#thanks again for tagging me katie <3

[mountain-in-springtime]

thank so much to katie for tagging me! @safety-sam

no pressure tags: @myfriendtheghost @shutupdevvie @takenbythelightfantastic (apologies if you’ve been tagged before)

nickname: mal! my full name is mallorie but all my close friends and family call me mal

sign: pisces

height: 5’3”

last thing i googled: if lemon juice is flammable (i was trying to cure some firewood for termites)

song stuck in my head: she’s my baby by wings

number of followers: 59 (and i love all of you)

amount of sleep: eight hours unless i’m staying up doing schoolwork

dream job: film director or artist (anything in the creative field/arts really)

wearing: black athletic shorts and an orange t-shirt that says “together y’all”

books that summarize you: romancing mister bridgerton by julia quinn and dreaming the beatles by rob sheffield. i chose the first one because i just feel so connected to the female lead, and i chose the latter because it’s one man describing his love of the beatles, which i love but it really just reminds me of how deeply i love all media that’s important to me

fav song: somethin stupid by frank sinatra but it changes on a daily basis (dear yoko by john lennon is also a contender)

fav instrument: probably the guitar, piano, or clarinet (i played clarinet in middle/high school)

aesthetic: it changes, but it’s almost always vintage-inspired (normally somewhere between 50s and 80s fashion)

fav author: this is really hard bc i don’t typically read a lot of works by the same author, but a few that i do really enjoy are jane austen, grady hendrix, julia quinn, and stephen king

random fun fact: i couldn’t decide so i have two: i can’t ride a bike, and as a baby i ate so many carrots my skin turned orange

[almostempty]

The more you suffer

Self Esteem Part 4 | Pairing: fuckboy!Joel x f!reader

Hey y’all, it’s me back with more farm-to-table Joel smut. Took a while to figure this one out, but I hope you’re hungry horny bc it’s lengthy and full o’ fuckin’. Date Night Dave is back by popular demand, and fuckboy Joel finally experiences a consequence??? 

Warnings/tags: fuckboy!Joel, gratuitous smut, pwp, alcohol use, unprotected piv sex (that has no physical consequences bc it’s fiction and I like it that way), oral sex, public blow job, cock warming in a car, reoccuring guest appearance by dom!dave, date night dave inspo from the cartier campaign bc that's rich dave right??? au/ooc dave york is single/rich/mysterious and down to clown, jealous!joel, soft!joel, cuck!joel, jorkin’!joel, some angsty bits, no use of y/n, voyeur/exhibitionistish, light d/s dynamics, light (?) degradation/humiliation, praise kink, AU modern/no outbreak, overall just a lot of sex with some feelings in between, no beta blame all mistakes on me/adhd/insomnia 

Notes: please leave feedback! Tell me all ur thots! 

Thanks: to everyone who has read parts 1-3, that means the world to me 

Dedicated to @gothcsz for the punishment inspo and @auteurdelabre for encouraging my delusions , and @strangergraphics for dividers

WC: 12.1K  AO3: HERE | Masterlist: Here

Part 1: Self Esteem

Part 2: Want You Bad

Part 3: Kick and Scream

All I can fuckin’ think about. 

It’s like it was a curse, not a confession. Joel’s voice plays on a loop in your mind. For days. You hear it when you wake up, against your will. It’s a reflex at this point. You hear it when your mind drifts at work, when Katie blathers on about who knows what on your brunch date, and it gets loudest at night when you can’t sleep. It repeats and repeats and repeats. Taunting you, describing you, mocking you. Leading you on. 

Occasionally, you play the tape all the way through. Finishing the rest of the scene. Starting with 'All I can fuckin’ think about' all the way up to when that coward skipped out the door at the first glimpse of that thread connecting you. The first sign of something laced with vulnerability. 

Every minute that passes since you’ve been cursed with Joel Miller’s enigmatic mid-coitus confession is torture. Slow, painful, agony. Time drags so excruciatingly slowly that you feel like months have passed, but it’s only been three days since you were cursed with this affliction when you get a text. Well, it’s practically a fucking email. A business memo. 

Dave: Hey, I wanted to follow up. I enjoyed our date and would love to see you again. I’m out of town for the next 72 hours, but I’d like to take you out for drinks again when I return. I can pick you up again Thursday night, same time? Or, if you’d rather, I’ll be available earlier in the evening on Friday. If you’d like to do dinner. 

Dave: I’ll be honest, though; I’d prefer to see you sooner than later. 

Holy shit. 

You reread the message at least three times as you sink onto your sofa. Your stomach flips at his second message, before you start trying to pick it apart, anyway.

It’s almost too…formal? Cordial? Maybe you’re just used to only getting cryptic sentence fragments from Joel, who texts like he’s rocking a Nokia 3310. Because it’s also so direct. Dave is not afraid to communicate clearly and express his interest in you. It’s not overtly sexual, but not nonchalant, Goldilocks approves. 

You grin at the phone in your hand, and your gaze veers off until you’re staring at the wall, projecting the replay of your date with Dave like a movie at the drive-in. His mouth grazing your ear as he murmured filthy thoughts to you at the table, his fingers skating up your thigh, the taste of his cock sliding along your tongue, and the sounds that started from deep in his chest before he came down your throat. 

It’s not like Dave wasn’t memorable, but damn, you had been wallowing in your feelings over Joel like it was your full-time job. Fuck that. Dave is a welcome distraction. You agree to drinks and let him know you’re looking forward to seeing him, before swapping to your text thread with Katie. 

You: is it just because the bar is in hell for men, or is it appropriate for my pussy to flood over a man with a plan??? 

Katie: Can it be both? 

Katie: Oh my god

Katie: PLEASE tell me it’s the bathroom blowjob guy

Katie: Is he planning a second date? 

Katie: I told you! Green flags! 

You: maybe 🙃

……..

Knowing you have a date to look forward to eases the sting. The memory of Joel walking out the door. You can still hear his fucking bedroom voice in your ear, but the chokehold loosens slightly. You fill the next couple of days with anything and everything to make the time pass faster. Too busy to have the time to check your phone or, worse, text Joel. 

Dave continues to be everything Joel isn’t. Communicative, confirming your plans the morning of, punctual, pulling up precisely on time, and a gentleman greeting you with a compliment and opening the car door for you. You know you've let the demented demons within you get a little too comfortable when the green flags almost give you the ick. Katie’s voice echoes in your ears, and you suck it up.

It turns out Distraction Dave is just as hot as you remember–even without a jealous Joel-shaped ogre stirring your loins from across the room. He exudes a debonair charm with his tailored, quiet luxury brand look. You feel a wave of insecurity lurch in your chest before you realize he’s got you on his arm like you’re a designer accessory. He’s pleased to be seen with you as he guides you to your table in the dimly lit jazz-style lounge. It puts you at ease when he takes the lead in making decisions. 

The cocktails are strong, but you’ve only had a few sips before. It’s Dave who has you feeling warm in the face. He’s flirty but doesn’t push. He doesn’t assume you will get handsy under the table again. In your twisted brain, that only emboldens you to make a move. He’s still talking, but you aren’t really listening, distracted by his neck and lips and how close you are to each other. 

Close enough that it’s no stretch to slide your hand from your lap to his. You drag your hand slowly, up up up. When the corner of his mouth curls into a smirk, you feel your pulse jump. The atmosphere fades, and the noise blurs as your senses lock onto him. Dave’s brow twitches just before his hand covers yours. 

“There she is,” his smile is devilishly handsome with a dark glint in his eyes, “my dirty girl.” His voice, his words, and the heat of his hand sprinkle horny fairy dust over you. “Thought about you all week,” he confesses. 

All I can fuckin’ think about. 

You swallow your intrusive Joel-voiced thought. Flush it away into the sewer. 

“Me?” you ask coyly, batting your lashes. He hums, affirming. His hand squeezes yours, and heat starts to pool between your legs. “What about me?” your eyes have a sparkle in them as you sip your drink. He leans closer to you, nose grazing the soft skin behind your ear, and your eyes flutter shut. 

“Thought about your pretty face,” he tips your chin towards him with his free hand, so close he’s all you can see. “Thought about these lips,” he gently kisses you, retreating before you can escalate the intensity. You pout at the distance when he draws back and smirks at your needy expression. “Thought I might not hear back from you with how distracted you were by your not-ex not-stalking you last time.” 

An ache flares in your heart before you drown it with irritation. Garbled words stick in your throat. Something sharp and defensive tries to slash through, but Dave continues, unbothered before you can get anything out of your mouth. 

“Mostly,” his crisp, rich scent washes over you as he dips into dot kisses up your neck, dissolving your defenses. His warm breath tickles your ear as he husks in a low tone, “I thought about how this greedy throat felt trying to swallow my cock,” his fingers wrap around your neck for emphasis, and he feels your quiet whimper of a response. 

Your cheeks burn. He claims your lips with a hungry kiss that has your moans vibrating in your throat beneath his hand. It’s urgent and needy how your tongues, teeth, and lips collide. When his other hand finally releases yours, and he possessively cups either side of your jaw in his large palms, you’re lost momentarily. Consumed by the sensation of Dave’s tongue sliding against yours and the desire to crawl into his lap and straddle him here in the booth. 

You shove away the thought of Joel that flashes through your mind and double down on your desire for Dave. You bite sharply at his bottom lip, roughly knocking your faces together as you press your body into his, demanding more intensity as you make out.

When you break apart, you feel the crazed expression on your face as you smirk at the man in front of you. “I’ll give you more to think about,” you say more breathlessly than you intended, but the message is still clear. 

You dive back in, licking a hot stripe up his neck and biting at his earlobe. Your hand is back on task, groping for Dave’s thick erection when he stops you again. He tugs your hand away, and you huff. 

Dave laughs, enjoying the frustration on your features as he tucks your hair back behind your ear. He’s rudely composed while you’re on fire. 

“Finish your drink,” he tilts his head towards the antique glass in front of you. You down the rest in an impolite gulp, wiping at the corner of your mouth with the back of your hand. Dave shakes his head softly, a mix of mild disbelief and something headier. “That’s a good girl,” he acquiesces you for following his direction with gusto. 

His praise drips over you like warm honey, easing the confusion you felt at his rejection of your touch. He answers your unspoken question, “We can stay here, dirty girl, but I’d prefer to take you home so I can get my mouth on you this time.” The close quarters in the booth have you nearly nose to nose. A smirk spreads across his face when your lips part at his proposal. 

“Let’s go,” you respond quickly, it’s an easy decision. 

He takes you to his condo nearby. It’s modern, masculine, and decorated but not very revealing of anything more personal about him. He wastes no time leading you to the bedroom, and you’re just as eager to get him into bed. 

But when your impatient hands start tugging at his clothes, he grips you harshly, fingertips digging into the flesh of your upper arms, pinning them to your sides, essentially immobilizing you as he holds you back. He has this look to him like he knows something that you don’t, and that’s enough to make you pause. 

“She’s hungry, hm?” it’s phrased like a question, but you don’t think he’s expecting a real answer. His eyes rove over you before he relaxes his grip. 

“Sit.” 

You obey without a thought, perching on the edge of the perfectly made bed before him. “That’s a good girl,” his voice has a raw edge to it, and the phrase shoots straight to your core. You fight to keep still, overwhelmed with the sudden need to please him and convinced he wants to see how closely you’ll follow his orders. 

Dave’s eyes are full of lust and something darker as he studies you, his presence looming, commanding, and teasing. “Look at you, ready for more.” His tone is mocking but coated with approval that tingles along your spine. He grabs your chin, lifting your face to meet his gaze again, “You liked the risk last time. Coming on my fingers under the table.” 

You nod, and he grants you a flash of a smile. It’s gorgeous but restrained and tampered back down. 

"And you liked being on your knees for me. You liked taking my cock down your throat, didn’t you?” 

You nod again, but his fingers dig into your cheeks slightly, a silent reprimand. His voice drops to a low growl, “Use your words.” Your eyes widen before you blink away the mixture of shock and thrill. 

"Yes,” you get the word out in a quietly, “I liked it," you manage to add a hint of confidence. 

The corner of his mouth twitches. Satisfaction flickers in his eyes. “Of course you did,” he strokes your cheek gently, “you did such a good job taking care of me last time.” His adoration flutters across your skin, spreading heat. “But it’s my turn now, isn’t it?” 

The wicked smirk on his face makes you feel lightheaded as he lowers himself in front of you. Your knees part reflexively to let him move closer. “That’s a good girl. Spread these legs for me,” he continues as he runs his hands along your smooth legs until he’s bunching up the bottom of your dress.

Without wasting a second, his mouth is on you, kissing the soft crease of your thighs and sucking an open mouth kiss over the damp fabric covering your core. His hands anchor your thighs, thumbs caressing your flesh in a mockery of tenderness as his mouth delivers a sinful symphony sucking at your skin, nipping at you in a way that makes your thighs tense beneath his grip and spewing dirty thoughts. 

“So wet for me,” he mutters as he raises in front of you, pulling you to stand so he can strip you bare. Your arms hang submissively by your sides as his hand moves slowly, down your jaw, wrapped around your throat, down your chest, pausing to marvel at the sight of your tits in his palms and how your mouth parts when he kneads them in his hands. 

You wonder if you should feel vulnerable as he proceeds with his inspection, but the precision of his movements keeps you lulled. Dave’s hand slips between your legs and his fingers trace the slick seam of your cunt. You can’t help the whiny groan you respond with as you strain to remain still for him. 

He snickers at your struggle, then makes it worse. “You’re dripping, you know that?” the mocking tone in his voice does something just right to you, “such a needy slut.” Oh. That has your thighs flexing, tightening around his hand as he continues to torture you, parting the lips of your pussy with his fingers, drawing circles too slowly. 

“Have to stop myself from bending you over now and fucking you hard and fast.” Your body floods with need at the idea, dripping around his fingers and causing your hips to jerk.

“Please,” you whisper. You figure it’s polite enough. 

"Ah, ah," he warns, pulling back. "I know you’d like that, dirty girl.” 

Yes! You consider spinning around and giving him your best tempting display, hoping he’ll give in, but he seems to be a step ahead. “Lay down. You’ll get what you want.” 

Dave has a wicked gleam in his eyes as you spread out across the bed for him. He’s deliberate when he gets between your legs, spreading them wide and skipping the teasing kisses this time. He drags his tongue from your entrance to your throbbing clit before his plush lips wrap around you. The suction and pressure are dizzying, and you fill the room with panting and moaning. 

Your hips chase his mouth as he uses his tongue expertly, alternating between lazy circles and sharp flicks. The pleasure builds as he works at you. His technique gradually becomes indelicate, using everything he’s got in a way that makes you feel wild. His nose nudges at your clit as he dips further down. He allows you to keep rolling your hips gently as you rock against his chin before he pulls back. 

"Look at you, already unraveling for me," he says, voice drenched in amusement. "So desperate. She wants it all, hm?"

“Yes,” you whine, and your moans keep flowing as the pressure coils tighter within you. 

“Good,” he asserts, “come for me.” It’s a demand that has you gasping when he punctuates it with his fingers plunging inside of you. If you weren’t so enraptured by the growing pleasure and his voice, you might nitpick the logistics of coming on command–but he gives you no room for debate. 

Persuasively compelling your orgasm to hit as his fingers fuck into you and he sucks your clit into his furnace of a mouth. He doesn’t relent. The intensity of his mouth and fingers overwhelms you through the violent flash of pleasure and remains consistent as you writhe and contract, coming back down to earth. 

He's working you back up before you can fully recover or process his praise. Coaxing you toward another peak, capitalizing on his command of your mind and body. Every flick of his tongue pushes you higher until you’re gripping at the bed to stay in place. 

The ache for release teeters on unbearable as Dave’s groan buzzes through you. You tremble, sticking to the sheets with the sweat of desperation. You’re not cognizant of how you’re pleading with Dave, “Yes, yes, yes!”

But just as you’re about to tip over the edge, he stops, sitting up. 

“Hey!” you’re on edge and disoriented. 

"On your hands and knees," he orders, rougher now. "I’ve had my fill."

Oh shit. 

You scramble to obey, face hot with frustration and need as you arch in presentation for him. His hands spread your cheeks so he can get a good, long look at the sight of your glossy, swollen cunt. 

"That’s good, dirty girl, so eager," he chuckles, lining himself up against your entrance, teasing you deliciously with the slightest stretch. "You want me to fuck you hard, don’t you?"

"Yes," you breathe, the word spilling out before you form a thought.

"That’s what I thought." He pushes inside you in one smooth, hard thrust, and you gasp as he fills you completely, stretching you wide. He pauses only long enough to feel your walls rippling with contractions around the length of him, confirming his prediction. “Yeah, knew this tight little cunt would take me so well.” 

You can only hum mindlessly in response before he sets a rough pace. Gripping firmly at your hips, he keeps you in place as he drives into you, grunting with the force as his hips smack against your ass, adding more lewd noise to the moans and single-syllable words you cry out. 

You’re slipping away in the feeling of him pounding into you from behind. So mindless as your body bounces off of him that, for a split second, your tortured mind drifts to Joel. Joel’s voice and his filthy mouth, how he always gets you to beg for more.  You tense up, eyes wide, hoping you haven’t said his name in your stupor.  

Mercifully, Dave doesn’t seem to react. He continues at the same pace until his hand slides up your spine, gripping the back of your neck as he knocks your legs wider with his, angling you lower and thrusting even deeper inside of you. It’s a sharp, blinding need to come that possesses you. 

“Don’t stop,” you plead between gasping breaths.  

He gives you a slap for that. The sting has your eyes nearly rolling back like a caricature. Dave is launched closer to his own release because of your desperation, your ass jiggling, and his view of his cock disappearing inside of you over and over in time with your moans. 

He gives you exactly what you need as you shift, letting your weight fall into your shoulders so you can snake your hand back to swirl your fingers over your clit with precision, quickly bringing yourself to the peak. You fall apart around him as he grips your hips forcefully, using you as he needs while waves of pleasure debilitate you. 

He doesn’t slow down, pounding into you until his own release verges on crashing into him, and with a low, strained sound, he pulls out. The wet sounds of his fist are drowned out by the groan you both make as you collapse without his support, and he comes across your ass and lower back.

For a moment, neither of you moves, both panting as you come down from the high. Then, with a satisfied hum, he leans down and presses a soft, almost tender kiss to your shoulder. "Good girl," he murmurs, a soothing balm after the intensity. And, when he returns with a warm washcloth to clean you up, you feel glowy and drunk in his bed. 

Dave drives you home, at your request, and walks you to your door like a gentleman. He repeats that he would be happy to see you again.

 And he does. 

You both get what you want out of the arrangement. Neither of you wants a relationship and has an interest in an emotional connection. Dave isn’t always available, but he’s communicative and arranges to pick you up once or twice a week when he’s free. 

He always offers to take you for drinks or dinner at his favorite spots. Some nights, you just ask him to take you straight to his perfectly made bed. The nights you desperately need him to fuck Joel’s voice out of your head. 

It works, for the most part, as the weeks pass. Katie rolls her eyes at you when you claim you prefer your weekly dick appointments to a real relationship, but her judgment fades when you give her a juicy detail or two about the things Dave says to you in bed. You’re grateful to have an easy out to redirect her because you don’t feel strong enough to let her see the festering wound in your chest, still refusing to let go of Joel. 

Most days, it’s dull enough to manage. It’s more of a cruel joke when you hear Joel’s voice in your head first thing upon waking. When your phone buzzes and your heart stutters, you laugh bitterly at yourself for thinking it could be that stubborn asshole. It’s never him. You don’t hear from him. You don’t reach out. You consider blocking him altogether but can’t bring yourself to do it. You don’t see him on any nights out with Katie. 

You bite your tongue when you see Tommy at another karaoke night. You can’t ask about Joel, nobody knew you had been seeing each other, if that’s what you could even call it. You strategically keep yourself on the opposite end of the table from Tommy, hoping to stay out of earshot if he mentions the man haunting your thoughts. 

But as you drink your feelings one after another, they evolve. Anger swirls as you think of texting Joel and calling him out for being a gutless wonder. You pull out your phone and open your messages, rereading the last text from him. 

