#honey. iron. book paper.

[bluebellhairpin]

Still reeling over the fact all the quizzes I do say I'm an alpha.

[szynkaaa]

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I actually finished this rebind last week, but didn't want to post two rebinds in a row and then having nothing for a long time LOL

The cover design is sort of a homage to the original cover of the book with the golden bee on a college notebook. The bee is foiled on vellum paper. Gold htv is very soft and a b i t ch to work with thanks I hate it.

I also struggled with ironing the dripping honey and sea of honey onto the case because I glued the cloth to the book case first before I finalized the design TT__TT But all in all I'm very happy with how it turned out

Endpapers are printed marmor papers that I foiled, the illustrations are done by me on Procreate. I have the front and back different illustrations for story reasons.

[astrolovecosmos]

The Planets & Random or Obscure Associations

~Sun~

Creativity, vitality, head of state, the father, games, yellow and orange clothing, articles of value, jewelry, gold, brass, power, diamonds, citrine, topaz, jasper, amber, rhodochrosite, mistletoe, almonds, citrus, succulents, sunflowers, fevers, heart, back, spine, grapes, walnuts, rice, chamomile, frankincense, juniper, saffron, marigold, rosemary, rue, palaces, towers, luxury.

~Moon~

Eternal, cycles, silver, aluminum, pearls, moonstone, opal, selenite, chest, glands, lymphatic system, nervous system, emotions, mother, ancestors, nurture, rebirth, tides, baths, ocean, brew, boat, sap, willow trees, succulents, pale color plants, white flowers, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce, melons, shellfish, pumpkins, lakes, fountains, ports, fishponds, pools, springs, sewers, dairies, toys, reflection, blankets, objects of comfort.

~Mercury~

Communication, journal, pen/pencil, any writing tools, wings, phosphorous, mercury, agate, tiger's eye, brain, nervous system, eyes, respiration, thyroid, speech, hearing, intellect, vehicles, money, bills, paper, books, pictures, parties or social gatherings, scientific instruments, butterflies, messages, mail, hazel, mulberry, myrtle, seeds, aniseed, dill, fennel, lavender, liquorice, marjoram, parsley, valerian, hazelnuts, beans, mushrooms, pomegranates, carrots, celery, libraries, schools, markets, fairs, public spaces, tennis or badminton court, studies, banks, bowling greens, offices, blue, white, or light colored flowers.

~Venus~

Love, relating, lust, high-quality fabrics, copper, bronze, sodium, malachite, tourmaline, emerald, rose quartz, kunzite, sapphire, pastels, throat, kidneys, lumber region, art, music, aesthetics, social life, fashion, jewelry, wine, pleasure, alder tree, fruit trees, paint, ash tree, birch, pomegranates, early flowering, daisy, mint, marshmallow, meadowsweet, mugwort, plantain, tansy, roses, thyme, vervain, yarrow, potatoes, strawberries, wheat, sugar, nectarines, ballrooms, bedrooms, dining room, gardens, fountains, wardrobes, theaters, looking and feeling good.

~Mars~

Lust, conquest, desire, flaming sword, red things, fights, iron, brass, bloodstone, carnelian, cinnabar, pyrite, magnetite, ruby, garnet, hematite, muscles, reproductive organs, blood, kidneys, immunity, heat, action, arms, pepper, sharp instruments, cutlery, attacks, scissors, weapons, physical intimacy, bites, stings, scalds, burns, accidents, hawthorn, pine, thorns, cactus, aloes, anemone, arnica, belladonna, garlic, ginger, hops, mustard seed, nettles, wormwood, chives, onions, leeks, radish, rhubarb, tobacco, labs, furnaces, distilleries, bakehouses, ovens, smiths, butchers, fields, anger, passion, self-focus.

~Jupiter~

Expansion, optimism, religion, religious sites, tin, seduction, turquoise, chrysocolla, topaz, citrine, jasper, liver, pancreas, pituitary gland, sciatic nerve, excess, abundance, prophecy, philosophy, knowledge, universities, foreign travel, luggage, honey, oil, silk, fruit, distinct clothing, merchandise, horses, domestic birds, gambling, indulgence, entertainment, oak, dandelion, sage, endive, chervil, asparagus, figs, churches, temples, palaces, altars, courts, mansions, woods, orchards, winery, cornucopia, connecting with the soul.

~Saturn~

Limits, boundaries, father time, lord of death, shadows, lead, iron, steel, calcium, asbestos, sulphur, diamond, onyx, calcite, skeleton, spleen, skin, teeth, nails, joints, structure, crystallization, old age, blockage, anything dark, wool, heavy materials, agriculture, wheelbarrows, spades, farm houses and buildings, cold, laws, aspen, blackthorn, buckthorn, cypress, elm, toxic plants, hemlock, henbane, belladonna, hellebore, barley, beetroot, safflower, parsnips, spinach, deserts, woods, valleys, caves, church yards, ruins, coalpits, sinks, wells, mud, institutions.

~Uranus~

Eccentrics, mavericks, invention, genius, revolution, change, trends, disruptive science or tech, uranium, magnesium, lapis lazuli, sapphire, aquamarine, azurite, chalcedony, electricity, neon lights, plaid, nervous and circulatory system, pineal gland, chaos, violence, upheaval, astrology, steam engines, coal, machinery, coins, baths, fishponds, dangerous places, computers, magnets, quantum physics, research, welfare, humanity, hypnotherapy, railways, banks, gas, psychiatric hospitals, offices, hospitals, dispensaries, fortified places, chemicals, mingled/mingling, spirit and matter.

~Neptune~

Illusions, veils, diffuse, deception, water, oceans, mysticism, enlightenment, artistic pursuit and understanding, zinc, potassium, amethyst, fluorite, jade, sugilite, coral, aquamarine, pineal gland, lymphatic and nervous system, spine, mental processes, addiction, psychoses, disease, photography, music, substances, gas, religion, poetry, mimicry, chameleon, anesthetic, telepathy, empathy, dancing, psychic gifts, places near water, hospitals, places of healing, jeweler, painters, brewers, musicians, visionary.

~Pluto~

Power, influence, darkness, new life, what's hidden underneath, seeds, volcanoes, deep earth or ocean, bury, explosions, eruptions, abduction, plutonium, smoky quartz, obsidian, jet, pearl, deep reds, reproductive organs, the unconscious, nuclear, transformation, death, birth, rebirth, underworld, riches, earthquakes, big business, murder, detection, detective, invisibility, sneak, enforced change, hidden places, underground, drains, sewers, radioactive places, the occult, black magic, sacrifice, renew.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Love and marriage

"I will never get married." Seven year old Lan Wangji proclaims to his uncle as he practices calligraphy under the senior's guidance one evening. It had been about six months after his mother's passing, and only two days ago that little Wangji waited dutifully in the harsh winter storm for the door to the gentian house to open.

It did not. It never will again. But Wangji's resolve seemed iron-clad, and he did not leave until curfew that day.

It had been a miracle how he did not become ill - or worse! - spending time outside in such conditions. But though his body seemed surprisingly unaffected, his mind had not, falling into a deep, pensive state, even more quiet than before.

It had been for this reason that Lan Qiren brought the boy in to spend time with him and observe him - all under the guise of teaching. Despite his young age, Wangji had already mastered calligraphy.

The boy's statement made his uncle's eyes lift from the book he had been reading, an eyebrow raised. Part of him wished to say "you better not!", as any other paternal figure would tell their child at this age. But Lan Qiren had a feeling there was more to those words than it appeared on the surface, so he asked:

"What brought this on?"

"I have been thinking." Little Wangji says, a long pause following as he places his brushes neatly to the side of his parchment paper. "It is because mother married father that she is...gone."

Lan Qiren stared, stunned, at the little boy before him. He seemed confident in his assessment, though nevertheless saddened about it, like a man that had found a treasure that brought him no joy.

"It is also because their marriage that you and your brother have been born." Lan Qiren countered, in a way that was almost gentle, if slightly chiding. "Life is not as simple as it appears to be. And not all marriages are the same."

Not all marriages are like your parents' - but Lan Qiren could not have said that without sounding bitter and resentful, which was unadvisable in dealing with a grieving child that was not an orphan only if by virtue of his father still being alive and nothing more.

"How do you know?" Wangji asked, earnest though disbelieving, "How can one be sure their marriage will not be... lonely?"

Lan Qiren stared at the boy again, seeing so much of his father in his honeyed eyes. How could he respond to that? Lan Qiren had never been particularly romantically inclined. If anything, he preferred the company of books and studies more than people, and he had never found himself yearning for even the concept of a romantic relationship. He had received numerous requests for courtship or marriage - some even for mere physical encounters - but he had never felt the need or the desire to pursue anything of that nature with anyone. What would he know about marriages, let alone happy ones?

"It is never guaranteed how such things may turn out." Lan Qiren replied, after a while.

Wangji did not seem to react to that answer. His uncle sighed quietly - what had he been doing, working himself up over the words of a seven year old? Kids his age are fickle, as it is expected. Why had he been treating the boy's words as final? For all he knew, Wangji may change his mind by supper or by next morning - after all, children his age do not have the conviction of adults, nor do they even remember their promises by the time they may have to make good on them.

"Regardless, if you do not wish to marry, then you may not if it is not necessary" Lan Qiren added, and little nodded slightly, satisfied with the answer. He picked his brush back up and continued to write.

After a while, he spoke: "I will neber keep anybody against their will."

--

Lan Wangji was 15 years old when he first met Wei Wuxian and it became apparent to all their peers and the rest of the Lan sect that they did not get along. With Wei Wuxian boisterous and relentless pursuit of friendship and Lan Wangji's ice-cold refusal of it, it appeared that whatever cordiality one might expect between young masters of their standing was lost forever.

However, Lan Qiren had raised the famed Second Jade of Lan and he could easily see it was not disgust or anger that he expressed over Yunmeng Jiang's head disciple, but rather an annoyed, relentless denial of his otherwise normal desire for human connection.

It did not bring Lan Qiren any ease though - Cangse Sanren's son was so visibly her own that the man sometimes felt like he interacted with her ghost - and he did not believe that to be a good thing for Lan Wangji. Despite his indifferent exterior, his heart was fragile, and Lan Qiren worried for him in the presence of Wei Wuxian.

It had been this very topic that had come up as Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen shared tea one day, enjoying the fresh magnolia blooms.

"It appears Wangji may not keep to his childhood promise." Xichen smiled, "I believe you have noticed it as well."

Lan Qiren sighed deeply as he took a sip of herbal tea. "You appear unnecessarily happy about this development."

Xichen smiled again, fox-like, and for a moment Lan Qiren saw his brother, young and mischevous, concocting plans over tea.

"Does he know?" Lan Qiren found himself asking.

"He seems to be struggling with it." Xichen replied, looking into the distance towards the training grounds, wherefrom a lot of otherwise unusual noise was echoing.

"As expected."

Silence befalls the two. Xichen smiles meaningfully into his tea.

"Would it be wrong of me to assume this is one of the reasons you have entrusted young master Wei's punishment to Wangji?"

Lan Qiren's eyes narrow, but he does not reply. Xichen's smile widens, but conversation lulls.

---

Lan Wangji had so desperately hoped Wei Wuxian would listen. He had hoped Wei Wuxian would be able to understand all the things Lan Wangji could not say, all his intentions, all his worries and all his feelings - and he would have listened, and agreed.

But he had not.

And for a moment, a traitorous few seconds, it had crossed Lan Wangji's mind. It had, despite how much he had tried to convince himself it never would, that such a thing would never even occur to him.

But it did.

He had thought of trying to do what his father had done in his pursuit of protecting his mother - he had thought of taking Wei Ying with him to the Cloud Recesses whether he opposed it or not, and keeping him there, safely, for the rest of forever.

He had refused even the thought of it, dismissing it as quickly as it had appeared, and it disgusted him to know his mind had been able to conjure it in the first place - the very thing he had sworn he would never wish for let alone ever do, had presented itself as an option in his mind.

And Lan Wangji hated it.

He had visited the gentian house that day, and stayed there until curfew.

"I wish to bring someone back to the Cloud Recesses... take him back and hide him away... but he is not willing."

---

For all the agony Lan Wangji suffered, he felt no remorse at all, as if he had fulfilled his fate in a way he had not even known had been intended for him. He had accepted his punishment with placid resignation, not even once declaring himself regretful of his actions. It was difficult for him to assess whether he had failed or not, but at least he had tried to protect the man he could have finally allpwed himself to accept he loved.

But, almost as though fate was keen on fulfilling the promise he made at seven years old, that very man had just been pronounced dead, the news delievered by celebratory letters and festivals that bore more evil than Wei Wuxian had ever done.

Lan Xichen carefully assisted the healers cleaning and bandaging Lan Wangji's wounds, a process he had grown to despise as much as he looked forward to it. It was only with this pretext that he could visit his little brother now, as he had been sent into seclusion, and it worried Xichen not to know how he was dealing not only with the new knowledge, but his own state as well.

As the healers left the room, Xichen stood by his brother's bed for a few minutes, in silence. He had hoped some words would be coming to him at some point, but he could not find anything appropriate to say at the moment, stroking Wangji's hair off his face instead.

"Were you there?" Wangji asked after a few moments, voice hoarse and empty, as if he had screamed it raw.

"I was not."

"Who was?"

"I do not know."

Lan Xichen had chosen to lie that day, and did not regret it. As much as he valied honesty, he knew it was not the truth Wangji needed then.

What was Xichen supposed to even say? That their uncle had watched the last few moments of Wei Wuxian's life alongside the other sect leaders? That the besiegers cheered on his death as his body disintegrated into nothingness under the force of the Burial Mounds?

That they slaughtered innocent people like cattle?

"Did they find him?"

"No."

That had not been a lie. Many had believed Wei Wuxian had not died, even if they saw him enveloped in resentful energy as he screamed in pain until all that was left was silence. They wanted proof of it, a body, a shred of anything - perhaps to only defile him more.

