#the shoes / feet look ass in all of these except maybe the first one but whatever

[serapheseraphim]

A series of sona outfit doodles. These are really fun to make. Batboy swimwear outfit based on Sims 4 CC by (I think) Kleos Sims?

Blank / no clothes version below the cut (no visible nudity)

[steddieas-shegoes]

for charity

for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt 'formal'

all of my holiday drabbles will be from the bear hugs universe. many of them could probably be read standalone, but will make the most sense and be enjoyed best if you read that first!

rated t | 495 words | cw: a little sexual tension | tags: pre-steddie, banter, flashback

🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻🤵🏻

“It’s literally for charity,” Steve groans. “Just put on the suit!”

“It’s itchy!” Eddie argues. “And the pants are weird.”

“The pants are weird.”

Steve is looking at him like he’s grown an extra head. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last.

“They fit like pj pants but aren’t pj pants material so when I sit and walk, everything chafes,” Eddie explains calmly.

“You don’t have a choice,” Steve holds up the pants. “It’s only for a few hours.”

“A few hours of torture!” Eddie whines as he takes the pants from Steve. He strips his sweatpants off and pouts.

He can feel Steve’s eyes on him as he pulls the slacks on, buttoning them up and hoping he can get away with not wearing a belt. No one said anything about belts being required.

“You didn’t tuck in your shirt,” Steve says as he walks up to him, not quite hiding the fond smile breaking out across his face.

“I refuse.”

Steve rolls his eyes and tugs Eddie closer by the waistband of his pants. He stuffs the shirt into them, sloppy at first, then slowing down so he can make sure it looks right.

He’s too focused to notice Eddie’s face going red, to hear his quiet gasp at the feeling of Steve’s hands against his waist. They’ve always been touchy with each other, but this feels intimate, different.

“There.”

Steve’s hands are still at his hips, gently resting as he finally makes eye contact with Eddie. He looks proud of himself, and Eddie thinks now is the perfect time to kiss him.

Except it isn’t. They have to be at this charity ball for the children’s hospital in less than an hour. If Eddie kisses him now, they won’t make it to the event.

They’ll either be too busy doing other things or Eddie will be going into the witness protection program for ruining his friendship with Steve.

Eddie breathes in, forces a smile, and pulls away.

“Fine. You win. I look great.” Eddie laughs and it almost sounds normal. “I suppose you expect me to wear those god awful shoes too?”

Steve looks down at his feet and crosses his arms. “You can’t wear your sneakers. Or boots.”

“The boots were just cleaned though!”

Steve rolls his eyes, but Eddie knows it’s not real annoyance. If it was, he would have stopped arguing and walked out of the room a while ago.

“The nice shoes.” Steve steps closer and arranges a strand of Eddie’s hair, moving it behind his ear. He steps back. “We leave in ten minutes. Don’t forget your phone.”

Eddie gulps.

He has no idea how he’s gonna make it through this night, especially not when he watches Steve walk away and sees the way his pants fit his ass.

He’ll have to keep his indecent thoughts in the back of his mind yet again.

Maybe someday he’ll be able to say them out loud.

[jadewritesficshere]

Eddie x fem!reader (reader wears lingerie, no other descriptions of reader given except mentioning hitting that spot just right)

Contents: lingerie, both are a lil pervy tbh, humiliation, crying, praise kink, sub!Eddie, this is literally just horny ramblings

18+ only

It wasn't every day you came back to your house and your best friend had broken in. Maybe, every other week at best.

Usually, Eddie would be high eating your snacks (you were thinking about getting a lock for the cabinets). Or he would be watching whatever show you recorded and tease you about spoiling it (you threatened to use the VHS to beat him over the head and strangle him with the VHS ribbon if he did).

But, you had no clue Eddie was even in your house today. His van wasn't parked in your driveway when you came home. His shoes weren't in a haphazard pile at the front door. You had 0 clue he was there.

Not until you heard a thump coming from your bedroom. Which, your first thought went to the knickknacks you had that someone could be stealing (they wouldn't cause to a normal person it was junk but to you they were memories).

You grabbed a knife from the kitchen (you weren't gonna die without a fight, besides you learned a thing or two from the horror movies Eddie made you watch). You quietly pushed your bedroom door open and-

Shit.

Eddie was standing in your room in front of your mirror. Miles of pale skin just on display, scattered with contrasting dark tattoos he had. Nothing on, save for your lilac lingerie.

The palest purple lace bra, you can see from the back isn't even clipped correctly, missing the hook entirely. But the color is striking on Eddie. The lace thong cuts high on Eddie's ass, and you try not to gawk at the little black heart tattooed on his cheek. Eddie's scars seem softer amongst the lace.

How often did Eddie do this? Come over and put on your lingerie? Stand in front of the mirror and rub his fingers over his one hardened nipple. You couldn't see from where you were, but you knew his cock was hard. He'd be leaking all over your underwear, marking them.

Eddie lets out a little moan and it ignites a fire in your gut. You lick you lips as you watch Eddie, which maybe makes you a pervert but really it is your house and he is wearing your clothes so if anyone is-

Fuck why is it so hot?

"So-" you clear your throat. Eddie let's out a screech (that you are pretty sure ruined your eardrums) as he whirls around. He tries to cover himself with his arms, curls in on himself. And Holy cow he is hard.

He is big, so big, the tip just peeking out of the waistband of the panties. You can see the pearly translucent precum already dripping onto the underwear.

"I- fuck, I'm aha listen I can exp- i can explain!" Eddie fumbles over his words. You blink a few times tearing your eyes away from his massive dick (oh it would feel so good it would hit every spot just right).

Eddie's face is red, tears welling up in his eyes. "Oh Baby, no," you rush over, pausing when Eddie flinches. You gently put a hand out on Eddie's shoulder, drawing him into a hug, " It's- it's okay. Please don't cry." "Don't hate me." You gasp in shock, pulling back to look in his eyes," I could never!"

Eddie's eyes are wet, filled with unshed tears. His nose is turning a bit red, from embarrassment, shame, or sadness you can't tell. But his cheeks are such a pretty pink you think it'd look nice elsewhere on his pale skin.

Eddie hides his face with his hair, shuffling his feet a bit. "So..." you pause unsure how to ask it politely so you just go for it," I can see this is a kink thing...but like, what kind?"

Eddie shrugs," Wanted to feel pretty..." You frown," You are pretty Eddie." Eddie shakes his head and gestures to his abdomen," Not with these."

Eddie really should not be drawing your eyes any further south then his face. Cause your pulse kicks up and the fire inside you lights back up your spine. You can't help but notice his dick is still hard as a rock.

"You are too pretty." "Not really." "Yes!" Not-" You shove Eddie lightly, causing him to stumble back and fall onto the bed. Eddie's eyes widen in shock as he peers up at you.

"Don't talk about my best friend that way! You are too pretty. And handsome. Funny. So talented," You sigh and step forward, into Eddie's parted legs. Eddie leans up on his elbows and blinks rapidly at you. "You're so fucking pretty Baby." You murmur, hand reaching out lightly touching his thigh.

Eddie let's out a whine before looking startled at himself. You can't help but notice his dick twitch under the pale purple lace. "You like being called pretty?" You smirk. "Like when you call me Baby," Eddie replies softly.

You aren't sure who moves first, but suddenly your arms are wrapped around each other. Your lips meet Eddie's without hesitation. His are slightly chapped but still soft, molding perfectly against your own.

You run your hand down Eddie's neck, to the pale bra strap and snap it. He gasps and you take the chance, slipping your tongue into his mouth. He tastes of weed, mint gum, and just Eddie.

Eddie moans against you, hips bucking forward seeking friction. You pull back, gasping for air. Eddie let's out a whine," No, come back-" "I ain't going anywhere Baby."

Eddie's eyes flutter shut as he bites his lip. He hums as you kiss his jaw, lightly nipping at his pulse point. He shivers against you, hips bucking forward again. You suck lightly as you decide to give him some relief.

Your hand snakes down, grasping him firmly. You lightly squeeze through the lace, giving just enough friction as you move your hand.

"Look so good in my lingerie Baby, you should wear it more often." You murmur between kisses. Eddie nods absently, gasping and moaning beneath you. "Got a red pair that has some nice straps, you'd look so metal and so so pretty."

Eddie freezes, mouth falling open. His brow wrinkles slightly as he moans, pleasure overtaking him. His hips spasm, even his thighs twitch, as he comes. You can feel your underwear get soaked along with part of his stomach.

You stroke him through it, extending his pleasure until he whimpers and pushes at your hand. You pull back, smiling softly at his face. Eddie's eyes flutter open, darting down to your lips. "Kiss?" He asks quietly, unsure. You simply smile and kiss him again.

[jolenes-doppelganger]

Jules Nichols Headcanons (Pt. 2)

Previous part in collaboration with @ilovehotactresses

(She helped me with a few (most) of these, but she's being a bitch and not SHARING Jules. She's OUR beefy boyfriend!!! (If the Jules fic gets pushed to the bottom of the WIP list, you know why).

Jules x Fem!Reader (Boobs are referred to).

General Personality

-This woman is one bad day away from locking herself in the generator room and never coming out.

-Upon first introduction, (if you can even call it that), she says her name and maybe three words.

"Hi Sheriff Nichols, I'm [Name]"

"Oh. It's Jules. Don't call me Sheriff."

"Oka-"

*POOF*

-Has the ability to literally disappear like a cat. Doesn't want to be seen? Won't. You won't find her anywhere, don't try, she climbs up in the vents. Yeah. You heard me. The fucking air vents.

-BOY HUMOR. She's been around men her entire life. Her humor is absolutely rancid. Every dirty joke in the book. Not 'one of the guys' , she is a 'guy'.

-All of her friends are men. They slap each other on the back when hugging, first hugs are going to be interesting.

-First contact you'll ever make with her is a handshake. Very firm. This woman can GRIP.

First Date/ Getting to know each other

-Jules doesn't know what dating is. She's the equivalent of a Silo Comp Sci major, except she wears deodorant. You bet your ass asking her out is like asking out a brick wall.

"Hey Jules, I was wondering if we could hang out sometime...?"

"We're talking right now."

*Stares. Just fucking STARES.*

-But if she has feelings, it is at least ten times harder.

"Hey, want to grab coffee?"

".... What's coffee?"

*Looks at you with bugged out autistic eyes.*

-She lurks if she has a crush. Looking out from the corner of the room with those same bugged out eyes. She doesn't talk. Maybe she fixes something in your tool kit without asking, but you bet your ass she's not talking first.

-It's like trying to befriend a feral cat. Good news? She can and will be bribed with food.

Awkward Stage

-After you coerce Jules into a date, because you will have to be the one to make the move with her, she becomes worse with the lurking.

-Breathing over your shoulder, her front almost touching your back but never quite making contact. Itching to touch, but also not wanting to touch. INDECISIVE.

-Sniffing.

-Yeah bud, you heard me. She sniffs. Finds out what soaps you use, maybe perfume. Invests in that shit.

-Starts naming things after you. Her favorite wrench? Now it's [Reader] wrench. New mechanical equipment? Automatically your name. EVERYONE around her knows she likes you simply because she refers to the generator with your name once.

-(She climbed into the air vents after that screw up).

Relationship Stage

-CLINGY.

-We've established she's a bottom. Wants to be babied all. The. Time. She's like one of those large Newfoundlands that want to be held like a baby. Is she baby sized? Can she even fit in your lap comfortably? No, but she sits there anyways.

-Eating EVERYTHING in your house.

-Can't cook? You're gonna have to learn to. This woman doesn't cook, only eats. If you don't feed her she will bitch and moan until you do.

-SO. FUCKING. HANGRY.

-Being alone with her is like having a breathing shadow. Wants to cuddle, needs to cuddle. Cuddling on the sofa, in the kitchen, in the bed, in the shower.

