#making me work 4 days in a row including the weekend

[butteredfrogs]

i really can’t be asked to work today. please just let me have one day

[foggynitefic]

Drop Them Bones Chapter 8: Devil to Pay

Devil to Pay

Today the expression "devil to pay" is used primarily as a means of conveying an unpleasant and impending happening. Originally, this expression denoted a specific task aboard the ship such as caulking the ship's longest seam.

The "devil" was the longest seam on the wooden ship and caulking was done with "pay" or pitch. This grueling task of paying the devil was despised by every seaman and the expression came to denote any unpleasant task.

OOF. This chapter took a minute to write. It also just kept growing and comes in at a whopping 10,587 words. Most of the other chapters are between 5k and 7k words. If you're worried about this ending anytime soon, let me reassure you that I have bitten off enough to keep me chewing for quite some time. But I already have another 15k written, including the ending, so as these chapters grow like fungus, there is a road map, I promise.

Notes:

1. Not gonna lie, I made myself so hungry writing this, that I ordered sushi, takoyaki, and hamachi kama at 2200 two nights in a row on a holiday weekend. Pretty sure that restaurant either loves or hates me now, dudes.

2. How to fillet a tuna for sashimi:

3. I debated having Usopp's net catch go into a barrel of seawater, but I couldn’t find a lot of reliable research (quickly) as I was writing on the actual employment of that practice, just nostalgic tinged references to "oh yeah they did that in Ye Olden Days" without corroboration (yes, I know OP is about fantasy pirates on another planet). I did learn that Roman sailors may have used tanks to transport live fish over long distances.

4. The etymology of the terms “starboard” and “port”.

5. Applegators = alligators. Bananagators = crocodiles.

Recipes distressed in the making of this chapter:

Maguro no Zuke-Don: If you're working with raw sushi-grade fish, use it the day you get it, or cook it if you use it later. It will not taste the same once frozen and thawed. If you don't want to put too much effort in, there's multiple brands that do microwave sticky rice, and you can just buy a good furikake instead of cutting roasted seaweed (although that's pretty easy with cooking scissors) and sprinkling sesame seeds. Scallions make everything better. The marinade takes the most time - but I also cheat and use Otafuku okonomiyaki sauce from the Weee! app. Go lazy!

Seaweed sheets: You can do this. This is a life choice you can make. I haven't made it because ref. above paragraph on being lazy and outsourcing.

Roasted seaweed: If you want to try experimenting with different flavors, this is a good basic recipe to start.

Spanish Tuna Steaks: I'm not sure what noise my partner and Alton Brown would make at the instructions to press down on the tuna steaks to get a good sear, but otherwise this recipe is pretty standard and easy. Sanji embellished/supplemented with a bell pepper - you can probably put in any veggies that are about the same consistency of tomatoes' liquid/flesh and have it work.

Sauteed Green Beans: Usopp's reaction is mine. Green beans are a punishment. Just roast the clove of garlic in the oven and I'll eat that instead, don't waste it trying to flavor inedible grass. I included these to show their supply status and what would happen if someone didn't want to eat in Sanji's kitchen.

Mugicha: Much like making your own seaweed sheets, roasting your own barley is a life decision you can make. Itoen makes a highly convenient teabag version, if you're more inclined to outsource...

Soundtrack:

Sensing a theme this chapter??

[archaeologistic]

When I was in high school, “wait until you’re working” didn’t mean what adults thought it did—I was *excited* to be working. Why?

Because it was *only* 40 hours a week. Only. AND I’d be getting paid. AND when I left work, I’d be able to actually *stop* working and do things that I wanted/needed to do outside work.

In contrast, my high school schedule looked like this:

- Wake up at 6am. Shower and throw on clothes, leave the house by 6:30am. Get to school at 7am so my mom could be to work by 8am

- 7-8am work on homework. 8am classes start. In class until 3:45pm (7am to ~4pm = 9 straight hours of work with a working lunch, because I always worked through my 20min lunch break).

- 4-5pm extra curriculars at school, get home 5:30-6pm depending on when my dad felt like picking me up. That hour and a half was my biggest break in the entire day, and I still wasn’t resting and didn’t have choice of activity (no reading, video games, etc).

- 6pm-bed was homework, with a 30min-1hour mandated dinner break with my parents. Bedtime was whenever I finished the homework due the next day. It was never earlier than midnight, and averaged around 2am. There were semi-frequent nights when I got less than an hour of sleep. After taking out the time for dinner, that’s an additional 5 hours of work at minimum, with no free time or rest outside of sleep, followed by at most 6 hours of sleep.

In the five “working” days (Mon-Fri, 24hx5) there are 120 hours. Out of those 120 hours, I spent a minimum of 70 hours working. Minimum. Average was closer to 100 hours, not including meals and travel.

On the weekends I would sleep 12-14 hours a night for two nights in a row just so I could get up on Monday and do it all over again, while yet again spending all day Saturday and Sunday doing homework. This kind of schedule started at age 14 (10th grade).

Why do kids hate school? Because you’d hate having to exist too if you had to work 100 hours in 5 days—and all without being paid for your labor.

My schedule was on the extreme end, yes. But even my friends in “normal” high school classes had 8-9 hours of school a day plus 3-5 hours of homework a night. That’s still 11 hours of unpaid work per day, 55 hours in five days, at a minimum. And most of them had part time jobs on top of it.

So why? Why work so much? Why not just half-ass it? Because the whole time you do it your parents, teachers, every adult in your life whose opinion you care about—all of them are telling you that you have to. That it’s your responsibility to do your best, to work hard, and to know that, above all, your future depends on how well you perform under these circumstances.

If those same adults were all told they had to work 11 hours a day, 5 or more days a week, with maximum of one 30 minute break for the first 8 hours and additional required work to perform at home with no limit on hours—I’m pretty sure they’d strike. Because that kind of schedule is nearly unlivable. No one should go through that. And yet we’ve normalized it for literal children, who don’t even have the right to vote yet. Who can’t do formal, paid labor until 16.

So…why do kids hate school? Why do make them hate it?

adults are always talking about how “kids will do anything to get out of school” and okay, first of all that’s not true, but I think we really need to ask why that idea holds so much sway.

children’s brains are hard-wired to take in new information and acquire new skills. consider, for a moment, just how thoroughly our society had to fuck up the concept of education for it to be a normal thing to assume kids are universally desperate to avoid learning.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

When I first decided to stop listening to Gavin Osborn's songs a few at a time on YouTube and just took to Bandcamp to buy the discography and get into it properly, almost 18 months ago now, that happened to be the same day I broke up with my girlfriend. This is a coincidence, I'd been planning to do that before we broke up, and the breakup came on pretty suddenly, so it wasn't like I'd decided to buy a bunch of Gavin Osborn's a way to cope with that (there were comedy things that I threw myself too hard into in the following 2 days specifically as a coping mechanism, but those didn't include Gavin Osborn, they included re-listening to Kitson's After the Beginning Before the End twice in a row and then making that compilation video where it sounds like the Chocolate Milk Gang are having a political argument - though actually that video does include a couple of Gavin Osborn songs). I insist that this, and only this, is the reason why the song Sweet Bedford made me cry the first time I heard it. You did get me with that one, Gavin, but to be fair, on that day, you could have made me cry with a picture of a leaf in the right light.

Anyway, another consequence of me picking that day to go through Gavin Osborn's catalogue from start to finish is that I kind of glossed over the couple of particularly romantic albums in the middle. I mean, I still listened to them, I listened to every song on every album once, and then went back over my favourites. But the flaw in doing albums this way is you miss songs that could have become your favourites on repeat listens, because they never get another shot. Maybe you glossed over them because they're the type of song that's a slower burn, that benefits from hearing again, that has more going on than is immediately obvious. Or maybe you glossed over them because you'd just ended the first serious relationship you'd been in for ten years, or possibly ever depending on how you define "serious", and you don't need the extreme detail of how much Gavin Osborn loves his wife, you're very pleased that they're happy but also you're going to listen to those couple of romance-heavy albums with your ears only half open and careful not to look at any pictures of leaves.

That is my reasoning for why this gem largely escaped my notice, when I go through my favourite Gavin Osborn songs. I just heard it in an old recording and my first thought was that this can't be on his albums, or I'd have heard it before and would love it. Then I checked, saw what album it was on, thought more closely about the subject matter, and said, "Oh, right, that would be why I listened in a manner so detached that I didn't remember hearing it."

I love it when Gavin Osborn gets suddenly intense. It's his ridiculously, almost absurdly easygoing and affable persona, so when he suddenly swears, or as he seems to in this song, references the way we as humans are constantly choosing to hold back from our capacity for gruesome violence, the contrast hits you and it's great.

That has reminded me of why I've been trying to do more album listening lately, rather than picking out songs, especially for things I've discovered in the last 4 or 5 years (the songs I loved when I was younger - I've already heard every song on those albums a million times, I am convinced that if there are songs on there that I skip, that's fine, if I was going to fall in love with that song I'd have done it by now). You catch good bits that you might have glossed over otherwise.

I've been doing a lot of listening to comedy-adjacent musicians in the past couple of months, with Grace Petrie's new album that I'm obessed with and there's some other stuff that I'd been listening to on YouTube/Soundcloud for a while, and then this weekend decided to just go buy it on Bandcamp because 1) that makes album listening easier and you can hear the songs in their proper context, and 2) if an artist puts their work on Bandcamp and therefore gives you the option to pay them directly for their work, you should try to do that. I've been enjoying it a lot.

This wasn't a particularly coherent post so just to tie it all together, Bandcamp is good and full album listening (if not every time, at least the first few times rather than just once to give each song a chance) is good and I like it when Gavin Osborn employs needlessly violent imagery.

[stressedlawsecretary]

Today's Focus

12.18.23 - Welcome to Monday; the last full work week until everyone gets two (2) 4-day weeks in a row. Well, except for me; I'm taking Thursday off to take dad to a 9a doctor's appointment. Since getting his blood work done took three (3) freaking hours I'm just going to anticipate problems and take the day there. Apparently, everyone also slept like crap yesterday, myself included, so it's a good damn thing I made High Voltage coffee for the morning.

Work - I left for myself the two physical claims files to make up, because they came in on Friday and I could NYM them but this is my first day back in office to do the physical documents. Other than that it's any efiles or other work that comes in.

Background Noise - I start my day with 97 on the Watch Later and I'm actually pretty pleased I kept it to under 100 over the weekend.

I still got through about half a dozen (6) videos on Friday, which is pretty good for a remote working day.

Study - It is Monday so it is case law day and I have lofty goals lol

Read as many persons of interest in the Emmett Till FBI Report as I can

Read as many cost of living articles as I can

Read as many Moms for Liberty articles as I can

Read the SCOTUS decision on Justia for 303 Creative LLC

Study more of Bill HR 5376

Finish Complaint #01719

I did awful on Friday and I'll probably do awful today because I'm still finishing up some of that organizing I set out to do but let's see, shall we?

Extras - Catbox and vacuuming are the major goals today. Dinner should be relatively easy as a one pan kind of thing even if I'm making rice on the side with it. I have found that I'm very slowly continuing to write things day by day so we're also going to try and keep that streak going.

[themovieblogonline]

National Cinema Day 2023 Brings Even More Fans to Theaters

Movie theatres have been under plenty of threats over the last handful of years. Whether it was a pandemic lockdown or just asking your partner if they'd rather wait until the movie hits a streaming service, we've all decided to stay in once or twice or maybe too many times to count. But no matter how much money you save by staying in, nothing beats the magic of the movies. National Cinema Day 2023 is here, giving us an excuse to share our love for movies on August 27th - not that we really needed an excuse. The Cinema Foundation started National Cinema Day last year, making 2023 the second year in a row where we're celebrating a shared passion with thousands of movie-goers. So, why make a day the official time for celebrating movie-going? Cinema Day is here to expand on the foundation's mission to "advance the moviegoing experience" and to celebrate all of the hard work that goes into it, from the filmmakers to the concession manufacturers and even the audiences who show up. Cinemas across North America are offering $4 tickets to pretty much every movie playing on the big screen. AMC Theatres, Regal Movies, B&B Theatres, and Cineplex are among the cinema chains participating in the event. That means that you could do a Barbenheimer double feature for $8! It's not just cheap tickets that theatres are providing. Many locations are re-releasing fan favorites and classic films, including Jurassic Park and Lady Bird (If you liked Barbie, and want to check out director Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut, then you should be rushing to check this one out.) To find out what the theatres around you are featuring for the 2023 celebrations, head to the National Cinema Day website and search for your local theatre. While I personally never need an excuse to head to the theatre, having something like National Cinema Day 2023 is a fun way to share my movie love with those around me. After all, isn't the shared movie-goer experience one of the best parts of going to the cinema? There's no better feeling than an entire audience sharing a laugh at a perfectly timed joke or a synchronous gasp of fear in response to a good jump scare. Are you planning on celebrating National Cinema Day 2023 by heading to your local theatre? Let us know what you'll be watching in the comments below. My personal pick for the weekend? Emma Seligman's Bottoms. Read the full article

[mercy-burning]

Sunday Morning

Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Summary: Reader’s Sunday opens up, so she concocts a little plan to pass the time. PART 1 / PART 2 / PART 3 / PART 4 / EPILOGUE Category: Smut 18+ This one is pure filth, y’all, buckle up (dom!Spencer, female masturbation, oral sex- male receiving, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, degradation, praise, spitting, multiple orgasms) Warnings: sex, strong language (As always, if there’s anything I missed, please let me know what I should include in the warnings. I always want to be as mindful as I can about what I post. Thank you!) Word Count: 3.6k

NOTE: The more I add to this little series the more excited I get to keep writing it, and it really helps that you all seem to like every new addition, so thank you for all the love! I do have a few more tricks up my sleeve, and I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do. Part 4 is set to come out either tomorrow or Monday! I hope you enjoy 🥰

***

"Are you sure, Mom? I can still try to come earlier if you want, I don't have anything going on."

Y/N's mother sighed on the other end of the line. "No, that's alright. But I made sure to have off next weekend, so I'll come by your place and we can celebrate then. How's that sound?"

She smiled, happy at the prospect of seeing her mother again soon, but something else crossed her mind that deemed this cancellation a blessing in disguise. "That sounds great. I love you. Happy Birthday."

"Thank you, Sweetie. I love you, too."

She thought about knocking on Spencer's door the second she hung up the phone, but decided that she wanted to have a little more fun, so she hurried to her bedroom. As she grabbed something from the bedside table drawer and planted herself in bed, she felt just the smallest sliver of guilt for being this excited about her mom cancelling their plans. But for one thing they had next weekend, and for another she'd been thinking about her neighbor non-stop since Friday night.

After they had finished their laundry that night, Spencer and Y/N walked up to their hall together and ended up in the shower. They slept in separate places, though, Y/N stumbling back into her apartment at around nine thirty and immediately going to bed. Early, maybe, but she'd just been fucked twice in a row, and the second time had lasted about an hour and a half since they didn't have to worry about anyone walking in and interrupting. Truthfully it was a wonder she could walk at all these days, but she didn't mind either way. Who knew listening in on your neighbor having sex and them finding out about it could turn into something so good?

Which brought Y/N back to the present. Sunday morning. She knew Spencer was an early riser, so he'd definitely be awake. Whether he'd be in bed was another thing, but she decided to take her chances.

So she leaned back against the headboard, spread her legs, and clicked on her vibrator. The familiar buzzing sound sent a jolt of excitement through her body, only made more electric when it made contact with her clit. She pressed it lightly, the setting still low as she closed her eyes. With her goal in mind, it didn't really take long to start feeling something, images and flashbacks of Spencer's head between her legs only adding to the sensations.

"Ohhh," she let out loudly at a particular memory that involved him fingering her in the shower. His lips had been biting and sucking at the skin on her neck while his middle and ring fingers worked inside her, the heel of his hand grinding against her clit. If she thought hard enough, she could be there then, the sound of the vibrator replaced with the hum of the shower.

"Oh, Spencer, please!" she echoed, squeezing her eyes shut and moving the vibrator in small circles around her clit. "Fuck, you feel so good!" At this point she was so lost in the memories that she didn't even remember why she'd started doing this. She was being loud, moaning and sighing as she played out her Friday night in her mind without even trying to get anyone's attention. At this point it was purely for her enjoyment.

Though, that sentiment didn't last very long, because just as she was about to orgasm, her phone buzzed. She could have ignored it, but completely pulled herself out of her fantasy once she realized that it could have been her mother.

Groaning from irritation rather than pleasure, she clicked off the vibrator, set it on the bed, and picked up her phone.

When she saw it, her heart stopped.

From: Spencer Reid Not another sound. Call me for instructions.