But they had not found anything.

Wangji sighed, the breath heavy from his lungs.

"I dreamt I married him."

Xichen's eyes turned soft, pitiful, "Perhaps in another life."

"Perhaps."

---

Thirteen years later, the Cloud Recesses murmur with excitement as groups of disciples move to and fro, carrying decorations and supplies like tireless ants of a busy hive.

The wedding is in a couple of weeks, but sect leader Lan as well as master Lan Qiren had ordered the preparations start early in order to ensure all is ready for the great celebration.

"For how much your uncle disapproves of me, he sure is invested in our wedding." Wei Wuxian laughs as he and his soon-to-be-official husband inspect the ancestral hall, the designated venue for the event.

"Uncle is very thorough." Lan Wangji replies, "And his distrust of you has lessened over the past years."

"I would hope so." A laugh, "Though he is probably more concerned in doing right by you."

"Nevertheless, I believe it is for both of us."

Wei Wuxian laughs again, squeezing his beloved's hand. "Say, I heard something from a very, very reliable source..."

"What did my brother tell you again?"

"I heard you said you'd never marry anyone when you were a kid. I bet seven year old Lan Zhan would be disappointed!" Wei Wuxian jokes, a teasing smile on his lips that Lan Wangji cannot be blamed for kissing right now.

"Seven year old me had not met you yet." He replied, softly, "He would've known better."

[marvelobsessed134]

Shades Of Cool

Requested: No, I’m just down bad for current!Vince

Warnings: daddy kink sorry not sorry, dom/sub dynamic, rough sex, squirting, spitting, age gap (Vince is in his sixties and the reader is 23) and I think that’s it. Let me know if I missed any, I don’t proofread.

Pairings: Current!Vince x YoungerFem!Reader

Summary: You’re Vince’s girlfriend, despite the age gap between the two of you. And one day you get bored and decide to spice things up.

It was a sunny day in Nashville, Tennessee. You were sitting outside on the back patio in your favorite sundress and a large sun hat drinking lemonade while reading your favorite book. Vince has been in his study all day working on something you don’t even know what. That man can be so confusing sometimes.

You sighed and leaned back in the black iron chair. The birds were chirping and the small waterfall in the koi pond you had installed was all you could hear. You bit your lip thinking about how to cure your sudden boredom.

And idea popped in your head. A rather naughty one that could either get you in trouble or rewarded. You smirked and giggled get up, butterflies dancing in your stomach. You’re suddenly antsy now. You walked up the beautiful marble staircase and into your shared bedroom. You walked into the closet and opened your special drawer which is full of lingerie. Some you haven’t worn yet. You decided to go for a bubblegum pink lacy teddy. Pairing it with your fuzzy satin pink heels and curling your hair a bit, you walked towards the door of your boyfriend’s study.

Softly knocking on the door, you heard a “come in” and opened it slowly, peaking your head through it without showing your body.

The blonde looked up at you from his desk and smiled, “Hey, babydoll. What’s up?”

You love when he calls you that. Suddenly you’re feeling shy. Not as confident as you did when you first got the idea and put the outfit on. You blushed and slowly walked in, closing the door behind you.

Vince got a good look of your attire. He licked his lips as he looked you up and down. His pretty little babydoll.

“God damn, honey. This all for me?” He asked.

You nodded, crossing your leg behind the other, nervously playing with the hem of the short nightie as you bashfully looked up at him. “Yeah, I was bored.” Your face was red hot right now and his lustful gaze didn’t help.

“Why don’t you come over here and do something for daddy.” His voice suddenly sounded. You quickly nodded and sped walked to him before getting on your knees and undoing his belt. His large cock sprang free after pulling down his boxers. You wrapped your hand around the base and put your mouth on the tip before lowering it, allow him to go deeper and deeper into your mouth. When his cock hit the back of your throat you gagged, and pulled him out of you.

“Don’t think you’re gonna stop there, sweetheart. Come on, suck daddy’s cock like a good girl.” Your pussy was drenched at his words and you slowly sunk your mouth back down his shaft. Vince moaned when you started to pick up the pace. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head feeling like the king of the world right now.

“Oh fuck yes. Such a good girl.” He groaned out.

You swirled your tongue around it as you sucked, once in awhile pushing down deep into your throat.

“I’m gonna cum, and you better swallow it.” Vince said and you nodded ever so slightly, his cock still in your mouth. You bobbed your head up and down until you felt his load in your mouth, running down your throat. You groaned in pleasure as he moaned loudly. The singer pulled you off of him and helped you up, before pushing the papers of song lyrics off the desk and moving his laptop in a safer place, setting you on his desk.

Instinctively, you spread your legs.

Vince pulled off his shirt before kissing you again, grinding his bare cock against your damp panties. “Fuck Y/n.” He groaned. “Mmm daddy…” you whined.

“What do you need babygirl?” He asked, searching your lust filled eyes. “I need you to fuck me.”

“Your wish is my command, sweetheart.” He said before ripping the teddy off of you causing your gasp at the sound of the seams ripping. He pulled down your panties with his teeth before lining up against your wet pussy. Slowly pushing in, you both moaned. You gripped his shoulders as he picked up the pace.

“Fuck, baby.” All you could do was moan and throw your head back as he thrusted into you hard and fast, hitting your spot every time.

“Ahh, daddy…I’m gonna cum.” You cried out, looking into his eyes as tears streamed down your face. Vince believed you couldn’t look any more beautiful.

“Im right behind you baby.” He grunted, squeezing your tits and spitting on them. You clenched around him and came as soon as he did. He quickly pulled his dick out to see you squirt all over the desk and yourself mixed with his cum.

“Oh my god, fuck yes that’s so fucking hot.” He said, catching his breath.

The blonde gave you a sweet kiss before saying, “Come on, let’s take a shower. Round two?”

You giggled, “You know it, rockstar.”

[theprenderelliepalace]

Tag, you owe me

☆• Five x reader •☆

Season 4 AU -The Umbrella Academy

A/n I'm pretending season 4 happened a lot less season 4ish- so imagine this:

Summary: After The Umbrella Academy stopped The Cleanse and saved the world, life was just as crazy as it had been before. It's Grace's 8th birthday and a lot has happened in two years for Five and the other Hargreeves, you being one of those things. Tensions are high at what should be a simple birthday party, so Five asks you to help him out. But when have you ever listened to Five?

Warnings: Fake dating, cannon typical Hargreaves chaos, fluff, no Five x Lila nonsense (but maybe a bit of drama...), no use of y/n, readers not a marigold baby (but could be), gramatical errors I'm sure, swearing etc.

•☆•

You met Five Hargreeves 2 years ago when you were a paper pusher for the CIA's cold case unit. He was rude, obnoxious in every sense of the word and irritatingly good at his job. Naturally you couldn't resist getting a coffee with him.

You only got strung along from there. Your first case that he dragged you into almost cost you your job and your life, but it also got you bumped up to your own undercover unit, where you spent your days bickering with the worst partner you could've dreamt of.

Two years later and you couldn't have hated him less, but you're trying to be civil.

"Hey Fiver, where'd you put those case files I asked you to sign off? - Mmph!!" Your words are muffled by a calloused hand covering your mouth. You squirm for freedom, your training kicking in. You look up briefly at your captor and physically deflate at the sight of him. You are tempted to scream and get him in trouble, but the look on his face makes you think twice.

"Not a word, or I swear-" You elbow him in the gut, not hard enough to hurt him, just hard enough to get a word in edgewise. His hand falls away in surprise.

You gasp for breath. "The hell are you doing you crazy mother-" His hand clamps over your mouth again. With his free hand, he points out into the lobby. You clock a Hispanic man with scraggly hair at reception. He seems to be talking to Sally at the front desk.

Based on your 2 years of experience with Five. You assume this is either a terrorist, or a family member. Judging by his overreaction, you guess family.

The man sighed at whatever Sally said to him and turns, walking down the hall towards the exit. Five frees you from his iron grip. You stumble away from him, turning on your heel with outrage written all over your face. "You need help."

He smirks, although he appears distracted. "Tell me something I don't know honey." You give him the finger.

"Fuck you. The hell was that about?" You snarl at him.

"Family business. Birthday party. Ugly, ugly stuff. Wouldn't want you to get involved. You might just mess up your nails." He mocks. Shuddering at the thought of his family.

"First of all, my nails are always fantastic. Secondly, don't bullshit me." Five quirks a brow at you. "You've been doing this song and dance with your mysterious 'family' since I first met you. You're just a coward in my book Fiver." You watch his jaw clench, taking satisfaction in striking a nerve.

"Oh. Okay, I see how it is partner. You want my crybaby, backstory? Well come 'n get it sister." He glares at you, waiting for you to accept the challenge. You scoff. This is ridiculous, you're well into your 20s, this whole thing is just juvenile.

"Can't we be more mature than this?" You plead, though sarcasm drips off your tongue with a lazy ease.

"One of us can't." He retorts. You roll your eyes. You've learned that when he gets like this, it's best to bow out for a few hours and wait for everything to return to normal.

"Okay. Okay. I'll get lost. But I warn you Fiver, this whole thing will only bite you in the ass one day." You shrug, making for the break room. He grabs your wrist.

"I hate that stupid nickname."

"I know you do. Honey." You taunt him. It's dangerous, but oh how it thrills you. He pulls you closer, your lips are dangerously close, but achingly far.

"You owe me, you know..." You watch the gears turn in his head as that look you know so well falls over his face. "An eye for an eye. What'dya say?" The smug smirk on his face is enough to make you want to smack him.

"How'd you figure that you fuckin' cowboy?" Your stomach swirls with hot, unadulterated hatred, and something else...

"Remember the Fortheim case?" He gambles, knowing he's already won.

"Okay! Okay... Enough said..." He leans back, satisfied.

"Atta girl." You slap him.

•☆•

And that little backstory, was how you ended up drinking apple juice at an 8 year-olds birthday party at a Lazer Tag joint downtown.

"Happy?" You ask Five, who's had you glued to his arm for the last 2 hours.

"Not a day in my life." He sighs. You shake your head, itching to snap back when you hear someone call his name.

"Five! Long time no see man." A gangly looking hipster saunters towards the two of you. You smile at him, you're not sure what it is, but you like him already. "Oooh, who's your little lady friend?"

"Girlfriend." You say.

"Date." He states. You and Five exchange glances.

Five clears his throat. "This is my brother, Klaus." Your partner straightens his tie, as though trying to blend into the wall and out of this conversation. Klaus hums in amusement, his eyes crinkling with silent mirth. The hippie extends a graceless arm towards Five, enveloping him in an iron side-hug.

"You'll forgive my brother. He's never been the social butterfly of our family." Klaus smiles, it's a stupid smile, but it makes your heart warm to the brotherly love evident in his gesture.

"I noticed." You smile at Five, who shrinks even further into the wall, if possible.

"So, Miss Five's Secret Girlfriend. Where did he find you?" Klaus inquires, almost as though he's speaking about the weather.

You laugh. "Oh some back alley somewhere. Nothing fancy."

"Klaus let me go." Five warns. Straining against his brothers grip. For a guy so skinny, he has incredible grip strength to hold onto his whirlwind of a brother.

Klaus ignores this demand. "Oh yes. Makes sense. Not that you look the alley-type sweetheart, I just know my brother." He winks at you.

You smirk in return. Thoroughly enjoying Fives suffering. "I guess you do."

Abruptly, Klaus releases Five, sending him hurtling backwards. You can barely stifle your giggles now. "Well, it's been a pleasure missy. You're too good for him by the way." Klaus struts off towards the food table, eyeing the chocolate éclairs hungrily.

"I agree." You say to Five, who's look of pure rage could topple buildings.

"I hate him." He scowls.

"Oh hush. He's great." You grab your fake boyfriend by the arm, tugging him towards a cluster of people talking behind a drink cooler, suddenly feeling all the more chatty.

"Five? I didn't think you'd come." Says a strikingly tall man with spiked blond hair. He glances at you and then at your hand clenched around Fives. The look of confusion on his face is priceless. "I- who? What -" Internally cackling at your newfound revelation, you make to reply.

"Hi, I'm Five's partner." Not entirely dishonest. You stick your hand towards him, he shakes it dumbly, lost for words.

"Five? A girlfriend? What, are we on a Prankshow?" Says the woman at his side. She eyes you suspiciously. "Sloane." She affirms. You nod with practiced ease.

Five looks about ready to kill. You decide to ease off some. "My other brother, Luther." Your partner growls. Luther smiles now, almost like he's somehow in on a very bad joke. He begins to say something, but you cut him off.

"It was nice to meet you both. Excuse me for a moment." You smile sweetly, heading for the bathrooms. You catch Fives deathstare. "Fiver." You wink. You cackle as you listen to the onslaught of questions and abuses from his family. Serves him right, dragging you all the way out here, explaining nothing and still managing to be the most cantankerous jerk you've ever met.

You duck behind a corner, taking a corridor that leads into one of the Lazer Tag rooms. You decide to wait until they cut the cake before you make your showstopping final appearance. You're feeling on top of the world until you feel a familiar hand clasp your wrist.

"When I said come to my nieces birthday party as a distraction, that was not what I meant."

You turn to face Five. "What, did you want us to make-out or something? Would that have been distracting enough?" You scoff, pulling your hand out of his. "You're such a prick Hargreaves, you know that? Dragging me out here as bait! What the hell am I even doing here? You've got a good enough relationship with your brothers. Why bother?"

He looks at down at his polished brogues, the lilac light from the strobing LEDs above making him look older, haggard even. "It's complicated."

"By all means, uncomplicate it."

"I- I had this thing with my brother's wife..."

"Jesus Five!"

He glares at you reproachfully. "Not like that dammit! He just thought... it was a godawful time in my life okay?" He sighs, like the weight of the confession was boring into his chest.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry like that, but we're partners Five. We don't trick each other for petty stuff." You smile. "If you wanted to ask me out that bad, you shouldda just asked." You tease.

He smiles wryly. "That obvious huh?"

