#saw some kids playing in their yard and i was just thinking like imagine how many people grew up here and have never left

[quiltedlovers]

sick of meeting new people and starting over i want home 

[writingroom21]

Okay how about this purge AU

Where reader is a pouge and is not living in a secure house.

Rafe is the one purging like the other kooks but had a soft spot for shy pouge reader and lets her stay in his house and threatens her to have sex with her or else he kills her (I mean he's lying but she believes him so they have sex)

Purged

Warnings: 18+, DUBCON, smut, darkish Rafe. Please be advised that reader only has sex with Rafe in fear of her life.

Wc: 3.2K

A/N: Sorry this took me forever to get out. I was contemplating on how I wanted to go about this because this is a new realm of writing for me. Then I felt like everything I was writing sucked.

You know when you say you wish your life was like a movie? The first time that idea ever occurred to you was when you were a kid watching Disney movies. You’ve always wished to be able to run away from your home life. Escape into a world where you could be anything and have the perfect life.

Growing up as a pogue you found it hard to see how the other half lived. You and your friends were barely getting by and then there were the super rich kids. It also didn’t help when the kook and pogue rivalry started to gear up. It felt as if no matter where you went people would always remind you that you are nothing and no one would care if you disappeared. 

Even Though it was hard you tried to not let it bother you. Taking all the insults they threw at you as if they were nothing. Cleaning up your yard after they trashed it without making a peep. The kooks from your year always seemed bothered by you never making a fuss. The other pogues always put up a fight and then there was you. The only one who never showed any hatred from them and never showed weakness even when they tried. 

You were like some rock that they couldn't move. Which only ended up making you a target for their games. Every Halloween a bunch of kooks would make their way to the cut just to egg your house. One time they even put up edited photos of you all around school making you the laughing stock. To say the least they were not happy when you just kept walking with your head high not acknowledging what they did.

Your only escape was dreaming how different your life could be. Comparing your situation to the ones on your tv screen which only had half a screen. You’ve pictured your life in most movies or sitcoms. But you never imagined it as a horror movie.

Today was a normal day like every other day. You had gotten up and rode your bike all the way to work. Since you work at the country club you always have to deal with all of the kooks. Especially since you work the front desk so you are the first thing they see every time they walk in. Today was no different with the snide remarks.

“Look its the whore from the cut. I’m surprised they haven’t given you a job upgrade after fucking all of them.” Some random guy you think you’ve ever seen comments. You just type away at the computer ignoring his irritating voice. He walks up to the desk and tries to talk to you again. “Come one why don’t we go to the back and you show me how you got this job.”

You slowly look up at him and see Rafe Cameron behind him. You watch as he taps the guy's shoulder and gets even more confused about this whole situation. “Yo buddy why don’t you fuck off.” The guy turns around and backs up a little when he sees Rafe walking towards him. “Why do you care?” Rafe gets in his face ready to punch him if he opens his mouth one more time.

“Because I fucking do. I don’t need to explain myself to you. Now run along before I beat the shit out of you.” They guy looks back at you and then scurries off without another word. “You okay?”You stare at him in shock. “Yeah I’m good.” He just nods his head, knocking on the front desk in front of your computer. “Good.” Then he was off to go play golf like he does every Saturday. 

You don’t understand what just happened. He was a kook and he was defending you. Now that you think about it you never really saw him be rude to you. He never made fun of you and you can’t recall him laughing at your expense. The rest of your shift was a haze. All you could think about is why would he tell that guy off. It’s not like the two of you were friends.

By the time you left work it was on the back burner. The wind was blowing in your hair as you pedal through the streets. The breeze was a nice comparison to the heat from the day. You were a few streets away from the country club when your phone started ringing.. The noise was obnoxious like those test alerts they sometimes do. You pull over to the side of the road and pull out your phone.

“This is not a test, this is your Emergency Broadcast System. Announcing the new commencement of the purge sanctioned by the U.S. Government. Weapons of class four and lower have been authorized for use during the purge. All other weapons are restricted. Commencing at the siren, any and all crime (including murder) will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire, and Emergency Medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. When the purge concludes. Blessed be our new founding fathers and America... A nation reborn. May God be with you all."

You stare at your phone as the voice reads the words that scroll through your screen. Laughing you put your phone away thinking it was some dumb joke and keep riding your bike. After only a few pedals a loud siren scares you, making you fall from your bike. You slowly stand up fixing your bike and looking around. Everything seemed normal so it must have been nothing. 

Then there was a scream.

One that you would hear in a horror movie when they are getting murdered. You look around confused as to where the noise came from until you see someone run out of a building holding their shoulder. Just as you were about to ask if they are okay another person runs out with a knife, stabbing the first person until they are laying in a puddle of their blood. Standing there in horror your eyes meet theirs as they look up.

As quickly as you can you get on your bike pedaling as fast as you can. You see people running out of the store with a bunch of things, other people laying on the ground. This honestly doesn’t even feel real to you. It has to be some nightmare you are about to wake up from. You take one hand off the bar to pinch yourself and sure enough this is all real. 

Suddenly a truck is revving behind you, headlights illuminating you on the street. The wheels make a crunching sound as they speed up along the street. Fuck. You have nowhere to go and they keep getting closer. Panicking you dart to the sidewalk trying to get to the trees for cover when you hear your name. Looking over your shoulder you see Rafe leaning to the passenger window trying to get your attention.

Great he defended you earlier just to kill you now.

“Can you just fucking stop for a minute. You need to get in.” Not stopping you go down a dirt road trying to get away only for him to follow. He passes you and stops so you can’t get any further. He gets out of the car and walks towards you. “Please, I just want to get home. You don’t have to do this.” You try to plead with him. Sure you could ride off right now but he would just catch up eventually.

Rafe gives you a look and shakes his head. “I’m not going to kill you or something. The kook from earlier, you know the asshole.” You nod your head at him recalling the guy. “He made a post once the announcement came on. Told everyone to go to your house so they can all kill you. I’m just trying to save you.”

It's hard to believe that he wants to help you. “Why would you help me?” He crosses his arms and takes a step back towards the driver side door. “I maybe an asshole but I’m not a killer. Plus you never once did anything to deserve this.” You were still skeptical until he showed you the post. After another second of thinking you agreed and he’s loading up your bike in the trunk. If he was going to kill you he would have done it by now. Both of you are out of sight of any person and plus there are no laws stopping him. Maybe he is just trying to help you.

You get in the passenger seat and look in the back to see a shirt with red stains on it. Rafe catches your eye sight when he gets in and sees how you scoot closer to the door. It’s the polo shirt he was wearing before you didn’t even notice he wasn’t wearing the same thing. You want to leave but he convinces you otherwise. “I got a bloody nose on the course. Stupid Topper was practicing swinging and I didn’t see.”

It makes sense, you’ve seen it happen plenty of times. Rafe is grateful when he sees you relax. He doesn’t want you to know that the blood is actually Thomas’. After he saw the post he found Thomas going to his car. He used the bat he keeps in the back seat to teach him a lesson and ended up killing him. The last thing Rafe needs is for you to be scared of him when all he wants is to protect you.

When he arrives at his house he is quick to get you inside. Stating that the less people that see you both the better. Plus his house has a great security system so no one will be able to get in.

“Where’s your family?” That’s a great question that he honestly couldn’t care about. The only person he’s worried about is his youngest sister but he already messaged her and she’s staying at her friend's house until it is all over. The house is the one next door so he knows she’s safe. “My dad and Rose are on a business trip. Sarah went with them and Wheezie is good. It’s just us here.” Something about the way he says it sounds reassuring yet the undertones tell a different story. Ignoring it you let him lead you around the house mansion, giving you a tour so you are comfortable. The time keeps ticking as the two of you talk. It feels like the world actually isn’t ending and it’s nice to forget about what is happening outside. Rafe had put on a movie after a while of just sitting. It was a dumb action movie so you weren’t really interested. You were looking around his room.

He said the upper floors would be safest since it gave the two of you more time to get to the safe room. Not that the two of you would need it but just in case. Again it made sense so you went along with it. The room was simple, a TV was across his bed and there were little decorations. It honestly didn’t seem like a bedroom and more like where you put the guests. As you look around Rafe is busy looking at you. 

He’s always like how you kept to yourself. Even when the other kooks gave you shit all you did was take it. Never put up a fight and took it with stride. It reminded him of himself. He’s used to taking crap from his dad and he isn’t allowed to say anything. He admires the fact that you share the quality with him.

When you turn your attention back to the tv you see that Rafe is looking at you. You turn to ask him what’s wrong but he takes you by surprise. He kissed you. It took you a few seconds to realize that he was kissing you. His lips are moving against yours but you are completely still. What the hell is happening? This isn’t real.

You pull away, pushing his shoulders when he tries to chase you. “What are you doing?” Wanting to put some space between you two, you move further away on the bed. Which in hindsight might have been bad since you are now up against the wall. “I’m kissing you. What the hell are you doing?” He grabs your arm, yanking you back next to him. He starts to kiss your shoulder as you try to think of what to do.

He’s kissing your neck and all you want is to get out of here. Pushing him off of you again, you get up from the bed. “What is wrong with you?” You give him a look of disbelief. “What’s wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you?” Rafe gets up from the bed and blocks the door as you try to leave. “Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted to help me. I don’t want this.”

Rafe is starting to get angry now. Why are you fighting this? “What are you even talking about?” He’s messing with your brain right now. There’s no way he can be serious. “Why fight this? We are so alike and we should be together.” Wow he really is serious. You knew he was crazy from what you’ve seen and what others told you but you never believed them.

“Are you fucking crazy? We don’t belong together. I don’t know where you got that idea when this is like the first time we even talked or hung out. Plus the only reason why I’m here is because of the stupid purge thing.” You’re panicking. He’s still blocking your way out and he has this look in his eyes. If you had to pinpoint it the look would be sad maybe desperation. But you knew better, that wasn’t it.

“Fine if that’s how you feel then you can leave.” He’s bluffing, the rejection hurts but he wouldn’t hurt you. You don’t make a move to leave so he goes over to drag you out of the room. He just wants you to leave him alone and just stay in one of the guest rooms. 

You really start to panic now. He’s throwing you out just because you won’t sleep with him. The grip on your arm is tight so you know he’s mad. Just as he goes to open the door you throw your body onto him, lips smashing against his. He’s confused. You were just fighting him because he kissed you and here you are. He pulls away holding you in his hands. “I’m sorry. Don’t put me out when they want to kill me.”

Oh

You think that he’s going to let them kill you. Wait he can actually work with this. “Why shouldn’t I? There’s nothing in it for me by keeping you safe. I should honestly just offer you up to them.” He’s lying to his teeth. Even if he truly wanted to, there's a part of him that doesn’t want to hurt you. Your eyes start to swell with tears. You’re scared, you don’t want to die and you know out there you will. 

“I’m just scared, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight so I was pushing you away.” He knows you are lying, only saying it to save yourself. A sick part of him doesn’t even care, liking that you are willing to sell yourself for safety. One of his hands cup your cheek, pulling you closer to him. “It’s okay baby. You don’t need to be scared, I’ve got you.” There is a need to be scared. He’s willing to sell you out and he thinks there is nothing to be scared about.

He leans in, bumping his nose with yours before kissing you. You timidly kiss him back, letting him set the pace. As the kiss progresses he gets more aggressive. Slowly he starts to pull you back into the room. His hands are wandering your body and it doesn’t feel right. You wish this stupid purge never started or that he had never found you. Maybe it would have been better if you did go home and they found you.

His kisses start to travel down your neck, his hands making their way under your shirt. You allow him to pull it up, leaving you in just a bra. Rafe takes a moment to admire you, playing with your breasts. He takes you closing your eyes as a sign of pleasure, enjoying the feeling. But in reality you just need to get it over with. “You look so beautiful.” You hum not knowing what to really say. Once again he takes it as you enjoying what he’s doing. 

Before you know it you’re laying down on his bed naked with him on top of you. His fingers are rubbing your clit, circling it as he sucks on one of your nipples. You hate that it actually feels a little good. But you remind yourself that you can’t control how your body reacts. His actions stop causing your eyes to open.

You are greeted with his eyes staring down at you. “I knew you felt it too.” He kissed you, distracting you from the fact he lined himself up. Your mouth gaps open when he pushes himself in. It feels like he is splitting you in two. Giving you just a few moments to adjust he starts to thrust. Your hands find purchase on his shoulders, nails digging into him.

“God, you feel so good.” His head drops to your shoulder. “Doesn’t it feel good?” You nod your head as he kisses your neck, trying to stifle the whimpers threatening to escape. His thrusts are steady, ripping you apart from the inside out. You only got a little glimpse of him but you saw that he was big. Not only that he was girthy too.

It wouldn’t be a shock if he was actually ripping you apart. His right hand right hand finds its way between the both of you. His thumb continues its work from earlier and circles your clit. You squirm around as he keeps using your body. 

He grabs your face so you are looking at him. “It feels good right?” He repeats the question, nuzzling his nose with yours. “So good.” At the confirmation he lets out a moan and rests his head in the crook of your neck. 

You don’t know how long you laid there but soon his hips started to lose their rhythm. His grip on you tightens as he finally cums. He keeps holding you so you wrap your arms around him. You soothe him for some odd reason, running your hand up and down his back.

Rafe starts to feel guilty. He does know that you only slept with him to stay alive. It’s starting to eat at him. He lifts himself up to look at you and caresses your face. When your eyes meet his, he breaks.

“I wouldn’t have hurt you.” You just look at him without saying anything. “You may not believe it but I mean it. I won’t hurt you.”

You somewhat believe him. Maybe he wouldn’t have sent you off to your death but he still hurt you. Yet for some reason you give him what he’s seeking. “I know. It’s okay.”

The purge may have taken a part of you but you know that he’ll live with the guilt.

[stillxnunpxidintern]

MiShanks x Reader Imagine - Convenience

(So cause of a Tiktok my brain, after only a few minutes, decided that marriage of convenience was needed, and I wrote all this just so I could have one little scene, this is way longer than I expected it to be.)

I hope that you all enjoy reading this.

Both Mihawk and Shanks happen upon your family, who have the manpower they are looking for, as they need more soldiers (for whatever reason), so your father agree to it as long as they marry you, as you keep denying all the suitors trying for your hand and your father had enough, and believed this was only way to get you married off now, so the marriage between you and them was preformed quickly.

They treat you fine but also keep you at a distance, some times forgetting you were there. At first you tried to get to know them as they are your husbands, but neither of them seemed all that interested in you, so you started to stay out of sight unless it was dinner, where very little words were exchanged.

The few times when you had conversations with them, is when they were hosting a dinner or a party, and play the good attentive husbands.

The other ladies would say how lucky you were to have such handsome and attentive men as husbands, while you just smile in response. These were the only times you got to be physically close to them as you danced with them.

The library became your main sanctuary, reading for hours on the window seat that overlooked the training yard, where you could always spot both your husbands and their men training. While you didn't stare at them you did occasionally glance at them from the corner of your eye, their shirts always hanging at least half open.

When you first arrived at your new home, they hardly seemed to use the yard for training but now it seems like they were always out there. At first it frustrated you, as you just wanted to read in peace without having to see or think of either men and tried different spots around the library but none had same comfort or light that window seat offered you, so you just dealt with having them out the corner of your eyes.

The garden also became a sanctuary, when the weather was nice and if the men came into the library you would close the book you were currently reading then head out to the garden and sit among the flowers, to continue the book.

While you paid little attention to them, thinking they did the same to you, but they were always paying attention to you and the things you did. When they brought you home they were initially just gonna leave you to do your own things.

