#oh the sweet relief of just having to design characters however the hell I want

[trashyreptilian]

And here I am with one reference sheet done! Only a FUCK-ton more to go haha,,,

Reblogs are appreciated! :3

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Biography (long read):

-General Info-

Full Name: Alfred Thorn Age: 18 Height: 6'0'' ft Gender: Male Sex: Male Species: Human Homeplace: Huntstrail, Michigan (US) Romantic/Sexual Orientation: Greyromantic asexual

-Other Info-

Personality?: Seemingly a nonchalant type of guy, just living his life and avoids attracting attention. Often feeling like he doesn't fit in with society or any kind of community. He's not much for showing strong emotions, not near random people at least. Typical for him to carry around an "I don't care" attitude and crack jokes during bad times, but it also serves as a means of protecting himself. Being well enough taught that showing his vulnerable side to the wrong people, can possibly be used back against him. The calm exterior hides an emotionally struggling artist, who's suffered through past childhood abuse from his own mother. Sometimes that pain rises to the surface, and accidentally shows up through unexpected mood swings or frustrated/defensive outbursts. However, Alfred knows how badly he manages his own negative emotions. This kind of heated temper shows up when heavily provoked or felt like he's backed into a corner. He may seem like a loner, yet in actuality, he's got a few close select people he cares about a lot. And depends on, more than he'd like to admit. But solely because of that, he shows a strong willingness to go far to protect them. Even if it means he might somehow risk his own life in the process. Seen in these instances, his more assertive and bold-self comes out.

Thinks Before Acting?: It's mixed with him, either does or doesn't depending on the situation. Typically, he'll try thinking over his actions and words. Especially when he can sense a bad outcome if he's not careful. Though, he's far from being the most calculated guy.

Positive Traits?: Mellow, modest, imaginative, soft-hearted, protective and audacious.

Negative Traits?: Reserved, insecure, confrontational, defensive, self-destructive and resentful.

Way Of Speaking?: Can talk in two languages, the main one is American English. Has knowledge in speaking Spanish, but it's kinda subpar. Remembers mostly from the lessons he had in school. On the odd occasion only uses it around his closest friend, Simon, who encourages him to improve. His voice is calm and soft, with no particular accent. At times, loves using a mocking or sarcastic tone. (Headcanon voice: https://youtu.be/2rHRztFGOm8?t=1)

Occupation?: Works as a stock clerk at a furniture store. Assists with unpacking delivered items, organizing the stockroom, inspecting inventory and so forth. Also, he takes overnight shifts when possible for extra cash. Of course, the entire job itself is for financial stability. Otherwise, he cares little about it. Had hoped to get into some kind of art career instead, possibly becoming a cartoonist. Sadly, he's never gotten such an opportunity as he grew up. Didn't help that he lacked complete confidence, and still does to this day. So it all remains but a little fantasy he thinks about.

Powers/Skills?: With Alfred being human, don't expect any overpowered abilities like how demons and angels have. However, in his very rare case, having a supernatural being, more precisely a simulacrum, for a parent did unexpectedly help him improve physically, and made him able to defend himself. At a younger age of sixteen, he was gifted his first weapon which was a pistol Glock 19. With help from his father, he trained in remote areas. Shooting useless items that were used as targets. Now, he's well-practiced enough in using it properly, discreetly carrying it when out at nighttime. Of course, not limited to just a pistol. He's also got a metal bat safely tucked away in his bedroom. But for as long as he's known, anything can be a weapon. In a fight, he'll manage some inventive ways to beat someone up. Not exactly a person with a strong-build, yet he makes up for it in endurance. Fairly fast when running, most likely to outrun anyone. The type of guy to pick his fights. Besides all that, survival skills. Learned a few tricks throughout all the times he's gone out camping, moderately skilled living in the wilderness. Particularly good at starting a fire. Maybe a little too good.

Hobbies?: Main hobby is drawing, pretty much remained so since he was a kid. His art style is very stylized, expressive and exaggerated. Taken inspiration from his favorite animated shows and movies. He'll usually use a regular sketchbook with a pencil and pen to draw. But he dabbles in other unique methods like graffiti, and pastel art. A more recent past time is using a camcorder. What he chooses to record is random. Can either be a quick recording of his father’s cat, or footage of activities and ramblings. For whatever reason, he just finds it relaxing. Not to mention, it's his way of better preserving memories besides taking photos. Something else he does to unwind is watching movies and TV series, or playing video games. His favorite genres are horror and thriller. On the lighter side, he loves all stuff that's animated, comedy and adventure fiction. Also, collects merchandise related to his favored media. Considers it a luxury, so he's not gung-ho about it. While these are things he typically does alone. Camping and exploring abandoned places, are done together with his dad. Since they can't hang out together in broad daylight, they always go out during the night. Their activities start regularly, but sometimes end in some sort of chaos when they get overboard. With property ending up mysteriously ruined. Just a not so subtle clue into what exactly happens on their trips.

Habits?: Often smokes and drinks. The first one is easier for him to keep controlled, the other one is an addiction. Possibly inherited from his mother's side of the family. He's aware of that, yet doesn't seem to grasp how poorly it could affect him in the future. Both substances are used when stressed or annoyed, but gravitates towards the alcohol mostly. An insomniac, his sleep schedule has been, and still is, irregular. Tends to be active out of nowhere during later hours, and taking overnight shifts doesn't help him. All coupled together, it's easy to imagine his self-care is kinda non-existent. Not to say he's lacking in it, it's out of sheer tiredness and apathy. Irritability is a rather serious tendency due to trauma, and a main fueling reason for the reliance on bad tendencies. It only worsens when experiencing a chain of obstacles, no matter if minor or severe. There's no clear pattern as he can seem fine in the moment, yet takes but one nudge to tip him off the edge. Resulting in sudden outbursts, causing to shut himself off from others.

Relationships? (Simplified): Alfred's dad has remained an integral part of his life. Who in fact, happens to be a simulacrum from Hell, named Him. It's been the only figure he's ever looked up to and known as family. Same demon was originally supposed to replace his actual biological father. In a rather malicious, literal sense. That never happened, as the target left his family behind during the early years of Alfred's childhood before anything transpired. Then living with an abusive mother got him in a worse vulnerable state. So getting attached to something inhuman, but caring, shouldn't be surprising. Their steady bond continued while no one else had a clue on any of it. Entering his young teenage years, Alfred was unphased about his own father figure not being exactly human, once Him revealed so. Despite the few times he had to see or hear it lashing out onto other members of its own species, he never seemed disturbed by its more violent actions. Him's raw wrathful nature is no secret, for sure. He looks past as it being over-protective since so far, he's only seen it attack out of defense for the both of them. Many times he has wished to be as reliable, strength-wise. Since Him's the only father, best friend, and role-model he's ever had, he holds it up in high regard. Alfred would go to Hell and back for it. But the relationship is far from perfect, both struggle a lot with communication. Opening up emotionally is hard especially. For Him, it's worse. As they say: like father, like son. They stay silent about their relationship, for safety's sake and to avoid unwanted attention. Nowadays, they live together in a little run-down apartment. Finally secure, in a place they can call home.

Interacting with a simulacrum for nearly his whole childhood didn't make Alfred the most extroverted person. After frequently having trouble socializing, he gave up trying to befriend people his age. At some point, he simply preferred hanging about on his own. However, one person managed to start a friendship with him, Simon Belrose. A new student that had joined the same high-school, and class, as Alfred. They were both young teens, around the same age, when they first met. His outgoing and amicable personality had Alfred spooked, he reasonably assumed that he'd be left alone by him. Having not much thought about the new guy, becoming friends with him was even less on his mind. Up until they both had an interaction, in which Simon had shown genuine interest in his art. While the compliments were validating for Alfred, he was wary of the other anyway. Took a bit to get acquainted properly. Over the years, they've grown a lot closer as friends. But Alfred still remains secretive on a lot of stuff happening in his personal life. Usually for understandable reasons, yet Simon would appreciate it if they were more open with one another. Nonetheless, they get along pretty great. Both admire certain qualities the other has, that of which they don't themselves. They enjoy pissing each other off until someone breaks first. Random screaming matches over absolutely nothing happen frequently. And their silly scuffles always get hectic.

Moving back onto otherworldly beings. Due to Alfred's long bond with a simulacrum, a certain figure grew interested in finding out more about the two. One way or the other. After a major event, involved with a rather unpleasant (putting it lightly) "person". A series of unusual circumstances followed suit for Alfred. Which all led to meeting a theraangel, called Xanthan. When their first proper interaction happened, there was nerve-wracking tension. He wasn't sure what to make of them, or what the angel's true intentions were. Heavy convincing was needed to earn Alfred's trust. To his own surprise, a mutual respect developed as they bonded over certain grievances each had. Later on a different date, Xanthan becomes his guardian angel. Part of a deal made with his father, Him. Solely due to this guardianship, they find more things in common. Eventually gaining a deeper understanding of each other. Their shared connection with art helps them be more open and start an eventual friendship. Alfred slowly views them as a sort of mentor. Maybe even as another father figure. Seeing how he appreciated Xanthan's longer living experience, once he felt comfortable he'd seek out advice from Xan alone on the rare occasion. Very few people manage to break down all the high sturdy walls that angel puts up, Alfred managed to be one of those people. He proved to be pretty insistent in making that guy a close part of his life.

Speaking of enemies, there's no one in particular who really fits in with this definition for Alfred. Besides perhaps some bitter students from his high-school that he got into fights with, or his mother and sister he has distanced himself away from. Still none of them fit such a defining strong label as "enemy". As he just wants to forget about these people entirely. Yet, that doesn't mean he won't make adversaries in the future.

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General rules for all of my FCs and OCs:

-While I'm fine with getting inspired by my work, please do not just steal the designs. -I am uncomfortable with my characters being unknowingly shipped with other people's characters. -Fanart is all well, great and welcomed! As long as it isn't sexual. I'm fine with gore but please, keep my characters away from your own sexual material.

[dameronology]

to make a house a home {agent whiskey}

summary: just a soft weekend away in kentucky w/ our fave cowboy {for @zazzysseoul - thank u so much for ur support and i hope you enjoy!}

warnings: i think one or two swear words? but nothing else!

enjoy,

- jazz

Jack Daniels was good at reading people.

It was part of his job. He had to be observant, had to have a working understanding of body language and non-verbal signals. He was especially diligent about it when it came to you; it wasn’t a purposeful thing, but rather an instinct to keep an eye on the person he loved most in the world. He could read you like a book and some days, it felt like he knew you better than you knew yourself, and maybe he did. There was really no telling with Jack. Every time you finally thought you had experienced every little quirk and trait he had to offer, he managed to pull something out the bag. Whether it was his ability to predict a bad mood before it happened or the way he remembered every tiny little detail of a conversation, he was constantly proving himself to be one hell of a partner.

It was no surprise; Jack thought you deserved the best and so, that’s what he tried to give you. He didn’t often let people into his life, especially not after so much loss, but from the moment you’d met, he knew he could trust you. He’d always been a brilliant judge of character and he’d been completely right about you. You’d turned his entire world upside down; taught him how to love again and reminded him that the things he’d lost could be found again, just with a little care and patience. The empty house he used to come to was filled with love and laughter and little marks of you and him; photos from your various trips, magnets on the fridge, that he brought home from all the countries his job took him to, the little notes you left on his nightstand when you had to slip out for work before he rose. The first time Jack had come through the front door and almost tripped over your shoes, he’d cried - not out of anger or shock, but at the realisation that he was no longer alone. 

Jack had the innate desire to look after you. He knew you could handle yourself but that didn’t mean that you had to. You’d been there for him in every sense of the world, and he wanted to do the same, to make sure that you felt appreciated every second of every day. In his mind, if you ever questioned his love or loyalty, then he wasn’t doing his job right. That desire translated into little things, rather than grand displays of affection; he’d do your laundry when you worked late, sent you sweet texts through out the day and brought you flowers just because. It wasn’t uncommon to find that Jack had filled up your car with gas without asking, or to come home to your favourite take out. 

His biggest way, however, was in how well he knew you. Every slight change in demeanour and every variation in the tone of your voice was caught by him; he knew when you were okay, and he knew when you weren’t. He could tell when you were half-way between, and he’d do his best to bring you back to the lighter side. You take comfort in the fact he always had your back, no ifs or buts. 

When Jack woke up early one morning to find your side of the bed empty, he immediately knew that was something was up; the second his palm reached out for you, only to be met with a fistful of cold sheets, he knew. You never got out of bed early. There could have been an atomic war happening outside and you still would have refused to move, insisting on five more minutes before nuclear winter hit. The bathroom light was off and there wasn’t anything you could have found in the kitchen. After all, you’d only arrived at the ranch a few hours earlier. You were both tired from a few long weeks at work and escaping the suffocating fog of the city for the rolling hills and fresh air of Kentucky felt like heaven. 

Jack sat up, pausing for a moment. There was a gentle creek coming from somewhere; it was steady and rhythmic, ringing from the porch. His shoulder slumped wit relief - you were outside on the porch swing. At 6AM on a cold, winter’s morning. The relief was shorting lived. 

Pulling on his robe, Jack rubbed his eyes and headed out towards the porch. Sure enough, you were the first thing he saw, shoulders covered by the plaid shirt he’d worn the previous day and fluffy socks gently brushing against the floor with the movement of the swing. The light above you illuminated you in a soft smoulder, a golden glow cast over you, illuminating your tired eyes and disheveled hair. He would have lectured you about the cold, had you not had a knitted blanket around you. 

‘Bit early for you, ain’t it?’ Jack leant against the door frame, gently smiling when your eyes met. 

‘What’s early when you haven’t slept yet?’ You aimlessly joked. 

Lifting up the blanket, you silently gestured for him to come and sit next to you. Jack obliged, dropping down beside you and winding a large arm around your shoulder. He pulled you into his chest, placing a kiss on your temple. His warm body was a welcome feeling against the cold of the January air. 

‘What’s keeping you up?’ He softly coaxed. 

‘I don’t know, to be honest.’ You replied. ‘It’s just been a long week.’

‘I get that.’ His voice was slightly murmured. He pulled you even closer, chin resting on your head. ‘But we’re here now, sugar. I think we both need the down time.’

‘Definitely.’ You said. ‘Plus, the view isn’t so bad.’

The ranch overlooked a large field filled with cows and horses; it stretched out for miles, fading away into the distance into a seemingly endless close. The edges of the green pasture were tinged with the pink of a tonic sun rise, pushing away the dark of the night sky. It wasn’t often that you got to watch the sun come up, and it felt a little refreshing to see a new day come. It was fresh; a clean slate, young and naive, but full of possibility. An ironic thought, given that you and Jack were probably going to lay on the sofa the whole day and order take out. 

‘You’re right.’ He murmured from beside you.

‘Are you doing that thing where you look at me when I’m talking about a nice view?’ You peered up at him, thinning your eyes. 

‘You said it was romantic!’

‘The first five times, Jack!’ You chuckled, leaning up to press a kiss to his jaw.

‘Nothing is sacred anymore.’

You settled back against his chest with a smile. ‘I like it here.’

‘Me too.’ He agreed. ‘It’s nice to get away from the Apple. Everything over there if faster than a knife fight in a damn phone booth.’

‘And it doesn’t smell of pizza and...pee.’

You loved New York dearly; it had been your home for many years, and it was also where you’d met Jack. But, whether it was your permanent home, you didn’t know. There were some days when it all got so much. The city never quietened down and you could never quite escape it, even in the comfort of your own apartment. Out here, you were worlds away from that. Crickets were gently purring in the distance, and the only other sound came from the rustling of the animals in the field across the road. It was peaceful. Serene. 

‘What if we moved out here when I’m done at the Statesman?’ Jack posed, almost as though he were shy about broaching the subject. ‘We could get a couple horses. Maybe a dog. Heck, if you want a zoo, I’ll get you a zoo.’

‘I’d like that.’ You smiled. ‘I mean living here, not the zoo thing - but a dog and horses sounds nice.’

‘Then a dog and horses we shall get.’ He grinned. ‘Oh! I can teach you to ride.’

‘Or I could just watch you do it.’

‘There’s not a single person in this here town who can’t ride a horse.’ Jack said. ‘Unless a pony would be better.’

‘Why not both? We have enough room.’ You reminded him. ‘Maybe we can re-tile the kitchen too. It’s not that I don’t like the green, it’s just it’s...’

‘...dreadful?’

‘That’s a nice way of putting it.’

Because you didn’t live on the ranch full time, neither of you had put too much effort into making it homely. It was liveable, by all means, but the television in the living room dated back to the first Bush administration and the kitchen was a little too lime for your liking. The place had come furnished by the old owners, which had been a big selling point for Jack. He just wanted somewhere he could live whilst he was in Kentucky and this place had been practical. It wasn’t until you and your eye for interior design came along that he realised how retro it was. 

‘There’s a hardware store down the road.’ Jack said. ‘We can get a couple hours sleep and head down there later to see what they got.’

‘Maybe we can find something less green.’ 

‘I sure fucking hope so.’

---

The next morning, you and Jack bundled up into some warmer clothes and piled into the Bronco, heading for the store downtown. The actual city was miles out, but there lots of little local and independent places. There were little cafes and restaurants, as well as farmers’ markets and fresh produce. You had thought about living here permanently before, but you hadn’t verbalised it until Jack had suggested it first. Given everything that had happened in the past, you’d wanted to do things at his pace, but so far, you’d been perfectly in tune with one another. That was a testament to your relationship as a whole. 

‘I just smiled at that woman and she smiled back.’ You muttered to Jack, peering up at the store as you headed through the parking lot. 

‘And?’

‘I once smiled at a stranger on the Subway and they told me to piss off.’ 

Jack chuckled, reaching out to wind his arm around yours. He tangled your fingers together, pulling you flush against his side. It was easier to show physical displays of affection here too. He was always a little paranoid in the city, given how busy it was and how easy it would have been to for an enemy to hide. That was another thing Jack did without thinking; taking tiny little precautions to protect you. He couldn’t even begin to think about losing you. And the thought never popped up here. Never. Only in the city, where everything was loud and overwhelming.

The store itself was pretty big - it was good for you, but confusing for Jack. You had Pinterest boards with inspiration for all your hypothetical future houses, whilst Jack couldn’t the difference between ivory and sand. So, true to character, he let you tighten your grip on his arm and drag him towards the kitchen section, eyes wide like a kid in a candy store. You had a green blank canvas to go wild on, because probably would have agreed to anything. It wasn’t that he was a walk-over, or because he was lazy, he was just genuinely terrible at interior design. Introducing him to build mode on the Sims 4 had been traumatic enough. 

You didn’t have to decide anything immediately - after all, he’d said he wanted to move out here after he was done at Statesman. That was just as likely weeks as it was years. He did complain about his job giving him a bad back but you also knew that he enjoyed it. It was all he’d known for such a long time, and he’d worked hard to get to the top. Unbeknownst to you, he’d drop it all in a second if you wanted to relocate now. Even if he had the best job in the world and all the money he could ever want, the only thing Jack really needed was you.

‘Where do we even start?’ He asked, brown eyes staring confusedly at some paint samples. 

‘We start with the most important rooms - living room, kitchen, bedroom.’ You replied. ‘I’m thinking something midcentury for downstairs. What d’you think?’

‘Midwhatnow?’ His brows furrowed. 

You laughed. ‘Midcentury. So think...Bauhaus. Mid 60s sort of thing.’

‘Right.’ Jack nodded, getting a clearer idea. ‘How about you just to point to things and I’ll either shake my head or nod?’

Yeah, that sounded like a better idea.

And so, you began your trek around the store. Your Pinterest boards came in handy, especially for the kitchen - even Jack was grateful for them, because it meant you moved a little quicker. He did die inside a little when you grabbed a huge trolley and began piling it up with kitchen tiles, counters and cabinet doors, and even more so when you casually asked ‘you’re good at DIY, right?’

He didn’t complain though, not once. The sight of you rushing around the store, face lighting up at lamp shades and paint samples, was one of the best things he’d ever seen. Not only because it was hilarious, but also because it was the first time you really planned for your future. There was sort of an unspoken agreement that this was it, and that you were both in it for the long run, but neither of you had made any verbal plans together. You’d moved in together back in the city, but that had happened naturally. You’d started staying over and over more and more to sleep in his fancy Statesman bed and use his heavenly marble bathtub, and you came over one weekend and just never left. 

After a few hours, Jack finally had to put a stop to your antics. 

‘Okay, darlin’, I think we’ve reached the threshold now.’ He called. ‘We don’t need a new lighting fixture for the downstairs bathroom.’

You huffed. ‘Placing it back on the shelf.’

‘Fine.’

‘We’re gonna have a hard time getting in this car as it is.’ He held his arm out to you, signalling for you to come back to him. 

‘I’ll have to come back for the upstairs then.’ You muttered. 

‘We’ve gone from painting the kitchen to gutting the whole damn ranch, baby.’ Jack replied. ‘We’re only here for two more days anyways.’

‘Damn. I forgot about that.’ Your eyes widened. ‘I guess we better start today, then.’

--

This was supposed to be a relaxing weekend. 

Relaxing! 

And yet somehow, Jack Daniels was stood in the middle of his now half-demolished kitchen, a sledge hammer in one hand and a glass of his namesake whiskey in the other. He couldn’t deny that it had been fun to rip out the cabinets and tear off the tiles. He’d despised the colour of the kitchen for so long that it felt good to finally get rid of them, even if it meant that the tedious process of putting on the new ones came immediately after. You’d gone for simple black and white ones, with some mosaic ones for a...what had you called it? A feature wall or something. Apparently it added character (something he took your word for). 

