#this one took me way too long but i had the ice cream image in my head and it had to be done

[poorlydrawnandroids]

They had a good day. 

Connor has big brother energy for everyone... though Alice is uh, technically older than him... right? 

[katiascraft]

✐ᝰ "You knew all too well i was right where you left me" | CL16 ࣪𓏲ּ ᥫ᭡ ₊

parings: retired!charles leclerc x writer!ex!reader

🔎 chapter one: "love is short but forgetting is so long"

chapter two: “did the love affair maim you too?” -> chapter three

summary: It’s the story of a woman frozen in the moment her world fell apart. A perfect dinner ended with, “I met someone else,” and while everyone moved on, she remained stuck in that instant, unable to let go of the past. A poignant tale of heartbreak, grief, and the weight of being trapped in a “forever” that never was.

word count: +4,5k.

BLOG MASTERLIST - series masterlist

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

It's been a few crazy days for you. After what happened last time, it took you a few days to go back to the last flower cafe to write. You preferred writing in your studio at home. You had a comfy balcony with a lovely view of the Monaco sea. So you just took inspiration from it to write another chapter of your book. 

Seeing Charles confused you. You didn't know what to think or how to feel about it. You got scared you would see him again. But at the same time, you wanted to see him again. 

It felt confusing because you knew it wasn't right for you or the best to see him again, or wanting to or whatever. But even if he broke your psyche the way he did, you couldn't stop thinking about the what ifs. 

What if this time works? What if he was immature but he is worth it? What if this time is better? What if he feels the same way you do? What if he says he’s sorry? What if you forgive him?

All of those questions filled the fire to write. Writedown all of the what ifs as it was reality for your character. Maybe in this fictional life, you two have your happy ending.  

Your writing process was interrupted by your bestie phone call that you, of course, picked up. “Hey” you could hear the kids scream as if you were there.

“Are you coming to pick the kids up?” she asked, remembering you, you promised her to take them to have ice cream and for a walk. You facepalm. You forgot about it.

“Oh sorry, A. Yeah,of course. I’ll pick them up in 30 minutes. I’m sorry, i forgot” you apologised starting to walk towards your bedroom to get change. You still have your pajamas on. 

“It’s okay y/n. I knew you would probably forget that’s why I called. They will be ready when you get here. Thank you, i love you” you said i love you back and ended the call. 

You chose to wear a tracksuit, trainers and a coat. It was really cold this year in particular. But you loved it. You weren’t a fan of summer that much. You preferred snow and hot chocolate. Cuddling in bed to keep yourself warm. And playing cards near the chimney. You Loved autumn and winter, it made you feel special. 

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

So today was the day, the day he probably would become officially single. Charles really hated the divorce process. It was a very painful one. He had, once again, broken another woman’s heart. He wasn't proud of it but he really wanted to do things the right way from now on. No more bullshit. No more feeling guilty of the past, tied to it as if he had to pay for everything. So 6 months ago he communicated it to Alex, it was really heavy on the heart scene. He felt like an actual monster. However, he started therapy. He was starting to understand himself more and learning to forgive himself for every decision he took that maybe wasn’t the best, but he didn't know better. He was young and about to become one of the most successful drivers in formula one. He thought he knew what he was doing to then realize he actually didn't at all. 

He started his day journaling. He tried to write something but all he could do was drawing your face. That image he couldn't stop seeing every time he closed his eyes. He felt scared about it but he let himself follow along. It was best to try to take you out of his mind in some way. Then after breakfast he decided to play some piano and record new parts of a new piece he was working on. He sent it to his producer and drove to Carlos' house to have lunch together. Lando was also there. They all chatted and enjoyed barbeque at Carlos’ beach house. 

And at that moment, talking in the living room, something changed. 

“Yeah, I don't know. I think she is a writer. I always see her on the balcony surrounded by multiple sheets of papers and a computer. Or maybe she is a translator or something I don't know but she is cute, you know? Maybe you can hit on her lando " Carlos commented while serving more wine to their cups.

“Do you follow her on instagram or something?” Lando asked for further information, apparently interested. Charles was zooming out thinking about you. 

“Oh no I don't, I don't even know her name but” Carlos opened his window curtains “yup, there she is” Carlos pointed to the balcony that was visible from there. Lando patted Charles' arm so the three of them could see through the window hoping the woman wouldn't notice them. 

“Oh my god” Charles almost fainted when he saw you there in your sherk pajamas drinking from an avengers cup (you didn't change that, though. You still are a geek for movies, superheroes, comics and books he guessed). Your balcony was quite close, the view was 4k. The guys who looked at Charles getting whiter, felt weirded out about his reaction.

“All right mate? I don't think she is that ugly, you know? I mean, she is fine as hell if you ask me and I'm not that into red hair” Lando said, checking on charles.

“Yeah, maybe she is too beautiful… now that he’s officially single” Carlos added.

Charles shook his head going back to the sofa.

“It’s y/N, carlos. y/n it’s your fucking neighbor. She was there all this time and i didnt fucking know. I don't know how I never bumped into her " Charles spitted with so much mixed feeling. Lando and Carlos looked at each other. Carlos closed the curtains before sitting along them.

“Mate, i didn't have a clue she could be y/N to be honest. I’ve never met her, "Carlos explained himself.

“Wait, who’s y/N? And why is she neighbors with you?” Lando was confused. For a moment he thought they were joking but Charles looked affected. He missed a part of Charles' story or something. The only woman he met was alexandra and she is officially out of his life.

“It’s his ex, like the one” Carlos explained to him but then Lando was even more confused. Charles noticed and with a sigh he explained the situation better in his opinion.

“y/n was my girlfriend during my f2 days. I left her for Alex but since that moment I regret it. It was like 10 years ago. "Lando's face expressed understanding with his mouth showing an ‘o’.

“So I guess I can't date her now, right?” Lando said, receiving a correcting punch on his arm by carlos. “Alright, alright” 

“I need to go guys, i got stuff to do” Charles said after a long silence and stood up ready to go. He Couldn't stay longer. He needed to breathe some air. He was scared. He actually hated feeling like that. Scared of what? Of her? Of himself? Of the truth? The truth that maybe he did indeed waste all of these years pretending to like his life when all he wanted to do was go back to her? Maybe. But the truth was too heavy to admit and process. 

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

You were out with your nephews. It was a saturday afternoon, cold but the sun was shining bright. Between giggles you were walking with them to their favorite ice cream shop. 

Unfortunately, it was LEC ice cream. 

Benjamin and Renato were four years old, they were twins. And then there was Dante who was 6 years old. They were messy but today was a good day, they were chilling. They ran inside the ice cream shop all excited followed by you. You closed the door and they were already on the counter talking with the cashier. You smiled shyly. 

“good afternoon” you greeted her and she smiled back at you.

“Auntie, I want the chocolate one! It is always so yummy!” said Benjamin, excitedly grabbing your coat and pulling from it in desperation. He did a few little excited jumps as his twin. 

“No! Benjamin! I want the chocolate one!” Renato got mad at his brother. Their voices were so cute they made you giggle a bit. 

“It's alright boys, you both can get the chocolate one” you said, mediating between the siblings smiling at the cashier. She noted and went to look for them. “Dante, darling, which one do you want?” He was the shyest out of them all. He was so like your best friend, polite and collected. He looked at the flavour list on the wall. 

“I want the vanilla one, please” he talked directly to the cashier making you smile proudly.

“That’s my boy,” you said, congratulating him. Seeing him smile filled your heart full. You loved those three kids with your whole heart. You always get so emotional realising how fast they are growing. 

“Alright, gentlemen, here are your ice creams” the cashier said warmly and rounded the counter to give the ice cream to each one of them. You smiled watching the scene. They got shy but grabbed their ice creams anyway. 

“What do you say boys?” you looked at them gently. 

“Thank you very much” they said in unison, making the cashier smile widely. “go seat” you told them and they obeyed you. You got close to the cashier now in her seat on the counter. “How much is it?” you asked but before she could answer you, a voice, that fucking voice, interrupted.

“It’s on the house” you wanted to believe it was a dream and that it wasn’t real. But it was. It was charles. You turned to look at him a bit confused about the whole situation. He smiled at you again, the same way he did at the restaurant. You tried to play it cool, but you knew your smile and attitude were weird. 

“Oh, thank you. It wasn’t necessary” you said politely and he shook his head. 

“No problem, for real” he said and you half smiled in return. 

“Thank you” you say for both of them and went to sit with your boys at the sofa table they chose. You just didn't want to look at him that much nor you didn't know what to say. “Hey” you greeted them, and took some napkins from the table and cleaned the twins' faces full of chocolate. you smiled funny. Dante got closer to you while you were helping Benjamin clean his hands. 

“Auntie, is that the driver dad is a fan of?” he asked shyly close to you and really low so only you could hear him. 

“I think it is darling, would you like a picture with him?” you offer sweetly. He nods, smiling brightly. That made your heart race because you now have to talk to charles. You could hear him talking to his employees in a relaxed way. You could hear he came just to check in. 

You licked your lips nervously “i'll be right back, okay?” you tell the kids and stand up to walk right back to the counter. Your heart was racing. “Um, excuse me” you tried to capture his attention, and for sure you did. He looked at you immediately. His eyes found yours and you felt your heart skip a beat for a moment. “Sorry, but one of my nephews recognized you and I wanted to ask you if you could take a picture with him? Don't mean to bother you, of course,” you finally said. And you saw his face light up instantly. You were pretending you didn't know each other. You just played along without even mentioning it. You swallowed hard half smiling.

“Of course, no problem,” he said sweetly.

“Thank you” you said to him before getting to the kids.

“It's fine,” he assured you. 

You called Dante to come over and he came all shy. “Hey champ, is it good?” Charles was squatting to be on Dante's height. He talked really sweet to him. Dante stuck to you, intimidated to  have that awesome driver his dad loved so much. He nodded looking at him. “You wanna take a picture? I’ll be really happy to have one with you”  he said sweetly so Dante would loosen himself. He looked at me for aprovation. You just smiled and nodded at him excitedly. Dante then relaxed, nodding towards Charles in a huge smile. He gave him a hug and charles’ heart melted between the kid’s arms. 

They posed together and you took as many pictures as you could. And after cleaning Benjamin and Renato`s faces again, they also posed with charles. They started yapping with him and imitating car noises. They made you laugh for a bit. 

They got so excited, they gave Charles so many hugs. You played along so they can have a great moment to remember someday. You recorded some videos to send to your best friend agostina later, so she can have the memories. “My daddy loves you! He always screams to the tv ‘GOOO CHARLES GOOOO’ ” Dante commented imitating his dad in the funniest way making you laugh. “But he doesn't like Carlos that much, he prefers hamilton!”

“Oh wow, you are an expert in formula 1. Who’s your daddy?” Charles really engaged with your nephews. He even sat next to you so he could have a conversation with them. He got confused for a bit, he believed they were your children. But it didn't seem like that. 

“My dad is andrew and my mom is agostina, and she is auntie y/N” dante explained to charles the whole family dynamic in his way. You smiled nodding looking at Dante, then moved to see charles. He now understood the whole thing. You were their aunt. His heart melted for a moment. He didn't know what to say.

Benjamin asked you to grab him and you did. You sat him on your tights, and he was sleepy. You stroke his thin shiny hair gently as he pressed his head on your chest wanting to fall asleep. 

Charles looked at you with a half smile.

“I think it’s time to go home kids, mommy is waiting for you. It’s pizza night!” you told them funny and excited so they would get excited. Dante celebrated along with Renato doing a victory dance making you and Charles let out a laugh.

“Let me give you a ride, that baby wants to sleep,” Charles offered sweetly, looking at Benjamin in your chest. He was trying to play it cool but his heart was speeding faster than his car in any race. Looking at you like this, made him regret every single decision of his life. How could he leave you like that? He wanted to punch himself on the face because he was sure you hated him. So it was impossible to get a second chance nor that he believed he deserved it. 

You doubted but he got a point. Walking ten blocks with a baby or two in your arms was not gonna be an easy task and your back will suffer a lot. You sighed. “Alright, thank you. It’s really nice of you” you gave in at his offer and he smiled widely. 

“Alright, let’s go home guys” Charles announced. The cashier was even more confused than the two of you were. Since when did Charles Leclerc engage so much with strangers and offer them a lift? They must not be strangers at all. They must know each other all too well. 

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

Charles helped you get the kids in the car, or well, his Ferrari  that was parked one block away. Dante, all excited, wanted to touch every single thing the car had so you had to tell him to calm down and behave for a bit. You got in the passenger seat. 

Charles let you use his phone so you put your friend's address on it. He now knew where you lived and he was thinking of offering to drop you there after leaving the kids but at the same time he didn't want to be so invasive. 

Smelling your perfume was sending him on a spiral. You still had that effect on him. And he didn't know how to feel about it. You didn't look at him. You probably hate him, he thought. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. But then why did you let this happen? Because of the kids? It was ten blocks away. He stopped himself from keeping up his delusions for way too long he would believe them. He felt like a kid about this whole thing with you. Or the one you had. The life you had. You made him and his family so happy. Arthur still likes you, you always had a soft spot on his heart. And that made Charles feel miserable. 

The drive was silent. The kids fell asleep in like three blocks. You were so nervous you would throw up right then and there. You just looked out through the window. You didn't want to talk that much with him. You knew that would be dangerous. 

He knew it too. He knew all too well what you were trying to do and in a way he was thankful for it. But in another way, he just wanted to know everything about you, again. 

A million questions were playing again and again in your heads silently but agonizingly at the same time.

Ten minutes later, you were finally on your destination: your best friend’s, agostina, house. She was waiting at the porch of her house. When she saw the black ferrari stop by her sidewalk she frowned. She thought you were coming on foot with her three children. 

You looked at charles in a half smile, just praying your friend doesn't get mad at you for this insane idea. “Thank you for lifting us” you said shortly and he nodded. It was awkward. 

“Let me help you” Charles said and both of you got out of his car. 

When your friend first saw you, she looked confused, with a million question marks in her eyes. But then, when she saw Charles coming off the driving seat, her eyes almost fell out. I mean, she was relieved that it was him at some point but not so much out of concern for you. 

“Hey, A” Charles greeted her with a wave helping you wake the kids up. He remembers your friend, of course. He remembered everything about you. 

“Hey, charles. It’s been a long time” A said, grabbing Benjamin from your arms. Charles helped Dante and you grabbed Renato in your arms. Both baby twins were knocked out sleeping. Dante grabbed his mum's hand and waved to Charles in a goodbye. He closed his Ferrari door and waved to us. You just smiled. You were in the most uncomfortable situation of your life. You didn't have a good feeling about this. 

You felt it was the beginning of the end, for some odd reason you couldn't identify yet. 

