#and ik he smells so good too everybody says it

[astraystayyh]

his back looks so huggable from behind and the whole dim lighting and the white shirt i am not okay

[pumpkinbxtch]

Yes well, I've been following you for a while and I like a lot of yours… Well everything, I would like to request a Leo Valdez (We all love him, I don't argue) x Children of dionysus, thank you!

love at first eightminutes sight ෴⁠

— leo valdez x children of dionysus!reader

warnings; none, language a/n; hi! thanks for reading me. i'm so flattered 🥹 i hope you like it ): andd ik, In the photo they are cherries but let's be silly, lol.

Those 8 minutes were the toughest for Leo.

Dealing with his concentration issues when people talked about things he wasn't interested in was bad enough, but having to face someone as cute as you while that was happening didn't seem like a good decision on Dionysus's part. Leo was surprised because, being the god of wine and other pleasures, he thought Dionysus would understand.

— Valadez, are you listening? — The god tapped the table, bringing Leo's attention back. Leo saw his name on the corner of the blueprints made by Athena's children and wondered why that man never bothered to pronounce his name correctly, neither his nor anyone else's.

— Yeah, sir — Leo replied, not too enthusiastically, but it was enough for Dionysus to continue his speech, which Leo decided to ignore to keep admiring you. Seconds were enough for him to notice how your lips sparkled with some kind of gloss that tempted him even more to taste them, as well as the way you occasionally bit your lower lip, making him wonder if it tasted as sweet as your gaze, which, unlike his, was focused on your father's explanation.

— Do you understand?—Dionysus asked insistently, thinking Leo was playing dumb. Although he wasn't wrong, the son of Hephaestus nodded confidently for him to continue.

If he could get closer to you... would you smell like grapes? Maybe with a gentle breeze, he could find out, and then he wished he had Jason's power.

— Am I right? — Your father asked you in the middle of his explanation, and you nodded.

— Yes, father.

Leo opened his eyes slightly wider, hearing your voice for the first time, feeling a warmth in his fingertips warning him not to get too excited, or he would end up revealing his interest in you in front of everybody. The way you smiled at Dionysus made him truly want to be interested in what he was saying, but it was a lost cause; you had him in some kind of trance from which he didn't want to escape either. How would Leo feel if he were able to make you smile?

— Then, in this part of the plan is when you come in — Leo was startled by the sudden increase in volume and nodded repeatedly to disguise it, stealing quick glances in your direction to avoid being caught. So when your eyes met his, Leo almost burst into flames from embarrassment. You didn't immediately look away; you held his gaze, and he saw a sparkle in them that he had never seen in anyone else's. Was your mother Ariadne? Were you made of something truly divine, being one of Dionysus's only children?

A smile began to form at the corner of your lips, making Leo feel like he was about to fall flat on his face, but the table he was leaning on wouldn't allow it.

—So? — Dionysus asked, tapping the table hollowly, and the empty look in the boy's eyes said it all: He hadn't heard a damn thing. The god let out a guttural groan and rolled his eyes, muttering something about when his father's punishment would end.

You let out a laugh that immediately relaxed your father's shoulders, and to Leo, it seemed better than any power anyone else could have. Dionysus snorted and rolled up the blueprints, handing them to Leo, who clumsily took them.

—You'll figure it out, kid. Now, scram.

No, he didn't want to leave. Leo began to stammer, trying to find a reason to stay a little longer, but before he could do so, the god was dragging him toward the exit with a flick of his finger.

— Father — you called, and his attention shifted to you, halting the magic. Your father's purple eyes questioned you, and you smiled calmly as you pointed to some papers on the table that had slipped from the blueprints.

Dionysus tried to take them, but you stopped him, asking him to let you do it for him. Leo was dumbfounded. Would you accompany him to the exit? Had he died again? Why didn't it feel as bad as the first time?

Your hair shimmered in the light as you leaned over for the papers, and he noticed that your nails were painted with burgundy nail polish. Everything about you was intoxicating, new, and when you started walking, he felt a heat burning from within him as if he had taken a sip of sherry. Was it because he had fallen in love with you at first sight? Or was that the effect you had on him?

The tips of your shoes touched his, causing him to lose his balance, and you shook the notes in the air.

— I'll walk you out —you said. Dionysus glanced sideways and suppressed a curse because he knew you very well. You never approached anyone.

Leo swallowed hard and nodded, taking steps back to walk with you to the exit of the Big House.

—And well...— Your words came without warning, even to you. You didn't know you had the courage to confront a guy as handsome as him. When Leo turned to you, his curls bounced, making you want to run your fingers through them... and you did.

The brunet jerked back and started to stammer again, yeah, he always acted like don juan, but few times did someone approach him the way you were doing.

—And well?— he asked when his tongue allowed him to form something coherent. You sighed as you descended the first step.

— Are you going to ask me out, or are you going to keep staring at me every time my father calls you?

He froze, wanting to meld into the porch wood, but you didn't let that happen because you pulled him towards you, confirming many of his suspicions. Yes, you smelled like grapes, and you were more beautiful up close.

— Do you want to go out? — he managed to ask after stuttering like an idiot. He looked at your eyes shining along with the smile you showed him, and now he knew how it felt to make you smile, and he had become a fan of it.

— I'll see you around, repair boy —and you pushed him down the last porch step before going back inside.

Oh shit, to hell with the camp blueprints, he had to plan a good date for you.

*don juan: kind of womanizer but not that too much.

[lloromanic0]

2009 BILL

Bill and fem reader ate friends with benefits and after a fancy date things get VERY intense

Hello thank you so much for the request!!

When I read intense I immediately thought about an argument (but ik that’s not what you meant lol) so I did both :D, I hope you like it and that it meets your expectations! :]

!SMUT MDNI!

Fem! Reader

Content: You feel unsure of your “relationship” with Bill so after your date you tell him about your feelings resulting in a small disagreement,which then leads to make up sex.

Everybody knew that you and Bill fuck, nothing else just sex. Ever since Bill started to gain fame from his band and going on tour you’d barely see him, but whenever he came back to Germany you were the only one he wanted to see. Tomorrow he was coming to see you after two months, even though you missed him you questioned why you couldn’t be in an actual relationship, did he fuck random people while he went on tour and because of that you couldn’t be more than friends? You ignored those thoughts knowing it wouldn’t change anything in your dynamic with him and to be honest you kinda thought being like this with him was just fine.

It was the next morning, Bill had already called you twice a few minutes ago, you returned the call.

Call:

-Hi

-Hi Y/N I just landed.

-Good, how was the flight?

-It was alright thanks. Tonight let’s go out for dinner.

-Hm sure.

-Great I’ll pick you up at 7, is that ok?

-Perfect I’ll see you later then, bye.

-See you later.

You hang up. You felt awkward talking to him for some reason, you ignore it again and moved on with your day. You did some essays you had pilled up, cleaned your room a bit and for the rest of the day you just relaxed in your living room listening to some music. At 5 you started getting ready, you took a shower, dried and styled your hair and went back to your room to change your outfit. You wanted to wear this black leather skirt you got last week,pairing it with some tights underneath, black boots, a long sleeve top and a fluffy jacket since you knew it would be cold. When you were finishing your makeup you heard a car honk you knew it was Bill so you hurried out of the house. He was parked in front of your gate you walked to his car and sat on the passenger seat, he smiled at you brightly.

“How have you been Y/N? I missed you” after saying this he went for a hug, you returned it smelling his intense cologne on his neck and feeling the warmth of his body on yours.

“I’ve been fine…I think, I’ve missed you too.”

He drove to restaurant while making small talk with you,you couldn’t stop thinking about your feelings you never had any problem with the kind of relationship you guys had before he started to leave Germany for months, why did he even bother coming back just to have sex with you and the thing is he probably fucked so many other people out there and you only wanted him.

You arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later, he got out and opened that car door for you extending his hand to help you out.

“You look so pretty Y/N.”

“You also look very handsome Bill…”

During dinner the talk got less and less awkward and you felt you were friends again, after dinner he told he would take you back to his room as you already expected.The time you were there went by fast,he kept teasing you during dinner about how much he needed you, as you slowly gave into his words.

At his hotel room you laid on the bed with him on top of you, kissing and licking on neck, bitting your colar bones, you shifted awkwardly under him which made him confused.

“Are you okay Y/N? You’re acting weird…” he sat up to look at you.

“I don’t know about this we have going on Bill…”

“What do you mean? You’ve never had a problem with it before and you know we can’t really maintain a relationship with the way my life changed drastically.” He spoke firmly.

“I know Bill…but why do you always come back for me if we’re not even in an actual relationship?”

“Because I do love you but you know we can’t be a couple, if I was your boyfriend I would want to be present for you no matter what but I can’t so I’d rather just keep it like this.”

You stayed quiet for a minute.

“Do you fuck other girls while you’re on tour?”

“What!? No! I only want you Y/N please don’t think like that.”

He took both your hands between his.

“Listen Y/N right now none of us can commit to a relationship, it wouldn’t sit right with me to be your boyfriend and not seeing you every day.”

“I know Bill…I’ll always love you and miss you no matter what and if there’s a chance in the future we can actually be together I’d do anything for that to happen.” You looked at him your eyes glossy from trying to contain your tears as you spoke the harsh truth.

“I’ll do everything in my power to be able to do that for you.” He kissed you deeply his hand holding the back of your head as your tongues connected in one passionate kiss, Bill got on top of you once again.

“Will you let me have you Y/N?”

“Yes Bill…” he went back to kiss your neck as he was previously doing,this time you let yourself melt under his touch humming in pleasure as he sucked the tender skin on your neck. He took your shirt off leaving you on your bra, kissing down to your collar bones and between your breasts, his hand was now behind you to unclip your bra freeing your perky tits. His mouth now gently sucked on one of your nipples and played with the other using his fingers, little moans escaping your lips. Your hips grinding against his in a way to let him know that you wanted him, he pulled down his pants and boxers freeing his erection, his tip leaking pre cum. He pumped his length a few times before taking your skirt off along with your tights, he pressed his fingers over your clothed pussy which made you tremble a bit.

“Bill…please I want you…”

“I want you too…” he whispered while pulling down your panties. The tip of his cock now rubbing against your entrance both of you moaning and humming at the sensation, he slowly inserted himself in you his movements deep and firm.Bill’s hips moved slowly so you both could enjoy that moment for as long as you could take it, you clenched around him every time his tip hit your cervix, the way your pussy had the perfect fit for him made him go crazy for you every time. You held him close to you, your hands placed behind his head,you felt his breath on your face as you kept eye contact with him the whole time, intimate moments like this were what you cherished the most in your “relationship” with Bill.

You exchanged wet and sloppy kisses as he thrusted in you unhurriedly making you feel everything vein of his cock, one of his hands reached down to rub circles on your clit making you squeal at the sudden contact. Your hips now moving with his complementing his movements as you both seek for release.

“I’m so close Y/N- fuck…”

“Me too Bill…mmhmm”

His thrusts now becoming faster and steadier as you finally came undone due to the double stimulation he was inflicting on you, the wet sounds of your love making aroused Bill so much, with one last thrust he came deep inside you slowly moving his hips riding his high. He pulled out slowly making you shiver already missing him inside you,looking at him once again his face now red and sweaty as he smiled sweetly at you.

“I’ll grab you a water and I’ll get the shower going for you.” Said Bill as he walked away.

You curled up in to a ball thinking about what just happened, for the first time you felt like Bill made love to you and not just pointless sex.

[cosmiles]

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋

➢ mha characters as american high school stereotypes

note: this literally makes me laugh every time i read it and i lowkey want to do a part 2

characters: midoriya, mina, denki, yaoyorozu, monoma

content: crack, no ships,

words: 0.6k

I. MIDORIYA — The Summer Glow Up

- ik he spent his freshman and sophomore yr being labeled as a simp even though he was just tryna be nice

- some girls in his class were screaming and hollering about how they had a boyfriend when all he asked was if they needed a pencil

- but whew that sophomore to junior yr summer did him right, giving him a few more inches and a nice deep voice

- when he came in everyone thought he was a new student until he said, “Here”, when his name was called

- now everybody and they momma be lowkey flirting with him

- got people asking him for rides home left n right and has about a million candy grams on valentines day

- poor man doesn’t know how to handle all this new attention since he still feels like the same ‘ole deku from last year :(

M. ASHIDO — The Camerawoman

- yk that person who lowkey gets the perfect shots during a fight?

- yea that’s her

- she’s always looking for fights to record and keeps a schedule of when they’re supposed to happen

- like you’ll see in her school planner “FIGHT @ 1 NEAR FIRST FLOOR BATHROOM” right next to her history hw

- lowkey almost gets suspended one day for "instigating" but gets out of it

- eventually gets tired of having to send everyone the fight and makes an insta page with denki

D. KAMINARI — Runner of the School’s Instagram(s)

- never sleep, fight, or tell him drama

- cause it’s gon on one of them insta pages

- it started with just making a sleep page and then spread like a wildfire

- got so popular he moved on to the drama and eventual fight page that he co-runs with mina

- it got so bad that people were scared to sleep in class and fights were more frequent

- the school can't do too much about it since no one’s snitched on him yet ;)

M. YAOYOROZU — The Nice "It Girl"

- basically the smarter version of cher from clueless

- minus the terrible driving and falling in love with her stepbrother

- always smells so good and will lend you anything you ever need

- just give it back to her or she will hunt you down

- takes the prettiest notes and is the first one to have her hand raised in every class

- the president of student council for all four years

- everyone knows her but she has a small circle of friends

- don’t take her kindness for granted though or you’ll get a lot of nasty stares in the hallway

N. MONOMA — The Devil’s Advocate

- def that guy that you see across the hallway that you think is pretty

- until he opens his mouth and you realize that he has a pretty punchable face

- always starts his sentences off with, “I don't mean to be that person but…” and then goes on to say some mess

- don’t expect him to help you with anything during a group project

- but if he does, you both are gonna end up fighting more than completing the project

- always has a smirk on his face and will start arguments just because he thinks its funny

- the teachers love him yet hate him

- on one hand, he gets the class to engage in discussions, but on the other do they really want to spend their prep period dragging another student off of him?