"Holy fuck," Y/N gasped, scrambling to hit the 'call' button. It took no time at all for Spencer to answer.

Before she could say anything, his voice rung low on the other end of the line, sending a chill through her body. "Do you want me to come over?"

"Yes," she breathed without a second thought.

"Okay. Is your door unlocked?"

"Yes."

There was a long pause, and for a moment Y/N thought maybe he was leaving his apartment and on his way over, but then he spoke again. "When I get there I want to see you naked and on your knees, facing the wall. Got it?"

"Yes, sir."

The sound she heard him make was guttural, somewhere between a growl and a moan, and it shot straight through every bone and muscle in her body. He hung up then, and Y/N practically threw her phone across the room and scrambled to her knees, ripping what little clothing she had off her body and bracing her hands against the headboard. She expected him to be there in a flash, but after waiting for about five minutes, it was obvious that this was part of his game— making her wait. An involuntary whimper escaped her throat at the thought of what he could possibly have planned for her.

When the door sounded from the living room, Y/N jolted, her heartbeat picking up and her hands gripping the headboard so tightly that her knuckles ached. Did she dare turn her head around to see him when he walked in? If she did, what would he do to punish her? Would he punish her at all?

For a moment she wondered if she'd even heard the door at all, because again, it took forever for him to get there. But then she heard a soft groan sounding from the bedroom door and her breath hitched in her throat.

"Oh, good girl. Look at you..."

His words, his voice... Y/N let out a shaky breath and bit her lip, wondering if she should speak. Eventually, she did. "W-what took you so long?"

Spencer laughed behind her, still not in view. "I had to make you wait, pretty girl. Where would be the fun in just giving you what you want?"

She didn't know what to say. So she silently waited for instruction, her hands loosening around the headboard just a little, trying to relax.

He got closer, and it sounded like he was stripping layers of clothing as he did so. Eventually he reached the side of her bed and she turned her head to meet his gaze, immediately letting out a soft whimper at the sight of him. He had, indeed, been stripping clothing as he made his way to her, wearing only a pair of sweatpants that hung low on his hips and dropping his shirt to the ground. Y/N let her gaze travel along his body before meeting his eyes and almost falling to pieces when she did.

This amused him. "Already so eager, pretty girl? I haven't even done anything yet."

She wasn't sure what to say, so she told the truth. "Just you being here is enough. You've completely ruined me."

Spencer laughed and brought his hand out to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand, to which she sighed and closed her eyes "Not yet."

She opened her eyes again at that promise, and just by looking at him, she practically pleaded with him to do something, every inch of her body, mind, and soul completely blinded by his presence.

Seeming to take pity on her, or maybe just because seeing her like this was driving him mad, she wasn't sure, Spencer obliged, leaning forward and kissing her deeply. As per usual, she melted into him, struggling to keep her weight up on her knees. Her hands gripped onto the headboard for dear life as he brought his face closer, using both his hands to cradle her face and his tongue to open her mouth. She'd already decided long ago that she would give him anything he wanted, and this was no different. He kissed her wildly and she kissed him back with the same fervor, groaning into his mouth every so often. At one point she lost her balance and fell forward, pulling Spencer onto the bed, and he broke away, a laugh playing at his lips right after.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, slightly embarrassed.

"Don't be sorry," he reassured, climbing up the bed and reaching for her hands. He was laying on his side now, pulling her towards him, and butterflies erupted in her stomach at the wholesomeness of it all. It was like the entire mood shifted from being domineeringly sexy to sweetly intimate.

Spencer all but pulled Y/N on top of him, rolling over on his back and forcing her to straddle his lap when he pulled her down for another kiss. The fabric of his sweatpants grazed her bare clit as she moved, making her rock her hips forward and causing him to groan into her mouth. He broke the kiss apart for a moment to say, "Keep doing that, pretty girl," and then resumed kissing her, barely giving her time to process his words.

In the end she did it anyway, grinding down on him and moaning as she did so, every movement slowly but surely bringing her closer to orgasm again. She was so caught up in the feeling that she didn't notice Spencer grabbing the vibrator still on her bed until she heard it turn on, that familiar buzzing pulling her from her haze.

She broke apart from him, cheeks red. "I totally forgot to put that away, I'm so— oh!"

Before she could finish her apology, Spencer had the vibrator pressed to her clit, and she closed her eyes, instinctively grinding down for more friction. This in turn caused him to let up, pulling the vibrator away just a little, and she whined.

"God, I love hearing how needy you are, baby," he breathed, teasing her. "Can't you feel it?" Every time Y/N rocked her hips, she could feel his cock getting harder through his pants, it had been unmistakable. When she didn't respond with words, he brought the vibrator away and reiterated, "Don't you feel it?"

"Yes, I love feeling how hard your cock gets for me," she breathed, grinding down on it and hoping for him to respond in kind. When he did, she gasped, opening her eyes and bracing her hands on his bare chest. "Fuck, you know how to make me feel so good."

"That's what I like to hear. Now get up for me." He pulled the vibrator away once more and she whined again at the loss of contact, but got up nonetheless. "Sit up on your knees and put your back against the headboard, okay? I want to fuck that pretty little throat."

Don't have to tell me twice, she thought greedily as she did as she was told. Spencer moved the pillows out of her way and tossed them to the foot of the bed as she sat on her knees. The cool metal of the headboard somewhat calmed the heat radiating off of her body, though ultimately it couldn't dwell the heat she felt when he looked at her, standing on the bed and sliding down his pants and underwear in one fluid motion before kicking them to the side, holding her gaze the entire time.

Just as Y/N was about to lean forward, he placed a hand on her head, gripping some of her hair and tilting her head up to really look at him. "Not yet. Give me your hands." She held them out to him, unsure of what he was planning, but when he gathered them both in one hand and pinned them to the wall above her head, she bit her lip. The grin he wore gave her shivers, just before he said, "Open up wide, pretty girl."

She licked her lips and then opened her mouth, sticking her tongue out and down as far as it would go to make room as she stared up at his face. The second his dick touched her tongue she groaned, ready for whatever he was about to give her. If she tried to bob her head, it would hit the headboard rather hard, so she opted to stay still, letting Spencer get off on his own terms. Which they both seemed to be happy with, because every time he hit the back of her throat, she moaned, nearly gagging, and in turn he bit his lip and tightened his grip in her hair and on her wrists.

"You always take my cock so well, fuck," he groaned, quickening his pace. She didn't know what feeling she was trying to convey as she did so, but nonetheless she hummed around him, trying her best not to choke but ultimately failing. He pulled away for a moment, releasing her hair from his grip and letting her breathe for all of two seconds before tapping his dick on her tongue a few times in quick succession. The action made her moan, and against her better judgement, she leaned forward to take him in her mouth again, hollowing her cheeks. Her wrists strained against his hands as he grinned. "You liked that, huh?"

She got out a 'mhmm' around his cock quickly before he thrusted forward and hit the back of her throat again, sending her head against the metal of the headboard. She winced a little in pain, but welcomed it all the same, looking up at him through hooded eyes and trying to tell him without words that she wanted this more than anything.

It seems like he got the memo, because he brushed the hair from her face in a sweet gesture that completely contradicted what he was doing to her mouth. He gave a few more purposeful thrusts, holding himself down her throat for a few seconds before pulling away completely and letting go of her wrists. Spit dripped down her chin as she caught her breath, but she smiled all the same, bringing her hands down to wipe the wetness from her face and some of the tears on her cheeks. "I love when you use me like that, baby," she purred, rubbing her legs together and running her tongue over her bottom lip.

Spencer leaned down and kissed her again, pulling her up to stand with him before pushing her against the wall, her legs hitting the headboard. She moaned into his mouth and brought her hands up to comb through his hair, to which he sighed and pressed into her harder. The weight of him made Y/N all warm and safe as she realized she would spend the rest of her life wrapped up in him if she could. Yes, their relationship as of late had been inherently sexual in nature, but something about the way he took precise care with her body as he kissed her like this, cradling her face in his large hands and keeping himself as close as he could get, made Y/N weak. She trusted Spencer Reid with her life, and she could only hope that he felt the same way, even if just a little.

Though she was a little disappointed when he broke the kiss, what he did next took that disappointment and pummeled it to the ground, transforming it into hunger.

His thumb ran over her lips before pushing further into her mouth. She gladly took it, swirling her tongue around it and then groaning as he brought it out, running it down her chin and tilting her head up to look at him.

"How do you want it, pretty girl?" he asked softly, making her practically crumble beneath him.

The question itself and the way he said it was hot as hell. But there was no way she would have been able to choose. Truthfully, he could do it any way and she'd just as easily give up everything to experience it again. Even as she tried quickly to come up with something, blurting out anything, all that came out was, "However you want me." It was the pure, unabashed truth.

He seemed to contemplate that for a moment before simply scooping her up from her feet, kneeling down, and laying her on her back. His dominating presence seemed to take over again as he scooted her to him by her legs. She yelled out as he wrapped them promptly around his shoulders and pushed into her without a second thought. He went easy at first, taking his time getting to just be inside her again, but Y/N wanted more.

"Fuck me harder," she moaned out desperately, reaching out to grab the blankets.

A dark chuckle left Spencer's mouth as he leaned forward, stretching her legs closer to her chest and angling himself deeper inside her. All the while, his pace never slowed or increased, and neither did his pressure. "You're getting greedy, pretty girl. But you're gonna take what I give you. Guess you should have thought of that before you let me choose how to fuck you."

And at that sentiment, he leaned forward even further, slamming into her hard, and Y/N's breath caught in her throat at the sensation. He pulled out slow and did it again, and again, and again, each time pushing her farther into the mattress.  Upon seeing her squeezed shut eyes and open mouth, he said, "Is this what you wanted? Huh? To be fucked like a whore?"

She opened her eyes and bit her lip as he picked up the pace a little, every stroke sending shots of fire through her veins. She tried to speak but her brain was muddled, every thought clouded by the intense pleasure her body was experiencing. Spencer noticed this, and with a small laugh reached his hand out and grabbed her jaw, forcing her mouth open as he went faster. "Aww, the little slut can't even speak, I've been fucking her so good. Is that right?"

Her only answer was a moan as he went deeper and faster, hitting her g-spot with every thrust forward, to which he laughed again.

"Tongue out, baby," he demanded sweetly, leaning forward. Y/N knew exactly what he was going to do, and she eagerly did as she was told, her eyes lighting up as she did. Watching, and then feeling Spencer spit directly on her tongue, feeling it slide down as she swallowed it, only added to her pleasure, and she knew it wouldn't be long until she fell over the edge.

"I-I'm..." was all she could manage to get out.

"Go ahead, pretty girl, let it all out."

And so she did, letting out a string of yells that barely resembled his name. But he wasn't done yet, and so even after she'd come down he continued his brutal pace inside of her and brought himself closer, caressing her face as he did so. The discomfort shortly morphed into painful pleasure as Y/N approached another high.

"You gonna give me another one? I know you can take it." And as if those words weren't enough, he added something that sent a chill through her. "It's a shame you're not on birth control, because I'd love nothing more than to fill up that slutty little pussy. Make you mine."

Just like that, she was gone, her eyes squeezed shut and seeing stars dance behind them as she came another time. It only lasted a few seconds shorter than her previous orgasm, but Spencer pulled out and away, dangerously close to his own. She composed herself, slowly opening her eyes to see him jerking off over her. In a split second decision, she opened her mouth and groaned, without words telling him exactly what she wanted. And he was more than happy to give it to her, removing her legs from his shoulders and moving up her body with the slyest grin she'd seen from him yet.

"That's a good girl," he got out just before she felt his cum coat her mouth. While most of it slid down the back of her tongue and pooled in the back of her throat, a little missed and landed on her cheek, but she smiled nonetheless, welcoming its warmth. When he was done, panting above her, she brought her tongue out to swirl around the head of his cock before swallowing and smiling back at him

She was about to wipe the cum off her cheek, but before she could get to it, Spencer was on her, leaning down and doing the unexpected. She whined as he brought his tongue down and scooped it off her cheek, then moving to her mouth and kissing her, practically feeding himself to her. As they continued making out like that, her head swam. She swore with every new second she spent with him, she was getting more and more invested, craving him in almost every capacity. So when he pulled away, breaking their kiss and laying down beside her, she scooted closer to him, longing to feel him all around her.

"I don't know how every time gets better and better," she mumbled against his chest, and she felt him laugh.

"What can I say, pretty girl, you give me all sorts of good ideas."

That made her blush, and she snuggled closer to him, their legs tangling together. The two of them stayed like that for a while, comfortable silence settling between them before Spencer spoke, pulling away slightly to look at her face.

"Hey, I was thinking... You don't have to say yes if you don't want to, but I... I wanted to know if you'd maybe want to go to dinner sometime?"

Despite the butterflies blooming in her stomach, Y/N laughed playfully. "You would fuck me senseless and then ask me to dinner all sweetly," she mused, running her fingers through his hair and rubbing her nose against his. "I'd love to."

Spencer let out a sigh, whether from relief or contentment she wasn't sure. Maybe both. But it filled her heart with joy all the same.

"Good," he said, pressing a small kiss to her lips. "It's a date."

[tyremarbles]

Post-Race McLaren Strategy Analysis

Foreword: Y’all know me, I try to make sure I know everything I can before I actually say anything, and this analysis took me nearly 5 hours last night. I didn’t go to bed until like 3am because I was so busy double-checking all my facts lmao. Special thanks to @imthebadguyyy & my dad for being my test readers :)))

During the Dutch Grand Prix Race Session this past Sunday, September 5th, 2021, McLaren made some strategy calls that presented as the team favoring Lando over Daniel. The opinion that came to light was that McLaren were making Daniel into the secondary driver, which is something he had come to the team in hopes of avoiding. This opinion, while it is a valid one to express, isn’t one that holds much water when you zoom out from the context of that set of radio transmissions.

McLaren is a midfield team. They aren’t focused on winning the championship; just on getting the highest place they can in order to get the most money. Their best chance of doing that is by ensuring they get the most points out of each race.

Despite the fact that Lando has been with McLaren for five years now, he isn’t their number one driver; McLaren doesn’t have one. They can’t if they want to maximize their opportunity for points. What they can do, though, is prioritize whoever is consistently delivering the better results on a week-by-week basis. Thus far, that driver just happens to be Lando. Which makes sense, considering that Daniel is just starting to really feel comfortable in the MCL35M.

Lando has felt more comfortable in the car over the course of the 2021 season. An obvious explanation for this is that Lando has been with the team since 2017, where he signed as a Junior Driver, and has had much longer to adapt his driving style to the car. This is Daniel’s first year with McLaren. His previous seasons have been spent, for the most part, in a RedBull-designed car. Even when he was at Renault, it was expressed that the cars handled very similarly to a RedBull. The MCL35M, as he has expressed, handles very differently than what he had grown accustomed to, and doesn’t particularly seem to fit his driving style. As the 2021 season has progressed, however, Daniel has shown he has made progress in adapting to the car.

Comparing qualifying results to race results, Daniel has consistently started further back on the grid. This puts him at a disadvantage from a points strategy perspective. The further back you are, the harder you have to work to gain places over the course of a race. I’m not saying he’s incapable of gaining those places back; he’s shown quite the opposite actually, most notably in Portugal and Austria this season with a 7-place jump from 16th to 9th and a 6-place jump from 13th to 7th, respectively. What I am saying is that if you’re not comfortable in the car, or you’re at a track where overtaking is nigh-impossible, or you’re already close enough to the points to get there on your own, team strategy may not fall in your favor.

But despite his difficulties adjusting to the car, Daniel is in no danger of dropping off and playing second fiddle to Lando like you all suggest. Daniel is a talented driver. If he wasn’t, would he really still be in the sport after a decade? Would McLaren have followed him for years, determined to add him to the team? His move to McLaren, while still in its adjustment period, is one that’s beneficial and positive for all parties involved. Lando may have talent and skill, as clearly shown by his F3 Championship title and frankly outstanding performance the past couple seasons (4 podiums, a front row start, most consecutive points finishes), but he’s still very young. This is only his third year in Formula 1, and he’s only older than me by three years. Compare that to Daniel, who’s been competing in Formula 1 for ten years now, was a driver for one of the two top teams for over half of his career (7 years, counting Toro Rosso), and placed 3rd in the WDC for said team twice in 2014 & 2016. Do you seriously think that McLaren gives him a multimillion dollar paycheck because they want him to play racetrack bodyguard for Lando?

Bringing in someone like Daniel, who has years of training, skill, and knowledge, and an invaluable perspective on not only racing, but on one of the title contenders, is a major asset to all aspects of the team. Sure, he may be new to McLaren, but he is a long way off being new to racing.

