#its not often i learn something new about cars stuff but when i do i love it

[lazyneonrabbitt]

I've been seeing some words in the tags and thought, hey, why not. I hope it's any good!

Daryl x male!reader

Being the new guy in the recruitment party was scary.

You ran with Aaron, who had a mace for a hand and was a badass.

And Daryl, who was probably the biggest walking distraction you had ever seen. He was everything you wanted to be, or to have? You weren't sure you just knew the crush you had on him was obvious to Aaron, and Daryl was luckily oblivious to it.

Daryl did always look out for you, though. He cared for his party members and whowed it in many different ways, like heading into a store to find you new, sturdy steel-toed boots after seeing you shove walkers to the ground and stomping their skull with worn out shoes that could easily tear if you did that more often.

"C'mon, give 'em a test run." He'd call out after knocking a walker down on its stomach and holding it down for you to crush its skull with much more ease now.

Next time you guys were going out on a run when the weather got a bit colder Daryl made sure to find you a thick leather jacket. You thanked him only for it looking really good and wondering how he knew you wanted a cool jacket, but when he told you why he gave it to you it was even better. "Walker won't tear this as easy as yer other coat. Will bite through it so don' go bein' reckless now just cus ya look badass." The pat on your shoulder radiated through your entire body as heat rose to your cheeks and Aaron laughed from next to Daryl. "Looks good on you, you two match now."

Aaron found it hilarious how you had confessed to being head over heels with the huntsman but always declined when he told you to go make a move. "He clearly wouldn't mind if you cooked dinner for him or let him teach you stuff about his bike." With a fork pointed at you from across the dinnertable he continued. "Which you still need to ride, by the way." The way he made a fece when he said 'ride' had you almost choke on your dinner. You swallowed the food and coughed. "Oh come on! Just when I take a bite, really?" You both laughed and Aaron decided to drop the teasing, letting you finish your dinner in peace.

The next day he found Daryl working in the garage, deciding to go fish for a bit so he could see where he was on the spectrum of liking you.

It was difficult to fish when he couldn't just outright ask seeing Daryl didn't talk about these things, but he managed to learn he was absolutely fine with having you around and teaching you stuff. He counted that as a win.

A couple of weeks passed and Aaron was getting tired of seeing his friends be a bunch of dumbasses and rung them up for a supply run to a stocked warehouse to take whatever they could fit in the car.

"Where do you expect me to sit, dude?" You stared at the car's trunk, backseat and passenger seat stuffed full of random crap you disn't even know the community needed. Only when Aaron pointed out you could ride back with Daryl the hint dropped. You didn't really need all this junk, he just wanted you two to admit your feelings.

"Hop on, yer with me." Daryl was already seated on his bike and waiting for you to join him, watching you approach slowly and get on the bike with awkward movement.

"Now hold on tight, ya don't wanna fall." He revved the engine but didn't drive off yet, instead looking over his shoulder. "Said hold on tight. Tha' aint' tight, kid."

You pressed further into his back, but still he grabbed your hands and wrapped your arms closer around him. "Tha's tight. Now lets go home of we wanna be done unpackin' all tha' crap 'fore nightfall."

With that, you were off to home.

You never imagined how amazing it felt to ride on a motorcycle, but maybe that was because of how you were squished against Daryl's back.

Which was something Daryl was enjoying an awful lot too, if he had to admit. He really had to invite you on solo hunts more often.

It was in fact far into the evening when you had finally empties out the car and sorted all the items. Tired and sore you bid the men goodnight and headed home, in dire need of sleep.

Daryl had taken you out on a hunting trip not long after. "Pretty boy like ya shouldn't be out there unprepared." He claimed while teaching you how to soften your steps and breath through the process of keeping aim on a target far away. You managed to catch only one small animal but Daryl still called it a successful hunt and took you home to continue the teachings by showing you how to clean and skin in preparation for cooking.

You shared dinner together and hung out on the couch, going over the day, how proud Daryl was of your quick learning and how thankful you were for him teaching you.

Daryl came back from the kitchen with new drinks and sat down closer than before, setting the glasses down on the table and lounging back. He lifted an arm to drape around you and pull you against his side, finally gathering the courage to do what Aaron told him to, in his own Daryl way of words of course.

"I like havin' ya around, kid. Stick around fer a while longer?"

[tired-fandom-ndn]

I completely agree with gravecest having a breeding kink but I'm so obsessed with an AU where they break into the house and learn that their parents decided to try one more time with having kids and they run into a baby in their parents new place, clearly left to fend for itself while their mom was doing that grocery run. So many mixed emotions about being replaced but also knowing that even with this one they were fucking up, and wanting to prove they were better than their parents by raising the kid together (which also sells them as "Mr. and Mrs. Graves). And also makes them weird dark mirror reflections to A Series of Unfortunate Events :)

ANON YOU GET MEEEEEEEE

But god, the Graves parents completely restarting EVERYTHING. They have new jobs, a new house, new lives, why shouldn't they have a new child too? A perfect, normal child for their new, perfect lives? One that isn't fucked up like their other two, because obviously the problem was that Andrew and Ashley just Weren't Right, the Graves parents would never consider that their own parenting could've played a role in how their children turned out. Everything will be right now.

(They adopt instead of trying to have another on their own; pregnancy sucks and the agency was more than happy to help a pair of grieving parents start over.)

Except babies are loud and they're gross and they're annoying and they're so needy. They can tolerate working from home on alternating days, because they don't have an older child to dump their baby on and a babysitter is just a waste of money, but neither of them like it and the baby is left to cry in its crib more often than not, the monitor turned off because it's just so annoying. And sometimes Mrs. Graves just needs a break. Babies are sturdy, it'll be fine if she just runs out for a quick grocery run, 30 minutes, an hour at the absolute most.

When Andrew and Ashley find the baby, it's obvious that this isn't the first time it's been left alone like that and that the abandonment isn't the only way it's been neglected. The nursery is half-finished and nearly empty compared to the master bedroom and living room, it needs a diaper change badly, and it clearly hasn't been washed or fed as regularly as it needs to be. This baby is an uncomfortable look into their own childhoods but somehow worse and it makes both of them see red.

Keeping that baby is so fucking stupid, they both know it would be smarter to leave it at a hospital or on a neighbor's doorstep, but. . . they want so badly to be better than their parents. They want to prove that they're capable of the love and kindness that their parents refused to give them, and it'll sell their story better! People are always more sympathetic to a young couple with a baby, even if it'll be more expensive and make them more vulnerable. Their parents had enough basic supplies, formula and a car seat and a baby carrier and all that crap, that they won't have to spend too much of the money on baby stuff right away at least.

(Andrew is frantically googling infant care and trying to figure out the logistics of raising that baby, meanwhile Ashley has a dozen tabs about inducing lactation and thinking about how the more like a "real" family they seem, the harder it would be for Andrew to abandon them.)

At dinner, Ashley gives the baby a few tiny sips of broth from the soup, wanting it to experience something it wouldn't get a chance to later, consuming their shitty parents like its older siblings and new parents get to. Andrew just sighs and reminds her to cool the broth first and not too much, damn it Ashley, it's not old enough!

[wildegeist]

2023 closing notes

As this year comes to a close it's almost obligatory to say something about it, I guess. Get a little personal after being more on the closed off side for a while.

It's had its ups and downs. The downs were pretty deep and the ups were pretty high. But most of the downs were from the beginning to middle of the year, most of which I don't really remember to be honest. Most of the ups were just in the last few months. The downs are mostly resolved, and the ups were mostly long term goals and general life progress though, so I'll call '23 a win, even if it was a tough one and I really had to fight for it. So I'm gonna try to focus on the ups.

I replaced my shitty cursed car that breaks down constantly that was a constant money sink from how often it broke down. I like my new car way more. I got an apartment that I can afford myself with no need for roommate nonsense, and I love my place. I made general mental health progress and came to terms with some stuff and learned how to cope with those things in a healthier way! I reconnected with people and even repaired a bond that meant a lot to me that I thought was broken forever. I made wonderful new friends and got closer with some old ones, and started coming out of my shell again after mostly shutting down for a while. I got my brain more in gear with creative stuff and finally really know what I wanna do in terms of projects and I have something I can keep up with and stay passionate about.

I had a rocky time with music for a bit due to some complicated personal issue involving some harassment junk from the previous year that made me lose most of my motivation for a bit and nearly scrap two whole albums (one of which was just shortened to an EP for my sake), but I managed to make some stuff and am getting it back. I can feel more improvement in my general sound and I think I made some of my best stuff this year, even if it was less stuff.

I've kind of had a rough past however-many years, but I feel like this is the one where I've made the most progress and now, at almost 27, I feel like I'm finally starting to figure out who I am, to a degree. I've had a really weird relationship with my sense of self for a very long time and I'm not sure I'll ever fully grasp it. The bottom line is I just don't think I experience being a person in the way that most people would consider normal. That'll either make sense to some people or it won't. Maybe I'll figure it out and maybe I won't- I'm not gonna stress about it as much as I used to.

In 2024 I plan to launch Sableheart. I'm hoping earlier in the year, but my life is unpredictable and I've just kind of accepted that and won't let that fact stress me out over deadlines too much. I work best when I'm relaxed. A good friend helped me overcome a little writing rut I was in the other week and I'm still so excited just to show everyone the prologue alone, I've been really working hard at it. :) Either way though, my progress with it has been relatively fast even if it doesn't feel like it. I started serious development (including the decision to develop it in the first place) only several months ago.

2023 was me getting a foothold and maybe in 2024 I can keep climbing. I'm hoping that this is the light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel- and I hope 2024 treats everyone else well too.

[emeritus-fuckers]

Howdy hey I'm interested in trying the match-up event. I always enjoy reading the things y'all've written.

Apologies in advance if this is a mess. 1. Identity: I am nonbinary, use they/them and she/her pronouns. I'm bisexual and a bit on the demisexual side.

2. Who I like: I'm cool with either the papas or ghouls

3. What I look like: I'm 5'8" and chubby. I'm pretty strong and got some muscle so I'm built perfect for giving big hugs and cuddles (though it'll take a bit of convincing to get me cuddly). At the moment my hair is dyed bright red but it changes colors often. Both my eyes have sectoral heterochromia and are green with a bright blue chunk. I usually wear all black graphic tees, skinny jeans, boots, and fun colored socks that often show because i never find pants that are long enough in my size lol.

4. My personality: I am introverted but enjoy being around others even if it wears me out. I'm good with kids (I'm a human jungle gym at this point) and people tend to tell me their secrets and find it easy to be open/themselves around me. I'd say i'm pretty smart but I will do stupid things just because i'm curious. Folks i'm comfortable around will never hear the end of my current interests and I'm a complete goofball (I've been banned from being funny at the table because i've caused too many people to choke laughing oops). It takes a while to actually get to know me deeply because I keep things close to my chest and dont open up easily. I've got a lot of anxiety and some baggage that I keep hidden but I'm working on I swear. I can get really competitive over trivial things and can turn anything into a game. I sometimes go MIA when im distracted with whatever the hell i'm into at that time but when I reappear there's always something new to share. (I can tell you everything you never wanted to know about pipe organs!)

5. Interests: I've got the adhd so my interests bounce around a lot. I like making things and I mess around with a lot with different crafts. I do a lot of fiber arts stuff and I've also recently been whittling bears (I have a few around somewhere). I love music both listening and playing it. I play 8 instruments (violin, viola, cello, mandolin, ukulele, trumpet, trombone, and french horn) but I'm best with the violin because i've been playing it for around 17 years. I'm also teaching myself accordion and guitar. I play video games sometimes and I especially enjoy getting 100% completion. In general I love learning anything and everything and am a "jack of many trades but master of none"

6.Trivia: My favorite movie is fantasia 2000 and recently I completed my goal of performing every music piece in an orchestra (The Pines of Rome and the Firebird Suite are my favs). I collect knickknacks and random things I find and use them to decorate my spaces and I have a skeleton with a mustache in a wizard costume in the back seat of my car and its name is Todd. I also keep googly eyes in my bag just in case

This post is part of the 1000 followers match up event. Entries for the event are now closed.

Your match is...Swiss

You and Swiss quickly became friends, he's so excited by things and so enthusiastic that you got swept up in it all. He's charming and really sweet to you, so you started to fall for him. One day you were sitting outside, Swiss taking a large drag of his vape before he looks at you and grins. "I love ya, you know that right gorgeous one?" You blush and blurt out that you feel the same way. Swiss responds by biting your shoulder just under the collar of your t-shirt. "There now it's offical" he says so excited he's practically jumping up and down "you're my mate!"

Swiss adores your eyes, he thinks they are the most awesome thing ever, and so beautiful. He tells you this a lot.

Swiss adores how much of a goofball you are, he is too, and you spend a lot of time together both laughing so hard you end up tearing up.

