#turns out other people found the idea compelling too

[polarspaz]

Was rereading the Knowing Too Much AU (eldritch batfam beloved), and realized that since Barbara's aspect is knowledge does that mean she's the third to figure it out? Maybe after the Cave Incident where everyone's trying to undo the "curse" Tim is under. She wants to know what happened to him, she wants to know why, she wants to know how, she wants to know if she can fix it. And then she stumbles upon his research, and figures out what's really going on. And she changes. (It's not a curse, it's so much worse...)

You are correct! Barbra is the third one to figure out what's really going on. But I'm trying to decided wither or not she tells Tim she knows. Telling Tim might devastate him, as he's clearly been trying to keep this thing suppressed in anyway possible, and telling him could also actually make things even worse.

The less people know about this mess, the better.

I also updated the positive/negative powers for the EldritchFamily

-Tim/Aspect Hope = Power/Teleportation. Tim can create a portal to anywhere, and innately knows where any object or person is. The entity however forces Tim to drag people back to Gotham, wither they want to return or not. Tim is essentially the chain that keeps them tied to city

-Bruce/Aspect Justice = Power/Shadow manipulation. Bruce can warp shadows and make them physical. He can also melt into shadows and use them to travel anywhere there is a patch of darkness. He can also lurk in these spots and spy on people if he wishes. The entity however has a good deal of influence on Bruce and can tamper with his personalty, making him more extreme in his crusade or suppress his emotions.

-Dick/Aspect Humanity = Power/Empathy. Dick can amplify people's positive emotions, like love, happiness, and compassion. His power helps the family retain their humanity, boosts their powers, it can also help compel villains to do good deeds. The negative part to his power though is that the entity will make Dick inject negative emotions into villains, making them even more deranged and violent.

-Jason/Aspect Rebirth = Power/resurrection. Jason's power is the most OP and ironically the most simplistic, he can bring people back to life. The downside? The entity makes him bring back villains too, especially the Joker.

-Cassandra/Aspect Secrets = Power/Invisibility. If Cassandra doesn’t want to be found or suspected, she will never be seen or thought of again until she desires it. She can also turn herself or anything she wants completely invisible, even to technology and the senses, meaning you can't track her through smell or sound either. The entity forces her to hide objects or people that could help the family rebel against it. ((She never remembers doing this either, so she can't just cheat and tell where the shit is lol))

Barbra/Aspect Knowledge = Power…Knowledge lol. If Barbra wants to know something, she will always find the answer to it. She remembers EVERYTHING and instantly understands any complex idea or problem that comes before her. However, whatever she learns, she must share that same knowledge with the entity, meaning whatever she knows, the entity knows too.

Also here's some others who are affected by the entity.

Alfred/Aspect Loyalty. Jim Gordon/Aspect Diligence. Damian/Aspect Redemption. Joker /Aspect Chaos. Catwoman Aspect/Desire. Stephanie /Aspect Mischief.

[fairydares]

loook i get why the idea of riding the "anti/pro" fandom disk horse makes people gag a little in their mouth and try to opt out entirely, but here's why i went from feeling exactly the same way to taking a firm profiction stance. I've been meaning to make this post for a while.

~10 years ago, I posted a fic for the first time and it got its own harassment campaign. The fic wasn't even sexual, and wasn't going to be (it remains incomplete). It was accurately rated T on fanfiction.net. Anyone in the Fairy Tail fandom will understand this: I literally got harassed for writing a "Lucy leaves the guild" fic💀.

After many nice comments, someone left a pretty nasty one. Hurt, I messaged them back. They acted super attacked that I'd responded (lmao) and after we argued, threatened to "rip my shitty story apart in the comments section" if I responded again. I told them "go ahead lol."

They went ahead.

Now know that it was a relatively small harassment campaign, but at the time, it was devastating. Right around then, I wound up in the hospital. After I got out, I went to excitedly check my fic, and found several reviews saying things I wouldn't repeat to my worst enemy. I was suicide-baited more than once, told "thank fuck you finally abandoned this shitty story, dumb cunt," stuff like that.

There were several accounts involved, and I can't say for sure, but I suspect at least a couple different people were involved, though probably at least half of it was one person.

All the other comments were screeching about how I hadn't updated, mostly. "NO UPDAAATEE WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS TO MEEEE??!!!" was one that stood out after I'd been miserable in a hospital for an extended period of time.

Idk what people think is going on when FT fic authors write this trope, and frankly I don't give a fuck. Because while I was partly writing the story out of some young, cringe feminist rage, I also did genuinely have a real story I was compelled to tell. I was inspired by another, popular fic I loved which used the trope to talk about how trying to shoulder our burdens alone really just hurts both ourselves and everyone who cares about us.

My own story was ultimately going to have similar themes, with more focus on strength, what it means, and in what contexts earning and having it actually matters. In retrospect, no wonder I wound up in hot water, because at the time "Lucy vs. Strength vs. Misogyny" was the FT fandom's Designated Nonsensically Activist Debate™. But that's partly why i wanted to write about it; engaging with the fandom had gotten me thinking about it 🤷‍♂️

Not too long after that, FFNet oh-so-benevolently granted us the ability to delete comments from our own stories (they never took my reports seriously at all, afaik). I deleted all or most of the harassers' comments (may still be a one or two up, and i'm fairly sure there's a couple comments defending my fic from the harassment) without saving screenshots, which I really regret now. I was just so mortified and full of self-loathing about the whole thing that i wanted to forget it completely. Something that had brought me joy at a very lonely, vulnerable period of my life had turned so negative, and i couldn't even tell the people closest to me about it without being made fun of for writing anime fan fiction.

I didn't understand why this happened at the time, but--after a period of trying to forget/bid out of it all with a slight anti lean (a common approach I see people use, and one which I'm not proud of adopting)--I just had to figure out What the Fuck Even Happened There. And I'm telling you, after years of reflecting, wrestling with both sides, and educating myself, that this "status quo of harassment" culture which pervades fandom goes way deeper than you think and comes out of a way darker well than you probably realize. An astonishing amount of this is, quite literally, TERF shit and evangelical shit.

Trying to be in fandom and take a stance of, "Anti/Pro shit? Ew, I'm Not Touching that," is like swimming in a heavily polluted river and being like, "Poison? Cringe. Not me lol."

You might be lucky enough to be in a less-polluted part of the river (AKA a relatively non-toxic fandom, in which case good for you!)...but tbh this rhetoric and peer-signalling will still seep in.

I can't stress enough that pro-fiction, AKA "proship", is the normal, leftist-about-art-and-sex opinion. Pro-ship is against all the horrible things you're against; in fact, pro-ship isn't trivializing real trauma by equating it with fictional trauma, or trying to apply literal evangelical/radfem solutions--which are proven not to prevent or help. Profiction/proship is literally just saying, "Fiction is fiction, reality is reality, and the two don't have a 1:1 relationship. And historically, trying to censor just things we've decided are bad has done nothing but get LGBTQ+ and POCs censored. Therefore, depictions of illegal things shouldn't be censored." That's it. "Proshippers all ship problematic ships," is a brazen lie. Many of them share other fans' disgust for those ships, they just don't believe in censoring fic authors over it.

It is also taking a stand against harassment because--and I hope my own story has helped drive this home--as with all groups who adopt ingroup/outgroup thinking, antis are defined by their tactics, not actual stances on real, serious issues. What happened to me was absolutely a result of anti, "it's okay to 'bully out' anything I just don't like" mindset pervading fandom. In a way, this was the mindset's final form. They didn't even feel the need to cite a reason the trope was "bad" or "wrong"; it annoyed them, and they viewed their own feelings as a valid enough pathway for policing to go right ahead and do so.

In the interest of offering solutions instead of just bitching about problems, I might make a "how to know if you've bought into these types of views"-type post sometime. Also might come back to this and provide some sources/citation.

[clockwayswrites]

A Broken Sort of Normal Part 7

WC: 1011 Masterpost

After the concussion, Danny started seeing Flash more. It was nice; it was actually really nice. It made Danny realize how alone he had been— how long he had been keeping to himself. When he could manage to be painfully honest with himself, Danny could admit that he had been isolating. He had turned down offers from coworkers and even a few neighbors to be social. It had just been too hard to fathom getting close to anyone when he was still hurting from the loss of Sam, Tucker, and, worst of all, Jazz.

Flash (the younger mostly, but even sometimes the older) didn’t really give him the chance to turn them down. Danny was sure that if he pushed that the heroes would have backed off, but Danny found that he really didn’t want to push them away. It was nice to have people who stopped to check in with him just to see how he was doing.

Questions from Flash the younger started out as post battle check-ups turned to ‘how was your day’s to whatever inane thing was running through the hero’s mind. And there was a lot that ran through the hero’s mind. (Danny tried not to dwell on the fact that he thought of that personality trait as adorable.)

“Dude, no,” Flash bemoaned, leaning against the van as Danny double checked his list that everyone on his team had fully reported in.

“I said what I said,” Danny insisted, head ducked to try and hide his smile. It was just too much fun (and too easy) to rile Flash up.

“No, I refuse to believe that you actually think Ghoulie Girls Two is better than the original game!” Flash said, gesturing wildly. As he spoke his words sped up until they were hard to follow. “The second game lost all of its soul! It was just fan service! Which, yeah, okay so One was fan service too, but it had heart! It had an actual story! Two’s story made no sense!”

“But it set up Three where the other OG creator was back on the project and Three was amazing,” Danny pointed out, tucking his tablet back in his kit.

“Okay, look.” Flash spread his hands. “I won’t argue that Three was amazing. Redeemed the series— pushed it ahead. Introduced Helena who is both amazing trans rep and just plain amazing. Lilly’s arc made me cry. All amazing. But Danny, my dude, you cannot say that because it set up Three that Two is better than One!”

Danny looked up at Flash, blinking innocently. “Well… maybe a little of it is just that I played Two first so it got me into the series… and, well, how much it offended you.”

“I— you troll!”

Laughing, Danny walked away to finish packing up with his coworkers. Being one of the early teams on the site was always hard, but it was rewarding work and Danny found he preferred it over the clean up jobs. They were lucky that there was no need for search and rescue that day; Danny would have felt compelled to stick around. As it was, Danny put out a call on his radio for his team to load up so they could head back. They would have a quick debrief, fill out their reports, restock their kits, and finally be able to head home.

Flash caught Danny before he could pile into the front seat of the van with a gentle hand on his elbow. When Danny turned to him, Flash backed off almost nervously.

“So, um, right. I had an idea? And I was wondering if I could pick you up at your place later tonight for it?” Flash asked in a blur of words.

It took Danny a moment to parse it all. “I— sure? Yeah, okay. I’m going to be a few hours though.”

“Really?” Flash asked, grinning widely. “Yeah! No prob! I’ll grab you at eight— no, nine. Bring a jacket! Bye!”

Danny was left blinking at the spot that Flash used to be, bemused by whatever had just happened.

-

Flash knocked precisely at nine. It was, in fact, so precisely at nine that Danny had to wonder if Flash had just been standing awkwardly outside the apartment for a few minutes waiting to knock or if the accurate timing was just part of the speed force.

“Hi, Danny,” Flash chirped with a nervous little smile. He was back in the separate mask, though he seemed to be wearing something not that different from his tight super suit under the large Cyborg themed hoodie. He had his Flash themed backpack again and it looked almost over filled.

“Hey, Flash,” Danny said, hoping his smile would calm whatever nerves Flash was having. “Do I get to know the plan?”

“Nope! I mean, not if you trust me? But like, if it’s bothering you to not know the plan I can totally tell you the plan so that you don’t worry, I just thought that maybe it would be a nice surprise, but maybe you don’t like surprises—”

“Flash,” Danny said, cutting off the rambling. “I’m okay not knowing.”

“Okay, okay cool,” Flash said after he took an obvious breath. “Um. Arms or piggyback ride?”

Danny glanced up from putting his shoes on. “Hum?”

“To be carried. I need to run us somewhere.”

“Oh, uh, back I guess?” Maybe it would make him feel less unsteady than being picked up.

“Okay!” Flash said. He bounced eagerly on his toes as he waited for Danny to put on his jacket and lock up. When Danny finally turned to him, Flash handed over his backpack, spun around, and crouched down. “So make sure to hold on tight! Arms and legs both.”

“Sure,” Danny said. He had no intention to even risk being dropped.

He felt a little awkward climbing onto Flash’s back, but the hero seemed perfectly comfortable with it all. Flash gave a little bounce after he was standing, as if to make sure Danny was secure, and then they were off in a blur of light and color.

-----

AN: Aaaaah these two are just so fun to write! They're just so cute. I also always enjoy writing people just being nerds~

(I'm still not very well, so I've been using this fic as my warm-up then poking at LBFD as my brain allows.)

Stay delightful, darlings!

Due to the new post editor and a few other reasons, I no longer tag people. You can be notified in much the same manner by subscribing to the master post here.

[greekceltic]

Jacky has a haunted arm. It started as a roleplay thing that I didn't think I would make canon, but I probably will. The situations it creates are fun. Anyway, for our amusement she can use it to touch ghosts so she scared hers. (Art doesn't quite match the writing). You can read the roleplay clip under the read more or on toyhouse.

GreekCeltic-

Junior was where she left him. He glanced at her. Same face. Same bags under his eyes and blushless pallor. What did that bandit say?

  When eyes meet, the soul has made love?

Yeah he was wrong.

Junior turned back around and she wondered how far she could walk before he was compelled to join her. She felt a little bad for not asking, but the feeling had no stay power. His wants and needs took a backseat to hers and she had found a way to make herself okay with that.

He could talk. It was within his power to ask her to put him in someone else’s care any time he wanted. After being left in the woods she could understand why he wouldn't want to be parked on Vlinder's hearth- in the same forest -but there were other people in their group who would travel. All basically good people.

Picking her was self sabotage.

Idiot.

She walked all the way in and shut the door behind her. The wind feathered a few rug ends but didn't bother with him.

  Maybe he's like AI and can't defy me, she wondered. Like bullshit television. She had never made the leap that it could be worse. Jacky felt that she was babysitting and had exactly as much authority as a teenager over a nine year old. In the end, not very much at all. She kept waiting for his tantrum, wanting it because after all that had happened it would make sense, even be healthy, but it never came.

She stumbled back toward the fur mat she had grown to hate since she woke up and stared down at it, too tired to sleep. There was such a thing. Jacky swayed weakly near it and turned away.

She looked at him again and ground her bottom jaw.

  Dummy should be begging to leave.

