#when i'm done with the hell move i'm gonna try and do an actual ad somewhere

[abalonetea]

Made another graphic for Howl! I’m actually having a lot of fun designing these! 

[ssentimentals]

seventeen members as love tropes: kwon soonyoung

love at first sight (or meet cute au)

'did you hear wedding bells ring? cause that's what i heard when i saw you'

it wasn't supposed to happen. hoshi knew better but he's been sitting at the hotel whole day and boredom clung to his whole body like that stupid fly on the ceiling that refused to budge no matter how many pillows you threw her way. and he knows that it's all for his own safety, knows that fans went ballistic since they learned he landed in this city and he knows that his managers actually want only the best for him. it's just their version of best for him is basically imprisoning him in the hotel and hoshi's version of best for him is letting him roam around the city unguarded. so yes, him walking out of the hotel unsupervised was not supposed to him but oh well, it's too late to think about it now that he's hiding in the very first shop he saw on his way, running away from overly excited fans.

said shop turned out to be a small coffee shop in a ghibli movie characters theme. it's cute, hoshi notes from his position behind the counter. he climbed here the second he entered, quickly realizing that hiding under the tables will not help him. there's no one in the cafe and he has half a mind to call someone from staff when door from his left opens and a person walks in. hoshi instantly shoots up, apologies on his tongue when you finally look up and- oh.

not many things can leave hoshi speechless; he's been in this business for such a long time that it feels like he's seen it all, even some stuff that he wishes he could un-see. he's very used to perfect faces, perfect settings, perfect speeches - he's been trained to know what to say in any situations but right now he's at loss. you are so-

'what the hell you are doing standing behind the counter?!'

-rude. yeah. blinking, he snaps back to reality instead of getting lost in your eyes. it's almost five and sun dances beautifully on your face, it illuminates all your features with an orange glow and he wishes he had a camera with him because whoa.

'i'm gonna call police if you don't step back.' there's slight tremor in your voice but you still try to look confident. 'how did you even-'

'door was open!' hoshia blurts out in his defense, belatedly realizing that this is not a good excuse for hiding behind the counter, where only staff members can go. 'i had to hide, i'm so sorry, but they would've spot me if i chose just take any table.'

your face is very expressive. miriads of emotions change themselves until you settle on confusion. 'hide from who- oh my god, are you a gang member?'

'i-what-' hoshi sputters, looking himself up and down. does he look like a gang member? 'no, i'm- uh, a singer. popular one.'

hoshi is not sure why he added the last bit but it's too late to take it back now. your gaze focuses on his face and he takes this time to study you too. it's hard to pinpoint why, but there's something so interesting and fascinating about you (apart from you generally being really, really pretty). like hoshi could stare at you all day and not get bored, could see you as his muse even.

'okay,' you exhale, looking very done. 'okay. you are a singer. a popular one. hiding from..fans, i presume?' hoshi nods. 'okay. that still doesn't mean that you can stand here.'

hoshi moves like a lightning, quickly jumping to the other side. you're not wearing any badge with a name and he suddenly really needs to know your name. 'sorry again. uh-' he looks around, trying to keep the conversation going. 'can i get one ice americano, please? name is soonyoung, by the way.'

you look... amused. baffled. shocked. hoshi likes how he can pull out so many emotions from you but he is yet to see you smile and that makes him sad. 'okay, soonyoung. one ice americano coming right up, anything else?'

'your name,' hoshi says, beaming, not caring how awfully cheesy that sounded. he goes for a killer: 'i can't keep callling you 'pretty girl' in my mind.'

and there you go, there's your smile. it sets fireworks in his chest and his grin broadens. you look much better with that smile on your face, he decides and proceeds to tell you this loudly as well.

'thank you,' you say, blushing but also laughing.

you don't say your name but laughter is good, hoshi decides. laughter is almost love, no? it can start with a laughter, he is sure. his mind conjures thousands of pick up lines that can you make laugh and maybe, just maybe, if he makes you laugh often enough you'll tell him your name. and then he can get your number and then he can facetime you from whenever and will always be able to look at your pretty face. now that's a solid plan in hoshi's mind and he's never happier for not listening to his managers and running away from the fans because meeting you is worth it ten times over.

a/n: and i finished my 'seventeen members as love tropes' series with hoshi! hope you liked it, let me know! - nini

my other seventeen works are here

my formula 1 works are here

[luvyeni]

hii! most hair pulling toe curling dog barking jake smut pls <3 im really looking forward to the future of ur blog! 🫶🏻

GOOD GIRL; SIM JAEYUN

pairings: popular!jake x shytutor!reader

Wc. 713

warnings: fem reader, public sex, fingering, praise kink

this isn't toe curling, but jake sim himself is toe curling so...

Trying to tutor jake, but the boy has other things on his mind.

—

You didn't even want to be here, you didn't want to tutor jake sim, but due to your shy nature you couldn't even tell the professor that you didn't want to do it.

Jake sim was the most sought after boy at the university — rich, handsome, smart and athletic... Girls wanted to be with him, and guys wanted to be him (some of them wanting to be with him too).

"I'm done." You began to pack up your things, you weren't just gonna sit and wait. "Wait don't leave." You watched as jake ran up to you breathless. "I'm here."

"2 hours later." Basically mumbling to yourself, you were too nervous to even look him in the eye.

Jake took a notice of your timid state, smirking.. you were cute.

"Maybe we can reschedule for next week." You stood up, but he was blocking your way. "Excuse me." You said, eyes glued to the floor.

"Please, I need you." You finally looked up, staring into his eyes... those goddamn eyes. Sighing, you sat down, pulling everything back out.

"Sit."

He sat down... with absolutley nothing in his hands. "Where are your books?" He curses under his breath. "I left them in my buddies car, can we share yours?" He leaned in real close to your face. "o-oh um.. s-sure." You slid the book in between you two.

You fanned your cheeks that began to heat up—jake notices this, smirking... he couldn't help it, he wanted to ruin you.

You knew it was a bad idea, he did absolutely nothing... he just sat there, staring at you, occasionally throwing you a wink when you'd turn to instruct his face back into the book.

"Let's take a break." He sat back in his chair. "It has only been a hour." You looked through the book. "And you've barely done anything."

He didn't get upset at what you said, because he hadn't been listening to a word of what you had been saying, he'd actually be staring at your legs, watching your skirt ride up due to you constantly moving.

"Why are you so shy?" He questioned, eyebrow lifting. "I-i'm not."

"You are, you can barely look at me, it's cute." Was he making fun of you? "I-i can."

"Okay princess, look at me." you can feel his breath on your face, as you slowly twist your head in his direction. "Good girl."

That sent a shiver down your spine, not going on by the boy. "You like that?" He smirked, getting even closer, knee to knee.

"W-what a-are you talking about? pay attention to the book." You stared at the book, trying to ignore the wetness in your underwear.

"Answer my question." His hand slowly making it's way up to where you so desperately wanted him. "Come be a good girl and answer."

You bite your lip to contain your moans. "J-jake." you breathing began to stagger.

"Say it." His hand was now at your heat, rubbing your clit through your panties.

"You're dripping princess, all you have to do is say it and i'll give you what you want."

"I-i d-do, i like being called that." you said quietly, he smiled, pulling your panties to the side.

"Jake" you moaned out as he slid one finger inside your pussy, but he shushed you. "We're in the library, you have to be quite, can you do that for me? hm, can you be a good girl for me?"

You nodded, and he added another finger speeding up his movements. "Fucking hell, you're so wet, you're gonna cum already?, cum for me." you began to shake in his hold as you came on his fingers.

"Be a good girl and cum for me."

"You look so pretty like this." He slowly pulled his fingers out of you slowly, staring you directly into your eyes, putting them into his mouth. "Soooo fucking good."

"Jake."

The whimper you let out made jake's cock twitch in his slacks.

"Princess, let's go." He grabbed your bag, stuffing all the stuff in there. "G-go w-where?" you grabbed his hand, stopping his movements. "To my house."

"I can't just let you go like this, i need to fuck you before I lose my mind."

[cottondo]

LUIGI X READER

CHAPTER ONE; dull

  When you first started working at Punch Out Pizzeria, you felt energized, excitement, as you'd greet new faces that would walk in to catch a quick slice to eat. But after learning the ropes, getting to know the faces that slowly grew more and more familiar over time, things start to get . . well, boring.

You'd been sick of the tourists, thankfully not many of them come around inside, but when they do, you'd often give a sour face and a little attitude. They were just here to listen to your New York accents half the time, anyway.

Coming home and smelling like an oven full of pizza dough every night wasn't exactly "living the dream", but not every job was perfect, you supposed.

At least you were treated with some respect. You had to admit, you did have it pretty good. No other workers stuck around long enough to bother getting used to liking, and the boss always comped your meals. So honestly, how much could you really complain?

And, you supposed it was a plus to see Mario and Luigi every week. Their new plumbing service ad just started running about every Friday afternoon. It left you with a smile on your face anytime you got to see it play. It may have only been once every two weeks, but it was there.

"Hey, Y/N. Didn't you see the good news?" Luigi bumps your elbow as you flick your eyes over to see him.

You'd been dazing out the window, onto the busy streets of Brooklyn for a moment now, without much realization. The streets were full of construction and speeding cars. Nothing interesting happening, but more interesting than what goes on inside here.

It'd be nice to get the hell out of the pizzeria for a day.

You lift your cheek out of your hand, and raise a tired eyebrow to the younger brother. "Hm?"

Mario gives you a little frown and looks you over once. "You alright?"

You nod, waving them off. "Yeah, sorry, got crappy sleep last night. And I guess I'm just tired of being in here." A little sigh hangs low as you push yourself away from leaning against the counter.

"I can see that." Mario nods along. He understood that feeling more than you knew.

"You're tired of the Pizzeria?" Luigi asks you, a curiosity smitten on his face.

You nod. "Wouldn't you be?"

He shrugs. "Eh, I don't see it."

"Oh, so the failure brothers are back in town."

The three of you turn to see Spike, a tall, average New Yorker. Rivals to the two brothers, you've picked up over a short period of time.

He was sitting in his regular booth, picking apart a pizza. Ordered from you just about every week at the counter.

Honestly, it wasn't surprising, but he tried to hit on you each time he came in. You've been told before you were 'as pretty as a princess'; so why wouldn't this asshole try to make a move?

"Oh great. Spike's here." Luigi drowns out, a little shrug to his shoulders as he turns towards his brother. Mario glares forward at the counter and lets out a hefty huff from his chest. "Yeah. Hey, Spike." You watch as he cringed at the name coming from his mouth.

"Can't believe you let these guys hang out with you. They've done enough to embarrass themselves by leaving me." Spike turns to you with a light laugh.

You raise a brow, adjusting a pout to fit on your face better. "We don't need a reminder. They're actually doing pretty good." You bark up. The male lifts a brow and shoots you a cocky smile.

It was actually something you had very little knowledge about, if you were being completely honest. You really didn't know if they'd been making any good progress with the business yet, but even so, you were gonna stand up for them regardless of anything.

Luigi smiles, digging a hand in his pocket, and holding up his phone in a quick response. "Yeah! We've already gotten a call since we've left you!"

Mario looks to his brother curiously, and you do the same. "We did?"

Spike almost looked impressed, but it was cut short once Luigi spoke up again. "Yeah! From our mother."

Your eyelids dull at the taller brother, and turn to look at Mario who shared the same expression with you.

"Dumbass." Spike scoffs. "Good luck running a business with him." He balled up a used napkin from his booth, and flung it at the taller brother. Mario caught it before it could hit his brother.

"Hey!" With one swift movement, Mario tossed the napkin right back into Spike's face. You watch with little caution from behind the counter. Before things start to escalate, you decide to take a couple steps around to the side of the counter, in case you were needed to break up a fight. You didn't know much you'd do, but your spunky Brooklyn attitude would be enough to get them to stop.

"Say one more thing about my brother, and you'll regret it." Mario glares up in the man's face. Spike obviously took that as some sort of threat - - though, still comical to him, which resulted in him standing up to his full height from the booth.

He was very much taller than Mario, and of course, Luigi, but from what you were seeing, Mario didn't seem to care all that much.

"Oh yeah?" Spike made one movement and reached his hands out to grab the overalls Mario was accompanying. He lifted the short male up to his face, heated.

"Hey! Stop," you step fully around the counter, a tired tone to your voice. It had already been a long day, and the last thing that you wanted to do, was to break up two boys in a scrap.

"C'mon guys, calm down." You step beside Luigi, off on the sidelines of the argument taking place, who eyed you briefly, before turning his wary expression to his older brother.

"Let's get one thing straight, Mario. You're a joke." Spike hisses out, his grip tightening around Mario's straps, which resulted in pulling him closer. "And you always will be."

And with that, he drops the male straight to the floor, who landed with a bit of a thud.

"Yo! What the hell." You glare up at him.

Spike only laughs to himself under his breath before getting a chance to look at you. "You can keep the change, babe." He winks at you, before walking his way out of the pizza shop.