“Bye charles!” Dante said happily and was still a bit sleepy. Agostina smiled at him but when she turned to look at you, her eyes were screaming “ARE YOU CRAZY GIRL?” and how could you blame her for it. You just put her kids into the car of a known stranger. 

Charles observed the situation with you and your friend from his car. The sunset sun made you glow. And your eyes were so shiny he got confused for a bit if he was actually dreaming. He made his horn sound and disappeared into the monaco streets pretty fast. 

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

Cozy wrapped around blankets and pillows, your friend brought you a cup of hot chocolate. You decided it was to sleep overnight to gossip because Andrew, her husband, was out of town for work. The kids were sleeping in their rooms. The baby monitor in front of you two. You were laying on the living room couch with ambient music in the background playing from the tv above the chimney. 

“I can't believe you bumped into Charles, to be honest. It's been ten years, you have never seen him and out of nowhere you see him everywhere” your friend was as surprised as you were. 

“Yeah, I don't know. I feel really weird about it. I thought next time i would bump into him i would be dead but i’m still alive so far. He felt so different… Yet he felt the same. His perfume was the same. His eyes are the same, the way they shine and…” you sighed stopping yourself. You started crying. You didn't know what you were feeling. If you were supposed to feel happy or angry or sad. The stress level was at its peak. It was too much emotionally to handle. 

It hurts you to pretend you didn't know him, that you didn't want him or that he was once your everything and now he was a stranger. A stranger holding so many secrets of you. All of your life traumas and experiences, your virginity, your first ever love story (and the only one). It still hurts because it couldn't be easier. Why couldn't it be forever together as you dreamed? When you saw him you felt the same as that last day you watched him leave that motherfucking restaurant. 

Your friend hugged you understanding how hard this was for you. And how frustrating it must feel to finally be ready to move on and then he is back just like that. How unfair life could be, right? She felt so sorry for you. You deserved to be so happy yet here we are, still crying for that ficking stupid asshole. 

It felt like the beginning of the end.

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

“Hey, Arthur, I'm officially and legally single again. Want to have dinner at my place?” Charles called his brother on his Ferrari the second he sat in the driver’s seat. He needed to talk to someone about what happened this afternoon. His anxiety had made a hole in his stomach and he almost threw up a couple of times. 

He felt guilty. Like he did something terrible lifting you and your nephews to your friend’s house.

“Bro!!! That’s amazing!! Ready to enjoy life? I’ll be there in 30 minutes, and order some steak. I’ll bring wine. Love you!!” he shouted into the phone making Charles put it a little far away from his ear so he won't be left deaf. He ended the call, so Charles couldn't say otherwise. He giggled a little to himself. He loved his family, but especially Arthur, he was his little brother, and also his best friend.  

After a few minutes, he was already wearing his comfy clothes and had ordered the stake his brother told him to. He had set the table and put some random playlist on spotify on shuffle. Now that he was home, the hole in his stomach was not as huge as it was during the day. His house was his safe place. Though, it still felt weird not having leo (his and alex’s puppy son) or alex around. He tried so hard to love her, he got used to having her around. The chemicals on his brain were adjusting still to his new life. He changed furniture and redecorated the whole house. He wanted to start again from zero. Rebuilt himself step by step and finally, the Charles he always wanted to be. 

The bell took him out of his thoughts announcing his brother had arrived. 

“Hey, Brody,” Arthur said excitedly, hugging his brother when the older one opened the door. Arthur was really proud of his brother. He knew how hard all of it was. And how hard he was with himself when it came to mistakes committed in the past.

⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

They sat on the couch in front of the tv with everything already tidy up and with their stomachs full. They talked about everything and anything but yet not about her. 

“I brought you something, wait a second” Arthur said and got up looking for his bed. Charles observed his brother a little tipsy by wine already. He didn't know what to expect from him. He was always a surprise box. “I know you saw her again, I don't know how you feel about it but I know we will eventually talk about her. But I think it will help you if you read her book. I think it’s a fictional story but the way she tells it… i think it can make you reflect on what happened.” he added coming back from his bag with a book in hand. After he sat again on the couch he handed it to charles. Charles listened and watched the book in front of him. He took it carefully.

“I saw her today, she was with her nephews. I also know where she lives now as well. It was at carlos’ house and he was talking about his neighbor being attractive so Lando could try and hit on her. So he opened the fucking curtains and there she was on her balcony. I almost choked and died. Then I saw her at LEC. and I gave her a lift to her friend’s house. "Charles started throwing up everything that happened that day. Arthur’s eyes were big as plates. He couldn't understand how his brother survived o all of that. I mean, he was happy. He loved y/n, but he knew damn too well it was probably a nightmare for his brother to go through all of that. 

“Oh my god, charles. And you also were announced to be single legally? How did you survive? I'm impressed. You’re strong dude” arthur commented half joking half serious. Charles laughed it out a bit shaking his head. 

“I don't know but all I know is that my heart almost stopped how fast it was beating,” Charles answered.

“That’s called anxiety,” Arthur pointed out.

“I know. I was scared. She looked even more beautiful than she ever did or that I remember” he grabbed the book in his hands more strongly. He took a deep breath. “Today was too much for me,” his brother agreed. 

After Arthur was gone, Charles sprinted to his bed. He had a headache. He wanted to pretend it was because of the two bottles of wine they drank. But he knew it was because of overthinking. He laid in bed. Book in his hands. He started analyzing the cover: It was light blue, her favorite color he remembered. A red scarf and autumn leaves falling down. Her name is printed on the corner of it. He brushed his thumb above it taking a moment.

Adjusting his glasses he flipped to the back cover of it and that’s where something changed inside him.

‘Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?’

⋆˚࿔ TO BE CONTINUED 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

chapter three: coming soon.

tag list: @a-beaverhausen , @priniya , @annaluna12 , @thehoplessromanticclub , @emryb , @hadids-world , @kaztheemyth , @freyathehuntress , @diorbrxtz , @theseerbetweenus , @sie17136

shout out: thank you to my girlies from the gc (ur the best i<3u all), specially Sonny for hyping and helping me sm with this!

author's note: here it is <3 i'm so excited about this series! Sorry if you don’t see that much French I know NOTHING of it so yeah :(

what do you think it's gonna happen next?

don't forget to like, reblog or comment! and follow me so we can be friends :3 (and drink mate together!)

[marlynnofmany]

Names Chosen Carefully

I swung into the spaceship’s kitchen with plans to grab a snack before unpacking the bags from our latest supply run, but I paused. Coals was there showing Eggskin a screen of color swatches, and it didn’t look like a menu. Could have been something medical, since Eggskin handled both the feeding and the healing of the crew, though the conversation I’d walked in on said no.

“Vehicles are an option, but I don’t know what kind are popular there,” Coals said. He acknowledged me with a nod. “And an unfavorable skimmer model would be almost as bad as an activity that’s culturally iffy.”

Eggskin was nodding thoughtfully, tapping a claw against their lizardy chin. “The activities are probably easier to research. But I do think that either a generalized space theme or something referring to home would be the way to go.”

“Yeah, but which?” Coals asked with a sigh, staring at the handscreen. “Space might be too common, or trying too hard, and home stuff might not make sense to anyone there, including the kids.”

I must have looked like a confused dog, standing there with my head cocked. Coals took pity on me. “My cousin wants advice on what to name his clutch when it hatches,” he said, holding out the handscreen. Up close, I could see that each color swatch was scales. “This is their best guess about the likely colors.”

“Ohh,” I said. “Got it.”

Eggskin asked Coals, “Are they familiar with nearly-hatched eggs, and color distortion? Many new parents guess wrong.”

I reflected that Eggskin, whose full name was “Skin of the Egg that is Translucent and Ready to Hatch,” had probably thought about the concept pretty often. Their own scale color looked more like boogers than any egg I’d ever seen, but I’d never been privy to a Heatseeker hatching. I assume other colors would show through.

Coals nodded his brick-red snout. “They live near family. Plenty of chances to observe. And he’s been there for brainstorming names on the ol’ home planet, and his mate has too, but that’s not very helpful now.” He glanced up at me. “They just moved to a space station.”

“Are there not many Heatseekers there?” I asked.

“A few, but it’s a very intercultural place. That’s why they wanted my opinion, since I travel around so much. Thought I might have some valuable insights.”

I leaned against a counter, trying not to loom. “What have you got so far?”

Coals sighed deeply. “A lot of doubts. References to home could be great, but they might just be confusing to everyone. What kind of names would you expect to hear with these?” He showed me the screen again.

I was about to object that I was hardly an expert on Heatseeker names, then the palest one caught my eye and I laughed. “Humans would nickname that one Popcorn,” I said, pointing at the white-and-yellow image.

“Popcorn?” Coals looked at it. “What is—”

“It’s food,” I said. “A popular snack from Earth. I wouldn’t expect that to be anybody’s real name though; it’s much too whimsical and silly. Well. At least with my cultural background.”

Coals and Eggskin both looked at the colors without saying anything for a long moment. Then Coals turned the screen to me again. “Would humans of your background have food associations for the others too?”

“Well,” I said, wondering whether I was just hungry. “That one looks exactly like mint chip ice cream. Oh, and that one’s cookie & cream.” They really were; it was uncanny. “I didn’t know you guys had scale patterns with that many speckles.”

“You should see my cousin,” Coals said. “He looks like a starfield. His mate is a simple dark maroon, though. Between the two of them, the genetics are all over the place. What about these other three?”

I looked at the brown-with-red, the yellow-speckled-brown, and the deep purple. “Red velvet cake, dijon mustard, and plum. Or maybe grape. But that doesn’t make as good of a nickname. You aren’t actually going to suggest these, are you? Naming the kids after another planet’s food seems like everyone might expect them all to be familiar with that planet. Pretty sure a couple of those foods might actually be poisonous to you, too.” I flicked a glance at Eggskin, who was thankfully nodding in agreement.

“Naming a child after a toxic foreign food would do them no favors,” Eggskin said. “An adult might wear such a name proudly, but I would fully expect a youth to be pressured into eating their namesake at some point, especially if they lived somewhere it was readily found.”

I nodded too, looking to Coals.

“But,” Coals said. “It doesn’t have to be foreign food.”

I started to ask what he meant, then suddenly remembered a bit of cultural trivia. “It’s good luck to name spaceships after food, right? Does that go for people too?”

Eggskin chuckled while Coals stared intently at the colors. “It can,” Eggskin said. “It’s rather bold, though. An audacious claim that a set of parents can confer enough luck on all their offspring for them to always have food available. Very daring.” They looked at Coals with an amused expression, which Coals didn’t look up to see.

“That fits my cousin surprisingly well,” he said instead.

I smiled. “Are there Heatseeker foods that would fit these colors?”

“I can think of several.” Coals changed the screen to a text field and began typing. “This is perfect. Thank you so much.”

“Happy to help!” I said.

Eggskin suggested, “Be sure to remind them they should research any food they’re considering, and find out what associations their new neighbors are likely to have. Some things translate terribly.”

“No kidding!” I laughed, standing up and moving toward the snack cabinet. “I still remember the spaceships Worm Jerky and Raw Flesh.”

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[imaginidol]

Wooyoung: The Boxing Match

!!mentions of nsfw!! 18+ !! do NOT interact if you’re not comfortable with smut!! thank you for the fun request!! pls feel free to send more, as this was really creative and interesting to figure out!! if you’re interested, i have a hongjoong ver. smut, san ver. smut, mingi ver. smut, yunho ver. smut, jongho ver. smut and i will have more up soon and updated here as i finish the requests!!

“Fuck,” Wooyoung irritatingly threw his training towel over his forehead as he took a swig of his water bottle, avoiding the large screen in front of him as it repeatedly flashed the final results of tonight’s boxing match.

Kim Yugyeom v. Jung Wooyoung

12 Rounds @ Olympic Gymnast Arena

Scorecard: 112-110 | 110-110 | 120-107

Wooyoung crushed his water bottle and tossed it into a trash can, making his way to the backstage locker room as his team trailed behind him, patting him down with more towels and offering him more water.

It goes without saying that the boy was beyond pissed at his performance tonight. He sat alone at a bench and asked for space with a few minutes to cool down, to which his team deliberately agreed.

“Wooyoung,” Yugyeom walks up to the boy and pats his opponent’s back, “you did well tonight. You’re getting so much better, don’t beat yourself over the results.”

I won’t beat myself up over it ‘cause you already did me that favor, Wooyoung curses quietly to himself, nodding at his winning opponent.

“Thanks. You did well,” he says, wanting to add more, though he knew nothing appropriate would come out of his mouth if he kept talking. He was too angry, felt too dispirited, and most definitely wanted to wipe the nasty smirk off Yugyeom’s face.

As soon as Yugyeom walked out of the locker room, Wooyoung lunged himself forward and punched a wall pad in resentment.

“FUCK,” he shouted, ripping his handwraps off with immense aggravation and wanting nothing more than to go home and take a long, quiet shower.

—

Scorching drops of hot water splashed against Wooyoung’s bare back as he attempted to relax under the steaming shower. His efforts were to no avail, as every time he closed his eyes he was met with the burning image of Yugyeom’s villainous simper in the boxing ring.

Of course, Yugyeom had been training far longer than Wooyoung, and even though Wooyoung’s growth and training with 1-on-1 opponents had made him a promising candidate against Yugyeom in a match, his stamina wasn’t nearly enduring at the level he’d hoped for during the last few rounds of their fight. It seemed as though Yugyeom’s stamina had strengthened towards the end, a skill or tactic that Wooyoung couldn’t yet wrap his head around.

Fuck this, Wooyoung turns his body towards the shower head, wanting to clear his mind off tonight’s events instead.

He outstretches one hand to lean against the white tile wall in front of him, hunching over to wrap the other around his meat.

—

You turn the key to Wooyoung’s apartment, hoping he’d be home by now. The last thing you wanted to do was remind him of tonight’s result, as you knew how much the sport meant to him. So, you intended to approach him cautiously so as to not trigger his disappointment.

“Wooyoung?” You walk through the apartment, but most of the lights are out.

Maybe he’s asleep, you think, placing a pint of his favorite ice cream inside the freezer. You start making your way to his room, but the lights in there are also out.

The only light effusing faintly through the room was coming from the restroom, and you could hear the sounds of the running shower echoing from behind the slightly-opened door.

Oh, he’s home, then, you think, almost smiling before realizing that there were more sounds coming from inside the restroom than just the running shower head.

Soft moans and grunts emitted from deep within Wooyoung’s throat, and you placed an ear closer to the door to make sure there wasn’t anyone else in there with him.

What am I doing? He wouldn’t cheat on me—

OOF!!

Wooyoung lets out a startled shriek as you stumble into the restroom floor, falling flat on your face after having tripped over some folded jeans and a belt in the dark.

