#whew formatting this was a trip

[chereus]

Oblivious Boyfriends | D. Winchester

Summary - Dean had been neglecting his boyfriend bedroom duties and you were getting frustrated [set in season 10ish, they’re fully moved into the bunker]

Pairings - SoftDom!Dean x Fem!Reader

Warnings - Dom Dean, daddy kink, if you squint there’s angst before the blinding smut, spanking, choking, hair pulling, p in v, unprotected sex, breeding kink, hot angry Dean, sexual tension, talk about love and marriage??? Kinda??? It was done tastefully though I promise!!!

Cherry’s notes: Whew! That was spicy—in honor of my new phone I decided I’d post this as a thanks to people who’ve supported me throughout my writing journey <3. I’m still getting used to this writing format that tumblr has so pls be nice!!!

P.S ~ This may have been sorter than intended due to tumblr deleting half of this while I wasn’t looking. Still upset about that. Also sorry for the time delay because of said tumblr issues, had to rewrite most of it + an ending -_-.

Word count: about 1.2k

You were kind of being a bitch today. But in your defense, your boyfriend Dean had been so busy with work that he hardly had time to satisfy your in the bedroom needs. When you’d try and communicate that this was becoming an issue you’d been brushed off every. single. time. So naturally you started to get frustrated and decided to take control into your own hands for the time being.

“Y/n, have you seen my gun?” Dean announced himself as he stumbled into the library. You just continued to sit there and do your research without so much as a morsel of acknowledgment.

He cleared his throat and tried again, “Y/n have you seen my gun?” only this time he got a small clench of the jaw and a silent flare of the nostrils. Still with no response he decided to try a third time when you suddenly just got up and left leaving him completely alone in the library.

Wondering what he did he promptly followed you, but once he realized he wasn’t getting far by just following in your footsteps he bravely spoke, “Okay, seriously, is this how we’re acting today?”.

This immediately caught your attention but you showed no signs of making a huge scene so you quickly and calmly stopped while turning around to face him while replying with, “I don’t know Dean, is it?”.

He really didn’t like the passive aggressiveness in your tone. It hadn’t helped that you’d quickly spun around and once again resumed ignoring him. Being ignored was one of his top ten pet peeves and you knew it. That’s exactly why you chose this method to piss him off. Get him all worked up, he’d have to take his frustrations out on you then.

“What the hells’ that supposed to mean?” He countered, following you into the kitchen.

“It means that if you don’t know then it’s not worth talking about.” You said truthfully. Suddenly Dean found himself recalling the days to see if he’d missed a birthday, a dinner, an anniversary, anything that would constitute this type of treatment and he came up empty.

As you noticed Dean sitting there dumbfounded you took it upon yourself to grab one of his beers from the fridge and march back out successfully initiating phase one.

You’d been toying with the idea for quite some time but never had the means or justification until now, you were going to go around the house and dump all of the alcohol.

This was seemingly easy considering after your and deans little spat, he’d decided to give you some space to cool off seeing that you were angry with him. It gave you the perfect opportunity to do what you needed to do. This was phase two.

Phase three was to just sit back and watch the anger seep from deep within Dean Winchesters veins until he couldn’t see anything but red.

Sam had been on a hunting trip for the last couple of days and you were thankful because the things he would’ve heard��

“Y/N! Where is all the beer?!” Dean hollered as you passed him in the kitchen.

“I dumped it.” You simply said. Deans face went slate.

“You-you…dumped it.” He said as both a statement and a question. You could see the vein on the side of his neck start to pop and you knew he was close to blowing a gasket at how he had been treated.

“Yup. I dumped it. Decided that we’re now alcohol free. Have fun with your green juices and detox tea.” You were beginning to walk away when he grabbed you and spun you back around so that your chests were touching and he was holding your wrists on both sides of your head.

“Is there something that needs to be sorted out? Cause’ I’m getting’ real tired of the way things have been going around here.” He seethed. He probably just wanted a nice cold beer after working a long hard case all day but you weren’t about to let that happen. You were horny and determined to do something about it.

You got closer to his face and begun to look into his eyes while simultaneously brushing your lips together with his. Nudging your nose against his you whispered, “if there was a problem you’d know.” And you ripped yourself away from him and swiftly dropped out of the room beginning to feel yourself getting wetter by the instant.

Not even ten seconds later Dean came marching out of the kitchen behind you demanding that you work this out by pushing you against the hallway wall. You responded by grabbing him by his belt loops and smashing his hips against yours. He’d finally gotten the hint.

“Is this what you wanted? Was my pretty baby just horny and desperate for her daddies attention?” He said as he grabbed you by the throat and kissed you. You whimpered at the gruffness of his touch, desperate and craving more.

“I need you to answer me, y/n. You know daddy doesn’t like it when you go silent.” Dean enforced. You let out the tiniest little ‘yes’ lost in your own world of pleasure and fulfillment.

“Louder, y/n.” He commanded putting slightly harder pressure onto the sides of your throat that were sure to bruise later but you didn’t care. The feeling of his body on your body was enough to drive you wild.

“Yes!” You deeply moaned wrapping your hands around his hips and flushing your pelvis’s together. Dean leaned down and planted an earth shattering kiss on your lips, tongue swirling around with your own while he still held the position of holding your neck firmly in place without making you dizzy from the lack of air.

“Up.” Dean forced. Slipping his hand under your thighs and wrapping your legs around his torso. When you were situated your hands found their way to his hair to gently tug at the roots.

Hiking you up by your ass you were looming over him with every adjustment. Your hands made their way to either side of his face while you ferociously kissed him. He started to stumble his way down the hallway, careful not to drop you. You moaned as his grip on your ass got tighter the more aroused he was getting.

The warm smell of cinnamon from your hair, the combined scent your vanilla bourbon perfume and your honey body lotion, it reminded him of home. Although you’d been getting in spats and arguments all day you’d still somehow made him feel loved and cared for by the way you’d responded to his touch.

It was at this very moment he decided that he wanted to marry you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, or hell— maybe not even next week, but someday If you’d let him.

Finally stumbling into your shared room dominant Dean was back in action. He gently put you down and then shoved you back onto the bed signifying the fact that he was done playing the game you’d been playing all day.

When you adjusted yourself on the bed he immediately ripped your pants off annoyed at the extra fabric keeping the two of you apart. Dipping down he gently put his right hand to your jaw and repeated what you had to him earlier. Brushing your lips together your noses tenderly touched and he gave you one last affectionate kiss before looking down at your tank top and ripping it in two.

Your eyes widened with desire, you’d never seen Dean like this and it was extremely sexy. The mix of softhearted kissing and rough manhandling was driving you insane. Kissing down your stomach the torn shirt was quickly discarded never to be seen again.

Only in your bralette and underwear you start to feel cold with Dean still fully clothed. Grabbing him by his hair you pull his head up from your panty line. Giving him a single peck on the lips you start to peel off the layers of flannel and cotton until his top half was fully nude.

Reaching down to undo his belt buckle he stops you with a questioning glare. He shoves your hands away and moved away from the bed and to the closet where a medium sized black box was laying on the top shelf. Getting that box down you knew that something freaky was about to happen.

Pulling out four long black ropes he looks back at you with a smirk. You gulp and back away slowly, however he was faster and started tying your left wrist tightly to the headboard. Positioning you in the middle of the bed he ties your right to the other side of the headboard.

Deciding to discard the last two ropes, he resumes your playful foreplay now teasing you at the fact that you can no longer touch him in the way you wanted to.

“M’ gonna fuck you in this pretty little bra. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Been walking around all day getting on my nerves so I’d have no choice but to fuck the aggression out. Well, you should be careful what you wish for.” He says menacingly pulling off your underwear.

Leaving your bare pussy in the cold Dean jumps off the bed and begins to slowly undress. And I mean slowly. You thought you were about to combust when you finally saw Dean unbuckle his pants and slowly drop them.

Getting back on the bed Dean slides his hands up and down your curves on your sides, trailing down to your hip bones and finally your throbbing heat. It really was no surprise that you’d gotten worked up so easy considering you and Dean hadn’t had really any sex in almost four months. Orgasms, yes. Sex, no.

It was killing you not being intimate with Dean like you used to. So when he finally put his cold hands on your warm aching pussy you could’ve cried in relief even though it was only through your panties you could feel his fingertips rubbing up against your clit causing you to softly moan in delight.

Gripping the tightly tied ropes Dean tormented you by pulling off your panties and just sat there. Staring. It would’ve made you insecure had you not known that Dean would’ve loved you no matter what you perceived your vagina to look like.

“Would you let me put a baby in you?” Dean asks out of the blue. Your eyes widened and your breath hitched, “In the future of course. Your still on birth control, right?” He thought out loud. You were speechless so all you could do was nod and let out a small ‘uh-huh’.

Dean could tell you were now really tense after that question so he took his hands and smoothed them over your stomach and said, “Don’t worry. Not until your ready. But until then, I’d like to practice.”

Your muscles were slowly untensing as Dean assured you there would be no baby making until your ready. “If we’re practicing, do you mind going in raw? I’d like to be closer with you.”

Dean was now blushing but tried to hide it through dominance. He spread your knees apart and quickly dove in licking and sucking your clit. Pulling at the ropes, you moaned and groaned until you were so close to cumming that you could cry.

Dean could tell how close you were so he sped up his tongue motions and hooked his arms around the base of your thighs so you couldn’t move anywhere.

“Oh fuck!” You moaned as your first orgasm took over you. Dean wasted no time in sliding his manhood into you with great force.

Putting his hands at your hips he began roughly thrusting into you at an angle that kept hitting your g-spot over an over again. As you were getting louder and louder with your moans Dean reached down in between your legs and rubbed your clit. He was fucking you so hard at this point you were seeing spots.

“Yeah. Your such a good girl. Taking it so good for me. Gonna be doing this to make a baby one day, huh sweetheart. Look at me.” He said as your eyes were starting to droop. Your eyes tiredly opened and you seen Dean look at you like your the queen of the world. His world. With adoration and love.

“Gonna let me fill you up, hmm? Gonna let me take care of you while your carrying our child? Gonna let me go out at three am to fill some ridiculous request of bread and butter pickles from that grocery store half an hour away?” Dean asks with a fond smirk on his face. Like he’d be so excited to be able to do those things for you.

Just hearing how happy it would make Dean to be your caretaker in your time of need makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Not just because he’s still fucking the life out of you.

Once you get close enough to the edge Dean starts to get greedy. He wants you to cum and he wants it now. “Give it to me y/n. Now.” He says wrapping his hand around your throat and pounding into you like there’s no tomorrow.

Seconds later it felt like fireworks had been let off in your stomach with how hard you were orgasming. At one point you were certain that you were seeing stars.

“Fuck! Dean!” You moaned as you made other noises that you had no idea you could even make. Before you could even come down Dean slipped out of you and was undoing the ropes.

“All fours. Now.” Was the command. Still a little dizzy, you comply wanting to see where this was going.

Upon getting on all fours dean was already behind you thrusting upwards at a new angle. Letting out a deep groan you dropped to your elbows and grabbed the sheets.

“Having that attitude all day really drove me nuts all day, y’know that? Now I get to fuck it out of you and I couldn’t be happier.” He said slapping your ass hard. You yelped and tried to go forward but his hands at the crease of your hip and thigh bone wouldn’t let you.

“Your not going nowhere. Your gonna sit here and let me breed you like a good little slut.” You couldn’t deny hearing those words made the sex ten times hotter. When you leaned your head back to moan deans hand was there to grab you by your hair and continue fucking your pussy until you exploded.

Pulling your hair was the final step in your third and final orgasm. Pulling away slightly at the overstimulation Dean speeds up, chasing his own climax. With one last grunt Dean came spilling into you with force.

“Oh God,” you shuddered, suddenly very cold. Goosebumps lining your skin, you get off the bed leaving Dean to fend for himself.

After you cleaned up you got back in bed with Dean. “Did you really mean what you said? Do you really want kids with me?” You asked as you lifted up the covers where Dean currently resided.

“Well yeah, I’d also like to put a ring on your finger too whenever you’ll let me.” Dean said shyly playing with the edging on the covers.

You quietly smiled and kissed Dean as you settled down. “I love you, and I want to marry you. But kids are out for a while. At least until I’m sure one of us isn’t going to end up dead with the shit we deal with on the daily. I won’t put another generation of kids what we went through. I just won’t.”

Although Dean was disappointed, he understood. His childhood sucked and he’d do anything to make sure that his kid didn’t live the same life.

“But we can still practice though, right?” Dean asked cheekily. You laughed, “yes Dean we can still practice.”

You both chuckled when you heard a voice booming from the kitchen, “Dean, where is all the beer?!” It was Sam.

“You were kidding though about the beer weren’t you?” He asked and you laughed harder.

“No, I wasn’t. I was committed. I really dumped all the alcohol in the house. Sam will understand given his healthy lifestyle.” Dean groaned and sunk into the mattress. You were still cracking up at the whole situation now that you felt better after your release.

[oswlld]

oswlld's monthly wrap up: may

note: i am trying something a bit different this year, so bear with me as i figure out how i want to format this. i wanted to spend more time sharing what i consume, beyond what i rb, and put my thoughts in one place. these posts are okay to rb

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Arsenic and Adobo, Mia P. Manansala [started 05/18, finished 06/03] I didn’t dip my toes into the light murder mystery genre until now and to be honest, I’m not sure if it’s working for me. But I have seen recommendations floating around this series with filipino characters and wanted to check it out. The main character, Lila, is eerily specific to my personal experiences and upbringing, but the writing feels severely lacking because I’m actively looking for more character development and depth. My best friend clarified that this genre doesn’t really flesh out the characters in the way I want it to. In the end, it just fell flat for me. I gave it 3.5⭐️ on storygraph (which might be generous) — Crying in H-Mart, Michelle Zauner [started 05/09, finished 06/09] Have you even got a book that you know that you’ll love, so you just end up avoiding it at all costs? This is a memoir that I needed to read this slowly because it just felt incredibly special. And so painful. If you’re a first gen aapi with a difficult relationship with your mother, this is going to be a LOT for you. Sobbing, snotty, the whole works. Take long breaks in between reads if you need it. I luckily saved the heaviest part of the book for when I was taking an impromptu trip to the lake, surrounded by so much sun, mist, and life. The world was comforting me and wiping away my tears. 5.0⭐️ on storygraph!!

23.5 Degrees, GMMTV [started: 03/08, dnf] I only had time to catch episode 9 in May. I thought I would be able to complete the series this month, but alas it might be a DNF. Please tell me that the adorable teachers got together! — Doctor Who, Disney+ [started: 05/10, in prog] It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that DW is on here. I am a DW blog first, multifandom blog second. I’m loving the spin RTD is taking with the show for this run, having the genre touch on the supernatural/mythical/fantasy. It still has the same DNA but it’s so fresh. I only caught the first two eps on premiere week and haven’t had the time to keep up with the show weekly, but I am catching up soon. — Murderville, Netflix [started 02/10, finished: 05/23] I forgot to include this in my february wrap up, but I watched eps 1-4 back then and finally got around to seeing the last two eps this month. This show is such a delight! I love the unique twist on the concept of procedural improv, where the guest star actually have to solve the case at the end of the ep. They’re not there to just play off the other actors, they invite themselves to interact with the plot without taking it too seriously. If this sounds right up your alley to turn your brain down to like… 25%, please check this out. — Attack on Titan [started: 05/26, in prog] I have quite a journey ahead of me, but I’m happy to report that I LOVED the first ep. What a strong start to my anime era! This is gonna be my summer obsession, I can just feel it. By the time this posts, I will have seen eps two and maybe three(??). Gimme them right now, in an IV please. — Devil’s Plan, Netflix [started: 04/23, ALMOST complete] Bestie and I are OBSESSED with this competition series and we just learned there will be a s2, YAYY! This isn’t a show where you can turn your brain off. Now that I think about it, I don’t think there’s been a challenge I fully understood until ep 10, but man is it fun watching the contestants figure it out. They’re all SO intelligent and SOOO charming. And the games are so creative and elevated, it makes the stakes so charged! We are a few min into ep 11, out of 12, and we are planning to finish it this week. I don’t want this show to endddd!

Whew! I thought I didn’t watch much this month, but I covered a lot of ground on the TV front huh.

Pedro, Netflix [watched on 05/05] First off, you’ll be delighted to know that the artist and subject matter of the film, Pedro Friedeberg, has two cats named Wikipedia and Netflix. What I find so refreshing about this documentary in particular is Pedro, the unwilling participant during the process. The filmmaker, Liora Spilk Bialostozky, takes great care in sharing her insecurities about it. Liora is not shy about her adoration for her favorite artist and Pedro is very firm with his boundaries when pressed about his personal life. It makes for a very delightful, yet tense friendship between the two. — Polite Society [watched on 05/31] This is still fresh in my mind but what a spectacular film! LOVE how it puts the sister bond in the forefront of this classic action film, as well as all the female friendships. It makes the tonal shift flow seamlessly because the heart of the film beats strong. The best scene was the KHAN vs KHAN fight sequence, Ria vs Lena. The bashing, the biting, and the blood! The choice to make the final blow be self-inflicted, especially when it targets my personal experience, really took this film to new heights. I want to just ‘This movie has EVERYTHING’ meme the hell out of this. It has weird girls, judgmental aunties, college dropouts who have an estranged relationship with making art, torture scenes through the use of leg waxing, reproductive autonomy, FEMALE RAGE! It deserves to be up there when people think of 10 Things I Hate About You and Clueless.

