#like we've only been dating just under 5 months

[dollfairy]

guess who got offered a key to someone's apartment ;o;

[hollyhomburg]

Before I Leave You (Pt.63)

(Omegaverse au, Mafia au, Bts x Reader)

Summary: you never thought that just cuddling with Hobi on a cold day could lead to this; his pants off and you begging "Daisy please-"

Tags: fluff, a little hurt but mostly just comfort, first times, soft cuddle sex, unintentional mutual somnophilia, knotting, scenting, under clarified limits, a touch of slick kink, breeding kink, a touch of size kink (you know the good stuff), unrealistic amounts of cum, implied belly bulge, implied feral sex, small triggers after sex, small references to past abusive relationships, hole check's, knot checks, dom/sub undertones to later scenes but not in the main smut,

W/c: 14.2k

A/n: thank you guys for being patient for this next chapter :) it's one of my favorites so please give it lots of love! i know we've all been waiting for hobi's confession and the completion of their arc, did i do it justice? Also i'm sorry that i have a pathological need to end every single chapter with a cliffhanger lol, this one is no different!

Previous part ~ Masterlist

(5 years ago. Before Yoongi. Before everyone.)

Jung Hoseok cleans his arms in a bathroom. He is 21 years old, there is lipstick on his fingers, and nothing bad has happened to him yet.

Bad is all relative of course. Some would call growing up in a rich area while living in a one-bedroom apartment bad. Some people would call not really knowing your parents because they work late nights bad. Some would even say that the fact that they won’t pay for Hoseok’s college education a fucking tragedy.

But between you and me and Hoseok; other people wouldn't know a fucking tragedy if it hit them in the fucking face. Talking to some people about your suffering is like trying to make a toddler shoot the broad side of a god damn barn with a double barrel shotgun. Or like those little lemon slices they put in the water at olive garden-

It's fucking useless. And you're more likely to be sent to the hospital than get some actual fucking results. Weather it's because of food poisoning, a bullet wound, or because some idiot you trusted thinks you're a god damn suicide risk.

See right? Talking about your problems is fucking useless.

But he’s always been able to focus on the brighter side of things. It's a blessing and a curse because optimism always lies to you. It's easier to be happy than it is to be upset, at least for Hoseok at this moment.

At least he was an optimist until they ruined him a little. After this year, finding the silver will take effort.

The tiles beneath his feet are cold to the touch. He knows that there’s a button somewhere to turn on the heated flooring but he just can’t find it. Hidden and unfamiliar as he is with this den. So different from his own little dormitory halfway across the city.

This fancy three-bedroom apartment is one that he will move into in precisely 4 months once they make it official, he’ll live here for exactly 2 years 3 months, and 8 days before being kicked out and moving into the pack's den. It’s exactly 2 years to the date that he meets Min Yoongi in the record store.

But nothing bad has happened to him yet. Today he is just himself, No idea of what's about to befall him and that It won't just be bad.

This apartment is upscale, with its wainscotting and long gauzy curtains that barely keep out the sound of the city streets 5 stories below and the lightly warm June morning. He’s not quite sure who pays for this one yet. Hasn’t had the chance to ask, he's only been seeing this pack for 2 months. This Hoseok is shyer than the one you know. Timid and unsure of where he should place his dulled claws.

It's all awfully mysterious. The question of "What do your parents do?" and the answer pressed to a raised finger. The truth lingering between lipstick and manicure on a single giggled breath.

"That's a secret"

He casts a glance around the bathroom, the marble counters, the plush hand towels, and even the designer soap is forghein to him.

Rich people.

It's one part tired jealousy and one part true distaste. Even if Hoseok had all the money in the world he wouldn't waste it on painting a bathroom white or powdery Dior soap. Why not blue or orange or green or pink?

(Oh Hobi. The pack’s bathroom will be green one day, with delicate tiles in the shade of the lightest moss. Not yellow-toned and not blue. he's going to help yoongi pick it out, He just doesn’t know it yet).

Their apartment is just a few blocks from the college that he attends, a freshman but not for much longer. A freshman, along with the pack's youngest. Her on the business track and him in a weed-out art department. The prerequisite humanities course is their shared battleground.

Out of everything in this story, this is the only true coincidence.

This version of Hoseok likes omegas with a bit of a dark side. The ones that are a bit bitchy, a bit entitled and alot pretty. The ones that hone their eyeliner to a vicious edge, or the male ones that act a little bit more like alphas and disobey gender norms. That’s what drew his eye to this pack's youngest in their hum 1 class.

He got a little melty when her eyes turned less “I’ll kill you if you even sniff in my direction” and more “A pretty alpha like you has to have a pack right?”

Hoseok had stuttered when he’d said that No- he didn’t.

Before long he’ll drop out because he just can’t cut it at art school. Just can’t spend nights with fingers black from charcoal, working on things that will one day be thrown in the garbage because he’ll have a pack to attend to. Good alpha that he is.

(It will be years before he realizes that it wasn't art school just mediums. He’s meant to use flowers to make things instead.)

They’re not his pack yet, not yet. not yet. Not Yet- But there is a gift waiting for him downstairs. A fancy set of pastels and paints. It’s the start of courting even though he’s supposed to be the one buying them gifts. He’s the penniless college student they’re the ones with the nice apartment. He’s the one with the knot, and they’re all omegas. It’s a give-and-take.

Yet somehow even though he’ll be the only alpha he knows he won’t be the pack alpha.

He cleans the lipstick from his fingers. Bright red. He knows he has it in other places too, down below the tugged low hemline of his pants pulled on after they were done fucking.

The last thing he wants to be is like the other alphas in the fraternities on campus, the ones that holler at all the omegas shit like “I can taste your slick from here baby,” and “want to study anatomy together? I’m a hands-on learner” Hobi dreads the idea that he might be like that. Even a little bit. Even unintentionally.

But still, their words from earlier ring in his ears.

“They haven’t been dating for that long, you can’t expect us to be comfortable all the time with you in our nest, it's a really intimate thing for us."

Hobi feels like one of those phraternity alphas when it makes him uncomfortable.

It’s reasonable that they wanted to give his knot a ride and try him out before they make it official. One alpha and four omegas, these odds are every alpha’s wet dream. He knows his performance was Oscar-worthy.

It had been nice to be in a nest for just a little bit, Hoseok’s biology wants it, the tense knot between his shoulders all loose.

Hoseok has never been loved by someone who wanted to talk to him every day, it will be easy for them to reduce his focus to their beck and call.

There's 4 different colors of lipstick on his cock. Four different shades from four different women. His new packmates get to the carrot part of the carrot and stick arrangement.

In the future, he’ll deny that he ever thought of any of these women as that- as packmates. He'll say it was only ever Namjoon’s pack that he wanted in this way. He’ll say it never compared and it didn’t. Except for these first few months. These first few days.

Memories lie to us all the time; memory is the best secret keeper.

He watches one of his packmates sit on the edge of the nest, she wears the lipstick prints better than he does. Lining the inside of her thighs, her own lips smudged.

Hoseok doesn’t let the smile fall from his lips and she smiles back. She tugs her long hair free of a bun that she’d put it up in so that she didn’t get slick in it. It will be a few more months until she cuts it above her collarbones. Blunt to a brutal edge.

Hoseok’s sweatshirt is on the edge of the nest, and Hoseok watches as she brings it to her nose, breathing in deep. Hoseok is just about to say that she can wear it when she throws it onto a nearby ottoman. Not onto the floor thankfully. No omega has ever worn his sweatshirt before. Hoseok tries not to let the rejection of his scent sting.

She looks at the lipstick on Hoseok, there’s a bit on his lip. “Come here.” She asks, parting her legs.

Hoseok is a good alpha and goes.

~-~

(Now, You and Hobi)

When Hobi wakes it's because the pack is moving around the room, bickering, and struggling to be quiet, bickering a little.

Their low hum drum voices as they talk about “Jungkookie? where did you put my mittens?” and ”I sort of love that you still wear mittens, babe.” Yoongi’s deep rumble, “Did Jimin buy those for you too?” All teasing and understanding. Because if anyone knows how Tae likes to be teased, Yoongi does.

Tae’s fond little croon is so melodic it makes Hobi sigh, ears straining to hear more of it. “Yes, he did. Got pup matching ones too.”

Pup. that’s you. Curled in the center of the nest under Hobi's elbows. dozing but unable to lift your head from where it's pillowed. You’re sure that Yoongi knows you’re kind of awake or at least listening in because Yoongi knows everything.

You’re sure that as he looks down at you and Hobi tangled together, he’s doing it with a smirk. You don’t need to open your eyes and double-check.

The temperature of the nest is balmy, overly warm in the way that it gets when it’s cold outside and the nesting is hitting so particularly good that Hobi won’t even think of moving. (The way it feels when you come out of the cold and into the waiting arms of someone you love) Hobi nuzzles into the warmth in front of him.

A small storm brews outside. The snow has been falling since midday. Just a little here and there. But Tae loves how it looks with all the Christmas lights. There aren’t quite enough up yet but the holiday season is close.

But the snow won't last, soon it won’t be falling at all. It will all melt off by tonight, the afternoon is supposed to be sunny. Can sun showers happen with snow?

"Do you think we could walk all the way to the gym, it's not all that far! only like 10 miles. We could run it in like an hour!"

He listens to the others talk. The sound of Yoongi’s voice, gravely and vaguely upset. “Jungkook, you’re not really thinking about going to work out right now- You’ve barely been home for like 5 hours. I just said we could go do something not run 10 fucking miles.”

Jungkook always gets this way; when the dizziness of the seizures turns to restlessness and he's honestly fine but the others can't resist trying to baby him. Too awake to sleep anymore. He sounds grumpy, whiney, and pouty even though Hobi's eyes aren't open to see him turn his puppy eyes on Yoongi. “I’m never going to be able to sleep tonight if I don’t hyung- I’m gonna go crazy.”

There’s the faint sound of lips meeting and smacking. Kisses that are probably meant to soothe Jungkook. “How about we compromise pup.”

“A walk?” Tae offers, sounding hopeful.

“A long walk.”

You shift a little and Hoseok opens his eyes. You're mostly still asleep just settling, making yourself more comfortable with the new space no longer corralled by arms and bodies.

Hobi’s mouth is dry when he watches you shift onto your stomach your face half-smushed into the cushions, scenting them a little in your sleep. The homey scent fizzle in Hoseok’s bones tells him that you've scented him too. Being surrounded by the pack's scent like this makes Hobi’s skin feel like pop rocks. Like his bones are mentos and coca cola. All sensitive and tingly.

He’s cuddled with you before- through your nightmares and last night at the hospital of course- but it’s never been just the two of you in a nest. He’s never been the only alpha here, charged with guarding the pillows and blankets and you curled soft in the center.

Hobi tentatively puts an arm around your waist, tugging you a little closer. The house still hasn't totally warmed up yet and you'd be cold without some body heat. He does it slowly, seeing if you’ll wake.

There is a hand in his hair, petting softly, and he snatches his arm from around your waist the second Hoseok realizes he's being watched. Yoongi leans over the edge of the couch-turned-nest, smirking a little. The door shuts behind Tae and Jungkook with a puff of cold air, and he raises his eyebrows expectantly.

He would look intimidating if his beanie didn't have cat ears. 

The pads of Yoongi's fingers rub soothing circles under Hobi's jaw and his lips part unintentionally. “Be good yeah?” he says, whisper soft. Hoseok just nods, too sleepy to verbally respond.

They haven’t talked much about Hobi’s confession; that night on the beach what feels like ages ago. But everytime he thinks of it Hobi still tastes salt on his tongue and your name on his lips. 

Yoongi’s wearing the same look now that he did then; half hopeful and half worried. But if there was anyone that would object on your behalf, if Hobi wasn't allowed this closeness with you, Yoongi would tell him.

Yoongi doesn't say that you and him aren't ready for cuddling like this. Yoongi doesn't say that Hoseok should give you space or not cradle you to his chest like you are something as fragile and necessary and as doomed as his beating heart. Trembling and stuttering with the force of sweet expectations and hopes made hollow with satisfaction.

Yoongi does not realize that Hoseok's heart has not had a steady beat since he woke up holding you.

Yoongi doesn't say anything. Yoongi just drags a single knuckle down his cheek and leaves. Heading out after Tae and Jungkook who are, judging from the hallow sound of snow hitting the windows- are having a snowball fight.

“If one of those hits me I’m not holding anyone’s hand for the whole walk-“

The door keeps out the sound of Tae's sweet giggles and Jungkook’s pouted, "just one hyung- I won't hit your face-" 

And the two of you are alone. Wrapped up warm, quiet and hushed, just the two of you.

Well, except for Noodle.

The meticulously kept edge of the nest is all fluffed, Noodle makes sure of it. Small paws depressing the blanket as he kneads it and then settles on the edge. His purr is audible from here as he blinks slowly from the bottom of the couch turned nest. Jin wrangled him for a brushing yesterday morning and his coat still looks extra fluffy and kempt. 

Unwatched and unjudged, Hobi tentatively reaches to cradle your ribs again. Thumb smoothing down the center of your stomach, a little close to your belly button. You’ve got a little hair there. Hobi’s fingers like the feel of it. Not rough but not silky.

Your skin feels like champagne bubbles and sparklers, everywhere he touches your skin goes fizzy. Hobi looks down at you, breath hitching, and thinks Is it really so horrible to want this? Why am I so afraid of this? 

You wiggle a little closer in your sleep and Hobi’s arm goes vicelike.

Noodle's purr goes a little louder. 

Hobi doesn’t like to think about his last pack ever, but he recognizes that hollow ache and tug that says memories aren’t too far behind. And it threatens to swallow him until he looks down at you. The house is quiet but your eyebrows are puffed up like something very shocking is happening in your dreams. He doesn't want to think about them right now. 

He drags his nose across your hairline; scenting you. Tasting your emotions on his tongue. Comfort. Ease. Arousal-sweet. Not all that abnormal. Not nightmares then. He is always on the lookout for them. After Jungkook and the hospital, he sort of thought they might come back. 

Hoseok counts his stars and snowflakes, and rests his forehead against the nape of your neck.

Over the next hour, you’re restless. Moving, worming your way closer to him as he goes in and out of sleep. You make a soft noise and he shushes you. a growl that says to stay put and alpha's here.

You blink slowly up at him. Hobi pulls back, taking his arm from around your waist, feeling like he’s just stolen candy from a jar on the counter that’s for him anyway. You stretch and don't comment on it, yawning. 

Noodle hops closer, squirming between the two of you and stepping over your shoulders. Meowing right in Hoseok’s face. “Alright alright, I’ll feed you again.”

You snuggle into the warm hallow he left on the couch when he detangles himself, hand under your cheek watching him as he stumbles out of the nest. Noodle follows tail held high. It's truly horrible. Leaving the nest when every bit of Hobi's body wants him to stay in the warmth. The house is always so slow to warm up. 

“Fuck the floors are cold.”

“Quick,” you say, face above the edge of the cover. Hoseok rushes, doling out a single scoop of dry food and then running back to you. Hobi wastes precious seconds to grab his headphones from the kitchen table before collapsing onto the couch where you hold the blanket up, sealing the warmth and him back inside. The headphones tangle between the two of you and he falls with a giggle. Disappearing among the white blanket. He sinks thankfully into the warmth, into the safety that the nest offers. Into you.

Your warm arms wrap around his shoulders and his body shivers delightfully in a way that has nothing to do with the cold. Your jaw pops when you yawn and then he yawns too, a breath later. You laugh too and tuck your face into his shoulder.

“Fuck- it’s so cozy.”

It really is, the kind of cozy that only comes along a few times a year. A quiet to your bones that says there is nothing to do now but rest. The coldness that turns your bodies into these molten-loving things. Your warmth and Hoseok’s warmth. One warmth.

He breathes, deep and heavy.

“I don’t know if I want to get up yet.” The house is still quiet. Nothing but Noodles happy munching sounds and the faint scratch of big snowflakes hitting the windows.

Hobi’s heart beats frantic against yours and you sigh. “Wanna listen to some music?” He offers. Hobi always loves a backtrack, a little compliment for the exposition.

You nod, a little sleepy, but Hobi has a playlist for that. He’s got a playlist for everything including ’sleepy cozy pup time’. The headphones take a second to locate, lost in the nest. But when he does you share them. One earphone a piece, the sound turned low so you can still talk.

Hobi puts on a love song, and it makes you smell all sweet. Stretched out with your hair tangling because you’ve left it unbound, the split ends prodding at Hobi’s cheeks. He doesn’t really listen to the song, just watches you. Eyes closed humming softly.

Your scent sours and Hoseok's hand goes tight on your wrist. You tell him what's bothering you without him even having to ask.

“I saw this line the other day that didn't like." You look at the ceiling, not at him. "it said a love song is really good if you can’t tell whether they’re talking about another person or if they’re talking about god.”

You think about Jimin and Tae. You've been thinking about it since Tae talked about their childhood earlier and the bloody cross between the two of them. If holiness does exist, it’s in Tae. If there is anything like religion for you or Jimin, it's love. God has nothing to do with it. God's not the person who makes love songs sound good.

Hobi turns on his side, leaning on his elbow. “I’m not sure Jimin would agree with that either.”

You turn in time to see Hobi’s smile. It catches the sunlight, lingering right on his cheek. An octagonal shaft of sunlight that has traveled millions of miles to get there could not have found a more beautiful place to fall. He huffs a quiet laugh again, and you swear you might hear the highest note of a piano somewhere.

You wonder when he became so musical to you, maybe it’s just because he’s the person who made you love music so much.

(You can tell a love song is good, when it makes you think of Hobi).

“You’re still worried about him, aren’t you?” You rest your lips against his shoulder and Hobi’s body doesn’t move an inch. They’re soft where they lie not a kiss but not not a kiss either. You can rest your lips against his skin, you can rest your whole body and Hoseok wouldn't move an inch.

“Always worried, got to worry about Minnie. Always worried about everyone.” You mumble. Eyes closing.

The light comes through the windows all honey yellow, turning the bookshelves that Yoongi made gold instead of white. Turns the tops of Hobi’s hair a little red too, the brown has endless depths in the sunlight all burnt umber and Sienna where the sun hits, yellow ocher at the tips. The sunlight savors falling on Hobi, down to the last inch.

