#cleaner wears a suit that hides all of them yes but they pretty much never lie. he is always his truest self and he can always just burn-

[buttercup-barf]

Under the cut are mostly self-insert doodles of decreasing quality. Again, not much directly tied to Team Fortress 2. Might as well toss these out while I have no access to my puter. Much yapping under the cut and in the tags incoming.

Another self-insert, this time less of a "here's me as a tenth class" and more of a "here's my game experiences translated into the class I would take the place of". The Cleaner. Although I guess they could still be wearing either suit. It doesn't matter that much.

That one Convict's Case taunt with Backup would be extremely funny, because the man would be on the verge of a breakdown (he does not want to go to jail so bad you have no idea). The second image- I owe no explanation. You know what I am. You see the pattern with my favourites.

The duality of the man. Resting face versus "just heard you express interest in religion/Russian folklore" face. He's not that hard to make friends with, when you pull him away from all the explosions.

Some doodles of trying to figure his face out. Unfortunately, the more I stare at him, the more I worry that he looks like A Certain Guy With The Last Name "Kazarin", and the fear of never being original in my life caught up to me.

Don't look at me, don't perceive me, I refuse to explain any of my actions to you.

[shadeswift99]

Team ZIT Ghostbusters AU!

Discord ideas. Of course they’re discord ideas. (paraphrased from a Discord discussion)

-  Zedaph is the one who started the ghostbusting crew. Impulse is the one who went along with it because his normal job is boring and he's had haunt-y experiences before that he wants to confirm were real. Tango is the guy who didn't believe at all but they dragged him along because he's the only one with a car

- Tango keeps somehow missing any and all real ghost encounters (”Come on man, you HAD to have seen that!” “I was in the bathroom!”)

- The few ghost encounters he actually has. he still manages to excuse as something else for a really long time (”Jerk in a costume” “Weather balloon” “Firework show gone wrong” “Hallucination” “Water reflection”, etc.)

- He eventually has to admit that ghosts are real, but he keeps up the bit with the others because he thinks it’s funny

- the others start to wonder why he’s so dedicated to convincing them that ghosts aren’t real in spite of their very real encounters. They start to wonder if Tango himself is a ghost

- He is not. Hilarity ensues

- Zed and Impulse start setting ghost traps around the office, but the ever-oblivious Tango keeps accidentally avoiding them. Zed and Impulse then activate them themselves while looking for flaws in the design.

-  About two thirds of their calls are just old people who are freaked out and kinda lonely, they're good at reassuring them and "thoroughly checking" for any “ghosts” to put them at ease

-  Beetlejhost was one of these calls, it was supposed to be nothing! They were convinced it was nothing! And it was nothing, until Tango and Impulse went into the hall for their customary "check" and got insulted up and down by a nerd-looking guy in a striped suit.They like to think they let him come with them, but really, he just wouldn't leave. He is Weirdly resistant to all their ghostbusting measures

- Eventually they just stop trying to get rid of him

-  Zed and impulse eventually ask him if Tango is a ghost, he gives an incredibly cryptic answer that those two interpret as a yes

-  The eventual confrontation about Tango's theoretical ghost-ness starts out ridiculous, but gets more serious. Impulse and Zedaph start listing the reasons why they think he's a ghost - he's weirdly insistent that ghosts aren't real, he hasn't told them anything about his life, they never really see him arrive or leave from the office...eventually Tango kind of snaps and shouts at them that he's not a ghost! He just doesn't have many other places to go, okay? They don't bring it up again

-  However. There are a few weird things around the office that they cite as evidence that Tango can't explain. He didn't open that door that they always leave closed. He couldn't have boiled water in the kettle that's been broken for six months. He isn't the reason why their reflection in every mirror is wearing a different facial expression than they are.

- They would suspect the Beetlejhost, but the strangeness started long before he got there

-  They bought the office for cheap because nobody else would buy it. The story is that the landlord was murdered there a decade ago, and he still hasn't left the place, making sure all of the new tenants are treating it well and punishing them if they don't. The three didn't really put much stock in that. It's a myth, right? Urban legend. Happens all the time. Surely the ripped and slightly bloodied vest they found in the attic has a perfectly reasonable and natural explanation.

- Honestly, their resident ghost buddies (both known and unknown) are probably the only reason they haven’t been attacked by ghosts in their own office yet. As annoying as they can be, they make pretty good protection from incorporeal intruders.

- “Ghosts try to fuck with them and are met with a ripped dude and a nerd in a suit, both looking quite angry”

-  They only really realize that the Beetlejhost isn't the only ghostly officemate when large amounts of their post-mission pizza start disappearing

-  Impulse starts "accidentally" leaving things out just to see what happens to them. He leaves out a Rubix cube to see if it's solved by the morning. It isn't, but it has been thrown out the window.

-  Skizz has never had to learn how to physically appear before. He's never really wanted to. The living world kind of screwed him over, so he doesn't feel like he owes them anything other than ominously lurking just beyond the mortal plane. However, to these people, he kind of thinks he might want to make himself known. They seem...okay. Ish. Maybe. No promises.

- Maybe at first, he just talks (suddenly, in the middle of the night, in a way that just about gives Impulse a heart attack of course)

- Eventually, the Beetlejhost teaches him how to make himself visible. (Of course he knew Skizz was there the whole time)

-  He still mostly keeps to himself - not used to being friendly yet - but when he does choose to show up to team game night, an extra bit of company is always welcome. (plus it's someone to keep the Beetlejhost from cheating by phasing through the table and looking at the cards)

-  Beetlejhost comes with them on missions, but Skizz is more or less bound to the building

-  The Beetlejhost usually just sings and/or laughs at them, but he's gotten them out of a good few tight spots on occasion with Ghost Negotiations. After all, he doesn’t really want them to get hurt

-  As distant and mischievous as Skizz can be, really, he doesn't want them to get hurt either. They take good care of the building and they're the first real friends he's had in 15 years so why would he want them gone? So, he does his part to help them whenever he can

-  One time one of the more dangerous ghosts decided that possessing Impulse was a good idea. They subdued him and took him back to the office to figure out what to do with him, but they didn't have to. Skizz basically just yelled at the ghost until it left.

- Speaking of possessed, Tango has a strange talent for coming under the control of ghostly forces. Usually it’s pretty easy to get the ghost to leave, though, so it’s okay - and hey, at least it left him with some nifty red eyes!

- And yes, Tango does get possessed when he still thinks ghosts aren’t real. And no, that does not convince him.

- He has to wear sunglasses sometimes so they don’t get kicked out of places, but he usually just lets the eyes show and becomes the most badass person in the Walmart

- Zedaph and Tango try to ask Skizz how he died sometimes. It’s a bit of a touchy subject, but of course he chooses humour instead of just saying that. Zed and Tango continue to insist that “saw your mom’s face and died from shock and horror” isn’t a valid death explaination

- Skizz doesn’t want to talk about his death because he was killed by someone he trusted. A "friend" did something bad and wanted to use Skizz's place to hide from the cops, but Skizz didn't agree and didn't want that on his hands. He tried to convince the friend that if he turned himself in he would get a lighter sentence, but the friend killed him in anger. Notice how I said earlier that the crew are the first real friends he's had in 15 years, but he's only been dead for 10

-  Skizz isn't really interested in getting that person caught, he just wants to make sure nobody uses his place for bad stuff after he died. That’s his unfinished business.

-  Of course, the crew sometimes gets called in to take care of things that are not, in fact, ghosts, to varying results. One time a guy (whose name might have been Mumbo) called them in to ghost-vacuum his living roommate (who might be called Grian) who was just being annoying. They didn’t, of course, but only because Impulse said it would be wrong. Their other roommate (Iskall) gave them a tip and apologized for his idiot besties

- While they didn't vacuum Grian, Zed and Tango are still curious about what happens if they vacuum a living person

- Tango now has to figure out how to delicately and calmly phrase "Skizz please help oh god Zed's soul is stuck in the vacuum cleaner"

Please feel free to send me questions, I am enjoying this way more than I should be :)

[intergalactic-zoo]

I'll give one thing to DC Comics Skeletor: he's a quicker study than the animated version.

Turns out that searching for the Power Sword and trying to take Grayskull hasn't been working, so Skeletor decides to kidnap the Sorceress Goddess and make He-Man find the Power Sword instead.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Masters of the Universe #1 came out in August, 1982, the month after the Preview insert. Paul Kupperberg returns as writer, with George Tuska on pencilling duties. Mini-storybooks artist Alfredo Alcala is back to ink the first two issues, with Rodin Rodriguez taking over in #3. Adam Kubert and Ben Oda are our letterers, and Adrienne Roy and Anthony Tollin are the colorists. Getting Alcala back, even just for inks, really does make a difference; he brings a Prince Valiant quality to Tuska’s pencils in the first issues, which is lost a bit in Rodriguez’s cleaner style. Tuska definitely feels more suited to this setting than Curt Swan did; much as I love Swan, this era of Masters of the Universe really lives in a more brutal, Conan-inspired place than what would come later, and that’s just not what Swan’s classic superheroic style is best at.

Our story begins at another party, where Prince Adam is continuing with that playboy lifestyle, though we get explicit confirmation that this is at least in part an act.

I think this is a really interesting hook for the character, even if it clearly wasn’t very sustainable for a children’s property, particularly one as beset by watchdog groups as Masters of the Universe. The alter ego with a different personality from the hero is nothing new in superhero comics, and we’ve even seen characters like Batman playing the carefree Casanova, but Adam feels a little distinct here, characterized closer to Johnny Storm than Bruce Wayne. Usually the immature, impulsive character who’s always thinking about the opposite sex is played straight, as character flaws that the hero genuinely needs to overcome; it's less common to make those the hallmarks of his secret identity.

Adam gets attacked by demons in his bedroom, and finds Cringer when he hides under the bed, which is a solid gag. We never do find out what the demons were doing there. They rush off to the Goddess's magic cavern, where they are transformed—but find Skeletor instead of the Goddess (who is occasionally also called the Sorceress in the story). Skeletor has imprisoned her, and will only release her if He-Man retrieves the Power Sword for him, which the Goddess has hidden away. In order to find the sword He-Man will need to find three talismans (talismen?) representing the sea, the sky, and the cosmos. 

It's a fetch quest to start the fetch quest. Not the most auspicious start to a series. Or end to one.

He-Man returns to the palace, where we get confirmation of something that fans have always speculated about: do He-Man and Prince Adam really look that similar? In the DC Universe, the answer appears to be yes:

It also plays into a longtime fan theory that Queen Marlena knows Adam's secret. Now that he's back to the palace, He-Man seeks help from the palace wizard, Tarrak, who is being attacked by demons himself! 

He-Man, Teela—wearing for this issue only a sword-and-sorcery standard metal bikini—Battle Cat, and Man-at-Arms manage to defeat the demons, but not before they take the cosmos talisman. Meanwhile, the Bird-People of Avion are attacked by a squad of Beastmen, who are after the sky talisman, which Stratos wears. Stratos seeks help from He-Man, and with Tarrak's assistance, the heroes set off to find the other two talismans. 

This specific outfit and pose feels so familiar.

He-Man and Battle Cat head into the jungle, where they meet a clan of barbarians that He-Man has encountered before, in what feels like a nod to his classic origins. He-Man once helped them battle a sexy evil wizard named Damon.

The barbarians know where the cosmos talisman is, but before they can retrieve it, the group is attacked by demons again. He-Man takes the talisman, and is transported away. 

Out in the Sea of Blackness, Man-at-Arms, Teela, and Stratos are looking for the sea talisman, which is being held by the Mer-People. Fortunately, Tarrak gave them potions so they could breathe underwater. Mer-Man leads a fight against them, because this version also has ambitions of his own, until Skeletor pulls a Darth Vader from a distance. Teela is less than grateful, so Skeletor leaves them to the mercies of the Mer-People.

Just going to admire how great Skeletor looks in that first panel for awhile.

But Stratos claims the sea talisman just in time, and the whole crew is transported into a Steve Ditko drawing. 

They get attacked by demons again, but are saved by Zodac, who refuses to give them any information about the person sending the demons, but a page later we learn that it's the wizard Damon, who wants the Power Swords so he can control Eternia, not that dimensional-carpetbagging wizard-come-lately Skeletor. He's gotten considerably less sexy and more...problematic since that brief appearance in the previous issue. 

Seriously, he looks like the antisemitic caricature from that Carman video. He also happens to be right next to where the Goddess stored the two halves of the Power Sword, but they're in an impenetrable force field, which is not mentioned again. 

Zodac uses the talismans to open a portal to the Sword's location (sort of?) and then gives them to Zoar the poorly-drawn falcon before sending the heroes on their way. 

Feels like the reference got away from you a bit.

Meanwhile, Damon decides to tip his hand by attacking Skeletor, who lashes out with magic that is strong enough to teleport them both into Castle Grayskull, just as Damon had planned. But in a pretty great moment of both villains trying to two-steps-ahead each other, that was all part of Skeletor's plan, and he apparently kills Damon. 

These comics go pretty hard for stuff that was based on toys for babies.

Also, this happened earlier in the issue.

The heroes also end up in Castle Grayskull, which is apparently where the Power Sword is, even though we already saw Damon with the Power Sword before he was able to access Castle Grayskull.

You and me both, He-Man. The heroes split up to search the castle. Stratos gets caught in a giant spiderweb, Man-at-Arms gets blown up by a tripwire, and Teela ends up in a hedge maze until she stumbles on Skeletor, who pulls the Power Sword out of a magic warp. 

He-Man shows up shortly after, but Skeletor sends Beast-Man (singular) and a monsterized Man-E-Faces (who was briefly introduced earlier in this third issue) against the hero. Eventually He-Man, Teela, and Zoar get the sword away from Skeletor, and then the Goddess appears to say "actually I wasn't in any danger, but your friends are all caught in booby traps." The End. 

What an absolutely bizarre miniseries. It feels like it was initially intended to be four issues and cut down to three, but that change had to be made before the first issue—with its "Mini-Series 1 of 3" banner—went to the printers. The promotional push makes it seem like DC was intending to do a lot more than three comics and a handful of mini-comics. Editor Dave Manak speculated that there might have been an issue with contract negotiations, but I'd be really interested if there's a clearer answer. Every aspect of the DC Masters of the Universe license feels abnormally cut off, right down to the end of this story. 

Whatever the reasons were, this would be the last full-sized Masters of the Universe comic from DC for almost 30 years. Next time we'll pick up with the Marvel/Star Comics. 

[orange-waterfalls]

I'm Havin' Feelings Fer Ye

Captain Magnum x gender neutral!reader

@lovefor-xreaders ty for the prompt!

A/N: Guess who has no life and wrote an entire 2,000 word fanfic all in one day? THIS ASSHOLE! im so fucking bored guys, please, this is all I have. Send prompts. Uh... Rated T for cursing and violence. I think mostly angst, fluff at the end.

Word Count: 2.3k

--

You danced around the ship with some of the other crewmates to shanties the captain sang. You found treasure! You actually found treasure! You had honestly expected to die at some point… but you didn't! And you found treasure! That was wonderful! You were starting to think the heist wasn't such a bad idea! Even though Mark's… gone… you'd be alright! You had treasure! You'd be alright…

Captain Magnum watched you as you danced around, a smile present on your face. It made him feel all weird inside… he'd lived long enough to know what love feels like… probably. This was not it… he didn't think… he honestly didn't know. But when he watched you spin and kick your feet and laugh… he felt real happy…

You danced for a while before you eventually got tired and sat down, panting. The captain and the crew were messing with the treasure. Picking it up and letting it fall back into the chest, examining it, biting it…

These people were weird…

You held out your hands for your share of the treasure, since you were being patient. He looked to you and set a small coin in your hand, curling your fingers and patting them. You squinted at him, wondering if he's actually serious. He seemed to be, since he headed to his quarters immediately after. You frowned, looking at the coin. You'd talk to him about that later…

Captain Magnum felt a bit bad about only giving you a coin. What else was he supposed to do? You might've left if he gave you more treasure! He couldn't have that! Then again… that seemed a bit manipulative… eh, you'd be fine. He sat down in his chair and thought about you.

You were an enigma to him.

He'd felt this way before… but it was so… prominent this time… why was he so fond of you? It's not like you were special! You just had beautiful skin and sparkly eyes and the most stunning smile he'd ever seen and...

Goddamnit, he was in love…

He sighed, wondering what he was going to do about this, when he heard a sharp knock at his door. He jumped a bit, not expecting anybody since it was pretty late. He stood up and walked over, opening the door. You were standing there with your arms crossed. He was going to greet you, but you looked pissed. He wondered why. Then, you held up the coin.

"Are you kidding?" You asked accusingly. "I'm your first mate, you trust me enough to choose where we go, and you give me this bullshit?" You started walking towards him. Despite the height difference, he felt a bit intimidated by you. He stepped back.

"Listen, I be th' cap'n. I already told ye, me share be more fair than others," he stated. You glared at him and he felt his stomach drop. "Ye knew wha' ye were gettin' into, ye can nah be angry," he crossed his arms. You sighed.

"Fine. Whatever," you mumbled as you left the cabin. He opened his mouth to apologize, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth again. You were already gone anyway. Nothing he could do about it now. He'd get some sleep and you'd be fine in the morning.

--

It had been a few days since you found the treasure. You weren't talking to Magnum. He kept glancing at you as you were swabbing the deck. Your smile was replaced with a frown. It was less of an angry frown and more of a sad frown, but it made him feel just as bad. He waited a while to talk to you because he didn't want to mess it up. He eventually decided that it was a good enough time to do so, and he walked over to you.

"Mornin', first mate! How did ye sleep?" He asked. You paused for a moment, but you didn't answer. "Uh... 'twas a bit windy last night, huh? Glad we got all th' loot inside..." you still didn't look up, but your frown got tighter. He patted his hands on his legs and sucked in a breath. "Wonderful weather we be havin'?" You finally stopped mopping and turn to him.

"What do you want?" You asked, exasperated. He frowned.

"Are ye okay? Ye seem upset…" he commented.

"Oh, no yeah I'm totally fine!" You scoffed. "My best friend's dead, the guy who killed him won't even bother giving me any sort of compensation, I may never see my family or friends again, but sure I'm fine." You stated, mopping vigorously. Magnum sighed and looked at your face. You looked like you were on the verge of tears. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the right words.

"I... I be sorry. I'll give ye more treasure if... If ye promise ye won't weigh anchor…" he finally managed. You stopped and turned to him slowly. His eyes widened. "No, no, no! Ye... I didn'... um…" he gulped as you raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh-huh. Go on. I'm waiting." You demanded. He took a deep breath.

"I... I find ye endearin'... 'n I wants ye t' stay... wit' me... specifically." He said. Your face softened a bit, to his joy. He smiled.

"I… have people back home." You said. His smile fell. "I can't just… leave and… not tell them anything…"

"Then tell 'em! Write 'em a letter or somethin'! That would be fine!" He said desperately.

"What am I supposed to say? "Hey, guys! I eloped with a 7 foot tall pirate and am now sailing the seven seas as his first mate"?"

"...yes?" He said, unsure. You sighed and looked down. He held his breath, waiting for whatever you were going to say next.

"What am I supposed to tell his family?" You asked softly. He took a deep breath.

"I... I dunno. 'n... I be mighty, mighty sorry about wha' I did t' yer friend... But... I... I be... I reckon I be in love wit' ye…" he said shakily. You looked up at him, your eyes widened. You could see a tint of red on his suntanned cheeks. He avoided your eyes for a bit before you chuckled. He looked at you. You smiled at him warmly. He returned it.

"I…" you began, blushing. You were cut off by the sound of a cannon.

"Avast! Prepare to be boarded!" A voice boomed from above.

"Oh, God, not again," you whined. Magnum reached out to put a hand on your shoulder, but another cannonball whizzed past you two, making you fall in different directions.

"Ye hide. I'll take care o' this," he instructed. He unsheathed his sword as you hid behind a nearby barrel, watching him to see if he'd need any assistance.

"Who be thar? Show yourself, yellow-bellied cur!" He yelled. You blinked, processing what he said. "Yellow-bellied cur". Huh. That was new. You heard wood creaking behind you and ducked further behind the barrel. You slowly rose and saw a man standing in from of Magnum. He was taller than you and had an average build, and was wearing a pirate outfit. His clothes looked… cleaner and more fancy than Magnum's. He was holding a sword and had a peg leg.

"Who are ye callin' a yellow-bellied cur?" He said in a low, rough voice.

"Obviously you, shitlord!" You said, quickly covering your mouth with your hand afterwards. The man turned and looked at you. He raised an eyebrow, smirking. You suddenly felt… violated.

"Well, well, well. Wha' 'ave we here?" He chuckled. "I may jus' keep ye fer meself." You laid your hand on a revolver.

Magnum tightened his fist around the hilt of his sword and swung. The man blocked it and stumbled back.

"Ye lay a hand on them, ye're dead." He growled. The man smirked and tried to jab at his side. Magnum managed to block it in time. The two captains went on sword fighting for a couple minutes while you stayed behind the barrell. The other man's crew was on the ship fighting the rest of yours. You felt a bit useless, so you grabbed the revolver and aimed towards the other pirates. You grazed two in their legs, and nailed one in the shoulder. You lost track of Captain Magnum after a while. While you looked for him, you heard something land behind you. You yelped and spun around, seeing the invading captain.

"Ahoy thar, darlin'," he smirked at you. You held the revolver up to aim at him. He scoffed. "C'mon, darlin'. Thar's no needs fer that. I won't hurt ye… Much."

"Go fuck yourself," you snarled.

"Such naughty language fer such a sweet thin'." He laughed. "I'll 'ave fun wit' ye."

"Oh, yeah, that doesn't sound creepy at all. Great," You sighed. He took a step towards you and you cock the gun. "Don't move, asshole." You warned.

"Oh, come on now." He chuckled. "We both know ye're too soft t' shoot me. So, why don't ye-" You shoot. The bullet hits him in the side. His eyes widened as he stared at you in disbelief.

"Something about me, captain," you set the gun down and walked over to him as he fell to the floor. "My best friend is dead. I'm feeling a bit pissed. And I have shot a man before." You got on one knee and leaned down next to his ear. "I'm not as soft as I look." You stood back up and walked back to the middle of the deck.

Captain Magnum was frantically walking around. The crew looked okay, so you sighed. The captain heard and spun towards you. He smiled widely as he ran over and enveloped you in a hug.

"Oh, thank Poseidon. Ye're okay. If I had lost ye I... I... I dunno wha' I'd do!" He stammered, petting your head. "Ye're okay, right?" You smiled and hugged him back.

"I'm alright, Captain," You whispered. He sighed and held you for a while before the previous first mate cleared his throat.

"'tis real touchin' 'n all, but we should prolly repair th' ship." He suggested. Magnum turned to him, glaring.

"Ye interrupted a bondin' moment t' tell me that?" He glowered. You bit your lip to keep from laughing. The crewmate opened his mouth to respond, but almost immediately closed it and started picking up pieces of wood. The other crewmates followed suit.