Joel: Miss me? 

Out of context, the two words trip you up momentarily. Even though you’ve reread them more times than you’d like to admit. And replayed that night more than you can stand. You don’t type anything to him. Your anger still burns in your gut. 

You attempt to engage with your friends, but it’s all for show. You can’t stop glancing towards Tommy, the door, or your phone. Your anger converts into something you can’t escape. 

After one more drink, your vision keeps getting blurry, not exactly from the booze. 

You try to blink back the tears in your waterline, excusing yourself from the group and dashing for the bathroom. Something messy and hurt and possesses you. Destabilizing you entirely as you feel yourself breaking down.

Weaving between bodies until you’re slamming into a stall and collapsing into a wobbly-limbed mess. Ugly sobs rip through your diaphragm, stirring up the most vulnerable fears and a cruel internal voice. Why are you hung up on someone that treated you like shit? You think it’s what you deserve? You can’t even move on? You still can’t stand up for yourself? 

Someone else enters the bathroom, and you try to hold yourself together, but they catch your sobs and ask if you’re alright. You do your best to assure the stranger that you’re okay. 

“If he makes you feel like that, he ain’t worth it, hon’,” she offers before leaving you with your thoughts in the bathroom. 

You know she meant it to be helpful, but it knocks you deeper into your feelings. You’re upset, and for what? Does he even care? Has he actually thought of you even once? He isn’t worth it. He isn’t worth it, and you still can’t stop the tears pathetically streaming down your face. It hurts even worse to know you shouldn’t care. 

You stand up, and your head spins, not just from the emotional agony but from the alcohol. When you not-so-gracefully emerge and see yourself in the mirror, you nearly lock yourself back in the stall and vow to live here now. You can’t return to the table with your eyes that swollen and red and your mascara rubbed away. 

You don’t want to be seen at all. You want to be left in bed to wrestle with your self-esteem and crippling grief over something that never existed. 

You pull out your phone, only dropping it once before sending off your hail Mary, hoping Dave can pick you up. 

Where?

The response is almost instant. You send off the name of the bar and do your best to make yourself look presentable before marching back towards your friends. You give Katie a quick hug from the side, yell-whispering into her ear that Dave is picking you up and you’ll text her tomorrow, before you slip away as quickly as you can manage. Bouncing off the back of a chair on your mission to get outside. 

You lean against the cool brick wall, eyes closed, taking deep breaths of the crisp fall air as you wait for your ride. You can hear the bass from another club across the street and the laughs and shouts from the gaggle of smokers gathered further up the block. You feel syrupy and wrung out, but you aren’t going to be sick. You just need to get home. 

“You alright?” A smooth voice cuts into your thoughts. You jerk your head more dramatically than you intended, taking in Tommy’s concerned brown eyes with a sigh. Of course. 

“Just waiting for my ride,” you do your best to act sober and emotionally stable. Whatever that looks like. 

“I’ll wait with you,” he decides. 

Your shoulders drop. You must not be very convincing. “Really, I’m fine,” you add, leaning your head against the wall. 

“Right,” he steps back but doesn’t leave. He lights a cigarette and allows you the silence as he smokes alongside you. It’s kind, you suppose, not wanting to leave you alone on the street. But he’s the last person you want to be next to right now. Or maybe second to last, you realize when he laughs and steps forward with a wave, drawing your attention to a scene that stops your heart. 

A familiar truck pulls up to the curb in front of you, and you take back your earlier assessment. You feel like you are gonna be sick. Your stomach lurches, and you feel the panic rising in your throat. 

“What are you doing here?” Tommy shouts, “Isn’t it past your bedtime?” 

You squeeze your eyes shut, like maybe if you keep them closed, you’ll blend in with the wall. 

“Just giving a friend a ride,” Joel responds gruffly from inside his truck. Your plan immediately fails. His voice compels you to look at him. 

Some unspoken fucking sibling communication happens between the two of them, and then Joel is staring at you. Unreadable. “You getting in?” he hollers at you. 

“No,” you mumble barely audible. You clear your throat, feeling hoarse, and try again. “I’m waiting for my ride.” 

“I think it’s here, darlin’,” Tommy says as he steps towards you to usher you towards Joel’s truck. You shrug him off, pulling out your phone to check your messages. To see how long it’s been since you told Dave your location. 

You didn’t. 

You texted Joel. 

You’re mortified. No, no, no. This cannot be real. You didn’t text this hot nightmare. There’s no way he would’ve responded. 

He did. 

Joel: Where? 

You’re still shaking your head and trying to wrap your head around the situation. You’re the architect of your own worst nightmare now. A disaster asking to be rescued by the guy who knows exactly how to twist the knife in your gut. You’re spiraling inwards. 

Completely unaware of the exchange between Joel and Tommy. Or how gone, you look to them. 

“Jesus Christ,” Joel mutters at Tommy as he comes round to help you into the truck. “What’d she have?” 

“Hey,” Tommy defends, “I just came outside, and she said she was waitin’ on her ride. I don’t know shit.” 

“Figures,” he’s still grumbling as he shuts the door. You’re in shock as you sit in the cab of Joel’s truck. The only other time you were inside was the night you met. 

“Shit,” you curse at yourself as Joel gets in and pulls away from the curb. 

He doesn’t look at you, doesn’t say anything. Just drives in silence. Through every light, all the way across town. 

“I’m sorry,” you say quietly, “I didn’t mean to text you.” It hangs in the thick silence. You focus so hard on keeping your breathing steady, tamping down the sobs fighting to break through, that you barely register the tears that stream down your face. 

You hear him sigh before his hand rests on your thigh, “What happened?” he croaks like it hurts to speak.  

You’re reeling at that. Hearing him sigh like you’re a hindrance, like your emotions are a burden like it pains him to ask. You don’t have the clarity of mind to filter yourself. 

“Nothing,” you snap, glaring at his hand. “Don’t pretend like you care,” you dig, refusing to look at him, hot tears still rolling down your cheek. He doesn’t ask again. But he doesn’t pull his hand back, and you don’t move it until he’s shifting into park. 

Against your better judgment, you turn to face him. Your gut twists at the sight of him so close to you. After you’ve been left alone with your thoughts for so long. You can’t read his stoic face or his beautiful dark eyes. 

“Thank you,” you murmur, trying not to linger on how insane you must seem. Asking for a ride, snapping at him, and then thanking him. You cringe at yourself, trying to swipe the tears under your eyes away like that’ll make you seem more put together. 

You hop out of the cab and take a second to steady yourself. Joel’s door slams as he rounds the front of the truck to steady you. 

“Don’t,” you mutter. He puts an arm around you as if it’s natural, and you still. 

“Baby,” he says, low and soothing, “let me help.” 

Baby. It stirs the stupid butterflies in your stomach until your brain catches up. 

“No,” you shove him away. It’s weak, but he steps back.

“C’mon,” he urges you, “let’s just get you inside.” 

“No,” you still don’t move. Afraid you’ll fall apart if you try. You need him to leave before you come apart. If he touches you, you know you’ll beg him to fuck your pain away. 

“I can’t do it again.” You muster your courage, but when you look at his face, a soft sob finally breaks through, and your body shudders, gasping for a breath, “Please.”

His face darkens. His arms hang limply at his sides before his fists tighten. The street is quiet in the dark. “You think I’m here to fuck you?” 

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?” it’s a genuine question, but it rings harsh in the night with your uneven breathing. You fumble, dropping your keys when you finally dig them out of your bag, swearing under your breath. He grabs them before you and offers them to you, dropping them into your hand, avoiding your touch. 

You mumble thanks and stalk towards your door. He stays put, watching until you’re inside before he turns to leave. 

……

You get a text from Katie the following morning. 

Katie: Girl, are you alive?

Katie: You wanna tell me why Dave looked an awful lot like Joel?

You: not really. did Tommy say something?

Katie: No?? I was trying to get a glimpse of your man when I saw you getting into Joel’s truck??

You: I texted the wrong number 

Katie: ….

Katie: Uh, unless you’ve got him in your phone as Daddy Joel (real) I don’t think those letters are that close together babe

Katie: WAIT 

Katie: When did you get Joel’s number? He barely talks to anyone! 

Kate: Don’t answer that, I’m coming over and bribing you with a hangover cure bacon egg n’ cheese and you’re telling me everything 

You: and a cold brew? 

Katie: Duh 

…………..

“Fuck,” Joel grumbles when he hears a knock at his door. He knows exactly what this is. He lets Tommy in without a word and tromps back to his kitchen to get another coffee before his interrogation starts. He sits at the table, and levels the darkest “don’t start with me” glare he can, but his idiot brother has always been immune. 

…………….

“What do you mean?” you whine at Katie from your side of the couch. “There’s no use trying to talk to him; he’s emotionally constipated, and he only wants one thing from me.” 

“Maybe there’s more to him,” she suggests vaguely. 

“You were the one telling me to drop him and move on anyway!” you argue like a child. 

“I didn’t know it was him!”

“How does that change anything?” you glare at her. Katie chews at her lip while you devour the last of your breakfast sandwich. It’s cold. You had been so wrapped up in your recollection of the ups and downs of your non-relatioinship with Joel you forgot to finish eating while it was fresh. It feels like a stupid metaphor about how he forgot to take care of yourself when you were drawn into his toxic cycle. 

You thought confessing would reduce the weight on your chest. You weren’t prepared for Katie to add to your delusion. 

“I don’t think it’s really my place to share his… baggage,” she muses. 

“Since when?” you cut her a nasty look. 

“I just think,” she pauses, and you ball up the foil from your sandwich and throw it at her, earning you a glare, “It’s complicated.” 

“Okay, Avril Lavigne,” you mock. “You’re the worst, and this is not helpful! You’ve gotta give me something. Is he married? Am I the mistress? Is he a felon? A drug dealer?” 

“You think I wouldn’t warn you about any of those?” 

“I don’t know. I never thought you’d be taking his side,” you say in a serious tone. 

“I’m not defending him!” She holds up her hands in surrender. “You deserve better than fuckboy behavior from a grown man.” 

“Thanks.” 

“It’s just,” he considers her words as your eyes narrow, “it seemed like it meant more than that. You were practically glowing half the summer.” 

“And a lifeless zombie the rest of the time?” 

“A cute zombie?” she shrugs. “I’m serious, though. Do you think he’d show up to rescue anyone else–no questions asked? That fast?” her words get softer.

“I don’t know,” you mutter, draping yourself miserably along the end of the couch, trying not to think about the times Joel bent you over the armrest. “I don’t know him at all, really.” 

“Do you want to?” 

Yes! A naive part of you shouts, hopeful and bright, blind to the reality of your situation. Oh, no. Definitely not. You dropkick that idea right to the back of your mind. Ignoring the way it screams until it’s muffled by the dejected, logical thoughts. “I can’t risk it,” you respond weakly. 

Katie hears it. The ever-resilient part of you that tries to stay one step ahead cracks and lets the vulnerability out. You refuse to worsen the abandonment wound, but it’s entangled in your heart. 

Katie doesn’t bring it up again. She spends the rest of the day with you, ordering takeout and putting on your favorite movies, like you’re going through a breakup. It helps.

…………

Life lulls back into the same routine. Except now, when you wake up, it’s Joel’s face–not his voice–that haunts you. The 

Instead of Joel’s voice haunting you when you wake up–it’s his face. The way he looked hurt. The way he dropped your keys into your hand

when you begged him not to come inside. It sinks like a stone in your stomach that you carry all day as you go through the motions. It feels hollow, but you persist. Your friends lighten the dark fog. Dave’s praise soothes the ache, and he fucks you so hard you can forget almost forget. 

But Joel lurks in your walls, in your skin, and you swear you see his headlights sweep over your living room, but it’s never his truck. At least not in the two weeks since karaoke night. You’ll never understand the trickery that makes misery slow time, but every day has felt bloated and stretched. 

Sick of feeling sick, the following week, when Joel’s face pops up, the second you open your eyes, you curse him. Spite simmers in your bones. If he had something to say, he had all the time in the world to show up and say it. Channeling the malaise into something darker, you let your anger renew your energy. 

All I can fuckin’ think about MY ASS. 

You’re itching for the distraction by the time you’re getting ready for your date with Dave this evening. You know you’re going to be a menace, and it’ll turn him on, which already has you smirking to yourself. You’re almost ready when you hear a knock at your door. You frown, checking the time. Dave’s usually precisely on time, not early. Close enough, you figure, slinging your bag over your shoulder and heading for the door. 

You swing it open, ready to see Dave, but your jaw drops when you see Joel. He’s caught off guard by your date night look and hesitates as his eyes sweep over your little black dress. Without a thought you slam the door in his face. 

What the fuck?

He knocks again, loudly, as if you weren’t standing on the other side with your mouth gaping like a fish. But the pounding brings you back to reality. 

You open the door and start before he even has a chance. 

“It’s been three weeks since I last saw you, Miller, and that was an accident! I don’t know how long it was before that, but now you’re gonna show up and ruin another date? I don’t fucking think so. You’ve got five minutes. Spit it out. What are you doing here?” 

He blinks dumbly for a moment. Taken aback by your words and still breathless at seeing you all dolled up for your date. You cross your arms, unimpressed so far. That’s somehow worse. The irritated look on your face makes him want to fuck the attitude out of you. He takes a deep breath, trying to refocus before he starts. 

“You’re right,” his voice is gentler than you remember–It’s criminal really, “I shouldn’t have waited.” He pauses and swallows thickly. Is he nervous? That’s new. “I’m not great with words, and I haven’t given you any reason to give me the time of day. I’m here to apologize.” 

“Go on then.” 

“It wasn’t right of me to run from you–”

“Which time?” you won’t let him get through this easily. Not now. He lets that sink in. The vulnerability makes his eyes shine. You can sense the charge in the air like he might just run right now. 

“Every time,” he admits. “Didn’t think you’d let me back in every time, but I couldn’t stop myself from trying. Knew you wanted me too.” You scoff at that. Amused at his approach. You see his shoulders tense before he lets your disapproval roll off of him. “Convinced myself, it was fine, or you’d stop answerin’ the door. Thought it’d be easier–” 

“If I did your dirty work for you?” you accuse sharply. “If it was my responsibility to hold you accountable?” 

“Thought it’d be easier if you hated me, I guess,” he runs his hand over the back of his neck. You stop seeing red and take him in. He smells fresh, like some over-fragranced body wash, his nearly dry hair brushed back. You hate how you feel the urge to soften just at the sight of him. “Figured you’d move on,” he rumbles. 

“Didn’t seem like you wanted me to move on when you crashed my date.” 

“It wasn’t my plan,” he mutters. Right. You raise your eyebrows. “You–you just drive me fuckin’ crazy. I don’t know why. But I can’t get you outta my fuckin’ head.”

That makes you smile. His confession willfully given on your front doorstep. In the daylight, without your body seducing his. You drive him crazy. 

Dave’s car pulls up behind Joel’s truck. “Time’s up,” you say, “as much as I really enjoy this 90s romcom-style confession, and I really do, I’ve got a date, and I don’t like to keep my dates waiting.” 

“Right,” Joel takes you in like he might never see you again, “he something serious?” he nods towards Dave’s car. 

“Why, you planning to ask me out?” you’re not afraid to be direct anymore. Nothing to lose. 

“Thought I’d just start with the apology.” 

“Good.” 

“You accept?” 

You laugh loudly, full-chested. It’s a release, but it ends mockingly. “You’re gonna have to try harder than this to show you really mean it.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he nods, turning to leave. A wicked idea flashes through your mind as you watch him turn and look past him towards Dave, who is watching you intently. 

“Wait,” you call out, and Joel spins immediately. “I’ll consider your apology tonight on one condition.” He waits to hear more, and your grin sends a shiver down his spine. He’s in for something, and if it’s anything close to what he deserves, it’s gonna hurt. 

…………

You slide into your favorite corner booth, in between Dave and Joel. You admire them both in the dim light. You haven’t been able to keep the nefarious smirk off your face since you proposed your idea. Dave was an easy sell, just as you knew he would be, with minimal questions and clear on the role you wanted him to play. You weren’t surprised that Joel agreed, but you’re skeptical that he’ll be able to keep his cool. 

“You’re coming with us,” you told him like it was a command, “you’re gonna watch, and you’re gonna prove to me that you can behave.” 

He seems to keep it together through your date. He’s quiet, only accepting a drink when you tell him not to be weird. You know the jealousy is screaming beneath the surface. He does his best to rein it in, but when Dave taunts him with sly comments or touches you so freely, you catch his jaw tensing and his hands balling into tight fists, but he doesn’t say anything. 

Dave exudes confidence and control. He relishes in the power dynamic and more so, in how you’re so turned on by having an audience. Dave’s eyes are sharp, catching all of Joel’s discomfort when you giggle when you share a story when he touches you, but worst of all, when you touch Dave. “Dirty girl,” Dave murmurs close to your ear, “you want to give your guest a show before we take him home?” 

Your eyes are bright and shining when you smile at him. You give Joel a once over. He doesn’t look like he will flip the table or smash his fist through it. He glowers at Dave but softens for you, swallowing down the humiliation and washing it down with another drink. 

“Yeah,” you turn back to Dave, “he can take it. What do you have in mind?” 

“I think I dropped something under the table,” Dave’s low voice drips down your spine, and excitement buzzes in your core, “You think you can help me out?” You smile wide as the Cheshire cat before sinking beneath the table. It’s cramped and dark, but you’ve never been more grateful to Dave for reserving his favorite secluded corner spot. 

You wiggle a bit brushing against Joel as you situate yourself between Dave’s legs. The table muffles more of the sound, blending their voices into the sound of the music. You can tell Dave is trying to continue a casual conversation with Joel, and you can tell Joel doesn’t respond with many words. You find it easy enough to tune them out altogether as you focus on your mission, opening Dave’s belt and working quickly to tug at his pants until you can free his thick cock. 

Before you can get your mouth on it, Dave cups your jaw and grabs your attention, “Good girl,” he husks, matching your hungry gaze. “This what you want?” he asks as he grips the base of his cock and angles it towards you. You nod, wetting your lips in anticipation. “Do you want him to watch?” he asks, tilting his head towards Joel. 

You smile again, “Yes.” 

“Come closer,” he directs Joel, “she wants you to watch.” Joel shuffles over, scooting down the curved bench until he can see your face looking up at him. 

“Shit, baby,” Joel hisses, shifting to adjust himself. You see the mix of emotions flickering across his face. You can’t help yourself from holding eye contact with Joel as you slide your tongue down Dave’s length. You keep your eyes on him as you begin to bob your head, taking his cock deeper into your mouth. 

Having their eyes on you, has you squirming. The attention and the dynamics between the three of you has your heart in your cunt. The blazing jealousy in Joel’s eyes eggs you on, working sloppily to please Dave. You moan below them. 

“Look at her,” Dave speaks calmly to Joel, only a hint of strain in his voice as he maintains his composure. “You think another woman could enjoy your cock this much? You think you could find a mouth better than this?” 

“No,” Joel grits through clenched teeth. 

“You think you deserve her?” Dave asks like it’s as meaningless as asking about the weather. 

“No,” he grits again, his eyes shut tightly, waiting for something to pass, before he can continue watching you. You see the torment taking hold, lighting a fire within you that spurs you on. You break the eye contact to take Dave’s cock even deeper. He groans approvingly above you. 

“That’s it,” Dave encourages you with his hand gently wrapping around the back of your head, “just like that, fuck.” He keeps watching you, but his next words are for Joel. “Tell her,” he says, drunk with pride and lust, “tell her what a good girl she is. Think she more than deserves to hear it.” You know your cunt is dripping between your legs at the intensity of your lewd behavior and the control Dave wields over the both of you so effortlessly. 

You shift to watch Joel. He tempers the storm of his frustration and arousal to make sure it sounds honest. So you know he means it.

“That’s good, baby,” his voice is hoarse, and he clears his throat before continuing, “Such a good girl.” Your eyes nearly roll back. You didn’t think it could hit any harder than when Dave praises you, but hearing the words from Joel sends you to another plane. You melt before your determination is renewed, and you’re on a mission to make Dave come. He knows what you want, and his hips tilt, rocking into you as you swallow around him eagerly until he’s groaning again and pulsing against your tongue as he comes. 