‘So what’s the paint for?’ Jack frowned, taking a brush as you handed it to him. 

‘For the living room.’ You grabbed him by the shirt, dragging him out the kitchen.

‘But the kitchen isn’t done-’

‘- I’m bored of the kitchen.’ You said. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’

‘Course not, angel.’ He pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

After grappling with covering the furniture up, you and Jack began to paint. It wasn’t too hard of a process; he just sort of whacked it on, whilst you had a much more meticulous process. So what if he got a splash of grey on the light switch? Actually, on second second thought, he should probably wipe that off.

Besides, it only took him five minutes to get sidetracked. The sight of you stood across the room, his red and black plaid shirt hanging from your shoulders, face screwed up with concentration and paint on your nose, was a distraction in itself. It was the sort of moment he wanted to get on a Polaroid, but equally, one that he wanted to savour. He always entranced by you, but sometimes that amplified. You weren’t even doing anything special - just...existing. But that was enough to capture his attention in its entirety. 

He didn’t tear his eyes away from you - not until something cold hit him in the face, and a splatter of grey paint nearly hit his eye. The noise of your laughter pulled him back to reality, practically losing it as you doubled over, holding onto the fire place for support. You were lucky that it was his favourite sound but heck, you coulda dumped the whole bucket of paint on him and he wouldn’t have flinched. 

‘That was rude.’ Jack folded his arms across his chest. ‘I’m gonna get you for that.’

‘No, you won’t.’

You dropped your paintbrush, suddenly leaping over the couch and sprinting out into the hallway. Trying to outrun a highly-trained government agent (a fact you sometimes forgot) might have not been your brightest idea, but you still managed to breeze past him and skid into the kitchen, almost tripping over a strewn tile as you did. 

Jack was hot on your heels, arms reaching out to grab as you circled back into the living room. He managed to snatch you by the waist, pulling you down onto the sheet-covered couch - he was nice enough to use his own body to break the landing at least. You landed on his chest with a thud, still in a fit of giggles as he grabbed your face and planted kisses all over it. His lips were soft and warm, tasting of whiskey when they finally met yours. You tangled your hand through his hair in an attempt to bring him close, as though it were even possible. 

You broke the kiss, rolling off of Jack and onto the sofa next to him, nuzzling into his side. The paint you’d managed to get on him was on you now as well, smeared down the side of your face and a little onto his shirt that you were wearing. Not that it bothered him all that much, because the sight of you in any of his clothes was worth a little bit of paint. You had a sort of rotation, where you would steal various garments and wear them until they lost his smell, before dumping them in the laundry and swiping some more. They were always baggy, scented with his aftershave and the faint smell of the leather from his car. When he was away on missions, it was the nearest thing you could get to one of his warm hugs.

‘Darling, d’you think, just maybe, that we should just pay someone to do all this?’ Jack gently suggested. ‘I can have a guy from the agency come in and be done in like three days.’

‘Three days? For the whole house?’ You peered up at him with a frown. 

‘Their speciality is rebuilding places after we accidentally blow them up so this will be like a walk in the park.’ He explained. ‘Although, the kitchen isn’t far off. the place is lookin’ as messy as the farmers’ market after sundown.’

‘And Champ won’t mind you abusing Statesman resources like that?’ You teased.

‘The man is so rich that he buys a new boat when the other gets wet.’ Jack reminded you. ‘He ain’t gonna notice.’

‘You have a point.’ You nodded. 

‘Besides, they’re better at decorating-’

‘- interior design.’ You cut him off. ‘It’s a house, not a Christmas cookie.’

Jack dropped his head against yours, letting out a groan. ‘You know what I mean.’

‘I know.’ You leant up to press another soft kiss to his lips. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too, angel.’ 

Even though it was still a little far off, the glimpse that this weekend had given you into your future meant everything to him. He’d brought the ranch as a place to crash on business stays, and now you were helping to turn it into a home. At one point, he hadn’t imagine having a life to look ahead to or a house to decorate or somebody to love. Even though they were small, everyday things, you’d brought so much into his life, and he was never going to let you forget it. 

[buckyownsmylife]

Lay it all on me - John Winchester smut

The one where a witch leaves John parched, but the only thing that can quench his thirst is you.

Warnings: this is noncon for both participants. John is under the effects of a curse, and the reader just can’t physically resist him. Oral sex (f), curse words.

A/N: seriously, don’t read this if it’s not your thing. This is my first full-on noncon and I’m feeling kinda iffy about it. The prompts for day 20 of kinktober were sex pollen and “your pussy tastes so sweet”, but I obviously changed the sex pollen idea for a sex curse, to fit the character better. Also, I had a panic attack today, for the first time in a while, so I’m barely even sure of how I managed to finish this. I’m really excited about reaching day 20 of kinktober, but it’s truly getting harder and harder for me to get through this month. I honestly can’t wait to go back to writing whatever the hell I feel like + the requests I have for vampire Cavill and Tom Hardy and his PA.

The sound of a door being slammed shut startled me, making me drop the t-shirt I was currently folding. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be back so soon to the bunker, so my nervous reaction made sense. Specially considering what the Winchesters went out to do - or better yet, to kill.

“Hello?” I called out to the seemingly empty hallway, hoping one of the boys would answer back and prove my anxiety unnecessary. “Sam? Dean?” I hesitated for a bit, waiting for some sort of response before giving one last try. “John?”

Instead of a sound of acknowledgement, someone appeared by my door, with their large shoulders taking up the space under the doorframe, making it clear that I had no way to leave the room, if I wanted to do so.

“John,” I breathed out, this time in affirmation and relief. He’d always had this aura of authority that both comforted and frightened me, but this time, I was only soothed by seeing him. “It’s you. Where are the boys?”

Instead of answering, he took a step inside my room, for the first time since I’d come to live here, entering the bedroom that had been designated as mine. And that was when I noticed. His eyes. Instead of the usual chocolate brown, his irises were purple.

“Fuck, what happened to you?” I ran up to him, forgetting all about the laundry I planned to put away at first. Cradling his face with my hands, I motioned for him to look me directly in the eyes, but it didn’t even seem necessary. He was looking straight at me.

“I’m parched,” he offered out of nowhere, making me blink rapidly as it took me some time to understand what he was saying. Even when I was able to process the words, it still didn’t make any sense to me, considering the situation, but I just decided to go along with it, releasing his face to hold one of his wrists.

“Then let’s get you a glass of water. Come on.” But he didn’t budge. Instead, his hand wrapped around my wrist, changing our position and making me raise my eyebrows at him. What the fuck was going on?

“No.” He said it with such a finality that a shiver ran up my spine, but maybe it was the way he was looking at me, with dark, dangerous eyes. He looked downright predatory, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was his meal. “You smell so good. I want you.” That sent my heartbeat in a running pace. Just what did he mean, exactly?

Before I could ask, however, my phone rang, luckily still on my jeans pocket, as it didn’t seem like John was about to release me any time soon. “Hello?” I asked, immediately hearing the frantic sounds of what seemed like Dean and Sam running around.

“Y/N? Oh, good. Listen, we ran into a bloody witch, she seemed to have put a curse on dad, but it took us too long to figure it out and now he’s gone, we don’t…”

“He’s here,” I interrupted him, once again looking at John’s purple eyes that stared back at me with a curious sense of wonder. That seemed to surprise Dean, because he suddenly stopped talking and I could no longer hear any signs of him doing anything else, either.

“What?” He inquired, and I shivered at the sheer panic I could hear in that simple word.

“He’s here,” I repeated, talking slowly as I watched John much like a prey would face their captor during their last seconds of living. My breath was now coming out in puffs, my heart threatening to come out of my chest through my throat and still, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

“Y/N, listen to me! He’ll need to…” I’ll never know what Dean’s next words were, but I was about to find out just what John was in need of. Because he took my phone from my hands and ended the call, before stepping even closer to me, invading my personal space.

Before I could even open my mouth to ask what he wanted, he had picked me up with two strong hands under my thighs, before unceremoniously dropping me on my mattress. “John…” I tried to call his attention, but he was too far gone. He pulled me by my ankle until my legs were hanging off the bed, and then his hands went to the button of my jeans, and every nerve on my body stood in attention.

“John,” I tried again, thrashing around in an effort to push him away, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Instead, he was able to take off both my pants and underwear in one go, leaving my lower half bare to him, and I immediately tried to cross my legs and hide from his gaze, but he was quicker. His huge hands pressed on my inner thighs, he caressed them like we were actually in a loving moment, instead of whatever the hell this was. 

“Thirsty,” was all he said, looking at my cunt like he was hypnotized, and all at once, I realized what he was about to do, just when he dove to lick a broad stripe of my wetness. “Ngh…” He grunted against me, truly lapping my pussy like a man who hadn’t had a taste of water in years, and I was some sort of drinking fountain.

My legs were trembling as my hands fisted his hair in an effort to pry him away from me, but all it did was make him hold my thighs more firmly, making me cry out from the pain. I’d be left with bruises in the shape of his fingers when this was done, there was no doubt about it.

I tried calling his name again, but by now it came out more like a moan than anything else. It was impossible to know if he could hear me, considering how far out he was - he hadn’t even raised his head to catch his breath, too preoccupied with making sure he had licked every drop of my juices that were available to him. And at each swipe of his tongue, more was produced to his waiting mouth, much to my frustration.

Biting my fist in order to suppress my moans, my head swirled as he brought me closer and closer to the edge, until he buried two fingers in my hole and tried to pry more of my wetness out, accidentally brushing against my sweet spot.

I came with a desperate cry, suddenly filled with conflicting feelings of satiation and embarrassment, guilt and relaxation, and while my muscles released their tension, expecting this to be over now, John gave a happy cry against my pussy, making me tremble from the overstimulation.

“Sweet,” he growled, completely out of it. “Your pussy tastes so sweet.” I felt him prying my lower lips open with his thumbs before he buried himself in my cunt again, his greedy tongue bringing tears to my eyes from the pain of being pleasured without any sort of break. I came again without any effort whatsoever, and still, John didn’t show any signs of slowing down. “More,” he ordered, and somehow, despite my protests, more of my cum oozed out of me, right onto his waiting tongue. “More,” he insisted, and all it took was that single word for my body to produce even more of my arousal to him.

It still didn’t seem like it would ever be enough, if the eagerness with which he ate me out said something. I could only pary that the boys arrived soon to save me and my abused pussy from their father’s insatiable tongue and rough beard.

[claymorecut]

BABYSITTING A 26 YEAR OLD WOMAN IS NOT THE MAIN CHARACTER’S JOB!

A GINTSU FANFICTION

CHAPTER 1

The life of a main character is never an easy one. So much they have to look at, so many they need to motivate and inspire, their goals, aspirations and responsibilities- it’s like their job can never end, even if the series does.

However, the same cannot be said for our rather unmotivated MC here.

It was a pleasant morning and once again in the Sakata household, our main character seems to have been doing the same as always.

With his legs propped up on the desk and a JUMP in his left hand, Sakata Gintoki gulped down the last of his favorite strawberry milk from the carton as his eyes scanned the contents of his precious JUMP magazine. With Kagura travelling around the universe with her baldy father and Shinpachi handling the dojo, he found himself alone at home as he enjoyed his day off. It may come as a surprise but apparently, for the last two weeks, our lazy and nonchalant MC has been constantly handling all the work alone at the Yorozuya without catching a single break. And as much as he appreciated the payment from his clients, he really missed slacking off like this. There was no work today and finally in a few hours, he can visit the pachinko parlor and drink sake to his heart’s content.

Taking a day off after working so hard surely feels like an achievement. Gintoki leisurely thought as he put the magazine down on the desk and stretched his arms. Yawning, he stood up from his seat and walked towards the little TV. Switching it on, he flipped the channel to Ketsuno Ana’s news show and flopped down on the sofa as he patiently waited for his favorite weather girl to appear on screen. However, this didn’t last long as he heard the phone ring.

Gintoki groaned mentally as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the area where he was seated before. “Hello? Yorozuya speaking.” And his voice was as dead as ever.

“GIN-SANNN!” It was Seita screeching from the other side and with that heard, Gintoki slammed the phone down. Not to be presumptuous or anything but he had a pretty decent idea why Seita was calling him and that too with that whiny voice of his. No way was he going to listen to that brat’s pleas to help him with his studies while he complains about how strict Tsukuyo’s teaching methods are. It is not the very first time that the kid has called him up like this for the same reason but today, he was not falling for it. He is supposed to enjoy his day and relax a little, not teach a kid stupid history lessons. And especially with THAT lady.

Rubbing his forehead, Gintoki once again decided to forget about these shenanigans and enjoy his day to the fullest. But once again, his peace was interrupted with the phone ringing.

And Gintoki was in no mood to listen to ANY REQUESTS today.

“Listen here kid, I haven't taken a break for the last two weeks from work and the Yorozuya is closed today so, I’m not gonna tea-“

“But Gin-san, at least list-“

“No buts! I’m TIRED and I'm NOT helping you with your homework today!”

“But Gin-san it’s not homewo-“

“Oh then it must a stupid school project of yours! How about you ask that demon tutor of yours for some help and leave me alone for today!?”

“But it IS about Tsukuyo-nee-“

“Now don’t start your compl-“

“But Gin-san-“

“I’m hanging up kid, enjoy your day and let me enjoy mine.”

“TSUKUYO-NEE HAS TURNED INTO A KID!”

“……”

“H-hello?”

“……”

“H-hello, Gin-san?”

“…..I’m not falling for that crap.”

“GIN-SAN!!!”

Looks like our MC has something to do today after all.

*****

Gintoki had no idea what was going on anymore.

One moment he was at his house, relaxing and planning how he was gonna spend the rest of his day perfectly and the next moment he finds himself taking his scooter out and kick-starting it to visit Yoshiwara.

The phone call with Seita did not last long after that grand confession as he simply just heard Seita plea to him one last time again before hanging up. If he was being honest with himself, the kid did sound a little worried. Sure, regarding the situation he does not have much information or context and Tsukuyo turning into a kid sounded a little too ridiculous to him but he still thought maybe checking the situation there a little won’t harm him. Plus, he can always ask for free sake in return.

Parking his scooter in front of the teahouse, Gintoki observed the area within his vision and not to his surprise, everything looked normal. The streets were a little busy with construction workers carrying a few heavy piles of wood to their designated area but apart from that, Yoshiwara looked normal. Hinowa was standing right inside the teahouse, discussing some paper works with a Hyakka member and well, apart from looking a little more busy than usual, she looked pretty normal as well. Nothing looked out of ordinary and even though he did not see Tsukuyo around, he pretty much guessed that she was alright too and was working somewhere like the workaholic she is.

I knew that brat was lying damn it! He grunted, thinking how he fell in the kid's trap again.

Noticing the silver-haired samurai standing in front of the teahouse, Hinowa dismissed the Hyakka member as she smiled warmly to welcome him. “Gin-san, thank goodness you came.”

Gintoki walked inside the teahouse with his usual dead-fish eyes as he took a seat in one of the benches placed there. “I guess it couldn’t be helped.” He shrugged, speaking in his nonchalant voice.

Taking a seat on a bench in front of him, Hinowa apologetically smiled at the tired samurai. “I am genuinely sorry for the inconvenience, Gin-san. I’ve been busy with the renovation work and that’s why I told Seita to call you. He did tell me after calling you how busy you were lately but we really need your help right now.”

Surely, Gintoki was a little pissed about Seita lying to him but he really did feel a guilty for not accepting his request. On a closer look, Hinowa did look pretty stressed and there were dark circles under her eyes. Plus, he couldn’t find Tsukuyo anywhere. Must be out there working like always. “But I need you treat me with some really great sake later.”

“Of course!” Hinowa cheerfully replies. “I’m glad you agreed to it. I hope Seita has told you everything. I’ll explain the situation to you properly.”

Situation? “Um..okay. But don’t you guys complain later if something goes wrong.”

“Oh what are you saying, Gin-san! I have complete faith in you!”

They were talking about the same situation, right? Well, of course she wants the best for her child. Guess I’ll have to do my best as a tutor too. “Okay…so I’ll be going to Seita-kun’s room-“

Hinowa blinked confusingly at this. “Eh?”

“.....How am I supposed to help him with his project then?”

“……Project?”

Now Gintoki was sweating with extreme pressure. Did Gintoki just had a huge misunderstanding? Was what Seita saying…true? No way was he gonna believe in that lie. “W-well, of course. That’s why he called me and made up this thing about Tsukuyo so I can-“

“Yes, Tsukuyo! But Seita didn't made up-“

NO WAY has she turned into a child! “P-please don’t joke like that Hinowa-san-” he stuttered, confusion and panic clear in his voice.

“But Gin-san-“

"Love drug was okay but THIS!? No way am I gonna believe THIS!"

"But Gin-san! Let me ex-"

“Hinowa. What’s goin’ on ‘ere?”

....

......

.........

The voice came from right behind him but something was certainly very wrong with it. Even though he did not want to believe it, the voice was oddly familiar. Young, but VERY familiar.

“Everything’s fine. Don’t worry about it, Tsukuyo.” Hinowa turned to the voice’s direction, who was apparently Tsukuyo.

Gintoki didn’t want to freak out and fortunately, he succeeded in that. But this uncanny feeling he had made his stomach churn with uneasiness and soon, he too found himself turning towards the direction of the child-like voice. And to his utter shock, there stood a kid. A kid so unfamiliar yet familiar he could just look at her with disbelief. Her blond hair was tied into a little bun and she was wearing a yellow yukata with white checkered patters and to his guess, she was almost 10 years old. Maybe his eyes were just ditching him due to exhaustion and he was just looking at a kid who very much resembled Tsukuyo and even has somewhat of a similar voice like her but the moment they landed on the oh-so familiar scar on her face, he knew he was facing reality.

The black kimono was gone. The heels were gone. That confident and mature face was now replaced with innocence and the curves and the legs his eyes often followed innocently(?) were also gone.

However, the person remained the same.

It was Tsukuyo. But now turned into a child…

“Okay.” Tsukuyo replied, her eyes skeptically looking at the silver-haired samurai. “May I ask who he is?”

……And she did not remember him!?

“Oh he is the one I told you about.” Hinowa replied with a sweet smile on her face. “The Savior of Yoshiwara, Sakata Gintoki.”

“Oh.” And she did not even…….look interested.

“Now now, don’t worry about me so much. You should get inside and take some rest. I have a few urgent things to discuss with him so I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Her voice was reassuring but at the same time he could hear her voice shake a little. What is going on!?

“Hmm. Okay.” Tsukuyo nodded obediently and went inside the main house before giving Gintoki another skeptical look. As for the man himself, he felt his eyes almost exit his sockets.

Hinowa sighed in relief and turned back to look at the baffled samurai to explain the situation. “Please Gin-san. Let me explain.”

Gintoki wanted to yell so, so badly right now. Explain!? EXPLAIN WHAT EXACTLY!? THIS!? The little Gintoki was yelling inside his head but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a strained whisper. “What the hell happened, Hinowa-san!?”

Breathing heavily, Hinowa finally answered the long awaited question. “Three days ago, Tsukuyo was handling the construction work of a few abandoned store houses here and while emptying the rooms, she accidently knocked over a small bottle of drug and inhaled it which was once used by the courtesans to replenish their youth.”

The information has now left him completely baffled. “A WHAT!?”

Understanding his confusion, Hinowa continued to explain the situation properly to him. “Almost thirty years ago, this drug was smuggled here by the Amantos and even though Hosen’s influence kept most drug dealers away, this specific drug was here in high demand among the courtesans for its effects. Just a small sniff from the little perfume-like bottle and it would show its work in a few seconds. However, the side effects of the drug soon started to show as some women felt their body weaken and suffered from mild memory loss which affected the business of many here. Hosen, after learning about these incidents and how it might seriously affect the business later, took a strict step and banned this drug completely from Yoshiwara and whatever was left here was all thrown out. However, maybe some of it was still left over that storehouse and that is why…Tsukuyo…”

This information caught Gintoki’s attention as he silently now observed Hinowa’s exhausted face. Her voice was almost a whisper but Gintoki could clearly hear it quiver a little and now he had a pretty decent idea that this was not a very simple situation.

“So, you mean to say Tsukuyo’s life is in danger?” Gintoki asked after processing all the information in his head to which Hinowa shook her head.

“I’m….not sure.” Sighing, she lowered her head down. “When the Hyakka members brought her here unconscious, we immediately called the doctor and had all the check-ups done. Maybe it’s because the drug was quite old that it did not affect Tsukuyo’s health much apart from a little fatigue but when she woke up, except for me, she….remembered no one in front of her. Not even Seita. And after explaining the effects of the drug and discussing everything with the doctor, he told me that her mind has gone back to her ten year old self along with her body and now, she remember everything only from that time. The doctor did say that the drug’s effects will wear off in a few days and her body will be back to normal but….he was not so sure whether her memories will come back or not.”

And with that said, Hinowa broke down.

When he first heard this news, Gintoki literally did not believe it because it just sounded so absurd. But now that Hinowa clearly explains the entire situation and especially, Tsukuyo’s condition, he suddenly feels a strange pang in his chest. “….You mean….she may lose her memory forever..?”

Hinowa silently nodded as she wipes her tears with her kimono sleeves.

“Then why didn’t you guys call me when it happened three days ago?” Gintoki asked, his voice low but slowly losing its casual tone.

