#I was going to delay uploading this until tomorrow

[omnificent-orion]

Thank yoooouuuuu!!! Thank you all!!!

Want a doodle? Go check out ko-fi.com/loxocosm (this is a redirect: if you're using the mobile app, copy the URL into your web browser)

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[sofiawritesstuff]

PLATONIC

part 9

summary: When Lando's "playboy" image is setting a bad reputation for him. He's turns to the person he trust most in this world for help.

pairing: landonorris x bestfriend!reader

warnings: suggestive

part 8

IT'S HERE!!! I apologise for the lack of uploads, I was in Spain and visited family in Italy, my car broke down and the plane was delayed. I was then in work for 5 day straight and I'm in for a further two nights too. No more excuses I will be back more consistently.

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

You with your arm wrapped around Lando's waited at baggage claim at the airport. While he called his brother updating him on how long the two of you would be, you decided to go onto the F1 gossip page.

f1gossippage

f1gossippage Lando already enjoying his week off with girlfriend Y/N L/N. They were spotted this morning at the airport and appeared to be heading back home to the UK. Y/N also posted a picture with her holding a man's hand with the caption "home for the week".

-

"Well we've made it to the gossip pages again, a fan must have took a photo of us at the airport" you show Lando your phone, he looks down and your phone, humming kissing the top of your head.

As the two of you waited for your luggage to appear on the carousel, Lando tried to wake himself up by looking as the gossip pages "Cute picture of us though"

"At least Zak will be happy" you shrug "This is our week, let's not think about him. We will spend the night at Max's apartment, you will go to your meeting, I will pick you up and we will head to my parents. Just us, no Zak"

The noise of the carousel drew your attention to the suitcases arriving, luckily for both of you, your suitcases were the first ones out. You watched as Lando effortlessly lifted both cases off and nod towards the exit.

"Don't worry, I'll take it" he tells you as you go to take your case from him "Thank you, is Oliver outside?" you asked "Mhm, he has the car parked right outside"

The two of you walked out of the airport you saw Oliver stood outside the car "Ollie!" you smile running towards him "Hi sis, how are you" he smiles, hugging you tightly "I'm good how are you, how are my girls?"

"We're all good, the girls are desperate to see you and their Uncle Lala" he teases Lando ruffling his hair "Get off" Lando laughs hugging his brother

"You two have a lot to answer for by the way, Mum has seen the photos and I think her heart could have exploded with how excited she was that you two were finally together" Olivier says putting thr cases in the car

You felt your heart drop, Lando's mother had been like a mother to you for as long as you could remember, someone who had been longing for you and Lando to get together.

You and Lando looked at each other, frowns on both your faces "What?" Olivier questions looking between the you "Uhm" Lando starts "Listen, we're planning to go to Mum's and Dad's tomorrow night. We need to talk to everyone about what's been going on. Can you bring Savannah?"

"Okay, I have just felt my heart fall to my stomach. What's been going on?" he asks getting into the car "We will explain everything tomorrow, I promise you will know everything"

The drive to Max's apartment was nice, empty roads and hearing all about the children's lives, Lando's racing and your work place. You had the music blasting until Lando fell asleep on your shoulder.

"Still a big baby, I see" Olivier smiles, looking in the mirror "Yeah" you run a hand through his hair "He's exhausted, he has only just started to get a goodnight's sleep. Hopefully being back home he will sleep as good as the girls"

"Are you going to Canada?"

"Yeah, that's what my meeting is about tomorrow at work. My boss wants to see me just go see how I'm doing and about working from different places, trying to get a few clients. Get a few more posts on social media"

"Do you still like the job?”

“I like how flexible it is, my boss is literally so amazing but sometimes I wish i didn’t have to work during the weekends, I like just being able to put all of my focus into Lando”

“He appreciates everything you do for him you know, that one time when he was feeling down about the race and he came home to his favourite dinner and snacks. He messaged me telling me how grateful he was for you”

You blush, kissing Lando’s head making him snuggle into you more “He’d do the same for me”

“So are you going to tell me what’s been going on, or do I have to wait until tomorrow?”

“It’s best we tell everyone together” you admit as he brings the car to a slow stop “I understand, if there’s anything you need. Just give me a call”

“I will. Now do you want to do the honours of waking him up or will I?” you ask with a smirk “Give me the keys and I will take your cases inside. He will be less cranky waking up to you rather than me” he jokes, getting out of the car

You watch as he drags the suitcases to the door, you gently shake Lando awake "Baby come on, we're home"

He groans mumbling, wrapping his arm around you "Lan, we can sleep again in about ten minutes"

"That was a quick drive" he says waking up "Yeah for you, you slept the whole hour. Are you ready to go inside. Get some sleep in a bed"

He nods, leaning over giving you a quick kiss just as his brother gets back in the car "You're awake" Olivier says loudly making you two of you pull away "Yeah, thanks for the ride. I'll see you tomorrow" Lando says quickly getting out the car

"Thanks Ollie" you rush out following him. He takes you hand rushing you inside. Closing the door behind him.

You enter the apartment, following Lando straight to the bedroom "It feels good being home doesn't it?" you tell Lando watching him take his shirt and trousers off getting into bed

"Yeah. I love Monaco but it feels good being here. Now come on get into bed"

--

The next morning, you woke up in just your underwear and the shirt Lando was wearing the day previously. You weren't used to the 7am wake up calls, you hadn't been for the past two years.

"What time is it?" Lando asks waking up "Sh, sh, sh. Go back to sleep. I'm going to work. Pick me up at 1pm okay?" you hold his face, kissing him quickly leaving the bed.

You head towards the hall, getting clothes from your suitcase, and got ready for the day. Just as you were about to leave Lando comes into the kitchen fully clothed and putting his shoes on.

"You ready to go?" he asks grabbing his keys "What are you doing up?"

"Taking you to work, there's no way I am letting you get a cab at this time in the morning, plus i'm going to drop our cases off at my parents"

"Thank you but I need to come back here after work to get changed anyway"

“All sorted, I’ve left clothes out for you” he says proudly. You walked into the bedroom to see a pair of jeans and shirt left out neatly on the bed for you.

“Thank you” you smile coming back through to thee kitchen. You grab your bag and follow him out the apartment, getting into the car

"How are you feeling about the meeting?" he asks reversing out of the drive "I'm not nervous about the meeting but I am nervous to go back into the office, so many of the girls hate me"

"They don't hate you"

"No they do, they hate me because you're in my life and not theirs. They only want you for your money and to fuck you" you scoff, he laughs putting his hand on your legs

"They will never get the chance baby, the only person that will ever get to fuck me in that office is you" he squeezes your leg sending you a wink

You look out of the window, hiding your smile. Watching as the weekday morning traffic slowly building up.

“Well I’ve definitely not missed this” you mumble turning your hand to Lando “Neither have I, how long is your meeting today?”

“Mark said I would be done by 12. Meeting starts at 10. I don’t think it will even last that long”

“Well I will be waiting for you at 11:45 where I drop you off. Do you want anything brought in for lunch? I can stop at the cafe just around the corner”

“No, no. I’ll be okay and get something at work. Get yourself something though” you smile rubbing his shoulder

“Will you though?” he asks turning the corner into the car park of your work “Yes. Thank you” you say taking your seatbelt off

Lando looks at you, staring out the window. Takes your hand in his in attempt to calm your nerves “You’ll be okay, I know you will. Go in and ignore anyone that has a problem with you. You know everything you need to do”

“Thank you” you smile “I love you, have a good day and I will be waiting here for you when you’re done”

“I love you too”

He leans in, giving you a kiss to the lips before kissing your head “Have fun” he says as you leave the car, you close the car door, waving at him through the window.

Entering the office, people come up to you greeting you, including your best friend Robert

“I’ve missed you so much, this place is hell without you” he hugs you tightly “It can’t have been that bad” you laugh sitting down at his desk

“Oh it is, I have so much to tell you but first tell me how you’ve been?”

“I’ve been great to be honest, I’ve absolutely loved travelling with Lando. Getting to experience his first win, we’ve tried so many different foods and countries. It’s been so good. We’re staying with his parents this week before heading to Canada”

“Yeah i’ve noticed how much you’ve enjoyed your time with Lando. I’ve seen the photo of you two kissing. He’s finally your boyfriend?” Robbie squeals

“Yeah, he is” you lie staring at the man across from you “So how did it all happen? I need all the details”

Before you can say anything Mark appears at the meeting room doors, signalling you both over. You thanked him in your head. Glad you don’t need to make up another lie.

“Tell me later” Robbie smiles, leading the way to the office “Okay” you nod

Everyone sits around the table, the few girls that you didn’t like sat across from you “Good morning everyone, thank you for those who aren’t here everyday for coming in. Also a big welcome back to Y/N who has been doing an incredible job getting clients in every country she’s been too. How have you been doing Y/N”

“Yes great thanks, so far I have gathered 12 clients and I'm off to Canada next weekend so I'm hoping to meet a target of fifteen then"

"And how are you going to do that attached to your boyfriends hip?" Emma asks with a smirk on her face "Well funnily enough I do have a life outside of my boyfriend, I'm not with him 100% of the weekend, I also use Thursdays to gather clients and have meetings with them throughout the weekend"

"Well we all appreciate your efforts Y/N, we only require you to work eight hours a day Monday to Friday so we are grateful for the overtime that you do and the calls that we have had since you've been away are great"

The hours fly by and before you knew it, it was 11:50. You gathered your belongings, putting them all in your bag. "So how are you getting home? Do you need a ride?" Robbie asks handing you your charger

"No, Lando is outside for me, we're heading back to his apartment so I can shower and then going to his parents for the week"

"That sounds nice" he says opening the door for you, you talk about the week ahead while heading down in the elevator "Well there's Lando and it looks like he brought you lunch too" he nods over to Lando leaning on the car

"Hey Lando!" Robbie waves "Hi Rob" he waves back "How was it?" he asks leaning down giving you a kiss "Better than I thought"

"I'm glad to hear, you had a slice of toast this morning and I know the most you'd have in there was a coffee so I got you a sandwich and a drink"

"Thank you" you lean up kissing him, he walks around opening the door for you "What a gentleman" you smile getting into the car.

part 10

TAGS

@harrysdimple05 @ironmaiden1313 @charli123456789 @alltoomaples @jule239 @panicsinvirgo @cmleitora @imboredway2much @landoslutmeout @obxstiles @morenofilm @formula1mount @dreamercrowd @brekkers-whore @sialexia @bokutos-babyowl @wobblymug @merchelsea @lexiecamposv @lunamelona @nightlockcornucopia

[gremlin-girly]

Kinktober Day 9

Kink: Somnophilia

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x f!reader

Tags/Warnings:  SMUT, Somnophilia, established relationship, petnames (doll, baby), p-in-v, f masterbation (brief), vaginal fingering, creampie, sex dreams (not in depth but mentioned)

Word Count: 1.6k

Summary: You always tell Bucky to wake you up when he comes back from missions but you never specified how.

