#see also: why don't clean clothes fold themselves

[hotasfahrenheit]

welcome to the great questions of adulthood, buddy

[bunnyb34r]

Lmaooo someone's getting in trouuuuuble today and I can't be 100% sure bc I didn't see who did it but i think I know

Context under the cut bc it's a long one:

So I've bitched on here many a time about how front end will do aaaalll their go backs and leave the massive pile of clothing returns (that they would have time to do if they didnt let it build up the way they do) in our area

We've been having a constant 2+ FULL carts in our area for months now. We clear em, they come back the next day with more.

We've even been petty and taken them back up front before. It comes back with MORE

Now I get that front end is a hectic job but It's literally part of their job, they don't leave go backs of like baby isle stuff in the baby isles, or go backs of heavy cleaning supplies in the cleaning isle, it's only clothing bc they dont wanna do it/think we just fold clothes all day

AND they've been yelled at several times to stop fucking doing this, by several managers and team leads.

Well we got told yesterday that when we come in, even if it's just one of us that day, we are to empty the carts before ANYTHING else. K.

So BratBoy told [rc] who went to complain ab how unfair it is that we are forced to do this job when it is literally their responsibility to do it. And he said he told their manager several times and they still do it, so he's gonna start writing people up for it. Checking cameras to see WHO specifically did it.

Anyway, I come in and BratBoy told me to tell him if theres a cart there. There was.

It was maybe 10 items or so so not a lot, but that only goes to show HOW FUCKING EASY THEY COULD'VE DONE IT THEMSELVES. Anyway, took me 5 minutes, whatever now I have two carts. (Important for the story)

So he comes by maybe 20 min later and asks if there was a cart and I said yeah and he goes "I'll take care of it"

To which I was like "oh no i did, first thing right?"

He meant "I'll take care of it" that being the whole cart issue itself.

So I say "k" and go ab my work, utilizing both carts bc why not. One has my trash bag and a stack of Sharter's clearance I was gonna liquidate after I came back from break/put in a box to deal with later. The other has my water bottle and some paper. Across the top of the middle of both carts is a flattened cardboard box I was saving for the Sharter's.

I go to do my signs, go on break.

Come back and theres a pile of clothes pushed into my cart, the one with the trash bag, pushed in behind the bag. I was livid.

I put up my signs (only now hours later realizing I did them wrong) and track down BratBoy and tell him that when he gets a minute come to clothing, he asks why and I must have looked/sounded like I was gonna cry but that's just my "I'm fucking irritated at this stupid job and trying to remain professional" bc he looked so concerned

So I tell him what happened, relaying that it was pushed into the cart that CLEARLY HAD TRASH IN IT ALREADY and these carts were literally touching so it wasn't like they got to one first

He looked like "are you fucking kidding me" and said he'd check the cameras and take care of it.

Then as I'm getting ready to leave, I get flagged down by a coworker that one of the front end ladies wanted to talk to me

I didnt clock out yet so I follow him

She was like BratBoy said something ab the cart ect ect

And I was trying to not act like I had ratted them out sgdggdgd turns out she wanted to make sure she hadnt gotten ME in trouble, that that's not why BratBoy said something and I was like no thats not it. And she was like "I left hoodies there but I didnt put them in your cart" okay then this isnt ab you...

So I told her no, what was in the cart was also pants and shit not just hoodies

So I'm willing to bet money it was the transphobic religious lady who did it bc I saw her and aforementioned coworker leaving clothing as I returned

Like she has a track record of just leaving carts like 🤗 here you go!🥰

As if shes like helping us giving us her fucking work

Anyway I left the cart and told BratBoy that and hes like "oh dont worry, they'll take care of it"

Oh! And it was the clothes that were fucking shoved under the front desk too. Like they, instead of still using a cart to make their job easier and putting shit away themselves, decided to shove clothing in the front desk... real classy bunch

[fourseasonsfigs]

Bao, Look at the Camera (005)

This is the second time we've seen this outfit of Gong Jun's in fig form - it's so cuddly and cozy looking, it's hard for fig makers to resist! This is the first fig I'm posting about has this name...but definitely not the last!

In fact, I have to distinguish this fig from another "Bao, Look at the Camera" set that I'll post shortly, so I added the fig maker's numbering system to the title. I applaud the fig maker's excellent forward planning - a three-digit number system provides for lots of fig expansion room! This is the 5th fig out of 7 (so far) in this series. But really, they could have 999 figs in the series with all the numbering room they've left themselves!

The inspiration for this fig is two fold. The clothing is from Gong Jun's post of himself from his upcoming TV series Rising with the Wind.

The name of this fig set of course comes from the Word of Honor Concert BTS video that Youku released. Here's the little snippet where you can see Gong Jun turned around to face Zhehan and reading out his lines, not paying attention to the camera at all. Zhehan tells Gong Jun (translated): "Bao, look at the camera, bao".

Here we have a fig of Gong Jun, filming his bao!

This adorable little fig came with his removable video camera. You can see the little divots in the side of the camera - those impressions are actually for his little fingers to hold. I got a bit nervous when it came time to put the camera in his hand, like I am with any hand-held item - would it fit? or not?!?

But yep, his little fingers slide perfectly right around the camera for a snug but not overly tight squeeze. Thank goodness. It unnerves me terribly when props don't fit and I worry about snapping pieces off. No losing any fingers around here, please!

Look at the 1640 on the video camera - too cute! Speaking of cute, the detailing on the scarf is wonderful.

The details on the pattern of the coat is great here. Not easy to replicate in PVC form! This whole outfit feels very Fall to me.

He stands up just fine - no teetering here. He really is a great multi-purpose fig to use for all kinds of fig dioramas and sets.

The print is nice and clean on his coat - sharp straight lines with no overspray.

Sometimes fig arms can look strangely elongated when they're stretched out or holding things, because the bodies are so small in proportion. In order for the arms or legs to do anything, it requires a bit of fig engineering to get them to actively do things yet stay reasonably proportional. I think the fig maker and factory did a really excellent job on this fig.

Speaking of fig engineering, the precision of the camera placement means that the camera is well centered, right in front of his right eye.

The 1640 is on both sides!

I can see why he is more stable on his feet - I've noticed that when their feet are closer together like this, it helps keep them upright. Assuming the bottoms of the feet are flat, of course!

Figs with props always have more interesting top down views! I actually really like how the fig maker did his hair - I think it's spot on to the inspiration.

The big downside to this fig is that his absolutely adorable face is partially covered up by the camera. I mean sure, we have his cute closed eye and his delightful crinkled up smile, but we can't see that one big beautiful eye!

I feel like this fig also has a lot of potential for creative posing as well, definitely by people more creative than me!

The box for this fig was different than the usual. Plain but nice, and of course with Gong Jun's signature Jifeng blue color.

The inside has Gong Jun's signature and his birthday. I love it! In that amazing day in the future when I think of something clever to do with the boxes, I am sure this will be very useful. No box card in my box!

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 343

Scene Count: 24

Rating: Look at the camera, bao. Bao, look at the camera!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[empty-movement]

SCREAMING The images and the OCR of the table of contents is complete!!!! I just need to do the metadata, packaging, distributing, and presenting, surely not in and of themselves giant pr5ojeifhweu feqw and yes these are the VERY LIGHTLY 'compressed' 10000px copies, the uncompressed full size master copy is 1.65GB lmaaaao

This has been something of a journey in thinking about how to archive, why, what, and the ultimate job of someone like me, trying to share a representation of a thing.

The original 2001 scans were not made with archives in mind. It's just not what we were about. What it was about was that back then, ANY artwork you saw online likely had to be scanned from an artbook, screencapped, or otherwise made from some other original--digitizing content was still new and unusual--although not unheard of.

(The other large batch of Saito's art available at the time was a CD-ROM!!! The Chiho Saito Key Art Gallery CD-ROM included video commentary on some key pieces, which WE DID IN FACT GET TRANSLATED, CHECK OUT CHIHO SAITO'S AWKS 1998 CD-ROM COMMENTARY YEP IT'S LIKE THAT. It struggled with the same thing I did--digitally representing artwork at the time was not as easy, and tended to result in some truly horrendous images.)

Anyway, back then, the goal was less to flawlessly represent the product and more to flawlessly present artwork for use in digital projects--essentially, my goal was to create clean and perfect raws from which to create websites, winamp skins, etc. That goal, combined with the general lack of capacity to do better, means that my original scans of this artbook are like over-compressed audio. To look good on the screens of the day, the images were over-saturated and the blacks and whites, highs and lows so to speak, got cut off. Also, the file sizes were a concern at the time, resulting in a willingness to lose those fine details for a version that could be distributed online. (Obviously also it's a resolution thing--but not much needs to be said about 1250px holding less information than 10000.)

This time, the goal is fidelity to the actual artwork by Chiho Saito. This is probably a controversial choice from a strict archival perspective--I *should* be trying to flawlessly represent the actual pages of the book:

And sure. That'd still be amazing, and more 'honest.' However, I am not an archiver, I'm a hobbyist doing what I fuckin' want, and what I want is the best means to celebrate the absolutely incredible talent of Chiho Saito, as an artist, using the means available to me: incredibly high quality print reproductions of her work, and incredibly powerful imaging tools and experience to tease the most information about the original from the print given to me. Essentially? COMPUTER. ENHANCE.

This is like, maybe a square inch or two or actual content as she painted it. But you can zoom in so far now that you can see how the white strokes, the final touches, never create solid lines--the touch is that light, over a very lightly rippled surface. You can see the rainbow of colors she uses to create the depth of the folds in the cloth, and you can even tease out how they got layered. IDK, I don't really fuck with any other fandoms, but I do think this level of fidelity is rare to see in digital representations of manga artwork that predates profession transfer for digital releases. (And even then--you rarely get your official manga artwork in 10k.)

Sure, I could give you the print moire versions of these, but in a digital format, where you can zoom in far beyond the illusion the print moire creates on paper, the details in the information become fundamentally lost to the eye. I've learned a lot over the years about finding those details, knowing how to tease out scan dust from what's actually there, and so on and so forth. I guess, as someone who has spent over 20 years photoshopping, archiving production artwork, scanning tens of thousands of pages, and also as someone who has seen some of these originals in person... this is an ultimate use of my skills to create something no one else is likely to do, including the creators of the work.

oh hey I ranted on for no reason except I need to mentally dump the last 10 hours of work anyway these are uh, coming soon ig I just wanted to talk more about them

Chiho Saito's Illustration Collection artbook is the highest-quality visual media in the Utenaverse. Oversized, single-sided, heavy pages with extremely high quality printing. It is the first artbook I ever scanned.

In 2001, the average screen resolution was 800x600, and I delivered a 1250px wide collection that for a while, took $60 A MONTH to host, because no normal website was hosting images of this ludicrous size. It took my scanner almost an hour to capture a third of each page. I spent months piecing the scans together in Photoshop. It was one of my first true Utena labors of love, and the result is that for decades, these copies have been the definitive copies of Chiho Saito's artwork on the internet. For a very long time, even kinda now, if you see these images, they're probably my scans.

But decades have passed, and I've never been happy with these results, because they couldn't capture the fine details, the paint spills, the sketch beneath poking out, the brilliant use of gradients of dark color to pop the image but drive me insane. What I am finishing up now is a true, archival copy of the artbook. One that delivers such high resolution, that these can print posters larger than the originals, and thanks to some truly brilliant descreening tech, (Thank you Sattva) I've been able to dig up fine details in the work that the printing obscured, but undeniably included.

It's been over 20 years, and it shows. 1250px? Nah, my archive copies are 15,000px wide. I can't wait to finish this and share it with the world. <3

[cursedcola]

Synopsis: After attending NRC, our beloved characters suddenly find themselves transported to your world! The thing is, they have no idea where you are and have to make a life for themselves in the meantime. How would they adapt to life on earth? Characters: Everyone! Mix of Sentient AU! and Modern AU! Warnings: None lol. This is for my own enjoyment. Part(s): Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, and Diasmonia You are here!: Ignihyde

Note: Spoilers for Idia’s background.

Nothing could have prepared the students of NRC for what lied beyond the mirror. A world unlike any of them ever known with magic being virtually non-existent ( or so it appears to the general public). With nothing but the clothes on their backs, falsified basic identification, personal items, and the small bits of knowledge gathered from your vessel Yuu; these young adults have one mission-find the player and stay out of prison. It was time to split up, cover as much ground as possible, and make a life in this unknown world.

Let us see how these fresh minds conform to life on earth, yes?

Ignihyde Residence: Greece!

(I have an obvious bias for this as it is my heritage. No, I don't feel bad about it)

Idia Shroud

Residence: Lipsi, Greece

Owns multiple small properties across the Greek islands. He has a preference for the locations with less tourism and more agricultural life.

