#and I really need to stop with the essay replies T-T

[1pepsiboy]

Walking in on You - Matt Sturniolo Smut (request)

Matt Sturniolo x reader

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: eating out, riding, profanities, and more...

A/N: Uhm... yeah, this one got away from me. I did not plan for it to be this long, but here we are lmaooo Thanks for the love recently, hope you enjoy this one!!

***

You laughed as you and Matt entered the backstage room. 

“Why did you have to mention my biggest fear? You know they’re going to use that against me now.”

Your boyfriend chuckled. “You don’t know that, babe.”

“But you do.” You shot him a look, both eyebrows raised and your lips pressed in a firm line. “They’re going to pull a prank on me.” 

His blue eyes looked deeply into yours as a smirk set on his lips and he rested his hands on your shoulders. “They’re not going to, (y/n).”

You rolled your eyes with a small scoff. You turned the TV on and put on HULU, then grabbed your laptop out of your backpack by the couch. Was it an item you should’ve left lying around here? Probably not, but you only left to go eat food after the three did a soundcheck and rehearsal. 

“What should we watch?” You asked as you signed into your account. 

Matt narrowed his eyes at you and sat down on the couch. “Don’t you have writing to do?”

You thought about it, then shook your head. “Nope.” 

“I think you do,” he replied, a little knowingly. “Look, I’ve never been, like, good at getting work done, but you should do it.”

You shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Now Matt shoots you a look, similar to yours earlier, but way more sassy. It was sexy the way he crooked one brow and slightly scrunched up his nose. 

Once again, you rolled your eyes at him, and removed your shoes. Basically your way of doubling down on the fact you didn’t have work to do. (But you did, definitely did. That paper was due at the end of the week, and it was Tuesday.)

“Matt, watching one episode won’t kill me. How about Rick and Morty?” You clicked on the resume button for Rick and Morty and it began to play the next episode from where you left off. 

Matt sighs heavily, being dramatic, and glides a hand through his hair, failing to keep it out of his face. “Yeah, yeah… But after, okay? The agreement was you’d keep up with classes if you came on tour, babe.”

You put your hands up in defense. “Okay.” You smiled and cuddled up next to him to watch your thirty minutes of freedom before homework. 

***

You groaned as you saw the ending credits roll and the next episode got ready to play. It was writing time, or maybe not. You had your mind on naughty things since he made that sexy expression. 

Matt looked down at you. “Homework time.”

“Or…” You moved to straddle him and lazily draped your arms on his shoulders. “We could make out a little. That always gets the juices flowing.”

He giggled under his breath. “You really don’t want to do it?”

“Hell no. It’s too much thinking, but this isn’t.” You leaned in, closing your eyes, and kissed his lips softly. As your kisses continued, you tangled your fingers in his fluffy collocks and brushed against his covered cock. You released your hair out of its pulled back style as you repeated your slow, pressure intensifying movements. 

Your hair slightly fell in your face, but instinctively, Matt brushed it back with his hot hands. You loved his hands. You’d love him to touch every square inch of your body with them. 

“I want you,” you breathed, twirling your tongue with his. 

In one fairly swift movement, Matt had you lying on your back and he was on top. Your lips smashed together, more feverishly now. His throb rested against your covered heat. You couldn’t stop the small moan from escaping. Fuck, he made you go crazy. 

Suddenly, Matt pulled back and he attempted to catch his breath as he shook his head. “You need t- to do homework.”

You scoffed a little. “Matt, for fuck sakes. You’d rather watch me write an essay than fuck me?” You tugged him back down by his sweater and kissed him. “I’d rather fuck first,” you whispered into his ear. 

The two of you tug his sweater and tee combo off and brushed your lips together again. Fuck, they melted with yours so easily and tasted so sweet. It helped that he had ice cream for dessert. 

Matt’s lips curled into a small smile against yours and, without notice, his hand rested on your heat beneath your jeans. Soft circles from his hand caused your insides to burn. You still wanted skin contact though. When you were going to reach down to take his hand and slip it underneath your lace, he pulled back. 

“Matt,” you whined. 

He chuckled as he made hot butterfly kisses down your neck. His slight facial hair tickled and you tried not to giggle. He stopped short because of your sweatshirt. He pushed it up and you took the liberty to tug it off from there. Now, Matt continued his kisses as he played with the straps of your tank, revealing the straps to your bra. He placed kisses on your mostly exposed chest. 

“Matt, I love your lips, but I’d rather have your hands.”

“You sure about that?” he asked, eyeing your lower area and licked his lips. 

You let out a slow, low breath and swallowed hard. “I feel like my answer is irrelevant either way.”

He smirked and his hands found their way to remove your jeans. His face disappeared between your legs, all you could see was his hair. It wasn’t long before there was the sensation of his tongue and lips. Every little flick, lick, and kiss caused your body to shake, and you tried to control your breathing. You didn’t want to come too early and give him that satisfaction. But fuck he was so good and knew exactly how to play with your pussy. 

“I… I want you… inside. Not thi- Fuck. Yes… Yes… Matthew!” You reached down to grip his hand that held your hip as your toes curled. You grunted to suppress the urge to moan loudly. All the aches rolled into pleasures.  

Matt reappeared, wiping his mouth, and a cocky grin was placed on his face. He moved back up to kiss you on the lips. 

“Fuck you.”

He laughed under his breath as he unbuttoned and unzipped his baggy jeans, and then he pushed them down. Your kisses were getting sloppy, but that didn’t matter as you felt him push his tip in. You grabbed his shoulders and pushed him in deeper. 

A sweet groan escaped Matt’s lips. “Fuck, baby.”

His skin against yours riveted as your motions worked together. Matt started to speed up, but you shook your head. You breathed, “Keep it slow, baby… Oh, god, keep it slow.” 

You moved to sit up so you could ride him and control the grinds more. You whipped your hair back as you kept the pulses going. Your body screamed in the hot flesh. Matt’s hands found their way to your back and unclipped your bra. You let it fall and he pulled you in to place kisses everywhere on your chest; taking more focus on your sensitive nipples. His tongue flicked them and it caused your body to shudder. 

It suddenly occurred to you that anyone out in the hallway passing would most likely hear you. At least the sound of the TV drowned you out a little. 

You could feel yourself ready to come. You were so close. “Babe, come with me.”

“I’m fucking trying, babe.” Matt laughed under his breath. He seemed to focus more and he lightly moaned as he tilted his head back with his hands on your divots. His rings were going to leave imprints on your sides for sure. 

For his benefit, you made your thrust pace a little faster and, instantly, he picked back up. You gripped onto anything you could as pants barely escaped your lips. 

“Fuck, (y/n),” he whimpered. 

You giggled breathlessly and it was then you both reached your heights. You enclosed him as he stiffened. You felt the lower half of your body shake as aching moans left your hot lips. Your eyes studied each other before you kissed again, and danced your tongues together slowly. 

You cradled into him as you sat on his lap, enjoying some small silence and you lightly tangled your fingertips in his messy hair. His fingertips brushed on your shoulders and drew designs.

“I love you, Matt,” you sighed contently, snuggling your head into the crook of his neck. You closed your eyes and hugged your arms. Matt’s arms instinctively wrapped around you and he kissed your forehead. 

“I love you too, (y/n).”

The door to the backroom swung open and your eyes cracked wide open. “Don’t come in!”

“Don’t look, bro!” Matt exclaimed, his voice cracking a little. “Get the fuck out!” 

“What? Why?” Nick questioned, not pleading to your warning. He took one glance, an immediate disgusted look crossing his face, and yelled, “No. Absolutely not. What the actual FUCK is wrong with you two?” Then he slammed the door shut.

There was another yell, “THE BACKROOM HAS BEEN TAINTED. NO ONE GO IN THERE. I REPEAT, DO NOT GO IN THERE. UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR EYES TO MELT INTO YOUR SOCKETS.”

The two of you gave each other nervous looks and then laughed.

“Should we, like, go after him?” you asked. 

Matt kissed the side of your head, then your nose, and then your lips. “No, that was a sign. Homework, babe.”

You made a long, dragged out huff. “Fine.” You got up to put your sweatshirt and panties back on as he also got slightly more decent. Then you pulled your laptop closer to you. “Can I sit on your lap and write?” 

Matt giggled and waved you over. “Always, babe.” 

[yoditopascal]

After Hours

“I'm fallin' in too deep. Without you, don't wanna sleep. 'Cause my heart belongs to you. I'll risk it all for you. I want you next to me.”

warnings: fluff, established relationships, suggested smut

Jason pushed the windows open as he came in the room with a yawn.

Taking off his Red Hood helmet he tossed it to the side as he shuffled outta his costume.

“C’mon, seriously,” he muttered as he stood in the doorway, pants at his ankles in nothing but his Wonder Woman boxers “it’s like 5am what are you still doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep, too much to do.”

“Like what?” He asked resting a hand on his hip

“I got a shit ton of math work due soon plus I need to finish my essay annnnd I work tomorrow.” You shrugged taking a sip of your cold coffee

“You know you can’t survive purely on caffeine, right?” He sighs

“Like you’re any better.” You replied

“At least I eat.” He argued back

“Barely!”

“Come on. Take a break.” He said sitting next to you on the bed while resting a hand on your back.

“I can’t,” you said, lifting your head to face him. You had so much to do. So much to study and so little time for it all.

“Come on,” he said again, grabbing your hand and tugging you to him. “Just for the day. You’ll feel better after. I promise.”

It was Jason’s idea to take you out to the small park around the block from your shared apartment in the Hill, after a short nap and some breakfast at your favorite diner. It was a sunny day and it was well deserved after finishing a grueling week of college classes, trying to earn your bachelor’s degree.

His smart cookie Jason liked to call you.

As you walked, wandering around the park pointing out different animals, feeding birds and just talking to each other, Jason tries to place his hand in your back pocket but when he realizes you’re wearing joggers, his favorite ones he might add, the ones that hug the curves of your ass just right, he rests his hand right over your ass.

“Really?” You chuckle as you lean into his side savoring his warmth

“What? I can’t help myself, that thing is like a magnet.” He shrugged bringing his hand to rest on your hip as you walked.

You stayed at the park for what felt like hours just enjoying each other’s company till the sky started to turn orange and your bellies started to rumble with hunger.

“Let’s head back.” Jason said as he stood from his spot on the park bench you two had stopped to rest at, pulling you with him by the hand as he led you back to the apartment.

Back at the apartment, Jason had you wait in the living room while he cleaned up the room a bit. When you were finally allowed to enter the room you aww’ed at how sweet he was being.

Jason had a whole set up for you. He changed the sheets and comforter and had the tv set up to your favorite show. Candles were lit on the end tables and a few small snacks were set out too.

“What do you say babe wanna Netflix and chill for a bit?”

Chilling was definitely the word you would use for what y’all did. Both of you had stripped down and threw on your pajamas, yours being a pair of shorts and one of Jason’s shirts, and his being a old t-shirt and his favorite pair of green joggers, and jumped right into bed.

You ended up watching almost a whole season of your favorite show while Jason just laid at your side and read his book.

A few hours later and the sky was dark, stars were starting to shine brightly in the sky. Jason stepped out to go and grab some food from y’all’s favorite local diner again. When he got back the room was dark, the tv was off and you were nowhere in sight.

Panic gripped his chest for a split second before he realized the window to the fire escape was open, climbing up it he was met with the sight of you sitting on the rooftop peacefully watching the sky as you hummed to yourself.

“Whatchu doing out here?” Jason asked as he plopped down next to you on the rooftop. He had the burgers he had gone to pick up in one hard and your drinks in the other.

“Nothing. Just clearing my head.” You leaned forward to rest your cheek on your knees, while staring at him a small smile creeping up on your face.

“What’s with the look?”

“You have no idea how much I appreciate you Jay.” You smiled up at him

“Stop before I puke” he said turning away from you to hide the small pink tint to his cheeks. Compliments weren’t really his thing but you always liked to shower him with them

“I’m serious!”

“Yeah whatever eat your food.” he said handing you your burger and drink. The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as you ate you leaning into him every so often as you hummed in satisfaction, him rolling his eyes at you but smiling behind his burger as you did so.

The two of you sat and enjoyed the quiet, simply watching the stars and just enjoying each other’s company. Jason kept glancing back at you now and again, whether it was to make sure you were still there or just to appreciate your face you weren’t sure but you accepted the attention nonetheless.