You try to keep your eyes open, struggling, and Hobi sets a hand on the top of your head, ruffling your hair lightly.

"Go back to sleep pup."

You hum, already half there. He pulls you a little on top of him, holding you with a firmness usually reserved for too-large packages and the tenderness reserved for very fragile very precious things. It makes your whole body feel tingly at the edges.

“Thanks for not leaving the nest when everyone else did,” you think he might be asleep for how long it takes him to answer. But everything in the last 24 hours has left you feeling like you don’t want to be alone, that you can’t be left by yourself. He breathes up and it presses against your stomach.

“Didn’t want to go with the others- just wanted to stay here in the nest with you.” nesting is a biological need for alphas as much as it is for omegas, Hobi hasn't felt so relaxed in ages.

He murmurs, hand still skimming through your hair. His thumb rolling against the nape of your neck and you shiver hard into the touch, sinking further into him. “Is that okay?”

Your hand finds a spot under his arm and you use it to tug yourself closer, getting your forehead against his shoulder, the headphones slipping from your ear.

“Yeah. It’s always okay.”

Hobi tucks your hair behind your ear and puts the headphones back in.

The next time you wake it’s because Noodle is licking at your forehead, grooming you, and you hear the shutter sound of Hobi’s camera, his small giggle. You swat at noodles face and he bats at you a little before settling on the small of your back, fighting Hobi for necessary real-estate and howling when he gets pushed off.

“Nu, be quiet,” Hobi’s hushed words are answered with an equally quiet meow that sends you straight off to dreamland again.

You don't know how long it's been, it could have been hours or minutes the next time you wake. You just know that Hobi smells good, smells musky sweet caramel all drippy and heady, that you've got your nose pressed up against his scent gland. All surrounded by it. Surrounded by him.

The next time you wake is not so innocent.

You’re a little too close. Cuddling with Hobi in a way that you might with Yoongi- with Namjoon or Jungkook. All warm snug hot. Bodies and dreams tangled so thoroughly that it's hard to tell where dreamy wants begin and fragile delights end.

You’re warm at your front from Hobi and warm on your back from the sunshine streaming through the window. Warm all the way through. Until he moves his hand and you realize that’s from him too. His fingers splayed over your spine.

You think you can be forgiven for confusing them. Hoseok and sunlight are one and the same.

The apex of your thigh is pressed tight to his hip just where his thigh starts. Your leg hitched over his hip and tight to it. The fabric of his sweatpants and the fabric of your pajama shorts are all bunched up from your movements. Your knee bent at a comfortable angle. His scent is heady in your nose, pressed to the low tugged collar of his shirt just over his heart.

As close as you can be but still not enough.

You don't even realize your hips are moving, sleepily grinding against his thigh until it's too late.

Hobi grabs your hips and groans.

You stop mid-movement, thoughts sloshing sleepy. And oh, you were moving, weren’t you? There is a dampness between your thighs and the scent of slick and arousal sharp in the air. That comfortable pleasure hiccup in your throat that says you want to cum and can. could like this.

You jerk back from the warmth in front of you, startled into wakefulness as you realize exactly you were just doing.

Oh no- you didn’t mean- Hobi. Alpha, warm and comfortable at your front.

You start to back up, still half asleep, but terror and embarrassment flood you like the ocean floods the sea rocks at high tide.

Hobi groans, a deep near growl sound, and moves before you can back up even an inch. he was just as asleep as you just were until you pulled away. His sleepy brain still clings to you.

His hands slip lower, holding you tight against his front. His sleepy alpha brain is malfunctioning. Sweet omega needs to stay close. The source of his warmth and the friction against his front cannot slip away.

His hands are on your ass and your pussy is pressed flushed to his hip, and Hobi-

Hobi is your best friend, Hobi is your packmate and Hobi has to be unaware of what he’s doing. You’re sure of it. You try to pull away again from him fighting back more embarrassment than you've ever felt in your entire life, hands pressed to his chest.

But He pulls you right back to him.

Right into a unmistakable hardness poking at your stomach. Hard and warm. Right where you were grinding in your sleep.

Hoseok’s heavy breath brushes your ear.

Instincts are incredibly hard to describe. The way they hook into your consciousness and separate reason from action and want from logic. The part of you that’s in control, that recognizes that you and Hobi shouldn’t be this close like this if it’s not talked about, is so distant.

A needy sound echoes that might be from you, that is from you, as Hobi’s hands slide up your hips and under his sweatshirt. Cold hands on your warm hips and oh-

Hobi’s eyes are cracked open, looking down at you, watching you with pink cheeks. Tongue darting out to lick at his lip. “S’okey you just-" his eyes flutter closed again; breath warm against your face. "You take what you need.”

It’s only a testament to the pack's care that you associate these things with each other. Safety and coziness are just so close to pleasure and comfort. Your sleepy body associates this kind of nesting with sex. it's only natural that you'd get a little needy while inside of it.

You can get needy, Hobi doesn't mind.

Before either of you can say if you really should, if this is really a good thing to do without talking about it first. Hobi’s hands are on your waist, pulling you back snug, his hard thigh between your legs.

If you were more awake, you’d think better of it, you’d think so much but there is only that sweet pressure. The drag, the wetness, the soft little huffs of breath that he shushes when he lets you take what you need. Helps you with his hands on your hips and guides you back into rocking against his thigh.

You feel it all the way down to your toes when his hands slide down to the curve of your ass then back up again, underneath the hem of your shorts and then your sweatshirt- his too (all of you his). Rucked up to your ribs.

“Soft.” Hobi groans.

This must not be real. This has to be a dream. Because Hobi doesn't want to touch you like this, Hobi doesn't groan and twitch against your stomach or guide the movement of your hips with his hands into a slow grind that has you gasping against his jaw. Hobi doesn’t leave the seat of your pajama bottoms soaked with slick. Hole clenching around nothing already. Utterly boneless where you lie against his front.

There is one single moment where you look at each other, one single moment where you try to keep from going any farther. Even though you want it, even though he wants it too. If Namjoon and Jin have taught you anything they've taught you caution.

Hoseok can smell the others lingering on your skin, the spot on the top of your head where Yoongi rested his cheek. He leans down, brushing his lips over it. It’s such a tender gesture and it breaks the flood and he's tugging you up, tugging you even closer, desperation coloring his voice all sweet.

“Fuck- please.” His forehead rests against yours, “fuck I just need-“

You're not sure who moves first, who starts the kiss only that once you’re kissing him it’s hard to stop. One second you're holding back and the next you're kissing him like he's Yoongi and he's kissing you like he's starving.

Teeth clanging against each other, harsh as they nip. Kissing so good that when you pull apart for breath you're both gasping and it has nothing to do with needing air.

Hobi has such nice lips it’s no wonder that they’re heart-shaped. Made for kissing, made for the needy needy licking against the seam of his lips. He shifts turning you on your side, surging up to kiss you properly and put his weight behind it. cradling your head with one hand and your side with the other. You’re so pliant, so willing to let him kiss and take. You want him to take everything. arms around his neck.

He breaks apart, forehead resting against yours, heart beating so quick that he can feel it in his palms. Pupiles blown when he blinks. “If you take what you need, and I take what I need- Can we-“

Your hands thread hard in his hair. Tugging him back to your lips. Closer and closer. “Fuck Yes- please-“

You don’t know where the wanting comes from, why it’s raging through you like a fire. His lips move against yours frantic, you bite his lip and he jerks. Hovering over you with your back against the nest, all tingly and fizzy. Your bones feel like champagne popping, like shooting stars burning out.

Hobi’s hands shake when they touch your hips, just like yours do when you mirror him, your touches shy but just as hungry, tugging up his shirt, fingertips and nails pressing bluntly to his happy trail of fine dark hair. You can feel the way his cock jumps against your stomach and thigh when you scratch gently.

You pull back a little and sit up and it’s sacred; the way that he panics, scrambling to hold onto you. You're A little bit shy when you take off his sweatshirt, nothing underneath. hair fluffing when you get it free from the cotton.

Your bare skin and the cold room. You get goosebumps on your arms almost instantly when they cross over your bare chest. Hobi’s breath stutters in his chest, like roman candles flare and settle. Hobi takes his sweatshirt from you and sets it aside in his haste to hold you again.

He starts to tugs his pants down, getting tangled because he won't even pull back an inch from you. You kiss his throat, again and again making up for lost time. Sucking a mark there. His hands fumble with the waistband of his tied tight grey sweatpants. finding the loops and then freeze when he feels wetness. Pulling back and looking down just to make sure that that is what he thinks it is. you stop your kissing and look too.

There is a wet spot, darkening the grey material. Your slick from your grinding, the spot where you got so worked up and felt so good that you couldn't even help it. He pulls back so that the light can kiss it but yeah that's definitely from you. Evidence of how much you want this. Evidence of how much you want him.

Hoseok thinks you might have actually set his body on fire. Is about ready to start checking your fingers for matches.

You blush so hot that you think you might be burning in embarrassment. Hands between your legs, clutching at the material of the nest, so embarrassed you can't watch as Hoseok looks down at it and then up at you.

“I’m sorry I- I can’t help it- I'm always-“

Hobi’s hands smooth over the wet patch, splaying up to cradle his cock where you’ve left your mark. And he looks at you, jaw rolling and eyes dark. He doesn’t say anything. Can’t.

It’s hasty how you both move to take his pants off, and he kicks them to some forgotten corner of the nest, his boxers pulled off too, and then clings to you. You cling to each other. Kissing again. Hands knotting through his hair and tugging.

You glance down and oh- Hobi has such a pretty cock. the prettiest in the pack maybe (don't tell Tae), Flushed at the tip, hair neatly trimmed and curving up.

Your bare thighs press to his adds a whole new level to this, the skin there is sensitive and unknown. Lying thigh to thigh somehow feels more intimate than chest to chest as you lie the way lovers do, your leg, his, then yours again.

You’re damp between your legs when he touches, hands shaking. He doesn't bother to take off your shorts just tugs the soaked bit of fabric to the side. It’s been a long time since he’s touched a pussy but he knows enough to do it gently. Petting over your folds like he’s teasing a flower to bloom and opening a rose for a bouquet.

“Please” you gasp, hand vicelike around his wrist. Kissing his frantic pulse again. Hot lips and a cold nose drag down his throat. You hiccup as the pads of his fingers find your clit, shaking against him. "Please-"

But you don’t need to ask, you don’t need to beg. Whatever you need Hobi will give it to you. Your hands scratch as his back when he presses close, snaking underneath his sweatshirt. Breath heavy.

He kisses your neck and bites it when his length brushes the wetness between your thighs. Hot and honey slick. his hips press to your hips, harsh lines of his thighs pointing low that you like. There is so much about Hobi that you like; the way that he kisses, the way that he touches. oh- it’s better than you imagined.

His knuckles are glossy with your slick when he curls them against the nest, holding himself up.

Hobi bends down to skim a kiss across your neck, your collarbones, your sternum.

You laugh, your giggle high and bright. He has to pull back, not upset at all but wanting to laugh too, giggling too. “Why are you?”

Your smile means everything to him. “Your hair tickles.” It is kind of fluffy, kind of pulled everywhere from your kissing and you run your fingers through it, scratching a little around the nape of his neck, and Hobi is done playing.

He pulls back, already dripping a bit of precum, silvery and pearl like at the head of his cock, standing against his stomach. a little hidden because he's still wearing his sweatshirt. Checking because he can’t not check.

“Is this- can I- fuck are you-“

“Daisy, please-“ Oh, how that pet name unhinges him.

He won't make you wait another second for it, hands shaking as he holds your hip. Shushing your needy whimpers with a soothing alpha rumble as he guides his cock close. Giving you what you both need.

Hoseok is not as big as Namjoon or Tae or Jimin, but he’s properly thick. Not the kind of thickness that knocks the breath out of you but the kind that fits just right. Not enough to make you ache or hurt even a little. It doesn’t hurt at all when he eases in slowly.

It doesn’t hurt at all.

That might be because of how soaked you are; dripping messy underneath the warm humidity of the blanket. The visual of your glossy pussy robbed from him but unimportant as Hobi stares at your face, resting his head against your forehead. Watching your eyes dilate and eyelashes flutter. “There we go- fuck-”

It’s not worth pulling back to separate how close you are. How good it feels to press his chest to your chest, not even a single inch separating you. His kisses go gentle and messy, moving against yours in a gentle rhythm just like his hips after he gives you a second to grow used to it. Rocking just a little.

Hoseok has heard the others talk about your pussy, those moments that he tried to block out at the beginning and then started to file away once loving you got more real. But for everything he's heard from his packmates, nothing compares to the reality.

The closeness. The way your hips fit. The hot- too much- clench around him.

He understands a little maybe, fully buried in you for the first time, why they talk about it so much. Why Jungkook had slipped it into dirty talk a few times with Namjoon and why it had made him growl and cum so quick. Why Tae had teased Yoongi for hogging you.

Your pussy feels like an inside joke in all the best ways, the kind of inside jokes that always have you feeling both known and loved. You can’t remember what you used to laugh about when you were a teenager and if asked Hoseok would fail to describe why sex with you feels so full. Why it feels like highlights and golden ages, the golden hour drenching you. It’s not sex for pleasure’s sake and it's not sex for closeness's sake either- although that’s part of it.

It’s not sex at all, it's making love. With Hobi, it’s making love from the beginning.

It's not instincts and mating bond urges. It’s not one submissive giving to a dominant. It’s not about protection and safety even though that's there or because you're an omega and he's an alpha. Because he's a man and you're a woman.

It's just love, that's it.

And it doesn’t hurt at all. For either of you.

The eye contact is never ending, his warm and fucked out the more he rocks. Gentle at first and building up frantic. Hobi doesn’t fuck like the rest of the pack does either; he doesn’t speak, letting out these quiet heavy breaths and shushing your squeaks with soothing alpha grumbles. His thumb wiping away the few overwhelmed tears that slip out and a smile swallowing your hiccuping breaths.

"Fuck” he breathes, moving his hips a little faster. His stomach presses to yours damp and tacky with sweat. Hoseok’s doesn't fuck in and out all the way, hardly moving away from you at all. Just rocking in deep.

Hobi doesn’t stop hitting every spot, comfortable with these unending rocks of his hips, maddening in the way that he never stops filling you. Never pulls out even half way.

Your hands weakly clench in the blankets of the nest as he twitches right there. That sensitive spot inside of you that feels like courting ecstasy when he nudges it. It’s the same spot that Yoongi likes to tease at, the spot that only his long fingers can reach properly and Tae’s too when she’s really trying. Ghosting over it and petting at it until you’re mad with pleasure.

But Hobi doesn’t tease, Hobi just gives. rubbing against it again and again with every gentle roll of his hips.

you put your hand over your mouth to quiet your whimpers when he pulls back, sitting up just a little. Holding your waist and forcing your body further down on his cock, nudging it as deep as it can go and you sob.

Hobi grins, a little cocky, a little pleased that despite his size compared to the others you're still equally as wrecked.

“Right there yeah?” he teases, and then rocks against it again. thumbs pressing against your stomach where he cradles you. waist so tiny that they almost meet when he holds you.

Your cheeks are hot, and you have to turn and whimper into the pillow. he lets you shift so that you're belly down in the nest and he's behind you glued to your backside. lying his weight down behind you like a blanket. pressing you into the nest where you'll stay like a good pup.

Hoseok instincts are absolutely purring. omega, getting bred in such a pretty nest. Good warm soft omega.

Your hand laces with the blanket, needing something to hold onto and he kisses the back of your neck, treading your hands together as he keeps going. This new position lets him rock in even deeper, putting his weight behind it.

“If you keep going, I’m not gonna be able to-”

His breath ghosts your ear, lips dragging down the column of your throat to nip and suck gently at your scent gland, marking you there. his hand presses, holding you to the bed as he rocks harder. His barely formed knot already inside and growing, getting you closer and closer as it thickens. Keeping him right there at the spot and you on the edge. You're so wet it's making noises, soaking and dripping down his cock.

He kisses your mating mark, nipping at it, and you’re gone.

You cum, a wet gush around his knot and a broken whimper. a growl in his throat sounds loud in the empty house. It sounds like made mate happy, made omega cum for me. Hoseok's Alpha is absolutely preening watching your Legs shake, the nape of your neck sweaty, body slack and head tilting to bear your neck. both of your bodies messy from it, filthy and blushing with love.

Hobi’s not far behind, rocking another time, a third, a quiet satisfied breath into the back of your neck before his knot pops locking you together as he cums so gently. No growls or gasps, just hot spurts that fill and satisfy you. Knot popping and Locking you so close you can feel his cock pulse. So close you can feel the same heartbeat on his lips when kisses you, hurried kisses pressed to the nape of your neck that quickly go slack with sleep.

Your hand settles across your stomach, and oh- you realize why hobi wasn't bothered by how wet he got you earlier. He just keeps cuming, so much that it's leaking a little around his knot. You're not sure that Jimin or Tae or Yoongi cum this much, Namjoon definitely does- but thats kinda proportional.

he just keeps going, heat flooding you. Maybe he's only cumming so much because it's the first time, and he needs to claim you from the inside out. you're a little too dizzy to figure it out.

You feel like you might pass out. You don't know if it's squirt or cum or just sweat when he lies himself over you. cuddling closer despite the mess. Teeth at your bared throat, Sucking softly, Soothing.

instincts are kind of embarrassing at best, irrationally hot at worse. you squirm a little closer so that his knot goes deeper.

The sunlight spills across your cuddled forms, still underneath the big thick blanket. He doesn’t pull out, the knot keeping him snug tight. His hand is on your cheek, rubbing up and down your jaw. He pulls the blanket up around you. And neither of you says a word as your rapid breathing calms.

You’re not sure who falls back asleep first. Only that he wraps his arm around you and pulls you back on top of his chest, cuddled there. Knot warm and safe inside of you.

knotted together like this, you're finally finally close enough.

~-~

When Hobi wakes you’re watching him and his dick is out. Wet and slick and cold.