If your anxeity is getting bad he will cuddle and do anythig he can to help. If things get too much and you seem sad he'll hold you. He will cuddle you as long as you need. Then he'll try and take your mind off things, anything to get you to laugh a little and smile. Swiss is chaos personified but one thing is constant for him, he loves you and is devoted to you.

Swiss can keep up with your changing interestests. Infact he loves it! This Ghoul enjoys chaos and jumping around from thing to thing, that keeps him occupied. Whatever you get into he'll throw himself into it completely with you.

He is fascinated by all the things you collect. He loves how varied they are and the skeleton with a moutache is his favourite. He was very excited when you whittled him a bear. You handed it to him and he just looked at it like 'woow this is awesome'. he keeps it in his room, pride of place.

He's more than happy to help you learn guitar, he gets so excited his tail starts swishing around. He passes you his guitar and sits behind you legs either side of you showing you a cord and then letting you practice. He'll kiss your neck or softly bite your shoulder every now and then. He'll rest his chin on your shoulder and watches. He smiles at how fast you are learning, his smile is gorgeous enough to make your heart melt for him, to forget completely what you were playing and you just smile back. Often this leads to you getting so distracted the guitar gets forgotten as he presses his lips to yours.

~

Written by Nyx

[seasickjellyfish]

An electrifying start

Description: Aizawa’s kid lives with their mom in America. That all changes when one day they beat a kid and are sent to Japan to live with Aizawa and Hizashj.

I was a plain jane, going to school, doing work, then coming home. I had lived with my mother most of my life. My father was never in the picture, my mother stated he was just a fling so I never asked again. That was until a week ago, my nerves were torn all to bits over exams and this one guy was not letting me have a break. He went as far as shoving me down into the pond while I was carrying most if not all my notes for my exam. I was of course pretty mad at the dude so like any sane person, I beat up the perpitrator.

This led to me being expelled. Great. My mother was furious, cussing me out all the way back home. I zoned out halfway through her yelling, long used to it. What brought me out of my space of thoughts though was when she said those words. “You're moving to Japan to live with your dad. I can't do this anymore.” I swore I thought my dad was a fling, though now that I mention it I often thought of what he looked like or what his job was. I looked nothing like my mother, I had dark raven hair and brown eyes that were tainted with red at the bottom. Throughout childhood my family members would joke about me being adopted or some baby they found going down the river.

Well that was over, two weeks ago to be precise and right now I’m on a plane to japan. The guy next to me won’t shut up about the sakira trees, he’s practically filled his whole camera with photos of just the clouds outside of the window.

The flight attendant came on the speaker, she told everyone to put their tray tables up and all that stuff.

I sigh as I get out of the plane, walking down the catwalk and toward the luggage area. I was not ready to meet a guy who's never been there for me, nor am I ready to learn japanese. Foreign language was one of my worst subjects in school, I could never understand or remember the words and phrases.

After I got my luggage which took an hour in itself, trying to oh so desperately find the stupid place. I looked like a chicken with its head cut off.

I got my luggage and now I had to walk till I found some guy with a sign that has my name on it. I did find the guy, well guys. There were four guys all in suits. I almost walked away and got back on the plane but they had already seen me and were walking toward me. “Ms.L/n '' One of them spoke as he went to grab at me. I took a big step back to be just out of his reach. “Yeah?” I spoke as the other three men caught up. “Your dad told us to come get you, so you're coming with us.” Another one said as they all practically dragged me out and into a car, my luggage already in the back. The car was nice, a mercades with those stars on the roof and the red leather seats.

Was my dad Bill Gates or something or am I just being kidnapped. “You may be confused about what's going on.” The driver spoke as he looked at me throught the rearview mirror. “No I'm not.” I interrupted.

By the time the car stopped I was knocked out on the guy next to me. It was pretty embarrassing to pull away and just a string of drool followed, his suit jacket now had a wet patch on it. “My bad bro.” I patted his shoulder and got out of the car. Due to the tinted windows I was already used to the dark environment so one can only imagine how blinded I was when I step out and am greeted by the burning sun. I stood there for a while trying to just adjust to the new lighting, the men in suits had already taken my bags and made their way into this big two story house. My mouth almost dropped. Back at home in America we lived in an apartment so this was a very big upgrade. I am once again starting to think that my mom hooked up with Bill Gates.

Back in America, Japanese heroes aren’t really well known. Like we have our heroes and Japan has theirs so I have no clue that when I walked in I was met with Eraserhead and Present Mic themselves. I didn’t have a clue who they were. “Hello little listener! I’ve heard so much about you!” The blonde one yelled, standing up and almost crushing my ribs in a hug. I said nothing as he finally released his iron grip on me. “Hizashi don’t smother her, she just got here.” The other guy spoke as he stood and walked toward me, “I'll show you to your room so you can get settled for the night, I'm sure you're exhausted and have jet lag. We will talk in the morning.” He walked me up stairs, the balcony overlooked the living room where the blonde was. Wait was? Looking behind me up, walking the blonde following down the hallway. “This is your room.” The raven haired guy opened the door to a room that was at the far back of the hallway.

The room was 2x bigger than mine and was freshly painted and decorated with everything I liked. “Do you like it?” The blonde spoke up as he stood behind me. “Mhmm it's very nice, thank you.” I walked inside and sat down on the bed, almost thinking I fell through because it was so soft. “That’s great! Now your bathroom is over there and if you need anything our room is just down the hall.” I nodded as the blonde pointed at the bathroom door. They soon left as I just sat there and watched those men bring in my things.

So I have a bigger room, live in a nice house, have a bathroom of my own, and I have maybe not 100% two gay dads? Now this was life. I was far away from the yelling match my mother often had with my step-dad. Step dad, he was a douchebag, always rude and wanted me to call him dad saying something like “Your real father isn’t here so I'm your new one.” Or something.

I sighed and stood up, that life was over. Now I have a new one in japan where I have to so sadly learn a language.

After I showered which took a while because of all the soaps, shampoos and stuff lining the wall. They only had a week to prepare and they did all of this. It was kind of touching to be honest. To be able to feel this loved in a home and in a country with a family I barely know at all.

I was now in bed, squishmellows lined the top. Maybe, just maybe I’ll never have to go back to America.

[solarpire]

Hello, optional tag game here! List 5 things that make you happy. Then if you want, you can put this in the askbox of the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. Learn about your mutuals and followers~

Ohh this sounds fun! Ok ok

1. Trying new foods. Especially fun drinks. I cannot get enough of fun new flavors. I've discovered I really like brazilian cheese bread (unfortunately dont remember the name, but it's such a nice squishy texture), sweet potato fries, chicken hearts, chicken katsudon, taro boba (when it's made well, some people make it very rubbery and flavorless(and I LOVE when I can get cream cheese foam on it)), cheesecake, melon flavored drinks, lychee flavored drinks, and calpico to name a couple things. I used to be really picky when I was younger, so I'm really happy I'm at a place where I'm comfortable trying new stuff :)

2. New hobbies. I really love finding new things to do with my hands, it just feels good to see the evidence of something you've worked hard on. I've tried sculpting, carving, jewelry making, bone cleaning, sewing, book binding, writing, baking, acting, etc etc. I just love figuring out how something new works. Atm I really want to get into fursuit making, game making, car maintenance, and getting better at writing. I've got two different stories on the back burner, a queer slasher horror book and a horror dating game about people in different fields of medicine/science (I really havent worked much on either, but they make me happy to think about and talk about. If anyone is interested in hearing about either just lmk ^^)

3. Being butch. This is a part of my identity I've only recently become comfortable identifying with, I was worried it shouldn't be for me seeing as I identify as nonbinary and tend to be attracted to men and nonbinary people more often than women, but now I feel so at home in it. Loving others and loving myself has just felt so much more authentic through this new perspective on my identity. I love being butch, I love the way my body looks, how I am big and strong and soft and fuzzy and made for loving and caring for the people around me, I love my relationship with queer masculinity, and how it doesnt restrain me from taking joy in my queer femininity when I feel it, I love the way it makes me feel when I clean or fix or make things, when I use my hands, I love how I look with my boots jeans belt and carabiner with a little bear tag on it, I love taking care of my loved ones and making sure they know they're cared for, and I love the way I am loved for it. Butch boy bear girl is just who I am 👍

4. Tattoos. I plan on eventually going into tattooing as a job! Theres a couple things I have to get taken care of before I start seeking out an apprenticeship, but I want it more than anything. I feel like I would really enjoy the medium, and helping people decorate themselves in whatever way is personal to them, whether it's got a deep personal meaning, or they just think itll look nice on them. I think helping people feel that freedom of identity is such an honor and I cant wait to get there

5. My partners. YEAH ITS CHEESY IK. But I just got into a new relationship with two more people that have been my closest friends for a few years just a week or two ago after getting to meet them in person for the first time. We're taking things slow, but all three of them just make me so so happy, and seeing how happy they are with each other makes me even more happy, and I'm so glad and grateful that these wonderful lovely people are in my life (I wont name or @ any of them for their privacy, but if any of you see this hiii ❤❤❤)

[primalspice]

strange old bpd man (i cant look away like a car wreck)👕 2, 18, 19 📦 7, 13, 17, 🍽️ 11, 14 🌤️ 7, 10, 🤝4, 7, 17, 💓 15, 20, 🎲 6, 13, 18

thank u

👕2.) What would your character wear if they were told they had to gussy up?

I think he owns nice clothes (SHOCKING I KNOW). for special occasions of course. I think he will also really try to stretch what counts as 'formal'. But he can do it I prommy.

👕18.) Does your character have a favorite outfit?

No but if he had to choose itd probably be the nastiest one in his closet on accounts of Its Comfortable

👕19.) If your character had to get a tattoo what would it be?

I think he has some but i havent decided what/where they are. Strikes me as the type of guy to get like. hyperspecific pinup girls or like a really detailed back tattoo that no one is ever gonna see. Probably.

📦7.) Does your character ever spend more than they have?

Honestly besides college degrees, specialized "lab supplies", and the occasional Treat i dont think hes…..awful with money?? claims to live frugally so he can spend his (non)money on stuff he really cares about, is actually just bordering on being a hoarder and has a lot of confidence in his ability to pay off credit cards that hasnt failed him yet. loves the minimum-monthly-due-in-a-week Grind.

📦13.) What does your character most enjoy shopping for?

Aforementioned lab supplies. LOVES shiny new equipment that hes only gonna use once.

📦17.) What is most important to your character when shopping?

I think when he Is willing to shop for something he has an eye for the Strange And Unique. As well as quality. Somewhat bougie taste for a guy who is so…slobbish. Guy who owns a set of vintage uranium glass kitchenware but only eats off of paper plates and thrift store forks.

🍽️11.) Is your character food motivated?

NOT PRIMARILY BUT I DO THINK HE'D BE PAVLOV-ABLE INTO DOIN SOME SHIT FOR TREATS.

🍽️14.) Does your character prefer restaurant food or home cooked food?

Probably restaurant due to his aforementioned taste in unique and bougie but i think hes probably decent a home cooking?? bpd be damned my dad can work a grill.

🌤️7.) Does your character have a good sense of direction?

I think its pretty average. he can figure things out for himself usually but will navigate you in the most fucked up way possible and look at you like Youre the idiot. Kinda unrelated but i think hes a passenger princess he doesnt (cant??) drive all that often. thank god. keep him off the road.

🌤️14.) Does your character prefer hot or cold weather?

Hot but he'll complain about it either way. He's pretty much only lived in hot places besides for travel.

🤝4.) Is your character upfront about their feelings?

smiles yeah i guess (negative)

🤝7.) Who is your character most honest with?

i guess his Partner In Science since theyre forced to hang out most of the time and shes his bpd wrangler but I think hes kinda got stuff that hes kinda dishonest-by-omission with w different people. but IN GENERAL he's not particularly dishonest he'll tell it how it is even if its fucking mean or annoying. He'll blame the bluntness on being german or something.

🤝17.) How well does your character work with others?

smiles Poorly. thus why he no longer works in a big lab or academia or a side hustle or

💓15.) Does your character have a sleep routine?

Not particularly i think he just sleeps whenever he wants due to being #selfemployed. prone to nightowlism

💓20.) Is there a fear your character wants to learn to overcome?

probably but tbh idk his fears v good yet i need to disect him like a rat. his fear of khs properly tho, probably, is one. not sure why this is a trend with my ocs (warren stop using suicidality as a plot device challenge)

🎲6.) Does your character work better with creative or technical endeavors?

i think more often than not they're intertwined in his line of work but i'd say hes better at ideas (creative) than execution (technical). not bad at either tho. terrible how good this looks on paper and hes still the worst person youve ever met.