Luigi meets his brother on the ground, giving him a little pat to stand back up again.

"You good?" You ask him, turning your attention back down to the male. Mario wiped his cheek, putting back on the bit of ego he had partially lost, and straightened himself up. "Just fine."

"Are you insane!?" Luigi frowns at his brother, and you do the same. "He's like three times bigger than you!"

"I don't think he really cares," you turn to Luigi and heavily sigh out your frustrations with the roll of your eyes to exaggerate the mood you were now in. "Mario, you don't always have to try and be some hero. At least, not in our restaurant."

He shook his head as if disagreeing with you, and continued to dust himself off. "C'mon, I can't be scared of everything all the time. I had to do something. I'm tired of him."

"Ok— regardless, I don't want you guys getting hurt." You cross your arms over the waist of where your apron was tied. Mario waves you off, taking a seat up at the counter where they once had been enjoying themselves for the evening.

Luigi didn't seem all that convinced, but he sat down again anyway.

"Thanks for the concern, but we'll be just fine." Mario offered a light smile instead of his determination of the hour.

"Yeah, speak for yourself." Luigi added onto that statement.

You walk behind the counter again, shaking your head to rid the thoughts and conversation. One of these days, you could just see something horrible happening. Spike wasn't a bad person, just an asshole. And you didn't really take too kindly to a guy like him treating the people you were close with, like the way he did.

"Hey, so uh, I gotta favor to ask." You lean over the counter and decide to change the subject over to something they'd both be more interested in. The two brothers look at you with curious eyes. "Yeah?"

"I've got a leak in the kitchen sink. Think you guys can come over and fix it for me?" Your gaze shifted between the two of them, but internally, your hope was riding more on Luigi to take the chance to speak up.

You did have a little bit of a thing for the taller brother, and you could sense he liked you, too. He was just too nervous to say anything, and you weren't one to push something if it didn't need to be, so as of right now, things were pretty quiet and subtle between you both.

Mario nods, looking over to his brother. There's a subtle sense of confusion, but he obliged anyway. "Yeah, we can do that for you. Anything for our favorite pizza maker," Mario chuckles, again, catching the look of Luigi, who then smiles back.

"We'll take a look once you get out of work! Sound good to you?" Luigi tilts his head curiously.

You smile and nod. "Yes, thank God." Tossing your head back dramatically catches their attention again, "It's been driving me crazy for weeks." Since you were still on the clock, you take their empty pizza plates and toss them into the bussing pan that was situated behind you at your counter station.

  "Well don't worry, we'll fix it right up for ya!" Luigi smiles, it's cheeky, and bright. You always liked that about him.

"Cool, I really appreciate it. I've been too tired to do anything about it." You brush off your hands on the apron around your waist, and lean against the counter once again. It was slow in the restaurant, but not slow enough to lose money. You sort of wished something exciting could happen, just for today.

"No problem," Mario waves.

A ring breaks up the conversation, and you all look to Luigi and his phone. As he picks it up from the counter, you notice his eyes widening a bit at the foreign number that was calling. He answers it, and you watch curiously. "Mario brothers plumbing!"

His expression changes, eyes bright and a smile growing. "Oh yeah! I'm glad you called us! We can be right over there, ma'am!" Once he hangs up the phone in a rush, you got the impression that they had gotten their . . first? gig.

"We got one! Mario," Luigi puts both his hands on the elders shoulders and shakes him around a bit. "We got a call! They need us right now!"

"Really?" His brother laughs a little, astonishment soon taking over the situation at hand. "Well then, we gotta go!"

You laugh, watching as they shuffle to their feet. "Good luck, boys!"

Watching as Luigi stumbles to take out his wallet, you smirk a little as he smack some bills onto the counter. He gives you a soft smile once you notice the money was well over the amount on the bill. "I-I'll see ya later,"

Mario gives his brother a quick nudge with a knowing smile, before jotting a thumb to the exit. "I'll meet you in the car, Lou."

"Good luck." You smile at him. One hand pockets the money into the apron you wore, and you laugh a little. "And, thanks." When your shoulder shrugged, you watched him as he slowly but surely made his way to the door. "Hey, no problem! I gotta go- - just call me— uh, us! I mean us! Just call us when you're ready for us to be there," he shoots you a little finger gun, and you inwardly laugh at his nervousness. Seeing him like this wasn't foreign at all, in fact, it was quite often. But there was still something about him that made it so cute.

"Yeah, yeah, get goin'!"

[redladydeath]

Re: https://www.tumblr.com/redladydeath/767556852141719552/one-particularly-dehumanizing-experience-vox

I read this! Might’ve done an adhd-skim in some places so apologies if you already covered things and my eyes slip-slided over it

- Proto Vox’s design looks like it has bug motifs, (I know your protovox isn’t bug themed though but hang in there) and current Vox has shark motifs— just another way he modified himself—> he moved himself from the bottom to the top of the food chain

I can see Alastor maybe thinking that’s a bit rude of him. First he’s taller than him, (they see eye to eye) now he’s a top-of-the-pyramid predator, the biggest fish in the pond. Alastor would think that a roach has merits- they survive just about anything, they’re the last man standing and cause huge screams and terror in comparison to their small size.

- Vox being an entertaining pet for that overlord, not wanting to be carried around and manhandled— Alastor seems like he values bodily autonomy, and not wanting to be touched if you don’t want to be— that might’ve resonated with him too when they first met.

- Radio essentially lived off of advertising, so if Vox was a good ad reader or jingle composer then he’d also be a great business asset for Alastor as well.

- Vox might’ve been able to start broadcasting himself on his self-produced tv shows but only in close-up, so nobody would see that he was actually small

——

Gonna share my hc just for kicks- i hc Vox as sales-based: I think Vox would’ve been a great door to door salesman, before landing an advertising gig and later tv. If he had the charisma to convince every house on the block to buy overpriced encyclopaedias or a toaster, then with enough reach he’d have a career of convincing thousands of people to buy anything, trust everything he says, which carried over as a power when he died.

— —

It’s kind of hilarious/terrifying that at one time, Alastor was possibly the top tech overlord in Hell. (Excluding Industrial/manufacturing/factory technology.) the 20s and 30s were quite tech-forward- everyone wanting kitchen appliances, refrigerators, telephones, long distance comms, radio, sound recording equipment, faster cars, boats, planes, etc etc. Snazzy jazzy. then the era’s optimism speed and crashed into the brick wall of the Great Depression/wwii I can easily see Alastor being immediately interested/intrigued by television when they met

Oh, I'm glad you liked the post!

Yeah, I can see Alastor giving that roach speech to Vox when he's trying to convince him to stop modifying himself. Vox is just like "You think I'm a bug???" He never noticed; he was too focused on the cartoon/TV thing. Message not received.

-

Alastor probably has weird feelings about the way Vox's old boss treated him. On one hand, it's kind of funny, and Alastor's clearly not opposed to treating people like pets given his later relationship with Husk. On the other... he feels a weird sort of kinship with Vox in so many regards, and his relationship with his overlord... [leak discussion] it's uncomfortably similar to Alastor's with his contract holder– tricked into a bad deal, treated with condescension, and forced to pretend to adore them in public. Alastor likes the idea of helping Vox gain power and rise above his station, but not him changing himself in order to accomplish that goal– he sees too much of himself in Vox to stand that.

-

Vox doing ad reads/voice overs for Alastor's show is a great idea. Perfect way to get back into the industry without opening himself up to mockery, plus he's got a wonderful voice. Would also give him another reason to hate radio once he and Al split: audio-only work will always a reminder of a time when he couldn't bear to be seen.

-

Sdfghgfdfghjhg, that close-up idea is making me think of Chet Ubetcha. Kinda similar vibes to Vox, ngl.

-

The idea of Vox getting his start as a door-to-door salesman is good! Might incorporate that into my backstory for him (although my version of him lowkey went directly from high school to college to military service to family life/TV work, so there might not be time (maybe during college or that year in between WWII and getting married...)).

[youhavetosmile]

how about Anna, Theo and Foggy prepare our dear Matt for his first date with Karen, for example Foggy and Theo throw Matt in the bathtub, choose his clothes and Matt screams like a 3 year old because of the foam, the water and Anna tells Foggy and Theo to stop laughing because that's hilarious and that's what the brothers are for and Karen and Matt having their first kiss and it's super romantic

Well Karen goes to Nelson's Meafs to find Matt serving customers because he wanted to help his parents, so Karen leaves a note in Braille for Matt saying: it was an amazing night you're different from those stupid kids you are you and that's what I love about you and I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the school dance with me and then Matt smiled

An uncomfortable mix of excitement and nervousness swirled in Matt's stomach as he let the shower water run over him. He'd finally done it; he'd finally asked Karen on a real, actual date. And she had, by some miracle, said yes. The problem was now he actually had to do the date.

Matt peripherally registered the bathroom door opening, but it was all he could do to focus on taking a shower. A million contingencies ran through Matt's mind: what if the food was terrible? What if they ran out of things to talk about? What if he tripped her with his cane?

He heard the faucet running. With five people living in the house and only one bathroom, it wasn't uncommon for someone to come in while he was in the shower, so he returned to washing himself with an extra helping of soap. What if he got food stuck in his teeth? What if she didn't kiss him at the end of the night? What if she did?

The warmth that this thought sent through Matt's body was immediately extinguished by a rush of cold over his head. Matt shrieked at the abrupt change in temperature. Behind the shower curtain, he heard two very familiar laughs. "Guys! What the hell?" he yelled, sticking his head out.

"We're just trying to help, Matty," Theo snickered. "Didn't want you getting too excited before the big date."

"Yeah, cold water's supposed to be good for your skin anyway," added Foggy.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

Matt was about to rip open the shower curtain and wrestle his brothers to the ground, naked and soapy though he was, when their mother came in and saved him that additional embarrassment. "You two, out. Now," she said sternly. Without another word, Theo and Foggy left the bathroom. "Hurry up, Matt, you're using all the hot water" was all she said before shutting the door again.

An hour later, after more teasing from his brothers, some fussing from his mother, and a "don't be out too late, I need you in the shop tomorrow" from his father, Matt left the house and headed to Karen's. Four blocks north, two blocks west, fourth building on the right, fifth doorbell on the lefthand side, just like Karen told him. Buzz in, walk up the stairs, turn right, first door on the left. He hadn't told her that the directions weren't necessary, that he could follow her footsteps with his ears almost all the way home from school, so he knew exactly where she lived. Best not to freak her out too much.

Matt knocked on the door and heard chairs scraping behind it. "I'll get it!" a voice said.

"No, don't!" That was Karen.

"Oh, come on, I wanna meet him!"

"Kevin, stop!"

But Karen was too late. Her brother, Kevin, whom Matt had heard around at school but never actually met, opened the door. "So you must be the boyfriend," he said, and Matt could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Shut up, Kevin!" Karen caught up with Kevin, pulled him behind her, and swiftly shut the door. "Sorry," Karen said nervously. "He's such a pain."

"No worries. Brothers, am I right?"

"Yeah," Karen laughed nervously. "Should, uh--should we go?"

"Yeah," said Matt, moving to unfold his cane again.

"Wait," Karen stopped him. "Let me." Then she took his hand in hers, and it was all Matt could do not to grin like an idiot.

---

Dinner went swimmingly. The curry was fantastic, and the company even more so. Matt didn't know why he'd been so nervous; their conversation flowed as naturally as it always had. There was just one more hurdle to get over: taking her home.

"This is me," said Karen, slowing to a stop in front of her front stoop.

Matt turned around to face her. "You sure you don't live two more blocks? Maybe three?"

"I wish." She took both his hands. "I had a really great time tonight, Matt."

"Me, too. And I'd like to do it again sometime, if--"

"I'd love that."

"Cool." In a momentary lapse of self-control, Matt slid his hand up to rest on Karen's cheek. He leaned in toward her, then froze suddenly. "Sorry. Is this okay?"

"Yes," she breathed.

"Can I--?"

"Yes."

Matt had always heard people describe feeling sparks when they kissed someone, but they were wrong. Sparks were jolting, sudden, and made you want to back off. Kissing Karen felt entirely different, like a warm gust of wind pushing them together, and he could've stayed there forever.

Eventually, she broke away softly. "Good night, Matt."

"Good night, Karen." She padded softly up the stairs, holding his hand until the very last second. He waited to make sure she got all the way into her apartment before he left. It was only when he nearly ran into a street light that he realized he forgot to take out his cane.

---

The next night, Matt was washing up after his shift at Nelson's Meats when his father came into the back room. "Matt," he called, "this came for you."

"What is it?" Matt asked, drying his hands and reaching out for the object.

"Just a piece of paper with some sequins glued on it. Theo said someone dropped it off for you."

"Who?"

"I'm not sure. We were so busy, I only saw her for a second. Tall, blonde, about your age..."

