#like no honey we remember you exist but this just isn’t about you right now

[bilboyagathechickenfootedhobbit]

I feel like this is also a way to keep people so wrapped up in ensuring they’re using the “right” language and including all the necessary disclaimers that they can never really make a proper point. It’s along the same lines of how women will throw “if that makes any sense” or “but that’s just my opinion” at the end of a scathingly honest and brilliant thought/post.

Like, I’m a mother and a feminist. But if I try to make a post about how my parenting is impacted by my feminist views, I have to first include an entire paragraph stating that I consciously chose motherhood, that I’ve evaluated my reasons for having a kid, that I recognize that not ALL feminists want to or will become mothers and that’s OKAY, that I still very much defend women’s right to choose, that we live in a patriarchal society that forces motherhood on women and that I am speaking from a place of privilege having been able to make that choice for myself, that I understand some feminists do not want or welcome discussions of motherhood in feminist spaces (which I TRULY do not get but whatever), that some women who want kids struggle with fertility, that lesbian feminists may not want to hear about a het-partnered bisexual woman talking about kids, that I don’t mean to offend anyone, that this is MY THOUGHTS AND MY THOUGHTS ALONE, please don’t dox or cancel me.

And ONLY after I have made all the correct and proper disclaimers and qualifiers am I now allowed to make my post about motherhood as it relates to feminism. But at that point nobody is reading anymore, they’re attacking the comments to point out who I left out and excluded in my disclaimer.

People expressing their opinions are allowed to express their opinions without twisting and contorting themselves to accommodate every contradictory opinion out there. If you hear an opinion you don’t like or that doesn’t apply to you, okay! Great! Either engage respectfully and present your opinion and start a discussion, or GTFO! It doesn’t apply to you! Not every last little aspect of the world is meant to apply to you! I don’t get mad that I can’t use the urinals in unisex single stall bathrooms; I just sit on the toilet to pee! I don’t go and bitch to the person working that I find it OFFENSIVE that there is a URINAL that I CANNOT USE in the single occupant unisex bathroom! I just don’t fucking use it holy shit you guys!!

A lot of "queer" culture is deeply intertwined with the emergent "what about me?" culture, which is centred around people believing that every single conversation and post on the internet has to relate to them or reflect them in some measure- and if something doesn't, it's exclusionist, or exposes some deep-seeded issue in society.

I'll give you some examples:

There'll be a post talking about enjoying intimacy with a partner, how sex can be so special and sensual. And it'll get flooded with asexuals talking about "allonormativity" and asking why society "revolves around icky sex," and how "we need to cultivate a culture that isn't so centred around sex, asexuals exist too."

Someone will post about how special it is to find "the one" and share your life with them. And a bunch of "polyamorous" people will insert themselves, complaining about how "you can share your life with more than one person," and "just people forgetting polyam people exist," and "mononormativity and polyam ersaure."

A lesbian will post about how she's happy that she'll never have a pregnancy scare, and will jokingly talk about how doctors are always confused when she tells them that. And a bunch of "trans lesbians" or women dating "trans lesbians" chime in being like "well, about that..." or "trans lesbians are valid" or "cisnormative terf, lesbians like girldick."

I think people are too immature and narcissistic to realise that people are talking about their own experiences. Not everything is meant FOR YOU. If it doesn't reflect you, ignore it and move on.

And if you want to see more representation that reflects you, go create your own rather than harassing people whose life experiences are vastly different to yours.

Not everything has to be about you.

[twopoppies]

hiii gina did you see this? it’s everything we’ve been saying that happens in this industry https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/originals/matt-terry-the-x-factor-coming-out-interview/

Hi, honey. No, I hadn’t but it really is just the same fucking story over and over, isn’t it? It’s disgusting. And it all sounds so familiar. 😡

GT: Coming to terms with your identity is one thing, but you had to go through that process on one of the UK’s most-watched shows, with various publications then questioning your sexuality. At the age of 23, too. What was that time like for you?

MT: I’m smiling because I feel like I’m finally getting this off my shoulders. I’m a Taurus, so I do everything by myself: ‘I’m strong, I can handle it.’ But, it was so f**king hard, I’m not going to lie. Any comment I saw or heard, any tweets, my heart would drop and I would immediately break into a sweat. I went on the show because I love to sing. I didn’t want to be – it sounds so silly – famous. I’m not here for that. I want to dedicate my life to my passion and my art, which is songwriting and my voice. I went on the show because I had £4 in my bank account, and I didn’t want to be a waiter anymore. When I won, I never thought about what would happen. I didn’t think ahead. I never thought about the press or my sexuality or, ‘What am I gonna tell people?’ The paparazzi would always write ‘Matt Terry kisses male outside pub’ or ‘Matt Terry likes Tom Daley’s Instagram picture.’ I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I hadn’t spoken to my family. I hadn’t spoken to my friends. It was getting on top of me.

Also, I had the pressure of delivering a number-one album, otherwise I’d be a failure. The team I had – I’ll say it – weren’t the best. I don’t think we understood each other very well. I had a manager who… I won’t name names, but bear in mind, I was new. She was like, ‘You need to tell me now – are you or aren’t you gay? I’ve got the whole industry right now asking about you. I’m here defending you, telling them no. If it turns out you are, I’m going to have a massive egg on my face because of you.’ I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. There was no one there to protect or help me. I was like, ‘Okay, I see what’s happening here.’ And that’s when I decided that [my sexuality] is for me. That’s when I said, ‘I’m going to take a step back. I will let you in when I know who I am.’ So, I privately came away from the industry, and lots of people have been like, ‘Where have you been?’ I’ve been discovering who I am as a human and as an artist. This is me taking back control.

[…]

GT: My first reaction to your manager’s comments was to laugh, because it’s almost like a parody of a fictional villain. But, as we’ve seen, these people still exist – and not just in the industry. Celebrities are still having to confirm or deny whether they’re straight or queer because ‘fans’ are demanding to know.

MT: Like with Kit Connor. The whole thing was just a disappointment. We all watched Heartstopper. If you understand the show, you wouldn’t be prodding him about his sexuality.

[…]

With my first album, there were girls in the music videos. I remember turning up on set and the label saying, ‘Here, pick one of these girls as the love interest.’ I’m looking at headshots of all these beautiful girls and I thought, ‘Did I even imagine a girl in this? Or did I imagine a man?’ Before you know it, I’m in music videos snogging women.

I have prepared myself for support and love, but I’ve also prepared for homophobia. I will have some unfollows, but I don’t care. I would rather have 200 followers that love me than 200,000 followers that are homophobic.

Full interview here

[ladykailitha]

All My Roads Lead Back to You Part 12

Hello! Sorry this is late, but I had to take this week super slow because I went and sprained my middle and ring fingers on my left hand tripping and falling into a wall. The hand is mostly better, but it still twinges a bit.

Edie is going through some things, Eddie gets lost, and Steve learns where Harri gets his name.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

***  

Steve got home and found Edie at the counter munching away at cereal.

“You do know cereal is breakfast food, yes?” he asked as he went to the fridge to pull out the stuff he’d need to make dinner.

“Cereal is a state of mind, Dad,” Edie said, grinning around a mouth full of milk and Frosted Flakes.

“You’re going to spoil your dinner,” Steve said with a glare.

Edie cocked one eyebrow at him and he sighed. “Yeah, all right. So how was school?”

“Algebra is still the bane of human existence,” she murmured. “I just don’t understand it. I can do the geography portion of the syllabus just fine. But when it comes to algebra, I just...” and then blew a raspberry.

Steve grimaced. “I’m sorry, honey. I’ve explained it, Uncle Dusty explained it a different way, and Aunt Robin an even more different way than that and if you’re not getting, I don’t know what to do.”

Edie sighed. “I talked to Mr Olsen and he’s just going to have me take geometry next year instead of forcing me through another year of hell.”

“Are you going to get enough math credits to graduate if you do that?” Steve asked.

Edie sighed. “Probably not, so summer school it is. Yay!” she said waving her hands sarcastically.

“We’ll get you through this,” he promised.

“I know,” she murmured. She looked over at the counter where Steve had put aside enough food for an army. “You skip lunch again?”

He rolled his eyes. “No. Half of this coming with me to the office because Callen, one of the techs’ mom is going through chemo and he forgets to bring lunch.”

Edie looked at the food on the counter and back up at him. “It’s not for you?”

Steve sighed. “No. You’re not going to get hung up on this again are you?”

She shook her head. “I just worry about you, you know.”

He sighed again. “I know you do, but you don’t have to worry about this. You remember what Dr Rushing said, right?”

Edie heaved out a sigh of her own. “I know. It was a one-time thing. It’s never happened before and it hasn’t happened since.”

“Good,” Steve said firmly. “Now help me chop these vegetables.”

She drank down her milk and put her bowl in the sink. She got out a knife and the chopping board and got to work.

“Anything exciting happen at work today?” she asked.

Steve’s spine stiffened and went completely still. “About that, honey. Has your mom tried to get into contact with you recently?”

Edie frowned. “I guess about a month ago. She wanted me to be a bridesmaid at her wedding. But I thought she was trying to trap me again, so I just ignored it, why?”

Steve let out a shuddering breath and told her about his afternoon. “So I’m calling the school and letting them know that she is in town and isn’t allowed anywhere near you, okay?”

“God, I swear that woman is like a bad penny,” Edie muttered. “She just keeps coming back.”

Steve nodded. “Violating the order is bad, and she will get in trouble for it. But she hasn’t tried to physically harm either of us, so I’m not sure what the police can even do.”

Edie nodded back. “I wish she would just go away. Because apparently not even finding another man to scam is enough to get her to forget about us.”

“Nothing warps the mind quite like greed,” Steve agreed. “I’ll talk to a lawyer about what more we can do about her, just to set both of our minds at ease. There must be something more we can do.”

*

Eddie was lost. He was sure Dustin told him to take the second elevator to sixth floor to meet up for lunch. But now he was starting wonder if Dustin had said the sixth elevator to the fourth floor.

Fuck.

And then he saw his savior in the form of a single glass name plate. He wrenched open the door and went up to the desk.

“Hey, so I was wondering if–” he began.

The woman at the desk cut him off by tapping her sign. Eddie’s eyes followed her finger and went, “Oh.”

He started signing instead. “My sincerest apologies, fair Vanessa! I should have been paying better attention. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of Dustin Henderson’s office. I am meant to be having lunch with him, but I have sadly lost my way!”

Vanessa giggled and pressed a button on her desk. She signed back. “I could, but I’m pretty sure he’d take you if you wanted.”

Eddie frowned and signed back. “Who?”

She pointed behind him and he turned. There leaning against his now open door, was Steve. He had his arms crossed and was smiling fondly.

Eddie turned back to her and blushed. Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

“This idiot is on the wrong floor,” she signed to Steve. “Can you take him to Dustin? Tell him to stop letting his experiments run around the building unsupervised.”

Steve laughed. “Come on, Eddie. I’ll get you to where you need to go.”

Eddie signed “Asshole” to her before turning around and following Steve. Her laugh echoed down the hall.

“You have a mean receptionist,” he told Steve as the walked down the hall.

Steve grinned. “I know, isn’t she great? I love her.”

Eddie gulped and shoved his hands in his back pocket. “Didn’t know you were the kind to date the secretary, Harrington.”

Steve laughed. “If I tried that, her husband Nick would make sure my next hearing aid exploded.”

The knot that had formed in Eddie’s chest loosened. “I didn’t see a ring when we were signing, so I wondered.”

Steve nodded. “That’s fair. But he can’t wear one doing his work, so she told him that she wasn’t going to wear one either.”

“Is he deaf, too?” Eddie asked. He knew from Dustin that the company liked to hire hard of hearing and deaf individuals.

Steve shook his head. “One of my best interpreters, though. They came as a packaged deal. I can’t live without Vanessa and Dustin trusts Nick implicitly, I do too.”

Eddie smiled. “It seems like you two have made quite the company here.”

“It absolutely was a team effort,” Steve replied. “Dustin could MacGuiver that shit from his mom’s basement, but he couldn’t get people to listen to him about the technologies.”

“Whereas you could smooth talk a snake out of its skin?” he said, ducking his head and looking up at Steve slyly.

Steve laughed. “Something like that. So it worked to both of our strengths.”

He stopped at a door and then opened it. “Hey, Dusty! Look what I found wondering the halls like a lost puppy.”

Dustin’s head shot up. “There you are! Why didn’t you just message me on your phone, dumbass?”

Eddie flushed in embarrassment. “I thought I could figure it out. But this place is huge.”

Steve laughed. “Well Bo-peep, now that I’ve found your sheep, I’ve got to get back to work.” He jerked his thumb behind him. “Also Vanessa says to keep a tighter leash on your experiments.” He winked at Eddie who protested loudly.

“Hey,” Dustin said, glancing at Eddie quickly, “if you wanted you could come with us to lunch.”

Steve paused at the door and looked to Eddie. “If you don’t mind...”

Eddie shook his head. “You are more than welcome, Stevie.”

Steve felt that familiar swoop in his stomach at the old nickname. “Then sure. Where were you guys thinking of going?”

“Sushi!” Dustin said proudly.

Steve rolled his eyes. “I’ll pass thanks.”

Eddie cocked his head to the side. “Not a fan of raw fish, sweetheart?”

Steve’s stomach swooped again and he really needed Eddie to stop with the nicknames and endearments otherwise Steve wasn’t going to have much of a stomach left after a single lunch the way his stomach kept hollowing out.

Steve shrugged. “I’ve tried all kinds, including the cooked kind and it’s just not my thing. You two have fun though.”

Eddie may have panicked a bit because he blurted. “We could change the restaurant.”

Steve smiled sweetly. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your fun. I’ll just pick something more my flavor on Monday.” He waved goodbye and they waved back.