As always I do not give permission for my work to be reposted, translated or copied. My warnings are non-exhaustive (even though I do try to capture everything) but please read at your own risk. I am not responsible for your content consumption.

I hope you enjoy; comments, likes and reblogs are always welcome!

A/N: I know, I know. I'm late. Apologies. I'm going back to my home country for my birthday this week and I'm trying to get all of my uploads scheduled! So, I have the last few from last week to upload and then next week there will be a LOT of posts haha - Love Grem x

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Bucky had been on back to back missions, and although you insisted on him waking you up so you could make him food or cuddle him, he'd declined. He hadn’t wanted to ruin a good night's sleep for you; he knew how precious that was.

"Buck, I promise I'm okay with you coming to bed after a mission. I don't care if you wake me." You'd argued with him before he left again. You had been adamant about him not sleeping on the floor or sofa in fear of waking you up. You much preferred waking up to his pretty face than an empty bed.

"We'll see, doll." Bucky sighed, pecking your lips quickly as he headed out the door. "Love you."

"Love you."

When the door closes behind him you sigh to yourself. Maybe one day you'll manage to convince him.

Two days before Bucky was scheduled back you lay awake in bed, vibrator on your clit, dreaming of your boyfriend being home.

Every time he was away you missed him terribly and it didn't take long for you to cum to the thought of him more than once (although nothing would compare to the real thing). Your pyjamas and panties are lost to the sheets, a wave of tiredness washing over you as you clean up your vibe and wash your hands with strategically placed wet wipes.

You roll onto your back and stretch. You couldn't be bothered to make an attempt to find your panties. You were doomed to your fate of being pantyless, sprawled on your bed, wishing your boyfriend were home.

Your eyes flutter, heavy with sleep. Bucky'd be home soon. Maybe you should propose the idea of waking you up with sex. You make a hum of contentment to yourself. Maybe you will. But then again, any kind of sex with Bucky is sex you want to be having.

Bucky and sex with Bucky are still on the forefront of your mind as you drift to sleep.

Bucky's mission finished two and a half days early.

His plan was to get home to you as soon as possible, flowers in hand as always. Due to delays it wasn't until past 1am that he managed to get through the door.

He dumped his bags and gently placed the flowers on the dining table. You had already gone to bed so he would have to wait until tomorrow to surprise you with them. Bucky scanned the quiet apartment whilst Alpine brushed up against his legs.

He looked to the sofa then to your bedroom door. Alpine mewled haughtily; every time he came home he'd fall asleep with her on the sofa but tonight it was different. He thought about what you said before he left. How you said it every time.

Wake me up when you come home.

With a pat to Alpine’s head, Bucky padded to the bedroom quietly. The door whined on it hinges as he pushed it open, but as he slinked through he could just about see you through the light in the curtains.

Bucky took in your sleeping form; tangled in the sheets and sprawled out almost entirely on the bed. You looked so peaceful. Not even close to elegant but peaceful and it brought a smile to Bucky’s face.

Then you huff and murmur his name. Bucky inches forward, thinking you've woken up. There's a miniscule amount of guilt but the thought of seeing you beam up at him quickly replaced it. But you don't open your eyes. You shift in the sheets, moving your hips upward and kicking the comforter further down your body.

You're so pliable in this state, relaxed and soft. Bucky only needs to tap your knee outward gently for you to spread your legs wide for him. You're wearing nothing but a cropped shirt that barely covers your tits. Bucky's eyes scan the covers and find your pyjama shorts and panties discarded in the covers; clearly you had some fun before falling asleep. He bites back a chuckle and looks back to you. He shouldn't, he really shouldn't, but you look so good right now he can't help himself. Didn't you say you wouldn't mind being woken up by him? You didn't specify how.

Bucky traces the insides of your thighs, curious if you'd stir. You shift slightly and hum in your sleep but you don't wake up. Bucky releases a breath he didn't realise he was holding, and runs a finger along your still glistening folds experimentally. This time you let out a breathless whimper and spread your legs even further.

Watching you mewl under his touch even when you're asleep makes his cock ache. He shifts closer to you, sitting between your legs for a better reach of your wet folds, his thumb finding your clit easily. The noises you made when his thumb brushed over your already sensitive nub had his free hand freeing his hard cock almost immediately. You writhed beneath him limply, your legs making lazy, half hearted attempts to close, but Bucky's broad body was in the way.

"Look at you, doll." Bucky huffed quietly, pumping his cock as a finger slipped inside of your eager pussy, making you cry out Bucky's name quietly. "Bein' so good for me even while you sleep."

Bucky adds a second finger shortly after, stretching you open. You were already so wet you probably didn't need it but Bucky was adamant to ensure you woke up to only pleasure. He can feel you clench around his fingers, your gently, sleepy gasps coming more rapidly. You were going to cum so quickly and easily around his fingers, dreaming of him no less.

Bucky removes his fingers from your pussy and you whine quietly in complaint. He gathers slick from your folds, running the tip of his cock teasingly up and down, and biting back his own loud groan. You feel ridiculously silky and wet but the thought of you waking up with him buried inside you has Bucky’s cock twitch against your clit. He lines himself with your entrance and slowly pushes into you, watching your face as he does.

Your eyes flutter briefly, and Bucky’s hands come up to cup your face in the almost-darkness. When his cock reaches its hilt he tries to groan quietly; your pussy flutters and clenches him, still desperate for more.

"Bucky." You huff, head turning into his palm. Your eyes flutter again and you have the familiar toe curling feeling brewing at your core and the feeling of being filled to the brim.

"Yeah, doll?" Bucky murmurs, pressing soft kisses to your cheek. He moves his hips slowly, almost taking care not to move to hard too fast, although he's desperate to cum.

Your eyes flutter again but this time they stay open. It takes you a minute to register waking up from the sex dream you were having, eyes adjusting to the darkness around you. The weight on top of you, inside you, makes your pussy clench when you recognise your boyfriend's aftershave. Your eyes are like dinnerplates in the darkness but you can see the rise and fall of Bucky's chest, and just about make out the blue of his eyes looking back at you.

You lick your lips as you feel his cock throb inside you, wrapping your arms around his neck and tugging him closer to capture his lips in a sleepy kiss.

"Welcome home, baby." You mumble, wrapping your legs around his waist a little tighter. Bucky sinks back further into your pussy as he kisses your face, and this time you moan a little louder.

"'M sorry for waking you." He says, thrusts getting quicker. You're awake now, there's no reason for him to hold back. You're body is wide awake, ripping you from your sleep state and throwing you over to pleasure.

"'S okay," you pant out, your grip on his is still lazy and sleepy, but your body feels like it's on fire as he fucks into you mercilessly. Your first orgasm rips through you quickly, too sensitive from Bucky's teasing and your earlier me-time to withstand the pleasure Bucky is giving you. Your cry out his name with a whimper, turning to gasps of ecstasy as you cum over his cock and he smiles against your neck whispering praises as your cunt milks him. Bucky cums after your second orgasm, your pussy fluttering around his cock too much for him to bare. His thrusts slow ensuring he's filled you to the brim with his cum before stopping entirely to relish the state you're both in.

Panting together, Bucky rolls off you slowly, and you huff at the loss of heat on top of you.

"You okay?" He murmurs, wrapping his flesh arm around your waist. He snuggles in close, pressing kisses to your shoulder. You chuckle turning to him and pressing a kiss to his nose.

"Better than okay." You sigh dreamily. "I wanna wake up to that all the time."

Bucky snorts gently. "I'll keep that in mind, doll."

"I'm glad you're back and that you came and woke me up." You smile and cuddle closer into his arms. As you're settling next to him, your eyelids begin to droop, getting heavy again.

"So am I," Bucky says, yawning loudly clearly feeling the same unstoppable have of tiredness. Travelling home and fucking in the same night after a long mission meant he'd be sleeping well tonight.

You hum happily. "Love you."

"Love you, doll."

Wrapped in each other's arms you both fall asleep quickly, waking up the next to one another the following day and repeating the night's activities.

[vendetta-if]

Chapter 7 + Ash Hangout Public Update is now live! 🎉

The Chapter 7 and Ash Hangout update is finally here 🔥😁 I'm sorry for the slight delay, I had something urgent to attend to today and I just got home and I just basically went straight to my computer to upload this update.

Finally, we are starting to get into the ROs' first hangout sessions. Of course, to start us off, we'll have Ash's hangout session 😁This update adds around 31K of new words, bringing the total word count so far to around 356,701K words!

Anyway, this update also brings quite a lot of changes in the coding, especially for the skip chapter function, so I'm going to strongly suggest you guys play with clean save, either from the beginning or using the skip chapter function.

I have recently added another skip-chapter checkpoint, which is Chapter 3 in addition to the already existing one on Chapter 6. There is also now an autosave function at the beginning of every chapter starting on Chapter 2, so you'll be able to replay any chapter you're currently reading and try out different options in that chapter.

Anyway, enough of the technicalities.

Here's what you can expect in this update:

The set up to the ROs'  first hangout sessions

Ash's first hangout session

Go down the memory lane and see snippets of MC's most cherished memories.

Some more Viktor 😔

A mix of angst, wholesome, and even potential fluff 🤭

🔥🧡😉

Ash/Rin poly route is not yet ready for this hangout and it's still work-in-progress 🙏

New stuff added to previous chapters:

Added autosave/reload function for Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, and Chapter 5.

Added another skip-chapter point to Chapter 3, in addition to the already existing Chapter 6.

Also, little news that I'm going to make a post of tomorrow, I'm about to open both the Side Story and Spicy Side Story ideas and suggestions for this month on both Patreon and Ko-Fi, so if you're interested in supporting me while also getting some exclusive stuff, please do consider checking out my pages and subscribing 💖

I hope you guys enjoy the update! Oh, and also, feel free to send asks about the new update, but I'll probably hold off on answering them until a few days have passed to make sure a lot of readers already have the chance to check out the update and not accidentally spoil them 😊

[DEMO] | [PATREON] | [KO-FI] | [DISCORD] | [COG FORUM]

[straightmundodiaz]

please begging for a giffing tutorial how do you get your gifs to retain quality after posting

Hi! Thank you so much for asking, I'm going to put an explanation/tutorial of what I do under the read more since it's very long. So come along with me as I make tomorrow's dailyeddiestache gifset! The main information is the sharpening which is at the very end so if you already know how to make gifs, but just want crispy gifs read the first paragraph and the end :)

The first thing is getting as high quality of a download of the episode as you possibly can. I personally screen record streams of the episodes to make the gifs you see immediately after the episodes, but those are very obviously much lower quality than my other gifs. Otherwise I'm looking for torrents of the episodes, and I'm looking for ones above 2MB since that tells me that it's going to be a high quality 1080p download.