"Wait, Karen was here? Why didn't anyone tell me?" With a frustrated groan, Matt took the paper from his dad. But all his stress melted away as he ran his fingers over the bumps on the paper. Karen had used the sequins to spell out a note in Braille:

Matt-

Prom?

Love,

Karen

[queenofbaws]

ah, and once more, it's wednesday my dudes!

a slightly different update from me this week - things have been slow in terms of words being put to paper lately, and this will probably be the case for a little while. i'm gonna be trying to get a chapter of something out in the near future (probably like wringing blood, but don't quote me on that), then ya gurl may or may not be taking a slightly more official break from the internet to deal with some stuff here at home ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

such is life. ANYWAY, for this reason, i'm offering a few snippets/sneak peeks of multiple projects this week, just to show y'all what's bubbling away on the backburner. if you're interested in seeing any of that, click the readmore! either way, hope you're all having wonderful weeks so far, and taking care of yourselves as best you can <3

like wringing blood from a stone

There were a million things he could say to that, maybe even a million and one. What he settled on, however, was probably the lesser of all those evils. “You kidnapped my counselors.” Travis’s whole face puckered at that, letting him know in no uncertain terms the lesser of those evils had still been pretty fucking evil, in fact. “What did you want me to do, Chris?! Huh? Huh?! You bit one of them! They both saw—” “Oh for Chrissake, quit fucking whispering, wouldya?” Obviously he’d been expecting something else—an actual fight, maybe—and so Chris took Travis’s surprised spluttering as an opportunity to dig his own heels in. “If you’re gonna bitch me out, at least do it with your big-kid voice.” A vein ticked furiously in Travis’s neck, making it look like something was itching to burst its way out of him. He narrowed his eyes to slits, then leaned in until the two of them were nearly nose to nose. He could smell the blood beginning to clot where Jack had split his eyebrow, the ointment he’d smeared over it before covering it with a bandage. “You and I both know,” he began again, still fucking whispering, “That anyone could be listening outside. I don’t—” Before he could finish that thought, Chris threw his arms up into the air, shouting at the very top of his own voice, “I DON’T CARE! I do not fucking care, Travis! I couldn’t care less if you paid me to! Know what?” He cupped his hands to his mouth then, tipping his head back as he did so, and, tapping even deeper into his (presumably very bruised) diaphragm, hollered, “I HOPE YOU’RE ALL LISTENING! I HOPE EVERYONE IN THE GODDAMN COUNTY CAN HEAR ME LOUD AND FUCKING CLEAR!” If Travis’s face went any redder, it probably would’ve started looking purple. It was Chris’s turn to narrow his eyes; instead of glowering like an asshole, though, he flashed him a grin, sarcastic and savage and sharp enough to nearly slice through his tongue. “Big-kid voices, Travvy. Why the hell not, right?”

of mummy men & bathtub soup

“My oh-so-charming brother is just running his oh-so-charming mouth,” Julia said sharply, calling the Smith brothers’ chit-chat to a screeching halt. “Here’s what I think actually happened: Conrad made up a story in his head, decided it was funny, and now he’s done so many mental gymnastics convincing himself it’s true that he believes it too.” Her head swiveled on her neck, only adding to her overall mean girl vibe. “That’s something Connie likes to do, you see, mix up details from stupid made-up bullshit and real life, then decide it’s all real.” Oh. Oh! If she thought he was gonna be easy pickings just because he’d brought a date along tonight, she had another thing coming! Hell, she hadn’t been paying attention to his whole deal! Jules was the one who got embarrassed by this shit when other people were watching—Conrad reveled in it. So he did the one thing he knew would get her goat (the only move a self-respecting sibling could take in a situation such as this): He brought up the bathtub. “If this is about human soup guy, you’re actually calling Dad a liar and not me, sooo…nice try, but my feelings remain totally unhurt.” Then, he waited for what he knew would come next. He held Julia’s gaze. He took a drink. It was Daniel, God bless him, who finally bit. “…human…soup…guy?”

the tale(s) of the champion

“All right. If you are so…determined to have me discuss Hawke, then fine. I will discuss Hawke.” He leaned forward over his desk, a gesture, she thought, meant less to evoke authority than to simply steady himself as he braced against the unpleasant tide of memory. His eyes found hers for only a moment, but that moment was all it took for her to understand perhaps ‘unpleasant’ was too delicate a word to describe a return to Kirkwall. ‘Agonizing,’ maybe. ‘Wretched.’ “Cassandra and I are of a mind on one thing, at the very least—Varric is a liar. However. I would be remiss if I didn’t draw your attention to the one thing, the only thing, I’ve heard him say about our shared time in Kirkwall that at least approaches the truth.” She couldn’t help but notice that Cullen spoke the city’s name in much the same way Hawke had spoken Elthina’s: as though it tasted bitter on his tongue. “Namely, if, for whatever reason, you wanted to find Hawke,” he continued, speaking with a terrible evenness that smacked of everything but calm, “All you had to do was follow the blood. “What blood? Whose blood? Some might argue that since Hawke killed so often, so indiscriminately, that it wouldn’t matter—couldn’t matter—which blood trail you picked. Oh, I’ve heard the jokes. I’ve heard them all. How it must’ve sometimes seemed Kirkwall was populated solely by nameless, faceless throngs of gangs and ruffians that she cut through at nightfall, slashing and hacking her way towards the betterment of the city. How Varric had to keep a running tally of all the vendettas held against her, lest she forget which seedy element might be coming after her next for putting an end to their leader. Hilarious. Truly.” Had Cullen not been wearing his gloves, the Inquisitor had the singular sense she’d be watching his knuckles turn white as bone; the way he’d taken to gripping the edges of his desk, she was a bit shocked that nothing had given way. Yet.

A MYSTERY CREEPS PROJECT OOOOOOOOOOH!!!

"Which is why, boys and ghouls, we’re gonna be packing our bags and taking a roadtrip this weekend.” Which was…also what Ashley was afraid he was going to say. Her shoulders slumped, and she felt Chris turn to her as he noticed, but Josh kept going, as he was wont to do. “Turns out ‘ghost shit’ was a gross understatement. You lovely ladies aren’t going to believe what a little snooping dug up about this place…” “It’s pretty messed up,” Chris nodded. “But pretty messed up in a way that I gotta admit sounds like it’s gonna make a juicy episode or two.” “Or five. So c’mon, hop to. We got a business dinner to catch—on me, obvs—and details to hammer out. You’re not ready for the shit that went down over there. Hope you’re ready to start trending in the true-crime feeds though, because I know I am!” Dropping the book back on the table, Josh hopped to his feet and playfully tweaked Sam’s ear before starting back for the microfiche where he’d left all his stuff. “Hey Edgar,” he said as he passed him by, “level with me here. Have you been a ghost this whole time? Is that why you know all this crap? When we get in the elevator and leave this floor, do you just poof off into the ether and cease existing until we come back?” In a voice so flat, so disaffected, so wistful, that Ashley very nearly forgot about the pang of fear that had seized her at the sight of those five Death cards staring her straight in the face, Edgar sighed, “Don’t I wish.”

[inkabelledesigns]

What’s the most complicated doll/doll piece you’ve made?

 Do you have headcanons about your dolls? 

(I can’t make this text regular size, tumblr is being wacky </3)

It's all good! Thank you for sending in your questions, they're a delight! ^^

22. What’s the most complicated doll/doll piece you’ve made? 

This is a tricky one that can have about five answers. XD So I'm gonna give you a top five, with photos!

First is the most recent of the bunch. This is Elara Roux, she was for an Autumn Court collab. This doll's dress is one of the most elaborate garments I've crafted (and here I am wanting to sew it again for a Christmas tree doll, send help ^^''''). She's one of the hardest dolls to get to stand properly between the poofy dress not playing well with stands and the antlers adding a bunch of weight. I have to say, I'm very proud of her antlers, they were difficult to sculpt but a lot of fun, and proof that I'm getting better at polymer clay. She's also my first doll with vitiligo, which was a fun challenge to take on. I love her, so so much. She's difficult to photograph, but we're learning.

Dina the Dryad was a lot. She has a bunch of body sculpting and painting, a new arm and hand, and during her project, the humidity was hurting my sealant so much. Her face went through a couple iterations before I could fix it.

Kendra is one you don't hear me talk about much. I was in hell trying to make the resin work. I mixed up too much pigment (and the wrong pigment, seriously don't use alcohol inks with UV resin, bad idea) and it wouldn't cure properly, so her gems and the ball details on her lower half were difficult. She's also my only doll with alcohol inks coloring the skin, which I like the look of, but it was very messy. XD I love her face so much though, the lotus details on her eyes are something I need to give to another doll.

Norman is the most unconventional doll I've made. He involved full body sculpting and painting, additional sculpted pieces for his speaker and shoulder reel, a head made out of craft foam and a hinge joint so it can open to hold the candle light, wires and chords, aaaahhh, he's a lot. XD Attaching the projector to the doll's head was also a challenge. Honorary mention to Belphene, the doll with the red dress and horns, she's also complicated with those horns and having to draft her clothing pattern for myself. But I have one more pick that's not her.

It probably surprises no one that Auran is one of the most complicated dolls of my collection. XD For starters, he's one of my few hybrid dolls. His parts consist of an Invisi Billy head on an Obitsu male body (yes I ordered a special body for him, it was VERY IMPORTANT), and I had to modify the nose with apoxie sculpt to fit his design. His head used to be blue, and painting it to be smooth and have a matching skintone to the body was tough. My dad actually stepped in on this one, we needed to change out the neck peg for a different sized one so the head would stay on. His hair was redone a couple times, as were his clothes. His resin gem on the collar took multiple attempts before I could call it good, and the shoes were a nightmare even though I used a My Scene shoe as the base. I'm super proud of his epaulets, they're polymer clay shaped and glossed to look like turtles, which is caramel with pecans in it and chocolate on the bottom and top. It's one of my favorite things that Mom makes around Christmas time, so naturally he had to have them. He's one of those dolls that I put so much into, and I'm glad I did, but I needed a long break when he was done because it was so taxing. XD Worth it.

24. Do you have headcanons about your dolls?

Oh I have so many headcanons about my dolls! Who gets along, which ones like being next to each other, the things they might talk about while I'm away, there's a lot to think about.

These two sets surprised me a lot. I made Gail and Delilah separate from each other, but during the time that I was moving, I had to pack up all of my dolls so I could carry them over. These were the two I kept out during that time, and then I photographed them together, since Delilah is one of my favorites, and Gail was recent that summer, and they're both pink and delightful. I think the two of them are long distance girlfriends in my Equinox story, with Gail hailing from the spring kingdom as an assistant to the royals there, and Delilah as a pastry fairy that lives in the central kingdom. They send letters, and maybe someday they'll get to live together. They certainly do on my shelf, these two are rarely seen apart, I never want to put them away.

Marnie and Valencia are a similar story. I made these two beverage witches for the first collaboration I ever hosted, and somewhere in there, they ended up as girlfriends. XD Marnie is the studious bookworm that's always working hard while at the cafe, whereas Valencia is very chill and embraces the vibes of the beach. There's something charming in how opposites attract.

Thank you for the questions! If anyone would like to ask more, the ask game is here!

[thegongoozlerreacts]

Hazbin Hotel Episode 1: Overture

hello i am back with a New Update on things to react to, and i thought Hazbin Hotel would be the perfect place to start since all episodes were fully released a few days ago! and also EVERYBODY i know has been bugging me about watching this show and now i FINALLY have the time to!!

spoilers under the cut

wow barely a few seconds in and i can already tell that the music is gonna be So Banger

wow okay so the opening exposition is Super Interesting

just wanna say the animation is also Fantastic in this section but ooh the lore drops

i really love the way the angels are stylized here, and how its all in black and white with accents of gold (except Lucifer who has a very light red gradient in his wings)

and also its the way that More color is brought on screen by Lucifer only oooh

oohh and the way that red gradient turns gray when the angels are like, disapproving of his ideas

its So Funny how Adam fumbled his first wife So Hard that she ran away and fell in love with someone else then his second wife got convinced by the First Wife and Her New Love LMFAOO

MAN this makes me feel SO Bad for Lucifer and i feel Conflicted as someone raised christian but like. i feel bad for him they do say that the road to hell was paved with good intentions

also Lilith thriving on the evil stuff like you Go Girlboss

these are So Pretty to look at

aww Charlie and Vaggie are So Cute

SEVEN YEARS? ouch seven years without hearing anything from her mom

omg they are So Cute

OMG THIS IS SO CUTE

damn the ominous Ringing of the Bell in the only angelic-like structure of hell

BYE ALASTOR'S AD.....

"Founded five days ago by Lucifer's ~delusional~ daughter!"