"We should help them," you declared. Magnum looked at you, his eyebrows knitted together.

"But do we 'ave t'?" He asked hopefully. You smiled and pulled away from him. Despite wearing a couple layers, he could feel the absence of your warmth. He sighed and helped clean up.

--

It took a while, but you all managed to clean up the deck. You'd probably need to buy more wood to repair the boat, but you figured it'd be fine. It was dark now and everyone had retired to their quarters. Except for you. You sat on the deck, staring up at the stars. Magnum left his quarters to check on you. He got worried when he saw you weren't asleep. He walked over to you, ruining the mood a bit with how loud he was. He dropped next to you with a loud creak of the floor. You didn't look at him.

"Ahoy," he greeted.

"Hi," you responded bluntly. You both sat there for a moment while he came up with things to say.

"Are ye okay?"

"Yep."

"Okay. That be good." Silence. "Wha' are ye doin'?"

"Just… stargazing."

"Okay. Why?"

"Felt like it."

"Oh." More silence. "Are ye thinkin' about 'im?"

"Yes."

"Do ye want t' talk about 'im?"

"No. Not tonight. Maybe another time."

"Ok... 'tis a tad cold tonight."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Me cabin be th' warmest... If ye... Wanted t' sleep in thar... Wit' me... That would be alright…" You whipped you head towards him surprised. He noticed your panic. "Or not! That be fine too! I understand. Sorry fer botherin'. Goodnight!" He started to stand up, but you took his hand. He looked at your interlocked hands, flushed, then back at you.

"That would… that'd be fine." You said shakily. "I just… want to stay out here a bit longer."

"Ok," He nodded and plopped back down. You retracted your hand and tucked your knees to your chest, looking back up. He continued to look at you for a second, smiling, before looking back up. You chuckled.

"He loved space…"

--

Captain Magnum could listen to you talk for hours. You start talking about stars, then about Mark, then you get to talking about your other friends and family. He listened to everything you said because he knew it was important to you. You started to yawn after 45 minutes and you leaned on his arm. He froze in place, not wanting to bother you. Eventually, he looked down at you to see if you were asleep. Once he confirmed you were, he effortlessly lifted you up and carried you to his cabin. He gently set you on the large, warm bed. He wasn't planning on getting on it with you. You weren't there yet. You hadn't even told him you loved him back. He couldn't in good conscience get into a bed with you. He sat in his chair and looked at you. You were so…

"Gorgeous," he said under his breath. You cracked an eye open.

"Right back at you," you slurred. He blushed. You held out your arms. "Come into bed," he blushed deeper.

"No, I don't reckon I should…" He tried to say. You whined and he just couldn't. He stood up and carefully climbed into the bed with you, making sure to keep a bit of space between you two. That was pointless because you immediately turned over and snuggled into his chest. He gently moved his arms to embrace you tightly. He set a small kiss to your head and just lied there, wanting to treasure this moment.

Your eyes closed again as you heard him say "I love you". You smiled.

"I love you, too."

If I didn't say it before SEND PROMPTS

[florbexter]

Hiii, sorry if I’m making you do more than you should but pretty please, can you write a small one shot of Shaofei returning the tie (the one that wrapped his wound) to Tangyi and Tangyi wears it out for the day?

Hey! Thank you so much for your prompt! I totally forgot about the tie but you’re right, he should have given Tang Yi the tie back! And I see Shao Fei as someone who would have done that :D 

It took me a long while to write this but now it’s part of the March Madness Collection and I hope you’ll like this ^.^

Tied up in knots | AO3 link

Shao Feihad been to five dry cleaners with the tie. He had left the first three withouttelling them what he wanted them to clean. He had no idea why. He was a cop. Itwouldn’t be too weird for him to have blood on a piece of clothing…

He had leftthe fourth cleaning business because a little child had stood beside the woman,looking at him with big eyes, hiding behind the counter. Shao Fei had tried toexplain what had happened (and he had no idea why he had the need to justifyhimself) but his eyes had wandered to the child all the time and then he hadleft. 

Should heeven clean the tie and give it back to Tang Yi? Tang Yi had a suit shop. Itwasn’t irrational to assume that he had a big pile of ties. Would he evennotice this very tie was missing? 

The oldlady in the fifths dry cleaning store had taken one look at it, had snatched itout of Shao Fei’s hand and had said: “Blood, right? I can get the stains out inthree days. Cash only!”

Shao Feihad not dared to disagree, so he had been back in three days and paid for thecleaned tie. And it was clean, as far as he could tell. It was black, so hehadn’t really seen the bloodstains in the first place but Tang Yi had carriedhim down the mountain to safety and had made sure that he was taken care off inthe hospital so the least Shao Fei could do was to give him back a cleantie. 

He lookeddown at it in the little plastic wrap and felt silly. Zhao Zi had said to justbuy Tang Yi a new one. 

“Whatever,”Shao Fei mumbled and threw it on the passenger seat of his car and tried to getall the weird thoughts out of his head. It laid there for over a week and everytime he climbed in his car, he saw the tie and shook his head and didn’t knowwhy he wouldn’t drive to Tang Yi’s shop or office or home to just throw the tieat him? He had thought about holding it hostage until Tang Yi told him whathappened four years ago, but he was relatively sure that that would be thefirst time Tang Yi would openly laugh at him. Not just a smirk but a full-onbelly laugh. It was almost tempting for that sight alone…

“Again… avery weird thought,” he said to his steering wheel after he wanted to driveaway from a witness interview. Tang Yi’s shop wasn’t far away so maybe he couldjust give his store manager the tie? She already knew him. She was the one whohad measured his body so they could rip him off a little fortune. He still hadno idea what to do with the suit he had bought. The captain had forbidden himto annoy Tang Yi at his home or office anyway so what choices did he have?

The emptyparking spot in front of the shop was like a sign and he stopped questioninghimself and entered the store. 

It alwaysfelt like time worked differently in Tang Yi’s shop. It felt old, but moreancient then outdated and Shao Fei felt out of place. He never liked chasingTang Yi down to this shop. Or maybe it was because of all these expensive suitsand how they didn’t really seem to fit him. 

“OfficerMeng.” The store manager bowed in greeting and smiled politely. Shao Fei wasconvinced that her smile became more and more strained the more he visited, andhe was secretly pleased about it. She could strangle him with her measuringtape, he was sure of it, but annoyed people tend to snap at some point andsnapping meant saying things they don’t want to say… he firmly believed thatshe knew more about Tang Yi and his ‘real’ business than she let one. Maybe oneday she would crack. 

He smiledhis most polite smile and offered her the tie. 

“I justwanted to bring this back. Your boss lent it to me.”

She lookedat him for a moment and he felt a bit silly thrusting out the tie to her. 

“I broughtit to a dry cleaner first of course. It’s clean now.”

“What isclean now, Officer Meng?”

Shao Fei andthe store manager turned around in unison to Tang Yi, and Shao Fei may havelaughed at the synchronicity of their movement if Tang Yi’s appearance hadn’tmade him a bit speechless. He had been so sure that Tang Yi wouldn’t be in hisstore today. Did he have his timetable wrong? It was Thursday morning… hewasn’t supposed to be here! 

He openedhis mouth to say something, to ask Tang Yi why he wasn’t at the Metro BusinessHotel, but Tang Yi made a gesture with his hand and the store managerdisappeared on light feet. In his head, Shao Fei had given the tie to her andleft and now he was standing in front of Tang Yi, who wore a black tie with acrisp white button-down, less colourful and less patterned than he was familiarwith and he felt really silly with the tie in his hand. 

“It’s a bitearly for one of your delightful interrogations,” Tang Yi drawled and theeyebrow he raised was blatantly mocking Shao Fei. They hadn’t seen each othersince they had tried to flee from the mountain and Shao Fei had a bit of aproblem matching the Tang Yi he knew and had chased for more than four yearswith the Tang Yi he had met in the little abandoned house next to a fire. Itwas like trying to fit two cut-outs over another until you must admit that youcan’t move the scissor the exact same way twice. 

“Your tie,”Shao Fei said instead of the questions he really wanted to ask, like, how TangYi had been if he slept better and why he wouldn’t talk to Shao Fei!?

“It’sclean, obviously.” 

Shao Feiprided himself in knowing Tang Yi’s micro-expressions but maybe it was hisfluttering heart making it impossible to read Tang Yi’s mimic. There was a rushin his ears, and it got worse because Tang Yi stepped closer and took the tieout of his hand.

Shao Feiwas someone who ripped up packages and presents. Tang Yi, apparently, needed totake his time opening the little plastic bag the tie was wrapped in. He foldedthe tie out and the fabric slid through his fingers making Shao Fei feel likehe was seeing something obscene. His chest felt tight with some unnamedemotion, or better, an emotion he couldn’t stop feeling since their night inthe mountains. 

Shao Feiwanted to say something, anything, but he could just stand there and watch asTang Yi opened the tie he already wore and put on the other one. He didn’t evenneed a mirror; his fingers unknotted the old one with deft movements and heknotted up the new on even faster. 

Shao Feiblinked and blinked because there was no space between them to look anywhereelse and if he would take a step back, he would be enfolded by a rack of suits.Why was this store so small? Why was Tang Yi changing ties? Why was he notfinding words? He was good at talking! He knew how to avoid silence withmindless chatter and…

“Thank youfor bringing the tie back,” Tang Yi said and then he flattened the tie on hisbody with his hand and who did that? Shao Fei wanted to throw up his arms inconfusion.

“You’rewelcome, I mean… that’s the least I could do. It’s your tie, it was my fault itgot blood on it, wasn’t it? You carried me down the mountain and got me intothe hospital and…”

“How’s yourwound?”

“What?”Shao Fei had talked himself in a kind of frenzy and had thought his last wordscould be something like ‘however, have a nice day, bye’ and he could leavethis very confusing situation, but Tang Yi didn’t get the memo.

Shao Feitouched his right arm as if he had to remind himself that yes, he had a woundthere. He had a bandage over it during the day so it wouldn’t tear open. 

“It’s okay.It’s almost healed. The stitches are out, and it looks good, I guess.” 

“I’m glad,”Tang Yi said. 

“You’reglad?”

“You soundsurprised? Do you think I want my favourite policeman injured, OfficerMeng?” 

“Yourfavourite…? Are you mocking me?”

There was agrin hiding in the corner of Tang Yi’s mouth and Shao Fei had the sudden urgeto hunt it until it became a full-fledged smile. The more he thought about it,the more he looked past the case of Li Zhen, the more he realised how much ofhis urge to chase Tang Yi was because of the man himself and not because of the knowledge he had.

It was anunsettling thought.

Tang Yididn’t seem to notice that his person was about to claim every thought in ShaoFei’s mind. He just stepped closer, closed the distance between them and ShaoFei took a step back.

“What Ialways wondered”, Tang Yi said, and Shao Fei felt the suits touching his back.

Normally,Shao Fei was the one getting up into other people’s spaces. It was a greatintimidation tactic and he had the feeling he got a good grasp on what anervous gulp, the widening of pupils or the thrumming of a pulse under the skinmeant. He had no problem breathing down someone’s neck and it was a biteye-opening to see how it felt when he wasn’t the one initiating theclose-up. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had stepped back froma suspect.

“I alwayswondered,” Tang Yi said and suddenly his fingers were around the collar of ShaoFei’s denim jacket, pulling at the material. “Why don’t you have a dress codeas detectives? You run around in uniforms otherwise but the moment you getpromoted it doesn’t matter anymore? Your appearance?”

There wasthe light touch of Tang Yi’s finger on his neck and Shao Fei felt it all theway down in his stomach. A buzzing feeling spread through his whole body. Heknew he was being insulted, but Tang Yi stayed way too close and his eyes,deep and dark, travelled from Shao Fei’s jacket to his own hand as if it wasfascinating what his fingers were doing.

Shao Feiswallowed.

A phone wasringing and destroyed whatever spell Tang Yi had woven around them. Shao Feiwasn’t even sure what he had said to escape the situation or if he had justfled without a word, but he found himself back in his car with a wild poundingheart and a dry throat. He raised his own hand to touch the patch of skin TangYi had… caressed. There was no other word for it. It hadn’t been anaccidental touch.

He wasflustered about it he realized and with a groan, he put his head against thesteering wheel.

+++

“Is everythingalright?”

Shao Feiblinked and looked up at Yu Qi who frowned in concern at the chocolate wrappersdecorating most of his desk. He was a stress eater.

It wasjust a tie, hewanted to say to her.

He lookedback at the document open on his computer and saw that he had written tiein the report about an attempted robbery.

“Just a bittired,” he said and closed the file. It was almost the end of his shift, but itfelt like he had been awake for days. Had the encounter with Tang Yi reallyhappened this morning?

“I thinkI’m going home for today.” Yu Qi smiled at him and nodded in agreement. Shetook the files he had worked on and dumbed them on Zhao Zi’s desk.

“Take agood rest,” she said cheerfully and now he had no choice but to shut down hiscomputer and take his jacket. Suddenly he stood outside of the building andlooked up at the darkening sky. The weather was still pleasant, and he thoughtabout taking a stroll through the market a few streets over when he saw afamiliar figure at the edge of his vision.

Shao Feiwas devoted to his work. He knew that and the emotional shortcomings he hadrelated to that. Sometimes it took him a long time to realize what was goingon, but he was quick to accept those feelings because why dwell on somethinghis heart knew all along?

Realizingthat everything wasn’t as black and white as he had thought took time and, ashe now grasped, also a bit of pain. He massaged the skin above his heart andknew that he could decide. He could ignore Tang Yi leaning against his car orhe could walk up to him.

He stillwore the tie.

“OfficerMeng,” Tang Yi said as Shao Fei approached, and it sounded more like a pet namethan an insult. It started an ache in Shao Fei’s stomach.

There wasno one around besides them and the sinking sun highlighted Tang Yi’s hair andmade his eyes shine. Was he now allowed to think about how breathtakinglybeautiful Tang Yi was?

“What can Ido for you Tang Yi?”, Shao Fei asked.  

“Today ismy birthday,” Tang Yi said, and Shao Fei blinked. Oh… Oh, he knew that.He opened his mouth to say, ‘Happy Birthday’ but Tang Yi interrupted himbefore he could: “And I have a wish.”

It feltlike he was finally able to see as if there had been a veil over his eyes andTang Yi’s little touch, had lifted it. Shao Fei could see the want in Tang Yi’seyes, even though his face was as impassive as ever. Had he always wanted ShaoFei that way? The thought made him breathless.

“Okay,”Shao Fei said easily and didn’t hesitate as Tang Yi opened the car door forhim.

They endedup in a little apartment. A secret hiding? A safe house? Shao Fei knew thatTang Yi lived in a big mansion on the outskirt of Taipei, but he wouldn’t askif this was a lover’s nest rented for the purpose of one-night stands.

Was he aone-night stand? Shao Fei didn’t do casual. He had no idea how to be casual.

Shao Feihovered in the hallway and watched as Tang Yi slipped out of his suit jacket,hanging it, like the neat freak he probably was, on a coat rack. Shao Feislipped out of his shoes and had the urge to kick them in a corner.

“I didn’tknow about this apartment,” he blurred out and thankfully Tang Yi just smiledat him.

“No onebesides me knows about it,” he answered and helped Shao Fei out of his jacket.

“Not evenHong Ye?” Shao Fei doubted that those two did anything without informing theother.

Tang Yilaughed soundlessly and tilted his head. It made him look young and mischievousand it threw Shao Fei off a little bit. Sometimes he forgot that Tang Yi wastwo years younger than him.

They stoodclose now.

Shao Feisaw how Tang Yi scanned his face with his eyes and even though Shao Fei gotinto his car and followed him to this apartment, he still seemed to think theball was in Shao Fei’s court.

Was he supposedto say it out loud? That he was ready for whatever they were going to do here?Of course, he wasn’t ready, but he was willing to fake his confidence until heknew how to stop his heart from bursting out of his chest. He bit his lips andhis eyes travelled down from Tang Yi’s face to his neck down his chest.

The tie wasstill around Tang Yi’s collar.

Shao Feitook it and caressed the fabric. It was nice, he had to admit and with his eyesstubbornly on the task at hand, he loosened the knot. It opened quickly and ashe pulled the two strands apart his eyes fell to the skin above his fingers,still hidden by the collar of Tang Yi’s shirt. He put one finger against TangYi’s neck and smiled helplessly as he felt his racing pulse.

“Happybirthday,” he said and felt a heavy surge of arousal and confidence as he sawand felt Tang Yi swallow. Tang Yi’s pupils were blown wide open when Shao Feilooked back at him.

He grabbedTang Yi’s face and kissed him.

There was asoftness to Tang Yi’s lips he hadn’t expected, and he chased it frantically.Tang Yi’s hands slipped under his shirt and gosh he hadn’t known. Why hadn’t heknown?

It was alearning curve to kiss Tang Yi and he hesitantly tried to deepen the kiss,licking at Tang Yi’s upper lip, biting and sucking until Tang Yi moaned andShao Fei felt his fingers tighten on his skin. This was good, he thoughtdizzyingly as Tang Yi put kisses on his jawline up to his ear and Shao Feiburied his fingers in Tang Yi’s hair, when Tang Yi bit him playful in one earlobe.So good.

And he feltpowerful. Not in a way as if he suddenly had the upper hand on Tang Yi, but ina way that made him realize how big his heart could feel. He felt powerful andscared and vulnerable. Tang Yi undressed him and that was another kind ofvulnerability. He buried his face in Tang Yi’s neck and tried to hide from histhoughts and Tang Yi’s gaze but that made it impossible for Tang Yi to unbuttonhis shirt. But maybe Tang Yi knew him better than he had thought because hedidn’t try to look at Shao Fei’s face, instead, he hugged him and caressed ShaoFei’s back in long, soothing strokes. From his neck to his tailbone, withpressure, but gentle. Up and down.

Why? Whydid he feel so comfortable in the arms of a gangster, someone who was a potentialmurderer, who had answers to Shao Fei most burning questions? Why was he notrunning away?

Why – TangYi kissed him behind his ear and a full-body shiver ran over Shao Fei. Hegrabbed Tang Yi’s face again and kissed him deeply. There was a desperation toit he couldn’t stop.  He pushed Tang Yibackwards, towards the bed he had seen the moment he had stepped a foot intothis tiny apartment. They bounced a little when they fell on the mattress andShao Fei laughed breathlessly against Tang Yi’s skin. The skin of his neck,soft and addictive and Shao Fei might have touched other people before, butTang Yi felt so knew as if Shao Fei had unlearned anything from before Tang Yi.

“What doyou want?”, he asked while they tried to undress each other. It wasn’t an easytask; mostly because they needed to kiss and caress every bit of skin which gotuncovered.

“What doyou want?”, Shao Fei asked again and unbend to wriggle out of his jeans. Healmost fell off the bed but, in the end, he smiled triumphally and then smiledagainst Tang Yi’s lips as he pulled him down to him again.

“So much,”Tang Yi answered, and Shao Fei got lost in the expression in his eyes, thenaked lust in them and the way his fingers ran through the hair on the back ofhis head. Tang Yi kissed him, kissed him slowly, kissed him deliberately as ifhe wanted to make sure Shao Fei was going to remember how it felt to be kissedby him. How could he ever forget? Shao Fei melted against Tang Yi, his bodyweak and at this moment, he knew that he had been born to be kissed by Tang Yi.

Shao Feihad no clear memory on how they got undressed, where their clothes landed orwhose hands opened whose buttons but he remembered the gasp he let out whenthey embraced each other naked, the way Tang Yi’s skin felt under his hands,silky and smooth.

Tang Yi hadfound his favourite spot on Shao Fei’s collarbone, nipping and nuzzling at itwhile their bodies began to get slippery from sweat. A bittersweet ache sweptthrough Shao Fei’s body and when Tang Yi’s clever hands found his dick, he hadto take a deep breath because suddenly it all got too overwhelming and he hadthe feeling he could come on the spot.

“Oh fuck,”he said breathlessly, and Tang Yi smiled against his lips as if he wasdelighted by Shao Fei’s inability to control himself. Shao Fei held his breathand wanted to push Tang Yi gently away, but he already rolled to the side andhis mind had just stopped spinning when Tang Yi put a bottle of lube into hishands.

“You wantto kill me,” he groaned but Tang Yi only smiled at him, a regal smile, an ‘Iwant you to pleasure me’ smile and leaned back, obviously comfortable inhis nakedness and his desire to get Shao Fei’s fingers on him. Shao Fei climbedon top of him to kiss the smug smile from his lips and the lube fell from hishands because kissing Tang Yi was heaty and distracting and good.

He decidedthen and there that he needed to travel down Tang Yi’s body with his mouth,because his fingers weren’t to be trusted for remembering Tang Yi correctly.Tang Yi was encouraging every lick and every bite and every kiss with hisfingers in Shao Fei’s hair, caressing or pulling, with the roll of hips againsthim. He gasped – shocked - when Shao Fei began to tease him with his wetfingers and it was Shao Fei turn to feel smug that Tang Yi hadn’t been able tokeep track of the bottle of lube, but the intimacy took his breath away, howTang Yi opened to his fingers, writhing on them and Shao Fei said “Fuck” butwhat he wanted to say was: ‘If we never going to do this again, I will die.’Tang Yi arched his body towards him, and Shao Fei was lost in the smell andfeel of him. He mouthed along Tang Yi’s hipbone and tried to get a grip on hisimpatience, he wanted to slow down, but Tang Yi commanded to be faster, orslower or ‘Yes, right there’.

Tang Yiburied his hands in Shao Fei’s hair to pull him up to him and then it was amess of sorting limbs, the condom wrapper and Tang Yi turned on his side andShao Fei began to press into him and knew that he hurt Tang Yi with his fingerswhich dug into his tight and he moaned his pleasure against Tang Yi’s back,helplessly, utterly wrecked.

Then TangYi’s hand was on his buttocks and Shao Fei had to press forward and Tang Yijust held him there, and the pressure made Shao Fei see stars. “Fuck”, hewhispered and looked up. Tang Yi had bent his head back, the bliss clearlyvisible on his face and Shao Fei jerked, the upward thrust almost impossiblewith the way Tang Yi held him still with his hand. He put tiny, little bitesalong Tang Yi’s neck until he was at his ear and whispered, “let me”. h

He loosenedTang Yi’s hold on his butt and Tang Yi’s mouth fell open in a silent moan asShao Fei started to move in short jerky moves. Tang Yi met him in a slow,deliberate rhythm and when Tang Yi cursed as Shao Fei snaked his hand aroundhis hip to get a hold of his erection Shao Fei laughed, a punched-out breatheof air. He felt flushed and hot and indescribable happy and it was a revelationto see Tang Yi caught in the throats of passion, uninhibited, his moans loud inthe room while he moved his body to take what he wanted. Shao Fei held himselfstill and let Tang Yi use his body, let him move on his dick, let him use hishand to get pleasure at the forward thrust and when Tang Yi moved his head ShaoFei got the note and put his mouth behind Tang Yi’s ear, coaxing husky soundsof pleasure out of him.