The men shift, and the three of you adjust and fix yourselves, respectively, as you return to your seat between them. You’re pleased with yourself but overtaken with the need throbbing in your cunt. You don’t miss Joel’s attempts to adjust himself and squash his own aching desire. It makes your lips curl with a hungry smile. 

Dave pulls you towards him. You’re buzzing so tensely with anticipation that just his grip around your waist brings a whiny moan out of you. He chuckles darkly at your wrecked response. “So worked up just from that, aren’t you?” Dave teases. You hum in agreement, letting your senses be overwhelmed by the scent of both men and their warm bodies on either side of you. “Already soaked and ready to be filled with a cock, hm?” 

“Yes,” you agree, closing your eyes and smiling dreamily. 

“Tell me,” Dave murmurs with a dangerous edge. 

“So wet,” you purr in agreement, but he laughs again. You open your eyes, confused. 

“Was asking him,” Dave tilts your chin towards Joel. You thought your idea of having Joel watch would be punishment enough, but you weren’t prepared for how Dave’s filthy mind works a step ahead of yours. You pull Joel’s hand between your legs. “Check for me,” he orders. 

Joel obeys. His fingers are quick to find your soaked underwear, and he easily dips them beneath the fabric into the pool of slick at your fluttering entrance. “Fuck,” you both curse at the sensation. It’s overwhelming, and you jerk at the intensity of being touched where your body wants contact the most. 

“Fuckin’ soaked,” Joel confirms like it’s painful to say it, “needs it bad.” You think the latter might apply to both of you. 

“You think you can make it all the way home, dirty girl?” Dave teases. You nod, but the whiny sound that comes from your throat as Joel removes his hand says otherwise. Dave considers your needs. “He’s only here to watch, hm?” he confirms. You nod mindlessly. “You think he’d make a nice seat for your ride home? Keep that empty hole full for you?” 

“Oh, shit,” you feel your face heat at the idea, “yes.” 

Joel’s more conflicted than he’s ever felt in his life. He was prepared to fight off his jealousy and tame his anger. He wasn’t prepared to watch you give Dave head in public or for how fucking hard he would get watching. But the most difficult thing to reckon with is the humiliation. More specifically, how every comment from either one of you that further salted his wound made his skin boil but also sent jolts of excitement through his nerves. 

“You think you can keep it together?” Dave challenges Joel. 

“Yes.” 

………………

Joel regrets agreeing before you leave the parking lot, but you couldn’t pay him to go back in time and change his answer. He thought the worst of it was over once you finally settled on top of him, sinking painfully slowly down his cock until your ass was flush with his hips, but you can’t stay still. You tense and contract around him, nearly blinding Joel with the heat of your velvety soft walls choking his shaft. You lean forward, trying to get comfortable, and when the car bounces over a speed bump on the way out of the parking lot, you both groan with pleasure and frustration. 

“You feel better?” Dave asks you as he navigates swiftly back to yours. 

“So full,” you state, desperately fighting the urge to beg Joel to grab your hips and fuck you. You weren’t exactly exaggerating the last time you had sex with Joel when you said you missed his “big fat cock.” Every bump on the road has you biting back moans, and you squirm, trying to find a comfortable position. 

“Please,” Joel’s low voice is strained and ragged, “quit moving.” 

You should’ve had the foresight to realize this wasn’t a punishment for Joel. This was just going to weaken your resolve. You know the second he gets his hands on you, it’s useless. You’re his through and through. You thought you were still pissed off enough that he couldn’t get to you, that Dave’s presence would keep you on track. 

Well, you didn’t really think about it at all. You just felt your knees go weak when, and your cunt do a flip when Dave made the suggestion. You need to make a mental note to show him just how much you appreciate his dirty mind when you get back home. 

You can feel Joel’s growl rumbling through his chest and his thighs tensing beneath you. It’s a vicious cycle. Every sound he makes is like a call and response with your body. Your cunt denounces your orders to stay still and pulses rhythmically, trying to take Joel’s cock deeper on it’s own accord. His breath hitches, and you adjust. 

“Baby,” he rasps, sounding wrecked, “I can’t–fuck–can’t do this if you’re gonna be a fuckin’ tease. His hands wrap around your hips, fingers digging harshly into your flesh in an attempt to keep you still, but the pressure makes you cry out softly. 

“Is your chair complaining?” Dave mocks, and Joel’s cock tenses inside of you. 

“I’m about to complain,” you try to snark, but it comes out needy instead. 

“What do you need, dirty girl?” He asks sincerely. You know it’s not long to get home, but you can’t think straight with Joel’s cock so deep inside of you. 

“Fuck, I…” you wiggle again, causing Joel to grunt behind you, and the noise makes your pussy flex, “I can’t,” you trail off, digging your nails into your palms, trying to steady yourself. You feel pathetic right now, unable to put together a sentence and barely able to keep yourself still. 

“Hey,” Dave coos gently, seeing the pained expression on your face. “You decide what you want. Your rules. You want him to touch you?” 

“Mmm,” you groan loudly with want, “please, please, please.” 

Joel doesn’t hesitate, hands searching immediately and yanking you closer as he gropes at your body. The freedom to move gives him power over his urges, more control than either of you expected. His breath is hot against your neck before his voice, gravelly and dark, vibrates just behind your ear, “Missed hearing you beg for me.” 

Your head lolls back against his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut and mouth hanging open. You moan in sync as his hands wrap around your body, slipping under the top and bottom of your dress at the same time. You’re pinned, back against his firm chest, as one hand pinches at your hard nipple and the other taps at your clit. Your body struggles in his strong arms, unable to bow at the overstimulation of his touch. All you can manage is to rut your hips into him. 

“You desperate to come on my cock again, baby?” he goads you. Feeling confident now that he’s free to run his filthy mouth again. Feeling drunk on your needy noises and the way you writhe for him. He carries on teasing you in his Joel-specific way with his words and his fingers. It’s maddening, and you feel lit up, skin tingling as you’re at his mercy. You can only see blinding light, like you’re inside of a star, as you get closer and closer. 

You’re too incapacitated to realize you’ve made it home, that the car has stopped moving, that Dave has turned to watch you. Joel continues to rasp filth into your ear, but your body spasms in response when Dave begins to encourage you. “That’s right,” Dave coaxes you, “take what you need.” 

You do. Falling headfirst into the rush, broken, gasping, moans ringing through the car. The scent of sex swirling in the air. Your tension snaps, flooding with endorphins, and riding through the waves as you’re fully supported by Joel’s arms and body. 

“Fuck,” Joel chokes out, biting down into the curve of your neck to stifle himself. Your cunt still weakly tries to milk his cock as your hips twitch and jerk while you ease back down from your orgasm. You can feel the mess you’ve made. Hot and sopping wet, dripping down Joel’s cock and making you slip against his thighs. You’ve never made such a mess before. 

Joel shudders and tenses beneath you. Lifting you off of him with a familiar grunt. It’s his come leaking out of you. Your head swivels, “that wasn’t for you.” His cocky attitude from minutes earlier is gone; shame washes over him. His curls are no longer tamed like they were when he showed up at your door; one sticks to the sweat on his forehead. He breathes deeply, chest rising and falling, as he mouths a barely audible apology. 

It’s twisted that it stirs your need to comfort him. Fuck it. You figure the whole evening has been wild enough so far. Plus, he can take some of the emotional whiplash this time. You’re tired of being the one with that look on your face. You can see the taunt dancing on Dave’s tongue; you know he’s ready to cut Joel with vicious words, but he holds them, waiting for your lead. 

It’s an unbelievable position to be in. You aren’t used to feeling like you’ve got the upper hand in the power dynamic like this. Not with Joel. Not with two men that radiate dominance like it’s in their DNA. You’d like to savor the moment, but now that you’re not burning a horny fever, you realize how incredibly impractical it is to sit on top of such a large man inside of the car. You’re all gonna end up with neck cramps if you’re in here another minute. 

Despite dying to know what Dave’s holding back, you have more mercy than him or Joel. Joel, who currently can’t look you in the eye as he stays uncomfortably rigid beneath you, well, except for his spent cock. The thought makes you snort weakly, amused at your own sense of humor. 

You contort in Joel’s lap to kiss him softly on the cheek. “Chin up, Joel,” you lilt. “You can make it up to me. We’re not done yet,” you nod towards Dave who smirks darkly, “Unless you’ve changed your mind.” You open the door and hop out, leaving both men to watch you walk to the door. For the first time since you opened your door tonight, you’re alone long enough to let some nerves start to get to you. 

Your dates don’t follow immediately. They take long enough that you start to spin out in your head. Are you insane for this whole idea? Did you really just crawl under a table to Dave in front of Joel? In public? What the fuck are they talking about without you? You’re impatient now, arms crossed, leaning against the door frame, letting the cool night air stream into your living room. 

Then they’re striding towards you. Hungry eyes glinting. Both are intimidatingly gorgeous in their own ways. Dave exudes a slightly detached, effortless, authoritative swagger. It makes you feel special when he gives you his undivided attention. Joel is raw, slightly untethered like he’s always weary from warring with his own demons, but he still wields lethal power. They stalk towards you swiftly, catching your concern as they usher you towards your bedroom with more coordination than you expected. 

The door closes behind you with a soft click, but the tension in the air is heavy, as if someone had slammed it shut. Your room feels smaller with the weight of the situation about to unfold. Dave’s presence behind you makes your pulse quicken; the head of his body and his signature scent surround you. Joel watches, leaning against the door, arms crossed, jaw set, determined restraint weighing on his features. Despite the distance between you, Joel’s presence feels all-consuming. You’re mesmerized by his figure. His arms look even bigger, crossed in front of him, his broad shoulders, his pouty bottom lip, his strong jaw. You feel possessed with the need to …bite him? But, you don’t move. 

Dave’s fingers trace lightly down your spine as you continue to unabashedly ogle Joel, who stiffens at the sight of Dave’s hands slipping the straps of your dress over your shoulders. He’s unreadable, but the something simmering beneath the forced calm is contextually obvious. Joel’s trying to keep his cool; he doesn’t flinch, but he shifts, unable to remain still while he can only watch. 

Katie always referred to the chair in your room you designated as laundry purgatory as the cuck chair. It was only a joke, but if it isn’t perfect now. You glide across the room, tossing the worn-once sweatshirts and denim into the laundry hamper for future you to sort, offering the seat to Joel. It’s comical how his presence seems so out of place on the thrifted antique parlor chair.

You giggle softly as you spin back toward Dave, eager to find out what his depraved mind is plotting for the rest of the night. Dave’s voice is a low hum as he welcomes you into his arms, “Let’s make sure Joel gets a good look at what he’s missing out on, hm?” You nod, letting Dave arrange you as he pleases. “Pay attention,” he orders Joel, “I’m doing you a favor.” You can hear the devious glee lurking beneath Dave’s controlled tone. Joel’s dark eyes spark with something fierce as they flick to Dave before landing back on you. 

You can feel your pulse beating in your neck—and your cunt—as your chest heaves dramatically as Dave’s hands move over you. His touch is both tender and possessive as he makes a show of removing all of your clothes. It’s exaggerated to eat at Joel, but it works you up just the same. Dave pauses, letting his fingers hover over your nipples, brushing them just enough to make you shiver before kneading your soft tits, making you gasp. 

“You see that?” Dave asks over your shoulder, addressing Joel. “She’s so needy already. All worked up again. How are you going to satisfy her if she needs my cock right after you make her come?” 

You see Joel stiffen, gripping the arms of your chair like he might crush them. He’s still holding on to some semblance of composure, but it’s unraveling. You didn’t expect the dynamic between them to hit you straight in the pussy, but you’re dizzy, humming with anticipation. 

“On the bed, greedy girl,” Dave instructs. You follow without question, crawling onto the mattress, your pulse pounding in your ears. Joel’s eyes are glued to you, devouring every inch of your bare skin. It’s impossible for you to look away from him. His struggle as he works so fucking hard not to show how much he wants you, even though it’s written all over his face, is driving you wild. His fingers twitch as if he’s resisting the urge to touch you, to take. 

With your head still turned, locked onto the sight of Joel, your mouth parts in a soft gasp as Dave’s broad hands spread your legs wide, exposing your heated skin to the cool air in the room. You break away from your staring contest to catch the searing heat in Dave’s eyes before he lowers, pausing just before his lips brush against your swollen clit. He doesn’t ease the ache yet, lifting his head and turning to Joel with a smirk. “Come closer. You might learn something,” he challenges smugly. 

You’d roll your eyes at his arrogance, but then he dives in, tongue sliding against your slick cunt with devastating precision. You can only dig your fingers into your sheets as you arch and moan in response to his expert rhythm. With your eyes squeezed shut and your breath coming in uneven, shallow pants, you relax into the sensation coursing through you. 

“Tell him,” Dave hums into your skin, “Tell Joel how good it feels.” 

Your eyes flutter open, meeting Joel’s gaze. The sight of him has you at a loss for words. His face is expressionless, but as always, his eyes betray him. Sharp, hungry, and barely containing the storm inside of him. “So… feels, fuck, feels so good.” 

Joel’s chest rises and falls heavily. Dave’s taunts don’t hurt Joel’s pride, but watching you fall apart for another man twists his gut harshly. You’re so close he could count the beads of sweat forming on your chest. He can taste you and smell you, and it drives him wild. Like a beast, only held back by his hope to have a chance for more. 

Dave chuckles against you, his breath teasing your clit before he wraps his lips around it, sucking hard. The pleasure slams through you, and you cry out, your hips jerking against his mouth. Every nerve ending alight with sensation. You can’t think, only feel.

“She’s so responsive,” Dave gloats.

Joel doesn’t acknowledge the comment. His composure is cracking, the frustration bubbling to the surface. You can see it in the way his jaw clenches, the way his eyes stay glued to the place where Dave’s mouth moves over you with expert ease.

But Dave isn’t done with either of you yet. He pulls back from between your legs, his fingers trailing over your slick skin as he moves to stand. His eyes are alight with that dangerous gleam that makes your heart race. “Let’s show Joel what a dirty girl you are for me.”

You’re eager to obey. “How do you want me?” Your voice is breathy and ragged already. It only crosses your mind now that you’re completely naked while they’re still fully dressed. You sit up, reaching for Dave’s belt before he’s answered you. He takes off his shirt while you work diligently to release his cock. “Look at her, Joel,” Dave taunts, his voice thick with pride and adoration for you. “She just wants to be fucked right.” 

Joel swallows hard. The effort it takes to keep himself in check is wavering. He’s burning with the urge to claim you, to show you the meaning of being fucked right, to make you come so hard you forget Dave’s name. His ears ring, tuning Dave out completely, watching you adjust, lying back on your pillows, welcoming Dave between your legs. 

Joel is transfixed. Watching as Dave positions himself between your legs and slides into you with an agonizingly slow thrust. Distantly, he can hear you moaning loudly; he can hear Dave continuing to goad him about how tight you are and how he gives you what you need or whatever else he thinks matters. All Joel can process is the sight of Dave’s cock disappearing inside of you. Over and over and over again. 

A deep, nauseating wave of embarrassment sinks heavily into Joel’s stomach. You wanted to punish him? Like this? It’s too absurd to be a joke, to be a sick prank. It can’t be some kind of trap. You aren’t cruel like that. Worse. He’s trapped between his anger and arousal. Forced to watch as Dave takes you apart, piece by piece. Tortured by his own cock throbbing painfully in response to everything about you. He looks at your face and feels dismantled by your gaze. Hazy and sweet, you’re staring at him, wet lips parted as you gasp shallowly while Dave keeps up his pace. 

Joel’s composure is slipping, his hands flexing before he gives in, trying to readjust. Hoping to find the slightest relief as he palms himself over his jeans. Your brows wrinkle with pleasure, and a breathy “oh, fuck,” slips out of you. Seeing Joel so turned on just from watching you sends you rolling into a warm, vision-blurring climax. 

“I know,” Dave coos in your ear as you catch your breath, “I know.” He’s still murmuring against your neck, but it’s the silent exchange with Joel that makes you smile lazily. You think he figured it out, the power he has over you with just his expressions. That he’s the one that has you breathless. “Tell her,” Dave growls over you. 

“Good girl,” Joel utters hoarsely, mouth dry. He sees the glow wash over you at his words, and it clicks. Finally. Whatever it is between you affects you just as much. His punishment isn’t watching someone else please you, wondering if they really can make you feel better than he can. Wondering if they’ll treat you better. If you’re better off without Joel at all. No. 

It’s knowing they can’t. Knowing you’ve been just as empty without him as he’s been without you. That it’s been his fault. He’s made it worse. You’re all he can fuckin’ think about, and he’s in your head just the same. 

And right now his punishment is to wait this night out. To be vulnerable and reveal the truth. The desperate desire he has for you. He’s pathetic with it, honestly. He’ll sit here all night, show you how hard you make him, tell you how badly he wants you, describe how perfect you are, anything. It starts to pour out of him as his jealousy and anger recede. “So good, baby, you look beautiful, like a dream,” Joel’s voice is filled with earnest wonder. You beam, your eyelids heavy with lust as Joel continues. “I want you so bad it hurts. You’ve got me losing my fuckin’ mind.” 

“That’s a start,” Dave commends Joel before he shifts, pulling out and flipping you onto your hands and knees. You can hear Joel cursing under his breath as Dave kneads the plush curves of your ass, spreading you wide and showing off your glossy cunt. “You see that? Perfect, right?” He doesn’t wait for Joel to respond, focused on lining himself up and sliding back inside of you as deep as he can. 

Dave groans along with you as he lights up every nerve within you, and your pussy contracts coaxing him deeper. He pauses when his hips meet your ass, filling you to the hilt before he wraps an arm around you to pull your back flush against his chest. “Look at him,” Dave tilts your head to be sure you can take in Joel’s wrecked expression. “You think he deserves to touch himself while I’m fucking you?” Dave asks, shifting his attention back to you, mischief twinkling in his eyes. 

“No,” you reply, resolute. “He doesn’t deserve it. But I want to watch, so he will.” Dave’s grin widens, reveling in your direct nature. He lowers you, and you adjust, resting your cheek on your pillow so you can watch. “Please, Joel, let me see.” Your begging has the exact effect you wanted on Joel when you hear the throaty groan he makes. 

You squirm involuntarily when you finally get a clear view of Joel’s cock, clenching tightly around Dave’s cock. He hums behind you, muttering about how you’re unreal, and he hopes Joel can handle a woman like you as he slowly drags himself almost completely out of you before snapping his hips brutally, slamming back into you. 

You’re bewitched. The head of Joel’s cock glistens, weeping with precome, enticing, and menacing as his fist strokes slowly along his shaft. You’re salivating at the debauched scene and drenching Dave’s cock as he continues to slowly work you back up. The sounds of skin slapping against skin fill the room, mingling with your gasps and moans.

“You see that?” Dave asks you, “Look how desperate he is. You think he wants to come?” 

“Yes,” you reply, “fuck, yes.” 

“Ladies first, though, hm?” Dave muses as he picks up his pace, pushing you closer, finding the perfect angle that makes your mind go blank. The pressure builds inside you, and the louder you get, the more Joel starts to fall apart. Your flip between Joel’s eyes and his fist pumping his cock ravenously. For you. All for you. 

That sends you over the edge, wringing all the pleasure out of you, taking Dave with you as he stills against you, cock pulsing hotly inside of you, as your limbs feel weak and you sink into the mattress. You watch as Joel spills over his knuckles, cursing and grunting as he comes, and it makes you giddy. 

Dave kisses your shoulder tenderly, praising you quietly, just for you, before he gets up and, like clockwork, heads to the bathroom to clean up and get you a warm washcloth. You continue to grin loosely, giggling softly, still amused by how out of place Joel looks. You see the fear flit across his face, and a cold, nasty feeling rips through you as you brace for the worst. Cruel words spring up, ready to protect you, but you hold your tongue. You won’t guilt him into staying. You can’t choose for him. 