It took a while for them to notice but their home had some colour to it now and seem more livelier, as they noticed colourful flowers around the place, some little trinket/ornaments in places they weren't before. Always changing depending on the week and what was available.

They took note that the staff were happier in general and that when they truly started to pay more attention to you. They watched you interact with all the staff in the house, smiling and laughing, offering to help them which all decline but you asked every time.

They saw how you were with children, as there were times when some of the staff had to bring in their children for reasons, both men never mind, as long as the work got done before they left. When one or couple of kids were there you would "steal them away" and help them to read or write, or when the weather was nice take out to garden and teach of the different fauna and flora from across the world.

When they noticed how often you would sit on the window seat in the library, they soon moved the training to the training yard so they could see you. While they couldn't hear the noises you made when reading a book they could see your reactions, they also notice when you looked at them, even if just briefly.

They both then started to come to the library when you were, to try and start being near you, that wasn't just dinner, to form some sort of relationship with you, but with you upping and leaving every time they enter put a pin that plan. Shanks would put his head on Mihawk's shoulder with a sigh before whining a little.

Realising that both of them coming to find you together, would make you leave, thinking that they wanted time together, both men decided that coming individually was the best choice for them.

When in the library Mihawk was the one who generally came now, while suspicious at first you got used to him being in there, even if there were little words exchange between you.

Before anything could actually grow between you both, Mihawk was summoned to court, leaving you and Shanks alone.

While it was just you two, you noticed that Shanks seems to be everywhere you, while he was kind and treated you well, he was always talking and being flirtatious towards, interrupting the peace and quiet you were used too.

You were sure he was just bored cause Mihawk wasn't here, why else was he spending so much time with you, neither men have attempted to get to know you so why would they start now. You did your best to avoid him but he always seemed to find you and chatted away.

The one afternoon that you found peace and quiet, and lack of Shanks, also became the worst afternoon, when screams for you and help echoed through the house. You scumbled out the of the library and made your way to the front entrance, to see Shanks being dragged in and bleeding.

Your mind went blank at the sight in front of you, someone was calling your name and shook you before you came back your senses, and told them to Shanks to his room, to get water and towels bring it to bedroom and then sent someone to go fetch the doctor quickly.

You quickly followed behind to the bedroom and watched as Shanks was placed on the bed, groaning in pain. You made quick work of his shirt, noticing just how bad it was with most of his left arm gone. Towels were quickly brought in and were placed under his bleeding arm.

Grabbing a towel, you quickly turned it into a tourniquet and tied it at the top of his arm/shoulder. When the water arrived you grabbed another towel and as gently as you could wipe away the blood, it was gruesome, as you had never seen anything like and never wanted to again, but it seemed like it was whatever did bite it off on one go.

It felt like like hours before the doctor arrived and then you were shooed from the room as the doctor did what he could for the remaining part of Shanks arm, and every shriek of pain from the red head had you gripping your dress in your fists.

Once the doctor was done and had come out, they explained what was done and that it was important to keep an eye out of fever and infection, but they would return with medicine and a salve.

You thanked the doctor, knowing that Shanks would live, you went to your room and wrote a message to Mihawk, explaining to him what had happened. Once it was done you sent it out, hoping it arrived quickly to him.

You returned to their room, to check on Shanks and sit by his side, watching him as you wanted to be there when he woke up. When he does wake he kind of surprised to find you and teases you a little about it, you just roll your eyes, telling him of course you worry, especially with Mihawk gone.

Eventually you find out the events leading to him losing his arm happen was cause he a saving a young boy life.

The first couple of days after the incident you made him stay in bed, until he had enough of laying in bed and would spend time in the library with you, and would talk about anything.

You made sure that he took the medicine that doctor, and thankfully cause of and that salve he hadn't fallen prey to infection or fever.

Shanks had begun getting used to having one arm, mainly with little things when Mihawk returned and when he did, you left Shanks to him, as he had the person that meant the most to him, and you went back to doing what you normally did.

For the first week that Mihawk was back, you hardly saw either men not that it bothered you, however after that it seems that whenever you saw either man they were unimpressed/unhappy with you but you had no idea, you left the two of them alone as normal, as you weren't needed.

It took a couple of weeks before the air seemed to settle down and everything felt like how it was before.

For once you weren't in the library or garden, but sitting on the floor in front of the fire place, in one of many the rooms, as you were worked on some embroidery. It was peaceful before the door slammed open, making you jump as Shanks walked in, without saying a word, he came and laid down next to you, using your lap as his pillow.

Unsure of what just happened, you focused back on your embroidery, leaving Shanks to his impromptu nap. Some time later the door opened again and this time Mihawk walked in with a book and glass of wine on hand, didn't say anything but sat down on the settee, closest to you.

Not a word was spoken between the two of you, just enjoying the quiet and crackling of the fire, with the occasional noise from Shanks.

For the next few months this routine continued, sometimes Shanks napped using your lap a pillow and other times, depending where you were, would either lay or pull up a chair next you, talking away. Mihawk on the other hand would appears some time after Shanks and would bring an extra glass of wine for you, which you always thanked him for.

The weather had become colder and wetter when both men were called away to deal with a small riot that was starting to get out of hand. Without either of them there currently the house felt oddly empty to you, even with staff there.

There was a rare day while they were gone, that it was sunny and warm enough, that you decided that you would go for a ride, as you haven't done it in a long time.

You had been riding for a while when you noticed that the sky was filling with dark grey clouds that were promising rain. Deciding it was best to return home, you chose to go through the forest thinking it would get you back quicker.

There boom and a flash of light, before the rain came down and soak you to the bone. The rain was making your visuality low, and harder to steer your horse.

While riding through a thick part of the forest, the horse reared up suddenly, causing you to be thrown to ground before it galloped away. You ended up hitting the side of your head on the bottom of a tree and it's root.

So you laid on the ground for a good while as you tried to get your baring before pushing yourself up into a sitting position against a tree. Touching the side of your head, making you wince and noticed blood on your fingers when you pulled it back.

It took a while before you stood up, with your head throbbing and the rain pelting down still obscuring your vision, you made your way through the forest, hoping you were heading in the right direction.

While that was happening to you, both Mihawk and Shanks had arrived home, a little before the rain began and were glad to have missed it, as it means they could have a quick wash and dress causally. They did notice that you hadn't come to greet them but thought nothing of it as they had arrived with no notice.

Once clean and dressed, Shanks went in search of you, looking in your normal spots but didn't find you, so he then tried the other rooms that you might of been but still nothing. So went to find his husband in hope that you were with him.

Finding Mihawk in the kitchen grabbing wine and glasses was easy, however you weren't there either. Frowning he asked Mihawk if had seen you, but was greeted with a simple no, as he said he was unable to find you.

It stuck them as odd, you weren't one to hide. If you didn't want to be around them, you would make sure they knew that but given its been a couple a hours now, this was out of character for you.

Both men began looking in each room for you, getting more worried and angry with each passing room. After checking the whole house and not finding you, they then called for all the staff foyer.

When all the staff were assembled, they both looked over everyone with sharp eyes, trying to see if anyone were acting strange. Mihawk was soon asking if any of them had you, but were met with silence as no spoke.

With no one answering, both of them getting more agitated the longer the silence continued till the air was thick with tension, as Shanks slammed his fist down on the banister making everyone jump.

"Where is our wife?!" Both Shanks and Mihawk growled while now glaring.

Seeing both men furious, the staff quickly spoke, saying they haven't seen you since after lunch and quickly left to check around the house and the grounds. Once they were alone again Shanks slumped a little and sat on the stairs, wondering where you were, while Mihawk stood beside him, placing his fingers in the red locks, staring at the door.

It was nearly dark by the time you finally saw the lights of the house. Your body was so cold, wet and sore, as your head was still hurting along with cuts, grazes and numerous bruises from the times you had tripped over so many tree roots.

Your clothes were ripped from the thorn bushes and low hanging tree branches you had passed, as well as being covered in so much mud, as well as blood probably.

By the time you reached the front door, your body was begging you stop for a moment but you knew if you did, you wouldn't be getting back up, and all you wanted to do was collapse on your bed.

With all the strength you could muster, you pushed one of the large wooden oak doors open and was greeted by the warmth that hit like a wall, before stepping in lit foyer.

The light was blinding for a few seconds making you squint before noticing both husbands at the bottom of the stairs. Before you even had a chance to say something or even close the door, they were in front you, embracing you.

Well Shanks was, Mihawk was next you after having closed the door, placing his hand under your chin, lifting your face up to look at him.

With having them both there, your body decided now to give up, and had Shanks not been there holding you, you would of collapsed to the floor.

Mihawk then gathered you up in his arms, holding you close as they headed to their room. Once inside you were placed on the edge of the bed as you stared at them. They ordered the staff to run a bath and bring up food for you.

With the staff busy doing their jobs, both men stared at you again, this time truly taking in your current state. Shanks grabbed a wet cloth from the bathroom, then wiped your face free of any dirt and blood.

You winced and moved your headed away when he wiped over the area where your head had hit the tree. Seeing that Mihawk cupped your face gently in his hand as he tilted your head to the side to inspect the area. There was a fairly big cut on the side of your head, but most of your hair covered it though, thankfully it didn't seem that deep.

Once Shanks was finished, Mihawk pulled you up from bed, as his hands moved as he begun unbuttoning/unlacing your clothes, pulling each layer off and dropping it on the ground with a wet plop, till you were just left standing in your underwear shivering.

Both men eyes roamed over you, the first time seeing you nearly naked, making you feel timid and insecure as you tried to cover up your body with your arms.

It felt an eternity with their eyes on you while it was just a few seconds, as a maid popped their head out saying that the bath was ready. Quickly escaping their glaze, you entered the bathroom and removed your last couple of garments before slipping into hot bath, giving a hiss as the hot water made contact with the cuts over your body.

The maids that were in there help wash you, being mindful to gentle wash over your cuts and bruises. When they began to you wash your hair, you winced and took a ragged breath as the shampoo hit the cut on your head, tears prickling at the corner of your eyes.

When they were finished, they left you to soak in the bath and found yourself closing your eyes but that peace was interrupted by the opening of the door and Shanks began talking, though it sound more like rambling at the moment.

Opening an eye you could see his red hair from the crack in the door, before slipping down further in hot warm and closed your eyes again, as you drifted in and out of it. Your body and mind just wanted to sleep, but falling asleep in the bath was not the best idea.

A sharp knock on the door made you sit up suddenly, before Mihawk spoke to you, telling you he was leaving clothes for you to change into with the towels, that were resting on the radiator. You thanked him as the door was closing and could hear Shanks say something but wasn't sure what.

You waited another ten minutes before getting out of the now cool bath, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around yourself, sighing in to the warmth that the towels held from the radiator. Once body and hair was dried, you grabbed the clothes that were left.

The clothes were a shirt and trousers, both items were big on you so you guessed that they either belonged to Shanks or Mihawk. You did your best to make them fit, as you stepped backed into the bedroom.

Both men turned and looked at you, making you feel nervous again as Shanks grinned and Mihawk stared more intently, taking in how you looked in their clothes. Stepping further into the room, Shanks came to you as he pulled you over to the bed and up against the headboard, keeping you the middle, before pulling the covers up and threw with his arm over you.

You were about to say something about going back to your room, but the food arrived, it was some soup and bread, but you were just glad it was something hot and light.

Shanks moved out of the way so the tray could be place down, but stay next you as you began to eat. You did your best to ignore both men while you were eating, but it wasn't easy when they were staring.

When you finished, the tray were moved and Shanks once more had his arm over you, pulling you down further under the covers. The warmth and weight of Shanks next to you, was pulling you ever closer to sleep, but before you did fall asleep, you ask them when you were going back to your room.

Shanks just gave you a little hum and Mihawk, who was now sitting in the edge of the bed and simply said you weren't. You were about to argue with him but he hushed you and told you rest, as he leant over and moved some hair from your face.

Almost like he knew you were going to fight against sleep after what Mihawk said, Shanks pulled you against his chest and hummed softly. The vibration from the humming is what eventually lured you to sleep.

You slept through the whole night and when you woke, you were sandwich between two very hot and firm body. Your body still felt sore and exhausted, you then tried to wiggle free but a single arm kept a tight hold on you, sighing in defeat you closed eyes and went back to sleep.

Over the next day or two neither men would allow you to leave their sight, you were constantly watched, so couldn't go back to your room and sleep but you did get some of your clothes brought in their room.

What proved to be a good thing, as on the 2nd night of sleeping with them, you developed a high fever what lasted 3 days before it broke. One of them were by your side at all time, applying a cold compress to your forehead.

Mihawk was who dealt with making you sure you ate enough, as you had a loss of appetite, and he would make you eat a few more bites of a meal. Shanks spent the most time with you, telling you news and stories of his youth, also helped when you needed to go to the bathroom, normally just making sure you could get there fine.

It took a few more days before either men would leave you alone for period of time. You were just glad you could wash yourself without worrying about falling over.

You kept trying to go back to your room now you were better but both men still refused to let you sleep anywhere but their bed.

As it was getting even colder now, with frost cover everything most mornings, you took solace in the library again, this time on settee that was placed in front of a fire, as it was too cold to sit on the window seat.

Most of the time you ended up curled up napping on the settee, wrapped up in a nice fuzzy blanket with whatever book you were reading, fallen to the floor.

Both Shanks and Mihawk had found you like that quite a few times now, and would leave you be most of the time, as sleep was best way to getting you back to 100%. The couple of time they have woken you is for dinner and would gently wake you up, either by stroking your cheek or moving hair from your face while calling your name and saying dinner would be ready soon.

It takes just under two weeks to feel back to your normal self. While you didn't nap that often now, you did enjoy closing your eyes and just listening to the cracking of logs on fire.

That is how both of them find you, Shanks sitting on the same settee as you while Mihawk was across from you. Knowing your peaceful moment was over, opening your eyes, you looked at both men waiting for them to speak first.

Shanks was the first speak, asking you for the first time what had happened when you had gone out. You tell them what had happened, when you were making your way back to the house, though there were some moments that were fuzzy. They asked if you saw what had cause the horse to throw you off, but due the rain you didn't see what had cause it.

They both asked that in the future, if you wish to go rider then to let one of them know and they would them join, providing they were home, otherwise to leave a note and tell servant where you were going, so if something like that did happen they could react faster.

You agreed them with on that, you rather that didn't happen to you again. You then asked them if you were allowed to go back to your room to sleep, and you weren't surprised when Mihawk said no, but Shanks gave you a smile, but there was something to it though.

Narrowing your eyes at both men, you finally ask them for the suddenly change and why they were so interested in being around you now. Shanks snorted before letting a laugh out while Mihawk just let a long sigh, which made you scowl at them.

Once Shanks had finishing, he looked at you before calling you sweetheart and telling you that they been trying for months to get to you know and you were being completely oblivious to their attempts.

You stared at them both, very confused at this revelation. Were you truly that oblivious, surely you couldn't be, all the times they had come to find you and they didn't say anything and acted like it was normal.

While lost in your thoughts, you didn't pay much attention to the light chuckle that came from next to you, so you yelped when you found yourself being suddenly pulled into Shanks lap. Which made him chuckle again as he placed his chin on your shoulder.

Looking over at your dark hair husband, you asked him when did they decided that they actually wanted this marriage to work and why neither of them said anything, as well as why were they prissy toward you after the accident when Mihawk had returned.

Shanks answered, telling you that after having you help and take caring of him only to ditch him once Mihawk return, that made him feel like shit that it was so easy for you to leave after accident like that.