That would certainly cause him to be alarmed if it wasn’t for your expression; a little pale. Hands between your legs and looking at the doorway.

You just really don't want to drip cum onto the couch, like- obviously. Hobi didn't hurt you. But the brief terror at waking up uncuddled and so suddenly douses Hobi like a bucket of cold water.

The cold might be the actual reason for his sudden wakefulness. The wintry air in the room is jarring because the house is finally heating up. (as much to do with the heating system doing its job as it is with your activities earlier that turned the windows all hazy with condensation).

It's like someone had just come in and then abruptly left again. Your cheeks are pink, and there is a cloth on the side of the couch, folded and warm. You didn't get it for yourself.

“Don’t freak out, but Yoongi and the others walked in while you were asleep.”

You’re kind of glad that he wasn’t awake to see your mate barely contain his screech, jumping up and down with Jungkook in the entryway. Namjoon’s subtly grinning expression when he took in your appearance and paused in the cold doorway breathing in deeply. Tae wrapped around one arm; their walk interrupted by his return from surgery.

He groans, barely awake enough to think about the visual that Yoongi and the others were treated to. The consequences are better than a shot of expresso at wakeing him up.

But really, was there ever a possibility that the others wouldn’t find out about this? Does Hoseok even want them not to know?

He's too tired, too think about this logically.

Hoseok wonders why he didn’t wake to you holding him. He’s seen you hold the others, hold Namjoon in the morning when you smell like him. The way you wake slowly and run your fingers through their hair. The other alphas have a habit of cuddling up to rest their head against your chest. Hobi remembers that day by the beach when you pet his hair, he wants you to do that now.

But he can't fucking ask. Asking you to cuddle him would be fucking embarrassing.

“Shit." He shakes off his neediness and easily locates his boxers in the mess of the nest because they're bright red. Surreptitiously tucking his now soft and deflated knot back inside. You look away, letting him have that moment of privacy without comment. Your arms curl around your chest, you’re still nude from the waist up. thighs clenched togeather.

“Yeah uhm, they went back out to like- give us some space.”

"Did they say anything?"

You look away, wiggling over to the edge of the nest. "No. But they looked like they wanted to say a whole lot.”

You definitely don’t say that you heard their scuffle, Namjoon and Tae using their alpha privileges to wrangle an overly excited Yoongi and Jungkook. or that both of them had come back inside, both with pink cheeks smelling sweet at the sight of Hobi’s face pressed to your neck and the fresh hickeys at your throat.

(Hobi’s hickeys are always so small and cute. Tae can’t wait to take a picture and save it, for memory's sake. She’s half tempted to take out her phone and snap a picture of the two of you now.)

Your hiss of “Don’t say anything, I swear to fucking god if you wake him-" cured her of any bad ideas and had Namjoon grinning, his dimples showing.

Yoongi’s finger pressed to his lips in the doorway. Smiling wide and showing his gums. Omegas do get awfully protective over alphas in their nests. Especially post-knotting.

You’re honestly a little surprised that their muted shouting hadn’t woken Hobi. The closed door had kept out the cold but not the sound of them discussing on the porch; mostly Tae's insistence that they needed to get out of the house for lunch instead of heading back inside.

“But what if they need aftercare?”

"We shouldn’t leave them alone and unprotected.” (Classic Joonie).

“Yeah! What if they need cleaning!”

Yoongi snorts, “Gross Jk- I’m pretty sure the last thing they want is you licking up Hobi’s cum.”

“But he always likes it when it’s Jinnie-" that had your face and body heating (although that could just be Hobi- a literal furnace that he is wrapped around you).

Now his warmth is on the other side of the nest yet it feels impossibly farther away. As you both stew in silence under the weight of what you’ve done, what you just did.

Everything feels quiet and scary as you put yourselves back together in silence. You use the wet washcloth to keep yourself from dripping all over the couch while he looks for his pants in the mess of blanekts that smell like sex.

Thoughts like shit shit shit and what have you done ping-ponging back and forth across his brain. Mind bouncing between unlikely personal regrets and likely female rejection (of which he is only too familiar with).

Hobi doesn't like feeling rejected, it always brings up bad memories. He didn't wake up to you holding him. Is that a rejection or is his brain just making it up? People always hold each other after sex. Don't they?

You reach for his sweatshirt but before you can touch it a growl bursts forth from his throat and you freeze.

Hoseok scrubs a hand across his eyes, trying to wipe away the memories fitfully. Maybe it’s just because of the fact that he woke up and you weren’t wrapped around him. He's going to have to cuddle you himself if he wants it right now.

This first time with you reminds him of other first time's that didn’t end well. He's sorry for it the second it slips past his lips.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I just- my fucking instincts feel like they're on fire."

“So can I…?” you trail off. Your skin has goosebumps again. And Hoseok doesn’t know if it’s the casual nakedness that has him feeling so unmoored. A blush trailing its way up the back of his neck even though it shouldn’t be weird. He saw you shirtless every other hour during Namjoon’s rut for Christ’s sake.

“Yeah, just wear it- please wear it.” He can’t take back his growl, but he can meditate by watching you pick it up and hug it to your chest. Looking at him for a second as if to check that it’s still alright and he’s not going to snap at you again.

There is a hickey on your shoulder, the spot where it meets your arm. Hobi doesn’t know if it’s from him or someone else. It's a little too red to not be new. You don’t look uncomfortable being nude in front of him.

If anything, you look a little bit glowy.

You look at him and then pull it over your head. His cheeks still heating stubbornly as your chest moves a little, jiggling.

Why do girls have to just- girl all the time- it's honestly a little unfair how much hobi blushed.

He watches you, sitting on the edge of the bed in nothing but his boxers as you stand up pulling the sweatshirt down your hips. He stares at you until you ask a little flustered by hiding it, “What?”

He tugs on the hem of his sweatshirt, slowly, carefully, leaning forward as he tugs on one of the strings with his teeth. His hands go to your waist pulling you close gently, half sure of himself and half afraid. Hoseok is always somehow half afraid. Is this allowed? Is this wanted?

He rests his head against your stomach, loosely twining his arms around your waist to pull you closer, still loose enough that you can step away if you want. All of this can stop if you don’t want it. He hopes you know that.

Hoseok looks down at your feet, not at your face. “I love it when you wear my clothes. I really don't know where that came from.”

“Careful,” you say, a grin in your voice. Your tone light because you don't want him to smell so sour again. “I’m gonna go for your pants next.”

You snatch his from the floor and dart away. Nothing excites an alpha’s instincts like a chase, and Hobi feels the fire light down his spine. His movements are a hunt-heavy blur. Brain honed in on you.

He catches you by the counter, your giggle echoing off the high ceilings. His blood heating again as he drags you by your hips and flops down into one of the bar stools, sitting you on top of him with a growl.

His hands grip hard around your waist, determined until he’s shy. Letting you go softly, “Sorry I just-”

“Instincts still? Don't worry I get it.” You give him his pants and sit up off his lap so that he can put them on. And now is not the time to get another boner Hobi- but it’s kind of hard not to when you smell so bred, so wholly satisfied.

Hobi did that. Hobi's the one who made you look like this drowning in the afterglow.

Your own instincts are telling you that you want to take the blankets from the couch and drag them upstairs, and tuck them in around the scents of the others. So that they can all see and smell how good you made your alpha feel.

Hoseok’s pleasure leaves an undercurrent to the air that’s intoxicating. Half sugar-sweet and musky alpha. Your body hums with it as he steps up close behind you, close enough you can feel his warmth and not his body, nose skimming the bruise he left close to your mating mark. Letting out a tired sigh.

You did just work off a lot of energy, regardless of the half-nappy half-cuddle fucking that just was; It's also left you fucking hungry.

As much as the kitchen has been a place of anxiety for you it really isn’t with Hobi there. There is still that tape line on the floor that guards you off from the stove, sink, and the fridge. Hobi steps out from behind you and goes to the fridge, getting out some of the prepped fruit that Yoongi almost always keeps on hand.

But you keep looking at the kitchen, the pans hanging above the sink, your mixer sitting dusty in the corner. The hanging mugs. Everything.

He brings it to you, setting it down in front of where you sit. instincts making his eyes fever bright. He watches a little too intently as you lift a raspberry to your mouth. Something about watching you eat cools his instincts, making him release a taught breath.

He watches as you lift another piece, a blackberry to your lips and bite down. Almost purring, too afraid of what might slip out if he speaks. He half wants to do it himself and feed you from his fingertips. But that’s a little too embarrassing to consider.

A minute later, after you’ve eaten half a dozen more pieces, he reaches past you, about to get a piece of peach. He doesn't think anything of it, but when he reaches past your face- you flinch.

It happens so quick that he almost doesn’t even catch it. One second your cheek is turned straight and the next your eyes are darting from him to the bowl. Scent souring with fear and memories from Geumjae.

Fuck. (No cuz actually- fuck Geumjae.)

You don’t look at him with fear, you just look at him with a strange sort of sadness in your eyes. Sorry. Like you’re sorry for being scared. hoseok's hand goes tight on the counter.

"I'm sorry."

Hobi sits down. Holds your hands in his, and waits for a second before he speaks. makes his words quiet and gentle because anger at someone dead and gone has no place here.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” You have nice hands, warm where they press into his. And he cradles them, your knuckles flexing vaguely in his grasp, gentle but commanding.

“You’ll try not to, you mean."

You smile at him sadly. Hobi’s chest is tight with it. He needs you to know how much he means those words. How much he needs to mean them. But you both know how hard it is to promise that.

"No. I mean I’m not going to hurt you. Ever.” He repeats. You smile at him sadly again. And he knows his brief anger earlier when you touched his sweatshirt- usually such a normal thing for you- didn't escape you at all. But grief and mourning and memory always finds you at the worst times; after first times and on sunny winter afternoons.

The two of you are a mess, bodies teeming with the memories of failed loves, lost and broken. But you can ignore your triggers; such innocuous things as you wearing his sweatshirt and him reaching past your face. You can ignore your memories; the wretched and rotten ones, just for today.

You let the heavy moment pass and look at the other side of the kitchen. Hobi’s chest feels tight with something. Something that he needs to say but can’t just yet. You can only tell someone you love them for the first time once. You don’t get a second chance.

Hobi just wants to get it right.

You’re looking at the kitchen that Yoongi made for you, holding his hand still. using the other to feed yourself more fruit.

(Is there anything more intimate than holding hands with someone? It feels like more than the pads and lines of his fingers are pressed to yours. soul to soul and palm to palm. The future is written out right there but you ignore it. Love line, health line, fate. But the two of you are dedicated to writing your own end. Your love line is exactly the same length as his, not a millimeter longer).

Hoseok’s chest is still all tight. “What are you thinking about?”

“I haven’t made anything in months.” You sigh, sad. “I want to. I used to love baking, I used to-” you break off, sorrow making you quiet.

Hobi’s eyes are fixed on your shoulder. There are freckles there. He’s not sure why he’s never noticed them before or that you’ve got them dotting your back.

Hobi swallows past something in his throat. Pushing you gently from your chair until you're standing next to him. Cupping your waist because now that he's started touching you it's hard to stop. Now that he knows he’s allowed to touch you so casually, so affectionately, he going to keep doing it.

“Go. I’ll watch you, make sure you stay safe.” Because that’s the rule, isn’t it? Not that you can’t be in the kitchen at all, just that you need someone there to keep you safe.

The words feel tight in his throat, not easily said. I love you. He thinks as he watches you move to the mixer with a small but pretty smile that looks like daisies have taken root on your skin, everything sweet and flowering.

I love you. He thinks as he watches you get your cookbook from behind the mixer. I love you he thinks when he watches you place a mug from that morning in the sink. I love you he thinks as you get the sugar, the vanilla, the salt. He has to get up and get the flour for you, unwilling to have your arms strain underneath the heavy container, doting on you just because he can.

Just because he wants to, just because he loves you.

The shadow of what’s left on the bag hits his dark clothes like a ghostly outline when he holds it. The flour is a bit like you; everywhere he touches it leaves an impression. The rainbows from his suncatcher you put in the kitchen shift with the angle of the sunlight, winking out one by one as dusk falls.

He sits at the kitchen island and watches as you hum and flick through your recipe book. Golden hour fades to orange and pink the same way that roses fade.

He’s not sure why he blurts it out, why he asks, “What’s your favorite?”

You look up from your cookbook, everything is set out but still, the recipe is undecided. “What?”

Hobi can not look at you for this, instead looks at the kitchen island and the old butcher block countertop. Fingers toying along the edge where a knife left a gash.

“You always make everyone else’s favorites; Namjoon’s honey cakes, coffee-flavored things for Jin, the vegan stuff for Jungkook you know- but-” his eyes flick up to you in a moment of bravery. “What’s yours? What's your favorite?”

You think for a moment, a kitchen apart, fingers tapping on the countertop and Hobi can’t take his eyes off of you. His body feels a little achy but in that ‘was just fucked good’ sort of way that makes his breath deeper. Quieting some alpha part of him that always wants a little more. A little more scenting, a little more validation, a little more attention.

But everything can wait.

“My favorite thing to eat or my favorite thing to make?”

“Both. Either.” You glance at the clock. Going to the pantry for a second to double-check that you have everything you'll need. “I’ll have to make some of it from scratch but-" you look at him. “Do you have time?”

Hobi nods. “As long as you need.”

Hobi watches as you measure out the flour and sift it. Hobi watches as you wait for the eggs to get to room temperature and fucks with the playlist. His phone will eventually get splashed with coco but- it’s okay.

All of this is okay, all of this is I love you I love you I love you and I don’t know what to do with all of it, can you take someone it, please. I don’t have enough space in my body to hold all of it. Hoseok doesn’t speak for how sheer the impulse is just to blurt it out.

The yellow plastic mixing bowl keeps clattering against the counter as you stir the egg yolks until they froth up and fizz. Pouting you turn your eyes to him. “Can you help?”

Hoseok has to swallow back the words before they slip past. Hopping up a little too quickly. “Yeah of course.”

You don’t tell him what you’re making, let him guess. So many of your recipes need egg whites and vanilla. You let him put it together on his own. Hobi doesn’t peek at your recipe book and spoil the surprise.

Every action, every spoonful of sugar is I love you too, just say it. You don’t talk about the sex you just had and you don’t say I love you to him. You wait for him to say it first. You don’t say a thing besides; “Just a half teaspoon of that; drizzle it a little at a time, or else it clumps together. Good.” Hobi’s cheeks heat with every bit of praise and you have a lot of it for him.

Hobi looks away when you look up from the bowl, oh so carefully folding the batter and egg whites together. So gently that the hiss and bubble of whipped egg yolks disintegrating is hardly audible.

Hobi hasn’t baked since he was a kid; since he got into his head that chocolate chip cookies were totally something that an eight-year-old should be able to make on their own without adult supervision and almost burned his parents’ apartment to the ground. He tells you the story and you laugh.

He can tell that you’re making adjustments as you go. Adding in a bit of cinnamon, piping off the cookies in neat little lines, and then tapping them oh so carefully to get rid of the bubbles.

The stove preheats and then the tray goes in, filling the room with your scent. That cakey baking aroma that has him resting his head back against the cabinets when you sit on the floor and greedily breathing in.

You wait the 30 minutes like that, sitting on the floor between the cabinets and stove. Your feet pressed to his knees and a glass of lemonade between the two of you.

“You really like baking,” he says, and your eyelashes flutter, you must be getting tired. He takes your feet into his lap, using his hand to massage up your calf. Smiling when you sigh.

“Yeah, it makes me feel- I don’t know. I like making the world sweeter, just a little. Even if it’s just my little corner of it. Making things you guys like makes me happy too.”

“You know, you could go to culinary school if you wanted.” Hobi gets a little shy because you hadn’t explicitly told Jin and Namjoon not to tell anyone about your plans or your application (still pending). It will be a few more weeks until you find out, but that change is just on the horizon.

He's already seen Jimin perusing expensive leather bookbags and has overseen a recommendation letter coming from Namjoon’s email. Hobi might have read it for him to double-check because Hobi always notices things the others might gloss over. Jin and Tae had given it proof read too.

You make a noise in your throat, halfway between a hum in approval and a hum in distaste. “I don’t know, it seems like- a lot to do for a hobby.”

Hobi and you are the only two in the pack who wanted to go to college but didn’t. Couldn’t in your case because Geumjae wouldn’t let you and flunked out in his. He gets the lack of clarity in your voice; to go back or not go back. To try again or not try at all and not worry about whether or not you’re enough.

“I already started applying anyway. Namjoon and Jin and Tae put a lot of effort into helping me apply and-” You let out a frustrated sigh.

Hobi shakes his head, “Doesn’t matter. You can change your mind.” There is always time. You tap your toes against his shins and he grabs your feet and you jerk, ticklish. And he almost almost gives in to the urge to tell you he loves you right then and there.

“But could you be happy? Doing this all the time?” You turn, putting your hand over your eyes to peer into the oven and make sure that the ladyfingers are rising properly. “Doing it every day? Would it make you happy?”

You pause, hand on the door before replying in a small voice. “Yeah, maybe. Maybe I could be happy.”

You stand with a crack of your knees, sticking out your hand for Hobi and almost falling into him when he truly uses your hand to help himself up.

“Come on, we’ve got to make the whipped cream next-”

It goes like that, you both talking, and Hobi fucking with the playlist. Thinking three little words and not saying them.

You let the ladyfingers cool for a few minutes while you make the expresso. Dunking them in quickly. Piping out the honey-flavored whipped cream in sticky little dollops. Shaking out the cocoa with a practiced hand.

You make the caramel for the top last. Sugar-burning, glass-like little strands on top for a bit of crunch.

The tiramisu is a delicate creation, the layers perfectly spaced out in just the right ratio of cream to chocolate. You let it sit for a second in the fridge and when you take it out, you cut it into a single perfect little square and put it on a plate for him. Treading over the blue painter’s tape line and lingering by him where he sits.

“Try it.” You ask and he does obediently.

Hobi takes a bite of it, rolling the flavors around his tongue while you watch. You haven’t cut a piece for yourself just yet, but you have a fork. You stand on the other side of the kitchen island and take a bite from the other corner of the pan, humming happily when the taste hits your tongue.

