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ꜰʟᴜꜰꜰ, ᴍᴜʀᴅᴇʀ, ɢᴏʀᴇ, ᴛᴇᴇɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴛᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ, ʀᴏʙʙɪɴɢ, ᴀꜱꜱᴀᴜʟᴛ, ᴄʀɪᴍɪɴᴀʟ, ꜱʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴀɢᴇ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ, ᴍᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ

ᴘᴀʀɪɴɢꜱ: ᴄᴀʀᴏʟ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ: karsonromanoff

ᴀ/ɴ: ɢᴏɴɴᴀ ꜱᴇᴘᴀʀᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴘᴀʀᴛꜱ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ɪ ᴘʟᴀɴ ᴏɴ ᴍᴀᴋɪɴɢ ɪᴛ ʟᴏɴɢ ʜᴇʜᴇ!

I sat with my feet propped up on my table in class, just staring at the clock as the teacher went on and on about the same shit we've been learning since the first semester.

I was a senior, well, in this case, what people called a super senior. I should have graduated last year, but I didn't pass since I skipped a lot of my classes, which made my parents extremely mad, but I could literally care less.

My parents were never there for me, with my mom being a former prostitute and a very active drug addict and my father just being a fat drunk who sits on his ass all day and chugs beers like it's a race or something.

I'm pretty sure he isn't even my real dad, seeing as I have zero resemblance to him and the fact that my mom was a hoe, but he's the only father I knew well enough that I could even call him a father.

The only literal reason we still have the house is because I work two jobs that were nice enough to hire me despite my pretty long criminal record.

I've been to jail for stealing, robbing, petty theft, assault, and battery, but despite my obviously terrible life, I was pretty popular in school, and the teachers still liked me even though I got on their nerves constantly.

But aside from all of that, there were two people who made my life better, and those were my baby brother Avery and my girlfriend Carol.

We both met when I was a junior and she was a freshman. She first started to work at Domingo's, and I had to help her with her training. At first, she was a snappy little bitch, and I didn't like her at all.

But the more I hung out with her and really got to know her, the more I realized we had a lot more in common than I thought. She was the middle child of her family, and her father was pretty abusive, while her mom just sat there and basically let it happen.

I found out about Carol being abused when she walked into work one day with a bruised eye, and she tried to hide it with her hair, but I found out and let her stay the night with me, and that's where we had our first kiss.

The things I loved about her were her fiery temper and the fact that she was a full-on troublemaker like me. We both stole from corner stores together, and I helped her sneak out of her house just so we could drive around.

The craziest thing we ever did was when she asked me to follow her on a trip with her family to some resort for spring break, and we ended up sneaking onto the beach late at night and having sex for the first time. Well, it was more her first time.

I almost chuckled at the thought of her shocked face when she saw me in the lobby with Avery in my arms. She really thought I wasn't actually going to do it.

Buttttt I did since my parents didn't care; I was pretty sure they were too high and drunk to even notice, and I took Avery with me because there was no way in hell I was going to leave my baby brother there alone.

"Ms. L/n?" I looked up and saw the whole class looking at me, along with my teacher.

"Uh yeah?" I asked.

"Can you answer the question on the board, please?"

"Oh, uh, it's 64?"

"Correct!" She said it with a smile.

I leaned back in my chair, looked at the clock, and almost jumped at the time. "Can I go to the bathroom?" I asked.

"Yes, you may," she said, and I got up from my seat and exited the classroom. The moment I was out, I dashed down the hallway and left out the back doors, which led to the football field.

I went towards one of the bleachers and went behind them, and there she was.

Her auburn brown hair going down her shoulders and those dark brown doe eyes that were hidden behind her giant golden-framed glasses.

She had on her signature flannel and a white shirt that was tucked into some Jean shorts, along with white converse that had graffiti written on them.

She turned her head towards me, and her eyes narrowed. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and stood up on her feet.