Hearing him say that made you feel like shit now, you hadn't taken how he would feel then, simply cause he had Mihawk with him. You apologized to him, for making him feel like that as it wasn't your intention, you simply thought as Mihawk was back, you weren't needed/wanted anymore.

They both tell you that are you are very much wanted, and there was a moment of silence before you asked them how they wanted to go about this from now. Shanks said that they want this marriage to work and they want you as well, so starting now was it truly beginning, now that everything was aired out.

Hearing that they both you wanted, you felt your face start to warm up as it went red from being flustered. You quickly covered up your face with your hands, as Shanks began laughing as you peeked through your fingers to see Mihawk giving you sly smile, which just made you groan.

Once you were sure that your face was no longer red, you looked passed Mihawk, cause you were sure if you looked at him directly you would turn red again. You suggested spending time with each of them individually to get to know them and for them to know you.

They were as opposite as night and day, it made you wonder just how they ended up with each other.

They agreed that to that idea, but they also suggested that each meal is eaten together not that dinner anymore, even when one of them is away, you agreed that.

Other things were talked about as well, by the end of it was you were very content with sitting with in Shanks lap, who kept pressing light kisses on cheek and shoulders. Mihawk had moved to the same settee and pulled your feet into his lap, as his hands trailed up both legs to the knee and down again.

Over the next two month or so, getting to spend time with each man on their own, proved to be best idea as you learn much more about them, than you thought. With the weather bringing snow and bitter cold temperature, you got to time was spend with them, as there were no drills being done in the training yard, well apart from Mihawk who seem to do an hour of sword training in the morning, before breakfast, while you and Shanks stay nice and warm in bed.

Having spent more time with Shanks, you found that he was so much more flirtatious and excitable kind of like a child than you thought, you had yet to see him serious but something tells you that when it does happen to dock and cover.

You notice with Mihawk that not much change but there been times when he "bolder" is all you could think. You are able to pick up on the small the differences in his body language and seem to be more relax, as well as giving you small touches, with his hand on the small of your back or your thigh. Sometimes he will pull you in his lap for reason if your just pass by or if your both sharing the same settee in the library he will massage your legs so higher and only stopping when your a blushing stuttering mess.

Over that time you had met more of their friends, out of them all you like Beckman was your favourite, followed Edward Newgate and his couple of his son. They were all gentleman, kind and friendly, even if they did all tower over you. The one you tended to not interact with much was Sir Crocodile, while he had been only polite gentleman and done nothing toward you, but his mere presence intimidated you, his height and hook didn't help either.

You also got to met Luffy, the boy that Shanks gave his left arm to save, as well as his two brothers Ace and Sabo. It only took meeting them for around 10 minutes to want to claim all three boys as your own, especially with Luffy sunshine personality and seeing how both Ace and Sabo were protective of him.

Later on when you were talking to Shanks and Mihawk about the boys at dinner, Shanks chuckled and Mihawk just give a shake of his head but gave you a fond smile before saying that Shanks was enough of a child that no more were needed. You gave a laugh while Shanks pouted at the dark haired man.

When snow began to fall and settled thickly on the ground, you dragged both husbands outside, under the pretence of spending time together, but the moment they had their backs to you, you threw snowballs at them both.

When they both turned to you face, Shanks had a look of betrayal but his eyes held mischief, while Mihawk looked unimpressed with his eyes holding a dark glint promising punishment in the future. Both of them took a step forward while you took two backward before sprinting away, trying to get back inside, but you were quickly caught by a single arm, then thrown down into the snow with Shanks grinning down at you.

You gave him a shy timid smile which made him lean closer to your face, just what you were hoping for as you grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down his back, pushed him over and stood up, grinning in triumph at him.

Shanks gave you a glare as he sat up but it was soon turned into smirk, as you momentarily forgot about your dark hair husband until you were grabbed from behind, making you squeak as you were held tightly against him. You tried to squirm out his hold but it just got tighter each time. Mihawk then placed his lips by your ears before telling you that this is what you get for your stunt.

You quickly turned your attention back to your red hair husband, who was now standing in front you, grinning down at you with a handful of snow in his hand. Knowing what he was about to do you tried to reason with him and bribe him with kisses, but it didn't help as you had snow shoved down the front of your top, making you eek and curse at him, as the cold snow made contact with your warm body.

When you finally managed to get free, you glared and pouted at both men, before declaring war then started to make and throw snow balls them. Very few of your throws actually hit their mark. At some point you ducked one of the snow balls Shanks threw which ended up hitting Mihawk in the side of the head.

Watching the scene unfold, your eyes went wide as you put a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from laughing, but the shaking of your shoulders gave you away. He turned and gave you both a sharp glare, as you quickly hide behind Shanks and threw him to wolf, saying that it was all Shanks and you were innocent, in this case.

That however did not sway Mihawk, both of you and Shanks ended up covered in snow, wet and freezing, after being tossed into the snow, a few times.

When you all went back inside, both you and Shanks had to change in to dry clothes, before cuddling up together to warm yourselves up in front of the fire. Mihawk just rolled his eyes before telling you both that it was your own fault, you shouldn't start something you couldn't finish.

Both of you just narrowed eyes and pouted at him, to which he just stared at you both before coming and claiming Shanks lips with his own, as he pulled you from Shanks hold, and placed you in his lap once he was sitting and placed a blanket over you, while his hands covered your to warm them up.

Watching Shanks spread out over the settee, you never imagined that when you first married both these men, that it would end up like this. You had thought it would be a loveless marriage especially with how the first few months were, so made peace with it but having spent the last two months actually getting to know both men and working on the marriage, you just knew it would be a happy and loving marriage.

You smiled to yourself at that thought before snuggling further into Mihawk hold, as you could hear Shanks teasing you lighting, as you decided that a short nap would be good right now.

As you were drifting off, you could feel kisses on the top of your head, as both men began to talk quietly.

You were very happy with how everything had turned out.

[artiststarme]

Come to Poppa

Based on a prompt sent to me awhile ago from @yaoiprofessoryuki. I'm sorry it took so long but I hope you like it!

~*~*~*~

Steve was never close to his dad, not like a father or son should be. They never played catch in the front yard or camped out in the woods. They certainly never talked about sports or girls. The closest they ever got was performing elementary science experiments at the kitchen table until his mother scolded them both over their own laughter. One day though, everything changed. Out of nowhere, Steve became less of a son and more like a roommate that coexisted in the same house.They lived in the same house and their paths intermittently crossed when they were both in the house at the same time, but their relationship was gone. 

Nevertheless, all Steve wanted after fighting the demogorgons with the kids was to see his dad. He craved the comfort that only a dad could give through all-consuming hugs and emotionally stunted advice. His dad was a scientist, surely he could ask him just what the fuck those monsters were. If anyone could understand, his dad would. 

But after waiting up all night and into the next day, his dad didn’t come home. His secretary didn’t pick up the phone when he called and the hospital had no records of him. His dad was just gone, disappeared just like all the evidence of the demogorgons. Steve’s mom filed a missing persons report with the Sheriff’s office but even their investigations were moot. It was like his dad fell off the face of the earth. 

***

After their 1984 encounter and getting the absolute shit kicked out of him by Billy, the kids start hanging out at his house. His mom had taken to leaving for weeks at a time at the drop of a hat to avoid thinking about his father and Steve was climbing the walls in order to escape some of the oppressive loneliness that the house seemed to ooze. He thought the kids would find it fun to have a big house to themselves to make a mess in and just be kids away from the responsibilities of the Upside Down. He was wrong. 

Eleven froze as soon as the door swung shut behind her, her eyes on the family portrait that hung in the living room. In it was a sixteen year old Steve, his mother in her nicest dress, and his graying dad. It was one of the last pictures that they all looked happy in. But Eleven wasn’t looking at the picture in happiness or curiosity, she was looking at it in horror.

“El? What’s wrong, what’s going on?” Mike stood between her and the photo, his hand comfortingly rested on her shoulder.

All the kids surrounded her and Steve just followed her gaze and looked at her in confusion. When Dustin saw him looking back and forth, he snuck a peek before his eyes widened in sudden realization. “Holy shit, guys! Look at the picture! Steve, how the hell do you know Dr. Brenner?”

Steve’s eyes scrunched in confusion, “what? I don’t know a Dr. Brenner.”

“There’s a picture of the two of you right there!” Lucas flailed his arm towards another picture of the two of them in black suits at his cousin’s wedding. 

“And right there,” Max added, pointing at a picture of Steve holding a report card with straight A’s and his dad beaming with pride to his left.

“That’s not Dr. Brenner, that’s my dad. Martin Harrington, not a Brenner,” he said while rolling his eyes in exasperation. The imagination of these kids was going to make him lose his mind one day. 

“No, papa.”

“Eleven, that’s not the man that hurt you. That’s my dad. He was boring and dorky, he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Papa!”

“I think she would know who experimented on her for years,” Lucas said, rolling his eyes. 

“Not if she thinks it's my dad!” Steve was really reaching his limits. He’d just wanted the kids to have fun for a day, he hadn’t expected slander against his dad. 

“What if it's the same person? Your dad and Dr. Brenner,” Dustin pondered. 

Steve just shook his head. “There’s no way, my dad worked at the Department of Energy for the government. He ran research experiments on electricity and water and shit. He never worked with kids!” 

“The Department of Energy was just a cover up for the experiments on kids!” Mike screamed.

That was the last line for El. As soon as Mike raised his voice, she flinched and threw the family portrait to the ground with a flick of her wrist. The frame splintered and the glass shattered upon contact with the fireplace tile. Most disturbingly to Steve though was the long tear in the photo separating his dad from him and his mom. An unfortunately positioned shard of glass had separated his dad from his family in the portrait just as an unknown force had in reality. 

“Hey! That’s one of the last pictures I have of him! He disappeared last year and you just ruined our last picture together. Fuck Eleven, he’s not your papa.” Steve dropped to his knees next to the broken frame without regard for the glass and fretted his hands over the portrait. 

“He’s a monster!” El yelled, an accusing finger pointed directly at the ruined canvas in his hands. All of the pictures on the walls fell to the floor with a deafening crash. In a single moment, all remnants of his dad were erased from the living room. 

“No! You’re ruining everything, stop! My dad was just a nerd that loved science. He might’ve been a little strict about grades but other than that, he’s a good guy!”

“Steve, we are telling you that that is Dr. Brenner. I don’t know why he has a different name at work or why you don’t know what he did at work but it is him. We met him last year and he’s missing because… Well, we’re pretty sure El killed him or at least really hurt him. That’s why he didn’t come back.” Dustin delivered the news as gently as possible but his words still registered like a knife in the back. 

“What.”

Suddenly, Steve saw everything differently. The missed basketball games, the unexplained absences and late nights at work, the weird interest in his experiments. It felt like the loving dad that he grew up with was a stranger he never knew at all. The kids didn’t seem to notice his shock or the fact that they had just ruined his life. They continued arguing amongst themselves until Steve tuned back in. 

“What if Steve knew about it? For all we know, he could've had a part in it! Maybe that’s why he wanted to join the Party. He could be reporting back to Dr. Brenner right now!” Mike ranted. Jesus Christ, Steve hated that kid.

“You really think Steve had something to do with it? I’m pretty sure he’s failing at least three classes right now. There is no way someone would use him as an accomplice in a conspiracy this big,” Dustin shook his head and sent a wink at Steve as if he was defending him. But Steve didn’t take it that way. 

They knew about his dad’s disappearance and were now insulting him? Fucking shit, he’d risked everything for these kids; his reputation, his old friends, his relationship with Nancy, his life! And they still doubted him and saw him as an idiot. They saw him as a traitor that would work as an accomplice to torture other kids. Fuck it. 

“Get out.”

“Steve, Mike didn’t mean-”

He cut Lucas off with a glare. “Get out! I don’t want you here. Just get out!”

They all walked out with varying degrees of guilt until Steve was left alone with nothing to do but look at the ruined family portrait with its shards of broken glass and cry about the injustice of it all.

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[honey-minded-hivemind]

hi I hope can you can a yandere scott and jean with child reader haunted mansion au please.

Hahaha, yes! So, Reader in this, I'm imagining they are a random kid who was dropped off at the wrong house. Let's see how it goes-

The house was really cold, you'd noticed.

And dusty.

And old.

It seemed rather large, with too many doors and too many paintings and too many mirrors and too many cobwebs to count. It seemed... abandoned. Lonely. And it made you scared. You were trying not to cry, you were trying to be a big kid, but it was hard when every time you walked the floor creaked, and spooky noises came from deep inside the twisting halls.

You were rather happy, then, to see someone. A tall someone, who wore bright red glasses.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" you called, your voice a loud whisper that echoed in the vast void of the room. That caught the attention of the tall person, who was a older teen. He looked pretty shocked to see you.

"What the...?" he said, then came closer. It was quite apparent now that you were tiny compared to him. Yet the moment he was near, you latched onto his leg, hugging it. "Um, hey, kid? Um... how. How did you get in here?"

"I was left here. They said this was where the babysitter was," you answered. He was really cold, almost freezing, like snow. It was weird, but he seemed nice. "Are you the babysitter?"

For a moment he looked conflicted, then he scooped you up, holding you rather gently. "Um, yep. For tonight. My name's Scott, what's yours?" He carried you through the different rooms, until you reached a dining room, setting you down on a chair carefully. For a minute he seemed to flicker, but it must have been a trick of the light...

"Oh... I'm Reader..."

"Huh... that's... that's a good name. Did you need anything?"

"I don't kn-"

"Scott!"

Another teenager soon appeared, one with bright auburn hair, who seemed happy to see him. The moment she saw you, her smile only widened. "Aaaawwww, hi, sweetie! Who are you?"

"That's Reader. Reader, this is Jean, Jean, this is Reader. We were just trying to see if they needed anything," Scott explained. He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "They were, uh... dropped off here."

"What?" Jean seems almost confused, then angry, then calm again. "Okay, I see... Well, let's take care of you, okay, sweetie?" she says to you, and you shyly grin at her. She seems nice.

"Can we play a game?"

"Um, sure, kid. What game did you have in mind?"

"Whatever you want, okay?"

"Um... what about hide and go seek?" you offer. That's met with two nods, and you quickly add, "Can I hide first?"

"Of course. Just... let's play outside, okay? I don't think all the rooms are clean in here, and we don't need you getting sick," Jean explains. Scott nods, and you simply race them to the door. When you look back, they're both closing their eyes, starting to count.

You giggle, racing out the large doors and working your way into the yard beside the large house. It's full of weird rocks and stones, with names carved on them, along with numbers. And there's even one with your name, scratched in and with some sweet words under it... But you decided to hide behind the two that have Scott and Jean's names on them, with rhyming words. It takes awhile before you hear them come out, the only way you know it being them calling, "Ready or not, here we come!"

It doesn't take too long for them to find you, after looking around the different stones and slabs and bushes. And when they do find you, you laugh-scream when hands suddenly pick you up, hugging you tightly.

"There you are!"

"Here I am!"

After that, you're soon put to bed, being kept in a small room with a smaller bed. The blankets smell a little old, and the room is slightly warmer than the others, but you settle down, lulled under by the story being read to you by your two new friends...

When you wake up, your parent is worried, quickly grabbing you and almost running through the halls and out the door, not stopping for a minute. "Where are we going?" you yawn, rubbing at your eyes.

"We're going home, baby, okay? I'm so sorry I left you here all alone, I thought this was the right house!"

"But I wasn't alone..."

Your parent's face goes pale, almost like a ghost. "You... there were people there?"

You nod your head.

With that, they start the car, speeding down the long, long driveway and out into the lonely road. You'd only later find out, when you're older, that the house, a mansion, had been abandoned for years... and that no one was living there at all...

