#You need five dollars to get a burger!!!

[sammydem0n64]

I need to study but I keep getting hit with oc visions. Crimson we are really in it now

[essektheylyss]

wearing a california bear baseball hat in arizona to assert my dominance

[watsittoyah]

Along Came A Spider…2099

Warnings-Sexual content, sex dreams, time travel, oral sex, rough sex, fang play, size kink, and slight blood play.

(My Spanish isn’t great, so I did use google translate to help…)

Chapter 2- Bites & Fangs

The last time you had a depression episode, it was in the tenth grade when your old boyfriend, Peter Parker had dumped you for some girl named Gwen.

Well that was many years ago and now you were depressed because you were watching good burger in your ratty old polka dot robe.

But you were in denial, because every time Erica asked if you were depressed you just lied and said you were just working on something important.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out? It’s been two weeks.” Erica asks as you press play to Good Burger. “Yeah, I’m good. I got a pizza coming and I got some drafts to work on.” You half lie. There was a pizza coming.

“Tomorrow let’s go to the park and get some fresh air. You need it.” You ignore her and Milo cuddles up close to you. “Please make sure you clean your dishes. I’ll be back around midnight.” Erica calls out.

When she finally leaves you look down at Milo’s orange little face and you kiss his nose. “I think you’re the only boy I can trust, Milo. I’m sure you’d never leave me in a club bathroom with my panties at my ankles right?”

His blue eyes just seem to stare at you and you nod because you’ve entered your crazy cat lady era. “Don’t answer that. Let’s get you some food and I’ll…clean up.” You pause the movie and bring Milo into the kitchen with you.

You pour him a bit of dry food and mix it with some wet food. You place his food down and he look down at the food then back at you. You kneel down and scratch under his chin and he licks your fingers.

“Milo, don’t ever become one of those jerk cats that leads girl cats on. You keep being a good boy.” You comments after you stand up. You look at the kitchen and decide to start cleaning there.

You get some cleaning supplies and sigh heavy. It’s been two weeks since the club incident and you haven’t let yourself think about Miguel since. Sure he lives in the building but you have no clue which apartment. And yeah he lives in the same city as you but you don’t know which parts he goes to.

Sure you still dream about Miguel, you still dream about his touch, his smell…No. No you weren’t going to do this. You were not about to cry over him again.

You sniffle back the tears and wipe your face with the back of your hand. “Stupid good looking bastard. With your good looking hair and cute accent.” You toss some water into a bucket and Milo just stares at you.

“Milo, you might want to leave the kitchen it’s about to get crazy in here.” You tell him. He simply meows and licks your leg.

Maybe you’re about to be on your period. Or maybe you’re just hormonal but him doing that just made you break down and cry. “Come on Milo, stop. I need to mop up my tears.” You say through your cloudy vision….

••••

After two good cries and half a mental breakdown, you were happy with how the apartment looked. You hear the doorbell ring and you make sure Milo was still sleeping at your feet before you went to answer it.

You grab the money from off the counter and open the door to see a young girl with your food. “Medium cheese pizza with garlic knots?” She asks confirming your order. “You got it.” You hand her a twenty and tell her to keep the change. “Actually miss you’re five dollars short.” You give her a side eye and nod. “Let me go and grab you some more money then.” You prop the door open a bit so Milo can’t leave out and you place the food down on the counter.

You go into your wallet and pull out the money you need and go to give it to her. “Here you go.” You hand it to her and she gives an extra big smile. “Tip?” I know fucking we-

“You have a good night.” You tell her. Just as you’re about to close the door. Milo runs between your legs and out the door. “Milo!” You shout after him as you run down the hall.

You almost have him but a door opens and he runs inside. “Milo!” You yell as you start to run inside of the apartment. But something screams stop and you obey that voice in your head.

When you look up your heart was pounding because it was just your luck that it was his apartment. You take several steps back as you see him go back into his apartment. If Milo wasn’t inside you’d be flying back to the apartment and locking yourself inside.

You hear his little meow and you don’t look up because you know those hazel eyes are looking down at you. “Thank you.” You mutter as Miguel hands Milo back to you. “You can’t go running into strangers apartments, Milo. What if they would’ve hurt you? That’s it you’re grounded. No cartoons for a week.” You scold him as you hear Miguel chuckle.

“Isn’t that a bit harsh? I’m sure the little guy didn’t mean it.” You raise a sculpted brow at him and turn without saying a word. “Amo-”

“Don’t call me that. My name is Tommie! Do you understand, Mr. O’Hara? Tommie. Not Amor, not mi corazón. None of those nicknames. You don’t get that privilege after what you fucking did.” You snap at him, causing Miguel to flinch.

“I’m sorry. But I can explain.” You roll your eyes at him and you march to your apartment with Milo tucked in your arms.

You go to slam the door but Miguel stops it and you go to snap at him but he raises his hands to show he means no harm. Instead of arguing, you tell him to close the door before Milo gets out again.

He does what he’s told and you place Milo down on the floor in front of you. He jumps down and he circles Miguel. “Hola niño pequeño. How are you?” Miguel says as he scoops Milo up in his arms.

“Milo isn’t friendly. He loves to scratch, especially at peoples eyes.” You tell Miguel. Milo, the little traitor licks Miguel’s nose and stands on his shoulder.

You narrow your eyes at the cute little monster. “You sleep on the couch tonight.” He gives a cute meow and Miguel picks him up and rubs his belly as Milo goes to lick his fingers. “Your mom is mad at me, do you think you can help me out?”

“First things first, you talking to my roommate kitten isn’t going to get you off of the hook, Mr. O’Hara. He is in the apartment, you can leave.”

You turn away from him and get your pizza and garlic knots. “That smells good, are you and Milo going to eat that?” Miguel asks as he leans against the wall and holds Milo close. You see him from the corner of your eye and you keep the scowl on your face.

“You get one small tiny slice, a glass of tap water and a crumb of my garlic knots. After that you take your crack back to your place.” You say as you motion him to follow you into the kitchen.

He places Milo down and he watches you as you grab two plates from the cabinets. “We wash our hands in this apartment, Mr. O’Hara.” You announce to him. “Yes, Ma’am.” Miguel stands up and as you wash your hands, you pass the soap to him. He takes it, as his fingers brush against yours. Those fingers that have touched you. Those fingers that have been on your mind, those fingers that you’ve been tempted to taste.

You clear your throat and you give him a slice. “I’m sorry about leaving like that. I was an ass and if I were you I wouldn’t talk to me ever again either.”

“So I shouldn’t talk to you? Got it.” You say stubbornly. He sighs and you feel a bit bad for making this difficult for him. But he deserved it…a little. “Am-Tommie. If it helps, I’ve been miserable for not talking to you.”

“You have my number, Miguel you could’ve texted me.”

“The phone works both ways, Tommie.” He says as he accepts the pizza from you. You turn away from him because deep down, you’re actually happy that he’s here. In fact this has been the happiest you’ve been in past two weeks.

You grab a pitcher of ice tea and grab two glasses. “Would you like some ice?” You ask as you place the glasses down on the counter. “I thought you were giving me tap water.” He says with a smirk playing across his lips.

“I can give you tap water if that’s what you want, Miguel.” You grab the glass but he gets a hold of your wrist and he gives you a look that says he’s sorry. “Yes, I’ll have ice.” He says as he uses his thumb to rub your inner wrist.

You stand there longer than necessary and just look into his eyes. Why does this all feel so familiar? You go to speak but the glass knocks out of your hand and you expect to hear a crash. But it never comes because Miguel had caught it effortlessly.

He placed the glass on the counter and you gently take your wrist back. “How many would you like?” You ask as you open the freezer door and try to crack the ice cube tray.

You turn and he was right there. “Here let me.” He takes the tray from you and he cracks it. He takes a small piece and he brings it to your lips. It’s an action you’ve done since you were a child.

Whenever you cracked some ice, you would take the smaller pieces and you’d chew on it. You take it from him and he turns away from you, placing ice in both of the glasses.

“How did he…” You whisper as you suck the ice. You walk over and you pour the ice tea in both of the glasses. You two sit down on the stools and as you eat you pass him the chili pepper flakes. “Gracias, mi amor.”

“You’re welcome.” You say as he shakes some flakes onto his pizza. You take a big bite and you hear Miguel cough from the flakes. “Are you sure you’re part Latino? Can’t even handle pepper flakes.” You tease as you reach over and bite his slice. “Hey, that’s mine.” He says with a laugh.

“Well consider me getting my pouring your tea fee.” You joke. “Then what do I get for cracking the ice for you?” He asks as he leans in close to you. “What do you want?” You ask as you take a sip of your tea.

“I think you know what I want, Tommie.” His eyes travels over your body and you feel warm all over and secretly happy you’re not wearing your ratty robe. “Oh I don’t think that’s equal value, Miguel.” He licks his fingers and you can’t help but think of something else you could be sucking.

“I don’t know, that ice was pretty hard to crack. Maybe I can crack something else for you though.” Miguel says as he places a heavy hand on your bare thigh. He squeezes it and you suck your bottom lip.

“Mmm, don’t go sucking that bottom lip, amor.” You release your lip and pout. “Then what should I do with it?” You ask as you open your legs and feel his thumb rubbing your inner thigh. “Let me suck it for you. You know I do love sucking your lips, mostly these.” His hand travels up your thigh and you let out a moan.

Miguel leans in to kiss you but you jump back. “No, no, no. Not like this. We’re staring over and we’re going to start over as friends.” You close your legs and scoot your chair back from him.

“As friends. Good.” Miguel says as he keeps eyeing you like a hungry dog. “Yes, friends. So how was your day?” You ask as you bounce your leg. “It was miserable in the beginning, all because I mistreated my friend.”

“Oh! Well I hope you groveled and got on your knees to get her forgiveness.” You say as you continue to bounce your leg. “I don’t mind groveling. But I do know she loves when I’m on my knees.” The swallow you made was definitely loud enough for Miguel to hear.

You look at him and Miguel was no longer touching his food, instead he was standing up and letting his chair scrape across the floor. “If you want to be friends, then that’s fine. But I don’t want to be friends. I want you, and I’ll never leave the way I did, Tommie. Now I don’t know about you but I’ve been thinking about the taste of your pussy for the past two weeks and to know the only thing stopping me is your consent and those shorts is making me a bit crazy. So do I have your consent? If no then I’ll unders-”

“Miguel shut up and fuck me.” When you give him the green light he pounces and he lets his chair fall on the floor as he pulls you in.

He lifts you up and he pins you against the refrigerator. He kisses your lips and your hands work on getting his shirt off. “Mmm, Tommie where is your bedroom?” He asks as he sucks your bottom lip. “Down….the hall.” He cups your ass under your shorts and starts walking out of the kitchen. You manage to get his shirt off and you toss it. As you walk pass you grab your glass of ice and Miguel kisses your lips again, twirling his tongue with yours. You suck it and you grab the wall. “That way.” You tell him.

He kicks your door open and then kicks it shut once he’s inside. Miguel places you down on your feet and he looks down at you. “Eres tan hermosa.” He goes to kiss you but you press your fingers against his lips. “I need you to take off these jeans, and take off these boxers.” You tell him as you take a piece of ice into your mouth.

He doesn’t say a word, he simply just does what you’ve asked of him and he stood there like a chiseled stoned god. You press your hand against his taught stomach and he sits down on your bed causing it to creak.

You lower yourself onto your knees and press his thighs apart. He leans down and he kisses you, sucking and biting at your bottom lip as he reaches under your t shirt, massaging your right breast.

You break the kiss first and you grab another piece of ice. “You know, if I would've known you were just down the hall from me, I would’ve invited you over sooner. And we could’ve done this." You press the ice cube against the head of his dick and you watch Miguel’s eyes flutter closed.

“I’ll…remember that when I need a cup of sugar, mi corazón.” He lets out a soft moan and you grip him in your hand. God he was huge, how was this going to fit in your mouth? Let alone inside of you?

You needed at least two hands to hold him properly. So you popped the ice into your mouth, took him in both of your hand and you rolled the ice with your tongue over the tip.

