#it really means a lot and makes a difference !!

[uraniantarot]

Astro Observations

general

TW: Mentions of anorexia, fetishization, sexualization, drugging

♡ Venus Square Mars may attract obsessive people. In particular, people who obsess over their looks or fetishize them in some way. Brooke Shields had a whole nation obsessed with her at the mere age of 12. Eugenia Cooney has infamously attracted hoards of anorexia fetishists with her content. People with this placement may have a higher risk of drastic weight loss or gain.

♡ Either I meet too many Capricorn Suns by coincidence or it's a rather common placement. One reasoning could be that April is an ideal month for marriage in many places, especially ones where it gets unbearably hot in June. Spring adds to April's allure. Traditional couples often conceive right after tying the knot, making the pregnancy due in Capricorn season.

♡ Lilith is associated with sexuality but people focus too much ONLY on that facet of it. Lilith is associated with many other things like power, revenge and how one becomes a social pariah.

♡ Planets at 0° may symbolize struggle. Lana Del Rey has Sun at 0°. The Sun represents our ego. She had many controversies in 2020 including the mesh mask and her Instagram rant undermining POC artists. Even after criticism, instead of apologizing, she remained defensive. I believe that planets at 0° provide a lot of room for growth if the individual is genuinely interested in self-improvement.

♡ Aries Moon (ruled by Mars) and Scorpio Moon (ruled by Pluto, traditionally by Mars) despite being similar are perceived quite differently by people. The sign of Aries gives child-like quality to the native. They come off as cute and their sarcastic remarks are perceived as good humor. E.g. Rihanna roasting Helena Bonham Carter's sense of fashion. Meanwhile, one eyeroll from a Scorpio Moon, and they may come off as hateful and jealous. My advice to Scorpio Moons who want to be in the public eye, please never put on the mean girl persona. Tap into your kind side, it'll be received in a positive way and you'll attract genuine support.

♡ Venus-Mars aspects symbolize beauty; the difference may lie in how people perceive it. Venus Trine Mars are often called cute. People with this aspect are well-liked and have a good reputation. These are the people who may never be cancelled due to the halo effect they have. No matter how massively popular they are, people won't be digging up dirt on them, which is also why very little is known about these people's personal lives. These people often become a household name due to that one iconic thing they did, even if they decide to adapt a lowkey presence afterwards. Let me emphasize this with an extensive list of examples:

✧ Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries), Zayn, Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl), Adele, Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Sabrina Carpenter, Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man), Kate Middleton, Mandy Moore (A Walk to Remember), Jackie Chan, Jenna Fischer (The Office), Ana de Armas, Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games), Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) and Alan Rickman (Harry Potter) have this aspect.

✧ Taeyang being the only member of former K-pop group BIGBANG who's had no controversies (also managed to keep his relationship hidden for a long time before revealing it with a wedding announcement), Khloé Kardashian being the least disliked Kardashian/Jenner sister, Cardi B admitting to drugging and robbing men, starring in Hustlers that glamorized it, hitting her career peak with WAP the very next year really drives the point home.

✧ I've also noticed this aspect in almost all Bollywood IT girls of their time: Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai, Anushka Sharma, Ayesha Takia, Dia Mirza, Divya Bharti, Parveen Babi - all loved by the general public despite the media scrutiny and misogyny that prevails within the industry.

Click daily to help Palestinians🍉🙏🏽: https://arab.org/click-to-help/palestine/

[acid-ixx]

I truly LOVE THIS SERIES!!! I also read the reader as female too. I really like how you delve into damiens mind on this one. He is the one I was curious about the direction you will take him in with dealing with reader. I especially can't wait for Jason's too. Will any of the batfam be romantic toward reader in future chapters?

directory !

a/n: tysm for liking it so far !! for me i prefer it if the reader is gn/male (since im also a trans guy and it's hard to find content of my preference. it's funny how a lot of ppl in my inbox call me a girl bec i am not 😭). also none of them are going to turn romantic later on. i prefer strictly writing them as platonic in the series since it's often stated that they see you purely as their sibling who differs entirely from them. although i might make another series where it is romantic yandere, but for the a&a series, they're all platonic.

yeah, damian so far is a really complicated case. both him and the reader share a trait for contradicting feelings and that really ties with them being the only ones having blood ties in the family. which drives damian's obsession even further because in my opinion he's the most perceptive (and one of the least delusional alongside jason) of your emotions, knowing the right words to tick you off or make your vulnerable.

damian is also pretty touch-starved for a sense of normalcy that he couldn't achieve with his siblings who are raised to be crimefighters (so the way he sees his relationship towards his siblings would be more of a vigilante partner than family), but once he's matured enough, he'll soon realize just how much he craves for affection. having someone like you, who's the one trying to just live, and sharing blood with him (because despite trying to distance himself away from his assassin past, he'll always have this toxic mindset of "blood is thicker than water" and you're proof of that), damian pretty much demands attentions left and right.

when i mean he demands your attention, that means he also needs affection, both physical and emotional. that means he wants you to coddle him the same way dick coddles you. he wants to bond with you through quality time so that means you'll always find your schedule packed with activities you'll spend with damian, to both make up for lost time and as a quiet apology towards you that, no, he's not gonna threaten you with a sword anymore— he even makes a show of keeping his weapons somewhere far away from you, that your baby brother is vulnerable towards you and he means no harm.

his methods of gaining your spotlight are really inconvenient, but don't point it out because all he'll do is pout towards you whilst he'd grab your hand, preferably to take you somewhere away from all your other siblings who are trying their damn best also trying to take your attention.

meanwhile jason is more protective and would rather not let you go through the same path as he did; being impulsive and letting yourself get in danger. unfortunately, the reader in the series is already pretty much in their worst state and that makes jason's need to protect you from harm's way (just like bruce), especially right after meeting him in the series would make him realize that you weren't a replacement to him and that you both pretty much share the same trauma when it comes to seeing your mother being taken away from you.

just like dick, he pretty much sees you as a kid. but unlike dick, the more you show your impulsive actions and display breakdowns, the more he acknowledges that yes, you do have flaws and you need space so he won't shove his affection down your throat but he will make sure his angel is properly taking care of themself right after, he'll make drink water right after a crying session, make you eat something if you haven't, and if you're scared of criminals trying to target you in the streets, then don't worry because the red hood will guarantee to associate you with fear.

fear that if they even dare to lay their eyes on you, their eyeballs would be ripped out of their sockets. only god knows what would happen if jason were to find one of them having filthy intentions towards his angel.

unfortunately for you, if you don't like it when an intimidating, brooding man who considers himself your brother is standing by your door, then you're out of luck because he won't even budge unless you invite him over. his obsession with you is very subtle but unlike bruce with a no-kill code, jason won't hesitate putting a buller through someone's head once his angel is in danger.

though if you don't want to see jason snap, then it'd be better if you wouldn't put yourself in danger on purpose because he will get violent towards anyone who even tries to lay their hands on you and although his grip on your body is soft, as if making sure that he wouldn't be harming you; you would further increase the chances of being locked up in your own safe haven if you try to purposely get yourself killed because that gives him all the signs that you're incapable of taking care of yourself and he wouldn't want a repeat of what happened to him with you when it comes to any other criminals.

[lilacstro]

Astro observation pt 7

a lot of posts haha. here we go with our observation series:

1.People with Sun in 8th/12th house, are very untapped. In the sense, the have a hard time discovering their real self and identity. This might seem a very general knowledge I know, but there is a difference between both these placements, with 8th house, the identity is gained through the transformations the person goes through in their life, this search is temporary yet this keeps on changing with experiences.

2. However, with people with Sun in 12th house, this search is everlasting it seems. Its confusing, and intimidating to them. There is a lot of struggle. But they do find themselves, and that happens with self discoveries and self talks and findings, finding yourself, is what I mean, it feels like an eureka moment, and once they realize what was always within them, it becomes their shadow and never really leaves.

3. Often seen gemini moon people laugh off what they are going through and talk about it in a seemingly unimportant way or make jokes about it. I would say, inquire about it when it appears so, its often much serious than how they make it seem and they won't say

4. People with Leo moon are cancer moons in sidereal. I wonder if this is the reason they have charm to them, and strong wave of feels. They may feel lost when they are with a lot of people, and might feel like they are exhausting themselves by putting up a show. They gain clarity and conscience in solitude, and these people have STRONG feelings about things and people and are very expressive about it. This can also be because moon is super comfortable in cancer. This also adds to the intensified charm these people carry.

5. Speaking of which, I have often seen you transform into your element when you are the highest on your feels like maybe when angriest or argumentative, I realized this while talking about an experience with my sister. A fire element person may become extremely volatile and raged, A water element person may feel a choke in their throat, shaky knees, watery eyes and overwhelming feels in the chest, a lot of despair, An air element would not stop throwing whatever is going on in their mind even if they regret it later and might say super outrageous things, An earth element person would just retreat after saying a few words when they feel it isnt a place or time to speak, but they will hold it against you, even for a while, if you did something demeaning.

6. People with 8th house stelliums/moon may dream a lot. Ones with Neptune in 8th house might often have esoteric, mystical, encrypted kinds of dreams.

7. People with Jupiter in 12th house usually have a very kind inner self and personality and that usually reflects onto others, I have seen this in charts of a few people.

8. Pluto in 9th house may actually struggle a lot with academics in general. Having a weird tenacity, would go to either extremes. This would however, see a change much later in their lives.

9. Scorpio mercuries (or maybe water mercuries in general) may have a strong ability to pick up on random words and wide vocabs, like words may come naturally to them even if they might not be aware of the meaning and when you look that up, its a right word to use.

10. Another observation I have noticed in my family is, wherever Virgo is in your chart, whichever house I mean, is where you are often expected to help or be reached for help. Virgo in 1st, tasks involving their all, their whole self maybe, Virgo in 8th? Advices, problems, secrets and mental help and guidance in hard times, Virgo in 9th? helping with tutoring, morals ethics and grounds, Virgo in 6th? help through sickness, for pets and animals. I can make another self proclaimed theory post lol

11. Scorpio stelliums and scorpio suns/moons/8th house placements usually have an ability to test the soil from the surface. What I mean is, they complete the puzzle themselves, without having to do anything, it would just come naturally to them, it can be expecting what the plot for a thriller would be, understanding spiritual sciences or things with having limited basic knowledge much better than expected, being able to know about people from mundane information without even meeting them etc.

12. Virgo people are often fond of doing everything completely, even if it seems they are unorganized or something. Kinds of people who want to read each line of the book, prepare each questions and chapters for the exams, writing everything in detail, without wanting skip anything at all

13. People with capricorn placements (esp sun, moon, rising) might actually have daddy issues or some kind of unusual thing going on with the father. Maybe he lives distant, maybe he was never there, maybe you get to see them rarely, maybe you dont know how to feel about them, maybe they prioritized earning wealth over family time so you don't know if you should hate them for this or love them for breaking their back, or pure daddy issues.

14. People with mars in 9th house, might have a lot of trouble focusing while studying, a lot of restlessness, which can cause problems, academically. However, if they are able to channel this effectively, it can turn into a passionate drive for learning and academia, and you will find them being your rivals soon enough.

15. People with harmonious aspects in moon and Venus/moon and mercury/Venus and mercury/ have smooth talking skills more than often. Making someone feel good even if its your first conversation with them, an ease and charm comes out.

16. People with gemini moons often have siblings. Also read somewhere that their mother probably had them when she was going through a hard time in some ways or some extreme situations could have happened around birth, maybe weather conditions?

thats all <33 paid readings are open. i love you :)

[world0fmadness]

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧ ˚ MILK, NOT FOR VOMITING ˚ ୨୧ ⋆｡˚ ⋆

lewis hamilton x old youtube icon! wife x ( platonic! ) oc daughter

faceclaim: none

again, this is really inspired by how pewdiepie is living now… just so serene with his wife and baby boy, mainly uploads vlogs of his weeks, just living peaceful and happy <3 i know the title is stupid because babies do burp up milk but if you watched old maxmoefoe and stuff you get it! i don’t know if you can even make dual user posts on instagram but in this smau, you can! super special thank you to @misty-inferno for providing me with the pictures of lewis and roscoe and for helping me have the confidence to post this now :)

featuring: just a whole lot of domestic fluff

lewishamilton and ynwiththecamera: surprise! baby hamilton ln coming soon 🍼 🧸 🕯 i will be coming back to youtube after baby boo is born to archive memories with them and document my journey with parenthood! i know that’s much different from the content i used to make but i’ve moved on and grown as a person, i’m sure you can all understand - love, yn and lewis 🤍

sebastianvettel ✔️: so excited for you two, you’ll make great parents ❤️ - sebastian

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton

> lewishamilton ✔️: thanks again sebastian!

lewandyn: ITS HAPPENING OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING

> lewandyn: DILF LEWIS AND MILF YN IS HAPPENINGGGG

maxmoefoe ✔️: first word has to be “chef” or you’ve got to bin it

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and joji

> ynwiththecamera ✔️: yes chef!

lewisham1: they already have a nursery set up this early on? oh that’s how you know they’re rich rich…

> lewyn: or they just wanted to get it over and done with and have the means to do so?

joji: congratulations yn! you’ll make an amazing mother ❤️

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton

> cancercrew4ever: he’s actually not wrong, whenever him, max or ian used to get a really bad cut or something she’d kind of fret over them before mocking them 😭

lewyn: the mini f1 car oh my goood 💔

> lewishammy: i wonder who got it for them 🥹

> georgerussell ✔️: 🙋🏻‍♂️ had to secure my place as favourite uncle quick, there’s too much… competition… if you can even call it that

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera

> charlesleclerc ✔️: 🤨

> maxverstappen ✔️: 🤨

> fernandoalonso ✔️: 🤨

> iluvf1: oh he’s so proud of that gift lmao

> oldf1lvr: george is so competitive when it comes to stuff like this, it kills me 😭

oldyoutube4ever: YN LN RETURNS TO YOUTUBE LETS GOOO

ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton: bump progression and finally, the arrival 🤍 winnie hamilton ln

maxverstappen ✔️: congratulations guys! can’t wait to meet her

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton

lewyn: GIRL DAD LEWIS GIRL DAD LEWIS

dilflewishamilton: i don’t know if my heart is ready for girl dad lewis content

georgerussell ✔️: coming over as soon as i can, i need to meet my niece and she needs to meet her favourite uncle

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton

> charlesleclerc ✔️: 🤨

> maxverstappen ✔️: 🤨

> fernandoalonso ✔️: 🤨

lewishamilton1: WINNIE 😭 SO CUTE

sebastianvettel ✔️: congratulations on the baby girl you guys! good luck ❤️ - sebastian

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton

> lewyn: “good luck” 😭

> ynwiththecamera ✔️: thanks a bunch for the gifts and well wishes sebastian!

lewishamilton1: the little slippers… i just felt my heart explode…

lewishamilton uploaded to his story!

ynwiththecamera: new vlog out today! it mainly focuses on how me and lewis are adjusting in the early months of new parenthood 👩‍🍼 🤍 🥞

lewyn: of COURSE their baby is decked out in designer and jewellery 😭

lewishamilton ✔️: love my girls so much ❤️

liked by ynwiththecamera

> dilflewishamilton: ARGHHH MY HEART CANT TAKE THIS

> dilflewishamilton: ITS JUST TOO DOMESTIC

> dilflewishamilton: AND SO CUTE

maxverstappen ✔️: judging by the bags under lewis’ eyes and the smile on his face everytime i see him, i’d say you two are adjusting well!

> lewishamilton ✔️: thank you very much max…

loveuyn: this baby’s wardrobe is probably worth more than my apartment… i don’t even know how to feel about that

georgerussell ✔️: i spy with my little eye the necklace i got winnie ON winnie!

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton

> lewishamilton ✔️: she loves it, thanks mate

> maxverstappen ✔️: yeah well i spy with MY little eye the shoes i got her!

> georgerussell ✔️: shoes are shit, necklace is better 😗

> lewyn: they’re having a mid off 😭

lewishamilton: beach and boat day with my girls ❤️

lewishammy: yn is one lucky woman, holy moly

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera

georgerussell ✔️: did little winnie collect those shells?

> lewishamilton ✔️: yeah, we’re thinking about getting some of them made into necklaces

> georgerussell ✔️: i hope i’ll be getting one, considering i’m her favourite uncle

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera and lewishamilton

> charlesleclerc ✔️: and where have you heard that exactly?

> georgerussell ✔️: winnie told me herself!

> charlesleclerc ✔️: she can’t even say words aside from “mama” and “papa” yet, idiot

> charlesleclerc ✔️: and even if she could talk full sentences, everyone knows i’m her favourite

> oldf1lvr: HES GOING TO GET NECKLACES MADE OUT OF THE SHELLS HIS BABY GIRL FOUND ON THE BEACH SHUT UPPPP HOW IS THIS MAN SO PERFECT

> lewyn: this confirms my theory that lewis is the type of dad to keep EVERYTHING his baby ever gives him… rock from the driveway? thank you! piece of paper? absolutely! leaf from a tree in the garden? so thoughtful!

charlesleclerc ✔️: did she not get seasick on the boat?

> lewishamilton ✔️: my girl? get a grip! you guys might be a bunch of wusses but not my winnie

> ynwiththecamera ✔️: yes… she did… all over lewis’ shirt

❤️ liked by charlesleclerc

> lewishamilton ✔️: i was trying to spare her the embarrassment of people knowing, love!

> ynwiththecamera ✔️: lew… she’s a baby, she doesn’t even know what embarrassment is yet ❤️

iluvf1: lewis hamilton the dilf that you are…

❤️ liked by ynwiththecamera

> lewishammy: lmao i see you yn, liking every thirst comment, you love your dilf man, good for you girl

landonorris ✔️: was that fourth picture necessary sir hamilton?

lewishamilton ✔️: what’s wrong with it?

landonorris ✔️: ASS CHEEK 😟 you’re parents now, can’t post stuff like that now can you?