But that didn't mean the dead weren't...

[timeagainreviews]

A Foot in Two Worlds: 73 Yards

My third-grade lunch buddy was a girl named Kendra. We used to love chatting about movies and television. My favourite topic was Batman. Hers was Full House. However, one morning, instead of gushing over Stephanie Tanner, she told me about a movie she and her brother had watched over the weekend. The movie was 1989’s “Clownhouse,” and she was a bit traumatised by it. And because of her vivid description, so was I. Honestly, I don’t remember anything past her saying “It’s about these kids who see clowns watching them through their windows,” because I never stopped thinking about that sentence, for years. While I’ve still never actually seen Clownhouse, nor do I experience coulrophobia, the idea of being watched from a distance still creeps me out. I still close the blinds at night.

Initially, I wanted to compare “73 Yards,” to something like “It Follows,” or even “The Immortal Snail.” Both scenarios entail being tracked by a slow but relentless pursuer who kills you if it ever catches up to you. But “73 Yards,” isn’t so much a story about being pursued. It’s about feeling watched. It’s about feeling judged. It’s about feeling abandoned. It preys on our fear of being the subject of gossip. That people could spread lies about us that scare away our loved ones. The fear that maybe they’re right. Maybe we don’t deserve love. It’s about the ambiguity that sits within our hearts. The liminal threshold between us at our best and us at our worst. But it’s not just about the wicked and the divine, but also body and spirit. A foot in both worlds.

Doctor Who currently has a foot in both worlds. The Doctor steps on a science fictiony land mine one week, and the next week he’s stepping on fairy circles. A recurring theme in this new season is “look before you leap.” Or ‘watch your step.” Ruby steps on a butterfly in the past and changes species. The Doctor steps on a land mine and almost dies. And now, the Doctor steps on a fairy circle and disappears. The Doctor is learning to have a healthy respect for the new supernatural powers coursing through the Whoniverse. At least he would if he remembered anything from this adventure. Not even Ruby will learn a lesson here, so was it worth it?

After last week’s “Boom,” I was game for whatever Russell T Davies had in store for the future. The trailer for “73 Yards,” gave us very little to go on, and in hindsight, it’s pretty easy to see why. This was a Doctor-lite episode and therefore not a lot of footage to share that wouldn’t also spoil this being a Ruby-centric story. But I was ready for it. Ruby has been suffering a bit from underdevelopment as a character. I even saw a Chibnall stan on Twitter saying so, which is quite extreme when you consider how underdeveloped Yaz was. In Ruby’s case, however, it’s hard to pinpoint what it is about her that’s underdeveloped. She’s got a great family dynamic. She’s nurturing. She plays in a band. But who is she? Like River Song before her, her character arc is starting to affect her character development. And my interest is waning.

After the Doctor steps onto the fairy circle and disappears, Ruby unsuccessfully tries the TARDIS doors. She then checks around the other side to see if he’s having a pee. This may be the first time the show has canonically mentioned the Doctor goes to the bathroom. It’s funny to think of the great Time Lord having a slash off the edge of a cliff. The Doctor seems to do a lot of important things on cliff edges these days. Failing to find the Doctor, it’s then that Ruby notices a strange old woman standing under a creepy old tree from 73 yards away making some sort of hand gestures. However, the closer she walks toward the woman, the further she appears away.

The mechanism of how the woman moves is hidden by editing, but it feels like something Ruby would notice quickly. I don’t imagine Ruby walking closer would cause the woman to start backing up physically like that Community episode where Professor Duncan got a restraining order on Chang and used it like he had force powers. Instead, they cut back to the woman and she’s simply further away. Ruby is conveniently looking for footing every time, so she fails to see this. But if you started walking toward someone and they started hovering backwards, wouldn’t you find that weird? It’s not like she doesn’t sense something weird pretty early on. She even asks the woman if the Doctor’s disappearance has anything to do with her. She even asks the hiker (yet another character played by Susan Twist) if she can see the old woman.

Something I found interesting about the Susan Twist scene was that whoever her character is, she’s not immune to the effects of the old woman. Either that, or she’s lying. Either way, it feels important that we were shown her having the same reaction to the woman as everyone else. If she’s a magical trickster, she’s not an invincible one, or maybe she’s not magical at all. We’ve learned very little about Susan Twist’s character(s), but this indicates that she’s not fully in charge of the situation if she can be scared off like that. What’s frustrating is that the first time a character looks at her and says “Hey don’t I know you from somewhere?” it’s in an aborted timeline. I would have expected the Doctor to have made the connection after the ambulance screens in “Boom,” matched the woman from Space Babies, but maybe he’s been distracted by clothes.

By this point in the episode, I’ve been fully drawn in. Ruby finds her way to the small village of Glyngatwg and a pub called “Y Pren Marw,” which translates to “The Dead Wood.” I thought this might have been a reference to the weird tree on the cliff, but the illustration on the pub sign looked more like an oak tree, so I doubt it. Another name they could have used for the pub could have been “The Gaslight Inn,” because man oh man did they gaslight the hell out of Ruby. They keep accusing her of thinking they’re yokels for asking pretty innocuous questions. Asking if you can pay with your phone is perfectly reasonable. There’s a chippy in my village that does the best fish n chips in the area, but I never use them because they haven’t got a card machine and I don’t carry cash. I don’t imagine the owner of the chippy goes home every night in his Fred Flintstone car because of it. Maybe they’re worried they really are yokels. Either way, five quid for a Coke and abusive staff? What’s their Trip Advisor score? Negative six?

The only non-yokel in the pub is Enid and that’s solely because she’s played by Siân Phillips, who could never be mistaken for common. She was easily the highlight of the episode for me, sitting elegantly at the bar in her fashionable hat. Of all of the patrons at the bar, she’s the one I believe would coin the Latin phrase “semper distans,” to describe the way the old woman follows but never approaches. If only she could have taught Isaac Newton the word “gravitas.” Beyond being incredibly rude, I rather enjoyed the patrons of Y Pren Marw. They reminded me of characters you would have found in classic Doctor Who. The pub scenes reminded me a lot of “The Dæmons,” or “Terror of the Zygons.” But more than anything, this episode reminded me of “The Stones of Blood,” wherein things start like folk horror and end in a more mundane setting.

After Ruby’s unwanted follower scares away one of the pub’s most faithful patrons, she’s forced to head back to London, which is about where the episode starts to lose steam. Up until that moment, I was expecting a sort of witch coven or worse to spring up in the sleepy village of Glyngatwg. I was ready to call it RTD’s best ever. But now we’re back in London where the biggest mystery is Mrs Flood, and she’s really only there to remind us she exists. But that’s not to say a piece of Glyngatwg didn’t leave with Ruby, and it’s not to say I disliked the story’s ending. But there was a noticeable drop in excitement the moment Ruby boarded that train.

I found it odd that Carla and Cherry were badmouthing the Doctor in his absence. Cherry was ready to jump his bones the last time they spoke and now he’s good for nothing. I get that they want to support Ruby, but like, what if he’s hurt somewhere? All I’m saying is that if I ever go missing, please don’t send Carla and Cherry to find me. After telling Carla about the old woman, Ruby’s deepest fears are realised. Like Susan Twist and Josh before her, talking to the old woman causes her to abandon Ruby. The look Carla gives Ruby from the cab as it drives away is the last way anyone would want to be looked at by their loved one. It wasn’t a look of fear, it was a look of disgust.

It’s that look of disgust that really started to make me think of another story from the Whoniverse- “The Curse of Clyde Langer,” a Sarah Jane Adventures episode written by Phil Ford. In it, Clyde’s name becomes cursed and anyone who hears or reads it becomes irrationally opposed to Clyde. His friends and family disown him and it’s Clyde against the world, which is wild because Clyde’s one of my favourite characters in all of Doctor Who. Who could hate that precious cinnamon roll? Even further, who could forget that episode? Well, it turns out Davies was kinda hoping the answer would be you. I’m not saying Davies is out of ideas, but he seems to be “remixing,” a lot of what has come before. More on that in a moment.

After losing her family, Ruby gets on with life, but not before being given a spark of hope in the form of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. We even learn some things about the old woman from Kate. We establish that yes, it is always 73 yards away. And no matter how close a person gets to her, she always looks as in focus as a person with 20/20 vision would see her from 73 yards. We also learn that the old woman’s “powers” work via headset, as Kate breaks contact with Ruby, leaving her devastated from losing yet another lifeline.

An interesting factoid about that scene is that Kate and Ruby were sitting across from “The House of Pi,” and Pi Day is the 73rd day of a non-leap year. Why do I know this? Because I went into a bit of a rabbit hole trying to learn about the number 73 yesterday. I looked into its mathematical significance. I learned it’s Sheldon Cooper’s favourite number. I looked it up in terms of numerology. I read the 73rd Psalm. There are 73 books in the Catholic Bible. But none of it felt significant. Then my dumbass googled whether RTD had explained the number, and he claimed it was as simple as going outside and measuring the distance from which people’s faces began to blur. Right. Well, that’s disappointing, albeit creative.

We’re treated to a montage of Ruby getting on with her life throughout the next couple of decades. Like the rest of us, her age starts to show itself with long hair and big glasses. I mentioned earlier that Ruby suffers a bit from a lack of character development and this montage does nothing to help that. She grows up into possibly one of the most boring people they could have made her. Her queer group of friends she has a band with seem to have disappeared. Her dating life is painfully heteronormative. She didn’t date a single woman throughout that time? She would have learned by now not to encourage her friends to talk to the old woman, and due to the perception filter, it’s not like anyone seemed to mind her anyhow. I’m just saying, if someone as normie as her started wearing a political shirt for the nuclear war-hungry Albion Party, I’d look at her and say “Pssh. Figures.”

Speaking of the Albion Party, it’s time we started talking about Harold Saxon. Oh, sorry, I meant Roger ap Gwilliam. The episode implies that Roger is the trickster “Mad Jack" who had escaped the fairy circle after the Doctor stepped on it. But Davies is remixing the classics, or as LCD Soundsystem puts it- “Shut up and play the hits.” He even mistreats women in the same way as the Master. I took this to be Doctor Who’s flimsy attempt at a comment on the MeToo movement. It would work better if ap Gwilliam was more than a moustache-twirling miscreant. Especially because Ruby throws poor Marti to the lions by not warning her away from Roger. If this is a MeToo story, Ruby is an enabler, which is not a great look. But she apologises so I guess it’s ok. Don’t worry Marti, your trauma gets erased anyhow.

While the campaigners prepare for a press conference for Roger ap Gwilliam to announce that Britain has purchased Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, Ruby realises she’s out of time and needs to act now. Using her semper distans friend to her advantage, Ruby backs 73 yards away from Roger and sends him cowering and eventually resigning from his position as prime minister. Ruby expects this to be the end of the old woman, but she remains with her until the day she’s on her deathbed, at which point, the old woman changes from her perspective to Ruby’s. As the old woman, Ruby sees her young self and is able to call out to her and warn her about the fairy circle. That’s what happened, right?

Well, maybe? The biggest curveball comes in the form of the old woman herself. Because while Ruby does age to the ripe old age of 80, the actress playing her is Amanda Walker. The actress playing the woman is Hilary Hobson. Set pictures have also revealed Hobson in make-up that appears to be scarring going up the left side of her face. And those hand gestures of hers? Sign language. Eagle-eyed viewers have roughly translated her signing as “Bless you. Thank you so much, that's so kind of you. When you gave me that little thing, it was just so precious. How am I ever going to repay you? But we will think of something.” Perhaps this scarred woman is someone the Doctor and Ruby have yet to meet. Perhaps she repays them by warning them away from the fairy circle and saving both the Doctor and Ruby from a bizarre fate.

People seem divided by this episode in a major way, which is pretty normal for Doctor Who. But one of the more irritating takeaways I’ve seen is that the episode doesn’t make any sense. That’s only sort of true. There are some bootstrap paradox things occurring, which if you haven’t accepted as a reality of Doctor Who at this point, what are you even doing here? But what does the old woman say to Ruby? Where does the Doctor go? How does she travel back in time to the clifftops of Glyngatwg? Forgetting completely that we’re in a Doctor Who era which has introduced magic in a real way. But that’s a bit hand-wavy, can’t we do better? Well, they do mention that the TARDIS’s perception filter parked so close to the fairy circle might affect how people ignore the old woman. I liked this because it implies that the TARDIS and magic are somewhat compatible and therefore opens up new avenues for storytelling. You could also imply that if the TARDIS could affect the fairy circle, perhaps it can affect the TARDIS in turn. Maybe people reject Ruby because the warding spell placed on Mad Jack is affecting Ruby. Maybe Ruby needed to be in a position where she was so friendless that she would join the conservative party.

The episode may not have explicitly explained things, but it gives us enough of a vague framework to form an idea. As a fan of David Lynch, I am rather happy to exist in that liminal space. To straddle the cusp between the known and the unknown. It leaves an air of mystery, or as David Lynch would say “room to dream.” I will however slightly come down on the episode for its rather bland ending compared to its strong start. I don’t agree with the people who said it nosedives toward the end. But I would be lying if I said I lost a lot of interest the moment Ruby left Glyngatwg. Earlier, I compared the story to “The Stones of Blood,” but where the two stories differ is that when “The Stones of Blood,” changes its setting from the occult folk horror of the Cornish countryside, it replaces it with something equally strange.

That isn’t to say the jump to the year 2046 isn’t interesting. I’d be very curious to see how this story plays over the next few years. It acts as speculative fiction and the bizarre reality of speculative fiction is that it occasionally becomes mundane in hindsight. What once sounded unreasonable now feels painfully obvious. HBO’s “The Leftovers” hits different after the pandemic. Richard Kelly’s loony “Southand Tales,” feels tame after the 2016 election. Therein, I fear the day Roger ap Gwilliam becomes something more than a cartoonish depiction of British politicians. Partly because of the implied threat of nuclear devastation, but also because 2046 feels like a rather generous timeframe.

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

hello mara! do you have any favorite animals? personally ive always been fond of moles because they live mostly solitary lives underground. i am also left-handed. wishing you a lovely day ❤️

hey anonymous;

for the most part i hate all animals -- can:t stand them, and over-all they just are "heartbreaking existences" to me, and the more i think about their existence the more depressing and dirty it seem: more-so in the framing of pets: like little people kept infantilized and enclosed in this animal-shaped box that becomes their boundary and the spirit inside is kept in this odd "retardation chamber" and the spirits outside of which reach down and pet it and coo and keep it in additional boxes; grow old and die a life spent of simple expectation and safeties and within a house though they were prized convert of Gods of Hikkikimorism; or, more likely personalized: seeing fractals of my own relationship with my mom and self, and how the dogs were treated: how they were spake to: how i was spake to; shock collars, control schemes, small yards, dust and fur everywhere, etc etc;

mostly, too: they just carry a sickening warmth to them no-matter their captivity; worst thing of all with the warmth is it begets warmth of these Hikkiki masters of "retardation chambers," whose existence then becomes fawning cutesies and odd toyshipism; oh, the cute dog; oh, the cute cat; oh, the beauty so of these birds: i imagine same being said of people and think it all odd and weird and strangely sexual; to release from the chamber: crush the ribs, the skulls, etc;

as a kid i really liked marine life, and was obsessed with the sea and wanting to live either on a boat or underwater ala some empty Rapture-like place; reptiles were sort-of neat, may-be because my mom worked with them and i were exposed to them so much; before i was "communicated with" a few years ago and everything changed, i really loved my cat (not all cats, just mine), but after communication happened and "i saw the dirt on everything" she just became another dirty thing that i sort-of play an obligation to, cause i want her to have a good life as i can give her -- i owe her that much for my part in "the retardation chamber" and the odd machine-like pet animal industry. that:s about it, moles remind me of that one kafka story about the burrows; take care, anonymous.