It feltincredible and time became a blur, they got lost in the back and forth of theirbodies, the slide of Shao Fei inside Tang Yi; sometimes smooth sometimeserratic and when he felt his orgasm approach he hugged Tang Yi tight, his mouthopen against his shoulder blade, pushing and pushing and it was still a shock,the wave of pleasure sweeping through his body, the pressure suddenly gone, hisbody felt numb and alive at the same time, was he shaking? His heart raced andhe laughed helplessly and groaned when he felt Tang Yi stiffen and then thewarm release of his orgasm on his fingers.

“Happybirthday,” he said, and Tang Yi laughed as he found his hand and squeezed.

+++

Shao Feiwoke up to the soft lighting of the dawn. He felt disorientated for a moment,turned around and almost hit Tang Yi in the face… Tang Yi. Shao Fei stared athim for a few seconds.

He lookedsoft, with his hair falling in his face, his mouth slightly open, while hebreathed evenly. Shao Fei wanted to touch him, but he had no idea if the ruleshad changed, what had changed between them, what was he allowed to do?

He slippedout of bed and found his underwear. His phone was in his jacket and it showedhim that he had to go home and change if he wanted to be ready for work ontime. Tang Yi was still asleep, sprawling across the bed and Shao Fei had tothink about their conversation in the mountains. Was this one of the rare timesTang Yi allowed himself to sleep?

Shao Feitiptoed around the room and dressed. He suppressed the urge to go back to thebed to look at Tang Yi because he had no idea what to say if he woke up. On hisway out of the apartment, he spotted the tie and whatever urge made him pick itup and put it in his pocket he didn’t question it.

+++

Shao Feistared at the glass of water in his hands and since he had left Tang Yi’s apartment,he wasn’t sure how he should feel. Guilty, indifferent, ecstatic?

The day hadpassed in a haze of cases, interviews, and paperwork and he had remembered thenight with Tang Yi at the weirdest times. It had always been as if time stoodstill, or maybe more of a slow-motion of the reality around him while heremembered the way Tang Yi’s hair had tickled his face or the weight of hisdick in his hand, the taste of his lips, their fight with the blanket, alltangle up, when they had wanted to slip under it to sleep.

Hisdoorbell rang. Shao Fei frowned at the clock. It was past midnight and hecouldn’t think of someone who would visit him at this hour… maybe somebody hadused the wrong doorbell, but he pressed the intercom button anyway.

“Yes?”

“It’s me.”

Shao Feifelt that his pulse took up speed and he realized how much he had wanted it to beTang Yi.

“I have toreport a robbery. You’re really brazen for a detective to steal from me.” Therewas a growl in Tang Yi’s voice and Shao Fei smiled.

“Everyonehas layers,” he said and pressed the buzzer. He opened the door to listen forTang Yi’s footsteps on the staircase and felt agitated but in a good way. Werethose the famous butterflies doing looping’s in his stomach?

Tang Yifrowned up at him the moment he spotted Shao Fei and Shao Fei knew that heprobably shouldn’t smile at that, but he found it sexy.

“Come in,”he said.

Tang Yi’sfrowned deepened when he saw his tie around Shao Fei’s neck and Shao Fei knewthat it must look weird but he hadn’t been able to suppress the urge to wear itafter he had found it in his trousers while he had changed for work. He wasdriven on instinct when Tang Yi was concerned.

Tang Yislipped out of his shoes and pushed them next to Shao Fei’s as if it was themost natural thing in the world. He glanced around, scanned Shao Fei’s littleapartment, but his eyes landed on Shao Fei again quickly, his look intense anddark as he eyed him from head to toes.

I have yourfingerprints on my butt, Shao Fei wanted to say and hid his smile behind hishand, masking it as a cough. Tang Yi squinted at him. Maybe he should feelanxiety or embarrassment, but he just wanted to smile.

“Do youwant something to drink?”, he asked but Tang Yi shook his head.

“No. I’mhere to complain about Taipei’s police force. It’s an abuse of power.”

“What is?”

��Stealing atie and then wearing it yourself.”

It wasn’tabout the tie; Shao Fei knew that. It was probably about the way Shao Fei haddisappeared in the morning, without a word. But as a defence: Shao Fei had noidea how to act around a one-nightstand. What were the rules? Should he haveleft a note?

He had adecision to make, he realized. Like he had done when he went into Tang Yi’scar. And like then it was a one-time offer. Yes or no.

The waterspilt out of the glass when he put it on the kitchen table, but he didn’tcare.

He spreadhis arms and said: “You’re more than welcome to get the tie back.”

Tang Yibegan to smile.

+~end~+

[firesoulstuff]

A whole lot of Nothing

For @ginger-canary in the @arrowversequarantinefic-exchange!!!

Ship: Dinahsiren

Prompt: Long Distance

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23926276

Laurel hates away missions.

Ok, she doesn’t hate away missions as a concept. What she hates is that every time an away mission comes up it always ends up being her mission. It makes sense; she can’t argue that fact, which is possibly the most infuriating part of it all. Their little team Arrow whatever.0 thing is still new. Mia and Zoe aren’t ready yet, and someone has to stay behind to make sure they don’t do anything too stupid. True, she could petition for that to be her and for Dinah to go on these stupid missions, she could even argue that Dinah used to be an undercover cop and therefor she is perfectly suited for the blending in work that comes with away missions.

But, would she really rather be on babysitting duty? No, she wouldn’t.

What she would very much rather be doing is lounging on Dinah’s couch, sprawling herself across the space like a cat until Dinah decides it’s time to watch some terrible reality TV and kicks at her legs until she moves them. Yes, that would be ideal, certainly more so than freezing her ass off walking across a parking lot in the midst of an April night. April! In Star City it’s a livable sixty-five right now – she checked – and were she back there she might be lounging in shorts just to prove a point. But this is not Star City. This is some no name, nowhere town on the very edge of the East Coast and it is thirty-six degrees with a wind chill.

She really hates away missions.

With her hands already shoved as deep into her pockets at they’ll go Laurel fumbles her numb fingers around the surprisingly warm and sweaty metal of her key, apparently there is some warmth in her pockets, even if she can’t feel it. Bracing herself for the onslaught of more cold on her skin she take her hand from her pocket and puts the key in the lock, turning it and then checking her hip into the door to get it to open.

Inside her motel room is at least warm, even if that warmth does carry a faint scent of burning metal like the radiator isn’t used to being on even after what she can only assume has been sixty years of icy winters that start far too early in the year and end far, far too late.

Still, it wouldn’t surprise her if this room has only been used on a handful of occasions in all that time.

She’s sure she is the only out-of-town guest in this whole place. There are some other cars parked outside five of the eleven other rooms, but she’s gotten the feeling everyone else is either a junkie hiding from a parole officer, a disloyal spouse meeting with a “friend”, or very narrowly avoiding homelessness.

Leaning against the closed door Laurel balances one ankle on her opposite knee and starts untying her stiffly frozen sneaker, and then switches to do the other foot. With her shoes off she pads across the room to the little bathroom adjoined to the main room. The room and the bathroom are, at least, cleaner than she had thought they would be based on the exterior of the motel. Not that it is overly filthy on the outside, but the plastic coverings of the support beams are cracking and stained with dirt, and the walls are clearly in desperate need of a power washing.

She takes a quick shower to get the chill out of her bones then towels off, runs a quick brush through her hair, and heads back into the room to get in her pajamas.

Her pajamas which include a police academy t-shirt she stole from Dinah.

After debating between seeing what’s on TV and going right to bed she takes out her phone and scrolls to Dinah’s contact, then taps it and listens to the proceeding four rings before-

“Hello.”

“I am never traveling for work again.”

There’s a moment of quiet in which she can perfectly envision the amused smirk that must be on Dinah’s face, just as she’s sure Dinah can picture her scowl.

“Strike out?”

“Big strike out.” She deadpans, the edge of a snarl in her voice. “Do you know why all those sappy Christmas movies you like are set in New England? Because there is nothing here! Nothing! No mobsters, no super villains, no mad scientists, nothing!”

What comes through the line next is a genuine laugh and Laurel scowls even deeper, half tempted to add on how cold it is even at this time of year. Not even cold and wet, but dry and frigid and really, really irritating.

“That’s what makes it a perfect place for a crime lord to hide out.”

Laurel rolls her eyes and starts to adjusting herself, pushing her back off the bed’s headboard and getting onto her stomach on the mattress.

“Well there isn’t one hiding in this town.” She says, “Or any of the surrounding ones. It only takes fifteen minutes to cross this whole place so I’ve been to four different towns and guess what? A whole lot of nothing in every single one!”

“New England takes up thirteen states, I’m pretty sure the entire thing isn’t as small as the little corner you’re in.” Dinah mocks her and Laurel rolls her eyes.

“Then next time send me to a bigger part.”

“Sure, as long as the next target’s credit card pops up in a bigger part.”

“Has he canceled it yet?” She asks, slipping back into business mode.

If there is something here, she needs to catch it.

“Yeah.” Dinah answers, sounding disappointed.

She hums, not that they didn’t see this coming. Someone like Zsasz is too smart to use his credit card when he knows he’s being hunted. When they first got the alert they figured it was more likely than not he drove through here, “dropped” the card at a gas station, and let it be picked up by any random lowlife to throw them off his trail. The only reason she’d come to check it out was because they have no other leads, and while he is smart enough to stop using the card he might also be crazy enough to do it anyway just for the rush of playing them.

Either way, it’s useless now.

“So we’ve got nothing.” She laminates, and she can easily picture the disappointed pursed lips of Dinah on the other end.

The thought of that lingers in her mind maybe a little too long.

“Yeah.” Dinah huffs, “Looks like we sent you on a wild goose chase.”

“Well then we’re in luck, this place has plenty of those.”

Dinah laughs on the other end, and she laughs too, then it’s quiet.

Of course it’s quiet, that’s all she’s had for a report. Nothing. There is nothing here; they have nothing to go on, nothing.

She isn’t ready to hang up and stop talking about nothing.

“So what are you wearing?”

She’s almost disappointed she doesn’t hear even the smallest hint of Dinah choking, as she is surely sitting on the couch with a glass of wine by now. The line is quiet, no mocking or gasping for a dignified answer, and then it isn’t.

“Jeans and a shirt.” Dinah replies almost casually, evidently choosing to humor her for once, therefor wine is most definitely involved. “You?”

She hums, “Flannel pants, and one of your shirts.”

She raises her voice into a more suggestive register, to which she is sure Dinah is rolling her eyes.

“Any reason?”

She shrugs innocently, not that the action can be seen, or even is all that innocent for that matter.

“I just figured I was going to miss you while I was away.” She answers, pushing herself back up into a sitting position and stretching out stiff muscles; four nights on this sorry excuse for a mattress has not been a highlight of this trip.

“Well since there’s nothing out there you can get back to your usual routine of annoying me soon enough.”

“See? I knew you’d miss me.”

There is a small, breathy chuckle on the other end of the call and it makes her heart flutter.

Not that she’ll ever admit that.

“Goodnight Laurel, see you when you get back.”

It warms her heart a bit that she doesn’t say “call me”. It could be simply because she knows by now it’s pointless. Laurel rarely ever calls. She much prefers dropping by in person when she can. The apartment, the bar, the newly resurrected bunker, Queen Manor; wherever. If she isn’t actively engaged in not dying or some other vigilante business such as extracting information, she would rather debrief in person.

Dinah could have also forgone saying “call me” because she genuinely misses her.

Laurel will say it’s about 70-30 either way.

“Night, don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

With that she hangs up the phone and pulls her laptop from under the bed’s second pillow, opens it, and starts searching for the next flight to Star City.

If she’s lucky she can be on Dinah’s couch by morning.

[bitterotter]

OTP MEME

This time for Rune/Straasa/Morkai... wanted to see if I could do it for a poly ship.

DISAGREEMENTS.

Who is more likely to raise their voice?

Morkai

Who threatens to leave but never actually does?

Rune… sort of. It’s less a threat and more of a “I can handle things on my own”

who actually keeps their word and leaves?

None of them

who trashes the house?

None of them. (do they even have a house to trash??)

do either of them get physical?

Again, none.

how often do they argue/disagree?

Morkai tends to be argumentative with everyone so, fairly often. Straasa and Rune almost never argue with each other, but Rune can get pretty defensive.

who is the first to apologize?

Straasa, then Morkai… Rune, depends

 Cut here for length and Adult content 

SEX.

who is on top? Who is on bottom?

Typical configurations are: Morkai and Straasa top Rune. Morkai tops Straasa, Straasa tops Rune, and then rune tops Straasa, morkai tops rune.

any kinks?

Morkai has a whole long list there, but shared: some light-ish dom/sub dynamics, praise and dirty talk, bringing toys into the situation, edging, and overstimulation.

who has the strangest desires?

Morkai probably claims that 

who’s dominant in bed?

Morkai and occasionally Straasa.

is head ever in the equation?

Yes, definitely. Rune likes giving and receiving about equally

if so, who is better at performing it?

Straasa is probably the best

ever had sex in public?

Nope, rune prefers privacy

who moans the most?

Rune. He can be loud if encouraged.

who leaves the most marks?

Morkai

who is the more experienced of the two?

Morkai strikes me as the most experienced. Rune doesn’t have any prior experience.

do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’?

Make love

how long do they usually last?

About average, but if they have the time they can and will draw it out

rough or soft?

Both. Morkai enjoys rough, Straasa and Rune like both and in combination

is protection used?

Yep, cleaner and safer that way.

does it ever get boring?

Not with Morkai around it doesn’t

where is the strangest place they’d have sex?

Nowhere in particular. Rune prefers vanilla locations

 FAMILY.

Do they plan on having children/or have children?

Morkai is solidly against the idea, and Straasa doesn’t mind either way. Rune… never considered the possibility. He thinks, maaaybe he would, but values their relationship more than the future hypothetical offspring.

If so, how many children do they want/have?

 AFFECTION.

who likes to cuddle?

All of them. Rune… takes some time to get comfortable with it, but he when he does he almost can’t get enough of them.

who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places?

Morkai

who struggles to keep their hands to themself?

Morkai

how long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable?

Morkai usually has to tap out first. Then rune. Straasa could probably cuddle all day

what is their favourite non-sexual activity?

Sitting by the campfire and just… talking. Sharing stories or food and drink.

where is their favourite place to cuddle?

Anywhere, but in bed is most ideal.

 SLEEPING.

who snores?

No one, but Rune sometimes talks in his sleep. Usually nonsense and has nothing to do with his dreams.

if both do, who snores the loudest? 

do they share a bed or sleep separately?

They share.

if they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart?

They cuddle. Just… picture a mass of limbs and that’s them.

what do they wear to bed?

All three tend to just strip down to underclothes.

are either of them insomniacs?

Nope

can sleeping pills be found by the bedside?

no

do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side?

(see: do they cozy up), They’re pretty much tangled together

who wakes up with bed hair?

Rune and Morkai for sure.

who wakes up first?

Rune, he’s a morning person, he’s usually up at sunrise.

who prepares breakfast in bed for the other?

Rune and/or Straasa.

what is their favourite sleeping position?

Cuddling together. Rune usually ends up in the middle, curled against one with the other at his back.

do they set an alarm each night?

Nope tech aside… Rune doesn’t need one. Morkai and Straasa will get up when they’re ready

who has nightmares?

Rune, frequently

can a television be found in their bedroom?

Nope… pretty sure that isn’t in this universe

who has ridiculous dreams?

Rune again. His can be Very Odd at times,

who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed?

Morkai

who makes the bed?

Well. They’re mostly on the move these days so bed = camp, and they’ll all help out packing up.

what time is bed time?

Depends. Rune prefers earlier, but they don’t exactly have a predictable schedule

any routines/rituals before bed?

Undressing/washing and cuddling and/or sex

who’s the grumpiest when they wake up?

Morkai

 WORK. (this part is… complicated)

who is the busiest?

They ‘work’ together, and usually they’re about equal.

who rakes in the highest income?

They share evenly.

are any of them unemployed?

Officially… yeah, probably. They’re currently… traveling.

who takes the most sick days?

No sick days.

what are their jobs?

Rune grew up on a farm and grew up farming. (this made me realize I have NO idea what Morkai and Straasa used to do).

who sucks up to their boss?

Perks of being on the run unemployment? No boss to suck up to.

who is more likely to turn up late to work?

Again… no schedule

who stresses the most?

 Well, just in general? Rune and Morkai might claim that

do they enjoy or despise their careers/occupations?

 Rune used to have bigger dreams than farming... now that he can’t do that anymore, he’s pretty nervous. Morkai isn’t really thrilled with their predicament. Straasa... is dealing with it slightly better.

are they financially stable?

hah, nope stability is nowhere in sight.

 HOME.

who does the washing?

They’ll split the work

who takes out the trash?

Again, something they share/take turns with

who does the ironing?

 hmm, not sure any of them really feel the need to 

who does the cooking?

Rune and Straasa usually.

who is more likely to burn the house down just trying?

 none of them, thankfully. 

who is messier?

Morkai is the messiest of the three.

who leaves the toilet roll empty?

Morkai.

who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor?

 Morkai and Rune

who forgets to flush the toilet?

No one

who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere?

No car. So…

who answers the telephone?

No phones either. But when it comes to talking to people who approach them, Straasa tries to handle that.

who mows the lawn?

Again, no lawn

who does the vacuuming?

Or vacuums

who does the groceries?

Straasa and Morkai usually

who takes the longest to shower?

Morkai

who spends the most time in the bathroom?

Morkai.

 MISCELLANEOUS.

is money a problem?

Yeaaah, sort of. they’re currently on the road and on the run, unemployed, with monster hunting as their only source of income.

how many cars do they own?

No cars, but Rune has a mule. Her name is Clover and she’s his best friend.

what’s their song?

To be determined, but for now, Speak Too Soon by Wild Rivers suits them well enough

do they live in the city or in the country?

Right now, they’re spending a lot of time in the country. Rune grew up in the country.

do they own their home or do they rent?

Currently, neither …that I’m aware of

do they enjoy their surroundings?

Rune and Straasa don’t really mind. Morkai isn’t a fan.

what do they do when they’re away from each other?

They’ll split different responsibilities between them, so they’ll handle that. Or spend time with their other friends. Rune sometimes just retreats to write.

where did they first meet?

Morkai and Straasa are childhood friends. Rune… ran into the other two while he was down on his luck, they all ended up helping each other out of sticky situations with

who spends the most money when out shopping?

Morkai

who’s more likely to flash their assets?

Morkai, he’s more “obviously noble”

any mental issues?

They’ve all got their fair share of trauma. Rune has some pretty bad anxiety as well.

who finds it amusing when the other trips over?

Morkai, though he is also concerned.

who’s terrified of bugs?

None of them

who kills the spiders around the house?

Morkai unless Rune’s puppy-eyes convince him to spare it

do they have any fears for their future?

Too many to list, less about their relationship and more on getting through the next day alive. That counts

their favourite place?

Mm, haven’t found it yet.

who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner?

Straasa would.

who pays the bills?

Morkai and Straasa usually pay for what they need.

who’s the tallest?

Morkai is the tallest and 6’4. Straasa is 6’2. And then there’s Rune. He’s 4’11.

who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other?

Morkai seems like the type to do that, just out of impatience.

who wanders around in their underwear?

None of them, but whether that’s due to lacking a place to wander, I’m not sure.

who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio?

No radio. Straasa has been known to hum and sing to himself though.

what do they tease each other about?

Morkai and Straasa will tease each other over almost anything at this point. Morkai teases Rune about his lack of life experience and fighting skills (not his fault he was stuck on a farm his whole life) and his age/baby face. Rune doesn’t really tease back, or at all, he’s pretty serious. And Straasa generally doesn’t tease Rune, more sincere and encouraging.

who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times?

Morkai at Rune’s mostly. Rune dresses plainly, but also tends to hide in oversized clothes, so, they’re not super flattering.

who crushed first?

I’d bet that Morkai crushed hard on Straasa when they were younger. Straasa crushed first on Rune though. From Rune meeting the others, though, it was all close together.

any alcohol or substance related problems?

Nope.

who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am?

Mm, none of them? Or if they did, it’d probably be Morkai and Rune while Straasa kept them from falling over.

who swears the most?

Morkai, though Rune might be close behind.

[breg21]

Ladynoir Month: Hairstyle

@ladynoirjuly2019

Ao3 FFN

Usually, my husband edits and I write most if it. Today, that was in reverse.

And for that, I am truly sorry. Lol

Also…. This prompt might've gotten away from us…. sorry?

It was getting close to their one year anniversary, and they could count on two hands the number of actual dates they had been on.

Which, in all reality, kinda sucked.

While they have tried different tactics, they tried to keep their public appearances few and far between, that was until Rena had suggested something. "Listen, LB. You know my identity, so there's no harm in telling you that I'm part of the school drama club, and since I'm a part of it, I have access to things like props, sets, and even costumes. I know how much you want to keep things on the down low, and between you and me, I am very forgetful and might just leave the room with the costumes open when I leave."

Yeah, that was Alya alright, about as subtle as a metalhead in a church choir.

Ladybug sighed, weighing her options. "I don't know, Rena. That stuff belongs to the school."

In response to her, very logical and ethical point, Rena waved off her notation, simplying replying with. "You know, for all the times you've saved this city not to mention that school, I think people won't care too much if you borrow some cheaply made costumes, so long as you bring them back, that is. I don't need to get into trouble for losing costumes again."

Ladybug dug her feet into the ground, avoiding the smug smile that had made its way onto Rena's face. "I'll make sure to bring them back as soon as I can, 5am at the latest."

"Whatever helps you sleep, LB."

She looked off into the distance, as thought bounced around in her head. It had been so long since they went on a proper date and with the time constraint. She didn't even know where to start. But it had to be somewhere. "Hey, Rena, could you do me a favor and be my… girl in the chair?"

Rena's face lit up with pure joy. "You mean, the member of the team who is involved with all tech and research? Why yes, ma'am! What's my first assignment, create an algorithm to determine who is going to get akumatized, triangulate Hawkmoth's location based on recent akuma sightings?"

Ladybug looked at her nervously and with great care added. "Actually, I was just wondering if you could help me find places that are open from midnight to 5 am. It's hard to find a good place for a date and I know you are great at finding things."

Rena's eye began to twitch ever so slightly. "So, you're telling me that you want me as your wing girl, and help you find dates? She paused before bursting out with: "That is so much better!"

Oh, thank gosh! Ladybug thought to herself.

Rena continued on as of she hadn't noticed Ladybug slumping in relief. "You know, things may have just lined up for you. We just finished a play at school based on the 1950's and there is this really nice 24-hour diner that opened up last month. If you and Chat make the date in the next week the costumes will still be made up and everything. I may have even seen a red and black spotted dress that would look great on you."

"Wait, you said, Chat too. So you already told him this idea? When did you get to talk to him this when I just came up with the idea?"

Rena laughed. "You know how that cat is. They way I saw it, you were the one I need to sell on this idea."

"He agreed in an instant, didn't he?"

"Like a cat to a can of tuna."

