#sorry @ my followers for putting hate on your dash but I’m using this as an opportunity to clean house

[kyluxtrashpit]

Dude if you wanna write het porn then write het porn but stop putting piv, the straightest possible sexual act, into gay ship tags. Homophobic as fuck

Trans men are men and therefore trans men having sex with other men is, in fact, gay sex, hope this helps ✌️

(And same goes for women, in case there was any doubt)

[cipher-fresh]

💬 suffering-academy-student Follow

does anyone else wish u could regenerate but not change and not use up a regeneration. just like do a hard reboot

#i'm gonna call myself The Sufferer

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💫 constellationon-kasterborous Follow

what is it even like to not be a time lord do you like get impaled by rebar at 45 years old and just die. couldn't be me

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🚀 silvertraveller Follow

_____👶 timelordtoddler Follow

_____playing with a roentgen radioactive brick in the nursery rn

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🔉 gallifreyballifreyshmallifrey Follow

i love this website because its the only place you can say you have interfered with the natural flow of time and you won't get investigated by the CIA

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😉 winkles-wonderland Follow

who up lording they time

#no I don’t need to add any extra tags thanks I trust my audience will find it

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👦 theresponsibilityavoider Follow

I was skipping school hanging out in a clearing and some guy exited a portal from a CONFESSION DIAL 😭 and he was like “Go to the city. Find someone important. Tell them I’m back. Tell them, they know what they did. And I’m on my way. And if they ask you who I am, tell them ‘I came the long way round’” 😭😭😭 what the hell

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💬 oneofthegreathouse Follow

if you have a fetish for people being born through bodily reproductive systems KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!!!! nobody needs to see that on their dash

__♻️ callmeweaver Follow

__Ok Puriteen you need to get on my level. sexualize looms OR ELSE!!!!!

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💫 thecurator Follow

the high council of gallifrey: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “the timeless child” 😳 you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

Me: yeah whatever. I don’t feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude I swear I just saw some pre-Hartnell doctors

My buddy the Master pacing: the Time Lords are lying to us

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🏠 somegrandolgallifrey Follow

I heard some kid crying himself to sleep in a cabin. COULD not be me

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♾️ thatacademygraduate Follow

Went to a museum today! I saw a lot of really cool stuff but something I couldn’t stop thinking about was this horrifically busted up Type 40 TARDIS that literally looked like it was held together with duct tape, chewed gum and prayers 😵‍💫😵‍💫 girl kill that thing I’m so sorry….

#i think it was even still alive. please put it out of its misery for the love of rassilon

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🥽 howsitgoinghowitgoes Follow

Bruh my best friend and I tried to play a prank on my brother but it went wrong and he hit his head so badly he REGENERATED i need to go into hiding

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😐 the-hybrid Follow

Who am I

#please for the love of god help me

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🔹 thetasigma Follow

Koschei and I skipped school today and went stargazing. We agreed to visit every single one together when we leave this stupid planet. I love them so much. We're going to be together forever.

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💭 siblingofkarn Follow

Why do I keep having nightmares about Gallifrey being destroyed in like 5 different ways, that could literally never happen

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🤖 pompousandstuffy Follow

I literally hate children soooo much like today some ninety year old tried to speak to me. KILL YOURSELF THIRTEEN TIMES ‼️

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👽 cheapandnastytraveltime Follow

For a Time Lord I have such a bad sense of time. if chamelon arches were real i would make myself literally any other species

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😍 starstartwinkletwinkle Follow

I have to stare into the untempered schism tomorrow. Any advice?

[moonstruckme]

About My Blog

I don't tolerate hate in my inbox or comments. If you think I'm going to laugh with you at someone else's expense, you've come to the wrong place and you will be blocked

I do not give permission for my work to be re-published in any capacity, on or off tumblr

I don't do taglists, so please don't ask to be tagged (sorry, but I do keep my masterlist fairly updated so that should be a decent way to keep up with things if you want to follow them!)

I try to tag things in ways that keep triggers off people's dashes, but if I've missed something please please let me know! The only thing that could truly ruin writing for me is knowing it hurt someone when I could’ve prevented it

Please don't request a re-write of another writer's story from me. It's an insult to both of us (I get that tropes are inescapable and I'm happy to write those, but requesting the exact same plotline someone else has done is rude and inconsiderate of the work they put into it)

Don't send me a request you've already sent to another writer. Again, it's inconsiderate of the time and effort we both put into writing requests.

This is less a rule than just etiquette, but please don't be rude/demanding in my inbox. This is something I do for fun and for free, in my spare time. You aren't owed a response to your request. Of course I appreciate that you’ve shared your idea with me, but that doesn’t mean I’m obligated to write it. I give them all lots of consideration and that's the most I can promise

[inseparableduo]

It’s late enough. I feel safe enough to rant about an extreme pet peeve of mine in peace. Sorry if it’s not well worded and doesn’t make sense. I’m grabbing my soap box and spewing from the top

I really, really, really hate people who just do things to follow along. Like it’s one thing to get on board something (video game, movie, tv show, make whole new characters) bc you see others talking about it and it genuinely interests you so you get into it and enjoy it. That’s perfectly fine!!! You find so many amazing things that way

No what bothers me is you don’t genuinely enjoy it, you can’t really get into it, only understand surface level stuff because you barely enjoy it and it’s hard to follow along as is. You are basically doing things “just so you won’t be left behind” and then you wonder why you are so sad ITS BECAUSE YOU ARENT DOING THINGS YOU ENJOY YOU ARE JUST TRYING TO FIT IN AND THEN GET UPSET YOU DONT LIKE THE SPACE WHEN YOU DONT HAVE TO!!! LEAVE AND FIND YOUR OWN SPACE

I used to see so many ppl make ocs on a whim to follow some trend on the dash only to then drop it like a hot potato the second a new trend comes a long. I’ve distanced myself from this side of tumblr for a few reasons but the biggest is I don’t want my muses treated like a trend. They are not a trend to me. I didn’t create them to cater to someone else’s niche. I created them for myself and I have fun showing them off yes but like,,,,, I’ve put so much time into them this is not a fleeting interest to me.

Like,,,,, you really need to make things for yourself. Do things that you fucking like to do instead of trying to like things other people like. Yes you may feel lonely sometimes but I promise you if you just wait and talk about the things that you actually like and enjoy you will have waaaaaay more fun doing those things because you actually like them and not just joining a bandwagon

[skvatnavle]

Matt Murdock x reader

Warnings: None, really. Some swear words, fluff, a little dash of pining and some kissing.

Notes: On my discord server, Thirsty for Cox, we were a few people who thought it would be fun with a monthly challenge. This is the result of that. This month's prompt was Snowed in.

Words: 1.4K

”Fuck! Matt, we were supposed to take that exit! Why didn’t you say anything?” you groan out in frustration, already so late and fearing for the weather. The sky had gotten darker by each passing minute, the forecast saying a snowstorm was coming.

“Well, next time you shouldn’t choose the blind guy as your navigator.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see the signature Murdock head tilt followed by a small frustrated smile.

“Shit, Matt. I’m sorry.” You try, reaching out to give his arms a soft squeeze. He’s so capable that you often forget he’s blind. But luckily you’ve known each other for years, so he knows you mean no offense. It had been several years since you met Matt, one weekend when Foggy had invited you to visit him at college. 

“It’s okay, Nugget.” He grins, knowing you still hate that nickname. Him and Foggy had teased you relentlessly when you were younger. Sometimes, they still made you feel like you were just a kid, but you loved them both nonetheless. You’re just about to shoot something back at Matt, when he leans forward, putting a hand over yours. “Is the winds picking up?”

Almost panicked, you look to the horizon. The dark skies are close and the trees are swaying more by the minute. And then it hits. The first snowflake soon turns into a blizzard, making it hard for you to see anything. You’re still an hour and a half away from home, but you fear you’re not gonna make it.

“Fuck. I’m not a good enough driver to go through this shit.” You pout, causing Matt to chuckle beside you. He gives a comforting pat on your leg, trying to calm your nerves.  “I’m sorry if I get us killed.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make it. Where are we?” He says softly, really doing his best to remain calm and focused, while you’re slowly panicking beside him. You read some of the signs out loud for him and he just smiles. “There’s a little bed and breakfast a few miles from here.”

“And how do you know that?” You ask, surprised that Matt has been here before. He usually never leaves Hell’s Kitchen and when he does, it’s with Foggy.

“I plead the fifth.”

“Oh, fuck off Murdock. I refuse to stay at one of your sex cabins.” You tease, but deep down you feel a pang of jealousy. You’ve always liked Matt, maybe more than you should, so the thought of possibly staying in a room where he’s been with a girlfriend pains you. 

“I never had sex there. Not yet, anyway.” He smirks, clearly trying to rouse you and you hate that it’s working. You punch his shoulder, trying to ignore the feeling deep in your stomach. You know Matt will never see you as anything other than Foggy’s little sister. 

At the next exit, you turn and after a short while arrive at a beautiful little Bed and Breakfast. It’s looks magical in the snow, almost like taken out of a fairytale. Quickly you gather your things and run inside, the few seconds outside enough to freeze you to the core. Luckily, there’s one room left and you take it, happy to be out of the storm.

Once in the room, you quickly call Foggy and explain the entire situation to him. The entire family had been worried about you, fearing the worst since you should have arrived hours ago. The whole family is gathered for Christmas already, it’s only you and Matt missing. He had some business he needed to take care of, so while Foggy took off, you volunteered to stay back. But now you wish you had left yesterday.

“I’m sorry about this, Nugget.” Matt tries softly, when he hears the frustrated sigh you let out. He pulls you into a hug, kissing the top of your head softly. “I know you just want to be home already.”

“It’s fine, Matt.” You mutter, already forgetting that you’re not home now that you’re in Matt’s arms. He holds you for a while and you melt into his touch, wondering if you’ll ever get enough of him. You know you can’t have him, Foggy would kill you, but you sometimes wonder how it would be. Coming home to him after a long day at work. Making him dinner as you talk about your days. Having his soft, perfect lips on yours. His strong body on top of yours as he-

“You okay, Nugget? your heart’s racing.” Matt asks softly, caressing your arm. And no, you’re not okay. You’re hopelessly in love with Matt Murdock, but you can never tell him. Could you?

Breaking away from him, you look to the ground, always finding it hard to meet his gaze even though you know he can’t see you. You always feel like he can though, like he’s the only one that ever sees you truly. Shaking your head, you try to forget that thought. You can’t think like that, especially not now when you’re trapped with him in this room until tomorrow. So you settle for a ‘I’m okay’, knowing you can’t fool him. But you try. For your own sake.

He doesn’t press you further, just settles on the bed, getting comfortable. The silence between you is deafening all of a sudden, which is rare, cause you always have something to talk about. You wish one of you could say something, that anything would break the silence. As if he read your mind, he finds the remote and turns on the tv. More for your sake than his, but you are thankful, nonetheless. 

An hour later you order room service. The meal is actually quite good, and the wine Matt ordered is even better, so you feel yourself letting loose. After the second glass, you’re both more relaxed and by the time Matt pours from the second bottle, you feel better than you have in a long time. Sitting against the headboard of the bed, you lean against Matt, laughing hard at one of his stories. He always had this ability to make you laugh harder than anyone else could.

“You should have seen Foggy. He was fuming! Still to this day, I don’t think he’s forgiven me for that.” He laughs, falling into you. Your sides are hurting from laughing. If Matt really is that funny or if the wine’s just getting to you, you don’t know. But you feel good again, already forgotten about the horrible car ride.

“Thank you, Matty.” You giggle, kissing his cheek briefly. Right now, your family was probably playing some game or watching a christmas movie, but honestly you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“I’m glad I got you smiling again.” He says softly, his hand cupping your cheek. You look into his beautiful hazel eyes, your heart beating a mile a minute. Maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe you’re just drunk on Matt, but you feel your resolve getting weaker for every second.

“You always make me smile, Matty.” You say, hating how your voice breaks. “I… I’m always happiest when I’m with you.” You know you shouldn’t say anything, that you should keep pretending, but how could you when he’s right here, still holding you close.

“Foggy’s gonna kill me.” He breathes out, before his lips land on yours. Your body ignites, the small flame burning for him turning into an inferno as he deepens the kiss, pulling you closer. You should stop him, he never should have kissed you. You don’t care, fingers running through his hair as the kiss turns hungry, years of want pouring into it. 