I personally use the video frames to layers method of importing, so I'll next clip out the scenes I'm planning on using. We need to stay under the 10MB limit, so how long the gif can be will depend on how big the gif is. I want to do giant 540x540 gifs, so we're gonna keep my clips a little shorter at 1.6 seconds long. However if I was doing something like 2x540 then I can make the scenes a lot longer, 2.5+ seconds

Once I have my clips I'm going to go to "File>Import>Video Frames to Layers" and select my clip

I get this popup and with the shown settings just click OK. It might take a moment to load.

So now this is what I'm looking at. It's taken my video and turned it into "layers" aka screenshots.

At this point I'll let the timeline run a few times and get an idea of how I'm going to do the cropping for this, then I go ahead and crop however I want, in this case a square.

So now at the top right corner of my timeline there's a little stack of three lines, I'm going to click that then "select all frames". You should have all frames in the timeline highlighted blue now, and then I'll click on the little inverted ^ on any of the frames, then "other" and I personally set my delay for 0.06 seconds.

This just controls how fast your gif moves and is 100% up to you, but almost all of my gifs are at 0.06 so you can go with a smaller number for faster or a bigger number for slower.

Okay now I'm going to get into the actual worst part about giffing this show, trying to color this ugly ass show. I'm going into my layers panel and scrolling all the way to the top and selecting the top layer. This makes sure that my adjustment layers will automatically go on top and apply to all layers.

This is now the point where you just need to fuck around until you like what you see. There are a lot of tutorials out there dedicated just to coloring, but I strongly suggest just screwing around and clicking things and seeing what happens. Curves are going to be a life saver, the best thing on earth. I also love the "Brightness/Contrast", "Exposure", "Color Balance", and "Selective Colors" adjustments and those get used in almost every gif.

Before and after coloring yay

Okay now I'm going to do the "select all frames" on my timeline again, and also click on the very top layer in my layers panel, hold down shift, and scroll down and click on Layer 1. This should highlight everything in your layers panel.

Click the little line stack in the top right of your timeline panel, and click "convert to video timeline". Then we're going to go up to "Filters>Convert for Smart Filters"

As you can see, rather than having a million layers in my timeline and layers panels I now just have one "thing".

So now that we've converted for smart filters we can sharpen our gif which is what really makes the quality hold when uploading into tumblr. We're going to go to "Filters>Sharpen>Smart Sharpen"

There's two different settings combinations that I like to do. This involves applying two smart sharpens with the following settings

Before (left) and after (right) this sharpening duo

Then here is the other potential sharpening duo I use (don't use both sets, that will just deep fry your gif)

Once again a before and after

Since tumblr ruins the quality of gifs, you want your gifs to look just a tiny bit over sharpened/crispy in photoshop since tumblr is gonna smooth it out

Last thing you'll need to do is resize your gif. If you're doing one gif in a row, change the width to 540p, if you're doing two change it to 268p. This will be in "Image>Image Size".

Then we'll export our gif with "file>Export>Save for Web (Legacy)" and I export with the following settings. Ignore how red he looks, the preview just makes everything look sooooo red but it exports like it looks while I'm making it

Hopefully this helps, I've been making gifs for years but very much am still learning myself

[baddreamsandoldbones]

Hellcheer Week Day 8 - Scare Actor

My laptop is unusable, it's taking a while to upload everything. Trying to catch up @hellcheerweek

Against her better judgment, she was persuaded to go out for Halloween. 

“You should go,” Eddie says, shifting gears. “Come on, it’s not like we have much on for Halloween.”

“Aside from possessions,” Chrissy says, because despite everything Halloween is never the pleasant break they expect. “And that thing with the scarecrows. And last year, when that warlock poisoned the pumpkin pie eating contest.”

“Well, it’s probably unlikely that will happen again,” Eddie counters firmly. He’s driving her home, something that he does every day. She’s tried telling him that he doesn’t need to - especially not on Tuesdays, when she has practice and he has to wait for an extra hour after school ends. But he always insists, pointing out the frequent vampire attacks around town happening lately. “You should go.”

“It might be fun,” Chrissy admits. She doesn’t often go to parties anymore, too occupied with Eddie and her other supernatural activities. She’s isolated herself from some of her old friends because of it, whether she meant to or not. She just has other priorities now. 

“Then you should go. I know you don’t see your friends much anymore. And I’ve got a shift anyway.”

Chrissy frowns. He’s been working too hard lately, picking up shifts at Benny’s and the garage and now a haunted house. She wonders if he and his uncle are in some kind of trouble, and if so, why he hasn’t told her. 

“Another one?” she asks and he shrugs, pulling onto her street. 

“Just at the Haunted house,” he says. Chrissy can see her house up ahead, the one jack-o-lantern that her mother had agreed to have on their porch. Laura Cunningham doesn’t do tacky Halloween decorations. “It’s the last one. Pays pretty well.”

“Sucks we can’t be together,” Chrissy says miserably. Eddie pulls over by the sidewalk - he never pulls into their drive, perhaps fearing the wrath of Laura. 

“I know,” he says. “But I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll have a delayed Halloween. All the scary movies and leftover candy you could want.”

So she went out. It only takes her five minutes to regret it.

“Nice outfit,” Heather says, tugging on one of the wings strapped to Chrissy’s back. She doesn’t know how Heather found her in this crowded room, music blasting until the pictures on the walls rattle in their frames. Tina’s Halloween parties are legendary and she’d held one every year since middle school. As they got older the punch became more alcohol than fruit and the seven minutes in heaven disappeared in favor of couples groping in dark corners. “Fitting.”

“It’s Romeo and Juliet,” Chrissy says anxiously, because she’d loved that movie. When she had to think about choosing a costume, it had all been too easy to pick Juliet’s frothy white dress. The white dress that brushes her thighs was something she bought at the mall, even though she shivers in the cool air, protected only by the little straps over her shoulders. All she’d had to do was find a pair of heels and buy a pair of wings from the local costume store. 

She would have pushed for a couples costume but Eddie was working at the haunted house, dressed up in something covered in fake blood. 

“Good film,” Heather says, with a nod. Heather has her dark hair twisted into plaits that hang over the white collar of her dress. Her costume would be fairly obvious, even without the dismembered hand that she’s holding. “Come on, we’re this way. We’re going to hang out here and then head over to Archie’s party after this.”

“How many Halloween parties are there?” Chrissy asks, swerving past a pack of Spice Girls (one Ginger, two Babies and minus a Posh Spice), and Heather just flashes her a grin. 

“Like five?” she says. “They’re all trying to one up each other…we can hit as many as we want. Stacey’s folks never lock their liquor cabinet…look who’s here!”

Chrissy is met by hugs from every girl and the nerves unravel themselves just a little at the warm welcome. She’d worried she’d feel like an outsider after so long, be ostracized for her relationship with Eddie. But aside from Carol’s comment about her virginal halo, she feels as part of the group as she ever was. 

Someone pushes a red cup into her hand and when she drinks she finds that the fruitiness of the punch has a familiar kick to it, something that burns down the back of her throat. She sinks into a spare seat and lets the conversation wash over her. 

“No Steve?” Becky asks, twisting her head around to look hopefully across the crowd. She’s had an unfortunate, unrequited crush on Steve since she transferred in their junior year. Chrissy just sips at her drink, wondering if Becky knows quite how far she’s barking up the wrong tree. 

“He never does anything fun anymore,” Stacey agrees, adjusting her little cat ears. They keep slipping down her glossy blonde hair, and her drawn on whiskers are already smudged from the heat.  

“Like someone else we know,” Carol mutters, just out of Chrissy’s eye-line. 

The vision hits her before she can form a retort. 

The problem with visions is that it’s like an out of body experience. She knows that the cup in her hand slips, that it will crash to the ground and spill a vivid stain of red over the carpet but she’s powerless to stop it. 

By the time the liquid is spilling across her bare toes, she’s already somewhere else. 

The pain is immense, even more so than usual, as Chrissy is thrown into multiple different images at once. All she can do is dig her nails into her scalp, trying desperately to hold on and not scream in agony. 

And finally, finally…it subsides. Chrissy tastes blood in her mouth and realizes that she must have bitten down just a fraction too hard in her efforts not to scream.

“Are you okay?” Tina asks anxiously, pressing a cool hand against Chrissy’s back. Chrissy breathes steadily through her nose, trying to push past the pain. She spends so much time around the Slayerettes that she forgets how hard it is to be with people who don’t know the truth about her. 

“Headache,” Chrissy forces out from between gritted teeth. “Must be the alcohol.”

“You’re out of practice,” Carol says, taking another lazy sip of punch. But Heather just scowls at her before turning back to Chrissy. 

“Can we get you anything?” she asks and Chrissy just shakes her head. She feels trapped all of a sudden, a hot flush climbing up her chest even in her ethereal outfit. 

“I need to go outside,” Chrissy insists and pushes herself up. Tina and Heather hover with uncertainty, Heather’s hands outstretched to catch her as Chrissy wobbles dangerously in her heels. “I just…need some fresh air.”

“Do you want us to come with you?” Becky calls after her, but Chrissy just waves a hand. She needs to be alone for this. 

She pushes her way through drunken party goers, searching for peace and cool air. It’s already too hot in here, the many writhing twisting bodies, high on sugar and alcohol, ensuring that they will dance well past the witching hour. Chrissy avoids an alien, two werewolves and a pack of Charlie’s angels, before she escapes through the front door. 

Only then does she feel like she can breathe, taking several deep, relieved breaths. The air outside smells faintly of weed and cotton candy but it’s cold and brings clarity back to her aching head. 

What was that? She’s never had a vision like that before, so distorted and fragmented. She usually sees a vision in crystal clarity, as though she were there herself. Nothing like this. 

She walks out to the sidewalk, away from the assorted people smoking and torching on the front porch. She paces, trying to remember as much as she can. She gets visions for a reason, for a far heavier destiny than other women in her family. It means that this Halloween will not be so peaceful after all. 

She saw a grandfather clock. She saw spiders, an old mirror, and a radio. The house looked old and expensive, judging by the carved wood on the banisters and the grand chandelier in the hallway. She saw a swirl of a dark cape, an ax, a bowl of blood. She saw bodies piled up on the floor and - the memory makes her shudder - one of them was barely nine years old, blood caked in her blonde ringlets. 

None of it makes any sense. Why so many? Why nothing useful? She needs something to use to track down whatever terrifying thing is happening tonight. 

Ugh, Robin will not be pleased by her ruined night off. 

“Hey!” someone shouts and Chrissy turns to see Heather and the others rushing out towards her. Heather throws an arm around her. 

“We’re going to head to one of the other parties. You coming?” Heather asks. 

Chrissy’s about to refuse, claiming that she needs to go home when she realizes that there’s no point. Something’s happening in Hawkins tonight and maybe the best way to find it is to walk through the streets. 

“Sure,” she says, forcing herself to smile. “Why not?”

<hr>

It’s still early enough that trick-or-treaters still roam the streets, mingling with party goers and high schoolers. Chrissy wraps her arms around herself, trying not to flinch at every high-pitched scream or wail that echoes down Cornwallis. 