What? "What?" You gulp, dumbfounded.

He laughs at you, this achingly amazing laugh that catches you, making your laugh echo his in a sweet bubble of silliness.

"I've got to have a word with my brother, but," He smiles nervously at you. That's a first. "Do you wanna get outta here?"

"Depends on what I have an itch for." You smile coyly.

"Coffee?"

"Coffee."

He winks at you. "You got it partner." Suddenly your face becomes hot, you look away, enjoying the new meaning in the word. You glance up again, ready for a comeback only to find Five absent. It was strange, you could've swarn he couldn't have gone anywhere without you hearing him go. It was such a tight space, with hartily creaking floors.

In your stupor, you made your way back to the main party area. Finding Five, engrossed in conversation with the Hispanic man from earlier. You make your way over to them.

"Don't sweat it man. We're cool, Lila's cool."

"Says who?" You hear a woman's English accent from behind a brightly coloured piñata. The Hispanic man rolls his eyes.

"Don't listen to her. We're all good now Five. I get it, it was seven years."

Five tenses. "Nothing happened Diego." Diego laughs.

"I forget what a prude you are sometimes man. Chill. But I get it, you're trynna impress your new chica, right?" Diego glances at you slyly. You squirm slightly. Five turns, spots you and huffs.

"Okay. Goodbye. I've had enough of this family for one afternoon. Come on you." He waves at you over his shoulder.

"What? What girl- oh!" Lila, apparently, peers around the piñata and laughs, the complete hysterical kind. "Never in my life..." She pats Five on the shoulder, uttering something you can't hear.

By now, there are 7 people surrounding you, all smirking like idiots. You find it endearing.

You decide to take matters into your own hands. You take Fives hand, drag him away from his family and towards the door, but not before planting your palms tenderly on either side of his face and pressing your lips to his. He gasps into your kiss but his hands find your waist eventually, pulling you into him.

His siblings jeer and catcall, but you get the sense he doesn't care anymore. You giggle into the kiss as you watch him give them the finger. He pulls away from you, stranding out to the parking lot.

You gaze fondly at the people in the lobby and give them the bow they deserve. "Thank you and goodnight!" You smile at the laughter that echoes after you as the doors close behind you.

You race to catch up to Five, who's already waiting to open the passenger door for you. "I like your family Fiver."

He smiles, "They like you honey."

•☆•

[etheries1015]

Hello! I really hope you're doing well and that all is fine on your end<3

Could I pretty please request some comfort fluff hcs for Zhongli and Artem with a fem s/o that's studying real hard and losing sleep and such. But she's determined to achieve her dream job in the long run of being a legal counsellor/lawyer💪

Tysm and have a good day! Mwah!❤️

Studying and Affection What better way to pull you away from the woes of your work than your lover making an abrupt interruption in your cycle of unhealthy developing habits?

General warnings: Gender neutral reader, since I did not use pronouns. However, pet names ARE used, such as "dear" and whatnot. You can read it as any gender <3

TW: None! If I missed any, please let me know and I shall update this section accordingly~

featuring: Zhongli, Artem

Zhongli

The archon knew just how much you wanted this job, how long you had yearned to make a difference in people's lives, and how much you would sacrifice to reach your dreams. Having ambitions and all is a wonderful thing that he understands drives humans to find fulfillment in their lives, however, he began to notice signs that even he, the geo archon himself, was able to perceive was getting out of hand.

"Dear," Zhongli called out for the third time as you sat at your desk with papers spread out and large books opened. By the fourth time when you had not noticed his presence, the tall male snuck his hands around your body plucking the pencil you held with an iron grip with ease. Shocked, you gasped slightly sitting up and turning to face your lover. You seldom see Zhongli in a state of annoyance, however it was clear as day the way he furrowed his eyebrows and folded his arms.

"My love, I have called your name multiple times now," He said in his deep, honey like voice, "Why don't you take a break?" Zhongli's expression softened, setting the pencil down gently upon the table. You sighed and rubbed your temples, frustration also clear as day upon your features.

"Morax," You sighed, "This is important to me. I HAVE to get this job, If I don't all those years I spent studying and practicing will be for nothing! The exams are coming up and if I don't-" He quickly shushed you by leaning down to your level, grabbing your wrists with his strong hands and pulling them apart, forcing your gaze to look into his own.

"You are avoiding my gaze," He grunted, "Look at you. You have dark circles under your eyes," He began to rub your wrists and eye you up and down, "And you seem to have lost a significant amount of weight. You are not properly taking care of yourself, Come," He pulled you off the chair and began to lead you away from your work, to which you groaned in annoyance however did not protest. You knew deep down you needed some sort of break, and knew better than to avoid your dragon lover any longer.

"Let us take a stroll and make our way to Wanmin restaurant," Zhongli intertwined his fingers with your own, "Take a break. Humans are fragile creatures, you must take care of yourself, my love." You bit your bottom lip and sighed in defeat, leaning your tired body against his strong lean one.

"Alright," You exasperated with a slight smile upon your lips, "You win. I will take a short break, but after I need to go back to-" Zhongli spun you around, one arm wrapping around your waist while using his other one to tilt your chin to look into his mesmerizing golden brown eyes. His lips inched closer to you and with a sultry voice hushed and intimate, your face flushed a bright shade of red with his bold statement;

"I am not doing this just for you, my precious glaze lily," He pointed out, "I have also been neglected in the time you have spent away to your studies. I'm afraid I will have to put a pause in your schedule for the rest of the day, for I am not letting you go so easily."

Artem

Artem was always known to be stoic and strict, consistently instilling pressure upon his subordinates. Yet it was obvious he held clear favoritism for one particular person- you.

You were dedicated from the start, you held similar views to him, your heart of gold shining brighter than anyone else in the office. From the moment you stepped into his life, he knew you were the one for him. He hadn't realized his very position was cause for your distress- he is all you wished to be; A successful, young, talented, well-put-together lawyer. The pressure seemed to turn up as exams came close for you, however thankful for the support Artem had given to you, recent struggles came to the surface throwing you into a string of all-nighters, missed meals, and increasingly short and frequent naps on your desk had become more and more apparent to your boyfriend.

He tapped against your desk to gain your attention, yet your concentration was left unwavering.

"Let me finish this chapter," You sighed, jotting down yet another note, "I don't have it perfected yet..." Artem pursed his lips in worry and set his hand above your own, causing you to set down your pencil and look up at the blue-eyed man.

"You said that an hour ago," He said gently, "You had promised we would have a date today, do you recall?" You bit your bottom lip, letting out a shaky sigh and nodding.

"I know I did- but the exams are coming up so fast and I'm so unprepared, I have to-" you were quickly interrupted by Artem spinning the chair around for you to fully face him, his arms caging each side of your head as his forehead pressed against yours gently.

"I appreciate your dedication, and it's good to work hard for your goals. But..." His hand moved to trail your face, "You're pale and tired. It's just as important to rest," He muttered, now using both of his hands to trail your cheeks. You felt tears prick the side of your eyes and a frown deepen upon your features, Artem's eyes widening slightly at the sudden display of vulnerability. There you spilled your heart, how tired you were of feeling so far behind in life, feeling unaccomplished and unworthy of his love. How tired you were of spending sleepless nights trying to catch up, tired of losing motivation for a job you had dreamed of having for years yet seemed too far to actually reach.

"(y/n)..." He choked up, "..Come. Let's...take a break, together. Okay?" He ran a warm bath for you, cooking a nutritious meal and bundling up the couch with pillows and blankets as he set up your favorite movie/tv series. When you came out freshly clean and seeing all of your favorite foods and your favorite person set up in the living room, his arms opened wide for you to snuggly fit between his legs and lean against his back. Artem trailed kisses against the back of your ear to your neck, his black hair tickling the side of your face.