She hated the way he idled against the wall like a toy soldier waiting for something to do. That was the kind of thing that got ice put down your shorts at sleep overs. The idea of that made her spine prickle in a bad way, but it made her think. Jacky tilted back and lidded her eyes. She reached for one of the support pillars and rested her weight on it, two feet closer to him.   I could do it. She moved her feet, taking care not to scuff them on the floor. She didn't have to worry about the boards creaking. If they didn't notice Vlinder they weren't going to notice her. There were no more pillars between them, but she thought she'd make it. She tried, and on the way thought about how many nights he'd spent right there in a different room. Waiting or staring, as engaged as a coat put away on a hanger. He didn't even breathe loudly because he didn't breathe anymore.   DO something! The last few feet ended with her wobbling behind him, alarmingly silent, but not very steady. She reflexively tried to grab his shirt to pull it back with her good hand, but it went right through. Jacky didn't stop to wonder if he'd noticed that. She stuck her *cold* hand out like a senile old woman with a fork. It went up his shirt and flattened on the part where his back sank in. It worked when she slapped him. No reason to think it wouldn't work now. Themascura--

The target of her ire had no idea.   None.   He was peacefully existing in a corner, appreciating the window. It was nice to have a different view. He liked trees. Not enough to have been okay with just their company for a few millennia, but enough to be okay staring at them for a few days.   It was pretty out there. There were squirrels. And birds! Not many of those in the city. The cats had mostly eaten them all-   Jacky was about to learn a whole lot of things in quick succession. One, she could in fact scare the shit out of a ghost. Two, despite being dead ghosts did in fact have startle responses. Three, when she was touching a ghost with her ghost hand apparently walls became interactable- because he slapped the window/wall with his belly when he jumped and it made a sound.   A beautiful hollow sound, like when you thumped a watermelon.   He left a foggy mark on the window when he hopped back. He was still hopping when he turned around, trying to shake the ice cube out of his shirt. His spine was still flickering when he got all the way turned- visible through his shirt and his front and almost as far as his shoulders. The look he gave her was universal. The sibling glance of- I WAS MINDING MY BUSINESS.   Here you are, starting some shit. He stuck a hand straight out for her face, confident it would go through, but also confident it would mess with her already wonky balance and depth perception. Time for you to take a time out on the floor. You pushed your luck to far today anyway.

GreekCeltic-- His reaction was Christmas. She wasn't sure what to make of his spine. Jacky looked at her hand and wondered if it had cannibalized him somehow. A week ago she had dumped all the extra stuff into Christoph's leg. That had been a surprise. Christoph was alive, there was no way to know it wouldn't do the opposite and suck Junior up like a straw, like it had Virgil's magic.   Oough, there was a mental image she did not enjoy. When she touched Christoph she went with a gut feeling that turned out to be right. Here too she decided to go with a gut feeling-- that it was fine. "Oh excuse me did I interrupt your vacant staring?" Jacky's hand was still up, she dropped it and raised her other one, rubbing her arm furiously like she was trying to warm it up. Cold fire appeared and walked toward her elbow. "Gonna do it again." She spread the fire to her good hand but she never got to try it. He threw his at her face- IN her face -and she spilled in stages. Mostly in slow, wobbly, backwards walking motions that ended up near the bed. She fell against the edge. She had been put to bed. OBNOXIOUS. Jacky leaned into her sprawled arm and chose to be happy he showed some life. She didn't think she could get up without crawling on all fours and that wouldn't be preferable. She was also tired. It was possible she had never been so tired in her life. She crawled over the edge and fell into the divot like a kitten into a laundry basket. She slept all of the night and most of the next day. The only time she got up was to wash. She made a point of it so history wouldn't have to repeat itself. Who knows how many rag baths she got during the week. One was too many. Two would have been life ending. Her hair was close to dry when she went back to sleep. She tried to make it longer, but felt harassed that she was not alone. Dreams had been hard to remember the first week, but they were piling up now. She didn't know if she was remembering things or adding fantasies to what she did. All she knew was she couldn't be her own witness. With each waking she was a little more confused and a little more convinced she shouldn't have gone back for the brooch. It could have waited. At the time the idea of leaving Junior out there to believe no one was coming was too much and it was too much now, but was it worth it?   The elf was back when she got up, laying beside her with his arm folded behind his head.   Him again. Jacky looked at him a minute, but decided she didn't really care. She didn't know why. It should have embarrassed her but it was like sleeping with a big white dog. She got the feeling he thought of her as a cat. She looked across the room and saw Herman on his back against the wall, also asleep. Some kind of spell had fallen over this house. She and Junior were exempt. She grabbed her poncho and went out the front door. The moonlit air was bright and icy. She wasn't wearing her shoes but she didn't expect to go far and wanted the snow to bite her feet a little. It felt good even when it stung. When she got to the gate she put her hand on it and flipped up the latch (too complicated for a dead guy, apparently), but never pushed it forward. It would have been easy, but the idea of the gate held fast. There was a bigger obstacle here than a physical one. I shouldn't, Jacky thought. More like I can't. She'd been thinking about this a lot and the conclusion she came to was damned if I do, damned if I don't.

[padawansuggest]

Real take: I like Star Wars. I like the prequels because they have more fleshed out world building than the originals. I like the originals because it has a compelling storyline and character building. I like the cartoons because they do things that live action cannot. I like the children’s show Young Jedi Adventures and I think it’s both cute, extremely full of world building, and it’s designed to bring back the cartoon storyline of learning a lesson every episode that young children can relate to. I like the Mandalorian because it took a species with exactly two known people from it, and added a third, but made them a baby, and they were cute, and it shows the morals of Mandalorian adoption and love for children. I love Ahsoka because it took a favorite cartoon series and not only brought it to life, but also it’s funny and very full of world building for both the New Republic Rebellion scene, as well as more Dathomirian nightsister lore. I love a lot of other Star Wars off-shoots because they gave good storylines, they try to bridge plotholes, and a lot of amazing characters and new places to play with. I adore, fucking love, would give my life for Star Wars Visions; the lore and new concepts alone have captivated me and I can and HAVE made posts about things Visions did that no other SW series has touched and I’m so obsessed with the force and it’s aspects as well as just species and such you have no idea I would sell any of you for SW Visions. In fact, I would sell any of you for Young Jedi Adventures too. The worldbuilding alone for those two series is enough to have me vibrating with excitement with every episode. Sometimes I rewatch episodes of them just for random juicy facts that I can use for fics.

But you know why I don’t tell people I like Star Wars in real life? People always lookin at something they hate, and the most incel take on it is that it’s got too many women now. But irl non-fandom people who just want to ‘enjoy the ambiance of the original trilogy’ and me do not get along because they actually hate Star Wars. They genuinely hate Star Wars.

I can give you 50 plot lines in various sections of canon and legends that boiled my blood (tho not that one time Anakin at 12 literally boiled a man’s blood inside his body, that was hilarious his eyes turned black like a demons I’m so obsessed with him), but I’m not gonna talk about those.

Aren’t you exhausted? Wouldn’t it be nicer to gush about how amazing a certain costume design was? How the implications of a certain species makes you so excited you could burst? Wouldn’t you like to talk about how that one character just doesn’t get enough love and it wasn’t because they were fridged it was just because they didn’t get enough love from the fans for being black or female or disabled or something?

I am going to tell you this now, and you’re gonna hate me for it but I’m right: if you didn’t like Mortis because you think the force Doesn’t Work Like That? You don’t like Star Wars.

I’m tired of interacting with comments on commercials because it’s full of idiots crying about more women, a black character, the fact that ‘oh that wouldn’t happen’ as if the High Republic era didn’t literally have some sort of fucked up midichlorian vampire roaming the outer rim killing anyone force sensitive. Obviously they def would have acolytes set before the prequels shove it up your ass.

Anyways. Stop talking about what you hate. Yes, I get it. We are tired of rote pumped stories, but that doesn’t change the fact that there will ALWAYS be someone who hates the story you love, and loves the story you hate. You cannot please everyone, and I for one have found just about all off-shoot SW series individualized and compelling in some way or another.

You know what I did when I starting hating about 90% of all new Marvel movies? I stopped watching them. If I want back in the fandom I have older ones I can watch or simply only interact with fics.

Because Marvel, as much as they Need To Calm Their Shit, isn’t about me, and it isn’t for me anymore.

But I think a lot of you hate so much Star Wars content that you truly need to stop interacting with the series. It’s not for you anymore. And just because you didn’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not real SW. Not sorry, but this ain’t your scene anymore and you need to find a new one.

[bethsvrse]

Hello!! I appreciate that you don’t write for people with existing relationships so could you do something for maybe Tobi has a huge crush on one of Faiths female friends that he met when out with Ethan and fair or something?? I really enjoy your writing ML 🫶🏽

PAIRING Tobi Brown x fem!reader

WARNINGS nothing <3

Tobi initially planned to spend a quiet evening at home, enjoying some movies, perhaps ordering a pizza, and then going to bed. However, due to the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Sidemen, he felt compelled to join his friends at a pub to have a wild night.

All of his friends were present, commemorating his and his brothers’ accomplishments. Tobi stood on the sidelines, observing his friends dancing in the midst of the crowd, capturing the moments on camera. Tobi was quite happy that he doesn’t drink, knowing for certain that his friends would regret their actions in the morning when these videos are shared on social media.

Suddenly, Tobi heard someone calling his name and turned around to see Faith, Ethan's girlfriend, bringing another girl towards him. He furrowed his brow in confusion, as he had never met this girl before.

Faith stood in front of Tobi, releasing the hand of the beautiful girl. "Tobi, this is my friend Y/N. Y/N, meet Tobi," Faith introduced, with the girl offering a shy greeting.

"I'm about to hit the dance floor, and to prevent Y/N from feeling awkward standing alone, I thought she could stay with you," Faith pointed dramatically in Tobi's direction. "That way, you both won't look too out of place."

"Faith..." Y/N hesitated, not wanting to make Tobi uncomfortable just because her best friend was trying to set her up with one of her boyfriend's friends.

"Shh!" Faith placed a finger on Y/N's lips, clearly already intoxicated. "I want to join the dance floor, and I don't want to leave my best friend alone."

With that, Faith walked away and headed straight for the dance floor, grooving to one of Kanye West's songs that had just started playing.

Y/N pursed her lips, leaning against the same wall that Tobi was leaning on, feeling even more awkward now. She desperately searched her mind for conversation starters, all while Tobi couldn't help but admire the stunning woman standing beside him.

His eyes roamed up and down, attempting to take in her entire appearance.

Tobi cleared his throat, attempting to break the silence. "So, uh, Faith didn't give you much of a choice, did she?"

Y/N chuckled nervously. "Not exactly. I hope this isn't too awkward for you. I didn't really sign up for a blind date tonight."

Tobi giggled, feeling the tension ease a bit. "No worries. I was just planning on a quiet night, but fate had other ideas, it seems."

Y/N nodded, glancing at the dance floor. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be here either. I'm not much of a party person, Faith kinda dragged me along."

Tobi chuckled, "Me neither, actually. I prefer the comfort of my movie nights."

As they exchanged small talk, Tobi discovered that Y/N loves photography and her traveling and Y/N learnt more about Tobi's YouTube career and she found out about his love for working out. The awkwardness began to fade, replaced by genuine interest.

Suddenly, Faith returned, still dancing energetically. "How's it going, you two?"

Tobi and Y/N exchanged glances, both unsure of what to say.

Faith laughed, "Relax, I'm just checking in. Enjoying your forced company?"

Tobi grinned, "Actually, not so bad."

Y/N nodded in agreement, "Yeah, it's been surprisingly pleasant."

Faith, satisfied with their responses, danced away again, leaving Tobi and Y/N alone once more.

As the night progressed, they found themselves laughing and sharing stories. However, when the clock struck midnight, Y/N checked her phone.

"I should probably head home. Early day tomorrow," she said, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

Tobi nodded, "Yeah, I get that. It was nice meeting you, though."

Y/N smiled, "You too, Tobi."

As Y/N left, Tobi couldn't help but smile, realizing that sometimes unexpected nights turned out to be the most memorable.

Tobi's eyes followed Y/N as she walked through the crowd. The lively atmosphere of the celebration buzzed around him, but his thoughts were focused on the intriguing girl who had unexpectedly become his companion for the night. He hesitated for a moment, debating whether he should catch up with her, but then got distracted by Simon, one of his friends, who dragged him into a group photo.

As the flash of the camera illuminated the room, Tobi's mind raced, trying to recall if he had exchanged contact information with Y/N. The realization hit him just as he turned back to look for her, but she was already gone.

"Hey, do you guys see Y/N leave? The girl Faith brought" Tobi asked, scanning the crowd.

His friends exchanged puzzled glances, and Vikk replied, "I saw her leave a few minutes ago.”

Tobi sighed, frustration evident on his face. "Great, I forgot to get her number."

Ethan, overhearing the conversation, chimed in, "Smooth, Tobi. Don't worry though, Faith has her number, ask her for it."

Tobi thanked Ethan before going to find Faith on the dance floor. He tapped her on the shoulder, and amidst the music, he shouted, "Hey, Faith! Do you have Y/N's number?"

Faith paused in her dance moves, trying to hear Tobi over the music. "Y/N's number? Why do you need that?”

"We got along well, and I forgot to get her number before she left," Tobi explained.

Faith grinned mischievously, "Well, well, looks like someone's got a crush. Don't worry, I've got you covered. Let me find it on my phone."

Faith fumbled with her phone, scrolling through her contacts as the bass thumped in the background. Tobi tapped his foot impatiently, regretting not securing Y/N's number earlier.

After what felt like an eternity, Faith triumphantly declared, "Got it!" She showed Tobi Y/N's contact info on her phone.

"Thanks, Faith. You're a lifesaver," Tobi said, relieved, adding Y/N to his contacts.

Faith winked, "Just make sure to treat her right. I'm her best friend, after all."

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #44 – The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon

This was a book I went into with no hand holding or preconceptions, and so I very much dove into the deep end of the pool. This is, frankly, a mess - but a beautiful one. There’s a lot to love, a lot of meat to chew on; but Candon’s reach really does exceed her grasp in ways that show, and I cannot blame anyone in the slightest for finding the narrative alienating or hard to follow. But shoot for the moon and you still end up among the stars, right?

The book follows Sunai, a deeply traumatized drifter and guide, who absolutely never got over the apocalyptic collapse of the AI-governed city he grew up in – quite literally, as he was interfaced with the AI-god at the time, and has spent the decades since hiding his nature as a Relic despite his stubborn refusal to age and tendency to heal from all injuries in a matter of minutes. Should his nature be known, he would be conscripted as the pilot and adhesive for a towering killer mech, and used to protect and oppress the new city now growing in the ruins of the old. Instead he fled half-way across the world and spends his days helping salvagers and refugees and his nights on drunken benders. After receiving a letter from his past he goes on a particularly intense one of those, and wakes up having both slept with and accepted a job from Veyadi, a former Archivist of the same AI who he’s clearly already told too much. Despite his heroic efforts to avoid honest conversations or emotional connections, from there he’s dragged straight back into the world of dead gods and killer science.