You let the head and the ice past your lips and you suck slowly so you can get use to the size. “Una chica tan buena para mí. My good girl.” You look up at him and see his eyes full of lust. You then suck a bit faster, letting the ice melt away and Miguel lets out a whimper.

You decide to take him in your throat and you feel the tickle in your throat. The gag reflex. But you push past it and Miguel runs his fingers through your hair. “Mine, all fucking mine.” He says as he caresses your face.

You slowly start to bob your head up and down which causes pre to leak from Miguel. You taste it and he shutters. “Amor, amor you don’t have to do…th…that.” You were sucking and using your tongue at the same time which was starting to cause your throat to get tighter.

You don’t answer him, you just keep going. Keep sucking. You see he’s breathing heavy and he tries to move you off but you pin his arms down. Which was ridiculous because you knew he was the stronger one.

Then again maybe he’s weak around you.

He whines about how good your throat feels on the tip and he keeps still so he doesn’t hurt you. You look up into his eyes and you see the lust and want. You try to deep throat him but you feel yourself about to choke. “S…stop. Stop Tommie. Don’t hurt yourself.” Miguel moves you back and you have drool down your chin.

“But I want more, I want you to fuck my throat.” You say staring down at his hard thick dick. “I know, but baby next time. We have all the time in the world. Come here.” He helps you off of your knees and he sits you on his lap.

You spread your legs and his dick was pressed against the front of your shorts. “You feel that?” He presses it up harder against you and you let your head fall back and moan. “Yes, I do.”

“You want this inside of this little pussy don’t you?” You nod, looking into his ruby eyes. “I don’t think you do, amor. I think it’s too big for you to handle.”

You pout and caress his cheek. “I want you, I want you inside of me. I want you to fuck me till I can’t stand. Miguel please.” You beg as you flick your tongue out against his puffy bottom lip.

“Esa boca tuya...it’s gonna get you in trouble.” He says as he sucks your tongue. You moan and flick your tongue against his teeth. “I think my mouth is worth the trouble.” You say to him. You feel his hands grip your thighs and that’s when you hear your shorts rip. You don’t even both to look down, you can feel that he has it positioned right against you.

He slaps the head against the head of your clit and you let out a moan. “Relax for me, Tommie. I want this to feel good. Let me help you feel good.” You nod and as he slides his dick in you, your mouth forms a big O and you grip his forearms.

He hisses and moans how tight you are against your neck. He thrusts in slowly and you rest your body against him. He picks up his pace a little and turns your head so that he can kiss you.

“Does this hurt? Please let me know if I’m hurting you.” You shake your head. “Issgood.” You moan out as you take his hand and bring it to your clit. He rubs it slowly as he thrust in a bit faster.

“God I could fuck you for hours, mi princesa.” He continues to rub your clit as he grips your waist with the other hand. You were in heaven right now, getting your pussy filled while inhaling this man scent. You were in such lust, your legs were aching.

His thrusts start to get animalistic and you can feel his teeth starting to scrape gently across your brown skin.

You lean your head back against his shoulder and you moan out the first thing that comes to mind. “Do it…I want you to.” Miguel’s breathing starts to become heavy and his grip on you feels as if it’s going to leave bruises.

“Whatever you want, amor. I’ll do it. Whatever you want.” His voice sounds harsh and his starts to rub you slower as he thrusts faster, which makes your body start to shake. “Bite me…please bite me.” You moan out as your eyes roll back from him fucking you like a rag doll.

He lets go of your waist and he grips your shoulder. You feel the sharp pain for only a second and you feel not just his fang like teeth biting down on your shoulder, but you feel him coming deep inside of you. You groan out a few words in gibberish and you come hard.

You feel him let go and your body feels weak against him. He leans his head against your back as you feel warm liquid roll down your breasts. When you finally feel some strength enter your body you see four bite marks on your shoulder.

Before you can open your mouth, Miguel licks it clean and he slides out of you. You wince and he places you on the bed. From his body language you can tell he was going to bolt.

And you were right he stands up abruptly and he was about to leave but you grab his hand. “Stop. Don’t you dare leave me again.” You say in a command you didn’t know you could muster.

“It’ll be wise for you to let go, amor.” Miguel says in a strange tone. “I’ll let go when I know your aren’t going to leave me…” His shoulders were tense and you stand up trying to look Miguel in the eyes. But he turned his face.

“Miguel look at me.” You say to him. He looks away and this time you reach up and grab a hold of his face. “Look at me, please.” Your voice cracks and he looks down at you.

He had the same face you saw back from the club only this time he looked vulnerable. Your grip on him loosens and you give a gentle smile. “You are so pretty.” You tell him.

He bursts out laugh and you see his four fangs in the moonlight. His laugh was contagious because your started laughing as well. “You, are so odd, amor.” Miguel says as he wipes the corner of his eyes.

“Well I’m sorry I had to say the first thing that came to mind and you look pretty.” Miguel rolls his eyes. “I’m a man, I’m not meant to be pretty.”

You place your hands on your hips. “Well to me you are pretty, Miguel O’Hara.” You smile at him and you take a step forward. Carefully because you don’t know if he still might leave.

“May I?” You ask as you reach up. You can see the hesitation in his face and you reach back. “You don’t have t-” He takes your hands and places them on his face. He slowly opens his mouth and he shows you his teeth. You don’t say a word. Instead you rub your fingers against his four fangs. They feel sharp and they should scare you, but oddly enough you like them.

“Does that mean I’m going to turn into a vampire?” You finally ask. He gets a hold of your hands and he kisses each finger. “No mi corazón, you won’t turn into a vampire, because I am not one.”

“Then what are you?”

“Oh I’m something much worse than that.” You furrow your brows trying to get an answer out of him but he isn’t budging. “Does it hurt? Your fangs?” He shakes his head. “Are you hurt? I didn’t mean to bite you that hard. I was kind of lost in the moment.”

You feel your face get hot as you shake your head. “No, it…felt good.” He crouched down and and study’s your face. “Are you hurt down there?” He asks. You look down at your feet and shake your head again. “No, that felt good too. Could we?”

Miguel laughs again and holds a hand over his stomach. “Of course you’d want to have sex again. And I want to but right now, I’m…a little too excited in another sense. And you look tired.”

“No I’m not.” You yawn and you hate that your body betrayed you. “Come, come. Let’s get you into bed.” He leads you to your bed and helps you in.

“But I have more questions.” You tell him. “I know you do, and I’ll have answers for you in the morning.” He leans down and kisses your forehead and before he leans back you grab his arm. “Miguel…I forgive you.” You tell him.

He gives you a warm smile. “Thank you.” He says as he searches your eyes. “W…will you be there when I wake up?” You ask, not wanting him to leave. Because maybe this is a dream and if it is, you didn’t want to wake up.

“I’ll stay the night. Now give me a second.” You let him go and he looks around the room. He finds his boxers and you watch as he puts them on. He leaves the room for about ten minutes and when he comes back. He hands you a glass of water and he crawls under the covers and lays beside you.

“Is this better?” He asks as you take a sip of water and place the glass on your nightstand. You nod and curl up close to him. You place your hand against his bare chest and maybe it’s the trick of the light or maybe you’re just tired. But you see a ring on your finger as you look at your hand.

You blink and the ring was no longer there. “Night, Miguel.” You whisper as your body relaxes. “Good night, mi amor.” Miguel says as he pulls you close to his body.

The last thing you think of is if this is a dream, you just didn’t want to wake up…

Previous , Next

[wonysugar]

https://x.com/luvwy04/status/1772133576533815443?s=46

OMG DID U SEE THIS? ITS GIVING SUGAR MOMMY VIBES

NOW WAIT CAUSE WHY DIDN’T I SEE THIS BEFOREE??:&4&2’

she’s RICH. like i’m talking LOADEDD, it’s only natural she would wanna spend all of her money on her adorable girlfriend, even if you feel incredibly shy when it comes to anything financial. it’s her love language, she can’t help it aheheheh

“heyy wony i didn’t expect you to stop b— what is that.”

“it’s a cute little bag i saw while shopping!” and she’s smiling so innocently, “it reminded me of you, so i got it. do you like it?”

already aware of her compulsive buying tendencies, (and having acknowledged the very flamboyant, very visible chanel logo on the bag) you automatically ask, “wonyoung.. i love it i really do but— please.. how much was that..”

she stands there, trying to recall the estimate amount she spent on it (since she doesn’t even look at the pricetag before buying something lawl). “hm. around 5k i think? i would’ve gotten you something more expensive, but it was just so cute—“

“you spent five thousand dollars on me????”

oh please save me sugarmommy!wony i’m giggling… the way she would call her driver mid-date for you just so she can take you out to dinner in some expensive ass 5 star restaurant?? IT SOUNDS SO SPECIFIC BUT BARE WITH MEE

“i’m a bit hungry, aren’t you?” you asked, walking in the streets of downtown, holding onto her arm. “i know this burger place not far from here, we could g— wonyoung?” you ask.

“huh? oh sorry, i was just calling my driver to come get us.”

“isn’t he on break— why are you even calling him?”

and she looks at you puzzled, “??i thought you were hungry? also i’ll just pay him extra, his break can wait..”

“yeahh…? and where exactly are you planning to take us?”

her expression changes to a warm smile, “oh not that far.. do you remember that one restaurant i brought you to on our first date?”

you’re practically screaming at this point, “???the one that charged you 300 dollars for each of our meals???”

also kinda completely unrelated not really BUTTTT…. she’d buy you certain articles of clothing just because she thinks it looks good enough to rip it off of you later.. AHEHEH

heavy on lingerie btw. she’ll DRAGGG you to a random victoria’s secret just so you can try on the ones you think look nice! her evaluation criteria; ‘hmmm that one has free space on the sides so like if my calculations are correct i SHOULD be able to settle my hands on there and rip it off if i want to—‘

plus, who cares if she actually rips the lingerie apart? she can always buy you new ones :]

do i need her? yes. yes i do.

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

Stars and Seas: A Drowned Tale

Years ago, I made a short story titled "The Drowned", which featured Matthew and Lyrus, a Human and a Merfolk variant called "Drowned", who fell for one another and became eternal lovers.

I'm happy to say that, years later, I have a continuation of this story just as well! Stars and Seas: A Drowned Tale features the former side character Ilias, and a new character, Thompson.

Story below the cut.

Words: 4468

Days off for Thompson were extremely rare. Hospice required constant attention from the nurse, but ever since Matthew was discharged, the man found himself with more free time than usual. Matthew was the main resident to whom Thompson was assigned, and without any new residents since, the nurse had little to do.

With a full free weekend, Thompson decided to visit the boardwalk on the edge of town. It was the location’s prime attraction, with a small amusement park and multiple boardwalk games. Pizza, chicken, fries, burgers, you name it and the stalls sold it.

Alone, Thompson wandered across the wooden planks, looking at various carnies who called to families with their children, friends with their friends, and couples with their lovers.

Yet there he was.

Alone.

The man’s heart grew heavy, but no less he walked toward one stall, and pulled out the wallet in his pocket.

“What can I get you, sir?” the lady asked.

Thompson looked up, and pointed to a bag of green cotton candy. “I’d like that bag please,” he said. “Is debit ok?”

The woman nodded, reaching to pull the bag off its hook from the overhang. “That’ll be five dollars,” she said. “Anything else you need?”

“Actually yes. May I please have a bottle of water?”

“Sure thing!” The woman set the cotton candy down, then turned around to a small fridge, and opened it, pulling out one bottle of water. “Alright, that’s another four dollars, so your total comes to nine!” She scanned the two items.

Thompson pulled out his card, and placed it against the machine. Once it beeped, he returned it to his wallet, and input the pin. The machine rang a gentle tone, and he nodded, then grabbed his food and drink. “Thank you, ma’am. Have a great day.” He forced a smile to her briefly.

The woman nodded. “You, too.”

Turning away, Thompson located a table in the distance, just outside the amusement park. With even steps, he made way toward this.

Two young men stood outside the park entrance, fumbling for cash to pay the fee.

