#i had a mini pop it for anxiety which helped so much

[trashworldblog]

HOWD YOU MEET THEM

LITERALLY: THEY HAD M&G FOR HIGHEST TEIR PATRONS AND IT WAS SO WORTH IT 100/10

in a "how did it go?" way: it was awesome!! my anxiety melted quite a bit while shane was talkin to us for the qna. (ryan was doin sound check i think the theater was a lil wonky but he came over later) i gave them my painting and bracelets and they were super nice and said the brushstrokes were very artistic (kdnkdkfks thank u) and after some chatting with the group we got in line to take pictures and i handed lizzie the 1 million bracelets i made for team watcher, and my camera for pictures. told shane about us columbia folk, and had shane write "if im gonna stop, this looks like a really wonderful place to do it" for my tattoo, told them about how their bts content inspires me (ryan was like ? really? i feel like i talk about chips or something. which was funny like... yeah. but also just hearing how its made is always cool [i didnt say that my words were getting mixed up in my head]) then they signed my book and we took pics !!!

im definetly forgetting details but once i get out of the im so excited im constantly stimming out of joy itll come back to me lol. also it was so hard for me to make eye contact (tism) but when i did it was really cool

hopefully i can do m&g next year if they do another round of tour and ill be a little more relaxed and conversational cus i lost words and got lost in conversation a little

super nice understanding guys! down to earth, after a few minutes i was like yeah these are just some guys that make really fun and good videos, and i happen to look up to alot [tall/short joke here].

tldr: it good

[rafeandonlyrafe]

bodyguard

words: 2.1k

warnings: bodyguard!rafe, pop star!reader, gun mention, attempted kidnapping, brief violence, fluffy

you take a deep breath, clenching the microphone in your first. no matter how many times you perform, you still feel a rush of anxiety.

it all disappears when you step out onto the stage. you give the crowd a wave as the cheers erupt. you look around the packed stadium, reminiscing on what it was like to play smaller venues until your hit single and big break.

your in ear piece begins the countdown to your music as you lean down to reach out to a couple fans in the front row, looking past your personal bodyguard who insists on being in front of the stage despite the venue providing security.

you begin to sing the first song of your set, turning your attention to the entire crowd as your backup dancers come out, flooding the stage.

the show goes by so quickly you almost miss the feeling as you step behind the curtain, despite the exhaustion creeping into your bones.

“here.” your bodyguard hands you a water bottle, a straw already pushed inside, knowing you prefer it over drinking straight from the rim.

“what would i do without you rafe.” you chuckle. he was the first bodyguard you ever hired, having had your ass slapped one night and deciding you needed someone to watch your back.

“probably be kidnapped.” rafe shrugs, making you roll your eyes, used to the playful back and forth banter.

“and if it weren't for me, you'd still be in north carolina.”

“perk of the job.” rafe says, referencing the three continents you've visited with him in tow, soon to announce a world tour that will visit all major cities with enough time in between to actually enjoy the traveling.

“dressing room or straight to the bus?” rafe asks, following you as you begin to walk, stepping past the stagehands rushing to disassemble the set and get it on the move.

“dressing room. left my crocs in there.” it's routine, rafe entering the dressing room and doing a sweep before letting you in, even if it's just to grab your shoes and leave.

“wait, gonna change them before we go to the bus.” you tell rafe, the arches of your feet hurting from dancing in heels. rafe gives you his arm to hold as you bend down to undo the straps before slipping out of the glittery stilletos and into your comfortable, well worn, crocs.

rafe peeks out the back door. “there's some fans by the fence. we going right to the bus or stopping to sign?”

“stopping to sign.” you know it's not possible to show your appreciation to every single fan, but you're certainly going to try your best to greet every person who helped you become the pop sensation you are.

rafe pulls two sharpies out of his pocket, one black and one silver and hands them to you before swinging the door open.

the mini crowd erupts into screams as soon as they see you. you're sure these must be fans who didn't get a chance to attend as there's no way they could have cleared from the venue this quickly.

“hey everyone!” you wave as you walk to the chain link fence, knowing rafe is right at your back, just in case anyone gets handy. it wouldn't be the first time an excited fan reached through an opening and refused to let go of your wrist.

you begin to sign everything offered to you, even seeing a fan who brought your original ep you used to send to record labels.

“can i get a picture?”

“of course!” you smile, taking the phone that is passed through the slot and snapping a selfie with the happy fan.

you continue down the line, about halfway through when you shiver, the adrenaline wearing off and the cold of the night air seeping into your bones, especially since you're still in your stage outfit which doesn't give you much coverage.

you should have known rafes eagle eye would see, because he's soon shrugging off his jacket and placing it over your shoulders, of course the crowd awwing. 

rafe has gotten quite a bit of attention as your bodyguard, considering he follows you practically everywhere, he's photographed by fans constantly.

you were worried at first when you continued to skyrocket in fame that rafe would become uncomfortable or overwhelmed and you'd have to find someone new that you felt comfortable with, but hes stuck by your side the whole time.

“okay, sorry guys i gotta go!” you wave to everyone, having signed or taken a picture with everyone who gathered by the back exit fence.

you quickly rush to the tour bus, the corset of your outfit beginning to press in uncomfortably.

you don't have to use your words to tell rafe what you're about to do. as soon as he does a sweep through the bus, having you wait in the front next to the drivers seat so you could run out at any minute, you head to the back and take a shower, washing away your makeup and the pounds of hairspray added to your bangs.

you get changed into pajamas, knowing you're scheduled to hit the road tonight. it probably would be easier to fly private, or even just buy a jet, but you like the tour life of driving around and try to be environmentally conscious where you can.

you head back into the common area, rafe sitting in his usual spot on the couch, his gun that usually remains holstered to his hip now sitting on the counter. 

it scared you the first time you saw it. you knew you hired an armed bodyguard, but to have a gun just sitting there was not something you were used to.

“here.” rafe grabs a bag from the counter you didn't even notice.

“you got me fries?” you ask excitedly, taking the bag and quickly pulling a fry out, letting out a low moan when you take a bite and realize it's still hot.

“ill add personal assistant to my resume.” rafe smirks.

“resume? you leaving me?” you laugh, plopping down on the couch next to rafe. 

“never.” he vows. when rafe originally began to work in security, it was a way to get away from his dad, to have an excuse to leave at night, and now he can never imagine going back home to the life he once lived.

conversation shifts to upcoming plans as you finish off your fries and let out a yawn.

“alright, bed time.” you stand up and stretch, eyes closing as your back elongates. you completely miss the way rafe has to readjust his pants.

“goodnight.” rafe says as you give him a wave and head back into the bedroom, closing the door for some privacy as you flop onto the bed and delve beneath the covers, falling asleep easily knowing you're protected.

--

“aw, yes!” you hiss, looking out the window as the bus pulls into the rest stop. “back in the midwest baby, you know what that means.”

“what?” rafe questions, joining you to look out the window. he's dressed casually and not in all black like usual when he's working since today is just travel, and the light blue shirt he's wearing is making your heartbeat a little faster, even if you try to ignore it.

“tim hortons!” you exclaim. “we've got to get their sour cream glazed timbits. they're like crack.”

“and what would you know about crack?” rafe scoffs.

“alright, just because i didn't have a bad boy past like you doesn't mean-” you're cut off by rafe laughing. “okay, okay.” you hold your hands up. “i don't even know what it looks like.”

“that's what i thought.” rafe places a hand on your back as the bus comes to a stop. “now come on, let's get your timbits or whatever you said.”

you head out so happy and in such a rush that rafe doesn't remember to grab his gun, figuring nothing could happen at a rest stop early in the morning with practically no one around.

“hi!” you smile at the worker as you enter the building. she seems to half recognize you but doubt herself. “can we get a 10 pack of sour cream glazed timbits and another 10 pack that's a mix of the other flavors?”

the worker nods and begins putting it in the system as you turn to look at rafe. “just in case you don't like the same as me.”

“okay.” rafe laughs, stepping a bit closer to you as you pull your card out and pay.

you step to the side to wait, watching with excitement as the timbits are scooped in.

“thank you so much!” you take both of the cardboard containers and follow rafe back outside. the morning sun is shining brightly, causing you both to squint.

rafe turns quickly when a van suddenly squeels to a stop right behind you.

he watches in horror as the door swings open, his long stride causing him to be too far away to immediately grab you as he takes off into a sprint.

you feel the hands around your waist before you even contemplate what is happening. you scream out, looking to rafe and seeing the worry in his face as you're being pulled backwards into the back of the van.

“rafe! rafe!” you squeal, kicking your legs and trying to hit your attacker, throwing the box over your shoulder to try and get him to stop, but you're overpowered.

the man is just about to slam the door shut, trapping you in there with the stranger when rafes hand stops the metal and shoves it back open, his bicep rippling with strength.

“duck.” is all rafe says, but you understand instantly, trying to get as low as possible as his first surges forward, connecting the attackers face before pulling back and continuing to punch until his grip on you loosens.

rafe grabs you instead, and you move quickly, pressing yourself against his body, molding yourself against him as your arms and legs wrap around his torso. 

as soon as you're out, the van speeds away, knowing they've lost their one chance to get you. rafe moves quickly, running back towards the tour bus with you gripping onto him tightly.

you manage to hold in your tears until you're shut inside the safety of the bus. when the crying comes, it comes hard in sobs that make rafes chest physically hurt.

“i got you.” rafe sits down on the couch, keeping you in his lap as he tries to comfort you, hand rubbing up and down your back. “i got you baby.”

you cries are so loud rafe isn't sure you can hear him, especially when you start to hyperventilate.

“hey.” rafe takes your face in his hands, seeing the fear in your eyes as you struggle to actually take it any air. “take a breath for me, you're gonna pass out.”

you try, you really do, but you can't control your body as you continue to hyperventilate. rafe doesn't know what to do, he needs some sort of distraction or way to make you stop.

his face surges forward, his body working before his mind does as his lips press against yours, pressing a smashing kiss against your mouth.

you stop instantly, mind settling as your lips move against his, upset when you have to pull away to take in a gulping breath of fresh oxygen.

“it's okay.” rafes thumbs smooth over your cheeks. a mutual understanding comes over you both. this was bound to happen, and you don't need words to talk about what your relationship just became. “i got you. i got you.”

you nod, breathing deeply, finally able to control your body as you inhale and exhale until your lungs are full enough to lean forward and kiss rafe again. he doesn't hesitate for even a second before kissing back, his arms moving to wrap around you, pressing you further into him to deepen the kiss, only pulling away when the door shuts, your driver back in her spot.

“you okay?” rafe asks, his voice soft as he looks at you.

“i think after some more kisses i will be.” you giggle, cheeks blushing.

“and some timbits?”

“oh my god, those fuckers have them!” you gasp, your eyebrows scrunching together, making rafe laugh.

he presses a kiss against your lips, barely able to stop smiling to do so. “are you more mad they tried to take you or more mad they successfully took your donuts?”

you roll your eyes. “the timbits, duh.”

sfw tags: @winterrrnight @bejeweledreverie @ladyinbl00d @ethanthequeefqueen @drewsephrry @wearemadeofstardust0

[justin-chapmanswers]

AAAA THE SILVER SPOON EXIT IS FANTASTIC!!! You guys always do such a good job with the Exit Interviews. They're super fun videos that also add juuust that little extra amount of characterization that makes them even better to watch.

What inspires you guys to add the little mini-stories in each interview? Do you usually have an idea of what direction you want it to go beforehand, or do specific questions give you inspiration?

Thank you so much!!! Had so much fun working on that one. And looooove the question. Partly cause I'm like "idk if anyone cares that I do this, but it's fun, anyway!"

When writing any Exit Interview (I've been sole-writing or co-writing all from Box's-and-on, but might not for Balloon's?), I always want to be writing with some sort of angle. Sometimes it's a story for the contestant (TK, Cabby #1, Paintbrush, Silver) , sometimes for the interviewer (Box, Clover), sometimes both (Goo). Sometimes it allows us to hit on an angle on a character that we haven't already, sometimes it gives us some time to show off how far a character has come. Sometimes something that affects the whole interview, sometimes something that'll pop up towards the end that we can hint at earlier. But we tend to try for at least a little-something! We like presenting new narratives wherever we can. The tale is never quite done with these pals!

As for how we plan it out, I'll often go into an interview knowing exactly what angle I want to come in with, and how much that angle'll need to weigh on the characters. I knew I wanted to tell a narrative about Paintbrush wrapping up their three-season-journey and expecting a hyper-dramatic interview to express every facet of their emotional experience... only to receive a bunch of nonsense questions that leaves their final wrap-up feeling empty. So I noted to the audience that we'd love silly questions. I knew that for Silver's Exit we were going to explore the anxieties around criticism, so I made sure to write in the question prompt that Silver would love to hear some compliments- so that we could then receive a bunch of complimentary questions for him to appreciate (but not enough to make a deep impact), and inevitably we received some negative too- which I could then use to show how hard one mean comment can hit for the guy.

For Cabby we wanted to prep for her eventual return by sewing in her current troubled state of mind without tying things up to cleanly in a bow. Clover we wanted to flip it around and have her help an interviewer down on his luck. With Bot we needed to let them reflect on what they've been through but also think on some of the elements of their existence that are still feeling complicated. In Yin-Yang's we knew we wanted to make sure we were following through on their tricky feelings regarding their experience Candle, while also demonstrating their growth as a fun lil duo. Etc.

Occasionally I'll need some inspiration, so I'll ask for the questions first and see if that sparks any particular ideas. When we received a bunch of motherly-oriented characters for Tea Kettle I was left to ponder "how would she feel about this?" With Goo's Exit a couple Cheer Factory questions popped up and I started to think about the fun juxtaposition of matching Goo with someone serious who expects Goo to be a legitimate entrepreneur. Since then we've enjoyed leaning into pairing contestants with very different-vibe interviewers when possible.

And the mindset of writing with an angle all stems to working on Inanimate Answers. Not sure how many people have seen that, since the newest ep predates Invitational, but there we had a very very similar format. It's sorta like the unintentional test-run of Exit Interviews, with some personal conflicts for the contestant, and some for Justin. I'd loooove to make more of those, but they were being made at a point in time where I didn't have a non-II full-time job, and II wasn't focused much on episode production. So finding the time has been tough. We did make a mini version for the Inanimate Direct which was fun (although funnily some of my favorite on-camera work I've done for the channel was in that same video but the Patreon-information segment- which no one will ever watch again cause the Patreon no longer exists haha). And I have an old Yin-Yang Inanimate Answers 5 script that would need to be pretty heavily reworked now that season 3 exists for YY, if I were to try at them again. Maybe there's room for IA in the future. Lots to figure out with the channel! But I'm glad we've had Exits to take on the legacy of some bonus viewer-interaction-based-storytelling.

[nerdieforpedro]

We’re right here together

Lucian Flores x plus size female reader

This fic is for readers 18+ MDNI

Summary: Your anxieties are reaching a fever pitch, you keep trying to talk yourself out of them, but you spiral back into them. Lucian won’t stand for it and will show you why.

Word Count: 1163

Warnings: References to anxiety and depression, angst, domestic fluff, extra soft Lucian, unprotected P in V, some wrist action, orgasm denial, cockwarming, obligatory gold chain mention

Notes: Finale of What We’ve Both Wanted. I did a small edit on my mini-series and I finally finished it! I’ve been trying to finish series I’ve started though I do have a habit of creating more so there’s that. 🥸 Anyway, if you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed and let me know what you think. ☺️ This part ended up longer than I planned but I don’t like loose ends.

Main Masterlist/ Lucian Flores Masterlist

“You’re in your head too much mi amor (my love). Come back to me.” It’s not the first time Lucian has told you this. It’s been more frequent, especially now that it’s coming up on a year that you two have been together. You sold your house and moved in with Lucian, in a gated community that the two of you used to make fun of.

Now you’re here.

It’s a beautiful home, you told Lucian it could have been on an episode of ‘Cribs’ back in the day. He said that the two of you are too young for the reference. Laughter echoes throughout the house. Decorating the house was fun, bright colors and different artwork slowly popped up around the home. Flores initiated that he at least wanted to decorate his own office though, leave him that at least. You agreed, but could help putting a small bobble head on the edge of his desk. The hair on it was too short, but it did have a brightly colored shirt which was the important part. Things are fine, just fine. You’re not trapping him, he said he wanted to be with you, love you.

Everything is fine.

A week before the planned anniversary trip, is when the thoughts comes back. That you’re holding him back, he could be so much more successful if he wasn’t attached to you. It’s insane and nothing that Lucian Flores has ever told you or shown you. The casual touches that normally happen when he’s home slow, you’re backing off. Not looking him in the eye.

Your lover is no one’s fool. Something is wrong. He’s known you for half your life and his. You can avoid him for now since he needs to travel for work, but soon you’ll have two weeks side by side.

A two week trip to the Caribbean begins normally. Flights, driving to the resort, getting settled in, a shower before a nap. You had changed into an orange sundress to complement the orange and yellow of his swim trunks. He held your hand as the two of you watched the waves crash on the beach. You interlock your fingers with his and sniffle from his large palm against yours.

“Mi vida (darling), no matter what dark places your mind might take you, I’ll be here.” Lucian tugs on your hand to turn your body toward him and uses his free hand to cup your face, “You see me don’t you? I’m right here with you. Beside you.” The small nod you give him makes him smile. “Soon I’ll be inside of you but for that, tell me that you know cariño (sweetheart).”

The sigh releases the tension you were holding. Maybe you just needed to hear it again, but should you need to hear it so often, shouldn’t you know by now? Is he really going to be okay with a lifetime of this? “You’re right here with me Lucian. I just worry that my issues are-” His kiss quiets you, focusing on the all too short contact with his lips.

“You’re not your issues. Estás mi amor y vida (you are my love and life). I know you’re scared. I honestly think there’s about a hundred ways I could have fucked this up and and I won’t know until it’s too late. Let me continue to care for you.”

You stepped back as Lucian came for your lips again, hungry as you’d denied him affection. He wasn’t one to press it. With others he would, but he knows you would shut down if he did. Falling on a puffy off white chase, your lover pinned you to the furniture. You weren’t getting away from him today, and for the rest of the trip. He’d stepped out of his swim trunks before he had you on that chase and his hands were lifting up the shirt of your dress while kneading your large thighs. A bite to your shoulder makes you yelp and you feel his smile, it makes you run your hands along his sides, widening your legs to accommodate him. He only slides against your folds, not breaching you yet. It’s your turn to cup his face as you speak to him. You mean it this time. The worry is gone from your voice, replaced with lust and reverence for the man who has chosen to love you. “Lucian, I know you’ll be here with me, beside me and inside of me. Give me all of you Lucian. Te amo (I love you).”

His hot tongue makes a stripe from your collarbone up your neck, before taking your lips once more, your dripping cunt accepts his length easily, the awaited stretch has you cry out his name. Flores doesn’t move yet. Watching the expression of pleasure on your face, hearing his name from your lips. It has him twitch inside of you. “Esa es mi chica sucía (That's my dirty girl).” When Lucian makes love to you, he always begins and ends with warming himself inside of you, having his hands roam your breasts, the rolls of your stomach, cooing “Paciencia cariño (patience sweetheart).” Sucking on your lips until they’re just a little sore and it’s when he bends both of your legs back to open yourself more for him will he begin. The only sounds anyone will hear will be your combined moans, your drenched cavern sucking him back in with each movement of his hips and the scratching on your nails on his back. Flores looks beautiful above you with his gold chain flapping against both of your chests, his hair sticking to his wet forehead and his signature sheen coating the two of you, edging closer to filling you. You reach down to pad your own clit, not willing to wait until he’s closer. Lucian pins your wrist above your head and tells you to be patient again. He takes his time with you, deliberately thrusting slower the more he throbs within you. There’s a point when he bites his bottom lip and starts mumbling when you know he’s truly close, that’s when he releases your hand and starts on your electric bud. Pressing it with gentle pressure, your pelvis circles his cock. With the erratic rolls of his hips, combined with your screams and squeezing of your walls with your own climax, he coats deep inside of you. Churning his own heat within you, overstimulating your already sensitive core.

