#at least i figured out the read more thing

[ao3commentoftheday]

why does ao3 has hit counts?

i feel like it's a little irrelevant metric to keep track of for an archive and on top of that i see sadly a lot of readers taking it too seriously and not reading fics with too many hits but not proportionally high kudos count.

i know there skins exist that hide it and personally i don't have issues with them, it's just sad to see something so small weaponized by readers and use it as indication of fics quality.

I wasn't around in fandom during AO3's inception, but according to the news post when hit counters were released, it was by popular suggestion at the time. I'm old enough to remember a time when people thought hit counts were a cool thing to track. Maybe that was it? 🤷‍♀️

At least, that might be why it's displayed to users. Site administrators have other reasons for tracking web traffic, but I do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins*.

Readers are people and people need to find some way to sort through information. Is hits the best way to find a fic you'll love? No. But then, neither are kudos and lots of people sort by those too. They tend to do that more when they're new to a fandom and new to AO3, though rather than as a standard method of searching.

No matter which stat a reader decides to organize their search by, it won't actually contribute to their enjoyment of the work. It's the story that determines that. Finding a story that you're actually going to like means reading tags and summaries instead of numbers. Give them enough time, and they'll figure that out.

[writingroom21]

Sweet Escape

Pairing: Rafe x single mom reader

Summary: Moving to Kildare with your best friend and daughter was the perfect move. The little island is perfect, the people are nice, and you are finally at peace. Then Rafe comes in with his perfect smile and charm, sweeping you off your feet. The only issue is if you are ready to let someone else in.

Warnings: None

Wc: 5.1K

series masterlist

Chapter 1: You again

The breeze blows your hair, obscuring your vision from the boxes in the back of the moving van. The weather was nice here in the outer banks, different to what it felt like in New york. Moving here right when Spring is in bloom was the best decision. Back home it’s still cold, barely even warming up. But here it’s so beautiful. The waves from the water behind the house hit the dock, the lapping sound making its way to the front.

“Grandma is having a blast with Vi right now. I know she’s glad to have a baby in the house again.” Jo your best friend says as she walks into the van to grab another box. It was her idea to move her. Her grandma was getting older and she wanted to come take care of her. When she figured it all out she just handed you tickets, telling you that you weren’t going to stay there longer.

Without consulting you she had talked with her grandma to let you and your daughter Violet to move in with them. She wanted to get you as far away from New York as she could. Jo is the type of best friend that feels responsibility for her friends. It was that way when you were children and it got worse when you had your own child.

The moment you found out you were pregnant she was there to cry along with you. She was there in the delivery room when your precious little girl was born. Every step of your life has been with her, never allowing you to go through it alone. You couldn’t be more grateful to have her in your life.

“That’s good. I’m sure Vi is going to love being around her. Two peas in a pod probably.” You try to not get into your head as you pick up a box of Vi’s things. When you told your parents you were pregnant they weren’t happy. To be fair you were eighteen, fresh out of highschool. They tried to be supportive but couldn’t look past it when their friends from church started to talk.

They had kicked you out right before you gave birth, leaving you to be stranded. The father was a nightmare to say the least and that wasn’t an option for you. He was a mistake that you wish you could take back. A reminder of being what your family wanted to only be their disappointment. He seemed perfect to them but deep down he was a monster, no one you want around your baby to begin with.

The only option you had was Jo. Her family wasn’t like yours, they took you in with open arms. Embracing Violet as one of their own. Even though you lost your family that night they forced you out, you found another that loved you more. For two years it was perfect, Vi was growing up nicely, hitting all her milestones. You had a good job and had saved up enough money to move out on your own. Which was perfect timing since Jo was going to move here.

Then a week after she informed you of her decision you got a call from a lawyer. “Hello?” You answered. “Hi, I'm looking for.”  He says your name for clarification. “Yes, that's me.” You were confused on what this could be about. Worried that it was your ex. “I’m sorry to inform you that your parents passed away the other night in a car accident. The wake will be this week and the Will reading is after.” The shock of their death didn’t settle in fully until the reading.  

They had left you everything, they had abandoned you yet they left you everything. The next few months of winter were filled with you selling their house and settling the bank information. Getting the move ready so you and Vi would be comfortable once in your new home. Leading to now, standing in front of the house that is yours.

Grandma June had a pretty house in a nice neighborhood. The backyard was big and the water was right behind. A complete contrast to what you had growing up. You grew up in a townhouse, Jo right next door. It may have been more room then a regular apartment but you still had little room. There was no backyard to play in, the only time you had outside was going to the park. 

Your life, even if it may not have been bad, wasn't perfect either. Your parents preached religion and the bible until it was shoved down your throat. Telling you what you can’t and can’t do by the eyes of God. Introducing you to their friends' sons to meet the proper boy, look at where that got you. This move was a chance to continue to better yourself and give Vi the chance of being herself. 

You set the box down in the room that is now Violets. June had moved herself to the guest house outback stating that she doesn’t need all of this space. She had given the deed to the two of you, gifting the home as a thank you for not sending her off to a home. That meant you all had your own rooms. Vi still tends to sleep with you so her room is more decoration. 

“Who would have thought we would be here?” Jo’s voice says from the doorway. You turn to look at her. “Me a twenty-one year old with a two year old or that we moved out of New York.” She pounders for a moment, finger tapping her chin. “Hmm I was going to say us moving here but the toddler thing works too.” She laughs walking into the room more.

“We should paint the walls this week. Grams said there’s a paint store we can get it at. Should be near the shop.” You smile at her as you both go to get more boxes. Before moving here you wanted a stable job where you would be able to be with Violet more often. In New York you were a receptionist so you would have to leave her with Jo’s parents. So it was important for you to have the freedom to be with her since you can’t rely on June.

When you were looking around for jobs online you had seen that a flower shop was going for sale. Growing up you had always loved flowers. Books of plants, flowers, and gardening stuffed your bookshelves. With the money that was left to you from your parents you decided to buy it. Was it a long shot? Maybe but it couldn’t hurt to try. This way you will be able to have Vi with you at the shop without paying for a sitter.

With the van unpacked it was close to dinner time. Too tired from the day you and Jo decide to order pizza. But you make Vi her own meal on the side to have. You’re stirring the noodles that are in the pot when tiny footsteps can be heard. “Momma.” A little voice yells. You drop the spoon, turning to squat down. “Vi. How’s my favorite flower doing?” She giggles as you blow kisses on her neck and squeeze her tight. “She’s been such a little angel. Are you sure you don’t want to just leave her with me during the day.” June asks as she walks into the kitchen.

“Oh no I couldn’t ask that of you. Anyway, I want to spend as much time with her as I can. She won’t stay this small forever.” You finish up Vi’s food just in time for the pizza to get there at the same time. You all sit down and eat. You cut up tiny pieces of your pizza to let Vi try to see how she will like it. The table laughs when she smacks her lips and signs for more. 

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. Your routine consisted of giving Vi a bath and putting her to bed. Then finishing up some things before tucking in for the night as well. Before you know it the alarm is going off and it is bright outside. It’s seven o’clock so you have roughly thirty minutes before Vi gets up. 

Quickly you head to the bathroom for a shower rushing to head downstairs and start breakfast. When breakfast was finished it was time for her to wake up and you go to her room. Which she actually slept in last night. She’s rubbing her eyes, burrowing her head back into her pillow. “Goodmorning baby girl.” You softly say as you rub her back to gently wake her up more. “Hi momma.” Her voice is like music to your ears, always making you smile.

Slowly but surely she gets up, both of you entering the kitchen to eat. “Morning.” Jo yawns over her coffee mug. “Morning.” Strapping Vi to her chair, you place her plate in front of her before grabbing yours. Jo sits down across from you as she sips from her mug. “Any plans for today?” You finish chewing the piece of toast and look up at the girl in front of you. “Going to the shop. Want to work some stuff out before it opens again.”

“Bug and I can chill her with grams while you do that. I have the day off.” A sigh of relief is released. “Thank you. I need to make sure the ship of flowers is accurate. I need to restart the garden in the back.” Jo let’s out a “damn” while shaking her her. “Good luck with that. That sounds like a lot of counting. Counting yucky, right Vi.” The end is talking to the toddler. Her giggle lighting up the room. 

After finishing Vi’s morning routine you change into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. The weather was nice but there was still a chill in the air. You walk down the stairs to see Violet on the floor of the living room playing with some toys. “Hi sweetie. Heading out?” June is sitting on the couch smiling at you. “Yup I’m going to the shop today. Do you need anything while I’m out?” She shakes her head and laughs when Vi hands her a toy. “I’m okay. Now go ahead before we keep you here.”

June has been in love with Violet since she was born. She had visited Jo’s family right after you got back from the hospital. From that moment on she was always asking about her and buying her things. She said it was the first baby since Jo so it’s like she has a great grandbaby. Everyone was so kind about you having a baby so young and you couldn’t be more grateful. Which is something you wish you could say about this flower delivery. 

The flowers were delivered yesterday right before you all started to unpack. You had rushed to let them in and place everything inside that you didn’t pay attention to when they did. The previous owners of the shop were older and couldn’t keep up with it anymore. The garden they had in the back that grew some of their flowers was dead and the others wilted a long time ago. So ordering flowers to fill the story was the only option you had.

Which seemed really great at the time but now it doesn’t. You had come in and set your bag down on the counter. Looking around you see the endless sea of flowers staring at you. You go to the back to the office and get the clipboard you had placed there yesterday. Painfully slow you separate the flowers by their species. Having to count every single one was starting to prove to be a difficult task.

One that got even worse when you found out you were short on some flowers. This wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that they were popular flowers. Roses, tulips, baby’s breath, carnations, all flowers that people love. You were opening up the store in two days and you need to make sure you have a good supply. June had said that a lot of the rich folk like to throw parties and will buy flowers. You need to be prepared just in case.

You were in the middle of counting the Anemone when the store's front door started to rattle. Stepping into view of the door there’s a tall man standing outside with his back to you. He’s on the phone and using his hands to talk wildly. The man turns around again to try the door and sees you standing there. He snaps his fingers at you and points to the door handle that’s locked.

You walk over and unlock it, opening it slightly to ask him what he needs. “Can I help you?” The guy is tall, handsome, his hair is growing out from a previous buzzcut. He has on a shirt that is too tight on him and a pair of khakis, not usually what you find attractive but he pulls it off. “Yeah. For starts you can let me in and second you’ll put my order in.” He holds up a pointer finger at you.

“I know. I’m here right now, if the new girl would let me in it could go faster.” He says into the phone. “Listen, I gotta go. I’ll let you know when they will be delivered.” You give him a complex look. “Sorry but we aren’t open right now. You have to come back in two days.” You try to close the door but his foot catches it. “Look, I really need an order for tomorrow. The florist we were using canceled and I need them. There’s a banquet and the stupid tables need flowers.”

 You look back at the store and at him again. It wouldn’t hurt to do this order but you haven’t finished inventory yet. He could be asking for flowers that you can’t even give him. “I’m sorry but I’m not even open yet.” He interrupts you. “Well just open the store up and ring me out. I get you are new here but come on.” His tone is rude, annoyed that this is taking longer than he wants. “No, I can't just open up the store. I’m new here because I just bought it and I don’t even know how many flowers I have yet. So no I can’t help you, I’m sorry.”

He scoffs at you. “Do you normally buy things you don’t know if you can handle or is this a spur of the moment thing? I need those flowers.” This guy really has some audacity. “Do you normally talk down on workers or are you just a asshole?” Your head tilts to the side, looking up at him. The sun is burning your retina is making it hard to see anything but the lower part of his face. Even through the pain you can see the smile that crept on his face.

“Good luck with opening this up. I can clearly see the customer service is subpar.” With that he’s walking off down the street, pulling out his phone to probably call someone else. “Hey asshole, the flower delivery was short with some. So that’s the main reason I can’t help you. Don’t just assume shit.” Without looking back he calls out to you. “Sounds like an issue you need to fix. Try calling them up next time.”

Fuck. Of course you could just have called them this whole time. Quickly, you get back inside to finish the inventory to see what else is missing. After another hour you are done, exhausted from all the back and forth. Sitting down in the back office you call the distributor that you had used, explaining to them which flowers were short and how many you would need. Thankfully the lady on the other end didn’t give you any trouble, telling you she would have them delivered tomorrow. 

By the time everything was done it was around 5:30, which meant you should head home for dinner. The drive back to the house was peaceful. In New York you really didn’t need a car, you had spent most of your time in the city so you took the subway. Every now and then you would have to drive to family in the suburbs, this reminds you of that drive. Seeing the trees and greenery is like a breath of fresh air. 