It really is your favorite. You grin at the plate, “I could finish this whole thing in one sitting.”

Hobi takes another bite. It’s really good, the flavors are simple but delicate, each of them identifiable but yet cohesive. He could eat all of it too.

Hoseok swallows and realizes why it's your favorite; It tastes like all of you- like the pack.

The honey whipped cream is Jin and Jungkook, and the chocolate cocoa on top is your mate; dark chocolate like an Oreo cookie. Hobi thinks it might not be normal cocoa. The homemade ladyfingers are soaked through with Namjoon's coffee and the cake itself is a delicate dance of Tae’s cinnamon, Jimin’s vanilla, and your scent too. Buttery and yummy.

He's finished half of what's on his plate before he realizes that you added the crunchy layer on top, the caramel too.

That’s Hobi isn’t it? The Burnt sugar sweetness. He knows that’s not typical but still, you added in anyway. The smell of caramel is thick in the air. Sweet sweet sweet. Hobi always smells the sweetest when he’s falling in love.

The tiramisu tastes like the whole pack. Like love soaked threw. Hobi’s heart and body is full of it.

He thinks this might be his favorite too.

Hobi tries to blink back the wetness, really tries not to cry as he takes another big bite. He gets a little bit of whipped cream on his lip, licking it and sniffling. You pause, a bite hovering between the plate and your mouth before you set down your fork with a clink.

“Oh Hobi”

The space between you is nothing more than air as you quickly head around the kitchen island. You cup both of his cheeks and he sags into the touch, hands instantly going over yours to keep them there. Tears spilling warm and unabated down his cheeks.

Hobi decides right then he is beyond pretending that he doesn’t want it, that he doesn’t want you. Wet cheeks and imploring eyes.

“Oh Hoseok, what’s wrong?”

You’re standing between his legs and your collarbone rests against his cheek. Your hand runs through his hair and his heart pulses hard.

"I didn’t mean to make you cry. If this is because-” you trail off. You don’t say that you shouldn’t have had sex earlier because you can’t find it in yourself to regret this even a little bit. But you are sorry for not doing it in a way that didn't make him cry. If that's why he's crying.

“No it’s not that. I just-" Hoseok can hardly speak his mouth is so full of love that it bursts from him before he has a chance to think it through. Sobbing a little as he says it;

"I'm crying because I love you and I don’t know how to tell you.”

Hobi stutters and your hands on his cheeks go firm for a second before they relax. “I love you; I love being around you, I love that you're my best friend and that i get to love you too. I love living in this house with you. I’m crying because for the first time I get it-”

He can’t stop the confession now that it's started, and if he'd just open his eyes he'd get to see your smile but they're screwed shut tight.

“I get it, I get why once Yoongi met you, he couldn’t leave. I understand why he brought you back to us. But-” he hiccups and you giggle a little at the sound. His eyes shoot open and he realizes that you're crying too- that you haven't stepped away. You wipe away his tears with your thumbs and grin down at him.

“I'm so fucking afraid too- I can’t help but feel like the way we started just- fucked everything up. I fucked everything up back then by being jealous. I look at you and I’m scared I’ll fuck this up.”

You hold his face in your hands and think; I will be gentle with you, I will be gentle with you even if it kills me. You have never loved someone broken like you, and you know how easy it is to make a wrong step. But you’re sure when you say the words anyway.

“You won’t.”

“But-” you kiss his hands, knuckles, fingertips. His forehead, his lips Everything. Your eyes are focused and Hobi can’t look away.

“You won’t, you promised not to hurt me and you won’t.”

He falls silent, and you pull him in close. His lips still tingle from your kiss and you kiss him again, long and lingering, hard with the force of your conviction. It tastes like tiramisu.

When you break apart, Hoseok rests his ear on your heart and listens.

You should say I love you back, you really should return the words. But you think there will be other moments to say them. You'll say it when you wake up with him tomorrow morning, you'll say it when you fall asleep tonight curled close to him. There will be more time to say them- during a late-night drives when you look over at him in the dark. There are always going to be more times to say it and you’ll say it and mean it every time.

Unfortunately, life isn't so neat and tidy.

You wipe his cheeks and he wipes yours and you both giggle, leaning into each other. You get him a tissue for his nose and start laughing all over again. Being with Hobi will always be like this, half your lover and half your best friend.

“Do you want to go on a drive later, only,” you wipe tears from your own eyes, “want to take the others this time?”

He smiles, “That’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”

He tries to pull you in for another kiss but you feed him a bite of tiramisu instead and it gets half on his cheek, “finish your cake alpha,” you command, and Hobi is perilous to disobey. the next bite you take ends up on your cheek too because he tickles you, and you blush when he leans forward to lick it off your cheek. All giggly and happy and close. You sat practically on the edge of the counter. Noodle meows and laps up some of it from the floor.

You don’t need to say I love you back, you already have. Hobi can taste it on the edge of every bite.

You cut him another piece and share it this time, and he can't stop looking at you, can't stop smiling.

You smile around a mouthful, "i'm gonna tear up that train ticket."

"Don't you fucking dare. We've gotta like- put it in a scrap book or something."

You clean up the tiramisu, thinking of what might happen when the pack gets back, thinking of how things will go now that you’ve settled this. They’ll be happy; all of you all together finally. This last piece of your little family finally falling into place.

Maybe it will go like this:

Maybe when the pack gets home, there will not just be tiramisu on the counter. Maybe there will be gluten-free lemon bars and honey cakes. Chocolate ginger cookies dusted with powdered sugar and freshly baked bread with cheese and garlic. Little personal cheesecakes that you made in a muffin tin dotted with jam preserve because now that you’ve started to bake again there might not be anything to stop you.

You already feel the urge in your hands, the urge to make things. You think it might have been learned from Yoongi.

Maybe they’ll come home with pizza, unsure if a party and alcohol is really the proper way to go about celebrating, but the cake from the bakery that Tae will buy as a joke, will have flowery lettering and “congrats for losing your Hobi-ginity"

It will make you laugh until your lungs ache like the fireworks have gone off. Will make him blush and rub the back of his neck in shyness.

When they come home there might be a few sly comments but the pack knows when to tease and when not to. Maybe Namjoon will take a hearty sniff at Hoseok’s throat, dragging it up and down the nape of his neck, huffing happily. (Namjoon has always been a little bit possessive of Hoseok the same way Jin has always been possessive of you, but that's pack alpha's for you).

Tae will tuck your hair behind your ears to get a better look at the mark he left on your throat, manicured fingers gently stroking over it. and Yoongi will shoot him a challenging look and drawl, "really daisy? is this really something you wanna start?" all playful. the way yoongi only gets when he's really really happy.

And when Jin gets home, Maybe he’ll drag you over his lap with some squirming because there is no avoiding this hole check. Not when Jin and the others have been waiting.

Under the hungry eyes of the rest of the pack, you would still squirm. Your mate watching and grinning as he nibbles a piece of pizza and just watches as Jin pulls your sleep shorts down to your knees. Leaving them there to pin your thighs together. Hand against the small of your back to keep you still.

Of course, the pack omega has to look after the two of you and make sure the lowest on the hierarchy is being safe without a stronger presence nearby. But your entrance is pink fucked warm, not red and inflamed. Hoseok’s knot is the perfect thing to warm you up, and Jin tugs his sweatshirt over your hips to keep you warm as he examines you.

Fingers drag your entrance apart to show the others how good hobi did. Prompting them to touch and feel for themselves, all of their fingers teasing at your entrance and all of them touching you. Tae and Jungkook holding your thighs, Jimin and Namjoon resting their hands on your ass to help jin hold you open better and yoongi prodding to feel-

They'd want to see his cum slip out, forced from your hole by your needy clench. Of course, they'd just fuck it back inside because not a drop can go to waste. one set of fingers and then another, jungkook leaning down to taste.

Jin’s eyes would be all dark eyes and honey tones, looking hoseok up and down, cheeks as red as the sweatshirt you wear. His praise makes Hobi feel just a little bit too proud for his own good.

Hobi would probably get a knot-check for that, because if the alpha has something to be proud of then surely the others need to check his ego (and only in the way that hobi likes).

The alphas would scuffle with him a little, wrestling to settle him. Hobi's instincts are still fever bright and he needs to be put in his place. To feel the pack for what they are; very necessary safety bumpers.

He'd go so easily after a few nips- Jimin would help pull his pants down so Namjoon could get his big hands around him, fingers teasing at the red skin around his base and making Hobi growl and gasp. Pausing to cup lower and make sure Hoseok's empty, that he didn't hold back breeding you. Tae would tutt and make him open his mouth, her finger teasing along his teeth just for shits and giggles. Just to make him groan.

Nothing makes an alpha more proud than getting to show off his teeth.

Jin would smile at the display, and croon. “Good alpha.”

Maybe Jin will pat your pussy lips softly before pulling your pants up, making you flinch and then relax and jungkook would bend down to give Hoseok's knot a little kiss before standing.

The whole thing would take maybe 5 minutes but it would leave the whole pack ravenous for more. The final evidence of this finally happening; all of you together and not fragmented.

As you should be, together.

Maybe later, after treats and pizza, you'll all get to go to the beach like Hobi promised. Two separate cars. And Namjoon might let Hoseok and Jimin do donuts in the empty parking lot without too much fuss. The smell of tires and gasoline ripping.

Jungkook whooping and Yoongi watching on with his grin, Jin in the back seat with you going “Oh- oh hope- slow down” looking a little green. But terrorizing the pack omega is kind of your job.

It’s cold and late at night but you’ll tear out across the sand. Running to the shore. Tossing your shoes into the dark and toeing into the waves. Yelling happy.

You and Hobi will try and throw Yoongi into the water and then the other alphas will actually succeed in throwing Namjoon, pushing him until he inevitably tumbles into the seafoam. All 7 of you will try and wrangle Jungkook into the same wet fate and fail.

Jin will tuck Namjoon’s wet hair back behind his ear and grin at him, his grin saying the words they don’t need to. Kisses tases like secrets and salt but that much has not changed. Might never change when it comes to the eight of you. All the secrets in the world couldn’t keep you apart.

You’ll get zoomy in the way that dogs get in wide-open spaces. You’ll run. Your feet slapping against the sand, tossing spray into the air as high as your laughter, chasing after each other. A bunch of barefoot kids in too-big bodies and sand between your toes. Hands clasped tight in each other’s so that you won’t let go. You won’t ever let go now that you've found them.

For once you'll be absent of all the things that drag you down. Lighter than the warm air that billows over the sea. Mouths that store special secret salty smiles for the better. Damp fingers that curl against warm wrists. holding onto each other tight even though you’re running and running-

Running.

Maybe.

But that’s not what happens. Instead, what happens is this;

You are sitting at the kitchen counter when Hobi gets a text. It’s from Jungkook asking about the pizza types that you’d want and

Yoongi’s left his phone, he says with a little 👀 emoji. But he won’t truly tease the both of you until he gets home. Of course Yoongi was too distracted by you and Hobi post coitous to grab it from the other room.

you to to the pantry to put away the flour and this close- you can hear another phone ring from the bathroom. It's it yours? Only No, it's not your phone sitting on the counter, but Yoongi’s. Lighting up with Jin’s contact information.

JinJinJin: 5 missed calls.

It's so like your mate to leave his phone in such a random place. You smile as you pick up.

Jin is already talking a mile a minute. Fear and panic make his words come quick and desperate.

“Yoongi- why the fuck didn't you pick up" You don't have time to respond. Don't have time to let him know it's not your mate but you that picked up the phone.

"I don’t know how the fuck it happened, I don’t know- but-“ he’s almost shouting over the phone, such raw panic in his voice that it has your body going frozen.

Jin lets out a broken sobbing breath.

"I shot Minnie.”

~-~

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Notes:

I ended up editing out a good portion of Hoseok ’s inner monologue at the begining, because I realized that at that point in time with the other pack he wouldn’t have been thinking stuff about how terrible it was because it wasn’t terrible yet. i probably should have even edited it fluffier if we're being honest. i think that would have been more unsettling.

The line where she says “One second you're holding back and the next you're kissing him like he's Yoongi and he's kissing you like he's starving.” Is a little hard to explain, she’s not thinking about Yoongi in that moment but the person she associates the most with love is Yoongi so- yeah it made sense. I feel like this line might make people go a little like “what??”

I swear if you guys didn’t cry a little at the ‘It doesn’t hurt at all.’ Parts I’m not doing this right because I was SOBBING.

Listen, I almost edited out the line where he calls her pussy an inside joke so many times- but for me- when I was younger I always wanted to be a part of inside jokes because like- if you are that means you’ve got history with someone- Hoseok is thinking this because until this moment- he hasn’t been able to be apart of something that the rest of the pack had understood.

When Hoseok was leaving a hickey over her mating mark it’s his way of saying “this is mine too 😠” to Yoongi,

Honestly??? Why is Hobi so feral in this like- he’s a /little/ unhinged from how much he wants her and tbh it’s fair. Look away if you don’t wanna read him going APESHIT for her.

ALSO- I’m just imagining him on the walk with jungkook and Tae, cheeks slowly pinking up because he can feel that they’re having sex down the mating bond, maybe getting hard and the others noticing, both of them plastering themselves along his side and teasing him with words like “do you think he’s making her all wet and messy hyung? Do you think she’s gonna cream around his cock like she creams around yours?” and Yoongi just- endlessly suffering around the two horndogs that are Tae on estrogen and jungkook on a regular day.

The moment where they’re holding hands and it’s talking about palmistry is a refrence to noah kahan’s song everywhere everything and the line “it’s been a long year, in all of our books pages dog eared, we write out the ends on our palms dear, and forget to read.”

The worst worst worst part about this chapter is that I don’t??? have a fucking recipe for the tiramisu?? Like I’ve made it before but I’ve never made honey flavored whipped cream or put caramel on top 🥺 maybe I’ll test it out one dayand update this chapter

Okay so the ‘flash into the improbable future at the end is a little too horny for the end of smutt but I couldn’t just /not/ put it in there because you know how I love a good hole check scene.

do you hate me because of this cliffhanger? even i have to say its a little unforgivable.

please be patient for next chapter because i do not have A SINGLE fucking word written for it. like nada, we're starting from scratch come monday.

~-~

Hobi's sex Playlist (jk isn't not a sex playlist)

Dominic fike- Mama's boy (hobis' flashback)

Mitski – my love mine all mine. (yoongi telling him to be good)

Lana del ray – chemtrails over the country club. (the sex)

Olivia Rodrigo – can’t catch me now (when they're both triggered from the respective abusive relationships)

Tom o’dell – black Friday. (Juz cuz)

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

Prediction for the start of season 5

I've been going crazy trying to figure out just how they'll transition into season 5. It certainly seems like "life goes on" in Hawkins despite everything that happened at the end of season 4. While it does seem like there's a military presence in town, there are clues that quite a bit of time has passed.

Aside from dates left on papers on set and whatnot, which could potentially be faked to throw people off, we see character differences that indicate time. El's hair has grown back. It's hard to tell just how long it is now, but it looks to be at least as long as it was in season 3, if not longer. We've seen little of Hopper, but we've been able to see set photos of David with a long beard. Then there's Holly, who seems older even taking into account the casting change.

This tells me we're looking at an approximate 8 months to one year time skip. While we might see some immediate aftermath from after the ending of season 4, the bulk of season 5 seems to be set in late Fall/early Winter of 1987. This isn't taking into account a possible rumored second time skip considering they're only halfway through filming.

So, how do we go from the end of the world to almost a year later? Well, there wasn't much that could be done in the position our heroes are in. Here's what I think happens after that final scene in the field.

Shortly after the "earthquake," an Army Corps of Engineers detachment arrives to help rebuild, overseen by Lt. Col. Sullivan. They proceed to block off affected areas for "safety concerns" under the pretense of having to seal up the fissures to allow for later rebuilding. In reality, they are setting up research stations and entry points while also preventing anyone else from getting in...or anything getting out.

Blocked off from being able to go after the weakened Vecna, and now faced with the concern of Sullivan possibly finding El, the heroes have to regroup. They both need to be able to hide El and have a safe base of operations. Agent Stinson arranges to set El and Hopper in the old WSQK radio station under the guise of the station being under new ownership.

While researching, I found out that many old radio stations had emergency shelters built by the government during the Cold War in case of a nuclear attack. Like the Dept of Energy Lab before it, the radio station would serve as a legitimate front for getting equipment and other resources they may need for what they're really up to. The shelter would also provide a place to hide their real activity and keep El safe. It may also even potentially provide access to the areas the military blocked off if the shelters contain escape tunnels.

We would essentially find out that the time since the end of season 4 were spent with the heroes trying to find a way into the Upside Down to get Henry while he's weak. However, it's just not possible with the military presence. The mission turns to trying to monitor both the military and the Upside Down threat until a window presents itself.

What might be the event that provides this window? I have some ideas.

The military breaches a Gate, which allows for Upside Down creatures to get out.

El has a breakthrough in her search for Max, providing them a critical clue.

Henry comes back to full strength, leading to Will getting Harry Potter-like visions of his plans.

Problems I have with this idea:

El is once again living in hiding, just as she did in season 2. I can't imagine she's able to get any kind of education unless Owens' people can set her up with tutoring.

The Byers being in town would certainly tip off Sullivan, and it doesn't look like they're lying low. I suppose they could feign moving back to Hawkins because they think she's dead.

What is up with Owens, and would his people even have the ability to do anything after the losses sustained from Sullivan's actions?

Why the hell would anyone even stay in Hawkins? This isn't the first disaster the town has dealt with in the past few years. I suppose it would cause property values to plummet to levels that could prompt a rich family to buy up land in preparation for owning everything after rebuilding. There was a Turnbow Land Development & Realty ad seen on set.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this?

[lemotmo]

Oh my god I didn't even think of that regarding lfj 🤣🤣

Q. Umm maybe I'm crazy but I believe instead of his fans being mad that he 'liked' a photo they should

maybe be upset at something else that proves?