This is a book that hits the ground running and never stops, without much in the way of care about whether you’re able to keep up. The setting has both history and politics that are clearly important but are never explained beyond the bits that are directly relevant, with the expectation that you’ll figure the rest out through context clues (or not). There’s all manner of words being used as technical terms and basically none of them are ever actually defined. Sunai spends half the book explicitly trying to head off or avoid revelation-heavy or important conversations and, while he might know what topic he’s evading by turning the conversation into a quickie, I at least did not. Which is something I enjoy, honestly – I felt I had a solid grasp on most things by the end, and the world was fascinating (if occasionally absurd) – but I really cannot hold it against anyone who checks out.

The narration doesn’t help, either. Technically speaking, the entire book is told from Sunai’s POV. He merely has an unusually porous consciousness, and so spends a large fraction of the book being directly spoken at by one of a couple different voices in his head, or else semi-conscious and seeing the world through one of several different people’s eyes. When he’s not just outright hallucinating or trapped in a VR simulation, or spiraling into flashbacks (some of which are even his). This I found harder to adapt to and more frustrating, and in many cases felt like Candon was trying to show off and not quite managing it, but when it worked it really did work (the playing with the narrative voice in the second act, especially).

The book’s most saliently about trauma and (failing to) deal with it. It is not especially subtle about how Sunai’s relic nature is just a literalization of how he latches on to the plans and hopes of others to avoid even considering the idea of what his own might look like, and makes no bones about making him the whole thing’s beating heart. The book, then, depends a great deal on how compelling you find him. Personally I found the broken wreck of a man endlessly endearing, even when he was also deeply frustrating to be stuck in the head of.

The book’s other characters fare less well, sadly. The other major characters, despite (or maybe because of) all the time spent looking through their eyes and ruminating on their motives, still end up feeling opaque and a bit arbitrary. There’s only so many world-shaking revelations you can layer on top of each other before they stop having much impact and you stop being that invested in the characters. Ruhi and Imaru especially suffered here, the former for having so many story beats stuffed into him he ended up feeling more like a plot device than a real character, the latter because she felt like the story highlighted her importance to Sunai and general significance and then didn’t really know what to do with her past a certain point. In both cases (and like, this is clearly intentional) you end up knowing quite a lot of what Sunai think of them and not that much about the characters themselves.

Veyadi does better, if not always consistently. His romance with Sunai (osculating between unhealthy coping mechanism FWBs and all-consuming devotion as the story progresses) is another of the book’s main throughlines and it largely worked for me – Sunai’s wilful refusal to accept either of their obvious feelings was well-done and didn’t last quite long enough to be frustrating, and it was always entertainingly unhealthy in one way or another. ‘adi’s character outside the romance is significantly more opaque. Partly for reasons of plot and preserving tension, but still – I ended the book caring that Sunai cared about it, but not really about him for his own sake.

I admit I feel personally let down by the ending less for what it does than what it teases at then fails to do. All that buildup and ominous foreshadowing about losing your identity and being subsumed and synthesized into a greater hole as the walls come down and in the end they and the remnant AI just end up being able to DM each other’s brains. My expectations of a perfect lyctorhood or even some original examination of codependent relationship realized as the literal synthesis of identities, entirely dashed.

The ending in general was also just, well, messy. Too many plates in the air, too much ambiguity and nuance that then needed to be forcefully resolved to tie things off, too much sublime technology and miraculous agency in conflict for the final result not to just feel arbitrary – especially since the neat resolution arrived at makes absolutely no sense at all unless the ‘AI’ in question was actually just some kind of incorporeal demon the whole time. The emotional beats do work, but the result feels like a bit less than the sum of its parts. But then I may need to accept that my standards for a good ending are just impossible for 99 books in 100 to hope meeting.

Still, mess aside a thoroughly enjoyable read and one I’m deeply sad doesn’t seem to have gotten more attention. Though it also definitely doesn’t need to be the first in a series (many such cases, these days).

[therhythmafterthesummer]

Camping with Wolves (M) ~Lee Know

Pairing: Werewolf!Minho x Human!F.Reader Themes: Supernatural/Fantasy AU | Smut | Fluff | bit of Angst | Best Friends to Lovers Warnings: pet names (kitten/baby/babe/etc), pining?, unashamedly pushing the soft!Minho agenda, mentions of divorce, mentions of panic attacks, mentions of blood and violence, graphic depictions of intercourse (smut warnings under the cut). Word Count: ~11k | AO3 Summary: Minho was your rock, he was your anchor, your best friend, which was why you just couldn’t stop yourself from falling for him, even when he was, essentially, a supernatural being. One ‘camping trip’ might be the last push you needed to finally confess. Or maybe not…  [This story takes place within the It’s Cold Out universe, meaning it’s part of my WereRoomies series].

Author’s Note: the werewolf brain rot is real y’all… i just wanted more soft werewolf content, so here this piece is. anyway, if you’re reading this, hope you enjoy, and if you do, don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts~

Due to all the abovementioned warnings, this story is intended for an adult audience only. Minors please do not interact.

Minho’s WereRoomies Instalments: Camping With Wolves · Dog Unleashed · Are You There, Wolf?

Smut Warnings: this is all really soft, you have been warned. lots of praising, fingering [F.Rec], nipple play [F.Rec], unprotected penetration [piv] (this is a piece of fiction in which you can trust people when they tell you they’re clean. wrap it irl please i beg you), cum on body/cumshot.

Disclaimer: the story represented in this work does not represent Stray Kids in any way; anything described in this story and all actions performed by the characters are purely fictional, this was created just for good fun.

You could still remember quite vividly the day you met your best friend. It was a turning point in your life, so how could you not remember it. Moving to a new place after your parents divorce was probably the last thing you wanted to do. Your life had been turned upside down the moment your dads sat you down at the tender age of ten and told you ‘sweetie, there’s something your father and I need to tell you…’, and suddenly you were packing your bags and moving to the other side of the country.

New town, new places to see, new school, one less dad to greet in the mornings, and zero friends.

Your first day of school had been a blur of introductions, comments of ‘wow you’ve got two dads?’ and ‘you’re from where?’, and honestly by the time the day was over you were just ready to leave the building and hole up in your room for the rest of the week.

It’d been just as you were making your way home from school that you saw him. A boy, around your age, with long, black hair, crouched by the side of the road with a box in his hands, trying to put something in it. You’d never been too sure why you went close that day, you weren’t exactly a social butterfly, but something compelled you to walk close to the boy, and the closer you got, you could finally make out what was it that he was trying to put in the box, and you couldn’t help but gasp at the sight.

“What happened?!” Was all that came out of your mouth back then.

“Dunno… Just saw them here like this”, he side-eyed you a bit, but went back to try and put the clearly injured kittens in the box. “If you’re gonna stand there, at least help me out. Can’t leave them here”.

So you sprung into action, helping him put the little babies in the box, and even going as far as to going with him to the closest vet you could find–all led by the boy of course, after all, you’d just moved in and had absolutely no idea where you were standing.

“Ah, Minho–” The person at the entrance greeted him as soon as you two had come through the door, their face changing from that welcoming smile to slight surprise as they saw the box in his hands. “Dear heavens, what happened?”

“Dunno. Found them like this. They look hurt. Can you do anything?” The boy, Minho, you presumed, by the way the person at the counter called him. They hurriedly came from around the counter and took a quick look at the kittens, then at you both, offering a smile–a bit of a forced one, but you figured they were trying to not alarm you both too much, considering your faces were surely full of worry.

“I’ll have Mrs. Jung have a look at them as soon as possible, hm? Should I register the appointment under your mother’s name?”

Minho nodded, and just like that the person took the box from his hands, disappearing behind a door on the side of the room. With a sigh, he took his backpack off and moved to sit on one of the chairs by the waiting area, and again, for some inexplicable reason, you did the same, sitting next to him for a bit in complete silence.

You truly were never one of spending time with strangers like this, but when you got a chance later in life to analyse your behaviours at the time, you came to the realisation that you simply didn’t want to go back home that day, that you were trying to escape the fact that you had to go back to a new house without one of your fathers and be completely on your own until your other father came back. Which was why, that day, you couldn’t stop yourself from turning around to the boy, and attempting to start a friendly conversation with him.

“You do this often?”

He turned to look at you, with his eyes a bit wide in surprise, almost as if he couldn’t believe you were talking to him. “Do what?”

“Bring injured animals? They know your mum’s name, don’t they?”

“Ah, mm”, Minho nodded, turning to look back to the floor. “Mum’s a vet tech. And since I’m a magnet to finding hurt animals, I’m a regular here”.

“Mmm…”

You both were silent for a while, just hearing the odd beep of a machine in the distance, until Minho squirmed a bit in his seat, turning his whole body to look at you. “I’m Minho, by the way. Never seen you around before… It’s a small town”.

You introduced yourself, and explained that you had just moved in. It went on like this for a while, just you two talking as you waited for the vet to come out with news. You’d learnt that day that Minho was indeed your age, he had two cats and two dogs at home, he knew one too many facts about dinosaurs, and that he never missed one episode of Kamen Rider. It was interesting how, in contrast to his resting face, when he talked to you he didn’t look annoyed at all, and by the time the vet came out and informed you two that the kittens were fine, but a little dehydrated and that they would need to stay the night, you had learnt more about this boy next to you than any other classmate you ever had.

“I’ll be here tomorrow after school to check on the cats”, Minho said as soon as you stepped out of the clinic. “You know, in case you… Wanna see them again…”

You couldn’t help but give him a smile, hiking your bag further up your shoulder. “I’d like that. Maybe I’ll… Keep one. Always wanted a cat”.

“They’re great company. You won’t regret it!” And the smile that made its way onto his face as he said it could’ve easily outshine the sun. You had no other option but to believe him. “Can I… Uh… Walk you home, maybe? It’s kinda late…”

So you accepted his offer, and back then, you couldn’t have even imagined how that simple encounter would kick-start your lifelong friendship with Minho. 

Interesting thing, how someone could become such an integral part of your day to day life that the second something wasn’t quite right, it was very hard to miss. 

Since you met him, Minho and you had been inseparable. You ended up adopting one of the kittens he’d saved–Sir Percival of Camelot, you’d called him, because you liked the eccentricity of it all. Your father wasn’t exactly thrilled to have a cat at the time, but in his post-divorce guilt he just didn’t have it in him to deny you the wish, so Sir Percival and Minho became your best friends in this new town you had barely any knowledge of, and for their company, you were immensely grateful.

Minho and you would hang out every weekend, sometimes even a few times a week after school just to watch his precious Kamen Rider together, or just to play with Sir Percival, but Saturdays were solely reserved for you and him.

One Saturday, though, Minho didn’t make it. There’d been no phone call, no voice message left on the machine, no prior comment of ‘might not be able to make it’, nothing, and even though your father tried his best to assure you something simply must’ve come up, you couldn’t help the feeling of dread that was quickly building inside of you.

It wasn’t until later that day, at around midnight that you got the phone call. You were already asleep, it’d been your father who’d picked up, and as soon as the call was over he had immediately come to your room, to where you and Sir Percival had been cuddled up sleeping on your bed.

“Sweetie… Wake up, dear…” Your father caressed your hair softly, but there was urgency in his voice, and it had you stirring awake almost immediately. As soon as he saw you open your eyes, he spoke again. “Minho… He’s had a… A terrible accident”.

He might as well had shoved a harpoon through your heart. You’d never had a panic attack prior to that night, but the entire chain of events certainly led to one, and your father did try his best to calm you down. Ultimately, he’d hugged you tightly and asked you ‘would you like to go to the hospital?’ to which you obviously said yes without a second thought.

You’d never forget the sight of Minho’s mother that night, with her eyes red and puffy, and her hands slightly shaking as she waited for the doctors to give her any news on the state of her one and only son. You could still remember how tightly she hugged you and your father when you went to the hospital that night. ‘They found him by the edge of the woods, hurt… Bloodied–’ the poor woman could hardly speak, and honestly, you couldn’t blame her, even you weren’t able to produce a single word back then.

The sight of your best friend, of your dearest Minho all intubated and hooked up to machines in that hospital bed plagued you for months, even after he eventually woke up, seemingly fine, as if nothing had happened to him at all, as if he hadn’t almost died. To this day, you were still grateful you were there that day when he woke up, that you were able to hug him tight and cry on his chest as he softly patted you on the back confused out of his mind because he couldn’t remember anything that had happened.

Life went on as normal after he was discharged from the hospital, he’d continue to rescue animals whenever he could, he’d continue to go to class without further eventualities, he’d continue to take care of his pets, to watch his shows, and every day you’d ask him ‘you sure you’re okay?’ to which he’d only scoff and reply a ‘hundred percent’. 

But of course, he wasn’t a hundred percent. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks after that you both finally saw the full damage of his accident. It happened at night, on one of your Saturday hangouts, you were having a sleepover, and your father trusted you both enough to stay home alone on your own, even if you were only pre-teen kids–not the safest choice, you’d admit.

You were hanging out as normal, watching the latest Kamen Rider episode, when suddenly Minho tensed where he was sitting next to you on the sofa, and he started gasping for air. To say that you were scared out of your mind was an understatement, and the fact that Sir Percival was all puffed up and had started to hiss uncontrollably at him didn’t make it any better. All of a sudden, among the pained groans and cries of your friend, strange sounding pops and cracks started to resonate in your living room, and in utter shock you saw your dear friend Minho inexplicably change shape, from his normal self to… A wolf.

Back then, you couldn’t even move, you just stared at it–at him?–as Minho thrashed around your living room in a panic, knocking several portraits out of place and making Sir Percival run away and hide. It wasn’t until you called for him, your voice barely audible for you to hear, that he finally stopped moving, turning to look at you. His eyes were the same, the same dark brown irises that you’d come to know as your best friend’s eyes, and the canine whines that came out of his throat pulled at your heartstrings unpleasantly.

If you hadn’t seen his eyes you might’ve not done what you did that night, but as soon as you saw them, as you heard his pained sounds, you just moved closer, slowly, scared he’d go into a frenzied state again. As soon as you were in front of him, you just kneeled, ignoring any and every single warning bell going off in your head as you looked at the wolf, because deep down, you knew this was your friend. Your Minho.

So you hugged that goddamn wolf that was suddenly standing where your friend used to be, and you felt as he almost relaxed fully into your hold as you whispered an incredulous ‘what the hell’s going on?’ You hugged him for a long time, until you started to hear those same pops and cracks that you heard before, giving way to your friend’s human form again, naked, looking at you with panicked eyes and tears in his eyes.

“I remember…” Minho sobbed as he held your shoulders and looked you in the eyes, and you couldn’t help the tears from running down your cheeks as you heard him. “I remember what happened. There was a wolf… Huge one… It attacked me, it bit me… What’s going on… What am I gonna do…”

You just couldn’t bear that look in his eyes, the tremble in his voice, the tears that wouldn’t stop, so you pulled him to you, hugging him tightly, all as you tried your best to be there for your friend, to reassure him, even if every single word that came out of your mouth did so between hiccups and sobs. “We’ll figure it out… Together, Minho. Together, huh?”