Was the strategy this weekend arguably a hot mess? Oh, absolutely. But it wasn’t a one-team phenomenon. Strategy overall this weekend has been all over the place, and I kinda see why. We haven’t raced at Zandvoort since 1985, when the track itself and the cars were much, much different. You can’t really go off of race strategy from the mid-80’s when the track did not include the bankings it currently has and when the car and tyre specifications have changed drastically. Everyone was basically flying in blind.

What the teams could rely on, was all the data they were getting from practice sessions (even if every single one was red-flagged at some point). And the data that McLaren was receiving likely suggested that Lando would be a stronger contender for points, based on comparative lap pace alone.

Over the course of 18 laps in FP1, Lando’s lap time was quicker than Daniel’s by 0.402s, or an average of 4/10ths.

Over the course of FP2, where Lando ran two more laps than Daniel, Lando’s lap time was quicker than Daniel’s by 0.669s, or nearly 7/10ths.

Over the course of 19 laps in FP3, Lando’s lap time was quicker than Daniel’s by 0.232s, or an average of 2/10ths.

During Qualifying, Daniel actually had the faster lap time, pulling an even 0.24s on Lando, and only just squeezed his way into Q3.

The gap between Lando (P13) and George (P11) was 0.074s. That is a tiny gap to cover, and had there not been a red flag to close out Q2, I feel like Lando could have easily cinched a Top 10 start.

During the race, did the strategy of McLaren look as if it was all being done in the favor of Lando? Yes, it kinda did. But when you look at things like race pace, tyre degradation, and what other teams are doing, it’s not necessarily difficult to see why. Over the course of the weekend, Lando consistently put out faster lap times and gained three places on his own during Lap 29, when the three cars in front of him all decided to pit at once. And yes, Daniel did pit first out of the two McLarens, but he was going to have to do so anyway. He started the race on the set of Softs he ran during Qualifying, and Lando started on Mediums. Mediums last longer than Softs. Later in the race, it looked as though Lando had the pace to push past the Alpine cars ahead of him & Daniel, so a call was made to basically switch the two of them around. From what I saw, this call is what made people the most upset. I, as a big fan of both drivers, was also upset at the time, as it felt strange to not just have Daniel try to gain places he was already closer to. But the longer I put thought and research into this analysis, the more I think I see what they were trying to do.

Had this moment of strategy been implemented a few laps earlier, and had it gone according to plan, Daniel could have held off Checo until Lando passed them both (making it a P9/P10), then followed Lando until he got around Esteban and then try and take his shot as Esteban as well (which could’ve given them a P8/P10 or P8/P9). At no point does this potential line of strategy truly favor either driver. Now, obviously I do not work for McLaren and have no true insight into their plans, but this is simply what made the most sense. Have the driver who’s already there hold off the car in between until the other driver can overtake/pass, and then have the first driver follow behind until there’s an opening to make the same move on the next car. Easy points, easy money!

But, mistakes were made. That call came much too late for it to truly work, and that’s just the risk they had to take. At the end of the day, it was not a call made to screw Daniel over, or to play favoritism to Lando. It was simply what could’ve been a good call made too late for good execution.

[I made some graphics to aid my own thought process and I’ve stuck them under the Read More for y’all to look at if you want!]

[pinkczennie]

Strip Tease | Ten (m)

Requested by: @unknown5tar​ (Thank you for being patient with me and ngl I was really nervous while writing this because I really hope you like this! I couldn’t help but add some smut cuz ya kno LOL and I’m such a sucker for enemies/friends to lovers au) 

Summary: Ten is a fucking tease.

Pairings: best friend!Ten x female reader

Genre: best friends to lovers!au, suggestive, smut

Word Count: 8.1k

Warnings: a tiny bit of angst (breakup), sexually explicit content, mature language 

You and Ten first met at the start of university. You were both dance majors, so you would often see each other in class and on campus in the same department buildings. You had a lot in common with Ten, such as a similar sense of humor, being excellent dancers, and an appreciation for art. Along the way, the friendship gradually went from just friends to best friends, developing into a teasing friendship that was borderline flirting, but it was always just playful. 

Once you both graduated university, you both applied to work at the same dance studio and got hired to teach classes there together. Ten teaches b-boying and you teach hip hop. By day, you and Ten were both dance instructors at a dance studio. By night, you were both dancers at a popular club. 

The club was widely known for their good-looking waiters and talented dancers. Ten was one of the very few male dancers at the club so he garnered many female customers and even some male customers. He even has some regulars that would come every so often on a weekend night to see Ten dance because the male would occasionally come up with choreographies to make his performances more different and unique. 

His performances were quite a sight, to say the least. On Halloween night, he dressed up as a devil and danced, what he calls his piece, “devils”, where he bent his body backwards in a demonic way that left the audience gasping. He sure knew how to move his body in ways unimaginable. His stunning visuals adds to it as well because many have tried to hit on him before. 

One night, as you both are heading to the club, Ten informs you that has a new choreographed performance that he is going to unveil tonight, so you tell him that you’ll be in the audience watching. That night, instead of sitting in the waiting room with the other dancers like you usually do, you sat towards the front of the stage, so you got front row seats to see Ten’s new piece. 

The audience erupted into loud cheers when the DJ announced that Ten will be the next performer.

Loud upbeat R&B music began blasting on the stereos and bright colorful LED lights flash the room as Ten’s figure suddenly emerges from the red, silk curtains and all the female customers began to cheer loudly. He was wearing a black leather jacket that was zipped up all the way, along with matching black jeans and a belt. 

Ten makes his way to the center and sways his body to the music. Nobody knew what to expect from the dancer’s performance today, so your eyes widen when you see him start to slowly unbuckle his belt with one hand. He takes his time removing the belt from his waist before tossing it to the sidelines once it’s off. 

Next, he unzips his leather jacket at a snail’s pace to reveal that he wasn’t wearing anything underneath the jacket and practically everyone’s jaw drops. After teasing the audience with parts of his exposed skin, he begins to sensually take off the jacket at a teasingly slow pace. The jacket begins to slip from his shoulders and then his biceps. Once it’s completely off his body, he spots you in the front row of the stage and discards his jacket by throwing it into your hands, knowing you’ll keep it safe for him. You see the flying jacket coming your way and you quickly catch it with both hands. 

The audience hollers and whistles at the dancer’s exposed upper body. He was toned and there was body oil rubbed all over his stomach, accentuating the lines of his abs. 

Ten lays on his back against the floor and thrusts up into the air, causing the audience to roar and paper bills come flying his way on stage. He slides against the floor on his knees and picks up the money, bringing the bills in between his fingers and stuffing it into his jean pockets.

Once the song is over, the dancer sends a wink to the audience and all the women swoon. You included. 

You were honestly really surprised by his performance, in a good way. Your mouth was hanging open during the entire performance, but your lips were sticking up into a smile because that was absolutely amazing. You’ve seen the way Ten moves, but you’ve never seen him do that before.

Once the song is over, the lights dim down and the stage becomes dark. You quickly rush back to the dancer’s waiting room, where Ten probably left to once his performance was over. You barge open the door and look around and spot Ten by the corner taking out all the money from his pockets that he received during the performance and putting it into his wallet. It’s thick with cash.

“Holy shit. That performance was incredible, Ten!” you praise as you make your way over to Ten. 

“Go on,” he encourages, basing in the glory of your praise. “I know, it was amazing.”

“The thing you did with your belt and jacket-”

He chuckles, “It’s called strip teasing. I was working on it in private for a few days.”

“You have to teach me how to strip tease!” you excitedly say while handing his jacket back to him. “Maybe I could use it for one of my performances too.”

Ten takes his jacket back. “Sure, I’ll teach you on our day off.”

“You’re the best,” you say as you link arms with him.

Once all the performances were over, it was time for the club to close for the night, or day since they opened until 4 in the morning, so after cleaning up the place, you and Ten both headed home together.

You and Ten were living together and rented a place that was relatively close to both the workplaces so it would be an easier commute. Plus, it was nice getting to live with a good friend. Ten even adopted two cats, named Louis and Leon, which you did not oppose because it was nice to have pets in the house. 

The next day, you both didn’t have any work so it was a good time for Ten to teach you how to strip tease. You sport some comfortable dance wear like a loose, cropped t-shirt and shorts while Ten is in a sleeveless shirt and sweatpants. The living room couches are pushed back and the coffee table is temporarily moved to the kitchen so there was enough dance space. 

“Strip teasing is pretty easy, to be honest. All you have to do is slowly undress in a sexy way,” Ten states. “Let’s start off doing something simple and easy. Can you go grab a jacket of yours and put it on?”

You nod and rush off to your room to retrieve a jacket as instructed.

While you left to do as told, Ten searches on his Spotify for some fitting music and starts to play some upbeat R&B music from his playlist to set the mood. After setting it to the highest volume level, he takes a seat on the couch with the phone placed to his side and gets comfortable on the furniture. 

Soon, you emerge from your room with a light blue denim jean jacket on. 

“First, you want to start off with a sexy dance,” Ten instructs. “Just feel yourself with the music.”

You nod and, thankfully, it was a song you frequently listen to, so it was pretty easy to think of a simple choreography for it on the spot. You throw in some body rolls and slowly run your hands down your body from your chest to your waist down to your ass as you sway your hips, all while keeping eye contact with Ten. 

You and Ten are both comfortable with each other so it’s not awkward to make eye contact like that. Besides, it’s good practice to get rid of shyness since you’re both dancers so facial expression is very important.  

“Yes! Look at you feeling yourself like that,” Ten compliments with a proud smile to hype you up. 

You get a little bold as you do a slut drop, where you squat down quickly and immediately pop back up, when the beat drops, throw your ass back, twerk, and even strut over to Ten to take a seat on his lap while your legs rest bent on the sofa. 

He looks up at you with a raised eyebrow and one side of his lips curled up to a smirk while you smile innocently at him. 

“What’s next?” you innocently ask.  

“Next, slowly take off your jacket,” Ten replies, emphasizing the word ‘slowly’.

You take hold of your jacket and begin to strip it off of your body at a snail’s pace, revealing your shoulders and then your arms. Once the jacket is off of your body, you discard it to the other side of the couch. 

“How was that?” you ask.

“Very sexy,” Ten praises with a nod. “Especially when you sat on my lap like that.”

“What can I say? I have a great teacher,” you compliment back. 

“I know. I’m amazing,” he boasts and you playfully slap his arm for letting your compliment feed his ego. Ten winces from the hit but laughs and wraps his arms around your waist. “But you already got the basics of how to strip tease down. We can watch some tutorials from other professional dancers that I used for reference if you want.” 

“Sure,” you nod.

“Alright, now get off of my lap.” Ten playfully smacks your butt and you giggle as you remove yourself from his lap.

Ten gets up from the couch and walks into his room to retrieve his laptop.

As you wait for him, you check on your phone to see you received a notification. It was a text message from your boyfriend.

Boyfriend: I miss you. Are you free today for dinner and movies at my place?

You smile widely as you rapidly type a reply back to him. 

You: Of course! I’m in the middle of something right now and I’ll need to change and get ready afterwards so give me a couple of hours? 

Boyfriend: Sure thing! Can’t wait to see you later <3 

You: I’ll text you when I’m on my way! See you in a bit <3

“Hey, can we end this in an hour or so?” you ask Ten when he emerges from his room with a laptop tucked in his arm.

“Sure. Did something come up?” 

“Yeah, I’m going to see Taeyong in a bit,” you reply as you continue to text Taeyong. 

You and Taeyong first met at a party during your last year in university and took an interest in each other. After exchanging numbers, chatting over the phone, and a few dates, you and Taeyong have been together for almost a year now. 

“Oh, I see,” Ten nods as he sits on the couch, opening his laptop to pull up the reference videos he bookmarked.  

After watching a few videos on Ten’s laptop for references on how to strip tease by other dancers, you decided it was enough for the day. You changed clothes, texted Taeyong that you are on your way, and headed out to his place. You knock on his apartment door when you arrive and wait for a few seconds before you hear footsteps approaching the door. Taeyong opens the door and smiles upon seeing your face.

“Hey, babe,” he greets, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“Hi, bubu,” you smile with your arms wrapped around his neck. 

“Hungry? I already ordered the pizza for us. I got us your favorite toppings.”

“Yes! You’re the best,” you say and plant a kiss on his cheek.

Taeyong guides you inside his place and the pizza is already set up on the coffee table along with a movie ready on the television screen. 

After devouring the pizza, you and Taeyong continued to watch the remainder of the movie. Some time during the movie, one thing leads to another and next thing you know, the movie is long forgotten about as you fall onto Taeyong’s bed with his lips on yours and his body on top of yours. Your hands are wrapped around his neck to pull him in closer while his hands roam around your waist.  

As you continue to kiss, an idea pops into your head when you feel Taeyong’s fingers wrapped around your shirt, trying to strip you of your clothing but you remove his hands from your shirt. Taeyong removes himself from your lips, worried because of your actions, but you shush him by switching the positions so Taeyong is now laying on the bed and you are hovering over him instead. The movie begins to play sensual music in the background, which was a perfect chance for you to slowly remove your own shirt, teasing your boyfriend with only peaks of your skin.

Taeyong can feel his dick, still in his boxers, slowly harden as he watches you give him a show. Once your shirt is off and tossed to the other side of the bed, Taeyong marvels at your lacy, pink bra.

“Wow, you look so hot doing that. Who taught you how to strip tease like that?” Taeyong smirks as he stares lustfully at your half naked body.

“Ten taught me.” You reply as you bring your hands behind your back to begin unhooking your bra.

“Wait- Ten?” Taeyong’s eyebrows knit together. 

You suddenly stop your actions and your smile slowly drops when you notice the shift in the atmosphere. Taeyong almost seemed...upset at the fact that Ten was the one who taught you how to strip tease.

“Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?” You get off from his body and sit to the side of his bed.

Taeyong sighs, avoiding eye contact with you. He always suspected that there was something going on between you two, but he took your word for it when you said Ten was just a good friend. Taeyong trusts you, he really does, so he tried not to show his jealousy. However, he was always worried knowing that you two live together and how close you two were, so this new fact caused him to snap.

“Y/n, what would you do if I asked you to stop being friends with Ten?”

Your eyes widen at Taeyong’s question. “Taeyong...I can’t just stop being friends with Ten. He’s my best friend.”

“You can’t or you won’t?” Taeyong fires back.

You pause. 

Ten is your best friend, so to suddenly be asked to end your friendship with him for your significant other was so shocking that you were left speechless. You really did not want to lose Ten, so who should you choose? You don’t know because you don’t want to make the wrong decision.

Taeyong sighs at your silence. “Y/n...I think we should break up.”

Your eyes widen and you feel your heart drop as you stare at your boyfriend in shock. 

“I’m really sorry, y/n. I love you, I really do. But...I don’t think I can be with someone who has another man in her heart. You two are too close for comfort and I can’t help but think that there’s something going between you two, especially since you can’t-or won't- stop being friends with him for me,” Taeyong explains.

You didn’t respond back because you were at a loss for words. Is it really that wrong for a woman to have a comfortable friendship with another man that isn’t her significant other?

After redressing in awkward silence, you trudge back home, feeling numb from the breakup and your brain keeps repeating Taeyong’s words. 

When you arrived home and opened the door, Ten was there in the living room, laying on the couch while scrolling through his phone. He looks up to see you staring at him in silence by the door and immediately jumps up from the couch to approach you when he notices the tears on your face as you stare at him with wet eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice laced with concern as he cups your face and gently wipes away your tears from your cheeks with his thumbs. “Why are you crying?”

You wanted to just push Taeyong’s words aside for the night because all you wanted was someone to comfort you right now, so you wrap your arms around Ten’s body and shove your face into his neck.

“Taeyong broke up with me,” you confess.

“What?” You hear him shout, a vibration ringing through his chest. “Why?”

“I-I don’t want to talk about it right now. Can you just...please hold me?” you plead with a cracked voice.

“Of course. I got you,” Ten says as he brings you into a tighter embrace. 

You’ll tell him what happened once you’re ready. 

That night, Ten laid in your bed beside you with a thick blanket thrown over your bodies for warmth while you quietly sob your eyes out. He strokes comforting circles on your back. 

Eventually, you stop crying as tiredness overtakes your body. You glance up to see that Ten’s eyes were closed and his movements have stopped, meaning he probably fell asleep without you noticing. It was pretty late right now, considering it felt like hours since you were crying, so you don’t blame him for drifting off to sleep. 

Taeyong’s words today kept ringing in your head as you continue to stare at Ten’s facial features, like the mole under his left eye and then his long eyelashes. You must admit that Ten is a very attractive person, but who wouldn’t think that?

Taeyong is right about being very close because you and Ten are practically cuddling on your bed. 

You bring Ten into a tight embrace and fall asleep with your limbs wrapped around his body and your face tucked into his chest. You’re glad you still have him by your side. 