-Nibbling. Forget wearing anything except turtlenecks, your neck is covered in red marks constantly. Lots of kisses though, so it works out.

-Nose in your neck. Face in your shoulder, face in your boobs if she can. Face. Must. Touch.

-Loves your boobs. Mesmerized by them every time they come out. Also mesmerized by other things ;)

Random (Basically Jules being autistic)

-Investing in a stim swing would be the best present EVER. Swing is life. Bouncing and spinning, just the feet out. It's her new air vents.

-Wants TIGHT hugs. They have to be tight. As tight as you can make them. That pressure is good.

-Ties her shoes really tight too. Would wear tight pants if she could avoid harassment, therefore all of her pajamas are tight.

-Saltines are her favorite snack. You heard me. Crispy, same texture every time and just salty enough. Munches on them like a hamster.

-Saturday night activities include taking apart your kitchen toaster and fiddling with it until it works RIGHT. (It was making a high pitched noise that was driving her nuts).

-Does all the fixing in the house not because you can't but because she cannot watch you do it because you're not doing it 'right'.

-The bug eyed look is basically her resting face.

-Brings home a kitten from the generator one day, proudly naming it Lug-nut. (Luggie for short). This cat is basically Jules in cat form. They have the same expression. At all times.

That's all!

Tag list: @marvelwomenrule @midnight-lestrange @bjoerkumlaut, @lovelyy-moonlight, @coffee-is-my-oxygen, @appparadox407

Send a message/ask to be added. Ageless bios are automatically put in the SFW sub category.

[onyourowndaisymae]

"are you plannin' to fuckin' scram anytime soon, or am i gonna have to run you off myself?"

your fingers still over the spine of a thick tome, stiffening at the sudden snarky comment from the other side of the library. the air is thick with his irritation as you turn to face him.

jude jazza sits opposite the bookshelf you're browsing. his ankles are crossed and propped up on the coffee table in front of him, just narrowly avoiding a mug you suspect is his (and also notice he's neglected to use a coaster underneath). the large, luxurious coat usually draped across his shoulders is instead neatly tossed over the back of the velvet loveseat. a small light illuminates the corner of the library he's in. in his hands is novel with the title obscured.

all in all, it appears the wicked businessman had come to the library to read in peace, something you unknowingly ruined by daring to enter the common area.

"uhh... sorry." the words feel heavy and dumb in your mouth. his glower from across the room pinned you in place. "i didn't... realize you were... in here."

"well, now ya do. so get the hell out of here. i'm trying to enjoy my afternoon."

as if to assert his point, jude slumps back a little further into the cushions, readjusting his feet until the heels of his polished shoes thump loudly against the wood underneath them. his eyes don't leave your stilled figure. if looks could kill, you'd be gasping for air-- all for the crime of intruding upon his afternoon.

you quickly turn back and begin to fumble with the bookshelf. you were grabbing... what, again? what was the name of it? all of the spines, with their foiled titles and fancy script, seemed to blend together with the pressure mounting in the room.

"what are ya even lookin' for, anyways?"

crass and nosey, it seems. still, though, it's in your best interest to stay on his good side.

"... i'm doing some research on the fairytale curses. i figured i'd start with william, since he's open to discussing his curse with me. so i'm looking for any information here about the queen of hearts curse."

jude snorts, loudly, and shakes his head. before you have time to ask him what could possibly be so funny about the mundane and arguably studious task you've been trying to do since entering the library, daggers fly from his mouth.

"look at ya, workin' so hard on that dumb ass job victor gave ya. fairy tale keeper, was it? fuckin' ridiculous." another amused snort. "looks like he found the most gullible broad for the job."

anger starts to build in your chest, and that smug grin on his sallow face makes you want to pluck a book off the shelf and spill that mug on his new shoes with one well-timed throw. you swallow hard and turn back to the shelves wordlessly. through your hazy gaze, you spot a title you'd been searching for. god, he makes you so mad. crown is an organization founded and ruled by bastards. yet most of them had been surprisingly pleasant and even kind to you in your temporary stay-- jude jazza was clearly the exception. he had fun pissing you off. unfortunately for him, he wouldn't get the satisfaction of getting under your skin today.

you snatch the book from its dusty hiding spot and tuck it into your arm, before turning on your heel and stomping off without acknowledging his taunts.

but you spot something interesting on your way out: the title of the book in jude's hands. a nonsense word upon first glance, but as you're wandering the halls in an attempt to clear your head, the word starts to make sense. rumpelstiltskin. that old, creepy fable about the man and the spinning wheel? it was not at all the book you'd expected such a grimy man as him to be reading, yet you couldn't think of anything else it could be. a small chuckle escapes your lips despite yourself.

... maybe you're not the only one interested in fairy tales after all.

a/n: inaugurating my blog's ikevil content with this horrible, horrible man. my type of mean men should be studied

[divineangel1103]

"I wanna be taller!"

That's what I often say and I mean those words every time. I can't keep relying on my heels every time as I'm starting to develop an idiopathic toe or just walking on my tiptoes and having an uncomfortable time whenever I try to plant my feet firmly on the ground. Not to mention it was affecting my posture! I had to go to a physical therapist with my mom to get it fixed. Unfortunately, momma wasn't allowed in since the therapist would like me to be independent and think on my own. It was so cool, I feel like a grown up! The therapist was a really tall man, I don't quite know how old he is but he looked like he could be my papa. Except he's more handsome and gentlemanly than him!

"So that's the reason why you're always wearing those shoes?"

I remember him asking, I couldn't see his face but I could hear the sound of a chuckle in his voice. He would use his huge hands to push my hips down and my chest backwards as I tried to lay my foot evenly on the ground. He kept my hips still as it tried to push back while trying to keep my chest from pushing forward. He only stopped when I started whimpering about it being strenuous. I was a little too focused on myself that I didn't notice his fingers brushing against my nipples and plump area of my ass.

"There's other ways for little girls to grow taller you know?"

The therapist would say nonchalantly as he wrote up activities I could do on my own to improve my condition. I was immediately intrigued, my eyes sparkling as tugged on his shirt, begging him to show me. Maybe I was too naive. I should've asked more questions when he told me to get on my knees with my mouth open and he'll give me a secret formula to make me taller.

"The way to get taller, little one, is to take the genes of someone taller. So you can suck on this to ensure you'll grow, okay?"

He gently whispered as he unzipped his pants, his huge cock slapping against my little face. I wasn't too sure what he was doing but thankfully, he was kind enough to push it inside my mouth. I made sure to suck it like a lollipop, my tongue restlessly lapping against the veins that littered his shaft as he pushed it in deeper. I didn't try to protest, why should I? He's being a good therapist by helping me reach my goal. He was so gentle, so sweet as he wiped my tears while sawing his hard cock in and out of my hole. Praises falling from his lips as he gripped my twin tails and using them as leverage to use my throat. It was painful... I don't like painful things... But he kept saying I'm a good girl, saying that I'll grow after this, I have to get through it. I looked up at him for the first time since this ordeal started and I shivered. His hair was matted to his forehead, his face contorted in pleasure and his eyes were full of predatory glee. His kind words didn't match his look and harsh movements as he took what he wanted. Soon, my mouth was filled with a foreign taste, the viscous liquid choking me and forcing me to swallow it all. I cried as soon as he pulled out while he gathered me in his arm, cooing and cleaning me up. I sobbed about wanting my mommy, my voice hoarse and aching. He just shushed me as he placed a lollipop inside my mouth, the sweetness mixing with the weird liquid and creating a weirdly addicting flavor.

"There you go, good girl. Let's keep doing this so you grow taller, every week. I have other places to fill where it'll be much more effective but you gotta keep it a secret, people might get jealous that you're growing tall fast."

I felt him reach under my dresses to cup my pussy through my panties and make me squirm as he talked about other places to fill. His touch made me tingly and hot. It was a funny feeling that I didn't mind. I gave him a little kiss and a pinky promise to come back, excited for more tingly feeling and mystery milk!

[thriftingfreak]

Nothing Lasts Forever

Pairing: Luke Castellan x female ares!reader

Summary: Some moments in time where Luke and you can’t seem to figure out how you feel about one another. Part 1??? Maybe more if y’all like it!

Warnings: Yearning. Pretty much a yearning page at this point. Also a lot of background building. My bad yall. This is so long i’m sorry _____________________________________

the very first night

The day you rolled into camp is a day that will go down in infamy.

At least, for Luke it would.

There was no day he would ever remember more clearly.

The sun rose among the clouds beating down upon the plethora of kids and teenagers. He could remember helping some of the younger Demeter and Dionysus kids in the fields with their different crops ranging from strawberries to the beloved camp grapes. Luke wasn’t the biggest fan of grapes himself but he never turned down one from a Dionysus kid.

“Yes, those look perfect Courtney” A grin spread wide across his face as he watched the girl pluck a perfectly ripe strawberry from the plant. If anyone knew how to grow good fruit, it was a Demeter kid.

As he stood up, he brushed his khaki shorts clear of dirt. A flash of a shadow appeared from the corner of his eye. As he turned around, he came eye to eye with a very bewildered face.

“Where am I?” You muttered out. You bent over, placing your hands on your knees. He could tell that you had been running from something terrifying enough to prompt the expression.

“Camp Half-Blood” was all Luke could muster up.

“What?” Oh, this poor girl had no idea how her life was about to change.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked, looking you up and down. Your jean shorts were slashed and your right elbow looked like it had been burned.

You looked up after catching your breath, you shook your head. It was a dumb question, because anyone could see you clearly weren’t doing too great. To this day Luke still felt embarrassment from it.

But even with your confusion and aloofness, you followed him to the infirmary and get the cuts and gashes cleaned up.

Your feet dragged along the path, a couple feet behind him. When Luke turned around, your eyes were pointed toward the ground to the mud stained tennis shoes.

He wanted to explain Camp Half-Blood and every single thing that came with it, the good and the bad. Although now definitely wasn’t the best time. He was afraid you would burst into tears or worse, start hitting him. Luke learned that some of the campers react in that manor, the hard way. Thoughts rattled his brain trying to figure out the best decision.

“Why are you staring at me? Never seen a girl been chased by a big ass bear before?” you snipped at him. At least she wasn’t crying, he thought.

“Uh, actually I have” Luke smiled at you, hoping you would appreciate the sentiment.

You did not. A scowl festered on your face. Maybe from all this anger you’d end up being an Ares kid.

This thought process would prove him to be correct.

Entering the infirmary, he guided you over to a room with several beds. Collapsing on one of them, you shoved your shoes off. You brought your knees to your chest, staring at the ceiling. It was difficult to comprehend the sudden and profound change in your life. Luke knew the feeling all too well.

Luke sat down in the chair across from you. He watched you, almost with care. You seemed to notice though because you immediately sat up.

“Is someone going to explain what’s going on here?” He noticed the sudden quietness in your voice.

Taking a deep breath Luke started the same speech he gave every new camper, with some exceptions. He left out minor details usually directed toward young campers. You clearly weren’t young, at least 16 or 17. Pretty old for a new camper but hey, Luke didn’t discriminate. A part of him didn’t want to scare you away with all of the knew information, leading to little white lies.

“I’ll give you a tour tomorrow morning of camp but I think you should just rest up for now” Luke stood up, walking toward the door. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew the Apollo kids had to do their job.

“Oh by the way” He turned around to face you, “I’m Luke.”

You gave him a curt nod before shutting the door in his face. __________________________________________

a place in this world

It took a couple of months but it finally seemed like you were settling in. Even though your mom had told you about the Gods and Goddesses and how your father was a God, you didn’t have the heart to believe her. That was, until a hairy brown creature was chasing after you.

For the first time in weeks you noticed you didn’t wake up with a heavy heart, missing home.

Someone else noticed it too.