“I’M SO SORRY,” you scramble back to your feet, lunging for the door and slamming it shut behind you.

“Babe? When’d you get here?” Wooyoung yells from inside as he turns off the shower head, wrapping a loose towel around his waist.

“I only just got here,” you say, hugging your knees as you crouched on the floor against the restroom door.

Behind you, Wooyoung opens the door and a hot cloud of steam emerges from behind him.

“What are you doing here so late!?” he smiles for the first time all night, pulling you up and hugging you from behind. “Shouldn’t you be home and asleep right now?”

Damp drops of his wet hair soak your cheek and shirt collar as he buries his head into your shoulder, planting soft and wet kisses against your neck.

“I couldn’t not see you tonight,” you say quietly.

“Right,” Wooyoung pauses, lifting his head back in a scoff as the unpleasant reminder of tonight’s match crosses his mind. “That fucker’s good, I can’t deny it.”

You felt Wooyoung shiver slightly as the steamed warmth of the restroom had begun to slowly fade away.

"Uhm, why don't you go ahead and finish your shower? Get your mind off things."

"Okay," he huffs, "but you're coming with me."

—

Wooyoung, ever so gently, cranks up the heated water temperature and throws a water-safe lubing tube aside before turning his body around to face you. His wet hair falls over his forehead, his eyes darkening in desperation at the sight of your naked body leaning against the wall.

He wraps his hands slowly around your waist, leaning his face in closer as he begins caressing his lips gently against yours. He trails his teeth slowly to your bottom lip, nibbling ever so slightly as the water progressively got warmer and warmer behind him.

You wrap your arms around his neck and lean your head back as he trails kisses all over you. Soft gasps begin escaping your lips as you feel him lean his body weight against you, pinning your back further against the wall as his hardened cock poked itself between your thighs. You clutched onto the horizontal shower handle as Wooyoung carefully lifted you over it, groping your ass with both hands as you wrapped your legs around his waist.

For a few moments, you both remained comfortably in this position whilst making out longer, letting the hot water pour against your bodies as more and more steam fogged the air around you. You'd closed your eyes and let yourself be immersed by the feeling of his hot lips fighting to dominate yours, his tongue tracing and circling inside and around your mouth. He traced one hand against the outline of your ass to your waist, massaging his fingers gently around your nipple. You gasped at the sudden feel of his soft fingertips against your breasts, and your continuous soft moans only further hardened his already-erect cock.

He smiled into your mouth as he began gliding his hand back down to your abdomen, nudging gently against your clit as your moans progressively became more and more desperate for him.

"I might've not been able to win my boxing match," he whispers, "but I'll sure as hell make sure I dominate the fuck out of this one."

He pulls his fingers away from your clit and begins aligning his dick carefully with your entrance. You let out soft moans as the boy begins thrusting himself into you, experimenting with different speeds as your despairing cries begged for more. You clawed your fingernails deep into his back as the boy recklessly fucked you over and over, your insides heating up as the sounds of his desperate moans greeted your ears. The size of his cock was enough to make you want to scream at him to stop, but he just felt too fucking good pounding away like this when he was angry that you wouldn't dare yourself to give in.

"Fuck," he groans, lifting one of your legs up and over his shoulder as you safely clutched most of your weight against the shower handles. The boy tried desperately to hold in his grunts and groans, but with each deepening thrust, he kept flashing the stupid grin of Yugyeom's face in his mind, irking his anger more and more as he took it out on you. This resulted in a heated, rough fucking-session, and each impending whimper and scream from your mouth only made him want to push further.

In a sudden instant, he pulled out, making you whimper in slight frustration thinking he'd finished. But fuck no, he wasn't anywhere near done.

You switch positions, and now your body is turned at one end of the shower facing away from him, his hands wrapped around your stomach and your lower back as he breathes heavily into your ear.

"Bend for me," is all he says as you obediently hunch yourself forward, placing both your arms against the tub's edges as you feel his body weight leaning into your ass.

Once he's realigned to your entrance again, he assumes his reckless fucking as he starts hitting it from the back. With both hands groped tightly against your hips, the boy holds nothing back as he fucks into you at full throttle.

He's really fucking pissed. Also, you feel really fucking good as your velvety walls lurch around his throbbing cock.

"Fuck, babe," you whimper, holding back from letting your knees give in completely the moment he finds your G-spot. "Stay right there, fuck me right there."

The tempered boy starts panting harder with each deepening thrust, closing his eyes as his dampened bangs rocked back and forth against his forehead. He could feel the heated rush of pumping blood overwhelming every cell of his throbbing member. He leaned one arm forward against the wall, the other still wrapped tightly against your ass.

You let out a final, pleasurable cry as your boyfriend triggers a hot, gratifying orgasm, your knees buckling in place as you bent and rested your face over your folded arms against the tub's edge. His groans were not far from yours as he concentrated on reaching his climax next. Finally, his knees weaken at the feel of his cum shooting through and out of your walls, a final victory that he could satisfyingly consider bringing home for the night.

"Fuck," he says, pulling you up as you rested your head against his shoulder, hot water splashing delightfully against your bodies.

"You're good at fucking people up," you smile as he bends over to leave hot, gentle kisses over your gaped mouth.

"Nah," he smiles, "I'm just good at fucking you."

—

One gentler shower later, you both cuddled under Wooyoung's covers feeling fresher and more satisfied after the night's better outcomes.

"Wooyoung?" you look up under your hair towel as he leaves gentle kisses against your forehead. "Would you ever have a re-match with Yugyeom?"

"Hmm," he smiles, toying with a finger gently against your stomach, "I don't know yet."

"I think you should," you declare.

"I don't always have to win. I have to learn to accept defeat, too," he smiles.

"Oh," you say, intertwining your fingers around his. "I hope you lose a lot more, then."

"Why would you say that?" he furrows his brows in annoyance.

"Because I like the way you fuck me when you're mad," you smirk.

"Believe me," he giggles, sinking his face into your neck, "I'll try not to lose too many matches to keep you safe, then."

You both soon fell asleep, Wooyoung satisfied with the thought that at the very least, there was one thing that even a great boxer like Yugyeom couldn't ever take away from him.

You.

[charles-simmons-fanfiction]

Late summer nights - Todd Anderson / Neil Perry

Description: Neil is a summer person, and Todd is a Neil person. That's the story. 💛 [fluff, 800 words]

By the way, this is based off of this post! It's a headcanon by the super cool and awesome @perksofbeingpoet <3 This was so fun to write, I might write more summer fics with dps <- me projecting how energetic I get during summer on them

Todd could swear he would pass out from the heat any second now. Neil, on the other hand, hadn't been this energetic it's been weeks.

"Physics homework, done!" Neil exclaimed victoriously, closing his notebook and throwing it on his desk.

"Already? How?" Todd had just finished the first half of his work, and he hadn't even started the one for chemistry. Soon summer break would start and the teachers weren't taking it easy on them, not that they ever did.

"It looks like it'll rain tomorrow, explains why today's so hot," Neil ignored his question. The window was wide open and he had half his body out of it, only a small push away from falling. "We should go outside! While we still can, y'know."

"What? No, I still have way too much work to do," the physics assignment in front of him was pushed aside before he could protest.

"I'll give you the answers and explain them to you tomorrow. C'mon!" Neil grabbed him by the arm. Todd wanted to insist, but he wanted to go with him a lot better.

They had to be silent while they sneaked out, so, naturally, they couldn't stop laughing. It was quite a struggle and they had to be constantly shushing the other.

Once they got outside, the hot wind blew on their faces. Todd considered going back in again.

Neil smiled and, without any warning, took off running to the woods, laughing way too loudly as Todd tried to catch up with him. They didn't stop running for a while, to not risk getting caught.

"Oh my god, shut up!" Todd covered Neil's mouth with his hands, pushing him against a tree to keep him quiet. "Are you crazy?? There's no way no one heard us!" Despite his heart beating quickly from the adrenaline, he could only laugh with him.

"Carpe Diem, my dear," Neil's voice came out muffled and he gently took Todd's hand off his mouth. "We'll be fine."

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything, looking into each other's eyes, close enough to feel their hot breath on their already warm cheeks. A light breeze wiggled the trees and everything felt silent, except for the crickets probably not too far away.

Neil's deep brown eyes seemed to shrink when he smiled, almost sparkling as he looked at him so contently. His pink lips were slightly parted and a strand of hair had fallen on his face. He had an image of graceful disarray, and the night suddenly didn't feel as half as warm as his presence did.

"Your hair is getting long," was all that Todd managed to say.

Neil was caught slightly off guard and chuckled. "Yeah, I have to get a haircut soon."

"Please don't," Todd asked, maybe a little too fast. "It looks great like this."

"Thanks," they broke eye contact awkwardly, not knowing how to continue a conversation, and also not really wanting to.

It was way too hot. Todd couldn't understand how anyone could even like summer. He had always hated the way his hand felt sweaty, and how hard it was to fall asleep even with the window open. Also, any class outside was insufferable if there was sun.

At the same time, Neil seemed to be doing so well. And let the truth be said, it only took a little attention to see how depressed he could get some days. But not recently. No, Neil seemed to be genuinely doing fine.

Todd smiled at the thought, and for the first time, he hoped summer would last as long as possible. "Next weekend, if we finish our homework, we should go get ice cream. To make the heat more bearable," he shyly suggested, mentally repeating "carpe diem" to himself.

"I was thinking about that! I'm sure the other's would be super down for i-"

"Wait, no," Todd stopped him. "I meant like, you and me."

"Oh," Neil was taken aback, but nodded slowly, a smile creeping on his face. His tone was soft when he spoke. "Yes, I think we should."

The two went silent again, and Todd did his best not to smile like an idiot. The next hour wasn't anything but mundane chatting and walking around, but they wouldn't rather be anywhere else.

At some point, Neil tried to take his hand as they walked, but Todd pulled it back. "It's way too hot for this," he complained, yet eventually gave in and took Neil's hand back. Neither of them mentioned it.

"I love summer," Neil stated matter-of-factly. "It's easily the best season. To me, at least. What's your favorite?"

"You"

"What?"

"Autumn"

Again, neither of them mentioned it. Although Todd briefly considered hitting his head against a tree and just staying there forever.

That night, Neil fell asleep as soon as he got back to his dorm, without even changing. Todd didn't, it was too hot. He sighed, and looked at his roommate, who was smiling in his sleep.

"He's crazy," Todd thought, still not getting why anyone would like summer, but suddenly not feeling so bad about it. He fell asleep with a soft smile too. At least they'd get ice cream.

💛.

[tikki-tokka-takka]

Just How I Am

Hey everybody! This is my first time EVER writing a fanfiction, on a public forum, and tumblr…so yeah! I'm excited, I have been feeling complicated teenage emotions lol (im 18 though, is that still a teenager? I mean, it is 8-TEEN not 8-ADULT), and why not get all of these silly feelings out by writing a sad little thing. (Does anyone even read an author’s note? I just want to rant without being judged by the people who I can barely even trust sometimes, lol). I’ll eventually start posting on ao3 when I finally get invited lol. ok bai. 

ANYWAYS… sorry for all that but basically this is the summary:

Sometime around the end of season 3 and beginning of season 4, when Kagami and Adrien were an item.

Aged up characters, all of them are 17

A very sad Marinnette POV about her view on K & A’s relationship and how she fits into it

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

I wonder if you’ve ever looked at her, and thought she was me. I wonder if you’ve ever looked at her glossy, pink lips, bluebell eyes and my beautiful short hair, and looked at my mirror image. Did you, Adrien Agreste, ever think I wouldn’t have realized? That I was never your first choice? 

I still lay up at night, remembering the long days we would spend together, as I helped you escape from your father, your rebellious smile shining right back at my burning cheeks. As we hid around the corner, you looked me straight in the eyes and softened your stupid smile, brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear. 

You softly said, “You must be tired from running.”

“Huh?”

“Your cheeks are red,” you breathed out. “Too bad, because I could run with you forever, Marinnette.” 

“Huh-h?”

"Your cheeks are red," you teased once again, brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear. "Marinette, you’re something else, you know that?"

I laughed nervously, burning under your gaze. And you laughed too—stupid, beautiful boy. You always did love the way I blushed. Making sure we were safe, you grabbed my hand and pulled me around town. It was one of the best days of my life, as we splashed each other with the gross fountain water, but I was too grossly in love with you to realize. Did you know that I got sick the next day after you dared me to drink it? Now I realize, you were just acting like all the other 17 year old immature boys our age, because you are all the same. 

You finally spotted Andre, and calmed your silly antics down, helping me up after you had tackled me down into the fountain. 

“Kagami’s right. Your hair is beautiful when it's down,” you remarked, gazing down at me, hand extended. I shivered. You, you thought my hair was beautiful. But, at the same time, a pushing, quiet thought bounced at the back of my head.

I should’ve known then. When did Kagami ever tell you that? I should’ve realized when Kagami smiled at me during our sleepover—her smile was not one of approval, but one of quiet confirmation. Kagami and I had just had a sleepover, as I tried to be the perfect, nice Marinnette, who despite jealousy, wanted to make her feel comfortable. In an attempt to help her break from Kagami’s perfect poised form, I told her all my girlish sentiments about you. I didn’t realize at the moment that her wacky ass smile wasn’t out of the pleasing humor of my silliness, but because it was confirming her growing feelings for you. I thought we were just being girls, giggling about our silly crushes. I didn’t see that she was already piecing together her feelings for you.

But you know what I did? I smiled back. I blushed at your words like a fool. I shivered, reaching for your hand. And we got lovers ice cream, which you willingly took, which we willingly ate, while we just looked at each other's eyes and let them talk for ourselves. Maybe, you saw her, and I was just your test trial. Because you know what’s funny? 

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS? IT MAKES ME GO QUITE INSANE HAHA! 

You stopped talking to me after that day, which keeps me up at night, by the way. You simply stopped, you would simply walk past me, as I extended my fingers to tap you on your shoulder, to chat about last night. We ended that day on the bank of the Seine, it was all quite cliche and sickly sweet, as the sky streaked with pinks that melted into the horizon like the ice cream on our hands. I stared at it, foolishly hoping it was a sign of something—of us.

“Today was amazing, Marinnette. I have to leave now, my father has been calling me, I’m sure my father is extremely angry right now. I wish we could do this again. See you tomorrow,” you stood up and said all of a sudden. It seemed strange to me, the sudden blunt end tooo….. whatever we had that day, but you know ignorant, mindless, foolish, love ridden girls, they don’t realize anything until it is too late! yay. 

So, Adrien Agreste, imagine how I felt when you would ignore me? I couldn’t tell Alya about all of this because I promised myself I would keep all of this to myself, my safe little secret of a foolish, beautiful bluebell haired girl. 