“I’m surprised you took the night off.” You said as you leaned back into his side.

“Roy’s got it covered.” He said stretching out and placing a blanket around you both

“How is Roy?” You asked

“Roy’s…Roy.” He shrugged

You snuggle a bit closer trying to steal his body heat which made him chuckle

“You heat vulture.”

“What? It’s chilly!” You shrug

You’re practically in his lap, legs draped over his, when you start to play with his hair, fingers running through his scalp massaging it as he leaning into your touch

“Whatcha doin there, princess?”

Your fingers move down to play with the hair at the back of his neck. “Just enjoying your company is all.”

“Mhm. Are you hoping to continue to enjoy my company?” He hums in response as he cocks his brow at you suggestively.

You chuckle and he gives you a look

“Well, I guess I can invite you in for a few minutes, Mr. Red Hood.”

He smirks as his fingers dancing across your neck and collarbone before coming to rest on your jaw “How thoughtful of you.”

He caught your mouth with his own the kiss starting off gentle but quickly evolving

Pulling away from the now bruising kiss Jason kissed and nipped along your jaw to neck mouthing at the spot he knew never failed to make you weak in the knees.

You let out a breathless moan as he worked at your neck leaving dark love marks in his wake before finding his way back up to your lips with a smile, a shiver runs down your spine.

He pulls you closer, running his hands across your body, lingering on your thighs and ass. The blanket falls from around you two pooling around your heated bodies.

Jason licked at your mouth asking for entrance which you were all too happy to oblige. He ran his tongue along yours, deepening the kiss once more as you tilted your head to give him better access to your mouth.

He lifted you up without breaking the kiss putting you in his lap quickly picking up in intensity as he kissed you again and again. Your legs encircled his hips as he groped and dragged you into him slowly but heatedly grinding himself to your core.

Just as his hands found your waistband and started wandering a little further south you pulled away from his lips with a wet pop.

“We’re on the roof Jay.”

“Right.” he said, sounding a little embarrassed that he had gotten so carried away out in the open like that. He buries his face in your neck and inhales, trying to calm himself down. You smell good he realizes but he pushes the thought back down.

You peck his lips on last time before pushing off of him. You stood and stretched before grabbing his hand and leading him back down the fire escape to your cozy little apartment.

Pushing him down onto the mattress Jason smirked up at you before looking at you in confusion.

“Wait where are you going?” he said watching you grab a towel.

“I have to shower,” You said dryly, taking off your clothes, turning to face him, you cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Care to join me?”

Jumping up from the bed Jason scooped you up into his arms carrying you into the bathroom with him

“I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

[evertomorrowart]

Best of YouTube 2023

Yes, I did spend the first week and change of January on this. I wish I could have had it done for New Years, but too many people came out with incredible work in December, so waiting turned out for the best.

What these creators do are a huge influence on my life, I would honestly have difficulty doing what I do without them. That isn't to say that my favorites of the year are *only* on this image--It was almost impossible to narrow down my favorites. Many creators I wanted to include couldn't fit on a single page, and too many of them made more than one video I wished I could draw too!

But, to all of you, thank you for what you do. You're an inspiration.

For those who don't know, further is an explanation.

At the bottom center is an artistic masterpiece by Defunctland: "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History." Over the last several years, Defunctland has risen from delightfully-entertaining commentary on decommissioned theme park attractions to occasionally dropping profound statements on the creation of art itself. "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History" is worth treating like the cinematic experience it is: No second screen, you sit your ass down in front of a TV, set down the phone, and then you *watch it.* Any Disney, theme park, or independent film fan needs to pay attention to this one.

Bottom left is Caelan Conrad with their piece "Drop the T - The Deadly Consequences of Gay Respectability Politics." While I do think they've done more visually or artistically-daring pieces before, "Drop the T" is one of the most important videos released on YouTube in today's current climate of hate. We as queer folk (and our allies) need to understand how integral every identity of the queer experience has been since the start of the Civil Rights movement (and before!). While we are not identical, we *are* inseparable, and we deserve having our real history easily accessible.

TERFs and other conservative mouthpieces need not reply. Your opinions are trash. 😘

I cannot stop watching and rewatching this video by @patricia-taxxon, "On the Ethics of Boinking Animal People." It's not just a defense of furry fandom and its eccentricities, it's a thoughtful and passionate analysis of what the artform achieves that purely human representation can't. Patricia goes outside of her usual essay format to directly speak to the viewer about the elements that define furry media (the most succinct definition I've ever heard) and just how *human* an act loving animal cartoons really is.

As an artist who can draw furry characters, but never really got into erotic furry art, this video is a treasure. Why did I choose to have her drawn as a Ghibli character, hanging out with one of the tanukis from "Pom Poko?" Guess you'll have to watch, bruh.

Philosophy Tube continuously puts out videos that I would put on this list--I'm not even sure that "A Man Plagiarised my Work: Women, Money, and the Nation" is the best work she released in 2023. However, this video got many conversations going between myself and my partner, and the twist on the tail end of the video shocked us both to such a degree that I had no choice.

At the very tail end of the year, Big Joel released "Fear of Death." On his Little Joel channel, he described it as the singularly best video he's ever done, and I'm inclined to agree. However, for this illustration, I ended up repeatedly going back to a mini-series he did earlier in the year: "Three Stories at the End of the World." All three videos are deeply moving and haunting, and I was brought to tears by "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot." While it may be relatively-common knowledge that the original Gojira (Godzilla) film is horror grappling with the devastation America's rush to atomic dominance inflicted on Japan, Big Joel still manages to bring new words to the discussion. Please watch all three of the videos, but if, for some reason, you must have only one, let it be "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot."

Y'all. Let me confess something. I hate football. I hate watching it, I associate seeing it from the stadiums with some of my worst childhood experiences, I despise collegiate and professional football (as institutions that destroy bodies and offer up children at the feet of its alter as a pillar of American culture)--

I. L o a t h e. Football.

But.

F.D. Signifier could get me to watch an entire hour-plus essay on why I should at least give a passing care. AND HE DID IT. I might think "F*ck the Police," the two-parter on Black conservatism, or his essay on Black men's connection to anime might be "better" videos, but this writer did the impossible and held my limited attention span towards football long enough to make a sincere case for NFL players--and reminds us that millionaires can *in fact* be workers. That alone is testament to his skill.

Sit down and watch "The REAL Reason NFL Running Backs Aren't Getting Paid." Any good anti-capitalist owes it to themselves.

CJ the X continuously puts out stunning, emotional videos, and can do it with the most seemingly-inconsequential starting points. A 30 second song? An incestuous commercial? Five minutes of Tangled? Sure, why not. Go destroy yourself emotionally by watching them. I'm serious. Do it.

Their video Stranger Things and the Meaning of Life manages to to remind us all why the way we react to media does, in fact, matter. Yes, even nostalgia-driven, mass-media schlock. Yes, how we interact with media matters, what it says about us matters, and we all deserve to seek out the whys.

Folding Ideas has spent the last few years articulating exactly why so much of our modern world feels broken, and because of that his voice continuously lives rent-free in my brain. While the tricks that scam artists and grifters use to try to swindle us are never new, the advancement of technology changes the aesthetics of their performances. Portions of Folding Ideas' explanations might seem dry when going into detail of how stocks work in This is Financial Advice, but every bit of it is necessary to peel back the layers of techno-babble and jargon and make sense of the results of "Meme Stocks."

Jessie Gender puts out nothing but bangers, her absolute unit of a video about Star Wars might be my new favorite thing ever, but none of her work hit so profoundly in 2023 than the two-parter "The Myth of 'Male Socialization'" and "The Trauma of Masculinity." There's so much about modern life that isolates and traumatizes us, and so much of it is just shrugged off as "normal." We owe it to ourselves to see the world in more vivid a color palette than we're initially given.

Panels drawn after Kate Beaton and "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands."

"This is Not a Video Essay" is one of the most intense and beautiful pieces of art I've ever put into my eyeballs. Why do we create? What drives us to connect?

I don't even know what else to say about the Leftist Cooks' work, it repeatedly transcends the medium and platform. Watch every single one of their videos, but especially this one.

The likelihood you are terminally online and yet haven't heard of Hbomberguy's yearly forrays into destroying the careers of awful people is pretty slim. Just because it has millions of views doesn't mean that Hbomberguy's "Plagiarism and You(Tube)" isn't worth the hype. Too long? Shut up, it has chapters and YouTube holds your place, anyway. You think a deep dive into a handful of creators is only meaningless drama? Well, you're wrong, you wrong-opinion-haver. Plagiarism is an *everyone* problem because of the actual harm it creates--the history it erases, the labor it devalues, the art it marginalizes--which you would know if you watched "Plagiarism and You(Tube)".

Watch. The damn. Video.

In fact, watch all of them!

Thanks for reading this if you did.

[faetreides]

Modern coryo whos trying to sorta maybe manipulate his gf by being obsessed and then not reading her texts for 3 days but the gf is literally the same so it’ll be like

r: “heyyy” and then a day later he replies “heyaaa” and then it goes on like that for a week until he cracks and sends her 15 messages in the span of 4 minutes

cw: feminization/fem label “gf” but the reader is still only intended to be afab, the ask has she/her pronouns but i don’t use them in the writing, manipulation and toxic behavior, typical coryo/modern!coryo warnings, love bombing, not canon to the main au, black cat reader ish, reader has a shower in their dorm bc i say so 🤫, male masturbation

Now Coryo wouldn’t do this during your relationship, despite his best attempts to play it cool, you make him panic and he’s immediately resorting to rich boy love bombing (trips, those ridiculously expensive boxed roses, 999999999 rounds of oral on his yacht, a summer house, etc.) followed by baby trapping. He’s not stupid enough to try something like that deeper into your relationship, for him it’s about making sure the foundation is as solid as possible and not shaking it up.

This would really only happen before you even start dating, after he’s bumped into you in the dorms enough times to wear you down into giving him your number. He’s still in his “i have to the most mysterious person alive” mindset and he hasn’t quite shed the fuckboy persona yet. He doesn’t seek anybody out or anything, it was love at first sight with you unfortunately, he’ll just imply that that you’re another contact in a long list. (You’re the only one in his favorites 💀)

You’re smart enough to be wary, too involved in academics and proving yourself to go sniffing around Coriolanus Snow. You don’t really talk to a lot of people, and you’re not interested in a swarm of meaningless interactions. You’re just grateful that he stopped calling you so much, learning that you very much prefer texting. He’s the king of the “hey u up?” text, and you have the flattest look on your face as you reply “Yes.” and turn your phone face down. Exchanges like happen over and over.

Does your heart flutter when he insists on walking you to class and pecking your cheek at the door? Yes but you’ll roll your eyes and make a big deal out of wiping it off. Are you intrigued by how much he hauls ass to get you your coffee order whenever he senses that you need it (because he can, he’s like spiderman but lame)? Well, yes, but he must be playing some kind of game with you. Has a cliche bet with his fraternity brothers over your assumed virginity maybe. The more you’re determined to not fall for it, the more you find yourself slipping as the days go by.

Just when you turn your head when he pecks your cheek outside the lecture hall, expecting the gesture more than dreading it, he gives you a blank stare and turns on his heel. You take a second to blink and then shrug, it’s no skin off you back if Coriolanus decides to be normal for once. You definitely do not have a bit of a scowl throughout the entire session. (he nearly lost it when you didn’t react at the lack of a kiss, he kicked the wall and almost broke his foot)

He’s back to the “heyy” texts at random hours, responding to your “Hey.” that came a day later two days after that. He’s screaming into his pillow and pacing his grandma’am’s gardens, glaring at the staff pruning the shrubs. Coryo would rather die than admit defeat though, so he hardens his resolve. You’ll break eventually. You on the other hand are living normally, slurping ramen and working on essays. You’ve learned not get your hopes up over a pipe dream, the idea that someone like him would genuinely care about you being so laughable that you get over it rather quickly. You may be from different economic classes, but a man’s attention is never a necessity. That an he’s far from the only trust fund kid in the world.

A week later, your phone goes off in the middle of the night. You step out of the shower and dry yourself off, walking over to your bed and picking it up. To your surprise, the notification from Coriolanus isn’t another dry message, it’s several videos. They all look dark and fuzzy, ranging from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. In some of the thumbnails you can see flashes of bare skin. You click on the first one and are immediately faces with Coriolanus Snow’s sweaty abs.

