#community over competition

[rhoorl]

A Bear of a Night | Pickled Peña Writing Challenge

Summary: Javi returns home from ringing in the New Year and finds a surprise. He’s getting too old for this shit. (AO3 Link)

Rating: M

Word Count: 920

Warnings: This is honestly a pretty tame story, just some swearing and allusions to smut. Hopefully a bit funny too.

A/N: Happy 2024! I decided to take part in the Pickled Peña writing challenge. What is this? Well, it’s a way to show off the different ways writers can tackle the same character/prompt - we all have our own style and perspectives! Javi is one of my favorites to read and I never thought I would actually write for him. But, here we are. Check out @pickled-pena or search the tags to see who else is participating and what they’ve come up with. If this sounds like fun and something you want to try, feel free to post your own fic throughout the month of January!

Javier parked the car and rested his head against the headrest as his eyes cast down to the clock in his truck.

1:45 a.m.

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself. He was late and knew he was about to get the silent treatment.

Javier wasn't one for big celebrations with lots of people, always choosing to duck out of any department party as early as possible. But when several colleagues decided to spend New Year's Eve out at a bar, he thought why not? It was an early jump on his resolution for the upcoming year. It was simple really. He just wanted to try. To try and open up more. To try and let someone in. To try and be present.

And tonight, he actually found himself having some fun. The latest newbies to the department reminded him of when he first started decades ago. Young, idealistic, and ready to do some good. He tried to not let his jaded side influence them too much, but his colleagues found it amusing to mess with him nonetheless.

But the “old man” still had it and managed to pull the glances of several women at the bar, including the bartender who had practically eye fucked him all night as she poured him drinks (which she didn’t charge him for). That's part of the reason why he lost track of time. She decided to spend her break with him in a bathroom. He rang in the new year partaking in one of his favorite activities – buried deep inside a woman, making her scream his name. 

Back in his car, he rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands and sighed. He knew he was about to be read the riot act. All he wanted to do was go to sleep, already knowing he was primed for a terrible hangover come the morning, or at least later that morning.

He trudged up his driveway and unlocked the door. The TV was still on, but faint. Tossing his keys onto his entryway table, he stilled, waiting. He didn't hear anything, so he kicked off his boots and continued padding down the hallway.

“B?” He called out, walking into the living room. “Hmm, where'd you go,” he muttered to himself.

He continued through the house towards the kitchen when he felt it. His socks wet as he saw the pool at his feet.

“Goddammit,” he gritted his teeth. “Fuck, really?!”

And that's when he heard the jingle and padding of feet coming down the hall. 

“Seriously?” Javier caught the eyes of his English bulldog, Bear, who walked in and sulked in the corner with an even more grumpy look than normal.

Javier adopted Bear when he was just a puppy thanks to the incessant encouragement of Steve. His former partner could hear how lonely Javier was over the phone, so he suggested a dog could help keep him company. Little did both of them know, Javier would end up with a dog who was basically him with four legs. Bear was a bit of a curmudgeon but once you cracked him, he was very affectionate and loyal.

Although initially resistant, dog ownership came naturally to Javier. Growing up on a farm, he knew how to care for animals and he had a soft spot for them. Bear forced Javier to focus and take care of something. And although he hated to admit it to Steve, he rather liked having someone to come home to. When Bear heard the jingling of Javier’s keys, he would make his way up the hallway to greet Javier before turning around and heading to his bed at the foot of the couch. 

But tonight, Bear was mad. Javier stayed out later than planned so he decided to show his discontent on the linoleum floor in the kitchen.

Javier sighed as he took off his socks and walked to the sink to grab some paper towels and some odor eliminator spray. He returned and got on his hands and knees to start cleaning up. As he sprayed the floor he looked up and saw Bear, sitting on his back paws.

“Don't look at me like that. You stand there and accuse me, but where were you at the time when I asked if you wanted to go out, huh? Oh, I remember. Gnawing on a bone, couldn't be bothered.”

Bear sighed and rested his front paws on the floor, giving Javier a look.

“The puppy dog eyes? Really Bear? Por favor.” Javier rolled his eyes with a huff as he finished cleaning up. 

He groaned as he braced himself to get up off the ground. The beginning of a pounding headache was starting to take root. 

Even though it was the last thing he wanted to do, and it honestly made his stomach turn a bit, he pulled out a jar of pickles from the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of Old Forester Statesman Bourbon from the counter along with two shot glasses. 

