#but the amount of people who like this idea is a scary number

[collinnmckinley]

I dont normally say this a lot but, yall be smoking some weird shit if you think or hc Graves to be Adler's son... yes its all fun and all until someone takes it to another level and makes shit up and say its canon... and i really dont like how yall trying to make sense of it all.

[soleilars]

NOW I WAKE UP IN THE NIGHT TO WATCH YOU BREATHE

summary: you spent the night with your loving boyfriend

pairing: percy jackson x fem!reader

warnings: kissing, percy hating on hayes campbell

a/n: oh is this one of my favorite book boyfriend?? yes it is

the bests days at camp were the ones when you would spend your evenings at cabin 3 instead of going to the campfire. percy would smile the whole time you were at his cabin, he really just couldn’t stop his lips from turning upwards. this boy is so clingy bc the moment the door was closed he was all over you

who could blame him tho? he saw the opportunity and jumped straight at it. as he should

so when you mentioned over lunch you would skip campfire he was glowing

like, people could feel it. he was under girlfriend air effect even before spending the night with you. he’s just 😆😆😆😆 all day long. I swear

he rushed to the door when he heard your footsteps getting closer and fully pulled you inside (it didn’t hurt tho he just was so excited)

like I said, all over you

my man reclaims the lip gloss you’re wearing as his from the insane amount of it ending up on his lips instead of yours

you two have basically girls night, the only difference is that in between all the activities you guys take a break to make out

percy is the best person ever to gossip with I just know

“and then she said she just wanted to get back at him ‘cause she was jealous of him with a girl from her class!”

“bullshit, she broke up with him ‘cause she liked another guy this can’t be possible.”

“shit, it is”

“and he got back together with her!!!!!”

“nah I can’t do this anymore ma boy just got played at and didn’t even cared”

i feel like he enjoys horror movies bc somehow he finds them funny

if you don’t like watching them he’ll never force you but if you do it will be the non-scary shit ever

like in the scene character one runs from character two (aka movies bad guy) and ends up tripping

this man would start laughing so loud you had to pause the movie

would recreate the scene so you could see from his pov

he was right tbh it was indeed funny without the scary movie background

watched the idea of you with you

I feel like he hated nicholas galitzine in this movie

“harry styles would never!!!!!”

“he actually was dating olivia wilde not to long ago”

“…”

“10 years older than him?”

“oh”

this one time you told him one of you favourite movies was ttihay he acted nonchalant but inside he was totally thinking about how to convince you to dress up as patrick and kat for halloween

spoiler alert: you two did it

anyway

you let you do his skincare routine while he talked about everything and anything honestly. it could be about his day, school, his family, the fact he feels like so many people he cared about died because of him and is absolutely terrified of losing you, the new show he’s watching, et cetera

would encourage you to do the same

he is your number one listener but also your number one yapper

he loves being the little spoon

it just makes him feel so loved🥹🥹

would never reject holding you in any way so big spoon is also perfectly fine

taints your face with kisses until both of you fall asleep

everyone knows he drools in his sleep so he would do his best to try not to

he ends up failing but you don’t care at all

sucker for waking up before you and watching you with that lovestruck look in his eyes

he feels so glad he’s actually dating you he’s kinda off relieved that he’s the one who has you. no one else

disclaimer: pls do not ever cheat on this man he would be absolutely and utterly destroyed

anyway, that was it

[soxcietyy]

Racer Yuta Au

Yuta x fem reader

Part 2

Your dragged to a car meet up by your uncle and you have a wonderful time. Though you and your babysitter keep getting under each others skin.

˚₊‧꒰𓆩 ♱ 𓆪꒱ ‧₊˚ forbidden love, brat, 5 year age gap. Illegal activity’s,

"Uncle Gojo, are you sure it’s okay for me to tag along? Isnt my dad going to get mad?" You yell as he turns on his loud car. The exhaust roared loudly in the garage making it echo. Gojo was a illegal street racer, number one to be exact. He would drag race anywhere anytime. He used to work under his dad but having so much money made him pick up an expensive hobby like this. Your dad was currently in a buisness trip trying to recover lost data from the company. He might of agreed to let you explore the underground racing world when he was younger but now he retired from that. Ever since then you were to not go anywhere near such thing and he made that clear.

"Geto isnt here, plus it’s not a race it’s a car meet up. You’ll just be my plus one for the night. Cant really afforded to miss it." He says as he opens the door to his dark blue Supra.

You mumble that it’s going to be his fault if your dad found out about this as you got in. He rolls his eyes and closes the door as you got comfortable. When he got in you tightly grip the seat knowing this wasn’t going to be a smooth ride. You’ve seen your uncle drive and it did not look safe nor fun at all. Your dad would always talk about how many tickets Gojo has gotten and the cars he’s wreaked. All you could do was hope for your safety and not complain. As he drove out the garage you held your breath and with a hard step on the gas you guys were on your way.

When you arrived you reached inside your black purse and popped a mint into your mouth hoping it would relieve your anxiety. You weren’t sure if it was due to the terrifying drive or the amount of people starting to surround the car. You look at Gojo to see him smiling wide. This probably fuled his already exploding ego. You know he loved the attention and loved being the best at everything. He loved the girls, the money, but most importantly he loved crushing peoples hearts. That dream of destroying Gojo in a race might never come true for some people.

"Relax, don’t be scared nothing is going to happen to you. Nobody will lay a finger nor look at you dirty once they know your with me. Just make sure to stay clear from a few folks around here." He said before stepping out. You watch as people cheered and were asking him to rev his engine. He said a few words before coming to your door and opening it. When he did the noises from the crowed silenced. They’re probably not used to seeing him come with a plus one. From what you hear at get togethers was that his relationships are not allowed near his hobbies at all. So who knows what could be run in through these peoples minds.

When you appeared you saw that everyone had their eyes on you. Scanning you up and down to see what was good about you. Your clammy hand grabbed your other arm as you stood there shyly. Maybe you should have stayed home. Why did your dad think it was a bright idea to let Gojo babysit you. You were 18 for crying out loud.

Before you could ask Gojo if you can go back inside the car you saw someone emerging from the crowed. You watched how a tall guy with black hair and dark eyes approached your uncle and gave him a hug.

"Gojo, I didn’t think you were coming today. You told me you had business to attend to." He said as he backed up and looked at you. "Oh" was the only thing he said at you.

"Yuuta this is my niece, y/n this is Yuuta. He’s also a street racer and I guess you could say my pupil. Not trying to brag but I don’t think he would be the second best racer without my guidance." Gojo said all smug.

You’ve heard of this guy before, Gojo talked about him here and there. He’s 23 years old, one of the best drag racers, your uncles pupil, calm, friendly, but had a scary aura around him. He was in your dad’s last race, Yuuta ended up coming second meaning he beat your dad. Then your dad simply retired, not because he lost but because he knew it was time to look for something new.

You give him a small wave as you stepped behind Gojo a bit. This guy was pretty scary looking, not only because of his hight but you could feel something off.

"So is she also a far distant relative to me?" Yuta asks bringing his attention back to Gojo.

Ah that’s right they were related in someway now that you remember.

Gojo laughed and shook his head. He leaned towards Yutas ear and whispered something only you could hear. "She’s Geto’s daughter."

Yuuta looked at him shocked before looking at you again to see if he could spot the similarities. You glare at Gojo knowing that your dad wouldn’t want these kinds of people knowing about his daughter.

"Hey now that you’re here, I kind of have to talk to Sukuna for a bit as much as I hate the thought of it but it’s about the next race. Can’t have y/n around or Geto will kill me if people know who she is. Can you watch her for me? She’s a good kid and won’t be a bother." Gojo said as he pushed you towards him.

"Oh yea that’s fine." Yuta said as he looked down at you to make sure you were okay with it too.

Not like you had much of a say since Gojo smiled and gave you a thumbs up as he left. You both stood there for a minute until Yuuta spoke up.

"There about to start doing doughnuts want to go look?" He asks.

You give him a nod and follow him to where a crowed was forming. Pushing your way through to the front you could see a large space in the middle. You could see burnt tire marks from past meets on the road. You were so excited when you saw a mustang come out from the crowed. It was bright orange with black streaks. It had custom rims and such cool details on it. The crowed started cheering as the show started. The car started going in circles leaving skids on the floor. You could hear how it screeched at sharp turns and how the rubber burned. This was way better than seeing it through social media. You look behind you to see Yuuta smiling but he wasn’t looking at the car. He was looking at you.

After that finished he took you around the lot to look at other cars. So many different models, so many different body kits. No car looked the same and some were exotic. You met so many new people and had great conversations about how they managed to get there car to look at that. Yuuta also spoke to people but you didn’t pay much attention nor did he pay much attention to yours or so you thought. A guy came up to you and started to flirt with you. Saying how he would love to take you on a date and talk more. He said he loved your energy and style. He then proceeded to ask for your number but Yuuta stepped in and put a stop to that. You were kind of irritated by it seeing that he just cock blocked you.

"Let’s head to my car, I need to make sure nobody is messing with it. We have to be more careful and make sure nothing is tampered with now that Sukuna is here." Yuuta says as he leads you through the crowed. It was a bit hard for you to keep up seeing how he took long fast strides. You were wearing heels didn’t help the situation either. People looked shocked seeing Yuuta with a girl. Did these men lack in women or is their a rule to not bring a female to such gathering? Though when you took a good look in the crowed there was a good mix of everyone.

Eventually you made it to a white Nissan GTR. It actually quite suited him but you also took him for a Subaru type of guy.

People surrounded his car too, taking pictures of it and while looking at the details. "Alright I’m going to chat with these guys for a while so just do whatever 16 year olds do. Also don’t accept anything that isn’t from me, understand?" He says,

You looked at him in disbelief that he thought you were younger. "I’m actually 18 sir, we’re not that far apart according to Gojo. Five years to be exact." You say as you walk to the back of his car. He stood there shocked, probably trying to figure out how old your dad was when you were born. Spoiler alert it was when he was 15! Usually people think you’re joking when you say he’s your dad.

Suddenly a girl grabbed his arm taking his attention from you. She was tall and had short hair, almost like a greenish black hue. They seem to be fond of each other if they’re smiling and hugging. Maybe that was his girlfriend.

You sigh as you lean on his car while you scroll through social media. The car meet was going great but you didn’t appreciate being passed around to be babysat when you were a grown adult. The breeze blew making you shiver. Maybe it was a bad idea to wear a tight skirt with a small top. While you cursed under your breath everytime the wind blew someone was getting closer.

"Got bored of watching your boyfriend flirt with another girl?" You hear someone say. You turn to see a guy with blue hair and Heterochromia eyes.

"He’s not my boyfriend but I am bored. Came to entertain me?"

You lift up a brow curious to know why he came up to you. He makes up a small conversation that had you actually happy to engage in. Finally someone who didn’t belittle you nor treat you as a kid. He was somewhat surprised that you knew more about car than he initially thought. All those hours of watching your dad nerd out about cars payed off. He offered to give you a free ride around the block but you declined knowing Yuuta would freak out about it. Though you were interest what ride he had. Could it be a classic? Or a newer car that was modified.

"Hey don’t you think wearing something like that is too scandalous? Such a short skirt for this cold weather too." He says looking at your body.

Your hand touched the tiny goosebumps on your leg.

"Yea I was kinda rushed out the house so I didn’t really plan this outfit out. Are you trying to say you don’t like it?"

He held his hands up in defense, "no no I quite love it. It suites your body so well and- oh it seems we might be in some trouble. Seems your guard dog has finally payed attention to you." He says nodding his head to the person walking behind you. "Glad we could exchange contact information. Here just in case you get parched. Seems like you’re not being well taken care of right." He says as he hands you a water bottle.

You happily accept it as you watch him walk away. He was right about not being taken care of right. You have yet to eat dinner and would have loved if someone handed you a jacket. Bringing the bottle to your lips you take a sip. The cold water made you shiver a bit. You suddenly felt your body be pulled by the arm. Then shoved to the side of the car. You look up surprised to see a not so happy Yuuta over you. You back pressed hard against the car as he looked at you with thoes dark eyes. He ripped the bottle out of your hand and poured it onto the floor.

"Did I not say to not accept anything that isn’t from me?" He says.

You let out a sigh as you cross your arms and look away. "I’m thirsty, at least someone cared for me. Your busy chatting with a girl and left me alone."

"And what the do you know about being treated right? This place isn't safe for innocent gullible girls like you." He sighs as he runs his hand through his hair. "Get in the car, clearly you can’t be trusted to follow directions." He says as he opens the door next to you.

You couldn’t believe Gojo said this man was calm and friendly. That was an absolute lie, he was such an ass and so much more.

You stood in your spot refusing to do what he says. He looked at you with such a demanding look but that wasn’t going to make you break. Your dad taught you to be strong. No man was going to tell you what to do. You both stood there for a minute before he slammed the door closed and grabbed you. In a quick second he lifted you up and sat you on the hood of the car. You gasp as he spread your legs open causing your skirt to slowly lift up. He then proceeded to put his body in between you.

"Didn’t think Gojos niece was such a brat, listen I’m in charge of you and your going to do exactly as I say even if you don’t like it, it’s not because I hate you but this is for your safety." He said as he placed his hands on both of your sides.

He was so close that you could see the turtle neck under his black leather jacket. The veins in his neck that pulsed as he grew more irritated. You could smell the cologne that he was wearing and feel his warmth. You couldn’t help but notice how good looking he looked like this as much as you hated him right now.

Okay maybe he was a little bit too good looking right now. All of a sudden you felt too shy to meet his gaze. "I don’t want to go in, I want to stay out here with you." You say as he sighed sounding unconvinced.

He looked down as his watch before responding to you. "Fine, but you better be on your best behavior. I don’t like girls who don’t listen." He says as he takes of his leather jacket and wraps it around you. You have no idea why but those words did something to you. For the rest of the night you stood next to him listening to him talk. You looked at the way he spoke, the way he laughed, how his Adam’s Apple would move up and down, how the veins in his arms showed when he opened his hood and showed the inside work. You were almost like a dumbfounded little puppy looking at its owner. Sometimes he would smile when he caught you looking at him.

you weren't embarrassed to admit to yourself that you've grew a crush on him just in the few hours that youve spent with him. It was normal for a girl to fall for a guy this fast right?

You end up falling asleep in his car by the time Gojo decided to appear. He lazy strolled towards Yuta who was getting ready to go for the night.

"Sorry I took so long, kind of got into an altercation. Hes not so easy to talk too." He says as he points at his busted lip. "Oh I see she fell asleep, tired the little brat out huh?" Gojo says as he looks at you snooze from the open window.

"So you knew she was a brat but painted her as an Angel huh?" Yuuta smirked.

"She’s my niece, obviously I’m going maker her seem like that. Hey you didn’t do anything funny right? She has a tendency of somehow getting what she wants." He said looking at him serious for a minute. Yuuta knew what he meant by that and simply shook his head.

"I respect you too much to lay hands on her." Yuuta spoke as he walked to the door and opened it.

"Good, I’ll take her from here then, also the next race i-" a crowed of running people caught Gojos eye before he could finish. Both of the men watched in silence waiting to see what was the cause of chaos. The second they saw red and blue lights they looked at each other.

"On second thought you keep her for now. She’s going to slow me down if I take her right now. Meet up at your house." Gojo said as he started running to his car that was across the parking lot.

Yuuta quickly ran to his car as people began to yell that 12 was in the area. Cars began to turn on to escape causing the place to light up. Yuuta reached for your belt and tightened it on you, soon after he pressed on the gas and left the area speeding. This wasn’t his first run in with the police so he was confident in not being caught. That was until he reached sudden traffic causing him to break hard, both of your body’s lurch foward and then back. This waking you up with a panicked expression.

"What’s going on?!" You say looking at him.

"Just going out for a ride.” He says trying not to freak you out.

"Oh that’s really lovely did the police department also decide to tag along? You have four of them a few cars behind us by the looks of it." You say.

The second the light turned green he accelerated, weaving through the slow traffic. You squeezed the door handle as he easily went over the speed limit. You were too young to already have a criminal record. You may not get charged as bad as he does but they will still charge you as an accomplice. How would this affect you college application? The car swerved every sharp turn he made until he made it to a dark neighborhood. In one go he turned the wheel completely to the right and drove up to drive way. He quickly turned the car off and unbuckled his belt.

"We need to get off now." He says as he opens his door. You proceed to do the same but by the time you get out you could see the cops patrolling the area, shinning there flashlights to every car. Yuuta quickly grabbed you and pushed you on the floor behind some bushes. His body laying low on top of yours. Both of you are breathing heavily as you could hear someone approach the car. Shinning the light inside the car to see if he could find anyone. Those few minutes felt like eternity and while you should have been worried about being caught all you could think about was the body over you. You look up at him to see his serious face looking around. Trying to figure out if the coast was clear. His face was dam from all of this. Sweat slowly rolling down his face even if it was a cold night.

You wanted him so bad, you wanted to pull him in and kiss him, you wanted to make him yours. You could just imagine being with someone like him. So mature, so tall, so protecting. His chest rose up and down quickly as he tried to catch his breath. He looks at you once again and leans into you.

"What are you looking at like that?" He whispers into your ear making you burn up.

"Nothing! Im just scared, this is a first for me." You say sitting up as he backs up.

When you guys tried to look for the officer you noticed he was now gone. You flatten your skirt down and brush off the dirt from yourself. He proceeded to stand and helps you up by grabbing your soft hand.

Walking to his car he reaches inside to grab something out of it. You follow behind intrigued by his actions. When he gets back to you he’s holding your purse in his hand that you must’ve left. Seeing a big guy like him holding your tiny hand purse made you feel like he was your boyfriend. You could just imagine how that would be like. You shyly thank him as he hands it to you.

You ponder weather you should drop a hint of you being interested in him or just dropping the bomb. You debate until you decided not to drag things around. "Have you ever wanted something bad but knew you had no chance?" You ask him.

He stood there for a second. Hands in his pockets as he thought about the answer. You guessed he did have something like. It made you wonder if he was able to achieve it. "What has you feeling that way? From what I heard you have a tendency of getting anything you want. So I really wouldn’t be worried about it."