A. Yeah I'm with you, anon. They can no longer pretend he's just not been on social media and that's why he's not interacting with them. He's clearly been around, and now we have proof that he's intentionally ignoring them. I mean they don't have any other excuses left. He's obviously seeing them and deliberately not responding to or engaging with them. That should tell them something. The interesting thing here for me though is the BTS stuff we've received. We now know the pic that looked somewhat like wedding decorations is Madney's backyard. Which would indicate that it's Chim and Maddie's wedding reception. And he hasn't been filming. He hasn't, let it go. His presence on set would not be a secret. So him not being Buck's date for that is odd if they're still together. Sure they could have him be at work but that's stupid at this point, especially if the goal was having the audience invest. Which has not at all been the goal so far. So I wonder if we are going to get some kind of flash forward episode where Buddie are together or clearly growing closer by the time of the reception, and then when the inevitable emergency occurs the screen fades to black and we just see the words '3 months earlier' and the next several episodes are the story of how we got to where the show opened at the wedding reception. That would explain Tommy not being there and would also explain Lou not filming. That would mean Tommy's part maybe wraps up during episode 4 or 5. Obviously we're all just speculating now but him not being at the reception is suspect. That coupled with his, now confirmed, ice out of his fans, means something. He either really did get the off screen break up treatment or he found out he was only in one, maybe two episodes, and decided to give himself some distance now before their inevitable meltdown. Who knows, anon. Who knows.

Thanks Nonny!

Yep, he is out there happily liking stories and pictures on Instagram, but he's ignoring his hardcore fanbase. Someone sat him down and had a stern word with him for sure. Whether it was someone from the show or someone from his management. We'll never know.

As for Lou not being at that backyard Madney party? If you've read the previous ask I just posted, you know my stance on that. While all the signs are there that he most probably wasn't, I'm still very hesitant to say it. I'm not claiming they're hiding him, but he could have just stepped outside during the break in between filming. Correct me if I'm wrong, but we didn't see JLH either in that bts, while she is more than probably there. So yeah, I'm not so sure he wasn't there at all. (I do sincerely wish and hope he wasn't though.)

Not that it mattered. If he was there it's for plot device reasons only. It would only mean that we are one scene closer to him leaving. :) And let's not forget they asked Ryan and Oliver to do that promo video that day, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I do still like the idea of a flash forward. There's so many ways they could make that interesting.

But it's like Ali says: who knows? We'll have to wait and see.

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[sammyboyimagines]

A Friend From Work pt. 4

Pairing: Older!Steve x Reader

Summary: Steve is confronted by your father, and he is given two options. Will he regret his choice? 1.7k words

Warnings: mention of smut so just in case 18+ MINORS DNI, mention of sex, breakup, angst, sadness/hurt, swearing, idk what else.

//this is gonna be a 5 part fic. I am making this story into a book on wattpad too! It will be a more detailed and slightly improved plot only available on Wattpad! Requested by the lovely @its-quinns-bread

"Say hi to your dad for me." Steve helped you out of his car, his hand clutching yours. "You better hope he doesn't beat your ass tomorrow when you come into work." you laugh, grabbing his collar and pulling him into a quick kiss. The thought of your father seeing you kissing his best friend frightened you a little, but Steve was there to comfort those fears.

"Hey, no matter what happens, I'm here." he gave you a soft warm smile, glancing at the dim lights in your house from the windows. "Maybe you could come to work with me. He won't hurt me in front of his daughter," he smirks. You roll your eyes. "Fine, but only because I wanna be there to see him chew you out."

"Goodnight, Y/n," he says in a whisper, his large hands holding you against him. "Goodnight, Steve." you smile and manage to break away from his grasp as you approach your doorstep.

You went to bed with your stomach full of butterflies and your head full of memories of how soft he was around you, how his kisses felt, and how much appreciation he had for you.

You went to work with your father under the guise of "helping out". But when you practically skipped over to Steve's desk, it told him everything he needed to know. You were dating his best friend.

"Hi, sweetheart. Can you help me sort these papers? I have so much other work to do since I took that week off. The things I do for you.." he chuckles. You simply nod and take the folders and stacks of papers. "My dad is watching us like a hawk so if I were you, I wouldn't get touchy." you laugh when he pouts. "But you look so delicious, it's unfair that I can't touch what's mine…" he frowns. You roll your eyes and smack his arm with one of the folders. "You're not helping the situation!" you laugh.

After working on sorting and organizing random papers that have little to no meaning to you, you went for a bathroom break. Your father took this as his moment to approach Steve. "Steve. A word please?" he points to an empty office used for holding storage and any extra items for safekeeping. "Mr. L/n. You don't need to worry-"

"Just shut your damn mouth. Where the hell do you get off going after my daughter? You're a fucking maniac if you think I'm letting you manipulate her like this." he was so angry his face was turning red. Your father was mad because he knew how Steve was in his past. A player. But was he playing with you or was he serious?

"Look, you obviously want what's best for her. But you have to understand that I have no reason to hurt your daughter. She's beautiful, and I treat her well! I don't know why you're angry at me! We've grown up together! Would I honestly leave her high and dry like that?" Steve tried to pull himself together. He knew you'd hate it if you heard the fight.

"Yes! You would absolutely abandon her after you got bored. You're gonna dump her like the other dozens of women you've only dated for one month!" Steve's past was often what kept him back. He used to be a womanizer, a different woman on his arm each week. And he's been trying for years to prove that he's changed.

Steve's hands grew clammy as your father chewed him out, just like you both expected he would. "You know what would knock some fucking sense into your head? If I told our boss. He'd like to know how you steal money from right under his nose." Steve went pale at the thought of losing his job. It would surely get him fired.

"No, you can't tell him! I swear to god I'm gonna treat her right, man!" Steve tried to keep his composure throughout the whole ordeal. "She's 22, let her do whatever the hell she wants!" Steve kept his voice at a whisper despite the heated argument unfolding.

"But you're a player, Steve. You've never thought about settling down, marrying, or having kids. I don't want her to be just another woman for you to abandon. Because that's what you do." your father said, pointing his finger in Steve's face.

"You don't fucking know me! You don't know how I feel, have I hurt your daughter yet? I've known her for a month and I've been nothing but nice to her! I've changed." he crosses his arms.

"No. Nobody can change that much. Either you break it off and tell her this was a mistake or I'm telling our boss and you can say goodbye to your cushy job, Steve." Steve felt sick to his stomach. He knew this would wreck you, but losing his job would be detrimental to his life. His job was all he had.

"Dude, I've known you for years. I would never do this to her. You know me." Your dad laughed to himself. "I don't know you. After that stunt you pulled when I got home and saw you two, I don't know you. You're not my friend, you're a fucking creep. Break it off or I ruin you." your dad stormed out, seeing you standing by the door.

"What happened? What did you say to him?" you grabbed your father's arm, to which he yanked it away from you. Your father didn't hold any hatred for you, however, he was very disappointed. That was somehow worse. "I don't want to talk to you. But he has something to say to you, don't you, Harrington?" your father gave Steve a stern look.

Steve looked upset, his face was flushed from the heated argument that could have cost him his job. Steve took you back into the empty office. "Y/n, I need to say something. I know you're not gonna like this, but it has to be said." Steve spoke in a soft voice.

"What did he say to you?" you approached him, but he backed away from you. He knew that if he had you in his arms he wouldn't have the heart to say anything. "This is my choice, Y/n. I was stupid to think this would work." he starts, but you've already heard enough.

"No, we can just keep it a secret! You don't have to do this, I thought you liked me?" you were confused. Just yesterday, he was cuddling you in his warm bed and whispering sweet nothings into your ear until you fell asleep.

"This was a mistake, Y/n! You need to understand that this will never work! We're too different, and you know it! Everything we've done was a mistake, we never should have done this." It was breaking his own heart to say this.

"Did he threaten you? Is that why you've just switched on me? I spent a week at your goddamn house and you're saying all of it was a mistake?! You bought me clothing!" you couldn't believe it. How could he be so stupid?

"I could lose my job, Y/n. Think, for once in your life, think about the consequences of this relationship. We were a mistake, the sooner you realize that the better." you felt tears prick at your eyes as you fought the urge to slap him in the face.

"Seriously? You'd rather keep your stupid job? You think I'm stupid because I don't realize the consequences?" you were yelling at him at this point. "No! You're an asshole! I don't care about the consequences because I like you, I want to be with you! You wanted to be with me, why am I a mistake? Am I just another notch in your bedpost?" you didn't realize you were crying until you felt tears run down your face.

Steve wasn't showing any reaction. "I don't need you anymore, I have to keep my job. You can leave if you want, I don't need your help anymore. I think it's best if we don't see each other anymore." Your father was watching from the window. If he could, Steve would apologize profusely until you were gracious enough to take him back. He desperately wanted to tell you that none of it was his idea. He wanted to fight it, but he couldn't imagine losing his job over someone he met months ago. No matter how important you were to him.

You couldn't respond, trying desperately to hold onto your last shred of dignity. You shoved past him to the door and walked out, grabbing your stuff from his desk as fast as you possibly could. You ignored how your stomach sank when you remembered how sweet he was just 10 minutes ago.

Your father stopped you from leaving. "You don't have a ride, sweetheart." the nickname reminded you of Steve, and you felt tears pricking at your eyes. "I'll find one. Please just let me go home." you shifted uncomfortably in your heels, trying to hold back sobs.

Your father brought you to his car and offered to drive you home. "We need to talk, I think this is what's best for you-"

"You don't get to decide that! Threatening to get him fired? Why can't you just let me be!" you shouted at him, all of these sudden emotions just pouring out of you.

"He's a bad guy, Y/n. Do you know how many women he's hooked up with who were exactly like you? Naive, innocent, pretending to be rebellious. You don't know him like I do!" you scoffed and turned away from him, watching the trees go by in a blur as your father drove home. "Let me make that mistake for myself! What if he had good intentions? Don't you want me to be happy!?" he rolled his eyes.

"Of course, Y/n. But this is what's best. The sooner you realize that the better. " when you arrived home, you practically sprinted inside. Slamming your door like an angry teenager, you cried into your pillow.

You remembered what it was like to go on drives with Steve. His hand would be holding your thigh, inching up your mini skirt to press his fingers against your heat as he accelerated, his eyes on the road as if he wasn't turned on by the way you moaned and sucked on a cherry lollipop.

Steve was nothing like your dad's description, he was kind, sweet, and comforting. But then again, he left you for his job.

[imtouchestarved]

Spin-off#3

Girl talk! ><

"KYAAA! I knew it! I always knew it!" Mitsuri yelled as she jumped in place, splashing water everywhere. They were both in the hot springs at the swordsmith village. When (Y/n)'s sword got broken mid-battle, she went to the village for a new one when she unexpectedly met Mitsuri. The two were very happy to see each other again.

"D-don't make it sound like a big deal.." (Y/n) got embarrassed from Mitsuri's reaction about her and Kyojuro. "How can I not?! The way you both looked at each other before you got together made me want to scream from the top of my lungs! It was going to happen sooner or later." Mitsuri splashed more water on (Y/n) as she moved non-stop while talking enthusiastically.

(Y/n)'s face got even more red and she hugged her knees to her chest. "But lately, he's been acting kind of weird.." she admitted as she recalled why she felt the need to relax and head to the hot springs in hope to clear her mind. Mitsuri's bubbly behavior stopped as she heard the distress in her friend's voice. She slowly sat down next to (Y/n). "Why is that?" She questioned.

(Y/n) sighed and leaned back. "I don't even know. His behavior just seems..odd. in our short encounters, he doesn't say a lot. It always seems like something is weighing his mind. When I asked him about it, he just smiled nervously and said that he's tired. Though I can clearly see that he's feeling unfulfilled with something. Perhaps I'm just making him uncomfortable.." She finished her rant with another long sigh.

Mitsuri didn't respond for a while as she pondered (Y/n)'s words and analyzed Kyojuro's behavior. Just when (Y/n) lost hope that she will ever reply, she suddenly clicked her fingers as a huge grin spread on her face. "Got it!," she yelled, "The reason why he's acting like that, the reason why he seems unfulfilled, is because he wants to say the three big words!" She crossed her arms and raised her chin, feeling satisfied with her abilities.

(Y/n) tilted her head, not knowing what she was talking about. "The three big words..?" She asked.

"C'monnnn~ don't tell you don't know the three big words!!" Mitsuri turned to (Y/n) with her surprised expression.

When her friend shook her head in confusion, she sighed and started to explain. "You know..! The three big words that every couple has to say to each other eventually!" Under (Y/n)'s still puzzled expression, Mitsuri squealed as she realized she had to say them out loud for her to understand.

"The 'I love you'..!" She whispered in (Y/n)'s ear, her face immediately gotten red. "W-w-whaaatttt!!" She yelled as her eyes winded while shooking her head repeatedly. "Nonono! It's way too early for that! We've only been dating for-"

"Almost 5 months now!" Mitsuri completed her sentence. "And the most far you two went is a kiss! How slow can you guys possibly be!"

(Y/n) became even more red from the thoughts of going anywhere further than that. "And that's completely fine! Really now, you don't expect us to.." her stomach did a weird flip as she struggled to finish her sentence.

Mitsuri sighed. "Listen, I'm not judging you guys at all. It's reasonable to keep it slow. I'm just saying.. maybe Kyojuro-kun wants to take it a step further." She leaned back and played with the warm water, splashing a little on (Y/n) to try to get her attention, though the girl only buried her face within her palms as she whined.

"Now you made me all nervous. Just the thought of him saying it is making me feel like I'm going to burst! And after that.. we're going to take it a step further and..!!" She slowly slipped into the water in hope of hiding her very defined blush, leaving only the nose and up exposed.

Mitsuri stared at her flustered friend, trying not to giggle at how cute she looked. "Oh, come on," she wrapped her arms around her. "It's all going to be okay! Do you love him?" Her unexpected question made (Y/n) eyes to widen as she took her head out of the water.

"What kind of question is that?!" She raised her voice.

"Answer me, do you love him?"

(Y/n) ran away from her gaze and nodded slowly as the blush reappeared on her face. "Then you don't have a reason to worry. It will all happen when it needs to happen." She backed away from (Y/n) and let herself sink in the calming water around her. "You both are just so cute!! I'm starting to feel jealous!" She giggled.

"Ah, don't play dumb with me, Mitsuri." (Y/n) smirked slowly, suddenly realizing she can now tease her friend back. "What do you mean?" Mitsuri tilted her head, causing one of her braids to slip in the water. "I don't think that there's a single piller who's oblivious to you and Iguro," she giggled. "Well, except for Muichiro - Though I don't think he really counts."

Mitsuri immediately raised her upper body out of the water. She was so flustered that it seemed the blush even reached her neck. "WAS IT THAT OBVIOUS?!" She screamed, causing (Y/n) to flinch and cover her ears.

"Be quite..! Some people might be asleep!" (Y/n) scolded her, but Mitsuri didn't seem bothered at all. Heck, (Y/n) doubted she even heard what she said.

"I- I mean, we're not official yet.. though I think he's about to ask me the big question! Oh! and the other time.." she kept talking about him. And (Y/n) realized she won't stop soon. But she didn't mind. she listened carefully and asked questions, making Mitsuri talk faster and faster, obviously excited about finally sharing someone about her romance with the snake piller.

A/n: The next chapter might be a little spicy.. be prepared!!

(No smut tho, ofc!)

[remidyal]

Bad Ideas of the Day, part 5, Even Worse Edition

It's time for my monthly-ish roundup of my regular bad ideas of the day from the D20 fanfic discord! Last month's is available here and has links back to all the prior ones because now there's too many for me to be bothered direct linking here!

As usual, these are a mix of fantasy high and other D20 prompts and are open for anyone who wants to do something with them, though I appreciate letting me know because I wanna read it!

Bad idea of the day, class swap (but not like that) edition: Due to a clerical error - namely, their cleric signed them up for it - all of the bad kids have to attend each other's classes for a week, resulting in Fabian sitting through a Worlds Religion lecture, Kristen doing her -3 Dex best to sneak around in rogue classes, Gorgug going to the bard classes that Fig never actually went to, Riz doing his best to remember everything Adaine's ever mentioned about how wizarding works, Fig faking fighting instead of raging for once, and Adaine trying to pass off her furious fist as just being how her anger manifests

Bad idea of the day, abc edition: In the village of Happly, at the harvest festival, Pinnochio enters his infamous bubblegum and whiskey pie and gets himself run out of town by a mob of angry villagers

Bad Idea of the Day, Toxic Masculinity is Undead edition: The adventurers of Solace are well aware of Halloween, because every year on that date the soulless corpses of villains slain in the past year rise again to chase after their killers. Can Fabian keep ahead of both Zombie Penelope Everpetal and Zombie Bill Seacaster?

Bad idea of the day, Figueroth Faeth's Day Off edition: Receiving notification halfway through junior year that one more unexcused absence is going to result in her being expelled, Fig drags her friends into a heist to break into the school, fake her attendance record and show that she's been there the whole time.

Bad Idea of the Day, Drama Edition: It turns out that there's a reason that Aguefort has a theater department. Once every hundred years, a performance must be put on that is quote truly moving unquote lest the school be destroyed, and it turns out that Riz is fated to play the heroine of the most recent attempt. Can the Bad Kids teach him to not botch his lines or hide under the stage?

Bad idea of the day, not all cats are good cats: Puss in Boots must fight off a new contender for children's hearts and minds as the trickster cat du dour. Can he successfully murder this strange cat and his lame rhymes and thing-like minions to keep his throne, or will he be the first to fall to seussian influences?

Bad idea of the day, death stalks you edition: Adaine starts sending out Solstice cards to people who annoy her throughout the year with prophecies of their deaths. Most of them she just makes up, but one or two are genuine every year just to mix things up.

Bad idea of the day, World's Greatest Detective edition: Riz is asked to solve a murder that seems to have all the classic detective tropes he truly loves involved; it's only partway through that he realizes that Fabian, with their friends' help, has staged it because they were all worried about Riz getting bored and spiraling between quests.

Bad idea of the day, I know Halloween was two days ago but I rewatched in the mouth of madness recently edition: The Bad Kids come to realize they are being controlled by mysterious and unknowable forces, and reach a decision: To cut off the flow of evil into the world, they are going to need to find and kill whatever a 'DM' is.