🎲13.) Has your character ever made something for themselves or someone else?

kinda vague question but of course. i think he has dabbled in plant and animal breeding/modification in his past (still thinks about it) so if you count those as Things then itd be primarily that along with other misc. projects for himself. Less questionably, i think he's also probably a guy that gives you like. a custom macrame or bracelet or shirt or whatever other gay hobby hes picked up for the week for your birthday.

🎲18.) What is a topic your character wouldn't want to talk about?

pretty much anything that hes not interested in <3 but specifically i don't think he'd want to talk about his personal life if HE wasnt the one to bring it up first bcz hes defensive and shitty. This includes the ethics of any of his work, his sperm donor babies, his mental illness, so on and so forth.

[hard-core-super-star]

okay, it's not. take care of yourself 😔 agsjakak yeahhh but we can still talk after you take said own time. look at you, getting good at guessing the time. so bossy...🙄 lmao okay, that was the last time- I think. the clarification is: the jury likes me too much to convict me or something like that, there is literally no way to clarify more than that. that said, I'm not going to take advantage of the jury's kindness.

doesn't count!! There's no way it counts as an unfinished sentence if it means I was literally speechless 😭 stop it kwhskskwkdks I won't admit anything. I'm fine.

can I tell you maybe another time? maybe another day? or maybe in another life? this is like... a secret 🤫 I mean, yes?? I thought unfinished sentences were unfinished but they conveyed the right message- learning a new language by listening to music is so good, and definitely more enjoyable tho. I thought I could handle this “little star” thing but I really can’t, jesuswjskak also, yes, maybe? maybe, just maybe I can think of something for you. yup, pain can definitely show that we are alive, but we must be careful not to seek it just for the sake of feeling something (totally a warning for Isabella Swan and that obsession with putting herself in danger just to see Edward's ghost)

I just wanted to say that it's funny, not that I find your pain funny ksjskskak okay, I don't know how to explain it, you can send me to jail now. WAIT A MINUTE HDHSJAKA “beebo” is a reference to that toy that became the god of war in legends of tomorrow??? but the cat's side is where I really belong.

I'm almost sure that the warnings say “smut with plot” or something like that kshsjskskk if there is, that explains it. yes, you can see how much she just needs someone to give some attention to her, just like a puppy 🥹 I didn't complain and I'm sure literally no one complained about you bringing up the puppy thing again. and I blindly agree, both divinely good. (YES, IT IS- I think this time I won't be stubborn about it, this time 😑 good morning! It's no longer morning here, but still)

– 🌟

thank you! i'm so glad you're finally on my side for once. yeahhhh but these messages are the highlight of my day. thank you, i'm skilled like that :) i'm both offended and impressed by your audacity rn, smh. but i guess since it's the last time, it's fine but you're on thin ice 🤨 the clarification is very much appreciated and incredibly accurate. the jury will keep this in mind.

uh, nope, they certainly count! but i'll accept them only because you admitted to being speechless. hmm, idk, i'm pretty sure you already did admit it with these reactions but go off, ig.

i'll accept another day, this secret has got me intrigued. they did but i thought i was jumping to the wrong conclusions so if you had finished them in the first place, you would have saved me some time. it's so fun! except when i attempt to sing along and realize i can't pronounce anything lmao. i've noticed lmao but i like your reactions to the nickname too much to not use it as often as possible. i have complete faith in you, i'm sure you'll come up with something that will make me react the same way you react to "little star" and all its, cute, variations. yeah, that's a good point. i think i might have sought it out a bit too much when i was younger, chasing after all the wrong people and stuff like that 😶 [yeah...i totally got that reference...]

i know, i just wanted to be a pain lmao. you're alright, you won't be sent to jail...yet. sljgajhdgj YEAH, it's also a really stupid reference to the lead singer of panic! at the disco because the day beebo showed up at my house, i got in the car and ME! by taylor swift was playing so...beebo seemed like the way to go. [and no, i still don't know why the fandom calls him beebo lmao] i want to be upset but i do understand 😔

yeah, i think they do lmao. i usually put that warning because i get very carried away lmao. she's so puppycoded for real, i just want to hug her close and give her head pats 🥹 i really hope you're right because there's no way the puppy thing won't be coming back in other fics lmao. i'm glad we agree. [lmao, too bad i can't offer any real help. aw, thank you, i appreciate it <3 it's about to not be morning anymore here either lmao]

[bigmacbushcraft]

Beginner Camping Tips

Even the most seasoned of campers was once a beginner. Face it, we all have to learn sometime. So, we have put together these useful tips so that a beginner camper can come up the learning curve a little faster. Maybe this information will help you to avoid some painful experiences, and better enjoy your first few camping trips to the great outdoors. Make, Use, and Maintain a Camping Checklist (see example above but create your own list) By making and using a camping checklist you have at least given some thought to your trip and done a little bit of upfront planning. By using the list you will be much less apt to forget something critical to your trip. Take the list along with you and add to it as you think of things that you wished you had brought. This way your list gets better with each trip, and it makes it that much easier to plan the next one. Be Familiar With Your Camping Gear If you have bought a new tent, lantern, cook stove, or some other gear its a good idea to try these out prior to your camping trip. There is nothing worse than trying to set up a new tent for the first time when its starting to get dark. This is also true for trailers or tent trailers. Become familiar with their set up prior to your trip, and get some experience backing them up, so that you do not have a tough time when you get to the camp ground. Set Up Camp Before Dark Arrive at your campsite early enough the first day so that you have plenty of daylight to get your tent and other equipment set up. This will get you off to a good start so that you can relax and enjoy the outdoors. Be aware that it gets dark much earlier when you are deep in the forest. Plan Your Meals Before the Trip Plan your meals before you leave on the trip. This way you will know what food to buy, and what you will need in order to prepare it. Try to avoid getting stuck stopping at a convenience store, far from the city, where items are limited and often very expensive. Bring the Right Clothing When packing your clothes make sure that you have enough clothing in case someone falls into the lake and gets all wet or something else unexpected happens. Be sure and bring a swimsuit and towels if swimming is in your plans. Make sure to have some sweatshirts, light coats, and rain gear in case it gets cold and wet. Pack enough, but do not overdo it. Remember you are probably space limited on what you can fit in your car, and to some extent you are roughing it so you really do not need near as much stuff as normal. Is Your Tent Big Enough? There is nothing worse than having your family all packed into your tent like a can of sardines. Even though you are roughing it, you can still enjoy a little bit of comfort. If your tent is large enough and you even splurge for some air mattresses you can be sleeping nice and comfortable. We have a 9 ft x 15 ft dome tent that fits our family of four very comfortably. What I like best about having a bigger tent is that it gives us room to walk around the beds, and still have space to stack clothes or luggage. Even though this is a pretty large tent it folds down to a small size and hardly takes up any space, so unless you are backpacking, I would recommend going with a larger tent just to be on the safe side. Make Your First Trip Close to Home I would recommend going to a campsite pretty close to home (within 1-2 hours) for your first trip. That way if anything too terribly wrong happens, then you can just drive home. Its always good to get some recommendations on places to go from some of your friends that are experienced campers. They will probably know some good places to go for your first camping trip. Be Sure and Take Flashlights Make sure and take flashlights and check their batteries prior to the trip to make sure that they are good and strong. Flashlights will be helpful if you are changing in a dark tent or if you have to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom. We do not want you stumbling around the woods in the dark do we? Lanterns are also very handy, especially if you want to light up your campsite and play some games around the picnic table. These now come with small screw-on propane tanks that are inexpensive and very easy to use. Check on Fire Restrictions or Burn Bans Check ahead of time and make sure that there are not any fire restrictions or burn bans at your camp ground. If you are looking forward to a good old campfire (and what camper is not?) than you could be greatly disappointed if a burn ban is in effect. However, if a campfire is a go, then make sure that you bring some firewood, and some kindling or newspaper to get your fire going, along with some type of lighter. Some parks have firewood available for sale, but not all do, and most parks will not allow you to pick up twigs and branches off the ground to burn. Check Weather Conditions Prior to Your Trip If severe weather is predicted for your camping area, and you can schedule your trip another time, then do it. There is nothing worse than being confined to your tent or slopping around in the mud for a few days. Obey All Park Rules Remember to obey all park rules and be courteous to other campers. Sound carries much further in the forest, so keep your voice down, especially at night. At the end of your stay, leave your campsite clean and ready for the next camper. Note Your Favourite Campsites at the Camp ground Once you have been to a camp ground that you like and scouted around some, make note of the campsites that you like the best. This way you will remember them for future trips, and if you can reserve a particular site, you will know which ones you are most interested in. We love to camp, and we hope that your family will also find it fun. Hopefully, some of the tips that we have shared will make your trips more enjoyable. Have a safe trip! Article by Rich Herman, Rich loves the outdoors and travels extensively with his family. He specializes in family-friendly websites. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/286277 Read the full article

[lillelund51oakley]

Online Education Is There For Everyone Along With A Computer

Thieves are everywhere. It's a miracle that anything is safe . I have personally been fighting a war against the crooks online longer than I care to admit to. It's a never ending struggle and just when believe you've made some progress, they come out with a new for you to steal your stuff. Well, in this article, I'm going to together with some things you can do today to protect the graphics on your site from being stolen. None of such are fool proof but they are a start. Your favorite game is unplayable because it has been damaged some how. It can be gotten scratched or maybe there is a crack on it. If you knew how to duplicate your Xbox game to the hard drive you wouldn't have be concerned about situations like they. The Xbox 360 gaming system is at the top of it's class. This gaming console offers many features and give a great gaming experience. Comparing to documents that are hidden by windows system, these protected by s protection application is far more secure. Mainly because they are nestled. No one can learn or see them as. Only whenever you enter right password are you able to see these products. If you enter a wrong password, you won't be from a position to see them at all, let alone open or copy them. Firstly, the Excel document is still visible and often will be seen by everyone who can use your laptop or desktop. Although people cannot open and edit the Excel documents pertaining to your computer, they have found that copy the particular USB usb flash drive or mobile hard pushes. What is worse, the files could be deleted go on. Keep recordify crack of of start-up programs downwards. Many programs launch themselves every time your computer is always on. Try to locate their process and terminate them if cracksmin which means you to wait ages before of your desktop before being able to commence effectiveness. Keep your computer from challenges. Carefully select applications to download and always visit websites that are reported gently. Have a professional antivirus software such as Norton constantly run. Perform the virus scan at a typical base. All these will allow you speed up PC permitting zero threat to crack and much less your set-up. To tap polarr photo editor pro crack download latest 's normally done by using a protocol sniffer like Airy. To sniff on an Ethernet LAN you need to have accessibility network via switch port of other network connection. The benefit that classes online do have way over brick-and-mortar schools is its utilization of streaming car stereo podcasts. twitter for windows 10 crack . where DSL, Wi-Fi or something similar, becomes important. You should that sort of speed if you need to read your lessons at the correct pace. Slower modems will feel like they take a long time.

[northern-passage]

I don't want to rehash old news, but I need to say this and others need to hear it. I am so tired of people demanding IFs to be more of the same! This and that choices, this and that characters. It is INTERACTIVE FICTION. nowhere does it say that every game is a self-insert (which is an issue on its own). if you're playing a predetermined person who you can guide... It is STILL interactive fiction!! Driving me crazy. and to end it nicely; One of the best IFs ever! Love love love

yeahhh no i totally agree. no shade towards cog here but they have a very basic formula pretty much every one of their very popular games follow and bc cog sort of has this...iron grip on the IF genre due to being so mainstream, like on the app store and on steam, people think this is like.... the end all be all of interactive fiction and people compare Everything to the same three games over and over again.

and it’s not the end all be all at ALL there is SO much more interactive fiction out there. i actually got into IF on itch.io, and in the beginning i only read visual novels because i’m a child and love looking at pretty pictures. i do think the fact that i found IF this way and not through cog has been what’s influenced my style and the way i approach IF. i didn’t start reading cog until last summer, and honestly i prefer most of the wips i’ve read over actual published content. that’s what pushed me to write my own. and it sucks that cog won’t share choicescript bc it’s SUCH a good starting coding language, it’s so accessible and easy to learn. 

and i’ve said before i’m just not interested in writing a flat, blank slate character. that’s SO boring for me as a writer and i also don’t like it as a reader.

i think seeing how your decisions change a character is so much more interesting than just having a generic, over-powered, essentially faceless character. now, i DO know why people enjoy that - we all love a good self-insert from time to time - but i really wish readers would break out of this mold cog has made.

itch.io can be a little overwhelming at first, but honestly it has a really nice tag and filter system (which is critical bc itch.io DOES have a lot of nsfw, though i’ve never had any issue w the safe filter on) to find stuff you like. also, if there’s an author you follow who has work on itch.io chances are they have favorites themselves listed on their profile, or will give out recs if you ask. in fact, i’ll list some of my recs right now:

we know the devil - one of the first VNs i bought and read. if you enjoy this one, def check out pillowfight’s other work

lookouts - one of my favorite short pieces.