Hence why his favorite place to stay is in Lipsi. A small island where at most he has the comfort of seeing the same faces every week when grabbing groceries. His diet has also improved immensely from all the locally produced goods. Well, disregarding all the junk food he sources on his own.

On the island, Idia owns a small "farmhouse" that he built himself. To the average person, it blends in perfectly with the rest of the local homes. He's buried himself deep into the island as well, so his home cannot be found by tourists. No, you physically have to go looking for it.

The outside has the traditional blue and white exterior, but inside? Decked out with the most advanced technological gear. Do NOT underestimate this man's ability to get what he needs. He has his own WIFI service up and running. Everything from the Heating/Cooling system to the stairs that automatically fold inward (to save space) were built and programmed by him. Even his trashcan!

Secluded Island? Check. Best tech? Check. Ortho is happy? Checkaroo. Idia has everything he needs to survive happily.

His house is not the tidiest though. It's not like anyone ever visits him, but still. What if you appear at his door one day? Sucks to suck, because you will be walking over so much sand that he has dragged in yet not cleaned. Also energy drinks, clothes, etc. It's horrible. One time one of the local Yiayia's came to deliver him some baked bread and spanokopita. He nearly had a heart attack when she saw the hovel known as his home and started to lecture him as if he was her own grandson

Something he learned to deal with over time. Ortho was not kidding when he said that Greece values community

Idia wasn't on board with going to Greece in the beginning. Heat? Beaches? Community? Pah. Why couldn't he be placed somewhere more westernized, where he could hide away in a high-rise building somewhere and never come out. If anyone should be surrounded by saltwater it should be the Octavinelle trio - not him!

Which...is exactly why Idia was sent to Greece. Ortho thought this would be the perfect opportunity for his big brother to get out of his shell, and the internet shows that countries in the Mediterranean are highly community oriented! Idia wouldn't be caught dead dancing zorba at a festival or having wine with the local theos and theas as they gossip. But? Perhaps seeing him do his work on the terrace while sipping frappe isn't far out of reach?

Occupation: Software Developer

There is another reason Idia agreed to go to Greece. Out of everyone, he is the best suited to do remote work. The nitty gritty of trying to use technology to locate you. Things that could get him put in jail if caught for privacy violations and data theft. To do this he needs absolute privacy.

He tries to make things quick and track the phone you used to play Twisted Wonderland with. Sadly, life is not that easy and your data is unreachable. Almost like some unspoken force (me. the one writing this) is keeping him from reaching his goal for the sake of their entertainment

There is also the matter of his and Ortho's...'special' features. Crowded places likely will not accept someone with flames for hair. Even if he passes it off as cosplay, what if something is set on fire? Or an idiot tries to touch his hair thinking it is fake? He could be denied access to facilities in highly populated places from the risk. It simply isn't worth it. Not when he can go somewhere tucked away and still be helpful.

Idia blows all tech gurus on earth away. He becomes one of the most sought after hackers, and no one is able to trace his location. To make a living, he only does short-term contract work. He only communicates through warped audio and no one knows of his identity. In all honesty, he becomes filthy rich from the amount of employers throwing contracts at him despite his strict terms. The hush-hush market is strong with this one.

When he first moved into his "farmhouse," he planned on doing his job and never socializing. Food can be ordered in bulk online, and he could pay off one of the locals to leave the packages at his doorstep. He wanted Ortho to stay home with him as well, since the chances of villagers running away and screaming in terror were high. Then the island church would likely get involved and y'know...evil demons yada yada yada because they have pointy teeth and can use their hair to roast a lamb. He watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Froyo man convinced him that everyone is close minded.

This does not work out. At all. Unfortunately, people become curious about the new residents that never seem to leave their secluded house to greet their neighbors. It's unheard of! Then they begin to talk, the local children grow curious, and Ortho gets spotted while he's tending to the goat he insisted on keeping as a pet

Surprisingly, they aren't outcasted. The people just view their hair as a weird costume, and label the brothers as interesting foreigners. It's the 21st century, and it takes more than that to frighten someone here. Not the worst outcome? And now they can go walk around the outdoor shops (I.E Ortho drags Idia)

Idia doesn't know when it exactly happened, but he became the island's handy man. It might have been when he installed security cameras for one of the local shops? Anyways, he is always getting requests and accepting them since Ortho insists on being a good neighbor. Yadayada ‘they welcomed us with open arms’ yadayada ‘we have to play nice’ yadayada

Deep down, Idia has begun to like this way of life. He gets is peace, and the people aren't too bad. He becomes a favorite of the elders and is always being sent home with baskets of food whenever he steps into town. It's nice...in moderation

He still dresses very conservatively despite the hot weather, which normally earns him a resounding "what's the matter with you? are you crazy?". He has a large collection of turtle necks, gaming t-shirts, blue jeans, and a singular pair of worn out sneakers. On rare occasions he'll swap the sneakers for sandals (like Birkenstocks) , but that's only if Ortho drags him to walk the coast at night. One of the blacksmiths in the area welds him a metal hairband; which is concerning because don't they think his hair is a costume? He uses it regardless and occasionally ties his hair back.

While living in your world, he takes the opportunity to play all the games you might have experienced growing up. He sources all of the retro systems in attempt to try things that aren't similar to what he sees back in Twisted Wonderland. At one point he notices Ortho start to invite his new friends over. He actually doesn't mind since his brother is beginning to adjust to this new way of living, and he has an entire collection of consoles, board games, etc for them to choose from when hanging out in his home.

It’s easy being in your world. Magicless. It’s boring, but with no magical energy to eat at then his curse is essentially null. Believe it, he has spent so many nights trying to use his magestone with out any luck. Everyone here is equal (at least in being human y’know. No one can fly on a broom) - a normie. He is a normie.

And it’s not as bad as he thought it would be. It’s dull but no one has expectations of him. He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants.

He wonders if things could have different if he was born here. If Ortho…yeah. It’s better that he doesn’t let the thoughts linger or else jealousy might overcome his need to see you. What matters is that his brother has never looked happier than on earth. It’s almost like the boy has found his own family and place (sparking another tinge of jealousy in his older brother)

Over time he becomes less desperate to get off the “forsaken saltwater hell,” and instead hopes that you might be open to letting himself and Ortho stay on earth. With you. As a family.

But not like one of those sickeningly cringeworthy families he’s been forced to see in those telenovas all the yiayia’s watch. Seriously. He is tired of fixing their TVs and getting yelled at if he isn’t on time for their show’s slot on cable

[letstevengrantsleep]

Okay so I don’t know whether you write about this bc you haven’t before but I was thinking steve x f!reader x eddie where they find out the reader has crushes on them after teasing her about it for aaaages and she snaps and tells them and they’re just absolutely gobsmacked and don’t know what to do with themselves

Oh god I love this, okay here we go (also I'm so sorry this has been sat in my drafts for so long, yikes)

masterlist

"Oh come on, why not?"

The two of them have been bugging you all day, practically begging to know who your new found secret crush is. You'll be killing Max with your bare hands when you see her later, that little shit was the one who let slip and oh my god she'll pay for it.

"Because I've told you both a million times that it's none of your damn business."

The eyes burning into the back of your head make you want to explode, it's embarrassing enough to have a crush on one friend, never mind two. So to have both of them stood in your home as you're trying to clean around them, prodding you to spill your guts on who you're currently fawning over... it's enough to make you want to keel over.

Eddie sighs, dramatically falling to the ground at your feet as you turn around. "Please," he draws out, "is it someone we know? We're just trying to look out for you here sweetheart, make sure you're not head over heels for a creep."

The words make you cringe as you squeeze past the two of them, mumbling to yourself as you go about tidying up your room.

Steve pipes up next, stumbling over Eddie as he tries to catch up to you. "Right, exactly, we're just looking out for you here." He climbs over his friend and reaches you as you reach your bedroom door, hanging coats on the back, sighing as you do.

"Drop it, both of you."

"No, no I don't think we will." Steve responds, hands on hips, shaking his head.

"We've never known you to have a crush on anyone, it's interesting." Eddie says, getting up from the floor and standing next to the other boy.

"It's not like these crushes are new, you know. They've been there for a while you just haven't known about them." You say absentmindedly, folding clothes on your bed as you go about trying to ignore the glares burning into the back of your head.

The deadly silence that follows your response is worrying, hell any kind of silence from either of these two is worrying.

"Crushes? Plural?" Eddie whisper-shouts at you, dragging on your shoulder to make you face him. "You have more than one?"

At this point your face must be beet-red, you can feel your skin getting hotter under his touch as you stumble over what to say back.

"Oh my god this is good, you have to tell us now. You have to." Eddie's grinning ear-to-ear, Steve behind him running his hands through his hair as he smirks at you.

"Get lost, both of you, this isn't funny."

"No, no it's deadly serious. What if these two mystery crushes are awful people, you could be in double the danger here, sweet."

"I don't think I'm in any danger Eds, I-"

"No, no, he's right," Steve buts in, adding fuel to the fire, "we need to know who these people are so we can do full background checks, they could be into anything."

"Honestly, I know they're fine, I'm not in any danger-"

"And how do you know that, huh?" It's Eddie's turn again, turning up the dramatics with big arm movements, taking a step back to join ranks with Steve, "what if they're serial killers?"

"Eddie, honestly-"

"You know we're right, y/n, they could be anyone!" Steve shouts.

"I think I know them pretty well, they-"

"And how come, huh? You never hang out with anyone else, how could you know them that well, hm?" Eddie argues back, and they both stare at you with a look in their eyes that makes you think, fuck it, it's gone on long enough.

"Oh my god it's you, you absolute morons."

Silence. Again.

Steve is the first to react, his mouth dropping in shock as he runs a hand through his hair. Eddie follows suit, breathing out a "huh" as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Both of us?" Steve asks, prodding yet again.

"Yes." You answer meekly, careful not to make eye contact with either one of them for fear of being mocked.

Out of the corner of your eye you see them both share a glance before taking a cautious step forwards, testing the water.

"You like us both?" Eddie asks again, making your face contort into a grimace.

"There's no need to rub salt in the wound, Eddie. Just go, I'm sure we can forget I told you and get on with our lives."

Silence, again, and it's still not a good sign coming from them. When you turn, you see both boys staring at each other, quieter than you've ever seen them.

"I don't, uh, I don't think we're going to be able to forget about that, princess." Steve mumbles, looking between you and the other boy. He takes a few steps towards you with a look of pure disbelief on his face. "You mean it? Both of us?"

It really is unnerving, how serious he's being. "Steve this isn't funny, stop it."

"No, no. Just give me a second. Let me process this, uh," Steve starts vaguely gesturing between the three of you as he loses his train of thought.

You look at Eddie, who's staring at you with a bewildered look on his face unlike anything you've seen before. "Am I dreaming?" He asks, hands coming up to tangle into his hair as he turns to Steve.

"You're both ridiculous..." Mumbling, you go to turn away from them when Eddie grabs your arm, wide eyed and frantic as he shouts "boyfriends!" in your face. "What on earth are you screaming about, Munson?"

"Boyfriends," he starts again, still shouting at you, "can we be - I mean - Steve, you want to? Boyfriends? Both of us? Please?"

Steve's face lights up, finally with the conversation. "Yes! Boyfriends! Us!"

"Are you asking me out?"

They both nod frantically, practically begging as they talk over each other, no coordination at all. It makes you break into a wide grin. "Fuck yes, oh my god. I can't believe I fell for you absolute idiots."

"And now you're stuck with us, baby." Steve grins.

[shadowqueen402]

A story about the maestros feeling a little under the weather because the theater is dirty. So the inhabitants help clean it up.

Aww, okay!

"You guys haven't seen Balan or Lance around, have you?" Attilio asked the others. "Because I didn't see them anywhere."

"Not at all, darling," Lucy replied, shaking her head. "Are they not busy or something?"

"If they were busy, they would let us know that they were going to be preoccupied with something," Cal pointed out. "But they didn't tell us anything today. So something must be up."

"Why don't we look for them?" Fiona asked. "Or better yet, we can ask the Tims if they'd seen Balan and Lance anywhere."

"Let's ask the Tims," Cal suggested. "They know more about this place then we do."

Everyone nodded and went to where the Tims were. The fuzzy creatures were playing with each other. They stopped when they saw the twelve Inhabitants approaching them.

"Hey, little guys," Yuri said. "We would like to know if you had seen Balan and Lance. Do you know where they are?"

The Tims chirped, as if to answer Yuri's question. Then, they started to hop into a certain direction. "We need to follow those Tims," Sana said to them.

Everyone followed the Tims down the hallway. However, some of the Inhabitants took notice of the many cobwebs, the debris, and the dusty shelves. "When was the last time this place was cleaned?" Bruce asked.

"Doesn't it effect them if the theater gets dirty?" Iben asked as well.

"That also may be why we didn't see Balan and Lance earlier," Eis replied. "The messes in the theater is making them sick. But let's check up on them just to be sure." The group followed the Tims until they reached Balan's bedroom. Then, they went inside.