> lewishamilton ✔️: who’s let you out of the daycare pen then?

ynwithethecamera: me and lewis took winnie and roscoe to a slaughter rescue farm this week! watch the vlog here :) 🐑 👒 🦙

lewishamilton ✔️: one of my favourite trips we’ve taken with her so far ❤️

loveuyn: her vlogs literally make my month…

> lewishammy: same 😭 they’re so domestic and cute!

iluvf1: is this the one they donated a bunch of money to?

dilflewishamilton: more winnie content </3 my heart can’t take it

> lewyn: her little hat 🥹

f14life: i need to STOP watching these vlogs because they give me the worst baby fever ever…

> lewishammy: for real 😭 and because they come out every two weeks it’s like as soon as i manage to shake the baby fever, she uploads another domestic vlog with lewis being the dream husband and father and boom, baby fever is back and stronger than ever

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧ ˚ NEW ADDED BONUS ˚ ୨୧ ⋆｡˚ ⋆

my head hurts so unfortunately, no actual added bonus for this one… except a gif of maxmoefoe <3 thanks for reading!

[yoonivy]

so wrong, it's right; part 1. (patrick z. & art d.)

pairing. ex-boyfriend!patrick zweig x f!reader x stepbrother!art donaldson

genre. SMUT!! comedy, slight angst.

A ski trip with old friends sounds like a fun time, right? When your ex-boyfriend (who you hate but somehow always end up in bed with) and your stepbrother (who you are harboring not-so-secret feelings for) tag along at the last minute, you have a feeling it won’t be an uneventful weekend. But fun? Debatable. That remains to be seen.

warnings. art is oc's stepbrother so stepcest. THERE'S ONLY ONE BED :O! slight somno, assisted masturbation, fingerfucking, cumplay, dirty talk. there will be mmf threesome in the last chapter! so if you don't like any of that, don't read!

author’s note. this is a rewrite of an older fic of mine for a different fandom (bts), so if you think you've read it before, you probably have. but i love the story so much that i just wanted to breathe new life to it so now it's an artrick x reader fic!!

word count. 17k+

01 | 02 | 03 (finale)

----

Coming back home for the holidays has a lot of major perks. Although the university you attend is an 8-hour drive away, you never hesitate to make the trip back home. Yes, that means even when the weather gets really horrible – like blizzards and hurricane warnings level of horrible - and it causes major backup on the highways that you feel like you might die from a panic attack before a terrible crash might even happen… It’s all worth it! You get to see your fawn British shorthair cat - Muffin - who you missed so dearly (even though you are not the one she is surely missing), taste your mom’s home cooked meals again, and catch up with family and your best friends from high school.

“And you also get to see your insanely hot stepbrother, don’t forget that!” Rachel sing-songs from the backseat of Hannah’s car. Hannah giggles and nods her agreement as she drives slowly down the slippery streets of the neighborhood you all grew up in, but in the shotgun seat of the car, you whip your head from Hannah to Rachel with a fierce glare.

“Just because the two of you still have boners for Art, doesn’t mean I do too! I stopped thinking he’s hot the moment my mom and his dad started dating!”

Rachel squints her eyes at you, surely thinking of some infuriating comeback. “What about that summer break before we all left for college, didn’t yo—“

In a snap, you unbuckle your seatbelt and turn all the way around so that you are sat on your knees and could easily wrap an arm around Rachel’s neck while your other hand clamps tightly over her blood-red painted lips.

“Don’t repeat it!” You screech. If Rachel could scream, she would have been, but only a muffled mmmmphhhhhmmmpphh can be heard from her. Lucky for her, Hannah was screaming plenty enough for the both of them. The car swerves from side to side because of all the commotion happening inside it.

“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU! I DON’T WANT TO DIE BEFORE JACOB COULD SEE HOW HOT I AM NOW AS A RESULT OF MY AMAZING NOSE JOB!”

Hannah’s desperate pleas resonate with you. She has been vying for Jacob Elordi’s attention since freshman year of high school and this weekend, she finally has a chance to do so. You part from Rachel, but not without smearing her lipstick stain that was on the palm of your hand on her black sweater first. She sticks her tongue out playfully at you and you do the same back. Then you both go back to acting as if nothing happened, though poor Hannah is still a bit rattled.

“You’ve always been hot, pre-nose job and after nose job,” you tell Hannah as you buckle your seatbelt again and Hannah gets her driving under control. Rachel chimes in her agreement.

“Thank you,” Hannah says as she flashes you with a grateful smile, but then it quickly turns into a frown. “But what about summer break? Are you two keeping secrets from me?!”

“No!” Both you and Rachel reply, heads shaking.

Rachel explains further, “You probably won’t remember, our last sleepover before the summer of senior year was over? When we drank like 5 bottles of wine and you started crying about Jacob… Again… Well, ____ confessed something as well but you fell asleep during her little…” A warning glare from you causes Rachel to giggle, “- story time. But I guess it’s not my secret to tell…”

“It definitely isn’t,” you snap just as Hannah lets out a long, whining ‘aaaaawwww….’.

“Please tell me, ____! Please,” Hannah frowns deeply as she looks over at you, eyes big and wide and pathetic, “I hate being left out.”

It’s hard to say no to Hannah, even though she’s the oldest in the group she was like the baby as well. She’s just so awkward and adorable and… Ugh, you can’t believe you’re going to rehash this terrible, terrible story again.

“Okay, fine. But eyes on the road. And don’t fucking judge me.”

----

Summer ‘06

Summers in Ohio have always been hot and muggy, but that summer had to be the worst. August especially had been hotter than Satan’s ass crack and to make matters worse, the only working AC in your mom’s and Art’s dad’s house (AKA your home growing up) was the one in the living room. But your mom and Art’s dad had fully occupied that room the entire summer, watching all the seasons of Grey’s Anatomy because it’s your mom’s favorite show and she wanted to introduce Mr. Donaldson to it. So you spent most of your time out of the house, going to the familiar places you loved before your first year of college at AMDA in New York City. You mostly hung out with Rachel and Hannah, although sometimes another childhood friend of yours, Manny, would tag along. But you “shared” him (and Art) with your ex-boyfriend, Patrick (who you didn’t end things amicably with) so Manny had been MIA since Patrick came back home from his grandparents at the end of July. It was fine with you because Manny is a bit of a scrub and you were running out of money to spend. Hence why at the half-end of August, you started staying home instead of going out.

Luckily, it’s been hot and humid all summer long, which meant you could finally take advantage of the above ground swimming pool that Art’s dad had installed during the spring. 

The water in the pool was nice and cold that afternoon. When you had fully submerged yourself in it, you found it perfect for the blistering hot day.

You spent an hour swimming back and forth the length of the pool by yourself. Once you tire yourself out, you start to float on your back, catching your breath as you thought about inviting your friends over for an impromptu pool party.

Maybe… Maybe later… You thought as you let your eyelids close. That could wait, it’s only 4 in the afternoon. What you needed was to relax for a bit before getting out of the pool and calling your friends.

5 minutes must have passed when the vision behind your eyelids darkens as if dark clouds had covered up the sun. Your eyes slowly open, brows knitted in confusion. Had the weather report lied when they predicted it wouldn't rain that day?

When your eyes fully open, you see that it wasn’t rain clouds at all. It was your stepbrother, Art, standing on the wooden deck of the pool, a grin on his face as he stared down at you from behind his black wayfarer sunglasses.  A cool “hey” came out of his mouth, but you, on the other hand, were anything but. Startled by his appearance, you flop and splash around clumsily into standing position.

You could hear him snickering under his breath so you threw him a glare once your feet were grounded on the bottom of the pool. As you wiped away the droplets of water clinging onto your face with both your hands, you whined out, “Art?! What the fuck?!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dark navy blue swim shorts.

“It’s fine,” You said, though you eyed him suspiciously because he still had that grin on his face. But your attention focused on the towel draped over one side of his shoulders instead and he noticed you noticing it.

“Mind if I come in?”

You shook your head, looking around at the surprisingly big pool as your arms waved back and forth in the water, making ripples on the surface, “Go ahead, there’s plenty of room.”

A thanks could be heard coming from Art but was hard to hear because he had already turned away to throw his towel close to where you had dropped off your things near the outer edge of the deck. The next to go was his backwards white snapback, allowing his blond hair to flow in the light breeze, then his sunglasses and slippers joined his pile.

You knew that was the time you should turn away, especially when his fingers start to toy with the hem of the white t-shirt he was wearing. But like the thirsty dumbass you are, you kept your eyes on him, even when the sliver of his light treasure trail began to come into view. Inch by every inch, more of his pale, freckled and slightly defined body was exposed, and every second, you felt hotter even though you were inside the cold water. You were so focused on his body that you didn’t notice that he had already pulled off his shirt and had seen the way you licked your lips at the sight of him. It’s only when he threw the shirt to the side and cleared his throat that you looked up to see his eyes on you.

Knowing you had been caught, you turn away as your body starts to burn with mortification. You don’t see the satisfied smirk on his face because you had already started to submerge your whole being into the water, silently praying that your death by drowning would be as painless as possible.

You had your eyes closed and cheeks puffed with air, ready to see the light, when you felt something tap your nose. Of course you knew who it was, but still, when you open your eyes, you hop back, startled as you let bubbles form in the water from the air you let out through your mouth. Art smiled at you as best as he could when his cheeks were puffed up cutely as well, pointing up for you to go to the surface. After nodding, you both swim up together.

When you resurfaced from the water, the first thing you saw was a wet Art running his hands through his hair, looking so cool and so hot at the same time.  

“I didn’t realize it was this deep,” Art said, sounding impressed.

“Yeah, it’s at least 10 feet deep.”

Art grinned at you, his clear, blue eyes playful as he asked, “You wanna have a competition?”

“What kind of competition?” You asked cautiously yet curiously.

“A race,” Art said while hopping backward to one end of the pool and pointing to the other. “From this end to over there.”

“Why are you already swimming over there like I already agreed to it?” You asked while crossing your arms and Art laughed because of how feisty you sounded. “What does the winner even get?”

“A favor.”

“A favor? What sort of favor?”

“Any sort of favor…” A sly smirk spreading on his face when he added, “Whatever your heart desires.”

His words shot straight to your core as you take a hard swallow. He probably did not even realize his effect on you, but you do, much to the internal battle to not feel anything for him.

Maybe if you made a joke, he would not be able to tell what your heart really desired at that very moment. “So let’s say someone forgot that it’s your dad’s birthday in a few days and didn’t get a gift… Would that person be able to steal the other person's gift?”

Perfect! A question that’s also a reminder to yourself why a certain line should not be crossed.

With his arms resting on the edge of the pool, he shrugged, “Yeah, sure… So you up for it?”

Making your way over to him, you nod. “Alright… But your gift better be good!”

“It is… But who said you’re going to win?” Art questioned when you were beside him, clearly amused by your confidence by the grin he was wearing.

With your stance ready to begin the race at any second, you stared straight ahead as you boasted, “I took swimming lessons for a while in elementary school and was even told I could do lifeguarding training if I wanted to…” You let out a smug puff of air and then tipped your head to the side, glancing at him, “I think I can handle this.”

“Huh… Wow…” Art muttered in awe as you nod arrogantly towards him, chin held high and eyes shut. You felt good for a few seconds, until he dropped the bomb, “Well you should know that before I started focusing on tennis, I was also training at an Olympic level swimming team.”

“Wait, you what?!” Your eyes snapped open but Art ignored your questioning look, starting the countdown to begin the race.

“Go!” He yelled after counting down from three and the race began. He took the lead, and even if he had not told you about that little fact about him that had you all muddled up, you would still be dead last. Art was fast and agile in the water; for every centimeter you gain, he tripled that.

Art was already at the finish line for at least seven seconds before you reached him.

“Real nice. Making up a competition you knew you would win,” You said slightly out of breath as you cling onto the edge of the pool, feigning anger with the glare you shoot at him.

“Hey! Neither of us was at a disadvantage! You were supposed to be a lifeguard, remember?” Art reminded you of your dumbass hubris while snickering.

“That was in 7th grade and I never even took the training!” You whined knowing that whatever you say, you owe Art a favor now. Huffing, you begrudgingly mumbled, “So what do you want?”

Art seemed to be thinking hard about it, mouth turning down in concentration. So you waited, chin resting on your arms as you let air out to flap your lips. While doing this, you missed the way his stare lingers on your lips, licking the water off his own. A cliché scenario of asking for a kiss before you both leave for college as the favor running through his head. But he knew he couldn’t – shouldn’t – especially not when your parents were so close, just a backyard sliding door away. Not to mention his best friend was your ex-boyfriend. So he snapped out of his thoughts, turning around to rest his arms on the edge as well, his elbow bumping against yours to make you look towards him. When you did, he grinned as he asked, “Can I think about it?”

You sighed dramatically, “I guess so… Even though you didn’t win it fair and square…”

While Art chuckled, that was when you felt something amiss. Your hand shot up to touch your collarbone, only to find the necklace you always wore was not around your neck.

“Shit,” You muttered under your breath, twisting and turning on the spot to see if it was floating anywhere around you.

“What happened?” Art’s face is concerned, losing all hints of playfulness.

You wade slowly around the water, eyes continually searching for the golden chain with the heart pendant. “My necklace fell off.”

“Fuck…” his own eyes now scanning the pool as well. “It’s gold, right?”

“Yeah, with a heart.”

Together and in silence, you searched the water for the missing jewelry. You had the left side of the pool while Art took on the right side. Your necklace was a delicate little thing and so with every passing minute, you deflate, resigning yourself to never finding it.

“I don’t think we’re going to find it,” you called out to Art after the search had breached thirty minutes. “Let’s just go back—“

Just when you were about to call it quits, a twinkle at the bottom of the pool caught your eyes. With an overexcited ‘Nevermind, I found it!’, you get closer to the corner where it was. You sink down to the bottom, vision blurry and stinging from the chlorine, but you had to get it somehow – it holds a very important meaning to you. Reaching out, your fingers touch the bottom of the pool but the necklace seemed to be wedged between a crevice on the floor. You try to poke it out but no attempts avail.

Out of air, you swim back up. Art was waiting close by and you shook your head sadly to his questioning stare. “It’s stuck in this small space at the bottom. I can’t get it out…”

You were so focused on staring down at the necklace at the bottom of the pool that you hadn’t noticed that Art had swum up behind you. It was only when he had placed his hands on either side of your hips that you finally felt his presence. To look at where the necklace was, he pressed his chest against your back in a way that could be considered too close, but you welcomed it, even leaning back slightly to get even closer. He peered over your shoulder, his mouth close to your ear, the air that he breathed tickling the outer shell. He had had your whole body quivering, under his spell as he muttered in a raspy, slow voice, “Here, let me try.”

You nod in a daze while he gently pulled you to the side so he could take a shot at getting the necklace. But not without letting his hands trail lazily down from your hips to the sides of your upper thigh before he took them off you as if he did not want to let go. And even though it was Art that submerged himself in the water a second later, you were the one more out of breath between the two of you.

You woke up the following day at half past noon and found yourself all alone in the house.

On a note that your mom left for you on the fridge, she wrote that she and Art’s dad are going on a day trip to a lavender farm somewhere for his birthday and that they’ll be back some time in the evening. She also relayed the information that Art had gone out with his friends, so you could have the leftovers from last night.

That was a relief because as you were reading the note, your mouth was already stuffed full with the noodles that you found in a container inside the fridge.

Like the rest of the people in your household, you too had plans for that day, and so you made your way back to your room after you finished your late breakfast. The girls wanted to eat out one last time before Hannah heads to Belgium for University the next morning.

As you got ready, you kept your bedroom door open to get the AC circulation into your room. It was still so freaking hot that you were bouncing around in your room in nothing but a white crop top and a lacy pale pink underwear.

Your goal was to finish getting ready in less than an hour so you could leave your scorching house sooner. But in the middle of doing your no make-up make-up routine, as you were gliding on a layer of shimmery bronze eyeshadow onto your lids, the door to your room creaks open further.

Looking down, you saw Muffin enter your room, heading straight to your bed. A freshly done eyebrow of yours quirked up because she had something hanging from her mouth, a piece of fabric of some sort. You followed her to investigate further.

Muffin was already up on your bed when you got to her, the unidentified fabric snug beneath her.

“What do you have there, huh?” You asked as you reached under her to pull the fabric. She just meowed when you grabbed it, clearly too lazy to fight for it back. You shook it out in front of you and found that you were holding a piece of clothing – a white polo shirt with a black Adidas logo on the side to be exact. The same one Art was wearing the day prior.

“Ew, you little weirdo,” You narrowed your eyes judgmentally at your cat when you identified what she had brought with her. “Art’s only been gone for… What? 5 hours? And you’re already hoarding his dirty clothes like treasure?”

The only answer you got was another meow before Muffin jumped off the bed and made her way out of the room. Probably to get another one of Art’s things to keep safe with her.

“Now what am I going to do with this?” You mumbled to yourself as you stared at the t-shirt you still had in your hand. Put it back in Art’s laundry hamper at that very moment or later, when you were done getting ready? You chose the latter; about to place it back down on your bed but you caught a whiff of the pleasant smell on the t-shirt. You held up the fabric to your nose and breathe in, smelling nothing but Art’s usual scent – a nice woodsy, saffron smell, with a hint of mint from when he probably wiped his mouth with the shirt after brushing his teeth last night.

Your eyelids had flutter shut as you shivered in place, feeling the heat building down below. The smell brought you back to yesterday afternoon. How he was so close to you, the way he gently touched your waist, how he whispered in your ear in that panty-dropping voice of his…

When you opened your eyes, you quickly looked around. Even though you knew you were alone in your house, you just had to double check for prying eyes for what you were going to do next.

Clearly, you lacked self-restraint and were no better than your cat, because the next thing you know, you were pulling off your own tiny top to drown your figure with Art’s t-shirt.

Then you crawled onto your bed – but wait! Not before hurriedly grabbing your beloved GIGI 2 Lelo vibrator from the bottom of your suitcase, buried underneath all the things that you are bringing to Uni. 

Once you had everything you needed – which was your still clearly vivid memories of the day before and the vibrator you had not touched in more than a week – you made yourself comfortable on your bed, laying down on your back and parting your thighs.

It was entirely too easy to get into the mood while thinking about Art. If you had any shame left, you’d be at least a little bit embarrassed about how wet you were becoming. But you didn’t, so as one of your hand slipped under Art’s shirt to travel all over your body, pinching your nipples until they hardened underneath the weight of the fabric; the other hand pressed the button on the vibrator, causing the toy to come to life with its humming vibrations.