Luke, very slowly, had built up your trust. He really was a good guy, even though he annoyed the piss out of you at first. Countless lonely nights in the Hermes cabin had been made better by him. He would listen to you complain about everything and cry over missing your mom.

That was until an intense game of flag football concluded in being claimed.

After Chris had thrown the ball to some poor Athena kid, you chased after him. Yanking the strap around his waist so hard it sent him flying into the ground. When the ball launched up in the air, you had caught it, sprinting so hard you thought you were going to throw up. In the end, it didn’t end up counting as a point for your team, to your disappointment. Although when a red holographic boar appeared over your head, peace finally seemed to settle in your heart.

The Athena kid did end up in the infirmary after the game but in your defense no one had explained the rules of flag football to you.

On the other hand being claimed meant moving out of the Hermes cabin. In some ways, this was an upside. No more blue dye in your shampoo or whip cream on your face. You wouldn’t feel like you wanted to drown the Stoll brother.

The one who was affected by your claiming the most though was no other than Luke. So many warm nights of your body heat radiating off of his own were no longer. He couldn’t reach out to you in the dark anymore. Now it’s for the better, he thought.

Even with these bubbling feelings, he couldn’t force himself to come to terms with them. They would sit in the back of his throat, burning and itching. But maybe the pain was worth it.

That night he helped you pack your things up to move in with your newfound siblings.

“I wonder why it took so long to get claimed” You wondered out loud, shoving your childhood teddy bear into your backpack.

“The Gods do everything on their own time” Luke’s face fell into a solemn stare. You knew it was a touchy subject for him, specifically his own father. Ares may not have been the best shoulder to lean on but in his own ways he still managed to beat out Hermes by a mile.

Doing your best to shake his mind from it you said, “Did you see Bryce though? I really didn’t mean to yank him so hard” You smiled at Luke and in return you were granted the smallest laugh.

The next morning, you were itching to hang out with your friends (and distance yourself a tad from your brand new siblings). It was a group Luke got along with, but didn’t care much for. Gods knows why. Of course, however, your new found sister Clarisse remained a part of the friend group and Luke never really liked her. She was soft with you and some of your other siblings but rarely anyone else.

The rocky path crumbled under your shoes as you made your way to dinner. You swung your water bottle around your hands before spotting a warm and familiar face.

“Hey Poppy” a smile broached your face. You linked arms with the daughter of Athena. Even though you loved your friendship with Luke, Poppy was your number one. She had only been here for a month before your arrival, causing a very tight knitted bond between the two of you.

“How was the first night in the Ares cabin?” Sharing a look, you both knew the answer. You shrugged. There wasn’t much to share. Your brothers and sisters didn’t seem to hold their rage as well as you thought they might. Arguments ended in screaming matches. Or a dagger being thrown.

“Listen, I’m hot-headed but they really take it to the next level” You both giggled.

Right before you stepped up to the pavilion, Poppy unhooked your arms, turning to face you. “Are you sitting with us today or,” she paused and in air quotes she said “Lukie Pookie?”

Ah yes, the nickname everyone around camp designated upon him. You knew Poppy meant no harm by it but even just by the mention of him, it felt like a pillow smashed your stomach.

Brushing it off you quickly looked around for him, “I was planning on sitting with you guys and I don’t even think he’s here yet.”

Poppy raised an eyebrow and pointed to the curly haired boy across the pavilion. Shrugging once more, you grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the opposite side of the benches.

Your friends, a cluster of kids from different cabin, were gathered in their usual spot. Before you could even sit down, someone called out your name. Whipping around, it seemed as if the curly haired boy teleported.

“Speak of the devil” Poppy muttered. You lightly smacked her shoulder.

“Hey” A soft smile graced Luke’s lips, “Mind if I sit?”

Interesting.

His eyes lingered in yours for a moment before you shook yourself out of it.

“Of course!” You patted the spot next to you. You mouthed a quick ‘sorry’ to the group, just incase.

A flash of hesitation crossed his eyes but he plopped down anyway.

“Mhm! I’ve been meaning to ask you Luke” your friend Ben started “I was wondering if you could help me with my swordsmanship?”

Luke nodded quickly before turning to face you. It was the signal that he wasn’t interested in the conversation. Although you knew Ben would pry about it later as Ben was also a child of Hermes.

But he didn’t see things in the way you did. Instead Luke focused on how your hair fell in front of your eyes. It took everything he had in him to not move it. Others around him could talk and talk and talk but he was only ever focused on you. Over and over again he chose you. But what were best friends for, right? __________________________________________

snow on the beach

The sound of footsteps against a shallow pier never particularly bothered Luke. That was if they weren’t disturbing his peace.

The humming of the trees blowing in the wind, soothed his mind over. His eyes followed the way the fish swam with air bubbles peeking over the surface.

Watching the water helped slow everything down. His particularly dense relationship with his father was starting to wear down on him. Luke knew how even the scar on his face didn’t do his hatred justice.

Too clouded by his thoughts, he didn’t notice a familiar giggle breezing behind him.

You placed your fingers over Luke’s eyes and he immediately reached up to touch your hands.

He turned around and peered up, meeting your gaze. Luke’s breathe slowed when he met your eyes. There was a mutual sense of warmth between the two of you. Shared between little moments of laughter and light. And just by looking up at you, he knew he was in a little too deep.

Luke could, of course, fess up. But even the thought of that made him want to hurl his cookies. It’s not like he wanted these feelings and trust, he’s tried to get rid of them. They were more painful than awkward. The flutter in his stomach when you stood just a little to close to him. The way he caught his breath anytime you looked up at him and smiled. Or the shakiness in his throat and on his tongue whenever you quipped a snarky comment.

He quickly stood up reveling how he towered over you so easily.

His eyes glanced down to your hands which had been pulling something out of your jean pocket. A small string bracelet was cupped between your hands.

He snatched it from you, looking it over. It was covered in red and blue zig zags. His favorite colors.

“Hey” you whined, “I worked hard on that.”

A grin broke out on his face, “Is it for me?”

You frowned, “Well it was supposed to be but since you don’t seem to have much patience, I’ll be taking it right back!”

Before you could seize the gift back, Luke’s arm shot up in the air, holding the bracelet overhead. It was a trick he pulled on you plenty of times. Of course it did nothing but annoy you yet that was the fun of it.

Many could not dupe a child of Hermes. Even so, if there is one thing you inherited from your father it was the fight response in oppose to flight.

Your hands wrapped around the front of Luke’s orange t shirt, bunching it into a fist. Swiftly you yanked him back just enough before you efficiently shoved him backwards.

In the blink of an eye, he performed a large flop into the lake. Although the water that had skyrocketed upwards, dunked you clean with water. Worth it.

Now soaking wet, his mane of dark curly hair, bobbed up and down in the water.

“Not cool” He sputtered out. He pulled his upper body on the dock, holding his hand out for you to grab.

You sighed, knowing what was about to happen. In order to escape future prank endeavors, you had to let him do it.

Before you knew it, you were handing over your right to dry clothes.

Head hitting the water first, you tumbled off the deck. Your entire body, including the dry clothes, plunged into the inhospitable water. How on earth could fish swim in water this cold?

As soon as you breached the water, Luke shoved your head down. Well played.

“Was that necessary?” you groaned, water stuck in your ears and nose. Luckily it was pretty shallow otherwise you would have been way more upset.

“I have bad news” Luke paused, running a hand through his hair, “I think I lost your bracelet” He hesitantly waited for the backlash he was about to receive.

As soon as your mouth started to curl into a frown he knew it was over.

You dove headfirst into Luke. He tumbled back and you pushed him so far under he hit the sand. Although it wasn’t that deep, he managed to grab onto you, pulling you underwater with him.

Your laugh threw bubbles all around. His brown eyes shot open. For a minute he seemed like he was searching yours for something.

In just a couple of moments, it felt like the world stopped moving. You could feel the air in your lungs start to sting. Maybe it was time to resurface.

You mentally clocked all of the seconds you could spend underwater without passing out.

But when Luke smiled, all of your thoughts went muddy. He grabbed your hand, pulling you up.

You gasped for air, feeling the sharpness. It quickened when you realized Luke’s shirt cling to his body.

Look away look away look away look away.

A hint of rose rushed to your cheeks. You cursed yourself for thinking anything different.

After you two had burned every ounce of energy you had, you found yourself laying on the deck, eyes closed.

You could hear Luke breathe as his chest fell up and down.

The sun started to set in the distance, and the buzz of grasshoppers with Luke laying next to you is all you needed.

It’s all you ever wanted.

Almost as if he read your mind, Luke mumbled “I could lay here for hours.”

You hummed in response, simply glad he appreciated the sentiment as much as you did.

Something tickled your cheek with its moisture. You opened your eyes to find small snowflakes falling from the clouds. Snow, specifically snow at Camp Half Blood was rare.

It was weird, but it was fucking beautiful.

It crossed your mind that maybe it was Zeus’s doing, a little reward. You were reminded that even though the Gods had failed you time after time, there were small moments where none of it seemed to matter.

Like laying next to the boy who pulled at your heart strings when snow fell.

You glanced at Luke and caught a glimpse of his smile. The way his lips tugged at each other, you knew he felt the exact same way. It was provoking the way you both knew the ins and outs of one another.

In the back of your mind, you knew the snow wouldn’t last long as it was the start of summer. But oh how you enjoyed it so.

As some would say, nothing lasts forever.

———————————————————————

Authors note: I definitely meant to put this out sooner however I have been booked and busy! Now that it’s summer, I should definitely have more time to write because I love writing this stuff. Lemme know if you guys want more pieces in time of Luke and reader! Also if you have any requests or recommendations send them in!!!!

-Bee

[crackrodent]

Check out the rest of my Flufftober library!

Angels in the Frost

“Sara is going to be so proud!” Emily thought out loud to herself like a fucking crazy person. Sara had asked her to help with Earth’s seasonal changes to better understand what weather would bring winners the most joy. It was a few hard years but she finally figured out frost.

She walked down the empty streets admiring her work. The glimmer of ice dancing on the grass and leaves, her breath freezing right before her eyes, and the return of the crunch to the long-since soggy leaves.

It was early. The lights in all the homes were off except one. A small little house at the end of a little street. The second floor had a light on and she could hear the laughter of children flowing out the cracked window. They had a curtain drawn over the window but the light shined bright as Emily stopped to admire the sound of human souls experiencing pure joy.

She wished she could visit Earth more often. Heaven needed her, so this was a special treat feeling the cold made her nose grow cold. The laughter died down one giggling voice at a time until the light shut off too.

Sara had work planned for Emily in a couple of hours so she got ready to open the portal back when she heard a door creak open. The giggles started back up again as the door clicked shut. Emily hid off in the darkness near the road as the two small children dressed in near-matching brown and tan hats and sweaters started running circles in the grass laughing. She watched as the frost she had grown on all the grass vanished under their little shoes.

She watched the smaller one, a boy with dimples and freckles trip and fall face-first into the grass. He got right back up and started searching the bushed he fell near for something. He pulled out a small little wooded cat. He was too far away for Emily to make out any details but the boy started chasing who must have been his sister chanting “Meow Mo Meow Mo”. She approached the short tree in their yard and climbed up until she was about six inches out of the small boy’s reach.

He sure did try though. Even tossing the cat up at her. She caught it a couple of times before tossing it back and making dramatic hissing noises. He would dodge the flying wooden kitty as it flew at him. His dirty blond hair fell in his eyes as he ran. His sister’s white blonde hair was still tied back in braids and it was definitely to her advantage. She would have had good aim with the cat, if she understood to aim where the target was going not where they were she would have gotten him at least half of the time.

They radiated joy the entire time they played. It was wonderful.

Emily thought about how pure joy the children expressed and she hoped this learning opportunity would help her improve heaven so that in seventy years it will be ready for the siblings to play there again after they get to pass on the joy to the next generations.