As the door was closing Steve could hear Dustin ask Eddie, “What happens on Monday?”

*

Steve was in his office when there was a knock on his door. He had taken out his contacts and pulled out his glasses, the beginning of a migraine floating just beyond the horizon.

He had been chugging water and had long since downed pain killers to stave it off. But he could still feel the pressure building behind his eyes.

When the knock came he looked up to see Eddie standing at the door with a take away box and smile.

“I come bearing gifts of the apology variety,” he said holding up the bag.

Steve’s shoulders sagged. “You didn’t have to do that. I would have grabbed a candy bar or something later.”

Eddie grinned. “It was Dustin’s idea, I am merely the messenger.”

“Why is everyone fussing about my eating?” Steve sighed.

“He said you tend to overwork and forget to eat.” Eddie raised an eyebrow.

Steve shoulders slumped. “He’s right. Sorry. It’s just that Edie’s been going on about my eating habits lately and it’s set me on edge.”

Eddie walked into the room and set his prize down on the table, sliding it over to him. “They got a reason to worry?”

Steve pulled the styrofoam box out of the bag and hummed happily when the scent of sesame chicken hit his nose. He pulled out the chop sticks and dug in, suddenly ravenous.

After a moment or two of stuffing his face, he shook his head. “Not really. Which is why it’s weird, it’s come out of nowhere.”

“You been eating less lately?” Eddie asked, leaning forward on the desk, having pulled up a chair up close.

Steve cocked his head as he thought about it. “I mean not really. Like yeah, sometimes I’ll work through lunch, but I always make sure to grab something later. It’s not disordered eating or whatever they’re calling it these days.”

Eddie nodded. “Anything that’s happened recently that maybe put her on edge and had her latch on to your eating habits?”

Steve scoffed around a bite of chicken. “You mean other than this really great guy I used to be friends with suddenly coming back into my life via his seventeen year old rockstar in the making?”

Eddie grinned. “Other than that, yeah.”

Again Steve gave his question the weight it deserved before shaking his head. “Nothing I can think of.”

Eddie threw himself back against the chair with a heavy sigh. “You got me then man. I don’t know.”

Steve smiled. “At least you tried.”

“Speaking of my rockstar in training, how’s your rockstar in training?” Eddie asked.

“Other than the fixating on my eating?” Steve asked. “She’s fine. Her mom tried to fuck with us again. Sent her packing via cops and lawyers. Hopefully she’ll stay away this time.”

Eddie winced. “Look, I love the name Edie. It’s beautiful, but who the hell names their daughter Edith anymore?”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “I know, right? I fought hard for Lilian. Or even just Lily. But no...it had to be Edith. I think it was a family name or some such bullshit.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “God, I think that honestly makes it worse.”

“Hence Edie,” Steve agreed. “So how did you and your husband come up with Harri. Edie said it’s spelled uniquely. With an ‘I’ instead of a ‘Y’?”

Eddie huffed and rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Steve tilted his head to the side. “I think Dusty or Nancy said it was after some prince or something.”

Eddie shook his head and ran his tongue over his teeth. “Yeah no. That’s official story. Prince Harry was born to the Prince and Princess of Wales two full years before Harri was even conceived. And when people started guessing that with Jay being English, we just didn’t bother to correct them.”

He grabbed the plaque that had Steve’s name on it and turned it around, covering the last five letters of his last name. It now read STEVEN HARRI.

It took Steve a moment before his eyes went wide. “And Jay was okay with that?”

Eddie shrugged. “It wasn’t Steven or Stephen with a ‘PH’. And I didn’t know your middle name.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” Eddie asked. “Why is my son named after a guy who’s name I’ve never spoken aloud in twenty years?”

Steve pursed his lips together and then licked them. “Yeah, man. That.”

“Jay wanted to name him after the man that save my life,” Eddie said softly. “But I was still mad at you about missing Brian’s funeral. Which I now know was because you thought Edie was being born, even if she waited a whole other week to finally make it.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I couldn’t make something up. Not with it in newspapers who the Hawkins hero was. So we used Harri.”

Steve finished his food and threw it away. He wiped off his hands. “Anyone ever guess the real meaning behind the name?”

Eddie shook his head. “Maybe Jeff. But no, everyone else thinks we were British snobs.”

“Well, I’m honored,” Steve said. “Not just because you think I’m a hero, but because Harri’s a good kid. I’m guessing he doesn’t know.”

Eddie shook his head. “I’ve got a letter from Jay that he’s going to get on his twenty-first birthday that will explain it. The surrogacy, his birth, his name. All of it. I wanted to tell Harri sooner, but Jay made me promise.”

Steve nodded. “He’ll probably still be angry. But at least a twenty-one, hopefully he’ll be be mature enough to understand why.”

Eddie slapped the desk with his palm. “That’s the hope.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go. Harri’s got a dentist appointment. See you on Monday?”

Steve grinned. “Yeah. See you on Monday.”

***

Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16 Part 17  Part 18  Epilogue

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk @trashpocket @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @mightbeasleep @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @trashpocket @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666  @carlyv @rozzieroos  @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @steddie-as-they-go @lillemilly @callas-shitshow @bisexualdisastersworld @renaissan-vvitch @immortal-iratze @bookbinderbitch @cardigangoth @lilacrobin @nightmareglitter @nerdsconquerall

[cardigan-ns]

Birthday Blues

Pairing: Luther x Sloane

Request: Hi would it be ok if I asked for a Luther x Sloane where in season 4 they have kids, yet Luther feels very hostile at the party as he's still mentally dealing with what Allison did to him, and he finally tells Sloane

Summary: It’s graces 6th Birthday, the entire Hargreeves family are together again, but Luther isn’t feeling the best about it, because he remembered what Allison did to him. (SPACE CADET UNIVERSE)

Warning: mention of SA. If you have experienced anything along these lines, you aren’t alone, help is out there, and I am here if you need me <3

Luther stood beside Diego at his niece’s birthday party and watched as Grace played with Lila, Luther and Diego were sharing a beer and the whole day Luther had a heavy heart, something was eating at him ever since he received the invite to this party, it was meant to be a wonderful celebration for his god daughter but he just cannot relax and enjoy it for the life of him.

“Hey man, you okay?” Diego asked him, genuine concern on his face, Luther snapped out of a trance he was in and just nodded, take a long swig of the disgusting beer that he forgot to put in an ice cooler. “Yeah, just worried about Luna starting school again and whatnot.” He remembered that Christmas break was gonna be over soon and his daughter would be back at school and the morning routines would begin again, and Luther wouldn’t have a chance to breathe. Diego just nudged Luther lovingly and agreed, “Yeah, I am too, but that’s not for another two weeks, you’ve got 14 days to spend time with her.” Diego saw the bright side of things for once whenever it came to his family. Luther remained a sad look and noticed Sloane with Klaus from across the soft play area, she was handing him some cheesecake she made for the party. He also saw that his newest born baby Fei was realising her hands existed from her stroller. Luna was playing with Stanley and coco in the ball pit and everything seemed to be going smoothly. So why can’t he relax?

“I’m gonna go check on Sloane.” Luther abruptly left the conversation, leaving Diego offended but he quickly got over it whenever Lila handed him a piñata to hang up.

As Luther sat by Sloane, she had baby Fei on her lap, feeding her some mushed up version of adult food. Luna was coming over to the table to take a drink of juice every now and again before going back to the ball pit. Luther’s mood was so low that even Sloane picked up on it. “Honey, everything okay? You haven’t touched your cheesecake, it’s your favourite…” Sloane studied Luther’s expressions, this wasn’t like him, he was never usually THIS moped.

Luther exhaled, “Is Allison coming here today?” he didn’t dare look around the place again unless she magically appeared. He knew Klaus and Claire were here, which meant she’d dropped them off. Sloane just tilted her head to the side, looking at her husband, “I think Klaus said that Allison said, nobody would want to see her. After the universe reset and everything, she feels discarded.” Sloane relayed what her brother-in-law had told her.

“Good. She should feel discarded.” Luther spoke sternly, his eyes sad. This made Sloane set Fei back in her stroller, and face her chair to Luther. “You don’t mean that? She’s your sister.” Sloane reminded Luther, that cut deep, it hurt him badly. He couldn’t breathe, he felt like his throat was closing over and the room was swallowing him whole. “No. She’s not my family anymore. She did this to herself!” He twitches a little, fidgeting with his hands. Sloane’s brows furrowed, something was seriously hurting Luther and she needed to help him.

“Do you want to go outside, get some fresh air, and talk with me?” She placed an assuring hand on Luther’s shoulder, but he shrugged it off, not wanting any physical contact right now. “Yeah. We could get some hot chocolate or something? I saw it at the cafe.” Luther suggested, not completely isolating his wife, and letting her help him, she nodded and stood up, strolling Fei, until Five walked over. “If you guys are leaving I can watch her.” He suggested, he was really growing up to be a noble man. Sloane smiled and allowed Luther’s little/older brother look after their baby.

Sloane and Luther walked outside the soft play and to the cafe area, where Luther got some hot chocolates, and they went outside to the bench to sit. “Honey, tell me what’s wrong? Did something happen?” Sloane sat across from him, watching him take a sip of his drink and he let out a small breath. “It was six years ago. It’s just coming back again, I shouldn’t have even let it get to me.” He tried to brush it off with a shrug of his shoulders, but Sloane wasn’t going to let that slide, he’s deeply affected by whatever it was, she wasn’t just gonna let him suppress it for a further six years. “Luther, please don’t push it away, I want to listen.”

Luther put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes, panting now as his heart rate quickened. “You know how Allison didn’t come to our wedding, or Diego’s for that matter…” he reminded his wife, and she nodded, speaking up, “Yeah, because she reset the universe and feels guilty, right?” Luther shook his head and looked at the parking lot, his mind whirling.

“No. It’s because I told her she’s not welcome. And that she doesn’t deserve to see our family happy because of how miserable she made me when she felt low.” He spat out, bitterly, as he had every right to be. Sloane wasn’t mad she was concerned, whatever did she do to her husband. “Luther you’re scaring me, what did she do?” She had a determined look on her face.

“She assaulted me, Sloane. She took me for granted, selfishly, because she felt disgusted with herself. Now she’s burdened me with disgust.” His eyes welled up but no tears fell down. Sloane got angry, not at Luther but at what was done to Luther. She placed her hands on her lap, rubbing them to ease her mind, she was very upset. “And that’s not even the worst of it, she rumoured me. She didn’t even do it manually, she used her fucking power.” Luther pointed to himself, his hand shaking, “she had me in that hotel alone, and rumoured me!” His voiced raised a little.

Sloane just looked at Luther, her body numb at how Allison could do such a thing. A single tear fell down her face and she allowed Luther to keep talking. She didn’t want to interrupt him. “Every night, I remember it, anytime I see Klaus, or Claire, I’m reminded she exists. I hear Lila talk about her, I just shut down, I’m sure you’ve noticed. But today is especially the worst, because we’re all in the same fucking room.” He huffed out that last sentence, his breath hitching and his heart palpitating. Luther was usually the life of the party and Allison took that away from him, what would usually be a fun event for Luther has turned into the worst flashback of his life, every song on the speaker overstimulated him, every bland interaction reminded him of the predicament he was in, he couldn’t even smile today.

Sloane heard a car door close, it better not be who she thought it was, she was furious, her leg twitching. She looked towards the sound, and sure enough it was Allison Hargreeves. “I am going to kill her.” Sloane stood up, Luther grabbed her arm, “No. You don’t need to do that. It was six years ago.” Sloane just shook her head at Luther, “Doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be held accountable.” Sloane reminded him and he let her go. Luther just walked back inside, he wasn’t exactly ashamed, he was just run down, he needed to take his mind off of seeing her. He was going to check on Luna, see if she wanted any party food, he couldn’t bare looking at Allison right now.

“HEY!” Sloane yelled to Allison, and she just stopped. “Can I help you?” Allison asked, wondering what was making Sloane so angered. “Yeah you can start by telling me what the fuck possessed you to possess my husband.” Sloane was all up in Allison face and she was furious, Allison just held her hands up in defence and shook her head, “What are you talking about? Luther and I haven’t spoken for years.” Sloane scoffed biting her lip to stop herself from saying something she’ll regret. She just grabbed a hold of Allison’s car keys and fired the across the parking lot. “Maybe when you catch them you’ll realise what’s good for you and LEAVE US ALONE!” Sloane raised her voice so loud that even a few people in the foyer inside looked around and wondered who was yelling. Allison scoffed and looked at Sloane with distain, “My daughter is in there.” Allison protested. Sloane just smiled, “I’ll get Ben to leave Claire and Klaus home! Save you having to overexert yourself, not like anyone’s asking about you anyways.” And with that Sloane stormed back into the soft play building. Allison just stood in the parking lot for a moment, feeling exposed, realising Luther told Sloane what happened at Hotel Obsidian.

Inside Sloane saw that the party was just as she left it, except the cake was smashed on the floor and the piñata was discarded beside it. She walked up to Diego and asked him what happened, he looked to her a little gruff and said, “Luther bit the piñata and bumped into the cake.” Sloane’s eyes widened and she looked around for Luther, but Diego followed her. “It’s okay, Luna and Grace got the candy from it anyways. It’s no biggy.” Then Diego realised that that’s not what Sloane cared about. “Yeah I’ve been meaning to ask you, is the big guy okay?” He asked about his brother and Sloane just looked at Diego with a few tears in her eyes, sniffling. “Where is Luther?!” She persisted and Diego muted instantly, realising he was talking to much. “He’s at the table with Five and Fei.” Diego’s finger pointed across the room, Sloane patted Diego on the shoulder and she ran to her husband.