“Don’t move yet. Just stay right there.” Your voice is small given how loud you just were, hands are now roaming Lucian’s scalp, massaging it gently. His small reward for filling you once again. You both remain on the chaise until the sun starts to dip beyond the horizon and finally get up to take another shower, this time not bothering to get dressed. Watching the sun set, laying across the bed in Lucian’s arms is the right choice. He was always the right choice.

Part Two

Scratchers of Lucian’s scalp 💆🏼‍♂️: @rhoorl @trulybetty @morallyinept @fhatbhabiee @magpiepills

@maggiemayhemnj @tinytinymenace @readingiskeepingmegoing @survivingandenduring @yorksgirl

@mysterious-moonstruck-musings @megamindsecretlair @soft-persephone @soft-girl-musings

@harriedandharassed

[elacular-kink]

Poly-Techhic 4: Dinner date

Popping back to the present (3.5 B, oops all hiccups, will happen someday, but apparently not today), we will now see Kiran and Susanna go on their first date, for good and for ill.

Character Sheet

TW: Anxiety, Dysphoria (MtF), hunger, Internalized fatphobia, Body Issues, Embarrassment, Snobbish asshole, Emotional breakdown

Kinks: Hiccups, Embarrassment, Hunger, Stomach noises, hurt/comfort?

I was so nervous.

I was so unbelievably, unbearably, incredibly, unimaginably nervous.

Was my dress alright? It didn't look stupid, did it? Did I look feminine enough in it? Had I shaved well enough? Was I growing any stubble? Were my shoes okay? I knew we'd need to walk, so I'd chosen flats, but would they still be painful? Was the restaurant I'd chosen an acceptable distance away? Would it be a good restaurant? Would the food be good? How much should I eat? I wouldn't want to look like a pig in front of her, absolutely not, but I was hungry since I hadn't been able to stomach eating lunch today and—

Breathe. I tried to force myself to breathe.

My stomach growled. That didn't help.

I repeated Olivia's words in my head. "You don't have to be afraid of her. Susanna will tell you if she doesn't like something." And she hadn't told me she didn't like me. She'd communicated that on more than one occasion to people she actually didn't like, so I knew she was capable of it and willing to do it. So if she didn't like the restaurant, she'd say so and then we'd

We would...

Before I could think of an answer to that, I heard her voice. "Hey, Kiran." When I looked, Susanna was approaching me, wearing one of her usual cool black hoodies and a set of loose-fitting khakis. Did this mean I was overdressed? How formal was a strapless pink dress and a white loose-knit cardigan? Especially when that dress was supposed to be a midi but looked more like a mini because I was too tall and too fat and clothes were impossible to find and—"Fuck, you look really cute in that."

"A-ah!" I looked down and saw a soft smile underneath her hood. When she looked up at me I also saw that she had put on some eyeliner (crap, I was barely wearing any makeup, did I look okay?). "Th-thank you!" My stupid hands wouldn't stop flapping. "Y-you look, um—"

Susanna chuckled. "Don't worry. I know I'm not exactly Prince Charming over here. I'm actually dressed a little better than I look right now, but it's fuckin' cold out." Her eyes went down me and I followed them. When I looked down lower, I saw that she was actually wearing dark brown dress shoes. "Speaking of which, I'm amazed you're not freezing your ass off. Let's get a move on." She tilted her head in the direction of the restaurant and I squeaked and nodded. God, how was I supposed to handle a date with someone so cool?

We were walking. I'd walked this path to the restaurant a few times before to prepare, but it still felt like it'd fallen out of my brain. It felt even more like that when Susanna reached over and grabbed my hand. "I have a little trouble keeping pace with other people when we're walking together. Mind if I hang on?" I shook my head, nodded, then decided to communicate that I meant yes by intertwining my fingers with hers as best I could. She smiled at me again. "Cool. Sorry I couldn't get a ride, but Maya'd wanna come in with us, and I love her, but I'm trying to have a date with you here. And there's no way I'm making you sit in Olivia's deathtrap of a car." I'd seen said deathtrap and I agreed that I would prefer to never even touch it, much less enter it, though I certainly wouldn't be saying as much out loud.

"I-it's perfectly fine!" I shook my head. "I really should take more walks anyway. I could really stand to lose some weight."

Susanna frowned at me, her lips pursed. "Nah. Walking's good and all, but not because you need to lose weight. Your body's fine just the way it is."

I couldn't bear to look at her. "You don't need to say that."

"Yeah, I don't need to. But I'm gonna anyway. 'Cause I feel like it."

A little laugh worked its way out of me, and I was able to stop flapping my free hand long enough to brush my hair back. "Well...I suppose that I can't stop you in that case."

"Damn right you can't." For the remainder of the walk, Susanna filled the air between us with talk about her class on sound mixing. The combination of computers and music was something we could both have educated input on, and that helped me pay attention and stay engaged. Eventually, though, we arrived at the restaurant, whose name was something French that neither of us could quite pronounce. Susanna glanced through the windows at the white-sheeted tables within. "Uh...not to be a mooch or anything, but you're paying, right?"

"N-naturally, naturally." That had always been the plan, and I could imagine very few scenarios where I'd want any date to pay for our various activities rather than myself doing so. I may not have had much to offer, but as long as money still mattered, that was something I could treat people with.

"Cool. Then after you." Susanna pulled the door open and gestured for me to enter, and I couldn't help but giggle.

Once I had shaken my laughter away, I took a deep breath and walked up to the maître d'. This was where I had to be the social one, and I'd seen it done enough times to copy the behavior myself. "Mandal, party of two."

The man in the tuxedo looked past me at Susanna as she entered. "We don't wear hoods in this establishment, sir."

"M-ma'am!" I corrected him, blushing.

"It's cool, Kiran," Susanna pulled her hood down and I saw that, rather than laying flat or being mussed like it usually was, her hair looked like it had been styled with gel or spray, a perfect gently punkish messy spikiness to it. As she unzipped her hoodie, I saw that she was wearing a white button-up shirt underneath, the arms having been cuffed up past her elbows in an imitation of short sleeves, and the bottom tucked into her khakis and strapped down with a leather belt. Oh god, she looked so dapper. How was I supposed to cope? "I don't mind what people call me, and I figu—uh..." She'd started tying her hoodie around her waist when the maître d' took it from her and hung it up on a coat rack instead alongside mostly suit jackets. "Uh...yeah. Okay. That works."

The tuxedoed man sniffed and turned. "This way, ma'am and ma'am." He showed us to a small table and placed a set of black leather-bound menus in front of us. "I'll need to see ID if you intend to drink."

"Nah, I'm good. I'll just take water."

"Hmph." He took a note.

My stomach growled. I hoped to god it wasn't audible. The idea of ordering soda in a place like this made my stomach hurt even more. "I-I'll take water as well, please!" The maître d' made a noise I didn't know how to interpret and walked away.

Susanna sighed and flopped against the back of her chair. "Damn. You get taken to intimidating-ass places like this a lot?"

"A-ah...occasionally, yes. L-less often than other members of my family go to them." I kept a death grip on my menu so my hands couldn't flap.

"Man. I dunno how I'd handle it. I feel like the air in here hasn't been circulated since the 70s." She opened her own menu, then squinted down at it. "Uh...okay, do you know what the fu—uuuhhh...the heck any of these are?" Hearing her nearly swear, I choked back a laugh.

When I actually looked at my own menu, I saw that they had, in fact, only included the names and prices of various appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Luckily, I knew what they were, and I forced her to ignore the numbers as we considered the less intimidating spread of appetizers. Once I convinced her money was no object, she ordered canapés and I ordered a salad (hoping I'd grown into enough of an adult to actually eat it).

I particularly hoped I'd be able to eat my salad when my stomach growled very audibly. A small twinge of pain went through it, and I couldn't help but cringe for multiple reasons. "You good, Kiran?" Susanna asked. I nodded, but I couldn't bear to look her in the face. "Right. 'Scuse me, sir." My heart fell into my empty stomach as I saw her call over a waiter. I had no idea how to read the man's face as she requested our appetizers. Our water hadn't even arrived yet. "Right," she turned back to me once she was done. "Hopefully that'll—shit. You okay?" I wasn't sure. Was that polite enough? Had she offended someone? Why did she do that? "Hey. Take a breath, Kiran." Susanna audibly inhaled, then exhaled the same way. When she'd done that a few times, I was able to join her. "Yeah. There you go. Is that, uh..." She glanced back towards the waiter she'd summoned. "Is that a thing I shouldn't do?"

"I...I'm not sure."

"'Kay. I won't do it again. Sorry about that." She put a hand on mine and I saw that she'd painted her nails dark blue. It looked really cute. I wondered if I should try painting my nails.

After a bit too long, I managed to initiate a conversation about that. She told me she'd gone to a friend from one of her music courses for help with it. I was surprised to learn that she actually did used to paint her nails fairly often, but now that she roomed with Olivia, the smells of the polish and remover were too offensive for her to ever use them in their dorm, so she'd given up on it outside of special occasions. I managed to suggest that she could teach me and do her own nails at the same time in my building from time to time, and the smile she gave me absolutely filled my stomach with butterflies.

It was unfortunate that it was only butterflies and not anything else filling it because it kept growling. I felt ridiculous, and it felt like everyone in the restaurant must be staring at me. Why didn't I force myself to eat something? I knew my body got noisy when I was hungry. At least I could take some comfort in knowing that it could be worse.

I then immediately lost all of that comfort when a particularly loud growl was followed by an even louder "*HEEK!*"

Susanna's eyes were on me. I could feel them. I couldn't bear to look at her, but I could feel them. "Whoa. You okay, Kiran?" I didn't dare open my mouth to answer. Please be a "single", please please please please please be a "single".

Of course I wasn't that lucky. My body rocked with a barely muffled "*EEP*" that felt ear-splitting even as I slapped both hands down over my mouth. Fuck, how could my body be doing this to me? God dammit, why couldn't it ever do anything right? "*MMP!*" Even with my mouth completely covered, it was still so loud.

"Oh shit." Her voice was soft, and I heard her get up from her chair. Before I knew what was happening, I felt her presence beside me, her hand hovering over my back for a moment before carefully landing on it and beginning to rub it. "Hey. It's okay. You're okay, Kiran. Do you wanna try drinking some water?" God, did I? Would it help? I had no idea. "You don't have to." I couldn't just sit here and keep making these noises. I at least had to try. So I nodded. "Okay. I can hold your glass up for you, so you don't have to keep your mouth uncovered for too long." 

How could she be so considerate? I opened my eyes back up and saw her lift my glass with one hand. I removed one of my own and helped with it, waited until my next "*MNK!*" hiccup had passed, then put my lips to the water as quickly as I could and drank. I drained my glass as fast as possible, half holding my breath and desperately hoping that my body would shut up and let me continue having this date. But no. As soon as I put the glass down and opened my mouth to breathe, another deafening "*HIUK!*" forced itself out of me. I covered my face, hearing my voice whining with horror. Worse still, even though I managed to muffle my next "*HMK!*" I felt my stomach jolt and heard all of the water sloshing inside of it. God, what was wrong with me? How could my body be so obstructive and gross?"

"Shit. It's okay, Kiran. It's okay." I had no idea how it could possibly be okay, but the gentleness of Susanna's voice and the feeling of her hand rubbing up and down my back made it seem the tiniest bit more believable. "It, uh..." her voice paused in an odd way. "This is happening because you're hungry, right?" I nodded. "You think eating would help?" I nodded again. "Okay. Hopefully your salad'll get here soon. Think about what kind of main thing you'll wanna order, we should tell the waiter about that the next time he comes around."

How could she be so calm? I looked up and saw that her face was actually flushed bright red. When she saw I was looking at her, she quickly turned away. Fuck, she wasn't calm. She was embarrassed too. Of course she was. How couldn't she be?

"Ma'am, you're distracting other diners. Please sit back down in your chair." I heard the maître d''s voice behind us.

"Shi—uh, sure. Yeah, sorry about that." I felt her move away from me and missed her hand on my back, though she gently pulled one of my hands away from my mouth so that she could hold it from across the table.

"I'm sure that your fellow patrons would appreciate it if you would keep quiet as well, ma'am." I couldn't even bear to open my eyes.

"Hey. She can't help it." There was a slight growl to Susanna's voice, and her fingers gripped the top of my hand more firmly.

"Of course." Even I could hear the contempt in his voice as he walked away.

"...asshole. Don't worry about him, Kiran. Fuck that guy." Susanna kept her voice low as she swore, and I couldn't help but laugh. That almost made a louder hiccup come out of me, and even through my hand, I couldn't silence them. Not completely. And I could still hear my stomach sloshing. God, the chair might have even been creaking every time I moved.

Excruciating minutes passed with Susanna gently rubbing my hand, speaking softly to me about random, unthreatening topics, like video games that she was enjoying, or the less raunchy escapades Maya had dragged her and Olivia into. I appreciated it so much, but it didn't do anything for the fact that I just kept hiccupping every few seconds. Not to mention my stomach was growling...everything about me was so big and loud and obnoxious. I hated it so much. Why couldn't I be small enough to just disappear like she was?

"Madams?"

"Uh, hey, cool," I heard the voice of the waiter that Susanna had accosted earlier. "Do you know how long the salad's gonna take? Oh, also, I wanna order for her. Which one of these will take the least time to—"

"I-I'm sorry, madams, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave." My eyes shot open and I looked at our waiter. Unlike the maître d', he looked apologetic enough that even I could see it.

"'Scuse me?" Susanna's voice hardened again, and her hand firmly gripped onto mine.

"Erm, other customers have been complaini—"

"What other customers? This place is mostly empty. If someone's really been complaining, can't you just move us further towards—"

"Other customers have been complaining, and I'm afraid that unless you're able to be less disruptive, we'll have to request that you leave." The waiter's voice sounded nearly pained as he said that.

"Look, if you could bring out her salad or some other food, that should help and she'll—" I couldn't help it. I sobbed. Then I hiccupped. I could feel the eyes of the waiter and Susanna on me, and I felt so humiliated that I couldn't even think. I had no idea whether to cover my mouth or my eyes, and the hand that had been under Susanna's was uselessly flapping instead of doing either of those things. "...fine. Okay, come on, Kiran." I forced my eyes open and saw Susanna, slightly blurry, take a wallet out of her pocket. She glanced at the menu, cringed, then pulled out a few bills and placed them on the table. "Change is a tip for you." 

Susanna grabbed my flapping hand and started dragging me away, pausing for a second to glare at the maître d'. I could hear him sniff as we left. "Don't forget your...jacket."

"...thanks." Susanna paused long enough to grab her hoodie, then dragged me the rest of the way out. "Okay, fuck that place. There's a Wawa just a block away, we'll get you something there, then I'll see if there's any better restaurants nearby where I can get you some real food."

"I'm–*HIUK!*" I choked out more sobs and I could feel tears rolling down my face. Pathetic. "I'm sorr–*EEK!*"

"Don't be." We reached the convenience store. I wasn't sure I'd ever been inside of one. "Okay, think about what kind of sandwich you might want. I'll grab you something quicker." I forced my eyes open and looked around. There were a few people here, and they glanced at me when I hiccuped, but then looked back away. The middle-aged woman behind the counter looked particularly unbothered by me...unbothered by anything, really. And unemotive about anything. Possibly chemically so. "You don't eat meat, right?" I nodded at Susanna. "Got it. Kinda, uh, limits our options, but..." She went to the counter and, before I could stop her, paid for an apple fritter, a fruit cup, and some sort of...bag of pickle slices? How did she know that I'd been craving pickles lately?

However she knew it, when she gave them to me, I immediately started eating, hoping to god that it would make my body stop making sounds. I was still crying, but at least I was doing so mostly silently. When she confirmed that I would be able to eat it, Susanna bought me a large sandwich with cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. I felt absurd for making her have to order and pay for me, but the fluorescent lights were making my head ache. "Hey. There's a park-type thing a couple blocks from here. It'd be pretty quiet, so you can take a minute and rest. That sound good?" I nodded, and she smiled up at me. "Cool. Come with me."

Susanna didn't hold my hand this time, just because both of mine were full with the sandwich and snacks she had bought me. I was still crying and hiccupping, and it made me feel so ridiculous. My attempts to eat weren't helping. And my feet ached. It was such a relief when we reached the park and she showed me to a bench. There was nobody there, and the street lamps were warm and unthreatening. "Okay. You don't have to try and hold back or hide, Kiran. We're alone here. You won't bother anyone."

Feeling her sit next to me and hearing her say that made me sob again, which didn't help my stupid hiccups. "I'm sorr–*HEEK!*"

"You shouldn't be. You didn't do anything wrong." I did, but I wasn't able to explain that to her right now. Whether or not I did, though, Susanna was rubbing my back again, not seeming bothered at all by the way I would jolt into her over and over. "Hey, I'm gonna call my mom for a minute, okay? Don't worry about being quiet or anything, this won't take long." I nodded. I doubted I even could be quiet, no matter how much I might have wanted to. I heard the sound of Susanna's phone and glanced at her. She'd ended up tying her hoodie around her waist, so she'd unrolled her shirtsleeves, which were now just barely avoiding covering her hands. Her face looked a little flushed, but the lack of light made it hard to be sure. "Yeah. Hey Mom. I need to borrow the Yelp account." She paused and rolled her eyes. "Yes yes, how are you, I'm great thanks, look, can we keep it short right now? I'm on a date...yeah, she's great, Mom." Susanna scowled and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Fine, I'll call you on Saturday, you can hold me to that. But I need the Yelp account now...because I'm gonna go nuclear Karen on someone's ass and you're the one who actually reviews things...No, I'm not overreacting, they made my date cry!" The genuine anger in her voice was a little scary, and I must have audibly gasped, because she turned towards me and stopped rubbing my back for a moment to gently pat my shoulder. "Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought...God—...bless it, Mom, you really need to change that password...Well, I ask every time because I'm very polite and respectful." I couldn't help it. I laughed. I laughed and I hiccuped, and Susanna smiled at me. And my heart fluttered. "Okay. No, I don't need your help, I learned from the best...I know, I know, I won't use any profanity. I'll be good...yeah yeah, love you too. Bye." She hung up and exhaled. "Mom says hi. And...I only just now realized that I should ask you about this, so...are you okay with me being a bitch to that French place on Yelp?"

I looked down. "You...*HMK* You shouldn't be. They di–*IC* they didn't do anythi–*INK*–i-ing wrong."

"Bullshit. You're the one who didn't do anything wrong."

"But I did! *HIUK!*" Yelling was a terrible idea, but that didn't stop me from doing it, and my stupid eyes were tearing up again. "I didn't ea–*EEK* eat lunch today becau–*UCK* because I was nervous, but I kn–*HEEP* know that being hungr–*EEK* hungry makes my stomach gr–*UCK* growl and gives me th–*IC* the hic–*CUPS!* I ruined our d–*HUP* our date!"

"Bullshit!" It caught me off guard just how quickly she repeated herself, and she grabbed both of my hands. "You didn't ruin anything, Kiran. Your body did normal human things and that dickhead in the tux was a piece of shit about it. He sucks, that place sucks, fuck both of them. I didn't see any of the other patrons complaining, so I'm pretty sure it was just that prick. And even if it wasn't, fuck anyone who tried to give you shit about it." Susanna closed her eyes and took a slow breath. "You're allowed to take up space, Kiran. You're allowed to be a person and experience the shit that humans experience. You shouldn't have to be perfect. I mean, you'd think they were being assholes if they kicked Olivia out for the same reason, right?"

I blinked. "W...well yes, b–*UK* but...she can't he–*ULK* help it."

"And you can't either. Not right now at least. I don't care if you could have somehow avoided it earlier; the past is the past, now is now. And right now you can't help it." Her face was definitely strangely flushed right now, and she was avoiding eye contact too. "It's not your fault. You've just...you've just got the h-hiccups. That's all."

"Yeah. *HMK*. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." After a moment of hesitant hovering, Susanna got up and hugged me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she leaned over, so her front was pressed against mine. My stomach jolted with a hiccup and it shook her whole body, and I heard her let out an odd little giggle at that. Somehow, that made me giggle too. "Don't be sorry. You don't huh--have to be." When another hiccup bounced her, it interrupted her voice. "And I don't mind. I'm frie—uh, friends with Oliv---via. Of course I do--on't."