The wooden cat was now being held in the brother’s pocket as he climbed up to meet his sister just five or so feet off the ground. Emily watched as he put his arm around her and then sat watching their home. Their giggles became less frequent and the silence grew louder. Emily could tell these children were no older than six or seven and yet the whispers they shared sitting in the tree were too quiet to hear. Not a skill she had ever seen one kid that age have let alone two.

Heaven had plenty of kids this age, unfortunately. They tended to cause chaos and run crazy unless their family found them. It was bittersweet seeing them play every day.

This was bittersweet too. Emily thought about asking Sara about them when she got back. Heaven has guardian angels. Maybe she could ask her to send one down to look after the pair.

The whispers stopped as the porchlight turned on and an older boy walked out. “Get ya asses inside before Papa wakes up and catches you!”

The kids ran up to the boy who must have been almost a teen and hugged him.

“Yous two need to go back to bed. It’s four in the morning.” He said with a yawn. “Brother, you need to start acting more like a man like Papa and me. You can’t just let Molly control your life. She’s always giving you the worst ideas.”

“It was my idea!” The boy argued. Emily could hear the lie in his voice. She wasn’t omnipotent but it was clear.

“NO! It was my idea!” Molly defended, “Ant-ony said it was a bad idea!” The same little tell in her voice gave her away.

“Get on up to bed,” The still-yawning older brother directed, ushering them inside.

Three little peas in a pod. Emily thought about how blessed the three siblings were. The inseparable little kids and their big brother who watched over them.

Emily hoped it would be a while before she saw the three of them again, but she sure hoped she would eventually.

[watermelonsloth]

So... Sarada's Timeskip Design

First some positives:

The design works in both Haruno(choker, red) and Uchiha(earrings, black) elements. Even though they are few, I prefer it over the complete absence of both like we got in her last manga design

I like the somewhat unique choice in headband placement

The outfit is pretty fashionable and I can easily picture a teenager wearing it

Her earrings are a nice touch

Her haircut is really cute

Now the negatives(oh god are there negatives). I can't shorten this to simple bullet points so I hope you like the paragraph format. First, the obvious:

It Doesn't Look Practical In The Least

She's wearing big-ass heels, her leg warmers are loose enough to get caught under her feet, her shorts(the bottom half of her romper?) are short enough to give her a wedgie, she has pretty much no leg protection, the shuriken holster attached to her leg without bandages looks uncomfortable, the belt is completely useless, her jacket is baggy and unzipped and begging to fall off, her sleeves look like they'd get in the way during combat, her glasses feel noticeably fragile, and what woman in their right mind would wear a strapless bra into combat? (I can only let the last one slide because it's two men who're working on this manga) If not for the metal plate, shuriken holster, and open-toed shoes, I wouldn't even think she was a ninja(or from the Naruto franchise, for that matter). Lack of practicality doesn't tend to bother me since this is fantasy and every character wearing maximum practicality outfits would get boring, but Sarada looks like they didn't even make an attempt at making her look combat ready. Still, all of this would be fine if not for my next point.

This Doesn't Look Like Something Sarada Would Wear

If impracticality was in character or served a narrative purpose, it would be a point in the designs favor. Except, Sarada isn't the type of character to wear something so impractical. In the manga, she's the character that takes being a ninja the most seriously, she's one of the few with clear goals, and she's the resident team leader and smart one. What part of her design tells us any of that? Yes, manga Sarada is weirdly flirtatious. But that aspect of her personality already contradicts her otherwise disinterest in boys and romance, it doesn't mesh well with her portrayal in the anime(which is also supposed to be canon), it's already an inconsistent part of her personality, and there's already been so many complaints about it(even in Japan from what I can tell) that you'd think that Ikemoto wouldn't continue with it.

Why Does It Invoke So Much Akatsuki?

This might just be me, but I think the design has too many nods to the Akatsuki. The oversized jacket, the fabric around the bottom of her leg, and the black, red, and white/silver color scheme in similar ratios. I'm not saying you'll confuse her for an Akatsuki member by any means and there were certainly more things they could've done to make her resemble the Akatsuki if that was their goal. What I'm saying is that if I were trying to make nods towards the former villain organization in a character's design, I'd use similar design elements.

The worst part is that this was entirely avoidable. Even ignoring that they could've scrapped the more impractical aspects of her design to avoid this, her color palette didn't even have to be this way. Red isn't the only color that can invoke connections to Sakura; shades of pink, light green, and white are also colors of Sakura. Black isn't even the most common color that Uchiha's wear, shades of dark purple and blue are. Purples and blues would've also been a better nod to Sasuke. Maybe they wanted her to wear "Uchiha colors," but, once again, those aren't really Uchiha colors. Black is, but red has only appeared in Madara's armor, the sharingan, and the clan crest and white has also only appeared in the clan crest(I don't even remember an Uchiha that ever wore silver). If you wanna argue that Sarada's color is red, then I ask why wouldn't they just keep red as her primary color instead of making it an accent? Her last manga design had black and white as accents, I don't think keeping her color palette the same would've bothered anyone. I know that Kishimoto added black to Naruto's design to help make him look more mature, but Sarada's design doesn't invoke "mature" anyways and it certainly isn't a more mature version of her last design because, much like the majority of the two blue vortex designs, it looks nothing like her last design. It's even worse than when they started adding too much black to Naruto's design because now it reminds people(or at least me) of an organization that I doubt she's meant to be affiliated with. But who knows? Maybe like the metal plate of her headband being on an easily removeable jacket, this is all foreshadowing to something.

I don't blame anyone for thinking this is a nitpick, but it bothers me and I wanted to express it.

Conclusion

Sarada's design is the worst for the same reasons her last design was the worst plus it looking too much like she took inspiration from the Akatsuki's wardrobe. Forget needing a second draft, this design needs to be scrapped and replaced. Maybe the anime will find a way to fix it, maybe it won't. Only time will tell and it'll hopefully tell us good news.

(Side note: why is she constantly drawn with her feet pointed inwards? it makes her look insecure.)

[koifishart]

I want to be Your Koi Fish - Nine Tails

Warning: +18 content, criminal underworld, intercourse, strong language - and so on

Fanfiction based on: "Baki" by Itagaki Keisuke

>29<

Remorse? Understatement! She felt as if she had thrown a shrapnel at her sister. Why her...why Fubuki...why not another, less susceptible child? Tossed by a heavy burden, she stormed into Shinogi's office and slammed the door just as violently. The red-haired man sipped his tea in peace. Upon seeing her, he immediately set the mug down on the dark countertop and gestured to the chair in front of him. She sat down obediently, as if summoned to the headmaster's rug, her heel clicking nervously. It seemed that he already knew something, the information reached him. She guessed that Ayame had enlightened him about what had happened, at least in part. The thought made her feel even worse. She pulled her skirt up over her legs, biting her lip.

- How much? - she finally asked in a shaky voice.

- But what "how much"?

- How much will it cost to get her back on her feet, Kureha? - she replied firmly.

- I don't know if you realize what you're asking. Shizuka never again...

- HOW MUCH TO GET HER ON FEET?! - She growled more and more annoyed. - I will cover all costs. Allow me at least this form of repaying some of the faults.

- She doesn't...

- Get her the best specialists, first-class care. Please. I will pay for everything. - she interrupted him again. - The cash is completely clean. I am paying, not my husband.

The doctor just sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead with one hand and pointing to the door with the other. She didn't wait for any translations. As she sat down, she got up and walked out, clicking her heels vigorously. She still had to elude her entourage to relieve herself by walking home.

>>><<<

Fled. He didn't even notice when she disappeared from the hospital. He was waiting for her in the car, near the exit. There weren't many other ways, but he knew she was clever, easily finding a way to go undetected. He sighed heavily, signaling Kizaki that he would wait for her at home. She probably had too much energy again, she had to get rid of it. He hoped they wouldn't follow his example and they wouldn't have to look under Mount Fuji or anywhere else she might go.

She came back just as he was about to let people follow her. It was approaching midnight, and Kizaki and the others were barely sitting on their asses with nerves. So was he, but he couldn't let it show. She looked relatively normal, except that she was so tired that she barely heard him ask "where have you been?" She just waved her hand, muttering something unintelligible, and headed for the bathroom, leaving her shoes carelessly tossed around the front door. She fell asleep like a stone...or maybe he just thought so, because he himself fell like the dead. But something made him wake up. It was two o'clock in the morning on the clock. Hanabi was gone, she left, leaving the corner of the quilt open and the doorway from the bedroom open. He couldn't see any blaze of light, so she probably wasn't sitting around eating another jar of chocolate. Although who knows, she was so skilled that she could easily do it in the dark. He found her in the living room, curled up under a dark blanket. Raven hair was illuminated by a silver glow mixed with the glow of the surrounding colorful neon lights coming through the opened blinds. She turned around, clearly feeling his presence, and he sat next to her.

- I can't sleep and I didn't want to wake you up... - she murmured softly.

- Nightmares again? - He asked.

It was not the first time they met in such a situation, not always at night. When they met, it happened from time to time, then calmed down, only to return after the wedding, but it ended after a few weeks. As if she overcame what was bothering her. The unreasonable, unfounded remorse seemed to come back like a boomerang.

-I saw her again. She said that I shouldn't be there, I'm useless, it's best that I die... - she whispered downcast, sitting down and snuggling into him. - ...because I only create problems for normal people.

He knew from the beginning that her mother-in-law was a "cute little person." She didn't hide this fact from him, and she herself did not play nice during their first and last meeting. From what Hanabi told, she seemed to be completely normal, nice loving - until the last pregnancy. It was during the time when she carried it under her heart that something happened that no one expected. The mother of three rejected the fourth child, treating it as someone else's, unwanted, redundant and poisonous. Hanayama was surprised that Goro tolerated such a thing for 10 years, but on the other hand, he rather loved her, he still gave her a chance that the woman did not take advantage of. Despite her father's immense love, Hanabi emerged from the situation horribly wounded. She didn't admit it often, but he knew it still hurt. He saw that all these mood swings or severe depression in difficult situations, especially family ones, were connected with old scars that were still bleeding. It was enough for something to wobble, and she felt it twice. Trying not to move her slender body away from him, he lay down next to her to get rid of gloomy thoughts with a bear hug.

Several weeks have passed. Hanabi admitted that she secretly funds her sister's stay in the hospital, but does not want to bother her with her presence. After all, they had not previously parted under cordial circumstances. However, when her father called with a proposal to have dinner together, she agreed immediately, probably not even thinking that her siblings might also be present. All three appeared, including a bunch of children and a redheaded doctor. Oh yeah, he almost forgot he was going to be his father-in-law's next son-in-law. What a small world... There was also Shizuka, sitting comfortably in an armchair, sipping green tea. The bandages were barely visible under the thin blouse. Quite naturally, he went to the living room and sat on the couch, while Hanabi froze for a moment after taking off his shoes, then muttered something to Goro and disappeared upstairs. When he looked at Soga, he just waved his hand as if to say that she would be fine and would probably be back soon. He looked around. At the table sat him, father-in-law, Shinogi, blooming Ayame, as if more conciliatory than usual, completely relaxed Shizuka knitting a sweater and tall, dark ginger Yuri. Judging by the sounds from the kitchen, Yui was in charge behind the wall, calmly assigning tasks to her twins. Outside the window, in the garden, he saw Hyo and Arashi stretching and practicing side rolls, and Razu and Ren appeared out of nowhere, sitting next to their blonde-haired mother. The only thing missing was a small, hellishly dangerous fox with two fiery ponies on top of its head. The memory of the events in the Arena chilled his blood every time, especially since he had heard the story of how the girl's extraordinary ability had awakened. Neither was in any way appropriate for such a small child, but life had its theories about it.