lake of voices - a lot of people are familiar with Our Life, by GBpatch, but i absolutely love lake of voices. voiced characters, a little bit of angsty romance, death, and horror...mwah

love is strange - a CLASSIC. i played this before i even played life is strange. so imo you don’t even need to be that familiar with the original game it’s based on.

ebon light - i watched this game come to life while i followed the author’s process and saw how much love and time was put into it and i just can’t not recommend it. a dark fantasy game w romance and politics

a mortician’s tale - very different. a game about death. i’m a big fan of the order of the good death, and i actually got this game for free at some point, but it made me feel. emotions.

contrition - this one is so good. put on head phones, turn out the lights. great use of sound and music and just really good atmosphere.

cowgirl boots - love love love this one. more of a narrative than IF but it’s short and you should read it anyways. makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

is it that deep, bro? - another one that stuck with me for a while.

what girls do in the dark - this one takes me back to the old school text adventure games, but with a twist. found this one through john wolfe’s HQ residential house game jam and really enjoyed it.

the shadows that run alongside our car - another short conversational story. stuck with me for a while after i played it.

a tale of crowns - a chapter by chapter tale where you are the long awaited crown. really enjoy this one, very refreshing to read fantasy written like this. love the setting and the characters

crosshollow - multiple games, sort of like an anthology, all sharing the same setting. surreal and emotional

heartforge - some of you may already be familiar with heartforge, having started in choicescript then moved to twine. multiple games, all very different, all very good

the eight years revolution - full transparency, i’m friends with this author and we talk frequently. set over a span of eight years, you are starting out as a sheltered and naive royal, a young monarch running from a rebellion...

wayfarer - a fantasy game where you play as a wayfarer, with lots of customization options and a very interesting story

love & friendship - another author i am friends with and talk with often. love the humor in this game and the take on the regency genre.

scout - one of my all time favorites. set in an apocalyptic future, you are a scout from a small community, frequently running missions for supplies and information..

there’s this girl - whew. a short one, but emotional. this creator has quite a few works on itch.io, though some of them tend to lean towards the heavy, emotional side. recommend though if that’s something you’re looking for.

emily is away - again, one of the first IF games i played. it’s been years but it’s one that stuck with me. i think it’s worth mentioning simply to show what IF games can be like

birdland - genuinely think this is the first IF game i ever played. i have a soft spot for it because of that, as well as the story itself, which meant a lot to me when i first read it.

whew! i am certain i am forgetting some games and will curse myself later, but this is getting to be a bit long. i really encourage yall to just click around on itch.io in the interactive fiction/visual novel tag and see if you can find something you like. there is SO much out there...

[race-week]

So you want to start learning about the technical side of F1?

Where do you start?

Well here I guess.

This has been something in the works for some time; I’ve had a few messages about people asking for recommendations and thought that I would compile everything into one document. I’ve tried to provide links where I can as well.

‘Free’ Resources

- The first thing I’d recommend is the technical and sporting regulations but I wouldn’t recommend you trying to read them end to end as they’d be very dull but whenever you see one of them referenced in a stewards document look it up and try to get an understanding of the background. You’ll soon have a pretty solid understanding of all the main infringements.

- Free Practice Sessions; I know they aren’t technically free but…

Genuinely if you can find a stream for a FP session there is usually quite good information about the track characteristics as well as the tyre strategies, who usually goes well here, etc (depending on your commentators)

- Youtube; for technical information I would recommend ChainBear and for motorsport history CYMotorsport both are absolutely incredible and really accessible for new viewers. Also on Sky Sports F1’s YouTube they often post the Sky Pad clips and I would recommend watching these if you don’t get them in your feed as they can bring a really good insight about the different lines that drivers take into a corner amongst other things.

- Podcasts; F1Nation - they usually do really great race previews and race reviews which let you know what to look out for, not super technical but good background knowledge. Also Autosport have a very good podcast called “F1 and More” where they do a similar thing but also have practice and qualifying reviews.

- F1 Website; honestly it sounds simple but take a look at some of the articles on the F1 website if you have time, especially the Tech Tuesday ones, as well as their Tech Talk series of videos. They actually have a lot of really interesting analysis videos and articles on there. They also usually go through the strategy options before a race. There is also a glossary of all the key F1 terms here. Also keep an eye out for whenever Ross Brawn does an article.

F1TV; yes another one that isn’t technically free but I’m sure you can find these elsewhere. Jolyon Palmers analysis, honestly these are so great post race where he looks back over the key moments and is able to give both a drivers insight as well as a more technical insight. I especially love it when he shows the telemetry data. There is also more in-depth Tech-Talk videos on here and they are really interesting.

- Reddit; I know F1 Reddit can sometimes be quite gatekeepy but its actually getting better; there’s the main r/Formula1 page and there’s also r/F1technical which is really interesting and also has a lot of technical discussions but they aren’t overly complex and people there are a lot more willing to explain things. This is where I often get a lot of news about upgrades and stuff from as I rarely use Twitter.

Books

This is where I actually started and a lot of the books I read were quite old as I either bought them second hand or borrowed them from my dad, but here we go

- Adrian Newey “How to Build a Car” this is one of my favourites as it’s part autobiography, part technical book and it goes through his years working for different teams and the regulation changes that took place. If you don’t know Adrian Newey is Red Bull’s chief aerodynamicist and helped design all of their cars for many years.

- Steve Matchett “The Mechanics Tale” less technical but this tells the story of an F1 mechanic through the years, and gives more background into the world of F1 as a whole.

- David Tremayne “The Science of Formula 1 Design” and “The Science of Speed” his books on F1 are really incredible and informative but not in a stuffy way; they are easy to pick up and read.

- Giorgio Piola “Formula 1 Technical Analysis” there are so many of these books, they used to come out annually but it’s the illustrations in these books that make them so special. Real photos are never used and instead there’s incredibly realistic drawings of all the cars as well as that years regulation changes. I’ve got the year that all the cars had the proboscis noses (the dick nosed cars) and yet he’s made them look beautiful and the information is so helpful if you are interested in a particular year. He actually does a lot of work with motorsport now, on technical analysis still creating beautiful illustrations

- Ross Brawn “Total Competition” this is a real interesting look into F1 strategy and creating a championship winning team but also looks into the business side of F1 as well.

- Derek Seward “Race Car Design” a little more like a textbook, I’ve read extracts of it and it has been really interesting. This one is more engineering heavy though.

- Haynes Manual “Red Bull Racing F1 Car” this takes an in-depth look at the Red Bull RB6, it’s so interesting but it’s not really dumbed down but it’s still a relatively simple read. I think this is one of the first ones I acquired and it’s still one of my favourites.

[from-the-clouds]

Kiss Me More (Part IIII) - Zemo/Reader

Masterlist | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | 

Summary: Reader ponders the decision they made after meeting Zemo in Riga. Series now complete!

Words: 5.2k

Warnings: Kissing, marijuana & alcohol abuse, heavy angst & depression, small reference to suicide, implied casual sex, yearning

A/N (also check out A/N at end when finished reading): This is it, everyone! I was going to end this completely differently originally, but after some thinking --  and some light peer pressure from ya’ll, I did something a little different. I did fight with this part the most out of all of them, so I hope it’s still good. Please enjoy. And thank you for all the love on this series, it’s been so fun to write! Also I was listening to this song while writing this.

---

The incessant buzz of her alarm clock jolted her out of her dreamless sleep. Fumbling in the dark, she slapped the top of it, hitting the snooze button and looking at the interface with bleary eyes. 

4:00 A.M. It stared, indifferent, back at her tired face. 

She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut and lamenting, bargaining, half expecting the clock to turn back time when she opened her eyes again. Unfortunately, it did not. With a huff, she threw back the covers and stretched, disturbing the orange cat that slept in the empty spot next to her where her husband used to lay. 

Snorting, the cat lifted its head to look at her as she climbed out of bed before curling back up in a ball where her feet had been. 

“Don’t mind me, just getting ready for work so I can feed us,” she said, grumpily, then in a moment of repentance, affectionately scratching her behind the ears. 

She had always been a night owl, so she didn’t think it would be possible to ever get used to waking this early. No human was meant to function at this time. It was the one part of the job she hated most. The rest of it was manageable, though it was still work. 

Setting about her morning routine, she showered, made coffee, and donned her uniform. Eating a day-old bagel and nursing her coffee on her tiny balcony, she looked out over the darkened horizon. It was far too early to even enjoy a sunrise. 

There was a saying, time heals all wounds. After her husband died, she’d heard it a lot. It was a saying she had come to find true. But it’d been well over a year since she’d left Helmut, alone in that swanky hotel room, and it still hurt like it was yesterday. 

“I understand,” he’d murmured, and she felt the ghost of his kiss on her forehead, arms around her waist, even now. She shivered, not from the chill of the morning air.

She’d left her old life behind, all of it. Sam and Bucky, too, about a month after their time in Riga. She couldn’t look them in the eyes after what she’d done.

But, she was proud of what they’d accomplished. They’d defeated the Flag Smashers. Bucky seemed happier, more at peace. Sam had accepted his role as the new Captain America. John Walker seemed to have faded into irrelevancy. All the loose ends had been tied up in a pretty little bow.

Except for hers.

Which is why she moved, sold all the stuff in her tiny NYC apartment, and packed her car full with what she couldn’t bear to part with, some photos and momentos from a different lifetime. Her car didn’t stop until she hit the Atlantic Ocean, on an island just south of Charleston. All but undiscovered by tourists, the residents in the sleepy beach town kept to themselves, and she could go about her life in peace, undisturbed. 

She couldn’t just run away from her problems, that was why she’d left Zemo. It seemed counterintuitive, but in her mind, it made sense. The problems would catch up to her, like they always had. The dissatisfaction she had with her life, with herself, was always going to return. And she knew she had to be alone to deal to face it head on. Like a wounded animal, crawling into the woods, there were only two ways things could end here; either she’d heal and come out stronger, or eventually she’d die. And so far, the healing part wasn’t going great. 

Each day was a matter of convincing herself that she’d made the right choice. Especially now, as her eyes burned, fighting to stay open against the inviting embrace of sleep. 

Despite it being dark outside, the bakery was bustling already when she walked in the service entrance. It smelled amazing, as always. Sweet and warm, a cacophony of aromas, baking bread, fresh coffee, sugar.

She set about the usual preparations to open up, packaging orders for the regulars, sweeping the floor, wiping down countertops. Once the place was open, she didn’t have to work the register, as she prepared batches of dough in the back for proofing, to be baked the next day. 

Before, she’d been a terrible cook, but she’d grown comfortable in the kitchen after learning to bake. There was something satisfying about working with her hands, at this point she’d memorized all the recipes and the work became second nature to her. Now, she always had fresh bread and pastries in her kitchen, although they were the slightly disformed, ones the shop owners deemed too ugly for the glass display cases. Daylight was cherished, even if she barely saw it inside the shop. Because while she was awake, busy with work, her thoughts remained pleasant.

At night it was the hardest. Things got quiet, lonely. When she got home, she poured herself a drink. Cheap whiskey, the kind that came in a plastic bottle and burned on it’s way down. She had never been much of a drinker before, she was now. Her thoughts were more manageable after a drink. Especially because she was usually thinking of Helmut. 

It was often that she wondered what he may be doing, and those thoughts usually ended with the image of him lying in the sun, poolside, on some island in the Pacific Ocean, drinking expensive champagne with a supermodel. It wasn’t a particularly comforting thought to her, and yet she was plagued by some variation of it every night. 

Sometimes, she’d humor herself, and imagine what they might be doing had she decided to stay with him. Unfortunately, thinking of that was more upsetting. She wanted it, selfishly, though she wasn’t willing to admit it.

When she was younger, it had been so easy to block out the pain, to just press forward, no matter what. Much to her dismay, it didn’t get easier as she got older. Years of watching those she loved in pain, years of being in pain had taken a toll on her resilience. She wasn’t the strong woman she once was, she was weak.

That night, one drink had turned into two, into three. Wallowing in her own self-pity had become second-nature, she felt like Hamlet, lamenting her circumstances, a constant turmoil monologuing in her brain. But this night felt particularly worse, for some reason. 

For the record, she had been doing better. But she was all-too-familiar with how grief worked, pulling her back down the dark side of the mountain, where she was forced to fight her demons over and over again. At some point, they were going to win.

It was a funny thing. Despite the loss of her husband, who she had loved dearly, his death had been easier to accept. Final. She couldn’t bring him back. Helmut on the other hand, was still out there, an open wound that could never fully heal.

Before she knew it, she was four drinks in, at her bedside table, fumbling through the bottom drawer, until she found what she was looking for.

Back on her couch, she stared at the card in her hand, the hastily written phone number on it, an international line. Helmut had given it to her, the day she left, stuck it in her purse while she wasn’t looking. She didn’t discover it until she had returned home.