“Luther?” Sloane looked at him, he was rocking their baby in his arms as he stood by the table where five was mixing a bottle for her. “Are you okay? We didn’t get to finish your conversation…” She went up to him on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek, rubbing his back. “I’m so sorry.” She whispered. Luther looked at Sloane with deep love and admiration, he loved her so much, he was so happy she didn’t hate him for talking, and she defended his honour and looked out for him. Anyone would but Luther didn’t allow himself to see that. He bets that if he told anyone what happened right now, they’d do anything for him, but he’s never allowed himself to just speak about himself, he’s always cautious of what everyone else is feeling and making sure that they’re having a good time. Never paying mind to how his kindness was taken advantage of by the person he thought he could trust most out of anyone.

“I love you, and our girls. I’m happy I’ve been gifted with your acceptance.” Luther spoke quietly, not wanting anyone else to interrupt them, five was more invested in the exact measurements of powdered milk to add to the bottle to listen in anyways. Sloane put a strand of hair behind her ear and then caressed Luther’s face, she smiled adoringly. “We’ll never ever hurt you, and we won’t ever let her around you again. You don’t have to bear that fear anymore.” Sloane assured him as their one year old took comfort in Luther’s shoulder. Luther finally let himself cry, he felt his walls crumble and he let himself be vulnerable. He sat down and wiped his eyes with Fei’s baby blanket. He didn’t need to be hurt by Allison anymore, he was now given the opportunity to heal and he has a stable marriage that can give him the safety to feel his emotions, he didn’t need to be rumoured to feel them, he did what HE wanted now, no longer feeling ashamed in himself.

[revserrayyu]

2.2 Penacony thoughts [part 4]

**Spoiler warning** as we are nearing the very end of the story. Discussing on everything that happens once we wake up after the first boss fight until right before we enter the Horizon of Existence with Acheron. Do look away if you haven’t reached that place yet.

Ma’am, what do you mean by this??

Here I am, wandering around reality all confused, and yet the game still has the audacity to make jokes!

I thought Boothill was just being silly, but if Dan Heng also forgot, then it must be serious. Then I remembered there was one occasion last patch where we also forgot about Acheron’s name when talking to Welt. Or Himeko. I don’t recall which parent it was but we were near Clockie’s statue at the time.

So I saw Ratio, Topaz and Aventurine chatting with each other from afar and thought nothing of it, only to finally realize after our beloved gambler greeted us that YES it has indeed been a while because he was SUPPOSEDLY DEAD and he CLEARLY ISN’T ANYMORE, THANK GOD! I believed he was gonna be fine, thanks to Ratio’s advice and the fact Aventurine stated he wasn’t going to join his family yet, but then hearing Topaz’s call with Jade and how the Aventurine Cornerstone lost its light made me doubt his status just a little bit, but overall I’m so happy to see our man alive and well. I just wish.. it happened differently? I was expecting this grand reunion cutscene after his death-defying performance and he just.. shows up in the hotel with a completely normal interaction.

That is a whole lotta words, honey, but good for you I guess?

Screwllum jump-scare, also accompanied by lots of words that my mind can’t focus on right now.

… Pardon me? No. Surely not. We still have a whole other patch to get through after this, Welt! Needless to say, at this point in the story, confusion was at an all time high and Penacony’s story was beginning to lose its luster for me because the “ending” didn’t feel like a true conclusion.

Despite the unsatisfying feeling, we indeed arrive back on the Express. It has been a long while since we had a good adventure with our fellow Nameless. I hope he can join us fully in the next planet. Surely he would keep us from getting in trouble.

I feel like this comment isn’t only because we’re the main character, but also because as the player, we were able to view different people’s perspectives aside from the Trailblazer’s.

Is this a date? Sounds like a date. Regardless, I accept!

I can’t believe they actually had credits rolling. It’s giving Argenti trailer flashbacks and they’re really making it seem like this is the end of Penacony. Worth noting that March and Acheron’s real names aren’t listed while Welt and Aventurine’s are.

What the fuck do you mean?? For real though, hearing this after having one of the easiest boss fights of my life is a bit reassuring because I just knew something wasn’t quite right about all this!

Black Swan then retells the whole journey to us, from start to finish while asking us to pick out the one flaw in the whole story, which just so happens to be us running into Misha in the hotel’s lobby. He’s a major flaw that contradicts all other information in the story because that moment shouldn’t have been real. As for much recent occurrences, they don’t appear to be reality either because.. we have yet to actually wake up.

Still within the dream, we experience some deja vu because isn’t this exactly what Acheron says to us the very first time we meet her in 2.0?

Well aren’t you just a splendid little cheat code. No wonder the “Dreammaster” wanted to kick you out of Penacony.

So because we able to realize that seeing Misha in reality was an illusion, we were spared from being trapped like so many other residents of Penacony. I’m honestly surprised how many twists and turns this story can keep introducing to us when we’re so close to the story’s ending, but it’s impressive.

Robin realized there was a flaw in her dream too, which just so happened to be the flashback of her and Sunday finding the injury bird. Apparently that illusion was too blissful to be true? Wild.

We then found out that this fancy little bullet is the relic that Acheron had to return to its rightful owner.

Posing as a Galaxy Ranger to get a real one’s attention so they (Boothill) can properly use the relic in the next stage of the plan is a surprising move from Acheron. Who knew she could play 3d chess.

Firefly deserves some credit too, naturally, since it’s due to her that everyone was able to find us and understand the key to breaking free of this endless dream. By following Elio’s script, one is bound to have a knack of planning ahead and carrying out perfectly timed moves.

The end of Penacony is near but the fact it might actually come at the cost of that precious girl’s life ain’t bringing me much joy!

Last part coming up next and yet there’s still so much to chat about aaahh..

[thatfanfictionchick]

This is intended to be...archival, for myself, mostly. But if you find it interesting you should definitely check out Ikemen Villains!

Ikevil Event - Wrapped in Wicked Romance pt.2

Ellis's Route Ch. 2

·✦...·✧

Ellis: “The baguettes here are really delicious. I bought some the other day, and when I went home they disappeared in a flash.”

Ellis: “Victor was sulking because he didn’t get to try any.”

Kate: “Haha. I’m looking forward to eating it. What sort of jam should I have… Which do you recommend, Ellis?”

Ellis: “The most popular one here is marmalade, but I like the cranberry jam.”

Ellis: “But I want you to eat what you like.”

Kate: “Oh, I’d love them both!”

Ellis: “Okay, we’ll buy both, then.”

Kate: “H-huh?”

Ellis bought baguettes, jams, honey, ham, pickles, and more.

(He keeps taking me to all kinds of shops I’ve never been to before…)

(So even just preparing for the picnic is a lot of fun.)

Kate: “Even though I’ve lived in London for so long, I had no idea these places even existed.”

Ellis: “Looking for delicious restaurants is one of my hobbies.”

Kate: “Is it so you can introduce others to them too?”

Ellis: “Why do you think that?”

Kate: “I don’t know, just watching how you interact with other people in town.”

I was nervous about being seen in the wheelchair, but the people in town were surprisingly kind.

I had a feeling it was because I was with Ellis. He was kind to everyone, and they all seemed to know him.

Mechanic: “Are you still making things like that, Ellis? If you’ve got some free time, you should come help me out in the factory!”

Ellis: “Sure. Jude told me I could have the day off next Tuesday.”

Boutique Employee: “Oh, Ellis! Perfect timing. Could you please hold this for a second?”

Ellis: “Like this? Hey isn’t this the dress Ted brought you the other day? Think it’ll sell?”

Boutique Employee: “Definitely! It’s all because you introduced me to such a talented buyer! Things are going great here.”

Boutique Employee: “Hey, are you still working at that dangerous mobster’s company?”

Ellis: “I made a promise to Jude I have to make good on. I’ll stay there until I fulfill it.”

Fruit Seller: “Oh, are you hurt, young lady?”

Kate: “Ah, yes. I sprained my ankle.”

Fruit Seller: “Ellis is such a good boy, as always. Here, take this apple with you.”

Ellis: “Thank you. Oh, the medicine you said you needed earlier is at Mr. Bates’s pharmacy.”

Fruit Seller: “You remembered that? I’m so happy! Here, take this as a bonus.”

(Ellis is super kind to not only me, but to everyone.)

It’s no wonder everyone in town adores him.

Ellis: “You’re smiling. What is it?”

Kate: “When I looked at you, my heart felt warm for some reason.”

Ellis: “Hmm? I don’t really get it, but that’s cute.”

(...C-cute?)

Ellis: “Well, our basket’s full. Let’s go.”

(Maybe being able to say things so casually like that is the secret to being loved and adored…)

Besides the things we bought, we had a basket full of gifts we got from others in town.

We arrived at a beautiful meadow filled with flowers and unfolded our picnic blanket.

Kate: “Wow, you’re right! This baguette is delicious!”

Ellis: “I’m glad you like it. I recommend putting a bunch of butter on it and eating it like toast.”

Kate: “Let’s save some and take it home. I’d like to do that for tomorrow’s breakfast.”

Ellis: “Hehe. Okay. I’ll peel the apple. Hang on a second.”

Ellis was acting like he was my real boyfriend. It was easy to get caught up in the mood of it all.

And thanks to his kindness, my heart felt much lighter than this morning.

(I never imagined I’d have such a lovely day when I sprained my ankle.)

Kate: “Ahh… I’m so happy.”

Ellis: “Are you? That’s good.”

Ellis: “Hey, Kate.”

Kate: “Hm? What?”

Ellis: “How happy are you right now?”

Kate: “Hmm… Probably the happiest I’ve been in a few months.”

Ellis: “Oh…”

Ellis murmured as he skillfully peeled the apple with his black knife, the blade easily separating the fruit’s skin from its flesh.

Ellis: “I suppose it’s difficult to make people feel the happiest they’ve ever been on a first date.”

Kate: “Oh, is that what you were trying to do?”

Ellis: “Yes. Here’s your apple.”

He held out a slice of the peeled apple, looking at me expectedly.

(Uh, is he trying to feed me? That’s kind of embarrassing…)

But I told myself we were pretending to be a couple after all, so I calmly opened my mouth.

(I can’t believe he went to all this trouble for my first mission. He’s really dedicated.)

(How does he manage to be so concerned with other people’s happiness?)

Ellis: “...Have you ever felt so happy you wished that time would stop?”

Kate: “So happy that time would stop, hm?”

Ellis: “That’s right. You feel like a certain moment is perfect and complete, so much so that you don’t even need the future. Like that moment’s enough.”

Kate: “No, I don’t think so.”

Ellis: “I see. That’s good.”

Kate: “It is?”

Ellis: “Yes, because if you haven’t felt that yet, someday I might be able to make you feel perfect happiness.”

(No one’s ever said something like that to me before.)

(But why is he so serious? Well, if he’s doing this because we’re pretending to be a couple I need to play along.)

Kate: “Well, in that case, I’ll make you the happiest you’ve ever been too.”

Ellis: “You will?”

Kate: “Of course! We’re a couple, right? It’s not fair if only one of us is really happy.”

Kate: “When are you happy, Ellis?”

Ellis: “I…”

Ellis: “...can’t think of anything.”

(He thinks so much about other people’s happiness, but not of his own…)

It seemed strange, yet typical of Ellis. I felt like I got a good glimpse of him today.

Kate: “Well, let’s discover things that make you happy together!”

Ellis: “...Oh.”

Kate: “What?”

Ellis: “When you’re smiling… maybe.”

(I’ll never be able to compete with Ellis when it comes to spoiling your partner.)

I felt myself taking this game of pretend a bit too seriously, and I quickly turned my head away.

Kate: “Please say that to your real girlfriend.”

Ellis: “What do you mean?”

Kate: “Save those sweet words for your real girlfriend, I mean.”

Ellis: “I just said what I thought, that’s all.”

Ellis: “Plus, you looked happy to hear it.”

(...How is he so sweet?)

I felt my face flush as he stared at me.

Ellis: “...Hmm.”

He blinked as if he just thought of something and then gently pushed me down on the blanket.

Kate: “W-wait, Ellis…”

Ellis: “If I were your real boyfriend, would you be happier?”

Kate: “What?”

Ellis: “I want to be your boyfriend. Because I think I can make you happier.”

Ellis: “Be my girlfriend for real, Kate.”

I looked up in shock as he lay on top of me. 

Kate: “Don't tease me like that…”

Ellis: “I'm not.”

(We just met, and this is the first time we've spent any time alone. We can't become a couple just like that.)

(I know we're supposed to be pretending, but this is going too far.)

Kate: “I-I know you're trying all kinds of things to make me happy.”

Kate: “But you should only do these things with someone who you really love.”

Ellis: “But I do love you. So doesn't that make it okay?”

(Is he serious right now?)

Ellis: “I can make you happy.”

Ellis: “That's what I'll live for.”

He spoke as if we'd had some sort of unrequited love that had gone on for years. 

And even though it was clearly a lie, his twilight-colored eyes were tinged with a strange heat, as if he were telling the truth. 

(Something feels strange…)

His arms were placed on either side of my face, creating an illusion that felt like he was trapping me in a cage. 

It felt like if I said yes, I would be trapped there forever. 

Kate: “I-I…”

Kate: “I can't answer until I know more about you.”

Ellis: “...I see. All right, then.”

He slowly sat up and pulled me up as well. 

Ellis: “Then I'll tell you a lot of things until you feel like you know me.”

Kate: “Okay.”

He smiled calmly at me, but…

The disturbing illusion I'd just felt wrapped around my body like ivy.

As we chatted about this and that, the sun set and the wind grew cold. 

Ellis helped me back into the wheelchair and we headed back to the castle. 

(He barely let me walk all day.)