GÉNESIS, Peso Pluma [first time listening] Before Coachella, I knew very little about Peso Pluma but his live performance really shot him to the top of my list of artists to catch up on. When I was little, my dad always had corrido playing in his car radio and to this day, he still occasionally plays it in the garage. What I really admire about GÉNESIS is the modern twists the artist takes in the production and writing, perfectly paying homage to the traditional without it sounding dated. I think it’s largely due to his vocals. He doesn’t shy away from perfecting at the cost of being authentic and it shines in songs such as Rubicon and 77. The latter half of the album really packs a punch, it’s so hard to pick a favorite. Everything from Lady Gaga to the end is just banger after banger after banger. Having this album play in my car… I really do take after my father. — LAS LETRAS YA NO IMPORTAN, Residente [first time listening] I first heard of Residente from the song Immigrants (We Get the Job Done) from the Hamilton Mixtape. Even then, I made a mental note to get back to him, but lost track of time until I started listening to Peso Pluma. This compilation consists of 23 songs and it’s such a sublime experience from beginning to end! It’s cinematic, it’s heavy, it’s a party, AND it’s skipless. He has a level of talent that has me raging!!! HE’S SO GOOOOOOD TF?!?!? The first time I heard 313, I wrote a note on my phone with “hhhhhhhh???!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!how dare he” and I stand by that statement. It’s almost six minutes long and not one second was wasted. Where Peso Pluma brings the traditional corrido to the present, Residente brings rap/hip-hop into the future. Whenever I get a chance to jump back into the album in the car, the songs I tend to gravitate towards are Artificial Inteligente, Cerebro, Yo No Sé Pero Sé, Que Fluya, and Las Letras Ya No Importan. This guy doesn’t miss, I hate him (affectionate). — Everything I Know About Love, Laufey [first time listening] This album is magnificent, I am UNWELL. The way I feel about this album is the same way I felt about Five Seconds Flat last summer: a feeling so bone deep, my soul begs for release. Bewitched was such a strong outing for me, so hearing little echos of it in the album before made the listen experience all the more enchanting. I’m so in love with this album. I’m actually convinced that Above the Chinese Restaurant is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. Ever. If I talk about this album more, it’s going to dig up so much of my deepest, darkest memories. I can’t… but also please talk to me about this album. — HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, Billie Eilish [first time listening] On gawd, what a stellar month for music, I can’t believe it! What a KNOCKOUT!! Billie and Finneas, I feel, have finally come home. They finally own their craft, refined it, and carved it into this marble masterpiece. Billie is more daring with her vocal range and exploring new avenues in her execution. The entirety of L’amour De Ma Vie was just me going “ARE YOU KIDDING ME????” 30 times over in the car. No but for real, is she joking? This is so ungodly, what am I supposed to do with myself?? HELP???? It’s a no-skip album, there is no top 5, no favorites list. It just is and it’s unbelievable that I can’t experience it for the first time all over again.

[airplanned]

House of Leaves update:

I don’t usually read physical books, and this one required us to take a trip to the library to pick it up from on hold. So my kid is *interested.* He’s very into the weird formatting and the house being bigger on the inside, and I read the part about measuring the space between the bedrooms to him, and he thought that was hilarious. He now keeps asking me to read more to him. “uh…No, not now,” I say. “Johnny’s talking.”

He’s now taken to asking, “Is Johnny talking or is it about the house?”

And. I feel you, kid.

In other news, Ed (not sure who Ed is) said, “You don’t need to read Johnny’s footnotes, see Appendix D and E” And…Whew Buddy!

[eponymous-rose]

Wednesday!

Hoo boy, lots going on today. E-mails aplenty to start things off! One of my students from last quarter is applying to four internships and would like me to write letters of reference. I am a reference-writing machine (up to a couple dozen so far this year?), of course I'll do it. One of my Master's students sheepishly writes me to say he's currently in the Southern Hemisphere (he'd forgotten all about going home for a few weeks until he had the day-before check-in reminder) and asks if we can meet remotely today. Not a problem! The first of the "where's today's seminar on the calendar?" e-mails comes in - sadly the speaker is ill and had to cancel fairly last-minute. This feels like foreshadowing for a bunch more e-mails I'm about to receive. One of my colleagues I meet with bi-weekly has asked if we can swap which week we meet since he has a conflict, no problem there. Messages about a seminar that I think I'm going to have to skip. Very angry e-mail from a student who's still frustrated and struggling with the department laptop, so we're going to meet to figure that one out. Doing my best to encourage an "us against the problem" situation rather than "me bordering on unsympathetic given how many times this student has e-mailed me or knocked on my door outside of office hours to vent about things I have no control over". Going to have to set some boundaries today, I think. (My standard question to myself: yes, I want to be sympathetic and helpful to students, but is this something that this student would in a million years consider doing with an older and more dudely professor that he assumes would have important things to do? If not, it's probably something we should discuss.) Everyone handed in the homework assignment due today, whew.

Fun lecture! It's the one I prepared yesterday, the last one of the material I had no hand in developing, so it's nice to be out of there but also I learned a lot, which is nice. I think everyone's following along well and I am delighted that I've had pretty much 100% in-person attendance all quarter so far! (I post recorded lectures and slides online so that if students are feeling ill they don't have to come to class, but sometimes that results in students staying home all quarter, which is tough given how much in-person interaction is key to success in the class.) Due to some scheduling switch-ups, I will not be teaching tomorrow or Friday. Coincidentally, tomorrow's my birthday. Amazing how that works out.

Straight into a meeting with my PhD student! He comes in looking a little downcast, and when I ask what's wrong he laughs and goes "ACTUALLY NOTHING" and tells me he won a major fellowship! So proud of this guy, he's doing amazing work. We talk about it a bit (it includes a week-long intensive research trip with other fellows), then get to his research (lots and lots and lots of downloading data), then go over some of the expectations for his PhD proposal and dissertation formatting. He's gunning for his general exam next quarter, which means he'd be done a year and a couple months from now. I think he can do it, and I think he's making enough connections and publishing well enough that I'm comfortable with him graduating early if that's where he wants to be (since our department pays students, plus stipend, plus tuition, I encourage students to stick around as long as they have funding and their life circumstances allow so that they can get as many publications/presentations/connections as possible before going off job-hunting).

Well hey, it's time to meet with my student who's back in his home country this week! We laughed about how this reminds us of when he first won his Fulbright and we were scheming over Zoom to bring him here - time flies! He's mostly doing well, but his friggin' Python environment is broken and he needs to reinstall everything before he can run his code. We do some dry debugging since he can't actually run anything. Getting there! I remind him to shoot an update to his coadvisor (she's in a research plane for six hours today and couldn't make the meeting), which he quickly does. He'll be back here in two weeks, but I'm glad he can spend some time back home!

A little soul-searching break: do I want to admit another grad student? My colleague pointed out a great application that would be a good fit. The risk is admitting two amazing students and only having funding for one (or zero!). The flipside risk is admitting one amazing student who decides to go to grad school elsewhere, leaving me with a very bad gap in my supervisory career. I remind myself that one of my colleagues has offered to be backup for one of my students, so even if she doesn't get funded, he can cover her for a year or two. I think I'm gonna admit this second student. I'll sleep on it once more and then call her to gauge her interest in my research projects. I should emphasize that the students will get to do cool research and get paid well for it even if I don't get funding; the consequences are for me alone if things go wrong. That's oddly comforting. Up for tenure in two years means I want to look most impressive in the next year or so as the process begins.

Anyway, soul-searching and an incoming meeting with a disgruntled undergraduate means it's time for a quick break. I walk down to the secret basement coffeeshop on campus and get a London Fog and one of their $3 grilled cheese sandwiches. Suddenly feeling much less grumpy. Much less grumpy. Ah, that was just a touch of hangry.

Back to the office, where I do some grading in a much better mood and shoot a line to the department chair so he can announce my student's fellowship on social media. Grading goes really well - the one student who struggled a bit with the first homework got a perfect score on the second, we love to see it. Everyone's doing amazing.

The dreaded student meeting! He starts by apologizing for monopolizing my time so much lately and tells me he's going to make sure to send me an e-mail before coming by next time. Aww, but also, good. We manage to figure out what's gone wrong (the computer is so old it has a sub-GHz processor, it's an absolute nightmare) and manage to reinstall the software after about 15 minutes of waiting for the computer to be able to render each page of the website. Happily, once the software is installed, everything runs fast and he grabs the data in about ten seconds flat. Saves it directly to a thumb drive, uploads it to the course management system, we're back on track! Finally.

Okay, I think that's a decent place to head home a little early (might just wait for the flood of "where's the seminar this week?" e-mails to die down). New e-mail from one of the committees I'm on that runs a bi-yearly conference - we were getting some pressure to run our (American organization's) conference in Australia, so we did a full survey of membership and were able to show data proving that doing so would systematically exclude women, students, and other folks with travel restrictions (visas, immunocompromised if there's a spike ongoing, etc.). We also managed to make a good case for why this is a very different picture than the separate European conference, which is run by and for a European organization that some of our members occasionally jump in on (hey, I'll be doing that this May!). We'll be meeting to discuss all that and to figure out how best to bring this up diplomatically with leadership of our parent organization.

Got a not-so-useful notification that someone who was in attendance at the seminar I ran seven days ago has tested positive. Welp. I still mask 100% indoors and had a negative test this weekend, but guess it's time to test again real quick when I get home. Still have somehow managed to avoid getting this thing (and only one cold in three years!) but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Tomorrow! It's my actual birthday! I will probably take it easy tomorrow since events have mysteriously conspired to give me a nice chunk of downtime, but I do want to get next week's Wednesday lecture done and also start on the review article by the end of the week. Also committed to sending my colleague a revised draft of our grant proposal by the end of the week. Not too shabby!

I'm gonna do this again because it turned out last week kinda went off the rails without it and the little bit of accountability is super super helpful.

Monday!

It's a busy week! It's also my birthday week! Let's do this!

E-mail with coffee: sent a prospective grad student a congratulations on her admission to our program. I'm really hoping to hire her, but I do need to consider whether I might want to admit two students for this position and just get the extra funding for the second one elsewhere if both decide to come. Hmm. Confirmed coffee on Friday with the wonderful admin I've been wanting to befriend for a while - finally we'll interact outside of paperwork! Sadly Wednesday's seminar speaker is ill and won't be able to present - I'm leading the seminar so that does add up to a little less work for me, which is the silver lining there. One of my student groups is struggling to grab data from the weather station they built on the roof because the dang software doesn't work on Macs - managed to coordinate getting them a loaner PC laptop from the department, whew. Completed two letters of reference for an undergrad student applying to internships. Somehow managed to double-book a meeting and gave one a heads up to cancel. Showed my availability for scheduling a PhD defense for a student whose committee I'm on. One of the speakers for my seminar series sent a somewhat passive-aggressive e-mail to the department chair to let him know his info's not up on the website yet. Department chair forwarded it to me, I replied with, essentially "hold your dang horses, your talk isn't until mid-March". He replied back with a sheepish apology. All good.

Formulated my list of essential stuff for this week:

finish Wednesday's (and next week's?) lecture(s?)

prepare next week's homework & key

work on grant proposal

work on commissioned review article

So excited that we're finally to the part of the class that I have taught before in past years! Great lecture today about statistical data analysis. Hurt everyone's brains with the Monty Hall problem. Showed a lot of XKCD comics, got some laughs. Good times. Answered some student questions on the homework assignments, looks like everyone's on track to ace this one as well. This is a really strong class and I'm very proud of them!

On to a virtual meeting with my peer mentoring group! We talk about how utterly wild it is that different departments manage research funding in completely different ways. I vent a bit for the umpteenth time about having to rely 100% on grants to pay my grad students (bigger departments often have student funding provided if they TA, but we just don't have enough classes to sustain that). Easily the biggest source of stress in my life right now is running out of funding for my students: "in order to pay your graduate students, you have to receive a major grant" "cool! how likely am I to get one?" "success rates are about 1 in 15" "uhhhh" "also the applications (if you manage to find a perfect match for your research) take about 40-60 hours to plan and write and it's not work that's looked at formally as part of your tenure review so you're actively taking time away from research" "uhhhhhhh" "and you won't find out if you have been awarded the grant or not before you have to make the decision to hire a student so you just gotta gamble on it" "UHHHHHHH" "you don't get paid in the summer either unless you pull in 2-3 grants that can each cover one month max of salary so I hope you're not putting well over 50% of your take-home toward rent in one of the worst markets in the US or anything haha." It's A Lot. But it's very helpful to talk to people about it!

Realized I left my half-finished Wednesday lecture on my computer at home so I can't work on it during my break between meetings. Shoot, guess that's a tomorrow problem. At least I can work on the homework assignment! This one was an absolute nightmare last year but I think I've come up with a way to simplify it while still hitting all of the learning goals. It's complicated but hopefully very satisfying and builds on everything they've learned thus far. Even with the simplification, I'm definitely expecting some traffic in office hours next week. Opted not to include the more tedious section of the homework because I've tested that particular skill amply in the earlier assignments this quarter. Ran through it once on my own, sent myself the key, then posted the homework and the submission portal for their online module for next week, so all I'm missing now is the lectures.

E-mail break! A professor at a small university nearby wants to bring in a grad student from my group to talk to her class about tornadoes! I have someone in mind (who is both a great presenter and also could use a little confidence boost to get back on track with his research), but of course he's working remotely on the other side of the country, so it's time for a quick check to see if a remote presentation is possible. Checking in on my seminar speaker for next week - project title and abstract up on the website, phew. She's a grad student, so I should find out if her advisor can introduce her or if they want me to do so (and if so, I gotta do some digging for fun facts to share!). Got an invite to a lunch with the faculty & chair where we're going to be brainstorming our next faculty hire, so I gotta be there for that (also because free food)! Surreal to think that we might be hiring my colleague for the next 30 years. It's... kind of intimidating and I definitely want to be in the room for that discussion. Aha! A reply already: virtual talk is fine, so I put the professor and my grad student in touch.

Nice virtual meeting with my former postdoc advisor - we commiserate for a while over his recent illness, but he's feeling better now so we quickly jump back to talking research. The small grant I was awarded recently actually dovetails with some of the broader research ideas he and I had been talking about, so I'm gonna keep him in the loop on that!

Up next: a meeting with my two undergraduate research interns. They're coadvised by my colleague who is flying research aircraft on the other side of the country right now so it's just the three of us. Due to holidays and conferences, this is actually the first time in 2023 we all managed to meet! We go over some paperwork to make sure they get college credit for this research. They're spinning their wheels a little bit but I had them shoot off a couple emails while I was there to start them getting their data ASAP. We then chatted about severe weather we'd all witnessed. One of the students mentioned she's been saving the candy from my office candy bowl for whenever she forgets to bring lunch to campus and now I'm realizing I should maybe get some protein bars or something for some variety.

All good stuff. There's a seminar in 15 minutes but it's a chemistry seminar so... I may just sneak home a bit early.

Tomorrow: no meetings (maaaybe one remote meeting), so work-from home! Should be able to get the last bit of coursework done for the week so I can start on my research to-do list.

[veliseraptor]

okay, been meaning to make this post for ages so finally buffing this off (har, har) and posting these recs over here for @jaggedcliffs. (old fics, basically just ported from my very old Livejournal reading list.)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL FICS

Disclaimer one: a lot of these are very old and I haven’t reread most of them in a while. Disclaimer two: most of these are Angel-centric and most of them are also Angel/Buffy. Disclaimer three: no I think that’s about all the disclaimers.

Backstage 26: Walking After Midnight by Aadler

Sometimes the enemy you can count on is the friend you need most. Angel+Xander.

Windows to the Soul by HonorH

Kate is of two minds concerning Angel at the end of "Somnambulist."

One Lucky Guy by HonorH

During Riley's visit to Spike's crypt in "Into the Woods," Spike lets Riley in on a few things re: love, hate, vampires in general, and Angel in particular.

Artistry by Estepheia

Rumors of another souled vampire lure Angel back to Sunnydale. Set in an alternate S7.

Damnation's Castaway Awakening by Kairos Impending

Angel is back from Hell. Buffy does what she can.

That Chanuka Spirit by Katriena Knights

Xander confronts Angel. Somewhere between "Lover's Walk" and "Amends."

The Chat by Katriena Knights

Joyce learns the truth about Angel, and confronts him about his relationship with Buffy. S3, somewhere post Amends.

This Innocent by Eurydice

Giles is confronted for his betrayal of Buffy, and does some confronting of his own.

Grief That Does Not Speak by Estepheia

What else could bring them together? Angel+Giles, post-The Gift.

Ties That Bind by chrisleeoctaves

Angel/Buffy, post Not Fade Away.

And All the World Besides by Willa

Spike and Angel after the battle. Spike/Angel, post NFA.

Baker's Dozen by chrislee

Buffy/Angel, post Not Fade Away.

Smoke Damage by Kairos

Something very personal got left behind in the wreckage of Angel's LA apartment. Now it's resurfaced, and it may be all that's left of him. Kate, post-Not Fade Away.

Waiting to Exhale by biggrstaffbunch

Buffy might never get over Angel (or Spike, as this story suggests) but in the end- she must still choose to live her life. Post Not Fade Away.

Guilt Trembling Spoke My Doom by a2zmom

Angel's post NFA journey (and his reunion with Buffy). Angel, post Not Fade Away Shanshu.

Kindred by Ares

Buffy is in Los Angeles one week after Angel and his team stood and fought in that alley.

Intermezzo by Maren

Intermezzo: a short dramatic, musical, or other entertainment of light character, introduced between the acts of a drama or opera. Buffy/Angel.

If I Had Another Chance by Fleur

Angel's been through so much that he isn't sure what redemption is any longer. Buffy/Angel, post NFA.

Ever After by White Rain

"Did you draw up visitation rights?" Connor asked casually. "True, it's normally reserved for kids. But I've learned not to take anything for granted recently."

In the Waiting by R Ellen Hanna

Angel does therapy.

Reflections Revealed by Mike Dewar

Angel finds himself transported into the realm of the Wishverse by an unknown force, leaving him fighting for his life in the much darker reflection of his world. Meanwhile, Wesley and Cordelia, with the help of an old friend, try to fend off a new enemy, who's hungry for revenge and about to strike at a weakened A.I...