That...made sense. I wrapped my arms around her too, and even though it was embarrassing to feel how my body shook and wobbled against hers, it felt good to have her small form pulled to me and feel how soft she really was. "Thank you. *HMK*"

"Of course."

I didn't really let go. And she didn't really either. So for a few minutes, we were just holding each other while I hiccupped, and....it was okay. It was okay. I apologized when I was loud next to her ear, and she told me it was fine. Eventually, she started wriggling and pulled back. I honestly could have stayed like that all night, but it wouldn't do either of us any good to be greedy. I went back to eating and she leaned against me, somehow managing to type on her phone while I kept shaking her. After a few minutes, she turned to me and showed me the review she'd typed out, which was the politest, most venomous thing I'd ever read in my life ("My mom's white. She taught me their secrets."). With a few small edits, I let her leave her one-star review, and she snickered to herself as she sent it before logging out.

As I was finishing up my sandwich, something occurred to me. "Susanna, *mnk* you didn't actually buy anyth–*IC* anything for yourself, did you?"

"Uh," she chuckled. "Nah. Guess I kind of forgot that."

"Mm. Did you find a re–*uck* restaurant nearby that lo–*HOOP*–nnnhf...excuse me, *mmk* looks good?"

Her lips pursed. "I mean, good to me or good to you? Because there's a diner-type place that I'm kinda curious about but—"

"Then let's go th---there. *mmk*"

She looked up at me. "You sure?"

"Well, my sug---gestion didn't exactly pan ou–*HUP* o-out, so...let's try your inst–*ic* instincts this time. You will be le–*HUP* letting me pay this time, though."

Susanna chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "S'long as you're sure, I guess. I want you to be comfortable."

"I want y–*HUP* you to be comfortable to–*HOOP*–oooohhh..." I rubbed my chest, a bit surprised they were still holding on. I still felt hungry, though. Which was...humiliating, given how many snacks I had just been given, but I did my best not to let it bother me. I decided to be gently self-deprecating instead of aggressively so for a change. "Besides, *hmk*, Olivia's not here to ge–*ulp* get them for you, so we would–*nnkt*–n't want you getting too hu–*UP*–ungry and catching the hi–*IC*–cups like me."

Instead of the soft laughter I expected, I was watching her close enough to see Susanna's face flush bright red. A second later, she laughed far louder than she usually did and scratched the back of her neck. "Y-yeah. Wouldn't want that, hahaha..."

That was...that was odd.

When we got to the diner the woman behind the counter glared at us and threw the menus aggressively on our table, then gave us both free hot chocolate because "it's cold out there, you goddamn kids." There were significantly more people in this restaurant, and I did get brief glances while I still had the hiccups, but only a few. Since we'd been seated at a booth more appropriate for four people, Susanna sat next to me, and I noticed that she leaned against me and took every opportunity to rub my back. Under the less aggressive fluorescent lights, I could see just how much more flushed her face was than normal, and see how it drained back to its usual color when the Portobello burger I ordered finally filled me up and chased my hiccups away. The whole time we talked about our classes, the music we listened to and played ("I used to play piano when I was young! Do you think you could teach me more?" "Maybe. I'm actually better at pipe organ, of all fucking things."), our families, our friends on the rugby teams, the friendships we were developing outside of them, and it was just...

It was just comfortable.

I just felt like myself.

I was a bit overfull by the time we left, and Susanna had poached what was left of my meal into a doggy bag that she would be keeping. As we were walking, I kept an eye on her, waiting for the inevitable as I felt that tiny tension in my chest that I always got after I ate a little too much, until eventually I—"*HEEK!*" hiccuped loudly again. Even though I'd been awaiting and anticipating it, I still felt myself blush bright red and automatically covered my mouth.

Under the street lights, I saw Susanna blush bright red too as she whipped around to stare at me. "Uh—" There was something tense about her voice, and she looked away faster than she normally would. "Y-you good?"

"Y-yes, excuse me." My little stutter matched hers. "I, um, had another one of those 'singles'."

She chuckled. She was bad at laughing on purpose. Even I could tell it wasn't quite right. And since she didn't have her hood on, when I leaned forward, even though she was facing away, I could see the tiny smile on her flushed face. "Don't worry about it, Kiran. I don't mind."

That seemed like it might not actually be true...or that it was, if anything, an understatement.

When we were in front of my house, it wasn't long after my "single", and Susanna was still a little unmoored. Even so, she smiled up at me. "Hey. I had fun tonight."

I could feel myself smiling and realized that my hands were flapping. I didn't have the energy to try and hold them back though. "I-I did too! Sincerely! The..." my hands stilled and I felt the shame of earlier crawl into the back of my throat. "The first restaurant was...bad. But everything else..." I laughed. "Everything else was really lovely. Even with the hiccups."

Red. Her face went red again. She fake-laughed again. She scratched the back of her neck again. "Glad to hear it. So, if we both had a good time..." she looked up. I dodged her eyes, but I already knew she didn't take offense to that. "Wanna try it again another week?"

My hands were flapping again. "Yes! Yes please!"

"Hehey, that works great!" Her smile was so wide. She then hesitated, lifted a hand, lowered it, then lifted it again and placed it on my cheek. I instinctively leaned into her touch. "Hey, Kiran. Think you could bend over a bit for me?"

My heart was pounding in my chest as I lowered myself. "Y...yes. Like this?"

"Yeah. Exactly like that." I felt the heat of her breath against my lips and my eyes shut without me before we touched. Hers were so chapped but so soft. I had no idea what I was doing. But she taught me. She taught me and I learned as best as I could. And we stayed together much longer than a second or two. When we finally pulled back, I was breathing heavily. So was she. Clouds of steam were forming between our lips. "...night, Kiran."

"Goodnight, Susanna."

Our faces were close enough that I felt her smile before I saw it. And then she walked away, only seeming to realize once I was behind her that she could put her hoodie back on.

I made my way back into the empty house, walking past the bedrooms where other students weren't and up the stairs to my own. And once I was curled up in my warm bed, I took out my phone and looked at my messages from what I was mostly sure was Maya.

Queen of Illusion: YOU BETTER TELL ME HOW THIS SHIT WENT WHEN YOU GET BACK PLEASE TELL ME YOU FUCKIN KISSED HER AND THEN KISS ME (IF YOU WANNA)

Kiran (Kiki): Hello Maya(?) Our date went wonderfully.

Queen of Illusion: Youre damn right it did! (And yup its me)

Kiran (Kiki): Before I get into that, though, may I ask you something that might seem a little ...strange?

Queen of Illusion: Bitch I might seem a little strange go 4 it

Kiran (Kiki): Alright.

Before I could bring myself to actually ask, I scrolled back a large number of messages until I found three spoilered ones. I finally clicked the spoilers of the last message.

3: Its something Liv does all the fuckin time

Alright. That made me significantly more confident in what I was about to type.

Kiran (Kiki): With regard to the missing context that you and Olivia have concerning Susanna Would that context possibly be that she has some sort of ...affinity? For hiccups?

Queen of Illusion: ...babe.

Kiran (Kiki): Did I say something wrong?

Queen of Illusion: Babe no You said everything fuckin right. And we are gonna have so much fuckin fun with this OPERATION "SEDUCE THAT BUTCH" IS A FUCKIN GO!

The mixture of excitement and terror in my stomach made me feel like I'd made the best decision of my life and a horrible mistake all at once.

[bearbluebooks]

Chapter 7 Christmas in Velaris

When 29 year old Gwyn moves back to Velaris, her new neighbor turns out to be less new than she first expected. With a new bookstore and old debts, Gwyn finds herself in a world of trouble. Do Christmas miracles exist or do they only happen in books and movies? What role does the Grinch tech genius play in this?

Read Chapter 1 here, or Chapter 7 here

17:45

To become rich was never an aspiration that fueled her soul, as long as she had a roof over her head and happiness in her heart. 

For Gwyn, materialism was never about possession. It was about the appreciation of the big things and the small moments. Whenever Gwyn bought something it had meaning, function, or need. That’s why everything she owned fit in her car. One of the boxes contained the many ornaments that she carefully placed in her Christmas tree two nights ago- the knitted star her mother made her when she was nine, and the mini Catrin and Gwyn puppets they crafted together in kindergarten.

Lucky for her, because her bank account alone would not make her happy. When she dared to look at her balance this morning, the number she expected to see was wrong. 

So wrong. 

It was a tough realization, once again, that idealism only got you so far until it met reality.

Bills had wrecked the small savings she amassed over the years. So much so that she didn’t have any reserves to fall back on. And that scared her, to live in constant worry of the unexpected. 

After seeing her balance, she knew to expect trouble sooner or later- a broken down car, a heating bill, or another collapsed roof. The possibilities alone gave her anxiety. 

On top of that, she was a new business owner with no business to profit from. She had to be inventive. And quick.

So very quick.

Otherwise, it would have all been for nothing.

Even if she won the Christmas competition, she still needed to gather 10.000 dollars more.

Luckily, Azriel seemed more inclined to join forces after yesterday. He even seemed to have fun at the Christmas farm. 

Miracles were still possible, she thought with a smile. She hoped it extended to her financial stability- which definitely needed a miracle.

She decided to give herself the weekend to come up with a plan. 

Tonight, she would go out and forget her worries. She deserved that. To be with her old friends, and to make new memories. To forget all troubles, and maybe get into some new ones. 

Who was she kidding? Even with alcohol, she needed control over her body and the situation.

A message popped on her phone, it took her out of her ruminating thoughts immediately. It was the guy from two nights ago, Troy.

Troy: Hi Gwyn, Troy here, the Christmas Guy, how’s the tree treating you? Not giving you any trouble?😉

Gwyn: Hi Troy. Not anymore ☺️ If he does I know who to contact to kick his ass.

Troy: You know it. Happy to help.

Troy: Speaking of help, would you like to help me finish dinner this Saturday night?

Gwyn: …

She didn’t know what to reply. Her heart beat faster, and many reasons flashed inside her mind as to why she should say no. She forced her mind to find reasons to say yes- he was handsome, he had the physic of someone who grew up on protein shakes and mountain exercise. And he seemed kind. 

The idea of a date terrified her to her core.

Ever since her mum and Catrin died eleven years ago, she had a hard time opening up. To trust the world and the people in it. Ever since she experienced the worst, it became impossible to trust the good existed too. Life was unpredictable, and people were unreliable. The only thing you had control over was yourself.

The safety of her home became a cage of her own making. She had reasons to crave that cage, but there was also an internal wall that she built between her and the outside world. A wall that became thicker with every year that she stayed inside that cage. 

Nothing happened to her there- nothing bad, but also not a lot of good. 

She had Mouse, and jobs here and there, but she craved friendship, experiences, love, and life.

When she stepped into her car one week ago, it was out of a desperate attempt to shatter that wall. Gwyn knew that after so many years of building that wall up, only a jackhammer could get it down. And nobody would do it for her, she would have to be that jackhammer. 

Growth happens outside your comfort zone, she reminded herself as she stepped into her car with shaking legs. A deceitful string connected to safety grew taut the further she drove. It urged her to get back to her cage, back to the safety of the known. 

Instead, she focused on her heart, where the wish for happiness resided, and on the whisper of strength that beckoned her to trust her ability to handle the unknown.

Before she knew it, that string became weaker and weaker, until only resolve remained and she had the keys to her new future in her hands.

Maybe this was another possibility. A chance to break down her other walls. So she listened to that same inner whisper and replied.

Gwyn: sure. I’m good at eating. 

As soon as she replied, she threw her phone and source of fear as far away as she could, in hopes of the feeling following the object in motion.

It didn’t, it stayed right there in her gut.

She didn’t have time to ruminate on the feeling for too long. Nesta would be here in fifteen minutes. 

And she still needed to pick out an outfit. Mouse sat on the bed and she could swear she saw judgment in her eyes when she wore the purple sequin dress. Quickly Gwyn changed into an old dress from Lilly. The long satin green dress had an intricate light brown pattern that spread across the bust and the skirt. The small straps were adjustable and allowed her to fit the dress perfectly to her body. Nobody looked at shoes on nights out, and she only brought two pairs so her all-stars had to do. With quick hands, she braided her hip-length hair. When she looked in the mirror, she was quite proud of herself. She usually avoided make-up, but tonight she wore brown eyeliner and dark red lipstick. The dress complimented her overall look perfectly, and she felt good. She felt beautiful. 

A glance at her phone showed the time: 6 pm. Normally Nesta was always on time. 

A knock on her door proved her right. 

With one quick grab of her coat and one final kiss on Mouse's head, she made her way downstairs.

Before she opened the door, she left the lock on the door to ask “Nesta?”

Safety was still important. It was all about balance, she reminded herself.

“The one and only,” the voice answered. With a smile on her face, Gwyn opened the door fully.

Before she knew it, she enveloped her friend in a hug. Neither of them let go immediately. It felt as if they both craved the comfort of each other's arms and nostalgia mixed with opportunity took over.

When they both let go after some time, Nesta whistled as she said “Gwynnie, you look hot.”

“So do you!” Gwyn replied enthusiastically. Nesta looked beautiful in her short beige dress. The long brown boots had such high heels that they made her just as tall as Gwyn. The faux leather jacket finished the look into something stylish yet sophisticated.

“Let’s meet Emerie, she is already at Rita’s.” 

“She’s bringing Mor, you remember her right?”

Mor was the gorgeous blonde who was in the same year as Cassian, Nesta’s boyfriend, Rhysand, and Azriel. Together, they were known as the ‘inner circle’, or the most popular people in school.

“I do, I can’t wait to see them again.”

“Let’s go then,” she said as Nesta already dragged her by her elbow towards the bar. 

—--

21:21

The evening was still young, unlike the memories they shared at the back of the dimly lit bar. “Remember when Miss Gold made you write your name 1000 times because you forgot which line you had to read?” Emerie reminisced.

Nesta joined “Or when we all had to be in detention because we wouldn’t say who pulled the fire alarm to get out of gym class?” The memory made her laugh.

The feeling of her past becoming intertwined with her present made her body warm with happiness. The feeling surprised her, it had been a long time since she felt that way.

“Are you back for good?” Emerie asked as soon as they found their familiar footing. The question woke her up from the warm haze of nostalgia. Planting her firmly in the present trenches of reality.

It was bound to come sooner or later. The need for an explanation- why she abandoned them all those years ago. Without a warning, without a goodbye, and without any further contact. But not tonight, she wasn’t ready. And she wasn’t having that conversation in Rita’s. Tonight one word was all she could give, “Yes.”

“Good,” Nesta replied solemnly.

With a smile, she looked at her surroundings and let her senses become overtaken by life. By the bustling sounds of the music. The slight sting of gin mixed with the sweetness of the tonic. The changing lights illuminated dancing faces in short intervals. The smell of sweat mixed with perfume and alcohol.

Then she took in the sight in front of her. Mor sitting next to Emerie, who held a possessive hand on her knee. It looked like they had been a couple for years, but apparently, it had only been three months, when Emerie finally gathered the courage to ask the blonde femme fatale out on a date. The rest was history.

Nesta sat on Gwyn’s right, close enough to whisper things about the people on the dancefloor in her ear, “Look there’s Lola, she’s married with two kids, whenever she needs a break, she comes here.”

Mor had secured them a VIP table in a secluded area with a separate table and bottle service, it provided a perfect view of the dancefloor. Gwyn had never experienced such luxury going out. When she was old enough to drink, one friend had taken her to a shady bar in town, she got so drunk she forgot half of the night. It terrified her to her core that she had no memories of such a big chunk of time. She spent weeks trying to remember, to no avail. She promised herself she would never put herself in that position ever again.

Tonight was no different. No matter how much free alcohol came her way, or the luxury setting, she would not have more than three drinks. 

As the communications officer at Black Inc. Mor had ‘connections’ that reached far beyond the ‘depressing building’, as she called it. 

“Thank you for your battle against the Grinch, it’s a tough but noble fight,” she said into her ear. Although the area was removed from the dancing crowd, the music was still loud in her ears.

“I pinched myself when I saw the Christmas tree in the lobby. It’s still undecorated but baby steps,” she said with a shrug.

With a smile, Gwyn said, “It can’t be that bad.”

“Oh girl, you have no idea,” Mor replied with a scoff. “Last year he wrote a program that flagged everything that had to do with Christmas. Even the word ‘balls’ was off limits.”

“What happened if you used it?” Gwyn dared to ask.

“Don’t ask,” Emerie interrupted.

Gwyn would definitely ask Azriel the next time she saw him. 

Which was much sooner than she thought, when she spotted two imposing figures entering Rita’s. 

With shocked eyes she looked at Nesta “I didn’t know Azriel was coming tonight?”

With a shrug, Nesta said, “He rarely joins, but when we said you were coming he suddenly had a clear schedule.”

Fine. This would be fine. They were on good terms, at least she thought so. They picked out a Christmas tree after all. Why did this feel different? More intimate?

Her hands started to sweat and her heart beat out of her chest.

He spotted her in an instant as if he could feel her presence before he saw her. His intense stare never left hers, until Cassian and Azriel reached their table.

He looked devastatingly handsome in his black pants and black dress shirt. Part of his sleeves were rolled up to reveal black tattoos. When he came closer, she noticed his unbuttoned shirt, which revealed even more tattoos and a trail of obsidian hair. The sight was almost obscene, and suddenly warmth spread through Gwyn’s body for different reasons.

“Hello ladies,” Cassian said in a bouldering tone that could be heard over the loud music. “Hello sweetheart,” Cassian said as he kissed Nesta.

Azriel remained silent as he took up the space to Mor’s left, opposite of Gwyn. Instead of a greeting, he ordered two whiskeys from the server.

Cassian sat on Nesta’s other side, rubbing loving circles on her lower back as he asked in such a way that made her feel like no time had passed at all, “Gwyn, how long has it been? It’s nice to see you again.”

When Gwyn and Azriel dated, Cassian became one of Gwyn’s friends too. Nesta was her best friend, and Cassian was Azriel’s, there were natural confines to their relationship that needed them to be friendly. His kind heart, caring nature, and shared love for music made it extremely easy to the point where she considered him one of her closest friends too. With that old connection in mind, she answered honestly, “Too long.”

“Enough talking, let’s dance,” Mor said as she dragged Emerie to the dancefloor. Before Emerie allowed herself to be swept away, she downed her glass of red wine at impressive speed.

“Let’s show them what real dancing looks like,” Nesta said as she guided Cassian to the center of the dancefloor.

Suddenly, Azriel, Gwyn, and four empty chairs were the only ones left.

Tension replaced the earlier easiness, and their silence only added to it.

“How are your muscles?” he asked suddenly breaking the silence.

Her entire body was aching, she could hardly walk and even lifting her gin tonic hurt- none of which she would ever admit. Instead, she said without looking into his devastating hazel eyes, “Fine, thank you. How are yours?”

Without saying anything, he left his seat across from her to take up Nesta’s former seat- right next to her. The closeness revealed his intoxicating cedar smell. The fragrance entered her nose and overtook all of her senses.

“What do you think about Rita’s?” he asked into her ear. The baritone voice sent shivers down her back. 

“I like it,” she answered honestly as she wished he would ask her something else just so she could hear his voice again.

Instead, she blurted out, “Is it true you banned the word ‘balls’ in your office?” at a speed that made her wish there was a better filter between her mind and her mouth.

Azriel almost spat out his whiskey, and she couldn’t blame him, “What?” he asked with a red face that came from nearly suffocating.

“I heard you build some kind of Grinch program?” she asked, unwilling to change the subject. It was better to commit than to drop it, she decided.

He closed his eyes for two seconds to gather strength as he continued “Black Inc. is a place of business, Christmas has no place in it.”

“You are a Grinch,” she teased with a slap on his muscular arms, “What’s the harm in a little Christmas joy?” She dared to ask. “If it makes your employees happy, isn’t that good for business?”

His eyes looked hurt, not mad, which was strange especially when he didn’t respond further.

Instead, he asked, “Would you like to dance?”