You’re frozen as he eventually splatters jizz all over them, the camera work is shaky and the flash exposes too much for your liking. You can see his abdominal muscles twitch in the aftermath of his orgasm. He drags his fingers through his own cum and smears it over the camera, giving you a pov of what it’d be like to have your face covered in it.

Your phone chimes again.

Stalker: turn the sound on for the rest ;) see u at the car wash next friday, babe ❤️

You block him (after you save the videos and check the charge on your vibrator).

[lackadaisicallizard]

Smart

A ravenrock microfic (peter x benjy)

“My mind is blank.” Peter’s head is in his hands, his tone defeated. 

“Come on babe, you know this one,” Benjy replies, his voice as calm and patient as ever. It’s a little infuriating how collected he is sometimes.

“When will I ever need to know the properties of a boomslang in my day to day life?” 

Benjy chuckles. “If you ever get bitten by one, you might change your tune.” 

Peter cocks an eyebrow at his amused boyfriend. “I’m never going to be stupid enough to get bitten by one.” 

“Didn’t you say James did when he was a kid once?” 

“Exactly.” 

Benjy laughs again, shaking his head. “I love you.” 

Peter hums. “Will you still love me if I fail this potions essay?” 

“You’re not going to fail the potions essay! You’ve got the best tutor in the school.” 

Peter’s lips curl up into a smirk. “Oh yeah, and when does he show up then?” 

“Oh fuck you, Pettigrew.” 

The smirk widens. “Is that an offer?” 

Benjy rolls his eyes but leans in all the same, waiting for Peter to meet him halfway before pressing their lips together. It starts as a slow kiss because even if they are tucked away in the corner, they’re still in the school library. 

Then one of Peter’s hands finds Benjy’s cheek and he feels a hand on his knee as the Ravenclaw moves in even closer. Peter can’t help but smile into the kiss, the warmth of the moment contrasting with the coolness of the library. As their kiss deepens, Peter’s fingers gently trace the outline of the other boy’s jaw, and the faintest gasp escapes Benjy’s lips as Peter’s fingers find the nape of his neck, weaving his fingers into soft brown hair and holding him there. 

Time seems to slow, and the awareness of their surroundings fades away, leaving only this moment. Only Benjy. 

Always Benjy. 

Driving him crazy with his beautiful face and even more beautiful brain. 

God, he wishes he could just live inside the brain of Benjy Fenwick, even just for a day. Just to see inside the mind of someone truly beautiful and witty and just good. 

Peter knows he doesn’t deserve him, but he’s far too selfish to give him up now. 

Because even if he can’t live inside Benjy’s mind, Benjy lives in his. He always will. 

They pull apart then, their breathing a little ragged, their heart rates slightly more elevated than they were a few minutes ago. 

“Can we ditch the studying yet?” Peter asks, already knowing the answer. 

Benjy smiles as he leans back in his chair, his eyes still very much sparkling as they stay on Peter’s face. “Not a chance, Pettigrew.”

It was worth a shot. 

“What if I told you that boomslang skin is used in both polyjuice and beautification potions?” 

Benjy blinks at him. “Did you know that the whole time?” 

Peter puts on his best innocent expression. “Maybe.” 

“Then why on Earth did you pretend you didn’t?” 

“Because when I don’t know things you tell me the answers, and I love when you tell me things.”

“Really?”

Peter nods. “Seriously. I could hear you go on about shrivelfigs for hours. Your mind is ridiculously sexy.”  

Benjy is quiet for a good ten seconds then as he stares at his boyfriend with a stunned expression. Peter is just starting to worry about the silence when Benjy stands up and holds out his hand. Peter takes it, bewildered, as he also stands and follows the other boy’s lead through the library. 

Peter finds his voice as they pass through the door. “Um, Benjy, where are we going?” 

“Back to your dorm.” Benjy’s tone is firm. 

“What about the studying?” Peter asks the question but has no intention on stopping the current unexpected chain of events. 

“We’ll get back to that later.”

“Is this because I called your brain sexy?” 

“Partly, yes.” 

“And the other part?” 

Benjy stops them then. They’re at the base of the stairs to Gryffindor tower. “What is a Chizpurfle carapace used for?”

Peter furrows his brow. “Um, what?” 

“Just answer the question, Pettigrew.” 

“Um, they’re often used in antidotes to common poisons, but they’re quite hard to break open so they’re often fed to venomous tentaculas first.” 

Benjy takes an audible breath at that, eyes widening slightly. “And Horklump juice?” 

“It’s used in the making of various magical ointments. Benjy, what is this-“ 

His question is cut off as he finds himself pushed up against the castle wall, Benjy’s mouth finding his once again. They kiss for an extended moment before coming up for air, Peter using the break to ask a question. 

“Not that I’m complaining about this in the slightest, but are you telling me that me knowing the properties of potions ingredients is turning you on right now?” 

Benjy shrugs. “Yeah, kind of. Is that a problem?” 

Peter smiles, noting the lightly flushed skin only inches away from his own. Benjy’s lips have been kissed a darker shade of pink and his usually neat hair is slightly disheveled. 

“Nope. Not a problem at all.” 

“Good.” Another chaste kiss. “Just one thing.” 

“Yes?” Peter doesn’t even need to know what it is that he wants, he would give Benjy absolutely anything. 

“Don’t hide how smart you are from me. Ever.” 

Peter smiles. “Oh you want a little competition, huh?” 

Benjy snorts. “I wouldn’t go that far, Pettigrew.” 

“Are you underestimating me, Fenwick?” 

A smirk. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” 

And he knows in that moment that he means it, because people underestimate Peter all the time. He’s used to it. He often prefers it, even. 

But with Benjy- well he’s finally met his match. 

Because Benjy sees him. Not his friends, not his pranks, not Wormtail or Pete, but him. 

Peter Pettigrew.

Whose world is slowly beginning to revolve around a wonderful, kind, blue-eyed, pink-cheeked, brown-haired boy. And as they stand there, wrapped in the moment of each other, Peter is nothing but grateful for the boy who sees him for who he truly is.

[lunanoc]

are you surprised that I'm asking you to do Wu Xie for the blorbo bingo ?

(alternative offers if you want to do them: Li Cu, since you're finishing sha hai and/or Huo Xiuxiu)

i’m very late in replying to this sorryyy

absolutely not surprised but i appreciate the window of opportunity to let me *unintelligible noises* about wu xie <3

(for disclaimer purposes as always these are all just my personal opinions and aren’t pretending to be objective facts)

i’m totally normal about wu xie my beloved (who absolutely has pretty boy privilege that he definitely uses to his advantage whether he fully realizes he does or not, also this man is vain af in the most human way possible), he’s the ultimate blorbo and i’d be writing essays about him if i actually fully got into why i love him. wu xie is incredibly complex and goes through one of the most realistic and in-depth developments i’ve seen in a fictional character honestly. it says something that usually first person narration isn’t really my thing, but wu xie’s pov is so enjoyable and compelling you can’t put the books down. because of that unique perspective, we get wu xie in all that he is as he changes (though not quite as much as he himself thinks he does) throughout his experiences, the good and the ugly both, and while he’s deeply flawed, it’s because he’s deeply flawed and contradictory and so painfully human as a result that he’s as interesting and endearing as he is, i love him a very normal amount :))

the one maybe controversial opinion i have is that while not most because that would be exaggerating, i still find a number of popular fandom takes on wu xie, on the western side of the fandom specifically, are off just enough they bother me. it’s hard to narrow it down to a single reason because it’s a mix of different things that aren’t always objective (as in some things are just my preference vs someone else’s), but i would say one of the bigger ones is the sometimes gross misunderstanding of cultural backdrop and framework that have made him into who he is. you can easily extend this to pretty much all the characters, it’s just more noticeable in the portrayals of the main ones, but dmbj is a story deeply informed by its cultural framework, both in terms of narrative and in terms of the characters, how they act, their thought processes, and how all this impacts their interactions with others. so it’s not hard to understand that disregarding that would skew the characters on a fundamental level, which is something i find happens to wu xie more than it should. but that’s just me

next! li cu

i don’t have anything crazy to say about li cu really outside the fact i find him a little more compelling in the book than in the drama, mostly because you get his thought process a little more in-depth in the book, and he’s interesting as a contrast to how wu xie works. he’s clearly way in over his head and trying his best to cope with increasing trauma that just keeps heaping itself on top of itself without letting him really process it so yes he needs to stop being in situations (even if arguably being in situations is what ultimately saves his life). he’s also a teenage boy which just makes me want to fix him. just a little bit. i swear he can be better it’s not his fault teenage boys are a little dumb in the head! he does show up more in later canon post-ten years later, so it’s not like he completely disappears, but him and the desert triangle squad aren’t uninteresting characters so it’s interesting enough to keep up with them even if his strained relationship with wu xie hurts me for both of them (li cu using wu xie as a convenient party to pin the blame on for all his misfortunes vs wu xie perceiving li cu as the consequences of his necessary evils made flesh ouchouchouch)

aaaand huo xiuxiu

huo xiuxiu my beloved, best girl hands down, none can compare <3

when i say the writers dropped the ball on her, i mostly mean the dramas, although tbh more specifically lost tomb 2 and 2.5 that. yeah that’s not xiuxiu that’s all i’ll say. i find the closest to book version of her is in ultimate note, that still for introducing characters earlier than they should have been reasons couldn’t give her some of her coolest scenes. she’s intelligent, she’s skilled and cunning and pretty, yet in the beginning she also has that gap of practical inexperience that make her human. she’s the whole deal really. interestingly enough when they meet in the books, wu xie often finds he and xiuxiu are similar in terms of the way they think and react, which i find is interesting and pretty accurate. she’s also not in the story enough, so i’m happy that in current canon she’s been upgraded to one of the main squad and is down in dangerous tombs with the iron triangle and heihua. she’s also as unhinged as they all are i love her <3

[cambria-writes]

happy spookmas everyone!

cranked this out at the very last second. shoutout to @anothermunsonsimp for encouraging this when i first brought it up (though i originally mentioned how pissed i was that the princess bride came out in 1987) and to @alovesongshewrote for being very enthusiastic about the concept of a halloween fic.

hope you're all having or have had a great day, regardless of current festivities! we will resume our regularly scheduled program on sunday. :)

rating: T warning: mostly just swearing, minor implied spoilers for ravenloft word count: 674

𝕴𝖙'𝖘 𝖔𝖓𝖑𝖞 𝕱𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗

Halloween, 1986

You check yourself in the hallway mirror for what feels like the hundredth time in the span of ten minutes. You adjust the poofy sleeves for the nth time, fiddle with the hair pieces again, and make sure the necklace is well centered. You know you’re being ridiculous, but your blood feels like it’s full of static and you’re considering going back to the bathroom to wipe the blush off your cheeks. The heat in them makes it feel redundant. 

You rush into the kitchen to look at the time on the stove before noisily making your way back to the hallway mirror to fluff up you hair. It’s not really your hair; Maggie from Genealogy somehow just happened to have the perfect clip-on hair extensions for you, that also just so happened to be curled just the way you needed. You’re honestly still shocked and still suspicious, but if there’s one thing you’ve learned this year, it’s to not look a gift horse in the god damn mouth. 

When you check the time again, you huff and reach for the phone on the wall next to the fridge. You’ve just dialed the first three numbers when you hear the head-splitting buzz announcing someone’s arrived at the door downstairs. 

You run to the front door, stuff a handful of twenties and a lighter in your bra and run out the door. 

The stairs are an unexpected challenge—even when you grip as much of the gown’s skirt as you can, you nearly fall down  three flights of stairs about five times. 

When you finally manage to make it through the building‘s lobby, you have to take a second to just. Look at Eddie. Take him in, just for a bit. 

It had taken weeks of pestering, convincing, and literally reciting essays to Eddie to get him to agree. Not only to do a couple's costume—that's too cheesy, he said, I have an image and reputation to maintain, he whined—but to dress up as fucking Jareth. 

You're only human. It's not like anyone with a pulse can resist David Bowie.

And in this moment, staring dumbly at Eddie in a ballroom get-up, with straightened hair, you're not sure how you're supposed to resist him, either. 

When Eddie looks up at the glass door and, consequently, at you, you choke on your own spit. You can hear him burst out into laughter, and the sound shocks you from your stupor. You burst out the door. 