"Five dollars for a milkshake?" She felt her nerves begin to flare.

"Is that too expensive, because I can get something else."

He calmly placed a hand up in protest, his eyes never leaving the image of the shake on the menu. "For five dollars that has to be an amazing shake. What flavor do you want, I'll get a different flavor and we can see which is better."

She let out a sigh of relief, brushing the sweat off her forehead, making sure not to bump her sunglasses in the process. When they arrived, she was surprised to see how nicely dressed Chat was. Not that she thought he dressed badly, but to see him in a pinstripe suit brought a little heat to the room, that and the fact that he was the only person she had ever seen actually pull off a fedora was astonishing.

Of course, they were both fitted with a stylish and identity concealing, pair of sunglasses. It was a nice surprise to see him so dapper, and from the way his breath hitched, she was pretty sure her choice in dress was just as good.

As she sat there, she looked at Chat perform the same ritual he always did before eating a meal, making sure to place his silverware in the exact right place, not a centimeter out of place, while he folded his napkin in the perfect triangle. For someone so wild, it was hard not to notice these little quirks.

She didn't mind them by any means, but it was just odd that after ten and a half months of dating that he was still so proper when it came to eating. But she was slowly growing accustomed to it, and actually found it enduring that she got to see this side to him, too.

Before long, the waitress made it to their table asking for their order. "I'll have a tuna melt with a side fries and a strawberry milkshake."

The waitress turned to Ladybug, "And you, sweet thing?"

She looked at the menu one last time. Well, let's hope this works. Because, yes, while they had been to many restaurants together on dates in the past, he was always so careful with eating. Primed to a T. And while she knew his proper side was a part of him, so was his wild side.

Something told her, that that side was locked tightly away when doing something so social as eating.

And she was gonna fish that other side, the Chat side that she knew so well, out.

She kept her voice innocent as she turned to the waitress and ordered. "Yes, I'll have the double burger with everything on it and a side of steak fries, with a chocolate milkshake."

The waitress smiled as she wrote down the order. Before heading back to the kitchen she placed a hand on Chat's shoulder bringing her voice down so just the two of them could hear. "You keep this girl."

He looked back at her with an awkward smile, lifting his thumb up. "That's the plan."

A couple minutes passed when the waitress brought their meals out. Both plates looked delicious but Ladybug's was practically falling off the plate with how large it was. She picked up the mess that was the burger in front of her and stare Chat directly in the eyes sent him a soft smile, before taking the first bite causing the contents of the burger to erupt on her face.

Chat nearly spat out his milkshake upon seeing his lady's face covered in sauce and toppings.

With her mouth half full, Ladybug broke off a piece of burger that had not yet been devoured and extended it to him. "You wanna try a bite? It's really good?"

She could see the nervous look he was trying to hide. But he let out a small sigh and bit down nearly grazing her finger in the process. Yes! She thought.

When he was finished his eyes lit up with glee. "You're right," He grabled out between large bites. "that was great."

She looked down to see sauce all over his suit, and had to bite down the giggle that wanted to pop through. Her goofy kitty. "Um, Chat, your suit."

He glanced at the numerous stains that the burger had caused and surprisingly, he just gave a shrug of his shoulders. "You know what, that's what dry cleaners are for. Now, I believe we made a plan to share these milkshakes?"

Ladybug sent her kitty a soft smile.

There we go, kitty. There we go.

Adrien woke up to the sound of an angry T-rex snoring on his couch.

Thankfully, upon getting out of his bed, Nino soon woke as he rubbed off his migraine from the night before."Thank you for letting me spend the night, dude. The walk home was just a little to far with how little sleep I've been getting the past month."

Adrien poured out two glasses of orange juice as he glanced back at his sleep friend. "It's no problem, man, at least you're getting it figured out tonight."

Nino rubbed the back of his head. "Speaking of the appointment, give it to me straight, how bad was I?"

He placed the drinks on the table in front of them. "Like a rhino constantly stubbing its toe."

Nino flinched at the image it brought to his mind. "Yikes, man, I'm sorry. I must have kept you up all night."

"Nah," Adrien reassured him. "I've slept through worse. What time's your appointment?"

He pulled out his phone,m looking at the time."I'm supposed to get there at sundown so they can," Nino froze for a minute as his face contorted in horror. "Awe, man!"

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked in concern.

The DJ sighed, pocketing his device. "I have this client who wanted me to come by tonight to get the feel of his heavy metal show. He gave me a VIP ticket but now I can't make it because of my appointment. I don't suppose you know anyone who would be interested, because no offense but I don't exactly see you being the metal type."

He took the ticket to see the name Jagged 'Metal' Stone. The gears in his brain started to turn quickly. "Okay then… Sure, thanks, Nino. I think I know just the person."

"So, what you're telling me is that you have a ticket to Jagged stones new concert."

She could hear his hesitation in his voice, he clearly felt a little weird about the circumstance of how he got the tickets.

But she was excited, nonetheless."I'd love to go, and you know what, you don't even have to buy my ticket. I saved the girl who does his graphic work and she gave me her ticket as a thank you. I just can't believe I'm gonna have somebody to finally go with. Thank you so much, kitty. Love you."

With that, she hung up the phone. "Tikki, time to bust out the makeup and eyeliner. We've got a date tonight!"

Chat made it to the concert after trying his hardest to think of what a rockstar would actually wear.

In the end, he chose a pair of black jeans that were torn to no tomorrow, a faded t-shirt, spiked bracelets, and a black wig with a pink bandana wrapped around the top. To complete the look, he had a pair so star shaped sunglasses that were so large they nearly covered half his face.

It wasn't long before he felt a tap on his shoulder. A smile spread across his face but he was stopped before he could turn around. "Promise you won't laugh when you see me. I may have overdone it a bit on this one."

Even though she couldn't see it, he broke into a smile as if to put her fears to rest. It was a treasure to know when his lady let her guard down and did something out of the norm for herself, something crazy and wild. "M'Lady, I would never laugh at you for something so-"

His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he turned to see her hair straight up in a sequence of spiked mohawk and her face painted pure white with black markings around her eyes in place of a mask. Below, she was wearing a maroon leather jacket, a black crop top and torn blue short shorts.

The lump in his throat bobbled a few times as he tried to swallow the water that had gathered in his airways. Suffice to say, it didn't work well. He pulled on his neck collar, trying to let cool air pass through. "I… I really like the look."

There was a look on her face as his flooded with heat. A look that he couldn't mistake for pride screaming in her eyes. "Are you okay, kitty?" She asked him in a sing song voice. Her tone showed no evidence of her not understanding what she was doing to him. She was basking in it too.

Well, if that wasn't something. Forget his shy bugaboo. She might as well have the claws in the relationship.

But he was still trying to stand firm. "I'm fine, it's just really warm in here with all the people."

Before she could make her response the lights faded as smoke filled the arena. The sound a sick guitar riff soon followed and out came the star, the one, the only, Jagged Stone.

The crowd went wild as he walked out on stage, wearing three-foot purple pumps, his leather jewel studded cape following his every step as Fang rushed out on stage in a pair of green sunglasses swiping his tail at his master's pumps, causing him to fall flat on his face.

The crowd looked on in horror but to they're amazement he got right up wiping the blood from his nose. If one thing was clear, Jagged was metal. He clearly trained fang to trip him only to hype up his fans, even more, when he rose from the ashes of his gnarly fall. Surely, the news will be reporting this awesome spectacle for weeks to come.

Both Ladybug and Chat let out a triumphant yell, cheering on the rockstar as the show got started.

With all the times they had gone out in the past two months, he wanted to make this special and he had, with the help of bribing the homeowners with a future visit from both Chat, and his good acquaintance Adrien.

But luckily, he got the entire rooftop to himself to prepare for tonight's date. Their one year anniversary. And this time, no silly disguises, just them as Chat and Ladybug. He had spent the entire day working on this, even taking the day sick from school, just to get things right. It was a small rooftop where he set up a table with a dozen red roses placed in the center, her favorite cupcakes from one of the local bakeries, and even found a branch of her favorite pizza place that moved locations two years ago.

Everything was perfect and now all he had to do was wait for nightfall.

She didn't know what that kitty was up to but she knew it had to be something. All she got was a good morning text and an address followed by 'midnight'.

Yeah, after a day of total silence, she knew he had something up his sleeve and she was ready for it. He wasn't gonna catch her off guard. The days of her becoming a crumbling mess around the people she loved were over.

For the past month, she had been giving Tiki special designs just for this night. Her costume would be transformed into an elegant red dress with bold black highlights laced throughout.

When he got one look of her in it, his face would match the red of the fabric. This night would be one to remember.

"Plagg, You remembered the gift right?"

Adrien looked down at the little creature who was halfway through his wheel of cheese.

"I think so," Plagg said around his food filled mouth.

That did nothing to reassure him, if anything, it only worried him more. "What do you mean you think so?! I spent all day working on this and I gave you one job, the simplest and most important job."

Plagg's face could be the posterboard for bored. "See, that was your first mistake."

Adrien was about to lose his cool when the clock struck eleven. "Plagg, we have one hour. Where did you see it last?"

Plagg rubbed his head thinking of all the possibilities. "I think it's where I have my upper northwestern cheese stash."

Adrien's face went deadpan at that. "How many different stashes do you have for there to be an upper northwestern stash?"

"85 at least?"

"In Paris!?"

"No!" Plagg shook his head. "In your house. Do you realize how big that place is."

Adrien made not a word until the little creature got the hint. "I'm going to get that present now."

"Yeah, you should do that."

Midnight had finally come as he waited for her appearance and without a second to spare she landed on the rooftop, her scarlet dress shimmering in the candlelight.

His entire face rushed into a soft flush as his cheeks burned with a fiery passion. He took a step forward, nearly tripping over the air itself in the process. She giggled as he caught himself even letting out a tiny snort in the process. "H-hey, kitty."

There was a huge grin slapped on his face at that. Oh, goodness she's stuttering. Yes!

It was so cute knowing that he could cause that kind of reaction from her every now and again.

They sat down at the table that had been set up and he could see her eyes light up at the freshly made pizza that sat between them.

"Is that….?"

He nodded. "Yep, Luigi's. It was a pain in the butt to find but once I did I knew it had to bere here tonight."

She looked touched, amazed that he would do something so sweet."Thank you, kitty. This is all perfect." There was a small tear in his eye seeing her so happy. Everything had worked out, for once, he had planned something entirely romantic and it worked.

After the meal was finished, and the cupcakes devoured, he took her hand as his batton began to release a sweet song he had found just for the occasion. "May I have this dance?"

She smiled. "Only if it's light on the cheese."

He snorted. "Am I ever?"

She rolled her eyes, but allowed him to pull her into his arms as they just swayed lightly to the music. With her so close, his ears picked up on the distant sound of her heartbeat beating against his as they were chest to chest, and he let it calm him, as it always did.

When she brought her head to rest on his shoulder, he breathed in her imprinted scent and it caused him to smile, because this was just everything he ever wanted. Her in his arms as they just forgot the world around them.

Because, as long as she was in his arms, she was his world. He didn't need anything more.

That was when he realized he had almost forgotten the present. He pulled back, ignoring her questioning stare for the time being, before pulling the wrapped gift from his pocket. "At first, I couldn't find it, Plagg had placed it somewhere and had forgotten where he had put it, but we found it."

The tears in her eyes were filled with happiness, but he still wiped them away. "Kitty, you shouldn't have. Halfway here, I realized I forgot your present at home, I was so nervous."

He shook his head. "No worries, bugaboo. There's always later. Now open it. I really want you to see it."

His excitement caught on as she slid her finger under the wrapping and tore it open. When she lifted the lid of the small cardboard box, she gasped as her eyes came into contact of what laid inside.

Gently, her fingers scooped up the silver chained necklace. The jewel was a gold heart shaped locket, just big enough for one picture to be placed in. Her tears grew, but so did her smile. "Kitty, this is beautiful." She whispered. "Where in the world did you get it?"

He turned sheepish, hand going to run the back of his neck. "It was my mothers, actually. She gave it to me when I was young and told me to give it to the girl that I wanted forever with."

Her mouth bounced open and closed a few more times before it settled back into that beautiful smile of hers. "I love it." She handed the locket to him, and turned her back so he could clasp it around her neck. He did so without thought. "And I know exactly what picture I'm gonna put in it, even though it may be awhile."

His eyebrow arched in question as a goofy lopsided grin overtook his mouth. "And what picture is that?"

She cupped his jaw, leaning up to press one, two, three kisses to his lips, each lingering a little longer. "Our family, of course."

And that, he knew, would be the best picture in existence.

Until next time! Lots of love! Please lemme know your thoughts

[sephythespooky]

Flower Child

(bringing valentine home from Goggle’s point of view)

Floret bitty from @gaiasteapot​

Twister bitty from @selkiesbittybonanza​

mythbitties from @mythical-adoptions​

Chain lamia bitties from @vex-bittys​

Puppy papri by @nyehtish​

Sunlust lamia by @bitti-tarts

Moonjelly naga bitty from @dumplingsspookysweeties​ (aka me!) )

I liked the idea of being a helper. Not being able to see wasn’t fun, even if I only half know what that’s like. It let me bond a bit with Virgil, that first little while, both of us missing sockets.

But Valentine couldn’t see at all, so I could help them. I kept their bitty carrier secure in my coils all the way home.

“What sort of bitties are at home?” they asked as we got in the car. It took a lot of effort, at least it felt like it from the tone in their voice.

“Well, we have a lot of myth bitties at home, and quite a few snakes if you include Goggles. And then there are the puppies.” Sephy giggled about them. I knew she was in love with the big bones, and it made me happy to think about it. Made me feel more secure that our family wouldn’t fall apart.

“Puppies?” Val seemed to be confused.

“really tall skeletons with some dog features and tendencies,” I explain. the little rose leans against my scales and hums, acknowledging they heard me. “Sweet Bun is the housekeeper in the family. He’s the cook, the cleaner, and very nice. Then we have Goldie, who’s more of a lazybones, but he’s the protector kinda guy. And last is Gracey, who’s the newest pup. He’s shy and quiet, but he’s gentle to us and very enthusiastic about everybody being happy.”

Valentine seemed satisfied for a while, their fingers smoothing my scales with interest. But then they asked, “what about the myth bitties?”

“We have Dante, a Dietyrus who is very energetic but sweet,” Sephy lists off, counting on her fingers as we sit at a red light, “his Harbinger, Virgil, and their little brother, Orpheus, the Faerie. Then we have Adonis and Morpheus. Adonis is an Eastern Red, a dragon-”

“FIRE?!” Valentine yelped and crouched down in their box.

“hey, no, it’s okay,” I tried to purr to calm them. I could feel the little pings of panic from their soul, “donny never blows fire. even when he was super mad at dante once, he never used his fire. and even if he wanted to, he’d have to get through all of me first.” Poor little flower.

Sephy felt bad about it, too, I could see it in her face, “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Goggles is right, Donny’s just a lazy noodle, and he’s really sweet, especially to his brothers and mate....”

“Wh-what are they?” the stammer showed they were still scared, but Valentine at least peeked their petals over the edge of my coils again.

“Morpheus is his first brother, and he’s a Lucirazz. Then we have a Dealer, Jubilee. He’s one of the sweeter red suits, a diamond, so he’ll be nice if you ask him to. And Donny’s mate is Amethyst, a Sunlust lamia bitty.”

I purr. Amethyst has been really good for our household. He made Donny happy, he helps me and Gracey and Sephy with our anxiety, and he love love loves the fact that we all like to cuddle...except Virgil, but I’m pretty sure he’s what Sephy calls a ‘tsundere’, like those cute cactus pictures she puts on her phone.

Valentine nods, “Anybody else?”

“Mmhm,” She’s turning into our apartment complex now, “I have a Chain lamia named Georgio, and I just found out yesterday that he and Wagner, his Vampyrus mate, are going to have a clutch of eggs soon.”

A soft gasp made me look down. Valentine looked nervous, “Babies?”

“Yes, babies.” Sephy slowly pulled into our spot at the end of the line. “And last we have Denim. He’s a Moonjelly naga, a classic sans type snake. He likes to boop people on the nose, but we told him to leave you be until you say it’s okay.”

Valentine has popped back up to full height, and I hold them tight while Sephy picks us up from the passenger seat. “Are the babies here yet?”

“not yet, rosey,” I explain. “Georgio and Wagner just barely told Sephy about it, and Georgio’s got his soul bond with Sephy. He’ll be kind of protective for a while until the babies are hatched and kinda big. So there’s no need to fret”

They ease a bit, and nodded again. “Okay. And they know I can’t see?”

“yep,” We’re going up the stairs so Sephy’s concentrating. She’s scared of twisting her ankle again like a few months ago, so I don’t blame her for being quiet. “usually when we take someone in from a center, we’ve all agreed they’d fit in well with us. only gracey and denim were surprise members of the family.”

They seem to relax for the most part, and Sephy gets them out of their carrier and opens the door.

“WELCOME HOME!” Sweet Bun’s voice greets us as always, and I feel Valentine jump at the sudden sound.

“Sweet Bun, remember-”

“Oh!” His voice is much softer now as he comes out of the laundry area and gives Sephy a hug. “Sorry, I forgot for a moment. Hello, little flower friend. It’s nice to meet you.”

Valentine reached out, and Sweet Bun put his finger into their hands. The pups were all at full height now, so he was over half a foot taller than Sephy now. It made me feel good that we had three tall guys here to help if something ever happened to Sephy. I know I couldn’t lift a whole human in my tiny arms.

“I do have to go organize the others, little friend. I’ll be back in a moment.” When he was let go, Sweet Bun zipped from room to room, gathering people as Sephy sat on the sofa after closing the door.

“Okay, Valentine. That was Sweet Bun. Are you okay so far?”

They say slowly, “I think so? It will take a little bit to get used to his big voice, but his small voice is good for now. Does anyone else have a big voice like that?”

“nope.” I don’t think so, anyway. Sweet Bun is the loudest of all of us. “Orpheus, we call him Fi for short, is a little loud and so is Morpheus, but they’re all way softer than Sweet Bun’s normal voice.”

“um?” I look down and Denim is there. He’s quiet, mostly, but he’s talking right now. And he actually wears shirts now. Sometimes.

“Valentine, Denim is here.” Sephy says, and their vines reach out.

“Hi, Denim.” Valentine is happy, so I’m happy.

Denim slithers closer and lets Valentine feel his face, “hi. i won’t boop you. um...what’s your name?” His voice is very very soft and I’m kind of surprised to hear it. He’s barely said a word to anyone since he came here.

“I’m Valentine. Thank you for not booping me, and I appreciate you talking softly.” Yes good. Everybody’s doing well so far.

Denim hums and nuzzles into Valentine’s hands, then backs away, “talk to you later,” and he’s off to wherever he likes to hide.

Amethyst slides up next, and I greet him. “hey, mey. meet valentine.”

“Hello, sweetheart,” Mey purrs and leans his face against my coil so Val can feel him.

“Oh. You smell nice.” Val mentions, and Mey starts to purr.

“Thank you. You smell and look fantastic, darling. Welcome home.” I had a feeling Mey would probably try to help Valentine out, too, and I didn’t mind.

“Goggles said that...that the dragon is your mate. He won’t burn me, right?” Aww, they were still worried about Donny hurting them. Poor Val.

“Oh no, he would never.” Amethyst cooed and gently kissed some of Val’s petals, earning a shy squeak, “Adonis is a tender soul who loves peace and family. And you are our family now, Valentine.”

“O-okay,” Val was blushing. and I knew things would be good. Mey could keep anybody calm.

Fi and Morpheus zoomed in, “I’M COMING, GOGGLES!” called Morpheus and Val shifted to face them as the two landed.

Fi squeaked and held out his hand, “HI! YOU’RE THE NEW FRIEND, RIGHT?”

By now, Sweet Bun was back and sat on the far end of the sofa, clearing his throat to announce his presence. Val reached out and found Fi’s hand, “O-oh, hi. Um, what is your name?”

“HE’S FI AND I’M MORPHEUS THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE!” Oh dear, M is being....well, himself. The more he grows up, the more (falsely) cocky he gets. I worry about him.

“Oh. Why are you terrible? Morpheus?” Val reached out their other hand and Morpheus seemed to realize his posing was useless and calmed down.

“BECAUSE I’M ME. AND BECAUSE IF I’M GREAT AND TERRIBLE I CAN PROTECT YOU AND FI.”

“AND I’M NOT TERRIBLE BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO BE SCARY.” Fi answered a question no one asked. As usual for the cutie. “WE’LL HELP RAISE THE BLINDS FOR YOU TO GET SUNSHINE.”

Sephy chuckled, “That’s very kind of you, boys.”

Val hummed as he examined the two hands he was given. Fi’s wings were fluttering, and I said softly, “hey, fi, you’re awfully breezy today.”

He puffed up his cheeks and huffed, but Morpheus growled at me. Hah, cute. I love these two kids.

“Oh?” Val turned to me. “Was that a pun?”

“yeah,” I hum, “Fi was flapping his wings to make those little gusts.”

“Wings...” Val seems pleased with the idea.

“Um, if you’re ready for the others, Valentine,” Sweet Bun says gently, “they’re here. But at your pace, of course.”

Nodding, they let go of Fi and Morpheus, “it’s nice to meet both of you.”

They giggle and fly away, off to play more games.

Dante whines and puts his head on Sephy’s knee. I realize he can’t directly communicate with Val because he can’t speak. “virgil? would you mind translating for your bro?”

“It is my solemn duty and only joy,” Virgil huffs and appears on Dante’s head. “Valentine, you are in the presence of the great diety known as Dante, and I am Virgil, translator and brother of Orpheus.”

There are several groans and coos from Dante, and he signs while he makes them, for the benefit of the rest of the family (and so they can correct Virgil if he tries to twist the words).

“My god wishes you to know he is also blind, traditionally speaking, and can only sense the world through his amazing extra senses.” Val reached out their vines and was gently analyzing Dante’s face while Virgil talked. “Welcome to our divinely cultivated family.”

Val’s vines slip over Virgil, too, who is surprisingly patient with them. “Hello, Dante, Virgil. Thank you.” When the vines withdraw, so does Dante’s head.

Sephy says softly, “Are you doing okay, Valentine?”

“Um, yes? I could use some water, though.” She sets us on the cushions and goes to get some.

Sweet Bun pushes Goldie and Gracey forward, “Valentine, these two about to give you their fingers are Goldie and Gracey. Please present yourselves to our new tiny friend!”

Goldie’s soft, warm voice is always calming. If I had to pick someone to be in charge other than Sephy, Goldie wins. He loves us and is strong enough to protect us.

“hey, valentine. i’m goldie. it’s good to have you safe at home.”

Val shook his finger, then Gracey offered his whole hand to the searching vines.

“m’gracey...you’re a nice, soft little fella...that’s good.” This made Val hum happily. They liked being praised.

A soft purr reached Valentine’s attention, and they turned their head down to it.

“Georgio~” Sephy cooed as she picked up the mini chain. Here was our brave and gentle founder. I guessed Wagner and Starlight were back in the nest boxes.