It had been months since she last did this, pulled the card out of its hidden place in her drawer, placed it on the coffee table in front of her next to her phone, and considered dialing it. It had been a frequent occurrence when she first moved here, when she couldn’t find a job and spent most of her mornings either hungover, or stumbling home from rendezvous with men whose names she wouldn’t remember, and she wouldn’t care to, because there was only one man she really wanted. She could only hope he’d be as close as one call away. But she never called. 

I mean really, he’d probably moved on by this point. If she was going to call, she should have done it months ago, when there was more of a chance that he’d give a fuck. 

She considered this a setback. But she’d made her way halfway through the cheap bottle of whiskey, it was the drunkest she’d been in ages and she was curious. She didn’t know whose number it was, who’d be on the other end of the line, and never knew why Helmut would want her to have it to begin with.  

At this point, she wasn’t capable of good decision making. In general, it hadn’t always been her strong suit. So why did doing the right thing matter now? It didn’t, she decided. 

Taking a swig of whiskey straight from the bottle, she ensured she wouldn’t remember what happened next, at least not clearly. 

The phone rang twice before someone picked up. “Hello?” she didn’t recognize the sound of the man on the other end of the line immediately, so she didn’t answer. All she had wanted to do was maybe hear Helmut’s voice, he didn’t even need to know it was her that was calling. 

“Hello?” the man repeated, and she realized it wasn’t completely unfamiliar. The grandfatherly, comforting tone wasn’t her former lover, but someone close to him. And she supposed that wasn’t terrible.

“Is this Oeznik?” she asked. 

“It is,” he said after some hesitation. “May I ask who’s speaking?”

Truthfully, she was shocked she’d allowed herself to go this far. This was a bad idea. If she stopped now she could get off without doing any real damage. But just as she was about to hang up, she heard her name, muffled, on the other end of the line. 

“H-How do you know it’s me?” She raised the phone back to her ear. 

“I thought you sounded familiar,” Oeznik chuckled, low and soft. “Helmut told me you might call.”

“He did?” she squeaked. “Yes, although it was awhile ago. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I uh….I….well….” she managed. “I guess I just….I guess I wanted to see how he was doing.”  Her words flowed together like the liquor she was drinking, she knew she sounded drunk.

“Good, since we last spoke,” he said. “I don’t hear from him much these days...maybe every couple months. As you might imagine, he’s trying to keep a low profile for the time being.”

She nodded. Perhaps Zemo was as lonely as she was, hidden away in some cabin in the middle of nowhere. Though she had to imagine it looked much nicer than her current place, and maybe he had better company than a portly orange cat that begrudgingly liked him. “I understand.”

“How have you been?” he asked.

It sounded stupid, but she realized it was the first time someone had asked her that. Sincerely. Checked up on her. Even if she was the one who had dialed the number in the first place.

“I’m good,” her voice cracked. “Just keeping busy.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Helmut always had such nice things to say about you.”

“Really?” she couldn’t stop herself. 

“Of course, would you like me to let him know you called?” 

“No, no...I wouldn’t want to bother him,” she choked on her words, something catching in her throat.

“Are you sure you’re alright, dear?”

“I’m okay, I just….” she felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, lowering her voice, since she didn’t think her normal register would come out as anything other than a whine. “I think I made a horrible mistake.”

“What’s the matter? What did you do?”

She shook her head, shaking the tears loose and now they were lining her lashes, threatening to spill over. However, she managed to make the next words she spoke come out clearly. “Nothing, I just...it’s really stupid, I really shouldn’t have called.”

He sighed on the other end of the line, and she felt like, despite her attempt at staying calm, he could still see that she wasn’t somehow. “It seemed Helmut was awfully sweet on you,” Oeznik’s words next came hesitantly, calculated. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he told me if you ever called, to help you with whatever you might need, no matter the ask.”

Oh God, what had she done? A sob left her, one she couldn’t control, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle any more. Her tears were flowing freely now, tracking down her cheeks and along her chin. She wiped at them clumsily, clearing her throat. 

“That’s very kind of him, but you can’t help me. I’m so sorry to bother you, please just forget I even called,” she forced a smile on her face so that hopefully he could hear it. “Goodbye.”

She hung up, horrified, and within seconds had deleted the call log from her phone. She’d been thoughtful enough not to memorize the number, and the lighter she used whenever she smoked sat in front of her. Without a second though, she burned the card, watching the paper blacken and disintegrate, until it was all but a pile of soot on her Wal-Mart coffee table. It was a fair punishment, and ensured she’d never get the chance to embarrass herself like that again. 

And then she cried, sobbed into a pillow next to her, until her tears ran dry and she wore herself out, falling asleep on the couch alone. When she’d wake the next morning, the only evidence of her actions would be a throbbing headache and a dead phone. 

She wouldn’t remember the call.

----

Life went on, as it always did. It had been about a month, and since that night she grew more indifferent, remembered how to ignore heartbreak. For now, she was stuck in her purgatory, waking up before the sun and falling asleep before it set, smoking joints, drinking cheap liquor, and going on the occasional date with people who she didn’t really like, tourists who would leave after a week and wanted temporary company. 

Despite everything, she partly believed things were getting better. Maybe they weren’t, but the possibility that someday they would seemed feasible. And that was enough, for now. 

On her days off, she’d walk to the beach and lay on a blanket, reading a book until the sun dipped below the horizon and lit up the sky in hues of pinks and purples. She found a record player at an antique store and began collecting vinyls, listening to obscure artists whose albums she found in the $1 bin. It wasn’t so bad. Life wasn’t so bad. 

She took a shower after work. Tomorrow was her off day, and she wasn’t sure what she had planned besides maybe watching a movie and getting stoned. Maybe she’d try going to the beach. The weather was getting warmer, and she could even go swimming if the water wasn’t too cold. 

Exhausted from her day of work, she laid down in her bed, still in her robe, her hair wrapped in a towel around her head. The sun was setting outside, the windchimes she’d hung outside slowly clanging together, birds singing in the warm spring air. Her cat hopped on the bed, offered an affectionate trill and curled up at her side, purring, in a rare display of affection. A cool breeze drifted through the open window. And for the first time in over a year, she felt content. Closing her eyes, she savored the moment, committed it to memory, so she could recall it the next time she was drunk-crying in front of her TV. 

She fell asleep slowly, so slowly that when she woke, startled by something in her kitchen clattering to the floor, it felt like she hadn’t even been sleeping at all. The clock next to her red 11:31 p.m. and it was pitch dark outside, the cool breeze from before had grown stronger and her bedroom curtains were billowing, wind whistling loudly through the apartment. Her cat had left her side, and she frowned, shivering in the sudden cold.

Pulling the towel off her head, she made her way over to the window with the intention to close it, sleepily, lazily, until she heard something else. A creak in the floorboard. A heavy footstep in her kitchen. That wasn’t just her cat. 

Some kind of muscle memory was ignited then, an ancient instinct that called to her from a different lifetime. Darting across the room, the gun she kept was in her hand, stealthily pulled from its hiding spot beneath her mattress. Truth be told, she never thought she would’ve needed it. Anyone looking for her would be smart enough to kill her in her sleep, not be so foolish as to wake her first with their heavy footsteps. 

A dark silhouette stalked through her kitchen, moving slowly. It was a man, she assumed, based on his broader figure, and lack of coordination. In her experience, women were often stealthier without trying. He took another step, the floor creaking below him, shuffling on bargain linoleum. 

Staying low, she crept forward, ducking stealthily behind furniture, avoiding the spots on the floor she knew made noise. It didn’t appear the intruder had a weapon, in fact, it seemed he was bumbling about, searching for something. A burglar, and a bad one at that. An island full of vacation homes owned by rich doctors and they thought they’d find valuables in her shitty apartment?

It wasn’t until she was standing directly behind him, gun aimed at his head, that she finally spoke up. 

“I believe you’ve come to the wrong place,” she said flatly. “Whatever you’re looking for, it’d be in your best interest to leave empty-handed.”

Her eyes were still adjusting to the dark, but the intruder froze, arms slowly raising in defeat, empty-handed, as he turned around to face her. In the dingy room, she couldn’t make out any of his features, could only see that he was clad in all black.

“Unfortunately, liebling, that wasn’t my intention.” 

She would’ve recognized that voice anywhere, though the endearment he’d used was enough to clue her in. Hitting the lightswitch with her free hand, she was face to face with the man she’d spent the past year trying to purge from her memory, Helmut Zemo. 

Her gut twisted, her mind raced, but the only thing currently bubbling up, over the surface of every other emotion was the pure, seething rage left behind in the wake of fearing for her life.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” she stepped towards him, gun still raised, fuming. 

“Hey, hey!” he staggered backwards, hands raised, eyes averted. 

“I thought you were a fucking robber!” she hissed. “I thought you were here to kill me!”

“Lower your voice,” he scolded. “You’re going to wake your neighbors.”

Taking a deep breath, she realized she still had her gun trained on him and she lowered it, clicking the safety and discarding the weapon on the countertop. “What the fuck?” she asked. “What the hell is wrong with you? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I didn’t know you had such a mouth on you,” he smirked, but she wasn’t finished, and she glowered at him. 

“You broke into my apartment!” she growled.

“I had to be sure I was in the right place.”

“Yeah? You couldn’t have knocked first?”

He nodded, eyes trailing down to her hands, which were trembling, she hadn’t even realized. He seemed to understand what he’d done then, and she flexed her fingers, eyes locking with his. “I suppose...you may be right,” he said, surrendering.

She felt the rage subsiding as she took in his appearance. He looked not so different from the last time she’d seen him, except a fair amount of stubble covered his jawline in a short beard. He was still devastatingly handsome. Zemo’s dark eyes, filled with longing, drank her in, tilting his head as his gaze shifted to her lips. It was like she could read his mind, she knew what he wanted, what he was thinking. And her body was going to betray her if he kept it up.

Despite everything, she was still upset. Upset and embarrassed, as the light was doing an unflattering expose of her tiny, cluttered apartment, full of mismatched furniture and water-damaged wallpaper that her landlord refused to replace. It probably gave the prison cells that Helmut had spent years in a run for their money, and was in stark contrast to every other aspect of his life.

“What’s this?” he asked, gesturing to the empty liquor bottles on her countertop, stowed in her trash can. “Have you been drinking?”

“Not tonight,” she quipped, on guard. Had to be. As much as some old instinct told her to throw herself into his arms, press her lips to the underside of his jaw, and let him envelope her in the comfort of his embrace, she knew she couldn’t.

“Hmm,” he brushed past her, frowning, looking disappointed, as he made his way to her living room. 

“How did you find me?” she asked, eyeing him wearily.

“I’m a wanted man, I trace every call that comes into my estate,” he said over his shoulder. 

Helmut was taking inventory of the cramped space, staring at the photos she’d hung in a collage on the wall behind her couch, with a few watercolors painted by her late husband. One in particular, that he was focused on now, was from her wedding. Of all the memories she chose to hang, this one was her fondest, her former partner was all dark curly hair falling into deep blue eyes, and she was the portrait of a blushing bride, wearing a dopey love-drunk smile, gazing at him, ignoring the camera. 

“You looked so beautiful on your wedding day,” he said, turning over his shoulder to look at her. He was so out of place here, standing in her living room, for a moment she thought he might be a hallucination, some physical manifestation of the heartbreak she’d experienced. “Although that doesn’t surprise me.”

She flushed, suddenly self-conscious in her thin black robe and still-damp hair. It occurred to her that she wasn’t looking her best, which made this whole situation that much more disconcerting. However, the compliment disarmed her slightly, and the anger she felt began to dissipate, slowly. She was going to offer him something to drink until her cat, who had been absent through the chaos, suddenly jumped up on the back of the couch and promptly hissed at him in an attempt to defend her territory.

“Pumpkin, be nice,” she said, although it was mostly to placate Helmut. Pumpkin never listened to her. 

Helmut let her sniff his hand, and she was stunned when the cat rubbed her face against it. Of course, Pumpkin would like him of all people. That made sense. Then again, she supposed it made them not so different. He turned away to look at the rest of the room. “I see you haven’t kicked that bad habit you told me about,” he gestured at the ashtray full of roaches on the coffee table. 

“Did you just come to my place to insult me?” she asked, putting her hands on her lips and feigning confidence. She could’ve rolled over and cried and told him how much she missed him, how many nights she’d spent crying over him, and while all of it was true, she felt indignation was the better option for her self-preservation.

“That’s a good question,” Helmut turned to face her now, hands in the pockets of the leather jacket he was wearing. Completely inappropriate for the weather here, but he didn’t seem to notice, or care. “Why do you think I’m here?” he asked.

She shrugged, feigning indifference. “I don’t know, but you shouldn’t be.”