The next morning, you woke up with swollen eyes from all the crying last night and Ten was no longer by your side in bed. The smell of food and a sizzling sound lingers in the air, which you assume means that he probably woke up before you did to cook breakfast. 

You lightly trudge your feet to the kitchen, the sound of your slippers sliding against the hardwood floor echoing in the hallway. You see Ten in a yellow apron scooping the cooked food from the pan onto two plates with a spatula.

“Morning,” Ten greets with a smile when he spots your awakened figure. “I woke up earlier to make us some breakfast before we go to work later. Come sit down and eat with me.”

You walk into the kitchen and take a seat on the kitchen counter right in front of the plate that Ten just loaded with food. 

Your heart softens. Despite being your sassy best friend, he knew when to be sweet and thoughtful whenever you were having a bad day. 

“Are you okay to go to work today or do you want to call in sick to have the day off?” Ten worriedly asks.

You shake your head. “I’m okay. I can go to work today.” 

Besides, it was better to distract your mind temporarily with work instead of staying home and wallowing in sorrow. You pick up your fork and start to dig into the breakfast Ten prepared for you. 

“Thanks, Ten,” you smile, grateful for having such a great friend. 

“You can thank me with a kiss,” he jokes as he points his index finger to his extended cheek.

You snort and roll your eyes at him before smacking his arm and you both break out into laughter, which lightens up the mood.

You go through your day with a heavy heart, but you’re thankful that Ten doesn’t ask about what happened yesterday. You do want to tell him, someday, but just not today.

---

A few months have passed since the breakup and you’re back to your usual self again. You still never spoke to Ten about the incident with Taeyong, but you’re not sure if he’s forgotten about it or not. Nothing has changed between you and Ten, your friendship being stronger than ever. You acted the same but you felt weird around Ten now.

The atmosphere felt...different.

You’re not sure if you’re just imagining things but you think Ten is teasing you more than before. There were more lingering touches that sent electricity jolting through your body and sexual jokes thrown every here and there that left you slightly flustered. 

It’s probably because of what Taeyong said to you that night that has been making you more hyper aware of Ten’s actions. 

Of course you still let him do it and try your best to not let it visibly show that it affected you in any way because that’s just how Ten always has been. 

Like just the other day, Ten finished his dance lessons for the day but stayed behind and waited for you to finish so you two could go back home together. You would be done soon, so he decided to kill some time by practicing his choreography. 

Once your last session was over, you packed up your stuff and headed to Ten’s dance room which was right next door. Music was blasting in the studio and when the door opens you are greeted with Ten dancing shirtless. He was wearing a cap to capture his hair and his upper body was covered in sweat.

You didn’t say anything because you assumed he noticed you enter the room but wanted to finish before stopping, so you didn’t want to interrupt and just stared at Ten while he danced. The way his body moves around so quickly during the song was very alluring that you couldn’t look away from his captivating performance.

“Enjoying the view?” he smirks. 

“No, you just seemed focused so I didn’t want to interrupt.” 

“Really? Because my eyes are up here.” He brings out his index finger and middle finger to point each finger at each of his eyes and then points each extended finger at each of your eyes.

You swat his fingers away. “You wish I was staring at you like that.”

“I’m just kidding, baby,” he chuckles before wrapping an arm around your neck.

“Ew, you’re all sweaty!” you squeal as you squirm away from his hold.

“You’re sweaty too. Come here,” he says and chases you around the room with his arms wide open and you run away while screaming.

He manages to trap you against the wall with your head in between his arm and you catch his eyes, staring down at you. 

You gulp at the small distance between your bodies because Ten was just mere inches away from your face. You see him leaning his face closer to yours and you await his next move as you feel your heart beating against your ribcage. Is he really going to kiss you right now in the middle of the dance room where anyone could come in at any moment? However, you don’t make any movements to run away, waiting for what’s to come next.

“Gotcha,” he whispers and pulls away with a chuckle. “Let’s go home. I’m hungry.”

Well you weren’t expecting that at all. Thankfully, he has his back towards you while he goes to retrieve his bag or else he would have seen your face slowly heating up.

And there was another time, where you were doing the laundry by folding your clean clothes on the living room couch. Suddenly, Ten emerges from his room and you see him walking over to you from the corner of your eye. 

“Wow, you wear some racy underwear,” you hear Ten say.

You look up and gasp with wide eyes because you see your black lace panties dangling from his fingers.

“Ten, don’t look at that!” you shout, embarrassed. 

You get up to snatch your article of clothing out of his hands but he’s quick and lifts it higher in the air so it is out of your reach.

“Give it back!” You jump with your arm extended, trying to reach for your panties.

“Try to come get it then,” Ten mocks.

Curse him for using his height against you even though he’s just a bit taller than you. 

You frown as you get on your tip-toes to reach for it but Ten continues to back up. However, Ten wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings and ends up backing up so far that the back of his leg hits the couch, so the male falls backwards and you fall along with him.

“Oof.” With eyes closed, Ten lands backwards on the couch while your body falls on top of Ten’s. 

You get up on your arms and look down to see the position you two were in: Ten under you while you were on top of him. No words were spoken as you stay still in your awkward spots with wide eyes staring at each other.

“Oh, was this your plan all along?” he cheekily grins. “How naughty.”

You whack his chest and quickly grab your underwear back from Ten with burning cheeks.

---

Ten has been teasing you way too much lately so you decide it’s time to get back at him by playing fire with fire.

You look at yourself in the mirror and grin. Currently, you were wearing one of Ten’s t-shirts that you managed to snatch from his closet when you snuck into his room one day while he was in the bathroom.

It was a bit big on you, but you liked it because it smelled like Ten and he will for sure notice it’s his because it’s one of his favorites.

You weren’t wearing anything underneath, except a bra and matching pair of panties which were covered by the oversized shirt. 

From behind your closed door, you hear him outside in the living room playing with one of the cats, because he was cooing at the cat to get his attention so you decided it was time to spring into action.

You exit your room and notice from the corner of your eye that he was sitting on the couch with his attention on Leon. You pretend to grab a drink from the kitchen, making sure your presence was noticed by humming a song. 

“Hey, have you seen my-” you hear him say but you pretend to be searching for something in the fridge.

“Uh, is that my shirt?” he asks.

“Hm?” You blinked innocently at him.

“You’re wearing my shirt,” he states, pointing at you.

“Oh is it? I didn’t notice,” you look down at the shirt and shrug.

Ten gets up from the living room couch and makes his way over to you as Leon skimmers away. He places an outstretched arm onto the fridge and the other one on his hip. “Why are you wearing my shirt?”

“I like it. It’s comfortable.”

“Take it off,” he demands.

“Pervert,” you gasp, covering your chest with your arms.

“You’re the one prancing in here with no pants on and wearing my shirt,” he states matter-of-factly. 

“This isn’t the first time you’ve seen me in just a shirt and no pants,” you retort.

“Not in my shirt though,” he raises an eyebrow at you. “Give it back.”

You lean in close to his face and say, “make me.”

You weren’t sure what to expect to happen next but the next thing you know is that he’s throwing you over his shoulder and walking away from the kitchen and into his room. He uses his foot to close the door shut and flips you onto his bed. 

Honestly, you were pretty surprised by everything that just happened right now so your heart is pounding when he removes you from his shoulder and you land on the mattress. 

Ten hovers over your body and peers down at you with his hands by your head and his legs trapping yours. You suddenly lost all that confidence you had to tease Ten back, because right now you feel intimidated by his gaze and slightly turned on?

Suddenly, Ten brings his hands to your sides and begins tickling you. You erupt into a fit of laughter and squirm as you try to get out of his hold.

“Ten, stop! Ah!” you squeal in between laughs. “You know I’m ticklish!”

“Are you going to give me back my shirt?”

“Yes! Okay, I’ll give it back!” 

Ten stops tickling you and you continue to lay in his bed while trying to catch your breath. You are both still a giggling mess but once you’ve calmed down you just stare up at Ten who was still on top of you by the way.

“I’ll go change now and give it back to you,” you state meekly, your eyes avoiding his.

“Nah, you can keep it. Besides, you look cute in my clothes,” he winks and gets off of you.

Well so much for teasing Ten this time because he made you flustered in the end. You think it’s best to not tease Ten because it looks like you won’t be able to win against him in this game.

---

You and Ten were invited to a mutual friend’s birthday party held at the birthday boy’s house, so you both make your way over to the party after work. When you knock on the door, you and Ten are greeted by the birthday boy, Kun, as he gestures for you both to come inside. There were quite a few people there already, so you both mingle with some friends you know at the party while taking a couple of shorts. 

After a while, you excuse yourself from the conversation to go to the kitchen to grab some food, when suddenly you hear a male voice calling your name.

“Y/nnnn!” You turn your head to the source of the voice and see Donghyuck running towards you with open arms, along with Mark trailing behind him. 

An oof leaves your mouth when the younger male’s body collides against yours into a bone crushing hug, knocking the air out of your lungs. 

“I missed you, y/n,” Donghyuck coos. 

“I missed you too, Donghyuck. Hi, Mark.” 

“Hey, how have you been? I saw that you and Taeyong aren’t together anymore because you deleted all his photos from your Instagram,” Mark says as Donghyuck releases you from his hold. 

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” you reply.

“Did you guys break up because of Ten?” Donghyuck asks, leaning in his body towards yours.

Your brows knit together at Donghyuck’s question. “How...did you know?”

“Seriously? I can’t believe I got it right,” Donghyuck laughs, “But it was pretty obvious.”

You lean against the wall and cross your arms with a raised eyebrow. “How so? Explain.”

“I always thought there was something going on between you and Ten. Almost everyone did,” The male states. “He would always flirt with you and was super touchy like you’re a couple. I can’t tell if he’s trying to get with you or fuck you.” 

Your eyes widen and you even turn to Mark for confirmation and he nods in return, indicating that he agrees with Donghyuck’s statement.

“Well, now that you and Taeyong aren’t together anymore, are you going to do something about the tension between you and Ten?” Mark asks.

Honestly, you didn’t know how to respond. What are you even supposed to do, let alone bring up the topic to Ten without making it awkward?

“Hey Donghyuck, Mark, come help Lucas. The guy is a little drunk!” you hear someone shout before the conversation could continue and the two rush to their aid when they see the giant look like he was about to puke. 

After Donghyuck and Mark left, you decided you needed a moment by yourself to think about everything. You’re sitting alone in the balcony of Kun’s room staring up into the sky, thinking about Donghyuck and Taeyong’s words. 

Now, you weren’t disgusted by the thought of being with Ten, romantically or sexually. In fact, you have thought about it before and, honestly, Ten knows you better than anymore just as well as you know him. Heck, you even know how to pronounce his full Thai name correctly, which apparently not a lot of people can do. 

You and Ten have even made an agreement beforehand that if you two were still single by the time you’re both 30 years old, you would just date each other. The thought of being with your best friend didn’t sound all that bad.

Suddenly, you hear someone walk into the room and you turn your head to the door. 

“Hey, what are you doing sitting here all alone?” Ten asks by the door with his hand on the doorknob. “I was looking for you.”

“Oh...I just needed some air,” you reply. “It was kind of stuffy with all the people there. Did you need something?”

“Yeah, it’s almost time to sing and cut the cake,” Ten informs. “Come on, let’s go.” 

“Okay, I’m coming.” You close the balcony door and follow Ten out of Kun’s room. 

---

Ten went out to do a couple of errands for the day while you stayed behind at home and situated yourself on your bed to watch a movie on your laptop to pass some time. You picked a mature-rated romance. The door of your room was left only partially closed in case any of the cats wanted to come in. 

Nothing ever happened after Kun’s birthday party and things were the same as usual. You’re not sure if you should say something because honestly you’ve been thinking about that night ever since. 

Half way into the movie there was a sex scene. You didn’t expect how uncensored the scene was, but you continued to watch in silence. However, it left you feeling aroused, watching the main female character getting fucked unprotected by the main male character.

It has been a while since you’ve had sex too, so you couldn’t help but slowly move your hands down into your shorts, past your panties, and begin to rub two fingers against your folds as you continue to watch the movie. Even though the volume was relatively high, you still bit your bottom lip to prevent any noise as you shove two fingers into your entrance.

Your heart was beating like crazy as your fingers thrust in and out of your core. Your fingers felt good but it wasn’t enough. You needed something bigger.

You spot Ten’s shirt hanging from the edge of your bed and you pause your fingers to grab it with your free hand. You bring it up to your nose and it still smells like the cologne he wears.

You closed your eyes, thinking of Ten and what it would be like if it was his fingers inside of you right now instead of yours. Even better, something else. The thought just turned you on more so you sped up your fingers.

A careless whimper of Ten’s name escapes your lips along with light panting as your fingers brush against your walls. You should have closed the door but you never expected he would come home so fast, so you didn’t hear Ten entering the house. His ears picked up the sound of his name coming from your room.

You push your fingers deeper to find your g-spot, when suddenly the door swung open and your eyes widened in shock when you looked up and locked eyes with the man that was on your mind, standing before you with shock all over his face.

He looks at you and sees his shirt in your hand and your other hand down your pants in between your legs. 

The room is extremely quiet, except for the noises coming from your laptop of the movie still playing. To make it even more awkward, the actress in the movie just announced her orgasm. 

“Are you using my shirt to masturbate?” Ten asks after a silent pause. 

Shit. You just want a hole to appear and eat you up alive because you are so embarrassed you could die right now. 

You can feel your blood running cold after getting caught in this awkward situation. 

“Ten, I-” You were speechless. 

You didn’t know what to say because your mind was completely blank right now. What do you say to someone when you just got caught doing something inappropriate and even worse using their article of clothing to get off? You quickly retract your fingers from your core. 

You thought Ten would make fun of you or be grossed out by your actions. But instead, he walks into your room, slamming the door shut, gets on to your bed, and hovers over you. It happened so fast that your mind couldn’t comprehend it quick enough that you just froze in place.

Your eyes widened at the dangerous proximity and you felt your heart racing as you peered up into Ten’s cat-like eyes to see that he was staring down at you with such intensity that you’re starting to get a little nervous. 

He grabs the wrist of your hand that you just used to get off with his hand and puts your fingers in his mouth, sucking up your juices. He releases your fingers from his mouth with a pop and your eyes are as wide as saucers now at Ten. 

For once, you felt it. The sexual tension that everyone constantly mentions between you two. You can actually feel it in the air. You no longer see Ten, your best friend, but a man, standing before you with a dark look in his eyes.

“You taste so good.” He licks his lips to pick up any excess off his mouth. 

Ten’s gaze falls from your eyes to your lips and your eyes do the same after you notice his eyes were no longer on yours, but something else. 

“If you don’t want this, push me away right now and I’ll stop,” Ten whispers before slowly closing the distance between his face from yours.

But you don’t stop him. You want this just as badly as he does.

When Ten sees no sign of you rejecting his advances, he closes his eyes before he cups your face with one hand and crashes his soft lips against yours. You close your eyes and return the kiss with your hands clinging on his shoulders for support. Ten’s other hands snake around your waist to bring your figure closer to his, so you’re body to body. Teeth and tongue clashed against each other in a rough, hungry kiss, full of passion. 

He releases himself from your lips to start stripping you of your clothes in a rush that he practically wanted to tear them off your skin if he could. 

Once fully naked, he begins to remove his own clothes and tosses them on the floor. His lips latch back on to your lips again as his hands begin to roam your body, touching your skin, which sends tingles throughout your body from his warm touch. 

The male stops the kiss to allow a moment to breathe. However, that doesn’t last long when Ten begins to leave open mouth kisses on your neck and you shiver as he nips a sensitive spot. Then, he sucks hickies all over your collarbone and chests, marking you with purple bruises. 

Your back arches off the bed when you feel a warm mouth sucking one of your nipples while the other one is being played with between his fingers.

“Ten,” you whimper.

He releases his mouth from your nipple at the sound of his name escaping your lips and runs two fingers against your folds causing you to shiver.

“Fuck, you’re so wet already.” Ten breaths as he pumps his hardening cock in his other hand. “I wanted to take my time with you, but I want you so badly right now that I can’t wait.”

The statement made you even more wet because you have been craving Ten’s touch for a while now. You want to feel his cock inside of you.

“Hang on, let me go get a condom in my ro-,'' Ten informs you but you stop him by reaching into your bedside table and grabbing a condom from your drawer to hand to him. 

You still had a bunch leftover because of your ex. Ten raises an eyebrow at you but decides to ask questions later and to start opening the packet now.

Ten rips the plastic open with his teeth and rolls the condom onto his length. Your pussy was throbbing in anticipation as you stared at Ten’s cock. Once he’s fully sheathed, he tosses the wrapper into your trashcan and positions himself in front of your entrance with your legs planted on his shoulders. Slowly, he enters you and your fingernails dig into his back at the stretch of his length around your wet cavern.  

