#need to find a sorting solution for my bits

[staffatemyblog]

Give me opportunity for minimalism and I will kill it with clutter and color. My room was driving me crazy while it was empty, I'm so happy to have it (mostly) put back together now

[chososdiscordkitten]

MDNI

Pt 1 here

Pairing: Gojo Satoru x fem!reader Content: no use of y/n, SOME plot, read pt 1 for context, BREEDING KINK, PREGNANCY and BABY TRAPPING, unestablished relationship, reader has an iud that Gojo is NOT a fan of, manipulating, reader is a lil dumb lol, talk of birth control and hiding it, creampies 24/7, mentions of NURSING and BRESTFEEDING, 'wife' used like twice Word count: 3.3k

(a.n) I kept getting asked for pt 2 so here it is. more plot, not so much smut this time lol

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It had been 3 months since Gojo came to the conclusion that pregnancy was the solution to his fear of you finding someone else. Seeing you come out of the bathroom, a bath towel wrapped around you as small droplets fell from your neck.

Looking at you bewildered as though this was the greatest disappointment he had ever felt. You were talking about something- something irrelevant to the issue at hand.

Why you weren't swelling with his child right now. Why you were denying him- the world of the next generation of Gojo babies. 

And it’s not like he could keep letting out those little ‘get pregnant’ comments while he fucked you, often contemplating asking you to gag him so they wouldn’t slip. You had your suspicions, not outwardly saying it but if one more little comment fell from him you'd be forced to ask.

Satoru was sure that your medical state wasn't an issue, he carefully combed through your medical records to find any sort of reason as to why you weren't pregnant. One appointment 3 years ago for an iud insertion, and one appointment to get it removed a few weeks after you met him. 

And it's not like he was the issue here, he made sure he was fine in that aspect. Gojo was sure he was fine- and you had no issues with getting pregnant.

So, the solution to his fear needed a solution too. No problem, this just meant he had to fuck you even more now. More often, and even move you into his apartment. Permanently.

He was hung up in his own little world as his eyes burned holes through your damp skin. “Are you okay?” you asked, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. 

Gojo quickly fixed his face as he looked at you with a smile, “M’just thinking about havin you move into my place.” He hummed, folding his arms to rest beneath his head. Eyes following your expression as you waited for him to continue, “You're already here all the time~” he hummed, you raised your eyebrows in defense.

“That's because you can't keep your hands off of me for longer than an hour.” you laughed as he pursed his lips, feeling like he was being scolded in that moment. Knowing you meant it as a joke- but it was true.

No matter how many showers- how many breaks. Satoru was always ready to go again, and again, and again. Praying that this time will be the one. Gojo daydreamed of coming home to you, breasts swelled with milk to welcome his child into the world.

Glow on your skin and tummy growing his child. Twins, he'd fantasize. “We should just get married while we're at it.” he’d joke, knowing if he kept bringing it up, you'd cave. Knowing you weren't the kind of person to co-parent. 

But those daydreams were always cut short. Whenever he'd message you saying he wanted to see you, only for you to tell him you were on your period.

We all know that never stopped him, but the disappointment knowing his attempts were in vain, always made him try even harder next time. 

And yes you did question his constant need to fuck you, at times fully skipping prep and pushing into you- knowing you didn’t really need it since you had cleaned yourself up from the last round not to long ago.

How he'd bite his tongue whenever you'd ask him to cum inside. And I mean lets be real, when has Gojo ever bit his tongue during sex?

All but telling you to ‘shut up’ when you’d whisper in his ear, “Fill me up-” knowing if you didn't, he'd start babbling words that had been boxed up at the back of i his mind. 

That one time Gojo let them slip, the sight of your cunt swallowing his cock greedily, the words pushed themselves past his lips forcefully.

“Get pregnant” he demanded of you, only you didn't listen. You found it an odd thing to say- sure. But knowing him, he’s said worse things in the heat of the moment.

You always chalked up Satoru’s babbles before he came as meaningless words, knowing you shouldn't hold him to the promises and threats he'd make before he came.

Gojo’s made empty proposals into your ears before, “S-so good, m-” he hesitated, a low whine leaving his lips by just thinking about what he was about to say, “-marry me hm?~” he’d whisper as he overstimulated your senses.

Making sure you kept your eyes open to look at him, taking in the desperate sight of his forming ‘o’ face. Ears being fully invaded by the vulgar squelching from his hips slapping against the back of your thighs, and his unforgiving whines and moans.

Both of your hands gripping tightly on his back, knowing you'd leave raised marks on his skin. So caught up in your own orgasm you'd say ‘yes’ to any of his questions right now. 

And there was nothing Satoru liked more than asking you questions when you were close to cumming, fully taking advantage of you not being able to think straight.

Even if you had just gotten out of the shower, freshly cleaned from the last round. He'd still toss that useless towel off of you and go again, making sure to keep you on the edge- not fully giving in to your pleads and you urging him to hurry up.

Relishing in the idea that round after round, unable to count just how many times he's cum inside of you that weekend- you're still up for more. 

“You wanna go get tested together?” he asked you randomly one morning, making you look at him with furrowed eyes.

“Do I have to get tested?” you asked, unknowing that he had other sexual partners. Satoru let out a small laugh at your accusatory tone.

“No.” he smiled playfully, “I just thought it would be fun.” He hummed. And as he requested, you and him ended up in a clinic. Getting tested for any diseases or any issues.

And Gojo insisted he stay in the room as the nurse asked you the embarrassing questions. Sitting on the uncomfortable exam table, fiddling with your thumbs and thinking of how stupid it was to do this after months of having unprotected sex.

Looking over at Satoru and seeing a smile on his lips as you heard the paper wrinkle below you.

“Are you sexually active?” the overworked nurse flashed her eyes to you above the clipboard. You sighed, “Yes.” Looking over at his smug smile. 

“What kind? Oral, vaginal, anal?” she asked, looking at you. This would've been fine if it was just you and the nurse, but having Gojo in the room with you made this even more humiliating.

“Uh-” you hesitated, eyes flashing to Satoru and back to the nurse. “...All?” you hesitated, shrinking in your seat when you heard her check three boxes with the pen in her hand. 

“How many people have you had sex with in the past six months?” she asked nonchalantly, obviously having bigger issues in the world than what was happening in this room right now.

“One.” you answered, making Gojo’s chest swell with pride, knowing you were being faithful- even if there wasn't a label on what he was to you.

“In the last 12 months?” the nurse asked, you sighed, looking over at his smug face. “One.” your tone was a little more stern, knowing if you had said anything else this would've ended in a very different way.

“Are you or your partner trying to get pregnant?” the nurse flashed her eyes to Gojo, seeing him mouth a quiet ‘yes’ 

“No.” you answered, making the nurse look back at you and check no on the clipboard. 

“Are you or your partner using contraceptives or birth control?” the nurse exhaled, your hands between your knees, ‘no’ Satoru answered the question mentally.

“Yes.” you answered honestly, making him furrow his eyebrows and snap his eyes to you. You looked at him, turning your head as though you were asking him ‘what?’ 

“What kind?” the nurse asked, looking at you directly.

“I've had an iud for 3 years.” you looked back at her, hearing her write down on the paper. Satoru’s mind started remembering the online records he read, he was so sure he saw an appointment for a removal on them.

“Any plans on removal, or renewing?” she asked, side eyeing Gojo who muttered a quiet ‘yes’

“No.” you scoffed, looking at the nurse thinking he was just trying to be funny, “I had an appointment for removal- but I didn't go.” you admitted, looking over at Gojo who was suddenly sitting very stiff.

“Okay-” the nurse started, clipping the pen into her pocket and taking a step back towards the door- “The doctor will be in soon.” The nurse gave a fake smile before stepping out of the small examination room. 

A soul killing silence was in the room, mentally Gojo was scolding you for not telling him.

“Why didn't you get ‘it’ removed?” referring to the pesky little thing inside of you, you furrowed your eyebrows.

You tried remembering why you didnt go, “Hmm,” you pondered, looking at him, seeing an opportunity to lighten the heavy tension in the room. “I met you and somehow I knew I'd need it.” you joked, making him let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Besides, you didn't really think I was letting you finish inside of me without birth control…Right?” you asked, raising your eyebrows. 

That's exactly what Gojo thought, he thought that you loved him enough to not care about the repercussions that followed his addiction of cumming inside of you.

Satoru was silent, “Right?” you asked again, throwing him from his train of thought.

He stuttered, “I-I just don't remember you mentioning it.” he gave you a half smile, already plotting how he'd convince you to remove it.

“You never asked.” you scoffed, dangling your feet from the examining table, with a smile you looked at him. “And it's a good thing-” you huffed, “If I didn't have it- your apartment would be crawling with a bunch of Gojo toddlers.” You joked with a laugh. 

The thought made his heart crack, picturing all of the wasted cum he's pumped into you. His pouting lip for the rest of the appointment worried you, not hearing anymore dumb comments or seeing him smile anymore. In your mind, you thought that maybe he didn't like that you hid this from him.

That to his sensitive feelings, this was a sort of betrayal. To Satoru this was just another hurdle he'd have to jump over to achieve his goal. 

On the drive back to his place you held onto the negative tests from both of you. Gojo was thinking of all the ways he'd be able to convince you to remove it, even thinking about including Mei in his plans. Knowing if the words came from another woman, you'd hear them more clearly than if they came from him.

All it would take was a few bucks and she’d play along with his plans, yeah. That's a good idea. 

He wanted to call Mei right there as he was driving, urging her to call you and tell you how bad iud’s were for your health. But he knew this idea would have to be nursed in your mind with time. ‘1? No, 2 months is more than enough time.’  

Eventually you were convinced that iud’s were the devil, with Mei telling you horror stories about them in one ear, and ads on your phone showing birth control pills as an alternative from how much you were speaking about this.

You knew that Satoru wouldn't go back to using condoms, the conversation of asking him to use them would be futile. 

So you got it removed, with Gojo telling you that it's for the best. “That poor little thing was probably working overtime heh~” he’d whisper into your ear. Taking one pill a day was tedious, but you did it for your own health.

Even if Satoru joked that- “You don't even need any birth control~” you still took it. Everyday for the first month.

Of course, Gojo was elated at his success. Knowing that the small pack of pills were easier to hide than something that was inside of you.

And with staying at his place more often than not- leaving the pack of pills in your bag became an unsecure hiding place. Oftentimes finding the pack in odd places that you certainly did not put them. When you wouldn't be able to find them, you'd ask him if he's seen them. Making him nod his head ‘no’ with a content smile. 

Ultimately leading you to miss one or two days of taking the pill. And that led you to forgetting if you had taken a pill that day or not, but checking the pack, and seeing there was one missing from that day, you knew you did. Unknowing that Satoru was punching out the small pill and tossing it, knowing how forgetful you were at times.

The hopes of you being forgetful weren't the only thing he was counting on. Satoru made sure to keep a steady routine of intercourse after any activity.

Breakfast? He'd push you against the counter and kiss you- humming into your mouth before pulling away. “You taste like syrup-” he whispered against you. Making you let out a small giggle before connecting your lips to his once more.

Not caring if the half eaten pancakes would go cold, Satoru would gladly empty himself into you over and over again on the same counter he was just making breakfast on.

Morning, noon, and night he filled you up. And it's not like you had any second thoughts, besides it's like Satoru justified it.

“It just takes a little bit of water nd soap and you're clean again.” whenever you told him you didn't want to make a mess. Saying that sheets can be cleaned whenever he’d dirty them.

“Mops exist.” he’d defend whenever his seed would spill out of you and land on the floor. 

If he was being honest, just knowing his cum was being spilled made his soul cry. So he found a solution to this problem. Cockwarming. It was perfect in his mind, being able to stay inside of you till he was sure his load had more than enough time to impregnate you. Now having a fondness for keeping you plugged up afterwards.

Not letting you clean up by saying, “Let's just stay like this.” he’d hum in your ear, holding you close as he pretended to go to sleep. And knowing how stubborn he was- like a perfect future wife, you'd let him. 

As much as he liked to take all the credit, fate finally granted him his wish. And it was as he pictured it. 

Satoru noticed a shimmering glow on your cheekbones long before you did, he felt the difference in the way your breasts filled his hands.

The way you'd cover your nose whenever you smelled something he didn't notice. The random mornings you wake up and run straight to the bathroom.

The mere image of you potentially being pregnant made Gojo want to pull you under him again. He would never admit it to you- but the idea of your breasts full of milk, so full that they'd leak- it drove him mad.

His mouth would suddenly feel very empty and dry anytime he thought of it. Trailing thoughts as he heard you speak, wondering if you'd ever let him taste it- ‘just to taste’ he’d think. Knowing damn well he'd keep asking for a taste over and over again. 

Satoru was so sure he could convince you to let him nurse on your breast. Picturing you complaining on how full they felt- how painful it would be. Only for him to happily offer his assistance, “I just want to help,” he'd tell you.

And you being the perfect wife you are, you'd let him. Satoru relished the thought that you'd grant any of his wishes, no matter how filthy they were. Even thinking about it had him reeling for a taste- leading him to aimlessly suck on your breast harshly.

Wishing for something to come out prematurely, eyes rolling to the back of his head as you cradled his face in your lap, your other hand stroking his cock softly as you unknowingly played into his fantasies. 

On one weekend that Gojo was out of town, you picked up a test. Fearing the small changes happening in your own body. Placing the small stick on the bathroom counter, hands held together almost in prayer, ‘pleasepleaseplease.’ you muttered to yourself.

Over consuming anxiety flooding your mind as you saw the blinking halt- ‘Pregnant’ the test read. You exhaled sharply, closing your eyes and feeling the world come crashing down on your shoulders.

Unbeknownst to Satoru, you thought this would be the last straw. Thinking he couldn't busy himself with a child, let alone have a child out of wedlock- not even in a relationship.

Not even sure about your own place in this world, now considering bringing a child into it. You thought up every single horrible scenario that could happen if you presented him with the stick. Not even recalling all the sweet words he'd tell you.

The ‘ I love you’s ‘ that came straight from his heart when he'd fuck you. All the joking futures he’d picture with you.

Somehow you saw him as every cruel man you met before him. Doubts of ‘if I was enough, he wouldn't just be a situationship.’ unfolding in your mind as you blame yourself for this accident.

You inhaled, remembering to not overthink. To not assume till you spoke to him. So you waited. You waited in his place, on his couch. The white and blue stick wrapped in a napkin as you clutched it in your pocket. Waiting for him to unlock the door and step through at any moment. 

You snapped your head to the moving doorknob, seeing him bust through the doorway with a happy smile. Seeing you as he pictured you all those times. Tear stained cheeks, shaky hands and pouting lips. Hurrying to you asking ‘whats wrong?’ 

“Sit.” you croaked, closing your eyes with a sigh as you felt him sit next to you. Pulling out your hand from your pocket, unwrapping the napkin and placing the stick on the table.

“I'm pregnant.” you whimpered, eyes tearing up as you saw his face go unchanged. The corner of his lips threatening to curl into a smile. “What do I do ‘toru? Tell me what to do.” a hot tear fell from your eye, fearing that he’d toss you aside with a few hundred dollars to take care of it. 

“Why’re you cryin?” he hummed, wrapping an arm around you. You let out a struggling breath.

“I just-” you inhaled, “I'm so scared.” you cried, pressing your face to his chest.

“Scared of what?” he scoffed, trying to sound sincere, fighting off the sinister smile that crept onto his face. Proud eyes staring directly to the blue and white plastic stick.

You pulled away from him, not being able to find the words to form the sentences. Satoru took your hands in his, looking into your eyes with all the feigned sincerity he could muster. 