"Balan?" Haoyu asked as he went into the room. There, the maestro lay on the bed, feeling worn out despite having a good night sleep. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm afraid not," Balan replied. "This ill feeling, it seems I've got."

"What about Lance?" Jose asked him. "Is he feeling alright?"

"I have not gotten to his room in order to see," Balan said. "Think you can check on him for me?"

"We sure will, Mr. Balan," Cass agreed with a smile. "I hope you get better soon."

"Guess we'll have to be going to his room, then," Haoyu said.

Everyone nodded and followed the Tims.

Soon, they found themselves outside of a dark room that was Lance's. "Uh, Mr. Lance?" Cass asked. "Are you alright in there? Mr. Balan isn't feeling well and he wanted us to check up on you."

Lance groaned as he stirred in his bed. "I'm afraid that I'm not feeling well, too," He said. "Did the theater look messy to you?"

"It actually did," Eis said. "Is the filth making you and Balan sick?"

"I'm afraid so," Lance replied. "I wanted to get up and clean, though…"

"We can help clean this theater up," Bruce said. "You and Balan must rest. We'll have it looking as good as new."

Lance nodded as everyone turned around and left.

"Let's get the cleaning supplies out and work on cleaning the place up," Sana said. She pulled a broom out of the closet.

"Great idea," Iben said. She took out a duster.

"I'll help," Fiona said.

Everyone grabbed a cleaning supply and got to work. Yuri took care of the cockroaches and spiders. Bruce picked up any trash that was on the floor. Sana would sweep up any debris and pour it into the trash can.

Iben dusted off cobwebs and dust that were on the shelves, walls, and other surfaces. Fiona and Haoyu disinfected the mirrors and surfaces. Lucy vacuumed up the carpets while Cal vacuumed up stains off the couches.

Attilio began to mop the floor. Eis washed the dishes in the kitchen while Cass put the dry dishes away. Jose watered all of the plants and then sprayed the room with air freshener.

Once she was done dusting, Iben began to wash any of the dirty clothes that lay around. She took care to make sure that they were either on the right setting on the washing machine or handwashed. Once the clothes were washed and dryed, she folded them and put them in baskets for Balan and Lance.

Soon, the entire theater was nice and cleaned. And the air smelled good too. "Wow, look at this place," Yuri said. "Mr. Balan and Mr. Lance are going to love it."

"I bet they will," Jose said. "This place is now fresh and clean. Now, there's room for them to function and for the Tims to play."

"Now all that's left is to wait for Balan and Lance to get better," Lucy said. "They'll be thrilled when they see what we've done."

[holyfunnyhistoryherring]

And additions by

@witchwitchami

This especially irritates me when people say it about kids.

I've learned in the past 4 years that many adults don't actually teach their kids shit about being a human being. What adults see as "common knowledge" they just expect their kids to know, then punish the kid when they don't.

It leads to a lot of mental and emotional distress for child and parent, and by extension teachers or any other adult responsible for the child.

Kids need a lot of attention to develop and grow and be the best they can be, and I don't understand why that's such a hard concept. You want your kid to verbally tell you what's wrong, you have to give him the language tools to express themselves.

You want your kid to clean up after themselves, teach them how to fold clothes, where to put them, how to sort clean from dirty.

Kids don't know how to do these things inherently.

@wolfforce58205

As someone who has self harmed in the past for attention, I also wanna say to please just give people the damn attention they’re seeking. Because no one should feel the need to be at the pit of breakdown before they seek help. No one should feel they have to go over the top to prove they deserve some attention. No one should feel like if they aren’t hurting badly enough that they’re fine to be ignored. We’re a very social species. People can say they’re antisocial and introverted all they want but at our core we need to feel that we belong. We need attention from time to time. There’s NOTHING wrong with just asking, no matter how silly it may seem or feel. Never feel like you have to EARN attention from others.

[themadauthorshatter]

More Ineffable Husbands Headcanons! Because I love these guys

Due to his immunity to and ability to breathe fire, Aziraphale once referred to Crowley as a dragon. Crowley was not amused.

Crowley hated Hell because it was hot, everyone was too close, and, only being the guy that caused his own misery than others', people always openly asked why he was still around or when Hastur and Ligur would just MAKE him be more useful for the powers of evil, so it quickly became a thing of 'everyone's too close to me and wants me dead. HELP.' He cannot stand being shoulder to shoulder with someone while walking, like walking close enough to everyone's close enough to touch each other and breathing on each other's necks. Even sneaking around as a snake and going in small places freaks him out. He can stand being in Aziraphale's place, but still looks over his shoulder, just in case.

On the other end, Aziraphale DETESTED Heaven with a passion. It was cold, no one talked, it smelled like cold, stale air all the time, and people were more concerned about themselves, the war, and the archangels than anything else. He grew to resent the cold, the silence, the echo of his own voice, and all the open space. There weren't any books, either. He has been to Crowley's place and he doesn't mind it, but he stays close to Crowley because he doesn't want to be alone in a large space again.

So yeah, Crowley's personal hell is a very, VERY small hot room, like a closet or a pantry and Aziraphale's personal hell is a a cold, empty building with no carpet, all windows, and no furniture, except for a few metal folding chairs.

Crowley has balance issues, even after all his time on Earth. He also has a bit of numbness in his arms and legs. (Snek)

Don't take a picture of Aziraphale and Crowley. Aziraphale just doesn't like it(look up biblically accurate angels and look at the principalities), and Crowley looks freaky as hell. Like he looks like a man-serpent thing. And the sound bothers him.

Crowley does not shed his skin... in front of Aziraphale.

Ways the two playfully annoy each other: Crowley adds too much pepper to his drink and says he's having and wonderful meal, Aziraphale purposely gets plant names wrong, Crowley reads AND ANNOTATES a book IN RED INK, Aziraphale walks around barefoot, Crowley asks what Aziraphale is doing when they're just chilling, and Aziraphale will wear all tartan clothing.

Aziraphale once did the 'What the fluff' challenge with a sleepy Crowley and it scared him witless.

This is based off of the fact, I think, that Crowley does have a sweet tooth and off a deleted scene in Good Omens, so Crowley indeed invented chocolate for Aziraphale, but whenever he failed he was sure to clean the mess. It gave him a sugar high for 42 hours straight and the resulting hangover knocked him out for a week.

Aziraphale isn't good with alcohol, but the man can hold his spices like a champ.

Crowley cannot handle salt. At all. Kind of like Holy water, it burns him, except it's a burn that he can heal from.

Aziraphale prefers showers because it reminds him of rain, while Crowley takes baths because it's quiet amd he can calm down.

Hastur and Ligur have 'confronted' Crowley on his job performance. He doesn't like talking about it and often says he only remembers leaving the room with a broken arm and being unable to walk because his back- from his neck to his waist- hurt like a son of a bitch. Yes, he has scars.

Aziraphale saw the Spanish Enquisition. He hated it.

During a war, while in bad spirits and ready to go sleep through the year, Crowley stumbled upon Aziraphale as he pretended to be dead, as a way to 'play his part' on Earth. It wasn’t cowardice, as he did some fighting, but Crowley was still surprised to see him. The two left and went somewhere that was as peaceful as possible to wait out the rest of the war. Worth it.

The two take turns preening each other's wings.

Want to know why Crowley wasn't around for a while after Bastille? Well, Hastur and Ligur got a hold of him and... well, let's just say they taught him to (A) be a faster runner and (B) not kept too comfortable around humans or being a human because, inhabiting the form of one, that means he can be broken very, VERY easily until there's nothing to fix.

I will make an analysis post on the relationship between Crowley and Hastur and Ligur, like his connection to them.

Back on track, Aziraphale and Crowley have shared a bed from time to time, like a sleepover, and it's usually the same: the two are back to back for a while before falling asleep and awaking in each other's arms. In variation, Aziraphale will stay up to read a little and catch Crowley having a bad dream(because he used to sleep in Hell) and has to ruffle his hair or do the forehead to nose rub/tuckle to calm him back down. In another variation, Aziraphale will dose off only to wake up and find Crowley watching him or guarding the room because he used to sleep in Hell, and because he wants to keep Aziraphale safe. And he just likes seeing his angel sleep; is not a creepy thing, it just reminds him that he's not alone in enjoying 'human' things.

Crowley is not a fan of dogs. One chased him while he was in snake form.

Aziraphale doesn't hate technology by any means. He just prefers talking to people face to face(specifically Crowley).

Don't ask about the snake marks on the sides of Crowley's head. Just don't.

You know how cats and dogs have that thing where in certain light their pupils change color and they see in the dark? Crowley does the exact same thing and it has woken up Aziraphale so many times. It never scared him, it just made him literally pull Crowley into bed so he could sleep.

Crowley hates the horsemen because he lost a bet to all of them.

You know the Squid Game version of Red Light, Green Light? Aziraphale would win by only stopping at 'Red light,' and Crowley would win by staying low and creeping.

Of all the archangels, Crowley actually liked Michael best. They got along well, but that was before the Fall.

[nomsugayoongi]

Off My Face. Part 4!

Pairings: Jungkook X OC female (nameless)

Tags: Fluff. They get busted. Giggly!Joon. Flirty!Jk, SMUTTTTTT! Sweaty after practise Jk getting his fuck on in a bathroom. Not for littles.

•••••••••••••••••••••

She was warm. She was comfortable. She was probably the most relaxed she'd ever felt, floating in dreams. Something subtle was pulling her out. Back towards consciousness. She groaned sleepily, a warm, soft lump at her side wriggled also. Awareness hadn't quite crept in yet. The lull of sleep drawing her away. But there was a noise. Something that didn't want her to stay here. Sound started to form. Like a tapping sound. Glass maybe. More wriggling at the side of her, weight across her stomach, something tickling her neck. She lifted a heavy hand to swat at it, only to connect with something solid. Her fingers wriggled. Something soft beneith them. Tapping. More awareness. Jungkook. First formed thought. Before any real comprehension kicked in, he did. She sighed. Sleepy smile. More tapping. "Jungkookie?" She knew that voice. Awareness crashed back into place followed by panic. "Shit" she hissed, eyes snapping open. Sunlight flooded the room, Jungkook still asleep next to her. She'd fallen asleep in his bed. "Jungkookie, I'm coming in!" Namjoon called through the door.

Her eyes scanned the room furiously. There wasn't enough time for her to go anywhere. Plus her underwear was on the bedroom floor. Naked from the waist down, she frantically pulled the covers over herself. The door handle creaked. She elbowed Jungkook and braced for impact. His eyes shot open and he groaned, cradling his ribs where her elbow connected. He didn't have time to ask her what the hell was going on. He was still squinting stupidly when the door swung open and Namjoon appeared. "JK, you need to get up. We have....WOAH!!" Namjoon's hands shot to his mouth, frozen in the doorway at the sight that greeted him. His eyes wide. "What the....?" He started. Jungkook was awake now, scrambling into a sitting position. "WHAT IS THIS?" Namjoon shrieked, his shock dissolving into giggles. "Shut the door" Jungkook hissed. Namjoon booted the door closed, not taking his eyes off the pair in the bed. "What happened?" He whispered, still chuckling childishly. "We fell asleep" she replied stupidly. Jungkook had jumped out of bed, opening the bedroom door he peered either way down the hallway. "Where is everyone?" He questioned. "Showering or having breakfast. We let you sleep as long as we could but we have practise in an hour. What is going on here?" He asked again. "Good, so nobody heard you freaking out then." Jungkook mused, ignoring Namjoon's question. He turned back towards his bed, running his fingers through his hair with a heavy sigh. He flopped onto the bed next to her, resting his head against her shoulder with a sleepy grumble. That was not how he wanted to wake up. She smiled, stroking his hair. "GUYS...are you serious? What the hell?" Namjoon questioned for the fifth time. "You said nothing was going on" he added, pointing an accusing finger at her. "It wasn't...then." she replied sheepishly. Namjoon sat on the edge of the bed. "Well...when?" He asked, still reeling. "Yesterday. After dinner." She said simply. Namjoon gawped at them. "So...what? Now you're like...bed buddies?" Jungkook chuckled, finally lifting his head. "I wouldn't say it like that. Look, we like each other. We wanna see where it could go but it's....new. We didn't want anyone to know until we'd had a chance to figure it out ourselves. So please don't say anything to the others. Hyung...please." he asked sincerely. Namjoon frowned, his expression immediately becoming that of supportive big brother. "Of course I won't. But guys....this is....insane. I mean...it's GREAT. But...WOAH!" He chuckled. She grinned, nuzzling into Jungkooks side. "I told you to tell him" Namjoon smiled. Jungkook frowned looking from her to Namjoon. "Huh? Told her to tell me...." He muttered. "How she felt about you." He responded. Jungkooks frown deepened. "Why? How long have you known?" He asked. Namjoon shrugged. "Ages. Since she got back from England." Jungkook pouted, picking up the pillow and bashing her with it playfully. "Told him months ago. Told me yesterday. That's some kind of backwards." He whined. "I couldn't tell you. It was too intense. I was all...spazzy" she replied, defensively. "Uh huh?" He hummed, leaning in to kiss her. "Uh huh!" She replied, catching his lips in a soft kiss. Namjoon cleared his throat loudly. "Still here guys. Plus, I don't wanna ruin your moment but you really do need to get up. 50 minutes till dance practise." He reminded. Jungkook groaned loudly, throwing his head back. "I'll be down in 5 minutes. Need to pee and brush my teeth" he grunted. Namjoon nodded, giving them one last huge smile before departing. Once Namjoon has left, Jungkook started trying to motivate himself, rifling through his wardrobe for something comfy to wear. He usually really enjoyed dance practise but that was when he hadn't stayed up most of the night before and didn't have a half naked, beautiful girl in his bed. "Jungkook, can you pass me my underwear please?" He turned, smiling at the blush flooding her cheeks as she sat in his bed, hugging her knees. "They're right there." He said, pointing to the spot on the floor where they'd landed. "Well...can you get