It was a reminder that your old life was left back States away, no monsters here to haunt you. It’s refreshing knowing you got a new start and that Vi will get to grow up in a good place. When you get home it’s ten minutes until dinner should be served, at least for Vi. She’s on a strict schedule and will get fussy if she doesn’t eat or sleep at the same time.

You were greeted with shouts coming from the living room, footsteps playing the floorboards like a piano. “Momma!” Vi screams when she sees you in the hallway. “Hi pretty girl. How is my favorite doing? Had a good day?” She nods, tiny hands wiping her hair off her face. “Ya. Jo play.” She points to your friend who’s standing behind her. “She’s been making me run around for hours. How do you do this all the time?” 

You pick Vi up, walking towards the kitchen as you give her a bunch of kisses. “Lot’s of coffee and I have amazing people who help me.” Jo throws an arm around your shoulder walking with you. The table was already set, plates filled with food. “Yeah we are pretty amazing. So amazing that grams are giving us the night off.” You place Vi in her seat and look at Jo. “What do you mean?” 

She puts Vi’s food down in front of her before sitting to eat her own meal. “She means that you two are young and need to have fun. So I’ll stay here while this angel sleeps. Have fun for once.” June says as she makes her way back from what you assume is the bathroom. “Before you even try to say anything I told her she didn’t have to. She won’t take no for an answer so tough luck.” You don’t even argue, Jo’s parents always say she got her stubbornness from June so that is not a hill you want to die on.

Over dinner you tell them about your day. Explaining how you found out there were flowers missing and that you had to call for new ones. Finishing off your story telling with the asshole who thought he was special so that made him entitled to your flowers. “Sounds like a dick.” Jo said without thinking about the two year old sitting next to her. “Sorry.” June thought it was hilarious. Saying “it’s about time someone told those snobs the world doesn’t revolve around them.”

After dinner you spent time with Violet. Playing some more with her toys, then a bath to get the dirt off of her, and then reading bedtime stories to her. After each one she would let out a “nader'' informing you she wanted another story. The third one is always when she falls asleep, as soon as the first words are out so is she. Slowly and quietly you slip out of her bed and room.

“Ready?” Jo’s voice scared you, jumping from the fear shooting through your body. “For fucks sake Jo. Let me just change into a different shirt, I have Vi drool.” The other girls face twists in disgust as you pull that part of your shirt to show her. Not the worst thing you’ve had on you since becoming a mother but she still finds it gross. After changing the two of you head over to a bar.

The place actually looks really nice. There are lights strung up on the outside seating and the inside has amazing decorations. “What do you want? I’ll go get us the first round while you find us a table.” The first round? Damn Jo meant it when she said we will be living up the night. You haven’t really been out since your 21st, having a daughter doesn’t give you a lot of time to go out.

Plus you never really drank in highschool so this is a whole new ballpark for you. “Um I don’t know. Just get me something you will think I’ll like.” With that she was off to the bar as you found a table to sit at. The drink she came back with was in a tall glass and is yellow. You take it from her hands inspecting it. “What is it?” She rolls her eyes at you and takes a sip from her drink. “It’s a passion fruit mojito.”

You like passion fruit so this should be good. Oh yeah, that drink is delicious. You take a good few sips of it. “That’s fucking delicious.” Jo laughs at you. “Told you.” The two of you sit there for a while. Taking your time to finish your drinks. When they were done it was your turn to go up and get drinks. Since Jo is driving back she just wanted water but she insisted that you had to keep drinking.

The bar is a little more packed now, so you’re stuck waiting for the bartender to come around. Tapping your fingers lightly on the counter surface you space out, not realizing that the seat next to you was moving. “He won’t notice you for another five minutes. Blaire just sat down so he’ll be chatting her up for a bit.” The voice next to you sounds familiar, turning your head you can see why. “You again.” The guy from earlier smirks at you. “Now why does that sound like a bad thing?”

You look down at the other end of the bar to see the bartender flirting with a girl. Crap. “Maybe because you were rude and entitled. But hey what do I know?” Your brain is telling you to leave, just tell Jo you’ll go back up in a little. Then there’s a little voice in your head telling you to stay. For some reason there’s a part of you that is curious about the stranger.

“Pfft me entitled or rude? You’re the one who said that you wouldn’t let me order flowers.” Your eyes narrow at him, his arms shoot up in defense. “I know your shipment was fucked up.” He gives you a curious look. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“That’s because I just moved here. Don’t really know anyone besides my friend and her grandma.” You point back to Jo, his eyes following to see your friend with a wide eyed expression. “I don’t think I know her. Think I’ve seen her before but years ago.” He looks back at you, examining your facial features. You’re really pretty, he was too wrapped up in frustration earlier to notice. He’s sure noticing it now though. 

His chair seems to get closer to you, scraping against the sticky floors. “Where did you move from?” You had expected him to stop talking to you yet here he is asking you questions. “New York. I lived there my whole life.” He leans his arms on the counter, looking at you from the side. “Nice, I’ve been there a few times. Do have to say the pizza wasn’t actually good.” You gasp at his outrageous statement. “What? You’ve got to be joking, it's the best. You just didn’t go to the right places, probably some fancy restaurant that sells those tiny portions.”

He’s cracking a smile from your mini rant. You’re right, it was one of those restaurants. The ones where it cost $400 to just get a table and everything is super expensive even though it's a meal for ants. He’s never seen anything wrong with those places, grew up his whole life eating at them. In this moment he wishes that wasn’t the case, that he knew how to be a normal person and not someone with money. He would have never been caught at a dingy restaurant eating food yet here he is longing to experience that. An experience he didn’t know he was missing until your reaction.

“Oh my god it was one of those places. You can’t say you’ve been to New York if you haven’t really tried their food.” He turns on the stool so his legs are facing you. “Wouldn’t that technically be their food as well? They have high class restaurants there.” He likes the way your eyes roll at him, wanting them to do it in a different way. “That’s like going to Italy and eating at fast food places we have in America. Yeah it’s their version but it’s not actually Italian food.” “I would never. Italy is too perfect to not eat their food.”

You look at him, a smile plastered on your face. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been to Italy and I’m making a fool of myself.” He can’t help but to chuckle at how cute you are when you are nervous. “Alright I won’t say anything.” He shrugs. You let out a groan, of course he has. He looks like he has money so what else did you expect. “What can I get you?” 

The bartender cuts the moment the two of you were having. “Can I get a whiskey and whatever she’s having.” You look back at Jo and she sends you a thumbs up. “I’ll just have a passion fruit mojito.” The bartender leaves you two as he goes to make the drinks. “Wouldn’t have taken you as a mojito girl?” You look at him, blush forming on your cheeks. “Yeah? What kind of girl would you take me as?” He doesn’t know if you are flirting but he sure the hell hopes so. “Maybe a margarita. I feel like you’re a tequila girl.”

You giggle at the implication. “The last time I had tequila it got me in trouble.” It did, that’s how you ended up with a baby and being kicked out. “I like trouble.” Fuck. You had told yourself when moving here to just stick to yourself and everything will be fine. THen this guy walks in and you want to throw it all out the window. It’s not fair, he’s too hot to even say no to.

“You know I got to say I never met a florist as pretty as you” He tells you, leaning in closer but keeping a good distance. “Are you flirting with me so I can change my mind about those flowers?” He laughs, turning so he is now facing you, resting his weight on the counter top. “No, just flirting. Would it help me get them though?” Now it’s your turn to laugh. “You are not getting flowers. I would still have to prepare them and I wouldn’t get it done on time.Plus who knows if the reshipment will get here on time” You take a sip of your drink. 

“What if you had help?” Your eyes look into his. They're pretty. A shade of blue that in this light somewhat seems gray. They remind you of Vi, she had pretty blue eyes too, that she got from your mom. “You would hire help for me?” He scoots closer, his hand playing with the ends of your hair. “I could help you.” His fingers brush against your arms. The words seem to have an undertone of something. Simply suggesting something else. “How?”

The smirk that forms on his face makes you want to kiss him. His hand clears your face from stray strands of hair, eyes locking to yours. “However you want me.” This isn’t really feeling like you’re talking about flowers anymore. You aren’t sure if you should shut it down or keep going. The drinks were placed in front of you, he doesn’t take his eyes off of you as he hands the bartender his card. To relax yourself you take a sip of your drink, which only makes it worse. Now your relaxed mind can only think about dragging him off somewhere to see how much he could really help.

You’re interrupted before you can make a mistake. “Yo country club we gotta go.” A man walks up to the two of you. He nods at the guy. “Give me a sec.” The man looks at the both of you and shakes his head. “Aight five minutes.”

“Have somewhere to be?” He downs the rest of his whiskey. “Wish I didn’t.” Your blush intensifies. Shifting in your chiat you rest a hand on his lap. “Too bad. I was just starting to like you.” He stands up, catching your hand as it falls. “Guess I’ll have to refresh your memory tomorrow.” Your hand tightens around his. “Wait tomorrow?” 

“Gotta help you with those flowers right?” He actually meant it. “Fine.” He smiles and drops your hand, backing away from you. “I’m Rafe by the way.” You tell him your name, grab your drink and get up as well. “See you tomorrow beautiful.”

You smile all the way to the table, meeting Jo whose mouth was wide open. “Dude you were just flirting with Rafe Cameron.” You shrug your shoulders at you and sipping your drink “So what?” Her face flashes with different emotions. “So what? Dude he’s literally the richest person on this island. After his dad passed away he inherited the family business, he’s dumb rich.”

Jo won’t shut up about how hot the richest guy in Kildare was flirting with you. She gave you some of the run down on him from her “sources” on the island. Those sources being friends she made when she would visit. He apparently has a mean streak, causing fights with people. How he would sleep around with every girl and on top of that did drugs. It shouldn’t have shocked you but it was surprising to hear.

You thought over everything as you laid in bed. Rafe seemed funny and sweet when he talked to you in the bar. Those two versions of him do not seem to align together. Yet again you had only met him today and you don’t have the greatest track record with guys. It doesn’t matter anyway. You weren’t looking for anything anyway, all you needed to focus on was yourself and your daughter.

Taglist: @haruvalentine4321 @namelesslosers Let me know if you want to be added

[onboardsorasora]

Maybe you have an au that works for this— but thinking about accidental baby acquisition maxiel. Like a “life as we know it” (the movie) AU where they have to adopt a kid, live together and suddenly make it work

Oh! Oh!!

BESTIE. This is...

I don't currently have a fic in the works like this but I honestly love this trope so much. There's a fic I read in my last fandom that did it sooooo lovely.

I will say, I don't remember this film but I read the summary and my brain lit up a little. I hope I'm not like scooping the finer plot points

I imagine they met because their mutual friends are together. Maybe they met originally at the wedding years ago and they're the childhood besties of their friends and get named God parents.

Fast forward maybe 3 years and something bad happens and their friends pass. And it's when they both realize that being named God parents meant that they're responsible for their godchild. Max knew but Daniel had no idea that it was so serious. He just thought it was an honour and now he's extra special uncle Daniel.

Let's say their friends had a son, Jack. And Max goes to the house to meet up with Jack's grandparents who ofc are grieving and don't want to give up their grandchild but Jack is supposed to be in Max's care.

He stays at the house, so Jack has some stability. Daniel comes the next day- he travelled all night. Jack runs to him when he gets inside and Daniel breaks down clutching this little boy to him.

Max offers coffee. Jack spent the night clutched into his chest and he's trying to not feel jealous that he's not clinging to Daniel.

They aren't friends. If anything maybe they didn't really get along during the wedding festivities. But it doesn't matter. They stay with Jack at the house while the grandparents plan the wakes and the funerals.

They both try to explain what it all means and argue about whether telling a 3yr old that death was like final was a good thing. They argue about a lot of things because Daniel believes in protecting Jack a little more about he harshness of the world and Max thinks that it's a bit pragmatic to not lie.

There wasn't really a will because Jacks parents were young and full of life. They couldn't have anticipated the car accident. So because of that any legal decisions made while alive count. Meaning Daniel and Max have full custody of Jack.

Daniel thinks they should allow his grandparents to take care of him. Max thinks they should honour their friend's wishes.

One pair of Jacks grandparents agree with him. Daniel figures they can agree to disagree. but they also can stay in the house with Jack for a little longer before they figure out next steps. Max is one of the executors of the estates and he has to go through all the paperwork and heavy shit.

Daniel watched Jack while Max is working. He spends a lot of time with the grandparents. Daniel moved away after uni and well, he works pretty remote so it's not a hardship to move back. At least until everything is sorted.

Max owns a business so paperwork and lawyers are things he knows. And when all is done he comes back to the house to spend time with Jack. And Daniel.

And it kinda continues like that, unconsciously. They don't like intend to become parental figures but they would do anything for Jack. And sure they still argue but they're happy to provide stability for their godson.