You laugh as you lean onto his car. Looking at him in the eyes as you smile. "If I tell you want I want, will tell me if I’m capable of achieving it?"

He gives you a nod signaling for you to continue. You put your purse on top of the car as you approached him. Wrapping your arms around his neck and getting onto the tips of your toes, you whisper three simple words.

"I want you."

You say as you pull back to look at him. You could see the tips of his ears turning red from the dim light his house provided. His cheeks than began to flush. You were astonished seeing him act this way, you’ve seen him interact with girls today but he didn’t act like this. Did this mean he also had some interest in you?

"You don’t want me y/n, I’m not the type of guy you think I am, you don’t know me." He grabbed your arms from around his neck and put them down. "Well I’m going to get to know you." You intertwined your fingers with his.

"I’m a very jealous, serious, and aggressive guy. I wouldn’t want to ruin your innocence and take advantage of a girl like you. To top it all off your Gojos niece, and your dad wouldn’t want to see you with a guy involved with illegal things."

"I have a feeling that it’s because of our age gap." You cross your arms. You were disappointed in being turned down like this.

"Listen Angel I could give less fuck’s about being five years apart. I just don’t think I’m capable of maintaining something so pure and innocent. It’s like giving a tiger a bunny. He’s just going to eat her alive." He said holding your chin up so you could look at him. "So run while you can and find someone better."

You push his hand away "and what if I don’t run? What if I keep crawling back to you? You have no idea what you’ve done to me Yuuta. I’ve never felt so desperate for someone before." You say as you hug him.

"I need you so bad Yu." You bury your face in his chest.

"Y/n we can’t, I- what about Gojo? If he finds out he’s going to kill me." He says trying to fight off the urge to embrace you back.

You let go of him and look at him with your puppy eyes. You were begging him at this point to give you a chance. You just needed him to see that you were worth his time. He slowly runs his hands through his hair stressed.

"Fine but don’t make me regret this."

[livwritesstuff]

I've had a consistent thought in my head of the girls learning more about the upside down.

Like they know a bit: uncle Dustin still lives in Hawkins doing research on something, they've seen their dads and they know about the scars and their disabilities. They know something happened to their entire family and they know there was an earthquake that wasn't really an earthquake. But they've never learned more than that and they'll never know the details as long as Steve and Eddie have a say.

But at some point, each of them realizes that the monster hunter jokes that their dads make aren't really jokes.

In general, I think Steve and Eddie’s sentiment surrounding how they address the not-so-pleasant aspects of their past with their daughters is that they won’t lie (because that’ll only come back to bite them in the ass later), but they’re also only going to tell them as much of the truth as they literally need to.

Not that Moe knows any of this.

All Moe really knows is that her dads went through some scary-ass shit when they were her age and they don’t really talk about it.

Still, Moe has eyes. Maybe she didn’t realize it when she was little, but even just the sheer amount of scar tissue her dads have isn’t exactly normal. When she asks where they got them, though, all they ever say is that a monster tried to eat them.

Moe also knows that the reason Pop doesn’t usually join them on shopping trips at the mall is because they can trigger bad migraines, and she knows the reason he gets migraines in the first place is that he’d taken too many hits to the head in too short a time, but when she asks how he’d gotten a concussion and then a TBI and then two more concussions in the span of four years he always just says something like picked a fight with the wrong Russian spy, or something like that.

And it’s public knowledge that Dad was accused of murder when he was in high school and nearly died before the charges got dropped, but when she asks about what happened, he gives her some spiel about curses and demons and portals to alternate dimensions and monsters (again, with the monsters).

They’re kidding, Moe knows. They’re giving obviously fake answers because…well, for a lot of reasons, she can imagine– not wanting to relive whatever actually happened, not wanting to put their own trauma onto Moe and her sisters.

Honestly, Moe doesn’t really even bother asking about it anymore because they clearly don’t want to talk about it, and if it really was that bad, she can’t even blame them. Besides, she’s pretty sure that dads are supposed to be total mysteries to their kids, so…whatever.

The story of what happened in Hawkins, Indiana starts to gain some public attention again while Moe is in high school – one of those true crime conspiracy theory-type stories people make Reddit threads and YouTube videos about, and apparently (because Moe has no interest, but Robbie likes that kind of stuff) Dad almost always comes up in them, Pop sometimes.

Around that time is when Moe’s dads start to get all kinds of media requests – not that Pop had any idea. He’s basically chronically offline, so no one is really able to track him down other than finding his work email on Psychology Today, but he’s got filters set up to send that shit to spam so he doesn’t even have to see it. Dad, on the other hand, is (supposedly) well-known for his books or whatever, so he doesn’t have the same kind of anonymity. He got all sorts of calls and emails from people wanting his first-hand account, but he always refused to participate, told them to lose his number and never contact him or his family ever again.

That’s the kind of thing that really rattled Pop – Moe didn’t like that. He’s kind of an immovable object in that way, so seeing him rattled just seemed wrong.

They’d even needed to threaten legal action against one online tabloid who just wouldn’t leave them alone – not that Moe is supposed to know about that, but she’d eavesdropped on a phone call between her dads and Uncle Dustin, who seems to exist as a central point in it all even if Moe doesn’t know why (maybe it has something to do with how her dads always complaining about how he still works for that lab, whatever that means).

“Are you ever gonna tell us what really happened?” Moe asks one day, when it’s just her and Pop in the car on their way home from a basketball tournament in Connecticut.

He sighed, not taking his eyes off the road.

“Hon, can I ask you to stop and consider that maybe we have been?”

And for her dad’s sake, she does, she makes herself run through the mental log of all the lore or whatever she’s unlocked over the years.

Monsters, Russian spies, superpowers, demon-animals, curses, portals to alternate realities, government corruption, evil scientists.

Bullshit, she’d always thought, but…her dad had never bullshitted her before. Why would he choose to start with this?

Moe looked back at him, some kind of question on the tip of her tongue even though she had no idea what to ask, and this time, Pop spared a glance back.

“I’m not telling you everything,” he warned her as he looked back at the highway stretching out endlessly ahead of them, and Moe tried to keep any signs of disappointment off her face, “But I’ll tell you some.”

[daisys-reality]

𝙿𝙰𝙲.𝟶𝟷𝟾 : 𝙱𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚊 '𝙳𝚁 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏' 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎! - 𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚢 𝚆𝚎𝚋𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚅𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 (𝙿𝚃. 𝟷)

Hello my fellow shifters 🌱 This pac reading is just for entertainment purposes and for everyone who plans on shifting to a DR that is fantasy/royal/webtoon/isekai-like + for those who want to get some inspiration on how their DR self should look like. Almost all of my DR selfs look different and I thought this would be a fun idea to get some inspo for future DR plans hehe. If you like to read more pac readings from me, feel free to check out my  masterlist as well! Also, I don't own any of these beautiful pics, they're all from pinterest.

🛑 This reading works a little different, so after choosing a main picture/pile, you'll have to choose some more numbers and they will be different for each pile. Please choose a number for each category and go to your pile:

EYE COLOR: 1️⃣ 2️⃣

HAIR COLOR: 1️⃣ 2️⃣

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𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙾𝙽𝙴

Eye color: 1️⃣ strong pink / purple 2️⃣ yellow/orange (tiger eye)

Hair color: 1️⃣ dark blue / purple  2️⃣ dark blonde

Overall vibe: Skin complexion on the paler side (regardless of skin color), creamy skin, round face, strong jawline, round/soft body type with good amount of muscles, short to medium height, darker hair (so here: dark blonde or dark purple/blue hair), emotional/moody, dreamy, affectionate, passionate, dramatic, attractive, psychic, serious, melancholic, burdened/exhausted by life in general or by responsibilities and contracts?, dark colored and black clothes, long dresses, pearl jewelry, big jewels, piercing eyes, strong intuition, powerful presence, being restricted by something or holding yourself back, composed anger, embodiment of karma, fearless gaze, sensual, devoted and eager for power.  

Eye/hair color combinations: 1️⃣1️⃣, 1️⃣2️⃣, 2️⃣1️⃣, 2️⃣2️⃣

𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝚃𝚆𝙾

Eye color: 1️⃣ light green  2️⃣  black

Hair color: 1️⃣ light pink 2️⃣ icy blue

Overall vibe: Graceful, tall and slender, long legs, medium skin complexion (regardless of skin color), light colored hair, can’t stand still, arrogant/conceited, condescending, flat chested, cold, emotionless, hidden control freak, easily misunderstood, wise, tragedy as blessing in disguise, intriguing, willing to do the dirty work, you're someone who stands up for themselves, your words might sting, lowkey intimidating/scary to men, doll-like beauty, ribbons and frills, light-colored clothes, poisonous beauty, you’re like the poison that is being used as remedy to another poison, you bring balance and transformation into that world even if people can’t see it.

Eye/hair color combinations: 1️⃣1️⃣, 1️⃣2️⃣, 2️⃣1️⃣, 2️⃣2️⃣

𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴

Eye color: 1️⃣ red 2️⃣  orange/hazel

Hair color: 1️⃣ blonde 2️⃣ brown

Overall vibe: Warm colored hair, dark colored eyes, tending more to be muscular built, good posture, strong/heavy jaw, positive and warm energy, Lion-like, majestic, medium height, strong body and mind, spiritual, cultivated, mesmerizing, capable, responsible, peace-maker & peace upholder, humble, nourishing, caretaker, hardworking, abundant, generous and supportive, at times resentful or feeling trapped, you're someone who works a lot behind the scenes and who likes managing, someone with a helper syndrome but at the same time suspicious of others, resistant to change, keen-eyed, all-seeing, full and healthy hair, wearing clothes that enhance your body shape and curves.

Eye/hair color combinations: 1️⃣1️⃣, 1️⃣2️⃣, 2️⃣1️⃣, 2️⃣2️⃣

𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚄𝚁

Eye color: 1️⃣ light pink 2️⃣  light purple/blue

Hair color: 1️⃣ red 2️⃣ white

Overall vibe: Curvy body shape but overall more lean, pretty waist-hip ratio, cute cheeks, a teasing beauty, perhaps a little fidgety or just nervous energy (?), a hard working person, robust or rough but more so in personality than in appearance, foreign or exotic looking, well traveled, a bit tired looking - perhaps your gaze/eyes but you have a youthful glow, you look like you went through a lot, perhaps that's also why you sometimes give off this ‘rough around the edges’ vibe, detail oriented, a little nit-picky, tendency to be a bit extreme sometimes, fearful vision of life, controlling, looking like someone who needs some time off because you're always overdoing it, organized and resourceful, very busy, someone who carries higher wisdom, perhaps religious or someone who deals with divine energy, someone who people wonder about who they really are or what they have in mind, you are someone who questions things a lot and you don't trust (opinions, informations) easily, there is also something innocent or pure about you, innocent arousal and naive sensuality, compelling and almost addictive to men and with other women there is always this unresolved tension, I see you long dresses with pretty low cut cleavage or turtle neck dresses with see through parts, very teasing dressing style, you might play around with different or even exotic styles, dresses with a tight waist cut or wearing corsets, and also something about cords, fans and scarfs (worn like a vest).

Eye/hair color combinations: 1️⃣1️⃣, 1️⃣2️⃣, 2️⃣1️⃣, 2️⃣2️⃣

𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴

Eye color: 1️⃣ grey 2️⃣ dark grape purple almost black

Hair color: 1️⃣ dark brown 2️⃣ blue

Overall vibe: Piercing eyes, petite and dainty looking, short, baby face, innocent look, very feminine, childlike-charm, adorable, dreamy looking or the vibe of a daydreamer, naive, hidden depth, light hearted, soft beauty, does not fear darkness, patient, prudent, seeking growth, visionary, beaming smile, mystical, easy-going, clever, soft and frilly clothes, light or pastel colored clothes, many layers on the dress (=volumios dresses), hard to grasp, very perceptive, clothes and accessories with ribbons, dots, frills and lace, cute hair accessory, perhaps flower themed dresses, delicate jewelry, adventurous spirit, intriguing, someone who is able to deal with tragedies in a light hearted way, clean beauty, someone very tidy, fresh and eager energy, perhaps sometimes lacking a sense of self, very moldable identity, loves learning and very open-minded persona.

Eye/hair color combinations: 1️⃣1️⃣, 1️⃣2️⃣, 2️⃣1️⃣, 2️⃣2️⃣

𝙿𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝚂𝙸𝚇

Eye color: 1️⃣ red 2️⃣ (apple) green

Hair color: 1️⃣ white 2️⃣ purple

Overall vibe: Round/soft body type, bold appearance, voluminous hair, intense eyes, attractive/alluring eyes, perhaps freckles, optimistic but also kinda nonchalant attitude, inspiring, shining beauty, tall, slightly arrogant looking, emotionless face/poker face, very good-looking, lush hair, no problem standing up for themselves, often clashing with other women and appearing bitchy to them, other women are often competitive around you, one of a kind type of beauty, dangerous like a panther, exotic jewelry, feathers, gold jewelry, there's something dark about you, some people could claim you’re secretly a witch, you seem powerful to others, a little rebellious as well, someone who causes chaos wherever they go, very brave, regal energy, god/goddess like or god-complex? lol, hard to get, naturally seductive, wide flowy clothes, showing skin, very luxurious clothing, intimidating, keen eye, a bit stealthy, someone who hates wasting time and energy (on useless stuff/people), easily bored, expansive presence, and wild passionate person, your the center of your own world, dangerous like still deep waters - which you shouldn’t underestimate...

Eye/hair color combinations: 1️⃣1️⃣, 1️⃣2️⃣, 2️⃣1️⃣, 2️⃣2️⃣

[henry-or-something]

@scary-spaghetti-enjoyer had an idea for a Witchlight Swap AU and I.... really liked it

Gideon

Born and raised on a farm, he ran away at 18 to go to college. He claims to have a Psych degree, but dropped out to join a band as a bass player. He jumped from band to band constantly. On his travels, he found Gricko lost in the woods. The two became friends quickly. Gideon convinced Gricko to come with him to Agwe as a sort of exposure therapy to the outside world. Eventually, they made it to Agwe and decided that robbing people was the best was to make money. They were pick-poketing people when Kremy suddenly appeared. He was about to throw them out when Torbek appeared and offered them a job at a carnival.

GRICKO

Gricko was given to a spiritual order at a young age by his parents. He grew up learning about how to harness the spirits of deceased monsters of animals to assist him in everyday life. As he grew up, his control over the spirits grew, but he lost any sense of 'human' interaction. His elders decided it would be best for him to leave to order for a bit to better understand the world. Before he left, Gricko was given a child owl bear on the brink of death. He was to help the child pass on and use it's spirit as his main source of power. He spent a few years on his own, but eventually met Gideon. Gideon took a liking to Gricko's spirit and named her Hootise.

KREMY

Kremy grew up on the outskirts of Agwe in a fairly poor family. One day, when Kremy was heading back home from work, he found him home destroyed. On the shore of the swamp were swarms of hobgoblins. They captured him and trapped him on their steamboat. He spent years shoveling coal to power the engines. Within the first month, he tried to escape. The hobgoblins stopped him and cut off his tail as punishment. After most of his teens and twenty's had passed, Kremy was able to escape. The boat had stopped Remy Gurus district for a few weeks. During this time, the hobgoblins forgot about Kremy and unintentionally starved him. Nearly dead, Kremy was approached by the Good Baron, who offered him an escape for his servitude. Kremy agreed. His manacle broke off and he used the chain to harness his power. He destroyed the boat and went off into Agwe to make a living. He almost immediately met Torbek, who persuaded him into being a bodyguard. The two hate each other, but work together. He is wary of Gideon when the first meet, but they get close working at the carnival.

TORBEK

Ever since he was young, Torbek was good a lying to people. Mostly because half the stuff they said he did he couldn't remember doing. He used his skill to join Remy Guru's crew and manage a variety of tables at his casinos. One day, Remy approached Torbek saying he agreed to his deal. Torbek didn't know what was happening but went with it. He was gifted his own boat to run. He met Kremy once and the next this he knew, he was his bodyguard. He didn't know how this happened and from them one their relationship was very strained. Upon meeting Gideon and Gricko, the two attempting to pick-pocket his customers, Torbek realized he was is severe amounts of debt. He hastily hired the two to assist him in setting up a Con-carnival to quickly gather funds.

FROST

Frost was hired by Torbek to help manage funds at the carnival. Really, it was Collin who he hired, but Frost was his assistant and the one actually doing any work. He always had a knack for numbers and puzzles. When the carnival went under. Frost wandered for a while before hearing rumors of a Witchlight Carnival. He decided he would find any work he could there. He was waiting for a interview with Mr.Witch when Gideon, Kremy, and Gricko showed up. They recognized him and had a fun guys night. However, they turned him over to the Bugbear guards because he did sneak into the carnival by stealing someone else's ticket. He got hauled off to the Faewild. The environment of the Faewild altered his mind and sparked his power. He got kidnapped by Agdon and was sold to this dwarf. They took him to a underground lab where the tortured and experimented of Frost's mind. When the Witchlight entered his system, his powers increased tenfold, causing him immense pain. He lased out and ran from his captors. He made his way to a Inn. He was still blinded by pain and lashed out at the people there. When he came to, he found Gideon, Kremy, Gricko, and Torbek looking back at him.

[mighty-ant]

A Good Landing, chapter thirteen

first | previous

ao3

The Drake of three years ago never could’ve imagined that he’d be someone’s husband one day. 

To be fair, a wedding would be tough to plan when one didn’t technically exist. He had Drake Mallard erased from record nearly a decade ago, reduced him to less than a ghost, less than a footnote. It wasn’t particularly difficult to do, with as little impact as Drake Mallard had made on the world. A rejected son, a failed actor, a selfish, bitter, friendless loser. 

He fell into SHUSH by chance, by sheer, brilliant happenstance. 

As a former stuntman, he knew how to throw a punch. And a lot more than that. He wasn’t proud of it, but after the 8th pointless audition for a toothpaste commercial with no callback, he took to slipping out of his crummy basement apartment in a ski mask and whaling on petty criminals in his neighborhood, St. Canard’s East End. He tried not to punch above his weight, going after would-be muggers or your typical creeps, and every dawn, as sickly, gray sunlight spilled out over the city, he would trudge back home with sore muscles and a gaping chasm in his chest that no amount of violent retribution would be enough to fill. 

