#it strangely feels like slacking off when I do anything other than write

[lemonthepotato]

Cringe warning: very bad Esperanto.

Mi povas mergi min en Esperanto čar mi ne faris multe da progreso ekde 2019. Mi kredas mi komencis lerni en 2019, sed mi rezignis dum (por?) unua jaro. Mi rezignis la hispana, la franca, la japana kaj la irlandano čar… nu, estas evidente kial. Tro da lingvoj lerni (por lerni? Lerni sentas malgxuste.)

Sed, mi restis kun la Esperanto(n?) čar gxi estas facila. Mi volas lerni lingvon por la sakeo (that’s… is that seriously the word? Sakeo? I joked once that Esperanto is 80% English words with -o and the end and 15% other languages with o- at the end, but I digress) de lerni lingvon. Homoj diras ke tio estas malbono kialo, sed, kial? Estas amuza… ne estas krimo amuziĝi.

Honeste, mi estis (estis for ‘have been?’ doesn’t feel right…) uzi Google Translate por helpi min, sed ne por lambastono. nur por kontroli se mia gramatiko estas bona. Ne estas, evidente, sed… mi estas nesekura pri gramatiko. Mi scias ke gxi ne estas bona, sed gxi estas probable pli bona ol mi sed mi ne uzis gxin.

Cxiuokaze… mi havas punkton kun ĉi tio; estas malfacila mergi en konlang! Jes, mi povus aligxi servilo de Discord, sed… la embaraso. Mi estus kiel, “Bonvolu… mi estas…” kaj havas furzo de cerba! Cerba furzo? (Googling how to stutter in Esperanto. Great.) (also I’m realising I said bonvolu instead of… oh my god? Am I seriously forgetting hello? Oh, Saluton!)

Cxu mi probable lernu la lingvon de miaj lando, la irlandano? Probable, sed honeste? Neniu parolas la irlandano en la nordo. Ili apenaŭ en la sudo. (Ne estas sude, mi ne zorgas se Google translate diras alie… ne sentas gxusta.)

Cxu mi havas punkto kun cxi tio? Ne. Sed, hej, diras al mi kiel CLAPPED mia Esperanto estas. Kaj, jes, mi eĉ ne provis traduki clapped cxar gxi estas pli amuza al ne.

Mi estas tiel malbona pri Esperanto. Mi devas fidi al tradukistoj por helpo. Mi uzas Google Translate por helpi kun tempoj kaj gramatikoj, sed la vortoj estas plejparte el mia cerbo, se tio havas sencon.

Mi ne havas kialon pri ĉi tio. Mi supozas, ke ĉi tio estas testo de miaj kapabloj. La rezultoj? Tre malbona, sed, hej, mi afiŝos ĉi tio, ĉiuokaze.

Edit: after writing this post, I got an easy, actually video about languages recommended… lol

[seventhcallisto]

Chapter IV — "mirrors."

Deep down.

Toc/cw; suggestive undertones, dialog, and themes. Pre-heat haze, san getting angry, ooc yunho and san. More world building, possessiveness. I'm bad with cw. COMMENTS PUSH MY MOTIVATIOOON Thank you♡

It's four days before your heat. Hongjoong, and you are trying your best not to be obvious about your affections, but it's getting harder the closer you get to your heat. Maybe it's the consistency of your schedule. Waking up at the earliest of dawn, writing down new lyrics as soon as you reach for your phone and then immediately getting up and beginning your day that had changed, which ended up with you feeling strange. However, today is not your typical schedule day.

You thought you'd have more time, really. Seriously. Now you're a heaving, writhing mess under your blankets. Not knowing what's going on because it's the first time you've felt this after your diagnosis. Too hot. Too cold. Never enough. Tossing and turning. Burning to be touched. It only lingers for an hour like a warning sign. The sense of being on the verge of heat. You don't know exactly what to do or what to say. Google is fairly helpful. You especially don't want to leave your room when all of your members are alphas. Even if they're taking scent suppressants, your smell is still extremely sensitive to them.

He hardly remembers you tucking him in a while ago now. Suddenly, your words echo.

"If you remember in the morning, then I give you full permission." To what? He doesn't know. All day- all week. As san gets ready, sits with wooyoung, does some more practicing, eats out with some friends. He still doesn't know what you meant, and he's grown frustrated about it. He's completely lost from the amount of drinking he did with wooyoung.

Maybe the over drinking thing is getting to san. Woo has got to stop daring him to drink more. He can't believe he still allows him to get away with it. As san arrives home around mid day from filming, he realizes it's time to settle in for the rest of the day.

Your scent lingers in the apartment, and it's a good thing that jongsik has told them to begin taking scent suppressants to prevent any of them from practically jumping you. It provides the self-control they need, but it doesn't prevent the thoughts that course through everyone's minds when they get the tiniest scent of you.

It may be thanks to the scent suppressants they have complete control over what they're feeling and doing currently. But it doesn't mean none of them want to knot you. Surely, san is speaking on behalf of his members that it would be heaven to do so. If they didn't have the scent suppressants.. well, san doesn't want to pop a boner thinking about it.

So, for now, they're just coping with your pre-heat scent all over the apartment. No one is allowed in other than the guys. Your pack. San definitely prefers it that way. He peels his jacket off when he steps through the threshold of the doorway, quickly closing it behind him to lock your scent inside.

Seonghwa prepares another meal for you, considering you're still cooped up in your room. And san wonders if hongjoong has been in and out of there, based purely on the smell of him lingering in the hallway. There's been talk about you and hongjoong. Gossip amongst the guys. The papers san found a while ago proves so.

He slaps the paper down in front of wooyoung. Taping his pointer finger against the signed line. "Look! She let him sign it!" san whines, grabbing at his hair. "This is driving me crazy," he huffs as he paces. On wooyoungs bed, yeosang and wooyoung scan the piece of paper. Jaws slack in shock.

There's no way they can dismiss this. Somehow, san got his sticky fingers on your heat paperwork. They don't say anything about that, but the signed line for your heat helpers is only signed by hongjoong. The pack alpha, yes they could ask him. But that would be extremely disrespectful, questioning the pack alpha.

Woo runs a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. "Well, what if we ask- what if she gets uncomfortable? What if she doesn't want us to sign it and she feels pressured to say yes?"

Jongho enters their shared bedroom, questionable looks between his other members. The paper in question catches his eyes. "Why do you have that?" He asks, shutting the door behind him.

Does everyone know about the paper?

San struggles to come up with an explanation for the youngest member. "I- wo-" he looks to wooyoung, wooyoung lays the paper on the blanket, putting his hands up, he claims not to know anything about it. San has no other option except for explaining himself to jongho and what he's gathered the past few days.

Once san is finished explaining in the most rushed manner. Yeosang speaks up, looking to him. "I'm not asking her." Yeosang says, laying down his foot. "If she doesn't want us on it, it's not our place to ask her," yeosang looks back down to the paper in wooyoungs hand. "Put it back where you found it." jongho says, uncrossing his arms from his chest and leaving the room.

San looks back at the paper, propped up at the corner of the kitchen. It's not usual for paperwork to be left around here and there. But the fact you left it out in plain sight when San had to go and physically see it in your room to get it is very suspicious. He can even see the obvious bold letters spelling 'Heat Assessment'.

He not so subtly runs past seonghwa, slamming his keys down on the counter next to the paper. Seonghwa looks up from the dish he's preparing for you, looking at san, who hovers over the counter.

"Hey," seonghwa calls san. San shakes from his thoughts, turning toward the older member. Paper in hand. He reads seonghwas signature, cursive and strategically placed next to hongjoongs. "What are you doing with that?" Seonghwa doesn't flinch. he doesn't even ask about the content of the paper. Truly. Everyone knows, and now seonghwas signature is on it.

"How do you know what I have?" San asks, walking across the kitchen to seonghwa who spreads out some slices of apples on your plate. Seonghwa doesn't look up, "we all know what that is." It's a lie. Many of them dont know. San knows it, too. seonghwa pops a slice into his mouth, biting down on it. The souring scent of san fills the kitchen. "Why has -" he slams the hand holding the paper down next to the plate. Suddenly Agitated. "Why has no one asked about it?"

Seonghwa looks to san, finishing cutting the cheese with the knife in hand. "Asked? It's none of your business." Maybe seonghwa is a little harsh about it. He knows that, for fact. The door down the hallway pops open. San doesn't take a second to tell seonghwa off. Instead, he's marching down the hallway.

Hongjoong is just about to enter your room when he feels san pull him back by his arm. A deep set frown over his eyebrows. "Why didn't you tell us about this!?" He places the paper against hongjoongs chest. Hongjoong looks between the paper and san. Pulling it off.

San is picking for a fight. Seonghwa and hongjoong know. Whatever your scent has done has triggered san to be more possessive of you and more aggressive. Your heat is just around the corner, so the tension is rising in the apartment, and it's higher than ever. The boiling point has been reached since this morning.

"Why is your name on this!" San belts, looking between hongjoong and seonghwa.

Yunho steps out of his shared room with yeosang. The shorter peeps over his shoulder to look for where the yelling is coming from. The door creaks open across from them. Wooyoung and jongho peak out. Confusion written on their faces. Lastly. Mingi is the one to step out from the last bedroom on the left, right across from your room where they're currently at.

"San" hongjoong tenses, watching the way san challenges him. The sudden twisting smell of sans scent burning in his nose. "Tell me," san says through clenched teeth. Seonghwa tries to pull at his shoulder to lead him away from the leader but san shrugs his hand off roughly, cursing through his teeth. Sans tough hands shoot out, pushing hongjoong into mingi. The leader catches himself quickly with the help of mingi. Staring wide-eyed at san.

San, who just opened your door and went into your room. Locking the door behind him. He can hear the pounding on the other side. Drowning out his members, San steps forward into your dim bedroom. The only light comes from the window directly across from your door. It shines the dark room only slightly.

San calls you name and hears a shuffle of things in your closet. The walkover is draining. He can feel himself being pulled in by your sweet scent, invading his lungs. He knocks on it gently.

In the gap, your fingers slide the sliver of the door open. Eyes still blinking back sleepiness. San has to take a sharp breath at the invasion of his senses. You're curled up on the makeshift bed in your closet. A nest you made.

Plenty of clothes san has noticed were missing are strewn in a pile under you. Clad in hardly any clothing to combat the heat of your body. San bends down to your level. You still seem you. The smell isn't in full bloom. San can tell, somehow.

" 'Mega?" San calls to you ever so gently, watching you rub your eyes. "Sannie?" you respond, voice filled with recognition. The sound of your voice makes the tension in sans shoulders dissipate. You stumble up and out of the closet, anxiety begging to settle into your bones. He backs up to give you space. Did he even plan anything he was gonna say?

"What are you doing in my room?" You ask, rubbing your arm because of the cold breeze, and definitely not because you're nervous. "Doesn't my preheat scent affect you or whatever? It's not safe.." You mumble the last bit. San struggles to answer. "The scent suppressants.." he trails off. Watching you rub at the sweat on your forehead. He watches you twitch every so often. You don't meet his eyes. Grimacing slightly. "San.. what did you need?" You know he's not here to talk about something so simple. And the settling pain of your incoming heat is twisting your guts to make room for a big knot at the sudden interest of an alpha in your presence.

San sighs, all frustration draining from him in your presence. Wrapped around your smell. "The heat assessment paper." He says, you take a sharp breath. "What about it?" You turn to look away. San stands across from you.

"Do you really want me to sign it?" He asks in a single breath. You blink up at him, swaying in the cold room. "I said yes last night, did I not?" You huff.

You're kinda mean when you're in pre-heat. San thinks. He goes quiet. That's when you reach out, cupping his arm. Warm eyes meeting his in the dark. "San, I want all of you to sign it"

And you're being extremely bold. "All of us?" San mumbles out, shocked. It's not true, right? San, woo, and yeosang, can all be there for your heat? He won't have to feel terrible about signing it. His members (who are equally infatuated with you) can, too?

"You want all of us to sign it?" San phrases better, grabbing your palm in his, off his arm. "Yes, sign it," you sigh, growing impatient. This is why hongjoong and seonghwas name is on your paperwork.

San feels the hope bubble in his throat. Really, he can have it all. And especially when all he wants is to be with you at this moment. He doesn't care, you want him, and he wants you. Sans tough and somewhat calloused hands wrap around your jaw on each side, his fingers glancing over your primary scent gland, which makes you shudder into him. Your name falls off his lips as he searches yours. You can't help but stare at the lines in his perfectly round lips. As soon as his eyes fall over your own. He's pulling you into him.

You can feel the passion in sans touch, and you can feel the desperation of his kiss as it becomes more heavy. His left hand slipped down to your waist to pull you even closer. His fingertips teasing the hem of your shirt. Lips move in tandem, San wants to completely be overwhelmed by you, to be molded by your words and do whatever you want him to. And you want to completely drown into San.

Sans feet shift under him as you guide him, your hands slither into his hair. When you tug gently, san sighs into your mouth, never does he part. Nor does he want to. You know if you keep going, you'll succumb into the inner war of letting San have you here and now. San is oblivious to this. He's slowly letting himself slip into the other mindset he's pushed off for so long, the one where he gets to have you and take care of you like an alpha should.

You shake him out of it. Pushing his shoulder back against the door. You dislodged yourself from his lips. A soft tug, and you're gone from San. He lets out a strangled sound at the lack of your touch. You can't be entangled like this when you're so close to your heat. You can't let this get to you. Breathing each other in, you softly speak. "You have to go," you tell him. San can feel the door rattle against his back.

"As soon as you're done signing, it needs to be turned into the heat sanctuary I'm going to be at. If you don't, the signatures will mean nothing."

So that's why you've been cooped up in your room instead of going to your heat sanctuary. You've been waiting for them to sign it. As soon as san feels the door tug from his back, and you quickly shoving him out. Yunho is pulling the rest of him. Scowling. A screwdriver in hand as they tried to pry open your door. "Why did you do that! That was dangerous! For both of you!"

San heard and felt your words.

Everyone has been withholding their urges all week. Perhaps the scent suppressants are working compared to how your first heat hit. When they didn't know that scent you were producing and why suddenly they wanted to cover you in their own scents. It's a lot less easy knowing that you're only a room away in an apartment full of alphas who are willing to give you anything. But you don't know that. Hongjoong does. He takes a shuddered breath when he stands at your door ealy that morning. He can smell your preheat scent seeping out of the cracks.

Hongjoong knocks a few times. Listening for any movement on the other side. The door swings open. He's smacked with a wall of your smell. "Hongjoongie," you sigh happily. Pulling him in. "Hey pretty girl" he answers, pushing the hair behind your ears and out of your face when you don't stop to turn around and keep pulling him to your closet.

"Look," you slide the door open, dropping the edges of his shirt to crawl inside. "Come," you beckon him down towards the floor, pulling at his hand. He grins, crawling in. He's much too big for your tiny closet, but you fit in it perfectly. Hongjoong can see the amount of clothes on the floor, it's like a mountain, and in the center of it, it's big enough for you and someone else to sit in.

You're so very eager to get hongjoong in that circle, just to see if it's big enough. "Once I get to the heat place, I can make a bigger one for all of us." You push at hongjoongs shoulders, and his back hits the clothing softly. He doesn't know exactly what you're doing until you're sitting atop him, trying to nestle your face into his neck. He places two hands on your hips.

You're scenting him now, hongjoong knows this but decides to ask anyway. Shoving your face as close as you can get to him, your lips breeze passes his glands. Your forehead falls there instead, rubbing back and forth to transfer your scent. Encouraging a shuddered breath out of him. "What are you doing, huh?" He pulls your head out of his neck, his right hand holding your nape softly. You huff, hongjoong scans your features in the dark.

"You don't smell like me," you pout, hongjoong laughs lightly. Maybe in a teasing way but more so in a 'that was really cute' kind of way. The grin on his face tells you what exactly he's thinking. "Don't laugh at me" you pull away, sitting up on his chest. You drain the breath out of him in the best way.

Hongjoong slips to sit up, holding you close to him and not any lower. He only has so much control for now, and he doesn't want to risk giving a certain area the stimulus. "I'm not," he bites his grin. "You are," you mumble, shaking your head from the fog. You plop it on his shoulder, holding him against you.

"I'm not even in my heat yet, and I'm exhausted," you say into his shoulder. Hongjoong sighs for you. "I know, I'm working on it," he kisses your head. "I'll get you a knot as soon as possible, okay?" The sentence sounds so innocent when it really isn't. His finger rubs the side of your neck, where your scent glands are.