"About fucking time had me waiting for her forever," she grumbled. I just smirked and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"My bad CareBear was too busy being smart," I responded.

She scoffed and pushed me away. "If you were so fucking smart, you wouldn't still be in school." Oh, that kind of hurt.

"Wow, ok, I'm not that stupid. I just hate classes, and I kept skipping them to see you, missy."

"I didn't ask you to do that."

"Yeah, you didn't; you demanded it," I said.

"Damn straight, I did," she said with a smirk, and she leaned in, pressing her soft lips against mine.

I smirked into the kiss and pushed her up against the wall. I hooked my hands under her thighs and lifted her up, making her wrap her legs around my waist for support.

She buried her hands in my hair, tugging on it tightly as she slipped her tongue into my mouth.

Our make-out was sadly interrupted by the sound of the bell going off. We both pulled away, and she let out a frustrated groan and unwrapped her legs from around my waist, and I put her down on her feet.

"Damn bell ruins everything," she grumbled.

"It's alright, I could just pick you up tonight; my parents are going out, so it'll just be me and Avery," I said, and I saw her eyes light up at the mention of him.

I knew Carol hated kids, but she absolutely adored Avery, mostly because he wasn't like other babies and didn't cry a lot. He was an overall chill one.

"I'm pretty sure I can get out of the house, so sure," she beamed, and she put out the cigarette with her foot.

"What time do you want me over?" I asked.

"How about 8?" she asked.

"Alright"

I pulled up to Carol's house, making sure my headlights were off as I approached so that her parents couldn't see me.

"I'll be right back, ok?" I said, turning towards the backseat. Avery just let out a loud giggle, jumping in his car seat with his bottle in his hand.

I was pretty sure he understood. I chuckled and got out of the car, making sure it was locked behind me.

I quietly walked around the house until I reached Carol's window. I grabbed a small pebble on the ground and tossed it at the glass. A few minutes later, the curtains moved.

Carol looked down at me with a smirk, and I smirked back, gesturing in my head for her to come down. She went back to the room, and I saw the lights go off before the window slowly opened.

She hopped onto the window seal, and I opened my arms as she jumped down, catching her before her feet could touch the floor.

"Hi there," she giggled.

"Hey!" I chuckled back and put her down.

We walked hand in hand to the car, and I unlocked it, allowing her to get inside. As soon as I got in, she moved over her seat, sat directly on my lap, smashed her lips onto mine, and pulled away before I could kiss back before placing kisses down my neck.

"Carol, Carol!" I exclaimed.

"What?" she asked.

"We can't right now."

"It's fine, we're not going to get caught," she said, going back to kissing my neck, unaware of Avery in the back seat.

"Carol Avery is in the back," I whispered to her harshly.

Her head instantly shot back, and she looked to the back to see Avery looking at us in curiosity before her hand flew to her mouth in embarrassment. She quickly got off my lap as I tried not to laugh.

She shot me a look and punched my shoulder. "Shut up," she said, and I started the car and drove off.

The next day was luckily a Saturday, and Carol had called me and told me she was coming over, and by the tone of her voice, she sounded extremely angry.

Luckily, my parents weren't home. My mom called and said that they were staying at a hotel and wouldn't be back until the next morning.

I was in the living room watching some random show on the TV while Avery was sleeping upstairs in his room until a knock came at the front door.

I got up from the couch and walked towards the door, unlocking it and opening it, revealing Carol. She stormed into the house without saying anything, only raising my nerves as I shut the door.

I turned my head, and my eyes widened when I saw Carol punching the wall.

"Hey! Hey!" I said that and ran over to her and grabbed her wrists.

"I hate them!" She cried out, struggling in my arms, as tears welled up in her eyes. I quickly wrapped my arms around her, and she continued to cry in anger.

"Shhh, Shh, I'm here, baby. I'm here," I said softly as she continued to sob into my chest.