But he was getting pretty good at beating up crooks, to the point where regular people took notice. He started showing up in the news as ‘the dark masked duck’ more than Drake Mallard ever did, and even as the emptiness yawned within him, he liked it. The attention, indirect as it was. And he wanted more. 

Beating drug dealers bloody didn’t pay the bills unless he wanted to turn into some sort of hitman, so he kept up his stunt work during the day. His after hours activities kept him sharp, and there was no end to the mindless action flicks in need of nameless stuntmen. 

There was one flick, some old school vampire thing, that had him flying around on wires for Vampire Thrall #1-4 and the Vampire King. The costume department put him in a cape, a long, flowing thing that flared with his movement, made him look bigger than he really was. He startled more than a few techs with a perfectly timed swing of his cape, the snap of fabric especially jarring when all else was silent. 

And just like that, Drake knew what he had to do. 

As a former student of a theater department with a dwindling, near-nonexistent budget, he’d performed in every role, from lead actor to stagehand. And borrowing one of the vampire capes from set to use as reference, he made Darkwing Duck’s first costume. 

The gas guns and the catchphrases developed over time, through trial and error. He flubbed his lines more than once and set off his apartment’s fire alarm an embarrassing number of times. Until one night, when Darkwing Duck became fully realized. 

He started noticing a pattern with a certain number of thieves, most of them teens or kids barely out of high school. He followed them for about a week, not interfering since they never actually hurt anyone, before they led him to the warehouse where they were dropping everything off. 

Drake burst in, expecting to beatdown a few scary gang types who thought it a swell idea to recruit kids to do their dirty work, only to stumble headfirst into a smuggling ring that (he’d later learn) spanned the entirety of Calisota. With his cover blown and the exit blocked, Drake did the only thing he was good at. He fought. 

As he launched one of their own tear gas canisters back at the last of the goons, SHUSH agents came storming in. Apparently he’d interrupted what had been a multi-part sting five months in the making, but in doing so caught the gang so off guard that nearly all of the bosses were there to meet his fists, and the rest were caught when their business partners squealed on them. 

“We’ve been watching you,” the lead agent said. He held his hand out to Drake. “How would you like to continue your work somewhere other than a basement?”

He accepted, barely waiting for the agent to even finish speaking, and Drake Mallard disappeared into Darkwing Duck’s shadow, gleefully casting aside everything that made for a normal life in favor of casefiles and chemistry sets. Who needed friends or neighbors when Quackerjack was robbing the federal gold depository? Or Megavolt was stealing the city’s power, or Bushroot was turning everyone into vampire potatoes (you get the idea)?

Darkwing Duck had the tech, and the secret base, and the costume, and the fear. By design, the average citizen was meant to consider him a myth; the criminal underworld, they knew who he was all too well. 

The years went by, years of living out his secret, selfish fantasies, and…he felt nothing. That hollow, carved out space inside him didn’t go away, or heal at all. If anything it became a constant companion, a pain that festered into numbness. 

After the adrenaline high burned itself out, he felt the ache of his bruised, bleeding body, drowned in the yawning emptiness of the Tower. There was so much crime in St. Canard, not just supervillains but cruel, petty evils that made it feel as though he were battling the tide with a bat and a cardboard shield. 

But he couldn’t go back now. Back to small, sniveling Drake Mallard who nobody gave a damn about. Who would have him? Who would want him?

And then. 

A Darkwing-shaped hole in the roof of a plane hangar. A jet, presented as a gift. Smiles over coffee and warm hands holding his aching body close. 

Launchpad, who had far more reason to turn jaded and cruel than Drake ever did, but stayed good despite the way the world chewed him up and spat him back out. Launchpad, who offered his bruised heart with trembling smiles, trusting Drake even as he risked further pain. 

Launchpad, who made Drake want to try. 

Try to be good, too. Try to be whole. A worthy partner. 

And then. 

An orphan with boundless spirit. Lullabies, hugs that left him breathless, a blazing red portal and a tiny, fragile hand clasped in his own, trusting him when everyone else had failed her. 

He never saw Gosalyn coming. How could he? Fatherhood was a foreign concept, a cruel joke, his frame of reference poisonous and pointless. But then Gosalyn fit into their life like a missing puzzle piece, as if he’d been waiting for her all along and he’d only just glanced down and taken notice. Her happiness began to matter more than any number of stakeouts or foiled plots. To keep her safe, he would kill and die for her. 

Before his eyes, the empty numbness inside him transformed into a well of rage, of love, so powerful it made him wonder if he’d ever truly been alive before now. 

For them, his heroes, he had to do more than just try.

Then of course Launchpad just had to show him up by proposing first, but that was just par for the course. And Drake could admit that a moonlit flight in the Thunderquack was probably more romantic than anything he could’ve come up with. 

All that mattered was the end result was the same. A family, his family, unlike anything he would’ve been capable of imagining for himself. Just the thought of how he used to be shamed him, and on especially bad nights, he worried about regressing into that shell of a man, a cold, caustic version of himself and the bitter loneliness he enforced. 

But that fear seemed insignificant when they were flying to Des Moines for their wedding, and for Gosalyn to meet her new grandparents. When they went house hunting and found a two-story marvel with a lovely kitchen backsplash and a tree out front for Gosalyn to give him a heart attack by climbing. 

They still had their rough days, obviously. 

Something might remind Gosalyn of her grandpa, and the life that was stolen from her, and she would lash out over any little thing in dramatic teenager fashion. 

Launchpad’s nightmares about his old life could keep him from sleep for days at a time and in his exhaustion he would turn withdrawn in their own home, hesitating before every kiss, every hug or high five, staring at Drake and Gosalyn as if they might vanish if he were to dare reach out and touch them. 

Drake would get overwhelmed by the muchness of it all—fighting crime had nothing on back-to-school shopping, meal prepping, hockey meets, and the dreaded potlucks. PTA meetings made him want to give up on this whole ‘reenter society' schtick and lock himself back in the Tower for good. 

 The crime fighting part was no walk in the park either. For all that Gosalyn was growing into the role of Quiverwing, making it her own, with the help of the two best teachers she could’ve asked for, there was a lot she just still wasn’t ready to face. Things that Drake hadn’t been ready to face, and haunted him still. Demons, alternate dimensions, a monster carrying out evil while wearing his face, Bulba lumbering back from the dead, more machine than man.

Safe to say they saw their fair share of danger, and weirdness, in St. Canard. But sitting in the Thunderquack with Launchpad’s boss, his former SHUSH handler, and a fellow worried father was…something else. 

For almost two years, Launchpad’s job in Duckburg had been just that: a job. One that came at the request of SHUSH, and more specifically the buff Mary Puffins currently sitting in the copilot seat. The life of the richest duck in the world was apparently in danger, at risk by FOWL and their shadowy machinations, and everyone knew McDuck wasn’t the same man he was a decade ago.

Drake didn’t care about McDuck, much less whatever was going on in their perfect sister city of Duckburg. As great as a second income would be for Gos’ college fund, he wasn’t about to pressure Launchpad into accepting a SHUSH assignment now, after everything he’d told Drake, and all the worst bits that he’d probably left out. If Drake’s own SHUSH stipend as an independent contractor wasn’t enough to suit their needs, then Launchpad could open another garage in the city, or an online shop for his knitting, or even a damn lemonade stand. 

But no. As a favor to Beakley (who didn’t deserve Launchpad’s time of day, but that was just Drake’s opinion), he accepted the position as McDuck’s chauffeur. And it was…fine. 

Launchpad drove the old coot to and from his meetings, collected dry cleaning, the usual. He would pick up Gos from her hockey practice on the way home, nap with Drake for a while, and then they’d either suit up as a family or someone would stay behind to help Gos with her language arts homework. It was their routine, and amid various potentially life-altering catastrophes, it was nearly perfect. 

And then McDuck got it in his head to start adventuring again at the ripe old age of 800 years old, dragging an entire spontaneous gaggle of children and Launchpad along with him. Suddenly, Drake could go entire days without seeing his husband, or Gos her father, as he gallivanted off to parts unknown at the beck and call of an old man who’d never appreciated him in the first place. 

Now, Launchpad was the kindest soul Drake had ever met, open with his affection, and ready to make friends with everyone from derelict superheroes to business-minded witches. But Drake’s darling, beautiful husband was not the most forthright individual, and this was coming from the reigning champ of emotional stuntedness. 

Launchpad liked to feel useful. Scratch that. Launchpad needed to feel useful. It was a compulsion born from his years at SHUSH, where his skills were all that mattered to people. Even allies, friends (and some more-than-friends), would drop him as soon as the mission was complete, the day was saved. Launchpad would be left in the lurch, told to pack his things, move onto the next mission, and wonder why he hadn’t done enough for them to let him stay. 

So Drake, grudgingly, understood why Launchpad hadn’t just told McDuck to buzz off and find himself another pilot. He cared about the miserable old miser, and he cared about the kids, who sounded nearly as spirited as Gos from the way he described them. 

More than once, Launchpad actually floated the idea of holding some kind of get-together for all of them, but Drake had been…resistant. He didn’t like meeting new people at the best of times, and he was still so traumatized by the Muddlefoots that he would’ve forced them to move years ago if it wouldn’t mean earning ‘Worst Father of the Year Award’ for separating Gos from Honker. 

Of course, Launchpad’s disappearing act forced the dreaded introduction anyway, because Drake’s life was nothing if not a series of jokes played at his expense. At the very least, once he entered the coordinates into the Thunderquack’s navigation system and the cockpit sealed, none of the three other ducks on board had much interest in smalltalk. 

From the copilot’s seat, Beakley turned toward him sharply, expression tight and any indication of stress tucked away. Back to business then. 

“Who is this enemy of yours that you suspect to be responsible?” 

Beneath them, Duckburg blurred past in shades of ochre as the distant sun inched toward the bay. Drake stared straight ahead, gripping the yoke just to have something to do with his hands, as the autopilot took care of the actual flying. 

Technically he could only suspect who might be responsible. If based on a simple process of elimination it was almost a foregone conclusion, taking into account who wasn’t currently in jail but also had the cunning and/or intimidation factor to gain access to SHUSH systems. Not to mention a single-minded hatred of Drake that would motivate them to ignore every bit of actual highly sensitive and ultra-classified intelligence up for grabs.

For once, Drake desperately hoped he was wrong. He prayed they’d get to this SHUSH blacksite and find Lilliput lying in wait instead. But he could never be that lucky.

“Negaduck,” he muttered, the name escaping him on a breath. In his peripheral vision, he saw McDuck and Donald stiffen at his tone, more apprehensive that he would’ve liked. 

“He’s me,” Drake explained haltingly. “Sort of. At least, he’s a version of me from an alternate dimension.”

Behind him, Donald dropped his head into one hand. “Of course he is…” he despaired quietly. “Cuz being from this dimension would be too simple.”

“McDuck.” Drake turned his head slightly without facing the quadrillionaire directly. “Do you remember a scientist who worked for you three years ago? Thadeus Waddlemeyer. He was trying to create a machine to access other dimensions.” 

“A-aye,” McDuck said slowly. “But he…passed, and his device was deemed too unstable after it was stolen and nearly destroyed St. Canard.”

Drake scowled at the windshield. ‘Passed’ was a kinder way of saying murdered, and as much as the reminder burned him, he distantly appreciated McDuck’s tact if nothing else. “Yeah,” he grunted. “Our dimension’s Waddlemeyer wasn’t able to crack the code, but the Waddlemeyer of the Negaverse did.” 

“Negaverse?” Donald repeated. 

Drake thought for a moment of how Bellum and his kid had first explained it to him, reeling after his first and last disastrous visit. 

“Think of it like a mirror of our dimension, but the funhouse kind. Almost everyone, everything, is twisted so that they’re the opposite of who we are here, now. There, Waddlemeyer was a mad scientist, willing to sell the Ramrod to the highest bidder. There, SHUSH is trying to take over the world, while FOWL is a peacekeeping organization working to stop them, yadda yadda, you get the picture. 

“There, the Negaverse version of me terrorized St. Canard. He stole the Ramrod, plus Waddlemeyer’s granddaughter, and used it to cross over into our dimension to try and take over here too. I found where he was hiding his Ramrod about six months ago, and destroyed it, trapping him here. Which he, uh…extra hates me for.”

“What can we expect from him?” Beakley demanded. Drake had noticed her expectant silence up until now, and his aggravation had been building steadily For all that she was ‘retired’ from SHUSH, clearly she still had access to mission briefings—his and Launchpad’s in particular, seeing how she just couldn’t leave his husband alone. She could probably guess Negaduck’s MO, if she didn’t already have his full psych profile memorized. 

“Well he’s insane, for starters,” Drake said for the benefit of the ducks in the rear of the plane. “But don’t underestimate him—he’s dangerously smart, too, and just plain dangerous. He hides all kinds of weapons on his person: knives, guns, chainsaws, whatever you can think of that causes maximum pain.”

Donald’s breath wheezed out of him, and that got Drake to finally turn around. The duck was clutching a hand to his chest, looking ashen beneath his feathers. McDuck was reaching out to him but hesitantly, his hands hovering over his nephew’s shoulders without touching. 

“What about the kids?” Donald asked shakily, and Drake accepted a rare pang of guilt. 

He didn’t know Donald, had never cared to know him, but Launchpad always sang his praises as a father. How despite whatever nonsense McDuck dragged them into, Donald’s first priority was always his kids, whether that meant driving to every Junior Woodchuck troop meeting or fighting actual Greek gods to keep them safe. And now two of those kids were gone. Taken, purely through bad luck and worse timing. 

Drake didn’t know how Donald could possibly be holding himself together as well as he was. Knowing Launchpad’s life was at stake because of him had Drake’s leaden stomach turning on itself, his hands trembling around the yoke and terror swimming poisonously through his veins. He could see Launchpad’s bedhead and sleepy smile in his mind’s eye and wanted to scream. Knowing Gos was safe in that damn mansion was the only thing keeping him sane. He couldn’t well imagine how he’d feel if she’d been taken too. Just the thought was enough to pour red-hot rage into his bones, enough for him to tap into the darkness that Negaduck wholly embodied and rip and claw and tear until he got her back.

But here, now, at least he had an idea of what to expect. Donald was going in blind, and the uncertainty must’ve been eating him alive. 

“He won’t do anything to them, or to Launchpad, until we get there,” Drake tried to reassure, not sure if he was all that successful. This was usually more Launchpad’s wheelhouse. “Fortunately, he’s your typical megalomaniacal supervillain in at least one way: he likes an audience.” 

He didn’t mention that Negaduck’s hatred of him was borderline obsessive. Creating this whole convoluted scheme just to lure him out by way of kidnapping Launchpad probably spoke for itself. But Negaduck had gone after Gos before with bombs and a shark on her first night out as Quiverwing, and that was before he learned she was part of his team. And now after that hack, he had to know who she really was. 

Drake’s only guarantee was that Negaduck wouldn’t kill Launchpad or the two missing children (Dewey and Webby, he reminded himself), but he had no idea what state they would be in when he found them. At best, he hadn’t laid a finger on them, but Drake knew Launchpad, knew that beneath the surface of the gentle giant was Double-O-Duck, the spy, the bruiser, with all of his focus and skill. He wouldn’t have taken the kids’ capture lying down, so if anyone was already injured and especially at Negaduck’s mercy, it would have to be Drake’s husband.

Negaduck had no more love for Launchpad than he did for Drake, but this time he hoped to use it to his advantage. Once he knew Darkwing was in the building, he wouldn’t care about anyone else, beelining for his dimensional counterpart with fire and brimstone in his eyes and a chainsaw aimed for Drake’s neck. A brawl would be the perfect distraction while Beakley and the others searched for their kidnapees. 

Then, once Launchpad was safe in his arms, he would be taking a leave of absence from the McDuck family, effective immediately. Drake was taking him and Gos to their cabin out by Launchpad’s parents’ house and barring the door, because Drake had been missing his husband and Gos needed her Papá. For too long, he’d been letting Launchpad burn the candle at both ends, journeying back and forth between home and Duckburg, jungle adventures and night patrol, because he knew how much Launchpad loved both of his families. But Launchpad always had more love to give than there were hours in the day (or night), and Drake had to put his foot down before Launchpad gave all of himself away. 

And not to be petty, but Drake and Gos had first dibs.  

He watched the gray arches of the Audubon Bay Bridge rise into view through the windshield, painted in shades of gold that only deepened the shadows cast by the towers. Relief flooded Drake at the familiar sight. 

“Almost there,” he muttered aloud. The Thunderquack banked to the left, in the direction of the harbor. Launchpad’s last coordinates was leading them toward the spookier part of the docks that tended to have ‘MURDER’ written all over them, where the warehouses were crumbling and seemingly long-abandoned, but nearly all served as a front for some kind of smuggling ring or demon-worshiping cult or devout Quackerware salesmen. Just the place SHUSH would think to settle down in, for reputation’s sake if nothing else. But in the process of building their prison, they would’ve cleared out the surrounding riffraff too. Instead, neither had happened. 

Drake glanced at Beakley. “Do you know anything about why this place was shut down?”

“I believe it was something to do with the foundations of the pre-existing structure,” she explained unhappily. “The prison was decommissioned and left unfinished as further construction put the entire building at risk of collapse.” 

Drake grimaced. “Perfect. I think I’m gonna park on the warehouse next door.”

Just hold on, Launchpad. We’re coming. 

-

“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!”

A voice that sounded like it belonged to someone who gargled razor blades dragged Launchpad back to aching consciousness. Even before he opened his eyes, he was struck by the overwhelming pressure in his head, as if someone had put his temples in a vice. His chest felt tight, like his lungs didn’t have room to expand, and his breaths were short and labored. 

When he managed to crack his eyes open, he found himself looking out into darkness. He thought he could see shapes moving amidst the black, formless and indistinct. But a spotlight switched on directly above him with a heavy clang, temporarily blinding him. He winced, jerking his hands up to shield his face, but all he managed was to make his body sway in place. Thick rope bound him from his arms up to his ankles and a latch of some sort on his back held him suspended several feet off the ground, upside down, like a worm on a hook. 