It’s a painfully long minute. He doesn’t look at you. You try not to shut down. And then Dave is back, ever the gentleman, with warm washcloths for both of you. He checks in with you softly, “What do you need?”

The words stick in your throat. You sit up and force yourself to get them out. It’s barely above a whisper. “I need to talk to Joel.” He looks at you finally, as if you whispering his name snapped him out of a trance. Dave nods. 

“You want me to stay?” Dave asks. You blink at him curiously. Neither of you do sleepovers. You don’t need a bodyguard. You must have it stamped across your forehead like a holiday package: fragile. 

“No.” 

He takes your word for it, redressing and heading out swiftly. Leaving you alone with Joel. 

Unreadable Joel. With no clues in his eyes or his body language. His head follows you, watching as you cross the room to grab a shirt. You honestly wonder if he could disappear in the half a second your vision is obscured while you pull it over your head, but he’s still there. So, you gather your courage and face him head-on. 

“Can we talk?”

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[the-kr8tor]

hiii katy. i am officially obsessed with cowboy!hobie and i'm pretty sure i've read everything anyone has ever wrote about him at this point. so here i am asking for more. i have no thoughts - brain empty- but him using his lasso... so maybe? pretty please?

(hope you're having a magnificent day/night <3)

I'm glad you like cowboy! Hobie!! Thank you for requesting, I hope you like it ❤️

Pairing: Cowboy! Hobie Brown x fem! reader

Word count: 1.5k

Tags: no use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, cowboy au, wild west au, cw suggestive, cw food mentions, cw blood and injury. FLUFF

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

The smoke from the campfire signals life from just under the cliff edge facing the raging rapids. Pink and orange hues illuminate the vast dusty plains of the west, tumbleweeds pass by with the blowing winds; and the quiet prevails with no one else but Hobie, his trusted horse, and hopefully you waiting under the belching grey smoke.

He fixes his hat on top of his head, piercings glimmering as he smirks triumphantly. Your cat and mouse chase has finally come to an end, all the running and hiding comes to a close when he spots your seated form next to the campfire. The fiery embers illuminate your features, shadows dancing on your pretty face, eyes shining under the destructive fire.

“I was waiting for you.” You flick your eyes over to his form, lips curling into an amused smile. “Your meal's getting cold.”

Hobie chuckles under his breath, the reins under his gloved hand tightens in his hold. “What's for supper?” His horse huffs, hoof kicking dirt and dust.

“Rabbit, specially caught for you. And some beans to remind you of your old country.” You stand up, dusting your pants.

He sucks in his teeth, eyes glancing over to the river nearby. “I don't miss the old country that much.” When his green eyes return over to you, you're sitting on your horse, grinning from ear to ear. His hands slowly reach for his lasso.

“Oh I'm sure you miss something.” You send him a flirty wink. “Me perhaps? Don't pretend you don't like the chase, Hobie.” Your horse neighs in agreement.

He smiles, a ghost of amusement flickering from his jade eyes. “You've had me runnin’ after you for about four months now, love. Sorry for not playin’ along today, just a bit tired is all.” He clicks his tongue to make his horse step closer to yours. His hand wraps around his lasso on his belt.

“Oh poor bounty hunter.” You coo sweetly.

“You know what happens next. You have to come with me, love.”

You feign a tired sigh, your grin says otherwise. “If you tried your luck tonight we would've done just that. Well, after dinner of course, I'm a romantic, you see.”

“I would have said yes but your three grand bounty makes me think twice.” Hobie tamps down a laugh, heat prickling his cheeks. He has found that you've had that effect on him. “You know me, job comes first.”

“That's too bad. Maybe on our next date then!” Rearing your horse, you make her kick the boiling pot, spilling its hot contents and the heated coal all over the ground, startling his poor horse. You leave him in the dust once again.

Hobie bites his lower lip to stop an excited guffaw from escaping. He follows quickly, right after he briefly calms his startled horse.

Wind nips at his cheeks as he jumps over broken down trees, dodges rocks and cliffs, and soon after, he sees your form in the distance. With victory already in his grasp, he takes his lasso, swinging it expertly over his head. Calculating his throw, he aims, lasso flying over head.

“Wha–!” The rope cinches around your torso, wrapping you in its rough hemp, making you fall off your horse harshly on the dusty ground. “Fuck! That hurt, Hobie!” Head throbbing, you hear footsteps running frantically towards you. Instead of meeting with the end of a pistol, you feel his warm hands gently hold you. “Ow. Was that necessary? I thought we had something going on, cowboy.”

Hobie takes his gloves off to examine your bleeding forehead. There's a cut just above your brow, but other than that, you're alright. He sighs in relief, hands still carefully holding you in place. If not for his lasso around you, you'd think your handsome bounty hunter actually cares for you.

“Sure, I'm alright, Hobie, nothing to be worried about.” You sarcastically say, one eye closed as blood ebbs from your cut down to your eyelids. “I just hit my head, no biggie—!” The second you meet with his worried eyes, you clamp down. Hands suddenly clammy, mouth turning dry, and stomach doing somersaults, you haven't seen him this close to you. His eyes are greener than anything you've ever seen, pools of the greenest of clovers; and face chiseled to perfection. He looks wonderous in this light. And surprisingly, he looks like he actually cares. “Shit.” You say under your breath, flirty exterior crumbling around his boots. Your voice wakes Hobie up from his lovestruck gaze.

He clears his throat, palms now hovering above your arms. “You look alright.”

Light lines up with his head, an orange halo appears, bathing him in its glow. “I think I have a concussion.” You swallow down your sudden bashfulness.

His brows furrowed, hand tentatively reaching for your chin to carefully check you again. “Does your head hurt?” His voice is soft, and his hand is warm and softer than you thought despite his callouses. You think it all adds to the mystery of the famous bounty hunter right in front of you.

His touch alone almost made you want to surrender. Almost.

You flutter your lashes, “do all the men back in England look just as good as you?”

Hobie lets out a chuckle. A simple act that has the butterflies in your stomach fly wildly. “Just a handful of us.”

“I'm lucky then.”

Hobie squeezes your chin, for a moment, a comfortable silence hangs in the air. You could sit there forever and just look at him. He feels the same way with his fingers brushing along your bottom lip. The river behind continues to flow, water crashing loudly against the rocky river beds just a jump away from the cliff behind you.

Suddenly, his horse neighs behind him. Popping the bubble of affection around the two of you. Hobie clears his throat, and you look away, flustered. He takes his hand off your chin to help you off your feet wordlessly. Tying the lasso around you, he keeps his hands to himself, or tries to as you watch him with your eyes that are practically shaped like hearts. A trait that is unheard of from a feared outlaw like yourself.

“I have to bring you in.” He sounds like he's trying to convince himself.

Arms bound to your sides, you tilt your head to meet with his downturned eyes. “D’you have to, hm, cowboy?”

Hobie straightens up, lifting your head up with his thumb pressing under your chin. He leans close, stealing the breath from your lungs. “I'm not a lawman. So I don't have to.”

You smile sweetly, “I hear a ‘but’ coming.”

Hobie chuckles deeply. “But three grand is enticin’.”

“More enticing than me?”

Hobie inhales sharply, as if he's trying to restrain himself. From doing what? You suppose you have to find out.

He makes a move to walk away to grab your horse, but you stop him with your hands grabbing at his belt buckle, fingers wrapped around the cold metal as you yank him closer to you. Your arms might be bound, but your hands remain free to your sides.

“Why don't you answer my question, cowboy?”

Hobie's eyes flick over to your hand, heart thudding loudly in his chest as he bracelets his fingers around your wrist. His thumb brushes along your pulse point, feeling your heart sync with his own.

“Because you'd love my answer to that, love. But my debts won't.”

Leaning close, you reach his lips with your own floating dangerously close above it. Briefly, you both stand there, indulging in each other's presence. Feeling like you two are the only people left in the whole world. A life with you flashes in the back of his mind. And your vision fills with only him.

With pursed lips, you slowly let go of his belt buckle. One finger at a time. “Okay then.”

Hobie feels like you've stolen his heart right there and then. Fitting well with an outlaw. Hell, he'd even let you keep it since your heart is in his grasp too.

“‘Okay?’”

You shrug, backing away. “Yeah, okay.”

“Just like that?” His fingers linger on your skin for a second. You're a mystery to him, a mystery he'd like to get to know better.

“Mm-hmm, just like that.”

Hobie blinks, shaking off his doubts. “Stay there.”

“Yep, staying right here, cowboy. Not going anywhere.”

With him walking off towards your horse to hitch it with his own, you waste no time to run off towards the edge of the cliff.

“Shit!” Hobie scrambles to get to you as you jump off. His fingers graze the ropes, and you even have the audacity to wink at him as you plunge down towards the cold water. He yells after you, watching the water with his quickening heartbeat, waiting for you to resurface. “Fuck!” Starting to take off his hat and jacket, he prepares to jump after you. “Hold on!”

Before he could dive, he sees you waving at him as the currents carry you downstream. He sighs in relief, muscles relaxing, chuckling to himself.

“See you later, cowboy!” You yell at him, floating down like you're having the time of your life. Blowing a kiss at him, your eyes stayed on him whilst he watched you go until he's barely a dot in your vision.

He hears your horse gallop away, and he pinches the bridge of his nose. His horse nudges him with his snout, huffing and puffing at him. You've won once again.

“See you later, love.”

[ladykailitha]

The Harrington Pattern Part 12

Hey all, this story will wrap up today, so next week it will go back to just one chapter a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays and when Glitters wraps up, Sundays will go back to one a day as well.

A short chapter for the first of two, because this chapter got too long and needed to be cut down a tad and the next part fits better as a whole.

Eddie and Steve finally kiss and just giving Steve the loving crafting circle he needs.

TAG LIST IS CLOSED

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

****

Steve got to see where the cast ate their meals, where some of the cast stayed in large tents (for those that had traveled from out of state but couldn’t afford a hotel), he got to meet the people who sold the food to the tourists, and the people who cleaned up every night.

It was marvelous.

“So was the two events they were trying to schedule at the same time, the joust and your trick riding?” Steve asked after they left the cleaners.

Eddie grinned. “Close, the sword fighting and my trick riding. I told them that I would happily run over those bastards, but I didn’t think the horses would appreciate it.”

“I bet that got them to change their tune,” Steve said with a laugh.

“It sure did, sweetheart,” Eddie murmured.

Suddenly they found themselves utterly alone.

“Steve–” Eddie began, but Steve placed his fingers on his lips.

“Just wait,” he said softly. “There’s something I want to give you first.”

Eddie blinked at him. “You bought me a present?” he asked. Well technically he said, “Ym brut me apresemnt?” since Steve still had his fingers over his mouth.

Steve laughed and dug it out of his pocket. “It’s been on a little journey, one that nearly gave me a heart attack,” he murmured, “but Jeff was able to get it back to me in time.”

He handed the small pouch over to Eddie.

Eddie took it gingerly and rubbed it between his fingers as he looked at the small thing that Steve had made for him. But as small as the item itself was the giving of it, was massive.

“I remembered you telling me that your dice bag broke,” Steve mumbled, “and I really wanted to thank you for all your help this weekend. I don’t think I could of done it without you.”

Eddie looked up at Steve with glossy eyes. “It’s perfect, Stevie.”

“I plan on giving a bunch to Katie for her to sell while I make the bigger pieces,” Steve continued, “and Robin said that I should give the first one to you, because it’s special. And you deserve something really special, Eds. Because you’re special to me and I–”

Whatever else Steve was going to say got swallowed up by Eddie kissing him firmly on the lips.

He had just grabbed Steve by the face and locked their lips together.

Steve was stocked into stillness, but that didn’t last long as he pulled Eddie close to him and deepened the kiss.

Eddie let out a happy sigh as they parted for breath. “Wow, baby. You kiss like it might be your last.”

“Eh...” Steve said with a half shrug and a lopsided smile, “when you’ve faced more then one ends of the world, it very well could be.”

Eddie chuckled, pressing their heads together. “You’ve got me there, big boy.”

“Mhmm,” Steve said softly. “And I’ve got you here, too.” His arms tightened around Eddie’s waist, drawing them flush against each other.

Eddie swatted at him. “Sap.”

Steve kissed him again. “If I’m a sap, then you’re my tree.”

“That was corny even for you, honey,” he murmured, swatting at him at playfully.

Steve just laughed.

****

The end of the Renaissance Fair had come at last. There had been more then a few bumpy moments, but looking out at all the happy faces being lit up by fireworks, Steve was pleased with the results.

And next year was going to be even better, he had plans for helping the kids have quality costumes like Corroded Coffin boys had.

He might still have to do some altering instead of full on sewing all of the costumes, but he was really looking forward to it.

Katie had told him that he had several people offer her crazy money for the pouch he had accidentally dropped, so he promised her a dozen by the end of next week for her next Fair. In different sizes too.

Eddie had been the one to suggest that. Little coin purses, dice bags, and even handbag sized ones. Eddie was even going to help him find the right materials for it, ones that weren’t as expensive as the little dice bag Steve gave him.

Steve was really looking forward to it.

They hadn’t told the kids yet about their change in relationship. Not yet. They wanted to hold onto it for themselves a little longer.

Though, judging from the look that Will and Mike had sent him, Steve was pretty sure most of them had figured it out anyway.

So what started out with longing gazing into each others’ eyes, ended with holding hands under the cover of darkness as fireworks exploded overhead.

Steve had never been happier and he just knew more happiness was coming his way.

****

Steve was proven right when Claudia called him up the next morning.

“Good morning, Mrs. Henderson,” Steve murmured sleepily.

“I’m sorry, dear,” she said, “did I wake you?”

Steve looked blearily at the clock on the microwave. It was after ten in the morning.

“It’s fine,” he muttered, “I don’t usually sleep this late.”

“While that is certainly true,” Claudia agreed, “you also don’t normally spend three full days at a fair. Too much sun, too much fun, and too little sleep makes for a tired Steve. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks, Mrs. Henderson. Was there something you needed?”

“Oh, yes!” she said brightly. “Are you free this afternoon, from around two to four?”

Steve looked over at his calendar and squinted. “Looks like it, unless the nuggets call for rides to wherever.”

Claudia chuckled. “I think they’re going to be just as tired as you and not want to go anywhere today.”

He laughed. “Yeah, probably.”

“So, me and couple of the other moms have a sewing circle every Sunday,” she explained. “And we were all wondering if you wanted to come and join us. We have punch and little treats and spend two hours working on whatever project we have going on while we fill each other in on what’s happening in our lives.”

“You gossip,” Steve accused, teasingly.

She giggled. “Gossip is such tawdry word.”

“Like your every day language wouldn’t make a sailor blush,” Steve said dryly.

“And how would you know that?” she asked, curiosity coloring her tone.

“Ma’am, your son has the worst language I’ve ever seen on a teenager,” Steve said, “and I’m damn sure he didn’t get it from his dad. Even when he was alive.”

Claudia’s giggle turned into a full on laugh. “All right, you’ve got me there, Steve. So you’ll come?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Fantastic!” she cried. “We meet at Joyce’s this week.”

“This week?” Steve asked, already plotting what to bring as a treat and which project he wanted to start.

“Yes,” Claudia explained. “We rotate every week so that one person isn’t stuck hosting every time. And if you come often enough, we’ll have it your place once in a while, as well.”

Steve frowned appreciatively. “Sounds good. I’ll see you later then.”

Claudia squealed in excitement. “I can’t wait. We’re going to teach you how to use a sewing machine!”

That really piqued Steve’s interest. “Oh yeah?”

“It was Karen Wheeler’s idea,” she explained. “Karen doesn’t sew like the rest of us, but she does cross-stitch while we all chat. Apparently Mike was telling her about all the sewing you did for him and his friends and that it was all by hand.”

Steve nodded, forgetting she couldn’t see him. “Yeah, my parents thought sewing was for girls, so I learned by hand.”

“Make sure to bring some examples of your work,” she said. “I want to blow Olive Peterson’s mind. She’s of the same mind as your parents, even though what she does, the knitting, was originally only for men.”

“I have these pouches I’ve decided to make and sell,” Steve said with a grin, “so I can bring those to work on and bring some of the work I did for the kids to show off.”

“That’s brilliant!” Claudia said. “I see you later!”

Steve said goodbye and hung up.

This just might be the thing he needed.

****

Part 13

Don't quote me on the knitting originally being for men thing, it was something I learned when I read a 12 Dancing Princesses retelling years and years ago. The soldier in the story knitted to keep awake at night.

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@dauntlessdiva @vampire-eddie-brain-rot @lololol-1234 @nightmareglitter @cryptid-system CLOSED

[willalove75]

The Estate | Lady Dimitrescu x Fem!oc Chapter 3

Summary: Your second day at work arrives and you meet a few more of your coworkers.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI

Tags: Slow burn, flirty

I'll add more tags as needed!

Notes: Chapter 3!

Gif source

Once you're showered and dressed you open the door to Emma's room to wake her up. To your surprise, the toddler was already up and out of bed and rummaging through her toy bin.

"Good morning Emma. What are you looking for?"

"Mommy! I want my baby doll. She has to eat breakfast!"

"Oh she does, does she?"

"Yes, she's hungry."

"Alright, let mommy help you so you don't make even more of a mess."

You walk over to her and grab the doll out from the bottom of the bin and hand it to Emma.

"You must be hungry baby! Lets get breakfast!" Emma says.

The little girl saunters out of the bedroom with her doll in her arms and you can't help but giggle.

Once you get into the kitchen you help Emma into her booster seat and you sit the doll on the table next to her.

"Mommy, can baby and I have waffles?"

"Of course, love."

You pop two Eggo waffles into the toaster and make yourself breakfast. Just as you're finishing up the waffles are ready and you put them onto a plate along with a handful of blueberries. Once they're a cooled off enough so Emma won't burn herself, you cut the waffles up into smaller bite-sized pieces and pour a little bit of syrup over them. You grab your coffee and breakfast along with Emma's and set her plate down in front of her.

After every couple of bites Emma brings her fork to her baby doll's lips and "feeds" her breakfast.

"Is it yummy baby?" Emma asks the doll.

You watch your daughter as she chews on her waffle pieces and fruit while she continues to feed the doll with a smile on your face. Sure, she's getting syrup and blueberry mush everywhere and is making a mess - many of the pieces she "fed" her doll ended up on the floor - but you don't care. All you care about is her happiness and right now, she's the happiest kid on the planet.

When you finish eating you pick up the forgotten pieces of food off of the floor and give it a quick wipe with a paper towel. After cleaning it up you take a wet cloth to Emma's face and wipe her clean.

"Mommy! Don't forget to clean baby!" Emma says.

"Of course not!" You say as you wipe the sticky syrup remnants off of the dolls face. "Alright, how about we get dressed?"

"Me and baby?"

"Yes, you and your baby." You say as you put her down onto the floor.

With an excited squeal Emma runs into her bedroom with the doll in her arms and begins to pick out an outfit for her. As she's occupied you pull out an outfit for Emma and lay it out.

When she finally picks out an outfit, you dress the doll and finish getting Emma and yourself ready for the day.

"Come on Em, we gotta go, mommy can't be late for work!" You call out to her.

"Coming mommy!" Emma says.

She runs out of the room with her doll in her arms and meets you by the door. You unlock it and Emma climbs down the stairs on her butt while you follow her.

"Hi Margie!" Emma says.

"Good morning Emma!" Margie says as she leans down and gives Emma a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Good morning Katie."

"Morning Marge!"

"Ready for your second day?"

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess." You say with a smile.

"I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thank you."

You head out the door with Emma and off to your in-laws house once more.

After you drop off Emma you make your way to work.

As you walk inside you see Cassandra behind the bar again. "Good morning." You say with a smile.

Cassandra either blatantly ignores you or doesn't hear you, but you think it's the former as opposed to the latter.

After you put your things down, you get yourself settled at your desk and turn on your computer. The first thing you do is check your emails for anything you may have gotten after you left and then you go over your to-do list.