“heya. felt how happy everybody was and thought i’d join for a minute.” He sounded sleepy. He probably was, if I had to guess.

“geo,” Goldie said softly, “check out our cute new pal.”

“ooh.” He turned and Val followed his movements with their head. “hey there, flower baby. i’m georgio, sephy’s chain. i’m a lamia, so snakey sounds are gonna happen. when they wake up tonight, you can meet starlight and my mate, wagner. they’re sleeping in the closet, but uh...don’t go there.”

“i...i don’t plan to.” Val answers shyly. Georgio purred some more and flopped on Sephy’s hand as it came closer.

“valentine, we’ll set you in the sun for a while now, okay?” I ask, figuring introductions were over.

“Oh. Okay.” they cuddle up to me as I set them against my back, heading to the windowsill. I figure I’ll let them sun and take a nap myself.

All in all, a good day.

[theguardiansseries]

From the Beginning Chapter 6

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Summary: Danny Fenton was a simple, sixteen-year-old teenager who loved fast food, video games, and getting a B on surprise pop quizzes. He’s also the half-ghost teenage hero Danny Phantom who defends Amity Park from ghost attacks on a daily basis. Somehow, the ghost attacks make a lot more sense than crushes, friendships, and falling in love with someone he is definitely not supposed to be falling in love with. It was a lot easier to separate Phantom and Fenton before, but now it’s getting harder the more he learns about himself. Just who was he? The dorky son of scientists who loved the stars or the hero that protected the town. He’s starting to feel like he won’t like the answer. (Iambic Prose) (Prequel to Guardians and Partial Show Rewrite)

<<First Chapter>> <<Last Chapter>> <<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Six

::

“Here I was starting to think that you had forgotten where I was.” Ghostwriter stood there looking like a carbon copy of a disappointed Jazz with crossed arms, a small frown, and drawn in eyebrows. It would have been hilarious if Danny hadn’t felt a small amount of guilt at how Ghostwriter seemed to have been actually waiting to see Danny again.

“Nice job on dodging the word lived.” Danny really couldn’t handle serious right now, though, and he was pretty sure his hands were still shaking. “So, uh, hey, you know that whole ‘my door is always open and you’re free to visit’ thing you were talking about? Is that still open?”

“Unlike many of my fellows, I’m not in the habit of saying one thing and doing another.” So that was a yes, then? Danny was about to ask for clarification before he watched Ghostwriter’s posture melt, the ghost stepping aside as the door opened more widely. “Of course you’re welcome back. I had just assumed it would be a touch earlier.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m- Look, man, I’m sorry about that. Things were pretty busy the last week or two of my life.” January was already reaching its end and Danny had somehow managed to fuck his life up even more than it had been before. At least he was excelling in one area of his life.

“Well, I believe at this point you’ve learned that I rather like hearing stories. I’d be willing to listen if you wish to share.” God, he was so pretentious. Danny kind of hated that he was already smiling as he followed Ghostwriter deeper into the library.

“Yeah, that might actually kind of help. I mean, not unless you’re planning to psychoanalyze me or something.” There was a quiet sound that could have been a laugh, but when Danny darted forward to see Ghostwriter’s face, all he saw was a creepily calm expression.

“I certainly have no plans to, if that reassures you. Come on. I have a reading area set up just behind the history shelves.”

“Because history puts people to sleep?” Danny felt victorious as he didn’t hear Ghostwriter say anything back. “Knew it- Oh, whoa, hey, those actually look like nice couches. The last ones were like, ugly.”

“They were certainly aged,” Ghostwriter sighed, settling down on one of the couches that looked like it could either be black or purple. Danny stopped caring about the color when he felt how soft they were, holy shit. “My brother helped me to locate some new ones. I’m not sure I like the positioning of them quite yet, but they are no doubt comfortable to work on.”

“You talk like a college professor and it’s weird. You know that, right?” Danny squirmed and wiggled around until he was tucked up in his own corner, legs dissolving into one another to form a tail that curled around itself. Danny tried not to think too hard about how he hadn’t really consciously decided to do that. “At least it’s cleaner in here. No more dust?”

“Not on this level of the library, at least,” Ghostwriter hummed, attention on his laptop even as he talked to Danny. “I believe you were about to tell me a riveting tale about all your troubles and woes of the last few weeks?”

“Nerd.” It was a bit better that Ghostwriter wasn’t looking at him, though. It somehow made it easier for Danny to tell him… everything. Technus, Valerie, the whole ordeal in space, and his powers - he told him everything he could. By the end of it he wasn’t sure if he felt better or not, but his hands weren’t shaking anymore, at least.

“I mean, it’s so stupid, you know!” Danny slumped further down on the couch, arms crossed as he glared at the ceiling. “The first girl I like never even notices me, the second girl I thought I liked turned out to just be a really good friend, and now this one is giving me up for ghost hunting.” The irony was so strong it hurt. “I have such bad luck with girls, man.”

This time Ghostwriter definitely laughed - well, it wasn’t a laugh so much as it was a snort. It was kind of funny. “Perhaps you ought to think about pursuing one who isn’t a girl, then.”

“What?” What was that supposed to mean? “What do you- Oh. Oh. Well, uh, you see, um, maybe- Oh, jeez.” That was something he had never really thought about, really? That was very not an expected topic of conversation.

Danny was saved by anymore of his stuttering speech as Ghostwriter laughed a full and loud laugh, hand clutching at his chest as he slightly bent over. Danny was pretty sure it was the first time he hadn’t seen the guy perfectly composed. “Oh, mon petit, you’re absolutely precious.”

“I- What? No? Shut up!” He wasn’t some cute, blushing girl, or whatever, and he didn’t like guys like… that. “Just- Shut up.” Ghostwriter only laughed even more, Danny tucking and curling back into his corner of the couch. There was more he wanted to tell about what had happened, and this was probably going to be the only time he’d be able to do it. Maybe he’d get lucky and Ghostwriter wouldn’t hear him over his own laughter.

“I’m afraid of how dangerous I am.” The air fell silent and still, Danny swallowing as he looked down to hide his face. A part of it was also where he didn’t want to see Ghostwriter’s pity. “I mean… You’ve seen my powers back when we fought.” 

“I… was certainly surprised by some of what I saw. A lot of your powers are unique even by ghostly standards. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that sound attack you used.”

“The- Oh, yeah, the Ghostly Wail.” At the scrunched-up look that was a touch too close to judgment, Danny frowned. “Hey, I didn’t name it.” Technically, Dan named it. “Look, I just- These powers are getting more dangerous- I’m getting more dangerous. I can really hurt people. I mean I can really… really hurt people.” He’d learned that one the hard way.

“Yes. You are dangerous.” Gaze snapping up, Danny felt like his heart was in his throat as he looked at Ghostwriter’s serious expression. “You could easily kill someone with the power you have now.”

“I…” Fuck. He could, though, couldn’t he? If Valerie hadn’t been wearing that powerful suit of hers, then he could have… “What if I-”

“You never will.” The tone was absolutely certain and completely unwavering. “Oh, mon petit, you could never kill anyone.”

“You’re wrong.” Danny had seen his future, or at least, he had seen one of them. Clockwork had been careful in what Danny had seen, but he knew when he had fought Dan. He had killed people in that time. Dan may have been fused with Plasmius, as well, but his name had been Dan. It had always been Danny in control and he had turned them into a monster.

“I’m not.” Ghostwriter’s tone hadn’t wavered once. “You’re aware of how much power you have. You know you’re dangerous, and that’s why you’ll never kill anyone. Ignoring the fact that you care far too much for one so young, you gained incredible power and immediately used it protect people. You’re rather like Andrea in that regard.”

“I- What?” Soundless Clock Andrea? Why would he be Soundless Clock Andrea? “I mean, I guess I sorta can be, sometimes?”

“She never wished harm upon anyone. Until the very last, she would work to give people the chance that others never gave her. I saw the words that made up your past, Danny. I know some of what you’ve gone through, and I know that just like her, you will always fight to give people a chance they don’t deserve. You rather seem the type who fondly believes in second chances.”

Danny felt the itch and burn behind his eyes that embarrassed him more than anything Ghostwriter said. Quickly clearing his throat, Danny looked away, mumbling a quiet, “Thanks.”

“Of course. Now, I believe you mentioned something about being in space? You told me you wanted to be an astronaut, didn’t you?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I did- I do. Sort of. Um, yeah.” Danny knew the other was giving him a distraction, but he was grateful for it anyways. “So, I already told you how I wanted to go and explore space and everything thanks to Star Gazers.”

“I do remember, yes.” Ghostwriter seemed like he was smug, but Danny wasn’t willing to put effort into figuring that one out. He was still just trying not to cry. “At least there was one good thing from that fight.”

“Sort of. I didn’t exactly get time to stick around, but it was… Oh, man. I wish you could have seen it. Like, we think we know what it’ll be like because of movies and everything, right? But I was suddenly up there and it- I was weightless, but it’s completely different compared to Ghost Zone physics.

“Ghostwriter, it was incredible. I was suddenly floating in space. Movies and books and star gazing can’t even come close to preparing you for that. Like, you don’t really think about it, but there are entire worlds out there! Earth is so big and so huge and so diverse and we’re just one planet.”

He felt almost stupid getting carried away like this, but Ghostwriter was smiling and had his complete focus on him, now. “Just- I could see the stars, Ghostwriter.” There had been whole worlds out there, just… waiting. “I could see the stars and I knew some of them were planets. There were planets that were so far away, but they were close enough that one day we might actually live on them.”

A few glimpses. He had only managed to catch a few glimpses, but for those moments the entire fight had faded away. He had forgotten about Technus and Valerie and the satellite. He had even forgotten he was Phantom. He had just been that kid who loved the stars and wanted to know what was out there.

“I saw the sun. It- I could see Earth below me and oh, man, it was just… You never realize how big it is and how small you are, but it was so incredible. I saw the Earth and behind it I saw the sun rising up and it was just…” Danny didn’t have the words to describe that image of the sun rising over the Earth as it had been doing for longer than they could comprehend.

“Beautiful.” The word was soft and quiet and as fragile as everything inside him felt, but Danny nodded and managed to give Ghostwriter a smile.

“Yeah. It was beautiful.” The word felt almost inadequate when he said it, but it was still… perfect. “It was all perfect and I’m never going to be able to see it again.”

“What do you mean?” Ghostwriter frowned, sitting up a little more, now. “You hardly seem like the type to give up on your dreams.”

“Ghostwriter, I’m…” Danny gestured down at himself. His tail was still curled up around him and his skin was glowing. “With everything that’s happened, I’ll never be able to go up on a sanctioned flight. Even if I got my grades up, which, yeah, fat chance of that, the physicals would show that I’m not normal.”

Maybe he could have gotten his grades up, but there was no faking lab results with NASA. “They’ll never send a ghost up into space, but…” Danny bit his lip, trying to hold the words in. He had already unloaded so much baggage onto Ghostwriter. He didn’t need anymore.

“But?” Ghostwriter had a small little smile, tilting his head and looking like he honestly cared about what Danny was going to say.

“But the Ghost Zone is kind of like my space.” The words were out of him before he could stop them, and after that he knew there was no stopping it. “I mean- We’re in another world right now. This is a new world.” The Ghost Zone had been so goddamn terrifying at first, but whenever he remembered that this was a place humans had never explored, how could he not be amazed? It was a new world he was allowed to explore.

“I mean, it doesn’t really hit sometimes, does it?” This was a place where ghosts lived. That was- It was so cool. “This world is so completely different from our own. It’s- Isn’t that just amazing? This is a world that you guys probably don’t even know that well, yet.”

Just the fact that there were ghosts who could control time was amazing in of itself, but along with everything else in the Ghost Zone? This was a world he could explore, and no one would be able to stop him or say he wasn’t fit for it. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still trying to get control of my powers and everything, but one day I’d just… I’d love to see what else is in this world.”

“Oh, mon petit.” Ghostwriter’s voice was hushed, and Danny immediately felt his entire body flash with heat as his heart sped up again. God, he had been so- He had gotten so caught up and he had forgotten he was talking to a guy he barely even knew. “You really do love all of this, don’t you?”

“Sorry- Sorry. That was probably pretty boring listening to me ramble like that, huh?” Rubbing at the back of his neck and trying to not just run away like he really, really wanted to, Danny forced himself to meet Ghostwriter’s gaze and grin. “There’s not really anyone else I can talk about this with.”

“I’ve been known rather well for my ability to keep secrets,” Ghostwriter said quietly, a laugh in his words. Danny let himself really focus on him, noticing the smile. “Keeping yours won’t be too much trouble.”

“I…” God. Now Danny felt really guilty about destroying that first book, considering how amazing Ghostwriter was being. “What’s those words mean? The ones you keep saying?”

“You might have to narrow it down as there are quite a few words in the English language.” He took it all back. Ghostwriter was a jerk.

“Pretty sure the words weren’t English.” Danny watched as Ghostwriter frowned before he blinked and his face loosened up.

“Oh! Mon petit, you mean?” Ghostwriter gave an amused little smirk that was equal parts confusing and annoying. “It’s French.”

“You’re French?” Ghosts could be French? Well, actually, yeah, that kind of made sense, but it was hardly Danny’s fault that he kept running into American ghosts. Probably American ghosts? Actually, Technus had a pretty weird accent.

“I used to be.” Startling at the tone more than the words, Danny frowned as he noticed the look on Ghostwriter’s face. It… wasn’t a bad look, but Danny knew the expression secrets caused. “We should make an adventure out of it.”

“Wait, what?” Back up, hold on, Danny had been having a revelation, and suddenly Ghostwriter was talking about adventures? “I’m not Winnie the Pooh, here.”

“Oh, hush. I merely meant that we could make an adventure out of exploring the Ghost Zone. My brother, Randy, he likes to explore this world, and he knows of the more, hm, interesting parts of the Ghost Zone. His adventures tend to make for excellent novel inspiration and I’ve been on one or two of them myself. They’re a great chance to relax and experience something new and-”

“Yeah.” The word was more like a quiet breath than anything, but Ghostwriter still stopped and looked back at him. “The exploring thing? Yeah.” Danny knew he could maybe one day make friends with the ghosts, but he hadn’t expected to have a friend that was a ghost. It wasn’t all that bad. “That sounds great, Ghostwriter.”

“I’m glad.” With that, Ghostwriter was launching into describing whatever book he had been reading, Danny fighting off a laugh as he nodded and began to listen. His last few weeks may have been hell, but just sitting here in a place where he knew no one would find him? That… That was way better than talking to Jazz and having his thoughts and reactions picked at.

Damn. He really would have to thank Clockwork and suffer through an ‘I told you so’ look. Silently watching Ghostwriter flap his hands about and talk even faster, though, Danny decided that would be a fair price for a new friend.

[livingcorner]

Best kitchen flooring 2021: The toughest and most stylish kitchen flooring in wood, laminate tile and more

Kitchen floors have to withstand all sorts, which is why we’ve worked hard to find some of the best kitchen flooring out there. Not only does your flooring need to be easy to clean, but also stain-resistant, stylish and comfortable to walk on. Some need to work with different surfaces or floor constructions, while others need to be compatible with underfloor heating (UFH), too. All need to last for many years, as replacing a floor is never cheap or fun.

READ NEXT: Our pick of the best steam cleaners

You're reading: Best kitchen flooring 2021: The toughest and most stylish kitchen flooring in wood, laminate tile and more

Thankfully, there’s a huge choice of materials on offer, with advanced printing techniques enabling the look of timber or stone with the affordability of laminate or the durability of porcelain. If you’re keen to keep maintenance to a minimum, easily moppable luxury vinyl tiles (LVTs) are a good fit. Similarly, if you have time to clean regularly and want flooring with more character, a natural material that requires some sealing or waxing may be the best choice for you.

To help you make your decision and find the best kitchen flooring whatever your needs, we’ve picked out a varied choice of fantastic flooring to keep your feet and home happy.

Read on for our guide to buying the best kitchen flooring or scroll further to see our top picks.

Best kitchen flooring: At a glance

Best kitchen flooring on a budget: Topps Tiles Woodeves Grey tiles | Buy now

Best for family kitchens: Karndean Da Vinci CER13 Eisen | Buy now

Best for speedy installation: Aqualock 12mm Laminate Flooring | Buy now

Longest-lasting floor: Beswick Stone Keynes Mix Limestone | Buy now

Best flooring for a classic kitchen: The Natural Wood Floor Company Oak Aged Parquet Oiled | Buy now

How to buy the best kitchen flooring for you

What types of kitchen flooring can you buy?

Natural stone

This includes limestone, travertine, granite and slate, is a popular choice thanks to its unique veining and available colours. Finishes can be tumbled, for a more aged, antique look, honed, for a modern matt surface or polished for a light-reflecting shine. Some stones will be more hardwearing than others.

Limestone, for example, can be etched by acids, such as fizzy drinks and descaler, so it’s a good idea to seal it initially then reseal it regularly to protect the surface. On the plus side, it’s durable, easy to clean and is UFH-compatible. However, if you’re standing for any length of time, it can make your legs ache. It’ll be cold in the winter without UFH, while softer stones may scratch and textured surfaces harbour dirt.

Timber

It’s best to avoid using solid wood in the working areas of a kitchen as the boards can shift and warp with humidity and UFH. Blocks, such as parquet, are more stable but should still be cleaned with a damp, rather than wet, mop. A better option is engineered boards – made with a core of HDF or plywood with a layer of real wood on top. These are more stable structurally and usually UFH-compatible as well.

Other options include naturally bacteria-resistant and eco-friendly cork and bamboo, but like all such woods, they’re easily dented. In most cases, wood can be repaired with gentle sanding and refinishing. Check if your boards come prefinished or if they have to be oiled or waxed on a regular basis.

Vinyl

Vinyl has come a long way since it first appeared in the kitchen and its new-gen hard incarnation, LVT (as opposed to sheet vinyl on a roll), is easy to clean, water-resistant and comfy underfoot. In some cases, it can even be laid straight over an existing floor. Most tiles and planks replicate wood or stone with a digital print and faux grout lines but you can also find coloured and patterned tiles. Choose a good-quality version and it’ll have a thick wear layer so it protects against damage and scratches. Many are UFH-compatible but check with the supplier.

Laying it properly is key to its longevity – the sub-floor will need to be even and you may have to fit underlay first or glue it in place, depending on the system. Be sure to add pads to stool or chair legs to prevent damage over time.

Laminate

If you’re choosing laminate, it pays to invest. While there are several budget options, they may not be especially hardwearing or water-resistant. Good-quality versions, however, come with realistic-looking designs and planks that can survive the odd spill. Laminate is made from a melamine back, an HDF core and a high-resolution image of wood, stone or tiles protected by a transparent wear layer. This makes it resistant to scuffs and scratches, although damage can’t be repaired.

Read more: What Color Should I Paint My Kitchen with White Cabinets? 7 Best Choices to Consider

Laminate can also sometimes feature a textured finish for extra realism. Even at the top end, it’s still a relatively affordable flooring option that won’t stain and won’t need sealing. Check its UFH-compatibility though, as not all of them will suit dry systems, and some require underlay.

Tiles

Ceramic, porcelain or terracotta tiles are another popular option. Porcelain is a harder version of ceramic, meaning that it’s low maintenance, hygienic, easy to clean and incredibly durable. It’s also UFH-compatible and is often available in covetable marble or reclaimed timber effects. Porcelain tiles are usually more expensive than ceramic. They’re cold without heating and can be uncomfortable for long periods of standing.

More affordable ceramic and terracotta tiles have many of the same qualities but can crack and chip more than porcelain. This is worse for ceramic tiles, as any chips will reveal the white base – terracotta is, at least, solid-bodied.

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Lino or rubber

Lino – or under its brand name, Marmoleum, is a mix of linseed oil, cork, wood and resin as waterproof sheets or tiles. It’s durable, warm underfoot and hygienic but needs to be sealed once it’s laid. On the plus side, it’s easy to clean and UFH-compatible. On the negative? It can fade over time or develop a yellowish tinge.

Rubber tiles or sheets are equally comfy underfoot, and have the bonus of being water-resistant and robust. It can even be designed with studs for extra grip. On the downside, it can dent over time, and smooth finishes can be slippery. Rubber tiles need a smooth subfloor and you’ll need to check if your version is UFH-compatible.

Concrete and resin

Poured floors are ideal for creating a seamless finish but require more complex, and often costly, installation. Concrete needs sealing once it’s set to be water and stain-resistant, but it’s otherwise easy to clean and UFH-compatible. It’s resistant to chips and cracks. Resin is warm underfoot, waterproof, easy to clean and UFH-compatible but again, will need to be sealed to help protect it from scratches and stains. However, it can be refreshed with sanding and resealed if damaged.

READ NEXT: The best vacuum cleaners on the market

The best kitchen flooring to buy

1. Aqualock 12mm Laminate Flooring French Grey Oak: The best flooring for speedy installation

Price: £27 per sq m | Buy now from UK Flooring Direct

If you’re fitting your flooring yourself or are simply pressed for time, then these laminate floorboards from Aqualock come with a DIY friendly click-in system that makes them super simple to fit. They’re guaranteed for 35 years and remain water-resistant for up to 48 hours, so you won’t have to worry if you’ve got leaks (at least, not about your flooring).

Another appeal of this flooring is its mixing of different tones of grey; this creates a dynamic look, unlike the flat, repetitive uniformity of other laminate floorboards. This colour mixing makes it easy to match with any kitchen colour palette and there’s also a UV-resistant coating that helps to prevent colour fading. The floor’s scratch resistant textured surface follows the ‘grain’ of the planks meaning that you can drop pretty much anything on this floor and it won’t get damaged, or lose its realistic appearance.

Key specs – Size: 138 x 19.1 x 1.2cm (HWD); Type: laminate; Features: 48 hour water resistance, UV resistance, scratch-resistant, textured surface, 35-year warranty; UFH-compatible: Yes (water only)

Buy now from UK Flooring Direct

2. Karndean Da Vinci CER13 Eisen: The best for family kitchens

Price: From £38 per sq m | Buy now from Flooring Hut

Inspired by weathered steel, Eisen LVT flooring doesn’t just tick the box for style credentials, it’s also perfect for a family kitchen. It’s super low maintenance, requiring a simple sweep and mop to stay spotless, plus it’s waterproof so there’s no need to worry about spills; just wipe and go. Should any part become damaged, individual tiles can be replaced, while its K-Guard+ PU coating creates a non-porous surface that gives germs, dirt or bacteria nowhere to hide.

Meanwhile, the blend of dark tones and subtle patterns ensures that it’ll complement a range of kitchen styles. You can personalise it with borders or light or dark grout strips, or have it laid in a staggered pattern. It’s pricier than some LVT, however, so if you’re covering a large space, you may want to opt for it in just in the working area.