Someone in a demon costume howls at the group as he runs past, and while most of the girls scream and giggle, Chrissy turns her head, looking for genuine signs of distress amongst the revelry. 

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” Heather asks quietly, slowing her pace so she can dip her head next to Chrissy’s. “You’re not…acting like yourself.” Chrissy shrugs. She wishes Eddie were here, or Robin or Steve. Someone who might understand. 

“I’m fine,” she lies. Heather frowns. 

“You’re not,” she insists, sidestepping another group of trick-or-treaters, carrying sacks. They’re dressed in khaki, despite the weather, and wide brimmed hats. 

“Why the fuck is the haunted house closed?” one of the kids complains and Chrissy whirls around. 

“What did you say?” she asks and the kid blinks at her, clearly thrown at being addressed by her. She knows him too - it’s Nancy Wheeler’s kid brother, being trailed by a group of kids in a strange assortment of outfits. It takes Chrissy a moment - and a glimpse of the toy dinosaurs that they’re carrying - that she realizes they’re from Jurassic Park.  

“The haunted house is shut,” he says, jabbing a thumb down the street. “We just tried to get in. None of the doors or windows will open.”

“Odd,” Tina says, with a lazy shrug of her shoulders. “I was supposed to go. Amy said she went yesterday and it was really realistic.”

“Shut how?” Chrissy demands, fear trickling down her spine. Heather tries to take her arm but she shakes her off with strength she didn’t even know she had. “Like locked? Like ‘we’re having technical difficulties, try again in a few minutes’?”

“No,” one of the other kids says, long red hair pulled back into a ponytail. Chrissy recognizes her too - it’s Billy’s stepsister. “Like…the windows are all boarded up.”

“I don’t think they can do that,” Becky points out, shivering a little in her Catwoman costume. “I mean, the building they’re using is already kind of a safety hazard. I don’t think they’d be allowed to shut off exits like that.”

“What building?” Chrissy asks. She hadn’t even asked Eddie before, hadn’t even thought of it. She’d meant to go with him earlier this week but she’d had to study for a test. And the house will be closed after tonight because today is Halloween…

And it’s fucking Halloween. Oh God, she should have thought of it sooner. Shit always happens on Halloween in Hawkins. 

“What house?” Chrissy asks, voice rising until it echoes down the street. Becky looks startled at being shouted at by someone in angel wings. 

“The old Creel house,” she says. “There was a murder suicide in the seventies so it’s been abandoned for ages. The owner said they could use it so long as they avoided the rooms that were really unsafe…”

Chrissy turns to Mike, digging in her purse for change. She shoves it into his hand, grateful for the heels that allow her to stare into his eyes. He’s growing like a weed, already set to be taller than his sister. 

“Go to that payphone and call this number,” she instructs, pulling out a pen. She scrawls the number on his hand, not even listening to his protests. “Do it. Or Nancy will make your life a living hell, I’ll make sure of it. Tell him to bring everyone to Creel house. Got it?”

Mike nods, mouth set in such a familiar pout that it’s jarring to see Nancy’s expressions on his face. 

One of the other kids opens his mouth, like he’s going to protest, and Chrissy stares him down before he even gets one syllable out. She needs them to call Murray to get everyone here. She could be wrong. Maybe there was an accident and they had to close the haunted house early. 

But somehow, she doesn’t think so. 

She turns and races down the street, ignoring the loud cries of her friends behind her. She hopes that Mike does as she asked, because she’s not quite sure what she’s going to do when she even gets there. 

It’s slow going, running in heels, each step a chance that she might fall and twist her ankle. She moves as quickly as she dares, stomach churning with each click of her heel on the asphalt. 

The haunted house has been open for a week, filled with bowls of peeled grapes, pinned dark fabric and scare actors to jump out in a variety of costumes. Eddie had been pleased to be assigned ‘ax murderer’ for some reason. 

“I get to chase people,” he’d said, with a toothy grin. “Down the main corridor. Should be great. Easy money.”

But the house wouldn’t be shut down, not tonight, not on the night that’s the peak of the event. Unless something terrible happened and somehow, she doubts it. Even if there had been an accident, she’d have seen ambulances or fire engines, and Keith would have stuck a notice out front to explain to customers. 

And if something like that had happened, there wouldn’t be this terrible feeling sliding down Chrissy’s back. 

She skids a little as she turns onto Mount Sinai, and it’s already looming in the distance. Every kid in town knows about the abandoned Creel house, even if the myths surrounding it tend to change. What was Eddie thinking, agreeing to go into a place like that? 

The house is dark and it shouldn’t be. They’d borrowed lights, as the house didn’t have any, and hooked them up to the next door’s outdoor sockets. The dim light worked for the event, and they’d effectively used glow sticks at strategic points to give the corridors an unearthly green glow. 

Chrissy stands on the sidewalk and catches her breath, furiously looking at every door, window and crevice. This isn’t the first time she’s stood in front of a house and been unable to shake the feeling that something isn’t right. 

She hears footsteps behind her - she hadn’t expected her friends to actually follow her. But they’re here, chests heaving and cheeks flushed. Even Carol, red lips pursed, has come too.

“That’s creepy,” Becky mutters, staring up at the house that Chrissy hasn’t taken her eyes off of. Eddie has to still be in there - he would have tried to contact her if he wasn’t. 

“Where is everyone?” Heather asks, looking around. “They’ve been advertising this for days. There was a huge queue waiting outside when I drove past earlier.”

Chrissy still doesn’t say anything. She’s grateful that they’re here but they can’t really help her. She just has to hope that Mike did as he was told and gave Murray her message. 

A sudden loud tolling echoes down the street, the heavy peal of a grandfather clock. Chrissy flinches, because if she needs any further confirmation that something is wrong, it’s just been delivered to her on a plate. 

“Where the hell did that come from?” Tina squeaks, looking around her as if she expects a clock to be right behind her. But she’s looking in the wrong place - Creel House is almost certainly under the influence of a spirit, trapping everyone inside. Chances are that what she saw was fragments relating to the ghost. The sound of the clock has just confirmed it. 

“We have to get in there,” Chrissy says firmly. The chime had been a warning, she’s sure of it.

“What are you going to do?” Becky asks. Chrissy chews on her bottom lip. She’s not sure what she can do until reinforcements get here. Murray might know how to get in or Steve and Billy might know a spell. But she’s a psychic. A psychic in a pair of angel wings. There’s not a lot she can do. 

But Eddie’s in there.

She’s eighteen and her entire world is in there. Her future, her hope and her heart all rolled into one. And she’s known for a while that he only took this stupid job to save up money to buy her something. 

She spots the yard next door, the pile of timber waiting to be chopped. She turns on her heel and marches across, hoping that the house is as empty as it looks. She reaches out for the wooden handle sticking out of a chopping block. 

The ax is heavier than she expects and it takes all of her strength to lift it. She’s not sure how well it will work against a magically sealed door but it’s worth a try. 

“Are you seriously going to break in?” Heather asks, staring at Chrissy with a mixture of fear and awe as she storms back to Creel house. 

Chrissy swings it experimentally at the door. It connects with a satisfying sound, the sharp edge tearing a hole in the wood until splinters rain down onto the faded porch. 

“You bet I am,” Chrissy says grimly and swings the ax again. 

[rainingashes1002]

I know I just uploaded a chapter, but the next chapter of Look of Michief in Your Eyes is probably going to be delayed until next week. I lost the whole first draft today, and after a rough couple of days of work, I do not have the motivation to redo it yet. I'll try again tomorrow (when I should have been doing the final draft)

[jaime-brienne-fic-exchange]

The Festive Fest Collection is open for posting!

It's hard to believe it's already that time of year, but posting for the 2023 JB Festive Fest is now open! What does that mean for you?

If you've already completed your gift, incredible job. Just upload to ao3, make sure it's in the collection and gifted to your prompter, and Bob's your uncle. And if you aren't, don't worry--you have until January 1st to create and post your gift, the with potential for small extensions. Just reach out to us if you know you can't meet the deadline and we'll talk through the options.

How does posting work?

It's super easy.

The simplest is to go to your ao3 dashboard and select ‘Assignments’. Select 'Fulfill’ and upload as usual–ao3 will fill in all the prompter and collection details for you.

Alternatively, go to the collection and select the Upload To Collection button (or take the direct link here) OR upload your fic (or link to other art form) to AO3 as usual, and make sure you enter JBFestiveFestivalExchange2023 in the collection field.

From here, the process is the same as any other upload. Fill in the relevant details and ensure you tick the 'Does this fulfill a challenge assignment’ box so the work is gifted to your prompter.

If you’ve already made an AO3 draft before today, make sure you add it to the collection and put in your recipient’s username in the fields mentioned above, and make sure you change the date when posting (or your gift will be buried). Be aware it can cause some shenanigans where the gift may not appear at the top of the page. 

After that, it’s as simple as clicking Post! Your gift will be submitted to the exchange. 

What about Stocking Stuffers?

A Stocking Stuffer is a gift made by anyone (you don’t even have to be signed up for the main exchange) for anyone (who also doesn’t need to be signed up for the main exchange). Like other Festive Fest gifts, they can be any size and shape. It can be art! A video edit! A moodboard! A fic of any length! The collection will open TOMORROW, with a separate Tumblr post. This is due to a family emergency, I apologise for the late change in plans.

What if I don’t receive a gift?

Everyone gets a gift. Authors have until January 1st to post, and there might be a slight delay if your gift needed to go to a knight writer (or artist, because there are no rules). We promise someone is working very diligently to complete it.

What’s the etiquette around thanking my author? 

A person spent time working on something just for you, so make sure you show your appreciation! A kudos and comment is pretty standard; comments can be intimidating or time consuming, but even a short comment from the heart lets the gifter know you've seen the gift and appreciate it.

Can I promote my story?

Yes, go wild!

Can I rec my gift story?

Absolutely! Share the love! 

Any other questions? Just reach out! We can be reached via Tumblr, Discord, or jbficexchange@gmail.com and will get back to you ASAP!

[armpirate]

Good news and bad news

They are good news for me, because I'm finally able to go back home since I received a new job offer I'm really excited about.

But they are also bad news because I might delay the chapters from all the fanfics, since I'll have to deal with a lot, and I mean a lot, of things these few days. I need to move out of where I'm living now, solve issues with my tenant and move into the new place I'll be living in from the next week and on.

I'll try to write something tomorrow and Friday before I have to start packing things, but it probably will be a week or so until I'm able to go back to regular uploads

[trappedtowers]

Trapped Towers Dev History ~ How We Got Here (Part 2)

(Middle art piece done by @/evilredyoshis)

Hey everybody !!

Part 2 of the "How We Got Here" blog posts today. After covering the original Trapped Towers, Undertale AU territory, Megalovania Hell, and much more... we're finally getting to the original project side of stuff. Almost. A little more Undertale AU stuff to push through, but this is the transition period for it all.

So, without further ado - lets get back into it.

