#this graphic came out so bad i was lazy

[cellphonexddict]

TAMBRY DECENZO - - - - -

"yeah, the cemetery used to be fun; now it's just depressing."

GENERAL –

full name:  tambry tate decenzo.

nicknames:  just tambry. don't call her tambers.

age:  twenty-eight.

gender:  cis female.

species:  human.

eye color:  brown.

hair color: black with pink highlights.

height: five feet, five inches.

date of birth:  july second .

occupation:  vlogger & influencer.

positive traits: confident. techy. chill. adaptable. social. bold.

negative traits: apathetic. pessimistic. reckless. impulsive. phone obsessed. nosey.

HEADCANONS –

Tambry’s home life, in her own words, “majorly sucks.” Her parents were pretty middle of the road when it came to income, but they never actually acted like parents. Honestly they more so acted like teenagers. Maybe that’s where she got it from. They got into big blow outs all of the time, fighting and screaming at each other (especially when fueled by alcohol), only to make it all up to each other in the bedroom the next day. Much to Tambry’s disgust. Aside from this, they never really wanted a kid. Tambry was just the product of one of their frequent “apology sessions.” Ever since she was little, she was kind of just pushed aside. Never had any wholesome family memories. Never actually felt genuinely loved. Her parents would just occasionally buy her something in hopes that she would occupy herself not cause any issues. Naturally, having parents like this made Tambry act out a lot growing up until she ended up resenting them completely and avoiding them whenever possible. Her house in Gravity Falls is not a home to her, which is why she hung around Wendy’s so much. Nonetheless, it was a great place to throw parties when her parents were away.

The Gravity Falls gang is who Tambry considers her real family. Wendy especially is pretty much like a sister to her. The two were practically attached at the hip ever since they could ride tricycles. Their little group is full of weirdos, but they’re her weirdos. She goes along with their stupid shenanigans. Chanting to convince someone to do a stupid dare. Constantly filming their bizarre, spontaneous games they come up with. Tambry has all these amazing memories locked and loaded on her phone and on piles of SD cards. Crazy parties. Hilarious moments of reckless behavior. She loves looking back them, especially in her bed at the end of the day. Her friends fill a void that her family never did, and Tamrby is actually a little more sentimental than she’d ever let on. 

Tambry definitely has, as that one TikTok trend would put it, “scary dog privilege.” Girl’s got major RBF. It’s out of her control. She’s got this intimidating quality to her that can be a little off putting at first. She likes it though. Tambry’s not exactly built for the weak anyway. The girl is extremely blunt, even more so in her mass amounts of status updates. Her personal style only adds to all this. The bold, pink color in her hair. The dark eye makeup. The many ear piercings. She’s this unique blend of goth, emo and scene all wrapped up into one and toned down a bit. Not totally out there but definitely a head turner from the norm. Tambry started getting into this personal style of hers when she was young and experimenting with clothes and makeup. Once she realized it realllyyy pissed off her parents, she was sold.

This girl is not a great rule follower. Definitely on that “better to ask forgiveness than permission” type beat… except it’ll be a half-assed apology as opposed to a genuine one, but better than nothing, right? That’s how you get good content after all. How many people could say they broke in to a condemned, rumored to be haunted convenience store and had a food fight? Tambry can. Of course, she’s not usually the ring leader when it comes to dumb ideas like that, but she goes along for fun. She typically instigates smaller chaotic acts here and there and never operates alone when she does.

Tambry is surface-level judgmental. She’ll judge you point-blank to your face but won’t take it to heart. Most of the time she’ll just let it roll off her shoulder. “You’re so needy,” will still hang with you. “This is creepier than I expected,” still goes along with your bullshit. It’s one reason she’s able to get along with so many different types of people and social rankings to a certain extent. Don’t get her twisted, if you give her reason enough that judgment will sink down into her core. But her life is full of some pretty strange people, so she’s built some tolerance. Everybody’s weird.

[jumbojazzcats93]

Why are you like this? - Ghost

Summary - Simon is devastated coming to terms with being in love.

Tags/Warnings - Banners by @/saradika-graphics 18+ MDNI, mild angst, emotional constipation, cussing, slight manipulation but it's really not the bad kind (.?), premature ejaculation, squirting, biting, mentions of blood @glossysoap @divine--serenity @lordlydragon @violet-phantoms @ivymarquis @grizzersmamma @quietlyignoringyou

It's taken Simon SO long to realize he's in love. The realization sets in after almost a year. He had forced it to remain casual, even if you both knew deep down it was so much more. Over the long expanse of several months he had ignored the tightening knot of your close-knit bond and deluded himself into thinking he was going to come out unscathed at some point. The fear that you liked him too much and the necessity to tell you so was pushed further and further back by his growing fear of hurting you. The "outings" you would have together were definitely NOT dates. You were just such a treat to be around. You brought him so much peace. Everything about you two just clicked so well that there was no way to deny the connection.

A platonic connection.

The fucking was.... just casual. Friends with benefits did exist. That's all it was. There's really no telling how or why it started. When even the kissing had started. There was nothing wrong with a little physical intimacy here and there. You made him feel good, the sex was sweet, but it didn't mean he was attached.

The moment he realized he was, however... it made him want to crawl out of his skin. That deep rooted fear of intimacy churning in his chest as he looked at you. Now he was looking at you in a new light and he could barely play it off for a few days before he started acting out, then avoiding you. He couldnt be near you without feeling deeply uncomfortable with himself.

And you knew, of course. You knew he needed to do things at his own pace, so you kept quiet and went along with this odd little arrangement he thought you had. You knew everything about him after all. He was just so slow to catch on to the fact that you already classified him as your boyfriend and that the acting was all so silly. Of course his discomfort and standoffish behavior was obvious to you. Just like how the answer was obvious to you. Like always, when he was tense or overthinking; he just needed to fuck it out.

So... after an hour of sitting through some random top pick netflix movie, you looked at him from across the couch and took him in. He was chewing on his lip with his eyes zoned out at the TV screen and your legs intertwined under the blanket. When your foot gently slid against his dick his eyes came to life and flew from the screen. You were already watching him with a lazy smirk and heavy eyes. "Y/n?", but you said nothing, sitting up to crawl across the couch. His hand reached out to meet you as you crawled on top of him and paused. Lips just a breath away to give him a moment, you murmer, "You look so troubled lately, Si." You place a gentle kiss against his lips, "Not even really watching the movie." Another kiss, "What's got you so distracted, hm?" He grunts as you kiss him again and his arms wrap around your waist, locking you against his body. Your fingers slide against his jaw and into his hair, massaging the nape of his neck as you softly kiss him over and over.

He hasn't given a real response and you know that without more coaxing, he won't. You know sweet talking always flusters him so you decide to really pour it on thick in between kisses. "All I wanna do is take care of you, Si." You sit up and slowly take your t-shirt off. "How can I do that when you won't talk to me?", you lament. "You try so hard to be the perfect soldier-" You lean back down and slide your hands under his shirt, "-the perfect man." A kiss, "You have no idea how much I want to take that weight off your shoulders when im with you." You trail off quietly and he grunts again, a single hand sliding down your back to grab your ass. You assume he kisses you in hopes of shutting you up, but he still isn't giving you what you want... So as you slide his shirt off over his head you lean back down and decide to say it.

"You have no idea how much I love you."

Tension floods Simon's body and he jerks back to look straight into your eyes. His own eyes look wide, but you're looking down at him with such love; it makes his throat feel dry and tight. Anxiety flares in his stomach and heat flashes through his body. His chest swells with an unfamiliar feeling as he seemingly comes to with a shaky inhale. Your fingers brush over his cheeks as you stare down at him; waiting. His heart is pounding. That nasty fear of intimacy rears it's ugly head in the form of panic and mixes with the adrenaline your confession brings. Simon feels his frustration at the entirety of it all as tears sting his eyes. He clenches his teeth as you try to move in and kiss him again.

Hands abruptly grab hold of the backs of your knees and pull as he sits up, flipping you up and backwards. Now carelessly tossed onto your back, Simon follows to hover over you, gripping your wrists to pin them down by your head. He must look as distraught as he feels. With pinched brows, disheveled hair and a red hot face, he feels on the verge of losing his mind entirely as he practically shouts, "What are you doing to me Y/n?! Why are you doing this?! Why are you like this?" The last part is said softer. Quieter. Filled with pure desperation and its almost like he wants to blame you, but he's begging for any kind of reprieve you can grant him from the uncomfortable mess of emotions he feels. Both of you softly pant against each other's mouths in silence before you quietly say, "Because I love you, Si..."

The sound of the TV fills the silence. He just stares at you while he breathes heavily. Slowly pressing his forehead against the side of your face, he shifts to the side, sinking into the cushions at the back of the couch. Your eyes follow him and you turn your body to face his. Tucking one arm between your bodies and resting your other arm over his thick torso, you press your forehead against his. Caressing his back you mutter, "You don't have to think about it too much, Si. Nothing has to change." His already shut eyes squeeze tightly; his breathing being wrangled back under control. You brush your lips over his. "Just let me take care of you.", you whisper.

He inhales sharply, holds and slowly releases his breath before reaching up and tangling his fingers into your hair. "Want me to say it again?", you whisper against his lips. A pause... and he nods hesitantly. You kiss him and breathe, "I love you.", into his mouth. He takes a shuddering breath and chokes out, "Again." "I love you." "Keep saying it." "I love you, Simon." His hand grabs the back of your thigh and pulls it over his hip. "I love you." One arm slides under your waist and wraps around you, the other hand slides up your thigh and grabs your ass. "I love you." He grinds your pussy against his cock, separated by your underwear and his gym shorts. You moan and move along with him.

"More. Say it one more time." He squeezes you briefly. "Please.", he whispers. Your eyes open; you both continue to grind against each other. Your pussy is dripping and smearing against his buldge, staining his shorts. Directly meeting his starstruck gaze you say, "I love you, Simon.", just to watch his eyebrows furrow as he moans. His eyes never leave yours, but his hips jerk once, his stomach flexes and he cums in his shorts. You moan at the realization of it. He's never cum so quick; he's getting off on hearing it. His long fingers slide from your ass to your wet underwear. He pulls them aside and dips two fingers into your pussy, slowly pumping them in and out. The realization that his cock is still hard makes your hips twitch and sink further onto his fingers.

"Simon-", you gasp. "I've just-", his fingers pull from your pussy and arm adjusts to slot between your legs. He pushes his fingers back in to the knuckle with a curl and pulls them out all the way; repeating. He won't say anything, he only kisses and caresses you. "I've been so worried.", you whine into his mouth. Low eyes with a langourous gaze are all you get. Despite his clear desire to have your confession burned into his ears, his reluctance to loose his own is obvious. He just pulls his wet fingers out of your pussy and rubs your clit with them. You gasp, "I knew you were avoiding me." Your hand leaves his side to slide between your bodies and pull his shorts out of the way. "I won't let you leave me because you're a-", a moan cuts you off as he grabs his cock and slips the tip into you.

"-Afraid of-" "Shut up, Y/N." Its a warning. The way he thrusts into you fully to punctuate your name is unfair. His cock so warm and big, his belly is so soft against yours. Simon slides his hand up under your thigh again and holds it higher, thrusting his cock deeper the higher your leg gets. In between breathless moans you push back, "You're afraid to be in love-" "Stop it" "-because it always ends poorly-" "That's not-", his thrust buries him to the hilt in you. "-true." His jaw is clenched and his grip on you is tight, but his eyes look vulnerable. You grip the back of his neck and brush your lips over his, whispering, "-but if I was going to leave... I would've left half a year ago." Panting, his eyes flit between your own. Your sincerity must be clear because he let's go of your leg and grabs your face, kissing you roughly. Tongue licking into your mouth and breaths mixing, all you can do is moan while he shifts you onto your back and cages you under him.

As your legs squeeze and wrap around his hips he begins pounding into your pussy ruthlessly. His face presses against your cheek and his tongue laves over your neck and jaw. You turn and kiss him briefly before biting his lip with a whine that sounds as sweet as can be to him. Simon jerks back and sits up. Still thrusting, he grips your hips, his cock dragging against the walls of your cunt, his eyes focusing in on your face. You. Sprawled out on the couch, hair wild against the cushion with blood on your lips. Your tongue licks it up and you gasp a moan as his hips still and his hands hold you down flush on his cock. A dangerous and low chuckle leaves his mouth as he leans down and licks into your mouth, tasting his own blood. His hips begin grinding into yours, your clit rubbing perfectly against his pelvis.

"I'm gonna fucking cum... as deep as I can in your cute little pussy." He gives one sharp thrust and you moan. "You love me so much? Huh?" He's grinding his cock head right against your g-spot so you just nod breathlessly. "Yeah. You're such a sweet girl." He murmurs, smoothing his hand over your hair. "I love you so much-", he whispers pressing his lips to your forehead, "-it makes me sick." His hand trails down your body to your clit and with just a few brushes of his thumb your pussy is pulsing around his cock. Slick is dripping from you onto the couch and you whimper and moan with your head thrown to the side, pressed into the throw pillow.

A hand grabs your jaw gently, forcing you to look up into Simon's blown out, adoring eyes. His thrusts are prolonging your orgasm and all you can do is moan and shake while he traces a thumb along your lips. Your tongue lolls out and licks his thumb. You bite the tip of it as he presses it passed your lips. A grunted moan and a renewed flash of red along his skin are the only indicators before he buries his cock as deep as he can get and shoots his cum against your cervix. The grinding of his hips against your clit and his cock against your g-spot as he rides his orgasm out triggers a second wave of your own. It's so intense that your toes curl and you squirt down his cock with a loud moan.

Simon's hunched over your body panting. You close your eyes as he wetly kisses your lips and rests more of his weight on you. When you open your eyes and turn your gaze back to the TV, a pop up saying "Are you still watching? Yes/No" is taking up the TV screen.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for telling my partner they need to be better at communicating during sex?

NSFW ask, but this has been an ongoing issue for a while and I’m very frustrated

My (19M) partner (21NB) is my first true sexual partner. They’ve been with other people in the past, some good experiences but mostly bad. I on the other hand have dated before and have had pseudo-sexual relationships (just touching) but my partner is the first person I’ve properly done the horizontal tango with

That being said, with my just-touching exes, we’ve always been extremely careful about communication in the moment. My most recent ex and I had the stoplight method even when we weren’t being kinky. It was reassuring to be able to check up on her and for her to be able to do the same. Maybe we were playing is too safe, idk, but that’s what I became comfortable with during sex

With my current partner, however, this has never been the case with their exes. I think I might be the first partner they’ve had that actually took time before making any sexual advances to ask them what they like and how I can make them happy because in the moment when I did, they looked confused.

Being horny young adults, we did eventually sleep together, and during the act, I realized that neither of us had checked in on the other outside of the initial “is this okay?” when removing clothes (I was the one who asked) so I slowed my roll and asked my partner if they were with me. They were not. They sputtered and said that I brought them out of the moment, and I became really really concerned that they had been disassociating the entire time because of previous sexual trauma. I told them I wanted to stop, they did not, so I rolled off and whispered into their ear while (and I apologize for not finding a better way to describe this without being overly graphic) I was straight jorkin’ em off. They were happy, they fell asleep, and I felt awful.

About half an hour later they kicked me out because their mom was coming home from a New Years Eve party (it was my 19th birthday which also hurt), but that’s not relevant, I just need the timeline in place.

We’ve done more sexual things since then and every time I try to check on them, they get weirded out. I stopped doing it in the moment so overtly and changed tactics to asking “what can I do for you” and “what do you need baby”, and this seems to get the job done. However, afterwards when I ask actually ask them how they were feeling, they would say that “the afterglow’s ruined” (which is wild because we’ve been together for six months and I’ve never finished -> I am a pre-op transman and my partner is AMAB, aka has told me that they don’t know what to do with my parts and once joked that sex would be easier if I had a dick, for context)

The last straw was tonight (March 4th) when they came over to my place and we started making out. I wasn’t really feeling it, so I tried to back off and shift to just lazy kisses, but my partner didn’t stop so I pulled away and said: “not tonight, baby”

They said: “if you weren’t in the mood, why did you kiss me?”

I said: “because I like kissing you?”

They said: “you should have told me you didn’t want to do anything. I don’t want to get the wrong idea.”

I said: “I’m sorry, I should have. I thought I wanted to, but I changed my mind. Can we go back to watching anime?”

They said yes and we watched another episode of a show (dungeon meshi!!) before I finally asked them why they don’t check in with me the way I do with them

They said: “I don’t like talking during sex. Ruins the vibe”

I said: “Okay, so can we find a system that lets the other know how we’re feeling when we don’t want to talk? Like how I use signs when I go nonverbal?”

They said: “I don’t see the point. If you don’t want to fuck, just push me off.”

I got mad and said: “What is wrong with you? I don’t want to push you off, I want to talk about it!”

They told me I was getting worked up and left. It’s been two hours and I feel like total shit for pushing the subject when they’ve expressed that they don’t like my expectations for sex. Am I too high maintenance?

TL;DR, I annoyed my partner by asking too many times for them to talk to me during sex, they got pissed and left my house. Atia for asking too many times?

What are these acronyms?

[jamdoughnutmagician]

Insatiable.

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader (smut)

Basically inspired by this prompt by @daisy-is-a-writer where Steve and the reader take a break from having sex, but Steve can only be so strong before he cracks. I don't know if this is what you wanted but I hope you enjoy it anyway! :)

*not proof read (sorry)

Word Count:1,657

*dividers made by @saradika-graphics

Masterlist // Steve Harrington Masterlist

It was no secret to you that Steve was practically insatiable when it came to you. Late Sunday nights snuggled together watching movies on the couch, turning into lazy makeout sessions with his boner pressing keenly into your thigh, which inevitably turns into him hoisting you up and carrying you off to his bedroom where he would eat you out until you’re screaming your release over his face. Once, twice, sometimes even making you come three times on his tongue before he’d even thought about sliding his cock into you.

Steve loved sex. And he loved you. And he most definitely loved having sex with you.

Sex with you was perfect. He’d had flings with girls all throughout high school, and girlfriends that ghosted in and out of his life, but nothing compared to the feeling of being so intimately close to the girl of his dreams. To be swallowing down your moans of pleasure into hungry kisses was something that never failed to get his heart racing.

It was on one of your movie nights with him that the subject came up. Soft kisses, even softer moans and dancing tongues all take precedence as some long-forgotten about movie hums quietly in the background.

He slyly grinds the growing bulge under his sweatpants into the soft curve of your hip, as he looks at you from under shaggy crop of his hair

“Whad’ya say we ditch the movie and head off upstairs?” he smiles with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

“You trying to get into my pants again, Harrington?” You playfully throw back at him.

He looks like he's lost for words, flustered at your question.

“Well…yeah?” He says, as though it's obvious. 

“You’re always so horny, aren’t you Stevie?” you tease him.

He shies away, hiding his blooming pink flush into the crook of your neck with delicate kisses. 

“I mean, can you really blame me? Have you seen my girlfriend lately? She’s really hot.” he mumbles between kisses, complimenting you as only he knew he could.

You card your fingers through the soft strands of hair at the back of his head, tugging lightly, forcing him to look at you.

“How about I make you a deal?”

“What kind of deal?” he asks, his honeyed hazel eyes sparkling in the low-light of the room.

“You can do whatever you want to me..” you start.

“Deal.” he quickly interrupts you, excited about this new turn of events.

“Hang on, I wasn’t quite finished.” you interject. “You can do whatever you want to me, if you can go one week without sex.” 

It wasn’t that you didn’t enjoy having sex with Steve, oh no, it was quite the opposite, but he would somehow always find a way to have you sprawled out beneath him, whimpering in pleasure, but you desperately needed a break. Just a small week of breathing space.

“One week?” he scoffs, this was going to be easy. Steve may be perpetually horny, but more than that he was incredibly determined, especially when it meant the rewards of the deal fell in his favour.

“Just one week, nothing more, nothing less. Whad’ya say Harrington, you up to the challenge?” You proposition, holding your hand out ready for him to shake it, and seal the deal between you two.

He takes your hand in his, shaking it with a confident grip.

“Challenge accepted."

The first day wasn’t so bad, if Steve jerked off in the shower before leaving for his shift at Family Video, then that was just between him, his hand, and his shower walls.

Steve’s long-dragging shift, of alphabetically re-organising the video tapes on the shelves, and chasing up late return items was only marginally made better as he watched Robin awkwardly and unsuccessfully flirt with the pretty blonde who came into the store. If only Robin wasn’t so blind to see that this girl was as much into her as well. At least watching his friend’s failed attempts at flirting was at least keeping him entertained.

Steve sighed with relief, his shoulders slumping down at the end of the day as he stacked the last of the shelves, and saw the final person waltz out the door.

As he made his way home in the evening, his brain was too tired to even think about anything vaguely sexual, as he struggled to keep his eyes open, lying sprawled out on his lumpy couch.

Day two started much the same as the day before, quickly reaching down his body to tug strokes over his morning wood, letting the warm spray of water wash over him as he thrusted into his fist. Bracing his arm on the wall of the shower, resting his head on his forearm as his hips stuttered out their release.

Towelling off his body, he sighed once more as he got ready for another day at work.