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hiiii! Do you have any fic recs of same age stiles and Derek? Preferably when they’re in highschool? I saw a post about how Derek would be terrified of stiles if they met in highschool, and honestly I need some sort of fic where they’re the same age and in highschool together and met. Preferably no hale fire if you can find any, if not that’s okay. Thanks for the help! 🤗

Hi anon! @kevaaronday found these for you.

run and hide by whiry

(36/36 | 174,966 | Teen | Sterek)

"Unlike Derek, Stiles still remembers the first time they met. He remembers the confusion at the pull in his chest, tugging him to the boy with big ears and light eyes. He’d been in the grocery store with his mother and Derek with his, and they had all been minding their business, but Stiles had a niggling in the back of his head directing him toward Derek. And when their eyes met for the first time? Stiles’ heart about exploded. He remembers grabbing his chest and gasping and his mother running over and Derek’s mother running over. The boys didn’t even say anything, and poor Derek looked so confused, and Talia and Claudia simply looked at their boys, looked at each other, and immediately set up a time to meet. And that was how it started."

or, stiles and derek suck at being mates, a new threat comes to town, and stiles has to desperately try to save everything he's ever loved from total destruction all while trying to get through his sophomore year unscathed.

The Lawn Ranger by Snowjob (5/5 | 47,804 | Mature | Sterek) In which Derek is an adolescent werewolf with a penchant for chocolate bunnies, and instead of the dream summer of lazing around the house playing video games and nibbling on his hoarded supply of easter candy his mother makes him get a job.

In which Stiles is a showoff jock with a broken arm and an embarrassing crush who can no longer push the lawn mower around the yard.

Growing Up With You by WhereAreTheBreaks (18/18 | 22,716 | Teen | Sterek) It all started with a strange scent in the grocery store, and now Derek can't imagine his life without the hyperactive little shit that is Stiles Stilinski. He didn't know why he always felt the need to be close to the boy but his mom's knowing looks certainly weren't helping. His Juliet by 138andcounting (1/1 | 22,675 | Not Rated | Sterek) Derek Hale moves to Beacon Hills where he meets a young, pale, doe-eyes boy. 

(I suck at summaries and this fic could have been better.) I Want to Know All of You by DarkJediQueen (1/1 | 7,625 | Teen | Sterek) Stiles was happy with his boyfriend. He didn't need to be a lovey-dovey couple like all of the kids in school. Derek wasn't ready to be out to his family and Stiles could live with that. Until Derek's sister comes home with her girlfriend. Like James Dean, Only Sadder by 42hrb (1/1 | 3,809 | Teen | Sterek) The star of the Beacon Hills High School baseball team and Beacon Hills resident bad boy probably have nothing in common, right? Why not me? By Don’t_be_such_a_sourwolf (1/1 | 2,200 | Not Rated | Sterek) Derek decides to come out to Stiles

Things don’t go the way he had hoped, or do they? 

***

Basically just Derek coming out to Stiles and the aftermath of that, Derek and Stiles are the same age and in high school, look at the tags if you wanna know more :) My Son Thinks You’re Cute by SassyStarboard (1/1 | 2,034 | Teen | Sterek) “Wait, Hale? Derek Hale? Oh my god, you arrested—Dad! Wait, Dad, tell him you’ll let him go if he gives me his phone number. It’s—oh! Oh, a police emergency! Tell him it’s a police emergency and he legally has to go out with me! Dad!"

Sheriff Stilinski gets a call about a trespasser at the high school, only to get down there and find Derek Hale with a sparkly purple backpack. In other news, Stiles is no longer allowed to contact his dad’s police radio for non-emergency situations.

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

What I think Violetta and Soy Luna character’s favorite animes are*

*I am only going from animes I myself have seen or are familiar with. I know for a fact that a LOT of animes were popular in Latam that logically the characters should have been familiar with and possibly would have fitted better as their favorite. However, there is a lot of animes I have seen/am familiar with that I know was popular in latam, too (Candy Candy especially). And the ones that weren’t popular there that I bring up… well, let’s just say it was just like with a lot of us, they found it later in life and was like ”omg where has this been all my life” and watched it on a pirate site.

Violetta: Hello! Sandybell. She got very inspired by Sandybell making a garden for her (supposedly) dead mother and she wanted to do it too. She also liked the way Sandybell traveled across Europe, the way she also did.

Luna: Sailor Moon. How can she not, it’s moon themed /j I also think Luna really saw herself in Usagi and appreciated there was a main character that was clumsy, often late, ditzy and didn’t get the best grades just like her, and how despite that still could kick ass and save the world.

Francesca: Lady Oscar. Ok this was kinda inspired by Lodo herself posting a photo with a Lady Oscar T-shirt, and some time later answering an ask about periods with ”think about Lady Oscar! She also had her period under all of those tight suits and armor, and she could still be a badass!”. It was also kinda inspired by me knowing just how fucking popular Lady Oscar was in Italy… but yeah I also feel like Fran was very fascinated with it.

Nina: Candy Candy. I think Nina most of all was fascinated with the history aspects, especially as they reached the WWI parts. But she also loved how Candy seemed to experience so much hardships, and yet still could keep going and be so strong. It felt very inspiring, especially as her parents were fighting in the background. Things will get better.

Camila: Oniisama e. She found this anime when she was a little older, and goes around bragging about how "no one knows about it except for her". She loved how basically every character was a lesbian (at least, they were in her head), and she called them cowards every time they "forced" them into hetero relationships. But she also just loved all the female friendships in general and got slightly annoyed whenever they focused on any boy.

Simón: I think also Sailor Moon, because I think he had a crush on Tuxedo Mask and him and Luna played that they were Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask a lot when they were kids. But, I think he also really liked Pokémon.

Naty: The Moomins anime. As she grew up in Spain, she got the castellano dub and got so surprised when she moved to Argentina and found out there was a latino dub they had there instead. Anyway, she really loved the whole atmosphere and vibes of the moomins and wished she could live in that utopia.

Ámbar: I think as a child she was only allowed to watch Candy Candy, as Sharon had seen it herself as a child and approved of it (I feel like Sharon had a list of pre-approved kids shows and movies Ámbar could watch), but then once she grew older she discovered Revolutionary Girl Utena. And she just fell in love with it. She has rewatched it so many times, always finding new ways to interpret the metaphors and allegories. She also has some deep emotions about and she didn't realize until much later why she felt so strongly about it...

Ludmila: Immediately I'm like... Starzinger... because it's a space adventure. I do not have much else to go from this lmao (because I have not at all properly watched the anime, just random swedubbed clips). However, it also feels like Ludmila's vibe.

Ramiro: He is a big Pokémon boy. I literally imagine him running around the school yard as a kid pretending to be James from Team Rocket. I can see him being into One Piece, too.

Leon: I don't know why, but Digimon. It just seems like his vibe idk.

Jim: Pretty Cure, the first show specifically. I think she always wanted a best friend she could be a magical girl with <3

Diego: Silver Fang. I know this anime was only popular and even translated in very few countries, but I believe Diego managed to find it somehow (maybe a fansubbed version on an old pirate site that no longer exists) and just thought it was the most edgy thing ever. But then he got super scared of bears for years due to it.

Yam: Oh, Revolutionary Girl Utena, but she also has made it her mission to watch every sapphic and sapphic-coded animes ever. She's also a big fan of underrated ones like Oniisama e. She has also specifically only watched season 3 and season 5 of Sailor Moon. So, I think she kind of really switches a favorite, but I believe RGU just hit her the most.

Andres: Hamtaro lmao. No more explanation.

Jazmin: I think Jazmin thought Totally Spies was an anime and no one ever corrected her that it's French-Canadian, so now that's always her answer when asked.

These are all the characters I could come up with something for x)

[lunarsilkscreen]

"How do I know the Slap heard round the Academy Awards wasn't scripted?"

I never talked to those two directly, never met 'em. How could I know what really happened?

That's true. I can't know for certain. Not at all.

But I know those two's careers. Will Smith especially. Growing up on Fresh Prince reruns and Independence Day marathons. Which, you might think as just loser behavior and a parasocial relationship*at* most.

I was the kind of weird kid who consumed art in all its forms. I studied actors and animation and game development voraciously. I even read books. Entertainment was always more than *just entertainment* to me.

And as you start to look at entertainment closer to how you would school homework, or job studies. It becomes closer to a studying a worker in the same field. Like a quarterback or team manager studying the other team for strengths and weaknesses.

And Will Smith, in his entire storied career, has never broken publicly in any facet. He's the type of person that curates his public appearance, possibly because of his race; he wasn't allowed to be a certain way. Which goes doubley because he became a.sort of Hollywood "golden child" walking mg a wire.

Knowing any step might be his last, but simultaneously, in a position where he couldn't possibly fail. Racism had done it's part from both sides.

I don't know his private life, or altercations he may have gotten with coworkers and other cast members. Especially since I'm an industry outsider; but there always seemed to be a vested interest to keep Will Smith's appearance clean.

Chris Rock probably knows this feeling very well as a fellow black performer. And even harbors resentment and jealousy towards Smith, specifically because of the differences in their trajectories.

Whether that played a part; who knows. I could be imagining things.

And that leads to the slap;

The kind of school-yard altercation nearly every person has had in their youth at some point or another. This guy said exactly the wrong thing, to exactly the wrong person, at exactly the wrong time, in exactly the right place.

I can see playing out as if it were in a cafeteria. Some class clown telling jokes that hurt, too many, back to back, targeted one way. And some kid having to stand up for himself. Because it'll just keep happening if it doesn't.

Although, these are two grown men. You'd think they'd be past that.

Not Will Smith specifically though. See, he probably has never been in that exact position before. Not with his family feeling like it's falling apart, the stress of never having been able to express his youth in such a fashion before, having to embody the "Golden Child" aesthetic. The Captain America boycout.

Chris Rock, on the other hand... Judging by his own TV show about his own life... Was used to that just being the norm. Talk shit. If you go too far; they'll let you know. And maybe even let you host the Oscars.

I don't think he intended to piss Will off, but I'm not sure that he didn't know the opportunity was there. Maybe, he saw the sour mood and wanted to lighten the air around the two. Will Smith of course; was up for a F* Oscar.

One he maybe should've won a decade ago.

MAYBE Will Smith went; knowing that he'd be another runner up. Like every single time before then. And just thought "you know; at least I'll get some press out of this."

And nobody gave him the heads-up that "hey you're the front runner. For real this time."

Just, all insults 24/7. Maybe Willard should've taken the hint that Chris *knew* he was about to win the award, and that's why he was poking him to begin with.

"They shouldn't know at those functions" they say. But in this case; this is one of those things you can't keep under wraps.

It took Willard Caroll Smith II, an entire lifetime (mine specifically) in acting to break where your average person breaks at *that* level in high school sometime.

You know; I'm not sure it's that bad of a capstone either. For him *or* Christopher Julius Rock.

Maybe it *was* planned.

[sehtoast]

What inspired your oc?

what inspired Ben?

that’s a hell of a rabbit hole, but lemme give it a crack. hope you're ready to read a whole book lol :

so, for starters, i’ve always been a spider-man kid for as long as I can remember.  I’m not sure what my first introduction to spidey would’ve been, but i’d bet it was either the 90s animated series or tobey maguire’s spider-man movies.  The first maguire movie came out when i was 2, but i’m positive i saw it super young because i don’t remember a time where i didn’t absolutely fucking adore spidey. Some of my strongest memories are actually of ‘wall crawling’ up my grandma’s brick sidewalk and running around her yard like i was swinging from a web.  I had the toys, the pajama suit, the string-can webshooters, plastic masks, played all the games growing up, etc etc. Spider-man stuff is just like, idk INGRAINED in me. He’s what i wanted to be- and, honestly, i still dream of swinging from a web.

Now, that said: Ben.

Ben started as a x reader concept. I’d never written fics before stumbling onto homelander, but i ended up finally snapping one day and giving it a shot for two reasons.  a) blindmagdalena inspired me to write and b) i wanted to finally see some form of trans rep for fanfics, particularly for transmasculine people.  I have my brain trained so strictly to swap pronouns, gendered terms, and even body part names that it actually affects my reading outside of fics, too. Which isn’t necessarily good, but it just goes to show how little is out there for us (fic is usually always skewed toward fem readers- which isn’t a bad thing! It just makes it hard for transmasc folks to indulge sometimes).  But yeah, i really fucking wanted to finally put something out there for us.

But, this fella had to have powers right?  Tender Threads was the start of my writing adventures and i was adamant that it would follow a supe!reader.  And what powers would i want if i were a supe? Spider powers, of course!  Initially i was really insecure about doing this because webweaver already exists in the boys comics and i felt like a copycat.  I couldn’t even figure out a better spidery hero name than spider-man, so i said fuck it and went with it.  Of course, months later across the spider-verse came out and validated me putting a spider-man in another universe, but that’s besides the point lol.

The more i wrote this x transmasc!reader concept, the more and more i could see Ben in my head.  He started off as a concept and just… grew?  I picked his name because i really like ben reilly as spidey and i figure there’s gotta be another spider-man out there named benjamin, right? They can’t all be variants of peter and the more major characters. Funny enough, he was almost a Bennett.  Anyway, i imagined him quite similar to peter parker in the ultimate spider-man comic line, but he’s steadily grown to have his own appearance, especially once i went out looking for a face claim for him and found froy gutierrez.  Now, he looks like a ~2018 era froy!  Funny how ocs grow and change.

I decided that i wanted him to have powers more along the lines of Miles Morales in the insomniac games (bc i fucking ADORE miles and i think his bioelectricity is SO FUCKING COOL). So, i picked that. Kept the organic webbing bc that made sense to me. 

Also, it  wasn’t even a thought in my head of whether or not to carry over the aspect of being trans for ben.

His suit design was heavily inspired by the unbreakable spider-man suit by @ vaughanilla_cosplays on instagram, but i’m still working on building a design that is truly ben’s.

From there, i thought of him in terms of what my ideal spider-man would be like. This part i actually struggled with until i stumbled across this video of Peter Cullen about the day he auditioned for optimus prime (hopefully the time start works, otherwise it's at 1:38-2:10).  Those words hit me first, like, as a person, and i find them influencing me in my day to day life, surprisingly.  But then i realized, that’s what i want for ben.  If ben was going to be a hero, he was going to be a real hero.  Benjamin would be strong enough to be gentle.  Even being a character destined to love a man who is anything but, Ben would be strong enough to be gentle.

Above everything else, Benjamin is gentle.

And from there, he grew.  He grew and grew and grew, and now he’s actually very precious to me.  Ben is my spider-man, more than any iteration ever. When i think of spidey, i think of Ben.

But yeah. I guess ben was ultimately inspired by my love for spider-man meeting my love for the boys. Just, one day an egg appeared, you know?

Anyway, thank you so much for this ask. I fucking LOVE talking about my lil benny-boo 

[thedrunksoldier]

Okay.

I'm perfectly aware that no one will ever read that and that what I'm doing is totally useless, but for my sake, I have to write this somewhere, to somehow, put my feelings and thoughts about this short film on Tumblr and let it rot.

So, if by mistake you happen to read that, I guess, I made the right choice to take the time to write it.

Anyway. Let's go.

I just saw this little short starring Sebastian Stan, purely because I'm desperate fanboy who can't stop himself to follow the projects he is in, and... I kinda like it. It's fun, short, unsettling and I really dig his friendship/duo with Miles, but that's not my point.