"As she tries to work through her daddy issues by fixing you!" STOPPPP NAHHH THATS FOULL

the shaky camera i cant

"HAHA I NAMED IT" LMFAOOOO yeah you sure did buddy

incredible, they dont have A Working Phone

their faces LMFAOO

love that Alastor is bad at TV commercials because he's like... a radio host. the radio demon. he is Decidedly Not a TV Guy

also can i just say that the animation is So Smooth and So Fluid like wow i could rewatch the way each character moves 100 times and that is NOT exaggeration

help he is So Mad that they arent doing a radio show

ok actually Angel Dust's voice is really good like?? idk something about it is just Fun to listen to

Charlie trying to be So Nice is extremely entertaining

OMG HUSK !! HIS VOICE HELP !! it fits So Well

also shoutout to the background music

omg Angel Dust has got a little heart spot on the back of his head thats really really cute

aww Charlie is so cute

OOH A SONG ALREADY

LMFAOO "That bitch is halfway down the street!" i love Angel's goofy little smile as he says it also Amazing how the fuck did she get over there so quickly????

i love Charlie's and Vaggie's voice

"They're bloodthirsty and deranged!" <- really funny that this is being said about angels

he is a Hologram hey this guy's An Asshole what the fuck did Charlie ever do to you

new reaction image she looks so done with his bullshit im cackling

i can already tell that the new commercial is Not gonna go well

HEKSDJKSDN ANGEL DUST "I need a big strong daddy to put me in my place... on the path to redemption!" THE CHANGE IN TONE I CANNOT

oh ok so this Asshole Angel Guy is adam

"I'm the original dick!" BRO???? HELP?? IM ?? this does not sound like Angelic Behavior anyways what The Fuck is he even on about

the fact that he specifically calls out Climate Change as Earth's Problem, but not HERPES?? implies that angels get herpes i guess????

HELFHLDKJ I CANT Hazbin Hotel is KILLING it with the facial expressions

there is not One Thought behind that eye new reaction image

its okay Nifty you're trying your best

there are just Too Many good reaction images and memes spawned from just this One episode

Alastor is So Mad and Bitter about TV

BRUH the way he couldve done all that The Whole Time but he didnt because he Hates tv 😭😭

also wtf Nifty's giant now

well... at least Vaggie and the Hotel Gang are having a better time than Charlie with this Asshole Angel Guy

"I've never made a mistake in my fucking life" says the guy who fucked up so bad that he had to get a second wife

fuck this song is banger BUT i hate adam

DAMN "And for those of us with divine ordainment/Extermination is entertainment!" fuck when he sings it it goes So Hard but like aw :(( what The Fuck Heaven

WTF THEY MOVED IT EARLIER ????? WHY ??

help Alastor just glitching on screen

oh what The Fuck theyre moving it earlier cuz somehow a demon killed an angel? and theyre gonna kill ALL OF THE DEMONS????? WHAT

and thats the end of the episode im.

wow well. honestly it was REALLY good and i am so excited to watch the rest of the series

unfortunately i have to go now, bye i will be back with my reactions to the second episode! tomorrow (hopefully)

farewell, folks!

[stormcrow513]

Hagging Out December: Winter Solstice 2022

As always thanks to the lovely @graveyarddirt for hosting these,

December started out strong for me and kinda crapped out towards the end of the month.

I began with a few goals some of which were continuations of work begun in October,

I started trying to tie my physical self into my craft in a better way, in October I started LTZs Witchual Workout series I'd done some of the videos picking through in the past, but I'd decided to start at the beginning and work all the way to the end adding some offerings to whatever energy that is being worked with that day at the beginning, I found a lot of pleasure with this and that it useful in lots of ways both magic and mundane,

At the beginning of December I decided to do Yoga With Adriene's Breathe 30 day yoga challenge to cap off the year I'd done it in February of 2022 and thought ending it with it would be a good way to end the year and then I could start the year with her new series, yoga may not be great for everyone but from the first time I tired it I've found it extremely beneficial to me, I do have a problem with consistency as well as a problem finding videos where the person taking you through the moves doesn't irritate me, and I need the videos cause I tend to move to quickly on my own, I found YWA a while back and saved a few videos, she has a nice clear voice, with clear instructions, doesn't tell me to smile every five secs, and has a cute dog 🐕 so, I started shifting through her videos more at the beginning of 2022 wanting to get back into working out after being sick all of January 2022 I found her 30 day challenge and smashed it outta the park,

So I was cruising through December when around the 15th I did something to my shoulder, not sure if I did a yoga move wrong, shoving Jazz off my face while doing yoga pulled something, or I was fish flopping in my bed trying to sleep that night and I've hurt myself that way before, either way I was absolutely not finishing out the month,

So that ended the physical side of my practice til I healed, and it did knock my Psychic Witch exercises out for a few days due to sitting up straight ouch🤕

Though I overall got really far into my book in the last months of 2022 and am proud of that, I really think I'll finish the book by the end of 2023 and it's really been improving my practice,

❄️ So taking us into Winter Solstice ❄️

I lit Candle as the light was fading, typically I do this outside facing the sunset, though after the assholes dropped a house basically in my backyard I can't SEE the sunset anymore, this year though the wind was working on blowing in a storm and there was no lighting that bitch outside, so I stode at the back door where it has a window and lit it in the fading light there, not gonna lie I actually almost forgot to, but I didn't forget so all good,

A while later storm did blow in

I pull vigil hours for the Solstice, for a long time I wasn't doing so consistently, but the very first Winter Solstice I ever celebrated at 13? 14 2005/2006 I started a wiccan practice at 13 but I can't remember if I'd read up on the holidays before solstice that year pretty sure I did but, anyway I had no real understanding of 'shepherding in the sun' or 'protecting the light' it was all pretty vague all I understood was stay up all night, so I stayed up all night playing Super Mario Brothers 3 on my Nintendo and I mean old school Nintendo,

Anyway I've slowly in starts and stops gotten a better understanding of what the hell I'm doing, and the first year in this house 2017 I read somethings about using a candle in place of a fire and got a nice sized beeswax candle, and set out to perform vigil, I decided to try an meditate on the Winter Solstice all night in just the light of the candle, I may have fallen asleep, but hey I didn't start a fire in my house so... all good, the next year I used the last of the wick to light the new candle, and only shut the the lights off long enough to perform some ritual then turned em back on,

I kept a little wax from each candle so when I finally got around to making my own I was able to use wax from previous years in it, last year's candle funneled down in a way that I was basically able to just reforge it, and this year's spilled all over so I should basically be able to do the same come June,

My Psy. Witch book had a little spell for melting obstacles involving a candle and ice cubes so you bet your ass I did it on the Solstice,

I had meant to come up with a Mother's night thing but the closet I got was lighting a candle on Hekate's altar, and I started a new magic book and the first entry I put a poem that very much captures the essence of who I am that has lines referencing mothers,

I also did some work in my Black Book Hyper Sigil (Weaving Fate Aiden Watcher) and some of the other practices,

I had five candles going at this point, so I popped the lights off to do some scrying,

That all took sometime the rest of the night I mostly read and kept a weather eye on Candle,

My next big day was the New Moon where I give offerings to Hekate, for three years I've done a ritual shower then taken her offerings to the corner of my property for the first time it was below zero on the night of the New Moon like twenty below, I hmmed and hawed and thought about just skipping the shower and still going out, in the end I had to concede that it was dangerously cold that I'd have to do my offerings inside at her altar, it was okay I did my normal cleanings and did a ritual dance in her honor, I put fresh water and olive oil and salt, as well as garlic blub on top of bay leaves and lit candle and incense,

Into January I was able to start up my Witchual Workout and start Center 30 day yoga challenge, I also started back into Psy. Witch, and begun reading my new books ma got me for gifts this year, at the Wolf Moon I'd had plans to do something for old Chirstmas but my period started up just before and it's been making me a bit woozy this month so I just did my stand by of the Moon Spell in Psy. witch, I added somethings to it like gifting Selene some incense and calling on her directly, it's basically taking out a glass of water holding it to her and asking her to bless it then drinking it there in the moonlight, simple but I've found it a profound experience,

Later letting the dogs out I looked up again and the clouds that had been fogging her up moved around a bit and I got this

I just want to say before concluding this post last of my first year doing Hagging Out, thank you, thank you @graveyarddirt for doing these, and to @pagan-stitches for hosting the October hallow tide one,

for as long as I can remember even as a small child ageing and my own birthday has given me profound anxiety, ma likes to tell me how when I turned 6 I told her I was staying 5 forever and had a complete meltdown til she removed the candle shaped like a 6 from my cake and put on last year's 5 candle that she'd still had, she said she also stuck one regular candle on to add it up to 6 without me realizing,

It's just always something that's freaked me out I've never been the kid who couldn't wait to grow up, some of my oldest memories of birth days is waking and closing my eyes back tight wishing it away, I've gone into each new year of life like walking the gallows,

But when I first saw Hagging Out I was like oh this is cool maybe I'll try it out when I hit 30, then had a little freak out about the idea of hitting 30

and all of 29 I would have screaming fits in my brain about how I've got nothing I wanted to have done by 30 done, it was the worst I've ever had going into the next age except when I was hitting 26 the year my eldest sister died,

Two things and only two things helped calm me down, one knowing that I was hitting an age my eldest sister never got to be which while saddening also ment I beat her at something finally,

Second I would be able to participate in Hagging Out, it was something to look forward to, and it didn't disappoint, I've had so much fun with you guys, you've all been great, and it gave me something to dive into to distract myself from Shy, for those of you who don't know one of my cats I've had since she and her brother and sister were babies and I was a teenager, she developed a tumor and since she didn't seem in a lot of pain (again thank you everyone who helped with that) the vet recommended we let her go on her own, and she fought for a good few months before passing the same day the Queen did, which was absolutely her,

So thank you all 💕 I'll leave you with some Shy from years past

This was her being a little freaked out of the new house after we had moved in the past they'd been restricted to one room, due not getting along with a couple dogs who'd passed so they got the run of the joint but she preferred staying in the one room and going into the bathroom to stare at me while I peed, cats

[yoiku]

Just feeling like unpacking and sorting out some thoughts on this wonderfully rainy morning (begone, roadside dust!!)

Now, I've always been the type to post new art the moment it's done. Posting stuff only on Patreon has still proven easier than I expected. Perhaps since i am still posting stuff -somewhere- it doesn't feel as weird, even though I do miss the interaction from posting on socials. But that'll be back once I have a buffer big enough to keep Patreon relevant. It's also getting easier on letting posting on social wait as time goes by, lol. Actually thought that what if I make the publish gap with the comic even bigger, like several months between Patreon/other sites. But aaaah, I really do want to get it out. It might create more of a gap with time anyway. And the best way to get new people interested in my Patreon is to have interesting stuff out there in the wild. And I'll be honest, it feels validating af to see even a few people willing to spend money to access my Patreon.

It's still conflicting sometimes, because I would really want to keep my stuff available to everyone without paywalls. Art in general is meant to be shared and should be accessible to everyone, this is something I feel on a larger scale. Things like commissioned, unique pieces are luxurious though. They are after all often personal as well. Artists don't live on grants and stipends, hell, even those are usually available for artists who have already made a name for themselves on a larger scale/are well connected. Majority I know struggle with part time jobs, unemployment, studying or are disabled, barely scraping by what they can get in terms of welfare etc. I'm no different. I'm on welfare due to health reasons + in debt, so basically I don't have any "extra" money at the end of each month left for nice things™. And if I do, it usually goes to paying a larger portion of debt away. Sometimes I spend and always regret it later, lol. But if you -never- get to treat yourself even a little, life starts to feel quite depressing. I know so many people are in the same kind of position, where it's just not possible to pay for more than 1-2 subscription services monthly, or none. So having my art behind a Patreon paywall of any kind feels bad, knowing I would likely not be able to afford it myself, lol. Will it ever be easy to combine the thought of art + money without having dreadful crapitalism thoughts creep in? Probably not.

I still want to do my best to pick up some commissions as well, I need to create some sort of hidden stash of money now that I have the cat. Because when (inevitably at some point) a trip to the vet happens, that's going to be at least a hundo no matter what. And when the last trip to the vet arrives, that's gonna be closer to 300-400 with all the cheapest options. (hopefully not anytime soon, but something i have to take into account) I am currently working on a painting comm and might have another one coming up as well, which is giving me much joy. Watercolours are a lot of work, but they're less taxing in the sense that there's only so much detail you can do compared to digital, and tradi allows the happy little accidents with the medium. So it's easier to feel like I did my best wihtout having the thought "ah... i should've kept fixing it"(without asking for more money bc I gotta do better ad infinitum) So I'm really happy peeps have shown interest in tradi comms, even though I'm not very well versed in techniques with those. Learning tho!

My head's been in a relatively good place for a good while now, all things considered. But I have to pull the brakes on myself every now and then because I know it only takes one hard hit in the old mental health for all of it going to shit in the blink of an eye. So I'm trying to tread carefully, prep and plan while keeping the bar set low enough.

Mom has moved to hospice care, which also means that getting the phonecall about her passing can also be any day now. I feel like I've made my peace with it, but even if it doesn't initially hit hard, I'm pretty sure it will bring some mental struggle later. And there will be the whole episode of handling her stuff afterwards. Thankfully there won't be any wealth to distribute, so likely all the mandatory/legal expenses will be handled by welfare. How dreadful that even in that, money is the first thing to have to worry about, huh.