them for me?" She asked. "But they're closer to you than me. Why can't you get them?" He questioned, folding his arms with a smirk. Her face burned scarlet. "Cause...I'm naked under here. You'll see." She whispered. He walked over, picking them up and leaned onto the bed, kissing her before dropping them in her lap and turning back to his wardrobe. "I've already seen." He said in a sing song tone. "Jeon Jungkook" she hissed. "What? I have. I had my whole face right up in there. Too late to get shy about it now." He teased. She scrambled under the covers to pull on her underwear, blushing furiously. "Stop it, beast" she grunted. He turned back again with a grin, grabbing her hands and pulling her out of bed. He hooked a finger under her chin as she tried to avoid his gaze, forcing her to look at him. "Don't be shy. You don't need to be. You were so beautiful last night. Watching you come undone like that..." He paused and sighed, shaking his head. "...i'd be trying to make you look that way again right now if I didn't have practise. You don't have to hide from me. I like every inch of you. Very much." He caught her lips, his kiss sweet but just a touch of his hunger leaking through. His thumb trailed softly down her face. "JUNGKOOK" a collective scream bellowed from downstairs. He lept back from her reluctantly. "ALRIGHT" he hollered back. "To be continued." He muttered, apologetically, grabbing a handful of clothes and speeding off towards the bathroom. She took a quick shower and decided to get herself ready before heading downstairs. Hair washed, blow dried and straightened. Cute outfit. Minimal make up. She didn't want to look like she was trying to look good. But she still wanted to look good. That was an issue when the person you had just started dating could look good in a sack. She bounced downstairs about half an hour after Jungkook had left her. "Morning guys" she called. Namjoon was grinning at her stupidly which made her giggle. She ruffled his hair playfully as she walked past, causing a distressed grunt from him as he tried to fix it. She walked up to the table, throwing her arms around Suga's shoulders from behind as he sat eating his breakfast. "Oh...hello" he smiled, patting her hands. Jungkook was sat opposite looking sinfully good. Baggy black cargo pants, a black long sleeved shirt that absolutely swamped the frame underneath but still managed to look great on him. She guessed black sneakers too even though she couldn't see his feet. He was shovelling cereal into his mouth, his eyes flickering over her face in a way that made her feel naked. She let go of Suga, planting a peck on the top his head then made her way round the table, leaning over it unnecessarily to grab a piece of toast right in Jungkooks eye line. He swallowed a huge mouthful of cereal, fighting a smirk. "Hungry?" He asked. She hummed her affirmative as she chewed. "Starved" she replied. "You? Didn't you do enough eating yesterday?" She raised a cocky eyebrow then bit her lip to hold in a laugh as she heard Namjoon choke on his food behind her. Jungkooks face remained neutral but she saw his ears flush. He shrugged casually. "Nope. Still hungry" Jungkook replied. His eyes were burning into her. "You know he could eat for his country" Jin piped up. She let herself laugh at that and nodded, turning and heading away from the table. "That's very true" she replied quietly. ----------------------------------------------------------- She had just about finished cleaning the house when she heard the cars pull up outside and collective sounds of the guys. The front doors banged open and they filed in, talking and laughing amongst themselves. She grinned having already prepared cold drinks and snacks for them all. Jungkook was in the middle of the bunch, an arm slung around Jimin's shoulders. He gave her a huge smile, grabbing a bottle of water and stopping beside her. He pressed the bottle against his head, the cold condensation feeling nice against his warm skin before untwisting the cap and downing about three quarters of the bottle in

huge gulps. He looked gorgeous. His skin flushed and clammy, his hair now wavy and damp with sweat but he was still buzzing with energy. He always was after practise. His adrenaline kept him going much longer than the other guys. "How was practise?" She asked, sneakily resting a hand on his back, her fingers playing under his shirt, stroking over his sweaty skin. He smiled, draining the rest of his water before grabbing another. "It was good. A few hiccups but we're getting there. Some of the new choreos are pretty intense. Should be good in front of ARMY though." He replied. He leaned into her, smelling her hair quickly. "I need to shower." He said, scratching at his sweaty hair. He made his way towards the stairs, clattering Jin over the head with his empty water bottle and giggling mischeviously as a cushion was flung at him. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, beckoning her to follow before hopping up them 3 at a time like he hadn't just spent the last few hours dancing his ass off. She paused for a minute, wondering what excuse to use so she could disappear. Namjoon walked over with a smile. "Go. I got you covered." He whispered, grabbing a bottle of water and turning back to the group. She grinned happily, heading for the stairs. She could hear the water running in one of the bathrooms and wondered if he'd already jumped into the shower. She paused at the top of the steps, looking from the bedrooms to the bathroom door. "Psst" She swung round, Jungkook was stood in the doorway of his bedroom with a smirk. "Hey. I thought you were showering" she smiled. He pulled her into his bedroom, pinning her against the wall, his fingers lacing through hers. "I will be." His lips were on hers straight away, his body pressing her against the wall so hard it made her shoulders hurt. "I missed you" he mumbled between kisses. "Couldn't stop thinking about you at practise." His lips skimmed down, sucking and nipping at her neck. Her breath caught, she wrenched one hand out of his grip to tangle in his messy hair. His smell was intoxicating, a gentle mix of his usual scent and the warm, wet kind of smell of someone who'd been active recently. The kind of pre-sweat smell. Very masculine and playing absolute havok with her hormones. "Couldn't stop thinking about last night. You. The way you moan. How you taste. The look on your face." He grunted into her neck. She felt a sharp stab as he bit a little harder at the tender skin above her collarbone. Each word he whispered collecting at her core, provoking an instant ache. "Need more." He whispered. He lifted his lips from her neck, his eyes meeting hers. She almost moaned. He looked aggressively gorgeous, his eyes darker, burning into her, lips slightly swollen and parted, the tip of his tongue running slowly across his bottom lip. He took her hand, pulling her towards the bathroom. She almost had to run to keep up with him, taking long strides, yanking at her arm like he didn't have time to waste. Once in the bathroom, he kicked the door shut, pulling her in for another mind melting kiss. She was so busy trying to keep up with his insistent tongue that she didn't even notice him unbuttoning her jeans until he was hooking his fingers in and pushing them over her hips. She moaned against his mouth in anticipation. He broke the kiss, kneeling down to yank her jeans and panties off her feet then trailing kisses up her leg, stopping to sink his teeth into her thigh. She squeeked, watching a cheeky smile pull at his lips. He stood, lifting her easily and plonking her on the bathroom counter. She gasped, the cold marble surface agaisnt her bare skin making her squirm although she really didn't have long to think about it. He was already pulling her legs apart, sinking down as his eyes stayed fixed on her. She watched, his eyes never leaving her face as he delivered a long, slow lick to her slit. He groaned, sounding almost relieved as he repeated the action, tongue sliding through her folds, the instant jolt of pleasure as he passed over her clit. "Oh my god." She breathed. There was

something inherently more sexy about actually watching him do it. She felt like she should look away but his gaze wouldn't let her. His big brown doe eyes holding her innocently while the action with his tongue was anything but. After another long lick, he stopped at her clit, circling the bundle of nerve endings with the tip of his tongue, still watching her watch him, the corners of his open mouth curling in an almost sinister smile. "Do you have any idea how fucking good you taste?" He groaned. She opened her mouth to reply but no words came out, she was rapt, watching him flatten out his tongue and lick hard, his lips closing around her clit in a way not unsimilar to the way he kissed her face. He moved one hand from her thigh, sitting back on his heels, his attention temporarily turning from her face as he lazily dragged his fingers up and down her pussy. She could see her wetness coating his index and middle finger as he stood up, presenting them to her. "Open" he whispered. Unable to do anything else through the haze of lust currently engulfing her, she obediently opened her mouth, lips closing around his fingers, tongue snaking round them as she experienced the tangy, slightly sweet taste of the arousal he provoked in her. He moaned, watching her suck his fingers deep into her mouth, her tongue soft and warm sending jolts of desire to his already aching cock. "Damn. I want to fuck you so bad." He panted. "Wanna feel your soft, hot pussy around my cock. Wanna screw you till you can't speak. Want it so bad." His voice was husky, his head dropping onto her shoulder as he battled ferociously with his need. "Please do" she croaked, her mouth dry. He whined, a small part of him thinking their first time together shouldn't be a lust fueled quicky in a bathroom with all his brothers downstairs. The rest of him couldn't have cared less if they were sat on the counter next to her. He was too far gone to notice. His stomach churned, feeling uncomfortable under the weight of his lust. "I can wait." He offered, although it was taking more restraint than he thought he possessed. "I don't wanna wait." She breathed. "I want you inside me." With that, his resolve snapped, his fingers already deftly battling with the button on his cargo pants before his brain had registered her response. He didn't even bother to take them off, he couldn't wait that long. He just undid them, and pulled his swollen, achy cock out of his boxers, hissing at the contact from his own hand. "Fuck" she gulped. He realised that she'd never actually seen him before, pausing with his long fingers curled around his shaft, he smirked, squeezing slightly, gently stroking his cock, ignoring the tingle of pleasure to focus on her reaction. In typical Jungkook fashion, he was an overachiever. His cock decently above average size without being obscene, deliciously thick, smooth, perfectly straight. Even his dick was pretty. If it wasn't for her overwhelming need for him to stop fucking about and nail her with it, she'd have been annoyed that this gorgeous, cute, devilish, cheeky contradiction of a man had literally not a single physical flaw. He was sculpted, proportioned and presented so perfectly that it stole her breath and at any other time, would have made her heart contract painfully with overwhelming affection. But she wasn't thinking with her heart. She was too wrapped up in her pussy, leaking, feeling so empty she could hardly stand it. "Gonna stand there jerking off or are you going to fuck me?" She hissed, past the point of impatience. His smirk grew. "Feeling needy are we?" He teased. She pouted pitifully and nodded at him with wide eyes. "But how can I fuck you when you look so cute?" He cooed, rubbing the head of his dick against her clit. She shivered, her fingers clenching against the edge of the marble counter top. "It's simple. You just stop being a brat and stick it in me." She huffed. He laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Oh that's it? Just slide my thick, hard cock into your cute, tight, greedy little hole hmm? Just stretch your wet little pussy