"Hey, come here," I said, leading her to the couch, and we both sat down. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and she sniffled and wiped her nose.

"We're moving away."

Those words felt like a sword just pierced my head, and my eyes widened. "Wait, what?" I asked.

"My parents want us to move all because of Debbie's fucking gymnastics," she said through gritted teeth.

I was going to say something, but she cut me off by cupping my cheeks.

"But it's ok, I'm not going anywhere. I promise, just please don't leave me. I promise, I'll never leave." I just pulled her into my arms as she started to cry again.

"I'll never leave you, ok? I promise I'll never leave you," I said.

"You promise?"

"I promise"

It turns out Carol actually meant what she said because two days later, Carol and Barbra's faces appeared on the news. They had been arrested for locking Debbie in a car and pushing it into a frozen lake.

I was in complete shock and didn't know what to do. I felt completely broken after that. I stopped going to school and spent all my days watching the updates about Carol and her trial, which she and Barbra got after 25 years.

Every day I broke down into tears, and I ended up doing so right in front of my parents as I watched Carol do an interview with a reporter. "I always knew that girl was fucking psycho," my dad chuckled out, taking another swing from his beer.

I snapped my head to him, giving him my deadliest glare. "What the fuck did you just say, you fat fuck?" I asked slowly, standing up.

"Y/n sit-"

"I wasn't fucking talking to you, bitch. Go back to opening your legs," I sneered.

"Hey! That's your mother; you're talking to you, little shit!" My dad said to get up from the recliner.

"You're not even my fucking dad; there were many men before you!" I shouted.

"I am your dad!" He shouted back.

"You sure about that, because I honestly look more like the neighbor than I do you." I was cut off by a hard pressure against my cheek. I groaned as I fell to the floor. I spat on the floor, and I saw blood.

I glared up at him and got up, throwing my own punch at him, making him fall to the floor.

"Y/N, STOP RIGHT NOW!" my mother yelled, pulling me by my arm.

"Get off of me!" I yelled, pushing her onto the floor as well.

I took a deep breath and ran up the stairs. I went into Avery's room and took him out of his crib before grabbing my car keys and storming out of the house.

I put Avery in his car seat, got into the driver's seat, and drove off just as my mom came out of the house.

I kept driving until I reached a park. I stopped the car and leaned back against the seat, trying to keep my tears down, until my phone started to ring.

I checked the phone and saw it was from an unknown number. I answered it and put it in my ear.

"An inmate from Litchfield federal prison is attempting to contact you."

I immediately accepted, and my heart beat quickly as the phone connected and Carol's soft voice was heard from the other side.

"Hello, are you there?" I heard her ask.

"Yes, I'm here, baby. I'm here," I said desperately, trying not to cry.

I heard her sniffle from the other end. "I miss you so much," she said, her voice slightly shaking.

"I miss you more," I said.

"Cawol!" Avery squealed from the back, hearing her voice.

"Is that Avery?" She asked in shock.

"Yeah, he misses you a lot," I said, and she let out a breathy laugh.

"He can talk now?" She asked.

"Yep"

"Well, tell him that I miss him too," she replied.

"Do you need anything? Like commissary money?" I asked.

"That would be nice, but I was wondering if you could visit."

"Of course I will," I said.

I could basically feel her brighten up at my answer. In the background, I could hear a police officer telling her that her time was up.

"I've got to go. Just promise me you'll visit." She said,

"I promise, like I said, Carol, I'll never leave you," I said.

"Ok, bye, Y/N," she said.

"Bye, Care," I said, and I hung up the phone, feeling my smile start to form.