Bloodbath by Kelsey

After the return of Angel's soul in "Orpheus," everything seems to return to normal. But what's going on in Angel's head, after Angelus' ruthless actions?

Here, Your Wandering One by Marenfic

Several years after the events of Not Fade Away, Buffy moves to San Francisco and does her best to try to grow up and move on. Buffy/Angel.

Talk Like Lions by WesleysGirl

It's Buffy's turn to remind Angel how to be strong. Buffy/Angel, post NFA.

What Am I To You by a2zmom

When Angel unexpectedtly shows up at Buffy's door, she realizes how little she knows him and wonders if she ever did. Buffy/Angel, post-NFA.

Gamble On Destiny by Leni

Suppose Angel avoided getting staked, and then managed to save Buffy from the Master. The story starts an hour after the worst of the battle has passed.

Revolutions by bite_or_avoid

So, she was a little late for the first act. But it totally wasn’t her fault. It’s not like anyone called to invite her, right? Buffy/Angel, post-NFA.

Weight of Life by bite_or_avoid

Absolution is not his to have. Post-NFA. Angel, Buffy/Angel, angst with a happy ending.

And Heaven Burns by Lar

How bright can the future be for Angel?

Miles To Go by Rachel Anton

Two souled vampires with a long way to go. Angel/Spike, post-Grave/Tomorrow.

Secrets We Keep by chrisleeoctaves

Giles and Angel share a secret. 

Left Behind by chrisleeoctaves

Angel/human!Spike, post-NFA.

The Confessional by tkp

Angel visits Faith in prison.

Splinter by Yahtzee and Rheanna

"listen; there's a hell / of a good universe next door; let's go" - e. e. cummings. Longfic.

Counting the Days by Dira Sudis

Dawn needs to get out of the house, so Spike takes her to L.A. Dawn and Spike/Angel (and company), post-The Gift.

Five Times Angel Drew Buffy by a2zmom

Drawing her was the only way he got to keep her. Through post-NFA.

A Human Condition by chrisleeoctaves

Post-NFA. Why we fight. Spike/Angel.

Stasis by Head Rush

Picks up immediately where 'Grave' leaves off.  Giles and Willow (and others), post Grave.

Five Ways Buffy and Angel Never Meet and Never Have to Say I Love You, Post NFA by LAndrews

What it says on the tin.

Testament by Beer Good

The Angel gang's last stand didn't go unnoticed, especially given their last communications on the eve of the battle. Two letters and a phone call force the survivors to re-evaluate their situation.

Best Souvenir by Lettered

Whistler never existed. Buffy meets Angel for the first time after the End of Days is over. Futurefic, alternate reality.

Orion by sweptawaybayou

Spike/Angel, post-NFA, angst.

Summerbreeze by doyle_sb4

Spike/Angel, human!Spike, post-NFA.

Vampire Winter by glassdarkly

On the run from Wolfram & Hart, Angel and Spike come to Rome intent on seeing Buffy. Spike/Angel, Angel/Buffy, Buffy/Spike, post-NFA.

Five Ways to Kiss the One You Love: A Valentine by seraphcelene

The kisses Buffy and Angel have exchanged over the course of their relationship have a story to tell. Angel/Buffy.

Valley of Ashes by Hannassus

Post-episode for "The Gift"/"There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb."

Reconstruction by AriaAdagio

Post-Epiphany. The A-team struggles to get back on track, but with Angel's soul in jeopardy, things are tense, at best.

Rough Magic by karabair

Season 5, post-"Origin," Angel and Wesley have a talk about the aftermath of the memory wipe.

Those We Wish Were Here With Us by Kairos Impending

Buffy wanders around a post-Apocalyptic wasteland with her loved ones, doing what they do best.

Windows to the Soul by Taaroko

Wishverse. Thanks to better timing with her crossbow than she demonstrated in the episode, Buffy takes out the Master in one shot. She and Angel survive to continue the battle for Sunnydale another day.

Saved the World, But I Never Saved You by thenyxie

There are some things in life you never get over. This is one of them. Buffy/Angel, post series.

vicarious (the buffy-in-the-mix remix) by lynnenne

Buffy is bossy. Angel and Spike like it. Buffy/Angel/Spike.

Five Ways of Becoming Someone Else by Kyra Cullinan

Five Willows who never were. A study in transformations.

Vivere by Rheanna

What does it mean, to be alive? AU.

Another Life by Rheanna

Even now, she finds it difficult to believe that this is real, this is her life, that this is who she is.

Showing Sunnydale by huzzlewhat

“Tonight, I’m going to tell you a story. And it’s up to you, what you do with it.” Post-series.

No Place Like Home by Chrislee

There’s a curious comfort to be found, in the most unlikely places. Buffy/Angel/Spike. Post-series.

Blood and Water by Rheanna

When LA's vampires start falling prey to a mysterious plague, Cordelia's unsympathetic. Then Angel gets sick, and she and Wesley have to find a cure -- before it's too late.

Prelude With Tears by Katriena Knights

Sensing something is wrong with Buffy, Angel seeks her out in LA, where she's come to attend the Ice Capades with her father. All is not well in Buffyland.

Together Again For the First Time by femmenerd

Buffy/Angel/Spike, post-Not Fade Away.

Cunctari Moribundum by Lint

Willow struggles in the aftermath.

A Brief History of Time (A Love Story) by Lamia Archer

Now she realizes that, had they never met, she wouldn't be. She'd be some other girl, some other Buffy. Buffy/Angel.

All These Things That I’ve Done by Taaroko

Angelus killed the Romani elder woman before she could complete the Ritual of Restoration in 1898. A hundred years later, Janna Kalderash finds the old curse amongst family heirlooms while spring cleaning, and after months of the seemingly unstoppable Fanged Five terrorizing Sunnydale, the Scoobies are desperate enough to use it. Buffy/Angel. AU.

Baked Goods by Leni

Buffy makes a call. "Hi, Angel. If it’s not a bad time – I mean. I probably shouldn’t be calling you. In fact, if you ignore this call, I'll understand. I just - I need…. You know what? Never mind. Forget I called."

[theotheroccassionalfanficwriter]

I read your writings and... WHEW! THEY'RE REALLY GOOD! 💦💦💦💦 A✨M✨A✨Z✨I✨N✨G

Anyway, may I request NSFW/Explicit Zhongli x reader where y/n is a mage who requires constant archon energy to keep her life? Like, if she doesn't get archon's "energy", she'll die? Yknow, the usual hentai manga plot. 😏

Thank you for this first fuck and die request anon your mind is 👌✨👏👌🤯🤯🤯

In Pursuit of Knowledge

Summary: As one of his beloved citizen, it was only right for Zhongli to ensure your continued survival. He was after all quite fond of you.

--

If the people of Liyue spared a thought on the type of woman that the esteemed Wangsheng funeral parlor consultant would bed, you would not be on the list of their consideration. The stark contrast of Mr. Zhongli’s measured and composed manner, love for tradition and order completely clashed with your untamed and heretical thoughts that threw away tradition and order.

Though Liyue respected and moved towards the winds of change, it did so without forgetting its tradition unlike you who took tradition apart and reformed it into something completely unrecognizable. Your innovation borders the heresy of Khaenri’ah. Your acts of genius toeing the line between blasphemy and reverence for the holy.

Thus, no one would ever think that the esteemed Mr. Zhongli would take you to his bed, every night. Spreading your legs wide as his large cock slipped in and out of your pussy, firmly gripping your legs as he plowed you.

Each thrust calculated to bring you the most pleasure as he fed you his Geo energy, circulating it through the veins of your body as you sobbed with pleasure. Despite his calculated movements, Zhongli was a mess. His hair was flowing freely and some strands were sticking to his face and chest.

His neck and arms were littered with bites and scratches from the earlier round. Zhongli had wasted no time in removing your clothes from the moment you had entered his bedroom, weakly, at the end of the day. Your curse doing its duty of robbing you of life without an Archon’s energy. It was the price you paid for one of your pursuits of knowledge. And Zhongli, who had grown fond of you and your insane acts of genius, lent his help.

“Zhongli-” You moaned as he thrusted into you, “I-no more…” You cried as you came once more. Heedless of the fact that Zhongli had spilled his seed inside you countless of times.

“You’ll be exploring a ruin tomorrow,” He reminded you, voice gentle even as his thrusts were rough and his bite marks hard “And I can’t accompany you to provide you “energy” that you need.”

You blushed at the reminder that Zhongli would often accompany you on such trips and would shamelessly remove your clothes to provide you enough energy to sustain your life. Trial and error had led you both to the conclusion that other than his blood, his cum was the second best carrier of the energy you needed to keep on living.

Your vehement disgust at drinking his blood had led to this activity. Every night, as soon as the sun sets in the horizon, you would make your way into Zhongli’s home. Letting him shed his mortal form and spreading your legs to receive Rex Lapis’ archon energy.

It had been a long time since the first night and yet Zhongli never failed to make you feel shy.

Your continued silence coupled with your embarrassed face led Zhongli to a different conclusion, “Or perhaps, you would prefer to receive my energy while on your exploration?”

He leaned close to you, eyes shining like cor lapis and closer to a dragon than that of a human. Zhongli had removed his hand from your legs and instead placed it on your large and soft tits that bore the mark of his sharp teeth.

“That’s not-” You sucked in a breath as Zhongli pinched your nipple.

He hummed softly, before he moved away and then turned you over to lay on your stomach. Your ass and cum filled pussy presented before him. And he began your 10th round of sex, your pussy had easily accepted his large and fat cock, mouth opening to let loose sounds of pleasure as the sound of slapping echoud loudly in Zhongli’s room.

He held your waist tightly as he moved to and fro, sliding his cock back and forth inside your wet and cum filled pussy. His previous cum slipped out with each thrust and acted as a lube. The headrest of the bed banged on the wall in perfect rhythm as Zhongli fucked you hard in the bed.

You moaned and cried out, begging him for mercy as your overly stimulated pussy came once more, and again as you felt the pulse of Geo energy flowing through your body. Your lewd cries, however, where covered by the sudden formation of a jade dildo.

And Zhongli’s hand gripped your cheeks, forcing your mouth open as your body rocked with pleasure from Zhongli’s thrusts, the jade dildo entered your mouth and muffled your cries and moans. He was worthy of being the Geo Archon with his mastery of forging.

Your hands were now being held by chains of jade that appeared to be attached to the ceiling, pulsating with the geo energy you had come to recognize as uniquely Zhongli’s. You moaned once more as his thrust and the pulsating pleasure of the Geo Energy from the geo mark on the chains synced with each other.

Your body felt hot as Zhongli’s hand traveled down your hips and to your pussy, circling your clit and forcing another orgasm out of you. The jade dildo on your mouth pulsated with Geo energy, your drool fell onto Zhongli’s soft silk covers.

Even so it didn’t stop him from fucking you raw, cock slipping in and out of you with ease as he hit your g-spot again and again, driving you mad with pleasure as your cunt twitch and Zhongli came inside you again with a hard grunt just as you were shocked with the sudden thrust of the Jade dildo down your throat and the warm liquid geo energy that came down your throat and settled into the pit of your stomach.

Zhongli panted, “I’m sorry, my dear” He apologized without any sincerity, “I want to make sure you would be safe tomorrow.”

Drunk on the over abundance of his energy, you could only dumbly look at him in a haze of post coital orgasm. Your cunt twitching as Zhongli scooped up the excess cum and shoving it back into your pussy, your soft moans did nothing to lessen his desire for you. If anything it had only made him want to fuck you more, to spill his essence inside of you beyond what you required.

‘Everything must be taken into moderation’ Zhongli thought as he formed another Jade dildo, to plug your cunt and ensure that you would have enough energy to spare for tomorrow’s activities.

A casual observer would have long noticed that Zhongli’s particular attentiveness to prolonging your mortal lifespan had already exceeded that of a normal friend’s or an admirer of innovation. However, as most of Liyue and your acquaintances, both shared and not, spared no thought at the consequences of your inherent curiosity born of being a genius, and Zhongli’s fondness for your shenanigans.

And thus, with a gentleness only spared for lovers, Zhongli began to clean you up, paying no mind to his still erect cock. There was still tomorrow morning to release the rest of his seed inside you after all.

Come morning, you found yourself bended over the dining table, your shorts were dropped on the floor, as Zhongli’s cock slid in and out of your still sensitive pussy.

“Fontaine’s invention of this easy-access underwear truly helps us out,” Zhongli praised as his hand rested on the spread out cheeks of your ass, exposing your asshole and cum filled pussy to the cold morning air. Of course, the lacy black underwear with gold trim on the slit wonderfully showcased your dripping cunt, the edges of the golden trim stained with your pussy juice and Zhongli’s cum.

“Mnnn-why?” You moaned as Zhongli’s cock brushed over your g-spot, you angled your ass to ensure that his next thrust would hit it and give you the orgasm you were longing for, but a slap on your asscheeks signaled Zhongli’s want for your obedience.

“I reckon, you wouldn’t be pleased if I ruined one more pair of your underwear” He teased as he gave you hard thrust that had the table shaking and your cunt clenching, “a pity we don’t have enough time to make you drink straight from the source.”

You felt your heart spike at the thought and knew from the amused chuckle behind you that Zhongli clearly saw through your thoughts.

“Perhaps, I’ll visit you at lunch.”

Underneath his teasing tone, you clearly heard his intent to show up at the ruins. The mere thought of Zhongli fucking you relentlessly in the exposed ruins of Dunyu was enough to make you cum and as his hands tightly gripped your ass, you felt another splash of heat inside you. Zhongli didn’t move his cock outside of you, instead remaining for a few moments before he slowly slipped his cock out.

You made a move to stand but the firm hand on your back stopped you and you felt the familiar pulse of his dildo slip in. The cold jade contrasted to the warm heat of your cum filled pussy.

“Zhongli?”

“The Dunyu ruins are filled with Fatui members, this is just a precaution in case you need to fight...using your magic” He explained before grabbing your shorts and gently dressed you up.

His hand ghosted over your crotch, groping it and pushing the dildo further in, he whispered, “Just making sure it stays put.”

You blushed, not believing a single word as you shakily pushed him away and made your way to the front door. Each step you took made you keenly aware of the cum swishing inside your pussy, the dildo moving up and down with every step.

‘Today’s going to be a long day’ You thought with mild annoyance as you prayed that no one would figure out the reason for your flushed cheeks.

Zhongli smiled at your back, wondering how long it would take for you to realize that your hands were still stained with his cum after he had made you help him fill 5 glass bottles with his essence. The aforementioned bottles clinking noisily and audibly inside your satchel. The feel of your hand and mouth as it stroked and licked his cock was still fresh in his mind.

“Have a good day at work,” He smiled at your soft ‘yeah’ and found himself anticipating today’s lunch. He would afterall, have you for his main course.

[jiminrings]

last chronological part for stem koo... WHEW I WATCHED THEM GROW WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN NOW

cold senior!y/n x stem major koo masterlist :D

they finally become lunchbox lovers

“you’re asking me what’s jungkook like?”

jimin couldn't be any more surprised

first of all, his day started with yOU texting him and asking if you can drop by for a second, and the moment he texted "sure???", you're literally already knocking on the door

and second, you're asking him???

“oh come on. he clings to you with every chance he gets. i thought you gave him a chance already.”

your eyes only deadpan that jimin actually gets the hint, his mouth curling in a eureka moment that he managed to figure out himself without you talking

“oH! so that’s why you’re asking me because you’re thinking of giving him an actual chance.”

alright finally

you slump in relief over not saying it out loud, expressing the slightest bit of worry you have to someone (that's not as close to you like yoongi and jin are) who'd get where you're coming from without bias

“i just wanna know how he usually is when he’s not on my heels.”

“honestly? the same. probably even a bit more clingier.”

jimin wastes no time in ratting jungkook out, even leaning back to the couch with how relaxed he is

“talks about you too. i’m sorry y/n but even i know what shampoo you use!!!”

jimins knows your wHAT

"my shampoo???"

“mhmm. made me drive him to a grocery store at 10 in the evening so he can individually smell all the shampoos without anyone calling him a creep or something like that,” he nods earnestly and doesn't look like he's playing with you or the sort

you're quite frozen and jungkook's roommate isn't at all fazed and is even pulling up pICTURES of their impromptu grocery trip

“he even made it in a scientific paper format. with the hypothesis and conclusion and everything.”

he points it out just in time when you swipe to jimin's hand holding a printed piece of paper with the document in the monitor right behind it, the next pictures being blurry because that's when jungkook freaked out

jimin gets his phone back but not without sending you the pictures you just saw even if you didn't ask for them, trying to hide the amusement in your eyes when you decide to scroll through them again later

“cut him some slack though. he’s never really had a girlfriend, y’know? or like even a crush. he’s just navigating it with his instincts and all the advice he gets.”

hold on a second

“... advice?”

he thought you'd never ask (he'll still say it even if you don't) which is why he brightly grins, hunching over as if to let you in on a guarded secret

“i’m one of his consultants!!! didn’t suggest the shampoo part though.”

who could have possibly thought of that idea then ://

you hum in faux complacency, trying to get this as fast as possible so you could make up your mind quicker

“what else?”

jimin's relaxed now that he's had a proper laugh with you and realized you aren't as Intimidating As He Thought You Were, recounting the things in his mind like a to-do list

“he’s sickeningly kind.”

the gravity of his words strike him before they do with you, straightening his posture to clear up the air right away, “but i knoW that what he did to you is the furthest thing from kind, and trust me, i really got that point across!!!”

by point, jimin means cooking him burnt meals and jungkook having to endure it because he doesn't like wasting food

additionally, that also meant jimin served kook a cRISP smack on the back of his boba ball head into next week

look at him <3 seokjin, yoongi AND jimin gave him shit!!! now isn;t that teamwork

you're unable to paint the mental image in your head because he continues, grabbing your attention once again

“but apart from that, jungkook could just be too kind for his own sake,” he says sincerely. “he’s like the kid the principal refers to in elementary when they talk about peer pressure!!!”

your first instinct is to snort at that, the mental image definitely forming in your head now

is it just sO bad that you and jimin agree on this

“jokes aside, jungkook’s really genuine.”

it's the last thing jimin wraps it off with when you stand from the couch, cheeks still a little warm when he trails you behind the door

you're just about to thank him when the door in front of you opens and almost hits you in the process, the person behind it just as alarmed

jungkook’s just now coming home because he had to pick up some last-minute groceries from the convenience store downstairs that jimin forgot from his last run, clearly startled to why would wou be here

"oH???? y/n??? what are you doing here???"

his pupils are shaking between the two of you and he's not even trying to hide is incoming panic

“.... a-are you and jimin-“

“yup! sorry bud! we were just-...” jimin's attempt at a lighthearted joke is halted as fast as it was introduced, getting a smack on the middle of his back that makes him wince

“you’re annoying, jimin."

oOOOOH you just put your palm on him!! yea at this rate he's gonna be your best friend too won't he

jungkook's processing things as fast as he could, getting a reassuring glance from you that puts him at ease

“we were just talking, kook.”

he nods even if he's still a tiny bit unsure, calling for you when you're on your way out the door

“a-about what though?”