"Hey! I almost fucking died! Don't laugh at me!" You shout, smacking at his should with both hands. 

"I yield, I yield!" he cries out, still laughing. 

When he's finally recovered enough, and pulled you out of the way of the building's door, Eddie holds you at arms' length. It's his turn to stare at you now. 

And stare. 

And... stare some more. 

You shuffle nervously on your feet, and clear your throat. 

"H-hey, c'mon, you're making me feel like I'm doing something wrong."

"No," Eddie says, so forcefully and instantly that it makes you jump. "Shit, sorry, I mean—no, you're. You look..."

"Strange? Nerdy? Larger?" You emphasize the last word by patting down the many layers of your gown's skirts.

Eddie huffs at you like you've just said the most ridiculous thing. "Magical. You look magical," He says, quietly, moving his hands from your shoulders to your face. "Absolutely enchanting. Bewitching. Mes—"

"Oh god stop," you groan, slapping his hands away and hiding your face behind your own hands. "You've made your point, I'm sufficiently flustered."

"Perfect," Eddie replies, and you can hear the smug tone in his voice. When you peek through your fingers, he's wearing the most obnoxious smug grin and crosses his arms. "That shade of pink looks better on you." 

You make a gagging sound but pull at one of his arms to wrap your own around. 

"Come on, nerd. We've got booze to drink and teenagers to pretend we're chaperoning." 

Eddie starts walking first as he's chuckling. 

"Please, they're going to be chaperoning you."

[redheadgleek]

Books Read April-June

I read a lot these last few months. A bunch of them were on the shorter side, but also because I've been reading more, I'm reading faster.

I've stretched my goal to read 120 books this year (10 books per month). We'll see if I make it.

April (10 books):

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde. I really struggle with reading nonfiction, so this took me several months to get through (I do much better with audiobooks for nonfiction). The first work I've read of hers, I'm really interested in seeing her poetry.

Frogs In A Pot: How one woman mentally and physically abused five men in her life - and her own daughter - to satisfy her narcissistic needs by K.D. Kinz. I already ranted about this one.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green. Sci-fi meets social media culture. Ended on a cliffhanger, not sure when I'll get to the sequel.

The Rose That Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur. He had some really lovely thoughts. Gone way too soon.

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens. Not quite as good as their other books (Monster of the Week and Ever After are fantastic), but still enjoyable.

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff. Recommended by @ckerouac. I loved it until around the last 30 pages. It just felt rushed of an ending.

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh - this was much more heavy than Hyperbole, in both content and weight (the book was a workout).

*In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune. A retelling of sorts of Pinocchio (reminded me a lot of A.I. which I loved even though the critics did not). It's weird and lovely and while not exactly happy, it's wistfully hopeful.

O Lady, Speak Again by Dayna Patterson - a collection of poetry using Shakespeare's female characters as the voices. I would love an audio version.

Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher. A dark, little more adult, Beauty and the Beast retelling. Very imaginative.

May (13 books):

Madison by Ngozi Ukazu. I'm not sure I should really count this, but it was a delightful little comic to close out the Check Please universe.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow. I struggled with the beginning, but there were some great little twists towards the middle.

Assassin of Reality by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko. The sequel to Vita Nostra which I haven't stopped thinking about since I read it earlier this year. It was still off-balance and haunting, and I'm still left with questions. Sergey died this year, so it's uncertain if there will be another book to finish.

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. A Sleeping Beauty/Snow White retelling with some absolutely gorgeous illustrations. Lots of twists in this short story.

*The Raven and The Reindeer by T. Kingfisher. Retelling of the Snow Queen. I really liked this one - I felt cold through the whole thing.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. Very creepy in world building and the horror was a slow drawn-out dawning, but it sort of fell flat in the end.

Tastes Like War: A Memoir by Grace Cho. A half Korean woman recalls the relationship with her mother, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. This was a "Everybody Reads" book club book from my library. I found the writing quite engrossing. There's a lot of controversy with it, with her brother calling the author a liar - but as he and his wife spend every moment of their free time replying to anybody who says anything positive about the book and they also have this "there isn't any racism any more!" attitudes, I've had heaps of salt with their perspective.

*Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, but it weaves in several other fairy tales. This one is unique because there's about a dozen 1st person perspectives (who aren't identified, you figure them out from the context) who tell the story. Makes me want to read more of her books.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar. I wanted to love this because everybody else is. And I didn't. It was okay, it just wasn't fantastic.

*Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow. Middle school novel about a kid who is the only survivor of a school shooter and then moves to the middle of nowhere to escape it all. The friendships were the best and it made me feel all the emotions.

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill. Yes, May was my month of reading fairy tale retellings, this one of the Crane Wife. Weird and short. I'm looking forward to reading When Women Were Dragons.

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson. This was a book based on that tumblr post circulating around about the chosen one being an old woman instead of a teenager. It was enjoyable, mostly, but did feel like it was trying to check off all of the diversity boxes, and the ending was rushed.

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner. Apparently it's sort of a sequel to another book. Knowing that would have helped. The undead mouse character was the best.

June: It's Pride Month! (12 books)

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond. Once a bridesmaid, forever a fake bridesmaid? Some fun characters in this one.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Read as part of my friends-recommendation challenge - I own this book and my sister has been trying to get me to read it for years. I still haven't quite decided how I feel about it. The atmosphere was deliciously Gothic.

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli. I related a lot to this book, of figuring out who you are, and how boxes and definitions may not fit you. I wish that Becky would start writing books about college students instead of high schoolers though.

Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram. A quick read.

Loveless by Alice Oseman. I was really disappointed by this book. The characters and plot weren't well fleshed out.

*Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanne Clarke, audiobook. Shortly after this book came out (nearly 20 years ago), I started reading it and got about half way through before getting distracted and I never finished it. I started listening to this at the beginning of March. It was 32 hours long. It's such a slow developing, meandering story, and I absolutely loved it. I felt completely immersed in the world.

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun. "A Charmed Offensive" was better but it was a nice twist on the fake dating trope. Although for taking place in Portland, very little of it actually took place in Portland.

Lily and the Octopus by Steve Rowley. I loved "The Guncle" so much that I bought this when it went on sale and put away all of my other books to read it. It was ... weird. I think part of it is that I don't have a pet, but also the voice of his dog kept changing? It's magical realism, part The Life with Pi and part Moby Dick.

Scythe by Neil Shusterman. Friend-recommendation. A dark utopia and a sort of fascinating exploration about death. I'm on the waiting list for the other books of the trilogy.

*What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma. Audiobook. Friend recommendation. An Asian woman explores the relationship of her abusive mother and her recovery from complex PTSD. I listened to the audiobook, and while I don't have PTSD or a history of abuse, it surprised me how much I related to her. The last chapters about love and connection were really healing to listen to.

*Above Ground by Clint Smith. Audiobook. His poetry about about parenting, but also about racism and connecting to the past. Really powerful and lyrical.

*The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I do love a Greek tragedy and this one was so good.

Currently reading:

The House Witch by Delemhach. The writing kinda sucks, but I like the idea and plot?

The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett. It's an Anne of Green Gables-inspired book about a young orphan witch who seeks out a reclusive woman as her mentor. It's utterly delightful.

The Celebrants by Steve Rowley. "The Guncle" may have been a one hit wonder for his writing for me, because I'm a couple of chapters in and I'm already annoyed.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland. I've heard lots of good things about this one.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh. Audiobook. I'm loving the narrator - for a while, I thought it was the actress who plays La'an on SNW as they have very similar cadences.

Next up: Book Lovers, When Women were Dragons, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Thunderhead, and A House of Good Bones. Still on my "friend recommendations for 2023" to-read list: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan, Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zavin, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson, Sweet Like Jasmine by Bonnie Gray, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg.

[thefirstknife]

@aislinavalbane

Aislin. Hello. I would talk to you like adults that we are, but you have made your essay statement and blocked everyone who may disagree with you, despite openly saying that you welcome people "tearing it apart." I will be as brief as possible and focus on a few points only so I will not be tearing it apart. You're lucky that way.

You've given me no choice but to post this in the tag so all of D2 Tumblr will know your shit.

First of all, I don't think you've read The Callout Post(TM) with adequate reading comprehension or perhaps you've read it and didn't fully understand the issues with things me and another user brought up. Reminder.

But let's move past that one. In your essay, you have stated the following:

If there was someone I was interacting with who showed they were racist, bigoted, transphobic, or even fascist (I see that last one being used quite a bit and I don’t think you all are using that in the correct context, but I digress) then I would simply stop interacting with them and block them.

Really? Okay, so you didn't notice any of the bigotry in the actual post that you claim you've read. Maybe I just wasn't pedantic enough. But by the Traveler, can I be pedantic. Thank you for giving me the chance.

Transphobia 1 (anti-puberty blockers and gender affirming healthcare for trans people and youth in particular, paired with the "REEEE" which is often used as an ableist shortcut to mock autistic people, for good measure.) Transphobia 2 (reblogging a post celebrating the ban on trans women in sport and specifically being rude to one particular trans woman for no reason other than pure and utter hatred, calling trans women "men," anti-puberty blockers.) Transphobia 3 (supposed "gotcha" over how kids should not be allowed to express gender dysphoria when they're young because minors can't buy guns. Stay classy at the time of yet another mass shooting that happened in your country where elementary school children have been killed.) Transphobia 4 (just one of the posts supporting Gina Carano, a known transphobe that I have written about in my original post. Just as an addition, here's some stuff about Gina Carano being antisemitic. Ice in the tags noting that Gina was the only good actress in Star Wars. Really? The antisemitic transphobe?)

Is this enough proof of transphobia or do you need more? Is there a specific number of transphobic beliefs your friend has to agree with and spread around for you to acknowledge she's transphobic?

Homophobia (literally for no reason saying that people calling characters like Din, Luke or Han gay is "the stupidest crap she's ever heard." Why are these headcanons bothering her? Answer quickly. Here's Mark Hamill, Luke's actor, affirming people's HCs about Luke being gay if they so desire.)

Asking if supporting Attack on Titan makes her a Nazi (yes.)

Phew, that's a lot of tough topics to go through. Let's take a break with something light. Here's her anti-Crow post that's actually related to Destiny where she keeps calling him Uldren and saying she hasn't done any quests "helping Uldren" and she doesn't want Bungie to force her to side with him. As far as I know, you support Crow. This is a minor nitpick, but I am being pedantic after all.

Xentari is currently doing the same as you, supporting Ice-6 and claiming there's no bigotry involved anywhere and you're all a nice little support group who support other bigots. And I thought you all just support each other no matter what, but Xentari answered an ask tonight and this was reblogged by one of you who made a sideblog specifically to engage with this discourse and be transphobic. Transphobia in the tags, Xentari liked the reply so I will assume she agrees with the transphobic reply and transphobic tags. This person, whichever one of you it is, has called trans women "men" before and was already transphobic before.

Xentari has been particularly bothersome and outright stalking one of my friends despite my friend not wanting to interact with them. Xentari said my friend is "hiding behind the block button." Curious. Aislin, you're doing the same. This will be a tough one for Xentari to parse through: on one hand, hiding behind a block button is bad, but on the other hand her bestie is doing it too.

Extremely suspicious that both Xentari and you went to dig out stuff posted by trans people, with you, Aislin, specifically not just clipping bits of text but also implying the text wasn't AI generated. And then defending yourself by saying you wrote the person "claimed" it was AI generated. It being AI generated isn't a claim. It's a fact. OP didn't claim anything, he stated a fact. The text is AI generated.

You don't find it funny, whatever. It's not your place to police trans and LGBT+ people about which jokes they will make about themselves. You don't care about that at all. You only care about a post making fun of Cayde because falsely accusing Cayde, a fictional character, of sexism is worse than your friends supporting human rights being taken away.

Your next point I want to address:

Post to donation sites for those who have the means to and may like to contribute to.  Especially for those in the US and Ukraine, cause things are crazy and scary right now all around and backing organizations and people who want to make a real difference and help people is far more helpful than going after random blogs on Tumblr.

Oh things are scary in the US right now? I see you're pro-choice so I will assume you are referring to that.

The person you're willing to die on the hill for is not.