“I will take care of you.” he started, caressing his thumb over your knuckles as you sniffled. Taking a hand from yours and pressing it to your tummy, “Both of you.” he said with a smile, making you halt your tears and look at him bewildered.

Not knowing why he looked so excited right now, why he looked… accomplished? Seeing that glimmer in his eye he only got when he triumphed.

-

.... I don't know what to say. im sowy this doesn't have as much smut. yes this is a Segway to me one day writing a lactation kink post, im just testing the waters hehe

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[paiges-1vur]

She Will ~ Paige Bueckers x fem!reader

Warnings: smut, r-receiving, language

Summary: Dallas wings photographer x pb

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You were finally starting to get the hang of your new job. Maybe you lied on your job application a tiny bit, but doesn’t everybody stretch the truth sometimes? To be fully honest you had absolutely zero experience in sports photography, but you were a determined-and maybe broke- graduate fresh out of college who needed a job. Badly. So obviously you applied for the first job you found that allowed you to keep doing exactly what you loved. Thats how you ended up here, looking up from the lens of your new camera letting your gaze drift across the frame of the Paige Bueckers. You quickly snapped back into reality lifting your camera to capture her. The number one draft pick in the WNBA, just ten feet away. The two of you hadn’t talked yet this season, as she had been busy keeping up with training and taking little time off the court. Despite this you couldn’t help but think that just for a second her gaze flickered to you as she walked toward the bench, her icey blue eyes quickly tracking your frame as she grabbed a Gatorade bottle Nai was handing her. The game had just ended, the Wings finally securing another win. The air seemed to feel lighter, as pride and excitement practically radiated off the team. As you packed up your camera bag, you swore you heard Lyss and Arike joking about getting Paige piss drunk, to celebrate another long awaited win and mess with their rookie.

You sighed and leaned down to pack your camera bag, your work day finally over. The only thing that consumed your thoughts was a good night’s rest in a fancy ass hotel payed for by the team, obviously. You were lucky enough to not have to share a room like the players did but instead to have your own room just a couple doors down from the players. You quietly picked up your camera bag before waving a quick goodbye to the coaching staff, and calling an Uber to the hotel. It took everything in you to not fall asleep from exhaustion as soon as you stepped foot in the Uber, but still you held out until your driver finally made it to the hotel. As you scanned your key card against the door you sighed. And as soon as you opened the door your shoes were kicked off, and your beloved camera bag was forgotten on a nearby table. You wasted no time slipping out of your work clothes and into an old faded tshirt and a pair of pajama shorts, equipped for the best sleep of your life. The bed sheets welcomed you as you slipped into the bed, letting sleep take over your senses almost immediately.

———

You stirred in your sleep, suddenly half awake to the sound of a key card opening the door. Your mind raced, you were the only one who had the key to this room right? The door creaked open and to your surprise a still drunken Paige stumbled into the room. She payed you no mind as she let the door close behind her and she immediately fought to take her shirt off, leaving her in a sports bra and her sweats. She finally turned around and found you-half asleep and horrified- staring at her expressionless.

“How did you even-” you tried to start with Paige but she just laughed lightly. You quickly closed your mouth, letting silence fall over you both for a moment.

“When the lady asked me for my room number,” she giggled to herself “maybe I gave her the wrong one, because I lost my key!” She tries to explain, still clearly not understanding that she needed to find somewhere else to sleep. She also seemed very comfortable and had no problem standing in front of you in just a sports bra and a pair of grey sweats that hung a little too loosely on her hips. You couldn’t speak, let alone try to think of a rational solution to this situation. You turned to look at the clock. You shut your eyes out of frustration. It was 2:00 am and there was no way anyone else would be awake to help sort this out. You quickly got out of bed, the cool air hitting your thighs as you walked towards the girl. “Are any of the other girls awake? Wheres Nalyssa, she’s probably with Dijonai right?”

You suddenly stop talking as you realize the taller blonde isn’t paying attention to what your saying in the slightest. But what she does pay attention to is your bare thighs, and how your nipples hardened under your thin tshirt. Her tongue swipes across her bottom lip quickly, her mind racing. You turn around to face her but are quickly taken aback by how close she is. She steps even closer to you closing the distance completely. “I think their sleeping,” she whispers. “It’s just us” she says, her breath suddenly ghosting your ear. Shivers run down your spine and suddenly your mouth is completely dry. You can’t speak-can barely breathe- as she smirks against your ear. “But that’s okay right?” she says her voice raw and husky, needy almost. She’s begging for it and your so close to giving in. She moves to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear carefully. She licks her bottom lip slow and teasing as she looks you in the eye, waiting for you to do anything. All you can manage is a weak nod, but you both know what it means. She hums with approval “Thought so.” she whispers looking down at your lips, swollen from sleep. “Don’t worry,” she adds, voice raw, practically primal. Her pupils are blown wide as she whispers in your ear “I wont tell anyone.”

Suddenly her hand moves to your waist, pulling you in as your lips meet in a deep and intense kiss. She’s kissing you like your the air she needs to breathe. You whine against her lips, allowing her tongue to slide into your mouth, claiming you. She kisses you like she’s sick and your the only cure. She quickly hooks her hands under your thighs, carrying you toward the bed with ease. She sets you down on the bed, not breaking the kiss the whole time. You give her a quick nod and thats all she needs before she slides your thin shorts past your ankles and throws them somewhere across the room. “Mmm” she groans from the back of her throat, biting her lip. You squirm under her gaze but her hand steadies your thighs. “So fucking pretty. All for me.” She says leaning in to place a kiss on your inner thigh. Your pulse quickens as you lean your head back and try to relax into it. “Lemme know if you need me to stop mama, swear I will” she says looking up at you from in between your legs as she places a kiss right to your clit. Your legs shiver and you can’t help but let out a whimper at the contact. You nod quickly, biting your lip as she ran her fingers through your folds. “So fucking wet for me right now,” she says, not able to look away from her fingers as they run through your folds gently. “Bet you were waiting for me all night,” she moves her fingers to your clit using your gathered wetness to slickly make circles against your sensitive skin. “All wet and needy huh? Waiting for me to take care of you? I got u mama, promise imma make you feel good” she says as she watches your face contort in pleasure, the pressure against your clit increasing as her fingers speed up. You let out a shakey breath followed by a pathetic moan. “Please-“ she only smirks “I know, I know, shh just lay back ma.” Suddenly her fingers are gone, the pressure disappearing. She teases you entrance with her middle finger, dipping it in and sinking into you slowly. She pumps in and out of you a few times to get you used to being full before teasing your entrance again with her ring finger. Your a mess at this point, her name being said like a prayer as you beg for relief. She lets her other finger slide into you and she slowly starts to pump both fingers in and out of you, going deeper and deeper with every thrust. “Shit- Paige please- don’t stop please” you throw your head back as she continues to ram into you her pace increasing, now torturous. “Fuck, you take me so well” she groans as she watches her knuckles stretch you out, her long fingers filling you up as the veins in her hands and forearms flex.

“Wanna make you feel it all.” She moves her free hand to your lower stomach, lifting your excuse of a tshirt. She presses down on your lower stomach lightly, continuing to fuck you at a relentless pace. You can feel every inch of her fingers as she moves in and out of you, fucking you senseless “Holy shit- Paige, Paige please I’m close” you moan out, begging to come undone. “Almost mama, just wait” she says earning a raw and high pitched whine from you. Somehow her pace increases, filthy and wet noises filling the room as her thumb moves to find your clit, circling it as she fucks you. Your vision starts to blur, overwhelmed with pleasure as your legs start to shake. You are chanting her name, voice raw from screaming and begging for more, for all of her. Neither of you had a care in the world who could hear. Right now it was just you and Paige. “Let go for me” she says as your release crashes through you. A wave of pleasure rips through your whole body and you come while screaming her name. As start to come down she works you through it, her fingers slowing before your whining from overstimulation. She slowly moves her fingers from you to her mouth, licking them clean while keeping eye contact. She hums “Fucking delicious” she says, pussy drunk as she pushes you hair out of your face, stuck with sweat.

She shifts from on top of you to lie down next to you pulling the covers over you gently. She climbs under the covers, kicking off her sweats leaving her in just her sports bra and a pair of boxers. “Rest now, we can sort things out in the morning.” She reassures you, placing a soft kiss to your temple before wrapping her arm around your waist and pulling you flush against her. You both drift to sleep with ease holding each other, enjoying your own little world together

[harmless-variety-of-garden-snake]

So this is 5k words. Didn't mean for that to happen. This is for BuckTommy Fluffebruary Day Sixteen: Didn't Know They Were Dating AU. This is the one fill that doesn't take place in the same timeline as my other fills and is set in some nebulous period between 405 and 409. So Buck knows about Daniel. Jes-Yun isn't born yet. You can also read this on AO3 here. Tagging @bucktommyfluffebruary

They meet one night when Maddie is asked to cover a shift at the last minute and Chimney begs Buck to step in for a karaoke trivia thing he'd been invited to. When he arrives at the bar, Chimney is sitting with two big guys at a table. One of the guys introduces himself as Sal, and he seems cool enough. The other guy is Tommy, and he's definitely really cool.

“My girlfriend's brother is stepping in for her,” Chimney explains.

“H-hey,” Buck says, waving awkwardly. “I'm Evan. Buck. Evan Buckley.”

It's the least smooth way he's ever introduced himself in his adult life, but he keeps wondering what the hell Tommy's diet and exercise routine is. The guy is massive. He's so warm, though, when he shakes Buck's hand. Literally, because his hands are radiating heat, but he also smiles with his whole face instead of just a polite tilt of his mouth. Buck finds himself smiling back and ducking his head when Tommy lets his hand go.

“Wasn't your girlfriend the secret karaoke weapon?” Sal asks.

“Yeah, but this guy's the secret trivia weapon,” Chimney says, clapping Buck on the shoulder. “You said science and history always gets you, right? Here's your solution.”

Buck flushes and shrugs when Tommy's eyes sweep over him. “I hope I can help.”

He settles in for a night of karaoke trivia, and he's not much help on the pop culture stuff. But there's an entire series of questions themed around popular animals at the LA Zoo, and Buck gets all of them. As he answers, Tommy's blue eyes stay on him, and Buck finds himself answering with more and more confidence. When Celestial Bodies turns out to be the next category, he's quick to answer everything he knows instead of waiting politely for everyone else in the group.

By the end, the Worst Responders (Sal’s idea) win the night, and they sit with a pitcher of beer, their pride, and a Visa gift card each. When Chimney goes to take a call from Maddie and Sal gets up to use the bathroom, Buck suddenly doesn't know what to say to Tommy.

“That was pretty amazing, Evan,” Timmy says, raising his glass.

Buck opens his mouth to correct him, but instead he clinks their glasses and says, “Not so bad yourself, Tommy.”

Tommy's eyes dip as they both take long drinks of their beer, and Buck hopes he doesn't have something on his chin. He wipes it with the back of his hand just to be on the safe side.

“Man, I can't believe you can fly,” Buck says, settling back into his chair. “That's so cool.”

“Well,” Tommy says, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half-smile, “I need the aircraft to fly.”

Buck makes a face at him. “Yeah, I know, but it's amazing. I always wanted to learn. When I was traveling, I'd end up on these tiny planes sometimes and always thought it would be fun.”

“I could maybe show you a few things,” Tommy says, resting his elbows on the table. “My rates are pretty competitive.”

Buck’s reply is cut off by Chimney plopping down next to him.

“Heard a girl talking about you,” Chimney says, nudging Buck and nodding back toward the bar.

He glances but doesn’t really see anyone specifically looking at him. He figures she’ll find him if she’s really interested. His focus goes back to Tommy, who is sliding a coaster around under his finger and smiling to himself a bit, but he doesn’t look all that happy. Instead, he’s just sort of…resigned.

“How competitive?” Buck asks, and Tommy blinks at him.

Tommy looks between Chimney, Buck, and something behind Buck before his eyes settle back on him. “We can figure something out. Honestly, I don’t usually charge friends. Except Sal.”

“For what?” Chimney asks, frowning at his phone screen.

“Thought I might take up flying,” Buck says, shrugging.

Chimney snorts. “Yeah. That’ll last. This kid’s got more hobbies than anyone I’ve ever met. Dude, I think someone stole my credit card number again. Hold up, I gotta call my bank.”

He disappears again, and Buck looks over his shoulder to see Sal is talking to a pretty girl at the bar, and she glances at Buck. When she sees him looking, she smiles shyly before looking back at Sal. If she’s the girl Chimney was talking about, she is pretty cute.

“I don’t have a lot of hobbies,” Buck says, turning his attention back to Tommy. “Well, kind of. I have a lot of interests, I guess. Which, yeah, is kinda weird, but I like the idea of flying. So I would absolutely be down to learn, and I’d be happy to pay for the fuel or your time or whatever. It’s like learning a superpower.”

Tommy smiles and slides his phone over. “Go ahead and put your number in.”

Buck does, noticing that the contact name is already filled in as ‘Evan,’ and he doesn’t bother correcting that either.

By the time they all leave, Buck has Tommy’s number in his own phone and realizes he forgot to get the girl’s number.

–

Flying is so cool, but Buck thinks Tommy might be a maniac. He’ll do maneuvers that don’t feel like they should be physically possible, and then he laughs over the headset. It’s terrifying and amazing, and Buck is flushed and breathless by the time they land on the tarmac at Harbor Station.

“That was awesome!” he says. “Okay, yeah, I owe you a beer. A dozen beers.”

Tommy takes off the headset and smiles. “How about dinner?”

Buck smiles back, though he feels like he’s still trying to catch his breath. “Yeah, okay. I could do dinner.”

–

Micelli’s is nice, and they’ve apparently got good beer and good food. Buck finds out that Tommy’s half Italian on his mom’s side, which explains a lot about his looks. His nose is so regal from the side, and Buck’s found his eyes tracing its shape more than once. His mom was first generation, so Tommy was practically raised by a bunch of older Italian women and his grandfather until he was in high school.

“So when you say the food here is good, you know what you’re talking about,” Buck concludes, and Tommy nods. “Alright, I believe you.”

“What about your family?” Tommy asks, and Buck shrugs. “You don’t have to answer that.”

“No, they’re…fine,” Buck says, shrugging again. He still feels raw when he thinks about his parents. “They’re, uh, back in Pennsylvania. Except Maddie. I think we’re British? Just sort of, uh, WASP-y? But I don’t really know a lot about my family.”

Hell, he knew even less than he ever realized.

“I don’t know a lot about my dad’s family,” Tommy says, and it feels like he understands based on the way he says it. It loosens some of the anxiety that had been building in Buck’s chest. “Scottish, Irish? Something like that. But I never looked too hard. Italians, though, you’d be hard-pressed to find a family that doesn’t want every generation to know every story and legend and the name of every town everyone was ever born in.”

“Family recipes?”

Tommy snorts. “I have a box of them. I’ve been trying to transcribe them just in case something ever happens to them, but there’s so many.”

Buck shrugs. “I could help.”

“Yeah?” Tommy looks surprised at his offer.

“Yeah, I’m kinda good at that kind of stuff,” he admits. “Plus, hey, I wouldn’t say no to learning some new recipes. I feel like I’m finally really getting the hang of cooking. Maybe I can even teach Bobby a thing or two.”

They start talking about the 118, and Buck is surprised at just how different it used to be. From the sound of it, Tommy was really different. Sal, too. And then Tommy felt like he was able to get a new start at Harbor.

“I just didn’t want to die in a closet, you know?” he says, and Buck tries to parse what that could mean. “I wasn’t out at the 118. Everyone thought I was straight until, I don’t know, my last month there? I finally told them right after my transfer went through.”