If I'm writting this is all about what the short is about. And all I can take from it is...

Terry is a child.

Okay.

Heart me out. (And for what's following, I'll ask you to lose 12min of your time to see it. Sorry.)

Everything about Terry makes me think that in this story, he is a child unable to do, at first, with his mom finding love, aka having to deal with a (weird, very weird) step-dad, a man that is taking care of him mom when, he, the "man" of the house is not here.

After all, it's a common trope in movies/books and all, that the only child/oldest one, takes the responsability of the missing parent, and here, Terry has the same position, role. He's coming back from home, looking worried about his mom, being all suspicious about his "friend" hanging too much with his mom, even having some kind of digusting at the thought that, this "friend" of his could be intimate with this mom aka taking the place of his father.

On that note, the throwing ball in the yard ? Really father/son like, and I know, must be the joke of the short, that the friend became the new step-father, but still, I can't imagine that it's all that innocent/simple.

The fact that the mom is mute can also be seen at a way to express the idea of a mother that don't want to distraught his son, already a little strange and uneasy about this man, a woman that doesn't really know how to handle her special son.

CAUSE YEAH. Him never really taking out his magician costume, even at home? Childs do that. I used to do that, to wear, at home, my favorite clothes, my "costume" just cause I refused to quit my act. And that's what Terry the Terrfic is. A child obsessed with magic who doesn't want to get out of his persona/character. Of his passion.

To follow that, I'll add that when he gets home (more on the next point) he only brings his magic stuff, and after all, while would he pack anything else? He has what he needs at home, in his room, so with him, he only carry the "important stuff", as any child would do. Clothes, toothbrushes and all... It's not essential at the eyes of a child, but his favorite toys/stuff? They'll carry it anywhere, everywhere, just like Terry.

About him getting home. Yeah. Looks like he's being drive out by a grand-parent, any parent that would have him for a week-end, for a week or even an afternoon. It's just a kid getting home. Not an adult man deciding it's time to be here for his old mom. (Once again, no luggages but only the magic stuff and his costume.)

Him having a tantrum in his room, with the stuffed bear, the sleeping with mom picture? Just a little boy being overwhelmed about losing his mom, feeling like he's getting overshadowed by the step-dad.

Little Terry. Ah. The "dead dove." More like, Terry breaking his fav toy that he is nursing or just an egg he is carrying, hoping that by some kind of magic, he'll make it hatch. I mean, even the funeral in the bathroom really echoed to that, to that point in childhood where we all had to let go of a pet/made up friend/favorite toy. (The goldfish cliché)

When Howard ask him about joining/helping, for his magic stuff? Looks like a thing any step-dad would do to get close to his step-son. And Terry saying it's a solo thing? I mean, kids sometime don't like to share. Especially with adults that they don't like. It's the same thing as don't wanting to play with them.

And I know, Terry is played by a grow man, BUT. HEAR ME OUT.

Terry is a unrealiable narrator. After all, everything we see, is from his POV, so as a watcher, all we can do, is trust him and, could it be that strange that he sees himself as a grow up? A man? While for his mom and Howard he's just... A kid. Little Terry not being really happy about his step-dad in the house, taking the place of his dad, making his mom happy... A kid that doesn't want to quit his persona of the terrific magician. A kid who need the whole short to accept that his mom is happy, that Howard is a fucking strange dude but one with good intentions ence the final scene with them doing a little show for the mom. (I MEAN. WHO DIDNT DO A LITTLE SHOW FOR MOM AS A KID JUST TO SHOW OFF? Okay maybe not on a Lonely Island song but still. You get my point.)

I know it's a flawed interpretation, a rushed one but, as someone who didn't sleep that much, and knows that this will be lost in the limbo of Tumblr, it's acceptable. I also know it's just a short film not meant to be taking that seriously, a bit strange and silly but... I don't know, it kinda woke up the art student I once was and... Well. Here we are, with me seing too much stuff in The Magic of Passion.

[harrison-abbott]

One of the popular boys wanted to beat me up. I found out this news because one of the girls came and told me ... when I was in the playground eating some chocolate raisons. 

“Why does he want to?” I asked her.

She shrugged. 

“I don’t know but you better not go to the bus stop at the end of the day because that’s when he’s gonna do it.”

Uh hu, he was a poppy lad, everybody seemed to love him. They called his name. Hollered his fame; the school turgid in the annals of pre pubescence.

I did not know how to get home without using the bus. 

Nor was there any adult to help me. 

I had gym class that afternoon. Where the lads played basketball in the loud orange gymnasium. I stubbed a finger on the ball. The short sprightly pain was a precursor to the beating I imagined that would take place in public mayhem maybe three hours henceforth. 

The P.E. teacher was the old guard retro likeable gruff sports coach you can imagine from countless sports movies ... except, he was actually real.

A pisstaker but he was cool with the kids. 

I thought about going up to him to speak to him about the fight thing. But I didn’t have the verve. I just didn’t know what I was supposed to say to him to get him to protect me.

Gym class was followed by physics class. I had no inkling for physics or any of its equations or experiments or batteries or mechanics ... or the airy room wherein we sat on stools ... [with the bald six foot five physics teacher who openly flirted with the pretty girls in the class, that, we all liked (the boys, as girls) and he liked them as well. But, he was in his forties and we were teens. 

And the girls thought it was creepy as well. But, he was a teacher, right? And therefore had his powers. He could meet with the parents on parents’ night and not have to do any of that perverse sexual stuff, and he wore his suits well and his shoes often squeaked at the right pitch with their leather pop].

Obviously I couldn’t say a damn morsel to the physics teacher.

And then that class ended. And there was one final chapter of geography at the very end. I liked geography. With the geordie plump woman who could never control her oral volume. Nice woman, though. 

I could never be a teacher. I’m a freak, fuck up. Never have been good with people in any way and children are the worst kind of people and they hate me the most. Bullied all my life. Throughout family hood child hood adulthood, blah blee, a complete muck up with no deserved right to survive.

Such was my thinking when I went up to the bus stop at the end of that day to go and meet this boy who was going to pummel me.

There as an expectant crowd. Box office lines. Carnival glee. That kinda enticement in the air.

I saw the big famous boy standing there ten yards away. He had this posse of lads behind him. Ready to back him up in case things would go wrong.

I weighed about nine stone at this point. Was “skinny like a model” and all of my previous violent escapades had resulted in me as the loser. And yet, he was still afraid of some repercussion. 

It surprised me. The whole icy silence across the crowd. I thought they would all be baying and yomped up on gore. But, all was ... ticktocking in soft pedals, as you’d listen to a clock on a high wall, the fat hand clicking by the seconds.

He came up to me.

I shivered as he approached. What was I supposed to do? There are videos you can watch of boxers thrusting these fists into each others’ faces. It’s as stupid as videogames. And they made one of those bare-knuckle competitions legal in some State recently; I saw that on the news: and there were pictures of the combat, the stage all bathed with blood, and three hundred people watching hungrily. And I thought, what’s the satisfaction in watching anything like that?

He hit me in the face.

It felt psychological.

I thought it was supposed to knock me down but it didn’t. 

Eighty eyeballs were watching. He struck me again. I just took it. It was horrible. Among the worst photographs. There was this tremendous zeal in me - to smack him right back. Hollywood punches. Uppercut. Muhammed Ali. All of that shit which is never real. Ali’s fights weren’t real either. He was a boxer. 

The bus appeared at the end of the street.

He’d hit me twice in the face. I hadn’t retaliated.

This meant that he’d won.

He smiled, and slapped me playfully on the cheek. And then left. 

The bus came and the forty folks got on it, including me. And throughout the whole journey all I could hear was the mass relish about this amazing battering.

[coolnottobefooled]

YOUTUBE VIDEO GONE WRONG!!!!!

So as you can see ( I mean read ) this post is all about the embarrassing moment that happened with me and my friends.It was one of the winter vacation day. We all friends decided to make a youtube video on self defence. The plan was to gather at my house at 5:00 pm, it was the only time when all of us were free (we are very busy person you know ), and then make the video together. After editing , Aman was going to post it on the channel ( easier said than done !!!).

Amayra , Nikki , Saksham and Aman came at the assigned time but Rehaan was a bit late.

After giving him a call we got to know that he would be fifteen minutes late as his mom had sent him to buy groceries ( moms are just great you know , can make you lift the world but you can't say no to them ......they are scary when denied ). So we started to set the stage for making video . I bought a pepper spray specially for this video ( my savings !!!) . Aman was setting the camera in the stand . I and Nikki were cleaning my backyard and before you start imagining that I am taking advantage of my friend to clean the yard or the that my yard is too dirty then let me clear this I am not making my friend clean my house , we are just removing some pebbles for the shoot . Amayra and Saksham were practising some moves that were going to be used in making the video.While practicing, Saksham's eyes suddenly got stuck on my pepper spray . He was scrutinizing it like a kid who bought a new video game but doesn't know how to play it. Few minutes later Aman announced the camera was ready to shoot . I made my way towards Aman to see it. As I reached there I stumbled upon a rock ( it was a big one and I am not clumsy ) and would have faceplanted if not for Aman holding my hand and the support from the camera . At this moment Rehaan came and that stupid person decided to surprise Saksham by sneaking behind him but unfortunately it backfired upon him . As he did that classic move of speaking "boo" Saksham, who was still trying to understand how to use the spray , got startled and by mistakely pressed the button which poured the content straight into Rehaan's eyes . Just a moment before the boy who was laughing was now shrieking in agony . We all watched the scene with wide eyes and were frozed to our place. Hearing his pain filled scream our trance was broken and we all rushed towards him. Saksham dropped the spray and started apologising profusely. Nikki quickly brought some water from inside and gave him to sprinkle it on his eyes . After few minutes , he could finally open his eyes but the condition of his eyes was really bad. His eyes were bloodshot and still some remnants of tears can be seen .

At this moment Saksham opened his stupid mouth and spoke , " Now I think we know to apologise to the person on whom we spray this ".

" If we spray this on someone then they definitely deserve this " , said Nikki rolling her eyes.

" You think I deserved it " , snapped Rehaan."

" No... Not you Rey !" spluttered Nikki ."

"Calm down guys . Think positively . Atleast the video was on recording only . We can delete the footage and shoot a new one ", said Amayra ."

"Uh...I don't think so Amy ".

We all turned towards Aman who was already looking at us grimly . " Looks like when Maya stumbled on it and caught the camera to balance herself , she accidentally clicked the live recording button and everyone has already saw this. Some of them are asking if Rey is fine , some are asking if this was preplanned or not and the left ones are laughing" he said and everyone turned their heads towards me . I raised my hands in surrender " hey don't look at me like that . I didn't know this would happen besides it's his own fault . If he had not tried to scare Saksham then this wouldn't happen", I pointed out.

" I just tried to have some fun . Who gave him pepper spray ? " , Rehaan asked .

" It belongs to Maya "

" But you were playing with it "

" I was just checking "

" What were you checking ! Were you thinking if it had confetti or what?"

" Hey don't fight now . We all were wearing mask right . No one will notice us.........Saksham , Rey where is your mask ? "

" I removed it for practicing the moves "

" I threw it while wiping my eyes"

" Great now you basically exposed your identity"

"This is his fault"

"No it's yours"

...............

...............

And the argument went on and at the end of the day l had an red eyed friend , three exasperated friends , one huffing kid ( hey I am not a kid - Oh you definitely are - I didn't ask you - But I will still speak - you - me .....) and an embarrassing video that was thankfully deleted later on ( all thanks to Aman - no need for that ) .So yeah that's the end of this post .

Goodbye 👋

[trauma-aquarium]

Okay brace yourselves, folks, this is the story of how I discovered owls living in my stove exhaust thingy on the upper floor and how I saved them from death by the hands (claws) of crows, and they became my guardians.

It all started when I was in my backyard and by chance, saw an owl peeking at me from the exhaust outlet on the upper floor.

Sorry for the low quality I had to zoom a lot from my sorry excuse of a phone. 

Anyways, this is mommy owl and she had given birth to a lot of noisy kids which we could hear and smell (fowl smell) from the kitchen, and it was really hard to go to the upper floor without wanting to throw up. My father insisted we call someone and get the owls out and leave them in a yard or something.

What my father didn’t know was that me and my elder brother are softies when it comes to birds (he’s a softie for birds, i’m a softie for all animal-kind). So this man comes and after much struggle and a screeching mother (and a possible father), we manage to take out the owls.

And as you can see, they were very angry. These are the kids, mind you.

Anyways, me, the only one in the family with actual empathy for animals (and less empathy for humans bc why) and a brain that works when it comes to their care, I took these little owls to the balcony, quite close to the exhaust outlet you just saw, hoping their parents would come and maybe take them or whatever. Only then I realized that the parents themselves were smol, and couldn’t quite possibly take them anywhere. So here they are, in my balcony, defenseless, especially during the day.

And they were FIVE OWL BABIES. I was suddenly a single mother at the age of 20. 

Anyways, I pet them, they try to bite me and I’m okay with that, my softie brother also gets scared easily so he just watches me do my thing- that being making them feel comfortable and safe, providing food which they didn’t quite eat bc babies. 

But then I had to be on guard duty because of the damned crows who came in groups (freaking murder of crows) and tried to attack/literally murder or eat alive the poor babies. And I was having none of that.

In the hot month of May, I was on day duty scaring off crows and praying the mother would return at night. Oh, and she did. Probably cursed at me for wrecking her home (sorry but it was inevitable) and shouted at me to leave, and I did, fearing what tomorrow held.

But tomorrow was the same.

So the mother and the possible dad disappeared during the days, but the babies were active (somewhat) probably because of all the noise me and the crows made. I did my thing- petted them, gave them water, played with them if they felt like it. They gave me rashes but I was okay.

Days passed, and the owls were entering pre-teens (judging by how they started rebelling and fighting with each other) and finally came out of the little tub on their own. I felt so proud. Now they had the whole balcony all to themselves (and me, of course). And they were scared of me no more. I would help them in and out of the tub if they wanted. 

They would sleep near the stairs and I’d caress their heads and they’d give me a smile (no i didn’t imagine that). And the crows would come and they would get scared for a second and look like this:

Yellow eyes. So cute.

Anyways, the mother owl and I had an understanding now too. Where she previously used to scare me when sunset approached and screech at me, she would now simply come and sit at one of the wires in front of my house and watch me pet her children and say NOTHING. And then I would wave at her and go inside and she would come and feed her children. She wasn’t all that bad. And the possible father would guard or something- I could see them from downstairs if I walked in front of my house.

This whole ordeal lasted for two months before the kids were finally old enough to fly, and I may have cried happy tears. I thought it was over now- they would move away and we’d never see each other again. But then-

I saw this from my window, my room being downstairs (don’t mind the wires, it was to keep robbers out bc robbers suddenly decided our housing society was a good place to collect money from). So everyday sunset, I’d draw my curtains apart and they would come and sit right outside my window (look at how grown they are!) and we’d screech at each other which was our love language.

So whenever I went out for a walk, there would be 5 kids and sometimes, their mommy, my guardians now. They would walk with me (fly with me, actually.) They would jump from wire to wire and occasionally, when they didn’t feel shy, they would scoop really low, circle around me and go back.

Yes. I was their Disney Princess, and I fucking felt like it too.

I called them ‘my owl friends’. I’d go out at night, look around and say ‘my owl friends, where y’all at?’ and they would come, making weird owl noises, circle around me and walk with me.

It was truly magical, and though I’m a huge cat person, I wouldn’t mind living with owls (even though they’re extremely smelly sometimes and want to eat me sometimes bc meat).