“Damn. Guess we spent more at the diner this morning than I thought,” the smaller man said, chuckling.

The other smiled, and kissed the first. “Worry not, my dear. I’ve got this covered.”

Thompson’s heart sank even deeper hearing this conversation. Two men. In love. Yet here he was still alone. He glanced toward the lovers briefly, then stumbled.

“Lyrus, I told you to stop covering me!”

“Well really it’s my father covering us both.”

Turning toward the two young men, Thompson quickly approached. “...Matthew?” he asked.

The smaller man turned around, his mouth immediately falling agape upon seeing Thompson. “I–you… Thompson?!”

“Yes!! It’s me!!” Thompson cried, a smile coming to his face. He reached for Matthew, wrapping his arms around him gently. “Oh my god!! Look at you!! You’re–you’re completely healthy now!!”

Smiling warmly, Matthew returned the hug to his old nurse, nodding. “I am!! I feel great!!”

Thompson separated from him, and looked upon the young man who now stood. He stood. Matthew’s legs were riddled with cancer before, and left him confined to a wheelchair for the most part, save for good pain days. But Thompson looked at Matthew’s wrist.

Upon it was tied a single small bracelet of seashells, the rope made of dried seaweed.

And Lyrus’s wrist held one just the same.

Thompson nodded, smile never waning. “Healing is a magic in and of itself, isn’t it?” he asked.

There, Matthew stumbled slightly. “Wh–what do you mean?”

“Getting better in any way. It seems to bring people together, doesn’t it? You two have each other now, and that’s incredible. It’s perfect. The magic between you both seems to have done more than modern medicine ever could.”

Matthew fell silent, his blood running cold.

But Lyrus stepped up, smiling. “You know, Thompson, sir. Matthew has told me much about you in the time we’ve been together. I was hoping to meet you someday.”

Thompson smiled gently. “I’m honored to meet you all the same, sir. And I truly wish both of you a great eternity together. Even though… I’ll likely never see Matthew again.”

“Perhaps there will be more meetings,” said Lyrus. “You never know what the future holds, after all. Things change. People change. That is the magic of life.”

Nodding, Thompson’s smile now waned slightly. “Well… I hope you both have a great day. And a safe return home. May the tides pull you to safety.”

Lyrus bowed to him. “And may they never tempt you into the depths all the same.” He pulled Matthew into himself. “Come on, hon. Let’s keep our little date going.” Together, he and Matthew handed the cash to the person at the front gate, and entered inside.

Thompson sighed, and walked to the table. Situating himself, he opened the bag of cotton candy, and began eating it silently. Pondering. His heavy heart beat slowly and painfully against his chest, and he turned to look at the beach, its gentle waves lapping away at the sand as children played about, and people of all ages spoke and smiled. 

But Thompson himself frowned, for he was alone as always.

Forever alone…

====================

That evening, Matthew and Lyrus returned to the castle of Limrias. As both sat together at the table alongside Ilias, they ate their dinners as a family.

But Matthew seemed oddly quiet. His gaze was distant, almost as though the man focused on something beyond the present.

“Are you alright, hon?” Lyrus asked.

“...No.”

“Talk to me.” Lyrus put one webbed hand on Matthew’s shoulder, and reached the other to brush his hair behind a finned ear. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s… it’s Thompson. From before,” Matthew said, sighing. “He looked… I don’t know. Sad? I could feel it. All his sorrows flowed into me like they were my own. I know Drowned can feel connections to one another through the bonds we have. But can a Drowned do the same with a Human?”

“It’s possible,” Ilias said. “You and Thompson had a great deal of investment in one another before you became Drowned. Those feelings of love still remain, and through your love for him, it’s very likely you could feel a bond between yourself and him as you would any other Drowned.”

Matthew nodded. “Thank you. I just… I wish I could help him. He always seemed so happy when he was around me, but I know he’s been through a lot. He never told me what he experienced, though.”

Ilias cut into a filet, and stabbed it with his fork. “Is he still nearby? Still at the boardwalk?” He placed the filet piece into his mouth, and began to chew it.

“Maybe. I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

“Because I’d like to meet him, and thank him for having cared for you all these years,” Ilias replied. “He seems as though he could use such thanks, and he should know you’re in good hands now.”

“Dad, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Lyrus asked. “He knows Matthew and I are Drowned, but that’s dangerous enough in and of itself! Do you really want to risk revealing yourself, our king, to him?”

Shrugging, Ilias stabbed the last piece of his filet. “If he already knows about us, then what’s the harm in showing him myself?” He bit into the piece, and swallowed it, setting his fork and knife down. “You two go enjoy yourselves for the night. I’ll be back by morning. Promise.” The king smiled at his two boys, and swam from his chair, then pushed it in. Without another word, he exited the room.

====================

Upon the beach, Thompson sat solitarily, knees to his chest as the waves crashed in the distance, their extended falls reaching the man’s feet. The water kissed him softly. Thompson reveled in what little peace this brought him.

Looking up into the horizon, boats and ships sailed across the night, far out into the dark, every star above illuminating their shapes.

How he longed to leave this land and see the world as those people did… Maybe things could be better elsewhere…

Thompson sighed, burying his head in his knees, shoulders dropping.

“Quite a sight, isn’t it?”

The man jumped, and looked up. There, his eyes fell upon a tall, broad man, roughly his own age, whose hair and beard appeared black and salt-worn, hints of gray running through their lengths. He smiled kindly to Thompson.

“Mind if I take a seat?” the man asked.

Thompson scooted to his right, shaking his head. “No, please. Go ahead.”

Bending down, the stranger sat carefully, placing his hands against the sand to steady himself as he lowered into a sitting position. Upon both his wrist lay two gorgeous bracers of seashells, tied in place with colorful seaweed.

Thompson’s eyes widened at their sight. However, he remained silent.

The stranger gazed up at the stars meeting the sea afar. “Matthew’s told me lots about what you’ve done for him. I’m grateful. For you. For all your care and help given to him over the years.”

“You’ve done more for him than any medicine could have,” Thompson said .

“I don’t mean just medically, but emotionally as well.” There, Ilias smiled kindly, and turned toward the Human. “He’s struggled a lot. Learning to be part of a family when he’s never had one is certainly a difficult thing. But he tells me he learned what he could from his love for you. Matthew always tells me you’re the father he never had.”

“Well I’m not much to go by. I don’t have a family, either…”

Ilias raised an eyebrow. “You don’t?”

“No. It’s a long story. You wouldn’t care for it, I promise.” Thompson sighed heavily, his demeanor lowering into sorrow.

Pausing a moment, Ilias readjusted himself. “I’ve got time. And Matthew is worried. He tells me you’re sad. I see it in you that you are. Maybe talking would help ease the burden?”

Thompson shook his head. “I can’t. It’s no use. I’ve spoken to therapists for decades now, and it doesn’t do anything to make this better… Not what with I’ve been through…”

“Well… what about talking to a friend?”

Pausing a moment, Thompson glanced toward Ilias, eyes wide. He saw, there, the king’s kindly smile, and welcoming self, so genuine and gentle. How could he say no to this man? Regardless, Thompson looked away, shaking his head again. “It’d be wrong to burden another with my troubles. Especially a king…”

Ilias chuckled a little. “Friends exist to carry the burdens of one another in part. Nobody can make it through life alone. And if you do not tell me now, I will continue to visit each night you’re here until I gain your trust enough that you speak. It wouldn’t be right in my heart or mind to let such a great and kindly man as yourself suffer alone.”

“Why do you think so highly of me?” Thompson asked.

“Because you kept Matthew safe. And Matthew has opened my heart to trusting once more.” The king took a deep breath. “I spent more than a millennia distrusting Humans. They’ve proven to be enemies of my people for ages now, polluting our home and using it for selfish gains. But Matthew and Lyrus fell for one another more than a year ago now. And I’ve seen since then what good Humans are, and what good they bring. Lyrus, my son, was so lonely and broken until he met Matthew. Those two healed each other’s hearts and lives, and their love has, in turned, healed me.”

Thompson’s eyes nearly welled with tears now. He gulped the sadness back. “Love is… it’s something I’ve not had in a very long time…” His tears began to fall.

Ilias lifted a finger, and the teardrops shifted from Thompson’s face, floating away toward the sea.

Eyes wide, the Human watched his sorrows move from himself and join with the water beyond. He shook his head. “I’m… a lot like Matthew in a sense… I, too, love men. I’m how he realized his own sexuality. But my parents–my entire family both immediate and extended–they shunned me for what I am. They called me a disgusting whore, and threw me into the streets. I tried to go back! I tried so many times!! But eventually they moved, and I never knew where to! I had nobody and nothing!!

“My boyfriend at the time, he proposed to me, and we were planning our wedding. We found out he was pregnant, and both of us felt ecstatic! The future was bright, and we’d just gotten an apartment together here in the city. But… this hardly lasted…” Now Thompson’s tears fell in a large stream, and the man sobbed violently, clutching his knees to his face as he pressed his forehead into both harshly. “Kevin, he–he miscarried. Just a few weeks into the second trimester. We were devastated, and the doctors found out why this happened.

“Kevin had late-stage ovarian cancer. He was dying. And no amount of medicine would ever help save him…”

Ilias’s face dropped, his heart sinking into an abyss of sorrow. He reached for Thompson, but retracted his hand before it could touch him.

Thompson tensed, biting his lower lip harshly. “I was alone. I had nobody. No family. No partner. No love. And I tried. I tried to find someone else! But I’ve been broken!! My sorrows are too great, and my pain is immense! Nothing makes it better! Nothing!!” He rammed a fist into the sand, trembling. “I’m lonely… I’m broken… And I see no reason to keep going. Ever since Matthew left, there’s been little hospice work to do. It’s like I’m not needed anymore. Nobody needs me, and I am needed nowhere. I can’t keep going like this…”

Shifting toward the Human, Ilias sat on his knees and wrapped himself around the balled-up Thompson, hugging him softly. “You’re needed. Always. That I promise.”

Thompson sobbed, his heart weighing itself down into the depths below. "If I fell into the ocean to my death, far away from any land, would the world even notice? Would I be forgotten?"

"The ocean would remember," Ilias replied. "The waves would carry your soul forever with their every rise and fall. The very creatures which live within it would see your descent, knowing another joins them but not in life. They would mourn. The sea is seemingly paired with death, but we can only take so much tragedy before it becomes too much. Perhaps this is why the Drowned were created. To prevent such sorrow from ever taking over."

"But I am not worthy of mourning. I'm nobody. And I am worth nothing. Not even life." Thompson shook rapidly, tightening his fists.

"Has the world truly taken so much from you that you've forgotten how to receive all the same?"

The Human shook his head. "I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever been given anything in my life before..."

Ilias grasped one of the Human's hands, and stood up. "Then come with me a moment. I wish to give you something."

Thompson shook his head. “Please. Don’t–”

“You need to see this. Please. Just come along.”

With a scoff, Thompson pushed himself upright, shaking his head, standing to meet the king. Gently, he was pulled toward Ilias. Into him.

Ilias held Thompson close and walked toward the water, then into it. Once deep enough inside, the long mer tail formed, and fins extended from his wrists and ears. His green eyes glowed bright against the darkness, clearly made to peer through the depths of the seas. Here, he clutched Thompson softly, and carefully began to swim out. Away from the shore.

Thompson watched as the sand grew further and further away until it no longer remained visible. He spoke not a word, just letting his sorrows run rampant through himself.

After several minutes, Ilias stopped, and shifted Thompson in front of himself. Here, the king smiled warmly, and pointed upward toward the vast, starry sky.

Tears streaking his face still, the Human looked up where the king pointed.

"Centuries ago, sailors used the stars to navigate the oceans, and cross them safely. All the same, those stars told stories and gifted them to children who looked at them in hope,” Ilias said. “No matter where you are in the world, the stars are always there. No matter where you are in the world, the water is always there. Nature is inherent. It's eternal. Hope and safety are always here. Waiting for you to find them. You only need let the world guide you."

Thompson gulped his sadness down again. "Then why? Why has my life led me away from the world? Why am I so blind to the future that I can't even see it?"