Key specs – Size: 30.5 x 45.7 x 0.3cm (HWD); Type: LVT; Features: 0.7mm wear layer, bevelled edge, lifetime guarantee; UFH-compatible: Yes (if insulated)

Buy now from Flooring Hut

3. Topps Tiles Woodeves Grey tiles: The best kitchen flooring on a budget

Price: £20 per sq m | Buy now from Topps Tiles

Embodying all that’s great about modern ceramic flooring, the Woodeves range of timber-effect tiles comes with a tactile surface and a realistic grain pattern, giving it a premium look far beyond its price tag. This mellow grey colourway is ideal for mixing and matching with encaustic-style tiles or co-ordinating with a simple Shaker kitchen in a deeper tone.

The tiles need very little maintenance once installed, and aside from not using highly alkaline or acidic cleaners, can be kept spotless with a simple sweep and mop.

Key specs – Size: 57 x 19 x 0.9cm (HWD); Type: ceramic; Features: also available in Oak; UFH-compatible: Yes

Buy now from Topps Tiles

Read more: How to Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets

4. The Natural Wood Floor Company Oak Aged Parquet Oiled: The best flooring for a classic kitchen

Price: £63 per sq m | Buy now from the Natural Wood Floor Company

Parquet wood flooring is a great way to introduce subtle pattern, but while solid blocks will be less prone to warping than planks, they’re still not recommended for use with underfloor heating. This engineered parquet floor is UFH-compatible, however, thanks to a ply backing with an oak veneer glued on top – giving the appearance of a solid wood floor but with greater stability.

Tumbled edges and a reclaimed appearance means it’ll look like it’s been part of the fabric of your home for decades, while its pre-oiled finish enhances the natural beauty and knots of the wood, and it can be stuck down to a concrete screed or ply subfloor. This one will take a little maintenance – It’s a good idea to re-oil it regularly in high traffic areas, and the kitchen always qualifies.

Key specs – Size: 40 x 10 x 1.9cm (HWD); Type: engineered wood; Features: tongue and groove profile; UFH-compatible: Yes

Buy now from the Natural Wood Floor Company

5. Beswick Stone Keynes Mix Limestone: The longest-lasting floor

Price: £41 per sq m | Buy now from Beswick Stone

While kitchen floors tend to become worn and fade with age, a hard-wearing stone floor simply improves to last a lifetime, making it the best value for money buy. This Keynes Mix limestone is a great example, featuring tiles in two neutral shades – a warm honey beige and soft grey – for a unique multi-toned floor that blends well with different kitchen styles and colours.

It’s available in 40cm widths and random lengths as well as an opus pattern that comprises four different sizes for an interesting layout. However, it’s worth noting that the tumbled edges can mean thicker grout lines that attract dirt. It’s essential to seal this floor and use a cleaner designed for natural stone products. You might also want to pair it with UFH for comfort, as limestone can be very cool to the touch.

Key specs – Size: [four tile sizes for opus pattern] 60 x 40 x 1.5cm, 40 x 40 x 1.5cm, 40 x 20 x 1.5cm, 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.5cm (all HWD); Type: natural stone; Features: chalky matte finish; UFH-compatible: Yes

Buy now from Beswick Stone

6. CRL Stone Ceralsio Calacatta Gris Polished tiles: The best low-maintenance floor

Price: From £67 per sq m | Buy now from Ceralsio

For those who love the look of marble but not the sealing and care that comes with stone, there are Ceralsio porcelain tiles. Sintered at a temperature of more than 1,200°C, these are hard-wearing, non-porous, scratch and stain-resistant and even UV stable, meaning you can continue your floor onto a patio for an inside-outside living feel.

What really sets these tiles apart, however, is the surface. It’s printed using a ‘Full Digital’ system, which means the pattern is unique and unrepeatable from tile to tile. This sets it apart from other marble look-a-like tiles, which can appear suspiciously similar to each other when viewed en-masse on the kitchen floor. You might need to budget a bit more for this class of flooring, but given its easy cleaning credentials and general imperviousness to everything, it’ll save you plenty of time in return.

Key specs – Size: from 150 x 150 x 0.6cm (HWD); Type: porcelain; Features: natural or polished finish, impact-resistant; UFH-compatible: Yes

Buy now from Ceralsio

7. Kahrs European Naturals Collection, Oak Hampshire at John Lewis: The best flooring for natural character

Price: £67 per sq m | Buy now from John Lewis

Despite a slew of lookalikes, real wood is the only choice for some. Warm, comfy underfoot and with a wear layer that’s sliced from a single piece of oak, these matt lacquered engineered boards have a soft-polished sheen that’s designed to make the most of the grain, knots and cracks, not to mention the lovely light to dark brown colour variations. However, these boards give you more than just a clever construction – each has been specially shaped so it locks into the next, allowing it to be installed quickly with strong, glue-free joints.

This floor will need a bit more maintenance than some floors, requiring oiling once in place and spills wiped-up straight away. It also needs a well-wrung mop rather than a wet-cleaning, along with an annual re-oil. The effect is worth it, though, when you see how good these look.

Key specs – Size: 242 x 18.7 x 1.5cm (HWD); Type: engineered wood; Features: 3.5mm wear layer, 30-year warranty; UFH-compatible: Yes (with moisture barrier)

Buy now from John Lewis

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Kitchen

source https://livingcorner.com.au/best-kitchen-flooring-2021-the-toughest-and-most-stylish-kitchen-flooring-in-wood-laminate-tile-and-more/

[kurokoros]

Dishes Best Served...

Commissioned by @theanimangaofitall Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy it <3 (also it won’t tag you for some reason???)

Pairing: Nalu

Works count: 2.5K

Lucy glares at the dirty pile of dishes in the sink, unamused with what she sees. Her hands settle on her hips, foot tapping against the wood floors, and she counts several different ways of killing her fiancé with one of the dirty spoons sitting harmlessly on the counter where it shouldn’t be.

She’s been gone for three days, away on assignment for Jason, her boss at the magazine Sorcerer Weekly, to interview the famous Runway model Mirajane Strauss, and she gave him two things to do while she was away. Two very simple things that she prayed he would be able to accomplish: do the dishes and feed their pets.

Judging by the state of her kitchen sink, Lucy can only hope that Happy and Plue aren’t dead.

Now, Lucy loves Natsu, she really does. He means the world to her and she’s able to forgive him for anything short of homicide, with some exceptions, of course. Sometimes, though, he makes her want to kill him with a rusty spoon and bury his body in Gray’s backyard. Illegal, maybe, but Gods does he deserve it sometimes. He’s her best friend and the love of her life, but he’s also a slob and sometimes she regrets ever moving in with him.

Lucy growls under her breath, eye twitching as she stares at the pile of dishes that’s at least twice the size of what it was when she left earlier in the week, a marvel in itself, considering how much she knows Natsu can eat. She doesn’t know how the hell he manages to look like a walking marble statue when he puts away his own body-weight in food every day. That’s hardly an exaggeration either, but fuck, if that’s what gives him his crazy stamina than she can deal with it from now until they’re eighty and gross and sex completely off the table.

Well, she doubts sex will ever be completely off the table, but she’s not going to risk breaking a hip to get some, be it with Natsu or not. She figures she’ll marry at least twice in life. Lucy plans to be happily married to one Natsu Dragneel from spring of next year until the time he unceremoniously dies from doing something stupid, like trying to back flip off moving car, or ski down the staircase. Lucy guesses she’ll be around her mid-thirties at that point, and will marry again by forty to fill the empty void in her heart where Natsu once was, the dumbass.

Though, there’s also a very good chance that he’s about to die at twenty-three for being an absolute fuck-nut and not doing the damn dishes. She asks him to do fix two things, and he makes one of them worse.

Lucy has a feeling she’s going to cry when she sees what the rest of the house looks like.

And maybe she’s just a little bit bitter than Natsu didn’t come to greet her at the door like he usually does, always more than excited to have her back home. It’s been a good five minutes and she hasn’t seen him anywhere yet.

Sure, she’s home a good half-hour earlier than expected, but does that really make a difference? She wanted to surprise him a little, but now she can’t even find him. And she knows he’s home. His motorcycle is in the driveway, and she knows he would rather risk getting her foot shoved up his ass than ride in a car, but that doesn’t explain where he might have gone.

Happy and Plue also aren’t anywhere to be found, which is mildly concerning and Lucy’s fear for their lives spikes for just a moment, though she knows Natsu would never intentionally neglect to take car of them. It’s just odd, really. Plue is always the second one to greet her at the door, jumping on her and giving her kisses, nearly shoving her back out the door with his lap dog mentality, despite being damn near one-hundred pounds. Happy isn’t usually this shy either, coming out whenever he hears the door unlock.

A pout forms on Lucy’s lips, and she slowly spins around, glancing around the otherwise immaculate kitchen. Her eyes narrow in confusion, Lucy not understanding. It’s cleaner than when she left, and it even looks like he dusted above the cabinets, the one place Lucy is too short to reach. That’s peculiar for two reasons. One, she finds it hard to believe that Natsu would go out of his way to dust when he has a mild allergy, but can’t do the dishes, which is something she actually asked him to do. And two, she’s pretty sure neither of them have dusted up there for a good year, considering they both hate doing it, meaning there had to be some kind of dust bunny army up there.

She’ll have to thank him for that, but not until after she chews him out for not doing the goddamn dishes.

She swears under her breath as she glances back at the pile in the sink, lean precariously to the right and looking one plate from crashing onto the floor and making a very large mess. Lovely. That’s exactly what Lucy wants to take care of right now.

Not only did she just spend three days away from her favorite person, something she absolutely loathes doing, but she also had to spend most of that time listening to Jason act like a fucking idiot around the models. Lucy would think that after being in the business for the last eight years, he’d know how to control himself, but she guesses that might just be too much to ask from him.

Lucy sighs, dropping her purse on the floor and kicking off her heels with a pout. All she wants right now is something to eat, a bubble bath, and a glass of the good wine she keeps on the rack. She would add sex with her fiancé to that list, but until those dishes are done, she supposes she’ll just have to make due with her own hands.

It wouldn’t be the first time she’s had to do that, and at this rate it certainly won’t be the last.

Lucy spins around with a huff, deciding to go for the wine first, feeling like she’s going to need it, but stills when she looks at the wine rack. Rather, when she sees what’s not on the wine rack. The good wine, the one she got for her birthday from her father, is gone. Her wine is gone. And so is her favorite glass, by the looks of it. She peers at the rack, noticing two glasses are missing, and she’s bet good money that they aren’t in the sink. Natsu never even uses a wine glass unless they’re drinking together.

A sting of hurt curls though Lucy, her lips twisting into a deeper frown, and she wonders who the hell Natsu might be drinking wine with at seven at night on a Friday. The only friends they have that even like wine are Loke and Cana, and Natsu doesn’t like Loke, and Lucy’s fairly certain that Cana’s at a wine tasting event with her new girlfriend this week.

She spins around, sighing, and reaches for the half-empty bottle of Bordeaux from last Christmas, deciding it’s a good a time as any to get drunk and soak in the bathtub for an hour. She doesn’t need a glass if she plans on finishing the damn bottle.

Lucy takes one step towards the wine rack before the French doors to the dinning room burst open, Natsu grinning to himself, clearly pleased as he steps through the doors. He takes one look at her and goes still in his tracks, gaping and turning a shade paler than normal, and Lucy doesn’t know if she should feel hurt or just sigh and remind herself that she’s marrying a dumbass.

“Lucy!” Natsu gasps, only he doesn’t sound happy to see her, and Lucy doesn’t know if it’s just been a long day, but she suddenly feels a lot like crying.

She’ll take that wine now.

Her lips twist into a bitter smile, and Natsu winces, realizing how unenthusiastic he sounds upon seeing his fiancée for the first time in days. Yeah, Lucy feels very well loved at the moment. “Hello to you, too,” she replies, sarcasm dripping from her words, and Natsu makes an odd whining sound in the back of his throat.

“You can’t be here right now,” he blurts, blocking her way into the dinning room, and Lucy frowns at the odd gesture, taking a moment to look him over. He’s dressed nicely. Almost too nicely, and that’s incredibly suspicious. She knows that Natsu doesn’t have a mean enough bone in his body to cheat on anyone, but she also knows he’s definitely hiding something. Natsu never wears a suit unless he has to.

Which is a shame, considering he looks really fucking hot in a suit.

If anything, her frown only deepens, Lucy quirking a brow at Natsu’s stranger than normal behavior. “I live here,” she reminds him, wondering why he’s acting stranger than usual. “Natsu,” she starts, sighing, and running a hand through her messy hair, “were you seriously going to do the dishes in thirty minutes?” He blanches and she groans. “I told you to stop doing that! Food always gets stuck on there and we have to wash things twice!”

“What?” he sputters, bewilderment flickering across his face. His arms drop back to his sides a moment before Natsu rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, clearing his throat and flushing. “No, I did the dishes,” he mumbles, gaze flicking to the sink piled high. Natsu winces, gaze apologetic when he turns back to her.

“And then you got them dirty again,” Lucy states, not sure what she should have expected from him. It’s such a Natsu thing to do, honestly. She’ll give him points for attempting, but that’s all he’s getting from her.

Natsu opens his mouth to protest, but winces, nodding a moment later. “That would be what I did, yes,” he admits, sighing. His shoulders droop, and for a moment he looks more upset than she’s ever seen him before, even during that moment of sheer panic back in college when he thought Happy ran away.

Lucy groans, stepping up to him with a scowl, but it melts away when she sees his put-out expression. She sighs, letting her arms curl around his waist gently and tucking herself beneath his chin. “Natsu…” she trails off, glancing behind him into the dinning room, surprised when she sees a flicker of light, the room decorated with candles. Lucy squints, barely smothering a gasp when she sees the table covered in dishes, two places set nicely.

“Oh, my gods,” she murmurs, pulling back enough to look at him, Natsu’s hands settling on her hips to keep her pressed to him. “Did I forget our anniversary?” she asks, nearly hysteric as she glances between his eyes and the dinning room, realizing he made them dinner. Keeping one hand on his back, Lucy covers her mouth, worried tears building in her eyes.

Natsu gapes down at her, eyes widening when he sees her tears, shaking his head quickly, hands coming up to wipe them away. “No,” he coos, thumb brushing along her cheek, “no, I just—” He laughs lightly, stumbling over his words, and leans into her, pressing his lips against her temple before leaning down to rest his forehead against hers. “I wanted to do something nice,” he murmurs, an embarrassed note to his words. Natsu clears his throat, nosing at her hair. “I missed you.” He presses a kiss to her forehead, working his way down her cheek, and Lucy loses her breath, trembling against him slightly. “I’m sorry about the dishes, I’ll—”

He’s smiling down at her shyly, shifting on his feet, and Lucy suddenly realizes that she doesn’t give a damn about the dishes, and Natsu looks positively sexy in a suit, and dear god she thinks she’s about two seconds away from jumping him right here in the kitchen. “Fuck the dishes,” she hisses, cutting him off suddenly, and Natsu frowns for a moment before Lucy absolutely can’t help herself anymore.

She grabs him by his messy tie and yanks him down to meet her, his mouth crashing against hers almost violently in her desperation to taste him. Natsu’s startled into a groan, but kisses her back just as fierce. His hands immediately latch onto her hips, holding her steady as she presses up on her toes to kiss him, vaguely cursing herself for taking off her heels earlier. One of her arms loops around the back of his neck, dragging him down to her, the other clenching his tie tightly between her fingers. She sighs against his mouth, feeling the coolness of his lip ring pressing against her lower lip.

Natsu exhales through his nose, practically sighing against her, mouth pressing against hers with just enough pressure to make her head spin as he pulls her flush up against him, arms coiling around her back. Lucy is assaulted by the smell of his cologne as she presses herself up against him, something sweet that she can’t quite put her finger on. Natsu’s hand comes up to curl through her hair, tilting her chin up to deepen the kiss as best he can. Natsu leans into her, tilting her back into a slight dip as he kisses her harder, lips moving with hers as Lucy arches her back to feel more of him against her. His teeth nip at her lower lip suddenly, followed by his tongue brushing over the same spot. A small sound leaves her throat, but he swallows it quickly, pressing closer.

Somehow they end up backed against the kitchen counter, Natsu scrambling to lift her up, hands on her thighs as he slides her dress higher and higher, deft fingers teasing her skin to make her arch into his chest. Lucy yanks at his dress shirt, popping the buttons easily and pulling at his tie until it comes loose. Her hands slip down his chest, fingertips tracing the defined lines of his stomach as she shivers, Natsu’s mouth working down her neck and driving her positively insane.

His fingers brush lace and she gasps his name, legs hooking around his waist and dragging him flush against her. Natsu grins against her, lips scrapping along the side of her throat as he kisses his way back to her ear. “What about the dishes?” he pants against her, releasing her as Lucy shoves his shirt off his shoulders, causing them to catch on his elbows. He sounds an odd combination of smug and confused, and Lucy groans as she yanks him forward by the belt.

“Fuck the dishes,” she hisses in his ear, repeating herself, and Natsu grins as he leans back in to capture her mouth with his.

[kpopsofa]

Mafia!Jungkook Imagine Pt.3

  Summary:

Imagine your a police officer trying to arrest a mafia boss… A quite special one. In the end, nothing goes like planned… And suddenly he’s your boss.

 Genre:

Mafia!Au, and a little bit of everything?

Part 1// Part 2// Part 3// Part 4

The brown haired guy stood up and slowly walked to the door. You shuddered,  finally noticing how cold it actually was. You tried not to think of anything. You tried not to think about how your life as a sniper would be. Suddenly, you saw that the Mafia guy had turned around and was looking at you with a strange expression. Now you where the one raising one eyebrow.

“Ah, and (Y/N)… I’m not supposed to tell you, but… As soon as I leave this room and tell my boss about your decision, the bomb in your parents house will be activated.”

You felt your heart drop as your eyes grew wide in shock. He walked on, grabbed the doorknob and opened the door…

NO.

“Wait. WAIT!!!”, you screamed in panic.

The guy turned around, smiling in triumph.

“Welcome to the Mafia, (Y/N). I’m Jungkook and I’ll be your teacher for the next months.”

        ~~~    

 The next thing you knew, you woke up in a quite normal, clean room. No weapons, no dangerous looking people, and- at least seemingly- no cameras. Not that you expected all those things, but you had to make sure. You didn't remember how you got here, maybe they used drugs... In the end you probably didn't even wanna know. There was nothing you could do- Besides then waiting for someone to get you out. And it wasn't going to be the police, even if you hoped so. You stood up and walked up and down in the small room. Maybe it was like a hostel room or something, they wouldn't bring you to an actual Mafia building, would  they? In the end you still were an police officer! You searched the room for anything suspicious, or at least a hint, but you couldn't find anything. Just an average hostel room. Without a phone, of course. That would've been way to easy. 

You thought about Jungkook and his words. Teaching you? What the hell was he going to teach you? You already knew how to handle a pistol and you weren't going to let him teach you how to kill people. Definietly not. You sighed. It's not like you were actually going to be a part of the mafia... Right? Hopefully you would know soon. Right now there were way to much questions flying around in your head. But even more importantly, you had to find a way to escape.

Suddenly, without any warning, the door swung open with a loud bang. You jumped. What the hell!? Didn't that person know how to knock? Did they come to hurt you?  You turned around,a little bit scared but also curious about the person. You somehow expected Jungkook to be standing there, but that wasn't the case. In fact, a blonde, young girl was standing in the doorframe. She seemed way to young for the mafia, not even the tons of dark make up would hide that. But there was something about her that seemed strange-  like, really out of place. She was smiling widely. She didn't seem dangerous at all, not like someone who'd kill people. More like... a bunny? Before you could say anything, she spoke up.

"Hey there, I'm Lisa. So your the newbie? I'm kinda new too!", she said, still grinning. You didn't know why, but she seemed quite nice. You couldn't help it, you instantly liked her. You stared at her until you realized she was probably expecting an answer. 

"Yeah, I guess? I don't really know...", you answered, shrugging your shoulders.

Lisa just kept on smiling. She probably knew everything about you anyways. At least she seemed to know why you were here.

"So, (Y/N)! Jungkook told me to get you. Your lesson is going to start soon. But, If I'm honest...", she said while eyeing you up and down,  "You can't go like this. I'll give you better clothes."

With that, she simply walked to the closet, leaving you perplexed. You hadn't even checked the closet yet, thinking about it. She took out a black, tight jeans and a black tank top. Without saying anything she gave you the clothes. Then, she motioned you to change. However, Lisa didn't turn around. She was just standing there, looking at you with a more and more confused expression. Would she be, like... watching you? That was quite strange. You didn't even know her.

"What are you waiting for? Jungkook's waiting. Can't say he likes to wait.", Lisa said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Can you just turn around?", you asked awkwardly.

Lisa laughed quietly, making her nose crincle a little bit. She was getting kind of strange. But what did you expect? This wasn't just some random hotel and she wasn't just some random girl.

"I mean, sure, I can! But the two of us will be getting pretty close. There's simply no other way. So why don't why start right now?".

Luckily, she turned around anyways and you  quickly changed your clothes, checking them for anything strange before wiggling into them. You were happy to finally have fresh clothes, you definietly didn't expect to get some. They were quite tight, but that was probably normal, looking at Lisas outfit.

"I'm ready, Lisa... So, what now?".

Lisa just nodded and took your hand, pulling you out of the room. You didn't make the effort to close it, there wasn't anything in there anyways.

She leaded you trough a row of lonely corridors. You were actually in a small hotel, but it appeared to be abandoned. The wallpaper was already removed from some parts of the wall and the carpets were stiff from dirt. Great. That wasn't helping you at all. You couldn't remember any abandoned building in your city. At least you knew it was evening, since the sun was just going down and the last golden sunbeams were drawing flickering patterns on the floor. If your heart wouldn't pound like crazy, maybe it would've been pretty. But in the end you were being kidnapped and some strange mafia guy was probably trying to make you kill people. You weren't looking forward to meeting him at all. Yes, maybe you should just try and run from Lisa. But she really seemed to know this building, there was no way you could escape right now. Maybe you should try and get her to trust you. Maybe she could help you out.

After what felt like an eternity, Lisa and you entered a big hallway. At least it was big compared to your room. The dark red carpet here looked way cleaner than in the rest of the hotel and warm, yellow light from some plastic candlesticks made the room appear somewhere near cozy. You heart was still pounding. It was so loud, there was no way Lisa wouldn't here it. She turned around to you and pointed at a big wooden door.

"This way. This room once was the dining hall, now rookies get trained there. Jungkooks waiting. I think he's alone, the others are already outside or in their rooms. Just in case you need me, my room is number 233. You'll... find that somehow I guess. Bye, (Y/N). Good luck."

You quickly nodded, and before you could ask anything or say thank you, she ran off. Amazing. Now you truly were alone. But you were quite sure running away made no sense. Especially since they didn't make a big deal out of the black cameras that were installed everywhere.You would've no chance. And with that, there was only one option left.

Go trough that door. Face your kidnapper. And let him teach you god knows what.