[softboiledteacozy]

Resounding of Silence - an aehei horror fic

Leaving you all with a fic I have lost all interest in because of Reasons, but which was still developed enough to make me at least want to share it with you all. Inspired by the recent retro style mystery horror game Bloomtown, this was a Genshin AU where Aether and Lumine spend a creepy summer in their grandfather's remote mountain village in Japan. Here, they befriend Yoimiya, Heizou, Heizou's canonically unnamed friend, Kazuha, and the Kamisato siblings, and they spend a summer looking into a rare occurrence in the woods. Years later, Aether comes back to town, remembering little about the experience, and as he settles down to spend another summer here, mostly alone, he starts to recall bad things that happened that ended in the death of one of the kids, and with dread he realizes that whatever happened back then still haunts him to this day.

Behind the cut is chapter one.

Chapter 1 - Nothing but ivy

The pines in the mountains of Japan filter the sunlight here in ways Aether has never seen anywhere else. The dappled light of the woods takes him for a moment back to his childhood - summers spent running with Lumine through the cedars that grew near their home, through forests that gently sloped into the beach, the gritty pine needle-covered floor giving way to soft sand.

And yet, despite their deceptive similarities upon first impression, it is the air that really feels different. Their childhood home had been heavy with the tang of salt, the murmur of the waves echoing through the thin trunks, the soft susurrations interspersed with their footsteps as they weaved through the trees, laughing, play-fighting with sticks turned swords.

Here, the air is heavy, almost pensive. There is distant birdsong - the sound foreign to Aether's West Coast ears - and a light, thin mountain breeze which brings with it the sharp, fresh scent of pine. Here, it feels as if he's walked into a cathedral of green, submerged in amber light. Aether feels as though time might congeal here, fossilizing everything found within. For a moment, he feels the urge to turn around and leave. But where would he go, trapped alone halfway across the world?

"Aether!" A voice breaks through the silence in a sharp burst, and the moment of oppression is gone, just like that.

"Ms Yoimiya," Aether hums, turning to face the girl running down the trail to meet him. His Japanese feels heavy on the tongue, unpracticed, but he knows it'll pick up the pace fast. "It's been a while."

"Ages!" Yoimiya agrees. She stops short of hugging him, but the way she jumps in place tells Aether his old friend is happy to see him too. "When did your hair get so long?"

Aether runs a hand through his bangs, thinking back for a moment. Behind him, a long braid swings to and fro, as if showing off. "Uh, around high school, I think? It's been pretty long since college, and I think Lumine just kept cutting hers shorter the longer mine got."

"So... she's bald now?" Yoimiya asks in mock horror.

This makes Aether snort. "No, no, nothing quite so drastic. She stopped after an uh... interesting attempt at a bob."

"You can't just say that and not show pictures, Aether!! You're killing me." Yoimiya actually reaches out and starts gently shaking Aether now, prior inhibitions be damned. Still, it's anything but annoying, and Aether good naturedly sways along as he fishes for his phone in his pocket.

"Don't worry, I've got plenty of blackmail mat- er, photographic evidence. Ah- I think I ran out of battery on the way over from Tokyo, but I promise to show you later."

"Is that why you weren't answering your texts? I was worried you didn't have a data plan for Japan yet."

"International traveler plan," Aether flashes his sleek phone at her. "Too bad this is also currently a useless hunk of junk until I-- ah, shit." He stares at the phone as it slips from his hands and falls squarely onto a thick root, the corner colliding and instantly cracking the screen in the process. "...So much for that."

Yoimiya brings both hands to her mouth with a gasp, staring at the scene of the crime with eyes wide. "Oh Aether, I am so sorry. I hope it still works at least."

Aether gingerly picks up the broken remains of the phone and grimaces as he inspects the damage. "I'll honestly be surprised if it even turns on at this rate. I don't suppose there's a repair shop in town?"

With a grimace, Yoimiya shakes her head. "We'd have to take the bus back to the town where you got off at the train station down at the very base of the mountain. Unfortunately, we kind of are in the middle of nowhere up here." She sighs, letting the bad news settle before adding, "Though that has its perks too, you know? You have got to see the stars at night. It'll take your breath away."