Playful banter was one thing, physical closeness was another. It was one of the walls she had carefully built. And it felt like he was standing there hammering away at her defenses. But something inside her screamed to let him. 

So she did.

“Okay,” she said as he guided them towards the dancefloor. His enormous hand encompassed hers in a protective grasp that ensured nobody was able to separate them until they reached their destination.

His imposing presence caused people to naturally make way for them until they reached a spot in the back of the dancefloor.

It had been a while since Gwyn danced outside of the safety of her bedroom. She suddenly felt very self-conscious of every movement her body made- the way her hips swayed, and her inability to come up with anything to do with her hands. 

Azriel seemed to be in tune with her worries, as he moved closer and placed his hands on her hips. In swaying motions, he guided her to the rhythm of the music. 

At first, her body tensed under the sudden touch before she felt the scars of his hands on the naked skin of her body and she was somehow transported back to when they were both young. To when he would pick her up in his old jeep, to take her to Rhysand’s house where secret parties were held every other week. How he would lead them to a secluded spot, where they would get lost in each other’s touch.

Her entire body relaxed into the safety of old trust and older memories.

Love in This Club boomed in the background and it felt oddly fitting.

“Is this okay?” He said into her ear, as he held her in his arms.

“Yes.” She assured him with a smile as she moved her hands to embrace his neck. 

Song after song followed, and the whole world faded away. Together they swayed to the rhythm of the music and the beating of their hearts.

At a certain point, Azriel moved behind Gwyn, his hands never leaving her waist. 

“You’re like a dream, Gwyn,” he said as he leaned down.

The compliment from his lips made her even more aware of his effect on her- on the heat that spread throughout her body. All she could focus on was all the points where their bodies connected which were suddenly on fire. Instead of answering with a compliment, she allowed her body to melt into his, like two puzzle pieces lost to time and space. She let her head fall into his muscular chest which allowed them to move as one. With closed eyes, she savored the moment. His strong body behind her felt like a protective cocoon of pleasant touch and a promise of safety. Without thinking, she let out a breath of pure contentment.

Until her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Then it buzzed again.

When she looked at the screen it was Troy. Her heart dropped into her stomach. Dread spread through her body as she read the words.

Troy: It’s a date.

Troy: I’ll pick you up at eight.

Azriel seemed to have looked at her phone on instinct. Shit.

“It’s not what you-“ 

She couldn’t see the hurt in his eyes, but she could hear it in his voice as he said “This was a mistake.” 

Before she could explain he already moved out of the bubble they created and the the whole world crashed around her. Lights flashed in her eyes. People crowded around her. The music boomed in her ears. And suddenly, she was alone again. 

She couldn’t help but think it was for the best. Azriel deserved someone better. Someone who wasn’t broken.

She wasn’t a dream. It was a dream. To think she could ever be with Azriel again. The past was the past, and she was a fool to think otherwise. She forced herself not to cry as she said goodbye to Nesta, Cassian, Emerie, and Mor. 

As soon as she left Rita’s, a silent waterfall of tears ran down her cold face. The stinging sensation accompanied her all the way home. Back to where she belonged. Where it was safe. 

[greensweethome]

Ted Raimi's characters as cats (Part 3)

21. Artist cat

The same bastard who breaks your things by looking you in the eye. It is because of him that every year you come up with new ways to secure the tree for Christmas and began to buy all decorations made of unbreakable materials. He can not stand the order in the house and arranges a garbage dump. Everywhere pops muzzle and paws, leaves traces at crime scenes. Your hand will not rise to punish him.

22. Cat of the main villain

Every self-respecting villain should have a furry purring friend who adds aesthetics, easy humanity, or vice versa demonic nature. If you're planning on being villainous, this curly version will suit you. Obedient, playful and well trained. However, still a kitten. If you make sure that nothing happens to him, then you can have a wonderful four-legged helper.

23. Artificial cat.

'Detroit: Become Human' would never have happened if people started creating not androids, but synthetic cats. Smart, adjusts to your needs, and doesn't require food or water. And also he does not require sleep, so at night he has too much freedom. Do not forget that synthetics have the ability to connect to the network and this cat is no exception, because it has a usb cable in its tail. Trust me, you don't want your cat to know your browsing history. Protect yourself from the gaze of judgment.

24. Trained kitten He is a very smart boy and knows a lot of commands for such a small kitten. Non-conflict, peaceful and calm. With proper development, it will grow into an amazing friend and pet, which you will film and show to all people around, saying "look what a smart cat I have"! It may seem cowardly, but in case of danger it will be the first to rush at the offender to scratch out his eyes.

25. Adventurer cat

The same moron who climbs everywhere, and then cannot get out and will yell until you come and help him. You got better at keeping an eye on him when one day he was trapped inside the couch and you literally had to destroy him to free this fool. Playful and energetic, can sometimes hiss but quickly makes cute eyes to be forgiven. Sleeping in funny positions.

26. Vandal cat

You didn't want him in your house, but somehow he ended up here. It brings prey, but does not share, but leaves behind bloody footprints, and then watches with satisfaction as you clean up after it. Often hisses and hides so that you will not find him, no matter how hard you try. Sleeps on your face at night, trying to choke.

27. Loud cat

Here is such a little rubbish, and the sound is like a Jericho trumpet. the brightest star in the house and he knows it. If you wish, you can take it to various exhibitions and get decent places. He pretends to be proud and impregnable, but soon lies on the floor and tries to get your attention by meowing loudly. Loves to be brushed. Spoiled.

28. Distrustful kitten

Tired cat, but a mini version. Unapproachable and hissing loudly, he can even attack you and start scratching, and then he will hide from you throughout the house, fearing punishment for what he has done. When he gets used to you, he will be able to be near you. And somewhere in a year, he will also stick to you and will resist your attempts to remove him from you.

29. Frightened cat

He's seen all sorts of shit. Quiet and sleepy. It is better not to leave the baby alone for a long time, he begins to get scared and naturally cry when you return home. Sleeps with you in the same bed and likes to hide under the covers. When guests come to you, he immediately hides, and if someone finds him, he meows loudly and runs away. Sometimes he looks into empty corners and meows at them.

30. Therapist cat

Always there for you when you need it. Purrs soothingly and massages sore spots when you lie down. Guests do not like him, but he will still be next to you or on his knees. If they try to remove him, he will hiss and even wave his paw. Very dedicated. Recommended for people with anxiety.

>> Part 1

>> Part 2

[farfromstrange]

💌 A letter to you lovely people 💌

I wanted to come on here to thank you once again for over 500 followers! I think we’re at 518 now and it feels like such a fever dream.

I started writing on here in July 2022, so it’s almost been a year, and the love you all have shown me since then is blowing my mind every day! We’ve grown so much as a community and for the first time, I feel less alone with the things I like. I get to do what I love and share it with people who find enjoyment in what I write and it’s just… wow. I’ve never thought I would come so far, and I am so fucking grateful to every single one of you because you have saved my creativity and kind of my life because I’ve felt so alone before I came on here, and ever since then I’ve felt like I’ve had a purpose, even when things got rough.

So thank you again, and I consider all of you my friends. I’m so glad you could find pieces of yourself in my work and that it helps you as much as it helps me. I’m so happy that I get to make you laugh, cry and sweat every day with my work, and I don’t think I could ever grow tired of you all or this.

I owe it to Tumblr and the Daredevil fandom that I’ve met who I consider my best friend and platonic soulmate @blackshadowswriter and I don’t think that would have happened if I’d listened to it anxiety and never posted anything on here. I love you with all of my heart 🤍 you are so talented and you deserve the world. Without you, I think my life would only be half as great as it is now.

And to the rest of you, and those who I have just recently started bonding with over Matt and Mikey, also, I can’t even describe how lucky I am to get to know such talented people.

You all have a very special place in my heart, and I want all of you to know that you are perfect just the way you are. You deserve good things and you are loved. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, you all have a voice and I encourage you to use it. Do what you love and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. Live for yourself. Fight for what you want. And just be yourself, always because that’s the best version of you 🤍

Thank you, and I can’t wait for what’s to come for me and you in the future!

With love,

Lizzi 🦋

Ps: I’ve contemplated long and hard if I should do a follower celebration, but instead I’ve decided to show you who I am because this has become such a tight-knit community and I want you guys to know who’s actually sitting behind the screen 🫶🏻

If you want to see who I am and what makes me tick, there is more under the cut!

Thank you all for your support again. I love you!

Okay.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Lisa and I am 20 years old. I was born on January 20th, 2003, I'm a Capricorn, and I am obsessed with Harry Styles, Stranger Things, One Direction, Taylor Swift, and of course,

Daredevil & especially Charlie Cox.

I'm not a native English speaker, I've just been learning it since I was six years old. I'm originally from Germany, but I am a huge traveler and I love London like it's my second home.

I want to start with a small room tour of the things that are dear to me…

1. Mini Charlie (which I got for @blackshadowswriter )

2. And then the wall of fame

3. My Etsy DD Poster

And 4. My Funko Pops

And this is me, I guess…

JUST KIDDING!

This is me trying out the Comic!Matt Outfit that I’ve been dying to try out with my new hair.

(I am a natural blonde)

And then here is just me in my natural habitat:

For one, me at the Harry Styles concert...

And then just regular old me today...

I've met Charlie Cox on December 3rd 2022 at Germa Comic Con and he was the nicest person EVER (he asked my name and shook my hand with both of his and I died!) I was also still blonde at the time, and my smile was so wide, it made my eyes disappear.

What else is there to know about me? Not much.

I am pierced, I have tattoos, and I'm me. That's all there is to it.

The question is, who wore it better?

I don't know, I'd say I win...

Thank you again!

I love you all so much <3

[thattimdrakeguy]

What would yo say are the best Tim comics?

I apologize for how long this got. I can't talk like a normal person. I get too excited to talk about stuff. So bare with me. I'm really sorry.

I'm an Early Tim guy. I enjoy the consistency involved with them. Are they perfect? A-ha...noooooooooooo. Not at all. No comic is. Chuck Dixon was very clearly a grumpy middle-aged conservative man, which can make Tim come off as occasionally out of character since Tim was developed by Marv Wolfman as a naive, idealistic, positive-thinker, from a liberal family.

But he at least most of the time understands Tim, and certainly the aspects of Tim's anxiety caused by how highly Tim thinks of the legacy of Batman and Robin which is great.

So, like: Lonely Place of Dying.

It's his origin written by Marv Wolfman, it is THEE thing to read if you want to understand Tim. The fandom mostly talks about a made up version of his origin that is not even close to the case.

You want to read Tim? You want to understand him?

Lonely Place of Dying is the way to go.

There's also a good two-part story in Titans where Dick helps train Tim, but I can't remember what issues those were. You will likely be able to easily read it.

Tim also has a lot of fun moments before he's Robin but after Lonely Place of Dying where he's still written by his creator Marv Wolfman. The thing is, they're moments, so try to look like them up at least for extra content that show you more of how much of a Boy Scout Tim is.

The stories where Tim's parents die, and how he handles it afterwards are also very good. I would've preferred if his parents had lived, since a parent dying is such a trope. But it gives Tim an interesting dynamic where he was already working on being a crime-fighter when his died. It gave Tim a more existential side to his personality, that gives him a nice contrast with his positive-thinking side, giving him more depth ultimately.

The first Robin mini-series is great, mostly. But it is great.

This is where Dixon started writing Tim, though. And there's an extremely uncomfortable scene between Lady Shiva and Tim in the fourth issue, that I still can't put a comfortable twist on.

His other mini-series are also great. Joker's Wild is the second one, and the third one is Cry of the Huntress (Pretty sure), the third one is extremely angsty, so warning on that. They're all angsty, but goodness that one goes further with it.

His appearances in the general Batman and Detective Comics issues are also good. Different writers but he's consistent. It was a really good period for Batman and the Bat-Family overall, except for perhaps Dick, who wasn't terrible, just not his peak period anymore.

Robin, the ongoing Tim had is weird to describe. 'Cause in Dixon's run it is very very good. Yet filled with stuff that is really really not good.

His relationship with Stephanie has dated terribly, and with the modern eye makes no sense.

Stephanie essentially sexually harasses him, Tim does not like her beyond feeling responsible for her, and eventually they date.

Steph is a good character besides them dating, but the fact they ever dated is really unrealistic. Steph is a character created by Dixon, and you'll be able to tell when she goes from side-character with a great dynamic with Tim, to a character Dixon is desperate to have stay in the Bat-Family legacy.

And even past Steph, Dixon is horrible at writing romance. Any attempt at a love interest with Tim are almost always terrible. They can be distractingly bad how horrible the writing is.

Dixon's conservatism also pops out...which is distracted when Wolfman literally, in-comic, had the Drake's consider themselves liberals.

Not enough to ruin the experience, it's noticeable though.

Dixon's ability to write a complicated kid character, with a great pacing, great depth, side-characters (mostly), and characters that bring out Tim's character are fantastic. It's a great run overall.

There's more after this, that's important to read, I just don't want to cram up people's dashboard.

I'm simply warning you that it is dated, like many comics of it's age. So be warned when gross stuff shows up.

The pros outweigh the cons I'd say, since Dixon is mostly blacklisted from comics right now anyhow.

Tim will also have appearances in Nightwing too around this time, that are some of the best content those two characters have in their history. Search em out, they're fantastic.

Oh, and once Tim goes to boarding school in Dixon's run, feel free to jump off. Dixon gets increasingly lazy, and his writing turns really bad. It's not that bad at the start of it, but as it goes, my goodness does his once great run turn into total garbage. Side-characters are generic, Steph turns into an outright emotional abuser, characters act super super super out of character for moments that are written for Dixon himself.

Read the start of it. There's still good stuff, and a few good, fun stories. I particularly like one that ends with Tim getting autographed books for his friend.

Just know that it will eventually turn to shit.

And his solo isn't good again until Adam Beechon. Adam Beechon arguably has the best Tim Drake run, if you skip the Evil Cass storyline that was forced onto him.

He understands Tim incredibly well, and without the conservative politics. Telling similar stories to Dixon but doing it better. And Tim's love interest is, genuinely, the only one he's ever had that feels like they're good for each other.

It's also perhaps the only, if not one of the only comics during Tim's depression era that still understands who Tim is as a person.

Adam Beechon has even written for Ben 10, and the Teen Titans animated series.

If you only want to read one run for Tim as a test drive, besides Lonely Place of Dying, read Beechon's run.

Besides that, uh, some guest appearances in Birds of Prey, and Batgirl. Though don't read any that are late in the Batgirl run, 'cause holy shit there's one story that's just about the writers fetish for the Barbara Gordon classic Batgirl suit and it is really really bad. Full of projection.

The closest thing to an in-character Tim since Beechon is maybeeee Bendis's Young Justice, but they try to act like his and Steph's relationship is the one and super healthy. And it got too ambitious for his own good. Also Tim randomly goes from Robin to 'Drake' and it's bad. Tim never wanted to be anything but Robin, and was created that way so it's super distracting.

So if you want more crumbs that'll do ya, just, again, be warned.

This is comics we're talking about.

That isn't me calling it the best. It's more of like--an extra thing of note for the sake of other people. Enjoy what ya will.

There's other comics that are good, just...Tim's characterization feels really different and forced in ways that go against what one would call the heart of the character. The thing needed that can have even some not so great characterization feel bearable.

In my opinion anyways.

Enjoy what you enjoy.

[duckybarnes1917]

Your Eyes Outshine The Town...Chapter 17

Bucky Barnes x Black Female Reader

18+ ONLY

Summary: You and Bucky make the trip to meet his extended family. Things are a bit overwhelming for both you when you realize his family is not what you expected.

Warnings: Anxiety. Microaggressions.

*Tumblr is not letting me add links to the prev or next chapters. Please see the masterlist pinned to my page for the rest of the story!*

The Day After Christmas

Bucky stuffed his metal hand into his pocket as he walked into the coffee shop that had quickly become your favorite. You were waiting for him in the car which he had double parked. He realized he had spent so much time with you since you had moved in that being alone even for these few minutes had his anxiety rising quickly. Without your fingers intertwined with his metal ones, he felt unmoored. People stared at him openly, taking pictures sneakily as he kept his eyes trained on the floor. Things had been worse. Back before he was granted his pardon, people were much more forward. Ugly stares and insults were not uncommon. At that time, he rarely left his apartment. How could he when every ugly detail of his life was constantly breaking news? He truly didn’t know how he survived it. 

Bucky went through the motions of ordering coffee and moved to the side to wait. How much of his trial had his family seen? Was it naïve to hope they hadn’t seen any of it? That they hadn’t watched the constant attacks that passed as news? 

“Bucky!” 

Bucky frowned when the cheery barista that now recognized him as a regular called his name over the sizeable crowd. 

The barista, a college kid with an optimistic smile, scanned the room, looking past Bucky’s big frame for you. 

“She’s in the car.” 

The barista nodded, handing Bucky his drinks. “Well, tell her I say hi!”

Bucky raised his brows in response. Maybe he didn’t need to be worried about what his family knew or didn’t know. They’d be too distracted by you, just like everyone else. Even when you weren't in the room, you outshined him. 

Bucky finally gave the barista a small smile. “I’ll tell her. Happy Holidays, kid.” 

**

“One vanilla latte with extra whipped cream,” Bucky handed you the latte before he sat his plain black coffee in the cup holder. 

You popped the lid off the cup and inhaled deeply. “Perfect. Want some extra spice in yours?” You held out a small vodka bottle and a little flask you had filled with Asgardian ale. 

Bucky laughed and shook his head, “No, but maybe when we get there.”

“Suit yourself,” You shrugged and dropped the flask back into your purse before twisting the cap off the mini vodka bottle. 

Bucky focused on easing the car back into traffic. He didn’t blame you for needing a little help to get through the day; he was actively fighting the pit of anxiety threatening to open and swallow him whole.  

“How long is the drive?” You asked as you gulped down your coffee. 

“About five hours. If I drive fast.” 

“Damn,” you took another big drink of your coffee. “I’m sure the traffic will lighten up once we’re out of the city.” 

You rubbed Bucky’s thigh. You always knew when he was getting overwhelmed. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Being late should not be at the top of his worry list right now. The longer you rubbed his thigh, the harder it was for him to think of anything that should be at the top of the list. 

**  

Several hours later, you were cruising through little suburbs and large stretches of open road. The scenery, large trees dusted in snow, and the occasional deer made you feel like you had left more than just the city behind. The anxiety you had been trying to ignore the entire drive dissipated for a moment as you imagined the life you would lead if you lived here. Out in the quiet, open, calm. 

“It’s pretty out here,” you said casually, stretching in your seat.  

“Yeah? I thought you liked the city?” Bucky questioned. 

“I do, but–I don’t know, it might be nice to live out here… someday.” 

Bucky smiled, “someday?” 

“You know what I mean,” you muttered, not quite meeting his eyes. 

Bucky lifted your chin to meet his gaze. “Tell me.” 

Your tongue swiped over your bottom lip. “Someday, when things are normal, and we have a baby and….” 

“Fuck,” Bucky let you go and turned his attention back to the road. “You’re gonna make us late.” 

“How–”

“Because I’m seconds away from pulling this car over and fucking you right where you’re sitting.” 

You had to bite your tongue to keep from begging him for it. Once you had control over yourself, you opened your mouth. “If I thought I could fuck you without ruining my hair and outfit, I would beg you for your cock right now.” 

“Sweetheart–” Bucky warned, shifting in his seat. 

“I know, I know. Maybe on the way back, though.” 

“Promise?” 

You rubbed his thigh again, “promise.” 

** 

You woke up just as Bucky pulled into the driveway of a large house set against tall pine trees and the cloudy gray sky. An ornate gate decorated with giant wreaths opened automatically to allow his entrance. 

You blinked your eyes to clear your vision. This hadn’t been what you expected at all. 

This house was old and big. Enormous white pillars, decorated with garland, wrapped around the front of the house, making it look like a museum, not someone’s home. Brand new, shiny cars filled the circle driveway. Christmas decorations decorated the expansive lawn; large candy canes, giant glittery ornaments, a full-sized Santa’s sleigh with all 8 reindeer, and a tall white cross covered in twinkling lights. You felt like you were inside a snow globe. It was gorgeous, but you felt a sudden rush of anxiety; everything about this was screaming GET OUT. That was a ridiculous reaction; it was Bucky’s family–but your anxiety spiked again as you looked around and realized there were no other houses in sight. Bucky didn’t know these people; what if it was an elaborate trap and his sister wasn’t even here?