“I did want to inform you early on.” Hinowa replied immediately. “But the work load here was too much and we were in no condition to compromise Tsukuyo’s mental state in such a short period of time. When I discussed the entire matter with the doctor, he told me that Tsukuyo regressing back to her child self and losing her memories simultaneously might also be a result of her subconscious trying to delete some past traumas. And so for now, he told us that we fabricate a good enough explanation for her to convince. For the last two days, I nagged her to rest properly and it was only today that she finally looked healthy and so I let her help me with some regular chores.”

Hinowa's voice sounded more and more tensed as she contined to explain the problem to him. Gintoki understood both of them were in no condition to discuss about this sensitive subject by just anxiously talking to each other. Moreover, he understood how frustrated Hinowa must have been with all of this. Especially because he too at one point lost his memories and saw how desperately Shinpachi and Kagura were trying to bring him back. And except all this, she was now singlehandedly handling the work going on here. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his racing heart down. Like Hinowa, he too was scared; especially with the fact that Tsukuyo might never remember him. But it was not the time for him as to act all confused and most importantly, they called him for help.

She needed help.

And honestly, if he ever again tutors Seita, he would love to tutor him with her by his side.

“…..How did you guys explain everything about Yoshiwara?”

Hinowa wiped off her tears as she again took a deep breath to explain further. “We told her everything. About Hosen and his defeat. About you and how you became the savior of this city. And as for her memory loss, we told her that she had an accident which has temporarily affected her memories. At first, she was a little confused but fortunately, I was able to convince her and she calmed down. And like always, she did not question me…However, the doctor has warned us that we do not mistakenly trigger memories of any unpleasant incident which has happened in the recent past to her and” And she took another deep breath, her forever cheerful eyes showing a sense of fear in them. “…..that’s exactly what I’m worried about the most.”

Gintoki has never seen Hinowa this scared for Tsukuyo. Not even when she was abducted and the entire Yoshiwara was on the verge of burning down. However, now that he sensed the fear in her eyes did he come to understand why she was so anxious. Past trauma. Any recent unpleasant incident. “You don’t mean…”

"She was asking about Jiraiya.”

------x-----

A/N: And that’s all for the first chapter. I’m writing a fic after so long and this idea has been in my mind for almost a year now. I’m genuinely sorry for the lack of GinTsu in this chapter though but I promise I’ll make it up to you in the next one. Hope you guys enjoyed it and don't worry I’ll update soon enough! <3. Plus, please let me know if I should post it on ffnet and ao3?

[kanesthirstblog]

NSFW ALPHABET: ABE HARUAKI

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Requires lots of aftercare but also wants to take care of you. Very clingly, like, will latch onto you and cuddle you for the rest of the night clingy. You should probably give him some reassurance or comfort, he seems like the type to stress about whether or not he was any good to you once the fun is over.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Hmmm... Totally the sappy kinda guy who tells you he loves all of your body and thinks it's beautiful and 100% means every praise he sings you about it. He loves everything about you from your soft hair to the tips of your toes.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

God. Just imagining him sprawled out on any surface with an exhausted yet dopey look in his eyes, covered in his own cum (and/or yours of course!) after a few rounds of sex really makes me feel satisfied. Really can't explain this one

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Secretly a bit of a masochist but also scared of being hurt so he never asks even if he really wants to.

Also secretly owns a couple erotic novels he used as "research" when you first brought up wanting a sexual relationship. Since you are his first, he would want to see how he's supposed to act in that scenenrio so he could please you properly. (But damn was he shocked when you wanted to be the dominant one. That wasn't in his books.) Haruaki learns the importance of communication that day.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Dudes a canon virgin y'all. This also excites me.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Secretly loves it when he's on his back so he can see your face as you ride him or peg him. He just thinks you're the prettiest person he's evermet and loves watching you even as you tease or toy with him.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He's a sappy guy. Would probably look at you like a puppy who sees someone they really love. Besides that he's have that dopey look like he's never been happier than he is in that moment, smiling up at you.

Once you've had sex a couple times he might start opening up more, cracking jokes and asking shy requests from you.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Yup. Makes sure he's nice and clean especially

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He really tries hard to be romantic but he has 0 experience in this area and often fumbles his way through it by trying to be sweet and make you feel good. Very bad at saying romantic things and would probably give up after a bit before he dies from embarassment.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Tbh I actually think he'd barely masturbate if he did at all. This is partly because I actually have an asexual headcanon for him and partly cause in canon he seems really put off by sexual things if not being outright afraid of them.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Contrary to some of the fandom headcanons, I don't really imagine the sailor uniform thing as a kink. It just seems like a typical fixation or something that gets played up for laughs to a strange degree. But maybe thats my ADHD dumbass brain projecting my ADHD onto a fave. (Off topic but him knowing everything about sailor uniforms, from design to creation, being able to make them himself, getting happy any time he sees one, ect. Are headcanons I have because his weird fixation with them reminds me of my fixation on rocks, mushrooms, and jewelry.)

HOWEVER

Praise kink. Body worship. He'd love to be pet gently while you tell him how pretty he is. How you love his soft hair or his long legs or slender form as you lightly trail you fingertips down his body or card fingers through his hair. And he would do the same for you too.

Might at least try pegging, and then realizes he actually likes it when you hold him down and pound his ass.

Would be too embarrassed and a bit scared to bring this up but actually likes the idea being treated roughly. If you could pull at his hair and bite him even a little bit he'd practically melt in your hands.

Might try bondage if it's light. Soft hand cuffs or silk ropes are the way to go.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

At home. Anywhere is fine as long as its at home

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

The fastest way is probably being physical with him or just stripping for him. He gets embarassed and tries to hide but you know he's aroused, you can feel it when you sit on his lap.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He'd probably not be okay with having more than one partner. You might frighten him if he starts feeling like you guys are ganging up on him.

Public/semi-public sex is a no go. Especially since he is a teacher, he wouldn't risk his job on the off chance you both get caught.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

I think he actually might no be very into oral at first. But will give or recieve though you may have to hear some complaint about it being kind of unsanitary or something. He's also kinda bad a giving oral but what did you expect? He's a virgin.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Personally prefers the slow and sensual kinda sex but you set the pace regardless so ultimately it's up to you. He won't be turned into a stuttering mess right away if you guys take it slow.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Alright with it as long as it stays private. You'll be the only one asking for these but try to get him in the morning before he leaves for work so you can corner him against a counter. Its best when his back is turned so you can grab his hair and lick along his throat, nipping here and there. He'd shiver in your arms as you trail a hand down to undo his pants

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

As long as it isn't a risk to him (would probably be too scared to try knifeplay) or job (no public/semi-public sex) you could probably talk him into it.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Hmmm... Depends I guess. I feel like he might only be active for a round or maybe 2 before he starts slowing down. You could still pound the guy into the mattress but he'll have those half lidded doe eyes cloudy with exhaustion. He'd wrap his arms around you loosely as if you'll help ground him to the waking world and try to hold you closer to him.

At that point you should definitely ask a few times before you start another round to make sure he's okay and reassure him that it's alright to stop now. Strikes me as someone who could easily fall into a place where he'd hide his desire to stop just so you can use him for your own fun since it makes you happy. That could be kinda bad for his mental health.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

You'd be the one with all the toys tbh. But you can sure as hell use them on him.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He's not much of a tease but if he's feeling playful, he might play up the innocent look of his. He really is a pretty innocent guy actually, but he knows you love that sweet look he's got to him and he will use it on you.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

So damn loud. This guy would moan and beg loudly, scream your name and plead for mercy, for relief as you all but eat him alive. Might even cry and whine and beg. Oh, but he tries to be quiet so he doesn't risk disturbing anyone. He'd purse his lips and turn away from you while you play with his body in an attempt to stay quiet but he always gives in quickly. It's easy to turn this guy into a whimpering, begging mess no matter how many times you do this.

You'll know when he's tired because he will be unable to make much noise besides low pants and gasps. Probably best to wrap things up at that point before ya fuck him unconcious.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

I have a few actually.

-Has a hard time saying no to you. He's a bit cowardly and overthinks and he would be afraid to lose a first relationship. This is potentially hazardous to his mental health because he might say "yes" to something he doesn't want for fear of losing you. Consent is important though so even if it's difficult at first, keep checking to make sure he's alright.

-I actually headcanon him as a sex indifferent asexual. He can 100% live with sex or without it. Doesn't matter to him, though he's terrified of trying it for the first time.

-The first time you tried to get him in bed, you pinned him to a wall and he was terrified because he thought you were trying to shake him down or harass him. (Well, the latter part was true but not the way he expected.) And then you kissed him and he straight up broke, wrapped himself in blankets and hid under the futon for the rest of the day. Disappointing? Sure, but damn was it cute.

-I'm actually caught up on how he would take to dirty talk tbh since a lot of it I've seen or heard involves some form or another of calling your partner a slut or whatever. Seems to be popular. On one hand if he's secretly a masochist, he might be into it. But on the other, he also seems like he might take anything you say to him to heart and beat himself up over it and would ultimately not like it. Also probably would not be comfortable if he did the dirty talking and assuming he manages to make it through the night without apologizing to you for everything he says, then you'll hear it when you finish.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Mandragora patterned briefs. You cannot change my mind on this one.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Not very, so he's pretty chill about it.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Depends on how much you exhausted him but it usually doesn't take that long.

Bonus:

Some more cute Haruaki.

[ticklishpeter]

bro time (diego/ben/klaus)

ANOTHER FIC!!! and yes it’s very self-indulgent but GOD i had so much fun writing it so ofc i gotta share!!!! enjoy, babies!!

summary:  diego’s a grump (yes, again), klaus is determined to fix that, even if only for a little while. and who better to drag along then sweet benjamin, right?

word count: 2,430

Diego had always been a total downer. It was never out of the ordinary to see a scowl on his face or to hear an annoyed sigh or two, typically pointed at Klaus. Sure, Diego had gotten a bit softer since they got back from the 1960s, but his siblings’ antics never quite changed, and therefore, neither did his frequent bad mood. 

It was a lazy, uneventful day around the mansion. Klaus had plans though; plans to daydrink himself into a coma in the living room. When he made his way to the room, though, he noticed a frowning Diego laying on the couch and throwing his knife up and down in the air. Immediately, running away from the doorway, he pressed his back to the wall next to it, before spotting Ben in the kitchen.

“Pst, hey,” he hissed as he threw a crumpled up receipt from his pocket towards the bar, where his dead brother stood, reading some book that Klaus definitely didn’t care about.

Ben rolled his eyes with a sigh and looked up from his book, “What?” He already sounded annoyed with whatever Klaus was planning.

��Dontcha think Diego’s been…” Klaus leaned against the bar next to him, “I dunno, kinda super grumpy lately?”

Ben’s eyes pointed to the living room, leaning slightly to catch a glimpse of the brother in question, “I mean, yeah but he always is. It’s Diego.”

“I know, I know, but hey, ‘nother question for ya. Remember how crazy ticklish he was when we were kids?” Klaus couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of Ben being the designated pinner while the rest of the siblings tormented their knife-wielding brother to hysteria with tickles. He also decided to disregard Ben’s noticeable reaction to the dreaded t-word. 

Ben squinted up at him from his book, a small smirk on his face. And that was enough for Klaus to know that he was in, “Okay, yes. I’ll help you, but only because this story’s getting boring.” Not because he missed having fun with his siblings; definitely not that.

The ghost made his way into the room first, and sat across Diego’s knees with a sigh, but an unmistakably playful glint in his eye. 

“Hey, broskidoodle!” Klaus exclaimed, seemingly out of nowhere, “You're still ticklish, right?”

Immediately upon hearing the words and seeing the look on Klaus’ face, Diego tried to get up but only his upper half left the couch. “What - hey! What the hell, man?” 

“Oh, yeah! Ben’s here, he says hello!” The former cult-leader gestured towards the invisible figure that had been holding Diego down. “Anyway, you’ve been a total grump for like, ever. And I just wanna see you smile for once, DiDi!” Without hesitation, Klaus experimentally grabbed at one of his thighs, giggling at the yelp and twitch that followed. 

Diego was already frantically struggling to escape, “No — fuck off!” His eyes stayed glued on the hands that hovered now, over his sides, as he sucked in his stomach as far away as he could get it.

“Of course you’re still ticklish. What was I thinking? There’s no way you could’ve outgrown that, right? As ticklish as you were, whew,” Klaus whistled, “You were such a little wiggleworm… and a giggleworm, wasn’t he, Benny?” 

Ben nodded with a small laugh. He loved having a positive memory that he could share with all of his siblings. It was nice to reminisce every now and then.

Diego then smacked Ben’s back (or where he thought Ben’s back was) and attempted to slap Klaus’ face, ultimately missing and making a fool of himself, “Sh-Shut up.” An accidental giggle slipped through his lips as he watched Klaus’ fingers wiggle teasingly a few inches above his stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation, which ended up being a terrible idea, as he couldn’t see when Klaus decided to attack. 

He screamed at the feeling of Klaus’ blunt nails scribbling around his ribs, and practically jumped out of his skin when another hand poked at his thigh. Opening one eye, he flinched when his brother teasingly shot the hand towards an armpit, only to move back down to his thigh, and then back up to skitter his fingers on his neck. Twitching and jerking away at every little touch, Diego felt his face get warm, “Fucking — quit it, you little shits!” 

Much to Diego’s relief, Klaus actually… stopped? Before he started really giggling too, which Diego praised every God and Goddess in existence for.

“Now if I remember correctly, you always used to hate it when we tickled you right about…” Klaus tapped his chin. “Was it here?” A knowing poke to Diego’s stomach was all it took to draw a squeal out of Diego’s mouth.

“No,” he yelled, sounding more like a a squeak than he hoped it would, “Fuck!”

Lifting his hands above Diego again, Klaus teasingly jerked his arms forward, absolutely relishing in how violently Diego flinched. He did his little trick again. A squeak. And again. A yelp. And again. A giggle, “Ihi’ll - I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Ah,” Klaus clapped his hands, his voice high-pitched and teasy, “there’s those cute little sounds I remember! I’m not even touching you, silly!” He couldn’t help but laugh as his brother flinched and snorted when he wiggled his fingers again. 

“Shut up, Klaus, I swear to God -”

Ignoring him, Klaus grinned, “Yeah? Tell him I say hi. — Do you have a ticklish tummy, Diego? Does wittle Diego have a tickwish tummy?”

“Sh-sh-shut up!” Diego grunted again through another giggle, shaking his head. The giggles were starting to get overwhelming. 

“Uh, oh! Number Two’s got a case of the giggles!” His obnoxiously teasy brother cooed as he began to place maddening pinches all over his stomach, “What an unfortunate combo; a case of the giggles, and a ticklish tummy?” 

His flailing arms were torn between covering his face or guarding his midsection as he twisted his body as much as he could. The teasing made things ten times worse for the ticklish vigilante. “I-I don’t! Ihi don’t!” 

“Yes you do! I know it.” He was endlessly amused at the other’s frantic reactions to a few mere pokes and squeezes. “All you have to do,” Klaus laughed along with his screaming brother, “is tell me you have a ticklish tummy, Mr. Giggles, and then I'll stop!” 

Was that all he had to do? The other’s continuous teasing tone in his voice made Diego’s face heat up as he grunted, “Okay, I do! Now let me go!” Anything to make it stop.

“You do, what?” Klaus raised his eyebrows, digging his fingers into the sweet spot right below his ribs, on the side of his stomach. Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Youhou know what, asshole! Fucking stop!” Attempting to kick Ben off of him, Diego turned his head away, his long hair already totally messed up. 

Shaking his head, Klaus hummed in the most obnoxiously nonchalant manner, “Mm-mm, nope, you gotta tell me what you've got right here!” 

“J-Jesus,” he snorted before covering his face in embarrassment with his arm, his other hand weakly attempting to push Klaus’ goddamn fingers away. Said goddamn fingers moved quickly up to his armpit, though, causing his arm to shoot back downwards. The giggles that left his mouth were practically uncontrollable at this point as he turned his head into his shoulder, “S-s-s-sensitive! I- fuck,” he squealed. “Okay, okay, my stomach is s-sensitive, goddammit! Ben! Get off of me!” Falling back into his giggle fit, Diego covered his face with both arms now, squirming and twisting as much as he could.

Ben laughed amusedly, wishing he could join in on the teasing, but settled for fluttering his ghostly fingers around Diego’s sides.

“Ah-ah-ah,” Klaus clicked his tongue, giving his brother’s lower tummy some rhythmic pokes, resulting in both arms coming down again, “That doesn't sound like what I told you to say, Blushy McBlusherson!” Klaus squeezed a quickly moving clawed hand right over Diego’s bellybutton. “Say it! Say you have a ticklish tummy, and I'll set you free! It’s not that difficult, I know you can do it!” he cooed as if Diego was a small child, and he was the tickle monster.

Diego yelped at the teases and threw two consecutive punches at Klaus’ shoulder before his hands flew down to grab the hand in the middle of his stomach, “God! Fuck, you're such a DICK! I h-h-hate - ugh!” he whined at his stutter mixed with the giggles. He hated how much power Klaus - fucking Klaus - had over him right now. The growl that left his grinning mouth turned quickly into a strangled choking noise, and then a downpour of giggles when he felt Klaus’ finger make his way into his bellybutton. Thrashing around, Diego gasped. “Klaus! Don’t you fucking - FUCK! Not there! - ACK, Jesus!” He had way too much pride to say the words that Klaus wanted him to, but said pride was quickly fleeting as he squirmed, immediately tensing up, and instinctually trying to curl in on himself.

“Oh nooo, I think Mr. Pointer Finger’s stuck in there! ‘Help, help!’” Klaus cried in a higher pitched voice as he moved his stupid finger-character around. He couldn't help but aim a poke at Ben’s back, remembering how much he'd performed the same act with him when they were young.

Diego couldn't do anything but cackle and cover his face. Ben bucked, almost losing his balance as Diego kicked furiously. “Stop it! Fucking - God,” he squealed and gasped, a hiccup escaping somewhere in the midst of all of his desperate sounds. “Ihi - SHIT! FUCK! I -” Another snort was muffled slightly by both of his hands covering his face, a full 5 seconds of laughter passed before he managed to ramble, “Ihavea-EEP-t-t-ticklishtummy! ACK! FUHUCK! F-F-...Fucking stop it!” He attempted a growl or two to sound more adult than he currently felt and sounded. Just saying the words, however fast and rambly, was absolutely unbearable for Diego. 

Klaus’ silly voice drowned in the volume of Number Two’s laughter as he continued to wiggle his finger in his bellybutton, giving a few pinches to his waistline. 

“STOP! STOP, KLAUS, PLEASE!” Diego shrieked and shook his head before falling into silent frantic laughter. A hiccup, and a weak “Please!” were the only audible things to leave his mouth as he smacked at the floor next to him. 

Klaus, feeling particularly ruthless today, decided to mess with not just the one, but two of his brothers, who both just happened to be astoundingly ticklish. A squeeze to Ben’s side was all it took to get him to squeak and fall off of Diego's shaking legs.

“Aww, look at my two ticklish little brothers!” Klaus cooed at the two squirming men with a laugh, as one hand stayed put, still tormenting Diego’s ‘tickle-button’ (as Grace once called it when they were kids, and no one let him live it down) another wandering hand spidered its way up and down Ben’s hypersensitive ribs.

“Hey, Diego!” Calling over the laughter from the two of them, Klaus leaned over a squirmy Diego, “Diego, how many tickles does it take to make Ben laugh?” No answer, obviously. He wasn’t even sure that Diego could hear him. But Ben could.

“Klaus! God, shut up!” he curled up, knowing exactly what was coming. “Ten-tickles! Hahahahaha!” Klaus laughed in a mocking manner as he grinned and spidered five fingers on his side, “A-one,” he moved to his other side, “A-two,” a poke to the bellybutton made Ben squeal, “A-three,” Klaus continued alternating between different spots as he counted up to ten, laughing at Ben’s squirms and strangled sounds between helpless laughter. 

He also continued tickling in and around Diego’s bellybutton, occasionally poking around his upper stomach. “How’s it going over there, pillsbury knife boy?”

A hiccup came before a frustrated noise, before Diego switched back into silent laughter, “I’m -” he gasped for whatever air he could get, “I’m dying, Klaus, fucking st - hic - stooop! P-PLEASE I’ll do anything! Hic - I’ll - I’ll do anything, just — stohohop.” 

Klaus finally let up once he noticed a few tears falling from his closed eyes, which meant he’d succeeded in getting Diego to laugh. Like, … really, really laugh. And that meant his job was done. He took advantage of the time taken with Diego’s residual giggles to squeeze Ben’s ribs one last time.  “Aww, move your hands, Benerino, you know I love your little blushy face!” 

“Okay, okay, Klaus, plehease!” He moved both of his hands down to try and stop the tickling ones, only to be caught off-guard by Klaus squeaking and twitching dramatically. Whatever had happened caused him to lose his balance. Wait. Ben noticed his hand next to Klaus’ left hip before smiling, and squeezing at it before Klaus could get back up.

“BEN!” Klaus screeched, rolling onto his stomach. Bad idea, because Ben sat across his legs now, and now he had full access to not only his hips and armpits, but also his back. His three worst spots. 

“What an inconvenience, Klaus,” Ben teased, poking at both of his hips with both free hands. He couldn’t help but notice Diego lean up on an elbow, still panting, but smiling at the opportunity for revenge.  “A case of the giggles, and a pair of ticklish… hips, … armpits,” his hands flew to Klaus’ underarms digging into the bare skin, “and a super ticklish back, if I remember correctly.” 