“Fuck, you feel so good around me,” Ten groans as he bottoms out of you.

You felt so full as his cock throbs inside of you from the feeling of your warm walls. You and Ten have never been so intimate before, being skin against skin. You can’t believe this is actually happening and neither can Ten. 

Ten waits for you to get used to his size by staring at the place where you two were connected. As soon as he heard from you that it was okay to move, he takes his length out and then slams his cock back deep inside of you. You both moan as he begins to find a steady and hard pace to fuck you into your mattress.

“Tell me, why were you using my shirt to help you get off?” he asks as he continues to thrust inside of you. 

Honestly, you were so embarrassed that you got caught by him that you really did not want to tell him, but suddenly, he stops and you stare at him with pleading eyes, asking him why did you stop? with your eyes.

“Answer me,” he hisses, gritting his teeth. 

His length was still inside of you but he holds your hips down with an iron grip so you don’t make any movements to pleasure yourself until you answer his question. 

“I-I was thinking about you,” you choke out, face heating up. 

“You were thinking about me while playing with yourself? How dirty,” he whispers, nipping your ear. 

Satisfied with your reply, he begins pistoning inside of you at a speed that made your breasts bounce along with the thrusts. 

“It’s because you’ve been teasing me so much lately- saying I look cute in your clothes- throwing me on your bed-”

“-and your reactions were so cute. God, I wanted to just take you right then and there,” Ten pants between each thrust. “Did I make you feel some type of way?”

“Yes,” you whimper.

“Good.” Ten readjusts his positions and hits your g-spot dead on, causing you to see stars as pleasure courses through your whole body. You're a moaning mess and your toes curl as he continues to ram that spot with harsh thrusts. 

Your walls begin to convulse around his length and Ten throws his head back at the squeeze. You were close, so Ten picks up the pace. 

The movie was still playing, mixed with the sound of moans and your juices squelching with every thrust.

“Ten, I’m about to come,” you announce.

“Me too,” Ten groans as his thrusts become sloppier and uneven. “Cum for me.” 

With a few more thrusts, the knot in your lower stomach bursts and you come around his length. Soon afterwards, Ten shoots his seeds into the condom. You are both a panting mess trying to come down from your orgasms. You are both covered in sweat, there were scratch marks all over Ten’s back, and the room smells like must and sex. 

After a minute, Ten pulls out from your pussy, removes the condom from his cock, and tosses it into your trash bin. 

You and Ten have officially crossed the line from best friend territory. 

“Hey,” Ten speaks, catching your attention. “Do you regret what we just did?” Ten asks, concern laced in his voice.

You stared at your best friend, his eyes filled with fear at the possibility that you might have regretted what just happened. But you don’t regret it at all, so you shake your head. 

“No,” you reply. 

“Good, because me neither,” he happily smiles and brings you into his embrace. 

“I-uh...overheard your conversation with Donghyuck and Mark during the party. Is it true that you and Taeyong broke up because of me?” he meekly informs you.

You groan, “Ten, I’m so sorry. I meant to tell you eventually but-”

“It’s okay. I’m not mad. The truth is I never wanted to say anything in case you didn’t feel the same way and ruin our friendship. At first, I was so mad at myself when you started going on with Taeyong because I felt like I just lost my chance. But after what we just did, I need to tell you how I feel so I don’t lose you again,” Ten confesses. “I really like you, y/n.”

You feel your heart swell with joy and a blush creeps up your face. “I really like you too, Ten.”

Now it’s his turn to feel his heart swell with joy because the person he likes reciprocates his feelings. 

He lays down beside you in your bed and stares lovingly into your eyes as he uses one arm to support his head while the other strokes a strand of hair away from your face. 

“Ten...what’s going to happen to us now?” you ask.

Ten softens. “Nothing has to change. I will always be your best friend, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing where this goes.”

A smile slowly spreads on your face at Ten’s words. “Me neither.” 

---

Tonight, you wanted to showcase your new performance at the club. You asked the DJ to shoutout Ten during your introduction for helping you with the moves, and to add “my boyfriend” after saying his name which made said boyfriend sitting in the front seat glee with joy.

Loud R&B music began to play and the crowd started cheering when your figure emerged from behind the curtains in an oversized black, thin knit sweater that was long enough to cover part of your thighs and black high heels. 

You walk to the center and put your hands on the pole that was securely placed in the middle of the stage. You grind against the pole before lifting yourself off from the floor to do some impressive spins. 

Once the music is reaching the chorus, you carefully get on your knees before getting into a fetal position. Then, you lift your ass up in the air, giving it a wiggle and allowing your top to slowly fall. Next, you quickly sit on your knees and your arms wrap around the opposite ends with your fingers grasp the ends of your top and slowly begin to lift it up, revealing something interesting underneath. The shirt began to expose your skin-tight, long sleeve, red bodysuit that you were wearing underneath this whole time. 

You’ve never worn it before, so today is your first day wearing it because you recently bought it and wanted to show off in front of the crowd. 

The crowd goes wild and Ten’s bites his thumbs trying to hide his wide grin. 

You toss the black oversized shirt to the side of the stage and get back up off our knees to strut over to the stage pole again, swaying your hips side to side. The dance continues again and you hope Ten was impressed by your strip tease.  

Oh, he definitely liked it because as soon as Ten found you after your performance ended, he pinned you against the wall and attacked your lips into a passionate kiss. 

“You were so hot up there. Watching my girlfriend strut like that turned me on so much,” Ten confesses as his dark eyes raked your entire figure while his hands roam your body.

“Turned on enough to fuck me here in the waiting room?” you raise an eyebrow at him.

“Fuck yeah.”

Before anything could progress, you both stopped because there was a banging noise coming from the door that startled you both.

“You two better not be fucking in there!” a voice screams from the other side of the door.

You and Ten looked at each other before bursting out into a fit of laughter at your coworker’s words. 

“Sorry, Jongin!”

[paintingdragonfeathers]

Whew! Survived Nekocon 2022! But no rest for the wicked—I immediately went home to finish packing things for the movers this weekend. Then I can get back to creating AAAARRRRTT.

Thank you everyone who stopped by the Painting Dragon Feathers booth in the artist alley and either taking home some art or signing up for commissions, and thank you everyone who came to the “Dragons, Cryptids, and Dinos, OH MY!” Panel. While it was only my second time ever vending at Nekocon, and my first ever pro-row booth, it was one of my most successful conventions to date! And thank you cosplayers for showing off your craft!

Special shoutout to my stellar friends and booth beard for all their help manning the booth and keeping us all sane over the weekend.

I also had a chance to meet some new faces and make some new friends. And I had a humbling interaction with a particular congoer—a young man approached my booth and said he came to the con specifically to see ME and my work after seeing it on social media.

This is already heartening as it’s proof my social media posts don’t end up yeeted into the void, lol.

Anyway, this young artist came seeking advice on how to pursue a career in the arts as he heads off to college. Now, I’ve looked out for and helped newbies and first-timers in artist alleys over the years, but this is the first time someone made a pilgrimage to talk to me. I can remember when I was in his shoes, and now with close to a decade of experience between college and cons, I had a split-section realization of “Oh crap…I’m an ADULT ARTIST and can offer this kind of advice.”

So, I didn’t sugar coat it—I was frank that I was very fortunate to have a foundation of supportive friends and family to pursue the arts in school, and as a career I’m at the point where it’s still feast or famine, but I encouraged him that perseverance is key. A lot of times something worth doing is a long gambit and requires patience since stuff rarely happens overnight. A typical rule of thumb I go by is for small businesses of most ilks (including creative work) they tend to either gain traction or “fail” between 4-6 years. Fun fact, until the pandemic hit and set EVERYONE on the planet back, I started gaining traction as a professional artist at years 5-6 of Painting Dragon Feathers. It’s good to be ambitious, and it’s healthy to be pragmatic; I’ve seen so many talented writers and artists flounder because they lack a lick of business sense and don’t know how to apply their skills. And that a lot of skills, whether creative or business-y, can be learned.

I told him that there are so many resources—books, online groups, etc.—that can help him make connections, study artistic principles, and learn the trade to make life as an artist easier. And when he showed me some samples of his art, I could tell based on his expressive line work and composition that he has the creative chops. I recommended him which digital art programs (something he asked about) and tools best emulate traditional media, yet emphasized that it is just a tool, and that you still need to know the principles of art—shading, hue, tone, composition, etc.—whether you’re picking up a paintbrush or a stylus.

All in all, I count myself blessed that I have had excellent guidance and mentors myself over the years from bigger, “adultier” artists, and that if I can hand down some of those sparks and advice to make younger artists coming after me walk a smoother path while I’m still learning and bushwhacking the road for myself, then I’m doing something right at the end of the day. I have no doubt that that young gentleman is gonna go on and create cool stuff.

Go forth and make cool things young artists. The world needs them, and you never know who’s watching your work. And my digital mailbox and art booths are open if you want some wisdom too. ;)

#nekocon #nekocon2022 #nekocon24 #convention #anime #animeconvention #artist #artistalley #cosplay #cosplayparade #costume #fursuit #furry #lifeadvice #paintingdragonfeathers

[dcforts]

[week 4: selfie together]

1.7k, post-canon, non canon compliant.

Three days to impact (moving out with Cas and a bunch of hunter nerds settling into the bunker to set up the Network), and Dean was still elbow deep in messy drawers, sorting through his stuff in one of the research rooms. He couldn’t believe he had managed to hoard that much crap when he spent there not more than six months every year.

Sam had already taken care of most of it and thrown away a lot of junk when he had moved away with Eileen a year or so ago, so Dean had thought that he would be packed in less than a day with what was left. He was wrong.

He was tackling a bunch of phones and chargers all tangled up together, trying to figure out which ones were still working. Between him and Sam they had probably gone through a hundred or so phones, without counting the burners, their dad’s and those of other hunters, passed on after their deaths.

You had to keep them on, check the messages, write down the contacts – for a long time it was the only way to keep the network going and to make sure that no call for help would ever go unanswered.

Hopefully the Network, with Charlie fancy digital system and stolen tech from the Brits, would make things a lot easier. The bunker would become the hunter HQ that it was always meant to be. And Sam and Dean would still go there from time to time, but it would become more like a workplace than an actual home.

Magazines apparently said you had to keep them separated and all that. So, they were trying.

He wasn’t even halfway done when he found his old phone. It was not too ancient or anything and he used to like it just fine, but for Christmas Claire and the girls had gotten him a new one (“not for work!!” said the note attached to it) so he had just dumped it in here.

It had no SIM card, but there were some police contacts (useful) and the Candy Crush app (not useful). He went on to check the gallery and was surprised to find still some pictures in it.

He snorted, seeing one of the last taken – Sam, drunk on Christmas Day, a paper crown askew on his head, trying to focus enough to play Jenga with someone who was out of the shot. Dean didn’t remember who it was anymore. Sam had the most incredible face on.

Oh, there were pictures from when they went to visit Garth! He had taken them at Frontier Stables in Frederic and Dean and Gertie had possibly been equally excited about riding a horse. There were a bunch of pictures of that day, including one Garth had taken of him where he looked like an absolute dork.

Wow, they must have been at least a year or so older, he had totally forgotten about them. Now, he couldn’t just put the phone down and resume his work. He debated with himself (very briefly) if he could afford a break or not and then flopped down on the floor covered in cardboard boxes to look through the rest of the gallery.

Most of the pictures were cases related, articles and crime scenes, then a bunch of landscapes, an amazing looking burger from that joint in Texas.

There was one with Cas that he had taken one night. Dean’s face was on the foreground, on the left, and he was making a funny face, his index finger to his lips. The red couch was visible behind his shoulders and Cas was by his side, his face turned towards the television screen and lighted by it.

They had been cooped up in Dean’s cave for nearly four hours and all that time Sam was freaking out because he didn’t know where they were and he couldn’t find them. When Dean had checked his phone, he had found fourteen missed calls and a bunch of texts. He had sent him that picture back and written shh it's movie night.

Sam had come bursting through the door two seconds later and bitched at him for fifteen minutes for having his phone on silent and then stayed and watched Back to the Future III with them.

This was before he and Cas even got together – well, officially at least.

It felt like so long ago, back when they were all: fingers brushing, intense gazing, losing track of time when alone together. They were so clueless.

It had sorted itself out though. A couple of weeks after that, Dean had fallen asleep on Cas’ shoulder and Cas had spent the rest of the night holding him and he had done that every night since.

Dean smiled and scrolled down, back in time.

More photos on the road, book pages, his car against a pretty sunset. Then a group selfie that they sent to Jody for her birthday. Sam and Eileen were still living at the bunker then and Sam was holding the phone, on account of having three feet long arms. They were standing in the kitchen, Eileen right next to him, under his other arm and Dean next to Eileen.

Cas had appeared on the door as they were getting in position so Sam he had told him to hurry up, get in the frame and he had come to stand next to Dean, stiff like a statue. Sam had said, a little closer, so Dean had slung an arm around his neck and pulled him towards him.

Right when Sam had been about to snap it, Cas had grabbed Dean’s hand, that was dangling over his shoulder. So of course, in the picture Dean looked like a total idiot, with his eyes wide and his lips slightly parted in surprise. He had even stopped breathing a little and Cas next to him had the audacity to look totally oblivious. Dean zoomed in on his face and cackled at himself. God, and what was up with that haircut he had, did he even look at himself in the mirror.

He went on.

A few rows below there was another selfie. It was just him this time and it was terrible, the sunlight making the picture look all wrong, like there was a filter on it. It was a vertical shot that showed just about his face and shoulders.

It had been early in the morning, he was bleary-eyed and there was a little wrinkle in between his eyebrows because he had been in the car waiting for Sam to come back with their coffee for twenty minutes.

Cas had texted him out of the blue, Can you send me a picture of you? and Dean had snapped it and sent it without thinking and then he had written, what do you need it for and Cas had written back, I just miss you. Dean had almost dropped his phone, then put it away and not looked at it until late that night. Yeah, it hadn’t been one of his best moments.

Finally he had managed to pull out the conversation again. He had typed and deleted miss you too and same and same, man about a thousand times and then ended up writing your turn now.

He remembered that Cas had been quick to reply with an even worse shot than the one he had sent. Some blurry picture he had taken under a streetlight, his face wearing an intense expression, as if he needed to focus to tap once on a screen. Still, Dean had looked at it for an hour before he had gone to sleep. What a sap.

Thinking of that photo reminded him of another one. He wondered if? It took a while to find it, but it was there, almost at the end of the gallery, right after a picture of Jody in a ridiculous sun hat from when they all went to the beach for the weekend.

It was there. Their first selfie together. He snorted out loud.

He had been pacing in the map room, cursing at his phone that was stuck with the camera open. He was trying everything and it just wouldn’t close.

Cas had come look over his shoulder while Dean had been furiously tapping, and that was when the screen had frozen and flashed and the result of that was a picture of the two of them from the most unflattering angle, frowning down at the phone. Two half faces, Dean on the right, Cas on the left. Dean thought it was hilarious.

Cas had said, “I think you took a picture,” because he was a great help as usual and Dean had said, “Yeah, no shit Cas,” and eventually had to restart the phone to make it work again.

He couldn’t believe that had happened more than two years ago.

“I’m done with the inventory of the herbs. Are you done in here?” said Cas, poking his head in from the hallway. Dean very obviously wasn’t done, but he was still smiling, so Cas said, “What is it?” and came to crouch beside him to peer at his phone and the infamous selfie, “Why did we take this?”

Dean laughed, “We didn’t. My phone was acting up.”

"And you kept it?"

"Yeah, of course I kept it," Dean said, tilting his phone away, as if Cas would jump him to delete it.

Cas had other priorities. He kissed his temple.

"Okay," he said amused, then, "Do you need help? Charlie is coming over in an hour to set up the - cables."

There were no cables. Cas clearly didn’t know what he was talking about, but Dean had no idea of what Charlie was supposed to do either, so.

"No, just - wait, let's take a picture," he said, grabbing his sleeve before he could get up. Cas settled once again next to him and Dean opened the camera and held his phone up, then got his other arm around Cas’ shoulders.

The light was not great, like anywhere else in the bunker and they looked exhausted after a day's work but still, not a bad sight, if Dean could say so himself.

He focused on Cas on the screen, the little smile on his lips.

He grinned. He was gonna spend the rest of his life with that face, he thought. Jesus.

"Dean?" Cas called, after another moment of nothing.

"Alright, alright," he said and snapped the picture.