“No… You shouldn’t be close to me, what if I–”

“Together, I said”, you just hugged him tighter. Minho was your friend, your anchor, and there was no way that you would let him deal with this–whatever it was–on his own. “Don’t push me away please…”

“I should…” But even as he said it, Minho held you tighter.

Trying to get your living room looking normal after that was a bit of a challenge, but once you both calmed down and you fished some of your father’s old clothes for him to put on you managed to do that fairly well, so much so your dad didn’t even notice anything different the next day–maybe due to the exhaustion his night shift had brought him, you’d never know…

Minho started to change a bit after that situation. He grew taller, stronger, and his senses heightened, especially his hearing. Minho was able to hear things kilometres away from him, and it contributed to a period of crankiness in his life, where he would snap at people or be a bit harsher than usual–not to you, though. He always tried his best to not snap at you, and whenever he did, he always apologised almost immediately. 

You started to change a bit, but not in any supernatural way, just in a normal, human puberty way. It was normal, your father had told you back then, and as all these new changes started happening in your body, both physically and emotionally, you started to see your dear Minho in a new light. Suddenly, whenever he hugged you your cheeks would heat up, whenever he laughed because of one of your jokes your heart would flutter, and whenever you were watching TV and a couple kissed on the screen you couldn’t help but wonder how it’d be to do something like that… To do something like that with Minho.

You reasoned it was normal, Minho was the only boy you had around you at the time, so obviously you would think these things sometimes. It meant nothing, for sure. He never really seemed to show any interest other than being your friend, and that was fine. You were fine with that. Having him with you, however it was, was truly all you ever needed.

There were some challenges, though. Minho had all these weird symptoms and behaviours now that he had been turned into what your research had told you was a werewolf. You both couldn’t exactly go to anyone and tell them ‘hey, remember that accident Minho had a handful of months ago? Yeah, about that…’ because, realistically, who would believe you? The universe, though, worked in your favour, because one day, when Minho had come to pick you up from your after school class to walk you home, another boy had approached you.

“Hey, excuse me…” You recognised the boy from your school, a couple of years younger than you, and when he approached, Minho’s eyes went wide in surprise, almost as if he recognised him somehow. “Are you… You’re a werewolf, aren’t you?”

“Who are you? And why are you asking such weird questions?” You couldn’t help but intervene, always feeling oddly protective of your friend and his… Condition.

The boy flushed a bit, but he looked you in the eyes regardless. “I’m… Jisung. And I’m asking because at first I thought it was you. I’ve been… Building up the courage to come and ask, so we could, you know, maybe help each other out? I don’t know that many people at school, but only now that I saw you together I realised I was smelling him on you”.

“You’re… You’re a werewolf, too?” Minho was slightly incredulous, stepping a bit closer to you. “Is that what I’m smelling on you? A werewolf scent?”

“You can’t tell?” Jisung furrowed his eyebrows, confused, but then he gasped, looking slightly alarmed. “Were you… Were you born as a werewolf at all?”

Minho just shook his head. “Was attacked. Now I’m like this”.

“Oh, God!” Bringing his hands up to his head in alarm, Jisung almost threw his beanie off of his head with the motion. “You have no pack?!”

“Nope. Just have my mum, and my friend here”,  Minho draped his arm over your shoulder, pulling you to him. He’d been doing this often these days, keeping you close to him when someone came too close. You didn’t mind much, but it did make your heart stutter, which you conveniently always decided to ignore.

Regardless, Minho was right in his statement. He didn’t have many friends, he’d had a couple of friends throughout the years but they usually fell through, you were the constant, just like he was your constant. Funnily enough, Jisung also didn’t have many friends, or any at all, so he naturally gravitated towards you two after that day, and, in a way, you liked that. Mostly because he was able to help Minho in ways you never could.

Jisung helped him understand how to take care of himself as a werewolf, how to control certain urges and how to fulfil certain needs. He started joining you two on your Saturday plans, and your father was honestly happy that you were making other friends, too. Sir Percival, on the other hand, had a hard time getting accustomed to the two werewolves coming in and out of the house. He liked Minho enough, because he recognised what he’d done for him–or at least, that was what Minho told you Sir Percival told him–but the addition of Jisung had him a bit on edge.

Especially because, for some reason, Jisung was… Affectionate, to put it simply. He liked to cuddle. A lot. And he would often try to get Sir Percival to cuddle him, or he would try to get Minho to cuddle him, or he would try to get you to cuddle him, and honestly you were usually the only one to cater to his needs, so at some point he started coming to you directly.

You didn’t really mind, but whenever he left earlier than Minho then he also wanted to cuddle, and you never truly understood why, but you let him anyway, mostly because you… Liked cuddling with Minho. As friends, of course. Always friends. Just friends.

So you spent a couple of years like this. With your two werewolf friends, with your mildly grumpy cat, facing the hardships of high school along with the hardships of their supernatural condition. Until Jisung broke the news that he had to move out, because his pack was moving out, and since he was so young he just couldn’t make the decision for himself, he had to leave.

You could still remember the day he left. You cried a bit, you’d admit, even Minho was holding back a few tears as he hugged his friend, just as Jisung offered a ‘this isn’t goodbye, we’ll meet again. I’m sure of it’. And as you saw him walk down the road, Minho pulled you to him, hugging you tightly against him.

“Just you and me again, kitten. What are we gonna do now?”

You just chuckled, pulling away from him a bit to look him in the eyes and wipe some of the tears that were still clinging to your lower lash line. “Kitten, huh?”

“Of course!” Minho said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world for him to use such a pet name with you. “You’re a cat person, aren’t you? And I’m a… Dog-person, heh…”

Groaning, you slapped him in the chest. “That’s such a bad joke, honestly. Why do I keep up with your shit?”

“Because I’m your favourite person in this world”, he swayed your bodies back and forth, waddling you back towards your house. “And I’d be your favourite animal, too, if it weren’t for Sir Percival”.

All you could do back then was laugh, because he was right. He was your favourite person in this world.

‘People usually grow apart, sweetie. It’s a normal thing that happens’, your father had told you once, and you believed him. But funnily enough, that never happened to you and Minho.

Sure, you moved out of your hometown after high school to pursue higher education somewhere else, while he moved out to do exactly the same–his goal of becoming a vet was still one of the most oddly amusing things to you, considering he was close to being an animal himself. You both made new groups of friends, dated different people, took different career paths, but even then, you still kept in touch. Even if you had grown and matured, in essence, you were both still the same.

Minho had finally found a pack of his own, right after he reconnected with Jisung. The second he moved into their den he invited you over and you met his entire new group of friends, his new family, and you couldn’t have been any happier for him. They were all so nice and welcoming, and you quickly found out that Minho had become one of the main pillars of his pack, something that, somehow, was and wasn’t surprising in equal parts. 

On one hand, it was because you were so used to Minho The Loner, Minho the boy who only had you and Jisung, that knowing he now had other people to care for was surprising. But on the other hand, Minho was so caring, so protective, there was no doubt in your mind that he’d be able to protect these people well, especially when he cared deeply about them. Just as he had done with you throughout the years.

You two tried to meet at least once a month, and most of the time it was you who drove to his place, staying over in his flat as you recounted anything you hadn’t talked about in the past thirty days, all as Kamen Rider played in the background, a show that Minho was still to this day attached to–and you couldn’t blame him, the thing was entertaining and it didn’t seem like they’d stop pumping seasons anytime soon.

Jisung would join you often, too. Demanding attention and cuddles just in the way only Jisung knew how to, and the rest of his pack soon followed once they warmed up to you.

You could still remember the first day Minho introduced you to his pack’s leader–or ‘alpha’, as they called it. Chris was nice, he greeted you with respect, and Minho had told you after that he was the one who had to ‘allow’ people staying here, even if they were just visiting. So you figured he thought you were nice as well, considering you frequently stayed over.

As the years went by you saw more werewolves join their pack, Seungmin, Felix, Hyunjin, Jeongin, and eventually, even humans as well when Chris got himself a new roommate–his now girlfriend. The last person you saw move in here was Changbin’s roommate, also now his girlfriend, and they all seemed to take care of each other really well, they all worked together to keep their small ecosystem going smoothly, and it was honestly refreshing to see.

It made you feel happy for Minho, who seemed to finally have a full, loving family of his own. Not like his mother wasn’t family, she just didn’t know–or couldn’t know, as Minho put it–what he was, and that, coupled with the fact that she had apparently remarried an asshole–had unfortunately put a bit of a strain on his relationship with her.

“I have news, kitten”, Minho said, plopping himself on top of you on the sofa, not caring in the slightest if he crushed you, the sudden weight on your chest making you groan.

“Can’t breathe”, was all you mustered, so Minho shuffled, laying on his side and wrapping his limbs around your body to pull you closer to him.

“Better?”

“Yeah”, you just sighed, turning to bury your face in his clothed chest. “So, news?”

“Yes”, Minho rubbed his cheek on the top of your head, and you could’ve sworn you heard him mumble a ‘God, you still smell like Jisung’ before he cleared his throat and continued talking again. “Remember how we always talk about the monthly camping trips and how I’ve always wanted to take you and you’ve always wanted to come, but Chris’ never let us because ‘it’s too dangerous’?” He added the last bit with a poor imitation of Chris’ voice, making you laugh.

“Yeah, how could I not remember”, you couldn’t help yourself from inhaling deeply, getting lost in the smell of Minho’s fabric softener, on the smell of his body wash, on his natural scent, and–God, you really shouldn’t let your thoughts wander like this, not when he was this close, not when you knew you liked your friend… More than a friend.

You’d always known. How you felt towards Minho. Even if you’d dated other people, you’d always known. You always just tried to ignore it. But these days, whenever you met after spending long periods of time apart, you just couldn’t stop your mind from wandering into that dangerous territory… Into the What-Ifs. What if I told him? What if I kissed him? What if he kissed me? What if we fu–

“Well, I’ve finally gotten him to agree”, the smile was almost audible in his voice, and it made you pull away from his chest to look him in the eyes.

“Really?!”

“Really, really”, Minho’s hold around your body tightened even more. “So, hope you can get your friend Mar to take care of Sir Percival for a bit. I don’t think he’d like being surrounded by nine wolves”.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. “Oh, he’d hate it. He’s too old for that. So when’s this trip of yours?”

“In a couple of weeks, you think you can make it?”

“Hm. I’ll make it”.

“When you said you went camping every month, this wasn’t what I had in mind”, you couldn’t help but say the moment you pulled up into the house, or should you say mansion? “This place is huge”.

“Did you think we were literally sleeping in the woods?” Seungmin yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes when you turned to look at him from the passenger’s seat.

“I mean, isn’t that what camping is? Whose house is this anyway?”

“Chris’”, Minho replied simply as he started parking. “It’s the only thing his grandparents left him after they passed. Since he had a pack of his own, they figured it’d be useful. And it is, but it’s also a pain to upkeep”.

As soon as Minho was parked, Seungmin and you stepped out of the car and opened the boot, taking out the many bags and backpacks from there so you could get them into the house. Changbin’s and Chris’ cars arrived right after, and soon enough, everything was placed securely within the living area or in the kitchen–the latter exactly where you were in right now, getting the many containers of food into the refrigerator with Minho, just as Hyunjin busied himself washing an assortment of cups, plates, and glasses.

“Which room can I take?” You asked once everything was put away in its place.

“You’re staying in mine”, Minho replied simply, chewing on a piece he’d taken off of a baguette.

“And where will you be staying?”

Minho blinked slightly, swallowing the food in his mouth. “In my room. You’re staying with me”.

“What?” It wasn’t like you hadn’t slept within the same room as Minho before, you’d done it plenty of times. But since your… Acceptance of your feelings, you weren’t sure you’d be able to share such an enclosed space without losing your sanity–or worse, confessing your feelings.

“One of Chris’ conditions”, Chris’ girlfriend explained from where she was sitting on one of the kitchen stools, taking a sip of her glass of water.

“Can’t I stay with you?” You asked her, pouting slightly.

“Not unless you want to sleep with me, too”, Chris chimed in as he stepped into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend’s waist just as she offered him a bit of her water, which he immediately took a sip of.

“Why wouldn’t you want to stay with me? I’m offended”, Minho said in a mock hurt tone, serving himself a glass of water as well. “Besides, wouldn’t recommend staying with these two. They’ll surely fuck even if you’re there”.

“Hey!” Chris was also clearly pretending to be offended, bringing a hand to clutch his chest. “I can behave”.

“Baby, you and I both know that’s not true”, his girlfriend chuckled, patting him on the chest as she made her way to the sink to give Hyunjin her glass.

“I can!”

“Christopher, darling, dear angel, don’t lie to yourself like this. You’d have one look at our dear mother’s child bearing hips and you’ll lose it”, Minho pointed at him, trying to sound like those cheap ‘life coaches’ on social media. “It’s okay to admit you have a problem, we’re here for you”.

Chris gasped, bringing a hand to his mouth. “For the record, I don’t have a problem–”

“That’s right, you don’t”, Chris’ girlfriend added, with a teasing smile on her lips. “You’re just shameless”.

“That I am. I mean, can you blame me? Just look at your hips… At your everything, damn…” Chris gave his girlfriend a look from head to toe, staring for maybe a bit too long, until his girlfriend mustered a ‘see? Shameless. Utterly remorseless’, making him snap out of his trance, bringing a sheepish smile to his face. And then, finally, he turned to you. “Minho’s right. You’re better off staying with him. With that being said, let’s get everything ready, the sun will set soon”.

As it turned out, ‘getting everything ready’ meant making sure there were plenty of robes ready by the back entrance where the pack would come back through, filling an insane amount of jugs with water, and having the food ready for them to just pop into the microwave once they were back. Jeongin, Felix, Changbin’s girlfriend, and Minho got busy with this, while the rest of you took the reminder bags that were left in the living room to each room.

You left your belongings and Minho’s for last, and when you opened the door to his room you could’ve almost fainted. There was one bed. You were going to have to share this bed with Minho for at least two nights and you honestly weren’t sure how you were going to survive that. On one hand, that meant you’d get to cuddle, one of your favourite activities to do with your best friend. On the other hand, you’d get to cuddle, which was the worst thing you could do when you were harbouring feelings for said best friend.

For the time being, you decided to ignore this, since the sun was setting and the pack would surely leave soon. So you left your bags there, and made your way back downstairs to find everyone already going through the back door to the backyard. 

Minho spotted you right as he was taking his shirt off, a sight you certainly didn’t need, but you wouldn’t shy away from anyway. “Ready for your run, doggy?”

Minho scoffed, unbuttoning his trousers. Your eyes followed the movement, and your face went serious immediately. Thankfully–or regretfully, you couldn’t decide–he left them on. “Don’t look at me like that, kitten. I might think you want to see me naked”, he was only teasing you, just like he always did, but he was so close to the truth you were finding it incredibly hard to not look guilty. “When was the last time you saw me in my wolf form?”