:-)

“you’d know soon enough.”

( ♡ )

“you wanna tell me now why we went on this drive?”

seokjin yawns at a stoplight even when his car is the only one waiting on the intersection right now, not in the mood for a ticket with a printed traffic light picture of him mid-yawn in his matching pajamas anytime soon

“no reason," you sing-song and it makes him snort, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “couldn’t sleep."

“well that makes one of us.”

you've unabashedly knocked on jin's door and even if it took you two tries, he still answered nonetheless, not even asking for an explanation why before he sleepily took his keys and grabbed his house slippers for shoes

you had no destination in mind at 3 in the morning which is why jin’s just driving for no rhyme nor direction and is just going with his brain’s one-second impulses of where to turn

he’s game for anything, actually — that much you know

although you do know that jin literally wouldn't do this for anyone else besides the people he find worth all this (aka everyone except you and yoongi and ok maybe namjoon sometimes)

the drive is beyond serene and even with repetitive radio music playing in the background, you don't actually mind it

when you're with jin, it just feels like you're in a constant bubble of comfort and ease that you always try to look for in everything

he doesn't necessarily need explanations,, he just deduces from things at face-value and later ask about it when you're comfortable enough to share

jin points at a drive-thru he suddenly had a craving for as you were about to suggest it anyway

you're not even quite sure why there's a line but neither of you complain, the situation more than bearable that a little waiting wouldn't dampen your mood

the words you've been thinking of the whole day finally slip across the silence, as casual yet as sincere as they could be

“i’m really thankful that you’re in my life, jin. you know that right?”

he seems pleasantly surprised when you look at his side profile, shaking his head

“mhmm. you only tell me a couple times but you put your knee on top of mine everyday,” he chuckles at the habit of yours and he kNOWS for a fact you would put your knee on top of his if only he wasn't behind the wheel. “tell me all about it, kid.”

it's genuine laughter that encompasses the whole car, his chuckles suddenly ceasing when he realizes another possibility

“you’re not asking me for allowance, are you? because yoongi’s already bugging me for his next month’s.”

wait what

“you give yoongi an allowance???”

“you didn’t know???”

:///

“... i’m not asking for an allowance.”

“..... but do you want it,.,..”

jin sees you pursing your lips and intentionally looking at everywhere but him, already getting his answer

“fine. that’s the furthest you two could get from me!! don’t expect me to pack your lunchboxes to school now. you must be crazy.”

jin, in fact, packs you and yoongi lunchboxes more often than not

jin, aLSO, does all the paper rolling for you so when the three of u get occasionally high, it’s all nice and tight

jin is also the one who does all the talking on the phone to customer service when neither of you are willing

he asks the moment he relays your usual midnight snack slash early breakfast order he's already memorized to the attendant, patiently looking at you

“you want anything else with that?”

“i’m all good.”

it's in between cars and stoplights that the car is filled with more emotion again, acting on it when you realize it when seokjin's mid-bite on his hashbrowns

“jin?”

“yes?” he speaks muffled, looking at you once before bringing his attention back on the changing stoplight

“love you.”

he feels himself still for a second even if his foot's on the gas and one hand is on the wheel, a somber look on his face that he later smiles sincerely

“love you too, kid.”

( ♡ )

“it’s not my birthday if that’s what you’re thinking.”

yoongi sleepily mumbles the moment he feels his bed dipping, his side that was once holding a pillow now being occupied by you

“i know.”

you wedge yourself between his heavy comforter, tossing and turning until it feels comfortable

“but i actually don’t know your birthday lol it’s-...”

“fuck right off.”

yoongi doesn't question why you're in his bed, because the last time you did, it was because you were left traumatized after seeing a genuinely good horror movie that it was pending to give you nightmares

he didn't see you watch any movie today though, but he'll take you in nonetheless

“kidding.”

you offer in consolation because yoongi's birthday is in your calendar even if you know it by heart, a mindless hum in reply

it's when you drop your arm on his waist like it's dead weight and relax completely, your face near to his mop of hair that it's making him think you're actually cuddling him rn

quick how can he get a picture of this to get this framed

“are you telling me now?”

he questions with his eyes half-open, shimmying backwards so that you're able to hug him more comfortably

“my airconditioner’s busted.”

“mhmm. give me ten minutes. i’ll fix it for you.”

it's 4 am and if your airconditioner really was busted, you wouldn't have let it stay busted for that long

“don’t. it’s okay. i wanna be here anyways.”

both you and yoongi know that your airconditioner’s in tip-top shape and is actually the one that blows the coldest air in the dorm

sometimes you think he’s an angel in disguise because there’s no way you deserve a human best friend like him

“yoongs?”

“hmm?” he hums before he falls asleep again, trying to keep up while having his eyes closed so he could listen to you

“you know that i’m really glad you’re in my life, right?”

oh

:)

“mhmm. you don’t say, sweets," he teasingly chuckles, feeling his ribcage rise in amusement under your arm

“fuck-“

“yeah, i know. i do, because you put me as your family member in your emergency contacts, but you don’t know that i know that.”

... oh

you don't even know how yoongi came to know but you don't question it, the warmth in your heart doubling

“love you.”

“love you too, y/n.”

( ♡ )

jungkook’s the most nervous he’s been in awhile

and that’s coming from him who sees yoongi in almost a daily basis

after all, jin did tell him you can be quite forgetful becasue you tend to take care of things all at once

he’ll sTILL try to be as smooth and casual as much as possible though

“big game tomorrow huh?”

and by big game that means as in your last qualifying game to whether or not your team would compete in the yearly (not to mention prestigious) soccer tournament

you chuckle at the thought because by now, you should already be sleeping and getting some rest even if it’s just seven in the evening

but you’re here <3 out at a park near jungkook’s dorm, sharing hand warmers <3

“yeah. it’s a make or break match.”

“i actually haven’t seen you play before, y’know," jungkook silently admits, looking down on his shoes as he thinks if he's just offended you

“really?” you ask in genuine curiosity, “then how come you interviewed me for your little survey when you haven’t watched me play before?”

oh

tHAT

“i uh, i actually just really wanted to talk to you that day. i-i don’t normally approach people first, but you just looked warm enough for me to reach out first.”

he's babbling before he even knows it, oblivious the growing smile on your face

“then i asked jimin because he kNOWS everything, and it was all in good fate that it turned out you were the soccer captain!! i was excited because i had a legitimate reason to talk to you that day.”

so that’s why

he wanted to talk to you even before his lunchboxes were taken out of the situation!!!

“how about me? why was it me?”

ahem

you're not trying to be funny but you can't help but chuckle, scratching the back of your ear in thought

“i honestly couldn’t tell either, jungkook.”

he almost coughs in shock, masking it off with playing it off for the bite of the chill of the night

“all i know is that something told me it was you,” you timidly add, looking down on your hands. “and i went for it.”

right can he chalk up mad blushing to the night air

he fiddles with the drawstrings of his sweatpants this time, his eye contact with you becoming fidgety

“big game tomorrow,” he repeats and you're just about to tell him that your conversation sounds like it's gonna be repeated

“don’t forget your eyedrops, alright?”

....

was that smooth enough

“eyedrops?”

yeah

uhm

that was... random

“oh right! you gave them back to me.”

“yeah. you should open it tonight, probably. to see if it’s already all-evaporated, y’know? if it is, then let me know tomorrow so i can buy you new ones.”

“highly doubt that they would, but alright, kook.”

you take the little banter to be your cue to walk back to your dorm, about to say goodbye to him when he makes an audible sound of confusion

it confuses you even more when he's trailing behind you

“your dorm’s twenty feet away from where we are, jungkook.”

“y-yeah i know that!! i’m walking you home, silly.”

right!!

hee-hee

he’s keeping his hands to himself even if he BADLY wants to hold your hand or even your forearm but he has to resist that urge rn

but he does intentionally brush shoulders with you and mumble “pothole.” so he could nUDGE you to the side even if there aren’t any to begin with

silence with jungkook now is comfortable as it has been for more than awhile, the walk passing by faster that you almost wish you walked slower

goddamn it he should've said there was a pothole atleast ten more times to make the walk longer

“goodnight, koo.”

“goodnight, y/n.”

there’s obviously no goodnight kiss but he dOES get a squeeze on his bicep

you take your time when you come home — to unwind as much as you could before you stress yourself out tomorrow

your shower routine may have took a little longer this time but it makes you get dressed as quick as you could when your eyes see the origami box you've been putting off from opening, one that jungkook just told you to open, because as far as you knew they were just EYEDROPS!!!

... the supposed bottle of eyedrops that’s too well-packaged and clearly thought-out

an origami box, a carebear heart initial drawstring pouch AND a plain ziplock baggie as if the other two weren’t enough

it’s when you open the box within the ziplock bag that you feel it’s definitely not as light as a bottle of eyedrops would be

there’s a very visible dent weighing down on the pouch (that’s within the origami box) that’s cLEARLY not your eyedrops

you’re actually nervous to the point that you just open unfurl it with your eyes closed, feeling two items in there

the plastic bottle of eyedrops, and definitely the cool surface of what feels like

a bracelet?

it’s a pretty straightforward yet timelessly elegant silver link bracelet, equipped with a couple options for how tight or loose you want to wear it

it hits you all at once and god does it just render you speechless

jungkook has this bracelet too.

you’re quite speechless and in between looking at it up-close to avoiding looking at it at all, trying to calm your breathing by focusing on the eyedrops instead

the said eyedrops you've been so used to seeing that you immediately sense that there's something oFF with the label???

its stuck-on, that's for sure, but something about it is not as seamless and stationary and official as it should be

it's almost as if there's something snuck inside it and-

...

..... there is

it's scotch tape that's just as thin as the actual label of the bottle itself, having to peel the whole label in order to see it in entirety

it's the same double-sided label jungkook worked so hard to peel flawlessly so he could try and replicate it in the same exact design and measurements, having to even take it up to a classmate from stem he once knew that transferred to graphic design

(yeonjun did ask for a science paper in exchange for his replication of the eyedrops slash adhesive label because who fucking kNEW he still had science even when in graphic design, but jungkook thinks it's fair trade so it's worth it)

it's the same exact label jungkook's had for a month and only recently gave it to you a week ago, a truth he's long since known

it's the same exact label that reads —

i love you

— in his handwriting you've come to known by heart, the label in your hand feeling much more heavy than the bracelet in the other

you already know what to do.

.

.

.

it's game day and u are about to launch yourself into orbit if you hear oNE more drum cheer because it just makes you nervous even more

yeah SURE it makes you pumped when it's the actual game itself but not now!!! not now when you're pumping yourself with electrolytes and at the risk of peeing from nervousness and too much hydration

you haven't seen seokjin nor yoongi yet and as much as that lessens the pressure on you, that alsO makes you nervous because they're your emotional support people!!!! where r they

usually you would see them in the front row of the bleachers and neither of them have any snacks because all of their focus would be on you

jin is nOT mr. kim from student affairs when it comes to your games,,, nuh-uh sir,,, he's that guy from the other team that glares so hard it dISTRACTS me from scoring in the perspective of the opposing team

coach's about to whistle like five minutes from now for a final huddle and everyone's getting their final stretches in

you're too busy looking for people that you actually want to be here that you're taken off-guard when one of them grasps at your forearm, a breathless smile one his face

"give them hell out there, alright. you're a champ."

it's jungkook!!!

IT'S JUNGKOOK!!!!@&$&":@:"$

he looks especially handsome today that you just short-circuit immediately

he's wearing a shirt with your team colors on it aND!!!

he ditched his glasses today to wear contacts, not only because he wanted to look a bit more different and special today, but because he's also scared that a ball would be thrown in his direction and injure him with the additional impact of his glasses

his hair's pushed back with his forehead showing instead of his usual hairstyle and god is it making you a little dizzy

he's beaming at you and his eyes immediately wander to your wrist, not expecting the feeling in his gut next

you're not wearing the bracelet.

jungkook feels the sudden urge to cry even when in public but it's when you grip at his forearm tightly that he stays still, squeaking when you realize his line of thought

"can't wear any jewelry on the field. i-i'm wearing your bracelet as an anklet for the meantime, it's underneath my sock."

...

....

...... oh my god

jungkook's never felt this frozen and euphoric at the same time, sputtering over nothing when your face looks like the furthest thing from joking

you're about to excuse yourself suddenly when your eyes finally take notice what's thrown on his shoulder, something about it being so familiar that it throws you off for awhile

"is that my jersey?"

he nods eagerly to your query, proudly unfolding it for you to see your spare soccer jersey with your surname and number right on it, the exact marks being the same from when you tried to use a laundry pen on it

he didn't get it replicated???

"h-how did you get that? where did you get that?"

jungkook thought you'd never ask, the words he never thought he'd say already leaving his lips

"yoongi gave it to me."

you only have a handful of jerseys on-hand and even if you could always request for more, the ones you have at home are a little more sentimental

you gave jin and yoongs one each from the only several ones you had, and you know yoongi would not give up his for jungkook

but now, you do know that he snuck to your closet and took one to give it to jungkook willingly, trusting him enough to give it to you behind your back

kook's sTILL not fully-forgiven but they're getting there sooner or later

wait why is this making you cry

before you know it, you're pushing yourself to jungkook to hug him tightly, the boy being surprised for a second but ultimately reciprocating once it registers

"i love you too."

.

.

.

.

.

this is the last chronological update for stem koo aka lunchbox lovers!! however, this is not the end of them!! with the end of this chronological series, this means that all the future updates don't necessarily have to be linked — they're miscellaneous and don't have to follow a specific layout like this part of their arc.

with that said, feel free to send in asks on what you want to see from the lunchbox lovers (misc. requests, questions, and everything in between) and i'd love to fulfill them because after all, this series was born purely out of your ideas <3 also pls send in ur thoughts and feedback and love because i have da greatest time reading through all of them!! thank you for all the love for da stem koo universe <3

[disneylanddilettante]

You are now tasked with launching and designing a new Disneyland-modeled castle park. Each realm needs a new E-ticket, as well as a B-C ticket attraction, not based on a film (except Fantasyland, where movie basis is fine). What rides do you dream up to meet this goal? Same core lands as DL: Tomorrow, Fantasy, Adventure, Frontier, plus two new more specific themed lands to replace NoS and Critter Country.

*cracks knuckles* You asked for it...

Adventureland

E-ticket: Fire Mountain, a roller coaster set in a volcanic area. The effects include actual pyrotechnics (a safe distance from the track). It's mostly in the open, spiraling around an active cinder cone, but for a portion of the ride, the track dips into a “crevice” to visit a fantastic cavern filled with olivine crystals, basalt formations, and glowing lava flows.

B-ticket: Castaway's Treehouse. The Adventureland treehouse is a good idea, but would be even better if it didn't lean on someone else's shipwreck story to be exciting. In this version, you get to pretend that you are the castaway! A bank of touch-screens in the ground area let you take a quick quiz to figure out what kind of castaway you are—are you taming the jungle or running with the monkeys? Are you taking advantage of your impromptu vacation or are you eager to be rescued?

Frontierland

E-ticket: A good old-fashioned Wild West stunt show! Gunplay! Rooftop chases and fistfights! Dramatic falls and somersaults! A cast of original characters who also appear in caricature form on a unique line of merchandise!

B-ticket: Grab a pan and pick a trough. We've shipped some mud from the actual gold-bearing streams of the Sierra Nevada, and whatever you find, you can keep! Take all the time we need (we don't anticipate this one being all that popular despite the potential to find literal treasure).

Fantasyland

E-ticket: If I may borrow someone else's idea (it's okay, she's my sister), this would have to be Rapunzel's Tangled Quest, a flume ride that takes the “animated film dark ride” concept to the next level...more or less literally, as the flume rises and falls in concert with the beats of the story.

B-ticket: Enchanted Fairy Forest Maze, a walk-through attraction with many branching paths to explore and magical effects that activate when you approach them.

Tomorrowland

E-ticket: Adventure Thru Inner Space Redux! (If you didn't see this coming...you're lying. This is me here.) The limitations of 1960s technology made it hard to depict the shrinking process very well. This version of the ride, like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, would combine fully dimensional sets and props, representing microscopic objects, with screens and motion-sim effects to indicate shrinking from one scale to another. And I'm thinking it would use the original ATIS concept, of visiting a drop of pond water and the microorganisms within, to provide more visual interest and an extra hint of danger.