➢ thank you so much for reading! i hope you enjoyed and don't forget that Jesus loves you, to drink water, eat some food, and get some rest :))

➢ taglist: 🫧

@megurulvr

[shorkbrian]

Yoooooooo idk if youve done this before buuuuut im always thorsty for alien!readers :))) but could you do an alien!reader with anyone or all of fdom the bakusquad. Cant get enough from themmmm

Bro I’ve been sitting on this FOREVER cause like??? alien reader is such a broad request. Like - what kind of alien? Idek.

So I’m just gonna say that reader is similar to Mina (except instead of acid, it’s sweet smelling liquid that turns into a vapor after a second - calms people down), and took Mina’s place in class 1-A.

(Warnings - NSFW, noncon, reader is intersex. Intersex peeps have a rough time, and ik a lot of questions are ALWAYS asked and people are so invasive and rude, and I’m so, so sorry. Like bruh it’s just another way of having a body... pls do not make it into something it is not. Poor reader takes the blame for the noncon, lots of self-deprecation bc intersex ppl get told a lot that they're “alien” or that they’re different and that's bad - Which it so totally is not!!! Differences are cool!! Anyways, read at your own discretion y’all)

Now, in their society, everyone is used to quirk manifestations creating... interesting-looking physical features. You have some people sporting wings, others with textured skin, some are even literal animals.

So reader really isn’t that unusual.... except their quirk makes them popular with teachers and students. Stressed for finals? Go to reader. Can’t make your students chill? Ask reader to stop by. Reader’s quirk makes everyone calm, loopy, less angry and vicious.

When they get into UA, everyone’s curious about how it feels, curious about the kid that would’ve probably been better suited in class B or in a support class. 

The bakusquad is especially intrigued, because the applications of reader’s quirk could be awesome for a little problem of theirs that screams and yells and destroys things. 

So at the beginning of the semester, reader hears a couple knocks at their door, opens it only to have the bakusquad practically fall inside, complete with a very irate Bakugou.

Denki and Sero propose the idea that reader uses their quirk, helps everyone calm down a bit (we all know Sero’s a stoner, he’s here for the feeling lol). Reader makes sure everybody is down with it, even Kirishima and Bakugou, and when the other two boys nod, reader agrees. 

The air in the room would instantly turn sickly-sweet as liquid oozed from reader’s skin, quickly evaporating into a vapor. The affect was almost instantaneous - shoulders sagging, muscles relaxing, soft smiles playing against faces.

Usually reader wears a masks so their quirk doesn’t effect them, but here, in the safety of the dorms? it’s not needed. They get just as relaxed and loopy as the group squished into the small room.

But apparently, relaxing isn’t the best idea. 

Some people get so relaxed that their inhibitions disappear, similar to alcohol, just without the loss of fine motor control. Denki is one of those people. He sidles up next to reader, runs his hands over their shoulders until he’s pressed against their side. He leans in close, giggles into their ear about how calm he feels right now, how useful their quirk is. 

He’s naturally flirty, so it’s not alarming when he starts like, stroking their hair, holding their hand, practically falling into their lap, complimenting them the entire time, shooting off rapid-fire pick-up-lines like it’s his job. Sero, Kirishima, and Bakugou are lazing in the background, watching the blond drape himself over you.

The pick-up lines devolve into lewd questions, Denki asking what your bodycount is, have you ever blown someone, what's your favorite position? This is a safe environment, and your relaxed, so you don’t mind answering.

Even when he asks what you look like “down there”.

It’s a semi-common question. A lot of people wonder if the pink color of your skin extends to your genitals, if your pubes are pink as well. Your body is alien, do you even have genitals? What kind? Are you a boy? Or a girl? It’s easy to laugh and brush off these invasive questions.

But it’s not that big of a deal here, especially since you’re trying to make friends. You answer the question easily - yes, you’re pink down there, even your pubes. When Sero pipes up and pushes for what exactly you have down there, you shrug - It’s not that big of a deal; you have both.

Kirishima asks to see.

That’s a little weird, so you decline, but Denki whines and pouts, says that it isn’t fair you’re being such a cute little tease, they’re just curious! They’ve all seen each other’s dicks already, it’s the same thing! You aren’t convinced, but your quirk keeps everybody calm, doesn’t let the situation escalate.

Except it does.

Bakugou is relaxed, not yelling, not angry, but still demanding. He tells you to get on your back, and you do, entirely submissive in your relaxed state. You squirm and try to stop him (Bro, that’s weird dude - He shouldn’t be trying to strip you) as the blonde moves to take off your pants, but he casually tells Denki and Sero to hold down your arms, so they do.

The atmosphere is still relaxed, calming, casual, but you feel a tiny nudge of unease in your stomach. The ease with which your quirk pushes that down is extraordinary.

Then Bakugou and Kirishima are looking at you, hands smoothing down your stomach, over your dick, stopping to cradle your pussy. Your squirm. Sero wolf-whistles at what he can see from his position holding down your arm, and you can feel Denki starting to harden from where he’s kneeling across your arm, crotch pushed close to your shoulder.

But everything fine, there’s no trouble. 

Your sweet-smelling quirk batters down your inhibitions and discomfort again.

It’s not long before Bakugou is jerking you off, grinning up at you, while Kirishima is fingering you open, focused on your lower lips as he runs his fingers through them before plunging them inside of you.

The dual stimulation feels good, but this is weird, and you distantly know that without the calming effects of your quirk, this would be bad, and you’d be screaming and thrashing. But Denki’s moving off of your arm, grabbing your hand and guiding it to rub against him in his pants. Sero’s unbuckling his belt, getting his dick out and cooing at you to open your mouth. You go to shake your head, but he laughs, just gives you a light pat across the face, insists that this isn’t weird, you all have dicks, and none of them are gay, don’t worry.

Somehow, his dick ends up in your mouth, choking you.

This is wrong, this is assault, they shouldn’t be touching you, you don’t want them to.

But there’s four of them, and only one of you.

You can only pump more of your quirk in the air to keep yourself calm, listen to the boys discuss your “alien” body as they touch and fondle and explore, occasionally stopping to ask you how something feels. It feels bad.

Eventually, they end up fucking you, taking turns in your pussy, stroking your dick. Sero even tries docking his dick against yours. It feels weirdly good. Kirishima asks if you’re able to get pregnant while he’s thrusting inside, whoops when you tell him you can’t. He cums inside.

Someone suggests taking your ass too, but Bakugou disregards that idea. He seems like he’s the ringleader. You’re pretty sure you don’t want to be friends with them after this. But is it their fault? You’re the one who lowered their inhibitions, you’re the one who made them curious about your body. 

It’s your fault.

so you lay there and take it, let them move you into different positions as they laugh and joke above you.

They get tired of exploring eventually, leave you with cum dripping out of your body, all sticky and sweaty. You’re calm.

You keep your quirk going until you manage to head to the showers, to wash every inch of yourself. You keep your quirk going as you clean up your room, stripping the sheets, washing everything, sanitizing everything. You even move your bed, away from the door and into a corner.

Keeping your quirk active isn’t possible for ever, but you’re going to push it until your body gives out.

Being “different” is never a good thing.

[swearwolf-writes]

Teen Wolf 2020

it’s 2020 and corona is a bitch :) the wolves might not be able to get sick but they still wear their masks bcs they could still be carriers so *clears throat* WEAR YOUR MASKS Y’ALL!! this is very much a no one dies/everybody lives au :)

[CROSSPOSTED ON: AO3]

Scott McCall - age 26

this cute nerd. he studied veterinary medicine which takes about 4 years so he graduated in 2017 and works as Deaton’s partner at the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic. he’s dating Isaac (bcs he came back from France with Argent, remember) and Kira (she came back from the Skinwalkers in 2019 and has a proper grasp on her powers). sorry scalia shippers but it’s not really my thing-

Stiles Stilinski - age 26

NERD. anywho- FBI dork became an agent in 2019 whoo and lives in DC with Lydia, Derek and Braeden. he’s dating Lydia and Derek and things are pretty chill - he yells at arseholes who refuse to wear their masks bcs ‘it’s uncomfortable :(’ like bite me karen no one cares

Derek Hale - age 32

grumpy sourwolf actually knows how to smile!! who knew- he lives in DC with Stiles, Lydia and Braeden most of the time but he and Braeden travel often to fight butthead hunters who need to mind their own business. he’s dating Stiles and he and Braeden are engaged - it’s cute and they’re being dorks about it. he likes to complain that they’d be married by now if it wasn’t for freakin covid

Lydia Martin - age 26

your local genius banshee~ 🥰 still awesome, still a harbinger of death - so yk, the usual. bcs she had extra credits she started as a junior studying maths and graduates in 2016!! 🎉🎉 she moved to DC after she got some money together while working as a tutor - the quartet splits rent (but usually it’s just Stiles and Lydia splitting it bcs the other two don’t technically have jobs and yk Derek is an unsub and Stiles is in the FBI which Lydia finds hilarious). she teaches adults in the local community college and helps supernatural folk on the dl - she runs a grief counselling service at the same place for people who’ve lost someone. she’s also trying to get a degree to become a high school maths teacher and it’s a lot but she’s got it handled.

Allison Argent - 24

accidentally brought back from the dead by the Dread Doctors. everyone could not stop crying bcs she’s back baby!! she died in 2011 age 17 and came back in 2012 so she wasn’t dead long thankfully - wanted to kill Theo bcs he messed with her pack even he did bring her back. she’s a chimera now lads- she needed a kidney transplant when she was young which was why she was kept away from the family business. she was a werewolf-werejaguar chimera like Hayden but stayed a chimera. Chris and Isaac stayed home and bcs she and Isaac never actually broke up, they kept dating - she found it funny that Isaac and Scott were dating at this point,, meanwhile they were panicking wildly :) she went back to school and said she wasn’t dead, just in the hospital for a really long time. she joined Liam’s year and again, wanted to very badly throw hands when she found out about Monroe- she’s the coolest, like she has claws and bow and arrows

Malia Tate - 26

our girl went to France as promised and hooked up with plenty of hot French people *le eyebrow wiggle* she found her beau there in France and it was not a love at first sight sort of thing - she wanted to punch them in the face,, in their very pretty face- she was basically doing her own thing when she smells them, another bloody werewolf and like don’t get me wrong, she’s fond of werewolves, but bloody hell do they cause trouble. and they smell her too and it’s like ‘eh-?’ bcs werecoyotes aren’t so common as werewolves. and they’re just there in a club in Bordeaux and they’re sniffed each other out and they kinda just pause like huh- bcs they were were not expecting to see someone that pretty- but that’s not the point of course- they pretend to leave together and as soon as they’re out of sight from humans, they start fighting in an alley, as you do. it ends up with the wolf tasting the wall bcs who the hell are you- once they figure out they’re both just there to party, things chill and they see more of each other, naturally, it’s all just a big coincidence and doesn’t mean anything. and then they’re dancing and it doesn’t mean anything. and then they’re sleeping together and it doesn’t mean anything. except it does. and they don’t know when it became normal to cuddle or wake up together or have breakfast together but it just was. and when the cute werewolf (who I still don’t have a name for-) plans on moving to the next place, she comes with. the pack are happy for her and they usually road trip from place to place so when the pack comes to visit in Prague? it’s fun to say the least

Kira Yukimura - age 25

she came back from the Skinwalkers in 2019 and she and Allison became good friends. she kept going with school from home and is dating Scott. her powers are strong and when she sneezes bcs yk pollen or wtv, there’s sparks and it’s hilarious and Scott finds it adorable. she doesn’t really know what she wants to do yet and that’s cool of her

Erica Reyes - age 25

they thought she was dead- think again bitch, she slowed her heart rate down so they couldn’t hear and everyone thought she was dead - when the alpha pack got rid of her body and Allison found it, she told her to tell the others to pretend she was dead bcs of the Alpha pack - they beat the Alpha pack but she and Boyd hid with Satomi’s pack while that went down and helped generally after. she kept going with school and bcs she dipped for a while, ended in Liam’s year and eventually became a nurse in 2017. she works with Melissa McCall and joins for family dinner a lot.

Isaac Lahey - age 25

went to France with Chris Argent but kept going with his studies at Chris’ insistence. was dating dating Scott before he had to leave with Chris but they didn’t actually break up,, it was more ‘i’ll miss you :(’. came back to Beacon Hills when Chris came to help with the deadpool business and stayed bcs of Allison and Scott 💞 his studies were mostly uninterrupted and he studied law, becoming a lawyer in 2020!! so at least one good thing came of this infernal year- he wants to specialise in family law.

Vernon Boyd III - age 26

yea no, Derek didn’t mercy kill him bcs he was fine :) de nile ain’t just a river lads he went into hiding with Satomi’s pack and came back when the Alpha pack was dealt with. went back to school and ended up in Liam’s year. he joined the air force when he was 18 and finished his rotc training stuff in 2018 and it’s pretty alright - he’s a pilot but was discharged in 2019 bcs someone started with him and bcs they were a superior, he couldn’t say shit. so now he likes to wear ‘fuck the army’ and ‘fuck the air force’ shirt. he has mad respect for the people out there but the people in charge? fuck em

Aiden Steiner - age 27

he lives bitches 😎 Ethan had a silver chain on so he plugged the wound with it - it counteracted the oni poison and the chain started melting into the would (he had mild silver poisoning but he was fine). school was normal and now he’s an engineer, living in Beacon Hills. he and Ethan left for London for a while bcs that town was crazy af. while Ethan was very happy there, he missed home so went back. he got an online ordination and learnt Japanese bcs why not

Ethan Steiner-Whittemore - age 27

got married!! whoo 🎉🎉 Aiden officiated (this is 2018 btw) and it was cute. the whole pack was there and the wedding was in London bcs as quaint as Beacon Hills is 

‘i’m only planning on getting married once so this is gonna be awesome’ - Jackson Whittemore, 2017

he’s dramatic but yk Ethan was a blushing mess bcs ~life partners~ he’s soft y’all. he’s a primary school teacher in London and they’re part of the South London pack.