Anti-abortion 1 Anti-abortion 2 Anti-abortion 3 Anti-abortion 4

For as long as you support people who actively made this happen by voting against abortion, you are at fault for what is happening. Whatever little posts and statements you're making about being pro-choice are futile for as long as you're coddling people who want human rights being taken away and chalking it up to "different opinions." This is what "different opinions" on human rights have done. Really "crazy and scary."

Don't fucking dare say that you can still be friends with people who have "different opinions" when those "opinions" are literally about whether or not human beings should have bodily autonomy and the right to choose. Human rights are not an opinion. You cannot be friends with people over this. Different opinions are about what's your favourite colour, not whether or not millions of people will die because your bestie is voting for their rights to be taken away.

I hope I have provided you with sufficient evidence at least for transphobia and anti-abortion stuff. You have explicitly stated that you will stop interacting with and block people who support any kind of bigotry and I believe I have given enough links and explanations and links for further reading to prove this.

If you still can't see transphobia, you are a transphobe.

I will wait with bated breath to see you publicly denounce your friendship with transphobes and transphobe supporters that you are currently very friendly with. As per your own admission that you will.

I also hope that you are hardcore donating to those organisations since you've spent a lot of time coddling people who are responsible for this happening to your country. Links to these organisations that Bungie promoted, for your ease of access:

URGE

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation

In Your Own Voice

Trans Lifeline (hope you have a huge donation to this one in particular given the scope of transphobia exhibited by your (hopefully former) friends)

[mimisempai]

The one who can read me like an open book

Summary

Dream waits for Hob at the end of his classes and remembers all the times when Hob almost made him drop the mask until the day when he really succeeded.

Aka, how Hob is the safe place where Dream is not afraid to feel and show what he feels.

Notes:

Flufftober Day 8 - Laughter

On AO3

Rating T - 1635 words

Dream was leaning against the door at the back of the classroom where Hob had just finished his lecture.

The teacher was putting his things away and his students were waving at him as they passed his desk.

One of the students stopped in front of him and asked with a slightly embarrassed look, "Professor Gadling, I don't think I can finish my essay by tomorrow, could you give me a few more days?"

Hob replied with a little mischievous sparkle in his eye, "To quote Hamlet act 3 scene 2 line 87, No."

He looked up at Dream and winked at him. 

The Lord of Dreams couldn't help but laugh slightly at his lover's antics. 

Hob's face became serious again as he replied in a softer tone to his student, "Do you have the ideas for your essay yet?"

The student nodded and Hob continued, "Then write them all down and do the best you can. The content, the essence, is more important than the form. You may get points off because it's not finished, but as long as I have proof that you've done the work, I'll consider it."

The young student nodded, "Thank you Professor. Have a nice evening."

Hob nodded, then grabbed his bag to join Dream at the back of the classroom.

Dream couldn't help but smile as he watched him walk towards him. Besides, he didn't want to stop himself anymore because he didn't hide anything from Hob for a long time now, his smiles, his laughter, his emotions, he didn't hold anything back anymore.

Because, even if Dream had always tried to hide it, Hob had ended up seeing it.  Seeing beyond what Dream was showing the world.

Hob had from the beginning had this faculty to unleash uncontrollable emotions in Dream. Of any kind.

Dream always felt. Everything. But he never allowed himself to give free rein to his feelings.

Until Hob.

Hob who had made him unable to hide it in front of him and God knows he had tried. 

Since the beginning. 

"Then you must tell me what it's like. Let us meet here again, Robert Gadling,"

The man looked up as soon as Dream said his name and lost his mocking demeanor when Dream continued looking very solemn, "in this tavern of the White Horse in 100 years."

The fellow men laughed and made a few jokes, but Hob stared at him, his eyes squinting, as if he sensed something was up, then he seemed to relax and spoke up, "Don't mind them. A hundred years' time, on this day?"

Dream merely nodded in a serious manner and Hob looked at him in an equally earnest manner as he replied, "I will see you in the year of our Lord 1489, then."

He finished with a smile to which Dream could not resist responding with one of the same kind. However, he quickly put his mask of impassivity back on, ignoring the little voice deep inside him that hoped to see that smile again a hundred years later.

And he had seen it again.

But what he hadn't expected a hundred years later was that it would be even harder to remain impassive.

Although Hob's overly enthusiastic babble about the goodness of chimney, handkerchiefs and other human inventions of the last century deeply annoyed Dream, he couldn't help but be interested in what the man had done in the last hundred years.

"Uh, but now, I've started in a new trade. It's called printing. Don't need to be a guild member, not yet. Uh, never be a real demand for it,

 and it's hard work, but it beats the hell out of rotting to maggots in the ground, eh?"

As the man talked about what he was doing with enthusiasm, Dream felt like smiling as his almost childlike joy was contagious. He couldn't prevent a hint of wonder from coloring his voice when he asked, "So you still want to live?"

Hob replied spontaneously, almost not daring to believe it, "Oh, yes."

Dream felt a sort of joy at the idea of seeing the man again, but once more chose not to show it. He couldn't let him see it.

He stood up abruptly and said in a cold voice, "A hundred years, then?"

Hob repeated in the same voice as before, with a smile that Dream preferred to ignore, "Oh, yes." and the Lord of Dreams turned and left without looking back. 

The smile was there a hundred years later, but Dream had hated it. Because this smile was not for him. 

"It's funny. This is what I always dreamed Heaven would be like, way back. It's safe to walk the streets. Enough food. Good wine."

There was nothing exhilarating, nothing surprising, and Dream, uninterested, had allowed himself to be distracted by an emerging writer, ignoring the unfortunate Hob.

Hob didn't have a dream, he was fulfilled and it was obvious that he would want to continue living.

That's why Dream wasn't prepared to see Hob in this miserable state a century later.

He had listened with sadness to the man who was only a shadow of his former self, telling the horrors he had gone through. His heart had broken with Hob's when he had told him about the death of his son and wife. Dream knew that at that moment he had not been able to hide his emotion. It was impossible. The tears had remained in his eyes but they were there. Yet, while he was sure that Hob was going to tell him that he wanted to die, once again the man had left him completely dumbfounded.

"Are you crazy? Death is a mug's game. I got so much to live for." 

Dream had been overwhelmed by both surprise and relief, and had tried to hide it, but that night he couldn't, the emotions were too strong, too personal. 

What Dream had overlooked was that it was impossible to go back. It was as if Hob had put his foot between the door and the frame and prevented Dream from closing it.

Forcing him to let his strongest feelings escape without him being able to hold them back.

That's why he had not been able to stop himself from showing his admiration a hundred years later when the man had bravely defended him in a fight against two armed thugs.

Worse, he had almost admitted that he cared about Hob, that he was worried about him.

"But you can be hurt or captured. We must be cautious."

At that moment he had realized that he could not bear to see the man in front of him hurt. But once again he had put his mask back on and said his goodbyes without looking back.

Ignoring the disappointment on Hob's face.

For his own sanity.

Even though deep down he felt that it was getting harder and harder to ignore what he was feeling.

That's why, a hundred years later, not only had Dream failed to close the door, but Hob had opened it wide.

Dream hadn't been ready for that.

"I think you're lonely."

He hadn't been able to accept being seen so vulnerable by someone else, and he'd reacted by double-locking the door, trying to keep Hob out.

However, Hob, incredible Hob, had persisted, and had managed to pick the lock.

It was now up to Dream to open it and it had taken him more than a hundred years.

But when he had been able to, he had opened it wide.

At the precise moment when, after all these years of uncertainty, Hob simply smiled at him and said, "You're late." At that moment, Dream had known he would be unable to close the door. Because he didn't want to anymore.

A kind of elation had bubbled up in his chest and throat, and he had not been able to keep the light chuckle from his lips, liberating. The beginning of something greater.

"It seems I owe you an apology. I've always heard it impolite to keep one's friends waiting."

He no longer needed to keep what he felt inside.

There was no point because Hob could read him like an open book.

"Dream? Can we go?"

Hob's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he nodded.

As they headed for the exit, Hob asked him, "Are you okay? You seemed to be far away in your thoughts."

Dream chuckled softly, "My mind took me for a ride in the past."

Hob asked, "And was it interesting?" 

They had just passed the school grounds so Dream caught his hand as they continued to walk and squeezed it gently, "Very interesting indeed, like everything about you."

He watched Hob, who blushed slightly as he realized what Dream's words implied.

Maybe that was why Dream had finally let his guard down with him. Because Hob was unable to hide his emotions. At least not with Dream.

As he was eager to see more, he stopped and, holding Hob's face in his hands, he kissed him gently, then moved back a little to watch the emotions pass over Hob's face, the surprise, the embarrassment, the happiness. Mostly happiness.

Then mischief at the end as Hob smiled and said in a playful tone, "Hm, if the past puts you in this state, you should think about it more often."

Dream chuckled as they went on their way and retorted, "No need to go to the past when the present is perfect."

He looked again with delight at the emotions passing over his lover's face and knew that Hob could read the same on his face and in his eyes.

Because Hob also was able to read Dream like an open book.

And Dream had no intention of closing it.

Never.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Dreamling Flufftober here

Dreamling Masterlist here

[imhereforbrownies]

Congrats on 250 followers!!!

My pronouns: she/her

Personality: I'm a bit reserved when I first meet people but I think I open up pretty quickly. I love hanging out with groups of people even though it always leaves me tired. I'm usually the one to organize hang outs with my friends. People tend to tell me things about themselves. I think I'm pretty friendly and if I don't like someone I'll just try to not interact with them. I'm protective of my friends.

Hobbies: Writing, reading, watching video essays, listening to music, baking, I love listening to people talk about their interests, I used to be into drawing and I've been thinking of getting back into it

Favourite movies/songs/food/places/books: The Princess Bride, Star Wars A New Hope, Lord of the Rings The Two Towers / Silent Cry by Stray Kids, Ribs by Lorde, Never Stop Me by (G)I-DLE / pasta :)) / the library, my room, grocery stores / Percy Jackson series, The Hobbit, Six of Crows

Pets: I have a cat, she is very cute

Dreams/Aspirations: I want to go into some from of content creation/ a creative field. I can't imagine myself doing anything that I can't create in.

My Zodiac: Leo

My MBTI: INFP

My Aesthetic: it varies a lot lol, but mainly light academia or a soft look when I'm not wearing sweatpants

Group to pick from: Stray Kids :]

Hi there! Thank you so much for your support and for joining my celebration :)

I'm Star Wars and LOTR fan too and I love Lorde so I'm really glad we have something in common 💞 and Princess Bride???? hello??? that's my childhood lol - it always fascinates me how many people have seen it and actually like it (it's definitely worth the hype tho!) so you seem like my kind of a person hihi.

Now to your ship...

-

I finally figure out who I'd ship you with and it would be Felix.

My reasoning behind it:

- Felix's ENFP is highly compatible with your INFP

- your hobbies seem really really similar to me :)

- baking dates with Felix? Asfgtdgsfaf hell yeaaaaah! He would be so happy to have someone to share his interest with and I think he'd adore you for your baking abilities... I'm sure this would be his favorite time of quality time, hands down :) 

- I also think your personalities would be really really in tune since he also seems like someone friendly, creative and supportive who people rely on

- Felix would definitely love your cat lol <3

- the way he would support you to follow your dream to work in a creative field??? like my boy is one of the most supportive people out there and he'd be so proud of you <3

- he also seems like such a nerd to me and I think he probably loves Star Wars and LOTR too so movie datessssss

-

You are just about to pour the brownie batter into the baking form when a pair of arms wrap around your waist, making you smile immediately.

"Lixie! I need to focus!"

"Sorry, love," he replies but doesn't pull away. Instead, he rests his head on your shoulder, planting a kiss on your neck as he watches you work.

You try so hard to not let his soft touches distract you from your task but your heart flutters nonetheless. 

"You're doing so good, baby," he murmurs, his deep voice sending shivers down your spine and his praise making your cheeks burn.

"Thank you," you whisper, getting the last bit of the batter into the form before you put down your bowl and spatula and turn around to face your boyfriend.

"I had the best teacher after all," you state, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and grinning once he chuckles.

"Sure you did," he rolls his eyes playfully, tearing a scoff out of you.

"I did! You're the best baker I know," you keep going, leaning closer to peck his lips, making him smile.

"Thank you, darling," he looks you in the eyes shyly, and you grin.

"No need to thank me, Lixie. It's the truth. We should put it in the oven now though," you state, making him chuckle.