out, fuck you till you can't see straight." He whispered. She moaned and whined at the same time. "Koo...please. I'm gonna die." She cried, wiggling uncomfortably. He chuckled, making a mental note to see how far he could actually push her in the future. He already knew he was going to have a lot of fun with her neediness. "Relax baby. I've got this." He lined up, rubbing the head of his cock against her hole a couple of times, biting his lip as he felt her entrance contract, trying to suck him in. He pushed slowly, feeling her stretch to accommodate him, then the slick, soft heat engulfing him inch by inch. He groaned heavily, eyes fixed on her impossibly tight hole swallowing his length greedily. "Holy shit." He panted, pleasure exploding through him. "Fuck you feel amazing. Fuck." He wanted to savour it. He felt her fingers clench, balling his sweaty shirt in her hands. "Oh god" she whined, wriggling deperately. The stationary pressure of his cock buried deep inside her was making her crazy. The slight burning stretch, the feeling of fullness. She needed him to move. Her hands gripped at his hips, pushing back. "Don't tease me" she panted. He leaned in, running his nose along her jaw, inhailing deeply, his lips finding her ear. "What do you need Jagi? Slow?" He withdrew painfully slowly, allowing her to feel every bit of him against her sensative walls. "Or hard?" He snapped his hips forward, driving into her mercilessly. She grunted, a stab of achy pain as he hit something deeper than she expected. "Hard." She hissed. He bit his lip, swallowing his own moan, pulling out of her. "Jump down" he instructed, taking her hand and helping her to slide off the marble counter. He kissed her softly before turning her round, pushing against her mid back until she bent over the counter. He groaned, eyes glued as she presented her ass to him. He bit his lip, running his hands over her soft, perfect skin before finding a home on her hips. He positioned himself, her hips giving him the leverage he needed to pull her back sharply as he thrust into her, his cock slamming roughly into her. He groaned, head falling back, a shock of delicious pleasure bursting through him. He fucked her like he was on a timer, relentlessly drilling his dick into her, the lewd slap of his thighs hitting her bare skin permiated the room, drowning out the sound of the still running shower. Her body banging agaisnt the counter top repeatedly as though he was trying to fuck her through the damn thing. He reached up, curling her hair around his hand and pulling her head back, looking at her in the mirror. Her cheeks flushed, mouth agape, brow furroughed, eyes heavy as she bounced around helplessly with every steady thrust. Her sweaty hands slid uselessly over the marble surface, finding no purchase. "You ok? " He grunted. She nodded rapidly. "Don't stop" she hissed. He pulled on her hair sharply, forcing her upright. "Kiss me" he panted. She turned her head, his lips hungrily attacking hers, moaning lustfully into her mouth as he ground his hips agaisnt her ass, his cock still buried to the hilt inside her. "Fuck. So good" he growled, one hand snaking round her waist to play with her clit. She yelped, pushing back, grinding desperately on his cock. He grit his teeth, his expression almost angry as he rapidly rubbed at her clit. His toes were curling inside his sneakers, his orgasm threateningly close. He needed her to cum. Quickly. "Fuck. Love this pussy. So good." He babbled, incoherently. She whined deperately, her head falling back against his shoulder as she sucked in a sharp breath. He felt her walls clench around his cock, felt her muscles tighten and almost sighed with relief, letting go of his restraint, the rapid pulsating of her pussy pushing him over the edge. He came hard, still pistoning his hips deliriously as he spilled what felt like everything he had inside her. He slowed his thrusting, the obscene squelching sound coming from her sloppy cunt only heightening his pleasure. "Fuck" he repeated, stilling his movement, clinging to her weakly.

She looked dazed. Her eyes not fully shut but clearly not actually looking at anything. She panted deperately, trying to regain some oxygen. He braced himself even though his legs felt like jelly, taking the majority of her weight. He nuzzled into her neck, carefully pulling himself out of her, shuddering at the friction against his overly sensative cock. "That was..." He sighed, not actually having a word. "Delicious." She hummed, a smile tugging at her lips. He chuckled and nodded. "Very very." He held her for a few minutes, feeling his heart rate calm and his breathing return to normal, enjoying the blissful afterglow, nuzzling and kissing her affectionately as the lust died down and was replaced with an overwhelming softness for her. She was completely still, breathing shallow and he actually wondered for a second if she'd fallen asleep. "Still with me?" He whispered. She smiled immediately. "Mmm hmm. Just...floating." she sighed. He grinned, knowing the feeling well. "I should shower. We'll be ordering food soon." He murmured, kissing her neck gently. She whined in protest but the sudden growling of her stomach told her he was right. "I know." She said sullenly, peeling herself out of his warm, cosy arms. "Gimme two minutes to clean up then I'll go so you can shower." She sighed, untangling her underwear from her jeans. She washed up quickly, checking her make up in the mirror and fixing the smudges before pulling her hair up. It was too mussed to leave it down now and she couldn't be bothered straightening it again. She made her way downstairs shortly after, leaving Jungkook in the shower although every step away from him felt painful and unnecessary. Some of the guys were still in their rooms, cleaning or getting changed. She headed into the kitchen, stealing a cold Sprite before collapsing on the sofa in the lounge. She sighed, wriggling her toes, the after affects of what had just happened still not fully gone. Her legs still felt shaky. She could feel a dull ache across her thighs where they'd smashed into the marble edge of the counter top repeatedly. She smiled. Yes it was slightly strange but she liked the thought of it bruising. A tangible reminder of what had happened. She bit her lip, feeling heat rise into her cheeks as she stared into space, deep in thought. She'd just had sex with Jungkook. Giggles swelled in her chest. It was so surreal. She didn't understand how she'd gone from pining for him to this. She suddenly missed him desperately even though she'd only been away from him for minutes.

[paversandplatters]

||𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚙|| (3/20)

Apocalypse! Au (TW! Minor gore and cussing)

Reader x multiple

Chapter 3: A Site to Behold

Nick manages a slow shake of his head as she looks up at the railings of the church choir loft, it’s about 20 feet above them. She reaches for the knife at her hip, pulling the bloodstain instrument from her belt keeping it at the ready. With a few hand signals motioning to follow.

With some great reluctance they begin to ascend the stairs with her cringing slightly as each wooden step creaks softly in protest. Once at the top she realizes that there are three doors two on the left hand wall, both a women's and men’s restroom and at the very end of the narrow walk way is a door slightly ajar leading into what they can assume is storage. With bated breath she listens silently noting that the sound seems to be coming from the women's restroom. loud rattling and scraping of metal against the floor, heavy footsteps marching back and forth; faster and not as clumsily as the cadavers below them were. Chains, she realizes, it sounds like chains.

With a few hand waves they position themselves around the doorway with their backs against the wall she reaches for the handle of the door slowly pushing it open. The rattling of chains and footsteps stop in time with the dull whine the door makes- silence returns. Heart pounding in her ears, she glances towards Nick and George seeing how both are white knuckling their guns In anticipation of the worst.

A moment passes ...

Then another ...

Nothing.

Not a sound.

They glanced between each other- a conversation carries on silently. Who is going to look in? Though the question isn't left unanswered for very long before she takes the first step to move into the doorway, craning her neck to peek at what hellish creature maybe waiting there.

Her breath is caught mid step,She'd been expecting this but somehow the site still caught her off guard. Perhaps it's just the sheer towering height of the thing stood there in the middle of the room- it's figure outlined in the dull orange morning light that’s managed to seep through the cracks and opening of the boarded up window in this dirty abandoned restroom... Or maybe that it’s the bulky metal chains connected to each appendage. Each end of chain is anchored to different areas of the room some to the ceiling, other to the walls and the floor very obviously meant to restrict the movement of this thing. But the most striking feature was the large circular mask on its face bearing no features save a simple smiley face. Much like the biters downstairs a large crudely made cage framed his head connecting to a heavy and equally crudely made metal collar around its neck.

She's frozen, examining the creature before her. The very presence of this thing is almost overwhelmingly terrifying. It's just standing there stock-still faced in the vague direction of the door, covered head to toe in caked blood and dirt. She almost doesn't notice it at first but… it’s shoulders are rising and falling in a slow rhythm. It's breathing. It’s ALIVE.

“Holy shit!”

She must have been caught in her trance too long as Nick’s reaction not only makes her jump but also the person before them suddenly starts to move and reel backwards, thrashing violently like a wild predatory animal trying to escape its bindings. He’s backed himself into a a corner pulling on the chain hard enough she sure his wrists have to have taken some sort damage but he makes no reaction to such. Nick unconsciously stumbles back crashing into George sending them both onto their asses, George whines at the Jostling of his still unattended wounds.

“Nick what the fuck-“ The thought is suddenly cut off as he catches site of the thing before them.

“What isI the fuck is that?!”

George squeals out now three shades paler, be it from the shock or loss of blood. Nick is the first to level his gun at the figure. Instinct takes over as she knocks the gun from his hand the single round missing its target and lodging itself into the rafters above.

“WAIT!” The proclamation is met with two very confused faces.

“He's alive! don't shoot hold your fire.” She doesn't so much ask, as much demands. They exchange a look of complete disbelief, truthfully she knows they can’t be blamed.

“Just hold on they're still alive and obviously being kept here forcibly.” she clarifies. The ominously large figure pauses in its violent thrashing to turn an look in her direction or well the direction of her voice. Can this thing even see? The tension in his posture is enough to let her know he still hasn't let his guard down but is obviously listening to her words. Lord only knows what he's seen and experienced in the time that he’s been shackled here.

Cautiously she steps forward.

“You are alive aren’t you…?” It takes a moment but she’s answered with a curt nod.

“Why are you being kept here…” nothing happens for a long moment before he shrugs. She moves to take another step.

“Can you speak…?” The knife in her hand is still raised and ready. A glance behind her assures that her two companions are poised and ready for back up.

Again he doesn’t speak but his body language tenses a bit more but he doesn't make a move to oppose her coming closer. Boots thump softly against the floor, his breathing sounds labored now, likely exhausted.

“You’re injured aren’t you..?” The massive figure takes a moment to tilt his head questioningly before nodding.

“I can help, I won’t hurt you unless you hurt me… understand?”

Another nod. Good this makes this much less complicated. When her hand finds his arm, it’s quickly yanked from her grip drawn backward away from her in protest.

“Woah hold on big guy it’s just me, I have to check you over… make sure you’re not infected or something. “

He slowly stills, allowing her hand to rest on his forearm.

She begins to narrate her next steps as she moves her hands to grab the bottom of his shirt. there's too much blood, dirt and grime on the garment to be able to tell the extent of the wounds there. The shirt ends up being peeled off, having been stuck to the skin with now long coagulated clumps of blood. It reveals a long gash that starts at the bottom of his ribcage curved down to just under his left hip. She has no idea how he still holding together- from the looks of it his guts should be spilling out onto the floor. She’s not sure whether or not to call this a miracle or some hellish punishment he’s meant to endure. Continuing on to check him over, there are numerous blossoming bruises and welts, all in different stages of healing. she swears she that one of his ribs is poking out at an odd angle. The more she inspects the more it sickens her to look at.

“You’ve really been through hell haven't you..” there is no response to her words.

“He’s clean. No bites just fucked up.” She calls out confirming her findings to party waiting in the doorway.

“That thing is really alive…?” the Brit mutters out still looking on with complete shock still settled into his features.

“So now what? He must have been chained for a reason, are you just gonna let him out..?” Nick questions voice obviously portraying his concern. Again she doesn’t blame him, there’s no evidence to suggest any of this is a good idea.

“He could’ve killed me already if he wanted… besides he knows he’s out numbered..”

“What- you’re not actually going to- y/n no absolutely not!” George squawks protest.

“I can’t just leave him here.” Y/n confirms, hands already in her pocket fishing for the one of the most invaluable items she owns: a hair pin.

“He could be a murder for all you know!”

“Like we aren’t..?” She mutters back. In the two years the worlds gone to shit, survival comes at any cost- even at the expense of other people lives. It’s a harsh reality sure, but what other choice is there? You do what you can to keep moving, if you’re lucky you find a party that’s willing to move with you for the sake of safety in numbers and a common goal. George of all people should be aware of that more than anything…

With out any further words of protest, she produces the pin from her pocket setting to work on freeing his arms and legs first. He keeps to himself but begins to tremble slightly. It’s takes some time and finessing, but shackles clatters to the ground one by one. The only thing that remains on his person is the cage and mask on his head.

“You’re too tall, lean down so I can get that stupid thing off you.”

He bows his head almost eagerly, nearly folding himself in half trying to grant her as much access as possible. The angle is awkward, making the task that much harder, none the less after a few minutes of fidgeting the collar pops open. Just as soon as it does his hands fly to his neck, desperate to remove the cage. He tosses it aside, and frantically his hands reach to the back of his head pulling the straps of the mask still stuck on his face. With sheer brute force it’s pulled free, joining the cage at the other end of the room.

Suddenly she’s met with wild green eyes that peek out under from long wavy dirty blonde hair. Just barely, able to make the faint marking of freckles on his face before he turns quickly to stare down at the two men guarding the doorway. The cloth gag in his mouth is pulled free as if were made of paper.

His voice rings out raw and cracked.

“they’ll be back soon.”

Let me know if your like to be added to the tag list!

@the-wandering-pan-ace

[jtrokujo]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐒

pairing: Shoto Todoroki x fem!Reader

word count: 2.1 k

warnings: none

genre: fluff

summary: the bad relationship in the past mixed feelings of him until his heart beat faster and faster for a certain person. Because of his nervousness and fear, he didn't even dare to have a dialogue with her and therefore decided to use the old-fashioned way of confessing his feelings.

—

The rain, which kept beating on the window panes, saw the young girl see her prospect.

The weather was once again not pleasant.

It should probably stop tomorrow, let's hope, because it has been raining almost continuously for about 3 days.

In addition, the wind blows very strongly from time to time, which doesn't really make the situation any better.

With the heater turned on, she also put on cuddly clothes plus a towel on her hair, as she comes from school and the hair has gotten wet from the weather.

The girl quickly remembered something specific, which is why she reached for her bag.

Rummaging through, she searched for something specific, but she did not find it at first glance, which almost increased her panic.

She took her bag and shook it out.

It came down like in slow motion.

Grabbing it quickly, she took it and made herself comfortable on her bed.

The young girl has been receiving one and the other letter from a mysterious person for weeks.