At least the sun has returned from the winter jail, bright days lighten the mind.

[undiscovered-horizon]

"Stop calling me Gwen!" - TASM!Peter Parker x Reader

SUMMARY: Peter has been your friend since the first day of high school, always getting in trouble together. Ever since you played in your school's rendition of Michael Gow's "Away", your friends have been calling you Gwen, which leads to an interesting incident when you all enter the multiverse.

WORD COUNT: 826

Check out the 500 followers special!

Right when you entered the room, arms full of random stuff Peter and Ned asked you to bring, the culprit himself looked up at you from some notes he had scattered on top of the table. To your surprise, he wasn't alone.

"Gwen!" Peter called out from the lab room. Upon hearing him yell your nickname, one of the other men looked at you with a bewildered expression. Something about you must have disappointed him since his expression quickly fell and the initial excitement left to be replaced by utter sadness. "I need your help."

"It's not my name," you sighed and walked towards him. "It was one school play, three years ago. Let me go, I'm begging you."

"He doesn't remember your name," MJ interjected, earning a bridling from Peter. She was just sitting on a spinning high chair, turning from one side to the other, idling and waiting for something to happen.

"I do!" he whined defensively. "It's just...it feels weird to call you that."

"Whatever," you said as you set down the pile of maybe-not-actually-rubbish on an empty table and looked at what Peter was doing. "Whatcha got there?"

"I think I'm overcomplicating it."

You leaned over his arm to see the vague blueprints written in rushed, shabby handwriting. Trying to decipher the enigmatic notes and adding some with a blunt pencil, you looked at the two strangers in the room every now and then. The taller of them sometimes looked at you too but appeared timid in his habit of avoiding your gaze. It seemed as if he had something to say like there was a burning question in his mind that he was still debating whether to ask. You didn't know if that was his intention but you started to feel a little tense. They were unfamiliar to you.

"Who are these guys, Peter?" you whispered.

"You're not gonna believe this, but they're me. Kind of. From different universes."

You stared at him for a moment with furrowed eyebrows. There was a lot to unpack in his statement and you were unsure which can of worms to open first. Each of them seemed equally bottomless.

"Like in Crisis on Two Earths?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Then who's the Evil Justice League?"

"Right, about that...We had them in Dr. Strange's basement and they, kind of, escaped."

The story was only becoming more complex and enigmatic as the metaphorical cans kept piling up and you haven't even heard its entirety yet. What the hell did he get himself into? Even better: what the hell did he do?

"Look, man, I love you and all that but you're, like, the worst superhero ever."

"Thanks," he answered with a visibly irritated expression.

You gave back the pencil to him and headed for the door, counting on the vending machine to still be working amidst another end of the world. Maybe it will even have diet Pepsi but let's not get too carried away - it's only the end of the world, not an inspection from the Department of Education.

Walking past the tall stranger, whom you have caught looking at you quite a few times by then, you noticed he was putting together a still over a burner that has been broken since you could remember. You tapped him on his shoulder and when he turned to look at you, he resembled a deer caught in the headlights.

Was his name Peter too? If they were the same person across different universes, they would have the same name, right? It's still the same guy, after all.

"This burner doesn't work, use the other one," you said as you vaguely pointed to the surface element farther to his right. He mumbled a "thanks" and began moving the half-done still.

You were about to turn around and continue your quest for the can of soda when he spoke to you:

"So...what is your name?"

"It's (Y/N). No one really calls me that, though."

"Why? It's pretty."

His comment sounded genuine and perhaps that's what made your cheeks even redder: he stated it like it was an obvious fact.

"Apparently, Gwen sticks better." You let out a defeated sigh. After three years of being called a different name, you could only shrug and carry on. No amount of correcting people ever worked.

"But (Y/N) fits better. You look like a (Y/N)."

"Do I now?" you asked with a hint of a giggle in your voice. Your amusement brought a smile to his face. "And what does a (Y/N) look like?"

He didn't answer. Peter's gaze remained in your face for a while longer before he silently returned to whatever he was doing.

Maybe that's exactly what you looked like to him - like the bright expression that wouldn't wash off his face. You didn't know it yet but it was a very humorous whim of the cosmos: that Peter, who wasn't the Peter, met a Gwen who wasn't Gwen.

____

@restingbitchsblog

[loneworldgazer]

itching hands

pairings: bonten x chubby!reader

a/n: this was supposed be for december but i'm impatient🕴

warnings: suggestive, bonten

life with bonten series

• × • × • × • × • × • × • × • × • × • ו × • × • × • × • ×

these men will bark at you if you ever had the time to be insecure about yourself

hold on tight to your seat cause i'm sure these executives won't let you

especially these easter egg mfs, you never know what's in each of these peoples' minds

sanzu

he lets a lot of things slip from his mind and specially his comments about you

he ranges from thirsty to intense staring at any part of your body where if i say so, it's gonna be a lot more pg

eventhough he's weirdly obsessive of how you look, he means good! it's just that his lameo ass can't say or spell it out to you without sounding like a pervert

he enters your apartment in search of any of the haitani brothers to pick up their report on the last mission and maybe you so he could easily find the two since they always muted their phones when busy.

at first, he wanted to reward himself with a little something since he did a little running around here and there, why not look into your fridge? he slowly opened it because of instinct and almost fell on his knees when he saw sweet cakes topped with icing. he reached out to it as if it's begging for him to just eat it up and he drooled with how soft it looked but a grab to his wrist startled him when he looked at the person in alarm, a quirk of your eyebrows immediately lead him to explain what he's here for.

"uh searching for haitani- by the way can i eat that-" you wiped his drool that ran down his chin with a tissue hastily, in full exaggeration the bright pink haired man is an absolute sweet tooth. he finally let his eyes set on you and he looked comedic with his wide eyes when he looked down at your soft thighs in the comfy shorts you wore.

you ignored his staring and sighed, pointing to the label of the sweet cake which had rindou's name on it but you changed your mind due to said man pouting and took out the cake and peeled off the label, offering to sanzu who drooled again but he doesn't know what's his drooling for anymore (rindou can always order another cake anyways). you closed the fridge and stretched, moving into the living room to lay on the sofa.

he felt content with his dessert, all he needed was a place to sit and he just felt that the perfect place was between, between, man he couldn't help it but stare at plushiness of your thighs. he wanted to bite it.

"can i lay myself between your thighs?"

a silent staring contest was held maybe, if people were to walk in at the moment but with a smirk you patted yourself.

"go ahead darling"

after a while

"y/n did you ate my cake!?" rindou gruffly yelled out and he didn't know what did he just walked into, you brushing and massaging sanzu's head while he hums and kisses up your thighs with the empty plate near his feet and rindou massaged his temples to not drag the male between your thighs into a body bag.

but he failed so sorry sanzu.

ran walked in with an amused stare when sanzu haven't noticed them yet and y/n laughed to rindou who was starting to march up to sanzu to grab both his ankles.

ran lazily stumbled to the sofa with his legs spread while watching whatever the hell the two were doing when sanzu finally woke up from his fantasies, fly high sanzu🕊🕊

ran leaned in to whisper to you when you secretly recorded the fight, asking why you finally offered sanzu a place to lay when you didn't let him lay between when he asked you so many times. you looked over at him with your mischevious eyes and he knows damn well he needs to do more than just asking.

extra!!:

"WAAAHH Y/N THEY BULLIED ME !!" you don't if sanzu's faking his loud crying or not with tears begin to slip past his cheek when he pointed at the haitanis and rindou had no shame in admitting what he done when his older brother blinked in confusion.

you tried to hold in any chortles or laughter coming out because the pink boy had his worst when rindou bent his leg over his head while muttering how he should've killed sanzu from day one. you held out your arms and he immediately flopped you to the coach when he pushed and smothered into your scent.

the haitanis still don't why you adore that crazed man baby who likes killing people and making them confess their crimes, you said you found it really annoyingly cute that's why you had haru in your arms who nibbled on you like a baby.

just hope that the treatment with haru doesn't go on and on and you actually do something about it instead of kissing his tears away and cuddled with him.

kakucho

he feels disrespectful to how much staring he does to you on a daily basis

the way you walk, your hips popping and the curve of your hip dips makes him go crazy

he wonders if he could just hold onto your waist or just touch onto your hips, he might faint touching the roughness of your stretch marks as if he's been blessed by pure heaven

he's obsessed with how you present yourself to the others

if only he was a little more bolder, he could admire it closer if he just asked (?)

"have you taken an interest in y/n, kaku?" ran's eyes glanced at kakucho's hard staring at your crossed legs and he stopped, scoffing at ran's word but the older haitani had a plan up his sleeves.

y/n sat nearby kokonoi's table doing their own thing, looking like a sweet thing that had kakucho's glued on them that ran couldn't help pointing it out and it didn't help kakucho's poor heart when mikey suddenly interrupted the conversation.

"kakucho, please assist y/n on where's they want to go at the moment" it made kakucho perk up, startled by the sudden job of bodyguard and he looked back at ran who winked at him. no no no this isn't what he wanted, what was he planning?

it's annoying on how this puppy crush of his grew even more worse, your whole personality draws him towards you, making him feel like a kid again because of how nonchalant you are with him. he felt laidback being with you is like the calm after a storm with his work and shenanigans in bonten.

he watched from a distance when you looked over the things on your list, kakucho also gathered some of the things you wanted into a little basket and cancelling some out so you didn't have to get them anymore and you thanked him with your pretty smile.

he scanned the area around him and held himself back from punching when this one creepo think they're being sleak with how they kept eyeing you, kakucho either think he was a pick pocket or a flirt but he kept a good metres away from him to see what he was doing but he was ready to turn towards you if they got any closer.

you turned towards kakucho, waving your hand to come to you and he immediately went, feeling more pissed off towards the person creeping in on you slowly but he felt your rough palm on the skin of his wrist wrapping it around your waist. he unconsciously squeezed around you, pulling you close as he shot a nasty glare towards the person who backed off, seeing the intense look from the half blind which they didn't dare messing with.

you both walk away, heading towards the counter as you laughed behind the palm of you hand; still in position of kakucho tightly holding onto your waist where he panicked when he realized how hard he's latching onto you.

"hah~ you're so-"

still choking on your laughter, he akwardly shuffles to the side in embarassment and it added more fuel to the fire when he remembered how he held your waist and he excused himself before combusting in front of you and went away for a few seconds.

you have to say but you gotta thank ran for this plan, even if the creepo appeared out of nowhere, atleast you got to see how bonten nunber 3 reacts to his dream coming true~

kokonoi

he mostly admires you in silence and gets distracted if he ever talks to somebody

just his eyes trailing down every curve on your body and just daydreams about them (as in like cuddling pls)

the other executives would notice how his eyes are always on you in every meeting youre in and would tease him about it when you leave the room like ran would comment 'so thats where your head was this whole time hm?'

kokonoi love your pictures, he feels creepy stalking your pictures but he can't help but gush into the palm of his hand of your stunning you look, you make him faint whenever you had suprise pictures of you in dresses and he feel like his whole body is on fire.

ran taps the head of his pen to the temple of kokonoi's head and he slams his phone down and put on a poker face, it faltering when he clenched his teeth already knowing what's coming. ran sneered to how much of a simp he was and flicked the back of his head, pointing towards the door of his office; telling him any moment you're gonna come by and koko swats his hand away, knowing the haitani was just teasing him but his eyes nearly bulged out when you actually swung by.

all sleepy and dreamy like, his heart getting squeezed and the older haitani patting you towards koko who unexpectantly had you in your lap, your weight tapping him out of his daydreams as you hugged him tighter.

"my my, tired baby ain't ya?" he put on his proper poker face he got from the back of his desk, trying not to falter when you sleepily ranted on how work was terribly tiring and he patted your back shakily, not wanting to push you off due to extreme nervousness. he joked with you telling that he could just pay you easily if you work under him and you pushed his chest with your head bonk .