He snorted, his frustration evident, and she saw a glimpse of the man that so many feared, the side that had earned him his dangerous reputation, that had him locked away in a high-security prison for nearly a decade. “I didn’t come all this way for nothing, draga, we’re going to have it out.”

“Fine,” she said, lacing as much venom as she could into her words to prepare herself. “Then get on with it.”

He stared her down, and the expression her wore startled her, something sparkled in his eyes, mischief, relief maybe? It was insulting. Like he didn’t take her seriously. But there was something else there, too, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but it was wiped from his visage before it registered.

The tension in the room dissipated slightly when Zemo sat on the arm of the worn couch she’d bought from a yard sale, and she winced. “I spoke to Oeznik the other day,” he said flatly, snorting, eyes focused on a stain on one of the rugs she owned. “He told me he had the pleasure of speaking to a friend of mine about a month ago.”

Frowning, she tilted her head, her eyes meeting Helmut’s. Something in her brain sparked a memory she’d once dismissed as a dream after a particularly bad night of drinking.

“He was concerned, you see, because this friend didn’t seem to be in the best state of mind,” Helmut rose from the arm of the couch, stalking forward slowly, and she couldn’t move backwards, not even if she wanted to, as he could pin her easily against the front door. His voice grew louder, faster as he went on. “He said she was crying, slurring her words, he told me he thought maybe she might be-” Helmut cut himself off abruptly and closed his eyes, clenching one of his fists, a look of distress on his face as he took in a terse breath. “I won’t finish that thought, but you’re a smart girl, you can imagine what I’m getting at.”

Swallowing hard, the phone call came back to her in pieces, the tears, sobbing on the phone to a man she hardly knew. It was the night she finally admitted to herself she’d made a mistake, even though she’d already known it, deep down when she left him in the hotel room. 

“Please forgive me for breaking in tonight,” Helmut said. “But I couldn’t bear the thought of you not answering the door, I needed to see with my own eyes that you were okay.”

Exhaling through her nose, she looked at the floor. “It’s not like that. I had too much to drink.” she said, keeping her voice as steady as possible. “It was just a bad night.”

“Then tell me, what was the horrible mistake you made?” he asked, stepping closer. He was close to her, now. So close. And his proximity made everything more difficult.

God, if only she could remember exactly what she’d said, the only thing that came to her were the emotions, desperation, sadness, grief. It was all too much, and he was threatening to bring them all back to destroy her again. 

“I shouldn’t have called,” she said, shaking her head. “And I’m sorry. What do you want me to say? What do you want from me?”

“What do I want from you?” He asked, tilting his head, his eyebrows pulling together. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? How hard it was to sit on a plane when all I wanted to do was be here? With you?” His hand rose to cup her cheek, stopping just short of her face when she flinched away from his touch.

“Please stop,” she managed, the burn of tears behind her eyes almost menacing. The last thing she needed was to cry in front of him. “You’re undoing everything.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked. 

“You’re….you’re here,” she murmured weakly, wetness seeping, glossing over her pupils. “I only have so much capacity for pain right now, if you touch me now, you’ll ruin everything.”

No one ever had this kind of hold on her, she’d never bent her rules to appease anyone else, and she’d gone toe to toe with super soldiers. He was just a man, and yet, he terrified her. 

“You really want me to leave?”

She couldn’t answer, but one tear escaped, sliding down her cheekbone, and she sniffled. 

“I’m not the one who did this to you,” his thumb, swiped along her face gently, wiping it away. He’d touched her, just barely, and she was reeling. 

“I know,” she stuttered, gasping. “I know it was me, but I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“You are so stubborn.” His expression softened as he looked upon her, his thumb tracing underneath her jaw, tilting her head upwards to look at him. Malleable, she obliged. “I’ve thought about you everyday since the night we spent together. You’ve plagued me. That can’t be a coincidence. Are you really happier this way? You must be honest with me.”

She shook her head, blinking out fresh tears. “No, I’m not. I just thought...by the time I realized I made the wrong choice, you’d have moved on. People like us don’t get to be happy.”

“Says who?”

How could she refuse him anymore? This would continue to go on until she gave in. And from the beginning, she wanted to give in. There was no use in fighting the inevitable. The small point of contact -- his hand on her chin -- radiated impressive warmth, and she could feel every part of herself being attracted to him, quelling some ache deep within her. 

Reaching up, she clutched at Helmut’s palm, which didn’t last long, because he pulled her into his arms, nestling her head underneath his chin. She melted into his embrace, finding solace in the warmth of his solid frame. 

“Come home with me,” he coaxed softly. 

“I will,” she murmured, surrendering to the comfort of his presence. “But you have to let me bring Pumpkin.”

He chuckled, warm and amiable, the vibration of his chest echoing in her own. “Of course, you’ll bring Pumpkin,” he murmured into her hair. Oh, how she had missed hearing him laugh. They could’ve stayed that way for hours, and she would’ve been content, but he pulled away, hands on either side of her face as he studied her.

Unable to hold back any longer, she leaned in to kiss him. It was chaste at first, all the memories of her last night with him came flooding back quickly when he parted his lips to deepen the kiss, but she didn’t want that quite yet, just needed a moment to process this. The simple comfort of being held by him, kissed by him, was more than enough for now. He’d been waiting for this, she could assume in the way that he responded, pulling her impossibly close so she was engulfed in him.

Her stomach flipped, a warmth blossoming in her chest as he pulled away, their foreheads touching. “Oh, I missed you,” she sighed, shivering as his beard tickled her neck, his mouth on her sensitive skin.

“And I, you,” he murmured. His eyes studied her, carefully, up close, and for the first time since meeting him, she really let him see her, teary-eyed and vulnerable.

She would never let him go again. 

---

A/N: So here we are! I know it’s been a ride, but I’m really excited for these two. However, I don’t feel like I’m done writing for Zemo yet. If ya’ll have any headcanons, thoughts, questions, requests, etc, feel free to drop them in my ask box or shoot me a DM. I’d love to talk more about him. I also would be down to write more oneshots based around this series, because I am sort of like….okay, they obviously have a connection, but they don’t know that much about each other, and I may or may not have a light future already mapped out for them. I might do an epilogue at some point even. But if you have anything you’d like to add, let me know!

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[warmau]

☆ [nostalgic] summer romance!au xiaojun kind of getting into the groove of writing so, happy late birthday xj! find others here: johnny | haechan | taeil | taeyong | mark | jaemin | yangyang | yuta | sicheng | chenle | kun | yukhei | doyoung | jaehyun | jungwoo | ten | jisung | renjun | jeno

"his birthday is literally a month away."

kun says and you shrug your shoulders, bringing the straw of your milkshake to your lips

"you're the one who taught me it's always good to plan in advance."

"you don't need a month to plan a birthday party, plus its xiaojun - not ten - who would probably insist on a whole gala."

ten throws a look across the table but doesn't dispute this fact

you tap your fingers on your drink and set it down to mumble something about how fine, you'll do it yourself if they don't want to help

it takes two seconds for kun to give an exasperated sigh after that and agree to help you after all

you smile and tell him you knew he would, he's too much of a micromanager to refuse

ten laughs and sicheng smirks as he doesn't look up from his phone

kun gives you the same look ten gave him a minute ago

you've been friends with xiaojun for a good year now

ever since he nearly lost bella when she got off her leash at the local park and you bolted after her like any good citizen would before she could wander off into the street

xiaojun and you have gotten closer

you kind of get him in a way that not a lot of people do

his humor can be kind of dry, and he tends to be picky about certain things

you're exactly the same way so you never really get mad about it - you both have come to learn the things you dislike and like about literally everything

being friends with someone who is as particular about movie popcorn and indoor room temperatures is a blessing more than people might think

the other members see the similarities between you two and more often than not they're happy that xiaojun, who can also be kind of reserved around strangers, has found someone that makes him so comfortable

everyone in their apartment is a character from hendery to yangyang but xiaojun meshes best with you

so it's kind of no surprise that even after a short time of being friends, and most of that time spent around the others

you two start getting the off-handed "you're so alike, why don't you just date?" comments

hendery is the first person to say it after you guys spend hours playing video games together

you and xiaojun are so in sync about everything that the rest of the team feels like you guys have to be playing together when in reality you're not even in the same room

the immediate response is for you to cackle into your headset microphone and for xiaojun to let out a high-pitched, almost theatrical 'never!'

it passes over your heads and nothing changes

but then everyone seems to be saying it

"only you two can put up with each other."

"have you ever considered being more than friends?"

"oh you're 'hanging out' again or are you just actually going on a 'date'?"

the words are supposed to carry absolutely no weight

but at some point when someone says something you end up looking at xiaojun out of the corner of your eye for some kind of response that isn't just a staunch and straightforward

"never!"

it somehow also manages to get worse the month you're planning for his party in secret, both the teasing questions and your weird hope that xiaojun will one day say something different

nearly everyone knows you're trying to put this thing together but him and maybe that's why they tease

or maybe it's because xiaojun only ever seems fully himself when you're beside him

the way the tension in his shoulders falls completely to pieces when you topple over to spread out like a starfish on his sheets

the way the look of complete boerdom on his features shift around and up into a smile when you open the door holding your favorite cold drinks from the bubble tea place next door

the way xiaojun has never let someone close to him like this before - the way he lets you get cloes.

doesn't flinch when you lean over to brush an eyelash from his cheek, seems totally content with having you put a hand on his knee when you're all seated around the table and arguing over who goes next in this game of monopoly

it's a couple of days till the party and you are standing in the parking lot of the apartment building xiaojun lives in, you both have run away from the noise of his roommates

"hey, what do you want for your birthday?"

you feel hot when you ask - and it's not just because of the summer weather

xiaojun's head tilts as he says he hasn't thought about it

"actually, i'd love it if everyone got off our backs with his 'dating' crap."

dating crap

"do you hate it that much?"

"it just feels like they're taking it too seriously."

you run your tongue over your teeth and the unusual pause makes xiaojun narrow his eyes, in the evening darkness you think maybe he won't notice the confusing expression on your face but he does

"did i say something wrong?"

it's almost like he's poking at the sleeping giant question that you both are too nervous to actually ask - do we like each other in a way that's more than just friends? is everyone just pointing out the obvious?

"no, i just got lost in my thoughts for a second."

your mouth feels dry when xiaojun looks like he's going to step closer to you but doesn't

your saving grace is hendery's head popping out over the balcony and yelling for you two to get back inside before the mosquitos eat you alive

xiaojun holds the door open, but you tell him you need to go home early

that night you look at your checklist of things to do for his birthday

you've already sent out invites, you put in the order for the cake, and you got all the decorations

two things are left, pick up cake and snacks and get present

"dating crap"

you say out loud to yourself and for some reason, it hurts in your chest. you decide you'll just get xiaojun some kind of giftcard, maybe so he can buy more games.

"dude, xiaojun is like a cat."

kun says and you try to balance the cake in your hands as you two make your way to his car

it's the day of the party, kun is lugging bags of snacks and you're thankful that the cake has xiaojun's name on it spelled correctly, but something doesn't feel celebratory about all this

the excitement of making xiaojun happy has turned to anxiety ever since your talk in the parking lot

dating crap, dating crap, dating crap - did i say something wrong?

you squeeze the thought from your mind and look at kun with your brows furrowed

"what?"

"he's like a cat ok, he'll never show how much he wants something until he gets it."

it's cryptic and you tell kun you don't know what he's talking about, the cake is cold even through the bag it's in as you place it on your lap in the passenger seat

kun sighs as if he knows you're just being difficult

"sure, anyway xiaojun will be back to the apartment at seven so we should have enough time to set everything up."

at a red light, just as you're deep in mixing thoughts about xiaojun and your feelings and his feelings and how you sometimes get embarrassed seeing him walk around shirtless or eating from the same plate as him

kun goes, "by the way what did you get him as a present?

"oh a giftcard for games."

kun taps his finger against the wheel

xiaojun is actually surprised when he walks through the door and you all jump up with balloons and cheers and brightly colored party hats

he immediately looks at you in the crowd and asks

"you did this all for me?"

your heart threatens to jump up and out of your chest because he should look normal like he always does

but he's standing there with his grey t-shirt and silver chain looking like a sculpted masterpiece bestowed on you from heaven itself

god, i have it bad.

"we did it together!"

"nah it was like all them!"

hendery counters your modesty before throwing his arms around xiaojun into a half tackle hug

the party is like ... any other party

kun was kind of write, you didn't need to take a whole month to plan, but you're glad it is all going smoothly

people are enjoying the food, people are playing the usual games and chitchatting and summer is wafting in from the open balcony door

the pets are scampering around from lap to lap and someone has put on music that's upbeat but not ear piercing or distracting

xiaojun is being passed around for presidents and hugs and congratulations for another year of his life

and you are in the kitchen constantly putting new bowls of chips out, busying yourself with your hands to fight this weird churn of your stomach

xiaojun looks so handsome i could be sick. i want all of his attention but that's such a horrible thing to think - this is his party, this is literally. his. party.

someone taps your shoulder and you half expect it to be another person asking where the dip is when you turn to see xiaojun

"thank you so much"

his voice is softer than usual

"oh don't thank me, it's your birthday, it's the least i could do."