One of the grandparents suggests selling the house and it becomes a point of contention. Daniel disagrees. It's all Jack's known. They can't uproot him after everything.

Something something legalese that the only way to keep everything as it is now is for Daniel and Max to adopt Jack. And be his legal guardians. And the easiest way for that to happen is for them to get married.

Max agrees because fuck it. He'll do anything for Jack. Daniel agrees too because he loves the little shit. Jack is his best boy, his baby wayby. So they have a quick signing at the courthouse. No fandangles or fanfare. And they both completely move into the house.

And that's where things get dicey. Because it was fine before. When they were just friends with a mutual purpose but for some reason a title and a legal document has shifted something.

Max had always thought that Daniel was cute. But now he can't stop thinking about how lovely Daniel is while he's reading to Jack at bedtime or dancing around with him in the house to his dad's favorite albums.

And Daniel always tired to lightly flirt with Max where he could but now-- did Max's jaw get sharper? Are his eyes sparkling in the amber light of Jack's nightlights?

And there's tension and they're tripping over each other. And Jack notices something is different. And he gets worried. Cries that they're leaving him too.

And it's a tantrum of all tantrums and Jack is screaming and wailing and crying for his parents, his real parents. And it takes them hours to calm him. And he won't rest or sleep unless he's touching both of them. Clutching Max's shirt in one hand and Daniel's pinky (the one with the 3) in the other.

They're exhausted and crumbled in the main bedroom because it has the biggest bed. Neither of them sleep in there, it didn't feel right. But holding Jack there, cuddling him close, that felt right.

And maybe Max brushes some tears off of Jack's cheek and kisses him in the forehead and looks over at Daniel who is watching him quietly and Max pulls them both close. Daniel threads their fingers together and Max squeezes and kisses their palms

[housewilson]

A MASTERLIST OF ALL THE BOOKS I COULD FIND IN TIM'S BOOKSHELVES

As someone who basically sees Tim Laughlin as my own version of Jesus Christ (I kind of wish I was lying but I have a 'beyond measure' tattoo branding my skin so perhaps I'm entirely serious), I simply needed to know what was on those shelves of his. And this was a hard task to achieve, believe me... but I got much farther than I initially thought I would.

(I've got so much to say about all of these books and how they might string together to create a deeper understanding of Tim as a character but I won't go into it here... maybe in a future post or video essay, who knows).

If you wish to help a girl out and attempt to figure out any of the other books I simply can not crack no matter how I look at the screenshots and mess with the adjustments... here's a folder full of 2k sized screenshots of those shelves.

Before I list the books one by one, I want to make a couple observations:

1) Almost all of the books I was able to pinpoint are non-fiction. The ones that aren't are children's books.

2) Topically, we see an interdisciplinary interest in:

History: from a book on a king in 4BC, to a survey of landholding in England in the 11th century.

Somewhat current historical events: books on World War I and II.

Western Philosophers: specially from the 16th to the 18th century.

Aesthetics: there's at least 2 books on the subject matter, but I couldn't find the second one, sadly.

Spirituality: not only christian/catholic; some of these books touch on Eastern practices such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

Fairy tales / children's books.

Psychology: specially in regards to mysticism and sexuality.

Science and scientific discovery/research.

3) A lot of the history, current events, and spirituality books are autobiographies/memoirs.

4) A lot of books (specially those on sciences and philosophy) tend to be more so anthologies or overviews on a subject matter rather than a book written by one specific author on one very concrete topic.

Overall, this all reflects very well an idea Jonathan Bailey himself expressed in a brilliant interview you can watch here if you haven't yet:

"Tim has buddhist flags in his 1980s flat in San Francisco, he has crystals, he is someone who is always seeking other ways to understand human experience. Which is probably tiring for him. Throughout the decades, he sort of appears as completely different people. At the crux of it there's this extreme grinding, contrasting, aggressive duality between feeling lovable and not feeling lovable. There's such shame in Tim. But it's the push and the pull which keeps him alive.”

This desire to understand human psychology, spirituality, and the ways of the universe through as many diverse lenses as possible, as well as a predilection for non-fiction, expresses very much to me that insatiable thirst for truth that defines his character so strongly.

OKAY, THAT BEING SAID. Here's the list in chronological order of publication.

PS. if you decided to click on any of the following titles it'd definitely not take you to a google drive link of the pdf file where you could download and read these books for yourself. Because that would be illegal and wrong.

Journeys through Bookland by Charles H. Sylvester (1901?) (1922 Edition)

I don't know which specific volume he owns, sorry, I tried my best but the number is not discernible (hell, the title barely is). If anyone wants the download link to these hmu because I'm not about to individually download all 10 right now.

10 volumes of poems, myths, Bible stories, fairy tales, and excerpts from children's novels, as well as a guide to the series. It has been lauded as ‘a new and original plan for reading, applied to the world’s best literature for children.’

Pilgrimage by Graham Seton Hutchison (1936)

This book provides a view of the battlefields of WW I through the eyes of the average fighting man. 

One curious thing about this book is that it's author, a British First World War army officer and military theorist, went on to become a fascist activist later in his life. Straight from Wikipedia:

"Seton Hutchison became a celebrated figure in military circles for his tactical innovations during the First World War but would later become associated with a series of fringe fascist movements which failed to capture much support even by the standards of the far right in Britain in the interbellum period." He made a contribution to First World War fiction with his espionage novel, The W Plan."

The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton (1948) 

The Seven Storey Mountain tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man, who at the age of twenty-six, takes vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders—the Trappist monks. At the Abbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the world, but only after he has fully immersed himself in it. At the abbey, he wrote this extraordinary testament, a unique spiritual autobiography that has been recognized as one of the most influential religious works of our time. Translated into more than twenty languages, it has touched millions of lives.

This book requires no introduction. It's the one he keeps the Fire Island's postcard in and the one we see him re-reading in episode 8 after Hawk brings it to the hospital with him at the end of episode 7.

Just a little detail I noticed:

Apparently he liked the book so much he visited Gethsemani, which was the home of its author all the way up till 1968.

For all we know, he might have even met its author!

Sexual Behavior in the Human Male by Alfred Charles Kinsey, Wardell B. Pomeroy (1948)

When published in 1948 this volume encountered a storm of condemnation and acclaim. It is, however, a milestone on the path toward a scientific approach to the understanding of human sexual behavior. Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey and his fellow researchers sought to accumulate an objective body of facts regarding sex. They employed first hand interviews to gather this data. This volume is based upon histories of approximately 5,300 males which were collected during a fifteen year period. This text describes the methodology, sampling, coding, interviewing, statistical analyses, and then examines factors and sources of sexual outlet.

Yes, Charles Kinsey is indeed behind the Kinsey scale that has done so much for the LGBTQ+ community.

Their Finest Hour (1949), The Grand Alliance (1950), and Closing the Ring (1951) by Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1953. 

The European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche by Monroe C. Beardsley (1960)

In so far as we reflect upon ourselves and our world, and what we are doing in it, says the editor of this anthology, we are all philosophers. And therefore we are very much concerned with what the twelve men represented in this book--the major philosophers on the Continent of Europe--have to say to us, to help us build our own philosophy, to think things out in our own way. For the issues that we face today are partly determined by the work of thinkers of earlier generations, and no other time is more important to the development of Western thought than is the 250-year period covered by this anthology. Monroe. C. Beardsley, Professor of Philosophy at Swarthmore College, has chosen major works, or large selections from them, by each man, with supplementary passages to amplify or clarify important points. These include: Descartes - Discourse on Method (Descartes), Thoughts (Pascal), The Nature of Evil (Spinoza), The Relation Between Soul and Body (Leibniz), The Social Construct (Rousseau), Critique of Pure Reason (Kant), The Vocation of Man (Fichte), Introducciton to the Philosophy of History (Hegel), The World as Will and Idea (Schopenhauer), A General View of Positivism (Comte), The Analysis of Sensations and the Relation of the Physical to the Psychical (Mach), Beyond Good and Evil (Nietzsche).

The New Intelligent Man's Guide to Science by Isaac Asimov (1965)

Asimov tells the stories behind the science: the men and women who made the important discoveries and how they did it. Ranging from Galilei, Achimedes, Newton and Einstein, he takes the most complex concepts and explains it in such a way that a first-time reader on the subject feels confident on his/her understanding. Assists today's readers in keeping abreast of all recent discoveries and advances in physics, the biological sciences, astronomy, computer technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and other sciences.

The Heavenly City of the 18th Philosophers by Carl L. Becker (1932) (1962 reprint)

Here a distinguished American historian challenges the belief that the eighteenth century was essentially modern in its temper. In crystalline prose Carl Becker demonstrates that the period commonly described as the Age of Reason was, in fact, very far from that; that Voltaire, Hume, Diderot, and Locke were living in a medieval world, and that these philosophers “demolished the Heavenly City of St. Augustine only to rebuild it with more up-to-date materials.” In a new foreword, Johnson Kent Wright looks at the book’s continuing relevance within the context of current discussion about the Enlightenment.

I find the particular choice of adding this book very curious and on brand, since it explores the idea that philosophers of the Enlightenment very much resembled religious dogma/faith in their structure and purpose. Just... A+ of the props department to not just add any kind of book on philosophy anthology.

Herod The Great by Michael Grant (1971)

The Herod of popular tradition is the tyrannical King of Judaea who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents and died a terrible death in 4 BC as the judgment of God. But this biography paints a much more complex picture of this contemporary of Mark Antony, Cleopatra, and the Emperor Augustus. Herod devoted his life to the task of keeping the Jews prosperous and racially intact. To judge by the two disastrous Jewish rebellions that occurred within a hundred and fifty years of his death -- those the Jews called the First and Second Roman Wars -- he was not, in the long run, completely successful. For forty years Herod walked the most precarious of political tightropes. For he had to be enough of a Jew to retain control of his Jewish subjects, and enough of a pro-Roman to preserve the confidence of Rome, within whose territory his kingdom fell. For more than a quarter of a century he was one of the chief bulwarks of Augustus' empire in the east. He made Judaea a large and prosperous country. He founded cities and built public works on a scale never seen before: of these, recently excavated Masada is a spectacular example. And he did all this in spite of a continuous undercurrent of protest and underground resistance. The numerous illustrations presents portraits and coins, buildings and articles of everyday use, landscapes and fortresses, and subsequent generations' interpretations of the more famous events, actual and mythical, of Herod's career.

Readings in the Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics compiled by Milton Charles Nahm (1975)

A college level comprehensive anthology of essays written on the arts and the field of aesthetic philosophy.

The Mustard Seed: Discourses on the Sayings of Jesus Taken from the Gospel According to Thomas by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1975)

This timely book explores the wisdom of the Gnostic Jesus, who challenges our preconceptions about the world and ourselves. Based on the Gospel of Thomas, the book recounts the missing years in Jesus’ life and his time in Egypt and India, learning from Egyptian secret societies, then Buddhist schools, then Hindu Vedanta. Each of Jesus' original sayings is the "seed" for a chapter of the book; each examines one aspect of life — birth, death, love, fear, anger, and more — counterpointed by Osho’s penetrating comments and responses to questions from his audience.

(You don't know how fulfilling it was to find some of these books and just sit there like "oh my god, yessss, he'd SO read that".)

A Third Testament by Malcolm Muggeridge (1976)

A modern pilgrim explores the spiritual wanderings of Augustine, Pascal, Blake, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Bonhoeffer. A Third Testament brings to life seven men whose names are familiar enough, but whose iconoclastic spiritual wanderings make for unforgettable reading. Muggeridge's concise biographies are an accessible and manageable introduction to these spiritual giants who carried on the testament to the reality of God begun in the Old and New Testaments. - St. Augustine, a headstrong young hedonist and speechwriter who turned his back on money and prestige in order to serve Christ - Blaise Pascal, a brilliant mathematician who pursued scientific knowledge but warned people against thinking they could live without God - William Blake, a magnificent artist-poet who pled passionately for the life of the spirit and warned of the blight that materialism would usher in - Soren Kierkegaard, a renegade philosopher who spent most of his life at odds with the church, and insisted that every person must find his own way to God - Fyodor Dostoevsky, a debt-ridden writer and sometime prisoner who found, in the midst of squalor and political turmoil, the still small voice of God - Leo Tolstoy, a grand old novelist who swung between idealism and depression, loneliness and fame and a duel awareness of his sinfulness and God s grace - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor whose writings and agonized involvement in a plot to kill Hitler cost him his life, but continue to inspire millions

Portraits: The photography of Carl Van Vechten (1978)

Can't find a file but you can borrow it from archive.com in the link provided.