The thought of seeing hongjoong above you, giving you his knot, being in you for the first time, flashes through your mind. Your voice gets stuck in your throat. You stop the pulse between your thighs the best you can. "You can't say that." You whimper, pulling off of him. It takes everything in you to do so. The omega in you cries to be closer. Hongjoong pats your hip as you land softly on the clothes next to him. This plan is driving you mad, and yet you still have a week of a long heat ahead of you. "Has san said anything yet?" You look to hongjoong.

Hongjoong shakes his head, watching you lean your head on his knee. Prettily poking your lips at him in the most frustrating of pouts. "What if he didn't hear me?.. What if he doesn't like me like that?" You mumble, closing your eyes and squishing your legs into your chest.

"He heard you. He does." hongjoong sighs, rubbing your cheek softly. You don't know if he's saying it to reassure you. But you really hope san did hear you. And you hope you're not getting your hopes up.

Hongjoong tells seonghwa first. He trusts seonghwa a lot. You trust seonghwa just as much. The idea of going to him first was completely a mutual idea.

Later in the morning, Hongjoong knocks on his door, the one he shares with mingi and san. Sans out today. Wherever he is, he decides not to learn the details. Lately, san has been giving him the cold shoulder. And hongjoong has some idea why.

On the other hand, joong isn't ready to tell mingi about you wanting them. Hongjoong knows that as soon as he tells mingi, mingi will lose himself and steal you away for the week. You might end up inducing Mingis rut in the process. It's just not a great idea to tell mingi before everyone else, no matter if he gets upset about knowing later.

So with that, as soon as hongjoong learned seonghwa was alone in his bedroom, hongjoong took the opportunity. Three knocks, and he's entering. Seonghwa rests on his bed, looking at his phone. Hongjoong takes the bed across from him. Seonghwa knows whatever conversation they're about to have. It's gonna be serious. He sits up, taking whatever hongjoong has got to say heads on.

Seriously, if hongjoong says that you two are dating exclusively, seonghwas heart might actually explode into tiny shards.

It begins the same as a nightmare seonghwa has been having for a couple of days. "You know she and i are together," hongjoong starts off with, not knowing how else to phrase it. Seonghwas mouth falls open. "I.. what?"

Hongjoong really doesn't know how to say this. But for your sake, he's trying. "We're dating. I think we are - anyway. I was the first one who asked her, " hongjoong kinda bluffs, he didn't ask. It was kinda set in stone as soon as your lips touched his. Seonghwa wants to urgently shake hongjoong to spill everything. "She wants us to be a more intimate pack if you get what I'm saying, more than what the media suggests." Seonghwa sucks a harsh breath in, eyebrows furrowed.

"She feels most comfortable with us, not only that but.." hongjoong tries to gather his words. "She likes all of us, more than friends, more than members. She wants us on her heat assessment." Hongjoong explains, he can't exactly tell seonghwa you like-love him, it's not his place too. If seonghwa wanted an answer, he could ask you himself.

"She wants all of us?" Seonghwa can't believe it, to be with you and not make it awkward amongst them, is this true? Seonghwa can share. He can play nice. He might even enjoy the idea of sharing with the entirety of the pack. It's something he doesn't really understand, but he's completely fine with anyway.

Hongjoong nods, signifying that seonghwa is correct. Seonghwa let's out a breath.

"I'll sign it." He let's his words freely flow.

And when seonghwa brings your breakfast for the day, you're surprised to see him. And he's very surprised to see you making a nest in your closet instead of relaxing in your bed. "Hwa?" You question, taking the plate gently, your round eyes look up to him, assessing his presence. It reminds him of that moment in the kitchen, and seonghwa grips his fingers into the clothes under him to prevent the blood flowing somewhere else. "Hi," he greets back with a hum. You place the plate down next to the closet door.

"Hungry?" He asks, watching your behavior. You shake your head. "Not really... My heat last time took a lot, and I still tried to eat as much as i could," you sigh. Seonghwa knows a heat will take everything out of you, and you still won't be hungry until after. Too driven by the urge to.. well, breed, really. He hums as he listens to you talk.

You look like the most beautiful person in his eyes. Even when seonghwa met you for the first time. Even before debut, when you were just a tiny beta that begged to be picked on just to bite back. Even during every bad hair day you claimed. He reaches out to smooth his hand over your hair. Your roots are beginning to show. As soon as your heat is over, you'll be long overdue for a touch-up. And seonghwa feels like tagging along for it. Just to watch your pretty face in the mirrors.

You lean into seonghwas hand as it trails down your face. Sighing softly into his palm. "I signed the papers." He gulps, pulling his hand back. You miss his warmth. Even if you are burning up. Your eyes fall.

"I don't want you to be there for my heat -" you sigh out. Seonghwas heart leaps into his throat. "I want you to take care of me, and I want you to be there after," You try to find the right words. Confessions are hard. "I like you, more than my member, more than friends," you mumble.

"You know how long I have waited to hear that?" Seonghwa laughs into his words. You blink once, twice. He pulls you into his chest. Hugging you tightly. His head falls over yours. Seonghwa isn't the most muscular member, but he still has arms to prove how he can hold you comfortably in his arms and steal you away at any moment.

"I like you too, so much." he mumbles into your hair. You pull back and look up at him, begging for a kiss with your smile. If you did, you'd both end up getting lost in each other. You cut the silence. "Could you bring me some dirty laundry?" You laugh, embarrassed. He snickers. "Sure" he knows exactly why.

Sharing a room with yeosang isn't the best, yunhos member doesn't say much about this odd situation. Lying face down on his blankets, yeosangs phone is propped up by his hand. Yunho, on the other hand, is watching a show on his laptop, propped up on his chest.

It started off with yeosang tossing and turning all night, ultimately it woke yunho up. And before yunho could get a clue of what's going on, yeosangs breathy sighs and whimpers had him shooting right up and out of bed. No way was he gonna stick around to listen to yeo have a wet dream.

The early morning dew completely encased the windows after a heavy night of rain. The flashing clock on the microwave told him it was around 2 am. He took his spot on the couch and watched a movie in silence. When from the corner of his eyes, wooyoung tiredly stepped out of the hallway.

Wooyoung stood rubbing his hand over his eye. There's no obvious sign to yunho that he knew what was going on with yeosang, but he had his suspicion. He doesn't greet woo when he lands softly on the other side of the couch. Both watching the movie in silence.

Yunho can't take silence much longer. Wooyoung obviously can't, either. "Have you seen the heat assessment paper?" He uses this conversation for topic? When obviously, yunho knows about it. "Yea, why?" He asks, turning his chin towards the dark-haired guy.

Wooyoung shakes his head like he's swaying his thoughts away. "Did hongjoong tell you his name was on it?" That gets yunho. No. Hongjoong did not tell him. Because yunho didn't know the leaders name was on the paper.

Besides the feeling of longing building in his stomach, yunho wanted to know what wooyoung getting at. "No, he didn't.. why are you asking?" It's a short answer but an even quicker question. Wooyoung doesn't dare spare a glance at yunho. Opting to just stay quiet. It's completely unlike him.

"Whatever reason she has him on the paper, it isn't our business -" yunhos words stop when wooyoung shoots up frustrated, whisper yelling towards yunho. "Yes! I know it shouldn't be any of my business it's hers- but- dammit! She's one of my best friends! I have a right to know!" Wooyoung seems to be drowned in his own outburst for yunho to get a word in.

Pieces fall and collide in yunhos mind. Watching his other member pace back and forth. "There's more to this, isn't there?" Yunhos words stop wooyoung in his track. The dark-haired guy turns to look at his taller friend. hum.

Yunho knows that look, the all familiar sign of hopelessness when you love someone so deeply, and yet you don't know what to do. He's had the same look consistently when you would split from their group to take photos with other idols. Other idols who yunho knows want you. Everyone wants you. The all familiar ace of K-pop.

When he'd sit back as you did video challenges, dancing and laughing with someone else whilst he watched in silence. He wished everyone knew you were his when, in reality, you didn't even know how he felt. Yunho knows that sinking feeling of possibly breaking something that can't be unbroken. Yunho knows these moments of laughter and bickering, but he wishes he could have those moments with you in a different way. A way that you both understand. Mated as a pair. Together in a more intimate way.

Wooyoung is as still as a mouse, caught in the cookie jar, smacking his lips. His eyes squint down, his hand coming up to the bridge of his nose. Wooyoung is estranged. He is tired of lying to himself.

"We all love her, don't we?" He says into his palm, the world doesn't seem to crash like he thinks it does. Yunho stands up, taking wooyoungs hand away from his face. Wooyoung sighs, facing yunhos eyes with diminishing confidence.

"It's her choice.." wooyoung says just as yunhos mouth falls open to speak. Pulling his wrist from the taller members grasp.

It truly is your choice to call on them if you want to. And when wooyoung turns away, he doesn't see the way yunho loses all confidence. Compared to his members, yunho has a lot to beat. If he had to fight for you, could he?

The hallway flur pass yunho. In an instance, he's pulling san out of your doorway, fuming. San has your scent all over him. Yunho does not ignore the pink tinting in his members' cheek or the way his lips are red. His lips pull back into a snarl as he barks at san about what he did wrong. What could have happened.

Sans lovesick eyes and dazed expression only pisses yunho off more. Even when he lets go, he's still towering over the dark-haired guy. A sudden urge of violence panging in his fists. Yunho isn't violent, no. He doesn't know what happened, but the way san reeks of you is making him feel as if he could commit a felony then and there really digs deep.

His members attempting to calm the situation only make things drown him. He's got to step back. He's got to get out of this cramped apartment where you linger around every corner. He turns on his heels, wanting to make a beeline for the door.

"She wants us to sign her heat assessment."

Sans voice speaks up, and yunho knows exactly who it's directed at. He can feel the stinging of sans dark eyes against his back. Still, as wooyoung looks to his friend, he can tell he got more info than he leads on. But the main shocker is what he said.

"What?" Wooyoung asks for confirmation. Heart leaping into his throat. It's got to be a hoax. Seonghwa and hongjoong linger in the back, silently observing. Mingi is the second to step forward, bending his neck to ask what he means. Jongho definitely gets onto what he's saying immediately. But he's almost tempted to barge into your room and ask you himself.

"All-" jongho gets cut off. "All of us." Sans smile is bitten back. He looks to wooyoung, then to yeosang, shock etched into their faces.

"That's what she said?" Yeosang gulps. San has never lied about anything you've said. No matter what. San respects you too much and this situation is too serious for lying. Yet, yeosang looks to the leader and eldest member to know anyways. Their names are on the paper, something you allowed.

Hongjoongs eyes hold curiosity as he watches all his members, he was right. He's smug that he was right. You are so consuming, it wouldn't be anything other than a surprise for any one of them to not be madly in love with you. You are the prettiest shining pearl in the sea that is the world. Hongjoong shakes out of his thoughts. Seeking out the begging and hopeful eyes of his members. Even yunho, who is a few feet away. Turned to listen in on the conversation.

"It's true." hongjoong says.

Seonghwa took the honor of putting his name on your heat contact. So, in case of anything. Seonghwa will get that call. And he'll assess the situation when you can't. Regarding who goes in and out of your heat space, any official business regarding idol work, etcetera. Seonghwa took it on cause if hongjoong had- the eldest knew that the captain would be overwhelmed with all of it.

Seonghwa is your primary caretaker for the entire heat cycle whilst you're out. To confirm, they had all sat around your door whilst you were on the other side. Just a door away. You used your phone to call them so they could hear you clearly.

You are still coherent despite what san did earlier. The door is the closest way you can feel close to them. Joong had slipped a piece of paper under your door along with a pen.

'Rules' it reads. Rules for the guys. Anything you don't want them to do, they'll be coherent, partly, while you're in your omega mindset. They can't do anything you dont want, especially if you're allowing them to be heat helpers, which is why you need rules.

You quickly write down the list whilst they talk. Discussing what they need to do beforehand quietly on the other side.

You write down a list of things you're not okay with and precautions. Birth control for men is the most important thing on the list. You know omega-you will not take them, begging not too actually, and knowing your boys, they might actually give in or get distracted. So they'll have to do the protection protocol.

And that's all you had. You are fairly comfortable with everything else. You're sure your omega mind will enjoy it as well.

There's this obvious what-will-happen lingering in your mind. Will this make or break your group? You know this is only a temporary solution. You know they think you're only doing this because you trust them to take care of you. You can't tell exactly why they're agreeing. Do they possibly feel the same? You know hongjoong and seonghwa do- and even san.

What about the rest of them?

Later in the midst of the night, as you're curled up in your closet. Your phone vibrates, awakening you from a sticky and hot sleep, one where you hardly actually sleep a wink, and you're completely uncomfortable the entire time. The bright light shines and blinds you temporarily. It's 2 am.

At some point after dinner, you must have fallen asleep. The ache in between your legs spikes up your hips, causing you to curl into yourself more. Whining quietly into the blanket yeosang had gifted you for your birthday. A pale yellow.

Your fingers reach for anything. Your phone ends up in your tight embrace. A contact on display, how'd that get there? The all familiar picture of you and the tallest of your friends posing in front of a snowman, his bright smile and bowlcut styled hair. Yunho.

"Hello?" Yunhos happy deep voice rings from the other side of the screen. You shudder at the familiarity. Was his voice always this deep? Your thighs clench. "Hello..?" He repeats. Music can be heard, some type of indie song, you recognize a few of his friends talking. Laughing whilst he takes a call.

You can hear the shuffle of yunho on the other side. A door shuts behind him, silencing the music. He calls your name softly. You're still so quiet. You haven't said anything. He must have checked the caller ID. "Yunho," your small voice speaks up, and you bite your lip. Curling into your side. You continue on with a whimper, "Where are you?"

Yunho takes a sharp breath. "I'm out, getting food with some friends, you okay?" he tells you honestly, his feet pacing in the bathroom echos. Your head begins to fog worse than it has in the entirety of the week. "Yun" you whine his name into the air. "How far away?" You fall into a whisper.

"Not far, I'm leaving now." The fact yunho is willing to ditch his group of friends and come home just because you called has you leaking. You bite on the arm holding your phone up to stop a needy gasp.

"Talk to me omega, tell me what's going on." The shuffle of yunho pulling his jacket on distracts you. His friends call his name as he walks, and the doorbell jingles behind him. You can't take the ache anymore. The fog behind your thoughts is consuming. You feel yourself losing control.

"I need you, please. Yunho, Please." You whine, dropping the phone next to you. Yunhos' words fall short. You can hear the door to his car open and slam shut.

"I'll take care of you, omega, okay? Just keep talking to me, I'm almost there"

A/n; I'm terrible. Ik. leaving it off on another cliffhanger bc I didn't know how to finish this chapterrrrr iM SORRY. THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!! it's gonna start getting really spicy here on-

taglist: @lelaleleb @bratty-tingz @0325tiny @smilefordongil @atinytinaa @yunholuvrsblog @ja3hwa @stopeatread @sousydive @voicesinmyhead-rc @giiouis @c4tboyxiao @eastleighsblog @doggopepper @uhhheather @hyukssunflower @hhoneylix @tunaasan @satsuri3su @acescavern @edusweah @silentcry329 @silentreadersthings @ldysmfrst @idfkeddieishot @zdgx1

[ohimsummer]

Based on jjk, can you write a oneshot featuring Gojo and a female reader in an Aladdin AU with humiliation please? In the fic, Gojo and the reader are a prince and princess who are organizing a royal party. But the reader fondles Gojo throughout the party which leads to him orgasming in his pants. So now he has to continue attending the party while trying and failing to hide his cum stain. What do you think?

okay I changed this up a little, hope u enjoy it regardless! :3

— minors dni, prince! satoru x princess! reader, exhibitionism, royal! au, satoru x reader, fondling/groping, handjob, gojo cums in his pants lol

Gojo doesn’t know what’s worse: what you just put him through, or the utter embarrassment afterwards.

He finds his hand lingering over the stain in the crotch of his pants. Even if it’s not that noticeable, it feels like everyone is looking. Every time he catches your eye, you give him some cheeky, innocent smile and the tips of his ears start burning all over again. He’s certain you’re enjoying this, watching him obviously try to hide something so humiliating from so many people.

It's more than a little amusing watching guests of different status inquire about the wet patch on his pants. You can only imagine the excuses Satoru come up with, but no one's caused a scene over his display or cast you any strange looks yet, so you assume he's got things under wraps. You don't regularly take joy in watching your prince of a boyfriend squirm and flounder, but consider it payback for all the times he's done the same thing to you.