August 2020 - May 2021 ~ Seeing Change:

2020 was an interesting year. The end of 2019 had seen me begin to focus on original projects and ideas again, with Undertale content taking a backseat as I hadn't uploaded in ages. AnoVerse was born and pushed me to learn more coding than I had before. But as the months indoors passed by I ended up finding myself back to one place... Trapped Towers.

Looking through everything there was, this was the first time I'd gone "this really isn't that original or unique... I should make it more unique" and so that's what I started doing. Rewriting, designing, composing, crafting ideas galore for what a new Trapped Towers would be... but it was slow as I kept popping in out of it since I'd just start game development classes and they took priority, as well as my music which slowly began to get lots more attention than expected.

On the music side though, a plan began forming in my brain as the 3rd anniversary of Ministry of Death began approaching and my brain told me it was finally time to make Ministry of Death 4. A showcase of the new direction I wanted to take Trapped Towers, while also celebrating and saying goodbye to what it once was. I started building it up. I remastered V1 and posted it 3 months before MoD's 3rd anniversary. V2, remastered and posted 2 months before.

Then I got ill. And I couldn't finish V3 remastered in time for 1 month before... so I changed my plan of action. At the beginning of 2021, I teased Ministry Of Death 4 finally, with a snippet I'd already made showing that it wasn't just going to be another "megalovania". I then delayed V3 remastered to the initially planned release date for V4, and V4 got pushed back to my own 4th anniversary since I started making music - March 20th.

So V3 remastered happened, then eventually the day came for V4. I'll never forget it, it felt amazing that day. The love and support and excitement from friends, fans, etc over what turned out to be a ~7 minute orchestral battle piece was great. Seeing reactions in live time, getting messages and DMs... it was incredible. All the while too I had began to start pumping out ideas for the new Trapped Towers more rapidly than ever, creating a major document to contain all the information, dropping the Undertale AU title and beginning it's adventure into an original fan project...

This all led up to May 14th 2021, when I officially opened applications to join the new Team Towers (later renamed TeamT).

Old Content:

A lot of concepts and ideas between this time began to merge together as past this, TeamT basically had the base I'd provided to work with - but not every story beat was worked out yet. 2021 Trapped Towers was still filled with plot holes, blank chapters, under-developed characters and so much more. Not to mention when planning this the original reboot name was going to be "Trapped Towers: Revisited" ??? I just found that out from an old tweet of mine as I was looking that's CRAZY.

The screenshot of the "public doc" I did find, but the public document doesn't actually exist anymore as it got turned into an old private one. As much as I want to share an old document like that - this time period is entering when Trapped Towers story beats were starting to form properly and there is some major spoilers that are still relevant.

There's not loads else to share though so !! I hope you enjoyed part 2 of this small little series. I will ensure that part 3 is written up for tomorrow !! Until then, cya

- JustDaniel

[partnersincrimesuau]

Another Few Updates ☆ﾟ･:*:･｡★

Yes I am aware it's Sunday. Yes I am aware I haven't posted Chapter 2 Page 43 yet. Yes I am aware my Information Centre says "Pages posted every Friday at 8pm Central Australian Time". Yes I am aware I haven't posted a page on a Friday since, like, January.

I'm getting off track LOL

UPDATE NUMBER ONE - Where's Page 43?

I have one week left of school before a two-week holidays, and I'm SWAMPED with homework for now. For clarity; I have three assignments due on Monday, two more I finished today, and one I finished last week. I hope this clears some things up... and explains why I'm so behind on Partners In Crime.

Page 43 IS finished, and IS ready to upload. However, I am still working on Page 48; and for those who don't know, I like to always be ten pages ahead of my posting page. Therefore I SHOULD be working on Page 53. Once the holidays start and my assignments are finished, I can catch up on these pages. Some of them shouldn't be as long as others so hopefully it won't take ages to finish them.

I plan on posting Page 43 next week. So sorry for the delays, I know there's been a few this chapter. I'm not doing this on purpose.

UPDATE NUMBER TWO - A brief solution

It's currently 12:03am as I'm writing this sentence and I'm about to jump into bed, so yes I won't be posting anything after this post tonight. HOWEVER! I've decided that tomorrow, instead of posting Page 43, I'll post some concept art!!! I feel like that'll be a good placeholder for now. There are plenty of concepts for earlier pages that I plan on posting, and I might throw some early drawings of Condor in as well!!! ^^

UPDATE NUMBER THREE - Maintenance

I finally went through every "infected" page and fixed the 'next' and 'previous' links. For anyone who didn't know, there were a ton of early Chapter 2 pages that were "infected" somehow, by something I can hardly begin to explain. The "Chapter Start" links, as well as the "FAQ" and Discord links were completely untouched. They worked fine. But EVERY SINGLE 'NEXT' OR 'PREVIOUS' LINK, FOR SOME REASON, JUMPED TO THE MOST RECENT PAGE!!! There were pages from December that sent you to the page I posted eight days ago - it made NO sense.

Thankfully, I've gone back and fixed every one of them. HOPEFULLY, it won't happen again. (If it persists, PLEASE tell me. Don't hesitate to comment saying "Jinxy this page has a disease, it's doing the link thing again" - that's actually really helpful. Shoutout to the readers who did tell me btw, you guys are legends!)

UPDATE NUMBER FOUR - IT'S THE BEST MONTH OF THE YEAR!!!

IT'S JULY!!! That means... NINETEEN DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY!!! (It's on the 21st of July for those in other timezones, lolll). I'll probably be partying with my besties then so you won't find me online, but I'll probably do a little picture of myself like I did last year. Just thought I'd mention it here, haha.

Anyways I think that's about it... it's now 12:14am and I might go to bed. Or I might catch up on Miraculous Ladybug because I heard the finale for Season 5 is out...? We'll see ^^

Thanks for your patience everyone!!!! See you tomorrow ^^

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

do you want me to fight your folks for you? or i could be a reference for your resume, if you think that might help!

if you're up to it, could you re-upload he's mine? i'm still a harrison wells whore, and that story gives me goosebumps!

First and foremost, my parents are emotionally constipated and convinced that the boomer 'bootstrap' your way through life is how I need to go (it is in fact, not something I am able to do as a disabled adult child). If you fight them, they will lose and still believe that bootstrapping is the correct life steps I need to jump through 😭

So I have made promises on what to upload first, and I can add He's Mine to my immediate to do list, which after today's delay in airplane departure (just got home) I will have to hold off until tomorrow before attempting to re-upload anything. BUT IT WILL BE DONE PROMPTLY!

[leos-regression-cove]

I spent the last week exclusively working on Loki's birthday chapter convinced it was on the 6th but it's really the 17th... I'm not saying I wasted that time but I am very upset that I had to drag myself through that when I really didn't feel like working on it.

Anyway now I don't have a chapter for tomorrow and I want to keep things on schedule so no upload tomorrow!

I can't focus on any one chapter long enough to finish it. I have 25k words in unuploaded chapters alone. So I'm going to work on some of those for a few weeks until it's upload time. Sorry for the delay!

[whump-a-la-mode]

Whump Nanowrimo

I asked yesterday if you would like to see me write some whump for Nanowrimo, and the answer was an overwhelming yes! As such, this post will give some info about how exactly this will work. I’m excited, and a little bit terrified. I hope you guys are just excited, though!

⏺ For those unaware, Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month, a challenge for writers to create a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. I’ve done it every year since the age of 11, and I’m not stopping now!

⏺ This year, I will be writing a whump novel, which will be posted here. I intend on uploading a new piece once every day, and perhaps uploading the whole thing somewhere else at the end of the month.

⏺ As I write at the end of the day, all pieces will be uploaded with a one day delay. As such, the first post will come on November 2nd. As usual, I will post at 8am Central Standard Time. Each piece will be approximately 1700 words long.

⏺ The story will be somewhat choose your own whump, and somewhat a normal story. Some pieces will have questions at the end, like with choose your own whump, while some will not. It simply depends on the plot.

⏺ I don’t plan for Nanowrimo in advance! In fact, I just made up the plot in the last five minutes, and I only know the beginning. I know how this will end just as much as you do. That’s the fun part!

⏺ If I do not finish the story in the month of November, I intend to continue until it is complete.

⏺ I am 100% open to any suggestions or comments about what should happen next. Seriously, your ideas are a goldmine!

With the logistics over with, I’ll leave you with something a little more exciting: A plot description! It only includes the beginning, but I’ll leave it below a readmore, just in case you want to be completely surprised come tomorrow. All I can say is that this is going to be an adventure!

    Together, Doctor Petra Roberts and Noirceur are known as the most feared villains in Metropolis. However, when a showdown with a group of heroes known as The Lodge leads to the death of both Noirceur and the Lodge’s leader, Imperius, both heroes and villains are left in disarray. Alone and without her partner, Dr. Roberts resorts to kidnapping Firecrest, a strong-willed member of The Lodge with a secret. Faced with threats on every side, the doctor goes on the run, bringing her unwilling travelling companion along with her. Yet, the risky mission may just force Petra to discover a past long forgotten.

To include: Villain whump, villain redemption arc, kidnapping, whumpee on the run, mad scientist whumpee, hero whumpers and hero caretakers, and more!

[nalgenewhore]

masterlist - ao3 - next chapter

 ☽ ☼ ☾

As he sat at his gate, he watched the other people. Something about airports had always intrigued him, so many people in their own lives, on their own paths all converging to this one place before jetting off once more. 

Lorcan was restless. On the arm of the uncomfortable chair, his fingers tapped out a furious beat. The monotonous drone of the phone line ringing in his ear didn’t help. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. I miss your voice and I need you to pick up so I don’t lose my fucking–

“What, the fuck , do you want?” 

He chuckled, “Good morning to you too, princess.” Inside his chest, his heart fluttered. Fuck, he missed her. He missed both his girls. The minute they’d dropped him off at the airport eight weeks ago, he’d been itching to go home. 

“I told you not to call me that.” There wasn’t any bite to her words and Lorcan knew - hoped - that she was wearing that soft, sleepy smile of hers. 

He hummed, stretching his long legs out and crossing them at the ankle, “Tell me to stop without smiling and I’ll stop. Easy-peasy, Lochan.” 

Elide just muttered a curse in Blackbeak and sighed as if talking to him was some sort of divine torture, “Why are you calling? It’s not even three yet, Lor.” Instantly, remorse flooded through him. He’d forgotten completely about the time difference and told her as much. “Mmm, it’s fine. Did something happen?” 

“Nah, I just wanted to say hey before my flight. I’m sorry for waking you up,” he said. Lorcan ran his tongue over his teeth. “I’ve… I miss you two.” 

The teasing, light mood dropped a bit. Lorcan could hear her breathing slowly and then she answered, her voice weaker than normal, “I know, Lor.” Her swallow was audible. “We miss you too.” Before he could respond, before he could offer her any sort of fleeting comfort, Elide spoke again, “Hold on one second, ok?” 