Jackson Steiner-Whittemore - age 25

also got married!! whoo 🎉🎉 ngl he’s lowkey a trophey husband/sugar hubby bcs he’s rich af - he does business with his dad but it’s not a big workload. he and Aiden want to adopt and yk being rich will hopefully help

Theo Raeken - age 25

ah yes, the absolute nightmare bi enby returns. (i hc him with he/they pronouns ✌🏽 as you do) so he successfully gained Scott’s trust and is part of the pack - yay! he and Allison have a sort of ‘you’re a bitch’ ‘no u’ *saves each others lives* relationship at this point - it took a while for Allison to warm up to him but he did save Liam’s butt several times so,, anywho, he’s still a werewolf-werecoyote chimera and he’s cool with it. he went to an online school and got his high school diploma - Liam then snuck him into the school and he signed the bookshelf bcs yea he didn’t graduate there but he did go there and now he’s graduated so yay. speaking of, he and Liam are dating, yea ik we been knew. they started dating in 2014 and Theo now works waiting tables at a local restaurants bcs he lives with Liam and his parents (you best bet that when they found out he was living in his car, they made him move in so he pays rent, not at their request but his). that was till 2017 and they moved out into an apartment together. Theo chips in on rent but it usually ends up being split 60:40 (Liam: Theo) so he cooks and cleans a lot,,, mainly bcs Liam can’t cook and does laundry like a maniac-

Liam Dunbar - age 24

this werepup is just as chaotic as always - he cannot be trusted with laundry bcs he doesn’t split colours from whites :) honestly it makes me wanna cry a lil bcs he can’t even fry eggs either- he has Theo to cook for him tho so that’s all good. he’s a history tutor for the high school students bcs he likes history and he knows the pain of high school- *shudder* he got an online Spanish and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) degree and is now teaching at Beacon Hills High but yk his first year teaching is all online bcs 2020-

Mason Hewitt - age 23

he’s Emissary to the pack when they don’t have Deaton *wipes tear* he’s all grown up- he went to UCLA and majored in biophysics and minored in LGBTQ studies (graduated 2017). he lived on campus (kept the bat next to his bed lmao) and videochatted with Liam almost everyday - he would visit almost every weekend even tho it’s a 6 and half drive but hey. he got an apartment near the uni where he and Corey lived after he graduated. they’ve been engaged since 2018 (it was actually the day after the Steiner-Whittemore wedding). he’s helping work on a new drug delivery system and they moved closer to Beacon Hills (Sacramento)

Corey Bryant - age 24

he also went UCLA, studying comparative literature and LGBTQ studies, and lived on campus (for 3 years before moving in with Mason in 2017) before graduating in 2018. they’re engaged and moved to Sacramento. he’s writing a novel that will thankfully have nothing to do with their confusing ass lives

Cora Hale - age 28

lesbian queen *bows* still part of her pack in Ecuador, South America - she’s got a lady lover who I call Rosa (affectionately nicknamed Rosalita). they met when she first got there age 12 (Rosa being 13 at the time). Rosa taught her Spanish  and made her feel like part of the pack - after all the Alpha pack stuff, when she went back with Derek and Peter, she didn’t realise how much she’d missed them- how much she’d missed her. Derek asks if that’s her girlfriend and she’s like ‘wha- o.o’ and Rosa just goes ‘yup - nice to finally meet you guys’. she still visits DC to see Derek and Beacon Hills to see Erica and Isaac. even tho she lives in a different continent, Peter still looks out for her, sending anonymous donations in Talia’s name to the areas surrounding her pack’s territory

Brett Talbot - 24

*singsongs* ~he did not die~ the car swerved out of the way and the pack took him to Deaton who burnt the poison out of him (it was a long and painful process but he’s fine y’all). he’s the new lacrosse coach at Devenford Prep and he and Liam have a (mostly) friendly rivalry :) he’s a single pringle not bcs of lack of dates but just bcs he hasn’t found the one yet

Lorilee Rohr - age 22

also did not die :) she finished high school (2015) and went on to studying at UC Berkeley (art practice and theatre and performance studies, major and minor), graduating in 2018. she and Brett moved once he reached age 18. she makes and sells art from home

Nolan Holloway - age 25

after proving himself, same as Theo, he was eventually accepted into the pack. he and Gabe were dating and that’s that so he did mourn him for a long while. he works with hunters on the dl, trying to stop them hunting the supernaturals - he’s flipped 23 away from the dark side by 2020. he and Liam are friends which took a while but Nolan has his back (like there was that one time someone from the lacrosse team said they weren’t gonna ‘follow some mongrel’ so he reminded them that Liam was co-captain and if they didn’t wanna follow him, they could kindly fuck off :)) he’s a simp and has a raging crush on Brett like me too bruh

~the end~ for now

[blackbcrry]

( 𝗠𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗘𝗟 𝗘𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 , 𝗖𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗘 , 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗬 ) . welcome to aida&stefano , 𝘾𝘼𝙎𝙃 𝘽𝘼𝙄𝙇𝙀𝙔 ! thank you for choosing to stay here. in this form it says that you go by 𝙃𝙀 / 𝙃𝙄𝙈 pronouns , you’re 𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙔-𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀 years old , you’re originally from 𝙒𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙎𝙊𝙍 , 𝙉𝙊𝙑𝘼 𝙎𝘾𝙊𝙏𝙄𝘼 , and you’ve been staying here for 𝙏𝙒𝙊 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆𝙎. it also says you’re known to be + 𝙋𝙀𝙍𝘾𝙀𝙋𝙏𝙄𝙑𝙀 , but also - 𝙍𝙀𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙏. that really shouldn’t be a problem though. check in at the front , hope you enjoy your stay ! trophies collecting dust , the smell of fresh ice , looking over your shoulder for something that isn’t there , rising before the dawn , john mulaney’s dad ordering “ one black coffee ” at mcdonald’s .

listen, a bunch of this is copy pasted from my app okay KDAJF so no one clock me. i’m emily, i’m 22 years old, i use she / her pronouns, and i’m currently vibing in est ! here’s a lil rundown on my fave moody king, CASH ! yes, that is his name. no, i will not be taking constructive criticism at this time

BACKGROUND !

april & jake bailey met on a warm june night, only a week after jake won his first stanley cup ring. he was well on his way to a prolific career in the NHL, and the only thing missing was someone to share it with. they married a year later, on the anniversary of their first meeting. everybody say awwww

april was #Obsessed w old time country, so ofc instead of naming her son johnny or smth she was like u know what ? CASH. so now we have mr cash money himself coming into the world 

cash was born in windsor, nova scotia aka the birthplace of ice hockey !! like okay ... we get it ... ur a jock 

as expected, he was a hockey boy from day ONE and he got his dad’s hall-of-fame genes, so he was skating circles around all the other kids by the time he was like 8 years old

from there he got wooed by like 42986032985 nhl teams throughout his teens, finally signing a contract w his dad’s former team the chicago blackhawks ! 

he had a grand old time ok he was livin large and kickin ass for a good few seasons, and in his fourth season w the team he even made it to the stanley cup finals !!! 

rip tho bc that night he walked away with a stanley cup ring and a terminated contract

he got a Bad injury that night that left him w/out eighteen degrees of peripheral sight in his right eye which ... is like just lowkey annoying in daily life but for hockey it was career ending :/

cash ended up getting a job as a commentator but it Wasn’t The Same u know he missed being in the middle of the action

so after a couple seasons he said #Yeet and booked himself a ticket to italy to go find himself ! now we’re comin at u live and in stereo from aida&stefano baby baby !

he’s only been here like two weeks so u know. vibing

PERSONALITY & ETC !

a moody bitch™

doesn’t like to open up At All like… he didn’t go to college but if some orientation leader type was like okay time for icebreakers !! he’d be like no ❤️

if provoked, doesn’t give a shit about keeping the peace. he will fight you. he will fight your mother. he will fight your uncle’s dog’s brother’s cousin. he probably sported a black eye at least once a week in his heyday of playing hockey, which is like… pretty on brand for that anyway so

even though he’s moody and grumpy he doesn’t like… hide away in the corner or anything, he actually is a decent conversationalist ? but straight up will not reveal Anything about himself in the course of the conversation and you won’t realize until the conversation is over

gruff as hell with a pretty smile 😌

drinks black coffee and i hate him for it. Disgusting

used to be pretty ambitious & wanted to be captain of his team someday, but now… he’s not sure what to do, so he has a lot of pent-up drive and nowhere to put it

he always got up suuuuper early to get on the ice for practice and has never quite broken that habit so like. catch him sitting in the hostel kitchen in the DARK at like 5 am like a fucking creep with his black coffee

the embodiment of “i do not want to be perceived”

WANTED CONNECTIONS !

note that cash has only been here for a couple weeks so ik a lot of plots won’t be too deep yet !! these r just some ideas of vibes to get the ball rolling

future ride or die vibes — cash isn’t really a People Person but ! maybe he’s just vibed w someone really intensely since day numero uno my dude

drunk vibes — maybe one of them wouldn’t be caught dead with the other sober, maybe they simply Don’t interact sober… who knows but either way they’re only pals with a few drinks in em !

marshmallow vibes — not everyone can b angry all the time u know he has to be a lil soft for someone at some point

one night stand vibes — listen. no one @ me. NO ONE !!!!!!! don’t ❤️

bro fuck ur bad vibes — he’s annoying as hell, so… someone’s gotta hate him sdkgj. be mean to him i dare u ! do it. i’m asking u to. he will definitely be mean back but shit happens baby baby

that’s all folks ! plot w me xoxo

[wereallydobevibing]

Even The Gods Are Not Immune — Thor x Reader [Part 2]

Prompt — You, Thor's wife, despite being powerful and extremely admirable, had been dusted in the snap. Now, you make a comeback.

[ Tags: @whos-too-bi @bukoandcoconutsarelife ]

Warnings — pretty sad, mentions of sex, cursing, endgame spoilers

Your beloved husband had attempted to keep it together once he had beheaded Thanos—keep the drinking to a minimum, rule over the remainder of his Asgardian people as you would have pushed him to.

But it was proving to be difficult, and these days, he only truly found comfort in playing Midguardian video games with Korg and drinking bottle after bottle. One, to hide his shame, and two, to numb the pain of your absence.

He no longer slept in your previously shared bedroom. It smelled too much like you, was decorated exquisitely by your hand, everywhere Thor turned, all he saw was you. Almost as if you were haunting him—hating him from beyond the grave for not trying harder to keep you and his people alive.

The guilt was slowly killing him.

Thor attempted to bed a common whore one night, only to find himself emptying his stomach of that night's dinner. But he hadn't vommited out of drunkness—it was out of guilt, sadness, self-hatred. This woman was not you—her hair did not feel so smooth, or even smell as nicely as yours. Her skin was not as soft, her kiss was not so loving.

This was not the woman he spent thousands of years loving, no woman he'd ever meet would ever be you.

When Bruce came to gather him, Thor had clearly lost it. His gut protuded from his stomach of what used to be rock hard abs, his hair wild and untrimmed. He was disgusting—dirty and horrid smelling.

"Your wife is gone, you have the chance to bring her back, but instead of fufilling her wishes of you acting as a king like she would've wanted you to, all you do is sit around, drink and play video games?" Bruce exclaimed—he had developed a relationship with you overtime.

You had been kind whenever he Hulked out, always supporting the big green monster and treating him with your gentle nature—unafraid. Both Bruce and Hulk found comfort in you, he too was devastated when you had been dusted, Hulk even more so.

"You mustn't mention my wife in my presence, Banner, it is unbecoming of you."

"Maybe what you need is to be reminded of her," Rocket intruded. "Doesn't it mean anything to you? Doesn't it mean something that your wife could be resurrected? You could have her back!"

"You're afraid—" Bruce concluded, but was quickly kicked aside.

"Afraid? Why would I be afraid?" Thor challenged. "I was the one that killed Thanos, I have nothing to fear."

"You're afraid of her seeing you like this." Bruce finished—Thor fell silent. "You're afraid of what she'll think, that she'll be dissappointed in you. You're not the only one that lost her that day, Thor. Y/N—"

"Don't say her name."

"—She was important to all of us—Steve, Tony, Nat, me. We need her back just as bad as you do."

It took a while for Thor to come to terms with it—that he couldn't be afraid of you, because you weren't that kind of woman. He would fix himself up—return himself to the man he once was and put pride in your name and the two of you would rebuild the Asgardian kingdom together.

That is, of course, if bringing you back was even possible.

He'd dreamt of you that night—bare naked, squirming underneath him as your baby soft skin glowed golden under the dim lighting. Your lips were swollen and pouted, eyes struggling to hold open as they fluttered shut in pleasure. Thor always loved you like this, weak and submissive beneath him. And he'd awoken in sweat, looking around his bedroom for any sight of you being there that night, because that dream had been so real.

He'd broken down in a mess of tears after realizing you were still gone with only a slight likelihood of you returning.

Finally, the team had gathered every last stone and returned back to their original time. Tony had constructed a metal glove that would work as Thanos' had.

"I'll do it," Thor spoke almost immediately—he had to make sure that of among all people, as selfish as it was, that you returned before anyone else had.

"No offense, Thor, but—" Steve ushered toward the nearly empty bottle of beer lingering in Thor's finers. "—I'm not sure you should."

It had been Bruce—who, at the moment, was a strange hybrid-being mixed between his human self and Hulk.