When we entered the dense forest leading to the castle, Ellis suddenly stopped. 

Kate: “Ellis? Is something wrong?”

Ellis: “There might be a bit of trouble. What a shame… It was such a happy day, too.”

Kate: “What?”

Ellis: “If you get scared, just close your eyes. It'll be over soon.”

·✦...·✧

[bitter end] [premium end] [main page]

[lonesome-witching]

Romance Isn't Dead

We're back to doing new prompts. This one being skeptic Nancy and ghost hunter Robin. To whoever send this anonymous prompt, you have read my mind because I have like two ideas for way longer fics with similar ideas but I tried to write something new and I hope you like it.

For those of you that didn't know yet, prompts are back open! You can send me any and all ronance prompts here, which is just a link to my asks. I have already gotten a few to get to but I will be writing them as soon as possible.

“You have got to be kidding me.” 

Robin’s bright smile almost made up for Nancy’s discomfort. The dimples in her cheeks were distracting enough. 

“It’s gonna be interesting.” Robin defended herself. 

“There is a blood stain on the bed.” There was and Nancy was now pointing at it. The brown stain that stretched over most of the middle of the mattress. It made her stomach turn. 

“Yes, I can see that.” 

“Robin, this was supposed to be a vacation.” Nancy sighed. 

“It still can be. I’ll just be working in the meantime.” 

“Working on what?” 

“I’m gonna write a book.” 

Nancy’s eyes widened. Her interest peaked. “A book? What about?” She almost sat down on the bloodstained bed before stopping herself.

“Ghosts.” Robin beamed as the word escaped her. 

“Ghosts?” The disdain in her voice must have been obvious because Robin started waving her hands to stop whatever she thought Nancy would say next. 

“I know, I know you don’t believe in all that but I’m gonna prove it once and for all. This is the bed Chrissy Cunningham was murdered in. Remember? You wrote an article on that story.” Robin’s hands waved at that same blood stain Nancy had pointed out. 

“That was three years ago. Her boyfriend cut her open or something.” 

“Yes! And this is a shitty motel so they never threw any of the shit out. This is pretty much a crime scene.” 

“You should not sound this happy about that. You just booked us a romantic getaway to the scene of a murder.” Nancy snapped back. 

“Okay, I know this isn’t what you signed up for but come on, Nance, this will be so exciting. We’re gonna find some ghosts and write a book on it and we’ll be rich.” Robin reached out to grab Nancy’s hands and she couldn’t help but crumble. 

“Ghosts aren’t even real.” She whispered as her girlfriend pulled her closer. 

—

“What are you doing?” Nancy threw up a balled piece of paper at the back of Robin’s head. 

“I’m making an ouija board.” Robin’s head was bent over her own piece of paper, her back hunched. 

“We could have bought one of those on the way in. That way we’d be done sooner and we could have actually gone somewhere nice for dinner.”  

“I didn’t want to spend your money on this.” 

Nancy pushed herself off her chair, sitting down next to her girlfriend on the floor. Robin’s tongue was poking in between her lips as she wrote the alphabet on the paper. It was adorable. 

“You really think you are going to prove ghosts exist with a stupid children’s game?” She bumped her shoulder into Robin softly. 

“It’s worked before.” 

“You’ve done this before?” Nancy imagined Robin sitting on the floor of her messy bedroom. The lights turned off but a small candle flickering next to her. A similar scribbled ouija board pushed against the floor by a small glass that she held against it with both of her pointer and middle fingers. 

“No.” Robin admitted. “I’ve heard of people who have done it.” 

Nancy couldn’t keep the laugh from bubbling out. She allowed herself to fall flat against the floor. 

“Nance.” Robin whined softly. “You need to be on my side.” 

“I am on your side, honey. I’ll always be on your side.” Nancy grabbed for Robin’s arm. “You know that, right?”  

There was a pout on Robin’s face that conveyed more than it was meant to. The sly quirk of her lips a tell tale sign that Robin was teasing her. Still, Nancy felt that familiar tug at her heartstrings that she got whenever Robin was hurt. 

“Do you need my help with anything?” She offered with a sigh, sitting back up. 

“If you are offering, I really don’t want to do this alone.” The smile from before returned to Robin’s face. 

Nancy groaned. “I was worried you were going to say that.” 

“Come on. You like researching stuff. Just see it as another one of your projects.” 

“My projects are usually based on facts.” Nancy complained.

“Nance, please.” The pout returned in all its glory. 

She hesitated for a second. Unsure what her next move should be. “Will it make you happy?” 

Robin nodded frantically. “So very happy.” 

–

Nancy found herself sitting opposite her girlfriend. She looked upon the girl’s frown as she placed the glass in the middle of the piece of paper, placing her fingers on the top. She followed Robin’s actions, mimicking her. 

“All you have to do is breathe and close your eyes.” 

Nancy nodded and closed her eyes. 

“Okay.” Robin’s deep breath was audible throughout the silent room. “Chrissy, are you here with us?” 

Nothing happened. 

“Chrissy, can you hear us?” 

Nothing. 

“We are here to understand what happened.” 

Nothing. 

Nancy opened her eyes, looking at her girlfriend. The frown of Robin’s face was etched into her skin. The doubts were creeping into her demeanor and Nancy could see it. 

“Chrissy?” 

She couldn’t help herself. Nancy pushed the glass towards the yes that Robin had carefully written. Robin’s eyes flew open the second the glass started moving. 

“Oh my God, Nance. Are you seeing this?” She exclaimed excitedly. 

“Yes, I am.” Nancy feigned shock. 

“I told you it was real.” Robin was beaming. “Okay, we have to focus. Chrissy, who killed you?” 

Nancy stared at her own hands on the glass, analyzing whether or not it was obvious she was pushing it towards the J. And then the A, S, O, N. Spelling out the name that she had been forced to write on repeat in the plethora of articles she had written about the event. 

“Oh my God, Robin. I’m not even kidding, this is scary. Can we please stop?” Nancy tried to trigger her 11 year old self who had scored the lead in the school play. It was the last time she had ever acted. 

“Yeah sure. Thank you for talking to us, Chrissy. Goodbye.” Robin said and Nancy pushed the glass toward the goodbye on the bottom of the page. 

–

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Robin was turned toward Nancy in her seat. She watched the way Nancy’s fingers tapped the steering wheel. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“The other day. The ouija board. You were moving the glass, weren’t you?” 

“Why would I do that?” Nancy frowned. 

“You gave yourself away by saying you were scared. Nancy Wheeler doesn’t get scared and definitely not by a moving glass or even a ghost for that matter.” 

Nancy dared to take a glance at the girl sitting next to her. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t see you that defeated. I shouldn’t have.” 

“I think it’s really sweet. And I’ve been thinking, we should take an actual vacation. Somewhere nice. I’ve never seen the ocean before, if you’re up for it.” 

“Are you sure this isn’t another ruse to get me to go ghost hunting with you?” 

“Nah, from now on I’ll just ask you to go ghost hunting with me. I have a feeling you won’t say no.”

[onekisstotakewithme]

make of our hearts, one heart pls pls pls -ypq

Short version: BJ and Peg are renewing their vows in 1957 (but it's also partially a front for the triad to 'get married').

Long version: This is the culmination of the first mini arc (can you call it a mini arc when it's going to be like 300k all-told?) in my post-canon verse that starts with 'ye who are weary'; BJ and Peg and Hawkeye finally get to get married, and this is, of course, followed by a honeymoon which means... wedding night sex 🌈��� this is perhaps the most egregious of my drafts in that a whole draft exists. I just hella burned out writing the charles/donna wedding and then jumping into this, and it's also 125k. so. there's that. SOMEDAY I'll remember how to edit it 😒 but in the meantime it makes a fun addition to my WIP lists.

And I'm adding a snippet under the cut because of course 💜 thank you for enabling me to ramble about this fucker (affectionate)

“It’s alright, darling, we don’t think you’re any more of a pervert than we already did,” she says, offering him a warm smile that does more to fluster him than the heat of the sauna.

“Well, I’m relieved to hear that,” he teases back.

“Did you know?” she asks, propping herself up on one elbow as she looks at him. “When you were sitting in the sauna with those boys – did you know you liked men then?”

“I knew,” Hawkeye says, and grins. “I knew from the time I was about… eleven, maybe?”

“I was sixteen, I think…” Peg says, before frowning like she’s thinking it over. “Or fifteen, maybe.”

“What about you, Beej?”

“Who, me?” BJ puts on his best wide-eyed look. “I didn’t have a damn clue until college – and even then, took me a while to figure out that I didn’t necessarily have to choose a side.”

“And now you’ll never have to choose again,” Peg says with a laugh.

“Right,” Hawkeye agrees, not sure why there’s a sense of unease hanging about him, even as he laughs with Peg. “You’ve got a matched set – one of each.”

BJ grins too. “I’m not complaining.”

“It’s like salt and pepper shakers. Peanut butter and jelly. You can’t have one without the other.”

“I’m a lucky man,” BJ agrees.

“Me too.”

And then, Hawkeye gets why he’s uneasy, and he sees the same thought hit BJ, both of them turning to look at Peg – who is just like they are, only…

“Peg, honey…”

“Oh no,” Peg says, looking between them. “Just when I was starting to feel relaxed… why are you two wearing your ‘bad news’ faces?”

“Because uh… we both get a matched set, but you don’t.”

“I got two for the price of one,” she says, trying to make a joke out of it. “Why should I complain?”

“But Peg…”

“Peg, listen, I know last night we said that it would be the three of us, that we’d be exclusive… but…”

“But what?” Peg asks, looking between them, and BJ nods to Hawkeye.

“But if you want to go out and find a lady, we won’t mind.”

Peg looks flabbergasted, and then hurt. “Why the hell would I want to do that?”

“Well, just… Beej and I both get to have it both ways, so to speak. We get each other, and we get you. The matching set.”

“So?”

“So, if you want the same opportunity-.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” Peg asks, her eyes on fire as she sits up, flushed with anger more than heat. “That I’ll suddenly have changed my mind about being faithful to my husband just because I added another?”

“Peg, no, that’s not what we’re saying.”

Peg seems a little calmer now, although her eyes are still ablaze. “Then what?”

“We just wondered if you might miss sleeping with women,” Hawkeye says, trying to keep his tone nonthreatening. “I mean, you seemed to have pretty fond memories of that girlfriend of yours…”

Peg looks between the two of them, but she doesn’t seem angry anymore. In fact, glancing between the two of them, she bursts out laughing.

Hawkeye isn’t expecting this and flinches back from the loud noise, BJ raising an eyebrow as Peg cackles so hard she nearly slides off the bench of the sauna, her skin slick with sweat.

“Get over here, you idiots,” she says.

“Peg…”

“She’s cracked,” Hawkeye says, shaking his head a little fondly, but they do slide along the bench so that they’re sitting together, one on either side of Peg.

She rights herself, wiping at the corners of her eyes.

“You idiots,” she says fondly, looking between them. “I don’t want anything else – and I certainly don’t want to put our life in danger just because I missed my calling as a cunning linguist.”

“Peg-.”

“No, listen to me. Who the hell would we even ask for that? Who could we trust? Because pick the wrong person and you know it could come back to bite us in the ass – the instant some poor woman gets caught in a raid and gets told to name ten of her friends or hang, who do you think she’ll think of first?”

“I guess I didn’t think of it that way.”

“It wouldn’t be worth it, just for me to get my rocks off. I can do that perfectly well on my own – or with your help.”

“We just thought…”

“I know, darling, and I do appreciate you thinking of me.” She looks dangerously close to bursting into laughter again, but manages to contain it. “But you said last night that you didn’t want anyone else. And I feel the same. Sure, sleeping with a woman would be nice, but I don’t necessarily want that. I just want the two of you.”

“Well,” Hawkeye says, squeezing her knee, and giving her a leer. “You’ll be pleased to know that we want you too.”

“You sure have a funny way of showing it,” she says, and Hawkeye, despite the heat, leans in to kiss her, tasting the salt of her sweat on her lips, and the sweet taste of her mouth, the smell of steamed wood and hot coals in his nose.

[mymelodyisme]

OMG but Mys tells Shane about all the magical stuff she’s been getting into and he’s like-

“You’re fuckin with me, Dotty,” he scoffed, “you’re really trying to convince me you can use magic?”

Mys pressed her hands to her hips and pouted, “well, yeah! I can do a few things now. It’s been really helpful when I go mining.”

“Right…”

Shane didn’t believe her. He’d been living in the valley his entire life and had never once witnessed the existence of magic.

Mys began pulling at the hood strings of his jacket, she was somewhat giddy.

“Lately Razzy’s been teaching me how to make potions from the earth’s natural resources. I can bring you a few and we can play around with them! I’ve got one that can turn your skin blue for a few minutes-“

“Got a love potion in that mix?” Shane asked with a snarky grin.

He didn’t know why he had chosen to name a love potion of all things, but in that moment it made the most sense. It was one of the more famous potions in the world, maybe Mys could actually have one.

She pulled away abruptly and looked into his deep green eyes, she was stern and very serious.

“I do. But I can’t let you try it otherwise you’ll fall madly in love with the first person you see, and… well… you know how that goes.”

If he took it then and there, he would see her.

Would that really be so bad?

Shane started looking around as if listening closely to their surroundings.

He leaned in close, “Gummy, did your voice change? Cause… you’re suddenly sounding like… a whole ass chicken,” he began to bawk at her mockingly.

Mys immediately turned red. She clearly was not enjoying being mocked. She huffed and looked towards her bedroom.

“Fine! Fine I’ll go get it.”

She left the room, the sounds of opening chests and clinking glasses could be heard shortly thereafter.

“Where did I put it?,” she growled in frustration.

Shane smiled to himself. Mys was the most disorganized organized person he ever met. He thought it was cute.