It started out as a small caress of his thigh under the table, you working back a grin at the way Satoru side-eyes you in the middle of his conversation. He discreetly shoves your wandering hand away, but that only eggs you on further. It’s only a couple minutes before you’re fully massaging his cock through his slacks, your own pussy growing wet at the feel of the hardening bulge beneath your palm. And it’s just your luck that there’s a crowd sitting at the table waiting to talk to you both. Satoru is stuck there with you toying with him, muttering filthy nonsense under your breath that only he can hear. “I’m so wet right now.,” you basically whine in his ear. “Really want you to touch me, Satoru.” All this between snippets of casual dialogue with other people. It’s all so exciting, especially when you accidentally edge him because his best friend, Geto comes from behind for some small talk. Gojo’s dick twitches against your hand, now placed on his thigh because of course neither of you want his friend to suspect anything, right? And the second Geto turns his back, you return to rubbing Satoru’s painfully aching cock, thoroughly satisfied at the way he can’t stop the occasional moan from slipping into his conversations.

“No, I’m alright.,” he reassures someone again. “It’s just the heat, p-pretty warm in here. Hope I'm not getting, u-uh, sick.” You begin jerking him off through his pants, and Satoru’s fist clenches so tight, you think the glass in his hand might break. “I- I might need to go change actually–“

There’s a celebratory commotion nearby that draws everyone's attention, and Satoru is grateful their heads turn right as he messily shoots cum into the fabric of his underwear. A long groan regains the some of their attention, and they stare at him with wide eyes.

Satoru interrupts before they can ask him yet again if he’s okay. “This heat is really gettin’ to me, I’m gonna go outside for a couple minutes.”

You softly grasp at Satoru's sleeve as he moves to get up, savoring the way he tenses beneath your gentle touch. "Everything okay, Satoru?"

Your boyfriend hesitates, letting out a shaky gasp, before slowly turning his head towards you. "Yup. Fine."

Head tilting, you smile gracefully at him, as if you're not the cause of his current stress. "You don't look fine, should I accompany you?"

He lowers himself to your level so that his mouth brushes your ear. Before he speaks, Satoru glances around just to be sure there's no one within earshot for what he's about to say.

" 'm so gonna fuck you up later.," he mutters in your ear.

“Sure you will, love.,” you taunt, totally nonchalant and swirling the red liquid in your glass.

“And you’re damn right I will.,” he hisses immediately through clenched teeth, before straightening his back and heading through the crowd to the direction of your shared bedoom. You know it’s a promise, but you also choose not to worry about it right now. It was definitely worth the fun.

[aranarumei]

something there.

hello shiramiya fans. got inspired by ch 51 to write something. it is under the cut but you can also read it on ao3

—

On some level, Shirahama’s always been aware that he’s weak-willed. But this—this feels like something else. “Tashiro,” he says. “I'm going to slack off.”

“For the last time, I'm not—what?” Tashiro cuts his complaint short, turning to face Shirahama with a searching look.

Whatever this is, it sucks, that’s for sure. He grits his teeth. “I'm just—I have to dip out for a second.”

“Huh,” Tashiro says, the word suffused with both carelessness and judgement. His eyes flicker around their surroundings, and he adds, “Okay. It's not too busy, anyways… did you ask—”  

“I already asked Karasubara.”

“Then what are you still doing here?”

It’s a good question, but it’s not one that has an answer. It’s just—it probably isn’t anything serious, but Miyano hadn’t looked great, and what if it is serious? Even if his boyfriend’s taking care of him, it’ll be good for Miyano’s classmates to know how he’s doing. And that way he—they—won't worry.

“I don't know,” he says, and because he’s vindictive: “Why didn't you compete in the crossdressing contest this year? You seemed so pumped about it last time.”

Tashiro's hands stray to his hair, and he twirls a loose strand around his fingers. It vaguely strikes Shirahama that it’s not dissimilar to one of the sprites of the sporty basketball girl he’d romanced last week. “I didn't want to shave my leg hair,” he says, even though last year Miyano hadn’t shown a single inch of his leg.

Tashiro’s just non-committal like that, Shirahama supposes—even now, he likes to act as if his ping pong captaincy just “happened” like an accident. He's spent three long-suffering years on the basketball team—he knows the apathy Tashiro unintentionally or purposefully projects is deceptive.

“What are you waiting for?” Tashiro asks, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Go.”

It’s enough of a push, and crucially: it feels like enough of an excuse.

—

There are too many people inside this school. Shirahama can hear Tashiro's voice in his head still, the strange wry twist that he'd clearly picked up from someone else, paired with his evergreen bluntness—what did you think was going to happen at a cultural festival?

I wasn't thinking, he replies in his head, aware that it's a horribly strange conversation to be having, and the kind of shameless, setup-to-punchline answer he'd never give in real life. But when he'd thought about the decorations, he'd mostly thought about having something that would look nice, feel nice, and have their class at ease. He hadn't been thinking about all the other people that would be milling about.

If they're staring at him, he certainly isn't going to chance making eye contact. So he ducks his head and soldiers on towards the relatively isolated nurse’s office, and in a sudden fit of bravery pauses for only a moment before opening the door. That courage immediately leaves him when the door opens with a sharp creak and he startles, hold almost slipping from the doorknob, but it's the pathetic thought that counts. Or something.

As he's about to slip in and shut the door behind him, a rustle sounds from one of the beds. The breath leaves Shirahama's chest, and he watches as Miyano's boyfriend—Sasaki, that was his name—emerges from the curtains, hair wild in a way that reads more like “bedhead” than “artfully tousled”—not that he'd say it was ever artful, but he's got no place to be critiquing Miyano's boyfriend's hairstyle…

—and speaking of. Sasaki’s staring at him. He sure is tall—for a moment Shirahama wonders why he'd never played basketball, but it’s the kind of wonder that’s paired with utter relief at the nonexistent situation. Then he feels very strange about that thought until Sasaki, with the sedate aura of someone who’s just woken up, blinks at him as if to communicate something.

Shirahama stares back, caught like a deer in headlights.

“Close it quietly,” Sasaki says. Shirahama finally re-registers that his hand is hanging slack on the doorknob. “He's sleeping.” His voice is low, smooth, and deliberately softened to the point that Shirahama has to strain to hear it.

He wavers in the still-open entrance; his legs don't let him run away. The door closes with a soft click, but it may as well be a marching drum.

“I just… came to check in on him,” Shirahama says, too many beats late, careful to pitch his voice just above a whisper. He's not sure he manages. It's the “too many people” thing again, only concentrated—somehow, he’s the one out-of-place in a school he's attended for two and a half years.

Sasaki nods. “Thanks for looking out.”

“Oh… no problem.” He represses the urge to throw up his hands in a sign of “I come in peace,” but he doesn’t know what else to do with them, so they hang limply and indecisively in front of him. Miyano's boyfriend is—it would be rude to say that he's scary, because he's seen the way he acts around Miyano, who doesn't seem to think he’s anything close to intimidating, but he's also Miyano's boyfriend, a term that feels—he shouldn't say it's strange. It shouldn't be any stranger than Kuresawa's girlfriend—bad example, because Kuresawa’s so weird, and Shirahama’s suddenly, overwhelmingly relieved that Miyano doesn’t make hour-long professions of his love—but the thought rests uncomfortably in his head. It's like there's an itch he doesn't know how to scratch.

Sasaki takes the time to inspect him now, squinting at him with a look that’s not akin to judgement but does feel like some kind of thing, and Shirahama would be embarrassed about his inarticulacy if he wasn't already beyond embarrassed with himself. Though he's always hated the feeling of assessment, he does his best to not squirm under Sasaki’s gaze. What Sasaki's likely remembering is the strange hanger-on to Tashiro's high-five run and jump, but even if that's banal in comparison to, say, the date-spying—which is mortifying in retrospect and has given him an eternal respect towards Hanzawa, though he’ll never vocalize this to anyone for fear of the result—something about recognition is just sour.

“Ah,” Sasaki finally says, snapping a cord of tension in Shirahama's shoulders. “You're on the basketball team.”

A strange flush scatters across his neck. “You remembered that?” His voice cracks at the last word, and he tacks on a whispered “Sorry!” that Sasaki accepts without fanfare.

A light shrug. “Just happened to.”

Shirahama throws his memory back to the interaction. He remembers the stray basketball, for sure, but on review something clicks into place. “…Kagiura, right?” His voice settles. “You were looking for him.”

At that, Sasaki falls silent.

Shirahama almost offers to call up Kagiura, but they're not particularly close, and Sasaki's expression doesn't really read as “excited” or “pleased.” In fact it's kind of reading as “ticked off,” which doesn't bode well, because he's pretty sure that if he got into a fight with Miyano's boyfriend, he'd lose. Embarrassingly.

Then, delivered in an unsettlingly flat voice: “I don't know him.”

“What?”

“Kagiura,” Sasaki clarifies, who indeed does say his teammate's name like he's never said those syllables in that order before. Come to think of it, he had called Kagiura by some kind of nickname, hadn't he? “I just… knew of him. Was just curious,” he mumbles.

“He does always get a bunch of confessions on Valentine's day,” Shirahama grumbles on instinct. Then he realizes there's a lot of terrible implications to that routine complaint and backtracks. “Not that—”

“He's popular?”

He feels, suddenly—not actually suddenly but an ebbing and flowing always—wrong-footed. “…Yeah?”  Huh, Miyano's boyfriend is kind of a weird guy. Whether this thought puts Sasaki squarely in the space of “not scary” is debatable. But it is some kind of comfort.

There’s a rustling sound by the bed. The room falls silent in an instant, and Shirahama finds that he’s locked eyes with Sasaki. Something like meaning almost passes through there, but before Miyano's boyfriend can say something about needing him to be silent, or his unnecessary check-in, or his unwelcome presence, Shirahama tumbles out excuses in rush of whispers. “I’ve still got to help out with the festival—just thought I’d check—I’m sure you have it handled—I’m going to—I'll go.”

He stumbles out of the office, thankful he hadn’t even taken two steps past the entrance, and closes the door as quietly as he can. His mouth is so dry he’s not sure any of those words he'd said were audible. It’s entirely likely he stood there, gaping and sputtering like a dying fish, before running away.

No one's there to look at his expression and tell him. Shirahama's glad for it and the fact that there's no mirrors in the hallway—the last person he wants to look at is himself.

[erisenyo]

HI hello I’m LOOKING!! at the sentence starters prompts!! if u want either “i wish i met you sooner” or “do you remember when we first met?” for zukka <33 (but i’ll eat up anything you write tbh)

For this prompt game! (And also this one!)

“Oh, shit,” Sokka blurts out, “I think I’m in love with you.”

“Are you now,” Zuko rolls his eyes, pretending he isn't biting back a laugh as he tugs the Jasmine Dragon’s door closed behind him and tosses Sokka the keys to the bakery case.

“I mean, at the very least I wish I met you sooner.” Sokka catches the keys without even glancing away from the pastries on display—which is strangely but undeniably hot—looking utterly besotted—which is strangely but undeniably cute. “I could’ve been getting this every night.”

“And what’s what you’d want from me every night, huh,” Zuko says, dry, leaning back against the counter as Sokka approaches the glass display with something like reverence.

“I mean.” Sokka gives Zuko a quick, grinning once over. “I’d settle for some other things, too.”

 Zuko hums, neutral, keeping his face unimpressed even as he feels the thrill of flirting in his chest, the thrill of a date gone well and long and the whole night suddenly stretching out in front of them. “You’d settle for it, would you.”

“Oh yeah,” Sokka says, tossing a wolfish grin over his shoulder before refocusing with what Zuko is realizing is a singular kind of intensity on the food in front of him. “I’d settle for it real good. Now—what do you suggest? What’s good?”

“It’s all good,” Zuko says, automatic and rote after so many years working here and apparently obvious enough about it that Sokka gives him a sideways, knowing look.

“What do you like to eat?”

…He wouldn’t think it would be a dealbreaker, but then he’s never seen someone eat so much ramen with so much enthusiasm before. “I don’t really eat sweets,” he admits after a beat.

“Your loss,” Sokka shrugs, unconcerned. “Just means more for me,” he adds, low and throaty and running a slow, admiring finger down the line of the display case which…again, strangely but undeniably hot.

Mai is going to absolutely roast the shit out him for this, when she finds out about it.

“But what do you want to watch me eat, then?” Sokka asks, giving Zuko another flirting kind of smirk, and Zuko pauses again, hesitating.

Not that it’s an automatic dealbreaker for him, but, “Like as a kink thing?”

“Do you want it to be?” Sokka replies without missing a beat, and Zuko stares a moment longer before deciding they can circle back to that later.

“How about an éclair,” Zuko suggests, tone somewhere between casual and challenging and something delighted fizzing in his chest when Sokka glances into the case and immediately gets the picture, his expression wicked and amused in equal turns as he pulls out the length of pate-a-choux.

“Is it already filled?” Sokka murmurs, eyes half-lidded as he admires the pastry.

“Yeah,” Zuko says, hearing his own voice going even huskier and…very aware that that look is really doing it for him already. “Crème pat.”

“Perfect,” Sokka grins, holding Zuko’s eyes and biting into the éclair with a suggestiveness he really has no right to when he’s biting pieces off. Zuko watches, caught, as Sokka gives little kitten licks of his tongue, dripping cream, parting his lips against the crisp dough. And then Zuko watches, caught in a whole different way, as Sokka becomes more and more exaggerated until he’s full on bobbing up and down the pastry.  

“Interesting technique,” Zuko says, half laughing, trying to keep a straight face as Sokka shows off his apparent lack of gag reflex.

“So I’ve been told,” Sokka says as he pulls off with a grin, wiping a streak of ganache off his face before taking a normal bite. “Mm, fucking amazing,” he says around the mouthful, innuendo gone from his tone but still more than suggestive as he groans around another bite, looking blissed out and slack faced and suddenly Zuko has a vision of Sokka looking exactly like that as he— “You make these?”

“Sometimes,” Zuko says, clearing his throat.

“You make this one?”

“Yeah.” He made it this afternoon. With Uncle standing next to him. And Ty Lee working the register. Uncle who works here every day. And Ty Lee who has known him since before he got over his lisp is best friends with Azula. And maybe if he reminds himself of both of those facts enough right now, he’ll be able to work tomorrow without getting hard.

Sokka hums, looking impressed as he glances around the kitchen space, and Zuko embraces the warm flush of pleasure at the idea of anything so mundane as working in the Jasmine Dragon being worth a look like that. “You wear an apron when you do it? The baking?”

“Sometimes,” Zuko shrugs, following Sokka’s glance to the neat row of aprons hanging by the sink.

“Hm. You ever wear one with nothing else on underneath?” Sokka asks, faux causal and all sidelong smolder that has Zuko abruptly deciding that maybe risking wayward erections during work tomorrow isn’t quite so bad.

“When I’m not here?” Zuko says, letting his eyes go half-lidded as he gives Sokka slow, thorough once over before catching his gaze again. “Sometimes.”

“I can’t wait to see that,” Sokka says, finishing off the éclair, “If that’s not too forward to say on a first date.”

“You just fellated an éclair in front of my,” Zuko points out, dry, even as anticipation sparks in his chest, “I think we might be past forward.”

“I did, didn’t I,” Sokka grins, holding Zuko’s eyes as he licks his fingers clean, “Anything else you’d like me to fellate?”

“Oh,” Zuko says, making a show of considering it, possibility and the slow winding tension between them a comfortable burn in his veins, the knowledge of where tonight is going to go but with no particular urgency to get there, to give up this one moment for the next, “I have an idea or two.”

“Or two?” Sokka murmurs, head cocking as he sidles back up to Zuko, intent and invitation in the angle of his body.

“Oh yeah,” Zuko smolders back, hooking Sokka’s belt look and tugging him gently in, savoring the easy way Sokka lets himself be pulled forward, the feel of Sokka’s hands coming to rest against Zuko’s chest. “How do you feel,” he murmurs low into Sokka’s ear, anticipation sharp in his veins, “About cannolis.”

[comphy-and-cozy]

hi again! happy 1k!! could I possibly get a matt martin blurb with something along the lines of “bet you they don’t make you sound like that, do they?” with jealous marty smut? please and thank you!

BESTIE COME HERE AND LET ME SMOOCH YOU I absolutely love writing marty smut!!!!!!!!!!! and have been DYING to get back into a smutty marty mood bc I have so many delicious and wonderful ideas that I so desperately want to get onto paper and into y'all's eyeballs

anyways this is in sugar daddy matty universe (hopefully 1-2 fics maybe incoming in this universe?)

celebrate 1K with me

Prompt: "Bet you they don't make you sound like that, do they?"

Pairing: Matt Martin x sugar baby!reader (f)

Word Count: ~800

Author's Note: Smut (18+ ONLY). Brief alcohol mention. Sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship, possessive/slightly manipulative behavior by Matthew, definitely a healthy bit of size kink, semi-public sex, fingering, unprotected sex, creampie jesus christ

“What’s this I hear about you dating somebody?” Matt’s voice is polite, and he says it with a smile, but the tick in his jaw and darkness in his eye tells you the question is anything but.