Once you outline what it is you want to get done for the day you dive right in. The first item on this mornings list is to work on the next marketing campaign. The campaign is to advertise the new Sunday brunches that are starting in the beginning of the summer. It's only mid-April but you want to start running them by mid-May the latest.

The newly familiar sound of heels clicking across the floor echoes through the hall. When you look up you see Alcina walking past your office. She glances over at you and flashes a smile as she takes off her sunglasses, resting them on top of her head.

She stops at your door and you turn to face her. Her outfit is impeccable, just as put together as it was yesterday. A pair of flowy, high-waisted, printed pants with a sash tied neatly around her waist. A black V-neck popover blouse tucked in. To accessorize the look she has a pair of black heels, her black purse hanging in the crook of her elbow, a black blazer with a leather lapel and her signature gold jewelry. Just like yesterday her makeup is also immaculate. Her winged eyeliner is damn near perfect, eyebrows filled in with such precision you wouldn't think they were even touched at first glance, and her lips are painted with a deep crimson.

"Good morning Kathleen." Alcina says.

"Good morning."

"Bela should be here within the hour, her class should be ending soon. Then she can go over the social media accounts with you."

"Sounds good."

"And you received the invitation for the all-hands weekly staff meeting for this morning, yes?"

"Uh," your eyes widen and you turn towards the monitor that has your email up. "I don't think I did." You say as you check the calendar in your email. There's no unaccepted or pending meetings and no email invitations. "I don't see it."

"If you received it, it would be there." She says with a sigh. "My apologies, I will send you the invitation once I get settled."

"Oh sure, no rush. What time is the meeting?"

"It's at 10 o'clock."

You scribble it down into your notebook.

"I will be there. Email invite or not." You say, nodding to the computer screen.

"Excellent."

And with that, Alcina turns on her heels and heads into her office. The scent of her perfume lingers well after she's gone. As hard as you try to ignore it, it's nearly impossible not to focus on the smell as it envelopes you.

Just as 9:30 rolls around a blur of blond hair zooms past your office and down the hall. A couple of minutes later you hear the clicking of heels once more followed by a small knock on your already-open office door.

You turn to see Alcina with a young blond woman. The same one you saw for only a moment yesterday with Cassandra.

"Kathleen, I would like to introduce you to my eldest daughter, Bela."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." You say as you shake her hand. "Bay-la," trying to pronounce it correctly. "not Bella?"

"Yup, exactly." She says with a smile. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Bela will go over the social media accounts and-" a phone ringing down the hall pulls Alcina's attention away. "I'm sorry, I must get that."

"No worries mom, I got it."

"Thank you draga." She says, before placing a light kiss on top of her head and disappearing down the hall.

"Alright, lets get to it."

For the next half-hour Bela goes through all of the social media accounts. She shows you what she's been doing, the photos she's been taking, how she's been taking them and where the best places she's found to take pictures are. The two of you walk around the estate and she shows you her favorite photo locations and where to grab things from if you need props or other things for the pictures.

"If you need a specific bottle and mom doesn't give it to you just ask Cass or any one of the bartenders. They can grab you one. Just let them know its for the socials so they don't bring you out one with a ripped label or something."

"Alright, sounds good."

"So, how are you liking it so far?"

"It's been good, I still have a lot to learn about the estate itself but it's nice to be working again."

"How long were you out of work for?"

"About two years."

You know the next question out of her mouth is going to be "why?" and you brace yourself. Just as she goes to speak her phone rings. Literally saved by the bell.

"Oh damn it's 10 already? The meeting starts in a couple minutes. I gotta grab a few things so I'll see you in there."

"See you soon."

A wave of relief washes over you and you head back into your office and grab your notebook. You follow a few other people into the conference room as you all file in.

Everything in the estate had a rustic look to it and the conference room was no exception. It was a big room with a large, rectangle table in the middle and windows overlooking the vineyard lining the far wall. Opposite the windows sat a window wall, the only barrier between the conference room and the rest of the office. The conference room door was a barn door and when it was open, the grilles lined up perfectly with the ones on the window wall - so satisfying. The other two walls were adorned with reclaimed wood that matched the beams trailing on the ceiling from one end of the room to the other. The wall closest to the door had a massive television screen mounted to it, presumably for presentations and zoom conferences.

You politely smiled at a few people you hadn't met yet and went to find a seat. Alcina, to your surprise, didn't sit at the head of the table but right in the middle of it. Part of you hoped you'd be able to find a seat near one of the ends but of course the only seat that was left open was the one directly in front of your new boss.

The rest of the staff got comfortable in their seats as they all waited for Alcina to finish doing whatever it was she was doing on her laptop. As much as you tried to avoid looking at her, she was right in your line of sight.

She really was beautiful. You did your best to look at anything else but your eyes always wandered back to her. Her perfectly curled hair tucked behind one of her ears, putting her pearl earring on display. The way her reading glasses were perched on her nose somehow made her look both cute and incredibly sexy. Like a hot librarian.

The minute you realize your thought you feel a warm flush across your cheeks and you push it out of your head. She's your boss, you can't be thinking about her that way! As you're chastising yourself in your head her eyes flick up and meet yours. You feel the heat in your face grow and you look away but not before catching her flashing you a small smile.

"I apologize for keeping you all waiting." She announces to the group who falls silent. "There isn't much on the agenda today so this should be quick. Before we begin, I would like to introduce our newest team member, Kathleen." She says, gesturing across the table to you. "She has taken over John's position in marketing and will be with us full time. I would like to not overwhelm our newest staff member so if there are any questions related to her department please continue to send them my way until she is acclimated." Alcina says. You notice her eyes flash to the man sitting at the head of the table on your right and she continues. "Now, there are no major updates, sales are steadily increasing as the weather improves and once the advertisements for our Sunday brunches have been launched I have no doubts that sales will continue to rise."

She talks more about how the business is doing in general, updates on shipments due and what orders need to be placed. She mentions new menu items and what seasonal food and drink options are going to be swapped out soon. Once she's finished with her list she goes around the room to each staff member and asks if they have anything for the meeting. A few of the people say they don't have anything, the man at the head of the table says he has nothing for this meeting, whatever that's supposed to imply. Some of the different departments talk about what's been going on, what they need from others and overall departmental updates. As she goes around the table the man next to you speaks and you feel your heart beginning to beat faster. "What am I supposed to say? Would it look bad if I didn't say anything at my first meeting?" You think. When it comes your turn, Alcina skips over you and goes straight to the man to your left. A breath you didn't realize you were holding is released and you feel your heartbeat beginning to even out.

After about an hour the meeting started it comes to a close and Alcina dismisses everyone. Before you get up you catch her eye.

"I hope it's alright I skipped over you today." She says.

"Yeah, that was totally fine. I was starting to get nervous about what I was going to say anyway since it's only my second day."

"I presumed as much." Was it that obvious that you were starting to panic or is she just that good at reading people? "I don't expect you to have to participate in filling in the team of the happenings in marketing until after next weeks meeting. It should take at the very least that long to get acclimated to everything."

"Thank you." You say with a smile.

Well that was a relief you didn't know you were craving. You were safe this week and next week. The following week is when you'll have to discuss anything new in marketing but you're confident that you'll have everything down pat by then.

As you and Alcina gather your things and stand, the man seated at the head of the table walks up to you.

"Hello there, Chris Redfield, CFO." He says, holding out his hand. "It's wonderful to meet you, Kathleen, was it?" You shake his hand.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you too."

It's not so surprising to find out he's the CFO. The moment he opened his mouth he sounded like a salesman. Like the kind of guy who can get you to buy a cheap piece of shit car and make you feel like you're driving away in a Rolls Royce.

"And where were we lucky enough to snag you from?" He asks.

Alcina's eyes dart over to Chris and they narrow at him.

"Oh, I've had a bit of a gap in my resume the past couple of years." You say, a little embarrassed.

"And now why is that-"

"Christopher." Alcina snaps and both you and Chris look in her direction. Her slate eyes piercing into him. "Wasn't there something you needed to speak with me about? That you didn't mention in the all-hands meeting?"

"As a matter of fact there was. How about we go chat in your office?" He turns to you. "It was wonderful meeting you Kate." He says before sauntering out of the room.

You're able to give Alcina a small smile as a "thank you" before she exits the conference room behind him. It does look as though she gave you the smallest of nods in return.

A few minutes after you got back to your desk you see Alcina briskly walk past and you look over at the clock. The tasting room opens in a few minutes so you figure she's going to do her routine walkthrough before opening. A few minutes later she heads back to her office and you hear the door close.

You dive into your work, getting everything ready for the brunch advertisements. Bouncing between that and a few other things, like A/B testing and running analytics, the day passes rather quickly and it's already time for lunch.

Once you finish up your tasks you pull out your lunch and begin to eat while scrolling mindlessly on your phone.

"What are you eating?!" An excited voice says.

Looking up you see Daniela standing in your doorway.

"Hey Daniela, nothing, just lunch. How was school?"

"It was so boring. What did you bring for lunch?!"

"Just a salad, nothing fancy."

"Oh come on, salads are more boring than school!"

"I won't disagree with you there, kid."

"I thought mom told you to leave her alone." Bela says as she walks up to Daniela.

"I'm not bothering her! She's having lunch!" She says defensively.

"Daniela-"

"What?! I'm not doing anything wrong!"

You sit there awkwardly as the girls begin to bicker. They get louder and louder until Alcina walks up.

"What on earth are you two doing?!" She hisses.

"Daniela was bothering Kathleen aga-"

"I was not!"

"That is enough."

"But mom she was having lunch! I wasn't distracting her from important stuff!" Daniela whines.

"You're such a whiney baby." Bela says.

"Enough, the both of you. Bela, go back to work. You," she looks at Daniela and points to her office. "my office. Now."

Daniela's shoulders drop and she looks at you like a sad puppy.

"See you later Katie."

"Bye Daniela." You say with a smile. That seemed to cheer Daniela up a bit as she walks away.

Alcina turns to you and you're not sure if the ever so faint flush is from embarrassment or from holding in her anger and not screaming at her two daughters.

"Once again, I apologize for their behavior." She says.

"It's okay, really." You say with a smile.

"I will see to it that she stops barging in on you."

"Honestly, I don't mind. Especially if I'm just having lunch. She seems like a good kid. She's just, excitable."

Alcina laughs through her nose and shakes her head.

"The understatement of the century."

The rest of your day flies by after that and before you know it you're packing up and getting ready to go home. You decide to stop by Alcina's office again before you head out.

It was only after you knocked on the door was when you heard two voices behind it. "Oh shit." You think to yourself. The door opens and Chris is standing in front of you.

"Would ya look at that, the new girl! Kim, right?"

"It's Katie, actually." You say.

"Oh that's right, my apologies Kate."

You adjust the strap of your bag on your left shoulder and Chris looks at your hand.

"No ring, so you're not married?"

"Uh-"

"Christopher." Alcina hisses. He steps aside and you see the glare she's shooting him. If she were to look at you like that you would probably cry without her ever having to speak a single word.

"Yeah you're right Alci, none of my business." He says with a charming smile. She must be used to his antics because the glare she's sending his way only intensifies when he calls her "Alci."

"I am so sorry for interrupting, I didn't know anyone was in here with you. I'll go-"

"You weren't interrupting at all, Kathleen. Chris was just leaving." She says, shooting Chris a look.

"I should probably get goin' myself. The bachelor pad ain't gonna clean itself." Alcina scrunches her nose for a moment as if she smelled bad fish. "Night boss, Kate."

Chris disappears down the hall and Alcina looks to you.

"I apologize for his behavior, he can be quite insufferable at times." She says, rubbing small circles on her temples. "It also feels as if I've been apologizing quite often since your arrival."

"Honestly, it's really okay."

"If at any point you are uncomfortable, with anything, even if it has to do with my daughters, please don't hesitate to speak with me."

"I won't, I promise."

"Good. I presume you're leaving for the day?"

"Yeah, just wanted to see if you needed anything before I left."

Alcina smiles at you and shakes her head.

"No, there is nothing I need from you. Have a wonderful night, Kathleen."

"You too."

The two of you exchange smiles and you head out for the day.

Alcina leans her elbows on her desk and closes her eyes and continues to rub her temples.

"You good there boss?"

She opens her eyes and slowly looks up at Chris.

"Aside from the impending migraine you've bestowed upon me, I am fine."

"All I'm saying is that that property might not be the best invest-"

"I am through with speaking about this. My decision has been made and it is final. When the property is ready to be listed I will be buying it."

"You don't even need it, you just want it so Winters can't get it-"

"Christopher, I understand you are my CFO and that you have good intentions but I purchased the land we are sitting on, I built this winery, this vineyard, this entire estate without supervision. I don't need it now."

"What do you plan on doing with another 30 acres of property anyway? Property that's a mile away no less?"

"I haven't decided."

Knowing he's fighting a losing battle, Chris sighs and shakes his head.

"Goodnight boss."

"Goodnight Christopher."

Alcina continues to work in her office as the tasting room slowly empties. When it closes at 7, Alcina is still at her desk.

"Alright mom, registers are all cashed out and everything is closed down." Cassandra says as she walks into her mothers office.

"Wonderful, thank you draga."

"I'm starving, can we get Chick-fil-a?" Daniela says, collapsing onto the couch in her mothers office.

"Oh, that sounds good. I can go for a milkshake right now. Mom, want anything?"

"From that greasy place? No thank you."

"Do you not like that we go there because they don't like gay people?" Daniela asks.

Alcina scoffs.

"No, I do not care what a business such as that thinks of my lifestyle. I refuse to eat there because it is disgusting." She says, not looking up from her work.

"Are you coming home anytime soon?" Cassandra asks.

"I'll be done soon, draga."

"So you'll be home by midnight. Sounds about right. Come on Dani, lets go eat."

"Cassandra, watch that tone of yours." Her eyes shift to her middle child.

"Why am I the only one you get mad at?"

"That's not true Cass, she got mad at me yesterday and today!"

"What did you do?"

"She was interrupting Kathleen during work, again." Alcina says, eyeing her youngest.

"Who?"

"Katie! The pretty one." Daniela says.

"Oh, the new girl."

"Daniela will you stop saying that?" Alcina says.

"Why? You don't think she's pretty?" Daniela asks.

"No, that's not why I said that-"

"So you do think she's pretty!"

"Daniela Dimitrescu that is enough. You cannot comment on peoples appearances in the workplace. It is unprofessional." Alcina says.

"But you do think she's pretty?"

"Enough. Go eat your greasy fast-food and go home so I can finish what I'm doing and maybe I will be home at a reasonable hour."

"You missed that by about two hours there, mom." Cassandra says.

"Goodbye girls."

"Bye mamă." Daniela says wrapping her arms around her mothers neck and kissing her on the cheek.

"See ya."

"Get home safe, I will be there soon." She says as the girls walk out of her office.

"Why are you so obsessed with how pretty the new girl is?" Cassandra asks.

"Have you not seen her?! She's so pretty!" Daniela says as her voice fades away.

Alcina sighs and gets back to work. Thoughts of you cross her mind. Of course you're pretty - you're beautiful if Alcina was being honest with herself. But you also fascinated her, piqued her curiosity.

She wanted to know why you had such a long gap in your resume. Alcina tells herself its for purely professional reasons but she is also curious outside of a professional manner. It also struck her as odd the way you reacted when Chris said you weren't married. It brought her back to yesterday when she noticed what could be a wedding band on your right ring finger and when you were giving her your emergency contact information. You went to say, what was it? Jack? Jake? Something like that, but stopped yourself. A sadness filled your eyes but was gone in an instant. A sadness Alcina was all too familiar with. But if it was because you were divorced or widowed, she didn't know. She's seen that look for both reasons.

Alcina remembers the blush that dusted your cheeks when you made eye contact before the meeting started. She could have sworn that you were blushing before she looked at you but she wasn't sure. She cursed herself for thinking how pretty you looked as the flush deepened.

Just then Alcina's phone dinged, a text message came through. It was from Alex, the woman that Alcina had been casually seeing.

8 tonight?

Was all the text read. Alcina looked at her watch and saw that it was 7:15. She replied:

The usual place?

Yes

Meet you there.

She knew she should have said no and continued working but between the stress of the week and the extra grief from Chris today, Alcina needed to relieve some of her tension. That's really at that this relationship was. A way for both women to relieve tension without having to sleep with random people.

She drives to the hotel and heads up to the room Alex texted her. As soon as she walks in the rest of her night becomes a blur of limbs tangling, touches, tongues, scratches, whimpers, moans and orgasms - multiple orgasms.

By 9:30 Alcina is pulling into the driveway of her home.

"Reasonable hour my ass." Cassandra says as Alcina walks in.

"Cassandra, you know better than to use that language in my house." Alcina says as she puts her purse and keys away.

"Were you at the office all night?" Daniela asks.

"No, but I was there late. I went out afterwards for a bit."

"Where?"

"The jazz club." She lied.

"On a Thursday night?" Cassandra questioned.

"It's late, you girls should be getting ready for bed, not watching television."

Cassandra groans and Alcina begins to walk up the stairs.

"Turn it off, girls."

The tv is shut off and Cassandra and Daniela head upstairs to get ready for bed.

After finishing up her nightly routine Alcina climbs into bed. For the first time in what felt like weeks she's actually satisfied and drifts off into a deep sleep.

[king-of-the-ghosts]

"With great power... comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later,"

Hello, my name is Nico di Angelo, my boyfriend convinced me to get this app.

Heres some info about me I guess.

Name: Nico di Angelo.

Age: Fifteen.

Godly parent: Hades, my father.

( @yes-im-hades ☠️)

Mortal parent: That is none of your business. (Maria di Angelo)

Significant other: Will Solace, my lovely boyfriend. (<3)

( @sunshine-and-socialanxiety 💛☀️)

Siblings: Hazel Levesque, Elizabeth Morta, Naomi, and... Bianca, my lovely sisters.

( @gemstonequeen 💎)

( @thathadeschild 💀)

( @random-daughter-of-hades 🕳)

( @not-so-dead-sister 🖤)

My 'bestie': Luna Dark

(@thementallyillapollochild 🌙)

Pronouns: He/him

Other:

@fire-boy-official Leo Valdez. 🔥

@wise-girltm Annabeth Chase. 🦉

@jason-the-kabob Jason Grace. ⚡️

@goat-boy-underwood Grover Underwood. 🌳

@i-can-see-stars-again Zoe Nightshade. ⭐️

@miss-beauty-queen Piper McLean. 🗡

@silenasblogies Silena Beauregard. 🩷

@yes-im-aphrodite Aphrodite. ❤️

@by-the-decree-of-my-crown Zeus. 🖕

@reyna-dontcallmerara Reyna Ramírez-Arellano. 👑

@my-sisters-and-the-moon Artemis. 🌑

@best-country-singer Naomi Solace. 🎤

@official-drakon-slayer Clarisse La Rue. ⚔️

@bestdemigodarcherever Kayla Knowles. 🌞

@kit-kat-flowers Katie Gardener. 🌱

@totally-percy-jackson Percy Jackson. 🏄‍♂️

@amusing-little-things Amphitrite Nereidia. 👸

@fucking-alone-for-an-eternity Calypso. 🐚

(Luna forced me to add the emojis)

That is all you need to know.

(thank you @zourrysecrets for the headers and @animatedglittergraphics-n-more for the divider)

Ooc

HELLO this blog is run by @/spacegirlisawalunareclipes, I also run @/thementallyunwellapollochild !!!

This is mostly for self indulgent reasons, I wanted a nico rp blog that would interact with Luna how I wanted the two to interact, so I made this

Also yes I headcannon nico types super properly and shit

SO HERES THE TAGS I WILL USE!!

ic tag: nico is speaking

ooc tag: nico is silent

(These dividers are from @k1ssyoursister)

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Sky Full of Stars - Chapter Fourteen.

Thank you as always to my little audience for your dedication to the story. ILY <3

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen

Tag list - In the comments

Words - 3,404

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

“She’s fucking what?” Jade blurted, Sunni beckoning over her shoulder, their security guys moving swiftly down the hallway. 