Here’s a last cute picture of my owl besties

I love them so much. I moved houses (only like three streets away but the owls couldn’t have known... could they?) and had to leave them behind, but here’s where a plot twist happens.

I think they might have put in a good word about me in the owl community, because the owls- different ones- occasionally come by. And they only come to ME.

Like this one time I was in the front yard of my house and two owls paid a visit.

Or this one time I was walking in the park in front of my house and two owls circled around me, ignoring my mom and little brother, and sat on a tree, watching me the whole time.

Either I’m a Disney Princess or these owls are planning some weird shit. Whatever it is, I’m in for it.

[provisionalsparkle]

The Boy Next Door

Reader x Bang Chan (Stray Kids)

[Genre] exes-to-lovers au, smut, angst.

[Word count] 6.7K

[Warnings] Smut. Angst. Unprotected sex, voyeurism, ample description of bodily fluids.

[Note] This is my contribution to @feliix ’s Summer 2 Lovers collab! Check it out!

Summer.

The season of fun and sun, careless joy, long days and warm nights…

For most people.

For you, this summer is about change. It’s about the little town you used to live in, the quaint house you grew up in, the smell of your mother’s cooking or the breeze from the yard, the sound of younger kids playing in the street. It’s about the big city you will go to live in, it’s purple and orange twilight skies, black silhouettes reaching toward the skies beginning to twinkle with golden lights, the noises of the traffic coming from evening bustle, the scent of the delis and restaurants that line the streets.

You were stuck between these two places, university having been a four year long limbo of boundless sex mislabeled as self-discovery, and now visit your home one last time, reminding yourself of the life you had there before moving on to another.

You think of the past with nostalgia, yet also with a restlessness that makes you want to run from everything. The stillness, the silence, the unchanging landscape in this little town is too unbearable, too unsettling. But it’s familiar, and it’s comfortable. The life you’ll soon live promises excitement, autonomy, it’s the adulthood you’ve fantasized about. It terrifies you too, and you have these horrible dreams about missing the payment of the most insignificant bill and having the entire world collapse on you because of it. You still don’t know how to do your taxes.

College is over, a new life awaits you in a big city after landing a rather ideal job, but it felt like you were leaving things behind. Funny how, after so many years of fantasizing about this grown-up life you suddenly felt like a lost child, scared to forgo the familiar.

It’s these sort of almost-quarter-life-crisis thoughts that fill your mind on a particularly warm afternoon. You’re indecently splayed out on a couch with as little clothing as possible, the door to the backyard is wide open, letting an occasional breeze waft in to disrupt the stifling stillness of the heat. The lights are off, and you were too unbothered to turn them on as the sun set, preferring to stare at a darkening ceiling as the evening sky turned purple.

There’s a familiar jingle of keys from the front door.

“Honey? You home?”

“I’m here, Mom.” You lazily answer back. She wanders from the hall to the living room, you can feel the judgemental look she gives you.

“Have you been laying like this all day?”, indignation lines her voice. Was it so surprising to find you like this?

“Yeah…”

“You can’t just lay here all day. Go out! Get some sun! Go play with those kids you used to hang out with from school!”

“I can’t Ma, I’d rather just plank here.”

“Oh goodness, Y/n. Give me one good reason you shouldn’t go hang out with them!”

“I’ll give you two: either they grew up to be total bitches or they had kids and became a bore.”

“I didn’t become a bore when I had you!” She exclaims, although it’s not too serious and some playfulness hides beneath the surface.

“Yeah, that’s because you’re a cool mom. They don’t make those anymore.”

“Hmm… well, I think you should make a bit of an effort.”

“Mom… it’s my last vacation you know -”

“You know what?!” She suddenly exclaims, her voice brightening like a lightbulb just radiated in her thoughts. “Mrs. Carson’s son is here with her for the summer too! I bet you haven’t seen him in ages, and he’s gotten so handsome.”

“Mrs. Carson?” You didn’t have any clue who that was.

“Well… you might remember her as Mrs. Bang, but Jane changed her name when she married Norbert a few years ago. She still lives next door and Christopher’s in town spending the summer with his mother.”

Bang…

Christopher…

You hadn’t heard that name in years. It surprised you a bit actually, and a hint of a smile came to your lips.

“Yeah, yeah, Mom… I’ll think about it.”

You wouldn’t admit… something did grab your attention. A curiosity of sorts.

You were fifteen years old when you had your first kiss. He was a short boy with a kind smile, a bit awkward really, but you had a fondness for him. It wasn’t about looks at all, all boys at that age were hideous and nothing would change your opinion on that, but you’d swoon whenever you saw him. It was mutual, an icky teenage infatuation that had your friends poking fun at both of you whenever you’d become giddy at the sight of one another. Hot faces, nervous glances, trembling innocent touches.

He sat next to you in chemistry and you’d hold hands under the lab table while the teacher gave class. His left hand always felt soft in your right one. Cute. It’s a bit silly but you’re glad you had that sort of adorable and silly romance. While it lasted, that is.

Christopher wasn’t a bad guy. He was stupid, like all boys that age.

When you saw him kissing another girl, of course you cried, but you knew it had to do with him being stupid more than anything. This simple looking girl that you had been friends with in elementary school, you can’t even remember her name.

You know why he did it, beyond his stupidity. Your mom had let it slip long before - you knew it was coming.

“Honey, would you believe? Mr. and Mrs. Bang are divorcing!” Probably just some hot gossip from one of her PTA yoga groups, no ill intention on your behalf. She didn’t know you were seeing Christopher - over your dead body. You were fifteen and a horrible student, you didn’t need to give your mother yet another element to ground you with.

“Oh no…” You acted as normally as you could, your first thoughts went out to Christopher first though. “Do you know why?”

“Well… I’m obviously not going to ask, duh! But I do know that Mr. Bang is taking the kid with him abroad.” What?! What did she just say? Chis is WHAT?!

“I - uh, what?” Act normal, act normal, act normal.

“Aww… sweetie, was he your friend?” Goodness, parents can be so oblivious, but it’s beneficial in this case. She doesn’t pick up on the depression of your mood.

“I guess.” A sniffle is about to threaten your composure so, in your teenage arrogance, you leave before your mother can see your teary eyes.

The subsequent days were strange. You expected Christopher to tell you the news, you expected to comfort him, you expected to live out the rest of your young romance as best as you could. And then… you saw him.

And he said nothing. He was cold, pushed you away. He must be going through a lot of pain, you thought. More days went by and he still said nothing, and his demeanor grew worse, no affection, no smiles. He must be having a hard time, you reasoned.

Sometimes you thought he was on the verge of saying something to you, like he was about to say something and the words threatened to come out but he’d suddenly pull away and swallow them. You didn’t question it really, it was so confusing but you just went with it.

You never held his hand in chemistry again.

Time made you realize that Christopher didn’t want to be with you anymore. You weren’t sure if it was because he stopped liking you, and that hurt a little, but you knew what he was going through, and you stood by him in case he ever chose to open up and cry on your shoulder. You’d be there for him.

When he kissed that girl, it didn’t really surprise you. Damn it, what was her name? You cried, you thought it was because you were ugly and your boobs were still pretty small - stupid reasons.

It took a few months for you to understand the real reason.

He left without saying goodbye. You never spoke to him after he kissed what’s-her-name. Maybe he tried to do so a couple of times, but you ran away or didn’t let him. Or maybe you remembered it that way to comfort you, just so you’d live with the thought that he tried to apologize, tired to make things right.

But the fact of the matter is he didn’t speak to you and he didn’t say goodbye. He didn’t want to.

He didn’t want to say goodbye because it hurt.

He was trying to ruin your relationship so you’d break up with him and he wouldn’t have to say goodbye, so that he could kill the feelings you had for him to spare you from the pain of his departure.

Or maybe you were just imagining it like that to make it a cuter memory and think about it fondly.

Maybe in the end, Christopher was just a horny teenage boy that cheated on you. Maybe.

Regardless, you giggle as you think back on the silliness of it all, and how serious and life altering it all felt in your childishness. It seemed so long ago, so distant, and you were so changed that it felt like it had all happened to a different person. You wondered about the man next door, and the entirely different boy who had once been next door. What kind of person had Christopher become?

University did you well. It was four solid years of irresponsible drinking and uninhibited sexual exploration paired with relatively easy academics. You don’t know how it happened, but it had been like a transformation from one day to the next.

You, sort of, kind of, absolutely plain and normal girl that no one would notice lest you stepped in their line of sight. One day, there you were - normal.

Two weeks in - boom. Confident. Your roommate was an okayish girl, another plain one. Then you started noticing how comfortable you were undressing in front of her, to change clothes or whatever, as if it was the most normal thing in the world - which it was. Wearing shorts and skirts became less of a worry, just something that felt better. Sometimes you’d be thrown icky glances from some boys, which you hated, but others were acceptably flirty and you loved those. The best ones were the boys that would get shy and who would quickly whip their heads the other way once you caught them staring.

That definitely flipped the switch. It made you feel strong, it made you feel damn good. You, who at the most had dipped a finger into the world of heavy makeouts during high school, now became a seasoned seductress of all kinds of men. So long as you could wrap them around your finger with your demeanor, so long as you could prowl over them and take the lead.

Ah… the good old days.

What was going to happen now, though? Four years later, no slightly inexperienced men left to be wowed. Everyone you knew was turning into a bland and bitter office worker. Was this the end of it?

To think that you’d be ending this glorious chapter of your life in this tiny town, lounging on the same stuffy couch in the same hot living room every day, having your routine philosophical melodrama where you’d stare at the ceiling in the afternoons until your mother came in inquiring if you were alive. It was a terrible fate.

A few days after the revelation of Christopher’s presence, which you would never admit had been circling your mind nonstop, your mother returns with another piece of information.

“You know, Jane and Norbert are having a get together of sorts next Saturday - just the usuals from the block.”

“Is that so?” You said with disinterest.

“In fact, I borrowed a baking pan from her last week… why don’t you go over and give it back to her for me? She might need it, and you probably haven’t left this house in days.” You didn’t reply, but you could feel her eyes on you, waiting for you to obey.

“Fine…”

The afternoon was enjoyably fresh, although your white t-shirt stuck to you like a second skin, the bikini top you wore underneath tracing its silhouette into the cotton. You lazily stomped your way to the house next door, admiring the tall window where you had snuck into Christopher’s room a couple of times during your short romance. A ladder was perched up against the exterior toward that window, they must have been fixing things up. The porch was full of cans of paint, tools, boxes. It was only when you rang on the doorbell, begrudgingly holding the large tray, that you realized that Jane might not be the one to open the door but instead it could be -

The door swings open and you gasp. Christopher.

Well… his face hadn’t changed much. But he was slightly taller than you remembered, far more masculine, oh, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Yeah, he was shirtless… jeans hanging low on his hips… shirtless… abs… fit waist… arms…

“Hi! Is Jane home?” Good… pretend you don’t remember him.

“I - Uh… no, my mom’s actually out right now.” He replied. His voice had grown deeper, and where did he get that accent? Wait - did he not remember you? Now, that just made you angry, but you wouldn’t let it show.

“Oh, well… my mother wanted me to return this.” You say handing him the tray, avoiding trailing your eyes downward.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll give it to her.” He says. He seems a little frozen, an expression between surprise and caution lingers on his face, but you don’t know if it’s good or bad.

There’s a moment of silence where you just stare at each other.

“Y/n…” He finally says. There’s hesitation in the way he says your name. He’s scared, not of you, but he’s scared about the fact that you’re on his doorstep.

You don’t say anything, calmly, almost coyly, waiting for him to continue. You’d gotten rather good at pretending you were calm, and the slightest tint of a smile painted your lips so you wouldn’t seem cold or ingenuine.

“Do you remember me?” He asks. You can’t help but huff, a tiny laughter really.

“Of course. You know, you haven’t grown much taller.”

With those slightly playful words, you turn to walk back to your home, and with each step your impression of the encounter with your childhood love became more bitter and less sweet.

It was strange how you thought about him, about it. The situation, that is. Seeing him, talking to him, both of you now being older. A few days of thinking now.

You don’t know why you thought about it so much, but you thought about it. You thought about it without knowing how you felt about it or what you thought about it. This man you had only gotten a glimpse of, too overwhelmed to take in his features properly, now walks around your mind freely. He wasn’t the boy you knew. He wasn’t the boy next door whose hand you’d once hold in chemistry, who you’d kiss before turning the corner towards both of your homes. The boy who left all those years ago.

No, it wasn’t that boy. It was that man, who kept perturbing you. What did you feel? Interest? Yes, there was something quite intriguing about all of this which sparked your curiosity. Lust? Of course, absolutely, the man next door looked divine. Suppose you could abstract the person from his body, so that you wouldn’t be so bothered by who he was and what he meant to you, and you’d easily bend over in front of him and invite him in.

You supposed a conversation was in place, though, because after all, he was still the Christopher. You couldn’t just go around fucking people like that anymore - unfortunately. That was something you got away with in college. It’s a shame college boys grow up to be boring men, sex gets more boring, they think they have all the authority… Maybe you should go back to school.

You’re sitting on the windowsill of your second floor bedroom, one leg hanging out and stepping onto the roof. Opposite to your window, beyond a neat shrub, is the window of the guest room of Mrs. Carson, formerly Bang, which seems unchanged from when you last saw it. You remember watching her from your room, also unchanged, using the TV in there to do some aerobics she followed along from a VHS… was it a VHS? No, that’s the machine. What were the things you used to put in the VHS? A cassette? No… regardless, eventually she must have started using DVD’s.

Damn it, it all seemed like thousands of years ago.

Damn it, you were still so melodramatic throwing around words like poetry over some Richard Simmons tape. Aha! It’s a tape!

Your crotch is being dug into by the window frame, and you let your weight rest on it, the slight grind tempting you to have a round of masturbation. But you’ll finish the cigarette you stole from your mother first. It tasted awful, it was another adult thing you couldn’t understand. Why did everyone at university smoke so much? It was just another thing their eager teenage selves did to emulate the adults in grown-up world, to feel a little more grown-up. Who the hell likes this stuff?

But you liked watching it burn, occasionally inhaling its airy and bitter smoke. It wasn’t your preferred type of smore. You preferred watching papers and matches burn, their sweet and rich smell, the warmth of the fire that would sting the edges of your fingers. Shame your mother only used a lighter, you didn’t like the smell of that fire either.

You just surrendered to watching the bright tip of the cigarette and the white streams that came from it.

“You know those are bad for you.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” You exclaimed, your heart nearly jumping out from your chest. A man had sprung out from the window in the guest room of the Carson house, formerly Bang, and that man was Christopher Bang himself.

“Sorry I didn’t -”

“You almost gave me a fucking heart attack - what the hell?!”

“ - mean to startle you…”

“Damn it, Christopher!”

“Ah! So you do remember me?” He says with a bit of joy, but you just look at him, realizing that this is where the talk will come. His features grow a little more somber. He continues, “So… I guess I -”

“Where’d you get the accent?” You interrupt, genuinely curious. “You sound like the crocodile hunter.”

“Well… I was living in Australia with my dad.” He says it in a normal tone, but you make sure it doesn’t stay normal.

“Oh, so that’s where you went?” You both wince at what you just said. Yep, it’s finally time for that talk.

There’s a bit of silence, but you’ll let him be the one to fill it.

“I…” He sighs deeply. Uuhh… it’s quite a masculine sigh. “I didn’t know you’d be here. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again but I… there’s something I’ve always wanted to say.”