"Today is a day for a break and rejuvenation, and tomorrow, I will help you with your studies, okay? We will go over the parts you're struggling with together. You have a good drive, and a beautiful heart. That's what made me fall in love with you. Do not feel the need to struggle alone, I will always be here for you through thick and thin. Do not doubt that ever again, okay? Caring for your mind and body is just as important as work, your body and your mind does a lot for you, take care of them, my love."

~~~~

Thank you for the request! I actually had a lot of fun writing this one!! I hope for all of you people studying in college, or struggling with work or whatever else you are going through, please remember to take care of yourselves. drink lots of water and consistent breaks, your health and well-being is more important than any job you have. I'm proud of you, lovelies. Standing amidst the face of adversity is the mark of true strength

[bomberqueen17]

Liveblogging the Aubreyad: Post Captain Part Three

I promise, this book really is that long. It's not that I'm rambling. I mean I am a little, but.

OK installment one was fly honeys and financial ruin, installment two was Bear Fursona and How Many Indiamen Has Tom Pullings Been In Please Read The Footnotes On This One, and we left off with Jack Finally Gets A Ship And Asks For One Big Favor. So now we are going to find out about this Disaster Boat and the Big Favor.

But first I can't resist this exchange between Stephen and Sophia, Jack's would-be wife prospect. Stephen and Sophie have hit it off as platonic friends and confide in one another a great deal, and Stephen is trying to convince Sophie that if she would just tell Jack she's into him then Jack would do what he had to do to make it happen. She refuses, she couldn't possibly, but meanwhile she is trying to explain to Stephen that Diana treats him like shit because she's trying to figure out if Stephen is into her or not, so if he would just fucking tell her he's into her she would stop being such a raging bitch to him, and Stephen, completely devoid of any self-analysis of this situation, breaks off his contemplation of how very wrong Sophie is to ignore his advice to explain to her that of course he must ignore her advice.

So while Jack is in his interview with Lord Melville, Stephen and Sophie are walking in a nearby park, and have this exchange.

'If you had seen him last night at Lady Keith's, you would not have worried. To be sure, he lost the rest of his ear in the Indiaman - but that was nothing.' 'His ear!' cried Sophia, turning white and coming to a dead halt in the middle of the Parade. 'You are standing in a puddle, my dear. Let me lead you to dry land. Yes, his ear, his right ear, or what there was left of it. But it was nothing. I sewed it on again; and as I say, if you had seen him last night, you would have been easy in your mind.' [...]'What a good friend you are to him, Dr Maturin. His other friends are so grateful to you.’ ‘I sew his ears on from time to time, sure.'

Anyway: The Big Favor, below.

So Jack repairs aboard HMS Disaster Polychrest to fit her out, she never having sailed anywhere before and for good reason, and Stephen turns up shortly in Portsmouth and sends Jack a note to let him know he's arrived. Jack responds, not having shipped any paper or pens aboard, by sending a messenger by way of reply. Brace yourself for the absolute onslaught of human sunshine that is about to follow:

A thundering on the stairs, as though someone had released a bull; the door burst inwards, trembling, and Pullings appeared, lighting up the room with his happiness and his new blue coat. 'I'm made, sir,' he cried, seizing Stephen's hand. 'Made at last! My commission came down with the mail. Oh, wish me joy!' 'Why, so I do,' said Stephen, wincing in that iron grip, 'if more joy you can contain - if more felicity will not make your cup overflow. Have you been drinking, Lieutenant Pullings? Pray sit in a chair like a rational being, and do not spring about the room.' 'Oh say it again, sir,' said the lieutenant, sitting and gazing at Stephen with pure love beaming from his face. 'Not a drop.' [...] 'Lieutenant, will you drink a glass of wine, a glass of sherry-wine?' 'You've said it again, sir,' cried Pullings, with another burst of effulgence. ('You would swear that light actually emanated from that face,' observed Stephen privately.) 'I take it very kind. Just a drop, if you please. I am not going to get drunk until tomorrow night - my feast.'

Pullings does indeed throw a party, to which both Jack and Stephen are invited. But first, the situation-- Pullings is the junior lieutenant, and Jack's first lieutenant is a Mr. Parker, who has been a lieutenant 35 years and never been given a command of his own, for reasons that become obvious: he is not good at his job. He doesn't totally understand how ships work, and focuses instead on cosmetic issues, and to motivate the men he constantly yells at them and beats them and generally is a terror to them. But he has influential friends-- not influential enough to get him his step, but influential enough that Jack is stuck with him.

The staffing of the ship is not ideal either, as they're very short-handed and of the men they have, most are Not Sailors. Pullings goes out to press men out of an incoming Indiaman ("won't she already be stripped?" asks Stephen, and Tom laughs at him.

“Love you, sir, I made two voyages in her. There are hidey-holes under her half-deck you would never dream of, without you helped to stow men into 'em. I'll have half a dozen men out of her, or you may say, black's the white of your eye, Tom Pullings. Lieutenant Tom Pullings,' he added, secretly.

I already included this one in the Indiaman Body Count Tally)

As a bit of a consolation, though, somehow Barret Bonden and his cousin Joe Plaice show up, bold as brass, rowing straight through that harbor openly to report aboard, so Jack has his coxswain back.

(We find out, alas, that Bonden's nephew George Lucock, who Jack had rated midshipman in the Sophie, couldn't get a Navy ship as a mid and wound up pressed as a foremast jack out of a merchantman and into HMS York, which recently went down with all hands in a blow-- built by the same corrupt dockyard as the Polychrest, so she probably came apart at the seams in the heavy storm-swell. Jack is sorely grieved, having valued the young man highly.)

So Barret Bonden takes the captain ashore in his barge to attend TOM PULLINGS's celebratory feast, at an inn near the shore in Gosport-- his parents have come, and his sweetheart.

The young man was standing there with his parents and an astonishingly pretty girl, a sweet little pink creature in lace mittens with immense blue eyes and an expression of grave alarm. 'I should like to take her home and keep her as a pet,' thought Jack, looking down at her with great benevolence.

The party goes well (Stephen bonds delightedly with Mrs. Pullings over their mutual love of mushrooms) but then the bailiffs show up, having been tipped off that Jack is there. Jack gets out the window but there are more waiting for him outside the inn and he can't jump down. So he hollers "Polychrest!" down to the end of the lane where his barge is moored, and up the street come running his barge crew, led by the loyal and extremely capable Barret Bonden, who knocks the head cop flat out with a wooden stave. "Pullings," Jack says once the bailiffs have fled, leaving several of their number stretched unconscious in the mud, "press those men," and so they go back to the ship with several additional hands.

By sea law this is perfectly legal. They have out-copped the fucking cops, and are very pleased with themselves.

So the next day they go out to sea and immediately find out that however little they expected out of the Polychrest, she is in fact much worse. She has so much leeway-- meaning, the wind pushes her bodily across the surface of the water no matter which direction she is meant to be sailing in or how closely she is steered-- that she is manageable only in wide vast open empty stretches of water, but her construction means she has no hold for supplies to be stored in, so she cannot make long voyages over vast open empty stretches of water. She must be used for duties that put her close in to the shore, but she cannot be steered well enough to be close in to the shore.

As a bonus they find out that she is actually slightly better at going backwards than forwards, which is. Well, embarrassing, and unexpected. But Jack can sail anything, and does, so on they go to rendezvous with the blockading Channel fleet.

Additional supporting characters revealed at this time include my son William Babbington, he of the venereal diseases, and a new tiny baby named Parslow, who mostly exists for Babbington to play wicked pranks upon.

HMS Failboat reaches the Channel fleet, whose job it is to keep the French from invading. This is a very real danger, there are hundreds of thousands of French troops sitting on the other side of the channel quite openly in a state of high preparedness and Napoleon around this time said "Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours and we are masters of the world."

But the commander of this patrolling squadron at this time is our old enemy Admiral Harte, yon blue-faced son of an old French fart whom we have known and loathed these years, and he really, really sucks.

Meanwhile in shipboard life, Stephen has fallen afoul of the incompetent Parker, who he catches gratutiously torturing the men out of his misguided ideas of how discipline works. This obliges Jack to openly interfere; he had been trying to be diplomatic with Parker, but he cannot overlook this. He handles it very competently, making Stephen and Parker apologize formally to one another and dismiss the incident, and then berating Parker in private. Stephen is coldly furious and offers to quit on the spot, but is talked down. He does however take a short leave and go ashore, where he visits Sophie and tells her among other things that Jack isn't eating very much because he's too poor to lay in his own private supplies, which is customary for ship captains.

And so Killick comes aboard, bearing extravagant amounts of food sent as gifts by Sophie. Jack actually almost cries, it's such a kind and also necessary thing for her to have done. And it's good timing, because Canning comes to dine. (He is Jewish and there is a funny sidebar as Jack tries to find out from the Bible [Stephen is astonished that he owns a copy] whether Jews can eat venison. The answer, as far as the unfussy Canning is concerned, is yes.)

So the dinner is a success, but then they immediately put to sea again. But not far out to sea. And Jack goes repeatedly ashore to visit-- Diana, not Sophie. Diana, who is in Dover, which is easy for the squadron to get to. (Sophie is farther away and also he cannot see her because her mother would not allow it, and she has refused to tell him openly that she wants this, though one would think the food she sent would have been a clue. And yet.) But Jack goes to visit Diana even in peril of being arrested, to the detriment of his duty, to the damage of his reputation, delaying the sailing of convoys he's meant to escort, imperiling his career. Which is what she wants. It's easy for men to say they care about her, but in her state she demands sacrifices to prove it, which Stephen provides as well but in his case she wants declarations, which he won't make.

Back aboard, Jack is trying to fix the ship's rigging to make her sail forwards more often, and Stephen is bonding with the new Marine captain over the various martial arts. The Marine asks if he should like to do some fencing practice. "Would that be quite regular?" Stephen asks, apparently without a hint of irony continuing "I have a horror of the least appearance of eccentricity."

Really. Do you now.

Anyhow they do practice fencing and pistol-shooting, and Jack is astonished to realize that his mildly bumbling friend is actually an incredible shot and a very skilled fencer. Stephen's university days had involved rather an extreme amount of dueling and he is extremely well-practiced and skilled at these arts.

HMS Failboat meets the Bellone, their old frienemy. They could chase her off and simply take the prizes she was escorting, but Jack knows that she does too much damage to English commercial traffic to be allowed to continue, so he doggedly chases her, leaving the prizes behind. He cannot take her, but drives her onto the rocks of the Spanish coast, and watches the surf break her back.

Admiral Harte doesn't give a fuck about this, he's just mad Jack didn't take the prizes.

Stephen is called away to do intelligence work, which Jack still knows nothing about really-- he has some inklings that there are depths to Stephen, but has no idea what those depths really are. Stephen visits Diana and Sophie on the way again, and again, Diana tries to get him to show concrete interest and he won't; he then tells Sophie she absolutely must show Jack some concrete interest but she says she can't and then counter-insists that he absolutely must be more direct with Diana, and he refuses. (I begin to see why this book is so long...)

Stephen is landed by the dark of the moon on the Spanish coast, and some undefinable time later he returns, deeply tanned, and tells everyone he's been in Ireland seeing to tedious family business.

He meets Heneage Dundas, who begs him to tell Jack that everyone has noticed him going ashore so much, it is entirely obvious to everyone what he is doing and it does not look good to anyone. He begs Stephen to tell Jack, lest Jack imperil what few chances he has to advance his career. Dundas is himself a notorious womanizer, so coming from him, this is really, really saying something.

Back aboard, Stephen finds the ship thoroughly unhappy, badgered by Parker's hard-horse willy-nilly torture, unbolstered by any real help from a despondent Jack, after a boring and unproductive convoy escort to the Baltic. But, Jack brought Stephen a souvenir-- a narwhal horn-- and Stephen is delighted.

So delighted he resolves to try to convey Dundas's message. Jack, already sensitive because he knows he's behaving badly, takes it amiss, answers him sharply, carelessly uses the word bastard to which Stephen, being one, is extremely sensitive. Stephen cannot abide it, demands Jack withdraw, and Jack, too angry, doubles down instead, pointing out that Stephen coming back deeply suntanned from a trip to Ireland is beyond believing and makes one question whether Stephen is telling the truth about anything-- which is of course entirely the wrong thing to ever say to someone who has fought as many duels as Stephen, and so of course Stephen goes to ask Dundas to second him in a duel.

Jack belatedly withdraws the word bastard but nothing else, which isn't going to cut it. But the scheduling is prohibitive, so the whole thing drags on unresolved.

Jack goes ashore once more to see Diana, but her servant says she isn't at home; he sneaks around back and discovers that indeed she is there, entertaining Canning in her bedroom.

Admiral Harte now orders the Failboat to go and traverse a very dangerous set of inshore channels to look in upon a French harbor. Now, either Harte is trying to get him killed, or is genuinely ignorant enough not to realize that the Polychrest is fatally unsuited to this mission, but Jack is so dispirited that he merely registers a dull formal protest about it (Failboat's hull has indeed started to come apart and it needs refitting already), then goes away shrugging on what amounts to a suicide mission.

Stephen meanwhile has been noticing that the men are increasingly sullen, but attributes it to the falling-out he has had with Jack-- most of the crew has been treating him poorly now that he is clearly no longer the Captain's Favorite. But in the sick bay he hears the men talking about their plans for mutiny. So he goes, dutifully, to tell Jack: the men will mutiny once they are close to France, and plan to carry the ship to a French harbor once the officers are dead. He will not name names, he is no informer, but he felt it his duty to report the fact of the matter.

Jack knew this was coming, they had been rolling shot in the night and he is not unaware of the state of the ship. He has a solution.

'Men,' said Jack, 'I know damned well what's going on. I know damned well what's going on; and I won't have it. What simple fellows you are, to listen to a parcel of makee-clever sea-lawyers and politicians, glib, quick-talking coves. Some of you have put your necks into the noose. I say your necks into the noose. You see the Ville de Paris over there?' Every head turned to the line-of-battle ship on the horizon. 'I have only to signal her, or half a dozen other cruisers, and run you up to the yardarm with the Rogue's March playing. Damned fools, to listen to such talk. But I am not going to signal to the Ville de Paris nor to any other king's ship. Why not? Because the Polychrest is going into action this very night, that's why. I am not going to have it said in the fleet that any Polychrest is afraid of hard knocks.”

No punishment, the incident will not be logged, but they are going to go on this possible suicide mission here and now and either fucking do the impossible or fucking die trying.

Everyone is pleased by this, except Parker, so off they go, making it to their target in shockingly good time. The navigation is incredibly tricky, and Jack does not know the waters, so he is relying entirely on his master, who is a Channel pilot. He double and triple-checks everything with the master, but the master is absolutely confident, despite the fog that has rolled in, despite how tricky this harbor in specific is. No, they are in the right place, the master is perfectly confident, this is going exactly as planned, and so they are definitely going to--