“Just to be clear. This is not because of that ‘not sex yet’ comment. I’ve wanted to do this for years.” Matt says between kisses, his hand gripping your waist as he pulls you under him.

“Wait, for years?” You stop him with a hand to his chest, shocked by his confession. “Then why didn’t you do something sooner?” 

“Foggy… I can’t lose him.” You hear the fear in his voice, knowing how much he means to Matt. With all his family gone, all he had for years was Foggy. 

“I know you won’t. You mean too much to him.” You reassure him, kissing him gently. “But he’ll probably get mad, so let’s not say anything until after Christmas?” You suggest, causing Matt to chuckle.

“Sounds like a good idea.”

His hazel eyes look to you, his eyes almost finding yours. For a while you just lay there, taking each other in, before Matt breaks the silence. “God, sweetheart. I’m so in love with you.”

“I’m in love with you too, Matt. More than you know.” You whisper back before you kiss him again. The snow is still falling outside, almost covering the Bed and Breakfast. It looks like you might not be able to leave tomorrow, but that’s okay. You’re no longer in a rush to get home.

Thank you so much for reading <3

TFC girls: @e-dubbc11 @mindidjarin @phoebe-danvers @itwasthereaminuteago @idrinkcoffeeandobsess @saintmurd0ck @pedrito-friskito @a-bang-for-your-bucky @lunaserenade @mattmurdocksscars

Tagging: @lucy-sky @fictionaljunkie @chasingdreamer @freshabogados @murdocks-devil

[sea-lanterns]

Sorry sorry I didn’t mean to sound so aggressive before

Your fics have been mostly fine for content, it just is hard to check with the censors since I get a bit squeamish sometimes.

I guess I don’t really get why the mature label is a bad thing since smut is mature content or why it being above/below the cut changes how tumblr sees it. I haven’t really noticed anything get hit with it from you or other writers

It’s up to you if you change the way you do warnings, sorry if I sounded too confrontational I really didn’t mean to come across like that

Thank you for approaching me nicely about this though, I appreciate you not coming off as too confrontational with the topic :)

Unfortunately though, I don’t think I will be removing the period censorship from my warnings. A lot of people don’t understand the severity of the mature content label, because it tends to happen to posts that gain too much traction in a short amount of time.

Because I am a somewhat popular writer, my fics gain quite a bit of attention in a short amount of time, and thus flags Tumblr to pay closer attention to it as well. If they catch a word that’s sexual or explicit above the cut of a post, they can slap a mature content warning on my fic and remove it from the tags, such as “genshin smut” or “arlecchino x reader” for example.

Mature content labels prevent a lot of people from seeing my fic. People who read through searching up tumblr tags, will be unable to see my fics if the maturity label is put on them. It can be extremely difficult to find my fics unless you follow my blog and know how to navigate my masterlist, so reading would be difficult for everyone.

That’s why I put periods sporadically through my warnings, specifically the words that I think are too explicit for Tumblr’s tastes. It prevents Tumblr from catching explicit words and thus removing the fic from tags. I just want people to be able to see my work, so that is why I do it.

I hope you understand I’m not trying to be selfish when I do this. I just want readers to be able to easily find and read my fics. Maturity labels are quite literally what many big writers on Tumblr fear, so a lot of us will censor sexual words in the warnings to prevent that.

I hope this gives a better explanation as to why I do what I do, and also why so many smut writers hate the maturity label lol

EDIT: I also forgot to mention, but maturity labels also prevent my readers from getting the fic on their dashboard. Even if you follow my blog, the maturity label will hide the fic from your dash, meaning you won’t see it at all.

[bitchinbarzal]

hi my love! I’m glad to see you back writing more! Definitely missed seeing you grace my dash! 🤍

Can you do 16. "i need you to pretend to be my partner for the family christmas party." And 19. "you broke my heart last christmas, but i'm still not over you." With Quinn? 🤍 if not both, do 19! Thank you dear!

hi lovey, I missed u 🫶🏼🎄

-

When Quinn called you, you were skeptical.

“Hello, Quintin what can I do for you?” He flinched at the use of his full name.

“I have a favour to ask and I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important and the last resort” he rushed out.

You rolled your eyes “What is it Quinn?”

“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend for my family Christmas party”

There was silence.

“Hello?” “Im still here, just contemplating what the fuck you just asked me”

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, I swear-“

“Why me?”

Another silence.

“I never told my mom we broke up”

“You what?!” “I’m sorry I know it was stupid-“

You screeched “It was not stupid Quinn it’s fucking insane! What is wrong with you we broke up almost a year ago!”

“My mom liked you too much she would like disown me”

“Fine”

“Fine?” “Yes, I’ll come to the stupid thing. Is it in Michigan?”

He gave you all the details, he’d be paying for your flight obviously.

You played the role of doting girlfriend well, playing into his mom and grandmothers wishes. They talked about marriage and kids, you just smiled and laughed it off with

“Maybe he’ll pop the question soon!”

Quinn admired you, after everything he put you through last year and you were still able to do this for his family.

When Luke and Jack arrived in from Jersey they were more than confused to find you in the kitchen. They knew you’d broken up. They actually let you stay with them in Jersey for the few months following the break up you claimed you needed out of Vancouver.

The breakup wasn’t amicable in any sense of the word, you hated Quinn. He had broken your heart.

Before Christmas last year with a looming trade deadline you asked Quinn the simple question of would he want you move with him if he went somewhere else.

There was talk of Quinn going to the islanders, minnesota and even Detroit so it was a fair question. They weren’t just a train journey away.

Quinn had brushed it off with a no not really.

That sent you spiralling.

While you weren’t old and time wasn’t coming to get you, you didn’t want to be wasting your life in a relationship that didn’t have a future. It created a huge argument between you both that stretched over days and ended in Quinn yelling that he didn’t even want to be with you anymore.

You left and never came back.

Elias told him he was an idiot. Brock actually hit him at practice. Jack called him every name under the sun. Luke was just sad. Brady told him that he and Emma would choose you if it came to picking sides.

Bo called him in after practice, asking what happened. That you’d been in his house crying to Holly. Bo was confused because only three weeks before he had accompanied Quinn to a jeweller to purchase your engagement ring.

Quinn was scared. It was all a lot at once and he got overwhelmed and he regretted it ever since.

When Christmas Eve rolled around the entire family gathered in the living room for a movie, it was tradition.

Luke had picked the movie, the polar express. A movie about a couple of kids on a train shouldn’t have set you off but it did. It was the movie you’d been watching last year when everything happened.

Quinn noticed how you uncomfortably shifted under his arm for a while before excusing yourself out the room. He followed you, out to the patio where you stood in the freezing snow.

“What are you doing?! It’s freezing!”

“Leave me alone, Quinn!” You had tears running down your face.

“W-what is going on?” “I can’t - I can’t do this anymore Quinn it’s all too much. The lies and the pretending to be happy!”

He sighed, ripping off his hoodie and throwing it over you before he said anything else.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I asked you to do this, I’m sorry I lied to them, I’m sorry for what I did, i’m sorry y/n!”

You continued to sob “you broke my heart last christmas, but I’m still not over you Quinn! I want so badly to be over you!”

His breath caught in his throat “You what?”

“God, Quinn this is so fucked up! You don’t even want me! You said it yourself you didn’t want me to go with you I just look desperate right now-“

“- no, no you don’t because I still love you too and I’ve been regretting everything that happened last December since the moment you left”

At this point you’re both standing in the snow, freezing, lips slightly blue with heaving chests.

“Quinn… I can’t let you break my heart again” your voice cracked “I don’t think I’ll survive”

It physically pained him to see what he had put you through.

Closing in the space between you, you were chest and chest with him hanging over you. His thumb reached up and brushed away your tear “Don’t cry pretty girl”

“I’m so sorry, I’ll never forgive myself for what I did to you but I love you so much and I was scared. I’m tired of being scared because I’d rather live life a little bit scared than without you. I’m begging you to please, please tell me we can work this out”

You sucked in your bottom lip, your breathing still shaky.

“please” It was almost painful, he was begging.

“You get one shot Hughes, no more” You mumbled, a weight lifted off your shoulders.

He smiled, hand moving from your cheek to the back of your head to pull you in for a kiss never breaking apart until you desperately needed air.

Before either of you could speak the door opened and Jack appeared “Hey lovebirds, you coming? It’s after midnight grandma wants to light the candle”

You nodded, asking for a couple minutes from the boy.

You turned back to Quinn and smiled “Merry Christmas, my love”

“Best Christmas ever”

[writingcold]

Neapolitan: A Continuance

A/N:  Hey.  Hope you liked the last part.  A little spicy strawberry always sets me right.  A lot happens in this part.  A lot.  It’s beginning to wrap up.  Sorry to those who are way more wise than I am when it comes to the legal stuff.  I like to research, but that doesn’t mean that I actually know what the hell is actually supposed to happen.

I have to say a quick thank you, my friend, to @gardensgatedaisy for helping with the pacing of the very truly smutty scene.  Wow.  I’m really nervous about this part.  I… just…  ugh.  Please don’t come at me.  lol  Or do - it may put me out of my misery.

I also need to say, I do not know the members of GVF or their families.  Jake is my muse and is haunting my brain in so many different ways it’s scary.  This is a total work of my own fiction.

Here are the links to the master lists of Neapolitan and Neapolitan: A Continuance

Word Count: approx 8800 words

Content warnings:  Courtrooms.  Arguing with friends.  Language and drinking.  Threesome sexual encounter.  Smut.  Like, this idea knocked my own socks off kind of smut.  But I’m probably a real lightweight, so - there’s that.  Minors dni.  Just do not.

Part 9 

Violet’s POV

     Violet’s eyes were glued to her screen, hand covering her mouth and a thousand questions bubbling in her tummy that threatened a mad dash to the bathroom.  She could hear Jake rummaging around in his music room.  She could hear the rain on the roof.   She even wrote a few random numbers down on a piece of scrap paper.  She was sure that it was not in some weird dream state.  The email was a reach out from work - from the top boss of the nursing department.  She started to tap her fingers across the keys, not typing, just needing to hear the sound.  The coil in her belly started to bend harder.  She nearly bounced to her feet moving quickly into the kitchen for a fresh glass of water.  

      She hated interrupting him when he was in his own space.  But this was different.  Her toes struggled across the smooth wood planks as she tried to find some way to not involve him.  She was in the doorway watching him move around his guitars completely lost in his own little world.  

      “Jake?”  she asked softly.

      Bent over, hand on the black Gibson, he rolled his eyes up on her.  “You okay?”

      “Can you read this and tell me I’m seeing it wrong?”  she asked, waving her hands like what she could only assume like a crazy person.

       She practically ran back to her computer.  He was slow to follow.  Violet wanted to grab him by his belt and drag him to move faster.  His eyes shimmered with curiosity when she pointed at her screen.  Her heart was racing as she watched his eyes coast over the words before standing up straight.

      “They want you to consider being a trainer/recruiter?”  he asked with a smile tugging at his mouth.  “Is that a promotion?”

      She nodded.  

      He bent back towards the screen to continue reading.  “Most of it would be remote work.  Like from home?”

      She nodded.  He straightened back up, concern on his face.

      “But you love field work.”

      “I do.  But, I’ve done two stints.  Doesn’t mean that I can’t return to the field at some point, but this may be something we need.  Instead of both of us out there on opposite sides of the planet…”

      “You’d do that for us?”

      “I would.”

      Violet’s phone started ringing.  Josh’s profile picture flashed across her screen as she glanced at it.  Jake’s eyes grew round.

      “Shit - I left him on the phone…”

      She watched as he rushed back off to his music room as she answered with a laugh.  “Sorry I interrupted your call, Joshua,”  she said with a laugh.  “He’ll be right back with you.”

      Violet blew him a kiss before hanging up.  Jake returned with phone in hand talking with Josh about some meetings and getting things set into the calendar.  He was holding up his hand as he moved into the kitchen to retrieve low ball glasses.  He poured out two glasses, neat, with a smile.

      “Josh, pour yourself a drink,”  he said as he held one out for Violet.

      “Why doesn’t he just come over?”  she asked with a raised eyebrow.

      He mouthed ‘Home with Mom’ as he put the top back on the bottle.  “Is Mom around?”