Bucky parked the car and you grabbed his arm tight to keep him from getting out. 

“What’s wrong? You look sick.” Bucky turned in his seat to hold your face. 

“I just–I need a minute.” 

Bucky nodded, his brows furrowing slightly. You avoided his worried gaze as you took deep breaths and reached for his dog tags on instinct. The raised letters of his name brought you back down to Earth. 

“Talk to me.” Bucky kissed your forehead. 

“I’m–afraid.” You wouldn’t look at him, embarrassment scorching through you. 

“There’s nothing–” 

“Yes, there is.” You cut him off and gripped his dog tags tighter. “What if it’s a trap? The Power Broker–” 

“Oh.” Bucky smoothed the worry line from your face. “Don’t worry about that, I trust Shuri. She did her research.”

Of course she did. What were you thinking? But your nerves still didn’t lessen. 

“What if they don’t like me? Did you–tell them?” 

“Of course I told them I was bringing you. They’ll love you–”

“No, do they know I’m black?”

Bucky paused for a moment, at a loss for words. “Um, should I have told them?” 

You were barely listening to him, continuing down your spiral of anxiety. “What if–I mean, I know it’s your family but Bucky, this place screams all lives matter.” 

Before Bucky could respond, the front door opened and several people stepped out onto the porch, all dressed to the nines and smiling excitedly in their direction. One man with cropped brown hair stepped forward and waved them on. 

“Oh god,” you gulped. 

“Hey breathe, everything is going to be fine. We’ll stay right here until you’re ready, okay?” 

 You nodded and closed your eyes again. You could feel Bucky gesturing through the window, buying you some more time to get yourself together. This was ridiculous. How many dangerous missions had you been on? And meeting Bucky’s family was what made you freeze in fear?

“Sweetheart?” Bucky called gently, bringing you back from your thoughts. 

“I’m okay, we can go. I’m sorry.” 

Bucky took off his dog tags and placed them around your neck. “Will that help?” 

You smiled slightly and tucked them under your shirt. The cold metal against your chest had a strange, calming effect. You nodded. 

“The second you feel uncomfortable, we’ll leave. Okay?” 

“Thank you,” You met his eyes, “are you good?” 

Bucky nodded, his face determined. “I’m always good when I’m with you.” 

Finally, you grinned and Bucky kissed your cheek before exiting the car and leading you up the steps. 

**

Bucky hadn’t known what to expect, but the mammoth of a house had not been it. He gripped your hand tighter and tighter the closer he got to the people waiting for you both at the top of the steps. It was odd. They looked vaguely familiar, like a face you’ve seen in a dream but don’t recognize. Connor looked a little like him. He had the same shade of brown hair, the same blue eyes. But his jaw was rounder, his smile bigger. Maybe that’s what Bucky would have looked like in another life. One where there had been plenty of food on the table, where he spent his time indoors with his books like he wanted. He looked away from Connor, quickly scanning the others. The blonde next to him must be his wife, Deena. She was petite in every sense of the word. Even in her white heels, she barely reached Connor’s shoulder. Behind them, there were several older people. One man using a walker looked how Bucky would have if he hadn’t been frozen in time. An older woman looked so much like his sister Becca that Bucky stuttered in his step and you  placed your hand on his arm to urge him forward. Several kids of various ages peeked out between the legs of the adults, wary but curious. 

“James!” Connor stepped forward and met him a few steps down. “So glad you made it.”

Bucky felt your hand squeeze his tighter as you unconsciously tried to hide behind his larger frame. He stood up a little straighter and put a smile on his face. 

“Connor, thanks for having us.” 

Connor turned his bright smile to you and held out his hand. “Welcome!” 

You gave him a small smile and took his hand. Connor pulled you into a hug, and Bucky saw Deena shake her head. 

“Oh–” you exclaimed. “Nice to meet you.” You glanced back at Bucky and he gave you an encouraging nod. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone. And surprise! Betty is waiting for us inside. Didn’t want ya to have to make two long drives in one day.” 

Bucky didn’t register the names of everyone he was introduced to. Once Connor told him Betty was inside, that’s all he could focus on. He smiled and shook hands and gave hugs, but his mind was already inside with his sister.

**

You were good with names. Connor. Deena. Mark. Charles. Joan. Such mundane, classic American names. These people were not at all what you had expected. Not a hair was out of place. Their teeth were pearly white, their smiles big and wide. They looked like fucking Kennedys. Bucky had never once given off trust-fund vibes. 

“I love your hair.” Laura, a 30-something icy blonde, held your hand too long. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at your carefully styled curls. 

“Thanks,” your voice wavered, the statement coming out like a question. 

“Absolutely stunning,” Laura’s wife, Rachel, chimed in. “Is it real?”

“Oh, is it a–what are they called–weave?” 

“Nope. All mine.” You finally got her hand out of Laura’s grip and dodged Rachel’s hand as it reached for your hair. “Lovely to meet you both.” 

You looked around for an exit, only to be reminded that you were in the middle of nowhere and there was no escape. Your eyes found Bucky next. He was being hugged tightly by Charles and Joan, Becca’s kids–his niece and nephew. Would that ever not be weird? 

“This way!” Deena looped her arm through yours and led you through the front door and toward the kitchen. “Sorry about them. They can be a lot. I’m sure you’re ready for a drink.” 

“Oh god, yes, please.” You liked her already. 

Don’t forget to reblog! 😉

*Tumblr is not letting me add links to the prev or next chapters. Please see the masterlist pinned to my page for the rest of the story!*

Taglist: @delaber @mannien @raindrcpsangel @cjand10

[rawrmeansilyindinosawr]

**4 RECT@L us3 0NLy** <spam Moosiboobie>

wE 4GoT ouR Politival Values just to dance @ a les tUrkish Klub in silverLake cuz FUG it!!!! it’s not lyke we made the LA times front pg Once At an armenian protest against turkey!!!!!!!!!!!!! <it wuz her sis> n walked all the way from bev hills to santa Monica in Chunky demonia platformZzz just to make sure we Stood up 4 our beliefs n Freedomzz. <it wuz jusT once.> i luv my best fwend lily !!!!!!!! she is the literal best n No one else is as Hawttt as her n she wants 2 taste my blood n die next to me while we both hav guns in each other’s mouthz n tht is the kind of Luv i need n want n whut fuels meh to be alive 2Day <3 :-3 we had a kute sleepover the day i came over n i tried 2 feed her oppossoum Mochi dried berriezz but she wuz scared of Meh. after dancing til Akbar closed n some cute Kunty gayzz wanted to take pix with Us cuz they thought we were Kute!!!!

i has bden outtah Townxx 4 Lik a week n i hav luved tha sun in Cali butt i yam now on tha plane back to NY n god im so fuckin happi to go back . this plane smells like brioche bunz n Air fried Potaotezz. hehe. Idk why.? but Ya being back home made me go into a crisis sort of just being wiff mi Mum n being forced to go to church n being emotionally violaiLe . i did a live tweet during moi tIme @ the candlelite service tht kind of went Lyke dis.

Haii !! Ok im HEREEESS.

sooooOoOo high on @dderaL i wish my legs would stop shaking . im hidIng in tha BathrOom and im Also like pooping sooOo much cuz of the anxiety idk how My Body is producing Diss wiff just 1 meaL a day. ?! i do NOT wanna go to outpatient facility for Ed probzz but my doc n i r on a safety plan .

oLd lady h3Re forgot to TurN heR pHone off Sooo her ringer is just going oFf . she doesn’t know how to turn it OFFF. shuld i HelP or just keep live twEeting??

oOk oKokOk dude who sang Mary did U kno kinda slapped . Got DaMN!!!!!!

kinda feel like mi Mum likes church sm cuz it makes her forGet ab pain which is like rly Fucked up?!?! Le sighh..!

idk if i shuld go public on twitter Cuz tbh i hav almost 6,000 tweets n they r all a mix of nudezz, rantz/ramblingzz, emo shit, random pix of kuromi n Domo n actually sum vulnerable shit lmao. Plus twitter is fallin off lowkey . Tumblr 4EVER!!!!!!

Xmas wuz funn tho outside of dat. lots of beach hoppin then i dressed uP 4 a party in which i put a pic of Jesus on my shirt n carried around a mini bible n alSooo made. A choker out of an OLd xmas ornament i Stole from mi mommi tht said No3L . i learnt tht cards against humanity has a card tht says Br1ght pink pussy n thts now my fav word besides coochie cheeze. i saw a swiss cheeze plant tht made me hungry at a fancy plant store in Laurel canyon where i drove around in circles just to find a sewing machine store tht turned out to B a vaccuum storefront tht sold broken singerz. Butt i went to peetz afterwards N got sum grass jelly brown sugar drink N i asked them Y n When they Decided to Go fuLl Bob@ gangster Cuz it didn’t seem so american Franchise now. I didnt get the answer i wanted.

Then i took some pix of me on the toiLet with .5 lens then sent it to my fwend then i found some Seggggxxyyy jeffrey campbellzz at crossroadz for like $18 IM OBSSESSEDD WIFF. then i def Wuz late to Brunch at Sunset rooftop bar which was a flashback 2 when i tried 2 get a job there n they rejected Meh even tho they asked me my availability n basically told me i was hired like summer 2021 during my haituS Back to the W3st c0@sT but it’s ok cuz the Hollandaise sauce did NOT smack.

i Luv overhearing 50-60 yr old favgots in La geek ab their green new lululemonzz n plan their nose jobs “while they r still young.” It is soooo hot and so celeb Cotoure to mEh it makes me feel sooOooo pop culture being around itz .

i wrote a lil poem ab seeing old friendzz dis week :-D <3

“

they remind me i pierced their ears

cuz it’s been a couple of years

and we had to do it twice.

and it wasn’t so nice

cuz the holes kinda closed

but at least we succeeded

when we tried.

they remind me i brought them coke

when we were all trying to cope

during 2020 quarantine.

and that nite we ate shroom filled oreos

while some of us threw up

and others held our hair back

and i kant help but

feel like a teen

tho this time im seen

so it actually feels rather nice. “

it’s been 9 months since i’ve been back home so old friends and i hold each other close

and swing in each other’s bedroom stripper poles while we sing to avril lavigne . and khole at parks and look at the bark on trees at the arCadia arboretum. we admire the lights on the race car speedway along the highway and get stuck driving on the hill up to the hollywood sign but it’s ok cuz even tho we almost got in a car accident we were 2gether n shared the sunset listening 2 fly Like a G6 . got nauseous from the K then ordered mcdonalds on door dash . shared fries then reminisce on the poetry that we’d write and the weed that we’d smoke tho i no longer toke but they remember when i used to wear lavender oil and

dreads in my hair and we all kind of laugh cuz we’re so evolved now from the naive christian girls we used to be . and we sit across the bar from one another with our gin and tonics and sodas and cran while taking multiple trips to the bathroom to snort kitty off keyz. asking what new mental illness diagnosis we’ve received now that it’s been a year since we’ve caught up with one another N continually 4give ourselves 4 who we used to b . …..

being reminded by friendzz ive known since i was like 18 tht i wuz gaslighting myself into believing i had a personality disorder summer 2021 wuz CRAZYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And i explain to my therapist i embrace my “youth” but not being “young” anymore because that’s something kinda cringey for me now. That theres a difference now for me. I kan feel it and it feels good to feel. it Seeps into the way i am able to call my old friends from the hospital anytime n i know they’ll pick up and we’ll cry n share poetry ab the people we’ve lost cuz sometimes it still doesn’t feel fair we made it this fair and they didn’t. But forgetting is nvr the answer. N it’s good to remember.

YgghHhhHh Yea!!! soooOooo ucla knows my pretend Gf is now goin thru an immense break up n they r over the possessive sheit !!! Cuz when u lick someone elses strap it’s kinda awk now !?…? thA boba gangster Store i grew up hanging around turned into an Anime boba little maid cafe ???? and all the asian food now is served w a side of rice n Beanzz instead of soy sauce egg n fried tofu w/ cabbage??????? .!!!! @quarius moons can hav my third hole , i regret not going to the froYo place in Hollywood called frog cuz mochi + plain tart yogurt is tha Besssst. Car rental place in la gav me a fuckin race caR n It Wuzz jUdt like Sosooooo h@rd to drive it made me wanna go cry in A trader joezbathroom n eat calufiflower rice smothered in butter . Dude who waited in line wiff meh for the shuttle to car rental place rite when i Landed as well gav me an egyptian cigarette n an I <3 ME liter. <3 <3 heheheh. i Def lost the liter immediately idk where it went Ugh. also i wiSh i a partner to take good pix of Meh :-[

i wuld do anything to hear an english man whIsper “beans” into moi Earzz cuz i yam bunion sun , ingrown toenail moon , and callous rising. N did hella become cali slang bc of the coachella car stickers that peel off then become just hella???? Alsoo hello kitty weighs 3 apples and is pro ana for that . Cuz why the fukk we gotta know that .

Ok well i think i typed 2 much diss week n ih8 lookin forward 2 2023 but i Dink it’ll b a good yr. ima leave behind so much bullshit n delete contactzz n old pix n msgs cuz I don’t need any of dat this upcoming yr. i wanna fall in <3, invest in my business andd focus more on long term stability + my career <3 i don wanna feel lik i need to prove anything to any1 ima jus put my head to tha sky n stay Fly lik a cheese stick. n keep my eyes on tha prize : spam musuboobiez. <3 Im landing now in Newark n hope to see more dykes w star face pimple patchezz n i STG if this white girl nxt to me doesn’t stop puttin her baby powder dookie smellin lotion on around meh Ima SCRWEAAMMMM!!! i rly rly loveeee u all !! :-3

Xxxxxxoxoxo renchang 1201 (my twitter username n 12/01 is my Old dogs bday if anyone was wondering)

[arsonistsam]

I have at least one strange memorable dream per night often they’re anxiety dreams. Here’s another one I had a few days ago under the cut:

I had a dream where my dad came back to life. Wasnt that he had never been dead he came back. I didn’t see the coming back part. He was just there and we were driving in the car. He was driving. And I was reading. Something about a supernatural cake where the four main characters were turned into mini cakes in the shape of what are those toys. Pop-ups? Anyway I was in the car with my dad and we were talking about how crazy cars were. I was saying how much I missed him. How there was nothing at the house for him. He was driving quickly but not over the speed limit. But he has his phone in his hand and was swiping through something, metaphorically I was in the backseat and couldn’t read it cause it was out of focus. We pulled up to the house that didn’t look like my house and it was dark outside. I told my dad “If this is a dream I’m glad I got to be with you again.” I had said this multiple times before in the dream. How happy i was to have one last chance to see him. He kept telling me not to talk like that because he was back for good. When he were parked on the wet street. I turned to my dad and I said “there’s nothing in there. No clothes. No food. No- something else. You know aunt Rebecca’s claiming that she always wanted (his dresser)- it doesn’t matter now”. When we got out of the car I said to my dad “this doesn’t look like the house.” I started to get the idea more and more that this wasn’t happening. On the inside though it was clearly my house. We go into the house and suddenly my dad has 3 dogs. They’re dirtying up the floor. Cause it was raining outside. I tell him. “We can’t have 3 dogs. We’re turning into Will Graham.” When I opened the door for some reason more dogs came in and a chicken. My dad was in the dining room but he was also in his room and couldn’t see that I was upset. I opened the door again to let the extra dogs out. One of my dd’s dogs also left but the chicken stayed. It was peaceful for a second. One of the dogs had been had been the Dalmatian but was now a human girl. Pale with long dark hair and black clothes. She fell to the ground and started convulsing on the floor. I was scared she was going to get me. Like a zombie virus. then I thought. This wouldn’t happen. This is a dream which means I can do anything I want. I tried to make her stop. I couldn’t. I tried to break my own finger and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I ran, flailing into the dining room and something said “he’s kermiting” which was supposed to be a better version of a line I wrote once (in the dream canon) “X character was at Y character like Kermit.” (Future Sascha it was definitely Dean and Cas and this cracks me up) There was another “at” in there somewhere near the end. Then my alarm sounded. I hope that’s not the last time I see my dad. But I think my body or my brain or my soul, whatever makes the dreams, was so stressed when we thought I was going to die yesterday that it was like “well here’s a bon voyage gift.” I’ve dreamed of my dad being alive before but I feel like he’s always out of reach. In the picture but I can’t see him at the moment. This dream was about my love for him but also all the things he did that frustrated me. I was under the belief that he was not back for good and that helped me discover the fact that I was in a dream. At least my house still looks like my house. And we don’t usually have to park on the street. We have a driveway. I can’t lucid dream- or at least I can’t control the world around me

[oh-austin]

going method, part three (austin butler)

summary: you're playing priscilla presley in the new elvis biopic, when your co-star asks you if you would like to date him during the filming of the movie to better understand elvis and priscilla's relationship.

word count: 2,695

authors note / warnings: mentions of medication, imposter syndrome, parental passing and mental health struggles! another going method part up!! I'm so glad you all like it so much, the love and feedback I have been receiving is unreal <3 if you would like to be added to the tag list send me an ask and I'll put you down! unfortunately it wouldn't let me tag some of you which is really frustrating, so I've popped a line through the ones that didn't work :( I hope you all enjoy the third part of going method!

series masterlist / previous + next part

────── ∘◦❀◦∘

You knew that Austin was busy, he was the star of the entire film- but for the last four days you feel like you had barely seen him. 

His trailer was always empty when you went to put his lunch in his mini-fridge, some days the meal from the previous one still in there. You were beginning to worry about him. You wondered if maybe you had been coming on too strong, if he could tell your feelings were starting become a little more real than just acting. You couldn’t help but worry that he was avoiding you. 

Whenever you did manage to see Austin, it was only for filming a scene together. It was hard to act in love when you were so nervous that he was beginning to doubt your relationship. As fake as the romance was, your friendship was just as important to you. 

Filming your scenes together wasn’t completely terrible. Austin would still talk to you as normal, but never as enthusiastic- he seemed flat with you. A man who once gave you such warm smiles was able to make your chest cold with regret and doubt. 

When Baz yelled cut Austin was always whisked away too quickly for you to catch him. He would kiss you on the cheek and go off to wardrobe, makeup, his trailer- you couldn’t keep up with him. He was always on the move, always working. Always doing something.

At the end of the fifth day of barely hearing from Austin, you decided that you would have to go out of your way to find him and figure out what was wrong. The thought of the possibility of confrontation with Austin made your throat close with anxiety and your hands sweat a pathetic amount. 

You already looked at the call times earlier in the morning, you knew that Austin finished a few hours after you- he usually did. You waited in your trailer, not wanting to distract anyone from doing their job. You ran lines, you watched interviews with Priscilla and re-read the first seven chapters of her book. Soon enough you knew they would have wrapped for the day and Austin would be heading back to hair and makeup, ridding himself of Elvis for the day- but never fully. 

You headed to his trailer a little while after, wondering if you might beat him there- you knew how laborious it was to take off the prosthetics when they were filming 70s scenes. There had been many nights, you sat there whilst Austin was getting them taken off.

Austin’s trailer was the closest to the doors of set, yours a few more back from his. You spoke to Tom in passing, but he could tell you had somewhere important to be, so he didn’t keep you. For that you were grateful. 

You knocked softly on Austin’s trailer door when you arrived. There was no answer. You knocked again, waiting before slowly entering. 

It was empty. Austin obviously not done in hair and makeup. The trailer looked untouched from when you left it today, the salad you had done for him at craft on the countertop where you had left it at lunch time. You opened the door of his mini-fridge, the lunches from two previous days were sat in there. You wondered when the last time Austin ate was. 

You sat down on the couch to wait for Austin, but your eyes couldn’t help but wander around the trailer. There were stacks of books about Elvis on the kitchen bench. Another record player was set up with King Creole on the needle. A mountain of tissues adorned the bin near the kitchenette and there were two boxes of medicine opened on the counter. 