Klaus yelped, choking out a loud cackle when he felt the terribly light scribbles around his upper back. Arching his back, Klaus batted at the floor beneath him, acting almost as if he was trying to claw his way out from under Ben. “Stop it, you sh- shiteater!” He squealed loudly when he felt another pair of hands scribble under his arms. Upon pressing his cheek to the floor to see what was happening, it was Diego with, coincidentally, the most shit-eating grin he’d seen in awhile.

“GUHUYS!” He cackled, the sound akin to that of a witch, even louder when Ben’s far-too-tangible hands made his way back to his hips, “OHOKAY, OKAY! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. — I promise!”

His two ticklish brothers let up, likely due to weakness from all the laughter they were doing beforehand, but also because they knew Klaus didn’t mind the tickling so they’d be here forever if they didn’t stop. 

“But you gotta admit it was kinda fun, right?” Klaus shrugged with a smile. He could tell that Ben and Diego were smiling too.

Hmm, maybe being there forever wouldn’t be too bad.

[selfproducingfanfictionauthor]

to be treated this way - chapter i

pair: shownu x reader 

summary: When your alpha - sort-of - found his true mate, you’re stuck dealing with the aftermath and the coming of your next heat. So when your friend suggested a “dating service” to aid you, signing up seemed like a no-brainer. So, you’ve prepared yourself for the dominance, the adrenaline-fueled by fear and arousal and the constant out-of-this-world sex but when you meet Shownu, everything you know about Alphas is challenged. He’s soft - for the lack of better word. He cooks you meals, he takes you out on dates… all of which are not really necessary for an Alpha - Omega relationship… right? Whatever. You’d just really, really, wish he’d touch you now warning: this story may be slow-paced at the start, no other warnings for now - also, boo seungkwan’s appearance! a/b/o dynamics! 

Many poets and writers have tried, failed and came close to describing what true heartbreak is. Such fundamental human experience is so universal that many men and women across history have drawn inspiration from it and created amazing works of art - sculptures, plays, books and songs. At the back of your mind, you remember reading something like - “If nothing saves us from death, at least love should save us from life” and although it’s beautiful and you certainly want to be saved, you feel like it’s too dramatic to apply to your own situation.

Even though you certainly feel like dying right now.

Mouth dry and head pounding, you blearily open your eyes to the sight of your blinking alarm clock. The numbers 1:03 pm mocks you in all its inherent cheeriness. Underneath the cocoon of your warm bed, you squirm, sweating and uncomfortable – feeling like you just want to crawl out of your skin just to reach the itch between your skin and bones. Fists closing and unfurling, you try to resist the urge to scratch, knowing that there’s nothing to find beneath, nothing to offer you relief.

Kicking off your sheets, you try to reign in the uneasiness. At the back of your ears, you feel the itch worsen, crawling down your nape burning down its path. Rubbing yourself against the scratchy texture of your bedsheets feels like heaven and hell alternating between five seconds – the brief relief only highlighting the torment of your hormones tenfold.

Time seem to pass too slowly as you try to muster the strength to get up. But your body refuses to cooperate, your limbs heavy and your mind foggy. This is what you hate the most about suppressants, the side-effects feels like punishment for being born an omega. Your head feels like it’s submerged underwater, and you don’t hear your apartment door opening with a bang.

“I’m here!” Seungkwan sings, grocery bags hanging from his arms. His eyes roam your kitchen before landing on you through your open bedroom door. At the sight of you, his mood drops. ”Oh my god, what are you doing!”

Your best friend rushes over to you and grasps your wrists, quickly pulling it away from your arms.

Streaks of scratches marred your neck and arms while you tremble. He notes with a small amount of relief, that at least, you didn’t break skin.

Aish, this girl.

Relief flood you at the familiar smell of your friend and his cool hands, drawing away from the heat marked by your nails. You let him drag you up to your couch. Sitting down, he grasps your wrists with one hand and reaches for one of the grocery bags with his other.

“Next time I see him, I’m gonna kick him in the nuts.” Seungkwan swears, agitated. Between the two of you, there’s only one person he could be referring to. You wince at the thought of Geun-woo, the alpha who had once frequented your bed. Pulling you out of your thoughts, Seungkwan fishes out a sheet of tablets and pops one open for you.

Trusting you to control yourself, he lets go of your wrists and hands you a bottle of water from the same bag.

“It’s not his fault he found his true mate, Seungkwanie.” You sigh, after swallowing the pill. You don’t know if it’s placebo or not, but immediately, the irritating itch and heat under your skin recedes.

The beta rolls his eyes. True mates, bah – people throw it around like a free pass. “True mate or not, it doesn’t mean he gets to drop you like a hot sweet potato – which you are, sweet and you look like a potato, woman, get yourself together! – and ride off into the sunset. Any decent alpha knows that omegas need weaning –”

Seungkwan goes off on a rant that you’ve heard on loop for the past week.

Geun-woo was a friend from the university. As alphas tend to be, he was popular and well-liked by your peers. His designation spurred him to be in the best shape he could be, drove him to win championship after championship for your university football team. After graduation, he went on to train for the national team and was – is – on his way to being a national athlete.

You could talk on and on about who Oh Geun-woo is to many people, but you could summarize what he was to you in three words: not your boyfriend.

The arrangement between the two of you was simple. You were adults, busy people living busy lives interrupted almost monthly by your heats and ruts. It was a logical and practical way to ensure that neither of you spend your vulnerable biological ~events~ alone. It was a good arrangement and after two years of it, you could honestly call Geun-woo a good friend.

However, the downside with spending such time so often with someone you’re not bonded with is you develop what experts call, a quasi-bond. It has all the effects of being bonded but dialed down by almost a hundred. You think it’s an exaggeration but you, an unbonded omega, really isn’t in the position to do so.

So when, Geun-woo found his true mate at some meet abroad, he dropped you faster than you could blink.

You don’t blame him, but man, it sucks.

Seungkwan glanced at you, sighing at your silence. Sending a prayer above, he fishes his wallet and takes out a card. “I have a suggestion.”

With your heat coming at you, barreling in the next two weeks, you’re just about open to any suggestion so, you hum behind your coffee mug, “The floor’s yours.” Well, at least the little of it that’s still visible under your clothes and knick-knacks.

“Before you say anything, know that I am suggesting this out of the goodness of my heart. But why don’t you consider this?” Seungkwan implored, handing you the card.

The black and purple card reads; “SS Matching Services” and under it, their company motto; “We’ve got the match for you.” With their office address and contact number.

“A pimping service?”

“Ya,” Seungkwan protested, red-faced, “Take your 19th century standards out of the gutter.”

His adamant protest startles a laugh out of you. For the guy who used to glare at anyone holding hands in public, your best friend has grown well. “Actually, it was worse in the 19th century but go off, I guess.”

Seungkwan leveled you with a flat look that had you raising your hands in surrender. No good can come from antagonizing the guy who just quite literally saved your life. “I’m listening.”

“Look, it’s just an option and it’s legit. Tough screening process too.” He takes out his phone and shows you the company’s website. Briefly, you glance at it before taking the card. Physically, it weighs like nothing but in your mind, it weighs like something amazing.

“How’d you know that?”

“My sunbaenim, uses this from time to time. It helps with his ruts. Win-win.” Seungkwan shrugs. You wonder which sunbae he’s referring to, given his many hobbies.

The website doesn’t look like it’ll give your laptop a virus, you’ll give it that. It’s classy and clean, and no random photos of just naked torsos. Good sign.

“You’re surprisingly blasé about this.” You laugh, eyes warm and surprised at how maturely Seungkwan delivers, only to laugh out loud at the sight of his burning ears.

You promised Seungkwan that you’ll check out the site but as soon as you got back to work, everything just swept you away.

That’s what happens when you work with kids.

Eyes warm with fondness, you quietly pat the bottom of one of your snoozing students. It’s nap time and your classroom has turned into some sort of sleepover area with all your students wrapped up with their soft blankets, nuzzling into their softer pillows. The early afternoon light filters into the room through the curtains, painting over the children with a soft glow.

Across you, another teacher takes the opportunity to get some of her own sleep in, curling herself protectively around two kids. Your classroom smells like baby powder and sweet treats, littered with small pastel chairs and tables. Its walls decorated with your students artworks and colorful cartoon characters.

This, this is one of the many moments that remind you why you became a pre-school teacher.

Many of your peers assumed it’s because of your designation. Omegas are naturally more inclined to take positions that require caretaking, given the innate desire to give care to others. Just like alphas are more likely to take positions that require leadership.

However, you muse, cooing as the young beta in front of you snuggle closer to your lap, many tend to gloss over the many manifestations of one’s designation. It’s true that by virtue of being an omega, you’re naturally more inclined to take care of your peers. Your so-called softness being the defining quality of your group.

But your omega manifestation is… a bit different. Sometimes, it makes you wonder how you got hired as a preschool teacher in the first place.

“Teach’r, sleepy time?”

Glancing down, you see the young beta pout at you. Waving away your thoughts, you slide down to her side and let the afternoon light lull you to sleep. All thoughts about your heat fading away quietly.

Soon, naptime was over and so is the day. Parents slowly trickle in, one after another, to pick up their children. Most of them harried from work, but still smiling at you and your co-teachers in gratitude.

“See you tomorrow, Rahui!” You call, as the last student leaves.

The little girl in her puffy sweater turns and smiles at you sweetly. “Bye, bye, teacher! Sleepy time!”

You flush at your student’s comment much to her mother’s confusion. After falling asleep earlier, you’d woken up to a clean classroom and several of your students hovering over you. Your pre-heat symptoms felt like they’re coming too fast for your taste.

Waving her off with a smile, you untie your apron and walk to the staff room where the others are. It’s almost 6 pm, and your daily staff meeting’s in session. In front of the room is your superior, an older bonded omega, with deep dimples on her cheek.

“Good job today, everyone.” She starts off, smiling at the soft cheers from everyone. “As you know…”

Your superior continues on to talk about the children’s upcoming activities. Vaguely, you hear her talk about a field trip, or is it a field demo? Shaking your head, you try to clear your thoughts but it seem like everything’s underwater, and no sound is escaping from her lips.

“… right, y/n?”

Blinking, you focus, and sent her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, you were saying?”

Your superior smiles forgivingly, “I was asking about that self-defense class you’ve been wanting to teach. When would you like to schedule it? Of course, pending approval with everyone’s schedule.”

Immediately, a large smile appears on your cheek. It’s approved?? You’ve been proposing that seminar for months. Most of the omega teachers were wary of the thought but warmed up to it recently. Especially when you mentioned how it’ll help them protect their kids – their students – more.

“How about two weeks from now?”

“Anytime!” You offer. The enthusiasm isn’t lost on your co-workers, some of them shaking their heads in amusement.

Your superior looks over your office board and hums at the chart. It contains all your schedules, including leaves, conferences to attend and heat cycles. With one look, your heart drops.

“Actually…” you start off, wincing at the thought of inconveniencing everyone because of your biology. “My heat is coming up in two weeks…”

Surprisingly, or not, omegas are actually quite liberal in discussing things like this. It’s simply part of the biology you live with. So your mortification is unfounded as your co-workers nod in understanding, quickly suggesting different dates.

Your superior nods, and glances at your work log book. “Well, we could schedule maybe four weeks from now to get you time to recover? Don’t forget to file your leave.”

Right.

“I still can’t believe she flew you in for her rut.” Jooheon’s laugh and disbelief reaches Shownu’s ears before he even steps inside. Smiling to himself, he finds his friends lounging in his living room, completely comfortable and completely unexpected.

Jooheon looks up at his arrival, “Hi, hyung! We let ourselves in!” 

“I can see that.” Shownu nods in greeting, trying to remember who he gave his spare keys to. He’s pretty sure he didn’t make six copies of his set. Shrugging off his coat, he look on, realizing how his living room looks smaller with a bunch of guys occupying it. Jooheon and Minhyuk are on his couch, Changkyun’s on his stomach on the floor, playing with his phone and, Hyunwoo and Kihyun are by the window drinking a can of beer each. 

That’s one, two, three… four, five… 

“Hey, you’re home! And – are those protein bars?” The paper bag is snatched from his hand, before Shownu registers, blinking slowly as Wonho disappears once again into the kitchen. 

The smell of jajjangmyeon invades his senses. Ah, yes, guys’ night. 

Shortly after his arrival, everyone gathers in the dining room. With the two youngest improvising chairs out of the boxes Shownu hasn’t had the chance to unpack, having just moved into his new home a month ago. 

To the eldest’s surprise, everyone pitched in with dinner, bringing different dishes and filling the dining table. Assorted cuts of meat are sizzling over the portable electric grill Wonho brought, several small plates of side-dishes and… are those buttered crabs he’s seeing? “What’s this?” 

Minhyuk shoots him an amused glance over his beer, “You don’t really think we’ll let you off without a house warming, right?” 

Shownu blinks, a small bashful smile forming on his lips, “But I’ve been here a month.”

An arm wraps around his shoulder and a weight shakes him back and forth. Kihyun rolls his eyes, getting into his personal space. “This is the first time we’ve been complete for a month! Just enjoy it!” 

Jooheon hums, his cheeks filled with lettuce and meat from the grill. “Yeah, I mean, though it’s only Minhyuk-hyung that hasn’t been around, too busy getting his dick wet.” 

“Oi!” their youngest protests, ears burning and nearly spitting out his drink. “We are eating.” 

Wonho heartily “taps” Changkyun’s back, laughing. “We’re all adults here. It’s not as if you haven’t heard or said anything worse, Kyunie.” 

“Yeah, daddy~” Hyungwon hits, reminding everyone of one very particular incident in college that featured a younger Changkyun and a girl from the bar, and the very thin walls of their shared apartment. 

Changkyun flushes before rolling his eyes, “At least I get some. Can’t say the same to you.” 

Scoffing, Minhyuk raises his hands, “Excuse me, I have no problem with that.” 

Before Minhyuk starts to dive into his sexual exploits, Kihyun saves the day and shoves a piece of meat into his mouth and diverts the conversation to work.

Over food and drinks, Shownu and his friends catch up on their personal lives – not having as much time to get together as before. Not with Wonho’s celebrity coaching taking off, Jooheon and Changkyun’s new artist, Kihyun’s voice academy and Hyungwon’s and Minhyuk’s modelling. 

Sometimes, Shownu feels left behind by the big dreams his friends are living but every day, he wakes up and goes home happy as a chef and food blogger. His appetite thanking him for the career path he chose. Besides, as Changkyun said, he could go big time if he wants, it’s just a matter of self-promotion which he’s terrible at given his shy personality. 

Dinner passes by with a blur and they find themselves nursing their last beers when Jooheon circles back to Minhyuk’s vacation. 

“So, hyung. How does it feel to fulfill your sugar baby dreams?” The young alpha jokes, his dimples appearing on his cheeks as he elbows Minhyuk. 

Stars appear in the latter’s eyes and with a dreamy sigh, he responds jokingly, “Just as I’ve always dreamed.” 

The one of the only two omegas of their group has never shied away from talking about his exploits, his looks and all the advantages he gets from it. Often, he jokes that’s why he became a model – to be admired and to fulfill his duties to the world and bless them with his godly looks. 

“She flew me to her family’s island, and we spent her rut and my heat underneath the blanket of stars.” Minhyuk recounts, all dreamy-eyed, “I felt really spoiled.”

“I bet.” Kihyun remarked, smirking. “Is this the girl you’ve been telling us about?”

Ignoring Hyungwon’s cough of which one, Minhyuk nods, “Yes!” and turns to Shownu, “She’s actually friends with Nayeon – who, by the way, is asking me about you, hyung.” 

Shownu blinks, before handing a can of beer to Wonho across him. “Me?” 

“Yeah, she asked why you never called her.” 

A chorus of ooh’s echoes in the room followed by a few gruff laughter. Shownu ducks his head and nurses his drink. Nayeon’s a nice girl, a model that he met when Minhyuk called in a favor for him to substitute as one of their shoot’s models after the original model called in sick. She gave him his number on a piece of paper before departing with a sultry look and a flying kiss. 

Contrary to popular belief, Shownu is not dense – or, more like, he’s not that dense. 

“Ah,” Shownu starts, “Um. I don’t think we’re looking for the same thing.” 

Wonho pauses and eyes him, before levelling the younger guys with a look that has them catching their teasing remarks and keeping it to themselves. Wonho has known Shownu the longest and knows that though his friend’s an alpha, physically, through and through, his disposition often throws people off. 

He’s soft when others are hard. Soft-spoken, patient like a saint and very careful with his actions and words. Wonho doesn’t even remember if he’s ever seen his friend get angry or aggressive in the span of their long friendship. 

A romantic at heart, through and through.

“Well,” Kihyun claps, breaking the quiet, “You know, no point in pursuing something that you know’s a dead end, right?”

Minhyuk pouts, sometimes a little bit insensitive in his enthusiasm, “But she’s cute! And she’s an omega too! Besides – wait—how do you even deal with your ruts?” 

Shownu’s face lights up like a lantern, the drinks doing nothing about the flush crawling up his neck. It’s not like he’s never spent it with someone, but every time, after the week of his rut, he always feel tired and empty. So for the past ruts, he’s been dealing with it - “Alone, with suppressants.”

“Yah, I thought you’d stopped taking those!” 

Constant use of suppressants for an alpha fucks up their cycle and even their moods. Wonho knows this the best because he was on it for several months back in college, before he started becoming confident enough in his newfound muscles and height. 

“I did.” Shownu nods, assuring his friends. “I don’t use them anymore. Just when I’m… you know. It’s just easier to deal with.”

All the alphas in the room scoff under their breaths. Yeah, it’s easy if easy felt like walking and dancing on hot coal in the middle of the hottest summer day. It’s not as if their eldest can’t get a woman just by standing by the bar, being his awkward self. 

At their little corner, Jooheon and Changkyun glance at each other, years of friendship evident in their wordless communication. Changkyun tilts his head, eyes widening and jaw clenched, “Go”, he mouths. 

Jooheon pouts, “Do you know how hard it is to get into their mixers, punk?” 

Shrinking at Changkyun’s flat stare, Jooheon rolls his eyes and sends a prayer to the universe asking for good karma. 

“Hyung, what do you think about dating services?” 

Notes: The stage is set for our two protagonists! I tried to incorporate as much world-building and character backgrounds as I can without it being over the top. Please leave comments and asks! :) I’m trying to stick to weekly updates. Also, support Monsta X’s next comeback! 

[salthaven]

Make a Change P15 (an Explanation and Summary)

Part Fifteen (An Explanation and Summary)

So, as I recently posted, I don’t plan to continue this story any longer. As much as I loved writing it, I also...fell out of love, I suppose. I just don’t have the time, passion, or motivation to try forcing myself to write it anymore, and it’s unfair to you guys to have to accept a sloppy second, something thrown onto a document for the sake of a word count and an update. I want to write stuff I’m proud of, and that just wasn’t happening with this story.

That said, one reader asked for a summary, so that they could get some closure. Luckily, I have some notes that I took as I planned the story and started writing it, and I thought you’d like to see some of them. This includes three things: 1. The schedules for most of the main characters 2. The heroes I was planning on bringing in and 3. All of the ideas I had for “Who on Earth will Marinette end up with?” (This was a doozy.) Along with this, I want to talk about other pairings I had in mind. 

With that all said, let’s hop right in!

The Schedules:

I really planned out their schedules, just so I could start figuring out who the Quantic Kids would be. I had a general idea in mind: Each student at Collège des Arts would have to take their four core classes (History, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science), a language, and then their last period would be a two hour block that focused on their artistic talent. I set it up this way so that I could integrate the Quantic Kids into Marinette’s life. (Along with this, I made it so the whole school had lunch after fourth hour, so that the morning had four hours of classes, and the afternoon had three. I note this, because some schools separate lunches based on fourth hour, so that there is an A, B, and C lunch. I...did not feel like dealing with that, and I wasn’t sure how French schools do it but I doubt it’s like that.) 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s schedule: 

1. History (right next to Félix, later on stuck between him and Adrien) The original plan never had Adrien’s arrival, it was supposed to be a moment of comic relief where Marinette and Félix were just kind of half awake and barely conscious at any given time during first hour. This is why their history teacher, Mr. Marcel, was either wide awake or dead asleep. I thought it’d be a cute moment to show off the dynamics of their exhaustion or energy, depending on the day. I didn’t show this off nearly as much as planned, however, because I shifted my focus soon after.

2. Language Arts (with Allegra). A nice, calmer class seemed perfect for Marinette, who’d probably still be waking up. Allegra is calm and classy, so it only made sense to pair the two up for the second hour.

3. Science (Claude’s here!) Loud and exciting, just like their class seems to be, it was a perfect pairing. 

4. Math (with Allegra and Claude) I wanted to show off Allegra and Claude’s...chaotic dynamic. 

5. English (with Allan) Marinette wants to be a fashion designer, and she had to take a language, so she thought “hey, fashion is pretty big in America, let’s learn English”. (It was also the only class I could think of that she and Allan would take...more on that later.)

6. Fashion Design. Pretty self-explanatory.

Allegra: 

1. German. Allegra likes opera music, and wanted to mimic the sound of some German singers accurately. 

2. Language Arts (with Marinette, as mentioned above)

3. Science (a different teacher than Marinette and Claude, though. What a pity) (Also I apparently called it ‘physics’ in my notes and I just noticed.) 