"When you spend forever in the dark, it hurts to look at the light. But it's there no less.” Ilias looked Thompson in the eyes. “I am here."

The Human’s mouth fell agape. He shook his head. “N–no.”

“Why not?” Ilias asked. “Why not accept love for a change?”

"I... I can't. How can I ever love again when I will lose you, or you will lose me? I couldn't bear to be with a man who has two sons, knowing you’ll all live forever and I won't–that you'll all be of the sea, but myself of the land. I am nothing compared to you! I am... nothing… Even as a person, I am nothing..."

"You are a great man with a great heart as vast as the seas," Ilias said, holding Thompson tighter now. "I never thought I would feel this way for a Human, but all the same, every Drowned was once Human. We aren't so different."

Thompson hiccupped, shaking. His aching heart seemingly sank into the ocean itself as he remained within it, held by the king.

"When a Drowned Embraces a Human, their love is gifted all the same. A bond is forged between the Drowned who makes another. These bonds create families. Parents, children, lovers, siblings. They are eternal and endless. There is no breaking the bond of two Drowned who’ve joined together. And they feel everything between one another. Joy and pain. Love and fear. Any and all emotion is shared.

“But I feel it all, even without such a bond between yourself and I. Your sorrow is great, and your pain greater. You fear and you grieve, but I am here. And I love. I love you, Thompson. Sweet Baris. I wish for nothing more than to see you happy–to see your smile and know your joy not as my own, but for you to feel yourself. You deserve happiness. I can bind us together in eternity beneath the very waters in which we tread, and I will hold you as my own. You will never be alone again. I promise."

The torrential tears dripping from Thompson’s eyes began to fall into the ocean. "I’m not worth it… I never will be…What have I done that's worthy of this?" he asked. "To gift me not just any Embrace, but yours? Why?"

Ilias smiled gently, pressing into the Human, holding him closer. "Because you are you. And all are worthy of love for the mere fact that they live. And I love you. The world takes so much that we often forget we can give all the same.

“Just as well, none must be worthy of the water's gift to receive it. One must simply embrace its love as their own. And I know you long for love. But look no further. We are here. Together. Between the stars that guided us to my kingdom, and the seas in which it resides. Please. Come home with me, Baris."

Thompson sobbed into the king now, harsh and ugly. "But... Matthew. He doesn't need me anymore. He has you. All the Drowned."

"That doesn't mean he can't use more love. You need it all the same. And if he does not welcome you then know that I do. I will be the one who brings you home and gifts you the Embrace." Ilias leaned in, and kissed Thompson on the cheek. "I will bind us together in eternity, and hold you as my own. You'll have a family–two sons, Matthew and Lyrus–and of course, me. Loneliness will never reach you again. Of that I swear."

Thompson trembled, trying to breathe but he couldn’t. He shook his head, sobbing harshly. “Does it hurt? Letting the magic take you?"

"No. It's peaceful. Your very soul is engulfed in serenity, and you know, in that moment, you're forever saved from all death and sorrow."

With a harsh cry, Thompson clutched the king dearly, clenching his eyes shut. "Please... Please just help me!!" he begged. "Make this stop! Take my pain away! Please..."

"I can give you what you need to make it leave in time. It will not fade immediately. But I will be there every moment you need someone. I will always love you, Baris. That will never change." Ilias smiled warmly. “You will learn to live in peace, not rest in sorrow. Let your mortal pains wash away into the sea. It’s time to come home.” The king lifted his hand to Thompson's heart, pressing it against him. The palm began to glow, and he shifted his face to see Thompson's, meeting the man's lips with his own which he kissed gently while pushing him backward, leading them both below the water.

The glow began to overtake Thompson, who kissed Ilias back, a warmth spreading from his heart through his entire body. The very tears upon his face washed away into the sea which now held him completely. And the man welcomed it.

As the glow intensified, both lovers remained connected for a long moment before Ilias backed away, shifting his hand off Thompson.

Slowly, the bright illumination faded from the man entirely as he lay within the king's loving embrace. And there he rested, a long, finned tail now in place of legs, and matching fins upon his wrists and ears. Gills opened from his sides, and he breathed through them, taking the water into his very being, merging himself with it at long last.

Ilias smiled. "Welcome home, my king."

Thompson–Baris–opened his eyes and looked at himself. Now Drowned, he gazed upon his new form in silent awe, examining the long tail and strange fins, the webbing between his fingers. And there, a feeling of serenity filled himself, overtaking his entire being. Baris sat upright, and threw himself into Ilias, clutching the king tighter, a wholeness and unity of sorts driving him toward the man.

A unity with his lover, Baris realized. A unity with his future–with the very seas in which he now lived and breathed.

Both parting slightly, Ilias’s smile only grew. "You are the greatest man I have ever met, and I will never be far from you. Even if I am, our eternal bond will hold us together. I feel your elation. The relief in your heart. And I am happy all the same. You’ve needed this for ages now, and it is yours to keep. I’ll make certain you never lose it."

There, a smile formed upon Baris’s face. He kissed Ilias passionately, deeply, holding the king against himself as he wrapped the long tail around his lover, pressing into him. “Thank you. Thank you, my love. My king. I… I love you. So much.”

“Please. Call me Ilias.” The king smiled, joining his tail with Baris’s, and both held one another for a long moment in silence.

Minutes passed, and finally Baris unlatched from his lover, shifting backwards. He looked at himself entirely now, and chuckled a little, smiling.

Ilias looked puzzled at his lover. “What’s funny?” he asked.

“I… I just realized a slight problem."

"Oh?"

"I can't swim."

Ilias suddenly burst into laughter. "Oh, gods! That is quite a problem, now isn’t it?” He grinned, and pat Baris’s shoulder gently. “Well there's no time like the present to learn. It's not that hard. I'll show you."

Baris grasped the king’s hand, who led him down into the depths, flicking his tail gently while keeping his and Baris’s arms parallel to themselves.

After many minutes, Ilias let go, and motioned for Baris to follow him.

And without missing a beat, Baris continued. Swimming close by. Swimming.

He was free.

The Drowned cut through the water with ease, as though the very universe parted to let him and Ilias pass, and both made their way toward a glistening, large kingdom with ornate bridges and city buildings spanning across the entire ocean floor.

This was the beauty of Limrias.

====================

Within the castle, Matthew and Lyrus lay within one another’s arms in their bed together, cuddled up smiling and content. Both looked outward from the window to the kingdom far below, then to each other, their minds at ease and their hearts entwined in love.

However, a knock came to their door. “Lyrus? Matthew? Are you awake?”

Ilias, they realized.

“We are! We’re coming!” Lyrus called. He helped Matthew up, and both held hands as they swam to the door. But Lyrus grasped the handle, and pulled it open.

There in the doorway, both smiling, hands together, Ilias and Baris tread as one. As Drowned.

Matthew’s eyes welled with tears. He charged Baris, and threw his arms around the man, squeezing him tight and pressing into him. “You–you’re–”

“I’m home,” Baris said, leaning into Matthew gently. “I’m grateful. For all of you. I owe you everything.”

“You owe nothing but to love your life,” Matthew said. He looked up at Baris. “Please. I know you’ve been hurting. I know you’ve been sad. But give this a chance. It’s going to get better now. We’ll all make sure of it.”

Baris nodded, smiling even more. “I know. I will. I promise. I will live, with you, and we will always be together. My heart is open to love, and I have that of Ilias. And I couldn’t ask for anything greater.”

Lyrus swam toward Baris and Matthew, putting one hand on each. “You have my love all the same. Gods know my dad needs it more, though.”

Everyone laughed, and leaned in, hugging one another.

And there, Baris felt it. The bonds between all of them. Each person of this family loved him, and all the same he loved them. Their feelings flowed through one another as though part of each other despite each belonging to different people. They were united. And nothing would ever tear them apart, for, nature’s love in the stars and seas had brought them together at long last.

[idesofrevolution]

The Last Possession

Yeah. That’s me. And yeah, I’m not cheap. You can’t afford to look this good workin’ a nine to five every day. Nah. I’m a freelancer. Call me a life coach for those who need some assistance finding who they really are. Sometimes you just need to have a little push in the right direction, eh? Plus, you know I’m the real deal by just lookin’ at this bod. If I do say so myself, I’m pretty damn hot.

Let’s cut to the chase. I take over the bodies of nerds, has-beens, washed ups, losers, and everyone else in between. Over the course of a few days, normally, I change them into exactly what they wanna be. Cocky, sexy, built himbo bad boys. And they pay top dollar for the privilege.

That’s exactly what Michael asked for. For whatever reason, he was unhappy with his pretty okay life. He was a game designer in Seattle, a pretty decent looking otter boy, and well off. I’m not gonna lie, I was on vacation, so I wasn’t too excited to take a job out here in the Bahamas. But the pay grade was just way too good, and I had a nice little vacancy in my bedroom since my twat of an ex dumped me. “Too many good looking guys coming out of the apartment” apparently.

Pssh, what did that fucker know? I brushed whatever dumb scraps of affection I had for him aside, and took the kid’s offer. The dude bought a ticket and flew out to Nassau, and drove to my holiday place. From the picture, I wasn’t sure what he was looking for. He was pretty good looking already!

My clients are usually the old creepers, absentee fathers, and middle aged former jocks. Median age: 40. So, when this guy showed up at my door, looking like an adorable little gamer guy, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity. I handed him a Mai Tai, and we sat by the pool, where I asked him his reasons for wanting a transformation. His reasoning was super simple, and it took my by surprise.

“I just wanna try something new, I guess.” It was no skin off my back if he didn’t think it through. Even if he did, I had doubts he knew the full extent of what my plans were. I asked him about his life back in Seattle, probing to see if he had a family I had to worry about, a dumb bimbo, or anything like that. Nothing. Just his dog. Just how I liked it. The more we talked, the more I started to like this guy. He just really seemed like a cool dude that was a bit… Disillusioned with his life. There was just something about him. I don’t know.

I asked him when he wanted it all to go down, and to my surprise, he shucked his shirt off and turned his back to me. This dude had a majorly casual vibe about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure how to approach it. After a few seconds of really thinking about it, I thought, “Fuck it” and dove right in.

Now to give you some perspective: this guy was like 6′3, where I was like 5′9. He was super skinny too. This was gonna be a tight squeeze, but not anything I hadn’t done before. I placed my hand on his shoulders, just starting out with a light massage. I smelled a light dash of cologne. It was so cute, he tried to impress me with some expensive Gucci-knockoff he found at Kohl’s. But, as my hands started to knead harder, and they began to sink underneath his pasty white skin, I thought about the others I had changed.

They hadn’t gone the extra mile to even put on deodorant. I’m not talking about that sexy, musky smell that I gladly add to my clients charge-free. They were stinking like the geriatric ward, or like they just got back from a burger-flipping job. All they cared about was getting me in, and becoming something else. But this dude… Michael… He actually thought about me, and my experience throughout the entire thing. It was a little thing, but it was more than anyone else had done for me…

I had sank into him at a forearm’s length. Crossing my legs around his waist, I could hear him moan a bit. I nibbled on his ear, letting my hot breath caress him, allowing him to shudder. For the first time in a possession, I smiled. This wasn’t work, this was pleasure. I felt my arms slip into place, fingers into his own as a well-fitted glove. I brought his hand to his cheek, caressing it, sticking a finger into his mouth, letting it roll onto his lips.

I was sinking ever faster into his body, his warming skin inviting more of me into him. My built, muscular body effortlessly crept inch by inch into his being, taking up every available ounce of space. Through me, his hands explored his body, stroking and prodding everywhere. I had almost all of me within him. By the end, all that was left was my head, protruding from the back of his neck. A lot of guys ask me what it feels like at this point. Imagine being submerged in a hot tub filled with heavy jello. That’s the only way I can describe it. Everything is slick, tight, compressed, yet extremely buoyant… This time was that much more intense, as I had gone the extra mile to really give him a ride. You know, let him go out with a bang.