You tried your best not to snoop, you really did- but you were worried. One was just a box of ibuprofen, the other some melatonin for sleep. Your heart rate slowed at the normalcy of the medication, maybe you were worrying about nothing.

You knew that wasn’t the case when you saw Austin.

“Y/N, are you okay?” Was the very first thing he asked you. In that moment you knew his distance had noting to do with you both, but it was him. He looked tired, exhausted. His beautiful blue eyes were dull and his face pale. This wasn’t your Austin, but the shell of a man who had no more to give to what he loved.

“Oh my god, Austin,” You couldn’t help but rush over to him.

“What’s up? Are you alright?" He was still worried about you. He looked like he could collapse, but was still worried about you.

“Are you?” Your voice got louder involuntarily, “What’s going on with you? Where have you been, I feel like I’ve barely seen you. Are you okay?” 

“I’m alright,” He shook his head with an excuse for a laugh and shuffled past you, “I’m not feeling well, but I’m alright. Probably just a cold or something,” He sat on the couch and took his boots off. Austin was a great actor, but he was not a good liar. 

“Please don’t lie to me right now,” You took a deep breath, trying to stay calm because you knew that he needed it. But a sense of frustration was beginning to grow in your chest as his lack of care for himself. 

“Y/N, baby. I just have a cold,” He held up his hands, trying his best to convince you, “Been trying to keep you well, mamas,” He chuckled.

“No,” You shook your head at him. He grew concerned at your change in attitude, you could see right through him. “Don’t ‘mamas’ me, that’s not going to work,” You crossed your arms, “You’ve been avoiding me all week, you look like shit and you’re lying to me about why,” You crouched down in front of him. The gaze in Austin’s eyes shifted, as if the facade he was fighting to keep up had dropped. “Tell me the truth, Austin,” You asked, “Please,” You begged, “I’m worried about you,”

That was all he needed to hear for his heart to break. It was as if another person had came in and replaced the man who sat before you. Austin’s head dropped into his hands with a sigh, soon his breaths turned into crying and them into sobs.

“I can’t think straight,” He cried. You grabbed onto his legs with your arms, trying your best to console him from where you were. 

“Talk when you’re ready,” You nodded, “I can wait,” 

And you did. 

As Austin cried, you moved to sit next to him and let him cry into your chest. He sounded tired, he felt heavy. You held him as tight as you could for as long as he wanted, prepared to do it for as long as he needed.

When Austin finally spoke, he said “I don’t even know who I am anymore”. Even then, remains of the southern drawl still coated his words and suddenly, you knew what was wrong. “I just-“ Austin looked up at your with red eyes and a tear and mucus stained face, “I love this movie so much, and-“ He panted, “And I want to give it everything that I am, but I-“ Austin stopped for a moment before crawling back into your arms once more- “I don’t even know who I am anymore, and how can I give my all when I don’t know what it is,”

Your eyes welled up with tears as you listened to him speak. “Would you like me to listen or give you advice?” You asked softly, “Tell me what you need, okay? I’ll do my best,” 

Austin was quiet for a while, the only sound that could be heard in the trailer was his jagged breaths and sniffs. “Y/N?” He asked, his head buried in your embrace.

“Yes, Austin?” You sniffed.

“Would you maybe just hold me for a little while longer?”

You let out a teary laugh as a response, “Of course I will,” You nodded. You rested your chin on top of Austin’s head, placed a kiss on his hair. You honestly weren’t sure how much time passed in the silence as you sat together, but you waited. Your hands stayed cradling Austin, one of them holding his head close to your heart, the other held his back and gently rubbed it back and forth.

You thought about speaking first, not sure if Austin wanted you to- but you thought that maybe it was want he needed. “Austin?” He let out a meek hum in response, “I know we haven’t known each other for that long, but I think I know who you are,”

Silence once more. Austin sat up after a long pause. He looked distraught. Face red and eyes to match. He wiped some snot from underneath his nose, then wiped some tears from his face. You could never have imagined seeing him so vulnerable.

“I know you’re kind and the most dedicated person,” You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Austin in this state, “Not only to your work, but to the people that you love. You’re smart, very well-spoken and you love making other people smile,” You continued. “I get why everyone who works with you loves you, you’re addictive. The way you speak to people makes them want to hear everything that you have to say, think,” You shook your head as you played with your hands. “And I’m really proud of you for working so hard on this movie,” You finally broke away from looking at your hands to meet Austin’s gaze.

“But there are so many things that I’m not proud of you for,” You admitted, “You don’t eat during the day, you don’t listen to your body. You’re so entrenched in another man’s world that you don’t pay attention to the one that you live in,” It was hard to speak with such negativity, but you knew he needed to hear how concerned you were. “You never take breaks, you’re always moving and you never give yourself a second to relax. You’re a very talented person Austin, and I know you want to get this perfect for him, for Priscilla and Baz and Elvis’ family- but you need to slow down. You’re going to burn out,” You shook your head again, tears beginning to fall again, “You’re going crash and we’ll all have to watch it because you don’t slow down”. 

You took a deep breath before grabbing hold of Austin’s hands, bringing them up to your mouth to kiss them. Austin let out another sob as you watched him, “You are Austin, not Elvis. You’re two different people and I know that this is what you want- I know you want to get it right. So, no matter how hard you fall into this hole, I promise I’ll do my best to pull you back out of it; but you need to take care of yourself,” You cried, “Please,” 

Austin began to nod as he cried. It didn’t take long for him to fall back into your arms, “I’m not him,” He whispered, “I’m Austin,”

“Yeah, you’re Austin,” You nodded, kissing his head.

“I needed that,” He sobbed, “I needed that, I needed you to pull me out and I’m sorry”. “I’m so sorry Y/N,” Austin cried harder than he had before, but you felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. “I’m so so sorry,” 

“Don’t apologise,” You whispered into his hair, “You’re very special to me Austin, I can’t watch you do this to yourself,” 

“I promise I’ll be better,” Austin held you tight, “I promise you,”

Austin soon fell asleep in your arms. You weren’t sure how long you sat there for, but you knew that you had to move Austin into bed. You tried your best to coax him from his sleep, after a while you managed to wake him enough to move him into his bed. You pulled the blankets up over his chest and tucked his side in so he wouldn’t get cold overnight. You were thankful he had changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants before leaving wardrobe so you knew he would sleep comfortably. 

You filled a glass of water and put it next to Austin’s bed for him in the morning before picking up around the room for a bit. You stacked away the records and books into a corner, trying your best to seperate Austin from Elvis. Reminding him subconsciously that he is only a part of Austin’s life, not the entire thing.

You looked down the trailer to see Austin sleeping soundly. It was the most peaceful you had seen him in a long time. It was comforting to see.

You set yourself up on the couch, worried to leave Austin alone incase he woke up in a panic again. You didn’t have a blanket or pillow, but you didn’t mind. Sleep soon came, dreams weren’t far away- in between the two were thoughts and worries about Austin. Austin, not anyone else or anything else. Not the Austin on set, or Austin in a glitzy costume, but the Austin that sat with you for hours on the living room floor. That was the real Austin, you promised yourself that night that you would always do your best to remind him of who he was. He deserved to know.

─── ∘◦❀◦∘

When Austin woke up, he felt lethargic. His eyes were sore, his chest was heavy. Memories from the night before came flooding back as he laid staring at the ceiling.

He was lucky to wake up before his alarm, means he had a moment of peace and quiet to himself- a rarity these days. Austin laid for a little while longer before getting up.

Y/N laid curled up on his couch, her hands tucked under herself to keep warm. Her words filled his head, he was so thankful someone was able to get through to him. It was days like yesterday that he missed his mother, the only woman who was ever really able to bring him back down.

Austin smiled softly before crouching down and running his hand over her hair. "Y/N," He whispered, "Baby, wake up,"

You stirred from your sleep, your eyes fluttering open. "Hey," Your voice was tired and quiet, "Morning,"

"Morning," Austin's hand running through your hair could've lulled you back to sleep if he didn't keep speaking to you, "Mamas, you gotta get up- we've got shooting in an hour,"

"I don't wanna get up," You sighed. Trying your best to stretch out your back, you sat up straight on the couch. Austin winced as some of your joints clicked.

"Baby, why didn't you sleep on the bed?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"I thought you might want some space when you woke up," You whispered, rubbing your eyes. "Couch wasn't bad," You shrugged.

"This thing was made in the 80s and feels like it too," Austin raised his eyebrows at you, "Now who's lying?"

You shook your head with a smile, "You're funny,"

"Hey," He whispered to you. You looked up to meet his gaze. Two pairs of tired eyes looked at each other with the utmost respect for the other. "Thank you for last night, that was very nice of you," Austin nodded, "I really do appreciate you a lot, you know that right?"

"I appreciate you too," You smiled, "And because you appreciate me, you're going to eat the lunch I make for you today, right?" You crossed your arms, leaning back on the couch.

"Mamas, I will eat everything you send my way," He held his hands out for you to grab. Austin helped you to your feet. "I've still gotta eat what's in the fridge,"

"Yeah, don't think I'm forgetting about that," You pointed at him, making your way to the door of the trailer.

"I wouldn't expect you to," Austin laughed. As he watched you walk out of his trailer, he realised that you were a sight that he would be happy to appreciate forever.

─── ∘◦❀◦∘

@rainydayz101 @sammybutler @klizzie93 @rockerchick05 @fanatics30 @sh-aniah @little-rythmix @austinsrealgf @hallecarey1 @catertotshitposts @abloversblog @inkpot-winters @adrientte715 @gabrielajimenez77-blog @butler-trouble

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

India Lima Yankee - Chapter 3

Pairing: Rooster x Female OC

Word Count: 1991

Warnings: None

Summary: Juliette Kazansky discovers Maverick is back in town for a special training detachment, but she's more than a little blindsided when her Rooster arrives too. Having not spoken to him for almost ten years after their less than amicable break-up, Juliette can only imagine how the next few weeks are going to play out when she remains head over heels in love with him while he wants nothing to do with Juliette other than to forget her.

Or so she thinks.

Notes: Chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: All Too Well Breakeven

Chapters: Chp 1 Chp 2 Chp 3 Chp 4 Chp 5 Chp 6 Chp 7 Chp 8 Chp 9 Chp 10 Chp 11 Chp 12 Chp 13 Chp 14 Chp 15 Chp 16 Chp 17 Chp 18 Chp 19 Chp 20 Chp 21 Chp 22 Chp 23

Juliette turned her back to the approaching ex, pretending to be checking the shift book. In reality, she watched him in the slightly tilted mirrors underneath the bar meant to allow the bartenders to keep an eye on the patrons behind them. She'd never appreciated the mirrors so much before in her life. As Bradley approached, Juliette saw the recognition dawn on him, evident shock flashing across his face. She couldn't help feeling a little relieved, if not her own surprise, when no anger etched itself into his expression. 

"What can I get you, Bradshaw?" Juliette asked without turning around, surprising herself with how casual she managed to make herself sound. The weight of his gaze on her sent the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as the atmosphere between them became heavy and electrified with the past.

"Two Buds," he replied, leaning against the counter. Juliette grabbed the beers from the mini-fridge, popped off the tops, and placed them in front of him. 

She moved over to the register, anything to put distance between them so Bradley wouldn't feel the anxiety rolling off of her in tidal waves. "Want to pay now? Or do you have a tab?"

"I'll close out."

Juliette nodded, finding his tab in the register and handing him the bill. Not wanting to stand there like an idiot waiting for him to finish signing the receipt, nor did she want to create an even tenser atmosphere by ignoring him, Juliette grabbed some dirty glasses and washed them while inquiring, "So, what should I call you? Do you prefer Bradley or Rooster?"

Bradley opened his mouth to respond, but Hangman's southern drawl cut him off. "I think he'll let you call him anything you want. Bradshaw hasn't been able to take his eyes off you all night."

"Seresin, if that were true, which I doubt it is-" Juliette began, forcing herself not to look at Bradley even though she wanted to gauge his reaction to determine if Hangman's words held any truth to them- "then that means you tore your gaze from me, and we both know that's not true since you're obsessed with me."

Hangman leaned against the bar. "I have to scope out potential competition."

Juliette rolled her eyes, bracing herself against the counter in front of Hangman. She'd be damned if she said she wasn't glad for the distraction Jake provided. "What can I get you?"

"Your number," he responded smoothly. Juliette opened her mouth to oblige for the sheer fact he'd been bold enough to ask for it in the first place despite being Admiral Kazansky's daughter. No other pilot had the gall to do such a thing. Still, Juliette hesitated. She shouldn't be flirting with Hangman in front of Bradley. They evidently had some sort of rivalry going on with each other, and the last thing she wanted to do was exacerbate the situation when they had a mission to focus on. Then again, why should Juliette care? Bradley gave up on her long ago and had moved on. He didn't love her anymore either and would have no reason to be upset with Jules for flirting with Hangman or even dating him if it came to that.

From her peripheral, she observed Phoenix sidle up next to Bradley, resting a hand on his shoulder and taking one of the beers. A twinge of jealousy shot through Jules, and she made up her mind. Maybe she hadn't wholly moved on from her ex, but that in no way meant she couldn't have some fun with a hot aviator.

"Better have your phone ready because I'm only going to say it once," Juliette warned, giving Hangman a few seconds to pull out his device before she rattled off her number. "All right, you want a drink before you close out?"

"Only if you let me buy you one," Hangman replied.

"I can't. I'm-"

"Free to go," Penny said with impeccable timing, coming to stand next to Jules. "I'll close up tonight."

Juliette shot her a look that said, "Really?" This had to be payback for earlier with Maverick, and judging by the gleam in her boss's eye, Juliette was confident she was right. Although, knowing she couldn't argue with Penny, Juliette acquiesced and took off her apron. She placed it on a shelf and then poured herself a glass of the strongest whiskey they had, hoping the potent alcohol would soothe her nerves and numb her feelings.

Hangman pulled out a stool for Juliette when she joined him on the other side of the bar. He remained standing, shifting closer to her and turning his back to Bradley and his friend, effectively blocking Juliette's view of her ex. 

"So, tell me, what-" Hangman started to say, but he was interrupted by the female pilot.

"Watch out for Bagman, here. He's nothing but trouble," she warned, eyeing him with a mixture of displeasure and amusement. The girl extended her hand. "Natasha Trace, callsign Phoenix."

Juliette shook her hand and introduced herself. "Nice to meet you. I hope to see you give these boys a run for their money."

"If anyone could, it's Phoenix," Bradley said, coming to stand beside her and bumping his elbow into his companion. Juliette smiled, proud of the female aviator for holding her own but unable to help the second twinge of jealousy at her relationship with Bradley.

"Good. I can't wait to hear the SITREPs, Phoenix. You're the only one I trust here to give me accurate ones," Juliette remarked, refusing to give in to her jealousy. Phoenix had done nothing wrong other than having great taste in men. Besides, the women needed to stick together in this male-dominated world they found themselves in.

Hangman clutched his chest. "You don't trust me? You wound me!"

"I'd sooner trust my ex than you."

"Which ex?" Bradley inquired. His response made Juliette finally lock eyes with him. His gaze remained neutral, but the insinuation in his question was still there: Did she trust Hangman more than him?

"The cheating one," she answered coolly.

Bradley nodded while Phoenix grinned, smothering her laughter by taking a sip of her beer. Regaining her composure, she inquired, "So, how do you and Rooster know each other?"

"Old acquaintances," Juliette responded before her ex could utter a single syllable. "What about you two?"

"We were stationed on the same ship for a time."

"It's nice you were able to stay in contact."

"Oh, don't be fooled," Phoenix said, elbowing Bradley in the stomach with no small amount of force. It caused him to grunt and clutch his abdomen. "He was shit at keeping in touch."

"Sounds about right," Juliette joked, the words tumbling from her mouth before she could consider the repercussions of her statement. She refused to look at Bradley, not wanting to see the look of disapproval he had to be sending her way. Of course he wouldn't have stayed in touch with her. He'd broken up with her for keeping a secret from him. A big one. A life-changing one. Who the hell was she to think he'd stay in touch with her after that?

"You going to be here tomorrow night?"

"I'll be working, but yes. Why?"

"You should hang out with us. I'll introduce you to the real men of the group next to Bradley here." Phoenix shot an antagonizing smile at Hangman, who merely chuckled in response.

"Jules, you're not working tomorrow," Penny said, sliding into the conversation once more.

Juliette frowned. "I'm not? But I just checked it a few minutes ago."

"You were looking at next week's schedule."

"Great!" Phoenix exclaimed, taking a sip of her beer. "You can join us."

"You sure the other pilots won't mind an outsider joining in?" And by other pilots, Juliette meant Bradley, but she felt he wouldn't be getting a choice in the matter regardless of the answer Phoenix or Hangman provided.

"'Course not," Hangman said confidently. "And if they do, I'll put them in their place."

Jules mulled it over. What exactly did she have to lose? "Then count me in."

"It's a date." He kissed her on the cheek, placed forty dollars on the counter, and swaggered out of the bar.

"I should probably head out too. I'm sure my dogs are missing me," Juliette decided, more so from not wanting to third wheel Phoenix and Bradley than anything else. She genuinely liked the female aviator and looked forward to getting to know her better, but not with Bradley hovering behind Phoenix. "It was nice meeting you, Natasha. Bradshaw, good to see you're doing well."

"You need a ride home?" he asked. The question took Juliette by surprise, amazed he offered to willingly be around her, even though she knew that he was only acting as the gentleman his mom raised him to be. He might've hated Juliette now, but he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

"I'm good. I drove here, and a double of whiskey isn't going to make me unsafe to drive a couple of miles down the road. Thank you, though." Juliette finished the rest of her drink and hopped off the bar stool. Shouldering her purse, she bade the two aviators good night and strolled out of the bar with her head held high. Juliette wouldn't let Bradley see anything but a confident woman before him because she had no doubt he could still read her like a book. He probably already knew his presence had had some significant effect on her, but Jules would only allow him to think it happened initially, not that it continued or that it would continue until he left North Island.

Reaching her quaint, beachside house, Juliette tossed her keys and purse on the counter and plopped down on the floor to hug her two German Shepherds: Raptor and Lightning. They showered her with kisses and wagging tails that whacked her face.

"I know, I know, I'm happy to see you too," Juliette whispered once they had calmed down. "You are the only men I need in my life besides my dad and brothers, you know that?"

Raptor and Lightning responded with more kisses to the face. Juliette, laughing, stood up, handed them some new bones, then made her way to her bathroom. There, she took a long, hot shower, letting the water wash away the smell of the bar and the memories of the past assaulting her. Echoes of the hurtful words and harsh truths they'd hurled carelessly at each other in the heat of the moment rang deafeningly in her ears, followed by the image of Bradley storming out of her bedroom and out of her life, never to speak to her again.

Juliette stepped out of the shower and solemnly got ready to go to sleep. She crawled into her comfy, inviting bed. Raptor and Lightning took their usual positions on either side of her, sleeping on pillows of their own like humans. Juliette reached over to charge her phone and discovered three text messages waiting for her. The first was from Maverick, asking her to join him on base tomorrow. She didn't know why, but she also wasn't going to say no. If Juliette was lucky, she could convince him to take her up in the plane with him for one of the hops. If Admiral Simpson put up a fight, she could have her dad make a call.

 The second, although from an unsaved number, was undoubtedly from Hangman, saying: Hey sweetheart ;)

She ignored it.

The third text came from another unsaved number, but that didn't matter. Despite having deleted it years ago to avoid the temptation to text or call it, Juliette would recognize the number anywhere. The message was short and to the point, but it read something she never thought Bradley Bradshaw would ever say to her again: It was good to see you, Jules.

[attllhak]

Adoption AU - Sky and Time: The Story of The Family’s Most Unlikely Arrest

@tortilla-of-courage @ghostdragonace hey look I actually have a tag list now!

Also, most of the fics in the Adoption AU don’t have really long titles like this, but this is also not the longest I’ve titled these fics. There is one with a longer title sitting in my docs.

Regardless, here’s the one where Sky got arrested that was supposed to be fun until Sky and Time decided that feelings were getting involved. So now feelings are talked about, kinda. This is also the second of those intro fics that will probably never have more added. Enjoy!