"i guess when i said i don't want a present you went with a party which is so sweet and unexpected."

the compliment goes over your head because the mention of that conversation has you thinking about it again.

dating crap. did i say something wrong - you feel cold in an apartment of packed bodies - it's like he was saying i don't like you like that. i don't love you.

"a-ah, yeah. i did also get you a present."

you fish the gift card that was put in a pretty envelope by the employee out of your pocket and hand it to him shyly

"i know it's not much-"

"no, you know me so well. you know i wanted to get all those new skins and stuff."

he's gripping the cup of soda in his hand unusually tight, you try not to notice the way it makes the veins that run up his forearm stand out

"xiaojun!"

someone's attention is needed and he disappears with a little smile. the conversation feels so stoic. it doesn't feel the way you and him talk.

and then somehow you end up in a circle on the floor with bella in your lap playing truth or dare

it's a birthday party in a huge apartment, so it's bound to reflect some of the traditions of high school

also hendery got too excited about playing it and no one wanted to say no

everyone starts off the way these things always go, embarrassing borderline comedic dares. stupid truth questions so that roommates can out other roommates for their mistakes.

you laugh a lot, you notice xiaojun keeps looking at you

then it gets to the birthday boy himself and hendery's big white grin kind of scares you

"so xiaojun, truth or dare?"

"truth"

a loud ringing of 'oooh's' plays through the walls and you swallow

"is it true..........you aren't romantically interested in your best friend?"

all eyes turn to you and then xiaojun

bella whimpers in your lap like she's sentenced the shift, she hops out and stretches before finding a corner somewhere else - you wish you could find a corner somewhere too.

xiaojun's face is unreadable, you haven't touched any alcohol all night but your vision feels fuzzy

"no. we're just super close friends."

the smile on hendery's face falls and the crescendo of your heartbreaking thumps through your ears so much that it physically hurts

someone coughs and clears their throat

you don't even register what you're doing as you're doing it, don't hear xiaojun say your name or the hard thwack of kun's hand on the back of xiaojun's shoulder

"are you insane, why would you say that when you don't mean it?"

the question floats from someone's mouth and it's not yours and you don't stick around to hear xiaojun's answer

you only navigate yourself up to your feet and out of that apartment because your body puts autopilot into flight mode

you're maybe two blocks down the street when something warm wraps its arms around you

you don't move - your eyes are fixated on the asphalt

"im so stupid, im sorry."

xiaojun's voice breaks in a way you've never heard before

"you're not stupid for not liking me back."

your voice sounds flat in a way you've never heard before too

the arms around you drop and you start to move forward again, still wanting to get away from him and everyone else

"no. i mean im stupid for lying."

you stop

"i thought you didn't want me to be interested in you like that and then kun said that's the dumbest thing he's ever heard because you obviously-"

xiaojun can't say the rest of the sentence because he's waiting for you to confirm

kun is always right about so many things, when he'd said xiaojun is like a cat, you get this is what he meant

"that i obviously am in love with you?"

you hear the sigh escape from xiaojun before you turn full around

when you do xiaojun nods, opens his arms again and you have never felt more fit for a place than when you tuck yourself into his chest and he buries his nose into your hair

"you're so bad at truth or dare"

you muffle into his shirt and he laughs, squeezing you closer

you don't mind the way you stick to each other under the glaring heat of the last summer month's hold

of course you come back to the apartment and everyone looks like they've just been saved from drowning in the titanic

the birthday party goes to a congrats-on-finally-confessing-your-feelings-you-two-idiots party

and for all the time you two spent apart that evening, you're now glued to xiaojun's side and it finally is in a way that lets your fingers brush and hold onto each other

in a way that lets him turn his head to kiss your temple when he's had enough of the conversation or argument his other roommates are in

you refuse to let him clean when the party is over - he is the birthday boy - but he does it anyway

you get some alone time on the balcony again and you kiss some more, all shy and new and tender

but xiaojun's hand finds your hip and you stammer against his mouth

you want to stay over but literally everyone is home so you peck xiaojun on the lips and he mutters we could just cuddle instead when you say goodbye at the door

the rest of august is sweeter than summer ice cream

you and xiaojun go on dates, which xiaojun is actually good at planning because he just knows you so well and he knows you are not the type of person who wants to go to fancy, uptight restaurant or even entertains the idea of seeing sappy romance movies in theaters

he knows what to order for you two before you even come over

you know what he needs when he just offhandedly mentions that he needs to get some stuff from the store

and it's like you two are connected by something more than just a physical need for the other, it's like your souls have been intertwined and your minds too

you do finally get to come over when the rest of the members are out practicing or hanging out with other people

and you check the door to the room is locked about six times before xiaojun has to rope you into his arms with his pretty lips

before scuttling out from under the covers to check the lock himself too

it makes you laugh, he laughs too, you two kiss and you think you can only remember xiaojun's taste for hours after

no one, not even strangers, seem surprised by you being together as they learn it

an older woman at the beach says you and him just look like puzzle pieces that have found each other, she says she sees happiness in your futures

and it is all happiness - from that birthday to this one - almost ten years later

xiaojun knows you're planning a party, you always do like it's a tradition, so you can't call it a surprise anymore

but he promises to act shocked when he comes through the door anyway

"is this shocked face good enough?"

he asks, putting his hands on his cheeks and opening his mouth

age has treated him so well, he's still got the absolute best cheekbones you've ever seen in your life

you giggle and clamber over onto the sofa where he is

"no, no - more oomf!"

he tries again and then reaches out to pull you into him, you kiss his nose and he scrunches it up

"how about i just jump up and go 'no way!' or something?"

"xiaojun you're not twenty anymore."

he pouts, "fine. ill think of something."

"by the way what do you want as a present?"

you look into his eyes and the browns soften as they reflect the image of you, the person he's sworn to love for the rest of his life

he shrugs - says he got the best present of all time already

"you said that last ye-"

"and it's true, you're the only thing ive ever wanted so badly i was just too dumb of a guy to ask for it."

your hands are warm on his chest

"that's ok, you still got it in the end."

[supernaturalgirl20]

To be loved by the devil!

Pairings: the thief/the devil x reader

Warnings: Smut 18+, explicit, p in v sex, unprotected sex, oral (female receiving),fluff, jealousy, mentions of God and biblical stuff, cursing.

Summary: the devil has searched a lifetime for his soulmate, with no luck. A chance encounter at a lavish party changes everything.

A/N: I’m a little late to the party with the commercial, but hey I got there in the end. This is purely self indulgent.

{Comments and reblogs really appreciated}

You’d heard the stories, your grandmother spoke often about them. How the devil walks among us tricking people into giving him their soul for earthly treasures. That however was not his true intentions, no, he searched for something far more precious. His soulmate! You had laughed at your grandmother, “the devil does not have a soulmate, he’s the devil.”

“Laugh all you want girl, but every being on this earth has a soulmate. El Diablo has walked the earth searching for her for a lifetime.” You learned not to question her, to just let her tell her stories, for that was all they were, stories. El Diablo was not real.

Sarah had invited you to some lavish party at this huge historic home in the middle of nowhere. It was some art dealer or something that was hosting it and you were under strict instructions to wear something formal. If you were being honest you didn’t really want to go, but Sarah wasn’t the type of person you said no to.

As you finished off your make up, you look yourself over in the mirror. Not bad. You bought a new dress for tonight, a red backless dress with thin straps. It was form fitting with a slit up the side. It made you feel powerful, sexy. A car horn startled you and you grabbed your purse and made your way outside.

“Y/N, you look stunning. You need to come to these with me more often.”

“Thanks. Ready to go?”

“Oh you bet.”

The driver pulled out of the drive and away you went. You drove out of the city and away from civilisation. There were trees everywhere, it made you feel like you were in a different world entirely. The closer you got, the more your body tingled. You felt a weird sensation deep within you, like something or someone was calling your body, calling it home.

Arriving at the house, we’ll mansion really, you we’re in awe of its beauty. Whoever owned it was extremely wealthy. Upon entry you were both given masquerade masks. Yours was a beautiful black lace mask with small diamonds running through it. Sarah leaves you at the bar to talk to some work colleagues and while your sipping on your champagne, you feel a set of eyes on you. Turning around you look out into the crowd, but you don’t see anyone staring at you. Suddenly a figure looms over you, “what is a beautiful women like you doing all alone?”

“Oh I’m not, I’m with a friend.” He looks around dramatically, “I’d don’t see anyone.”

“She’s dancing.”

“Can I get you a drink?”

“Well there free, so I’m good.”

“Hey no need to be rude, I was being nice.”

“Look I’m sorry but I’m not interested. There are loads of beautiful women here, I’m sure one of them will let you get them a drink.” You can tell from his clenched fists that he’s annoyed. He turns to leave, muttering under his breath.

“Fucking bitch.”

You hated guys like him, ignorant assholes. Thinking if they get you a drink it’s a one way ticket into your knickers. Downing the glass you get another. This was going to be a long night.

“I’m so sorry, I’m back now. Wanna dance?”

“Ugh, do I have to?”

“Yes, now come on.” Sarah grabs your hand and pulls you behind her. You join some of her friends from work and you notice Jake is with them. You have had a huge crush on him since Sarah’s birthday party last year.

“Y/N, you came.”

“Yeah, we’ll I didn’t really have a choice. You know how Sarah is.”

“Yeah tough cookie.”

Suddenly the music shifts to a slow set and Jake pulls you into him.

“You don’t mind, do you? I promise I can dance.”

“No I don’t mind. Lead the way.” He was an amazing dancer and the feel of his arms around you sent butterflies to your stomach. Jake is telling you how beautiful you look but you can’t concentrate, you fee someone staring again. That feeling you got in the car comes back, growing more intense by the second until..

“Mind if I cut in?”

You turn towards the voice and all you can see are these beautiful brown eyes staring at you. It’s like there staring right into your soul.

“Uh..”

Jake doesn’t get to say a word, mystery man has you whisked away. The feel of his arm around your waist and the smell of his cologne has you dizzy.

“You are very beautiful, mi ángel.” You can feel the blush rise up onto your cheeks. You can’t help staring at his eyes, it’s like you’ve known him a lifetime and yet you just met.

“I have waited a lifetime for your mi amor.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can you not feel it deep within your soul? We are destined to be together, you are mine and I am yours.”

“I…I..”

He swings you around and lowers you back. His lips trail down your neck and it sends a spark straight to your core. When he pulls you back up, your no longer in the ballroom. Looking around it appears as if your in a bedroom. There is a huge four poster bed and the room is illuminated by the crackling fire. You can see him more clearly now, in his long house coat. He slowly removes the mask and it’s like something has taken your breath away. He’s so handsome, with those deep brown eyes you could get lost in, his curved nose that suits his face perfectly and that thick head of hair that has you wanting to run your fingers through it. He’s right in front of you and as he pulls you close, something about him feels like home.

“You do not know how long I have waited for you mi amor. No matter, I have you now, nothing will separate us again.”

“I don’t know..”

He places his hands on your cheeks and pulls you into a sweet kiss. Suddenly your head is spinning and images flash behind your eyes. Images of you and him, together, in love until god separated you both. As punishment, for Lucifer betraying him, you both were cast out, soulmates ripped apart. Your memories of him were wiped and he was bound to a lifetime searching for you. When he pulls away you have tears in your eyes, “Luc” you lean up and kiss him again, this time more passionately.

“You remember me?”

“Yes! I’m sorry I ever forgot.”

“It wasn’t your fault mi amor, I was to blame for all this, but no matter. We’re together again and I will not let you go this time.”

His hand caressed your shoulders and the straps of your dress fell. With one tug, it pooled around your feet. You stepped out of it and reached up to push his coat off his shoulders. He backed you up until the back of your legs hit the bed, he lay you back gently, kissing his way down your body. He nudges your thighs apart and begins kissing the inside of them, slowly inching towards your aching pussy. He pulls your hips closer and slants his mouth over your core. His tongue searches through your folds, before finding the little pearl of your clitoris. Your nerve endings tingle with pleasure as you writhe beneath him. His gorgeous face rises from between your legs, a devilish smirk on his face. You grasp the sheets desperately trying to anchor yourself as a wave of ecstasy washes over you. Luc entwines his hand in yours, holding you steady. He kisses his way over your hips, along your stomach, sweeps his tongue over the peak of your breasts, before settling his body against yours.

He kisses your lips passionately before slowly inching himself inside you.

“Fuck mi amor……I forgot how tight you were. I love you.”