“I’m already going to have a hangover, what’s one more,” Javier said to himself as he poured the bourbon and drained the shot, a slight hiss as he felt the warmth in his throat. “Here’s nothing,” he shuddered as he took down the pickle juice with a grimace. As he put the shot glass he looked down at his feet to see Bear plop down and rest his head on Javier's feet.

He chuckled, the smallest smirk coming across his face. “Happy New Year to you too bud. Let's get to bed.”

A/N: There's my silly little entry in the challenge. Take a look at @pickled-pena or the tags to see other entries. I hope we get to do this again sometime, this was actually a lot of fun to do something totally different and outside of my comfort zone.

[djs8891]

It seems like too many of us have forgotten a couple things. And since I’m older than about 90% of you, yes I read the polls, I think I should be one of the ones reminding you, if these have slipped your mind:

1. The Golden Rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated.

2. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.

3. Karma is a bitch.

Why waste your time putting negative thoughts into the world? Go make someone’s day better. Unfollow those you don’t like or might be jealous of. And this isn’t an airport. Announcement of departures is not necessary.

[lleweddings]

We were featured on Engaged Wedding Planner Academy!!

In 2019, I offered to write an article on planning a styled wedding photo shoot for the Engaged Wedding Planner Academy. Now, every planner, photographer, collaborating vendor or model will have a different approach to styled photo shoots. Paid, unpaid, contracted, verbal agreement or impromptu, there are many ways to facilitate a photo shoot. I outline some of my methods and ideas below for your…

[theosconfessions]

Love is Embarrassing

1/10- Solo Dates- Eugene

@duusheen

EUGENE GOT THE FIRST NON SEXING KISS AND honestly good for him because he really is head over heels for this girlie .. ALREADY. he does not leave her alone. he cooks her dinner damn near everytime im checking things out and on top of that they do really just love being near eachother and being in eachothers company. its really sweet to see. i think hes the complete opposite of how her ex turned out and thatll eventually throw her for a loop. as time goes on the more theyre going to get to know Scarlett and things she is a little bit gatekeeping. eugene always treats our girlie like a princess though;) like he never doesnt ace his dates so far. he knows what he wants and thats scarlett and while it may be a bit rough for him seeing her with other people at the moment he probably maybe likes his heart a little bit stepped on sometimes haha ! i love him sm

[iamthecomet]

Friendly reminder to support your local library because there are plenty of people who think libraries are stupid and unimportant and MAN are they loud sometimes.

[kiseiakhun]

"Kyle," John says when Kyle flies into his office, which are just his living quarters on oa converted into a cubicle, but bigger. "You have-"

"Tits," Kyle says, framing his - her - his chest, fingers digging into the soft mounds of flesh protruding obtrusively through his paper thin uniform. Jesus, it really doesn't hide anything. "They're tits." He lifts them and lets them drop. They're not big enough to jiggle but they still - bounce. In the air.

"I see that," John says faintly, and somehow his voice remains level. It takes far more concentration than it should warrant for his gaze to remain professional when his eyes slide down, from Kyle's... chest, to his belly, to the newly protruding curve of his hips. "... why."

"Magic," Kyle says, sounding aggrieved. He pushes past John's door and looks around the room, hands on his new hips. "You still don't have a bed?"

"This is my office," John points out.

"This is your room. For you to crash in. You don't need an office. None of us need an office. Why don't you just build a new office, if you want one so bad? Mogo would let you." Kyle glances at the only other chair in John's office (room), unvarnished, uncushioned wood, and constructs an elaborate claw-footed loveseat to flop dramatically in. His tits jiggle with the movement. Maybe John should start wearing a mask, too, to make his staring less obvious. "I need a drink."

"You co-own a bar," John says, and then asks, carefully, "is the change permanent?"

"God, no." Kyle pushes his bangs out of his face and sighs, sagging further in his unnecessarily elaborate seat. "Can you imagine? I think Hal would go berserk."

"What does Hal have to do with-" John starts, and then stops. "You let him fuck you."

Kyle stares at him. He lifts his mask to make his staring more apparent, his big eyes looking softer, more rounded, narrowing in bewilderment. "Seriously?" he asks. "How the hell did you-" he makes a sharp, exasperated gesture with his hand. "It was freaky enough when Guy did it."