-----------------

Time sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. He set the phone down and sat back in his chair, not eager for this in the slightest.

“Who was it, dear?” Malon called around the corner, still busy getting Wild to stay sitting so he didn’t injure his ankle further.

Time sighed again, opening his good eye to the ceiling and asking Hylia why he ever chose to take in so many kids.

“Captain Viscen,” he replied, more tired than he was before answering the phone. “I need to head down and pick up one of the boys,”

Malon tutted, giving up on Wild now that Four had shown up and sat on him. “Which one? Twilight hasn’t gotten caught racing again has he? Or do we need to pull out the first aid kit because Warriors got in a fight? It isn’t Legend, is it?”

Time shut his eye and laughed. “The fact you have each boy and their cause of arrest memorized worries me about our parenting ability,”

Malon scoffed at him and wacked his arm lightly. “Oh just let me know if I need to prepare for when you get back because one of our boys is bleeding,”

Time chuckled again, standing up to stretch. “No, no one’s hurt, but I don’t think a lecture is necessary either,”

“Oh?”

Time hummed, dropping a kiss to his wife’s head on his way past her. “Apparently I’m picking up Sky,”

“Sky?” The look Malon gave him was clear confusion.

Time shrugged, grabbing keys and heading out the front door. “I’ll ask when I pick him up, but I suppose we’ll just see then,”

Malon shook her head. “Just get back safe,”

“Of course,” Time smiled back at her, then shot a look at the boys on the couch. Wild gulped and Four snorted.

About twenty minutes later, Time was pulling his old pickup into the police station parking lot. It was a situation he found himself in a lot. With a sigh he stuffed the keys into a pocket and made his way inside. Better now than later.

When he walked in he was greeted with Sky’s loud friend, Goose?, loudly recounting the adventure that led to the arrest to his parents, who had also been called and were less thrilled than their son. Sky was sitting nearby, head down and shoulders hunched, trying to make himself as small as possible, and doing a fairly good job of it.

He was approached by the captain as he entered. “Link! Thank you for coming down,”

“Captain Viscen,” Time smiled and accepted the handshake. “Of course, I’m just curious as to why I’m here. Sky’s not exactly a troublemaker,”

“Oh he’s not,” Viscen agreed. “But his friend most certainly is. We caught him painting one of the walls of a bar in town, fled when we showed up. We wouldn’t have even bothered with your kid, he was clearly trying to talk his friend out of it, but he ran too,”

Time sighed, well aware of how Sky had a tendency to just accept other’s snap judgements over his own when panicked.

“Thank you, Viscen. I can just take him home then?”

“Yup, he’s all yours,” Viscen waved at the boy, who shrunk into himself further.

Time nodded and moved past the captain, stopping once he was standing in front of Sky. The boy shrunk down, his ears tinged red in what was likely shame. There were flecks of red paint on the shoulder of his shirt, which was far less than the splatters on his friend. He was white knuckled with his grip on his pants.

Time sighed heavily and Sky flinched. “Sky,”

There was a long pause as Sky pulled his head up to look at Time. “Hi dad,” his voice was small, and Time could easily see guilt in his expression.

Time sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Come on, let’s go home,” he reached out a hand to his guilt-ridden son.

Sky took it and stood, gluing himself to Time’s side as he tried to stay as small as possible. Time rolled his eye and wrapped his arm around Sky’s shoulders, leading him out.

“Excuse me, sir,” Time paused, turning around briefly to address the man flagging him down. Sky’s friend’s dad had broke away from his wife to approach them.

Time would admit he didn’t know the man or his wife very well, Sky was a newer addition to their apparently ever growing family and he and Malon hadn’t had time to meet all of his friends or their parents yet. This wasn’t an ideal time, but he wasn’t about to come off as unfriendly.

“Yes?” He raised a brow as the man approached. Sky shrunk further into his side.

“You’re Link’s father, correct?” The man glanced from Sky to Time. “The one who took him in after,” he trailed off.

“That’s correct,” Time nodded, not one to dwell on the reasons his boys had come to him either, especially the less fortunate members of their family.

The man cleared his throat then, shaking off whatever it was. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Zulos, Groose’s father. My wife, Esha, and I have been meaning to get in contact with you for a while now,”

“Oh?” Time accepted the man’s hand, grateful that he offered his left, though that might be because Time’s right was occupied holding Sky. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Malon and I have been looking at meeting up with some of the rest of his friends’ parents as well, we just haven’t had the time,”

“Keeping you busy, eh?” Zulos laughed.

Time chuckled himself, shaking his head. “Actually, he’s one of the calmer boys. It’s his brothers that we’re running all over town trying to keep track of,”

Zulos raised his eyebrows, looking Time over. “Brothers, eh? How many you got?”

“Six right now, but that’s likely to increase as well,” Time smiled patiently, rubbing Sky’s arm, which didn’t seem to help. “Sky’s our most recent addition,”

“Sky?” Zulos seemed confused by that.

“Oh, right,” Time laughed, waving him off. “My mistake, I forgot you might not know. My name is Link, as is, amusingly, all of our boys. I didn’t plan that, so you know,”

“Ah,” Zulos laughed. “I see! Well, we’d love to chat at some point better than here,” a glance back at his son who had only gotten louder as his mother tried to quiet him. “I don’t suppose I could get your number?”

“Of course,” Time pulled out his phone, rattling off the number as Zulos plugged it into his own phone, then added the number Zulos gave him to his own.

“We’ll be in touch,” Zulos waved, walking back to rescue his wife.

Time waved, then steered Sky out of the building and back to the truck.

Sky was silent as Time climbed in and pulled out of the lot, keeping his eyes on his hands in his lap. Time let the silence sit for the first half of the drive, willing to give Sky time to start talking on his own. When it seemed clear Sky was waiting for the same thing, Time sighed and took the initiative to break the silence. 

“Sky,” he paused, not sure how to go about this. Sky wasn’t in trouble, so he couldn’t approach it the way he did the other boys.

“I’m sorry,” Sky said, eyes down. Time glanced at him and saw the boy hunched up again, ears drooped and voice small. “I didn’t mean to get in trouble, I swear. Groose just heard that Legend and Ravio did murals sometimes and wanted to do one too. I tried to talk him out of it, but then the cops showed up and,” Sky paused in his mini rant, voice wobbling now.

Time cast his eyes over the boy, who so clearly felt awful about this and was beating himself up over it. Time sighed. “Sky, that’s not,” he paused again to collect his thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” Sky said again, now a shaky whisper. “I really wasn’t trying to get in trouble, and I didn’t mean to bother you to have to come get me, and I,” and that was the sound of tears.

Time sighed, pulling the truck over in order to deal with this without his attention drawn away from the boy in question. He knew Sky felt bad about getting caught, but tears weren’t something he thought would pop up. None of the other boys ever cried after getting caught and having Time collect them.

Sky was sniffling, and trying very hard to prevent himself from crying. Pulling over seemed to have made it worse, the boy curling in on himself a little and starting to shake.

“Sky,” Time tried for his gentlest voice, aware of how fragile Sky was right now. “Can you look at me, please?”

Sky shakily raised his head to look at Time. He was biting his lip, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, I really am. I swear I’m not usually this much of an issue, I, we just,” Sky broke eye contact, looking away but not moving his head.

Time reached out and gently wiped away one of the tears that had broken free, fully aware of how Sky flinched away. “Sky, what is this about? It can’t be the arrest, so what’s got you so upset?”

Sky darted his eyes back to Time, anxiety or fear swimming around in the light blue. “I’m sorry, I just,” he paused to swallow, dropping his head down to his lap again. “You won’t send me back, will you?”

Time pondered that for a moment, then felt like he was hit with a sledgehammer. Sky was worried about getting sent back into the system again. There were a few heartbeats where Time felt furious at everyone who had ever said or done something like that to this wonderful boy to make him so scared of that. He quashed it down quickly, however. Anger, even righteous anger on Sky’s behalf, wouldn’t help here.

“Sky, we’re not sending you back,” Time put all the conviction he could into his voice, and his heart broke when Sky looked up at him again, eyes suddenly showing hope.

“You’re not?”

“No, of course not,” he reached out one hand to set on Sky shoulder. “We would never do that to you,”

“Even,” Sky’s voice wobbled again, and a hard set of blinks sent a pair of tears running down his face. “Even though I got arrested?”

Time had to remind himself that Sky hadn’t been around long enough to have seen his brothers get picked up. “Sky, this is not the first time I’ve had to pick up one of my boys from the police station. Twilight and Warriors both end up there every few months, and Legend only doesn't end up there more often because he’s gotten good at not getting caught. And besides, you’re not even in trouble,”

“I’m not?” Sky sniffed again, confused.

“No, of course not,” Time reached over with his free hand to wipe away a few more stray tears. “You didn’t do anything wrong except end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. You’re not going to get in trouble for trying to keep your friend out of trouble,”

Sky looked down again, grappling with this information.

“So, so you’re not mad at me? And, and you won’t send me back?”

Time’s heart broke again when Sky looked back up at him. No kid should ever have to look so broken or grateful to not get kicked out of the house. Especially not someone who was only 15.

“Of course not,” he leaned over the console to pull Sky into his arms. “You’re a part of the family Sky, and we’d never willingly give you up. We’d all fight tooth and nail to keep you around, you never have to worry about that with us. Nothing could make us so upset with you that we’d ever let you go. That I swear to you,”

It took a second, but he eventually felt Sky grab his shirt, and seconds later he could feel the shaking that came with crying. Time held Sky close, ignoring the twinge in his lower back from the uncomfortable angle and whispering a few soothing words and reassurances to his newest son. He made a note to call his lawyer when he got home to see about speeding up the adoption process for Sky. Getting that piece of paper might help set the boy’s nerves at ease somewhat.

Eventually, Sky calmed down from his bout, leaning back out of the hug to wipe at his eyes and croak out another apology. Time felt another lash of anger for this boy, who was so sweet and kind, and all of the awful things he must have lived through in the year since his parents died.

But anger wouldn’t help here, so he pushed it aside to deal with later, when he had Malon to rant to.

“Better?” Time asked, eye running over Sky’s face.

Sky nodded, eyes red and face flushed. “Sorry about that, I just,”

“Hey, no,” Time reached out to pull Sky’s face back to look at him. “You never have to apologize for being scared. Not to us,”

He held Sky’s gaze until he nodded, then leaned back.

“Can we go home now?” Sky asked, looking more tired than Time had ever seen him.

Time nodded, then glanced at the building he’d pulled over in front of. He jabbed his thumb at it. “Would you like some ice cream first? You can say no,”

Sky looked up, glancing between Time and the shop, then nodded. Time smiled, climbing out of the car with Sky following.

(---)

Time opened the door to let Sky in past him, then made a sharp motion at Malon warning her not to ask about what happened. Malon raised one eyebrow, but thankfully said nothing.

“Hey Sky!” Wild waved a hand to get his brother’s attention. “Can you hand me the remote? I don’t think I can take another hour of the documentary channel,”

“What’s wrong with the documentary channel?” Four squawked in offense.

“It’s boring,” Wild shot back.

“It is not boring!”

An argument broke out, and Time sighed heavily. He’d used up his emotional reserves already, and what was left was set aside for an angry rant at Malon later.

“I like the documentary channel,” Sky offered.

Wild squawked and Four cheered. Sky quickly looked like he regretted throwing his hat in the ring as he was pulled into the argument.

Malon wandered up to take his arm, smiling at him. “Everything went well?”

“I need to call our lawyer,” Time said. “The sooner we get that piece of paper saying he’s ours, the better,”

Malon gave him a curious look, but didn’t press. She’d hear it all later anyways. For now, Time was content to watch his sons bicker and argue like the kids they were.

That was a blessing well worth the pain that led them here.

[justallofmyfandoms]

Revenge is best served Small

Reader x Fred Weasley

Reader x George Weasley

NO TWINCEST!!

SMUT! SMUT! SMUT!

(Just to make this less awkward on all of us, yes I am clearly going through some stuff, and yes everyone enjoys what happens to them in this, even if it's reluctantly. Nothing unconsensual. 6,486 words)

[There’s a comment on this post that perfectly summarises it: “i have no idea what just happened to me all i know is that i will never be the same after reading this” so... read at your own risk my dudes, I am so sorry]

You slam a fist into the common room desk, glaring down at your potions homework with enough anger to perform the killing curse on it. Or maybe crucio would be better, just so the homework can suffer all the same pains it's inflicting on you.

A chair at the table scraps against the floor with someone plonking themselves on it. You look up to see Fred Weasley, leaning over the desk to stare down at your paper, "Having trouble with your potions essay?" He asks, evidently just to piss you off because it's pretty obvious you were.

"Bugger off, Weasley. We can't all pay zero attention during class and still get perfect grades" you focus back on your work, but not fast enough to miss Fred's shit eating grin.

"Still mad I got a better grade on our end of semester test?"

"No!" You snap back, perhaps a little too quickly. It made the ginger chuckle. You and the twins had been good friends since first year, but it infuriated you to no end every time they got a good grade, because you just knew it was all talent and no effort.

The twin crossed his arms and leant them on the table, scooting closer to you, "Not that I don't love the look of anger on your face, but why does it annoy you so much? You've been going on about this for six years"

"It doesn't matter, I just wanna get this stupid essay over with!" you complain, throwing your quill on the desk, "Where's your brother, anyway? He said he would help me."

Fred pats your head and sighs, "Ditched by your own boyfriend? There's tragic..." You knew he was just being a prick, Fred always did enjoyed teasing you, but you hadn't seen George all day. It was beginning to worry you. Besides, you two had made it a tradition to do your potions homework together ever since third year.

"He actually sent me here to apologise. He's at tonight's party up in Ravenclaw tower. The ol' sod's drunk a bit too much to help out I'm afraid"

You sit up and frown, the anger being pushed to the back of your mind out of newfound sadness, "Oh... he could have at least told me he was going to the party..."

Fred nods sympathetically, but eventually grins and scoots closer, "In the meantime, how about a deal?" You'll be getting whiplash from all these emotions. First anger, then hurt, and now Fred was making you highly suspicious. He has that expression he gets when dreaming up a crazy plan.

"If you help me with a little scheme I've concocted, I'll help you finish your essay" he continues since the only reaction you initially gave was a squint.

"What kind of scheme?"

He drums the table, bitting back a smile that might warn you off, "I've come up with a new product idea, but in order to make it, I need a very rare ingredient that can only be found in one place"

You sigh, resting your cheek against your raised fist, "Snape's supply closet..."

He points at you like in charades, "Exactly!"

"How do I know you'll actually help me? Making a deal with you is a bit like making a deal with the devil"

"We'll get the essay done tonight!" He declares, spinning the paper to face him, and picking up a nearby quill, "Then tomorrow, you'll help me get the potion"

After a fair amount of consideration, you nod, "Alright, deal!"

"Remind me again what the plan is?" You and Fred were stood in the women's bathroom on the first floor, a bathroom you generally tried to avoid as it was occupied by a particularly annoying ghost called Moaning Myrtle. She didn't seem to be revealing herself though, which you assumed had something to do with Fred teasing her about her nickname and the... other connotations "moaning" has.

Fred took a small vial from his trouser pocket. The contents were green and bubbling, "First, I'll drink this shrinking potion, then you'll take me in your robe pocket all the way to Snape's classroom and put me on the third shelf up next to his supply closet. I'll sneak in through the hole my brother and I drilled there years ago, grab the bottle and get out!"

"You mean you and George have done this before?" you asked, watching as he set the bottle down on the edge of the sink, taking off his robe to hang it over the cubicle wall

He turned back to watch him roll the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, "Yeah, every now and then if we need tough to find ingredients"

"And what exactly do I do?"

"Well, while I'm getting the bottle, you keep an ear out for Snape, then when I get out, you grab me and the bottle, put me in your robes and bring us back here so I can have my regrowth potion" he pulls another vial out of his pocket which is red and shiny.

"Sound good" you say, while he plonks the potion back into his pocket, and pops off the cork on the shrinking one.

"Bottoms up" he says, and downs the contents. The second he does, Fred begins to shrink! His clothes, thankfully, shrink down in size with him, until finally, he was no bigger than your pinky.

"Wow!" You exclaim, squatting down, "This is super dangerous. I could step on you."

"Please don't..." Fred mutters, his pitch the exact same despite his small size, just a bit quieter due to the distance and size of his mouth and all that. Damn, TV and movies have lied to you. A look of mild horror suddenly adorns Fred's face as he pulls something out from his trouser pocket. It's so small, you had trouble realising it was his regrowth potion, "Oh bugger! I forgot about that..."

You were tempted to lie down on your stomach and be as close as you could to eye level, but you doubted that would be very sanitary on the bathroom floor, "What's wrong?"

"I just realised I let the potion shrink with me! Now it won't work! It'll only grow me back to the size of a foot, if we're lucky"

"Speaking from experience?"

"Unfortunately." he shivers, "But it's okay, we'll just have to stop off at my room afterwards to get some more. I always make extra if I can afford to"

"Well that's good. Ready to go?"

"Absolutely" he held up his arms and you scooped him up like you would a wand. You got to your feet and were about to place him in your pocket when you noticed you still had your potions essay folded up inside. Fred had helped you finish it last night, the legend. Took you until 4 am to finish writing it.

You put him in your breast pocket instead, for fear that your robes might fly around too much and he might fall out, or that someone might bump into you and squash him. The breast pocket was at least hidden and safe. Besides, there were still two layers separating him from your actual boobs.

You opened the door and peaked your head through, checking to see if anybody was there. Nobody. Brilliant. Hurrying down the cobbled hallway, you B lined to the stairs leading down to the dungeons, and hurried to the classroom door. You and Fred had a free period right now, so that would explain why it seemed you and he were the only ones not in class. Despite how thankful you were for Fred's help, you wouldn't have skipped lessons to do this, it's risky enough as it is. Fast walking now, you peeped your head into Snape's office, where beyond it lay the door to his private stash.

"He better not come, Fred, or I'll squash you"

"Don't worry, he's in his lesson! Only got one potions teacher"

You thought this over and realised that yeah, there is only one... why the fuck do they only have one teacher for each subject? Do they get breaks? That's unlikely seeing as they have to teach all four houses in all seven years over the span of only five days a week. That's mental that is. Regardless, you would have the time to ponder this later, for now you had a potion to steal. You crept into Snape's office and shut the door, pulling out your wand and enchanting "Colloportus" to lock it behind you.

Fred really knew what he was talking about, because there were indeed shelves next to the closet door. The third one up was even covered with books, and when you grabbed Fred out from your pocket and plonked him on the shelf, he pointed to the dusty copy of 'The Moral Implications of Love Potions' and you took it out to reveal a hole behind it big enough for tiny Fred, “This looks like an interesting read..." you mutter, flipping over to read the blurb. There was a mini scoff, and by mini you mean it was produced by a mini person.

"Right, well, you have fun reading that, I'll search for the potion. Be back in a second" and he was off, disappearing through the hole. You sigh, fidgeting with anxiety at possibly getting caught. Doesn't make sense though, Snape is in class, he has no reason to come in here. When do lessons end anyway? You glance around for a clock but don't find any. Serves you right for not wearing a watch... would a watch even work at Hogwarts?

You flipped open the book and began reading a random page: Dr Eglantine proposed the following moral dilemma: if two people love each other but are too afraid to admit to one another, is it wrong for one of them to drug the other with love potion? Wizarding philosophers are torn on this issue, and when intercourse is involved, the grey area becomes even larger—

There was a loud bang from outside, which made your heart drop. You scurry over to the door, pressing your ear against the cool wood, holding your breathe in hopes of hearing better. The sound of students filled your ears, but not just a few students having a free period, but a whole herd of them. That could only mean one thing: class had ended... Oh fuck!

"Fred!" you cry out in the quietest panic you can muster, scurrying over to the hole, "Snape is coming."

"Almost... there!" Fred called between grunts, emerging with the bottle. You snatched it up, preparing to despose of it into your pocket when Fred raised a valid argument, "Don't put it in there! Snape will check your pockets when he finds you here!" He began downing his second potion, growing only to the size of a regular sized hand, "Damn"

"Oh, right" you scan your body for another hiding place, then the thought came to you. You shove the vial up your shirt and into your bra.