“Look who finally decided to join the land of the living,” Negaduck crooned, his voice preceding him into the circle of light spilling out on the ground around Launchpad’s head. The shadows clung to Negaduck like oil, reluctant to leave his already dingy feathers and unpleasant smile. 

Launchpad glared at him. At this height, they were nearly eye to eye. “Where are the kids?”

This dark reflection of his husband tsked, shaking his head. “Straight to business with you hero types, ain’t it?” 

Negaduck didn’t stop moving, instead pacing around him, slow and quiet, just on the edge of the circle of light. Launchpad tried to hide how he tensed when Negaduck stepped behind him, out of his peripheral vision. It gave Negaduck the perfect opportunity to attack him any way he wanted: a knife to the ribs, a blow to the head, take your pick. Launchpad was bound like a mummy, unable to defend himself unless Negaduck got close enough for a headbutt. 

But Negaduck leaned back into his line of sight without laying a finger on him, his smirk a mean, methodical thing. He knew exactly how rattled Launchpad had been. It was the intent. “No time to sit back and enjoy the moment?” he crooned. 

“I’m not playing, Negaduck,” Launchpad bit out, struggling to keep his cool. “I’m gonna ask one more time. Where. Are. The kids?”

Negaduck snorted, less than intimidated. “Eugh, touchy, touchy,” he said mockingly, and gave Launchpad a hard shove that sent him careening back on the rope he was hanging from. Fortunately, he’d been bound in the center of the room, and didn’t smack his head on any of the walls. This time. 

Launchpad swung forward with just as much momentum, and Negaduck smoothly stepped out of the way. “Fine then, if you’re gonna keep being a killjoy! The brats are fine. Still sittin’ pretty in their comfy cell waiting for rescue from old man McMoneybags.”

So Negaduck wasn’t so far gone as to hurt a member of the McDuck family. The relief that settled over him was short lived, but better than nothing. 

The last thing he remembered was checking Dewey for a concussion, and then nothing. Negaduck must’ve come back for him at some point during that missing time; maybe Launchpad should be tested for a concussion. All the crashing he did had given him a strong stomach and a skull like concrete, but with the blood rushing to his head and pounding behind his eyes, all this spinning wasn’t doing him any favors. 

He closed his eyes as his swaying slowed to a less extreme speed, trying to focus his scattered thoughts. Webby and Dewey were counting on him. They didn’t understand what was happening, what they were up against, because Launchpad never told them who he was, never warned them about the monsters that might follow him. Dewey didn’t even trust him anymore, and Webby couldn’t be far behind…

“What do you want?” Launchpad muttered, opening his eyes in a squint. 

Just in time too, as any trace of levity vanished from Negaduck’s weathered face. He lunged forward with a snarl, grabbing a handful of the ropes binding Launchpad and dragging him close, until Negaduck’s bloodshot eyes bored into his own from inches away.

“What do I want? What do I want? What I’ve always wanted since I set foot in this craphole,” he hissed, razor teeth flashing yellow in the harsh light of the spotlight above them. “I want to see your world burn. Consider it payback for locking me outta mine.”

Time worked funny sometimes when you crossed dimensions. A few hours in their reality amounted to a week in the Negaverse, but it might as well have been a year for all that he and Drake saw, what they were forced to do. Enemies wearing the faces of friends, a desolate world overcome by evil and defended by a dwindling few. The brilliant little light they had no choice but to leave behind. 

Launchpad sneered right back, thrashing uselessly against his restraints. “‘Your world’ is better off without you! Gosalyn is better off without—”

The glint of light reflecting off metal, and Launchpad became aware of the cut on his cheek at the same time he recognized Negaduck’s machete pressed against the tip of his beak. He had to admit, Negaduck had been quick about it. Launchpad hadn’t even seen him draw the blade. 

“Keep her name outta your mouth unless you wanna lose your tongue!” he growled, expression gone cold and still with rage except for his eyes, which contorted and flickered. His own madness, made worse by the dimensional shift? They still weren’t sure. “She’s my daughter. Mine.”

“She was terrified of you,” Launchpad snapped, never one to back down even while staring death in the face. Not when it came to Gosalyn. Any Gosalyn. “And with good reason! You killed Bulba right in front of her—”

“That pathetic, wannabe hero was trying to take her from me!” Negaduck threw his hands in the air, machete and all, thankfully without slicing Launchpad up further. The cut on his cheek had started to weep, a trail of blood moving worryingly close to his eye. “He got what was coming to him,” Negaduck grumbled as he turned around, storming into the darkness that continued to loom around the narrow triangle of light surrounding Launchpad. He lingered there, all but consumed in the shadows, the lurid yellow of his suit a scant outline and only his machete occasionally catching the light. 

Negaduck kept muttering to himself, but in the dark, Launchpad couldn’t be sure where he was, or what he was saying. Only that Negaduck was moving, circling Launchpad again, but more focused on talking to himself than actually intimidating him. 

“All those heroes…ruining my city…”

And for a brief, tiny, inconsequential half-second, Launchpad almost pitied him. 

He blamed the blood rushing to his head. 

This poor facsimile of his husband, a black hole masquerading as a person, who only knew how to take: money, lives, peace. A monster who hurt others for his own pleasure because violence was all he knew. It was as terrifying to experience as it was exhausting. 

Launchpad glared at a random spot in the dark, his head pounding and chest growing tight. If he stayed up here much longer, he was going to pass out. It was only a matter of when.

“What are you expecting to get out of this?” he asked plainly. “You know I can’t just give you the Solego Circuit, right?”

Negaduck came back to himself with a scoff, reentering the circle of light. He’d hidden the machete again at some point. 

“Piece of junk wouldn’t even do me any good. SHUSH and FOWL are sayin’ the same thing—can’t use the damn portal without destroying this trash heap and my world in the process,” he declared, waving his hands theatrically. “So, until I can find a scientist willing to put their back into it, I’m still stuck here. Watching you and that cheap copy play house.”

Launchpad glare met Negaduck’s baleful glower unflinchingly, but internally, a rush of guilt left him breathless as a knee to the gut. He knew he shouldn’t have followed that distress signal. But what else could he have done? Communications were down, and Launchpad had begged Drake time and time again to just call him when he needed him, Darkwing didn’t have to be alone anymore. And Launchpad, terrified of being abandoned again, just couldn’t risk it. 

He just wished that he hadn’t dragged Webby and Dewey into danger too. 

“You made a mistake taking the kids,” Launchpad said, fighting against a wave of dizziness. He tried to keep his tone steady, like Double-O-Duck used to, his gaze piercing and locked on the wet shine of Negaduck’s eyes, cast in the shadow of his hat brim. “Instead of just Darkwing coming after you, you’re getting Scrooge McDuck. This is a guy who fights gods on a regular basis. How do you think you’ll do against someone like that?”

And Negaduck…laughed. 

And not one of his long, rambling cackles that he followed up his evil monologues with. Negaduck snorted with laughter, expression one of mild amusement rather than incandescent rage or insult. 

“Ah, doesn’t really matter,” Negaduck breathed, a chuckle still trailing on his words. He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “This was all more of an experiment.” He stepped forward, until they were eye to eye, and grabbed a handful of the ropes over Launchpad’s heart. He was too dazed to even try headbutting him now, and by the razor smirk that split his beak, Negaduck must’ve known it too. 

“The big, bad Double-O, scourge of SHUSH, turned into a pitiful little sidekick, and now completely at my mercy,” Negaduck murmured, shaking his head in exaggerated disappointment. “I could kill you so easily right now. But where’s the fun in that? It’s one and done, until I can jump into a dimension where I haven’t killed you yet and do it all over again. There’s slow and painful, quick but bloody…we could do a round where I only use my knives, the really little ones. You ever heard of death by a thousand cuts? Cuz we can make that happen!”

Launchpad’s skull pounded like a second heartbeat had taken residence in his brain, and the bright bulb above him scattered fractured stars across his vision, bright to the point of pain. Overwhelmed and dazed, he sputtered, “So what was the point of all this? Hacking SHUSH, kidnapping us—”

Negaduck pushed Launchpad, with just the one hand on his chest, walking forward at the same time. They moved out of the circle of light and into the surrounding darkness, Launchpad’s stomach lurched as Negaduck kept moving, until his back nearly touched the far off wall. Negaduck only stopped when the rope keeping Launchpad suspended pulled infinitesimally taut. 

He tilted his head to look at Launchpad then from under the brim of his hat, backlit by the lone, scorching lightbulb behind him. Negaduck didn’t smile as he spoke, all his twisted enthusiasm from earlier snuffed out between one blink and the next. His growl was quiet, a seething hatred beneath every word. 

“I might not kill you right now, but make no mistake, I will kill you. And until that glorious day, I want you to go about every day of your insipid little lives knowing that you’ll never be safe from me.”

Launchpad clung to consciousness with a racing heart and a flagging will, his horror tempered by delirium. 

“You’re insane,” he gasped. 

Negaduck shrugged. “We’ve all got our part to play in this crazy game called life.”

Launchpad’s vision was beginning to tunnel when the deafening blare of alarms startled him back to partial awareness. Outside the door to his cell, the hallway was ablaze with strobing crimson lights. The distant pounding of running feet heralded the organized departure of the Eggheads, converging on the threat. 

“There’s our hero,” Negaduck crowed. “Fashionably late, as usual.”

Before Launchpad could properly brace himself, Negaduck let go of him. Without the support pinning him against the wall, he swung forward in a graceless rush, letting out a yelp as bright spots burst across his sight. 

Even in the midst of his disorientation, Launchpad caught a different flash of light, reflecting off the silver edge of a serrated dagger in Negaduck’s grip.

With a flick, he threw it upwards at the apex of Launchpad’s swing, severing the rope holding him suspended from the ceiling. He had the barest second to brace himself, tuck his head and curve his back so he landed on his shoulders instead of his head. 

It still sent a painful jolt through Launchpad’s body, jarring every bruise and sprain at once, and the immediate drop of pressure on his skull left him lightheaded and woozy as his body set him to rights. 

He rolled onto his side with a groan, forcing his eyes open in a narrow squint, looking up at Negaduck from upside down. 

Making a show of straightening his suit, Negaduck reached inside and pulled out a shotgun. He grinned down at Launchpad with a mouthful of sharpened teeth as he loaded a round. 

“Make yourself comfortable now, sidekick. I’ve gotta go and welcome my new guests.” 

[toastofthetrashfire]

My Top Shows 2023

Doing this at the last minute but here goes--the top 10 shows I watched in 2023!

*Note: I rate my shows on a letter scale cause I don't like narrowing it down to a specific number. (S-standout As-Strong Bs-Fine Cs-There's some problems Ds-ooof)

1. Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This one instantly became an all time favorite. It covers themes about grief and loss in a deeply empathetic and humanizing way along side the supernatural elements. I don't know if it's because I've experienced loss myself or because it's a universal experience, but I love shows like this that help you understand what it means to grieve and heal in a familiar yet new light. It reminded me a lot of Natsume Yuujinchou (another favorite) in that respect.

Aside from the larger themes, you have a distinct directing style, quirky sense of humor, well-rounded cast of characters, and excellent acting (the lead actor was also in Your Name Engraved Herein and he's just as standout here). In addition to all that, the show gives us a main trio of characters whose strengths are deliberately not their wits. This is used for humor but also to make more meaningful points about connection, empathy, and different ways of thinking (yes, I headcanon the main trio as neurodivergent).

Rating: S+

2. The Eighth Sense

This show! Another piece that is deeply rooted in exploring trauma and loss. This time within the framework of a romance. I'm usually pretty hesitant with stories that bring disability into romance, especially mental illness. There's a tendency to lean into the idea that love cures all and other not so great tropes. The Eighth Sense does a great job balancing that line, giving us romantic beats without wading into them uncritically. In the end, healing and love are things we choose not something guaranteed, but there's still an immense hope in that. I'm an giant sucker for shows that tackle both queer and crip experiences with nuance and grace, and the Eighth Sense hit that mark for me (so much so it even had me writing a little meta). On top of that it has beautiful cinematography and visual choices.

Rating: S

3. Moonlight Chicken

A beautiful show all around! P'Aof constantly knocks it out of the park with every show he directs, but I felt particularly strong about Moonlight Chicken. I adore the way it centers on themes of home and community. It even inspired some meta and a bit of personal reflection for me on what it means to choose home as someone who is queer and disabled. The show gives us the messiness that comes with navigating new and old relationships and somehow also the simplicity of it all. And of course, the show includes a Deaf character and handles his story with nuance and clear care.

Rating: S

4. Shadow

Singto, Fluke, and Fiat in a queer horror show--sign me up! It wasn't as scary as I expected, more psychological (which is good because I am so picky about what types of horror are too much for me vs what I enjoy). I loved the way the show played with time and reality and drew upon various religious practices to create a unique atmosphere. I also adored the attention to small details that make the piece ripe for analysis. I will probably be eyeing clocks and tech in many shows to come. It's also a show that is bringing up themes about queerness, mental illness, domestic violence, and historical trauma. I'm continually drawn to pieces that are queer and crip, so I suppose it's no surprise that this one drew me in too.

I know this show was divisive, about as many people thought it stuck the landing as didn't. I happen to land in the former category. I adore media that makes me stop and think, and given the amount of meta the show had/has me writing, I'd say it well and truly tickled my brain. The show didn't always go where I most wanted or expected but I think that challenged me even more to really think about what the show might be trying to do (my thoughts on that here, spoilers though).

Rating: S

5. Our Dining Table

Japan does a lot of things well, but I'm particularly fond of their slice-of-life. Our Dining Table fits right in there with food and found family at the center. It's warm and cute, but has a depth beyond it's soft exterior, delving into loss, loneliness, and what it means to be fully seen by those around us. All of this tied up in a queer bow. It was easily the show I was most excited to watch each week when it was airing.

Rating: S

6. Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Another one I fell in love with this year! While it has plenty of tropes, cutting through the core of all of this is the growing friendship between the main trio, especially between Li Lian Hua and Fang Duo Bing. Their relationship and personal growth as characters was really beautiful to watch, on top of it just being a fun show with a great balance of humor and drama. Plus Fang Duo Bing's mom 😍

Rating: S

7. One Room Angel

Another solid entry out of Japan. As much as I love Japan's bright slice-of-life offerings like Our Dining Table, they also excel at stories that don't shy away from heavy or complex emotional themes. And I'm noticing as I tackle this post that I really resonate with heavy themes. One Room Angel has it's lighter moments and own quirky humor. But it also tackles depression and suicide as it explores the journey of finding enough connection and meaning in life to keep moving forward.

Rating: S

8. I Feel You Linger in the Air

I Feel You Linger in the Air was such a beautiful show! I'm so happy we got a historical thai bl this year and that it was so so lovely. I really liked last year's To Sir With Love but it does have it's Lakorn/soap style that is a bit more of an obstacle for me. IFYLITA certainly has it's drama, but it feels more tightly drawn. Throw in a little time travel and beautiful love scenes and it was a delight to watch.

Rating: S

9. My Beautiful Man S2, Eternal

When I watched the first season of My Beautiful Man I liked it but wasn't exactly sold. I read a bit of meta from the community which changed my tune a bit. But it wasn't until watching season 2 and Eternal that something really clicked. I immediately went back and watched season 1 after finishing the film and oh boy did I fall in love. Not only do S2 and Eternal give us great character growth and forward motion to Hira and Kiyoi's relationship, and they feel like a natural expansion of the first season in the best way possible. What can I say, I love the whole series!

Rating: A+

10. Kiseki: Dear to Me

Kiseki: Dear to Me feels like an outlier to me. It's hard for me to put my finger on just what made it click for me, but I was so into it when it was airing. I recognize that plot wise this show is a bit of a mess, but at the same time it hit something just right in my brain. Perhaps it was the emotional intimacy the actors portrayed? They did a fantastic job drawing me in. Apart from that I couldn't take my eyes off of Ai Di's impeccable fashion choices, and the many many cameos were quite fun.

Rating: A+ YMMV

A few close contenders:

My School President (S) *split airing 22' and 23'

Tokyo in April Is... (A+)

Laws of Attraction (A)

Bed Friend (A)

The End of the World with You (A)

Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend (A)

If it's with You (A)

Our Dating Sim (A)

Love Tractor (A)

The Warp Effect (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

The New Employee (A) *split airing 22' and 23'

La Pluie (A-)

Midnight Museum (A-)

[tgmsunmontue]

I'd know you anywhere - 4/5

Set when Hangman first meets Rooster. Bradley and Bradford Bradshaw are twins. Most people know this. Some people need to be brought up to speed. Quickly.

Explicit out the gate. Also an everyone is alive AU because I need the softness when I’ve got two other fics on the go with DADT and canon deaths.

ONE TWO THREE

PART FOUR

                “A couple of things before I go and get him. First, he doesn’t usually sleep with guys he’s just met. Usually he dates them, so, you’re already unique…” Ford notes the almost immediate flush appear on the apples of Seresin’s cheeks and okay, this isn’t the arrogant and combative naval aviator he’s been working with the last few months but actually maybe a guy who is sweet on his brother. “However, you hurt him I’ll help him hide the body, our family will give us iron clad alibis and if they do find any DNA, well, it can’t be pinned on either of us because we’ve got identical DNA.”

                “You’ve put a scary amount of thought into that.”

                “Lots of procedurals growing up. No idea how accurate they are but wouldn’t matter to you, you’d be dead. Now. Next thing. You need to unblock his number because I am not going through this BS again. All you had to do was message him and ask why the fuck he blanked you. He would have realized immediately that you’d just met me and you both could have saved yourselves the agony of the last four months…”

                “Sorry that jumping to the assumption that he had an evil twin wasn’t the first thing I thought of,” Seresin mutters, rolling his eyes, but he relaxes, the door opening further and Ford grins, slaps him on the chest.

                “Yeah, you’re going to fit right in.”

                “Fit into what?” Jake asks, looking confused.

                “Can I come out yet?” Lee calls and Ford looks over his shoulder, can see Lee leaning out the window in the very dim light of the lamp in the car.