During his career as a photographer, Carl Van Vechten’s subjects, many of whom were his friends and social acquaintances, included dancers, actors, writers, artists, activists, singers, costumiers, photographers, social critics, educators, journalists, and aesthetes. [...] As a promoter of literary talent and a critic of dance, theater, and opera, Carl Van Vechten was as interested in the cultural margin as he was in the day’s most acclaimed and successful people. His diverse subjects give a sense of both Carl Van Vechten’s interests and his considerable role in defining the cultural landscape of the twentieth century; among his many sitters one finds the leading lights of the Harlem Renaissance, the premier actors and writers of the American stage, the world’s greatest opera stars and ballerinas, the most important and influential writers of the day, among many others.

Report of the Shroud of Turin by John H Heller (1983)

Heller, while a man of science, was nevertheless a devout man (Southern Baptist). He viewed his task concerning The Shroud with great scepticism; there have been far too many hoaxes in the world of religion. The book describes in great detail the events leading up to the team's conviction that the Shroud was genuine; last - not least - being Heller and Adler's verification of "heme" (blood) and the inexplicable "burned image" of the crucified man. Although carbon dating indicates that the image is not 2000 years old and that the cloth is from the Middle Ages, there is not enough evidence to disprove Heller's assertion that the Shroud is indeed genuine.

Context for those who may not know (though I doubt it's necessary): The shroud of Turin "is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a man. It has been venerated for centuries, especially by members of the Catholic Church, as the actual burial shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus of Nazareth after his crucifixion, and upon which Jesus's bodily image is miraculously imprinted."

It is a very controversial subject matter and I definitely don't know that from going to an Opus Dei school since the day I was born till the day I graduated high school.

Mysticism, Psychology and Oedipus by Israel Regardie (1985)

I've tried my hardest but despite many Israel Regardie books being on the world wide web, I can't find a copy of this specific one.

Mysticism, Psychology and Oedipus, from the Small Gems series is one of these mysterious alchemys which Regardie and Spiegelman crafted for the serious student of mysticism. Mysticism, Psychology and Oedipus by Dr. Israel Regardie and his friend, world renowned Jungian Psychologist, J. Marvin Spiegelman, Ph.D. was created to reach the serious student at the intersecting paths of magic, mysticism and psychology. While each area of study overlaps they also maintain their own individual paths of truth. One of Regardie’s greatest gifts was his rare ability to combine these difficult and diverse subjects and make them understandable.

Domesday Book Through Nine Centuries by Elizabeth M. Hallam (1986)

In 1086 a great survey of landholding in England was carried out on the orders of William the Conqueror, and its results were recorded in the two volumes, which, within less than a century, were to acquire the name of Domesday, or the Book of Judgment 'because its decisions, like those of the last Judgment, are unalterable'. This detailed survey of the kingdom, unprecedented at that time in its scope, gives us an extraordinarily vivid impression of the life of the eleventh century.

The following two are a fuck up on the props department part because they were published after 1987 but we'll forgive them because they were not expecting for me to do all this to figure out the titles of these books, I'm sure:

The One Who Set Out to Study Fear by Peter Redgrove (1989)

This book barely exists physically, rest assured it does not exist online... LOL.

The author of The Wise Wound presents here a re-telling of Grimm's famous fairy tales, written in a manner and spirit more suited to the present day. Each story is rooted in the original, but cast in an energetic style that is both disrespectful and humorous. 

Essential Papers on Masochism by Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Hanly (1995)

The contested psychoanalytic concept of masochism has served to open up pathways into less-explored regions of the human mind and behavior. Here, rituals of pain and sexual abusiveness prevail, and sometimes gruesome details of unconscious fantasies are constructed out of psychological pain, desperate need, and sexually excited, self- destructive violence. In this significant addition to the "Essential Papers in Psychoanalysis" series, Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick Hanly presents an anthology of the most outstanding writings in the psychoanalytic study of masochism. In bringing these essays together, Dr. Fitzpatrick Hanly expertly combines classic and contemporary theories by the most respected scholars in the field to create a varied and integrated volume. This collection features papers by S. Nacht, R. Loewenstein, Victor Smirnoff, Sigmund Freud, Jacques Laplanche, Robert Bak, Leonard Shengold, K. Novick, J. Novick, S. Coen, Margaret Brenman, Esther Menaker, S. Lorand, M. Balint, Bernhard Berliner, Charles Brenner, Helene Deutsch, Annie Reich, Marie Bonaparte, Jessica Benjamin, S.L. Olinick, Arnold Modell, Betty Joseph, and Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel.

Let's not forget another book we know has been present in his shelves at some point:

Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe (1929)

It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American coming-of-age story. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be a depiction of Wolfe himself. The novel briefly recounts Eugene's father's early life, but primarily covers the span of time from Eugene's birth in 1900 to his definitive departure from home at the age of 19. The setting is a fictionalization of his home town of Asheville, North Carolina, called Altamont in the novel.

And Ron Nyswaner mentioned in a podcast (might be this one? I'm not sure) that he scrapped from the script a line where Tim recommends this poem at some point:

He specially emphasized the line "If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me".

And lastly, if anyone wanted to know:

His copy of the bible is the Revised Standard Version by Thomas Nelson from either 1952 or 1953.

Because why the hell not figure out what specific translation of the holy bible a fictional character was basing his beliefs on — as if the set designers cared nearly as much as I do.

[sturniolo04]

I Missed You C.S.

Bf!Chris x Gf!Fem!Reader

Summary: in which Katherine missed Chris.

A/N: If you don't like the preadded name in my stories, you can either add your own name or not read it; it's up to you :)

Chris, who was your boyfriend of 3 years, has been on tour with his brothers for the past month and a half just about. I am so beyond proud of him and his brothers but I miss him unbearingly and am ready for him to come home, according to him he still has another month left of shows and isn't even going to be back in LA after that because they were going to stay in Boston for awhile to spend time with his parents and Nate. So far now until he comes back to LA I am stuck texting and FaceTiming him.

Unbeknownst to Katherine, the Triplets tour ends the following day after she had talked to Chris on the phone, him telling her something totally different.

"how's Iowa mom"

you ask your mom since your on the phone with her.

"it good, im ready to go home tomorrow already"

she giggles as Katherine chuckles at her mom's lacking social battery.

" yeah i bet. Am i still picking you up from the airport tomorrow morning and taking you home or are you want to uber?"

you ask her because it was somewhat true that you needing to pick her up at the airport only thing is you weren't picking up your mom you were picking up your boyfriend and your other two favorite people in the world but, of course, Katherine doesn't know this information.

"um yes you can pick me up I might just stay at your apartment for the night and not make you drive me home immediately"

she replies to her daughter as she confirms the plan with a simple hum.

The next morning, just as clueless as ever, Katherine is sitting in the airport near the gate her mom had texted her to 'meet her at' on her phone passing time not even paying attention.

In the midst of her not paying attention, it gave her lovely boyfriend, who she is assumed was still going to be out of state for a couple more months at least, a chance to come up to her without her fully being aware of who he was.

"excuse me do you know where I can get some Pepsi"

Chris asks his girlfriend he is standing in front of currently.

"um yeah actually i do- me and my boyf-"

she trails off looking up and finally seeing who it is

"holy shit"

she gasps staring at his hovering figure trying to make sure this is a reality.

"hi pretty girl"

he replies as she stands up and wraps her arms around his neck as he rocks them from side to side.

"hi"

she softly whispers as he shifts his grip to her thighs to pick her up, with her proceeding to wrap her legs around his torso.

"um hello we are here too you know"

Nick states standing next to Matt awkwardly, as Chris sets you back on your feet.

"hi Nicky"

you say softly coming up and hugging him and then hugging Matt after.

" I thought you guys weren't done with tour yet- I thought you guys were going to be gone for at least two more months"

you sigh out looking up at Chris as he wraps his arms around your shoulders bringing you into another hug.

"no tour ended yesterday"

"what- that's not what you told me yesterday"

you states pulling arm's length out of the hug to look at Chris.

"well i had to say that your mom wanted it to be a surprise"

he chuckles bringing you back into his embrace.

"and as for Boston-"

"we didnt need to go because they are coming to LA next week"

he states simply finishing Nick's sentence.

"well I'm glad you guys are back finally"

Taglist

@mintsturniolo @adirtylittleheart @wh0resstuff

[my-castles-crumbling]

Of Romance and Play Practice

@wolfstarbingo2024 - square: nerdy Remus - rating: G - no warnings - word count: 974 - based on @probs-reading's HC - AO3 link

To this day, Remus still couldn't figure out how they all were friends. They took up vastly different social circles. Like a smaller version of the Breakfast Club, he, Sirius, James, and Peter were as opposite as could be. James was the school basketball star, cheerleaders constantly hanging off his elbows (much to his boyfriend, Regulus's, disgust). Peter ran the yearbook, and was never seen without a notebook and a camera. Remus, of course, was the textbook definition of a nerd: he was the president of Chess Club, and took more AP classes than all of his friend combined. And Sirius....Sirius was perfect.

Sirius was the star of the theater program, having finally figured out how to put his dramatics to good use. He lived for the stage, and the audience ate him up no matter what his role. Of course, Remus ate him up, too. Or at least, he wanted to.

They'd all been friends since elementary school. Perhaps that was why they were able to stay close, no matter their differences. But Remus's crush on Sirius had developed quite recently, and for some reason, he couldn't shake it.

Perhaps it was the way Sirius oozed confidence. His smile was absolutely contagious and it made Remus literally weak at the knees, often times he had to sit down after Sirius grinned at him. Maybe it was the way he felt safe with Sirius. Though they loved to tease each other, Sirius never judged him when it mattered, and they'd been friends for so long, they knew each other as well as they knew themselves.

Of course, it helped that Sirius was fit as fuck.

But that wasn't it. It was...Remus couldn't help but feel warm when he looked at him. It was a bit disgusting, really.

But one night, when Sirius asked him to help run lines for the new play he was a part of, Remus agreed, because he wanted to help. He figured eventually, this crush would go away, so he should just continue spending time with Sirius like normal, acting like nothing was different. But when he read the name of the play, he froze.

"Erm...Romeo and Juliet?" he asked Sirius, who was sat on his bed, shucking his leather jacket and making himself comfortable.

"Mmm," he hummed noncommittally. "Good thing McKinnon's as flaming as I am, or I'd be dreading the kiss," he grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

And of course. Of course, Sirius needed him to practice running lines for the most romantic play in the fucking universe. What else?

"Alright," he murmured, sitting nervously on the edge of his own bed, as far from Sirius as possible. "Erm, what scene?"

"Let's start..." Sirius flipped through the script, stopping at a page and pointing. "There. I'm having trouble with the emotion, to be honest. If you could just read for McKinnon, that'd be amazing."

But Remus's stomach flipped as he looked over the script, recognizing the scene. The fucking balcony scene?

"Erm, alright," he nodded, trying to pull himself together. "How camest thou hither- er - tell me, and wherefore? Erm, the orchard walls are high and hard to climb, and the place death, considering who thou art, of any of my, erm, kinsmen find thee here," he recited disjointedly.

Sirius chuckled and responded fluidly, "With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls. For stony limits cannot hold love out." His eyes were wide, genuine, and Remus became entranced as he listened. "And what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me."

It took Remus a second to realize he was done. That it was his turn to respond. Because hearing Sirius speak of love like this, it was doing things to him. "Oh!" he nearly yelled as Sirius gave him an expectant look, jumping a bit. "Erm. If- if they to see thee, they will murder thee. Fuck, this is intense, huh?" he commented, scanning over the script.

Sirius laughed and ignored his comment, going on, "Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye than twenty of their swords. Look though but sweet, and I am proof against their enmity." He said those words with a small smile, eyes on Remus's.

"I...I would not for the world they saw thee here," Remus nearly-whispered, looking at the paper and back at Sirius, who was still watching him with a strange look in his eyes.

"I have night's clock to hide me from their eyes," he whispered, moving closer to Remus- and when had he gotten so close, they were side-by-side, now!- grabbing his hand lightly. "And, but thou love me, let them find me here. My life were better ended by their hate than death prorogued, wanting of thy love."

Remus swallowed, drowning in the look Sirius was giving him, squeezing his hand and allowing the heat and tension to wrap around their bodies. He wasn't imagining it, was he? Was Sirius feeling it, too? The way the very air was pulsating, urging him to move forward, to bring their lips together?

He hoped so.

"Sirius," he murmured, his head hazy, hardly bothering to look at the book, too distracted by the moment.

But Sirius seemed to be contemplating something. "Move not while my prayer's effect I take," he murmured, causing Remus to wrinkle his nose in confusion, before Sirius leaned forward, hand grazing over Remus's jaw and pulling their lips together.