      She watched as he put it on speaker.  Chaos on the other end with laughter and music and Karen’s voice calling out from what must’ve been the beyond.  She rolled her lips in between her teeth as she shuffled her feet.

      “Alright, we’re both here with drinks,”  Josh remarked.  “What’s going on?”

      “Celebrating!  Violet has been offered a promotion,”  Jake beamed as he switched the call over to video.  The sound of their cheering brought Kelly’s voice around.  Jake held the phone up as he backed towards her.  

      “Where’s mine?”  his dad asked.  “Can’t I …”

      Violet laughed as they watched on.  Josh nearly dumped his drink on their mother in his rush to get his father’s drink.  Karen scolded him all the while looking into the phone at the happy couple smiling back at her.  Kelly had a very satisfied grin once he received his drink.

      “What’s this promotion entail, darling?”  Josh asked.

      “Training/recruiting.  It would mean I would mostly work from wherever home would be that day,”  she said.  “I would go to universities and talk to candidates about the program, too, but mostly it would be from home.”

      Josh paused, his eyes on his twin.  Jake rubbed his hand across her back with a nod.  Violet was sure whatever transpired between them in that moment it was positive.  Josh’s face was filled with warmth.  They loudly toasted to possibilities and the moments to come.  Karen and Kelly’s faces were proud as they congratulated Violet.  In an abrupt move, the screen appeared to have the zoomies.  Clearly, they could see that Josh was rushing out of the kitchen and outside onto the deck away from the elder family members.

      “I got it finished, by the way,”  he said, his tone sly.  

      Jake’s smile faded a bit.  “Yeah?”

      They seemed to have one of those moments that Violet preferred to not have - those flashes where they could talk in short hand and no one else knew what the hell was going on. 

      “I got the first part, so…”

      “For fucks sake,”  she grumbled as she drained her glass and set it down with a thunk.  

      Violet listened to Jake laugh quietly as he returned to his music room without extrapolating anything.  Fucker.  The word was meant lovingly, but sometimes…

      She sat down at her laptop.  A sense of joy and a shift of mind crept into her thoughts as she typed out her interest in the new offering.  She listed sensible questions.  All the while the smile grew on her face.  It would be a good fit.  She enjoyed the instruction.  She would enjoy talking about the program that she had fallen in love with as a student.  The fact that it would allow her to have more time with Jake and the family made her heart flutter.  

     She paused a few moments before hitting the send button.  The notes that reverberated out of the music room tickled her brain with satisfaction.  Slow and steady; strong and supple.  His music was always like him.  Violet wondered if he knew it and played into it or if it was just happenstance.  Her finger traced the shape of the trackpad a few more times.  Her eyes trained on her words and questions to ensure in her brain that her heart wanted this so very badly.  A huge puff out of her cheeks and she clicked the ‘send’ button.  

     Violet chewed the tip of her finger.  The race of her blood around her body had to have been double than normal.  Her eyes traced over Max’s texts - four times in the past two hours.  Jake was out on an ‘Appearance Night’ where the guys were expected to go out for the evening to a set of designated bars to interact with fans.  She had opted to stay home, and was not regretting the decision.  Violet had wrapped up a piece of work she had been procrastinating on, as well as tucked into a book she had been wanting to tackle.  She knew Max was trying to utilize a hands off approach with anything dealing with Alison, but if the woman would just call instead of leaving these nondescript messages life would be so much easier.

      The last time Max had merely texted, Violet had gotten a call from Mae.  Alison’s case had taken a turn.  Tim decided to change his plea, refusing a plea deal, forgoing a trial.  No contest.  It was not a guilty plea.  It was so fucking noncommittal in accepting responsibility for the damage he inflicted and gave a twist of a dagger to Alison in the most vulnerable of ways.  Mae explained that a civil suit would be impossible for any woman listed in the case regarding Alison.  Tim would have to pay all court fees.  He would have to pay fines to the women that were pressing charges.  He would have to do minimal time in jail.  He would lose his medical license.  He would lose his medical practice.  Mae’s case was dead in the water.  It had been a terrible, terrible day indeed.

      She texted Max to call when she could. Violet would be home.  She no sooner had brewed a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch when Maxine’s picture popped up on her phone.  Her stomach swirled as her friend explained that she was not allowed to take any more time off due to staffing shortages.  She was pulling doubles with no relief in sight.  Sentencing was a week away and yet, Max found herself unable to be with Alison when she was needed most.

      “She does not want to see me, Maxine,”  Violet remarked before taking too large a drink of the scalding coffee. 

      “Ollie is MIA.  That Aryssa has him so buried that he can’t shit without permission,”  Max rattled on.  “John is in the same situation I am - he’s been on mandatory double shifts for the past four months.  Teddy and Julie are already in Seattle with no way to take time off for any reason.

     “I am not asking you to be there for…  You don’t need to be in the courtroom, Vi.  I would never ask you to put yourself in his space.  She’s gonna need a friend, close.  It may be enough to just know that you are there in town.”

     She stayed on the couch with her glass of wine and the TV on to some cooking show that she had no clue what the hell was going on when he pushed his way into the house.  She listened to his keys strike the catch-all bowl and the thunk of his shoes.  He smiled at her as he sat then lay down so that his head was immediately in her lap.

      “Hey, gorgeous,”  he whispered.

      “You’re barely buzzed,”  she observed as he brushed his fingers up her arm, landing on her shoulder.

      “Didn’t feel like it tonight; not really.”

      She twirled her fingers in his hair as he tried to pull her down to meet him in a kiss.  When she would not bend, he took a long moment to really look into her face.  He dragged his thumb across her jawline.  

      “Something happened.”

      Violet nodded.  She rolled her lips in between her teeth as if she could hold in the words that haunted her.   She explained the situation.  Jake sat up to place his full focus on her.  He listened without interruption.  

      “I get that you feel a need to show support to her, but I thought she did not want contact with you.”

      She ran her bottom teeth across her upper lip.  He was right.  Alison did not reach out.  She expressed no need for Violet - at all.  “Something that I had that she did not is that I hid.  None of my friends had any knowledge of my situation and that was how I needed it for a while.  I knew…  No, I thought I knew that they would see me differently if they were aware of my hurt.  I was afraid they would never believe me.  I thought they would see me as weak and would abandon me in my need.  I was happy to be proven wrong.  When Alison did not hear me about him, it was a different kind of embarrassment.  She doesn’t know where to place blame.  She doesn’t understand, yet, that there is no blame that should be on her shoulders.  Or mine.  Alison has to figure that shit out for herself.”

      He tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned in, kissing her cheek before resting on her shoulder.  “What do you need me to do?”

      “Will you come with me?”  she asked, voice barely a whisper.  She knew it would be a lot to ask.  They were recording, they were world building once more.  

       “Of course.”

     Violet wore a simple outfit of black dress pants, white button-up, soft gray jacket and black sling-backs.  It was her armor in interviews, formal meetings, and now her trips into universities.  She slid the last button into place as Jake made his way back into the hotel room with a coffee carrier and breakfast.  His dark eyes were tentative as he took in her appearance.  It was going to be a hard day for both of them.  There was no quick way around it.

     They ate in silence.  Jake disappeared to get himself ready while she checked in at work.  Her official start was in another week, to which she would have to jump on a plane to Lexington for a week.  The bright spot would be to fly home, a destination otherwise known as Jake.  It was a phenomenon she identified and admitted to him that he was home.  She was blessed to have the feeling reciprocated.  

     The Madison Municipal Courthouse was a tangle of chaos with people everywhere moving in all different directions.  It was enough to excite the nerves and overwhelm the already frayed senses.  Locating the actual room was a feat in and of itself.  Jake stayed calm.  He sat close as they slid into the last row, mostly out of sight of the defense table.  Violet felt a vale of haze wrap itself around her brain as the time drew closer.  Alison walked in, her eyes grazing over her as she passed.  If there was recognition there, Violet was unsure.  From the opposite side, there was movement and a flash of orange as Tim was brought inside.  Instead of focusing on how the air thickened and boiled with a rage she had known, she turned her sights on the brightness and warmth of her present.  Jake looked at her with a serenity that she needed.  It grounded her.  Sheltered her.  

      The whole affair took less than twenty minutes.  It all dwindled down to another assault upon Alison and the other women.  Tim was going to be allowed to travel a road to sidestep real jail time.  It was an insult to injury that was completely legal and without excuse.  The judge handed down what he could to the fullest extent with the parting words that he felt there were so many more victims that were mute because of fear.  Jake tightened his hold on her hand as the gavel was dropped and Violet felt herself begin to breathe again.  The courtroom was fast to empty.  Ali passed by her and Jake in the hallway, her lawyers flanking her sides in a brave show.  There was no celebration to be had.  There was no sense of punishment in the end.  No closure.  No finish.  

      They returned to the room in silence.  Her phone chimed with a notification that she nearly ignored.  Looking at it, her heart choked and broke a little.  Ali sent a single word text - thanks.  

      “What was that bar we went to last time we were here?”  he was asking as they moved back into the hotel room.  

     “Donovans,”  she answered, peeling out of the little jacket.

     “How about we go, have a few drinks and just bury the night?”

     She nodded.  Their flight out was not until the next afternoon.  Changing, they took the time to walk down Capitol Street, taking in a few cool little shops and grazing through the farmer’s market before having an early supper in a tiny little cafe.  Violet asked to take a walk down around the green spaces and gardens that looped the Capitol building.  They reached the bar just after eight to find that live music was already flooding out of the door.   

     “I know today was not what it needed to be,”  he said as they sat down with the first round.  “I know none of this has not been easy.”

     “I guess we’ll just have to accept that losing his practice is going to have to be enough,”  she answered before taking her first sip.  She was unable to hide the bitter scorn that laced her tone.  “House arrest in a fucking mansion on the east coast with his family?  Yeah.  There’s justice in this world.”

     He patted her thigh as they settled into the music.  Jake smiled as the sound reverberated around them like he was reminiscing what it was like to be a bar band.  They talked quietly about what was to come.  She felt lighter as he asked about how she looked forward to Lexington the following week and getting a scope on the new job.  She had gotten her first assignment - she had to fly out to Seattle and visit a few smaller colleges before taking a car down to Portland.  The trip would take four days total.  At some point, the guys were expected to head to LA for a few weeks.  Jake already had made arrangements for separate living arrangements since she would be along for that stretch of promotional shots, wrapping up recording and finishing up loose ends for the studio.  She wondered if she should make mention that she would be in LA so as to stem off any return trip after the fact.  

      “I wanted to ask,”  he started, his voice low against her ear.  “How do you feel about getting a marriage license when we get home?  We can take a drive over to Hewit to get it.”

       Violet’s brows pinched.  “Don’t those things have a time limit?”

      “Thirty three days.”

      She looked at him over the rim of her glass with a raised eyebrow.  

      “What?  I did some looking into the matter.  I want to get this done before we voyage off on the next tour.”

      “Ooo - so romantic there, sir,”  Violet said, voice thick with playful sarcasm.

      “That’s me, baby.  Nothing if not romantic.”  

      The idea of just the two of them struck something within.  Something on their own.  It would only be theirs to nurture and to grow between them.  At the same time, she could only imagine the look she would receive from her father at the news that they had run away to be married.  Or the loud arguments that would come from his mother.  Worse, the two forces aligned into one huge argument.  In truth, the parents were the parents and would accept their decisions, eventually.  Maybe.  

      Jake drifted back to the bar for another round.  Violet was texting with Max the news of the day.  Her spritely friend commended her bravery for actually going into the courtroom when it was not expected.  Violet admitted that they were so far back that she barely could see her demon in the front.  It was an untruth, but she did not need to explain that either.

     “Violet?”  

     The masculine voice that called out to her caught her attention in a way that she was not prepared for.  Turning, she caught sight of a face that she had not seen in years.  “Connor?”

     “I thought that was you,”  he said, his handsome face breaking out in a huge, familiar smile that set her tummy to rolling and her brain exploding.

     He reached for her and she could not stop herself from allowing him from scooping her into one of his wrap around hugs.  “Wow,”  she sighed as the familiar feel of his frame and smell of his cologne filled her senses.  “It’s been a few years, hasn’t it?”