They run hard aground on a sandbar, midsentence. They were in the wrong place, the master having confused one distinctive headland with another identical distinctive headland. They are now hard aground under the overlapping fire of two heavy, well-staffed land batteries, the fog is lifting, and the gunboats from the harbor are coming out to destroy them.

The only way off the sandbar is to carry an anchor out some distance and then winch themselves off with it, but none of the smaller boats they possess are strong enough to carry the anchor. They will have to go steal one from the harbor. Having decided this within the first three seconds of realizing the situation, Jack then realizes that it would be faster, better, to go cut out a large enough vessel from that harbor to simply directly tow the Polychrest off. And there is in fact a 20-gun corvette there, the Fanciulla, anchored under the batteries, but so close under them that their guns could not bear on her. She is the ship they were meant to locate, and there she is. And why not cut her out? It's suicidal but then this whole thing was anyway.

So he calls for volunteers for this absolutely madcap, reckless plan, and is stunned when most of the men onboard follow him with zero hesitation; he has to order some to stay behind to keep the ship, having already ordered some others off on a distraction gambit to draw the gunboats off.

They reach the corvette; Babbington gets shot and Jack saves him, it's only his arm that is broken, he tucks it into his shirt and fights on, desperately. Pullings cuts the cables with his bloody axe, the Fanciulla is theirs-- the battery has not realized the ship is taken and does not fire on them as they make their way back out to the Polychrest, only belatedly opening fire when they're most of the way there. They pass a cable, set the sails, get on the capstan bars, and are working to tow the Polychrest off-- it has started to move-- they're nearly there-- and then the cable is cut by shot from the batteries, and there is no surviving boat to carry another cable.

So Jack, already wounded but determined, swims over to the Fanciulla to get another cable. He is wounded again in the water, and comes aboard exhausted and bleeding heavily. No one else can swim, and the Fanciulla cannot come any closer without grounding herself as well. So he takes the heavy cable and sets off back to the Polychrest, nearly drowns, but gets there, seeing double. Bonden has to haul him out of the water, he cannot stand, but finally heaves to his feet to take a place at the capstan in the final desperate effort to get the Polychrest unstuck.

She floats. But she has been hulled upwards of 200 times by the batteries' heavy shot, and above all, her poorly-built hull is coming apart at the seams. She cannot swim long.

They tow her out. A large number of transport ships had fled the harbor when the fighting started, meaning to get clear of whatever happened, and they are all out in the shipping lane, milling about and completely confused. The Polychrest and Fanciulla sink several, take one that blunders into them and gets stuck, and leave flaming chaos behind them. Which was, after all, the substance of Jack's orders.

They get everything they can off the Polychrest, and then, finally, she sinks. And so does Jack, massively short on blood.

But the book is not over, no. There's more, but this is another suitable place for an intermission.

Stay tuned for: Gibbon crimes, sixty thousand bees, romantic heartbreak and separate resolution (not the same romance), and somebody gets a promotion. Two somebodies! ... one of them is really not who you would expect.

[robins-egg-bindery]

ever in your favor by @iron--spider

Peter startles awake when someone shakes him. 

“Sorry, honey,” May says. Peter blinks a couple times and she comes into focus, her hair pulled back from her face. She’s trying not to look a certain way, but he can see it in her eyes anyway. She clears her throat, keeps talking. “But it’s…” She glances away, wets her lips. “You gotta get ready.”

He remembers what day it is, and his heart beats like a drum at someone’s execution. But he tries to put on a mask, make it all seem normal. It’s everything but, despite the fact that he’s been dealing with reaping day since he was born, between himself, Ben and May. That fear that one of them could be taken away. Sent to surefire slaughter. But now Ben is gone, taken despite never having his name drawn from a bowl, and May’s finally safe. Now Peter’s name is in there alone. The last Parker sitting on the chopping block. He doesn’t know how to be. He doesn’t know what normal is, when the Hunger Games are looming on the horizon.

fic by @iron--spider

art by @angel-gidget

624 pages / 153,984 words

Title Font: PP Hatton, Rustic Printed

Body Fonts: Californian FB, Moonglade, Bebas Neue, War Is Over, Architects Daughter

More on the process below the cut!

I have...SO much to say about this project! This fic was one that I've wanted to do ever since I started fanbinding, and it was one I saved until my technical skills caught up with my vision for the book. @iron--spider is my favorite author and a wonderful friend, and I wanted to be able to do this masterwork justice!

Given that it's a Hunger Games AU, I wanted to touch on the Hunger Games aesthetic while still being unique. I started with the cover; I knew I wanted red and yellow, something bold and evocative of the Iron Man, Spiderman vibe. It also doubles as an implication of the blood spilt during the games, especially in volume II - when Peter actually enters the games. I chose the spider for the cover, and painted it on the cover paper with inky black paint; I cut a stencil, and while the images did have some drippy areas, I don't mind it so much. It's meant to look like graffiti, Peter's symbol that the people of the Districts scrawl everywhere they can get away with it.

In turn, I also experimented with a paint pen on this one of the titling, done on the spine piece, which is black Better Than Goat leather! Again, I went in with a stencil, and opted for blockier letters, like something you might see spray painted onto a wall.

The endpapers are custom; I messed around with a weird cityscape I found and came out with the image you see above. The setting for the games is a futuristic city, much like MCU NYC would be, complete with an Avengers Stane tower.

And then of course, there's the typeset itself! The Hunger Games books don't have particularly striking typesets, but I did go for the dystopian vibe with the Rustic Printed font on the chapter numbers, and Moonglade for the chapter titles, giving it a very industrial feel.

It was also a pleasure to include the art that @angel-gidget did for the fic as well! Her book covers are so gorgeous and I love her manip style so much <3 I also included the short drabble @iron--spider did on her Tumblr, a post-story snack-sized fic, as well as a meta question she answered via her asks that I thought was particularly interesting. The District guide at the back, including what Districts each character belongs to and whether or not they are deceased was interesting to put together, and I hope I didn't make any mistakes!

Last, but certainly not least, this book was the first one I was able to do really nice headbands on. Shoutout to @morningstarbindery who helped me learn how! They look phenomenal and I never would have figured it out on my own <3

I'm excited for everyone to see these books! One day I'll have all your works on my shelf ;)

[ure-a-sunflower]

Truth, Dare, and Jealousy

Written by ure-a-sunflower

Eddie Munson x reader!all genders (Stranger Things fanfiction)

This is my first time publishing any of my work since I really wanted to gatekeep this stuff to myself. I’ll be honest, I wrote a lot of Eddie fan fics so I’ll see how this one turns out. Please be nice, I beg of you. I just did this for fun back in August of 2022.

CONTENT WARNING: alcohol consumption, mentions of smoking, some swearing, NO SPOILERS

Word Count: 3k

Eddie knew well that you hardly expressed crushes on real life boys aside from your beloved fictional characters. He was fine with that, honestly, because competition with some actually-not-real man that was good as paper and had as much depth as a kids blow up pool was nothing too personal for him. It was probably the dark brooding charm female authors would win you over with or the romantic promises these guys had that were downright unrealistic.

Regardless of that, you and Eddie connect really well and while he didn’t want to admit it, he was starting to develop feelings for you.

(Rest of the fic is below the cut)

This was kinda bad. You had only joined Hellfire a year ago and you got to Eddie real good. The other boys didn’t see it as much, but the way you both would squeal and jump for joy when you would come up with campaign ideas and talk about the most recent news of D&D… he never thought anyone else was like him. That was probably the first time he actually noticed you way past being a member of his club. Sure, you weren’t the biggest metalhead like the others, but when he saw you singing along to Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden in his van, he thought he was hallucinating.

But he was the group’s dungeon master and you weren’t held on the same freak level as him. You still hung out with your other best friends and your choice of aesthetic only dabbled in a bit of punk when given the chance. He thought you looked gorgeous when you would mix both. And considering how good you both got on already, Eddie was afraid he’d ruin what was between you. He couldn’t bear making it awkward.

At the end of a long week before a big school break, Eddie invited you to his trailer to hang out. The other Hellfire members had plans, which left the both of you alone.

“Truth or dare?” Eddie asked, while offering you another shot of the brandy. You downed it after swiping it from his hands and wiped your lips with your shirt. “Um, truth. Got nothing to hide.”

“Uhhh, alright.” Eddie leaned back to think. What useful information can he get out of you? He practically knew everything about you since you act like an open book around him. “Okay, I got one.”

“Shoot, Munson.” You didn’t like the clever smirk on his face.

“Who do you think is the most attractive member in Hellfire?”

Damn, you didn’t expect him to enter that territory. Eddie only took up your offer for a drinking game because you were getting sick of him being short of a human smoke machine. You weren’t planning to confess your stupid little crush on him that you’ve had for months now. What would he think of you?

“Wow, uh, you really wanna know?” you laughed it off awkwardly. Eddie noticed your uncomfortableness and chuckled. “I mean, you can answer my question or pick a worse dare, honey.”

God, his stupid nicknames. He wasn’t tipsy like you at the moment because unlike you, Eddie wasn’t a lightweight. “Let me hear the punishment then. I’ll consider my options.”

“That’s so against the rules but since you’re my favorite, I’ll tell you… I dare you to run around the trailer park, naked, and singing.”

“Eddie!” you yelled. “Are you trying to have fun or have me admitted to the nearest psychiatric ward?!” Soon, he was rollling on the floor, laughing. You couldn’t even bring yourself to imagine what you’d look like. Sure, you’d do anything for Eddie Munson, but that? You’d have to pass.

“So, ‘most attractive member’ then? Come on, sweets, we don’t have all night.”

“But won’t that sound like I’m attracted to them?”

“I mean, maybe. Be as objective as you want.”

You gulped. You really didn’t want Eddie to assume you had a crush on him but you also didn’t want him to think you had one on another Hellfire member. The least thing you’d want him to do is tease you with someone else. On top of things, inflating his already big sarcastic ego would end you.

“Um… huh, that’s tough…” You put your chin in your finger and thought hard. None of the freshmen were on the table. Jeff is sweet but he wasn’t your type— he was more like a brother to you, anyways. Last person left…

Everyone in Hellfire wasn’t afraid to admit that Gareth was handsome. Sure, he still had the baby cheeks and freckles from middle school, but you think his hair is really cute and fluffy even way back then. You always went out of your way to point that out and he’d blush super hard. He also gives you the best hugs, rivalring Eddie’s. Gareth is sweet and nice to you in and out of school, opposite of Grant and Eddie who are total pranksters. You have a soft spot for the guy. If only you weren’t so close with Eddie, you’d probably be fully head over heels with Gareth already.

You took a deep breath and shook your head in between a chuckle. “I guess I’m gonna go with Gareth.”

Eddie’s heart kinda stopped. Gareth? Gareth Emerson? He was already planning in his head how he would react when you’d say it was him. Ready to thank you and graciously shower you with praises while you roll your eyes and tell him not to take it too personally. That’s kind of why he asked the question, if he was being honest. He wanted to hear it from you.

You always loved teasing and calling Eddie your “pretty boy”, playing with his hair and braiding it whenever you both hung out. Once, you complimented his doe eyes while you were both out and about, and Eddie never forgot that moment since. It was the first time anyone has really noticed his features like that. The first time you met him, you even said his style was cool because he looked like a certified rockstar. But you thought Gareth was the most attractive when you were both alone right now? Seriously?

Eddie figured he’ll need to down a whole bottle and smoke himself to death once you go home. Then he just got more worried.

Why did he react that way?

“Eds, you good?” You waved a hand in front of his face as Eddie snapped out of his thoughts. You waited for his response after he kind of just blanked out.

He regretted asking you for the truth now. Should’ve just gone with like ‘what’s your go-to ice cream flavor’ or ‘who’s your favorite dungeon master and rockstar whose name starts with an E and rhymes with teddy’. Now, he just felt like some pathetic loser pouting because he didn’t like your answer. God, he felt like a stupid middle schooler all over again.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m alright.” He looked like he snapped out of his trance but his eyes look everywhere but yours. His hands seize the bottle and he downs some. “So, uh, Gareth huh?”

Completely oblivious, you giggle and shove his shoulder. “Don’t tell him I told you that. Besides, I only see him as a close friend.” You better, Eddie thought. You noticed the tension in Eddie’s jaw and put a hand on his thigh to calm him down. It only had the opposite effect. “Hey. Something’s bothering you, I can tell.”

“It’s nothing. Why did you choose Gareth?”

The way he so quickly changed the subject didn’t slip past you. But you figured it wasn’t worth pressing on more. “I mean,” you scratch your neck, “he’s really sweet and it’s no secret that he’s got good genes.”

Eddie’s eyebrows only furrowed. The grin of disbelief on his face looked less amused and more annoyed.

“Really? I mean, am I not sweet? It’s gotta be the hair, isn’t it?”

You tilted your head in confusion.

“Eddie… are you… jealous?”

You thought he was gonna have a whiplash with the way he snapped his head towards you. “What did you just say?” Despite the utter confusion in his face, you knew he heard you. You smirked and continued.

“Are you jealous of me saying Gareth’s attractive?” His poor best friend Gareth, having no idea that Eddie’s currently dunking his head in a barrel of water in his mind. How dare he look attractive to the person he’s had the biggest crush ever on. Now, they’re onto him.

Playing dumb was his only option. “No, I’m not. Why would I be jealous? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m teasing you about this!” Air quotes and all, you saw through his façade. The defenses were raised and you could tell Eddie was lying. His ears were a brighter pink than before and though you were tipsy, you still had a strong intuition that you just made your best friend envious. The alcohol in your system seemed to not only fuel your courage but also your audacity. You leaned in to mess with him further. “I just figured, y’know, since you reacted when I said that.”

“I did not react.” Such a child. You wiggled your eyebrows.

“Sure…” An idea popped in your head. “Then, you wouldn’t mind if I asked Gareth out after break?”

Eddie thought he was going to faint. Or combust. Whichever was faster.

“Are— Are you fucking serious?!” Eddie jumped in his seat, accidentally banging his knees on the table and staring at you like you’ve grown another head. You were laughing at this point, clutching your stomach and throwing your head back. If only Eddie didn’t hear your previous words, he would’ve thought you looked like a pure angel. But he was genuinely shocked.

“Munson, what has gotten into you?! I’m only joking!” Eddie’s been having heart attack after heart attack with each sentence you uttered. He didn’t know if he should be relieved or pissed off at you. “You really don’t like me going out with him, don’t you? Well, I know how much Gareth means to Jeff. Can’t get in the way of the most legendary bromance in Hawkins.”

Eddie slapped a hand over his face and groaned. He opened his mouth to say something when you beat him to it. “Or does it feel incestuous to date someone from Hellfire? I see why you’re so protective of them. I kinda see the boys as like my brothers—“

“Just shut up!” Playing cards, napkins, plastic forks— they scattered from the table to the floor as Eddie frantically attempts to quiet you. You stopped and stared at him. Usually, you would shrink away and tear up when someone raised their voice like that at you, but you knew Eddie would never mean you any harm. But then again, this was a first. And he sounded so serious.

After no one still said a word, you coughed and decided to change the topic. “… A-Alright, um, that’s enough truth or dare for one night.”