You let the vibrator rest against your inner thigh as the fingers that were tweaking your nipples ghost down your skin, leaving goosebumps on its trail. You had to feel first, feel how wet you were just thinking about Art had made you, feel how much you wanted more – wanted him, his fingers on you instead of just your own. When you first touched the dampness of your arousal sticking onto your skimpy panties, you whimpered something that sounded a lot like his name.

Before you brought the vibrator any closer to your throbbing and wet center, you turned your head to check the digital clock on the bedside table.

30 minutes until you had to meet your friends.

Pulling Art’s t-shirt up to cover your nose and breathing in deeply, the buzzing toy in your hand now firmly against your clit, you moaned out loud, thinking you could work with that.

----

Present

“So that’s how you lost your necklace!” Hannah exclaims as her fingers touch the gold heart hanging around her neck that has the word “forever” engraved on it. Rachel looks down at her own that reads “best”. The “bitches” that pulled it all together still missing. You never did get the necklace from the bottom of the pool. To this day, it’s still stuck in that tiny crevice. As you thought regrettably about that, Hannah shrieks in the most judgemental and accusatory voice ever, “You were canoodling with your brother!”

“STEPBROTHER!”

“Blegh!” Rachel chimes in, sticking her tongue out in mock disgust. “And touching herself while thinking about him and while wearing his dirty underwear? A sin! I’m surprised you haven’t been smite by lightning yet!”

“It was his shirt!” You defend yourself, vehemently shaking your head. “A shirt, not his underwear!”

Hannah giggles. “Like that’s any better, ____”

You pout, slumping in your chair miserably. You can’t even argue back… She’s right.

“I thought I said don’t fucking judge me…” you grumble as you narrow your eyes at your so-called “best friends”. “And weren’t you the ones that told me that it didn’t matter if my mom was dating Art’s dad, I could still ask out Art because I liked him before they even met?”

And that was the honest truth. You knew Art way before your mom and his dad even laid eyes on each other. Heck, you two were the reason why they even met in the first place – at the opening night of your high school’s production of Beauty and the Beast, where you (a sophomore at the time) played the lead role of Belle, and Art (who was also a sophomore) was part of the AV Club that oversaw all the behind-the-scenes tech and sound boarding for the musical. A club that he joined to stack up his application for university.

The play was also the reason you got close to Art. Before the play, you didn’t even know he existed – since he was in a specialized tennis program, he had different classes than you. 

But once practice started for the play, during your lunch breaks and after school for a whole semester, you were working with Art for many hours a week. At first, the two of you barely interacted. Maybe you caught him looking at you once or twice but that was all. However, as opening night approached, Art suddenly started talking to you more. Then he began giving you – and only you – little pick-me-ups after practices like a bottle of water or a chocolate bar (and sometimes you would stay a little while longer at school to share it with him). Soon he tagged along to cast and crew outings that Jacob - who was playing the Beast - invited him to when before, Art would usually decline.

If you were an absolute idiot, you wouldn’t think he went to those outings because of you.

But you’re not an idiot, and you knew he went because of you.

It was so obvious; he was so obvious. He always found a way to get closer to you, always tried to make you laugh, paid attention to you in a way that it seemed like you were the only one in the room, and was just so genuinely interested in whatever you had to say. You found it cute, really cute. You just found Art cute in general. So cute in fact that you told yourself that after the musical ended, and if he still hadn’t asked you out, you would ask him out yourself – and you never, ever do that! Even your friends were rooting for you to do it because it was so unlike you.

“Yeah, we did encourage you to ask him out… But that was before your mom married his dad!”

Too bad your mom just had to sit beside Mr. Donaldson that opening night and hit it off with him…

You groan loudly, sulking to yourself about what could have been. Maybe you and Art would be dating seriously by now – engaged even - or maybe it would have been just one date and that was that. You will never know now. 

What you do know is becoming friends with Art came with one particular con. His best friend Patrick Zweig being that singular disadvantage. 

But that is a whole other story.

“I’m just kidding,” Rachel coos as she reaches forward to pinch your cheek. “I don’t think you’re a little freak for wanting to screw your step brother’s brains out!”

You grunt, swatting her hand off you.

“It’s totally cool… Like Clueless!” Hannah says, mentioning the 1995 cult classic teen movie where the main character ends up with her step-brother.  “Didn’t everyone and their mothers like Cher and Josh together? And unlike them, there’s no predatory age gap between you and Art!”

She makes a good point… But still…

You sigh and shake your head, there’s no use in dwelling on the past.

“Let’s just stop talking about it. I think Art’s dating someone now anyway. Some girl named Molly Gordon or whatever—” you totally did not stalk her Instagram after your mom told, nope, not at all! 

“He’s not even coming home because he’s spending Christmas with her,” you tell them what your mom had told you a few days ago.

“Wow, really? Must be serious then,” Hannah remarks.

“I guess so…” You catch yourself frowning deeply at that and you know you shouldn’t. So you quickly change the subject, “Anyway, who else is coming skiing with us?”

Rachel turns on her phone to read through the group chat created last night by Paul Mescal, a friend of yours and the one who basically planned the spontaneous ski trip that’s happening in just two days. “Jacob… duh… Manny, Daniel, Daisy, and Amandla… Oh, and Daisy’s boyfriend.”

No mention of your ex-boyfriend. He is probably visiting Art (forcing his company on Art and his girlfriend more like) or still trying to make it in his failing pro tennis career. Either way, that’s exactly what you needed to hear to bring a smile back to your face.

---

“I’m hoooome!” You call out when you enter the front door, stomping your feet on the mat below you to get the snow off your boots. “Hannah and Rachel are here too!”

Behind you, Hannah closes the door while Rachel yells after you, “Helloooo!”

From somewhere far inside your house, you hear your mom shout hello back and you’re sure she’s probably making her way through the house to greet the three of you. “Are you girls hungry?!”

“We just ate!” you answer back, but at the same time, Rachel asks, “What’s the food?!”

Hannah giggles at that, while you, on the other hand, narrow your eyes jokingly at your best friend as she and your mom have a back and forth shouting conversation about the meal your mom made for dinner.

Boots off and neatly placed on the shoe rack, you unzip your coat as you head to the living room just a few feet away. With your friends trailing behind, you take the lead, calling for Muffin as well. It’s odd, since coming home five days ago, she would usually wait for you by the door.

“Muffin?” You call for her again and still no sight of the cat.

It’s almost as if —

“Muuuuffin—oh…” You freeze as soon as you step foot in the living room, because what do you know, your suspicion was right… The little cheater was there, comfortably purring as she lays on Art’s belly, who was lounging across the couch, his head resting on his arm.

Wait — why was he here?!  

When he turns his head away from looking at the television to look at you, there’s a smirk on his face as he discreetly – or maybe, not so discreetly – trails his gaze up and down your body before it settles back into your eyes, “Hey.”

That’s when you realize you were basically sticking your chest out towards him. Not intentionally, you were just in the process of taking off your coat. Burning in more ways than one from head to toe, you straighten up, coat still on and now even hugged tighter around your body. Art tries to hide his amusement by licking his lips to get rid of his smirk and greeting your friends, “Hey Rachel. Hannah.”

The girls are as surprised as you were, both their mouths hanging at the sight of him. If you turn back, you might have even seen Rachel drooling a little bit. You can’t even blame them because god… Art is looking really good.

He bulked up a bit judging by his thicker-looking thighs, plus the usual sexiness he exudes seems to have multiplied by a ten-fold –

Damn it… He makes it so hard for you to not think about him like that!

“Art! Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” Rachel exclaims after she sucks in her drool, making Art chuckle as he sits up with Muffin in his arms. She then nudges you and asks with a mischievous tone in her voice, “Right, ____?”

Due to all your attention focused solely on Art, you barely even heard her teasing. Instead, you ask him a question of your own, “What are you doing home? Aren’t you supposed to be—“

“Girls! Pretty girls!” Your mom cries, barging into the room, her arms open wide. Once she’s in front of you and your friends, she closes her arms around as best as she could around the three of you, whisking you all away to the direction of the kitchen as she coos to Rachel and Hannah, “I miss your pretty faces so much! Come, let’s get you something to eat!”

In the kitchen, once your mom unwraps her arm from pretty much strangling your neck, you see that your stepfather is sitting at the table. He lifts his head up when you all enter to greet a friendly hello – which your friends say hello as well - before he looks back down on the iPad he was scrolling through Facebook on, stopping to laugh a dad laugh at a meme from at least 2 years ago.

When you tear your eyes away from him and back to your mom, you see her glaring at you while her gaze diverts to the door every few seconds as she whispers harshly, “Don’t ask Art why he’s home… His girlfriend broke up with him!”

In the midst of processing the news, your stomach flips with excitement, causing you to sound a tad bit hysterical when you whisper back, “H-how was I supposed to know that?! I just found out he was even dating a few days ago!”

At that, your mom’s face softens, looking apologetically as she wraps her arms around you again, guiding your head to lay on her chest. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I’m just— …” You pull away just as she sniffs. “I feel so bad for Art. Who would break up with someone during the holidays?! They flew to her parents’ house together, she introduced him to her family, and then what? She realized she doesn’t want him anymore? She even made him pay for his own ticket to go back home!”

“That’s so heartless,” Hannah murmurs, eyes already glassy with tears.

“Yeah, what a bitch!” Rachel comments.

“You took the words right out my mouth,” your mom says to her, nodding in agreement. Before you could groan and remind your mom that she probably doesn’t know the whole story, she calls your name to get your attention first. She has that too sweet smile on her face that you have also adopted when you want something. You were hesitant when you silently acknowledged her to go on.

She starts slow, “____… I know you have plans to go skiing with your friends and I know you haven’t seen some of them in a long time…” You raise a single brow, knowing that there’s a but coming… “But…” her eyes widened, full of hope, “Would you be willing to stay home instead? Keep Art company?”

There’s no doubt that your friends are at least attempting not to snicker behind you, and Rachel’s surprisingly doing a swell job at not bursting out a suggestive comment like, ‘Are you sure you want ____ to keep Art company?’ But you, yourself, could only let out a long uhhh… as a small part of you actually toys with the idea to stay. Make him feel better and all that… Though nothing sexual crosses your mind! (Or at least not that much…)

Before your irrationality wins out, Mr. Donaldson steps in, “_____ doesn’t have to do that!” He turns to you, causing you to jolt because you might have been thinking something not PG – not even PG-13 – about his son. You blame Cuffing Season, because you could usually tame your risqué thoughts when you shouldn’t be having them.

Fortunately, mind reading is not a thing, and Mr. Donaldson just beams, “Don’t worry about Art, he’ll be fine. Have fun with your friends!”

After you answer a small and nervous ‘ok’, your mom deflates in disappointment, and that should have been the end of that. But then Rachel pipes up, “He could come with us? He’s basically part of the group, anyway,” then under her breath, she murmurs, “When Zweig’s not around.”

“Really?” Hope re-ignited, your mom perks up. She looks to Rachel and Hannah first, who were both nodding enthusiastically, then back to you, “Can you take Art with you, ____? I’ll pay for both of your accommodations!”

Now that’s an offer you can’t refuse. After your holiday shopping, this ski trip will probably put you close to debt.

“I mean, sure. I really don’t mind…” But in the end, the decision is not really up to you.  “Only if Art wants to go though.”

“Go where?”

All eyes turn to the entryway of the kitchen, where Art was standing, brows drawn closely together and pouty lips even poutier because of confusion. And with Muffin in his arms, he looks downright adorable.

“_____ and her friends are going skiing and she wanted to invite you!” Your mom tells him as if it was your idea. You inhale, blinking slowly as you stare blankly ahead, a smile of disbelief spreading across your face. It wouldn’t be a proper holiday at home if your mother doesn’t embarrass you at least once!

“Oh? Are you guys going with Jacob and them?” After he gets a confirmation, Art hums. “He invited me to that…” Then he looks at you, “I, uh, didn’t know you were going.”

You point a thumb back at your friends, “They convinced me to go today.”

Art nods slowly at this, remembering he had already turned down Jacob’s invitation. But now, knowing you were going, well… “If you’re cool with me coming… It sounds like it could be fun.”

“Oh, she’s cool with you coming,” Rachel whispers, laughing quietly to herself, but then lets out a much louder OOF a second later, when Hannah – the only one who heard her – successfully elbows her in the stomach.

Oblivious to what’s going on behind you, you grin at Art. “Yeah, it’s cool. It’ll be fun!”

“Sounds good.” Art returns the sentiment with a quirk on the corner of his lips. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” you say, weaker than you meant it to because you were too caught up in Art’s deep stare.

Misreading the atmosphere, your mom beams between you and her step-son, completely overjoyed that you’ll be spending time together, get closer, and do all the things that you and Art couldn’t do because you both moved away for University before the two of you could really get close. 

And oh boy, is she right… Though probably not in the way she wanted.

—---

Saturday arrives and you are up even before the sun rises, lugging a suitcase to the back of Hannah’s car to head to the ski resort that is two hours and fifteen minutes north-west from Gahanna. You were still so tired, but your friends wanted to make the most of the weekend, so losing a few hours of your precious vacation sleep was a sacrifice you had to make.

You were, however, able to get some shut-eye in the car. Well, as much as you could with Rachel and Amandla there singing along to the early 2000s mixtape the former made. Though it does not last long, they get unbearably loud when Hannah catches up to the only car on the long dreary road with you. In the backseat beside you, Rachel rolls down the window and the two stick out their heads to begin screaming, “YOU GOT ME FEELIN’ HELLA GOOD, SO I’M GONNA KEEP ON DANCING!”

In the other car, Daniel rolls down the driver seat window to stick his middle finger out. Jacob can be heard laughing and Art probably was as well, but you can’t hear or see him from where you were sitting.

To retaliate, Amandla lifts up her sweater to press her bralette covered boobs against the passenger seat window. As everyone in the car you are in, including yourself, scream shrilly at her antics, all Daniel shouts back is, “Nothing I haven’t seen before, babe!”

The boys pull ahead to turn into the public and busier road leading straight to the resort, Amandla sits back down – boobs away – and grins to the side at you and the other girls, “I think this weekend’s going to be fun… The old crew’s back together…  Gonna do what we do best…”

Which was wreak major havoc wherever you guys go. You can’t even count how many places kicked your group out for being just terrible, little shits. Yeah, you were that group of loud teenagers that everyone side-eyes and wish would just shut up or leave. But you’re sure it’s different now. You are all grown up and more mature…

“I don’t think Daisy knows what we’re getting her boyfriend into…” Amandla finishes.

“Eh…” Rachel shrugs. “I’m not worried about him.”

“You haven’t met Ewan though,” Amandla reminds her. “He is even more sweet and fragile than Hannah, and she could barely handle half the things our group gets into.” To the princess-like blonde, Amandla says, “No offense, babe. You know I love you.”

“No offense taken!” Hannah squeaks out.

“Maybe he’ll surprise us… Plus, this means we won’t get a rehash of Daisy and Paul’s usual drama,” you say with a laugh. That earns you a side-eye from all your friends.

“That’s pretty bold of you to say, _____,” Rachel snickers. “At least Paul and Daisy can be civil to each other now. He was the one that invited her after all…”

“And not to mention, Daisy and Paul only had one big break up… Like, yeah, it was exhausting, but after a few months, things settled down and it was done. You and Patrick on the other hand…” Amandla trails off, sighing deeply before she starts again, head bopping left and right, “On and off, on and off, on and off…”

Rachel and Hannah join in, the three of them making a tune while simultaneously laughing.

Maybe you walked right into that one but a scowl still makes its way on your face, your arms crossing petulantly with a huff.

“Okay, I’m the first to admit that my history with Patrick was… messy, to say the least. But we too, are… Civil to each other now.”

Rachel snorts at that, “You and Patrick can’t even be in the same room without going off on each other.”

You ignore her to continue in your defense, “The on and off relationship we had was left behind in high school!”

“Our trip to Vegas begs to differ…” Amandla murmurs. In a span of a week, you and Patrick got together and broke up exactly 12 times. You don’t quite remember how the two of you manage that but whatever… That’s in the past!

“I don’t fuck with him anymore, he doesn’t fuck with me… We are exclusively not fucking with each other, and that’s just the honest truth!”

“Need I remind you of my last birthday party?” Hannah questions with a shiver, remembering her 21st birthday when she had to throw out her brand new bed sheets that her aunt gifted her the very next day.

Again, what your friends say comes into one ear and goes out the other. Holding your head high and above it all, you say, “And if he was coming on this trip, we would have been fine. It would have been drama-free! I’d actually be happy to see him because we’re good now. More than good. We’re —”

---

“Great… Just fucking great!” You groan while glaring at the boy who is messing around with Paul and Manny at the outer edge of the parking lot, all already in their snowboarding gear. A grimace twists upon your face when you see him throw his head back, laughing hard. That big smile causing an adverse reaction to your heart, speeding up to a point that’s not considered normal. “What the fuck is he doing here?!”

After grabbing the last suitcase out of the trunk and slamming it shut, Rachel grins towards you. “I thought you said you’d be happy to see him?”

“That was 20 minutes ago!” You remind her, shrilly. “When I thought he wasn’t coming!”

As if he knew people were talking about him, Patrick glances your way. Despite the cigarette hanging from his lips, a grin spreads at the sight of you, raising one of his arms that were crossed and twiddles his fingers as a form of a wave, his eyebrows raising twice. The two boys that were with him look over as well, though they greet Daniel, Jacob, and Art instead - who were farther up ahead than you and the girls, already close to them. 

From this far, you don’t see how Art and Patrick barely acknowledge each other. 

“Hmm… Will this be a drama-free weekend?” Amandla asks out loud jokingly. “Find out more at 10 PM, EST!”

“___ did say they could be civil to each other now…” Hannah says, throwing a look your way. “I guess we’ll see!”

You make a face back, but answer with an arrogant, “You will see… how right I am!”

The only response you got was their laughter which was the only one warranted because your overconfidence doesn’t last long. With your feet and luggage dragging against the gravel of the parking lot, you unenthusiastically follow the girls towards the guys.

When you get to them, they’re in the middle of a conversation about the brand new half-pipe (now the biggest one in North America) at the resort, plus the grand re-opening of the Skier’s Village 15 minutes away, where there’s a Raising Cane’s, Dunkin Donuts, and a few clothing stores opened now.