                “Yeah, get up here…” Ford calls out, and then he turns back to Jake. “Right. Lieutenant Seresin, I don’t believe we’ve been officially introduced. My name is Bradford Bradshaw, callsign Kanga, or Kangaroo, or Roo depending on who you ask. Sometimes I also go by Ford. I believe you know my little brother –”

                “I’m older!” Lee snaps automatically and Bradford gives Seresin a look, tries to convey that he hopes he knows what he’s getting himself into. He’s pretty sure Seresin doesn’t care at all.

                “By a whole fucking five minutes, and it was only because I fucking pushed you out myself, otherwise we’d still fucking be there,” Ford snaps out the familiar rejoinder, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, my older but shorter, and far less impressive brother. Bradley Bradshaw. Callsign Rooster, or Roo, again depending on who you ask… I believe you’ve already met?” Ford smirks.

                “God, can you stop being a dick now?”

                “No appreciation at all,” Ford says, stepping back to let Lee come and stand beside him.

                He tries to imagine what Seresin is seeing, because right now they’re not in uniform, and they have different styles. But to an untrained eye they do look very similar, but he’s sure that Lee will take him through the most obvious things to help him tell them apart.

                “Not only are you both B Bradshaw but you have callsigns that can get shortened to Roo? That can’t be…”

                “No. He’s Kanga and I’m Roo. Like in Winnie the Pooh?”

                “I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.”

…            …            …

                “It doesn’t matter,” Bradley says, and Jake thinks that it might matter, maybe even a lot, but right now he’s taking in the height difference, the part in the hair, the small hopeful look on Bradley’s face and the smug smirk on Bradford’s.

                “Jake… Hi.”

                “Bradley… You want to come in?”

                He’s not propositioning him, but the fact that he’s here, that as soon as Bradford realized the missed communication he somehow found out where Jake was staying and brought Bradley here. That Bradley had been talking about Jake enough for Bradford to put all the pieces together. He hadn’t spent enough time with Bradley to really get his heart broken, but he had gotten his hopes up and now they are soaring with complete abandon, and he wants to talk to him, and kiss him and hold him in his arms… He wants the dates and the domesticity.

                “You go in, I’m just going to have a last word with Seresin…”

                “Don’t tell me what to do!”

                “Well stop just standing there like an idiot then!” Bradford says, then he’s shoving Bradley, who stumbles and hits the door and then Jake’s chest and he puts a hand out to steady him, even though it’s probably not needed. He’s got his hand on Bradley after months apart and he lets his fingers gather the fabric of his shirt and just hold on.

                “Hi…”

                “Hi. You don’t have to talk to him.”

                “It’s okay, he’s already given me the shovel talk. And pretty sure we’ve got him to thank, because he put all the pieces together.”

                “He does not need a bigger ego…” Bradley mutters, but his eyes are roaming over Jake’s face and Jake stops resisting the urge, leans in to give him a quick chaste kiss.

                “Go, make yourself at home. Well, as much as you can…” Jake says, because temporary lodgings do not generally make for a cozy environment but he doesn’t think either of them care about where they are right now. He watches him over his shoulder as he heads toward the kitchen and Jake turns back to Bradford.

                “Not going to invite me in too?”

                “Uh…”

                “God, the look on your face right then! Sorry, just… I hope you’ve got the same stubborn streak when it comes to relationships as you do to flying, because he’s going to speed run through dating you. Totally going to make up for the last four months.”

                “What?”

                “He’s going make up for lost time and just… let him. Okay? Just being there and letting him is going to make him happy. So you need to decide pretty quickly if you’re all in, or cut your losses and let him go. A heart broken Lee is my least favorite Lee.”

                “Lee?”

                “Bradley. I call him Lee. He calls me Ford.”

                “Right. I guess I can’t just keep calling you Bradshaw can I…”

                “Nope. There are three of us after all…”

                “Three?”

                “Our dad’s a naval aviator as well. I’ll let you go in and maybe have a conversation with my brother. And I look forward to getting to know you on better terms.”

                “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

                “It’s good man. I mean… you could have punched me and we still would have figured things out faster. But here we are.”

                “Thanks.”

                “Didn’t do it for you. But you’re welcome anyway.”

                He gets another friendly slap to his chest and then he’s giving a little two-finger salute, jumping down the steps and heading toward his car. Jake closes the door and turns around to find Bradley watching him.

[nitewrighter]

I was curious as to how you became a children’s librarian. I was interested in becoming one myself. I wasn’t sure if you went through the local school system or through the city.

I went through the city. I work in a public library. I started as a library assistant working in circulation, where I would work both in the circulation room and on the front desk, then I got my master's degree in library science with San Jose State University during the pandemic. SJSU has a pretty great library science program--it was completely online and asynchronous, so I'd be working about 15 hours a week on 3 classes adapted to my schedule (although many of these classes would have group projects where I would have to coordinate zoom meetings with other students, so if you're in like... a non-west coast time zone you're going to want to plan accordingly). My collection development class was kiiind of a joke but for the most part all the professors were very experienced and professional about their work and helping their students. Really I wanted to specialize in Teen Librarianship but the first ~actual librarian~ position I could move into at my current work was at the children's desk because there was an opening, so I took it. But also you should know that I'm on call and working two part time jobs, and that's how it is for a lot of librarians and libraries these days. It's not insta-full time as soon as you get a masters. It takes forever to make it to full-time. And like... good fucking luck trying to get benefits. I mean I know people don't go into librarianship because they want to make that ~cash money~ but also a lot of people go into librarianship because they have very lofty and romantic notions of librarianship and ~ooh this is where I'm meant to beeee because I enjoy this space~ and I'm just going to say maintaining a space for public use is very different from being the person experiencing that space. It takes a combination of passion, adaptability, and a certain amount of mental fortitude. There are so many old people who have not touched a computer since Bill Gates was building them out of his garage and it's your fault, librarian, that they don't know shit about fuck with technology. They want to give you their social security number and make you operate the scary light up box for them but you legally cannot fucking do the thing they are asking you to do and also jesus fuck my guy you are going to get scammed so fucking bad if this is your attitude toward this shit.

...sorry, those were war flashbacks from working the tech desk.

Children's librarianship. Okay. Well. I love being a children's librarian. I love helping kids gradually work through more and more challenging books, or finding titles related to their interests. I love the little flash of validation you see in kids eyes when they start talking about what they're currently interested in and you're actively engaging with them because, hey, this is going to help me help other kid patrons, but also yes, the "Who Would Win" and "I Survived" series are very cool. I love coming up with little fun things for storytime, andI love that kids love my puppets!

But also--remember that bit I said about how existing/experiencing a public space is different from actually maintaining that space? That goes quadruple as hard for children's librarianship because if your library is a ~wonderful safe space~ where your patrons feel ~safe~ then all of the parents will turn their brains off, never clean up after their kids, and sometimes just... fucking not even bother looking up from their phone or break out of their catatonic state on the couch as their toddler toddles towards the fucking stairs. AND I GET IT. PARENTING AS-IS IS INSANE AND UNSUSTAINABLE UNDER CAPITALISM. YOU ARE COMPLETELY BURNT OUT AND YOU FEEL SAFE AT THE LIBRARY AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE ELSE YOU'RE GOING TO GET MENTAL REPRIEVE FOR 20 MINUTES. BUT THOSE ARE FUCKING STAIRS THAT ARE GOING TO CONCUSS THE SHIT OUT OF POOR LITTLE BREIGHDYNNE, MA'AM, AND I'M HELPING OTHER PATRONS (WHICH IS MY JOB) AND YOU ARE THE PERSON WHOSE ACTUAL JOB IS MANHANDLING THAT CHILD TO SAFETY.

Also for fuck's sake, parents, I get you're nervous about putting books back in the wrong spot but that's what the reshelving shelves are for. Would you think it's acceptable to leave books all over the floor in your own house? No? Then don't do that in a space you're sharing with other people! We're in a community, people!!

Also a child will poop themselves in your children's section (I'm not talking 'baby's diaper is full' poop, I'm talking an emotionally fragile transitional kindergartener 'i got distracted and forgot to listen to my body and now I'm having a meltdown' poop) and their parent is going to carry them off at arm's length to the bathroom and you're gonna have to do a quick check to make sure their poop... fucking stayed in their pants. And there won't be any poop on the floor but it's still gonna be at the back of your mind for your whole shift because the smell wafted through the whole children's section during the parent's daring bathroom run. Just... emotionally prepare yourself for poop. You're going to see more of it than you think you're going to see in a library--whether working children's or adults.

Whoops. Wasn't done with the war flashbacks, apparently.

Look. I do love librarianship. And I do love the library I work at and the community I serve. There is a real sense of... vitalness in the work you do as a librarian, but because you're working in this public utility, you also become sharply aware of the myriad ways our society has failed our people and just how vulnerable everyone actually is, and you frequently find yourself in this kind of funky semi-improv position between like... your actual responsibilities and skills as a librarian and meeting your community's needs and also empowering them to meet their own needs!

(Very very depressing sidenote but my boss actually advised me to not go into school librarianship because a lot of schools are moving away from trying to maintain their own libraries in favor of like, more scaled down media center sort of things. Don't know how across the board that is, but also school librarianship is also a more specialized branch of librarianship within the library science career.)

[khristie16]

Table number six p.1/...

pairing: charles leclerc x reader summary: you decided to disappear from your hometown with your bestfriend, finding the anchor in Monaco. With your talent to be in the right place at the right time you got yourself to some fine situation Warnings: none beside google translated French Word count: 3.3K

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Charles, we cannot do this! as you looked around if someone could see you. Why. Because you're in a relationship! I'm not anymore -

It all started under normal circumstances. You recently moved out of your hometown. Actually a whole country. You couldn't proceed further with that was happening here. It was your family. They were draining the life out of you. You were naturally a happy spirit, always smiling widely and genuinely, because you were actually enjoying life. Always remembering to live in the present moment till it became natural to you. You knew this about you, you've always been like this but lately you were more of trying instead of being to be the same YN as you were few years ago. The older you got, the harder it was to stay the same. And it was scary to you to be changing to a different person right in front of your own eyes since you didn't want to become someone you didn't want to be.

The whole problem was your family. They were suffocating you with just their presence. Each morning you got up, went for a breakfast and all of them were stressing about literally anything. You hardly could breathe in their presence. Like they were exposing their hollow parts of their soul onto you. And unfortunately, being in the same presence, you were inhaling it all. That's when you started changing. You still persisted and resisted such state, but it was too much to bare. In the beginning the only getaway for escape were books. You somewhat found peace in psychology and applying it onto your daily struggles and your whole family issues to find some sort of agreement and compassion. It helped you a little to survive on daily basis. But even this was not enough. -

Soo you have a big dream in your life? Oh yes. I do. What is it? It is a secret -

One time at a party, you met this guy. He was actually more interested in talking to you rather than getting into your panties. He was easy going as you and after short amount of time you got more into a deep talk. You've talked about life and he said something you remember till this day. And you know for sure you will keep it in your heart till the day you die: Fear is learnt. It is not given. Fear is here to put us back and never fulfill our dreams. Change your habits and fear will have no place in your life anymore. From that time you dwelled on that. And lived by this rule. At least you tried especially in the beginning.

And this was the reason why you got the courage to move out. You got the courage, decided one time sitting on the bench and watching others, thinking about their lives and how you are now stuck in a place, where your soul doesn't want to be. And certainly you knew that only the fear is holding you back to actually do something about your terrific situation. As you decided about your future, you from that point were stubborn about that. And very soon your best friend knew about this idea since you told her. I want to get away. And never come back! I don't care about the serious stuff I should plan ahead. I don't care. I just know I need to get out.

Your friend was not in the best place either, the job was mentally draining her and the fact that she has a great potential but cannot pursue it, because of the place we are living, was the reason why she wanted to go with you. She told you she wouldn't have been able to do this if it were just for her alone. But with you she has all the strength in her.

Of course it is needed to say, you both came from quite rich families. You got it easier than most of the people who wanted to pursue the same idea. Still, disappearing and never wanting to see your family again- this is something you don't tell your family. You just wanna escape. Without goodbye, without words. Thank God you both were smart enough to have always put aside enough money these past few years. So now you have just enough money to go anywhere without the need to worry about them. -

We both agreed we go for it no matter what. And I know what I wanna do. But what about you? I don't know yet. I just like to read books, and contemplate on things. Then try to do exactly that. -

You always knew you want to study further in the sphere of psychology. Either way just by yourself or officially. That is why you applied to university in Monaco. And why Monaco? Better question is why NOT Monaco. The perfect place. You have everything there. The sun, the sea, the fancy places, nature, great food and awesome things to do there. Even the language wasn't the problem. You got a very good level of Italian language. On top of that your friend was visiting a French institute back in your hometown and promised you she will teach you enough French to understand others in Monaco. Which is exactly what happened. You had it planned. One day, one night, you packed the little of yours, the sentimental things you wanted to keep, to save from old life and your family, and got away. -

I've never been more grateful that I put aside the money. Hahaha yes! It is soo exciting. It feels like we are gonna save the world! I feel unstoppable. No fear. -

Few months have passed in Monaco. You found a nice place to live with your friend. Beautiful view, quiet neighborhood. You both accommodated quickly and most of the time the two of you spent living in your present moment here without the help of your cellphones. You both wanted to be aware the most what the new life you got for yourselves got for you. And thanks to that you were put in situation where you could only use your knowledge and your own memory, no translator whatsoever and your friend wasn't helping you either. You knew already enough to survive here. For the other part, you got accepted to university thanks to all of your gained knowledge from all of those years where you were hiding from your family's presence. Your friend Mary found a nice job where she could refine her potential. She now worked at embassy for translating French to Korean. Your friend was wild with languages.

And because you were the sun, the high spirit, you found friends very easily. You laughed easily and were funny by nature so you always attracted great people and especially those that wanted to show you how much they appreciate you. And they always wanted to show you the world, no matter If you knew this person for five minutes or a few days. You even got the opportunity to meet some great people in Monaco which you didn't know by then. -

Where are you from? Ah, just a small town in a small country. Well that is enough interesting for me to ask more -

You met your friend at a normal average cafeteria in Monaco. You were sitting there by yourself, reading your books to uni and drinking espresso macchiato when this stranger approached you complimenting you. You offered him a big smile and that is when you got him into his seat right in front of you. It is always your smile that sweep others off their feet. You talked a little and you found out his mum is working here and he is making a visit often. But most of the time he is finding himself in a different parts of Monaco since he has a very fancy and famous restaurant Le Louis XV. (No way!) You gasped at that information. You knew this place is THE place. Secretly by nights you were dreaming to visit this place, even if just for once. You wanted it so badly you got even obsessed with their official website, wolfing each information about their place, their food, their wine, their policies. Smiling so much it hurt you, you told him how beautiful this place is and how endeared you are by meeting someone like him who actually owns this place!

We are actually looking for some new waitress. You look very pretty, you look very kind and I'm sure you are very smart as well. We could hire someone just like you just like that. I like you enough already. I am sure you would do a great job.

Your mouth fell wide open and you immediately covered it with your hand. Still your eyes visible in shock. Your friend sitting in front of you chuckled.

I am so sorry! That is so awesome! But I don't even know your name! You laughed out so loud. It was silly to talk so much about each other and even receive such a compliment without knowing each other's name. Anyway you promised him that you will think it through and the two of you exchanged numbers. -

Oh cmon Mary! Let's go to this place! I need to see how it looks inside. Like really really see it on my own eyes. Plus! the guy already knows me. He will sure remember me. You mean the guy you don't know the name of? Haha very funny. His name is Jean. Well I'm afraid I cannot go. I still need to work on this script. It is super important. Quite urgent. Alright. I get it. You smiled. You were very happy for your friend that she is finally doing what she was waiting for so long. I will go by myself then. You smiled and prepared yourself. You sure know better to come there dressed up more fancy than on normal occasions. -

As your taxi got to the destination, you carefully stepped out and took a big inhale. Somehow the whole atmosphere was different around here. It smelled different. More alive you thought to yourself. Even the doors looked breath taking. But just from observing the place, basically just standing there, you had some sort of a feeling something will happen. Call it an intuition. With such state, your fear started creeping around the corners in your mind. You felt your heart beating fast, and your hands started to get sweaty. Taking a few steps forward, you saw the personnel were quite wild inside. (Weird). It didn't look so put together as you thought it would. Your fear was telling you you don't want to get yourself in trouble. But you remembered your party hero. You put all of those fearful thoughts to hell and stepped on the stairs. -

Maman, nous sommes restés assez déjà en attendant. Ne devrions-nous pas aller ailleurs ? Mom, we've been waiting enough already. Shouldn't we go somewhere else? Non, j'aime le plus cet endroit. On va attendre un peu. No, I like this place the most. We'll wait a bit. -

It was just around lunch. Around 3PM. Inside it looked…envoûtant.

Just in time! Ah! Bonjour Jean. Ca va? YN no time for talking. I need you asap. What? Your face don't lie. You looked shocked and scared. I need you to start working. (Whaaaaat???) But I didn't come here for work! I just arrived! YN - he held you by your shoulders - J'ai besoin de toi. But No But, I need you. You were looking into his eyes and they told you he was deadly serious. Our staff today is short, many people got sick! C'est foutu ici, regarde It's fucked up here, look You finally gathered some words to talk back. That is not possible! I don't even know where is the kitchen, nor the utensils and I don't even know all of the ingredients in what you are serving! And what about the wine???? You will handle it. Jean! Allez. The table number six. You just looked down, and nodded. Qui.

Jean led you to a staff room to change yourself. You changed yourself very quickly. You actually didn't have time for anything else. Not even thinking. But just one second to take a look at yourself in the mirror is what you needed. Looking in the mirror, you said Either way it is gonna be a big fuck up or a great experience. But I'm not backing up. Remember to just smile, be funny, the rest will hopefully be taken care of. Somehow.

You breathed a big exhale and got yourself out of the restroom. -

Aujourd'hui, ils manquent de personnel. Jean me l'a dit. Today they are understaffed. Jean told me. Maman, on aime bien ici mais on ne peut pas rester ici encore une demi-heure à. Mom, we like it here but we can't stay here for another half an hour.