     His bright green eyes roved all over her face as he pulled away.  It was the same boyish grin and strong presence that she always felt radiated off of him, but there was something else that emanated from him.  Confidence?  Maturity?  She felt nostalgic as he sat down across from her, his hands coming to rest before him like it had been moments, not years between seeing her.  Connor was one of those spirits that drifted into her sphere from time to time, but always seemed to linger in a manner that was healing and always welcoming.  The last time she had seen him was when her case started to fall apart.  He had tried to give her comfort, but his own path kept him at a distance.  Instead, he gave her counsel which turned into the best thing she had at that time - sound advice to walk the fuck away and the help to do just that.

     “You look amazing, Vi,”  he replied in his easy manner.  She had forgotten how rich his voice could be, as well as the effect it had on her.  “I’m glad you’ve come back to Madison.  Are you working at Children’s again?”

     Her brows pinched and she forced herself to look away.  “No.  No, I’ve become a bit of a vagabond actually.  Are you still with Hamilson and Stuart?”

     “No.  I’m with Ingraham now.  They put me on the partner path,”  he answered with a nod.  “A vagabond, huh?  What does that entail?”

     She grinned as she told him about getting a call from World Surgical Services and how she was part of a team that was mainly in Ethiopia.  And then she voiced her next step with the non-profit - actually taking a role in recruiting and training.  No one outside her parents or Jake’s parents knew of her direction.  Her eyes traveled in the direction of the bar in search of Jake.  He was still waiting, but at least he was leaning in to talk with the bartender.  Her focus was disrupted when Connor looked over his shoulder in the direction she was looking.

     “You’re not alone, are you, Vi?”  

     She shook her head with a shy little smile.  She watched as Jake began walking towards their table with drinks in hand.  Looking back at her former lover, there was a shine there that she recognized.  

     “Timing.”

     The word hung between them.  Each letter was heavy on his lips as Jake drew closer.  Violet nodded.  The one thing with Connor that was their shared folly of timing.  She had started running into him sophomore year of college.  He was a senior.  By the time they had hooked up, he was days from moving out east for law school.  He returned to Madison just as she was starting at Children’s and beginning her master’s program.  Of course, he was involved with someone else that time who did not share.  On again.  Off again.  Only to dance around once more.  Violet’s smile grew wider as Jake stopped at her side to hand her a drink before sliding in next to her.

     “Looks like you found a friend,”  he said once he was settled.

     Jake smiled at her as he turned to her.  Unlike previous partners who felt the need to overtly stake claim on her in the presence of any other foreign person, he made no move to show any kind of affection towards her.  It was not necessary in his realm to do so.  Violet introduced Connor and sat back as the two men seemed to hit it off immediately.  By the third round of drinks, Connor was hitting his stride - full of charm and flexing his ability to talk about anything and everything.  Violet was sitting back watching these two men bantering back and forth with no end in sight.  Jake asked questions about them, while Connor was getting info on their now.  At one point, Violet disappeared to the ladies room and a refresher on the drinks and she swore neither man noticed.  Both were so invested in the other that she was sure she could hitch a ride home and no one would be the wiser.

     Violet leaned into Jake as Connor was getting the next round of drinks.  “We’re going to have to cut this off or you’re going home with him,”  she teased.

     Jake grinned a sideways smile that made her take notice.  “That wouldn’t be such a bad thing as long as you were with me, gorgeous.”

     Violet felt the confidence roll off of him in a way that she had yet to experience.  They had talked about past encounters for both of them.  They had talked honestly about what they liked sexually beyond the initial discoveries of those first months of actually being together.  But the way that he looked at her in the moment was unlike anything that he had shown her before.  There was desire that encompassed not just her, but Connor as well.  

     He narrowed his eyes at her before turning his attention back to finishing his drink.  “He’s got to have a pretty cock.”

     The words stilled in her ears as he looked back at her, his tongue brushing across the corner of his lips.  “He does,”  she whispered.

     There was no surprise, no reaction at all other than a subtle life in the corner of his smile.  “It’s something we’ve not tried.  Thoughts?”

     “With Connor?”

     “He is pretty,”  Jake remarked, his eyes flicking back in the direction of the bar.  

     “I’m surprised,”  Violet said as she brushed her fingers up his thigh.

     “No you’re not.  You’ve wanted to see this for a while,”  he said, unable to hide the draw of heavy breath.   “I’m wondering if he’d like to play.”

      Violet nearly choked.  Smiles were in place as Connor set the drinks carefully down before them, his bright green eyes flitting between them.  She pinched his knee as he wrapped his arm around her to pull her closer.

     Conversation continued, mostly between Jake and Connor as they began talking and flirting about travel.  Connor had always been adventuresome.  He fancied himself an amateur photographer, which of course sent Jake into a whole new direction.  Violet was beginning to feel very much the third wheel on a third date.  

      “I’ve got a portfolio if you’d like to see,”  Connor was saying after what seemed like thirty minutes of sun rise this, sun set that, mountains - oh mountains, making a fucking swan look pretty…  

      She glanced at Jake as he seemed to ease into her touch once more.  “What do you think, Vi?  Should we?”

      “Surely you don’t have that shitty little place over on 10th, do you?”  she asked, trying to bring her focus back to the table.

      “No.  I’ve got a place over in Maple Grove,”  he answered with a wide smile.

      “Ooo - ritzy, Connor.  I never took you for those kinds of digs,”  she teased.

      Jake shrugged, not understanding the joke, but not really caring either.  “What about the group you are supposed to be here with?”

      “I’ll go say good evening, and get us an Uber.  Meet me out front,”  he said as he slid from the table.

      Violet watched as Connor walked away, drink in hand.  “You’ve already talked about this.”

     “Maybe.”

     The single word answer made her blush.  He took his last sip before leaning in to her.  He brushed his lips against hers before landing.  Violet felt a rush of what was to come.  Indeed, it was something that she was curious about.  She had vacuumed up crumbs that he allowed her to have from exploits with other lovers, other men and women that he had enjoyed.

     “Is this alright with you?”  she asked, as he threaded their hands together.

     “It’s more like is it alright with you, Violet,”  he stated as they stood up.  “This is, after all, mostly for you.”

     The ride over to Maple Grove was slow.  Midnight traffic did not clear until they were well on the east side of town.  The house was more cabin in the woods, but modern in a very metropolitan way.  He showed them around as he flicked lights that spilled out onto natural forest and the creek that wove through his backyard.  

     “Very different from the rats in that studio you had,”  Violet said as she took a glass of water from him.  “You’d go into the bathroom, but had to jump over a hole in the floor just to get over to the shower.”

     Connor laughed at the memory.  “Or the fact that the heat would cut out at four every afternoon, no matter what and not come back on until two in the afternoon the next day.  Damn that was a shit hole, wasn’t it.”

     “Good to be on the partner track,”  Violet said with a nod.  “This place is stunning.  Congratulations.”

     “It is good, indeed.  Thank you,”  he said quietly as Jake moved to the record player.  “I told you I had a collection, nothing too amazing there, though.”

     “Oh, that’s alright.  There’s this,”  Jake said, holding up a Hendrix Blues jacket.  

     “Where are these from?”  Violet asked, looking at framed pictures of old woods.

     “I took those in a little village north of Prague,”  Connor answered as the first few notes poured from the speakers.

      “Beautiful,”  she whispered as Jake moved closer to her.  

      The vibe shifted.  The air grew tighter.  Violet could barely focus as he traced a finger across the back of her hand.  Connor had moved closer to her as well, the smell of his clean cologne mixed with Jake’s woodsy blend sending her off into a moment of haze.  She felt odd standing there watching as the two men seemed to circle each other.  Both were talking but the words made no sense.  Her eyes lingered on the way Jake trailed his fingers across her skin - feather light, barely there, but grounding to only his touch.

      “You will be present in this, Violet,”  he said, his tone sharp to draw her forward to him.

      Her eyes immediately snapped up to his face.  His dark eyes danced across her features, hard and expectant.  “Yes, Jacob.”

      “Answer the man’s question,”  he remarked, moving his attention back to Connor.

      In a daze, she looked up at her former lover who smiled softly at her.  “I need to know my place in this, Violet.  Is there anything that you are uncomfortable sharing or doing in the course of tonight?”

       Surprised, she turned back to Jake.  He grinned.  “I…”  She regained her ground as she straightened.  “I suppose not.  Been a while for anything like this.”

       “Same,”  Jake replied as he took an offered drink from Connor.  “Her ass is mine, Connor, but I’m sure she’ll be more about watching us.  She has a thing…”

       “Yeah,”  Connor whispered, his fingers touching her hand.  His touch carried the weight of memories and past tenderness.  “She’s always had that interest.  I remember it fondly.”

      Before Violet could even think about blushing over the comment, Connor pushed forward, grabbing Jake by the face and pressing them into a passion filled kiss.  Her stomach clenched at how the two men melted against each other.  Jake sighed against the man’s mouth and yet, he reached for Violet’s hand to hold.  She felt her jaw soften.  His cheeks grew warm as Connor deepened the kiss even more eliciting a deep moan from both of them.  The sound reverberated right through her core, soaking her panties.

       She watched in awe as Jake turned back to her, eyes completely unfocused for a long moment.  He was so totally lost in the sensation that this man presented to him.  She pulled him in close, letting her mouth linger against his as if to draw in any residual heat from Connor.  Instead of impact, she withdrew, eyes rolled up on her former lover.

      “Condoms,”  she said firmly.  

      “Of course.”

      The pit of her stomach danced a bit as Jake took a sip of his drink.  Reaching out, she took the glass and downed the rest of it.  A gleam in her smile made both men release a shared noise.  “Shall we retire then?”

      Jake took her hand, turning her until he had her wrapped up in his arms.  His smile yanked her into the moment, setting fire to what she was about to witness and experience with him.  He kissed her sweetly as the excitement was beginning to overwhelm both of them.  Connor quietly led them deep into the softly lit home that was painted in rich blues, green and browns.  All very masculine lines and practicality.  Violet’s eyes traced across the variety of pictures and art and trinkets as they floated into the minimalist bedroom.  The sleepy tones were instantly relaxing.  Connor snapped on a few faint lights as Jake drew her closer.  His nose nuzzled into her crook of her neck as he fitted himself against her back.  She watched as Connor dropped a few packets of condoms on the night table along with a tube of lube.  His eyes traced across her features as he walked towards her.  She had nearly forgotten how handsome her former lover had been.  So classically formed that he would rival the hands of masters.

      Her brain began to fog over as he drew close, one hand reaching for her own, one hand wrapping around Jake’s shoulder.  He pressed his long frame into her before bending to kiss her.  Jake’s mouth felt hot against her neck as Connor deepened their kiss, tasting her mouth so deftly as he had always done.  Allowing her to fall back for breath, Connor leaned over, capturing Jake’s kiss once more, effectively pinning her between both men.  Jake’s hands snaked across her breasts as Connor’s grabbed at her hip and ass.  Her body already throbbed for their touch.  Jake must have sensed her shift and he leaned back just enough to pull her against him tight.  In the pocket of space, he lifted up her light sweater over her head before returning to kissing on Connor.  The smell of their bodies flooded her as he tugged her bra down to expose her breasts.  The feel of Connor against her front and Jake behind nearly caused a blackout level of tension.  Jake’s deft fingers unclasped the bra so that it could fall to the floor.  She kicked out of her little flats before ducking out from between the men so as to watch them paw at each other.  

     Violet watched as clothes were shredded off their frames.  She slowly slid out of her leggings and panties as Connor started yanking Jake back towards the bed.  “Jacob,”  she whispered, but it was as if she yelled at him.  His head whipped around to look at her.  “Suck the man’s cock.”

      She grinned as the two men fumbled to the bed so as to let Connor lay down.  Eagerly, Jake smiled back at her.  “It is a pretty cock, Violet.”

      Violet fought to maintain her brain and her cunt from rupture as Jake first palmed Connor before licking up the shaft and sinking down until it hit the back of his throat.  There was no teasing, no hesitancy.  Jake hooked his thumb beneath the balls and swallowed Connor’s beast down.  His dark eyes touched her as he hollowed out his cheeks on the upstroke.  

      “Quit letting that cum leak down your legs, baby,”  he said, pumping the thick cock in his hand.  “Get over here and let this man lick that sweet pussy.”