I slowly pressed my forehead against the back of his head, feeling his hard skull give way to the same dense, gelatinous feeling that surrounded the rest of me. It takes a minute for me to adjust myself within him before I can actually see out of his eyes, but that first breath… Damn. It’s always exhilarating. I let the humid, hot air of the Caribbean into my lungs, and opened my eyes to the bright, tropical sun. Michael, for all intent and purpose, was relatively gone. Well, normally he would be.

At this point in the possession, I get the memories and thoughts of the host, and usually I just wipe it clean, for the sake of a clean slate. Though, this time, as his memories flooded me, I knew everything about him. He was a good kid. Like, unbelievably so. He cared about others, and not an ounce about himself. Yet, this deep-seeded insecurity he fostered… It actually broke my heart a bit.

Lounging on that pool-lounge, at that beachside Bahamanian mansion, I decided this was my final possession. And this was gonna be the crown jewel. My magnum opus. Maybe it was for selfish reasons, but I couldn’t let this one go. He’d be mine. I mean after all, what more of a prize is there than my smokin’ hot ass?

I spent days in his body, reversing the clock, rewiring his brain, encoding his genetics. It was like shopping for a christmas gift for myself! He’d be just as cocky as I was, a show off to everyone he’d meet. Sexy, lean muscles underneath a perfectly sunkissed skin, painted with tattoos. From his mesmerizing frost-green eyes, to his gigantic, size 16 feet; this 6′3 God among men was going to be a blast to finally meet.

The last day, laying on the pool lounge where it all began, I thought about the last few tweaks. You know, the pierced ears & cock, finger tattoos, finishing up his background, changing his vocal range, making him an alpha top… I had thought long and hard about it over the transformation, and I had decided it was time. This lovable goofball would love me, and I’d love him back. As I pulled myself from his bronzed body, I left his consciousness intact. He was still him underneath it all. He remembered everything. He knew what it was like to have me within him. By the time my exhausted, sweaty body was finally detached from him, he had already opened his eyes for the first time.

He brought his inked hands to his face, smirking a smug grin. I watched him from the cement ground, flexing and kissing his biceps. Our eyes met, and the alpha bravado I had programmed oozed out of him. Yet… I could see Michael in his eyes. He pulled me into a kiss, gentle at first, then passionate and fiery. That mouthwatering musk poured into my nostrils, just as I wanted it to. I tasted that wintergreen tic-tac breath of his, just as I had intended. He groped me and bit my tongue, smiling at me. I had never been so into a guy before.

I knew that Michael would be proud of who he is now. He is truly experiencing something new. He also had a stud by his side to experience it with alongside him. I enjoyed every minute of his invading tongue in my mouth, of his strong fingers tenderly wrapped around my neck. He was perfect. This was perfect. Besides, the best Christmas gift came as he picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. A sizable, delicious, musky, uncut package waited for me to unwrap it.

[mmoxie]

Cheeseburger Cost Too Much: Take 2

AN: Americans explaining economic hardship: "Imagine a hamburger."

Summary: Employee wages can double and the price of a meal can be halved and the company still turns a profit. But you already knew that. This is about going insane with a calculator.

A double cheeseburger meal* costs between $9.00 and $13.00 depending on which restaurant you're at. *That's two patties, any toppings you want, medium fries and drink.

That's an absurd amount of money.

It costs on average $3.00 for all the ingredients if they're just bought at the grocery store and not in bulk, y'know like restaurants do.

Of course, restaurants have to make a profit and pay their employees. They also have to pay to ship their ingredients and pay for utilities. Some restaurants don't even own the building they run out of, and instead lease it for cheaper.

Let's do some experiments based on this under the cut:

Suppose you have a typical 2000sqft burger franchise. Your lease, shipping, and utilities come out to $3500 a month. You have six employees- four of them make $15/hr and work 20 hours a week, two of them make $17/hr and work 40 hours a week. You're open 7 days a week, and are closed on Christmas.

Let's pay those employees first and foremost: $1200 for the part-timers, $1360 for the full-timers.

So as soon as you open the doors in the morning, you need to be able to pay out $6060/mo.

==========

You are a very simple burger franchise, with a single menu item- the Double Cheeseburger Combo. Comes with lettuce, onion, pickle, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and mayo, atop two 1/8lb all-beef patties with two slices of American cheese. This is served with a side of fries and a 16oz fountain beverage. Like the combo, you get one. It's Coke.

You make the best burger in town, and average 100 customers a day.

Your combo costs $10.99. So you make $1,099/day.

Now let's factor in the cost of ingredients. At $3.00/combo, you're actually making $7.99/combo, or $799/day.

In a month, you make $23,790 from sales after the cost of ingredients. You pay your bills, and you have $17,730 left over. This is what corporate keeps.

Let's say business is steady for a year. Your franchise makes $212,760 for corporate.

You are one of 21,000 franchises worldwide. They all do exactly as good as you. Your corporation has amassed $4,467,960,000. For brevity's sake, we'll just say $4.47Bn.

You've made this amount after accounting for wages, utilities, shipping, and leasing. Let's say you get a Superbowl ad, and run a healthy ad campaign to promote your combo all year. I'll be generous and say that the regular ad campaign is the same price as the Superbowl ad- so you're out $14 million dollars. Taking you down to $4.45Bn.

You pay your CEO 24 million dollars as a bonus. You have $4.3Bn.

What's left here is called EBITDA- Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.

Let's pay your taxes. It's about 23% of your income. $1,012,000,000. $1.01Bn- you have $3.44Bn left.

Throw all that in the bank. With a 7% interest rate, you'll have made an extra $241 million or so.

Leave it alone for five years, that's a cool billion you made doing nothing.

==========

I'm not gonna talk about stocks, shares, or "worth." This is about a sandwich and what it should cost. Suppose instead that it's $7.99. Let's see what happens to the company when I make it so!

You now make $499/day, $13,972/mo. Subtract your operating costs-you now earn $7,912/mo.

Every month. Every franchise. What has the company made after a year?

$1,993,824,000 - $1.99Bn.

Superbowl ad. Regular ad campaign. CEO bonus. Taxes. All at the same rate.

14 million dollars, 24 million dollars, and... 457.7 million dollars.

So what do we keep? $1,532,300,000. Or 1.53Bn.

So the company is still a billion dollar company. Just not a four billion dollar company. This is why I won't talk about stocks, shareholders, stuff like that- it's just scorekeeping. It's just making the number go up so that the fans at home can make a number go up for themselves- and it's all at the expense of the working poor.

You put 1.53Bn in the bank for 5 years at 7% interest, you're making 107 million additional dollars, by doing nothing.

After 10 years, that's a cool billion without any effort on your part.

==========

Let's see what we can do with just the interest.

107 million, split across 21,000 franchises, that's $509.50 you can pay out every year, to every franchise.

Doesn't sound like a lot, but two things- one, this is just interest, and two, you'd be surprised what a little pocket change can do for a restaurant. You can replace a heating element in a fryer. You can get the floors waxed. You can buy your staff concert tickets. If someone gets sick, you can help them out! On interest.

You haven't gone a penny under the 1.53Bn you put in the bank.

Suppose you did. Suppose you raised the minimum wage at all franchises to 20 dollars, with managers making 24 dollars.

$1600/mo for part-timers now, and $3840/mo for full-timers. You still have a staff of six and your shipping, utility, and lease haven't changed. Your new monthly total is $8940/mo.

And fuck it, a combo is $5.99 now. Ready for round 3?

$299/day -> $8970/mo.

Your franchise now makes 30 dollars a month for the company.

That's $630,000 a year when you multiply it across all franchises worldwide.

You can't pay your CEO a 24 million dollar bonus. You can't buy 14 million dollars worth of advertising. You make $44,100 a year in interest. You pay $144,900 in taxes.

You're a 486 thousand dollar company. You pay your CEO a 10,000 dollar bonus. You make it back fourfold in a year.

You can no longer give every store $509.50 extra a year. Heck, on the interest you're making, you can barely scratch $25 per store in terms of money you can give away every year. But that was always just bonus money. Playing with your interest.

You're half the size of McDonalds, feeding people all over the planet, reaching further than Burger King, and your company is valued at 413,000 times less than they are.

And you're still half a million dollars in profit that you don't have to spend on anything but paying your CEO- who makes $30 an hour, salaried to 45 hours a week. $64,800/yr for the special boy.

You've still got $420,000 in the bank, which, in a world where a combo meal costs $5.99, is the perfect amount.

This is as good as it gets in 2024. A time traveler from 1995 would laugh at us:

[silent-raven13]

Quenepas!

(If ya'll never try Quenepas/Mamones/Mamoncillos or in English term Spanish Limes, ya'll are missing out. They are so good! 🤤)

(Warning: Hobie 18 and Miles is 17 and they do a bit of touching. I put a warning bc I know some readers don't like reading high school stuff like this. You been warned.)

"It's amazing my brother was able to find a whole bulk of Quenepas!" Rio smiles widely having one of her favorite fruits in the sink to wash them, "These are amazing healthy snack for you papi!"

Jeff saw the two large boxes of Spanish Limes, "Wow, there's a lot of these things. Are you sure we can finish this?"

"Mi amor, I've been carving for these for the longest." Her small baby bump shows her three month pregnancy. "and they are a way better snack than your donuts."

"You know, not all cops like donuts." Jeff pouts at his wife.

His wife side eye him, "I know you eat at least five of those Dunkin' donuts. You need to start watching what you eat! You're gonna be having another kid and you need to be able get old till you're eighty!" She went to fix her husband's Chief uniform, noticing his tie being off. "You have to be ready for this long journey." She smiles.

"I know. I know. I'll pack some." The middle age man said having to rub his neck, "But will that cancel out a burger?"

"Jeff! How about a salad! Look I already pack your lunch." She handed him, his lunch bag, "The doctor said you need to watch your cholesterol and blood pressure. Less fat, and more greens."

"Awwwe, but is burger Wednesday!"

His wife gave him the death glare that made him shut up real quick. "Okay, Salad Wednesday! I'll eat all this, baby. Love you." He nervously said giving a kiss on the cheek. "Your always right."

"That's what I like to hear!" She smirks widely in approval.

Miles came out of his room being surprised from the boxes of his favorite fruit. "Whoa! Tío brought all these! Yummy!" He happily went over to the clean batches to take one, he first bite around the hard peel then pop the round fruit to suckle on it. "Mmm, so good!"

Quenepas are these green oval balls covered in a thin layer with an orange transparent pulp wrapped around the seed inside. It has a sweet citrus lime taste perfect for the summer, it's refreshing and addicting to eat by its unique flavor. Miles love them so much he tends to eat most of the bag without a thought. It's so delicious that him and his mom always ask their relatives to buy bulks in areas around heavy Puerto Rican/Latinos fruit sellers.

Luckily Miles' uncle was able to find a good deal with two boxes full of Quenepas! Now, he can eat them without worrying about leaving some to his mom. "Mmm, these are so good!" He hops up and down finish suckling the pulp leaving the seed, spitting it out to throw it in the trash.

Rio happily eats one, "These are better than the last bulk. Your tío knows how to pick them. Now, I'ma take some for work. Miles, there's leftovers from last night and pizza from Thursday, okay? If you want to order food tu papà left money on the table."

"Twenty five dollars, right here, son!" Jeff put the cash on the dinning table.

"Okay, thanks dad." Miles smiles being happy he's all alone today. The perfect Saturday, where he can be Spider-man for the day and night just chill.

"Okay, I gotta head to work. See you guys later. Rio take it easy at work. You're pregnant remember." Jeff kisses his wife on the cheek.

"I know. I know." Rio laughs then kisses her husband's cheek. "Bye, mi amor." Then she went over to give Miles hugs and kisses, "Bye, mi vida. Mi bebé!"

"Mamí!" Miles getting his mother's kisses being smothered.

"Be good, okay! Also lock the doors and don't go to the fire escape!"

Miles rolled his eyes. After his parents left, he ate his breakfast and finished his report early. Then he went to spend all day as Spider-man, fighting off some villains here and there. It was a simple day, when he got home he took the twenty five dollars to put in his wallet. If he doesn't order anything with it, his dad let him have it for safe keeping.