By day three he was starting to miss the feel of your body. The way you would perfectly fit together like two puzzle pieces. 

The brush of your thigh against his as you happily snuggled up next to him on the couch.

His dick was pressing uncomfortably up against the seams of his sweatpants.

He prayed to any gods listening that it wasn’t as obvious as he thought it seemed when he snuck off to the bathroom to quickly get himself off.

Day four passed and he was becoming more and more sexually frustrated, with his fantasies of you just becoming more and more depraved as he chased his high, sliding into his slick fist. 

He was grumpy at work, which wasn’t helped by Robin’s constant teasing about his current so-called ‘dry spell’. 

He was moody and short tempered when he picked up the boys from Hellfire club, grousing when Dustin wiped his muddy shoes inside his car.

To put it bluntly, Steve Harrington missed fucking.

Day five passed agonisingly slowly. By this point he was seriously debating giving up on this challenge you had set him, unsure if he could even cope the few more hours until his end of the bargain was up.

The absolute torture it was to watch as you laughed so easily as you splashed Nancy in his pool on one hot summer’s afternoon. His parents were away as usual, and it was hot, so of course he was going to invite his friends over.

What a mistake that was.

Seeing his girlfriend in her perfectly form fitting pink two-piece swim-suit, glistening wet with cool water droplets running off your sun-warmed skin was going to be the death of him he was sure.

Every little glance in his direction, every little movement, every single thing that you did made him want you even more.

Watching your tongue glide up the cherry red popsicle, chasing the syrupy sweet trail that melted down was something that was forever going to be burned into his memory.

By day six, Steve was absolutely ready to call it quits. He didn’t even care about the challenge anymore. He couldn’t deal with it, he needed to have you, and he needed to have you right now.

“Hey, Steve, I was wondering if yo-” you start to say but he cuts you off with a desperately hungry kiss.

“I’m sorry Honey, I’ve just been so fucking on edge these past few days, I can’t stand it anymore. I just need you, please baby.”

You smile at the boy in front of you, truth be told you knew he wouldn’t make it the whole week, you just wanted to see how long he could hold out until he cracked. Six days was impressive, even by Steve’s horny standards.

With a playful roll of your eyes, you tug him by the hand towards the bedroom.

“Come on, Loverboy.”

Steve’s hips frantically rutted into you, desperate to sink himself into the warm wet heat of your cunt. He wanted to feel every inch of your soft skin moving in tandem with him. To have your shuddering moans of pleasure breathed out as you shied away into the crook of his neck.

“Fuck, I’ve missed this” he growls out, relentless in his thrusts, pushing himself deeper with every stroke into you.

“S-suprised it took you this long...” you gasp out as you hook your legs around his hips, urging him closer to you than ever before.

He fills you so completely with every single thrust, you feel every pulsing vein, the heavy slap of his swollen balls against your wide-spread thighs.

“I’m not going to last much longer Honey, I really need to come, I promise I’ll make it up to you after, I just need this so badly.”

Your hands stroke through the soft strands of hair at the back of his neck, as he continues to roll his hips up into you.

“It’s okay baby, come for me..” you mewl.

And in a few more deep thrusts, Steve’s whole world comes crashing down around him as his hips jerk to a stuttering still, throbbing his release inside you with a growling moan.

His body flops down on top of you, his hair matted to his sweaty forehead.

“Just so you know, this was the week from hell for me, okay?” he chuckles, as he comes down from his earth-shattering high. “You at the pool with that damn popsicle? Were you trying to kill me?”

“That’s what did it for you, huh?” you scoff with a soft laugh.

“Shut up. You know what you were doing.” he says, without any sense of hostility in his voice whatsoever. “Anyway, I think it was about time that I made it up to you? Whad’ya say?”

You nod with a cheeky smile as your boyfriend’s kisses trailed down your body. He made himself comfortable between your thighs and got to work making it up to you.

Your head thunked softly against the pillow, this was going to be a long night.

@penguinsandpotterheads @paybacksawitch @mrsjellymunson @wroteclassicaly @xxbimbobunnyxx

[faust-the-enjoyer]

Anonymous asked: Hellooo this is a sfw request I hope that's okayyy! Can you do a hurt/comfort fic about how female reader used to be in an unhealthy relationship? And now, being in a healthy one with Leon, she's not used to it. So she usually thinks she has to serve him and do all the housework or she'll be in trouble, but he just gives her love and reassurance 🥺

Rest

Warnings/tags: fem!reader, sfw, mentions of past toxic/abusive relationship, Leon is RE4 remake coded, hurt/comfort, use of pet names/terms of endearment.

-Divider by (saradika-graphics)!

It's always been this way, ever since you were with him, it was you who was expected to do the housework. Always you, it never mattered if you were tired or upset, he'd find a way to make you feel bad, guilty, hell, sometimes he'd even make you afraid, and even cause problems on purpose, all just to make you do the housework so his lazy ass could sit all day long and never lift a finger.

Well, thankfully the relationship was broken off, and later, you got with Leon. A gentleman. An absolute sweetheart. A couple of months into being with you, he'd start to notice some of the things that you do. You had just started living with him for a couple of months, and that's when he noticed it happening.

At first, you'd do a couple of chores around the house, cooking, since you think your cooking is much better than his, doing your own laundry, which then turned into you doing his laundry as well, and even changing the bed sheets every once and a while, among other things. You felt as if there was almost an obligation on you to do these things, to take care of the house and let him rest while you do so, but it didn't go unnoticed by him, and in the many times he insisted on doing certain chores, you ended up doing them before he did anyway, because you felt as though that was the right thing to do.

One night in the laundry room, you were getting ready to take the clothes out of the washer and put them in the dryer, but to your surprise, he came into the room and stopped you.

"Sweetheart, could we just talk for a moment? Here, gimme the basket.", it's quite obvious he's a little concerned about something. As you give him the basket and watch him hold it with one arm, you lean against the washing machine, "What is it baby? You alright?", you ask him as you start rubbing your hand up and down his free arm. He lets out a sigh then speaks, "I'm fine, but...I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while now, I just wanna know, why do you keep doing all of this?", he points to the basket in his hands and the washer and dryer, then continues talking, "You do almost all the housework, even when I have the energy to do it and I tell you that I'll do it, you do everything in this house, even when you're exhausted...why?".

You're staggered. You never thought he'd have any issues with your behaviour, or even find it odd or strange, you thought he'd like it, appreciate it, you thought he'd be happy with you...he certainly never showed any signs of being upset with you whenever you didn't do these chores, or even when he did some with you at the beginning of when you two started living together. It was like second nature to you; cook this, clean this, scrub this, wash this, or else he'll be angry at you. He?

This is not your ex. He's not him.

"I just....", you trail off, tears slowly starting to form in your eyes as you look at him. Upon seeing your expression, he immediately puts the laundry basket up on the dryer, and he brings you in for a tight hug, burying your face in the crook of his neck while rubbing your back. "Shh...I'm not angry at you, I'm not upset with you sweetheart, I just wanna know why...", his tone is gentle, comforting even, as he lets you cry it out a little. You lift your head up to look at him as he wipes your tears away, "I just want to make you happy...I thought it would make you happy...", you sniffle, and he puts his hand on the side of your face, his thumb caressing your cheek. "Why? I never asked you to do all the housework, you're not getting paid for this you know, you're not a house cleaner that I hired...".

He smiles at you let a small laugh out at what he said, "I...it used to make my ex pretty happy you know...I'd...usually get in trouble if I didn't stuff like cooking and cleaning, he'd cause a lot of issues,", his face slightly twists in anger, "I....I thought you'd feel the same way he-...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...", you look away in embarrassment, it wasn't your fault that you'd thought that, but you still felt like it was. He puts his thumb on your chin and lifts your face up for him to look at, "I'm not angry at you, I know it's tough, and I can't imagine what you went through being with that piece of shit...but I won't ever get angry at you for not doing housework,", he lets out a sigh, "We live in this house together, and I love taking care of our home just as much as you do, I know it makes you happy doing some of the chores, but I wanna do them with you, I don't want our house and our relationship to feel like a burden on you...alright sweetheart? I'm already happy with you.", he gives you a small warm smile as his tired eyes soften, and you nod, burying your face into his neck again as he kisses your forehead.

These days, he does the chores alongside you, as he washes the dishes, you dry them, as you vacuum, he wipes the windows, as you change the sheets, he makes the bed, and now, you cook together. He took the weight of tiring chores and fear off of your shoulders, and offered you nothing but love, respect, and comfort.

[weird-bookworm]

ᴍᴀꜰɪᴀ!ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ

HYUNG LINE MAKNAE LINE

a/n: been wanting to do this for a long time now, hopefully y'all will like it <3 i don't really do reader x member stuff though, so this'll just either be member x member ships or no romance at all 😅

pairing: jihancheol, junhao, verkwan

genre: headcanons, fluff, crack, romance (kinda), angst (?), mafia

warnings: slight mentions of non-graphic violence, illegal stuff obviously

S.Coups

leader, for obvious reasons

hella protective over the guys, will kill for them

won't admit it, but also very soft for them

belonged to a family already involved with the mafia, knew the inner workings of an organisation like this since very young

unforgiving and unrelenting if he sets his mind on something, especially if that something is revenge

lost his parents to a rival mafia early on, was out for revenge when he stumbled across the members one by one, and that's how svt

came to be

did end up taking revenge, the rival gang doesn't exist anymore

helps in cleanup because muscles

worries about the others during missions but then tells himself that he's being stupid and everyone has had years of experience and there's no one he would rather trust

has known jeonghan and joshua since they were 14

is also very whipped for said men (and their puppy dog eyes)

ruthless, yes, but holds his member's opinions in high regards

often pretends he doesn't see the members going out of their way to take care of him after a rough day so they don't get embarrassed

once went MIA for a week

the group was in hysterics, there was chaos everywhere, some were worried, others were ready to kill, the mansion almost burned down at least 7 times, half of them were starving by the end of it because everyone was just so darn busy trying to find where he disappeared

jeonghan, jihoon and seungkwan almost lost their minds trying to bring order to the chaos (a near impossible task, let's be honest)

only for him to return later, very confused about the welcome he got (his members on top of him, most of them either already crying or on the verge of tears and a very angry jeonghan, seungcheol had never feared for his life more)

turns out he had left for a overseas meeting; it was sudden and he was urgently required in the middle of the night

in his defence, he had left a sticky note on the door of their bedroom, for maximum visibility, which no one had noticed somehow (you'd think they'd be good at this shit, being, y'know, mafia members)

he never let them live this down, but only after he made sure jeonghan and jihoon weren't going to murder him in his sleep

got scolded about forgetting his charger before going on the trip in retaliation (which is why he couldn't text or call them)

wonwoo threatened to replace his phone and give him a normal one instead of the non-traceable ones he made specially for the group

was reluctant at first, but warmed up to the idea of dating and is now in a poly relationship with jeonghan and joshua

Jeonghan

the seducer, again, for obvious reasons

looks like an angel and acts like one too, but only for the kids

can be really scary when he wants to be

the kids have a weird sense of respect for him and the way he gets shit done

can be surprisingly lazy

too good at mind games

knows how to crumble even the toughest person

has his fair share of bad days

needs cuddles all day long

will demand them like a baby

the members will then proceed to do some manly cuddling

ran away from home at the age of 13, but no one knows why, even his boyfriends

met seungcheol when he was 14 by chance in a convenience store, trying to swipe a loaf of bread under the cashier's nose while flirting with her

he gave him a place to stay and food to eat

that's when he knew he was in love

poor baby was very confused when he fell for joshua because he still definitely was in love with seungcheol

knows he is ethereal and uses the knowledge with the precision of a knife

low-key the mother of the groups, fusses over little things

also radiates chaotic gay energy 24/7

somehow even ropes the most responsible, calm members into doing some weird shit on a daily basis

has made it his personal mission to annoy the hell out of seungcheol and joshua

gets annoyed when it doesn't work and they just get fond instead

prefers knives and daggers over guns and has learned the art of swordfighting

has a hard time trusting someone new

got himself kidnapped in their early days

had gotten a little cocky at the consecutive successes they had been having and hadn't bothered to hide the knife properly

said knife stuck out like a sore thumb and a rival gang hadn't even waited long enough to let him get to where he was supposed to be before abducting him

was tortured with all kinds of punches and kicks

the torturer sadistically didn't hit his face

the group had to give a huge ransom for him

felt guilty for ages before vernon, surprisingly enough, slapped (literally) some sense into him

was so shocked he didn't even think about scolding the younger for hitting someone older than him

came to accept that mistakes happen

but is still careful on every mission now

Joshua

the 'undercover agent'

trained with jeonghan and jun

but works closely with seokmin and vernon

often infiltrates other gangs posing as a new recruit

a genius in disguises

can go from looking pretty to looking like a blotchy old man with a hump in no time and barely any special materials

loves posing as girls

flirts a lot as a girl

then renders his target unconscious to get the required information

because a lot of pervert gang leaders are actually stupid enough to take their one night stands to important places like their offices or bedrooms

if anyone was to ask him a memorable experience, he would tell them about the one time he had to switch disguises from an old bearded man to a pretty young lady

and how he forgot to take the beard off and had worn the bra the wrong way

he was supposed to be going for an interview for the secretary of the ceo

got a itch on his nose in the elevator and realised the beard was still on his face

was very glad that he was alone in the elevator

checked himself just in case and found he still had a flat chest

had to take off his blouse, put the bra back on properly

and then get dressed again, all in less than a minute

gave wonwoo hell because he hadn't warned him despite having eyes on every single camera in the building

only got a laugh in response

is weirdly obsessed with water

he and jeonghan make a pair to be reckoned with

poor seungcheol loses his mind on a daily basis with these two someone save him

gets homesick really easily

will spend ages talking with vernon in english when he feels so

a master ventroquelist

this unexpectedly has come in hand way too many times

his original dream was to be a preschool teacher

still questions how he ended up where he is on a near daily basis

doesn't regret it one bit though

a proper gentleman, but only when he isn't in the mood to do some crazy shit

which actually isn't that often

but god knows it's intense when it happens

obviously everything he ever plans he plans with jeonghan

and the target is always seungcheol

"the others don't lose their patience as quick as you, y'know, you're fun to tease"

*cue cheeky grin and getting chased by a mad cheol*

Jun

more of a lure than a seducer, but prefers the latter term

way too confident

but only in his face

gets adorably flustered if someone compliments him on anything other than his face

a goofy lil shit

everyone will collectively unanimously agree that he is the group's weirdo

he won't even try to deny it

had a hard childhood, was attention and touch starved

his family went bankrupt and the first thing they did was "kick out the liability"

was working a part time job secretly though and decided to change countries

that's how jihoon stumbled upon him, on the street

revels in attention

top class humour

loves to act all coy and pretty and damsel-in-distress on missions

says it attracts people easily

only to go all 'i-am-an-expert-martial-artist-fear-me' on them

except it's not quite as funny as it sounds

because he is trained in all sorts of traditional martial arts

of most east asian and south-east asian countries

half of whose names the other members can't even pronounce

often worries the others by preferring to go into missions without any weapons

says it helps in maintaining the cover

which it certainly does

and that he doesn't need any weapons anyway

"i am a weapon"

*grin*

(it's fine but only because it's jun 👀)

practises with minghao, who is not quite as trained as he is, but gets the job done

has insane stamina

once fought a small rival gang in hand to hand combat all by himself

flexible as fuck

makes too many dirty jokes about it

(must be the only idiot to actually make dirty jokes about himself smh 😔)

sleight of hand

master pickpocket

steals from the members just for the fun of it

they don't even blink an eye when they find something missing, will simply go to his room and find whatever they are looking for on his dresser

is also somehow very forgetful

a babie

Hoshi

the pyromaniac

prefers to be called the entertainer of the group though

had a weird penchant for fire when he started

once set fire to the headquarters of a small gang

really liked doing that

so they gave him asked him to work with seungkwan and chan

and make bombs and fire guns of all sorts

is also weirdly obsessed with tigers

(but don't we all know that already 😩)

one of the few members who uses an alias in the mafia world

has too much raging gemini energy

strangely intuitive when it comes to finding traitors

or the person responsible for committing whatever new atrocity svt is dealing with

hates wearing suits

but still enjoys how good and authoritative he looks in them

until he goes all crazy again

annoyingly loud

also annoyingly sweet

he and seokmin are sunshine in human form

almost has the same amount of weird energy as jun

they are the gemini twins after all

will either get on your nerves on a daily basis

or will convince you to help him get on someone else's nerves

very squishy

dramatic, but not in the drama queen way

just in the attention seeking way

doesn't really mean it, it just happens

is actually an introvert, but has a hard time believing it himself

most of everything he owns is tiger themed

even has a customised yellow gun with black stripes

they don't let him take it out though, so just uses it for practise in the headquarters

can and will steal the member's clothes and accessories

and will proceed to tease them about it

he doesn't know, but everyone is very fond (read:whipped) for him

even the younger members

because god knows he acts more like a maknae than the real maknae

has a fourth degree taekwondo black belt

also helps in cleanup

a surprising amount of things need burning after fights

can withstand a high amount of heat because of how used he is to it

another babie

Wonwoo

the tech guy

or as ned would say, the guy in the chair (im sorry i had to 🙈)

smarter then he looks

which is saying something because he already does look smart

nimble and quick fingers

has glasses, goes kinda blind without them

was a streamer before he joined

hence the affection to computers

still games, but doesn't stream anymore

a master at puzzles

works with chan for new projects, the younger is good at assembly while he handles the programming and electric part of everything

svt only ever uses the cctv cameras made by him

so they're never compromised

seldom joins the others for field work

becomes the guys' eyes and ears for most missions

one of the best hackers out there

also one of the quickest

the guys had a special basement made just for him

just in case someone manages to enter the headquarters

has a tinier but just as strong basement under his house too

for emergencies

only the 13 of them even know where to get to the basement (in the headquarters)

and he is the only one who knows the passcode required to enter

the room is absolutely filled with all things computer

was one of the first people to meet seungcheol and jihoon

they also forced him to learn hapkido when they met him

is a black belt now

practises with jun and minghao weekly

usually quite and reserved

his crazy side comes out rarely

but when it does, it comes in full force

his parents still think he works for an IT firm

said firm is actually a legitimate cover to the shady ongoings in svt

so he never really has troubles coming up with realistic stories

does help the employees there though

has his name stated in the official employees list

the other members either haven't noticed or don't care

because he probably hacked into the website to put his name there

an easy task considering he was the one who made it in the first place

once ate some dish with crab while giving instructions during a mission

threw up all over his brand new computer

demanded to know who ordered it

turns out it was him who accidentally clicked on the wrong dish while ordering

was sheepish

but still threw out the computer

Woozi

sub leader

seungcheol's right hand man

and his left hand man

and a lot more

is the entire group's reality check

enjoys more authority over the members than seungcheol does

but that's because they can't bully him like they do with seungcheol (some save him pt. ∞)

does a lot of jobs in the group

mainly helps in cleanup

also does the recruiting

made the entrance tests for people looking to join

designed them himself

while cheol decides what to do, he decides how to do it

did i mention he's actually cheol's cousin?

a very distant cousin

but a cousin nonetheless

his family had also always been involved in the mafia world

he ran away from home though

said it was too toxic

even for a literal criminal gang

still wanted to work in a mafia though

him and cheol had been close when they were younger

got to know about how the elder was planning to take revenge for his parents

was the one to convince him to actually form a proper gang before doing anything stupid

said he'd help

refused to be the leader

but agreed to have a position of importance

unnervingly good at predicting stuff

...all sorts of stuff

can usually tell the weather of the entire day early in the morning

but more often than not acts as a warning system to the guys on field

which is the entire reason he even accompanies them

they once went near an abandoned river to search for something

said they would find something even more precious

they found a small pouch filled with black opals

is the personification of 'i might be small but you're all still beneath me'

(i am inclined to agree ✊🏻)

actually a lil cutie though

not anywhere near as cold as he seems

might wanna read:

[perinfernum]

One more day - Mountain

Something different, I just needed to project

TW: graphic desciption of self-harm, mentions of suicide

Word count: 1371

Read below the cut or on AO3

Mountain sighed looking down at his arms. Once again they were littered with red cuts, leaving almost no place for new. He knew he had his entire body for that, but something about being able to see them, to feel the brush of clothes over them, made it soothing. He hated to admit that he felt no shame in bringing the razor to his skin every night of the week. At first the stinging pain, then seeing the blood trail down his arms and hands. Then the burning when he took shower, and the harsh sting of pulling long sleeves over them. The adrenalinę that came with the fact that someone might notice, they might ask. But it was slowly dying, they never did, and Mountain doubted that they even cared.

Today was no different. Mountain sitting down in the bathroom, with his back resting against the bathtub. Smoke from his cigarette was slowly flowing out of the open window, as he flicked off the ash. Next to him there was quite an impressive stash of cigarette butts, the current one being his tenth in a row. Next to that, in a small case, was resting his razor. He would cut himself some more, but later. He knew that he had more awful thoughts to trigger himself. It would only make the pain more enjoyable.