C-ticket: I don't have a name for it, but it's a dark ride/shooting gallery ride where you play exobiologists in a manned rover on a newly discovered planet that might harbor life. Only instead of a laser gun, you have a camera and you are recording the alien creatures that pop up unexpectedly out of the fantastic landscape. Image-recognition technology allows the ride to rate your pictures and calculate your score.

BONUS LAND #1: ANTIQUELAND

In this land, ancient civilizations and their legends come to life! Who doesn't love the art, architecture, and mythology of the peoples that flourished B.C.E.?

E-ticket: The Night Voyage of Ra, as described in this post.

C-ticket: Deus Ex MOCKina. A “4D” movie show, depicting an attempt at classical Greek theatre that goes comically wrong. Actors grab the wrong masks, things catch on fire, the stagehand with the bucket trips on the way to put it out and splatters the audience, and even the machine to lower the “gods” onto the stage breaks down and sends cogwheels bouncing everywhere.

BONUS LAND #2: SYMPHONYLAND

Imagine a world made of music! Elevated walkways dip and curl like musical staves leaping off a page of sheet music, and even the buildings resemble musical instruments. Whatever your taste in tunes, you'll find something here to enthrall you.

E-ticket: Our Musical Journey—a slow but grand ride in the mold of Epcot 1.0, tracing the history of music through the log drums and auroch horns of our prehistoric ancestors through Pythagoras's discovery of the octave, the invention of musical notation, and the constant evolution of musical genres all the way up to the electronic rave-club sounds of the 21st Century. You know how those rides like to maintain continuity through the scenes by having a theme tune that evolves through different eras? This ride is about that theme tune.

B-Ticket: The Orchestracycle—it only looks like a Dumbo clone with individual ride cars shaped like different instruments. There are two control sticks in the vehicle...one for altitude like you'd expect, and one for volume—pull back harder to make it louder, and ease up to make it softer...and what's this? Your altitude is also your pitch! Coordinate with your seatmate to play a tune, any tune! It's a challenge! Try to harmonize with the other instruments or create a stand-out solo!

Whew. I hope you're happy, OP! @_@

[whump-me-all-night-long]

The Scoop of a Lifetime - 19

Whumptober Day 19 - BROKEN HEARTS

Tagging: @mnmlover2002, @cupcakes-and-pain, @lave-e, @appy-polly-loggies, let me know if you want to be added/removed!

Whew, this chapter.. kind of got away from me, both in length and content. It’s almost double my usual length, and it’s pretty rough. Heed the CWs and stay safe guys!

CW: suicidal thoughts (in the “I’d rather be dead than have to go through this, why couldn’t I have died?” vein), violent death, gun violence, blink-and-you-miss-it noncon implication, threats, reference to past torture, previous injuries, Devin has a pretty unhealthy mindset throughout this chapter, please let me know if I missed anything!

Masterlist // Previous

---

Once they were settle back in their room - they’d stopped trying to convince themself it wasn’t theirs - Devin simply laid on the bed, their ankles wrapped tightly and elevated by a few pillows. They stared up at the ceiling, trying not to think. And failing.

Is this really going to be the rest of my life? Being tossed around and hurt, depending on Wildre’s every whim? How long can I actually survive like this? How long will I actually want to survive like this?

Their thoughts restless and dark, they must’ve fallen asleep eventually because at some point Wildre was knock, knock, knocking on their door, his much too cheerful for this early in the morning voice ringing through the door. “Good morning, love! It’s time to get up! I’ve got a fun activity planned for today!”

Devin dragged a hand across their face with a soft groan, before pulling themself out of bed, forgetting about their ankles until they tried to stand. They had to quickly sit back down on the edge, slowly moving their ankles to stretch them out as much as they could. Every morning, they seemed to have to re-remember that i’m crippled i’ll never be the same as i was before he’s hurt me for the rest of my life what had happened.

They shakily stood back up, swaying slightly and grimacing at the pain but gradually making their way to the bathroom, stopping to grab a change of clothes from their wardrobe. 

Once inside, they quickly stripped off the clothes they’d fallen asleep in and the braces, dropping the clothing on the floor and carefully setting the braces on the sink counter before stepping carefully into the shower. They stayed under the steady stream of hot water as long as they dared before shutting it off and drying themself off. They squeezed the water out of their hair, making sure it wasn’t dripping and that it was out of their face before pulling the plain, long sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans on, refastening the ankle braces on before giving themself a cursory look over in the mirror, frowning slightly at the deep shadows beneath their eyes.

They sat down on the bed to loosely lace up a pair of sneakers before running a hand through their hair and pulling open the door, unsurprised to find Duncan waiting for them.

They silently followed him down the hall, until they reached a room they thought was on a lower section of the house but weren’t completely sure, Duncan motioning them through the door.

Cautiously, they stepping through, their eyes quickly taking in a small underground parking garage filled with more cars than any one person could ever need, with multiple tunnels leading out in different directions.

Wildre was standing by one of the cars, perking up immediately and calling out, “Oh, Devin, love, there you are! I was worried you’d gotten lost.”

Devin and Duncan made their way over to him, going at a slow pace due to the former. Once they reached the car, Wildre easily opened the backseat door for Devin and, as they slid in, he tossed something to Duncan before climbing in afterwards.

Duncan sat down in the driver’s seat and started the car. Devin took a deep breath, feeling slightly i can’t breathe they’re trapping me in i have no space surrounded with Duncan in front of them and Wildre next to them.

The car started to move as soon as everyone had done their seat belts, quietly humming beneath them, and although Devin knew nothing about cars, they could tell this one was definitely expensive. It drove through one of the tunnels, lights flashing above them as they passed. The car was deathly silent, so Devin settled for staring out the window, watching the concrete walls fly past. 

After a while, Devin would have to guess around fifteen or twenty minutes, although they’d never been good at estimating time, the car seemed to pull into another similar miniature parking garage, this one with less fancy cars in it. They stopped and Wildre turned to face Devin, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Now, love,” he started and they immediately began tensing up, “I’m about to bring you on a little trip, okay?” They bristled at how he spoke to them as if they were a child but they slowly nodded. “You might see some things, and they might not be pretty, but-” He reached out and grabbed their jaw firmly, but not painfully, forcing them to meet his gaze- “it is crucial that you keep your mouth shut. Am I understood?”

They nodded, licking their lips nervously before saying softly, “Yeah, I-I understand.”

He smiled, and Devin hated how that made them almost relax. “Good.” He opened the door and, once he stood, reached back a hand for Devin and they accepted, leaning on him more heavily than they’d like to admit.

Once they were all out, they fell into a formation, with Wildre in the lead, Devin a step or two behind him and to the side, and Duncan bringing up the rear. They headed for a door along one of the walls, a keypad locking it. Wildre punched in a long code before pulling what looked like an ID badge out and swiping it. The light on it turned green, and the door swung open slightly. 

Walking through it, the three were greeted with what looked like receptionist’s area that wouldn’t look out of place in a downtown office building. A young woman sitting at the desk glanced up at them then did a double take as she spotted Wildre.

Standing up, she brushed nonexistent wrinkles out of her clothes. “Mr. Wildre,” she greeted, glancing discreetly at a clock hanging on the wall. “We, uh, we weren’t expecting you for another hour, sir.” She took in Devin with a narrowed gaze. “And we weren’t expecting a, a guest,” she added, tone as if she thinks i’m a threat as if i would voluntarily have anything to do with him decidedly less friendly.

He smiled and waved a hand towards Devin. “Oh, Devin? They’re harmless.” She seemed to melt under his paparazzi grin, and Devin flushed, biting down on their lip to keep quiet. “And I enjoy showing up early. What can I say?” he said with a laugh and careless shrug.

The woman nodded before gesturing to one of the doors behind her. “Well, Mr. Westhaven is in the warehouse right now, getting ready to send out a shipment.”

Wildre gave her a nod and another smile, before taking Devin by the arm and marching them towards the door she had indicated. He had to enter another code and swipe his badge again before they were standing at the top of a stairwell, looking down on a bustling warehouse, filled with large crates and loud machinery that looked disconcertingly normal. 

Leading Devin down the stairs, Wildre looked around the busy area, Devin’s ankles protesting at the i can’t keep up please slow down i’m in so much pain harsh movements. Once they reached the bottom, he made a beeline for an older man who seemed to be at the center of the chaos. As they passed, workers began recognizing Wildre and growing quiet. 

By the time they had reached the other man, the warehouse had become nearly silent, every eye on them. Devin felt heat creep up their neck as they felt eyes landing on them and tried to subtly shrink into Wildre’s side, a fact that, while he clearly noticed, evident by the smug grin on his face, he thankfully did not comment on. The older man turned around and, seeing them, gave a huge grin. 

“Mr. Wildre!” he called, and Devin was surprised to see such an older man, he had to be in his fifties or sixties, call Wildre “Mr.”

He responded with a small wave. “Westhaven. How’s this shipment progressing?”

The man chuckled. “Very good, sir. Running smoothly. What brings you by so early?” While he portrayed the picture of ease, Devin could see that he was scrambling by the sudden appearance of his boss and, judging by the gleam in his eye, Wildre saw it too.

“Oh, just wanted to see it in action. I do miss being part of the day to day activities sometimes. It’s not nearly as fun being stuck in a stuffy office all day.” He saw Westhaven’s eyes turn towards Devin, neatly tucked between Wildre and Duncan, and grinned, wrapping an easy arm around them. “Although it does come with its benefits.” 

Devin stiffened almost imperceptibly at the he’s touching me stop don’t touch me like that please get away but that man is staring at me like that i don’t like that possessiveness in the gesture, but Westhaven seemed to get the message and easily changed the subject.

“I can see that. We’re just finishing loading the last of the crates before we send them off-”

At that moment, shouting erupted from one of the many doors throughout the huge room, and Devin’s eyes widened as a man staggeringly ran out. They had to grit their teeth so they wouldn’t disobey what he told me to do he told me to be quiet cry out when they realized the man was littered with cuts and bruises, some still leaking blood.

Wildre exchanged a look with Duncan and shifted slightly, so Devin was more blocked from view. The man, catching sight of the movement, locked onto Wildre and charged towards them. “You! You bastard, how dare you-” 

Devin would never know what he was going to say because at that moment, Wildre pulled out a gun he seemed to keep concealed, tucked away inside his jacket, and fired it, the bullet punching smoothly through the man’s skull, all in one smooth motion. 

Devin jerked back from the sudden spray of blood, not quite believing what they were seeing, a hand clasped over their mouth to keep from sobbing or screaming, they didn’t know which, as their gaze locked onto the growing pool of crimson only feet away.

As they were slowly lead away, brought into another room, one that looked like a typical boardroom, and placed in a chair sandwiched between Wildre and Duncan, their gaze remained far away, stuck on the way the man’s body had continued propelling himself forward for just another second before being unnaturally jerked backwards, the desperation and raw hatred in his eyes, and just one thought kept running throughout their head.

Why couldn’t Wildre have put that bullet in me?

Next

[hemaris]

Hello I love your penumbra art and I showed some to my friend who finally started listening to Juno Steel and she said that she's been enjoying penumbra fanart but keeps on seeing fantastic Peter designs and then having to ask where his pockets are. This is not at all a criticism I just needed to share the thought because now I'm wondering too

OKAY THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION so here’s a trio of highly unlikely options for your consideration (put into fic format by someone who has little to no experience writing fic and is, to be completely honest, miles outside of their comfort zone):

nureyev’s pockets contain a - for the lack of a better word - pocket dimension

“You’re full of shit, Steel,” Vespa says. “If you wanna brag about sticking your hands down the thief’s pants, go find someone else to do it to.”

And really, Juno has been at the business end of Vespa’s blade before, but twice in one morning is probably a new record. He bristles. “Okay, first of all, would it really kill you to not wave your knife at me every single time we’re in a room together? Can’t we have one conversation where this doesn’t happen?”

“You started it! You got your finger all up in my face!”

“Yeah, well, my finger doesn’t have a long and celebrated history of gutting people when-”

“Keep it civil, sweethearts,” Buddy says from the other side from their makeshift recreation room, where she and Jet are playing a game Juno has never heard of involving a set of oddly shaped dice, some old Uno cards, and, inexplicably, a pineapple. Vespa moves to sheathe the knife, but makes a whole show out of doing it without averting her icy stare for even a split second. Juno has to suppress the fleeting urge to do something petty and potentially life-threatening, like sticking out his tongue at her.

“Second of all,” he continues, his voice only slightly lowered, “you asked! You asked me about Ransom’s - about his pocket situation, I’m just telling you what I know. And for the record, I never said anything about anyone’s pants. Or where I’m sticking my hands. Or, you know, whatever. Shut up.”

Vespa still hasn’t broken eye contact. “No, Steel,” she says, “I asked you how the thief managed to get an entire cupboard worth of Ming dynasty porcelain off of Titan and onto our ship. What you’re telling me is that he has magical mega pockets that are bigger on the inside, which isn’t a thing.”

“That’s what I used to think about teleportation, and mind reading, but here we are.” The truth is that the porcelain thing is a mystery to Juno as well. He has asked Nureyev, of course, but all he got in response was a that’s for me to know and for you to figure out, isn’t it, detective, which is more than a little annoying. “All I’m saying is that it could be an option. Don’t rule it out just yet.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Vespa says. “Ask him to pull, I don’t know, a live rabbit out of his breast pocket, and maybe I’ll buy into it.”

Juno has to roll his eye at that, and immediatey realizes he’s lost their little staring match. Not that it matters - the odds were stacked against him from the get-go anyway, with Vespa having a whole extra eye to look pissed off with. “Fine, whatever. But just for the record - have you seen a rabbit lately? Because I can guarantee you those things won’t go down or come out of anyone’s pocket willingly, regardless of pocket size.”

It might be a trick of the light, but for a brief moment, he thinks he sees the corner of Vespa’s mouth quirk up just a little.

a strategy once used by juno himself: Just Put It In Your Mouth! it’s mother nature’s built-in pocket!

“Uh oh,” Nureyev says once Rita has successfully hacked the giant metal door to slam shut behind them and they’ve skidded to a halt. He tentatively presses a hand to his throat.

“What- are you-“ Juno wheezes from where he’s doubled over, "Are you okay? They didn’t hit you, right?”

Nureyev makes a dismissive fluttery motion with his free hand. “Nothing of the sort.”

Juno squints at him, giving him a once-over, and seems to sag with relief once he sees Nureyev is not actively bleeding. It’s a little bit endearing, Nureyev thinks. “Okay, whew, good,” he says. “So then - what’s the ‘uh oh’ for? We got the blueprints, we-”

“Let’s say,” Nureyev interrupts him, “hypothetically speaking, that there was some ancient and priceless treasure in the vault we took the blueprints from.”

“That’s not really a hypothetical,” Juno says. “There was enough old Earth monarchy junk in there to bedazzle the entire Carte Blanche with.”

"Right. And now let’s say, once again purely hypothetically,” Nureyev continues, “that someone with only the noblest of intentions noticed the Koh-I-Noor diamond among that treasure, and that that someone decided to free it from the monstrously tacky diadem contraption it was stuck onto, because it’s a waste for something like that to be gathering dust in a vault.”

“You know,” Juno says warily, “I’m not sure I like where this is going.”

“The problem is that this outfit, while very stealthy, does not provide a great amount of secure pocket space, so i had to improvise.”

“Oh no,” Juno says.

“So I put it in my mouth, but then the guards arrived and while we were running I-”

“Oh no,” Juno repeats, a little louder this time. “Ransom, you - did you eat the Koh-I-Noor?”

“I accidentally swallowed the Koh-I-Noor, there’s a difference-”

“You ate it. You- Ransom, who would even-”

“Who would even what, Juno” Nureyev interrupts him, “There’s this old saying, something about a pot and a kettle, I believe.”

Juno’s comms crackle to life. “RIGHT,” Rita chirps loudly, “I know the both of you are very busy talkin’ about who ate a conifer and why - and i’m not judgin’, mista Ransom, you eat your greens however you wanna! That’s what my mom told me that time I dipped my green beans in marshmallow fluff - which I wouldn’t recommend, by the way, at least not with the beans, it was a WHOLE mess. Maybe with some broccoli, though, or baby carrots, or - anyway, what I was gonna say is they’re about to crack this door open, so I’m just thinkin’, maybe now isn’t the best time for this conversation?”

“He didn’t eat a conifer, Rita, it’s - actually, don’t worry about it,” Juno says. “Let’s get moving. I’m sure Vespa can figure something out to make you hurl the thing up again. But for the record, Ransom, don’t expect me to ever let you hear the end of this.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Nureyev replies. Juno grins a little, crooked and pretty, and Nureyev’s stomach almost somersaults enough to throw the stupid diamond out.

and lastly - why use your own pockets when you can use someone else’s?

“Nureyev,” Juno says against his neck, “can I ask you something?”

They’ve folded themselves onto Nureyev’s cot, neither of them up for more than just lazing around. Nureyev has been trying to study some floor plans for the last twenty minutes, but if he’s being honest with himself, he has no idea what building, owned by what person, built on which planet in whatever system he’s been looking at. He’s mostly been lost in thought, only grounded by the weight and warmth of Juno pressed against his side. He had thought the lady asleep until now.

It’s a little ridiculous, the effect his own name being spoken by Juno Steel has on him. He’s fairly sure that with Juno this close, he should be able to feel the shiver it sends down his spine, pick up on the stutter in his pulse. It’s okay if he does, he tries to tell himself, it’s okay, it’s only Juno - but at the same time Juno is infinitely, immeasurably more than 'only Juno’ to him.

“Of course,” he replies. “Anything, anytime.”

Juno hums. “Earlier, when we got back from the media bigwig backstabbing competition-”

“It was an award show, dear Juno.”

“I said what I said. Anyway, when we got back, there was something in my pocket that I definitely didn’t put there myself.”

Oh.