The seventeen year old got a bowl of his favorite fruits to enjoy for the night. "Gonna watch some Full Metal Alchemist with some chips, soda and Quenepas!" He happily skips over to his couch and grab his remote to turned on his television to put on his stream. He sips on his soda, "Mmm."

He wore a white tank top with some lime green shorts being barefoot with his hairy legs kicking back and forth. "Mmm, these are so good." He suckles on his favorite fruit.

Unaware of someone coming inside through Miles' fire escape window, with heavy thick combat boots stepping inside with a heavy thud. Miles relax in the living room watching his favorite show and texting Ganke about the episode he finished. "Episode was dope. I'ma try to finish the season tonight."

Ganke texted him with a smiley face. The figure walks carefully not triggering Miles' spidey sense, but his other senses, "Baby, what are you trying to do?"

"Awe, I thought I was giving you a scare, luv." His punker boyfriend pout at him.

"Your boots always makes a loud sound. I'm Spider-man for a reason, bae." His Sunflower's doe eyes looks up at him with a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah, you're right. And you possibly knew I was coming by, huh?" Hobie jumps over the couch to sit next to his cute boyfriend. The cushions bouncy up and down making Miles move his bag of chips away from his boyfriend's side.

Hobie grins widely as he lay on his Miles, "Duh, you're my boyfriend. I know, you always want to visit me whenever I'm free or my parents aren't around." His cute darling smirks at him while eating an odd fruit.

"Darling, what are you eating?" Hobie asked being confused.

Miles set his empty glass bottle of cola on the ground, his mouth suckling the sweet citrus fruit, "Quenepas!"

"What?"

"Quenepas! Oh right, that's what Puerto Ricans call these. Um... I think Central Americans call them Mamones." Miles pointed out, as he let Hobie hold the small oval shape fruit. "They're like little gum balls."

"Yeah, and you call them what? Queen-Quene-passe?" Hobie tries to pronounce the word. His fingers hold the fruit like a piece of gem to study it.

"Quenepas! Jamaicans called them, Ginep or Guenepa."

"Ooh, I've heard of these before." Hobie heard it from his childhood friends that use to visit their relatives in Jamaica. "I never tried them."

"Make sense, these are mostly from the Americans. You wanna try it?" Miles asked.

"Yes, luv. How do you eat it?"

"Easy. You just do this," His boyfriend put half of the oval shape fruit in his mouth, he snuck his teeth hard enough to rip open the thick leather-like cover. "Then, you just open the half part." He uses his mouth to take off the peel to reveal the pretty pulp. "This is the pulp, the good part and it covers the seed. So you just pop it in your mouth and suck on it."

"Suck on it?" Hobie's face froze, he turns pink thinking of dirty thoughts.

"Yeah," His boyfriend being naive as always with his honey-brown eyes glued on his show. "These taste like sweet limes. So good. Try it!"

Hobie hold his fruit in his hand to do what Miles did. First, he bit around the peel then pull it away. His dark eyes saw the light orange pulp covering the seed, his mouth opens wide as he pops it inside.

Miles watches his boyfriend's eyes lit up by the fruit. "Good, huh?"

"Luv, these are delicious. It got that bitter taste to it from the lime, too."

"Right, it gives it a nice flavor!" Miles spit the seed out of his mouth to put it in a separate bowl were all the discarded seeds and peels went to. "These are one of my favorite fruits."

"Mmm," Hobie spit the seed out of his mouth letting his tongue tingle by the sour sweet taste of the fruit. It's delicious, but not as delicious as watching his Sunflower suckling on them. The way his beautiful plump lips pucker as he eats the fruit. This gives Hobie an idea, a delightful idea that a wide smirk spread on his face.

"Sunflower, these are good, but I want to try something with these?" The eighteen year old punker hold another fruit quickly opening the peel to put the fruit in his mouth.

"What?" Miles face his boyfriend being caught off guard by Hobie's lips. "Mmmm!" Honey brown eyes widen when he felt his boyfriend's tongue and the Quenepas rolling around between they're tongues.

"Mmm," Hobie groans as he got on top of his Sunflower as they have a heated make out.

Miles' cheeks felt warm being bashful, almost turned on as his tongue plays around with Hobie's. They were still in the beginning of their relationship, so tongue kissing isn't something Miles is good at. He's still shy about their heated kisses and hand holding, because he believes Hobie can do so much better without him.

Their first kiss wasn't as romantic as Miles wanted it to be, because of his lack of experience Hobie gave him a peck on the lips. From the beginning all they did was a simple kiss on the cheek or hand hold, all because the Black Latino isn't use to anything else. This made him more upset with himself, he wants to prove he can try new things instead of being coddle or treated like a delicate little flower. He wants to be daring, sexy and pleased his boyfriend the same way he does with him.

Their tongues play with the fruit having drool coming down their corner of their lips, the sweet taste of the fruit gave a euphoric pleasure running through their bodies. "Ohhh," Miles groans in the back of their throat, "Mmm."

"Mmm," Hobie purrs, letting his tongue flap around his pretty Sunflower's delicious mouth. Their plump lips suckle on the fruit letting their tongues push the seed back and forth. The sounds of their lips smacking got their bodies hot, their lower region a bit harder.

Miles' tongue was a bit weaker, more submissive than Hobie's dominant mouth. His boyfriend is hungry for him, so hungry, Miles could hear his heart beating rapidly. Their Spidey senses kicking high gear, it's nothing they ever felt before.

They could feel it trying to bond with one another, understand each other without saying a word. It's like their Spider senes are communicating based on instincts. Miles' eyes met dark beautiful brown eyes as if they were trying to understand that each other in a much deeper level. They could feel their Spider senses clicking after Hobie gently let Miles take over their kiss.

Click.

Miles'a own hands pulled Hobie into that deep kiss again, this time his teeth nibbling on his man's bottom lip. Their Spider senses now in tune. "Mmm!" They felt their cheeks warm, Miles' eyes being teary from all the feel good pleasure and want from his partner. His legs wrapped around Hobie's waist, letting his hips grind against him.

The punker's hands gripping on couch trying to support himself while Miles' hands wrapped around his face. They keep kissing till they felt the need to pull away. "Mmm!" They both moan again, the sound of the couch and television play in their ears.

Their teeth would nibble a bit of their lips and tongue. Miles felt Hobie's teeth sinking in a bit harder making him shiver with delight. That feels good. The young teenager tries to copy every movement to get better at kissing, he was tired of pecks and small kisses. He wants this.

When Hobie finally pulled away to catch his breath, he could feel his crotch hard, his breathing heavy. Their tongues left a trail of salvia as Miles lay his head on the couch with his teeth holding the seed. The sight of the young Spider-man's swollen plump lips being wrapped around the seed was to tempting for Hobie.

It made him want to do something more. "Hobie..." Miles muffled his words.

"Luv?" Hobie leans over to kiss his cheek, "I overdid, didn't I."

Feeling Hobie's warm breath on his left ear made Miles shudder again. "Mm-Mm." He shook his head. Their bodies were needing each other, they were begging to go further, but- There is always a but, Miles wasn't ready.

Hobie can tell his precious Sunflower is nervous. After all, this is their first time tongue kissing like this. "Miles..." He finally said before he sat back up to help his Sunflower sit back up.

The seventeen year old spit out the clean seed in his hand, he felt bashful, again. "Hobie, we kissed!"

"We always kiss, luv."

"No, we... tongue kiss." He shyly said, "My lips feel weird." He touch them feeling the soft soreness, it doesn't hurt.

"Heh, did you like it?"

Miles turns to him, "Hobie, I wanna kiss like that again!" Then he pouts, "But its okay we only take it slow."

"Sunflower," Hobie's hand caress his beautiful boyfriend's cheek, "You can take as long as you want."

Miles' eyes gleams with love, he quickly took another Quenepas with the peel off. Popping the fruit in his mouth. Then tackle down his boyfriend for another kiss. "Your mine, Hobie Brown!"

"That's what I like to hear, luv." Hobie purrs as they kiss again.

Ever since that day, Quenepas had became Hobie's favorite fruit.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien's Through Thousands of Mirrors event translation (Day 1 -Thursday)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

This post contains a HEAVY SPOILER for the event that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Through Thousands of Mirrors Event | Day 1 (You're here!) | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | HS/Uni SSR Story: Monochrome Scenery

-

[Tidbits: I don't wanna break the flow so I'll put some information here first 😂. Dr. Lawson is Lucien's post-grad professor. Before, he also appears in UR MQ Distant Similarity. During his post-grad he has three seniors Colt, Elliot, and Caroline.]

-

[Math]

Seeing the particularly puzzled expression on the classmate next to him, Lucien starts to consider whether he should offer some assistance within his capabilities.

For instance, he thinks about telling the classmate that the topic currently being discussed on the blackboard is not from the same chapter as the one in the textbook he's currently reading.

-

[MATH/BIOCHEMISTRY]

After the vending machine devours Lucien's one dollar and twenty-five cents for the third time, and with only three minutes left to get to his next class, he begins to seriously contemplate whether he should try some mysterious repair method—like giving it a good smack or a swift kick.

-

[BIOCHEMISTRY]

Lucien coincidentally runs into Colt by the sports field, just as Colt is about to attend a cricket practice session.

Upon realizing that his senior from the lab is not only managing coursework and a significant project workload but also juggling a 20-hour weekly part-time job and daily school cricket team training, Lucien begins to contemplate whether there is any room for further optimization in his own schedule.

-

[PREVIEW/COMPUTER SCIENCE]

During the brief half-hour period, Lucien typically uses the time to prepare for the upcoming class or visit the library to research and gather information.

In any case, that time should not be spent on arguing and explaining to people, like the enthusiastic campus volunteer in front of him.

"No, thank you. I'm not a high school student attending a summer camp. This is my student ID, and I'm indeed a student here, a graduate student. Yes, I'm not lost, and I need to get to my class. Can you please let me go?"

-

[COMPUTER SCIENCE]

Lucien presses the enter key, intending to ask the teacher if he can leave early once his coursework is done. However, the error message on the screen deters him from that thought. So, he sits back down and begins to examine it again.

But that's okay, he does understand the commonality between computer science and experimental research: it's often hard to know right away if the thing at hand will work, why it's not working, or even why it's even working.

-

[LAB]

Come on, come on, come on. After moving this box, there's another.

And after moving that box, there are three more to go.

The prospects for the future and the shine in one's eyes are often taken away by the God of research in such necessary yet mechanical repetitive work.

-

[LAB]

Lucien goes out to get some water and returns to find a school burger on his desk.

Colt, with dark circles under his eyes, waves at Lucien and saying, "No need to thank me, newcomer. Have some food, we might be staying here today."

Lucien quietly eats the burger, hesitant to tell Colt that he has spent more time in the laboratory than in the dorm.

-

[LAB]

When Dr. Lawson enters the laboratory, what he sees is a scene where his graduate and doctoral students are sleeping and sprawled all over the place.

On the laboratory whiteboard, several words were written in large letters: "Publish immediately! Guaranteed to be published in Nature!!"

Dr. Lawson retrieves small blankets from the cabinet, covering each of these research madmen.

He proceeds to organize the data and take over the finishing work on the project. Of course, when it comes to authorship in the paper, not a single one of these kids' names can be left out.

[kerubimcrepin]

Live-read: Trying to understand the Aux Tresors novels without actually reading the novels in question.

NOTE: 1/5 OF THE NOVELS HAS BEEN SCANNED AFTER THE WRITING OF THIS POST. SAID SCAN HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH+RUSSIAN BY ME, AND THEN LIVEBLOGGED. THIS NOTICE WILL BE UPDATED IF MORE BOOKS ARE TO BE FOUND AND TRANSLATED. YOU CAN FIND THEIR LIVEBLOGS IN THIS SAME TAG ("NOVELS")

This is the last, and the most borderline-experimental and cringe-flop part of the reading break #1, because in this post, I will be discussing the five novels based on the show.

Without actually reading them.