      Violet climbed up on the mammoth sized bed.  Connor’s eyes were already rolling into the back of his head even though he was reaching for her.  With care, she slid her frame over Connor’s waiting face.  He ran a finger through her dripping folds before wrapping his arms around her hips and dragging her down.  The guttural moan that ripped from her chest robbed the room of air and set it on its side.  Looking down on Jake was like looking into another life.  A life that she was absent from and only had inklings and whispers of actual existence.  She held onto Connor’s forearms to maintain balance as he plunged his tongue into her.  Violet could not stop the whorish moan that escaped as the sight of her man sucking him down with an unhinged passion struck her senses.  Jake turned his near blackened eyes up onto her.  Lust scorched and wanton, he began rutting into the mattress at the sight of her coming undone.  Connor pinched at her clit with his fingers as he started ramming his tongue against her entrance, gaining himself passage into the depth of her.  Her fingers turned white as she held on.  Her orgasm pummeled her like a prizefighter.

        Connor hummed as Jake grazed his teeth across his balls.  Her body was already wanting more as Jake rose, straddling Connor’s belly, one hand on his own cock, one hand on the spit slick one behind him.  Leaning forward, he began to lap at her belly, breasts and nipples in an all out assault.  Violet brought her hands up to balance better on his shoulders.  Gaining her bearings for a second, she was able to grab his dick, pumping him as she felt her core threaten with another wave of orgasm.  Just as it hit, Connor turned and bit into the meat of her thigh and Jake bit into the left nipple before sucking it deep into his mouth.

       “So good, Violet,”  Jake whispered into her chest as he worked gentle kisses across the skin.

       Somehow the three of them moved together so that Jake was on his knees and Connor was before him, practically devouring his mouth and rubbing their cocks together.  Violet was behind Jake, her hands roving across the miles of skin of both men.  She hummed as Connor spread Jake’s knees before working his way down, to lay at an angle before him.  A deep, low rumble escaped Jake as Connor kissed at the thin skin on his hip bones.  Those bright green eyes flicked up to Violet, revealing the languid desire that all of them seemed to be experiencing.  

      “Get him ready for me, Vi,”  he whispered tenderly.  

      Her soft sigh rang out.  Jake looked over his shoulder, reaching for her to pull her into a kiss.  The urgency he displayed turned her skin into cinders.  Connor’s mouth wrapped around Jake in a sloppy mess.  The depravity that touched his face in that moment touched Violet.  The absolute vulnerability he lay open at her feet was utmost trust.

     “You’re so beautiful, baby,”  she whispered against the extended flesh of his jaw.  “So mine.”

     She leaned away to grab the lube from the nightstand.  She dropped it at her side, wanting to first partake of his joy.  Connor was ravaging his cock.  The heat of them both and the little moans and sighs were like a chorus.  She began to train little kisses down his shoulder followed to his spine.  She dragged her fingers across his ass, gripping until he chirped in pleasure.  A few drops of lube across her fingers and she went to work on Jake’s entrance.  He pressed back against her, totally relaxed and ready.  Jake landed one hand into Connor’s hair while the other slipped back behind, finding Violet’s heat and slick.  She cooed as he pumped her clit to the same rhythm as her own fingers.  She slid one in, followed by a second.  He let out a soft whine as she stretched him.  A third and he rocked back into her palm as Connor deep throated him at the same time.  The gasp that spilled from his mouth set her hairs standing on her arms as the goosebumps erupted.  He turned to look over his shoulder, lips pursed and searching.  She leaned into him, keeping her hand in time as she kissed him sweetly.  

      Jake whined into her mouth as Connor let him go.  He wrapped Jake’s cock up tight in his large palm while he rose to his knees.  The darkening of those bright green eyes startled Violet as it prickled remembrances of past liaisons, past passionate moments both only with him and sharing with others.  Without giving her a chance to shift, he wrapped his arms around Jake and her and crashed his mouth into hers.  To taste her lover on this man’s tongue sent shivers through her.  Jake trailed kisses across his shoulder as he wrapped his hand back to her, lacing their fingers together.  The love emanating from Jake, and the lust that fueled Connor was near breaking her mind as they moved together, getting lost together in sensations and tastes and smells and sounds.  

       Connor was whispering into Jake’s ear as he lapped at the ear lobe, nibbling it roughly.  Violet let her fingers slip from his bottom with a kiss to the base of his neck.  His skin was so hot under her touch.  There was a light sheen against his chest as he moved from between them.

      “Lay down, baby,”  he said, his voice roughened by exertion.  

      He helped her before capturing one breast in his mouth followed by the other.  He slid his frame down, carving a path down her belly to her thighs with his tongue.  Hot and wet he drove his mouth up against her as Connor lifted Jake’s hips up.  

      “Violet,”  Connor said, the base in his voice tumbling out of his mouth as if escaping from his gut, “your man is so fucking perfect.”

      She watched as he bit into Jake’s ass just as he pushed his tongue up against her clit in a hard press before sucking her core to attention.  Connor rose up fully on his knees, drawing a black condom across his dick and drizzling lube down Jake’s entrance.  There was no hesitation, no waiting, and no asking, Connor worked his way into Jake, hands white knuckled on his hips.  The sound that Jake let out into her folds instantly made her spray into his open mouth.  The beauty of the moment was quick to unravel as Jake frantically tried to maintain focus on her pussy.

     “Goddamn,”  Connor growled, setting a pace that bumped into her clit with force.

     Jake looked up into her face, eyes unfocused, mouth extended in silent pleasure.  The haze seemed to clear as his gaze latched on to her.  He rose up onto all fours, a show of brutal strength against the pounding he was taking.  He balanced for a moment, his hands racing to dig into the flesh of her hips, dragging her down until he crashed his torso into her.  Frantically, she drew her knees up almost to her ears as he pushed his cock into her, using Connor’s pace to fuck her in a manner that was totally unhinged and without a thought other than to pound her into the mattress.

      Violet gripped his shoulder to maintain her place.  Connor covered her digits as he held on tight.  Connected.  Together.  Wave after wave of groans and moans and slick skin on skin as they worked together to reach a crescendo.  Looking into Jake’s features, she found him totally fucked out.  He resided in a space that was beyond a boundary that they had yet to reach and he was dragging her along for the ride.  Connor’s handsome face was becoming stressed as he tried to hold on.

      “Fuck you’re so damn good,”  he moaned.  “I’m so…”

      “Let me have it.”  Jake’s raspy tone filled her ears as he looked down at her.

      Tears sprang to her eyes.  Masculine beauty oozed out every pore as he touched her cheek.  So much love poured out of him onto her as Connor crashed into him in his own orgasm.  A blush of a kiss and Jake took over, slamming into her quickly, hitting every spot that he knew to press into.  He swarmed her senses and overpowered her body, leaving it to quake and shiver as total pleasure over took both of them in a barrage of stuttered breaths and tender whines.  Connor lay down at her side as Jake continued to move against her.  His tired, flirty grin invited her in, kissing her gently at first before incinerating her mouth in a deep, searching kiss.  She felt Jake bending closer to her before yanking his body back up so that his knees folded under him to better ram into her.  His palm landed on her belly as he began to fuck her in earnest.  Connor’s fingers twisted and pulled at her nipples as he bit and swallowed and danced against her mouth.

       Jake was beginning to grind hard.  Violet couldn’t hold on any longer.  Her core exploded as heat and joy and love broke across her skin like sunshine.  He rode her through until finally cumming hard into her, his jaw totally lowered making his mouth a graceful o.  

      “Beautiful,”  Connor sighed as he nuzzled into her, his fingers tracing down Jake’s cheek.

      There was no sound save for their breathing.  The air thinned and cooled as they returned to the earth and the bed beneath them.  Violet dragged her fingers through Jake’s hair over and over as he rested against her belly.  Connor kept planting warm kitten kisses against the cap of her shoulder and cheek as he held tight to Jake’s hand against his hip.  There was something wholly natural as they lay together.  It was a shared surrender to ultimate feral emotions.  

      “Showers,”  Jake grumbled as if not really wanting to leave his position.

      “I think you’ll like the accommodations, Vi,”  Connor sighed as he started to roll away totally unaware of his own nakedness.

      He led them into the en suite bathroom that was wrapped in chrome and quartz and dark tones.  The shower was coiled like a shell and had water coming from all directions.  Connor smiled as Violet laughed as her body was sprayed from all sides.  Jake playfully pushed him in beside her before joining in.  Slowly, they washed each other with silent kisses and gentle touches.  Somehow both men moved so that she was in the middle.  While Jake washed her breasts and belly, Connor washed her back, paying close attention to the slender curve to her ass.

      Clean and partially dressed they drifted to the backyard deck with drinks and smokes.  Jake kept her close, having her curled into his side on a wide chair.  Connor leaned against the railing, his tall frame at ease as they continued their conversation from the bar, filled with laughter and joy that somehow continued until Violet was asleep and the men held hands talking softly about what could happen next.

      The morning brought questions.  Where the hell she woke up was the first one blazing through her brain.  She felt Jake’s skin beneath her fingertips, settling her, but the room was different.  Rising, she grabbed the first t-shirt she saw, not caring that she had no clue who it belonged to.  The hallway brought a clearer remembrance - Connor’s.  They must have crashed in his home.  The smell of coffee drew her through the living room into the welcoming smile and gaze of Connor himself.  He made no move towards her other than to hold out a cup in question.  A nod of hers returned to her in the form of a question of like always?  She nodded again and watched as he mixed half and half in with a packet of sweetener before handing it over to her.

     “I was being hopeful when I was talking with you last night, Violet,”  he said quietly as he opened the back sliding door to the deck.  

     She followed like she was trapped in a dream she did not know she was having.  “Not sure what you mean.”

     “I didn’t think of it until this morning that you would be here for Tim’s sentencing,”  he replied, making eye contact that was pensive.  “When I saw you, I was hoping that you were back living here.  I’ve missed you.  Greatly.”

     She gave him a soft grin of understanding.  “I’ve missed you from time to time.”

     He shook his head.  “When I told you to go, I should have gone with you.”

     The admittance forced a little sad laugh from her mouth.  “I was in no position to be anything to anyone, not even a friend.”

     “I would've shouldered it,”  he remarked.  “I would’ve shouldered it if it meant that I could have sheltered you.  What a fuck I was to let everything just go with you.”

     “You were in no position to leave, Connor.  You were fresh at Hamilson and Stuart.  You were finally finding your own feet.  I could not have been so selfish to ask you for that.  It was enough that you covered me with the ADA, and gave me good counsel to protect myself,”  she said into her mug.  “Besides, it was a pain that I needed to heal on my own.  I have come so far since that day.”

      “There was a time that I made you happy,”  Connor said, stretching out on a deck chair beside her.  “There was a time where -”

      “It’s not the same.  I’ve put my own shit back together and got lucky enough to meet Jake.  I'm beyond blessed that I am building this life with him.”

      He nodded.  “I would never interfere.  You have become a stunning woman because of it all, Violet.  You’re still the strongest person I know.  It makes me happy that you have gotten everything you have ever wanted.”

      Violet shifted her hold on her coffee, placing it on the little table next to her so she could reach for his hand.  “Seems you’ve said something like that before.  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry that we never got our chance.”

      “Kind of hard to say you were the one who got away when there was not a real time that you were ever mine.  Not fully.  Not really.”

      He threaded his fingers through hers to give a nice little squeeze.  Violet shared the grief that shone so clearly in his expression.  It started like a bubble in her belly and lodged in her throat as the silence stretched between them.  The air stirred as a breeze kissed at her cheeks drawing her back to the present.

      “I’m going to have to get him going.  Our flight’s this afternoon,”  she whispered, letting go of Connor and making her way to her feet.

       Instead of reaching for the door, Connor swept her up into one of his secure embraces.  She sunk into his strength with a surprised laugh.  It had never felt like goodbye as it did in the moment.  It put a little fracture on the surface of her heart as he withdrew to walk her inside.  Jake stood completely disheveled in his boxer briefs in the hallway, shuffling out towards the kitchen.  His sleepy smile and blush on his cheeks warmed her as he reached for her.

      “Morning, gorgeous,”  he rasped as she leaned into him.

      “I can call for an Uber.  Get you two on your way,”  Connor offered as he poured himself another coffee, as well as one for Jake.  “Vi said your flight is this afternoon.”

      “Yeah.  My brothers are supposedly waiting on my ass to get back to work,”  he gripped before taking a sip of coffee.  