“A flash drive,” Juno continues, “that had the name ’M. Valderrama’ engraved into it. And a crazy amount of plastic rhinestones glued to it, but that’s not the point. I didn’t wanna risk it containing a virus and blowing up the ship, so I didn’t plug it into anything. But I did do my research, so I know Mignon Valderrama was at the backstabbing- I mean, the award show, and is the acclaimed director of titles such as ’The Notebook Part 44: This Time They’re All Ancient Mercurians’, the entire ’Ultra Magma Tsunami’ franchise, and the upcoming-”

“The upcoming blockbuster ’Cerebral Cephalopods: Rise of the Mathematician Octopi’,” Nureyev finishes.

Juno shifts against him. "Yeah, that’s the one. Didn’t know you were a fan.”

“Oh, I’m not,” Nureyev replies airily.

“Still,” Juno says, propping himself up on an elbow. “I have to wonder. How and why did mx. Valderrama’s flash drive, rhinestones and all, end up in my pocket?”

“Hmm. Would you believe me if I told you mx. Valderrama tripped, and the drive flew out of their pocket and into yours?”

Juno shakes his head. “C'mon, Nureyev.”

And for a moment, he hesitates. It’s not the best of stories. There’s no real noble, for-the-greater-good, Robin Hood-esque reason for him stealing the drive. He didn’t do it for the challenge, either - Valderrama might as well have presented it to him on a silver platter. Sure, he could make something up, spin a tale, make it sound big and impressive and sensible. But despite the alarm bells going off in his mind, he also thinks it might not be so bad to tell the truth, to bare his throat to Juno just a little. Of course, his own voice echoes, anything, anytime.

He sighs. “I might not be a fan, but I believe your secretary is. She’s been talking about those Magma Tsunami movies for days. They are horrible, by the way - she made me sit through two of them and I can’t believe I’m never getting those four hours of my life back. Valderrama should be liable for damages to my psyche. The drive, as you probably guessed, contains what I’m pretty sure is the final cut for whatever that octopus movie is supposed to be, so I snatched it up for her. My dress didn’t have any pockets, so I slipped it into one of yours. I must have forgotten to slip it out again.”

Juno frowns. “Wait - Rita? Did she ask you to? Because at this point i’m pretty sure she could hack into the studio’s servers in a heartbeat, and rip the whole thing-”

“She didn’t ask,” Nureyev says. “It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. But she wouldn’t have been able to get her hands on this by hacking. Valderrama is famously paranoid about leaks. All of their works-in-progress are stored on only a handful of physical drives until the day of release. One of the drives goes into a vault with a nightmarishly difficult analogue lock, one goes to the executive producer, and Valderrama keeps one of them on their person at all times. I saw my chance, so I took it.”

“Huh,” Juno says, “that's… that’s kind of sweet of you, actually.” He prods Nureyev in the chest with a finger. “And very illegal, and you shouldn’t do it again. But still. That's… yeah. That’s sweet. She’s gonna be over the moon.”

That’s what he’d been hoping for. He smiles, shrugging a little. “We’re space pirates, Juno. Most of what we do is illegal. We got into the award party illegally, and for illegal reasons. Valderramma will make their billions with or without that drive. It’s just-” he sighs again, raking a hand through his hair. “Rita is very important to you, which - which makes her very important to me. She’s been there for you all these years, and she’s never been anything but kind to me either. I’m not trying to buy her friendship or her appreciation, I suppose I just… think she deserves something nice, especially if that something is within arm’s reach anyway. Even if that something is a movie about hyperintelligent squids taking over Mars’ moons.” He lets his head fall back into the pillows. “I know that might sound a little foolish.”

Juno leans into him a little more, cupping Nureyev’s jaw in his warm hand, looking a little bit puzzled and a lot fond. “I’m pretty sure you already know that I love your particular brand of foolish,” he says after a second.

And before Nureyev has the chance to think about what that means for too long, Juno is kissing him, wiping any semblance of thought from his mind.

[rubiaryuplays]

And That Is a Very Thick Manuscript of Great Weight... Literally

(Case 5, part 5)

I just happened to present random stuff to Iris while shuffling through the Court Record. Keep forgetting to present stuff other than the armband unless it's required...

Here, there's a bit that isn't as clearly conveyed in English, but it is a common custom for the Japanese to begin conversations with a humble statement like "This is boring, but..." or "It isn't much, but..." or simply "Not to bother you, but..." It's meant as a sign of courtesy to others, but once translated to English, that meaning is kinda lost, especially on a 10 yo girl.

Damn, he really just got away with this with just a bit of a scolding.

But I just wanted to look through those boxes! It's not theft if we don't take anything! :)

Anyway, how is Gina doing...

Oh. Oh, my.

(This shot is kinda spoilery, but...) How nice that Gina finally tries to say his name. I don't think she says it differently than other English people, though, from what I remember of the JP version. Oh, well, she's one of the only ones to not call him "Mr.", but that's for later after they've gotten to be good friends.

And later that night, after they'd gotten through to her...

Sorry, I can't not share these. Such a beautiful bonding moment.

A beautiful bonding moment, indeed.

Btw, this move is actually different than the usual Susato Takedown. The Takedown is "スサト投げ" (susato nage), literally the "Susato Throw", and this one is "スサト割り" (susato wari), literally the "Susato Ratio". Yeah, she ratio'd him.

Ok, sorry, bad joke. This is supposed to be a serious moment. In context, it's more of a sumo term for a set match. She isn't a sumo wrestler, of course, but her techniques are of a non-descript, judo or possibly aikido-inspired moveset. The move itself is likely a hard shove or flip to knock the opponent off-balance, as opposed to an actual judo throw. It's hard to describe, but just picture a sort of tripping technique.

Or ya know, just do as I do and picture Susato suplexing him because that's funnier.

--

Whew, I got through a lot more than I expected to. Please don't expect this to be a new format or anything. I just really love the general flow to this case right up to its conclusion.

[powerfultenderness]

Thunder Thighs Ch.2

[Chapter 1][Chapter 3]

Title: Thunder Thighs Ch.2

Rating: T

Pairing: Hux/Reader.

Chapter Summary: As the search for “Thunder Thighs” continues, you are transferred. 

Word count: 1903

Warnings: Canon typical violence. 

Notes: WIP. Not completed. 2nd POV. Female reader. Physical characteristics: nothing more detailed than “relatively average sized”.

[Thunder Thighs Chapter list] [Masterlist]

-

The next morning you made sure your appearance was perfect. Your bloodied face had been cleaned up by a medical droid in the training room and the swelling was gone by the morning. You even wore a perfect layer of concealer under a perfectly matched foundation, steps you didn’t normally take. Not a strand of hair was loose and you chose to wear the uniform that consisted of a skirt instead of slacks. Again, normally you’d choose the slacks, as the required footwear was boots not heels, but if they were looking for females with good fighting abilities, they’d likely look over those who dressed more like secretaries.

You arrived at your station ten minutes early. Ten minutes was enough time to be early, but not so early that it looked suspicious. Looks like everything was-

Your lieutenant barking your name suddenly made you flinch. Oh kriff. This was it, they caught you. He glanced at you, almost dismissively, “What is your fighting experience?”

“Basic training and drills, sir. I’ve yet to see actual combat.” You felt yourself blush as you admitted the last. 

He nodded and marked something down on a holopad. “Adis has been given a new assignment, you’ll be taking her place in assisting General Hux today. He has a meeting on Jandia, I’ve sent your reassignment and Hux’s schedule to your holopad. You leave in half an hour. Report to Adis, she’ll give you any additional information you may need and escort you to Hux’s office.” 

“Yes sir.” 

Whew. 

You were quick to find Adis, really she was already waiting for you. “This will be both an easy and difficult assignment.” She greeted as she started to lead you to your new assignment. “Your first job is to take detailed notes, are you proficient in shorthand?” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Good. The general hardly needs to be reminded of the events of the day, but he expects a daily report regardless. Your other job is to simply do as he demands. I’ve added a few notes for you on the schedule that the lieutenant sent you. I suggest you read through that while you wait for Hux to board the shuttle. Any questions?” 

You were about to shake your head but paused, “Actually, why the reassignment?” 

She grinned, excited about something. “Did you hear about the illegal fighting ring that Hux and Phasma busted last night?” 

Your stomach dropped despite the faux shock on your face, “No. But if they busted it, what’s the problem?”

“One of the fighters got away. A female fighter good enough to rip off the arm of an enforcer droid. I’m part of the investigation team to find her. The women in our squad were cleared first since we work with Hux on a regular basis. That’s why you’re taking my place.” 

“Ooh. So when Lowsyk asked about my fighting experience? No wonder he looked like he wanted to scoff at me.”

She nodded and gave you a sympathetic half smile. “Yea, according to your file, you’re about the approximate height of the fighter, but, well no offense, you don’t exactly look like a fighter that can take out an enforcer droid.” 

Oh stars! They considered you for only a second before dismissing the idea entirely! Maybe the skirt really was a good idea! “No, no offense taken. Yea, I mean, I haven’t even seen combat before.” You pouted outwardly while trying to keep your relief in check. 

“Trust me, that isn’t something to be sad about. You’ll see it before the war ends.”

“Oh! Why did you say this would be a difficult assignment?” 

Adis paused her steady steps and shot you a worried glance. “Whatever you do, don’t show fear or nervousness around Hux. He doesn’t like meek soldiers and his assistants are no exception.”

You nodded and gave a thumbs up and a grin, “No fear, got it.” 

Thinking your grin was a little bit of sarcasm, she shook her head and paused in front of a door and silently gestured to you to be quiet before hitting the communication panel. The lock blinked green and she walked in, you a step behind her. 

The two of you saluted General Hux, who was sitting behind a desk looking over a holopad. Adis then introduced you, telling him you were her replacement. He nodded, “You’re dismissed, Adis.” 

Once Adis left, Hux told you to take a seat so you could go over the schedule. You were still so elated that you managed to escape being caught that as you read through Hux’s schedule and the notes that Adis left you, you couldn’t help but smile.

“Is there something in the schedule that amuses you, petty officer?” 

You looked up from your holopad and blinked at Hux, “Amusing? No sir…?” 

“Then what are you smiling at?” 

The way he was glaring at you made your hand fly up to cover your mouth. He probably thought you were slacking off! “Nothing, sir! It’s just my face.” 

“...Your face?”

You nodded and lowered your hand, “Yes, sir. The others in my division say I have “resting happy face.” 

“Well drop it.” 

“Yes sir.” 

You purse your lips together in an attempt to keep from smiling, your brows furrowed as you concentrated on trying to keep a neutral face and your eyes were squinting as you looked back down at your holopad.

“Now you just look ridiculous.” 

“Sorry, sir!” You peeped out with a frown, slightly demoralized and slightly concerned that Hux was going to replace you.

“That’s better.” 

Oh great! Now to keep up an ambivalent disposition! You didn’t say anything as you went back to studying the schedule, though at one point you did catch yourself smiling again. Either Hux hadn’t noticed or he simply accepted that his new assistant just sometimes looked like a grinning fool. Hopefully you’d have it in check when you attended the meetings. 

_

The trip to Jandia was about as eventful as you expected: that is, not at all. You walked a few paces behind the Stormtroopers that were guarding Hux, he had four troopers flanking him and one that followed you. Overkill if you ever saw it.

By the time the evening meal rolled around even your usually high spirits were dampened. Who knew assisting General Hux of First Order High Command, one of the most powerful men in the entire galaxy, could be so...boring? At this point you’d welcome a fight with another enforcer droid, even without a winning purse!

Hux didn’t have to tell you that you were leaving after the evening meal, perhaps the best thing about visiting a planet like this was the food, so you ate quickly and started to finish up the report you’d been writing whenever you had a free moment. When word that the shuttle was ready to take him back to the Finalizer and Hux started to leave, you quickly tucked your holopad into an inside jacket pocket and followed his escort.

Your hosts bid him a shaky farewell, to which he only nodded once. Considering how much sovereignty they were maintaining over Jandia, though technically now the planet was part of the First Order, you expected them to be a little more...relieved? No longer so jittery at least.

“How odd.” You muttered once the doors closed behind the last trooper.

“Indeed. High alert.” Hux commanded the Stormtroopers, who changed formation to allow you into the inner circle with Hux.

You frowned and opened your mouth, about to question whether the Jandians would actually betray the First Order, when specialized blaster fire shot down two Stormtroopers, the point man and the man who took up the tail. You and Hux both dropped lower, behind the remaining troopers. 

‘He’s too tall.’ You thought as another round of fire shot over head, barely missing Hux. Why were the assigned troopers a good three inches shorter than him? 

“Get the general to the shuttle!” The commander, the new point man, shouted to the other two as he dropped to one knee and started firing at what you hoped was the assailant. 

You were quick to follow the troopers and Hux, trying to angle your body so that the troopers were shielding you too, even though you knew if it came down to it, they’d let you die in a second if it meant leaving Hux’s side. Not that you blamed them, you would too if you were a Stormtrooper. 

The door to the shuttle opened and Hux ran in, the troopers behind him and you squeezing in next to them. You glanced behind you to look for the commander, but he was laying still on the ground outside. The doors closed and you turned, only to find the barrel of a blaster aimed at you. 

The last two troopers were standing in front of Hux, blasters moving from target to target, but they were outgunned no matter which way they pointed. The dead troopers outside were evidence that these people had armor piercing blasters and- 

“Kill them.” A laconic voice from somewhere in the shuttle said just before the troopers dropped to the floor from blaster fire. 

You screamed and pressed your back against the doors, but they didn’t budge. Hux remained passive, only moving as the bodies of his would be bodyguards jostled him as they fell.

“What, nothing to say, general?” That same voice sneered as his men moved aside so he could step in front of Hux.

He was nearly as tall as Hux, you could only guess by the color of his eyebrows that his hair would have been dark if he weren’t bald, and there was a giant scar running diagonally across his face. 

“You’ll pay for this.” Hux responded as he glared at the other man.

“No, I’m getting paid for this.” The man sniggered at his own joke. “Blasters and comlinks, drop ‘em.” 

You considered pretending that you didn’t have one while Hux unholstered his blaster, but thought better and dropped yours too. The man then motioned Hux forward and shoved him toward the benches that lined the side of the shuttle, where Stormtroopers would normally sit.

You were quick to follow, sitting next to Hux and crossing your arms over your midsection in a subtle attempt to conceal every trace of the outline of your holopad. If you kept the holopad hidden, the Finalizer could track it and send a rescue team. 

The scarred man started shouting orders and he was careful to omit names, either of his subordinates or where their destination was. Your attention was drawn from the captain as you felt Hux’s knee bump into yours and he rested his elbow uncomfortably close in front of you.

‘Geez, what a time to man spread.’ You wanted to roll your eyes, but once you followed where Hux was staring you realized what he was doing. One of the mercenaries had been staring at you, for whatever reason, and the longer you were in direct line of sight of him, the higher the chance they’d see your holopad. The way Hux was practically covering your side, there was no way to see the holopad. 

Oh. Hux realized the importance of keeping your holopad hidden too. Of course he did. You glanced at him, his eyes met yours, and you don’t know why, but you felt like you’d get out of this alive. 

[haikyupid]

hello!! your concept is so so cute omg :")) can i request for a dalgona matchup latte please? i'm an intj-a with a 3w4/8w7 enneagram (it fluctuates D:) i love music/art/literature a lot and studied music in high school but at the same time i take STEM subjects! i'm quite a logical/rational person but i love spending my time daydreaming/crafting scenarios in my head hahaha. i might be quiet/scary at first but when i open up i'm super warm and affectionate with all my friends!! (1/2)

Thank you very, very much for ordering and being patient with Kyupid’s Love Shop. One Dalgona Matchup Latte coming right up! Whew, here comes the side effects: I matcha up with ˚₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳❥

➞ this just screamed sugawara to me; i legit heard his singing after reading your order 🥺👉👈

➞ on the topic of singing, can you imagine how beautiful it sounds when he sings while you play the piano? legit every gathering (doesn’t matter if it’s with friends or family) will never be complete unless the two of you have performed for everyone while they just stare in pure awe ‘cause duh, very talented couple over here

➞ this isn’t how i usually format orders (this would usually be at the last part) but omg, you two would be such cute parents! argh, this is too adorable for me— ik you don’t particularly like kids, but i just had to put this in!