She was gone before he could respond. Lorcan could hear something rustling, like someone slipping out of a bed. He froze, hardly daring to breathe. She wouldn’t- Elide and Lorcan both knew better than to have someone over when they had the kid with them. 

There was soft murmuring he couldn’t quite make out and the unmistakable whine of their daughter. Lorcan slumped down in relief, cursing himself for this… jealousy. It wasn’t fair. “Hello?” snapped Stella Luna.

He chuckled, delighted by his child’s greeting, “Hey, Tiny.” 

She gasped and that innocent sound, filled with childlike wonder and elation, soothed his aching heart. “Daddy?” 

“Hi, Stella. I’m sorry I woke you up so early, I wanted to say hey before I get on the plane,” Lorcan explained with a smile. Thinking about Elide that summer had been painful enough, knowing he was so far from her, but it was nothing compared to the agony of missing his daughter. 

“Are you coming home today? ‘Cause I got kindergarten tomorrow, Daddy. Mama said you would take me,” Stella said. 

“Yes, I’m coming home today. I’ll take you to school tomorrow, ok?”

“Ok, Daddy. I’ve been very busy, you know. Yesterday we went shopping and at Mintage, mama found me a Wednesday Addams lunch box,” Stella regaled, her words dripping with wonder and awe. “I’m so excited ‘acause I love Wednesday Addams, Daddy, did you know? We watched it last night at Fenny’s house ‘acause he let me choose. He said he was sick of the Addams family and that’s why I called him a dummy.” 

He laughed, pausing for a moment to listen to the PA. “Passengers boarding Flight 1203 to Varese, please make your way to gate C49. Passengers in zone one, please line up at the boarding desk.”  

“What was that? It sounded funny, Daddy, like a robot,” Stella said. 

“My plane’s getting ready to take off, Stel, they want everyone to come to the gate,” Lorcan explained. “How was Fen’s?” 

“Oh,” she started, “it was very good, Daddy. After the movie, he taked me to his show an’ I wanted to bring Salem but it’s too loud for him so I sat with Essar and she got me a juice box when I was thirsty. I think it was a secret ‘acause they only give them to me. It was grape which is my favourite, but I didn’t want to finish all of it so Vee drinked it after his show. Then Fenny and me and Con and Vee went to Grampy’s and I fell asleep so Fenny took me home.” 

“Passengers in zone two, please line up at the front desk.” 

Lorcan checked his boarding pass, “Kid, I have to get on my plane now, ok?” 

“Ok,” Stella replied, a little sadly. “I miss you.” 

The corners of his lips turned down. Lorcan hung his head, opening and closing his mouth a few times as he tried to think of what he could say to comfort his child. Eventually, he said, “I know, Stella Luna. I miss you too. I promise - once I’m home, no more tours, ok? I love you.” 

“Love you too, Daddy,” she chirped, already his happy, bubbly little baby again. “Bye-bye!”

“Bye, Tiny. Put your mother on for me,” Lorcan said, laughing through the sentence. He could hear Stella Luna hand the phone over to Elide. 

“Yes , you can sleep now,” Elide said with a kiss smacked on Stella’s head. “Lor, you still there?” 

“Yeah, ‘m here. I have to get on the plane now.” 

“Ok. Do you want us to pick you up from the airport?” 

Though it pained him to say it and further delay their reunion, Lorcan said, “No, don’t bother. I’ll be tired and I’ll probably just crash when I get home. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”

“Can’t wait, Salvaterre.” 

He smiled a small smile, one that was only ever for Elide, “Me neither, Lochan.” 

 ☽ ☼ ☾

He woke up somewhere high above the Cambrian Mountains. For a few moments, Lorcan stared out the small window, groggy and confused. 

It took him a second to remember what was happening and why he was on a plane. When he finally did recall, Lorcan pulled his laptop out of his camera bag and placed it on the desk. The band he’d been working with over the summer had bought him a seat in business class for both his flights home. 

Lorcan shifted in his seat and absentmindedly toyed with the curved barbell that pierced the delicate skin connecting his upper lip to his gum as he waited for his computer to turn on. He leaned down, searching through his bag for the USB that carried every shot he’d taken in concert that summer. 

He found it and sat up straight. A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he saw the background of his laptop. He hadn’t changed it in the three years since the photo of Elide tattooing Stella’s name in Ozuye on the outside of his right thumb while he held a sleeping Stella Luna to his chest with his free arm had been taken. The tattoo was his favourite, though it probably tied for first place with the cartoon-inspired Wednesday Addams on his inner left wrist. 

The placement of both designs had been purposeful, so when he was shooting something, he could see them clearly and think about his daughter. He had never met anyone who loved the Addams family more than Stella. 

Lorcan put his headphones on and played a playlist at random. Pink + White played as he opened Photoshop and uploaded a file he hadn’t even looked at yet. The photos weren’t needed for another month, but he would rather get them done now so he could focus on the upcoming studio show. 

He still hadn’t decided what or who his subject would be. Maybe he would take a break from concerts and focus on something else.

For the rest of the flight, he worked to distract himself from the fact that he’d be seeing Elide again. It hardly made any difference, his mind on her like always. Lorcan had been in love with Elide for… forever. He finally realised it, though, a couple weeks before she had their daughter. 

He had wanted… he had wanted a family with her. A real one, where Stella wouldn’t be perpetually split between two homes, but Elide hadn’t wanted that and Lorcan respected her wishes. Maybe it was foolish, but six years seemed like long enough to be pining for someone. 

As Lorcan got lost in the thoughts he spent most of his waking hours repressing, a hissing voice that sounded suspiciously like his mother snapped, Elide Lochan is not ‘someone’ and she is certainly not someone you get over. Ever. Stupid boy.  

His lips twisted with a rueful smile, though the memory of his mother ached and stung. Lorcan swallowed past the painful tightening of his throat and saved what he was working on, electing to watch something he’d downloaded on Netflix until they’d landed in Varese.

The air in Varese was balmy and he couldn’t stand it. Lorcan was seconds away from trying to peel his skin off. He had always hated the heat, but this steaming humidity was his hell. 

When his zone was called to board the flight, Lorcan could hardly keep the grin from his face. The thought of seeing his family, no matter how it hurt him to know Stella would come home with him tomorrow and Elide would stay in her apartment, was a joy nothing else had ever replicated. 

His heart seemed to beat a frantic timpani, each pat-pat saying, wait for me, wait for me, wait for me . 

 ☽ ☼ ☾

There was a crick in her neck. Elide muttered a curse with her eyes shut and reached out to her bedside table, only to feel nothing and hear an innocently delighted giggle. 

She smiled and kept her eyes closed. Slowly, Elide reached out, “I wonder who could be laughing right now. And where could they be!” 

There was that little laugh again, though Elide knew her child was doing her absolute best to stay silent. She heard Salem’s meow of protest and Stella’s sweet shushing. 

Staying silent had never been Stella’s strong suit. Elide continued on, now patting the blankets. “Hmm, I do wonder if they could be hiding beneath these blankets!” As she said ‘blankets’, Elide opened her eyes and ripped the covers away. A quick blur of orange and black flashed past as Stella’s fluffy cat was freed and Salem bounded away. 

Stella Luna’s shrieking laughter filled the room, gloomy from the rain that poured steadily against the large, paned windows. Elide laughed too as she grabbed her daughter and pulled her into her lap, her fingers digging into the soft part between Stella’s ribcage and hip bone. Stella squirmed away, begging her to stop, “No, please, mama, it tickles!” 

Elide chuckled softly and relented, choosing instead to gather Stella up in a long hug. “Oh, good morning, little one. How did you sleep, hmm?” She pulled back and brushed her hand through Stella’s hair. 

“Um, I slept good, mama, but I’m really hungry now, so I would like to have breakfast.” 

“We can do that. What do you want to eat?” 

Stella flicked her eyes up to the ceiling. Though her shape was Elide’s ethereal monolid, the colour of rich browns and deep blacks was all Lorcan. “Pancakes, mama. Can we make them look like bats?” 

Elide snorted and nodded, “Of course we can. Why don’t you go wash your hands and we can make them, ok?” 

The four-year old was off before she could even say yes, hurriedly careening into the bathroom. Her mother laughed again, but the care-free sound bled into a pained groan as she stood up and stretched. Elide really needed to stop crashing in her daughter’s bed. 

Stella hollered back from the toilet, “Mama, can we have chocolate chips in the pancakes?”

Elide smiled as she walked through Stella’s room. On the floor, one of Stella’s toys obstructed her path and Elide jammed her toe into a wooden box. She gritted her teeth against the pain and asked, “Will you clean your room today?”

“Uhhh,” Stella contemplated, “I guess. I dunno why , mama, I don’t care if it’s messy, why do you care?” 

“Because your room is messy and you might hurt yourself if you don’t know where something is,” Elide replied steadily. As she pulled on a pair of shorts, she heard little feet race into the kitchen. Elide twisted her hair up and clamped it into place with a hair clip. When she padded into the kitchen, Stella Luna was standing obediently on her stool, her hands clasped like a perfect little child. Elide hooted at the sight, “Oh, you little demon.” 

Stella grinned proudly at the nickname and pushed her wild hair back with both hands. She sighed in annoyance, “Mama, help please. It’s too much.” 

“Of course, witchling,” Elide said. Stella clambered up onto the counter to sit patiently. Elide hummed something soft as she parted her daughter’s hair and weaved two simple pigtails. As she braided, Salem gracefully leapt onto the counter and made himself comfortable in the fruit bowl, resting his chin on his crossed paws like a proper gent. “Better?” 

“Yeah,” Stella chirped as she climbed down and ran to the pantry. She flung the door open, “Mama, is Daddy coming home today?”

“He is. Remember, he called last night, baby,” Elide replied as she pulled out eggs and milk from the fridge. 

“Oh, I thought that was a dream ,” explained Stella. She lugged over the large container of flour, carrying it with both arms and almost tipped over. She decided to put it on the floor and push it to the counter. “I wanna play music!” 

Elide laughed as she picked the flour up and began measuring out the dry ingredients, “Go for it, Stella.” She watched in delight as Stella ran to the record player and sat on the floor in front of it to peruse the stack of records.

A couple moments later, Stella had decided and put the vinyl on. She pranced back over to her stool as music played. “Mama, can I crack a egg, please?” 

When I met you in the restaurant, you could tell I was no debutante

“Yes, ma’am,” Elide passed her an egg, “Be careful, you remember what to do, right?” 

“Yup!” Stella delicately cracked the egg on the side of the liquid measuring cup and used her thumbs to open it. The yolk and egg white plopped perfectly into the milk and vanilla. She picked up the whisk and mixed it all up. 

Dreaming, dreaming is free

Stella was soon bored and trailed over to the living room. She sat down and started to dance with her frog stuffie, singing along, “I don’t want to live on charity, pleasure’s real or is it fantasy…” Elide grinned at the sight and found the silicone mold in the top drawer.

A few minutes later, Elide slid a stack of bat wing pancakes onto a plate. “Stella? Food’s ready.” 