Thor was anxious, what if it did work? What if everyone was brought back, but somehow you were left as nothing but dust in the wind? Or what if you came back too and no longer loved him the way you had before—or was dissapointed in his ungodly appearance after being gone for the last five or so years.

These thoughts quickly left his mind when Thanos opened several unworldly portals, summoning his army of alien invaders from deep within the galaxy. Wizards and monsters alike standing behind Thanos and ready to officially destroy the Avengers, and then their entire universe.

They were ultimately screwed—with only a small handful of them to defend their planet against an entire army. They'd never get out of this alive, not ik their own.

Bruce had made the snap—so where was everybody? Had it all just been some dream they had hoped would come true? Had they somehow failed?

I'm sorry, Y/N, Thor's heart ached, his face in the ground as hot tears trailed his cheeks.

He'd failed you when you had been dusted, failed you when he had fallen into a horrid drinking habit and to hold together the remainder of your kingdom, and now he was going to fail you once more. He hadn't been able to bring you back—and he was too weak to protect the planet of Midguard; a planet you had adored with everything you had. A planet of smaller beings that you thought to be interesting, beautiful, even.

I'm sorry I didn't turn out as good a man as you had hoped I would.

"What are you doing on the ground, my love?"

Thor turned, snapping his head in a direction behind him.

A circle of golden sparks, man-sized and creating a pathway was sizzling with heat. It framed a bright, white light—too bright for such a dark setting. He recognized this to be Stephen Strange's foreign magic—but, hadn't Tony announced his dusting all those years ago?

From the light, a figure appeared—features shadowed due to the bright light shining in her background. But Thor could make out the curves he spent so long studying, memorizing, and making love to. He knew that voice better than he knew himself—for he had heard it so many times.

It was you—in a war dress that an Asgardian goddess would wear for protection in battle, whether she was fighting or not. Silver armor protected your chest and waist, expensive Asgardian fabric shaded the same red he wore drifted over your legs. Of course, there was a high slit on the right, exposing the sweet, soft skin he once caressed on a nightly basis.

Your hair was pulled back into a tight braid, daggers sheathed at your sides as you approached your husband. To him, it felt as if it'd been hundreds of years, but for you, barely ten seconds. It was like a power nap for you—time didn't effect you whatsoever when you were simply dust.

"Y/N?" Thor breathed, slowly lifting himself from the rummaged ground.

A wide smile merged onto your face at the sight of your husband, running into his arms and pressing a passionate kiss to his lips. Joy sprouting in both your chests, tears of both sadness and relief spilling down your faces as you embraced one another so tightly it hurt.

"You've changed, my love," you whispered against his lips, and you meant it. His body was softer, now—larger. He smelled terribly like alcohol and his hair was wildly unkempt. He was a mess, but you couldn't have blamed him.

Thor didn't know how to respond to your statement—were you disgusted?

"These last few years could not have been so terrible?"

Thor smiled, still pained, tears still rolling down his face. "These last few years without you were torture."

His hands continuously roamed your body—feeling your baby soft skin, absorbing the warmth that radiated even through the metal on your waist. His thumb gently ran over your bottom lip, the other hand subtly slipping through the slit of your dress and gripping your thigh.

The two of you were never opposed to PDA, after all. Not when it came to each other.

You pressed your lips to his once again, "when we are done here—I would like to make love."

It was Thor's turn to smile widely, a chuckle vibrating in his chest beneath his armor.

"As you wish, my queen."

"Avengers," Steve Rogers called from the front of the army of revived heroes—Wakandan soldiers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Valkrie woman and Avengers who had fallen in their last battle against Thanos. They all stood proudly, faces inked with anger and dedication to finally rid the universe of the army of aliens.

You made eye contact with the Wakandan woman you had attempted to save when the battle had first raged in Wakanda; both sending each other a nod.

You and Thor turned, weapons at the ready, eyes lingering on one another for a second longer before narrowing them at the enemy. You were ready—more ready than you would ever be to take back what you had lost in the fire.

You awaited Roger's signal, a raging fire burning in your gut. You were ready.

"Assemble."

[gryffvndors]

connect the dots [sirius black]

summary: it’s YOUR chair. regardless of the fact that you found him sleeping there, for merlin’s sake, it’s yours. neither he, nor james seems to understand that. remus is an accidental wingman, lily is there to help, and peter just wants everybody to be friends.

word count: ~2200

a/n: (thats pretty fuckin ironic peter pettigrew u stupid swine) ANYWAY KIDS WHATS UP I LOVE ALL THE MARAUDERS EQUALLY???? but i have an especially soft spot for sirius and remus and james.... hmm.... (especially ben barnes as sirius and andrew garfield as remus but shhh) anyway ik i have a shit ton of requests to do but here i am, master procrastinator, back with more procrastination works! i had an impulse okay. y’all should be thanking me for this insight on snogging sirius black bc i know i’m thanking myself tonight

The seat by fire in the Gryffindor common room has always been yours. You’ve never sat anywhere else - you like that seat most of all. It’s nearest the bookshelf, the fire, and it’s the comfiest chair in the entire common room.

And it’s occupied.

You stand before it, scowling, arms crossed. Sirius Black is… sleeping in your chair, a blanket draped haphazardly across his body. He’s even snoring a little.

(It’s very soft, but he is still snoring regardless. You wish there was some way to capture this and hold the memory over his head. Sirius Black, snoring?! How dreadful!)

Somebody clears their throat behind you. You turn around. James Potter stands with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, the rest of Sirius Black’s little… friend group. James is smirking, hands stuffed into his pockets. Remus is smiling behind his hand, and Peter is just outright beaming, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“What are you looking for?” Grins James. He nods to the sleeping boy. “Isn’t he adorable? I love the face he makes while he’s sleeping, don’t you?”

You don’t say anything. You maintain eye contact with James for another half minute. In that half a minute, he doesn’t look away, doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t even blink. Remus has to wave a hand in front of your faces before you break the contact.

“Sorry, I was just thinking of ways to get my chair back,” you jab a finger at their friend, “from this monstrous parasite. Sneaking in the middle of night, falling asleep-”

“He didn’t mean to,” Remus sighs, moving forward towards his friend. “He was trying to study with me-”

“Moony, let him sleep,” James chuckles. He glances at you again. “He’s just so tired. Hasn’t slept in weeks. Terrible nightmares, that one.”

You falter, but give in a second later, rolling your eyes. “Fine, fine. I will let him sleep. But,” you point to each of them, including Sirius, “if he is not awake by the time I get back from the library, I will have his head. That threat goes for anyone who gets in my way.” With that, you storm away from them, huffing.

Peter calls after you, “Well… it is a common room chair, right?”

You ignore him and push open the Fat Lady’s portrait.

There’s a certain appeal to the boys, you guess, turning the page of your book. You aren’t reading the book; on the contrary, you’re watching their group from across the common room. When you returned, you found your chair empty. Sirius and his friends were nowhere to be found. You settled in, grabbing a random book off the shelf and cracking it open. Now, after a couple hours of peaceful silence, they’re back.

The appeal is small. James and Sirius are both similar, in the fact that they’re both insufferable. When you see James doing something annoying, the latter is usually by his side. Remus is sweet. You’ve spoken with him by himself more than once. You don’t mind Remus, especially if he’s away from the heathens he calls friends. You don’t really talk to Peter much; he’s… not shy, really, just… uninterested in you. You don’t care. The only person you’d want to talk to is Remus, anyway.

Too bad they’re all heading in your direction. James is grinning, Sirius smirking in a kind of way that, on a normal day, leaves every girl in his path shaking and yearning for more. He’s quite the ladies’ man, if you recall correctly. All your friends find him mouth-watering.

You close the book at their arrival. “Yes?” You say, frowning. Sirius steps forward, running a hand through his hair.

“So James was telling me how you were watching me sleep here earlier.”

You flush. “That’s a - James Potter. That is a lie. I was not watching you sleep, for Merlin’s sake-”

“I don’t know, that’s what I caught you doing, I think,” James laughs, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “I walked out and here she is, standing in front of you, just watching. Right, Peter, Remus?”

“Right,” Peter says. You look at Remus. He meets your gaze and, with an apologetic smile, nods.

Sirius shrugs. “I mean, I didn’t think you were the type to be so forward. If you fancy me, all you have to do is let me know.”

You turn even darker. “I do not fancy you! I was trying to decide whether or not to wake you up!”

He is rather attractive, you guess. He has nice hair, and he’s tall. Not as tall as James, but James is gangly, all long limbs. He isn’t scrawny, like Remus is a little bit. Nor is he shorter and stouter, like Peter. He has a rather nice body.

“I think she’s checking you out, mate, look-” James stage-whispers in Sirius’ ear. Sirius laughs and turns around, muttering something low to his friend. You can’t make it out. Instead, you get up, off the chair.

“I am l-leaving,” you scowl, setting the book down. “Take the stupid, bloody chair. It smells like you, anyway. You tainted it,” you knock into Sirius as you walk by, dropping your head so you stare at the floor.

James calls behind you, “Where are you going?”

“We’re just giving you a hard time, we’re just teasing-” Sirius groans. “Come back!”

You choose not to, instead going up the stairs and entering the girls’ dormitory, where you’re sure they cannot follow.

When you come out again, the only person in the common room is Remus. He is sitting at a table, writing what you can only assume is Slughorn’s potions essay due the following week. You look at him, wary. He looks up and looks at you, too.

“Are you going to make fun of me?” You ask.

Remus laughs, “Are you going to give me a reason to?”

“...No. I suppose not,” you sit in your chair, tucking your legs underneath your body. “What are you doing?”

Remus holds up his parchment, sighing. “Slughorn’s essay.”

“Thought so. It’s rough. Took me a full three hours to understand the concept,” you lean back and stretch, yawning as you do so.

“You understand it? I cannot get a single grasp on what we are supposed to write about,” he frowns. Then Remus glances above you, tilting his head up. You twist your body to look. Sirius Black himself is descending the staircase, cracking his knuckles. You chew on your lip, trying to decide whether to leave or stay. As soon as he sees you, he does a double take and grins.

“Hey, Moony. Hey, you,” he winks, turning to his friend. “D’you reckon you can give me a hand with the essay, mate? I don’t get what we’re supposed to write.”

Remus smiles. He nods to you. “I don’t, either. But she does.”

Your eyes widen. Not Remus! No, you trusted him! What a good thing that turned out to be.

Remus seems to sense your irritation and signals screaming ‘TRAITOR!’. He rises from his seat, motioning to it. “I have something to attend to. Will you help Padfoot with his essay? Please?”

Sirius looks at you and sends the same puppy-dog look Remus is giving. They’re both extraordinarily good, you admit begrudgingly. You scowl, crossing your arms over your chest.

“I don’t know why I am about to do this, but sure, fine.”

“Thank you!”

“I might not fail Slughorn’s class!” Sirius whoops, high-fiving Remus. While the latter gathers up his supplies, you get up and head for the stairs. “Wait, where are you going?”

“To get my notes so I don’t mess this up,” you explain, ascending the staircase. You make for your dorm room and grab your notes from your bag. When you get back to the common room, Remus is gone and Sirius is sitting in your chair. You arch a brow. “Up.”

He shoots you an innocent expression. “What? Why?”

“I’m helping you with your essay, Sirius, at least let me sit-”

“But it’s so comfortable here,” he smirks. “If you really want to, you could always sit on my lap.”

“I want a comfortable seat, Black,” you deadpan.

Sirius shrugs. “Your choice. My lap, or you can pull up a chair.”

Alright. If he isn’t going to get up, you might as well take him up on the offer. You know he isn’t expecting you to say yes. Therefore, the best plan of action is to agree and make him uncomfortable.

“Okay. I’ll sit on your lap.”

The smirk fades away for a second. He stammers out a, “Wh-what?”

“Hey, you offered. I don’t want to pull up a chair.”

The same sly look is back after that. He nods, stretching out. “Right, right. A lady like you deserves the best seat in the house, after all.”

If blushing could be prevented, you would’ve seemed totally cool and at ease. Contrarily, blushing is inevitable. So, with reddened cheeks, you climbed onto his lap, your body fitting in between his… rather well, actually. You end up not actually sitting on his lap, but in between his legs. You’re small enough to where he can rest his chin on the top of your head. Therefore, of course, he does.

“Okay…” you gather your notes together and take a deep breath, attempting to un-fluster yourself.

Sirius chuckles. You feel his body move behind you, shifting to help you fit better. “Nervous?” He moves so his mouth is right next to your ears. “There’s no need to be nervous. You’re just showing me… potions notes.”

“I hate you,” you whisper, face hot.

“What was that?”

“I said I hate you-”

“Do you?” Sirius moves his mouth closer to your ear. His breath hitting your skin causes bumps to raise along your arms, which you try to remove by pulling your long sleeves over your hands. “Do you hate me? I don’t hate you.”

“Sirius-”

“In fact, I rather like you. I think you’re very attractive.”

“Sirius,” you breathe, tilting your neck to the side. His hands move from his sides to your arms, sliding along the length of them to land on your shoulders. “What are you doing? I’m supposed to be showing you these notes-”

He chuckles again. His lips are so close to your body you shiver involuntarily. “If you actually wanted to study, would we be in this position?”

“I actually sat here to prove a point, but-” you’re interrupted by the feeling of his lips on your neck. You arch your back and tilt your neck more, letting out a sharp exhale while doing so. “Merlin-”

“That’s not my name, babe.”

You glare, rolling your eyes. “You are completely insufferable.”

He only hums, kissing your neck again. One hand goes to tangle in your hair, the other wraps around your stomach to push your back into his hard chest. You sigh. What harm will come to this? Sure, he’s annoying and arrogant and completely terrible, but he’s also extremely attractive. And if he claims to like you, then you can’t really complain about this. It feels good. And the common room is empty aside from you two, so why the hell not?