“Uhhh…” You honestly couldn’t recall, or maybe it was hard to when you were too focused on not looking at his chest. “Probably before we finished high school? Which, now that I think about it, is kinda weird, isn’t it? It’s been a long time. Why do you ask?”

“‘Cause… I don’t think you’d be calling me a doggy if you’d seen me recently”, whatever response you had for that got caught in your throat as soon as you saw his eyes shift, turning from that brown you knew so well to golden, glowing a bit more intensely the more the sun set.

Minho stared at you, right in the eyes with his golden ones. It lasted probably just a few moments, but it felt like an eternity, until he finally spoke again, a bit slower than usual and with a low tone that had the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end. “I’m gonna take these off”, he took a hold of his zipper, and it was almost as if he was challenging you to keep looking. But ultimately, you were a coward, so you turned around.

You heard the characteristic sound of the zipper opening up, then you heard the rustling of fabric, and finally, you started to hear the pops and cracks you’d come to know as the sounds of his human body shifting into his wolf form. Soon enough, you started to hear the same sounds all around the backyard, and you knew the rest were also doing the same.

After a while, you felt warmth behind you, not really on you, but close enough for you to feel the huffs of breath against your back, so you turned around, coming face to face with your best friend. And you honestly weren’t prepared.

You’d seen Minho in his wolf form plenty of times in the past, but admittedly you hadn’t seen him since you entered adulthood, much less with this golden glow in his eyes. His fur was the same, the same shade, the same pattern, but he’d grown. In his human form, Minho wasn’t really considered a tall man, but like this, he was certainly bigger than any wolf you’d ever seen, and you couldn’t stop your eyes from going wide in surprise and a soft ‘wow’ from leaving your lips.

In his eyes, you could almost see his amusement, almost as if he was laughing at your reaction. Coming close to you, Minho nudged your hand with his nose, and you immediately brought that same hand to his head, petting him, scratching behind his ear affectionately, and a smile immediately made its way onto your face. “You’re still a doggy to me, you know?”

Minho huffed, somewhat annoyed, you figured. Giving your hand an affectionate lick, he turned around walking towards the rest of his pack that were already gathering by the edge of the woods. Suddenly, you felt warmth close again, and you gasped as an even bigger wolf walked past you. Chris, probably, since his girlfriend was walking right behind him, and she stopped next to you to look at the rest.

Once Chris reached the edge of the woods, he turned around, pacing a bit, getting the full attention of his pack of wolves. As soon as he was seemingly satisfied with their positions, he howled, triggering a chain of howls from the other wolves, until finally he turned back towards the woods and took off, the rest following soon after.

And just like that, they were gone.

“Well, just you and me for a few hours, then”, Chris’ girlfriend turned to you, giving you a small smile. “Wanna hang out here, or you prefer chilling on your own?”

You gave her a smile in return. “Let’s hang out”.

The moment the pack came back, it was all a blur. The group was usually chaotic, but it seemed like the run had made them even more so. Everyone’s eyes were glowing golden, some more intensely than others, but they were, and they explained to you that it was the influence of the moon, that it’d probably wear off once they all calmed down or by the time the sun was back up in the sky.

The kitchen was crammed with everyone trying to get themselves stuffed full of food. It was all heartwarming, in a way. Very homely, just like any time you’d seen them all interact together, and they even made their best efforts to keep you included in the conversation, which you appreciated immensely.

At some point, Minho left the group, only to return a handful of minutes later, out of his robe and into his usual pyjamas–a loose vest top and loose shorts. The second he stepped into the kitchen, he shushed everyone, bringing the attention to him, just as he brought his hands up.

“Time to pay up, losers. Mummy and Daddy are fucking”.

There was a mix of groans and cheers, and it was only then that you noticed that Chris and his girlfriend weren’t there. They’d never come to the kitchen at all, and you couldn’t help but laugh as you saw the group exchange tenners, until finally Minho, Jisung, Changbin, and Felix split the jackpot.

“Man, I really had hopes for them”, Changbin’s girlfriend commented as she took a sip of her drink, giving Changbin a dirty look as he waved his winnings on her face.

Felix snorted at that. “Please, did you see how Chris was running towards the end of the run? I knew we’d won immediately”.

The rest of the evening went on like this, joking, talking, just overall having a good time, and by the time Chris appeared in the kitchen to get two plates of food, looking as if he had just won Millionaire, only Felix, Seungmin, Minho, and you were left.

“Gonna go to bed”, you murmured to Minho just as Seungmin started teasing Chris about his escapade.

“Going with you”, his eyes were still glowing, and by now he was probably the only one whose eyes were still glowing–you couldn’t really tell, since some of them left earlier before the effects of the moon had worn off.

As you made your way upstairs, and freshened up for bed, you were reminded of your earlier predicament. The shared bed. Honestly, by now, you were so tired you could hardly care at all. You’d push through, just like you always did.

Tucking yourself into the covers you let out a sigh, enjoying the soft sheets on your exposed limbs, waiting for your roommate for the night to come back from his trip to the toilet. You’d push through, you reminded yourself. Minho was your friend. Your best friend. You’d slept with him a million times, it’d be fine.

As soon as the man in question made it back to your room, he switched off the light and plopped himself on the bed, making it bounce slightly, and you couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“So, did you have fun with our dear pack mother? Was coming to our ‘camping trip’ what you’d expected?” Minho wiggled under the covers, turning to look at you.

“I did have fun with her, she’s nice”, you regarded him with a smile. “It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but wow if it isn’t an experience, huh?”

“It is”, Minho chuckled, smiling so wide you could barely see his eyes, but that little bit of them that you did get to see was still glowing gold, and you just had to comment on it.

“Why are your eyes still glowing?”

Minho shrugged, moving a bit closer to you. “A lot of werewolf shit going on right now with the moon, it’ll go away eventually”.

“Mm”, was all you could muster before you yawned, stretching your limbs a bit only to turn to your side, away from Minho. “Gonna sleep now, g’night”.

“Aww, c’mon”, you felt Minho move, and then you felt warmth, warmth on your back where he was almost pressing his chest to, and warmth on your waist where he had thrown his arm to wrap around you. “Let’s cuddle a bit, kitten. Hm? Pretty please?”

“Ugh, get off, you big dog. You’re too warm”, you couldn’t help but whine. Contradicting your words, though, you took his hand that was lying around your waist and clutched it to your chest, keeping him in place.

Minho noticed, because of course he did, so he chuckled, clearly amused, further pressing his chest to your back. “Let go of my hand, then. So I can move away”.

You were silent for a bit, softly running your thumb on his palm. He let you, just like he always did. “Don’t wanna…” 

It was warm, he was warm. He always was, he’d always been since the day he turned, but even if it was stupidly warm under the thin covers, you still wanted him close to you. Because Minho was comfort, he was safety, and tonight you wanted just that, even if you would turn into a puddle of sweat right then and there.

“Mmm…” Minho’s hum vibrated against your shoulder, where he had been keeping his mouth pressed since he moved closer to you. It wasn’t uncommon for you two to be this close, you cuddled often. Platonically. Or at least, you were convinced it was platonic.

There was always that tiny voice in your head telling you to yank the cork you had stuffed in your heart, to let your true feelings free, but what if you did and Minho didn’t feel the same way about you? Your friendship might be ruined. Although, realistically, you knew Minho wouldn’t treat you any differently, he was that type of person, and you’d probably get over your feelings after that imminent rejection.

“Lift your head up a bit”, Minho said suddenly, so you immediately did as asked, feeling as he sneaked his arm under your neck, curling around your frame to pull you even closer to him, admittedly turning your heartbeat up a notch. “You think Sir Percival’s doing alright?” His lips brushed on your shoulder with each word, and your body was quickly betraying you, goosebumps rising under his touch and heat quickly pooling in the pit of your stomach with just the mere feeling of his lips on your skin.

Swallowing thickly, you gathered your bearings, answering as steadily as you could. “Mar sent me a picture of him earlier. Wanna see?”

“Mmm… I do”, his hold on you tightened the slightest bit. “But your phone’s too far away. Don’t want you to move from here…”

“Always so needy, huh?”

Minho chuckled at that, moving a bit so he could talk in your ear, almost whispering. “Bold of you to say, when your heart’s about to leap out of your chest, huh kitten?”

Caught red-handed. Curse his supernatural hearing… Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath, trying to ease all the different burning sensations coursing through you–nervousness, anticipation, lust–they felt like so many it was really hard to tell exactly which one was the most prominent. You had the full intent to reply, something snarky to get him to shut his mouth, but your mind suddenly went blank when you started to feel Minho’s lips on your skin again, pressing slow, tender kisses on your shoulder, and the motions had you tightening your hold on his hand that you were still keeping close to your chest.

The action wasn’t uncommon, either. Just as you cuddled often, you also kissed like this often. Platonically.

Platonically… Right? Was it platonic? It must be, you were just friends after all. Best friends. The bestest of friends.

“You know… Maybe Chris was right”, Minho mumbled between kisses after a while.

“About?” 

“It… Is dangerous for you to be here”.

You couldn’t help but scoff. “Why would it be? I’m fine. Nothing’s happened”.

“Mm… Yet”, Minho’s mouth travelled from your shoulder to your nape, leisurely kissing there, too, and your brain was close to shutting off completely. “The moon… Guess I… Underestimated what it’d do to me with you here”.

He was being a bit cryptic, which wasn’t uncommon when he talked about his lycanthropy, so you wanted to inquire further. “Minho?”

“Mm?” With a deep intake of breath, Minho sighed, almost in the same way you sigh after getting a whiff of your favourite meal, and the action had saliva pooling in your mouth. “Shit, you never believe me when I say it, but you do smell good, kitten. Always do…”

The shiver that ran up and down your spine was impossible to miss. Minho always told you that, you always brushed it off as him teasing you, playing with you, but right now, with how low his voice was, with how deep it got, you couldn’t help but believe him. 

“You know you… Are my favourite person in this world, right?” He murmured against your skin, and the featherlight touch of his lips had your head spinning a bit.

So you decided to poorly attempt to divert the conversation. “What about Jisung?”

Minho chuckled softly, further pressing his chest to you, holding your thumb in his fist as you still kept his hand to your chest. “Completely different feelings”.

“How so? Isn’t he also your friend?”

Minho was quiet for a while, just mindlessly pressing kisses on your skin, until finally, he removed himself from your space, removing his hand from your tight hold with ease, only to push on your shoulder to get you to lay on your back as he hovered over you, propped up on his elbow. The sight of his glowing golden eyes had you almost shivering as he stared deeply into your eyes. That look was raw, intense, and your heart truly felt like it was about to leap out of your chest when he looked at you like this.

“You’re much more than a friend to me. You know that, right?”

You just looked back at him, holding his gaze as best as you could. And as you struggled to do so, you were reminded that, at the end of the day, Minho was still a predator, and even if you trusted him with your life, your body would have a natural, instinctual reaction to his stare. Ultimately, you couldn’t help yourself from moving your gaze away, focusing instead on that mouth of his, on his pouty lips that had plagued your dreams for nights on end, slightly chapped tonight but still just as delectable looking as ever.

“Kitten…” Minho was trying to get your attention back to his eyes, but you just didn’t want to look away, enjoying the way his lips moved with every word that came out of his mouth. “Why are you… Why are you looking at my mouth?”

If there was one certain thing in this world was that Lee Minho was going to be straightforward at any given moment, and this moment–whatever the moment was–was clearly no exception to that rule.

You didn’t say anything right away, just absentmindedly licked your lips as you shamelessly stared, catching the sight of his Adam’s apple bobbing in your peripheral with the movement. “Just thinking…”

“About?”

“Things I should not be thinking about”.

The tension was palpable. Or were you imagining it? It certainly felt tense to you, but not in an uncomfortable way. You could see how taut his body was as he hovered over you, and as you kept looking at his lips, there was nothing you wanted more than for Minho to make a move. Or should you make a move instead? Maybe you should. But would you be able to deal with the consequences of that? Maybe not. 

It was then, when you were having that struggle within yourself, that you saw his lips move, that you heard him. It was only a whisper, but you were sure you heard him, the sound registering a second too late, a quiet ‘fuck this’ before his lips were on yours, and you couldn’t help the embarrassing sound that escaped your mouth the second his skin made contact with yours.

Heat spread quickly within you, your mouth moving on instinct to match Minho’s almost desperate movements. Even if his lips were slightly chapped, that was the last thing you could care about, you’d get them moist, that was no problem at all. Moving a hand to the back of his head you pulled him further into you, revelling in the groan that escaped his throat the moment your nails lightly scratched his scalp.

Shuffling a bit above you, one of Minho’s legs found its way between yours, his thigh pressing against your core to add the tiniest bit of delicious pressure where you were desperate to feel him most, all as he sneaked his tongue into your mouth. If you were letting out the most embarrassing noises, you didn’t care, not when you could feel him hard and warm against your stomach, not when all you cared about was Minho and his hands on your thigh and his tongue in your mouth and his lips on your own.

“We should…” Minho started to talk, all between pecks of his lips, and it honestly didn’t seem like he wanted to stop kissing you at all. “Should talk about this”.

“We should”, you agreed, also refusing to stop kissing him, starting to shamelessly grind yourself against his thigh, the groan that left his lips as soon as you did adding to that desperate need in your gut. Your hands found their way under his shirt, feeling him up. His lower back, his abdomen, his ribs, his chest, and your touch made him shiver slightly.

Detaching himself from you for a second, Minho took a hold of the back of his shirt, tugging it off of him, only to immediately return his mouth to yours, kissing you desperately, eagerly, the bed sheets pooling back behind you two with the motion. Your hands roamed his body, hungry to feel him. It wasn’t like you had never touched him before, but never had you touched him like this, so intimately, so needy.

“Stop me”, Minho pleaded as his lips attached to your neck, sucking and nibbling on your skin, eliciting whines from your mouth, his hand travelling all the way from your thigh to your ribs, holding you tightly in place.

“No”, you replied confidently, because you genuinely didn’t want to stop, not when you finally had a handful of his bum in your hand, not when it all felt so right, so easy, and natural.

“Shit… You… Want this?” His lips returned to yours, almost stealing the air straight out of your lungs with the sheer intensity of his kiss.

“Want you. Only ever wanted you, Minho”.

Minho groaned, his hips lightly bucking into you as soon as your confession reached his ears. “Talk later?” 

“Later”, you nodded in agreement, slightly breathless as you felt him tug on your top, removing it from your body. You could talk about it later. You didn’t want to stop now, not that you knew how his lips on you felt like, how his weight on you felt like.

As soon as your top was off your body Minho’s hands were on your tits, kneading the supple flesh with his hands. “You’ve got no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this, fuck… These pretty tits of yours, shit…” His fingers started to tease and tweak your nipples, making you whine against his mouth, making you further press against his thigh. “Sensitive here, huh?”