"ywou drhon just-mphm-hrmm" him heating up to how close with you works because he was the best heat warmer you could ask for, he felt bad for moving you to the coach but he just needed a comfortable position for you sleep in because you sitting on him? naaah, he's a puddle by the end of it.

the urge to take a picture was really strong so he took out his phone and angle his phone down to catch your drool slipping out of you and smiled feverishly to how dorky you looked.

koko felt like he could fuck up more of his feelings staring at your sleeping face, he rubbed his finger on your fat cheek you smooshed onto the coach and shifted a little in your sleep to adjust the blanket more closer to you. koko's touches were hesitant, didn't want to be a pervert when all he did was touch your soft cheek.

he wanted to just hold you close to his chest and have you against him but his prickling anxiety said otherwise, his awful thoughts and stubborness entertaining the shit out of him. you nearly give him a heart attack when one of your eyes open when he wanted to take his second picture and you latched onto his wrist. koko squawked and you couldn't help but burst out in guffaws to how panicked he looked when you caught him.

if anyone saw this scene, koko surely would die of embarassment and he'll dig his grave himself but unfortunely he will eventually when the blinking red of somebody's recording was capturing every moment of it.

haitani brothers

the duo who makes you nervous with their hard stares on you

these two are also pretty touchy so it's dangerous when they're handsy with one of your body parts

rindou are obsessed with your chubbiness, poking it just to see his finger bounce back; comedically

he loves being close with you because you're so squishy??? the type of guy who plays with your squishiness like you're a stress toy and holds himself back from biting

you're the greatest fridge or heat bag on the off days he haves, just wrapped up in blankets and you makes him sleep like a baby

as discussed earlier, ran wants to his head between your thighs; don't be suprised when one day he felt like he should get killed by them and you reject his acceptance towards death

he's a leg man and likes sleeping on your lap or kissing them or he just does anything with them (if you don't mind)

you just gotta remember these two are menaces right next to sanzu cause they'll bother you about it like forever if they can

after seeing the endless babying of sanzu, rindou turns to his brother who was lost in his thoughts and tapped his shoulder with the back of his hand. he lifted his eybrow, needing a response to how quiet he became and ran gave him a sly smile.

"you look at y/n like you wanna eat them up" ran shrugged, placing his elbow on rindou's shoulder as he slipped a comment on how he can eat y/n in other ways while rindou scrunched up in disgust. sanzu then emerged right next to rindou, telling them to give their report; damn well distracted when you started brushing and massaging his head a few moments ago.

rindou pointed towards the window, telling sanzu to fetch the files in his car while 'lightly' threatening him to buy another cake for him and the pink haired boy waved him off as if his threatening didn't give him flashbacks to how rindou almost squeezed his organs out of his ribcage when he looked at the empty plate.

when sanzu disappeared out of the house, rindou pulled you by the waist and onto his lap. squeezing your fat and kissing up your neck, he grazed a sweet spot but you swatted him telling him what's gotten into him. ran lay his head on your lap and looked like a satisfied brat when you look back at him then his brother all confused like.

rindou couldn't spare anymore time so he whispered in your ear, telling how much of a nuisance his older brother was and pleaded you to let him do what he wished to do. ran quirked his eyebrows, leaning up to kiss you while you teased him more by placing a finger on his lips.

"using your brother as a way to get me to do your thing instead of asking me in the nicest way? how cruel haitani, don't you know how torturous it is for your brother to put up with you?"

he smirks, knowing how much of a tease you were and feigned his sigh. rindou clamped his hands over this ears to not hear whatever the hell is this and tilted his head comfortably on your neck.

you shifted off rindou's lap, letting the man going after your sweet self place his head on your tummy as he happily shifts himself to a tiny nap to wait for sanzu to get back from whatever he got himself into because they could hear him shouting at the phone when he was unlocking the car door.

you looked over at rindou and placed a finger on your lips, smiling with your eyes closed when you don't want to disturb his sleeping brother in bliss.

ran just doesn't need to know rindou had his many turns sleeping with you this week compared to him~

mikey

he likes sleeping on you, his titled pillow he seeks for at the end of the day

he usually goes to you whenever he has a hard time sleeping and you try your best to advice him on how he should take care od his eyebags and weak body

he likes listening to your whispering before he goes to sleep so he asks you to talk more (command maybe)

"mikey..?"

"mph?"

"please i need to get up"

he uses your entire body as a pillow to swing his leg over ._. . from the very start, he makes you worried that you might've done or said something wrong to him but his thoughts were completely filled with how he can melt into you and be a handy pillow for him if he can't sleep easily.

to break the ice of what he thinks of you, you hummed quietly and awfully close to him on why he was staring at you but he completley dodges the question, rather he wants to show you why he's staring so he asks if he can touch you. he was uo close and personal on the first into with you but he didn't have bad intentions.. because afterwards you were legit cradling him.

sanzu was raising his eyebrows teasingly when their boss was sound asleep on your shoulder and you run your hands to his hair while glaring at sanzu to not make any noise. kakucho tried putting a straight face on but it's complelety leaving him when he heard his boss sleep talk.

he was babbling nonsense to you which you tried to reply to him but his mouth was jammed shut because there was some point where he got mad at you for not replying and sanzu was rolling on the floor and kakucho had to walk out to laugh with sanzu, dragging the pink hair out of the office. you cooed at him to relax instead of thrashing back and forth and he stopped, planting his face into your neck which makes you feel really tickled.

you're just grateful he's getting some sleep and you kissed him good night and a faint smile shows up on his face when you hugged him tight.

(and the other executives in the other room cracking up about mikey and you NSBJSBD)

akashi

he likes carrying you, stealing you away from the other executive when they're disturbing you

you can't feel insecure with this man because he was the dirtiest way with his words that he whispers to you that can turn any guy or girl red

he'll surely gouge out any prying eyes that mock or stare at you for too long

"why cat got your tongue?" your mouth agape when he was busy doing pushups on the mat and his back muscles flex even more when you came by, the smirk on his face didn't help making you flustered while you sat near him. panicking on the inside, he stopped for a water break and sat next to you.

you prayed to not shake so visibly becaue this hot ass man right now makes you lose all sense of human nature with how big he was, he placed his bottle down and shifted closer to you. bending down a little to arch his back to crack a little, he said he needed you on his back for his pushups. he can easily see the confusion you had on your face and he chuckled, getting up to begin and he usher you to start climbing on his back.

"cmonnn~ i'm strong, you're afraid i'll drop you?"

this man wanted a death wish but you think you'll die first because of how much of a tease he was, his back was kinda comfortable so you tugged on him like a koala, he called you needy and he says he's right you'll enjoy it. enjoy what exactly? too scared to ask this man because of the potential of a heart attack.

it becomes a daily thing to be honest, just having you on his back to flex off his strength that you were impressed that he didn't break and kept his composure. he held you close or carries you on his back cause he wants to, running away from the others who were fighting over you.he was a dangerous man because he could easily take your breath away with how secretive he is.

heck, i think he just did.

tag tag: @lucylicious , @turksueme , @haruchyio , @fyotituti , @coconois , @gyros-cum-sock , @ashrakat-lovesbaji , @dragon-chica

[mypoisonedvine]

awestruck || lee bodecker x modern!reader

based on a request for how lee would react to today's women.

word count: 1.7k

warnings: smut (including oral, m and f receiving, and anal... lots of anal), degradation/praise, reader being a complete hoe for lee bodecker because I know y'all bitches and I know what you're up to, essentially pwp because I refuse to explain how/why lee is in the modern era

You were very, very different than the women Lee was used to.

With them it had been months of courting and flowers and seduction to get a few minutes of kissing, maybe even some over-the-clothes touching, but if he went too far he got slapped and dumped.

With you it was a swipe right and half an episode of something called "net flicks" and you were straddling him and grinding on him and kissing him like you had never wanted anything so much.

With them, sex was missionary only, every other week only, in bed only, and even when he made them feel good they didn't like to show too much enthusiasm because it was unladylike, apparently.

With you it was things he hadn't even realized were options-- like the very first time, when you were holding onto his knees for balance as you bounced your ass on him, moaning loudly, your pussy gripping him for dear life.

With women back then, sex was a thing women let men have as a begrudging favor, but you begged him for it, sobbed and shook and shivered beneath him, opened your legs for him constantly... he could barely keep up, honestly, but he was more than happy to try. When he couldn't come any more at least he could get you off with his fingers or devour your cunt, and you loved it.

Almost as much, you loved doing things women absolutely did not do in 1966. Only hookers gave blowjobs then, but you got on your knees and sucked him off gladly, getting wet just from his cock down your throat. You even swallowed his come; you even let him paint your face with it and it genuinely blew his mind.

He was totally in awe of you. You weren't just the woman of his dreams, you were beyond that: never in a million years could he have dreamed up a girl like you. Even further, he never would've thought he'd actually get to call you his girl.

"Yours, yours, all yours," you chanted as he pounded you into the mattress.

"Yeah you are," he agreed, "my fuckin whore, huh? My pretty fucktoy?"

"Yes," you sobbed, and he loved how much you loved being called rude things like that. "Whatever you want..."

"But it's not about what I want, is it?" he grinned. "It's about how you want to be used, all the filthy things you want me to do to you, ain't that right?"

You whined a little but nodded.

"So tell me what you want," he prompted.

"I want... I want you to take my ass," you admitted suddenly, biting your lip a bit as he stopped moving to stare down at you in shock.

"You— I— what?" he stammered.

"You... you don't have to, if you don't want—“

"Oh, I want," he cut you off to assure, "I wanna give you anything you ask for. I just... I didn't even know... How long have you been thinkin' about this?"

"Ever since the first time you fucked me," you admitted, making him choke on his gasp. "Remember, how I rode you and you kept staring at my ass? I kept hoping you'd hold me down and put your thumb in it while you fucked me..."

"Oh Christ," he groaned, "so that's how it is then? You're tryna kill me?"

You giggled, and he pulled out to roll you onto your back, kissing you suddenly.

"You're too fuckin good to be true," he sighed against your lips. You laughed and hugged him closer, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"I'm really nothing special," you denied with a smirk as he kissed his way to your neck, "a lot of girls will do that nowadays."

"It's not that you're willing to do it, honey, it's that you want it so bad," he explained in a whisper right against your ear. "I don't need half the stuff you do, I'd be happy with wholesome lovemaking three times a week. What's so amazing is that you want more... and for some goddamn reason you want it from me."

He kissed you again, a little slower but a lot harder, until he pulled back just enough to growl: "Turn over."

You happily flipped onto your stomach, arching your back to wiggle your butt out towards him.

"Quit actin' so desperate," he scolded with a hard spank that made you groan. "You're a hell of a woman but you sure as hell ain't no lady."

"You like it," you pointed out with a grin.

"Well, that's beside the point," he smirked back as he reached down to circle your tight rim with his finger. You reached up to your bedside drawer, from which a bottle of lube appeared in your hand that you passed back to him. "Now what's a sweet girl like you doing with this in her bedside drawer, huh?" he mocked, popping the cap to apply some to his fingers. "I see, you've got all sorts of guys coming over to fuck you in the ass, I'm just one of your hookups."

"No, just you," you sighed as he started to slide his lubed up finger over your hole. "I just want you, Lee, I swear."

"Hey, you're a modern woman, it would be too much to expect you to be a devil in the sheets and strictly monogamous..."

"Lee, baby, it's just you, haven't even thought about anybody else since I met you— fuck!" you gasped, interrupting yourself as he pushed one finger in.

"Just relax honey," he instructed, "if you can't take a finger I won't put my cock in you."

"No, please, need it," you whined. "I'll be good, please..."

He smiled and pushed the second finger in, slowly twisting within you and starting to stretch you out.

"More," you whispered, almost too quiet to hear but he heard you and quickly added a third finger which made you tense up at first before relaxing again.

He was entranced by watching your body open up for him, amazed at how well you were adjusting and how clearly your noises indicated enjoyment. He wouldn't have agreed to this if he didn't think you'd like it, and he had fully prepared himself for you to change your mind, but here you were... looking like you were having an even better time than he was.

"Please, I'm ready, I want it," you begged.

"No, baby, you need a little more," he assured, pushing his fingers deeper to be sure you'd be able to take him.

"Please please pleeeaaasse, I need your cock in me, I need you to fuck my ass—!"

He cut you off with another spank, pulling his fingers out of you to slather his cock with some lube and line it up with your hole. "You're sure?" he hissed.

You nodded eagerly and he barely moved his hips forward, just enough to start to slide his head into you, and you both let out a deep noise of pleasure together. But he didn't slow down until he met the end of you, one long smooth stroke into your waiting body until his hips met yours and he thought he might lose it right then and there.

"Oh my god," he sighed, "your ass is... so fuckin' tight..."

He started to move a little faster, pinning you down as you gasped and moaned so beautifully.

"Won't be by the time I'm done with it," he promised through his teeth, picking up his pace once again as you clutched at the sheets beneath you— yet your back arched to push your hips up towards him, so it was obvious you loved it. "That's whatcha want, sweetheart? For me to stretch out your ass?"

"Please," you whimpered.

"God, you're good, you're so good," he hissed, his hips slapping into your soft flesh loudly now, his rough hands pinning your shoulders down. “Too fuckin’ good…”

Your moans sounded different than usual— deeper, needier, desperate in a way he very much understood as he tried to hold himself back from fucking you too hard. It was difficult to pick where to look since every part of you looked so beautiful like this but he went ahead and settled his gaze on your face, the breathless moan you were perpetually caught in as your eyes fell shut and your mouth was open slack.

You chanted his name in a hoarse whisper as he fucked you harder, one more reminder to both of you that it was his body filling yours, his cock penetrating you in such a taboo way.

"I'm— I'm gonna come," you stammered, causing his brain to short circuit for a moment.

"You... you're gonna come, from this? Just this?" he realized.