Buck blinks, realizing he’d somehow totally missed that Tommy’s gay. He realizes his silence could be taken for discomfort and panics. “Th-that’s great! I’m glad you were able to do that. It’s hard. It’s a hard thing to go through.”

“Yeah,” Tommy agrees, smiling softly. “Well, it’s actually just…freeing. Once you get past actually saying the words.”

“That sounds amazing,” Buck says, sighing. It does. The idea of feeling free has always felt like something he’s been looking for. Being at the 118 is the closest thing he’s ever found to that, but he wonders if it feels the same.

Tommy hesitates and starts to say something, but then their server arrives to take their food orders. Buck forgets to ask him what he was going to say, because he starts second-guessing what he was going to order and leans across to ask Tommy about one of the dishes. When Tommy leans in to look at where Buck’s pointing on the menu, his forearm presses against Buck’s and radiates heat the same way his hand did when they met, the same way his whole body did when he'd hugged Buck after their flight and when they met outside the restaurant. He wonders if it's a natural thing for him or if it's his muscle mass that does it.

“So you do like mushrooms?” Tommy asks, and Buck nods. “Yeah, you'll love that, then. But save room for dessert.”

“Okay,” Buck says, unable to keep himself from ducking his head and smiling as Tommy confirms with the server that Buck is getting whatever the hell it was Tommy had pointed to. He hadn't been paying attention.

–

He loves Tommy’s house. It’s got books and movies and records crammed into every available shelf in the living room, and there are cool old tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms that Tommy’s never going to touch even when he updates the rooms.

“Kitchen’s next, but I did a lot of the hard work with the electrical and plumbing already,” Tommy explains. He goes to a cabinet above his fridge and reaches in for an old cigar box. When he stretches for it, his shirt rides up and Buck blinks at the strip of skin that’s exposed. He suddenly feels guilty for staring and forces himself to look at the view of Tommy’s backyard from the window above the sink. “Here they are.”

Tommy sets the box on the counter and flips it open. Inside are old recipe cards, torn out recipes from magazines and ads, swooping writing on yellowed paper, and what looks to be more than one recipe torn out of cookbooks.

They’re killing time before a movie that’s playing at the theater by Tommy’s place, but Buck wants to dive into the recipes and figure out what it was that his family liked or what was important to them, what they held onto across generations, and which ones made little Tommy love desserts so much.

“Can you tell who wrote them?” he asks, carefully turning over a recipe card for some kind of soup made with lentils and sausage.

“Some of them,” Tommy says, leaning over and looking at the card he’s holding. “That was Prozia Camilla, I think. She always wrote her Bs really weird.”

“What’s that?” Buck asks, looking over at Tommy. He realizes he’s close, but it’s not making him uncomfortable. He feels a little warm, but it’s not from discomfort or embarrassment. The heat might be on in the house, or it's just Tommy being a human space heater. “Aunt?”

“Great-aunt,” Tommy clarifies. “Aunt is zia, uncle is zio—pretty easy. Nonna, Nonno–grandma, grandpa. Cugina, cugino–cousin, female or male. You add pro for great-aunts and -uncles, bis for great-grandparents. There’s one that’s in a baggy from Bisnonna Valia, I think she wrote it down when Mussolini was in power.”

Buck carefully picks through the box until he finds it, and he doesn’t take it out. He does inspect it, though. The paper is translucent and faded, the ink a brown-ish color. “What’s it for?”

“Canestrelli. It’s kind of like a shortbread cookie.”

He likes how Tommy says the words in Italian, the way his mouth shapes the vowels and kind of rolls the Rs but not really, the syllables he emphasizes a little differently than the way Buck probably would if he read the word from a page. He’d asked Tommy if he spoke Italian, and he sort of did. He mostly just understood it, but he sounded like he knew it whenever he said any of the words.

“These are amazing,” Buck says softly, rubbing his thumb along the edge of the paper inside its protective plastic. “Is it weird that I wish I knew them? All the people who wrote these down.”

When he glances at Tommy, Tommy’s looking at him and not at the recipe anymore. “No,” Tommy replies softly. “I don’t think that’s weird at all. They would’ve loved you.”

Buck grins. “Really?”

“Definitely.”

He flushes happily at the thought, even if Tommy’s just being nice. When he sets the recipe back in the box, the alarm on Tommy’s phone goes off.

“I kind of want to just look at these,” Buck admits. “But you said the movie’s really good.”

“Evan, it’s Casablanca,” Tommy says dryly. “It’s literally one of the greatest movies ever made.”

“Well, then I guess we have to go,” Buck teases, closing the box and handing it over to him.

When Tommy puts the box back, Buck’s eyes dip to his ass this time. It’s really a work of art. He wonders what kind of squats he does.

–

Buck’s a mess.

“You didn’t tell me it would be sad,” he moans as he snacks on the last of his popcorn on the way to Tommy’s truck. He’d driven, because it was easier than trying to find parking for two cars near the theater.

“A lot of the best romance movies are,” Tommy says. “But I don’t think it’s that sad. He loves her, and he knows she’s going to be happy. It’s not like Ghost or Moulin Rouge or Brokeback Mountain or anything.”

“I’ve never seen those,” Buck admits. “How can it get any sadder?”

“I mean, one of them could’ve died.”

Buck sighs. “Yeah, I guess. But—can you imagine finding the person who makes you feel like that and having to watch them walk away with someone else? People don’t realize how awful it feels to just be left behind.”

He realizes he’s projecting a lot onto a movie that’s eighty years old, but it does suck. Buck would know.

“Sometimes you just want to be the one people will stick around for,” he mumbles.

Tommy bumps their shoulders together gently as they walk. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Buck smiles and bumps his shoulder back. “You say that now.”

“I can’t imagine wanting to leave you behind if I could help it, Evan.”

The way he says it makes Buck’s heart thud in his chest, and for a moment he’s worried about another blood clot. He looks over at Tommy, who’s looking at him, and he smiles.

“Thanks,” he says softly.

Tommy puts an arm around his shoulder and squeezes him close for a moment before they get to the truck. Buck gets into the passenger seat and considers the few kernels of popcorn left. He wonders what Tommy’s favorite happy romance movie is and what it’s like, what he likes about it and the characters, if he identifies more with one than the other.

“So that’s the best romance movie?” he asks instead.

“I mean, that’s subjective, right?” Tommy says, turning on the truck and pulling away from the curb. “I think it’s pretty close to being the most objectively perfect one, yeah.”

“Is it your favorite?”

Tommy considers the question for a moment. “It's up there. It changes, honestly. I really like Love, Actually, but Princess Bride and Moonstruck are amazing, too. Casablanca is pretty perfect, though.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Buck says, smiling. “I did like it. It just, y’know, made me a little sad. Also, I didn’t realize that whole ‘Here’s looking at you, kid’ thing was a reference. I’ve heard so many people say that and thought it was some idiom I never learned.”

Tommy snorts and shakes his head. “I swear, I will expand your knowledge of movies.”

Buck normally doesn’t really care. He doesn’t have the same attachment to movies that a lot of his friends have, but he likes Tommy showing him things. The flying, the restaurant, the recipe box, the movie—maybe Muay Thai? He knows Eddie does it. Buck’s never really had an interest in it, but Tommy had offered to teach him and Buck had twirled his pasta around his fork and said he’d be interested because nothing sounded cooler. Now that he’s seen the set-up in Tommy’s garage, it would be kind of awesome to have one-on-one lessons and then go inside to make old family recipes.

He looks over at Tommy as he drives, and he notes that Tommy seems as at ease behind a wheel as he is doing anything else. He had also seen the car lift in Tommy’s garage, currently empty but awaiting a Chevelle he’d had his eye on that needed work, and he wonders if he’s always liked cars.

As he watches, he also realizes that Tommy’s side profile is pretty perfect. It’s not just the nose, it’s his entire face. Tommy’s a really handsome guy.

“Evan?” Tommy asks, sounding amused.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

Buck slides down in his seat a little, feeling caught out for some reason. “Yeah. Sorry.”

Tommy slows to a stop at the light and looks over at Buck. He smiles and squeezes Buck’s wrist briefly, his huge hand almost engulfing it. He doesn’t understand how someone his height can be so big. With his free hand, he reaches over and picks up Tommy’s hand, manipulating the digits until they’re flat, and he presses their hands together to compare the size. Buck’s never met someone with bigger hands than his who wasn’t at least six and a half feet tall, but Tommy’s fingers stretch a little further, his palm is a little broader.

Then Tommy turns his palm just a little and curls his fingers until they’re between Buck’s, and Buck curls his fingers, too. He smiles and looks up at Tommy, who’s looking at him intently. It makes Buck’s heart pound again.

A car honks, and Tommy startles a little. He laughs to himself as he continues driving toward his house, both hands back on the wheel, and Buck feels his hand close around nothing, feeling empty.

–

Tommy is walking him to his car, even though it’s parked right in front of his house. They’re talking about the next series of movies the theater is showing—old noir stuff, some of which Tommy’s never even seen.

“That could be cool,” Buck says, putting his hands in his jacket pocket so he won’t reach for Tommy’s hand again. It would be weird. “We can see when our shifts line up.”

“They do them all in two month blocks,” Tommy explains wryly. “So that’s going to be a lot of calendar checking.”

“We can always share them to each other,” Buck points out. “Figure out other days we can do stuff.”

Tommy’s eyes look between Buck’s, down to his chin, and back at his eyes again. “Like what?”

Buck smiles and shrugs. “Anything. I mean, we’re kind of the perfect bar trivia partners. We can go around town and hustle all of them out of their gift cards and small cash prizes. But I really do want to help you with the recipe thing. You really think your family would’ve liked me?”

“Evan, do you have any idea how likeable you are?” Tommy asks, leaning his shoulder against Buck’s door.

“Hey, you’re pretty likeable yourself,” Buck says shyly. “You’re kind of the coolest person I’ve ever—”

He doesn’t get to finish, because there are two fingers under his chin and a pair of lips on his. For a moment, he freezes, because Tommy is kissing him. That should be weird. He’s never had a male friend kiss him on the lips unless it was during Spin the Bottle or under mistletoe, and those were always pecks or done with some reluctance on their part. But he can feel Tommy start to pull away and wants anything but that, so he brings his hand up to Tommy’s shoulder and keeps him there while Buck kisses back.

Tommy’s lips are soft, though his stubble is a little scratchy, but Buck doesn’t mind it. He really doesn’t mind it.

“Was that okay?” Tommy whispers when he does finally pull back.

Buck nods and his eyes drop to Tommy’s lips, which don’t look any different than they did a minute ago, but now he knows how they feel against his. He still has a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and brings his other one up to cup his jaw to keep him still when Buck goes in for another kiss.

It feels better than okay. It feels like a real first—well, second now—kiss. He feels like an alarm bell should be going off somewhere in his head, but all he’s getting is a need to feel more of him, to taste more of him.

They’re kind of making out against Buck’s Jeep, and Buck is definitely going to need to talk to Hen about this. If he likes kissing a guy just as much as he’s liked kissing a girl—hell, more than he’s liked kissing some girls—what does that mean?

Tommy pulls away again and presses their foreheads together. They’re both breathing hard, and Buck wonders if Tommy will ask him to come inside.

“I meant to take this a lot slower,” Tommy says. “You seemed…new. I know Howie doesn’t know, but does anyone?”

Buck wonders if he’d missed something in their conversation. “Know what?”

“That you’re—” he gestures between them. Then he pulls back more and searches Buck’s face. “You are, aren’t you?”

“What?” he asks again, feeling very slow. He doesn’t love the feeling, but he's also still really stuck on the feeling of Tommy's lips.

“Wait, are you?”

“Oh, my god, Tommy, am I what?” he asks, laughing.

“Into guys?”

Buck blinks. “I don’t—I’ve never really thought about it?”

Except for that one time in Texas, but he knew that he came off as flirty sometimes when he didn’t mean to. That hadn’t been TK’s fault. Hell, TK was gorgeous and a really good firefighter, and—oh.

“Oh,” Buck says, raising his eyebrows. “Huh.”

“Are you okay?” Tommy asks, searching Buck’s face for something. He’s not touching Buck anymore, which kind of sucks.

“Yeah.” He looks at Tommy and smiles. “Yeah, I’m great.”

He is. He really is. It’s a little bit of a shock, but he’s pretty sure he’ll be fine. Well, he might need to talk to Hen and Maddie and Bobby.

Then it hits him—Tommy walked him to his car. While the sun was up. In a good neighborhood. After the movies. He’d done the same thing after Micelli’s, after they’d flown, and he’d hugged Buck every time. It had felt good and warm and safe. But Tommy always walked him to his car.

“We were just on a date, weren’t we?” Buck says slowly, then counts. “Like, our third one. Wait, did you take me flying for our first date?”

“I thought I did,” Tommy says, his brows raised. “Did you really have no idea that I was asking you out?”

Okay, yeah, Tommy had said they should go out sometime before they’d left the bar the night they’d met, and Buck had agreed and Tommy had grinned. It had been really distracting.

“Huh,” he says again. “Wait, you waited until our third date to kiss me?”

“I thought you needed me to take it slow,” Tommy says, leaning his elbows on the hood and burying his face in his hands. “I thought you were new to this.”

“I mean, I am,” Buck points out. The way Tommy’s leaning makes his ass pop out a little, and his jeans are tight enough that they definitely qualify as date jeans. “Maybe not that new, actually. It’s normal to check out a hot guy’s ass, right?”

Tommy looks at him incredulously. “Evan, how would I know what straight guys do? I’m a Kinsey six.”

“Right,” Buck realizes, though he’s still not clear on the second part. “What’s a Kinsey six?”

“It’s a scale for sexuality. I’ve never actually been attracted to any women.”

Buck frowns. “Really?”

He’s found a lot of guys attractive, because that was just a thing Buck could see as a person with eyes. Hell, one of the first things he thought about Connor was that he had a killer smile. Then he had followed him to Los Angeles. From Peru.

“Oh,” he realizes, pulling out his phone and looking up ‘Kinsey.’ “Two? I don’t know, actually. I’ll have to think about it.”

Tommy huffs out a laugh. “You’re not, I don’t know, mad?”

Buck frowns and puts his phone back in his pocket. “Why would I be mad?”

“A lot of guys get mad when another guy kisses them if they weren’t really expecting it.”

“That doesn’t make sense. You can just tell someone you’re not interested.” His eyes flick down to Tommy’s mouth. “Or figure out that you are.”

“Are you sure—”

“You should come over so I can cook you dinner,” Buck says, suddenly wanting nothing more than to see Tommy in his loft and at his table. In his bed? Yeah, probably. “Saturday?”

Tommy smiles. “You mean tomorrow?”

Buck thinks about it. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”

When Tommy kisses him again, Buck wraps his arm around his shoulders and spreads his hand over Tommy’s side. Tommy moans softly against his mouth, and Buck’s lips part further so he can tease his tongue against Tommy’s lips.

“Jesus, kid,” Tommy breathes when the kiss breaks, and it sends a bolt of heat through Buck’s belly. So, yeah, definitely guys. Guys are good. At least one is.

Buck’s phone goes off, and he reluctantly checks it. Maddie’s due pretty soon, so he can’t ignore his phone just in case it’s her.

It is, and Buck answers quickly.

“Maddie?” he says before mouthing an apology to Tommy. “Are you okay? Is the baby—”

“Buck,” she says. “Are you still coming over for dinner?”

Oh, right. The reason they’d done the matinee show for the movie. Buck’s supposed to be having a sibling dinner with his sister. He’s now late for it and feels like a dick.

“I am so sorry, I forgot. I’ll be there in twenty, twenty-five minutes? Do you need me to get anything on the way?”

“If you could get me enough garlic bread to fill your car, I’d be so happy.”