Then you went on and dated my mirror image. The same hair, eyes, but just ten times more perfect. She has straight A’s, is in various clubs, is rich, is of your social stature, and is pretty. She could model right next to you. Your father approves of this I know. And I know how much you secretly crave for your father’s validation underneath all your rebellion. You told me this on one of our escapades. Did I just pave the road for her? I am never enough, I fear. I don’t think I would've fit the shoes besides yours anyways. 

Did you know, Adrien? Did you know I was drowning that day? While you laughed, while we ran, while I fell so hopelessly for someone who’d already fallen for her.

So, Adrien, maybe you’ll keep chasing mirror images. But someday, someone will see me—not her reflection. And maybe by then, I won’t care if it’s you.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yay! Please give me criticism if you would like! I am no way a serious writer, I just have been having a really punching sense of writing and I want people to read and think about it :)) Should I write more things? I definitely want to revise maybe when I am free (upcoming Thanksgiving break might give me a chance too) and make it a bit longer. Now I understand why so many good writers go on hiatus or never finish their works. This piece, although short and amateur, really took a lot of time and brain power lol.

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas for me to write? Does anyone have super duper good fanfics to read, thanks in advance

Also, this work and if I write any others are based on my real life feelings, except I maximize them 1000x because I am dramatic like that lol. Thanks for reading, love you all!!!!! <3

P.S. I was listening to both of Olivia Rodrigo’s albums while writing this, just wanted to say that lol. Ugh, I am feeling the song Lacy so badddd right nowwwww. Ok FR bye now, hope to hear from yall!!! I LOVE IT when people communicate, ok BYE!!

[luvly-writer]

“You are my sunshine”

Part 1: Introductions

——————————————

Jason Todd x Latina! Reader

Social media Au

Summary: Whilst fighting a magical being, a vision of a girl, to be precise Jason’s soulmate, is shown to the batfamily.

Warnings: none

Series: Finished

Author’s note: hi!! First chapter kinda nervoussss ;)! this idea came to me when i was quite literally taking a shower and i just went “yk what? i can develop that into something cool” so i took the challenge! Hope you enjoy!!

Taglist: @lorosette

(to be included in taglist, just ask and it will be done!)

Series Masterlist:

————————————

- written part between pictures-

-this is Y/n L/n

-she is an architect

-roommates with her best friend Nola Yang

-likes to read and travel

-she’s latina, born on PR and raised in Gotham

-uses twitter way too much

-self made woman, managed to make a wealthy living bc. of her job <3

-Nola Yang

- Photograher, model and editor

-well known

-Euroasian

- Yn and her have gone viral on tik tok a few times because of their adventures

-Gothamite

-believes Batman is a myth and will say it to his face

-coffee addict

——————now for the story——————————

Originally this as supposed to be an EASY mission

Some unusual activity had been seen on the east side of Gotham in the fields, so naturally they’d go

This time, it had been Steph and Damian assigned to go while the others kept patrol

Barbara on the comns

All the areas had been divided

then, Barbara got the emergency signal that something had gone wrong

and we’ll it all went down hill from there

Tim and Dick got there first

Then Bruce and Cass

Finally, Duke and Jason arrived

They had no fkn clue who they were fighting, but they were fighting alright.

The people didn’t seem to be on offense, on the other hand, they were just either avoiding their strikes or blocking them

It didn’t make sense why they were fighting them or why Damian sounded the emergency line

The people had light blue skin and dark grey cloaks, they had dark blue lines on their arms and purple eyes.

It wasn’t until one of them got to touch Jason that all went black.

Images were displayed as if they were distant memories

Two girls giggling in a living room could be seen, one Eurasian girl and the other, a y/h/c, a latina.

One was seated on a couch eating ice cream while the other presented what it looks like to be a power point on why Dracula from Hotel Transylvania is actually a dilf. (Nola: blue| Yn: Pink)

“Ok ok, take me seriously”

“I CANT” she said wheezing and almost out of breathe with laughter

“I SWEAR I HAVE A POINT!”

- suddenly the memory changes-

the focus is not on the latina girl, she is walking down the street talking on the phone:

“Si mami lo sé, siiiii i know i know, i did iron my clothes for the meeting, and yes my hair is fine and yes you can tell abuelita that I did put some light makeup on for it, ‘sta bn mama, te amo! Adiós, bendición”

She was dressed in some business casual clothes that really suited her as she finished her call and got into a building

it changes once again, to the same girl with the other one from the first memory waking down the a busy street, this one not being in gotham

“Paris, what a beautiful city!”

“Ik! Capitalism really popped off today with this funded trip from Gotham U! You think Bruce Wayne was behind this?”

“probably, after all, we both are the Wayne Enterprise scholarship winners and as long as we don’t have to pay, I’m good!”

“Amen to that!”

the memory changes to a final one

they are found in a Wayne Charity gala

Both girls are dressed up to the max, the Eurasian girl with a red dress while the Latina girl with a black one.

Both are in a corner with flash cards in their hands

“Feeling nervous?”

“As nervous as I can be seeing as we have to present in front of a bunch of rich old people”

“It’s a requirement from the scholarship, we have to thank Bruce Wayne for his generosity 🙄”

“I just thought it would be easier but now i’m feeling kinda sick”

“it’ll be alright, we’ll go to batburger after and marathon GOT once we are done”

“You know that because of this we HAVE to be of attendance to these things at least once a year to showcase how wELL tHe WayNe sChOlArs dO”

“fuck😀”

both girls burst out laughing and keep the conversation going

images of the y/h/c girl pass quickly, of trips, childhood pictures, random pictures until it all fades to black

when their eyesight finally focuses, all of the batfam members are found on the floor sitting down with the weird people staring at them

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?” screamed Damian, furious that they got the upper hand

He is the only one to sharpen his senses the fastest aside from Bruce

the rest were slightly in a daze and when everyone finally cleared up, they were able to notice that the strange people were pointing at Jason

They tensed up

“Relax friends. We come with news and no harm” said they but that didn’t ease their worry

“The girl-“ their attention was caught seeing as they were all wondering who she was

“she is important to him”

Now Jason was confused, he didn’t fkn know this girl

“You know her, Hood?” asked Bruce

“No”

with that, their confusion worsened and their defenses rose

“she’s not a person of his now, if not a person of tomorrow. She will be the light to his darkness, the ying to his yang, the one to soothe your mind, Jason Todd”

aaaaand they were on high alert again

WHO. THE FUCK. WHERE. THEY!?!?

“she is the soul that had been paired with yours, your match. This meeting had been predestined long ago to happen. Search for her, and everything you’re looking for will be found”

“Let me get this straight!” Tim interrupted “the girl, is HIS soulmate?”

The people nodded in agreement (which was weird bc they were strangely coordinated)

“she will bring much joy, to not only him, but to all of you as well, she is important” one spoke and with those words they all banished

“Ok, raise your hand if you are confused as fuck” said Steph and everyone except Bruce and Jason raised their hands

“We quite literally just met his soulmate! How do you feel Jase?” asked Dick

Jason was in shock

He had a soulmate?

Seeing as Jason had not answered, Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezed it in a reassuring way as instructed that patrol had been done for the night.

Once in the cave, everyone had showered and changed yet no one wanted to sleep. They were all curious so the set to find who this mystery girl was.

With a house full of detectives with access to anything in the internet (and the Wayne archives) they were able to find her in less that an hour

True enough she was a Wayne Scholar and has been going to the galas for years now with her friend

How did they not noticed?

Were they too involved in their own complaining and planning of getting out that they never got to see her

It was easy to find her socials, and even if it was a little stakish, they all followed her

Now the questing of when and how they’ll actually meet her began

Luckily Alfred came downstairs to remind them thy it was enough and they should eat something and go to sleep, when he provided an answer

the spring gala was coming up, and she was e invited.

so for now, they would just see how she was through her socials.

<3

[undercover-ballerina]

Hermione Granger and th Dramione Shippers - Chapter 11

“Positively breathtaking.” said Draco as he kissed her hand when they met outside the gates. His lips lingered on her hand for a long instant before he started kissing his way up her arm gently pulling her closer. Her cloak fell back from her shoulder and he kept kissing up her throat, eventually reaching her lips. Her fingers reached the back of his head as his arms circled her waist. Hermione felt heat course through her body as the intensity of the kiss grew exponentially.

Draco eventually pulled away and the cold crept up on Hermione. He pulled her cloak back to cover her.

“I’m sorry, I got a bit carried away.” He said, not looking sorry at all.

“I’m glad to see you, too. Gomes.” Hermione chuckled.

“Who’s Gomes?” Draco frowned.

“Oh, right. Just a character from a muggle show. I’ll show you sometime.” She took his hand. “What’s the plan?” she asked.

“Edinburgh. I’ve reserved a table at The Witchery.”

He brushed one finger along her jaw and kissed her again. Just a soft kiss on her lips, but Hermione felt the heat spread from her chest all over again. He straightened up and apparated them.

They appeared in a small passage between a gift shop and an ice-cream parlor across the street from the witchery. They walked, hand in hand, the short distance to the restaurant. They were greeted at the entrance by a witch wearing black robes.

“Good evening Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy. Welcome to The Witchery by the Castle. If you’d like to leave your cloaks with me, I’ll escort you to your table.” They handed her their cloaks and she vanished them.

She led them to a small table by large, white, French windows in a wood paneled room with a high painted ceiling depicting images of the tarot. Candles spread a golden glow illuminating the leather chairs, the white tablecloths and the gilded statues scattered around the room. Draco pulled Hermione’s chair out for her and then sat on the opposite side of the table. He was wearing a black three-piece suit with a white shirt and a Gryffindor-red tie and pocket-square.

“We swapped house colors.” Commented Hermione nodding at his tie.

“I must say, Hermione, I think the color green was invented just for you. I might decide to start a quest to conquer the world just to forbid anyone else from wearing green ever again.” He smirked.

“Honestly, I think we’ve had enough world domination attempts to last us several lifetimes. How about we make a deal. You refrain from conquering the world and I wear green more often.”

“I could settle for that. I’m suddenly having visions of you wearing nothing but emeralds.” He eyed her through his lashes as he pretended to read the menu.

Hermione blushed. She was sure she’d read something along those lines in one of the Dramione fan fictions she’d read over the Christmas holidays. Two flutes of champagne appeared on the table. Hermione cleared her throat and tried to read what was written on the menu but her eyes would not focus.

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

Discord, I’m Howling at the Moon

Title: Discord, I’m Howling at the Moon

Summary:

Roman was an accomplished Hollywood actor. Millions adored him for his charm and winning smile.

On the flipside, Remus was a certified medical examiner. Millions hadn’t a clue of who he was and those few people that did tolerated him. He dissected dead bodies for a living. Hell, he’d do it for pure amusement if someone offered. Becoming a medical examiner had been just the safe, legal route.

So it might shock people on who was the normal human being and who was the one that could transform into a quote-unquote "horrifying bloodthirsty monster."

Pairings: Brotherly Creativitwins

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: Logan is in this fic for like five seconds (not enough to tag him imo), Werewolves, Nonspecific discussion of dissecting dead people (Remus is a medical examiner it’s kinda his job), illness mention, death mention, mutilation mention, vague nsfw jokes, arguing, crying, body horror, hurt/comfort

AO3 Link

Would y'all believe me if I told you this has been in my drafts for nearly three years, needing nothing but a few fixes here and there? Anyways, this idea had seized me one day late at night during 2020 lockdown and I wrote the barebones all in one night as you do. Many thanks to @stillebesat who beta'd it back in the day and gave helpful suggestions. I did use their advice to tighten up this fic...even it took this long for it to come into fruition.

-

People were generally ecstatic to learn that Remus Merkle was a doctor. Until they discovered his patients were mostly dead. And by mostly dead, they were completely dead. It was just, occasionally, decaying corpses had muscle spasms that caused them to move on their own. Thus “mostly” dead. However, nobody really appreciated jokes about decomposing corpses unexpectedly moving. Whatever, when the zombie apocalypse arrived, he’d be the only one prepared for it.

They also didn’t seem to appreciate hearing about the various ways one can end up dead. As a mortician, he’s seen all sorts of cause for death. Most were mundane things—old age, heart failure, cancer.

Some, however, never failed to crack him up on the depravity of man. They were all going to hell, every last one of them. Anyone who thought otherwise was just fooling themselves.

That was why Remus didn’t care about keeping up appearances. He spoke loudly and proudly about anything, everything on his mind. He proclaimed liking chocolate ice cream in the same breath of proclaiming his enthusiasm for octopus sex. He’d walk around publicly in the nude if it wasn’t illegal. When a grey streak appeared in his hair prematurely—he didn’t hide it away. He embraced it, showing it off to everyone—and he meant everyone. His co-worker Brian, the barista at the coffee shop, the random businessman on the street—everyone.

People were then generally surprised to find out that he had a rather conspicuous twin brother. Or perhaps surprised to find out that Roman Prince was a stage name—as artificial as the grandiose, bravado image his brother portrayed himself to be. Because despite their passing resemblance (they were fraternal) they were polar opposites.

Even growing up this was evident. Roman liked drawing unicorns and fairy-tale princes. In turn, Remus liked drawing five-legged, eight-eyed monsters that ate up Roman’s princes and unicorns. Roman liked the good guys. Remus liked the bad guys. This worked out rather well when they’d play princes and dragons. Except, of course, when they’d argue who should win.

Most of the time? It ended up in a wrestling match full of foul play. Such as pinching, biting and tickling. If their poor mother was fortunate, she might discover them in a heap sound asleep. The unfortunate times were when this rough-housing went too far and one of them ended up crying at the end.

Unlike Remus, Roman cared about what others thought of him. He loved putting on a performance—doing whatever he believed would please others. In school, he was always the favorite among teachers and students alike because of this. Many times Remus tried convincing him to let loose and have fun. All that did was result in arguments with words far more painful than childish rough-housing ever was.

It wasn’t like Roman and Remus didn’t care for each other–because they did! It was just natural that when you spent almost every moment of your life alongside each other up until high school graduation, you were going to argue a lot about stuff that was very important but also very stupid. Nowadays they both learned to agree to disagree about certain things.

Given his acting tendencies, it wasn’t too astounding to Remus that his brother went on to become an accomplished Hollywood actor. Millions adored him for his charm and winning smile, among…other things. Sure, Remus was Remus. But even he had a limit.

Reading stranger’s thirst tweets about your twin brother? It would never cease to be a bizarre, disconcerting experience. This didn’t mean he wasn’t above using it as fodder to tease Roman. For all his talk, his brother was easily flustered by such things.