Nobody has seemingly ever scanned or copied them, and I don't have the ability to buy them. If you're French, or a rich person, perhaps you could get your hands on them and tell me how wrong I am, but until then, let's speculate.

You can find the... (sighs deep as fuck) Plot Summaries on Otakia. Everything I will discuss here comes from Otakia. You can find the books somewhere else. Perhaps Amazon, probably some other site too... Because as far as I remember, Ankama's literal official shop only has one of the five.

Roman Kerubim (Dofus) Tome 1 : Le ciel sur la tête

>Read about it here

To regurgitate a bit of info from Otakia: just like the Wakfu novels, which apparently also exist, these five novels are kind of like... a bonus episode in a written form, following the structure of the show.

When grabbing quotes from Otakia I will be putting them into a translator and then screenshotting, so that you can quickly read them, and so that I don't have to copy things.

But I won't be copying the descriptions or summaries of the books, just the bits I'd like to elaborate on. You can read them yourself there.

To reference that one meme: Why didn't he start thinking about his dead parents? Is he stupid?

OKAY, I really didn't expect this post to go anywhere, but it's funny that even in Dofus times, Porkass people were known to eat Twelvians.

You will never fucking guess with what nation Bonta of the Waven era, is involved in a seemingly mutually cannibalistic war with.

Roman Kerubim (Dofus) Tome 2 : Une étoile pour le shérif

>Read about it here

I want to thank whoever runs Otakia for uploading this image specifically. Thank you Monsieur/Madame Otakia.

You may notice that, I will be upscaling all the images I bring here from the Otakia articles. The reason for this is that I am a normal and sane person, and need to look at it in a crispier way.

As you may remember, Kerubim already said that he used to be a sheriff in episode 16, West of Astrub.

The writer of this article will literally be like "the book gives you candy, sucks your dick clean and dry, cleans up your home, and then it gives you a hundred dollars, so I didn't like it."

I wish Kerubim would be a fucking loser and a menace more often.

In the Judgement of The Twelve episode, Kerubim and Bashi had already mentioned meething each other many times as young adults, and having stories about it, so it's nice to see this factoid utilized for more than 2 episodes, if only in a book.

Also, yet again, Kerubim literally doing his job and Bashi being fucking insane and hating him for it, despite doing far worse things.

Roman Kerubim (Dofus) Tome 3 : Panique à Astrub

>Read about it here

Indie is insane for this btw.

Joris canonically eats burgers and YES reading this article a while back is the reason I put burgers into my Joris fanart.

You can see full art on my general artblog @atcham-crepin. Yeah, my blog naming scheme is very creative, I know.

I just think his refined ass eating burgers is funny, even though in canon he is only depicted doing this as a kid.

Roman Kerubim (Dofus) Tome 4 : Le décapiteur de soiffard

>Read about it here

Including the cover art because it is very nice, and to draw your attention to THE best novel none of us will ever get to fucking read.

My dream Joris & Simone story, and I can't even read it. Smh.

List of things I love about this:

Joris stealing stuff.

Joris stealing stuff.

Joris stealing stuff.

Simone being a leader.

Kerubim, as we had seen in the past episodes, literally the type to text something like "I am not long for this world.... tell my family I love them." over a tummy ache. I hate this man so much it's unreal.

Of Course he sent them on a wild goose chase over some random bullshit.

Simone and Joris @ Kerubim at the end of this book:

Roman Kerubim (Dofus) Tome 5 : Tous en piste

>Read about it here

I will be real, I don't think any living being can tame that fucking beast.

These books are just treating us with characters in outfits we hadn't seen them in, in the show. It would be... a better world, if these books were episodes instead.

Also, want to yet again remind you that I am upscaling the shit out of these images. Because I'm normal. But at times the results can be wonky.

The World of Twelve has never seen, and will never see again, a couple more toxic than them. Sad!

Unlike the Simone & Joris book, I yet again don't have much to say, but, I'm sure I would, had the books been available to me.

This brings me to a close with the first reading break. After this post, I will resume liveblogging about the show. But I do have ideas of what the next reading break entail, and I think they're rather fun! Like "trying to read Dofus manga without reading Dofus manga" or "reviewing Dofus Aux Tresors merch without buying Dofus Aux Tresors Merch", or, perhaps, "scrying on a crystal ball to read Tot Ankama's thoughts."

...Yeah. Only the last one is a joke.

[we-are-inevitable]

i think davey isn’t really a birthday guy until he meets the newsies. it was never a huge deal in his family— birthdays were fun, yeah, and maybe there was cake and a few gifts, but other than his bar mitzvah there was never a huge celebration. he never had a party with friends, he never went to a shitty little Burger King playground or skating at an arcade or had a barbecue bounce house party or anything like that. he would go to all of these birthday parties and have fun with friends, but his own was just another day! and he was okay with it, he really was. sure, aometimes it would be a little lonely, but he had a bunch of friends at school who would give him little cards and wish him happy birthday, so it was never a bad thing.

and then in college, he meets race in a chem class, and then meeting race turns into meeting jack and charlie and katherine and about ten other people in this convoluted group that he’s sucked into just because he sat next to the bright blonde boy in the lecture hall. and everything is amazing, it’s great, he’s lucky to have so many amazing friends- its just so good all the time.

and then his birthday draws closer and closer, and jack asks what his plans are, and david says, “i might facetime with my parents, but that’s about it.”

and of course jack can’t let that slide.

so, see davey, a fresh nineteen years old as of 8:34 am. and see davey, who spends the day lounging around his dorm room watching his favorite shitty sci-fi movies and eating cup noodles in his pajamas. but see davey, around five that evening, get a call from Jack that he’s outside, so hurry up and get dressed, Davey, i need you for a second. no, it can’t wait. no! just get out here and— ugh okay ten minutes. finish the movie, you’re good. no i can wait, it’s okay. yeah i promise, Davey, finish the movie and i’ll be right outside.

and see davey, a fresh nineteen years old, sitting in the passenger’s side of jack’s car, singing along to all of his favorite songs, laughing as jack tells him stories, shouting out all of the weird things he sees on the sidewalk while they drive. and, finally, see davey, surrounded by his best friends who all pitched in to rent out a room at the arcade, usually reserved for children’s birthdays, and everyone is wearing party hats and the cake is spider-man themed and its so ridiculous, but davey loves it. he loves being a kid again, he loves what he missed out on, he loves playing stupid rigged arcade and messing with the decorations they hung up that they definitely got from the dollar store, he loves that they love him enough to do this.

he opens his gifts, everyone eats cake, they stuff themselves full of bad arcade pizza and have a contest for who can win the most tickets by the end of the night. it’s his favorite night of the year.

[nerdieforpedro]

Day Twenty Five - Bridge

Word Count: 805

Warnings: mention of a corpse (the floater - Doc is special ya’ll), expensive food, longing, angst, Rockford’s lips, two idiots

Notes: (From my Roc & Doc series). I thought a glimpse into the past would be fun for these two because this is how they’ve been and why the people around them are so annoyed. 😑 Like I get it. Also, I need some comfort too Tim! For time reference, it’s a year before part one of Roc & Doc.

Main Masterlist/ March Spring Prompts 2024 / Writing Prompts

“Didn’t we have a floater here, one time detective?”

“Yeah, but that was last summer, and it was all, wait, could we not talk about that now? This is supposed to be a nice lunch. A normal lunch between two people.” Rockford’s brow furrows. He was regretting his suggestion to try for a non-fast-food outing with Doc. He should have just kept things as they were. Has he learned nothing over the years? “Call me Tim, at least Doc, geez.” The two colleagues sat outside of a restaurant that overlooked a bridge from one of their cases last year. It looked much more inviting than the last time they had been here with that homicide. Tim had this bright idea at his partner, Stevenson’s urging and Kim’s teasing, so he did. So much was wrong with this.

“Well, if..nevermind. Keep calling me Doc. You win on that one Tim. I’m glad they gave us a discount. Fifty dollars for a burger is lunacy! It is delicious though. You think they have some coupons for dessert?” Doc changed the subject. She wasn’t fond of her name. It didn’t sound cool and sexy like Tim Rockford, well. No both fit, just she maybe shouldn’t think of them right now while he’s got mayo on his bottom lip. Why is his mouth always dripping? Could…don’t do there Doc. Doc stood and reached across the table, accustomed to dabbing Tim’s lips, the same ones she thinks of in her office. Tim is a grown man and should be wiping his own mouth, but she does it every time. He’s not really that much of a messy eater, maybe only with Doc because he knows just under that napkin, her fingers will graze his lips and he can imagine them later.

“This place is way too bougie for coupons. And if I’m going to ask you to call me my name, I should be calling you yours.” Finishing their overpriced burgers, they went to a nearby ice cream shop that they were both surprised was open. It had warmed up over their lunch though and as they walked over to the bridge standing on it and looking over the water. Ducks were swimming by quacking as they splashed in the water. “Why don’t you like it?”

Sighing, Doc looked up at Tim who was still watching the water, she popped a spoon of chocolate ice cream as the reflected sunlight danced across Tim’s broad chest. “It sounds like an old woman’s name. It’s silly but there it is. It doesn’t sound striking or cute.”

Rockford licked the vanilla ice cream off his top lip and tossed his finished cup in the nearby trash. He stood at Doc’s side and placed an arm around her shoulder, tilting his head toward her cheek.

“Should we all be so lucky to live to old age. You know that as well as I do in this job. Chin up Esme, your name’s beautiful, represents you well.” Tim assures her as he’s always done. Like two years ago when she first came to be the medical examiner and the officers were weary that she could do a good job, Tim vouched for her. She wanted to do a good job to prove him right, later when she was more comfortable in her role, it was to feel like his equal in being proficient in her work. 

There were times like this though that gave her glimpses at something else. Only thoughts she entertained in her solitude. She’s sure he doesn’t think of her in that way and is just kinder than his gruff exterior lets on. Maybe.

Tim felt he may have taken it a bit too far, sure they’re not far apart in age, five years, but he noticed there were times she shrunk into herself, usually around him. Otherwise, she was outspoken, knew her facts like the back of her hand and if she knew how to handle a gun, he'd replace her with Stevenson, but then he wouldn’t have an ME who knew what they were doing. Rockford enjoyed seeing her face brighten and worried about her when he didn’t see her, despite knowing that she’s a force to be reckoned with. It doesn’t mean he shouldn’t support her. He just maybe didn’t need to hold her hand or embrace her every time. Slowly the line is blurring, and Tim prefers structure, lest he be like his little brother waffling to and fro. Tim decides he’ll stand beside her shoulder to shoulder not touching her until the next time. Esme wants to reach for Tim’s hand but feels the moment has passed.On this bridge, a warm spring afternoon invites them both closer but they’re resisting the pull. Two normal people. Two colleagues. Two friends. Something less and something more between them.

[mdhwrites]

Cheeseburgers

This blog is about philosophy but the burgers are not a metaphor.

Instead, they are based on an idea a friend talked to me about that already aligned with beliefs I had but also is perfect for describing that belief. I publish this today because today it is Christmas Eve. Fifteen minutes to Christmas. I have tried to sleep for the past hour and found my anxiety literally choking me as my brain devours itself, presumably due to plans for tomorrow and my worries of not meeting their expectations.

Do you know what doesn't have expectations? Giving a friend a cheap cheeseburger.

It's food. Decent enough to probably sound fine at any time but not so spectacular or expensive to be special. It's a gift but it's not some grand gesture. Just a small moment of kindness that you can probably do on any bad day and even if it doesn't bring a smile to your friend, they don't have to worry about lunch or the cost of lunch for that day. And not a special day, just that day. They're not even going to ask what you want back for it because it's lunch. They might cover it another day, or not, and neither of you care.

But it's also lunch. A moment for both of you to breathe with a friend, spend half an hour shooting the shit and enjoying some food before getting back to life. Not the full commitment of some big trip to a theme park or the brief hello of a passing in the hall. Long enough to be enjoyed but hey, if you need to get going, you can bundle up your burger in its wrapper and take off and neither of you will feel slighted.