You pull away, twisting your body so you’re facing him. He pushes his legs together, forcing you to straddle his body. You put one knee on either side of him and lower yourself onto his lap, for real this time. Sirius is grinning back at you, an arm behind his head.

“You’re hot,” he says.

You raise an eyebrow. “I’m hot? You’re the attractive one.”

“I know that much. Reckoned you should know, too,” he bites his lip and lowers his gaze to yours. “Are you gonna kiss me, or am I going to have to come to you?”

In answer to his question, you lean forward and press your mouths together. His touch immediately travels to your ass, cupping it to propel you forward. You breathe out as one hand explores the length of your body. Your fingers tangle in his long hair, lips moving against his slightly chapped ones. To your surprise, he doesn’t add tongue for a good few minutes. When he does, it’s only slightly, like he’s waiting for your approval.

Snorting, you give it, tangling it with his. Sirius lets out a small pleasing sound, deepening the kiss and leaning forward so much your back arches more than it’s probably supposed to.

If you’re being honest, you’ve snogged enough to know how to breathe during the kiss so you don’t have to break away. He, apparently, has as well; you don’t have to break away until you hear somebody clear their throat behind you.

You pull away and look over your shoulder. James is standing with his girlfriend, Lily, Remus, and Peter.

“I didn’t expect you to get this far,” Remus laughs, shaking his head.

James chuckles, wrapping an arm around Lily’s waist. “Having fun?”

Sirius grabs a pillow off the ground and chucks it at the crowd. “Get out of here, mate! I’m busy!”

You roll your eyes and turn back to Sirius. You whisper, “If we keep kissing, they’ll leave eventually.”

“I like that idea,” he replies just as soft, closing the gap between you two. Behind you, you hear a series of groans and an exaggerated, ‘eurgh!’

“Let’s leave them alone,” Lily giggles, followed by footsteps. You continue kissing until you hear the portrait swing shut. Then you break away and rest your forehead against his.

“Should we start on the potions assignment?” You ask.

Sirius shakes his head. “Nah, we still have another week. Here, let’s keep doing this…” And with that, he tangles a hand in your hair and continues sucking on your lip.

[changji]

There’s a limit for when you’re in school but in summer I can do whatever I want bc it’s a Free Country 🤪 u miss are not allowed to get sick u hear me or else I will personally fly to cali & nurse you 😤 A STARBUCKS DRINK FOR $4.85 EYE- THAT’S SO GOOD WTFF I DON’T THINK I’VE PAID LESS THAN $5 FOR A DRINK THERE. You’re really out here like that

Ah I forgot to say how often I climb but I usually try for 3+ times a month bc the gym is pretty far away (by far i mean 2 different buses & an hour of crying). When I first started I was being taught how to tie a figure 8 knot (which is the most important one you need so you don’t die) and i couldn’t fucking get it right so the instructor had to go over it 193837 times & was getting annoyed @ me. LOL I couldn’t look him in the eye at all and my face had never been redder that day lmfao

At least ur teachers like you. I’m like that one student that never says anything and just sits there with an rbf so idk what my teachers think of me LOL. Half the time they don’t know I’m there. I got marked absent a couple times before but i was there in class 😤😤 ohh that’s cool. Band season runs the entire year for my school but that’s probably bc it’s a credit course. Newborn babies kinda are, it’s when they reach a couple months old they become cute

LOL how do you pronounce breakfast? I say salmon with the L & I get hated on by everyone. Taeyomi was great but changji is even better. Like changbin + jisung? Genius. Legends Only. Jkhsdiweiihfew I’m glad my url has an impact on ur daily life 🥵🥵 languages are so hard, I’m literally illiterate in every single one ik. Ikr? Our names are so easy like how do u mispronounce arella? One time  someone spelt my name as Adly and I wanted to Perish

The chance the skip 2 math levels? Once again ur a genius legend. I could never esp w math holy moly. Okay dark ones it is!! I was thinking either the 1st or 2nd ones? Which do u like more? Ah new friends. The first weeks are always so awkward bc you don’t really know them well so you don’t know how much of urself you wanna expose (or it’s just me. I’m too much of a crackhead apparently). Wait a moment. Do you have multiple buildings at ur school like a uni campus??

Make out spots at my school is this one sketchy stairwell where all the scary ppl are. The whole school just smells like weed bc 90% of the school are potheads. Alright that’s the deal if we die we die together 😤 I have never heard of bathroom portables before,, those sounds so Extra. Are they like a porta potty? Omg speaking of older grades a bunch of girls who graduated last year came to my work & I was like “oh shit lol ik u all this is awkward” 

Oof I’m the older sister so like. Favouritism never works in my favour. My sister will literally start a fight w me but I’m the only one who gets lectured in the end. Like. Bitch u started this 😤 I’m on the older side out of my cousins so I’m just Ignored 😪 I’m placing my bet on 2k words right now for our convos 

-

ah makes sense, i thought there was a time for summer too but it might just be here or i’m dumb 😔 I CANT AFFORD TO GET SICK MISSING ONE DAY OF SCHOOL WILL NOT HELP ME AT ALL ! but thank u for ur concern miss, u should just fly to cali anyway 😪 myb i’ll go to u can i hitchike from here ?? IT IS SO GOOD ITS AMAZING IT WAS SO CHEAP but the drink was super sweet 🤢 i have converted back to normal lattes with no syrup. peet’s is usually 5.20 for my drink and it’s so strong i don’t need extra shots ☺️ 

3 times,, a month,, i go to the mall like 3 times a week, look @ u being so athletic! tbh i sound lame but i’ve never taken a bus (other than a school bus for field trips) before like. buses here are lowkey sketch but it’s mostly college students. i rely on my parents and uber 🤧 sometimes i walk but. i don’t like to but if i have to i will oop. it takes an hour to get there and an hour back then right? i can’t imagine bro omg i’d just die. i know how to knot my shoelaces and never being able to untangle them so i now wear slip ons 🤪 poor ada, were like the same person but that was me when i took a knitting class for some reason and couldn’t do any of it 😪

okay idk if i told u yet but my ap euro teacher asked who’s been to italy so i raised my hand, he asked how it was and i said “the gelato is rly good” and his face was just. utter disappointment. turns out he was asking abt the art but he didnt clarify it and we weren’t even talking abt art so now i’m known as That Girl 😔 it’s hard to miss me oop, if it’s quiet then i’m sleeping & all my teachers last year knew this 😪 how do u get marked absent?? i wish band was a credit course but it’s only extra curricular 😔 are ur teachers snakes i will Step on them. newborns look fake but yeah they get cute when they’re like half a year old. 

like. brek-fust by my friends says brek-fist like it’s more of a u sound than an i but go off u idiots. salmon with the L,, ada,, no,, if u say carmel instead of caramel i’m gonna riot. ugh thanks bro i was lucky someone gave me this url, but nohyuckclub? aka the author of the most legendary mark lee social media au? A Whole Legend, but treerachas? my absolutely fave 🥺 languages are dumb i don’t know english i don’t know spanish my vocab consists of sksk and i oop, and that’s it. HOW DO U MISPRONOUNCE ADA LIKE. when i saw ur name i was like ay-da not ah-da, ppl need to learn bro it’s just said how it’s spelled. AND PERISH LOL I LOVE THE WORDS U USE

i’m actually dumb tho i just hate math oops, i’m more of a lunch kind of person if u know what i mean 😉 JK IM GROSS STOP ME and i like the 2nd one (the red one right? idk it’s all pretty u choose) i don’t wanna expose myself but it happens bc i’m just naturally a crackhead oops. but yeah we have multiple buildings! my campus is pretty small tbh? compared to other schools we’re really small, there’s like 2k kids here and i wanna die. it’s so crowded in the halls like get away from me u smelly thot. we have 3 buildings connected by 3 hallways, and a few other ones like the science buildings, music room, portables, 2 gyms and classrooms. in total i think there are 10 buildings? how’s ur campus like?

do you have one big building or smth? in my middle school had stairs and. stairs aren’t fun i hate them. if people kissed on the stairs everybody would hate them bc they’re blocking the halls LOL. we have our legendary D wing bathrooms where people smoke its so funny how often i got offered a roll,,, people straight up vape in class its so funny. but yeah a porta party. disgusting 🤢 in my head that’s what i call it LOL, a portable bathroom… i hate when i see people from school or just. ppl in general, did they recognize u?

U SPELL FAVORITISM WITH A U THATS SO WEIRD FUCKING AMERICA but im lowkey spoiled (highkey) but i. don’t pick fights, its my brother who does that LOL, he gets lectured tho so,,, not my problem oops i have a lot of cousins but we split it when we were younger so its wrong but teens (now adults but still called teens), kids (now teens but still called kids), and the adult adult cousins (which is the only correct one LOL) but i fit into the kid category so,,,, also we have almost 20k im literally SCREAMING, including this we’re at 20,712 words im-

[auskultu]

Politics: The Temper of the Times

uncredited writer, Time, 7 April 1967

"It's at least six months ahead of what I've been accustomed to," says former Republican National Chairman Len Hall, who now heads Michigan Governor George Romney's Washington head quarters. Predicts F. Clifton White, who organized Barry Goldwater's first-ballot victory at the 1964 convention: "Nobody's going to get a hammerlock on this thing at an early date. It'll be a fight to the finish."

In other words, the 1968 presidential campaign is early, wide open and worth fighting. Thanks to last November's comeback, the G.O.P. controls half of the nation's statehouses, representing 293 out of the 535 electoral votes and 57.5% of the population. Recent Re publican gains in Florida's legislature and the narrow loss of a Rhode Island congressional seat that had been Democratic for 33 of the past 35 years point to continuing strength. "The momentum," says House Minority Leader Jerry Ford, "is still running our way."

On the Democratic side, Lyndon Johnson's candidacy for a second full term is a foregone conclusion—though Vice President Humphrey and Bobby Kennedy plan to be around in case the President is not. As for the G.O.P., Dick Nixon said in Tokyo last week: "We will have candidates running out of our ears." Everybody seemed to be running.

Early Exposure. As Hubert Humphrey ended a two-week visit to Europe last week, Nixon, continuing his world tour, began a month-long swing through Asia. Romney—at last—discussed Viet Nam in Connecticut, and Illinois' Republican Senator Charles H. Percy addressed party workers in New Hampshire. California's Republican Governor Ronald Reagan, in office just 100 days as of this week, has already paid three visits to Washington. President Johnson, only recently back from Guam, heads off this week to the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este for a meeting with Latin American heads of state. Of all the potential candidates, only New York's Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller stayed put—waiting to see how the others run.

Two of the aspirants—Nixon and Romney—are openly seeking the nomination, despite the fact that they still emit "Who, me?" disclaimers for public consumption. Both are concerned at having launched their campaigns so early in the game, since relentless exposure over a long period can be deadly. But circumstances forced their hands. In Romney's case, it was a tide of favorable publicity and felicitous polls in the aftermath of his 570,000-vote third-term victory last November. Nixon was prematurely jolted into action by Reagan's sudden rise as a potential challenger for the conservative support that the former Vice President badly needs.

Reagan denies interest in the job. So does Percy. So does Rockefeller, who last year renounced presidential ambitions "forever." But as one G.O.P. leader observed recently, "Nobody ever made a Sherman-like statement except Sherman," and all three men would almost certainly accept the nomination. As Washington newsmen put it during last month's Gridiron Club dinner, in a song that was written with Rocky in mind but applies to all the naysayers:

He keeps on dreaming, and scheming, He still wants that prize. His lips tell you no! no! But there's yes! yes! in his eyes.

The Bacon Fryin'. What puts the "yes! yes!" in so many Republicans' eyes is the belief that their revitalized party can capture the White House in '68. "Our people smell the bacon fryin'," drawls South Carolina's Republican chairman, Harry Dent. "We know our chances are good. The main thing is to put together a winning combination."

Whether they succeed depends largely on the effectiveness of the moderates, who have considerably more muscle than usual. They command such key states as New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oregon and Washington. Though the polls and the primaries will figure to a larger extent than in the past in determining the nominee, the moderates nonetheless have an opportunity to exercise pivotal influence in that choice by uniting behind the best possible candidate.

After that, the Republicans will need more than a little luck to unseat L.B.J.

Even so, they are convinced that a number of durable shibboleths about presidential politics will not necessarily be working against them in 1968. Among them:

THE INVINCIBILITY OF AN INCUMBENT. Johnson will enjoy an immense publicity edge simply by occupying the White House. But during this century alone, two incumbents have been badly trounced (William Howard Taft in 1912 and Herbert Hoover in 1932) and a third (Harry Truman in 1948) barely escaped defeat.

THE POWER OF PROSPERITY. Boom times do not necessarily ensure that the "in" party will stay in. The Democrats were drubbed in 1952 in the midst of an economic upsurge, and again in 1966 when times were good.

DEMOCRATIC UNITY. Politicians love to note that the Democrats fight ferociously among themselves all the way to the polls, then patch things up and vote as one. That point would no doubt be disputed by Truman, who in 1948 had Henry Wallace's Democrats-turned-Progressives sniping at him from the left and Strom Thurmond's Democrats-turned-Dixiecrats from the right. Lyndon Johnson may face comparable defections next year, with the hot-eyed radicals of the New Left on one side and segregationists behind former Alabama Governor George Wallace on the other.

REPUBLICAN DISUNITY. The fissures were all too evident in 1964, when Goldwater told G.O.P. moderates that they were welcome only on his terms—and Romney, Rockefeller and others "took a powder," as Barry put it. But in earlier campaigns, the party united behind Wendell Willkie, Tom Dewey and Dwight Eisenhower, even though members of the conservative wing were deeply disappointed that their favorites were not nominated.

Republicans are heartened by the fact that the Democratic National Committee has atrophied, and party organizations in such pivotal states as New York, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio—and even Texas—have fallen apart. So far the only real sign of life is in its minorities and nationalities division, where Deputy National Chairman Louis Martin, a Negro, is working to boost Negro registration from 6,163,000 to 8,000,-000 by next year.