It catches you off guard, the corner booth at Ruth’s Chris a strange place in your mind to bring up a rather serious topic, so you take a moment to steady yourself before replying. 

“I’m not dating anybody, Matty.”

“Zeeker saw you on a date.”

“I’m not allowed to have dinner with a friend?”

“Dude was not looking at you like a friend. Practically fucking you doggy on the table with his eyes, Zeke said.”

“I’m sorry, nowhere in this arrangement was it stated I’m not allowed to seek the company of other men.”

His wine glass is delicate in his large hand, stem twisted loosely between his thumb and pointer finger. He smiles, then laughs even, glancing out around the dimly lit room. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re more than welcome to seek the company of other men. But if you do, I’m gone.”

Your eyebrows raise and you do your best to keep your voice down. “So just because you’re paying me means you can seek additional company, but I can’t?”

“I’m not.”

“Not what, Matty?”

“Not ‘seeking additional company.’”

You roll your eyes and shrug off his statement, knowing it’s just pretty words to make you give in. If he wants to say more, he doesn’t, instead ordering another bottle of wine.

The wine comes, and so does your dinner, the conversation all but forgotten. In the parking lot, you feel his arm wrap around your waist, large and looming and protective, and you’re about to comment when he murmurs, “Get in the backseat.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

You do as you’re told, and it doesn’t take long for your underwear to be hanging over your ankle, his hand underneath your skirt between your legs. 

He plunges two fingers into your slit, coaxing a quick and easy moan from your lips. 

“Bet he doesn’t make you sound like that, does he?”

You want to fight back, to push his buttons, but he thrusts back in and you can’t help it when your head shakes ‘no,’ the words taken from your mouth when he curls his fingers, pressing the spot that makes stars dance in front of your eyes. “No? Bet he doesn’t even know where your clit is, does he? Doesn’t know how to play with it just right to make your eyes roll back?”

Just as he says it, his thumb does exactly that, and the last remaining thought you had vanishes, mind going blank except for the feeling of his large fingers playing you like a piano. 

The crest arrives quicker than you expected, but just as you’re about to summit, his fingers are suddenly gone and the loss pulls a desperate whimper from your mouth. 

You feel his smirk against your jaw. “And I know damn well he doesn’t make you sound like that, darling.”

You’re in the process of working out a protest, a plea, a prayer to him to get his hands on you again when you hear the sound of a belt clink. Your eyes shoot open, and with a glance down you see his hand tugging his erection out of the slacks that are unzipped around his hips, stroking himself once, twice. 

In an instant, you’re adjusting your body to spread your legs wider to accommodate his body, allowing him to slide into position amid the cushion of the backseat.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” he says, honey dripping from his voice as he slides his tip against your entrance.

When he presses into you, your legs go nearly limp as he stretches you to the brim, filling you up inch by inch. Your fingernails dig into the taut muscle of his bicep, gripping him tightly as he bottoms out, snug in the most delicious way. You can feel the way your walls throb around him, almost impossibly big.

“Matty, please,” you cry, unable to wait any longer.

He hums, pleased with the desperation in your voice, and obeys your command, snapping his hips roughly against yours, fully determined to make you gush in his backseat. He bullies your pussy, steady and constant and merciless, whispering low praises while he watches where your bodies connect.

Matt doesn’t stop until your legs are shaking and your eyes are rolling, growling as he watches your soul leave your body. He’s relentless until your grip softens on his arm and his hips are stuttering against your ass, filling you up with a groan.

“Are we done trying to find someone else who will fuck you like that, sweetheart?”

[beingdreeyore]

Reviewing my MindMap for the year this afternoon. It's the one I do at the start of every year. Disappointed to say that I've been slack so far this year. Other than a few pole tricks I haven't ticked much off. For a few things I've gone woefully far in the opposite direction.

I removed checking my Mindmap weekly from my daily habit list a few months ago. It shows.

It's crazy how much I rely on goal setting and habit checklists to thrive. But I got the reminder today.

I've now got three drafts loaded onto my iPad ready to start editing. I've picked up an extra overtime shift consistent with my financial goals. I did some grocery shopping that supports my health goals. There's some baby steps right there.

It's crazy to me that I used to write an entire novel in a month and now I have to set reminders to even write ten pages a year. I feel like I don't have the creativity I used to have. I'm paralysed by insecurity and self-doubt. I need someone to tell me my writing is okay or I can't even get started. But I don't have that person. So I don't write. It's all so strange to reflect on. Every spare moment I was alone, I used to spend writing in cafes and bars and airports all over. I can't even remember the last time I sat somewhere and wrote. Looking at my MindMap I'm reminded why it was so important to me and why it continues to be.

Today was a needed day of rest and reset. I didn't even know how badly I needed it. Work have sent about another ten emails but I've ignored them all. It's a day off. I'll get to them when I'm in the office tomorrow.

It's rest and reset. It's remembering the life I was aiming to live and filling the day with tasks and hobbies that make me happy. The end of term dance performance is tonight but I'm skipping it. I'm telling myself I'll go next time. I'm not doing anything today that will increase my anxiety.

Rest and reset. That's it. Just rest and reset.

[apoptoses]

2 & 11 for when half won't do, 7 for something so trivial, 3 is for I'll be your operator?

What’s my favorite part of the fic?

(When Half Won't Do, Armand/Daniel, E)

The whole argument where Daniel finally figures out that Armand's concept of home is different from his. Because there's a couple things going on, one of them being that Armand has never 'messed up' and had someone handle his mistake in a mostly loving way. And the other being Daniel finally realizing what a cultural gap they have between them and just accepting that Armand isn't necessarily going to see the world the same way he does. He's fallen so into the idea of Armand as a lover that he's forgotten that he's 500 years old and once that clicks all the anger goes out of him.

I just think it represents what their romantic relationship can be like when times are good, that they really do work together.

Also, I loved Armand spitting blood into Daniel's mouth haha that idea came upon me as an intrusive thought while I was in the car and I still think about it sometimes. It's hot, it needs to happen in fic more often!

If I were to rewrite this fic, what would I change?

(Something So Trivial, Daniel/Armand, E)

I don't know that I'd change anything, really! I think it all happened exactly as I'd intended it to. I guess it would have been nice for Daniel had Armand gotten him a Valentine's gift as well haha But Armand really wasn't expecting anything himself, Daniel totally caught him by surprise when he got more than just the underwear.

So if anything I'd have to do a follow up showing what Armand gives Daniel next Valetine's Day to make up for slacking this time around.

Were there any major decisions I made about the fic that could have made it go a whole different direction?

Oh man I originally had Daniel much, much more reluctant and his embarrassment coming out in a kind of irritable way. I find that happens when I write from his POV. I have to do the draft where he's just not having it and then go back and figure out at what moment might he get over the hill of shame and just accept that Armand knows he wants whatever they're doing so he might as well lean into it.

He was crabby enough that he just wouldn't go get the bag from the closet and I knew at that point something was off, so I had to go back and soften him up. At the end of the day it's always important that he's a willing victim in these scenarios.

What’s the part of the fic I’m most proud of?

(I'll Be Your Operator, Armand/Daniel, E)

There's two parts:

First is the church scene. I had written the whole Copley bit and it didn't feel right, there wasn't enough build up. So I thought and thought and thought and finally got a conversation in my head where Daniel and Armand discuss the topic of confession.

And I thought that was a great thread to weave through the whole thing, because Armand isn't confessing to himself that he's interested in this guy as more than a victim to harass. And I also just really liked Daniel's secret, that he's the type of person to go through with an excruciating experience because he's curious about the reward at the end. It sets up who he is in all of my works.

And then I'm also proud of the whole feeding scene. I worked really hard on building tension and the 'will they or won't they' feeling. I knew it had to be a slow escalation of Armand ordering his food, then telling him what to eat, then putting bites on his plate. Every aspect of dominating someone via food had to be explored before Daniel would give in and eat from his fork.

Which was terrifying! It felt weird, I thought people would find the obsessing over food strange and not be into the feeding kink but happily everyone seems to have enjoyed it. So I'm proud that I wrote it and proud that I got over myself and posted it.

[keeby10]

Awesome! Do you have any backstories or like Toyhou.se profiles or anything about the Gigglecorp characters? As basic stuff fans could use for references to know them better?

I dont personally, no. The existing comics and cartoon are your best bet for that. Dom would know the most, but I'll do my best to write a couple basic bios for the characters here

Jeff - A slack off clown who works in the sales department of Gigglecorp. He pretty much never finishes his work, but also never seems to be fired for it, since it mysteriously gets done anyway. He'd much rather spend his time smoking weed and eating taco bell. His best friend is cory, who he always seems to be at odds with. Despite this, theyre never REALLY mad at eachother, its all friendly, and at the end of the day they enjoy each others presence a lot. (They did look into taking their friendship further once but decided quickly it would be better if they remained friends.) (Jeff is bisexual) Jeff is prone to bouts of depression, feeling that he has failed at life and that the world has gone to shit, but he always bounces back quickly. Jeff has blond hair underneath his jester hood, and also has many tattoos that he probably doesnt remember getting. He also openly carries a firearm. Jeff is probably a second generation German Immigrant to America, considering his father was part of the Nazi Army in WWII. Jeff is probably a virgin.

Cory - He also works in the Sales department of Gigglecorp, but is far better at his job than jeff. In fact, he's the top salesman at the company! Though, if he was bad at his job, he also wouldnt be fired for it, for some reason. Cory is typically laid back, and takes most of the strange things happening around him with a grain of salt. That being said, he is typically the voice of reason, or ironically, the "straight man" when it comes down to it. Thanks to this, Cory often finds himself begrudgingly playing along with the bullshit occurring at the moment. Cory occasionally just lies to jeff about things. Cory also is a bit of a jokester. Cory is gay, and apparently pretty smooth with it. When something is just a bit too strange to be true, you'll often find cory a bit flabbergasted when its revealed.

Flippo the Dancing Flea - The current HR Guy on floor 68 of Gigglecorp (the one jeff and cory work on). No one really likes him, despite him trying very hard to be friends with everyone, and he has a crush on Girlboss. He's also kind of a pervert. A pathetic guy, really. Look forward to his debut!

Groypmo - Full title: The Great Groypmo or Groypmo the Great or whatever. Before the incident, he was a famous circus performer. Now, he's become a lot more reserved and quiet, and has taken up a job in sales at Gigglecorp. He also has let himself go since his youth. He has a giant stomach tattoo that he somehow rotates out to be various maps of different locations (Spain being the most common one). In his circus days, it was a tattoo of his smiling face. He's the best salesman on floor 68 behind Cory, and if you watch him, he seems to do more work than he turns in. He also seems to have pedophilic tendencies, but that's just a veneer he puts up to appear harmless. What is he hiding...?

Girlboss - Full name Girlene Bossman, she's the manager of floor 68 of Gigglecorp. A cruel woman, she works her employees hard, and has threatened to kill them if they dont finish their assignments on time. When Jeff and Cory ended up in her department, her first task for them was forcing them to carve "here at gigglecorp we fuck your mom!" into all of the walls of her floor. She's also kind of incompetent as a boss, and probably got her position from nepotism. She's always looking for new ways to whip her employees into shape, and seems to make decisions for the office on a whim. She has a big crush on Cory, much to his chagrin, but this also lets him and jeff get away with more than they should. She created the green character and the other color characters. Who the hell knows how. She acts like she's way younger than she actually is.

The Malevolent Little Green Character Hellbent on Sabotaging your Career - The malevolent green character, or the green character for short, he's a chaotic little guy who runs around and causes trouble for the office in various ways. Apparently he's an employee on floor 68 and is just trying to do his job? He's also looking for a place to lay his eggs.

Veronique - As a mime, she can't speak. Thus is the plight of this group of clowns. She's the receptionist for floor 68, but she doesnt seem to do much work. Being mute isnt the best attribute for someone working reception. She doesn't like jeff at all and is neutral towards cory. She's one of 3 people on the floor given the privilege of a chair. She can't be fired. And she always is watching Jeff and Cory. I wonder why...?

The CEO - a mysterious figure who runs things from the shadows.

I hope these were informative, I'll answer any other questions I can!

[arjaandsimoni]

Black Eyes Among the Briars

The ball made a squeaking sound as it bounced across the playground, heading towards the woods at the border of the field, a young boy running up to meet it as a girl chased after him.

“Blake wait up!” she called out, her red hair flying behind her. She was about ten years old, going on eleven, wearing a green teeshirt and denim bluejeans with a clover embroidered onto one leg, green sneakers on her feet.

She stumbled to a halt as she drew near the woods however, her eyes going huge. Blake stood there, terrified, as the sounds of the playground seemed to fade around them.

The trees had changed, forming a sort of natural arch, and standing on the far end was a young boy in a plain white teeshirt and slacks, motioning to the other boy with a smile. Blake stumbled forward, the ball dropping from his numb hands as the girl looked around, but none of their teachers monitoring the recess nor any other kids seemed aware of what what was happening.

And then Blake crossed the threshold of the arch, and just like that it was gone, the trees were as they always were…

The girl looked at the spot, then shook herself, “Great… just great…” she sighed, “I gotta call my brother.” nodded Stephanie Fullmoon.

The Tristate Riverfront, Kentucky Side of the Ohio River.

Nelen gazed out across the river at the Cincinnati skyline, having serious mixed feelings about the view. His grandfather would be watching the area, but after what Stephanie had told him he had to come back.

“We’re really doing this huh?” asked Dawn, looking up at him, the girl dressed in her usual ‘passably human’ disguise of a sock hat, sunglasses, baggy pants, and teeshirt.

“Yeah, black eyes and a doorway in the trees. You know just as well as I do what that means.” he sighed, “If they’re preying on kids around here then we’re all they got. Uncle Roger won’t get off his lazy ass for anything and Mom refuses to use magic so she doesn’t bring down grandpa’s hammer on us.”

Dawn nodded, “Yeah…” she muttered, knowing all too well. Her people may be from Wonderland, but they knew all about That Place. The realm next door to their own in a metaphysical sense. The Land Under the Hill and Beyond the Crossroads.

“Yep. Mom knows we’re coming. She got us a room at the Motel 8 over in Florence. She knows we can’t risk coming back home.” he added.

Dawn nodded, “Mmm… gonna be a big risk though, isn’t your sister’s school like two blocks away?” she asked.

He frowned, “Yeah, but like hell am I going to let the Fair Folk snatch kids from my home turf.” he frowned as they set off for the local bus station.

Later, at the hotel.

Nelen sat on his bed across from his sister, the young girl describing what she’d seen in the portal.

“But yeah, other than the eyes it looked just like any other kid. Dressed like super plain though, and Blake couldn’t resist when it called him. Like he just walked in, but I could tell how freaked out he was.” she nodded.

Nelen scratched his chin, “Hm… that’s odd. They can’t just do that unless the mortal lets them somehow. Do you know if Blake had done anything recently? Played with any strange kids, picked up anything weird?” he asked.

She thought on that, then shook her head, “I dunno…” she replied, “His mom is going nuts, she’s insisting the cops comb the woods for him but, well, they’re not gonna find anything…”

He glanced at Dawn, “Hm… his mom work during the day? If she does I can see if we can’t scope out his place, see if anything seems weird. Here, write down his address.” he said, handing her a notepad. “Meanwhile, keep an eye on things at school, ask around if you can. They may come back for others, and if they do they gotta have a way to claim them.” he nodded.

Dawn grinned, “Leave it to me Red! I’ll sniff out anything that smells like fairy dust easy peasy!” she nodded, stretched out on the bed behind Nelen as he discussed the situation with his sister.

He looked up as a horn honked outside, “Sounds like mom is getting impatient, can’t blame her. Franklin would go nuts if he heard I was here. Go on and get home, we got this little sis.” he smiled, patting her shoulder.

After she left he sighed, “… bigods I hope we got this. I mean, we can at least stop them from taking any others but…” he frowned.

Dawn nodded, “Yeup. That Blake kid is screwed.” she mewled, her ears folding back sadly.

“Right, well, get some rest Dawn. Tomorrow you head to his house, I’ll check the woods near the school.” he said, flopping onto his bed. At least they’d have a weekend to do it, thank the gods its Friday.

Dawn grinned, then stretched out on the bed and yawned. “Mmmhm. Faeries won’t know what hit ‘em!”

Nelen rolled his eyes, then turned out the light.

Across town a young boy stood under a streetlamp, staring up at a house.