      They fell into light conversation while Jake woke up.  Violet disappeared to dress.  Her heart ached as she put herself back together.  Jake snuck in behind her and got ready at her side.  There were quiet glances and warm touches as she pulled a bush through her snarled hair.  

      Goodbye was hard.  Jake was swept up in a tight hug, to which she watched as Connor whispered something in his ear.  A blush rose on his cheeks as he moved away.  Violet smiled sadly as Connor reached for her, kissing her before folding her up tight.  Jake stepped outside to wave at the driver.  She snuffled as he tucked her hair behind her ear with a gentle touch.

      “I’ve missed you.  I’ll keep missing you,”  he whispered as he let her go.

      One last look across the raven black hair and bright green eyes, caring expression and tender touches was enough to absorb it all.  Sliding into the backseat, she was silent the whole ride back to the hotel.  Jake, too, seemed to be stilled by their previous evening.  Somehow, they had experienced a shift.  Violet could not deny there was a change in their dynamic.  If anything, it was impossible to say that she did fully love the man at her side.  He had shared with her a moment that she never expected.  The memory was breathtaking.  The trust he had laid across her was unconditional.  Jake was her forever.  Always.  Etched across her soul like an epitaph.  To have such a full love, full acceptance, was beyond her reasoning, but she would sure as shit work every day the best she could to keep it close and safe for all her time.

Sooooo…. What did you think of Connor?  He kind of struck me over the head to be included, and I’m not sorry about it.  Totally gratuitous scene but it wouldn’t let me go, so there it is.  I’m so nervous about that addition, but he just — fit.

Here’s the tag list if you would like.  Last part will be posted next week!

@lvnterninthenight @doodle417 @luverleaver @jakesgrapejuice @fictional-duchess @whitesuitjake @milkgemini @positivegvfthings @songbirds-sweet @streamingcolors-gvf @gretavanbitches @samsurfgreenbass @joshkiszkas-admin @gardensgatedaisy @babyhoneygvfarchive @myownparadise96 @josh-iamyour-mama @starcatchercarol @loveisonaroll @jakesstarlight @myownparadise96 @reesetrippingthelight @kyrose11

[perfectlyvalid49]

Entering your asks because I have seen your post about Jewish trauma and replies all over my dash (and only doing it on anon because of how stilted and awkward I always am with strangers that I admire). Your patience and earnest attempts to educate and inform those too stubborn, arrogant, and convinced of their absolute moral correctness is astonishing, and I am sorry the world's once more in such a state of hate that you had to make that post in the first place, let alone deal with a mess of antisemitic BS in the notes. (I am sorry we goyim on the left are failing the Jewish community as badly as we are. We never seem to learn, no matter how patiently you hold our hands through the explanations.)

You seem to be all kinds of awesome.

First, thank you!

Second, I’m sorry for being all over your dash. It was a long post to begin with and it only got longer as everybody yelled at the anti-Semite. It was all over my dash too, and *I* was beginning to find it annoying.

It feels weird to be admired, as I think my most notable qualities are “good at remembering rules to TTRPGs,” “incredibly stubborn,” and “does not know when to shut up.” If you feel more comfortable on anon, that’s fine, but if you ever want to put your name on things, know that most of my friends (myself included) are in the “neurospicy and have less than awesome social skills” group, so awkward isn’t going to bother me any.

The patience comes from having two elementary aged kids. If I can deal with a toddler, I can deal with an adult acting like a toddler. Also, I used to be a receptionist at a pediatrics office – so I actually have a lot of experience customer servicing adults acting like toddlers, to be honest.

As for a willingness to educate, I genuinely believe that hatred in all its forms comes from ignorance. It’s much easier to hate a faceless entity than a real person, and it’s easier to hate a group that you have no experience with than to hate a member of that group that you’re having a conversation with, especially when they’re being reasonable. I’ve been a LOT of people’s first Jew, and I don’t mind being the person to show that Jews are just normal people. Even if the person I’m in conversation with isn’t getting it, my hope is that someone on the sidelines – either their followers or mine, will.

There are two Jewish concepts at play here. The first is “tikkun olam,” or “repairing the world.” The idea is that the world is not perfect, and it is our duty to make it better. I feel like educating people, and hopefully reducing hate is a way of doing that. The other is a quote from the Talmud - “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” I don’t have to teach everyone, but when presented with the opportunity to teach someone, I have to at least try. The way I see it, doing this is part of how I practice Judaism.

As for the goyim on the left, a lot of them have let me down. But every once in a while I get an ask or a message like this from someone who seems to understand. Or I’ll point out someone’s antisemitism, and they’ll actually listen to the criticism and try to do better. It gives me hope. Since I made that post, I’ve received kind messages from a handful of people privately, plus there’s been some love in the tags on reblogs. Between that and getting all that off my chest in the first place, I honestly feel better now than I did a week ago. Thanks to everyone who helped with that, including you, Anon.

[marshmallow-phd]

*sees notification*

Marshmallow’s back!!!

Hello! Very late greeting. I was so excited to be getting notifications about you posting again and tried to compose a message but got distracted be rereading your untamed series, again ^^’

Anyway, I’m very excited to see you on my dash again, in whatever capacity that may be. Life has a way of derailing us whether we like it or not and I think everyone here can understand that. I love your stories, you were really the first blog I followed when I got into Kpop/Exo and have been a huge inspiration to me. With life as unpredictable as it is I understand if you only want to come here for community and destressing. I’ll miss updates, but your mental health is more important.

If you are thinking of editing, I vote 2 or 3, personally leaning towards 2. Rereading the series again, I feel like (in my limited Shinee knowledge) that Minho fits the character well.

Sending hugs and love

-🦉

Hi! Yes! I am back in a weird sort of fashion!

I feel like a broken record saying this, but I truly appreciate the understanding. I know the heartbreak when a story is left unfinished and i hate being the one to do it, but I think the continued break is the best course right now. I'm still itching to edit the Untamed, although my heart breaks all over again when I think about the hard work others have put into making the banner for the master list and the moodboards... 😔

The other thing I am thinking of doing is, though it wasn't too popular, is finishing out Scarlet Moon.

I have so much of that story written and sitting in a document collecting dust. I go back and reread it some times, especially since I wrote so much after where the drama ends. I'm not sure if anyone would want it, though.

Sorry for the digression 😅 I'm happy to be back and seeing everyone's posts and the head spinning news of the Kpop world. Please take care of yourself as well and give yourself a bug hug from me

[quirklove]

Please... I need some Overhaul crumbs... Do you have some to spare? Anything. Headcanons, scenarios, reactions, anything .... 💕

oh!! oh, this is an emergency

luckily, I ALWAYS make sure to carry some spare Overhaul crumbs around in my pocket!

might have took me two years to fuckin find ‘em, but I GOT ‘EM FOR YA, BABE!!!

*sprinkles the crumbs ALL OVER YOUR DASHES*

ironically, the sprinkling of crumbs is something the man would absolutely hate, so uh, whoops...................

“Take off your mask.”

The request startles you. Mostly because it seems to come out of nowhere, but also because it comes from your boss.

As in, the man who doesn’t trust anyone to be unmasked around him. The man who thinks everyone else in the entire world is filthy, is terrified of germs, and who you’ve been warned to wear a mask around ever since day one.

You don’t think you’ve had your mask off in this compound even during your initial interview. The man who invited you for the… employment opportunity… told you about the mask rule, so you just showed up wearing one when you came in.

Not only that, you don’t see much of OVERHAUL anyway. Mostly you help Irinaka-san do paperwork for finances and things like that for the records. Quiet and out of sight, you have no Quirk, so you’re not useful for much else. Besides, your employer doesn’t like disturbances, and he prefers solitude. You can count the times you’ve spoken to him on one hand.

So when he shows up almost like a ghost, and you hear that order in his voice, you jump a bit in your seat. Looking up from your typing, those gold eyes of his strike you so much that you’re almost frozen in place. The only feature of his you can see clearly… of course they have to be attractive. “I… ah… s-sir? What do you mean?”

He’s not quite leaning on your desk. In fact, he’s not that close to you. Farther away than he sounded. And you think you can see… hives? In a little cluster on one side of his forehead? He manages to still look confident and intimidating despite looking as if he’s about five seconds away from being sick with anxiety. “I… I want you to take off your mask.”

“Oh… well…” You give your document a quick save before turning your attention fully to him. He’s never made a request like that before. Not to you, certainly, and you think you’d hear the gossip of him having asked anyone else to do so. (The Hassaikai are more tight-knit than you would have thought; you’ve been welcomed fairly warmly.)

You shift a little. You want to look in his eyes… they’re mesmerizing. You could get lost in them and you’d be happy to do it. “May I… ask why? I’m sorry, I just… I-I didn’t think you wanted people to be unmasked while in the compound. The… the last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable.”

He tilts his head at you. The way you read the gesture, it’s half a gratitude for being considerate of his eccentricities, half intrigued that you didn’t simply follow the command without question. “I’m… making an exception. For you. And there’s no one else around, and I will keep my mask on, so there’s no chance of anyone infecting you with anything nor you infecting me with anything.”

While the logic is a bit lacking, you’re a bit flattered that he seems to trust you. He’s never trusted any of the other Hassaikai members like that, has he? “May I ask… why the exception?”

What makes me so different? you want to ask. What makes me ― special?

“Your… your face.” His voice is soft, like a whisper of rain. Like he’s admitting something to you that he’s scarcely admitted to himself. “I… want to see it. Fully. Unobscured.”

“O… oh. Um.” How are you supposed to respond to that, really? Your antisocial, mysophobic boss is asking you to take off your mask just because he wants to see your face? What part of that makes any kind of sense? Is he testing you or putting you through some type of weird initiation or something? “Are, um… are you sure, sir? Like I said, I… I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Mmh? I’m already uncomfortable. But I’m pushing through it for a worthy cause. I’ll… be okay.” Was that a falter in his voice just now? He still looks so certain of himself. “Just… do it. Please.”

Before I lose my nerve, you think you hear his anxious parts say.

So you give him a nod, before reaching back to undo the straps of your mask. “O… okay. I… guess if you’ll be okay.”

Your mask is one of the simpler ones, like Hojo-san’s. It’s so dissimilar to Overhaul’s ― a sort of surgical style, except made of cloth rather than paper. When you first came here, you wore the disposable paper ones, changing as often as necessary, like after eating or drinking. Then after about a week, Soramitsu (one of the few you feel close enough with to use his first name) approached you shyly, with this one in hand that he’d made for you.

Now this is the only one you wear, using it all day, washing it at night, rinse and repeat. It’s endlessly more comfortable than many of the ones you see the others wearing, your employer included. Maybe especially his. At the very least, this mask that Soramitsu made means something to you. It’s basically an unspoken acknowledgment that you belong here.

Your fingers are careful even as you remove it, like it’s some precious thing. To you, it is. Within a minute, you’ve gotten the strings untied, and you slowly inch the mask down from your face. It’s how you feel least self-conscious lowering it, because you’re afraid he might suddenly change his mind, deciding it’s too much too soon, and snap at you to put it back on immediately.

On the contrary, he appears to be watching you very intently. It’s as if the very act of watching you remove your mask has him hypnotized. Those incredible eyes of his are glued to your every move… it’s half flattering, and half makes you nervous.

After all, he wanted to see your face. What if you’re not even half as impressive as he thinks you’re going to be? For some reason, you want to be as good as he thinks. You want to sate his curiosity and impress him.

Finally, the mask is down completely, leaving your face bare. Your other skin has always let you know the compound is cold, but to have the cool air hitting your cheeks out of the blue is a bit of a shock. That’s not what makes you shiver, though.

Overhaul’s eyes are staring right at you. Wider. He’s so intense, it makes your flesh sprout goosebumps in an instant. While you can’t tell what he’s thinking, you could hazard a guess or two. That expression of wonder is the same that was in your eyes the first time you saw him; this intimidating, gorgeous man with more power than you’ll ever taste in a lifetime.

You wonder, idly, what kind of thoughts he’s having about you. Are they soft like the ones you have about him? Rough like the ones you have about him?

God. You don’t even care. As long as he keeps looking at you like that, you couldn’t ever give a damn about anything else.

And you can’t help yourself. You look straight into his eyes, your knees weak from that pure gravity in his gaze. It’s a good thing you’re not standing right now, because if you were, you’re sure you’d crumple to the floor pretty quickly.