He just ended call with his parents. He finally admitted that college was not-so-slowly driving him to suicide, and it was the last moment he could drop out and start taking care of himself. Cause sure, self – harming was bad, but it wasn’t killing himself. It was relaxing and nice, but he would still be able to get up and do things. It’s not that he wanted to live. He didn’t. But he didn’t want to give up without a fight, because maybe some day he would be happy. And he didn’t want to leave his bandmates without a drummer, it is hard finding one.

Music was something that he really enjoyed. It helped him regulate his emotions, and reached deep down into his soul, twisting it, breaking, and fixing slowly piece by piece. He knew he could get better, with music and help, but in order to do that, he had to drop out. And his parents didn’t like that. Father started screaming about Mountain’s laziness, about him being a quitter, and come on, „other people have it worse”. He refused to believe that it was THAT bad, he wanted to force his son to finish his degree no matter the cost. When Mountain lost it and screamed that his father would rather have him dead and with a degree, than alive and without one, his father only responded with „Don’t be dumb, I can’t write that you have masters on your tombstone”.

Mountain felt his eyes start to water, and the familiar feeling of doom inside his stomach was back. His parents didn’t care. He straight forwardly told them that college was making him suicidal, and they didn’t care. It didn’t matter that he had a job, he had a band, he had friends. He wouldn’t have his degree.

He had two options. Have no degree and no family, or kill himself. And he started leaning towards the latter one. His mind was a mess, thoughts racing in every direction, everything screaming at him to just give up, and he didn’t know why he shouldn’t. He looked up to the cabinet, knowing that Swiss’s sleeping pills were in there. And he knew he had a lot of that stuff, enough to kill someone three times.

He sighed letting out more smoke, and slightly jumped when someone knocked on the door. He looked around in panic, blood on the floor, his arms on display, but he didn’t have time to protest.

The door slightly opened and Rain came in. They looked around and clenched their fists noticing the blood stained razor. Mountain flinched, knowing what was coming next. A punch, screams and him being pulled out of the bathroom by his hair while his father was screaming about making Mountain’s live a living hell from the next day. But Rain only let themselves kneel down next to Mountain and brushed his hair away from face. They leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Mountain furrowed his brows in confusion, not reacting when Rain took the cigarette out of his hands and out it out. Soon Mountain was sitting on the washing machine as Rain stood between his legs, gently cleaning the cuts and bandaging his arms. When they were done, Mountain reached to put on his longsleeve, but Rain stopped him.

„We all know, we just didn’t know how bad. It’s hot, you shouldn’t be wearing more clothes than necessary. I promise no one is going to say anything”

Mountain only nodded, not finding it in himself to speak. He wanted to take those goddamn pills, go through some pain while his body would try to reject them, but in the end be welcomed by comforting arms of nothing. He watched Rain as they cleaned the bathroom, throwing away the razor into the toilet and flushing all of Mountain’s comfrot away. Soon the tiles were clean too, and Rain was extending their hand towards him. He took it and they left, going into the kitchen, where the rest of their pack was preparing food. He allowed himself to be sat on chair, his mind still not present in the moment. He wanted to be angry at Rain, for disturbing his plans, but he couldn’t find enough strength in himself to feel any emotions.

He was tired, and he was done. But he was too exhausted to do anything about that. So he just said to himself, that tomorrow he would do it. Tomorrow he would finally put an end to all of that. Because what is one more day at his current state?

He barely registered when food was put in front of him, and when Rain started pushing it inside Mountain’s mouth. He obliged, not caring enough to protest. He could hear the jokes being said around him, but it was all muffled. His body registered when he was being touched, small gestures from his pack mates to remind him that they were there, but Mountain was still on the bathroom floor, hearing his parents’ voices.

He suddenly became conscious when he heard the car door being shut, him suddenly inside of one. Rain and Aether were also there, Aether driving, and Rain in the backseat holding hands with Mountain. The ride was quiet, only music on the radio breaking the silence. They pulled up in front of some building, Rain softly squeezing his hand, before going out of the car, dragging Mountain along. He looked back, seeing Aether leaning against the car. He smiled at the very confused Mountain, and watched the two of them disappear into the building.

Rain stopped in front of one of the rooms, and looked at Mountain.

„This is my therapist’s office” they started, squeezing Mountain’s hands „I would like you to go in there and try to talk about what is going on, would that be okay with you?” they asked, their eyes gentle and loving. And Mountain just stared. His mind racing once again. His thoughts stopped when he felt Rain press their lips onto his, Mountain melting at the unfamiliar, yet so needed, feeling.

„I love you Mount and I can’t loose you. And I don’t want you to feel like there’s no way out of things” they said and Mountain only nodded, still dumbfounded from the kiss they just shared, and hearing that Rain loved him. As he was pressing the handle to go inside, he could only picture Rain’s smile, and think that maybe there was a third option, one that contained him and Rain against all of the problems in their lives. And maybe, just maybe, one more day could turn into countless days.

[veryace-ficrecs]

Stephanie Brown Fic Recs

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

closet space by adelfie - Rated T

“Hi,” she says in a breathless rush, then takes a moment to swallow and wet her lips. “I, uh, need your help?” “Are you dying?” “N-not exactly.” “Then you don’t need me,” comes Jason’s lazy, uninterested reply. The call ends with a click. -- Steph doesn't know what's more embarrassing: that she's been locked in a closet during a party, or the fact that her "friends" aren't really her friends. And to top it all off, Jason's the only one who can come rescue her.

heroes and thieves at my door (i can’t seem to tell them apart anymore) by Hinn_Raven - Rated G

Bruce really can’t help but think that Stephanie Brown, pre-medicine, piano player, and honors student, with Leslie vouching for her, would be a far better girlfriend for his daughter than Spoiler, the new vigilante in town.

Spoiler Alert: It Gets Better. by carolinaa - Rated T

Red Hood's been running Robin's Nest, a secret youth shelter in Gotham, since he came out of his murdery craze. He wants it to be a place to stay, no questions asked, with a hot meal provided if you stick around for breakfast. The kids of Gotham deserve that much. Enter Stephanie, whose new name isn't the only secret she's keeping. (or: how steph outsmarts her dad, makes gay friends, and gets the guy)

DON'T YOU CRY, DRY YOUR EYES. by orpheusaki - Not Rated

After inhaling her food before Bruce's even halfway through his vanilla milkshake, Stephanie seems to have sobered up a little. She's looking less green, and more like she's trying to develop x-ray vision and look into Bruce's soul. Or maybe she's still drunk, because she very suddenly and very bluntly tells him, "I used to wish you were my dad," drowning her chips into a little pot of ketchup. Bruce pauses. He slowly drops the chicken nugget he was about to put in his mouth — since now is probably not the time to complain about how the nuggets are a little dry today. (Bruce Wayne is not Stephanie Brown's father, not at all.)

No Body Nobody by snackbaskets - Rated M

Now, worst case scenario: What’s so bad you call Jason? Easy. You call him when you need someone beaten, killed, or otherwise met with incredible violence. You call him when you’re running away for a week because Bruce is being a dickhole. You call him when you want to eat food by someone who can cook Gothamite comfort, and to yell really really loud. When she spoke again, it was with a whisper, strained as if it were creaking its way out of her body, wasting away all the air in her lungs and making her voice into something high and reedy, splintering on the last word in her mouth. “Don’t tell Bruce.” You call Jason when you need to hide a body. This fic contains graphic depictions of violence/gore, mentions of sexual assault (NOT to Steph or Jason), and POV dissociation. Proceed with care.

Before the World Was Big by luckyymoth - Rated T

Stephanie Brown is back and better than ever! Well. Okay she's back. And is trying to cope the best she can, especially with her best friend leaving her behind with nothing but a hand-me-down costume. She just can't help but wish for the way it was before the world was big.

Stephanie by revstarbrainrot - Rated T

Stephanie is thrown to the ground, something cracking beneath her. No. No, she wasn’t Robin anymore. This is different, Stephanie is different. She’s trained with Cass more since then, she’s stronger, she- Rubble falls from the ceiling, landing on the center of her back. The air is knocked out from Stephanie, and this is looking horribly familiar.

paranoid android by SnappleSnapSnake - Rated T

“Hello, Stephanie. Or should I call you Spoiler?” A woman’s scrambled voice rang out, talking like a fucking Bond villain. Okay, so, yeah. Probably a mob boss. Play it cool, Steph. “Um, how exactly do you know my name? Or where I live?” She asked instead of screaming or swearing or literally anything else she wanted to do. To be fair, it was a really good question. “That is unimportant,” the woman (who steph hereby dubbed as ‘voice lady’) answered, definitely more collected than Stephenie was. And why wouldn’t she be? Voice Lady had all the power here. “I am here to ask for a favour.”

[melancholy-marionette]

Hi! How are you today?

You've likely already been asked this, but what do you use to make visual novels? How did you learn to do it? All the ones you make are so cool!!! 💖

Heya! I would say 'tired' is probably the main way I feel today xD I’ve been staying up until 4am again recently and forcing myself up again at 8:30am trying to make up for lost time on the jam that I’m currently taking part in with Lazy Polar Bear x3 (otome/josei jam)

We even tried our best to plan some stuff in advance so that we could have a chilled-out jam for once, but the world had other plans it seems, haha. We've both been hit by a fair bit of bad luck, so I’m pushing myself in the hope we’ll still be able to release a demo in time for the end of the jam. Energy drinks are very much my friend atm x3

I’m so sorry it’s taken me forever to answer anyhow! I’m still majorly behind on pretty much everything >.< so most of my replies are at snail speed, haha. It doesn’t help that my PC died at the end of April, and trying to get a new one has been a nightmare :( 

I knew it was on its way out for a while, so I’d been saving up + making sure to regularly backup data (thankfully, I don’t think I lost too much!) Managed to scrape together enough to get a new one, but when it was delivered, something was wrong with it >.< The first time I powered it on, there was a super loud scraping sound from a fan or something, and it threw up some BIOS error stuff instead of booting Windows.

I contacted the company, and they arranged to collect it & rebuild it for me, which took a while to do. Just had the rebuilt one delivered this week, but there’s still something not quite right about it :( It takes over 1 minute to boot up from pressing to power on (for reference, my PC that died was over 10 years old and booted up in about 10 seconds!) The 4th time I powered the new one on, it lit up inside, but never displayed anything. I gave it 5 minutes, but still nothing, so had to hit the reset button on the case.

Aaaand, one of the hard drives scans show it’s temperature is 68 degrees while the PC is idle, which doesn’t seem good >.< Neither does how hot the processor and graphics cards are showing on temperature readings when idle. As far as I can tell though, all the fans are working fine! 

Still in contact with support trying to find out what is going on :( Which is not what I need while trying to work on a jam project, haha.

Anyways, I’m so sorry for the giant ramble there!! To actually answer your question x3 I don’t think I’ve been asked it that much actually! Maybe only like once or twice :3 The first couple of VNs I made were made with Tyranobuilder cos that was the first thing I came across that seemed easy to use, and it was :D I did try Ren’Py first, but after completing a few tutorials and making a demo project, I hated having to do code stuff so much that I knew it would make me not want to make a full game if that was how I had to do it >.<

I got Tyranobuilder in a Humble Bundle years ago, and it claimed you could make VNs from scratch without writing a single line of code because it used a drag & drop system, so I figured I’d give it a shot! It definitely did what it said on the tin :3 I made my first-ever game with it (Solipsism Reigns) + another one after that (Impostor) before switching to something else. (well, there was also the CiQ demo too, but that's irrelevant now that the game is being made in Nani!)

I think I read a couple of basic tutorials for Tyrano, but it was honestly all really easy to get going with by just poking around in there and seeing what did what, haha.

Besides those first couple of games, everything else I’ve made has been using Naninovel in Unity. I’d say Nani took longer to get started with, but the tutorials are vast and very detailed, so that was a big help. I also managed to get it while it was on sale, so that was a relief since it’s quite expensive full price.

I switched for a couple of reasons. One being that the drag & drop system in Tyrano was fantastic for a beginner like me, but also quite slow, so once I’d grown a bit more confident with how things worked, I figured something like Naninovel with an easy-to-understand scripting language would probably allow me to work faster!

The other big reason was because of how buggy Tyrano seemed to be >.< There were a lot of issues in it that didn’t seem to be having fixes worked on by the software devs at the time (I believe they have since updated it though!) And it was just frustrating to discover there was the odd bug in my game that I couldn’t fix because it was caused by something in the software itself that I hadn’t even touched.

I’ve stuck with Naninovel because it’s definitely easy to use, has a tonne of brilliant guides, and the support on Discord has always been exceptional whenever I’ve needed help on how to do something :3 There’s still a lot about it that I don’t know how to use or little gripes I have with it here and there, but overall, I do prefer it to Tyrano. Nothing is ever gonna be perfect.

It does make collaborating difficult sometimes though because Ren’Py is still the most commonly used tool for making VNs I guess. So if you want to work with people to do code and stuff, and 1 only has knowledge of Ren’Py while the other only has knowledge of Nani’s scripting language and what Nani can do, it’s like you’re speaking two completely different languages when it comes to trying to understand each other x3

If I didn’t have to write code, I would probably use Ren’Py xD It’s just, while I still dislike having to type thousands of lines of Naniscript, I find it at least manageable without getting the world’s biggest headache, haha.

I’m glad that you think the stuff I make turns out cool though! :3 That means a lot ^-^ I always kinda feel like an impostor when it comes to everything I do in game dev just cos I never had any proper training or education >.< I guess a lot of VN devs are probably self-taught though! It is fun to figure things out yourself by trial and error, but I’m sure I must be doing heaps of stuff wrong xD or at least in ways that aren’t exactly the most efficient x3 I muddle through though :D 

Hope you are well + that May is turning out to be a marvellous month for you! Or at the very least, that you have had better luck than me lately, haha.

[byunbhyunz]

Being Fond of You Comes Naturally

Pairing: Chanyeol/Reader (but not really)

Genre: fluff, angst, hybrid!au

Rating: +18

Warnings: mentions and hints of abuse, sexual abuse, so please don’t read if you’re triggered by it.

Word count: 18,908

Five years went by since hybrids were introduced to the world. Half-human, half-animal beings, who needed to be taken care of. Most people treated them as pets, just as lovingly, but sometimes also just as bad. Yet, you never sparred them a thought until your roommate decided to bring home a tall Labrador Retriever hybrid.

You were stunned. Standing in the living room speechless, bare feet rooted to the fluffy carpet, you stared at your roommate and what she has brought home. Or more like who she brought home. You weren’t sure how you should refer to hybrids. The whole thing was still new to you, even though more than five years passed since they were officially introduced to the society.

Cocking an eyebrow, you glanced questioningly at Seoyun, who fiercely refused to look away. The hybrid next to her seemed to be nervous. He was tall with big doe eyes, and despite his dark hair, his perked ears were covered with golden fur. Strange combination, you thought. He slightly trembled under your inspecting eyes, and grabbed Seoyun’s hand.

“What is this?” you asked slowly.

“He’s a hybrid, not a thing.” She pouted at you, voice lazy and not really caring.

“I can see that. I mean, what is he doing here? What is this situation?”

“I bought him. I was lonely, and he looked so sad at the shelter.”

You hummed. Clicking your tongue loudly, you plopped back down on the couch. You wanted to get back to your work, but your mind wasn’t in the right state at the moment, and you didn’t even know what was the reason for it. Maybe because she forgot to discuss it with you beforehand? Or you were just simply against taking hybrids home as pets? Maybe both. However, you didn’t like this whole idea overall.

Staring at the screen of your laptop with empty eyes, you heard your roommate murmuring softly to the hybrid as she led him to her room. It was right next to yours, and you wondered how can or will the two of them be comfortable in there. Neither room was too big. Well, comfortable for one, but not for two.

From the corner of your eyes, you glanced at the hybrid. He was tall, but at that moment his shoulders slumped forward, as he was trying to shrink to the same size as Seoyun was; and he failed miserably. He must have felt your eyes on him, because the next moment he whipped his head in your direction. His eyes widened, and you didn’t like the scared shine in them. Were you that intimidating? So much for a first impression!

Sighing, you turned back to your laptop, the design for the next spread of the magazine not really registering in your brain.

You were a free-lancer graphic designer. Well, free-lancer on paper, but you were hired for a monthly magazine to design and edit for them. It wasn’t a big job, twenty pages on top, which you usually finished in a week. The only problem was that they didn’t pay you too well, so you also had to take side jobs and even ran a little site where you took commissions for portraits. From the both of them combined you made enough to live well.

It wasn’t like that in the beginning. You barely made any money from your commissions. You had to slowly build up your reputation, so word about your work would spread in the required circles. During the harder days, you worked in a café. You liked in there, but felt relieved when you finally could quit to concentrate on your the work you did with passion.

After maybe an hour, Seoyun came out, the hybrid lingering closely behind her, holding onto her hand.

“What’s your name?” you asked, not looking at them. You didn’t want to scare him off more than you already did. The way he pulled his shoulder up, hunched forward as if he was trying to disappear from your eyes, told you how he didn’t like you just yet.

“Chanyeol,” Seoyun answered for him, her tone slightly colder than before.

You hummed, not wanting to piss her off. You had a nice relationship with each other. She was you roommate in college too, and since you lived together well enough, you decided to find an apartment and move in together after graduating. Your lifestyles were the exact opposite, but maybe that was the reason why it worked so well. You usually stayed at home working, doing the house work, while she was away a lot (not just for work), and did grocery shopping or went to the post office to pay the bills.

Your dynamic worked out, but you wouldn’t call her your friend. Maybe companion would be a better word for what you were to the other. You despised the way she had turned in too many men’s bed, but you even hated more when she told you about it. In great details. She lived her life in a reckless way in you opinion, but as long as she was okay with it, you were too.

And that was exactly your problem with her taking a hybrid home. With her sleeping at other places for more nights than she slept at home, how could she take care of a hybrid? You wanted to tell all of that to her, but decided against it. It would only make bad blood between you two, and you didn’t want to look for a new apartment just because Seoyun grew to hate you for your big mouth.

Still, you couldn’t stand to not make a comment.

“Okay, but I won’t take care of him, if you forget to come home for days.”

Seoyun snorted and laughed sarcastically. You looked at her with a blank expression on your face to make her stop. Then she finally smiled, and said:

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll be the perfect owner of Chanyeol.”

It was your turn to snort. You hoped so for your own good!

Sighing out loud, you stared at the empty counter top. Originally, you planned to make yourself something for dinner, but then you noticed the silence in the apartment. It shouldn’t have been like that. Frowning, you wondered where Seoyun disappeared. She didn’t came home on time, and it wasn’t the first time since Chanyeol lived with you two.

Your roommate went to work in the morning, and haven’t came home since then. Usually she got off from work around three or four in the afternoon, depending on how much work she had to do, but it was already eight and there was no sight of her. You were working in the living room all day, so you were pretty sure that Chanyeol haven’t left Seoyun’s room all day.

You decided to make some pasta and souse, and prepared some for the hybrid too. He wasn’t your responsibility, but you couldn’t let him starve himself to death because of your roommate’s ignorance.

You really wished that she was being honest when she said she won’t be out late and will take care of Chanyeol. That you wouldn’t have to look after him, because she would be responsible from that point on. But that crumbled down only in a week.

Well, it didn’t happen in one day. Not like she went to sleep as a prefect owner of her hybrid, then woke up as a careless person the next morning.

It started with staying out for one or two hours after work, which wasn’t that big of a deal for you. She told you beforehand, so you were aware of it. And she left food for Chanyeol in the fridge too. On the other hand he barely ate when she wasn’t home. You even talked about it with Seoyun, but she shrugged it off, saying that he doesn’t like to eat alone. You didn’t offer to eat with him, when she wasn’t home, and she didn’t ask you to do it.

But after some point, Seoyun stayed out for more and more hours, leaving you and the hiding hybrid alone in the apartment. Last weekend, she didn’t even sleep at home.

The souse sizzled in the pan as you stirred it up, and eventually mixed it with some chicken breast. Then you let it cook while covering it with a lid. Leaving it, you readied the pasta and portioned it out on two plates. When the chicken was ready, you did the same with it too.

Leaving one of the plates on the counter, you put the other one on a tray, accompanied with a pair of chopsticks and a glass of water, then brought it to Seoyun’s room. You knocked softly on the closed door, and when no answer came, you said:

“I made some dinner. I leave it next to the door for you, and will come back and take the plate later when you are finished with it.” You hesitated slightly before adding: “Enjoy your meal!”

You went back to the kitchen, and washed the remaining dishes before sitting down to eat. The whole time you listened to the noises in the apartment, checking if he came out for the food. A few minutes later a soft click of the door could be heard, then some shuffling, and the door closed back.

You caught yourself smiling as you went back to the living room and ate your pasta while checking your e-mails. There were more than enough of them, part of them from previous clients and some new asks for portraits with reference photos and details, even some checking ins with the magazine you worked for. You already finished three pages from next month’s issue, since the journalists and photographers were fast with their job. Only seventeen more to go and you still had the next three weeks to work on it. Most journalists liked to do their parts in the very last minute, meaning that you had to work hard and fast in the last moments too before it had to be sent out for printing.

The pasta went cold long before you finished it, the better half of it wasn’t even warm while you ate it. Your attention was set on your laptop, mind on work, not on basic human needs.