Tearing his gaze away from the broken phone, Aether manages an actual smile at that last comment, mostly happy to see that Yoimiya remembers his love of the night sky all these years later. "I'm sure it will."

Yoimiya nods down the path, where the trees seem to thin out and give way to an open area. "Come on. I'll treat you to some ramen, and you'll feel right as rain. Race you!"

She quickly sets off down the path without another word, and Aether can't help but follow at the same pace lest he lose his way. They sprint down the stone path out of the woods, and something in Aether, a deep, base instinct coiled in his gut, is glad they're finally leaving it behind.

* * *

The town has not changed much in the 15 or so years since Aether had first (and last) stepped foot inside. Back then, he and his sister had been sent for the summer to their estranged grandfather's house, where their mother hoped they'd reconnect not only with the old man who knew them only through letters and pictures, but also to their ancestral heritage, as she'd called it. That summer, he and Lumine had followed the old man around town like a pair of golden ducklings, learning how to cultivate his garden and helping him around the small local clinic he managed before they were even allowed to explore town.

At first, Aether and Lumine had seen the trip as a cruel ploy to keep them away from their friends for a whole summer, and a whole ocean away, too! They'd been separated from their home turf, and they were convinced they'd wither like uprooted plants in the secluded mountain village, armed with nothing more than their basic Japanese and each other.

And yet, much to their shared surprise, they'd instead found a new love out on the road - the new sights, the buildings, the food, the people. Everything they saw on their journey brought new wonders each day, and it made them hunger for more.

After that first taste of exploration, of freedom, they'd felt as though they'd been let loose on the world, and they'd never looked back, taking a leap into the unknown to eat the world with nothing but the other's company as a constant. They'd relied on the connections they formed along the way, friendships which seemed to open paths to even more new experiences.

And yet, they hadn't come back to this first stop since. Tokyo, yes, and several other Japanese landmarks, but the quiet mountains of their mother's childhood had remained untouched, unspoken of, and neither of them could really tell what kept them away all these years.

Their grandfather had passed away some years ago, leaving the clinic to an apprentice who had quietly kept it running. Until this year.

A month ago, Lumine and Aether had received an email from Yoimiya - with whom they'd kept constant digital correspondence ever since they'd met that summer - urging them to come back after the doctor staying at their grandfather's old clinic had suddenly packed his bags and left without a word.

They'd decided this was as good a chance as any to inspect the property, and to reconnect with their old friend after years of only exchanging emails and the occasional actual, physical letter.

'We'll make the most of it,' Yoimiya had suggested. 'Come stay for the summer, if you've got the time, so you can enjoy the local late summer festival. It'll be like an extended slumber party!'

Aether had jumped at the opportunity, having just come back from a work trip to Maldives, but Lumine, off in the verdant jungles of South America with a group of recent friends who needed her expertise in picketing, had taken a raincheck, promising to catch up with them once she was done. The festival didn't start until August, after all, and their grandfather's old house probably shouldn't be kept waiting.

"Aether, I'm literally chained to a tree right now," had been Lumine's exact words. Aether had asked for a branch as a souvenir, and Lumine had snorted and hung up on him.

* * *

"It's too bad Lumi couldn't travel with you," Yoimiya sighs. She slides a hearty bowl of ramen Aether's way, and Aether's stomach growls heartily in response.

"I'm used to traveling alone," Aether lies smoothly. The truth is, he misses his sister terribly, especially on milestone journeys like this. It's not so much that they don't travel alone, it's that they know when not to. So yes, maybe Aether is a little sore about it, but he's not about to sour his enjoyment of this trip just because Lumine isn't here to see it with him from the start. He wonders if this makes him less important than a single tree in the whole Amazon. Surely he's more unique than a tree in a forest? He decides to just let this go for now, knowing that way lies madness.