“That’s why it’s super packed here. It’s like a tourist area now…” Paul states as he looks around at all the people walking about. “Remember the last time we came here? There was barely anyo- Oh, hey!” He grins when he notices you and the other girls, stopping his train of thought to lean forward and give each of you a warm hug. “Man, I’m so happy to see you guys! I honestly didn’t think anyone would come because of how last minute this was!”

“Yeah, well… I could only take so much of my mother nagging me about when I’m going to settle down and give her grandkids,” Rachel says with an exasperated sigh.

“Yikes!” Manny exclaims. “She needs to cut you some slack…” Rachel nods in agreement while pouting, but then Manny continues, “It’s not easy to find a guy who’s willing to sacrifice himself to be with you!”

“I can murder you with my bare hands, Manny Jacinto!” Rachel warns, though she is pretty non-threatening when her baby blue mitten-clad hands rise to point at Manny.

“And I wish you…” Manny winks at her, “… an ounce of luck.”

Manny shrieks a second later when Rachel charges for him, head first like an angry bull.

“I miss this,” Paul chuckles while shaking his head.

Everyone’s eyes are on the two idiots running around. As you laugh under your breath, you also shiver visibly from the cold. Unbeknownst to you, both Art and Patrick see this and frown. But they catch each other doing so, grimacing at the other. 

Patrick speaks up first, beating your stepbrother to the punch, “Let’s head inside so you guys can get checked in. We were gonna check out the village, but we’ll wait for you and we could all go together before heading to the slopes.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jacob says through a yawn. “I could really use some coffee right now…”

“Me too!” Hannah pipes up after him, and he acknowledges her with a tired grin that probably has your best friend internally combusting.

After that, everyone makes their way into the ski lodge, with Rachel and Manny following a couple minutes later when they realize that you were all gone.

Inside, the lobby of the lodge is packed like Paul had said. Every open area was filled with groups getting ready to head out and a long line was formed at the front desk for people waiting to check in. As your group splits up, with the ones you traveled with heading to the back of the line while Paul and Manny run to the couch that just became free, Patrick wrenches you aside by the door.

With eyebrows raised and eyes to the ceiling, you heave a sigh before you look into his eyes and cluck, “Yes?”

“Look… I just want to apologize for not calling after what happened at Hannah’s birthday-“

“Is this why you came? To apologize for something I don’t even care about?” You cut him off with a glare, omit adding any more to your last question. “Because if I remember correctly, you hated coming here.”

“What? No!” Patrick quickly states. “I had no idea you were even going to be here!”

You don’t know if you believed him because Art knew. And if Art knows, Patrick knows.

“Art didn’t tell you?” You ask with squinted eyes of skepticism.

Patrick’s brows draw in confusion for a quick second, then he scoffs and shakes his head as if in disbelief. “No… Art didn’t tell me.”

His answer gives you a pause since it was such a strange reaction. But you know how to spot Patrick’s bullshit by now that you can tell when he is lying. Right now, he looks like he genuinely didn’t know. Art was probably too tired to update him last night.

But still suspicious, you eye Patrick carefully as you say, “Well, that makes two of us… I didn’t know you were coming either.”

“I’m just here to help Paul…” Patrick says. “You should have seen him last night. Crying pathetically over his Guinness because he doesn’t think he can handle seeing Daisy with her new boyfriend… I promised to be his wingman, help him get over her by finding some nice girls here.”

“Finding girls, huh? Well, you are good at that,” you chirp, faking enthusiasm with a big grin. “Though Paul should try his luck getting help from someone else. Nice girls aren’t really your forte. You do know that Paul isn’t really a one-night stand sort of guy, right? Or the type to sleep with his ex-girlfriend without telling her he’s actually dating someone else.”

Patrick closes his eyes as he frowns, nodding bitterly to himself, ashamed of his past indiscretion. He truly hadn’t meant to do what he did at Hannah’s party. He had changed, or at least he thought he did, but the moment he saw you… God, you were like his kryptonite. It’s the worst excuse but it’s the only one he’s got.

When Patrick opens his eyes again, he says, “If it makes you feel better, I told Taylor and she dumped me…”

“It’s what you deserve… but it doesn’t make me feel any better,” you tell him truthfully. To realize you had a hand in making someone else feel like how Patrick made you feel throughout the years you were together made you sick to your stomach.

“But maybe if you hadn’t blocked me on every social media, you would have known about her.”

You gape at him, appalled at his bold statement. “Oh, so now it’s my fault?!”

“No, that’s not-“ Patrick groans as he rubs his forehead. “It’s my fault… I’m sorry, I really am. I just…” He worries his bottom lip for a second and you feel a pang of… something in your stomach. Despite whatever you tell yourself, it’s obvious that Patrick still has somewhat of a hold on you. “I just want us to be cool again. Start over and be friends. We used to be good friends, remember?”

Patrick looks so genuinely sincere at that moment, with his brows drawn together and pretty hazel eyes so sad that you almost balk and forgive him on the spot. But you knew it would be stupid to.  

“I can’t…” You begin slowly, throat dry, and flicker of hurt flashes on Patrick’s features. “I mean, I can’t forgive you for everything… but… I am willing to start over…”

Because Patrick’s right, you two used to be good friends. Before feelings got in the way and messed everything up. And maybe that’s why things between the two of you always went wrong. Whenever you and Patrick fight and break up, you’ll ignore each other for a few weeks but then the next thing you know, the two of you jump right back into another doomed attempt of a romantic relationship with each other.

Maybe that’s what the two of you have been doing wrong all along. Maybe this time, it could be different.

Patrick’s back straightens as a smile slowly lifts his lips. Firmly, you add, “As friends.”

“Alright, that’s more than I hoped for,” He chuckles, his hand lifting towards you. “So… Friends?”

You nod, about to touch his palm with your own until he quips with his signature lopsided grin, “No take backs, right?”

Your eyes narrow, stopping yourself from touching him at the last second. “Don’t make me regret this, Zweig.”

“You won’t,” He promises, and so you grip his hand and shake it.

When you let go, you felt eyes on you. You turn to see your friends not-so-discreetly watching from the line. You wave at them causing Patrick to check as well. He laughs and waves too just as Rachel, Hannah, and Amandla all look away in different directions, pretending they had not been spying.

With a satisfied grin, you laugh to yourself, realizing that you had just proved them wrong when they thought you couldn’t be civil with Patrick.

You only stop grinning when you shiver involuntarily again because a group of teenagers opened the door to go out, letting the cold wind blast inside. Then you feel someone tugging up the zipper of your coat and you look towards Patrick. He looks so concentrated while he moves away your hair so it won’t get caught in the zipper.

Once he’s satisfied with his work, he peers up at your face and sees the taken aback expression on it. That’s when he quickly takes his hand off you like he had just touched hot coals and stuffs it into his pocket.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, cheeks flaring red with embarrassment. He is so used to doing little things like that for you while you were dating that it didn’t even occur to him that he shouldn’t have done that. “I noticed you’re shivering a lot…” he explains. I don’t want you to get sick, was what he really wanted to say but instead, he looks away to act cool. “You should really wear warmer clothes, _____.”

Already feeling like an overstuffed teddy bear with your five layers on, you roll your eyes jokingly as you huff. “Thanks for the advice.”

Hopefully this newfound friendship between you and your ex-boyfriend doesn’t come and bite you in the ass.

---

“This is me,” Daniel says with a grin when the elevator door opens on the fourth floor. When he gets off, he waves goodbye to the only two left on the lift, you and Art, exclaiming a see ya! before the door closes.

Once the elevator stops on the fifth, both you and Art get out. Since your mom booked the rooms for both of you, your rooms must be close to each other. Looking around, you find the sign that points you in the direction of rooms 5010-5020, with your own being 5018, so you head left with Art behind you following along.

“What room are you looking for?” You ask him just as you pass 5014, knowing yours is near.

Peering at every door he passes, Art answers absentmindedly, “Room 5-0–“ You stop in front of your door, just as Art looks up and grins at the one you were at, “18, it’s this one.”

Your brows furrow as your head shakes slightly in confusion.

“Wait… Are you sure it’s 5018?” You ask slowly, showing him your card. “Because this is my room.”

“Uh… What?” Art utters, glancing down at the keycard in his hand as his face mirrors your own. He reads over his card then looks back up at you. “Shit, they probably messed up.”

You press your keycard on the sensor and it lights up green with the sound of the door unlocking. Opening the door, you gesture for Art to come inside as you say, “Let’s check with the front desk.”

He nods and you head in together with your suitcases. A quick phone call should clear up all the misunderstanding.

20 minutes and a conversation with a front desk attendant then one with your mother and another with the front desk later, it seems that it was a misunderstanding. A miscommunication between your mom and the lodge when she made the reservations. So instead of booking two rooms, she got only one… With one queen-sized bed.

There’s good news and bad news.

The bad is that since the lodge is in full vacancy, they can’t get another room for you or Art. The good news is that you will be the first they call when something opens up. Plus, the hotel provided two gift cards of $50 to the stores at the Skier’s Village for all the trouble.

Luckily, a quick text to Hannah fixes all your problems. She’s ecstatic to share a room with you all weekend.

“Sorry about all this,” Art apologizes after everything is settled, sitting on the edge of the bed while putting on another pair of thermal socks.

On the floor, you stop rummaging through your suitcase for your gloves to shrug at him. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, but you should get the room, I could ask —“

“It’s all good,” you shake your head with a smile. “Hannah’s already really excited. She already planned for us to do some new facemask she brought and watch 13 Going On 30… Again…”

When you giggle at that, Art finds himself chuckling too, a sweet smile gracing his face.

Finding the pair of gloves, you close up your suitcase and stand up.

“I’ll just get this later, is that okay?” You ask him, glancing at your case. “I don’t want to make everyone wait even more…”

“Yeah, of course,” Art says, standing up as well, boots on and ready to go.

“Thanks,” you smile at him before heading to the door first.

“Oh, ____, wait!” Art calls, and you stop to turn back to him. He walks to you, holding out the electric blue wool hat he had been wearing earlier. “Wear this,” he looks at the one on your head and frowns, “The one you’re wearing is too thin.”

“What about you?” you question in concern.

“I have another in my pocket,” Art says with a shrug. He doesn’t but he’s sure he can get something decent at the Village with the gift card. Probably nothing as warm and high quality as his favorite blue hat, but he’d rather you wear it than him.

“You sure?” You ask again.

He grins. “I’m sure.”

“Okay…” You sing-song as you pull off your beanie and place it on the counter beside the two of you. This morning, when you first saw the ridiculously chunky hat on Art’s head, you had a giggle to yourself. But it grew on you and now, you actually think it’s kind of cute, but maybe that’s because of who was wearing it.

Before you could get the hat from him, Art chooses to put on you himself. He does it gingerly, pulling it over your head carefully as to not mess up your hair.

“Looks better on you than me anyway,” Art states as he looks over you after the hat is comfortably on your head. With his hands still cupping your face, his thumb tenderly caresses your cheek as he asks softly, “It’s warmer now, isn’t it?”

You could only answer with a nod. Your ears are burning hotly, and you don’t know if it’s because of Art’s hat or from his gaze.

—---

The upgrade to the Village was tremendous, you could hardly remember how it used to look like but you know it sure didn’t look this. Cobblestoned streets, pretty white light globes hanging on the wires from street lamps to street lamps, restaurants that have lines forming around the block even though it’s only 10 in the morning, and there’s even a fucking Loewe boutique now!

Though it’s really hard to enjoy everything when every step of the way, Rachel is quietly teasing you about wearing Art’s hat. She has so many questions, and none of them you answer, so she gets a bit huffy about that and the fact that you were rooming with Hannah instead of using the golden opportunity that was bestowed upon you to stay in the room with Art. You tell her that if you hadn’t gone, he would have roomed with Patrick instead. She sulks about that for a bit until you tell her that you’ll buy her something at the next place you all go into if she stops pouting. That puts a smile on her face quickly and all’s forgotten.

Your group stops by the cafe for a bit, and you treat your friends with the gift card you got, getting into the holiday spirit. In the time you were in there, Daisy finally arrives with her boyfriend, Ewan. He’s nice and gets on with everyone well, but there’s a small part of you that’s still a bit sad about Paul and Daisy not working out. They were literally the antithesis to yours and Patrick’s relationship – so when they broke up, you thought about how if they couldn’t make it, then no one can. But you suppose even seemingly perfect relationships can also have problems. Plus looking at her now, Daisy seems really happy with Ewan; and although Paul can’t completely mask his sadness, he is being respectful towards them.

In a way, you’re glad Patrick was there. You’re sure that if he wasn’t, Paul would totally be 100% emo right now. Patrick is already working overtime on his wingman duty, which isn’t only getting girls for Paul but also doing stupid things to put a smile on his friend’s face. Which is… Sweet… A trait that you’ve always liked about Patrick, that he always tries to lift the mood of the people around him.

But, yeah… He did already help get 2 numbers for Paul – the barista at the cafe and a cute girl window shopping in front of the Nike store. At this point, it really shouldn’t surprise you how good Patrick is at picking up girls, though at least he’s doing it for something good now.

After Manny has a brilliant idea to do a last minute Secret Santa session tomorrow night, you all look around the shops for a while to find a gift for the person you picked from the wooden stirring sticks that Hannah wrote the names on.

You got Jacob, and knowing what you know about his habit of listening to music while sleeping, you buy a pair of earphones in case another of his breaks. While buying some snacks for tomorrow night at the convenience store, Rachel drones on and on about how you should have got him a box of condoms instead since it seems like him and a certain girl were actually hitting off during the time at the café, suggestively raising her eyebrows up and down at a blushing Hannah. Then Rachel grabs three boxes of protection anyway and throws it into the basket she was carrying, shrugging and defending that it’s a good gift idea when you and Hannah stare at her dumbfounded. You really hope she isn’t your Secret Santa.

---

“How many?” The ski lift attendant asks when your group comes forward.

“Uh… 7,” Manny answers but looks around to double check; counting himself, you, Rachel, Patrick, Daisy, Ewan, and Art. The others who had brought their own equipment went ahead to the hills already while the ones in this group were renting stuff out.

The attendant nods and points to the red gondola lift coming and says, “Go ahead and watch your step. Might be a tight fit but you could all go in there.”

Once the lift slowly comes around to the platform, you all quickly get on because it will never fully stop, all the while thanking the attendant. When everyone gets in, he securely closes the door and tells you all to have a good day.

The attendant was right about it being a tight fit. With everyone’s choice of skis or snowboards piled in the corner, you guys were like a bunch of sardines in a can in there. You, being one of the last ones to get on, didn’t get a spot to sit on either of the two cushioned benches inside the lift.

“Oh, it says you have to sit!” Daisy says to you and Ewan, pointing at the safety sticker attached to one of the many windows. At that, she stands up to let her boyfriend take her spot so she can sit on his lap instead.

You look around, trying to find a small space you can fit yourself into before the lift makes its way out of the platform and you become the reason you and your friends end up being in a freak accident Final Destination style, but your search stops when you find the mischievous face of Rachel instead.  You shake your head at her in warning when you see her eyes flicker between you and Art, already leaning forward to probably push you onto his lap.

But then someone else beats her to it first. Someone who is almost as meddling as Rachel but as equally irritating. Manny giggles before pushing you towards his friend –  who also happens to be your ex, “Hey asshole, help ____ out!”

As you fall forward with a small yelp, your hands clutch tightly onto the puffy coat material on Patrick’s chest and the other on his shoulder, while his arms swiftly wrap around your waist, securing you a place on his lap. He glares at Manny, but his hold tightens around you, “Dude, what the fuck? She could have gotten hurt!”

On the other side of Patrick, Rachel furiously mouths a fuck you at Manny. With no sign of regret or even a slight concern for your safety, Manny just puts his hand over his mouth and giggles again, answering both of them with an, “Oopsie!”

Patrick sighs and then grins up at you apologetically, “You okay?”

“Yup!” You squeak quickly, trying not to blush as your mind flashes to all the many times you’ve been in the same position on Patrick’s lap – but with far fewer layers of clothing. You instantly remember it because it was his favorite position… How he would pull your hair back so he could scatter marks all over your neck to your chest with his mouth, roughly grab your ass and smack it as much as he pleased until it is raw and burning and bruised, and the way he would always call you his good little slut for being able to take all of daddy’s cock…  

The image in your head became far too much that you shakily try to get up as you mumble a sorry towards him. He frowns as he looks over your expression, only to bite back a smirk when he recognizes that half-lidded faraway look in your eyes, his grip keeping you in place.

While everyone else gets distracted by the beautiful winter wonderland scenery outside the window, Patrick leans in closer, so close that you could feel his breath on your cheek.

“If you’re thinking about things that will ruin this friendship, you better stop,” Patrick growls in warning in a voice so low that only you could hear, but there’s also something there that indicates he doesn’t mean what he had said.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” you say coolly, though you are anything but when you feel something firming up against your backside. You almost whimper out loud because of how thick and long it felt even through the confines of his snowboarding pants.

God, you miss it. Patrick’s dick is pretty much 95% of the reason you always come running back to him.

And he knows that very well.

Patrick shifts around so his length could comfortably rest along your clothed center, and you were only wearing water-proof and thermal tights-like pants so you felt everything.

A ragged breath escapes you, causing Patrick to lightly brush his smirking mouth against your cheek as he mutters, “Good girl.”

Quietly fuming in the corner, Art watches the whole thing with a palpable look of pure envy on his face.

---

Even before you became Art’s stepsister, you were supposed to be off limits to Patrick.

As Art’s best friend, Patrick was the first to know about the blond’s crush on you. After seeing you play Rizzo in the Grease Musical that their school put on during Freshman year, you were all Art could dream and talk about. At the time, Patrick was so encouraging about it. He was even the one who suggested Art to join the AV club so he could get closer to you, knowing that you had a passion for musical theater. It was the only way to do so. With their specialized schedule for their tennis program, Art’s chance of sharing any class with you was less than 5%. Art also didn’t have any talent for acting, singing, or dance; so signing up for the drama club would just embarrass him. So the AV club was the safest bet.

Surprisingly, it actually worked. Because of the club, Art worked on the musical you were the main star of, and he managed to get closer to you. Close enough that he was confident enough to think that he had a chance. So he promised himself that after the last show, he would ask you out.