[kaifish-pond-afterdark]

Vampire!Rodrick X Nonbinary/GN Black Reader

All That Glistens in the Moonlight

(Fledgling)Vampire!Rodrick x GN/Nonbinary Black Reader

In the stillness of the forest I stood, almost as quietly as the animals that slumbered in the undergrowth. I couldnt remember why I was here. Surely there had to be a reason? I tried to think, but it evaded me. My brow was furrowed when I felt a cold chill run across my shoulder blades. Even though my heart was racing like that of a bunny rabbit, I did not run. Slowly I turned, and took in the figure behind me.

Rodrick, the guy who lived across from me, whom I rarely saw. When I did see him, I felt a magnetic pull, he was alluring in an awkward sort of way. He always seemed to be tripping over his own feet, moving too fast for his own good. He looked good, skin seemingly sparkling in the moonlight. But only because his skin was so devoid of melanin, his dark hair looked like shadow and smoke. I hitched a breath as he moved closer, pinning me against a tree, his chest pressing hard against mine. He would have looked terrifying, if not for the fact he seemed completely out of breath. One of my eyebrows shot up quizzically, he was baring down on me sure, but I wasnt the least bit afraid. Not really, despite my body’s reactions.

“Oh, not gonna run?” He tried to sound bemused, but only came off confusedly annoyed, “Don’t you know what I am?” He flashed his fangs, they were not impressive in the slightest. They barely registered as fangs.

“Maybe revisit this when your adult fangs come in.” I gaffed, pushing against him. Even though he was much stronger than I, my movements and lack of fear caught him off guard and he stumbled back onto his ass. “Humans aren’t as weak and helpless as you think.”

His eyes narrowed and he stood up, taking my words as a challenge. I held my ground, ignoring my brain telling me to run. He might be a predator, but he is wholly inept. Also his shoe on his left foot was untied, if I ran, he would trip pretty fast.

“Hey! I’m supposed to sound cool and witty!” He pouted, stopping a foot, “You’re RUINING everything!”

“Not my fault you’re incompetent,” I shot back, leaning against the tree trunk, purposefully stretching my neck, my vein popping out.

“I could totally kill you.”

“Yea, but you won’t. You’ve never killed anyone.”

“Wh-wh- how would you know?”

I fold my arms, “Because I would already be dead.” My voice was cool and even toned as I continued “You rely on using your mind manipulation powers to fog up human’s memories, convince them you’re all big and bad, that you decided to spare their lives because even though you’re an apex predator, you’re just SOOOO conflicted and secretly good at heart. Which is all true, except you also just really suck at being a vampire. I’ve known you were one siiiinnceee,” I pretended to think, tapping my chin for good measure, “The night I moved across from you and I saw you giving yourself a pep talk. ‘You’re actually a super cool dude, and like totally a good vampire!’”

His face betrayed his surprise, he sputtered, trying to find a good retort. He was at a loss.

“Oh, so yea, I’m a shitty vampire… I just wanna drink human blood for the first time! I’ve been drinking… friggin animal blood. And like it’s not as good as you’d think.”

“I mean, I know people who cook with it and stuff, but I am actually quite uncultured and have never tried it. Though it would be cool to learn how to cook with it. Maybe I could make you some meals with it, and help you learn to accept not drinking human blood?”

A shy smile broke out on his face, “I’d like that.” His voice was soft and a hand came to stroke my cheek. “But I bet your blood would taste so sweet.”

“Don’t even think ab it BloodBat.”

"It was worth a shot."

[yakultii]

Well, just a normal question. I don't want to bother haha

What would be the most awkward moment you've had when traveling (in your country or abroad?

hahaha this is such a good question !! … god knows there’s probably been so many but at the same time I’m such an awkward person in general to the point that I feel no shame about almost anything and it would be awkward for the other person to feel awkward bc it’s too far gone/I tend to make other ppl feel comfortable being their weird awkward selves around me or so I’ve been told !! I’ve communicated w so many diff ppl even when there has been a total language barrier and I’ve found that laughter overcomes just about any barrier even ones u wouldn’t expect :,) …now if we are gonna speak about moments that I cringe at a little looking back it would probably be when I coulda had me a Swiss gf by now but my brain was hella lagging and I was talking ab my ex fml I SAW the shift in her facial expressions and it was over LOLOL actually it wasn’t over cos she planned for us to meet up again like 9 months later in my city cos she was about to go home earlier than expected and I was too mentally ill to get outta bed and said I was sick and I think she thought I didn’t like her again but anyway turns out she was going home early to be admitted in the mental hospital for the next yr so maybe we had too much in common anyways miss her love her she’s so pretty hope she’s doin better …OR maybe my first time in Bali I got completely scammed and stalked except I knew it was happening before it happened but I almost always travel on my own so I was like ehhh oh well rite of passage and let them take my money lmao idiot :,) also not an awkward moment but a kinda funny moment was in jakarta this random old guy was like can I have ur shoes for my daughter and I was like yeah sure (cos I was going home the next day and I had just bought a cheap kmart pair before leaving aus) and so I literally took em off my feet and gave them to him in the middle of nowhere LMAO. OMG actually I just remembered a kinda awkward situation one time at airlie beach I was also on my own.. I had no card on me cos it was on my phone on Apple Pay, my phone had died like permanently because I got sand and water in it on an island and even the charger wouldn’t bring it back to life and it was night and I had to check in to a hotel within like the next 30 mins before they shut their office (it was like a hotel connected to the owners house) which I needed my phone for google maps cos I had no idea where it was and needed to pay them also and also had my plane ticket to go home the next day digitally on my phone, also hadn’t eaten all day and couldn’t buy food it was a disaster and I was running up literal hills to find this hotel and asking random people on the street and almost in tears and out of breathe and I finally got there like 2 mins before closing time and I had to like convince the owners to let me stay there overnight and let me pay in the morning bc my phone was broken and they were kinda cranky about it and by some miracle my phone turned on at like 2% and wouldn’t charge anymore the next morning but I was up and awake super early like 5am bc I was so hungry so I thought I’d go get breakfast and then come back before I checked out and then on my way to breakfast I ran into the owner of the hotel and it looked like I was scamming them omg

omg this also made me think of on that same trip to Airlie beach I was literally walking for a few km back to my accomm one night cos it was on the outskirts of town and it was in the dark already and my phone had died (this was before it fully broke it was just flat or maybe I just had no reception I don’t remember) I suck at directions and can never retrace my steps and I was just vibing and I thought I had to walk through these rich ass houses and ppl were driving out for a night out so the gate had just opened so I walked right in… uhhh turns out it was like a lil gated community type vibe which was a dead end.. so I turn around and the gate is fully automated locked up behind me like the highest fence like 3X my height with all those spikes on top of it..like noone was around to ask to open it and it was pitch black and I was on my own I was like fuck I’m not getting out of here but luckily I’m literally a ninja and somehow managed to climb up over the fence with all the security cameras looking at me I was like omg I’m gonna be on the news it looked so suss hahahahagot stabbed a lil bit but mostly it was overruled by relief and I jogged the rest of the way home literally through the bush land bro it was a scary time AHAHA …but not as scary as when I was stuck 5kms out in open sand dunes in a thunder lightening storm or on the edge of a muddy cliff in a rainforest inside a mini bus as we had to use human balance to get one person out at a time before the bus slipped down lmao ..ok none of these were awkward but I had to think cos I don’t remember nothing ever im sure some much crazier shit has occurred idek what I’ve done in this life actually I’m starting to remember many things I have so many travel stories none rlly awkward tho that’s just not a concept for me :,)

[muchadoaboutnot]

🖋️🖋️🖋️ for neptune eighteen; 🖋️🖋️🖋️ for galina; 🖋️🖋️🖋️ for sable please 💗💖💗🫣

naomiiiiiiiiiiii whenever i see you asking about neptune and galina 🥹🥹🥹🥹 it makes my heart go doki doki. ok also the third secret option of Sable, a guilty pleasure oc lfkajwekr

That's my gorl! That's my fav!!! Neptune!!! The OC that will probably outlast them all!!

I know you asked about Neptune but you can't have Neptune without Pluto. Her one surviving sister who's part of the Midwest BOS but she'll lay down her life for her little sister. They are both big ladies, 6 even except Pluto has one more inch on her sister.

Her speech check is MAXED the fuck out. So if you think you can play her you can't, like she will in fact play herself before she lets anyone else do that to her. So if someone does get the better of her it's because she let them or it was all part of the plan.

That's probably why she likes Yes Man so much because he does everything and she can finally relax. She never shows it, or showed it while on the road to becoming top dog, but she was very, very, very tired and wanted to cry a lot. So to have someone she can rely on so wholeheartedly she feels incredibly grateful.

She flirts and says risque things but she's only truly interested in and loyal to Yes Man when they finally get together. She's never been in love with anyone else, at least romantically or sexually. (Yes she fucked Benny but for the novelty.)

But even just platonically she does not love very much. She's kind and can be nice, but only a few people she has in her heart.

She enjoys bothering her companions. Keeps tabs on them after everything, whether they hate it or love it she'll show up in the nick of time to help them out if they need it.

LMAO GALINA'S STUPID ASS !!! We love a silly cunt!

Let's start off strong by just saying she's very forward in the bedroom. She's told Custis she wants to make him cry while he cums and he looks so sweet while doing it.

Morgan she's not so rough, she lets him do as he pleases a lot of the time. He probably likes it half the time while the other half he dislikes it because he knows she prefers Custis to him.

She has met Emily in Karnaca, and recognized her behind the mask. She's ambivalent at first and they never speak but Galina does not raise any alarm or tell on seeing the other woman. Instead, she just watches what she can see unfold before her.

That means Galina survives the first Dishonored game verse, she left before the plague took hold and stopped everything in Dunwall. And as the years go by she keeps her business going by hopping from island to island and happened to be in Karnaca at the time.

One of her prized possessions is a Sokolov painting. It's of fruit rotting.

She adores shoes and stockings and anything with heels and just beautiful adornments for feet. Although she doesn't have a foot fetish but she has had men suck her toes but it did nothing for her. Just felt it was silly but went along with it. But when heels are on??? Chef's kiss. She has soooooooo many pairs of shoes, all types.

She daydreamed about marrying Custis but hated when she'd repeat her new last name if that came to be. Galina Pendleton. Makes her gag. However her daydream is less romantic and more the power couple they could be since they're both very good at their perspective businesses. But... Maybe she's thought about him looking at her with love in his eyes and it makes her smile. But rarely.

Sable - I have a lot more to say about her simply because I never ... Dropped anything about her at all! She's one of those OCS that just lives in your head and only random stuff is put down as evidence they exist.

She's a guilty oc made purely because Pennywise needs his whole [clown honking noise] pounded into! Enough with IT being dom!!! Put IT in its place!!! Hence: Sable.

She's Celestial where IT is Eldritch. I mean... Go big or go home am I right? If Stephen King can make OP characters, so can I. Hence she's sort of immortal also, I haven't fleshed out her species but she's something that could take The Deadlights in a fight. Maybe? She's not as long-lived as the deadlights or IT, but I figured she's not human so IT might be fascinated by her or it also. Since I refer to her as a she because she chose that gender when integrating on Earth but being a celestial type body or being she probably would not have something like a gender. Like her true body is sort of like a comet, a small solar system body they're called, but very icy and shaped to travel fast through space.

Since she's been on Earth so long she's forgotten a lot of things she was once able to do. She's very good at acting and becoming part of humanity on Earth, so in meeting him she's slowly relearning the things she was once capable of. Although IT probably doesn't appreciate that part of her learning she does in fact have powers.

She likes humanity a lot and enjoys feelings, hence why I made her a sort of Cirque Du Soleil performer. So she's in a lot of different outfits, some clown-related some not. When I think of her aesthetic... Think... A Trip to the Moon 1902

Her tag with Pennywise is xo. I miss you and it's the Bjork song title of the same name.

She's athletic, like a gymnast and stands at 5'8. I can't figure out what hair color I want her to have yet however. So everyone thinks she just dyes her hair a lot but instead she cycles through different hair colors depending on her costume or mood.