Bad idea of the day, I think we've all learned some valuable lessons here edition: The Dream Team realizes some kind of truly awful existence is sweeping over new york, in which every conversation and conflict ends with everyone having picked up a seemingly valuable but really quite shallow moral to the tale; they eventually figure out that it is in fact an attempt by a powerful sorcerer to turn the world into an after school special on this, a very special episode of The Unsleeping City.

Bad idea of the day, No Really A Starstruck ODYSSEY edition: The crew take a smash and grab job investigating missing people near a remote outpost, and discover a mad scientist conducting strange experiments but also offering great hospitality and food. Can the crew of the Wurst figure everything out before the more foolish of them (gunnie) end up as pigs?

Bad idea of the day, just how sure are you about this new god edition: In the summer before junior year, Fig and the Sig Figs record a music video for their new smash single. Watching it for the first time, Saint Kristen Applebees notices something in the video that noone else seems to be able to see: A familiar tabaxi, hanging out in the crowd watching the concert.

Bad idea of the day, that gum you like is going to come back in style edition: Fig at last discovers Porter's one flaw that makes him a truly intimidating barbarian with an unstoppable rage: Students putting chewed gum onto the bottom of their desks.

Bad idea of the day, ashes to ashes edition: Tired of Fig's chainsmoking cloves, Jawbone and Tracker stage an intervention to maybe at least talk her into some sort of rebellious vice that doesn't stink up the home of two werewolves with strong senses of smell at least

Bad idea of the day, my frog is real and so is magic edition: Adaine grows up without spellcasting ability at all until on the morning she starts at Aguefort, when on her way walking to school she runs across a frog who offers her magical powers she might be able to use to improve her life.

Bad Idea of the Day, You Wouldn't Steal a Car edition: Seeking to impress his father, Fabian gets into Solace's new age of piracy, selling illegal copies of movies, music and apps throughout Elmville. Will the lawsuits catch up to him in the end, or can his amass a horde of treasure suitable for a Seacaster?

Bad idea of the day, unfamiliar edition: At Some Point in the future, Jayhson feels a magical tug from afar and appears due to the whims of one of these 'humans' who has summoned a familiar. Can he kill this whizzered and get back to his family?

Bad idea of the day, I shot the Sheriff edition: Riz wakes up one fine morning in his office to discover Agent Angela Worrel came knocking in the night, and one of the traps his paranoid ass has set up for his office has killed her. Can he cover up this capital offense, or will Worrel finally succeed, posthumously, in getting at least one Bad Kid in jail long term?

Bad idea of the day, foreseeable problems edition: The Hangman gets impounded due to a series of unpaid parking tickets, leading Fabian to argue that the Hangman should count as a pet and not a vehicle. This results in him also getting tickets for having his dog off the leash.

Bad idea of the day, Heaven or Hell edition: Following an unfortunate but hopefully temporary death, Figueroth Faeth finds herself at the center of a dispute between the planes that threatens a war, as Hell wants its archdevil but Rock Heaven insists that they have a claim to everyone who has a rock album go platinum. Will this begin a true battle of the bands?

Bad idea of the day, I admit these are getting weirder edition: The bad kids wake up one morning in the midst of a campaign designed by just the worst kind of a DM, with railroaded sidequests, boring samey npcs, and combat every six feet. Can they figure out what's going on and escape back to Spyre before rocks fall and they all die?

Bad idea of the day, Lost Things and Misfit Toys edition: Irritated as hell at the blue fairy after ending up a puppet again, Pinocchio turns not to his new stepmother for power but instead someone else who dislikes the blue fairy, someone else who believes in the occasional misdirection, someone who is pretending to be the blue fairy's sister…. one "Gwendolyn Thistlehop".

Bad idea of the day, the WORST fusion edition: After she goes on a mission trip to parts unknown, all of the bad kids notice that Kristen is acting… odder than normal. This is because (burrow's end spoiler!) she's being piloted by chipmunks, of course.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Sorry if you already said something, but do you have any thoughts on sm losing both baekhyun and now taemin as soloists? Is this snowballing likely to continue, and what do you see sm being in five years?

***

Hi Anon,

I've answered the question of where I see SM in 5 years here <- that's from about a month ago.

My view of Baekhyun and Taemin both jumping ship is that they were overdue. It was always a question of when not if. SM has a long, prolific history of bleeding talent and abusing their idols - that company is quite literally the worst offender among the Big3 just going by the number of lawsuits filed every 3 - 5 years from idols under their management. And this is aside the fact that SM is the only major company that compels their artists to sign 10-year contracts using a legal loophole, where the industry standard is 7 years. The reason SM's known practices aren't talked about more in fact, is because SM also has the largest amount of company stans in the wider k-pop fandom who strongly influence where scrutiny is placed.

And that reason is why even if this snowballs, it won't change anything dramatically for the company, because nobody is more committed to keeping illusion of SM's legacy/prestige alive more than fans of SM groups.

That said, based on debut dates, the group next up for contract negotiations is NCT. Because most of the founding members have promoted outside Korea (the legal loophole SM uses), this means they have 10-year contracts and so they'll only begin negotiations from the latter half of this year through 2026. As some of the members are due to enlist starting this year (Taeil, Jaehyun, Doyoung and Taeyong are the four oldest Korean members), it's assumed they are speedrunning negotiations ahead of that deadline, and it could be why we've seen solo and sub-unit projects for Taeil, Taeyong, Jaehyun and Doyoung in the last year. I'm highlighting those four in contrast to a member like Mark, who is easily NCT's most prominent member (alongside Taeyong) who still doesn't have a solo EP, and it's probably just a coincidence that he's Canadian and not up for military service. And so his negotiations can happen much later. Given the state of SM's dwindling idol portfolio and how they've been handling NCT so far, I expect almost all the members to re-sign (WayV is the wild card here), but I expect more bleeding from EXO and other legacy acts.

Anyway, I'm already rambling.

Baekhyun/Taemin have been associated with SM for a decade and that's not going to change even with them leaving the company, for two reasons:

They are still signed under SM for group activities.

SM stans won't relinquish that connection no matter how hard those idols attempt to rebrand their image. Like I've been saying, most fans of SM groups are actually company stans despite what they'll tell you.

So long as the make-up of k-pop fandoms remain dominated by SM stans, nothing is changing significantly for SM in this space in the next 5 years. Their new girl group will debut to much fan fare, Taemin and Baekhyun will continue being included in conversations about SM talent and influence, and SM company norms will continue as they have like every other time a high-profile talent has left their company - just fine.

The one caveat I didn't include in my prior post (linked above) but feel compelled to include now, is that the non-compete HYBE placed on Lee Sooman in 2023, expires in 2026. Given everything I've mentioned about how SM operates and the cult-like following LSM has both with his staff and k-pop stans generally, if he establishes a competing agency in the next 5 years, that could dramatically impact the life of SM Entertainment beyond any of the expected M&A scenarios I mentioned in point 3 of my linked post.

Overall, expect more of the same but there's a chance we get more fun times ahead. :)

[kasplonkable]

Foxma HC's

I love these bitches so much. I've finished Gotham now and lemme just say... You know that scene (spoilers for season 5 from here I guess lmao) when Ed breaks into the GCPD and is going through the files, and Lucius catches him and pushes him back with a hand on his chest?? Yeah, I've been thinking about that scene a lot. This list breaks from canon a little bit (as in, it exists in a world where they would realistically date), but oh well. Enjoy :-)

I reckon they're one of those couples where people don't even realise they're dating until something obviously lovey-dovey happens

like, they'll be at a dinner party or something and one of them maybe gets a little too drunk and kisses the other, and everyone else is like "lol that's embarrassing, Lucius and Ed just kissed" and they're like "???yeah??? We've been dating for 3 years now???"

Like, between all the hand holding, and the sharing food and clothes, everyone just thought they were really friendly with each other (but in hindsight they probably should have guessed)

they have nights where they challenge each other at board games all night. Like, they'll cycle through about 15 games in one night, and have an ongoing tally of wins pinned up on the fridge

on their anniversary, they'll buy each other a new game to add to the tournament

predictably, if they ever watch a game show on TV, they'll race to answer the question first (but every now and then, Lucius lets Ed win just to see how excited he gets about it (Ed knows this of course, but he doesn't mind so much when Lucius looks at him like that))

because they're interested in the same sort of subjects, info dumping is always a fun time for both of them (even if it's unrelated, it's still fun)

while Ed's hanging up the washing, he'll listen to Lucius rant about the intricacies and beauty of biomechanics

and then while Lucius is cooking, he'll listen to Ed rant about epigenetics

This happens a lot though, with pretty much anything...

"so they've basically got a ton of chromosomes!! And there's this one fern that has the world record for having the most!! It's called the adder's tongue fern, or Ophioglossum reticulatum, and it has up to 1,440 chromosomes!!! That's way too many!!" "And what was this called again??" "Polyploidy!! Wait, I haven't even started on Oxytricha trifallax yet!! So basically-" *heart eyes*

Ed always forgets to carry his ear defenders around, so Lucius makes sure he has a spare pair in his bag just in case Ed needs them

Lucius likes to tinker with things when he's bored

one time, Ed came home to find him surrounded by a mixture of cogs and screws only to find that he'd taken apart their toaster

"it stopped working..."

"oh, okay!! Can you fix it?"

"Yeah! It was a fairly common problem, all I needed to do was- what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

*absolute heart eyes* "I just love you is all"

there are so many books and papers around their house that it could be mistaken for a library

well, it's like that right up until the moment Ed gets overstimulated by it all, and then Lucius helps him clean it until everywhere is spotless again (this usually happens late at night, leading to the two of them cleaning until 2 AM and they can finally both sleep)

their whole house is a mixture of dark wood and warm colours. It's really lovely when one comes back and can smell a home cooked meal wafting through the corridors. That's when it especially feels like home

They have a coat hanger by the door that is always overflowing with jackets. When it finally fell over, they both had to reevaluate how many coats they actually needed

one time Ed learn how to quilt so he gave Lucius a massive quilted blanket for his birthday. It was big enough to cover their bed and checked with reds and yellows and the occasional dark green. He loved it so much that it became a permanent fixture in their room

in the winter months, when their small flat can't keep out the Gotham cold, they'll bundle under the blankets and hold onto eachother until they fall asleep

there's not really a strict big spoon or little spoon, just two people clinging to eachother in a tangle of limbs

Lucius has one of those alarms where you have to solve a maths equation before it turns off. Normally Ed would love it, but not at 5 AM...

"nghh can you just turn it off already"

"give me a second, this one's a bit challenging... actually, I'm just going to grab some paper quickly-"

"can you at least taKE THE ALARM WITH YOU?!" Ed groans as he rolls over and tries to hide from the noise in his pillow

Lucius likes to go on runs early in the morning. He enjoys the fresh air and lack of people. That and the fact that Ed is only just waking up when he gets back, sleepily kissing him and handing him a warm cup of coffee with the promise of breakfast soon after

That being said, sometimes he'll go to get up for his run only to find Ed curled into his side. It's those mornings when he decides to snooze his alarm and spend another hour or so dozing next to the love of his life

they go on cute dates to their local museum, sometimes checking out the occasional lecture happening there

They enjoy comparing notes afterwards to see what parts each of them found most interesting

But sometimes if the lecture is boring (and it's rare for either of them to find a lecture boring) they'll forgo the academic notes, and instead send messages back and fourth across the desk

Ed always expects Lucius to throw the notes away afterwards, but he keeps them at the back of his notebook

This lecture is kind of boring. He's just ranting about Crayfish?

Yes, it is slightly strange. I think I heard him say something about invasive species, but honestly I drifted off about 10 minutes ago

Do you want to grab a Chinese after this?

Yeah sure! The usual place?

Obviously

...

Love you

I love you too

[subliminalbo]

10 Years of Subliminalbo

Candice Swanepoel: Mindless Pet Annotated [ 1 ]

Originally published November 28th, 2013

"You've done well, Candice. Since launching Obedience by Victoria, women just can't seem to get enough of our products. Sales have tripled in the last month alone." [ 2 ]

"Thank you, Master," Candice replied. She was teleconferencing with her boss, who had put her in charge of the Obedience campaign. Candice had traveled across the nation to nine different Victoria's Secret flagship stores [ 3 ], spreading their new product and enslaving the minds of customers who were now feeling so much more loyal to the business [ 4 ]. But they weren't the only ones under the control of this new high-tech lingerie. Candice was, in a way, patient zero.

"As a reward for your excellent work, we've decided to take you off of the campaign. I'm sure we have other models who are just dying to wear Obedience by Victoria. [ 5 ]"

"Master," Candice frowned. "Does that mean...?"

"You no longer have to wear the lingerie, yes." he replied. "We have other lines for you to promote, we can't be wasting you on one thing [ 6 ]."

"Yes, Master, I understand." Candice nodded. A part of her felt worried to be released from her boss' control [ 7 ]. She'd been wearing this lingerie for weeks now and was quite fond of someone thinking for her [ 8 ]. It was just easier.

Time fixed Candice's aversion to thought [ 9 ]. After a few days' worth of withdrawals, she no longer felt the urge for obedience [ 10 ]. With her mind finally cleared, Candice had a lot of questions for Victoria's Secret [ 11 ]. Like why they'd forced her to wear a hypnotic bra for twelve weeks [ 12 ]. So much had changed since Candice went under. Girls would stop Candice on the streets, and she would look into their eyes. Those empty eyes. And Candice knew that they were wearing Obedience, and she knew that it was her work that had taken this girl's mind [ 13 ]. "I love you, Candice. You are my idol," the girls would say, and Candice would remember all of those girls on tour. The ones who had just shown up for an autograph and had left with a new pair of underwear and an empty mind . And those girls had gone and forced their friends and family into mindless obedience as well. The campaign was so successful that CEOs of other companies were falling over each other to copy the Obedience bra's technology. Walmart had enslaved all of its employees to guarantee better service, and McDonald's was replicating the technology for food so that its customers would never eat anywhere else [ 14 ].

Candice was disgusted at this new world, and she knew something had to be done [ 15 ]. She first tried to take it up with her boss, but he was always too busy to listen. Then she tried filing a report to the ethics department of Victoria's Secret, but that too was met with no response [ 16 ]. Frustrated with her employer, Candice decided that she had to do something drastic [ 17 ].

Santiago Cruz was a young journalist trying to find her first major story to break through [ 18 ]. So far she was relegated to covering puff pieces like fashion at the Golden Globe Awards and the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show [ 19 ]. Candice had remembered Santiago from last year's show, but it was Santiago who approached Candice. She'd been focusing on Victoria's Secret in the last few weeks, after a friend of hers had gone completely off the grid reporting on the new line of lingerie. Santiago had an eye for conspiracy, and this really stunk [ 20 ]. So over coffee one morning, Candice spilled her whole story.

"They told me to try on the bra, and then... Well, everything felt so good. I just wanted to do everything they told me to."

"And you didn't know what it did? You didn't know that they were brainwashing you?" Santiago replied. She rarely looked away from her pad which she scribbled every possible detail onto. Notes on Candice's story, important dates, important names. This story was going to be huge.

"I didn't... And the worst thing is what they made me do. I had sex with so many men and women [ 21 ], and they made me go around passing out the lingerie, turning other women into something like me."

"That's awful," Santiago interjected [ 22 ].

"Yes. It's addictive too. After I was freed, I wanted nothing more than to go back. I wanted to be controlled. I wanted it so bad I even tried self-hypnosis [ 23 ]."

"But it didn't work."

"No."

As the interview wrapped up, Santiago asked if anyone in Victoria's Secret knew that Candice was talking to her. Candice told her about the ethics report she'd filed, but assured Santiago that no one knew she was going to the public with the story. The two women shook hands and Santiago promised Candice that justice would be served, then they went their separate ways. A few days passed before Santiago heard from Candice again. This time it was a text that read: New info. We need to talk. Meet me at our coffee place asap. Santiago said she was on her way, and as she left the office, she told her boss that she was going to check up on a new lead [ 24 ].

Santiago arrived at the coffee shop to find it mostly empty, except for the two baristas who stood stoic and guard-like behind the counter, and at a table in the back sat a well-dressed man with Candice, who sat on the floor next to the man, resting on her knees [ 25 ]. Unlike the man, you could not say she was well-dressed. She wore some gaudy kind of cat inspired lingerie [ 26 ].

"What is this?" Santiago asked Candice. "What's going on?"

"You're asking the wrong person," the man spoke up. "She doesn't say much anymore."

"Oh my God, Candice... What did you do to her?"

"My name's Ed [ 27 ], it's nice to meet you. We've reeducated Candice. And to answer your question, Miss Cruz, this is a trap [ 28 ]. For years reporters have been trying to out my company for one dirty reason or another. We're a blight to America's youth, we teach girls to be sexual at a young age... We just can't afford to have a brainwashing conspiracy on our hands so... I guess you'd call this the coverup."

"Candice," Santiago cried. "You've got to snap out of it!"

Ed smiled and ran his hand through Candice's hair. "Go ahead, my pet, you may speak."

"I was wrong to come to you, Santiago," Candice frowned. "Thankfully Master Ed was kind enough to take me back, and I'm sure he'd be happy to have you too, if you asked. We could be good kitties together!"

"No!" Santiago screamed. "I'll never put on your disgusting lingerie!"

"I'll make you a deal," Ed spoke up. "Surrender to me, and I'll let Candice go. Your mind for hers. Or... I keep Candice as my pet, and pull some strings for you. You'll have your own column, your own news show. You'll be able to do anything you want. All I ask is that you don't print that story."

Santiago looked into the empty eyes of a mindless Candice who was busy playing with the bell on her collar. Candice had trusted her to do the right thing. Santiago promised her that she would expose Victoria's Secret, and that this kind of thing would never happen to her again. But Santiago had only taken this story because she wanted her big break, and now she was being offered just that by Ed [ 29 ]. And Candice, she looked so happy.

"Okay," Santiago choked. "You can have her. No one will ever hear a word of this [ 30 ]."

"That's a good girl," Ed smiled [ 31 ].