"Guy, too?" John lets a little judgement slip into his voice. Just a little.

"Don't you start with me." Kyle straightens up, dropping his mask back on his face like a suit of armor. "First, I need a drink."

"You co-own a bar," John points out, again, patiently.

Kyle makes a disgruntled noise. "Buy me a drink, John. Can't you take a hint?"

"You're not actually a girl, you know," John says, even as he's getting up from his seat and following Kyle out of his office (living quarters), valiantly keeping his eyes above Kyle's expanded backside, which was already plenty big to begin with.

"So what?" Kyle peeks over his shoulder. "Do you only show chivalry to girls now?"

John flies closer to him, putting a hand on his lower back. Kyle's skin is so warm, it's like he's not wearing anything at all. "What you need isn't chivalry," John says, leaning close like he's whispering a secret.

Kyle actually stutters in his flight, nearly making John smack into him. He rights himself in time, looking down at Kyle's pink-tinged ears as Kyle clears his throat. John's hand looks bigger now on Kyle than it did before. The... transformation... really did wonders on his ass. "Tell you what," Kyle says, interrupting John before he can do something inadvisable, "if you're better to me than Guy or Hal, I'll let you be as chivalrous as you want before this," he gestures at himself, "wears off."

John hums consideringly. "That's hardly a challenge."

"Right," Kyle says. "Then you should have no problem." He pulls back and looks at John through the blank white eyes of his mask. "Too bad you don't have a bed."

And he winks. John doesn't know how he knows Kyle is winking behind his mask, but he knows. He winks and then reaches down to take John's hand, thoughtlessly linking their fingers together, and continues towards Warriors with a cheeky swagger in his flight path.

Fine. John will play along, for now. Kyle is obviously enjoying the attention his temporary transformation is begetting him, and John might handle himself with more decorum compared to some others but at the end of the day he's still a man. With the ass like the one Kyle is sporting now, he can probably talk John into anything. He can ask John to paint his skin red and pretend to be Sinestro and John will go along with it and he will only feel a little ashamed of himself until he-

(Focus)

Forget about Hal. John feels like he might go insane.

"How long did you say this would last, again?" he asks Kyle.

"Dunno," Kyle replies. "Could be a week. Could be two."

A week. A fucking week. Or maybe two.

Maybe he should get a bed.

[jinstronaut]

anyways being a mean girl on the internet at a grown age in a space where the thing we’re celebrating is so meaningful and lovely is such a bad take

[poorlittleyaoyao]

re: 3zun and jealousy, there is already something going on before 3zun even happens in both canons. I already hollered while I was reading the novel about how LXC’s refusal to tell NMJ how he knows MY under the conversation’s novel canon circumstances—pre-spying, with MY and NMJ still on good terms—is Deeply Weird. In CQL canon, meanwhile, MY has somehow not met LXC prior to Cloud Recesses, even though in drama canon MY has been at the Unclean Realm for awhile. This is substantially less weird than LXC’s cagey behavior in the novel—NMJ has at least informed LXC of MY’s existence as his assistant, even if the two haven’t interacted—but the fact that interaction hasn’t occurred is still at least a little bit weird unless LXC hasn��t visited the Unclean Realm at all since MY’s promotion. Much to think about in both canons!

[qumiiiquinnquin]

uhm

i feel like enjoying a character shouldn't be a competition, like the "i like this character more than you!" stuff

anyone can enjoy and is allowed to enjoy a character, and those that are more educated on a character can educate those that enjoy the character but dont know as much about them. i personally dont think you need to draw tons of pictures or write tons of stories or fics or own a lot of merch of that character to be a "true fan" and "ultimate enjoyer" of the character

[nemxricultrix]

(Morwen's like that crow you gave some crumbs and a shiny to- once you've earned her trust and favor she will treat you nice but heaven forbid you're the enemy of that friend)

[dracolizardlars]

I can't wait to play through Pokemon Scarlet as slowly as possible. Run through every piece of grass. Stop to look at every wild Pokemon. Stare at the scenery. Play for an hour a day and make barely any progress. Use whatever Pokemon I think look cool. Put off battling gym leaders for as long as possible. It's gonna be great

[down-thedrain]

I think there should be a smile rancher au for TMC with no horror or anything it's just the cast being farmers n they each raise a different kinda slime or something idk I'm watching a playthrough of the game rn and in like wrow <3