He smiled, walking forward, then opened the mailbox and slid in a plastic package with some sort of dough inside it along with a note, then turned and walked down the street and into the woods…

The Suburb of Edgewood

The next day Dawn padded along through the backyards in her cat form. “Okay… one two two six… one two two six… lesse… one two two…” she paused, hearing a loud growling sound as a dog pawed its way towards her, “Oh for… again?” she sighed, then sat up and smiled at it.

The dog paused in confusion. This wasn’t the reaction it normally got.

Dawn just grinned, then said, “Bad dog.” and there was suddenly a bright flash.

A second later the dog was bolting down the street whining in terror as giant vengeful mailmen that only he could see chased after him.

Dawn continued on, smirking. “Alright, one two…. Ah, here we go.” she nodded, walking up to the door. She sniffed a bit, then when she was satisfied the house was empty she blinked her eyes, and suddenly she was on the inside half of the door, walking along through the house. “Right, what's here that shouldn’t be…” she murmured.

She looked around for over an hour, but nothing seemed out of place. The kid’s bedroom was just the usual junk, though it had clearly been picked over by police. The kitchen was nothing unusual. A big fridge, several fancy appliances for the suburbanite woman who imagined themselves the next Martha Stewart but who was mostly the next Paula Deen but less horrible, a half-eaten loaf of bread in a tray on the counter, but nothing obviously supernatural. She didn’t smell a whiff of Arcadian magic or hedge fruit or anything!

She sighed, then teleported back out of the house, “Well, crap. I hope he’s having better luck than I did.” she muttered.

Nelen however, was not. Hedge gates were notoriously tricky to open if you wanted them to open, and this one was being very stubborn. He’d tried a few nonsense rhymes, rolling dice, flipping coins, even smashed a small handmirror, but no luck. He was currently flipping through a tome trying to work out what he could figure out when a voice called out.

“Hey buddy! What are you doing here? This place is part of an ongoing investigation and I… oh its you, Nelen.” they said, slowing to a halt.

Standing there was a former classmate of his, now working with the local police force. “Oh hey, been a while… Jim was it?” he tried.

The officer stuck his thumbs in his belt, “Yep, this is your sister’s school isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yeah, just seeing what I can figure out. I don’t want what happened to Blake to happen to her.” he replied.

He nodded, “Of course, of course, shitty situation that. His mom has been screaming up a storm on social media, even got city council involved.” he sighed, then said, “Um… you think what happened might’ve, um, been something your family deals with?” he asked.

Nelen glanced at him. Jim was a mundane, that is to say a human who couldn’t use magic and wasn’t supernatural in any way but he did know of it. Nelen helped him out of a real situation one Halloween when they were still in high school together involving an ill-fated dare to explore a haunted factory that, it turned out, really was haunted by a very easily angered specter. It was there that he’d found out about Clan Fullmoon.

“Afraid so Jim.” nodded Nelen. “You’re not gonna find that kid, he’s off with the faeries. Literally.” he sighed.

Jim snorted a bit, then paused at Nelen’s expression, “Shit, you’re serious? You mean some little inch tall bug people snatched him?” he asked.

“Not even close, but if they catch mortals sniffing around they might get violent. Get yourself something iron to carry with you, even a coin will do, hammer or knife is best. Something you can swing at ‘em.” he replied, “If you got steel jacketed rounds in that gun then they might help, but it won’t do as much as iron would.” he nodded to the gun on Jim’s belt.

“Um, yeah, we do. Standard issue. Bullets stop ‘em?” he asked.

“Iron stops them, but pure iron works best. Depending on how powerful they are steel might just piss them off.” he replied.

“Okay, but… if we’re not talkin’ Tinkerbell, what do I watch for?” he asked.

Nelen nodded, “So, yeah, Stephanie said she saw what got him. They look like a normal kid, except their eyes.” he replied, tapping his face just under his eyelid, “Completely black, no pupil, no iris, no nothing. Just jet-black orbs.”

The cop shuddered, “Jesus, sounds like something out of a horror movie.”

“Buddy, you don’t know the half of it.” he frowned.

“There’s really no way to get that kid back?” asked Jim.

Nelen shook his head, “None. Once they have him, he’s as good as gone. He might escape on his own someday, but… look, if in a few years you get some crazy ass hobo running around claiming to be Blake, gimme a call.” he said, “Because it’ll probably be him, or whats left of him.”

That night at the hotel

Dawn and Nelen compared notes, what little they had.

“Nothing, not a godsdamn thing. Whatever hedge gate is there its refusing to respond to anything I do. It might be I can’t even open it from this side.” he sighed.

“Yeah, same here.” frowned his feline companion, the cat having changed into her actual pajamas now. They’d long since worn that joke into the ground however to the point that not even Dawn made it anymore. “I looked all over that house. NOTHING smells of Arcadia. Not a single, damn, thing.” she flopped back.

Nelen nodded, “Yeah, but the way Stephanie described it they had to have some sort of in for controlling them. She said Blake was obviously terrified but couldn’t do anything except walk forward. It had to be something, but if we don’t find out soon…” he sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t even want to think of what that poor kid must be going through right now.” he made a face, Dawn nodding at that.

The fact that she didn’t have a snarky response spoke to the seriousness of the situation. A mortal in the clutches of the fair folk… well… it was possible that it could turn out okay for them, sometimes even better. The legends mortals got were all horror stories, but those were legends passed to them by those who escaped Arcadia back to Earth. There had to be some good faeries, right? Ones whose mortals didn’t want to escape?

They had to believe that… but the way he was grabbed, they both knew full well that this faerie was one of the bad ones.

Nelen dreamed that night, and the dream was not good.

He was surrounded by a forest of thorns, the moon hanging distant and alien in the sky. He looked around, frowning, then called out. “Alright, I get it. You wanna scare me. Get out here then.”

There was a presence nearby, and he looked down to find a young boy standing there, looking up at him with inky black eyes.

Why do you want to take my friends?

He felt the question more than hearing it. The older man shaking his head. “Ugh. Gonna have a headache when I wake up. Can’t you weird little fuckers learn to use a smartphone?” he grumbled, “Look, that kid is your’s. I’m not some idiot mundy, I know he had to have done something to let you claim him. So out with it. What was it?” he asked.

The childlike fae giggled, his mouth stretching into a wide smile… and his teeth looked wrong… too perfect, too shiny, and too damn sharp.

Won’t tell! Won’t tell!

“Yeah, figured it wouldn’t be that damn easy. Well knock it off. I’m here now. Keep this shit up and I’m handing out horseshoes to everyone in town.” he frowned.

The fae giggled again, grinning wider.

Too many! So many humans now! Not enough iron to go around! I’m going to have so many friends!

He glared, then flexed his hand, “Hey, creepy little kid. Yanno how much iron is in blood?” he asked.

A tendril of blood burst out from between the bandages on his hand, flexing in the air, “Wanna guess how much is in mine?” he snarled, and the tendril seemed to sprout jagged fang-like shapes along its length.

The fae hissed, jumping back. It landed on all fours among the briars, it’s eyes seeming to widen into deep inky black pools.

The tithe-takers! Tithe-takers are here! Keep away Hellbound one! These ones are my friends!

“Fucking make me Rumplestiltskin!” he snapped, slashing outwards with the tendril as it shot towards the fae and then there was a ringing like a loud bell and Nelen jolted awake in his bed.

He fumbled for his glasses, then looked at the clock, “… four in the godsdamn morning.” he flopped back, “At least I know what I’m up against now.” he frowned.

Next to him Dawn snored and turned over in her sleep, dreaming of fish.

Monday morning eventually came, Nelen having spent all of Sunday searching through any tomes of faerie lore he had on hand.

Unfortunately, nothing came up for that particular fae… though there were a lot of complications there. The fair folk could be anything, may have even been anything in the past. The fae he was after now could have been something totally different fifty years ago, nevermind when the books were actually written.

Stephanie however had to go back to school that day. She’d asked Nelen the night before if they had any success but had been as disappointed as he was at their lack thereof. Still, she’d come prepared, wearing a tank top and a denim skirt today, along with a pair of easily removable sandals. As she got her backpack hung up however a girl came over to her.

“Hey Steffi, did you leave something in my mailbox Friday night?” she asked.

Stephanie looked over at the girl. She was her age of course, wearing a purple teeshirt and denim jeanskirt with strappy sandals on her feet. “Huh? No, I didn’t put anything in there Lisa. Why?” she asked.

“Oh, um, yanno Friendship Bread? Well someone put the dough for some in there and my mom and I baked it up over the weekend. It was really good and I wanted to thank whoever did it, but they forgot to sign the card so I got no idea who.” she replied with a smile.

Stephanie felt a chill go down her back at that. “Um… you don’t say…” she replied, “Hey um, I gotta go do something really fast before class starts…” she nodded, ducking out of the classroom and into the bathroom, fishing her phone out of her pocket. “Please be awake please be awake please please…” she whispered, dialing Nelen’s number.

At the hotel Nelen snored, having spent most of the night pouring over tomes, then snorted awake, groping for his phone. He glared at the screen bleary eyed, then answered it. “Stef… wuzz guin’ on…” he grumbled.

“Nelen wake up!” she hissed, “I know how they’re doing it, and someone else is marked! Friendship bread! That old thing where people give dough to someone and the other person bakes it into bread! That’s why Dawn couldn’t find anything Arcadian! Its just normal bread, but the fae are giving it out!” she whispered, trying to keep her voice low incase someone came in the restroom.

Nelen jolted awake at this, “Bread? Just regular mundy bread. Shit, if the fae give it to them that still counts…” he grunted as Dawn blinked up at him, having dozed off in her cat form.

“Oh crap… there was a half eaten loaf of bread in that kid’s kitchen! I think she’s right!” she hissed.

Nelen swore. “Shit. Stephanie, keep an eye on her. If they gotta use the woods they won’t be able to nab her until recess. I’m on my way!” he said, scrambling out of bed and pulling his jeans on.

Stephanie nodded, “Right, its about noonish, just be here!” she said, biting her lip nervously. Lisa was in real danger, but they couldn’t warn her! Nobody would believe them if they told her the truth…

By noon Nelen was hiding out near the school. He’d texted Jim and told him he’d had a lead on this but that he’d have to be at the school today to deal with it, hoping his old friend could run interference incase someone called the cops on him. Dawn was nearby, human-shaped but invisible for now.

He looked up as he heard a bunch of childish screams and shrieks, seeing the third grade class get out for recess. It was time. “Dawn, keep an eye out. Stephanie said she’d stick close to their marked kid. If you see them show up, grab her and warp her away, I don’t care where.” he nodded firmly. “I’ll deal with the faerie.” he replied, holding a solid iron ballpeen hammer tightly in his bag.

As recess got underway Stephanie saw her friend seeming to drift closer to the tree line, the girl trying to cut her off. “Hey, Lisa, why don’t we stay closer in today huh?” she asked.

“I… I dunno, do we gotta? I kinda feel like I wanna get near the woods.” she replied.

“Oh? Um, why though?” she asked.

Lisa’s brow knotted up, the girl looking confused, “I… don’t know… but…” she looked up at the trees again, as if hearing a sound only she could hear, “I just…” she blinked slowly, her eyes going half lidded, “… need to be near them…” she murmured, starting to walk forward.

Stephanie eeped, trying to cut her friend off, “Naaaaaaaaah, lets go hang out on the benches, maybe someone snuck their phone out and we can check out whats up on Instagram or something?” she tried, but her friend shoved right past her, the girl’s eyes locked on the tree line. Stephanie frantically looked around, then spotted the shape of her brother in the shadow of a tree and jerked her head frantically towards her friend.

Nelen looked up, then ahead of the girl he saw the trees begin to bend and shift into a gate-like archway. In amongst the groves was the faerie, waving to Lisa and beckoning her forward.

For about five seconds before a pair of invisible arms appeared around her and, “YOINK!” suddenly the girl was sitting inside her classroom with a confused expression, the distance and being indoors cutting off the fae’s influence. “Everyone gets one.” Dawn whispered in her ear, before vanishing.

The faerie however did not like this one bit.

“Where did she go?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY NEW FRIEND?!” he snarled, his voice echoing as the kids in the playground all paused, looking around in confusion.

“Sorry faerie boy, that girl is under my protection. Leave now and don’t come back.” said Nelen, stepping forward as he slipped the hammer out from his bag.

“You… Demon-marked! Hellsworn!” he snapped, Nelen aware that eyes were beginning to turn towards him. The faerie looked at the kids, grinning. “You can’t touch me, they think I’m one of them. If you hurt me the other humans will lock you up.” he sneered.

“He can’t. I can!” snapped another voice.

Stephanie came striding across the grass, glaring at the faerie. “You took away MY friend! You almost took another! How dare you!” she glared.

Nelen took a step back, slipping the hammer into his bag once more, as the faerie looked at her.

“Oh? And what exactly are you going to do little mortal? Do you want to be my friend too?” he sneered.

Stephanie grinned, and it wasn’t a nice grin. “You’re going to leave, or else I’ll scream.” she replied, and Nelen quickly made sure his bag strap was secure, a hand holding his hat in place.

“… and what exactly will that do?” asked the faerie.

Stephanie took a deep breath… and screamed.

Clan Fullmoon was a clan of monster hunters, and like most of the monster hunting families they had an ace up their sleeve. A leg up of their own in the supernatural department.

All the men in Clan Fullmoon had supernatural strength, some moreso than others. Nelen was strong enough to, say, punch a dent in a dumpster.

The women however could use magic.

Her scream came out more akin to the cry of some gigantic hawk, and as soon as she unleashed it the air went from calm to full on gale force wind! The air howled as a gust of almost seventy miles an hour slammed towards the tree line!

Nelen got back behind his tree and held on for dear life as her classmates screamed in panic, the teachers trying to get them back inside as fast as they could go! The faeire boy stumbled at the sudden blast of wind. He was outside his lands and on Earth his power was greatly diminished!

The storm had caught him off guard and as he looked he saw that Stephanie wasn’t there, just a pair of sandals sitting on the grass.

Nelen smirked, taking the hammer back out and holding out, handle first. There was a blur, and suddenly his hand was empty.

The faerie looked around frantically, but it wasn’t used to not being omniscient. In its own realm it could tell where everything and everyone was, but on Earth its senses were weaker too!

“You guys put so damn much stock in names, should’ve found out ours first. Its Fullmoon.” grinned Nelen.

The faerie’s eyes widened, “… chosen of the Maven…” he whispered then looked up, and Stephanie shot down from the sky! Her arms were now a pair of massive black raven wings, her legs changed into bird-like talons, and the hammer clutched firmly between them.

The faerie had only a moment to scream as the hammer slammed home, his face erupting in silver fire as the iron bit into his flesh! He turned to her, half his head gone, scorched away by the hammer, as the girl grinned at him and banked around, then came back in for a finishing blow!

He snarled, then ran for the hedge gate, but the storm was here and she was faster! Another loud crash and the fae stumbled, then fell headless to the ground!

Then reality seemed to burp, and all that was left was a pile of dried oak leaves that scattered on the wind she’d called.

Stephanie landed by her sandals, her feathers molting away to reveal ordinary human arms as her legs shed their scales, changing back into regular legs. She put the sandals on, then walked over to Nelen, handing the hammer back. “That oughta do it. Hey Dawn, we got a tornado shelter inside, think you can land me there out of view?” she asked.

“You got it big bird.” grinned the cat. She’d appeared in the branches of the tree midway through the fight, having watched Stephanie hammer the faerie to pieces. She jumped down, high fived the girl, and then they both vanished.

Dawn reappeared alone a moment later. “Right, lets get the hell outta here before someone catches us.” she nodded.

“Damn right.” replied Nelen.

Then the yard was totally empty. A moment later a tree fell over, ripped up by the wind.

Later that evening, at the hotel.

Nelen was watching a local news station. “Meteorologists are baffled by today’s freak windstorm, but experts continue to investigate why a localized thunderstorm formed over Edgewood Kentucky today, seemingly centered around a local elementary school.” said the newscaster as Nelen ate the last slice of a pizza.

“Mom threw a fit of course, you know she hates it when Steffi uses her magic. Frank is still batshit about that.” he sighed.

“Yeah, but what can ya do? He’s the leader of the Clan and what he says they gotta do.” shrugged Dawn. “At least she’s not really angry, I mean your sister kicked one of the gentry’s asses, that’s gotta count for some brownie points.”

“Nope, its not getting reported. Franklin would go ballistic. Not to mention I’d wind up in the report. Best just leave this one another urban legend and get the fuck outta town before he sends someone to poke Roger in his drunken ass and figure out why he didn’t do something about this.” he nodded, “C’mon, we’re checking out early and getting back to the Wulfshead before shit hits the fan there.”

Dawn shrugged, hopping off the bed and pulling her backpack on, “Fine fine… so where to next?” she asked.