4. Math (With Marinette and Claude)

5. History

6. Choir (She’s a singer.)

Claude Mercury:

1. English (It was for the theatre, but also for Shakespeare, but more accurately….for Shakespeare’s more inappropriate humor.) (and memes)

2. History

3. Science (with Marinette) (Lots of explosions and fires were planned)

4. Math (With Allegra and Marinette) 

5. Language Arts

6. Drama. He was just a simple thespian lad who wanted to have fun and make friends, what can I say?

Allan:

1. Math

2. Science

3. Language Arts

4. History

5. English (with Marinette) He likes hip hop and rap, and wanted to learn English rap, too. He, like Claude, also loves their memes, and I planned to have a few moments where he explained some to Marinette. 

6. Dance. Mainly hip hop, although the boy can break dance a little bit

Félix Agreste: 

1. History (with Marinette) He’s tired in the morning, but good at reciting dates. Again, had a lot more planned for this.

2. Math

3. Spanish. (“Come on, guys, it’s logical. It’s one of the most spoken languages in the world.” -Félix, probably.) I also planned for Félix to already know English. I wanted a cute chapter where he tutored Marinette, only for Claude to start dramatically monologuing because ‘why do you help her but never help me? The betrayal, Fe, the betrayal!’ 

4. Language Arts

5. Science

6. Music (he’s a piano boy in my heart) (maybe also good at violin) (a classy young man) 

Adrien Agreste:

1. History (with Marinette)

2. Language Arts (with Marinette)

3. Science (with Marinette)

4. Math (with Marinette)

5. Chinese (with Marin- oh, wait, we’re done with that!) This class, along with his next, is another reason Adrien relaxed so quickly at the school. By taking Chinese at school, he was able to convince his father to stop the at-home lessons, clearing up some of his schedule.

6. Music. Same as above, playing piano at school meant he didn’t have to do it at home so much.

The Heroes:

“But salthaven, you already introduced the heroes! Envision and Viperion, remember?” Haha, as if those were the only guys I had planned?

Yeah, I had more. Four more.

I wanted the Quantic Kids to be heroes. I had three of them for sure chosen, names and Miraculi assigned to them. (Allegra was my only problem child, but I’ll explain that below.)

The first was supposed to be Allegra. I was going to make her the Fox, with the name Mélodie. I’m pretty sure that was her original hero name, back during the PV stage of this show, and I wanted to pay an homage to her inspiration. But then Félix got it, because I didn’t end up giving him the Cat (yeah, I was really salty when I started this, and I was planning to go the same route that I do in my ao3 fic, Of Patience and Pettiness, and take away the Cat from Adrien to give to Félix.), as Adrien learned from his mistakes. So Allegra waits, and Envision springs to life with Viperion.

Next would be Allan. Miraculous: Bee. Name: Mellifury, based on Mellifura (aka the Africanized Killer Bee) + Fury. He was supposed to be an unexpected storm. A dancer, he uses rhythm in a way that throws off opponents. Uses the spinning top like it's another limb, throws the game way off when first introduced. 

Then we’d have Allegra. After a while, I decided that the Rabbit would be best suited for her. Messing with timelines is a tricky business, but Allegra has a knack for details and organization that would leave her cruising through her tasks with some practice. While it’s nothing musical, it would be fun to see. Name: Cottontail. 

Finally, after an interesting fight that would cause Nathalie to lose the Peacock...Claude would step in. Bold and flashy, the thespian knows how to strut his stuff. But again, he’s a thespian, and theatre kids know when it’s time to hide in the shadows and stay unseen and unheard. With dark blues that can hide in the name and stand out in the daylight, Claude would become Le Paon, turning the tide and becoming a major help for the team. [At first, he dealt with some sickness, but after a talk with Ladybug, who in turn talked to Fu, the Miraculous was fixed and Le Paon could fight as easily as the rest.] He’d use sentimentals wisely, although he’d have a bad habit of monologuing as he created them. 

The Ships:

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. Our first question: Who the hell was Marinette going to end up with? Well, that answer changed throughout the story.

The first choice: Félix. I wanted Marinette to move on from Agreste...and fall in love with Agreste. It humored me, and I was in love with a bunch of Felinette one shots at the time. (And, again, very salty towards Adrien at the moment.) 

But then I redeemed Adrien. No problem, I thought. Marinette could choose between one of the boys...and the other would date Luka! (I mean, did you see the Instagram picture of Luka and Adrien. Luka with either Agreste would be cute, just imagine the musical moments they could have together)

But then I Akumatized Juleka, and Luka was right there...and I made Marinette fall for all three guys. So I decided “Hey, she can just date all three!” And so that’s the final choice, because I’m apparently a sucker for poly ships. 

But I mentioned other ships, didn’t I? So let’s talk about those!

First: Luka with an OC. Yep, I was going to bring in a new girl. It was actually going to be one of my friends, due to a conversation we had that went as follows:

S.H. (Salthaven): So I’m thinking that I’m going to pair up Félix and Marinette. Thoughts?

F. (Friend): Okay, but what about Luka?

S.H.:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

F.: Well then pair me up with him!

So I did. Or I was going to...but then poly ship idea happened. 

As mentioned above, I also considered Luka with either of the Agreste boys. Whoever Marinette didn’t date. Again, couldn’t happen because I went for that sweet poly route. 

Finally: Claude and Allegra. What can I say, they act like an old married couple in my mind!

And that’s everything! Once all the heroes were chosen, and romantic confessions set aside, the Miraculous Team was going to gear up and take down Hawkmoth once and for all. Fun times, the end, we all get a happy ending.

So I hope that makes up for my rather abrupt end to this story. Thank you all for the time you put in, reading my writings, and I hope you enjoy the other works I plan to create! Until next time. <3

[ziracona]

so can u tell us a little about ur characterization of Lisa?? What's she like inside and outside of trials? Does she have a lot of lucidity, what were her relationships with others like, would she ever get better, do you think? ( im SAD.) Just. What's she like!! Also, same for Sally? Oh! And I'm rly enjoying two songs by Meg Myers which maybe you'll like? Running up that hill (Cover) and Desire. Maybe check em out? :3 - Sleepy

Sure!

My Lisa is from a bit before the archives for her placed her (early 1970s), because I wrote ILM back when there was no date given for many killers or survivors, so I just hoped they were historically accurate with the things they did mention & went through a fairly exhaustive list of drained swamps in the Southern US & paddleboat makes & placed her according to that data (it’s been a bit so I don’t remember the exact date without looking up my notes) in the 1920s-1930s, I believe? And in her early 20s, since she’s described as a girl & young woman, which DbD usually does only for characters in their early 20s. (Which I’d still assume is her age, bc even though her archives, if you go by them, have her in her teens, they’re not connected to the events of her disappearance/definitely happened before them.)

In trials, Lisa has like 0 lucidity. I talk about this some in chapter notes, so I’ll try to give a quick overview instead but sry if I restart myself. She’s so starved that any time she sees a living being, she is just completely overcome with hunger and can’t do anything but operate on it. Very scary. Feral. Like being attacked by a starving animal. She’s super out of it, and is completely wild and violent and has no control, only the need to eat. Outside of trials, if no one is around, she’s lucid again, but will remember trials and what she did to people, and spends that time in horror and despair. She’s tried to kill herself before, because the last thing she ever wanted was to become the thing she swore vengeance on (the Entity’s a real cruel motherfucker. Did the same to Rin, to Philip, to everyone it could. Likes to really twist decent people into what they would most despair to be), but in the realm, she’s stuck as it. She’s not really aware for trials, but remembers them with decent clarity, and is in constant agony over what she’s done. Unfortunately, suicide does not take in the realm, and every one of her attempts failed, just like her attempts to maim or tie herself up so she wouldn’t be able to hurt people did. She’s horribly alone and despairing, and also in physical agony. She’s at the worst end of what a human can be at as far as emaciation and starvation while still being alive goes, and that’s physically awful. It fucks up your brain chemistry too, and everything is just really fucking miserable all the time. It hurts to move, it hurts to breathe, your breath smells tastes like rotten fruit but in a way that’s so much worth than that can sound. She’s so hungry, her addons are things like dragonfly wings consumed to give her extra stamina. That’s the kind of bare sliver of relief she ever gets. God, poor Lisa’s life is hell. She’s completely heartbroken and isolated and almost dead. As far as relationships go, she didn’t have any for a long time. No one can really interact with her, because she goes feral at the sight of food. She’s kinda utterly alone. But briefly, when Alex, Philip, Vigo, Benedict, and Sally were a group, she kind of got stumbled into, and after a kind of nasty first encounter, was able to regain lucidity around other people, and had a truly sweet and memorable and invaluable bit of time with love and friends and other people. She was kind of in love with Sally, who did her hair for her and was really kind to her, and Sally liked her too. They were close. Lisa was close with all of them. But when things ended the way they did, the Entity took that away. Lisa remembers it, but she could never get them or it back, and was cast aside and left behind until the end of ILM, when she finally got peace and found happiness in finally getting to be at rest in the arms of a friend. Overal, she’s a fairly young and wide-eyed, bright, cautious, fun and sweet girl by nature, now massively traumatized and hopeless and broken, but still with a truly incredible amount of that kind nature retained. She would have really loved reading fantasy novels aloud and exploring the worlds of lore and history, travelling, seeing other cultures and geographic features and animals. Enjoys fashion too, and has a heart for designing and making cool, personal and cultural and symbolic tied designs, and would have been both great at that and loved it if she’d lived long enough. (Shoutout to @artianaiolanthe who inspired the fashion take & it is so suited to her I love it). A little shy, but an extrovert at heart under it, just a nervous one. Loved people. Liked climbing trees and fording brooks and baking bread and throwing rocks and baseballs to knock a target out of a tree and win a prize at little town fairs. Didn’t get the length or quality of life she was owed, and it’s just not fair or okay at all. Liked to watch the stars.

As far as getting better goes, mentally, totally. If they could get her out of the realm or break the Entity’s connection, she’d immediately stop killing. She has never done it of her own free will. She’s a sweet small town kid who was just trying to live her life. As far as physically goes though, Lisa is in one of the worst possible spots. Unlike say Amanda, who was on death’s door but healed by the Entity, or the Legion, who weren’t injured at all, Lisa was on death’s door and like Adiris, did not get healed. Just preserved in that near-death state and forced to work in it. Honestly, it’s possible she could survive long enough to get to a hospital and be saved, but at best, she’d probably live another year. When you starve, your body begins to catabolize/eat your own tissue to save itself, starting with fat, and ending with muscles and organs, which, when it reaches the heart, kills you. Lisa was so close to dead, the organ damage was probably awful, and would leave her with complications that would take her very young. The most likely thing, since she was saved literally seconds before death, would be for her to step outside the realm and immediately die. However, it’s possible she got lucky on body damage and could be saved—kinda up to interpretation—and if say, she was around for Quentin’s Vigil going healing batshit, and got some organs repaired that way, she’d have a real shot. (I also am sad. Lisa was actually the only determinate character in ILM to me/that I wasn’t sure the ending for, and while I am very happy with what ended up being her closure, I also would like to see her live for even more love and peace TuT. Lol, if I ever end up doing my goddamn four fate route fics like I’ve joked now a truly dangerous number of times about doing [>.> me @ me] then maybe she will get a variety of lives in the end). I’m glad you wanted to know! I really like and pity her. This poor kid really did nothing wrong, much like Rin, and just got eternally tortured for asking for help and justice against the monsters who took her life so violently. Fuck Brittany. (Read: the Entity.)

Ahhhh Sally. My sweet, sweet girl. Uhhh, not sure which of the Lisa questions you meant for her too, so I’ll try to speed-answer them all? Sally’s intelligent and understanding and thoughtful, patient, polite, almost elegant despite how impoverished she spent most of her life—she just tries to act like a lady and treat people with as much respect and esteem as she can (unless they suck lol). She’s also very mentally damaged and not there though, and has extremely unstable mood swings, especially into despair. Her relationships with the other killers were limited. She talked to & was on polite terms with any who would talk to her and not be condescending or a dick so openly she’d pick up on it (so like, on cordial terms with Evan, Herman, Caleb if she’d been there that long, but not like, Kenneth or Freddy or someone who wouldn’t bother to put up an act). But mostly, after figuring out she wasn’t really of any use to them, they quit communicating with her. Sally has been extremely isolated since shortly after being taken. She believes that the survivors are innocent and suffering and knows that they don’t deserve the hunt, but has no way to stop the whole system, and has been convinced by the Entity that if she does a good job and earns moris, the ones she strangles to death get to stay dead instead of coming back after death to suffer endlessly again, so she works very dedicatedly and slowly trying to earn kills to save them. It took her physical eyes when it got her and lets her see through it’s powers, and uses that to randomize what survivors look like in her memory so she doesn’t catch wise it’s the same people over and over and she’s not saving them at all. It’s extremely tragic. God it’s one of the most cruel Entity tricks, which is saying a lot. Poor gentle woman is Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill day after day year after year and she doesn’t even know how hopeless and meaningless it all is. : (

When the Vigo-Philip-Alex-Benedict team was going, though, she met and attacked, then was convinced to instead befriend them, and quickly became very attached and well liked by them. Met Lisa while with the group, and became extremely fond of her and loving towards her and was truly, truly happy for a brief period of time. Still remembers her, even as lost as all her memories are. Not her name, but what she looked like to Sally, and how her hair felt, and how nice it was. Sally would have considered everyone in that group a dear friend, and in ILM, Philip most definitely becomes her deepest, closest, and best friend, just like she does to him. She’s a very faithful woman to her soul. Loved her family, loved her husband and mourned him, worked as hard as she could. Cared for her patients, and did her best in that hell until the Entity slowly whittled away at her sanity until it broke her mind and left her convinced the only way to end their pain would be to give them death, and she had to do it to save them. Sally loves little pretty things and neatness and collections. Flowers, bows and ribbons, china and colored glass. She would have treasured gifts like decorative holiday cards and carved animal figures and left them on her mantle or carefully tucked in lovingly organized and decorated books she could open to revisit the memory. Likes dresses and skirts and the way the wind feels. Hopeful and very enduring. Loving. Had a mom heart, and will never really get entirely over the loss of her children, but is strong and kind and will find new love that makes life still worth living in other people. Will remember both kindness and cruelty a long, long time. Loved Quentin from the second he gave her flowers (Dwight: Quentin, why did the entity let you have three moms? Quentin: Because I fucking earned it >:[“ [author’s note: he did. God that poor kid...]). Loved Kate from the day she sat with her in a hospital and held her hand. Is like that. Remembers small kindness and treasures them.

Sally could definitely recover. Not all the way probably, physically or mentally, but by far enough to be complete and happy and realized and who she wants. She never meant to hurt people, so she really just needs some stability, and I think she finds that with her new family. I mean, it is a lot to adjust to. It’s been like nearly 100 years. The Entiry broke her mind, and she’s got some damage that just probably can’t ever be fixed, but a lot can be, with drugs and treatments and therapy and kindness and a good support system, and honestly, the biggest things she needs are people to keep her memories together and herself present, and influences to protect her from being manipulated and controlled now that she’s so suggestible and easy to hurt, and she’s got that. I am 100% certain that while some things—the scatteredness, the ease of slipping into other moods especially deep sadness, the different way of thinking altogether—never leave her, she gets better in the most important ways and is truly happy and quite functional and what she wants to be. While there’s no way (yet anyway lol. Cybernetics that good when?) to give her new eyes since the Entity ripped hers out, and she’s blind now, and can’t be changed, her seeing eye dog does a great job for her, and she’s very happy and adjusts well. She has a lot of friends to be her eyes, and learns to lean into what she can do and has a quite fulfilling and blissful life outside the realm in ILM.

Also: thanks for the recs! I’m going on a run soon, and I’ll add those to my iPod and give ‘em a listen if I can. Hope this answered what you wanted to know! ^u^

[combust-catalyst]

Sugar and Spice

[ Main Idea: You had decided to give a gift to Bakugou in a form of something to eat. Yet, when you hear that he has a taste for alot of spicy foods sometimes. You wonder if you make something that is both sweet and spicy! ]

[ Notes: Okay, this took me sooooo long to finish! My mind or mentally and emotionally, I’m going through some stuff right now, so that explains why I haven’t posted alot of stories. However, I do have other ones to work on at the moment. I apologize for any grammar mistakes. Or just in general any mistakes. ]

Gifts come in many sizes. Some come in surprises or gifts. After all, everyone loves receiving things from others or being the gift giver. Maybe for social impression. To get that one person you always want to be friends with or was already friends with, they needed to know how much you valued them. To a significant other, their existence in your life had brought you through ups and downs. The ideas and reasons are almost endless.

“How the hell am I going to make this work?” you freaked out over the ingredients spread out on you counter.

Here you was trying to make something for you partner. Wait, it was lover? No, it was special friend? No. It was. . . boyfriend. That was going to take a while to take awhile to set in. Ever since the confession, you’re feelings had been finally returned. Although, you couldn’t be exactly sure since the whole “love you” part wasn’t returned.  

You looked at bunch of recipes over and over again. You was aware of his taste of spice thanks to a fun moment of hot candies. You had ask to try one. And despite your experience, Bakugou must have found it rather interesting for you want to try something like that. Or it may have been he never seen you eat THAT kind of candy before. 

“I think I made a mistake.” you stuck your tongue out feeling the stinging sensation.

“You asked.” Bakugou claimed.

“You could have at least asked if I've tried spicy candy before!” you argued.

“How is it my fucking fault you wanted to try something.” he demanded irritated. “And besides you should know yourself if you can eat spicy things to start with.”

You huffed. 

He had a point. Although, at least a “are you sure you know what you’re getting into” warning would have been nice. Bakugou wasn’t wrong about knowing your own limits. Maybe you was wanting him to stop you or at least find it somewhat funny. Besides, people react to spicy sweets and foods can sometimes be funny; although, seasonings, not so much.

“I wanted to try what you like.” you mumbled.

“Hah?” he asked.

“You like alot of spicy foods, right?” you asked before you looked away nervously. “So I wanted to at least try what you like!”

“Are you trying to be ME?” he groaned clearly confused and concerned for your reason for risking the taste of some spicy candy.

“No,” you denied feeling a bit insulted from hearing that conclusion. “I just want to understand a bit more of what you like!”

There was an awkward silence again. It was a bit nerve wrecking to a degree. Perhaps saying that was not too smart. 

He turned around walking ahead of you, “You’ve been staring at me all this time and. . . fuck!”

And here you were; in your family’s kitchen. A bowl of chocolate and another bowl of spicies. You had decided to see if you could making some spicy chocolate for Bakugou. There wasn’t any crazy occasion, but you did feel the need to share your heart. And he did say “show me how you feel”. Perhaps this was what he meant.

You sighed, “I’m pretty sure that meant the fighting combat training from last time.” 

You could still feel the lecture from Aizawa. After that event, he had made it clear it was excused, but that would mean more homework for you later on. One your teacher seemed all too happy to oblige. As a result, you was given quite a bit of paper work to deal with. You had at first suggested joining back in, but was quickly shutdown because of how red around the eyes you looked and a quick order to stay with Recovery Girl.

You set up your laptop safely away from mess you was probably going to attempt. 

“Does even spicy chocolate exist?” you asked yourself a bit doubting yourself. “Does Bakugou even eat chocolate? Oh my god! What if my gift isn’t good enough?”

You cupped your face racing back and forth questioning this very idea. It wasn’t surprising to be a bit worried. You wanted to prove yourself, but you didn’t want to be lazy about it. It had to be perfect! It NEEDED to be perfect! You didn’t want his acceptance to be put in vain!  

You slammed your hands on the table, “I can’t back out now.” And then recoiled from the impact on the table. “Ow.”

The day had shifted as if everything was normal. Or was it? The day at home had caused you slightly miss a bit of sleep due to your “research”. You had arrived to school just like everyone else and attended classes. During lunch, you was invited by Kirishima to join him and Bakugou--along with Kaminari. Although, Bakugou seemed a bit displeased with you being added in. Kirishima welcomed you like a sibling. Kaminari was happy, although still curious over how class 1-A explosive head had caught your attention so easily. The conversation though was shut down by the very person Kaminari questioned about. Yet, it was for a good reason. A challenging one though at that. Meanwhile, your mind had wandered off to ponder who knew making chocolate, but a spicy flavor was much more difficult than it should be. 

On the way home, you trailed behind Bakugou staring intently at your phone.

“Okay, that shouldn’t be too hard.” you mumbled. “Though one of those ingredients maybe a bit hard to find possibly? But I can’t just quit now. I’ve only gotten start with searching.”

Unfortunately, you failed to forget who you with which caused your head bumped into Bakugou’s back who just happen to be stopping all of sudden.

“Why are you mumbling all fucking quiet behind me?” He ask a bit irritated.

“Eh,” you blinked before realization set in, “Oh! I was just looking at my phone on this new hero stuff going on! There is this one blog making some cool treats!”

“You suck at lying.” Bakugou deadpanned.

“I’m not lying!” you defended yourself.

“You’ve clearly been walking around with something else on your mind.” he rubbed his temples. “How else have you been mumbling all damn day, huh?”

“I’ve that easy to read, huh?” you nervously scratched your head.

“Like a fucking open book,” he resplied almost instantly. “What are you even planning now? And don’t tell me you aren’t because most of that mumbling has been nothing, but “ingredients”.”

“I can’t tell.” you replied just as fast as you looked away from him.

“Why the hell not?” he growled. 