After what feels like a long moment, he raises his hand up. Your heart thumps in your chest, flashes of the mutters about his Quirk that the Hassaikai have let slip to you flashing through your mind. “A single touch.” “Complete destruction.” “Could tear you apart.” “Would tear you apart if you give him a reason to.”

The others have told you his temper is sensitive, like a hair-trigger on a firearm. You can’t see that you’ve given him any kind of reason to hurt you, and yet… you tense up anyway, half expecting to be disassembled.

No pain ever comes, though. When you close your eyes, only a second later you feel the brush of a gloved hand on your cheek, and hear the quiet, peaceful breathing of a man overcome with awe.

“Perfect,” he murmurs. He sounds like he’s just had some theory of his own proven. Although he’s only got a single finger against your skin, that seems to be enough. He takes his time pulling away, despite the fact that you can see more hives popping up to join the first ones you spotted. “You are… lovely.”

You can feel your face color immediately, and you just feel so exposed. It’s not bad, but it’s… overwhelming. Did he do this just to confirm that he finds you attractive? That you’re so fascinating to him, he had to know what you really looked like? What would have happened if your features were different? Would he still have called you ‘perfect’ and ‘lovely’?

“Th… thank you, Overhaul… sir.” You manage to stammer it out as you hurry to put your mask back on. He won’t stay so smitten forever, you’re sure. You’re not about to ruin his image of you by not replacing your mask at the earliest possible opportunity.

He turns to leave, and if you’re not mistaken, you catch the slightest hint of blush creeping up over the edges of his own mask. You’re not certain, because what might be a blush could just as easily be the beginnings of more hives. The thought that his face might be flushed at the thought of you, just like yours has been from his compliment… it’s kind of exciting.

His imposing figure pauses at the door, and he turns just so to give you one last glance out of the corner of his eye. “… (Name). I… I don’t want you to call me that anymore.”

Almost like he can sense what you’re going to ask, he continues in a heartbeat. “Call me Chisaki-san instead. Please.”

With that, he’s gone, as if he were some ghost who wasn’t even here in the first place.

But he was.

You can still feel his touch, a single digit caressing your cheek, protected by that glove of his.

The barrier of it between your skin and his doesn’t matter.

The touch is burned into you regardless, and you don’t think there’s anything that can extinguish the way he just set you aflame.

[practicingsmut]

Home

bard!seungkwan x artificer!reader, 1.4k, really this is more a small piece of angsty hurt/comfort with just a dash of smut in it but it's fine

Sex with Seungkwan was slow. Sensual. He’d taken the time to learn your body almost better than you knew it yourself and boy did he put that knowledge to good use. When to give more, when to pull away, when to keep you on the edge of your orgasms and when to send you crashing.

Seungkwan had gotten especially good at using sex as an apology. As a bard he made his living traveling from town to town, spending a few nights at one tavern before moving onto the next, telling stories and singing songs for people who were more than happy to give up their coin. Lately his trips away had gotten longer, his visits home shorter. He claimed that he was doing this to take care of you, but you knew that wasn’t the case. You made more than enough to support the both of you with your shop - adventurers paid hefty sums for your enchanted weapons and armor. The real reason he was away for so long is because he loved the attention. Sometimes you wondered if he loved it more than he loved you.

You hated yourself for having that thought. You especially hated that you were having it right at that moment when Seungkwan’s face was between your legs. His tongue licked lazy stripes through your core, teasing your clit with every flick of the tip. Normally you’d let yourself melt into his touch and forget your troubles, but something about it wasn’t working this time.

“Stop, stop,” you mumbled, pushing Seungkwan away and sitting up so you were perched on the edge of your bed. Seungkwan sat back on his heels and looked up at you, confusion etched on his face.

“Is everything alright?” he asked

“Yeah, I just… I’m not in the mood like I thought I was,” you said. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” Seungkwan assured.

He moved to sit next to you, but when he put an arm around your shoulder you just shrugged him off and stood up. It felt wrong treating him this coldly, but you didn’t know how else to deal with what you were feeling. Ignoring the way his stare felt like it was boring holes in your back, you busied yourself with getting redressed and moving into the kitchen. Seungkwan followed a few minutes later.

“Hey, can we talk?” he asked. You froze for half a second before continuing to get yourself something to drink. You hoped he hadn’t noticed the hesitation.

“Yeah, of course,” you answered, not turning around to face him. Something sounded wrong about your voice, almost like the words were trying too hard to be casual.

Seungkwan didn’t say anything else right away. Instead he came up from behind you to take your glass out of your hand and put it on the counter. He then gently spun you around so that you were facing him, making you look at him face to face.

The look in his eyes was enough to have your heart breaking. Regret seeped into every part of your being for treating him the way you had. A serious talk had to happen for both of your sakes, and now was as good a time as any.

“I don’t like how long you’re gone,” you said, voice breaking halfway through the sentence as you started to cry. Seungkwan immediately pulled you into his arms, strong and warm. “I feel like you’re away twice as often as you’re here and I just get so lonely. Even when you are home lately, you’re always out doing things and I sit here waiting for you to get back,” you mumbled against his neck.

“My love, I—” Seungkwan started, but you interrupted him by pulling back just far enough that you could see his face again while still being able to hold each other. He was crying just as much as you were.

“I’m not done. I also want to say that I feel so selfish for wanting you home all the time. You love traveling and performing, and I don’t want to take that away from you. Sometimes I think maybe our lifestyles just aren’t compatible anymore…”

Seungkwan leaned forward to kiss your forehead and when he pulled back he wiped the tears off of your cheeks with his thumbs.

“First of all, I’m upset you didn’t come to me with this before. I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do, but when you have these feelings you can’t ignore them. We work through this stuff together, right?”

You nodded.

“Second, I have been away from home a lot recently. I see now that I should have talked to you about what I was doing, but I thought this would make a good surprise.”

“Surprise?” you echoed. Seungkwan was a man of habit more than he was one of surprises. Whenever things would stray from routine, he was always the one to bring it up first.

“I’ve been traveling more because I wanted to save enough to buy that old building on the edge of town and renovate it. I was going to let you know about it when I had the deed in my hands, but that still feels like it’s a long way off.”

“What would you buy that old thing for?” You tried not to sound judgmental, but the emotion slipped into your voice anyway, causing Seungkwan to laugh. You couldn’t help it - the building in question wasn’t quite falling apart, but it had been out of use for as far as you could remember and would take a lot of work to clean up.

“Well, with the town growing as it has these past few years, I had this idea that I could open a tavern of my own. We’ve only got one here right now, but more and more travelers have come through as of late and sometimes they have to be turned away. If I had my own tavern here, then I could still play my music for everyone and be home in bed with you every night. Plus I feel like it’d be a bit more profitable than just being a traveling bard.”

As Seungkwan spoke you felt the tightness in your chest release as you burst into tears again. These were happy tears, though, as you were quick to explain to Seungkwan, who looked more concerned than ever. His cheeks were still wet from his own tears but a smile broke out across his face.

“You’re so stupid,” you said playfully. “If you had told me about this then I could have helped you out. I do have quite a bit of money saved up that you could use for repairs and renovations.”

Seungkwan shook his head. “I wanted to be able to do this on my own. You’ve been taking care of most of our finances ever since we moved in together and I feel bad about that.”

“You’ve never brought that up before,” you countered, raising one eyebrow. Seungkwan chuckled.

“Yeah, I know. How hypocritical of me.”

“Well I wasn’t going to say it, but…”

“Anyway, I also wanted to raise the money myself because I was thinking that we could pull from both our savings in order to host the tavern’s inaugural event when it does open.” “And what kind of event are you thinking of?” you asked.

“A wedding,” Seungkwan said. After a pause, he clarified. “Our wedding.”

“Oh.” You stared at Seungkwan for a long moment letting the idea sink in.

“Is that something you would want to do?” he asked.

“Of course,” you answered. “There would just be a lot of planning to do that. We should talk logistics - the timeline of getting the tavern set up, how many people it can hold, who we want to invite to the wedding—”

“I would be more than happy to talk logistics with you,” Seungkwan interrupted. He slid his hand slowly down your back and let it rest on the curve of your hip, sending chills down your spine. “But first, I think we were in the middle of something? Unless this impending conversation isn’t what had taken you out of the mood…”

You responded by pulling him in for a kiss, one that was harder than what usually happened between the two of you. He let out a gasp of surprise before melting into it. When you finally broke away he pouted, clearly disappointed, until he heard the words you said next.

“Get on your knees.”

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

Hi!! I just wanted to say that I completely get not finding that much joy in the fandom/ harry and louis anymore. I had a mini minor tiny breakdown about it last night bc of the tags you put on the post you reblogged from me where you said something like please bring me joy, and I felt that so much 😭 this ask is gonna be 3 parts because i'm already running out of room oops

I think part of the reason is that I’m stressed and winter is coming so I’m also a little depressed. But I also think part of it is that there’s so much harry content but it just feels empty to me? I don’t know if that’s because I don’t connect to it as much but I also feel like he’s going through the motions if that makes sense? Maybe it’s just because I see things from afar (literally bc he’s in the us and the show is when I’m asleep) but I really feel like he’s on stage doing his job vs. 2/3

vs. last Europe tour where he was so happy and smiley the entire time. Plus spitgate being the first real general public harry hate and since then he’s really been the gp talk every week or so and I hate it. Anyway separate from these rambles; I’m always happy to see you on my dash and I’m so glad you’re here and I hope you find some joy in them again ❤️

hey <33 thank you for your message, and yeah. i feel you! i noticed i really had a hard time loving content from the residencies, bc i disagree with their existence so much. he looked tired and yeah, he really was going through the motions. he sang kiwi and medicine like they were canyon moon, yk? but not following along to his doings also made me unhappy, so that's a balance i'm trying to regain now. at the end of the day, i love harry and want him to be happy. gp talk and any of his media attention sucks, so i'm good with ignoring that forever. i've just been sadly exposed to some of it on tiktok bc i use that app as brain anesthesia big rip. i hate hearing randos talk about harry lmao. my big challenge rn sadly is that i've just come out of a relationship and fandom was something huge we shared and now reminds me a lot of them and our shared time. so i don't want to lose my love for h and l's content bc of that and it's a bit of a process now. so, sorry for the minor breakdown my tags caused :)) but i really appreciate this, bc despite the source of our sadness being different, we just want this space to stay meaningful to us. i'm always here if you want to let some of the depression demons out, if you want someone to relate to <333

[ultramagicalternate]

ULTRAMagic Interlude: Shadowland Chapter 21

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Master Post

Andelin’s explanation of Milosh was a long and complicated one. She detailed the original conflict between the Vozenilek’s and the Haugen’s, which was reignited behind the scenes when the Proch’s entered the fray. The problem stemmed from the Vozenilek’s and Proch’s being outsiders, ideologically driven to conquer. Milosh was just another ne’er-do-well that felt entitled to things that were never his. Andelin attributed this mentality to the man’s mother, who instilled repugnant values in him. The Fear grew increasingly appalled as Milosh’s true intent was explained to him.

“That… that… oh, that piece of excrement! He’s dumb dumb dumb! I’ve been bamboozled!” The Fear declared as he paced in circles. “That villain! He’s one of those people that don’t care about anything but themselves!”

“Exactly,” Andelin agreed. “People like him never break free of their ignorance, preferring to fight tooth and nail to protect their ego. It happens an inordinate amount of times in the Cosmos proper.”

The Fear went over to his drawings, poised to tear them up. He grabbed the drawing of Milosh and got ready. “How badly I want to… No, no. Brother wouldn’t approve…”

“I take it that Hunger is an artist too?” Odo inquired.

“Yeah…” The Fear sighed. “I better not. You can continue, Andelin.”

“Quite. Now with all that in mind, I trust that you can fill in the blanks. There is no Scary God, Milosh wanted to overthrow Englehart and Sten, Dunja was manipulated to be a pawn, that spell you cast was an attempt at subversion, The Beast was not actually helping Milosh save The Iron city, and The Eternal Church is a bog standard cult.”

After taking a second to process everything, The Fear began making a series of incoherent, angry noises. It would have been endearing had the subject matter not been so dire. “Forget all of those shadowy demon things outside my vision, we’re going to Shadowland right now!” He then got out a backpack and began putting his stuff in it. “Is his majesty, King Sten, free at the moment? I need to apologize now.”