That is when you appeared fast as a lighting. You smiled big. Making eye contact with everyone. Not having the mental capacity yet to actually remember all of their faces. They were like six of them. Three women and the rest were men. One of the women were in her older years. You made a note to focus on her the most. At least that is what etiquette taught you. Bon jour. Préférez-vous le français ou l'italien. Smiling at the old lady. I think she is the mom of the boys. They look alike. Le français c'est bien. She smiled at you as well. Actually she was waaay too smiley in your opinion. But it was nice to meet someone sweet. You asked what they would like to drink and thankfully they didn't have any tricky questions for you. You somewhat made it. Writing the orders fast and still maintaining eye contact with the diners. You were still smiling genuinely and making sure you catch each word. It was hard at first, but thanks to lessons from your friend Mary, you could survive in understanding. You just had a little delay comprehending sometimes. You thanked them and apologized for the time it took. Leaving their table shyly.

You followed other waitress to kitchen so you find out finally where it is situated. Thanks to your deduction skills you knew where to put the orders and prepare some of it by yourself actually. Not the food obviously. Speaking about food…

YN, this food to table four.

You didn't even have a chance to react as you turned around to Jean, because other waitress bumped into you and put the plates on your hands. You thought you will die at the exact moment. But couldn't do such. You couldn't even die at this moment. There was no time for that! (Merde!)

You were afraid it will fall on the ground. In your eyes was visible there was a little hesitation as you were scared, but gladly you still had a smile laid out on your face. As you were passing other tables in the line you had to avoid the other waitress so you put your arms up, YES arms up with the FOOD and spun around laughing big because you could either cry or laugh. You wanted both but not acceptable. You made the choice. You were sweating and cursing in your mind. -

Charles, regarde ! Elle est tellement belle. Regarde la grâce avec laquelle elle marche. Si féminin. Charlie, look! She is so beautiful. Look at the grace with which she walks. So feminine. Maman! J'ai une copine juste à côté de moi! Mom! I have a girlfriend right next to me! C'est pourquoi je chuchote. That's why I whisper. -

You did it. The food is on the table. And you somehow was being able to manage to pronounce the name of the servings. Then you found out these are actually foreigners speaking English so you were glad to speak at least a little bit of your mother language. You joked a little with them and felt very grateful at that moment. But at the back of your mind you knew you have to go back to the table number six. Enjoy your meal guys!

As you were going back, you saw the old lady smiling big at you so you did as well. Tout va bien maintenant? Oui merci. Vous avez choisi? Are you ready to order? You were still looking at her. It was what you think you should do. You just wanted to do good with this job, be kind, be well behaved. It looked like it is appreciated at least by the old lady. Oui, nous sommes prêts. You were patiently waiting for orders, starting with the old lady by being obvious smiling at her and waiting for her to speak. Then you continued with the other two women and lastly guys. You were not that careful with them, because you could hardly tell who is the oldest one. Merci. S'il vous plaît, n'hésitez pas à m'appeler si vous avez besoin de quoi que ce soit. Thank you. Please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. -

Avez-vous remarqué à quel point elle se comporte bien? Have you noticed how well she behaves? Oui - Lorenzo agreed with his girlfriend - Oui! elle est si gentille. Yes! she is so nice. Eh bien, dans ce restaurant, il ne devrait y avoir que des gens qui se comportent bien. Well, in this restaurant, there should only be well-behaved people. Charles wasn't such a big fan of yours it appears. Certainly not after his own mother told him to check you out - while he was sitting there with his girlfriend by his side. He didn't know that in a no time you will be lying on him, and he will not like it. But not from such an obvious reason as it may look like. -

The next half an hour was good. You were little disoriented sometimes, you had to ask twice, but everything was fine when it came to diners. You brought plates with the food to the table number six and left them immediately. You had other tables to serve. One thing that haven't left you was your smile though. You were smiling all the time, you didn't even know you did. After some time, the sun was already settling down and the table number six was finished with their meals. Avez-vous apprécié votre nourriture? Did you enjoy your food? Oui beaucoup. Ta présence aussi. Your presence too. Well, that was a lot to say. You got a fright to be honest. You were still smiling but with a little shock in your eyes. You laughed it off. Merci. As you were looking around the table, checking once again if they are finished, need a refill perhaps, you asked Veux-vous un dessert?

They thought about it a little bit. You stopped looking around around the table at this one particular man. He was definitely her son. And the girl next to him definitely his girlfriend. As you were making the dots, you caught the young man looking at you. When you connected with his eyes, you smiled a little. But he immediately took his look away. It made you sad a little. (Definitely not a man worth my time. He cannot even reciprocate when a woman smiles at him!) You looked away from him, catching the eye of the old lady. Nous voudrions en fait un dessert. Parfait! you replied and focused once again. Leaving them once again with their orders. -

Charles, sois plus gentil, s'il te plaît. Charles, please be nicer. Je suis gentil. Non tu ne l'es pas. Maman a raison. Vous trompez un peu depuis le début quand la serveuse est venue. Mom is right. You are a bit off from the beginning when the waitress came. Lorenzo agreed with his mom. Arthur continued. En fait je ne l'ai jamais vue avant. Je pense qu'elle est nouvelle. In fact, I've never seen her before. I think she is new. Je le pense aussi. I think so too. -

[wings-of-ink]

would the RO's ever want kids with the mc in the distant future, if so how many

thinking about it, zahn would probably want a herd of kids and would play with them constantly but if he was asked hed say "how many kids the mc is comfortable with having"

Hello Anon! 

This one is a bit difficult to put numbers on given how life works. All our ROs are fairly reasonable people and they know or learn in their relationship with MC that these things aren't all set in stone. So, with that in mind, I'd say these are baseline feelings that they'd work from...

You’re pretty spot-on with Zahn. They like kids quite a bit, but they can also find that fulfillment in other places. They have a high likelihood of borrowing Oswin’s nieces and nephews, lol. Pre-romanced Zahn is pretty sure that kids will never fit into their equation, so they never really had plans or hopes for them - feelings were all just neutral - it was better to not make goals. For an MC that tells them “you pick how many kids because I’m cool with however many.” Zahn would probably go like 4.

Oswin likes kids a lot, but they stress him out too. He frets over people he sees as vulnerable or at risk, particularly if he cares about them. Pre-romance, he literally never thought he’d make it that far with another person, but he liked the idea of adopting an older kid in need and raising them himself. If a romanced MC wanted children and insisted that he pick how many, he'd stay at a fairly reasonable 2. But let’s face it, he’s weak to his MC, and if they want more or less, that’s what will happen, lol.

Duri is uncomfortable with children, especially the thought of having their own, and even more so at the beginning of a serious romance with MC. Pre-romance, they say absolutely no children. After they’ve worked through some of their baggage and have found that stability in themselves and their partner, then it stops feeling so scary. They would likely only want 1 at most though. They are the least likely to negotiate on that.

Rune wanted children when they were younger and more naive. Once they became a jaded adult, those hopes sort of just disappeared. Once romanced, those hopes can be rekindled. If they have a dedicated partner who loves them, they’d welcome any number of children in reality. They’re the type that after having 1, another seems like a great idea…and maybe another after that. Part of that is them coming to terms that they can be a better parent than what they had. If MC had them pick an amount, Rune would have some difficulty. If they had plentiful resources, they may go up to 4 as well, but would want them spread out reasonably.

???:  He’s honestly not considered it - before, during or even after romancing him. He doesn’t mind children, but it’s just not something he intentionally thinks about. If MC really wanted them, he would probably just refuse to put a number out there. He’d be fine with any or none.

Thank you for the question, Anon! ^_^

Here is a related post if you like:

[slenbee]

Common scams and you

Hello everyone!

I'm finally writing out the idea that has been floating around in my head for a while now, and I'm honestly surprised there's no videos on youtube (that I've found) that talk about the most common scams that are out there on the internet that you may encounter.

So! Let's start.

#1. Virus pop up scams.

These types of scams are based around inciting panic and fear in those that encounter them. They are generally encountered by mistyping a url in the search bar that then leads you to a web page containing a flashy visual alert (and sometimes audio alert) stating something like the following:

Your system is at risk! # Viruses found! Warning!

Your system has been compromised!

Viruses / Trojans found!

The majority of which then provide a phone number that scam victims would call to get the issue 'resolved.' Those who fall for this scam contact the call center seeking help, and those there- the scammers, lull their victims into a false sense of security that they'll solve the issue. They then have their victims download remote access software such as AnyDesk and UltraViewer.

These programs allow a user who connects complete and TOTAL CONTROL of your computer. They can view your screen, track what you type or click, not to mention they can lock it, and they can change the password, holding it at ransom. They can do pretty much ANYTHING as long as the software is installed. It runs in the background and they can monitor everything you do.

They will tell you that to get rid of the virus/'hack', you must pay a certain amount (usually between $300-$1k or more) for them to clean your computer and 'add an antivirus'.

They will tell you that you need to go to walmart/wallgreens to get gift cards. Or they will ask you to provide banking details so that they can steal your banking/login information to transfer money via zelle or other methods while under the control of the remote access application.

If you or anyone you know has made it to the installation part of this scam, make sure to disconnect the internet immediately and uninstall the program that they installed upon the computer.

This scam can ALSO happen to people on mobile. There are websites and apps configured to show that you've got a virus, and much like above, it will tell you that you need to call a phone number or download an app to get it resolved.

Clicking off the page / notification gets rid of it. There was never any virus to worry about. So don't worry too much if you see something like this while browsing the internet. Just try and be safe!

#2. E-Mail scams.

The most notorious of all of e-mail scams that I've encountered over the years are as follows:

Your <brand> anti-virus has expired. Click here to re-new!

You have been charged <huge amount> for <brand> anti-virus. If this is a mistake please call <phone number> to get this resolved.

You have received a PayPal invoice from <scammer name/brand> for <huge amount> please call <phone number>.

Much like the virus pop up scam, these scams follow a similar path when it comes to the end result. You call them, they have you install a remote access application, they tell you to pay x amount of money so they can install their 'anti-virus', and/or they do a fake 'scan' in the console, and likely install a real virus that harvests your information.

All in all, best to avoid it/delete the e-mail. No proper anti-virus is going to send you an e-mail telling you to call them. Nor are they going to charge you $300 for a 'renewal.'

As for the paypal invoice, just ignore it and check your actual paypal. If there's no invoice, there never was one in the first place. Flag it as trash and delete it.

#3 Phone scams.

These can be scary, especially if you've got a son, daughter, or relative who might live out of town.

Mom/Dad I lost my phone can you send me money for a new one?

Hey I'm with your kid and they're hurt/arrested/etc can you send me some money to pay the ambulance/bail/etc.

Your kid said I'd bring you these things and you'd pay me.

This is <name> from <fake business/tech support> on behalf of apple/microsoft to let you know your warranty has expired.

Sadly this means that your phone number has likely been leaked online somewhere, and scammers are now attempting to use it to get money from you. Best advice is to hang up and block the number immediately before calling your child/family member to make sure they're okay.

#4. Text Scams.

These are generally pretty easy to notice, and pretty easy to avoid, if you know what to look out for.

Any random number that texts you with something akin to the following, is a scam:

THIS IS <FAKE NAME> FROM THE UNITED STATES <FAKE COMPANY> TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU'VE WON <MILLIONS OF DOLLARS>. PLEASE FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW TO HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR WINNINGS.

Fedex has your package click this link to update your information.

UPS has failed to deliver your package. click this link to-

Hi <name that's not yours> are we set for our <event> next <day>?

<name not yours> I'm looking forward to <activity> next <day>. Are you going to be busy?

While links to scammy websites are easy to avoid, the last two might not be so easy to some people. Replying to them in any form puts you on a list of 'active numbers' for them to target. They will text you repeatedly with different prompts which all lead down the same line.

You say 'wrong number', they say 'this isn't <name>?' you say 'no' they say 'i'm so sorry i thought this was <name>' you say 'no problem' they say 'oh you're so kind want to be friends?' which then leads into 'i'm <fake name> from China/Singapore/<country> but I live in california/new york. I'm a fashion designer/investor/owner of a small company' and they send a fake picture of them which is likely stolen from somewhere online. They also ask for you to send them YOUR pictures. Don't do this.

End goal is for you to download WatsApp/Telegram to send them money and/or invest in fake crypto.

There are also text scams similar to those mentioned above where it's someone pretending to be a sugar mommy/daddy and they try to get you to spend time and hook up with them. They ask you to pay a 'fee' so they know you're 'legit' or something which, of course, is just a way to get you to send them money.

#5. Facebook Scams.

These are rather new, but once you know the signs, you'll know how to avoid them.

When buying/selling something on facebook, if someone says they can't pick it up but <brother/sister/cousin> can and they ask if you take cashapp, zelle, etc, it's a scam.

If you or someone you know who is older/elderly is contacted by someone who's in the military/ex-military/ex-cia/ex-fbi etc and they flood your DM's with affection and kindness and lots of love and attention in an effort to get you in a relationship with them, this is known as a romance scam.

They will ask for money to 'get a new phone' or 'to send pictures because my camera is broken.' or to 'buy a plane ticket to come see you'. It's a scam, a big scam, and a lot of elderly people have been scammed out of a lot of money because of it. They will call you and talk to you and say they love you and all that kissy kissy mwah junk just to build trust so they can try and get money.

It's not real. As sad as that is to say, all these people are after is money.

If you know anyone who might be in any of these situations, PLEASE try and talk some sense into them. Especially if they've sent large amounts of money to someone over the internet. Google is your best friend, and there is information out there for people who want to find it.

All in all, just make sure you're careful in who you trust.

#6. Discord/Steam Scams.

These can be less obvious to those who aren't tech savvy, but once you know the signs they're hard to miss.

Anyone who randomly DM's you about beta-testing their 'new game' is trying to get you to click a link that leads to a website containing an application that contains a virus. This will harvest your information and give the hacker access to everything on your computer.

Anyone who randomly DM's you saying that they found 'compromising photos/information of you online' most likely will try to get you to click a virus link that will infect your computer.

Anyone who randomly DM's you saying they 'reported you to the discord/steam admins' for something inappropriate/illegal will try to get you to contact their 'friend' who is a 'discord/steam admin' to get it resolved.

This will either involve them sending you a virus link or trying to get you to send them money/gift cards to get the issue 'resolved.' They will also sometimes send you to a legit looking steam page which is fake and will harvest your steam login data.

Again, these are easy to notice once you know the signs. Just note that sometimes your friends might send you messages like these or ask for money, which in that case their account was likely compromised/hacked. Make sure to report them so that discord/steam can help get the account back in the right hands.

I know I've likely forgotten some other types of scams but for now these are the most common that people should keep an eye out and look for.

Protect yourself and protect others!

[halfghostwriter]

Wraith Radio Pt. 2

Part 1

“You’re listening to Wraith Radio, your number one link to the living realm. I’m your host, the wandering ghost, Ellie Phantom. It’s day two of my adventure in Gotham City, and I gotta say, today was… wild. Bit of context for those who missed the start of yesterday’s show, long story short, I publicly told the Red Hood that I would wait for him at this place called Park Row so I could take him to a doctor in the ghost zone because his body is bad.

After I ended the show, I got this call from my cousin, Danny. He and his friends back in Amity had been listening, and they think that, because I never showed off any of my powers or anything, and cause I look like any other human, he might not have actually believed I was a ghost. Which, fair, I guess.

So now I’m thinking, ‘well, no big deal, I can just show him my ghost form.’ Buuuuut then I remember the stupid amount of curses and stuff all around this city, and as part of the ghost population who technically never experienced death— no, that time I melted does not count— I’d like to prolong that experience for as long as possible if you don’t mind. Where was I? Oh right, so now I’m thinking, ‘well, no problem, I can just open up a portal, bring him to the zone, and transform there.’ Quick, simple, no problem.

So we come to today. I’m at the meeting spot, it’s five minutes to the meeting time, and I’m sitting on the edge of this rooftop, keeping an eye out for the arrival of the Red Hood.

And then a building blows up.

Right across the street, the top floor of this sketchy run down place I had been staring at, just. Boom! And then I hear all these gunshots, and screaming, and I look down at my watch, and I have about four minutes before noon, so I turn invisible, float over, and poke my head through the wall. Right there, center of the room, I see Batman, Robin, Red Robin, and Red Hood fighting this… I dunno, skinny twink with like a burlap sack over his head? Look, it took me a week to memorize the Gotham vigilante’s names and costumes alone, I wasn’t going out of my way to look up their entire rogues gallery. But anyway, they’re fighting this guy and a bunch of people who I assume are working for this guy, and I see some people tied up in the corner screaming their heads off for no clear reason. I mean, yes, I know it’s scary being tied up by an evil scarecrow of a man, but when I say screaming, I don’t mean ‘please, save me, I’m in distress’ screaming, I mean ‘the soulshredder just sliced through me and now I’m seeing my worst fears manifested in front of my eyes’ screaming.

So I get a little closer, I land on the floor, and just, to go off on a bit of a tangent for a second, the Gotham vigilantes are just. So much taller than me. I felt so incredibly tiny being in the same room as them. Like, yeah, I know I’m short, but I had hoped that I would at least be the same height as Robin, but no. I swear, every time I stand next to someone who’s supposed to be close to my ‘physical’ age, I become more and more convinced that the billionaire who made me had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He brought me to life and was like ‘you’re a twelve year old!’ and I was like ‘you’re right!’ because I had no frame of reference because I was born that morning. Anyway, so I get closer to the screeching humans being held against their will, and I feel this scratchy, almost burning feeling in the back of my throat. I try to brush it off, but then I look down, and I see my body fucking melting.