“It would ruin the surprise---!” you explained before checking the time on your phone. “Oh, I have to go! I got to do a thing downtown in the mall!” You slowly slipping away from Bakuguou as you headed another direction, “I’ll see you at school, Bakugou!”

“Get back here,” he demanded but you had already dashed off again. “God damn it!”

Returning back home, you had discovered a special kind of chocolate, a spicy recipe. It seem to fit along with what seem available which was quite pleasing. And the ingredients wasn’t too hard to get, but you felt even if it as a problem, you’d work yourself to get them. 

“Now,” you said as you put on your apron and rolled up your sleeves, “time to start cooking!” 

You had already designed a special kind of chocolate for Bakugou. It was mainly a simplified design from his hero costume, but you made sure to emphasize the explosion in his design. After all, he wasn’t just called “Explosion Boy” by Kirishima for nothing. There wasn’t going to be any food coloring as the theme was still chocolate, but you powdered spices was still a thing.

As you proceeded to stir, you hummed in delight to yourself. The aroma was soothing. 

“I really hope he likes them.” you giggled as you felt your cheeks heat up. 

Arriving back to school, you made sure to carry the chocolates in a nicely wrapped box. It was classic, no over dramatic heart shape, but the colors couldn’t have been more obvious. With orange top and black bottom with a neatly tied red ribbon on top.

“Hey,” a voice called out to you. “You look really fucking happy for some reason.”

You squealed as your body jump up straight. ‘It’s not,’ you peaked behind you to see nothing there. “Oh, I must be hearing things.”

“Look in front of you, dumbass!” the voice barked again.

You jumped again. The gift slowly almost falling out of your grasp if not for your sudden adrenaline yelling at you to not drop it. It didn’t touch the ground which was a relief. However, your pose, while almost ballerina-wise or however it appeared could not be said the same. The majority of the students glanced back at you while some giggled. Was it from the pose? Was it Bakugou? You doubt it. Most just felt in different of him or just never cared.

You huffed a bit hiding your bottom face as you hugged the gifted tightly with your arms. It seemed to not attraction the ash-blonde’s attention as his red eyes was trained onto your own eyes. He appeared to be suspicious as one of his eyebrows lifted.

“What the hell?” was his only response. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“You scared me Bakugou!” you accused. “I almost dropped my stuff!”

“What stuff,” he inquired. “That box you keep holding so close or something?”

“Eh?” you blinked until you looked at the box you held close to yourself. “Oh! It’s something REALLY important!”

You smiled brightly at the ash-blonde. Heart beating at a rapid pace. You was certain you was turning slightly red.

The package was important. Yet, to who it was meant for gave a much higher importance! 

“Actually,” you hesitated. “Bakugou?”

“What,” he responded.

Skin mixed with skin; hand with hand, you grasped Bakugou’s hands which stunned the boy. You proceeded to pull him away from the students still piling onto school campus. The gift still kept to your chest and your face hidden as you pulled Bakugou away. Further and further away from anyone. A building a bit not far out in the open, but secluded area, you stopped to breathe. You pondered if you was gaining more stamina for all the running. Although, it didn’t last as he pulled his hand away from your grasp. The warmth replaced with cold air.

“What the hell?” he barked while you sighed to calm your racing heart. “What the fuck are you doing?”

You gave one more sigh and you bowed, “I’m sorry, but,”  and shoved forward your gift, “here!”

It was silent. Too silent. You didn’t move from you spot. Yet, you kept your eyes on the ground. 

You continued to talk, “I wanted to give you this gift! I know you said “show you how I feel, which I guess you was probably talking about my skills in the class before all that stuff happened! But I wanted to show it another one too! It’s not great or what you was demanding I guessing, but I don’t want to take your acceptance for granted!”

You hands began to feel empty as air flew by your skin. Your eyes came into contact with Bakugou’s as he held your gift. His expression a bit more red, but it was hard for you tell. His expression felt indifferent. His eyes glancing between you and the gift you had held onto so tightly.

A lump fell down your throat as he opened it. His eye dilated in interest and expression pure surprise. Your fingers jitters nervously as you tilted your head a bit to the side. A face full of concern.

“Um,” you called softly, “Bakugou? Is something wrong? Do you not like it?”

Another silence. 

“Bakugou?” you repeated. 

He was being rather too silent. Even for someone like him, who was loud and vocal in his social approaches; or some of them he was. 

“You,” he grumbled trying to cover his mouth as he seem to go red from ear to ear now.

Inside, you had made the chocolates in similar design to his grenades he would wear on his belt, but sprinkled a bit of green like powder. His signature explosive symbol that was from his mask design was on the side, but covered in a orange like powder. You didn’t want to go simple with hearts or balls. You wanted it to be more closely tied to him. Tied to Bakugou. He was special to you after all. And these chocolates had to prove it.

His constant staring had you on edge. You hope wasn’t freaked out or worried by it.

“You know you can eat it, right?” you reminded him which had jolted his attention.

“I know that!” he barked almost more red now. “Just not right now I can’t!”

Your smiled, “I’m happy you have it though. Maybe during lunch you try it!” Your enthusiasm was showing. “I had to look into some specifics ingredients that may give the chocolate a bit more pop.”

His back was turned to you as you continued to smile. He didn’t seem displeased in your eyes, so he must have liked it. He glanced over at you before pointing in front of him.

“You’re going to be late, dumbass.” he informed you.

“Eh,” you blinked dumbfounded with a smile on your face before it hit you. “Ah! Class!” And soon enough you was off in a hurry again. “Sorry, Bakugou!” you yelled, “Tell me how it taste later, okay!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied.

However, you may have called it chance or luck, but you was pretty sure you had caught him blushing, but it was more of a grin. 

[shy-magpie]

RQG 145

My first EA episode and I'm getting to it 4 hours after release because I'm so excited about joining the Patreon I can’t focus. Its silly but hey birthday money well spent if it makes me this happy right? Ok I think I'm centered enough to hit play.

Eee its going to be my name there someday!

Poor Cel! Poor Azu!

I'm impressed, Alex managed to summarize pretty well given  the circumstances.

Hamid: oh dear! Skraak: Skraak, pressure equalization, Skraak!

What! I was right - he has been getting clearer! Did Alex imply he has been playing up how drugged is? Smart way to get a sense of the party while he gets his feet under him if so.

Thank you Alex, we need those numbers. Oh poor Hamid is confident on a 3.

Skraak is helping! Hamid is listening to him!

~~~Party time~~~

Alarms!

Blast doors? Yes! They won't drown!

Azu! Cel! Zolf!

Point Cel, Shoin seems actively against being useful

Nice, Salt Beard coming up properly after all this time! Scary sounds! Bubbles! Thats got to be a good sign right? Loving the bit with Zolf's thumb!

Not clear what happened plot wise, but Ben did some nice work showing Zolf’s emotions in ways I can’t put into works. Healing time! It is a very Cel, TBF, to quantify their health

Speaker time! Oh thank goodness everyone is healed up. Yeah the food's poisoned we got that with the brunch Hamid was dragged from.

Sweet, torches in the bags of holding are fine.

Loving the character interactions, especially Zolf and Cel bonding over Shoin’s bad design.

Bryn! Alex! That is an actual crime! Conspiracy to commit angst!

I love Zolf's growth!

I will need a transcription of this scene!

Cel was in war zones?

Speakers again

~~~

Hamid is humming opera music (Carmen?)

Scratch? Skraak has been marking the path when Hamid didn't think of it. I love Skraak! Hamid dear, when you get a moment, I know there's a lot on your mind: double check on Skraak's name and pronouns would ya? Also Hamid is doing awesome with the changes. I had faith in him but its great hearing him cheerfully ask Skraak for input as a local expert; instead of trying to force the pattern that worked before even as Skraak gets less kid like. Love to see how this shakes out, even though I confess Hamid having a new younger sibling was a treat. OK enough tangent let's open a hatch!

Oh pressure gauge! I wonder if that helps with more than flooding.

Wrench! I love a call back.

That's one way to refer to Hamid's abilities. Also I am aware of Zolf and Hamid's dwindling spell slots; I am just convincing myself they will be able to camp for the night in a safe hallway before Alex Shoin happens.

Oh good something is maintained around here.

Green light? Alex, did you come up with the hidden doors purely to mess with theoretical maps? Because Babs has been doing pretty well so far but I'll be her second if she challenges Alex to a fight in the parking lot after this episode.

~~~Break time, no ad is surprisingly weird, on edit listen is an ad with Mike that proves once again that I am so far gone on RQ that I even find the ads charming~~~

Oh more Hamid time!

That was a lot of dice, no numbers that I caught. Oh dear! (Was that Ben teasing him?)

In the rafters of a very large room. Huge domed ceiling, sounds pretty. Have I gone 20 minutes without saying how much I love Alex's set design? Thank you Ben, I will google it, *sticks out tongue*. Seriously as long as you enunciate and don't get into stuff so niche you lose people in England too, then don't worry about us from the US. Honestly you guys worry about everything, the occasional missed reference isn't worth the brainspace.

Still not happy about the lack of maintenance, especially given that's what stands between the party and drowning

Skraak sounds worried: it is his first time down this far and sounding more himself by the second. Still no hint of second guessing throwing in with Hamid! As good as Bryn is at avoiding spoilers, I thought he wouldn't have brought up Cohort on the discord if Skraak took it really badly as they sobered up, but is still a relief. Not that I would blame Skraak for much short of turning out to be the secret Big Bad: the circumstances were pretty messed up; even if I stand by saying you can't leave someone who pledged to you and isn't in a position to cover that up if their old boss catches them. Yes I know a conversation about spiders not being the most dangerous thing the party used on Kobolds is coming but with Skraak not turning out to be a kid, it might be more tense but cut my concerns in half. Hell the Kobolds might well be able to fend for themselves post Shoin if they loot the place in compensation.

"I still think that might be an exaggeration"

Oh Hamid has the Elven cloak too. How do you wear two cloaks at once? And don't say you don't, Hamid is not losing 4 levels of dragon awesome (or however Pathfinder put it) in the middle of a dungeon.

Skraak remembers the health potion and doesn't mind being asked to hang back. Hamid arms Skraak with a injection spear. Has the canisters for it too. I may have underestimated him (or on the Doylist level this falls under reasonable retcon; then again I might just have missed Bryn saying he was pocketing this stuff because I thought he would run it by Zolf). *Shrugs* please keep a sample for testing, I have a pet theory I'd love to see tested.

Alex, just...thanks for using a tone of voice that made it completely clear you were joking

Skraak: Skraak avenger, death from above etc! Hamid: Remember, General Skraak Avenger! Hamid remembers what he said to Skraak whether they do or not! OK like I said I loved Hamid adopting Skraak as a new little brother but this new phase is a lot of fun if harder to quantify.

Oh the sleeves! The cloaks don't have to have much physical presence, do they? That makes sense. Sleeves and prestidigitation? Right after being so charming with Skraak? Hamid is in fine form

Alex is just feeling mischievous tonight, I like it.

An enormous pipe organ? I love Alex's set design. (also one day my brain will pull up the right person the first time when someone references Bill Nye or Bill Nighy but even with the Pirates context today is not that day)

I know, Ben, cosmetic or not its fricken awesome.

I don't like the pipes, I don't get the pipes, but I don't like them (that fine mesh better not imply there is something airborne in the complex)

Is it wrong that other than the more obviously ominous bits this sounds like a great place to live?

Chaise longue

Is this seriously set up for the party -wait... Did Hamid skip to the end of the maze with only Skraak for back up and no sleep!?! No reunion or camping scene first? Not even a spell restoring nap?!

Human IOD? ALEX, WHAT IS UP WITH THIS FIGURE? ITS SHOIN RIGHT? ITS GOTTA BE.

Don't listen to Ben, Alex will get you if you jump to conclusions. That's my dragon! Sneaky lad learned from Sasha!

~~~Of course he is switching to the party. Man has a sense of timing.

More party favors, daggers make my heart twinge

Azu takes Cel’s hand to guide them

Gonna light a torch? Or is Zolf keeping up his anti light thing.

Alex is simplifying things No Zolf is not throwing open the door. Oh thank hope, Zolf is lighting a torch. Pathfinder jokes

We like it too Alex!

I like the zone thing.

Cel, I adore you! Zolf just promised backstory! Get that down! And a miner/minor pun, these people are the best! Oh tin miner!

Lights! Golden bulkhead! Seriously where is this guy getting his money?

Azu spots a trap! Yes Alex, we respect your craft. Trip wire!

I love the boots

Oh Cel is clumsy, I hadn't actually noticed that.

Genre savvy Cel hulks out with bat wings! Claws! Fangs! HP goes up thank all the gods! (Azu lets go of their hand)