Once the Negroes are registered, however, there is some doubt how they will vote: a striking fact about U.S. politics in the past third of the century is that there is no longer any such thing as a deliverable vote. Particularly worrisome to Democratic chieftains is the increasing independence of the labor vote, a cornerstone of the urban coalition that Franklin D. Roosevelt structured a generation back. There were significant blue-collar defections last year in such Democratic strongholds as Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cincinnati, Louisville and Memphis. Often, rank-and-file resistance to Negro demands is responsible. In the Chicago suburb of Cicero, Democratic Senator Paul Douglas' 1960 vote of 19,678 was cut to 7,823 last year after a series of racial clashes. In a labor area in California's Alameda County, a 59% Democratic majority in 1962 shifted to a 65% G.O.P. margin after Stokely Carmichael staged a black-power rally there.

Please Shut Up. Perhaps the most significant fact for Republicans looking toward 1968, however, is that Lyndon Johnson, who three years ago won one of the most sweeping electoral and popular victories in U.S. history, today appears increasingly vulnerable.

In the past year, approval of his performance has slid in the polls from 56% to 45%. F.D.R. said in 1936: "There's one issue in this campaign. It's myself." In 1968, of course, there will be other issues, but a crucial one will nonetheless be Lyndon Johnson himself. Washington wags emphasize that point with a line they attribute to concerned Democratic officials: "Will the real Lyndon Johnson please shut up?" The real Lyndon Johnson is the one who was molded during 26 years on Capitol Hill; unlike most Presidents, he has shown few signs of personal or intellectual change in the White House. He is still the arm-squeezing, wheedling, wheeling-dealing Majority Leader, slinking into the wings when defeat looms and hogging stage center in victory. Stories of his vindictiveness, his pettiness, his tantrums when the press questions his decisions, have done little to improve that image.

Death & Burial. Around the U.S., there exists what California Pollster Mervin Field describes as "a general uneasiness"—over Viet Nam, high prices, an ever-rising crime rate, the seeming ineradicability of poverty, the restlessness of the younger generation, the increasing use of a whole pharmacopoeia of drugs, from pot to peyote. A Gallup sampling showed that 58% of Americans consider income taxes too high—and the figure will surely swell if Johnson decides to slap a 6% surcharge on income tax rates. If he does not, the Administration may well end the current fiscal year with a deficit of $13 billion, breaking Ike's peacetime record of $12.4 billion in 1959. And some Republicans claim that it could go as high as $25 billion, fueling a serious burst of inflation.

Viet Nam remains at once the biggest, least predictable issue. Should the war last five to ten years, Harvard Economist John Kenneth Galbraith, newly elected chairman of the Americans for Democratic Action, warned last week, "this disaster could, indeed, mean the death and burial of the Democratic Party." Few other Democrats share that gloomy view, but the war could cost a covey of doves their Senate seats in 1968. With 23 Democratic seats at stake v. only eleven for the G.O.P., the Democrats' 64-36 Senate majority could be drastically trimmed.

Republicans are uneasy as well. When it comes to taking a stand on Viet Nam in 1968, avers Minnesota's G.O.P. chairman, George Thiss, "about the best we may be able to do with it is what we did last year—weave and dodge and duck and pray."

Unthinkable. Actually, no would-be candidate can avoid taking a stand—and with 67% of the public on record in favor of continued bombing of North Viet Nam, a soft stance may amount to a political death wish. Oregon's Republican Senator Mark Hatfield, who is articulate, attractive and only 44, has virtually ruled himself out of presidential consideration—at least for 1968—with his dove-like stance. Bobby Kennedy, who led Lyndon Johnson in popularity polls last October, has fallen behind in the latest samplings, partly because of his criticism of the war.

Similarly, George Romney's five months of ambiguity on Viet Nam cost him considerable support. When he finally stated his position last week, at a dinner celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Hartford Times, it was hard to distinguish from the middle-of-the-road course that Johnson has followed—and the President promptly thanked him for his "strong endorsement."

Romney argued that it was a mistake for the U.S. to become involved in the first place, and maintained that Congress should have been asked to declare war once the involvement in Viet Nam grew as deep as it did. Nonetheless, said Romney, "it is unthinkable that the U.S. withdraw" at this point. "Our military effort must succeed." Defending the need to bomb the North, he added: "We must use military force as necessary to reduce or cut off the flow of men and supplies from North Viet Nam, to knock out enemy main force units, and to provide a military shield for the South."

Among other potential Republican candidates, Nixon strikes a tougher stance, calling for a blockade of Haiphong harbor and intensified bombing of the North. Reagan says that "a cause worth fighting is a cause worth winning." Rockefeller stands with the President, declaring that Johnson "must back the American commitment to freedom—and we must back him in this commitment." Percy, the least bellicose of the lot, is somewhat ambivalent: he proposes neither an unconditional bombing halt nor an outright pull-out but emphasizes the need to "accelerate the pursuit of peace."

Balance of Power. Domestically, the Great Society is certain to figure as a major issue, and it is by no means certain to win votes for Lyndon Johnson. "There is not such massive impact in the programs—at least not that much redounding to the benefit of the Democrats," says former Census Bureau Director Richard Scammon, an astute political observer. "If there were, the Democrats would have won in 1966 without losing a seat."

Underlying the disquiet over the Great Society's goals and achievements is concern that Washington is leaving too little responsibility to the states. Actually, Johnson has been attempting to disperse responsibility by fostering new partnerships involving federal, state and local governments as well as private enterprise. But he has discovered that responsibility is not always welcomed—a point that Chief Justice Earl Warren made last week when he addressed the opening session of New York State's constitutional convention. "One major factor in the concentration of power in the Federal Government," said Warren, "has been the absence of the exercise of power by the states."

The convention that Warren was ad dressing represented an attempt by one state to bring its administrative machinery up to date. Michigan revised its constitution back in 1963, Connecticut in 1965; 17 other states are now either revising antiquated charters or considering plans to do so in the near future.

Don't Poison the Well. In fighting the '68 campaign on such slippery issues as war, bureaucracy and personality, Johnson will almost certainly have Hubert Humphrey as his running mate. The President has been leaning on Hubert more and more in recent months. Since Jan. 1, Humphrey has logged 19,700 miles within the U.S., and he has minced no words with party functionaries. To those who complain about Johnson, he says: "Don't poison the well you're going to be drinking from next year." To liberals who have parted ways with the President over Viet Nam, he snaps: "You go off in a corner and scream, and then you complain that only the hawks, the wild men, have the President's ear. What kind of stupidity is that?" Once anathema in the South, Humphrey has lately found himself welcome in such places as North Carolina, where the Governor two years ago was roundly criticized for permitting him to sleep in the executive mansion, and Louisiana, where Governor John McKeithen nurses hopes of becoming No. 2 man on a future Humphrey ticket.

Last week the Vice President was on the last lap of his most delicate journey yet—a two-week tour of major European capitals to reassure continental statesmen that, despite its preoccupation with Viet Nam, the U.S. has not forgotten its transatlantic allies. The allies had a number of thorny issues to discuss—from Washington's proposed nuclear non-proliferation treaty with

Moscow, which they fear will reduce them to second-class status, to their misgivings over Viet Nam. But the Vice President acquitted himself with wit, charm and persuasiveness.

Portrait by Romney. Dining at 10 Downing Street, he delightedly pointed out to Prime Minister Harold Wilson that a painting of William Pitt the Younger bore the signature of George Romney, the 18th century English portraitist. In a private session with 200 British peers and Members of Parliament, left-wing Laborites did their best to bait him, but Humphrey fielded their barbed questions with aplomb, won a standing ovation at the end. "That was a magnificent performance," said Conservative Party Leader Ted Heath. In Bonn, his talks with West Germany's Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger went off smoothly, even though they took place immediately after the news had leaked out that the U.S. is planning a 12,000-man reduction in its Seventh Army. Humphrey heard no complaints about it. During a two-hour luncheon chat with Charles de Gaulle in Paris, the Minnesotan brought France's phlegmatic President to the edge of tears with an ad-libbed toast lauding his place in history.

Having virtually certified Humphrey as his 1968 running mate, Johnson has also opened the way for Hubert's own shot at the presidency in 1972. On the other hand, should Johnson die or become incapacitated before the 1968 convention, Bobby Kennedy might be tempted to challenge Humphrey for the nomination. However, Harry Truman's popularity rating soared to an unbeatable 87% after the presidency was thrust on him, and Humphrey would probably fall heir to a similar fund of sympathy. In any case, according to Kennedy sources, Bobby has no intention of accepting second spot on either a Johnson or a Humphrey ticket.

Kennedy says he will loyally campaign for the ticket in 1968, and has promised to submit sworn affidavits, if need be, to keep his name off primary ballots in such states as New Hampshire, Nebraska and Oregon. His avid supporters may mount write-in campaigns for him anyway—although they have found little backing thus far in the ranks of regular Democrats. One outfit, the Citizens for Kennedy-Ful-bright, wrote 5,000 former delegates and alternates to Democratic conventions requesting support, got only 28 positive replies. Said an Oregonian: "The only time I would favor Senator Fulbright for any office would be in the event his opponent was Wayne Morse, in which case I would probably vote for Cassius Clay."

Long-Hair Appeal. Bobby, of necessity, is thus looking toward 1972—though he runs the risk of becoming passe by then. As Psephologist Scammon notes: "The life span of the presidential butterfly is not great." Meanwhile the New York Senator is aiming his appeal at a special constituency. Within five years, 26 million new voters will have come of age, and Kennedy is fond of quoting Goethe's dictum: "The destiny of any nation, at any given time, depends on the opinions of its young men under 25."

In pitching his appeal to the longhaired set, Bobby has moved markedly to the left of Johnson, and despite his pledge of support, he is bound to collide with him on occasion. Already his differences on Viet Nam have exacerbated their relations.

Composite Candidate. Though the Democrats can be expected to brawl right up to election eve 1968, they at least have settled the most bitterly divisive issue of all—who their candidates will be. The Republicans are just getting started, and some rough mileage stretches ahead. The ideal candidate would have to be a G.O.P.-style L.B.J., only with the charisma and the capacity to unify all factions and win an election. He would have to be something like the composite superfigure in the 100 Pipers Scotch ads—one with the party loyalty of a Taft, the looks of a Teddy Roosevelt, the tongue of a Lincoln, the humanitarianism of a Hoover, and the probity of an Eisenhower.

Richard Milhous Nixon, 54, hardly fits that description, but he is the man who is best equipped to unite the party. He already has a strong hold on the South—and thanks to a bonus rule adopted at the 1964 G.O.P. Convention, giving extra delegates to states that went for Goldwater or elected a Republican Governor or Senator, the South will have more votes than any other section at the convention (356 v. 355 for the East, 352 for the Midwest, 262 for the West, eight for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands). Nixon could well enter the convention with 450 of the 667 votes needed for nomination. In addition, he has scores of lOUs from the 1966 campaign, when he traveled 30,000 miles (more than when he ran for President) in 35 states, often shaving three times a day to erase that famous five-o'clock shadow.

But—and there is always a but when Nixon's name is mentioned—he has not won an election on his own since 1950. Though he is the favorite of party regulars, they want a winner, and they wonder whether he is the man. "What's Nixon done that makes him any more electable than he was four years ago?" asks a party professional. "We've got to stop handing out medals for duty performed in campaigns."

Likability Gap. To prove that he can win, Nixon must thus enter every primary in sight. His aides are planning an all-out effort in his behalf in New Hampshire's March 12 first-in-the-nation primary, and are looking into the Wisconsin, Nebraska and Oregon contests. They acknowledge that Nixon suffers from a "likability gap," and that might prove his greatest drawback. Nixon, who has yet to live down the 1960 campaign slur "Would you buy a used car from this man?" may be the Republican least capable of exploiting Johnson's personality gap. He is probably the longest of all G.O.P. long shots. As one Republican leader puts it: "The only way Nixon could win the nomination would be if it were clear that any Republican could win—or that no Republican could win."

Cut, Squeeze, Trim. Should Nixon stumble, the ideal fallback candidate, to conservatives, would be Reagan, 56. William Buckley's National Review calls him "as strong a candidate as the Republican Party can field."

Reagan, of course, denies any such aspirations. "Look," he says with a winning smile and a nervous tug at his right ear, "I am not a candidate for President. I have a pretty big job right here." He does indeed. Elected by nearly 1,000,000 votes on a promise to "cut, squeeze and trim" spending, he has submitted the largest state budget in U.S. history—$5.06 billion. Having promised to keep taxes down, he has proposed the biggest one-shot tax increase ever —$946 million.

His efforts at economizing—by proposing cuts in spending for higher education and mental health—have caused well-publicized uproars, but 67.8% of Californians say that they approve of his plans. The rest of the nation, while withholding judgment, is certainly intrigued with him. Where former Governor Pat Brown used to attract a dozen reporters and two or three TV cameras to press conferences, Reagan draws 50 reporters and a dozen big cameras.

Despite his disclaimers, many Republicans are convinced that Reagan has caught the presidential bug. He will head California's big delegation at the convention as a favorite son. He probably will make several forays into neighboring Oregon before next May's primary, may also be on the ballot in Nebraska and Wisconsin. To withdraw, says his press secretary, "would call to mind a picture of the citizens of the country knocking on the door and telling you they want you to be President, and you slam the door in their face."

Many moderate Republicans are hoping that somebody will slam the door on Reagan. In an envenomed editorial on "Creeping Reaganism" in its monthly newsletter, the liberal Ripon Society said that his candidacy would turn 1968 into a year of "disaster and disunity" rivaling 1964. "It is a misreading of the '64 election," it said, "to think that a better-manicured man, lacking Goldwater's crusty honesty, can turn the same programs into victory for the Republican Party."