And it was like fireworks. Hearing Sirius talk about love with the words of a poet had just made Remus's crush bloom into something more, and he couldn't resist grabbing for him, wrapping his arms around the other boy, pulling him closer until they were completely entangled in each other, their lips and teeth fighting for control of the best kiss Remus had ever had in his life.

[enchantressiren]

❝𝐏𝐀𝐂: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.❞

How can you improve your sex life?

🌼 ݁₊ ⊹ . ☀️౨ৎ Masterlist Subliminal Channel Tips

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Pac Summary!

⭐ How to improve your sex life?

⭐ When will the improvement happen?

⭐ Guidance.

Moodboard | Divider | Header | Question: @hzive, thank you.

Pile I

How can you improve your sexual life?

The hanged man and three of pentacles.

I need you to figure out what you want in life. What are you striving for? What goals do you have in mind but push to the side for pleasure? Sex isn’t everything; sex isn’t short-term satisfaction. There is more to it. Sex is about intimacy and finding solace with it despite who it is with. Sex is about finding what you like and how your body reacts. It’s beautiful. You need to find things that make you happy. This pile keeps having sex with everyone because they are lost. You do not know what you want. You need to take time with yourself and understand who you are. Learn to be comfortable with you. Learn to have patience with who you are and as you become horny, masturbate instead. You cannot keep seeking sex with everyone else if you cannot even pleasure yourself. Some people cannot masturbate because they do not become turned on by themselves. Some of you are service tops; despite this, try it out. At least become in tune with what you actually want and allow other people to take control. A lot of service tops need to serve, so start to serve yourself. Treat your body like a temple. Take time off when it comes to one-night stands, and maybe learn what you truly need. 

Intuition tells me that you need to allow people to come into your life instead of shunning them away. Allow love to come your way, service tops, and those who mean well to make you feel happy. A lot of you guys focus on the negativity of life; instead, transform those past experiences into wisdom for yourself. For example, a lot of you self-sabotage because it’s easier for you. You are aware of it, but removing it is incredibly hard without support, so become your support person. Take baby steps as you heal, and stop being hard on yourself. You already become anxious when you do this and then sabotage yourself when something good is coming. But it’s the same, no? You still have the anxious thoughts, so remind yourself this, ‘’when you have anxious thoughts and want to sabotage, don’t. Let it come through, all the feelings of myself sabotaging are the same, it’s still the scared and sinking feeling. Why should I allow myself negativity when I can earn something beautiful?’’ 

When does this improvement happen?

Temperance and page of cups reversed. 

The improvement can only happen if you want it to happen. We cannot help those who do not want to be fixed, the same logic applies here. Combining both cards, the temperance and page of cups reversed, the improvement happens after something negative appears in your life. This could be you becoming self-aware after this reading, a situation occurring in your workplace, someone in your family becoming sick, someone dying—something negative. Either way, whatever it is, without it, this improvement cannot happen. You can try to improve without it occurring, but you will relapse into the same cycle once more. This reminds me of 999. 999 is associated with the end of something, a cycle, a chapter in your life, etc. You are going to embody 999 after this occurs. When it does, be patient with yourself and don’t push away the change, embrace it. I hear some of you say, ‘’easier said than done.’’ Yes. Yes, it is. It’s simple. We humans make things complicated because that is what we were taught, and yet there are people who become rich by doing nothing. Don't make your life complicated; embrace the change and go slow as it comes to you. As you heal, allow your knowledge to help you out, and if you need to find someone to talk to, then do so. Doesn’t matter who, as long as your gut feeling says they are trustworthy, then that is what matters. But allow yourself to listen to their advice if you believe it will help, and don’t gaslight yourself if you don’t follow them. Follow what you believe is right, follow what your gut feeling says. I know you follow your heart, I feel it, but sometimes our intuition says otherwise.

Any guidance needed?

Three of wands. 

Find things that gave you a sense of purpose in your past. Often, we ignore the past for change, it’s too heartbreaking to remember, or it’s something that doesn’t appeal to us. There is something in your past that will help you improve your sex life but also your life in general. Allow your mind to relax with everything that is going on. Some of you have coping mechanisms around animals, like horseback riding, some of you worked on the farm or have grown up with that. It was a fulfilling thing, so allow yourself to wander around that. Allow yourself to be around a farm area or go horseback riding, and if you can, take lessons. Work at a farm if you can, or volunteer there. As for the rest, allow yourself to do what kids do if they grew up in a healthy environment. They do things as they please without allowing others’ judgment to shun them. So some of you want to do something ‘’childish’’ but are afraid of others’ judgment, but don’t be. We are always going to be judged, no matter what we do. We can protect someone and get blamed, we can help someone but get ridiculed and called naive. But at the end of the day, if we do something that we like then that is what matters. Your own interests should matter, not what others say. If you have a thing for watching cartoons, but someone sees it as childish, then ignore what they think. Cartoons are fun to watch, hell, I love watching Scooby Doo. Do you find that childish? If you do, then you have to work on your inner thoughts, and if not, then see? So all you need to do is allow yourself to be happy again and stop seeking sex for pleasure when everything you need is your past and what your gut feeling says. Find a healthy coping mechanism instead of sex, and make sure it benefits you in the long run. 

Masterlist ♡

Pile II

(Tw: vague mentions of rape and sexual abuse. Please take care of yourself and do not read if you aren’t ready. When you are, I recommend you read it since it’s a meaningful message for you). 

How can you improve your sexual life?

Ace of wands.

There isn’t much for you to improve in your sexual life. You already enjoy yourself in moderation, either with a friends with benefit or your lover. I feel a commitment included in this pile, so it’s possible you have a fling with the same person from time to time. You are successful when it comes to this because you prioritize yourself. Ace of wands is focused on success in all aspects, so I was wondering why you needed this reading until I felt a lack of healing. 

You guys have sexual trauma that occurred at a young age, but you never healed from it because of a lack of resources. Some of you tried to heal but stopped because you became triggered. Some of you tried going to a therapist but found nothing because you were invalidated. What you went through is valid and was always valid. 

So I need you to be extremely gentle with yourself when you do heal. I am aware of those who have fwb; emotional connection isn’t supported in the relationship, but I do feel that you are close with them. Try speaking to them about it because intuition says they could never judge you for it. With your partner, you feel disappointed in yourself if you were to speak about it; you believe that if you did, they could never love you. But that’s fear, it’s not the truth. Intuition tells me and the ace of wands tells me, that when you do tell them (this is for everyone reading this pile), it will be successful because they all know you weren’t in the wrong, what you went through is painful, as no one should have gone through that, and they want to be there for you as you heal. 

Ace of wands always symbolizes a new opportunity to grow from, use this as an opportunity for yourself as you walk into something unknown. Sometimes the unknown can be scary, but without fear and feeling uncomfortable, you will never reach your highest potential. 

When does this improvement happen?

The lovers and seven of cups.

 When you do decide to tell them what happened to you during your childhood and close to your teenage years. The storm you allowed to destroy your ship (not being raped, or sexually abused, loves. It’s when you allow your anxious thoughts to drown you in fear and self-hatred that you will finally be able to sail into a calm ocean with a beautiful sunset. Intuition tells me all you need is to tell them what has happened, even if it takes you time or you must plan it out. Doesn’t matter, go with the flow and allow your inner child to speak for themselves. Which means, whatever comes from your mouth and you cannot control it as you speak; it is your inner child protecting and helping you throughout this journey. 

The lovers indicate that once you do tell them, the change will appear, but with the seven of cups, it will take 7 months. Meaning, once you mention it to them and they help you. I see someone comforting your energy as they caress your hair and smile so endearingly towards you. But after you say it, once 7 months have passed, you will feel at ease and will be healed. However, I do hear 8–9 months also being a possibility. This is dependent on whether you decide to plan out what you will tell them, but I do recommend letting your inner child say it for you.

Any guidance needed?

Two of cups reversed. 

Two of cups reversed confirm what I said. This card focuses on balancing out your life and not allowing unhealthy relationships to be your main focus. Also, there is a lack of harmony in your life.

Intuitively speaking, this is about your reoccurring trauma and nightmares appearing to you when you are feeling happy. I see someone reading a book outside on their balcony, sipping their drink and smiling to themselves as they read. But their minds become foggy, and their hands start to shake. Their minds scatter to a dark scene with the same ship metaphor I spoke of. The ship crashes and everything breaks apart, and then the person’s shadow drowns in the dirty and gloomy ocean. So this isn’t self-sabotage since some of you have been concerned with it; it’s based on unhealed trauma surrounding your heart and soul. When someone doesn’t heal from their repressed emotions or trauma, it causes pain in our bodies, so that’s why you've also been having back or wrist pain. Another thing my intuition tells me is that you must take baby steps as you heal. This is crucial if you don't want to relapse. A lot of you have been hard on yourself as you healed because of your grandparents, but I need you to treat yourself as you would with your pets. You treat them with so much love, so do the same with yourself.

A lack of harmony comes with that, but with balancing. Try eating the foods you have been procrastinating on. I feel that a lot of you won't have coffee in the morning because it’s bad, and that is fine. But try tea instead, lavender tea is good for the nerves, helps with sleep, makes you happier, and helps with skin. Don’t add any sugar. I know the taste isn't the best, but you do eat healthy as it is, so this may help calm down those thoughts that occur. And I know you have tried to control them but you have lost it, so try doing something that soothes you. Don’t use porn or social media as a coping mechanism; same with music. In moderation, it’s fine, but I would like to see you do something that benefits you in the long run. 

Studies show that exercising in the morning boosts your mood, helps your body, and improves productivity. Start adding exercise to your daily life and think of it as a privilege. And for those who already do it, try doing it in the morning if you can, and if not, when you do it at night, make sure you drink lots of fluids but not so much because that can cause kidney problems. And for those of you who are disabled and cannot do it, I know some can do it, but if you cannot. Then you can do upper-limb strength training, aquatic exercise, or isometric exercises. Or even chair cardio.  Caroline Jordan has workouts focused on chair cardio. She is always encouraging and uplifting, so I recommend using her videos. If you click on chair cardio, I have linked a video you can use.

Masterlist ♡

Pile III

How can you improve your sexual life?

Knight of wands.

Honestly, a lot of you don’t play around with your kinks. I am hearing some of you are into pee kinks, while some of you like creampies. I also hear restraints and a wedgie kink. A lot of you feel embarrassed about this because it’s not a topic spoken about when it comes to kinks. So instead of exploring it, you ignore them and go vanilla. Sure, creampies and being restrained with handcuffs, ropes, or scarves are talked about a lot in the BDSM community, but it's rare to hear about chains. So the idea of being different scares you—following societal norms is easier because there is no judgment. Let go of these judgments, and please explore your sexual kinks. Everyone has different kinks for a reason; kinks are meant to be experimented with. How do you think they were made to begin with? All I can say is that I don’t care what your kinks are; I care if you enjoy yourself during your sexual acts. 

Knight of wands is about daring adventures and self-assured confidence. Use this card as a goal in your life to achieve it. Being a bold person or self-reliant can be a struggle in the sexual department. I'm sure the idea of even giving yourself a wedgie, allowing someone to pleasure you with creampies, or chaining you up scares you. But at the end of the day, it turns you on. Right? So why let those fears stop you? Judgment is everywhere. I have gotten judgment on @sefinaa because my higher self post was harsh, but who cares? I believe fear can eat us away, drown us in quicksand, you name it. But we have to ignore those thoughts and speak our truth. So I did that and kept the post, and now it’s your turn to do the same with this. 

I hear, ‘’what if I cannot find someone like that?’’ Yet my intuition says you won’t allow yourself to find that. Allow your movement and your body to do the work for you as you follow along. This is all about focusing on your gut feelings. Trust them. They mean well. 

When does this improvement happen?

Five of swords and high priest. 

This is your confirmation of fear and pushing past your boundaries as you explore your kinks. Five of swords is focused on conflict, challenges, and communication. You lack communication with your sexual self. Do not feel embarrassed as you explore your sexual needs. It’s a beautiful thing. I truly believe that once you explore them, you will feel more connected to yourself and your soul. Learn to communicate with those you have sex with. For those who have a lover, do not be embarrassed to mention what kink you have. Give them time to process the information; do not allow their facial expression to dictate what they say. Remember, this is about focusing on your experience and projection, so time is always needed. Those who have non emotional relationships like a master, owner, flings, or fwb—keep in mind that you need to make sure you actually enjoy having sex with them. A majority of you do it because you are forcing yourself to like their kinks. I keep hearing, ‘’cum on your face or swallow my spit.’’ So, don’t force yourself to swallow their cum or them cumming on your face. You obviously hate it, and you shouldn't do something that causes you distress. It’s your body, your rules. You should be the one in control when it comes to your body, and I am not referring to pets/subs. I am speaking about what you do with your body because boundaries can be set. Remember to focus on what makes you happy during sex or when you masturbate with yourself. But I am not picking up masturbation within this pile. 