She suddenly came running back in holding a small pink heart shaped bottle.

“That’s very on brand for you, isn’t it, sweetheart?”

Mys froze, her face softening as if she hadn’t just been on a rampage, “say that again.”

He loved it when she did that.

“My sweetheart is so demanding,” he tilted her face up at him.

“I am very much so,” she lifted the body between them, “Now, does this prove anything to you?”

He takes the bottle out of her hands and looks it over, “nah I think I have to test it.”

Her eyes went wide, “oh honey, that’s a bad idea give it back.”

“Make me,” he grinned popping off the top.

“Shane!” Mys swatted at him trying to take the small bottle back, but Shane held it higher over her head.

“You’re so damn short, Mys.”

“I’m not that much shorter than you!”

“A head’s still a fuckin head.”

Shane watched her struggle with delight written all over his face. She could’ve easily gotten it by now, but she was so focused on the fact that he had what she didn’t want him to have, that she didn’t remember she could easily bend him to her tiny pink will.

He was so amused by her behavior that he didn’t notice her hand swatting the bottle right over him.

Mys gasped. He was drenched.,

Some type of liquid dripped down from his head to his shoulders.

“Shit!” Mys quickly covered her mouth. She didn’t usually swear. Shane blushed.

But that’s not all that he did.

He stood there quite shocked for a minute. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be feeling. Maybe he had been right and Mys was duped by the wizard. Or maybe she…

Oh god.

Just as he began to have doubts he noticed a strong familiar scent surrounding him.

It was her.

Or rather whatever had spilled on him smelled exactly like her.

Shane shut his eyes. It was somewhat overwhelming. It felt like she was all over him. His mind went to the gutter.

“Oh Shane, that was stupid of me,I’m so sorry,” Mys’s voice popped into his ears, “let me help you get cleaned up.”

She grabbed his hand and led him down to the couch.

Maybe it was the intoxicating scent, or the fact that she may have been right, but Shane felt his hand clam up in hers. He was beginning to grow nervous.

Why was he getting so nervous? She was just his best friend?

Right?

Mys sat him down and started wiping his head with her handkerchief. Her face twisted. The smell overwhelming her too, but Shane didn’t notice this. Mys was, perhaps, a little too close to him. He resisted the urge to grab her waist.

“You okay, handsome?”

Their eyes met. He couldn’t bring himself to speak. For the first time in his entire life. Shane found himself fully unable to grasp his feelings. Actually, that was a lie. He often found he didn’t know how to feel when he was with Mys.

He began to think, that maybe, the potion wasn’t a potion at all. Perhaps, it was just a ruse, it likely was just her perfume.

So Shane began to consider that possibly…

Maybe…

He kind of liked her.

“Shane, are you mad at me?”

Her voice brought him back into the situation. Even as he was drowning, she was right there in his ear.

In his face.

He grabbed her face suddenly. Mys squealed. Shane held her there so close, as if examining her.

He was trying to find an answer, he already had but just couldn’t access no matter how many epiphanies he could squeeze out of himself.

“You okay there, lemon drop?,” she asked with a nervous laugh, “you’re getting kind of close.”

“Mys.”

His eyes were glowing, she was never more confused. Scared even. Not of him. But for him. She wanted Shane. She knew she needed to keep him in her life. But she was never going to force him to be who she wanted him to be.

That’s why-

“I think I…” he began to lean in.

She put a stop to that instantly.

She pressed her hand to his mouth. A deep sadness taking over her for a moment.

“That wasn’t a love potion,” she admitted quickly.

Silence.

“And I’m not going to take advantage of you Shane. Ever.”

Shane stared at her, his eyes were now equally sad, Mys thought that maybe he was upset with her for being so cruel and allowing him to actually think he had fallen in love with her. It was also cruel to hope that he might.

“I really am sorry, Shane. I didn’t mean to make things weird. Are we still friends?”

She removed her hand from his lips. Oh, if Shane had the guts he’d have kissed her anyways. He would have kissed her so. Many. Times.

But he couldn’t bring himself to explore that urge.

He wanted to.

He should have.

But he couldn’t.

And yet-

“I love you.”

The words slipped out so quickly, so naturally, Shane hadn’t register they were his words until Mys had reacted.

“What?”

Shane had just said he loved her. Did he really mean that?

“I…,” he quickly began to correct his loss of tongue, “I mean… you’re my best friend, Mys. And I love you, because of that.”

Ouch. That pressed on her heart. Everything was as it always would be, as it had always been, and as it shall continue to be.

“And I… love you.”

She meant it. She had always meant it.

“Now let’s get you cleaned up, please. You smell like me and it’s giving me a headache.”

Shane pulled her onto his lap and grinned, “oh you don’t like it? What if I do this?”

Shane rubbed his wet hair into her neck. She began to laugh, to scream, and tried to break herself free.

“NO! SHANE!”

He laughed, and pulled himself back, “fine I’ll take a bath, but you have to be there with me.”

“You, sir, are getting far too comfortable with my being there when you’re nude.”

“You know that you’re curious.”

“Save it for our honeymoon, handsome.”

Shane’s eyes sparkled. Just the idea of marrying her made his head spin, he wasn’t used to that. He didn’t understand it. He blushed.

“I’m just joking,” she said as she cupped his face.

“Yeah… I figured.”

[typewriter83]

I feel like of all adults, frank is gonna be ellie's best confident, someone who she will see as her friend. I'm not saying the others aren't but.. well, let's see: we all know that, as much as they talk about things, joel and ellie aren't exactly friends. He doesn't count. There's tommy and maria, but they're behaving too much like mom and dad towards ellie, and most of the time kinds don't tell parents (or any adult with extreme authority) all the things. Bill... He and ellie have their bond, but more like cat and dog (bill as an old grumpy cat and ellie as a new puppy). So there's frank, who seems to understand her a lot: he makes her comfortable talking about some feelings by now, ask things or opinions of hers without judgment, and he seems like a very understanding and wise adult. (Have you ever watched matilda? Teacher Honey was seen that way by the kids she spent time with, she was like those kids' best adult/friend). I feel like that towards frank and his relationship with ellie by now, and the fact he doesn't like the idea of ellie spending time with the preacher of town because he also just has a intuition that this guy is not trustworthy towards young girls, such a mother's instinct right there lmao (maria should learn from him cof cof)

So like, I feel like frank will be the first adult to know about ellie's relationship, about her feelings someday. I'm just feeling it.

Frank is such a kind soul, like Miss Honey, you’re right. He doesn’t judge, doesn’t preach, doesn’t even really offer advice - simply lets the people he cares about exist in his safe space. To Ellie, Frank is kind of like her in a sense that he cares for and loves people for who they are as people, not because of their sexuality. In this universe, Frank loves Bill because he’s Bill, not necessarily because he’s a man, and Ellie can relate to that.

So yeah, you pretty much hit the nail on the head:

Joel is Joel to her, she needs him like a partner, a protector.

Tommy and Maria have leaned a little too far into the overprotective, authoritative mom and dad figures and while they believe they have her best interest at heart, they’re complicating things.

Her peers are her peers but they’re going to play an important role coming soon.

Bill is like that teacher that knows his student is smart as a whip, but refuses to let her be a know-it-all because she has so much to learn, so he throws knowledge at her and it pains her to admit she wants to learn from him.

Remember, Joel alludes to Bill and Frank having a semi-illegal side hustle with Ellie’s friends, lol, so they’re like the cool old guys that live at the edge of town, grow weed and know everything - so Frank knowing David isn’t who Maria thinks he is - that’s important. 😉

Thanks for reading!

🫶🏻

[slavetomistresscalia]

He Just Wanted To Lose Weight

Another amazing story penned by a good friend and fellow devotee of Mistress Calia

He just wanted to lose weight … Andy was in a state; a very emotional one. Medication had caused him to put on weight and no matter what he did, he was having problems losing it. He knew the extra weight was bad for his health and he was getting really peed off about people making assumptions about his lifestyle based on his weight. He needed help. He needed some form of self-help that would give him the and motivation to retrain his body to eat more healthy options.

Andy thought about discussing this issue with his best friend Jim. Jim seemed to have his life sorted out having changed his life around big time from being a dreamer who smoked, drank and ate all the wrong things to being a non-smoking clean-eating healthy person. Andy had often wondered what had caused this turnaround, yet knew enough not to ask Jim directly, Still, perhaps whatever had helped Jim might help him too. It was worth asking the question - right?

When they next met, Andy explained his issue with weight to Jim. He asked Jim if he knew of anyone or anything that might help him in this situation. Jim sat in thought for a while, then suggested that maybe Andy should consider hypnosis, after all, private hypnosis clinics existed and often their work was about helping people to lose weight or stop smoking. Andy was skeptical of this idea - “there are a lot of charlatans out there who really don’t know what they are doing” he said “I’m not about to allow any of them into my head”. It took Jim all of 30 seconds of consideration before he asked Andy if he would trust his judgement and allow him to find someone who was trustworthy and who would help him. “What’s more,” Jim said, “it will be an mp3 file that you can keep listening to so it’s a one off cost, not a weekly appointment with a high fee”. Andy thought this was a good idea so he agreed that Jim could approach his contact with the idea and see if it was something that they would consider doing. Andy left thinking that just maybe Jim’s suggestion was the answer to his dilemma.

A week later, Jim handed Andy a USB stick and told him that the file was on it. When Andy asked what he owed him, Jim said he had paid for it as a gift for Andy. “A word of warning though,” said Jim, “if it’s like any of the other files you might want to make sure you are on your own and unlikely to be disturbed the first time you listen to it” and with that, Jim left.

Following his friend’s advice, Andy waited until he was on his own and unlikely to be disturbed, loaded the file from the USB to his mp3 player, put his earbuds in, lay back, closed his eyes and relaxed as he hit play.. “Hi there, I hear that you need to lose weight and I have been asked to help you. It’s very important to look after yourself for all sorts of reasons, isn’t it? Sometimes it is because of health reasons, yet most often it is because you want to impress someone. The strongest motive is because someone you admire wants you to lose some weight and be healthier; giving you that extra motivation you need to be successful. I know we just met, yet why don’t we start with the premise that you want to do this for me? You want to please me and so you will work at losing weight and improving your overall health because it will make me happy to know that you have done this for me. It seemed to make sense and pretty soon he was listening to Her Divine voice as Her words slipped easily past his defenses.

Now then, let’s start with relaxing you, taking in a long deep breath. Don’t worry about holding it, just take in a deep breath and then let it all out. Keep doing this whilst you listen to my voice, letting my words flow over you like honey, covering you in relaxation and making you feel sleepy……..

Now as wonderful and pleasurable this time has been, the waking world awaits you. When you wake from this trance you will not remember anything that has been said. Your subconscious mind will remember and act on my instructions. At this point you can either play the file again or you can allow me to count you up to being awake… are you ready? I’ll count you up with a count of 5 to 1 … 5 feeling blissful, 4 beginning to awake, eyes opening 3 moving your body, becoming aware of your surroundings, 2 your brain wakes from trance and 1 wide awake, ready and willing to take the steps you need to take… so I hope you found this file helpful. It works best when listened to just before you fall asleep at night, I hope we can do this again soon”

A week later Andy and Jim met up. Jim was wondering how his friend had found the file but he needn't have worried as Andy’s first words were “ Jim, thanks so very much for that file. I’ve never felt so good and so happy or motivated, does Mistress Calia have any other files I can listen to? Her voice, oh I could listen to it forever …” Jim laughed. “Yes, actually, She does. I’ll send you the link to them later but you will need to sign up to a monthly subscription, are you OK with that? “To hear that Voice regularly?" "Of course I am” replied Andy. And that, dear reader, is how Andy joined his friend Jim as a slave of Mistress Calia. Truly, it has been said “Be careful what you wish for” because, really, Andy thought he just wanted to lose weight…

[stephenjaymorrisblog]

We Are All Time Travelers

Stephen Jay Morris

2/19/2023

©Scientific Morality

When I look back, I am bemused and amused about all of the societal fads I’ve witnessed, and even participated in. I refer to those that range from “The Twist” dance fad in 1962, to “Disco” in the late 70s. Oh, let’s not forget “Glam Metal” of the 80s.

So, what about now? At the age of 68 going on 69, what do I think? How do I feel? I don’t want to use a Coprophiliac, contemporary slang term, but so far, 2023 has been a real shit show! Never mind Los Angeles Lakers’ power forward, LeBron James, recently breaking Kareem Abdul Jamar's all-time shooting record, and a bacteria-fighting vaccine on the horizon to help the nation’s honey bees. Oh, no! The focus, instead, is on how many people got shot today, or who was the latest victim of police abuse.

And then, there’s my favorite shit show: the conservative movement. The so-called Liberal news media is giving this full coverage. Wait! Wait! What?? If they are on the so-called Left, why would they do that? Because, as the old saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads!” Translation: People love negative news AND it brings in money. Lots of it. However, this is not my topic today.

I write about “The Space-Time Continuum,” as prescribed by Dr. Albert Einstein. We live in a three-dimensional existence, however, time is part of the 4th dimension. Is there a 5th dimension? Maybe. The Folk Rock band, the Byrds, had a song called, “5th Dimension,” in 1966, and there was a singing group in the 60s called, “The 5th Dimension.”

So, what is the 5th dimension anyway? Don’t really know; go ask the late OsKar Klein. Uh, don’t do that; he’s dead. Maybe he wrote something about it. Maybe it has something to do with the Einstein’s equation, E=MC2. I always thought that the 5th dimension was a place you go to, such as when you take a hallucinogenic like LSD. But, I am not talking about that today, either.