Andelin chuckled. “He should be. It’s only been twenty-four hours, so we should still have three days before the big demolition.”

Maximus yawned and stretched. “Jeez, has it? That time flew…”

“Oh, Maximus? I’m sorry for all those illusions I put you through” The Fear said as he finished packing.

He laughed. “It’s alright. I was the one who started chasing you after all.”

Leading the group outside, Andelin snapped her fingers once she was out in the open. The portal that had been used appeared before them. It would now remain active in Gummi’s house as they no longer had to worry about the cult. Aside from some leftover stuff from The Fear of Old, there was nothing of value in that reality error. Back at Gummi’s place, Gratiana was in her rocking chair, reading another book. Dunja and Torunn had returned to their business while Gummi was out doing something. Gratiana was surprised to see The Fear of Old with the group.

“Goodness, all of you were away so long that everyone went off to go do their own thing. I take it that things went well?”

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Andelin replied. “We took breaks while I explained the whole shebang and whatnot… leaving so soon, Maximus?”

He was already at the door. “Yeah. I hate to up and dash so soon, but I need to get out of this small form. Want me to give Sten the heads up?”

“Actually, dear, Torunn has requested your assistance” Gratiana answered. “There’s been quite a ruckus at Warehouse Zeta.”

Maximus put two and two together, followed by a soft cackle. “Ah, I see. Stay safe, everyone.” Once outside, he returned to his normal size and ran off.

The Beast also went to the door. “Speaking of which, I better go check on Rumbler. I know my boy is itching to get into trouble. Take care, guys.” Unlike Maximus, he stayed small for obvious reasons.

Odo was a bit lost. “Wait, what’s going on exactly? Did something happen while we were in the error?”

“Most definitely” Gratiana clarified. “Early this morning a… well, I don’t want to say a riot, but there’s been much chaos at multiple cult hotspots.”

“Blast it all, I hope no one’s getting too hurt,” The Fear lamented.

“Well sadly it’s the nature of things. People are going to hurt no matter what, but don’t fret. Torunn is making sure nothing bad happens.”

The Fear sighed, going to Gratiana for a hug. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yes, yes I am. And it’s good to see you again under such better circumstances.”

He then went to the door, with Andelin and Odo following. “Alright, let’s go see Sten then.”

“Do you want to come with us, Gratiana?” Odo asked.

“For now, no. It’s probably best that I don’t get spotted at the moment.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

“Everyone might be a little too heated at the moment, hehe,” Andelin pointed out.

Not wanting to get caught in an unfortunate situation, Andelin got out two of her cards and placed Odo and The Fear inside of them. They would be safe in her deck, allowing her to move through the city with ease. Naturally she wanted to get a peak at the chaos, but she could hear the fighting off in the distance. While passing through Strike Street to the castle, Andelin noticed that the church in the distance was being occupied by Sten’s knights. Things were getting interesting now that The Fear’s spell was gone. Thankfully she did not have any problems as she entered Castle Haugen.

“Sten! Have I got good news for you!” Andelin announced as she strode into the throne room.

The king was speaking to several of his captains, dismissing them as Andelin approached. “You do? Well it best be important. Things are incredibly hectic right now…”

“Perhaps you’d like to speak to Odo and the anomaly?” She tossed out her cards, causing the two to appear before them. Both were a little dazed, however.

“Oh my, that was dizzying…” Odo remarked as he got up, collecting his bearings. “Your royal highness? With help, I found The Fear of Old!”

Sten clapped. “Haha, excellent! Well done to you and everyone involved. Now I assume this boy here is the primordial in question?”

The Fear looked up, utterly terrified by the king. “Um, y-yes, your majesty… That would be me. I would like to start out by saying…” There was a pause, followed by him getting on his hands and knees. “I’M SO SORRY FOR EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING!”

Sten was taken aback by The Fear’s prostration. “My boy, it’s alright. I forgive you…”

“NO, YOU CAN’T JUST FORGIVE ME THAT EASILY.”

The king quietly laughed in sympathy. “Yes. I can. It wasn’t your fault that you were deceived by that scoundrel. Plus it’s obvious you dispelled the magic you cast at his behest.”

“Your royal highness, please arrest me…”

“Why, if I may inquire?”

Andelin looked at The Fear, then back to Sten. “Perhaps we should humor him…”

“Right… Um, guards, place The Fear into custody and stand by.” Two of them walked over, put handcuffs around his wrists, and stood next to him. They felt a bit silly doing this.

“Thank you, your majesty…” The Fear said as he looked at his bound wrists.

Sten sighed. “Fear, the fact that you are accepting responsibility like this means you were never a bad person to begin with. I’ve spent decades dealing with Milosh, so I’d dare say I have a good judge of character.” He then looked at Odo. “Well done, Sir Odo. You may return to The Market District as you see fit. Although I humbly ask that you stay here until The Eternal Church is demolished.”

“Ah, I see. Well I don’t see too big of a problem with that. I don’t think the cult’s going to cause any more problems…”

“And you’re sure you don’t want any reward? That was quite the deed after all.”

Odo thought about it. “It’s alright, Sten. I took this job out of concern for everyone… although, you could bail out The Fear here, hehe…” The request was spoken in a humorous tone.

Sten chuckled. “Of course. Guards, release The Fear of Old. He has served his time.”

“What? Hey!” The Fear complained as his cuffs were removed. The guards returned to their posts, trying not to laugh.

“Now Fear, what do you wish to do now that you are no longer under Milosh’s thumb?” Sten inquired.

“I’m not sure, your majesty. I need to find a new place to stay while my brother is off doing his job. Then I guess I’ll go back to drawing… And maybe I could also study Alchemy while I’m at it.”

Before Sten could give his thoughts on this, Dunja and Aureolus entered the throne room. “Aunt Dunja, why’d you never go to Fyodor for help with void magic?”

“Ha, Sweetie, I spent at least ten years being his adversary…”

“Oh yeah, my bad.”

“Aureolus, I trust your training went well?” Sten inquired.

“Yes it did, your majesty. Yes it did.”

Dunja giggled. “Even I learned some new things…” She then noticed the very familiar boy across from her. “Fear? Fear!” She rushed over and picked him up, holding him like she was his mother.

“Dunja! I did bad things, Dunja…”

She chuckled. “Yeah, so did I, sweetie. Don’t worry, things are going to be a lot better now. I take it he’s up to speed, Andelin?”

She nodded. “One hundred percent caught up.”

“Don’t worry, Sten, I fully plan to take this boy home with me and keep him safe and sound… Dealing with his brother is going to be something else though.”

“It’ll be alright, Dunja,” the Fear said as he was set down. “Just let me know when he shows up.”

“Also my apologies for how sudden that was, Sten. I trust you’re okay with my plans?”

“I have no objections. If something happens in The Iron City, send him our way as soon as possible. We will take care of him as if he were one of our own.”

“Thank you, cousin.” Dunja paused to get a glass of water, as her throat was parched. “Fear, you are going to like Englehart. He’s nothing like what that worm told you, I can guarantee that.”

“Yeah, grandpa is really cool. I’m Aureolus, by the way. Nice to meet you” he said as he held out his hand.

The Fear was hesitant at first. “Oh my, a being of darkness. That’s kind of scary… but hi, I’m The Fear of Old” he replied as he accepted the handshake.

“Want to hang out?”

“Um, sure.”

“Your majesty, may I take The Fear with me to Claudius’ house?”

Sten thought about it. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, but bring him back here immediately if there is any sign of trouble, no matter how small.”

“Will do, your majesty. Come on, Fear. Want to see my magic notes?”

Once the two boys were gone, Dunja chuckled. “I can’t wait for him to meet Blood…”

Sten cleared his throat. “Dunja, could you summon Torunn and Gratiana?”

She was caught off guard by this. “I beg your pardon?”

“Torunn has informed me of the obvious.”

Andelin shuffled her deck and set it down. “Okay, I suppose. We have plans for her though…”

“Of which I am also aware,” Sten replied. “I hereby veto your duel. Please summon her.”

Dunja was flabbergasted. “Sten! This duel clearly means a lot to her!”

“You all have my sympathy, but this is of utmost importance. The fervor currently grasping my people has made me realize that the cult still has fangs. We need all the strength we can muster. If it means that much to her, I will organize an entire tournament when this is all said and done. Now please, summon her with due haste.”

Next: Chapter 22

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

[menalez]

"i’m glad the women i recall saying these things are now inactive or gone, and they were always fringe groups on here that were hated and viewed as deranged by everyone outside their circles." This applies only to a small portion of the people carrying out that harassment. No they were not always fringe groups. Maybe the people posting some of the most pornographic things directly were a small group, but they had wide circulation and plenty of followers among "normal" groups that defended them. Most are not gone. A lot are the same crowd in the screenshots saying bi women need to be killed. I mean, who do you think was adding those tags and reblogging it around? Do you think they're any kinder to bi women in other contexts? I don't see how it's so amazing for anon to entirely ignore the context of those screenshots to say biphobia is fake. It's one thing to say that people bring up biphobia in homophobic ways, it's another to say the concept is entirely a fabrication entirely for the benefit of bisexuals only wanting to be homophobic, when there's screenshots of bipohobia being actively discussed. That very much comes across as minimizing it. I didn't say it was worse for bi women. Lesbophobia has always been bad, and is getting worse and more brazen. That was your own point, that it's getting worse. I'm just agreeing with you. But I'm just saying the things I mentioned about bi women have always been at that level without most people seeming to mind, just like anon seemingly didn't mind or see those as real biphobia.

im sorry but i literally did not recognise any of the urls except for like one that was saying bi women need to be killed or w/e, so ur gonna have to name names here. i can think of only 1 user who meets ur description and shes been heavily criticised too although i hate that some ppl still put her on my dash from time to time bc shes made it perfectly clear that shes misogynistic & an abuse apologist. but if theres more id love to hear names bc ive only ever seen a fringe group of ppl who were repeatedly criticised and only boosted by their little circle of losers

and yeah ur saying sth i take issue with still lol. lesbophobia has always been bad on here, it wasnt somehow less severe than prejudice against bi women. ppl on here have literally tried to frame me and so many other lesbians as predators and harassed us for being into women, mocked us and assumed the worst of us bc we're lesbians, mocked our sexual traumas, constantly interrogate lesbians over our sexuality, constantly belittle lesbophobia & lesbophobia on here has always been ignored.

[amporella]

hey, amp, im coming to you because i saw that you reblogged my latest post about stan’s gang and everything and i appreciate it but i blazed it out of curiosity not knowing that that was? a generally unpopular and cringe thing to do?? i was just curious??? and i had to take the post down because of the large amount of hate and death threats i received over it. idk who to go to?? so i thought “hey! why not go to ella! she’s cool and i like her posts!!” im not really sure what im asking for here, i’m kinda in a frantic state of mind rn and the first thing i thought of was to just? contact someone i followed who reblogged the post??? so yeah, there’s that. i’m sorry that i’m springing this all on you, i’m just really scared to unprivate my post and get more hate on what i worked so hard for.

HI

FIRSTLY; I am so so sorry that happened to you!!! It's wildly undeserved and is 100% more of a reflection on them than it is on you. Tumblr is horribly contradictory in that they'll put down cringe culture and then turn around and immediately label anything they don't like as cringe; it's a similar concept with blaze in that people originally loved it and thought it was so good for artists, and then suddenly an artist uses it and that's a problem? People really can't make up their mind and I am so sorry you had to see the repercussions of it for something extremely innocent!!!

I'm very honored you'd come to me though!! And I just saw you delete the old one and put up the post again, which I think is probably best and a smart decision: it's a shame that we have to work around dickheads on the internet but it's better than putting your mental health at risk. Death threats over fanart (regardless of the source material) is just so insanely off beat? I really can't say how sorry I am that that happened to you enough :(

I'm sorry it took me a bit to get to this but please don't hesitate to reach out if you need to!! Rest assured that I have plenty of experience with being dogpiled woaipfjo and don't apologize for springing it on me!!!! I promise it's no trouble at all and I really hope I could make you feel at least a little better?

Death threats (and hate in general, tbh) over the internet is SO cowardly and none of them are deserving of having you take their opinion into consideration tbh. I hope this doesn't discourage you from drawing more!!

(and are you kidding!!! It was so good regardless of whether it's style or not!!!! Your art is insanely good and consistently getting better and I am SO glad I get to see it on my dash!!!)