Humming to a forgotten song, you took a break after a few hours, letting the left over souse go hard on the plate, making it more difficult to wash later. You checked on Seoyun’s room – or more like the door of her room –, finding the tray with an empty plate on the floor. You hummed some more; feeling somewhat happy that Chanyeol ate what you cooked, and didn’t just continued with his fasting. Next time, maybe he will even leave the room for a couple of minutes.

You pitied him. You really did. Being locked up in a small room all day long, because the person responsible of you decided to ignore your needs.

Absentmindedly, you typed in the word ‘hybrid’ in the search bar. A lot of links appeared on different topics, and most of them didn’t help you at all. You didn’t even know what you were looking for, just read some articles on the current state of the hybrids in society, but you couldn’t grasp the meaning of them. They were always referring back to previous articles and news, that you didn’t know about. It was a mess, and your head started to hurt soon, so you closed those tabs and went back to work.

It wasn’t your job to do anyway. He was Seoyun’s hybrid to take care of, not yours, and you didn’t have a say in what way she was treating Chanyeol.

Softly approaching Seoyun about your concerns wasn’t a successful way of making her realize your issues. Well, they weren’t your issues really, since you had no relation to Chanyeol, but you were living in the same apartment, and you hated to see him being so lonely and sad whenever your roommate decided that it was a good idea to stay out for the night. And it happened more often than not.

You tried to casually bring up the topic of staying in more, you even stooped so low to ask her to watch a movie with you at home, which she never did. Her answer was a simple no and a weird look you could understand. You never really spent ‘bonding’ time with her, since your relationship was purely transactional, not friendly.

On the other hand, in the past weeks Chanyeol got used to you little by little. He started to come out of Seoyun’s room when she was away. He ate with you when you cooked for him too instead of locking himself away, and lately he even joined you in the living room. He usually watched dramas while you worked on your laptop.

The first time he did that, you were very cautious of your actions and his presence. You refused to move around too much, even when your legs got cramps, you barely flinched because you were scared that he would run back to the bedroom. But to your surprise, he huddled up on the armchair furthest from you, and started to watch the TV. You couldn’t help, but stare at him, and when he noticed, his whole face turned into a burning shade of red and locked his eyes on the screen until Seoyun came back home late night.

This went on for a while: him coming out to watch the news or dramas, and after a while he scooted closer to you.

You usually worked while sitting on the floor, back pressed to the couch, laptop either on your lap or on the table. At first, he sat on the edge of the couch, then the next time he was a little closer, and closer, and the last time he was sitting next to you on the carpet, openly watching what you were doing, but never spoke.

Lunch and dinner was different, but not really. He did the same method; approaching you from afar, until he was sitting next to you at the dining table. And eventually, he even started to speak; thanking for the food, asking for more or if you wanted some water to drink, and he would bring a glass of it for the both of you. Sometimes he even helped you with washing the dishes or cleaning the table after you finished.

You often wondered if this calm, quiet side was truly his personality, or he was still holding himself back from you for whatever reason. Seoyun slipped you that Chanyeol was a Labrador Retriever hybrid, and from what information you could gather, he should be much more energetic and needed to let off a lot of steam.

That’s why you decided to ask him to come with you when the time for grocery shopping came around.

Seoyun asked you to do it this week, since she had a lot of work, and she probably has to stay late at the office. You were okay with it, most people can’t control their work amount if they work for someone else. It also happened from time to time, so it’s not like it was surprising. It was the dynamic of the two of you: you had your assigned housework, but you would switch it up sometimes if it was more convenient for one of you. Being flexible was necessary in any kind of relationship.

You felt strange as you knocked on Seoyun’s door. You rarely did it, since usually she was the one coming for you, so knocking on her door was new to you. As if it wasn’t even your home, but someone else’s.

Chanyeol opened the door slightly, looking at you wide-eyed through the narrow gap. You tried your best not to look intimidating, as you said:

“I’m going to grocery shopping. Do you want to come with me?”

You noticed how his ears perked up at your words – golden fur peaking out from his dark locks of hair. He even tilted his head, as a confused puppy would. A knot formed in your throat, and you felt a sudden urge to pat his head and tell him how cute he was.

“Can we walk?” he asked finally.

“We’ll go by car. I have to buy a lot of stuff and I don’t think we could bring them all home in hand.”

A pout naturally came to his lips, and you really wanted to make it disappear, so your next words slipped out your mouth before you could realize what you were saying:

“But we can go for a walk tomorrow, if you want to.”

That worked like magic. A smile, bright as the sun appeared, and lit up his features. It made you smile too.

“Really? Can we go to the park?”

“Of course. Wherever you want.”

“Thank you, Y/N Noona.”

You hummed in response, and went to your room to change into something that didn’t scream ‘I was working from home’.

“We’ll go in ten minutes!”

Chanyeol was truly amusing, you found that out during shopping. And pretty much like a child. He wanted to see and touch everything that was colorful or interesting even a little bit. Your previously one hour long shopping became a three hour trip around the supermarket, with you pushing the shopping cart and him checking out every single item on the shelves. When he wanted something badly he would stare at you with the softest, shiniest eyes you ever saw on anyone; there was no way you could say no to him.

“Are you planning making me buy the entire store?” You laughed when he dropped the third kind of cereal in the cart.

He suddenly turned to you, a little startled, like a deer caught in headlights. You just smiled, and pushed the cart forward.

You noticed how he often still looked scared of you, so you tried your best to make him comfortable. You were aware to always talk in a soft and slow tone to him, carefully picking each word before letting them fall from your lips. No fast actions or anything that could surprise him in the wrong way. Not really sure if all the hybrids were like this with new people around them (except for their owners), but you wanted to clear your first impression on him. It must have been bad, but you were thankful that he slowly eased up around you, letting his guards down.

“Okay. Most important decision today.” You looked at him seriously as you arrived to the meat section. “Beef or chicken?”

His eyebrows furrowed at the question, eyes roaming between the different kinds of meat. You could almost see his mind running in an incredible pace. After a few minutes passed, Chanyeol looked at you shyly, ears flushing a deep red.

“Can it be both? I want to eat both.” You nodded at him, motioning for him to give you a few of said meats, and he complied happily.

“But which one do you want today?”

“Chicken? Maybe. I’m good with beef too.” You just hummed, getting lost in your thoughts as you strolled towards the cashier with your cart. It was almost full with meat, vegetables, some fruits, juices and snacks – mainly for Chanyeol. He had a really sweet tooth, you noted by looking at all the cereals, chocolates and candies he gathered in the furthest corner from you. There were some instant ramyeon and rice too.

“We’ll figure out something.”

It was late for lunch by the time you arrived home, so you made some instant noodles, which didn’t make Chanyeol the happiest. He looked at the ramyeon as if it betrayed him by not being a full course. He didn’t say anything about it out loud, but disappointment was written all over his features.

“Stop looking at it like that. I’ll make bulgogi stew for dinner.”

You quickly looked away when his eyes lit up once again, and started to eat the noodles fast. He was done in a few minutes. Chanyeol rushed to throw the used cup away and placed his chopstick in the sink, then basically ran back to the table, staring at you in anticipation. Returning the look, you cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

“What?”

“When are you going to start making it?”

A laugh escaped your mouth against your will at his eagerness. Does he love meat that much? He didn’t took your joy in the good way: he pouted and rather rushed to the living room. You wanted to call after him, but didn’t.

You cleaned up the table after finishing your ramyeon too, and went after Chanyeol. He was sitting on the floor, right next to your usual working spot and hugged his knees to his chest, looking like a big, sulking puppy.

“I work for a few hours, then make dinner. You can help if you want to.”

He kept on his posture, but faced you as you sat down next to him, forcing your laptop to life. The screen lit up, and you focused on the edit you left in half yesterday, and frowned a little. You made a big mistake upon editing a picture, which seemed to be impossible to ignore now, but didn’t even notice the day before.

The air stuck in your lungs as Chanyeol stretched his legs, and scooted so close to you that his thigh was pressed to yours. He seemed unfazed by the close proximity, only hummed a soft tune under his breath and turned the TV on, searching for something to watch until dinner time.

You wondered if you should have mercy on him: just ditch work and start making the bulgogi stew immediately, but then abandoned the idea, since you remembered that the deadline was getting closer, and there will be articles coming in fast in the next few days. It wouldn’t do any good for you getting behind your schedule.

Chanyeol’s soft sighing helped you focus. It was a nice background sound along with the voices coming from the TV, and soon you noticed that he was watching you work on your laptop rather than paying attention to the show on the screen. You realized you could get used to it.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blink of an eye. You fixed yesterday’s editing mistake and worked on today’s to-do’s, and time seemed to fly by fast. After some time, Chanyeol fell asleep next to you, his head bobbing forward from time to time. You nudged his side with your elbow to send him to Seoyun’s room to sleep comfortably, but he leaned on you rather than waking up, his head resting on your shoulder, so you just let it as it was.

One would say you had a soft spot for him in your heart, and they wouldn’t be that far from the truth. You felt responsible for him when Seoyun wasn’t home. And you weren’t even his owner.

As you finished working for the day, you tried to wake Chanyeol up again, but he didn’t even budge, so you started to make dinner alone. He fell down to where you were sitting before, knees hugged to his chest, soft huffs escaping his lips in his sleep. You put a blanket on him before preparing the meal.

He only woke up when the food was almost ready, the smell of it filling the whole apartment. Chanyeol wandered into the kitchen, eyes scanning over everything as he tried to comprehend what was happening. When his eyes rested on the food at last, a pout forming on his lips, eyes bigger than ever. You hid your smile behind your hand as you turned back to the stove.

“You said I can help.”

“You were sleeping too heavily for me to wake you up.” You shrugged. “Isn’t it better to wake up from a nap to food ready to be eaten, then have to make it too?”

“But you said I can help.” He was on full puppy-eyes-mode now, and you couldn’t hide your smile anymore.

Something came over you, so you went to him and patted his head a few times.

“You’ll help next time, okay? Let’s just eat now.”

You found yourself feeling weird when Chanyeol wasn’t around while Seoyun worked, although it rarely happened lately. The tall hybrid came out of their room in the morning and stayed around you ever since you went out for grocery shopping with him. He didn’t just sit next to you while you worked, you two also started to watch the news together, though he hates it with passion, but you also watched some dramas with him which he picked and seemed to love greatly. You watched one or two episodes with him each day, eating food during it, while the both of you waited for Seoyun to find her way home.

It wasn’t that different that day too. You just finished some pad thai, you ordered earlier. Chanyeol taking up the whole couch with his lean body, while you sat in front of him on the carpet, remaining of the late dinner scattered on the coffee table, and the announcer on the screen spoke about the day’s news with a serious expression on their face.

Your ears perked at the word ‘hybrid’ coming from the TV, and you heard Chanyeol’s breathing stop behind you. Eventually, he scooted a little closer to you, feeling his body heat clear.

The announcer spoke about a protest that was held in front of the Municipal Court. People were demanding more precise laws on the hybrids’ keeping, and demanding the bare rights for them that every being deserves.

You felt a lump form in your throat as one of the protesters told the interviewer an insane amount of cases where the owners abused their hybrids and no one did anything about it.

Anger bubbled up in you as you switched the channels, trying to find one where you can watch Chanyeol’s drama instead. Your other hand shot out without really thinking about it, and grabbed the hybrid’s hand that was hanging from the couch. He stiffened at your touch, but soon relaxed again.

“What’s the name of that show we were watching yesterday? I can’t remember.”

“It’s on Channel 6. But there’s still an hour before it starts.”

“Okay. What about the one before it?” You asked while already turning to said channel.

“We haven’t seen the previous episodes yet.”

You smiled. His voice was whiny, you could literally hear that he was pouting. You silently switched to the next one, settling with a variety show that didn’t need any explanation, it could be seen as it was. Chanyeol probably liked it too, since he didn’t complain again, only his soft breathing could be heard.

Carefully, you let go of his hand and pulled your knees to your chest, eyes wandering to the digital clock under the TV, then to your phone. Seoyun promised to be home by dinner, yet she was nowhere. She didn’t even send you a text to let you know she will be late or when will she come back. Maybe she went out for a drink with his colleagues again. Or someone else.

You tried hard not to glance in pity at Chanyeol. He was left behind a lot more than he should have been. He was just too kind for an owner who neglected him like Seoyun did.

You finished the show, even his drama, and Chanyeol slowly but surely fell asleep on the couch. You brought a blanket to put on him. Covering his whole body wouldn’t be an easy task if he wouldn’t sleep with his legs pulled up. You smiled, when you remembered how his body never fit on the couch when he tried to stretch on it while laying down. He seemed to be ridiculously tall sometimes, yet you couldn’t imagine him being any shorter.

Stifling a yawn, you threw out the empty boxes of the pad thai, put the left overs in the fridge and cleaned the kitchen a little, being very aware not make any loud noise that could wake Chanyeol up.

It was past midnight, and you were cleaning the bathroom too, when Seoyun arrived home. You welcomed her in the hall, and offered her some water as you saw her pitifully drunk form. She refused it, and rambled about some man he met during drinking with her colleagues, and how this mysterious man was so polite towards her, even paid for her taxi after they spent an hour at his place. You didn’t need to ask what they were doing there, it was obvious from the messy state of her clothes and hair.

You quietly listened to her, and tried hard not to chime in and broke down her hopes. This kind of story happened a few times to her. A man charmed her in a bar, they spent some happy hours at his place, he told her he will call tomorrow, yet he never even asked for her number in the first place. Seoyun somehow believed them every time, and hoped that finally this one would ‘the one’, but they never were.

“You really don’t want some water? Or something to eat? There’s some pad thai from earlier.”

“No, I don’t want food, I want… Hm… I want to sleep, I think.”

“Good,” you sighed in relief. You would be doomed if she would have wanted to dance or sing like she usually did. “Chanyeol fell asleep on the couch.”

“Oh, I should wake him up. I want to cuddle with him.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at that. Seoyun should just let him sleep peacefully for once. You really wanted to tell her no to bother him in his sleep, but you pursed your lips tightly together and refused to say anything. It wasn’t your place to intertwine, you reminded yourself, which you caught yourself doing a lot lately.

“Do whatever you want, Seoyun, just take a shower first. You stink…” Dramatically putting your hand in front of your nose and mouth, you tried to lighten the mood, and it worked. Seoyun snickered in a high pitched voice, one she only used when she was drunk. She jokingly hit you on the shoulder, almost missing it and stumbling a little, but the smile on her face couldn’t be wiped away.

“It’s not that bad. Oh, would you look at my little Chanyeollie?”

You listened to her cooing upon seeing Chanyeol’s sleeping form on the couch. Her features softened, she even sobered up a little, and you thought, maybe she wasn’t as bad as you thought of her lately.

Shame was something that you rarely felt, but now it washed over you in a big wave, hit you in the head and made you lower your gaze. Still standing in the kitchen, you listened as Chanyeol woke up and happily greeted her owner, then they went to her room, the door closing behind them with a soft thud.

You noted how she never went to wash up.

The next morning Seoyun has already went to work when you woke up. You turned off your alarm, wanting to sleep in for a few more minutes, or for ten, so it was not such a surprise that she wasn’t home by then.

You were getting dressed, as a soft, almost hesitant knock on your door startled you. Surprised, you kicked your feet in the edge of your wardrobe. Hissing and swearing in pain, you called out:

“What is it?”

Chanyeol’s mumbling was too quiet for you to comprehend his words. Sighing, you buckled your belt, then wondered why did you even dressed for going out. Your original plan escaped your mind.

Another knock echoed through your room, tearing you out from your thoughts. Opening the door, Chanyeol towered over you, but his troubled expression made you feel like you were the taller one and he’s just a little kid. His lips even quivered as he opened them to say something.

“Can we go for a walk? Seoyun noona said I’m not allowed to go out alone.” His voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke, you could barely hear his last words. Yet still, your eyebrows furrowed. Something felt off with him, but you couldn’t wrap your fingers around what it was. He looked the usual. Maybe there was faint dark circles under his eyes, but it could be the aftereffect of Seoyun waking him up in the middle of the night.

“Of course. Let’s go!”

As he kept looking at you with a troubled expression, you wondered what was really up. And why did you originally dressed for going out. You gave up on solving any of those mysteries, and just asked him.

“Is there something else?”

“Um, no… I mean, yes. Can we get hot chocolate?” You smiled at his innocence. He must have took it in the wrong way, since he looked away quickly, avoiding eye contact very obviously.

“Yeah, but where did that come from?”

You went back to grab a sweater and your wallet. Chanyeol awkwardly lingered in the doorway.

“I saw on a drama that people like to drink hot chocolate around winter. And there were commercials for it lately, so I want to try it.”

“Right, dramas.”

The corner of his lips slowly lifted up, forming a shy smile. You motioned for him to move and get ready, then you went out.

You quickly searched for a coffee shop near your apartment on your phone and decided on route that you would walk by. Even asked Chanyeol how much has he seen of the city, so maybe you could show him some places he never heard of.

To your surprise, he barely saw anything of it. In a hushed voice, he told you that his first owner never let him out of their house, he could only run free in the garden, and they never let him meet with other hybrids. In the end, they put him in a shelter. You couldn’t say anything to him at the moment. The words in your mind felt overused and cliché, so instead you just patted his shoulder and told him that things will be okay now.

He shot you an unsure smile, then nodded along. His next words surprised you even more though:

“I think I’m happy now.”

Patting his shoulders again, it was your turn to smile, reassuringly.

“That’s good! I’m glad about that,” you said. “There’s a river nearby. We can go there after getting hot chocolates. It has a really nice scenery.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

And so you did. Tasting hot chocolate for the first time, he looked like a child on Christmas Eve, eagerly opening their presents and finally getting the toys of their dreams. And his eyes sparkled like two stars in the night sky when you arrived to the river.

There was a park near it, a path for runners following the line of the river. You always thought, it must be nice to go on runs while listening to the splashes of water so close to you, but you weren’t the runner type.

Winter coming, the green has faded away from the plants, but the gloomy gray sky made the water look even prettier like that. Slowly, nature was dying to give way to the cold months, which would be followed with its rebirth. You couldn’t wait for spring to come. The even better thing was that if you walked down the road for a few more minutes, you would meet with cherry trees. They looked mesmerizing when they bloomed.

“It would be nice to come here during the first snow,” he mumbled.

When you turned to him, Chanyeol’s eyes were on the river, sometimes glancing up at the sky, as if he was expecting it to start to snow at that moment. A tiny smile played on his lips. As he sighed, white puffs of air escaped his mouth, and you thought maybe it was time to go back to the apartment.

“Saw it on dramas too, huh?”

“You saw it too, noona?”

“Maybe. Romantic dramas tend to mention it, you know. They say if you kiss your loved one under the first snow of the winter, you will stay together forever.”

“Really? Is it true?”

“I don’t know.”

You didn’t want to wipe the soft smile off his face by saying it was just an urban legend that’s useful for drama writers. He doesn’t have to know that kissing under the first snow not always meant forever. At least not for you.

You really didn’t know what you should have believed. You saw the bruise on Chanyeol’s wrist clearly and an another one higher up on his arm, but he quickly tugged his sleeves down when he noticed you staring at it. They looked like ugly purple and blue roses that bloomed on his skin.

“What happened?” you asked him cautiously.

Muting the drama he was watching, when he refused to look at you and answer, you turned to him. Chanyeol’s eyes were trained on the screen, the main characters only mouthing words, he couldn’t make out. The hybrid’s eyebrows furrowed into a serious and stubborn line, one, which didn’t suit him at all. A pained look on him wasn’t something you wanted to witness at all. It was simply strange.

He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Well, the King is mad at his son for disobeying him, but it’s understandable because he just wanted to…”

“Not in the drama, Chanyeol.” He flinched at your low tone, scurrying a little further from you on the couch. You felt a slight pang in your chest, and continued a little softer. “Your wrist. What happened to it?”

“Nothing.”

“Did someone hurt you?”

“No. I was just…” The words died on his lips, and refused to say anything more, no matter how you twisted your questions around.

A bad feeling settled in the pit of your stomach.

Chanyeol was barely in contact with anyone beside you and Seoyun. And you never grabbed his arm or wrist with so much strength to bruise him. Hell, you barely ever touched him!

And it left you with only one option you could think about, but that was unbelievable for you. Seoyun couldn’t. She would never, right? She would never raise hand on him. Right?

“Can I take a look at it?” You asked him softly, voice above a whisper.

He stared at you for long moments before scooting closer on the couch, the old furniture creaking under his weight. He slowly held his arm out for you, and you took his hand, being cautious not to grab his wrist on instinct. Fingers gently brushing together with his, you stroked them in a calming manner. Then with your free hand you pushed his sleeve up, revealing the ugly roses on his skin again.

Chanyeol sharply inhaled as you brushed your fingers on the bruise, only letting it go when he hissed a little in pain.

Without a word, you went to your room, looking for a cream you remembered to be in there somewhere and to be good for bruises. You just hoped it didn’t expire yet, since it was a long time ago you bought it.

You found it and was still good, so you went ahead and applied it on Chanyeol’s arm. He hissed again when the cold cream touched his skin and you ignored it, continuing your motions, but with gentler strokes.

Putting the volume back up on the TV, you instructed him to wait until his skin fully absorbed the cream, but the rattling of the lock from the front door startled both of you.