We are all time travelers, from birth to death. We are fixed in a particular time and place. Hundreds of years from now, people will wonder what it was like living during your time. Plus, there is the ultimate question: “Why?” That’s when metaphysics comes into play. Alternatively, there is religion, which says simply that you exist to serve God. Then there is the Greek philosophy of solipsism, which means, only you exist and everybody else is an illusion. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, there is always Existentialism, which adherents conclude that “Life has no meaning and you are here merely by happenstance.” As an Agnostic, I just don’t know what is true and what isn’t true. Agnosticism is the zenith of objectivity. That’s my take.

So, what about this time travel stuff?

Can you revisit the past? Yes, you can—through hypnosis. It has been proven that one can go back in time through hypnosis. You mind is like a tape machine that never shuts off. Everything that you ever experienced is stored in your memory. Unfortunately, some people lose their memory because of diseases like Alzheimer's. That is one reason I got into the habit of writing down my past on paper; in case I develop an elderly disease like dementia.

How about venturing into the future? Maybe. It could be true that time travel has already been invented. For example, in 3023 AD, invisibility may have been created, so that right now, invisible time travelers from the future are staring at you while you sit on the toilet. Don’t be dismissive about my theories. People have reported seeing ghosts in their homes. Maybe what they saw were time travelers.

I highly doubt that I will be remembered in the future. If not, I won’t care. Not only will I be dead, but so will my ego. I would like to time travel to witness my family tree, but I am afraid to. I know that my ancestors were idiotic peasants. According to my dad, my great, great grandfather, Semore Moicheck, was a butcher in Russia who was killed by a bull while he was trying to slaughter it. So, why would I want to encounter my loser family from the past?

I am not happy living in these times. I know that the world is getting better and better, such as with the advent of technological advances and medical science breakthroughs. But—with the morons who are dragging it down with their religious and political idiocy, it’s so fucking pathetic that it makes me sick! I am convinced that there is no “good vs. evil.” It’s really about the sane vs. the insane, and the intelligent vs. the dumb.

On second thought, I prefer to be alive in the present, as opposed to the future or the past. By not seeing the future, I won’t ruin the element of surprise. And, by not experiencing the past, I will save myself from shame. I do wish, though, that I could send the present day idiots back to the Stone Age, where they belong!

So, as for me and time travel? I am happy being right where I am.

[d3athm3tal]

Now that the 22nd has past, I will no longer post about you. I’m not sure if you’ll read these, I’m not sure if you can remember your old password yet or if you’ll remember my username to check up on this from time to time, because you know I write on here. I’ve always wrote on here. And you’d always read it. I’d stay up til 4am back in 2019 perfecting everything I was writing in the hopes you’d see how crazy I was about you, how carefully I picked each word to resonate how I felt about you. This was us. Our thing. You and I, beating around the bush, writing notes and leaving hints. You have been in every line I have ever wrote. But I can’t do it anymore honey. I always said we could do 1% and 99% but right now I don’t feel you can give me any so I know it’s time. I know it’s time to put 100% into something else, into healing and growing, picking out clothes for my own, figuring out my own style and my own routine. 9:15pm can’t be the time you finish work, it just needs to be 9:15pm. And 22:22pm can pass every day and I need to not think of falling deep into you as my feet sunk deep into the sand on that beach. I need to understand and comprehend how I could love someone so truly, openly, deeply, honestly and raw and still get hurt the way you hurt me. I need to get over feeling like I am not enough because you betrayed me, I need to not think of that every night before I try to sleep. So I can’t post about you anymore. Because I can’t keep going over the same things, it’s becoming insanity. So this is it. There are no more excuses. I’m not sure when I’ll collect my stuff, it feels like your stuff now anyway so I’m not too fussed about grabbing a bag of things that will have your scent wrapped in them. Keep them if you’d like, though I don’t think you’d like. The gaps are filled for you now. Everything’s in place. You have great friends and the gaps in your walls have been replaced with new memories and there isn’t a sign of me in that room. Our room. You would think I’d never been in it. It’s your room again, because once again I felt nervous sitting in it as if it were the beginning except it was more like the end. Full circle. I drove to cairn grove on Wednesday. Full year. Last year we were celebrating an anniversary, and picking out cutlery and this year I don’t know what colour your nails are or if you’re happy. I need to say goodbye and I can’t do it any other way than hope that there’s still that same part of you that always looked for me. And if there is then you’ll have found your way here and you’ll be reading this, then maybe things aren’t as bad I thought. But none the less it’s time to go. I’ll love you and leave you, I will only leave you once but I will love you every day. I’ll fill my gaps. I won’t post but I won’t stop writing, you’ll exist in my words. Goodbye bup, and for the last time I love you.

24.02.23.

[rickybaby]

Daniel Joseph Ricciardo, you are the World Champion!

In which Daniel wins the Championship.

Warning: Pure, utterly complete delusion.

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

February 2026, Bahrain

“Well, hello everyone. Cars, on track, for the first time this year! How good is that?!”

“So much to cover this afternoon” Ted Kravitz led his cameraman down the paddock as he fished his notes out of his pocket. “Right then, let’s start off with the talk of the paddock - the new Audi-Sauber team and their surprising new driver line-up!” 

“It’s a bit of an interesting one, isn’t it? Daniel Ricciardo and Theo Pourchaire! Yep, the Honey Badger is back in F1 after three years out. Are we surprised that Audi went for Danny Ric? I mean it’s an easy choice if you’re looking for experience. Yes, his last season with McLaren had not been great, but I think he’s more than proved himself in the years away since then, hasn’t he?”

“He’s won Le Mans in 2023 and then went on to win the Indy500 just last year. And you know what that makes him? The only second driver to have ever won the triple crown of motorsport!” Ted stopped just outside the new Audi motor home. “Also he didn’t do too badly today as well.”

“He finished P6 on the timesheets, with his former teammate Max Verstappen in P1, followed by the merc boys - George and Lewis, Yuki Tsunoda in that second Red Bull and Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari. It’s not looking too bad for the Australian, is it? He may just be the one to look out for this season!”

“Now Pete, the Ferraris!” He gestured for his cameraman to follow him as he continued to move down the paddock “those were some interesting side pods we saw on the car …”

-l l-

Up in his driver’s room, Daniel Ricciardo felt as if his neck was about to snap into two. It was always painful to get back into the car after the winter break and even more so now, when he’d been out of the car for three years, but damn if he could stop himself from smiling. 

“How was it out there today?” Michael asked as he applied the kinesio tape on Dan’s neck. “Good” he said, and just like in his interviews from earlier, he had to stop himself from gushing, had to be conservatively optimistic for fear of jinxing himself. Truth be told, he felt almost jubilant. Because this morning, when he’d sat in the car and drifted out of the garage, he’d felt that click with the car. The click he hadn’t felt since he’d left Red Bull. He might get criticised for this, but Daniel had never been the type of driver who’d get too technical. His driving style had always been more instinctive. He had to have that particular feeling in the car, that certainty that the car would do exactly what he expected it to do when he was throwing it around a corner at 300 kilometres per hour. He wasn’t naïve, he knew there were still kinks to work out, but he knew the pace was there because they’d been massively sandbagging this morning. He almost had to stop himself from declaring he was here to win the championship because he knew they might laugh him out of the paddock. But these people didn’t know the new Daniel, most still remembered the broken man that McLaren had left for dead. 

For his sanity’s sake, Daniel rarely thought back to the season he lost his seat. It had happened to his teammates before but he’d never thought it would ever happen to him. Even after McLaren had essentially fired him, he’d still had hope he could turn his career around. He’d only lost hope when he had found out that Pierre got the Alpine seat while he was still in Australia before the Singaporean Grand Prix. From that moment on, he’d known his prospects for 2023 were pretty much non-existent, but still he’d flown to Singapore, did his media duties, played his usual happy-go-lucky guy role to perfection and all the while, he had been dying inside. And then he got P5 in that race, his best finish that season. He had people congratulating him and through it all, all he could think about was how far he had fallen. He used to be on the top step and now people were patting him on the shoulder for fucking P5. 

That night, he’d gone back to his hotel room and looked at himself in the mirror, really looked at himself and he hadn’t recognised the man who’d looked back at him. He still loved the sport but he couldn’t see the Daniel who was passionate about racing, whether he came in first or last. He could only see a man who had been so concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other everyday for so long that he hadn’t realised he had reached the end of the road. He’d picked up the phone and dialled his mom even though he knew it was an ungodly hour in Australia. His mom had picked up on the first ring and she’d softly said his name. That string that had been holding him back finally snapped, and he’d cried, big gulping sobs, snot mixing with his hot tears. When he’d finally calmed down, his mom had quietly told him you know what you have to do. The next morning, he’d told Blake and Michael about his decision. 

For the rest of the season, everyone and their mother had gone on and on about what a terrible decision he was making, that they couldn’t understand why he would take a step back. He hadn’t needed people to tell him the risk he was taking, he’d been well-aware of the odds of him ever making his way back on the grid. But he’d reached a point where he couldn’t go on, it had been more important for him to salvage whatever dignity he had left and leave before he started hating the sport. Sometimes, it took a lot more of bravery to accept defeat. So he’d left. He’d taken the time to find his smile again and then block by block, he’d slowly started to rebuild himself into a better, improved Daniel. And this Daniel was here to win. 

-l l-

May 2026, Monaco

“Hello and welcome to the qualifying round of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix. Join us as we watch the 20 drivers fight it out for pole position here. Martin, we all know how important qualifying is here. Who is your favourite for pole position here today?”

“Yes, Crofty. Qualifying in Monaco is always a special one. It really tests all the skills you need as an F1 driver. It should be an interesting fight for pole today. We can expect Max, Lewis and Charles to be bringing a good fight, but I believe we may be in for a surprising result in Daniel Ricciardo. He’s been on pole twice here before and with the season he’s been having since his comeback, I don’t think we can discount him from the fight.”

“Ah yes, Daniel Ricciardo. What a mega comeback it has been. He was in the top 5 in Bahrain and Saudi, and then he went on to win his home race! What an incredible weekend that was! I don’t think I’ve ever heard a crowd cheer so loud as he was making his way round that last corner at Albert Park before he took the chequered flag.”

“Definitely, his performances have been incredible. He did well in China and Baku as well, placing second in both of these races”

“If he continues with performances like that, I think he’ll have to lay off the shoey a bit. Surely, it wouldn’t be too good for his health if he does back-to-backs!”

Daniel knew these streets like the back of his hand. He could drive this track with his eyes closed. So far, he’d been P3 in both Q1 and Q2. There was 3 minutes left on the clock and he had to make this lap count. As he reached the end of his outlap, he briefly closed his eye, took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. He let his instincts take over. He almost felt like he was having an out-of-body experience, hovering over the car, watching as he hit the apex, anticipating where the racing line was even before he was taking that exit. He didn’t even need confirmation from his engineer to know pole was his. And the next day, as he took the chequered flag, he couldn’t help thinking that winning Monaco was even sweeter the second time around. 

-l l-

September 2026, Monza

“Mate, zucchini on pizza sounds awful”

“Don’t diss it until you’ve tried it, Russell George” Daniel laughed, as they made their way to the truck for the driver’s parade. Daniel couldn’t really tell how his friendship with George had come about. They were vastly different people, but they’d always shared a mutual respect and then George had been one of the few people who had not hesitated to outwardly support him during that last year. And for that, Daniel would always be grateful. He got on the truck, fist-bumping all of the drivers.  The Italian sun was shining and just like in 2021, he was starting in P2 just behind Max. Daniel was desperate to pull off the same start as he had the last time around. He badly wanted to win here again. His last Monza win would always be associated with McLaren and he wanted a Monza win that he could call just his. 

Later on, as he stood on the highest step of the podium, head tipped back as Max poured the bottle of champagne over him, Daniel felt vindicated. Last time around, he’d cried on the podium, out of relief, out of happiness that he could give that win to his team. This time around, he felt like roaring, felt like banging on his chest. This more than anything felt like a big fuck you to McLaren. In the five years since that last victory, since McLaren had kicked him out, he’d won two of the most prestigious motor races in the world, had clawed his way back to F1, had won another six Grand Prix, had been on 10 podiums so far, while McLaren was still chasing that illusive next victory. He was still McLaren’s last winner. He sat down and unlaced his boots. He’d had his redemption, now it was time for his vindication. 

-l l-

November 2026, Abu Dhabi

“Radio check, Daniel”

“Loud and clear” 

“30s to the formation lap”

“25s…”

“10s …”

The tire blankets were removed, the car was lowered on its jack. His head mechanic gave him a slight nod. Good to go. 

Daniel lowered the lid on his helmet, flexed his hand on the steering wheel. This was it. All or nothing. Last night, he’d been beating himself up for missing out on pole and for qualifying P3. Then this afternoon, as he walked into the paddock, Martin fucking Brundle had pushed his microphone into his face and had the gall to go on about how surprising it was that Daniel was even a name in the championship fight, how no one had expected that he would only be four points behind Max in the lead going into the final race. Daniel had wanted to snap that he had, that he’d come into this season with the full belief that he could win, but he’d put on his usual smile and gave his usual asinine answer. 

That more than anything had fired him up. All throughout his career, people had always underestimated him, thinking he was no more than the joker he liked to play.   He let that need to prove people wrong fuel him. He thought back to his win over Valterri in Silverstone during their junior years. He wasn’t meant to win that race, but then he had.  It had been the same in China in 2018. Most of his wins had been outside of pole. The championship was still his to lose before it was even Max’s to win. He was Daniel Ricciardo, he could make the unexpected happen. 

5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … breathe … 1 … lights out.  It was time to go hunting. 

“Good job, mate. You got Leclerc on the start. Up to P2. 54 laps to go. All to play for.”