Now this isn’t be my first time melting, so my first thought isn’t ‘oh god I’m gonna go from half to full ghost,’ or even ‘ugh this shit again,’ but rather ‘why the fuck doesn’t this hurt?’ Because I know exactly what melting is supposed to feel like, and it isn’t a feeling you can just ignore. Like, I can’t really describe it to someone who’s never had every muscle in their body suddenly coalesce into one, with every attached nerve ending screaming louder than a heavy metal band, but trust me when I say that the “pain” I was feeling was barely anything compared to actually melting, like it felt more like my skin was itchy than anything. So, I try poking one of the places where my body is melting— don’t ask me why, I don’t really know why I did it— and instead of feeling ectoplasm drip over my hands, I just feel… my arm. And I realize, ‘oh, not only is this just an illusion, it’s a shitty one.’ Or, y’know, at the very least one that doesn’t work too well on a halfa.

So I shake that off, cause yeah, I don’t like seeing myself melt again, but as long as it’s not actually happening again, I’m good. Plus, if it does start again, I do still have my extra ecto dejectos in my bag, and yes, Danny, I will call you if it actually happens, sorry if I almost gave you a heart attack a few minutes ago. Anyway, I turn back to all the tied up screaming people, and I notice these, like, fog-machine-looking-thing next to all of them, and I get closer to one, and the scratchy feeling at the back of my throat gets worse, so now I’m thinking ‘oh, this must be what’s causing everyone to see things.’ So I turn my arm intangible, stick it into this machine, and I pull out this bottle of just… the worst smelling chemicals I’ve ever been near, which is saying a lot for someone born and raised in a basement lab. But, it stops the fog machine, so I plug it with some stuff from my bag, and pocket it so I can’t smell it anymore. I keep doing this to each of the nearby machines, and eventually the front pocket of my bag is just completely stuffed with gross chemicals.

So that’s over with, and I look over to see if the fight’s done, but no, they’re all still going at it, which means I still can’t talk to Red Hood and get him to the Zone, so I figure I have some time to kill. And I remember that there’s, like, ten or so people tied up against their will, so I start freeing all of them. Obviously, the ropes themselves are really easy, all I really need to do is phase them off. The people, on the other hand, are crazy hard to get to actually do anything other than scream. Like, I try pushing people towards the exit, I try dragging them across the floor, anything to get them to leave the building which is— in case you forgot— on fire. I mean it’s just the top floor, but I’ve heard from Ember that a fire anywhere in the house could be the cause of a human’s death, especially if no one’s watching it, and I doubt that anyone is actually watching that fire.

So now I’m kinda panicking, cause I was hoping the fight would be over by now and all these people would have been brought outside, but not only is the fight not over, I look over and see the bad guy throw these cans over at the people, and I realize that they’re giving off the exact same poison-fog as the machines from earlier. And I’m just. So pissed off. Like, I just took care of that!! For all I knew, that illusion stuff could’ve worn off in a few minutes, and I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping all these people alive!!

Side note— Danny. I get it now. I get the whole ‘desperate need to protect any and all humans’ feeling you were talking about.

They are just… so easy to put into danger.

Holy shit.

Anyway, I’m feeling that whole ‘selfless anger on behalf of strangers’ thing for the first time, and I think it turns my brain off, cause I just pick up the cans and throw them at the bad guys head while yelling ‘FUCK YOU, DIPSHIT!’

And my invisibility drops.

So.

Not my best decision.

But not my worst, because my aim was perfect.

I’m pretty sure I knocked him unconscious, but I’ll be honest I wasn’t really paying attention to that guy anymore because I had just revealed one of my abilities— not to mention I think my eyes were glowing— in front of the fucking Batman. Now, I don’t know if the rumors about him hating metas are true, but I do know that most humans fucking hate ghosts, that I definitely don’t know what he thinks I am, and that I’m not risking my ass to find out. So, invisibility goes back up, and I start to book it before I remember that the whole fucking reason I showed up was to help out Red Hood. So I take a flyer, write “sorry, try again tomorrow?” on the back, and then I get the fuck out.

I wind up flying so fast back to this little hideout I’m staying at that I guess I wound up jostling some things in my bag? Yeah, by the time I get back, I feel this… leaking through my bag. And I take it off, so I can check out the damage, and uh…

Ok, so remember how I mentioned those ecto dejectos I keep on me? Well, I tend to keep them in the front pocket. And the scary-illusion-liquid-stuff was also put in the front pocket. And one of the bottles and an ecto-dejecto hit each other just a bit too hard. And apparently. When these two things are combined. You get… a blob ghost. Who only knows how to melt.

I’ve named him Goop, and he’s the most pathetic creature I’ve seen in my life. He just melts until all of his body is liquid, then it all just blorps back together. He’s solid for like a second, then he starts to melt again. Also he keeps trying to drink the scary-illusion-liquid. I’ve been holding him in my lap this entire time, and while he’s not hard to stop, I do still need to sleep, so if anyone has any advice on how to handle a mutant blob ghost, I’m all ears. Also, if theres any specific way to get rid of mysterious chemicals that honestly shouldn’t exist, please tell me, otherwise I’m just gonna find a sink and dump it.

Anyway, that’s enough about my day, onto things I’ve heard about the city…”

————————

The batfam stared silently at the glowing radio that Jason had brought.

And an unspoken agreement was reached.

Meta, ghost, whatever— this was a child with absolutely no adult supervision, severe trauma, an unknown set of powers, and a ridiculous amount of fear toxin. Not to mention something that she described to be a “mutant blob ghost.”

It was time to do a bit of research into the kid.

Or, it would, were it not for the fact that “Wraith Radio” didn’t seem to exist online, nor did “Ellie Phantom.” It was also likely she used a fake name for her show, since there didn’t seem to be any records of an “Ellie Phantom” anywhere.

Of course, that wasn’t enough to deter them. After all, she herself had mentioned her family.

And so, they began looking into Amity and her cousin, Danny.

[eggcompany]

Castiel The Hottest Oddest Duck Part 1

Castiel hated when loud people came into the museum. However when two women come in and give him a card to some club called the Crossroads maybe they're worth it...

Crossroads. A sex club. With an online catalog. And one man covered in silk and lace catches his eyes and he just knows he has to go see him... the princess. AKA Dean Winchester who hadn't taken a date in... YEARS. But maybe it's just the best stroke of luck.

“OMG they should get one of these at Meg’s” 

“Oh totally, wouldn't The Puppy look so cute on that? Ooo or Killa!” 

Castiel Novak hated loud people in the museum. He just wanted to clean and keep an eye on the exhibits. Sure he also loved answering questions from the field trip kids and chatting with artists who liked to sit in the large monument hall and sketch but he absolutely hated loud people walking around nearly yelling at each other and cackling loudly. 

However in the last week it seemed impossible to get away from since they put up their loaner exhibit on sex through history. 

As the two women continued to speak loudly and cackle like upset hens, Cas walked up near them and cleared his throat. They turned around and waved their hands in an ‘ excuse us’ kind of way. 

“Oh sorry we’re just so excited about this exhibit. We're members of the Red Crossroads and this stuff is pretty interesting, totally up our alley!" One of the women said with a large grin. 

"Oh.. okay, It's on loan from another museum. We're pairing this and the pride exhibit. They'll both be open by June first." Castiel informed them. If they were just overly excited he understood. He’d just about talked his brother’s ear off when they had their exhibit on beekeeping. 

"We should come back then! And we can bring Meg or Dean! Dean would love this shit.” Said one of the women to the other who nodded. 

“Ooh, are there going to be more crossdressing exhibits or anything like that? That would be amazing” asked the second woman. Castiel nodded after a moment of thinking. He’d just been looking at the catalog of incoming exhibit pieces. There were many pieces of Transgender History and Drag Culture, which in a crude way could be interpretted as ‘crossdressing’. 

“We're going to have a large section over drag culture across the world later this month where the pottery currently is.” Castiel informed them which incited big smiles. 

“Fantastic! We’re so coming back! Thank you so much, you’re a doll… Castiel! We’ll see you again in a few weeks and ya know if you ever feel like a good time come swing by the Crossroads.” Said the women who handed him a small black card and walked on their way toward another exhibit while texting on their phones. 

Good time? What’s that even mean? Castiel was curious about the card which simply had in plain print

‘Red Crossroads- Bar and lifestyle club- All Welcome’ and a phone number. 

Red Crossroads…. 

Bar and lifestyle club. 

Lifestyle club. 

….

Sex club. 

It was a sex club. 

Cas was taken aback as he stared down at his laptop screen. He didn’t know there were those! He thought there were only street workers and online escorts. Both of which made him nervous as a man seeking another man who wasn’t underaged or had any… afflictions. 

Catalog listings of services came to view first, Cas had never thought to go through and think if he liked something or not. 

Spanking? No he didn’t like hitting even if it was for fun.

Bondage?… Perhaps it would provide compression and comfort. Cas often found certain amounts of restraint like weighted blankets and sleep sacks very comforting so bondage is on the table for that. However it could be scary if he got too overwhelmed and couldn’t get away. 

Pet Play? Cas didn’t like the idea of having to care for something living and he definitely wasn’t very good at “pretending”. 

Sex Toys?... That made Cas glance over at his bedside table. Here his lube and condoms and small bullet vibrator lived. His brother had bought it for him as a joke since it was called an "Angel" and was sparkly gold in color. Cas didn't get the joke until years later, and then still he quite enjoyed the small toy pressed against his skin. He only ever put the very tip inside since it was always sort of… scary. Overwhelming and made him feel very lonely. 

Crossdressing/Gendered Play… That’s what got Cas’s heart tapping against his ribs cage.

Men had always been Cas’s favorite. Even when asked when he was very small in the church, he had always known he loved boys. That was what had been the catalyst of his parents getting him tested for autism in the first place. They knew he was ‘wrong’... Oh well whatever they’re in the nursing home now and Castiel doesn’t need the inheritance. 

Plus Gabriel liked boys too. Somewhat. ‘Pansexual’. At least sort of liked boys. So Cas wasn’t alone. 

Cas liked just men. 

They were simple and understandable during sex. Touch penis, kissing, they cum, snuggles until morning. Easy. 

Easy was usually best and best to understand. Simple and straightforward was best. 

But oh... pretty things in pretty packaging were even better. No one would turn down a nicely wrapped gift. Especially when that gift was a hard cock wrapped in soft lace. 

It had been a rabbit hole on his laptop one night. The road from " I don't really like girl bodies" t o " I really like girl's lingerie" was a short one. Cas didn't quite like all the complexity or the look of a woman, femininity in a femine shape was… yucky in his mind. He didn't like breasts either.

The road from " Boy bodies are pretty " to " Boys in girl's clothes are very pretty " was a long and winding one. 

He'd looked through everything from "petite" to "pegging" to "twink" and finally ended up in "crossdressing". It seemed endless of boys wearing frilly pinks with their cocks barely contained. 

Cas was never good with people and he was even worse with sex. He'd had sex in college, sure. A girl who got him drunk and said he was cute had had sex with him in his shitty dorm room and told him he had a big dick and left before morning. 

He'd had sex with a very handsome man who smelled like chalk and had smooth soft skin and a thing for virgins. He was nice and cuddled until they showered together in the morning. He was nice but Cas wanted more. 

Cas wanted snuggles all the time and hugs and holding hands and dates and all the in the movies kind of stuff. Sex was nice but love was what he wanted. 

Gabriel told him saying “I love you” was a bigger deal than how Cas was used to using it. And that saying it to someone you just met, or while your ankles are to your ears, is not the right time to say it. 

It was easy to click on the crossdressing section on the catalog for the Red Crossroads. Suddenly there were lines of profiles. Mostly very young boys wearing strappy dark attire. 

Not Cas's type. Sure they were cute and hot but he wasn't really into younger guys. When he himself was younger he was into ‘older’ men. Now he just liked men his own age. 

He scrolled, endlessly. Glancing from image to image. From young cute faces caked in makeup to bodies laying ass up exposing their tender places. 

It was a doom scroll of searching for someone. 

It was sort of draining in a way that it made Cas start questioning what was he doing, why was he scrolling around on a catalog of men, why was there a catalog of men, why was he even looking at a sex club when he could never- 

Then there he was. Neck down, sun tanned skin, wide shoulders, bulging biceps, tight abs, rosy pink nipples, fuzzy blonde-brown hair coating his strong thighs and making a soft little treasure trail from his belly down under the candy pink panties he was wearing. He had on a matching lacey ribbon harness on his chest that exposed the wide expanse of it. 

" Princess of the Crossroads, tall, strong, handsome, and loves his lace. Loves getting all dolled up and giving anyone a good ride. Is open to kissing, cuddling, and anything in between! Come show our princess some love, Friday-Sunday, or scheduled appointment"

"Princess... Wow..." Cas whispered and instantly knew he had to go find him. 

He also realized he needed to do A LOT of research. 

-0-0-0-0-

This was stupid. 

Stupid to even walk through the backdoor of the bar. 

Stupid to walk around trying to find the beautiful strong body he'd seen online. Walking around looking at the heads of dark blonde hair, looking at bodies covered in thick muscle and freckles, it was all so… embarrassing . 

It was an hour of him walking around awkwardly trying not to stare at the people who were activly having sex. He'd watched the pole dancers for a while marveling at their strength and grace. He was absolutely taken by one of them who was dressed in a long pink sheer robe lined with fuzzy white stuff that Cas very much wanted to put on his face and had to yank his hands back a few times from where they had absently shifted up to sit on the very edge of the stage. 

He'd made his way to the second bar that was in the back corner of the main room. He'd flumped down on one of the cushiony red bar stools and a blonde woman walked over to him. 

"Sad face for a sex club, what's wrong my man?" She asked and Cas sighed and traced a triangle on the shiny counter. It had been a failed attempt at having sex. It was a failed attempt at getting fucked and snuggled. 

"Couldn't find who I was looking for. Can I have whiskey? I don't drink usually but I need something." Cas explained and the woman glanced over at the other bartender, a dirty blonde headed man with a sparkly smile wearing a black t-shirt and some black jeans. He had on an apron with the crossroads logo on it and was pouring out drinks for two men, laughing and chatting. 

He was a very good looking man, tall, strong, handsome. Masculinity in the purest form. Probably smells like sweat and spilled alcohol. 

"I'll get you the good stuff in a second. Who were you looking for anyway? Most of our best are here." She asked while looking around the room and Cas nodded. 

"Yeah I looked around for a while, the dancers are pretty amazing. I looked on your website but the guy I wanted isn't on the floor and his face wasn't in the profile." Cas said sadly as the woman poured him some whiskey. She hummed and thought for a moment. 

"Any chance it's the princess?" She asked with a smile. Cas choked on his drink nodding. After coughing for a moment he recovered and shook his head yes vigorously. 

"Yes, yes, that's who it is. Do they not work here anymore?" He asked with big wide eyes and she smirked. An almost knowing smile spread across her face, she glanced over at the other bartender. 

"He's here. How about you go wait for him and I'll have him meet you in his room. It's up the stairs and wait for him in the room with the golden crown on it. It'll be to the left. Just sit there, it might be a long wait." She explained kindly and Cas was smiling widely. He was so excited to be able to finally touch and have something he really really wanted. It was like being told there was a gift of a million lives waiting for him just up some stairs. 

"Oh that doesn't matter! I'll wait for however long! I'm so excited." Cas said in a giddy voice and slapped down a large bill and walked quickly to the spiral stairs he'd seen a few people walk up. 

The woman giggled and Cas was off. 

Maybe it wasn’t so stupid. 

-0-0-0-0-

Cas was happy to sit and wait in the lovely carpeted room. The walls were a lovely rich dark color that was just nearly black was tinted with a pink, the floors were low pile and very very soft, new feeling, dark grey heathered with black, there was a sturdy looking black desk that looked more in use than a staged object that had a lamp and a cozy looking arm chair behind it. There was a large dark stained wood four poster bed in the center of the room, king size, thick and plush, having black drawers along the underside of it on the floor, and it was covered in a plush patterned black comforter set with several pillows in matching cases piled neatly at the head.

There were two doors, other than the one that Cas had walked through and one on the wall behind the bed. Both were painted black with golden door knobs. Cas could see the light on underneath one of them and had an itch in the back of his mind to just go and flick the light off but this wasn’t his room and it wasn’t his place to go opening doors. He’d gotten in trouble about things like that before so he just ignored the light and stared at the floor from the cushy pink tub chair that he was sitting in by the door. 

Castiel was giddy . Overly excited about getting to have sex. 

Sex . 

Such a rare yearning in Cas’s life. He had to really concentrate to think of the last time he wanted to have sex with someone… Years ago probably. Beach trip with his family, he was sitting under the umbrella reading a fantasy novel about knights and princesses, a semi dirty novel that he hid with a false dust cover, he glanced up on the look out for his parent’s return, a big burly man was walking up out of the water, huge chest bouncing slightly under the thick cover of dark hair that connected over his belly to widen back on it’s way under his tiny tight shorts. Cas remembered feeling absolutely dizzy before his sister wacked him in the head and called him a slur. 

Just as Cas got a creeping nauseous feeling in his belly he heard some noise behind him. 

"I haven't actually been booked for a while so I don't have everything for the full ‘experience’ but if you still wanna- I’m very willing" Said a rumbling voice and Cas turned to see the source. 

Then he couldn't breathe. 

And he couldn't move. 

And he felt very very warm. 

Cas was standing, panting, clenching his hands at his sides. 

"God..." Cas whispered as he stared unashamed at the man's perfect face. 

He was standing in the middle of the room wearing a pair of thigh high cotton socks in a crisp white color, a flowy green silk slip to cover the rest of him. He had on a light perfume that smelled like vanilla, mascara that only made his long eyelashes look even longer, and some soft pinky nude lipstick. Around the slip’s thin straps Cas could see another set of straps, shiny like ribbon, in a dark nearly black green. 

He smiled and bit his bottom lip, straight teeth a pearly white. 

"Enjoying the view" He said in his practiced sultry voice, deep and rumbling like tires on a gravel road. 

"I've never seen anything more beautiful. Person, object, or otherwise." Cas said from his very soul. He was shocked like he was seeing a true angel a few feet in front of him, his feet were both glued to their spot on the carpet and weighed nothing at all as he took a few steps closer. 

The statement made Dean jump back and look a little shy. The brunette chuckled and looked around the room for a moment, hands fidgeting together. 

"Oh thanks. Haven't heard that one in a while. I'm Dean, but you can call me whatever you'd like." Dean said and moved a stray hair back into where it should be, spike having flopped down to his forehead. 