     ~~~

 The door was quite heavy, but you were able to open it. You closed it behind you, trying to be as quite as possible. You didn't want to to get more attention than necessary. You looked around the big room. It was painted white and the floor was made out of dark wood, but the walls seemed to be isolated with a soundproofing material. God, you never knew the mafia was that advanced. The police didn't even know half of the truth. They actually thought, the mafia was only hanging around in dilapidated, old houses near the city. That's what you used to believe. But in fact, they were training rookies in proffessional soundproof rooms. Nobody would believe you, even if you told them!

Besides a few chairs at the side of the room, it was completely empty. No tables, no sofas, nothing. It didn't seem like a place to learn shooting. And you couldn't spot any blood on the walls. You had to check, just in case. Maybe you were a little scared too. Who wouldn't be? The scariest thing was, that the room was completely lonely. No people. Especially no Jungkook, even though he was supposed to be here. You stepped further into the hall. Where would he be? He couldn't hide in here. Should you go and search for Lisa? Or try to run away?

"GOT you. Watch out, cop girl. Your potentially dead now."

You couldn't restrain a high pitched scream as a cold hand landed on your shoulder. You spun around and jumped away, just out of reflex. Now your heart was truly going wild. Where the hell had he come from?

"Jungkook. Damn, can't you announce yourself like a normal human being?", you asked, still a little bit out of breath from the shock. He just watched you with an amused expression. His hair was messy, and instead of the suit he was wearing at the bar, he was know wearing black sweatpants and a white shirt. You had to admit he wasn't even that intimidating, and he was actually really handsome. He looked like a normal young adult. You just wished you could punch that evil smile out of his face.

"Where did you even come from? Did you stick on the ceiling?", you asked, trying to hide the fear that was still lingering in your bones.

The smile on his face grew even wider.

"Maybe. So, (Y/N). I see you already grew some confidence. But for the next few hours, you better just forget about your funny little attitude. Your head needs to be free from thoughts, you need to concentrate."

You silently scoffed.  Was he actually telling you to not be confident?  Not like you were in the beginning. You just acted like it.

"What if I don't?". You didn't even know  where those sassy words came from. They just came to your head. Considering the situation you were in you should've probably stayed silent. Maybe it was because you hated to be bossed around. Maybe because you were scared for what was to come.

But Jungkook wasn't really angry, he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Not my choice. May hurt a little bit though, sweetie."

Oh god. What in the world was he planning to do? You didn't want to concentrate, right now you just wanted to get out. And get away from him. You took a step back. Jungkook just came even closer and started talking.

"As you already know, your training as a part of the mafia starts now. And since I'm not dumb enough to give you a weapon, we'll start with physical training. You need to be prepared for everything, even as a sniper. Well, I just don't know how advanced you are. So shall we just start and test that? It's easy. Just try not to get hit."

You gulped. Was he joking? Physical Training? Like, punching and kicking and stuff? You eyed his arm muscles. Jesus. There was no way  you would even last 5 seconds fighting against him. Your eyes grew wide as he slowly came closer. He wasn't joking at all. You didn't need to think about your next step. There was only one way for you. Ignoring the fact that you were really making a fool out of yourself, you just tried to run away to the other side of the room. He may be strong, but was he faster than you?

"Oh come on, that's not fair. Don't act like a scared bunny."

The next thing you knew, he had thrown you over his shoulder. Damn. He WAS faster than you.

 "What the hell are you two doing? Play tagging? Can I play along?".

The sudden deep voice startled you and you wiggled yourself out of Jungkooks sharp grip. A young man was standing about 5 metres from you, holding a file. Big glasses were laying on his nose. He looked like a scientist. A big, boxy smile made him look really cute.

"No, Taehyung... I told you I have to train her. What are you even doing here, aren't you supposed to mix drugs or stuff?"

Sooooo sorry for the long wait! I had the german midterms, so I was busy. But they're over know, so I'll post more often! I hope the few people who still remember my fanfiction, like this chapter haha~~ Taehyung and Lisa now stepped in! Lisa wasn't planned, but I needed a girl.

[greetingsfromthebottomofthewell]

ROOM ZERO

[directory]

it’s been so long.

[source] [triggers]

It's been a while since I've written anything related to the Disney Corporation, and I'm sure you can understand why.

A lot has been going on since my last post. I've received a lot of questions and concerns from folks who read my first-hand account of Mowgli's Palace... a resort that was built and abandoned by Disney.

I want to thank everyone who mirrored my post. It's been taken down from a few places, mostly corporate sites that were easily leaned on by a larger power. However, for every nuked topic or disappearing blog post, it seems like a hundred more have popped up.

This is something they'll have to face. There's no turning back for them... none for me, either...

I'm definitely being followed. For the first month or two, I chalked it up to paranoia. Any casual glance or half-smile in my direction set me off. Hairs standing on the back of the neck and everything.

The first one, or rather, the first one I was actually able to spot, was a telephone worker milling around my apartment complex.

He was middle-aged, doughy, dressed just as you'd expect, but something just seemed off about him. I couldn't place it, but I knew this wasn't just my imagination acting up. He was awkward and out of place, not somebody who was comfortable doing his routine job.

I followed him around a corner, only to lose him there. When I turned back to go home, there he was. Staring directly at me, about ten feet behind me. Expressionless and cold.

"Exploring?" he asked. That was all he said, and there was an accusing tone to his voice.

Tell me, what blue collar phone jockey does that?

I guess that's the worst part. Never feeling safe. Never feeling alone. That, and the occasional Disney merchandise left somewhere for me to find. Little rubber Mickeys in the mailbox, a Disney Adventures magazine on my bookshelf.

They hide little Mickeys everywhere. Three circles, one big, two small, in the silhouette of the famous mouse's head.

I've started keeping a running list of Mickeys I've found.

Coffee cup rings on my coffee table. One big, two small. Colored glass bottles left on the doorstep, viewed from the top down. (All red.) Graffiti on the wall on my way to work; a huge Earth, small Sun and Moon in the proper locations.

They're everywhere.

People have emailed me about this as well. If you repost anything I have to say, you're going to start finding those son of a bitch outlines. I guarantee it.

The best one by far, one that actually made me laugh because of the horror of it all, was a drawing in chalk next my car. I was taken aback at first, walking through the parking garage, keeping an eye out for people following me.

The outline seemed a perfect match for... well, a "murder victim" you're probably familiar with if you've read my past posts.

Written in yellow... paint, I'm sure... was a single word.

"RETRACT"

The only good thing that has come out of all this is that I know I'm not the only one who's seen something they shouldn't have.

I'm not going to give their names, because... well, if I have to tell you why, you haven't been paying attention.

"Researcher" goes to Disney parks whenever he can, all throughout the year. He's not going to have fun, enjoy the rides, etc.

He's looking for the Gascots.

There's been a long tradition, apparently, of people reporting strange patrons throughout the park. Silent, motionless, staring patrons of every age, shape, and size. Men and women, adults, children, and teens.

All wearing Disney-themed gas masks.

Way back when, Disney would get tons of complaints about "oddly dressed" folks following others around the park. Folks who would then merge into crowds and disappear.

Later on, the gas masks caused folks to draw other conclusions, and reports of "possible terrorists" and "bombers" started flowing.

All of those reports most likely went straight into the trash can. I know I can't find any sign of any such occasions reported on by the media. (Although you should be aware of the fact Disney can pretty much control its press like no other.)

Researcher goes to the parks, talks to a few people, and tries not to draw any attention to himself. He'll just ask three or four families if they've seen "his friend", who's wearing a "funny mask".

He has yet to see a gascot for himself... though on one occasion, a child pointed him toward Frontier town. As he raced through the crowd, he heard a single voice ahead cry out "Mommy! I want a Goofy air-mask too!"

A fellow I'll call "Lifeguard" worked in a Disney water park from 2001 through 2003. He stood at the top of a huge water slide and made sure none of the kids got too rowdy. He passed the kids through, one at a time, telling them over and over again to be safe, keep their arms in, and so on.

One day, as he tells it, this fat kid goes down the tube and doesn't come out the other end.

He's sent two or three kids after, the whole thing moves at a steady clip, so naturally you'd expect that if fatty got stuck, the kids that followed him were stuck, too.

Not so. Only the big kid disappears. Everyone else comes out the other end, cheering and splashing like nothing's wrong.

Lifeguard shuts down the slide, much to the aggravation of the kids waiting. Before he can go through any of Disney's strict procedures... SPLASH... fatty finally comes out.

Staff members pulled the kid out of the water. He sank like a stone when he hit, his skin already blue and his eyes wide. All he would say was "No-face Kids" and "Stop squeezing".

The kid was okay, in case you're wondering. He got carted right off to the medical center. When Lifeguard was told to open the slide back up, he made a big stink about how it clearly wasn't safe. Despite his complaints, he was threatened with firing and begrudgingly opened the slide again.

From that point on, he kept a closer eye on the kids. Every so often, they'd come out in the wrong order... never as stunned as the fat kid, but always with a vague look of concern... a dreamy half-stupor that seemed as if they were trying to figure out what was reality.

They'd take on some water and choke a bit... and they'd never come back up to ride again.

I read his emails with the same sort of unease you might be feeling right now. I wanted him to share his own story, but in the end he didn't want to expose himself that way. I can't say I blame him.

"Snow White", which wasn't the actual role she played, was a "character" in the park. She had a nice little tidbit for me. You know what happens when a costumed employee drops dead in his suit?

Like, one second he's taking a picture with little Jimmy, and the next he's had a fatal stroke?

A second costumed mascot in the area has to sit with the corpse on a curb or bench and wait for a designated "Dry Cleaner" to arrive and cart the body away in a discrete manner. All the while, patrons have no idea they're sitting with a dead body for photo ops.

Feel free to check your photo albums at this point.

That was bad, but another fellow, "Janitor", went completely off the creepy charts.

Disney World (and probably others) is built with a series of underground tunnels just below your feet. Three stories' worth. Anything and everything you can imagine is down there, for use of the employees.

They're called Utilidors. Utility Corridors.

Basically, that's the reason you don't see characters out of place or Janitors wandering through the park. They pop in and out of hidden doors, and travel a concealed town you're walking on.

Janitor told me something that might be common knowledge, but was nonetheless news to me.

Walt Disney had several apartments built into his parks. There's one above Cinderella's Castle... there's one in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. They're all over the place.

More than that, there are night clubs, a movie theater, a bowling alley, and much more. All behind doors built right into the whimsical facades you passed by without a second look.

Club 22 is one such hidden area. If you have the cash to join the exclusive club (you don't) then you'll have access to it and much more.

Club 22 is a place where anything goes. Disney Co. calls these places "Dark Zones". Spots where the squeaky-clean visage of Mickey Mouse gives way to drinking, drugs, and, yes, sex.

Conversely, the rest of the park is the "Bright Zone", with a few "Gray Zone" utilidors between.

As far as Janitor has said, it wasn't always that way. It was more of a slow decline and the gradual relaxation of social norms within that elite group.

The reason he knows all of this? You may have already guessed - He's cleaned it.

After a lengthy background check and a non-disclosure form, Janitor moved up from a park attendant to one of the Dark Zone cleaning crew.

Now, before you get some Satanic "human sacrifice" vision in your head, Janitor saw nothing of the sort. Lots of empty alcohol bottles? Yes. Used condoms scattered like deflated New Years balloons? Oh, yeah. He cleaned up his share of blood, piss, and vomit, but it was all down to the unrestricted behavior of patrons as opposed to any sort of cult behavior.

At least that's how he sees it in retrospect.

All that trash, that profane shit, went into a furnace and mingled with the smoke of a quaint cottage's chimney.

If you've been to Disney World, you've breathed ultra-condensed sin.

Backing up this information was "Hammer". Hammer mailed me the old-fashioned way, though I don't know how he got my home address. He sent me photocopies of work papers proving his employment, with the instruction to burn them when I was convinced.

Which I did gladly.

Hammer worked around the Disney World park, doing demolition and construction. At one point, he approached a superior regarding some strange construction plans.

There was wide, rectangular area marked off on the blueprints, about the size of a supermarket. The area was left unnamed, and only bore the words "DO NOT DIG".

Not only was his superior in the dark, but he was super-fucking-purposefully in the dark. He didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to know about it, and ended the conversation with "this space intentionally left blank".

Hammer didn't get it. The area seemed a waste of space, and it was directly conflicting with the work his team had been given. He started poking around the area on his off-time, finding only a derelict steel door, and a great span of concrete just beyond.

It was a "supermarket's worth" of blank, gray floor.

Soon after, Hammer started picking gascots out of the crowds.

Unlike all other reports, the people... the things... would stand in full view of the guy. They'd cluster together in the distance, or they'd just be pressed against a wall when he turned a corner.

He said they "moved weird", like they were weak or injured... like a deer that's been run down by a hunter and can't flee anymore.

The gasmasks... the Disney character faces with filters jammed in... he noted that they seemed wet on the inside, like condensation on a car window. Tiny beads of water glimmered behind the glass, making it impossible for any of them to actually see.

Probing further, Hammer started asking questions of anyone and everyone who had been working in the park for a decade or more.

He hit dead ends throughout, until he was directed to Ida, an elderly woman who worked in a restaurant on Main Street. She'd been there since way back, and though nobody had the balls to ask directly, everyone KNEW she had plenty of terrible stories to tell.

Hammer asked about the empty space, then about the gas-masked customers, and at first he thought he would receive the same non-answers he'd gotten so far. She was quiet. Eerily quiet.

"Room Zero." She croaked, a single, shaking hand placed to her cheek as if she were a little girl fearing a Father's punishment.

She didn't meet the man's gaze for the entire conversation.

Room Zero, as it turned out, was yet another hidden room just like the apartments and Club 22. However, its sheer size and its spot deep beneath the park set it apart from any of the "fun" dark zones.

It was a bomb shelter.

Room Zero was built to withstand a massive attack, be it conducted by foreign or domestic enemies.

Room Zero was to be stocked with enough rations to feed the entire park's average number of patrons at any given moment, and housed a smaller yet lavish "panic room" of sorts for Disney higher-ups.

During World War II, official Disney gas masks were actually produced for children to wear in the event of an attack. The idea was that it would be less scary for kids if Mickey's face was emblazoned on the wartime safety device.

Yes, I know the obvious problems with that.

During the Cold War scare of the 60s, when Disney World was constructed, Room Zero was stocked with similar masks, as well. Whether they cared about the fears of children, or just callous branding, the things found their way down there.

What's more, some genius decided that kids would THEN be frightened by the gas masks their parents wore... and so all masks, adult and child, were made to comply to this insane standard.

Ida described it as "Treating a wound with lemon juice."

None of this explained what Hammer had been seeing, though. Not only the seemingly supernatural appearances, but the emptied out room as well.

"I've been in there," he explained, "There's nothing but a cement floor and four walls."

"No," Ida shook her head and covered her mouth, stifling a sob, "You've been on top of it."

Someone or something sounded the alarm one day, when the park was at full capacity. The warning was clear. It was supposedly an air attack.

Security ushered everyone down, down, down into the tremendous shelter. There, they were ordered to put on their masks and hunker down for the duration of the assault.

Everything was quiet for about thirty minutes, save for the crying children and the frightened whispers. No one wanted to die, and so they were thankful in a way for this strange measure of safety.

Then, the first scream rang out.

"Hey!" a man shouted, "Quit pinching!"

Waves of shrieks and yelps rippled through the crowd, from one wall to the other, back and forth.

"Who's running around? Settle down!" Someone hollered.

"Who's laughing? This isn't funny!"

"Ow! Who stepped on my foot?!"

Despite security guards' urging to calm down and keep their cool, the crowd became more and more agitated until, finally, after nearly an hour of madness...

The lights flickered...

Then died.

What followed could only be described as utter chaos. In the dark, only the wails of the young and the anguished cries of adults could be heard in a massive, swelling din that bloodied the ears of all within that black echo chamber.

A group of staff members and a select few patrons made it out of the door, ready to face the War above rather than the insanity below. What they found, of course, was a desolate, yet untouched theme park. The music continued to play, echoing through silent storybook towns.

Upon returning to Room Zero, the few who stood at the top of the steel staircase that lead down into the pitch blackness heard no sign of the previous fray. There was only silence.

Ida herself descended that staircase despite the begging of those she left above.

She reached the reinforced doors, herself now awash in darkness and hearing only the buzzing in her ears.

A single voice came out of the darkness. The echo made it impossible to tell whether the mocking, raspy voice was at the back of the bomb shelter, or if it was right in front of her face.

"Shut the door, dear. You're letting out the cold."

Gripped by terror, she did just that. Within days, the entire thing... shelter, staircase, all of it... was covered with feet upon feet of cement. Air systems and generators above its ceiling were removed, creating the large, empty space.

"They're all still down there." Ida told Hammer, "Down there with whoever that was."

You might notice I've used Ida's name.

Unfortunately, she passed away soon after telling her story. Accidental fall, supposedly, after getting out of bed to turn on a light.

"Such a company devotee," the paper reported, "that her entire bedroom was covered with Mickey silhouettes."

[previous] | [next]

[submissivelynick]

Domesticated Lace | AJ & Nick

Tagging: @wildexxaj & @submissivelynick Location: AJ’s suite Date: Thursday, May 25th, evening Summary: Scene Week scene, involving home ec [Nick] and lacy panties.

AJ had told Nick to arrive and kneel at the door, as this was a scene they were going to do. He set out the navy blue lace panties he'd chosen, ones that covered enough without putting the submissive completely on display. Once he heard the knock, AJ opened it and smiled at him. "Come sit on the sofa," he said, reaching to help him stand up again.

Nick smiled up at AJ when he saw him on the other side of the door, and he took his hand as he got up from his knees. "Yes, Sir," he said, moving into the living room. He set his bag down by the end table next to him and sat on the sofa, turning to face him. "Did you have a good day, Sir?"

AJ sat down beside Nick and rested a hand on his knee. "I'm doing well," he said and then cleared his throat, gesturing towards the panties [note: navy blue and more opaque] he'd specially ordered, "I chose these just for you after we talked about doing this scene together. They shouldn't reveal too much, but I think they'll look good on you. I, uh, didn't say this before, but would you wear only these for me? It's okay if you're not comfortable, just a small request from me."

Nick looked over at the panties on the table and nodded. He trusted AJ and would have been okay being completely naked for him if he'd wanted that, so this wasn't a problem at all. He picked them up and placed one hand tentatively inside them, looking to see how much of his skin he could see through them, and it actually wasn't all that much. "Of course, Sir," he said, giving the Dom a small smile with a hint of a blush in his cheeks. "I'm completely comfortable with that. They're so pretty."

AJ breathed a sigh of relief and leaned forward, giving the submissive a kiss on the cheek, "I'm glad you like them. I wanted to start slow, but talking about it made me want to see what you'd look like in them." He didn't mention the fact that it had aroused him more than he expected, hoping to keep Nick comfortable in the situation. He kissed his cheek again and then gently brushed his lips to the other. "I want you to change and then be on your knees for me in the center of the room. For the next hour, I will have a series of short-timed chores, but also, consequences if you don't obey me would include two spankings to your bare ass with my hand. The accumulated amounts would be given at the end of the hour. Understood?"

Nick blushed more deeply when AJ kissed him. He hadn't spent as much time with him as he had with some of the other Dominants here, but it was nice to get to actually do a scene with him and focus on that for a little while. "Yes, Sir, understood," he said once he'd heard all of the instructions. It sounded almost like a game, and that definitely appealed to his competitive nature. He moved to the bathroom and changed quickly, leaving his clothes in a folded pile on the vanity. He was very self-conscious about how he looked as he returned to the living room, kneeling down in the center of the room as he'd been told to do. Once he was settled on his knees, he looked over at AJ, curious to see his reaction.

AJ knew he wanted to see Nick in the underwear, but when he moved back from the table, watching the submissive reveal himself from the bathroom, it was more than he expected. "Nick," he said lowly, more turned on and he wished he didn't want a non-sexual scene. They hadn't discussed more and he was going to follow that, and cleared his throat in an attempt to clear his thoughts. "Clean this table," he decided, wanting to see him close, even if he was aware it was a bad idea.

Nick was pretty sure his face was going to be red for the entire scene, but that was okay. He liked knowing that AJ was enjoying this as much as he was, and from the tone of his voice, it was obvious that he was having a good time, too. "Yes, Sir," he said, getting up and moving over to the coffee table. He bent over next to AJ and picked up the few books and things that were on the table, setting them on the couch before he grabbed a rag and a cleaning bottle and set to work cleaning the surface of the table.

AJ leaned back, knees parted as he watched Nick obey him, clearly enjoying the sight of the boy and he stopped trying to hide it. He bent over and AJ couldn't help the groan at the sight of the firm ass and he could imagine how it would feel to spank his ass in a non-punishment sense. He was pleased that Nick continued, completing a thorough job with the order. "Good boy," he praised, "Now, I'm going to watch you clean the desk."

Nick grinned at the praise as he set the things back in their place on the table. "Thank you, Sir," he said, turning to face AJ for a moment. He nodded once at him and moved over to the desk, doing the same as he'd done with the table: moving things around, then cleaning the surface with the rag. He made sure to keep bending over a little bit, guessing that AJ was enjoying the view, and as he started to be more intentional about his movements, his cock started to show some interest, too.

AJ knew there had always been something that lighted a fire when he had a submissive that was willing to call him Sir and obey so easily. He felt that Nick was doing a little of this on purpose too, and it felt like a game of sorts, one that definitely amused the Dominant. Taking a deep breath in, he rose from the couch and walked up behind Nick but didn't touch him, simply crowded a little bit. "Looks good," he commented with a low voice, no meaning the furniture at all, but kept his lips near Nick's ear when he spoke, "You're being very good for me." He stared where he was and pointed to the windows, "Now it's time for those."

Nick felt his heart begin to pound a little faster when AJ moved in behind him. His body wanted the Dom to close the distance between them, but he wasn't about to do it himself. "Thank you, Sir," he said again, so happy for the praise. With his next instructions, he went to the windows and sprayed them down with cleaner before taking a paper towel to wipe them down. He wanted to start at the top, but it was just a little too tall for him to reach, so he had to stand on his tip toes to get them clean as best as he could.

AJ wanted to rest his hands on Nick's ribs from behind as he continued working, but didn't feel that bold yet. He let Nick begin his work, but smiled at the sight of the boy on his toes. "Too short?" he asked, walking up and resting a hand to the small of Nick's bare back. There was a stool nearby and used his foot to guide it into place for the submissive, "I think I'll stand here. I feel the need to keep an eye on you today." His hand lowered an inch, fingertips treading the edge of the lace panties for a moment before dropping away completely. Once Nick started to work again, AJ leaned forward, lips to the boy's ear once again, "Does it bother you to have me inspecting you this closely, Nick?"

Nick's motions stuttered when he felt AJ's hand against his back, so close to where the lacy panties were covering his ass. "Just a little, Sir," he said, breathing a little more heavily as his hand lowered some more. He sighed when he pulled his hand away, wishing he would have continued. He kept cleaning and shook his head. "Not at all, Sir," he replied as he started to climb up the step stool to redo the tops of the windows. He looked through them, wondering if anyone outside would turn this way to see him on display like this. "I-- I actually like it."