The high priest isn’t giving me a specific time for improvement. So this depends on what you do with this pile. It depends on how you want to approach this. Because the card focuses on inner wisdom and focusing on your intuition rather than always being rational when making decisions. There isn't anything wrong with being logical, but using your gut to make decisions for yourself is better. Intuition knows best, and logic can only do so much; the same is true of following our hearts. So all I can say is that once you decide what you want to do, everything will follow, like a group of ducks or baby chicks. 

Any guidance needed?

Ace of pentacles. 

There isn’t much guidance needed since I mentioned everything you needed to improve. However, all I can say is to make sure to set your intentions for yourself. For example, if you wanted to tell your fling or your lover that you wanted them to indulge in your chain kinks, then go ahead, but make sure that’s something you want to do. Try to be present with what you actually want and need instead of daydreaming about the things you want. Meaning, listen to your body and what it wants. So if your body doesn’t want chains but instead desires blindfolds, then speak about it to yourself first. Give yourself consent first rather than the other person, and once you feel comfortable, tell them. People always give consent to other people, but midway through the session, they realize it's not what they wanted. So you are going to stop that cycle and instead teach yourself that your consent matters most. The ace of pentacles symbolizes new beginnings and opportunities in the material world. But this reading isn’t about that, so with your energy, it’s about the sexual and mental world. Once you have accepted what your true kinks are, learn about them so it doesn't hurt your body, and give yourself the consent you need. You will start to see new people coming into your life who are interested in the same kinks. Because what you accept and want will come into your life; in simple terms, our thoughts create our reality. What you think you deserve is what will come into your life. So that is why self-pitying yourself will not lead you anywhere other than a rabbit hole of misery. Focus first on self-acceptance, and everything will follow.

Masterlist ♡

Pile IV

How can you improve your sexual life?

Knight of swords.

Woah, okay. You guys are very reckless when it comes to your sexual lives. You will try out different kinks out of curiosity and once you don’t like them, you keep acting on them. You love to have fun with your sex life; the thrill is intoxicating, but even so, fun things can become poisonous. I feel adrenaline in my body right now; this is your energy. Hyperness is evident too, so I hear you guys may suffer from ADD/ADHD or BPD. Either way, calming your mind becomes hard because your mind is scattered. Ironically, as I was shuffling your cards, Scatterbrain by Emei appeared. As I was saying, your mind is drifting from one topic to another (like mine is), and calming it down makes you feel dizzy. So instead of focusing on the anxious thoughts of calming down, learn to be okay with how your mind is. Then you can start taking deep breaths as you calm your mind. Intuition tells me there are people who have antisocial personality disorder, or ASPD. And having sex doesn’t feel like anything to you, it’s just there. The idea of a sexual life bores you. 

So for everyone reading this pile. Instead of having sex or touching yourself constantly, take a break. Take a long ass time from this and learn to understand what you really want. Do you honestly want to become hyper-fixated on sex and the kinks you do just because of the adrenaline rush? Do you honestly want to have sex just to feel something or to trigger your abandonment fears? What exactly are you seeking from your sexual life? 

Confirmation: ace of pentacles and seven of wands reversed.

There is a defeated and disappointed feeling lingering in the pit of my stomach. I have a dissatisfied feeling, and I feel incredibly bored as I do your reading. But this is how you feel. You are incredibly bored with everything you do, so excitement is what has become fulfilling. For those with antisocial personality or ASPD, the thought of pleasing someone’s bores you despite the front you put on. You cannot even get orgasms anymore because everything is the same, so change up your routine. Those with ADD/ADHD and/or BPD, explore the kinks you actually loved or liked and start doing it with your lover(s), flings, etc.

I mentioned scatterbrain and hyperness with your pile. Everyone here is chaotic in their own way. Even for those who appear calm, your mind drifts away to something else. Allow yourself to find things that keep you focused. Going from one topic to the next is not an issue, but try to figure out what makes you feel at peace. Intuition says to do something with cooking, baking, or making experimental alcoholic beverages. The experimentation can feel fulfilling for your inner child, but keep everything in moderation. 

Wow, as of right now, I feel complex energy with each of you. Despite you all having different mental health issues, you all struggle with the same thing. There is a lack of fulfillment. Sometimes people will show gratitude for food or when they buy themselves something. Sometimes it’s seeing a beautiful sunset or enjoying their favorite music. Either way, try adding a gratitude mindset to your life. The idea of showing gratitude first is boring because you aren’t aware of what you are grateful for until you keep at it. 

When does this improvement happen?

As I mentioned, despite all the mental health issues you have, you’re all struggling the same. I shuffled three cards, and their theme is in a forest. They have the same theme and vibe, yet every one of them is different from the other. This is all of you.

Ace of cups, the empress reversed, and king of pentacles. 

All three cards are of a higher being or authority in their world. Which means you all have a superior complex, a hero complex, or believe you are better than everyone else. Each card is for each mental disorder, so let’s start.

ASPD (Antisocial personality disorder)

Ace of cups.

Alright, loves. You are struggling with the idea of intimacy and love. There is never any passion when it comes to your sex life with other people you sleep with. It’s always the same shit, sex, and barely any aftercare before disappearing. Intuition says, ‘’learn to give them aftercare when you take control. Sure, you aren’t obligated, but it will show you an understanding of intimacy and what love really means. The idea of letting go of that hero or god complex and helping someone you fucked can help reduce all of those unwavering thoughts you ignored.’’ When you see the world in gray and boring colors, everything around you becomes worse, and you feel things are darker than they appear. Learn to understand how you put yourself out there, and start to understand that it’s okay to be empty sometimes. Accept that part of yourself, but show compassion to other people even if you won’t gain anything from it. It doesn't hurt you if you help someone; maybe it affects your pride, but pride can be our downfall sometimes. So learn to balance your pride and the itch you have when you help someone. Remember, you aren’t disgusting or weird if you help someone without expecting anything in return. Not everything should be a game; learn to let go of that concept and show compassion to yourself and others. Once you do this, in a span of 1-4 months, you will be able to heal that void in your heart and feel more satisfied with the world around you.

BPD (Borderline personality disorder)

The empress reversed.

Why are you confused about what you want with sex? You already know it, so why do you stop yourself from experiencing that joy? I mean, you know what kinks you like. You aren’t scared, in fact, you’re chilling as it is. So what really makes you stop? I hear that you have overprotective parents, and you cannot always sneak out, or when you do, it doesn't end well. So going out at night or in the evening makes it easier for you, but you encounter weird people and weird situations. And this has caused you to believe in the paranormal, so you bring it up as a conversation with the people you sleep with, but they give you disgust or find you to be crazy. Either way, it bothers you because you're being authentic with everyone, but no one is doing the same. Then you wonder why you cannot find the right people, but have you thought about looking in the right places? Intuitively speaking, find people you know first. Find their interests and look for friends with benefits. Because this world is shallow and no one truly focuses on authenticity, the fear of vulnerability lingers. So first, thank you for being true to yourself, and I'm very proud of you. Second, when making friends, make sure they are interested in friends with benefits because consent is crucial, but also for you not to waste your time. The empress reversed is about imbalances in relationships and impatience. Learn how to forgive yourself for your past and other people. But remember, forgiving someone isn’t about forgiving them for what they did to you; it’s about letting go of what they did while respecting yourself in the process. You no longer have the thoughts, the thoughts don't eat you alive, and you relieve a big weight off your shoulders. So in reality, you aren't actually forgiving them per se; it’s for your benefit and for you to move on and then finally find these people. Make sure to remember that you are worthy of having someone to have sex with and enjoying each moment with them, even the intimacy you crave when it comes to aftercare. Even though it can appear to be an emotional thing, I mean, to some people, it is like it is with me. But it’s important for the both of you to be taken care of, so make sure that when you do aftercare, you take turns and balance it out. Fair play is always important during sex. For you to find the person you have been looking for, you need to learn more about yourself. What are you actually seeking? Do you truly want a fwb, or is it actually a lover, but you are afraid of commitment? Does the idea of emotional aftercare scare you, or does it intrigue you? Are you okay with sharing (one-night stands, masters having other pets or subs, or fwbs), or do you prefer to have one person? Are you interested in a polygamous relationship, or does that make you uncomfortable? Once you understand these questions and fully grasp them, then look for that person. It’s not truly about looking but allowing your intuition to drag you along. Eventually, you will just know when you find them and let them know what you want from them. If it’s a date, let them know and stay authentic with yourself, so if you prefer to wait it out, then wait it out, and if not, go for it. And if it’s a fwb, be up front with them immediately and see where that leads you. Because intuition says they were looking for you—like red strings on your wrist, a soulmate story. You will meet them in 8 months.

ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder)

King of pentacles.

Right off the bat, I feel doubtful, confused, and dizzy. That’s obviously how you have been feeling, so you use thrills as your coping mechanism. And you know you are hurting your body or that you have a higher risk of pregnancy, but the idea of going back to those thoughts scares you shitless. So here is what you're going to have to do to heal. Find kinks that make you interested and make your body feel amazing. Let your lover know that you are interested in food, pet play, or something to do with a gag, and/or choking. Tell them what makes you aroused, and stop faking your orgasm with them. Authenticity is important during intimacy; it’s all about trust, and faking it is breaking that trust. Make sure you protect yourself during sex if it’s not with a lover, because I do hear, ‘’taken advantage.’’ So don't go for fake successful men with suits, regardless of your gender. They are snakes. ‘’How am I going to know?’’ is what appeared in my mind. Intuition. Your intuition will tell you so. Do you feel a sinking feeling or a sour taste? That’s when you know. The king of pentacles is all about succeeding. Tarot wants you to succeed in life and find what you're looking for. The cards encourage you to create the life you love. What kind of life do you love? What truly makes you happy? What makes you happy with your lover? What makes you excited to wake up with a bright smile on your face? Focus on shadow work and understanding the sexual part of who you are, and accept them as such. As for when the healing will happen? During the fall season, intuition says it is possible for it to appear at the end of December. This is a timeless reading, but intuition also says, ‘’you need to actually work on it. It cannot come to you like abracadabra. Healing takes a lot of work, do not half ass it.’’ Make sure you actually focus on healing this, and understand that a thrill can also be your demise. And please, take care of yourself as you have sex with strangers. I want you to be safe because I hear that you have encountered bad situations with people. So please take care of yourself, thanks. 

Any guidance needed?

Take a break before you all do this. Breaks are important; it’s all about balancing what you want and coming to terms with whether this is what you really need. Not want. Sometimes we want things, but they're not for us or aren’t part of our lives or our higher selves' paths. And sometimes we struggle to understand why, so take this into consideration when you doubt if the situation will occur. All of you need to learn how to trust your intuition. Your intuition knows best and means well. Do not see them as enemies; they want to help, but you must allow them to help you. 

Judgment. 

The judgment card is about spiritual awakening, transformation, and absolution. Absolution is about releasing guilt and forgiving. It would appear you are all on your journey to a spiritual awakening. It has not happened yet, but after the timing I listed, it will happen. And damn, it will be so fucking scary but so worth it in the end, I promise. The journey is scary because there are so many ups and downs. And there are so many roller coasters that can cause you to cry and wonder why you deserve these pains. But once you become healed or learn to heal, you understand why, and that is what makes you fulfilled and appreciative. This is why healing is so beautiful and should be protected at all costs. 

So, what guidance do you need? Not much. Just focus on what I said about improvement because it was done individually. Other than that, new people will be coming into your life to teach you many lessons. So use those lessons to learn things about yourself, and do not push away those lessons. Lessons help guide us through life; if a situation is reoccurring, then you are missing something. For example, if you are always helping people, but they fuck you over. Learn to understand that it’s because you do not prioritize yourself and focus on other people’s needs. And understand that people come and go; do not stay in the past or hold on to them. Thank them for their time, or the lesson they give you internally or not, and heal from it as you let go and forgive them. 

Remember, this is all a big decision for yourself, so do not rush it so much, but do not plan it out so much either. Balance it and keep an open mind as a lot of changes appear in your life. 

Masterlist ♡

[hail-the-veil]

You don't mind of a request for enemies to lovers smut of raphael from baldur gate 3 that trying to make a deal with the male reader due the situation of the absolute that worn down the male reader mind of saving the city along with annoying the male reader due to enjoying the reaction from the male reader with his theatricality self of poems. As raphael was visiting the male reader when they are alone to bother the male reader to only get off guard by the Planar Binding scroll that was used against him from the reader (sorry if my grammar is not great as yours but love your work <3)

HI THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FIRST REQUEST AND ALSO FOR READING MY WORK! your grammar is just fine love <3 not beta read, sorry for spelling and grammar errors.