 “Ok, mama,” Stella said. She skipped to the table and climbed onto her chair. “Can I have maple syrup too?” 

Elide had already grabbed the bottle and grabbed a pair of forks drying in the dish rack. She put the plate down and sat, passing Stella her fork. Stella doused the pancakes in maple syrup and attacked viciously, stuffing an entire pancake into her mouth. Elide laughed loudly, “Baby, eat your food properly. C’mon, you know better.” 

Stella grinned around the sticky-sweet mess and chewed thoroughly before swallowing. Elide took the plate and cut the food up into bite-sized pieces before passing it back. The four-year old abandoned her fork in favour of her wee hands and stuffed as many chocolatey-mapley-buttery pieces as she could into her mouth. 

“Good gods, child,” her mother said. “You’ll choke.” Delight surged through her at the sound of Stella’s gleeful laughter, albeit muffled. She grabbed a napkin and reached out, holding her daughter’s chin hostage as she wiped the mess away. “I am so happy your father is coming back, he’ll finally take you off my hands, you gremlin.” 

Stella gasped loudly and wrenched her chin free, “Mama, can we go to the airplane place? I want to surprise Daddy. Pretty please?” 

She made her eyes big and wide, sticking her bottom lip out. Elide cracked immediately, “I think he’d like that, wouldn’t he?” Stella nodded with such vigour Elide half-thought her head would fly off. “We’ll do that later, Stel. Why don’t you finish your breakfast?” 

Stella needed no further prompting. 

 ☽ ☼ ☾

His bag was the second bag out. Lorcan easily slung the black duffel over his shoulder. He made his way out of the baggage claim and around fellow passengers numbly awaiting their belongings. 

Lorcan thought about pausing, his fingers twitching to grab his camera and freeze the moment. There was something slightly surreal about it all. A voice told him to stop, to do it, but the sweet, pure voice of his baby calling him home was louder. 

He was still listening to miss star’s jamzzz and clicked the ball of the piercing in his tongue against his teeth to the beats. I’m Not A Loser by the Descendents’ played at maximum volume as he strode across the scuffed and dingy linoleum. 

Vaguely, he thought he might’ve heard someone calling for him. Pausing, Lorcan half-pulled a headphone off his ear. He looked around, narrowing his eyes in confusion at the sea of strangers. 

“Daddy!” 

“Kid?” 

A wee one shot out through the passing crowd. Her hair, jet black and thick, curled out of her assumedly once-tight and neat braids. Her eyes were thin and dark, so rich and depthless, framed by long lashes. The little lass seemed to have a piece of the sun setting her warm, coppery complexion aglow from beneath. “ *Até , hi-hi!” 

Stella launched herself up and Lorcan dropped his bag to catch her. He held her tight to his chest, one hand cupping the back of her head. “Tiny, Creator above. I missed you so much, my darling moon.” 

“Hi, Daddy,” Stella whispered, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck. “It’s nice to see you.” 

Lorcan laughed raspily at her formal greeting, “Wow, so fancy, miss Star. ‘It’s nice to see you’, really? You’re killing me, Tiny.” 

She giggled, shaking her head as she pulled back, “No, I’m not fancy, Daddy. I’m tough ,” she snarled, baring her teeth intimidatingly. 

Lorcan laughed again, his head tipping back, “The toughest .” 

Stella beamed and abruptly stopped, an outraged gasp escaping her. She grabbed his face and pulled his head back down. When she felt his stubble, Stella Luna pulled a face, “Daddy, you have to shave. It’s scratchy.” 

“What, I thought I looked nice like this, babe,” he said, shifting her to his side. “It’s that bad?” 

She stared at him for a while before slowly shaking her head, “No… it’s ok, Daddy. Mama likes it like that.” Stella laid her head on his shoulder. Lorcan smiled and held her tightly again, his eyes closed. 

For a long moment, neither said a word, until Stella became restless and started peering out around her. “There’s so many people, Daddy.”

“There is,” he agreed. Lorcan brushed something from her cheek and Stella batted his hand away. “So, you learn to drive while I was away, or something?”

“No! I’m still little , Daddy,” Stella Luna corrected him with a giggle. “Mama drived me.” She pointed vaguely towards the entrance, “Mama’s over there and she said, ‘Stella, hold my hand and stay close ‘till we see your dad, ok?’ but you’re so tall and I sawed your head so I ran and didn’t listen to Mama.” Gasping softly, Stella put her hands over her mouth, “Oh no. Mama! Mama, hello? I am here,” she curled her arm over his shoulder as she craned her head to look around. “Where she go?”

Lorcan looked around as well, loving and hating the way his pulse sped up at the prospect of seeing her . “I don’t know where your ma is, maybe she- oh,” Lorcan cut himself off as he saw a familiar flash of long black hair through the crowd. “There she is.”

Through the throngs of passengers and travelers, Lorcan saw a fair skinned, petite woman. Her hair was dark, streaked with purple, and fell to her hips. She left it be in its natural waves, but had it cut into a blunt, pointed fringe that framed her heart-shaped face. Her round, plush lips were painted deep, nearly black, red. They curled into a teasing grin, “Hey, Salvaterre, I see you’ve finally decided to rejoin the rabble! Was the tour too preppy for you, what with all the first class flights and champagne?” 

He laughed and reached out to flick her nose, “Shut your mouth, Lochan. I’m common folk for life.” Elide laughed and Lorcan smiled, “Fuck, I can’t believe that you two came to pick me up.” He pulled Elide into a hug, something finally settling inside him as he held his girls for the first time in two months. 

“No, no swearing, Daddy,” Stella chastised him, her frown disapproving, “Fuck is a bad word. A very bad word and we’re only allowed to say it when we listen to music.”

Elide laughed and slipped her arm around his waist, “A wretched word, really. It’s like you want our daughter to become a menace to society.” 

“Oh, really? And what if our daughter wants to be a menace to society?” 

Stella Luna nodded, sticking her chin out, “Yeah, what if I want to be a menace to society, mama?”

Elide shook her head at the two of them and narrowed her eyes at him, “This is your doing, you know, Lorcan.” Oh… how his heart stopped as his name tumbled from her lips. Lorcan struggled to breathe for a moment and Elide’s warm grin faltered. “Lor? You alright?” 

“Y-yeah, just jet-lag,” he said quickly. Lorcan averted his eyes from Elide’s concerned gaze. Stella Luna wiggled, whining slightly. When she was set down on her feet, she grabbed Lorcan’s hand in one of hers and Elide’s in the other.

“Let’s go!” she shouted, tugging them along with all her might. At fifteen kilos and a solid one-hundred centimetres, it wasn’t much, but her determination made up for it. Over her head, Elide shot Lorcan a smile and a wink. 

Lorcan rolled his eyes and chuckled. Stella skipped and hopped along to Elide’s car. Lorcan tossed his duffel in the trunk as Elide helped Stella into her booster seat and he walked over to the passenger seat. “Daddy,” Stella said, “did you know my birthday is in two months? That means I’m gonna be five whole years.”

“Wow, you’re going to be so old ,” he said dramatically, smiling in the rearview mirror when Stelle’s jaw dropped open and her eyes widened. 

“I don’t want to be old. Old people are yucky. Like you and mom.” Elide and Lorcan looked at each other and burst into gutsy laughter at their daughter’s words. Stella sniffed primly and turned her face to the side, “It’s not funny to be old. Being old means you die. Do you want to die, Daddy?” 

“If I die, I become a ghost and I’ll haunt people,” he said. 

“Would you haunt me ?” the girl asked, her eyes filled with morbid curiosity. 

Elide huffed a laugh. She turned the car on and smoothly pulled out of her parking spot to the freeway that would take them back to Orynth. “You two are ridiculous. Stella, baby, no one’s haunting you.” 

“Yeah, except for me,” Lorcan ever-so-helpfully stated. 

As Elide exclaimed in annoyance, Stella giggled uncontrollably. The dark haired woman couldn’t help but laugh along and the sound of their laughter soothed the dull ache of missing them. 

☽ ☼ ☾

“ Até, ‘m tired,” said Stella, trailing up to Lorcan. She was all ready for bed, dressed in her Jack Skellington pyjamas. Her dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese had been devoured an hour ago. Lorcan was in Elide’s kitchen, washing the dishes as Elide worked on a sketch and Stella checked her backpack over and over and over again. She was not going to be caught unprepared for her first day of kindergarten. 

He rinsed off the iron skillet and placed it in the dish rack. Lorcan dried his hands and turned to his daughter, who held her hands up expectantly. With a fond smile, Lorcan scooped her up and asked, “Time for bed? Did you brush your teeth yet?”

“Mm-hmm,” she nodded and dropped her head onto his shoulder. “Daddy, don’t forgot Mr. Ribbit.” Stella said softly, already falling asleep. She clutched at his shoulders, a yawn splitting her little face in half. 

His grin softened and he kissed the top of her head, “Can’t forget your frog, now, can we?” There came a low chuckle from the living room. Elide walked over to them, her pencil stuck in her hair and carrying the fuzzy green animal. She passed the animal to Stella and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Lorcan offered her his hand, “Come with us?” 

Elide nodded and slipped her hand in his. They walked to Stella's room together. She breathed evenly and deeply, her eyes closed. Her lashes brushed the tops of her rosy cheeks. Lorcan set her down with care and tucked her blankets around her. “Good night, my darling moon,” he said softly - in his native tongue - and brushed her hair back before it could tickle the tip of her button nose.

“Night-night,” Stella whispered, her eyes cracking open. “Are you gonna come drive me with mama tomorrow to school?” She snuggled into her pile of pillows and held her blanket up for Salem to settle in beside her. The cat curled up against her and purred softly as he flicked his fluffy tail over her protectively.

“Yes, I am.” 

She nodded, “Good. That’s good, Daddy.” 

“Alright, Tiny,” he laughed softly, “go to sleep, yeah? You’ve had a big day.” He kissed her forehead and stood up to let Elide say good night. 

Elide sat down on the edge of the mattress and cupped Stella’s face in her hand, her words soft and too low for Lorcan to hear. She too chuckled and kissed Stella Luna’s cheek, then got up and stepped over to Lorcan. 

They closed the door and silently walked back to the living room. Lorcan sat down on the couch and rubbed his eyes. Elide curled up in the opposite corner and smiled, “Tired?” 

“Yeah,” he said, dropping his head back against the couch. “Fuck me, I have to go home.” 

“Why don’t you just stay here tonight? You’ll have to come back tomorrow anyway,” Elide said, her voice measured. 

Lorcan looked at her, but her face was turned to the side. “Are you sure, El? I honestly don’t mind and I haven’t been to my place in a while.” 

She glanced over at him, “No, c’mon, it’s fine. It’s not like we’ve never done it.” 

“Done what?” 

Elide shot him a flat look, “Slept in the same bed.” 