Ben needs to look up spells but Zolf is prepared Azu puts on the iron beard

They throw open the door!

~~~

Poor Bryn, stuck waiting for the next episode like us listeners to find out the results.

I've been re listening to some early episodes and I really missed the "byes". It's a silly sign off but I think that comfort with silly might be part of why I like it?

Re: the bloopers, it would have been a little funny if they did a “detect traps” and got knocked out like when Hamid tried detect magic in, was it Rome?

OK bottom line: Skraak is awesome; I still miss Sasha but at least Lydia can be a bat even if it isn’t cloak of the bat; Zolf came back better than ever and actually wants to have at least 2 real conversations; and Azu is a champ for doing so well despite her phobias (which are still taken seriously because Helen and RQ are friggen awesome). Fun and pulpy, that's how ya do it! Stakes from the sea floor to the stratosphere! Character moments! Sets that make Hollywood weep in jealousy!

Okay okay some people may be stressed out after that even though everyone ended up fighting fit, which is fair, ok? but physical peril? Just a roller coaster to me, I'll take it any day of the week and twice on Sundays!

[achrisstevenson]

The Illustrious Wendy Van Camp Interview!

Author Interview: Chris J. Breedlove

October 23, 2019

Wendy Van Camp

2 Comments

I asked Author Chris Breedlove what his motto for being a writer was.  He answered:

A Writer is… A humble, receptive student and negotiator But the heart that beats within his/her breast Is a determined savage Unfamiliar with surrender

Please welcome this savvy science fiction author to No Wasted Ink.

My name is Chris Harold Stevenson and I’m 67 years young. I go by the pen name Christy J. Breedlove for my YA books and stories. Yes, I changed gender entirely. That’s another story.

My early writing accomplishment were multiple hits within a few years: In my first year of writing back in 1987, I wrote three SF short stories that were accepted by major slick magazines which qualified me for the Science Fiction Writers of America, and at the same time achieved a Finalist award in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. This recognition garnered me a top gun SF agent at the time, Richard Curtis Associates. My first novel went to John Badham (Director) and the producers, the Cohen Brothers. Only an option, but an extreme honor. The writer who beat me out of contention for a feature movie was Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. My book was called Dinothon.

A year after that I published two best-selling non-fiction books and landed on radio, TV, in every library in the U.S. and in hundreds of newspapers.

I have been trying to catch that lightning in a bottle ever since. My YA dystopian novel, The Girl They Sold to the Moon won the grand prize in a publisher’s YA novel writing contest, went to a small auction and got tagged for a film option. So, My latest release is Sceamcatcher: Web World, and it’s showing some promise. I’m getting there, I hope!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I considered myself a writer when I published the two shorts in Amazing Stories magazine. I actually considered myself an author after my first non-fiction book was published and hit the media. It seems I had to have legitimate credits in order to claim such status.

Can you share a little about your current book with us?

I can give you the basic summary, or the extended blurb:

When seventeen-year-old Jory Pike cannot shake the hellish nightmares of her parent’s deaths, she turns to an old family heirloom, a dream catcher. Even though she’s half-blood Chippewa, Jory thinks old Native American lore is so yesterday, but she’s willing to give it a try. However, the dream catcher has had its fill of nightmares from an ancient and violent past. After a sleepover party, and during one of Jory’s most horrific dream episodes, the dream catcher implodes, sucking Jory and her three friends into its own world of trapped nightmares. They’re in an alternate universe—locked inside of an insane web world filled with murders, beasts, and thieves. How can they find the center of the web where all good things are allowed to pass? Where is the light of salvation? Are they in hell?

What inspired you to write this book?

It all started with a dream catcher. This iconic item, which is rightfully ingrained in Indian lore, is a dream symbol respected by the culture that created it. It is mystifying, an enigma that that prods the imagination. Legends about the dream catcher are passed down from multiple tribes. There are variations, but the one fact that can be agreed upon is that it is a nightmare entrapment device, designed to sift through evil thoughts and images and only allow pleasant and peaceful dreams to enter into the consciousness of the sleeper.

I wondered what would happen to a very ancient dream catcher that was topped off with dreams and nightmares. What if the nightmares became too sick or deathly? What if the web strings could not hold any more visions? Would the dream catcher melt, burst, vanish, implode? I reasoned that something would have to give if too much evil was allowed to congregate inside of its structure. I found nothing on the Internet that offered a solution to this problem—I might have missed a relevant story, but nothing stood out to me. Stephen King had a story called Dream Catcher, but I found nothing in it that was similar to what I had in mind. So I took it upon myself to answer such a burning question. Like too much death on a battlefield could inundate the immediate location with lost and angry spirits, so could a dream catcher hold no more of its fill of sheer terror without morphing into something else, or opening up a lost and forbidden existence. What would it be like to be caught up in another world inside the webs of a dream catcher, and how would you get out? What would this world look like? How could it be navigated? What was the source of the exit, and what was inside of it that threatened your existence? Screamcatcher: Web World, the first in the series, was my answer. I can only hope that I have done it justice.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I’m a fruit salad of other known writer’s influences. Oh, like what I consider stylists: Poul Anderson, Virgin Planet, Peter Benchley, The Island and Jaws, Joseph Wambaugh, The Onion Field and Black Marble, Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park, Alan Dean Foster, Icerigger trilogy, and some Stephen King. Anne Rice impresses with just about anything she has written. I think it’s the humor and irony that attracts me the most–and it’s all character-related

How did you come up with the title of this book?

After I had the idea/premise for the book, having researched similar works, if any, I found that I had something very unique. It dawned on me to name the book Screamcatcher since it was a play on words and it sounded impactful. Again, I researched that word and only found that it was used in a short story about a kid having a tooth extraction. I knew then that I was home free. I was continuously complimented by all of the publishers and editors who saw the title. It’s the first book in the series, and I have sub-titles for the other two as well, which are sold and just about ready for editing.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I’m not very heavy-handed when it comes to delivering messages in my books. I want to avoid any preaching at all costs. I do include the basic/standard survival, loyalty, courage and persistence themes in my young characters, as well as emotional growth and cooperation. I did hide, or rather include, a very deep and subtle message in the story that I think most will gloss over or not recognize altogether. And that is my belief that sometimes the nice guy finishes first and gets the gal. I wanted something that swerved away from the controlling, domineering alpha male that is so often seen in other works of YA and romance. I wanted a slow burn sweet romance that was touching. Quite a few reviewers recognized this message and I got kudos for it. That was a RELIEF.

Are experiences in this book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

The main character Jorlene (Jory) is named after my sister. Although she does not resemble the FMC physically, she does so in an emotional sense. Her boyfriend, Choice Daniels, is named after my great-nephew. All of my books contain the names of my extended family members. And there are parts of them that show through in the personalities of the fictional characters.

What authors have most influenced your life? What about them do you find inspiring?

Other than those stylists mentioned above, I had direct contact with members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Alan Dean Foster, Richard Curtis, Robert Bloch, Bob Heinlein, Clive Barker, and others. From their Youtube instruction videos and articles, JK Rowling, Anne Rice, and Stephen King have inspired me tremendously with their no-nonsense attitude about hammering those keys in spite of depression, lack of motivation or pure laziness.

If you had to choose, is there a writer would you consider a mentor? Why?

That honor would go to Poul Anderson who wrote back to me habitually and gave me guidance in the industry when I needed it the most. He took out his valuable time to befriend me and answer so many questions. Can you tell I’m a dinosaur yet?

Who designed the cover of your book? Why did you select this illustrator?

Carlone Andrus of Melange Books, Fire & Ice YA division rendered the cover after reading the book. I had a different idea in mind, but she absolutely nailed it. The compliments have never stopped coming. Most of the plot is revealed on the cover but you would have to search very hard to put it all together.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Watch your spending on ads–they can be grossly ineffective. Use social media and generously interact with fellow writers and readers. Don’t abuse FB and Twitter solely for the purpose of “Buy My Book.” Join writing groups and learn from the pros. Ask politely for reviews–don’t pressure, harass or intimidate. Be creative. Target your genre readers. Offer incentives and freebies. Craft a newsletter and send it out bi-monthly. Don’t take critiques as personal attacks–learn from honest opinions. Don’t despair. Never give up. Revenge query. I run a writer’s advocate blog and I pull no punches.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

If you think that you’ve had it tough, I recommend you watch Magic Beyond Words, the life story of Joanne Kathleen Rowling. Books just don’t happen. They are nurtured and raised from infancy, just like a budding writer is. This business might quit you, but you cannot quit the business. Stay active and attentively writing.

Chris J. Breedlove Sylvania, Alabama

FACEBOOK TWITTER AMAZON PAGE BLOG

Screamcatcher: Web World

[romanticatheart-posts]

King Sized Revelations - 10

Pairing: Liam x MC (Catherine) OC Constantine x Regina Introducing: Jeremy (A former beau of Catherine’s) Rating: NSFW (by requesting to be tagged, you acknowledge that you are at least 18+)  Disclaimer: Pixelberry owns all characters, except for the ones I created for the story. 

Tags: @umccall71 @3pawandme @indiacater @katurrade @lodberg @heatherfilliez @eadanga @missevabean @furiousherringoperatortoad @flowerpowell @cheeseedreams47 @tornbetween2loves @smalltalk88   @hopefulmoonobject @stopforamoment @blznbaby @ao719 @cocomaxley @perfectprofessorherokid @femmeshep @sarwin85  @wannabemc2 @gardeningourmet @krsnlove @mrsdrakewalkerblog @annekebbphotography

Master List --

While waiting for Liam you undress and slip on your robe, climb into bed and grab a book on the bedside table. After reading for a while, the door opens suddenly, and Liam enters. His expression is unreadable. “Liam? What’s wrong?” He walks over and sits beside you, taking your hand and stares intently into your eyes. “Regina told me what happened this afternoon. Is there something you forgot to mention?” 

You look at him confused, trying to think of what he’s talking about. Nothing major had happened while you and Regina were organizing for the upcoming Apple Festival, so what did she tell him exactly?

“I don’t think so.” He can see that you are baffled so he tries to calmly explain. “Regina mentioned that a friend of yours called this afternoon and it’s my understanding we’ll be having a guest in a few days.” 

That afternoon-- Your phone began to ring while you and Regina were sorting through the decorations, but before you could find it, the call ended. Apparently, you’d laid it down and it was inadvertently buried underneath the scattered debris. Within seconds it beeped indicating you had a voice mail, so after punching a few numbers, you listened. 

“Hey Cat, this is Jeremy. I got your message and I’m guessing you’re busy, so I’ll try back later.” 

After realizing who had left the message, you immediately press the redial button and before the second ring, he answers. 

J: “Cat?” C: “Hey Jeremy!” J: “How the hell are ya? It’s been a long time.” C: “Yeah it has.” J: “Wow! It’s good to hear from you.” C: “How have you been?” J: “Oh, you know me, same old same old… kicking ass and taking names, but what about you?” C: “Same as you, but with a little more hutzpah…” J: “Fearless as ever, huh?” C: “Yeah, I guess you could say that... Hey, I won’t keep you, but I did have a reason for calling. I hope it’s not asking too much, but I need a favor.” J: “I guess I do still owe you for keeping me out of trouble over all those unpaid parking tickets… So, what’s up?” C: “Well… I need your architectural advice.” J: “So… ready to draft that restaurant slash general store you always talked about?” C: “Heh. No, I think someone else beat me to it, but I do have another project I’m having some trouble with. Have you got a minute?”

Back to the present -- “Oh yeah… I’m sorry, it must have slipped my mind. You seem a bit edgy. Is everything okay?” Liam ignores your question and responds with one of his own. “Who is this friend anyway?” 

You are a little bothered by his tone, but figure this does warrant an explanation. “You remember me talking about Jeremy, and since he’s an architectural enginee--” Liam cuts you off mid-sentence. “Wait. THE Jeremy?” “Yes. I wanted his opinion about that problem with the structure of the school and I thought he might have some insight.” As Liam tries to hide his growing anxiety, he lifts your hand to his lips. “My queen, we have perfectly qualified architects in Cordonia, already working on the issue I might add.” 

“I know, but they haven’t been able to figure it out yet and I’m impatient.” There is something odd in his demeanor, but you just can’t put your finger on yet. “While I understand your desire to have this school in full operation sooner rather than later, I feel our best course of action would be to allow the experts more time to collaborate on the issue.” 

You protest. “More time? Why should those kids have to wait until your so-called ‘experts’ stop their pissing contest and get down to the business of finding a solution?!” Liam pays no mind to your upheaval because at the moment, he has his own agenda. Whatever that might be. “They are simply trying to work through the different angles and find the best possible result. Jeremy on the other hand, what’s in it for him? I have to wonder why he accepted your invitation on such short notice. Doesn’t that seem a little odd to you?” You think to yourself, ‘You seem a little odd to me at the moment.’

“No. Not in the least. And I didn’t invite him, he offered.” 

“He offered? Well that’s even more suspicious.” 

“Suspicious?” Liam nods his agreement. You take a deep breath trying to steady your nerves and then calmly explain. “He’s taking vacation next week and hadn’t made specific plans, so he thought it would be the perfect excuse to visit Europe. He wants to see the blueprints because it would be unethical to make an educated guess about a stability problem over the phone, especially since it involves the safety of children. And what was I supposed to do, tell him no?” 

Without flinching, Liam responds. “Yes. That would have been a perfectly acceptable response in my opinion.” By now you are more than a little annoyed with this line of questioning and his delivery of them. “Liam, what’s gotten into you? Why are you being so difficult about this?” 

Liam coolly adjusts himself and doesn’t make eye contact, but it’s clear to you that he is upset. “Liam why does this bother you?” He finally looks up and after a few seconds he sighs woefully. “Catherine, since Jeremy is a former lover… It raises questions as to what his motives are for coming here.” 

“Such as?” “Well… why would he be willing to fly halfway across the continent, for no compensation I might add, just to share his architectural proficiency? Is he expecting something in return for this selfless act? Does he even know of your current marital status?” 

And there it is! How did you not see it before? “Why King Liam, I do believe you’re jealous.” You can’t help but puff out a faint laugh when you realize the reason behind Liam’s behavior, and needless to say he is less than pleased by your lack of sensitivity to the situation. “I’m glad this is so amusing to you Catherine. I didn’t realize my concern would translate so humorously.” Seeing the hurt on his face, tugs at your heart and you reach for his hand, looking at him lovingly.  

“I’m sorry Liam, I should have talked to you about this first. And, I don’t think your concerns are funny at all. I think it’s sweet.” He looks at you a little less annoyed as you begin to explain. And it doesn’t hurt that running a finger along his jawline causes him to shiver slightly. “It’s just… I’ve never seen you react that way before and… it was kind of adorable when I understood why.” Liam relaxes somewhat as you continue. “I love you. With all my heart. And I would never allow anyone to come between us.” After absorbing your words, a smile begins to form on his lips. With his arms wrapped around you, he brings you flush against him and kisses you tenderly. 

Realizing how ridiculous he must have sounded before, he smiles sheepishly. “I suppose I was being somewhat unreasonable about the whole thing, but… when I heard he was coming here… well, I didn’t know what to think.” “Liam...” He kisses you soundly and when he pulls back, he is wearing a loving smile. “Although, it would ease my mind if I knew a bit more about him… about the breakup, I mean.” 

You think for a minute and remember that your split from Jeremy happened just before you met Liam. Knowing it would only create more unnecessary questions and emotional trauma, you decide not to mention that part. 

“Well, as in most breakups we just drifted apart. He was busy with an important project and what time I wasn’t at the bar, I was volunteering at the children’s home.” Liam’s expression turns more serious. “Did you love him?” The answer is written on your face before you even speak it and it doesn’t escape Liam’s notice. “I thought I did, but…” 

You spend the next half hour highlighting the reasons why your relationship with Jeremy had failed. Liam is very attentive and is never judging. “In the beginning, it was both new and exciting, but as time passed it was obvious that he wasn’t ready for a commitment…” 

The final blow had been when you discovered the ‘project’ he was working on wasn’t entirely about architectural design. He was cheating. Which came as no real surprise, but that was ultimately the reason the relationship ended. “Liam, I have no lingering feelings for Jeremy, if that’s what you were thinking. And I can guarantee he’s not coming here to win me back,” “I never thought it was you Catherine, but how can you be so sure of his intentions?” “Well for one, he’s engaged, and… his fiancé will be joining him on this trip.” Liam’s relief is evident from the brilliant smile that flashes across his face and then his expression becomes more thoughtful. “Catherine, I hope you know that I would never be unfaithful to you.” 

You think back to the time when Liam was engaged to Madeleine and what he’d said about having a relationship outside of marriage and how it was acceptable behavior for the royal family, as long as both parties agreed. You hadn’t questioned it then, but suddenly you needed an answer. “You know, we never really discussed that arrangement you had with Madeleine. I mean, weren’t you willing to keep me as your mistress if you’d married her?” Liam sighs. “That is a valid question and yes, it’s true. However, I was only willing because it was you. I suppose it was selfish of me, but at the time that was the only way I knew to keep you in my life. It was never about just anyone Catherine…” 

“So you’ve never thought about having a lover on the side?” He looks at you, shocked that you would even think such a thing. “That’s not who I am at all. Our marriage is more important than that… you are what’s important to me.” Liam takes your hand and gently kisses the back of it and then looks deep into your eyes. “Catherine, I would never bring cause for you to doubt my love for you… you are all I’ll ever need. Nothing in this world could distract me from that.” Smiling, you kiss him as he lowers you back onto the pillow and you moan slightly when he leans into you. “Mmm…” With your hands running through his hair, you finally part and shoot him a playful grin. “In case you were wondering, I’d never agree to it anyway my king.” 

Liam smiles and you catch a twinkle in his eyes as he raises up, leaning on his elbow. His gaze falls toward the opening of your robe and with his free hand he lightly traces along the seam just inside it which causes you to quiver. When his eyes meet yours again he speaks in a low tone of voice. “I’ve never been one to share either... especially when it comes to you my queen.” Before you can say a word, his lips crash into yours with a passion so intense, that you feel the flow of electric corpuscles running through your veins and merging cohesive at your core. He breaks from your lips and trails kisses down your neck as his hand pulls your robe open and halfway down your arm, exposing one of your breasts. You gasp as he glides his tongue over your hard nipple and commands the curve of it in his hand. “Ohh…!” 

Within a few minutes, he’s managed to completely remove your robe and throws it to the side. He pauses, drinking in the sight of you as you lay bare before him. “I’m not sure how it’s possible, but you are even more beautiful each time I see you like this.” You sit up and kiss him while unbuttoning his shirt, feeling his muscled arms as you slide it down and then off. Liam draws in a sharp breath as you run both hands across his chest and down his abs, enjoying the feel of him. “Mmm, yeah. I’d say you’ve definitely developed more tone since we were married.” He smiles mischievously. “It must be those rigorous workout sessions…” He chuckles. “…multiple times each day.” 

You smile as your hand slips inside his trousers, between his skin and his underwear, earning a deep groan from Liam. “Oh, Catherine… You have no idea what that does to me.” Not waiting for a response, he leans in kissing you slow and deep. His breathing wavers as you gently stroke up and down his already hardened length. After a few moments, you slowly withdraw your hand and then reach for his belt. He gently grabs your hand. “Allow me.” Liam removes the remainder of his clothes where they end up in a pile on the floor next to the other discarded items. 

You gently guide him where he willingly lays back with his head against the pillows and then pulls you on top of him. He catches you in a lingering kiss as his hands wander to the small of your back, pressing you even closer. You remain that way for several minutes until Liam suddenly rolls you on your back and braces himself above you with a smile on his face. You playfully smirk. “What’s this my king?” Before answering, Liam scans your body with his eyes and his hands. “A little taste of you is never enough my queen.” He almost growls as his hand reaches between your legs and finds your wet folds. “God, you’re so wet.” 

You moan as he swirls his fingers in your juices and traces slowly around your sensitive bud. “It’s your fault…” He kisses you, then follows a line down your neck, your chest until he reaches your thigh where he slowly kisses his way inward and groans as he slips his tongue into your moist pink flesh. “Mmmm...” 

You moan, enraptured by his every touch. “Oh Liam…” While his mouth is positioned firmly over your entrance, his tongue plays copiously in and out of you. He takes his time, extracting every ounce of sweet nectar. You writhe and moan in the process, but he doesn’t relent… if anything, it just arouses him more. He clutches your hips securely so as not to betray his intentions, which only heightens your own desire. You close your eyes and let the waves of energy carry you to the height of ecstasy.  

When his fingers move slowly and deliberately over your swollen nub, you cry out as your body finally gives in to the overwhelming pleasure. “Liam… Liam… Ohhh…!” Liam moans when he feels you squeeze his tongue and relishes the taste of sweet victory as he grasps tighter trying to pull you even closer. “Mmmm…” He stays in that position for several minutes until the spasms stop and then slowly moves up to capture your lips in a passionate kiss. 

He aligns his body with yours and slowly slides his throbbing length inside you. You both inhale sharply at the moment of impact as Liam grips the headboard for leverage. He goes slow at first, keeping a steady pace until you’ve caught your breath. Soon you’re moving in perfect sync as an intense heat begins to build inside you again. With his arms resting at your head, he looks deep into your eyes and then kisses you tenderly. “I love you Catherine.” You run your hand through his hair while the other caresses his back, feeling his muscles stretch and expand as he pushes against you. “I love you too Liam.”  

You wrap your legs around Liam’s waist allowing him to go deeper. As he does, his breathing becomes labored and he groans while you move flawlessly together. “Oh Catherine…” You close your eyes as a surge of pleasure crests within you. “Mmmm…” Within minutes, you are riding the waves of ecstasy… for the second time. “Ohh! Liam!” When Liam feels you tighten around him, he follows soon after. “Oh God…! Yes!” 

Once the trembling subsides, Liam withdraws and collapses beside you. You snuggle against him with your head on his chest as he idly plays with your hair. You both sigh in unison as you each catch your breath. “Catherine, you are perfect for me in every way.” “I swear, I was just thinking the same thing about you.” You both laugh contentedly. 

After a few blissful moments of silence, Liam yawns and then turns to you. “We should probably clean up and then get some sleep.” You nod in agreement. “It has been an exhausting day.” 

Once you both return to bed, you nestle in his arms and smile. “I forgot to ask, but how was the afternoon with your father?” Without going into too much detail, Liam admits that with everything out in the open he finally found a peace over the whole incident and their relationship was on the mend. 

You lean over and kiss him. “Good night Liam.” He nudges you closer. “Good night Catherine.” He reaches to turn off the light and then settles in. With the only sounds being his steady breathing and the rhythm of his heartbeat, you drift into a deep and peaceful sleep.

 Next chapter: It’s your last day at Applewood before heading back to the palace. After spending a lazy day in the orchard with Liam, he has some important news to share with you. 

[nothingneverforever]

The Good Place (2016)

I chose to start watching this only because I was at a very low point in my life in terms of facing a dearth of TV-derived entertainment, having just finished Virgin River (2019) and Sweet Magnolias (2020). Both Virgin and Sweet are not what you'd call .. uh... productions of any real calibre or value or perhaps worth at all, like you can be certain that no niches were filled when they were realsed into the Netflix ether... But they also happen to be epic masterpieces by sheer fact of how banal and predictable and PG and saccharine and inconsequential they are, the best of the suburban vanilla Hallmark Movie genre, and basically they rock af ok?? and so when I finished both first seasons of the two series I was left empty and thirsty. And it was in this lostness that I turned to The Good Place, thinking it would be as enriching in it's simplicity, as palatable in it's shallow distraction, qualities I generally look for in the fodder to keep my eyes engaged on something that isn't the clock when I do my daily evening indoor cardio.

So maybe I should first set the stage by establishing that I simply fucking hated this series lol. I couldn't get past episode 12 (I know, this makes it sound like i already gave it way more time than it deserved, which is the truth) of the first season, because once I decided I'd had enough, it was really fucking enough and I couldn't give it one more second.

As always, here's my shoddily written premise of the series; I don't want to put much effort into capturing it's essence well because idgaf about this dumb show seriously fucking hate it lol but anyway: Eleanor (Kristen Bell) dies on earth, and goes to 'The Good Place', where all souls who were much more good than bad while living on earth go to upon their death, as opposed to The Bad Place, where the bad people go. There’s some mathematical calculation for this heaven and hell allocation basically. So the good place (i can't be bothered to capitalize it every time i type it anymore lol sorry), is run by a head architect who has designed and is in charge of the neighbourhood our characters live in, and he has a female robot assistant, Janet, who is the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient right-hand lady who can also be called up by any good place resident who has any question for her, anytime. Anyway Eleanor, after dying on earth, was actually sent to the good place by accident, because she was actually a completely irredeemable asshole but due to some dumb boring never-happened-before error, she was sent to the good place instead of the bad place where she actually was meant to end up. Here she makes a small group of friends, some to whom she is eventually honest about the fact that she does not actually belong in the good place, and it is because of this incorrect placement that the good place is crumbling and its inner workings are going haywire etc and everyone suffers from the consequences. So blah blah blah soon we find out that it is not just her, but also some other guy who is here by mistake, and so blah blah blah etc yupp

So here are the things that suck about this show:

So there’s this other guy who also doesn't belong in the good place and who was also sent there by accident, his name is Jason okay but umm it's complicated because the person he was mistaken as (and the actual 'good person' who was intended to be sent to the good place while Jason was meant to be directed to the bad place) is named Jian Yu, a Taiwanese monk. Jason however is a Filipino-American from Florida and I guess his character is meant to be a stereotypical 'White trash' character, but it's meant to be funny or some shit so we aren't meant to be deeply affected by fact that his life was fucking sad, like how his small-town dreams were meant to be comedic relief for us to laugh at how pathetic he is when ... i dunno, I feel very uncomfortable making a joke out of real-life situations that umm aren't funny at all idk whatever... Oh also the weird (dumb/shitty/lame/thoughtless) thing about the show is how even once it is revealed that Jason is in fact his Jason-y, oblivious, infantile, one-dimensionally-tropey self, the characters who know the truth still continue to call him Jianyu throughout...? But like.... he's not Jianyu lol?

So anyway, Jason is characterised quite disturbingly to be honest as an extremely immature dudebro, to the extent that one could call him child-like. In his unhappiness at being stuck in this weird world where he can't be himself and has to pretend to be Jianyu most of the time (which involves being a complete ascetic as well as silent because the real Jianyu had apparently taken a lifelong oath of silence), Jason latches on to Janet the robot assistant. He says she is the only one who has been kind to him, etc etc etc, and begins ummmm, falling in love with her. But because he's painted as a literal baby with absolutely no rational or critical thinking skills, him falling in love with her is meant to be uhh earnest and sweet or at the very least inconsequential and jokey I guess? But like... this isn't funny...? Not when sex robots are a real thing and will probably lead to the abuse, violation, murder of millions of women in time to come because men will be so used to putting their penises into awfully, scarily 'life-like' dolls whose limbs have been programmed to move and who can even utter words of affirmation to their degenerate users that actual human females will no doubt bear the brunt of being expected to perform in life and in bed similarly to our robotic counterparts...? Yea so the good place disturbingly first makes us almost forced to feel some endearment toward Jason for finding a kindred "soul" in robot Janet, glad that he finally has "someone" to "talk to" (quotation marks cos once again she's a fucking robot), and it's all very "pure" and "wholesome" at first because again, he's portrayed as a fucking kid (one piece I read describes the character as "a sweet ding-dong human"). And then suddenly, about one or two episodes after they fall in love or whatever, Jason says:

You guys have fun. This is me and Janet's honeymoon, so we're gonna go try and figure out how to have sex.

Yeah umm so once again, in case any of you forgot, Janet's a fucking robot. If I use a scale of human consciousness out of 100 where a regular human's sense of self and awareness and independent thinking and authonomy and whatever else makes us human is at 100, Janet is probably at .... 10? at most? So yea.... i guess rape jokes are okay these days? I dunno? Literally how the fuck were there 3 entire seasons of this dumb show after this

Anyway when I attempted to put in *some* effort before I gave up, realising this show wasn't worth my precious weekend downtime, I googled Jason and Janet's relationship to see if there were any other similar voices of dissent but umm apparently, according to the headlines of articles, this is instead public opinion:

The Unlikely Romance of The Good Place’s Janet and Jason

Why Janet And Jason Are The Good Place's Ultimate Love Story, According To The Actors

How Janet and Jason broke the infinite love mold on The Good Place

From these disgusting articles, here are some choice quotes by the actors and crew involved themselves:

And the fact that this should not happen but it does makes it very special. We think that their relationship is really sweet. There's something very innocent and real about their love even though that is insane

Yeah, I always talk about this whenever I get the question, “How does Janet and Jason work?” And my response is always — and I’ve thought about this a lot — Jason is slowly becoming a little bit more aware and intelligent. He’s evolving a little bit, and through Jason, Janet is able to become more emotionally intelligent. She’s feeling these things, whether it be good or bad, through Jason because that’s what Jason is. He’s all these different emotions that he can’t tame, and Janet’s learning that. They’re kind of evolving.

Okay so perhaps I should clarify that Janet the robot goes through a couple of 'deaths' in which she comes back as a rebooted version, and supposedly more 'human' each time. So yeah I guess it's okay to have sex with robots if they actually become 0.0000001% more human-like each time they come back to life though!!!!! Sorry for overreacting guys!!!!!

Seriously though how the fuck are they even using the word 'romance' in good conscience to describe the 'relationship'

Actually as I'm writing this I'm reminded of this video by Pop Culture Detective on youtube, titled "Abduction as Romance". Jonathan the host/video creator goes through various movies through history and from contemporary cinema of this unbelievably damaging and disturbing trope, where women are shown to eventually fall in love with men who have essentially, in some way or another, abducted them, annyway here it is if anyone's interested 

I’m calling up this video because in the shows used as examples in Jonathan’s thesis, the female characters fall in love with the men just because the men happen to be the only choice they have. Okay I actually only managed to get through a quarter of the video because it was too disturbing and too awful to think about how frequently such plot points are used till today and how so much of the shitty love we see on screen is completely abusive in nature (he’s also made another video called Stalking for Love which I’m sure is as eye-opening, i haven’t watched it cos i don’t need to lol, i’m already woke thanks), but anyway the bit that I did manage to watch does remind me of this stupid love story from The Good Place that we’re supposed to be moved by. We’re seriously supposed to believe that Janet, through her reboots and whatever awakenings of consciousness she supposedly has, also has feelings for Jason just because he’s the only pathetic dumbass immature enough to think that he has feelings for her because she’s the only person who’s willing to listen and talk to him properly? When ummmm she’s only listening to you because she’s programmed to...?

Honestly I can't be bothered to talk about freaking Janet and Jason anymore

There are other things that suck about this dumb show

I don't know what kind of character development Eleanor (protagonist) goes through in the seasons that succeed that I shall never be audience to, but she remains unlikable in almost every way in season 1. This is even though the entire premise of the plot is that she learns to become a better person with each day, struggling to distance herself from her past (on earth) where she was every caricature of a selfish, cruel, demeaning, unlikable person ever. The few and short flashbacks we get to her earthly past are so annoyingly annoying that it made it almost impossible for me to continue to care for this charatcer her in her afterlife. I know, being in the profession that i am, i should have a great deal more empathy for her and where she's coming from (and i would if the show was not so fucking shitty), so i'm not hating on the fact that she was such a bad person, more so that the creators of the show did little to give us anything real to hold on to at all. Between boringly unreal dialogue, stilted acting typical of American sitcoms, overly defined character traits again typical of dated, unchallenging and unsophisticated American sitcoms, I honestly can't understand how on earth this is rated 97% on rotten tomatoes... I mean I guess if I actually read the reviews I'd understand but hehe I'm not about that open-minded, balanced POV narrative okie? :)

----------

Updates: Haha so ummm eventually I was too bored / curious so I decided to give this show like it’s fourth chance or something and eventually I ended up finishing the entire series and yes I cried as fuck and yes this series made me feel many feels and no I shall neither take back anything of what I said above nor clarify how or what made me change my opinion on it nor elaborate on why I ended up rather enjoying it :-) bye bye

[warofthenewage-rpg]

Congratulations Nathan!

You have been accepted as Harper Applegate with the face of Jason Ralph.

Name: Nathan

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Age: 30

Timezone: Eastern Standard

Activity Level: Active ORIGINAL CHARACTER INFO:

Faceclaim Wanted: Jason Ralph

Second Choice: Hale Appleman

Name: Harper Applegate

Age: 32

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Species: Metahuman

Affiliation: None

Rank: Loner

Powers/Abilities: Mnemokinesis

Weaknesses: Users of psychic shield are either resistant or immune.  Particularly negative or traumatic memories may be overwhelming.  Memories must be well-defined or else the target may suspect that it is not their own. Overuse of his ability may manifest physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and (in extreme cases) loss of consciousness.  May need to have physical contact with target if the memory is difficult to locate or target is actively resisting.  It can be difficult to manipulate the memories of those who are cognitively impaired such as in cases of targets with traumatic brain injuries, dementia, or other organic causes of brain dysfunction.   May lose control of abilities in times of extreme stress and pose a significant threat to those in the immediate area who are incapable of psychic shielding.

Para Sample:

“So what brings you in today, Rebecca,” Harper asks as he takes a seat on one of the comfortable leather sofas in his office.  He never enjoyed sitting behind a desk when he was with a client.  It created a false sense of authority; made people afraid to open up.

The young woman sitting uncomfortably in the adjacent sofa lets out a deep sigh, “I’ve been dealing with this overwhelming sadness.  I can’t sleep well, and I have no appetite.  I can’t fucking stand feeling this way!”—she pauses—“Oh, sorry for the language.”

Harper takes a deep breath in and quickly analyzes the non-verbal cues the woman is presenting.  She’s sitting with her legs and arms crossed; an obvious sign of feeling uncomfortable and guarded.  Her brown hair is in a messy bun, and the white t-shirt she is wearing bears a few stains and discolorations.  She is obviously tired as her eyes are reddened and surrounding skin puffy and darkened from countless nights of insomnia.  There are gawdy rings on her manicured fingers and she’s carrying a designer purse-she must come from money.

“It’s perfectly fine, Rebecca.  It sounds like you’re having quite a difficult time.  Has anything traumatic or negative happened recently?”

“Well…yeah….my boyfriend cheated on me with some slutty freshman at Pansaw State,” she begins to choke back tears, “You know…I just thought we were meant for each other!  How could he do this?  I’m everything he wanted.  I’m pretty, I’m rich, and we had an amazing sex life.  I even learned how to cook soufflé for this man!”

“Sweet, Jesus.  Here we go,” Harper thinks to himself, “Standard case of low self-esteem and possible co-dependency issues wrapped in a wonderful spoiled-rich-bitch package.  I bet daddy gave her everything she wanted as a kid, and Miss Rebecca never learned her boundaries.  I wonder how long it’s going to take for her to rebound with another witless partner. Might be less time that I would have to spend with her, though.”

“So, Rebecca, what kind of goals do you want to set with these sessions?  I think we can both agree that you want to feel bett—“

“I’m just going to be real with you, Mr. Harper,” Rebecca blurts out. “I’ve been to a ton of shrinks in the past, and all of their psych mumbo jumbo doesn’t work with me.  The reason I’m here is because of that,” The woman points a well-manicured index finger at the tattoo on Harper’s right wrist. “I know that you’re meta, and the word on the street is that you can offer an alternative therapy.  I don’t want to waste time learning how to cope, that’s all bullshit anyway.  I just want to forget that asshole was ever in my life!”

“Rebecca, please.  It’s not that simple.  You’re only going to repeat this cycle even if I do use my abili-“

“I don’t care.  I can’t fuckin’ do this anymore,” she hurriedly grabs her purse and shakes a handful of cash inches from his face. “How much do you want?  I’ll pay you whatever you want to charge!”

Harper slams his open hand on the seat of the empty space beside him, “Rebecca!  Enough!  This is unethical and completely counterproductive.  I won’t do this.”

Rebecca’s voice raises to a shrill whine, “But why not?  This is bullshit!  You’re completely use-“

Her voice swiftly stops as Harper abruptly stands up and places a single index finger in the center of her forehead.  Rebecca’s eyes become completely dilated and fixed to a point in the distance; her body completely frozen.

Harper gingerly takes the money from her hand and whispers, “Let’s forget this ever happened.  Thanks for stopping by,” and places the wad of money in his back pocket.   He gently sits Rebecca down onto the plush sofa and quietly exits the room.

Seconds later, Rebecca comes back to reality, “…the hell am I doing here?” She looks around the room in utter confusion.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” Harper asks as he briskly re-enters the room.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Well, I think you came here looking for some counseling help, but I’m afraid I’m not accepting new patients.”

“Aw, are you sure?  I can pay you extra” as she hazily reaches for her purse.

“No, ma’am, I’m quite certain that my practice is at full capacity.  However, here is a list of some other people who might be able to help you.”  Harper gently eases Rebecca to the door. “You seem like a sensible woman.  I’m sure you shouldn’t have any problem finding someone to help you out.”

“Yeah…sure…sure,” she says in a daze.  Harper continues to gently push her past the threshold of the front door and breathes a sigh of relief as he makes his way to his laptop that is sitting quietly on a side table.

“This is going to be harder than I thought,” he says to himself.  “At least I got one-two-three-four-five hundred bucks for this total waste of time.   I really hope my next client is a little bit more…in depth.”

[romanticatheart-posts]

King Sized Revelations - 10

Pairing: Liam x MC (Catherine) OC Constantine x Regina Introducing: Jeremy (A former beau of Catherine’s) Rating: NSFW (by requesting to be tagged, you acknowledge that you are at least 18+)  Disclaimer: Pixelberry owns all characters, except for the ones I created for the story. 

Tags: @umccall71 @3pawandme @indiacater @katurrade @lodberg @heatherfilliez @eadanga @missevabean @furiousherringoperatortoad @flowerpowell @cheeseedreams47 @tornbetween2loves @smalltalk88   @hopefulmoonobject @stopforamoment @blznbaby @ao719 @cocomaxley @perfectprofessorherokid @femmeshep @sarwin85  @wannabemc2 @gardeningourmet @krsnlove @mrsdrakewalkerblog @annekebbphotography 

Master List --

While waiting for Liam you undress and slip on your robe, climb into bed and grab a book on the bedside table. After reading for a while, the door opens suddenly, and Liam enters. His expression is unreadable. “Liam? What’s wrong?” He walks over and sits beside you, taking your hand and stares intently into your eyes. “Regina told me what happened this afternoon. Is there something you forgot to mention?” 

You look at him confused, trying to think of what he’s talking about. Nothing major had happened while you and Regina were organizing for the upcoming Apple Festival, so what did she tell him exactly?

“I don’t think so.” He can see that you are baffled so he tries to calmly explain. “Regina mentioned that a friend of yours called this afternoon and it’s my understanding we’ll be having a guest in a few days.” 

That afternoon-- Your phone began to ring while you and Regina were sorting through the decorations, but before you could find it, the call ended. Apparently, you’d laid it down and it was inadvertently buried underneath the scattered debris. Within seconds it beeped indicating you had a voice mail, so after punching a few numbers, you listened. 

“Hey Cat, this is Jeremy. I got your message and I’m guessing you’re busy, so I’ll try back later.” 

After realizing who had left the message, you immediately press the redial button and before the second ring, he answers. 

J: “Cat?” C: “Hey Jeremy!” J: “How the hell are ya? It’s been a long time.” C: “Yeah it has.” J: “Wow! It’s good to hear from you.” C: “How have you been?” J: “Oh, you know me, same old same old… kicking ass and taking names, but what about you?” C: “Same as you, but with a little more hutzpah…” J: “Fearless as ever, huh?” C: “Yeah, I guess you could say that... Hey, I won’t keep you, but I did have a reason for calling. I hope it’s not asking too much, but I need a favor.” J: “I guess I do still owe you for keeping me out of trouble over all those unpaid parking tickets… So, what’s up?” C: “Well… I need your architectural advice.” J: “So… ready to draft that restaurant slash general store you always talked about?” C: “Heh. No, I think someone else beat me to it, but I do have another project I’m having some trouble with. Have you got a minute?”

Back to the present -- “Oh yeah… I’m sorry, it must have slipped my mind. You seem a bit edgy. Is everything okay?” Liam ignores your question and responds with one of his own. “Who is this friend anyway?” 

You are a little bothered by his tone, but figure this does warrant an explanation. “You remember me talking about Jeremy, and since he’s an architectural enginee--” Liam cuts you off mid-sentence. “Wait. THE Jeremy?” “Yes. I wanted his opinion about that problem with the structure of the school and I thought he might have some insight.” As Liam tries to hide his growing anxiety, he lifts your hand to his lips. “My queen, we have perfectly qualified architects in Cordonia, already working on the issue I might add.” 

“I know, but they haven’t been able to figure it out yet and I’m impatient.” There is something odd in his demeanor, but you just can’t put your finger on yet. “While I understand your desire to have this school in full operation sooner rather than later, I feel our best course of action would be to allow the experts more time to collaborate on the issue.” 

You protest. “More time? Why should those kids have to wait until your so-called ‘experts’ stop their pissing contest and get down to the business of finding a solution?!” Liam pays no mind to your upheaval because at the moment, he has his own agenda. Whatever that might be. “They are simply trying to work through the different angles and find the best possible result. Jeremy on the other hand, what’s in it for him? I have to wonder why he accepted your invitation on such short notice. Doesn’t that seem a little odd to you?” You think to yourself, ‘You seem a little odd to me at the moment.’

“No. Not in the least. And I didn’t invite him, he offered.” 

“He offered? Well that’s even more suspicious.” 

“Suspicious?” Liam nods his agreement. You take a deep breath trying to steady your nerves and then calmly explain. “He’s taking vacation next week and hadn’t made specific plans, so he thought it would be the perfect excuse to visit Europe. He wants to see the blueprints because it would be unethical to make an educated guess about a stability problem over the phone, especially since it involves the safety of children. And what was I supposed to do, tell him no?” 

Without flinching, Liam responds. “Yes. That would have been a perfectly acceptable response in my opinion.” By now you are more than a little annoyed with this line of questioning and his delivery of them. “Liam, what’s gotten into you? Why are you being so difficult about this?” 

Liam coolly adjusts himself and doesn’t make eye contact, but it’s clear to you that he is upset. “Liam why does this bother you?” He finally looks up and after a few seconds he sighs woefully. “Catherine, since Jeremy is a former lover… It raises questions as to what his motives are for coming here.” 

“Such as?” “Well… why would he be willing to fly halfway across the continent, for no compensation I might add, just to share his architectural proficiency? Is he expecting something in return for this selfless act? Does he even know of your current marital status?” 

And there it is! How did you not see it before? “Why King Liam, I do believe you’re jealous.” You can’t help but puff out a faint laugh when you realize the reason behind Liam’s behavior, and needless to say he is less than pleased by your lack of sensitivity to the situation. “I’m glad this is so amusing to you Catherine. I didn’t realize my concern would translate so humorously.” Seeing the hurt on his face, tugs at your heart and you reach for his hand, looking at him lovingly.  

“I’m sorry Liam, I should have talked to you about this first. And, I don’t think your concerns are funny at all. I think it’s sweet.” He looks at you a little less annoyed as you begin to explain. And it doesn’t hurt that running a finger along his jawline causes him to shiver slightly. “It’s just… I’ve never seen you react that way before and… it was kind of adorable when I understood why.” Liam relaxes somewhat as you continue. “I love you. With all my heart. And I would never allow anyone to come between us.” After absorbing your words, a smile begins to form on his lips. With his arms wrapped around you, he brings you flush against him and kisses you tenderly. 

Realizing how ridiculous he must have sounded before, he smiles sheepishly. “I suppose I was being somewhat unreasonable about the whole thing, but… when I heard he was coming here… well, I didn’t know what to think.” “Liam...” He kisses you soundly and when he pulls back, he is wearing a loving smile. “Although, it would ease my mind if I knew a bit more about him… about the breakup, I mean.” 

You think for a minute and remember that your split from Jeremy happened just before you met Liam. Knowing it would only create more unnecessary questions and emotional trauma, you decide not to mention that part. 

“Well, as in most breakups we just drifted apart. He was busy with an important project and what time I wasn’t at the bar, I was volunteering at the children’s home.” Liam’s expression turns more serious. “Did you love him?” The answer is written on your face before you even speak it and it doesn’t escape Liam’s notice. “I thought I did, but…” 

You spend the next half hour highlighting the reasons why your relationship with Jeremy had failed. Liam is very attentive and is never judging. “In the beginning, it was both new and exciting, but as time passed it was obvious that he wasn’t ready for a commitment…” 

The final blow had been when you discovered the ‘project’ he was working on wasn’t entirely about architectural design. He was cheating. Which came as no real surprise, but that was ultimately the reason the relationship ended. “Liam, I have no lingering feelings for Jeremy, if that’s what you were thinking. And I can guarantee he’s not coming here to win me back,” “I never thought it was you Catherine, but how can you be so sure of his intentions?” “Well for one, he’s engaged, and… his fiancé will be joining him on this trip.” Liam’s relief is evident from the brilliant smile that flashes across his face and then his expression becomes more thoughtful. “Catherine, I hope you know that I would never be unfaithful to you.” 

You think back to the time when Liam was engaged to Madeleine and what he’d said about having a relationship outside of marriage and how it was acceptable behavior for the royal family, as long as both parties agreed. You hadn’t questioned it then, but suddenly you needed an answer. “You know, we never really discussed that arrangement you had with Madeleine. I mean, weren’t you willing to keep me as your mistress if you’d married her?” Liam sighs. “That is a valid question and yes, it’s true. However, I was only willing because it was you. I suppose it was selfish of me, but at the time that was the only way I knew to keep you in my life. It was never about just anyone Catherine…” 

“So you’ve never thought about having a lover on the side?” He looks at you, shocked that you would even think such a thing. “That’s not who I am at all. Our marriage is more important than that… you are what’s important to me.” Liam takes your hand and gently kisses the back of it and then looks deep into your eyes. “Catherine, I would never bring cause for you to doubt my love for you… you are all I’ll ever need. Nothing in this world could distract me from that.” Smiling, you kiss him as he lowers you back onto the pillow and you moan slightly when he leans into you. “Mmm…” With your hands running through his hair, you finally part and shoot him a playful grin. “In case you were wondering, I’d never agree to it anyway my king.” 

Liam smiles and you catch a twinkle in his eyes as he raises up, leaning on his elbow. His gaze falls toward the opening of your robe and with his free hand he lightly traces along the seam just inside it which causes you to quiver. When his eyes meet yours again he speaks in a low tone of voice. “I’ve never been one to share either... especially when it comes to you my queen.” Before you can say a word, his lips crash into yours with a passion so intense, that you feel the flow of electric corpuscles running through your veins and merging cohesive at your core. He breaks from your lips and trails kisses down your neck as his hand pulls your robe open and halfway down your arm, exposing one of your breasts. You gasp as he glides his tongue over your hard nipple and commands the curve of it in his hand. “Ohh…!” 

Within a few minutes, he’s managed to completely remove your robe and throws it to the side. He pauses, drinking in the sight of you as you lay bare before him. “I’m not sure how it’s possible, but you are even more beautiful each time I see you like this.” You sit up and kiss him while unbuttoning his shirt, feeling his muscled arms as you slide it down and then off. Liam draws in a sharp breath as you run both hands across his chest and down his abs, enjoying the feel of him. “Mmm, yeah. I’d say you’ve definitely developed more tone since we were married.” He smiles mischievously. “It must be those rigorous workout sessions…” He chuckles. “…multiple times each day.” 

You smile as your hand slips inside his trousers, between his skin and his underwear, earning a deep groan from Liam. “Oh, Catherine… You have no idea what that does to me.” Not waiting for a response, he leans in kissing you slow and deep. His breathing wavers as you gently stroke up and down his already hardened length. After a few moments, you slowly withdraw your hand and then reach for his belt. He gently grabs your hand. “Allow me.” Liam removes the remainder of his clothes where they end up in a pile on the floor next to the other discarded items. 

You gently guide him where he willingly lays back with his head against the pillows and then pulls you on top of him. He catches you in a lingering kiss as his hands wander to the small of your back, pressing you even closer. You remain that way for several minutes until Liam suddenly rolls you on your back and braces himself above you with a smile on his face. You playfully smirk. “What’s this my king?” Before answering, Liam scans your body with his eyes and his hands. “A little taste of you is never enough my queen.” He almost growls as his hand reaches between your legs and finds your wet folds. “God, you’re so wet.” 

You moan as he swirls his fingers in your juices and traces slowly around your sensitive bud. “It’s your fault…” He kisses you, then follows a line down your neck, your chest until he reaches your thigh where he slowly kisses his way inward and groans as he slips his tongue into your moist pink flesh. “Mmmm...” 

You moan, enraptured by his every touch. “Oh Liam…” While his mouth is positioned firmly over your entrance, his tongue plays copiously in and out of you. He takes his time, extracting every ounce of sweet nectar. You writhe and moan in the process, but he doesn’t relent… if anything, it just arouses him more. He clutches your hips securely so as not to betray his intentions, which only heightens your own desire. You close your eyes and let the waves of energy carry you to the height of ecstasy.  

When his fingers move slowly and deliberately over your swollen nub, you cry out as your body finally gives in to the overwhelming pleasure. “Liam… Liam… Ohhh…!” Liam moans when he feels you squeeze his tongue and relishes the taste of sweet victory as he grasps tighter trying to pull you even closer. “Mmmm…” He stays in that position for several minutes until the spasms stop and then slowly moves up to capture your lips in a passionate kiss. 

He aligns his body with yours and slowly slides his throbbing length inside you. You both inhale sharply at the moment of impact as Liam grips the headboard for leverage. He goes slow at first, keeping a steady pace until you’ve caught your breath. Soon you’re moving in perfect sync as an intense heat begins to build inside you again. With his arms resting at your head, he looks deep into your eyes and then kisses you tenderly. “I love you Catherine.” You run your hand through his hair while the other caresses his back, feeling his muscles stretch and expand as he pushes against you. “I love you too Liam.”  

You wrap your legs around Liam’s waist allowing him to go deeper. As he does, his breathing becomes labored and he groans while you move flawlessly together. “Oh Catherine…” You close your eyes as a surge of pleasure crests within you. “Mmmm…” Within minutes, you are riding the waves of ecstasy… for the second time. “Ohh! Liam!” When Liam feels you tighten around him, he follows soon after. “Oh God…! Yes!” 

Once the trembling subsides, Liam withdraws and collapses beside you. You snuggle against him with your head on his chest as he idly plays with your hair. You both sigh in unison as you each catch your breath. “Catherine, you are perfect for me in every way.” “I swear, I was just thinking the same thing about you.” You both laugh contentedly. 

After a few blissful moments of silence, Liam yawns and then turns to you. “We should probably clean up and then get some sleep.” You nod in agreement. “It has been an exhausting day.” 

Once you both return to bed, you nestle in his arms and smile. “I forgot to ask, but how was the afternoon with your father?” Without going into too much detail, Liam admits that with everything out in the open he finally found a peace over the whole incident and their relationship was on the mend. 

You lean over and kiss him. “Good night Liam.” He nudges you closer. “Good night Catherine.” He reaches to turn off the light and then settles in. With the only sounds being his steady breathing and the rhythm of his heartbeat, you drift into a deep and peaceful sleep.

 Next chapter: It’s your last day at Applewood before heading back to the palace. After spending a lazy day in the orchard with Liam, he has some important news to share with you.