In a hurried manner, Chanyeol pulled down the sleeve of his sweater, then basically ran into the bedroom, quickly closing it behind himself.

You sighed in defeat. Something was very, very wrong, and it was too obvious for you to ignore. Biting down on your lower lip, you argued with yourself whether you should bring it up to Seoyun or not. Was it your place to talk to her about something like that? You weren’t anyone to Chanyeol, you just lived with them, but… What an awful human being you should have been to shut your eyes when the evidence of abuse was right in front of you.

You closed your eyes. The drama still went on, and for once you wished for Seoyun to come home later, so Chanyeol could have finished the episode in peace as he always did. You wished for those ugly roses to never bloom on his skin, so you wouldn’t have to do what you will as soon as your roommate comes into the living room.

Sailors must have known something when they said it’s always the calmest before the storm. Your mind went empty and calm, but it was filled with cold anger at the same time. You wanted to yell your questions to Seoyun about those bruises, and hoped that she would be either honest with you or could lie so well that you would believe her. Hell, you wanted to believe that it wasn’t her who hurt Chanyeol, but the subtle fear in his eyes told you otherwise.

Seoyun was sober for once, and you were thankful for it. You didn’t know how would you handle her if she was drunk at that moment. Probably not so well.

Your feelings must have been clear on your face, because your roommate stopped in her track when she looked at you, then quickly averted her gaze, checking the room for Chanyeol’s presence. Even after making sure he wasn’t there, she refused to look at you.

“I think we should talk, Seoyun.”

“Ah, is it time for paying the rent already?” Her light tone made you fist your hand on the blanket that was previously wrapped around Chanyeol. It also made you insecure about what you saw and thought. Would she talking like that If she hurt him? “Or are we running low on groceries?”

“No. Nothing like that. I just saw a couple of bruises on Chanyeol. It concerns me.”

“It shouldn’t. Really.” “Seoyun, those aren’t the kind you get when you hurt yourself on accident. So what happened?”

“It’s none of your business, but he was bad.”

Once again, you closed your eyes and bit down on your tongue before something slipped out of your mouth. Mostly nasty words crowded in your mind, but after taking a deep breath, you pushed them aside. Reminding yourself that it was not your job or place to dig into someone’s life. Even if it was your roommate. You were always on good terms with her, so why was she getting you off with every word she said today?

“He was bad,” you repeated finally, in a low tone. She nodded fast, still standing in the middle of the living room as if he froze to that place.

“Yes. He needed to be disciplined, so as his owner, I did.”

“What do you mean by disciplined?” you asked, stunned by her words. Though, it couldn’t be any more obvious, you still asked. “And bad? What has he done?”

“He didn’t obey when I told him to do some things. And you know what I meant. I punished him, so he can learn how to behave next time.”

You felt sick in your stomach, a lump already forming in your throat. Seoyun’s expression hardened, stare grew colder and heavier as she added:

“Still. This is none of your business. I’m the owner of Chanyeol, not you, so don’t act like you know anything about keeping a hybrid. You don’t even want one in the first place.”

Gritting your teeth, you nodded, because she was right with everything she said. But that didn’t mean you won’t protect Chanyeol from her if needed or that you won’t seek any kind of help for him if things get out of hand. You will have to make sure about all of your rights in this situation first, then you can act.

You hummed and you plopped back down on the couch, eyes returning to the drama. You were long behind the plot, missing out a bunch of scenes, but your mind was still wrapper around the argument just had with your roommate.

From the corner of your eyes, you saw her stand there frozen for a hew more minutes, and when you refused to look at her again, she went to her room. You immediately lowered the volume down, fearing to hear noises of her hurting Chanyeol again, but there was mostly silence, mixed up with a couple of low murmurs, nothing bad or serious.

You turned the TV down, washed up before going to bed, but still couldn’t fall asleep. The thought of Chanyeol being hurt by your roommate kept you up for hours, and the next thing you noticed was the sunlight peeking through your window and the noises of Seoyun getting ready to work. Your ears were trained for listening to anything suspicious, but the only sounds were her getting a shower then leaving the apartment after talking to the hybrid about something you couldn’t make out.

“I’m not hungry, Noona!” Chanyeol’s muffled voice could be heard well in the quiet apartment, even through the locked bedroom door. You knocked on it previously to let him know you made breakfast for the both of you.

“Then how about a walk? We could go to the market or the park.”

“No. I just want to sleep.”

Defeated, you sighed. This wasn’t how you planned the day to go by. You wanted to eat with him and take him somewhere nice before working, then watch his dramas in the evening as you usually did, but now he refused to come out of the bedroom.

You knew he must have been hungry by now. He always ate a lot of anything you gave him, and even snacked afterwards, and it has been more than ten hours since the last meal he had, and he says he is not hungry. The red flags instantly appeared in your head, making your eyebrows furrow in worry.

Most of last night instead of sleeping you spent your time working in your room, while listening to every noise in the apartment, in hopes of catching any evidence against Seoyun’s nasty behavior. You also tried to seek some useful information online, but not really much was said on forums about laws regarding abusing hybrids.

“I’ll leave some food for you in the fridge,” you said after a while. When no answer came, you went to the living room to work away your frustration.

Your appetite disappeared with Chanyeol’s rejection, so you simply put the food away. You wanted to go out to clean you mint with the cold winter air, but didn’t have the heart to leave him completely alone. Even though he didn’t want to come and spend time or eat with you, it was a whole another story to be the only person in the apartment. If he changed his mind, he would have no one to turn to with Seoyun being at work.

Still, you sent a message to your roommate, asking her a favor, which you rarely did.

Y/N: Hey, would it possible for you to get home earlier today? [8:37]

Y/N: I have somewhere to be at 3, and can’t take Chanyeol with me there. [8:38]

Seoyun: Okay, I talk to my boss, but he’ll probably let me off. We did a lot of overtime, so he has to. [9:03]

Y/N: Thanks! [9:04]

Seoyun: Welcome. I’ll be home around 2. [9:10]

Your heart felt a little heavier and easier at the same time. Ever since you saw those bruises last night on Chanyeol’s skin, you feared to leave him fully alone with Seoyun, and now you will do exactly that, willingly even. And you felt relieved, because it was for the better.

Since you couldn’t find anything useful online, you decided to go down the old roads, and visit some hybrid shelters. Their workers must know what to do in situations like this.

Were you taking it too seriously? Maybe. People discipline their dogs too when they behave bad. But Chanyeol wasn’t just a dog. He was a hybrid with human feelings.

Lunch time came sooner than you expected. Working and editing made hours fly by fast, and you cooked something quick and easy that was also filling too. A pasta with some creamy chicken did wonders. You took your sweet time making it, despite it being an easy meal to do. Cooking took your mind off of your problems. Instead, you made a list in your head about what you still had left from work today and planned your schedule for the rest of your day.

Going to the nearby hybrid shelter you found online. Making sure you ask everything you wanted from someone working there. If failing, then going to another shelter. Continue until you get your answers. After getting home, fixing yesterday’s editing mistakes on page eight and fifteen.

So your plan wasn’t that difficult at all.

When the food was ready, you put two servings on plates and started from step one with Chanyeol. You put his meal on a tray and brought it to Seoyun’s roo.

He didn’t answer to your knocking, and definitely didn’t open the door for you. You sighed, putting the tray in front of the door.

“Chanyeol? I made lunch, it will be at the door, please, eat it up.” You waited for him to reply, but his voice never came. You only heard the rustling of fabrics for a few seconds, then there was silence once again. “Also, I have to go out, so Seoyun will be home in an hour.”

Noises of his movements could be heard again, and you sighed in relief as the door creaked open for some inches. You even smiled a little when Chanyeol’s mop of hair and fluffy ears peeked out through it. He looked down at you with wide eyes, gaze full of questions. Then, in a small voice, he asked:

“Can’t I just go with you?”

Instantly, your smile turned bitter, giving him an apologetic look and the shook of your head.

“I’m sorry, Chanyeol, I can’t take you there.”

Averting eye contact, he looked down at his feet. He huffed, a scowl coming to his features.

“But I’d be good. I could just wait outside.”

You felt bad for him, and scowled yourself too. He was so persistent about going with you, but you couldn’t just bring him with you to the shelters. At worst, he would misunderstand it, and you certainly didn’t want him to hear you talking about legal options for abused hybrids. You were pretty sure, he would shut off in front of you for a good while, if he heard that conversation. No, you had to go alone, and talk with an expert with a clear mind. Chanyeol would distract you, since you would had to censor your words with him in the room. And you couldn’t just leave him waiting for you in front of a hybrid shelter. What the hell would he think about you after that? Your relationship took a turn for the better lately, ruining it wasn’t something you wanted or needed.

Slowly, you reached out, ruffling his hair a little. He leaned into your touch, so you kept petting him, stroking his golden-furred ears with care.

“You really can’t come along now, Chanyeol.” His face scrunched up at your words. A sudden emptiness got cozy in you chest when he stepped back and shut the door right in your face. Your hand fell back next to your body, the feel of his fur and hair still tingling your skin.

Chanyeol didn’t come out to eat until Seoyun arrived home sharp at two. You changed a few words with her, mainly thanking her for coming home early for you, but that was all. She acted a little distant, but still as if the conversation from last night never happened. You were stiff around her too, tiptoeing around with your words and actions with knowing where you were planning to go.

You updated her on Chanyeol not eating and about the food for her being in the fridge. She didn’t have to know that you didn’t eat your lunch either, because of the unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach. Handling secrets and nervousness wasn’t your thing.

Inhaling the cold, but clean winter air you finally noticed your head throbbing with pain, so you took an altered route to the first shelter with bumping into a pharmacy too for some painkillers.

Rubbing your hands together, you blew air on them for warmth, but it wasn’t much help. Luckily, you finally arrived to your destination.

EXO Shelter wasn’t fancy or too outstanding from the outside or the inside. A simple gray building with tinted windows and only the opening hours plastered on the door. A bell tinged when you entered, and the light gray theme continued on the inside too, accompanied with some white furniture.

At the counter a red haired man gave you a smile, and with warm, but curious eyes followed your moves.

“Hello! How can I help you?”

You hesitantly walked up to him, not so sure what you were supposed to do anymore. Was it really the good thing to do? Or your place to do it?

The man waved a hand in front of your face, and you shook your head to get unnecessary questions out of your mind. His name tag said he was Baekhyun, and his smile was a little hesitant now.

“Sorry. I don’t know if I came to the right place,” you said.

“Well, if you are looking for adopting a hybrid or need some advice with taking care of them, then I assume you are right where you need to be.”

“I’m looking for more of help with something a little more… sensitive.” “Ah!” He winked at you and nodded along knowingly, which only confused you. “Is your hybrid experiencing their first heat?”

“Heat? No, no, no. It’s not like that. And not about my hybrid.” You look around the small welcoming area and the door. People could walk in any moment. “I’m looking for some legal advice.” “About what?”

“Abuse.”

The pleasant smile fell from his face. Nose scrunching up, he nodded to himself. With a finger held up in the air, he motioned for you to wait, and he reached for the phone on the counter. His fingers quickly put a number in, then in a few seconds he already got hold of who he called.

“Hey! I have a customer with me, I’m sending her in. Hm, no, I don’t know much, but you’ll need Jongdae too, probably. She said abuse and not hers. Okay! Thanks, Junmyeon!” With that, he turned back to you. His smile reappeared, although a little strained. “The boss is ready to see you. You can meet our legal advisor too, but I have to warn you: don’t get your hopes too high up!”

You wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but he already slipped out from behind the counter and went ahead to a closed door at a further corner of the room. He was fast on his feet, leading you through a few corridors and doors, not once crossing the real shelter area, where the hybrids were. You mostly saw storage and staff’s room, before you arrived to Baekhyun’s boss’ office.

Junmyeon was waiting for you with his door opened, standing up from his chair as soon as you stepped in. Another man, probably the mentioned legal advisor, Jongdae was there with him, both of them giving you rather sad smiles. It only racked your nerves up more.

Baekhyun left you alone after a quick introduction.

Junmyeon offered you a seat opposite from himself. Jongdae stood next to him, resting his hand on the back of his boss’ chair.

“Baekhyun mentioned you are here for advise with hybrids’ abuse. And they are not yours?”

“Ah, yes. My roommate took home a hybrid a few months ago. It wasn’t ideal in the first place… I mean, she stays out a lot because of her job and… Anyways, last night I noticed some bruises on her hybrid’s wrist and arm. They were pretty nasty, and when I mentioned my concerns to my roommate she only said that Chanyeol was bad so she punished him.”

Your voice was weak, and the words left a sour taste in your mouth. Pictures of Chanyeol’s sad eyes came to your mind as he asked you to let him come along. Combined with the thought of him being in pain, it made your heart twist in a painful way.

“What is his breed?”

“Chanyeol is a Labrador Retriever hybrid.”

“From what I understand, mainly you are the one spending time with him. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I work from home, so yes.”

“Good. Have you noticed anything unusual about his behavior beforehand? Any signs that it wasn’t the first time it happened?”

“I’m not sure. He was always a little shy with me. I’m not familiar with hybrids, so I don’t know how he should naturally act, but he always seemed to be afraid to ask to ask for anything from me, if that makes sense.”

Junmyeon shifted in his seat, eyebrows furrowed, lost in his thoughts, a not so promising look in his eyes. And his next words confirmed it too.

“Look, it might sound harsh, but I need to be blunt with you. There’s not much we or you can do yet. Jongdae?”

The other man cleared his throat before speaking up.

“Yeah. The laws are really behind at this moment. I don’t know if you follow the news, but lately there seems to be a shift for the better. There are plenty of protest for hybrids’ rights, including abuse too.”

You leaned back in your seat, feeling defeated. This wasn’t the answer you were looking for. In your mind pictures of the late night news flashed, remembering all those strangers shouting their demands for hybrids to anyone who cared to listen.

Jongdae must have read the hopelessness from your face, as he continued in a softer tone.

“Right now, your only option would be to prosecute your roommate for hybrid abuse and hope for the best. The most favorable option would be if you had firm evidence on what she did to her hybrid, or have him make a statement, and even then it wouldn’t be sure if you could get him out of that situation.”

“Remember that case from last September?” Junmyeon asked suddenly, looking up at his colleague, then back at you. “It was similar to yours, only it was between siblings. The younger one took home a cat hybrid, and after some time the older noticed that something was wrong. The owner physically and sexually abused the hybrid. The older sibling had video evidence of it from different times, so it was a pretty solid evidence. Took it to court, and in the end the abuser got out free and without any punishment. They didn’t even took the hybrid away. A few weeks forward, the hybrid passed away because of ‘unforeseen things’.”

“But how?”

“The owner had a good lawyer.”

“The devil’s advocate, if you ask me.”

“Yeah, that guy only held back for any hybrid case in court. He and the owner basically made up lame excuses for each piece of video evidence. ‘I did this because my hybrid refused to learn to use the toilet’, ‘It happened because they peed on the carpet’, and the forever classic: ‘I punished them because they were bad’. And it wasn’t dismissed in court. What a shameful punch in the face for hybrids rights!”

“So you are telling me that I should sit back and watch my roommate destroy Chanyeol because the law don’t do shit?”

You started to loose your calm. Listening to all these disgusting details about the poor hybrid’s life, you wanted nothing more than spare Chanyeol all that pain. He won’t end up like that, you promised yourself.

“Not at all. But right now, you have nothing to secure your success if you would report your roommate. You should watch and maybe step in if you catch her in action. It would be even better if you could ask for a neighbor to come over when it happens. It means you have a witness on your side, which can’t be that easily dismissed in your case.”

“Also,” Junmyeon chimed in. “You should think hard and long about the future of that hybrid before doing anything rashly. Would you take him in? Could you provide him a safe place, so he could be far from your roommate? Or you would put him in a shelter? Would you ask us to take him in? There’s a lot you have to make clear for yourself before you act. You can’t just get him out of a situation then leave him without any option for his future. I mean, yes, hybrids are partly humans, but the animal part of theirs make them very depending on humans.”

Drumming your fingers on your thigh, you could only keep nodding in response. Your head got full of questions and answers, things that needed to be done, preferably right now, all at once.

Both man gave you expecting looks, but you simply nodded one last time and thanked them for their time and help, promising you will be back after thinking through everything.

Time around Christmas was never your favorite. Before the holidays, you had to rush with editing for the magazine, but afterward it seemed time has stopped, everything was so slow. Anyway, you were happy to get out from your comfort zone and go home to your parents for the holidays, although more than a little anxious for leaving Chanyeol alone.

Seoyun went home for Christmas too, taking Chanyeol with her, so it made you a little relieved. You like to believe that she wouldn’t hurt him while there was a possibility of her parents figuring out what she did.

Until then, you haven’t really talked to Seoyun. All of your conversations were mainly put together of formalities, and Chanyeol shut you off too. He stayed in the bedroom, locked away, only coming out when you told him the meal was ready to be eaten. You tried to talk to him, explaining him what you were planning to do, but he never listened, rather scurried back in the safety of the bedroom before you could tell him anything. So you just sighed, and kept preparing everything for the time when things would go south. And you expected it to happen. Just not right after Christmas.

Happy about finally getting home, you had plans about tucking yourself in your bed and sleeping away any thought of the cold; you fiddled with the lock a little. Your fingers were shaking, since you never wore gloves and the winter air bit into your skin harshly. You felt a weird sense of pride, since you had done so much during the holidays. You checked every point off of your list of things-needed-to-be-done, as leasing a new apartment, getting in touch with a moving company and in all secrecy, you talked with one of your neighbors, explaining them the situation in vague words and asked them to come over if you called them.

You were on a good way to make sure everything was ready if Seoyun acts dangerously towards Chanyeol and you had to give him a new life.

After leaving EXO Shelter, there was only one thing you were sure about: you are not going to let Chanyeol get into there. You will give him a new home if he agrees and wants to live with you.

Shaking off your coat and boots after going in, you dropped your bags down, deciding to put it in your room later. First you needed a mug of hot tea. This cold weather was seriously messing with you, and it haven’t even snowed yet. Maybe soon it will happen, since the sky seemed to be nearly white with all the clouds melting into each other and thermometer never showed numbers above zero lately.

The apartment was quiet. Seoyun sat on the ouch, watching some rerun of a drama in the living room.

“Hey! Happy New Year!” You greeted her with a little bow of your head and she returned it, ripping her eyes off of the screen for a few seconds. You looked around, then casually asked: “Chanyeol?”

She waved your question off, so you assumed he was still moody and locked up in the bedroom. You didn’t want to think about any other options. You noted that you should check on him when Seoyun goes to showering, making sure she didn’t hurt him again.

Shrugging, you went to finally make some tea while listening to the sounds coming from the drama. It must have been a historical one, assuming from all the old kind of talking and mentions of kings and thrones. Otherwise, the apartment was eerily quiet.

It all downed on you when you reached for your mug; an unsettling feeling creeping its way into your body. Something was missing from the shelf. Chanyeol’s mug wasn’t there. He refused to drink hot beverages from anything else than that stupid blue mug with a smiling sun on it. It was childish from him, but that’s just who he was. You tiptoed a little, to see if it was deeper in the cupboard, but you couldn’t see any signs of it, and you just got a really bad feeling. Something dark and bad settled in your stomach, making your guts clench. All that quietness seemed to be more of a ‘calm before the storm’ now.

You rushed back to the living room, forgetting about the cold and the tea.

“What happened to Chanyeol’s mug?” For a moment you felt stupid for asking that, but the bad feeling in you heightened when Seoyun turned her head to you with a nonchalant look.

“I threw it out.”

“Why?”

Her hesitancy made your heart drop, forgetting to breath for a moment. Quick on your feet, you stormed to her bedroom, almost ripping the door open. And you froze right there.

Chanyeol wasn’t in there. All of his stuff were gone. Not even a sign he even lived there, everything wiped out of existence. Seoyun lingered behind you, face a little more careful now, eyeing you for reaction.

“Where is he?” You asked through gritted teeth, seeing red. She noticed your anger too, since she took a step back. It made you aware how you must have looked and acted. Anger got the best out of you. Forcing yourself to calm down a little, you looked back at her expectantly.

“I took him back to a shelter.”

“Why?”

“We weren’t matching, really. He was stubborn, never listening to what I told him to do. Honestly, he even listened to you better than he did to me.”

“So you hit him at first. And now you put him into a shelter because you were a bad owner to him.”

Your words stunned her into silence. You watched her constantly opening and closing her mouth, unable to mutter a response. For a second, you wondered if you hurt her feelings, then you remembered Chanyeol. The bruises on his wrist and arm. The begging look in his eyes as he asked you to let him come with you to whatever place you were going. The curious glances he stole at you while you were working. His little, hopeful smile when you walked to the river and talked about the first snow of the season.

It was too late for Seoyun to be the hurt one in this scenario. She caused irreversible damages to Chanyeol, the innocent hybrid, who she was supposed to take care of. And in that moment you felt relieved that you decided to plan everything out for the time when shit hits the fan.

“Which shelter did you take him to?” Your voice was strong and unwavering, almost demanding. She shivered upon hearing it, but her hands balled into fists.