On the flipside, Remus was a certified medical examiner. Millions hadn’t a clue of who he was and those few people that did tolerate him. He dissected dead bodies for a living. Hell, he’d do it for pure amusement if someone offered. Becoming a medical examiner had been just the safe, legal route.

So it might shock people on who was the normal human being and who was the one that could transform into a quote-unquote "horrifying bloodthirsty monster." This wasn’t always the case, mind you.

It all began when Remus received a phone call one Tuesday evening at around 5:37pm. It was a cold, overcast, rainy day. The type of weather that warranted murders and other violent criminal acts if this was a fictional story. Most actual crimes statistically occurred during warm sunny days.

Remus had just taken his dinner of chicken gizzards out at the same moment that Aqua’s Barbie Girl erupted on his phone at an obnoxious loud volume. Remus groaned, setting the dish aside as he dug out the phone from his pocket.

“What’s up bro? Did you end up finding the surprise I left hidden in your TARDIS of a closet?”

“Ah, I apologize but this is not your brother speaking.”

Remus’ knuckles went white, “Oh really? Then where is my brother?”

“I’m afraid he’s…occupied at the moment. Listen your brother has—”

“Did you kidnap him? Because I can and will find you—and chop you into tiny bits of pieces! I’m real good at that—well with dead bodies but I’m sure the same principle works on live ones.”

“I have not kidnapped your brother, I promise.” The stranger said, voice level and calm. Remus pouted because it wasn’t fun when people didn’t freak out.

“What are you doing with his phone then?”

“My name is Logan Barry, I am your brother’s assistant. I know this is an invasion of his privacy and could very well end in my severance from his employment but I felt it imperative to make this phone call for your brother’s sake. He has been experiencing mood swings—”

“Have you worked with my brother for a long time?” Remus interrupted, barking a laugh, “Roro’s always been one for dramatics!”

“I’m well aware of his flair for the dramatics, having worked under him for two years,” Logan bit back testily, “I assure you this is different. The thing most concerning to me is that a few days ago he dropped out of all his acting engagements and has taken to isolating himself in his home. It is clear something is causing him anguish but he won’t say what it is.”

“And so you thought to steal your boss’s phone and call up one of his family members to check up on him?” Remus hummed, “because damn, yeah, it sounds like a pod person replaced him. But you picked the worst person to call—sure, we’re cool, but we aren’t the sort to do mushy emotional talks.”

“Are you certain? From what he has told me, you two are close. You are also the closest relative in terms of geographical distance.”

Well, shit. The dude had him on that. Both their parents were currently on an anniversary vacation in Florida.

Remus sighed as he grabbed his dinner and shoved it into the refrigerator. Right smushed between a few of his science experiments; a dead rat and dove respectively each wrapped in tinfoil.

“And he doesn’t have any friends you thought of calling first?” Remus asked, snatching up his car keys.

“Roman has plenty of friends—“

“—but lemme guess? They’re a bunch of artificial Hollywood phonies?” Remus asked. He took the resulting silence as confirmation. “Don’t worry, Nerdy Wolverine, I’ll go over and knock some sense into my idiot brother.”

“Thank you, it is much appreciated.”

“Don’t thank me just yet—by the way, how did you get my bro’s phone? Did you steal it?” Remus asked, already in his car and starting the ignition.

“I did not steal it—the phone needed a new screen and he entrusted me with making sure it was replaced. I am simply returning it to him in the morning, rather than this evening.”

“Hm, whatever helps make you sleep at night!” Remus chirped, “I’m gonna hang up now so I can listen to some tunes while on my way to save Roman from himself!”

He then did just that, before Logan could have a chance to utter some formal goodbye. The drive to Roman’s house was long—three hours. It was a little less than that due to Remus’ excessive amounts of speeding. Death metal blared out of the car stereos. Usually he liked to screech along to it but he remained silent the whole ride.

Being a Hollywood actor was Roman’s dream job—just as much as Remus’ job as a medical examiner was for him. He worked just as hard as Remus to achieve that. It’d be one thing if his brother grew stressed from the pressure of the job or wanted to pursue other creative avenues. But for him to up and quit acting? With no warning or explanation? That didn’t make sense. Nobody just did that—well okay Remus would. That was on-brand for him. Not for Roman.

Although, it’d be great after all these years his brother finally learned to cut back and let loose. Who knew, maybe his assistant was just being stuffy about the situation.

It was completely dark by the time Remus reached the gates of his brother’s ridiculously large home. Normally Remus liked ditching his car and scaling up the gate to freak his brother out. Today he used the gate code for the first time ever. He still lockpicked his brother’s front door—what? He had to maintain some sense of normalcy. Or as normal as Remus got anyways.

“Roey, I’m homeeee!” Remus called out, grinning maniacally as he pushed the door open. He took one step inside and his foot met with the crunch of glass.

Roman liked to call himself a man of passion and ideals. He loudly abhorred logic and structure, claiming he followed the whimsy of his heart best. Despite that, he did appreciate some order and rationality. Unlike Remus’ unbridled chaos, Roman’s chaos was organized to a degree. Roman sometimes had piles of stuff lying in a room. Piles that seemed random and unorganized but they really did have a purpose.

Remus shone his phone’s flashlight to a mess that rivaled Remus’ own anarchy. Chairs overturned, broken shards of glass, a torn-up shirt—the list went on.

“Whoa,” Remus breathed in, closing the door behind him. For a second Remus forgot the whole reason he came here. Instead he became invigorated with memories of when he trespassed abandoned buildings as a teen. Some had broken-down belongings still left inside—you could tell a lot about a person from what they left behind. Remus knew that fact intimately.

Had there been some sort of a struggle? Was Roman involved with the mafia? Was Roman dead?

Remus froze, crouched down as his fingers touched a shard of glass on the ground.

“Roman?” He called out, “Where are you? I can’t believe you had a wild party and you didn’t have the gall to invite me!”

He waited, tapping his finger against the glass. Tap, tap, tap. He almost didn’t think he’d get a response until he heard a distant clang. And then, “Remus?!”

His brother. That was Roman’s voice. Weak and faint, although that could be because he was halfway across the house or something.

“Yup it’s me!” Remus grinned, jumping up to his feet, “Bro, where you at?”

“Remus what are you doing here?” Roman asked, a muffled noise following his words.

Remus huffed, slightly peeved. Here was his brother, a pinnacle of manners and yet he ignored Remus’ question entirely. Regardless, he walked in the direction he thought Roman’s voice was coming from.

“What, I can’t drop in, just ‘cause anymore?” Remus asked, “besides, it doesn’t seem like you’re up to anything right now. Besides nursing a wicked hangover, I bet. Did you manage to get laid?”

“Remus, you can’t be here!” Roman’s voice said, sounding increasingly closer. Remus’ grin widened. Bingo.

“What do you mean I can’t be here? I got through the door just fine—also for someone that’s loaded, you should really invest in a better lock.”

“No, please, Remus I mean it!” Roman snapped, the clanging noise echoing once more. This time it sounded like something metal. “You can’t be here, please!”

Remus creeped closer, frowning when he came to the end of the hallway. Hmm, right or left?

“Why not?” C’mon bro, please speak up and tell me .

“I—I can’t! You just have to believe me!” There was a tremble in Roman’s voice. Remus had heard his brother act, time and time again. He knew all his tells. This wasn’t him acting. Roman was genuinely afraid.

He was also definitely in the room to Remus’ left. Now he just had to open the door—locked. Remus bit his lips. Alright, no biggie. He could lockpick it.

“Remus? Is that you? Stay away!”

“Roman, you know me—if you have a dead body in there, I’ll bury it for you. No questions asked. I might just want a peek at the insides though!”

“Remus, please—” Roman let out a pained scream.

Remus’ fingers quivered. No! He steadied them, working as fast as humanly possible. It struck him then that this was just like a scene ripped from a horror movie. A man goes to visit his apparently gone mad brother and finds a mystery afoot. As much as Remus liked horror movies, he was finding that he didn’t like being in one.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door unlocked. Remus slammed it open, one hand itching close to his pocket knife. The room was dim, containing a single window with blinds drawn over it. It looked like an ordinary guest bedroom until something shifted in the corner.

“Roman?” Remus came near, startled at the sight of his twin shirtless and chained up to the bedposts. What the fuck. “I should’ve thought you were one for such a vanilla kink. Where’s your partner? Are they hot?”

“It isn’t like that!” Roman insisted, baring his teeth, “Listen, I can’t hold it back any longer, you need to g o .”

Remus opened his mouth to respond when Roman dropped to the ground, screaming as he convulsed. Oh my god, he was having a seizure. Remus should call 911. His phone fell out of his pocket in his fumble to pull it out. He reached down to pick it up, only to drop it entirely once more.

This time was due to the fact that Roman…was rapidly growing hair? Like an infection, coarse grey hair started covering every inch of his brother. Which was really fucking weird because Remus did not know of any disease that caused instantaneous hair growth in such a way. But it didn’t just stop there.

As it continued, there was a series of horrible crackling noises. It sounded akin to someone popping a dislocated shoulder back into place except it sounded wrong, wrong, wrong. Something screamed within Remus that he should not be here, that he was in danger, that he should escape while he had the chance.

But he didn’t move a muscle, standing stupefied at the sight of his brother…transforming? Yeah, that seemed like the right word. Because the crackling was the result of Roman’s bones rearranging themselves to create an entirely different skeletal frame. His brother’s face twisted and contorted until it no longer resembled anything human. Dull human teeth gave way into sharp carnivore teeth.

At this point, Roman no longer had any hands–they’ve fused together into something else entirely. The same was beginning to occur with his feet.

The pants his brother had been wearing had long since been torn to shreds, but they became even more so as something burst forth from his body like that parasite from Alien except it was near his butthole and oh–was that a tail?

A werewolf. His brother was turning into a fucking werewolf.

Remus almost laughed. Was this a dream? Was his apartment infested with toxic mold and this was the result of a hallucination? Because the idea of werewolves was fucking sick (he’d been convinced he was one in middle school) but as far he knew, they weren’t supposed to be real and his brother sure as hell wasn’t supposed to be one.

Yet, it was becoming very damn apparent that his brother was turning into one. As the transformation leveled out, Roman’s screams ceased as a deep, guttural howl replaced it. The grey hair became more shaggy and looked soft to the touch like fur. His brother had paws! And fluffy wolf ears! If Remus hadn’t witnessed the whole thing, he would’ve assumed that Roman had a real ass wild wolf chained up to a bedpost!

Remus couldn’t help himself. He reached a hand out towards Roman, only to be met with a snarling and gnashing of teeth.

“No touching, got it.” Remus whispered, staring as his brother thrashed against the chains. The wolf tried chomping down on the chain, only to let out a yelp. Ears pinned back, he tried a few more times to success. Eventually he threw his head back and howled.

This was where most people would’ve been terrified enough to run away if they hadn’t at the start. After all, his brother had turned into a wolf and now was trying to escape his chains. Surely if he managed to break free, his animalistic instincts would cause him to maul Remus to death.

Oddly enough, Remus was feeling very calm. Perhaps a bit too calm, but as he stared at the wolf that was now his brother, things made sense. The trashed house, the erratic behavior, the fear in his brother’s voice moments before–werewolves were real and somehow his brother got bit by one.

“I bet it’s silver, isn’t it?” He mused underneath his breath. Silver hurt werewolves, right? Assuming that was true, it was no wonder that Roman’s wolfy form was so agitated by it.

So Remus decided to do something that was probably ill-advised. In fact if this was a b-rated horror movie, the audience would be yelling at him right now for being stupid. He reached for his lockpick toolkit and slowly inched forward. Roman growled at him.

“Listen, I’m gonna just,” He held up his lockpick toolkit out to show Roman, “help you out bud. See this? If you promise not to eat me, I’ll let you out.”

Remus didn’t know how much awareness Roman had in wolf form. He was gonna go with not a whole lot. Still didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try and communicate.

Roman sniffed at it curiously. He then stared at Remus, tilting his head. After a moment, Remus decided to take that as a permission to continue onwards. He touched the end of the chain to which his brother growled. Rude!

“Ok, look, I’ll respect not touching you, but I have to touch the chains to let you out.” Remus raised an eyebrow. He waited a few seconds before touching the chain again. Roman didn’t growl. He kept staring at Remus, watching his every movement.

“Good boy, good boy,” Remus said, fiddling with the lockpick, “okay, is that patronizing? Am I being demeaning? Please tell me if I’m being demeaning—”

Remus kept rattling on, working on the clasp until it finally released. An angry red band circled Roman’s leg where the chain had been. Roman lifted the paw up and down, tail wagging. He lunged forward, best as he could with three limbs still chained down, and licked Remus’ face. It was rough and coarse as sandpaper.

“Whoa, I haven’t even finished the other three just yet!” Remus protested, laughing. He pushed the wolf’s head away as he started work on the second chain. Roman whined but complied upon seeing what he was doing. The next three came off in quick succession once Remus figured out the locking mechanisms. When the last one came off, Roman bounded about the room excitedly. At one point he started chasing his tail to entertain himself.

Remus watched, deep in thought. His brother seemed so happy to be able to roam and chase his tail to his heart’s content. He’d only growled at Remus because he felt threatened and afraid of his presence. Once he understood his intentions, he immediately lavished affection upon him.

Just how long had his brother been a werewolf? This couldn’t have been going for more than a few months at least. In any case, Roman was so terrified of himself to the point of self-isolation. Which surely made the situation worse, because his wolfy side probably needed proper care and attention that Roman was neglecting.

Something tugged at his jacket sleeve. Remus looked down to see his brother looking at him, whining.

“What? You want some food?” Remus asked, “Damn, if I’d known I would’ve brought the roadkill I have in my freezer to you—”

Roman headbutted him with enough force to send him sprawling. This seemed to satisfy the wolf, because he then proceeded to lay on top of him.

“Hey no fair!” Remus said, trying to wiggle out to no avail. Roman licked his face in response before laying his head down. Remus tried a few more times before giving up. He sighed, finally resigning himself to his fate as a wolf cushion.

“Man, this is gonna be weird in the morning, isn’t it?” Remus asked, yawning.

It was.

He woke up to a scream. By the time he managed to open his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of a human Roman huddled inside a blanket.

“Morning, Ro. What’s for breakfast?” Remus asked casually, sitting up to stretch. If there was one downside to adulthood, it was that sleeping on the ground now resulted in stiff backs.

Roman looked at him like he was a ghost.

“H—how are you not dead?” Roman asked, “The chains—I—it escaped—did you get bitten?!”

He reached forward, searching for a bite mark of any kind. There weren't any. Remus grasped onto his brother’s hand, squeezing it firmly. Okay mushy emotional talk time. Remus wasn’t great at this, but Roman knew this. Hopefully he didn’t fuck it up too much.