Cas watched his hand move and then felt as if he had fallen back into his body from floating somewhere far away in space. He suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe and that he had to rip his hair out. Dean was so perfect, so amazing, so beautiful, and wanted Castiel in such an intimate way and Cas hadn’t been very intimate in so so long and and - words tumbled out of his mouth. 

"I'm Castiel Novak. I've never been here before,I have autism, I'm gonna hyperventilate." Castiel said as he started to take shorter and shorter breaths, head getting light and dizzy. 

"Okay, alright, big one in, big out." Dean coached him through with a hand on his shoulder until Castiel was breathing normally. Cas was bent over a little bit and Dean was rubbing his back, hand warm like a wood fire. 

When Castiel stood back up they were so close, so near. The slightly shorter man looked so dazed Dean feared he might pass out. He’d seen people pass out before, not any autistic people he knew about but then again it wasn’t his business. 

“You smell very good and look very pretty” Castiel breathed out very deadpan and monotone, he was still trying to calm down his racing heart. 

Dean thought his eyes were glittering, it was odd. He’d spotted Castiel wandering around and had listened to him at the bar. He was 1. Hot as fuck, 2. Had a voice that already sounded like he’d been throat fucked, and 3. Had the most gorgeous eyes and honest look Dean had ever seen working at the Crossroads. Castiel Novak was 100% Dean’s type, plus he was a sweet man. 

"You're one odd duck, Cas. 's cute." Dean said and leaned in until there was just an inch between them. He cocked his head and stared down at Cas’s plump pretty pink lips. The dark haired man swallowed and let out a shaky breath. 

"I'd like to kiss you. I'd really like to kiss you." Cas whispered and oh Dean had really soft lips…

It was so easy to let Cas kiss him. 

Terribly. 

Castiel was a terrible kisser. All unpracticed and clumsy and stiff all at the same time. 

Dean hummed and let Cas explore though, his lips trembled a bit but soon he was confident in his tight presses, letting his eyes slide shut. 

Dean let one hand tilt and guide Cas’s head to angle over, he let his own lips part first and coax Cas’s open, and he was patient when Cas pulled away from his tongue the first time with a confused noise. He grinned a bit at the adorable confused look on Cas’s face. No way should a middle aged man be able to look so fuckin’ cute…

“C’mon, you’re doin it right” Dean whispered and Cas leaned back in after a glance at Dean’s perfect green eyes. 

Soon their tongues tangled, Dean’s hands coming to cradle Cas’s jaw and one sitting on his sharp hip bone. Castiel however had his hands down at his sides, clenching and relaxing with the rhythm of their kisses. Dean thought it was cute, something about this scruffy man just radiated something so… cute and fragile. 

Something to be cherished. 

Something that just screamed that he was either going to be utterly terrible in the shack or so, so fucking good. 

"May I touch you?" Cas panted out his eyes filled with a sort of frantic look. Something like a tornado in a jar. His heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest, in a fun way not like when he has anxiety attacks. His cock was throbbing in his slacks and he felt so… on fire with lust . 

"Course you can. Here, there we go." Dean said in a deep rumbling tone and guided Cas's wrists so his hands were on Dean’s silk covered hips. He leaned in to catch the other man’s lips again but Cas was looking away. 

Cas gasped and looked down, astonished as he squeezed the muscle all along Dean’s hips, sides, all the way to his bulging shoulders. Castiel breathed in quickly, finally letting out the breath he had been holding. 

"You're so... solid. Strong. Muscular." Cas said in awe and let his hands wonder and press into different places on Dean’s silk covered body. His muscular biceps, his forearms, his shoulders, and down his back. The fabric of the slip was so smooth and buttery and Dean’s body was so  warm and felt so alive under Cas’s hands. 

"Mhm, you're not too soft yourself." Dean said let his own hands start pushing and feeling up the other man. Cas was fucking hot and it was unfair. Sharp hip bones in his black slacks, solid stomach, strong arms, and a big cock that was bulging in his slacks. Not only that but he had thick, plush looking thighs, his hands were heavy and strong where they grasped and groped and petting at Dean’s back, and when Dean leaned back to steal some more dirty tongue filled kisses and placed his hands on the dark haired man’s chest it was soft yet had a layer of buff muscle underneath. 

A very attractive, awkward man. 

Definitely the most enthusiastic man he’d had if the way he kissed was anything to go by. 

Cas kissed like he’d never get another one, pulling on Dean’s shoulders as if to get even closer, even once their chests were pressed together. 

He let out quiet, needy noises. Dean felt like his heart squeezed each little whimper and tiny hiccupped begging noise. Gorgeous noises, pretty noises. 

“Pretty” Dean whispered as he pulled away and kissed down Cas’s neck, letting his hands slide down from Cas’s waist to slip inside his back pockets. Cas gasped and let his hips buck forward. 

“You th- think ‘m pretty?” Cas asked in an almost drunk way as Dean nibbled and licked down the side of his neck. His mind was fuzzy, like his brain had melted and floated away. Dean was perfect, warm, welcoming, kind, understanding, and so so pretty and nice and god . 

“Real pretty, you think I’m pretty?” Dean assured and asked and started working on unbuttoning the offensive white shirt that hid away the other man’s burning body. 

“You’re so beautiful, so pretty, I wanna be pretty like you.” Cas explained, saying the last part quietly as Dean unbuckled and unzipped his pants. Cas looked like he had already been torn apart. Hair a mess, lips red and smeared with the pale lipstick and swollen a bit, cheeks blushing darkly, eyes brimmed with tears. It was debauched, it was right outta a porno, it made Dean feel like his dick was gonna explode. 

“Yeah? Wanna see more? I wanna see more of you.” Dean pushed the shirt off Castiel’s shoulders and roughly pulled his slacks down to his thighs. 

Cas leaned down and pushed his pants down  and off, kicking his shoes off on the way. 

“Do I need to take my socks off?” Castiel asked as Dean sat back on the bed, letting his legs spread and his slip ride up to pool around his hips, satin panties barely containing his red hot erection, small mark of precum darkening the slick fabric. 

He was staring. Taking in miles of supple pale flesh, bare nearly hairless skin. Thick strong runners thighs, and a perfect cock. God it was big. Thick, swinging, rosy and darker at the tip like it was begging to be sucked. How he was like a living statue. 

“Dean? Is- do I have to be naked for the sex? I rather like my so-“ Cas explained and Dean pulled him down by his shoulders to lay on his back. With a bit of a huff Dean swung himself to straddle the other man. Cas’s cock rubbed against him through his satin panties. 

“Keep the socks on, I don’t care, just lemme-” Dean said as he leaned down to snatch up Cas’s lips again, rolling his hips forward, grinding down. 

“But Dean… I don’t wanna do this. I- I got ready…” Cas said and tears started to flow down his face. He sniffled and put his hands up to push at Dean’s chest. Dean immediately pulled himself off to sit beside the other man, shushing him calmingly. 

“Hey, it’s alright, man. Breathe, Cassy. What ‘cha mean? What ‘cha wanna do?” Dean asked and let his fingers comb through the surprisingly feathery soft hair  around the other man’s ear. 

“I- I- look” Cas stuttered and then gave up trying to explain. He laid back, spread his legs and there it was. A small silver plug covering his hole. He’d went out and bought it while planning. That and an actual dildo so he could practice and make sure he was stretched out enough so they wouldn't have to prep. He was hoping it wasn’t ugly… Dean was so so so pretty and and… Dean was just staring at it. 

Dean couldn’t breathe. He even got to fuck this beautiful, sensitive, amazing man? 

Best. Date. Ever.

-0-0-0-0-

“I wanna be pretty! God, please, Dean, I wanna be so pretty!” Castiel begged as Dean’s lace clad chest rubbed up and down his back with each hard rolling thrust. 

He was gripping the pillow in front of him, his elbows and knees holding him up. He couldn’t even see anymore between the tears flooding from his eyes and the pleasure that was making him feel like he was nothing but a puddle. Each time Dean rolled his hips forward Cas could feel his own cockhead drag along the sheets where it hung between his trembling thighs. 

Dean bent down, one hand holding him up and the other going to hold onto the sharp point of Cas’s hip, to bite at his meaty shoulder. 

“You’re pretty Cassy, real fuckin’ pretty.” Dean growled as he let his hips snap sharpy into the hot tight hold of Cas’s body. Loving the way Cas moaned out like some pornstar, loving the way his hands clenched up and his back arched more and more. 

“No! I wanna be pretty like y-ouh-ou, wanna-ah!- wear pretty things, wanna uh be so pretty” Cas blabbered as Dean kept slowly speeding up, hips starting to slap against the plush pale cushion of Cas’s ass. Cas could feel his collarbones starting to press into the bed and his body curving down. Dean’s hand running along the dip of his waist before pulling him back up into a thrust by his hip. 

“Yeah? Wanna wear a, fuck, a pretty dress?” Dean asked as he reached over and grabbed his slip from where he’d thrown it off after Cas had rolled over and pulled himself apart. Lust had burned him up as he had rushed to pull a condom on. 

“Yes, yes, wanna wear a pretty skirt and and wanna wear makeup and wanna wanna wear heels, wanna be such a pretty whore!” Cas sobbed out as Dean pulled away to kneel up behind him, cock lodged deep inside Cas’s trembling body. He grabbed Cas by the shoulder and pulled him up to kneel too. The black haired man yelled out and curled over himself but Dean kept him up with a hand on his belly. 

“I don’t believe that Cassy. You don’t wanna get dressed up like a whore and be a slut. You wanna be a bride, an angel, you’re just a pretty princess.” Dean whispered harshly into the other’s ear as he dragged the silk slip down over Cas’s arms, down so it grazed the base of his heavy cock. 

“C'mon pretty, arms… god that’s pretty ain't it…” Dean growled into Cas’s ear as he drug his arms through so the dress fit him properly. Cas’s strong back made the silk fall in a beautiful way down him, the lacey hems floated right above were they connected. 

“‘M gunna cum” Cas said in a drunk, dizzy way. His cock twitched which only caused the lace trim to tickle him more which only caused him to twitch again. His body felt light, warm, perfect. He let his head loll back to rest on Dean’s shoulder. His breaths came out in short huffs, grazing Dean’s jaw. 

Dean smiled to himself and let his hands hold onto the other man as his hips snapped back into action, slamming into Cas’s welcoming body. Cas let out long wanton moans, hand barely gripping himself, too lost in the pleasure Dean was supplying. 

-0-0-0-0-

“Can you- Can I- Do we have to move? Do I have to leave now?” Cas asked as he caught his breath and his brain became unscrambled. Dean was tying off the condom and dropping it into the trash. 

“Well I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’ve got keys to the back door if we stay past closing. I could sleep.” Dean replied as he pulled the bralette off and dropped it onto the desk on his way to the door he’d walked out of. 

He opened the door and turned on a light, from where Cas could peek in; it looked like a bathroom. There was a sink and tile. Cas just laid on the bed, his bum was a bit sticky which he hated but the slippery silk fabric of the slip felt so… amazing. He didn’t want to ruin the moment. 

“Can I stay here? Like this?” Cas asked a bit loudly, not even daring to move an inch. Dean popped back out, now wearing a pair of boxer briefs and a tight black shirt. 

“Yeah Baby, you can stay like that.” He said with a grin and knelt on the bed beside Cas who hummed but then frown as a drip of lube slid between his buttcheeks. 

“Can I have a tissue or something? I do not enjoy the feeling of lubricant against my taint or between my buttocks.” Cas stated and Dean looked at him for a moment before cracking up with loud boisterous laughter. 

“You really are an odd man, Castiel.” Dean said as he reached back to the side table and pulled a few tissues from the drawer. As he handed them to a blushing Castiel he spoke again. 

“I think I like it.” Dean whispered and sealed their lips together again. This time it was a slow, pull and push, warm kiss. Something that was just shared and not escalated. When he pulled back he felt his heart pull tight in his chest. 

A smile was gracing the edges of Cas’s pink lips, his eyes were closed, and, christ, he looked angelic . 

“I like you, Dean.” Cas said, wishing he could say he loved Dean but that would be inappropriate he reminded himself. 

Dean smiled and leaned back in for another kiss, one of many many more to be shared before Cas announced he was tired and wiggled under the blankets once he’d wiped himself clean of lubricant. 

-0-0-0-0-

“You stayed… all night.” Castiel whispered in awe, in a gravellier growling voice as he picked his head up from Dean’s arm. 

“Well yeah you’re like a starfish.” Dean laughed out as he set his phone, which he’d been playing on, onto the bedside. Cas had been stuck to him all night. Legs thrown over him, hands grabbing and holding on, until he’d finally gotten comfortable with one arm smushed down straight between them, one thrown across Dean’s chest with one of Dean’s legs trapped between Cas’s own, which only cause Dean to think how much a monster of a dick could seem so… cute and cuddly like a stuffed animal but it was very late when he’d thought that. 

“Oh… I’m sorry.” Cas said as he started to scootch and get away but he was stopped by Dean’s hand coming behind his neck and pulling him back down. 

“No, no, Cas. baby it was good. You’re a cuddle bug, I liked it.” Dean said with a smile and nuzzled into Cas’s disastrous looking hair. He was really hoping he wasn’t over stepping. Some guys didn’t like the… loving part. They wanted kinky sex with someone who was close enough to a girl to stave off their gay needs and then they wanted to leave. But Cas seemed… different. True and honest and and god Dean didn’t wanna feel so attached already. 

Cas looked up at him with a serious look, blue eyes sharper than cut diamond. 

“Can I come back? Can I come back and we can cuddle more?” He asked, voice heartbreakingly begging, rolling like thunder through Dean. 

“Ya know what we’re not really supposed to do this but I stopped being an official model years ago. You should have my number. Meet me for lunch sometime and we can cuddle at your place. Be more comfortable.” Dean explained as he stood up and dug through the desk for paper and a pen. It was dangerous to give Cas such a hold on himself but.. Dean couldn’t resist. He wanted Castiel. 

Castiel. 

Cas. 

God Dean was too old for crushes like this. 

“Can I make you food? Can I bake you something? I make good cookies and pies and-” Castiel started as he knelt on the edge of the bed, holding the piece of paper like it was treasure. Dean cut him off though. 

“Make me a pie and you won’t be able to get rid of me. Pies are a dangerous thing, Castiel.” Dean said and Castiel stood up and smiled, completely unbashful of how exposed he was in Dean’s wrinkled and stained slip. He stepped close to Dean and kissed him lightly. 

“I’ll make you hundreds.”

Next Chapter ->

[idiopathicsmile]

10 comebacks to a woman who once told my best friend, then a chicagoan (like i was), "i love coming to chicago because in new york i'm an 8 but in chicago i'm a 10"

"exactly, that's something i love about living here, you know? it's not as surface-oriented and shallow as some other cities. like, the culture's just a little deeper and a little smarter than in places where everyone's only concentrating on looking their best at all times, you know?"

"oh wow, you really said that with your out-loud voice, huh?"

(LAUGHTER) "yeah, you're a ten here. sure you are." (LAUGHTER)

"just wondering: in the moments before that comment left your mouth, did you take a second to imagine how we, a bunch of people who very obviously live in chicago, would react? if no, why not? if yes, what on earth did you see? please write in complete sentences in the booklet provided. you will have thirty minutes."

"my god, do you assign yourself a number comparing your appearance to the appearances of the people around you everywhere you go? you know we have a limited amount of time on this earth, right? you know that after that, we die and death is forever, right?"

"hurrah, i've done it! i've finally met the one human on the planet who is capable of objectively, correctly assessing the relative attractiveness of everyone everywhere on earth. please, oh please pray tell: what number am i? what number is he? what number is she? numbers all around, please!"

"what an exhausting way to live. what a tiring way of interacting with other people. what a dispiriting way to view the world around you, a world teeming with life and strangeness and possibility. serious question: are you alright?"

"i was going to make a crack about new yorkers being looks-obsessed, but in retrospect i have no idea why. i'm sorry. i genuinely have nothing against nyc, a location i have visited only a handful of times, including one trip to see the very person to whom you made your ill-advised remark, lo these years ago, and we had what i would call a magical time. i don't actually understand pitting one city against another. i don't understand the mentality that there must always be a ranking, must always be a competition, must always, always be a winner and a loser. also if you're a ten, everyone else here is a twelve, baby."

"on some level, i do understand that eventually this ceases to be a piece about the irritating thing a friend's work colleague once said, and instead becomes a chronicle of my own deranged inability to let a grudge go—even a petty grudge, even a second-hand grudge, even a grudge which i am again compelled to inform you saw its spark of creation multiple years and several moves ago. (neither the friend nor i live in chicago anymore.) on some level, i understand that this turning point, the moment where any sensible reader went "yikes, jess really hasn't let this go, huh?" might have happened in the very title of this post. i have never met you, woman who maybe five years ago told some chicagoans you worked with that you're an 8 in new york and a 10 in chicago. you could have changed since then. you could have grown and deepened and evolved your thinking. i do believe people are capable of learning. maybe you even remember saying it, and regret it now. maybe not. but to be honest, worse things have been said—to me, to my best friend, to everyone who has been on this planet longer than a few years. life is exhausting and scary and wonderful and we are all going to die some day. you are an adult and that means you have had hard days, hard weeks, hard years even. you have been heartbroken, and sick with worry, and you have known terror, real terror, that animal fear that crawls up the spine and screams in the brain, and yet you found it in yourself to get in a airplane and fly halfway across a large country to be here, for the sake of a job you might not even like. we are all doing the best we can. i have to believe we are all doing the best we can. i could have written this post about anything. there were near-infinite possibilities and i chose this, a mean little caricature, and in trying to paint you, only managed a quick and unflattering sketch of me, a person obsessed with being right and being clever, but who frequently is neither. again, i have never met you, and if i do meet you i will never know it, and i have spent more brain space imagining a tiny, bitter vengeance against this single-sentence quote, relayed to me at a remove, than i have spent trying to learn calculus or teaching myself to garden or volunteering at a soup kitchen. if there ever was a winner or a loser in this bizarre equation it is fully possible that i have lost, simply by trying so hard to win."

"...ok."