“I just checked her ticket and it’s legit, but I’m not comfortable with the idea of her remaining. Following you across a fucking ocean equates to stalking in my mind, and I’m not prepared to let her come near any of you. What happened with Dimebag, that still plays in my head all the fucking time. I know it’s different and everyone was searched before they even stepped foot in at the doors, and I might be acting over zealously, but I just can’t risk your safety. Besides that, she’s got a bloody audacity!” 

Indeed, the murder of the much beloved guitarist for Pantera by a deranged fan had stayed with everybody, the girls especially as Dime had been a treasured friend. After touring with his band for the best part of a year in their late teens, they’d bonded with him, Dime often referring to them as his little sisters. Jade had counted him as one of her closest friends, beyond heartbroken when he’d been fatally gunned down while performing live onstage in two thousand and four.  

“Okay, yep, you’re right,” Jade began, taking a deep breath as her pragmatism kicked in. “How do we proceed?” 

“Security will escort her from the building, and I’ll have the promotions company refund her. For publicity’s sake, it paints us and our team in the better light, ejecting her but still prepared to reimburse the two hundred quid she paid out.”  

And that was why Sunni was so damned good at his job; he covered all bases. Working as a roadie for much of his life, he knew the ins and outs of the tour machine. No cog moved without him powering it. He was brilliant.  

“You guys wait here.” He walked away back to the room, three security guys in tow, Jade shaking her head, her eyes darkening. 

“You good, Skip?” Jen asked, rubbing her arm affectionately. 

“I want to go and kick her teeth down her fucking throat for the sheer nerve of her, but other than that, great!” Cracking her knuckles, she looked truly thunderous for a few moments, taking a few breaths to bring herself back to a place of calm. “I won’t even give her the satisfaction of a reaction, though.” 

“You have too much dignity for that, baby,” Jess spoke kindly, wrapping her in a big hug. The sounds of shouting became audible then, Serena protesting being asked to leave, Sunni emphatically stating that she was not welcome and that she should have known she wouldn’t be, the girl herself appearing with a security guard holding each of her arms a second later as she fought against their grasp. 

“How do you think I got out here, Jade? Adrien paid for me to come here! He’s meeting up with me later while you’ll be busy getting ready for the show, you know! Ask him! Get him to tell you the truth! It’s me who he’s in love with now, not you!”  

Jade closed her eyes, her jaw tightening a fraction, shaking her head before she laughed. One other person there didn’t find it quite as funny, though. 

“Yo! Back your shit up, girl!” Katie yelled, her hostility rising sharply. “Don’t think I won’t come down there and fucking crack you, you lying bitch!” 

“Babe, woah,” Charlotte soothed, locking her arms around her waist, not trusting she wasn’t about to go flying in the direction of the woman being escorted out. “Don’t even engage, she’s fucking nuts. We all know that now.”  

Sunni appeared again, puffing his cheeks. “Alright, we’re good to go now, or do you need a minute, boss?” He then looked to Katie. “If you get yourself arrested again, I swear to god, I will never fucking forgive you.”  

His joke cut the tension, the six of them sharing laughter, Katie giving him a little salute before they headed into the meet and greet room. They made a point to apologise to the other fans waiting, everyone stating they had nothing to be sorry for, a few speaking up that they’d seen her picture in the press and wondered how the hell she’d actually gotten that far. 

While the meet and greet went ahead, Sunni took it upon himself to do a little further investigation, calling the promotions company and having the meet and greet sales lists checked to make sure she hadn’t purchased anything further at any point throughout the tour. He was shocked to find out she had. One in London, one in Berlin and another for Hamburg.  

“Void the tickets and refund her. She’s a security risk who I want nowhere near my band.” he spoke.  His next port of call was to head around to the rear of the arena, into the compound where the busses and lorries were all parked up, feeling Adrien should know sooner rather than later. 

“Dude, you’re fucking kidding me,” he spoke, staring in sheer disbelief. “The crazy bitch actually got on a plane? What?” 

“I know,” Sunni sighed, widening his eyes, opening the water bottle he’d grabbed from one of the huge chillers on the tour rider on his way out. “You guys might want to think about taking security with you if you’re heading out anywhere alone along the tour. I have to reason that this girl isn’t in her right mind. She caused a scene while our guys were removing her, came out with a load of nonsense.” 

“Is Jade okay?”  

“Pissed off, understandably so, but she didn’t dignify her ranting with a reaction. Well, she laughed.” He then snorted a chuckle. “Katie threatened to crack her one, though.” 

Of course, she had. “Should’ve let her,” he snorted, “but no, in seriousness, thanks for handling it. I’ll talk to Jade about the security thing, see what she thinks.”  

“I wouldn’t even chance anything, mate,” Sunni spoke, “she bought meet and greet packages for London, Berlin and Hamburg, so she won’t find out her tickets are void until she gets there and they’re shown as such when scanned. Either that or she notices the money going back into her account. Either way, I expect her to continue following the tour.”  

Adrien had to wonder just how much disposable cash this young woman had, to be able to shell out eight hundred pounds for meet and greets alone, let alone travel expenses. Later that night, while he, Jade and Jen sat up in the lounge area on the way to Birmingham for the next show, they found out. 

“She’s a fucking trust fund kid, look at this!” Jen spoke, spinning her laptop around. “Parents are like, super-wealthy upper east side types. Check it. Her dad is a finance tycoon.” 

Jade studied the page that offered information about Johnathan Reid, his wife Marilyn, and their four children, Serena, Kelly, Johnathan Jnr and Nate. “Probably too immersed in their own bullshit high society life to notice what their daughter is up to. But that in itself is strange, being that those families are all about their reputation.”  

“Unless they’re oblivious?” Adrien offered. “They might not even know about it.”  

“Yeah, well I think that they should,” Jen pointing to the screen on the laptop. “That’s the email address for his financial firm. If she continues stalking you, it might be worth reaching out, I dunno.” 

“The words restraining order come to mind first,” he spoke, Jen shaking her head, her forehead creasing. 

“You’re right, yeah. Of course, they would. Don’t mind me, I’m tired.” 

He reached for her, squeezing her shoulder. “You’re fine. I know you’re only trying to help.” She ambled off to bed shortly after, leaving her friends to discuss the issue in more detail.  

“I feel like security is a good idea, but only if she becomes threatening. Not that either of us couldn’t give her a smacking if she did actually try anything. I suppose that isn’t the point, though. If she’s deranged enough to honestly believe she’s having an affair with you, and show up on tour trying to convince me of this, then she’s deranged enough to be dangerous.” Dragging her fingers through her hair, she visibly stiffened, taking a deep breath she exhaled slowly. “We don’t need this hassle. Fucking batshit bitch. She has good taste if nothing else, though.”  

“Well, I didn’t wanna say anything,” he winked, Jade laughing softly as she rested her head against his shoulder, Adrien wrapping an arm around her. “Who knows? Maybe Sunni’s rapid actions in preventing her from entering any of the other venues might put her off and send her home.”  

They could only hope so.  

“Do you wanna go to bed and let me take your mind off it?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.  

Leaning in close, she ghosted his lips, moving to plant a kiss upon the side of his neck. “Sounds perfect, Bug.”  

As soon as they got into the bedroom, the way he looked down at her revealed that it was much more than mere distraction, softly resting his forehead to hers as he stroked her neck. He knew she would never, ever doubt his fidelity for a second, but the need to truly show her that drove his impulses, the desire to be with her, to connect with love and heat, to state it emphatically that he would never be anyone else’s.  

He belonged to one woman alone.  

The intensity of that message rushed over her skin in every touch as he undressed her, every kiss as she was laid to the bed, everywhere his hands and mouth slid in utter worship of her.  

Their bodies rose and fell against each other in the most perfect unison, arms locked around one another, hands moving to stroke while their mouths connected in the most heated, erotic, but loving kisses imaginable. Just the touch, the feel of him against her was solace incomparable. After a day where she’d burned with fury over the actions of someone so delusional, to have her husband right there was truly all she needed. 

His mouth began to inch lower, trailing her throat, tongue dragging slowly over the rise and fall of her collarbones as his hand slipped between her legs. She trembled at feeling his fingers brush over her clit, opening her like a flower as they pushed inside her thereafter. Her arousal bathed them immediately, Adrien biting her nipple in response, her soft moan making his cock throb. It made it even sexier, the fact that the thin divide between their sleeping space and Jen’s required them to keep their volume to a minimum. 

Curling his fingers, he began to stroke at her skilfully, his mouth moving over her skin hungrily as her body undulated against his, arousal soaring through her. He began to inch his mouth downwards slowly, the smell of her sex utterly intoxicating to him. Their longing was sated sweetly, divine pleasures coursing through them gently as they revelled in one another, her hands running through his hair, loving that he’d kept it longer for a while. Her husband was, after all, the king of the ‘grow it, get bored/land a movie that required it shorter, cut it all off’ routine. 

Her breath shuddered in her throat as she felt him begin to lay wet heat at her clit, pleasure blooming as her back arched, his hands grasping at her hips to hold her still. Moving his mouth, he began to kiss her thighs, lips travelling over her skin, wanting to kiss and taste every last inch of her. His fingers moved back to pleasuring her, circling her clit and dipping inside her velvety wetness.   

He explored every last inch of her pussy, fingertips swirling and stroking, mouth now running up her sides and making her shudder and squeak when his tongue tickled her ribcage.   

“Adrien… I… need… can we,” she panted a little incoherently between kisses after his mouth had worked its way back to hers. 

“This?” he questioned, after plunging every last inch of his cock with her. He got his answer by the noise she made, a soft gasp at suddenly being stretched so wide. “I love you so much,” he whispered, kissing her softly, “it’s always been you, and it’ll only ever be you.” 

Her fingers stroked his face as she stared up at him, eyes locked on his as she whispered declarations of love in return, her head then tipping back as he covered her breasts in kisses, licks and nibbles.   

The connection, the chemistry between them was beyond intense, every single cell within them alight with love and lust for one another. Panting quietly, their hands travelled all over one another, intense stares shared and even hotter kisses following. The heat of it skittered over her bones, melded deep within her, nails carving paths of pleasure into his back as he rutted her deeply.  

It was ardent, passionate, erotic bliss they tumbled into as their bodies rolled around on the bed together, the culmination being Jade on top of him, riding him hard.   

Their undoing came in all-consuming wave after wave of fervent tingles, those little sparks of pleasure erupting into the utter beatific release, both feeling lightheaded and warm, floating in elation in the aftermath. They kissed and stroked one another, Jade lying flat against his chest as she felt his cock twitching inside her.  

“You two aren’t nearly as quiet as you think you are, you know.” 

Jen’s voice through the divide had them both laughing softly. “Sorry,” Jade called, her giggles escalating. 

“Don’t be. I cracked one out listening to ya!” Typical Jen humour, her words sending them into absolute fits.  

As the tour moved through the UK, up to Scotland to play Glasgow and Aberdeen before finishing for two nights in London, the security stepped up around the band at Sunni’s behest was immense. They continued to find themselves with a tail, Serena arriving outside of every venue, trying to talk their own security into allowing her entrance after being rejected at the ones where she had VIP packages booked. Further scenes followed. More online nonsense abounded, Jade finding that she was also blogging it all to a Facebook page.  

“You shouldn’t pay it any mind, Burtie,” Adrien advised her as they sat backstage at the first of the London shows, watching as she scrolled and shook her head. “I don’t, when people are making something of nothing with you.” 

Indeed, the press had come down hard on her too in the past, accusing her of having something extra-marital with men who were solely her friends. Jade was very much a hand holder with the people she loved, and that was something Adrien knew well about her. Seeing photographs of her walking hand in hand with her good friend Anthony Bourdain while they’d been out in the West Village a while ago hadn’t bothered him at all, nor when she’d been photographed the previous summer holding hands with, and then being piggybacked around a festival in Germany by Randy Blythe, frontman for the band Lamb of God, another good friends of hers.  

If she loved you, she grabbed your hand. Funnily, nobody batted an eyelid when the friends were female. At the same festival, she’d greeted her friend Shirley Manson, frontwoman for the band Garbage with a big, lingering kiss on the lips, the moment captured by a photographer. Not one comment had come forth, but because Randy had carried her on his back after she’d twisted her knee, that meant she must’ve been fucking him.  

“I know, I know,” she cringed, “guess I’m torturing myself with it a little. Her bullshit irritates me, but it’s like a car crash I can’t look away from. Even though she’s being a monumental pain in following us, too, I feel worried for her. She isn’t well, and she doesn’t seem to have anyone keeping that in check.” 

He was proud of the woman she’d worked hard to become, no longer internalising things, actually getting her inner feelings off her chest. It was also testament to who Jade was as a person; she could have slapped the girl for spreading lies about him, but equally, her heart went out to her in the fact that she truly wasn’t well. “It isn’t your job to do that, though. You aren’t responsible for her.”  

He made a valid point.  

Rather than focus on the stalker issue, Jade instead turned to getting herself ready to walk out on stage at the biggest show of the tour so far, the O2 arena fully sold out, a crowd of twenty thousand people waiting for her. Of course, she’d played to bigger audiences before in her career, but it was special to her, the little girl from Tottenham coming back to play her home crowd. It was a big, big deal.  

With a large, black curtain that would fall at the beginning of the performance shielding the stage, she watched as her girls all took their places, turning to give Adrien a big kiss before she climbed the stage steps, waiting. The crowd cheered loudly as the lights dimmed, that noise reaching fever pitch as the sound of an air raid siren wailed through the venue, the deafening noise sampled on the intro to one of their most popular songs, The Battle Within.  

She could feel the nerves coiling in her belly, breathing deeply to centre herself. Sunni’s mention of her darling friend Dimebag the week before brought his words back to her in that moment, knowing that if he could be there, he’d likely speak them again. On that tour where she’d first met him, he’d often offer a little rough-cut wisdom to help with her anxiousness.  

“All those people out there, darlin’, one day that’ll be your kingdom. One day, you’re gonna be queen of it all, so go do what queens do. Fuckin’ rule, baby. Fuckin’ rule.” 

Looking up, she thumbed a tear from her eye, holding a clasped fist to her chest. “I will, mate.” And no rumour mills or stalkers could take that away from her, walking out onto the stage to the thunder of guitars, the bounding beat backed by Jen and Jess, the curtain falling to reveal a crowd in complete and utter frenzy. They blew the roof off the O2 that night, the show going down a storm, Serena the furthest thing from anyone’s mind as the girls took a bow at the end, even if physically, she wasn’t far away at all.  

“You have to let me around there,” she spoke, attempting to gain access to the large compound at the rear of the arena, the security guys shaking their heads. “My boyfriend is back there, for heaven’s sake!” 

“We’ve been made aware of ya, love. Give it a rest, eh?” One spoke, shaking his head. 

“D’ya mean Mrs. Brody’s husband? Nah, love. He ain’t your boyfriend, fucking nutty cow,” the other laughed. “Go on, hop it. Before I call the ole’ bill.”  

“How dare you speak to me like that, how dare you! Just you wait until I tell Adrien, he asked me to meet him here! Let me in!” 

“Darlin’, you’ve got ten seconds to get the fuck out of my face, clear?” Oh no. They had no time for her shenanigans. Serena made noises of agitation, storming away, pulling out her phone to call for a taxi so she could get herself back to the small B&B she was staying in, all ready to fly to Germany the following morning and continue her pursuit.  

After securing her ride, she began to scroll through her phone, through the hundreds of images of the man her damaged mind had made her believe she was in a relationship with. “I know you want to see me, but it’s her whose getting in our way. I know. I love you. I know you want me just as much as I want you.”  

The man himself would have severely disagreed, as he lifted his wife up to clutch on around him, telling her how proud he was before they fell into kisses. In the madness of the backstage area, time stood still for them, just as it always did. Whatever craziness whirled around them, when it was the two of them together, it always stood still.  

[the-river-runs]

Back at it again with a post from my best friend! This one is another edit she's made!

Once again, I have been asked to post this to my tumblr for Fandom, and all content was edited by her.

Here's her Instagram!

Fandom has also asked me to relay this message:

"Hello everyone tagged here! (Hi again Naff <3)

To show my love and appreciation for the DCA content creator community, I dedicate this edit to all of you. Whenever if you draw art, write fanfiction, or both, I would like to thank you. You guys make outstanding work and are insanely talented 🫡

I already introduced myself to two of you, but to most - hello! My name is Fandom and my Instagram is @ http.redshoes. If you have an Instagram, hmu!! I would love to follow you if I haven’t already. I hope that everyone enjoys the edit! 💕💕

Ac: dex.editz (TikTok)

Vc: JazeCinema & Kyle Allen Music (YouTube)

Sdt: @naffeclipse , @zhench , @lavenoon , @bamsara , @paper-lilypie , @crow-n-tell , @spaciebabie , @sorveteir , @skizabaa , @solitary-star , @zus-a-fungi , @venomous-qwille , @pure-plum , @xitsensunmoon , @kandidandi , @bri-does-art , @pillowspace

Blender credits (on thumbnail): EliteRobo04 (Reddit)

Let’s give a big round of applause to these creators!! 👏👏👏

(P.S. - I tried doing a new editing style in CapCut so apologies the quality is a bit iffy. I’m attempting to make it resemble After Effects since I usually make simpler edits. I wanna know if I did a good job at it or not 👀)

(P.P.S. - if the one and only, the myth, the legend themselves…Solar Lunacy, Demon!Bakugou w/ Human!Izuku “let’s make an accidental ‘friendship’ deal bc we’re oblivious also my mom’s almost killed me for this one DEKU but thank goodness you don’t seem to really remember me” AU, the one that carried the Invader Zim fandom and made that one ET Katy Perry comic with Dib and Zim, while they’re being delulu about not being rivals but FRIENDS they are FRIENDS your honor but they don’t want to admit it, Bam the Sara ™ sees this…I told River to bake me cupcakes if most of the users I tagged for a separate post on Insta would see it. They all did, but not Bam Sara the Sara Bam ™. It is a sad but a true story. I got my cupcakes and they were absolutely delicious, but!! I told my bestie, River, that if Sara the Bam Bam Bam ™ saw my post, she needed to bake me a cake and throw a celebration party. This whole baking thing was an inside joke at first, but now it’s getting real. If they see/comment on this from Tumblr, Insta, or on both platforms, I will *literally* return the favor to my best friend here and bake her something. Throw a little celebration party too while we’re at it 💥💥)

(Bam, if you do actually see this, apologies for remixing the crap out of your username; I only did it for the sillies. I’m a huge fan of your content and you’re so SO creative you have no idea. Your art skills are everything and I wanted you to be appreciated as well!)" -Fandom

[hypnoneghoul]

Christmas Ghouls 4/10

WC: 1035

Relationship: Dewdrop & Aether

Tags: Fluff, gift giving

Notes: For Katie @respite-ghoul <3

Read under the cut or on AO3.

Dewdrop sighed, stretching out as he was slowly waking up. It was pleasantly warm all around, something he didn’t have a chance to feel that often with his element causing him to always be hot. He snuggled further into that nice warmth, tightening his arms where they were wrapped around Aether with a purr, rubbing his cheek all over his mate’s chest.

The quintessence ghoul grumbled quietly and squirmed a bit himself, waking up, as he lovingly crashed Dewdrop’s small body to his much bigger frame. “Mmm… g’mornin’, firefly.”

“Mornin’,” Dewdrop mumbled into Aether’s skin, muffled by his pecs.

“Merry Christmas,” he added, making the fire ghoul groan.

“You know I hate it,” Dewdrop admitted. Again.

“I know,” Aether chuckled and leaned down to place a little kiss between his mate’s ivory horns, “but you know I love it, and guess what?”

“What?”

“I also love you, and Christmas is about spending time with your loved ones.” The bigger ghoul stretched and sat up against the headboard of their bed, scoffing at Dewdrop’s pretentious eye roll.

“You could at least call it Yule or something,” he purred, nosing at Aether’s belly now that he’d shifted, “we're literally demons from hell serving the Devil.”

“It’s cute.” The fire ghoul was opening his mouth to argue again, but before he could– “And there’s presents.”

Dewdrop perked up at that. He wasn’t greedy, but little gifts and trinkets from his mates were important and cherished by him as tokens of their love for him. Something he still couldn’t believe sometimes.