In addition, every time she opens the letter, a white flower shines out, but it's not just a white flower, but that of a white rose.

How they love this.

The font; clean and orderly.

The Rose; soft and pleasantly scented.

And this notation; the new butterflies that dance in her every time.

Actually, she has no eye on anyone or has the feeling that someone has an eye for her.

Maybe it's because she doesn't pay attention to everyone.

Because she goes to a hero school to become a heroine and not to make new friends.

Still, she has friends with whom she spends most of her time.

The only person who knows is Mina, but sometimes the (H / C) hairy one wishes to have the quirk that other voices take from her.

Example; when they want their books for the next subject and open their locker, the letter falls like every time the letter falls, Mina screeches now and then like a madwoman and sometimes watches the boys, but one thing is clear, it is not a member of the BakuSquad.

With a pounding heart, she finally began to read the letter she had delivered.

As reluctantly as I like to talk about my feelings, or in this case write, I know easily too acceptably that I can do it with you.

Every day I see your smile, your smile that lets butterflies fly into my stomach, your radiance, which gives me protection, your trustworthiness, which makes me cheer up from the difficult days that I have behind me, your jokes that make my heart laugh and that although some of them are also pretty bad or your character itself, everything is perfect, as if you were a handmade doll that does not show a thread.

Everything about you is perfect, your mind, your warmth, your body and infinitely much more.

I want to tell you every day how optimal you are, nonetheless that is also the problem.

You are effortlessly too impeccable to me, in the course of giving almost everyone the cold shoulder, you are pleasant to everyone, for yourself to a few you do not particularly like.

I love getting up every morning just to see you.

It is already funny to master that you talk to me without knowing that it is me.

That this very cowardly person who has the courage to talk to everyone in the way I want, in spite of all this, cannot tell the person that I designed for those feelings.

We talk this way many times, we also spend our free time together and I like to listen to you, but you don't recognize me, the person who wrote you these and other letters every evening with a sad expression on his face.

However, it makes me happy that you read it and also that you hide it as quickly as you can.

I wonder how we were in our previous lifetimes, if you understand what I mean, if not I will explain it to you immediately.

For example, in the 18th century we were lovers who were not allowed to be together and therefore fled.

Or in ancient Romans, for example, when I fought a lion for you.

Or when we spent most of the time together in the Ice Age, just so as not to have to end up as huge insights.

Or will we see each other again in our subsequent lifetime?

I sincerely hope that it is clear to you that there are enough of people out there who love you in the way you are, please do not forget that alone.

And if you should be hungry, do not ignore your stomach and eat as much as you can, nevertheless not too pronounced is not healthy!

See you tomorrow.

As always, she folded her letter again, united as she had previously.

Immediately afterwards she knelt in front of her bed to be able to get at an old shoebox.

She slowly opened it and put her letter there.

Since she receives a newfangled letter almost every independent day, her shoebox is still bursting, as it is obviously not too big.

So far she has received at least 20 letters from her Mysterious Admirers, but she hoped that he should not come to school one day so that she can control who is behind all this.

Especially when the (H / C) wanted to lie down, she noticed that she still had to do her homework for tomorrow.

Sighing, she got up from her bed and did her homework equally.

TIME SKIP

In the morning with no dream whatsoever, her alarm clock woke her up from her sleep.

As much as she wanted to sleep, she gave up regardless of that and got up after slowing down several times.

Yawning, she did her 'morning trial' as if continuously.

After she put on the last pair of her, she said goodbye and was long gone.

After a few minutes she finally arrived, but as always earlier than the others, that Iida and Momo are at school earlier than some teachers, it ultimately doesn't surprise anyone.

From minute to minute the students enter, some talking to each other, some in turn sit quietly in their place and wait for the school bell to ring.

Hitting the floor with her foot, she looked out the window and saw some students entering the school grounds.

Some themselves, some with friends.

By the time anyone entered the classroom, she turned and saw him.

Shoto Todoroki.

Even when they were very small they learned to control themselves, nevertheless they were not like you can see during the films or series from the beginning buddies, no more precisely old acquaintances.

Of course they talked to each other, but they were too different.

It is already clear that they are having the same dreams, however a voice keeps saying again and again at any given moment; You do not belong together.

Anyway, she just doesn't like remembering her old days with Shoto.l

Of course, right now, in some ways, she understands why he was this way, that it hurt her.

There was that one moment when she finally had the courage to talk to him, but it all tended to be a failure instead of what she had planned.

ABOUT 9 YEARS BEFORE

It was the beginning of summer, the sun was shining continuously, the ice was melting on your hands, the long day and the short night, going swimming in combination with relatives and much more.

A real season for people who love warmth endlessly or for those who never get bored.

However, the summer vacation does not initiate for 3 days.

Will Shoto still manage?

At home, things were by no means exceptionally acceptable.

Why no human soul knows except for the people who are to blame.

Even the educators had already asked his parents or his father whether everything was okay at home, he laughed heartily and said that Shoto had been constantly in this way for a long time and that everything was okay at home.

They are currently on a break, which is why all the children are outside and enjoying the weather these days.

The marginal girl saw him watching, 'You will do it, (Y / N), ask him without a hitch if he would like to play with you.'

Of course she could have asked the other one if she had been given a little consideration.

Every time she tries to talk to her fellow human beings, ignore them, they or they walk away without saying a word and since no one soul wants to talk to Shoto, she saw this as her chance to talk to him and who knows, they might Be friends.

"Oi, Shoto." slowly turned, the tiny boy around whence the voice came anyway.

"Do we want to play UNO together?" she asked kindly and shows him the cards.

"I want to be to myself and please don't bother me." he said softly and turned away from her.

Since the little one was a bit sensitive, it had hurt her for a long time, as he had long since turned her away.

Sometimes he said coldly 'Don't nerve' or 'Please get out of here'.

Sighing, she sat a little further away beside him, in silence until the pause passed.

PRESENCE

"Good morning, (Y / N)." she heard his voice.

Turning to his direction, she explained it to him in exactly the same way and, just like the other students before, gave her consideration from the window.

The half-white haired man hung his head sadly and hoped that any second the school bell would explain.

Since one day of school at the UA, they had mutually unusual aura.

Because since the beginning of elementary school you have had no more 'contact' because you go to the selected schools and immediately?

Now they are behaving strangely and already speaking only one sentence in one sentence, they have by no means had a real dialogue together.

Nevertheless, it may also be better that way.

Suddenly the school bell explained and all the students took their seats.

"Good morning, students."

"Good morning Aizawa-sensei!" said the students in chorus, with which the lessons began from now on.

TIME SKIP

"Finally, I had the feeling that this lesson would never end, because this time the lesson with the present mic was pretty bad, he had scared me so much that I forgot what my name was in English." Mina pouted to herself, while her friend, (Y / N), laughed at her heartily.

"Hey, that's not funny!" she said indignantly and finally opened it.

"Yes, please forgive me, Alien Queen."

"Hey, my name was clearly better than yours!"

"Oh yes?" said the (H / C) amused and opened her locker and like every time her letter landed on the floor.

In a few seconds Minas beamed with joy and quickly picked it up for her friend, "Do you have any idea who that might be?" she asked excitedly.

"No, unfortunately not." her friend sighed and put it in her pocket.

"Doesn't matter now, let me escort you home." she said and left without waiting for her.

"Hey, (Y / N), please wait for me!"

On arrival at home (Y / N) did her daily routine, sitting comfortably on the bed with her letter in her hand, she slowly opened it and noticed at first glance that it seemed a little different from the others.

It was short, quite a bit.

Not like the others in that the last sentence on the sheet should be so small that everything fits.

Tomorrow, at the cherry blossom place.

Right after school.

So short and dry?

Well, I had a choice, but I can defend myself at any time and why should I, it's clear that he goes to the UA just like me.

It doesn't matter now either, I should get ready for bed now.

TIME SKIP

"Are you sure you want to go there alone?" Mina asked uncertainly and meanwhile put on her street shoes.

"Yes, but if you want you can send you my location."

"Ok ... but tell me who this person is, understand ?!" Mina giggled to herself.

"Naturally." (Y / N) took a look at her cell phone and saw that she was spending a little longer time with Mina than expected.

"I think I should go!" and jogged out of school, Mina shouting after her "Send me your location!"

"Will I!"

Except for breathing, she has arrived at the meeting point, but she does not know whether she came too early or too late.

While walking in the park, she saw friends talking to each other, couples sitting on a bench and talking about different topics or older seniors taking a little walk.

"I'm very happy that you came, (Y / N)." she heard his voice behind her out of nowhere.

Slowly, as if in slow motion, she turned around and said quietly, with a grin, his name "Shoto?"

TIME SKIP

"Finally, I had the feeling that this lesson would never end, because this time the lesson with the present mic was pretty bad, he had scared me so much that I forgot what my name was in English." Mina pouted to herself, while her friend, (Y / N), laughed at her heartily.

"Hey, that's not funny!" she said indignantly and finally opened it.

"Yes, please forgive me, Alien Queen."

"Hey, my name was clearly better than yours!"

"Oh yes?" said the (H / C) amused and opened her locker and like every time her letter landed on the floor.

In a few seconds Minas beamed with joy and quickly picked it up for her friend, "Do you have any idea who that might be?" she asked excitedly.

"No, unfortunately not." her friend sighed and put it in her pocket.

"Doesn't matter now, let me escort you home." she said and left without waiting for her.

"Hey, (Y / N), please wait for me!"

On arrival at home (Y / N) did her daily routine, sitting comfortably on the bed with her letter in her hand, she slowly opened it and noticed at first glance that it seemed a little different from the others.

It was short, quite a bit.

Not like the others in that the last sentence on the sheet should be so small that everything fits.

Tomorrow, at the cherry blossom place.

Right after school.

So short and dry?

Well, I had a choice, but I can defend myself at any time and why should I, it's clear that he goes to the UA just like me.

It doesn't matter now either, I should get ready for bed now.

TIME SKIP

"Are you sure you want to go there alone?" Mina asked uncertainly and meanwhile put on her street shoes.

"Yes, but if you want you can send you my location."

"Ok ... but tell me who this person is, understand ?!" Mina giggled to herself.

"Naturally." (Y / N) took a look at her cell phone and saw that she was spending a little longer time with Mina than expected.

"I think I should go!" and jogged out of school, Mina shouting after her "Send me your location!"

"Will I!"

Except for breathing, she has arrived at the meeting point, but she does not know whether she came too early or too late.

While walking in the park, she saw friends talking to each other, couples sitting on a bench and talking about different topics or older seniors taking a little walk.

"I'm very happy that you came, (Y / N)." she heard his voice behind her out of nowhere.

Slowly, as if in slow motion, she turned around and said quietly, with a grin, his name "Shoto?"

[talesofedo]

Prompt - Exhaustion ...

Despite the consistent coughing and the numbness in his legs, the next few days were good ones, and eventually it even stopped raining, giving way to warmer and brighter days. Although the humidity that followed brought mosquitoes in the afternoons, it also set the garden aglow with lightning bugs each night, adding hours of entertainment for the cats who chased them and for Soji and Hajime who watched from the porch.

But when he woke the next morning, he immediately knew something new was amiss: his hands felt numb. At first, he tried shaking them, hoping that he'd merely slept awkwardly on his arms, but when he tried to also rub his palms, he found that his fingers were not only extremely sensitive to touch, which was painful, but that he had no strength in them. It had started similarly with his legs and by now they were completely numb most of the time, making walking without help nearly impossible, and the thought that he would become unable to use his hands terrified him.

"Oh, you're up!" Saito said brightly when he came back after washing up, carrying a bucket of water and a cloth for Soji to do the same in the room. "I'll go and make breakfast, then." He had been cooking rice porridge each morning since Okiyo had been away, partially because it was something Soji could still eat and partially because it had become part of his apology to Okiyo: he'd agreed to take on all of the early morning chores in her place.

When Saito returned carrying their breakfast, Soji lay curled in bed, his painful hands folded against his chest. He had tried to suffer through it but hadn't been able to undo the knot on his obi, and even pulling his arms out of the sleeves and tugging the yukata down to his waist had been difficult. When he found that he didn't have the strength to hold the cloth after lifting it from the water, instead dropping it soaking wet onto the futon, he'd given up.

"Soji?" Concern was obvious in Saito's voice as he put down the tray.

"Go away." He didn't mean it, but he was embarrassed and in pain and he didn't want Saito to see him being this pathetic. (Nevermind that Saito had seen quite a lot of pathetic from him already.) Why was Saito even still here, he wondered. Certainly, any sane person would have left by now rather than continuing to put themselves through watching him deteriorate more each passing day, especially when they didn't have to. Even his sister had left when his brother-in-law was posted elsewhere, hadn't she? He wondered, if his and Saito's roles were reversed, would he choose to stay with Saito or leave to return to battle?