Max wasn’t the kind of driver who would easily give in to mind games on track , but Daniel knew the only way he could win this was to force Max into making a mistake. For him, that was the fun in hunting - lulling your prey into complacency, slowly drawing blood before  pouncing for the kill. 

So, he waited.  Lap after lap, he held on to Max, staying in his slipstream. They both built a gap to the rest of the grid, had their pitstops and yet Daniel did not make a move. His engineer kept feeding him information about tyre temperature, Max’s lap times and through all of it, he kept his eyes fixed to the back of Max’s car. Five laps to go. It was time to add a bit of pressure. He closed the gap to the car in front, his front tyres nearly kissing the rear of Max’s car. He stayed glued to Max’s gearbox as they went into the next turn.  From then on, it was a game of cat and mouse. Daniel dove down the inside of Max, but Max firmly closed the door. Daniel weaved back and forth, never letting max forget of the danger he posed. He dove and recoiled. Daniel once again dove down the inside going into the next chicane, coming out of the exit side by side with Max. He knew that he wouldn’t have been able to make the move stick because Max had the racing line on that one, but he could feel Max’s nervousness. He had started driving more defensively, going over a couple meters of track he didn’t need to to fend Daniel off. Daniel could smell the blood in the water. Two laps to go. It was time to make his move. He did the classic switcheroo, diving down the inside before switching back, making the move stick by outbraking Max at the last second. They exited the corner with Max trying to come back at him, but Daniel kept a steady grip on the racing line, gradually pulling away. 

Daniel knew the battle wasn’t over. Anything could happen in the last few corners. He tried to keep his heart rate down, kept his focus on the last lap ahead. Keep it together, don’t get cocky, he repeated to himself.

“Okay, Daniel. Last corner, last corner. Verstappen is 0.4s behind you. You’re going to make it, Daniel. We just need to keep it together. This is it, Daniel. This is it.”

“What a brilliant battle we’ve seen these last two laps. Max Verstappen has defended his first position valiantly, but there was no stopping this man, Daniel Ricciardo. And just like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the honey badger has come back to win his first world championship as he takes the checkered flag under the lights here in Abu Dhabi! He becomes the second driver only in history to have won the triple crown of motorsport and a Formula One championship! What an incredible achievement!”

Daniel could hear his team go wild over the radio as he crossed the finish line. His heart felt like it could burst from his chest at any moment, it was beating so furiously. The fireworks overhead blurred and sparkled through his tears and sweat running down his face. He’d spent so long chasing this dream, sacrificed so much to get to this moment that now that it was within his grasp, he couldn’t quite believe it. For the first time in his life, Daniel Ricciardo was speechless. 

“Thanks boys. Thank you” Daniel’s voice cracked with emotion. He wasn’t even embarrassed that he was openly crying. He had fought too long for this, he deserved it. “Thanks for believing in me. I knew we could do it. We deserve it!”

He parked his car in parc fermé. Knees weak, he clambered up onto the halo and as a million flashbulbs went off, he beat on his chest. The honey badger was finally victorious. 

Then, it was a blur of celebratory hugs and pats from his team, from the other drivers. Through it all, he remembered seeing his mom’s tear-stained face, his dad’s proud smile. On the podium, the Australian flag draped over his shoulders, head thrown back as he tried to stop himself from crying once again. Fucking hell, he’d done it. Then he was handed his trophy. He placed a soft kiss at her base, then he was lifting her up as the lights bounced off the silver. 

Much later, Daniel walked into his driver’s room, still in a daze, shoeless, race suit drenched in sweat, tears and champagne. He looked at himself in the tiny mirror on his wall. The urge to both laugh and cry bubbled up inside of him. It was going to take sometime for it to really sink in for him. He dragged his hands over his face and up into his curls. Guess he could really say he never left this time around. 

[rainstormcolors]

I still have DSoD on my mind.

I’ve thought of this line from Bojack Horseman, as said by the character Honey Sugarman while swept away in a tragedy: “I can’t be with people and I can’t be alone,” and I’ve thought of how that line may relate to Seto Kaiba’s character as well.

He’d felt that way since he was a child, that he couldn’t trust anyone. He held that belief in a death grip.

There are many pieces within Seto’s story.

Seto’s very driven by his emotions but he seems unable to name them well.

Here he is just... remembering this person he’s lost fondly.

I think of how Seto’s speech in DSoD has similar notes to words Seto has said before, but the tone and aim of his words are so very very different:

Versus something more mournful for these thoughts and more hopeful for overcoming them. Seto may be on the overzealous side about this in both directions both times but the direction is one he’s trying to shift.

“Let me ask you: what do we fight for? The moment humans are born into the world, that which we call our flesh contains a soul. And that flesh is like a prison for our soul, which isn’t permitted to escape until we die. But now your flesh has a weapon to protect your soul. So who is your enemy? Your body? Another person? Another country? We fight in order to protect. We fight people who think differently than us. The history of fighting is caused by the repetition of foolish  murderous wars. But ironically even the one who wins still can’t escape  his prison. However for you all, with this next generation of duel disk your soul will be freed. We will break free from our prison, and come into an era where we all co-exist within the world’s network. Border, race, thoughts, language, we will transcend all of these barriers and move forward toward a new future.”

And Seto finds something worth believing in, someone worth trusting. He believes in this thing and this person. He lets himself trust in these things. He does trust Atem.

And he was right to trust in Atem. And Seto’s happy to know Atem saved them. Seto opened his heart to this feeling.

[star-shard]

Black Cat

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

Catboy!Elvis x Reader 

Premise: ’Twas the night before Halloween… at Graceland! And Elvis just isn’t having it, he can’t seem to get into the spirit. It seems like it’s going to be a lost cause. Until that very night, under a full moon, a little magic is done. 

Genre: Crackfic, NSFW

Info: Sub!Elvis, Mentions of Dom!Elvis, Spanking, Anal fingering/Anal toys, self stimulation

Words: 5k

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

It was your first holiday at Graceland, and you couldn’t be more excited. Even if you only visited, you felt so at home. Elvis could be withdrawn now and then, but he knew how to go all out better than anyone. And you could just imagine what he had in store for Halloween, the decorations, the parties, he was such a showman surely he had the perfect costume in mind too. 

But even as the big day approached, it seemed your boyfriend hardly seemed aware of it. Invitations to get togethers were met with a polite decline at the most and a shredder at worst. And the only decorations in Graceland were the piling fallen leaves that were quickly raked away. 

So when you sauntered into the kitchen one day, spotting a black and orange envelope in his hand, you just had to say something, “honey, can’t we go to this party? I already have a costume picked out, you wouldn’t have to worry a thing about it.” Elvis made Graceland his little world and as grand as it was, you thought he could use a little change of scenery too. Mainly one that included jack-o’-lanterns at the very least.

Elvis sighed, a wry smile on, “I think you’d do just fine wearing that costume just for me” oh he had that look on. Those bedroom eyes. But, you couldn’t let him melt you so easy.

“I think you’d do just fine not being such a grinch about Halloween,” you said right back, giving his nose a poke. He nipped at your finger. You really would love it, seeing Elvis dressed for the occasion. “Please? I promise it’ll be a night to remember.”

He sighed, he couldn’t sex his way out of this one. “Fine. I guess. But, I’m not putting on anything that’s gonna mess up my hair, you hear?” You just wrapped your arms around him in a squeeze. You were sure you could convince him otherwise. 

—

Halloween was tomorrow, so was the party, but you couldn’t help yourself. You had to try out your look. Elvis had bought you such nice dresses and you were sure this lovely black piece would look marvelous with a witches hat. “Not bad, huh?” You asked, the entryway to the closet was like a little stage for you. However, he was in bed reading.

And when he made a huffing sound you knew he was just being a grumpy gus about it. “Now a fan of witches either, huh?” You crawled onto the bed and peered at him, looking both above and below his book, one that was full of scribbles of his notes and ideas. “What is it. Are you a scaredy cat?”

Elvis then rose an eyebrow and with it came that smirk. “I just don’t make a fuss around Halloween.” He wasn’t all too amused by you interrupting his reading, but he was amused by the way that witches hat was one size too big for you. Just as you tapped his book, he tapped your hat which then drooped down to your face. 

You pulled it back up, he was being silly with you. “Come off it, it’s a full moon! Don’t you know magic is afoot when the moon gets full?” 

“I said I’d go with you, but lemme pretend Halloween doesn’t exist until then. How about that. The whole day, it’s creepy, you know? Just damn common sense why it doesn’t get me going.” He thought he was being real logical about it all. As if that was the point.

You pouted, sighed, but eventually flopped down next to him. “The parties tomorrow. You know… you’d make a lovely black cat, collar and everything.”

He smirked, and that was enough to get his attention, he could always read tomorrow. He got on top of you. “Try saying that agin.” You smiled back, feeling smug.

“Only if you meow for me.” Oh, now you were really in for it, you just knew that tonight you were getting spanked. And how it delighted you. And just as it usually went, the night ended in some very productive fucking. 

—

You had to leave early in the morning. It was a big day after all, you had family that were having their own little events. But as you got dressed you were sure to place a kiss on Elvis’s sleepy head, even if he was snoring under the covers. God, you loved him. 

In any case, even if he wasn’t in a celebrating mood, you knew he had a full schedule to keep him busy anyway for the first half of the day. There was recording and then something about the colonel. It was why when you arrived again that evening, that you were surprised when you were told that he’d stayed in bed all day. That he wasn’t feeling like himself. 

Now, if Elvis was sick, you’d be more than willing to skip the party. Even if you were already dressed up, pantyhose that would no doubt be ruined by the end of the night be damned. You know you could help take care of him if he was ill. And yet the maid assured you that he wasn’t. That he just couldn’t leave his room. 

And when you headed for the stairs, the cook stopped you with a glass of milk in hand. “It’s all he’s wanted all day,” she said, handing it off to you. You knew he had his cravings. But… milk?

Now, you weren’t sure what was going on. But if this was his way of avoiding the party, there were better ways to do it. You went right up the stairs, milk in hand. And you opened up his room which was darker than a cave, except for the television humming softly just across from the bed. “Elvis?” You flicked on the light to try and get a better look.

With it, Elvis had thrown a blanket over him and you heard a cat hiss. Odd, usually the animals weren’t let up here, too hard to clean the black furniture. Clearly something must have been up. 

“Elvis, hon, what’s going on now? If this is about the party-“

“Just leave the milk on the nightstand,” he cut you off and seemed to wind himself even deeper into the blanket, anymore and he might just get locked inside of it. Now, sometimes Elvis could get moody. But you didn’t even know what to call this mood. Maybe he was feeling sickly. You set the glass down.

“Do you need a doctor? Elvis, come on just-“ You pulled the blanket off as much as you could when it was bunched up. And he covered the top of his head right away. But he didn’t have time to cover his back side. A tail coiled behind him. A long, furry, sleek black tail. 

That was no costume. “Is that… is that a-“

“It’s a tail!” He cried out, his hands slipped from his head and down to his face in embarrassment. That’s when you saw a pair of twitchy cat ears atop his head. Even with his hands masking his face you saw it take on a shade of pink you’d never seen. “What am I going to do? I missed a recording session, I was gonna play some football with Jerry. All I did was lay around all day, I even want fish! I hate fish!”

A cat, Elvis was a cat or… one quarter cat? You didn’t know the human to DNA ratio going on but you did know those were real moving cat ears and a tail to match. And he looked just as embarrassed as a girl getting a blemish before prom. You had to say something. “I- I’ll call someone, I’ll go call someone.” 

Before you could get half a step away he grabbed your arm and if he wasn’t so emotionally fragile he might have snapped it. “No! No one can know about this! Are you crazy?!” His face started leaking with stress.

“I,” that was a good question honestly, from what you were looking at. Were you crazy? How many boyfriends changed up their ears over night? Like a sexy mister potato head.

In any case he was an absolute mess and you weren’t about to run out on him. Besides you needed that arm, you didn’t need it broken. You slipped down to his side and he looked on the edge of ugly crying.

“Alright, it’s okay- let’s try and think about this logically,” you tried. And you stared at him and he heaved some noises. Thinking logically was a lost cause before it even got started. But you had to get to the bottom of this somehow, before other cat parts started showing up. “We’ll figure this out. What do you remember, I mean, did you wake up like this?”

He had to snort and rubbed at his face, “well,” he tired to recall last night. “I remember reading and… then we screwed and it was…” He sniffled, “I came on your face and that was really fun,” you nodded, remembering it just as well, a little got in your eye. “But then you went home and I just had a sandwich and went to bed.”

You reached into your pocket and handed him a handkerchief, which he gratefully took to properly blow his nose. He continued. “I had the most, incredible sleep. Out like a light, all night, all day…” A hell of a cat nap, but you kept that comment to yourself, there was a time and place and Elvis was very sensitive right now. “And Mary knocked on my door to bring me lunch and… that’s when it happened.”

You leaned in a bit more, if he was about to reveal that a real live witch broke in through the window, you wanted to hear it. He mumbled. You leaned in more, he mumbled it again. “Elvis, you got me on the edge here.”

“I meowed!” 

This was very serious. Your boyfriend turning into a cat boy, dead serious. But then… your boyfriend turned into a cat boy.

“Don’t you laugh at me, it was involuntary. Like a sneeze. And I didn’t grow these on purpose, they were just there when I woke up.” The mystery just got deeper. Although magic wasn’t totally out of the question yet. There wasn’t much in terms for clues.

“Alright alright, back to what’s important. If you slept that well, I’m thinking it must have started when you went to sleep. So,” you felt like you were putting together a puzzle in the dark. There was no play book, nary a combination vet/doctor here to help fill in the blanks. 

But an answer hit you both at the same time. “Sex!” “Sandwiches?”