But then his dad met your mom, and everything went downhill from there. 

So as his group of friends and yours merged together, Art had to take a step back and treat you like just a friend. 

And that’s when Patrick swooped in and took you for himself. 

It had started because of a drunken mistake at a party, and Patrick was actually so remorseful that he had promised a very angry Art that it won’t ever happen again. But then Art’s dad proposed to your mom, and at that point, Art couldn’t justify his “dibs” on you. You weren’t his, and you weren’t an object, and it’s pretty clear to see that you developed some sort of feelings for Patrick after that one night stand. So Art gave Patrick his blessing even if it killed him inside to do so.

For a while, Patrick had tried to not show off his relationship with you so blatantly in front of Art out of respect for Art's “past” feelings for you. But you were too irresistible that sometimes he would forget that he invited Art over to his dorm room, and Art would walk in to find you and Patrick heatedly making out on the twin sized bed, with Patrick’s hand groping your breast, drawing noises from you that Art wished were because of him instead of the leech sucking your mouth dry.

By now, everyone has witnessed the long and messy history of yours and Patrick’s on-and-off relationship which makes Art secretly hate him even more.  

If he had been in Patrick’s place, Art would have cherished you and would have never broken your heart over and over again, let alone even once. Patrick probably doesn’t even know how lucky he is to be given so many chances from you because he didn’t deserve any of them.

Patrick didn’t deserve you at all, you deserve someone better. And that somebody should be Art.

But not him him, Art thinks, because that’s wrong seeing he is now your stepbrother and all… Just someone like him.

It will be wrong to try to pursue you now, so he won’t.

But it still pisses him off. Especially after seeing what happened on the lift, once again wishing he was in Patrick’s place instead and he fucking hates that he’s so jealous of that asshole. Still. Over and over again. With you, and then Tashi, and now you again. 

Though perhaps trying to one-up every snowboard trick Patrick does isn’t the best course of action to prove that Patrick isn’t all that and that there are better guys out there. (Like him, but once again, not really him.) It’s the dumbest thing Art has ever done, but he only figures that out when he falls flat on his back after attempting to do a frontside rodeo.

His back hurts like shit and Patrick had the audacity to look all worried when he asks Art if he’s okay. And despite Art’s protest, he even carries Art to one of the rest stations scattered throughout the park. What a prick.

Fortunately, you tag along. Your genuine concern for Art really helps ease the pain and somewhat allows him to tolerate Patrick’s mere presence. Though it would have been a hell of a lot better if Patrick wasn’t in the equation at all.

“Can we talk?” Patrick asks, when the two find themselves alone in the rest station when you leave to get something warm for Art to drink at a food stall nearby. Art tried to tell you it’s fine but you insisted that some hot cocoa will make him feel better. 

Staring out the window and refusing to look at his ex-best friend, Art replies flatly, “We have nothing to talk about, Patrick.”

Pressing his lips together, Patrick feels his eyes start to sting, his gaze getting slightly blurry with wetness. It’s been fucking years since Tashi’s accident, and Art is still acting like Patrick was the one who purposely broke her knee. If Art broke his back today, Patrick surmises that he’ll find a way to blame Patrick for that as well. “Are you really going to be like this the whole weekend?”

“Yes,” Art replies without hesitating. “Now fuck off.”

Patrick shakes his head in disbelief, stares at Art for a moment longer, then heads to the door. But before he fucks off, he stops to throw over his shoulder, “I hope you feel better soon, Art.”

When Patrick steps out, that is when Art finally glances his way. But he was already gone.

—---

“I’m really, really sorry ______! Should I just cancel? I feel so bad—“

“No!” You screech into your phone, catching the attention of the family of five in the elevator with you. “If you do that, I will kill you in your sleep, Hannah.”

You give a friendly smile to the wide-eyed little girl and the mom when they move away from you slightly, the mother’s arms wrapping protectively around her daughter tightly.

“But—“

“No, buts!” You cut your best friend off yet again because you know if you don’t, she’ll be true to her words and cancel the date Jacob asked her out on that afternoon at the slopes. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. I’m sure Rachel will let me stay with her…” As you suggest that, you’re already thinking of some good blackmail material you have on Rachel because she would surely take a lot of convincing since she wants you to stay in the same room as Art. Attention back on your conversation with Hannah, you grin when you tell her, “Go have fun! You’ve been waiting for this moment for like years and years!”

“I know!” She squeals excitedly. “I can’t even believe it’s actually happening!”

“And we didn’t even have to do anything! You did it all by yourself!” You sniff proudly, clutching your heart as you step out the elevator on the fifth floor. “My baby is growing up.”

“I’m older than you, _____,” Hannah reminds you with a giggle, then she sighs dreamily. “I can’t believe I was always so scared and shy to go near him before. He’s so easy to talk to.”

“You better tell me everything as soon as the date is over,” you say and she hums an of course. “And don’t forget to bring protection!”

“___!” Hannah screams, then for a moment she falls silent until a few seconds later, she adds quietly, “Rachel already gave me one of the boxes she bought… Don’t worry…”

“Wow…” is all you could say as you laugh together. When you reach the door of room 5018, Hannah says her goodbye, needing her time left before Jacob arrives to finish getting ready for the date. Hanging up, you knock on the door and call Art’s name. Hearing his answer to come in, you use your card to enter the room.

Stepping inside, your eyes find Art sitting on the bed with one leg folded and the other laying straight, his back resting on the headboard. The television is on, marathoning the usual holiday movies that they show every year. Art tears his gaze away from Buddy and Zooey Deschanel singing in the showers to see you raising the plastic bag full of things he needed to help his back pain.

You walk over to the bed and dump the contents of the bag on it, and he leans over with a slight wince to grab the bottle of Tylenol, “Thanks, this will really help.”

While yanking your scarf off, you frown, “Does it still hurt?”

He shakes his head and grins, “No, not as much as before.”

“Well, that’s good to hear… But if anything changes… Tell me, okay?”

He nods and mouths an okay, finding your concern for him so adorable. He had told you before you left to trek into the cold afternoon to get the things now scattered on the bed that you didn’t have to, but you insisted to anyway. It was sweet of you, he thought as he watches you turn your gaze to the TV with a smile on your face, you are sweet.

“I love this movie,” you say out loud.

“I’ve never seen it before.”

“Really?!” And when he nods, your mouth falls open. “I’ll let you watch it in peace then,” you take your phone out of your pocket. “I have to make a quick call anyway-“ You point to the washroom. “I’ll just make it in there, okay? I’m not, you know, doing anything else if I take a long time.”

“Uh…” Art had to laugh. “Sure.”

“I’m serious, it’s just a phone call!” you say as you walk to the washroom. “Not number two or anything like that – Okay, I’ll just shut up now.”

Closing the door behind you, you smack your forehead for your stupid mouth. Maybe it’s a good thing you don’t have a chance with Art because you’ve ruined it plenty of times already, he probably does really see you as a dumb little sister now.

Shaking your head, you call Rachel. She picks up after the third ring.

“Hewwo?”

You resist the urge to tell her to shut up because you needed her to go along with whatever you were going to ask her during this call and in order to do that, you have to be sickly sweet and praise her until she will do anything you say. It’s like a weird platonic foreplay, and in the end, you will get what you want.

“Hello beautiful…” you purr, making her giggle.

“Oooh, baby… and to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?”

“Well… You must have heard that one of our own has… gone to town to paint it red with a certain man that I’ve heard rumors about…” You begin.

“Mhm… Yes, yes, I have…” Rachel answers haughtily, in a terrible posh accent. “That he is hung like a horse, yes… I hope our dear friend will be able to survive the night.”

You choke back a laugh – pounding a fist on your chest - to continue the weird roleplay. “Yes, I do too… So, I was thinking… We should have our own fun too! We could call up room service-“

She gasps, “Room service! Fun!”

“Yes, order some chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling wine, paint each other’s toenails, give each other massages… Doesn’t that sound swell?”

“Mmm… Mmmm… Mmm… Yes, yes, it does…”

You grin. Hook, line, and… “And I’ll pay for everything.”

“Oh… Oh my god?! R-really?!”

“Yes, really.”

She shrieks with excitement, sounding suspiciously like she’s having an orgasm at the thought.

Sinker, baby!

“So what do you say? Shall I come over now?”

“What? Come over? No, I’m sorry… I-I’m kind of – fuck – busy tonight.”

“What the fuck, Rachel?! What could you possibly be doing tonight?”

Guess you have to do Plan B. The B stands for blackmail and boy, do you have a good one —

“She’s doing me.”

What…

“Or I guess, more accurately… Oh, fuck, baby…”

The…

“I-I’m – uhnn- doing her.”

Fuck?!

“MANNY?!” You scream. “YOU GET AWAY FROM MY BEST FRIEND RIGHT NOW!”

He chuckles deeply, “Or what?”

“Or—“ You couldn’t think when you could hear your best friend’s moans of pleasure in your ear. You groan as you mumble, “Just give her back the phone.”

After Manny laughs again, you hear slight rustling as the phone gets passed back to Rachel.

“H-hewwo?” Rachel answers again, this time sounding meeker.

“Frankly, I am disgusted…” you tell her harshly. Even though Manny is one of your best friends this has got to be the grossest thing you’ve ever found out in your life. Rachel has already stooped so low that no blackmail of yours could even top this.

“I’m sowwy– Oh my god, daddy…!”

This girl has no shame.

“REPENT FOR YOUR SINS!” You shout before hanging up the phone quickly. Your whole body shudders, having the urge to throw out your phone and take a thousand showers or maybe more effectively, get a lobotomy so you can forget about everything you just heard in the past 2 minutes.

Running a hand through your hair, you sigh as you put down the lid of the toilet to sit down and think about your other options since Rachel is definitely out now. You don’t want to intrude Daisy and Ewan’s couple time, so that’s a bust. Amandla is out barhopping with Paul, Patrick, and Daniel at the Village; and will most probably take someone home tonight so that’s also a no-go. So now, you have… nothing.

With a resigned huff of air out your mouth, you stand up with a clap of your hands on your thighs, ready to tell Art about the bad news. When you open the door, his furrowed stare of concern was already on you as he asks, “Hey, what’s wrong? I heard a lot of shouting.”

“Oh, nothing! That was just…” You trail off, not wanting to get into it, so you just smile instead. Except maybe you shouldn’t because of the news you were about to bring him. “Listen… You know how Hannah and Jacob are going out tonight?”

He nods so you continue, “Well because of that, I, uh… don’t really have a place to stay tonight.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, that was Rachel I just got off the phone with and she’s also… preoccupied tonight. And I could call Amandla but I—“

“Just stay here.”

“Really?” You ask, perking up. “Is that okay?”

Art shrugs, “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” Then he looks off to the side, rubbing the back of his neck. “Is it alright if I stay here too? I think all the other rooms are full except Jacob’s… And well… if his date with Hannah goes well…”

“Yeah, yeah, of course!” You say quickly. You point to the chair and ottoman close by the window. “I was thinking of making that my bed so it’s all good.”

“What?” Art sits up now, shaking his head. “No, no, I’ll sleep there tonight. You take the bed.”

“But your back—“

“Is fine, I told you.”

“But—“

“Take the bed, ___,” he insists, standing up from it. With a kind grin, Art beckons you over to the mattress with a tilt of his head. “You’ve already done so much for me today so this is the least I could do.”

With a defeated sigh, you walk over the bed, running your fingers over the comfy white comforter once you are beside it. You look over the size of the bed and you realize something. Nervously, you suggest it, “We could, um, both fit on this bed, you know…”

His mouth gapes slightly open then closed like a startled fish, finishing his lack of response with a hard swallow. You take his silence as a bad sign so you quickly say as you wave your arms a bit too much, “I mean, if I stay on this on this side of the bed-“ you gesture to the side closest to you, then point to the other farther side, “-and you stay on that side of the bed, there will be plenty of space in the middle and we won’t even be near each other at all! And we’ll both be comfortable and your back won’t be sore tomorrow morning — and like, what if you injure your back more? I don’t want to be the reason your tennis career ends before it’s really started! —  but if it’s a stupid idea th—“

“It’s a good idea,” Art manages to say finally. Your wide eyes stare at him, mouth still open from your hurried speech but no words come out. He sits on the bed and looks around, “It is a pretty big bed… I don’t see why we can’t sleep on it together…” He stretches his back a bit by arching his chest out, “And my back is still pretty sore…”

You keep staring as you bite your lip, feeling yourself heat up because of two things; excitement that this is actually happening and shame for being so excited that this is actually happening.

He pats his hand on one side of the bed and turns to look at you, “So this is my side?”

When you nod, he smirks, standing up. “Alright, I’ll get ready for bed then…” Then he stops in front of his suitcase, and looks over at you again, “Unless you want to go first?”

Awkwardly laughing, you shake your head. “No, go ahead!”

After a flash of his smile and small thanks, Art heads to the washroom with a change of pajamas. Once he is out of the room, you collapse on the bed, clutching onto your rapidly beating heart as you mouth holy shit to yourself over and over again. Because, holy shit… This is actually happening!

Then you tell yourself to get a grip because this is nothing to get excited over. The two of you are just sharing a bed, that’s all.

---

In the middle of the third movie of the holiday marathon, Home Alone, you fall asleep on the far right side of the bed with the comfy comforter wrapped around your body. It was nice laughing with Art during Elf and crying with him throughout Love, Actually (yeah, you saw him shed a few happy tears in the end, though he swears he hadn’t) but by the time Macaulay Culkin started making his booby traps, you were out like a light. Art looks over when he hears you snoring softly, smiling to himself before turning off the TV and making himself cozy on the left side of the bed, having only the extra thin sheet to cover himself. But if you are warm then he is fine. A few minutes later, he drifts off to sleep as well.

Sometime later, the hotel must have turned up the heating due to complaints because you awaken slightly. Drenched in sweat and mildly uncomfortable, you push the blanket off your body before falling asleep again.

But it might be because of that that you become restless, twisting and turning through the night that the next time your eyes open again, it is still dark. 

What time is it?

Groaning tiredly, you move your arm to try and find your phone on the bedside table you left it on, only to realize you couldn’t reach it from where you are. Shit, you must have moved to the center of the bed.

As you are about to move and crawl back to your side like a spineless zombie, you feel something stirring behind you, pressing itself against your backside as a huff of air from a slight snore tickles the nape of your neck. You freeze, heart beating fast. And if you weren’t awake before, you are fully awake now when a warm hand lands over your hip, touching more skin than you remember having exposed. So you peer down at yourself, and you nearly choke up, because what you see could fucking rival a Playboy magazine centerfold.

In the midst of pushing away the blanket earlier, your half-asleep mind must have also been irritated with the pajama pants you were wearing because right now, with your step-brother’s hand on your hips, you were only wearing your black mesh polka-dot panties. And not only that! Your shirt did that thing it always does while you sleep, which is to ride up your body until it’s only covering ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, basically not doing its job at all, so you have your tits out for the whole world to see!

Squeezing your eyes shut tightly, you are fully in panic mode.

If Art wakes up and finds you like this, he’s going to think you’re a pervert and sexual predator because you were the one who suggested that the two of you could sleep on the same bed and now you are the one who left your side of agreed upon space to press your half-naked body onto him when some time ago, he remembers you were fully fucking clothed. This doesn’t look good for you at all. This is really bad!

Oh my god, he’s going to tell his dad and then they’ll both tell your mom and then your whole family is going to hate you and then jail might be in the cards for you and then —

Art shifts again and you feel something firm grind against your ass. He groggily groans something that sounds suspiciously like your name, his grip on your hip tightening enough to draw a slight whimper from you. You swallow, mouth opening as your throat goes dry because he keeps grinding leisurely, presumably still asleep though you’re not really sure… You just know that every move he makes causes your panty to get wetter and you don’t want him to stop.

He does stop, a minute later, jolting awake and instantly freezing when he takes in his surroundings and what was happening. He stares at where his erection is pressed against your ass, only the thin layers of both your underwear keeping them apart, then his eyes travel up your bare back all the way to where your shirt was bunched up around your armpits.

Fuck… Did he do this?

Art curses under his breath, feeling ashamed as his hand on your waist loosens to tear himself away from you…

But the pretty hand that gently falls on top of his, stops him. It closes around him, making his grip tighten on your body again.

“___?” He whispers weakly. “Are you awake?”

Did you want him to stay put or is this a sleepwalking-like situation? He waits for the answer with bated breath, heartbeat accelerating.

“Yeah…” you whisper just as quietly that he had to strain to hear it even though the room was dead silent. He can feel and hear his heart pounding even in his ears when you start to guide his hand up your body, stopping just at the underside of your breast. There is a hitch in your breathing that makes Art think that you’ve decided against what you were really planning to take him. So he takes the final step cautiously, and with your hand still on his, he moves further up to grope your tender breast.

By the way you moan softly, you seem to like how he is touching you just as much as he likes touching you. Grinning lazily, he leans in closer, pressing his mouth on your shoulder with a light kiss as he asks, “Do you like this, ____?”

You were already nodding helplessly, but he adds more sensation by tweaking your nipple with his thumb and forefinger until you're bucking back into him, grinding once again on his hard cock. He hisses, stirring nearer. With a gasp, your hand moves from his hand to the back of his head as soon as his teeth nip at the skin on your neck, his tongue darting out to taste when you pull him closer.

Eyes closing, you sigh as you let his mouth work its magic on one of the most sensitive parts of you. You were loving it so much, getting so hazy with every mark he makes, that you hadn’t noticed his hand leaving your chest to slowly ghost down your stomach, his fingertips fleetingly spreading to touch every part of you he could on the way down.

It’s only when his thumb hooks under the waistband of your underwear and his mouth lifts off you with a wet pop that you realize how close he is to your throbbing center, the palm of his hand feeling so hot to the touch.

“I want to touch you,” he drawls, still sounding so tired yet also so horny. Just the tone alone makes you shiver, feeling yourself get wetter. He is playing with the cute, little ribbon on the front of your underwear teasingly as he asks, “Can I touch you?”

You look over your shoulder, meeting his gaze. Even though your sight hasn’t fully adjusted to the dark, you can already see how fucked out he looks. Heavy-lidded bedroom eyes burning you straight to the core.