Lorcan choked and his eyes widened, “El- what? I was just going to take the–” 

“I swear to Anneith if you say ‘couch’, I’ll strangle you. I’m not making you sleep on my couch when you’ve been gone all summer.” Elide stood up and walked to her bedroom, her hips swinging enticingly. Lorcan quickly looked away. “Besides, my bed is big. I promise I won’t give you my cooties.” 

He snapped his teeth and crossed the room to join her. “Fine. I’ll stay.” 

Elide crossed her arms over her chest and smiled cockily, “I knew you would.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Lorcan said, pulling her into his arms. Her body melted into his. They fit perfectly together. They always had. “You’re always right, aren’t you, princess?” 

Elide hid her smile and slipped her arms around his waist, her cheek pressed above his heart. For a long moment, neither said a word. Then, Elide pressed her forehead against him and whispered. She couldn’t speak any louder, fearing that the tears she’d held back for years would finally spill over. “It’s nice to have you home, Lor.” 

“It’s nice to be home,” he murmured, gently rubbing her back. 

“It wasn’t the same without you.” It’s never the same without you.

He closed his eyes, hating the tears that blurred his vision. “Wasn’t the same without you, either, Lochan.”

 ☽ ☼ ☾

an: ahh ! it’s here ! a few things will b different for this wip, so i just want to let u all kno: 

- chapters will b posted once a week on mondays, at 8pm pacific standard time

- there will b flashback chapters !! 

- there will b depictions of recreational drug (marijuana) and alcohol consumption - i will put warnings for these n if there r any other triggers u would like me to warn, pls let me know

- if u want to b added/removed from the tag list, just send me an ask - it is rlly no trouble at all <3

translation: *Até: Father/Dad in Lakota (i headcanon lorcan to be native american - speficially Oglala Lakota. this will b more apparent/relevant in future chapters. i call his tribe 'the ozuye'. 'ozuye' means war-party in lakota)

songs played in chapter: (by order of appearance) 1. Pink + White - Frank Ocean 2. Dreaming - Blondie 3. I'm Not A Loser - Descendents

@mythicaitt​​ @werewolffprince​​ @schmlip-scribble​​ ​ @the-regal-warrior​​ @ladyverena​​ @ttakeitbacknoww​​ @shyvioletcat​​ @alifletcher2012​​ @tswaney17​​ @ourbooksuniverse​​  @flora-and-fae​​ @thesirenwashere​​ @queenofxhearts​​ @maastrash​​ @mynewdreamwasyou​​ @cursebreaker29​​ @empress-ofbloodshed​​ @b00kworm​​ @hizqueen4life​​ @silversprings98​​ @amren-courtofdreams​​ @minaidss​​ @superspiritfestival​​ @sanakapoor​​ @ireallyshouldsleeprn​​ @spyofthenightcourt​​  @thegoddessofyou​​ @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx​​ @claralady​​ @neonhellas​​ @darlinminds​​ @readingismyonlyhobby​​ @autophobiaxx​​ @silversprings28​​ @myshadowsingeraz​​ @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln​​ @elriel4life​​ @always-in-a-daydream​​ @jlinez​​ @ladywitchling​​ @mariamuses​ @darklesmylove​ @adelzd-bookblr​

[bbbqlays]

다섯: 강한 감정

5: Strong Feelings

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

It was a new day, and after your encounter yesterday with the man in charge, you were sort of on edge with everything.

“Hey there Eri. I heard you got new books to read.” Your hand reached to a box, opening it you found picture books along with fantasy chapter books. “Do you have a preference for any of these?”

She picked out the most colorful picture book. “You want to read the Paper Dragon?”

You picked up the book and looked at the cover. It was very colorful. She smiled widely, reaching out for the book with awe. “Okay!” You chuckled playfully sitting on her bed, she followed behind and brushed up against you.

You began reading, trying your best to make it entertaining, you even got one of the guards to laugh, a golden blonde haired man. You’ve never seen him until now, his eyes were a boost in mood, and you could tell he was smiling at certain moments.

The book was finished and Eri was way more excited about books, she jumped up but only fell on top of you as she laughed loudly.

“Ms, L/n, could you read another?”

“Why dont we do something better?”

Eri’s eyes lit up, wondering what could be better than a book. You stood up and went up to another box, you looked through to find one pair of child scissors and a bunch of colorful paper. You pulled out stacks and stacks and put them on the ground.

You waved eri over and pulled out a stack of papers. They were orgami papers with various colors. “We can make a paper dragon and hang it up on the ceiling” eri’s eyes brightened at the suggestion. “Oragami is one of the best things they teach you in school. Only because you can create anything out of paper by just folding.”

You divided the colors as quickly as you could before guiding eri through a talk. “Choose the colors and 12 pieces of paper.” She started picking out the colors, mostly being blues and purples, and everyone watched as she chose.

“Okay, and then now we are going to take the first piece.” You grabbed a random sheet of paper and sat on the ground across from her. You started to fold the paper and looked at eri to see if she followed. “And fold it... like that.” She did as she was told and smiled cheerfully while doing it.

Continuing, you explained and showed her every step. She followed delightfully. And the end result came to be two dragons long and proud. “And so now choose a color.” You offered the marker case and she randomly chose. It was purple. You picked out a black marker and picked up your dragon. “Draw a face.” You drew two little dots to signify eyes and a smile.

She did the same but instead had the tongue stick out. You both chuckled as you stood up, stretching. You looked at the clock on the side of her bed and sighed. “Looks like I need to go.” You groan and she followed with a sigh.

“Eri, I will be back tomorrow to hopefully do another fun activity. Maybe we’ll draw tomorrow.” Eri ran up and hugged, tightly gripping on your pants. She let go, but her stare seemed extra saddened. “See you tomorrow. Eat well.”

She nodded to that and you were escorted out. The man guiding you out had long golden hair. His mask fit snugly on his face, his green shirt adorned with a pinkish red tie.

You breathed softly as he guided you back to your room. “Does anyone ever talk?”

He looked at you, as if to smile. “Yeah, but usually to each other. Not really to the head.”

“The head... oh you mean Overhaul right?” He nodded in agreement. “What’s your name?”

“If you need to know, I’m Setsuno Toya.” He said it as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He was glad about the short lived conversation.

“Well, thank you Setsuno. Hopefully we can talk again.” He unlocked the doors with a bow, and you bowed again.

When entering you ripped off the mask and dropped it on your desk looking at the warm food displayed on the corner. It looked to be an American dish, specifically pizza. Toppings were placed on the side of the plate mostly meats.

You nodded to yourself and dug in, loving the warmth of the food. You closed your eyes enjoying the savory taste. It was a simple dish, and it tasted homemade. You wondered who made it and where, since you hadn’t smelled anyones cooking while with Eri.

You finished up, and looked around the desk, clothes laid out on the top and a new mask. You rolled your eyes feeling like a doll with all these clothes.

You rummaged through though, curious as to what they were. It was a blue short skirt, with black shorts, and a white button up blouse to match. It was as if it was made for a summer evening, or a date.

The thought made you chuckle as you threw them on the bed. To think you had a secret admirer was funny to also think about. The world built itself on soulmates, why would anyone play around with that.

The thought then hit you. “Fate... wouldn’t put me here right?” And you couldn’t play around with the thought of that because you couldn’t physically touch anyone.

Everyone had protection and you feel like you’d be killed if you were to touch someone. You tried to laugh the thought away but it lingered, and it scared you.

The clothes fit perfectly. Of course, and you felt good in it despite the earlier thoughts. You honestly thought you looked good in blue.

You enjoyed twirling around in it not being bothered to hear the door click open. You stopped twirling to feel good about yourself only to be met with the man in white.

Your face matched a shade of tomato as you went to try and hide yourself. You bowed to him apologizing silently. He simply bowed to you as well verbally apologizing for disrupting.

“I just came to get you for the meeting.”

You cleared your throat as you nodded. You grabbed the mask on the desk and threw it on still blushing embarrassingly. You walked out with him trying your best to slow your heart rate.

“Chrono right?” He nodded. “You’re like his right hand man, correct?”

“Yes, despite his demeanor he’s actually good.”

“I wasn’t doubting him, I was just going to ask... Why all this?”

Chrono looked at you not understanding the question. “Why this whole base? It seems eerie and too much.”

“Overhaul.” Chrono paused and thought about what to say. “He want’s to change the world. He wants an old image to come back.” Chrono nodded to his statement and continue guiding.

“So, it’s to better society... Correct?”

He nodded and that seemed to lift a burden from you somehow.

Chrono slowly opened the door and to welcome you was the same masked face you had seen last night. This time his tie was loosely around his neck, and he seemed more stressed than anything.

“Welcome Back!” Overhaul greeted you with open arms as he watched you sit. “Hopefully today wasn’t too overbearing.”

“No, of course not. Me and Eri simply read and did origami. Which I thank you for getting supplies for that.”

“So, I see you guys are getting along.” He adjusts his tie and looks off into the distance. “Do you have any other requests?”

Your eyes darted to his face immediately wondering what context. “To take care of Eri.” You were shaky now. Your head wanted to explode as you thought of other things to request that wasn’t for the benefit of Eri.

“Just supplies to draw with.” He nodded and looked at you pleasingly.

“And do you need anything? Specific things you had in your living quarters that you need here.”

You pondered. “If possible. A small library.” Your request seemed to peek his interest, and he simply chuckled.

“Very well.” His hand issued you away, and Chrono guided you out.

“Chrono. How can you tell when Overhaul likes someone?” It was a bold statement and you felt as if he wouldn’t answer properly.

“Don’t worry. He likes you just fine.” He gave you a genuine answer, making you think.

“Now, get some rest. And leave a note of all your favorite breakfast items under the door. Our ‘chef’ wants to make your stay here interesting and home-y.” He left with a nod.

You smiled, not a big smile, because what was there to smile about. You turned on the small lamp light on your desk and scanned your room feeling something off.

Flowers were on your nightstand. Not the ones from before but new ones. White roses. They filled the whole room with a beautiful scent.

You rushed to find another note under the vase, your hands feeling the hand writing. Beautiful cursive saying

‘You’re like a beautiful dove amongst a trash filled park. You stand out like a sore thumb. You please me without knowing it, and for that I keep you near.’

You couldn’t help but shiver as you read it. A smile wider than usual filled itself along your face.

“Beautiful.”

Someone is playing with the strings of fate, and falling for you evidently. You held the note close to your heart laughing loudly as you thought of who it could be.

Your heart fluttered as you thought of the man in white. He seemed to have more personality in this place than anyone else, and he’s seen you the most.

You giggle at the thought, and the thought of not even seeing his face filled you with mysterious happiness.

It was like being in grade school again...

Hey hey! Its Lay. I am sad to inform you that I am sick. I have covid and so it’s hard to get things done while sick. So sorry if uploads are delayed, and or not posted weekly. I’m trying my best, and hopefully you guys support me all the way through.

And if you want content from me everyday, I have a tiktok. I try my best to post everyday, but if you like overhaul here, you’ll definitely like overhaul over there! Thank you so much for reading and hopefully you stay healthy!

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