@bend-me-shape-me said #deancassummerprompts21 and I said YES

[blouisparadise]

Here are some of the amazing bottom Louis fics that were posted or completed during the month of September. We hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Hard Candy Dripping On Me (Til My Feet Are Wet) | Explicit | 1997 words

Louis gets fucked on a plane. That’s it.

2) Fucking Nightmares | Mature | 2151 words

Louis has a nightmare. Harry comforts him.

3) You Could Take A Lick (But It's Too Cold To Bite) | Explicit | 2469 words

“You look kinda thirsty.” Louis croons softly.

Harry leans back in his chair and tilts his head to the side. His eyes are covered by the pair of expensive shades, but Louis feels his eyes drifting down his backside as he lays on his stomach.

“Why don’t you bring me a bit of that ice cream, darling?”

Louis and Harry have fun in a summer day.

4) Interview With The Vampire  | Explicit | 4135 words

Note: The fic pairing is Louis/Robert Pattinson.

Working at an alpha magazine wasn't always easy for an omega like Louis, but he's just landed his biggest interview yet with an A list actor who has asked for Louis especially. Unfortunately, the interview is with Rob Pattinson, the biggest pain in the arse alpha on the planet.

Inspired by Rob’s interview in GQ Magazine and not actually about vampires

5) Conozco La Vida | Teen & Up | 4761 words

Note: This fic contains no explicit smut, but since it’s omega Louis, we’ve included it. 

"I have a son," he declared, there was a very thinly veiled layer of hesitation.

Harry was unaware in the direction which this conversation was heading but chose to stare at the man instead.

"He is an Omega," he dropped the pivotal piece of information.

Harry's attention was hooked now.

"He has been raised in an Omega convent all his life, he hasn't been in the presence of any Alpha who isn't his immediate family."

"I am still waiting for you to make a point."

"You could take him as an Omega."

Harry did not react, his face remaining perfectly free of betrayal of any sort of emotion and leaned back upon his chair, his leg crossed upon his knee. "You are selling your son to me?"

6) It’s Hard For Me To Go Home | Not Rated | 4890 words

Don’t call me baby again.

7) So Baby, Let's Keep It Secret | Explicit | 4638 words

“I’ll leave with you,” Harry said after a beat, sounding sure of himself.

“What!? No!, you can’t leave with me, Harry, you have a life here. You have a job and friends an-”

Harry kissed him in the middle of his rambling. “Which means nothing if I don’t have you.”

Into You Music Video AU.

8) ZOMOS | Mature | 5659 words

Is it easy to forget everything and start afresh? Is it easy being served with hateful glances and insults when all you wish for is to be loved? Is it easy to make it seem like everything is alright when in reality your world is crumbling into pieces with every breath you take?

Is it easy to be the omega who is unwanted by their alpha?

9) Your Biggest Fan | Explicit | 9075 words 

Just like everyone else, Louis has a few habits that he can’t seem to break. Guilty pleasures, rather. His nails are perpetually short because he can’t quit biting them, the bottom of his shoes scuffed from tapping his foot constantly. Sometimes his leg gets a cramp from bouncing it so often underneath his desk. That isn't too bad, he reckons, just some average teenage coping mechanisms.And also, occasionally, minor instances of theft.

10) Making A Splash | Explicit | 9557 words

“You want this?” Harry muses, fisting his cock as he drags his hand lazily up his thick length. Louis eyes the motion and nods his head absentmindedly. “You want to show everyone at this beach how much of a slut you are for Daddy’s cock?”

“M‘your slut,” Louis immediately replies, inching closer, inching closer with his eyes glued on Harry’s glistening cock, precome shining under the sun as it dribbles out his slit.

Harry grins widely and stops the movement of his hand to grip himself at the base again, pushing Louis’ head down. “Show everyone how much of a slut you are.”

11) Hung Up High in the Gallery | Mature | 14006 words

When Harry’s best friend, Louis, comes to support him at his art show, he decides they need to do some celebrating afterwards. How fast do the lines between friends and lovers get blurred ... or better, get painted?

12) My Home Is Your Body | Explicit | 15341 words

Note: The fic pairing is Louis/Henry Cavill.

He had seen who had made his senses go haywire. His ex was in the front row, five feet in front of him. He felt his eyes on him even as he mechanically made his way to the end of the runway, hoping to God he didn’t look like a maniac. Everything was a blur. He somehow managed to walk the rest of the way without falling or emoting anything. Why was he HERE? Of all places.

...where Louis is a successful omega model and the last thing he expects is his ex to become the co-partner of the new company he works for....

13) There's Nothing Like It (Nothing At All) | Explicit | 15471 words 

Note: This is a sequel to this fic.

His hands are outstretched on the mattress like he’s reaching out for something, reaching out for Harry. It makes his heart swell, almost bursting with affection and love. He only waits a bit longer before reaching over to turn off the light and pulling Louis to his chest, smiling when the omega immediately sighs in contentment, nuzzling into his skin happily.Tomorrow, he tells himself. Tomorrow, they’ll talk about it.-Or, Harry isn’t ready for things to change, and the end is just the beginning.

14) Seven Simple Words | Explicit | 15535 words

It’s not like he and Louis were a couple. No, they might have been a lot of things—best mates and colleagues with a seemingly convenient friends-with-benefits arrangement—but never a couple. It wasn’t Louis’ fault he didn’t feel the same way and couldn’t reciprocate Harry’s feelings in the way he’d wanted, the way he’d needed. Harry had allowed himself to get in too deep, his entire being aching to be loved back by the object of his affections. But in love, as in life, you don’t always get what you want.

15) Works Like A Charm | Explicit | 18061 words

Ever since Louis joined the team in fifth year, a few facts have become set in stone.

One: Louis is the best chaser in Hogwarts.

Two: Harry is the best beater in Hogwarts.

Three: They do not get along.

So it’s really unfair of Liam to think that forcing them to spend time together as Louis recovers from his injury will make them the best of friends. The last thing Louis would do is get along with that git.

16) The Way This River Runs | Explicit | 27417 words 

It’d be so easy to just open his mouth and plead with Harry, to scream I’m sorry until his voice disappears, but he can’t. Be it his pride or his ego or his insecurities, he just can’t do it. The worst part is that he knows Harry would probably forgive him.

But Louis doesn’t want phony forgiveness. He doesn’t want Harry’s soothing words and pity embrace, thinks he might just break altogether if he was offered them. He feels like he’s made of glass recently and it’s to the point where he kind of wants to tip over the edge, just to see if he’d shatter. Just to see who’d be there to pick up the pieces if he did.

17) Give Me Love | Explicit | 41041 words

Louis doesn't feel like a good omega, Harry doesn't remember how to be an alpha, and they figure it out together.

18) Falling Out Of Fashion | Explicit | 42123 words

Harry Styles has been the established face of the Grimshaw House of Design for two years. It’s a prestigious and coveted modeling contract Harry took away from once-famed supermodel Zayn Malik. With the model transition Grimshaw’s designs went from a more urban, Zayn-forward aesthetic, to a Harry-favoring flowery, flowing femininity in the Grimshaw designs for men.

So when Harry sees a dress Grimshaw made for a famous Marvel actress, “only a tease”, Nick says, of the evolving look, Harry knows Grimshaw is shifting his aesthetic.

Harry wonders if he can pull off the look.

19) Three Days In February | Explicit | 189346 words

Louis is cursed after a night out with the lads and the five have just three days to figure out what happened and how to break it before Harry and Louis both lose their sanity and maybe something more. Louis can hear everything Harry thinks and Harry isn’t sure he can keep his feelings for Louis a secret from his own mind.

Ridiculous amounts of banter and angst, a lot of Harry and Louis alone together, a healthy dose of OT5 friendship, and one very magical weekend.

20) Boss Bitch | Explicit | 386901 words

Harry had always wanted to work for this successful mafia; the mafia that everyone knew, everyone feared. Led by none other than the pahntom

"L'eue Courante", whom everyone knew existed, but had no other clues who this person could be. The only thing known was a high heel the phantom once left.

So this person had to be woman, Harry assumend. And man, was he wrong.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.

[procrastinatorimagines]

I Want Us Part 5

Fandom: Chicago PD / SVU

Series: I Want Us

Part 1 //  Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 // Part 8 // Part 9 // Part 10 (Final)

Pairing/s: Sonny Carisi x Intelligence!Reader

Warning/s: tw rape, murder, assault

Word Count: 1,623

Summary: The Intelligence Unit’s last case with Manhattan SVU had them flying out to New York to track down an abducted boy, and had Dectective Y/L/N and Detective Carisi growing close in the process. Now, a string of rape-murders in Chicago has SVU boarding the next flight out, believing the suspect to be the same man responsible for a set of identical crimes 10 years prior. As the case unfolds, Y/N and Carisi are brought back together, reigniting the spark between them.

As it turned out, it wasn’t too long at all. About six months after you’d closed your New York case, putting a child abductor behind bars where he belonged and reuniting a boy with his family, you received an urgent message from Voight requesting you all come in to the district. 

It was early on a Saturday morning following a few drinks at Molly’s the previous night, but it was so rare for Voight to call you in like this on your day off that you knew it had to be important. 

You were just multi-tasking getting dressed and downing an inordinate amount of caffeine when you got a phone call, ‘Detective Carisi’ flashing up on the screen as you paused, one leg in your trousers.

“Hey you,” you answered, putting the phone between your shoulder and ear so you could continue to get ready, curious about why he was calling. 

“Morning, sorry to call so early, but I figured you’d be awake,” he greeted, sounding like he was walking somewhere, the familiar sounds of traffic filling the background.

“Yeah I am, I’m about to head into work though, Voight’s wants us in for some reason, what’s up?” You informed him, looking around for your keys as you finished the last drops of your coffee.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, “Your Sergeant didn’t tell you? It’s why I’m calling actually, we’re coming to Chicago.” Now that did take you by surprise, Voight’s message hadn’t said anything about SVU, but you weren’t that surprised, it was Voight.

“Oh yeah? Know anything about the case?” You asked, your slight smile at the thought of seeing Carisi somewhat quashed by the fact that it meant something seriously bad was going on in your backyard. 

“A serial rapist that went dormant a few years back seems to have resurfaced in Chicago-” he explained, getting cut off by the sound of someone calling his name in the background, “Sorry, I’ve got to get to my flight, see you soon?”

“Yeah, let me know when you touch down. Oh, and Carisi?” You heard him pause, “this time you get to see what real pizza is supposed to taste like.”

He laughed on the other end of the line, “uh huh, we’ll see; bye Y/N.”

“Bye,” you hung up, a bit of a smile still on your face as you went about finishing up to leave your apartment. 

You and Carisi had kept in contact since you’d gotten back from New York. Nothing serious or anything, but you’d had a good time together and really seemed to connect on your short visit. The conversation had always felt natural, just chatting into the night for no other reason than just enjoying each other’s company. It was nice, whatever it was, and you were looking forward to seeing him in person again.

Throwing on your shoes and coat you headed out the door, making your way to the 21st. As much as you were looking forward to seeing Carisi, you had a job to do. 

-

You arrived at the 21st at the same time as Antonio, catching up to him on the steps as you entered. “Know what we’re doing here on this glorious Saturday morning?” He asked, gesturing to the brilliant sunshine and cloudless sky. 

Antonio had been planning a weekend with his kids, he’d been talking about it all week, and you felt a pang of guilt for not remembering until now. You might not have had plans, or much of an actual life, but that didn’t mean the rest of the unit, your partner especially, hadn’t had to drop a lot to come in today.

“Only that it’s important, SVU’s on their way,” you filling him in on what Carisi had told you as you waved good morning to a desk Sergeant you didn’t recognise. At least Trudy still got the weekend, you thought to yourself, but then even Hank Voight wouldn’t risk her fury at being asked to come in on a Saturday morning. 

The pointed look Antonio gave you had you rolling your eyes, but he was the only one who knew that you still kept in touch with Carisi, though the rest of them had given you hell the second you’d boarded that plane home from New York.

You buzzed the both of you in upstairs, not the first to arrive but not the last either as Jay, Hailey and Kim milled about the bullpen, helping Voight set up the board with your new case. 

“Need a hand?” Antonio asked after morning greetings were made, examining what was up on the board so far. You joined him after throwing your jacket over the back of your desk chair, picking up with folder Voight had left on your desk. Everyone had one laid out for them, so you flicked through it as the others spoke.

“Nah we’ve pretty much got it all set up, this is a pretty thin case considering, well, everything about it,” Jay answered, following his eyes to where he glanced at the board, a row of 9 young women, nearly identical in their pale skin, blonde hair, and delicate features. 

“Christ,” you muttered, looking from their images on the board to the crime scene photos in the file in your hand. All the women looked like porcelain dolls, their hair and make up immaculate, and all of them were dressed in different ball gowns, their hands laid over their chests with a single rose inclosed. 

“Not the start to the weekend you expected huh?” Kim commented grimly as Voight emerged from his office, two photographs, the rest of the unit filling in up the stairs.

“I think Jessica Connors would agree,” Voight answered, drawing the attention of the room as you greeted the others, sticking up two more photographs next to the other 9, who must have been the New York victims. 

The next two women looked nearly identical to the others, flicking to the back of the file to find their reports as Voight spoke. “She was found late last night, same M.O as the rest,” he told you all, pointing to the second photograph he’d stuck up. “This is Lily Hamilton, found the same way a week ago. The connection between the victims was made last night and a further connection was made with these other 9 women, all matching the M.O to the letter, including aspects not released to the press, and all coming from New York 10 years ago.”

“Special Victims?” Kevin asked, earning a nod from Voight.

“Captain Benson, Detective Carisi and Officer Tamin are already on their way,” he replied, “this is going to be a big case, the press is already picking up on the story, and the Commissioner thought it would be best if we took it given our history of working successfully with New York’s Special Victims Unit.” 

Your mind went instantly to Carisi but you shut him out, now wasn’t the time to think about seeing him ago. This case would have been before he’d joined the unit, but you figured maybe Captain Benson would know more, they might have even working it back in the day. 

“All the women, practically identical, went missing within a 6 month window, with gaps ranging from a couple of days to a couple of months. The only connection NYPD found was their appearance, and he seems to have kept them alive for varying lengths of time before killing them and dressing them up like this. They never found out where, but they weren’t killed in the woods. Signs of sexual assault were obvious, but actual damage to their body was minimal. The cause of death was a concoction of lethal drugs injected into their system, the contents of which were not released to be public but match both our cases and New York’s,” Voight relayed the basics.

“So how are we working this?” Hailey asked, perched up on her desk with her head rest on her chin, staring thoughtfully at the board in front of you all.

“I want Burgess, Ruzek and Antonio on the old New York cases, see if anything was missed or if any potential suspects have surfaced in Chicago recently. Atwater and Rojas will re-examine the first crime scene, I want every stone unturned. Upton and Halstead will interview both of the families, see what they were doing when they went missing, but remember, we only found Jessica last night, so tread carefully.”

You couldn’t help but notice one name not mentioned. “Sergeant-” You began to ask, slightly raising your hand. He turned to you before you could finish.

“Y/L/N, Benson requested you work with her unit for this case, seems you made quite an impression in the way you handled our last case with them, you’ll be heading to the most recent crime scene after you’ve all reviewed the case notes, meet them there when they touch down,” he explained, Antonio suppressing a smirk and others glancing at you curiously. 

You didn’t know what to say, so you nodded to let him know you understood, Benson’s comment about a change of scenery resurfacing in your mind. You hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but maybe she’d actually been serious. 

“What are you all still doing standing around, let’s get moving,” Voight ordered, snapping all of you into gear as you quickly pushed that from your mind too, heading back to your desk and ignoring the raised brow Antonio gave you.

You had a case to work and a killer to catch, and with Special Victims touching down in a couple of hours, whoever this rapist was, their luck had just run out. 

[eideticmemory]

EVER SINCE NEW YORK II | MATTHEW GRAY GUBLER

Description: Description: I was messaged saying: “If you don’t write a young Matthew enemies to lovers fic featuring an obsession with sucking on boobs then what’s the point 😔.” So, here it is, folks! The ultimate College!Matthew fic.

PART 2! Read Part 1 here.

Soundtrack:

Maps - Maroon 5.

Me & Ur Ghost - Blackbear.

Keep You Close - Frenship.

Word Count: 3,341.

Rating: M.

Warning/Includes: Sexual intercourse, substance use, a bit of angst.

Fall, Sophomore Year.

Tisch School of the Arts,

New York University.

New York City. 

“Okay, you know what?” You scoffed, throwing your hands up in surrender. “I give up. I don’t give a fuck anymore.”

Claire laughed from behind you, “You alright over there?”

“No,” you grumbled. You pressed down on the black frame, using all your might to make the command strip stick to the wall. Yet, when you stepped back, it would pop off of the surface, and your ballet poster was lopsided. It’d been a vicious cycle for 10 minutes. “This goddamn command strip won’t stick. What the fuck?” 