“I’m fine, Roman,” He said, “I didn’t get a single scratch, I’m mostly hurt that you didn’t tell me you could turn into a hugeass wolf. Do you have any wolfy traits outside of Full Moon? Ooh, can you eat raw meat? What about your sense of smell?”

“Remus,” Roman began, his eyes wide, “why aren’t you scared of me?”

Remus cocked his head, “Why would you think that I’d ever be afraid of you? If anything I’m jealous of you! I can’t believe you’re better at turning into a wolf than I am. You know I spent half of middle school thinking I was a wolf.”

Roman stared at him, lips wobbling. He then shook his head and laughed. All choked up and wheezy like a broken squeaky toy as he slung both arms around Remus’ wiry frame in a tight embrace. He kept on laughing—his fingers digging into the fabrics of Remus’ shirt and jacket. Remus held onto him, massaging his scalp the way their mother did to comfort them growing up. Eventually Roman’s laughter died down to quiet, stifled sobs.

“I know you care a lot about appearances but you’re not a monster you know,” Remus whispered, “Dukey’s honor that you’re still your princely, heroic self, wolf or not. Besides you and I both know the monster in the room and that’s me.”  

“You put pineapples on your pizza.” Roman hiccupped.

“It’s delicious! And there’s much worse cursed things to put on pizzas. Like gold and squid ink!”

“You wear crocs unironically.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You practiced bagpipes in front of my room at 2AM in high school.”

“Yup! See? I’m a certified genuine monster.” Remus beamed.

“No you’re not,” Roman made a strangled noise, “You’re my brother who’s weird and kooky at times but I--I…”

“Aw Roey. Don’t make this a mushy Hallmark movie,” Remus said, “but if it was, you’re still my brother regardless of how many times you get on my nerves.”

He almost addressed the chains–now that Remus knew, they were going to eventually need to have serious talk time about ways to properly care for one’s wolfy self. In a very un-Remus-like move, he bit his tongue on that one though. That was an argument for another time. One that was inevitable to happen if Roman kept transforming into a wolf every full moon.

For now? He was content to start teasing Roman with the latest thirst tweet he stumbled across.

[gachagon]

Today was my sisters birthday so we went to The Color Factory! Which is like this immersive art place where each room is a different interactive exhibit that features a color. It was pretty fun over all, and I really enjoyed myself! The first room was a confetti room which was super fun. You could lay down and throw confetti everywhere.

I took a lot of photos of just kicking the confetti with my shoes. And there were some fake plastic flowers but I'm not sure what they added to exhibit other than just looking kind of pretty.

We also had to enter through this long multicolored corridor which was pretty trippy I took a lot of photos of my sister and her friends. This experience while colorful was also kind of dark because a lot of the rooms are either just pitch black or incredibly dimly lit so that you can focus on one singular color.

Side note it looks like we're walking in a bright orange haze in this photo and tbh that's what it felt like as well. After this room was one of my favorite rooms, the "Silent Dancing" room. It was also very purple and pretty cool to just hang out and take photos.

There was a disco floor which reflected all the disco balls above us and because of the neon purple lighting it really just made a cool effect on the ground. I really liked the way my outfit looked in this room lol so I took a lot of photos of myself and my sister.

There was a pink room but imo it was the most disappointing since you put these glasses on to make the whole room look pink (it's like looking through "rose colored glasses" essentially) but it's not the lightest pink color and is very reminiscent of shrimp or flamingos. So I didn't take a lot of photos here.

Lastly, we went into this ballpit and oh my lord I feared for my life several times while I was in that ballpit. I thought I would meet god on the bottom of a carpeted art house ball pool, but luckily my sister was there to pull me out (she was taller then me) for fear of losing my phone I didn't take it with me while I was in there. But even this image alone shows how terrifying and liminal it was. I did have a lot of phone in it however!

All in all, a wonderful experience. If there is a color factory near you, perhaps you should also go give it a visit I enjoyed myself. My only gripe is that it's expensive to get in there, and then all of the gift shop stuff is super expensive for no reason (20 dollars for a little truck with a cupcake ontop of it and 30 for a kids t-shirt???? no thanks) I brought some snacks anyways and they gave us snacks while we explored the Color factory.

However, a lot of the snacks were just plain nasty tasting. I brought a 5 dollar soda that was supposed to taste like "coconut" that was really like drinking a bottle of perfume. They gave us Macarons at the start of the exhibit, and they were also nasty. Imagine biting into a bar of fragrant strawberry scented soap. That's what it tasted like.

The only really tasty food that the Color factory had was their chocolate bar I got the salted caramel which is true to its name. It was very delicious and even my dad kept going back for more lol. And their Saltwater taffy which had different flavors. I had chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and some other fruity flavors that were super good (i had to chew a lot though.)

And at the end of the exhibit they gave everyone a little ice cream. You could pick between two flavors "Lavender or Deep Space" (they're both coconut flavored but one has a fruity taste and the other is a chocolatey one).

The lavender ice cream was the best thing I had there. Too bad it was small and tiny and not something I could just buy a regular cone of :(

[battymuses]

Mary Meets Miriam (Part 4/?)

“How long was I out?” Mary asked as she reclaimed her place on the couch. Miriam checked her watch as she joined Mary. “Eh… About an hour.” Mary nodded and tried to focus on the television, but found her thoughts were still lingering on her own self image. Her gaze fell to the floor before drifting over towards Miriam’s shoes and up her legs. Shapely and strong… Certainly not short or chunky like hers… Gaze drifting upward, she noted how narrow her waist was and the perfect curves of her torso. No fat, clothes fit perfectly, an actual bust… Arms smooth and strong, not weak and flabby like hers… Slender fingers with perfectly manicured nails. Her eyes settled on the woman’s face. Smooth skin, a hint of freckles, green eyes… Sure, she had to wear glasses, but otherwise… this woman was perfect… There was no way Miriam ever had body issues like she did... Green eyes met her pale blue and Mary found herself quickly looking away. Shit! She’d been staring… “...Is there something on my face?” Miriam asked quizzically. “No. No…” Mary let out a sigh as she stared at the floor. Miriam raised a brow. There was a long silence before Mary spoke again. “What’s it like?” “What’s what like?” Another long silence. “Being normal. Looking like you… tall… strong… beautiful.” Oh… “I can’t say I know how to answer that,” Miriam took a deep breath. “But I’ll try…” A moment of pause as she thought it over. “Okay,” Miriam shifted on the couch to face the blonde, voice firm and eyes determined. “I’m not going to bullshit you on this. If you were someone else, I might sugarcoat it. But you? I’m sure you’ve heard enough shallow niceties and supposed morals to know they’re usually garbage.” Mary was caught off guard by the drastic shift in Miriam’s diction and mood… though it wasn’t unwelcome. The blonde turned and sat perfectly sideways, eyes and ears trained on the redhead. “...I’m listening.” “I’m sure being normal is a lot better than what you go through. It’s better and people like me don’t appreciate it enough. I don’t have to worry about being mistaken for a child or not being able to reach most objects or being picked up against my will or whatever it is you deal with. The modern world was built for people like me and not you. This is just how the world is and it sucks.” Mary was stunned silent, unsure of what to say… but that would prove to be in her favor as Miriam wasn’t done. “They say that looks don’t matter and to just be yourself, but we both know that’s bullshit.” Mary nodded. “But how can I know that?” Miriam’s tone softened. “If I’m normal, how could I know from experience that it’s all garbage?” Mary quirked a brow, waiting for an explanation. “Because even for us normal people… we’re never normal enough. We’re never satisfied. No one else is satisfied with us. There’s always something different. Something wrong. I’ll never know what it’s like to be you, but I’ll never know what it’s like to be fully satisfied either.” “So, things just suck, no matter what?” “Now you’re getting it,” Miriam responded with a slight smirk. “But some things don’t suck. Just gotta latch onto those things when you can.” Mary exhaled in a mix of a sigh and a laugh. Not the most satisfying answer… but at least it was truthful. “Speaking of things that don’t suck,” Miriam started, standing up, “I saw you bought some ice cream. Want me to get you some? I feel like you could use a pick-me-up right about now.” “That does sound good, actually,” the blonde chuckled. “Yes, please… and help yourself to some too, if you want it!”

[cookiesauces]

Land of Miracles IDOL AU!!!

Idol!Lan Ge with Fa Hua as his personal manager.

Inspired from this video

Wrote an accompanying fic for this scene also on AO3:

“Great, now we'll just need some kiss marks around your neck and we're good.”

Lan Ge nodded listlessly to Hong Bao's comment. If the world-renowned photographer didn't know him personally, she would have kicked him out immediately. There was a long queue of celebrities dying to work with her. If only she hadn't owed him a favour..

She clucked her tongue. “I tried using a stamp but it looks too fake, so we'll need to borrow someone's lips instead.”

Hong Bao eyed at all the blushing ladies around looking eager to volunteer. They reminded her of vultures until her eyes finally landed on the only man in the room - Lan Ge's personal manager.

“Fa Hua, can you do it?”

The stoic man looked surprised to be suddenly called on. “Me?”

Hong Bao held out a lipstick to him. “Yes, get some lip marks on his neck.”

Fa Hua glanced at Lan Ge for a beat before averting his eyes in hesitation.

“If you're not comfortable, then someone else can-”

“-It's fine.” Fa Hua grabbed the lipstick. He applied it through the mirror clumsily before turning to her with a determined look. “Where do you need it?”

Hong Bao unbuttoned the top few buttons of Lan Ge's white shirt and shoved it off one of his shoulders. She then pointed at a spot above his right collarbone.

Fa Hua took a deep breath before leaning in to push his lips against that spot, his one hand coming up on Lan Ge’s chest for balance.

Lan Ge’s breath hitched when he felt soft lips on his skin, albeit a little moist from the lipstick.

Hong Bao continued to point out different spots and instructed Fa Hua to press harder for more prominent marks.

Lan Ge swallowed, his heartbeat quickening as he was acutely aware of Fa Hua's breathing and the insistent press of his lips. Hong Bao’s instructions became white noise and the world narrowed down to their physical contact. What's going on? Why was he so affected? Was it because he'd never been so close to anyone like this before, or was it because it was Fa Hua?

His stomach fluttered at the thought of the latter.

Fa Hua, his personal manager who was brought in three years ago as his parents’ friend’s godson to help improve his reputation. Basically someone he couldn't insist on firing on a whim. 

Initially, Lan Ge hated him for forcing him to behave during interviews via blackmail. Fa Hua had gotten rid of his housekeeper and made Lan Ge do chores himself as punishment. Imagine him! Washing the dishes! At that point, Lan Ge was irritable from the lack of sleep and was often picking fights with other celebrities. The media painted him in the light of a self-entitled rich second-generation.

It came to a point where they trashed things out and Fa Hua finally realised the problems Lan Ge were facing. He then helped him overcome his insomnia and gatekeep his schedule so that he had enough rest. Fa Hua had also formed many good connections and arranged interactive fan meets that helped enhance his image. Eventually, Lan Ge also got to learn more about Fa Hua and meet the orphanage children. They could finally just play around with the kids as if they were kids themselves. It was fun, and Lan Ge started to realise that everything was more fun with the other man around. 

Fa Hua turned from a thorn in his side to the reason Lan Ge actually does anything. Go for a sponsored photoshoot? Sure, only so that Fa Hua will sneak him out for ice cream afterwards. 2 hours fan meet? Fine, if Fa Hua agreed to wear whatever the fans gave him on their way home so that he could have a good laugh.

Fa Hua became his motivation and the highlight of his days. Not to mention that he's kinda hot, and super cute when he smiles. Does this means that Lan Ge is attracted to him? Was that why he's so nervous right now? Did he actually want Fa Hua to do… more?

“Ok, five minutes break!” Lan Ge abruptly announced as he pushed Fa Hua backwards, grabbed Hong Bao and pulled her away with a “Hong Bao, a word, please.”

“SOS! This is a CRISIS, Hong Bao!” He announced in despair when they were alone in the changing room.

“What’s wrong?” She demanded.

Lan Ge licked his lips. “Let’s just say Fa Hua kissing my neck has awakened something-”

Hong Bao scrunched her face in disgust. “-Oh my god-”

“-No, hear me out!” He threw his hands out. “That's not even the worst part-”

“-That's not?” She looked at him with raised brows.

“I think I'm in love with Fa Hua.”

Hong Bao gave him the flattest glare ever.

“Are you kidding me? Now is not the time to realise your feelings or whatever, I have a shoot to do!” She snarled.

“I know, I know! But imagine someone you like kissing up all over your neck,” He gestured to his bare collar, “can you really blame me?”

“Urgh, you-!” Hong Bao pinched her nose bridge in exasperation. “Ok, forget it. Enough lip marks, this is fine.”

Lan Ge blew a breath of relief.

She snorted. “Ready to get back to work now?”

“I g-guess so..”

She stomped off with a shake of her head. “Tch, men.”

Thankfully, Lan Ge was a good model when he wanted to be - all that effortlessly photogenic charm allowed Hong Bao to complete the shoot in record time. But since they had time to spare, she decided to get some extra shots as payback…

“I need someone with long, black hair,” Hong Bao pondered aloud and pretended to look around at all the fancy-coloured dyed hair before locking eyes onto her target. “Fa Hua, come here.”

She could see Lan Ge visibly stiffened and hid her snort internally.

The personal manager eyed her warily. “Yes?”

“Don't worry, I just need a bit of your back view. Your face won't be seen. Stand here in front of Lan Ge.” Hong Bao adjusted his position.

She then went behind Fa Hua and pointed the camera over his shoulder to face Lan Ge.

“Lan Ge, come closer towards him.”

She enjoyed the look of panic he shot her as he shuffled closer.

“Okay, look into each others’ eyes,” She instructed and bit her lips to stifle her laughter at how red Lan Ge was turning.

“Closer..”

She quickly snapped a few shots.

"Just a bit more closer.."

“Argh, Hong Bao!” Lan Ge couldn't hold it in anymore. Any closer and they were literally going to touch noses! He turned towards her with an accusatory finger. “You're doing this on purpose!”

“Lan Ge, don't be rude. Calm down.” Fa Hua placated as he pulled the other’s hand down. “Sorry, Hong Bao, I think we'll take a short break now.”

“Forget it, I was just trying something out but it didn't work. We're done for the shoot,” Hong Bao concluded apathetically as she sifted through the shots in her camera. “You two can leave now, I won't be sending you off.”

“Then.. we'll make a move first. Thank you everyone for your hard work.” Fa Hua forced Lan Ge to bow to Hong Bao with a hand on his head before dragging him away.

Hong Bao waited till the door closed before she smirked at the pictures she took of them. 

Yes, they’ll make a good wedding gift in the future.