You nodded, and he really had to hold back to not fill you instantly at the thought of you coming from anal alone. He understood now how he had suddenly appeared in this strange time, with no idea how or why; he must have died and gone to a very fucked up heaven.

“Go ahead and come then,” he instructed darkly. “Wanna see you come for me.”

He could all but see the shiver run up your spine, your upper teeth digging into your lip as you whimpered louder and louder— and it was a bit harder than normal to tell by the feel of you that you were coming, but the noises you made were incontrovertibly those of a woman thrown into pleasure. Your eyes rolled back, your moans exhausted and weak, and he couldn’t take it anymore: with a grunt of his own, he filled your insides with his spend, barely managing to hold his weight up so he wouldn’t crush you.

You hummed, wiggling a little under him as you caught your breath, and it was almost too much on his sensitive, softening cock.

“That was… you are…” he started over a few times, not even sure what to say.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” you announced as you sat up and gave him a quick kiss. “Join me later?”

“O-okay,” he mumbled, watching you dash to the bathroom as he fell back onto the bed and contemplated the wonderful insanity his life had become with you in it. Maybe the future really is bright after all...

[kittenofdoomage]

Okay, here we go. I'm binge-reading. Below the cut is my live reaction but for those who don't want spoilers, it's fucking GOOD, so read it, especially if you love angst because OMG Beka serves it up with a plateful of whammy.

Scary dreams. Very scary dreams. Shit, Beka, you're so good at building that tension, and adding in those little details of horror that just make it a perfectly terrifying scene. The blood thing is frightening. Is this a djinn? A curse?

Awww, Sam, you giant awkward dork. Thanks for trying, bud.

Sex with Dean is a great distraction but hell, I'd be thinking about those creepy fucking visions too. Ho boy, we're grand theft auto'ing the Impala, he'll be mad about that. Shit, Rowena can't do anything? That's not hopeful 😥

Oop she didn't get away with her GTA move. He mad. Oh, he's mad because he loves her 🥺🥺 oh, Dean. Oh, now he's mad again. You both tell her she's crazy, ofc she wants a second opinion, come on! These boys need to take this seriously.

Again, Sam, thanks for trying, bud 🤣

Y/N spoke up with a frown and a shrug. “Maybe I’m in a coma and the dream is the real world pushing through into the coma dream.” 

Dean looked over with uncertainty. 

Y/N scrunched her nose up as she thought. “Wait- I might have read that in a story somewhere…” 

“You’ve been reading that fanfiction crap again, haven’t you?” Dean shook his head and sighed. “You gotta lay off of it. It ain’t healthy.” 

Fucking creasing. In general, this is a terrifying story because it feels like Y/N is literally losing her grip on reality with no reason for it but I like the moments of levity like you always sneak in! And no, Dean, I will not.

Ah, yes, the Winchester method of dealing with your problems, getting blackout drunk. Usually effective. I feel like there's a shoe dropping soon.

Chapter Nine is so sweet! Dean looking after drunken Y/N, putting her to bed. She's about to have a horrible nightmare, isn't she?

That was the worst one yet. Fuck, the panic in her is palpable through the damn screen. I'm not sure if Cas is gonna be able to do anything when Rowena couldn't 😬

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

Wild. I feel like I'm going crazy. Wtf is going on

😭

I'm beginning to feel like this does not have a happy ending. Not sure what kind of unhappy ending, whether this is something supernatural affecting her or not. But I'm certain you're gonna make me cry more.

Jesus, I don't think I fucking breathed reading 13. Was that future Dean? Is this all being done by Chuck? WHAT IS GOING ON

Okay, okay, okay, so I'm flashing back to when she was sitting in her bedroom, and she didn't remember it actually being her room, setting her stuff up, and now Chuck is saying none of it is real and she can't answer the questions about the bunker or how she met Sam and Dean. I'm about to start the last chapter, hoping there's some answers? Did she succeed in shooting herself? Did Dean stop her? Is Dean even real? *tenterhooks*

JENSEN?!

My face

I feel like I should be saying something profound but honestly I'm sitting here like... shit...

Holy fuckering mother bastard of... holy crap. Okay, the story is phenomenal. The ending is nigh on fucking perfect, even if you ripped my heart of my chest, showed it to me, flambed it then chewed it up and spat it out, then stomped on it for good measure. WHY ARE YOU SO GOOD AT BREAKING ME

Okay, okay, I'm cool, I'm cool. I'M FUCKING CRYING. But I'm cool. It's all good. This was brilliant. Several million gold stars. I'm going to go and eat some chocolate while I sob into my tea

Everlong - Masterlist

A Supernatural Series

~Y/N has everything she's ever wanted - the love of a good man, a best friend she can lean on, drama, magic, and heroics. But everyone knows, things aren't always what they seem.~

Dean Winchester x Reader, Sam Winchester, Rowena, Castiel, Others

Series Warnings: NSFW. Angst. Smut. Blood. Magic. Trauma. Suicidal Issues. Major Character Death(s). Strangeness. It's Super Angst. Chapters won't be tagged to preserve story flow, but it is all angst. Be warned. 

Chapters:

One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen

[helloalycia]

teenage dirtbag [four] // wanda maximoff

summary: Things finally explode between you and Nate, and Pietro decides to get to the bottom of whatever is going on between you and Wanda, though in usual Pietro fashion AKA not subtly at all

warning/s: none.

author's note: this is very beefy, i must admit, but i think you'll all enjoy the outcome 😂💘

part one | part two | part three | part five | masterlist | wattpad

Dinner with the Maximoffs wasn't as strange as I envisioned. Her parents were sweet and the twins did their best to make me feel comfortable. Wanda still seemed mildly frustrated whenever Pietro and I would talk though, and I figured she may have thought I was lying when I told her I didn't like him like that. I hoped that wasn't the case.

After dinner, Wanda took me upstairs to show me her bedroom. I'm not sure how to describe it other than it seemed so Wanda.

"I'm guessing red is your favourite colour," I said when I saw the hints of scarlet in her bedroom. On her walls, in her bedding, on her pillows. Just like her car and her jacket, they were all bright and very her.

"Great observation, Sherlock," she teased with a sly smile.

I returned the smile, sticking my tongue out at her playfully, before having a walk around and coming across her massive CD collection and CD player. Her music taste was actually quite similar to mine, which I definitely didn't expect. It just made her ten times more attractive to me which wasn't good, but oh well. I was here for a good time, not a long time. And my crush on Wanda Maximoff would surely be the death of me.

"D'you have any CDs at all?" she asked, joining my side when she noticed me staring at the shelf.

I crossed my arms, glancing at her. "Don't get me wrong. I'd love to collect them, but it's just so much easier to have Spotify, y'know?"

My intention wasn't to make her laugh, but God I was glad I did when her eyes crinkled and the sound rang around the room, making my heart pinch with adoration.

After giving me some of her pyjamas, the two of us got ready and brushed our teeth before I realised she wanted me to share bed with her.

"You wanna watch some TV before bed?" she asked, clearly not registering my hesitance to slide into her Queen-sized bed.

I swallowed hard. "S-sure."

She turned on the TV at the end of her bed as I slipped in beside her, still a bit rigid as I kept a fair distance from her.

"What you feeling? Comedy? Drama? Horror?"

"Anything is fine with me," I said, still tense.

She hummed in acknowledgement before leaning down on her pile of pillows behind her, edging closer to me. My heart was hammering in my chest as her hair tickled my arm from where she was laying.

"You comfortable?" she checked in, leaning backwards so her head was upside down to see me. "I have more pillows if you need them."

I offered her a small smile, hoping it disguised my nerves. "I'm good."

She nodded before flicking through the channels and eventually settling on reruns of The Office. It took time, but I eventually overcame my initial shock of sharing bed with the girl I had a major crush on and instead relaxed, getting comfortable under the covers.

After watching some TV, we called it a night and fell asleep quite quickly, the day taking its toll on us. For once, I wasn't panicking about doing something stupid. I simply fell asleep, trying to ignore the heat she emanated from beside me.

It was a peaceful night – her bed was super comfortable – and I woke up to the sound of Wanda moving about in her bedroom.

"Shoot, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked when she saw me moving about under the blankets. I tried to blink away the sleep as she continued, "I was gonna wake you soon. School starts in an hour."

I rubbed my eyes, yawning, before sitting up and seeing she was practically already dressed. That meant she would have been up for a while, meaning she would have seen me fast asleep. God, I hated when people saw me sleeping. It always felt so weird.

"It's okay," I got out tiredly, before running a hand through my hair.

"You sleep well?" she asked, spinning around in her chair, her makeup half done. "I tried my very best not to use you as a teddy bear."

She was joking, but I felt my neck grow warm at the thought and damn, it was just way too early to be flustered.

"Yeah, I slept great," I settled, feeling her gaze on me. "Thanks again for having me over."

"Anytime," she said, and something told me it wasn't just a friendly response but that she actually meant it. Maybe it was the kind smile on her lips as she said so. "Just like last night, if you wanna use anything in the bathroom, go for it."

I gave her a thumbs up, taking a moment to wake myself up a little more, before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I returned to Wanda's room, I saw she'd already made the bed and had laid my clothes on top of it.

"I've got a shirt you can borrow," she said when I grabbed my jeans.

"Oh, I can just wear the same thing again, it's no biggie," I told her, already grabbing my shirt.

She pouted before grabbing a shirt from her closet. "Just hold on. You'll love it."

In no time, she came out from her closet and held out a Paramore tee shirt on a hanger towards me.

"I got it from the last concert I went to," she explained. "I thought you'd like it."

I couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Wow, Wanda. Really? You don't mind?"

She nodded, shaking the shirt as emphasis for me to take it. I did, having a look over it and smiling to myself.

"I'll wash it and give it back to you tomorrow," I promised, taking it off the hanger and holding it with my jeans. "Thanks."

"You can keep it," she said, scratching the back of her head apprehensively. "I've got loads."

"Oh, no, I can't do that," I began to deny, but she shook her head.

"It's fine, I'm giving it to you," she said, before smiling sweetly. "I'm sure you'll look better in it anyway."

Again with the warmth spreading up my neck...

"I doubt that," I quipped with a small smile.

"Go! Go get changed," she said, already pushing me towards the door. "I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."

I snickered, letting her shove me into the hallway, before heading into the bathroom to get ready. The shirt was oversized, so there was no need to be worried it wouldn't fit. It was actually really nice, plus I liked it that extra bit more knowing Wanda gave it to me. Though I knew I wouldn't keep it. It was hers and she was just being nice.

When I finished making myself look presentable, I headed downstairs and found the twins at the kitchen counter, chatting between themselves. Their chatter ceased when I walked in, with Wanda biting her lip and looking me up and down with satisfaction.

"I was right," was all she said, making me nervous. "You do look better in it than me."

—

The day after that, I did as I said I would and returned Wanda's shirt to her, washed, folded and ironed. Knowing she wouldn't accept it without a fight, I left it in her bag when she wasn't looking during class.

I should have expected her to approach me at my locker afterwards.

"It was supposed to be a gift," she said, and I saw her pretty face reflected in the mirror hung inside my locker.

I turned around, already knowing what she was talking about.

"I told you I couldn't accept," I said politely, giving her a small smile. "I appreciate it though." She seemed disappointed which obviously didn't help with my feelings for her, so I took a leap and added, "Maybe I can get my own at their next concert. In the summer, right?"

She picked up on what I meant and smiled, stifling a laugh. Running a hand through her hair, she met my gaze and I found myself frozen in place as always, unable to look away. I wondered if she knew what she was doing when she did that, knew that she was giving me heart palpitations every time her lips turned into a playful smirk and dark eyes studied me curiously.

My eyes drifted to her lips subconsciously and she must have put on some lip balm or something, prior to finding me just now, as they looked shiny and pink and just so damn kissable. Nate was one lucky guy.

—

Having faced issues with Nate three times now (AKA the three times he happened to launch a football at my head), I'd figured I wouldn't be seeing the last of him. He was a dick, meaning he had a natural inclination to piss people off, particularly me. But I never thought he'd go for Y/BF/N.

We were chilling by our lockers, chatting about his film project, when his books suddenly got knocked out of his hands and he was shoved against the lockers. I straightened up when I saw it was Nate, looking pissed off as he had Y/BF/N's shirt bundled in his fist.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted, trying to shove him off, but he merely pushed me back.

"This isn't your business," he said to me before glaring at Y/BF/N, who was quiet with panic. "You. You've been hanging around my girlfriend and I don't like it."

The colour drained from Y/BF/N's face as Nate slammed his hand to the lockers beside his head, startling him.

"I want you to stay the fuck away from Wanda!" he ordered, and students were starting to pick up on the fight that was clearly about to break out. "You fucking hear me, you nerd? Stay the fuck away!"

Poor Y/BF/N nodded his head, eyes avoiding Nate's. Meanwhile, I was angrier than Nate probably was. Y/BF/N had done nothing wrong. Maybe Nate had just seen Wanda hanging with me and because Y/BF/N was always with me, assumed the worst. Either way, this was no way to handle the situation and I was not gonna let this dick threaten my friend.