➞ he once brought you at work during lunch since you dropped by to give him a bento box, and omg, now the children think that you two are their second parents; he asked you to play the keyboard while he sang, and lich rally the kids thought you two were angels sent from above and i mean, they aren’t wrong

➞ he jokes about the fact that you’re dating him, an elementary school teacher, even though you’re not very fond of kids; lowkey kinda sad about it since he does daydream about having a lil’ family with you, i mean he is surrounded by children all the time so he can’t help it

➞ n e ways, speaking of your daydreaming habit, koushi seems to be the type to do so as well (so it won’t bother him by any means; sometimes you two would even just cuddle in silence and let each other daydream)... except you’re always in it — what’s happening in those vivid daydreams of his is up to you ;D

➞ loooves the fact that you’re mature, it’s literally what he wants (maybe even needs since the cutie may be affected too much by his students childishness) in a long-term partner

➞ i’m not sure if you’ve seen korean fashion, but you two would legit fit their whole aesthetic; like the soft, neutral and calm, coffee shop and ceramic arts type of vibes— what i’m trying to say is, you two have now become the epitome of this soft aesthetic

➞ he has a lil’ garden, and whenever you visit and stay the night, you wake up to breakfast in bed with one of the flowers from the garden on the side of the tray and i— now i want a suga

➞ loves, and i mean loves, doing domesticated things with you! he cherishes the moments where you two just go grocery shopping together, make dinner together, go on late-night food raids at each other’s kitchens, taking care of the plants, quite mornings where you two just enjoy each other’s presence and be reminded that you two are so lucky to have found and fallen in love with each other

➞ bby, imagine this: you visit his house for a surprise dinner, and you just see him with only his pyjama pants and glasses on; he walks over and gives you the softest hug with a soft peck on your nose, then he tells you that he’s been grading his students’ art assignments all day and that he’ll love it if you could help him a bit with it; now you two are sitting with takeout for dinner in his dimly lit apartment while you two laugh at the kids’ spelling mistakes, having the best times of your lives — he won’t say it, but it was during that simple and domesticated moment, he realized that you were the one he wanted to spend forever with

➞ i’m not sure if this makes sense, but this relationship gives off pastel pinks and yellows—

➞ ngl, i didn’t specify this topic with you... but i headcanon that children don’t particularly like you in beginning while suga automatically becomes their prince charming whom they’re just so drawn to

➞ sooo you may get a lil’ jealous when kiyoko’s newborn was so calm when with him, but turned into a lil’ spawn of satan when he passed the baby to you; but don’t worry, with a lil’ help from your beau, the baby learned to be calm with you — you may or may not have been thinking of having suga’s children right when you two get back to his apartment, after the baby reached out and grabbed your pointer finger which was booping its lil’ nose, and the baby just pulled it so gently close to its chest and fell asleep with it and—

➞ since you tend to strive for success for almost every aspect in life, he does see that it takes a toll on you sometimes; so when he thinks that you need even just the littlest amount of cheering up, he’ll pull out his iconic ‘negativity begone’ but this time it’s with an aggressive hug and the softest kiss on the forehead, to the tip of your nose, then finally, your lips

➞ on valentine’s day, his students presented him with a picture of you two during a school field trip (who took it? i guess we’ll never know), and now it’s his most favourite thing to look — it just gives him energy, y’know; the kids may or may not make fun of him since he sometimes just gets so lost when looking at it, like mans is whipped

“look, sugawara-sensei’s daydreaming again...”

“maybe we could make a life-size photo of miss pretty! that’ll make him more hap—“

“no, that’s a bad idea! sugawara-sensei will end up forgetting about us, and he’ll just keep staring at the photo.”

“yeah! and look, he’s drooling a little bit. imagine if it was a bigger picture! there’d be a puddle of drool everyday! he’s like a doggie.”

➞ he gives you a lot of small gifts; even if they’re just erasers that he found to be almost as cute as you, a dainty necklace that he thought would look amazing only if you wore it, or a cup of coffee from you two’s favourite coffee shop; koushi will end up spoiling you even if you tell him not to; if he could he’d literally catch one of the stars of just for you

➞ all in all, this is the type of relationship that everyone just says is so perfect; you two will just be the type of couple that every blogger wants to be in real life; not only are you two so in love that you don’t have to fake it like they do, but you two are also so pleasing to look at, so perfect couple alert? yes, yes indeed.

I hope you liked your Dalgona Matchup Latte! Here’s a little visual of your soft aesthetic relationship with Sugawara Koushi: as I’ve said before, karaokes all day ‘eryday, baby; he can be a lil’... how do you put it nicely?... a lil’ shit sometimes, so expect some teasing when it’s your turn to cook (he doesn’t mean any of it, he just loves getting you all riled up, he thinks it’s the most adorable thing on Earth); you two always end up running into stray animals, so that’s how he looks at you when he asks if you two could get a puppy, whether you end up getting a pet or not is up to you; I don’t know why, but I see you vibing real well with Nishi, so that’s you after drinking with Nishi — expect him to record a video of your drunken state and tease you with it the morning after (he watches it every morning for a lil’ boost of happiness, but he won’t tell you that); piggyback rides forever, and you wanna know his reasoning? He says it’s to prepare when you two finally have kids and he has to carry them!

Thank you very much for ordering at Kyupid’s, babe. I really hope to see you again! Have a very, very negative-free day ♡⋆.ೃ࿔*

lmao, ik you said you don’t particularly like children but like i just couldn’t get the thought out while making this for you and now your order’s filled with children and i—

i hope you still like it though 🤣 but if you don’t, then do message me, i’ll fix it for you. also, thank you for the concept compliment! i made it as original as i possibly could, so this means a lot, bby 🥺 ur so nice.

but legit, you two would be so cute, like your married life with him is just perfect! don’t forget to invite cupid and i!

[nerddface]

The Fight & The Fall

Characters: Eret, Son of Eret , Reader

Warnings: Nothing :)

Word count: 2600 whew

Notes: this is v late and has a v bad cheesy title. Shoutout to Men in Tights for the reference ;)

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Eret wasn’t even on Y/N’s radar. She had bigger priorities than this new human member of their team, like figuring out how they were going to integrate another dragon with her incredibly sensitive scaredy-cat of a dragon. Muds was small for a Stormcutter, only slightly more than half the size of her cousin, Cloudjumper, and somewhat dim in comparison, as well. The sharp, innate ability of Stormcutters to distinguish between friend and foe was duller in this poor creature, and it took some doing to earn her trust. Because of her size (or lack thereof), she was meticulous about knowing who was in her surroundings. She knew where every other dragon in a formation was, and attacked just about anything out of place. It took several weeks, quick reflexes, and dozens of treats to teach her a new strategy, and that was just with the original five, familiar dragons. The momentary addition of Heather back on the Edge hadn’t gone well, and Y/N and Muds were grounded most of her stay. Just looking at Eret’s loud, brash Rumblehorn gave her a headache.

Muds, of course, didn’t like him, either.  She had a particularly difficult time understanding the shift between “Strange-Hostile-Person-Whom-We’ve-Never-Met” to “Eret-Now-A-Friend-Of-Dragons”. Stoick had visited infrequently with Skullcrusher before, so they were essentially starting from square one. Stormfly, bless her, had done her best to show the younger dragon that the new additions to their team were not threats, but poor Muds just hadn’t grasped the concept yet. Y/N kept Muds and herself at a distance from them, only exchanging short words with Eret over supper to remain civil. He seemed to keep his distance, as well, perhaps not fond of being the odd one out as the new guy, not to mention Ruffnut would hardly leave him alone. Y/N knew too well what the twins’ attention meant, in any capacity, and she couldn’t blame Eret for being scarce.

Hiccup, apparently, had had more than enough of both of their reclusive habits and had called them to the arena at the crack of dawn. He stood now with his arms crossed over his chest, one hand gripping a leather-bound notebook and a stick of charcoal, considering both of them across the sizeable distance they’d put between each other.

“Closer.”

A glance over at Eret revealed to Y/N he was just as confused as she was. “What?”

“We’re here to acclimatize Muds to Skullcrusher, and, by extent, the two of you. That’s not going to happen if you’re standing an ocean apart. A step closer won’t kill you.”

Y/N frowned, but took a step forward. Muds followed close at her back, her head swiveling and the end of her tail flicking as she tried to make sense of the two across the stone from her.

Eret followed, Skullcrusher rumbled up behind him, and Muds chittered.

“I have an idea.” Hiccup leveled both of them with his I-mean-business look. “It should work if both of you cooperate.”

Y/N shrugged. ”Yeah.” Eret also nodded his agreement.

“Great. It’s pretty simple. Eret, Muds is comfortable with Y/N, and the smell of Y/N. I want you to wear her cloak, and Y/N can re-introduce you slowly. Muds may be a little easier to convince that you’re friendly if you smell friendly.”

Surprisingly, it worked. By working gradually, with plenty of gentle assurances and praise on Y/N’s part, Eret could stroke both of Muds’ sides from nose to tail, and Skullcrusher could make a full, slow circle around her at a moderate pace, even without Y/N’s scent draped over them.

“Great,” their leader conceded after about an hour of exercises. “We’ll pick back up tomorrow morning. Y/N, I’d recommend giving Muds a good break.”

Eret handed Y/N her cloak back, and their hands brushed momentarily. She threw it over her shoulders, catching a hint of his scent still clinging to the material. For some reason, it made her strangely nervous. She decided she was not a fan.

“Wonderful. Great lesson. Bye, Hiccup, bye, Emmet.”

Eret didn’t have enough time to process what she’d said and correct her before she was swinging herself into her saddle and taking to the air.

Hiccup sighed and scribbled something in his notebook, leaving them in momentary silence, save for the skittering of dragon claws on the stone as Toothless tracked circles around a disinterested Skullcrusher.

“Sort of quiet, isn’t she?” Eret commented, watching her and Muds leave the arena behind. Hiccup tried unsuccessfully to stifle a chortling laugh, and the newest rider turned to him with a frown.

“What?”

“Y/N is anything but quiet. We thought the same thing, at first, but don’t let it fool you. She’s got a tongue sharp enough to cut off that fluffy braid of yours.”

“Really?” He paused before asking further, “Why doesn’t she speak to me?”

Hiccup shrugged. “Sometimes I’m not sure if her or her dragon is more wary of strangers. I guess neither of them-- ahem-- quite like you.”

Eret’s brow creased further as he looked back up to see Muds’ tail flick around a sea stack and out of sight.

~

With the dragon bonding underway, the others tried to help the two humans in the equation, in their own way. The twins tried their “T’n’T” (Tried-and-True Tightrope) Method, which thankfully did not involve any explosives. Despite having worked on Dagur and Mala previously, it wasn’t the best approach for Eret and Y/N. The newcomer tumbled off before any semblance of a match could begin, while Y/N, long-accustomed to wave-riding on dragons, balanced atop the swinging tightrope cooly, examining her nails as Eret spat dirt out of his mouth.

Fighlegs tried meditating. It seemed to work-- until he realized the reason they hadn’t been making sarcastic jabs at each other was because they had both fallen asleep.

Astrid just shrugged her shoulders. “You’ll get over each other.”

Snotlout was the last to assist, and had led them both to an open patch of beach on the far side of the island.

“Hiccup is wrong,” he announced as Hookfang found a comfortable spot to nap. “He’s great with dragons, but people are my speciality. I know what you two need.”

Y/N and Eret both stared, silently, waiting for him to continue. He shifted his weight and sighed. “Listen. In the Jorgenson household, we handle things the old fashioned way. The correct way. The only way. No dragons, no ‘talking it out’ or whatever soggy garbage.”

He gestured to behind Y/N with a wave of his arm. “Astrid, if you would.” Y/N turned to see the blonde atop Stormfly, who was coaxing Muds down the beach. Her dragon was, albeit a little cautiously, following at a steady pace. She could play with the Nadder for hours if she was allowed. Y/N frowned and quirked a brow but let it happen.

“Never expect another favor like this, Snotlout,” Astrid called over her shoulder, jabbing a finger at him.

“Yeah, yeah, screw you, Snotlout, I get it, just take the Stormcutter somewhere else. Far away.”

As Muds got further away down the beach, the viking produced a chicken wing from the bag slung across his shoulders.

“You too, big guy.” He waved it before Skullcrusher’s nose until it caught his attention, then slung the chicken and the bag as far as he could, into the trees. The Rumblehorn chased it, rumbling happily, and leaving the humans alone.

Snotlout picked up a large stick from the ground and began tracing a large circle in the sand around them. “Sometimes,” he explained, “You’ve just gotta throw a couple punches. Really brings people together.”

“What, exactly,” Eret questioned, peering over Y/N’s shoulder as Snotlout completed his ring, “are you suggesting?”

Snotlout bonked the stick on the top of Eret’s head. “Fight.”

Y/N snorted, sparing a glance to Eret, who seemed just as apprehensive. “Sorry?”

“Sparring,” Snotlout assured. “Nothing serious. Just to get to know one another.”

“What do I win?” Y/N asked, crossing her arms across her chest. Eret scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Uh, the thrill of victory? Eternal bragging rights? My praise?” Snotlout tossed his stick aside and waved a hand dismissively. “Now get to it. That chicken isn’t going to last forever, and I will not be responsible for that dragon when he comes back.”

When Y/N looked over to Eret, she found his gaze already on her, one brow raised, as if he were asking her agreement to continue. She heaved a short breath.

“Why not? Not like you could do much damage anyway, Egret.”

The comment was sharp, but her voice wasn’t, and a smile tugged at her mouth as she planted her feet shoulder-width apart and balled her fists.

“You’ll see what Eret, son of Eret, is capable of. I’ve taken on whole crews single-handedly!” Eret struck first, feigning to the left before striking at her with his right fist. She missed it with plenty of room to spare. She kept up her defense, knocking half-hearted blows away with ease.

“Oh, please!” she exclaimed. “Are you throwing fists, or flowers?”

Eret’s stance widened and he pulled his fists closer before lunging forward with more force. Y/N had to compensate heavily on her right foot to get out of the way in time, and attempted a feint to the left to get her balance back. It wasn’t very convincing, and he almost got her to trip up before she got her feet right under her, still trying to find an opening in his defense.

He laughed sharply as she dodged another meaty fist. “All bark, but no bite, are you?”

Y/N chuckled breathlessly, and dropped close to the ground and changed her tactics. She swiped a leg out, trying to catch his heel. He jumped over it, but that was what she wanted; she balanced herself on her palms and swung herself around, slamming her other leg into his ankles just as they touched the ground.

He lost his footing and hit the sand with a heavy thud, but recovered quickly, and rolled to avoid her pinning him down. He used his momentum to swing an arm at her head as he got back to his feet. She ducked beneath it and managed a sharp jab to his ribs before he twisted out of her reach.

Eret’s hair was disheveled from his momentary grounding, and his face was flush with effort. Y/N was struck, for a moment, by the glimmer in his eyes and the flash of his teeth. The tattoo on his chin distorted slightly as he frowned with concentration, When did his face get to be that handsome? She was so lost in this moment of admiration that she didn’t catch his palm coming to box at her ear. The sharp blow shook her head out of its bizarre little mood and back into the fight, but as she caught his calf mid-kick she found her breath trembling like the muscle beneath her fingertips.

If Eret noticed her mind was elsewhere, he didn’t ease up on her, and pressed his offense forward, pushing her to the edge of the ring. She was back on strict defense, deflecting blows and dancing out of the way of his rapid punches.

He tried a kick at her at the same time she made a move to duck under his range of fire and strike at his abdomen. Her right leg hooked with his left, and her shoulder collided with his hip, sending them both to the sand. They ended up in a tangled heap, winded both from the fight and the fall.

Eret groaned, and Y/N felt it more than she heard it. He struggled to brace himself up, but only got to his elbows before wincing. His hiss of breath sounded sharply in her ear, and she was sure he could feel the same pain that was blooming in her shoulders. She shifted the knee that had buried in his side, and he lifted his heavy chest off of hers. One of his hands had trapped her bicep above her head, and a thigh was snug between hers.

She cracked her eyes open through the ringing in her head, and met his. She sucked in a breath, of either shock or something else she didn’t know-- the scent of leather and the sea filled her head, and the space between them superheated in an instant. Was it just her imagination, or did she see the same expression of hesitant wonderment in his face? She couldn’t be sure that he had leaned forward just a hair, but she was sure that her heart rate took another spike.

The world seemed to grind to a halt around them, until Snotlout kicked Eret’s thigh. “Round’s over! I didn’t need you two to get that close.”

Eret scrambled off of her, and offered a hand to help her up. Y/N accepted it, hoping he couldn’t tell her hands were getting clammy. She very pointedly studied the sand around them as Snotlout sighed.

“Eret landed top of the pile, so he wins, but really, we all win, don’t we?” He slung his arms around both of their shoulders, yanking them down to the same height. “Would you consider you to be friends, now?  Wouldn’t you say that sparring match was just what you needed?”

Y/N wriggled away, but her sneer was breaking into a smile. “Not to your credit, Snotlout.”

“Nonsense. Another rift mended by the expertise of one Snotlout Jorgenson!” He released Eret but ground a fist into his bicep with a grin. “My dad will be so excited to hear that it worked!” He climbed into his dragon’s saddle and jerked his horns. “Let’s go do the family name proud, Hookfang! Have fun being friends! And don’t worry, you can thank me later!”

The pair of troublemakers took off, leaving Eret and Y/N in relative peace. Distantly, Skullcrusher was rumbling through the brush and crunching on bones, but they still had a good minute or so before he returned. Muds was likely still scampering about with Stormfly somewhere out of earshot.

Y/N cleared her throat, trying to regain the confidence that had until just recently come so easy to her. “Well, Amit. Since you won, I guess it’s only fair that you pick your prize.”

He mulled it over for a moment, hoping the blush that flared up on his face was still hidden under the pretense of exertion. Half of those thoughts did not have any right to be in his head at that moment. He schooled his voice into steadiness before speaking. “You... could help me with the training arena? I’m on cleaning duty this week.”

Y/N shrugged. “Sure. Maybe I could get some dusting done with that little brush back here.” She ruffled the spiky end of his hair, and he laughed.

“Bad idea. Dust makes me sneeze.”

“We’ll figure something out, Achoo, son of A-sneeze. We may need a lot of water. You could use a bath, anyway.”

She was joking, but he was suddenly trying to remember the last time he’d washed. “Really?”

Her laugh lifted his chest and the corners of his lips. Her eyes sparkled as her gaze sidled over his face. “No, Eric. You’re fine.”

“It’s Eret.”

“I know, Aaron.”

Eret sighed, but didn’t complain. For her favor, he could take a couple new names. And maybe... one day she’d be saying his name right.