A simple and shy nod was all you needed to give him for Art to use the finger that had been pressing on the ribbon to instead swipe a feel up your slit, groaning to himself once he touches the sticky, wet patch seeping through the fabric of your tiny underwear.

As he continues to slide two of his fingertips up and down your slit, sometimes stopping at your clit to give it more attention, he is rendered speechless by how drenched you are. The sounds of his heavy breathing that’s now matching with yours fill the still room instead. He thinks that the little noises you were making sounded a lot better than anything he has to say anyway.

What Art didn’t know is that you were trying to suppress the sounds, biting down hard on your lip to keep quiet, because even though you were loving every second of it, there is still a small part of you that feels guilty for the moral implications of it all. He is still your step brother after all, and you are letting him touch you intimately in a room that your mother has paid for in hopes that the two of you would get closer - as siblings, not lovers. So how fucked up is that?

But it is easy to forget all of that – no, not really forget, but forcibly push all those thoughts to the back of your mind with little to no shame when Art’s nimble fingers bring you closer and closer to coming for him.

While you squirm and whimper from his ministration, he slips his other arm under you to grab at your chest again, already missing the feeling of it in his hand. You feel unbelievably pleasant to touch, soft and smooth, even better than he had imagined. And you smell sweet too, he thinks as he buries his nose into your hair with a low whine after a particularly rough movement of your dry humping against him. He could come untouched from all of this alone, but he wanted you to come first.

“Spread your legs for me,” you do what he says without even a millisecond of hesitation, putting your leg over his to spread yourself open like he wanted. Anticipation courses through your veins, building higher with every passing moment. And yeah, maybe what the two of you were already doing before was tip-toeing over the lines of wrong, but when Art pulls your underwear to the side so your bare cunt is finally exposed for him to see – sopping wet because of him and for him only – that was the moment you both knew that this was the point of no return.

It most certainly is a really fucking morally terrible situation in almost every way, but neither of you cared anymore.

So at last completely giving into his immoral desires – the ones he had locked up tight and thought to have thrown away the keys the day your parents’ had said I do - Art slips a finger inside you, hissing in want when he feels your hot, velvet walls clench tightly around just his single digit. You are quivering already, so sensitive, and he loves that, coaxing more of your little mewls of more and please and - what gets him the most - his name with every pump of his finger in and out of you.

You start moving against him again when he adds another finger, either to get yourself to come soon or to help get him off too. Whichever it was, Art’s not complaining. To be able to feel your searing body heat pressed against him, thrusting his fingers so fast into your pussy that you are sobbing his name, kiss any part of your that his mouth lands on, and have your juices leaking down his hands was what most of his fantasies for so many years consisted of, and now he is able to live it… So yeah, he’s not complaining at all. In fact, he’s enjoying every second of it.

“I-I’m so – hnn – clo –” You gasp, back arching when he curls his fingers, pressing at that spot that has you seeing stars. Your hand closes around his wrist, the one that was flicking so hard back and forth to bring you closer to your pleasure, while your other hand grasps as the sheets of the bed. “Oh—Art!”

“Come on, baby…” Art rasps, sounding so debauched, his thumb rubbing your clit in slow circles. The hand that had been teasing your nipples the entire time moves up to grab the side of your face to get you to look at him. Now eye to eye, your wide ones staring into Art’s tender yet wicked gaze, Art commands in a drawl, “Come for your big brother.”

So you do, letting go to let the overwhelming sensation take over your whole body, from your hazy head to your toes that curl from the pleasure. As you tighten even more than he thought was possible around his fingers and drench him more with your cum, Art leans to capture your slightly parted mouth with his own.

You moan into the kiss and his tongue slips inside your mouth. Though it is still hard to think, not fully all together there yet in your mind, you think this kiss might be better than coming.

Might be.

Grabbing his hair from the back of his head, you pull him closer to kiss him deeper and he smiles against your mouth.

Once your orgasm subsides, you come to the conclusion that it’s all amazing. The way he kisses, how he touches, his fingers… All you need to know now is his cock, how it tastes and how it feels inside you.

But the way your heavy eyelids blinks slowly is not lost on Art when he breaks away from the kiss. With one last tender kiss on your lips, he slips his fingers out of your pussy and says with a warm smile, “How about we get some sleep?”

“Huh?” Confusion sets on your face when you hear this. You sit up slightly on your elbows and look towards his erection that is still straining behind his boxers. “But you haven’t cummed yet. Let me do something for you. Suck you off or…” You trail off, blinking languidly, forgetting what you were going to suggest because of how tired you are.

Art grins, finding it adorable that you are trying so hard to stay away just so he could cum too.

“No, it’s fine… I’ll just jerk off, I’ll be done in a second anyway,” Art admits, laughing.

That makes you pout. Your hand goes to squeeze his thigh as your eyelashes flutter in feign innocence, purring, “But, I wanna help… Big brother.”

You’ve never called Art that before, ever. Not even once. Because first of all, he was only a couple months older than you, and second, what the fuck?

But remembering how he used it earlier when he made you come, you thought you’d try it out. It should have made you cringe and laugh out loud at how ridiculous this all was but it didn’t. It actually made you feel a bit aroused calling him that. Maybe it is because of all the years that you’ve called Patrick ‘Daddy’ during sex that it didn’t seem all that bad to call Art ‘big brother’ now… But you have to admit, this is much more wrong. But why does it feel so right?

Art seems to think so too. A guttural groan escapes him as his cock twitches. How could he refuse that?

“Okay, let’s compromise,” Art begins, sitting up on his knees. Your eyes hungrily take in his bulge with a lick of your lips, too sleep deprived to care how cock hungry you must have looked. “I’ll jerk off like I said—“ You look away from his dick to pout up again at him, “And all you have to do is let me cum on your back?”

You like the idea, but you open your mouth to suggest another one. Before you could, Art leans down to your level until your noses are only inches apart to say, “I would rather that you’re well rested for tomorrow, sweetheart. If I let you suck me off tonight, you’ll never get any sleep… And don’t you think that when I make your poor pussy cum over and over and over again, it will feel so much better when you’re not close to dozing off every couple seconds?”

With a hard swallow, you nod in full agreement.

“Glad you can see it my way,” Art smirks, fondly pushing your hair back behind your ear before pressing a quick kiss on your lips again. Then with his hands on your shoulders, he guides you to turn over, “Now be a good girl and let your stepbrother come on you.”

You hum in content at his command, pushing your underwear down your legs and off before laying down on your stomach. When you spread your legs apart to show your glistening pussy, allowing Art to have more visual stimulation than just your ass, he lets out a shallow breath, staring once again in awe at how gorgeous you are. He then straddles his legs on either side of you, pushes his underwear just down enough that his hard cock pops out, then reaches down to gather some of your cum still smeared all over your cunt to use as lubrication. You whimper at his touch, looking back over your shoulders only to groan needily because of how nice his cock looks.

His eyes look over at every part of you as he fists at his cock, smearing a mixture of your cum and his pre-cum along his length to help him work faster. He starts with your pretty face, thinks about coming all over it, thinks about you choking on his cock with tears in your eyes. Then his eyes travel down to your back, thinks about holding on your waist while he drills into you, thinks about pressing a hand down the dip of your back so you’ll arch your ass higher for him as he eats you out, thinks about you screaming from overstimulation —

Before he could even have the pleasure to fantasize about your perfect ass or tight cunt, he comes hard with a low, drawn-out groan. For a few seconds, he is tensely stunned, hips jerking in stilted movement as he ejaculates in three streaks of white across your back. So overcome with pleasure and exhaustion, he just falls forward after his cock has softened and emptied out completely, though in the nick of time, he catches himself with a hand pushing down on the mattress to keep him up instead of crashing onto you. He mumbles a sorry and then a thank you, you answer it with a slow kiss.

When the two of you part, Art sits up again, planning to get a towel to clean you up. But he freezes when you reach a hand back. All his attention is on you as you gather up as much of his cum as you can. Then with it coating two fingers, you stuff it inside yourself with a ragged whimper and a low whine, your face falling into the pillow.

Art lays down, spooning you again. Closely, he growls a very pleased ‘dirty girl’ against your ear, causing you to shiver in content. You fall asleep with a smile on your face as his fingers join yours inside your hot walls.

[midnightorchids]

omg I HATE when people write jason being mean to his girlfriend, like, he has suffered SO MUCH do you guys really think that he would be like that?? and the worst of all is when they write him being mean (agressive, rude, rough etc) with her IN S*X! LIKE GUYS, HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT NASTY THINGS THAT PEOPLE IMAGINE HIM DOINGGGGGGGGG😭😭😭😭

the way he treat's artemis is so sweet and so different from what people imagine!

🧚‍♀️

RIGHT!! Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for angsty and angry Jason, but I hate when he’s an asshole.

I got a request once that asked me to write him as a toxic and mean bf and one where he accidentally hits his gf and I have never been more distraught in my life?? Like are you insane?? Sweet, sweet Jason A WOMAN BEATER?? Even on accident?? Crazy. Absolutely baffling that people write him as such a dick sometimes.

He wants to help people, he wants to clean up Gotham, albeit his methods are a little more permanent, but he’s always been a good man. He’s just seen a lot of shit and it reflects in his personality.

He’d always want to protect his partner though, give them love and make sure they’re taken care of.

If an argument were to start, maybe he’d yell and get angry, but he would never, I MEAN EVER, get physical or get angry to the point where he would hit you. He’d always check up on you and apologize if he was in the wrong. If he feels like an argument is about to escalate he’ll walk away from the conversation and come back when he’s calm. He cannot afford to lose you, he would never put himself in a situation where he has to fear for that.

I think Jason can be rough, sometimes rough is good, whether it’s sex or just in general. However, portraying him as ONLY rough and mean is kinda weird in my opinion. Jason is so much more than just this rough, mean, nonchalant guy!! He’s a sweetheart and he loves his partner!!!

Update: there’s one exception to him being mean in my opinion and that’s if you write a really good enemies to lovers 🫡

[ozzgin]

May I ask, what are each of the yokai harems love languages?

Featuring the six demons and their ways of showing love! Content: gender neutral reader, fluff

[Main Story] | [Character Guide] | [More Headcanons]

Murasaki will mostly show his love through acts of service. He may seem standoffish and cold, but he will always take care of you. If you get sick, he’ll huff and puff about humans being weak and pathetic, all while spoon feeding you some intricate soup he carefully cooked for hours to make sure you get back on your feet; then he'll adjust your pillow with a frustrated sigh, and occasionally check that you’re properly tucked in (with a frown).

In return, I think he’d greatly appreciate words of affirmation. He’d never show it, but he will absolutely blush to himself hours later because you brought up how helpful or smart he is. W-well, obviously. Who else is going to look after you as well as him? Hmph.

Kiritsubo is all about physical touch. He loves feeling your warmth and hearing your heartbeat, to the point you sometimes have to physically remove him off of you. Forget asking for a jacket if it’s cold, he’ll just attach himself to you.

Besides returning his affections, he will absolutely adore the occasional praise. Watch him power up in real time just because you told him he’s doing a good job. He’ll turn to you in the middle of the fight just to ask, “did you really mean it?”, and then continue slaying his foes with a goofy smile on his face. You really did mean it, huh.

Suma enjoys hanging out with you. In fact, it's the highlight of his day. There's nothing better than returning from his training and seeing your little human face. Even better if you happened to join him for a quick practice. Additionally, he's a very touchy demon, but he is painfully aware of the colossal difference in strength and size. Just one brief moment of him getting too comfortable, and you may end up with a broken bone. Sorry, he was really looking forward to that hug.

Unlike the other yokai, Suma doesn't care much for praise. On the other hand, he'll be extremely grateful if you're the one initiating intimacy. This way he doesn't have to worry about accidentally hurting you, and - something he'd never openly admit - he finds your struggles quite endearing. Having to stand on your toes to reach for a mere hug, holding his finger with your entire hand...precious.

Yuugiri has two ways of showing he cares: physical touch and words of affirmation. He's painfully observant and thus particularly skilled at saying the right thing. If you're having a bad day, he will immediately know the cause of your troubles. Within moments, he'll have you on his lap, stroking your hair and soothing you with compliments. "Of course I'm right, (Y/N). No one knows you better than me."

When it comes to himself - you guessed it - Yuugiri will never say no to some praise. Normally he's rather indifferent to sweet words, finding them plain and boring. Anyone else complimenting his looks in ample detail, and he'll grimace in irritation. But it's enough for you to casually remark his kimono has a nice pattern, and he'll be twirling his hair like a maiden all day long. "My, you think so? Maybe I should wear this style more often, huh?"

Sekiya does his best to be useful: bringing you a cup of tea after a long day of exorcising spirits, or massaging your shoulders to release some tension. You sometimes have to remind the anxious demon that he doesn't need to be a servant to earn your affections. Ideally, there would be a lot of physical touch involved, but he often hesitates, clouded by the fear of annoying you too much.

Therefore, any kind of intimate gesture is enough to get his tail wagging. Pair it up with a little praise, and he'll be dizzy with delight. Sekiya loves being acknowledged by you. He'd probably risk his life in a heartbeat just for a headpat from his one and only Master. The poor yokai worships the ground you walk on.

Sakaki loves spending quality time with you, especially if it’s away from everyone else. Whether you’re painting together, or taking a quiet stroll through some graveyard, know he will be having a blast - despite his gloomy expression. Additionally, he enjoys bringing you little gifts that remind him of you. Although his tokens of adoration can be a little…unconventional. Last time it was a polished rodent skull he found in the forest, because it reminded him of your fragile, yet eternal bond.

One quick way to soften him up is by praising his art and poetry; he will immediately crumble into theatrical confessions, declaring that no one else truly understands him like you do. You're his forever muse, his reason to await the next coming day.

[vinomino]

Why do you like Sakura?

Featuring: Sakura Haruka x gn!reader

Warnings: none…sfw

“Why…why do you like me…?” Sakura absentmindedly blurts out. “E-Er—Sorry—“ He blubbers out when he realizes what he said. However, you don’t miss a beat.

“I like you…because you’re you! But if I had to say…I like your personality, the way you dress, how you look…oh, and I mean it too. I like the way half of you is a different color, the way it makes you stand out. The way you don’t blend in, because I’ll be able to easily find you.”

Sakura just stares at you when you ramble.

“I want to be able to find you, no matter where you are. Hmm, there’s a lot I like about you…if I had to list it all we’d be up all night. I just really, really, really, like you—I really love you. I love everything about you, I love you Haruka. Ah, was I talking too much?” You’re looking at him, you’ve been looking at him the whole time you’ve been talking. You’re just sitting there smiling at him.

“Haruka…?” You’re blushing now, a bit embarrassed when he’s staring at you. Haruka can’t get any words out, the lump in his throat prevents him. He was always envious of how you can say such things with confidence. So he opts to embrace you, wrapping his arms around your waist, burying his face into the crook of your neck.

He wants to breathe you in, to the point where his lungs hurt. To the point where they explode. In this moment, he can’t tear his eyes away from you, how your face is so animated whenever you talk, how you smile and your eyes crinkle. You’re so pretty it hurts him. You’re so perfect it kills him. He’d gladly rip his heart out and serve it on a silver platter for you. He’s really glad he found you.

Feeling him slightly tremble, you pat his back. Leaning your head against his. “Thank you for choosing me Haruka.” He tightens his arms around you, “When you said yes, I was so happy, I’m so happy to be with you.”

Haruka wants you to stop talking already, his chest feels like it’s about to burst, but he also doesn’t want you to ever stop talking. He can’t imagine living in a world where he can’t hear your voice, a world where you’re not there.

“Thank you…” He faintly rumbles against your neck, making you smile.

Satoru-nii sensei please take his suffering and double it and give it to endo…

[merbear25]

Can you do Law, Zoro, and Ace x their beautiful S/O who is really really shy, but she gets a lot of attention because of her beauty and she gets really stressed and overwhelmed. ~ requested by anon

I’m so sorry that I deleted the original ask!! There was a weird glitch when I posted a different one yesterday where I accidentally posted that request to this one. Anyway, glad I copied it to another doc! I hope you like what I’ve written for you. 💜💜

CW: fluff, headcanons, fem!reader in mind but nothing specific mentioned

With a beautiful and bashful reader (Law, Zoro, Ace)

Law

He was incredibly observant—noticing reactions you’d make without you yourself realizing there was a pattern.

With your beauty attracting (mostly) unwanted attention, he did his best to steer others away from you, preferably without you noticing them at all.

Since you weren’t the confrontational type, shying away from the ones who got a bit too familiar with you, he made sure to step in to handle the situation. From his intimidation alone, they scampered away.

He’d be fairly protective over you, meaning he’d tend to stay close to your side or nearby. However, there were bound to be times he wouldn’t be able to be next to you.

Wanting to be sure you could work your way out of a nerve-wracking predicament, you’d spend a long time going over what you should do if x, y, or z happened.

Though it was far from ideal for either of you, it him some peace of mind that you could manage without him.

Zoro

It was obvious that you were shy and that it only became more difficult for you when others gave you that attention. It was more unfortunate for those who couldn’t take the hint than it was for you—being swatted away by Zoro wasn’t the most pleasant thing after all.

He was always the protective type—knowing you and his friends were safe was of high priority to him, as it would be for anyone.

That being said, he wasn’t going to suffocate you. He wanted you to have that independence to explore and experience things, so he wasn’t necessarily going to be hanging around you all throughout the day.

In saying that, he still kept an eye on you, especially when in crowded areas. Staying by your side, practically acting as a guard dog, his presence warded off any who so much as thought of flirting with you.

His temper wasn’t one that could easily be ignited. When it came to keeping you and others safe, remaining level-headed in the heat of the moment came naturally.

He didn’t even realize how much you needed someone like that, though. The rock that wouldn’t budge, even when you were being shaken to your core—it did more than he could ever understand.

Ace

As much as he thought your shyness was endearing and sweet, he wasn’t too fond of others giving you that same type of attention. Knowing that you didn’t like it either only gave him more of a reason to shield you from it.

Whenever you got stressed from the amount of attention you attracted, he was good at keeping you from spiraling.

Giving you stability that also came with a light-hearted smile helped ease your nerves, keeping that whirlwind of emotions from swooping you up in the storm.

Although he didn’t look extremely intimidating, he had his ways of getting people off your back.