As he takes his chopsticks and cradles the bowl of ramen closer to him still, seeking its warmth even in the warm July day, he finally manages a nonchalant shrug. "Anyway, she'll be here before long. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Other than breaking your phone, you mean?" Yoimiya reminds him with a small laugh. She quickly clamps her mouth as she realizes what she's just said. "Ooh, sorry, sorry, it's too soon to be making jokes, isn't it? Well, if you need to make a call, you can use the landline at my place. Much more reliable than a cellphone up here anyway."

"I was more worried about not being able to take pictures, actually."

"Oh in that case, I might be able to help you! There's a second hand store on main street. I wouldn't put it past them to carry a few old cameras."

"Oh? Analog stuff, huh?" Aether hums.

"Most likely, yeah," Yoimiya agrees with a smile. "I'll lead you there after you settle in, if you like. We made sure your grandpa's house was nice and clean for you and Lumi to use. Honestly though, the guy who was renting it kept it very tidy."

"What was his name again?"

Yoimiya hesitates, tapping her chin a few times. "You know what? For the life of me, I can't remember. I know every single person in this town by name, but this guy... Well, he was a bit of a recluse. Or, well, not quite a recluse. He did keep the clinic running. He was just not a very chatty person, you know?

"We're pretty certain he was some sort of ascetic. Even grew his own food in the garden! Now I'm kind of regretting not getting to know him better before he left."

Aether laughs. "He sounds like the kind of person my grandfather would have left his house to, all right. From what we know about him, he was always very... particular about who he let inside, ever since my mother was little."

"My dad told me much the same thing," Yoimiya agrees with a nod. "I guess he wanted to make sure his place was kept in good shape because it was used as a clinic. Don't want anyone breaking any important vials."

"Probably," Aether chuckles, remembering the earful he and Lumine had gotten once after they accidentally broke a whole batch of some weird green powder. "How's your father doing these days?"

"Getting on in years, but I think he's enjoying retirement. I'm pretty much in charge of the family business these days, but my dad does still enjoy helping me design fireworks for the bigger festivals. And even though he's pretty deaf now, he still loves sitting down to watch the shows up close. "Actually, you'll get to see my work in just a few weeks!" Yoimiya claps once, grinning at Aether with a sparkle in her eye that matches the fireworks Aether remembers seeing light up the night sky 15 years ago. "Ah! I'm so happy you're back for the whole summer! We're going to have an incredible time, Aether."

Aether raises his glass, a matching beer with Yoimiya, and they drink to that. "I'm sure it'll be a blast," he says smoothly, which makes Yoimiya giggle.

"I should make you pay for the meal just because of that pun."

"Now, now, little Yoimiya. It doesn't do to treat guests like that," a distinguished voice cuts their banter short. "This dish is on the house, courtesy of the owner."

Aether turns to find himself face to face with a tall woman in a cook's apron. She wears a kerchief wrapped around her head, light pink dyed hair sticking out in small tufts behind the cloth. The aforementioned owner of this restaurant, Aether surmises, judging from the way she handles herself (and from the fact that her apron bears the logo of the restaurant - a kitsune lounging inside an udon bowl, wearing a block of tofu like a towel over its head).

She looks vaguely familiar, too, though she's definitely too young to have been managing the restaurant the last time Aether was here. Perhaps he met her mother when he was little?

"Ms. Yae!" Yoimiya gasps. "Please, I will happily pay for the meals. I was just teasing my friend here, since he just got here today and-"

"Ah, ah, ah," the woman says, holding up a finger. "I'll have none of that. Young Aether here knows better than to reject a gift freely given, I presume?"

'How does she know my name?' Aether can't help but wonder. All he can do is nod politely as the light shock passes.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Ms Yae hums, leaning closer to Aether as if to sniff him out. "Oh dear, you do still speak Japanese, don't you? You used to be so fluent when you and your sister were little."

This at least confirms his suspicion, though Aether for the life of him can't place this woman. "Y-yes, ma'am, I do. Thank you kindly for the meal."