“Dunno, lets check the BBS and see who’s hiring.” he said, the door closing as they left the hotel room.

Back at her home Stephanie sat in her room, frowning. She saved her friend, saved the entire school really because faeries didn’t know the meaning of restraint, and she got yelled at. She had all this power, but because her grandpa was a nutjob she wasn’t allowed to use it.

'Well whatever,' she thought to herself as she finished filling her fanny pack. A silver dagger, various pouches full of other reagents, some other useful things. She wasn’t able to make it bigger on the inside like her brother could yet.

She knew her uncle Roger would never do his job to protect the area from supernatural threats… which meant she’d have to do it herself.

She opened her window, wearing a pair of denim shorts and a tank top, and glanced back at the door. She was breaking a lot of her mom’s rules; curfew, being (hah) grounded, and not using magic… but, well, the women of Clan Fullmoon were witches after all, and nobody broke rules like a witch.

A minute later a large bird-like shape soared out over the suburbs, Stephanie seeing what sort of mischief she could find. She couldn’t let Nelen have all the fun after all.

Next Story

Previous Story

[takalzuoom]

𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐚 / 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬/𝐨

Curse you Cala Maria anon for making me write separate scenarios for Jade’s orca partner and Floyd’s Great White Shark partner🤬

(i’m joking ily)

cw: cursing, mentions of bullying, jade being weird 😭

𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐝

Back to where I was with Floyd's scenario,

YOU PLAY VOLLEYBALL

And since you're so tall- you're damn good at it.

You're the person they make a separate play for

“ number 11 subbing in for number 9”

Then suddenly everyone’s sick, or they twisted their ankle. They don’t wanna verse you - not just because you're good. But because of- well you

Now that I’m thinking about it, you remind me of Ushijima. Hardass spike no one can ever block. The little comments you make?

He also ‘teases’ people who make off-handed comments about you.

When you're done, he’ll slink up to you, and congratulate you with his usual smile.

You get wayy more out there when. You’re at Floyd’s basketball games.

On one hand, you have your own little section. expect for the onslaught of children enact to you (ill get into that later)

You become SO vocal, telling Floyd ‘ take down their krill look’s ass’

And no one can do anything about it, cause once they catch sight of your teeth. They think it's better to stay quiet 🙊

I like to think that Floyd would score 50 out of 100 points when you're there, softly cause he wants to impress you

I was gonna say ‘to show other guys not to mess with him or you, but I feel like he’d also be really into it when in the moment. So idk

But if you're versing a school from under the sea and he sees a great white student eyeing you. Oh my god.

Leave. Just leave. It’s gonna be a bloodbath.

He’ll make sure to personally wipe the floor clean with them

and when you come hobbling down to congratulate him, he'll smirk smugly at the other student

I see you dragging him to class, only to silently goof off with him in the back corner.

Like he could be laughing his ass off as you sit there with a slight smirk

AND FLOYD WOULD TELL JADE AND AZUL WHAT YOU SAY-

would they believe him? Absolutely not.

funny story though. Azul had called you to get Floyd to try and work. Only for him to hear Floyd cackling hysterically. Not even his usual unnerving laugh. But more like his lung is about to pop out.

Already annoyed, he's about to enter until he overhears something you said...

No one believes him when he tells them the zinger you came up with on the fly.

He's been seen giggling to himself while working for weeks

Like yall would have the most complex notes. And the most terrifying ones. Half the time you're trying to convince him not to jump up, squeeze riddle, and dip

In all three of these scenarios, y/n is the bouncer for the lounge. This time, you're much more horrifying. Blank look as you stand perfectly still.

Mwah sexy

But honestly- you're bored. Dreadfully so.

Every once in a while you’ll have to start pacing or start patrolling the lounge. Sometimes sneaking in to see Floyd 😳

You have something to fidget with. Whether it be a hair tie, drawstring, stress ball, or some random, unlucky object that has taken hold of your attention.

And you're both guilty of leaving your post during shifts to just ‘slack’ off with each other. Surprisingly you more than Floyd.

5 times out of 10 you come back. Other 5… the great seven only knows what

You’re perfect to squeeze. Since you're so big it takes more to hurt you, and you're touch starved 😿

More often than not, you’d both be lazing around somewhere. Usually the lounge or courtyard (catching rays, n chill's like villains 😎)

And believe it or not, you have to move around more than him. Asking him if he wants to do something. He’ll just tell you that he's not in the mood and just wants to lay back and think chill.

So off on an adventure, you go!

alone 😿

without your boyfie

so cruel

mad i was saying before, children are strangely attached to you??

don’t know how don’t know why- but even in your mer form you would have children hiding behind rocks gawking at you as you swam by

of course Floyd being Floyd would sneak up and scare the shit out of them

but i see him liking playing with kids. you just chilling as some of them ask you questions and hesitantly approach

while Floyd’s playing ‘squeeze tag’ with them. (don’t try at home)

you love kids. treating some of them as your younger siblings, catching up with them over break, coming to special events for them.

just over all being a kid person.

and if a bully’s giving one of them a problem-

you smile at them 😸

Floyd’s a fuxking snitch btw

“hey hey, sharkie… apparently someone’s been bothering parrot fishie again”

“o h? is that so..”

𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞

He loves your family.

And your family loves him.

maybe a little more than they love you😟

Stg if yall weren’t dating he'd` be the brother you never had. Same with Floyd cause they love how easy going and (and I quote) 'spunky' he is

I see him and your moms getting along famously

(Screw you I’m making y/n have gay moms cause Orcaa are matriarchal and are usually in pods with mostly women)

they’ll side with him when y’all are having arguments 😐

yeah, they’re annoying like that

You have a younger sister and brother who just adore him

I see you being a part of the mountain lovers club. Not ‘cause you like mushrooms- oh god no.

But because your siblings aren’t old enough to go on land, you bring things back so you can teach them about what life is like up there.

Jade tries to get them to like his mushroom dishes 💀

Jade (unfortunately) converted your brother to mushroomism 😿💔

You and jade sometimes do presentation nights, where you’ll be on the beach while they’re in the water, and you do show and tell

NO CAUSE IT’S LIKE ONE OF THOSE SHOWS WHERE THERE'S THE PRICE AND OBJECT ON THE SIDE AND THERE'S A BUNCH OF WHITE WOMEN REVIEWING IT 😭😭

YOU KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT- EASTER SUNDAY YOUR MOM WOULD RANDOMLY PUT IT ON (please tell me it wasn't just my mom 😟)

Okay but no- sometimes it gets super… weird???

Like he’ll talk to your mom (1) about her latest catch- and he wants the FULL details of it like- 🤨🤨 what 😐

AND if your brother asks about mushrooms (propaganda) Jade will bend down with that signature look of his. Smile.

Then start talking about murderous mushrooms.

“Indeed. Some mushrooms are known for infecting the lungs of the poor soul who gets too close. Its spores secreting a kind of position that is to tranquilizer it’s neutral predators and… briefly disable them”

"..."

"..."

"...mOM-"

Great. Now your brother is crying, over the fact that he ate mushrooms not even five minutes ago as Jade is there just- smiling

Thanks a fucKING LOT JADE

"What? I'm merrily educating the youths about mushrooms, no harm done." :)

Your sister pulled you aside asking if you were safe OISBOVFUWE

I feel like orca reader would have adhd? Or maybe add (add is a form of adhd i know cause I have it lol)

This is mainly because I watched a video about orcas and one of the younger ones kept running off, getting in trouble? Life-threatening scenarios and called her family for help-

SO I WAS LIKE- gee, what if reader was like that too? Being even more of a hassle than Floyd.

And I feel like the reader would purposely get themselves get into trouble with (say) other students, and then play ‘defenseless’ cause their big short, strong boyfriend jade will come to the rescue 😻🫶

And of course, Jade knows about this, he's seen how you handle rowdy customers.

(And he's done it once or twice to take a peek and feel your sexy, hot, bulging muscles-)

Oh my god. You have muscles. Sorry- don’t make the rules, I just follow them 😎

Lemme tell you- he's in love. Like. Literally.

You: cleaning the table

Jade trying to take orders: Lord have mercy. We must stay focused brothers. We must, stay focused.

I’m sorry but- he's manipulative 💀

Not the safe choice.

If you don't know where to go to eat, he’ll give a suggestion, THEN make you think that it was your idea

it’s a win-win🤷🏻

“Hmm, I dunno jade. I’m not feeling Italian tonight…”

“Earlier you said you wanted something cold, no?”

“Hmmm… I guess? I mean, my mouth feels a little parched so-“

“Hhmmmm”

As you were thinking, Jade started fanning himself with his gloved hand, sighing as he stared at something off into the distance.

“Ahh, then what about-“

“Oh! That place with the really good ice cream! Yum yum!”

Jade, who wanted ice cream from the beginning: 😼

I feel like there will be sometimes when you miss your family. Cause orca's are extremely sociable creatures. So just imagining orca readers getting depressed about missing their mom’s anniversary. Their brother and sister’s birthday. The time when their whole family went to see a movie they saw with Jade-

And with trial and error, he’d find out exactly what you need; a hug.

Like okay- setting the scene.

You’re locked up in your room, bundled up in your covers as you hold your phone, the picture of your family smiling at that one theme park you’d frequent.

And suddenly there's a knock at the door (he has spidey senses for these kinda things tf)

“Y/n, may I come in”

You didn't answer.

A few silent seconds passed until the lock on the door clicked open as the blinding light from the hallway illuminated your room.

Soft footsteps became louder as you kept your eyes trained on your dimmed phone.

“You missed your shift at the lounge- Azul isn't too happy about that”

“Azul can suck a tentacle- better yet I think he’s missing one. So he should get that out of his ass an-“

You stopped once you felt a firm hand on your shoulder.

“You should have told him beforehand that you weren’t going to make it. We were down a man and had to get one of your first-year friends to fill in”

You scuffed.

Rolling onto your stomach so you lost Jade’s grip as you, you smothered your face in your pillow as jade adjusted himself on the bed.

“You know, I'm here to help… I'm not sure what you’re feeling as Floyd and I have always been together our entire lives… but if you need anything…”

He trailed off before sighing. Slowly got up before a swish of the blankets was heard, and he was roughly pushed down onto the bed.

A startled gasp left his face as you brought him into a crushing hug.

He swore he heard a bone crack.

Carefully, with your feet, you lifted the covers over the both of you and sniffled, nuzzling his face as you brought him closer. An amused ‘oh’ was all he said as he tapped your shoulder.

Letting go slightly, he slipped off his shoes, socks, and blazer as you readjusted your hold on him.

Throwing your leg over his body, you finally encased yourself over him as you got comfy again, a few stray tears leaving you as Jade felt your body start to lax.

He sighed, shrugging internally as he’ll have to deal with a pissy Azul whenever you decided to let him go.

sighs dreamily

But all in all, I think you and jade balance each other out 🖤

he sneaks mushrooms into your food. It's his love language 😐

"I have a present for you"

"Please don't tell me it's mushrooms"

"it's mushrooms"

[burnedbyshoto]

for want of a bento box

– It’s plain and simple, you see, someone is stealing your bento boxes and you will find your lunch thief! Or, in which Todoroki Shouto keeps taking your bento box and you declare war. 

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

pairing: todoroki shouto x reader

warnings: fluff, cursing, shouto is a bad chef, I believe I made reader pretty gender neutral but I whipped this out in two hours and I can no longer remember if I used any fem!pronouns but im pretty sure I didn’t

word count: 3,060

a/n: this is for the wonder coworker bnharem collab! I had intended on writing a completely different theme and storyline but was very overwhelmed by how much time it actually needed to be written compared to the amount of time I actually had. that version will be out another time! but for now, enjoy some pure flufffffff!!!!

⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆⋄⋆⊹⋄⋆

Having a normal, functioning, well-paying job was probably the most desirable thing to you. It wasn’t to say that you were slacking or that you were homeless, broke, and never to be seen again because you were that in debt. But it was nice having a job!

When you entered the prestigious Toshinori Company, you joined not as an entry-level job employee but as a senior representative. You thought it was crazy.

It had to be crazy.

You had no prior experience, and now you were going to be in charge and the lead in certain areas?!

“And that was the entire layout of the office!” Mina chirped happily, throwing herself onto the desk chair across from yours with a big smile. “Any questions?”

“I don’t think so,” you mutter, brows creased as you look around the room again. 

The office space was ample, sleek, open. Each desk has its own grand computer that you currently could not afford with your own money, comfortable chairs, and beautiful wood desks. It was elegant, far superiorly fancy, and yet, you didn’t feel out of place. Strange.

“Oh!” you say with a roll of your eyes as you reach below your desk to bring up your packed lunch. “Where was the break room again? I need to refrigerate my food!”

“Omg, of course, come this way!” Mina grins, standing up and motioning you to follow her. You smile gratefully and do. 

The entire way to the office, Mina takes the time to point at the many different people on the floor and give them names. Everyone so far had sort of acknowledged you earlier as Mina was giving you the official tour. Some were much more open and friendly, and some had sneers or blank stares that left you dumbstruck. 

Definitely a personable group.

“Hm, well, I guess Todoroki-kun isn’t here today?” Mina mutters as you enter the break room that has couches and comfortable-looking chairs. “Such a shame! You would have loved to see the office hottie!”

You snort at that, lips curled into a granulous smile as you place your plastic container with food into the fridge. “I’m sure I’ll live,” you brush off the fact that there was an absent person on your floor today.

“That’s the thing, though,” Mina points a finger at you, a lone eyebrow raised and a confident smirk on her face. “You won’t be thinking that again the moment you see him!”

You laugh, eyes crinkling as Mina joins your laughter. Eventually, she motions for the both of you to leave, and you nod in understanding. And with a weird sense of comfort and belonging, you realized that this job was going to be good. 

.

.

Eventually, you had been working at Toshinori Company for two months.

Sixty-two days to be precise, and in all that time, you had only met Todoroki Shouto once. Even then, you had only seen the man walking through the office with a blank face, fingers in his pockets as two other men were walking in front of him, bickering lightly.

Had Mina not quite literally thrown herself across the table and gripped the collar of your shirt and twisted your head to look at him, you would have never caught a glimpse at the man with red and white hair. The three of them walked into the break room and came back out with their own lunches before leaving.

And that was it.

You had learned that the three of them (Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku, and Bakugou Katsuki) were within your department but worked very closely with the very high up members within the company. Many rumors pointed at one of the three taking over the company when the current CEO stepped down. They were, however, on the roster for your floor; they just never appeared except to pick up their lunches. Something they seemed to come to grab whenever you were a) way too fucking busy or b) not in the room.

You weren’t too bothered, though.

It wasn’t like you were trying to date one of them! You had only wanted to say hi.

.

.

.

Now, at ninety days, you had your first and probably most crucial evaluation. 

Toshinori Yagi, the man who founded and currently ran this company, sat before you, looking at papers within a folder with tired but kind blue eyes. He nodded, impressed (hopefully), making small comments about the work you had been able to accomplish, a smile becoming a warming grin as he looked up.

“I’m impressed by the performance you’ve managed to attend to despite the short while you’ve been here, y/l/n-shojo,” Toshinori spoke, his fingers threading together and placing them onto the table. “I knew it was an excellent decision to put you in that position, and you exceeded my entire expectation!”

You flushed at that, lips twitching as you attempted to suppress that smile of yours. 

“Thank you, Toshinori-san,” you practically wheeze as he waves off your thanks.

“No need to thank me, you’ve done all this work!” he laughs, tired eyes closing with a glorious supply of crow's feet blooming at the corner of his eyes. “Typically, at these evaluations, I ask a bunch of questions because there isn’t too much anyone can do in their first ninety days, I must admit.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm, but because I am curious, is there anything that has been happening as of late that you feel needs to be addressed with me?”

You felt yourself stiffen but knew your one and only complaint was not something to bring up in this setting.

“No, nothing,” you shrug, and Toshinori beams.

“I’m glad!”

Now, the problem.

The big, fat, stinky, hooligan, wanting to throttle someone problem.

For the past sixty of your ninety days, someone has been stealing your lunch.

Yes, you heard that correctly; someone was stealing your damn lunch! Every morning you woke up and prepared a delicious bento box for yourself. Some days you went as far as cutting shapes into your fruits and veggies just to make yourself grin. You weren’t the best chef in the world, but your bento boxes were pretty enough to make up for it, in your opinion. But the thing is, every day when you went into the communal fridge, you noticed two things.

One, your bento box was no longer in the same place, and two, the bento box was not yours at all.

The food was disastrously organized. Rice and lettuce spilling out in every partition in the box. The fruit and veggies often packed in this box had multiple cuts in them, implying that whoever did this was less than ideal with a knife. The meat was often oversalted, the sushi never sitting together, and everything was just… not it.