These sorts of things mean the world to me and are why I don't care about holidays. A lot of people talk about the pressure of holidays but mostly they make me sad. Why do you need a day to be kind? Why do you need an excuse to give something to another human being? Why must it be the season for you to show good will?

Cheeseburgers never go out of season. They don't ask you to believe in any sort of belief. They don't have big marketing pushes that take away from their charm. And if your friend is vegan or doesn't like burgers? There's alternatives. Vegan patties, cheap chicken nuggets, getting a quick sandwich at a deli, etc. etc. Don't want to do food? No one is going to condemn you if you pick up your friend a comic you know they like or throw a cheap, five dollar plushie you found at the discount rack at Walmart.

Because the food isn't what matters. The reason is. The fact that you cared enough about this person that you saw they were struggling and you handed them something that shows you care. It might have nothing to do with the problem but it lets them know that they're not alone and someone is watching their back in a way that's just a little more concrete than just saying, "If you want to talk, I'm here to listen."

This is not me saying that the holiday season is bad or that you should throw it away. My own family reads The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve and I wouldn't miss that for the world. Your presents still matter and the time you spend with each other this holiday, no matter which you celebrate, why or how, is still precious and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Just, when the holiday is over and people are no longer worried about if they were naughty or nice, remember that goodwill is still always an option and give a cheeseburger to a friend in trouble.

Happy Holidays.

[beef-fajitas]

Starting on Bylerween 2023! This is the beginning of the first prompt "Ghosts and haunting." Where Ghost!Will haunts Mike who just moved into Hawkins.

(326 words so far)

Boxes. So many damn boxes. 

Mike looked at the stacks of boxes he needed to move from the living room (where Dustin and Lucas had helped him move there,) to their respective rooms.

“Ugh. Fuck this.” He cleared the couch off and pulled a dusty sheet off of it. He sneezed and flopped onto the antique couch, not wanting to start the arduous task. He started to doze off but he felt a cold draft affront his face, effectively waking him up. “Geez, that's some divine intervention if I've ever seen it,” he rolled his eyes as he got up and started going through everything, sorting specific items into each room. 

By the time the sun set and it was already dinner time, he had gotten everything sorted and half of his own room livable. “At least now I can walk around without tripping,” he snorted and grabbed an old phone book off the counter, flipping through to find a restaurant. He decided on getting food from some place called 'County Line Cafe' and called them, ordering two burgers for dinner and then for lunch the following day. 

After grabbing his keys on the counter, he got into his car and drove into town and with a little trial and error, eventually found the cafe. He walked in and up to the counter. “Hey uh, I’m Mike Wheeler and I phoned in a couple minutes ago for some burgers?” The cashier nodded and got his order bagged up. “That’ll be four dollars and fourteen cents,” Mike handed over a five dollar bill, “Say, you look familiar. You live around here?” “Uh no I.. I actually just moved here yesterday.” The cashier handed him his change. “Guess you must have one of those faces.”

Mike looked uncertain as he grabbed his food off the counter, “Yeah, I guess so. See you around,” he walked away. “See ya around!” The door shut and he got into his car.

[lockhartandlych]

me: jesus christ im so tired from walking to the park everyday for the past three days. i hope this is actually healthy for me and not doing lasting damage.

the beautiful milf that lives in my head: oh, you poor thing. you should rest today, you deserve it. you push yourself too hard.

the capitalist that lives in my head: oh so you're just gonna rest? an entire day? not doing anything? you're failing to capitalize on the minuscule amount of time you have on earth. look at all the Useful things you could be doing! you're no better than a dog.

the cat that lives in my head: sunbeam nap now

the communist that lives in my head: you feel exhausted because you are forcing yourself, one man, to do the work of many men. you are failing to distribute labor properly. walking to the park takes five (5) guys-

the memetic mirror that lives in my head: FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES

the capitalist that lives in my head: you see? every day you spend idle is more money leaving your pocket. you need to play pokemon go at the park NOW or else that one dollar you spent on getting a mossy lure for a shiny sewaddle will be WASTED.

the cat that lives in my head: that fuc king chipmunk isback...

my eyes: to perceive the world is pain. gouge us out. or close us for awhile. your choice obviously.

the trout i ate last night that a random stranger gave me: we will haunt you forever

[heaven-s-black-box]

4th of July- ensemble & oc insert

Return to File

Recovery date: July 4th, 2020

Description: 4th of July get together

Notes: An entry from my 2020 research project into the universe of Ace Attorney. You can find the next entry here. This is an entry involving a descendant of a traveler, following the death of her mother it was determined Sky would be better off staying with Miles Edgeworth. This is an OC insert, the fantastical technobabble is just for looks

Click for related entry series

Word count: 1 500

Back to directory

“Can we get fireworks?” Sky asked as she looked over at her dad.

The Edgeworth’s were currently at the dollar store picking up chips and snacks for this evening. They were hosting a fourth of July barbeque and pool party for all their friends. Since there were so many people, they figured dollar store snacks were the best option. Cheap and decent quality. Sky was leaning on the cart while she watched her dad pick between different kinds of cheetos and cheeses.

“No, they are illegal,” he said, not really paying attention to her. She huffed.

“Here, get these ones,” she grabbed a page of spicy and regular cheetos, “there. Now can we at least get sparklers?”

“I do believe Wright said he’d bring some,” he looked into their cart, “I believe we have everything. What do you think?”

“Hm, snakoos.”

“I’m sure Ms. Skye will bring her own.” Miles started walking out of the aisle, and Sky followed, still leaning into the cart.

“She probably will, but they’ll only last five maybe ten minutes. Let’s just pick up a box, they’re nice and cheap here anyways.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you in line,” he said, taking the cart from her. She ran off to find the box of snakoos for Ema.

It was around three in the afternoon when they got home. Plenty of time to set everything up for six. Miles took the food inside to refrigerate it, while Sky ran to take the lawn chairs out back and open the pool. Their house wasn’t too big, it had two bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a home office. Plus the kitchen, living room, and dinning room. But they had a pretty big yard so pess could run around, so it was the best place for a party.

Miles watched his daughter through the window as she struggled to get the cover off the pool. However, just as she pulled it back and sat up in triumph, Pess ran over and jumped on her back knocking her in. He laughed as he headed to the linen closet to grab her a towel.

Phoenix and Trucy showed up around five forty so Phoenix could start the barbeque. He was charged with making burgers, hotdogs, and ribs. While he started that, the girls took to decorating while Miles set out the snacks in bowls. The girls could feel their father's eyes watching them. Trucy and Sky were currently trying to hang a banner in front of the door, but they couldn’t find two step ladders, so they were standing precariously on the edge of chairs.

“Careful you two.”

“Ah!” They screamed, wobbling slightly as a new voice warned them to be careful. Both fathers moved to catch their daughters, glaring at the new arrival.

“Whoops!” Athena called, sticking her tongue out, “My bad. Need any help?”

“We’re good!” They both called.

“Cykes-dono,” both girls jumped again.

“Nope, I’m done! Forget the streamers Truce,” Sky yelled as she scrambled down, Trucy did the same.

“My apologies, Wright-chan, Edgeworth-chan. We did not mean to startle you,” Simon said as he stepped out onto the porch with Athena.

“Where’s Polly? I thought you two were coming together?”

“We were, but then your mom didn’t have a ride so him and Klav went to pick them up. So I got a ride with Simon! They should be here soon,” Athena laughed before making a b-line for the snacks.

“Cykes-dono, you will spoil your appetite,” Simon sighed, following after her.

True to Athena’s words, Thalassa, Apollo, and Klavier showed up soon after along with the Skyes and Rayfa. Since Nahyuta had traveled the world plenty, and seen many celebrations, he’d asked Ema if Rayfa could accompany her to experience the celebration. Rayfa looked around a little awkwardly, she was in jean shorts with a little american flag and a t-shirt with an eagle outline. Apparently she had protested profusely, but Ema had insisted she wear anything but her usual outfit. To make her feel a little better, Ema and Lana had done similar themed outfits.

“So, goggle heads sister,” Rayfa poked Lana who was picking up a rack of ribs, “What are these fireworks that goggle head was talking about?”

“Oh, um… I don’t really know how to explain it. They’re like little rockets that explode into pretty colours in the sky, if you use them right, they aren’t too dangerous. But they’re technically illegal because they’re explosives.”

“So, we can’t see them?”

“Actually Fraulein,” Klavier cut in, he was behind Rayfa in the food line, “that’s not technically true. While they are illegal to the public, some places have licenses that let them use fireworks. Not to mention some people simply ignore the law all together.” Rayfa’s eyes lit up.

“So do we have some?!”

The three of them looked over to Miles and Phoenix who were standing under a tree.

“Herr Edgeworth! Do we have fireworks?” Miles frowned and Phoenix laughed.

“Sadly we couldn’t convince Miles to let us buy some-”

“Because they are illegal.”

“But we do have sparklers!”

“Oh those are fun, you’ll like those,” Lana said. “Now, let’s grab some food and find somewhere to sit.”

It was a surprisingly calm evening, at least by their standards. After eating,Trcuy and Sky started dragging people into the water. First it was Polly, who was shoved in by his sister, and Athena jumped in after him. Next, the girls decided Simon needed to get in the water, and that turned into an adventure as he was too big to push in. After a few minutes of fruitless pushing, Simon picked the girls up and threw them into the water. They resurfaced only to be shoved back under by the wave Simon created when he jumped in after them.

Apollo and Ema had eased into the shallow end with Rayfa to teach her how to swim. Khura’in wasn’t exactly warm enough to swim most of the year, but it was a good skill to have, especially if she was going to travel more. At first, she floundered around a lot, but eventually she figured out how to at least float. By the time they had to get out of the pool, the sun had started to set, she could tread water and float.

“Achtung baby! Who’s read for the sparklers!” Klavier laughed as him and Apollo stepped out of the house with sparklers.

“Here, everyone come grab one to start.” Apollo waved everyone over. “Here, these ones are coloured, and these crackle. These ones-” He was cut off by a loud, booming sound that made everyone jump.

They turned around to see fireworks being set off a little ways in the distance. Rayfa hid behind Ema, poking her head out when she realized no one was panicking. Ema leaned down a bit.

“You wanted to see fireworks?” She whispered, and Rayfa nodded. “There,” she pointed towards the bright explosions.

“Wow, I need to talk to braid head about bringing these to Khura’in…”

Apollo laughed, “Maybe start with sparklers. Come on! Let’s light them up.”

“Ya!” Trucy and Sky cheered, pumping their fists in the hair.

It was nearly midnight when the party was disbanded. Rayfa had a short list of things she needed to speak with her brother about once she returned, she was asleep on her feet though as they left. The same could be said for Athena, but not Apollo and Trucy who had fallen asleep, Sky was dozing off beside her dad as they waved goodbye to everyone. Klavier, Apollo, and Thalassa left first since they had to make two stops, and Simon decided he and Athena should leave too. Ema helped back up some of the extra food to take home, while Lana took Rayfa to the car, they left last.

Carefully, Phoenix carried Trucy up to Sky’s room, while Miles helped Sky up the stairs so she didn’t trip. Once the two girls were tucked in, they went back down to finish putting away the food.

“Y’know this is nice,” Phoenix hummed. “Being able to have everyone over, it’s a shame we can’t do it more often. I mean- everyone’s always busy. It would be nice if people could just drop by while we’re all in one place… And it’s nice seeing Trucy and Sky toget-”

“Wright,” Miles said, cutting him off.

“Ya?”

“Yes, I will marry you…” Phoenix’s eyes widened.

“Whaa?! What makes you thi-”

“You’ve been playing with something in your pocket all day, and Trucy can’t stop smiling when she looks at me. Not to mention her and Sky have been watching us and giggling since Trucy pulled her aside earlier. Mr. Justice and Ms. Cykes have also been looking at me strangely for weeks. It was the only logical conclusion,” he smiled.

“Fine,” Phoenix puffed his cheeks out. “But you have to pretend not to know until lunch tomorrow. Maya and Pearl wanted to be there when I asked you.” Miles laughed.

“I believe that’s doable.”