***

“Huahua, what are your thoughts on me dating someone?” Lan Ge brought up some time later when they were alone in the study room. He was lying on the sofa watching Fa Hua flipping through the bunch of paperwork at his desk.

“Terrible. A PR Nightmare. Great hassle for everyone involved,” His personal manager immediately listed.

Lan Ge groaned. “Will it really be that bad?”

“Yes.” Fa Hua gave him a knowing look. “But having said that, I'm sure you'll still do whatever you want anyway.”

“...”

Fa Hua gave a deep sigh. “Who is it?”

“Huh?”

“The person you’ll be dating.”

Lan Ge looked down and played with his fingers. “I.. I don't even know if they'll agree to date me.”

Fa Hua highly doubted that anyone would reject the popular Lan Ge. He sighed. “Just tell me who first so that I can run a background check.”

Lan Ge snorted. “I don't think that's going to be a problem..”

“That's not for you to decide.” Fa Hua snapped a little impatiently as he opened his notebook and got his pen ready. “Name?”

Lan Ge licked his lips. “Ermm.. Well, it's uh, Fa Hua.”

“Hmm?”

“That's the name.” Lan Ge steadily avoided eye-contact. “It's.. you.”

“W-What?” He looked up from his book in bewilderment. “Is this a prank?”

“No, it's not!” Lan Ge insisted before adding petulantly, “I.. just like you. B-But if you don't want to date me, then forget it.”

Fa Hua felt his heartbeat pick up and he took a deep breath. 

“I-It’s not that simple,” He stuttered. “I'm pretty sure it's against my contract to-”

“-So you want to?” Lan Ge sat up and walked over with a hopeful look eyes. 

Fa Hua turned away and shook his head. “No, we can't. It'll ruin everything you have-”

“-Fa Hua.” The singer interrupted as he stood in front of him. He grabbed both sides of Fa Hua's arms firmly. “Do you like me? Yes or no?”

Fa Hua inhaled sharply as he caught the other’s gaze. He should say no. Nip the hope in the bud. It'll be easier for everyone this way. He thought of how the ignorant rich second-generation Lan Ge had come so far from when they first met three years back, and grown into the fine young man he is now.

All his fans know about his voice, about his boisterous personality, but they don't know that he's afraid of spiders, and how he believes that carrots taste better when they are cut into flower shapes. They don't know that Lan Ge was just a teenager who wanted to make his parents proud, but was overwhelmed by the life being a popular singer came with. They don't know that he actually shines best when he's off-stage, laughing and playing unrestrained with the children at the orphanage, when he tries to sing to Fa Hua to calm him down in a panic attack.

Fa Hua closed his eyes and thought of a life without the other man. No more secret escapades Lan Ge will drag him into, no more “We did it!” hugs he gives to Fa Hua after every successful concert. He thinks of Lan Ge getting together with someone else and his heart instantly hurt. He chuckled sadly to himself. Of course he had to fall for this idiot. How could he not?

He allowed himself a moment of truth and admitted in a soft exhale of, “Yes.”

“Huahua!” Lan Ge immediately wrapped him in a hug with a happy laugh that tickled his heart.

“B-But we can't,” Fa Hua reluctantly struggled against the warm embrace.

Lan Ge pulled back to look him in the eye softly. “You're worried about the contract, right?” 

Fa Hua sighed. “Amongst a hundred other reasons, yes.”

“Well, you don't have to think about those anymore.” Lan Ge announced with an eager smile. “Because I. Quit.”

Fa Hua's eyes widened. “W-What?”

“All your concerns are about me being a famous singer. So I'll just stop being that!”

“You- You can't just quit just because of me!”

“It's not all because of you! I've been thinking about it for a while. What's the point of slaving my ass off for all this money I don't even have the time to enjoy? I just wanted to have fun making music and make my parents happy. And it turns out, they are already happy, but now I'm not even having fun.” He sighed as he held Fa Hua's palms in his.

“I'm not saying I’ll retire and bum around for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll join a small band and sing at bars. I know you say normal people have to wash their own dishes but I'd rather wash dishes with you than continue this life where I can't even be with the person I like.”

Fa Hua swallowed. The devotion in his voice made blood rush to his ears. Both their faces were red.

 “You..”

“And it's not like everyone working with me will lose their jobs, either! I'll pass them on to another artiste who is actually passionate in what they do, like Sheng Lian. Except for you, I would like you to stay with me. Or not, if you want to do something else. I can follow you to build your dream instead..” Lan Ge trailed off meekly after his rambling.

“You idiot,” Fa Hua huffed fondly as he leaned forward onto the other's shoulder. Lan Ge could feel his palpitating heart through their clothes. “Who else retires at 27? Just take a break first before deciding that you really want to quit."

“Oh, great idea! I needed a vacation like, yesterday. Let's go somewhere far where no one will recognise us!” Lan Ge pulled back again but stayed close to look him in the eye shyly. “You'll come with me, right?”

“Well, somebody has to keep you in check,” Fa Hua mumbled before leaning forward to close the gap between their lips.

---END

[authormahimistry]

Twisted Therapist

2 - It’s Not Going to Lick Itself

Aiden

There are times in my life that I wished I wasn’t me, Aiden Stone. Like opening the door and seeing Ivy, my little petal, after such a long time. My first thought on seeing her was, ‘It must be a dream.’ A very weird dream. Where her clothes were soaked, sticking to her curves like second skin, chocolate hair dripping with water, her bright blue eyes red and puffy, mascara running down her cheeks. My second thought was that she had been crying, and I wanted to do terrible things to the person who had made her cry.  

When I was seventeen, I had watched her climb up a tree in the park, her eyes bright and grin wide as she climbed all the way up, my eyes wary of the young girl when I was in the park. She fell, like I had suspected. I didn’t think she was alone, but unfortunately, she was. So I helped her. Carefully piggy backing her on my back, her arms wrapped around my neck. I brought her home as she sniffled the address in my ear, clutching my shirt as if I would dare to make her fall. I met Hayden for the first time, a striking image of his little sister with angular features, ocean-blue eyes and dark hair. He had turned pale watching his little sister’s knee bleeding, gently applying the Hello Kitty bandage while I offered her a candy to distract her. 

I had watched her grow, seen her get her braces and get them removed, bought her favorite doughnuts when she got her first periods, heard her talk about her awkward first kiss under the bleachers because she was too scared to talk about it with Hayden and get embarrassed by her friends. I had picked her up from her prom after party, gave her my hoodie and bought her ice cream at three in the morning. I had hugged her goodbye when I left with her brother for his deployment and my work, hoping she would take care of herself. 

I cared about Ivy. My little petal. That was why I was going to do terrible things to the person, to the shit, who made her cry. 

It was also why it was unfortunate that my third thought was widely different from the first two. I hated being myself when I thought of her… differently. I was truly a sadist to get turned on by her red, watery eyes. All I could think about was wrapping my fist around her hair and seeing her sky eyes gleam with tears of pain and pleasure, hazy with lust, but trusting me to take care of her and her needs. Being on her knees with my hands on her face and fucking those pouty lips—

“Fuck,” I breathed, swallowing the lump in my throat and glaring at the semi in my sweatpants. I had to stop thinking about her. 

Which won’t happen when she is under the same roof, taking a shower, all wet and naked—

I closed my eyes and thought about all the ways I helped my patients with their anxiety. I took four deep breaths. After clearing my heads of all the filthy thoughts, I made a list of why I should never think about the said filthy thoughts. 

1. She is Ivy Knight. 

2. She is Hayden Knight’s little sister, my best friend’s sister, and he would dump me in the Arctic Ocean if he ever knew about these thoughts. 

3. She is young. Eleven years younger than I am. 

4. She probably thinks of me as her elder brother. 

5. Did I mention she is related to Hayden Knight? The person who can and will murder me if I ever thought about touching her inappropriately. 

Yes, that list was good and it should help remind me every time my blood rushes to the south. But it was the fourth point that truly scared me. I knew I had been overly protective of her when we were young—I still was, but I never meant it in a brotherly way. No, I just didn’t want her to get hurt. I wanted to care for her. But not the way a sibling does. 

As if he knew I was thinking about him, Hayden called me. I picked up after one more ring, hearing him say, “Hey, asshole. Did you miss your favorite person?”

“Hello to you too, darling,” I said, stirring the red sauce, hating myself for the small twitch on my lips. Hayden Knight was a pain in the ass, but he was my close friend. We had been mistaken for brothers, but it was clear from one closer look that our eyes didn’t match and he was more charming with talking our way out of a situation. “Why on earth would I miss you out of everyone? In fact, I’m glad your Azmian princess whisked you off of San Diego and keeps you locked in her palace.”

I heard a shuffle and a soft feminine voice. “Aw, Aiden! I knew you secretly liked me underneath all that ‘I hate everyone, people are stupid’ guise!” I shook my head hearing Zara Knight Latif, the Princess of Azmia, and the fiancée of my best friend, try to mimic my voice.

“Why are you out of bed?” Hayden asked her and for a moment, all I heard was poor reception and clothes shuffling. “You should’ve called me, I would have—”

Zara didn’t let him finish. “Aiden, tell your friend that I won’t fall the second he looks away.”

“You would’ve landed on your bump if you had looked where you walked.”

“I would love to see where I’m walking, but I can’t see my feet, you ass.”

“Then hold my hand, I’m here for—”

I cleared my throat, watching the steam rolling off of the pasta in the pan. “As much as I’d love to hear you both bicker, I have something to tell you, Hayden.”

“I’ll leave you boys to it.”

Hayden yelled when she walked away, “Please have a guard with you!”

My heart felt heavy hearing them bicker lovingly. Hayden had saved the life of Princess of Azmia, promised her safety, care and love for their engagement and even trying his best to be a good father for his soon-to-be-child and a good husband when they get married. 

Hayden, the man who had fucked his way through half of the San Diego’s single women, was now expecting a child and marrying the woman he met once and pinned on her for two years, so much so that he never once flirted with anyone. It was unusual for him to stay celibate for so long. He was utterly whipped.

“All well?” 

I heard him sigh. “Pregnancy is a hard thing.”

I chuckled, “You don’t say.”

“I’m serious. All her mood swings affect me and I don’t know what it is, but I can’t stand anyone looking at her when she is pregnant with my child—”

“You’ve been reading too many fantasy romances—”

I could hear him grin when he replied, “Maybe. Zayed asked me to try one and I’m stuck now.” Zayed was the Sheikh of Azmia and his good friend. “Anyway, how was the date?”

“Date?” I pinched the bridge of my nose and remembered how last night went when I had arrived in San Diego. The expensive wine, dessert and a hotel room. “It went well, I suppose. A one-night stand. But it doesn’t matter, I need to tell you something—”

“Was it that bad?” He asked from the other line, something shuffling. 

“Hayden,” I said, and he knew it was serious when I said his name. I turned off the stove and leaned back on the island. “I am at your house and you won’t believe who showed up at the door.”

“Addison in a trench coat?” 

Hearing the name of my ex made me lose my appetite. If she had appeared like that, which she would never have, I would have locked the door on her face.  

“She would never do that.” I sighed. “It was your sister with a suitcase. She was crying. I believe something happened with her bo—”

“Is she okay? Should I come back—wait, let me check the ticket—”

“Hayden, she is twenty-one. She can take care of herself… and I am here, too.”

He didn’t reply for a few moments. I held my breath. 

“Yes, I trust you, of course,” he sighed. I clenched my hand in a fist. Another reason for hating myself to even have a hint of attraction towards his sister. “I will see if I can come back, but I need you to talk to her, Aiden.”

“Of course, I will talk with her—”

“No, Aiden,” he paused. “I meant, as a therapist.”

“What do you mean?” 

“You know how it was when mom left. When we left. She hasn’t been herself since she went to university. With Zara here, she lost her close best friend, and I have been trying to talk to her, see her, but I need your help. I don’t want her to feel insecure. If you can, I want you to talk to her, give her a few therapy sessions. If not you, someone else.”

I knew what he meant. Her mom had divorced her father and left. Her father couldn’t cope with the sudden loss and ignored both of his children. Hayden was a senior in high school, but Ivy was barely six years old and had no one. They both had tried to bond with each other, but she never had a parent figure in her life and it may have affected her. Not to mention the insecure part. She was beautiful and curvy, but being a therapist for so long, I knew that even the most beautiful person on the earth viewed themselves differently in front of the mirror. 

“I will take care of her.” I clenched the phone in my hand and said, “You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Thank you. I will call Ivy tonight. See you soon.”

“You too,” I replied, ending the call. Staring at the cooked spaghetti, I let out a sigh, raking my hand through my hair. 

His phone call was a living reminder that I should not think about—

“Did you cook this for me?” 

Ivy was wearing the same fucking hoodie that I had given her on her prom night. It’s not going to lick itself, it said in bold white letters. I wondered if she knew what it meant. Hayden would punch me if he knew I had given that hoodie to his sister. His little sister, who was wearing just the hoodie, the hem reaching her creamy plush thighs.

I licked my lips, turning my back to her, and tried hard not to wonder if she was wearing anything underneath that hoodie. 

“You should eat it before it gets cold,” I said, serving the hot spaghetti in red sauce. I kept the plate on the table and pulled out a chair for her, motioning her to sit, my nose filling with the sweet floral scent of her shampoo. 

“Who were you talking to?” She asked, twirling the fork around the pasta and eating it. “Was it Hayden?” 

I told her about his call, about Zara and how he would call her soon and that she should stay in the house for a while until the university classes start again and she has to go back to dorm. After asking about her business school, I brought up the main point I wanted to discuss with her. 

“Why do you have that thinking-face on?” Ivy asked with a small smile, keeping the plates in the dishwasher. 

I managed to keep my eyes on her face and not her bare thighs. Or how amazing her chest looked in the hoodie. She’s definitely not wearing a bra. “Thinking face?” 

She nodded, her finger hovering over my eyes and mouth. I ignored the urge to pull her closer, hold her wrist and check for myself if she was wearing anything underneath that damn hoodie. 

“Your eyebrows are pinched together and you have that dark gleam in your eyes whenever you are thinking,” Ivy said, her voice light. Her blue eyes dropped to my mouth. After three seconds, she looked away, licking her lips. 

I didn’t think it would be wise to tell her that that was my I-want-to-take-you-over-my-lap-and-check-if-you-are-naked-underneath-my-hoodie-and-spank-you-like-the-naughty-brat-you-are look. 

“I agreed with your brother that I will have a few sessions with you,” I said, holding her wrist and lowering it from my face so I could meet her eyes. Her pulse was beating wildly underneath my thumb. 

“Sessions?” She breathed.

Naughty. Fucking. Girl. 

The corner of my mouth curled. “Not those kinds of sessions, you naughty little Petal,” I crooned, slowly rubbing the pad of my thumb over her pulse. “Therapy sessions.” 