The first time you had sighed and eaten it, grumbling about how your precious lunch was stolen. But you had quickly figured out that it was inedible, and Mina, Uraraka, and Yaoyorozu thank god, offered to share their meals. 

Seeing that you were distressed about how someone stole your egg and octopus sausages one day, Mina declared that they would watch the break room for whoever was stealing your light blue bento box. The first day you staked out, you had done it with Mina. But ten minutes into waiting around, you needed to pee. So you stood up and left in a hurry, leaving Mina alone.

But when you returned, Mina was gone, instead standing by Kirishima’s desk with a bright grin and a stance that screamed that she heard something she liked (gossip, possible in-office romance, a love confession?). Her jaw dropped as she noticed you and Kirishima had turned and waved in your direction as you raced into the break room to open the fridge, and sure enough, your bento was gone.

The next time, you staked out with Uraraka. Your arms were folded, your bladder cleared, and your lips twisted into a pout as you glared and stared down every single member who entered the room. Uraraka whispered to you her guesses about just who might be the thief, every other person rating an 8/10 likelihood of stealing your lunch.

But as the both of you sat there, your eyes narrowed at each passerby, no one came to collect your bento today.

“Deku-kun, no packed lunch today?” Uraraka asked as the green, curly-haired man you had only met once previously raced into the break room, grabbing the extra chopsticks meticulously hidden in the third bottom draw.

“Ah, Uraraka-san, y/l/n-san! Uh, no,” Midoriya greeted you both, who apparently responds to the nickname Deku, laughs off as he grabs a handful of napkins. “Todoroki-kun left all our lunches in his car by accident, and well… they spoiled… Kacchan’s pissed, so I ran off to get lunch for us today!”

Uraraka laughed, shaking her head, “Leave it to Todoroki-kun to act that way.”

Midoriya laughed, bright and clearly in agreement, “You should have seen his face when Kacchan asked for his lunch! I swear–”

“HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GRAB FUCKING CHOPSTICKS, SHIT-KU! I’M FUCKING STARVING!” a voice roared from nowhere near the entrance of the break room. You did, however, jump a bit, eyes turning toward the break room entrance to see the blond man (Bakugou? Kacchan? You had no idea which was correct) near the entrance of the floor. 

“It’s only been a minute, Kacchan, relax!” Midoriya laughs, completely unaffected by the startling shout as he waves goodbye to both you and Uraraka before leaving, joining Bakugou as the both of them seem to talk comfortably… well, maybe more like bickering.

“Why are they–”

“Childhood friends, apparently,” Uraraka sighed, but the smile on her face betrays her exasperation.

No one stole your bento that day.

Yaoyorozu took up the third stake out, the two of you idly chatting about tea. You honestly had no idea what to talk about with Yaomomo; she was often just so elegant and mature despite being your age. When you learned that her family was in charge of the Yaoyorozu Corp, it had been strangely easy to accept that. 

It made sense.

So as the two of you stood at the kitchen sink, boiling water for tea Yaomomo swore would be the best matchup for your packed nigiri, the both of you missed the man who walked into the room, opened the fridge, and took your lunch.

“I… I am so sorry,” Yaomomo apologized, head bowed dangerously low as the both of you looked at the sloppily cut salmon in your not actual bento. “Please eat my food in reparation.”

“No, it’s okay,” you sigh, chewing on the somehow still warm salmon. “I deserved this loss.”

Luck was just on this man's side, it seemed. No matter what you did, you could never catch the man in action, and you were ready to give up.

But this was the last attempt you said to yourself as you returned to your office floor, the evaluation done, and the rest of your life coming to light. You could do this. No! You WOULD do this!

.

.

“Why don’t you just put your name on your bento box?” Bakugou asked, a lone eyebrow raised in what you could only assume was judgment and pity. The explosive man was standing in the doorway of the breakroom, watching as you and Mina were trying to climb up the counters of the breakroom to grab the camera you had previously planted. “Obviously, it doesn’t have your name on it.”

“Um,” you squeak, having been obviously caught by someone who intimidated you just the slightest bit. “That’s a good idea, thank you, Bakugou-san.”

“Tch, whatever, just clean up the damn counters, fucking nasty standing up on there. Some people prepare their food there.”

“We would never forget to do that!” you argue, desperate to not leave a bad impression on this man.

“I don’t know much about you, but I know raccoon eyes over there would.”

“MY NAME IS MINA!”

“Like I care.”

He left without so much as a wave but did seem to nod with his departure. You sighed as you hopped off the counter, Mina grabbing the cleaning supplies as she cursed out the long-gone man under her breath. 

But you were looking at the fridge with your missing bento box.

“I can’t believe I never put my name on it.”

“It’s okay! Not even Yaomomo thought of it, so I say we are still smart!”

.

.

.

It was the next day, you were at your desk, anxious as hell as you did your work, trying not to focus on the fact that it was lunchtime and you were actively avoiding the break room. You wondered if they wouldn’t come and collect it today. If somehow they were an asshole and wouldn’t care if your name was on it! What would happen then? What if it was someone like Bakugou who was taking your lunch? What then? You were sure you would cave in slight fear and major intimidation if he said that your lunch was his now.

“Want a cutie while we wait, cutie?” Mina asked, waving the small tangerine in her fingers as she grins.

“Please,” you say in gratitude for the food because you were starving. “Thank you.”

Eventually, you lost track of what was happening, becoming all too invested in the conversation that Mina was telling you about that involved Kaminari, Kirishima, Bakugou, Midoriya, twenty-seven Red Bulls, fifteen Monsters, and five shots of sake. It seemed that the former two were quite big instigators when they wanted to be, and the latter two were unable to back away from challenges, especially when the other was involved.

“Y/l/n?” an unfamiliar voice called from behind you, and you turned partially in your chair as you looked behind you.

Standing behind you was a tall man with red and white hair, and from this distance, you noticed immediately that his eyes were a deep grey and brilliant blue.

Todoroki Shouto.

“T-Todoroki-san!” you greet him back, voice unable to keep from trembling as your nerves shot up. What was going on? You two had never interacted before! He was always gone, never present, and whenever he was in the office, it seemed that you weren’t there.

He cleared his throat and raised up two identical bento boxes.

“It seems… I have apparently been stealing your bento boxes,” he concludes, pressing the blue bento box with your name written on it into your hands.

Your jaw drops as your fingers curve around the cool plastic, eyes blinking up a storm as you try to abstain from laughing high pitched and ugly like. 

“It was you?!”

A pink color blooms onto his cheeks as he averts his eye contact with you and nods slowly, “I am so sorry.”

“I just… how?!” you exclaim, exasperated, this man obviously being a bit dense if he had no idea he was taking your bento box!

“I prepare my bento boxes the night before, and I don’t really remember what I put into them….” Todoroki explains slowly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, his tongue clicking the roof of his tongue. “I just thought that my cooking was improving and that I was somehow doing an amazing job.”

The grin that overcomes your face is one of subtle, strange fondness and soft warmth. “I can tell you that you probably haven’t improved much,” you tease, opening your bento box to see your prepared meal for the day. 

Cucumber salad, bulgogi beef, rice, and some fruit.

It was packed exactly how you remembered.

“I can’t believe I finally get to eat a meal I prepared,” you continue to tease, your eyes moving up to meet Todoroki, who was also looking at your bento previously. “Thank you for returning my meals and apologizing.”

“It was nothing,” Todoroki waved off with a single hand before opening up his own disastrously assembled bento box. It looked worse than usual today. Everything was just thrown in, it seemed. You saw egg and rice, but everything else in there was indescribable. He smiles at you before sighing at his bento. “This looks more like my stuff.”

You laugh, shaking your head, “You want to share my bento box? I’m sure you probably don’t want to return to that.”

“No, it’s okay,” Todoroki gently declined, although he looked at your bento with great want. He cleared his throat, gaze moving to lock on yours, and you swore his cheeks were still pink but no longer from embarrassment. “I just wanted to come and apologize for stealing your lunch for so long and to thank you for the meals; they were all delicious. Especially the soba you had made.”

“It’s all good; it’s in the past now,” you say gently, somehow finding yourself falling for a man you’ve barely just begun to talk with. The both of you stare at each other, and your skin feels warm. You chuckle, gaze averting for a moment before returning as you tease him. “Although, if you steal from me again, I’m not so sure if I’ll be so lenient.”

“It won’t happen again, promise,” Todoroki smiles, and you feel your spine melt. “But I would love to make it up to you somehow. I can make you dinner one night or something?”

You laugh, head shaking, “No, absolutely not; I don’t trust your cooking skills just yet. But you can definitely take me out to dinner.”

“Yeah, I can definitely do that,” Todoroki agrees, and the both of you fall silent as the shy stares continue. “Does, um… is Friday at seven okay with you?”

“That works,” you say, and Todoroki smiles.

“Good, I’ll uh, see you then?”

“See you,” you agree with a sweet smile before turning around, your fingers raised in a small wave. 

You turn to see Mina, Uraraka, and Yaomomo staring at you, eyes comically wide and so very intrigued.

“Oh… my… GOD!” Mina shrieked as Todoroki walks away, and you shriek as she jumps across the table and shakes you, screaming about office romances and meet-cutes being entirely too underrated. “PROMISE ME I’LL BE INVITED TO THE WEDDING!!!!”

“MINA!”

.

.

.

.

.

It would take about three years of dating, several months of teaching Shouto how to cook, which resulted in a few bellyaches. Still, eventually yes, Mina would be invited to your wedding.

[lovestrucked-again]

1.2k  warnings: oral sex (F receive), overstim, heavy smut written by a sudden urge :)

Jaehyun shuts the door.

His office is messier and more comfortable than Taeyong’s. The blinds are pulled down and the only artificial light comes from a desk lamp.

He leads you around behind his wide built-in desk, rolls his chair away and brushes a pile of mail back from the writing surface, clearing his desk.

"Have a seat," he encourages you, gesturing to the cleared spot on his table.

You carefully inch your bottom up onto his desk and scoot backwards, tugging the lower hem of your dress down to cover as much of your thighs as you can. Jaehyun flops into his chair and looks you up and down. Without warning, he rolls forward and lifts your shoes to his lap. You try to cross your legs but he catches your bare calves and stops you.

"You looked pretty excited with Mr Lee back there. How's your first day going so far?"

"Uh, it's... it’s not what I... I didn't expect you guys to—"

"The spankings? I know. I told them that was crazy.” he chuckles.

"Really?"

"Of course”

"Why didn't they—?"

"I got outvoted three to one. So... here we are."

"No, it's gotta stop! I'm not like, okay with it... sir."

"Well you seemed pretty lit-up when I saw you."

You look away. You can’t admit that to yourself yet, let alone to this gorgeous man holding your knees slightly apart.

"I think your body has different ideas," he continues soothingly, "about what it enjoys."

"NN-o," You shake your head, still unable to look at him. "No it doesn't. You guys are... you're my employers. You can't just..."

Jaehyun moves his hands to your thighs and pushes your dress back softly.

You tense.

"This all seems very strange to you, I know," he says quietly. "And since it's your first day, you're probably feeling extra sensitive but I think... what you need now is some way to calm your nerves."

"Wha-t?" you stammer nervously.

"This will make your whole day seem easier," he whispers as his elbows spread your legs apart and his face doves to your crotch. You slump backward, gasping loudly as his mouth latches onto your swollen vulva and sucks your clit and labia through the sheer panties.

"Oh Sir! What are you—? Oh... God!"

You claw at the desk behind you, trying to scoot away, but he pulls your hips firmly closer. His mouth attacks your pussy so adeptly that your panties may as well have been invisible.

You struggle but his hands bend your legs back until your feet are over his shoulders. You tip backward, onto your elbows.

Within seconds your neck slackens as your groin endures a flood of ecstatic sensations. It’d been ages since anyone had gone down on you, and after your gushing orgasm in Mr Lee’s office your body was well-primed for more.

Jaehyun takes a breath and yanks your underwear to one side. Then he immerses his tongue inside your folds, licking and sucking every millimeter of your bare sex into his mouth. You collapse completely and grab his head.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God..." you pant. He was obviously an expert at this.

His hands pushes your legs farther back, folding your knees to your chest until your shoes are inverted high above your face. Your toes curled-up tight.

He peels your panties out from under your and gathers them into a rope around your knees, enabling him to keep your legs pinned back with just one hand. His free hand then takes up a position alongside his chin, thumb extending to probe your labia. Moments later he buries that long digit deep inside you, rocking it back and forth while your clitoris grow inside the vacuum of his mouth.

Your body squirms against his face. Your tailbone lifting off the desk.

He shivers his mouth against you, slurping your folds between his lips while his thumb probs your narrow depths.

For you, each successive minute of this was more ecstatic than the last. Finally you let out a desperate and plaintive cry.

Juices from your interior mingle with his saliva and trickle down the crack of your ass. The tempo of his mouth and thumb accelerate.

Your fists ball. One against his desk while the other lodges itself between your teeth.

Your clit was being pinched between his lips and shaken. His tongue flicks like a rabbit's foot. Then he wiggles his index finger into the slippery ring of your anus.

You feel all your orifices tighten at once. His finger pushes deeper and wiggles further.

He chooses that moment to suck your clitoris extra hard.

You scream as the climax hits you. It arrives with the force of a rogue wave, crushing everything in its path. Your jackknifed body quakes and wriggles. Your breathing stops.

As you come, Jaehyun carefully squeezes a second finger into your ass. Still he flicks and sucks your clit unabated.

A string of wavering sobs burst from your throat. Your hips jerk under him. Fresh secretions ooze from you.

Finally you grab his hair and shove him away. It was too much.

He raises his face, sucks in a lungful of air and surveys your body.

Your outer labia was puffy and gaping. Your delicate inner petals are bright pink and awash in lubricant. The head of your clitoris held itself high, entirely too swollen now to fit beneath its narrow hood.

His fingers remained half-inside your slippery butt, gradually creeping outward.

"How's that for a warm welcome?" he asks through a greedily glistening grin.

You rock your head from side to side, unable to speak. Eventually you reach down and push his hand from your ass. He obligingly removes his fingers, but keeps your legs pinned back for a moment in order to watch your anus recover its pucker.

Then he releases your knees and sinks back in his chair. For the next dozen seconds he simply admires the sprawled beauty lying atop his desk.

Your slender legs are slack, draped wide apart. Your sandals are heel-to-heel in front of your butt. Your nipples pointing at the ceiling, having completely escaped your bra.

You try to sit up, but only manage to get to your elbows. Your eyes are half-lidded. Your feet slip off the desk and fall, drawing your legs somewhat closed. You gaze at him sleepily.

He stands up and closes the distance between them in a single step. You do not move other than to track his approach. He bends over, cups your face in both hands and pulls you into a kiss.

You’re so far gone you answer his tongue's probing requests with eagerness, kissing him back as though he were a newfound boyfriend. Your heart flutters in your chest.

None of this makes sense. Here you are, hooking-up with another of your new bosses, giddy after such orgasms. Anything seems possible now.

Because it’s only nine fifteen in the morning.

[mixingmarrows]

Angel!Y/N x Demon!YB

Okay disclaimer at the beginning. I'm not religious. I am writing this based off of various Angel/Demon fanfiction aus I'VE read lol.

Also!!!! I was mostly inspired by this post by @laymedowntorest (I hope you don't mind me tagging you!)

And uh, it's kind of a fanfic? It's got a plot? But it's written more like a list of events lol. Uh. Anyways, I ramble a lot I'll stop now! I hope you enjoy!

So some info beforehand. The idea here is that the demons and angels are both trying to lead the mortals to their desired afterlife. The devils trying to tempt the mortals, and the angels trying to lead them to salvation.

It's somewhat organized, they've got 'charges' aka specific mortals they have to win over. It's like a job? I don't elaborate more that.

Angels are fewer in number so usually they're tasked with trying to win multiple charges,,, and by extension control multiple devils.

So. You're a very overworked angel who's got a long list of demons to try and keep out of trouble.

And it's fine, you're getting used to it. You're not the absolute best at your job, but you work hard.

At least you've got one charge you don't have to do more than just check up on. Their demon is slacking off, and you haven't even run into them! A lucky break on your end.

But even with one less charge, your list is still long and the demons you deal with are real pains. It's so much harder to convince morals of the right choices….

One of your least favourites to fend off is a demon by the name of Lucy. She has a sweet voice and speaks of wonderful sins that would bring otherworldly pleasure. Talking the charge out of premarital sex and drugs is much more difficult than it usually is… Lucy has probably led many other mortals astray, and you're doing your best to deny her this soul.