She nods her head in acknowledgement before glancing Yoimiya's way with a smug smile, as though saying, 'Well, there you go.'

"You come back soon, you hear?" She offers Aether one last teasing smile before turning to leave. Aether raises his hand to wave goodbye, but the mysterious woman is already gone, presumably behind the curtain leading to the kitchen.

"Well aren't you the popular guy," Yoimiya giggles. "I don't think Lady Yae has ever offered anyone a free meal before. Ever!"

"Really? Maybe she just wants to lure the tourist in with some tasty bait," Aether grins, though something about the whole exchange unnerved him.

"Well? Did it work?"

Aether looks down at his empty bowl and nods. "I'll say. If my sisters were here, they'd both have asked for seconds, but I think I'll just have to come back later. I'm stuffed."

"Ready to go back then?"

Aether thinks of the old house, of dark rooms and a small garden, of winding wooden staircases, of their mother's old cozy room, of disjointed flashes of memory which for some reason refuse to connect into a whole picture, and he nods. "Let's go."

* * *

A clinic, Aether reasons as he pauses at a landing, should not be this far uphill. Especially not when the steps are small and made of moss-covered stone and built right into the mountain. He's supposed to be fit, damn it, so why is he getting winded? Especially when Yoimiya is already waiting for him at the very top of the steep stairs, looking as fresh as a summer breeze.

"Sorry, this is a shortcut I tend to take whenever I have to head out this way," she apologizes with a small bow as he finally reaches her. "You can also head over to the temple from here, though you have to go through that patch of woods over there before even reaching the first torii."

Aether stops at the top of the stairs, one hand resting on the railing, and he follows the path with his gaze, squinting at the dense woodland that obscures any glimpses of the temple. Was this place always this overgrown, this dark?

"It's just down this street now, come on! Your grandpa had a nice yellow bicycle, if I remember correctly. I bet you can use that to move around town easier, especially if you'd rather stick to the main road."

"At least it's all downhill from here," Aether sighs, glancing down the slope to the town below. The view is nice, at least, with the small town nestled amidst the pines as if someone had carved a spot for it among the trees and dropped it whole to take root.

"It is, though the festival grounds are higher up still, on temple grounds. I hope you brought your hiking boots." Yoimiya gestures for him to follow, and they make their way down the road.

"Yeah, they're in the bag. Thanks for the suggestion." Aether honestly regretted his earlier choice of white tennis shoes. They'd been great for the plane and the road over, but not so much for uneven paths through the woods, especially considering he'd ended up having to walk a lot longer since the bus stop that reached all the way up to town didn't exist anymore. Lumine would have chided him over it, but Aether wasn't about to sacrifice a good fit even when common sense told him he knew better.

"Here we go, number 28-09," Yoimiya announced almost reverently. "Niwa-san's house."

"This hasn't really been my grandfather's house for years now," Aether grimaces.

But Yoimiya shakes her head adamantly. "Even his apprentice referred to it as Niwa's clinic. You have to remember, Aether, things don't really change in small towns like this."

Aether is quiet for a moment as he mulls over Yoimiya's words. How much has changed since the last time? How much has remained the same? It is a little shocking how little of that summer seems to have stayed in Aether's memories, beyond that urge to keep on moving which had stayed with him and his sister ever since. Did Lumine remember more? Was it just his own memory which was proving faulty? Aether has the urge to call Lumine and ask her, but he realizes with a start that he doesn't have the number to reach her anymore. It hadn't even been her own number he'd called last, since she had left her phone behind to help her remain anonymous in the protest. So much for that twin connection...

Aether. Aether...

"Aetheeeer," Yoimiya's voice breaks through his thoughts once again. This time, she's dangling a keyring in front of his face, perhaps hoping this will catch his attention.