(i switched to my puter lol i was getting. real life pissed at my phone JKGADFHGDJ)

I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT A SLIME RANCHER AU FOR THE LONGEST FUCKIN TIME YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!!!!!!!! AUSFGSDFSDFGJSHDF WE R LIKE 🤝

i agree wholeheartedly that there shouldn't be any horror, they should just get to be goofy and have fun <333333

it would probably be more of a "what if the characters were in the universe" au rather than a "the characters replace other characters" au i think...... both mark + cesar and adam + jonah get sent to work at opposing ranches for the 7zee corporation and they like. make it kind of a contest between the two pairs to see who can become the best ranchers because it just means more funds for them LOL. obviously botjh pairs step up to the challenge so they have a bit of a. rivalry of some sort heehee <33333

ok ik i lterally just said it's not a characters replace characters au BUTTTTTT i think sarah and eve take a sort of casey-like role in this au for mark/cesar and adam/jonah respectively (without the romantic implications obviously because. Ew). they send letters back and forth cuz while they're happy on earth and they miss their buddies they're so happy they're pursuing their passions in slime ranching yk <333333

...might have to take back what i said about not being a characters replace characters au because like . ough what if ruth takes a mochi-like role and. uh. dave could honestly be either odgen or viktor tbh he fits odgen's vibes more but it'd be kinda blasphemous to not make him The Tech-Obsessed One so. idk. and then thatcher's whichever one dave isn't <3 also bOb is a tulpa because i said so damnit

dunno who thora and hobson'd be though............ they could honestly be anyone i could make them alternates for all i care but. idk. i could make them lynn and jude but then they'd have a stronger connection to adam compared to mark, cesar, and jonah so. eh! do with that what you will

anyways back to the whole competition thing. mark and cesar'd initially be more successful because they're not Completely Incompetent and can actually figure out what they're doing. as opposed to adam and jonah, who can't stop goofing around long enough to figure out how to grow a patch of carrots. however, when they do figure it out, they start quickly overtaking mark and cesar because they're not afraid of absolutely everything. like they'll actually venture out into some of the more dangerous areas of the far far range, like the area full of hunter largos in the moss blanket or the ash volcano and such, whereas mark and cesar are extremely hesitant cuz they're scared of getting their asses bitten LMAO

and then they become evenly matched again cuz adam and jonah are faced with the difficult truth that it is, in fact, fuckin hard to manage a ranch full of harmful slimes, especially since they have yet to figure out how all the parts of the ranch work and insist on diving head-first into their corrals to collect their slimes' plorts instead of just buying plort collectors like normal people. they're still dumbasses who have no idea what they're doing and are just saying fuck it we ball to everything LMAOOOO (also they 100000000% lost their entire ranch of slimes to a tarr outbreak i know it to be true. probably when they were trying to figure out how tangle slimes work and didn't know they could grab dropped plorts from far away using their vines LOL). mark and cesar aren't perfect obviously but since they tend to take everything slowly and take a lot of precautions and such they pick up mistakes like that before it causes any issues. but they also had a tarr outbreak and lost half their slimes sorry it's the way i am JDFSDFGJSHD

OHHHHHHH ALSO i think both pairs kinda split up their skills a lot to get more done, so mark/adam go out to collect slimes n stuff while cesar/jonah stay back more often to grow crops and raise chickens and such n such. you're doing great sweeties HEJHASGJHD. and then later on cesar is a lot more knowledgable about slime science and how to properly utilize it, mark knows the far far range like the back of his hand and can find pretty much anything you're looking for if you ask (making him a prime gilded ginger hunter), adam can handle any kind of slime and knows how to deal with them/organize them on the ranch, and jonah is really fucking good at the sub areas thatcher/ruth/dave have set up, especially the slimeulation with the glitch slimes (which are his favorite kind of slimes next to tangle slimes don't fight me i'm right)

and they basically end in a tie but what's important is that 7zee made a shit ton of money off of both pairs so everyone wins /JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ

[myrfing]

actually legitimately think a competitive gamer zenos wol champion defender au would be fun. that's my secret though

[manav2010]

[jinstronaut]

this is also why i stopped using my tracked tag for a while tbh

[unproduciblesmackdown]

asia kate dillon (voice acting and guest starring) as LOS-307 in moon girl and devil dinosaur 1x04 "check yourself"

part two of two (part one)