“Minho, I swear to a God that doesn’t exist, if you don’t get my tits in your mouth right now…”

“Don’t boss me around”, removing himself from your space again, Minho hooked his fingers under the waistband of your shorts, taking them down and off your legs along with your underwear. Slotting himself between your legs, his fingers found your core, lightly teasing your clit just as he swore under his breath. “If you boss me around you’ll trigger my alpha instincts, is that what you want?”

“What if that happens–” Your words died on your tongue as soon as he started drawing circles on your clit. You couldn’t help but moan, bringing a hand to your mouth to try and muffle yourself as much as you could, considering the rest of his pack was also in the house. 

“Don’t act all innocent on me now, huh? You know exactly what I’d do. And I bet you’d love it, too”, regardless of his pretence banter, his lips closed around one of your nipples, licking your sensitive bud into his mouth, the motions sending sparks of pleasure right down to your core just as he dipped a finger into your entrance.

Minho’s attention on your chest coupled with his digit moving in and out of your core had your mind soaring, had your mind suddenly blank of anything other than him and you on this bed in this room. The more his tongue licked your skin, the more his teeth nibbled your chest, the more fingers he stuffed into you, the more you wriggled under him, whining desperately under his motions. Your hands held onto the bed sheets and his hair to try and keep your mind in the moment, all as you tried your best to not let a single sound out of your mouth louder than you should.

When he was four fingers deep into your cunt, when his thumb started to draw circles on your clit, you just couldn’t wait anymore. You were on the edge of your orgasm and you were feeling desperate for it, but you also had the intense need to feel him within your walls, for him to stretch you with all of him, so you reached for his crotch as best as you could in this position, feeling him up, and your eyes snapped open just by the feel of it.

Minho’s lips released your nipple with an obscene sound, all for him to further buck into your hand as he looked into your eyes, his brows furrowing slightly and his teeth sinking on his bottom lip to muffle a groan. It wasn’t like you hadn’t felt him before. There had been occasions… Occasions you both had silently decided to ignore, times when you might’ve woken up cuddled up, and he was suffering the effects of morning wood, but you never let yourself dwell on it too much. Now, though, and enhanced by the fact that he clearly wasn’t wearing anything under his shorts, you were able to feel him completely, and you felt saliva suddenly pool in your mouth.

“Minho…” Swallowing thickly, you tried to feel as much of him as you could. “You… I mean…”

“It’s just… One of those alpha things, you know? Why do you think I got four fingers into you right now, kitten?” He emphasised his words by hammering his fingers harder into you, making you whimper. “Trying to get you ready. Don’t wanna hurt you”.

“Fuck… Is this what turning before puberty did to you?” With shaky hands, you hooked your fingers on the waistband of his shorts, the pace of his fingers slowing down a bit as Minho curiously eyed you. There was some resistance, but when you finally got the garment down enough, you almost whimpered at the sight. “Shit… Even your cock’s pretty, huh Minho?”

Minho chuckled at that, slightly incredulous, but you noticed the blush that spread over his cheeks, and you couldn’t have felt more satisfied. Wrapping your hand around his length, you let out an appreciative hum, stroking him leisurely, enjoying the heavy feel of it in your hand. And before you could say anything else, Minho was back on you, kissing you eagerly, hungrily, making you breathless with his tongue in your mouth and his fingers in your cunt.

“Want you…” Was all you could mumble between kisses, relishing the groan that escaped his mouth as you did.

“Shit, wait”, Minho pulled his fingers out of you, moving away from your mouth to look at you. “There are no condoms in this house”.

The alarm was apparent in his voice, and it rubbed off of you. “You got all kinds of supernatural shit here and you got no condoms?”

“We don’t come to this house to fuck, babe. What do you want me to say?” Minho chuckled, moving away from your space altogether. The sudden lack of his body heat was unpleasant, you wanted it back, desperately. Which was probably why you spoke your next words.

“Are you clean? I am. Haven’t had sex since we went to that place to get tested like… Dunno, months ago”, the implications of your question hung in the air, and Minho’s mouth went slack.

Swallowing, he brought his hands to your thighs, softly caressing your skin. “I am. Also haven’t had sex since then”.

“In that case if you… Uh… If you don’t mind then we can… If you want… You know”, Minho knew you had an implant. Hell, Minho practically had your menstrual cycle memorised, he was the one to save you multiple times throughout High School when you didn’t even know your period would come, always keeping extra pads for you just in case. And even in present day, he had gone with you to get the damn thing put in a handful of months ago, so of course he knew.

If there was anyone in this world that knew anything about you was Minho. Your best friend Minho. Your best friend Minho who you were about to let fuck you raw. And the thought had your mouth watering, you’d admit.

“Shit, are you being serious right now?” Minho leaned into you, and you couldn’t help but take a deep breath as you felt the tip of his length on your bare skin, just as he looked you in the eyes. You nodded, you didn’t think you’d ever been more serious about something in your life than right now. 

“Holy–Am I dreaming or what? Damn… You… Shit…” Taking a hold of his length, he lined himself with your entrance, making you tense in anticipation as you felt his bare skin on yours. “Gonna go slow, okay? Don’t wanna hurt you, hm?”

Minho took his time, going in slowly, letting you adjust to him, and you couldn’t help but furrow your brows at the stretch, biting your lip to suppress a whimper. “Shh, it’s okay…” He mumbled against your cheek, pressing soft pecks on your skin. “Breathe, baby…”

“Mmm, baby…” You mindlessly mumbled back, trying to focus on the feel of his lips on your skin instead of the sting between your legs.

“You like that? Me calling you baby, huh?”

“I do–” Your breath caught in your throat when you felt Minho’s hips flush against you, when he bottomed out, swallowing almost loudly at how full you felt. “Maybe embarrassingly so…”

“No need to feel embarrassed, kitten. I like calling you baby, too”, he looked you in the eyes, taking you in. Slowly, you saw how the golden glow of his eyes dissipated, leaving his brown irises behind. Bringing a hand to cup your cheek, his thumb softly caressed your skin, and you suddenly felt yourself flush under his heavy gaze. “You’re so gorgeous, huh? And cute. Pretty. Always… Only ever wanted you, too”.

“You did?”

“Hm… Still do”, he confirmed before leaning in, pressing his lips to yours to kiss you again, slowly, sensually, and you couldn’t help but clench around him when he did, making him chuckle for a moment as you kissed.

You just held onto him, caressing the planes of his back, feeling the goosebumps that rose on his flesh under your touch. Even when you could feel his bare skin against yours, his bare skin within you, you couldn’t even believe this was real, it was happening. You were lying here, with your best friend’s cock buried deep within your walls, kissing him, and your mind was almost spinning, dizzy with that realisation. 

You needed Minho to move. If he didn’t move soon you feared you might actually die right there out of the intense need you felt for him, so you rolled your hips, murmuring a soft ‘move, babe’ against his lips. So he did, starting a slow, borderline teasing pace, working you up, letting you get used to the movement.

“Fuck, I like when you call me babe, too”, he looked you in the eyes, picking up his pace. “Love the way your cunt’s hugging my cock, baby, so good… Been dreaming about this, too, you know? How you would feel, and it’s so, so much better than I could’ve ever imagined”.

“You–You were?”

“Mm, I was”, sitting back on his heels, Minho threw one of your legs over his shoulder, the change of angle made it so his cock grazed that sensitive spot within your walls, making you curl your toes and see stars with each thrust of his hips, and the second his thumb pressed on your clit, you knew you were too far gone, panting heavily at the onslaught of sensations that Minho was bestowing upon you.

“Promise I’ll go harder later, hm? I know you want that, for me to ruin you”, you didn’t think you could flush further, but you felt heat on your face, and your belly tightening with the words that came out of his mouth. “But I want it like this now, kitten. Wanna enjoy you like this. Is that okay?”

His thumb on your clit sped up, and you almost choked on your words with the sudden change, even when he was still thrusting slow, but deep. You simply nodded, eagerly, holding his gaze confidently as that knot in the pit of your stomach got tighter with each and every one of his motions. “Just want you…” was all you could muster as your hand reached to softly caress his abdomen, feeling his muscles tightening and relaxing with each thrust.

“Mmm… So beautiful”, removing his thumb from your clit he brought it to your lips. “Lick it, baby. Make it as wet as you can for me, hm?” So you did, coating the tip of his thumb in your saliva only for him to return it to your clit, for him to start quickly rubbing circles on your sensitive bud, making you throw your head back with the sudden onslaught. 

“Minho, babe… Please, want to…” 

“Come on, baby… Give it to me, wanna feel you…” With a few more flicks of his thumb on your clit, you finally came, bringing your hand to your mouth so you could muffle the desperate moans that were about to come out of your mouth, relishing the heat you felt course through your body as Minho kept fucking into you.

With the effects of your orgasm, the rhythm of his hips was becoming more and more erratic, his face contorting in pleasure as he chased his own release. Reaching for the hand he kept on your pubic bone after you came, you placed your hand on top of his, bringing his attention back from where he had been looking at his cock disappearing between your walls to your eyes. “Want you to come on me, wanna feel you, please…”

“Shit, kitten…” Taking a hold of your hips, Minho held you tightly, giving you a diluted taste of that strength you knew he had but he was holding back on, of that strength you were surely going to beg him to release on you later, just as he gave a few more thrusts, working himself up closer to his climax.

In one final swift movement, Minho pulled out of your heat, wrapping his hand around his length and bringing himself to completion right on top of your abdomen, and, biting on his bottom lip to dampen obscene sounds of his own, he finally came, thick ropes of his cum soiling your torso, all the way from your navel to your tits. It was so much, you knew werewolves were biologically different from human males, but you were surprised at the amount, the sudden warmth making your head spin, making you wonder how it would feel when he came inside of you, in your cunt, in your mouth… 

Breathing heavily, Minho looked down at you, his eyes raking your form, covered in his seed, a flush settling all the way from his chest to his neck. Immediately, he was on you, kissing you deeply, mumbling words of ‘so, so pretty covered in my cum, so pretty…’ between pecks of his lips that had you flushing impossibly further.

Moving away from you, he took a hold of the first garment he could find, using it to wipe his cum off of your body, throwing somewhere right after only to finally plop down next to you, still panting a bit and staring at the ceiling. You did pretty much the same, lying there staring at the ceiling, but you did reach for his hand, interlocking your fingers with his, revelling in the way he held yours tightly in his, just as a comfortable silence fell between you two.

After a while, Minho spoke. “Did you mean it?”

You turned to him, looking at his side profile, looking at the relaxed expression on his face. “Mean what, baby?”

“Only ever wanted me?” Minho turned to you, with a soft smile on his lips, giving your hand a squeeze.

You felt yourself blush, but you smiled at him regardless. “Mm… Only you, baby”.

“Me too”, letting go of your hand, Minho pulled you into his arms, hugging you tightly against his chest, and you could only melt into his embrace, inhaling deeply, basking in his presence. “I’m glad you came with us today. Was a bit worried at first, but now… Now I’m super glad you came, honestly…” He mumbled against your hair, and you couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You’re just happy you got laid”, you were joking of course, teasing him a bit as you caressed his back.

Minho laughed at that, bringing a hand to your rear to fondle one of your buttcheeks. “Only ‘cause I got laid with you, dummy”.

Chuckling, you draped your leg over his hip, pushing on his shoulder to get him to lay down and for you to straddle him. Looking down at him, your hands dragged all the way from his shoulders to his pecks, squeezing him a bit before they continued their path to his abdomen, the motion bringing a smirk to Minho’s face. “Did you mean what you said earlier?”

“What exactly? I said a lot of things, kitten”, Minho’s hands came to your waist, dragging all the way down after to fondle your hips.

“That you were gonna go harder later?”

“You do want me to ruin you, huh? Shameless”.

You chuckled, shuffling a bit so you could press yourself to his length, and your eyes went wide and your eyebrows rose high on your face. He was hard already, and the surprise must’ve been obvious on your face, because Minho simply shrugged, moving his hands to cup your bum. “You do smell so good, and the full moon is not making it any easier on me, cut me some slack”.

“Minho, babe, listen… And I mean this seriously. It’s important”, Minho went serious, looking at your face intently, giving you his undivided attention. “I need you to fuck me in every possible way you can and more, I’ve been waiting too long. If you don’t I might actually die”.

Minho scoffed, smirking as he tightened his hold on your rear, making you squeal with the sudden movement, with the strength of his hold. “Oh, kitten… Baby, you have no idea what you’ve just asked for. Good luck trying to stand up from this bed tomorrow when I’m done with you”.

Author’s Notex2: if you’re curious as to why Chris looked like he’d just won Millionaire when he came down to the kitchen, you can check out Love is Easy.

if you want to read more of this couple, check out Dog Unleashed.

© therhythmafterthesummer 2022-2023. all rights reserved. do not repost or translate my stories.

Constructive feedback (or even keysmashes, really) is always welcome :)

Minho’s WereRoomies Instalments: Camping With Wolves · Dog Unleashed · Are You There, Wolf?

[sgiandubh]

The case against 'sharenting'

Yesterday, an Anon @bat-cat-reader got made me think. Long and hard, far and wide - research included.

Here is the Anon: https://www.tumblr.com/bat-cat-reader/750859423333908480/lo-bueno-de-estar-revisando-redes-constantemente?source=share . I wanted to piggyback first, then I realized the issue was way more important than the person in question. And decided to post everything separately.

Loved this very matter of fact, calm Anon and I totally agree with what was said about overexposing a child online.

This sudden surge of completely inappropriate information about that child raised an eyebrow, and then some more. It begs, as always when dealing with minors, the question of privacy, as opposed to using their image for what obviously is self-promotion. And more generally, what is called 'sharenting', a portmanteau combining 'sharing' (info) and 'parenting' that was quite recently invented by The Wall Street Journal to describe a more and more widespread phenomenon.

That some parents would just love to have and even share digital mementoes of their child(ren) is apparently ok. Others, however, choose to monetize their kids, turning them into a sales argument. I am still floored at such disingenuous choices, that might have serious consequences for their future. And I am not the only one, mind you: a 2018 report by England's Children Commissioner, the leading government official competent for protecting and promoting children's rights, found out that parental digital oversharing is a high risk behavior for the child.

Short term, as in identity theft ...

... to long term, as in lost academic or professional opportunities - the 2018 warning made only more compelling by the recent AI craze:

[Source: England's Children Commissioner Report 'Who Knows What About Me?', 2018 - online: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2018/11/cco-who-knows-what-about-me.pdf]

You'll find this very recent article from The Guardian absolutely enlightening, too. I certainly did: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/26/son-social-media-parents-children

Particularly this - I am not a mom, so Mordor bitches will certainly point this salient detail out, you see. But maybe this journalist mom's POV could give them (and maybe even other people) pause:

Pedophile. Quite chilling, right? Pedophile rings actively searching for children photos inadvertently being shared online, to feed sick obsessions worldwide (do not be parochial and think those pics must be of an ambiguous nature!). Instagram being currently in very hot water for its strange content promoting algorithm, allowing pedophiles to easily access children photos and personal data, based on exif. Digital kidnapping, as in criminals pretending to be the child's parents, for various financial or pathological reasons.