"Get the fuck away from him, Nate," I said through gritted teeth, glaring a hole into the side of his head.

Nate barely glanced my way. "I told you this isn't your business, honey."

"Five seconds," I said, standing behind him as a crowd began to form. "You've got five seconds or I'm gonna kick you."

He seemed to ignore me as he tightened his grip on Y/BF/N's shirt, only pissing me off more.

"Five," I began to count down, the grip on my books tightening with nerves and anger. "Four."

He still didn't look my way, just kept slapping Y/BF/N's face to scare him.

"Three, two, one," I said quickly, tired of giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Without waiting anymore, I kicked him between the legs with full force, watching as he instantly let go of Y/BF/N and doubled over. Everybody began to laugh, some making 'ooh' noises, but the consensus was clear – it definitely sucked to be Nate right now.

I tried not to laugh as I watched his face scrunch with pain, turning red. I was starting to appreciate my choice of wearing my doc marten boots today.

"No more balls for the guy who keeps throwing them at my fucking head," I got out, jaw clenching.

He looked up, his face crossing with realisation as he recognised me. In response, he glared in my direction, but it didn't faze me.

"Come on, Y/BF/N," I said, looking to my startled friend. "Let's go."

"What on Earth is going on over here?!" a teacher's voice rang out in the distance, and I groaned internally.

When I turned to leave, I heard Nate from behind me, grunting with dissatisfaction.

"Fuckin' dyke," he mumbled under his breath, and I paused, clenching my fists.

"Y/N, don't–" Y/BF/N tried to stop me, but I was too pissed to care.

I spun around and punched Nate square in the face, feeling good as his smirking face scrunched in pain and his back hit the lockers from the impact.

"Woah!" a teacher came out of nowhere, shoving herself between us and pushing me away from him. "What the hell is going on here?!"

I shook my hand to ease the pain on my knuckles, though the pain couldn't stop the grin on my lips as Nate raised his hands to his face, holding his busted nose. Students were going crazy, egged on by the potential fight, and for once, I didn't mind the attention. Nate had that coming for a while now.

"Everybody back to class! Now!" the teacher yelled, glaring all around her, before her eyes settled on Nate and I. "You two. Nurse's office now."

Nate glared at me behind his bloody nose and, once again, I tried not to laugh. Y/BF/N patted my back, amazement written on his face, before letting me leave with the teacher and an unusually silent Nate.

—

Kicking Nate in the groin and punching him in the face wasn't something I did to get attention, yet that's exactly what happened. Word of the incident spread around the school quite quickly, so much in fact that even students from other grades became aware of the situation and were approaching me to tell me how awesome I was. The whole thing was definitely strange, but I could tolerate it.

What I couldn't tolerate was having Chemistry after lunch and wondering if Wanda knew.

Would she hate me for punching her boyfriend? I wasn't sure. I just knew that when she walked into class and sat next to me, I felt everyone's eyes subtly watching us as if waiting for her to explode at me.

I'd been given an ice pack for my bruised hand after my visit to the nurse's office earlier whilst Nate had been treated for his broken nose (the fact that I'd broken it was hilarious to me, since I knew I wasn't even that strong). The principal had a very angry yell at us both in his office, neither of us willing to reveal the premise of our fight, before giving us detention every day after school for two weeks straight as punishment. Of course, Nate got his two weeks at a different time to mine for fear I'd punch him again (he definitely didn't like that, but he couldn't exactly say that to to principal).

I didn't bother using the ice pack in Chemistry for fear Wanda may ask what was up. I successfully managed to hide my hand and as a second surprise of the day, Wanda mentioned nothing about the incident. Not one thing about her boyfriend, about Y/BF/N, about any of it. I thought she might hint at it, trying to get me to bring it up. But she didn't which made me think she actually had no idea it even happened. Had anyone told her? Had he told her? Nah, probably not. His fragile masculinity probably caused him to change the story to something else so he didn't look like a wimp in front of his girlfriend.

Whatever it was, I was safe for now.

Thinking I'd got away with a confrontation from Wanda, I went about the rest of my day as usual. Well, that was until I was replacing some books in my locker at the end of the day and saw Wanda at her locker behind me, arguing with– yep, you guessed it. Nate.

Y/BF/N was collecting some books from his own locker beside me and we both exchanged looks as we saw the two lovebirds in a heated argument. Just when we were about to leave, someone cleared their throat from behind us, making us turn around.

Wanda was stood there, backpack hanging from her shoulder, beside Nate, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here.

"Hi," he started quietly, making Wanda clear her throat. He glanced at her before looking to Y/BF/N. "Look, man, I'm really sorry about earlier. I was wrong about what I said. We cool?"

I tried not to laugh at the way Nate was being forced to apologise by his girlfriend. Y/BF/N glanced to me with questioning eyes, so I simply shrugged.

"I guess...," he finally answered Nate, still a little awkward.

Nate nodded before looking to me. He still had his reservations, judging from the twitch in his expression, but for Wanda's sake, he kept his cool.

"I'm sorry for treating you badly," he said reluctantly. "With the football and just generally."

God, it was so hard not to laugh in his face right now. His nose had gauze taped to it and it made him look like an idiot. I fake coughed to disguise my smile, before meeting his gaze.

"It's, er, cool," I said, not in the mood to be an arsehole to him, even though he deserved it. I'd punched him – I think we were equal for now.

He nodded, before staying quiet. Glancing to Wanda, he waited for her to say something. She rolled her eyes and nodded for him to leave. When he was gone, she sighed tiredly.

"I only heard about what happened after Chem class," she said, mainly to me, a guilty expression on her lips. "I'm so sorry he acted like a jerk."

I chewed my lip, unsure what to say.

"It's okay, Y/N here took care of it," Y/BF/N said, smiling with amusement at me. Okay, well now she definitely knew.

"Yeah, sorry you felt you had to do that," she said with a grimace. "I guess he deserved it though."

"Kind of," I agreed, before noticing the regretful frown on her lips. "He apologised though. It's already happened. I kinda broke his nose... No point in dwelling on it."

She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah..." Her eyes fell to my bruised hand before lifting it gently. I winced at the ache, but let her hold it, studying the purple bruise painted across my knuckles. "That looks bad."

It felt good punching him though, but I wasn't about to say that since it was her boyfriend I was talking about.

"It's alright," I said dismissively, shrugging. "Nate kind of got it worse. I'll live."

The pad of her thumb stroked the bruise gently and I held my breath, the feeling of her hands holding mine sending shivers up my arm. Her eyes flickered to mine, softened with guilt, before she let go of my hand.

"I should head home," she said after a pause. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Y/BF/N said for both of us, sensing my loss of words.

Wanda held my gaze once more, eyes half lidded as they glanced down. Before I could even question what she was looking at, she waved goodbye and left.

"She's either starting to realise what a dick her boyfriend is or she's just really into you," Y/BF/N said, patting me on the back. "Maybe both, who knows?"

—

"You definitely cheated," I told Y/BF/N once we finished yet another round of air hockey. "Nobody wins six times in a row like that!"

He laughed at my expression. "Tell me, dear Y/N. How would I cheat? The concept of the game is simple, really. It's not my fault you're terrible."

I rolled my eyes lightheartedly. "Seventh time's the charm. C'mon."

He chuckled, about to put more money in the machine, before his eyes got distracted by something behind me. "Well, would you look at that. The Maximoff twins are here."

"Very funny," I said with a knowing look. "You can't throw me off like that. We've established I'm already terrible. Now c'mon. Let's go!"

"I wish I was joking," he said, shaking his head.

I scoffed, not believing him, and turned around to prove him wrong, but I was surprised when I saw Wanda and Pietro walking into the arcade we were in. They seemed to spot us instantly, waving in our direction before approaching us.

"Fancy seeing you here," Pietro teased with a smile as they stopped before us.

I cracked a smile as Y/BF/N joined my side. "We're hanging out. And you?"

Wrapping an arm around his sister's shoulder, he tugged Wanda close to him. "Sibling bonding time."

Wanda rolled her eyes at his childishness, but I could tell she found it endearing all the same.

"Well, if you want, you can hang with us," Y/BF/N offered, and we all looked to him, myself raising a brow his way. He seemed to sense my reluctance, it egging him on as he grinned at them. "Y/N doesn't mind. Do you, Y/N?"

I swallowed hard as I looked between the twins. "'Course not."

And that's how I found myself playing arcade games with the Maximoff twins that Saturday afternoon. It was actually pretty fun, with Pietro being as competitive as I was and Wanda being the sweetest loser with everything she played. It was so adorable, but I ended up letting her win some games of skee-ball just so I could see that cute nose scrunch of hers as she realised she'd won.

"You gonna let me win like that, too?" Pietro caught on as he took his sister's place in playing against me. He had a mischievous grin on his lips and I felt my mouth go dry at what he was implying.

"You wish," I said, playing it cool, though I wondered if he cared that I clearly let Wanda win. He wouldn't read into it, right?

Pietro took his go as he spoke. "So, I heard what happened with you and Nate at school last week."

I closed my eyes, cringing at the reminder. Pietro merely laughed.

"You kicked him super hard, right?" he asked excitedly. "I heard his face went so red with anger that you could fry an egg on it! And don't forget that punch, goddamn what I would pay to have seen that!"

"Pietro!" Wanda scolded from behind us as her and Y/BF/N played air hockey. "Don't be a tool!"

I felt my face heat up with embarrassment as Pietro continued to laugh. Y/BF/N joined in whilst Wanda tried to hide the smile dancing on her lips.

"You're not even together anymore," Pietro called to Wanda between laughter. Wait, did I hear that right?

"You and Nate broke up?" Y/BF/N asked with disbelief. "Our grade's 'it' couple broke up?"

Wanda ran a hand through her hair to distract from her flittering eyes. "He treated you horribly last week. Both of you." She glanced my way before looking at her shoes. "He was a jerk. It was long overdue... Also, I would have broken up with him there and then had I known what he'd said to you. I'm sorry he said what he did."

She stared at me with apologetic eyes and I wasn't sure what to say or do other than nod awkwardly and look away. The fact that she'd broken up with him put a smile on my face though.

"I just think it's awesome," Pietro admitted, before saluting playfully to me. "Thank you for your service. I knew you were awesome, but this is a whole new level."

I sighed, attempting to hide my smile, before straightening up to play. Pietro and I played some skee-ball before I decided to have a go at the claw machine. Wanda was at the one beside me, attempting to win herself a fluffy black cat plush toy. She'd had three goes before giving up, admitting to defeat.

"Typical Wanda," Pietro teased. "Giving up when the going gets tough."

She punched him in the arm, making him jump and rub it. That elicited a smile from her, making me laugh at their immaturity.

"How about Wanda and I go and get a table in the diner next door whilst you finish up winning whatever it is you're trying to win?" Y/BF/N asked, looking to me, as if assigning blame.

"I already told you, I'm not leaving this machine until I win at least one thing," I stated stubbornly.

"The amount of money you've put into the machine won't make up for whatever you win," Y/BF/N teased with amusement.

"Just go," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "I'll be there soon."

"I'll wait with her," Pietro said, resting a hand on my shoulder, making me shrug him off jokingly. "See you soon," he added with a laugh, to his sister and Y/BF/N.

When they left, I looked to Pietro with an amused smile. "I don't need you to look after me, y'know."

He shrugged and looked through the glass of the claw machine. "I know. But I stayed to give you some advice, princess."

"Oh, really? And what advice is that?" I asked, before putting some coins in the machine to have another go.

"People usually tend to win these things for people they like, right?" he asked, nodding to the plush toys in the machine.

"Or for themselves," I corrected with a curious smile. "Take Wanda for example. How badly did she want that cat?"

He crossed his arms, smiling with amusement. "You could win it for her, y'know."

"What?" I asked, half paying attention as I attempted to grab a teddy bear.

"Win the cat for my sister and give it to her?"

I ended up dropping the teddy from the claw as I looked to Pietro with shock. He laughed at my expression, leaning against the machine.

"You do like her, right? Otherwise this is awkward," he added as an afterthought, looking down and smiling to himself.

My jaw hung open. "I– er– I never really– I don't–"

"She must definitely like you," Pietro noted, glancing at me.

I licked my lips as I found my words. "Did she," I cleared my throat, "did she say something?"

"Well, no," he said, "but she looks like she wants to murder me every time I hang out with you."

"That's just a coincidence," I said, shaking my head and looking back to the machine. "She's not–" I thought about, before shaking my head again. "No."

I appreciated Pietro's help, but Wanda definitely didn't like me like that. She was just protective of her brother and friendly to me. It didn't mean anything.

"Look, you don't have to listen to me," he said, straightening up and looking at the machine as I slotted another coin in. "But you could give it a shot. See what happens."

I glanced at him, his blue eyes watching me knowingly, a matching smirk on his lips.

"Fine," I gave in, hoping it wouldn't backfire. "Let's see what happens..."