"I'm on it, baby," he says and you don't protest, climbing on the counter to sit there as you watch Felix put the form in the oven.

When it's done, he returns to you, resting his hands on your knees and leaning closer to kiss you on the lips, leaving you melting against him.

"I love you so much," he whispers as he nuzzles his nose into your neck, making your breath falter.

"I love you too, baby," you state, pulling him a bit closer and running your hand over his soft hair lovingly.

"I love spending time with you like this," he adds and you smile.

"I love it too. So much. I couldn't wait for today the whole week," you admit, and Felix chuckles, straightening up to look at you.

"Really?" He assures and you nod.

"Of course. It helps me relax like nothing else," you say and he smiles.

"I'm really glad to hear the feeling is mutual," he states, making you grin.

"We should do this more often," you offer and he hums, pecking your lips.

"Can't say no to that."

[soil-just-needs-water-to-be]

Chapter five

Word count :1885

Mention: vomit and sickness , medication and still light anxiety

If you’ve been reading so far, who’s everyone’s favourites so far , I love writing the interactions between Louis and the lads

(I don’t know if have the age gap right but in this I’ve written Lou to be around 7)

I finish up in the shower the heat in the bathroom from the shower was just genuinely irritating so I didn't stay in very long , I can say I probably smell and look a lot better than I did 20 minutes ago but I can't say I feel any better maybe even worse but hey we push on. I lay on my bed wrapped in my towel for about a half hour where I just sit and watch YouTube videos. While I was in the shower Jamie and Ross had sent messages asking where I was at lunch, so I replied to them both just saying I went home but not to worry I'm fine. I know they'll worry but its okay if I say I'm fine. I have an hour or so till work after my YouTube video finishes so I find an old GCSE paper for History and just try to work through that, It involves a lot of essay writing and answering really big questions, This particular paper is about historic medical practises and I can chat on about that all day, working on this really helps me calm down as it's something I know a lot about and can control what happens for a while , during the world crumbling and spiralling out of control around me. I time it too make sure Ill be able to do it correctly on the day, The general exam is an hour and a half long, so I try to complete it in an hour and fifteen minutes, so it gives me at least fifteen minutes to get ready for work and leave. I do well with it and complete it just in time. Now I must get ready for work I put on my skinny jeans and converse and the t shirt that I need to wear for work and pull my hoodie over the top. The journey takes about 10 minutes on my bike, so I jump on my bike and start heading to work. I also just realised my mum never came home so she must be working later .Work isn't too busy when I clock in so it wont be too bad but I head over to my manager and ask him if I can just do some stock taking out back as I'm only here for a few hours and my head is splitting but a lot of stock taking has already been done so I have to go out and just make coffees for people which I was really hoping to avoid but hey ho. I clock in and start working. Its not all the busy all that comes in is a few school kids as its 3:30 and school has just finished. I'm in for about twenty minutes when I hear Ross and Jamie come in loud as ever "MATTY" I hear them calling from the door and I wave them over they come bounding over and sit on the stalls at the front coffee bar and I slide over to them "Hey guys."

"Hiya mate, can we get two lattes."

"You sure can" I busy myself with making their coffees. Hoping to God, they don't ask me why I went home early but I know they will. Once I hand them over, they both drop their bags next to them and get comfortable "So why'd you go home early."

"Just didn't feel great, you know how it is "I shrug trying to be nonchalant about it.

"Miss Conners came to speak to us at lunch asking us to keep an eye on you, do we have to be concerned" Ross speaks up.

"No bro honestly, I'm fine, I wish everyone would stop asking me."

I move over to the other end of the bar and serve an older looking women who has been waiting a couple of minutes just to get away from the guys for a second "Hello Miss , what can I get for you?" she ponders for a minute about what she would like "Can I just get a cappuccino please young man"

"Of course, you can, if you'd like to go sit down, Ill bring it over to you once I've finished it, Is that okay." I watch her walk off and make her cappuccino ,my hands are shaking again. These damn shakes need to stop. I locate her table and slowly make my way over trying not to spill it everywhere.

"You're a little shaky there Darling." Of course, someone would notice. I place the mug on the table in front of her "I'm just a little cold is all." I plaster on a smile and lets her know if she needs anything else all she must do is ask.

I make my way back to Jamie and Ross and try to tune into there conversation "I'm sorry guys I swear I'm not trying to be moody with you guys, I'm just tired and its so noisy in here, everything is buzzy." It's not that loud but the noises of all the machine and the few conversations everything is buzzing and it's a lot. "Mate its alright we get it."

There isn't all the much to do on my shift it's not that busy, so I spend a lot of it cleaning up and just talking to Jamie and Ross having them around is helping. Were just talking about the next football game that's on the television in a few days, then about the demo were setting up for Mr Hardy. The shift goes a lot quicker than I thought it would.

Once I've finished another round of nausea flies through me but I really try to ignore it but by the time I make it outside with the guys a few strides in front of me the chill in the air makes it too much for me to deal with and I end up throwing up on the pavement next to me. The guys must have heard me retching and came over to me. I feel Ross' hand on my back, and he starts rubbing it "Mate, we really need to get you home ay." I lean into Ross as he starts walking me back. "Jamie, can you take my bike."

"Sure, thing mate." Jamie jumps onto my bike and rides slowly next to us we don't speak much because they know if they ask ill just blow my top. It doesn't feel like it takes to long to get back to my place, I can tell everyone is home now because all the cars are in the driveway, I ask Jamie just to leave my bike leaning against the fence as he leaves Ross and I to it.

Ross helps me inside "Hiya Denise can you come get Matty." Before I have time to protest my mum is at my side while Ross tries to get me to the couch "Matthew are you okay sweetheart" I can see the worry in my mother's face and I don't want her and my dad to have to cancel there plans "Yeh Mum I'm alight I just feel a little off that's all but Ross is here to help me look after Lou so its alright". I can see her about to protest what I've said, "Mum honestly its fine, has Lou eaten, I can just get him straight to bed if he has"?

"Yes, love he has."

"That's alright then you and dad can get to your thing and ill get him to bed."

She looks at me again and looks between Ross and me. I just nod for extra confidence "Please Mum, I'm fine."

"Alright sweetheart" she looks over to Ross properly now who is standing awkwardly at the end of the couch "look after him alright and if he gets any worse, please phone me."

"I will Denise don't worry."

My parents left not long after then Lou came tumbling down the stairs "Maffu, guess what I did at school today". He stopped dead at the door "ROSSEY"

"Hey kiddo , how you been". He goes bounding over to Ross and flings his arms around him and kisses his cheek. "I've been good Rossey are you looking after me too wif Maffu."

"I sure am Kiddo, Matty needs a little bit of help tonight, he's not feeling very well tonight." Louis waves at me sat on the couch. "What's wrong Maffu?." I look up at them both and smile "Just got a poorly tummy Kiddo that's all."

He jumps down from Ross' hold and comes to sit on my lap and plays with my hair "I can make you better Maffu, you just have to have some medicine, Mummy always gives me medicine when I'm sick." I'm smiling at him holding closely. "You know what Kiddo, your absolutely right, Go show Rossey where Mummy keeps it." He jumps back off my lap and takes Ross through to the kitchen. I lay back on the couch pulling my phone out again and I see have a few texts from George just checking in asking if I'm okay, and if I need anything.

I message him back "Sorry for being so distant this afternoon everything got a little bit hectic , I was working and I had a bit of an episode I'm now with my mate looking after my little brother"

He replies back straight away "You don't need to apologise I just wanted to make sure your okay, an episode ?"

"Just a bout of sickness again, Hey I know this is out of the blue but I feel like it might help ,and you can say no but would you like to facetime tonight when my mate goes home "

"You know what if that's what's going to help then I'd sure love too"

"Thank you"

Just then Ross and Louie come back into the room, Ross sitting next to me and Louie sitting right back on my lap where he previously was and continues playing with my hair. Ross hands me the medicine and I place it on the table in front of me.

"Maffu , You got to have it silly." I smile down at him and ruffle his hair "I'll have some when you go to bed because it makes grownups sleepy, and I have to look after you little one". We stick on the tv and put on the kids' channel for him. Horrid Henry and he cuddles up close to me and I hold him tightly as I know hell fall asleep quite fast.

I was right about 5 minutes into the second episode he falls asleep right on my lap, and I whisper over to Ross "Can you take him up for me I have no strength to carry him right now." He takes Louie in his arms and heads to his room "Make sure you take that yeh." he motions to the medicine. I do and I lay back down on the couch waiting for Ross to come back so I can tell him I'm going to get an early night and that I'll see him tomorrow. He comes back five minutes later, and I tell him just that and he's fully all right with that he gives me a hug goodbye and hopes I get better.

[mostlikelytofangirl]

Which MDZS characters do you have grievances with? You seem to like MY, NHS and JC, who are the most controversial members of the cast, so I'm curious.

Oh anon, why would you do this to me :')

Mine is a very unpopular opinion regarding the characters I have my things with, but that's mostly bc I'm Like That, you know?

The reason why I'm a JGY/MY stan, Nie lover and JC respecter is bc I'm weak for morally ambiguous characters. It fascinates to no end the way they can push the limits of what's wrong or right in pursue of something they personally perceive as The Correct Thing To Do, especially when they are not exactly wrong. It makes them feel like real individuals with their own codes and experiences instead of, y'know, "this is the right thing to do, and I'm a good person, so I'm gonna do it and that's it" or "this is wrong and I'm a villain so that's what I do".

That, of course it's just me.

With that in mind, I can't really say that there's any character I hate on canon alone, not even the ones who are clearly and plainly stated as the ones we must hate. Not WRH, not WC, not even JGS (surprisingly). I feel like they fuflfil their role in the story and it wouldn't have happened as it did without their actions. And since I LOVE mdzs, I appreciate their contribution.

My grievance is actually with fandom. Namely, the way it insists on grouping characters in Good Guys and Bad Guys, and thus erasing the nuance that make some see complex antagonists as villains and the protagonists and those who align with them as ppl who never did anything wrong, ever, not even a word misspoken.

Mdzs is a complex and human story about an imbalanced society and its impact on individuals, not a YA fantasy of Hero Against Evil.

Aaaaaaaand here is where my main issue comes: Inconsistent Energy.

Some characters get a pass for virtually the same things others get crucified for and the difference is solely whether they are a Good Guy or a Bad Guy according to their own simplistic interpretation.

That said, and to answer your question already lol. I'm not the biggest LWJ fan ^^;

As I said, I don't hate him. Hell, I don't even dislike him! I'm honestly indiferent towards him, and I definitely appreciate his role in the story. But for starters, he is not the kind of character I normally gravitate towards, nor find particularly interesting. But it's mostly the fact fandom would put him on a pedestal when I PERSONALLY think there are bones to pick with him at points. And that's totally ok! That's his character, that's the story. It just... frustrates me how universally accepted it is that he is perfect, and while even canon itself insists on this at points (not big on that either tbh), most fans shut down the possibility of even a friendly discussion of any flaw of his while gleefully tearing apart even the way other characters breathe orz

[sluttywonwoo]

study buddies || k.mg x reader

Pairing: frat!mingyu x fem reader 

Summary: studying for midterms with the guy you’re hooking up with goes exactly how you’d expect

Warnings: swearing, light smut (18+)

Word Count: 1.6k

a/n: reworked this old blurb originally posted on my tom holland fic account ( @wazzupmrstark ) for my gf’s birthday :)) happy birthday @hotgirlmingyu

Masterlist

You woke up to banging on your apartment door. Groaning, you rolled over to check your phone and saw that it was six am. You pushed yourself up and out of bed and padded into the kitchen to answer the door. You were surprised the relentless knocking hadn’t woken up your roommate, but she was a pretty heavy sleeper.

You yanked the door open to see Mingyu with a handful of textbooks. You squinted at him in confusion, wondering if you were seeing things. Mingyu had never been to your place before, you didn’t even know he knew where you lived.

His appearance startled you a bit. His hair was messy where it was usually slicked back or styled and he was wearing gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. You didn’t think you’d ever seen him in anything other than khakis and a douchey printed shirt.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, rubbing your eyes.

He frowned. “You said we should study for midterms together.”

You thought back to the last time you’d seen Mingyu. You couldn’t remember saying anything like that.

“Was I drunk?”

“Probably.”

“So why are you here?”