“I’m listening…” You say. It’s a flat tone, but it’s funny. You hope it’ll ease him.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Some silence again, “I’m sorry for being an ass, I’m sorry for cheating on you -”

“Chris, we were like fifteen… you kissed a girl with braces, big deal.” You waved it off. Really, kissing that girl didn’t bother you so much, now almost ten years later.

“I left without saying anything.”

“Yeah, you did. Hard to not notice.”

“I was - I know it’s not an excuse, but I was going through a lot and I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“So you left without saying anything?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok… we haven’t spoken in years. I practically forgot about it.” No you didn’t.

“Did you?” He says. Was he hopeful when you insinuated he hadn’t hurt you as much as he thought he had?

“No, not really. I mean, yeah, you kissing another girl was pretty insignificant, we were just kids. It did hurt that you left without… I don’t know… There wasn’t any closure. There wasn’t a goodbye. I felt confused for a while, I guess.”

“I’m so sorry about that. But my parents were splitting up, I was going to have to leave everything behind. You were the first girl I loved and I was going to have to say goodbye and I couldn’t handle it. I was too hurt and embarrassed to even tell my friends. I wish I had done it differently.”

“Yeah, I wish you had too. I wanted to be there for you, you know? I wanted to hug you, hold your hand, tell you it was going to be ok.

“I really messed up there…”

“It’s okay Chris, you were just a kid. We were just kids.” You offer your sympathy but he doesn’t soften.

“Mhmm. Doesn’t make me feel less guilty about it.”

“Can I ask you something?” He nods, “Did you do all that stuff… you know, treat me that way, for real or where you…?”

“I was hoping you’d break up with me, get over me. That way we wouldn’t have to say goodbye and we wouldn’t get hurt.”

“I got hurt.” You admit.

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” You insist. “It’s fine. We’re fine. We’re old and grown and fine. All of that’s in the past, I can’t blame you for acting like a kid. It’s okay.”

“Well I can agree with you there. We did grow up, not kids anymore.”

“You didn’t grow that much.” You laugh, he laughs too.

“You certainly did.” He’s being flirty. It could have been bad timing, but the mood felt right.

“Oh, you noticed?”

“Hard not to.” Goodness was he being direct. “You were really cute back in school, I had a crush on you for like, forever.”

“Really…Plain old me?”

“Really. And now here we are and I think I could have a crush on you all over again.”

“So you can go off and kiss another girl with braces and leave the continent?”

“No, I’m a one woman man.” He says while making himself comfortable on his own ledge. It’s getting comfortable overall, like you’re talking to someone you’ve known for the longest time, like a decade of separation didn’t do much harm.

“Well, well. And who is that lucky woman now?”

“There’s no one at the moment. I’m in the middle of some life changes.”

“Do tell.”

“I’m moving back. Well, not here, just in the country again. A big city, big job, kinda scary.”

“Seems we’re on the same boat. I just came back to say goodbye to this place forever and I’m ooout.”

“Did you finish school already?”

“Yeah… I wish I hadn’t though.” You think back on your experience with longing, lamenting it’s end.

“Wow, can’t relate. I couldn’t wait for it to end. What’d you miss about it?”

“Well, I didn’t have to work, grades were good and easy. And I guess, it was tons of fun.”

“How so?”

“Being on a campus full of horny and stupid guys - it was open game.” Chan hisses at your admission.

“I wouldn’t have taken you for that type.” He chuckles, “You would stutter for like the first two months we went out.”

“We were just kids.”

“I guess we were…”

Another comfortable silence as you stare off at the sky, your cigarette burnt through with only the spongy bud left to pinch.

“Chris?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m single too, you know.”

It might have been a bad idea, you said it on impulse after all, something quite instinctive having taken over you. Maybe you were just horny and Christopher was just hot, regardless, the conversation was over. Before he could even process what you said, and the implications to it, you had already slipped back into your darkened room and out of his sight.

Chan felt like a teenager again. Not in a good way.

Chan remembered your first kiss, holding your hand. He remembered your breasts being the first he had ever really noticed, your legs being the first he ever caressed. He remembers how you’d press your bodies together while you kissed, not really understanding what both of you felt, only understanding the urgency of it.

Now he can name those feelings, the ones that once belonged to an inexperienced boy, merely dipping his toes into the surface of that world. But now that he dove, and had dived into its waters several times, he knew how to swim in them.

Yet, seeing you made him feel like he didn’t. It made him feel like he couldn’t swim, like he couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was drowning.

The first moment he saw you on his doorstep he felt his stomach drop, a pang of guilt that had lingered on his mind during countless of sleepless nights hitting him with full force. He didn’t expect it. He thought he would never see you again.

And after taking another look, a longer look, it was like he was swimming in completely different waters. He felt submerged, and he didn’t know which way was up. He wanted to open his mouth and swallow it all up, let you drown him.

He hadn’t felt this raging feeling since he was a teenager. He certainly hadn’t had a specific woman make him feel like this until you.

It made him feel another kind of guilt. Shame even.

The following days he’d watch you, shamefully. His mother had him painting the house and when he stood on the rooftops he took his time to enjoy the view of you swimming in your pool, wearing tiny bikinis that stuck to your skin and showed the buds of your niples and the lines of your labia through the fabric. He would admit, shamefully, that he stopped watching from the roof because he needed to get closer to see these beautiful details.

He now watched you from over the fence in his backyard. Getting incredibly hard watching you swim, watching you oil your body down.

It was all horribly, horribly shameful.

But weren’t you the one that mentioned you were single? It had caught him off guard. He was being cheeky in that moment, but he didn’t know what waters he was testing then. Now he knew, and it was making him behave so, so shamefully.

Should he go over there, push you into a corner of the pool and pull your bottoms to the side? Should he kneel at your feet while your rubbing yourself with that golden oil, and beg you to let him fuck you?

It wasn’t just the thought of sex that drove him mad, it was you in general. How inferior he felt in front of you, like he had to prove himself. Every day he worked shirtless, hoping you’d get a glimpse of him, but you were just so unbothered by it all.

It was driving him fucking insane.

If only you knew.

Except - of course you did. Of course you did. This is what you craved, what you were best at. Driving boys, technically men but boys sounds tastier, to be absolute slaves to their desire for you. Christopher wasn’t doing a good job at hiding it. Did he really think that you would suddenly spend every day swimming in the tiniest bikinis after having not left your couch for over a week? They really are such stupid, fuckable animals.

And Chris was particularly fuckable.

Day four of his perverted project, he was hammering away at some boards in the back porch of his house. Your mother wouldn’t be home for hours, his parents were away for a couple of days.

Everything was perfect.

“Chris?!” You call loudly over the fence from your chaise lounge, carelessly flipping through a book. The hammering stopped, he had heard you. “Chris, it’s hot today. Don’t you think you should come over for a swim to cool down?”

Why on earth were you acting so damn unbothered and confident, he thought. Why on earth were you asking him over?

It’s only a matter of time before he circles his own house and slides in through the gate on your end. He’s still wearing jeans and a utility belt, gloves too. No shirt.

“You can’t really swim in those, take them off.” You hardly peered at him from over your sunglasses. He was just standing there, frozen. That’s usually a sign that you’re working your magic well. Good. “Come on Christopher, take them off.”

“I - uh, I’m actually not wearing trunks right now. Uhm… I’ll be right back.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go.” Insert unbothered page flip. “Why don’t you just undress and get in the pool so I can join you?”

“W-what?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He genuinely thought he had imagined it, maybe all of his hornyness was driving him insane.

“Christopher!” You whine. “You’re ruining the fun!” You slam the book shut and throw it over to the side, taking your sunglasses and hat off. “Chris, I think it’s obvious. Do you think I haven’t noticed you being a peeping tom for the past half week? Look! You’ve already got a tent in your pants and everything!”

“Fuck.” Shit, you were right.

“This is like, hmm, like an open invitation to fuck me.” You say with an eye roll, but your eyes roll toward his abs because they are absolutely distracting you.

“Are… are you serious?”

“Well… You want to, I want to. You’re nice, look like you’ve become quite a decent man - and I’m not just referring to your physique Chris. Maybe, just maybe, it would be an excellent idea if we finally fucked this tension away.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. You’re here for a few weeks, so am I. Why not enjoy each other while we can? After that we can just go our separate ways, just like before except we’ll end it on good terms.”

Too many points for him to argue with - you were right on all of them. He couldn’t disagree. In fact, he eagerly agreed. Little did he know you had this pitch rehearsed to perfection, to your benefit, because he seemed to be completely subdued by it.

“Fuck.” He mutters under his breath. Fumbling with his belt, zipper, exposing the line of his abdomen down to his hardening cock. A fat, heavy cock that swung between his muscular thighs. He was fully nude now, standing in front of you, his tan skin glistening in the sunlight. You’re quick to urge him over with a finger.

He pounces, but once he’s crawling over you on that narrow chair, he becomes slow.

“Hi.” You manage to whimper out, now feeling a bit small beneath him, feeling nervous even.

“Hey.” He’s just as nervous but there’s an energy that goes beyond either of your wills pulling you toward one another.

He kisses you. It’s a kiss you melt into, and he sinks his body against yours, with you spreading your legs so he can slot between them. His cock rests against your lower abdomen, his body pressing further into you.

You can’t help but slide your hand between your two bodies in an attempt to finger yourself, prepare yourself, but he stops you and pulls back.

“No.” He growls.

“No?” Is he going to leave you like this?!

“Let me.”

And you do. Chan lowers himself, adjusting you so he can easily bend over the chair while kneeling on the ground, and his hands shake as he dips the tip of his fingers into the hem of your bottoms, just slightly tugging at the material, playing with it before he starts to play with you. You’ve got the perfect view of him basically drooling over you.

He slides the bottoms to the side, but you pull at the strings at your hips, so they come undone and he pulls them away completely. Your lips and the juices coming from between them are just as glossy than your oiled skin.

He can’t help but dig in. Fucking you with his mouth, jamming his fingers in you. It’s an animalistic frenzy and it’s hot and slippery and sticky. You cum and your fluids spill over the impermeable cushion below, pooling under your ass. He can see every sparkling droplet fall from you.

It’s just a haze, he nearly jumps on you, bending your legs nearly over your head, bouncing his pelvis on your cunt like a trampoline, smacking with every thrust. You’re completely glued to one another. If he’s not abusing your mouth with his tongue then he’s biting on your shoulder or grunting, growling, into your ear. It’s filthy. You’re absolutely sure you’ve never been fucked like this.

He cums, several times, as do you. He pulls out each time, jerks himself off on your body, although a couple of times you urged him into your mouth and face. He pulls the triangles on your top to the sides, so your breasts are exposed. He made sure to cum on those too. Semen, sweat, squirt, oil, spit, everywhere there are droplets of your fluids shining on your body like jewels.

It ends with him lying on top of you, nearly sleeping from exhaustion, and your lips feel deliciously sore and sensitive, almost ticklish as he softens inside of you.

It happens again. Several times in fact. Many, many times. When his parents are away, when your mom is away, you fuck all the time. Just a little call of his name over the fence or from your window and he’d be running to you. You were too comfortable with one another to bother with formalities, it was like you’d never been separated. You’d wait for him on all fours, wet cunt on display for him to dive in, but he’d always greet you with a gentle kiss.

Fucking each others faces, drinking eachothers fluids. You even let him fuck you in the ass, multiple times, and he was the first guy to make you cum that way. You were just as hooked and as desperate as he was.

Things started to change though.

The welcoming kisses became longer, you’d talk between the rounds…

You’d fall asleep in his arms, or he in yours.

You’d fuck slowly, deeply, staring into each other’s eyes.

You’d talk to him, tell each other stories of all these years, asi if you had been together the entire time.

You’d smile as you made love, gently. You’d let him cum inside of you.

He’d hold your hand again. They were as soft and warm as you remembered.

You were holding his hand on one particular pink evening, your head resting on his heaving chest, teaching circles into his pecs and nipples. On your bed, in your quiet childhood room. It was a painful silence now. It had been weeks, weeks closer to your respective departure dates.

“I wish I had never left.” He eventually says. You don’t know what to say. “I wish we could have stayed like this for longer.”

“Maybe we would have broken up eventually, or left for college.” You ponder.

“Maybe I would have taken you to prom, or we would have had sex together for the first time…” He returns.

“On this bed? Hmm? With my cute school uniform?” You tease. “Yeah, maybe.”

“But I guess this is what was meant to be.” He sighs, as do you.

“I’m sorry.” Is all you can say.

“What for?”

“I don’t know, I just feel bad. I started this and now we have to go our separate ways again.” You feel something sting in your eye. You can’t cry now.

“Shh…” He coos as he hears you sniffle and feels you twitch. It makes his heart ache like it did all those years ago when he left.

“I - I…” You cry. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want to go.”

He pulls you into his arms, crushing you in an embrace. Your eyes are closed but you feel the tears fall from his face, he’s crying too.

“I know… but what else can we do?”

There was nothing left to do, other than fuck the days away, crying, holding each other until it hurt. It was a horrible, horrible thing to have fallen in love with Christopher Bang this final summer.

You didn’t go with him to the airport. You didn’t want to say goodbye, you didn’t want to see where he was going.

But he did slip into your room that final night. You made love quietly, he kissed you as you cried.

He said it was the second time he loved you, and the second time he had to leave you.

It hurt much more this time around. Maybe you shouldn’t have done it, maybe you shouldn’t have gone next door.

Being in your house was unbearable once Chris wasn’t next door.

A week later, you’ve arrived at your new place. It had been a whirlwind and you stayed at a hotel the first couple of nights while your new furniture got brought in, most of your personal belongings only fitting in a couple of bags.

It’s kept you busy. That way you think about him a little less. Crying into pillows that have that certain ‘brand new’ smell isn’t quite as comforting as you’d expect. Everything seems unfamiliar, strange, artificial. Nothing here reminded you of him - it was for the best and you hated it.

The place is nice, bright. It’s on the third floor of a small apartment building, a couple of other doors beside yours in the hall. You go downstairs to grab a few packages that have arrived, carefully treading up the stairs in a kind of balancing act once they’re piled in your arms. It’s a choreography you can dance to with expertise, always denying any help from your neighbors.

However, you do fumble with the lock and handle once you’re at your door, holding the boxes up by pressing them against the door with your body as your hands blindly fumble with the keys, nothing but cardboard in your sight.

Nothing you can’t handle, until they start to slip.

“Woah, let me help you with that!” someone says behind you, and in your complicated state it’s a bit difficult to process what happens but the boxes are soon out of the way, said someone pulling them from you and freeing you.

And then you see him.

Him.

Your him.

He says your name and you’re too stunned to react. He’s in awe too. He drops your packages, and you’re certain some of them contain some makeup palettes but you don’t give a damn at the moment.

“What are you doing here?” You finally ask, frozen in place.

“I… live in 304.” He says.

“You live in 304?” He nods. “You? You’re serious?” He nods again, eyes still wide.

You both stand there, processing it all. This can’t be real.

“I live in 302.” you manage to say, after some time. Your voice is weak, all the air has left your lungs. You shake.

“You do?” He asks. Now you nod.

This can’t be.

But he cups your face, holds it like you’re precious and delicate, he kisses you. It is real. You kiss him back, harder. Eventually you’re both clinging to one another, gripping each other’s clothes desperately.

“You live here.” He says, little tears sparkling in the corner of his eyes. You nod, the same tears coming to you.

“I do. Mm-hmm.” The sniffles you let out seem so sweet to him, he swoons with how happy you are to see him. Knowing you feel the same joy he does - it makes him feel complete.

“I live here too!” He cries, laughing, smiling, beautifully.

One more kiss, just to make sure it’s real. You pull him in and kiss him one more time.

It’s real.