AJ felt a sense of relief that Nick felt this too and he wasn't pushing too far. With Nick standing on the stool, AJ rested his hand against the submissive's side, above his waistband and leaned forward, boldly place a soft kiss to his shoulder blade. "I've thought about touching you before," he said softly, pulling back but keeping his hand against the boy, as though he could stabilize all of this that he was feeling. "Just your chest or shoulders, seeing your bare skin, but never thought I'd get a chance to see you like this," he admitted, sliding his hand to the front, touching his torso above Nick's stomach, his fingertips slow as they traced a light pattern into his skin, "Am I pushing you too far by asking for it, Nick?"

Nick was definitely starting to have trouble concentrating on cleaning with the way AJ was touching him... and kissing him. "You have, Sir?" he asked breathlessly, biting his lip to hold back a moan as his cock grew harder within the confines of the lace panties he was wearing. He stopped cleaning and just let himself feel how good it was to have AJ against him like this, touching him, wanting him... "No, Sir," he breathed. "Not too far. I-- I have my safe word, but I'm pretty sure I'm willing to go as far as you are, Sir. Don't worry about anything you do being too much."

AJ slid his hand up the front of Nick's chest and pushed his front into Nick's back, his hand keeping the submissive in place. "Good boy," he murmured, fingertips touching his nipple and then tugging gently once it was a stick peak. He brought his mouth to his shoulder, kissing slowly, tongue sweeping to taste the warm skin beneath his lips, and he knew he needed to find his control in the situation. "You look so damn good in these panties, far better than I imagined," he admitted, "Do they feel good too? I considered trying them on when they first arrived, but decided against it. I'm glad, they're definitely meant for your body and for only my eyes to see them."

Nick dropped his hands down to his side, giving up on even having the pretext of cleaning the windows anymore. His body was reacting so well to everything AJ was doing to it, and he knew his cock was going to be very obviously on display for the Dom as soon as he turned around. "They feel so good, Sir," he said, moaning some more as AJ kept teasing him with touches and kisses. "They're-- they're soft, and I just feel... pretty, Sir. Do I look as pretty as I feel?"

AJ loved hearing Nick give into his attention and moved his free hand to the front of the panties, only touching the edge of the band but not sliding inside. He hadn't done that before and was apprehensive to start now, but continued the attention to his body. "You look gorgeous," he assured him, his lips brushing along Nick's neck and groaned as he briefly touched his hardening length to Nick's backside. "Don't stop cleaning," he ordered him but didn't pull from the submissive's body, "Want to see you bend over some more, see how good your ass looks today."

Nick beamed at the compliment, his attention drifting farther and farther from cleaning as he felt AJ pressed against him from behind. "Oh! Yes, Sir." He hurried to start cleaning the windows again, feeling bad for having stopped working enough that AJ had felt the need to point it out. He bent forward to pick up the spray again and rewet the panes of glass, knowing they'd streak otherwise, and he started cleaning them again. As he reached the bottom, though, he stayed on the step stool, which forced him to bend over to reach the bottom.

AJ groaned softly when Nick bent over, impressed with how good he looked, knowing how much he wanted Nick was inevitable at this point. At the point when Nick's ass nearly touched him, AJ didn't try to stop the firm grip of his hands on the submissive's hips. "Good boy, your ass looks so pretty like this," he said with a low voice, giving away all he desires with just his tone, "You're making me lose my willpower so quickly, Nick. So sexy, looking so good for me."

Nick felt his face heating with a blush as he listened to AJ talk about him, but he wiggled his ass back and forth a little to give the Dom more of a show. He was definitely enjoying the attention, and his cock was, too, growing hard against the confines of the panties. He stayed bent over even after he was finished with those windows. "What do you want to do to me, Sir?"

AJ chuckled at the sight of Nick and let his hands move highers, fingers stretching over the boy's ribs and then back down his sides. "Too much," he responded softly, sliding his hands around Nick's front to pull him straight again, his back to AJ's front, "Do you want to keep cleaning?" He asked the question with his lips to Nick's ears, breathing heavier as he pressed his hard length briefly to his ass. "I think I'd like to kiss you," he said this with one hand tweaking and playing with Nick's nipple, wanting to hear more out of him.

Nick moaned softly at AJ's admission and shook his head. Given the choice between cleaning the Dom's suite and kissing him, there was only one right answer in his mind. He pressed his body back against him, adding extra pressure from his ass, hoping it would turn AJ on even more. "I'd like to kiss you, too, Sir," he said, his moans growing louder with the attention to his nipple.

AJ liked hearing the sounds the submissive emitted, knowing it was all due to his ministrations. "Good boy," he moaned quietly, his free hand sliding down down his torso, fingertips grazing the edge of the panties and he could tell they were stretched with Nick's hardening length. He looked down over his shoulder and had to fight now to touch him beyond the firm tug to his nipple. "Fuck, Nick. You look so good," he murmured, nipping a small mark into his shoulder with his teeth, "Would you like me to touch you, over those pretty panties?"

Nick grinned at the praise and was unable to stop himself from thrusting his hips forward a little, wanting so much more than AJ's hand just skimming the top of the panties he was wearing. He moaned at the little bite against his skin, and he nodded. "Please, Sir," he breathed, struggling to not turn around and just take the kiss he'd mentioned. "Touch me, Sir, kiss me, do whatever you want, Sir."

AJ kept touching his warm skin as he brought his hand to the nape of Nick's neck, tipping his head back, kissing his jaw and then brushing their lips together. "Good boy, gonna make you feel good," AJ assured him, fingertips trembling slightly with the knowledge of this new experience, something he hadn't done before. He kissed him fully, groaning with the feeling of Nick's hard cock through the panties. He touched gentle at first, just a teasing feel of his arousal before he began to rub with just his thumb, wanting to see how worked up he could get the submissive.

Nick allowed AJ to move him as needed, smiling at the kisses. "I'll be so good for you, Sir," he said. When AJ's hand pressed down over his panties, he let out a little groan, the sound filling the Dom's mouth as they kissed. "Oh, Sir, please, Sir... Feels so good." His hips rocked forward a little, seeking out more pressure, more friction, just more.

AJ pressed his hand harder against the length, stroking a little more than before, his own rubbing to Nick's hip as he teased him. "Gonna make you feel so good," he promised again, feeling he needed to repeat it for some sense of stability. He pulled back and then took hold of Nick's hand, leading him towards the spare bedroom he rarely used. "Don't worry," he assured him, "Just relax and we'll have fun. Do you want to sit in my lap?"

Nick was glad when AJ grabbed him and brought him back to a bedroom--if he hadn't, he wasn't sure how much longer he'd have been able to handle standing there on the step stool while the Dom palmed his cock. "I'm not worried at all, Sir," he said with a shy smile. "I trust you, and I'd love to sit in your lap... as long as I get to keep kissing you."

AJ readily grabbed at Nick's hips, bringing the other into his lap and brought his hands to his ass, gently guiding their centers to press together. "Kiss me," he encouraged, moaning at the feel of the submissive in his lap and could feel how hard Nick was, just as aroused as himself. "You look so much better than I'd pictured, now I want to see you cum while wearing these panties," he groaned softly, his hips pushing into Nick's, "Show me how much you want it, good boy."

Nick brought his lips in against AJ's, moaning softly as he kissed the Dom. He lifted a hand and dug his finger's into the other's hair, holding him close while they kissed. His hips thrust downward against AJ's lap, enjoying the pressure he was finally able to get against his cock. "Want you to make me come in these panties, Sir," he said, the words ghosting over the other's lips. "Wanna be so good for you, do anything you want, Sir."

AJ knew the noises he was making were growing louder, but it felt so good to have Nick like this, almost riding his lap and AJ didn't want him to stop. He gripped the other's hips, guiding the movements, even if he hadn't done anything like this with a guy before. "Can I use my hand on you, Nick?" he asked, looking at him and swallowing thickly as the want filled him. He wasn't ready to try anything with his mouth, but just a hand seemed safe, a place they might both be comfortable with. "W-would you like to do that with me, too?" he rushed out, eyes on Nick to make sure any answer he had wasn't for AJ, but something he actually wanted.

Nick gave an affirmative, "M'hmm," in response to AJ's question. He'd been so nervous about taking each of his next steps in sex over the past few weeks, but he'd done so much that asking about hands seemed a little jarring to him, but he really liked it. He couldn't tell for certain, but he suspected that this was one of the first times AJ had done anything like this with someone else, and that made his stomach do some weird clench inside him. "Please, Sir," he murmured before leaning in for another kiss, his hand dropping down to palm at the Dom's cock through his pants.

AJ was officially past any point he'd done thus far and he slipped his hand into Nick's panties once he heard the okay, more than eager to feel him fully. "Fucking hell, I've got you so hard," he groaned, low and deep as he wrapped his hand fully around Nick's cock. He gave him a slow stroke, trying to adjust quickly to the feel of someone else's cock in his hand, but was distracted at the pressure to his own length. "Come here," he murmured, releasing his length long enough so that he could turn their bodies, laying Nick back against the bed. He hovered over him, pressed between his knees. Giving his hand a quick lick, he returned to Nick's cock, stroking a few times and then pressed his thumb to the submissive's slit, knowing how much he enjoyed that sensation for himself. He nipped at Nick's bottom lip and stared down at him, licking his lip to gain enough control to speak evenly, "Take out my cock, Nick. I want to feel your hands on me."

Nick allowed himself to be rolled over onto his back, and he hummed softly when AJ climbed on top of him. This was one of his favorite positions to be in, underneath a Dominant and at his mercy. The way AJ stroked him, his hand slick with spit, got him some relief, but he needed more--and then, "Ohh, Sir," the attention to the head of his cock felt just amazing. "So good, Sir," he murmured, chasing the other's lips upward after the quick kiss. "Yes, Sir." He reached over and unzipped the Dom's fly, reaching inside to carefully pull his cock out. He was heavy and gorgeous, and Nick licked his lips as he started to stroke the other's length, wanting him to feel just as good as he did right now.

AJ moaned loudly, unable to help himself, at the feeling of Nick's hand on his length. "Fuck, yes, feels good," he rambled, trying to keep control but it was quickly fading, lost in the pleasure of having another's hands on him. He tried his best to keep his movements in time with his hold on Nick, but it wasn't long before he was almost fucking Nick's hand. "Such a good boy, fucking amazing boy like this." He was breathing heavily and he was certain it was too fast, giving all of his inexperience away, but it was almost too good to care. "S-slow your hand," he grunted, resting his forehead to the submissive's shoulder, starting to catch himself now.

Nick was pretty sure he'd be able to come just like this if AJ kept going for a few minutes longer. It felt so good to know that he was the reason for the Dom losing control like he was, and he just wanted to make him tumble over the edge and feel that wave of pleasure wash over him like he deserved. He didn't care of it was over fast (though he'd like to keep this moment going forever), because he loved knowing that he was the one doing this to him. He whined a little when he was told to slow down, but he did as he was told, and as he did, his focus returned a little to his own pleasure, building inside him. "You feel incredible, Sir," he breathed, leaning up again for another kiss.

AJ released slower breaths and then began to stroke Nick once again, this time he didn't tease, giving him the full thrusts of his fist. "I'm not going to stop until you say you're close," he told Nick, continuing the steady pace until he heard the words he needed. He tucked his cock back into the panties and then rubbed his cock quickly, wanting to fulfill the promise to see Nick's cum in the panties.

Nick moaned, his head falling back against the pillow behind him. It was hard to focus on continuing to stroke AJ's cock slowly while his own cock was being pumped so intensely. He heard what was said, though, and he stopped AJ when he felt like he was about to come. He took a deep breath to get a hold of himself again, but it didn't last very long. "Sir," he moaned as the Dom rubbed at him through the panties. "I-- please, Sir, can I come for you?" He was barely able to hang on until he had permission, but when he did, he spurted out inside the panties, crying out as he watched the lacy fabric grow damp with his seed.

AJ couldn't help himself, giving the needed permission so quickly, so eager to see the remnants of Nick falling apart beneath him. The submissive was so warm and inviting and AJ bit his lip, while guiding his hand to AJ's cock to finish him off. "Good boy for me," he murmured, kissing his cheek and jaw, lips staying against him even when he couldn't keep up the appearance, "Fuck, so good, feels so good to have your hands on me." He cried out and then bit at Nick's bottom lip as he came, spilling over their hands.

Nick stroked AJ to and through his orgasm. He groaned into the kiss, enjoying the little sharp bite of pain in his lip where AJ's teeth pressed into it. He felt happy right now--happy as a result of his own orgasm, happy that he'd been allowed to come, happy that he'd helped get the Dom to that point as well, and happy with the praise that AJ was heaping onto him. Once he was sure the other was finished coming, he brought his hand up to his lips and licked at it, smiling coyly up at AJ.

AJ felt his breath catch as he watched Nick lick his fingers, more than he'd even been able to ask for from him. "Good boy," he murmured, leaning down and capturing his lips in another kiss. He fell to his side but kept their bodies close and pressed soft kisses to his shoulder and bicep. "You're getting a shower after this, so I can clean you up and then we're going to cuddle the rest of the evening."

[alphabees-writes]

Glee - S1 E5 (The Rhodes Not Taken)

Time to swan-dive off of the pinnacle of season 1, head-first into... Whatever this is. 

Here’s what you missed on: GLEE!

Oh yeah, invitationals are a thing right now. Can’t wait until those get scrapped. 

The autotuning on Finn and Quinn right now is perhaps the worst in the series. Did they do that on purpose so that I’d miss Rachel? Because I don’t!

Santana making jokes about Kurt’s sexuality... Lmao we see right through you hon

“We may have to layer Santana and Mercedes over Quinn’s solo” or... If you KNOW they’ve got more powerful voices... Give one of THEM the solo???

“That Rachel chick makes me want to light myself on fire but she can sing” Is the truest thing Puck’s said up to now

“How about I give Tina a few of her verses?” AGAIN, WILLIAM, WE’VE JUST BEEN THROUGH THIS!

Sign #14 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Why start a glee club when you’ve got no sense of talent? 

Good for Finn for telling Mr Schue to back the fuck off of his personal matters, for once

Terri’s stabbing that pie to an after-life death and she’s already had 2 slices and now she’s ordering another. Cravings are one thing but we all know that baby bump’s basically just a couch cushion? Honestly, props to her for being smart enough to own that situation

Sign #15 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: This dumbass guy straight up tells Mr Schue that he’s being held back in high school for YEARS just to stay in VA and his first thought ISN’T to tell somebody about it to inspect the situation. No, his first thought is, “how can I cheat like they are?”

Sign #16 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: He told Emma about Quinn’s pregnancy, while rubbing his greasy hands all over her shoulders, with a big smile all over his face. Gross. 

Sign #17 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Using Emma to manipulate Finn into prioritising glee over football??????

Nobody believes in the talent of any of these kids who aren’t Rachel and it makes me so god damn sad

This Jacob-interviewing-Rachel scene did NOT age well. Although it’s definitely meant to be creepy...

Why did I never notice how fucked up this scene is before? Jacob, IN FRONT OF SANDY, A STAFF MEMBER, tells Rachel she’s got to strip to get a good review. And then he just... Starts talking about horse dicks...???? Hello? 2009????

How did Finn know Rachel would be in this random classroom

Finn’s a dick for using Rachel’s feelings to manipulate her here. But the thing is, with this season, they’re all still somewhat sympathetic... I still like all of these characters. I hate Rachel, even though I like her, because her entitled attitude makes sense. Finn being so desperate to get Rachel back in glee that he’ll go about it an underhanded way makes sense!

That being said, the chemistry’s real here

Sign #18 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Putting Emma’s job at risk to dig up April’s files just because he knows he can. Using her feelings against her! Is that the theme for this episode? Boooo

What is Ryan Murphy’s fascination with Andrew Cunanan? ...Also, I love that in the universe of glee, there’s a loose implication that Emma Pilsbury is distantly responsible for the death of Gianna Versace. That’s some worldbuilding right there...

Playing Heart Of Glass in the background here is a damn crime, because you know that was a cover just begging to be Quinn Fabray’d...

KRISTIN CHENOWETH!!!!! I don’t care how much they paid her for this, it wasn’t enough

Sign #19 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: When April very blatantly implies that she’s an escort, and expecting for them to sleep together, he says nothing. Wonderful marriage you got there, Will!

Sign #20 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: He doesn’t care about the actual wellbeing of the glee kids, and he doesn’t care about April’s struggles, or helping her recover. If he did, he wouldn’t invite her to school without a second thought! She literally doesn’t have a HOME, dude!

All the kids are immediately uncomfortable. Don’t do this to them!!!

Kurt’s genuinely wearing a shirt/blazer combo right now that I swear to god I’ve seen my grandma rock. I wish I was kidding 

Cool time to cry while Lea and Kristin both destroy Maybe This Time! Kristin gives it far more depth though, can’t lie. Chills chills chills chills!!!!!

UGH. The way April stops her performance, the lights around her fades, she comes back to reality and you can just feel her realising how badly she’s missed singing... Why did this show have to hire such an icon for such a tiny roll!!! 

I’d cry too, Kurt. I’d cry too...

Is huffing upholstery cleaner a real thing? I mean, she says it was the 90′s. Anything’s possible...

Sign #21That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Once he’s forced to come to terms with the fact that April makes the kids uncomfortable, does he ask her to leave them be? No. He tells her to convince them that, yes, they should adore this random woman he pulled off of the streets to take their solos...

And she starts by boozing up Kurt. Leave him alone!!! He doesn’t want to drink his aunt Mildred! His face when he says “that’s fantastic...” is priceless. He’s so naive. Somebody protect him.

Kurt can’t really be into the old-ass dude on that muscle mag cover. And he can’t honestly be walking around with it exposed to the world can he? HIDE YOUR PORN!!!

I forgot about this smuggling scene... Oh my god. She legit sent Tina and Mercedes on a thieving rampage huh!

Tina’s face when she looks at Mercedes... Priceless. I adore her.

And then... The shower scene. Right. ._. I knew there was a reason I really didn’t like April. They’re kids!!!

Sandy sucks. That’s all I have to say about that. 

I love that bowling is Finn’s personal remedy for all of life’s stress.

Sign #22 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: The smug look he gives Rachel when he tells her, without actually acknowledging her, that April’s got her part now. He’s clearly rubbing it in, and pretending he’s “excited” to see the play is a load of shit! He’s really SMIRKING because he just upset a teenage girl!

I know we need to let the audience know that Kurt’s drinking a little too much too fast, but he looks like he got that suit from a homeless man who’s twice his size in a fight, which he lost...

“Oh, Bambi... I cried so hard when those hunters shot your mommy........[VIOLENT RETCHING]”

Sign #23 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: April is the only person who could’ve gotten Kurt that drunk and they all know it. That should be enough for him to turn her out the door, at the very least until she’s sobered up completely!!! “I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to him.” Talk to HER first, fuckwit!

Good on Emma for telling him like it fucking is. They’re here to help the kids, that’s that. Why doesn’t he fucking listen?

How is Sandy getting away with just bullying Rachel like this??? She’s a TEENAGER. How has nobody filed a fucking complaint???

April just unabashedly thirsting over high-schoolers in the bathroom? Hello? 

Rachel tells it like it is. April’s just fucking things up and she knows it! And now she’s one nudge closer to realising she actually cares about her friends, so that’s nice

“Do I have to put my fingers in the holes?” Wanky

She’s really cosplaying as a sailor for her bowling date with Finn, huh?

I hate how cute Finn and Rachel are here even though I know he’s playing her for her talent...

I want to say “Why are Will and April having such a serious conversation in a BOWLING ALLEY?” But I can buy that she’d only agree to talk if they could do it there

Ok, nope, Will’s just said “I brought you here because I need to talk to you” so he picked the bowling alley. Who the fuck stages a one-man intervention in the middle of a bowling match?

Kristin plays a very convincing addict pretending to agree with an intervention just because the intervention hurts

Seeing her get all emotional at how much Will looked up to her is really making me feel... God damn the talent on this woman

I don’t want to enjoy anything Will Schuester does, but Kristin elevates any cover she touches automatically, so yeah, I love listening to them do Alone. Matt Morrison’s lip-syncing is suuuuuuper off though...

I can physically feel the hold Finn’s got on Rachel’s heart right now. God damn. Also, he’s a bastard for leading her on like this.

The glee kids are all a bunch of dumbies if they can’t tell Quinn’s pregananant and I love them for it. “Lactose intolerant” ??? Really, Kurt?

“I bet you thought Bert and Ernie were just roommates” Puck, at it again with the lines

Kurt’s so excited about the drama? I wonder if it’s because he thinks Finn will leave Quinn because of the baby, like, c’mon he’s got more decency than that

Finn deadass APPLIED for a scholarship? Does anybody else remember this because I sure as hell don’t? I’m pretty sure they never mention it again!!!

Rachel SLAPS THE SHIT out of Finn and nobody so much as looks their way? Not even when she’s yelling at him in the middle of the halls? Ok RIB

“I haven’t been totally honest with you but that’s different from lying” Is it. Finn? Is it...?

Honestly, I can’t blame Rachel for leaving glee now. Me too sis.

Oh my god Sue’s taking down a glee flyer but puts it back up the second she sees Rachel... Priceless

Did Sue just... Technically give Rachel the position of arts administrator?

I love seeing all the glee kids in their cowboy digs. Kurt and Finn are nailing those hats. 

Sign #24 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: He watches April literally KISS Puck and doesn’t immediately kick her out??? HELLO???

Sign #25 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Emma tells Will that April was 1) drunk driving and 2) nearly RAN! HER! OVER! In the parking lot! And he still lets her go on for a number! What the FUCK!

Netflix subtitles are describing Figgins as “EMCEE” but... We know who he is!

I don’t know my last name either, April... I really don’t.

I hate how genuinely into the cowboy outfits I am. They’re all so cute??? ESPECIALLY Quinn. And Kurt. And Brittany. Be still my pansexual heart

For a second I thought Finn was doing the royal wave, like wow, how much time have you spent with Kurt, my guy???

Oh, NOW Will’s stopping her? Yeah, you’re such a hero. Just about a week too late. 

April really breaks my heart here. For now, she’s a real sweetheart... “You won’t let what happened to me ever happen to any of them” OUCHIE...

Sign #26 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Once he’s done with April, he just completely gives up trying to help her at all

They’re all so cute, getting ready for the next act and bonding... Kurt’s doing Santana’s make up and she’s smiling at him, Quinn’s doing Finn’s tie, Tina and Mercedes are just giggling together... Pure.

At least Mr Schue has the decency to admit that he screwed up by bringing April into the club.

Rachel ex Machina!!!

“I realised being a star doesn’t make me feel as special as being your friend,” she says, before forgetting that lesson for several seasons

Why do they have a costume set aside for Rachel? They didn’t start planning this until after Rachel quit, I don’t think?

AMBER! SMASHING! THAT! NOTE!!!

Oh shit, Artie does play the guitar more than once. Look at him go! 

So, there’s an episode. April certainly isn’t my favourite guest star character, but Kristin Chenoweth does the absolute most. Always.