Nsfw warning!!

DUB CON! porn without plot/ very little plot, mind control, gagging, face fucking, ass eating, cumming un-touch, tit sucking, dom/sub dynamic, mind break, mention of womb fucking and a bit of feminization (just a little :3) degradation, mean reader.

:3

“well met, I am raphael, at your service” he had said the first time that you met. 

Well to be fair, he didn't specify what service he had offered that day. 

You've been stuck in the city figuring out what exactly is your next plan. Stealing the netherstone? Selling your soul to the devil? God knows. With the parasite squirming in your head, you had very little time to think. You're not particularly fond of this theatrical loving devil. You've ventured from the Emerald Grove all the way to the city and raphael has never stopped bothering you with his poems, which is getting under your skin. All this talk about power and promises. How could ever trust a devil? But one thing you had noticed to change is how he tends to approach you when you're alone, with none of your comrade around. Sometimes it's not even about the contract, it's as if he's just trying to catch your attention. Well it certainly works now that you noticed it. 

Rummaging through the city with certain vendors, you found a scroll. A scroll of planar binding. ‘to attach one consciousness with yours, making it follow your command’ oh how useful indeed. 

As you reached the lower city, raphael had been actively making himself known, in lots of ways, trying to capture your attention with the same self righteous poem. To strike a deal. Just his pretty face alone would have convinced you, but he's the devil after all. Though you find it fascinating how the devil is so desperately trying to catch your attention. This whole cat and mouse chase is starting to get under your skin. Of course you're not trying to sell yourself here but will raphael ever give up? Probably not. 

It's time for your long rest, but you need to clear your head. To get some air. So you had to step out from the campground, somewhere quieter. Though the city noises still bustle in your eyes, it muffled a little. You needed this. Just some time to relax and- oh great. You recognized that aura. You sensed it at least, which raphael probably didn't know. 

there he was. Raphael in all his glory, with the same smug expression he held each time. You didn't even have to look back to know that. Poor raphael, he probably think he's stealthy with his attempts to yet again catch your attention. 

“what do you want, devil?” you asked before he could open his mouth. “such impatience” he countered with a sneered, that damn sneer. “have you gotten so used to my presence that you can sense it without looking? I'm quite flattered” he exclaimed. Which earns an eye roll from you. He flicked his finger, suddenly you're at the ever so familiar - house of hopes. Table neatly arranged with feast fits for more than 10 people before you. Raphael looks at you expectantly. “go ahead, have a taste. The feast is all for you” he said with rather a smug look, you looked at him with a little bit of curiosity but mostly annoyance. Oh he thinks he's so slick. “is this another one of your theatrics, raphael?” you questioned as your gaze shifted to the food set before you. “do i bore you?” he replied with a smirk as he approached. He had asked that question before, countless times. And that felt like your breaking point. You pulled out the scroll of planar binding from your pocket and cast it to the devil. Before he could react the spell already took its toll on his mind. 

Oh you're gonna enjoy this.

:3

The devil raphael himself is kneeling before you. Your cock in his pretty little mouth. As you comfortably sit on a luxurious chair. He was sloppy with his head but that's alright, anything to wipe that smug off his face. His tongue laps and tease your tip before taking it all in, gagging at the sensation, tears pooled in his eyes as he look at you with hypnotized eyes. Empty. Obedient. What a beautiful sight to behold. Raphael reduced to nothing and just worshipping your dick like a slut he is. As your tip hit the back of hs throat you can't help but rest you head back and let out a satisfied groan. "fuck.. Such a good fuckin slut you are.." you grunt. Which earned a moan from raphael and was muffled by your dick, his throat vibrating around your shaft.

You take a hold of his hair and had use his face like a fleshlight. Roughly thrust your cock in and out of his mouth, raphael without protest just took it all in. His eyes rolled back as you fuck his mouth as if he was nothing but another cheap whore to you. You felt unsatisfied though, the scene before you is arousing but you need to feel his mushy wall wrapped around your cock. Now.

You pushed him against the floor and made him laid in a position you love, head down ass up. As you impatiently stripped his pant and reach straight for his puckered hole.

Ironically, his inside taste like heaven. It was nothing you had taste before and it's addicting. The way his gummy walls clenched on your tongue and his moan more sinful than the whole hell combined. That didn't stop your tongue from teasing his rim and diving back in to taste his inside, his poor dick was left untouched. Red and swollen. You ignored it, his inside was million times better. When you knew his hole is ready, you aligned your cock with his puckered hole and thrust in one go. Raphael yelped and let out a soft cries. You moaned before bottoming out. You leaned down and bite on his ear. "such a good fucking pussy you have.." you panted as you thrust ".. Gonna fuck your womb so deep.." you whispered in his ear before thrusting in hard again. Raphael could on moaned your name as his eyes crossed and rolled back with tears.

You chuckled at the sight before latching your lips onto his perky nipples. What a sweet and refined taste. You sucked and bite onto his nipples as your pace grew faster. You held his hip in place and thrust one last time before cumming inside. You groaned and chuckled breathlessly. The scroll affect should died down by now, you thought. It passes it's time limit and yet you feel raphael's hip snap back against yours and grind on your pelvis. Your eyes widened a little.

"m- more.. Please" he whispered.

Oh what a shocker. You smirked and complied as you match the pace he set.

[veritas-scribblings]

clock - @bartylusmicrofic - words: 619

The way Regulus understands it: the Hufflepuff boy had just looked at Evan wrong and Evan had punched him, and Barty had seen an altercation happening and thought it looked like great fun.

The way Barty understands it: Barty was being loyal, because Evan is their family and soulmate, and people aren’t allowed to treat Evan that way.

Either way it occurred, Barty has ended up in detention yet again, for the fourth time that week. But, Regulus supposes, at least Barty managed to land a detention for a different reason than the typical, ‘why haven’t you completed the allocated reading?’ or ‘where is the assignment that’s due?’ or the more frequent, ‘why aren’t you brewing the potion / the answering the questions / practising the spell?’

Barty is so regular a participant in after-class detentions that several of their professors have gotten tired of his presence and instead allocated him to sessions in Study Hall.

This is one of those times.

Regulus drops himself into the seat next to Barty, who has filled his parchment with doodlings of two figures in what Regulus assumes is meant to be suggestive positions. Grinning, Barty writes under two stick figures doing Merlin-only-knows-what: this one is you. 

Regulus frowns, confused, because he’s pretty sure he’s looking at two stick figures. ‘They’re never going to let you out if you don’t complete your assignments,’ he whispers. ‘We have chapter 9 to read for Transfiguration before tomorrow, and the essay on non-verbal spells was due yesterday…’

‘I don’t need to write a stupid essay, I know all that shit already.’ Barty scoffs and rolls his eyes. ‘The intermediate transfiguration textbook is so dull, anyway. It’s got shit all information about non-verbal magic,’ he says, squinting down at his new set of doodled stick figures. ‘Rabelais’s Book of Magickal Law is so much more comprehensive. If you wanna know about non-verbal magic, I recommend you read that.’ He points at a stick figure that appears to be doing a handstand and says with a smile that’s a little bit devious, ‘this one’s you.’

‘Whether you know it is not the point, you still need to complete the coursework.’

‘That,’ Barty says, dramatically adding a flourish to the stick figure that’s meant to be Regulus, ‘is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. And I’ve heard a lot of stupid things. In fact, most people just live their lives walking around saying stupid things.’ He pauses. Frowns. ‘I need to add your floppy hair.’

‘Can we help you, Black?’ When McGonagall stops by their desk, Regulus quickly covers Barty’s parchment, because the last thing he needs is for Barty to end up in even more detentions. She frowns, suspicious, but doesn’t address the matter. Most likely, Regulus assumes, because she doesn’t want to have to put up with yet another afternoon of babysitting Barty Crouch Jnr. 

McGonagall sighs. ’Please sit elsewhere. Your friend is not here to socialise.’

Regulus picks up his books and tucks them under his arm. He knows Barty is going to be here for a while, because Barty is stubborn and enjoys antagonising teachers who have yet to learn one very important fact: Barty Crouch Jnr is perpetually bored and needs a challenge, and if that challenge cannot come in the form of an academic challenge, he will happily accept a battle of the wills.

Regulus leans down and whispers by Barty’s ear, because even if Barty will not listen to a teacher, he'll always listen to Regulus, ‘Do your work. I’m bored, and I wanna get out of here.’

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi Nalyra,

OK please don't take this the wrong way, but I've seen a couple people say Daniel makes 'racist micro aggressions', but as far as I can tell he's a suspicious ass to everyone. We only see him interact with 5 people so far (Louis, Rashid/Armand, Real Rashid, Damek, and Raglan James) and he's not exactly friendly to any of them...which kind of makes sense because he knows he's in a life or death situation.

Am I missing something? Like I know he's pulled a couple power plays with both Armand as Rashid and Real Rashid, but I interpreted it as the reporter in him trying to figure out who they really are (as in testing if there's more to them than being just 'servants'). I mean, he completely and totally humiliates Raglan James in public, and they're both old white guys.

I know this is a thorny subject to say the least, but reading people and their intentions is something I genuinely struggle with, and I know this fandom can sometimes add attributes to characters that aren't actually intended/there.

Mhhhh. Yeah. Thorny subject indeed^^

So I think Daniel's micro-aggression can be perceived as such, especially if you have the lived experience, but I also think that he dishes out towards everybody - but the perception might be different, depending.

As with all things our own lived experience does influence our opinion on things, and this is no different.

I don't think there is a definite answer to that, because, since - in-universe! - Daniel wants to crack Rashid... there is definitely intent behind the volleys. I'm just not sure it is that kind of intent.

[its-in-the-woods]

The Woman Who Couldn’t Die Part 5

master list

Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,

Pairing: The Ghoul/Cooper Howard x Original Character 

Alternative Universe where I make things up cause I can only research so much

Synopsis: Getting out of town can be tricky, but is out of the settlement any better? Murmurs in the woods have both our traveler's ears perked.

MINOR GET OUT. Rating/Warning: This is based on fallout except typical: Canon divergence, hints of SH/SA/NONCON, Slow Burn,

Note: These will be spaced out as I am heavily editing and researching them. Each chapter will be 2-3+k words. Tags will be edited based on the chapter, please make sure you read them.

Also, note that I will not be spoiling any of the reading. I will keep my tags relevant without spoiling what is happening in the story.

Thank you all for the love <3 You're likes, reblogs and comments keep me posting.

***

It was so warm, as light poured into the room. Jade tried to move but found herself completely enclosed in arms. Panic set in and she froze her breath caught up in her chest. Opening her eyes she took in her surroundings, peeled water-stained paper, and a duster hanging on a hook. Her eyes looked down to see large red hands wrapped around her, the Ghoul. Sometime in the night, he had pulled her tight against his chest. She could feel and hear the sound of his breath at the back of her neck. A small whistle every time he would exhale, he was incredibly warm. Like a small furnace against her back, Jade figured that was due to the radiation. Just like a sunburn would feel hot, a Ghoul was permanently sunburnt. Trying to relax Jade untensed her shoulders and shifted slightly, as she did this his hands pulled her in tighter. It was almost hard to breathe. She knew that Ghoul had mentioned having excellent hearing, but when was the last time she saw him asleep?

There was also a huge chance that if she did wake him, he’d be out the door faster than she could roll out of bed. If the way he had moved the previous night was any indication. Ideally, she didn’t want a repeat of the kiss incident, she also would greatly appreciate breathing. Jade wanted to continue whatever this was, her learning how to bounty hunt from him. At least that’s what she was chalking it up to be, a companion, a friend, or something. Though right now, her mind lingered on ‘something’, she could feel how ridged his body was. Tight lines of muscle could easily crush her, but at the same time, she felt safe. Why? She wasn’t going to dwell on that. 

Her head felt foggy and the decision to wake him was taken away when his arms loosened and he rolled away from her. Jade didn’t move waiting to see if he would be the first one to get up. After a moment she let herself slide to the edge of the bed and stand up. Jade tried her best to be as quiet as possible. Her bones ached from lying in the same spot, but it was the best night's sleep she had in weeks, probably months. Stretching she made her way to the bathroom, at least it had a bathroom, not some hole to squat over. She only briefly glanced at the Ghoul, who had already placed his hat over his face. At least he hadn’t taken off this time. Sometimes you had to take the tiny victories where you could. 