Buck snorts. “I can get some. Maybe not that much. But I’ll stop, just turn the oven on. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay!” she says brightly. “Bye.”

“Bye,” he says, hanging up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what time it was, and I did actually forget. I got, uh, distracted.”

Tommy smirks. “‘Distracted’?”

Buck swallows and nods, his eyes going to Tommy’s lips again. “Yeah.”

“God, you’re adorable.”

He’s never had a guy call him that before. He likes it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Tommy says. “When do you want me over?”

“S-six?” Buck says, feeling himself sway toward Tommy like they’ve got magnets in their mouths. “Five. You start early on Sunday, right?”

“So do you,” Tommy points out.

“Oh, yeah,” Buck says dumbly. He goes in for another kiss, but it’s quick. Tommy pushes him back gently with a hand to his chest and nudges their noses together briefly before stepping away. “Bye.”

“Bye, Evan,” Tommy says, smiling and going toward his house.

Buck fumbles with his keys before he finally unlocks the Jeep, and he watches Tommy until he goes inside. It’s a thing he’s always done on dates. When Tommy waves before heading inside, Buck waves for a long time until the door is closed.

“Fuck, okay, garlic bread,” he says, turning the Jeep on. He grins the entire way to the store.

While he walks through Ralph’s, he also looks for stuff to use for the dinner he’s going to make for Tommy. On their date. Their fourth date.

Buck knows he’s standing in the middle of the baking ingredients aisle and smiling at his phone like an idiot. He knows that he’s going to spend half of his Saturday trying to perfect some kind of dessert. He knows he can’t wait to see Tommy and that he’s felt that way every time he’s seen him since they met.

[suusoh]

(pwp or something idk. just got horny in the tags of my last post about eddie not looking anywhere else but at his wife and only his wife while doing his husbandly duties.)

cw: female reader, sex, eddie's orbs, overuse of the word staring because I want you to start feeling annoyed and maim this man, slight yandere (maybe if you squint?) cheesy and unfunny frank valli reference at the end.

———

he's staring at you again.

Eyes fogged with a love sick haze in them at the absolute sight of you, his wife, all warm, soft, and pliant under him. You try to close your eyes from time to time, but even when you open them again— it just comes back to the first thing you see which is this man on top of you, mouth switching between grinning and gasping, and eyes wide open.

"...Eddie?"

He hums tenderly. "What is it, dear?"

"I-I.. can you just-"

It's so hard to talk when his hips don't stop moving despite his concern. The weight and absolute mass of him on top of you and grounding you into the bed with each thrust makes it all the more harder to think straight.

Thoughts on how to sound out your request begin to blur and buzz out with him fucking into you like this. In and out, in and out, inside of you. over and over again as he buries himself deep within your cunt. your pubic bone practically connecting with his, and sending sparks of heat inside your belly with each time he ruts himself into you.

"Just what? What does my darling wife want?" He starts searching your face for any indication or answer to complete it for you what you want him to do now. Still looking at you intensely.

Looking. He keeps looking. Which is, sort of the thing you wanted to point out in the first place.

"You're... o-oh- oh-"

"I...?" he acts as if he's not quite catching on. Pondering for a second with the sounds of your moans and wanton sighs, and the creaking of the worn out bed acting as background noise to aid his thinking.

"Oh! I'm doing a swell job is that it? Is that what you're trying to say, dearest?" he lets out a content loving sigh, and your breathe stutters as he picks up his pace. "You and your words never fail to make me blush, my love."

Another particularly good thrust has you arching your back, of which he's making sure his eyes connect with yours once more while you writhe and wiggle underneath. But your wriggling quickly eases from bodily pleasure, to slowly morphing into a sense of discomfort now.

Because he's staring at you.

Again.

Which should be good isn't it? Eye contact during sex is a sign after all of a good partner paying attention to your needs. And with someone like Eddie, him paying attention to your needs is the tiniest sliver of hope you cling onto to make sure his reason for keeping you alive is a bit more... cemented, substantial even. Gives you a little bit more reason (or delusion) to believe he'd be inclined to make this relationship, make you, last longer.

(Compared to the alternative route of him using your body for his own sick dispositions, and casually stringing you all up when he's done.)

Though you're sure that this is not the type of bedroom eye contact many normally wish for.

"Y-you... you're.." you try to murmur out again.

Not that you should talk about having anything normal with this man. You might as well find the solution to world hunger long before you find anything even remotely "normal" in this place.

It's not that you're expecting him to do things normally, but can't he... can't he just... do something else maybe?

Look anywhere but you for just a split second, maybe bury himself into your neck, or close his own eyes to focus on the feeling of his cock getting squeezed, or look at any other part of your body that could possibly entrance him; mouth, chest, stomach... hell, you could even hope that he tries to glance down at your clit? Maybe marvel at the sight of where the two of you connect, since that's all his fucked up baby fever mind thinks about anyways?

You'll take anything really, just one small thing to act as a reminder that you guys are indeed having... sex— and not engaging in some sort of impromptu staring contest out of nowhere.

Because his eyes are doing absolutely nothing but looking into your own and as they continue staring at you.

and staring at you...

and staring...

and staring...

and staring...

Jesus fucking christ you don't think he's even blinked in the past few seconds anymore.

You let out a mix of a whine and a groan, opting to shut your eyelids close and try to shield your face away from his unmoving eyeballs by trying to wiggle your hands free out of his grasp (him and his damn insistence to hold hands while making love as he calls it.).

"What is it my love? Must I pay you a penny for your thoughts perhaps?"

"You keep staring... "

You try to wiggle free again, inadvertently adding onto the delightful friction between your parts and his— to which he gets a small shiver of his own at the roll of your hips. A light laugh escapes him at your captivating and somewhat fruitless display. He finally gives reprieve to your brain's rising fear of being uncannily perceived at, and blinks.

"Ohhh, my darling."

He lets go of one of your hands so that he can cradle your face, tilting it so he can capture your mouth into a kiss. humming into your mouth, but the humming isn't just the usual sighs of pleasure, as you can pick up the movement of him saying some words.

He pulls apart from his half kissing-half speaking into your mouth, as he slowly begins to playfully laugh again.

"You can't blame a man for looking at his wife when she's like this; all breathless and beautiful, now can you? I sure can't!"

Said wife that he just knows for certain was sent down by god all-mighty himself into the 7th circle of hell named "mount massive asylums".

When Eddie sees you, he can't help but imagine your rotting carcass somewhere else. An alternate place where those filthy bastards could have gotten their hands on you, torn you limb from limb (if they didn't have the patience to pull your teeth and your eyes out first), then have their way with using your dead body as a urinal afterwards.

You must have been scared to not have your dear husband around to protect you from all the nasty violence around the asylum, weren't you darling?

No, no. No meed to fret now and get your panties in a twist! None of that here. Not when your dear ol' Eddie is here now.

You are very much alive and perfect, preserved by your own sheer dumb luck or maybe by fate itself to be kept alive long enough for him. Just him.

And under his care, your body is experiencing the furthest thing from excruciating physical pain right now, isn't it darling? Feels good, yes? To have your husband make love to you like the passionate man he is. Lest he's supposed to take in the sight of you rolling your eyes back and your legs hooking around his waist, pulling him in for more as something otherwise?

Oh goodness him... It's almost too good to be true.

And he really can't take his eyes off of you.

[giorno-plays-piano]

hi, idk if you’re taking requests, but hear me out- the void x reader where the reader is like down/depressed, and finds comfort in being held by the void or just laying their head in the voids lap (if u aren’t taking requests that’s fine, regardless have a great day :D)

Oh boy, was it a long time since I've taken any requests! Thank you for the idea. Here's what came of it!

Come Home

Pairing: The Void!Bob Reynolds x reader

Warnings: implied stalking, hurt/comfort, the Void is your therapist whether you want it or not, fluff.

Words: 0.8k

________

Come.

He's not real, but you can hear his voice in your head. He always sounds clear even in the crowd of hundreds of people, and each time, it brings you too much comfort to your own liking. You prefer to think he's not really a voice in your head: you're not deranged. It's only your imagination, a defensive mechanism of sorts.

Come home to me.

But he sure is demanding.

When you are finally back to your apartment, abandoning your bag and sneakers in the corridor, you quickly munch on some cereal before going straight to bed. This day, like any other, was exhausting. The draining office job, impossibly long commute, all the noise that makes your head spin, useless phone scrolling... You want to leave all of it behind the door of your bedroom. You need a recharge, a safe space.

Perhaps it's sad that the only space left for you is inside your dreams, but whatever works. At least you can come see him there.

The Darkness inside your head isn't just some intangible shadow: sometimes it wears a face, and sometimes it doesn't, but you can always feel it - his - presence. You can even touch him, and it brings you immense comfort. Being in someone's embrace feels wonderful.

Especially if that someone is him.

"I missed you," you leap to him the second you feel his presence. Today, he has no face again, but his hands are warm on your back, and it's enough to make you weep.

God, you miss him so much every day as if he is your loved one. Even if he says nothing to you, the comfort he brings is enough, and you want nothing more than to wrap yourself around him. His palms caress the low of your back ever so tenderly.

When he first came to you in a dream, you thought he was the darkness inside you, all the horrible thoughts inside your head, the loneliness, the pain. He didn't speak, watching you with his unsettling shiny eyes - two little beads on a face so black you could not see his features. And you, exhausted after another hopeless day, felt so bad for yourself since you couldn't rest even in your sleep, you just cried like a child. You did not expect him to take your hand. Much less, to caress your head like a gentle parent.

Then, he would come every night, and every night, you would lay down and speak to him as if what you said mattered. Even if you said it's a long story, he would reply that he had time. If you cried, he would stroke your hair and wipe your tears. When he had a face, he would tell you jokes awkwardly and always laugh at yours. When he didn't, his figure shrouded in shadows, he spoke little, and yet he was always enough.

"Sometimes I wish I could kill them," you say, eyes wet when you finish your rambling about today. "My boss sure deserves it."

Despite your long tirade, the Darkness doesn't look bothered even the slightest bit. His hand warms the small of your neck.

Do you really want it?

You clench your eyes shut, tired and ashamed. No, you don't. You want nothing but peace and quiet. Violence seems like a solution only in the moment of anger and despair, and it always passes quickly. Upset, you snuggle against the Shadow's belly, hoping he will not say anything.

After a moment, you exhale, "I want nothing but have you close. I wish you were here, with me, all the time."

You can't see his expression, but you know he is pleased. His hand is caressing your hair again.

If only he were real, you think to yourself as you enjoy the feel of his touch. Not even your friends or family are this attentive and caring. Why must he be only a part of your dream or consciousness? You'd give away anything you have to be close to someone like this, to be a part of their life, too.

Alas, you should at least be grateful he exists somewhere in your mind.

Soon, he says all of a sudden in a quiet voice, and you blink, unsure you heard him right.

What? What does it mean?

As you turn your head up to see him, he extends his palm to cover your eyes instead.

Wait just a little bit longer.

When you wake, the comfort of returning to darkness fading away soon, you don't think of his words much. To you, he is but a shadow of your own mind.

You don't think tomorrow a familiar stranger will wake you with a touch of his hand - this time, real.

[saltycloudgarden]

Obscura CH2 Speculation: The Gods and Lunar Ichor

AKA: Why Cirrus/Keir Chapters Were Released Together

Both these chapters give a LOT of needed context about what exactly lunar ichor is, and why it’s so taboo (and valuable), from two very different perspectives.

The demo chapters all establish that the ichor is extremely rare and sought after, presumably because of its magical and/or healing properties, but is something forbidden in politer society outside the mountain. The demo leads the player to believe the substance is rare because it’s the literal blood of a god, which, yeah that sounds kinda hard to get a hold of and sacrilegious to boot.

But CH2 turns all this on its head; the ichor can be produced through people. Specifically, through an unclear and secretive process that includes sadism and pain to some unspecified degree.

Keir’s route explicitly explains this: his group regularly rescues people being tortured into a horrible state to produce ichor; people who sold themselves through the marketplace with no idea what they were in for. We learn that the process to change someone can be reversed if caught early enough, and that the process, at least as far as Keir knows, kills the producer eventually.

This sends a clear message to the player: getting the ichor will mean being (at the very least) complicit in the torture of someone else.

Right?

Well, that’s were Cirrus’ route offers that different perspective, and an alternative solution to cure Vesper’s illness.

The heavy BDSM elements of Cirrus’ demo chapter, while appreciated and very hot, initially struck me as coming somewhat out of no where - disconnected a bit from what little we could understand of his character and motivations at the time.

With the release of his CH2, everything clicked into place for me.

Cirrus is a priest of the Lunar God, counterpart to the Solar God, and we learn through dialogue in all routes that the lunar religion isn’t seen in nearly a positive a light as the solar. The Friendly Stranger in Keir’s demo chapter outright complains that they don’t understand why people would pray to a god that “makes bad things happen” (or something to that effect). This dichotomy is further emphasized by Francesco, the character most related to the Solar God, heavily contrasting Cirrus by not only is color pallet, but his (seemingly) kinder and genuine nature.

The narrative wants to trick the player into assuming Solar God = Good, Lunar God = Bad, which in actuality, what I believe we’re going to learn, is that this is more a fae winter vs summer court situation than anything as pedestrian as moral absolution. I don’t trust Francesco’s cutie act (in its entirety) for a second.

This ties back to Cirrus CH2 and the big reveal at the end of his best ending: Vesper has begun to produce lunar ichor.

Why is this? Well, through the information gathered from Keir’s route, we can infer that this is due to their participation in scenes with Cirrus and their budding relationship. Cirrus is the sadist in the equation, and the pain he inflicts is a substitute for the torture inflicted on the slaves seen in Keir’s route - but something isn’t tracking.

Cirrus admits in CH2 that he’s dissatisfied by the lunar religion’s presence in the marketplace and wants to inspire some sort of change - MY theory, is that he finds the typical production of lunar ichor (aka the slaves and the mindless torture) and the peoples’ typical view/relationship with the lunar god to be distasteful and twisted from its original intent.

Don’t get me wrong; the man is no saint, and is very much a cult leader (and all that entails), but hear me out.

I propose that the “healthy” and “consensual” exchange of power, worship, and pain in a Vesper/Cirrus relationship in which Vesper fully submits, is more akin to what lunar worship is “meant” to be; an acceptance of pain and punishment that grants pleasure, peace, and strength; thus, the ichor that Vesper has begun to produce is a more pure, “correct” version of the substance, which Cirrus values immensely. That getting Vesper to a state to create the ichor themselves was his solution to their illness all along.

I speculate that Cirrus is going to use Vesper as some kind of “miracle” icon to gain more influence over his cult and the underground, but to what end, I have no idea. If the ichor has healing/magical properties, doubtless a cult leader having an unending stock of the stuff would be invaluable in gaining said influence.

I also believe that Vesper’s illness plays a part in why they’re able to produce ichor the way they are; whether this means Cirrus will still cure them, or if they’ll even still need curing after whatever transformation they’ve begun finishes, has also, yet to be seen.

Also, if the information learned in Keir’s route about the transformation process being reversible applies to Vesper’s situation, it makes sense that Cirrus forces them to move into the church and isolated them; he wants complete control and supervision over their transformation, to ensure it proceeds uninterrupted. Doubtless other characters outside his cult, if they saw Vesper mid transformation, would try to interfere.

He also just likes having control over Vesper because it gets him off, but the layers here are fascinating.

I can’t wait for more chapters, from Cirrus and Keir, but also Francesco and Oleander; with Francesco I’d love to learn more about the Solar religion and more of his true nature (I refuse to believe he’s not hiding some darkness under that cute facade), and I think Oleander will give us more perspective on lunar ichor’s value and “typical” production (aka torture) and the generally depravity of the marketplace.