"Please," Soji said and although he was closing his eyes to avoid looking at Hajime, it made him realize his lashes were wet with tears. "I don't want you to see me like this." He found that he couldn't stop the tears from spilling over. He tried covering his face but Saito grabbed his wrists and pulled him into a hug, which was so unexpected and felt so much like something his sister might have done that he couldn't keep himself together anymore. "I don't want to do this anymore," he sobbed. "I want it to be over." He coughed into Saito's shoulder, gasped trying to get more air, but his breathing was short, hurried and shallow from the sobbing. "I can't ... even ... use my ... hands." More gasping. More coughing.

"Breathe." Saito was gently rubbing his back trying to calm him, as one might with a sick child.

Eventually, when his breathing had slowed, Soji asked in a small voice, "Why are you still here? Why are you staying?"

"I told you I would, remember?"

"But that was before," Soji said dryly. "Today, I can't use my hands. Dr. Matsumoto warned me this might happen eventually when the same started in my feet. Look at me. I can't even get myself undressed or cleaned up. I won't be able to eat on my own. I can't do anything by myself." It hurt saying these things out loud and he found himself taking deep breaths, trying hard not to let himself slip into the embarrassing mess he'd been minutes ago, but it was difficult. He felt exhausted with the pointlessness of it all. "Why would you stay?" he asked again.

"Why would I leave you to face this alone?"

...

Medical Note (for those interested): The medical issue that is gradually worsening for Soji is called peripheral neuropathy, which can be caused by tuberculosis or a condition occurring alongside or due to the tuberculosis, such as a lack of vitamin B.

A lack of vitamin B1 specifically was common in Soji's time because of the amount of polished white rice people ate, especially in cities like Edo where it constituted the primary ingredient in most meals, including the okayu Saito is cooking for breakfast. (It caused a medical condition so common in Edo it was dubbed Edo disease.)

Here's a really simple peripheral neuropathy symptom chart for reference.

[sinfully-chubby]

What I Love About You - Ketch x Plus Size/Chubby Reader

Warnings: Insecure thoughts/feelings, body issues, comfort and fluff, also their is smut, and a bit of a belly kink. It’s not mentioned, but you on the pill in this, always do safe sex. That includes wrapping you willy.

Word Count: 1,626

I apologize for this being late I tried to write as quickly as I could and I hope its close to what you wanted. I am also sorry if Ketch might seem a bit out of character. I have been stressed lately and I had re written this thing 4 maybe 5 times, plus on top of that I still attend school beside that I hope you understand. I’m just glad I was finally able to post this and I thank you for your patients.

The mirror. One of my most hated enemy's of all time, just standing in front of it makes me feel uneasy about my looks and my body in general. You let out a sigh as you grab the fold of your stomach and grimace at the stretch marks that you saw there and how they clawed themselves up your stomach. Dropping the roll you turn side to side staring at your stomach from the side view. You hated this and you hated the mirror.

Getting dressed into a pair of shorts and a lose tank top you continue staring hating everything you saw in the mirror, which made you not hear the sound of the door opening. Feeling arms wrap around your body you look up to see Ketch in the mirror leaning his head over your shoulder he turns his head to kiss at your neck.

"Whats on your mind darling?"

Giving a small smile you lean into his hold hopping that you could take yourself out of your own head.

"Nothing really just getting distracted."

You close your eyes as he holds you just a little tighter.

"You were never a good liar y/n."

Tensing in his arms a little you try to relax as he continues to talk.

"Now whats bothering you darling?"

Turning you in his hold, you are now facing looking up into his dark brown eye that were staring at you intently. Cupping your cheek in one of his hands he scans your face trying to figure out what could be upsetting you. Not want to bothering him you say no again as he makes a face.

"Your upset about the way you look isn't it."

Looking down at his chest you tense up again. Being pulled close Ketch makes you look up at him with a hand being placed under your chin.

"Your beautiful you know that right."

Shrugging your shoulders you feel the tears welling up in your eyes.

"I don't know, lately I've been feeling worthless and ugly-"

Cutting you off with kiss he keeps a strong hold around your waist as he kisses you. After a while he pulls away raising his hand to cup your round cheeks in his hand.

"I don't want you to feel like that ever. So if you ever start to feel like that please come to me y/n."

Nodding your head you are once pulled into a chaste kiss. Pulling away quickly he touches your forehead to yours.

"I want to show you exactly what I love about."

Turning you around to face you back towards the mirror Ketch places his hand under your chin and makes you look up at the mirror. Staring and yourself look at ketch watching as he kisses down you neck before biting a sucking hickeys onto your neck. Moaning at the sensation it brought you felt his hands as well as saw them slowly crawling up your sides brushing against the round curves before moving further to the front to cup your breast in his hands. Pulling away from your neck Ketch speaks softly in your ear

"I love how sensitive your neck is when I kiss and bite you. Sucking at the skin until its bruised."

Finding your nipples through the thin shirt he pinches them between his thumb and fore fingers, you let out another tiny moan the the tingle sensation it sent down your spine.

"I love the little sighs and moans you let out when I play with your nipples."

Pinching your nipple again making you let out another tiny moan. One hand abandoning your nipple it moves down your side stopping at your waist.

"I love the curves of your body and how soft your are."

Moving the other hand down your body it stops at your hip as he kisses you neck somemore.

"I love your hips. Love grabbing hold of them as I pound you thoroughly into the sheets as your grab and tear at sheets moaning for more."

Sliding and hand under your shirt Ketchs hands stop at your stomach as his other hand slides into your shorts and panties sliding is somewhat rough finger between the folds of your pussy stroking at your clit as the heat pooling in abdomen builds up even more.

"I love your thighs and the way the squeeze together weather it my hand between them or my head."

You moan at the thought as he slowly slides a finger into your wet pussy fucking you open slowly. At that you let out a somewhat louder moan as Ketc kissed you right behind your ear.

"And last but never the least. I love your stomach and how soft it is."

You tense up a little at the mention of your stomach. Why would he like that? Why did he see the thing that bothered you the most about your body. How could he count that as something he loved, something he finds beautiful.

"I love the way it feels. I love the way you giggle when I pepper kisses all over."

You close your eyes then not wanting to see yourself in mirror. Not having any of that Ketch removes the hand that was under your shirt to softly cup the side of your face and look at him.

"Don't close your eyes love. I want you to see how beautiful you are. From the top of your head down to your toes and even to the stomach I love so much."

Smiling at that you lean over and kiss him feeling your heart swelling at the declaration of love for you and your body. Removing his other hand from your shorts he grabs with his clean hand and drags you over to the bed. Laying you down he beds over you kissing you deeply as he tugs down you shorts and panties. Throwing them off to the side to be ignored. Pulling away for air Ketch grabs at the hem of your tank top and pulls it over your head. Underdressing himself of his own clothes quickly Ketch smiles down at you and starts kissing you again as you wrap your arms around his neck.

Running his hands down your body once more Ketch reaches down between you legs once again parting your pussy lips to play with your clit. Moaning into the kiss your tilt your hips up begging silently for more as he inserts his pointer finger fist and then his middle finger, thrusting them in and out of your body stretching you out. Feeling is other hand run down your body, he softly strokes his hand over your stomach and creasing your sides as he does. Pulling away for a quick breath Ketch smiles down at you with a loving gaze.

"I love the way you feel pressed against me as I fuck you. Stomach pressed against mine so soft and beautiful."

Blushing at that you hide your face in his neck as he continues to finger you open chuckling into your ear at your reaction. Kissing down your jaw Ketch travels down the length of your body. kissing at your stomach as his fingers thrust in and out of you at a faster pace. Looking up at you smiles at your heat blushing face as gives a small nip at your belly making you giggle a little.

Pulling his finger from your body he strokes his hand over his cock while he reaches for the lube you always left out on the side table for him. Uncap the lube he squeezes some onto his hand and lubes up his cock.

"You ready darling?"

Nodding your head you grab a hold of the sheet and hold on as he slowly pushes into your body. You hiss a the stretch, but you soon adjust after a few slow thrust in and out of your body. Moaning as Ketch thrust picked up speed you could feel how he pulsed inside of you as he thrust in and out of your body. Reaching up you wrap your hand around Ketchs shoulders as he picked up a quick rhythm thrusting in and out of your sopping pussy. Hitting your sweet spot over and over again you cried out in pleasure gripping at his back, no doubt leaving claw marks down them.  

"Ketch!"

Feeling you squeeze around his shaft, Ketch lets out a small moan as he quickens his pace even more knowing you were nearing your end as you released sounds of pleasure into the air.

"Close are we now?"

Responding with a moan the pull at his hair bringing his face closer to yours. Pulling him into a deep kiss you slide your tongue over his lips asking for entrance. Letting you take control of the kiss Ketch releases his own moan in response as his cock slips in and out of your body. Feeling himself near his own end he pulls away forehead pressed against your own.

"I can't hold on much longer y/n."

"Me to Ketch."

With one final push Ketch is cumminginside your hot wet cavern. Feeling the warmth of Ketchs seed inside you, you let out a almost wail like moan as you cum. Clawing at his back Ketch thrust into you at a more slower pace, riding both your orgasms out while softly kissing each other lovingly.

Pulling out of you, Ketch lays down beside you pulling you close against his body as you slowly come down from your highs.

"I love you y/n."

"I love you to Ketch."

Before dozing off to sleep Ketch gives you one last kiss before you fall asleep in his arms feeling better about yourself and your body.

I hope you all enjoyed this. I‘m thinking of making a tag list for people who want to be notified on certain things. Send me an ask about whether you all think that is a good idea or not. Besides that enjoy the rest of your guys week. Next writing should be out tomorrow. 

[eruri-things]

Wow okay I wrote a fic-

That’s a first in a while...

MARIA PRE-SCHOOL FIRST DAY

Erwin held tightly to his dad's hand as he walked through the door on his first day of preschool, the warmth of the room hitting his face and complete difference from the chilly weather outside, it being mid september it was expected though.

Erwin wore a simple blue coat and black jeans underneath a long sleeved grey Captain America t-shirt, he also had on little grey running shoes, his small green backpack hung over his shoulders, his fluffy blonde hair parted to the left.

“Papa what if no one likes me…” the small blonde mumbled as his father crouched and squished Erwins cheeks. The boy still had almost all his baby fat and was so squishy.

“Everyone will love you, Erwin.” his dad kissed his cheek once before standing up and walking to the door giving him a little wave. Erwin took a deep breath and waved back before he turned, his father stayed put watching as Erwin walked a little farther into the room and looked around observing everyone in the room it seemed. Erwin knew his father would only be a few doors down in the older kids classroom but it was still nerve wracking to be in a new place without anyone he knew and nerve wracking for his father to send him off by himself. But he knew Erwin could handle it.

As Erwin glanced around the room noticing how a few kids had started playing, a man with short blonde hair walked up to him.

“Hey there, you must be Erwin right? I'm Armin, can I help you place your backpack and your coat in your cubby?” The man wore a genuine smile on his face and Erwin decided then that he could trust this man.

“Sure.” Erwin smiled as he started to pull his bag off by himself handing it to Armin. The large blonde took it in one arm while his other hand started to unbutton Erwins coat pulling it off him he placed it over his bag his other hand reaching to hold Erwins hand, the smaller boy took it and they walked over the wall where there were a bunch of square cubbies each one had everyone in the classes names on them. Armin pointed at one on the second layer.

“Erwin Smith here it is...see you are on top of Levi Ackerman..” he pointed down to another cubby tag that was underneath his, there was a little blue and white bag in there, Armin placed his bag in the cubby and then pointed to a wall that was covered with hooks all had little name tags under each hook.

“And here's your hook.” Armin hung his coat up and Erwin just stood there nodding his head. Armin crouched down so they were the same height once again.

“Would you like me to introduce you to some other kids?” Erwin shook his head at the offer.

“I think I got it, thank you.” Erwin turned glazing once more at the name tag underneath his, it was now his life's goal to find his cubby neighbor.

Erwin headed towards a dirty blonde haired boy, his hair was covering his eyes and most of his face so it was hard for Erwin to see what it looked like. The boy was sitting down at one of the small tables coloring next to a girl with short blonde hair. She picked up her white paper that had two stick figures holding hands and both heads had a yellow scribble on them.

“Look Mike I drew us!” She smiled happily, her eyes shining with joy. Erwin walked up to the table and leaned on it.

“Excuse me have you two seen a boy named Levi?” The blonde girl looked at Erwin and shook her head

“No sorry…” she mumbled and glanced to her friend

“Have you Mike?” She asked. Mike nodded his head before he turned and pointed towards a boy sitting in the corner of the classroom, arms wrapped around his legs and a scowl on his face. He had bandages over both his knees. Erwin’s blue eyes widened.