***

The Ghoul heard the door close and was immediately up, waking up wrapped around Jade was not planned. Hell he had slept for the first time in months, usually he dozed, maybe drifted a bit. But actual unconsciousness was not normal for him, he grabbed his inhaler and took a breath. The numbing sensation fills his lungs, and he relaxes rolling his shoulders with a few clicks. Grabbing his pack he sat on the bed dumping the content beside him. He moves through the stuff mentally going over what they need. Ammo was a top priority and a good amount of it. Thread, stimpaks, chems, maybe see if someone in town sharpened knives. There was also food. He went over in his mind how far they would have to go. Maybe they’d go north a bit, hit more of the central area, and see what had been happening up there. He hadn’t ventured that way in years. 

He grabbed his cleaning kit, dismantling and cleaning each weapon with practice ease. It felt good to do something with his fingers, to be moving. It didn’t stop his mind from drifting to the morning. Shifting slightly in his seat, she smelt nice like the herbal soap bar. The way her body fit against his, molded tightly against his, the sound of her breathing. Feeling her move against him. Swallowing, he pieces his weapons back together feeling tension run down his spine. 

It felt nice.

“Yeah you can fuck right off,” He muttered to himself, starting to put all the various pieces back into their place.

You are allowed to feel lonely

“Not lonely with you rattling around in my brain,” He cussed, as he grabbed his inhaler. The Ghoul wanted the voice gone, the last thing he needed was a second opinion from his mind. 

Stop lying to yourself

“The only person lying is you,” He spat, anger sneaking out as Jade entered the room.

“You okay,” She said, standing there looking at him confused, her hand laying on her weapon that rested against the set of drawers. It was unloaded but he got the gist. 

“Fine,” He bit out, his words harsher than he meant them to be. “We need to get going, wasting daylight.” 

He grabbed his inhaler and took a drag, rolling his duster onto his shoulder the heavyweight felt comforting. He grabbed his saddle bag and headed to the door. Jade had wrapped her jacket around her waist with her backpack, gun, and machete on her as they made their way out of the INN. 

The town was bustling, and Jade kept close to him moving more like his shadow than a person. The place was a constant buzz of people moving back and forth, so many eyes following them around. The girl had adapted to things quickly, probably why she had made it this far. In some ways, she was like him, adapt or die, kill or be killed. Maybe she would outdo him as a bounty hunter one day. That is if she lived long enough to get to that point. 

The first stop was to drop off their knives and machetes. The blacksmith gave them a deal on them as they had so many. Then it was over to the armory, they swapped out their weapons for something with a wider selection of ammunition. Meaning they could buy in bulk for less. Ghoul had grabbed a handful of explosive rounds just in case, one never knew what one might run into out in the Wastes. Next, it was off to look for meds and chems. 

The Ghoul pushed open the door, the place was just as pieced together as anywhere. He walked over to the counter, taking in the man standing there. He wore what would have once been a white doctor’s jacket. The name tag had long faded away, the wisps of hair sticking out the top of his head as he looked at the ghoul over his glasses. The man snorted as he took in the Ghoul and his companion. 

“Not welcome Ghoul,” He spit gesturing at the door dismissively looking back up from his papers. 

“Say who,” Piped Jade, pushing right up to the counter, and standing in front of the Ghoul. She was small but her voice carried. She crashed some caps onto the counter, more than a fair amount for what they were interested in, “Caps are all the same from everyone.”

The man rolled his eyes, moving to leave the counter, “Yeah, yeah, monster fucker. Get out too.”

“Or what?” Jaded snapped, glaring at the man, placing her gun on the counter. It was enough to stop him in his tracks. “You give us what we need or we will take what we want.”

The Ghoul felt a grin tug at the corners of his face, the girl was not taking no for an answer. He leaned against one of the shelves watching her get into the man’s face. She stood near tiptoes, gun aimed right at the man's crotch. Despite the baggy clothes Jade still looked good like this. 

“I’d listen to her, girl is small but she is five ferrets in the bag when she’s pissed.” He smirked, making sure that the wannabe doctor saw his sidepiece. The man’s eyes went between the two of them.

The doctor grimaced, looking between the two of them, he huffed and raised his hands in defeat. “What do you want then?”

“Some of that snazzy Ghoul Jet, make it twelve we got a long way to go, and half a dozen stims for the lady.” The Ghoul spoke, making sure to watch as the man moved, if the good doctor tried to do anything he had no qualms about blowing a hole through him. 

The doctor busied himself grabbing what they had asked for, before slamming the meds onto the counter, nearly crushing the vials, “I should have you rounded up, no better than raiders.”

Jaded cocked her gun, the Ghoul wasn't looking to be sidetracked so he grabbed the meds and stuffed them into his bag. Adding a few more caps to the pile Jade had already left. His free hand worked on moving Jade out the door. 

“There you go asshole, a few extra for you to keep your mouth closed” He clicked his tongue, Jade keeping her weapon and eyes on the man as they moved out the door. The street outside was busy enough that they blended in with the crowd. 

“Well, fuck, Tiny, didn’t take you for the hold’em up kind, ” the man grinned making sure to stuff the stim-paks into Jade’s bag. 

“Guy was being an asshole, had no reason to be treating you any different from anyone else,” Jade's face set sternly, as they moved towards the food vendors. 

“Used to it,” The Ghoul shrugged as they went over to grab some food for the trip. Ghouls had always been outcasts of society, humans didn’t like anything different from their box. A noseless, rotting, talking corpse was well outside their box. There was also the feral aspect of things, it wasn’t until recently that there were even chems that could stave off the feral process. It wasn’t perfect, nothing was out here, but it sure took the edge off. You didn’t live this long without side effects, but if the chems staved off those effects so be it. 

***

Once outside the town, the Ghoul felt himself relax, his companion seemed to do the same. She had still been pissy about the Ghoul hate comments, to the point where she almost stabbed a lady for looking at him wrong. He wasn’t sure why she was so adamant about it, but he didn’t mind. Something about her getting so pissy over him made him, well it made him feel something. He wasn’t about to dwell on that, nope, the wasteland had enough complication without adding in some fluffy fuckin’ feelings. Make his teeth rot faster than they already were. 

He watched his companion walk ahead, her clothes baggy and loose. Pocket loaded with various bits and bobs, her black hair braided and curled into a small bun. Her backpack was just as heavy, yet she walked with her head held high. She didn’t care about people commenting on her scars and never tried to hide them either. How she was okay, he wouldn’t have known. Then again how was anyone okay here, the whole world was one big dumpster fire. Kill or be Killed. Adapt or die. She was adapting, surviving, and maybe even enjoying herself. The Ghoul let himself enjoy the moment, it would only be a moment. Before long something would crawl itself out of the dirt looking to kill anyone that crossed its path. 

They camped out in a big field high on a ridge, it was a good spot for the evening. Jade didn’t seem to mind, besides the wind blowing through the clearing. She had inquired about sleeping closer to the tree line, but the Ghoul had heard things moving through there as the light had fallen. Even with the wind, it was best to have a quiet camp for now. 

“Fuckin cold,” Jade grumbled bundling herself up and laying the other coat over her legs. Trying to make herself as small as possible. 

The Ghoul chuckled, “No fire tonight, pip-squeak. Somethin' been moving around out there.” 

“Doesn’t mean it isn’t cold,” Jade mumbled from beneath her layers. It was almost hard to see her underneath the mountain of material she had buried herself under.

Sighing the Ghol scooted over to her, he took the duster and draped it over her. Jade’s brown eyes looked up at him as he sat closer to her. “You gonna freeze to death old man,” 

Ghoul raised his non-existent eyebrows at her, he pulled off his gloves and placed his hands right beside her face. “Radiation keeps me warm,” 

He watched her eyes follow his fingers as he moved them around in the dirt before she snuggled in closer. “If you’re dead in the morning I am keeping the duster.”

Wheezing slightly the Ghoul pulled his hand back placing it in the glove. He watched the last of the light disappear, more rustling came from the woods. Something was moving through there, he took a hit of the inhaler and continued to watch. Without the moon as full, it was hard to make out exactly what it was, west of Appalachia could have a world of weird shit. He hoped it wasn’t those giant toads, they were big slimy, and took a lot to kill. He was loaded up on ammo, but it would be a while before they saw another town. Another disadvantage of traveling north was fewer settlements. The scorched plague had left a lot of places empty, which meant more critters and taking up residences. He had heard about settlements pushing in and trying to take back space, but it was slow. 

He dug around in his side pocket, checking that all his vials were still there. If he wanted to stay up, he’d need to hit more chems. Humming he continued to listen, the place had gone quiet. Crickets and other bugs buzzed but besides that it was silent. He lay down looking up at the stars, a little napping couldn’t hurt. 

***

He woke up when he heard buzzing, his hand immediately tapping Jade’s shoulder. Looking around he couldn’t see anything but the trees were swaying. It was not in the direction of the wind either. Either something big or a lot of things were moving through the trees at a good clip. 

The Ghoul wanted to be in the other direction of whatever it was. 

“Time to go, Tiny,” He spoke, Jade sitting up grabbing her bag and swinging it on before standing. How did she have all the clothes tucked away so quickly? His duster pushed into his hand. 

“What yah think it is?” Jade said swaying a bit, her eyes a bit glassy from sleep. Eyebrows knitted as she tried to peer into the forest. 

“Not sure, but I think we shouldn’t wait to find out,” The Ghoul said, swinging on his duster and saddle bag and heading in the opposite direction. 

They decided to backtrack northeast, skirting around the forest. The buzzing was starting to fade, but it was still there. The Ghoul wasn’t sure but it seemed like they were heading south, what it was he didn’t want to find out. There was going to be enough trouble anyway.  The road they were on was going to be entering into the forest. Something at the back of The Ghoul’s neck perked up. 

“I do not like this,” He said, the woman beside him slowing down a step. She looked as concerned as he felt, her goggles pushed into her hair. The two of them looked at the destination ahead of them.

“Something wrong isn’t it?” She replied with her hand resting against her pistol. “Felt it all morning, like something is watching us. But I can’t see it, or hear it.”

The Ghoul nodded, the little lady’s instincts were correct, something was wrong. Something was waiting for them to enter that forest. He gritted his teeth, normally he’d reroute, maybe head back east then circle south, but it wasn’t like they had endless supplies. Plus whatever critters had woken them were heading that way. Go too far north they’d end up near Reavers or Slavers. None of it was good. 

“We don't got alotta options here, we can go south but probably run into whatever woke us up. Go too far north, reavers or slavers. Back east maybe find a place to hole up in. Or we go there.” He stated, he knew there weren't many options. 

“Well let's go kill some forest mutants,” Jade said, her hand resting on the pistol. 

Ghoul nodded, as much as he liked her confidence he was worried. The emotion felt almost surreal.  After years of looking out for himself and himself alone, he was worried about her. About the tiny fragile human, who couldn’t just shrug off gunshots like he could, who could easily be killed by a falling tree. 

“Jade,” He said quietly as they started into the forest, his heart hammering in his chest as he watched her move ahead. 

“What?” Jade asked her eyes looking forward to scanning the roadway. Always on the look for whatever was coming next. 

“Nothin’, ladies first.” He bit out, he wanted to tell her to turn around. Go back east and find a place to hole up in. That if something happened to leave him, that if she needed to run to, to run fast and far. But he didn’t. Instead, he made a sarcastic remark and pushed forward. 

“Pretty sure it's Ghouls before girls,” Jade smirked striding along the road with a small smile.

“Keep with me and you'll be both,” Ghoul chuckled, his jaw clicking as they took steps towards whatever was next.

*little plot-heavy, in next chapter we have some action coming

*as always thank you so much for reading, let me know what you thought of it.

[obsob]

oooooooooough i love you i love you i love you!!!! hand in loving hand !!!!!!

[ryssbelle]

Poppy for N2 au, it took me so long to make her design cuz I didn't really know what I wanted to do only because I feel like her design is pretty perfect.

But then I just thought about fun outfits to give her or outfits that I would find comfortable if I was wearing them and it all came together.

Poppy here is pretty much the same as here movie counterpart, as nothing really changes on her end of things other than having more insight on Branch through his brothers, and through Lief. Shes also a bit more understanding a bit earlier on because of it but it doesnt do much to change her own character arc I would say.

Bonus

Part of Poppys design was based off a design I had made for previous rulers of Troll Village/Tree

Namely Queen Protea who I designed as Poppys grandmother

Named after the Protea flower which part of her design is based off :D

In the context of this Au Protea was the one who conceptualized the tunnels while her son, King Peppy, was the one to follow through after her death

[chimerahyperfix]

You’re looking for something— no, someone, too, aren’t you?

(I can’t comprehend how you understand what’s going on, with your lifeless shell. Craft as you are.)

[congregation-of-the-spiral]

thinking about writing a jmart fic inspired by my original story. would y'all read it or nah

[beepboopappreciation]

Seems that a handful of you were interested in seeing my old Dalek art, so I bring you this piece I made back in the ancient year of 2019!