“Okay, grumpy, step away from the poster,” Claire ordered, grabbing onto your shoulders and escorting you to the center of the room. “The room looks great, [y/n], why are you so stressed?” 

“I am not stressed. I am frustrated, and those damn command strips aren’t cheap. I’m pissed.” 

“Okay, staples queen, tell you what,” she sighed. “I will go buy you a pack of command strips and personally mount the poster myself, okay?” 

You looked up at Claire, giving her a soft smile. “Did I win the roommate lottery or what?”

“Yeah, but better not say stuff like that too much. People are gonna start thinking we’re a different type of roommates.”

You laughed, and shook your head at her. 

“[y/n], what’s up?” Claire asked. “You’ve been moody as fuck ever since we moved back in for the semester. Classes haven’t even started yet and you’re moping around. What’s going on?”

Well, Claire, you thought. I’m glad you asked. I’m glad you brought it up, because I’ve been dying to talk about it for a while. You see, I fucked my mortal enemy, and it was so good that I did it a second time. And no, I’m not talking about my cinematography professor, I’m talking about Matthew. Gubler. I fucked Matthew Gubler. Yes, I know. Hell has frozen over. Because I hated him. I hate him. I think he’s awful. Especially since he thinks it’s okay to fuck someone, ignore their existence, fuck them again, ignore their existence, and then leave them with a vague ass note? 505. 505! I’ve looked up every possible meaning of 505 that there is. The song, urban dictionary, numerology. And I can’t figure the shit out. And it doesn’t help that Matthew didn’t say a word to me over summer break. I’m just lost and confused and I know you would understand and you would know what to do. 

But it’s Matthew. 

And I can’t tell anyone. Especially you. 

“Last semester was a royal disaster,” you sighed. “I just don’t wanna overwhelm myself again. Y’know with class, and shows, and parties. I wanna do right this semester, but it’s a little stressful. So, I’m a little stressed.” 

Claire looked at you for a long time, eyebrows lowered and her eyes scanning your face. She had a gut feeling that you were lying, but didn’t wanna be a bitch. So she bit her tongue. 

“Let’s go get something to eat,” she smiled. 

Classes started that following Monday. Your first lecture was at 10 o’clock. And you woke up at 10:15. Having showered the night before, you brushed your teeth, put on your outfit and fixed your hair all in ten minutes and hiked it across campus in 4 minutes. You rushed up to the classroom door, and entered the lecture very calmly. People were scattered about in the auditorium, some towards the sides, a lot front and center. But only one person sitting in the very back row.

Matthew. 

Too occupied with explaining yourself to your professor, you didn’t notice Matthew until a few minutes after entering. You refused to make eye contact with him, nervously staring at your feet as you walked over to him. And took a seat at his side. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.” 

Those were the only words spoken for an hour and fifteen minutes. However, within 10 minutes of seeing you again, Matthew began to rub your thigh. His fingers grazed the top of your leg, slowly but surely making their way to your inner thigh. You held your breath, staring up at the professor the whole time and pretending to take notes. 

When Matthew’s fingers pressed against your clit, you almost gasped. But you kept your mouth shut, stifling the sound. He smirked to himself, only glancing at you when you were too shaken up to notice. You propped up the screen of your laptop, hiding your face behind it so you could let out quiet moans. You were so sensitive, and very glad that you wore a skirt to class. 

Matthew’s fingers slid your panties to the side and made skin to skin contact with your clit, applying pressure as he rubbed you. You exhaled for a long time, swear words wanting to fly out of your mouth instead. The professor’s words drowned out a long time ago, and at this point you didn’t care. You just needed to come. 

Matthew remembered the way you liked to be touched, he had to. Because he was able to bring you to the edge so quickly, it was insane. You clenched your thighs around his wrist to signal your nearing release, and he grinned. 

You rested your head on the keyboard of your laptop, hiding from everyone as you came. Your jaw dropped, and you had to stop yourself from groaning too loudly. Matthew removed his hand from under your skirt. He sucked on the tips of his fingers, just to get the taste of you on his tongue. Then, with only 2 minutes left in class, he packed up his stuff and walked out.

You should’ve dropped the class. At the very least, sat somewhere else. But you didn’t. You stayed in that course. With Matthew. In the back row. And wore skirts every other day for a month. Some days he would repeat the action, and some days he wouldn’t. It was like he could tell how desperate you were each time. And if you were really desperate, he simply didn’t touch you. It sucked, but it kept you on your toes. 

He missed class one day, and to cope, you had a dream about him that night. You imagined him using his mouth on you, in an empty lecture hall, bending you over the desk, making you come. When you woke up, you were in a cold sweat. You couldn’t believe you were having thoughts like this about Matthew Gubler. But you were. 

You hopped out of bed, put on your slippers, and left the room to go to the vending machines. Holding a soda and some candy, you walked back to your dorm room silently. Alerted by the sound of footsteps, you turned your head down the hall to see Claire walking out of someone’s room. She noticed you and rushed up to you with a big smile. 

“Hey!” She beamed. “What are you doing up?”

“Oh, uh, I couldn’t sleep. Where you been?”

She sighed happily, “I’ve been doing adult things, [y/n], I cannot lie.” She wrapped her arm around your shoulder as you both walked to your room. “I’m in love, kid. It’s crazy.”

“You’re in love? With who?”

“Ah, that will soon be revealed, my dear [y/n].” 

That weekend, you two invited everyone to come hang out at your dorm. Someone was able to swipe some liquor, and it was a party. A handful of people, getting a little tipsy, music in the background. Claire insisted Matthew be invited, but you weren’t expecting him to show up. But of course, he did. Because he’s a nuisance. 

He laid down on Claire’s bed and she sat beside him, the two of them quickly joining the conversation at hand. You tried not to look like a kicked puppy, tried not to pout, to sulk, to watch. But inch by inch, second by second, Claire moved closer to Matthew, until by the end of the night, her head was on his chest. 

That Monday, you sat in the front of the class. 

And every class after that for the next month. 

Missing your daily release, you became cranky and nasty and moody. You didn’t mean to, but that’s how it happened. To help you get over the nagging feeling, you went out one Saturday night. A group of friends dragged you along to a dorm party in the next building over. You used it as an excuse to dress up, ignore your homework and get some fresh air. In a tight purple dress, you walked into the booming dorm. It was packed, smelled like booze and filled with heat. 

A cup of vodka in your hand, it wasn’t until about two hours in that you realized you didn’t want to party. You sat on the couch the whole time, fiddling with your hands and the hem of your dress. You’d drank an entire solo cup of alcohol by then, and you were starting to get tired. Your friends had gotten lost a long time ago, and you knew it was fruitless to look for them. So, you picked yourself up and started to head for the exit. 

“[y/n]!” 

You turned around to see a guy walking towards you. Jonathan. “Hey, John, what the hell is going on?” You asked, noticing him supporting another guy on his shoulder. His friend was a drunken, sloppy mess, and could barely stand.

“Our boy Steve here had a little too much to drink,” John replied. “I’m taking him back to his room. You going back to your place?”

You nodded, “Yeah. I am.”

“Okay, do you mind helping me with him? Please? I’ll give you a dollar.”

You laughed, shook your head and put your arm around Steve’s waist. “Ooh, a dollar! Sounds exciting.” 

It was cold, and you shivered on the way back to your dorm building. Steve only lived down the hall from you, so helping wasn’t too far out of the way for you. John used Steve’s key to let the three of you into Steve’s suite, guiding both of you to Steve’s room. 

You both worked together to lay Steve down on his mattress. You covered him with his blanket. 

“You’re a lifesaver,” John told you. “We both are actually.”

“Maybe we should start a business. We escort drunk people home for a small fee of $100.”

He laughed, “I’m in as long as you dress like that every time.”

You blushed, and ducked your head down to hide it. 

“What’s going on in here?” A voice called to you two. 

You looked up at the threshold to see Matthew standing there, looking sleepy, disheveled, shirtless, and beautiful. 

“Hey, Gube,” John greeted. “[y/n] and I were just dropping Steve off. Kid couldn’t  hold his liquor.” 

Matthew scoffed, “You could’ve left him there. Let him get dicks drawn on his face.”

“Well, aren’t you full of love?” John laughed. “No, seriously, I’ve gotta text Lindsey and let her know I’m staying in for tonight.” He padded at his pocket, followed by a loud groan, “Fuck, I left my phone at the party. Fuck me.” 

“That’s a higher power trying to tell you that you need to stay out longer,” Matthew said. 

John smirked at him, “You’re right. Wonderful insight, Gubler.”

John walked out of the door, heading for the exit, and you followed him, avoiding eye contact with Matthew. As the two of you approached the front door, you froze. John exited the suite, not noticing that he was leaving you behind. And you would’ve moved if you had the power. 

Hanging on the door of the suite was the room number: 505.

Your breath caught in your throat. 505. The room number. The room number of the suite you saw Claire leaving that day. 505.

“What took you so long?” Matthew asked, standing behind you. 

You released your breath, goosebumps crawling on your skin as you felt him get closer to you. Your heart raced, your body trembled. You had a physical response to being near this boy. It was intense. 

“I’m not doing this, Matthew,” you whispered. 

“Doing what? We’re just talking.”

You turned around to face him, suddenly very angry, “No! You know what I’m talking about! You know what I’m talking about! And it’s gone on for long enough, Matthew. I’m out!” You kept your voice quiet, but still aggressive. You turned to exit the dorm, but he grabbed onto your waist and pulled you into him. 

“Listen, Princess Peach,” he said.

“Fuck you—“

“Listen. I don’t know what your deal is, but I do know that I miss you—“

“You’re full of shit. You just wanna fuck.”

“That’s what I said. I miss you. I mean, for such a short person, your pussy packs a punch.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Face it,” he murmured. “You may hate me, but your pussy doesn’t.”

Your body melted into his at the sound of his voice. The feeling of his hands running down your body, landing on your thigh. “Just admit it. Or tell me to stop.” His fingers trailed under your dress, the tips grazing you through your panties. Your head rolled back at the gentle touch and he took that as an invitation to kiss your neck. 

“Cmon, shortcake, tell me to stop,” he mumbled. “Tell me to stop.” 

You responded by wrapping your hands around his throat, using all your strength to push him out the living room couch. He chuckled under his breath, stumbling back onto the cushion and pulling you into his lap. 

“Oh, you gonna choke me?” He asked, his voice coming out strained. “Okay, princess, you hate me so much? You can’t stand me?” He pushed his pants down to reveal his erection. “Fuck me like it then.” 

You crashed your lips onto his and pushed him back onto the couch, reaching down to grab his cock. You pulled your panties to the side and teased him against your core, moaning as his tip rubbed against your clit. You sank down onto his dick, feet pressed into the couch, hands holding his neck. 

He stared up at you as you fucked him — fast and careless. Swear words fell off of his lips uncontrollably, his hands pawing at your breast. Your boobs fit perfectly in his palm and he was obsessed. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to stay quiet, grunting into his mouth. 

“F-fuck,” he panted. “Wait, wait.” 

You leaned in and kissed him roughly, grinding your hips against his. You made sure to stay silent, giving no indication that you were experiencing so much pleasure. 

“H-hey — shit, fuck,” he groaned. “Wait.”

Matthew placed his hands on your ass, his eyes closed tight, his body tensing up as you rode him into the wall. “Oh, fuck!” He exclaimed, and lifted you off of his cock. Quickly, just in time for him to release all over his stomach. He panted, he quivered, he mumbled soft, dirty words. Whispered something about you. 

As pretty a sight as it was, you refused to sit there and stare. So, you stood up, pulled the hem of your dress down. And this time, you left. Not a word said. Nothing. 

Matthew followed you on instagram that night. You didn’t accept the request for a week, and when you did, you didn’t follow him back. He tried to add you on snapchat, but you declined it. You continued to sit far away from him in class, giving him no access. He brought you a drink at a party once and you asked for water instead. When he returned with the water, you had already left. 

He had met his match. You dominated him, successfully, fearlessly, and without even trying. He wanted more. But you liked to watch him so squirm, so you didn’t give in. 

Christmas break rolled around, and instead of focusing on the actual holiday, you and your friends planned your first spring break vacation. A group of you would head to South Beach for the week, and stay at a relative’s beach house. 

You sat on your bed, trying to map out the cost of the trip. “So it’s me, you, the four of them...Claire, are you listening to me?”

“Is this a good Christmas gift for Matthew?” 

You turned your head to her quickly, “Huh?” 

“This,” she held up the book - The Magic Encyclopedia. “You think Matthew will like it?”

“Claire,” you sighed. “What are you doing?” 

“What do you mean?”

“What are you doing simping over this boy? Buying him gifts? This isn’t you, Claire.”

“Leave me alone, [y/n], okay? We’re just friends. And he told me he bought me a gift so I got him one. Jeez, do you have to hate him so much?” She pouted, dropping the book into a gift bag. 

“Um, actually, yeah I do,” you nodded. “He’s a dick.”

A knock rang at the door, and as Claire hopped up, she pointed her finger at you, “That’s him. Do not pick a fight.”

You rolled your eyes and went back to planning. Matthew stepped into the room, carrying a bag in one hand. He used his other hand to cup Claire’s face and give her a small kiss on the cheek. “Santa Claus is here!” He exclaimed. 

“Gimme, gimme, gimme!” Claire pleaded, reaching for the gift bag. 

“Wow, Claire, I’m hurt. You’re so materialistic.” He chuckled. 

“Oh, please, Gube,” she scoffed. “Give me my gift.”

“Okay,” he reached into the bag and pulled out a small box, wrapped into festive paper. “I got this for you, Claire,” he handed her the box. “And I even got something for your roommate here.”

You picked your head up, face ridden with confusion. Matthew licked his lips as he held the gift out to you, “I saw it and I couldn’t help myself. Merry Christmas, short stack.” 

“Aw, Gube!” Claire squealed. Matthew let her tuck herself under his arm and hug him. “You’re so sweet.”

You stared at the tiny box in your hands, feeling it’s weight. “Thanks...” you whispered.

“Here, open what I got you,” Claired ordered Matthew, stepping over to her bed and grabbing the gift bag. She handed it to him with a wide smile, and giggled as he reached inside. 

“Wow!” He cheered, holding the book in his hand. “Holy shit, Claire. This is incredible, thank you!”

“I knew how much you wanted that book so I remembered to get it,” she said. “So, I hope your gift for me is as impressive.”

“It is.”

As the two of them spoke, you opened up your own gift, quietly, hiding it behind your pillow. Claire unwrapped Matthew’s gift, and squealed. “Shut up! Where did you find this film?”

“Amazon!” he replied. “That fancy camera of yours only takes a certain type of film so I wanted you to be stocked.”

You pulled the item out of the box, focused on figuring out what it was. It was cold, metallic, and shone under the light as it was revealed. 

“Oh, Gube!” Claire pulled him into a hug. “This is incredible!”

It was an antique. A silver polished miniature  ballerina, perched on a pedestal. There was a knob on the side, and when turned, the ballerina twirled. It was precious. 

You looked over at Matthew and Claire, watching as they broke out of their hug and looked at each other. “I expect a bunch of pictures when I get back,” he told her, backing out of the room. 

“And I expect a professional magician,” she winked. Yuck. Claire turned her head to you after Matthew left, grinning, “What’d he get you?” 

You quickly pushed the ballerina back in the box, shaking your head. “Socks. Mismatched socks. Very funny.” You replied. 

She giggled, “But hey, a gift! That’s growth!”

“Yeah, whatever,” you grumbled. 

“Matthew’s great,” She said. “You’ll get to know him better soon, since he’s coming to the beach with us.”

“He’s what?”

[PART 3.]

[erin-bo-berin]

Double The Surprise

MASTERLIST

Prequel to Thing 1 and Thing 2

Surprise! A new fic, two days in a row? I know, who am I? This was an anon request to do a gender reveal party of the twins from Thing 1 and Thing 2, so I made it sort of a prequel. I’ve linked the fic in case you haven’t read it. One thing to note, I included Diana, but in a more normal state so no Alzheimer's or schizophrenia. I’ve wanted to write something where she was free of any illnesses, so I added her in this like that. Besides, she’d DEFINITELY be there. Also, take a shot every time I say pink and blue, lord I was getting tired of saying that myself so sorry about that. Enjoy some Spencer and the team cuteness. Happy reading!

Spencer Reid/Reader

Rating: G (fluff)

Word Count: 3,285

You knew it was a mistake to let Penelope be in charge.

Not that she was bad at it at all, in fact she was wonderful. But when she had a secret that she actually wanted to keep a surprise, her lips were sealed tighter than your old jeans.