She's absolutely relentless with her charge(and occasionally she tries to tempt you as well), so it's strange when you don't see her for a week.

You don't question it too much, maybe she's finally gotten bored. It's normal for some demons to take breaks after getting discouraged in their work. They can afford to slack off.

But it happens again. And again. And again.

After six demons have suddenly vanished, you let yourself worry. You ask one of your fellow angels, TK if they've noticed any anomalies with the demons.

They haven't, and they ask if something is going on.

You brush it off, you'd hate to worry your friend, and mostly you don't want to deal with replacing the missing demons. It feels selfish of you…. But you're enjoying the lighter workload.

You try and rationalize, but it's hard when it continues happening.

Your list has three names left not even a week later. Whatever is going on, it's escalated. Your work(which used to mean arguing with a demon for all but a few hours of a day) was strangely peaceful now. Most of your time was spent wandering amongst your charges.

You can't assume anything happened. Your charges are still in perfect condition, and there isn't anything indicative of foul play. Not that you've seen at least. So while it's strange, you figure it's okay…. You're still watching all the mortals for when you assume their demons will return.

It's one of your quiet days, you're watching outside the window of a charge. It's the one you never had to worry about. It's peaceful. You're quite content to watch them paint.

The nagging voice in your head never really goes away, but you're doing your best to ignore it now. It's nice to have a break like this after working for so long.

But it gets worse when you feel the cold chill of being watched.

You're suddenly hyper aware of your surroundings as you feel the perverse eyes on your form. You were supposed to be the one watching, not the other way around. The gross feeling lingers as you try to flee as normally as possible.

You've never been scared before. Even the worry over losing a charge was nothing compared to the feeling of sheer terror that struck you.

Something was definitely wrong. Something was definitely very wrong.

You still try and shake it off though. You've still got work. Much… much less work, but maybe you can busy yourself for the rest of the day.

You don't make it far before a voice addresses you.

"Are you okay? You look spooked."

Already in a state of panic you've never experienced before, you turn around quickly.

He's tall. Abnormally tall. The stranger has a fair grey complexion and eyes that are just too wide. A calm blue aura surrounds him, and despite the chill in the air you can sense his radiating warmth. He's trying his very best to be comforting, and it's then you take in his expression full of worry. Despite his soft outward appearance(the lack of demonic traits you know are under the surface)you know what he is.

"You're a jumpy one, ain't cha?"

"What are you doing here, demon?" You spit it out at him. You know better than to let your guard down. Demons are merciless. Made of sin. They'll trick and betray you for the fun of it.

"Watching"

A shiver runs down your spine. He continues talking.

"I don't really care about my charge, but I have to at least make it look like I'm doing my job."

"The artist?"

"How'd you know?" He's got an admittedly cute little grin. Like he's so proud of you for figuring out the little puzzle.

"That's one of my charges too"

"So you're my angel then~"

His vibes are all wrong and you know it, there's something so much worse about him compared to every other demon you've spoken to before. The way he makes you feel like you're weightless, except for the heavy, deep, dark feeling in the pit of your stomach.

You continue to speak to him. He seems to be interested in making casual conversation, inquiring about you.

You manage to get him to leave, but he mentions maybe later would be a good time to pursue the charge, if you're not on the ball today.

You hurry home and take some time to recharge. That was the most stressful situation you've ever been in. You've lived for thousands of years, but nothing has ever made you react so strongly.

TK notices of course, they're your best friend and they're good at reading your moods. Because of this they hold off on telling you the news about how there have been some very brutal murders in the demon realm. Demon vs demon violence is common enough, but there seems to be something more to this. Lucy had been a fairly high raking demon for all the souls she'd managed to claim, and that was just the start of the rampage this stranger went on.

You go back after a few hours of idle chat with TK to watch over your little artist.

They're still painting. Something green. It's nice to look at. It eases your worry as you try and clear your mind and refocus on your charge. You don't notice the stranger hiding, making sure not to stare directly at you this time.

It's just after nightfall when the disturbing, tall demon from before emerges. He doesn't even spare a glance through the window towards your shared charge.

His eyes bore through you. You feel like he's looking into you, to the very essence of your being, and beyond that. It feels useless to hide, like he already knows what would be there anyways, he's just looking to confirm.

He speaks to you again but you can't focus enough to make out his words. The fear crawls back, it roots your feet to the ground and crawls through your stomach and rings through your head.

You realize it too late. The dangerous feeling, the terror he invokes in you. It's not like worrying about a charge because it's not your charges' soul at stake!

He's after you.

Anyways, the idea is that he's been killing all of the other demons on your list so you have more free time because he hates seeing you with them and it gives him more openings to interact with you. Idk. I really did rush though this. It's kind of a cohesive story but also I don't want to turn it into an actual fanfiction lol.

I was uh. Gonna write three of these for one post. And then I realized how long it was and was like "yeah maybe I'll break it up into three different posts" lol.

So keep an eye out for Human!Y/N x Demon!YB and Human!Y/N x Summoned Demon!YB bc I'm stupid and liked all of these prompts

[not-so-secret-nerd]

Stranger Things Lumax/Elmax Healing

OKAY WE’RE GONNA DO SOME LUMAX/ELMAX (and other queer ships) HEALING BECAUSE THESE POOR KIDS NEED IT.

(I can’t promise I’ll write this into a fully fleshed out one-shot because it’s been AGES since I did anything fandom related, but I’m in so much pain and need my babies okay and happy)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gareth+emery+i+could+be+stronger

The song provides the landscape for the scene in mind. 

Picture it with me. Hawkins survives Vecna and the Mind Flayer’s attempts at overtaking the human world. It’s a narrow escape but it’s something. The gang make it all out alive, but there are casualties they can’t escape. Mostly Max not regaining her regular sight and remaining totally blind, but she retains the second sight accidentally gifted to her when El retrieved her from Vecna's mind that allows her to see any cracks in the fabric of reality where the Upsidedown could leak through. It’s her and El’s job to spot the fissures and close them. 

Dustin takes over as permanent DM for the Hellfire Club and names Erica his Lieutenant. He has plans to visit Suzie over summer break and once he goes away to college, he’ll hand Hellfire over the Erica permanently. 

Will and Mike...well, that’s a little complicated. It was El who decided to end things between her and Mike after the final battle. Her reasons are her own and she doesn’t share them openly, but she could feel the connection the two boys shared and realizes, through her own displays of power and overcoming her literal demons, she’s too young and wild to settle down with anyone long term. She knows so little of the world, and Mike’s heart has always belonged in another’s hands, so she makes the hard decision to end things amicably. Mike is understandably upset but even he realizes after a small bit of sulking that El's right. He was just too blinded by social pressures and his own awkwardness to see the gift Will had given him. The gift of his heart. They are taking things slow, he and Will. It’s all new for Mike but he’s learning and gradually accepting his feelings.  

El is thriving in new and exciting ways as she learns about the wild world outside Hawkins and the shadow of the Upsidedown.

Nancy, Robin, and Steve decide to room together to help mitigate the cost of living (despite property in Hawkins being dirt cheep) and to also pose as each other’s beards. Being queer in the late 80′s is hard enough thanks to the AIDS epidemic still raging, but Nancy can’t close off her feelings for Robin any more than she can close off her feelings for Steve. They are both her anchors, so they enter into the strange yet fulfilling world of polyamory. And oddly enough, they wind up unofficially-officially adopting a certain blind redhead who finds herself without any strong mooring in a frightening new world.

Hawkins takes over a year to rebuild. Eventually, the gang goes back to school to finally graduate. It’s tough but they manage to wiggle back into some semblance of normalcy. And while everyone seems to be able to fit into their respective roles well enough, Max struggles. With her achingly new disability. With the memories she can’t escape. With losing her family to the Upsidedown in more than one way. It seems impossible she’ll ever feel “normal” again, but Lucas is there between each breath. Helping her stand. Helping her learn. Helping her remember how to smile, and then it’s not just Lucas there but El literally at her elbow at all points. El taking up the slack when Lucas is tired or needs to be with his friends or just needs to feel human for once and crumble. El helping Max feel like a teenager again but most importantly helping her see.

It’s not much. It never is because El’s powers are enormous and if she’s not careful she can overwhelm Max (she did this once and Max passed out for a solid 5 minutes only to come back to shouting, Hopper picking her up, Joyce calling 911, and Lucas having to be restrained by El who was sobbing just as hard as he was. Not a good day). But when El is able to pinpoint her focus and trigger the second sight Max gained after she escaped Vecna’s mind, El can help her see in a world of colors never before imagined. It’s like looking through technicolor lenses, and the first time Max catches a glimpse of this brand new sight she cries for hours.

So life moves forward and the school year grinds on. Christmas break is the best it’s ever been. Max and El spend it with Robin, Steve, and Nancy then heading over to the Byers residents where Hopper makes them all food, sings horribly, and hands out gifts in a very un-Santa-like fashion (despite Joyce donning elf ears and a red and green hat). Spring comes and with it the prospects of prom. It’s a bitter sweet moment for Max. She never wanted to go to prom when she first enrolled. It was cheep and cheesy and just not her vibe, but now? Now all she wants is to be able to go back in time and pick out a dress that Lucas would match and relive the happiness of the Snowball. Her melancholy is picked up by Nancy who hatches a plan with Robin, Steve, El and the rest of the gang. Lucas is sworn to secrecy and it kills him to keep quiet about this, but he’s over the moon with the idea. 

And so, come May, Max’s new family kidnaps her for the day. El feigns wanting to go get her hair done, and even if Max can’t see, she wants to feel some semblance of normal, so she agrees. And doesn’t exactly understand why her hair’s being pinned up or makeup carefully applies or...are they getting her nails done?! Nope, she draws the line there until El gently takes her by the shoulders and whispers close to her ear “Just trust me”. Max can’t argue. El is both her best friend and other half. The second body to her holy trinity. So with reluctant agreement, she lets this weird process happen and only realizes something amazing is about to happen when she carefully steps in to a dress that fits her like a glove. A dress El shows her with a tiny push from her powers. 

Tears well in Max’s cloudy eyes. She can see herself so clearly in a whirl of colors like oil on water. Hair beautifully styled and studded with crystal pins that make it look like the night sky. Body hugged by fabric as soft as silk and cut into a stunning off the shoulder design with a neckline that might not be proper for someone her age but Nancy insisted. 

She’s going to prom, she realizes, and suddenly can’t breathe.

It’s only after more than an hour of pep talks and gentle reassurances that she climbs into the back of Steve’s car beside El (who insists she’s in an equally beautiful dress with an equally beautiful date on her arm and Max suddenly feels warm in new and frightening ways she’ll explore later) and the two arrive at the newly refurbished Munson gymnasium. El guides Max through the door and at first the music is overwhelming. Max knows there are dozens of people there and her claustrophobia spikes until she feels a familiar hand slide around her waist and a gentle set of lips against the side of her head. 

“Hey there Mad Max.”

Lucas. She relaxes immediately and takes his offered hand. El extricates herself to wander and observe (she does a lot of that) and maybe take up a few dances with Mike (for old time’s sake) and Dustin. Even Erica a few times, the two laughing and spinning like fools while people look on. 

Max can’t help feel out of place. She’s never been a dancer on this caliber. Lucas doesn’t push until a song comes on that literally stops Max’s heart. Kate Bush’s “A Deal With God”. And suddenly she’s shaking and flashing back to those horrible moments under Vecna but also the blissful balm of feeling Lucas hold her tight. Holding her like he’s holding her now and gently swaying. Max doesn't even realize she was dancing with him until she feels his hands settle on her waist, their foreheads almost touching. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathes and she can hear the smile on his lips. “We make a kickass couple right now, I hope you know.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she snorts back a little bitterly, but then she feels it. A tiny tug at the base of her skull she’s come to associate with El touching her with her powers, and suddenly the gym is awash in colors so vibrant and vivid Max gasps and pulls back. Only its not the colors that yank her heart into her throat but the sight of Lucas. His ebony skin lit around the edges in hues of blue, purple, violet, and pink. His eyes glowing like a gentle sunrise mirrored in his smile because he knows, he knows, she’s seeing him fully and he can’t help it. He looks like a celestial being come to earth, glowing with a light that can only be described as pure radiance, and she’s in complete awe. 

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” Max whispers with tears in her eyes and hitch in her voice as she traces fingers across Lucas’ face.

“The moon only glows when the sun shines,” Lucas says back before kissing her, and the radiance bleeds into Max, making her smile until her cheeks hurt. She’s crying but that’s okay. So is Lucas and so is El who isn’t far away with a wad of tissue discretely shoved into her bleeding nostril. Nancy wraps an arm around her slender shoulders and kisses the top of her head. Steve bumps her with his shoulder, proud papa of six watching one of his most broken children have her Cinderella moment.

Years in the future, when Max, Lucas, and El are grown with families and lives of their own, they will look back on that moment as one of the happiest. The first sunrise after the storm. The first real breath of fresh air and the beginning of everything new. 

[flashflashhundredyarddash]

Also, here are some of my favorite fics I've found over the years! These are going to be DC/Batfam fic recs.

Running Headlong into My Arms by gleesquid

"Bruce doesn’t like to credit one thing for saving his life, but if he did, it would be Haly’s Circus that Friday night in September, just as summer was beginning to die.

(He'll always be a sucker for kids with sad eyes, no parents, and more fight than the world knows what to do with.)

Or: in a universe where superheroes don't exist, Bruce Wayne finds his family."

Been a while since I read this one, but I remember thinking it was pretty good!

It All Started Fairly Normally by @kazyre

"When Wally doesn't show up at the cave one day for training, Dick immediately knows something happened to his best friend. The League is called in to help once they do find him. As well as the entire speedster family."

Probably one of my favorite fanfics EVER. I still to this day routinely reread the whole series

Robins and Other Flightless Birds by @ionalottabookmarks

"It begins with another Bruce, looking around his cave and asking, “So where are the kids?”

Bruce has never thought about having a family before. But once the idea occurs to him, it's hard to think about anything else."

*puts head in hands* This fic is just. So good. Bruce clearly trying so hard but also failing over and over again so hard. I love this characterization of Bruce so much.

Quiescent by kira892

"Wally wakes up to an empty bed.

He mourns the absence of warmth at his back and the familiar comfort of heavy, sleep-slack limbs draped over and around him before his brain processes the soft whisper of music drifting in from the left, in the direction of his desk. He cracks his eyes open and takes a moment to stare because the sight that greets him is certainly one to be appreciated."

A quiet, intimate birdflash piece that I really enjoy.

you lost the starlight in your eyes by @novaviis

"So, Dick collapses.

It comes out of nowhere. They’re in the kitchen one rare morning that they both have off. Wally is trying to follow his dad’s old recipe for French Toast, and Dick is doing the laundry. There’s easy banter and flirting and tired kisses with too much stubble because neither of them have shaved yet. Wally jokes about growing out a beard. Dick says he’ll leave him first - and easy on the sugar, he’s watching his hips. Dick goes into the laundry room and Wally calls to him down the hall about grabbing his phone or something from the bedroom.

No answer.

Wally calls him again. Dick walks out of the laundry room in a bit of a daze. Wally asks him what’s wrong. Again, Dick doesn’t answer. He just looks up at Wally and... drops."

I started reading it and just couldn't stop. Novaviis does a great job at building up the tension and really writing a strong, committed relationship, and the whole fic is incredibly cathartic.

Life Happens by @cdelphiki

"While walking home from an event at Wayne Enterprises, Tim and Damian are kidnapped and sent to an alternate dimension. In a world where superheroes are merely comic book characters and the idea of the multiverse is only a theory found within the pages of science fiction, how are Tim and Damian going to return home? How long will they be stranded on this strange Earth? And will the boys murder each other before they figure it out?"

This is a fic with a very interesting premise that is executed beautifully and is very bittersweet. A fantastic development of a Tim and Damian relationship.

An Old Lullaby by @faramirsblessing

"Tim and Damian are injured in an accidental explosion that destroys Gotham High and Gotham Academy. Damian's injuries are more severe than Tim's, leaving his life hanging by a thread, and the Batfamily struggles to come to terms with his injuries. They must learn to rely on strangers to help their littlest member while coping with their own grief, confusion, and guilt."

This fic is a WIP and I'm loving every update.

Watch This by snackbaskets

"Hal and Barry are worried about Batman's new partner. Being around the Batman all the time can't be good for a kid, right?

Robin insists otherwise, and for $15.36 of betting money, is happy to demonstrate."

This fic makes me laugh every time I read it, it's hilarious.

This post got long so part 2 is here. I also have quite a number of Star Trek, Marvel, X-Men, Haikyuu, and MXTX fics, so if anybody's interested in those feel free to send me an ask! Again, this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the fics I'd recommend.