When you were about to leave and walk yourself home, because you were too tipsy as hell to even bike, Eddie insisted you stay. You gave up arguing with him when nothing could convince him to leave you there in the streets all by yourself. He couldn’t drive you either because he was slightly high, never wanting to lose his van because of a DUI arrest, and casually admitted that he won’t be able to sleep knowing you weren’t safe.

You were quite basically trapped in his arms as he cuddled you on his couch.

It was a compromising position, really. You never figured Eddie to be the cuddlebear, but the way he clung onto you was like you were going to disappear from his hands. To make yourself comfortable, you cuddled into him, placing your head on his chest, and Eddie’s heart melted at your gesture.

Your head in his chest, his legs over yours— he was going to be so pissed at himself in the morning.

He knew what he was doing but also not. So did you. This was how lovers would hold each other. It just felt right to be in the other’s arms and not care about the world, a crazy and cruel world. Yes, you were both good friends, but this was just you guys testing the waters of your friendship. No romantic shit. It was just two tipsy best friends cuddling closely on the couch, a thriller movie in the background as soft rain pattered outside. Super platonic. Yep.

You were drifting off to sleep time and time again because of how good of a white noise the TV and rain were, and Eddie couldn’t help but notice. However, he had something bothering him that he had to bring up to you before you start dozing off and become knocked off cold. He couldn’t wait until the morning to tell you since he knew well he’d chicken out again. Perhaps he invited you to drink some alcohol so he could finally confess using liquid courage, and in the case if you’d reject him, he’d just blame it on being drunk. Perfect foolproof plan.

“Hey,” Eddie whispered your name by the shell of your ear. You stirred from your sleepiness and turned up to him. “Hey, um… I’m sorry if I, uh, made an outburst earlier.”

It wasn’t easy to decipher what this was all about, especially when you were half-asleep and in the midst of sobering at this point. “For what? About Gareth? Don’t worry, I know we were being stupid.” You still didn’t understand why he made such a fuss, but you were just trying to move on from the situation. Nevermind figuring out his reasons. Your heart was pounding miles a minute. You were holding your crush like you were partners, and you wanted to be out of there and in between his arms more than ever at the same time. It was worth cherishing this position before you two part in the morning and just pretend nothing happened.

Eddie hated that you said his name again. “Yeah… I just…you know… I guess I was jealous.”

You took a pause to digest what he said. “You were? Oh, Eddie, I know I said Gareth but you’re still the pretty boy! I mean, you know I love your hair and your eyes—“

“No, it’s not that I’m jealous of Gareth’s looks.” Eddie took a deep breath. Yours hitched, waiting for his next words. He tried to look into your eyes but you could see them shaking and he kept averting your gaze. “I… well… shit. H-How am I gonna say this….?”

“… Yeah?”

“I-I got… I got jealous… that you like him.”

At this point you were grasping at sticks. What did that even mean? Was he jealous of the attention? Of your feelings? That another guy was held in a position higher than Eddie Munson, Hellfire’s Beloved Leader? It was starting to get annoying.

“Eddie, we’re so close and we’ve been great friends since I’ve known you. Fucking hell, you’re our Dungeon Master. I know you and Gareth are like brothers and I get it if you don’t want anyone dating in the club. You’ve got nothing to worry about just because I think he’s got looks—“

“No,” he shook his head, finally demanding your attention, “like, I like like you. I have feelings for you and I want to be with you. As your… boyfriend.”

You were certainly stunned.

Maybe you just waited and pushed for him to say it, but you still couldn’t believe it. Did Eddie just confess he liked you? First? You wanted to soar and you felt like you could touch stars. Holy shit. You wanted to pinch yourself to make sure you weren’t dreaming. Was it the alcohol that made you like this?

“…And I know I sound stupid or selfish but I guess I have to make my moves now since you want to ask Gareth out.”

Your mouth was still gaped wide open as Eddie continued rambling about how much he liked you. “—like we were alone in the drama room one night while cleaning and we danced to that stupid jazzy song you put on like my parents used to when I was a kid and I didn’t know it at that time but I think that’s when I realized I was falling really badly for you—“

You had scooted your way towards him the entire time he was going on and on, fully facing his direction, and took his hands that were wildly gesturing the entire time. “Eddie.”

“—because you’re just so nice and understanding and patient with me a-and— huh?” He was staring at you like a baby deer in headlights as you cupped his cheek. You could feel the warmth as his eyes widened. “I really like you too. I’ve fallen in love with you for months now.”

There was just silence. Silence on your end because you can’t believe you’ve finally said that, and Eddie was shortcircuiting with the words you’ve said to him. He had to repeat them in his head to make sure they really meant what he was thinking they meant. “You… You really—? But Gareth—“

“I only said Gareth because I didn’t know if I should confess I like you. I’ve had a crush on you since sophomore year.”

“You liked me for that long?! Wha— Wait, I, oh gosh so you actually like me?”

“Eddie, I want to be yours. I love you. I really do.”

That was the happiest he’s been in forever. If he had to put it in words, it felt like someone lit a firework and his heart was fizzing around the room.

Pulling you to him, he mumbled a “may I kiss you?” and you nodded eagerly. Eddie placed a hand below your chin and locked his lips with yours passionately, absolutely savoring this moment because he’s been waiting for it for sleepless nights and hopeless daydreams. It was finally happening.

He whispered in between kisses, “I love you so so much” which made you giggle. “I can’t believe I have the best, kindest, and hottest partner in all of the world.” When you rolled your eyes, Eddie shook his head disapprovingly and kissed you once again until you were literally gasping for air and telling him “okay! Okay! I believe you! Gosh, I love you so much, Eddie!”

At the next campaign, it was no doubt a surprise to Hellfire when Eddie suddenly announced you were his partner the moment you walked in the door.

[shouldaspunastory]

Muse Aesthetics

(Bold what applies to your muse, Italicize what they like)

Inquisitor Orana | 23 years old | Former slave

fire. ice. water. air. earth. claws. fangs. wings. scales. gold. diamonds. grass. leaves. trees. roses. metal. iron. rust. rain. hail. snow. lava. fog. sky. clouds. storms. swamp. flowers. silk. leather. cotton. ribbons. bells. sun. moon. stars. blood. dirt. mud. porcelain. silver. steel. sugar. salt. fragrance. lilac. lily. glass. wood. paper. wool. fur. smoke. ash. ocean. sail. bruise. scar. wind. spices. light. dark. dawn. dusk. shadow. paint. charcoal. kettle. wagon. wine. hard liquor. sweat. dust. bare feet. canine. feline. coffee. tea. books. scratches. burns. split lip. split knuckles. petals. thorns. hay. glitter. heat. cold. steam. frost. candle. coin. sword. dagger. spear. fists. axe. staff. bow. arrow. trident. hammer. shield. spikes. sand. rocks. roots. feathers. crystals. pearls. rubies. sapphires. emeralds. amethysts. herbs. shells. waves. lightning. thunder. sunlight. moonlight. clay. stone. brick. antlers. lions. bears. wolves. tigers. jaguars. horses. dragons. eagle. falcon. raven. fruit. honey. meat. poison. medicine. bones. ink. song. dance. prayer. tower. key. lock. spring. summer. autumn. winter. death. music.

[thisgirlnamedblusy]

hey!!! sorry if this isn’t clear enough but i don’t know how to word it but i can request (if ur comfortable) rough smut with laurel x reader who are already in a relationship and live together

can i also request that the smut is partly based of T and M on the laurel NSFW alphabet 🫶🏽

Yesss, here it is!! I hope you like it! Sorry about the language mistakes

Have I passed the exam?

Pairing: Marilyn Thornhill/Laurel Gates x Fem! Reader

Warnings: Smut, a lot of smut, rough sex, strap on, strong language

Word count: 2,414

Summary: You’re bored, and your girlfriend is correcting exams, maybe you somehow can change that boring night…

N/A: Requests are open!!! I love you all!!!

“You stupid outcast!” Laurel yelled, waking you from your sleepy state.

“Well, well, what happens now?” You asked, putting down the book you weren't reading and getting up from the sofa.

Laurel snorted, not answering you. You were used to her contemptuous words against her students, especially when she had to correct tests. You didn't like it, but you ended up getting used to it.

“How is it possible that he has the same error 6 times? It seems that some of them are born with a half brain,” your girlfriend hissed. You rolled your eyes, shook your head, grabbed her shoulders, massaging them gently, and looked at the papers.

“Well, that Wednesday Addams has an A, that breaks your theory, Lau,” you said approaching her ear.

“She's, she's an exception,” she said, pushing that perfect test out of your field of vision.

You raised your eyebrows but didn't insist, although a dark thought came to your mind.

“Hey… why don't you stop that and relax a bit? You know I'm very good at relaxing…” You whispered, passing a hand delicately through her arm. Laurel frowned at you and went back to the tests.

You never knew if she really wanted or not. You had to insist, and insist to know if she wanted a little love with you. It was frustrating, but it was worth it, that's why you did it. The redhead just shook her head, sighing.

You bit your lip and thought about the best way to attack this time. You took advantage of the fact that she was sitting down and without thinking twice, you sat on her lap, putting your hands around her neck.

“(Y/N), what are you doing? Can't you see that I'm busy?” Laurel asked you, although with not making any effort to get rid of you.

“And I was busy too, until you interrupted my reading with your hateful cries,” you said amused, biting her earlobe. Laurel gave a fake laugh and grabbed you around the waist.

“What reading? I could swear I heard you snore,” she told you ironically.

“That's a filthy lie.”

“Fine, fine, now get off and let me finish this, then we'll talk about how you relax me,” she asked you. You shook your head and smiled defiantly.

Pushing yourself with your arms, you climbed up on the table, crushing all those exams. The redhead widened her eyes, surprised by your attitude. You smiled and put on the face of a good girl, spreading your legs a little.

“Come on, Laurel, I've been good, I deserve a reward…” You said in a childish tone. You knew that she could rarely resist that. She sighed and took off her glasses, not changing her annoyed face.

“Oh, really? I think you not, (Y N) ,” she told you with a dark tone. You almost had her the way you wanted. Almost.

“Why not? Look, I'm wearing the panties that you like the most…” You murmured, opening your legs a little more. Laurel grabbed your chin unexpectedly and gave you a light slap on the cheek.

“The ones I like the most? You know that what I like is that you don't wear them…” She hissed harshly. You smiled victoriously, enjoying the little time it took to her to fall in love with your words. You knew her too well, and you were never going to get tired of those games.

“Fine, take them off then,” you whispered, leaning in to kiss her. She stopped you by putting a hand over your mouth.

“No, honey, it's you who should do it. Don't make mommy mad at you, huh?” She told you with a disturbingly tender voice. You had no choice but to do as she asked, dropping your underwear on the floor.

“Very good, (Y/N), very good…” She told you before kissing you in a hungry and almost desperate way. Everything went wild in less than a second. She didn't even seem to notice that the papers on the table were crumpling, poor students...

Her hands ran all over your body, while your gasps began to resonate through the walls. Her eyes were dark and lustful.

One of her hands got under the baggy shirt you used to wear at home and caressed you between your legs, causing her to teasing you again.

“You're so wet… You say you're good? I don't think so. I think you're a very naughty girl, who annoys mommy when she's doing important things, that's very selfish, (Y/N)…” She whispered to you, now bringing her hand to your bare breasts. “Get off there and undress.”

You smiled and complied, bringing your hands to the edge of your shirt.

“Not so fast, (Y / N), do it slowly... Mommy wants to enjoy,” she ordered you, sitting back on the chair with her gaze fixed on you.

Sighing, you did as she told you, pulling your shirt up as slowly as you could, trying to be sexy, even if you weren't very good at that. As the garment fell to the floor, Laurel grabbed your waist and pulled you between her legs. She kissed as much of your body as she could, gently biting your nipples and patting you on the butt.

“I need you,” you said desperately, feeling how your body's desire grew bigger and bigger. She smiled mischievously and took her hand just where you needed it, stroking it in a painfully slowly way. She suddenly pushed her hand away and gave you another slap.

“Did you expect something, bitch? What a silly girl…” She said perversely. “I won't do anything to you until you pay for interrupting me. Get on your knees.”

You widened your eyes and made a gesture of protest, which resulted in a strong grip on your hair. The shot forced you to duck. She might seem a little rough, but she never really hurt you, at least not too much.

“I said: get on your knees,” she hissed dangerously, pulling you closer. You lowered yourself to your knees on the ground, feeling some relief as the grip on your hair loosened.

Without saying a single word, the redhead shifted in her chair, pulling down her own underwear. Her eyes told you exactly what she wanted, but playing catch was so much more fun for you.

“What do you want? Are you going to punish me, mommy?” You said pouting and leaning on her knees. It wasn't very common for you to call her that. It was so strange that a smile even appeared on her face, as if she were returning for a moment to being herself, and not her dark side.

“Your mouth, (Y/N), here, now,” she said, grabbing your head again, as if that little moment of affection hadn't lasted even a second. She pointed between her legs spreading them suggestively.

You licked your lips and inched closer, kissing along her leg. You couldn't stay like that for a long time, since her grip forced you to go directly where she was ordering you to. Your head sank between her legs and you passed your tongue through all the places that the movements that her grip forced you to make allowed you.

“Oh my God, (Y/N)…” She gasped, loosening her grip a bit, giving you some freedom. Once you could move as you wanted, you focused on the points that you knew were driving her crazy, reducing your speed a bit. “That's it... Make mommy happy...”

You smiled, seeing how little by little, you caused her movements to be involuntary and disorderly.

“Enough. I want you to fuck me, right now. Use your fingers like the vicious whore you are,” She growl between more intense and almost desperate moans. Those words in that tone that seemed innocent and even tender were all you needed to be terribly needy at that moment. You weren't used to that kind of sex before you started dating her, but you found that you liked it, a lot.

Not wanting to waste any more time, and wishing that your turn would come soon, you curled your fingers and began to move them with a constant, but intense rhythm.

“That's it, sweetie…” she gasped, unable to help but throw her head back. “You're doing it very well...”

You winked at her, although of course, she wasn't looking at you, she was just enjoying your movements, trying unsuccessfully to suppress the wave of pleasure that was about to run through her body. With a ragged cry, her back arched and her hips jerked rapidly and involuntarily.

“Very good, honey, you've earned your reward,” Laurel told you, catching her breath and helping you to up off the ground. You bit your lip and got back on the table. She lunged at you and kissed you wildly, stroking your center harder, making you to cry out in pleasure.

“Beg to me, bitch…” She ordered you abruptly in your ear.

“Please, please…” You could say. The stimulation was too overwhelming. Unfortunately for you, she stopped suddenly, looking amused at the state you were in.

“You're so needy, (Y/N), isn't mommy taking good care of you?” She asked, pouting. You weren't sure whether to nod or shake your head. What you were sure of was that you were going to explode. Your legs were already shaking. “Maybe you need something that's at your level, huh?” She asked, squeezing your cheeks between her fingers. She let you go abruptly, whispering something that was definitely not a compliment. Laurel moved away, heading towards the bedroom. She didn't say anything to you, but you felt the urge to follow her. When she turned to look at you, she laughed sinisterly again.

“No, no, no. Stay there, (Y/N). You turned on your heel as she walked out the door. You imagined what was going to happen, and it turned you on so much that you had to fight yourself not to put your hand between your legs.

Shortly after, she reappeared, already with the accessory that you liked so much, and completely naked.

“Turn around and put your hands on the table, honey,” she told you as she slowly approached. You nodded and complied, your legs shaking even more.