Her human eyes are brown, while they can become a sort of purple or the reflection color of animals that can see in the dark. Finally her true eyes are just an intense heat of white light. Again, think how a comet lights up the sky.

She loves loves loves lovveesssssss slob. Like anything sloppy. She literally had no idea she was attracted to something like drool till she had Pennywise salivate onto her. Which is funny because she likes herself to be clean and her environment. But he awoke the freak in her and she wants to lick him she thinks.

As much as she likes humanity she understands humans die, she can even devoid herself of feelings or turn emotions off. Watch humans like a scientist in their experiment but sees nothing wrong with it since she's not even the same species. But she prefers to have feelings. Therefore with Pennywise, she gets he's just another animal hunting prey, the way a dolphin hunts or even commits war crimes! An intelligent creature but capable and knows it's being cruel and immoral. Yet she doesn't have to like it and definitely shows her disapproval except... She'd probably encourage him to kill humans she thinks deserve to die.

She's sort of self centered, selfish, and perhaps a little egotistical because she thought she was the only long-lived being for what felt forever to her. So it's a slap in the face when she feels fear and like "Oh shit I could die", but then that gets canceled out when she figures out the clown is less interested in killing her and more into something else.

[captainderyn]

Burning Every Bridge [Fic]

Fandom: Cyberpunk 2077 Rating: Mature Tags: Canon-Typical Behavior, Cyberpunk 2077-Typical Swearing, Johnny Silverhand Being An Asshole, referenced suicide ideation

Summary:

V is struggling to cope with what happened after stealing the Relic and her behavior shows it. When her adopted-father-turned-Fixer calls her out on her shit, she rails against it. It doesn't help that the peanut gallery, aka Johnny, keeps adding his commentary to an already tense conversation.

(Old fic from when I first started the game and V was more of an Era clone than she is now. Still like this piece though! Not sure if I'll keep the Era/Five dynamic (Killian is a port of Five).)

--

The door hissed closed behind V, the janky latch bouncing once, twice, thrice, before finally clicking and locking. She’d meant to get that fixed for the past…month, maybe, but that required more eddies and more time than she had. And it wasn’t worth a repairman walking in on one of her…episodes with Johnny.

She thunked her head back against the door, squeezing her eyes closed. Despite the dirt and grime that crusted her hands she scrubbed them across her face. She knew what was coming even before the voice snapped at her from deeper in the room like a whip.

“What the hell, Valerie?”

“It’s V,” she snarled back, “Can we start with hello, Killian?”

Opening her eyes, she rolled them to the ceiling before fixing an icy look on Killian, “You look like a fucking Corp.”

That had been their lifestyle once, chafing beneath the boot of the bigger man. They’d since faded into the shadows of Night City, cut ties with the corporate conglomerate. Killian still stuck out in the streets of Night City like a sore thumb, even after being crowned the Harbinger. He would’ve been better suited as Delamin’s henchman in his HQ than out on the streets.

She was bitterly surprised he hadn’t been mugged yet. Even with the wicked knife she knew was tucked under his finely pressed jacket and the pistol no doubt concealed somewhere on his person.

Killian stuck his hands in his pants pockets, sharp eyes roving over her, “And you look like you just crawled out of a sewer.”

V didn’t respond except with a grunt and a scowl, turning away so she could kick off her boots.

“Valerie, I don’t have all day,” Killian said flatly.

She glanced at him over her shoulder, “What the hell are you talking about?"

Rain poured outside, sweeping with it all the grime and oil that packed into the rusted buildings and poured out of the derelict cars. She slung her jacket off, spraying water droplets across the room. Killian curled his lip as some of it splattered onto his jacket, swiping it off.

He didn’t need to know that her jacket was soaked because she’d hydroplaned into a concrete Jersey barrier and careened into a puddle.

“Since when have you been stupid enough to hit two hundred miles per hour in Pacifica?”  

So he already knew, then. The way his words clipped when he got irritated drove her insane.

“You bug me or something?” V snapped, telling on herself even more as she ran her hands over the creases of her tank top, feeling for small, metal spyware.

“I didn’t bug you.” She heard the eye-roll sent her way and grit her teeth so hard her jaw ached, “I have contacts all around the city and they all say the same thing: they’re worried about you.”

His socked feet—damn him and his etiquette always taking his shoes off in her dingy ass apartment. Her boots were welding themselves to the floor with mud the longer she stood here—stalked forward until he was almost right in front of her, “You got a death wish or something?”

From the corner of her eye Johnny shimmered into view, arms crossed, “Aw is daddy worried about his little girl?” he crooned, “You still haven’t told him about the gun, V.”

“Can it, Silverhand.” She snapped, whipping her head to where he stood. But he was gone now. Dammit.

No, she hadn’t told Killian about the incident when Johnny had first appeared, about the way the horror had driven her so far out of her skin that she’d seized up her pistol and…no. He didn’t need to know that.

She still felt the cool press of metal against her lips.

Killian’s eyes flashed at her as his calloused fingers snatched her chin and pulled her eyes up to meet his. She bared her teeth, cheeks flaring at the realization she’d snapped out loud, “Back off, Kil!”

“Are you drunk? Smoking something?” He demanded, “All that chrome you’ve pumped into yourself finally frying your brain?”

She ripped her chin from his hand, smacking his arm away, “I’m not drugged up, boozed up, or going fuckin’ cyberpsycho! So lay off!”

They stared each other down for a long moment before Killian huffed out a breath through his nose. It looked exasperated, even though his body language screamed ‘offended.’ She'd seen that look every time she'd ignored his advice and gone off the rails at Arasaka.

“Then what’s going on V?” Killian’s voice prickled across her skin, igniting every burnt out, angry nerve in her body, “Hm? Because driving like you’ve got a death wish for you and half of Night City isn’t sane behavior. Getting into fire fights with the local gangs isn’t sane behavior and talking to the air isn’t sane behavior.”

V ground her teeth together as she felt the increasingly familiar static-like tingling at the base of her neck and the wash of noise over her vision as Johnny waltz in front of her then slung his arms around her shoulder.

It took all of her willpower not to look at him. If she didn’t look at him, he wasn’t there.

“C’mon V,” Johnny purred, “Tell him all about me, about how we’re becoming such great friends.”

She cut a scathing sideways look to Johnny’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, wishing she could push it off and shove him into the wall. It’d put him in his place.

Instead she turned that scathing look back to Killian, doing her best to soften her voice, “Listen, Kil, I know its a helluva lot different than corporate, but those ‘fire fights’ are gigs and they’re making me money, ‘kay? I’ll chill out on the speeding, how about that?”

A frown tugged the corners of Killian’s mouth down, deepening the wrinkles that were starting to appear the more he stressed and aged.

She’d hoped leaving the corpo world would do wonders for his stress levels. It turned out he just channeled all that corpo success into being a phenomenal fixer and turned all the stress he’d had from Arasaka into worrying about her.

It’d grind her gears and piss her off more if she hadn’t been the one to unceremoniously decide to make herself his problem all those years ago as a fresh twenty-something year old.  

She had no one to blame for her father figure acting like a concerned father except herself.

“There’s something you aren’t telling me, V.” Killian finally said after staring her down,  no, staring through her, though his voice had also lost its harsh edge.  She didn’t answer, but instead shrugged and grabbed her sopping jacket off the floor to hang up.

The silence stretched between them like a knife blade and she swore her heart was about ready to leap out of her chest. Finally he broke it, “I won’t ask again, Valerie. What’s wrong?”

She sighed, running a hand through her hair, “Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, “Just tired. Everything with the biochip has been...a lot”

“You’re lying.”

“Am not.”

It wasn't a complete lie.  Closer to the truth than outright refusing to say anything, at the very least.

She cleared her throat, shifting fiddling with the sleeve of her jacket, “Listen, Kil, I want to hop in the shower, so I’ll talk to you later?”

“V—“ he started but broke off with a sigh, “Alright. Just…don’t end up as roadkill, okay?”

“’Kay.” She said softly, unable to look at Killian as she heard him slip his shoes back on and left with a gentle click of the door locking behind him.

The back of her neck prickles and Johnny was there, leaning against the door, “You’ve really done it now, V.”

She flipped him off, but it was hollow, the fiery blaze of her anger snuffed out.

“Fuck you.” She snapped.

Johnny just laughed.

[thatgirlwhokeepsreading]

Feel free to disregard if not relevant to you. I'm just a former massage therapist that focused heavily on injury work, so I see things a bit differently than the average doctor.

Random ass thought after coming across your post regarding how dance changed your body. Have you ever tried shifting to wearing "barefoot" shoes? IE, zero arch support and no toe drop?

I have zero experience with dance, but I'm pretty sure all those shoes and whatnot you trained in were, essentially, barefoot shoes. Except maybe the tap shoes; I think those have heels. Anyway.

Your foot spasms *may* be related to you having built up enough musculature to properly support your own feet (vice everyone who started in arch supports via their shoes as kids). Wearing arch support when your body doesn't want it can be very painful, and cause all sorts of issues (speaking from experience here - I transitioned to barefoot shoes back in 2011 and cannot wear regular ones anymore without lots of foot pain).

Just figured I'd throw it out there, since probably no doctor or physio would think to look at it that way (least, not that I've ever experienced). Again, feel free to completely disregard if not relevant, or you've already solved the foot spasm problem another way. I will admit to not taking the time to browse your blog to find the answer.

Wishing you the best, and thank you for sharing that perspective of how dance permanently changed your body and its relevance to folks being idiots regarding trans kids.

Hey! Thank you for your message! It’s always interesting what piques people’s interest to slide into my DMs when that post with my addition starts doing the rounds again, and this is a new (and fascinating) one!

You are correct that the ballet and jazz slippers are functionally being barefoot (and contemporary, which is a style didn’t do, is also actually barefoot or with a little sock over the ball of the foot). I don’t mention in that particular post that I also did hip-hop, which has more structured shoes with cushioning but a flexible middle, and normally look something like these (although I don’t recall mine having quite as severe a heel):

And yes, the outlier would probably be my tap shoes, which were far more rigid and had a heel. The biggest problem I think those posed was I wore ill-fitting ones (too tight) and also the fact that tap involves a lot of stamping and hitting different parts of your foot on things and such.

I was also a swimmer, and while that’s not quite the same as being fully on your feet on land, that did mean for my other big time-consuming physical activity I was walking around the pool barefoot, pushing myself of starting blocks and wall barefoot, and obviously kicking to swim barefoot.

I’m also autistic/have ADHD, so I never liked wearing shoes much anyway, and basically have always taken them off at the first vaguely socially-acceptable chance and had a preference for what in my brain were “form fitting” shoes (canvas and/or thin soles) or thongs (flip-flops). I now have an office at my university, and so in my everyday life I now only wear shoes to and from my car, and if I am leaving my building for food or a meeting. Walking around in my building I will just be in socks. I also tend to drive barefoot, and be barefoot at home and immediately remove my shoes at other people’s houses, rehearsal rooms, church, etc.

By trial and error I’ve learned that the biggest things that helped with reducing the spasming for me were: stretching my legs, particularly calves; magnesium soak (per doctor recommendation); using toe spreaders/tennis ball; accidentally learning how to crack the middle of my foot and my toes while doing massage on myself; and changing/minimising shoes.

So overall I am fascinated by this suggestion of it being about the pain coming from having developed musculature/having too much support because yes, what you’re describing seems to be consistent with my experience! I did a very cursory internet search about heel drop just now and then stared at my most comfortable shoes, and indeed they do seem to be the ones with little to no heel drop. Also looking inside the shoes, there does seem to be a pattern between comfort and lack of arch support, uh oh! So yes, maybe I should look into barefoot shoes.