“To study. You agreed that we could help each other out.”

“Mingyu, I don’t even remember agreeing to that.”

“Well I’m already here,” he said and pushed past you into your apartment.

“Seriously? It’s Saturday.”

“Yeah, and midterms are next week.”

“Couldn’t you have waited until the sun was up?” you grumbled, mostly to yourself and shut the door behind him.

“We’ve got a lot of material to cover.”

You cursed under your breath as you watched him set up at your kitchen table, knowing you should probably study even though you desperately wanted to go back to bed.

You and Mingyu had met at a party at his fraternity and woke up the next morning tangled in the sheets of his bed. To say it was awkward would have been an understatement. You didn’t think you’d ever see him again, but to your horror, you saw him in your stats lecture on Monday and your mythology class on Thursday. This was a pretty big university. Why did the same asshole have to be in two of your classes?

As much as it annoyed you, you couldn’t stop thinking about Mingyu, and apparently, he was having a similar dilemma because every time you went out he seemed to be there, and every time you hooked up.

That was the extent of your relationship, though. You didn’t even speak to each other in class or at parties. The only time you talked was behind closed doors when one or both of you was naked. Even then you kept your guard up because you refused to let yourself fall for a frat boy with commitment issues who never wanted to be seen with the same girl twice. A boy who wouldn’t even talk to you in public.

But you couldn’t ignore the way your heart fluttered when he said your name as he was about to cum, or the way his lips felt against yours. He could be a total dick, but you’d also seen a softer side of him that he didn’t show many people. You forced yourself to forget about that side. It was easier that way.

“Okay, what are we starting with?” you asked with a sigh.

“We have the stats exam first, we should work on that.”

You made a face. Statistics was the harder out of the two for you. In fact, it was the hardest class you were taking this semester.

“I can’t believe I’m doing math before seven am.”

“You won’t be complaining when you ace the midterm,” he quipped, already working on a practice worksheet.

You watched him solve problems like he was checking items off a list. You knew he was good at statistics, but you didn’t know he was that good. Figures, a guy like him was good at pretty much everything. Everything except mythology apparently, because once you’d switched to that he was flustered and frustrated. You would quiz him on myths only for him to get every single question wrong.

“Mingyu, did you even read any of these?” you asked, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Yes, y/n, I read every one. How do you think I passed all the reading quizzes?”

“Cheating?” it slipped out before you could stop it and Mingyu gave you a hard glare. You held up your hands defensively. “Just a joke.”

“I don’t think it was.” He licked his lips. “But for what it’s worth I read them all. I just can’t keep them straight.”

You sighed. You felt bad, but you were getting frustrated too. And not just because Mingyu wasn’t grasping the myths. This was the longest you’d ever spent together (at least while you were awake) and you hadn’t even had sex. He just smelled so nice and looked so cute when he was concentrating that you couldn’t help feeling a little impatient. You had been at it for hours, you thought you would’ve done it at least once by now. But Mingyu was more serious about studying than you thought. It was kind of admirable and kind of annoying.

“Okay well reread through the Egyptian myths and I’ll quiz you again.”

“Alright.”

He pulled out his reading packet and flipped to the section you took out your phone and scrolled through social media mindlessly as he read, but it quickly got boring. You wished Mingyu would take a break so he could rail you. He was still reading intently, but you figured a little distraction couldn’t hurt.

You started by taking your hair down from your bun and shaking it out so that it fell around your shoulders. You knew your shampoo drove Mingyu crazy and hoped it would have an effect on him today. He shifted his seat, but didn’t look up from the packet. Next, you leaned over and rested your head on his shoulder. You’d never done something so domestic like this with Mingyu, but it seemed to work because he cleared his throat and adjusted his sweatpants.

“You know you could be working on math.”

You shrugged. “We already did stats for hours today. I think I’ll jump off a bridge if I look at one more differential equation.”

He fell silent and tried focusing back onto the reading, but you moved your hand to his thigh and kept it there as you continued to through twitter, not even reading what was on your screen.

“Stop that,” Mingyu muttered, making you jump a little.

“Why?”

“Fuck, because you’re distracting me. You look too hot right now.”

“I’m wearing pajamas.”

“I really don’t care. You still look hot and I’m trying not to fuck you senseless right now.”

“Well what’s stopping you?” you asked lowly and nipped at his ear.

“Need to finish this,” he replied through gritted teeth.

“I can’t convince you to take a break?” You moved the hand on his leg up so that you were cupping him over his pants.

He shook his head. “After.”

You leaned over and kissed his neck, then his jaw, and felt him get hard under your hand. “If I have to stop what I’m doing you won’t be able to walk for the next week.”

“That sounds like more of a motivator than a deterrent,” you admitted. “I’ll suck you off,” you offered and hooked your thumb in the waistband of his sweats, trying to bribe him.

“If you let me finish I’ll eat you out,” he countered.

You straightened up. It sounded like a pretty good deal.

“Fine.”

A few minutes passed in silence and you were waiting patiently, typing up a rough draft of an essay you had due for another class when Mingyu groaned.

“What?” you asked, wondering if he needed help.

“Can you please stop that?”

“Stop what? I’m literally doing nothing.” You were genuinely confused now.

“Just- I don’t know you’re making it so hard to concentrate.”

“Am I making it hard?” You smirked.

“Very funny.”

“Would it help if I put a paper bag over my head?”

“Probably.”

“Come on, keep reading about Osiris.”

“I don’t want to read about Osiris anymore, he’s a dick.”

“The faster you finish the faster you can get off.”

“I thought you didn’t want to wait,” Mingyu pointed out, trying to deflect.

“I think I recall something about you going down on me if I let you finish reading.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, but didn’t turn back to the book. Instead, he continued to gaze at you with those big brown eyes. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“What?” You felt your cheeks get warm.

“I just really want to kiss you right now.”

You smiled and raised your chin, challenging him. “Then do it.”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours. You closed your eyes and kissed him back, savoring the moment.

When you pulled away, Mingyu’s eyes were dark with want and you could see that he was now fully hard in his sweatpants.

“How about I eat you out now anyway?” He suggested, leaning forward to kiss your neck.

You moaned and brought your hands to his hair.

“You trying to bribe me?”

“Is it working?”

“Fuck yeah.”

Mingyu stood and picked you up from your chair. You wrapped your legs around his waist again. He pulled on your bottom lip with his teeth and smirked.

“Promise you’ll finish studying after?” you asked.

He considered it. “Does what we’re about to do count as studying mythology? Because it’s going to be legendary.”

You scrunched up your face in distaste. “No, I take it back. Put me down.”

Mingyu grinned. “Hey! You know no ones gives it to you as good as I do.”

“That confident are you?”

His grin turned into a smirk. “Is that a challenge?”

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[velvetcloxds]

LOVINGLY| J.P.

Pairing: James x Fem!Reader

Word count: 1485 words

Warnings: none- just fluff, little short

Summary: James can’t sleep so the reader spends the night with him on the couch, cuddling and talking until he falls asleep in her arms.

“James?” I almost whisper as I stumble down the stairs to the common room, wiping at my eyes to assist me in waking up. James hums lightly from somewhere in the room and I let out a gentle sigh before whispering a spell under my breath to light all the candles in the room. I smile softly when my eyes land on the sight of James sitting upright on the sofa, hands folded over a closed book as he looks back at me. “What are you doing down here?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” He informs me, throwing the book to the other side of the sofa as he watches me pull down his t-shirt to cover myself. “I was moving around like crazy, I didn’t want to wake you,” he tells me, reaching a hand out towards me as I still in front of him. “Come here,” He asks softly, smiling slightly as our hands touch and he gently pulls me to sit down next to him.

“I wouldn’t have mind,” I say to which he offers a mere hum in reply, hand snaking around my waist as he pulls me against him. “You worried about The Order?” I ask, moving a hand to his chest as he nods lightly. “Oh, baby…” I muse, moving to rest my head against his shoulder, the action and the words earning me a small smile before his face slips back to a worried, mindless glare.

“We’re not ready,” He comments lowly, shaking his head as he leans back against the sofa. “I don’t think we ever really could be,” He adds and sighs as he closes his eyes.

“I know,” I say, fingers fiddling with his shirt, he opens his eyes to watch my movements. “But I also know that you worrying yourself like this won’t help,” I inform him simply, tone soft as I look up at him. “You need to rest, my love,” He hums again, acknowledging my words, yet clearly not taking them in. “What can I do?” He shuffles lightly to adjust himself, hand gripping me tightly to stop me from leaving.

“Just be here,” He begins, fingers delicately moving up and down over the exposed skin of my arm, shivers tickling through my body as a result. “Just keep talking to me,” He closes his eyes again, leaning his head against the back of the couch. “Your voice calms me,” He explains and I’m grateful that his eyes are closed as I blush.

“Should I tell you about my day?” I ask and he nods, pulling me closer still. “I stayed up too late last night and overslept, so I was late for Transfiguration,” I begin, and he smiles, knowing that he had gently commanded me to go to bed at least twice the night in question. “So of course, I missed breakfast and had to rush to class. However, when I got there, Minnie was handing out essays and I bumped right into her and the remaining essays in her hands fell to the floor in a big mess,”  I say, shaking my head as his smile grows. “It was chaos, which is why she has me tutoring her first years for the next week,” I explain even more as I feel his breathing slow down the tiniest bit, making me smile in response.

“What else?” He asks, voice slow as he starts drifting and I cuddle closer to his side, placing my chin on his chest to stare up at him.

“I stopped at my dorm on my way here, brought you some of those muggle chocolate bars that you like so much,” His interest is peaked as he opens his eyes to look at me.

“Really?” He questions sheepishly, eyes twinkling, I simply hum in response, watching as he ponders over the new information.

“Stay here,” I instruct with a small laugh, smiling sympathetically when he reaches out to stop me from leaving his side. “I’ll be right back, baby” I tell him with a nod, footsteps padding against the floor as I fetch the chocolates from the pocket of my robe which I had haphazardly thrown onto one of the chairs a few hours ago. He grins widely when I step back into view, sitting down next to him and pulling my feet under me as I remove the wrapper of the chocolate bar.

“Hmm,” James muses lightly as I pull the bar away from his mouth, taking a bite as well while he chews. “Delicious,” he tells me, tilting his head as he watches me carefully, taking another small bite when I hold the bar in front of his mouth, and I can’t fight the blush that creeps to my cheeks while I almost squirm under his attentive gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask which simply makes him smile, a hand lifting to wipe some chocolate from my lips.

“Like what, my love,” He questions amused and I almost combust at the little pet-name, which is probably exactly why he used it, no doubt, as he very rarely does. He nimbly drapes his hand over my knee, sparing me a quick wink as he slowly takes another bite from the chocolate.

“Naughty,’ I groan, slapping his chest lightly as he continues to stare me down, the gesture emitting a soft laugh from his tired lips, the sound making my own shyness slip away.

“Like what?” He asks me again, crumbling the rapper and throwing it to the floor, shrugging when I give him a disapproving glare, not at all serious as I move my hand to his, lifting it from my knee to entwine our fingers. I shake my head, looking at our hands instead. “Answer me, please,” He commands lightly, and I roll my eyes before meeting his gaze.

“Lovingly,” I note, and he hums, carefully leaning towards me.

“Why shouldn’t I?” He asks me lightly and I raise a brow at him, eyes not daring to leave his in fear I’ll miss what he’ll say next. “I do love you, after all,” He announces softly, clearly, as my heart beats in my throat.

“You haven’t said that before,” I note, mouth tilting into a happy smile as I watch him for any sign of mock, just in case. “You mean it?” I ask softly, his eyes now jumping around the features of my face, stilling on my reddened cheeks which I make no attempt to hide as he pulls me closer.

“Yes,” He lifts a hand to my face, delicately clearing hair from his way before his fingers touch my skin. “I love you,” he says again, and my smile grows.

“I love you too.”

“I know,” He notes and rests his head against mine, gripping onto me. “You have the best way of showing it too,” He adds and we’re almost too close to really look at each other but I can tell he’s trying. “You are too good to me,” He offers hesitantly, and I pull back slightly.

“Don’t say that. ” I muse, sitting back completely, James’ hands reaching out to try and stop me. “You need to get some sleep, my love,” I command softly, the word seeming foreign having heard it from his lips instead of just mine. I move the book he was reading earlier onto the floor, pushing myself against the corner of the sofa, legs to the side to leave room for him. “Come on,” I instruct with a small smile as I extend my arms wide for him to come lay down on me. 