Thanks @rottenraccoons for such a great game and so much to think about so far, and I hope other chapters come out soon and wish the team the best!

[wooahoe]

how svt would help you when you’re crashing out a bit

dory’s notes: because all of my irls think i’m either adhd or autistic or both and honestly i’m starting to believe them because there’s no way that this level of crashout/burnout/dysfunction is normal. man it’s bad bad like you know it’s bad when your hw list for spring break is 40+ items long and it’s mostly just late work that your teachers let you make up. also when your teacher tells you to get help. it’s okay 😎 fuck it we ball

cw: swearing, a lil bit of crying, implied neurodivergent reader but tbh reader could just be depressed. man idk reader is just burnt out that’s all u need to know.

wc: 549

🎧 saranghey❕dory’s playlist — @maestro-net

—

scoups, jun, vernon

they would be the type that wouldn’t want to disturb any sort of attempts at productivity that you’re trying to make, but they’re also worried for you. worried enough where they’d mention maybe taking a break, or getting you up and out of that chair. they’d remind you to take your meds and drink water, let you use their headphones once yours have died, would definitely bring you snacks every once in a while, and if it gets too bad, maybe gently force you to take a nap. they’d make sure you had plenty of their shirts you had dubbed the best material on standby, so you could be as productive as possible without being overstimulated. would be very sweet but probably not all that helpful production wise. but!! they will hold you while you cry and rant about your frustrations, and honestly, that’s all you could ask for.

jeonghan, hoshi, the8, seungkwan, dino

they are not going to let you rot in that chair and wallow in your frustration. no, you are getting up and going with them for a walk. what do you mean you can’t? you haven’t eaten, moved around, used the restroom, or drank water for the past six hours. you need this !! (any attempts at waving them off are futile) they’d either try and get you to move your work spot, or, if that isn’t possible, take a small break with them. whether it’s to eat, nap, dance, or just sit there with them and talk about anything that’s on your mind. you need to let yourself rest, even if it’s just for a little bit. (jeonghan, hoshi, and seungkwan jokingly mention you just not finishing your work entirely, but the glare you send them is enough for them to shut up on the matter entirely.) they know that sitting in front of that screen isn’t going to do you any good, at least not for the next half hour. might as well spend it with them, and just let your brain turn off for a little while. they know how much you need it.

joshua, wonwoo, woozi, dokyeom, mingyu

probably the most helpful out of the bunch. they’d try and actively help you make the situation better/more productive. is the vibe in the room wrong to you? okay, maybe try his room. are you just dehydrated? he’ll bring you more water every hour or so. they’d text you to remind you to do your normal human activities (drink water, eat a little something, use the restroom, etc etc) and make sure you’re giving yourself a break every once in a while. if none of this is working, well, then, they’re not gonna stop until they find something that does work for you. but they also know that you’re probably emotionally drained, too, and while they know you can’t exactly stop working right now, they’re going to make sure that when you do allow yourself a break, the two of you are going to have to talk. this situation of coping isn’t healthy, and they know the both of you know it. but if the temporary solution is just a power nap? well, then they’re more than happy to oblige: your bed is calling you, and their arms are waiting.

—

a/n: man what if i just become a hs dropout and audition for like. idk. the new hybe america thingie (i can’t sing or dance)

taglist: @sousydive @dreamingofpcy @junplusone @mary1618rosie-blog @iris65 — wanna join my taglist?

[nogutsnogloria]

summary: pope comes home from a job that went a bit sideways. you’re there to take care of him and he’s there to take care of you as well.

andrew pope cody x reader

warnings: mention of minor injury, violence, dead bodies, swearing, codependency, hurt/comfort. pope becoming maybe a bit ooc but i think love can change a man right?

you’ve gotten to the point where you can’t sleep without him. you know he barely sleeps but he lies there with you while you sleep. this is why you find yourself pacing in the kitchen, every surface has been scrubbed at least three times. you tucked lena into bed hours ago. yet he’s still not home from his job he left for yesterday morning.

you know what he gets up to when he goes to work but he spares you most of the details. still it’s hard for your mind not to wander when it’s almost two in the morning and you haven’t heard from him all day, not even a reply to your text asking him when he was coming home. you decide that a shower should be a distraction hoping that by the time you’re all cleaned up he will be home. you were wrong. he’s only been gone sixteen hours but you miss him. you just want to see him before bed, so that you know he’s okay, but you have to get up to teach in the morning and there’s no way you can deal with 25 six year olds without at least some sleep, you calculate you can get maybe three hours with having to fall asleep without being in his safe, strong arms. you give up on your all-nighter attempt, checking on lena one last time before heading to your shared room.

you finally crawl into bed and shiver because the sheets feel cold when it’s just you under the covers. you let out a little childish huff and roll over to his side burrowing yourself into his pillow. then you let your mind make up all kinds of crazy scenarios and solutions. maybe he just doesn’t love you anymore and has left you with lena-no that’s actually insane. he’d leave you but no way he’s leaving lena behind. maybe you can put a tracker on him-no that’s somehow even more insane, he’s a grown man not a new puppy. maybe you should download a police scanner app and see if there’s any talk about anyone being arrested, or worse a body found dead on arrival-now you are just being mean to yourself, why can’t you think happy bedtime thoughts?

right when the spiraling is getting a bit out of control, you hear keys jingling in the lock. he makes you promise that you leave the doors locked when he’s not home. you pull the covers off to go meet him at the door to give him a piece of of you mind.

“is your phone broken or something? you know i was really- andrew oh my god?” even in the dark you can see he’s limping, holding his side with a gash bleeding on his cheek. you rush to his non injured side so that he can lean on you. “do you need the emergency room?” turning on the lights in the kitchen you sit him down on an island stool. “no, no hospitals” he says and you can tell he’s in a good amount of pain from the way his voice is strained. “okay, what happened? what hurts?” he looks at you deciding there’s no reason to lie.

“the kid messed up the recon, missed a guard that must have had some sort of mma training. he got me good a few times in my side and a left hook to the cheek, but i think i got him worse.” he adds trying to ease the tension. it doesn’t though. your frown is still present and he hates that he’s caused it.

you go to the bathroom to grab the first aid kit and open it up on the counter beside him. then stand in between his legs to get started on cleaning up the cut on his face. he reaches up to where your brows are pinched from the frown on your face and says “im not worth all this worry.” that earns him a pissed off look and he thinks he can work with pissed, he has no idea what to do when your sad because he tries everything to make sure you never are. but you still aren’t saying a word just going to undo the buttons on his shirt. any other day with any other circumstance he’d probably be excited about this. you pull the shirt gently off his shoulders and place it on the counter beside him.

you gasp when you see what has been hiding under the shirt. it’s a good sized bruise taking up the majority of his side, angry and red with purple starting to bloom around it. you skim your hand down it with your gentle touch that he feels himself leaning in towards. you bite your lip trying to swallow the lump in your throat and head to the freezer to see if there is even something big enough to ice the space. there isn’t but you grab an ice pack anyways and wrap it in a towel and go to gently hold it on the bruise his hand covers yours and his palm brushes back and forth against the back of your hand hoping he can soothe you just a little, even if it is useless at this point. your head is down so he can’t see your face but you sniffle so he lifts your chin with his other hand to make you look at him and his heart starts to crack at the unshed tears threatening to spill out over your lash line. “hey-hey i’m okay, it’s all superficial. nothing a little ice and rest won’t fix.” he slides the hand that isn’t cupping your jaw under your shirt so he can rub soothing circles up and down your back. the hand on your chin reaches up to wipe at the tears that have now fallen from your eyes. you wipe your tears as well in a self conscious way and take a shaky breath.

“talk to me, please. what’s happening in that beautiful head of yours.” his voice is so tender with love that it causes new tears to roll down your cheeks. he’s desperately trying to capture your eyes with his own that are trained on the ground. “i’m supposed to be making you feel better.” you finally speak. “you are, being able to come here and have you as apart of my home has its own healing powers, but your breaking my heart a little here princess.” he notices the corners of your mouth slightly turn up at your nickname, but he still needs you to tell him what’s wrong.

you’ve seen him with the occasional black eye and have kissed his bruised knuckles all better before. what is really happening here? he can tell that your thinking carefully about what you want to say so he keeps rubbing the skin of your back to let you know that he’s here. “my brain was playing the worst case scenario game tonight.” you say finally, your voice seeming so small. pope can feel himself pouting at that and looks around. he notices that the kitchen is sparkling clean. that lena’s toys in the living room have been put away in the most organized fashion. that the laundry in the basket is folded with army precision. you were trying to do anything to keep your mind busy tonight.

he knows you’ve spent a good amount of time and effort with real therapy to deal with the demons in your head that tell you everything wrong about you - which is absolutely nothing if you asked him. he also knows that the voice of doubt is always be the loudest on the worst days. “i thought maybe you weren’t coming home to me tonight.” there it is. the truth he was seeking. “when you didn’t call or text, i don’t know, i couldn’t stop thinking of all of the things that could have happened to you, or that you decided you were just done with me in general. i’m sorry i feel so stupid saying this out loud.” your shaking your head refusing to look at him.

he takes the ice pack your hand is still holding to his side and places it on the counter behind him, so that you have no distractions. next he’s takes your face in both of his hands so that he has your undivided attention. “first of all, you are anything but stupid.” he had to shut that thought down immediately. “secondly, there is nothing in this world, any scenario where i am not coming home to you, i will drag myself by my fingernails if i have to.” you look into his eyes “you can’t make that promise.” you say with a sniff. he runs his thumb along your cheekbone. “today was a one off, i told the guys i can’t do the dangerous shit anymore. i have way, way too much to lose, and also to live for now.” he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and then pulls you in for a hug, you being so careful not to hurt his side but he makes sure to squeeze you extra tight, letting you know he’s not broken. you place a kiss on the shoulder you’re tucked into and he releases you. then you place a feather light kiss on his bruised side and his bandaged cheek. “i think my lips are kind of sore too” that gets a laugh from you that heals everything in him. “you are actually the worst” but you lean in to kiss the stupid grin on his face anyways. “let’s go to bed” he murmurs against your lips. you nod and let him lead the way. grabbing the ice pack to take with you. he heads into the bathroom while you climb into bed.

you can hear the shower running, but pope is quick with it. heading into the bedroom with a towel around his waist, he replaces it with a pair of boxers and climbs into bed beside you. “i won’t be able to sleep with you all the way over there” he whispers in the dark. in all honesty there is maybe three inches between you but you usually fall asleep in each others arms. “i don’t want to to hurt your side” he reaches out an arm to pull you in and places a kiss to the top of your head, wrapping both arms around you. “looks like i’m going to need a hand to hold the ice pack there. mine are a bit full” you snort another laugh for the second time tonight, then sigh “you came to me tonight all beat up. yet you spent that last little bit of today making me feel better. i really don’t deserve you.” you can feel him shake his head above you. “having something good to come home to healed me before i even put my keys in the lock. as soon as i got in my truck at smurf’s place to come back here, most of the pain was already gone. i will say it a million times until you believe it, but the real truth is that i don’t deserve you, you and your goodness in my home, in my bed. you and lena are the best part of my day, i will never screw up coming back to this. it’s everything and more that i never knew i needed.” you snuggle in closer to him and he is back to rubbing your back under your shirt until he feels your breathing even out letting him know you’ve fallen asleep. he closes his eyes as well to rest.

[lynnlovesthestars]

Could I request headcanons for Harleep, Astarion, Gale, Wyll, Halsin, Dammon, Rolan, and Zevlor with kind and patient gn s/o? This is quite self-indulgent of me because I have been told I'm too nice & so patient so I'm curious how they would react XD

first of all sorry for being so late, but my small brain has to process things multiple times to make sense, so i wrote this like... 5 times? So it takes me a while, but i hope that waiting was worth it.

Also i saw you sent a second ask to see if i recieved this one, so ill put dammon and rolan there cause this is starting to get a bit long:3<3 thank you so much for your patience!:3

Taglist: @sessils @spacebarbarianweird

Headcanon: BG3 men with kind and patient s/o. (pt. 1)

Zevlor:

Zevlor is emotionally a wreck already, he considers kindness a virtue and it definitely makes him swoon when he notices you put extra care in making sure he's treated with kindness. At the end of the day, he basically got bullied on all fronts when all he really wants is to prove himself worthy of the title he carried for so long.

Zevlor has a short temper too, and he appreciates so much your effort and patience in dealing with his outbursts, whether they are of rage- not towards you of course- or of sadness, you offer always a shoulder for him and he cherishes it so much.

He is lowkey jealous when he notices that your kindness is not mostly exclusive to him, he has learned that people can abuse one's patience and care, and 1. he doesn't want you to get hurt, 2. he wishes your kindness was maybe reserved to him. Call him selfish, but after being deprived of it for so long, he is hesitant to let go of it.

Astarion:

Initially he would be very wary, in his experience being nice always lead to him getting hurt, so why would he trust someone who's default reply is kindness? At the end of the day the last time someone was '''''kind''''' to him, he was turned in a vampire spawn, so he takes it extra slow, he has just regained control over himself, he won't blindly accept kindness. He's lowkey afraid you are just part of a bigger scheme that will bite him in the ass and leave him shackled and caged again.

Once he gets accustomed to your kindness and finally accepts it, he revels in the kindness you offer and your patience, especially the smallest gestures like opening a door for him. He will literally melt for it, he's already smitten, your kindness leaves him like mush in your hands.

Nevetheless every good side, comes with a negative one. He is dead afraid your kindness will bring you to get hurt. He often reminds you to be weary and keep all your kindness for people you trust (HIM), rather than going around and helping every lost soul that asks for help. He will fight you on this a few times- especially if you do get hurt or it is obvious you are about to- he will not bite his tongue and keep it for himself, and that's one of the moments when he's glad you are patient.

You understand where it comes from and you try your best to find a solution that would make both happy. Your patience of course doesn't stop there, he knows he's an handful: he carries an heavy trauma baggage and he has a feisty personality, yet you always show him you don't mind, that you are there for him and that he can take all the time of the universe to sort his problems out.

Wyll:

Wyll would find it so endearing, how you are ready to go to someone's aid, you stop on your tracks to support someone in need, and he would love seeing you being kind to everyone. It's probably one of the reasons why he falls in love with you. Unlike Astarion he encourages you to be kind to everyone, cause he considers it a virtue, he incourages you to be the best version of yourself, and he reminds you that if you do get hurt, he will be there to pick up the pieces.

As far as patience goes, he's grateful to the moon and back, he knows he is an handful, especially if he doesn't break his pact with Mizora and has to leave more times than ever. He makes sure once he's back though that he makes up for lost time, whether it is with gifts or by taking care of you.

Haarlep:

Harleep is so used to Raphael that honestly he's taken aback at first, living in the hells means that kindness is hard to come by and around Raphael? It's either a trick or a miracle, so he brushes it off, not repelled like Astarion would, but definitely not eager like Wyll either.. he would be probably the one that takes it as it is, just.. that. But when he gets used to it? He becomes unsufferable. So unsufferable that he goes around demanding Raphael to be treated with kindness and patience! He purrs whenever you are nice even the smallest, thanking you and praising you like a goddess. He even tries to be nice himself- to you only- and despite it has to be and effort, since he has never been exposed to much kindness, he does become a little more mindful, even asking before taking your form or just with small acts of services.

One time Rapahel makes sure to send a message to you through him. "Tav, Raphael asked you stop being nice to me, cause if i demand it from him as well, he's going to turn me into fertilizer", message delivered with a pout that begs exactly the opposite.