He had charm and was good with people and when those mixed with his dash of mischief, he could easily trick them or distract them. It never took long after he swooped in to send them away practically forgetting the main reason why they’d come up to you.

Even if he was deeply bothered by how much those interactions weighed on you, his bright smile and laid back demeanor didn’t falter when he turned his attention back to you—just wanting to show you that everything would be okay.

[m4n-e4t3r]

My hero academia boys asking you out pt 1

warnings/tags: cliffhanger, more fanon way of acting than canon ngl, i dont think there's other warnings other than that- feel free to dm me if you notice a common warning that could affect someone

characters: katsuki bakugo, izuku midoriya, shoto todoroki, tenya ida, Eijiro kirishima, denki kamanari

🔥 Katsuki Bakugou 🔥

Bakugo seemed more agitated than usual. He kept glancing in my direction, his eyes burning with an intensity that made my heart race. I tried to ignore it, focusing on the lesson, but it was like trying to ignore a blazing inferno in the middle of a snowstorm.

When the bell finally rang, I gathered my things and started to head out, hoping to make a quick escape before he could confront me. But as soon as I stepped into the hallway, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find Bakugo standing there, his expression unreadable.

“Y/N, we need to talk,” he said, his voice gruff but lacking its usual edge.

“Uh, sure. What’s up?” I replied, trying to keep my voice steady despite the rapid beating of my heart.

He led me to a more secluded part of the school, away from prying eyes and ears. I could feel the tension in the air, thick and suffocating. He turned to face me, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that made my knees weak.

“Look, I’m not good with this kind of stuff,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “But I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. More than I probably should.”

My breath caught in my throat. Was he really saying what I thought he was saying? I tried to keep my face neutral, but I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

“I like you, Y/N,” he said bluntly, his eyes never leaving mine. “I don’t do things halfway, and I’m not gonna start now. So, what do you say? Will you go out with me?”...

💚 Izuku Midoriya 💚

The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm orange glow over the UA High School grounds. It had been a long day of training, and I was ready to head back to the dorms when I heard a familiar voice call my name.

"Y/N, wait up!"

I turned around to see Izuku Midoriya, his messy green hair slightly tousled and his cheeks flushed from running. He caught up to me, panting a little but with that determined look in his eyes that I'd come to admire so much.

"Hey, Midoriya," I greeted him with a smile. "What's up?"

He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "There's something I need to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure," I replied, curious about what had him so worked up.

We walked over to a bench near the training field and sat down. Izuku seemed nervous, fidgeting with his hands and avoiding eye contact. I waited patiently, giving him the time he needed to gather his thoughts.

"Y/N, we've been friends for a while now, right?" he began, finally looking at me. His green eyes were filled with sincerity and a hint of something else—something that made my heart skip a beat.

"Yeah, we have," I agreed, my curiosity growing.

"I-I really admire you," he stammered, his cheeks turning a deeper shade of red. "You're strong, kind, and always know how to make people smile. Being around you makes me want to be a better hero."

I felt a warm blush creep up my own cheeks at his words. "Thank you, Midoriya. That means a lot to me."

He took another deep breath, clearly trying to muster his courage. "What I'm trying to say is... I like you, Y/N. A lot. And I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime?"...

🧊 shoto todoroki 🔥

I glanced across the bustling courtyard of U.A. High School, my heart doing a little flip when my eyes landed on Shoto Todoroki. His dual-colored hair was unmistakable, a vibrant mix of crimson and white, just like his enigmatic personality. I always found him intriguing, a blend of ice and fire, both literally and figuratively.

Today, he seemed different. He was standing a bit straighter, his eyes scanning the crowd as if he was searching for something—or someone. My pulse quickened as his gaze locked onto mine. For a moment, I considered looking away, but curiosity and something deeper held my attention.

"Y/N," he called out, his voice carrying over the chatter of our classmates. I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness as he approached me. Todoroki was known for his calm and stoic demeanor, so seeing him a bit unsettled was surprising.

"Hey, Todoroki," I greeted, trying to sound casual despite the rapid beating of my heart. "What's up?"

He stood in front of me, his mismatched eyes intense and focused. "Can we talk?" he asked, his voice steady but with an undercurrent of emotion that made me wonder what was going on.

"Of course," I replied, nodding. "What's on your mind?"

Todoroki took a deep breath, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. "I've been meaning to tell you something," he began, his gaze unwavering. "I've realized that I have feelings for you, Y/N. And I was wondering if you would go out with me."

🗣️ tenya Iida 👔

I had always admired Tenya Iida from afar. His dedication, his sense of justice, and his unwavering commitment to his classmates were qualities I deeply respected. But today, something was different. I noticed him glancing my way more often than usual, and there was a nervous energy about him that I hadn't seen before.

The school day passed in a blur, my mind preoccupied with thoughts of Tenya. Finally, after our last class, I headed towards my locker, only to find him standing there, waiting for me. His usually stern face softened as our eyes met.

"Y/N," he began, his voice uncharacteristically shaky. "Could I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course, Tenya," I replied, trying to keep my own nerves in check. "What's up?"

He took a deep breath, his eyes searching mine for a moment before he continued. "I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now. I admire your strength, your kindness, and your dedication. You inspire me in ways I can't quite put into words."

I felt my cheeks heat up at his unexpected praise, but I nodded for him to continue.

"I... I have feelings for you, Y/N," he confessed, his voice steadying as he spoke. "And I was wondering if you would do me the honor of going out with me."

🗿 Eijiro Kirishima 🗿

It was a bright and sunny afternoon, the kind that made everything feel a little bit more hopeful. The UA High School campus was bustling with students, everyone going about their business, but my mind was focused on something—or rather, someone—else entirely. Eijiro Kirishima.

I had known Kirishima since we started at UA, and over time, my admiration for him grew into something deeper. His unwavering spirit, his kindness, and his infectious smile had a way of making my heart race. Today, though, something seemed different about him. There was a nervous energy in his usually confident demeanor.

We were in the courtyard, taking a break from training. Kirishima approached me with that wide, toothy grin of his, but there was a hint of something more in his eyes.

"Hey, Y/N," he began, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Can we talk for a sec?"

"Sure, what's up?" I replied, trying to keep my own nerves in check.

He led me to a quieter spot under one of the large oak trees that dotted the campus. The shade provided a nice respite from the sun, but it didn't do much to calm the fluttering in my chest.

Kirishima took a deep breath, his eyes locking onto mine with a seriousness I rarely saw in him. "Y/N, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I just... I need to tell you something."

I felt my heart skip a beat. Was this really happening?

"I really like you," he confessed, his cheeks turning a shade of pink that rivaled his hair. "Like, a lot. You're amazing, and I've been wanting to tell you for a long time, but I didn't know how. I guess what I'm trying to say is... Would you go out with me?"

⚡️ denki kamanari ⚡️

I had just finished my last class of the day, my mind still buzzing with the day’s lessons. As I walked down the hallway, I saw Denki Kaminari leaning casually against a locker, his usual grin plastered across his face. He saw me and straightened up, a spark of nervous energy in his eyes that I hadn't seen before.

“Hey, Y/N!” he called out, waving enthusiastically. I couldn’t help but smile back. Denki had always been a ball of energy, lighting up any room he entered.

“Hey, Denki! What’s up?” I asked as I approached him.

He rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign that he was nervous. “So, um, I was wondering if you have any plans this weekend?”

I tilted my head, curious. “Not really. Why do you ask?”

His cheeks flushed slightly, and he took a deep breath. “Well, I was thinking... maybe we could go out sometime? Like, on a date?”

[markrosewater]

Hey Mark, I just wanted to say you've always seemed like a really cool guy. I've played magic for over 4/5ths of my life, since the early 2000s when I was only five years old, I even met most of my long time friends through it. But I think I finally feel alienated enough by it to drop it entirely.

I always enjoyed every aspect of this game, from the deckbuilding, to the flavor, to the color pie and the possibilities it presented. I loved the fantasy of it, of planeswalkers and wizards, dragons and castles.

Universes Beyond really was the end of it, all the way back then. When i heard the announcements I was terrified, I knew where it would lead even then. I loved the world of Magic, and it feels silly to say about a card game but I truly felt immersed in the world when I played, even with the different planes, everything cohered to an internal set of rules that seemed unbreakable.

For a while I continued, our local scene created a variant format that banned Universes Beyond cards so I was able to ignore them, but then came Neon Dynasty. It felt strange to me, like it was breaking what I had come to expect out of the game. Most people disagreed, said it was still Magic enough, but I wondered just how far it would be pushed before Magic lost any identity of its own, anything that separated it from Fortnite or any other crossover soup known entirely for the things it borrows rather than the things it is.

When I saw the first spoilers for Duskmourn, I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back. When I play at the table with my friends, I enjoy the fact that all the cards feel like part of one larger universe. And when I see cards with televisions and smartphones in them, with modern clothing and internet references, I just can't fit them together in my mind. It seems like a cool world, much like a lot of the crossovers are cool worlds, but I play Magic for well... Magic. If I wanted to play Fallout or Warhammer 40k, or watch Insidious or Walking Dead, then I would. But when I play Magic, I want to see magic.

And it's canon, just as canon as Innistrad or Alara. We can't excise it like we can Universes Beyond, and if we can't, then what's even the point of trying to "protect the tone" with those bans? What tone are we protecting, that's already been shattered from within?

More and more it feels like the game just isn't for me, doesn't want the kind of player that feels strongly about cohesion and immersion. And that's fine, it doesn't have to cater to me, and the current approach seems to bring in more people than it drives away. But it still just makes me sad, on a deep personal level, to give up on what has been such a major part of my life.

In all likelihood, I'm an outlier, and you could easily say that Magic getting even broader in what it covers is only a positive thing. Take my critiques only as the lamentations of a single person. But when you can put anything in a piece of media, when there's no unifying idea of what is and isn't possible, then it just starts to feel meaningless.

I'm sorry, I know you'll probably never read this, I mostly just needed to get it off my chest- and you're the closest thing to a human face Magic the Gathering has. Thank you for all the work you've put into it over the years, and I'm sorry that I can't enjoy it anymore.

Thanks for writing. From a big picture, Magic excels at creating variety and does poorly at consistency. The core idea of a trading card game is we make lots and lots of pieces you can play with and then you, the player, customize your game as you see fit. History has shown us, the wider we spread the potential of what Magic can be, the more people find something they enjoy and are attracted to the game.

Think of it this way. Each player has a different sense of what Magic is to them. There's no cutoff point where we make the majority of players happy. In fact, for many players, it's the ever-expanding quality to the game that they enjoy most.

This does mean though that we might make choices that don't connect with what you personally enjoy, and I respect that. If Magic isn't providing what you want out of it, that's okay. My only recommendation is don't get rid of your cards. Many Magic players rotate in and out of the game, and the number one complaint I hear from players who rotate back in is them having gotten rid of everything when they rotated out.

Magic might not be what you need right now, but maybe a few years from now you've changed in ways which makes it something you will enjoy. Or maybe Magic will evolve in a way that speaks to you. The only constant I know is you and Magic will both change. Just leave yourself the possibility of reconnecting.

Thanks for playing all these years, and I hope to see you again.

[dalliancekay]

I'm just gonna write out what I think cos if someone sends me this again for the 113th time, I'm gonna snap. Look. Interviews (months!) before a premiere of something are tricky. You gotta be careful and VAGUE with what you say and what you want people to expect. Mostly creators focus on the themes in the first, maybe second episodes or so too trying not to give away much. Just the bare bones, what is already expected anyway. After all, they want you to watch it and go: "Ahhhh...." It was the same in S2 as well. (David describing in interviews how unmoored Crowley was in S2, how kind of disappointed etc and Michael how Az is also a bit disconcerted by not having a job, something big to belong to). But that's a description of - how we find the Ineffables in ep1, rather than describing the whole of Season 2. And there was a book first before the series and you must admit Aziraphale and Crowley are a bit different in the series than they are in the book. So caution was needed. PLUS their story has evolved again. It doesn't now end in the Ritz (I know it never really did for Neil and Terry who clearly wanted them to deal with the whole system somehow). The husbands have more trouble ahead. More details were added. We got more of their story, their journeys. Crowley doesn't change and is just waiting for Aziraphale to catch up with him is not much of a story, don't you think? Aziraphale is a naïve goody two shoes angel who has to realise Heaven is bad - is just so simple I'd be angry if I was Neil and read that. Well, okay, I AM angry.

And I'm sorry but Aziraphale has not lived a guarded life. He has lived a life of fear and anxiety with bosses who underestimate, belittle and laugh at him and think he's soft and rather pointless. Does anyone know what the question was Neil answers?

Yeah, Aziraphale changes a lot in S1 (esp first 2 eps, he's kind of forced to think about the stuff that was always kinda there but swept under a rug a bit in is mind). Crowley throws out - we should do something. This whole Armageddon thing, I don't like it. He is so much a questioner of everything, isn't he. Why does it have to be tis way. Makes no sense, what if... And generally, he doesn't have much to lose. If Hell wins, well, he knows what it's like. If Heaven wins, well, it'd be marginally better? Just about? If he survives to see it? Still sucks balls tho. So yes, David is right that Crowley NEEDS Aziraphale to see things his way and quickly. Cos EARTH.

Aziraphale knows the Earth came with a manual and an expiry date. He even told this to Angel!Crowley aeons ago.

So Aziraphale's journey (is not stopping believing Heaven is good and truth and light) is believing that he has choices. That the Plan might be Ineffable but it doesn't have to follow what he was told it must follow.

Crowley says, look, let's try, what do we have to lose. You like Earth as much as I do. And he gets Aziraphale to agree, they hatch a plan.

We watch Crowley come to love and trust Aziraphale through the ages after all he has been through. We watch Aziraphale to guard their little existence and carefully push at boundaries of what he thinks he can get away with. He wonders at what things are really like. What do they mean.

Their journey, is towards each other.

I don't know how they will smash the System before they fall into a tight embrace and never let go, but I know they will. Even if they have no idea yet that that is even possible. How could they.

And if I see one more post about how Aziraphale was backsliding and choosing his ‘faith’ over Crowley in the Final 15, I will set the internet on fire.

I can never decide if Heaven and Hell are more like mafia or like a dictatorship. Maybe a mix of both. Just cos they couldn't be killed, they were left alone for a bit. Didn't last long though, did it. They needed to be separated so they don't stop another go at destroying the little Universe project God started. I guess the Archangels are quite fed up with it.

Remember. Aziraphale and Crowley have nowhere to go. They never had. The best they could do was keep their little places on Earth. For themselves. For each other. Until they couldn't.

If you thought Aziraphale won't take the chance to have a tiny glimmer of an opportunity to destroy the fucking system in whatever way he can come up with (instead of what, being downmoted, having his memory erased too?), than you don't get him at all. Did he want to stay? You heard him say it. Was he allowed to? (No, really Metatron, nice chat but do fuck off for real now, I have a date with my demon). If you think Metatron wouldn't be back with a punishment for helping Gabriel than I don't know what to tell you.

Remember this?

And then they threatened the demon he loves.

ALSO Why do people keep bringing this back to justify their vague (or not so vague) dislike of Az (but but Neil said "I think Aziraphale needs to learn") cos they think Az betrayed Crowley by leaving or something. The angel is just so stubborn. And he just won't listen to Crowley... right? /s And they ignore all the other wonderful things Neil says about Aziraphale. Especially pointing out again and again and again how smart Aziraphale is. And you can see this. In canon. On screen. In the words and scenes of what Neil wrote. You can see Aziraphale's struggles - he is a part of something he disagrees with and has no way out (Hell is not a way out btw) and tries to live in his existence in the little bubble with Crowley while being extremely careful not to have it burst. Until it inevitably does. Just as he always knew it would. But okay, if you want to have Good Omens be about a demon who figured everything out and is now waiting for his fluffy little angel to catch up and apologise to him (a million times) for being stupid so they can finally ride into the sunset, have at it. TL;DR - Heaven is good and Heaven should/could be good are two different things - Aziraphale is not an idiot; whether he still believes God is good/neutral/whatever and just the management bad or not is up in the air, we can't know unless we ask him, but it's definitely not so simple as he needs to see it's bad, like Crowley did, end of story - The Ineffables HAVE NOWHERE TO GO. There isn't a secret third option where they can leave for and be happy if only Aziraphale opened his eyes - it's what the story is about - Crowley left Heaven for an even worse place. It would make zero sense for Aziraphale to follow his journey. Crowley is not free and doesn't have all the answers - I bet it has never occurred to either of them the whole System can be ever changed (we don't even know if it can be. The System is bigger than the UNIVERSE) - But I think that's what they'll do in S3

[lilacstro]

astro observation part 9

well, lets go, I dont have much to rant about lmaoo, i hope you all are doing good tho!! also I love when some of you comment/reblog my posts with your comments, I LOVE LOVE IT HAHAHA

i would love to hear your thoughts/suggestions about my blogs, astrology and paid readings if you have any, send them on in asks :)

1.I read a chart for a girl here on tumblr, and she had pluto, moon and venus, ALL in first house, a literal beauty attack, but apart from this, either of these planets in first house gives you so much beauty and appeal.

2.Wherever Neptune is in your birthchart can mean multiple different things. It can mean in what matters of life you look with delusion and think with haze and might think in feels, with unconditional love (neptune is higher octave of venus). Example, Neptune in 4th house, You can be absolutely be in illusion with your family life, over prioritizing it, making decisions around it with lots of emotions and love care. Can make another post on this one maybe. Neptune in 2nd house might not think clearly about spending money, or may lend money to people easily at time, or to the ones they love.

3. Often seen people with mars in extroverted houses often dont mind lashing out in public or calling someone out on the face, no matter what kind of introversion other aspects suggest in their chart. They are likely to stand up for themselves and/or others. Gives me the vibes "speak the truth even if your voice shakes"

4.People with Neptune in 2nd house could be really good fictional writers, or writers in general, a very good talent comes in poetry and fiction.

5. Neptune/Moon in 4th house makes a very devoted mother. Mother is likely to be spiritual, and unconditionally loving with Neptune, and very motherly and warm and understanding with Moon.

6. I have often seen, people with mercury-neptune/venus aspects have a potential to sing. In hard aspects, this can usually mean this potential is untapped and exists and needs to be channelized and worked upon.