“I don’t remember its name. It’s the closest to us, near that fancy coffee shop.” In comparison, she whispered, eyes not really meeting yours anymore. You nodded, but she didn’t see it.

“I’ll be moving out in the next week. I will take care of paperwork, talk to the landlord, and pay my share for this month’s rent, bills, everything, but that’s it. You can start looking for a new roommate, or whatever you want, just leave me out of it.”

You walked out of her room, planning to go and find Chanyeol, having a hunch feeling which shelter he could be and hoping you were right, as Seoyun called after you.

“Y/N.” She sighed when you didn’t turn back to her. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t care. I’m not the one you are owning an apology to.” Thinking a little, you turned to look back at her with a hard, pointed look in your eyes. “On the other hand, if you ever try to go near him, you’ll regret it.”

Eyebrows furrowed, you saw that she wanted to question you, but didn’t do it and you were thankful for it. You may have looked all cool and collected to her, but your hands were slightly shaking and your heart was beating so erratically as if it was planning on suicide.

You put your boots and coat back on, biting down on your tongue hard. Your bag waited for you at the front door, right where you put it down, but laundry had to wait some more.

Walking in a fast pace down the streets, you once again looked up hybrid shelters online, searching fo the closest to your apartment. And your intuition was right: EXO Shelter was the closest one, so you really hoped to find Chanyeol there.

You set yourself a quick walking pace. Worry seeped into your thoughts, mixing with your anger towards Seoyun. You wanted to curse at her and tell her off for hours and hours, but you also wished to fin Chanyeol immediately. Since the two couldn’t be done at the same time, obviously, the latter became the priority.

You payed no mind to the people passing by you who looked at your running form questioningly, or even weirdly, you only thought about reaching the shelter fast and begging to an unknown deity to let Chanyeol be there.

And maybe someone up there listened to your silent pleas.

Your abrupt arrival to EXO Shelter must have been a sight to see. There was hours of traveling from home and an argument behind your back, your insides bubbling with worry, anger and hope, all at once.

Baekhyun was behind the counter, watching you pant in the welcoming area. Bending in half as you tried to catch your breath, he tilted his head to the side, then asked:

“Hey, you came back! You okay? ‘Cause you don’t really look okay.”

“Hi! Is Chanyeol here?” You chocked out finally, and went to him.

“Who?”

“A tall dog hybrid. He was put in here after Christmas?”

He seemed to be thinking for a good few seconds, each felt like a minute, and your hopes started to sink to find the lanky puppy here. Damn it, Seoyun, which shelter did you bring him to?

“Wait, you mean the sulky one?” Seeing your arched brow, he explained himself: “Sorry, after the holidays there’s always a ton of hybrids brought in. People are just so irresponsible. They get them for their kids, then kick them out when they realize they should take care of them. Idiots, if you ask me.”

“So, Chanyeol?”

“Ah, Junmyeon told me about you, and yes, he is here. But I should take you to the boss first, I think.”

You bent forward again, still being breathless, but for other reasons than being tired from running so much. A huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders, and the invisible hand that had a strong grip on your heart, finally released it.

Baekhyun lead you down the same way. You knew from there you couldn’t see any of the hybrids, but you kept looking around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chanyeol. The man must have noticed your fidgety peeking actions as he chuckled to himself, then knocked on his boss’ door. After a few seconds, you were invited in.

Your appearance got more reaction out of Junmyeon than it did from Baekhyun. The man behind the desk looked at you with widened eyes, then ever so slowly, a careful smile found its way to his lips.

“I’m happy to see you again.” You bowed at him, feeling nervous. You shifted from one leg to the other. “Thank you, Baek, I’ll handle it from here.”

The red haired man nodded. He gave you a nod too before he went back to his job, and closed the door behind himself.

Despite the smile, the look in his eyes were tired and alerted. You wanted him to tell you everything and take you to Chanyeol immediately, but his gaze held you back from asking. Fidgeting with your fingers, you simply sat down on the offered chair.

Junmyeon took his sweet time before he started to talk.

“I’m glad you came.” Mustering up your courage to protest, he dismissed it with waving. “It will probably seem unnecessary to you, but we have to go through some formalities. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course.”

“I assume you are here for Chanyeol.” You nodded, he continued. “Good. Do you have anything to do with his injuries?”

The air was knocked out of your lungs. You both knew you didn’t. He even said it was just formalities. But the way he phrased it meant Chanyeol was hurt again.

Your hand balled into fists, and you had to internally count to ten – or maybe sixty –, to be able relaxing. Letting out a long breath, you covered your face with your hand, thumb and index-finger massaging your temples. Whatever you tried, you couldn’t ready yourself for anything that were coming after that.

“So? Do you?” Junymeon’s voice tore you out of your thoughts.

“No. Last time I saw him was before Christmas.”

“That’s good. Are there any witnesses to confirm that?”

“I was with my parents the whole time. I wasn’t even in town, only came home this morning.”

His smile widened into a relieved one; one which you couldn’t read well. You had pieces of the puzzle, but your hands were trembling so bad you couldn’t put them together, to get the full picture. You figured that Chanyeol was injured again, and apparently they suspected you, too? Or maybe they just…

“Okay. I had to make sure you weren’t involved in what happened. And for Chanyeol’s sake, I hope you decided what you would do since last time we met.”

“Can you tell what happened finally? How’s Chanyeol? Can I see him now?”

“In a few minutes, you can. First, tell me your decision.”

The words stuck on your tongue, but you sputtered them out. You wanted this. Chanyeol needed and deserved this. A peaceful home together.

“I’m going to adopt him.”

“When?”

“Right now, if it’s possible. But I need a week before I can take him home.”

He cocked an eyebrow. The grip on your heart was back, but not so harshly.

“Your roommate?”

“I’m moving out. I won’t be taking him near that place ever again.”

Junmyeon must have been satisfied with your answers, since he abruptly stood up, motioning for you to do the same. You followed him as he walked out of the office, leading the way. With a few quick steps you fell in pace with him.

“That woman brought Chanyeol here, telling us how he was not up to her expectation. At first glance, he looked okay, but sad and drained out of life. He refused to eat, only asked for ‘Y/N Noona’. We noticed his injuries only on the second day.”

The lump in your throat grew as his words got heavier. Your heart beat to a fast rhythm, you hated it. You felt sick in your stomach.

With a dry mouth, you asked:

“How is he now?”

“He lets us tend to his bruises so they are healing fine, luckily. Barely eats, not even the home-cooked meals. Refuses to talk, and… he often asked us to find you in the beginning, but two days ago he stopped talking completely.”

Junmyeon’s words hung over you heavily, like a sword ready to kill you if you dare to make a mistake. And you didn’t plan making any. You wanted to comfort Chanyeol and make sure he is willing to come home with you.

“Let me talk to him alone. Please.”

“Okay. But I will be on the other side of the door, listening and step in if you upset him.”

Arguing wouldn’t do you a favor, so you nodded instead. After going through one more door, you arrived to the… well, you didn’t know what to call them. It was a plain hallway with a lot of glass doors, each one of them having a hybrid behind them.

Junmyeon led you to the last one, pointing at the glass.

“He’s in there.”

You followed the direction of his finger, seeing a little yellow room, with a brown bed. A curled up figure laid on it, golden ears peeking out of brown hair. His face was hidden from you, and he wore gray clothes: sweatpants and a hoodie. The pants were too short for him, his ankles were uncovered along with his feet.

Junmyeon opened the door for you with a key taken from his pocket. Your hands were shaking as you reached for the handle, but before you could walk in, he spoke up once again:

“I’ll be right here, listening.”

You hummed in agreement, eyes never leaving Chanyeol’s figure. You saw his ears twitch a little, but still not moving.

Walking in, your hands were sweaty and warm. Feeling restless you shifted from one foot to the other, looking for the perfect words to say to him. But they weren’t needed.

You saw Chanyeol’s chest rise as he breathed, then he froze. His head shot up, ears perking up in anticipation as he looked right at you. When you locked eyes with him, Chanyeol was quick on his feet, caging you with his arms after two long strides of his feet.

Tears were fast to come, fingers tightly clutching into the fabric of the hoodie. His lanky body was wrapped around you, the hug felt more like a bear’s rather than a dog hybrid’s, but it was perfect. All the words you planned to tell him died on your lips as you felt him shiver and shake against you, a drained noise leaving his mouth, involuntarily.

You twined your fingers into his hair, caressing and petting his head and ears, while he hugged you tighter.

“Y/N Noona,” he chocked out, and your heart shattered right there. “I knew you would come for me.”

“Of course, Chanyeol, of course I came.”

Soft voice and hands seemed to work wonders on him. He slowly calmed down in your arms, but refused to let you go. He kept tugging the sleeve of your coat when you let him go, only to look for a napkin to clean his face a little. You didn’t have one on you, so you wiped his tears with your fingers and the back of your hand. Chanyeol leaned into your touch, starved of affection for a long while. You were willing to give him anything he needed to see him smile again.

“Let’s sit down, Chanyeol,” you guided him to the single bed in the narrow room, very aware of the gaze staring holes into your back, watching your every move. You had to work hard to ignore it completely, and only focus on him.

Chanyeol pressed himself close to you when you took seat on the edge of the mattress, his thigh and arm aligning with yours, hands still grasping your wrist. He was trying to stop you from leaving, you realized.

“Are you here to take me back?” He asked in a raspy voice, words small compared to his size. He hiccuped and fresh tears streamed down his cheeks as you looked at him. You caught the tears before they fell, then hugged him. He felt so little in your arms. “I don’t want to go back, Noona.”

“We’re going to go home, Chanyeol,” you choked out, caressing his back slowly. “Nothing bad will happen to you ever again, okay?”

“But I don’t want to go back there! I’ll be a good boy, I promise you, so please, don’t take me back there,” he begged you.

“I won’t. I promise. Just give me a little time.”

Your whispered words were welcomed with soft humming, and he started to calm down in your hold. He just laid there, clinging to your hand and his breathing finally became even, sobs not escaping his lips anymore.

Sighing, you hugged him a little tighter.

“Can you do something for me, Chanyeol?” He stiffened in your arms, still as a stone, making you assume you said the wrong thing. But it needed to be cleared, so you continued: “You are going to come home with me, but I still have a few things to take care of. I need a week to prepare everything before I take you home. That is, if you want to live with me.”

“You’ll leave me here for one more week?”

His grasp on your hand was hard as steel. You softened your voice, trying not to upset him more.

“I’ll visit you everyday. But right now, our home is not ready yet. I have to move my things and buy you new ones.”

You decided he didn’t need to know the details of today’s happening. In a week, you’ll move out of your shared apartment and take Chanyeol to your new place. A fresh start for the both of you. You will figure out the rest together when you get there. First, you wanted to get over with this week, because you had a lot of things on your plate for now. Like moving, shopping basic stuff for Chanyeol (you would go and buy personal ones with him, so he could choose anything he wants or likes), getting paperwork done about moving out, talking with your current landlord, and the list just goes on, and on, and on.

Waiting for him to react felt like an eternity. But you were willing to wait. It was all for him, so you had to be sure he was okay with all of this. If he wasn’t a hundred percent sure, then you have to change your plans, until he is satisfied.

Voice low and shaky, he asked:

“You’ll come tomorrow too, right?”

“Yes. I will visit you every day until you can come home with me.” One of his hand landed on your knee, and gave it a squeeze. He was holding onto you with all of his might, so you added: “You’ll be okay. I promise.”

“I’m just happy that Noona found me. I thought…”

“And I’m happy that I found you. Nothing else matters. I found us a nice home, but we have to go pick your furniture and clothes yet.”

This seemed to catch his interest. His ears twitched in anticipation, and he twisted and turned in you arms until his back was laying on your lap and he could look up at you. Smiling down at him, you pushed his bangs back from his forehead. The skin around his eyes were red from crying, but the dark brown orbs finally shined with some happiness.

“I can pick anything I want?”

“Only between reasonable bounds. I’m not buying anything crazy or too pricey. I can’t afford going overboard right now.”

Chanyeol’s gaze drifted to the ceiling before locking eyes with you again. He was a little more serious now.

“I’m sorry for making you go through all this trouble for me.”

Your heart jumped in your chest, trying to escape through your throat, and you failed to slow its beating down. Without thinking, you placed a hand on his cheek, carefully caressing it. He hummed and closed his eyes in content. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“It’s not a trouble at all, Chanyeol.”

He didn’t reply, rather leaned into your touch. The crease between his eyebrows seemed to dissolve slowly, and you sighed loudly. Chanyeol’s eyelashes fluttered as your breath hit his skin, but didn’t open his eyes. His hands blindly reached out, feeling around until he found yours and grabbed them. Your hands were much smaller in his warm hold.

Time went by fast, and you noticed Junmyeon knocking on the glass door.

Chanyeol shuddered in your lap, his fingers squeezing your hand, but not letting them go. As you looked up, the owner pf the shelter motioned at his wrist watch, and you knew your time was up. They were probably closing for the day.

Stroking Chanyeol’s hair and ears one more time, you urged him to get up and asked for one more hug.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Hey, don’t be so sad! I said I’ll come by every day, and the week will be passing by fast, you’ll see.”

“Mm-hm,” he still sounded like he didn’t believe you. You patted his back, then grabbed his shoulders to look him in the eyes.

“And, Chanyeol? Eat the meals they’re giving you.”

“But they smell bad. Can’t you cook and bring it for me, Noona?”

He gave you big puppy-eyes, and you knew you were bought just like that.

Junmyeon knocked again, so you let Chanyeol go, and one more time, you promised to visit him tomorrow, too.

It felt weird tiptoeing around Seoyun in the apartment, so you went out early to work from a coffee shop or to order basic stuff for your new place. Though, after you got home last night she tried to talk to you, carefully choosing her words to find out whether you reported her or not. You refused to speak to her, and went straight to your room. Fortunately, she wasn’t brave enough to follow you.

The next day, Baekhyun waited for you with a stack of papers and a boxy grin.

“There you go!” He handed you the papers over the counter. “Junmyeon isn’t here, but asked me to give you these. It’s mostly about the usual things you should know about hybrids, their needs and how to provide them a safe home. You should go over it a few times, Junmyeon will probably test you on it before letting you sign the adopting papers.”

You were quick to flip over the pages, your eyes scanning the sentences, a few words stuck to your brain. You only paid half attention to Baekhyun. Your mind was already on the task to memorize most of those stuff sooner – it meant that Chanyeol could be with you sooner, too.

A light chuckle from the red haired man brought your attention back to him.

“You don’t have to learn all of it by today. I thought you are here to see our Chanyeol.”

“I am. How is he today?”

Stuffing the papers in your bag, next to your notebook, your eyes wandered to the food you brought for Chanyeol.

You watched Baekhyun close the shop before leading you to the back, down the same path that Junmyeon walked with you.

“He started to eat. Not much, but it’s a progress so far.” He seemed to be getting lost in his memories for a good second, before adding: “Oh, and he talks now. Mainly about you and that you will be taking him home in a week.”

Your cheeks felt hot and your head was dizzy for no apparent reason. Chanyeol must be really excited to finally get away from here, so he couldn’t stop talking about it. It was heartwarming. Now, you wanted to take him to your new home even sooner.

Baekhyun took you to the same hallway filled with doors that hid hybrids behind them. You were more confident in walking in there today, already having an idea what was waiting for you on the other side of the door.

And you were right.

Chanyeol threw himself at you, his long strides almost invisible to your eyes since he was so fast.

You heard Baekhyun laugh from behind, as you could barely keep yourself standing with all of Chanyeol’s weight put on you. You smiled and took a deep breathe of his scent. His mop of hair tickled your face, and you caressed his back with gentle touches.

“I’ll be back later, okay? I have to re-open the shop before Junymeon gets back, so be good you two!”

Barely registering his words, you were too occupied with hugging Chanyeol.

He smelled better, and wore fresh clothes. The apples of his cheeks were tinted with a light blush as he smiled right in front of your face.

You squeezed out a small ‘Yes, thank you!’ before giving your full attention to the giant hybrid attached to your body. He doesn’t seemed to listen to any of your conversation, just happily sighed in your ear and hugged you tigther.

His fluffy ears tickled your nose. You pressed a light kiss on the top of his head. Shiver ran through Chanyeol’s body.

For a long second, the world seemed to stop around you. The only sound you could hear was Chanyeol’s soft breathing. You held back your own. Waiting. And waiting.

Then the door clicked shut behind you, and you snapped out of the weirdly silent moment.

“Did you eat?”

Your question resulted in him pouting and letting his arms loose around you.

“I did. It wasn’t good.”

“I’m sure they gave you the food you need.”

“But what’s the point if it’s not delicious?” Chanyeol was acting sulky, and he kept sniffing around in the air. With his senses, he will find the food and the goods in your bag, rather sooner than later.

Combing through his hair, you petted his ears, then decided to have mercy on him and give him the dish you prepared. His head immediately shot in the direction of your bag. Eyes trained on your hands as you took out a plastic container, filled with some pasta and sauce; the very first meal you made for him.

It seemed to threw Chanyeol off. He could only stare at you and the container, eyes getting shinier with each passing second. He stopped moving over all, so you guided him to his temporary bed, and sat him down.

“You still love pasta, right?” You asked him, although you knew the answer.

He hummed eagerly. The look of concentration didn’t leave his face when you took off the container’s lid. His nostrils flared up as the meaty smell filled the small room. A warm, fluttery feeling bloomed in your chest, making you smile.

Your hand moved on its own as Chanyeol hesitantly opened his mouth, patiently waiting for you to feed him.

So you did.

Trying to stop the shaking of your hand, you moved the utensil fast close to him, ending up stuffing Chanyeol’s face. His eyes grew wide, and a satisfied smile spread on his lips. Those puppy-eyes of his shut in content, and an invisible weight quietly lifted off of your shoulders.

Seeing him eat and smile was all you could ask for in that situation. Maybe if you knew for sure if he slept well and for long enough hours, you could call it a day, but things weren’t that easy. They never were.

“In the evening I will go through all that paper, then in the morning start fixing if anything needed to be before the week ends,” you told him between two bites.

Chanyeol only hummed in response, being more interested in the food than your words. But you saw him glare in the direction of the stack of papers that were peeking out of your bag.

“Will you come tomorrow too?” He asked in a small voice.

“I will. What do you want to eat then?”

“Pasta and meat are good for me.”

After gathering and feeding Chanyeol the last pieces of the meal, you put away the container and the fork. While packing, you wondered what could you talk to him about without being insensitive. You really wanted to tell him about how it snowed during early morning, but worried if it would make him fall back into the pit of despair, so you didn’t. You remembered how you talked with him about experiencing it together by the river this winter.

Chanyeol’s face softened, a troubled expression took over his features, his smile slowly disappeared. You couldn’t solve the mystery behind the sudden change in his feelings. His eyes fell on you again, begging you to understand what he tried to communicate to you. Never in your life you wished more for the gift of reading people’s mind. But you didn’t have that power, so you asked him:

“What’s wrong, Chanyeol?”

“It’s nothing, Noona. I just… What happened to…”

There was no need for him to say who or what he was talking about anymore. You were most certain it was Seoyun. The fear in his eyes spoke more than words could. You opened your arms, inviting him for a hug to chase away his demons that manifested in the form of your old roommate. And you were willing to keep him as far away from her as you could.

Stroking through his hair, you gently whispered in his ear.

“You don’t have to worry about that. You will never meet her ever again.”

“I believe you, Noona.” He let out a sigh after saying that. Your heart shyly fluttered in your chest, and it was pointless to pretend he couldn’t hear how fast it was beating.

Days seemed to be flying past rather fast; time only seemed to slow down when you were not with Chanyeol.

He became more and more excited with every passing day, his ears kept twitching when around you, and the happy smile never left his face.

You read through all paperwork Baekhyun gave you during the time you weren’t working or with Chanyeol. Sleep wasn’t your companion lately, there was always something to do around the new apartment. Some parts even required you to make the place child-proof for him. Your days consisted of work, visiting Chanyeol, shopping and working on the apartment. Then the next day it repeated all over again.

The day finally arrived. Junmyeon welcomed you as soon as the shelter opened. You didn’t tell him that you went there an hour earlier and waited in your car until it was time.

Feelings were funny little things. They made you do stuff you never dared to imagine, but here you were: ready to adopt a hybrid – no, not just a hybrid, but Chanyeol –, who you grew so fond of. You were curious what life held for you from that point on.

“Are you ready?” Baekhyun’s red mop of hair made a sudden appearance in front of you, forcing you to make a halt in your steps. He answered his own question before you could even react. “Of course, you are. Chanyeol is really excited, he just won’t shut up about finally going home.”

“He is happy,” Junmyeon added with a more head-level tone. “But be gentle with him. He went through a serious trauma, its effect might kick in later.”

“Nightmares are for sure to be expected. Victims of abuse most of the times experience PTSD in the form of nightmares. They usually come out when they finally feel safe. Our mind do that to protect us from falling apart.”

The red head’s voice sounded sincere, free from joy or his usual spirit. You nodded at both men, not so patiently waiting for them to lead you to Chanyeol or the other way around. As if they heard your thoughts, Junmyeon motioned with his head for Baekhyun to go. His smile only then returned.

“I’ll be back with him in a moment.” With that, he left the office.