Harleep is another that is deeply afraid of your kindness. Let's be real, you can defend yourself as much as you want, but people tend to use people and your kindness is one of those characteristics evil people would pry on- he knows well since its literally part of what he does, and a facet of what Raphael does as well. He probably scolds you a lot for this reason, he does it in a sweet way- don't get me wrong- he sugarcoats the shit out of it, but he will let you know when you are about to get in peril or you are too careless with your kindness.

Gale:

Gale is touched by your kindness, already from the first days after meeting him.

You had helped him out of his blotched portal, you fed him artifacts, you didn't question his secrets or push him to reveal anything, and he doesn't give that for granted. Once he's closer to you, and he learns that you are unconditionally kind to everyone, he's scared.

He starts warning you to be a little less nice, to use your judgement before you blindly trust a stranger, but he doesn't push it past a warning. As much as he wants to protect you, he doesn't want to take away your chance to grow from your errors.

In matter of your patience he's so grateful, he spends days thanking you when he's still afflicted with the orb condition, he cooks as a form of apology or thanks depending what he did, he gets baths started for you, he's treating you as a queen/ king. He alread would do it, but with you? He's even more protective, he almost feels like he has to match your kindness and patience with as much attentions he can muster.

Halsin:

Halsin is a fair man you think he wishes everyone was kind, but he actually wants you to be fair, he wants you to be mindful of who you give kindness to, he wants you to be a reasonable judge rather than unconditionally nice cause it is the way of the nature as well. Nature is not only nurturing and lush, it's also the poisonous vipers and herbs.

Does he appreciate when you are kind? Absolutely, he thinks it's the best gift Silvanus has ever bestowed him, but it doesn't take away the fact that he wants you to be treated kindly as well, so the moment someone crosses the line and starts abusing your kindness or becomes rude, he's definitely stepping in to s h a m e the other person. "You are lucky you have met Tav, cause they are kind, but nature wouldn't be so understanding and patient" He says it with a rage you rarely see in his eyes.

He will do his best to remind you to surely practice kindness but also to be mindful who you help and who you are kind to, cause there's always rotten that can harm you, and lowkey if you get hurt he will invite you to take back what you gave.

Despite this Halsin considers kindness the bare minimum a person should be, and what stops him from encouraging you to be kinder, its just the knowledge that you might get hurt.

[raiffeldrakon123]

DP X DC │ Short Story 1.2

This is the first half of a continuation of the previous short story, even though it takes place before that part. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As Danny cradled little Eleanor —Ellie— gently in his arms, the newborn slept soundly, unaware of the chaos that had just unfolded. He’d taken her into his arms after everything had been sorted out at the hospital regarding her custody —Technus had played a key role, ensuring the process went smoothly and keeping everything under wraps; The old ghost had insisted this was repayment for Danny saving him from being ‘ended’.

   Now, with Ellie nestled against him, Danny couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that gnawed at him. Jazz had given him a parenting book, and Technus had promised to keep the ghosts away from Amity Park for the week, claiming that the birth of a ‘ghost child’ was a momentous occasion —never mind the fact that Ellie wasn’t a ghost and Danny had no idea whether she’d inherited any of his powers. It was a small blessing, and he figured he should use the time to get a crash course in fatherhood.

   But after that, what then? The ghosts would return to attacking Amity Park, of that he was certain. But how would he keep the city safe while caring for Ellie? And school —he couldn’t exactly bring her with him. Jazz would help for a while, but he couldn’t expect her to sacrifice her time indefinitely, especially when he wanted her to focus on her own life as well —He couldn’t keep asking her to look after Ellie while he was at school or off fighting ghosts. He needed a solution, and fast. Either he’d have to figure out a way to stop the ghosts from attacking altogether or find someone who could look after Ellie for him.

— Hey, Danny, -Jazz’s voice called, pulling him from his thoughts. He turned to see her standing in the doorway, her eyes softening as she looked down at the bundle in his arms.- Is that her?

— Yeah, -Danny replied, his voice quieter than usual.- Want to see her?

   Jazz didn’t need to be asked twice. She quickly stepped toward him, and Danny shifted his arms slightly, just enough for her to get a better view. As she looked down at the tiny sleeping baby, Ellie frowned slightly, wriggling as though trying to snuggle closer to Danny’s chest.

— She’s so cute, -Jazz murmured, a smile tugging at her lips as she gently pulled the blanket aside to get a better look at Ellie.- Hard to believe she’s your daughter.

— Hey! -Danny chuckled quietly, but the tone was playful.- Watch it, Jazz. 

   He kept his voice low enough to avoid waking Ellie, though he couldn't help but grin at his sister's teasing. Jazz only smirked in return, unfazed. 

   She lingered for a moment, cooing at the baby with a warmth in her voice before reluctantly letting go of the blanket. As Danny brought Ellie closer to him, she settled back down, her frown disappearing into a peaceful sleep.

— I take it everything went well back in Gotham? -Jazz asked, and Danny nodded, looking more at ease.

— Yeah, Technus kept his word down to a T, -Danny replied.- The paperwork went smoothly, and he made sure no one would find out Stephanie’s her mom.

— I still don’t get why she wanted to keep that hidden, -Jazz said, her frown deepening.

— She probably just wanted to keep her safe, -Danny said, his tone serious.- With how unhinged the Joker and some of the other rogues of Gotham are, I wouldn’t put it past them to go after Ellie if they ever got their hands on Stephanie.

— Maybe, but something still doesn’t sit right with me, -Jazz replied, her voice laced with concern.- Anyway, have you told her you made it back to Amity safe? I know you still have her number on your phone.

— Not yet, -Danny said, bouncing his arms a little when Ellie started to fuss.- I’m waiting a bit longer—gotta make sure it fits with my cover story of getting Vlad to lend me his private jet.

— You could’ve told her you were a meta with portaling abilities, -Jazz said, a teasing glint in her eyes.- Wouldn’t have been that hard to keep up, right?

   Danny frowned, not sharing her amusement.

— And how would I explain it when no meta records come up when we registered Ellie at the hospital? -He replied, glancing down at his daughter.- Besides, even though I trust Stephanie a lot, I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to find out about my powers. It’s safer for her that way.

   Jazz gave him a skeptical look, but Danny didn’t meet her gaze. She didn’t push the matter further, but the doubt still lingered. Instead, she moved on to another issue.

— Sam and Tucker are downstairs, -Jazz said, watching as Danny’s head snapped up in surprise, his gaze sharp.- I managed to keep them occupied for now, but I think they suspect something’s going on.

   Danny’s frown deepened, and he sighed.

— I knew I’d have to tell them the truth about my weird behavior over the last eight months, -He admitted, rubbing a hand over his face.- But I didn’t think it’d be this soon.

   Jazz placed a hand on his shoulder, her expression sympathetic.

— Better to rip the band-aid off now than let it fester, -She said gently.

   Danny took a deep breath, his resolve firming up.

— I know, -He said, eyes hardening as he squared his shoulders.- You’re coming with me, right?

   Jazz gave him a soft smile and squeezed his shoulder lightly before removing her hand.

— Of course, -She said.- Did you really think I’d let you go through this alone?

— Never, -Danny said with a slight smile, his mood shifting slightly. He took a deep breath and headed for the door, his footsteps steady.- I guess it’s showtime, then.

[chlorinecake]

🎙️ star-crossed lovers 【 薄幸な恋人 】 ⛦

summ✩ry ⭑⭒⭑ As rehearsals and promotions for your big collab stage with Enhypen become progressively more intense, you and Niki face challenges that might effect your secret relationship and standing with the company...

p✩iring ⭑⭒⭑ idol!niki x popstar!reader PREVIOUSLY

cont✩ins ⭑⭒⭑ band au, fluff, secret romance, kissing + a slightly heated make-out scene, mild bullying, LOTS of drama, reader is younger than Niki, 3.6k words

It felt strange having your hair, makeup, and clothes managed by someone else, especially in such a meticulous way.

Today was the big day of the Riot Grrlz x Enhypen fan meeting that Hybe was hosting in honor of your upcoming collaboration stage, the event acting as some sort of promotional.

The fashion theme for the day, as decided by the likes of an online poll distributed by Enhypen's Instagram account, was 'Schoolgirl / Schoolboy,' which meant everyone would be dressed in plaid neck ties and neatly-ironed button-down blazers.

“This'll have to do,” murmured one of the makeup artist's on duty, simply dusting you with a bit of blush, some gloss, and shimmery eye shadow because they couldn't find a foundation shade that matched your skin color.

“I can't find my contact solution!” Serenity exclaimed frantically in the dressing studio, searching through her sparkly teal duffle bag for the fifth time this hour.

Of course none of you were willing to assist her on the aimless contact solution hunt, especially not with the way she verbally harassed the makeup crew for not "lining her eyes right."

“Just let it go, Ren,” Sunghoon said with an annoyed sigh, “the stylists are making all of us wear glasses for the concept today anyways...”

“Okay first of all, don't call me by my nickname. Second, it's not my vision I'm worried about, but my image,” she clarified matter-of-factly, “I wanna impress the Korean fans with a big and bright boba eye moment...”

“You have sooo many problems,” Jade added with a similar irritation, rolling her eyes at the diva before a hairstylist ran over to clip in another track of fake hair.

“Tell me about it,” Serenity huffed despairingly, sticking her arms out like a scarecrow as the fashion crew adjusted the belt around her waist.

“Let's just try and maintain a good mood before the meeting guys,” you started optimistically amongst the tension, “the fans might pick up on our bad energy if we all show up pouting like this...”

“Easy for you to say,” Niki replied teasingly, “you slept like a baby last night… meanwhile, you kept me up with your insistent snoring…”

“Did not,” you whined in protest, looking back at his attractively playful expression, “it’s not my fault that the stories you tell in your groggy bedtime voice are so relaxing.”

Niki meant to reply but was rudely interrupted by Serenity’s stinky attitude, “Aww, late night bonding moment, I see? Hope a little ‘story time’ was as far as it got for you two lovebirds...”

You and Niki shook your heads in unison at her senseless comment, the rest of Enhypen and your band mates soon rushing out of the dressing room and outside to the awaiting limousine as the schedule manager directed.

“Make sure you have everything you need, guys! We’re running a bit behind on time and can’t afford any more set-backs,” exclaimed a tall, broad man in athletic wear, a black Hybe hat topping off his look.

“Got it, sir,” Jungwon replied politely, double-checking his leather cross-body bag before stepping into the vehicle, the rest of you following after him.

You didn’t expect to see Miss Kim in the front seat with the chauffeur, but you greeted her nonetheless.

“Morning, Miss Kim!,” You and Hearin started enthusiastically.

“Morning, Riot Grrlz,” she returned while not looking at any of you, writing hasty yet neat notes down on her clipboard, “I’ll be bold and assume you ladies have never attended any sort of fan event, correct?”

“Y-yes, that is correct,” Jade answered before you, crossing her legs in her seat, “this’ll be our very first experience today…”

“Oh, that’s cool for you then, isn’t it? Don’t worry if you don’t know what to say or do, by the way... just copy us,” you heard Heeseung encourage somewhere behind you, but your mind was more focused on the way Niki’s hand accidentally brushed against yours while you two glared out of the same window...

Accidentally… maybe…

“I was just getting around to that, Heeseung,” Miss Kim continued after clearing her coffee-stained throat, “Korean fans as a whole are pretty cutthroat, and whether you’re a foreigner or not, they expect you to present yourself a certain way…”

“Perfect,” Sunoo thought out loud, “they expect you to be perfect…”

“That’s just the way this idol life goes, I'm afraid,” Jungwon sighed from his seat, not empathetically, but in a realistic sense.

“Either way, you girls should be safe to mirror whatever the boys are doing if you ever feel confused…” Miss Kim trailed off, the limo being just a few feet from reaching the fan meeting center, “Good luck today, you all.”

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

Things were turning out surprisingly smooth at the event, to say the least.

Needless to mention, you and Niki stayed pretty close the entire time, and the fans seemed to be amused by your attempt at famous duo heart poses with him.

“Just extend your hand like this,” he instructed while giggling, watching as your overhead heart ended up looking more like an oval to the audience.

Serenity was received as a fan favorite, too, her “boba eye” look captivating the male attendees while others were more entertained in her beginner Korean skills.

“Hwaiting,” she exclaimed confidently before the fans one too many times for your tolerance, Sunghoon’s face clearly showing just how much he was enjoying not being the cringiest person in the room for once.

Or, at least that was until an older fan requested that he and Sunoo sing and dance to the infamous aeygo Ottoke song for good luck at the show tomorrow.

“The things we do for engene,” the two boys collectively thought to themselves while fastening coquette bunny ears atop their heads, hoping that their enthusiasm would override the embarrassment.

It was all just such a culture shock for you and your group.

“Uhhh, a little help here?” Haerin worriedly called out to Jake as a particularly excited Korean fan approached her with a lot to say that she could barely understand.

“Oh- allow me,” Jake offered between the language barrier, translating to Haerin what the fan was trying to tell her.

“She thinks I’m a what now?”

“A K-pop Idol, mostly because of your trendy look today,” Jungwon giggled warmly, “the prophesied eighth member of Enhypen, in fact...”

Haerin laughed with both embarrassment and flattery, trying her best to explain to the young fan that she was a member of the Riot Grrlz and Riot Grrlz only.

Interactive activities continued just as well after this, the event nearing its end as you and Niki did a few TikTok dance challenges for the fans on stage.

Dance challenges that you had practiced with him in eery hours of the night, or whenever you two were left alone in the dance studio.

That, alongside other things too… like stealing sweet kisses here and there… or nearly melting while staring into each others love struck eyes—

“____, right?” A fan asked, approaching you with a blue marker and square of paper.

“Yes, that’s me. Nice to meet you,” you returned, keeping eye contact with her, despite the dark shades she wore.

“Nice to meet you, too! I have so many questions to ask you about what it’s like working with Enhypen!… and I really like your hair, too! The highlights look really nice with your outfit hehe… ALSO, I've been listening to a lot of your groups songs recently, and my favorite has to be the main track from your most recent album, it’s so unique!…” the fans voice eventually trailed off shyly.

“Oh my goodness, sorry for rambling!! Uhmmm, can I get your autograph by any chance?”

“Aww, thank you,” you smiled brightly, “and it’s okay! I find it cute how interested you are in my experience and music…”

Your hand reached out to grab the marker from her grasp, your body leaning forward slightly as you signed your name on the photo, resting your weight on the desk before you.

So lost in the moment, you didn’t even realize that the photo you had just signed was one of you and Niki hanging out just outside of Yeouido Park the other night.

It was impossible to hold back the gasp that escaped your throat at the realization, your finger loosing its grip around the marker as your stunned eyes met her knowing ones.

“Look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she chuckled in a facetiously sweet tone, you and her hands fighting over the now autographed-polaroid before your grip overthrew hers.

“Where did you get that—”

“Your secret’s safe with me, alright?” She interrupted with a sharp whisper, “So long as you work on distancing yourself from Niki moving forward…”

You blinked in feigned confusion at her words, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, we’re just colleagues—”

“And he’s an idol,” she cut in again, “idols don’t belong to silly American girls like you… you don’t even belong in our world…”

At this point, you're certain she could see how upset you were with her, and you didn't even care to hide it. “Everyone has welcomed me here, expect for you… and to what gain? I’m here with my band solely for work purposes, and I can assure you there is nothing you have to worry about concerning my professionalism.”

Your strong reply seemed to have rubbed her the wrong way, one of her hands fastening the bag over her shoulder while the other adjusted the glasses sitting at her nose.

“Thank you for your time,” she nearly growled at you, that same phony smile plastered to her lips before she hurriedly walked away, disappearing into the crowd of fans.

You let out a breath that you didn't even know you'd been holding, trying to calm yourself down before anyone noticed the silent commotion that had occurred on your side of the meeting booth.