Aether blinks and grabs hold of the keys without a second thought. Aside from the house keys, there's a purple cat charm hanging from the ring too. The work of his grandfather's tenant, he assumes, since the old man had never struck him as the type of person who enjoyed superfluous details like this.

"You okay?" Yoimiya asks him, softly resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Aether mumbles. "Just tired from the trip, I guess."

"I'll give you some space now, so you can have a look through the house and get some rest. We stocked the fridge and pantry with a few days' worth of food, but if you need anything, there's a market on main street. Big blue roof, can't miss it. And there's a konbini just two blocks away, too."

She starts looking through her bag then, until she pulls out a small notebook and a pen. As she leafs through it to find a blank page, Aether catches glimpses of what he assumes are firework designs, with a lot of technical scribbles hastily jotted down. Once she finds a blank page, Yoimiya draws a crude map of the town, marking the clinic, the shrine, the shortcut, the restaurants and shops, as well as her own house. Once she's done, she rips it out and hands it to Aether.

"Since you don't have your fancy GPS handy right now. Thankfully the town is small enough for pen and paper. Feel free to add anything else you find useful! That second hand shop should be right over here, by the library."

After carefully pocketing the map, Aether nods. "Thanks Yoimiya, for everything, really. You've given me a warmer welcome than I ever would've expected, so I'm grateful for that. I'll see you around tomorrow?"

Yoimiya beams at him and nods. "If you need anything, you know where to find me. I'll tell everyone you're here so tomorrow you can meet up with the others. They'll be so happy to see you again!" Without waiting for a response, Yoimiya waves at him and sets off, pausing only to point out where the old yellow bike is parked.

Aether stands there in the middle of the street for a while, staring at the road blankly.

'Others...?'

[lostgirlmuseum]

cadence my beloved

howdy howdy!!

how are you?

how’s school?

anything interesting going on lately?

(kisses your head and hands you shiny objects)

💕💕💕hope you’re doing well💕💕💕

River my beloved!!! Thank you for reaching out 🥺 I am doing okay, I've just been somewhat busy and haven't found the energy to do much on tumblr. And like I've considered posting about life here but I know thats not what ppl follow me for and i dont want to annoy anyone lol

School is okay, I don't have too much work going on rn which is nice! Mostly what's been keeping me busy and my mind occupied is boys (half affectionate half derogatory) lmao

Long story short(ish. I can't for the life of me tell short stories, I blame the A.D.D.) there was this guy that asked me out on a couple dates a while ago and he was super sweet but I just wasn't really feeling it and I accidentally ghosted him for nearly a week bc I was so stressed about seeing him again (I didn't really want to but I know my therapist wanted me to try this)(side note, she's great, i love her).

Anywho, one day last week I was simply sitting outside in a grassy area on campus doing hw w/ a friend when a guy came up to me asking if I had seen a girl w/ a ferret (Thats a story for another time lol) and i was like "yes I have! But shes gone already :(" and he was like "do you have any photos" and i was like "yes i do!" so i gave him my # to send him the photos... and then he started texting me lol. and I thought he was cute and I hung out with him last monday and we saw Madame Web yesterday

(it was... um.. certainly a movie. It movied. It was fun but it was not good lol) and then we had lunch today and idk if my social battery plummeted or if I just got in my own head but suddenly I wasn't feeling it and now I am def in my own head.

Im not giving up tho i think I just need to recharge. I hope. I hope I'm not hopeless. I'm scared. Part of me is like I should text him too make sure he's not worried that I don't like him bc I dont want him to stress but another part of me is like DO NOT CONTACT ME FOR 2-3 BUSINESS DAYS I NEED TO THINK. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY NOT THINK.

On a different note, a couple hours ago I finally found the motivation to write which hasn't happened in a bit! I wrote the first scene of Honey pt. 2, yay!

Ok, enough rambling, how are you?? How is your life, anything interesting/new going on? And thank you for the head kisses and shiny objects, I'm sending them back tenfold. 💕💕💕