“You got me something?” his eyes lit up.

“Of course I did,” Aether smiled kindly. He tangled his fingers in Dewdrop’s golden hair, cupping the back of his head as he brought the ghoul to rest his head on his thigh. He pulled a loud purr from him when he started scratching lightly at his scalp. “Like every damn year since we got summoned.”

“You didn–”

“I didn’t have to, yeah, I know,” Aether cut him off. “You telling me that is also something that happens every damn year since we got summoned. And yet you always get me something too.”

“Got me there,” Dewdrop sighed, thankful that he was facing away from Aether at the moment. He couldn’t see his blush that way, but they knew each other too well for that. Aether could picture it perfectly in his mind.

“Come on, everyone knows you're a softie. Don’t gotta hide. Especially not from me.”

“Mhm…” the fire ghoul hummed and silence fell, interrupted only by his gentle purring. They didn’t have to get up yet, or at all, and it was a nice morning, perfect to spend lounging in bed. Aether seemed to agree, continuing to absentmindedly run his fingers through Dewdrop’s hair and give him scritches now and then.

It’s been either five minutes or five hours before someone spoke or moved again.

“Gotta let me up, firefly, I need to piss,” Aether laughed when his movement caused Dewdrop to whine and grumble. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Extremely reluctant, but he let him go. The fire ghoul sprawled himself out in the, now empty, nest like a starfish, waiting for Aether to disappear in the bathroom. Once he did and the door has been shut, Dewdrop jumped up, running to dig through his stuff for the hidden gift he had prepared for Aether. He dug out the little red box and threw himself back onto the bed to settle and act unbothered before Aether would come back out.

A little ball of anxiety settled in Dewdrop’s chest as he waited, like every time he was to gift someone something. There was always so many doubts, was it stupid, would they like it, was it enough, would it–

“Ah, you are a softie, I knew you had something for me, too,” Aether beamed, a big smile splitting his face, fangs on full display. He crawled back into their nest and settled on his knees before Dewdrop.

“Shut up already,” he spat, but he smiled himself, trying his best to hide behind a curtain of hair. It was incredible that something like gift giving still made Dewdrop shy.

At last, the fire ghoul extended a hand with the little box. Aether took it and gently opened it, unwrapping the mysterious item from a thin paper. Once it was out and laid out on his palm his grin only grew.

“One of your bracelets snapped recently,” Dewdrop started explaining, “and I wanted to get you a new one because I know how much you love them, but it’d be pretty boring, so… so I melted my necklace and made it into that.”

Aether froze.

“You… you what?” Did Dewdrop really melt his beloved inverted pentagram to turn it into a simple bracelet for Aether?

“Yeah,” he confirmed simply, shrugging. “I wanted you to have something that was like… like a part of me.”

“Oh, firefly,” Aether sighed, cupping Dewdrop’s cheek and pulling him in for a deep kiss. They got lost in it for a moment, before the bigger ghoul pulled away, just enough to speak, to mumble into his mate’s lips. “We’re such a disgustingly perfect couple, you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

Aether giggled and moved back, diving under the bed to dig out a small bag. He all but shoved it into Dewdrop’s hands, barely containing himself from bursting into laughter. The fire ghoul was a bit confused, but peaked into the bag.

When he made out what was inside, he was the one to start laughing.

“No fucking way,” he giggled, putting the bag aside to face plant into Aether’s chest.

“Yeah. Come on, get it out,” Aether encouraged, patting his head.

Dewdrop took it out, running the silver chain between his fingers. “You’re impossible.”

“I melted it with my magic,” the quintessence ghoul confirmed Dewdrop’s suspicion. He could feel him in the necklace. “If it works alright you should always feel me with you.”

“Great, now you’re gonna be even more annoying,” Dewdrop deadpanned but Aether could see the glistening in his eyes. He shook his head and heaved out a sigh, “Merry Christmas, Aeth.”

“I love you, too, firefly.”

[krakenkakes]

OMORI OC/NPC DASHBOARD SIMULATOR (pt 1??)

idk we just did this for fun or whatever. the usernames were bitches to come up with iidc if they're trash atp ,, just sillying

🍞 bowenbaker Follow

Please stop by down to our little bakery in Faraway Town,we sell very nice bread. Please I need money immediately

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

I swear to the great heavens above this isn't how you promote a business.

🍞 bowenbaker Follow

Come start work here and promote it yourself then.

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

no

🍞 bowenbaker Follow

pussy.

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

?????????? HEY???

(10 notes)

☕ tealeaves Follow

woodlice infestation again:(

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

pardon??? again???

☕ tealeaves Follow

again:(

🍫 arielgarciaoffical Follow

the woodlicerrrrrr

☕ tealeaves Follow

I went to nap for 2 hours and Ariel Garcia has somehow blown up my unimportant Tumblr rant. sigh

(4,380 notes)

hotwheelz 🔁 tentacool

| Anonymous asked

🐚 tentacool Follow

PLEASE JUSTE LEAVE ME ALONE

#IVE RECIEVED 20 IMAGES OF THEIS SMAE SKULL IN MY ASKS <- og tag #rbs #op might be going through it #this is hilarious #thanks anon #20???

(20 notes)

🍭 hotwheelz Follow

happy 3 month anniversary of when someone logged into my Tumblr and changed my username to hotwheelz and nothing else. I've kept it because it's too good to lose

🦜somewhereovertherainbow Follow

btw op is apart of a gang irl please block

🍭 hotwheelz Follow

huhwhat. who even is this

(47 notes)

arielgarciaoffical 🔁 thealmightymaverick

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

Just got so excited I threw up do my adoring followers ever do this also. of course you do I'm such an amazing idol that people can relate to!!!

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

I think I hauve mental illness

#yeah you do #seek help this isn't normal

(203 notes)

🧁 candyland Follow

I really hate working I hate my job

🧁 candyland Follow

stuop reblogging this I think my boss has Tumblr it might be over

(10,204 notes)

🥖 daphnebaker Follow

Was it casual when we used to sneak out and have picnics under the moon with nothing but a hardly lit lamp and eachother. Was it casual when you stayed by my side despite the things I wrote about you in my diary, even though you never actually found out about it. Was it casual when you held my hand when no one was around and told me you loved me all the time.

🖌️ beauberries Follow

oh my!

🔮 crystallizedballs Follow

uhm girlie no it wasn't are you like actually genuinely OKAY.

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

I BEG YOUR SINCERE PARDON. WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED!?

(14 notes)

🍬 dinogummies Follow

patsta🤤🤤

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

true!!!!!!

🍭 hotwheelz Follow

true!

☕ tealeaves Follow

true...

🐚 tentacool Follow

very very true!

🥖 daphnebaker Follow

true!!

🍞 bowenbaker Follow

true!!!

🍫 arielgarciaoffical Follow

TRUE!!!

✨ thealmightymaverick Follow

reblog this post for patsta ❤️

🍬 dinogummies Follow

fuck yeah!

(8,579 notes)

beauberries 🔁 kaleidoscopes

🌈 kaleidoscopes Follow

Katie your outfit to colourful your shoes too swag, they'll kill you!

🧁 candyland Follow

WHAT who is THEY.

🌈 kaleidoscopes Follow

god forbid women have hobbies

#this made me laugh out loud #who is they will be in my vocab for the next week #god forbid!!!! #rbs #i thimk I know both of these guys. also

(28 notes)

[tansyuduri]

Top Ten TV

Rules: Game: Add 10 gifs from your favorite shows and tag 10 people.

I was tagged by @godmerlin Thank ya so much! SOO

My love! My favorite! I adore you so much! Merlin until recently was a show I would rewatch every year. THEN one of my RP servers when down for months and my mind was like HEY YOU NEED DOPAMINE KNOW THAT SHOW? It's a special intrest now. Merlin and Arthur were always my favs. But I read two merthur fanfics, realized hey this actually worked, watched the show with new eyes, decided to write a small oneshot. And then It was not a one shot, And then there was a sequal and a prequal... then I was writing more stuff! This show showed me I could write again after a long time thinking I could not.

My second favoirite show is Avatar the Last Airbender I guess and my fav character is actually Aang. I like his nonconfrontationalness I kinda also have that trait and you do not often see it in fiction.

(Now from here on out they don't really have an order?

I really like the show The Tudors. I don't require historical accuricy in shows about the time period that is a special interst to me. I can enjoy the shows seperatly and be like that did not happen! But the tudors is weard because it is very much NOT historicaluy accurate as a whole but somtimes, Dialouge and scenes are pretty much ripped from the firsthand acounts of the period. This is also the show were both Natalie Dormer and Henry Cavill got their start. Fun fact Katie McGrath was actually working on costume design on this show and someone told her she should try acting. She got a very small role in the show then went on to land Morgana in Merlin. ALSO this show makes me cry so MUCH

I didn't get into Shadow and Bone on my first try. After season two aired I tried is again with a freind of mine and loved it. I'm so upset it was canceled!

With Brigerton I actually started with the Spin off Queen Charlotte (I'm counting spin offs and their original show as the same show usually so I can have more shoes listed here WHEEEE.) Anyhoo Queen Charlotte won me over with it having a romantic male lead with mental Ilness. and I enjoyed it! So I watched Brigerton too. Eloise is pretty much teenage me.

The boys and Gen V got me with its plot and commantary on American society. Alright it kinda helps that I've never really liked the idea of super heros. This is pretty much the only superhero media I consume along with one animated show my sister had me watch once. My favorite from the original Series is Hughie and my fav from Gev V is Jordan.

Okay so yeah! Dr Who. I stopped watching shortly after 11 left and came back for 14 and 15. My fav doctors are 11 and 15 so far! I adore Martha and Donna the best.

So The Last Kingdom was a show that my freind really liked and we watched together. I hated Uhtred in season 1 but came to enjoy him later. I LOVED These two in the gif, I WAS HERE FOR THEM SHIPPING THEM IN THE LAST SEASON. You know how that turned out if you watch the show. I have never hated on a character as much as I did on a certain king. THEM. <3

I am very much enjoying House Of The Dragon. I was a GOT fan until the end season even if it started going downhil before that. No I am not team black or team green. I can see both viewpoints. So I'm just here to watch people freak out over it. And enjoy it myself. And Cheer for Healana while waiting in dred due to having read the book it's based on. I'm upset the seem to have gotten rid of Nettles though.

Derry Girls is the show on this list I watched most recently. I did not really like the first episode but from there I adored them all. Clare and Orla are my Favs. But the entire cast is great.

@shana-rosee @tiny-and-witchyn @poisonedfate @theroundbartable @247merthur

@saurix5 @akelafang @kairenn-n @kadenemrys @pendragonsclotpole

[angelbxxy]

Hey y’all idk how this works I’ve never been struggling this hard before. My two daughters lost their dad my fiancé a week ago from a heart problem we didn’t know he had. It was sudden and now I have to plan a funeral alone. I never imagined that he would be gone we were just talking about getting a life insurance policy like a month ago but never did it. I already have our two daughters I gotta take care of on 1 income now I don’t know how I’m gonna pull this funeral off of anyone can help us send him up the right way plz consider donating 🥺😭❤️

Cashapp $prettymom18

January 15th 2023🚨⏰⚰️

Update!!!!!

Still waiting on donätîons I currently only have $250(I took out a loan that’s all I was approved for)/$3,400(cost of funeral service and funeral home plus casket. The $3,400 DOES NOT INCLUDE THE BURIAL 🪦🥺😭⚰️😣♥️

Please help us if you are able and I would appreciate it if you can not help us financially, a reblog and prayers will always be appreciated.

RIP my one and only Prince Charming 🥺❤️🪦⚰️

Cashapp $prettymom18

UPDATE JAN15th 8:54pm

Still 0 help but I’m still great full for all the reposts and likes if you know anyone who may be able to help or has a big following on here PLEASE don’t hesitate to tag them in ur repost or just tag them on the comments ❤️🙏

PS my friend said if someone wants to donate but they don’t have cash@pp I can give them her Venmo or chime or PayPal so if that is what is stopping you from donating DM me and I can send you her vënmø or paypãł

Thank y’all again♥️

XO XO XO and GOD BLESS🙏🏽

Katie 🥰⚰️🪦🫶🏽👩‍👧‍👧❤️‍🔥💔✝️

I probably should’ve put this in the original post but I’m having trouble getting donations and I’m doing this all by myself his family hasn’t even called me since I told them he passed and I was a foster kid so I really don’t have anyone to help. The only person that is helping me is financially struggling too but she took out a loan bc my credit sucks so I was denied anyway thank u if u have anyone on here who u talk to a lot see if they can repost it too I wanna get some type of traction lol

UPDATE JAN 16th

Tumblr BLOCKED ME FROM MESSAGES WTF HAPPENED!!!! Someone plz help me get my messages back

Plus still no donations so please keep reposting and thank you for all the support from the reblogs

Jan18 update

Thank you to whoever sent $5 that’s the first and only donation I’ve gotten so far

Please if u can’t donate repost and tag your friends!!! I don’t know what I’m going to do if I can’t raise enough for the funeral, I don’t even have enough for a cremation

Jan 20 update

Im $30 short to start a payment plan with the funeral home I have an appointment tomorrow morning at 9am PLEASE SEND HELP either repost or dono

Anything helps us!

Help us bury my kids dad and my fiancé!

GOD BLESS PRAYERS ARE WELCOME TOO!

Jan 30th update♥️❤️‍🔥🥺😭🚨

So I DIDNT get enough money to have a funeral for my fiancé 😖😭 we had to cremate him and they put me on a payment plan. I still want to have a repass but I need to get a hall or something to gather everyone. The cheapest one I’ve found is $350 for 5 hours

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED AND HELPFUL

I want to celebrate his short life and the memories we all have with him ♥️

It’s been 3 almost 4 weeks since he’s been gone and life being a widow mother of 2 is a lot harder than I ever imagined. Please repost even if you can’t help ❤️‍🔥

@localmacguffin @laymedowninsheetsoflinen @enderamethyst @transgendz @othert @pixelstx @spongebobssquarepants @queenpandaxoxo @pukicho @shareyourdollar @mutual-aid-booster @horangi @jacklant3rn @bugs-for-hugs @difficult @commie-cosmo @yellowgirl93 @racism-inc @mousedetective @vaspider @shineemoon @queenpandaxoxo

[foxes-that-run]

2018 Haylor Timeline

Timeline Tag, or years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024..

1 January - Harry in Palm Springs, Saturn jumper. Karlie Kloss posts swish swish basketball (Katy Perry Taylor diss track)

4 January - reports camille met Harry's family. KK posts Swish Swish

11 January - End Game video released - Haylor references galore. Joe in Italy.

14 January - Joe at Prada fashion show in Milan no Taylor

17 January - Harry gym in LA

13-22 January - Harry wrote Fine line: "Fine Line" I wrote [during] a gap in the tour. It was January 2018 and I was at my friend Tom's house. Harry was seen in la in the last 2 weeks.

22 January - Harry in LA with Camille from 13th to 29th

21 January - Taylor in Italy, Harry in NYC 25th

24 January - Harry NY

25 January - Harry London

26 January - Harry performs at Fleetwood Mac person of year, Xander there

27 January - Taylor and Cara in Milan possibly with Joe

9 February - End Game BTS with text Scrabble game with 'him'

18 February - Taylor in LA Repu-hersal,

20 February - Taylor in Big Sur

18 - 24 February - Harry in on 18th and 24th London

3 March - Harry london gym

4 March - Harry shot the Gucci Campaign with the chicken in St Albans, England

7 March - Taylor and Joe hike with Joe in dark jeans and Nikes in Malibu. Blind staged.

11 March - Live on tour starts again in Switzerland, Anna and Medicine played live for the first time and added to the rest of the tour setlist.

12 March -Delicate MV released

10 April Harry in London

13 April - Taylor releases Earth, Wind, Fire cover with 28 September. It accompanied Delicate vertical video the original release said is ““Taylor says that she chose ‘September’ for sentimental reasons. She’s always loved the classic tune by Earth, Wind & Fire, and notes that the month of September is especially meaningful to one of her relationships.” - Spotify” the ‘one of relationships’ part is later edited out of the Spotify press release!

16 April - Camille at Harry’s Dublin Show, last time seen together till June.

20 April - Babe released

21 April - Taylor posts video thanking fans for responding to Babe, she wore the Evil Eye ring that appeared in Rep.

23 April - Taylor has Robbie Williams on Rep and plays Angels.

5 May - Harry played a mystery melody before Two Ghosts

7 May- Joe and Taylor post photos with a cactus, kiwi vibes.

May - Harry GQ Australia Article with "There's a good story about Winston's wife bumping into a very naked, very blonde, very famous pop star making toast downstairs one morning if you ever get a chance to ask" It starts and ends with folklore.

8 May - November Reputation tour, Joe at opening night

30 May - Joe and Taylor papped getting lunch

31 May - Blind that Joe and Taylor trouble with attention

9 June Taylor plays Manchester the. Is not seen till the 16th, Joe and family there

15 June - Xander, his parents and Anne at Harry’s Phili show.

16 June - Harry was full of beans in Toronto and wore a pink jacket with snakes and cats with wings embroidered on. Taylor played HYGTG in Dublin, only time on Rep tour.

19 June - Taylor posts Meredith, Joe heard in background

22 June - 2 days after a year since Robin passed Harry emotional performing Sweet Creature in New York.  Taylor has Niall as guest in Wembley the same night, Niall wore a NYC shirt. Joe was this show. Harry performed Shania Twain's Still the One. Taylor referenced this suit in the Me! Video. Harry invested in the Calm App. Harry photographed with Max and Xander, he looks really sad. Rumour he was staying with Xander. Xander, Jeff, Maxwell, Tommy at show. Camille flew to attend, had not been seen with Harry for some time.

24 June - Harry performed in Washington, he seemed flat, dropped a flag at the end of kiwi. He later talked to Stern (at the start in 2022) as his voice being dehydrated and it being his least favourite show, thought to be this one. He was not wearing the rose ring.

28 June - Taylor performs Reputation secret session for AT&T in Chicago. When introducing new year day talks about 2 NYEs ago jumping into an icy pool, the version Taylor Nation had posted has only this speech cut out from the full video.  (24:38) Harry unseen

30 June - Harry has a show in Chicago! Taylor unseen! This suit is one referenced in Me!

1 July - Harry energetic in St Paul, the Medicine recording and sang “running with you” not wolves in MMITH. Last Heart kiss till 2021 in Only Angel

3-4 July - People reports Taylor and Joe 'frolic' in Turks and Caicos

7 July - Harry golfing in Idaho

8 July - Joe and Taylor pap photos in Daily Mail

9 July - Trailer for Joe's new movie, The Favorite drops

12 July - Harry leaves garage in yellow Ferrari Dino in Beverly Hills. Taylor likes a Tumblr quote “For what it’s worth: It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you find the strength to start over.” - F Scott Fitzgerald

14 July Taylor’s delicate basket malfunctioned and she played Wildest Dreams a cappella. Harry wore the “whos Jeff azanoff” shirt backstage, Xander there also. Camille at last Harry show she attended, not seen together gain

18 July- live on tour ends

21 July - Taylor played Clean, first time since 2015. Rain show.

22 July - Joe & Family at Rep

31 July - Harry and Camille break up. Harry pictured with Karlie Kloss on Yacht in Italy with Sunflowers.

1 August - Harry driving Maserati in Italy

3 August - Harry gym London sweaty

4 August - only time CBBH played before 2023, never on red or 1989 tours, this 1 on rep and 2 Eras shows.

7 August - Nick posts photo of Harry to IG, then tweets about a couple and is photographed with a fan near Harry’s house. The fan was pictured with Louis wearing the same shirt a week earlier. 8 August Harry Toronto

13 August- blind Taylor controlled Joe's social media accounts

14 August - Reputation show in Tampa filmed for Miss Americana which shows Joe, he is only seen at this and the first show.