Junmyeon cleared his throat. You sat down, and the owner of the shelter gave you a little stack of papers.

“Read through them carefully, then sign at the bottom of the last page on both copies. As you requested, we included that you will have full responsibility of Chanyeol and you won’t be able to give him up in any shelter. It will be showing up on your file, just in case, and we will be sending your files to other shelters.” He coughed bashfully again. “This may seem a little too much, but we are trying to make sure he won’t have to go through that experience again.”

“It’s perfectly understandable. It will give Chanyeol reassurance, too.”

“Yes. We also included that only on his request can he be returned. I hope it won’t be the case, but if somehow the same patterns occur, Chanyeol can ask us to take him back, and a legal case will be opened up against you.”

It might have sounded scaring or alarming to anyone else, but you knew better. It was all to protect Chanyeol in the future and to secure him a safe home.

As you were going over the adoption papers, you heard a soft knock on the door. Junmyeon called them in. You watched Baekhyun return with a tall and smiling Chanyeol. His fluffy ears were twitching in excitement. When your eyes met, his smile widened and shyly walked to you. He placed his hand on the back of your chair. You couldn’t resist stroking his fingers before going back to the papers.

You finished reading them rather fast, then signed them with your initials.

It was done. The papers were signed, the apartment is ready for your future lives. It felt liberating, and a warm, bubbly feeling seeped into you. Is it what pure happiness felt like?

The four of you would have seemed like a merry little group to an outsider, but you knew that all of you were not just happy, but relieved. For Junmyeon and Baekhyun, it was a case won without any battles and they would know that a hybrid brought to their shelter will be in good care from that point on. For you, it was like saving someone so dear to your heart – a member of your family. For Chanyeol… It was written all over his face. A brand new start of his life. Finally being himself, being comfortable.

There will be difficulties, you knew that, and Junmyeon warned you earlier. But after the rain, the sun will always shine a little brighter and warmer. It was the course of life – with its occasional ups and downs.

They way to your new home was rather quiet. You saw how badly Chanyeol wanted to question where you were going, but never uttered a word. He just stared out the window from next to you, his ears still twitching from time to time as he watched the traffic around you. At a red light, he reached out for your hand. Quickly squeezing your fingers, then his hand was back on is lap.

Taking a look at his too short sweats, you said:

“Let’s go home first, and after that we could go get you some more comfortable clothes, okay?”

He nodded.

The apartment wasn’t that far from EXO Shelter with car, but it was far enough to make sure you wouldn’t accidentally run into Seoyun on a daily basis. A different part of town, more calm and modern then your previous place. You thought Chanyeol might like it when you picked it.

After parking in the buildings garage, you showed Chanyeol how to get to the lift from there, then went outside to show him the main entrance. Nothing special, but you knew he preferred walking instead of car rides, so you figured you should go that way first.

You didn’t even enter the building, but he was already holding onto the sleeve of your coat, tugging it a little with every step you took. Smiling, you got a hold of his hand, and never let go until you arrived to your apartment.

Fifth floor, door fifty-seven. A simple, light brown door, with the numbers painted on them with black.

Chanyeol clinged to you as you unlocked and opened the door, giving both of your a good look at the place. A little front area, barely big enough for two people to stand there and take their shoes off, which immediately opened into the living room. Not so big or spacious, but good enough. A TV, a coffee table, a couch and an armchair could fit in, but nothing really more. You had to make the decision of not having a dining table, since there wasn’t enough room for it, but to your luck, the kitchen was big for a little table with two chairs, and you could still comfortably cook – even if the two of you were in there. It was on the right side of the living room.

The two rooms were on the other side right next to each other, and a little bathroom next to the right bedroom. You planned to give Chanyeol the bedroom on the left side, since it had view on both the street and the small playground next to your apartment.

Chanyeol was in awe. His eyes grew bigger than you have ever seen them as he looks around the apartment. He touches everything with a little hesitancy, but as you never scold him for doing it, he becomes more courageous. Fingers dusting off your laptop on the couch, holding up some papers you have left on the small diner table, peaking into every cabinet and wardrobe.

Lastly, he goes for the bedrooms. He marches into yours, and comes out with a warm smile. Then hesitant again, he goes to his own. It seems he doesn’t like that so much, which makes your heart heavy. You know it doesn’t feel like a home to him yet – hell, it doesn’t feel like that to you either yet! –, but together you could make it.

Waiting for his reaction, still standing in the entrance area, you said:

“I know it isn’t much yet, but we can also buy some furniture tomorrow.”

He failed to respond, but you saw his tall figure slightly shake as he looked around the place again, turning his back to you. A long exhale escaped him, shoulders sank along with his whole body. The sudden change in his mood through you off too, but it was understandable. He went through a lot, more than you could ever wrap your head around now. Maybe, later he would feel safe and be comfortable enough to share it with you.

Chanyeol quickly turned and charged in your direction. Before you could understand what was happening, his arms were wrapped around you, his larger frame locking you in a tight hug. He was still shaking, more violently than before. You felt wetness falling on your face, but the tears didn’t belong to you.

“Thank you, Noona. I’m just… so happy. I’ve never had someone do so much for me and… make me this happy. I feel…”

Overwhelmed. He was feeling a lot of kind of feelings all at once, you figured from the way he sobbed and choked his words out. The torn, yet positive tone in his voice made you tear up as well.

No words were needed.

Being there for him was enough for Chanyeol to realize: he was finally home.

The first night in the apartment together was rough for both of you. Until the sun was up, everything felt light and dream like, but with the night came unsettling feelings, restlessness, mostly on Chanyeol’s side.

After dinner, he took a long shower while you cleaned up the aftermath of the meal. Washing the dishes, you proudly thought about how Chanyeol basically destroyed the dinner, even ate your leftovers.

You watched a movie later, but time was running by fast, and both of you were yawning crazily, so you decided it was time to go to bed. Wasn’t one of your best ideas, you figured later on.

Quickly showering you put on your pajamas, said goodnight to Chanyeol, but he lacked his usual shine. He was back in his gloomy mood, but you couldn’t help the tiredness that took over you. Running errands all week, while working and doing your daily things were exhausting, not even mentioning the emotional side of it all. It took its toll on you greatly.

“I’ll leave my bedroom door open, if anything happens you can come in and wake me up. Okay? And by anything, I mean anything. Bad dreams, sleeplessness, really anything. But I have to sleep for a few hours.”

“Okay. Have nice dreams, Noona.”

“You too, Chanyeol. Sleep tight, we have a long day ahead of us.”

He hummed in agreement, but it left a bitterness in you. You were prepared for a few hours of sleep, but despite the heavy feeling in your eyes, you just couldn’t fall asleep. You were hyper aware of all the noises Chanyeol made in the other room. You could hear him toss and turn almost every minute, and you couldn’t blame him. With everything that happened to him, in a brand new place, it wasn’t an easy task to sleep.

After he started to pace up and down in his room, you decided it was okay to put your tiredness aside for a little while. You went to Chanyeol’s room, and found him looking out the window, the blanket loosely wrapped around him. His tall figure looked even bigger in the mere moonlight that shone from outside, but his eyes made him vulnerable. Those lost puppy-eyes reflected loneliness and pain, that was too much for you to comprehend.

“Can’t sleep, Chanyeollie?”

Your voice was merely above a whisper.

“Mhm.”

“I told you to come to me if you have trouble sleeping,” you scolded him lightheartedly. Reaching out a hand for him seemed to work like magic, as his body responded immediately. His fingers wrapped around yours tightly.

“You were breathing slowly, so I thought you were already asleep.”

Leading him to the living room, you motioned for him to sit down, but instead he followed you to the kitchen. In two mugs, you warmed some milk for yourselves. Your mother used to give you warm milk with a hint of sugar to help you sleep easier when you were little.

Armed with your mugs, you sat down on the couch, getting comfortable in the blanket Chanyeol threw over you. It was warm from his body heat, soothing your mind with his familiar scent. He is finally safe with you, your mind kept telling you again and again.

Chanyeol kept wriggling next to you, until his side was pressed to yours, legs and arms aligning. You extended your arm for him to come even closer. He must have been touch starved, he was very much showing signs of it. You flickered through channels on the TV, desperately searching for some drama Chanyeol loved so dearly. The one you watched together last time has already finished, but some reruns would be good for now too.

“Let’s watch that,” Chanyeol said quietly at one point.

With the softly blinking lights from the TV, your eyelids got heavy again as you slowly stroked Chanyeol’s hair. Eventually, he put his head on your lap, long limbs stretching out on the little remaining space of the couch. You couldn’t see his face well, but you heard his breathing getting even and quiet, and after the first snore he let out, you allowed yourself to fall asleep.

It was still dark outside when you woke up. You couldn’t quite pinpoint what made you wake up. The TV was still flickering, the early news shows have already started. The anchor lady was talking about some petty theft case that’s been finally concluded after months of work on the police’s side. You didn’t really care, maybe if they were telling something about the hybrids, you would be glued to the screen.

Chanyeol was still sleeping on your lap, looking like haven’t moved all night, only his arms snaked around your waist. Even in his sleep he held you with a firm grip, hands fisted with the material of your shirt.

You picked up caressing his hair and his face eventually, wondering how your day should go. Shopping and arranging the furniture would take up all of your time, and you also wanted to squeeze in some cooking and working.

While you were lost in your thoughts, Chanyeol stirred. His eyelids slowly fluttered and opened, a sleepy smile instantly tugged on his lips. You returned it just as happily.

“Good morning, Chanyeol.”

“Good morning, Noona.”

“Did you sleep well? You look well rested.”

“Yes. I haven’t had any bad dreams, so it was good.”

“That’s good to hear! Soon you’ll have sweet dreams, too.”

Chanyeol looked a little unsure about your claim, but only shrugged. His eyes were big, almost begging you not to lie.

Things took a turn for the better, but it was such a slow progress, that if you wouldn’t pay attention to the little things slipping from Chanyeol’s mouth, you’d barely notice it day by day.

Half words about feeling safe. A lazy smile after a dreamless night or a nap. His innocent voice thanking you for the food you prepared. Afternoons spent together binge watching dramas. His body aligning with yours while you worked away on your laptop. The little things that showed things were going right.

There were also bad days. And even worse nights when he woke up from a nightmare, sobbing, crying, shaking endlessly, sometimes even screaming. To avoid the difficult night, he started to sleep with you more often and often. Being close to you gave him enough sense of comfort to sleep soundlessly. The promised sweet dreams only came after three months of sleeping with you.

You became used to Chanyeol being there in your room when you went to sleep. Him, looking up at you soft and sleepy from under the comforters. Every night, you went to sleep silently thanking Junmyeon, Baekhyun and Jongdae from the shelter for helping you go through with your plans. Because you wouldn’t have it any other way.

During weekends, you two went on walks around the city, always visiting a park, but you were being careful not to go near the area of your old apartment. Chanyeol was healing, he didn’t need his barely closed wounds to be ripped open again.

He even made a few friends in a nearby park. Kyungsoo, a cat hybrid and his owner, Minseok stole a place in Chanyeol’s heart. The other hybrid didn’t seem to be so fond of him and his over the place personality at first glance, but soon warmed up to him. Both you and Minseok noticed his soft expression when he thought none of you were paying attention. They became friends and regular visitors at your place, and the other way around.

Minseok was easy to talk to. Never asking too much, knowing when not to pry further into certain topics. A welcomed change after being holed up in your own world, surrounded with only work and Seoyun for so long.

The next snowfall came only in February, on a calm Saturday evening. You were already walking home. Chanyeol occasionally sniffing the air for a few hours now.

“It smells weird, Noona. So clear and fresh.”

“Do you like it?”

“I don’t know yet.”

His hand were engulfing yours while walking in silence. Chanyeol insisted holding your hand when he noticed you rubbing your fingers together, fighting against the cold. He always noticed everything when it came to you.

Chanyeol was still trying to find out why the air was so eerily fresh, and you were smiling on the inside. The weather forecast promised snowing for tonight, and you hoped it would happen before you arrive home from your little trip.

And hope was fulfilled. The first snowflake caught Chanyeol by surprise, quietly landed on his face as he was looking up at the white clouded sky, and melted immediately. He froze on spot, yanking your hand and making you stop too. His eyes grew big as the snow started to fall. White flakes landing without a pattern, first here and there, then a moment later it was everywhere. In only ten minutes there would be a white blanket laid on the city.

With bright and shining eyes Chanyeol looked at you, smiling so widely that his teeth were showing. He looked up at the sky again, watched the snow cover everything, then his eyes were on you.

“I like it, Noona, if it means it’s going to be snowing.”

He jerked your hand, making you almost trip and fall, but before any of that could happen, he catches you in his arms, hugging you tight. His breath was warm, chest rising and falling fast as he sniffed once more.

“You won’t miss the first snow with me again, Chanyeol,” you whispered to him almost shyly, and felt yourself blush as he let go of you.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Yeah, you thought as you continued walking home and Chanyeol kept looking at the sky, but never let go of your hand. You wouldn’t change anything about the past months if it meant you could see his smiles forever.

[artsy-hobbitses]

I love your human Optimus sm, he is so father figure coded its delightful. That being said, how wholesome can he get?

(I love ur art, you're amazing <33333)

THE MOST!!! WHOLESOME!!!!

- Came across Bumblebee dancing ballet by himself on accident one night in a little music room at the base (which is Alpha Trion’s estate) with bay windows all around! Noticed that Bee’s immediate reaction was to try fleeing the scene, but knowing from Bee’s scars that Bee had a BAD childhood, instinctively understood what might have happened for an 18 year old to have that response, and excitedly compliments Bee on Bee’s grace and form (to say this poor lad was taken aback by this absolute whiplash of what USUALLY happens when his bio dad would catch him dancing would be an understatement). Offers to play the piano for Bee (there is one unused there and he hasn’t practiced in years, but he may have just found a reason to start again!) so Bee has music to dance to, and it’s an offer Bee gladly takes up. They make it their thing at least once a week!

- He and Bumblebee play football together!

- Bumblebee runs. A lot. Bee has a STRONG fight or flight instinct and after Bad Nights, Bee tends to run as far as his legs can take him (because bio dad’s promised to hurt you, but first, he must catch you) and often overestimates how much energy he has left to return to base in a timely manner. So OP sometimes trails along and nestles down next to Bee when Bee is half-dead from exhaustion on the grass somewhere and just. Lays there. Talking to Bee. Bee doesn’t have to respond, he just wants to let Bee know he’s always here if Bee ever wants to talk. At some point he offers to piggyback Bee to base when Bee’s cursing his legs stumbling out from under him, and it’s both amusing and very, very bittersweet to feel how firmly Bee is holding on to his shoulders—like this is something Bee has never done before—and the slight dampness in his shoulder Bee has his face buried in.

- OP gifted Bumblebee his pet rabbit, BigWig! Which came with a little rabbit-sized hoodie just like Bee’s which OP commissioned Mirage to make.

- OP helped HotRod with his dyslexia! OP was the one who noticed HotRod had learning difficulties that were never addressed, and it’s not your fault the system failed you—you’re not stupid, you’re not lazy, you think on your feet and have insight beyond your years! He buys graphic novels and comics for HotRod (who did not have access to any of this before and didn’t see any point to it because he’s been labeled a dumbass who can’t write words) and they two often have little reading sessions together!

[cheriecherishchen]

The Man Who Lived by sebastianL (felix_atticus)

Summary:

Draco breaks a cup, and one thing leads to another. A story of redemption, tattoos, dreams, mistakes, green eyes, long conversations, and copious amounts of coffee.

Set in New York twelve years after the war.

Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter

Rating: E (for Graphic Depictions Of Violence, no explicit sex scenes as far as I recalled)

Words: 253,826

I put off reading this because the word count is definitely scary, and I much prefer stories taking place in England.

This story is so unlike the fanfics I usually read, it doesn't have the usual tropes that appeared in Drarry: Harry not knowing what Sectumsempra would do to Draco when he cast it (the scar was mentioned in the story, but it comes with a very enlightening conversation instead of just Harry apologizing and saying he didn't mean it), one of them having a secret crush on the other (far from it, they didn't get along at all for a very long time), etcetera etcetera.

Rather, the story sheds some light on the characters that I never thought of before: there's a scene where Draco pointed out that Harry was lazy when it came to learning and too dependent on others (mainly Hermione) doing the work for him, and that's why he failed to become an Auror. I was so used to reading Harry being powerful and could easily use wordless or wandless Magic that I was surprised when my brain said: yes, that's Harry from the canon.

It's not a Drarry story that would make you feel rosy and sunshine, but as a story in and of itself, it's a great one. It took place in a real world rather than an ideal one, and everyone had their own flaws but you feel resonate with them, tragics happened, but because of all of that, they grew even stronger, and that's a wonder in its own way.

Make My Demons Run by lauren3210

Summary: After giving evidence in defence of Draco at his trial, suddenly Potter is everywhere he turns as he completes his community service. Draco hadn't expected any of it, nor had he expected those long buried feelings he'd once had to come rising back to the surface. He definitely didn't expect what happened next.

Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter

Rating: E

Words: 28,072

A bitter-sweet story about guilt, unforgiveness (to themselves) and making choices.

The first quarter of the story was Draco sitting in front of Wizengamot on trial, when asked if he was guilty, he reflected why he made those bad choices and what happened during his sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts. The author did a great job at this part, though there was little interaction between Harry and Draco, it's still fascinating. The remaining story was Draco helping rebuild Hogwarts as his community service, and Harry was also there as volunteer.

It's a bit depressing and definitely not mood-lighting, but it's worth reading. I also recommend the short sequel New Dawn's Light. It was filled with even more angst. After all, in reality, things are not as simple and easy as the saying "and they live happily ever after" goes.

@hprecfest

[missacidburn928s-heathenhideaway]

Go Ahead And Lock Me Up (Bittersweet Drabble)

POC!Reader “Lux” x Walter Marshall

Wordcount: 971

Summary:

A lazy weekend spent at home full of laughter leads to a fun challenge..

Warnings:

18+ Only MDNI. Established Relationship, Female Character of Color, Smut

Notes:

I couldn't help myself. They needed some lightness. Happy Reading!

Banner by @cafekitsune Divider by @firefly-graphics

Walter has a weekend off and Faye is with her mom. Meaning I have him all to myself. So of course I get it in my mind to put on a silly little show for him. He’s always overstressed and laughing is a great form of medicine. If it leads to something more… well win/win for me then.

It’s now mid afternoon. We had a nice slow morning cooking breakfast and watching nonsense on the TV. We ordered a pizza for lunch just to keep the lounging vibes going. With his belly full and body resting comfortably on the couch, I know now is the time to execute my plan.

With a cheeky grin and a glint of mischief in my eyes, I grab the remote, switching the TV to Spotify and queuing up the perfect song. As the music fills the air, I playfully strut across the room. Swaying my hips and exaggerating my movements for comedic effect. 

Walt, initially caught off guard, bursts out into laughter as he watches me make a fool of myself just for him. It’s a sound I don’t get to hear too often, so I cherish it everytime it makes an appearance.

Wearing only his sweater, I sell the shit out of this song while using the remote as my mic. The part I have been waiting for quickly approaches and with a grace I am unaware where it came from I pull out the important prop I have hidden in his oversized sweater. 

Fluffy pink handcuffs.

I twirl them around my finger as I make my way to stand between his widespread legs. I don’t even get to finish the song before he’s lifting me over his shoulder as he stands up and heads down the hall. 

With a slap to the ass, I am tossed down onto the bed.

“Daddy Cop huh? Wanna make me one again?”

“Are you asking what I think you’re asking Walter?”

“If it ends with me making you a mama then, yes I am.”

“You wanna put a baby in me?”

“So bad. I have for a while now. I know it adds to my pressure and worries but I don't care. I want to see you round with my child. Want Faye to have a little sibling to annoy her while she tries to be a teenager and then a young adult. What do you say? Can I make you a mama?”

“This isn't because I took my IUD out and we’ve been having to use condoms the last couple months is it?”

“I’ve had these thoughts since before you took it out. But I wont say that you removing it and that risk being there hasn't enhanced the urge to breed you.”

As the word breed and its lovely implications settle in my ears my thighs decide to give an involuntary squeeze as my core begins to ache. Their efforts are unsuccessful as Walter has placed himself firmly between them.

“You liked that didn't you? Knowing I want to breed you. Keep you full of my seed until it takes and you're round with my baby.”

“Maybe I secretly have a breeding kink.”

He growls. “Don’t tease me right now Lux. I will pin you to this bed and fuck you full over and over again.”

“I wouldn't dream of teasing you right now. Do you want this? You want a baby with me? That’s a big step Walt. Means you're tied to me forever.”

“I want it more than anything.”

“Then you better hurry up and get to it, Walter. Put a baby in me.”

“This first round isn't going to take long. Sorry baby, I’m too excited to take it slow. Just want you full already. I’ll be soft and sweet the next round.”

“Next round?”

“Oh you're not leaving this bed all weekend babygirl. I plan to use every moment of my rare weekend off to make sure you end up well-bred.”

Walter was not kidding when he said this first round would be fast. What I wasn't expecting was for it to be so damn intense.

Here I lie, arms pinned above my head. Our fingers interlocked together. Chests pressed so close that with each inhale my nipples rub against the soft hair along Walt’s chest sending sparks down my spine. 