"Great, now me!" Fred exclaims, raising his arms up.

"I can't put you in my bra! You're too big, he'll see you!" You scoop him, holding his torso like a toothbrush.

He stares up at you in stunned confusion, "Really? That was what was wrong with that plan?"

You realised you ought to have said 'no you pervert I'm not letting you touch my boobs' but now wasn't the time to curse yourself for it. Your heart was hammering with fear, inspecting your body for somewhere to stash him. The doorknob rattled, and the sickeningly familiar tone of Snape's voice cursed that it was locked. Your time was up, there was only one thing for it! You pulled away the elastic of your skirt and stuck him down there,

“WOAH—!" He yelped, hair practically standing on end.

"Just hold onto the elastic along the outside and we should be fine!" You put him onto your outer right thigh, knowing full well that a pair of shorts and a pair of underwear and a whole thigh were separate him from... that.

"Alohamora!" the door swung open just as you were putting the book back, and there stood Snape, in all his emo glory. He froze, clearly having not expected to find anyone inside. Once the shock had left his system, he straightened up and glared at you, “What exactly do you think you are doing?" his nasally voice grilled, doing nothing good for your nerves, which were in absolute tatters at the moment.

"I was looking for you, w-when someone locked me in the class" you scramble, the lie just about the worst you could come up with. You had to remind yourself that Fred was on the outside of your thigh. Considering he was in your skirts at all, that was the most innocent position he could be in. All he had to do was hold on to the elastic of your shorts and you should be fine!

"Why?" he trudged further into the classroom.

"Why was I looking for you or why did someone lock me in the class—?"

"Why were you looking for me?" His booming voice told you that you were on thin ice.

"Ah yes, well, I... I was having trouble with the essay assigned for tomorrow, and thought maybe you could help me"

Snape closed the door and came to lean on his large desk, "Do you really expect me to believe that one of my students, who has never once asked a question in six years, is now asking a question?"

You frown, so suddenly insulted that you almost forgot about Fred on your leg, "Professor Snape, I ask questions all the time"

"Oh, how unmemorable you are then" he sneers, making you fume, "Regardless, I'm going to need to search your pockets"

You sighed, "Yes, sir"

He stalked over to you, holding out a hand for your robes. You pushed the sleeves off each shoulder, removing it, and dumped it into his palm. As he began to examine it, you felt Fred's shoes scrapping against your skin. It's as though he's trying desperately to find a foothold, no doubt still exhausted from having to push the bottle. If he falls, not only will you be caught, but Fred could get seriously injured!

Again, you knew what you had to do but hesitated to do it. As subtly as you could, you extended the elastic of your skirt, took Fred out, then plonked him into your shorts. His entire body went flush against yours, no doubt the skin tight shorts were crushing him. As long as there was no more risk of him falling... Hopefully it wasn't suffocating him though.

"If it's too tight, move" you hissed, keeping your eyes trained on Snape, who unfortunately heard you.

"What did you say?"

"I said—" you took a sharp breath, feeling Fred's back sink further into the fat of your thigh as he pushed away the area of fabric suffocating him, "If it's too tight, move" you repeated loudly for the two men in the room. "The pockets get a bit stuck sometimes so you have to jostle it around a bit" you added to give fake context to an instruction that wasn't even meant for Snape.

The shadowy teacher was evidently confused, but decided to ignore your outburst. Meanwhile, you could feel Fred inching along the front of your thighs, moving closer to your core. This was fine, as you didn't exactly want him to asphyxiate in your shorts, that would be a tragic way to go. You did hope, however, that he wouldn't overshoot his target, and fall into the abyss between the crotch and pant leg. Just as you had thought it, you felt the man slip. You gasped, pressing your legs a little closer together, enough for him to reach out and grab the first piece of fabric he could get his hands on. Unfortunately for the both of you, that piece of fabric were your panties. You wondered whether he knew what he was doing, when he began to scramble onto it, lying down flat onto the crotch like a hammock. Your question was quickly answered by the sensation of his arms sticking into your folds, and the subsequent wriggling of regret.

Sucking in a deep breath, you had to grip the nearby desk with all your might to stop a loud moan escaping your lips. Regardless of how bizarre and awful this situation was, having anything rub against your clit was an arousal waiting to happen. Poor guy must have though those were your shorts he grabbed before... You were just about to dig in and help, when Snape extended your robes back to you. You'd have to walk, with mini Fred mushed into you vagina, all the way to grab it. Praying he might forgive you one day, you stepped forward, effectively compromising Fred's escape, trapping him between your knickers and crack. Talk about getting stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Very well, I will take a look at your homework" and he rounded the desk, unfurling the essay he had taken from your pocket and sitting down in preparation to help. You swallow, approaching the table as he skimmed through it. He paused for a moment to look up, "Well, sit down" he ordered.

Staring down at the chair, you gulped. Every time you sit down during class, the skin tight shorts you wear, under your Hogwarts skirt, ride up into your ass. Having that happen right now is about as undesirable as they come, "Um, I'd rather not, if that's alright with you"

He blinked and looked back down at your work, "Well anyway, the beginning of your essay seems promising." You smiled, that was the part you wrote by yourself. Just wait until he gets to the part Fred helped you with. There were things he told you on the topic that you swore you had never heard before, you'll look like such an expert! Speaking of, the unfortunate blighter had given up on his attempts to leave, probably worried that his efforts might be thwarted again by your moving thighs. He was now using his hands and knees to keep himself pushed away from you. If you thought about it hard enough, you could convince yourself Fred was just a bumpy pad with a tuft of hair on the end... that moved.

Alright now body, I know you're an animal that listens to its instincts more than its brain, but please don't respond the same way you usually do when something— anything is pressing against you. You thought to yourself. We are not creating any new weird kinks today, thank you very much. Besides, the poor guy is going through enough as it is.

"You think Felix Felicis was created by Felix Williams... and that it contains balm, angel's trumpet, bitter root, and a single strawberry cooked under a full moon" he looked up from your work, pinning you with an expression of cold unamusement.

He must be testing you. Fred's a prankster but he isn't a dick... most of the time. He wouldn't. He couldn't! "Yes...?"

"Your Wolfsbane... does it contain any other nonsense ingredients I should know about?"

You froze, as did the guy in your pants. He must have heard, and Merlin have mercy he was going to pay for what he'd done!

This was just like that incident in fourth year all over again! You were in the showers after a quidditch match and Fred snuck in and stole your clothes and towel. When you realised you would had to run butt fucking naked all the way to your room, you were absolutely furious. Fred was lounging in the common room, along with twenty or so other people, and they all watched as you went gunning for the stairs. George felt awful, having not known his brothers prank, and offered to obliviate anyone who talked about it. It was then you realised Fred could be kind of a dick, and George was the man for you.

Fascinated by just how much Fredrick Weasley had fucked you over yet again, you decided to plop down on the chair opposite Snape. The moment you did, the skin tight shorts became skin tight. Fred's entire body went flush against yours, sending a delicious zap up your spine that attempted to summon a moan you coughed back, “Sorry, I wasn't trying to insult you with my work... I got a friend to help and it seems he was just taking the piss" Fred was moving, his chest bumping and smoothing over your clit. You had to actively try not to squeeze your thighs around him to increase the pressure.

George had bought you a dildo once as a "joke" (he just wanted to watch you wank yourself off, the kinky bugger) and you had run it between your folds, but that pailed in comparison to this. This was far better. Fred is made up of so many intricate parts, each of them squirming against you. His legs, for example, were kneading the source of your arousal. His shoes were in there now, using it as a foothold to try and push his way out. It was heavenly.

"Now I might remember you, as the girl with a poor judge of character" Snape interjected, pulling you out of your sexual haze. If the context were different, you might have gotten mad, but you couldn't bring yourself to at the moment. Not while you were getting oh so sweet revenge on a certain someone, "Well, for starters, dragon bone isn't an ingredient in any of these, so we might as well cross that off the list—" he took his red ink and began marking your paper. His voice became a distant drone in the background as you disassociated once against, focusing on how Fred had began shimmying his way to freedom. If only you could quicken his pace. If only you could rock your hips and fuck yourself against him. You weren't available to move, but he certainly was.

Leaving the one hand there on the desk, to rest your chin against, the other snuck under the table and under the hem of your skirt and shorts. Your fingers hovered above him, a little unsure what to do, until the index finger took initiative and pressed down onto his back through the pants. If he wasn't mushed against you before, he sure as hell was now. His hands slap your folds, but you could feel his head angled up for air. He should be fine.

You experiment by pushing him up. There his chin is triggering the most sensitive nerves of your clit! You roll your hips to savour it, using your thumb to squash his head down and create a more prominent friction. The round nature of his face and bumps making up his features created the most delicious rub. You had to loop your feet behind the desk's legs in order to stop your thighs from crushing him. When he slaps you for air, you reluctantly moved your thumb and pushed his body down. Now his feet were teasing your entrance with the sensation of being filled. You sat down more firmly onto your chair to shove him deeper inside of you. You pushed him up again, then down, up, down, repeating the gesture while his limbs squirmed, awakening new flesh with every swipe. Your middle finger joined the index's perch on his back to pick up the pace. You bit your lip and sucked a deep breath through your nose to push down all the noises that were bubbling to the surface. The only thing that could have moulded you any better than Fred would have been a literal mould. Even then, it wouldn't have been nearly so fun to hump.

You were now rolling him against you in deep tight circles. Your hips were swaying in time, and as much as you wanted to use your whole hand to rub him madly against you, you thought Snape might notice your entire arm thrusting under the table. Unconsciously, your thighs tighten around him, sucking him almost up into you. You lull your head back and arch into him, sighing in bliss. When Snape looked up, you snapped your head back down and froze, biting your fist in order to stop yourself whining in disapproval.

"Does that make sense?"

"Yes sir" what on earth were you agreeing to? You hadn't the foggiest.

"Then don't waste my time with useless garbage like this again. If you haven't produced a coherent, serious essay by tomorrow, I'll be deducting twenty points from your house. Now go!" He pointed to the door.

You had half a mind to snap back, but thought: to hell with him! You had things that needed your immediate attention, and no hooked nose, greasy hair, middle aged virgin was going to ruin that for you! “Very well, thank you sir" you stood up, and to your eternal disappointment, it loosened the strain of your clothes to unstick Fred from your cunt.

Exiting the class, you were devastated to find the hallway packed with students ready for their next potions lesson. The women's bathroom was just around the corner and up the stairs. All you had to do was get to it. You sped walked around the students, opting to push some aside rather than do any fancy footwork and likely squash the man inside of you. From the lack of movement, you guessed he had probably made peace with the situation. Luckily for you though, the movement of your walking kept banging him against you, and you had to stop yourself from dropping to the floor right then and there to grind him furiously against you.

When finally you had made it to the bathroom, casting "Colloportus" on the door for some privacy, you froze at the sight of someone stood inside with their back to you. You recognised those ginger locks straight away.

"George?" you called. He let go of the robe he was examining over the cubicle door and beamed, bounding up to you with all the excitement of a puppy.

"Darling! I've been looking for you everywhere, where have you been?"

What to say, what to say. You doubted rubbing your shrunk brother against my vagina in revenge would be largely acceptable, so you opted to white lie, "Oh, I needed Snape to help me with my potions essay"

George frowned, "Why'd you do that? I could have helped you. Can't imagine ol' hook nose was as fun as me"

"Well maybe if you weren't at that party last night—"

"What party?"

Judging by Fred's immediate scramble to break free, you imagined George was about to tell you something that would spell out very bad news for his twin. To stop his escape, you move a hand behind your back to fist your underwear and hoist it up, making it impossible to give way, "Fred told me you were at the Ravenclaw party last night..."

George's chocolate brown eyes widen in horror, immediately replaced by a scowl as he looked up to curse the air. Little did he know he actually should have been glancing down if he wanted to curse his brother. His squirming against you was making this entire thing leagues better, "What? Oh that prick! I was sick last night with a cold and sent him to apologise to you because I didn't want you catching it while Madam Pomfrey's sweets took effect"

Your cunt was fluttering in anticipation for what long and hard revenge you were about to take. Fred was scrambling so wildly, you couldn't wait to get down to business, "That asshat. He said you were drunk and convinced me to steal some stupid potion with him"

George's anger multiplied, "Bloody hell! I told him not to do that"

"What do you mean?" You were genuinely curious, but your body had literally no care in the world. It was hoisting your pants even higher to keep Fred glued there, wriggling your hips as your breathing became laboured.

George didn't seem to notice, "He was planning on making a thing of love potion with it. Told him it was a stupid idea and he was perfectly popular enough to get anyone he wanted without it. He's got hundreds of girls and guys in the past, I can't think of who he thought he needed to trick..." you consider it for a moment. That was a very good question, it's strange for Fred to care so much about someone... but this could be left for another time.

You hook your foot behind George's leg and brought it forward to wedge it in between yours. Without warning you hopped up and felt Fred immediately sink into your flesh. You doubled over, gripping George's shoulders, and moaning to savour the feel of being entirely and completely touched. George had to brace his hands against the door either side of your head to stop himself from falling over. In surprise rapture, he watched as you were already so unravelled. Finally, the surface you needed. Twins were supposedly two halfs of a whole, and never before had that sentiment rung so true. His leg was the missing component that pushed Fred so absolutely into you, no margin of error. All of him was rubbing against you now as you began humping without mercy.

You thrust yourself forwards and backwards, side to side, around in broad circles. Your folds accommodated him so well, stretching to make sure he always stayed between them. At times you were almost sure you could feel them curling around him, to keep him there as a permanent feature. Tempting indeed, he certainly made walking more fun, and imagine the possibilities in History of Magic. He could get you off under the table without anyone having a clue!

Fred was becoming slick with your arousal, lubricating him into slipping and sliding into usually unattainable flesh you never knew yearned for touch. And because of George's pressure under him, his hold on those neglected areas of your cunt was positively sinful. You throw your head back, your hands on George's shoulders, tugging up and down to massage yourself against Fred.

"What is that bump in your pants?" he finally questioned, having snapped out of his shock.

"Just a sex toy" you reply earnestly, making no alterations to your position.

There was a sudden sting on your clit that made you yelp and stop for a moment. Fred must have bit you... and it was incredible. You wondered whether you could get him to do it again, "It's loves being in there while I fuck myself with it. A tool for my pleasure" You were bouncing up and down like a rubber ball, poking him to react. He still wasn't doing anything to participate, but it was fine. You were doing more than enough for the both of you. All he needed to do was be there as you pounded yourself onto him. Then, your continuous lifting and applying onto him made his shoulder lodge so deep inside of you, you let out a howling moan, crushing George's lips to yours in order to muffle the sheer volume of the scream. He pulls your bottom lip into his mouth, urgently swiping his tongue against yours. You moan and put everything you have into the kiss, allowing him to dive in and taste you. George's lips began to wander, bitting, nibbling and sucking his way to your pulse. His hands came up to hastily undo your tie and shirt, pushing them aside to reveal your bare stomach. As he works your skin into his mouth, creating a glorious love bite on the swell of your neck, his palms fan out across your stomach. You take a sharp breath, as he caressed towards your bra, grinning against you when he notices it's the one he got you for Valentine's Day that unhooks at the front. Lucky coincidence, all your other ones were just dirty.

"I leave you for one night and you become a horny mess" George teases, his hands gliding down your sides to grip your hips. He nudged your legs apart, spreading you wider over your toy. Although he didn't take over the pace, he certainly sped you up. God you could have kissed him for knowing exactly how to whind up your pleasure. A shame then that his mouth was currently occupied with other things. You tangle your hands into his hair as he strokes your nipple with his tongue, pulling it into his mouth and hollowing his cheeks to suck it hard. Your head lulled back to angle yourself further into him, whimpering at how close your climax was.

Seemed Fred was just as desperate to get it over with as you were. He was now doing everything in his power to jack you off. He had somehow managed to grasp your clit between his hands, and paired with your thrusting it created a borderline unnatural amount of pleasure. You were screaming with moans. But somehow more importantly than all that, he had his leg plunged inside of you.

That was it. The idea had been toying in your mind this whole time, but now you knew you needed him inside if you. "Wait a second George" you breathed, perching yourself a little higher in order to stick a hand down your panties, pinching Fred so his arms were trapped by his sides, and sliding him, feet first, through your entrance, until nothing showed of him but his head.

Head back, mouth open in an overjoyed groan, something in you snapped. You didn't even have to thrust him in and out. He was twisting, his arms and legs were flailing in the little space available to them. The walls were hugging his every curve, likely trying to suction him to the back. It was the combination of George flicking your nipple with his tongue and Fred massaging your insides that had you finally unravelling. Hot, slick, arousal came dribbling past what little gaps Fred’s body provided, and you went limp in his brother’s arms with one final howl.

George straightened up to hold you close, stroking your hair until you were ready to stand on your own again, “Nifty toy you got there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite so animalistic” he chuckled.

Wiping the sweat of your brow off on your robes, you tried to make yourself look presentable again, smirking up at your boyfriend as you redid the buttons of your shirt, “Yes, well, nothing beats actual sex with you. Wanna go for a round two in your room?”

He beams, “Course! Want me to wait?”

“Nah, I’ll meet you up there” you gesture him away. Normally you would ask him to stay, but you had something to deal with first.

“Alright, see you in five” all excited, he ran for the door, then turned back just as he had performed the unlocking spell to give you a quick peak on the lips, then off he went.

Rummaging around in your shorts, you sigh as you unclog your hole, the contents stringing against Fred as you lift him to eye level. Merlin he looked awful. His fiery hair was stood on end, gelled up with your cum. His white shirt was practically transparent and clung to his abs as though it have been soaked in water. His eyes were a little bloodshot probably from liquid splashing into them, and his lips were rather swollen, like they would be after making out with someone for too long or too roughly. Just generally, your essence was rolling off of him in big globs. You placed your other hand to your mouth and giggled at his appearance, but he seemed the furthest thing from amused. His arms were crossed over his chest, a highly displeased scowl etched across his face.

“Oh don’t look at me like that!” you say, “If you hadn’t planned the robbery so terribly, or lied to me on twooccasions in the 8 hours proceeding it, getting me to write a whole 4 thousand word essay on things that were complete horseshit, humiliating me on front of Snape and—“

“Alright alright—!” He had softened up a little, averting eye contact, but you didn’t care.

“No! I’m not done!” That got his attention again, “Fred, you have been a dick to me for the past six years! Sure, you’re funny and can be sweet sometimes, but most of the time you don’t know where the line is! You prank me all the time, it’s relentless! And today you bloody pushed me over the edge. I had a perfect means of getting revenge and damn it I took it.”

He shrugs, “Whatever, I guess we’re even now”

You open your mouth to continue arguing but snap it shut when you realised what he had said. That really took much less convincing than you though, probably because you were feeling a smidge guilty for going so far in the heat of anger. It’s not like he orgasmed or anything... well if he did you wouldn’t be able to tell, his trousers were drenched, “Yeah, I guess...”

You waddled to the sink, turning both faucets on for lukewarm water, plonking him in the basin to clean off the sticky residue. You then hobbled into the closest stall to grab a wad of tissue and wipe yourself clean with it. Despite how absolutely caked in the stuff Fred was, you were still drenched. You exit the stall a couple of minutes later to find him completely washed down, "Right, let's get you back to your normal size, but let's put you in my pocket this time..."

"What a shame. I had really learned to call your vag my home" the sarcasm drooled from his lips.

You scooped him up, pinning him with a warning eye, "I'll put you back in there if you're not careful."

"Sorry sorry sorry!" he back peddled, extending his arms like a man about to be hit by an unforgivable curse. You gently lay him in your pocket, and snapped your head up to find Moaning Myrtle staring at you in disbelief.

"Umm..." the ghost muttered, for once in her life (or death) at a loss for words.

"Don't tell anyone what you saw here today, Myrtle" you warned, pointing a long threatening finger at her, "Not like they'd believe you anyway"

She nodded vigorously and dove into the nearest sink.