7. Your Moon sign can show how you see your mother. With Moon in Leo, your mom could be protective over you, give you tough love but you must feel safe with her in all aspects, share your thoughts and feelings and even at some point, seek her validation. Moon in Libra could be that you feel a little unfair with your mother at times, though it can also mean the love you gave felt reciprocated, sometimes you couldve felt superficial about your relationship but it must look good on papers to others. Moon in Gemini, could be either its very good when good and very bad when bad, like two extremes.

8. Chiron aspecting MC can mean that often others see you as someone who has been through something in the past/ or when you are going through something, people might be able to see it. Not exactly the contents of it, but just an idea and feeling.

9.Check your Saturn to see where you will experience nudges and "tough love" with life until you learn your lesson. For example: Saturn in 8th? Lessons around coming out of the shell, and learning how to trust/who to trust and building close connections.

10. Indicators of doing well in academia/ as a professor: Sag stellium, Sag rising, Sag/Jupiter in 9th, PoF in 9th, Academia(829) in 9th/10th, Saturn/Jupiter in 10th, Sag/Capricorn MC

11. Your second house ruler can show how you like to keep your money/spend it. People with 2nd house ruler in 8th might like to keep their money at hidden places and/or spend it on astrologers, spiritual stuff or save it for hard times etc. In 1st house it can show someone who isn't afraid to show their money, and may spend on themselves, like skincare, things for their liking while in 11th house it can show someone is very generous with their money and might like spending it on their friends.

12. IC in Aries/Scorpio could mean you saw some kind of violence with your mother or childhood growing up. It could also mean your childhood made you competitive in some ways, or it was complicated, and something that has indeed transformed you. It could also be you can very much carry resentment for your childhood even afterwards.

13. very random but, sabrina carpenter's lyrics give me such STRONG leo vibes lmao "don't you stand there staring honey, try to move your feet, if you think they're looking at you, they're looking at me" lmaaoo

14. People with Uranus retrograde in their charts, would often find themselves thinking differently, wanting different things than their family or most, and if they ever stop/try to fit in the normal despite this life would usually steer them into some direction that will force them to this.

15. People with Pluto in second house often have sexy eyes or their eyes may look intoxicated lmao. They may often use eyes to express themselves/having expressive eyes or use their eyes a lot when they are mad/wanna assert power in situations. My mom has this placement, and one of my friends too and its true for both of them lmao.

paid readings are open <3

i love youu xoxo

[greenfiend]

Will already has powers…

And I think I figured out exactly what they are.

This is a long theory post. Get some popcorn, get comfortable and be prepared to have some common fandom perspectives get flipped upside down. Nothing is as it seems.

(Trigger warning for some serious subject matters such as: homophobia, SI, m*rder, and CSA.)

Before we begin, let me remind you of what’s seen behind our boy in the photo above.

This post will, indeed, open that curtain. As Murray states, revealing what’s behind the curtain will cause some to feel unease. The unease may be caused by distaste of the theory overall or discomfort of the serious subject matters. So proceed with caution…

To begin, who is Will Byers?

A young boy who doesn’t fit in with the 1980s norms. A boy who escapes through fantasy.

In fantasy he’s a wizard… a cleric…

Outside of fantasy he’s an artist… a creator…

He’s a boy who’s different. He stands out from the rest, yet he manages to remain hidden for the most part. He’s “good at hiding”.

He is a part of a small loving family of three. His mother Joyce and his older brother Jonathan. His biological dad is estranged (more on him later).

Will has a few friends when we begin the show: Lucas, Dustin, and Mike. Mike and Will have a bond that’s different from the others (more on them later).

Will is a young boy who has experienced a lot of trauma, from bullying peers and an abusive parent to being victimized by supernatural forces. There’s a lot going on for him both internally and externally. These also happen to correlate with each other quite frequently. Suspiciously frequently in fact. Which leads me to this conclusion:

Will’s powers involve shaping the world around him based on his warped views of himself, his sexuality, and his mental health. He’s literally “reshaping the [external] world” to match his internal world; “remake it however [he] sees fit.”

Wow okay slow down there, you may be thinking. You’re really saying he has God like abilities? Well, sort of- but he lacks the insight or control over his own abilities at this point. Just bare with me here and keep an open mind as things will get stranger…

Moving away from the deeper aspects of his character, let’s look at something superficial: his name.

William “Will” Byers

The name William means “Determined” or “Resolute Protector” or “Strong Helmet”. Okay.

Byers means someone who lives by a cattle-shed. Hm. Okay.

But wait… let’s go back. What does the name “Will” mean?

Well… there’s multiple meanings but let’s focus on the highlighted one.

“Mental powers” you say? A name that literally means the ability to make others do things or make things occur? To bend things to one’s will…

When did he get these powers?

I’m not confident in the answer to this but I think he may have always had the powers. Just like his sexuality, he was born this way.

It’s very likely that he was specifically targeted back in the first episode because of this, then was possessed afterwards for the same reason.

I mean… for a villain who wants to “reshape the world”- why wouldn’t he want the powers of a boy with this ability?

As I believe his powers are intertwined with his sexuality, they began manifesting much more once puberty hit. Will likely has used his powers in seasons 1 and 2 but very subtly. In season 3, they become more obvious but still in the shadows (and unbeknownst to him…he suppresses it). They emerge in correlation with his blooming sexuality.

Season 3 is associated with possession, and the concept of free will is a frequent theme. The characters discuss how to look out for people acting out of the ordinary, out of character if you will. Any characters that come to mind?

Hopper was noticeably different this season. Coincidentally, the same season Will desperately held onto his childhood innocence, Hopper acted suspiciously immature.

Will wants El and Mike to break up. Hopper wants El and Mike to break up.

Mike explains to Lucas that Hopper “threatened” him while we immediately cut to Will. What’s Will doing here? He is moving DnD characters on a board. He is manipulating the characters here… playing dollhouse… being a puppet master. This little guy was so jealous of Mike and El that he influenced Hopper to try and break them up!

We are shown other little incidences of Hopper acting Will-like too. He suddenly buys a shirt that’s different than his usual wardrobe- “that’s a lot of color chef”. Will is known for wearing colourful clothes, that’s highlighted as a reason he is seen as “different” and is bullied for it. Hopper has trouble pronouncing an alcoholic beverage, saying “cheeanti” when he is well acquainted with alcohol. While Will is dressed up as Will the Wise, Lucas asks Will for permission to shower- then we cut to Hopper showering. Hopper acts very immature in his jealousy, just as Will does. Both Hopper and Will have big fights with Joyce and Mike in episode 3 of season 3. When El asks “how do we know when someone’s a host?” the scene immediately ends and we are shown Hopper. Will is using Hopper as a host! There’s even more evidence than this but we shall move on from here.

So wait, Will possessed Hopper? Well, not exactly. Hopper was under the influence of Will. Remember what Will said about the mindflayer: “He likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me.”

There was another character acting out of the ordinary this season…

That’s right! Mike.

I’ll come back to him more later but in the meantime, let me offer you this theory:

The rain scene. Now what if I said that Will was the one projecting onto Mike? What I mean is: Will’s internal thoughts “it’s not his fault I don’t like girls!” becoming a reality. Mike never meant to say this- it was all Will’s doing. His internalized homophobia became externalized. It’s oddly fitting too that in the episode with Will’s emotional breakdown, it’s raining.

The devastating depth of Will’s trauma

Within the show, we know our boy has experienced a lot of suffering, but subtext tells us it’s much worse than we see on the surface.

Will’s father is a homophobic and abusive asshole yes, but he’s more than that.

There’s an alarming amount of evidence that this man was not only emotionally and physically abusive but also sexually abusive to both Will and his older brother.

He likely was especially homophobic towards Will because he projected his actual perverse sexuality unto him. He likely dealt with his shame by blaming his innocent young son.

This leads us to: November 6th, 1983. Originally, I do believe that Will died by the hands of his own cruel father. His father likely picked him up from his bike ride home (his bike left behind), ended his life by strangulation, put him in the back of his trunk, and dumped him into Sattlers Quarry (where his fake body was found).

I believe somehow someone was able to reverse this (more on this later). The clock turned back and a new timeline was created. Will was then abducted and brought to the upside down. Instead of heaven or hell, he was in purgatory. Time came to an abrupt halt in the upside down… the exact same time his life ended in the original timeline. This is where timelines diverge.

Now Will’s purgatory is also his internal world, his own mind. The upside down manifests itself as this. It’s dark, cold, scary, lonely, and unsettling. He’s trapped in his own head, where he relives some of his most traumatic memories. We see him being victimized by the Demogorgon (an alternate title for Demogorgon is “The Deep Father” x ) and we also see him being assaulted (in a sexual manner) by vines.

By the time Will is rescued, he is struggling with suicidal thoughts (the song “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die” tells us this). Poor boy has been in a deep dark depressive state. In season 2, his possession is a real manifestation of his PTSD.

The monsters represent how he views himself- he’s a monster. I’d argue his internalized homophobia is a lot worse than we actually think. It’s not just the homophobic environment around him, it’s also the ongoing rhetoric that the victim will inevitably become a perpetrator. As we see the common occurrence of toxic cycles continuing: he fears he has no agency and will become his own father.

Jonathan can relate, but because he’s solely attracted to women and thus more “normal”, it’s not as bad for him. But Steve really pushed his buttons when he implied that Jonathan is a creep like his father.

So yes, Will sees himself as a monster because of his attraction to men. Thus, he manifests the monsters in the monster show.

Speaking of his attraction to men…

Mike

Will loves Mike, he’s hopelessly devoted to him. Mike feels the exact same way. In the original timeline, Mike ultimately decides to jump into Sattlers Quarry to reunite with his love in death.

Will “jumps”, Mike jumps too. Luckily, a new timeline was created, giving both of them a second chance at life and love.

In the alternate timeline (the show), season 1 sees Mike leave no stones unturned in his search for his best friend. In season 2, we see how Mike normally is with Will. He’s so devoted! He’s always by Will’s side throughout everything. It’s beautiful! This is the authentic Mike.

So. What happened in season 3? Mike’s internalized homophobia?

Well partially I’m sure, but in this post I’m offering an alternate theory: Mike’s behavior is explained by Will’s internalized homophobia.

What do I mean by this?

Well as I said, Will reshapes the external world in the image of his internal world. He doesn’t believe he deserves Mike’s love. He’s scared. He’s been “inventing things” so he can push Mike away.

He obviously wants nothing more than to be with Mike, but due to his insecure attachment style and his internalized homophobia, he’s been the one pushing him away this entire time with his powers.

How has he been pushing Mike away exactly?

He’s been pushing Mike towards El.

Wait, didn’t he help break them up through Hopper?

Well, yes, but the sweet sensitive boy that he is likely felt bad, he regretted his actions after their rain fight fallout and wanted to give his “olive branch” and make amends.

Will believes the best way to do so is to push Mike and El back together. Like Lucas, Will gives Mike guidance by, essentially, being the master to his puppet.

(Above is actually Will’s apology to Mike.)

In Will’s mind, Mike is straight. He would never reciprocate Will’s feelings. So, Will believes that Mike should be happy with El then.

Will literally is putting words in Mike’s mouth here. Look how focused Will is in this scene, and how often Mike turns to him. It’s as though Will is mouthing to Mike exactly what words he (thinks) he should say.

Here Will is at it again! But Mike is resisting. The words aren’t able to come out. Will’s signal is poor, Mike couldn’t fully understand him.

So Will, as misguided but well intended as he is, attempts to bring Mike and El back together.

No wonder Mike couldn’t exactly remember his words…

He’s genuinely confused here!

This leads me to…

This foreshadowing shot tells us that Will is the director here. He fed Mike the script he had to read. So yes, I’m saying that Will did not just push Mike to say those words to El, he forced him to. Mike did not have any agency here.

Now, like me, you may be concerned about this. Will is bending Mike to his will? Won’t the audience then assume Will forced Mike to be gay with him? Pushing that toxic homophobic narrative?

Well that’s the thing- Will is not forcing a straight man to be gay. Will is trying to make a gay man straight! Ahhh trope subversion.

El

So I’m not going to delve too much into El in this post, because El and Will deserve their own post. But I do strongly believe they are much more connected than we think.

Vecna

Where does Vecna fit into this theory? Well for starters, I don’t believe Vecna himself is Will, he is definitely a separate entity. The major difference between Will and Vecna is that Will will no longer be restrained by his shadow, he will be able to differentiate himself from his shadow. Vecna has chosen to become one with the shadow.

Also, like Mike, Vecna is heavily associated with time. Vecna takes time away from others but Mike gives time. I do agree with the Wheeler and Creel being connected theories.

Time

Time is a major theme within the show. As I mentioned previously, Will possesses powers where he can manipulate his environment, his space. Will is space, but he is lacking the 4th dimension.

The upside down is frozen in time, essentially lacking time. It needs time, and it always will! That’s right- Mike is time.

That boy is frequently associated with it. Running late at the beginning of each season, mentions of “turning back the clock”, etc.

Mike “turned back the clock” and saved Will from his original fate. Similar to the scene where Mike jumps off the cliff and is saved by El, Mike reverses his fall by rewinding time. He went all the way back to the night of November 6th, 1983. Preventing the original timeline from occurring.

Mike gave Will the greatest gift of all- time.

Remember time heals all wounds. Wounds being the gates.

Together, Mike and Will are spacetime. Which is beautiful because not only does this mean they are equals in every way but they can literally create their own fantasy world together.

Conclusion

This show has a lot of layers. I tried to really dig deep but still I feel like I just scratched the surface. I will say this though: I am utterly confident that everything leads back to Will. He is the center of the entire show, like it or not. Without Will, there is no Stranger Things. Now of course this is not “the Byler show” but their relationship is incredibly important. Mike’s unconditional love and devotion to Will is a key aspect of the solution to the conflict. He makes Will “feel better for being different”. His love, along with his other friends and family, will inevitably lead to the upside down (Will’s mind) becoming a beautiful place. Instead of rot and decay, there will be blooming flowers and sunlight.

If you’d like to discuss any aspect of these theories with me, feel free! Like I said, I’m only scratching the surface here. Let me know your thoughts.

[trans-girl-nausicaa]

i don’t get the “mommy” kink at all, i think its super weird. i know the whole “mommy” thing got mainstreamed (and some people use the term MILF to refer to any woman who looks like she’s over 35) but i still think it’s weird in the same sense (but not to the same degree) as full-on MD/LG roleplay. (As well as sibling roleplay). If a woman called me “mommy” OR asked to be called “mommy” that would be a total dealbreaker for me.

I mean I often see younger women on here talking about “oh I want a mommy gf 😍” or whatever and im like… 😬 That Would Genuinely Probably Not Go Well For One Of You Or Both Of You

I saw a 20 year old woman make a post about wanting a 30 year old gf. And I was like.. what. No you don’t. You should be with someone who is gonna do Young People shit w/ you, that you can actually relate to. At that age you’re still going through a lot of formative experiences and figuring yourself out. A gf who is 10+ years older than you is probably not going to get along with any of your friends, and vice versa.

I’m 31 and if any of my friends who are close to my age revealed they had a new gf who was 20 we would need to have a serious one-on-one to figure out what the hell they were thinking.

(That being said, there is a big difference between, say, a 20/30 relationship and a 30/40 relationship. The older two given people are, the less an age gap between them matters.)

Why, in any case, do you want to designate an older gf to designate as your “mommy” or whatever? Are you expecting her to do all of your domestic labor? Make major life decisions for you? Financially support you? Abdicating responsibility is kind of an understandable instinct when you’re young and you don’t really want the overwhelming responsibilities of life, but trying to solve these problems via a romantic partner is a recipe for disaster. And beyond that, we can also ask the following question: Why would someone want to be in a position of having that much responsibility and power over their gf? There are few good reasons and many bad reasons.

There is no relationship that is completely equal, as no two people are exactly equal, but equality and bilateral accommodation are still good things that you should strive for in a relationship.

[soojinieshifts]

Hihihi I just wanted to ask how world tour work and if their stressful :33

Oooo ok this is a good one!

TOURS

So tours are usually planned a few months in advance, some companies will do a year or 2 in advance but it depends on like the success of your groups and how big your fanbase is. The planning is done by your staff, managers, etc.

Touring can be so much fun honestly because you get to go to so many beautiful places and see so many cool stuff, my favorite part is getting to show my members around my home country and the places I’ve grown up. It’s also fun to introduce them to my family, have them try our foods and so much more things. Not all companies however have all countries in mind it’s usually just the ones they think are popular or care about but I script our tour stops usually so I don’t really run into this problem like I did when I was a baby shifter.

Usually your company will let you guys pick your set list, but they also will do a lot of them based on popularity of the songs. Like usually you will preform all title tracks that you have released since those are most popular but you and your members will also be able to pick the bsides and other songs for set lists. If you’re planning on having a solo stage then a lot of planning and practice goes into this before tour, and during sound check every set will be run through in order to avoid any mistakes.

All this aside, touring can also be very tiring. Especially if you are having a comeback near the end or middle because then dates become more closer and immediate/less spaced out?? (If that makes sense😭) in order for you guys to have time to go back to Korea for the comeback, if you have schedules then you will have your show and depending on when the schedule is you will usually be flown immediately to wherever said schedules is. (By schedules I mean events for brands and other shit like that). Some companies will give maybe a week or 2?? Cool down period before going to the next leg of the tour (like Asia, North America, South America, etc.) Some groups like twice for example does a complete different performance for each place they are going to so this means twice is practicing more than usual. Overall the most tiring part was traveling around often, going to the airport early in the morning, and very late practices.

For my personal experience for every tour I went on, we would sleep at hotels with the members sometimes it would be solo rooms or roommates (it would be really fun with roommates ngl), Concert outfits were entirely chosen by stylists but for solo stages we usually get a say in what we get to choose. My favorite moment of the concert was realizing that I was finally there. Everything just came to me naturally , all the training, practices, everything paid off to this very moment. It can still be stressful and pressuring but also very fun! But this was all my experiences so it might not be the same as yours.

Things I recommend you script: Tour edition

- you go to more places for tours (if shifting to a group where they don’t go many places)

- you always have the best outfits

- your solo stage!! Trust me this part is so fun fr

- no one ever has a wardrobe malfunction on stage

- there are never any technical difficulties (mics not working, sound issues, etc.)