My thighs are perched high on his waist and spread as wide as they can comfortably go. Ankles locked in place on his lower back, only allowing for grinding thrusts that hit deep. 

Our room is quickly filled with a cacophony of growls, groans, soft high pitched whines and moaning gasps. 

“That’s it. Keep squeezing my cock just like that.” Walts gritty voice praises in my ear. “Come all over my cock so I can fill up this greedy little pussy. Even gonna place a pillow under these hips after. So you don't waste a single drop.”

His dirty talk, the possessiveness in his voice combined with the overall attack on my senses, is my undoing. It’s like a switch in my brain clicks over at the sound of my presumed life mate wanting to expand our bond. 

I detonate with a quiet scream. 

My magical cunt, doing what she does best, clamps down on his girth. Beaconing Walter to join me in ecstasy.

With a guttural growl he let’s go. Filling me to the brim with every twitch of his cock.

He rains sweet kisses along my cheeks and neck as we bask in the afterglow of our afternoon delight.

As I find myself beginning to drift off, I feel my hips being lifted and a soft pillow placed under me. Followed by Walt’s sweet baritone in my ear.

“You stay put while I go grab you some water and a snack, babygirl. I’m not taking any chances.”

[everythingblreview]

Short Introductions to BL Games (Part 1)

For the longest time I had the idea to do a short introduction to all the different bl games I played, as a way for people to figure out if certain games are for them or not, and this day finally came. So, starting from today I will do short introductions, with a general rating of the story, characters and so on of every game. (I try to give a more neutral opinion, but some things are still based on my perception of the game) In addition I will add some extra comments on every game, so people know what to expect.

This is NOT a recommendation list, just an introduction, you decide yourself if you want to play it.

The rating goes from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong).

Higher story rating means the it's more unique and captivating.

The higher the romance is the more developed and focused it is.

Sadness level is obvious, the higher the ranting, the more tissues you need. Level of disturbing includes content that can make you feel unwell as well as the amount of rape (we know bl game writers love them) so the higher the rating the higher the the amount of it in the game.   

CAGE -OPEN- (R18+)

Description:

Konno Teppei suddenly loses consciousness on his way home from work in the evening. He wakes up surrounded by ruins and old buildings. He, along with several other men, are in an abandoned amusement park.

An announcement suddenly informs them that the game is about to begin. The rules are very simple. For 8 days, the participants will continue their normal lives during the daytime. But once night falls, they will be forced into the old amusement park as the setting for their struggle to obtain a coin that will win them fifty million yen.

Genre: Action, Gore, Psychological, Violence

Story 3/5

Characters 4/5

Romance 2/5

Artwork 3/5

Sadness level 1/5

Level of disturbing 4/5

Language: Japanese, English (partly translated with Viusal Novel Reader)

Comments: It’s not voiced, the games has some really disturbing bad ends with themes like mutilation so be careful with that, the romance part is not very strong, MC is the “I don’t like guys”-type, also a good amount of rape and dub-con moments, the music of the games is really good, the game has several sequels and remake will be released soon

Gakuen Heaven 2 ~Double Scramble!~ (R15+)

Description:

Bell Liberty School, known as BL School. A near-legendary boarding school attended by elite students chosen from all over the country.

By some stroke of luck, I, Yuki Asahina, am among those chosen to attend this school. But on my first day, I was suddenly given a mysterious armband. Of all things, this armband is apparently the symbol of the ace of the school, the Student Body President.

Wait--does that mean I'm now the Student Body President?!

But there's no time to celebrate. Because the Student Body President has been reduced into nothing but a powerless servant....

Genre: School life, Comedy, Slice of life

Story 2/5

Characters 4/5

Romance 3/5

Artwork 4/5

Sadness level 1/5

Level of disturbing 1/5

Languages: Japanese, English (patch)

Comments: A light school life bl game, no heavy themes, MC is really fun, romance can be good or bad depending on the route, no graphic sexual content, not for people who prefer games with strong plot

Luckydog 1 (R18+)

Description:

It all starts with the slam of a prison door. Four captains from the same Mafia family, the CR:5, are taken out in one fell swoop and left to rot behind bars.

Lucky for them, our hero’s already there.

Gian’s just a run-of-the-mill wiseguy, passing his time doing petty jobs for the family when he’s on the outside and living the lazy life when he’s in the slammer. But those easy days come to an end when he gets word from the boss: if he can break the captains out, Gian will earn a spot at the top of the hierarchy.

Can he pull off a job this big, or is it more than even Gian’s fabled good luck can manage?

Genre: Action, Violence, Mafia, Comedy, Historical (US-America 1930s)

Story 5/5

Characters 5/5

Romance 3/5

Artwork 3/5

Sadness level 1/5

Level of disturbing 3/5

Language: Japanese, English (Online translation)

Comments: Strong-mined main character, gameplay based on luck of the MC, a decent amount of dub-con, it's mafia so don't expect them to be good guys

[penguinmerchant]

Return to Sender--failed attempt

Well, this did not turn out well. I'm deciding to post it anyway because the front cover is so pretty I can't stand it and I'm hoping that maybe if I detail what went wrong it will either help someone else or prevent me from making the same mistake again. So here she is, my first failed binding of the first fic I've ever done for my own stuff (and goddamn I hope that's not a metaphor for something)

Just look at her. Gorgeous. Inspiration taken directly from this version of a Shakespeare book that I found on Pinterest. I just loved the cutout text in gold, the triangle in the middle that seemed like an envelope. Perfect for an epistolary novel, right? And the boyfriend did the graphic design again this time, carrying his burden of knowing exactly how crappy these things are to weed, and made it so that weeding was a particularly easy process. Now, actually getting this stuff to stick---that still sucked. The black went down really easy but the gold took forever to stick down, and I'm not really sure why. It took 30 seconds for the black to stick and probably 6 different sets of 30 seconds for the gold, same heat and everything. If anyone has any insights into how to get this cricut vinyl to act better, I'd appreciate it forever.

(But god, look at it. It's so pretty).

The back.

The spine.

And now to the horrors, under the cut.

So I guess the textblock came out crooked, or maybe I cut it crooked. I don't know where the badness came from, but look at how these endsheets (the beautiful, beautiful endsheets) came out.

Look how far down the left side of the block sits, and how high the right is. And to get it like that, the bottom looks like this:

It's practically falling out of the case. Also these headbands suck. I keep using them because they're the only gold ones I have but they just shred themselves to pieces, I hate them.

It's so bad, you guys. I could not get this block to sit straight no matter what I did. And to make it even worse, I figured out the way that it fit in the least horribly, and made a mark on it and everything, and then promptly attached the cover to the wrong side. I don't think it would have mattered much, but it would have only been like 80% bad instead of 90%.

I think--If I'm guessing here--that I somehow pressed the spine out of whack during one of the glue applications. Because by the numbers--and I did measure this thing about ten thousand times--it should have been even. But I think the spine kicked out in a really funny way that made it so it wouldn't lay flat on the boards, and so when I tried to case it in the spine pushed on the crooked part and wonked out the whole thing. And what I should have done was 1) Make boards that fit the wonkiness, try to even it out a little (even if it would have made the book itself sit funny), or, better yet, 2) redo the textblock and try and fit it into the already made boards. But I didn't. I just forged ahead and now I'm going to have to make another one from scratch because this is my story and I can't have it looking like this, it feels like too much to take that disrespect and/or laziness.

But at least I won't have to set the text again. Look at it. I found different handwritten fonts for each character that I felt like expressed their personalities. Laurent's is tidy and clean but with a few little flourishes.

Damen's is a little looser, a little scribblier.

And then Auguste's is my favorite, it's curly and sweepy and completely over the top.

There's a few more, these were just the most prominent ones. And the whole of the actual text is italicized. I know it's kind of annoying to read but just regular text looked way too jarring against the handwritten flourishes at the beginning and end, and the handwritten fonts were impossible to read once there was more than like, six words. I even tried putting in a typewriter-esque font, but that did not look right either. The italicized font bridged the gap, I think, and it's not too annoying to read in context, honestly.

Ugh, I'm so disappointed, even though I'll probably try to display this somewhere because the cover is so pretty lol. I think the lesson I need to take away from this and remember is that I need to stop when I see a problem come up. I knew from the time that I cut the boards that this wasn't going to work right, and I still went ahead and did it anyway because I thought I could force it and I wanted it to be done. And now I've wasted my beautiful duo cloth, those gorgeous marbled endpapers, and I'm going to have to do this again. Patience is definitely not something I have in spades but I'm going to keep this as a testament to how important it is to take your time and make sure that things are right before continuing.

[farfromsugafanfic]

Dangerous | Chapter Five: Maraschino

Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Bad Boy!Jimin, Bartender!Reader College AU

Pairing: Jimin/Named Reader

Rating: M | Minors DNI

Chapter Warnings: use of derogatory language toward women, alcohol consumption

A/N: I've discontinued using the graphic dividers because I'm lazy and it's been a while since I posted and I don't want to have to hunt for it. Therefore, the original dividers will be used.

Pabo: Don't forget about Mochi's vet appointment.

Pabo: Check your door before you leave 😘

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You had almost forgotten about Jackson's vet appointment that you had scheduled a week before. You'd told Jimin he could come since the kitten was half his, but your stomach churned. Other than class and dance practice, you didn't really associate with Jimin on campus, and if your ex or the wrong person were to see, it could mess up your plan for revenge or cause problems like the night before.

Slut.

You're ex's words still echoed in your head. You knew it shouldn't matter what he thought of you or what he called you, but it still hurt. It shouldn't matter that you enjoyed sex, casual sex, even, or that you enjoyed the attention you got when you wore a short dress or a tight skirt. It was easy not to think about when you got what you wanted, but as soon as someone you used to care about so much looked down on you for those things and called a name you usually embraced, it hurt.

You left for class in yoga pants, a sports bra, and a jacket thrown over the top. You shut your door and turned around to lock it, noticing two Ziploc bags taped to the door and a sticky note stuck between them.

You smiled, remembering Jimin's text. You peeled the sticky note off the door:

A treat for Mochi and a treat for Mommy

He'd drawn a small heart and smiley face after the note and indicated which bag was for you and which was for the kitten. However, looking at them it was obvious which was yours. One bag was full of cat treats and the other full of hard candies. You took one of the red candies and popped into your mouth. Cherry.

[][][]

You entered the classroom and noticed it mostly empty except for a few students huddled in a group in the back and Jimin setting up mats around the studio. He looked up as soon as he heard the door. He smiled but was sure not to linger too long.

You quickly stuck out your red stained tongue causing him to smile. You could tell he held back laughter as he ran his hand through his hair, his smile only growing wider.

"What're the mats for?" you asked.

"You'll have to wait and see," he said, cocking an eyebrow.

You rolled your eyes and noticed as the rest of the class began filing in. You took your spot in the class, despite not being assigned a place to stand, everyone always fell into the same places. The instructor came in a few minutes later.

"Hello class," she said. "Today we're going to be doing something a bit different. For some of you, this will be familiar, but for others, this may take you out of your comfort zone. Regardless, part of being successful in the dance world is trusting in your team and your partners. So, today we are going to do some trust exercises, so partner up."

You looked around as everyone in the class grabbed onto a partner. You looked towards the girl next to you who had asked about Jimin--Eun-ha--but she had already paired with the girl on her other side.

"Now, there's an odd number, so one of you is probably without a partner," the instructor said, her eyes sweeping through the pairs before landing on you. "Ah, Inna." She waved her hand over at Jimin. "Jimin will be your partner."

Jimin walked over to you. He held a smug look on his face and he looped his arm through yours, brushing his fingertips over the skin of yours lightly.

"All right, the first exercise is an easy one, the trust fall," the instructor said. "Take turns falling backward and catching each other."

You turned to Jimin. "All right, fall," you said.

He laughed and turned around. "Are you sure you can catch me?"

"Shut up and just do it," you said. "Let's just get it over with."

You held your arms out and Jimin fell towards you. You caught him with your arms locking through his armpits and his head falling against your collarbone. You were used to these kinds of trust exercises from your ballet days. They were standard in the beginner's classes and often when working on a show when tensions are high, you'd all run through them again.

You helped push Jimin back to his feet. He turned to face you, a large grin taking up the majority of his face. "You trust me, babe?"

"To do a trust fall? Sure. Otherwise? Not an ounce."

"Ah, come on, I didn't beat up your ex last night for nothing."

Your entire body stiffened and you stood frozen. Did he really hurt Chul-soo? Your eyes looked down at his knuckles which didn't look terribly bruised. You hated your ex. You wouldn't care if he disappeared and you never had to see him again, but the thought of Jimin beating him up brought back the memories from high school of Jimin's black eye and bruised ribs and that Chul-soo didn't come to school for a few days he and Jimin fought back then.

"Okay, the second partner should be going by now," the instructor said.

You shook away the thoughts and Jimin's concerned glances and turned around. You held your arms up and began to tip back on your ankles, feeling your toes leave the floor and slowly, ever so slowly, you began to fall. Your eyes closed and you felt as Jimin's arms came under your own and catch you.

Your head rested against his shoulder and you felt his breath against your scalp. He slowly helped you back to your feet, but his hands lingered on arms and his lips brushed against the top of your ear.

"See? You can trust me." His voice was raspy and rough, but so hushed you could barely make out the words.

You scoffed and pushed him away. Yet, you felt a small pull in your stomach that maybe, just maybe, his words were true.

[][][]

"Hey beautiful," Jimin said, leaning against his motorcycle and holding his spare helmet in his right hand. "I should write your name on this." He held the helmet up to you and you took it and strapped it on. "You're the only one who wears it."

You rolled your eyes as Jimin climbed onto the motorcycle and started it. You got on behind him and wrapped your arms around his middle. Once you were secure, he kicked up the kickstand and drove towards your apartment.

You weren't sure what it was about a motorcycle that made you feel so free. You could rest your head between his shoulder blades and feel like you were the only two people in the world. The wind that swirled around you isolating you from the rest of the world.

It only took a few minutes to reach your apartment. Jimin followed you up and waited for you to unlock the door. Jackson was curled up on the couch asleep, but as soon as you opened the door, his head popped up and he meowed in greeting.

"Hey buddy," Jimin said, immediately throwing himself down on your couch and touch his noses with the kitten.

"I'm going to go change. I'll be just a second."

He hardly acknowledged you as you walked back to your bedroom and changed into a different pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. You placed a few treats in the pocket to reward Jackson after the vet and to make sure he stayed in your pocket on the way there.

You walked back toward the living room and heard Jimin talking to the kitten softly. "You're taking care of her, right, Mochi? I can't be here all the time, so I need you to make sure she's all right." You felt your chest tighten and walked into the living room.

"Hey," you said. "I'm ready."

He nodded and picked up Jackson, the kitten slumping happily over his palm. He handed the kitten to you and you placed him in your sweatshirt pocket where he curled up against your stomach. You kept one of your hands inside the pocket and allowed the kitten to chew lightly on your fingers.

You walked back down to Jimin's motorcycle and climbed on, this time careful not to crush the kitten, but also ensuring that the kitten couldn't climb out during the ride.

"I think I'm gonna keep my hand in so that he can't fall out," you said.

"No," Jimin said. "I don't want to risk you getting hurt. Just make sure you stay close to me and he should be all right."

"Jimin, I'll be fine. It's not a long ride--"

"Just be careful. I really shouldn't ride with you on this thing."

You rolled your eyes and secured one of your arms around his waist while you kept the other one in your sweatshirt pocket.

Jimin took off slower this time and you noticed he braked sooner and slower. Jackson stayed in your pocket, nearly asleep between yours and Jimin's bodies.

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"He appears to be fairly healthy for a stray," the vet said, her hands ran over the kitten's body and peered at his teeth. "He does look a little malnourished, but it's likely he was abandoned or orphaned. It's nothing a little love can't fix."

Jackson--unlike any other pet you'd before--didn't seem to mind to mind the vet's poking and prodding. He only mewed a little during his vaccinations and even purred as the vet did her examination.

"Looks like this little guy was lucky you two found him when you did," she said. "We'll keep him here for a couple of days to monitor him and prep to neuter him." You nodded, swallowing back your worries. "You can come pick him up in a few days. We'll make sure he's perfectly comfortable."

You nodded and gave Jackson a few goodbye pets and the treats he hadn't already eaten. He nudged the back of your hand and you felt it hard to pull away from the kitten.

You were startled out of your thoughts as you felt Jimin's hand on the small of your back. He gave you a sympathetic look before petting Jackson.

"We should get going," he said. "We still have to practice tonight."

You nodded and left the little kitten with the vet. You clung to Jimin a little tighter as he drove back to the university.

[][][]

You approached the final dance studio, although felt your heart sink as you heard music. All of the studios were being used.

"It's full," you said, walking back down the hall to Jimin. You shrugged your shoulders, your lips pouting out slightly.

Jimin sighed and reached into his pocket. You heard the rustling of keys and watched as he flipped through his keys until he came to a small silver one. "Come on," he said.

You followed him down the other side of the hallway and to an older part of the building. The building with all the studios had recently been remodeled and so there were a few abandoned dance studios in the basement of the building, but they were normally locked.

"Since I'm the T.A., I have access to the old studios," he said. "Since I'm required to always be available."

He unlocked the door to one of the studios and held the door open as you walked in. He followed you in and turned on the lights. The studio smelled a little dusty but was still in good condition, other than a few dents in the floor.

You headed to the corner of the room to plug in your phone.

"Wait," Jimin said. "I wanna do something different today."

He took hold of your wrists and led you to the center of the room. He sat down and you did the same. He pulled out a bottle of alcohol from behind him and two shot glasses.

"Where?! Jimin, have you had those the whole time?"

"It doesn't matter," he said. "What matters, is that for me to be able to help you, we're going to have to work through some things. You can still go on with your little revenge plots, I don't care, but you need to trust me enough for this."

"So, what's the alcohol for?"

"Answer or drink," he said.

"Jimin, you still have to drive…"

"I don't have a reason to go home tonight. Do you?"

Without Mochi at your apartment, there was no reason for you to go home. Your outfit was appropriate for the next day's dance class and it wasn't like you hadn't stayed out all night before classes before.

You shook your head and Jimin proceeded to pour you both a glass. The alcohol he'd chosen was a cinnamon flavored whiskey you were surprised he'd like at all. The orange liquid settled in the shot glass and you were surprised as Jimin took a shot immediately. He poured himself another shot and set the bottle back down with a soft thud.

"All right, who should go first?"

"I will," you said. "Are you attracted to me?"

"Yes," Jimin said, his voice cutting through the air. "Don't waste all your questions like that."

"Why do you let me see Mochi?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Jimin? We found him together. It's only right."

"But, you hate me?"

You sighed, downing you shot and refilling it. "That was two questions."

"Why are you so nice to me?" you asked.

Jimin's eyes softened for a moment before he took the shot glass and tipped it back.

"Why do you still care about what happened?" Jimin asked.

"You were my first boyfriend, Jimin. I don't know, I was deluded and naive and you took advantage of that. Why--why did you do it in the first place?"

Jimin sat still for a moment, his eyes stuck on your face. "I don't know," he said. His voice cracked and barely there.

"That's not an answer, Jimin."

"I know, but I really don't know why I did that."

"Just drink."

He obliged and took a shot. While you knew Jimin had a fairly high alcohol tolerance, you could see the flush beginning in his cheeks.

"What happened between you and Chul-soo?"

You immediately took the shot. There was no way you were going to explain everything between you and Chul-soo. The cheating, the toxicity, the jealousy that turned to resentment. You'd dated Chul-soo for years, and yet, you were happiest without him.

"I tried to look for you, you know? That night after you ran off, I looked for you for hours," Jimin said, his flush getting worse. "Where did you go?"

"Jimin, I--"

"Just drink," he said.

You did, this time the whiskey didn't go down as smoothly, the burn in the back of your throat becoming scalding. You felt your own neck and cheeks heating up. You hardly ever got flushed, but this time, you weren't sure if it was from the alcohol, or from the game.

"Why are you doing this? Surely, you had girlfriends after me," you said. "Why do you care about me so much?"

Jimin didn't answer, but rather, scooted closer to you. He took a shot, keeping eye contact with you. He threw the shot glass aside before his hands were cupping your cheeks.

"Jimin?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Your eyes widened at the question, but before you could even think about answering, your lips had already done it for you. "Yes."

His lips landed on yours for the first time since the night you first spotted him the club. He tasted like cinnamon and alcohol, you were sure you tasted the same. Within a minute, your back was on the floor and Jimin's hips were pressed against your own. His hands were balanced firmly on the floor on either side of your head.

He pulled away, his eyes tired and his lips swollen. Jimin brought one of his hands to his hair and pushed it back, before bringing back down and wiping his thumb over your lips.

"You should go home," he said.

"Jimin, I thought we were just going to stay here all night?"

"I changed my mind. Come on."

"No, Jimin, you're not driving. Let's just walk back to my place. You can crash on the couch."

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When you woke up the next morning, Jimin was gone. This time there was no note left or any evidence he'd even been there, other than the crumpled up blanket on the couch. All he left was the slight swelling of your lips and a small ache in your chest that you wished would go away.

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