All you could do was hope that this was the only copy or evidence of you and Niki hanging out that night as you folded the paper into a small square, tucking it under your sleeve in a way that no one would notice.

Above all though, you were just glad that the event was coming to an end soon, a few on-set staff members already helping to put away some stage props, meanwhile Sunoo, Heeseung, and Jade helped themselves to bringing along some gifts from fans.

“Hey... uhm, Heeseung? Can I-”

“Yes, Jade,” Heeseung answered with a giggle, “you can have all of my kitty plush gifts...”

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

The limo ride back to the HYBE building was quiet, the sole thought roaming in the back of your mind being that one fan's cruel words…

…𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶… 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥...

It wasn’t like you were trying to infiltrate the world of K-pop.

You and your group were simply expanding your collab horizons upon being invited, and it seriously boggled you how anyone would have a problem with that—

“Knock knock,” Niki said with a smile in his voice from behind the door to your private backstage dressing room, waiting for your cue that it was safe for him to come in.

“You can come in, Niki,” you replied softly, standing in front of the body length wall mirror while struggling to fix your hair into a suitable style for the stage practice in a few minutes.

“Hi,” you greeted again once he reached you, watching as his eyes traced your reflection, almost immediately picking up on your nervous demeanor.

“You did great today, ____, y’know that?” He started with a low voice, guiding your stressed hands away from your head and resting them at your sides.

“Niki, I have to get ready—”

“And you already look more than prepared,” he encouraged, securing his hands around your waist before leaving a kiss below your ear, “gorgeous, even...”

“Thanks,” you answered shyly, somehow already feeling a bit better about things now that he was near you.

“So. Are you gonna tell me what’s got you upset or are we gonna make this a guessing game?” He teased, making you chuckle a bit as his attempt to cheer you up.

Your eyes fell to the floor, his grip on you loosening as a little sigh escaped your freshly glossed lips.

“A fan…,” you began quietly, “at the meeting today… she asked me to sign this photo.”

Reaching into your bra, you pulled out the mysterious square photo and watched with a pout as Niki carefully unfolded it from each corner.

“I… I don’t understand…” he stuttered, eyes glazing over the sight of you and him holding hands at the firework show that night.

“I know, it’s my fault that—”

“No…,” he interrupted your words before meeting your guilt-ridden eyes, “I don’t understand why you’re letting this get to you…”

“Excuse me?” You asked with a confused expression, “if something like this gets out, it could ruin both of our careers, y’know?”

“Sure,” he responded nonchalantly with a shrug, “but I couldn’t care less about some jealous sasaeng’s creepy little photo fest… by now, it’s gonna take a lot more than an innocent, harmless photo of us hanging out to make me question our status in this field.”

“You never take anything seriously, Nishimura,” you smiled with a sigh, shaking your head as you watched his fingers tear the photo to pieces.

“Well you’re definitely an exception to that trait of mine,” he smirked, tucking the torn shreds of paper into his back pocket before finding your face in his hands, placing a tender kiss to your left cheek.

“How sweet of you to say,” you whispered softly, grabbing the neckline of his shirt and pulling him closer to your height, “now how about you kiss me properly this time?”

He hummed at your teasing tone, sharp features softening as he tilted his head, sealing the space between you and him with the sweet kiss you’d been waiting for.

“I’ll never get tired of this,” Niki sighed against your lips, his right hand removing the rubber band securing your ponytail so his fingers could roam freely through your curls.

Things were escalating pretty quickly now, both of your breaths sounding more labored with each second as you stumbled backwards onto the desk, his energy leading the kiss as he remained on top of you.

It was almost more than you could handle, his hands roaming at your sides before your eyes barely fluttered open, the sight of his slightly blushed button-nose making you feel like melting on the spot.

Thats when you realized his pink hue was a result of two reasons: (1) The way your hands shyly clung to his shoulders right now, and (2) the shadow of footsteps peeking behind your dressing room door.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Hello? Miss ____, its Kim... Are you decent?”

“Erm, one second!” You responded in an obvious frantic.

Niki helped you get up from the vanity table, kneeling down quickly to hide himself under the it as the stern lady made her way into the room anyway.

“Sorry to intrude,” she began abruptly, not even taking note of your currently disheveled hair and flushed expression, “but I’ve unfortunately been appointed as the bearer of bad news for today…”

“Oh... uhm, w- what is it, is everyone alright?” You asked with a concerned tone, trying to take your mind off the fact that a Niki stained with the glimmer of your peach flavored lipgloss all over his mouth was literally under your desk right now, a mere two feet away from Miss Kim’s leather boots.

“For the most part, yes… but it concerns one of your band mates… Serenity, specifically… Since you are the leader of your group, I found it humble to have at least this much respect to tell you first in private.”

You let out a breath, closing your eyes for a moment before opening them back up, restoring your usually confident aura and making eye contact with the woman.

“Thank you, Miss Kim… I’m listening…”

▶︎ ၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊| • • •

The sounds of shoes rhythmically scuffing, mics going in and out of focus, and layered fits of heavy breathing filled your ears for the next two hours.

Design tech, stage directors, and performers alike were giving it their all to perfect things before the big show coming up.

You paced around the shiny stage, a sweat rag secured lazily around your neck as you and the Enhypen members just got through with rehearsing the main choreo at the performing arena for the first time.

Everyone except Jay and Jade that is, who were still busy with working on their guitar duet for the intro show backstage with the music writers.

“I have no idea how you can still see after being in front of these bright stage lights all the time,” you huffed out tiredly, glancing at Sunoo who only shrugged while taking a few gulps from his grey water bottle.

“I’m not too sure either, but for the lot of us, it’s just something you have to get used to,” he tried warmly before letting himself fall on the ground, limbs spread out like an exhausted snowman as sweat trickled down his forehead.

“Here, lemme show you a little trick I like to use,” Niki offered with a smile while approaching you from behind, his larger frame casting a shadow before you.

“Look down there,” he started, guiding your waist with one hand as he pointed ahead of you with the other, “do you see the tech crew down there?”

You looked to where his finger was pointing, eyes being met with the sight of workers who sat in reclining chairs while others drank some coffee, a few sporadic employees carrying clipboards with stacks of paper, giving out orders to their fellow floor members.

“Yeah, I see them,” you answered, making Niki laugh slightly for reasons you didn’t fully understand.

“That means you’re too close then,” he replied, still holding your waist as he guided you to take a few steps back, which ended up being more steps for you given the leg length differences.

“There’s a rule of thumb that if you can see the audience, they can’t see you… are the lights still bothering you now?”

“Not as much, actually,” you said, turning to face him as he still held you close, everything in your body fighting not to kiss him in this moment given the way he looked back at you, “thanks again…”

“Anytime,” he smirked smuggly, “but uhhh, I think people might be looking at us now—”

“Oh,” you giggled shyly, backing a few inches away from him.

“Ahem,” a nagging voice cleared from beside you two, breaking the wholesome presence of the moment.

“Do you guys think you’re invisible or something?” Serenity asked, crossing her arms while staring the both of you up.

“Uhm…. No?” Niki answered for you, furrowing his eyes at the blue-eyed diva.

“Then why’re you just standing there? You’re blocking my light…”

You let out a scoff at her words, feeling baffled at the thought of how insecure girls like her could have such egotistical tendencies.

“Sorry, Serenity…,” you said half-heartedly, “didn’t mean to disturb your… solo mid-break practice session...”

“Really appreciate it, leader lady,” she replied sarcastically, very intentionally bumping into your shoulder as she walked past you before stopping in her tracks, a loose copy of the stage schedule getting caught under her baby pink sneakers.

She leaned down to pick it up, examining the text before her eyes stumbled over a line of bolded words. All of this was for reasons she didn’t understand, but either way, would soon resent.

“Ugh?!!” She exclaimed with a confused scoff, “HYBE is kicking me from the show??”

Your eyes widened at her words, the furious, confused, and torn look on her face doing nothing but make Niki smirk to himself, “Serenity, I can explain—”

“And you knew about this, didn’t you?” She accused with balled fists, looking between your nervous face and Niki’s shamelessly proud one.

“I just found out today, okay? But Miss Kim specifically instructed me not to say anything about until she revealed it to you herself after practice,” you clarified with a shaky voice.

“Please,” she said with a scoff, “And what’s with the face, Nishimura Nimrod? Huh!? Your little girlfriend told you before she told me, her own band mat—”

“I didnt tell him anything!” You retorted with a slightly raised voice, cracking with nerves you couldn't keep buried anymore.

You never liked being in the hot seat unless you were sitting there with Niki, thanks to his ability to always maintain his cool under pressure...

However, for some reason, even with him next to you right now, you still felt like hurling yourself to the ground.

“You had to have told me him something, so just stop with your insistent lies, ____,” Serenity spat, poking a finger in the center of your chest. Hard.

“You couldn’t wait to get rid of me, its been all over your rotten little face ever since we got here… You’re so jealous of me and it’s honestly depressing at this point…”

Oh Serenity, you thought in your mind, if only you knew this was all brought on by yourself…

You’d had enough of her ignorant speech, holding a fierce eye contact with her while trying to conceal the tears forming behind your eyes.

The sadness growing in your heart…

“None of this was my decision, Ren, so if you have a bone to pick with someone, try taking it up with Miss Kim herself,” you said firmly, walking back a few steps in case she tried touching you again, “I'm sure she'd be more than happy to inform you on her reasons for exiling you from the main activities…”

“What’s going on you guys?” Haerin asked timidly in the midst of the chaos, having just come back from washing up in the restroom.

Serenity practically burned holes in your face with her venomous glare before turning sharply on her heel, footsteps loud and startling as she marched off the stage, murmuring a string of curses under her breath.

“Soooo,” Sunghoon started with a curious accent, “I’m usually not the best at comprehending things, but I’m assuming that whatever just happened was a lot more serious than the usual Riot Grrlz drama, correct?”

“Yeah, what's the big deal ____?,” Jade asked alongside Jake, who gave your shoulder a comforting shake.

You fought with everything in your body to not to let any tears fall...

Because in this moment, it just felt right to cry, but at the same time, was it really worth appearing weak in front of everyone?

Everyone who counted on you to remain strong?

You exhaled with a deep breath, wiping the pricks of moisture from your eyes before speaking, “Serenity won’t be performing with us for the special stage anymore… only the ending song.”

A cacophony of gasps filled the room at your words, Jungwon having picked up the loose schedule copy to analyze it for himself, the bolded words reading:

>> SERENITY TAYLOR Authorized to be PULLED from Furthering Her Performance Activities in Sight of Behavioral Decency Violations Under HYBE's Collaboration and Code of Conduct Standards

“Will she be allowed to attend the award show at least,” Heeseung inquired, not out of empathy, but curiosity as all of this was unfolding pretty fast.

“Perhaps, but for now, we can rest on the thought that we’ll have one less problem while preparing from here on out,” you answered, feeling a large hand take your hand in theirs before giving it a gentle squeeze.

Niki.

“Either way, the show must go on you guys,” he said with a deep voice, the faintest smile being on his face as he looked back at you, dark eyes sparkling with sincerity.

The stage lights flickered from ahead and above you, a key indicator that the radio would be picking up again soon, playing the instrumental to your practice track.

“Mic check everyone and it’s back to rehearsals in five,” yelled out a staff member from below the stage, the ten of you now lining up in formation while adjusting your headsets around your ears.

There was only one thought that remained in your head as the choreographer hopped up center stage to explain how the performance would accommodate for Serenity's sudden absence:

The show must go on.

🎙️For my baby, @microwvdstrawb3rri3s 💕 This is episode 3 for ya ~ Thanks for being so patient with me :3

⛦ TAGS: @squoxle @nikisvanillaccola @yourmomscuntis2tighy @nikimeows @kimjiho1 @nikipedia07 @nishimuradaniel @ashgonedash @laurradoesloveu @caithefly @samhomo @rikikiynikilcykiki @3ngene--frvr @illymontyshit @filmofhybe @whoslug @nikiiitties

🎙️ Feel free to check out more fun reads on the pinned post at my home page ~

[whoredyceps]

"OH LOVER BOY!" || 28 Days of Love: A Valentine's Challenge + Series

day twenty: "stop distracting me."

ᰔ pairing: joel miller x reader

ᰔ summary: you try to work from home with a cold, but joel isn't having any of it.

ᰔ author's note: this series has been posted to ao3 and i update it daily :) if that's your preferred platform, you can find it here!

ᰔ content warning: modern!au, no outbreak, comfort

You groaned and laid your head on the desk as you shut your laptop. You were sure your brain had started to leak out of your ears at this point. If you looked at another order form, you were going to throw your laptop out of the window.

There was a knock on the door, slightly ajar from the last time you left your desk. When at home, you had an open door policy for your office. Joel and Sarah were always welcome to come in. The only exception was when the door was closed. If you were in a meeting or working on a deadline, you needed the quiet.

"Come in," you called out.

"You okay, darlin'? It's been a while since you came up for air." Joel closed the door behind him, though he left it ajar.

"I'm fine. I'm just up to my ears in order forms," you sighed. "They haven't looked at these since I came back, so I have a week's worth of orders to go through."

The side of Joel's mouth turned downward, his eyebrows knit together as he tried to think of a solution. He had been a firsthand witness to the last week you had.

You had come down with some sort of illness that left you in bed for the week. Joel was by your side as he nursed you back to health. Even now, he didn't think you were ready to go back to work, even if it was from the comfort of your own office. He had checked on you three times so far today. With each check in, you looked worse and worse.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I think you should get some rest." Joel laid the back of his hand against your forehead. He sucked in a breath of air; you were hot to the touch.

"If I don't finish these, they'll never get done," you argued. "After I finish this batch, I'll go lay down." You tried to sound more assertive, but you sounded exhausted more than anything else.

"I'll hold you to it," Joel warned. He meant it too. He leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead.

"Oh, I know," you hummed, a bit amused.

Joel left you to get back to work despite his gut telling him to get you to bed. He was often the one to pull you away from your work when you weren't feeling well. While you grumbled at first, you usually thanked him once settled in bed.

He held off for an hour before he was back with a bowl of soup.

"You made this for me?" You asked as you glanced up from your laptop. Joel nodded, the bowl and a glass of water set on your desk.

"I did. You shoulda seen the look on Sarah's face when I broke out the soup pot," Joel chuckled. You grabbed for the bowl and ate a few bites. You almost melted into your seat from the comfort it brought you.

"Thank you. I'm almost done with the batch, I promise." You were trying your hardest to power through, but the words were starting to blur together. That, and Joel's concern sat like a weight on your shoulders. Every word you typed felt like more of a draw to leave your desk and curl up in your husband's arms. Still, you had to power through. The work had to be done whether you wanted to do it or not.

"I know. Call for me if you need me." Joel squeezed your shoulder before he took his leave again. You didn't know it, but he was already preparing for when he inevitably had to pull you away. If you were left to your own devices, you'd stay at your desk and stay glued to it through the night.

You stuck to your laptop for a couple of hours before there was a knock at the door. You were on the last few forms of the second batch you had gone through.

"Joel, I'm almost done," you said without looking up. "Stop interrupting me."

"Not happening. Come on."

You moved your hands as Joel reached over to close your laptop. When you turned around, he frowned. Exhaustion and pain were written all over your face.

"Honey–"

"No, I don't wanna hear it," Joel stopped you, a tone of finality in his voice. You stood from your seat, and he wrapped an arm around your middle. He guided you out of your office and down the hallways of your home.

"It's just a few more forms," you argued. "It'll take me ten minutes." Despite your protests, you didn't fight back as Joel sat you on the bed. He lifted your shirt off of you, and replaced it with one of his own.