I will also say that I found out last year that I was experiencing Restless Leg Syndrome (bad enough that it was keeping me awake at night) because I was very iron deficient. I subsequently underwent an iron infusion and the RLS disappeared, and at that same time the spasming also reduced significantly. However, the RLS to me seemed to be an entirely separate thing to the spasming - RLS was basically just paresthesia, the spasming I could visibly see the muscles in my arch moving and was painful. I suspect the causations between the iron and spasms are probably not as direct as between the iron and RLS, because my iron levels are back to normal now but I do still sometimes get the spasms. The correlation possibly comes from the fact I was wearing shoes a lot more when I had the RLS (because wearing shoes reduced that sensation for me), and also not sleeping meant I didn’t want to be physically active + I’m sure it impacted my body’s repair and recovery.

Anyway, fascinating food for thought, thank you again for your message! Also trans rights, trans liberation, and protect trans kids!

[Asker is presumably referencing my addition on this post, for those playing at home.]

[shewritesometimes]

The Ailse

Intro

You’d title me corny if I told you that our meet cute was something straight out of a movie. You know that scene where the girl goes to reach for a something on the shelf, and the guy of her dreams reaches for the same thing and instant fireworks happen? Well, I wouldn’t be lying per se, but maybe exaggerating a little bit. It did happen like that, except it was a lot less romantic because it happened in the grocery store, in the aisle where the boxes of noodles were shelved. I never understood why noodles came in boxes but that’s beside the point. I’ll credit this all to the fact that I wanted spaghetti for dinner that night.

I reached for the box of angel hair noodles and turned to my left without looking. I tripped over the small, wire circular storage bin filled with smaller bottles of parmesan cheese. It fell, as did the box of noodles in my hand, but I was caught. The hand wrapped around my arm was firm but gentle. I noticed his shoes first because I’d almost come face to face with them. He helped me stand up straight, and I was blushing under my brown cheeks, embarrassed that I hadn’t paid better attention to where I was going.

“Are you good?” he asked. And it was in that moment, like they say in the books, that I knew. I don’t know what I knew but I knew something. We locked eyes; his big, deep brown and curious. When I was standing straight, I glanced him over, taking in the sight in front of me and what a fucking sight he was. He was sort of tall, maybe just six feet if I had to guess. He probably had just left the barber shop because the line up on his taper fade was almost as clean as Jalen Rose's, his goatee shaped too. He was wearing a heather gray short sleeved shirt that sort of clung to his copper skin. His shorts, khaki, stopped right under his knees and his shoes, the same ones that I had almost come into contact with, had to be an original pair of cool grey 11's.

"Are you good?" he asked again.

"Yeah. Thanks, sorry I wasn't really paying attention."

"That's obvious. Don't know how you could've missed this thing." I stood still as he smiled and bent over to grab the little wire thingy I had knocked over and put it back in its place. I moved to help pick up the mini bottles of parmesan cheese when he said something I couldn't hear.

"What?"

"I got it." he smiled again, and I chose to ignore what he said. Thankfully I hadn't knocked out every bottle of the grated cheese, but there was enough that I'd made a mess. I dropped the last bottle back into the bin before scanning the aisle behind me to see if anyone else had seen me trip. If they had, they were gone and laughing at me in another part of the store. It was just this brawny man in front of me. I felt my stomach flutter when he took a step towards me.

"Next time, look both ways." he put the box of noodles back in my hand, brushing past me.

"Got it." His smile seemed to light a fire in me. He stepped down the aisle without looking back. I couldn't make sense of the fact that I had just met this beautiful man in the store of all places, but I also couldn't fathom that I let him walk away without knowing his name.

I went home and cooked that night, wondering what could've been different about the encounter. Next time look both ways kept replaying in my head as if he meant anything more than his nice way of telling me to watch out. He could've been rude, but he wasn't. He could've let me fall, but he didn't. Hell, he could've walked away and let me clean up that aisle all by myself, but he helped and then left. Didn't ask my name, didn't say anything more. I couldn't stop thinking about how embarrassing of a store run I'd made and how that attractive man was probably just being nice. He'd probably gone home to his girlfriend and told her all about this clumsy ass girl in the noodle aisle that he'd helped. Stomach full and thoughts of what he was thinking of me dancing around in my head, I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 1

The music was loud, clusters of people were mingling which filled the air with a low buzz. So many shades of brown glowed under the summer sun, some wet from the water, others shining from the sheen of their chosen moisturizer on their skin. Lia was the usual life of the party, taking shots and dancing in the pool, she loved to be seen. I was the complete opposite but loved to get out of the house so when she'd invited me to the pool party hosted by her DJ boyfriend, I obliged. I adjusted my bikini top to accommodate my chest while observing the party goers that were enjoying a good time. I leaned on the railing of the balcony that overlooked the area, pulling out my phone to fill the void of conversation. My social media distraction was interrupted by a loud group of guys reacting to something behind me. It was reminiscent of the roar that happens at a sports bar where all the viewers are engaged in what's happening on the television. The rest of the people on the balcony and I stopped to redirect our attention their way. Two of the guys were laughing so hard that they had to push off each other; it was beautiful how Black people laughed with our whole bodies. Another one of the men emerged out of the group, turning my direction, and then stopping suddenly. We locked eyes, again. It was him, from the store. Mister next time look both ways. I diverted my attention to make it seem like I hadn't seen him, but it was too late. He turned to tell his friends something, then started towards me. I felt my stomach sink into my ass and suddenly it seemed as if I was sweating more than the ice was making the cup in my hand drip. There was nowhere else for me to look but at him and sooner than I expected, he was standing right in front of me. The only thing left to my imagination was everything under his black cargo shorts because he didn't have on a shirt. That same copper skin that was once beneath a gray t-shirt was now glowing in front of me, a tattoo on almost every inch of his chest and arms.

"Hi.” I struggled to muster anything else and based on the chuckle that preceded his response, I could tell that he knew that he was making me nervous. That smile.

"Hi? Come on, I know you're cooler than just a hi. I basically saved your life."

"Catching me before I could smash my face on your shoes is hardly saving my life."

"Maybe, but it was clearly more than you're willing to admit because you couldn't even keep it player and say more than a corny hi."

"I was supposed to greet you like I know you? I don't even know your name."

He extended his hand to shake mine, flashing that smile that I was falling in love with the more he showed it. "Julian." I wrapped my hand in his to complete his gesture.

"Legacy. Most people call me Elle."

"I like Legacy, so I'll call you that." Julian invaded the small bit of space that separated us to stand on the other side of me, his back against the railing. "You came here all alone?"

"My little sister is downstairs in the pool." I nodded my head in her direction, looking for her bright orange bikini set in the sea of people that occupied the water. I then looked over to his group of friends who had rejoined the volume of the rest of the people in attendance and were now just enjoying the atmosphere like everyone else.

"Why are you up here alone, Legacy?"

"Does it matter?" he scoffed. I didn't know why I was being rude; I chalked it up to nervousness. No matter my age, there was no excuse for how juvenile I was acting.

"Well, I was just asking, but you don't have to tell me. Though, if you're worried about the answer being embarrassing, you've already covered that, you know, when you tripped over that cheese display in the store." I couldn't help but laugh, the energy between us was charged.

"It's not embarrassing," I started. "My sister gets drunk and likes to be the center of attention and if I'm in proximity, I have to be in the spotlight too, which I don't like."

"Introverted, explains a lot." I shifted my gaze from the pool to him, consuming his appearance once again.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter. I want to ask you something." Suddenly, Bryson Tiller's Whatever She Wants was mute in the background as I felt things close in on us, and I was looking back into Julian's eyes with the same curiosity that he'd stared me down with.

"Okay."

"Are you attracted to me?" I frowned at the delivery of his question.

"That's an odd question."

"I asked because I'm attracted to you. Sounds a little crazy considering this is only the second time that we've met, the first that we've formally met. But yeah."

"Are you really attracted to me or is it because I'm standing next to you bikini clad with a cup of brown liquor in my hand?"

“I noticed those.” His eyes rested on my chest before coming back up to meet my gaze. “But you’re cute, too. I like watching you think.”

“Watching me think? We’ve known each other for all of six minutes. Why do you think you know me?” Another shout of the crowd stole everyone’s attention, this time down in the pool. The DJ hyped the audience, turning the mood up some more. Lia was now near the DJ booth clearly not worried about me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julian signal something to his friend, halting him from coming over to where we stood. I remembered that we were having a conversation when Julian adjusted his posture to stand up and face me.

“I thought maybe we had chemistry. Was I wrong?” Julian’s eyes pleaded with my womanhood, begging me to give in to his charm. Got damn.

“May I?” His hand was at my waist ready to pull me close to him. I figured there was no need to continue to fight him off, so I caved. There was absolutely no denying what he said. Suddenly, I remembered us in the store and how aroused I’d felt in addition to being embarrassed. There was something about Julian that intrigued me. He couldn’t have had a girlfriend the way his eyes continued to devour me. His hand found its way around my waist, pulling us together. The warmth that surged through me was so intense, it made the summer heat feel refreshing by comparison. Julian’s body was clammy against mine, I rested a hand on his broad shoulder and then we locked eyes for the third time since we’d met. I resisted the urge to kiss him. His grip on my hip loosened a bit and I could feel his body tell me that we were experiencing the same feelings.

“Uhm, Julian, I - “

“You’ve answered all of my questions.”

“Have I?” He reached into his pocket, retrieving his phone. I watched him unlock it and open it to the keypad. I looked up to find him smiling at me while placing his phone in my hand. Without words, I typed in my number and saved it.

“Elle?”

“That’s what everybody calls me.”

“I told you, I like Legacy, so I’ll call you that.” I smiled at him, and he winked at me. Then just like he did in the store weeks before, he just walked away.

Chapter 2

Lia left the party with her DJ man and my social battery had died. After returning home and refreshing in the shower, I retreated to bed, letting reruns of The Steve Harvey Show play the background while I tapped through Instagram stories. Mr. Traffic, aka Julian was all I could think about. I found myself captivated by the memory of his dark, honey-colored skin, a sight that encouraged me to throw all my inhibitions out of the window to explore uncharted territory with him. The way he spoke, his charm, that fucking smile. Seeing him in my thoughts and knowing how he made me felt was driving me crazy. The fact that I had given him my number without taking his lingered in my mind. Searching for him on social media proved unsuccessful because his common name offered no helpful results, and I had no connections to anyone that he was with at the party.

Legacy?

Perfectly timed with the tap of my finger, I accidentally opened the message when it fell from the top of my screen. It was from an unfamiliar number, but Apple and its advancements were able to tell me Maybe: Julian Latimore.

This is she.

It’s Julian.

I typed about three responses before I just decided that saying hi again was good enough.

Again with the hi? Lol

What else do you want me to say?

I exited our conversation and went back to scrolling through apps. I had concluded that he’d fallen asleep when ten minutes had passed with no response.

Would you rather dance around the elephant in the room or dive straight in? Reading that made my eyebrow raise.

I’m curious now, so just be forward with me.

I know you felt what I felt earlier.

You’re dancing…

I want you to come over. I was floored.

Tonight?

If that’s okay with you. I understand it’s late; my urgency for you can wait but if it doesn’t have to, I’d prefer it doesn’t. Glancing at the time in the upper left-hand corner of my screen, it read 9:56pm. What harm would I be doing to go link up with this man, especially knowing we wanted the same thing?

Where do you live? I questioned, hoping that I didn’t seem desperate. If he lived far, I’d be staying home. An address appeared on my screen within a minute, but confusion accompanied it. Seeing the numbers had me questioning just how awake I was. Maybe my phone had glitched or something. I closed all the apps, reopening the messages app to see the same numbers I’d seen initially. There was no glitch, and I wasn’t sleepy. Julian and I shared an address, and the only difference was the unit number. Same building. Same side of the building. There was certainly no way that I could’ve missed him before now.