“I wasn’t thinking anything.” Her cheeks turned the loveliest shade of pink. “Therapy sessions? What? You will be my therapist then?” 

“Yes, Petal.” I let go off of her wrist and stood up, easily towering over her as she craned her head to look at me. “I will be your therapist and you will be my patient.” I said the words that I’d never say in front of her like a porn star about to bend her over the dining table.

And like the beginning of any porno, she stuttered, wide doe-eyes blinking up at me.

“But I am…” she trailed off. 

I raised my brow and continued, “If you don’t want to sit in the same room with me after tomorrow’s session, Hayden or I won’t bother you again, Ivy. Give me one day, one hour.” 

Her slender throat bobbed as she blinked up at me. I held the reins of my dirty thoughts and watched the way her face softened, agreeing with me like I knew she would. 

“Okay, I will have a session with you,” she whispered.  

I hid my smile. 

Good. Fucking. Girl.

Read today: https://www.mahimistry.com

Or Join my Patreon to read it: https://www.patreon.com/mahimistry

Patreon * Website * Ko-Fi * Instagram * All Links

[xanderthechef]

“I just came from 196” ask game

Sure, I’ll play along. Might be fun; but I don’t know anyone… and tagging random people might be a party foul… idk? So i’ll only reblog and see what happens!

Name? Xander

Pronouns and gender? he/him, cis boy

Sexuality? I don’t know how to classify it! I like boys… I like girls sometimes, too… I like those who lie betwixt… but sex in general is a pretty low priority for me. I’m only ever in love with my friends, too.

Country? USA

Top 5 fandoms? That’s a toughie… (in no particular order) I’m really into the Omori and Ace Attorney fandoms right now. While I don’t consider myself a furry, i enjoy the fandom every once in a while. Uh… I suppose 196 itself counts, right? I can’t think of any others that I particularly associate with. I’m not very experienced with fandom culture.

What is your most forbidden snack? The big stupid red concrete balls at Target. I know they’ve got a delicious ooey gooey center

Would you pet a bug? Yes, absolutely! As long as I don’t hurt it, and it doesn’t mind

Share a weird fact/story about yourself with the class. One time in the seventh grade, I was recounting a Jim Gaffigan bit about hot pockets to these two girls i sat next to during social studies class. They were laughing pretty hard, but probably more at le than the bit. I thought he was the peak of comedy at the time. The teacher stopped the class and everyone focused on me, which i took a second to notice before i shut up. The teacher asked me what on earth I was talking about that was so much more important than doing my work, to which my response was to stand up in my desk and say “have you ever had a hot pocket hot pocket? Its a hot pocket filled with a hot pocket. Tastes just like a hot pocket! 🎶Hoooot Pooocket!🎶” She was not amused.

What does the color blue taste like? Blue Moon ice cream

What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? That’s a pretty hard to quantify question for me…. What I can tell you is that I cut a red cabbage in half the other week and the inside was definitely up there on my list!

What is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done? I graduated high school and culinary school when I was 16. Instead of… yknow, starting my career… going to more college… I instead decided to stay at home for three years and help my mom around the house as a live in full time nanny. I got paid room and board…. And a small stipend. While I gained childcare experience, I otherwise wasted my time. I could have gotten a real job and saved for college. I’m kicking myself for that decision every day when i see the new semester rolls around asking me for a couple grand. Shoulda bailed while I could, but now I feel stuck here.

Stupidest thing you’ve seen/heard someone else do/say? My qanon uncle once sent me an email telling me that he wanted to have a relationship with me, but my libtard family was poisoning my mind; and that he would love to show me the truth before its too late. I didn’t respond.

Hyperfixation song? Currently? Wellerman by Nathan Evans. Before this, it was a FNF song called “Zoo Wee Mama” and before that it was Feelings are Fatal by mxmtoon

Is there any meaning behind your pfp and/or username? The pfp was a random image off my camera roll. “xanderthechef” has been my username for everything for over a decade. I got my culinary trade degree in 2018 and have done… basically nothing professional with it. BUT! My cheesecake is locally famous!

Dream career as a child? My earliest memory of a dream job was to be a rock star… later, i wanted to go into geology, then nutritional anthropology.

Dream career as an adult? I wanna make art in any way i can, be that culinary, digital, drawing, or even through music, video or video games. I love art but i also fucking hate it and why can I never draw right ever

Thoughts on cilantro? A necessary evil. Don’t go overboard! I once had a ceviche with so much cilantro in it the fish was dyed green. Yuck! But if there aint any at all… I’m gonna miss it.

Have you ever been banned from a location and if so, why? Nope, none. I’m a good boy 👍

What is your cursed food combination? Oh, my secret shame… I like to dip the m&ms into the nacho cheese at the movie theater.

Trans rights? Uh… duh and/or hello!

Hooray. I done it. Tagging NO ONE😠😠

“I just came from r/196” ask game

Saw another post. I think I should invite y'all to one of our longstanding traditions. Answer the questions then tag 10 (or more) people. I'll go first.

Name? Frankie

Pronouns and gender? he/they/it, transmasc

Sexuality? Lesbian

Country? USA

Top 5 fandoms? Bungou Stray Dogs, Cosmere, All for the Game, Fundiesnark (not a series but I'm too deep in it to not consider it a fandom), .....the tornado fandom? (they're my special interest)

What is your Most forbidden snack? The preserved bones at the Atlanta Bodies Exhibition. They looked so crunchy...

Would you pet a bug? If it's big enough, it is pettable.

Share a weird fact/story about yourself with the class. I like to drive around rural areas and photograph old, sometimes abandoned locations in the dead of night. I have been literally chased out of towns by foot and by car on two separate occasions. The second time this happened, "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus came up on shuffle and that's the soundtrack my friend and I tore out of town to. Also every "guy" I've dated except for my most recent ex (who has big egg energy) is a lesbian now.

What does the color blue taste like? Creme brulee

What is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? The appalachian mountains of Tennessee in the middle of summer. There's kudzu everywhere. On the backroads, there were several old, dilapidated Baptist churches barely hanging to the side of the mountain. I wonder how many of them were still in use.

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done? Short version: my friend's house almost got broken into by this dude who'd been stalking us for months while we were home alone. Instead of calling the cops, we decided to confront him with a bow and arrow (me), a hatchet, and a baseball bat (him). The plan was that if it went badly, we would simply throw his corpse into one of the many lakes in the neighborhood and let the alligators eat his remains (this was Florida). Why? Because we were afraid of having our home-alone privileges revoked. Luckily for us all, the guy fucked off and we never saw him again.

Stupidest thing you've seen/heard someone else do/say? My ex thought that Jackalopes were real. Also, a nurse I was doing rotations with apparently thought that "Witness Protection" was for Jehovah's Witnesses.

Hyperfixation song? Young Enough + Bleach by Charly Bliss

Is there any meaning behind your profile picture and/or username? Profile pic; I'm transmasc and I'm currently obsessed with TriStamp. Username; It was my fake internet name when I was like 13. I won't change it because I want my mutuals to recognize me, and because I do have a viral post associated with this name.

Dream career as a child? Doctor (funnily enough I'm now in nursing school)

Dream career as an adult? Professional Jester. Not a comedian. I just want to be some weird little guy who dresses silly and you can hire me to roast your boss at work parties.

Thoughts on cilantro? Delicious

Have you ever been banned from a location and if so, why? I honestly can't remember? Probably... but in recent memory I've mainly banned people from places.

What is your cursed food combination? Pineapple on a hotdog with grilled onions. It Slaps.

Trans rights? TRANS RIGHTS

Tagging: @rocket-mankoi @mostlymarco @atleast8courics @jazzlike39 @gemsweater72 @limbobilbo @ameliaaltare @redcrane112 @theoneofwhomisblue @twinkenjoyer @theultimatecarp and anyone else who wants to jump on

[skinni-girls-eat-books]

Thursday, November 16th

8:30am I have one more big assignment and two more small assignments. It feels impossible and I'm so tired. All I want to do is call my best friend but he won't answer. Just have to do this myself again. I'm extremely strong and resilient and I can't believe I made it to this point.

3:30pm I survived Verbal Defense! I did it! I am really proud of myself for everything I have survived this semester! It's raining really hard which is fucking up my vibe and shit but the rain will stop eventually! I'm like shaking from all the overflow of emotions. This semester took so much from me, out of me, really just beat me tf up. My life has been a trainwreck for so long. I just want peace. I just want to calm the persistent anxiety that's been propping me up for months. I just want to rest my mind. I'm literally shaking from the release of stress. Stress is so undeniable physical and just wrecks your body in so many ways. It's time to rest and heal. You've been through so much trauma the past few months and here you are, still alive, still strong. Don't ignore the trauma you experienced but it's time to heal and grow and begin another chapter, not ignoring the previous chapters, but building off of the lessons learned. We go on.

4pm Just remember that most people don't gaf what you do bro just don't hurt anyone and ur good. I just put fish sticks in the oven and popped open a mojito and I'm chilling until I change my mind and want to do something else.

4:20pm I feel like I can finally process what has happened to me. School put me in survival mode and now I'm free to heal. Yeah I'm crying when I should be feeling nothing but joy. I'm crying bc I didn't get the chance to when I was just trying to survive. I went through so much having my trust broken and my life ripped out from under me. I am traumatized but I'll heal. I know I will. This will pass and then I'll feel the joy of my success. It was all mine and all my hard work. I'm seriously proud of myself and I'll say it 1000x ❤️

4:40pm added image of my fish sticks bc it makes me happy that I'm feeding myself

5:00pm intrusive thoughts but wow I can't believe I didn't kll myself this semester I'm so proud :)

5:10pm I made green beans sauteed in the pan instead of the microwave 🥰 I love myself and I know I am worth so much and I know I can take care of myself when I'm not insanely stressed with school. I'll find myself again in no time ❤️ it's like a dark storm cloud has lifted from above my head

7:47pm I woke up from a nap and my stomach hurts lol I think I made the green beans too oily/buttery but it's ok! Haha. I need to clean out my fridge and get some me foods in here. I haven't gone grocery shopping in ages. Everything is probably freezer burnt tbh but that's ok! You were just trying your best ❤️

I have rented Silence of the Lambs and I think I will take a Tums and have some Sprite and some ice cream and rest some more ❤️

9:25pm ok so I had a finish an assignment that nobody wanted to do so I took one for the team and did it 💕 the Tums helped tremendously and now it's movie time :) I'm glad I don't feel like I'm about to shit myself anymore so that actually worked out 😂

9:49pm physical feelings/ sensations have such a profound impact on my mental status. Seeing something gross or feeling physical pain just send me into a spiral. I would like to know how to work on this more. I think the best thing to do for now is to focus on what I can control in my surroundings.

1am lol ok I ended up not watching the movie and that's ok! MasterChef marathon ftw. Got both my little boys laying on the couch with me ❤️

Woke up and I started thinking about being in a relationship and about him or whatever but I'm not really sad. I think I'm asexual or like really minimally sexual. Idk what it is but like I enjoy people for so much more than sex? Like I want to have a connection with you first and then that will follow. Idk how people just be out here jumping and dumping 😂 it's just a waste of time for me. Long story short, I'm not seeking out another relationship rn so it's hard for me to even feel sexual really. Maybe it's a trauma thing or a stress thing, I really don't know. I do know I can't be the only one who feels this way and that's ok ❤️

2am I think I have autism and yeah I mean I thought of it before but then it's like 🤷‍♀️ ok and? And yeah I just think it explains a lot of things about me. But it's like I don't know what to do with that information lol.

[cherrydreamer]

Steve's future hasn't quite panned out exactly as he dreamt it. It's close- he's got three kids, so he's halfway there- but he's also freshly divorced and still raw from the pain of it. Because that's one more person he gave his heart to, only for them to rip it out. One more life that he jumped into with both feet, only to be left stumbling as the person he adored found someone better.

One more dream dissolving in front of him.

So he clings to what he can. He splashes his savings on an RV and he loads up his nuggets and they chug their way across the states; and the whole way there, Steve tells them about all his plans, about Yellowstone and the Rockies and the Grand Canyon and learning to surf and seeing all the sights and he picks up a ton of shiny brochures he finds on a stand at the gas station and they go through them all, finding the best ones and- "yeah, OK, Joy, honey, yeah, course we can go see, what is it? The World's Largest Bull? Sounds good sweetheart! Maybe we can go see a whole gosh darn World's Biggest Farm, how's that sound, Edd? You still got the map there? Any chance there's a World's Biggest Sheep on there, buddy?"

So they do it. All of it. All the parks and the landmarks and the tacky tourist things and the weird little museums in tiny little towns. And there's so much chatter and laughter and fun and it's so close to what Steve had been picturing, all those years ago but there's just a little stab of longing for that one missing piece. Someone else, someone grown up, to share it all with.

But he's happy. Mostly, he's happy.

And then, finally, after all the travelling and the sightseeing, they wind up at that exact little Cali beach town that Steve's been thinking about for so long.

He's tired and he's sunburnt and he's walking along the sand with one kid riding high on his shoulders, drips of his melting ice cream landing in the greying waves of Steve's hair; another one dawdling behind, making a hammock from her pirate shirt and filling it with cool looking rocks while the third one skips off ahead, pigtails flying in the wind as she jumps in and out of the rushing waves.

And that's when they see him. The guy. Blond and buff with a surfboard under his arm as he comes running towards the sea, almost knocking over Steve's little wave-jumper. But he stops, just in time, and he's close enough that they can see the scars on his chest, and Steve's kids are gawping and one of them asks "Did you get bit by a shark?" with a voice full of awe, but before Steve can say anything or stammer out an apology, the guy just grins and laughs and says, "Yeah, Lil' Mermaid, Jaws took a nibble and spat me right back out. Little too sweet for his taste."

And the kids are all staring, eyes and mouths wide in amazement, and Steve is too, cause he'd been too distracted before to look properly but...now? Now he's actually looking? This guy is the absolute spitting image of Billy. But he can't be, can he? Cause Billy...Billy died. Steve saw it happen. So...just a lookalike, surely. Something in the Cali water that means all guys turn out hot and muscly with panty-dropping smiles.

Just a coincidence. Wishful thinking.

But then Steve's littlest one pipes up, "Do you know how to surf?"

And the guy smiles again, even bigger, and shakes his head as he taps a finger against his board, "No, munchkin, I'm just carrying this around cause it's too big to fit in my pocket."

But the sarcasm is lost on her. She just ploughs on with, "Well my Daddy wants to learn how. Can you teach him? He'll try hard and be really really good, I promise."

And that's when the guy really smiles, big and toothy and oh-so familiar, and he looks Steve up and down and licks his lips and says, "Oh really? Is that so, Harrington?"