“Are you going to make me wait much longer?” You asked, instantly regretting it. You felt a strong tug on your hair, and the familiar sensation of soft silicone brushing against your leg.

“Do you dare to demand me, honey?” She asked, whispering in your ear, while you felt a strong whipping on your ass. After that lash came two more, and you could already feel your skin turning slightly red. Carelessly, Laurel forced you to bend your back and put your face against the wood of the table.

“I, I'm sorry…” You said, trying to be touched with the strap on.

“I can't hear you, baby, what did you say?” She asked in your ear, leaning over you without letting go of your hair.

“I, I'm so sorry, mommy,” you said, hissing in pain and pleasure at the same time. “Please…”

Laurel released your hair, playing with her fingers at your slippery entrance. She slipped two of them inside of you and out again, almost instantly. You moaned for that millisecond of pleasure and moved your legs, spreading them slightly.

“You're so wet, (Y / N), so needy… You're irresistible…” She whispered, now caressing your back.

Just when you thought you would never get what you wanted, you noticed the familiar touch of that object rubbing against your folds and you almost laughed at that contact you needed so badly.

“Are you ready, my sweet girl?” The redhead asked, getting inside you a little. You nodded, panting with need. She finally entered you, slowly, letting your body adjust well to that.

“Oh…Fuck…Yeah…” You gasped, moving your hips as you felt how your walls gave way to the intruder causing thousands of cramps throughout your body. “Move faster, please mommy, fuck me hard.”

Laurel chuckled and began to move slowly, grabbing your hips so she could handle you better. Your moans were already inevitable, while her movements were faster and faster. You clenched your fists while you felt your lover fulfilling your darkest desires. Your body hit the table with each of her thrusts, but you weren't worried about hurting yourself, you were too focused on the pleasure you were feeling.

“Fuck… (Y/N), you're taking it so well…” Laurel gasped, increasing the pace and digging her nails into your hips. “You are so amazing…”

“Oh, God… I think, I think…” You said between sudden movements, crashing over and over again with the table. “La, Laurel…I, I'm going to…”

“That's it, my love... Don't hold back... Mommy wants to see how you cum when I fuck you like a vulgar whore...” The redhead said between gasps. Clearly she enjoyed it on almost the same level as you. You opened your eyes and she stopped deep inside you, while your back stretched and your hands grabbed one of the papers on the table, mercilessly crumpling it.

Your breaths were strong, and the stinging grip of your hips gradually transformed into soft caresses on your back and neck. Laurel pulled back delicately and leaned over you, sighing.

You stayed a few more moments against the table and  looked at your hand, with that torn paper on it.

“Shit, I'm sorry,” you said when you realized that this paper was one of the exams that she was correcting. She picked it up and sneered at it. A wicked smile crossed her face.

“Calm down, honey. It's Wednesday Addams's, I must tell you that I'm glad you wrinkled it…” she commented, amused, returning to the usual softness of her voice. She left that test on the table and pulled you to your feet and turned you around, giving you a tender hug, which contrasted with her violent attitude a while ago. She was this way, and you wouldn't change her for nothing in the entire world.

“(Y/N),” she whispered to you, cupping your face in her hands. You nodded. “You know that I love you so much, right?”

You smiled and kissed her tenderly as you nodded. She was that way during sex, but she always tried to remind you that she didn't want to hurt you, even if you already knew it.

“I love you too, Laurel…” You said, burying her head in her shoulder. “How about we both take a bath together?”

[enparallel]

Ask game words! Any of the following: glowed/glow/glowing, hands, glass

Delightful words, thank you! Here's glow, from The Book Manuscript, or rather, the first three chapters doc open on my desktop:

There, again, a movement. A deer bounding away from the house, one of the petite little Southern white-tailed deer. It stopped in the middle of the lawn just as the sun cleared the roof. A doe. Her pelt in the morning light glowed as if made from purest gold. Liquid-dark eyes met Helena’s, and she drank in the white hair over and under the deer’s eyes, her narrow head and puppyish muzzle, the grace of her raised ears. The doe turned and leapt back the way she had come.  No way. This was the middle of a city. There were not deer here.  The trail remained in the grass, a deeper green in the angled light. The house loomed. Nothing inhabited could be that solitary. She gripped the fence. Forget the paint chips and rust and thorn-snags; if she climbed over these iron spearpoints, she could go around behind the house, see where the deer had gone. 

Here's hands from the unedited novella about a mortal-fae mixed marriage that's up next:

“We just did it ourselves,” I said, responding to the first question and ignoring the rest. “Well, I mostly just painted the middle. Tel is a pretty dab hand with colors and detail work. Comes with the territory, I suppose.” “Oh?” She didn’t get it. “You must be very handy. Mark is more a management type, aren’t you, honey?” “Two left hands,” he said, and as he spread them I clocked his ring. They were abstainers. Shit, shit, shit. I tried to direct Tel’s gaze to the ring as if my eyes were tractor beams, but no one was looking at me. The kids burst into the room, their three and our—let’s see, looks like five today.  “They said they haven’t got names!” hollered Philomena. Nightingale indeed. 

And glass, or, um, glasses, from the Drarry one:

“Right. It’s stupid, really, I don’t know why I think I’m profound. Of course there’s more to know, that’s kind of the whole… right. Anyway I got to thinking about History of Magic and how I didn’t retain a single fact or idea from the entire course. The papers were reporting things I knew in ways that made it impossible to understand what was actually happening. Somebody told me that knobby journalism quote, you know, the news is the first draft of history or whatever. And I thought, if that’s the first draft we're in trouble, right?" He laughed, self-conscious. "The next thing I knew I was in grad school wearing anticolonialist t-shirts, getting kicked out of class for screaming at my professors . . . in general going through what people refer to as ‘it.’”   “That’s what you meant, isn’t it, with the people who don’t know history thing, earlier.” Draco could already picture Nerd Potter with his nerd glasses making every day a nightmare for his professors. It was a great deal like his Hogwarts memories, but this time on purpose.  “I meant that I need to get my shit under control because I already drew a wand on you once and it’s only the first week of term,” Potter said, voice harsh. 

[mybrainrotforreal]

Cat Cafe AU Part 3

I can't stop shipping this two. Anyway, please enjoy!

Hector wakes up with his heart beating fast in his chest. It’s wrong, he shouldn’t think about him like that. It’s creepy. No, bad Idea. Charlie is sure a virus, making him can’t think properly, like a glitch in his computer. Or he is more likely an addiction, just like how he is addicted to caffeine and he can't function properly without him, can't stop craving for more. If Charlie could just stay with him, that would be ideal. How could someone as ordinary as Charlie, a mere barista from a small cat café invade his mind like this? What makes him so special to Hector? Is it because of his looks? Sure, he looks cute, with his sweet smile, bright eyes, thin lips and blushed cheeks but Hector has met other attractive people and they don't entice him like Charlie does. Is it because of how he takes care of the cats? How he always treats them gently, very attentively and talks to them even though he knows they won't talk back to him, just like Hector does? 

Is Hector so lonely he fell in love with a person who doesn't find his silence rude and keep talking to him? Is he so deprived from social contact he lets other people get into his heart? Hector spends his morning analyzing his feelings, letting his breakfast get cold for being neglected as he thinks. His own mother didn't even like him, despised him even. Is it possible that other people could love him? He gets on with his morning routine with the thought of Charlie popping in his mind out of nowhere. He truly is a computer virus and it only makes his obsession of him grow. Hector looks at the time and prepares to go to the cat cafe. Ah, the blue towel, he needs to iron it for a bit. When he is done, he takes the towel and sniffs it, a little bit disappointed it doesn't smell like Charlie anymore. Hector sighs and puts it inside a paper bag, an idea of spraying his perfume on it crosses his mind but he shrugs it off. Charlie wouldn't care if it smells like him or not anyway. 

As he opens the cafe's door, Charlie greets him with high enthusiasm, as if he looks happy to see him. He is a barista, of course he is happy to see his customer, Hector pouts in his mind. He wants to be special, not just like a customer to him, but who is he to hope for something like that?

"Good morning, Hector!" How could someone shine brighter than the sun? How could his presence and his interaction make Hector's life become so colorful and when he leaves this cafe, it becomes dull again? "Double espresso as usual, yes?" 

Hector nods, his usual seat on the corner doesn't look much appealing to him after he finds how comfortable it is to be closer to Charlie yesterday. Hector sits at the table near the bar, slowly so as to not wake up the cat that sleeps beside him, remembering how he made the chair damp when he sat there yesterday because of the rain. Thinking about the rain, Hector fishes the towel and gives it to Charlie after the barista comes up to him and places the coffee on the table. 

"Oh, thank you! I hope you don't get sick yesterday because of the rain."

Even if I get sick, I will still come here. Hector smiles thinly and shakes his head.

"Thank god, looks like the lemon-honey candy works, eh? If only I could give it to my cats.” Charlie chuckles, “sometimes they can get the flu even though I have kept this cafe at a stable temperature. They are all vaccinated of course, but the kittens are still at risk and it can progress to cause serious damage to the eye. Just like Snowy there, my boss found him near her apartment with his eyes partially closed, meowing his heart out, looking for his mom. Fortunately, we took him to the Vet in time and here he is, looking as healthy as ever."

One thing that Hector notices when Charlie monologues is he also speaks with his hands, as if the sounds from his mouth are not enough to express what he wants to say.  His expression is easy to read, like an open book. But it is not an open book that Hector could just pick anytime he likes, it was like a book in a museum, where it was put inside of transparent glass. Hector could read it, see it in every angle but he couldn't touch it, couldn't own it. 

"I'm rambling again, sorry about that." Charlie smiles apologetically to him but Hector just shakes his head and gives an OK sign, he doesn't mind. He never does, he could listen to his stories all day long. Hector goes to the cafe so much to the point he needs to buy a portable monitor to code comfortably in the cafe. Charlie, upon seeing the new device, intuitively gives him a terminal contact for its power supply, even without Hector’s asking. After he gets it on, Charlie comments, “Are you a hacker? You know, with those jumbles of words and numbers?”

Hector snorts but he doesn’t shake his head, only shrugs. Just let him figure out that hacker is not the only job that works with code. Charlie chats some more and only gets back to the bar when he realizes he babbles again, fearing he is interrupting his work.While Hector doesn’t mind, he still needs to get his job done.  Hector tries to concentrate on his work, something that he easily does before he has this feeling in his chest that urges him to glance at the barista. But even then, he still gets his work done just before the cafe is closed. He can just go home right now, but a little more time he spends here won't hurt. Besides, how can he go when a chonky cat is purring on his lap? It would be an unforgivable sin. 

Suddenly the bells on the door jingles, indicating another customer has come in. He orders some drinks and food and sits on one of the couches. Hector doesn't mind him and continues to pet the cat on his lap, although he finds it weird that people come up to a cat cafe at this hour. 

Suddenly, the customer harshly grips the scruff of Mr. Holmes' neck who steps on his expensive bag and the cat, surprised by the sudden movement reacts by biting him until drawing blood. 

"Son of a bitch!" The man exclaims and hits the cat's face until he lets go of his hand. The black cat hides under the table and hisses. "Who the fuck let an aggressive cat here? He got rabies, didn’t he?!"

Charlie hurriedly comes up to him, looking at him worriedly. "No, sir, we always vaccinate our cats and I can assure you, they are all healthy. Please, let me take a look at your hand."

The man only slaps Charlie's hand and Hector glares at him. 

"Fucking bullshit!" He kicks one of the chairs until it falls, making the cats all hide in the corner and even get into their hiding place. "I'll fucking sue you! That cat ruined my bag and now bite me.you think you can get away from this?"

"Sir, I'm sorry it happens to you, we will take full responsibility for your wounds but please don't damage our facilities."

"You think you can persuade me, huh? Not only I'll sue you, I'll write bad reviews of this place so no one won't come over here ever again."

"Sir, you are disrupting our customers and cats, and I wish we can discuss this in a calm manner or… or I need you to leave, sir."

The man glares at him and pulls Charlie's collar, and Charlie can smell he is drunk, "Or what, you son of a bitch? You'll drag me out, huh?"

That's it. Hector can't let him touch him any further. He grabs the alcoholic's shoulder and drags him outside to the alley, punching his face until he is unconscious. He can feel the skin on his knuckles torn and bleed but it doesn't bother him. Right now, his only objective is to make Charlie and his cats safe. The body sags as he presses it to the wall, a primal instinct inside him wish he is dead but he stops himself and  chooses to hail a cab. He throws the man on the backside seat, gives a couple of bucks to the driver and instructs him to take the drunkard to hospital, saying he found the man on the outside of the bar, probably lost in the bar fight. 

After he watches the cab go into the night, he gets inside and sees Charlie looks so shocked. The black cat rubbed its body to his leg back and forth, looking just as anxious. The cat hisses when Hector approaches them but he ignores him to sits beside the barista and types some words on his phone, then he shows it to Charlie. 

The cat hops on his lap and Charlie unconsciously pets it, feeling comfort both from the black cat and the black-haired man in front of him who hesitantly touches his shoulder and rubs it gently. The usual talkative boy is now being quiet, still feeling shock and Hector lets him be. After a while, Hector takes a mineral bottle from the bar and gives it to Charlie after he opens the bottle caps first. At least he looks relaxed now as he mutters a soft thank you to him. He looks like a scared kitten and all Hector wants to do is to wrap him with a thick blanket, pet his head  and take him home. Of course he can’t do that, but he wants to do something for him, help him a little bit. He looks around and chooses to tidy up the chair on the floor instead. At least the café won’t look like a mess and the action bring some satisfying feeling in his chest. Everything in its place, so the only mess he had is just in his head. It is not until he feels a touch on his arm and flinches by the sudden touch. 

"He won't come back, you are safe now.

I might not talk back to you since I'm mute, but you can tell me everything."

“Oh, Hector, you are a customer. You don’t have to do this! I’m just shocked, really… It’s nothing.” The barista bites his lips, “You know how Chicago is, yeah?”

Hector’s snort, Well, It doesn’t look like nothing. 

“Thank you for helping me back there, though. I couldn’t imagine if he hurt my cats and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

Hector tightens his jaw. Should’ve killed him when I had the chance. But he just heavily sighs and types his phone: 

“How do you feel?” 

“Shocked, just like what I said and kinda relieved that he is not here anymore.” Charlie picks up the black cat and hugs him to his chest, stroking his head lightly... Hector can read “Mr. Holmes” on his nametag. “I’m worried about Mr. Holmes, he got an abusive owner before I got him and he has been really anxious. I need to separate him from other cats before he starts to attack them.” 

Hector tilts his head, the story sounds familiar or maybe he is just imagining things. Projecting himself as the cat who is being comforted. He sighs again then points to himself, points to the floor, then points to Charlie with the cat and the room upstairs. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll be back,” then he looks down at Hector’s hand, dirtied by blood. He swallows, “I need to take care of your hand too,”