Penelope Garcia—the technical analyst at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and your husband, Spencer Reid’s teammate, coworker and friend—was the best at planning parties. Which is how she had gotten you and Spencer excited about the idea of a potential gender reveal party for the baby you and Spencer were expecting this fall.

You were currently 21 weeks and a bit larger than normal, although your doctor wasn’t worried. She had explained it could be due to the baby being bigger—your husband was over 6 feet after all—or perhaps you were a bit further along in your pregnancy than she first thought. Either way, at the last appointment, she had assured you that everything was looking fine.

The last appointment was also when you were able to find out the sex of the baby. 

Since you and Spencer really wanted to have a gender reveal party with your friends and the other team members of the BAU, you had invited Garcia to come along to the appointment. She would be informed of the sex and also have the results handed to her in a manila envelope, for the baker who would create the cake.

You were regretting your decision though because you were currently dying to know what baby Reid would be. It was amazing though, Garcia hadn’t even breathed the hint of a clue.

She was the worst person to keep a secret, so it was ironic when she refused to give into your pleading.

The gender reveal party was going to be this upcoming weekend, still a few days away and you were struggling with the anticipation.

The party details and planning helped curb your desire to know, though.

When Garcia had first suggested the idea, not long after you and Spencer announced your pregnancy, you were slightly hesitant about it. You didn’t know much about them or if anyone would even come. With the help of Penelope and her promise to take care of everything, you started coming around to the idea.

She was an excellent party planner because even though she took care of everything, she left plenty of room for you and Spencer to decide on details and things you wanted. Many nights were spent laying in bed, the two of you looking at gender reveal party ideas on Pinterest.

You actually thought Spencer was more excited for this party then you were. It was nice to know he was just as excited for it, though.

“Do you think she’d cave and tell us what we’re having if we surprise her with a red velvet cupcake?” you’d asked Spencer, one night that week.

“It’d probably be tempting for her, but I doubt it,” he answered you, “In fact, I’m surprised she’s kept quiet this long. She’s the worst at keeping secrets.”

“I know. I had her pegged to tell us within a day,” you huffed.

Spencer chuckled, kissing your head.

“Just think, it will be worth the wait when we find out what we’re having on Saturday.”

•

Surprisingly, Saturday did come rather fast. Although at the same time, it felt like eons to you. 

You were bursting with excitement for the party, which was to be held at David Rossi’s house.

Garcia had given you and Spencer strict instructions to not arrive until after 2 pm. She, with the help of her boyfriend Luke Alvez we’re going to be setting up everything for the party to keep the final display a surprise as well.

You were just as eager to wear the new outfit that Garcia had bought for you to wear—she really had thought of everything.

You had to admit, the ensemble was pretty cute.

You’d dressed in the sleeveless maxi dress that was designed in an alternating pink and blue chevron style and white flats that were partially hidden by the long skirt of the dress. Your bump was fully on display in the outfit, but it just made the dress seem even cuter.

It also helped that it was extremely comfy as well.

The finishing touch for the outfit was a flower crown. Yes, a flower crown. Garcia went all out when she did things, that’s for sure. 

It was a thin band of flowers that sat nicely on your head. One side was decorated with pink flowers while the other half had blue. With the entire outfit complete, you had to admit, Garcia definitely had picked a cute ensemble.

Spencer had come in just as you’d finished getting ready and whistled, making you blush.

“Why if it isn’t the sexiest baby mama around,” he grinned slyly, wrapping his arms around you from behind, “You look beautiful, Y/N.”

“You look rather charming yourself,” you chuckled.

His appearance wasn’t that much different than it was from his work attire. His suit pants and dress shirt were the same as usual, but Garcia had gotten him a pink and blue chevron tie to match your dress.

“Not exactly something I’d wear every day, but I like it,” he smiled, “Ready to find out what our baby is?”

“More than ever.”

•

The first thing you saw when entering Rossi’s backyard was a sign on the iron gate door to his backyard. 

There were a handful of pink and blue cardboard, cutout circles hanging on the gate door, along with a pink and blue cutout onesie that said We’re here for the sex. It made you laugh. This definitely had Garcia written all over it.

“I’m sure Rossi is thrilled with that hanging on his gate door,” Spencer laughed.

He took your hand and pushed the gate open into a pink and blue wonderland. 

You gasped as the two of you walked further into the backyard. Not only was the actual decorations and set up amazing, but the turnout was just as shocking.

The entire team was there; Emily Prentiss, Matt Simmons, his wife Kristy and all five kids—you’d specifically told Penelope that all the BAU kids were welcomed, you had a special place in your heart for them, just as she did.

JJ was there with her husband Will and her two boys Henry and Michael. Tara Lewis was there as well, always ready for a get together. Of course David Rossi was there as well with his third wife Krystall that he’d recently married again.

Luke and Penelope were of course in attendance, but what surprised you most was seeing the unexpected and surprise guests that Garcia had most definitely arranged to show up.

Former Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner was there with Jack, who was now taller than you. They both greeted you with a hug and their congratulations. Jack said he was mostly excited for cake and you couldn’t argue with that.

Derek Morgan, wife Savannah and little Hank Spencer Morgan had made it too. These kids were growing faster than you would like because now little Hank was 4 quickly approaching 5.

“Pretty boy!” Morgan greeted, hugging Spencer tightly, “It’s about time you became a father.”

You greeted Savannah and Hank, who was in his mother’s arms, suddenly a lot shyer than normal. After speaking to them both for a minute, they too went back to socializing with the others.

What was most surprising was seeing your parents and Spencer’s mom, Diana Reid.

“Mom! Dad!” you exclaimed, hugging them.

“Mom!” Spencer said, hugging Diana, “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“You think I was going to miss my grandbaby’s first party? I think not,” she grinned.

After greeting your parents, you hugged Diana yourself.

“It’s so good to see you Mrs. Reid,” you kissed her cheek.

It had been a little bit since you’d last traveled to Las Vegas with Spencer to visit her, not long after you’d married. Before that, you’d seen her at the wedding.

“Oh honey, you know I told you to call me Diana,” she beamed, “You’re the Mrs. Reid around here. How are you feeling?”

She rubbed a hand across your belly and you smiled.

“Feeling rather large, if I do say so myself,” you chuckled.

“Well there’s a good reason for that,” she winked, making your brows furrow in confusion.

Garcia was just on her way over to the three of you as Diana spoke and suddenly, she sped up, rushing over.

“Diana! How about I get you some punch and refreshments!” Garcia exclaimed, leading Diana away.

She turned to you and Spencer as she led his mother away.

“Take some time and look around before we do the reveal!” Garcia hollered.

“Come on, I wanna check things out,” you told Spencer.

You were beaming so big that he couldn’t help but chuckle and indulge you. He was pretty curious to check out everything too.

First off, there were pink and blue balloons everywhere. 

At the table where the food and refreshments were at, were gold letter balloons that spelled out the phrase Oh baby. 

The actual food spread was rather impressive too. There were finger sandwiches of chicken salad, turkey and ham, mixed nuts, vegetable plates with dip and of course, much to your delight was Alvez’s homemade salsa and guacamole, along with chips to dip. You’d be eating good this afternoon, that’s for sure.

The sweets were all gender themed, which was an adorable touch.

There were blue and pink chocolate covered strawberries, blue and pink cake pops—a mustache on the blue cake pop sticks and a bow on the pink ones—and hilariously enough, there were M&Ms in two bowls. One with peanuts were labeled Nuts and the other with plain was labeled No Nuts, hence the mystery of the baby’s sex.

“That’s ingenious,” Spencer commented, laughing, grabbing a handful of some.

There were blue plates with matching napkins and pink plates with pink napkins, along with alternating blue and pink jars that held the opposing color of plastic ware in them. 

At the very end of the refreshments table sat two huge glass jugs with spigots filled with blue and pink drinks. The blue was named Bouncing Blue Punch whereas the pink was Sweet Pink Lemonade.

“Wow, Luke and Penelope really went all out,” you gaped, amazed.

“And you haven’t even seen the best parts,” Garcia said, seemingly appearing out of thin air next to you, “Come on!”

She tugged on your arm excitedly, dragging you to another section of the party. You laughed, trying to keep up with her, looking behind you at a grinning Spencer who was following behind the two of you.

The first thing she had to show you, made you tear up thanks to the damn pregnancy hormones.

It was a canvas of animals in a little hot air balloon and the “balloons” were made up of thumbprints from all the guests, in the color of their guess of the baby’s gender. Even the kids had all done one.

There were a variety of pink and blue thumbprints, each one signed by the person. At the bottom of the canvas it read: Oh the places you’ll go.

“We all made our guesses and I put this together a week ago so it would be dry and ready to display for today,” Garcia beamed.

“I love it,” you said, your hand covering your mouth, still shocked at how beautiful it was, “Spence, this is going up in the nursery for sure.”

“Definitely,” he nodded, looking at it himself.

“This is amazing. Thank you, Garcia,” you breathed.

“Oh honey, we’re just getting started on the tour. Come on, there’s more to see.”

The next display was another interactive guessing game.

This was a chalkboard that read Twinkle, Twinkle, little star. How we wonder what you are!

One side of the board represented the boy votes and the other represented the girl votes.

“This is where everyone was able to vote as they came in with their guess,” she said.

You looked closer. So far a girl was winning by two.

“I also included two more interactive little games,” Garcia said, leading you to two more chalkboards.

One had Guess The Date written on it and the entire month of September written out. Your due date was approximately September 25th, which was listed at the top and sticky notes covered the dates of different attendee’s guesses on when the baby would arrive.

“Oh that is super cute,” you laughed.

Your eyes scanned over the numerous guesses.

Some had guessed as early as September 6th and others had guessed as late as September 30th.

“Pinterest, I’m telling you,” Garcia quipped.

The next board had a list of girls and boys names. Underneath the board and easel on each side was a basket, in the matching colors, slips of paper inside.

“This here is where the guests have tried to guess what your number one name for a boy and a girl is,” Garcia explained.

“So that explains why you asked for our top name for a boy and a girl,” Spencer mused.

“Yup.”

You looked at each column. There were a total of five names on each side.

The boys’ column included:

Carl

Aidan

Luke

Alexander

Matthew

The girls’ column included:

Daisy

Abrielle

Gabriella

Penelope

Paige

“Penelope? Luke?” you chuckled.

“Hey, for all they know you could be naming a kid after us!” she protested.

You smiled, seeing yours and Spencer’s top two picks on the lists—Abrielle for a girl or Alexander for a boy.

“Last but not least,” Garcia beamed, “You gotta see the cake. It’s amazing.”

The three of you walked to a table in the middle of the party where there were two chairs and a cake resting on the table.

“Obviously since it’s baby Reid, you two will be the center of attention,” Penelope said.

On the table was a beautiful cake decorated with blue and pink icing roses. One side was strictly pink roses and the other blue. The finishing touch was the various sized edible pearls that had been delicately placed in the center of each flower.

You audibly gasped.

“Penelope, it’s gorgeous!”

“Isn’t it though? I was in awe when I picked it up,” she commented.

“So the inside will be the reveal, right?” Spencer asked.

“Yes sir,” she smiled, “You guys ready to find out the gender?”

“Yes, please!”

You were practically bouncing on your heels like a child eagerly awaiting candy.

“First, I wanted to give you guys a little gift,” Garcia said, rushing over to the table where Luke sat, holding a gift bag.

“Garcia, you know we said no gifts!” you protested.

“Yeah, I know. But you know me,” she scurried back over, handing you the bag, “I can’t keep huge secrets.”

“What are you talking about?” you laughed, opening the bag.

Inside was a simple, cute, white baby onesie.

On the front, it said We’re having a baby! with the word baby scratched out.

“Why’s the word baby crossed out?” Spencer asked, peering over your shoulder at it.

He seemed to be just as puzzled as you were.

“Wait, there’s something else in the bag,” you observed, reaching in to pull out the second object.

It was a second white onesie that read Make that TWO babies!

“I couldn’t keep such a big secret obviously, so I told the entire team and they wanted to chip in on a present to announce it to you—this isn't all the gift though.”

You were stunned beyond belief and absolutely overjoyed.

“Twins?! Spence, did you hear that? We’re having twins!”

You turned to see your husband as white as a ghost, starting to sway.

“I-I-I think I need to sit for a moment,” he stammered, falling into the nearby metal folding chair.

“Spence, you okay?” 

You rushed to his side—as fast as your pregnant body would let you, that.

“Yeah, fine,” he muttered, still looking dazed, “Everything just started spinning there for a moment.”

Garcia was by his side with an unused paper plate, fanning him, just in case he was actually going to pass out.

The rest of the party’s eyes were on the spectacle, all of them clearly amused.

“Who knew the kid could create twins! Even his sperm is brilliant,” Derek hollered.

Everyone laughed at that and the fact that Savannah immediately stuck a sandwich in his mouth to quiet him.

“There are kids here, Derek!” she whispered loudly.

“Twins, huh?” Spencer asked.

The poor thing looked dumbstruck. 

“You sure you’re okay Spencer?” you asked, worried.

It’s like it took him a moment for it to finally sink in because he turned to you, a big grin on his face.

“Y/N, we’re having twins!”

He grabbed your face, kissing you, not caring about all the onlookers. You turned scarlet when he pulled away, a tad bit embarrassed that everyone was watching, but you were just as happy as him, so you couldn’t complain.

“My baby boy is going to have twins,” Diana smiled, coming over to wrap her son in a hug, “I was so excited when I heard that I almost ruined the surprise earlier!”

“Oh so that’s what you meant?” you asked, laughing.

That was definitely a good reason for you to be larger than normal. Your body was home to not one but two babies for the next little while.

“You knew, mom?” Spencer asked.

“Oh of course, Penelope called everyone,” Diana answered.

“You know I can’t keep a secret!” Garcia exclaimed, “This was my biggest one yet! It was the only way I could make it without bursting.”

“Speaking of everyone else,” JJ said, bringing up another, slightly larger gift bag, “This is from all of us, Hotch and Morgan included.”

“You wanna open it?” you asked Spencer.

He shook his head, indicating you could, so you did.

You pulled out a long, wood, plaque that read:

Our family is growing by

4 feet

and

2 hearts 

At the bottom, there was an engraving.

Reid Twins

It was absolutely perfect.

There were definitely tears on your end as you made your rounds hugging everyone and saying your thank yous.

You made your way back to the center table to Garcia, who you gave another huge hug.

“Thank you so much for putting together such an amazing party,” you said.

“It was my pleasure,” she smiled.

“Cut the cake already!” Both Jack and Henry hollered simultaneously, making everyone chuckle.

“I can’t argue with that, now can I?” you responded.

You managed to pull Spencer away from the conversation he was having with some of the guests and you both put your hands on the knife, cutting through the cake. It reminded you of your wedding reception, but this was ten times more exciting; you were expanding your family with the man you were in love with.

The entire backyard counted down.

“THREE!”

You looked over at Spencer, a big smile on your face. At this point, you didn’t think much more could surprise you than the news of having twins.

“TWO!”

He winked at you, silently reassuring you that no matter what the result, you two would raise these babies as a team.

“ONE!”

You both lifted up the slice, revealing a two layer cake; one layer was pink and one was blue.

“It’s a boy and a girl!” Spencer cheered.

You were pretty sure this day couldn’t get any better. 

You and Spencer would soon be welcoming fraternal twins; Abrielle Jade Reid and Spencer Alexander Reid. 

Little Abbie and Alex were going to be incredibly loved.

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[gorenvarner]

Preparing for war

I’m a crazy bitch who can’t accept a loss. Can’t accept a weakness.

I’ve missed the moment when I stopped losing in real life and continued losing only in my own world.

I am my own boss and yet I work my ass off photoshooting and editing every single day including weekends because I must earn over 1000$ this month. Otherwise I’d eat myself alive.

I workout hard and make progress towards achieving my dream body every day. Otherwise I’d eat myself alive.

I cracked my rib doing the same pole dance trick 20 times in a row trying to perfect it.  Otherwise I’d eat myself alive.

It doesn’t help though, because my standards are mad high. I haven’t perfected anything. There is progress, but I don’t seem to appreciate it.

My apartment got cleaner, but not clean enough. My eating habits became healthier, but not healthy enough. My social awkwardness got milder, but I’m not likeable enough. My body became stronger and prettier, but not enough.

Not enough. Never enough. Eating myself alive every day. Went about 4 days without majorly tearing my own skin apart in an obsessive trance mode. Got to the point my hands were shaking. Got to the point of being nervous 24/7. 

4 days, now I’m back at it like this break never happened.

10 years that I have dermatillomania.  10 years that I’m trying to win this war, and I end up losing over and over again. My own worst enemy. Showing weakness. Giving up. Hating myself.

Well guess what? This crazy bitch is going to win now. Over and over again.

Watch me.