[ 1 ]. This short was a kind of soft pilot to writing original characters, shifting the focus from Candice Swanepoel to reporter Santiago Cruz. It wasn't the most graceful transition. For example, it created this alternate universe in my series where Victoria's Secret is, inexplicably, a dominant political force responsible for the mass brainwashing of consumers. Obedience By Victoria would come up from time to time in my stories, but I mostly got around the absurdity of the plot by mentioning Victoria's Secret as little as possible after wrapping up Santiago's Story.

[ 2 ]. Consumers being targeted by mass brainwashing campaigns is an idea that I still find really compelling, partly because profit is the most logical motive for mind control, but also because there's just sort of this mundane evil to the whole scheme. Manipulating millions of consumers into submissive puppets to raise profit margins is very funny to me.

[ 3 ]. Yeah, again I don't really know anything about Victoria's Secret campaigns and have no idea where I came up with the number nine but I'm very surprised that Milwaukee was on the list.

[ 4 ]. Probably the worst example yet of telling the audience that there is mind control happening. These days I'd probably just be happy with Candice "spreading the product" (weird word choice too tbh)

[ 5 ]. I don't really understand the motivation to take the campaign away from Candice here, other than to create an inciting incident for the story.

[ 6 ]. From the mind controller's perspective, this just seems like a bad decision. How is Candice not supposed to blow the whistle here.

[ 7 ]. Ah man, I just hate interiority like this. I try really hard to not tell the reader what the character is thinking or feeling.

[ 8 ]. Subliminalbo cliche #3: mind control is nice, actually.

[ 9 ]. This is a stupid sentence.

[ 10 ]. Casually breezing over this harrowing experience right here in a single sentence.

[ 11 ]. Girl, same.

[ 12 ]. I am convinced that these are the four worst sentences that I've ever written in succession. I think it's meant to be understatement as a joke but it's just awful.

[ 13 ]. Classic subject-verb agreement error here. Fun fact, I was finishing up my first semester of freshman English when I wrote this.

[ 14 ]. So much to unpack in this one paragraph. First of all, it's like three paragraphs at minimum. But it's so weird that I didn't put any thought into what Obedience By Victoria is and how it works. Like, how is Walmart implementing mind controlling bras? How did McDonalds put inside fucking burgers? In future versions I think I made sure to note that all of these other companies were exploring their own research, but here I mostly just wanted to stress the sheer number of people who had been mind controlled since the last chapter and I didn't really care how.

[ 15 ]. Girl, same.

[ 16 ]. "Victoria's Secret's HR department" would have been less clunky language.

[ 17 ]. Why would she even try to handle it within the company? Like, what did she expect would happen here?

[ 18 ]. Hell of a way to introduce a new character. Literally just me explaining her archetype to the reader. I could have just pasted a TV Tropes page here.

[ 19 ]. In later versions of this story I focus a bit more on what Santiago actually does. In this first draft I saw her as a Buzzfeed journalist but later have her writing for Trespass, which is an ersatz Vice. Both have struggled in recent years, but Buzzfeed was such an easy target that I felt like Vice was more interesting to criticize. Anyway, I never actually say where Santiago works in this version because everything is surface level.

[ 20 ]. Subliminalbo cliche #4: the paranoid reporter who seeks out trouble because they suspect that mind control is everywhere.

[ 21 ]. I think this concept works better as a straight conspiracy thriller about corporate brainwashing but it's always about sex. What's funny is that I'm too young here to write confidently about sex so I just have the characters mention sex and that's the smut.

[ 22 ]. Don't like the word choice here. You don't "interject" when listening to a person talk about their trauma lol

[ 23 ]. It's nice to get a little bit of Candice's struggle after taking off the lingerie, but it's still really surface level stuff here. 2013 Bo is very committed to telling instead of showing.

[ 24 ]. Eh, this paragraph is fine I guess. I just want to call out how quickly I accelerate out of the scene. We get a brief stretch of dialogue between the two and then a quick summary of everything else they said. It really feels like I'm just trying to get to the end of this story. I'm also not really sure why I went out of the way to mention Santiago's editor, just weirdly superfluous information here.

[ 25 ]. There are like eight sentences inside this sentence.

[ 26 ]. The story follows the manip again.

[ 27 ]. Though I don't name him explicitly here, Ed is based on former Victoria's Secret Chief Marketing Officer Ed Razek who was something of a minor celebrity in the model blogging space as the creator of the Victoria's Secret Angels. In 2019 Razek stepped down from his position at the company following misogynist and transphobic comments, as well as allegations of creating a culture of harassment within the company. So uh...I hate this story.

[ 28 ]. I kind of hate the way my characters talk to each other in these early stories.

[ 29 ]. She jumps straight to the rationalization, holy shit.

[ 30 ]. I originally envisioned this story as Candice trapped between two powerful wills, but it's pretty shocking how quickly Santiago folds to Ed. Later revisions have focused a ton on expanding this scene and showing that Santiago ultimately has no choice, but I don't really feel like she's in a corner here.

[ 31 ]. The verdict: my worst story yet. Under baked and ludicrously rushed, you can just sort of tell that I'm writing this as a quick caption to a manip. There are tons of unfortunate real world implications too with all of the Ed Razek stuff that went down at Victoria's Secret, it makes for an icky story that I'm really not proud of writing, but it is important because it marks my transition to original characters. Of all my stories, this is the one I've come back to the most to rewrite, and I've finally gotten to a place where I'm fine with it. If you've read all of this I recommend checking that version out because it really has changed a lot (though a quick glance through it and I'm already finding things I hate about it).

[leggerefiore]

Is it just me, or is the childhood friends to lovers route pretty much the only way to snag Cyrus, and by "childhood" I mean met in the first or second year of college at the latest.

Between his natural introversion and his troubled upbringing and the guardedness that came from it, it'd take persistence and the right circumstances to even be a geniune friend of his. Then it'd take him awhile to even realize he's developed feelings for reader and even longer to accept it. Then he'd need to be certain his "crush" isn't a fleeting emotion and that the reader is someone he could have an acceptable future with (because this man is not risking his heart if the relationship can't survive the long haul).

Then he has to worry about his parents: if he's still a minor when he meets and establishes a romantic relationship with reader, will his family be okay with him dating or will they see it as a hinderance to his schoolwork, or is he going to have to keep it hidden? If they're adults but he hasn't cut contact with them yet, what will they do? Will they be as judgemental and cruel to reader as they are with him? Would that happen from the get go or would they play nice until reader marries into the family? Will his parents try to break them up if they don't approve? Will they try prying into his personal life even more?

And after all that, the relationship is still a slow burn for another year or two, maybe even three. I get the feeling you'd be like 4 to 6 months into it before he even changes how he acts around you at all. I wouldn't even be surprised if it's one of those romances where person A (the reader) wonders if person B (Cyrus) is going to ask them out anytime soon or if they're just going to keep hanging out alone on not-dates, while person B is like,"We've been dating for months?"

TLDR it takes Cyrus and reader literally 5 years to get to where most characters x readers get in like 3. He's worth it though.

Maybe it's just me. I'd love to know your take on this though!

High Five Anon

I usually go for a childhood/teenage connection to Cy in my fics since it would be extremely difficult to befriend him after a certain point. But, I think it's entirely possible to get him as long as it's before when he really throws himself into recreating the world. Mostly, I think Cyrus needs someone persistent with him while still respecting his boundaries. Someone who knows how to push just enough to actually make it through it to him while not making him feel like he's having himself treaded upon.

As for his parents, when he's under their watch (which, let's be honest, even as a young adult he still is), they literally don't want any person they haven't picked out of him specifically around since they would view that person as a distraction from everything. When he's a minor (moreso applies to when he's under 13), he probably tries to listen to them more since he's so afraid of upsetting them and desperate to impress them.

As a teenager, he probably moves more into a state of understanding he has his own wants and wishes but struggles with not wanting to make things worse in his home life. He grasps his feelings and probably ends up in some form of relationship with childhood s/o at this point. And as a young adult, he still probably tries to keep it a secret until his parents start bringing up arranged marriages. Needless to say, they aren't exactly happy when he says no and that he's already in a committed relationship. They despise his s/o for that and try harder to force them from his life. S/o is blamed for many of Cyrus's "problems."

Definitely going more into headcanon territory here, but I think Cyrus's parents probably passed away due to how much authority and funds he seems to have on his own. It's only after they pass away that he feels able to properly (as in begin living with) start an adult relationship with his s/o, too.

I definitely can see him somehow thinking he's in a very committed relationship with s/o before properly talking about it because he actually works his time around making sure they have time alone with him. Just very:

"Cy... Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Am I not already? I thought it was obvious to us both."

He is vvv slow compared to most other Guys on this page. Feelings are where he struggles the most, and romantic relationship are almost all feelings. Ingo certainly wouldn't be age 27 and still not married to his childhood s/o. (Then again he wants to be a husband so maybe he's going really fast.)

My friend has begged for another Rotom s/o mention, so I suppose I should say that they, too, are a childhood s/o. And are extra hated by his parents for literally never leaving him alone and actually trying to protect him and comfort him (in his own home).

[dragonsongmakhali]

10 fandoms, 10 characters, 10 tags:

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @jigschosai @sealrock @reikatsukihana and @sasslett! Thank y'all :'D

This is not ordered by how much I'm into them, they're just in whatever order came to mind :) I will caution that I don't tend to choose favorite characters, I'm more of an OC maker. Feeling chatty, so I'm putting the actual list under a cut. You're welcome.

1. FFXIV : Pretty self-explanatory for the xiv sideblog. Since I'm not as in to the MSQ, I don't think I actually have a favorite character (which I know is illegal, I'm sorry :<). I really love seeing what the community does with the characters, though!

2. Halo : The storyline went to hell long ago, but I do still adore the original trilogy and constantly mine it for gpose captions. It was basically what I lived off of in high school. If I had a tumblr back then, I'd have been insufferable. Favorite character is easily Rtas 'Vadum.

3. WoW : Kind of. Asterisk. I really only know Classic, and even then, I'm way more Horde than I am Alliance. I have approximate knowledge of many things. No favorite there either - I'm all about the world and making OCs. We have two concurrent WoW tabletop games running at the moment, so this is where most of my headspace is. Their shared timeline is different from the canon, so I'm not really in the fandom per se.

4. Mass Effect : Alien dating sim, my beloved. I even enjoyed Andromeda (jump jets implemented perfectly, fun combat, the Jardaan reminded me of Forerunners). If you ask me to choose a favorite, I'll cry. How is a mother supposed to choose between her two sons (Legion and Grunt)? Drack also gets an honorary mention for his 100s of low res pictures of guns email.

5. Elder Scrolls : Mostly Skyrim, some Oblivion. I know, I'm one of those fans. Anyway, I've probably played over 1k hours of Skyrim by this point and yet. And yet! I don't have a favorite. The entirety of the Companions? I just wish that the faction questlines in Skyrim weren't "you killed 3 wolves and have been here a week. You lead us all now", but it does give me good scaffolding which. As an OC fiend. Grabby hands.

6. The World Ends With You : This game made me good at calculus in high school. My favorite character from here is Sho Minamimoto, and I was a completely normal teenager who dealt with that by doing calculus problems for fun. Turns out, the trick to get good at math is repetition.

7. Pokémon : Probably my earliest fandom. Still play the games now and again, just got Legends Arceus (super late, I know), and that's been a lot of fun. My favorite character from the franchise is Sinnoh's Rock type leader, Roark. I had a long-running sideblog dedicated to the Sinnoh region because gen IV is my favorite in general! It's inactive at the moment.

8. Guild Wars : 2, to be more precise. I started playing about a month after release, and since it's f2p, I still drop in from time to time. Like every MMO, I have no favorites. I really love playing Sylvari, though! (The glow!! The nightmare!! The [[Heart of Thorns spoiler!!]] They're just so neat)

9. Star Trek : we're now getting into "shows I watched and didn't hate" because I'm definitely not in the 'fandom' for Trek. We've been going through the old series as a way to wind down before bed, starting with TNG. We're on Enterprise now, and I'm sad that it got canceled. Still will probably have a better ending than Voyager. I don't have a favorite, but I can tell you that the writers' collective favorite must be either Seven of Nine or Data.

10. Uh. Various anime? I can't say I've recently loved any particular series to the point of fandom, but as a whole, I've been a weeb since I was in middle school. "Recent" series that I've enjoyed have included Mob Psycho and Love is War. Coincidentally, they both saved the most banger opening for their third season.

We had to stretch a little bit, but we made it to ten! Proud of this community (this community is my brain desperately trying to remember 10 things I like)

Have no idea who's been tagged in this, so if you've done this, please ignore! Or reblog it again!

@miqojak @airis-ray @wilanserulia @ahollowgrave @blackestnight @starstrider @iron-sparrow @sumifinalfourteen @jump-n-dive @otherworldseekers

[lilliaace]

I do realize writing any kind of autobiographical piece (or really any book), but I think the current 'trends' (for lack of better phrasing)  in the young adult LGBTQ world (25 and under age wise) could potentially open me up to a 'hate campaign' and being attacked by the public eye (but I also feel like this could help other people go "holy shit, I'm not alone"). I also state early on that my definition for lesbian is "Queer attraction to women". 

TLDR?: I'm conflicted about publishing my book, partially due to potential backlash, potential risk of doxxing, etc. that comes with publishing a book of this nature and I really do not want to add potential more stress to my daily plate despite how I feel like this book could potentially really help a lot of 'atypical queers'.

Part I. Identity and Dating

So long story short, I classify myself as a greylesbianflux. I'm absolutely asexual, I DO NOT navigate the 'typical' world of sex, romance, sensuality, etc. as the typical allosexual does. I have a strong attraction for other women, like 90-95% of my 'fun time fantasies' involve other women. If men are involved, it's very rare and/or under super specific circumstances. Similar to my current love life. I'm polyamorous and have 2 girlfriends and 1 boyfriend. I paired off with my boyfriend (we've been dating about 2 years) and he basically said "holy crap I'm amazed you agreed to date me because I know your genuine for interest for men is almost in the grave" which I agreed (mostly due to various traumas in my life, not going to go into details for the sake of the reader, just know, lots of trauma). I ended up dating my 2 girlfriends later on after him (1st girlfriend dating about a year, 2nd girlfriend dating a few months, I've been friends with them for 5+ years at this point and due to life circumstances we just felt it wasn't best to pursue this until now, again, trying to keep things brief for sake of reader).

Part II. Book

As per my signature, I'm currently working on a book titled "Oddball Lesbian". Oddball will have the colors of the pansexual and asexual flag colors for the font (because the pansensual part I see is critical to my identity growing up). The word 'lesbian' is going to be in neon light pink text (partially for a reference to a lot of lesbian flags since they tend to be in the red-pink spectrum, also because I love pink and, and, pink tends to be associated with 'femininity').

The book basically goes over my past and shows how I've navigated my queer identity growing up (religious heavy childhood parents, figuring out where I was exactly in the queer community in regards to labels, first kiss, dating life, how and why my genuine interest for men is almost completely gone, why I only see myself dating other men outside of my current boyfriend only under VERY specific circumstances, etc.). I also give my input on current LGBTQ trends I see in the community and give recommendations for what to read for American Queer History if people are interested in seeing unique perspectives within the LGBTQ community (at least from the 1950s-2000s). 

I basically end the book by saying "If you are also an atypical lesbian, I see you, I support you, know you are loved, and there's many other people like us out there". 

Don't get me wrong, I want to publish my book, but I also already deal with a lot of outside stress/issues, mostly dealing with chronic health issues (meds, symptoms of my conditions, etc.).

[lumosatnight]

I posted 1,496 times in 2022

That's 1,461 more posts than 2021!

137 posts created (9%)

1,359 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@hp-soulmates

@crazybutgood

@broomsticks

@hp-rarepairs

@sugareey-makes-stuff

I tagged 1,409 of my posts in 2022

Only 6% of my posts had no tags

#hp fanart - 413 posts

#hp femslash - 171 posts

#lumosatnight - 156 posts

#drarry - 139 posts

#hp fest - 115 posts

#save for a rainy day - 111 posts

#writing - 86 posts

#hp fanfic - 81 posts

#tbr - 56 posts

#microficmay2022 - 52 posts

Longest Tag: 72 characters

#looks like a good alternative to pinterst where the artwork isn't stolen

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

✨ WLW Wednesday: Femslash February 2022 ✨

A biweekly HP femslash rec list made by yours truly and the lovely members of the HP SAFFICS (18+) discord server.

This week's focus: Femslash February 2022. Rounding up some of our favorite WLW fics posted during the month of February.

💫 - highly recc'd |🌹 - sweet | 🌶 - spicy |🩸- sharp (mind the tags)

—

ONESHOTS

Quidditch Queens by Hermione_Stranger [Cho/Ginny, E, 2.5k] 🌶

Ginny and Cho decide to settle who the Queen of Quidditch around Hogwarts really is with a magically binding wager.

Snowdrops and Dahlias by @thejilyship [fem!James/Lily, G, 2.3k] 🌹

Jamie has been looking forward to traversing about the greenhouse for a while now, but almost as soon as she walks in, her plans are derailed.

Award by Midnight_Owlat_Musings [Hermione/Bellatrix, M, 2.3k] 🌹

Bellatrix Black is a well respected archer, although she has retired from shooting competitively. Hermione Granger is a young archer who is looking for someone who can help her with her training for an up and coming competition.

The White Doe by @inmyownlittlecorner5 [Eileen Prince/Sybil Trelawney, T, 2.3k]

The white doe haunts Eileen's dreams, and Eileen is just mad enough to follow

A Place to Fall by @thesleepiesthufflepuff [Pansy/Ginny, E, 2.1k] 🌹 🌶

A month ago, Pansy would have laughed at the idea of dating Ginny Weasley, Seeker for the Holyhead Harpies and one of Britain’s most well-respected Quidditch players. Now, she supposes, things are different.

💫 Girlfriend from Canada by IceLynx [Lily/Narcissa, T, 2.0k]

Narcissa introduces her (definitely a pureblood) girlfriend to her parents.

💫 could it be wrong by @scarletvisionss [Luna/Ginny, T, 1.6k]

Ginny’s never really known what Luna thinks she has to apologize for. What she thinks Ginny won’t forgive her for.