As Charlie goes upstairs, he assesses the damage the drunkard has caused. Nothing serious and nothing breaks at least, although the fallen chairs scratched the wooden floor. The cats had left their hiding place and roamed freely inside the café. Some groom themselves as if they already forget what happened. A couple of moments later, Charlie brings a medical kit and a bowl filled with water. As they sit, Charlie opens his palm up, now covered in latex gloves and waits for Hector to give his hand. Hector looks at him and hesitantly puts his hand on Charlie's. He wipes the blood from his hand with the wet towel, rubbing it softly against his skin. Hector freezes, as if he is afraid he is going to make the wrong movement. Ever since he was a child, he always tended to his wounds and bruises alone, usually with cold water since it was the only thing his mother had. And now, a man touches him so softly, cleaning his wounds and putting so much attention to him. It's strange, it feels alien and yet, not unwelcome. He wants to feel his skin, pity, his hands are covered with latex. As Charlie treats him, he doesn’t feel hurt on his hand, he doesn’t even realize it was bleeding, a result of having so much worse than that. It won’t be a big issue if he doesn’t take care of it but Charlie treats him as if he broke his hand. Charlie is so close… If he leans further, his nose may touch his hair. 

“Okay, It’s done!” Charlie straightens up again and Hector praises the Lord he doesn’t let his intrusive thoughts win or their heads would collide. “You need your hand for work, right? The cut is not deep so I think It won’t be an issue. Might sting a bit if you flex your hand, though.” 

Hector sighs quietly at the loss of contact as Charlie withdraws his hand from his and nods. He takes a look at the clock and realizes it’s past closing time. After he decides it’s already safe now to leave Charlie, he walks to the bar, fishing his card to pay. 

“Oh no-no-no! You don’t have to pay, you protected and helped me a lot today. Take it as my gratitude. My treat, really.”

Hector shakes his head and frowns. Any logical man would do it so it’s nothing special. He pushes his card to him and when the barista refuses again, Hector huffs and hastily types on his phone.

“Take it or I won’t leave.”

“Well, you can just stay with me upstairs with Mr. Holmes,” Charlie blurts. 

Hector frowns get deeper and he stares down at him. What does it mean? Does Charlie really want him to spend the night with him? Is he serious?

Charlie looks at him in fright, "I'm sorry! That's really inappropriate, I'm just kidding, it's-it's... I'm sorry."

Of course he is not serious. What do you expect, Munday? 

Hector only nods and gives an OK sign with his fingers. Charlie takes his card and lets him pay, with a guilty puppy look on his face. Hector only sees the glimpse of it and forces himself to look away. He leaves with a gloomy face and walks briskly to his apartment, feeling stupid. He shouldn't feel this disappointed, it's not like he dares to hope he can be with him after the cafe is closed. Of course it's just a joke, someone like Charlie can be too friendly, doesn't really mean what he says. Besides, Charlie deserves someone better than him, someone who can communicate with him like a normal person. Hector clenches his fist in frustration and sleep doesn’t come easily to him that night.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

S/O drags skeleton to a Comic Con. How goes their day?

My Comic Con in France is less impressive and a bit different than in the United States, so sorry if it works differently in the USA!

Undertale Sans - His face is neutral but you can tell he's having fun. He bought already a lot of japan stuff for his brother, his friends and him, and he made buddies with the seller of a joke shop, even giving him advice to ruin the day of his clients. He's also following you in the queues and randomly teleports you in front of the celebrities, freaking the shit out of them and of you because you didn't have time to prepare. Well, at least you don't have to wait hours.

Undertale Papyrus - As Mettaton great friend, he has a VIP pass. You two passed your morning backstage talking to various celebrities and fangirling like two teenagers. You then went in a big theater to watch the new superheroes movies announcement, and you two screamed so hard both of your voices died. After that, you're just having fun, looking around and buying little things for family and friends.

Underswap Sans - He's vibrating with excitement, you can barely follow him. Blue has only one objective: winning the lightsaber competition. He spend his day there, fighting people so fast they never have time to see what's coming. It only became interesting when Alphys, noticing him, challenged him. The legend says they are still fighting this day. After they took over the ring, all the other people could do was watching as their fight is taking forever. You eventually steps in to drag him home. Blue is still screaming he will have his revenge by the time you push him out.

Underswap Papyrus - He's very excited too! You two are cosplaying, obviously, and are part of the cosplay contest. While you're waiting, you go meet some celebrities, which ended with you talking and Honey crying hysterically hugging his favorite romance novel because they said he's cute. You two also won the cosplay contest, which made Honey cries even more as it's one of his favorite actor who gave him the trophy. He leaves the Comic Con with a tower of books and goodies so high it doesn't fit in the car. He's going to talk about this for weeks!

Underfell Sans - He was not very enthusiastic to go, but you convinced him so he came anyway. And even if he's trying really hard not to show it, you can tell he's having fun. He took a ton of selfies with random cosplayers, spent two hours playing a RPG, and beat everyone on an old version of Mario, giggling evily every time he made a 8 years old cry. He also talked with the voice actor of one of his favorite video game's character and he had stars in the eyes the whole time. Also, a few weeks later, he comes to you all by himself to try to convince you to go to a video game con, which means he loved it.

Underfell Papyrus - You don't know how, but you managed to convince him to cosplay. At first, he was not very enthusiastic, even thinking he looked quite stupid, but then people started to come to him for photos, or just for talking and... omg? He's so popular? Like people are liking him for real, not just by fear? He looks at you in shock, not believing it. After that, he goes from grumpy to very confident in two seconds, signing papers for children and gladly posing for photos. It boosted his ego so high at the end of the day, he's accepting to compete in the cosplay contest. And he won! He didn't know why everyone freaked out when that "Robert Downey Junior" or something cames in person to congratulate him for his Iron Man cosplay (who the fuck is Iron Man? You chose the cosplay, he has no idea who he's supposed to be) but everyone took pictures of the two of you and he gained a lot of followers on his social medias, so he tolerated it.

Horrortale Sans - He's clinging to you, very uncomfortable. There's too many people, too many noises, too many menacing things and cosplays bigger than him. He's jumping at the slightest sound and looking everywhere around him like a panicked wild animal. But you know how to distract him and gently leads him to the japanese food stands. He never tried any of this, so he's a bit reluctant at first, but man, as soon as he starts eating, you can see his pupil dilates in shock. He forgot all the people and the noise instantly and he will beg all afternoon to go back eating some more.

Horrortale Papyrus - He's a bit uncomfortable at first because he is so tall he feels like he doesn't belong, and the day started quite badly. Some mean people screamed at him in the Marvel conference because they couldn't see anything, and some Marvel celebrities got mad he was insulted and invited him on stage. You're cheering him as he's just standing there with a big smile and stars in the eyes, making friend with Captain America so much he invites him in backstage after the show. Willow drags you with him. He's sure is excited when he fetches you to go with them and you spend all afternoon playing UNO with the Marvel crew. You're quite still have difficulties to realise it's real, but ok!

Swapfell Sans - He didn't want to go, so you tricked him saying you were going in a luxuous boat trip and brings him here anyway. He was mad and pouting until he saw some stands of fake weapons that immediately caught his interest. He talked with the sellor and managed to convince some to put some of his jewalry on their work, and got their email address. When he comes and finds you again, he has a big smile on the face. Also, you took one of his rings to gift to a Marvel celebrity and they immediately post a self of you two and the ring for Instagram. Nox is stunned as the number of people visiting his website is exploading. He gently pats your back and asks you how the hell he can have his own stand here. Well what a twist.

Swapfell Papyrus - He bought a ridiculous bootleg Freddy Fazbear's costume and he's parading in the Comic Con with it. The thing he's so small half of his spine is visible, but he's still having fun, taking pictures with cosplayers. Eventually, his pants cracked when he leaned to take a photo with a child, but he says it was supposed to happen and keeps walking, shaking his booty. You tried so hard to prevent him for going on the cosplay scene, but he went anyway. You are so ashame you go to hide in the toilets. At least he is having fun...

Fellswap Gold Sans - He's criticizing everything and everyone and it's so annoying. And not only you is annoyed. A group of Star Wars fans didn't like how he said their space ship looked like shit and yelled at him, challenging him to a lightsaber contest. Not their best idea as Wine took the game a bit too seriously and used a real sharp bone to fight them instead of a plastic lightsaber. You grabs him in panick and drags him out of here, apologizing to the fans, as Wine is screeching hysterically, begging you to let him go and kill them to teach them a lesson. This is going to be a long day.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - This was a mistake. Wine gave him lot of money so he can buy what he wants. And what Coffee wants? Plushies. Lot and lot of plushies. You are begging him to not buy that 5 meters high Totoro, but he isn't listening to you, stars in the eyes, as the seller is corrupting him to push him to buy the gigantic plush. And he buys it. You spend the rest of the day dragging a giant Totoro everywhere and getting screamed at by people because you're blocking the way. You are dead inside at this point, knowing you will have to put this monster in your car at one point.

[maybeimamuppet]

matildamas day 4: christmas crafts

hello everyone!! welcome to the fourth day!! we’re a third of the way through :( but hey day four woo :)))

ironically after yesterday i’m very sick today so pls excuse the late upload!! and please enjoy :)

—————

“Mummy?” Matilda asks one crisp morning.

“Yes?” Miss Honey replies.

“I’m bored,” Matilda says. Miss Honey looks at her almost in shock. This is a first.

“Bored? You don’t want to read or anything?”

“I do,” Matilda responds. Of course she does. She always wants to read. “But I just finished my book, and I need some time to process the ending.”

“Ah,” Miss Honey hums knowingly. That’s one of the best things about living with Miss Honey. She understands all the complicated feelings about books. “I’ll think of something for you to do while we eat.”

Matilda nods and tucks into her lunch. Miss Honey is still recovering from her illness, so it’s a simple turkey sandwich and some carrots today. Luckily, one of Matilda’s favorites, and she wolfs it down in ten minutes flat. She does the dishes so Miss Honey can sit and rest. She’s doing much better, but the doctor did say she needs to take it easy for at least a week.

“Have you done any art besides your drawings?” Miss Honey asks as Matilda leaves the last dish in the drying rack. Matilda shakes her head. “No crafts?”

“No,” Matilda responds. “Except in your class.”

“Well, we’ll have to remedy that. We need some more decorations anyway,” Miss Honey says. “Would you go get your art kit, please?”

Matilda nods and runs up to her bedroom. She roots around under her bed until she feels her hand touch the cold metal of the briefcase her art kit is stored in. She grabs it and drags it out and carries it carefully back down to the kitchen.

Miss Honey smiles as she rests it gently on the table and clicks it open. She reaches into it and pulls out the colored paper. “Okay if we use this?”

Matilda nods. She uses it to draw on occasionally, but most of the time she just uses plain white paper.

“Let’s start with a paper chain. I used to make these every year in school when I was a little girl,” Miss Honey says. She starts cutting one of the red sheets into long strips about an inch thick. Matilda watches for a while before she hesitantly reaches for a green sheet and some scissors to do the same.

Once they have about three sheets of paper cut all up into strips, Miss Honey shows Matilda how to make the chain. “Start with a loop like this.” She folds one of the strips into a ring. She undoes it once she shows her and lets Matilda glue the real thing together. “Now take another strip and put it through, then turn that into a loop too.”

Matilda grabs a strip in a different color and feeds it through the loop, then glues the ends together to make another link.

“Good! And that’s it, just keep adding strips and making more links,” Miss Honey says. Matilda does, going in a pattern until she runs out of paper. Red, green, yellow, red, green, yellow.

“It’s quite satisfying,” Matilda says.

“It is. It’s easy to do while you chat to people or watch something, that kind of thing,” Miss Honey says. Matilda nods.

“Can I hang it up?” she asks.

“Of course! Let me go find a tack, you go figure out where you want it,” Miss Honey says. Matilda meanders around the house looking for the perfect spot, and eventually decides on hanging it to frame the window in the front door. Miss Honey puts the thumbtack back where she found it and helps her tape it into place instead. “Lovely!”

Matilda smiles at it. She wonders how long you could make one with enough paper. “I’m still bored.”

“I was afraid of that,” Miss Honey replies with a sigh. She thinks again. “Have you ever made paper stars?”

Matilda shakes her head, so Miss Honey leads her back to the kitchen and back to the paper. This time, though, she uses some of the fancy-patterned scrapbook paper she’s been using to make Christmas cards with. She uses a ruler to draw evenly-spaced lines on the back and cuts them apart so, yet again, they’re left with thin strips.

“This is what all the girls in my grade did when we didn’t want to pay attention to our teachers,” Miss Honey says. “So I’d better not hear anything about you doing this in class.”

Matilda giggles. She has to actively try not to pay attention in class, unless they’re studying something she already knows. This might come in handy those times. Miss Honey knows this just as well as she does, being much the same way. Matilda has a hard time imagining she ever didn’t want to pay attention in class.

Miss Honey shows her the proper way to fold and pinch the paper strips so they end up forming a perfect little star. Matilda gets sent to the living room with all the leftover paper and a huge old jam jar to put all her stars in while Miss Honey tidies up after their other crafts and their lunch.

Matilda isn’t sure how long she spends making the stars. The method is quite methodical, and the repetitive motions are incredibly relaxing. She entertains herself in her head, inventing new stories and watching them play out over and over before switching to another. Eventually, she hears the floorboards creak as Miss Honey comes to join her in the living room. She also hears a, “Good heavens, Matilda!” and jumps nearly a full foot.

“What?” she asks.

“How many have you made?!” Miss Honey asks with an incredulous laugh. “I wasn’t away that long!”

Matilda looks down and sees herself absolutely surrounded by paper stars. No less than a thousand, and likely many more. “Oh.”

“Goodness gracious,” Miss Honey chuckles. “Let me get a container for those, hold on.”

Miss Honey returns with a nice glass vase. Matilda stocks it with stars, and it makes hardly a dent in the pile around her. Miss Honey frowns and returns with another. Matilda fills it too. Still, a concerningly large pile of stars remains. Miss Honey comes back with a couple more empty jam jars. Matilda fills them so much the lids barely close, but she manages to stuff the last star in the last jar and slam the lid shut.

Matilda puts one of the jars in her bedroom as a decoration, while Miss Honey adds some artificial flowers to both vases. One of the other jars gets labeled ‘magic stars’ and Miss Honey explains she’ll take it to school and use it for something with the younger students. The last jar gets labeled the same and tucked on a shelf in the kitchen in case they need a little magic themselves.

“They do look nice in the vases,” Miss Honey says as she puts one as the centerpiece on the kitchen table. “And this’ll last ‘til you’re about eighty.”

Matilda giggles. “Sorry I got carried away.”

“It’s alright, love. I did have a feeling that might happen,” Miss Honey chuckles. “Let’s just hold off on adding to our collection for a few years and find something else for you to do, hm?”

Matilda nods. “I got one too many paper cuts, I think.”

Miss Honey tuts over her hands and bandages a few of the smarting little wounds. Matilda wiggles her fingers once they’re decked with Hello Kitty bandaids. Miss Honey hands her her coat and the extra vase of stars and fake flowers. “Why don’t you go take this to Mrs. Phelps? Fresh air will do you good and she might have a less dangerous activity for you to do.”

Matilda happily takes the glass vase and goes running out of the house.

How nice to share the shine of a star with a loved one.

Even if it is just paper.

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thanks for reading!! see you tomorrow!!