Think I am a stupid, stupid shipper with an agenda? Then so is the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Commission. Last year, a joint statement has been released by two if its members (and before Mordor starts screeching about 'the MAGA mommies obsession for pedophilia', let it be said it is a bipartisan, Democrat and Republican initiative), about the fact that 'Instagram hosts a vast network of pedophilic content and that its algorithms are actively driving users to this content':

[Source: https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/pallone-rodgers-demand-answers-from-instagram-after-reports-the-platform-is-driving-users-to-child-sex-abuse-material]

It followed a long report on Instagram's less than responsible practices in the matter, published by The Wall Street Journal, not your next door digital gossip rag (subscribers only, but you'll have an idea: https://www.wsj.com/articles/instagram-vast-pedophile-network-4ab7189?st=mbga8lpdddfm5dh&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink)

Mark this statement: 'It is clear these companies cannot be trusted to protect children on their platforms'. I, not even a mom (but an aunt, a friend and a godmother, too), cannot even start to express my disgust at the hypocrisy of barely hiding children's faces on a certain blog, but at the same time allowing rabid speculation about a child's whereabouts, based on what is clearly a case of sharenting. All the mothers, grandmothers and aunts commenting under that post would have to take a long, hard look at themselves in a mirror. And also ask themselves why they allowed their personal fantasy to get an upper hand on common sense?

That is a terrible, terrible shame. And then people wonder why is C not sharing anything? Would you share your kid(s) to that mob? I wouldn't and it is my strong belief no mother in her right mind would.

Last but not least, reckless digital behavior comes with risks, costs and consequences. Including legal ones, taking into account what very probably is some loose, rather informal agreement of co-parenting (as opposed to a stricter, 50/50 shared custody system), as per Scottish family law. Something I shall briefly try to explain, for context purposes only:

Unlike many other legal systems in the world, the 1995 Scottish Children Act has a slightly different approach to custody (or what they call 'residence'), in which the child's best interest, as well as the parents' own agreement (called a Parenting Plan) are paramount. By the same token, it does not matter if the parents were married or just common law partners, for example. This allows for less cumbersome living and financial arrangements, provided the two parties agree, and also for quicker procedures, as the law does not encourage parents to go to Court, if an agreement has been reached ('no-order principle'). Mediation and legal assistance services are readily available to make every particular case fit in the local Parenting Plan framework. On the other hand, because in legal matters all things are (must be, really) symmetrical, it is relatively easy to have parental rights and responsibilities enforced (example: issue an order stipulating to cease and desist from posting on Instagram), or even removed, in Court. While removal is a bit of a hassle (supporting statements are required, either from an independent witness/not a relative or Social Welfare Services), the enforcement is way easier and just requires a basic contradictory procedure in Court.

For example, a child's proven overexposure on the Internet can very well be successfully contended in Court, if things go South. Especially in an emotionally loaded local context:

[Source: https://news.sky.com/story/seven-members-of-paedophile-gang-guilty-of-running-monstrous-child-sex-abuse-ring-13008082 - you read the article if you want, it's brutal]

I am not saying this will happen. What I am trying to say is simply that nobody (and I repeat: nobody) should play with fire, like this. Neither the parent, nor the public. This is a plea for decency across the dashboard I strongly felt I should make, if others won't.

No shitshow, no fantasy, no obsession should ever put a child's life at potential risk like that. You see, children are rarely asked if they would like to be shown off as circus monkeys.

[dragonflylady77]

people like us

So... yesterday (today? timezones, man...) was @thissortofsorcery's birthday and I decided around 5pm that I'd write a fic for her.

2502 words later... read on Ao3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BESTIE!!!

Summary:

Billy apologizes, Robin helps Steve with something, then she helps Billy with something.

Steve was standing against his car when he spotted Hargrove walking towards him. He planted his feet, crossing his arms over his chest and waited. It had been a couple of months since the fight at the Byers’ and they’d both done a good job avoiding each other.

He’d heard from Dustin that Max had told the gang Billy was sticking to his word and staying out of her way. The guy didn’t seem to hang around Tommy and his clique anymore and Steve wondered who he was hanging out with. He wasn’t sure why he wondered, but he did.

Hargrove stopped a couple of feet away, taking a deep drag on his cigarette before dropping it on the ground and crushing it with his boot. “Harrington.”

“Hargrove,” Steve said, his face showing none of the turmoil he was feeling inside. He wondered what had compelled him to press a finger to Billy’s chest that night, but he couldn’t get out of his head how warm and soft Billy’s skin had been.

“I took it too far that night, and for that I am sorry. My dad, um, my dad made it very clear that I needed to bring Maxine home and when you lied to me about it and wouldn’t let me take her with me, I saw red. That wasn’t your fault, but you have to agree that a thirteen-year-old girl had no business being alone with a bunch of boys at night in a house in the middle of nowhere.”

Steve felt his face heat up. “That’s not… I mean… I don’t…” he sputtered. What the fuck ?

“Yeah, I know that now, but you gotta admit it looked dodgy as hell. Anyway, you don’t have to forgive me or anything, but I wanted to say I’m sorry I made your face my punching bag.”

“Oh, um, okay.” Steve was having a hard time processing.

Billy nodded. “See ya.”

A car door slamming shut snapped Steve out of his trance and he realized Hargrove had left while he was staring into space. He heard the bell and swore under his breath, grabbing his bag out of his car before running towards the school.

The day passed in a daze and last period found Steve in the library for his tutoring session. His English teacher had arranged for someone from his AP class to help Steve with his college essays. Steve couldn’t ask Nancy anymore, obviously, things were too awkward. Part of him hoped it would be Billy Hargrove, though he doubted the new King of Hawkins High would want to spend more time with a washed out loser like Steve…

“Steve Harrington?” a decidedly female voice said next to him and he sat up, blinking. 

“Yes?”

“Hi. I’m Robin Buckley. Mr. Crowder asked me to help you with your college essays.” Robin sat in the chair next to him, dumping her backpack in the chair next to her. She pulled out a purple pencil case that was bursting at the seams and turned to him expectantly. “Well?”

“Well, what?” Steve had no idea what was going on and he was sure it showed on his face. This girl would no doubt tell everyone he was an idiot.

“Show me. Your essay.”

“Oh, right.” Steve reached in his bag and pulled out a slightly mangled sheet of paper. He passed it to Robin and tried to ignore the face she made as she flattened the sheet with her hand. “Sorry,” he mumbled, looking down at his hands on the table.

“It’s okay.” 

Steve felt her shrug then she started reading, a red pen at the ready. She read it slowly, clearly taking her time, and rereading it a few times as well. The amount of red marks on his essay made Steve wonder why he’d bothered at all.

Once she was done, she put her pen down and looked at Steve, an apologetic look on her face. “Okay, Steve. Um, it’s not all bad. You have some good ideas in there, but the execution is, um, shall we say, clunky.”

Letting out a groan that earned him a glare from the librarian, Steve crossed his arms on the table and hid his head in them. “I suck, I know.”

“Do you even want to go to college?” Robin asked, her voice muffled.

Steve shrugged. He was tired of his father yelling at him about his shit grades, his lack of prospects if he didn’t get into college, even how short-sighted he had been breaking it off with the Wheeler girl. Life sucked, and now he was kinda maybe having daydreams about what it would feel like to kiss Billy Hargrove.

“Ugh,” was the answer he gave Robin, lifting his head to peer at her. “My dad won’t shut up about it, threatens to cut me off if I don’t get in somewhere. But this study thing? Not sure it’s for me, yanno. Senior year is hard enough. From what all my teachers are saying, I’ll be lucky to graduate.”

“What are you going to do then? Work for your dad?”

“Ha!” Steve scoffed. “As if the great Richard Harrington, Jr. would stoop so low as to give his dumbass son a job in his successful empire.”

“Wow, okay… well, I work at Melvald’s on the weekend and they’re looking for a delivery boy. You have a car, you should apply. Don’t tell your dad and earn your own money.”

“Why are you helping me? I mean, you seem great, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t even know each other…”

“Everyone in the school knows who you are, Steve… but I don’t know.” Robin shrugged. “You don’t seem to have many friends and you look sad a lot.”

Steve had nothing to say to that. Her assessment was almost spot on. “I have friends…” he mumbled, embarrassed.

���Middle schoolers do not count, Steve, I don’t care what they tell you to get rides everywhere.”

“How do you know about that?” Steve sat back in his chair, staring. What the hell? Who was this girl and how did she know so much about him?

“I’m in the school band, dingus. I’m as good as invisible. And I’m very observant. For example, I saw you and Billy Hargrove have a chat this morning.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. It surprised me because, last I’d heard, he was leaving you alone after he bashed your head in, last November.”

“He, um, he came to apologize for that, actually.”

“Nice. So… are you going to see him again?”

“What? What are you—no!” Steve looked around, checking to see if anyone was paying attention to them. Thankfully, the few students in the library seemed busy with their own things and they were far enough away that they wouldn’t have heard Robin. “No, it’s not like that,” he whispered furiously, inwardly shushing the little voice in his head saying that he would like it to be.

“Awww, you’re blushing… Your secret is safe with me.” Robin leaned closer and whispered, “I love a good enemies to lovers romance.”

Steve couldn’t make words, he could barely breathe, his mind stuck on a loop of ‘ whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck ’ until the bell rang, moments later, snapping him out of it. He heard someone walk in, the stomping of boots familiar as hell, and he whipped his head to look, even if he already knew. Throwing Robin a small smile, he grabbed his essay from the table and shoved it in his bag. “I have to go.”

He forced himself to walk past Hargrove on his way to the exit, nodding back when Hargrove nodded, and managed to stop himself from running all the way to his car. He sat in his BMW, shaking like a leaf, trying to get his breathing under control before the kids showed up.

*****

“What was that about, Bird?” Billy asked Robin as he sat in the chair Harrington had just vacated. He tried not to react to the residual warmth of the plastic, considering who had been sitting on it. He failed.

“Not sure yet, my sweet. Crowder asked me to help Harrington with his college essay, and, hoo boy, he needs all the help he can get.” She smiled at him. “How was your day since your little chat with our former king this morning?”

Billy groaned, low enough that the librarian didn’t hear, leaning back in the chair. “Ugh. Of course, you know about that.”

“I was literally in the parking lot, and watched the painfully awkward encounter with my own eyes when I was chaining my bike.”

“Painful is accurate.” Billy rubbed both hands over his face then looked at Robin. He knew he was lucky they’d found each other. The two resident queer secret besties.

The basketball team had had an away game a couple of weeks after Billy had arrived in Hawkins. Unlike the cheerleaders, the band traveled with them. As the new guy on the team, Billy’d been assigned the last bed available, sharing a room with the member of the marching band that no one wanted to room with. 

Robin had told him as soon as the door had closed that she knew about his crush and that he needed to be more careful. Once Billy had recovered from the shock, they’d spend the night talking, exchanging stories and tips on how to appear less queer than they actually were. On the bus back to Hawkins, they’d gone into details about their current crushes, vowing to help each other. Billy had agreed to pose as Robin’s boyfriend in front of her parents, so they’d stop asking her about gross boys, and he was able to drop Robin’s name and keep Neil off his back—about the queer thing at least.

“I asked him what you said to him, and he said you had apologized.”

“I did.” Didn’t Robin say she had witnessed the interaction?

“Uh huh, that’s great, I’m proud of you, but wha—”

“Wow, you don’t have to sound so enthusiastic…” Billy deadpanned, hearing Robin’s complete lack of interest.

“Shut up. I asked him if he was going to see you again, and he blushed. He turned bright red, in front of my eyes, my sweet.”

“And?” Billy said, confused. What was Robin getting at?

“He didn’t deny it, he looked so flustered then you walked in and he ran off.”

“Again, and?”

“I think you should go to his house and, and, do that thing you do, you know, with your eyelashes and your mouth.”

“Flirting?”

“Yes, that. Go now, while he’s still all in a state. It’s your best chance.”

“Bird…”

“Fly, my pretty, go get your love,” Robin said, and she honest to god giggled. 

Billy rolled his eyes but had no choice but to do what she said because she started shoo-ing him and the librarian was now looking in their direction. 

He parked a couple of houses down from the Harringtons’ fancy mansion and made his way to the front door, ringing the bell and waiting. No matter what Robin had said, he really didn’t think Steve would open the door. He took a slow spin, taking in the surroundings, noticing the overwhelming amount of greenery in this part of town, especially compared to Cherry Lane.

“Billy?” Steve’s shocked voice said behind him. “What, um, what are you doing here?”

Billy turned around, taking in the soft looking sweater and joggers Steve was now wearing. “I came to see you, pretty boy. Robin said you needed some help and, well, here I am.”

“You… Come in already, it’s freezing out.” 

Steve moved to let Billy in and closed the door behind him. “ You want to help me ?” His tone was saying one thing but the way his eyes swept over Billy were saying another.

Billy took the two steps separating them, crowding Steve, but not quite touching him.

“You bet, pretty boy,” he whispered in the gap between them. “In any way I can…” He let his eyes drop to Steve’s mouth before making eye contact again. This close, he could see the flakes of gold in the brown. He wondered what Steve’s chocolate eyes would look like in the early morning sunlight.

Steve’s hands were on his jaw before Billy could react as Steve pulled Billy to him, slanting their mouths together. The surprised gasp that breached Billy’s lips was all Steve needed to slide his tongue in Billy’s mouth. 

The shock of Steve making the first move only lasted a moment. Billy wasted no time pressing Steve’s body against the door, his hands reaching under the hem of his sweater. His fingers encountered warm naked skin and Billy moaned.

“Fuck, Steve…”

“Not on the first date,” Steve said with a smile, burying his hands in Billy’s hair and pressing their foreheads together.

“Could be a date,” Billy replied, sliding a thigh between Steve’s legs, his heart rate picking up speed when he felt Steve grow hard against him.

“Billy…”

Billy never thought that hearing a guy whine his name would get him hot under the collar, but today was fraught with new and unexpected experiences.

“Yeah, baby, I’m here. I’ve got you. What do you need?” he asked Steve, nibbling along Steve’s jaw, before mouthing at the column of his neck.

“You. Me. Naked. My bed.”

*****

“Billy?” Steve asked, his head resting on Billy’s chest, fingers drawing patterns along his barely visible treasure trail. Billy had gone down on him then Steve had given his first every blow job and he was pretty sure Billy had enjoyed it. He hoped Billy would let him do it again.

“Yeah?” Billy’s hand on Steve’s back didn’t stop; Steve took comfort in that.