17, 18 August - Harry Mexico James Corden's birthday

22 August - Joe Taylor double date. Joe looks angry walking with Taylor in London

26 August - Karlie attends rep, posts photo, Taylor doesn't like it

2 September - Golden maybe recorded, Harry told rolling stone The first song written for Fine Line, on the second day of the sessions at Shangri-La Studios in Malibu. Photographed in yellow pants. At 41 mins in of the Zane interview he describes writing it as his favourite memory of making fine line.

15 September - Harry Eagles Concert LA

21 September - blind that Joe was ‘picked for role of BF’ by professor, Joe does interview saying he wants to keep relationship private

28 September - Taylor went to Favorite NYC premiere with Joe. Harry at dinner in London. Both wore red. Taylor played Wonderland as the Surprise song, one of 6 ever plays.

1 October - Harry lunch in La Xander

9 October - Harry arrived in Japan looking like jagger and japan Dec 18 - Jan 19

8 October - Harry’s lion ring first seen in Tokyo

14-30 October - Harry LA Nobu LA, 17 Studio LA

19 October - Taylor doesn’t go to Kk wedding

17-28 October - Harry in LA on 15 and la 26th

19 November - Taylor signs with republic records and posts about it

21 November - last rep show which is in Tokyo. Plays emotional set of surprise songs are wildest dreams (1 of 3 times she played it on the Rep tour) and So it goes (one of 8 times it has ever been played live), dancing with our hands tied and I know places. Harry writes little freak in Tokyo and leaked ophelia (I feel ya) that refers to staring at her in Tokyo missing her and fantasising. Taylor posts about finishing tour, her last big machine records commitment

11 December - Taylor goes to goes joes movie premiere then next seen back in NY with Joe. Harry in LA 12th

25 December - Taylor spent christmas in a castle in Ireland

Continue in 2019

[the-kr8tor]

Hi Katy <3

Could I get some arrowroot in a❣️ bottle?

I just want Mrs and Mr Smith cuddling after a hard mission

-🪦

Hell yea ofc!!! Thank you for requesting! Hope u like it 🩷

Pairing: Spy! Hobie Brown x Spy! Fem! Reader

Word count: 1.2k

Tags: No use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, Spy AU, Mr and Mrs Smith AU, John Smith! Hobie, Jane Smith! R, CW blood, CW violence mention, CW injury, FLUFF

A sequel to this

Katy's one year celebration 🎉

The helicopter rumbles, its whirring blades echo in your bleeding ear. You're covered in drying blood, mouth sickeningly dry, and incredibly hungry from the whole ordeal. Hobie sits across from you, uncharacteristically silent, a mirror image of you with crimson still dripping from his neck down to the collar of his shirt. His eyes are empty, staring outside at the passing lush islands.

You cough, mindlessly picking at the blood underneath your fingernails, and pulling at the rubber band on your wrist to release it in a harsh slap on your skin. Hobie sees your habit return, and then almost immediately, there's a sudden pressure against your ear, almost making you jump if not for his hand gently grasping your shoulder.

“You're still bleedin’” He yells, forgetting about the helicopter headset he has on.

“Please scream in my ear more so I continue to bleed!” You're annoyed from how shitty the mission went to how much chaos you and Hobie left in that bunker. Sure, it was considered successful to the company's standard, but you had to do drastic measures for it to be considered just that. You can still smell the smoke stuck in your nostrils, and the screams embedding in your mind.

Hobie takes his headsets off, the immediate sound of the blades pierces his ear drums. “Sorry,” he gestures for the seat next to you, to which you give him a quick nod. With a groan, he now sits next to you, dabbing the cloth in his hand along the shell of your ear. You don't mind how close he is, you've been partners with him for almost a year now. Technically ‘married’ for ten months, sixteen days, and twelve hours. But who's keeping count?

You stay silent even when he hands you a bottle of water. Hobie continues to clean the blood off your ear while you drink and watch how his hands are so gentle with you. Even after he watched you set flames to the occupied secret bunker. “Why?”

“Why what?” He replies, voice softer than before.

You sniff, glancing towards his mismatched yet gorgeous eyes. It reminds you of a stained glass window in a church, it's the closest you get to see heaven at this point. “Nothing.”

He doesn't pick and prod, perhaps he also knows how you feel. You thank him silently for understanding. “There, I think the bleedin' stopped a while ago, the blood was just covering your ears.”

True enough, you can hear much better now. Nothing's muffled but there's still a throbbing pain left. “Thanks.”

After finishing, he still doesn't leave your side. “No problem.”

“You okay?” Your voice is quieter than the voices in your head. You scooch closer to him, knee to knee, hand inching closer to his own hand atop his thigh. “I saw you get thrown.”

“Nothing to worry ‘bout. Y’know me, I can handle it.”

“That man was built like a fucking wrestler, Hobie.” You utter his real name quieter than the rest of your words, lest you want the company to know that you've broken the rules. Again.

“Yeah, d’you think he knows Hulk Hogan?”

You chuckle, “fuck off.” Laying your head on his shoulder, mindful of your injury. He smiles, reaching for your wrist, grasping at the raw skin where you always let the rubber band go in a smack. “He kinda looked like Hulk Hogan.”

“What if he was his kid or somethin’?” Hobie rubs along the angry lines left by the rubber band, smoothing you.

You snuggle closer, injury be damned, intimacy issues thrown out of the copter window— you need him and his touch. “Then we're fucked, Hogan's going to come after us.”

Hobie snickers, snaking his arm behind you to wrap you tightly in his embrace. He swears he heard you let out a relieved sigh, so he squeezes you once, twice, until you've fully relaxed. “Why? Is it because we killed him?”

“No, because we stole his lunch,” Hobie laughs, making you laugh against his shoulder where you've parked your head in the crook of his neck. “Yes, because we killed him.”

He hums against the crown of your head, kissing you softly and subtly that you almost didn't notice it. “You saved my arse back there. Our synergy was off the bloody charts. Let's see the other Smiths do that.” He boasts, mentioning the other pair of Smiths who practically threw you and Hobie into the mission that was supposed to be theirs.

“It was you, Hobie, of course I'd fucking kick his ass.” You pout as he smooths your worry lines in between your eyes. “Besides, they would've done better because they're so perfect and so in love.” You say the last words with bitterness.

Hobie tamps down a laugh, continuing to hum against your head. The vibrations from his throat calm you down like you needing white noise to fall asleep. You think you can never fall asleep alone now because of him. He has become your personal white noise machine. “So in love it's sickenin’” He says while he rubs your arm, and moves your head to pepper kisses on your temple.

“They're so sick, I hate them.” You take all his kisses, sighing with each peck.

“They're not perfect though.” He pauses, lips still on your skin, voice muffled by it.

“They are.” You lean away, leaving his lips still puckered up from his numerous barrage of kisses. “They're a level higher than us, and Jane's fucking wardrobe is amazing. God, I hate her so much.”

Hobie nods, listening to you ramble on about John's excessive love of ‘imagine dragons.’ “Like, ‘thunder’ doesn't even fit the mood of our dinner party when he played it on his phone. It was Italian for god's sake, we had prosciutto. The fancy kind!”

“Mm-hmm, he's annoyin’” while you talk, he carefully puts your head on his lap and you're none the wiser. It's not like he's not listening, he'd listen to you yap about bird migration in the north only because you're the one who's talking. But he knows you need to rest for the rest of the flight or you'd be knackered by the time the helicopter lands. Even covered in blood and complaining, he still finds you endearing.

You suddenly stop ranting, twisting around to fully face him. Hobie puts his hands up in surrender, you narrow your eyes at him suspiciously. “What are you doing?”

“Pettin' your head?”

You huff, turning towards his stomach, accepting his fondness while you embrace his middle. “Continue.”

“Alright,” Hobie beams down at you as your eyes start to close the second he rubs your aching back. You're curled around him like a cat, the seats are too small to fit your entire form so you're all shrimped out while you slowly fall asleep.

“I'm going to fucking kill them for throwing us here.” He thought you were asleep already, your sudden, angry yet sleepy voice almost made him guffaw in his seat.

“Especially Jane?”

“Especially Jane.”

“I'll handle John then.” His fingers make patterns on your back.

“You'd help me?” You ask, meeting his eyes.

“Of course, it's for you, love.”

You wanted to kiss him right there and then. “Good, because I don't want to do it myself.”

Hobie laughs softly, eyes just as soft while he looks at you. “Sleep first, revenge later.”

[mareenavee]

All the Lines Tag Game!

AUGh I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Okay thank you to @throughtrialbyfire and @miraakulous-cloud-district for the tags! I am thus tagging @paraparadigm, @changelingsandothernonsense, @thana-topsy, @thequeenofthewinter, @gilgamish, @rhiannon1199, @elfinismsarts, @kookaburra1701, @dirty-bosmer, @nuwanders, @ladytanithia, @polypolymorph, @saltymaplesyrup and @archangelsunited!! And, you if I didn't tag you. Tag me back! I want to see!

Here are the questions for the tag game right here! Fill them out!

Without further ado, read on for some lines for The World on Our Shoulders!

A line from your fic that makes you laugh

Chapter 25: A Perfect Storm

“Then why did you not poison the Dragonborn?” Teldryn ventured. He’d already taken the coin purse from the bench next to the Thalmor without being noticed. He grinned as the man’s face twisted through several different emotions until he buried his face in his hands. “Oh, please. At this point, you must know I never did claim to be a good double agent,” the Thalmor lamented. Teldryn let out a loud cackle.

I have a few zingers lol but Varlais, Varlais. He's the comic relief here.

A line from your fic that makes you sad

Chapter 8: Haunted By the Ghost of You

“I can’t do this by myself, love. I really need you here,” he whispered to the ghost of the girl he remembered, singing in the kitchen with autumn eyes full of love and hope. She didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Wouldn’t. She was gone, and Athis knew no matter when Nyenna next came home, that girl in his memories would never, ever return.

Bean </3 Poor, poor Athis 😭 Why did I do this to him? augh.

A line from your fic you're proud of

Chapter 26: Voice Within

More and more of its lair started to fall away back into the void, or else Oblivion; patches of reality pulled forward, stark against the ruined illusion. Varlais, face set in a severe scowl, took its moment of weakness as a signal and pulled an ebony dagger from somewhere in his coat. He rushed at the Atronach, stabbing into it with all the force he could muster. As with ice, silence shattered.

I just really loved this entire scene actually. It causes so much trouble for CHAPTERS after this. And it's excellent.

A line for your fic you think could have been better

Chapter 3: A World of Fragile Things

“Of course you do,” the second vampire said. Her voice seemed calm, distant. This one was a Nord at one point, tall and imposing. She was casting a spell of some kind, but it hurt. Nyenna looked down at her hands and was shocked to see the color being drained from her, her hands almost skeletal. She screamed then, terror getting the better of her and clouding her mind.

I kind of wished I pushed the description of this magic a little bit further. I do love editing and I'm still in awe of past Katie for how far she's gotten so far. So I'm still fine with this line but it was an opportunity I didn't take.

A line from your fic that makes you want to punch a character.

Chapter 19: Although I am Already a Danger

“You seemed to be having a hard time. Nothing a sweetroll can’t fix, I figured. Want to talk about it?” he offered. Nyenna gave him an apprehensive look. She didn’t really want to talk to him particularly about all her nonsense, but if she didn’t, it would be harder to focus moving forward with all that had to be done in the next few days. “No. But I’ll tell you anyway,” she said. He scoffed. She ate the piece of sweetroll she held before continuing. “I…was not the best wife. I ran away in the middle of the night. It was unkind. I knew it was when I did it, but just like he followed me into battle with a dragon, I knew if I didn’t simply go, he’d turn his back in another horrible situation all because of me. And after everything I’ve been through, I just…I guess I couldn’t handle watching him get injured again. Or worse, as it sometimes goes with dragons.”

There are a few instances where Nyenna makes really stupid mistakes. Extremely stupid mistakes. And this, innocuous though it seems, is one of them. One of the huge ones. I think only @paraparadigm caught it. I was yelling when I wrote this. Like "REALLY NYENNA?!" On the other side of the coin, she's used to people behaving like Teldryn had before this; it was expected. When that dust settled, and he was elsewise, well. She just blabbed.

A line from your fic that makes you go 'aww'

Chapter 6: Together, We Are Enough (slightly longer snippet, I can't help it lol)

She made him feel less alone, after so long and so much struggle. They could build something beautiful together. He hoped. Better to ask and be sure. He was still grinning, and no longer cared a whit who saw, or who had comments or jokes to make on the matter. He was happy. Actually happy. And he loved her with all his heart. It may not have been a long time, but it felt right. And so he’d worn the pendant. And he had hoped. And here she was, an Amulet of Mara in her hands. “Well?” he asked, after a moment. “You want to marry…me?” she asked with a giggle. “Won’t lie. I do,” Athis answered. He felt his face get hot. Other people were shushing each other up near Jorrvaskr. A few people had even wandered further down the stairs to better spy on them. “What about you?” She gasped and all but danced in place. She held onto the amulet with both hands, staring at it just for a moment. She let it fall to her chest. She looked him right in the eye and beamed. “Of course, of course!” she squealed. She threw her arms around his neck again and he embraced her back. “Then it’s settled. It’s you and me, love,” Athis whispered, squeezing her tightly before lifting her up and spinning around. There was a huge roar of applause behind them, as the Companions and a few townsfolk there for Anoriath’s event celebrated with them. Athis laughed deeply, embracing his soon-to-be wife. They walked back up to Jorrvaskr, hand in hand, into the crowd of merry friends and feast-goers.

A line from your fic that's full of symbolism

Chapter 27: Echoes

He reached for her then, running as fast as he could toward her. He seemed to run forever, never getting any closer. As if his hands were blocked somehow. She never came into focus. Instead, the figure — who wasn’t at all Nyenna — turned, silvery hair curling back on itself like a stole. The figure threw its head back in a wicked laugh that broke through the buzz. The hair morphed into the form of a silver snake, twisting over the figure’s shoulders and arms, which they held out to either side. The snake’s scales slowly shifted golden in hue. Teldryn couldn’t see the figure’s face. He never got close enough. A sword in their other hand glinted in the light from the moonless sky, driven into the ground at their feet. Still, the image wasn’t quite clear. Still, he could not reach.

I almost linked the entire fanfic.

A line from your fic that contains an Easter egg

“Ground rules,” she said, trying to seem aggravated. “Keep those thoughts to yourself, especially in public.” “As you wish, sera,” Teldryn said, still beaming. She rolled her eyes. Geldis gave him a harsh look as he dropped off two bowls of porridge and two mugs of canis root tea, but said nothing.

I always yell about all the Tolkien references so, instead, have this Princess Bride easter egg instead :>

A line from your fic that's shocking

Chapter 1: Prologue

“I don’t regret us, for the record. My fear has nothing to do anymore with where we are and how much stronger we’ve become. We’re supposed to be together. She’s supposed to exist,” Nyenna said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She drummed her fingers over his hands which still lay on her stomach. “She? More like he," Teldryn scoffed in a teasing tone. He paused, waiting for her retort, and chuckled instead in the silence. “You keep saying that,” Nyenna said and shook her head. She laughed too, especially as the little one kicked at their touch, restless and relentless. Teldryn kissed the side of her jaw near her ear and she sighed. “I’d have never made it through any of this without you, you know.” “You would have. I see you. You’re stronger than you know,” he replied. He always said the right things at the right time. She wondered briefly how he always seemed to know exactly what she needed to hear.

I could've linked the entire prologue lol. I laid everything out on the table right at the beginning. Perhaps this isn't shocking anymore for most of you LOL but I mean...sorta yeah. There's more that probably would be. But it's not published yet. :>

A line from your fic you want to talk about more

Chapter 27: Echoes (longer snippet again lol)

“Tell me what to do,” he said after a moment. “Oh, I really hate this, though,” Neloth said, apprehension sounding odd and incongruous for him. “There’s a reason people don’t practice this way. It might seem like nothing to you now that you’ve already accomplished the connection. That it brought forth memories of immature jokes should have told me enough… But… I’ve seen people disintegrate, their Magicka pools just… gone. In an instant. I’ve… Well, I’ve done it to someone before, myself.” Teldryn stopped short. “Jokes aside, Neloth, but…you? With someone else?” When Neloth fell silent and pensive instead of digging back at him, Teldryn knew something was wrong. His stomach lurched again as the old wizard opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again and ground his teeth against whatever he was holding back. He cleared his throat before he was able to make his point. “Yes, I… It was during the Oblivion Crisis. We closed a gate that opened at Sadrith Mora. We were… We were without resources, but…” He trailed off, grief and anger crossing his brow like a squall. His eyes went dark. “I thought I didn’t care about her at the time. My apprentice.” He smoothed his robes and sighed heavily. “We were the last two mages left alive and the Redoran hadn’t gotten anywhere near the settlement yet. Neither of us were enough on our own. The option was this… indecent spellwork or both of us dying trying to break the siege of Dremora ourselves.” He fidgeted with his sleeve and looked anywhere else except at Teldryn. “It had been our last resort. I reached and she answered and then in a moment, she was gone. Ashes. Like she’d never even existed. But I still remember her. And I remember the sound of it…of her Magicka evaporating… like it was yesterday.” He cleared his throat and glanced up at the ceiling. “She wasn’t weak by any means. This happened anyway. And I… I still feel like I’ve lost something of myself all these years later. Something I’ll never get back.”

NELOTH BACKSTORY. I could and probably will write more fic set before the events of World and include more of this. More of what this person meant to Neloth, and more of what this event really caused for him personally, for House Telvanni, for his standing in the Council, for the outcome of the Oblivion Crisis. Everything. Oh it'll be so much fun.

[autisticlancemcclain]

Hey, I just checked again to see if Brown-Eyed Lance (Voltron) was a tag yet and seeing as it isn't I wanted to inform you there is a chance you can literally just ask for it to be made.

Like step by step if you go to the bottom of the A03 website to where they say Contact Us, you can click on "Technical Support & Feedback". This will take you to a place where you can email them about all kinds of things, they give you a list of various things you can contact them over even and one of them is to "Request to Canonize or Change Tags". This means you can literally just straight up ask for a Tag to be created for the website.

I've used this a number of times to make suggestions about the website and request beneficial features for how it runs before in the past and they have always been nice to me and contacted me back within a week or two if not on the same day. And while I don't take credit, some of the things I've asked for have actually been realized, which implies either they really did listen to me or multiple people asked for similar things. Either way, it's great. And if they can't do something, they've always explained why not in a simple but polite way.

So yeah, I think you can get your tag, especially if you mention having 6 pages worth of works show up when you click on your unofficial tag.

There are rare pairs with less works than that (for example hunk/antok which is apparently a real rare pair only has 7 works, not pages, works) so yeah there's no reason if you asked that they shouldn't make the tag. And since content is still actively being made with the unofficial tag to this day, it's relevant.

Now have some extra official A03 tag examples that have less than or a similar amount of works to brown-eyed Lance that you can point out for your case:

1) Barista Lance (Voltron) 6 pages, 103 works

2) Lactose Intolerant Keith (Voltron) 4 pages, 61 works

3) Protective Voltron Lions, 2 pages, 26 works

4) Olkari (Voltron) 1 page, 12 works

5) Pidge | Katie Holt is so Done, 4 pages, 77 works

6) BAMF Hunk (Voltron) 3 pages, 56 works

Hopefully, if you bring these up, should you contact them, it will help cement your tag as worth creating offically. Especially since each one is a specific example from the VLD fandom.

I think the request will have more weight if an author using the tag makes it through your account, but you don't have to be the only one. After all an official tag makes it easier to find similar content so anyone who wants the Brown-Eyed Lance (Voltron) Tag can make the request too mentioning if its a tag they personally would use to search for similar fics with this very specific niche in it. You don't even need an account, just leave an email that they can leave a reply to.

Sorry this is so long, but I just really want to help you get your tag. You don't have to do it of course, but I figured having incredibly detailed information like this out there wouldn't hurt even if it's very wordy.

Anyways good luck with your tag! Hope this helps you and anyone who might want a reasonable tag to be created with evidence of it being worth it. (Should you publish this that is)

thank you for this!! it was super informative and easy to follow which i appreciate 😌😌 i sent it, so fingers crossed everyone!! and everyone feel free to send them emails as well!!