"You said that two hours ago. Will you just let me take care of you?" Joel raised an eyebrow as he handed you a set of pajama shorts. You sighed before you nodded and took the shorts.

"The soup helped," you told him as you changed.

"Good. I got some tea boiling that'll help. That one you bought at the market." Joel lifted your side of the blanket once you were in comfortable clothes. He tucked you in and kneeled beside the bed.

Once settled in bed, you felt your body finally give to the sickness you had been holding out on. The throbbing behind your eyes had returned, along with the ache all over your body.

"Can you at least bring me my laptop so I can work from bed?" You were met with two raised eyebrows and a hand on the hip.

"Now why am I going to tell you no?" Joel watched as you faltered against the bed, your grumbles muffled by your rustling under the sheets.

"How dare you care about my wellbeing?" You rolled over and buried your face in Joel's pillow. He rubbed your back before he left the side of the bed.

"I'm getting you the tea. If you get out of bed, I'll drag you back myself," he warned. He didn't wait for a response.

Joel went downstairs to pour you a mug full of tea and took a sleeve of saltine crackers with him. He braced himself to fight with you, or at least argue back and forth, about the work situation. He was quiet as he entered your bedroom.

"If you have a—"

Surprised, Joel shut himself when he saw you passed out in the bed. You held his pillow close as you snored softly. Just as he expected, you were asleep as soon as your body had the chance to rest.

He set the tea and crackers down before he turned off the bedside lamp. Once the room was dark and the curtains were closed, he left you to finally catch up on the rest you desperately needed. If anyone knew what you needed, it was Joel Miller.

[burningcheese-merchant]

A Thought About Shadow Milk Cookie

I actually meant to make this post months ago, but I sort of let it fall to the wayside for the sake of other things. Now Blue Gatorade Cookie is coming out tomorrow and I'm like "ahhh shit I'm late" lol. Consider this a sequel/accompanying piece to the Burning Spice Cookie post

Shadow Milk always gave me a bit of the impression of being a Victor Frankenstein type. If you haven't read the book (please do, it's fantastic), then this quote sums up both the character, the story, and my perception of Shadow Milk pretty well:

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow."

Knowledge is power. Knowledge is freedom. Equally so, perhaps even MORE so, knowledge is fun. It's fun to learn new things. And with all of this in mind, Shadow Milk did his best to pursue the knowledge he so championed, and share it with the world, whatever it was. You give a man a fish and he eats for a day; you teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. So Shadow Milk made it his mission to teach all men to fish. To teach them to read, to cook, to sew. To teach them magic, to teach them science, to teach them whatever filled the gap between. Perhaps he even went so far as to become a close associate of a certain academy, if not outright being its founder (Blueberry Yogurt Academy theorists, where you at lol). Anything to achieve the ultimate goal of inspiring others to learn and thrive as he does.

But as I said, knowledge is fun. There doesn't necessarily need to be a reason for it. Maybe Shadow Milk never actually needed one; even if there was no one left to teach, he could always teach himself, for he was always his own greatest student. And so whenever he had time, he read every book he could get his hands on. Practiced every spell. Sang every song, recited every poem, memorized every bit of meaningless trivia. Anything and everything to feed his endless hunger for more knowledge. Because it was... fun. It was freeing, to have those little burdens of doubt lifted from his shoulders, however inconsequential they actually were. And - however much he was able to admit it, to himself or to others - it made him feel powerful.

Until he started learning things no one else had before. That no one else could. That no one else should.

Maybe he learned how to peek into people's minds, and saw exactly how vapid, selfish, stupid and cruel so many of us really are beneath the façades we wear. Maybe he uncovered secrets that accidentally tore apart families, scandals that threw governments into chaos, acts of betrayal that may have started wars. Maybe one day, he learned the ultimate truth of the world; who and what cookies were really supposed to be, and what their makers really thought of them. (Not too far off from White Lily, really.)

In his desperation for solutions as well as some semblance of self-comfort, Shadow Milk just kept on learning. Kept searching for answers. Kept acquiring more and more knowledge. Because it was all he ever knew how to do. It was all he believed himself to be good for. But it was never enough. Not only did he never truly find the answers he sought - whether it be because they never existed in the first place, or because whatever he found only made him ask even more questions than before - but he just kept going down more and more rabbit holes. And he couldn't stop himself-

No. That's not true. Of course he could. He just didn't want to. Because knowledge is power, and deep down inside, he was always power-hungry. And besides that, he was just so curious. Morbid curiosity can be a terrible sin. Perhaps a small part of him, one he never wanted to give credence to, relished in being smarter than everyone else. And maybe that same part of him was also hubristic enough to believe he could learn whatever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to, just because he could.

Perhaps Shadow Milk tried to sound the alarm, so to speak. Share those great and terrible truths he uncovered with the world. But nobody listened, no matter how much they believed in and respected him otherwise. Because the truth is stranger than fiction, more often than not, and there's only so much strangeness people can tolerate. Knowing this - knowing how foolish people can really be, how quick they are to shun the truth to protect their own feelings - he looked for another answer, like he always does. Shadow Milk always had a fondness for theatrics; he wasn't just a scholar, he was a poet, a playwright, an artist. And thus, it was with these talents and loves of his that he tried to teach people what he knew. He wrote stageplays that became famous. Fantasy novels that became bestsellers. Poems and essays that were read aloud in classrooms. Everything he could throw at the wall with as much panache as possible. Because that's who he is, and that's what people are more likely to listen to. People like bread and circuses, so he gave them a whole bakery and performed every circus act himself.

But it was never enough. Those threads of truth he so carefully wove into the tapestries of his work; no one felt them. Those easter eggs he hid; no one found them. Nobody ever saw what he saw, whether he snuck it into the picture or plastered it right in the center. And so Shadow Milk came to realize that no one ever actually wanted to know the truth, no one ever actually wanted to learn anything, no one ever actually valued knowledge. All people cared about was what they could personally gain from it and nothing more. No higher purpose of any kind. Just what conveniences and inconveniences them.

And what's the point in helping people like that? How do you teach the unteachable?

Shadow Milk likely became bitter (or sour, because lol milk). Maybe he slowly began turning truths against people. Hoarding people's secrets and spilling them randomly, just out of spite (and discreetly, because he wasn't looking to be caught, and nobody was smart enough to catch him anyway). Making puppets and plays depicting people at their absolute worst, and watching them all smile and clap because they fell for it. They fell for his jokes. For his ruse. They didn't notice he was mocking them without a shred of irony or remorse. The only art Shadow Milk became interested in after he succumbed to despair was telling cruel jokes at others' expense and painting pictures for all the Dorian Grays of the world so they can keep lying and pretending they're good and that they're worth something. Because lies are all people really want to hear, right? Because it makes them feel better about their miserable lives?

I'm sure Shadow Milk tried to turn back, even if only once, for just a minute. He's smart, he's wise, he knew what the end of that road looked like. Maybe he sat up all night just arguing with himself about it. About the nature of his work. The meaning of the knowledge he acquired. The meaning of knowledge itself. What was he doing this for, really? What has he EVER done this for? Was it really for others, or for himself? What if he gained all the knowledge in the universe, then what? What would he do after that? What if he did manage to convince people, what then? What if they panic? Turn on each other? Turn on him? Were they really better off not knowing?

Was he just slowly talking himself through that door until it was closed and locked? Did he do so knowingly? Did he delay the inevitable for... for what? Did he even know that?

All the knowledge in the world didn't save Shadow Milk from falling to darkness, nor did it save anyone from the chaos he chose to wreak afterwards. Maybe knowledge never saved anyone from anything. What is knowledge, anyway? What is truth? What is deceit? The more you know, the more you realize you don't know anything at all. Maybe truth and deceit are one and the same. Maybe reality is only what you perceive it to be. Maybe life is a joke. Maybe people should just have fun. Lie all you want. Tell truths just to drive wedges and shatter hopes and dreams. It doesn't matter. It's all the same. There's no way out.

TL;DR: Knowledge is power, but power corrupts. Perhaps not all truths are worth knowing, after all. Be careful with what you learn, and what you know. And be careful not to believe yourself to be smart enough to dictate what truth and lies and knowledge are to others, for no one truly is. That kind of hubris will only lead to disaster.

(I'm sorry if some of this sounds weird or doesn't make full sense. I wanted to get my thoughts out before the update to see if it turns out that anything I say has official merit lol)

[theladybrownstarot]

Future Spouse first impression V/s Yours

❀ Here's my masterlist for more !

❀ Make sure you like/follow/Comment/reblogg for more pacs like these !

❀ This pac will be guiding you to how to manifest your connection with some channeld messages from them

Pile 1 . Pile 2. Pile 3.

𐙚 Pile 1 .

Namaste pile 1 ! Let's get with your reading :-

❀ Their first impression over you :

Okay , pile 1, from what I can see feel read and understand is that this person is gonna think of you someone as a hopeful person , even when you are in difficulty you will get instant solution . I guess when you will be meeting them you two or either one of you maybe going thru some problems and one of you will offer help .

They may see you as someone serious also . they feel that light and passion dripping from your eyes and melting their hearts to see as who you are . they will see you as someone brave , passionate , bold , honest , warrior or fighter , someone who stands out among everyone , someone who they can depend on wow pile 1 hands up to you ! this person is gonna study you like their favorited subjects .

They will see you as someone who doesn't give up and really you will be their type they had like to be passionate with . They think that you expect honesty from everyone and really they will do same for you ..they will show who are they like in actual to win your heart and they do see you as someone rational and smart and someone who is good at proving their logic.

It is possible that you may appear cold , defensive and bit egotist but its okay because for them you will matter most . this is gonna be an instant strong attraction for them .

❀ Your first impression of them :-

okay pile 1 are you ready for it ?! lets dive in buds, hmm so it maybe possible that you will actually feel like " finally I found you at last" when you will meet this person for sure . I can see you thinking about them as an achiever ; who got may accomplishment . this person is gonna astound you up for sure haha .

you will see them as someone is who is giving , loving , caring and who got people to support them . I can see you as if you will feel like he\she is my pure air to breathe under in forever . I feel this person is very good by heart and nature . you will think of them as someone calm , rich , luxurious by their nature , appearance and personality . they are an extrovert for sure , but ig u may even thin that this person may give a lot but in end may sometime get in trouble but I also feel that this person won't hold grudges because they don't care about people , they have best emotional and mental control babies and i guess you want someone like them . This will be a dream come true for sure for y'all .

𐙚❀˖° How to manifest with connection fast ?

you need to be expressive of your emotions and about yourself so you can transfer and spread your energy in this crowded world to signal them .

𐙚❀˖° Channeled Messages From Them :-

(1) just hang in there my love im coming so don't be sad I will save you up from the darkness .

(2) meet more people and find me darlo , I m around you haha .

(3) with you my life seems more prosperous and I will be blessed to u have you as my greatest gift .

𐙚 Pile 2 .

Namaste pile 2 ! Let's get with your reading :-

❀ Their first impression of You :-

so i see that this person will think of you as someone strong minded or we say overall strong in nature . someone who can take a stand alone for themselves in the worst situations , someone really positive during hard times. aah i see self made individuals an mature people .i see leo and sun astrologically by vision . they will see you someone who is really charming even when you are silent .

okay , it must be possible that when you will meet this person you will a some sort of breakup or breakdown out there . this person will want to hug and console you for sure . i don it just hit me maybe when you cry you look more beautiful . or it maybe at least case that they had a breakup when they met you .

They will see you someone very charming , transparent , innocent , clear minded, focused , beautiful for sure .

❀ Your first impression of them :-

Okay , i can see you seeing them haha someone of a dominant personality lmao . this person ur future wife/ husband basically will be of an obsessive of nature . you may see them as someone who may restrict or cross boundaries of someone else . they person will be strong minded for sure . they will be strategic . could be boss or into military or police service . they will be muscular .

since i you will see them who is clear headed to do achieve the aim . they aren't that dominant to but can be little bit more caring . its possible that this person is gonnaaa be lazyy uff ... and could be that isn't that adventurous or stuck somewhere in their life ..will be having some transition and will be kinda scared or confused to how to go through this transformation . maybe you can help them somewhere.

𐙚❀˖° How to manifest this connection fast ?

SO , u may meet them at some sort of celebration or something maybe a party . you need to maintain your ownself like be careful of what you do and think plus be yourself ! enjoy your life .

𐙚❀˖° Channeled Messages from Them :-

(1) You know i need some time ; i'm stuck try now .

(2) I will come to you when you will show you real self .

(3) I want to have a happy family with you . i wanna take care of you as a queen/king of my life and will be loyal to .

(4) I want some rest i'm tired mentally .

𐙚 Pile 3 .

Namaste pile 3 ! Let's get with your reading :-

❀ Their first impression over you :-

Okay , I sense that this person will think of you as someone who is doing alot of self love or we say someone who is interested in themselves.

They won't be shocked to see you at first instead I see them as being like I wanna be with her/him even If I have to let go of things .

I see that u maybe would have left toxic people behind in your life to know and establish your own self worth and this person will sense same .

They Will daydream about u and their scenarios in Mind haha ♡ cute ! They will see you as someone beautiful and maybe one part of ur body is chubby like 🧸 ♡ .

❀ Your first impression of them :-

Okay , it feels like that you may not notice them as you must be having some fights and mental conflicts and even when you will see this person you may see them as someone smart, observant and intelligent. Your Mind will be playing games with you tbh . You will feel shy infront of this person.

For some people OR few I see that u may see them as someone who is experienced and matured after prolong emotional breakage .like bad relationship experience and failures ect or vice - versa .

It might be possible that you will get people saying that no bro don't focus on that person,that person is mine kinda jealousy vibes tbh .

I see for most of the people that u will be meeting them during high-school time.

𐙚❀˖° How to manifest this connection fast ?

You are being told to cooperate with others . To ask help from others like your friends or colleague to recommend some choices and all . For least to go on a trip of some sort .

𐙚❀˖° Channeled Messages from them :-

(1) show ur strength but be In a flow .

(2) I'm so attracted to you that I wanna take you from everyone ,just to trap u and protect u in my heart .

(3) you are my most unexpected gift from divine and universe .

+:★:+*━━━*+:★:+*━━━*+:★:+*+:★:+*━━━*+:★:

©️ @theladybrownstarot 2023 all rights reserved. Any stealing or copying of work will be a punishable offence.

[delicatelycoldwombat]

Back in November I bought a framed crewel work embroidery from the mid 70's. It was gorgeous but badly nicotine stained and needing some TLC.

When I dismounted it I found it had stapled to a sort of domed foam board that was also pretty gnarly. It didn't disintegrate in my hands but it looked like it wanted to. Plus the back edges had been taped down with masking tape that was not doing great either. I couldn't get all of the adhesive off.

After some spot testing I washed it first with quilt wash(pure sodium lauryl sulfate) which got a lot of the nastiness and the smell out but it was still quite discolored.

So I took a risk and made an oxiclean paste and applied it on just the linen, doing my best not to get it on the wool. FYI, oxiclean will dissolve wool and silk so that was a risky move on my part. But...

Most of the stain came out!

There were two spots where the little grass Tufts had come undone but I had a nearly exact color match in my stash yarn so I replaced a total of 9 stitches.

I blocked, ironed and remounted it on an archival foam board. It's pinned on with sequin pins and then taped down with what I believe is a heat reversible tape. I wish I could have gotten a board with the domed board but I have no idea where to find that. Here it is, just sitting against the frame, waiting for new glazers points and a paper backing before I can hang it.

It's still a little discolored but so much better than before. I have no idea if my mounting is going to hold but time will tell.

Washing it in the SLS solution unfortunately did damage the wool thread a bit - or otherwise exposed existing damage. Some of it has gone fuzzy but you can't tell at viewing distance.