He considers it for a second, brows raised as he looks me over before releasing a soft sigh and doing as he’s told. His motions are careful as he settles between my legs, arms around my waist as he gently nudges his head into the crook of my neck, I allow him a second to get comfortable before wrapping my arms around him as well, one hand on the back of his neck while the other tangles into his hair, softly fiddling with the dark tendrils as he mumbles incoherent groans against me.

“You’re too good to be true, Y/n,” he says, and I feel him smile before placing a soft kiss against my neck, our current position leaving no room for me to shy away from the gesture that usually leaves me a giggling mess. “My perfect girl,” He notes after a second and I can tell that he’s already starting to relax against me, breath faltering and eyes closing as I continue playing with his hair.

“My perfect boy,” I offer in reply, whispering as his grip tightens.

“Never leave me,” He almost demands, voice hazy as he opens his eyes. “You’ll never leave me?” His eyes meet mine and I nod quickly, pulling him down again as I kiss his forehead.

“Never,” I promise with certainty, smiling when his body relaxes against mine again, his eyes closing almost without permission as he sighs lightly. “I’ll never leave you, my love.”

Hi there, more of my work can be found on Wattpad under @mjoubertt. Mxx.

Masterlist

[tootiredmotel]

Electricity

Inspired by @ledzeppelinmixtape 's emoji prompt: ⛈

Read on ao3 or below / 2.3k words

It's 11pm and storming biblically when Dean and Cas's apartment goes dark.

"Great," Dean mutters under his breath. "Fan-freaking-tastic."

From somewhere else in the apartment, his roommate asks "did the power go out?"

"What do you think, sunshine?" Dean replies sarcastically.

He has a half-written essay in front of him, but he knows his old-ass computer won't last long unplugged, so he saves the document before shutting it off. He leans back in his chair, stretching for the first time in an hour and running a hand down his face. He actually needed a break from the screen, he realizes, feeling his eyes relax as he rubs them.

The steady rain and strong winds outside make an overwhelming white noise track, interrupted only by thunder that goes from faint and distant to deafening in volume. If Dean wasn't stressed out of his mind and completely exhausted right now, he might actually find this kind of nice.

"It's raining cats and mice out there," he hears Cas say, his voice now in the room.

Dean smiles, still rubbing his eyes with the backs of both his hands. "Cats and dogs, Cas."

"Right. Cats and dogs."

It’s really no use correcting him; the entire animal kingdom could be falling from the sky right now and there wouldn't be much of a difference. The winds are definitely knocking things over, and the streets will certainly be flooded come morning. Dean wonders for how long the university will cancel classes after this (if at all, the heartless bloodsuckers).

A particularly loud clap of thunder startles Dean. He drops his hands from his face and opens his eyes, expecting to see pitch black nothingness, but the room is faintly lit by the flashlight Cas is holding as he rummages through their kitchen drawers. He approaches a minute later and sets a candle down on the small table.

"Smart."

"Thank you, Dean," Cas says, sitting down opposite him. Dean smiles again, this time shaking his head.

If anyone ever asked him to mention one thing he likes about Cas, just one, he'd probably say how genuine Cas is, how he takes everything to heart and speaks from it as well. Dean said just one word, smart, a simple comment on the fact that it occurred to Cas to light a candle instead of wasting the battery of their one flashlight, and Cas genuinely thanked him for the compliment. He's just ridiculously cute in his earnestness.

Cas is trying to light the candle now, but their lighter is tricky. Despite living together in that apartment for a year and a half now Cas has never really gotten the hang of it.

"Here, let me."

Dean means to take the lighter from Cas and do it himself, he really does. That is 100% his intention as he reaches across the table. Except he sees an opportunity, and Dean Michael Winchester is nothing if not smooth.

He wraps his hand around Cas's, gently guiding his fingers until they’re placed just right, and the lighter clicks on with ease. Cas meets his eyes, smiling, and Dean can feel the slightest brush of Cas’s thumb against his hand. It’s a small gesture, but clearly deliberate, and it sends Dean’s heart into overdrive. Cas leans away, puts the lighter aside, and starts leafing through a book he brought. Dean’s heart is still racing as he watches him.

Scratch that first thing. If anyone ever asked him what’s one thing he likes about Cas? His hands. God. Neat nails, slightly calloused palms, and overall larger hands than you’d expect. Cas is an environmental science major and he wants to get a Ph.D. in botany, so of course, there’s a small garden on their fire escape. He tends to those plants every day with more gentleness and care than Dean has ever seen, and Dean loves to watch him, even though he has no idea what Cas is doing with them half the time. He just knows that not a single one of their plants have died under Cas’s care. He names them too.

His attentiveness. That’s another thing Dean might say if anyone ever asked. Cas left to visit his sister Anna last winter break. He left Dean in charge of the plants, three of which died inside the week. (For Dean’s birthday a couple of months later, Cas got him a book. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant. Dean keeps it on his nightstand.) Dean went out and bought new ones, but he knew Cas would notice the difference, and he did. He wasn’t mad at Dean though, and he appreciated the effort, and as Dean apologized profusely over and over again, Cas looked at him in the eyes oh-so-softly and told him he was forgiven.

How could Dean possibly forget? If anyone ever asked, he’d say that Cas’s eyes are one of his favorite things about him. One of his favorite things, period. Dean is absolutely mesmerized whenever Cas looks him in the eye, and the guy loves making eye contact, which means that Dean lives in a perpetual smitten daze. He has never seen that shade of blue anywhere else on this earth. Or maybe he just hasn’t been looking, content to get his fill of that blue by staring into Cas’s eyes as much as he gets to on a daily basis.

“Are you alright, Dean?”

Dean blinks himself back to reality. “Hm?”

“You seem… spaced.”

Dean is staring. He’s been staring this whole time. Shit. Crap.

“Yeah, um. Just tired.”

Mr. Smooth, everybody.

“Maybe you should go get some rest. I doubt the power will be back anytime soon.”

Castiel Milton, always looking out for you. It makes Dean melt.

“Yeah, maybe.” I wanna stay here with you, though, he thinks. Instead, because he’s pathetic, he asks “what’re you reading?”

Cas shows him the cover. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant. Dean breaks out in laughter.

“So you’re going into my room and stealing my shit now?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t touch your Vonneguts.” Cas puts the book aside, an easy smile on his face. “Just wanted something light to pass the time.”

“You done with your homework?”

A soft yawn escapes Cas. “For now.”

“Dude, why not just go to sleep? You look exhausted.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Dean tries to deadpan him. He fails, because around Cas, it’s near impossible for him to not smile.

“Besides, I might be done but you weren’t.”

“And you wanted to keep me company.”

Cas shrugs as if to say I guess, but he does it with a knowing smile. The smile doesn’t falter as he meets Dean’s eyes, and he doesn’t look away when silence settles between them, the only sound being the stormy white noise.

Dean is sure he could drown in that blue and die happy.

Before that train of thought gets away from him again, Dean tears his gaze away and stretches. “We should really go to bed though, I’m not getting any more done tonight,” he says as he stands.

“Of course,” Cas says, but he grabs the book again.

“You not going?”

“I want to finish this chapter.”

The seriousness in his tone makes Dean smile. Again.

“Well, g’night, Cas.”

“Good night, Dean.”

Dean thinks he detects a bit of shakiness in Cas’s voice but decides that he’s probably just tired.

He gets to his room and changes into something comfortable, the first t-shirt and sweatpants he finds as he rummages in the dark. He goes to set his phone on his nightstand and crawl into bed, but in place of the book he keeps there and puts his phone on top of– the book Cas has at the moment– he finds something else.

It’s paper. It’s folded into the form of a book, like one of those youtube craft tutorials with bad music, and it's no bigger than his own palm. The cover is handwritten, and Dean immediately recognizes it as Cas's. He smiles, expecting a prank or joke of some sort, Cas knows how stressed Dean can get with the start of the semester. However, his smile falters as he reads the cover:

How to tell your best friend you’re in love with him.

With a shaky hand, Dean opens the small book. The first page is the only one with any more writing on it, and it reads:

You leave him a note and hope it’s enough.

Dean is storming out of his bedroom (no pun intended) before he knows it. He barely even feels his feet moving, too focused on the pounding in his ears and the dryness in his mouth. He doesn’t go into the living room, not yet; his feet stop at the end of the short hallway and he braces himself against the wall. The room is spinning and he can barely breathe.

“Cas?” He chokes out.

Cas puts the book back down on the table in front of him and interlocks his fingers in front of him. He doesn’t look at Dean– Cas, who makes too much eye contact – and takes a deep breath before saying “yes?”

He’s nervous.

Dean takes a step forward, still keeping one hand on the wall just in case, and holds up the note. “What is this?” he asks, because his brain is just not there with him yet.

Cas stands, still not facing Dean. “Dean, do you know what day it is?”

He’s asking this now???

“September firs–”

Oh. Oh shit.

“Cas isn’t today the–”

“The night we met. Two years ago.”

Dean feels his brain catching up now as the memory starts coming back to him. Cas helps, starting to recount that night.

“Two years ago tonight, I was leaving my night course at the university, and it was raining. Not as bad as this,” –Cas looks out the window and lightning strikes, as if on cue– “but pretty badly, and I was an inexperienced freshman without an umbrella.”

Dean remembers. He was walking Charlie to her dorm when it started drizzling, and it was pouring by the time he made it back to his car. Dean had a night shift at the gas station and was about to head there.

“Two years ago tonight,” Cas continues, “you invited me into your car to shelter me from the rain.”

Dean saw this guy running in the direction of the men’s dorms, which were on the other side of campus. He felt bad, and he had a car, so he opened the passenger door and let him in.

Turned out to be the most gorgeous guy he’d ever laid eyes on. He was a bit awkward, but he had no filter, which made him weirdly funny. He asked about the music playing in the car and listened intently to Dean's rambling. He laughed at his jokes too.

At the end of the five-minute drive, he said his name was Castiel, and Dean asked for his number and saved it as Cas with a thunderstorm emoji. Because even if he didn’t know it yet, Dean was already whipped.

“Two years ago,” Cas says, finally looking up at Dean. His eyes are wide and vulnerable and he looks terrified and Dean can barely stand it. “Two years ago tonight, I started to fall in love with you.”

Dean can’t breathe. His ears are hot and he can’t stop fidgeting with the note in his hand and he can’t breathe.

But his feet start moving again, out of their own volition. They move toward Cas.

“If you don’t feel–” Cas starts, but Dean swallows his words.

Again, Dean’s brain isn’t all there yet, and he doesn’t realize what he’s doing until he’s already in it. He’s grabbing Cas’s face, digging his fingertips into the back of his hair, and the note is forgotten on the table, and thunder rumbles not that far away. He’s darting out his tongue, begging to explore Cas’s mouth as he’s wanted to do since forever, and Cas lets him. He tastes like toothpaste and coffee and honey and Dean never wants to taste anyone else ever again.

Cas is wrapping his arms around Dean’s waist and pressing his entire body against him. It’s making Dean weak in the knees but it’s okay because Cas is almost holding him upright at this point. There’s another clap of thunder, much closer this time, and the lightning probably illuminated the apartment, but it wasn’t enough to make them part. They’re moving and grasping and exploring frantically, and Dean is afraid Cas is going to disappear, or that he’s going to wake up and this will all have been another dream. But no, it’s real, and they’re playing catchup on two years worth of desire and longing and love.

They eventually pull away, breathless and giddy. The only sounds are the rain and the wind. Dean opens his eyes first, needing to see Cas and make sure this is completely, definitely, unequivocally real. Cas is smiling and taking deep breaths, and a weight seems to be lifted off his shoulders. He opens his eyes a second later, and even in the darkness, even with just the faint candlelight, the blue in them seems to shine. And even though there's no power, it feels as if there's electricity crackling in the air around them. It might be the storm.

No. It's the moment. This moment with Cas is what feels electric.

“Come to bed?” Dean asks, feeling brave and going out on a limb. The only way Cas responds is by interlocking his hand into Dean’s and kissing him again.

And after tonight, for the rest of his life, if anyone ever asks him “what’s one thing you love about Cas?” Dean won’t be able to narrow down an answer.

He’ll just say: “Everything.”