As haunting as a cursed peanut butter and banana sandwich sounded, he didn’t hold onto his theory very long and as per usual, was more interested yours, his favorite bedroom activity. “Alright, follow me on this… last night I was teasing you because you were being a real wet blanket about Halloween and, with a full moon out?”

He paused, he thought, “…Did you fuck me into being a cat?” He asked it the same way he asked if you were cheating on him. And as much as you’d like to take credit for putting the most adorable cat ears on the most adorable man, you didn’t recall dabbling in any dark arts on purpose. So you just had to genuinely shrug, it was a hard maybe.

There was a knock at the door. Elvis zipped under the blanket faster than you’d ever seen him move, it was actually impressive. “Hold tight just, don’t… sneeze.” You got up and tried to look like you weren’t someone in the middle of a supernatural emergency. You creaked the door open, it was one of Elvis’s boys, perfect timing. “Red, hi,” you gripped the door like you might break it. 

You didn’t know it for sure, but you could have sworn Elvis was moving his blanket like shield off the bed, like he was heading for a corner. “Oh hey there, you’re here early. Got Elvis’s suit for tonight, just got dropped from the cleaners.” You quickly took it in hand. “Is he doing alright? Haven’t seen him all day.”

“He’s doing so great. I mean, not too great. Not great enough for a chat. He’s busy. He’s… got a bad hair day, you know how it is.” Elvis hissed and Red peered behind your shoulder to which you made the crack in the door even smaller. “Welp… take it easy.” Before he could say another thing you shut the door tight.

Elvis peered up from the blanket, yes, in the corner on the floor now, his attempt at getting far away from the door. “Bad hair day.” He said it flatly. 

“I’m not wrong. You have more than you had last night.” That was too close though, you were not a good liar and if he knocked again you didn’t know what would come out of your mouth next. “But, babe, you really got a fresh suit for the party? You do want to go,” that made you smile, you were touched.

“…Well, wouldn’t want you going alone,” he may have not loved Halloween, and more mixed feelings were packing on by the second, but he wasn’t going to half ass it when you were already dressed up. “But, I can’t now. Can’t go anywhere! Unless you’re ready to fuck the cat back out of me.”

You held the suit close, and you only needed a moment to think before setting it down and then tossing yourself onto the bed, arms and legs open. “Do it.” You kept yourself open, staring up and dutifully waiting. 

You couldn’t see Elvis’s face, but his eyebrow raised so high you did hear it hit the ceiling “How’s that gonna work?”

“How do you got cat ears, a tail? And an attitude that I don’t appreciate right now.” You shot back, still spread eagle. If he had another idea, you’d love to hear it. He shrugged, so crazy it just might work.

And well, if nothing else, nothing cleared the head like sex.

“Well… I gotta get in the mood first.” He admitted, you supposed the circumstances weren’t ideal. And you yourself looked more like a sacrificial offering rather than an enticing vixen. You had some damn incredible sex last night, you’d say it was nearly magical. If you were going to recreate the circumstances it had to be good. 

You knew how to get him going. It involved getting rid of this dress. “Alright… let’s bring out the tiger man.” You started with getting on your knees on the bed, letting your hips sway back and forth as the thin little number you had started going down your shoulders. Making a real meal of it, giving him a show. 

Elvis watched from his corner, his ears turning this way and that and the cover slowly coming off him.

“Daddy?” You said, your bra now out as you crawled to the edge of the bed, “I think you can do better than last night,” you sang, “I think you were just holding back on me.” Teasing, you knew that would get you in some trouble. A little rough foreplay from him was the perfect way to get him hard. 

Elvis got up, holding himself high as he came over. 

And you curved your back, letting your ass stick out. “You’re just a silly little kitty, bet you can’t make me squeal.” You wiggled his target, and he raised up his hand and, he bit his lip. 

“I… I don’t think I can do this.” Your face planted into the mattress, oh come on, that was a fine performance, you even got in on the cat motif. “I mean, your tits are unbelievable in black lace and you did turn me on there but,” his shoulders looked a little caved in and he fiddled with his thumbs.

Now if Elvis was feeling uncomfortable you’d of course call it off. But it looked like he wanted to say something, it just wasn’t coming out right. “Tell me what I did that turned you on, sweetheart,” you asked curiously.

Elvis was getting pink again. “When you… called me a silly little kitty.” As you lived and breathed. Elvis Presley had a submissive side. Now, you knew he could be sensitive, but he hadn’t voiced something like this before. And you refrained from showing too much excitement. You’d been considering switching it up for a while now but didn’t want to rush things.

And then it made all too much sense. So you said it out loud. “Of course. You fucked me, you turned into a cat… it makes sense, that I’d have to fuck you.” 

Elvis looked up at that, “you can’t tell anyone, not any of the guys, if they knew they’d never let me hear the end of it. I’m still living down the time they started laughing at me when I said I ate pussy once.” He looked like a poor little school boy worried about what his friends would think. 

“Elvis, you’re part cat right now. There’s a lot of things going on in this room I’ll never tell anyone about.” Though you’d have a talking to with them someday, pussy deserved to be eaten out. He trusted you, you trusted him. But you were sure he was nervous about trying this. Even if he wanted to. “And you’re sure you really want to? Is it you or the kitty talking?”

Thats when he looked ready to bury his face into something. “Can’t it be both? Damn it.” God, you could kiss him right there, right on the cheek he was too cute for you to handle. Oh yes, this would stay in the bedroom, witch’s honor. Magical cure or not, you’d both get something out of this. “I’d like it, if you… called me some names and maybe, spanked me a bit… Just, let’s get it going.” 

Oh he was being big and brave right now. It took guts for Elvis to put himself out there. You slid off the bed and wrapped your arms around his shoulders and kissed him. He looked a little surprised at the sudden kiss. “I’d be happy to spank you, Elvis. Dirty kitty.” He looked the other way embarrassed but you felt him getting hard against your leg.

Well, first things first you needed a good target yourself. Your arms went from his neck and down to his butt, which you squeezed. Elvis often took control, and unfortunately felt he had to be macho sometimes, so alas his ass had been regrettably neglected. You could tell because he almost let out a yelp just from that. 

Of course there was more down there now. His cat tail was straightening up too. “Get out of those pajamas, sweetie. I wanna see how ready you are.” 

Elvis nodded, in truth, he sort of couldn’t wait. Now Elvis may have been a star on stage but even he had his insecurities and he rarely got fully naked. Like he needed at least one layer, whether for the mystery or for his pride. But, you were curious to see what he’d do. 

And he didn’t disappoint. First came off the shirt, button by button. Then you watched as the pants came down. Only the underwear left, a tight cotton layer that hugged his now very interested dick. A bit different from last night, he blindfolded you when those came off. But you’d be front and center. You were an audience.

They slid down slow and there he was. All of him, a decent size. And more. Literally, he had extra body parts for the moment. And well? God could strike you down for being a pervert. There was something so sexy about Elvis looking all shy with those kitty ears on his head. He’d make quite the pet. 

“Ain’t you pretty,” you said to him, which made him nod and say a little ‘thank you ma’am.’ “But, I know where you’d look prettier.” You gave a look and a nod back at the bed. 

When he got on it, he looked eager. He looked ready, he looked like he was holding back from bringing the claws out he was so desperate. Damn, he should have said something sooner, he didn’t need to grow a tail to tell you he wanted his tail smacked up. You’d do that for free any day of the week. 

And it seemed even just assuming the position was enough to get him nice and needy. “Lots to work with here,” you nodded. “Let me just take my time…” you said slowly as you could. And then you took his tail in hand, you didn’t have to wait for a reaction, his back arched. 

“…Please,” Elvis murmured, his southern accent in full force and his voice dropping to a sultry octave.

You strummed your fingers against his right cheek, “let me think.” And then smack! You cracked your hand against him and he gave such a cry. And yes, at the tail end of it it almost sounded like a little mew. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” You kept an eye on his cock as you spanked him. Once, twice, a third time. You made sure to pause. Elvis knew what word to say if it got harrier than it already was. 

But he was just about going to pieces. If turning into a cat boy wasn’t enough to shake him up, leaning into his more personal urges did. And you especially loved when at one point he shouted out, “bless it all!” 

You thought he might cum just from this, his dick bobbed up and down, it dripped. He was making a bit of a mess. And when you took on a scolding tone about him being so very filthy, you added a pinch to his nipple. And that was a very good idea.

Well, he was more than warmed up. “Has anyone ever played with you back here, kitty?” You asked nice and soft. Now you didn’t want to brag, but you had some experience with men in the past that liked to be toyed with. The circumstances with Elvis were different of course, but not as different as one may think. Animal ears were popular. 

His bottom was sore and his head was down in the sheets, and as much as he wanted to touch himself, he held off. “…Sometimes,” he said shyly, “when I’m alone.”

Now you were both getting something out of this, but you’d sure be glad to get rid of that needless shame. Elvis was in your care right now, he was your kitty. And though you could tease him, you would make sure he lived out whatever fantasy he wanted damn it. “How big? I don’t want to hurt my baby.” 

Elvis peered back at you, his tail swished back and forth. “There’s a toy. Keep it… in this music theory book, hollowed it out.” That one sent you. You had wondered why he only had a single academic book about the art of music. And now you knew why. And now you wanted to fuck his ass and watch him cum so bad. 

And of course because it was Elvis, when you opened up the book near the bed and saw the pages that had been spliced just right to hide something, the toy itself was custom. It was shiny, it was pink. And you were pretty sure Elvis gifted you one just like it last Christmas. Your tastes were so similar, you felt a stroke of pride. 

Elvis needed to turn into a cat boy more often. 

In any case, you didn’t need to ask him where the lube was, you knew very well where that was. You first coated your fingers, just to get him ready. One hand was wet the lube, the other would get wet another way. Of course you’d be getting off too. And frankly you needed him just in this position while you did it. 

Your hand parted his sweet red ass, rubbing at his hole which relaxed very easily. A good sign, this would be great for the both of you. Meanwhile, your other fingers crooked down below you and you touched at your clit just through your panties. You supposed it was crass but you were in a way taking care of business for the both of you. Elvis melted at your touch. 

And yes, even before the toy he was vibrating. Not just vibrating, purring. “That’s a good kitty,” you hummed, praising him, “that’s it, kitty loves it in the ass.” Elvis just enjoyed the massage, especially giving off a moan when you curled your fingers a certain way and you joined him right after when a you hit a nice spot on yourself. 

Elvis’s cock was straining. His will power was incredible. This clearly wasn’t his first rodeo. But now it was for the main event, fucking him with this cute toy. It was a good girth, smooth, it had a curve. Smaller than his dick but you were sure now that he had someone helping him out, he might go up a size. 

And so you angled it, coated it nice and slick and let it slide in. Elvis really moaned this time and his hand went back for his dick. Every man had his breaking point, it just made you chuckle which made him blush and more turned on.

You put the toy in and out of him and he stroked himself in time, and you stroked yourself too. He was building, you were building. “Fuck me!” He whined and that’s when you shoved the toy in hard, once, twice, and his back arched and his head was thrown back. Wherever you’d hit? It was perfect. And seeing him like that? Did it for you too. And your toes curled and you had to cling to the bed. Elvis came and his cum made quite a mess on the black sheets. He was down for the count. Toy still up his ass. 

You had to hang your head a little low to catch up with yourself. Oh yes, this was the first of many, you already knew. You’d heard about strap ons before, you were sure it was worth the investment. Maybe one in gold. “Was it good, baby?” You asked him.

“Mhm.” The toy gently fell out, a slick little pop on it’s way out. And when he looked at you? The cat ears and tail were gone. And by god, you couldn’t believe it actually worked. If it hadn’t you were this close to calling the kind of doctor that did cat scans. 

“Elvis!” You pointed at him and he right away knew what you meant, he touched his head and was just as blown away as you. He let out a laugh and so did you. And you did a crash landing hug on him. Fresh off an orgasm you two rolled in twain, you were probably ruining your dress with the cum stain but you didn’t care. It actually worked. 

Elvis looked right at you and kissed you. “I knew you were magic.” 

—

You had arrived fashionably late to the party. After all, Elvis was about as messy as it got and had to prim his look together from when he was a bit more animalistic. And luckily, you kept some spare dresses in his closet. This one was red. And upon strolling in, you were dressed as a couple of friendly looking devils. Hey, at least it wasn’t cat ears.

The party was fun, Elvis socialized and you’d never seen him so jolly about anything to do with Halloween. He even danced to The Monster Mash, though there was a little pain behind his eyes for that one. 

You just had to pull him aside though, just for a little moment alone. “You’re enjoying yourself,” you said to him in a cramped dark little hallway just off from the noise.

“Well, I’m not going to be a cat for the rest of my life,” Elvis said in all honesty, “I think it’s worth letting loose a little.” And you couldn’t agree more.

And having him to close in this cramped hallway, you had to see it. “Show it to me. Come on, it looks so good.” Elvis chuckled and pulled down his shirt collar to reveal it. A white leather collar. It had originally been a gift for you, but you decided as you’d gotten ready tonight, that it would be a shared token. And of course it had EP etched in right on it. It looked good on him, even if it was a little secret between you. 

“We really should get a leash for it,” you mused, giving it a tug and well that made him pink and his pupils got big. And it did something else. Your eyes went from coy to wide.

“What.” And atop his head, next to those fake devil horns? Cat ears, back again. And when he noticed too he looked to the ceiling and back down to you.

And it seemed both of you were getting similar ideas. “Well… we know how to fix it,” you mentioned simply. “How roomy is the backseat of the Cadillac?” 

He didn’t answer. He just grabbed your hand and everyone wondered why Elvis and his girl were leaving the party, giggling. But attendees would later go on to recount that the last thing Elvis called out before leaving the party early? “I love Halloween!”