[junqkook]

how do you stay motivated to write you fics? or just anything fic related in general... im leaving for a trip in a few days and want to try and do as much as i can without getting unmotivated but whew for me to even become motivated to start editing my crappy writing takes a lot of effort

OMGGGG HAVE FUN ON YOUR TRIP FIRST OF ALL!!!!

honestly!! idk motivation is quite a fickle thing, isn’t it? u could have it and then POOF she’s gone faster than a frog when it sees tom holland’s mouth. i think it’s important to have a good relationship with ur fics. my way of doing it is that i write in general bc that’s what i love (sharing with everyone and whatnot is a big happy bonus for me, but my real enjoyment comes from the actual writing process) so it helps me almost destress, in a way. if you feel like :/ about editing, make a playlist for ur fic! then play it while editing or writing more parts, it helps me to do that sometimes bc it gets me excited for certain scenes that i know a song fits perfectly for. or make a header, set up your format—that gets me hyped to write tbh. and just daydream too!! all of that is stuff that i categorize as working on your fic, not just the writing/editing process :O

this is something that’s not true for everyone, but i know i work really well with a deadline and pressure. so if i set a deadline and tell someone i’m posting on this day (publicly or privately), it will kick my butt into gear the closer the day gets to actually finish it. ALSO!!! wordsprint is a really good tool, esp if ur competitive—you can go on a “sprint” with other friends or strangers and for 25 mins u guys just write into your lil doc. it counts every word and for every 1k words you get a gold star. i’m very competitive, so wordsprint gets me pumped and i write a lot during it bc i get motivated to have the highest word count between the people writing. idk if that would help you, but it def helps me a lot!!

also underrated: take a break if u need to. if you lose motivation for one fic, try working on another. then you can go back and forth if u need to (i do that a lot). it’s really helpful to take a break from one fic and if you still wanna write something, start a new one or work on another wip. or you can have someone else take a look at your fic and help you edit as well! that way your head doesn’t start spinning every time you try to edit.

i hope these help somewhat 🥺 and again i hope you have a really fun vacation lovely baby!!!

[badcowboy69]

Thundering Trivia

Whew bet y’all thought you’d not see another bit of writing from me ever again, huh?  Sorry for the absence and hopefully I can keep the stories going again.  Cute little short (well short for me) story dealing with Travis and Riley on a little outing of theirs out in Zion Canyon.  Bit of mild fluff, safe for work, and something new for any fans out there to learn about Travis.

Special thanks to @zoey-and-dakota for always encouraging me to strive with writings.  The thoughts were always there, just couldn’t get my mind to make my fingers type.  Story under cut due to length.

The sun was starting to set in Zion Canyon bringing with it a much needed coolness.  Bright red and orange light streaked the sky while fighting a losing battle against the evening blues and purples taking their place.  Off in the distance a thunderhead was forming with its anvil shaped mass reaching high up into the atmosphere.  Brief flashes of lightning could be seen within as the clouds making up the approaching storm continued to grow and swell.

Riley was leaning peacefully against the wooden door frame to the cabin that he and Travis were staying at.  He watched the skies carefully and figured the storm would be getting to their location very soon.  A sudden blast of cold air hit him from the downdrafts and he could feel the faint hint of rain on his face.  This certainly was not going to be one of the gentle showers that he’s previously experienced here in the Canyon.

It’s been almost a week since Travis brought him here saying they both were due for a change of scenery.  He didn’t say where they were going as he wanted it to be a surprise.  Having a car in their lives meant taking trips and exploring the wasteland would be much easier and pleasurable.  They could now travel farther and stay at their destination for a longer period of time as a result.  Although Travis missed cruising on his motorcycle, it wasn’t practical for the couple for extended trips like this.  Once plans were set and the car was packed with supplies, the two men headed off on their newest adventure.

The drive through the desert offered scenery was flat and barren for the most part, exactly what Riley would expect.  However, the closer they came to Zion the more things changed with towering rock formations and deep ravines.  Riley still doesn’t know how he managed to maneuver the car down the twisting dirt roads leading far into the canyon, but he did so semi-flawlessly leaving only a few smashed cactus in his wake.  At a certain point, Travis guided him through an area which was once a pre-war camping ground and to a lone cabin perched on a cliff.  

After parking, Riley got out of the car and had his breath taken away by the splendor and beauty surrounding them.  Travis smirked to himself as he gathered up their packs and headed to his cabin.  Even if he wanted to, Riley couldn’t move from his spot.  He was too taken in by the tall canyon walls glowing bright orange in the brilliant sunlight.  Scattered trees dotted the landscape and he could faintly hear the roar of a stream down below.  He was brought out of the enchantment feeling Travis’ hand on his shoulder.  Giving the redhead a kiss on the neck, Travis told him to come rest and cool off inside the cabin.  There would be plenty of time for exploring and sightseeing later.

Riley reluctantly stepped away and followed his partner inside the log cabin.  While unpacking, Travis told him the lands here were virtually untouched by the bombs and radiation, a complete hidden paradise for centuries.  He happened to discover it on one of his motorcycle trips and made sure to put the location data in his pipboy for future use.  Since then he’s made good friends with the Tribals that populated the canyon.  On return visits he would bring them goods from New Vegas such as tools and knives to help make their lives a bit easier.  In turn they offered him lodging here whenever he desires.  

In the days that followed Travis showed Riley around the canyon and introduced him to his Tribal friends.  The couple also spent long hours fishing or swimming in the clear non-radiated waters of the canyon.  There was always so much to see and do, but almost like clockwork a gentle rain would happen in the afternoon causing their exploring or fun to halt for a few hours.  However, today’s shower was obviously not going to be little or gentle.  Giving one last look at the approaching storm, Riley stepped back inside the cabin.  

Travis was sitting at the kitchen table cleaning his rifle, Medicine Stick, and looked up when he heard Riley shut the door.  “Gonna get rain, huh?  I can smell it.  Well, at least I think I smell it.  This gun oil frigging reeks,” he grimaced while pushing the bottle of cleaner off to the side.  “Why can’t things that clean actually smell good?  I mean how could something that stinks so bad do good?  Ugh!”

“I suppose the thinking is the more powerful the smell, the more powerful the cleaning it provides.  Anyway, the rains might be more a thunderstorm by the looks of it.  Lots of lightning in this one.  In fact I’ll say it’s going to be one hell of a storm,” Riley replied as he eagerly made his way to a window.  It’s been a long time since he saw a storm that wouldn’t include radiation like back in Boston.  “Are these frequent in these parts?  Like, is there what’s considered a storm season here where you can expect them every day at a certain time just like the showers?”

Riley turned hearing the loud scraping of chair legs on the wood floor as Travis pushed himself abruptly away from the table.  The courier looked slightly flustered as he kept his gaze focused on the rifle before he frantically looked around the cabin, crystal blue eyes wide.  “Travis?  You alright?  Are the fumes getting to you?” Riley asked.

“Y-yeah...uh….”  Travis loped to the door and pulled down a hinged wood board to barricade it shut.  “Can’t have this thing blowing open if it’s going to storm like you said.”  He ran a hand through his black hair and shot Riley an uneasy grin.  “You thirsty?  Want a beer?”

Giving a quick nod Riley got quickly sidetracked as the angry rumble of thunder could be heard echoing through the canyon.  A heavy gust of wind slammed into their cabin making it shudder in its wake.  “Hoo boy!” Riley breathed excitedly directing his attention back to the window.  “I hope this won’t bring floods or anything.  I know we’re up high enough, but those people at riverside will be…” he paused seeing Travis was now pulling the curtains shut and tucking their sides into the window frame.

For a fleeting moment he wondered if Travis was afraid, but he quickly pushed it aside as they’ve dealt with a few small storms before.  However, maybe that was the key.  Previous storms were little rain dumpers with scant bolts of lightning and gentle booms of distant thunder.  This powerful storm was going to have them right in the middle of the mayhem.  The skies now grew dark almost as if it were night and the winds continued to slam against the cabin and make the door rattle.

Meanwhile, Travis continued to cover the windows, but was halted when he got to the one Riley was staring out of.  “Umm...precaution.  In case the window busts we won’t be getting glass or rain in here.”

Riley obliged and moved out of the way and that’s when he noticed the slight tremble in Travis’ hands while he pulled the curtains shut.  He watched his partner closely and noticed the subtle indications that Travis was stressing about the approaching storm, but doing his best to hide it.  Not wanting to bring attention to it, especially if the assumption was a mistake, Riley carefully chose his conversation to see Travis’ reaction.  “I’m glad we’re in this cabin.  I’m sure getting caught out in a storm like this would suck being in a tent.  Has that ever happened to you?”

“N-no.  No, if I am out and about and see a storm coming I try and get somewheres better than a crummy tent,” Travis replied while putting the finishing touches on his window covering task.  Shooting Riley a nervous glance, he twitched his moustache and tried to muster up a smile.  “Oh, I forgot to get you that beer.”  Striding back to the fridge, Travis snagged two bottles out of it and proceeded to make his way back to Riley.  “Sorry about that.”

“It’s ok,” Riley smiled as he took the bottle and twisted off the cap.  He was about to put it to his lips for a drink when a bright white light filtered through the spaces between the cabin’s slats.  Almost immediately following, a deep, resounding boom of thunder filled the air making the very foundation of the cabin shudder.  The event sent a jolt of excitement through the redhead, but seeing the momentary change of Travis’ expression from strained relaxed to fearful verified Riley’s assumption.  Travis was afraid of the storm.

Frowning and doing his best to hide his alarm, Travis made his way back to the table and began putting away the gun cleaning supplies.  He knew Riley must have noticed the shift in his behavior and attitude and that only served to upset him more.  Travis had no secrets to hide from his lover, but his irrational fear over thunderstorms was embarrassing in his eyes.  Riley knew plenty of other things that caused Travis to be afraid such as cazadores and being restrained in any way.  However, fear of thunderstorms almost seemed a bit childish and not something Travis would readily admit to anyone, not even Riley.

While Travis did his best to calmly place the cap back on the bottle of cleaning solution, another flash of light filtered through the cracks making him flinch and bite his lower lip in anticipation for the thunder.  His unwanted wish was granted as the boom made the cabin shudder once again.  The thunder also served as an announcement to the rain which began to pound against the windows sounding as if someone were tossing pebbles against them.

Seeing Travis obviously stressing over the forces of mother nature outside, Riley pondered what he could do to help his partner relax.  He knew the worst thing he could do is question Travis about this as it would bring unwanted attention to the fears and no doubt upset Travis all the more.  Getting an idea, Riley made his way towards their bed and grabbed a blanket.  “You know, nothing beats snuggling under a blanket during a storm.  Would you like to join me?” he asked while taking a seat on the couch and placing the blanket on his lap.

Furrowing his brow at the suggestion, Travis turned towards Riley.  He hesitated for a moment as he wanted to get his supplies properly put away, but seeing the arched eyebrows and sincere look on Riley’s face, Travis couldn’t exactly resist.  Setting the gun cleaning kit back on the table, Travis snatched up his beer and joined Riley on the couch.  “Is clothing optional?” he nervously jested while taking a seat next to him.

“Well...if it makes you feel more comfortable, by all means,” Riley responded with a chuckle while draping the blanket over them and tucking it around their shoulders.  However, Travis didn’t strip and instead snuggled against Riley’s side.  Adjusting his position, Riley put his arm around Travis’ shoulders and held him close.  Leaning in, he pressed his lips against Travis’ cheek right as another boom of thunder sounded.  He felt Travis tense and slightly shudder cementing his assumption about Travis being scared.

From past experience, Riley knew the best way to get Travis focused on something when he was unhappy or uncomfortable was to talk to him about historical pre-war topics.  At first he thought he’d discuss weather conditions back in the days such as blizzards or hurricanes, but then realized mentioning extreme weather during a storm might not be the wisest of choices.  As thunder once again rocked the wood cabin, Riley suddenly got an idea for an interesting topic.

“Back in ancient times some cultures believed that the weather was controlled by their gods.  Some of the more well known ones were Thor of Norse lore and Zeus from Greece.  They were the gods of thunder as well as a few other responsibilities.  Thor was a protector of mankind and wielded his powers for good.  Zeus, on the other hand, would sometimes hurtle lightning bolts at the…” Riley stopped.  He wasn’t sure if telling Travis about gods who enjoyed tossing lightning to the earth down below or even zapping people for the hell of it would be appropriate at this time.  He knew Travis wasn’t one to believe in such beings anyway, but it still was a bad idea.

Travis squirmed at Riley’s pause.  “Earth?” he asked while closing his eyes to the recent flash of lightning that shone through the cracks.

“Well...for the most part, yes,” Riley reluctantly continued, but felt if Travis was asking questions he deserved them answered.  “They’d also get sent down on people that disobeyed or displeased him.”

“What a dick,” Travis snickered.  “Why did people always have these so called supreme beings that are always bent on snuffing ‘em out for whatever reason?”

“Not all of them were dicks,” Riley stated while gliding his hand lightly over Travis’ arm.  “I’m sure the biggest reason they were created that way was to simply keep people in check.  If people had some gigantic being looming over their life with the power to punish or destroy them if they misbehaved I’m quite sure they’d do their best to behave.  Pretty much to keep an honest man honest so to speak.”

“Yeah...I reckon that makes sense.  Still kinda stupid, though.”  Adjusting his position, Travis poked his arm out from under the blanket so he could take a sip from his beer.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Riley’s expression change and Travis couldn’t help but smirk.  “Didn’t you see me with it?  Had it since you invited me over.  You want a sip?”

“No.  No, that’s ok you…” Riley stopped speaking as thunder roared and made windows and any glass items in the cabin rattle loudly.  Not wanting to be outdone, the rain intensified and made it seem as if they were camping under a waterfall instead of up on a cliff.  When the rumble of thunder finally ended, Riley rested his head against Travis’ and continued to lightly glide his fingertips over the black hairs on Travis’ arm.  “Well, if murderous and mighty humanoid deities aren’t your thing, maybe divine creatures would pique your interest instead?”

Finishing the last of his beer, Travis dropped it off the side of the couch to the floor with a hollow thunk.  “Animals you mean?” he asked while settling back comfortably under the blanket and against his partner.

“Yes, animals.  In Asian cultures like China, great dragons were the masters of the skies and a vast majority of them ruled the weather.  In Egypt most of their gods had human bodies, but their heads were that of animals.  Set, or Seth, was the god of chaos and also in charge of storms.  It’s unclear what his animal was supposed to be, some say a jackal others say some sort of aardvark.  But if you want to talk about gods being dicks, he was a big one.”

Travis giggled nervously and moved his hand down to squeeze Riley’s knee.  “Bet he ain’t got nothing on you in the package department.”

Riley rolled his eyes and shook his head.  “I said he is one, not has one,” he replied, giving Travis a poke in the ribs making him giggle all the more.  “Anyway…” Riley continued while adjusting his glasses, a smile still on his face from Travis’ playful remark.  “A great majority of the Natives from North and South America believed a giant bird caused the thunder and lightning by simply flapping its wings.”

“Does that mean the rains came from it taking a…”

“Don’t even go there!” Riley laughed then laughed harder as Travis returned the tickling he got.  Almost as if disapproving of their behavior, a loud crackle of lightning tore apart the atmosphere followed immediately by a boom of thunder.  Much to Riley’s surprise, the sights and sounds hardly phased Travis as he was too busy squirming under the blanket trying avoid Riley’s hands.  

Once the tickle fight and squirming stopped, Riley took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to try and calm himself.  “Now then, if I may continue.”  He looked at Travis over the rims of his glasses and smirked seeing his lover’s eager and attentive expression.  “I think besides most of the dragons, the Thunderbirds weren’t out to torment humans.  They mostly were protectors and kept giant snakes from killing everyone and taking over the earth.  Interestingly enough, throughout all the different tribes on the north and south continents, they all shared the belief of a Thunderbird.”

“I reckon I like the bird the best,” Travis chimed while changing his position so he was laying over Riley’s lap.

“How come?”  Riley asked as he gathered Travis in his arms to help support him and keep him comfortable.

“Well, think about it.  Almost everyone else was out to kill and punish mankind, torment them, or whatever.  Then you get the birds.  They seemed like they were more wanting to help people than destroy them.”

“Don’t forget that Thor was a protector of the people as were a lot of the dragons.” “See, that’s just it.  Thor’s still a guy.  Don’t care if he’s a god or not, he’s still humaniod and probably prone to fucking up or getting pissed off.  Dragons too.  I dunno...the birds just seem cool and helpful is all.  Plus I think by two entire continents with different people all sharing similar beliefs and stuff about the birds shows they were pretty chill critters.  Had the birds been assholes I think they’d have found something else to try and conjure up.  People usually try not copy bad shit.  Does that make sense?”

Riley grew silent for a moment and chewed on his lower lip while pondering what all Travis said.  “Yes, in some crazy way it all does make sense.  Man, you would have been a great student to have in my class back in the day.  You always have strong interest in so much and ask pretty good questions too.  Your thought process is really unique and imaginative to say the least.”

Travis grinned, but then sobered quickly while averting his gaze from Riley.  “You do know I don’t...ummm...I’m sure you might have noticed, but I ain’t exactly fond of storms.  Kinda scared about them, really.  We ain’t never really experienced storms together outside of the casino or anything so I was able to hide my fear pretty good.  Out here all the sights and sounds are like in your face and stuff.”  He trailed off for a moment, his mind working a million miles an hour on how he wanted to word things.  “Your little lecture about the ancient stuff really helped me a lot.  Kept me distracted and kept me interested.  Maybe later on I’d love to hear more details if you got them, especially about the birds or other Native lore.”

Smiling gently, Riley nodded and lightly touched the side of Travis’ face with his fingertips.  “I’d be very happy to tell you about anything you’d like to know on the topic to the best of my knowledge.”  Bowing his head down, Riley placed a tender kiss on Travis’ brow while wrapping his arms around him.  “I’m also glad I was able to help you through your fears of the storm.  It’s nothing to be ashamed of either.  I figured something was very wrong with your change in behavior, but I wasn’t going to pry and make you more upset.”

“Thanks, Riles, I really appreciate it.  Ain’t saying next storm comes along I won’t be bothered, but it’s good to know that I got you to help me through it.”

“Anytime, Travis.  I’m more than happy to help you ride out the storms in any way you need.”

Narrowing his crystal blue eyes and allowing a lascivious grin to pull back his lips, Travis purred, “Hmmm...I know something much better I’d like to ride during a storm.”

“Oh, Travis,” Riley chuckled with a roll of his eyes.

~fin