Tax-Guzzling Dinosaur. Since November, the man with the best chance of winning has seemed to be George Wilcken Romney, 59. Exploiting that considerable appeal, he has adopted as the motto for a newsletter published by his supporters: "Winning is the name of the game."

But can he win? He still outruns Johnson and Kennedy in preference polls, though his margin has been decreasing. He has the squarejawed, silver-fringed good looks for the job, an unbroken string of victories and an unblemished personal life. He can enrapture a sympathetic audience, as he did in the conservative mountain states recently, by charging that "the Great Society has grown into a tax-guzzling dinosaur"—an echo from the days when he and American Motors' little Rambler were doing battle with Detroit's "gas-guzzling dinosaurs." Despite the Mormon Church's relegation of Negroes to second-class status, Romney, a faithful churchgoer who tithes his salary and abstains from liquor, caffeine and cigarettes, has a spotless civil rights record.

Nonetheless, Romney's moderate supporters are growing skeptical of his ability to cope with the pressures of a national campaign. Before his Hartford speech, he announced that he would not answer newsmen's questions afterward "because I don't intend to let reporters divert attention from what I'm trying to say." It was a damaging admission of his reluctance to expose himself to the kind of grilling that a presidential candidate must endure daily—even hourly. He is also in trouble at home, where the state senate has rejected his proposals to levy personal and corporate income taxes in order to avoid a $147 million deficit.

Increasingly, Romney has become the butt of the kind of jokes that can kill a candidate. One, referring to his sometimes sanctimonious air, goes "It's all right for George to want to be President, but I object to his using the White House as a steppingstone." Another: "Deep down, he's shallow." When his supporters opened a special research office in Lansing, wags dubbed it "George Romney's Office of Presidential Exploration—GROPE."

Tweedledum & Tweedledee. Given Romney's drawbacks, some moderates are shifting uneasily in their seats and looking elsewhere. Many an eye has fallen on Charles Harting Percy, 47, the junior Senator from Illinois. Percy is not trying to build a shadow opposition. He clearly aspires to higher office, but he would rather run in 1972, when he just might wind up in a Tweedledum-Tweedledee confrontation with Bobby Kennedy, who resembles him in many ways.

Nevertheless, Percy has run ahead of his personal timetable in the past—most notably when he became president of Bell & Howell at 29, ten years before he expected to. In speeches from New England to the West Coast, he has impressed audiences with his articulateness and quickness of mind. He has a reservoir of sympathy as a result of the still-unsolved murder of his daughter Valerie last September. In the Senate, Percy got off to a whirlwind start, persuading 27 colleagues to co-sponsor a bill calling for a Government-supported private corporation to help slum residents buy their own dwellings.

Though a liberal, Percy has kept his channels to the conservatives unclogged. could expect some support should the front-running candidates stumble. "I like Chuck," says Barry Goldwater, whom Percy supported in 1964. "I've worked for him, he's worked for me. I'd support him." But Percy's chief problem is inexperience, which is only accentuated by his boyish looks.

"Not Me." That leaves among the Republican potentials the uncle of Percy's son-in-law—Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, whose nephew John D. Rockefeller IV two weeks ago married Percy's daughter, Sharon, the twin sister of Valerie. At 58, Rocky seems more at ease, more confident and more attractive than ever. When the presidential campaign is mentioned, he murmurs, "No, no. Not me." He says he will have his name withdrawn from any primary in which it is entered. He has made no move to round up delegates.

Like Romney and Reagan, he has had his problems with a balky legislature, but he has written a record that may be hard to match. His masterpiece is a $2.5 billion transportation bond issue that commits New York State to spend more on modernizing its subway, surface and air lines than Lyndon Johnson is spending on transportation across the entire U.S.

As a potential presidential nominee, he has grave drawbacks. Four years and two babies after his celebrated di vorce and remarriage, his name still evokes indignant sniffs from many women—particularly matrons in their 40s. His refusal to support Goldwater made him a villain to the Republican right. But if the conservatives want a winner, it is conceivable that they might help him toward the nomination. In any case, it will probably take considerable public arm-twisting by G.O.P. powers to coax the reluctant Rocky into the arena. It might well prove worth the effort. He is a proved campaigner, effective in the big cities and clearly a match for L.B.J., in both ex perience and expertise. On foreign policy, Rocky, a former Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs, can claim a background in practical policymaking unequaled by the other G.O.P. aspirants.

One top-ranking Republican estimates that 22 of the 25 G.O.P. Gov ernors think he would make the best candidate the party could put up. Jack Kennedy admitted after his eyelash victory over Nixon in 1960 that Rocky might have beaten him. With Lyndon Johnson in low esteem among many Democrats and among the independents, who now comprise 27% of U.S. voters (v. 46% for the Democrats, 27% Republicans), Rockefeller could probably collect more of their votes than any other Republican.

Other names will doubtless crop up as the field begins forming: Ohio's Governor James Rhodes, who won a second term by a landslide 700,000 votes in November, though some of his colleagues consider him a lightweight; General William Westmoreland, though he would have to come home with a clear-cut victory in Viet Nam and that is at best a remote possibility. As for potential Vice Presidents, the country is crawling with them. There are Washington's Governor Daniel Evans, Rhode Island's Governor John Chafee, Massachusetts' Senator Edward Brooke and New York's Senator Jacob Javits, the only one who has publicly been courting the post. If he continues to perform as effectively as he has to date in the near-impossible job of running New York City, Mayor John V. Lindsay, 45, will surely rate consideration for a vice-presidential nomination—and eventually, perhaps, even for the top spot on the G.O.P. ticket.

Out of the Doorway. Clouding the whole presidential picture is Alabama's Wallace, a magnum of mischief in a half-pint package. If Wallace does in deed run as a third-party candidate, warns Goldwater, "he'll take votes away from Republicans," probably in the very Southern states that Barry carried in 1964: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.

Wallace has already opened campaign headquarters in Montgomery's Ten-High Building. "If these two national parties continue on their present trend of liberalism and me-tooism, we'll be a candidate," he promises. "There is more grass-roots support for us than you can imagine. You just talk to the workingman—to steelworkers, taxi drivers, barbers and people who really run this country."

Capitalizing on the low-income white voter's alarm at Negro unrest, Wallace won 30% of the vote in the 1964 Indiana presidential primary, 34% in Wisconsin, an amazing 43% in Maryland. Given a few major ghetto riots this summer, some rabble-rousing black-power speeches by Stokely Carmichael and a few more statements from Martin Luther King comparing the U.S. role in Viet Nam to Hitler's in Europe, Wallace might even improve on that performance. But he has failed to win the expected backing of Georgia's Governor Lester Maddox. Moreover, Wallace's favorite pitches—for states' rights and against integration—may lose some of their punch when voters begin to realize that Alabama gets 75% of its welfare budget from the evil Government in Washington, that 300 Negroes are attending the University of Alabama now that George is no longer standing in the doorway, and that even his old high school in Clio has ten Negro students.

Understandably, Las Vegas bookmakers offer no odds—even unofficial odds—on the 1968 presidential contest. They figure that the betting on this race should be left to amateurs and madmen.

It is not even safe to say, for example, that Johnson would be a shoo-in if he ended the Viet Nam war. Ironical ly, the G.O.P. could benefit, since there would then be no hesitation about "changing horses in midstream," and the key issues would become the President's personality and his management of the Great Society.

The Big Difference. One safe assumption is that the G.O.P. Convention will not be "deadlocked"; the day is long past when it can take 103 ballots to nominate a candidate, as it did at the 1924 Democratic Convention. Nor, since roughly a dozen Republicans plan to enter the convention as favorite sons and thus will not begin transferring their delegates to the leading candidates until after one or two votes have been taken, will it by any means be a preset minuet. But the nominee should emerge fairly quickly—and without the bruising ideological schism that marred the 1964 convention.

The big difference in 1968 will be that the moderates should be in a sufficiently strong position to prevent such a battle and to select a candidate-whoever he may be—with a realistic chance of winning the election. Thus the most reassuring outlook for '68 is that whichever party and candidate may capture the presidency, the global and domestic commitments of the American people will be little changed.

[boyshoujo]

u don't even know me but u already kno me and my personality?? wow u must be a sorcerer.................. but im indeed problematic, and ummm i don't like filet o fish??? i hate her but we go to mcdonald's almost everyday and im forced to eat something so it's the only choice i have........ the meat and chicken at mcdonald's tastes like plastic but that damn fish tastes REAL!!! she isn't fake..............

yea Whatever….. a few days ago u told me that “filet of fish gives [you] emotional support” ???? but when i out u suddenly u hate her??? what’s the truth :/

what’s wrong with hadaka shitsuji???? its a funny game!!! don’t u like the main character tomoaki?? he’s the only good main character ive ever seen in my life and he’s a sadistic bitch??? i love sadistic binches cuz they are like me!!! i felt like “i” was in the game when i saw him, he killed everybody and i was proud of this ugly fuck cuz thats what i would do if i was in this game,,,,,,,,,, i would do more fucked up things than him but anyway, i don’t like fedoras!!!!! i just like that dude-

LFSJLKFSJKSF bceuacuse IT’s A BAD GAME!!!!!!!! ITS BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! actually you remind me of tomoaki???? a lot???? gotta add that to ur callout list……………

-cuz he’s funny and btw he’s the one wearing a purple jacket and his name is hashizuka and that fake loser who is a cheap version of sergei is called junichi :/ and tbh i send u furry asks cuz ur the only one who accepts me for who i really am,,,,,,,,, like i sent some arcana blogs some asks about fucking a fictional goose and a donut kink and they just said “what the fuck” and ehh they’re so serious?? like chill its just a joke jfc sharon :/ i go to their pathetic edgy blogs and this is how they treat me???? i just wanted to cheer ur edgy ass up sharon don’t act like ur 70 dammit just accept a joke lol

LFKSKFSJK bicht i’m literally 0.00039 seconds into the game u rec’d and???? /?? ??? literally ALL of the guys r pathetic???? they go to a school called Charming Cherries lFKJLF AAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT IS THIS does this mean the principal guy is a Veteran Cherry…………………..binch…. that’s Why he wears a fedora………………………………..i accidentally picked the annoying know-it-all guy so i’ll go for him first and then mayb try the ceo guy……dONUT KINK,,,,,,,,,,,,,, , > >>>???/ ??/ ?? ??? ?? no offense but i’d be like ???????????? GET OUTTA MY INBOX???????? HOW DARE U COME IN AND DISRESPECT MY BRAND LIKE THIS??? ?? ?? ?? ? ………….anyways i wanna hear about the donut kink LOLIKR!!!!!!! !  ! i hate people who r too serious………………………i mean…. im actually p serious Tbh but some people on this website can’t take jokes????? i saw a shitpost where this person was like “some of yall need 2 get mugged lol” and people were like “why do u want people to suffer so bad??? SHOULD I JUST DIE THEN!!! DO YOU WANT ME TO DIE!!!!” and im like …………… wtf chill Ashley lmao………

i feel like if i ever met u we would be the best friends ever?? actually i would be the one who’s crying cuz we both have the same taste?? ik a lot of characters like segrei and vincent so if u want me to tell u their names im gonna say it in another ask, and i like how u don’t judge me unlike all of my new friends ;^( i had a friend in middle school in 7 grade and i told her a lot of weird shit and she didn’t judge me??? she was a true friend indeed……………….

give me more sergei characters 👏👏👏👏 also DW im deFINITELY JUDGING YOU LMAO but im amused and laughing at the same time?? sometimes u send me asks and im like ???? ????? ? ?? ?? ?? ? ? ????????wtf lmao ? ??? ?

im sure if we talked more ur gonna find out that we’re literally friend-mates= 2 lonely binches who got the same taste in fictional character and idk but we would be the best bff’s ever tbh?? ur the friend who i have been searching for years?? everyone finds my thirst and my “weeaboo” ass (although im not a fuckin weeaboo im just thirsty for fictional characters!!) too weird and they always say “u can’t take ANYTHING seriously!!” like?? im 5???? why should i take anything seriously?? im not 70??

gfgfg bicth? i don’t even know anything about you, how can we be friends!!!!! WHO ARE YOU!! ! !! ! we should make a Lonely Bitch club but the requirements to enter are: do u play otome? would u body slam lucio into the pavement??? would u fuck the goth fish from finding nemo?? r u a thirsty ho????

i thought u would say “she’s a thot lol” and u would agree with me that she’s a thot??? if we didn’t know each other im trying to know her??? im trying to be friends with her????? how am i going to be friends with her if i didn’t talk to her?? fuck that shitty book??? im more important???? im sure she can read that damn book at her home and not in school!!!!!!! she should study like the rest of us………. and she shouldn’t study HER book!!!!!!!!!!!!

JKSJLSJKSJF i just realized, all of my friendships w/ virgos happened bc they woULDNT STOP TALKING/BOTHERING ME LOL this is why i love virgos…………. ur like stray cats that just never stop meowing until u let them in……maybe u should bother her more FKLSJFKJFS and she’ll finally crack

if i ever tried to read a book it should have pictures in it cuz i don’t want to imagine all that shit by myself!!!!!!! just add a fucking picture jfc…………….. i was exactly like that when i was a kid and im still the same??? i haven’t changed much tbh and im glad???? im glad i still have that silly trait of mine lol 

no offense but READ?????????? imagining things is fun??????????????? books r so much fun????????? wtf???rn im reading a book about some ugly french guy from the 18th century with a Superhuman sense of smell who kills girls to make The Ultimate Perfume or whatever?? im barely like 50 pages in, but he killed his first girl?? and literally shoved his nose up her ass?? it was wild?????? books r wild??????

we’re going to study about christopher columbus this year and his ugly face is in my book???? like bitch why u gotta curse my book with ur disgusting face???? im going to roast this bitch when we get to his part in the book and everyone is going to ask me: “binch y are u angry???” and im like “why don’t u do some fuckin research sharon abt this ugly fuck and then ur going to understand why im angry” like get out of my book u lil bitch!!!!!!! that dam book is cursed now!!!!!!!