Chapter 3

I stared at my phone waiting for the address to change somehow. Three dots danced in the corner signaling that Julian was typing. All of a sudden, every move I heard above me mattered because it was him. I’d only lived in my apartment for four months, but I only ever wondered what was going on up there if I heard a crash or a loud bang. Now, I heard footsteps, prompting my eyes to track the ceiling as if I could see him moving while watching.

You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. The message became number eleven in our thread, his second since sending me his address. I scrambled to type a response, wanting to tell him he was my neighbor. I went to my closet to find a pair of sweats to replace the dolphin shorts I was going to sleep in and put on a light blue pair of joggers deciding that I would just show up instead of responding.

The front doors of our apartments slammed if you let them. Quietly, I secured mine before turning right and climbing the lone flight of stairs that led to Julian's apartment. Thirteen minutes had passed since he had sent the last message to me. A nervous breath escaped me at the same time I raised my fist to knock on his door. The sound of the door unlocking signaled Julian’s approach, making my stomach dance. The weather guard scraped the wood linoleum floors as the only thing that stood between Julian and I disappeared. I opted for saying hi a third time.

“You got here fast.”

“Yeah, funny story about that.” He motioned for me to step inside, his hand a silent welcome into his space. The door closed and he locked it, looking up at me with a hunger I hadn’t seen him wear in either of our previous encounters.

“What’s the funny story?” Julian was wearing a short-sleeved navy Atlanta Braves t-shirt paired with white basketball shorts and socks.

“Do you know your downstairs neighbor?”

“No, not really. I know she's a woman, but I've never really seen her.”

“Why's that?”

“We just never really bump into each other. Does she know me or something?”

“Obviously not because I would’ve noticed that it was you by now.” His expression shifted to confusion. Replaying what I’d just said, I realized I needed to clarify. “You’re my neighbor. I live downstairs.” Julian’s eyes widened slightly and the only sound that could be heard was that coming from the television in what was his bedroom if his apartment design was like mine.

“No fucking way. You’re the girl that lives downstairs?”

“That’s me. Small world.” Julian sank into the sofa positioned against the wall, its counterpart, a loveseat, sat diagonally across from him. Both the color of burned charcoal, a few shades deeper than the rug beneath. Above, portraits of jazz musicians hung on the wall, while a black coffee table that served as both a centerpiece and storage unit, pieced the whole room together.

“You’re welcome to come and sit down.” I noticed a shoe rack by the door and kicked my slides off before joining him on the couch. Tension was thicker than I’d ever felt with anyone before. I was wondering what it was about Julian that turned me on so much because obviously, he was fine but there was something else.

“I can’t believe you live up here.”

“It’s an odd set of coincidences, I’d say.” Julian moved closer to me and grabbed my legs and placed them across his lap, once again closing the space between us. I couldn’t help the moisture that steamed between my legs when he began to lightly run his hands up and down them. “Legacy, the pretty girl that just happens to live downstairs, tell me about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Whatever you want to tell me.”

“Actually, I really want to know what you meant when you said you had an urgency for me.” A sly smile crawled across his face while he positioned his head so that his eyes would meet mine.

“It means exactly what you think it means.”

“Be frank.” My legs went from arched to flat as Julian raised an arm to cup my chin and bring his face to mine.

“I want to taste you.”

“Oh really?” Like magnets, we pulled towards each other, lips locking, and tongues seductively tangled. His lips were like pillows, fluffy and soft. I knew for sure I hadn’t kissed anyone in a while, and now I understood his urgency. When we pulled away from the kiss, the smiles on our faces described a content exchange.

“Is that the only taste you wanted?”

“I think we both know the answer to that.” Because I felt his member grow hard like stone under my leg, there was really no reason for me to ask that question, but I did anyway. When Julian positioned himself on top of me, I didn’t resist any of my urges. We pulled at and pushed onto each other in a way that made it seem like we knew what the other wanted. He paused before moving from my lips to my neck.

“May I?”

My voice was basically a whisper. “You ask so politely, how could I say no?” Julian placed a soft kiss on the right side of my neck, and the swirl of his tongue before his teeth sank into my neck pushed an audible reaction out of me, confirming to him that he was doing everything right.

“Must be your spot.”

“Figured that out quick.”

Chapter 4

We’d been kissing for what seemed like hours, and switched positions at least five times. Straddling Julian was as exciting for me as it was for him. He held on to me by my ass cheeks, firmly gripping and squeezing them whenever he felt necessary. We finally detached to breathe; I cupped his face with my hands.

“I wish I knew that was you downstairs before now.”

“Why?”

“Could’ve been enjoying each other’s company.”

“Is that what you’re calling it?” I smiled.

“Essentially.”

“I want more.” I rose from his lap, positioning myself in front of him with an invitation for him to stand with me. My hand in his, he led the way to his bedroom. His apartment was indeed laid out just like mine which was no surprise. As I observed the space, I noticed that my bed was on the opposite side of the room from where Julian’s was, making my bedroom a mirror of his. Victoria Monét’s F.U.C.K. played on the 65-inch television raised above his dresser.

“Another coincidence?” I asked, nodding towards the screen.

“What do you mean?”

“The acronym stands for ‘friend you can keep.’”

“Uh,” the wheels in his brain turned as he closed the bedroom door. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“You kiss on your friends like how you were just kissing on me?” I giggled at his question.

“Well, no. But friendship is subjective sometimes.”

“Pretty sure you won’t want to be my friend after we do what that acronym spells.”

“You gonna fuck me, Julian?”

“I thought I made it perfectly clear out there that I wanted to taste more, Legacy. And I believe our intentions were mutual; that’s precisely why you chose to join me up here on a Saturday night.” I blinked as if I were the white man in that one meme, you know the one. Stunned by his statement, I swallowed the truth he’d just spit at me and took a few steps toward him. When there was nothing but opportunity serving as distance, I slipped my hand under his shirt and rested it on his back.

“So fuck me.”

“Is that a demand?”

“A request.”

“Requests require manners.”

“It was informal.” I smirked, feeling like I finally had control over the night, but Julian quickly crushed any chance I had at that. Smoothly, he pressed his body against mine, turning me around so that my back was to his front. His breathing turned into whispered words in my ear.

“Take these off.” He instructed while tapping the waistband of my sweats. I didn’t think twice before I did it. “And this too.” His fingers pulled at the bottom of my shirt, gently lifting the cloth from my skin so that I could pull it over my head. I did as I was told, and Julian traced the side of my body stopping at the side of my breasts. I placed my hand on top of his, guiding it to my chest. Feeling completely under his spell, my head dropped back, exposing, and elongating my neck for Julian to kiss again, to which he obliged. Craving his touch around my neck, I took his hand once again and placed it around my throat; his fingers spread and gently squeezed the area they covered. I needed to feel like I was in control, so I turned around to face Julian and pulled his shorts down with me as I dropped to my knees. His dick was warm and erect in my hands.

“Do you want to sit or stand?”

“What do you suggest?” he laughed.

“Have a seat.��� Once Julian was seated, I caressed him before taking him into my mouth. Something about the way he felt in my mouth made both my mouth and my vagina wetter than they’d been if that was even possible. I’d found my rhythm and Julian had found comfort. He was in a state of visible euphoria, somehow finding a way to put his hand on my face and lift it. The low glow of the tv made it possible for us to make eye contact.

“Good girl” he breathed. I showed Julian how I’d felt about him since that day in the store, performing in the messiest way possible with an abundance of spit on him and me. I felt him pulse in my mouth and released my grip on him to collect his load down my throat while he groaned passionately. After he collected himself, he pulled me up to him and kissed me like it was the first time he’d ever kissed anyone in his life.

“After that, you can have whatever you want from me.”

“Good, because now I want you to fuck me so good that I can’t speak.” he raised an eyebrow at me. Our chemistry was irresistible, we started kissing again while making our way to the bed. As expected, I fell backwards onto the bed, Julian was situated between my legs and reached down to make way for his fingers to enter me. My moan made him smile.

“Wow.” Julian pulled away from me slowly, touching both fingers to my mouth so that I could taste myself.

“I thought you wanted to taste me.” I don’t know what that set off for him, but Julian descended, kissing around my folds before he ravenously lashed my folds. I squirmed. Reaching for anything I could reach but only being able to dig into his shoulder and hair.

“Fuck.”

“Mhm.” He hummed. Julian feasted on me until he’d returned the orgasmic favor twice. I attempted to gain my composure, feeling defenseless against this man in the sexiest way. We separated briefly, allowing Julian to get a condom.

“So good you can’t speak?” he confirmed.

“That’s what I said.”

Chapter 5

Fittingly, TGT’s Weekend Love played for us. Julian spun his finger in a circle, silently instructing me to turn over. On my knees again but this time with an arched back, Julian welcomed himself slowly into me. We shared cries of satisfaction as Julian slid in an out of me, getting into a groove that indeed took my breath away. He had me reaching climaxes so fast that I barely had time between them to even know another one was happening. Somehow, I ended up on my side with my leg draped over his arm begging him not to stop.

“Jul- ” I couldn’t say his name.

“Not… another… word.” His pumps were in sync with his words. I opened my mouth to beg for more but only a whisper came out. I felt his speed increase and looked him in his eyes. The same smile that I’d seen in the store and at the party and when he’d welcomed me into his home was making its way across his face again as I squeezed my walls around his dick. He leaned down to kiss me, his pace slowing down and signaling his climax. Julian collapsed and we lay breathlessly nude on his bed. Gently, he put a finger under my chin to bring our mouths together.

“That wasn’t fair.” He said when we pulled apart.

“What wasn’t?”

“You stole that from me. I felt that squeeze.” We started kissing again, coming down from the passionate trip we’d taken together.

Our first reminder of time in over 5 hours was the light of the early morning sun peering through the cracks of his bedroom curtains.

“Legacy,” his voice was raspy. My eyes popped open at the sound of my real name. Julian was still waking up himself. I rolled over to face him and pulled his quilted comforter up to cover my shoulder.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.” I reached over to touch him.

“You good?”

“Don’t ask me that.”

“What, why?”

“Reminds me of the first time you saw me, falling over that damn cheese display in the store. That’s what you said after you caught me.” He started laughing, I guess remembering that it had happened since I was first to bring it up this time.

“How are you feeling?”

“Great. You?”

“Yeah I concur. Are all clumsy girls nasty like you?” I grabbed the pillow and playfully hit him with it.

“Whatever.” After waking up together, recapping the night, and smiling softly at each other in admiration, we stepped into Julian’s shower together, ending in him giving me an old red shirt with a faded logo on it.

“You get home safe; you know with all of the distance you have to travel.”

“Yeah, can’t imagine what getting home will be like.” Julian found his hand under his shirt but on me, pulling me in for a kiss. He opened the door and walked out behind me, standing over the railing just above my door so that I would be able to see him once I got to the bottom of the stairs. I looked up at him as I pulled my key out to unlock the door.

“Bye Julian.”

“Have a good day, Legacy.”

“You too.” We disappeared into our homes. I heard his footsteps make their way through his apartment, which gave me flashbacks to the early hours of the morning when we were up there making noise together. I went to go lay in bed, drowsy from the dicking I’d gotten. The sound of the television drowned out most of Julian’s footsteps which I couldn’t help but listen closely to now. I couldn’t believe I’d fucked my fine ass neighbor. Finally looking at my phone for the first time since I’d gotten to Julian’s, I saw a message from Lia asking me to call her. It was early so I sent a good morning text to see if she was awake. I was so excited to tell her that my night probably topped hers. She facetimed me and I dove into details for about an hour and a half before I could no longer fight the itis that Julian had put on me.

--

A loud knocking sound rocked me out of my slumber. I paused, trying to make sure I wasn’t tripping. The sound wasn’t knocking; at least not in a formal manner. It continued when I sat up. The headboard upstairs was rhythmically hitting the wall. Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Juliiiian!” I heard through the vents.

To be continued…..