“That one huh…okay...thank you…” Erwin smiled and started to walk over to the corner where the kid sat. He got a little nervous as he was walking over towards him. What if that was the naughty corner? He didn’t want to make a bad impression and sit in the naughty corner by accident. He glanced around not seeing another teacher and Armin was busy helping a kid with chin length brown hair and glasses pull off their coat. He moved fast and soon stood in front of the boy. He was even smaller then Erwin.

“Umm hi…are you Levi?” Erwin was able to mumble out. The raven haired boy looked up at him a little confused before he nodded hearing his name.

“I’m Erwin.” He smiled pushing his hand out in front of him to shake the boy's hand. He had seen his father do this when he was meeting someone for the first time. The boy glanced at his hand before shaking his head, not taking it. He finally spoke up.

“I watched you touch the table. Who knows how long it’s been since those adults washed it. It could have the plague on it!” Erwin’s scrunched his eyebrows together.

“Well then wouldn’t I be sick if it had the..p-plague on it?” Erwin asked, keeping his hand out. Levi sat there for a moment before he finally grabbed Erwin’s hand.

“You...have a good point.” The boy pulled on Erwin’s hand making him sit down in front of him. Erwin made a little ‘oof’ sound as his bottom hit the squishy foam padded floor.

“Why are you in the corner?” Erwin asked and he reached out to touch Levi’s bandages on his knees.

“And what did you do to get these…” he looked into the others silver eyes. They were awfully pretty. Levi shrugged.

“None of the people here were worth my time...other than you...your nice...oh…” the little boy looked at his knees and a pout on his face as he touched them gently.

“I fell…” Erwin pouted not happy to hear that his new friend had gotten hurt. He leaned forward and pressed kisses to each of the bandages.

“My kisses will make it better.” He smiled before hearing someone clear their throat. It was an adult he hadn’t seen yet. It was a girl with short black hair.

“Hey there boys we are starting to clean up to get ready for storytime can you two help pick something up?” Erwin started to stand grabbing Levi’s hand

“Yes ma’am.” Erwin smiled as he pulled Levi close to him. Levi was obviously going to say something snarky to her but Erwin responded too fast.

“You don’t gotta help, I'll pick up twice as many things so it’ll look like you helped.” He started to grab some blocks that a boy with black pointy hair was trying to pick up alone. Erwin kept his hand tightly on Levi’s hand. He grabbed a block and put it in the bucket. Levi made a little noise before he grabbed a block and placed it in next to Erwin’s.

“I’m going to help silly…” Levi whispered. After clean up time was over all the kids were brought over to a rug that had their names taped on. Erwin kept his hand on Levi’s and pointed as he showed Levi that their spots were next to each other. They sat down and n the rug and looked up as Armin sat down in a chair in the front. He had a book in his lap.

“Alright everyone today we are gonna be reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar…” The story went by quickly and by the end of it Erwin tummy was rumbling, and thankfully it was snack time. Erwin hadn’t let go of Levi’s hand all day and it didn’t seem that Levi didn’t really mind going around with the blonde everywhere. Today's snack was graham crackers and string cheese. Erwin and Levi sat at one of the tables.

“Do you like superheroes Levi?” Erwin asked as he bit into his graham cracker. Levi nodded his head and pointed at Erwins chest where Captain America stood proudly and then his hand moved to Erwin's face.

“I like these two..” Levi had a small smile on his face. Erwin was confused he wasn't a superhero.

“Silly! I'm not a superhero!” Levi shook his head, not agreeing with Erwin, to him Erwin was the best superhero out there. He was the only kid that had walked over to talk to him after all. Snack time finished up and it was once again free play time until a parent came and picked them up, pre-school was only half day after all. Because Erwin’s dad worked at the school he couldn't come and pick him up which meant he had to wait for his mom to get him. Levi led Erwin to the craft table after snack. A kid with brown short hair was making two little dolls, they were a little creepy to Erwin both made from tan paper and they didn’t even have clothes on. The blonde boy hoped they would get dressed soon. Levi looked at the kid and his eyes widened.

“Hey how did you make those?” he asked. The kid looked up at Levi

“You mean Sonny and Bean?” The kid asked as they pushed up their black glasses. She picked up the little paper doll, its body parts taped on and dangling everywhere.

“Well I just folded up this paper into a tube and then added body parts--” Erwin cut the kid off and just blurted out what he was thinking.

“--wHy ArE tHeY nAkEd?” the kid with brown hair started to laugh. Erwin didn't understand what was so funny he was just asking a question.

“You're funny! I like you! They are from a tv show! They don't wear stuffs...in it either...I’m Hanji by the way..” Erwins mouth made a little ‘o’ shape and he smiled as they introduced themselves.

“Oh..i see...My name is Erwin and this is Levi.” Erwin pointed to Levi who was starting to fold somewhite paper into a tube, he was struggling to tape it and hold it down at the same time. Erwin reached out and pulled some tape off the stick and smiled as Levi held it catching onto what Erwin was trying to do. Erwin placed the tape as soon as Levi held the paper down. The smile on Levi's face grew once he had the white tube. He colored on a little tan jacket and tried to give the tobe a little green bolo tie but it looked more like a necklace. He then started to tape little white legs onto the tube. He added tan arms and then looked at Erwin.

“Help me squishy this ball of paper…” Levi mumbled handing it to Erwin. Erwin squished the ball in his hands.

“What are you doing Levi?” Erwin asked Hanji looking at the start of Levi's little doll. Once Levi had the peach paper squished he added some yellow scribbles to his head and stuck it onto the body. He looked at Erwin once more noticing he had eyes. Levi grabbed a blue pen and gave the newly formed doll bright blue eyes.

“All superheroes have toys that look like them..” Levi mumbled and handed it to Erwin. Erwin looked down at the paper in his hands realizing it was him. Erwin smiled and wrapped his arms around Levi giving him a hug.

“Thank you Levi!” Erwin spoke as Levi stood there a little awkward not sure where to put his hands.

“Erwin, did you make a friend?” Erwin pulled away from the hug, the doll still in hand, his eyes went wider as he recognized the woman instantly.

“MOMMY!” The blonde boy wrapped his arms around his mom. And he glanced back at Levi.

“Levi this is my mommy! she's here to get me.” a pout then formed on his face as he realized that would mean he would have to leave Levi here all alone. He looked at the doll and walked towards Levi handing him the doll.

“I have to go for now...but doll me will protect you I promise. And i'll be here again tomorrow.” Levi took the doll and wrapped his arms around it hugging it as his eyes teared up a little.

“Okay Erwin..” he whispered out and Erwin gave him a hug again before he turned and waved at Levi. He grabbed his mom's hand and she already had his coat and bag. She leaned down and wrapped Erwin in his coat. Erwin waved then at Armin who was waiting by the door.

“Bye bye..” He walked out of the class to his moms car, as soon as he was buckled in his mom glanced back at him.

“You have a good day?” His mother asked. Erwin just nodded his head before the little boy talked about EVERYTHING that had happened that day and it was mostly all focused on Levi.

[lovemecharlie]

Meet My Family

Charlie meets the wives. Part of the origin.

“Come with me to Cali. Visit the mansion one time and if you don’t like it, I’ll bring you right back.” It was the third time Erik had asked and every time, a wave of stress would wash over me. If I was a mistress, then let me be a sinner in peace. Hide me in the shadows, don’t parade me through your wives’ domain.

“Wow, you are really pushing this wife thing. What’s wrong with us dating?” Loading the table with our dinner, I set out crab legs, shrimp, cheddar biscuits, and a small salad. To me, dating is preferable. Fall out of love? Just leave. Partner cheat? Walk away. Something doesn't work out for you? Leave. Why anyone would willingly tie themselves to another person with paperwork was beyond me. “Erik, the concept of marriage is archaic. I mean, why would you even marry six people in the first place when you could've just dated them? I don't get it.” I turn and flinch inwardly because he's directly and unexpectedly in my face. Everything is quiet and it's like the world stops as his burning stare eats through me.

“You wanna know why got married, Charlie? Why I did it six times?” The intensity behind his eyes makes me nervous, like I might have actually offended him. “I married six women who I can't and refuse to live without. I've pledged my life and my muthafuckin soul to these women. I am their provider, protector, and biggest supporter. If I die, everything I have will go to them.”

I gulp and he still doesn't blink. “What do you get, Charlie? You don't get shit but this dick and that's when I have the free time to spare. You don’t get my benefits when we’re just dating and trust me, you want them. Being married can increase your wealth 16% in a year. 500% when you’re married to me.”

“It could also shorten my lifespan and increase my already high stress levels as an American black woman. Do you care?”

“You wanna live forever or you want this money?”

“Think about what you just asked me and tell me if that’s a question worth answering.” He knew that was a dumb question.

“You making this more complicated than it has to be. Just meet my family. You my therapist ain't you? They deserve to meet you.”

“Do they wanna meet me?”

“I talk about you all the time. They know you’re coming eventually. Besides, they know I be confiding in you, they just don't know I tell you everything.. so tread slow with that when you get.”

“Confidentially is key with me.” I take my cloth napkin and shake it out dramatically, folding it in my lap. Ugh. I can feel a headache coming. Rubbing my temples, I close my eyes to think and reflect. This entire relationship is a ‘fuck you’ to the Code of Ethics and I'm still talking about confidentially. He's like an addiction and I can’t decide whether or not it's healthy for me. I look up and I can see him staring, the request still burning. His eyes are pleading.

“FINE! Fine, I'll go.”

“That’s all I wanted,” he grins grabbing the crab legs. It's like his energy has shifted into something lighthearted and joyful. I can't even feel bitter or annoyed because he's smiling and that look that he has is something contagious.

◇

He was proud of his jet. It was a beautiful jet! Luxurious, big, clean.. The perfect place for me to join the mile-high club. I cemented my membership three times before the plane landed. The ride cross country was much shorter than it would've been had we flown commercial. After landing, we took a car and rolled up to a gate which led to a mega-property. A mansion. From the parking garage, there was an elevator and the doors opened into a scene rivaling the most beautiful timeshare. “Whoa,” was all I could muster. There was a large living room.

“HENNESSY! ALY'SHA! RYLEY! ANGEL! HOMIE! KIMORA! GET Y'ALL ASSES IN HERE,” he yells, his bracelet picking up the sound like a transmitter. Within minutes, six women appear, stopping short to stare. The tiny light bright looks like she wants to snap my neck. Angele has an expression that reads standoffish in the most aggressive way. The last one looks me up and down like I’m intruding. I could kill Erik. It looks like they're caught off guard. He grabs my hand tugging me forward and then rests his large arm around my waist causing eyebrows to raise.

“This is Charlie,” he says firmly. Thankfully realization strikes and their faces relax. The third one waved a dismissive hand, releasing a small relieved sigh and the small first spoke up.

“Okay, so you're Charlie. We were expecting you. N'Jadaka doesn't shut up about his beloved therapist. No offense.”

“Be nice, Henny,” Erik raises a brow.

“So you're trying to marry into our family,” Angele stares, holding a hand up to Erik to keep him from interjecting. Her diamond ring is blinding as she angles it forward purposely. “What exactly do you know about us, Miss Jade?”

A lot. I'm starting to piece together who is who based on the personalities. They're just as Erik described.

“Erik's said nothing but good things about you all. I hope he's offered me that same kindness.”

“Mmmm. Well, Erik doesn't have the final say over whether you join this house or otherwise,” Kimora says stepping up and snapping her fingers. She circles me before stopping in front and looking back to the others. “She's cute, I guess.”

“Either way, anyone wanting into Daddy's heart or into this family gotta get through us,” Ryley shrugs. Erik bends down to whisper in my ear and I turn nervously to grab his arm before he can walk away.

“Just be yourself,” he smiles squeezing my chin before eyeing everyone in the room. “Have fun!” With a chuckle, he disappears down a hall and I'm left with six women who surround me.

“So, Charlie..” Hennessy smiles, “You like animals? We got tigers if you wanna see them.”

“As long as you don't sick them on me just to get get rid of me? Hell yeah,” I snort following them outside into the yard where there is an enclosure. “I’ve always loved cats of every size. Two of my best friends are cats. One, a black housecat and two, a gentle tiger. We have an understanding.” Their tigers are beautiful and resting like lazy overgrown kittens. There's a snow white one that steals my heart, but it also has claws that could take my life. “..I'm serious y'all.. Just ask if you want me to leave…,” I smile nervously and Aly'sha chuckles.

“That one's mine. Completely harmless.”

“Oh okay,” I breathe. The group starts to chuckle and soon everyone's laughing.

“You're really nervous,” Angele smiles.

“Tryna make a good impression,” I admit.

“Relax. We already like you,” Homie deadpans. It's the first time she's spoken to me.

@poosypoosy @bastioncarterstevens-udaku @hennessystevens-udaku @itsangeludaku @alyshastevens-udaku @itskimorafireudaku @allhailnjadaka @bidibidibombaclaat @blackpinup22 @destinio1 @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @leahnicole1219 @vikkidc @thehomierobbstark