The weight of him on top of you feels perfect. His movements are slow and languid and you need more.

“I need you to move faster Luc.” You lock your ankles behind his firm ass, pulling him closer and urging him to go hard. You can feel the tight knot in your stomach threatening to unravel.

“I’m close baby, want you to come with me.”

He reaches between you and presses his thumb over your clit, rubbing circles.

“Fuck yes!”

You cry out as fierce waves of pleasure crash over you, your whole body trembling with the force of your climax. He thrusts into you once more before he follows you over the edge, blowing his seed deep inside you. He pulls out of you and you feel empty without him. He disappears into the en-suite to grab a wash cloth, before coming back and gently cleaning you up. He throws it on the floor before climbing under the duvet with you. Pulling you close he kisses your forehead.

“Te amo, mi amor. I am never letting you go again mi ángel. He will not take you from me again.”

“I am with you now forever mi amor.”

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[slashersgostabbystabstab]

Halloween Oreos (Michael Myers x Reader)

Original Ask: How about some snack time with Micheal uwu sharing Halloween oreos with his s/o or someone me whose getting close to him. Perhaps they buy him some huehue

_____________

Haddonfield had become a rather quiet place following the Halloween murders, the following years becoming somewhat grim.

Halloween was no longer the same, or at least it was something that made the residents of Haddonfield tense up. Even after thirteen years, people were sometimes too afraid to speak the Boogeyman’s name. At least, people finally came out of their homes, as if the plague was already over with. After thirteen years, one could have said that the Boogeyman was no more.

October had finally come around, and this year Haddonfield was gifted with a veil of fresh white snow on just the third day of the month.

You grunted as you fixed the plastic bags in your hands, the mittens you wore making it somewhat difficult to properly hold them.Today was the day to go out for groceries, a task you only did every now and then due to your current living condition.

“Need help there?” you heard a voice behind you, prompting you to turn and see the cashier that had rung you up in the grocery store.

“Oh! Ah,” you gave a nervous chuckle as you once again fixed the plastic bags. “I-I can bear, thank you though.”

“I really don’t mind lending a hand, especially in this weather.”

“It’s alright.” you insisted, especially after a chill ran down your back, your eyes glancing around as an uneasy feeling came over you. “Thank you, I really appreciate it. I just need to get going right now. Somebody’s waiting for me.”

“Ah, I see.” he nodded, taking a step back as you sighed in relief. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

“Thank you, have a nice day.” you nodded as well, not bothering to watch him leave as you knew the consequences of such things.

As you headed to your car, you took notice of a news crew that had stationed itself across the road, right at a sidewalk that led to another array of stores. The crew was specifically focused on a hardware store that had its glass windows broken, even the farthest eye could see the bloody handprints that were splattered on the walls inside as well as other blood prints.

You shivered at the thought of what had gone down inside, instead focusing on the trunk of your car before loading everything inside. Not paying much attention to the camera crew, or at least not wanting to do so, you hopped into your car to drive out of town. But not before taking a good look at your surroundings, on edge about the eyes that were possibly watching your every move.

_____________

Home was a rather lengthy ride, no more than an hour’s time thankfully, but the searching for it was what made up for that isolation you required. Considering the situation you lived in, your partially preferred living arrangements lie in the woods outside of town, where things were calm and quiet.

Hopping out of your car, you felt as the snow began to fall once again. This meant that in the morning, the veil would be much thicker and there was no going out, especially as your small home was situated in a deep part of the woods.

Hearing your boots with every step, you unloaded the groceries which would definitely be taking more than one go. You made your way towards the cabin in front of you, coming to stop after walking onto the porch as your eyes caught crimson.

Right on the wood were boot prints, every single one as red as the blood from the hardware store.

Your eyes followed the trail that led to the door itself, and you took notice of it being ajar.

Dropping the bags onto the porch, you placed a hand on the door to cautiously take a step inside. The creak of the door was enough to have you jump back the slightest bit, especially as your eyes continued to examine the trail of blood that led into the kitchen.

Now, you knew not to act like a girl in a horror movie but…

“Hello?” you called out into the emptiness of your home, holding your keys close to either fight with them or immediately flee to the car. “Is that you-”

Soon enough your scream pierced the air as you jumped off the ground, this due to feeling a rough hand clasp onto your shoulder from behind.

Once you had turned around, you groaned at the sight of an older man that stared down at you with dead eyes.

“Michael!” you yelled at him, then fixing your jacket which had slightly crumpled up at the shoulder where you had been grabbed. “I thought you were someone else.”

The man before you in no way flinched, not even bothering to blink as he continued to watch your every move.

“You leave in the middle of the night without a word and leave me alone all day.” you mentioned before passing by him, knowing that he turned his entire body to always be facing you. ���Well now that you’re done with scaring the hell out of me, I’m done with the groceries. Won’t need to go out until January I think. I hope so, since it’s starting to get pretty cold out.”

Michael Myers, the Shape or Boogeyman of Haddonfield, stood right at your door with not a care in the world. If anything, your door to your house, was his door to his house. It had been this way for quite awhile now.

A few years actually.

It was surprising that he was not wearing his mask, his blue and clouded eye completely fixated on your figure as you grabbed the bags right at the entrance.

Once you had grabbed the bags at the door and then the remaining ones in the car, you shut and locked the door before being followed by Michael into the kitchen.

After he had spared you years back, Michael had come to act like a cat. Always with his nose on the lookout for what it is you would be feeding him. Hilariously, that was just how Michael reluctantly came into your life.

“I haven’t prepared anything since I’ve been out most of the day.” you admitted, ever so quietly laughing at the soft groan that rumble in Michael’s throat. “I did find some sweet goodies at the market though. Especially at WalMart.”

Michael didn’t always understand the things you talked about, but he was always listening. Always watching. Learning.

“They have these new cookies for the season. The orange looks kind of funny, but I’m pretty sure they taste the same as the originals.” you mentioned as you set the groceries on the counter, looking through the bags as you began to put everything in its place. “I also got you some stuff to shave off that scruff.”

Michael’s eyes darted down in an attempt to look at his chin, instead seeing you hand placed under it as you softly rubbed your thumb on it.

“Though I have to admit that it’s starting to grow on me.” you smiled before making your way back to the groceries. “Just like the greys in your hair.”

It really had been a few years since you had met Michael, a relationship forming after a pretty good while. He was in his mid-twenties, practically a middle-aged man now who hadn’t been found by the authorities this entire time thanks to you.

As you began to prepare a hot beverage for yourself, and Michael who you knew would ignore it but drink it behind your back, you knew that Michael was watching you intently. His eyes were glued on your hands that grabbed a pumpkin you had purchased. Somehow, he had not even realized the large vegetable as you brought it in.

“Found a recipe you might like, especially for the cold.” you spoke before grabbing a kitchen knife, one that piqued Michale’s interest but was not enough to have him snatching it away due to its size. “Especially with all the pumpkins that are out now.”

To his dissatisfaction, you set the knife down besides the pumpkin on the counter before facing him.

“But before I make that, I’m gonna go change. These clothes are starting to make me feel stuffy.” you removed your jacket as you walked around the counter and out the kitchen, for once not being followed by Michael who was now focused on the knife you had left behind.

Knowing that you would be too focused on finding one of his shirts to wear, he approached the counter to take hold of the knife, bringing it to his face to admire how it shone under the kitchen light. He first held it pointing upwards, but changed it so that he was instead gripping it with the blade pointing down. His head craned to the vegetable beside him, and instinct got the best of him.

“I see you got started with the pumpkin.” he heard your voice, turning around after having jabbed the knife down into the pumpkin which had more than a simple wound.

Michael grabbed the knife once again to pull it out, his entire body facing you once again as he tilted his head at your figure.

Your eyes fell to the knife that contained a bit of pumpkin residue, even a seed or two managed to slip out due to Michael’s brute strength. Now your eyes were on his blank features, and you couldn’t help but give him a smirk.

_____________

It wasn’t often that you lit the fireplace as to avoid any attention from outsiders, especially authorities who had honestly given up on the search for Michael despite his former psychiatrist’s demands, but you believed that tonight was just the night for a warm fire.

Despite the cold weather, you only wore one of Michael’s shirts with socks, perhaps a little something on your bottom. You figured that there wasn’t an entire need for covering yourself when Michael was your human blanket, and one that refused to come off you.

With all of the day’s work done, you sat on the couch, or more like Michael’s lap as he sat on the couch. Your legs were crossed as your torso was constricted by Michael’s strong arms, his chin casually laying on top of your head as you ate the last of your pumpkin soup.

Both pairs of eyes stared up ahead, almost next to the fireplace where your TV screen was placed. You were both watching the moving pictures, or at least Michael resumed that when you made comments about the movie.

“That’s so cheesy, no girl would scream and faint on the spot if she saw a monster.” you ever so slightly shook your head, Michael’s chin too heavy to actually complete the motion. “At least, nowadays. However, that looked like that one scene from the latest Child’s Play movie where the guy has a heart attack.”

It was an old monster movie kind of night, your mood demanding it and Michael no doubt being curious. Frankenstein actually seemed to catch his attention.

The man’s eyes glanced down at you as he saw your arms stretch out with your empty bowl, attempting to put it on the coffee table in front of the couch. This of course was quite impossible with Michael holding you back, his grip on you only becoming tighter as you were managing to barely escape his grasp.

“Michael!” you groaned, pulling your head forwards until his arms made a ring around your hips after you were able to snake the top part of your body out.

As you reached out to set the bowl down, you felt Michael bury his face right into your back before rubbing himself all over and taking in your scent simultaneously.

“I just want to put the damn bowl down.” you wheezed, eventually releasing a sigh of relief when your glass bowl safely landed on the table. But it made you also pleased to have grabbed the plate you had prepared along with the bowls of soup, making sure it or its contents didn’t slip out of your hands as you adjusted your body to the former position.

Michael gave a grunt as he placed his chin on your head again, this time making sure that you had no way of escaping him.

“You wanna try one, Michael?” you lifted the plate just a bit, having Michael peer down at the plate that contained black little circles that smelled weirdly to him. “They’re the newest Oreos. The cookies I mentioned earlier.”

You placed the plate on your lap, wishing that that was enough to hold them up while you took one of the cookies and offered it up to Michael.

“I don’t have any milk right now because you’re not gonna let me get any, so take it like this.

Michael squinted at the cookie, the orange filling enough to have him blinking at least once. In this state of his, you were able to break free and spin your body in place so that your legs were no longer crossed but instead on either side of Michaels’ waist. The plate of cookies was safely put on the empty space of the couch so that nothing could fall.

Having a mind of their own, Michael’s hands wrapped themselves around you as he once again stared at the cookie.

“It’s just a cookie Michael.” you giggled, lowering it before taking a bite out of it yourself.

Michael’s eyes landed on your lips, watching the way they moved as you chewed the cookie piece. Tiny black crumbs adorned your lips, every now and then shifting the more you chewed.

You watched him as well, finding it how funny his curiosity was. So, you popped in the remainder of your cookie before eating it as well, now feeling one of Michael’s arms leave your waist.

Instead, his fingers brushed against the warmth of your skin as his nails carefully scraped your cheeks. The tips of his fingers now coming close to your lips, his index finger actually on your bottom lip before it pulled it down and open.

“Michael,” you breathed out, knowing that Michael was merely observing the crumbs left on your lips.

Blinking up at Michael, you saw as he brought his face down to yours. His lips now dangerously close to yours as he continued to play with your bottom lip, making your breath hitch as he neared more and more.

Soon enough you closed your eyes when Michael closed the gasp, but not with his lips but his tongue.

Your eyes shot open as you felt his tongue lick the corner of your lip, continuing onto your lips themselves. You placed your hands on his shoulders, gripping onto them as you felt his own twist around the shirt you wore.

Your lips had already been parted from the shock of Michael’s actions, that good enough for Michael to slip in his tongue to get a taste of your mouth.

He didn’t care about your nails digging into his shoulders but in fact enjoyed it, pressing your chest against his as his tongue continued to explore your cavern, tasting every bit he could. But before you could follow along with his treatment, Michael retreated himself and looked down at you with half-lidded eyes that matched yours. Well, his didn’t have as much emotion as yours for he was difficult to faze of course.

“Michael?” you sighed at him, thoughts clouded with what just happened. You were then snapped out of it when Michael let go of you with one hand, reaching to the side where the plate of cookies was.

He had grabbed another one, bringing up in between your faces and leaving it there for just a moment. Soon after, he brought it to your lips, scraping it against them before slowly slipping it in so that you could take a bite.

As you chewed the cookie, Michael took the other piece into his mouth, leaving the two of you with crumbs on each of your lips.

His tongue slid out once again, licking the crumbs off of his lips before you got the memo.

The flush on your cheeks was more than enough to warm you up on this chilly October night.