It's in her kiss by @the-kellephant [Lavender/Padma, T, 1.7k] 🌹

Lavender has a crush on Padma. It might just be requited.

💫 A Match Made in Heaven by @sophhao3 [Lavender/Millicent, T, 1.2k]

Millicent Bulstrode is a successful matchmaker. The irony is, she is still single. When Lavender Brown—Millicent's childhood crush—shows up and demands that she help Parvati Patil find a partner, Millicent agrees. Little does she know that along the way, she'll find love for herself, too.

(See Collections below the cut!)

COLLECTIONS

Kinky Shipuary by @thebooktopus

💫 The Emerald Necklace [Daphne/Pansy, E, 1.7k] 🌶

Space Girl [Luna/Ginny, M, 350] 🌶

February Frankenfest 2022 by @vdoshu

See the full post

58 notes - Posted March 9, 2022

#4

So, today is my birthday (Woohoo! Jumps for joy then remembers I'm getting older and goes to mope in the corner), and instead of the usual way things go, I thought it would be fun to share a gift with you...

A one-shot rec list! 🥳

Here are 15 one-shots, all under 10k words, one for each day in June leading up to my birthday. We've got some scorching Drarry, some juicy rare pairs, and some spectacular femslash. Please enjoy this list, ordered by ship (kinda).

🌼 - fluff | 💔 - angst | 🔥 - smut | 👀 - mind the tags

—

1. Not Nineteen Forever by @sorrybutblog [Draco/Harry, 5.9k, E] 🌼🔥 De-aged Draco and Auror Harry's first time together is sexy, sweet, and the pining is so gloriously good. And when Draco is "offering up my young, nubile body for you to ravish." Lord...

2. Interpersonal Relationships Year 7, Unit 3: How to Have Sex Like a Responsible Adult by InnerLilith [Draco/Harry, 7.4k, E] 🌼 🔥 Listen... enthusiastic consent is hot and never has it been more hot than in this fic where Draco is the sex education teacher at Hogwarts and Harry is trying not to get a boner in his class.

3. A Cold Spot in Hell by FeelsForBreakfast [Draco/Harry, 8.1k, E] 💔 🔥 The summary describes this story as "sexy arson," and I can't help but fervently agree. There's a whole lot of fire, a whole lot of angst, and you'll be wanting more the whole time.

4. My Boyfriend by @acnelli [Harry/Ron, 7.3k, E] 🌼 💔 This story will break your heart and put it back together again. If you weren't a Rarry shipper before reading this, you will be after because it is just that gorgeously written.

5. The Things We Do in the Daylight by chewysugar [Hermione/Harry/Ron, 1.5k, M] 🌼 🌤 A super sweet morning-after story. I just love how loving the Golden Trio are with each other, how awkward yet so right they are together.

6. And If I Had To Choose by flipflop_diva [Hermione/Pansy, 3.7k, M] 🌼 💞 A Pansmione soulmate fic from the very recent @femmefest 2022. This fic is so cute and the interactions between Pansy and Hermione are so in character. It was a delight from start to finish.

7. Shades of Dawn by @corvuscrowned [Lavender/Ginny, 2.6k, E] 💔 🔥 The day I stop rec'ing this fic is the day the world ends because I will NEVER stop sharing this beautiful, amazing, heart-wrenching fic. The conflict and the longing between Lavender and Ginny get me every time I read this. It is absolutely perfect.

8. Elemental by @solar-settings [Katie/Alicia, Katie/Leanne, Katie/Ginny, Katie/Cho, 1.7k, T] 💔 💫 Honestly, this is one of my favorite fics of all time. Katie is so beautifully written, and the way she experiences love at different points in her life is simply stunning.

9. keeping count (losing count) by @oliverwvvd [Marcus/Oliver, 1.2k, T] 🌼 💋 Flintwood has been gradually creeping up into my top ships, and this fic is one of the reasons why. Marcus's anxiety and Oliver's tenderness. Sides of these scared boys that we rarely get to see. So short, yet so memorable.

10. Mourning Myrtle by Contrarian_Hedgehog [Moaning Myrtle, 1.7k, T] 💔 💧 A haunting, dark comedy about Myrtle following her death. The prose is beautiful, and the story is even better. It was instantly one of my favorite gen fics as soon as I read it.

11. Brighten the Dark by @skeptiquewrites [Regulus/Harry, 3.3k, E] 💔 🔥 A young Regulus resurrected from the veil and post-war Harry stuck at Grimmauld Place together? Yes, please. The banter and back and forth between them is glorious. As is the dash of feels and underlying tension of why did Regulus come back but no one else?

12. Take Heed, Dear Heart by @danni-the-puff [Harry/Severus, 3.6k, M] 💔 👀 Genderswapped Snarry! It's dark, it's creepy, and yet, the absolute devotion they have for each other kept me glued to every word. The way every character is written and the story is woven through canon (but not quite canon) is masterful.

13. Height Difference by @thistlecatfics [Sirius/Remus, 437, G] 🌼 😂 This story is pure ridiculousness, and I am in love with it. Remus is tall, like very tall, like very very very tall. We all need a tall Remus in our life XD

14. Lit Match by @phantomato [Alecto/Lily, 1.9k, E] 💔 🔥 The first and only fic I've read with this pairing that instantly converted me. Lily's character is so rich and a little morally ambiguous. Canon compliant, and yes, I could see this as canon because it's so good.

15. turning point by @duplicitywrites [Tom/Voldemort, 8.7k, E] 🔥 👀 A self-cest PWP Tom Riddle fic that is... I don't even have words for how hot and intriguing this fic is. Because we all know that Tom Riddle could only love himself ;)

BONUS FIC (>10k): Miraculous by @liladiurne [Harry/Severus, 15.5k, E] 🌼 🔥 I'm a sucker for escort fics, and this one is fluffy while also being sooo hot. I love this Snape, insecure, cynical, rich. He has the perfect life but still doesn't have what he truly wants — Harry.

—

Thanks to @diana-skye for the birthday one-shot idea. You can check out her rec list from this year HERE.

59 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

#3

A Healthy Glow

“Why the fuck are you glowing?”

Dean looked down at his torso, and sure enough— “Oh!”

“But seriously,” said Seamus, “why is your heart—”

Hermione cleared her throat. “It says here, after casting the spell, when in the presence of one’s soulmate—”

“Seamus!” Dean yelled, sounding panicked. “You’re glowing too!”

💞 💞 💞

Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas, 50 words For the @microficmay day 12 prompt radiant Also on AO3

← Previous: Flying Lessons | Next: Welcome to Hogwarts →

65 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

#2

Apologies

CW: explicit For the wonderful @crazybutgood. This um turned out more explicit than I intended. I hope you don’t mind ;)

Ron should probably mind more that Viktor caught the Snitch right from under Ron’s nose.

But it’s hard to be upset when Viktor always apologises so sweetly.

“Say it again,” Ron orders, rocking his hips.

Under him, Viktor moans. “I’m s-sorry.”

“Good.” Ron lowers himself, finally letting Viktor slide inside.

🏆 🏆 🏆

Viktor Krum/Ron Weasley, 50 words For the @microficmay day 22 prompt invincible Also on AO3

← Previous: To Life | Next: More →

66 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Day 14: Dat Ass

Draco/Harry, M, 100 words For Day 14: @hdcandyheartsfest’s love letters + @drarrymicrofic's euphoria Also on AO3.

A haiku, from Draco to Harry:

Dat ass though, it is firmly the most gorgeous ass to ever exist.

Draco shakes his head and crosses out the first draft. Something isn’t right.

Your backside, it is plumper than peaches, sweeter than honey. Lovely.

Hmm… nope. Something is still missing. Draco crumbles the piece of parchment and tosses it carelessly on the ground.

Your arse is perfect; I cannot live without it. Please, sit on my face.

Oh, yes. Perfect. Draco attaches it to his owl’s leg and sends it on its way.

Now all he has to do is wait.

—

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80 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

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[long-distance-love]

Hi! First and foremost I'd like to say that I love your blog and how it makes me feel not so lonely and judged by my relationship. Thank you guys 🤍

So, I don't know exactly where I'm going with this, looking for advice maybe (if it's advisable). My boyfriend and I are together for 5 months now, about 932 miles away from each other, although it might not seem a lot, it's been pretty hard. I unfortunately can't travel to see him due to financial reasons and his life is kinda all over the place, he's trying to manage the business he inherited from his dad, he didn't even want but now can't really get rid of it, for that reason he's now having to study to figure it all out therefore can't come and meet me also. Because of that he's already previously tight schedule became even tighter, he can barely call me in the morning (which he did every day ever since we started dating, even if it was just to say good morning and hear my voice) and pretty much don't ever call me at lunch (which he also did every day). And that makes me feel bad because he pretty much put the decision in my hands, he was having a meltdown about how he was feeling bad for not giving me enough attention, he sensed I wasn't happy about it, led us to an almost breakup and he told me all that was going on. Honestly I thought he was going to breakup with me at first, he was saying how he wasn't being able to manage all and was afraid he was not letting me live my life and meet people and losing opportunities but breaking up wasn't in his mind either. I said that I didn't want to lose him (our connection it's amazing, we've never felt what we feel for eachother for anyone else before, we've both stated we're the love of eachother's life, no exaggeration) we love each other and that's enough for us to fight this rough situation, but for that we had to talk more about future and what we wanted out of this relationship and if we wanted each other in our life's in the future for it all to be worth it. He said he agreed but he was planning to talk about it in person when we would see eachother next, which happened to not happen at all. and now I kinda don't know what to do, I don't want to push him for us to have the talk and demand his attention and calls because he's going through a lot lot and I agreed to it, but I also miss him too much, sometimes I feel like he's not making an effort, cause I would literally go sleepless for him if I had to and we don't even video chat for 5 min before going to bed. is that to much effort? that would be kinda enough for me, seize a lot of my anxiety and overthinking but I don't know how to go about it without being pushy, idk if I'm just being needy and unreasonable. Am I putting the cart ahead of the horses? Is it to soon think about the future? Am I an arsehole for kinda wanting to get back on my word, maybe wanting to set a schedule for us to talk more? Am I just too much?

Sorry for the way to long ask.

A.

(2/2)

It's me again haha just wanted to add that he's great, we've never had issues communicating at all, until now, he's so caring and loving. he makes me feel like the only girl in the world, really. But the past few weeks have been tough, he was going through a lot and didn't tell me but had to eventually and said he was trying to protect me and not burden me with all that, and I told him that by doing that he was doing the opposite of what he wasn't wanting to do, and keeping me out was bringing he's fear of us becoming distant from eachother to life. Am I just bring too emotional?

A.

Dear A.,

Thank you for being here, and for trusting us with your troubles. 💕 I'm very sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but as I've explained in this post, this blog has been facing some issues and unfortunately that has curbed our usual motivation and momentum when it comes to managing this blog. But here we are, and I still hope this response will help you. 💕

(continued under the cut)

First I feel like laying down a few heavy hitting truths to drive them home for you:

5 months is a long time, long enough to demand to know how your future will look like together

Being understanding and supporting is a good thing when your partner is going through things, but being ignored to a point where your boundaries aren't respected and your needs aren't met isn't acceptable

If he wanted to, he would (no matter how busy he is)

Wanting to call every day in a long distance relationship shouldn't be labelled as too much - it's baseline imo

You're not needy for wanting attention (read this again please)

From what you've told me, I feel like you've been put aside for the sake of this business he's inherited, or he's using that as an excuse to not be so close to you. You two need to have that conversation you've been tabling as soon as possible. Tell him how you feel. Tell him you feel neglected and tell him you want more conversation, intimacy and closeness. I refuse to believe he doesn't have an hour for you in the evening when he's relaxing or cooking or watching Netflix or whatever. If you were priority, calling you wouldn't be a chore but rather it'd be a joyous task. If someone has to be asked to call you when you're supposedly the love of their life, that's a major red flag to me. However. I don't want you to freak out, or rush to break up with him. This is salvageable, and you two could learn so much from this and grow together. But that's a lot of work and he needs to be willing to put the energy and time into it. Same as you.

In my native tongue, a romantic relationship is called párkapcsolat, which means a relation between a couple and I really like that. It emphasises the relation between two people who are in love with each other and who take care of the connection between them. And it really always comes down to two people, and it's okay for your efforts to be different sometimes. The work divided is rarely ever 50-50, sometimes it's 40-60 or 20-80. And that's okay as long as it's acknowledged, appreciated and temporary. You cannot keep a relationship alive alone forever, no matter how hard you try. Your partner needs to understand this as well. He wants to be committed to you, he said so himself. He doesn't want to lose you or break up with you. Well, it's time for him to put in the work too. Even when he's tired. Even if it's not 50% of the work right now because he's very busy with life. You have boundaries and needs that need to be respected in a relationship, and you have to respect yourself as well and acknowledge when those boundaries are disregarded and when your needs aren't met.

So, just to reiterate, my advice to you would be to demand that previously tabled conversation because you deserve an answer no matter how busy your partner is. He's making you suffer and he should be aware of that. And you're not needy for wanting his attention. You've given him almost half a year which is a very long time, you're in a committed relationship, it's time for him to act the part.

Wishing you nothing but the best (and lots and lots of strentgh)! 💕

- Danny

[capriciouscaprine]

happy new month to everyone!!!

I have SO MUCH to do for my coursework, but I wanted to take the time to write a post about what I'm up to currently, what this month holds for me, and what my goals are for the future as we all head towards summer

currently, I just hit a goal # this morning, although it didn't feel all that impactful, and I'm pretty sure that's bc I both didn't get enough sleep last night and bc I don't have any rewards set up for myself besides the emotional reward of hitting that goal; obviously, I need to be consistent about getting enough sleep and have rewards ready for myself, but both of these are uniquely tricky right now bc I have an absurd sleep schedule (6 pm-2 am), no time, and even less money

I'm coming out of a six week full time unpaid internship, so my hours were drastically cut at my actual job; instead of five days, I was down to just two, and they were the two days the least amount of work and thus fewest available hours to get paid; I got a boost from cat sitting for my neighbor, whose cat needs careful monitoring and specific medicine on a pretty strict schedule, but this pay cut was on top of paying tuition for the semester, so I currently have negative money aka am carrying a balance on my credit card, to the tune of $3.5k (oof)

the good news is that with spring pollen comes increased hours, as my job is on a farm with both plants and animals; we've got seedlings to water and plant, babies to feed, and field trips to prep for and manage, so I've jumped from 3-4 hour days to 5-6 hour days, five days a week; I get paid pretty okay ($16/hr after taxes), but I still typically get less than 30 hours a week, so my monthly pay is only around $1.5k (rounding down for safety, especially since this a very recent jump)

looking forward to things happening this month, I have my final paper for my most important class of my entire masters degree, due WITH a presentation and handout on April 10th, and then two weeks later (less than or exactly 14 days, iirc) I must give a comprehensive presentation (and possibly turn in some other stuff??) about myself, my internship, my previously mentioned final paper, and a problem from our final exam, which will determine if I get my degree or not

oh, and I need to plan and record another internship observation, which I had been under the impression that I wouldn't need to do, which is due by the 15th, right in between all of these other things being due

I am under immense pressure right now, and it's definitely having a negative impact on my mental health; I'm managing not to burst into tears constantly or run away to the woods (a very short distance for me, so particularly tempting) thanks to both succeeding at other goals and knowing that their are specific dates for all of this to be over by; all I have to do is turn everything in on time (even if it sucks), and I'll be done with this degree by the end of this month and officially graduate in early May (ugh, need to order and pay for my cap and gown this week (~$200))

heading into next month, after everything is turned in (seems impossible to imagine, tbh, which is why I'm writing this post), I'll be free to PLAN and SET GOALS

(I'm so excited!!!)

like I said before, my pay isn't high and I've got debt I need to address on top of more bills coming in the future (six months of car insurance D: ), but I have to believe that I can get everything paid for and still have enough money to have a tiny bit of fun, too; I need to still down and draw up a budget, ESPECIALLY for food since I'm going to finally have time to make more things for myself!!! which will absolutely be cheaper than all the pre-made and pre-portioned meals and snacks I've been buying

the last time I had a big goal, I had a bar and a line graph to track my savings (my house down payment! ty 2018 mini recession, you made home ownership possible); now it'll be the double whammy of 'saving' for bills and paying down the old debt, plus I'm genuinely at the point of needing a new phone WITH a case, and all the actually functional phones with enough storage space, etc run just under $350, so with accessories that could be $500 aka NOT an impulse purchase!

otherwise, my big goal is to clean up my house: it has been TRASHED by consecutive roommates, but particularly by the most recent one; I have bits of stuff taking up space from everyone who's moved in and then out again over the past 5+ years, but the last one (who I made a whole rant post about) was so filthy when it came to using the kitchen that they left me an infestation of MULTIPLE types of insects, some of which I've never even seen before!!!

here in the southern US, we already deal with some insect trouble bc it doesn't get cold enough to fully kill them off, plus they can always be brought into a clean house from our great outdoors, which we have lots of; it isn't unusual for even the shiniest of mansions to get a roach sneaking into a bathroom or a line of ants running into the kitchen

in comparison, my house is genuinely disgusting, and I haven't been able to DO anything about it since classes and thus deadlines started back in August; the good news is this project won't take, relatively, that much money, and I even have a pretty good idea of what all I need to do to almost completely fix this! the only real problem is that it'll take a fair bit of physical labor and thus energy, which I don't always have a lot of, so I'll need to be strategic and get things done in phases and also not give up!

there are a lot of expensive things that have gone wrong and need fixing around the house, and there are even more expensive changes I want to make; I need to remind myself that all of these will happen in time, and I need to not obsess over them or let them demotivate me as I'm working towards addressing the issues that I can

in the far-flung future (it feels like), getting my degree means I am qualified for teaching jobs!!! math and teachers in general are in pretty high demand in my area (where aren't they right now?), and the pay is relatively high, as in double the highest I've ever made before in my entire life; once I've got my degree, I can dedicate myself to getting one of those jobs at a nearby school, and at that point, once I start getting those paychecks (fingers crossed), a whole new world will open up for me!!!