👏👏👏 END HIm

I LIKE TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER TOO!!!!! im just kidding but what’s ur favorite season???? mine is winter cuz uhhhh its winter???? everyone who hates winter is canceled??? lucio loves summer and is canceled????

fall-winter???? bc halloween…….. and american thanksgiving is fucked up bc it essentially celebrates the genocide of native americans but tbh……..i love turkey…… (we eat roast turkey and mashed potatoes n pumpkin pie n stuff for thanksgiving)also i just love it when the weather gets colder??? i get to dress up??? and be fashionable??? when it’s hot, all i wear are t shirts and shorts which is Boring it doesn’t snow where i live though lmao and it’s typically warm year-round where i live :/ winter is the only time i get to pull out all my cute sweaters and jackets but some winters only get cold for 2 weeks lmao :—–/

so you’re american right???? which means u have halloween rn??? or does it start on 31 if im not mistaken???? sadly we don’t have halloween here……………………………………………. they consider it “an event where people worship satan” here lmao

halloween is only one day (31st) SKJKSJ

i think its hot if batman would ever judge me

KSJKFSJFKLJFSK i;m gonna frame this ask Bye

[chironsilentmind]

I. Little (1.4)

Out of breath once again Kev loses the race home to Chiron’s front door.

Kev: You going back home already it ain’t dark yet. Come on let’s go to my house play the game. Chiron: Nah… I’ll be right back iight stay here.

Chiron quietly opens the door he knew his mom could only be doing two things sleep, or entertaining company who she show him off , and brag about him. Either way he didn’t want to be by Paula.

Chiron tiptoes and slowly closes the door behind him. Chiron looks around a bit for any sign of Paula. Her cigarette still lit upon the ashtray. But she isn’t laid on the couch where he last saw her.

Chiron rushes off to his bedroom. He hears noises across the hall coming from his Momma’s bedroom. He leans in for a sec. To listen in radio is playing old school r&b love songs. A man’s voice along with his mother’s. Chiron sighs and proceeds to his bedroom grabs his dollar he had hidden behind his headboard. He always had to find new hiding places from his mother. She hated him keeping money from her. She’d take it away, but he never saw it again.

Chiron was good at keeping secrets seeing as he never really had much to say.

Chiron tiptoes back into the hall as he hears his mother room open he makes a dash for the front door.

Paula: CHIRON keep you Little ass outside boy!

Chiron heads out the front door. Slamming it shut.

Chiron scares Kev who was unable expectedly relaxed again the wall.

Chiron: Damn! Kev: wassup Little?

Chiron out of breath.

Chiron:…Nothing. come on.

Kev: I’m tired man.

Kev and Little walk along. Chiron reaches in his pocket to fish out the dollar. Shows it of to Kevin.

Chiron: Candy lady? Kev nods.

The candy lady of the neighborhood lived closer to Kev’s house.

Kev knocks on the door.

Kev: Now and Later, Lemon heads, & mike& ikes plz…thank you.

Kev grabs the candy after Chiron pays the dollar. Kev races off to his house 4 doors away. Kev lived with his Big Mama. He was the youngest of 4, well 5 if you count his cousin Ricky. He had 2 brothers & a sister. He had a big family. Chiron was an only child, at times it felt like his mom didn’t even want him. She’d never want more kids.

Kev looks back at Little. Kev: You coming?… Little: yeah

Kev never really talk about his parents.

Kevin escorts Chiron inside.

Kev: Nanny!…Big Mama!..me & my friends going to play the game!…NANNY!

Kev’s grandmother emerges from the kitchen.

Big Mama: Boy! Stop yelling in my house. Kev smiles and hugs her.

BigMama: Mhmm boy I’m not fooling wit you. Dinner gon be ready soon. Mhmm I know you got some candy. buttering me up.

Kev: not a lot! Big Mama: Kevin! You heard now…

Big Mama turns to greet Little.

Big Mama: and who little boy is you. Kev: Nanny that’s Chiron. My friend Little remember…? Big Mama: Kev hush. He can speak. And that ain’t what I asked him. Who ya Momma? Chiron: Paula.

BigMama: I used to run a daycare here. Before your Momma moved out here. Watched just about everybody kids. So I know everybody. She still nursing?

Chiron nods. Chiron: Yes Ma'am.

BigMama: Kevin I like this boys manners. He can come over here anytime. Teach yall some. Kev: Okay Nanny, Can we go play now?.

Big Mama glares at Kev.

Kev: I mean…May we please go play? Big Mama smiles and nods. Little staying for dinner?

Kev: yes Ma'am.

Kev leads Chiron into the back room.

Kev: Come on…my brother just got Mario Bros.

Kev sets up the game console. Grabs the controllers.

Kev: Little, why you was in trouble today? Chiron: huh. What you mean?

The two talk as they start a random level on the game eyes focused on the TV.

Kev: ya moms said you was in trouble before you had came out to play. Chiron: Oh, nothing.

Chiron didn’t feel right to tell Kev about Tarell, Vic & em boys. And yesterday til this morning. He’d have to explain why he didn’t come home. Him mom worrying getting mad. The reason he did it on purpose.

Kev: nothing? I’m gonna get it out of you anyways. You mind as well tell me…

Kev pauses the game to show some sincerity. Little smiles.

Chiron: It’s too long of a story.

Kev unpause the game.

Kev: ok…you gonna tell me.

Chiron shakes his head and smiles to himself.

Kev hands Chiron the bag of candy.

Chiron wasn’t really a big candy eater. On Halloween. He mostly gave away his candy to the neighbors kids who weren’t allowed to trick or treat because of their beliefs.

Chiron suddenly realize he’s in Kev’s and Ricky’s room.

Ricky was about 12 years old. So he had to share a room with Kev. Kev’s other siblings were too old. Shaun & Shaneice were Twins, Shaneice being the only girl had her own room. Trevor & Shaun shared a room before Trevor went to University full scholarship playing football.

Kev: Little you gon play or what?

Chiron focus his attention back on the TV.

Kev’s cousin Ricky walks in the room.

Ricky: Kev get out I gotta study. Kev: Nerd. Ricky: Stupid. Kev: Little. Ricky. Ricky: sup man. Chiron: hi

Ricky grabs his books & heads to the dining room table.

Kev:That’s my cousin but i call him my other brother. You don’t talk much Little. Why you so quiet all the time?

Chiron shrugs. Chiron: got nothing to say. Kev: it’s cool, we still boys.. Kev playfully nudges Chiron’s shoulder. You can talk to when you find stuff to say.

The boys continues the game.

Big Mama: Boys come on eat!

Kev & Chiron had been smelling Nancy’s delicious food since they burst through the front door. Both excited to eat her sweet delicious meal. The rush to the bathroom to wash they’re hands.

Kev: Bet you to the table… Chiron:you too slow Chiron stomach growls from hunger he realize he hadn’t eat since the morning with Teresa & Juan. Kev: Man you hungry or something..? You can go first.

The two walk to sit at the dining room table. Both mesmerized by the delicious aromas. Fried chicken, Mac'n Cheese, candied yams, ham, green beans & carrots, cornbread & for dessert Nanny’s Banana Pudding.

Chiron had never seen so much delicious food. Paula didn’t really know how to cook as well as Nanny. Chiron didn’t even see as much good food on Thanksgiving.

Kev: Little close your mouth you drooling.

They both shared a laugh as the the rest of Kev’s siblings joined the table.

Shamrock Kev’s only sister, beautiful Carmel skinned typical boy crazed teen girl.

Big Mama: i see you on my house phone again. Shaneice sighs. Big Mama: Gurl!!! Shaneice dinner time! Shaneice: Mhmm gurl, imma have to call you lata… Bye. Ricky: girls! Shaneice smacks Ricky upside his head. Ricky: OW! Big Mama: cut it, yall hush.

Shaneice looks over at Kev.

Shaneice: hey baby bro when did you get here?…? Kev: I walked past you when i came in the house Neicy. Shaneice: you did?….oh. hi! Who’s your friend?

Chiron sits quietly swinging his legs in the chair. Kev: Little thats my big sis Shaneice but we call her Neicy. Chiron smiles and waves hello. Shaneice: he don’t talk?… Kev laughs. Kev: Not much. Chiron: Hello. Shaneice gushes over him. Shaneice: aww Little you’re so cute. You’re gonna be a heartbreaker when you get older, watch. Chiron blushes of embarrassment as all eyes of the room studies him. Chiron:Thank you! Shaneice: You’re welcome. Big Mama: and he has manners too.

Kev smiles and nudges Chiron again. Kev: ay stay away from my sis…..I’m her protector.

Shaneice: Mmm Nanny this looks amazing as always. Big Mama: thank you baby!

Ricky reaches over to grab the serving plate of fried chicken. Big Mama: Grace! Boy!. Ricky:Sorry Nanny.

Chiron didn’t say grace at home. Kev grabs his hand Little didn’t care what he had to do for grace as long as Kev never let his hand go.

Chiron looks around at the collectively joined hands closed eyes and bowed heads. As Ricky starts to lead prayer. Ricky:thank you Lord for this delicious food…. Chiron peeks his eyes open a bit to looking around the room. He snickers as he sees Kev peeking back at him. Kev squeezes Chiron’s hand as Ricky finishes the grace With a collective Amen.

Kev still holding Chiron hand for a little longer. Reaches over to Ricky’s plate to steal his price of chicken. The two snicker again as Ricky realizes his now empty plate.

Ricky: Funny!

They fill their plates with the delicious food selection. And begins to eat.

BigMama: Shaneice where in the world is Shaunie? Shaneice: I don’t even know Nanny…I think he went to Michael’s house or something. Big Mama: ok…Chi Chi- Shaneice and Kev: CHIRON! Nanny Big Mama: l know his name…how you like the food baby?

Chiron: It’s great, thank you Ma'am. BigMama: you’re a polite young man Chiron, I like that. You can call me Big Mama or Nanny, Whatever you'd like. Okay? Chiron nods. Chiron: okay.

Kev: Nanny must like you, because she don’t let kids around the neighborhood call her That. Big Mama: Not that little Badass boy Tarell or that sneaky Vic & ‘em. They act like they don’t have no home training. But I keep them in my prayers. I pray for all yall. Especially living out here something always going on.

Chiron smiles at Nanny. Chiron: I like it here. Kev smiles at Nanny and Shaneice.

Kev: yeah, this is the most you’ve spoken to anyone else besides me. Big Mama: I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself here. That food got you to talkin. huh? Chiron nods as everyone at the table laughs along.

The family finishes the rest of their meal. Kevin & Chiron help collect dishes from the table for Nanny.

Big Mama: You’re a good influence on Kev. Kev stick around this one. Kev: he's alright Nanny!…she finna kidnap you from home Little. Keep you as her child.

Eventhough Chiron knew it was only a joke. He knew he didn’t mind being kidnapped away from his life at home.

Kev:Nanny I’m gonna walk Little home real quick. Big Mama: Shaneice walk them boys halfway. Kev: aww Nanny, Neicy walk too slow… Big Mama: She's is your big sister let her look after the both of you.

Kev rolls his eyes Kev: fine!

Chiron face dropped at the thought of going back home. Big Mama walks over to him give him the warmest Grandma hug he’s ever had. BigMama: you come back now Chiron, you hear? Chiron: yes Nanny.

Chiron follows Kev outside Shaneice already waiting for them.

Kev: Nanny love her some Chiron… Little? Kev whispers Why was you in trouble wit your moms?

Chiron: I didn’t come home lastnight. Kev paused in his footsteps. Kev: You what!? Chiron: I came home this morning. A little before you came for me. Kev: you brave. Nanny would’ve gave me a sore behind. Where was you at? Chiron stays silent. Kev: So you not gon tell me.

As they walked along the way they looks back for Neicy she was on her cellphone further behind.

Chiron: ok if i tell you don’t tell anyone. Kev: i can keep a secret… Chiron: i was at Juan’s house. Kev:….Juan…juan?…OG Juan? Chiron nods. They both continue to walk along. Kev: That’s crazy. Too crazy. What you do there? Chiron: nothing special met his girlfriend. Watched a movie, ate dinner, slept woke up ate breakfast, came home. Kev: Why? Chiron: why what? Kev: why didn’t you go home? Chiron: that’s a longer story.

Neicy shouts Neicy: Kev… ay yall hurry up. Kev: ALRIGHT! Come on Little let’s just run to your door.

They both pace themselves as they run to Chiron’s front door.

Kev: alright man, tell me more later. Chiron reaches to give Kev dap. To his surprise Kev refuses and hugs him instead. Chiron smiles. Chiron: Ok! Bye kev! As he enters his front door.

Chiron walks in slow not to disturb Paula. Chiron peeks around into every room. So far still no sign of Paula.

Chiron goes to the kitchen for a glass of water. When he hears a slam at door. Chiron cautiously opens the front door to see his Momma Paula passed out in the entrance of the doorway.

The only thing he could think to do is pull her body the rest of the way inside the house. Chiron struggles as he pulls Paula’s limp body inside. He places his ear to her chest to search for her heartbeat. He felt her hand rubbing his head.

Paula: Chiron you helping your Momma out.

Chiron had seen his momma like this once before a while back. It was after a 4th of July cookout at hi Nana Joyce house. The next morning his momma and Nana Joyce got into it. He remembered the loud screams very vividly. They don’t talk much anymore.

Chiron grabs a pillow from the couch place it under Paula’s head and cover her in her granny’s favorite quilt. Gave her his fresh glass of water.

Chiron bathe & dressed for bed. Peeking in on Paula one last time. Paula now sleep under their dining table. Nowhere Leg resting upon the seat of course moving her wouldn’t be any easier. He decides to leave her there. He turns off the list & goes to bed.