“I… Robin said something earlier, about enemies to lovers romance and I want you to know, this isn’t an experiment for me.”

“No?” Billy’s voice was devoid of emotion and Steve didn’t like it.

“I really like you, Billy. I know what happened in November happened, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

“Steve…”

“What I’m saying is, I know we can’t go out on dates, because it’s dangerous for people like us, but if you wanted, we could hang out here. Order in. Make out in the hot pool my parents installed last year.”

“I like your idea, Stevie, a lot.”

“So you’ll stay?”

Instead of answering with words, Billy flipped them over so he was on top, his hands in Steve’s hair holding him still as he licked into Steve’s mouth. Steve’s hands found Billy’s hips, helping the rolling rhythm that made them both groan and gasp. They never stopped kissing, moving against each other until they both reached their peak.

The ensuing shower to clean the mess that covered them both took so long that they ran out of hot water but they didn’t care. 

With the help of a little birdie, they’d found each other, and, well, that was worth all the cold showers in the world.

[upmala]

iridescent headphone mod!

i own an inappropriately popular pair of headphones. today i saw two people on the metro wearing them, standing right next to each other with the classic metro 1000 yard stare, like unwitting clones, and i was instantly compelled to do something to mine.

unnecessarily detailed step-by-step below:

tools & materials: stupid clone-ass headphones, cutting mat, baking paper, scalpel, scissors, cd marker, some boring paper tape and some exciting iridescent mirror tape.

so the idea was to make a "sticker" out of the tape, laying it out in strips and cutting out a shape to then transfer to the headphone ear cup.

to make it easier to cut out the shape i wanted, i used waxy baking paper - the tape would kinda stick to it, but wouldn't fight back if i tried to remove it.

this tape is extremely thin. any speck of dirt or bubble or overlap between the strips of tape was very apparent, so i laid the strips out so that the edges touch, but don't overlap.

then i needed to mark how big i could make the sticker. the tape is not flexible at all, so i couldn't put it on any of the curves and soft edges of the headphones (otherwise they would have long been taped over entirely.) but the top of the ear cup was perfectly flat and circular, so i found the nearest item with the same-ish diameter and transferred the size that way. (i don't own a compass.)

after a bit of pinterest surfing that definitely didn't turn into a prolonged break involving tea and a mindlessly assembled sandwich, i sketched the moon's face from reference and cut out the shape with a scalpel. thankfully the vintage illustrations are not polished and perfect, so i can go a bit sketchy and loose (also the cd marker will wear off eventually, so i'm not too attached to the drawing)

since the "sticker" is actually just three separate strips of tape, i added paper tape "stitches" on top to hold them together once the baking paper comes off. it took a bit of finagling, but the baking paper came off smoothly and none of the tape bits were fighting me.

i cleaned the headphone surface before i started cutting the moon, but a tiny eraser shaving got on it anyway - i noticed it too late and had to scratch it off the sticky side of the tape with the scalpel. the same thing happened when i put the sun's face on, but there i saved it by drawing a beauty mark on that spot. so it'll never look perfect perfect. the marker will wear off anyway and the tape will probably come loose (those sharp edges are just asking for a dogearing) but whatever! i'll make something new and better then!

for now i'm very much enjoying my homemade celestial headphones :3

[drivestraight]

good morning val drivestraight I have a question for you... can you sell me on lestappen. I follow you for general attitude swag and don't really follow many max blogs (I actually found your blog after that omega George fic lol) but I feel like you of all people could make the greatest ship primer. mostly I'm not very into it bc I feel like the shared history part of it gets overblown by fandom compared to other ships, and they're friendly enough these days that I can't get hatesex vibes form it + Max comes across as really well adjusted and kind of an homeboy. so I'm like what's the hook? what do you like? what's YOUR platonic perfect idea of lestappen? I want to follow u down this road 

omg what an honor...

this isn't much of a ship primer but mostly about me talking about why i like them if that's okay <3

i agree that we overplay their shared history, but it also provides a really nice backdrop for everything they are now. they've always been in each other's lives but in a peripheral sense. and it's that sort of distanced familiarity that is compelling to me. also the potential for intense physicality despite their inability to communicate like normal people. that's the hook to me: they are in each other's orbit but they never have been close. but then you get to the racing: and when it comes to the racing, they've really given some great battles. and that alone isn't enough. it's like - combined with who they are off the track: childhood rivals turned awkward work friends, the fact that they can race that hard and that they respect one another so much is just. so good. sometimes it feels like they can predict each other's moves. like silverstone/austria 19 (yes, mentioned to hell) and bahrain/saudi 22, the w2w there went crazy. and once again, this with everything else: that they have this one place and this one medium for them to communicate at such a high level, and are just so awkward everything else is very good. lewis and seb who have said in the past that max goes over the limit too much, while charles has always said with max, it's always on the limit and never above. obviously things might change if they ever get into a real title fight against one another, but i think they have such great foundations that it will be compelling no matter what. also they've lowkey like stood the test of time: look at how people characterized them in 2019 and how they characterize them today. they've changed so much and their relationship has changed so much but still, both of them are at two top teams, they have found each other again in f1.

also aesthetically, the red/blue of it all is really nice. and just like. They look good together. yknow

they also like. say crazy things about each other sometimes. "i will remember it all my life" / "i know max very very well" / etc. etc.

my perfect platonic idea of lestappen Is Not one where they're best friends and where max is his number 1 defender - because he is not, as many people would have you believe (everyone clipping moments from cooldown rooms and quotes from interviews are putting it out of context and putting words in max's mouth and twisting things weirdly), and because that's frankly so uncompelling and kind of pathetic to think that charles needs max to praise him/defend him for him to have any worth as a racer etc. etc. i could go on about this for ages but i won't. tldr max doesn't care enough to do that.

IN FIC my favorite lestappen is basically: an awkward lestappen who like each other so much and can't actually communicate it properly in any way that isn't physical. but maybe the physicality and the shared history and the racing can be enough.

[mignightpages]

The Fruit of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (And Other Forbidden Things) Spencer Reid x Reader

Prologue

masterlist

It wasn't how things were meant to go for Doctor Spencer Reid, but he could bounce back in his mind. He always did. 

The prison had left its mark. Despite Spencer's insistence that he was unchanged, the truth was evident to all. The once gentle, if socially awkward, Spencer Reid had transformed into a man of hardened demeanor. Recognizing this, David Rossi , the man he was , decided that Spencer was in dire need of respite, a sabbatical of sorts. Despite his resistance, he was compelled to pack his belongings and  step back for the summer. 

"It will do you good," Rossi had said at the farewell party he had thrown for Spencer at his house the night before he was set to leave. "I have a friend down south in Georgia; he'll take good care of you." Being the man he was and having the connections he had, he arranged for Spencer to take his little vacation in Georgia's hot, humid depths. 

He wouldn't make it easy on himself; why would he do that? The idea of doing nothing with his time for three months left him with a sense of dread. Something he could only compare to being surged in a cold body of nothingness. No. His brain worked too hard and fast to sit around and do nothing. He pondered it for a while,  meaning to complete his doctorate in philosophy… and suddenly found something to fill his time.

With his belongings and  philosophy textbooks in tow, Spencer set off for Georgia. The town, with its modest population and even more modest composition (save for the five Baptist churches on every corner), seemed unremarkable. Yet, after the chaotic traffic he encountered leaving the Atlanta airport , the town's smallness felt liberating. That is until he lost his signal and found himself stranded near a gas station. A nondescript building with two gas pumps, one diesel , one unleaded, and a small store engulfed in overgrowth. The attendant, who seemed to have never left the building, completed the picture of isolation. 

"You lost?" the man asked when Spencer had gone in to see if they had any printed maps. He looked at the man who seemed to have, maybe, three teeth and a greasy mullet. 

He nodded. At this point, he was willing to take all the help he could get." Yeah… I'm looking for the Abernathy Residence."

The attendant scoffed out a laugh, a sticky sound from smoking too many cigarettes, maybe something harder. "Keep going straight north," he waved him off as he rang up the map. "Trust me, you'll know it when ya see it."

Spencer paid with a nod, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He began to leave when things were said and done, but the man stopped him with the same grave drawl. 

"Word of advice, son," Spencer stopped and turned to look at him. "People say it's the sons you gotta worry 'bout." He shook his head with the click of his tongue, "It's the girl."

[romanarose]

He Didn't Have to Be

Will Miller x Single Mom!reader

Summary: You and Will hit it off immediately, but being a single mom but a past, you didn't think that he'd be interested in you. You were wrong, and Will asks you on the sweetest date you could imagine.

A/N: Will Miller brain rot is so real rn. Titled after the Brad Paisley song, bc it's what inspired this fic.

Warnings: Referenced past abuse, referenced past child abuse

*******************

Many guys ran for the hills at the idea of a woman with a kid. Some only wanted you for sex, insisting you get a babysitter or god forbid leave your son at home, insisting “it’s only for an hour” even though he was four. Some gave it a shot, only to get angry when they realized Jonah came first. It’s not that you didn’t try to make time for dates, but you had a young child, and you wanted to make the best of his childhood. They didn’t get why you were busy working on letters and numbers with him, asking “isn’t that what his preschool is for?” or why you spent time trying to plan and cook nutritious food on a budget, or why you wouldn't just drop him off with your sister to fuck or why they couldn't come over when he was napping.

So, you simply gave up dating, figuring the right guy would come along at some point, when the time better.

And the right guy did.

You were lucky enough to land a job as a receptionist at a physical therapy office, your friend’s husband, Frankie being kind enough to send the job your way when his friend said they were hiring. You were waitressing at this point and although you were getting by, it was just barely, living in a studio apartment with you and Jonah (another reason dating didn’t work) was hard. This job would offer not only financial security, but a better schedule, with Jonah at the free preschool during most of the day so this meant paying for only two or three hours at daycare after. The handsome physical therapist was a perk too.

Will Miller was one of four physical therapists in the office, but by far your favorite. He always said hello and goodbye to you every single morning and evening, and even when you first started he was making easy chit chat. The small talk turned into full conversations, Will often being found leaning over your counter, strong arms blunging out of the sleeves of his black t-shirt as you tried not to stare. It wasn’t that hard; his blue eyes were compelling enough to keep your interest. You familiarized yourself with the features of his face while he talked, and one of the other workers comments how they'd never seen Will so talkative. When you asked what they meant, they said that Will was always polite, nice but never very open. She didn’t even know he had a brother until she heard him mention Ben to you, and she’d known Will a year. It made you happy to know he felt comfortable with you like that. It took you an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out that he was the friend Frankie knew, the one that had mentioned the job opening, but once you did, you grew closer sharing stories of Frankie and Jessica drunk.

He also let you talk about your son, which was exciting. People don’t really care a lot about a kid that isn’t their family besides a few pictures, but you mentioned a cute video, and Will actually asked to see it, endearing you to him more and more. Still, you didn’t get your hopes up. Your last relationship, Jonah’s father, messed you up pretty bad, and you were certain someone like Will wouldn’t want someone like you. Will was successful, put together, tall, handsome and charming with a very well paying job. Why would he want to take a single mom living in a shitty studio apartment with a ton of baggage? He could get any woman he wanted, not some woman he probably thought just wanted him for his money.

When he approached you that Friday as you were packing up for the weekend, he seemed oddly stiff, not leaning casually over your counter like the Jim to your Pam. Instead he stood awkwardly, hands clasped behind his back as if he was reverting back to his military days and you were his drill sargent.

 He greeted you by name, and promptly began stuttering, the composed, cool headed man you knew seemed long gone. “I was, um, well I was wondering if maybe you were doing anything this weekend? If you-you wanted to do something with me, maybe? I understand if you’re busy, it’s completely okay theres no pressure or anything, it won't have any effect on your working relationship but if you wanted too-”

“Will?”

“Hm?” His pail English skin turned pink.

“Are you asking me on a date?” 

The blush grew, but he nodded. “Yeah, if you’d like that, of course. No pressure at all, we can continue being friends either way.” The way he repeated ‘no pressure’ made your heart warm.

You smiled at him, equally nervous. The idea of going on a date for the first time in a year was nerve wracking, there was a solid chance of getting your heart broken… but he was so fucking handsome, how could you say no? “Yeah, yeah that would be great.” You laugh nervously. “I’m open all weekend, I just gotta see when I can get a babysitter.”

“Actually, I was thinking, and we don’t have to, it’s completely up to you-”

He’s so cute when he’s nervous, isn’t he? “Yes, Will?” You encourage him on.

“I thought maybe Jonah could come with us? I know maybe you don’t want to bring a strange man you don’t know around your son, but if you wanted to, I’d like to take Jonah to Chuck E. Cheese?”

You were stunned. No man has ever cared to meet Jonah, let alone spend time with him like that. 

“You want to go to Chuck E. Cheese for a first date?” You ask softly.

He seemed to get the wrong idea, and began to backtrack. “Right, not very romantic is it, sorry, I’d love to take you somewhere nice, I just thought it would be easier and I’d want to get to know Jonah because he’s a part of you-”

“I’d love that” You smile up at him. “Are you sure? It’s kinda an expensive first date?” You didn’t want him to invest a bunch of money on a date when you already knew you wouldn’t be sleeping together that day.

Will seemed to relax, smiling at the idea of the date. He shook his head. “I want to.  Besides, it’ll be fun. I haven't played ski ball in years, when else do I get a chance to be a kid?”

You could not wait to see what the 6’2 giant of a man looked like pretending to be a kid.

Will offered to pick you up but said if you prefer to meet there, that was okay too. Normally, you’d meet there, you didn’t like random men knowing your address, but Will… Will was different. The way Will was cognizant of your comfort made you just trust him. You still would be careful, of course, after what happened with Jonah’s dad you were protective of your precious preschooler. Jonah was ecstatic when you picked him up and told him you’d be going to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. You explained he’d be meeting a friend of moms, keeping it vague, but it seemed very much uninterested in that aspect as the idea of the arcade filled his adorable little head. You kept it simple, a nice romper that would be acceptable to play in but looked cute on you, at least you thought so. You didn’t give your apartment number, for safety reasons but also you were a bit embarrassed at your small studio. You hoped soon to get a one bedroom with this nice new job, but wanted to have a good savings in case of emergencies. Jonah was small enough now that it was okay, it was working, but you wanted him to have some space of his own in a few years. Still, you did the best you could.

Will was waiting outside the apartment complex door, his eyes lighting up when he saw you.

“Hi. You look great.” He said with a genuine smile that you returned. Will wore a blue shirt and black pants, fitting the casual but pleasant outfit you had gone for, the blue bringing out his eyes. You were disappointed he didn't greet you with a kiss on the cheek or a hug, but he seemed nervous, so you didn’t think much of it at first. Will bent down, crouching to get to Jonah’s level. “Hey little guy, you must be Jonah.”

“Yeah, I’m this many” He held up four fingers. 

You held up all five “Honey, you’re this many”

“Oh” he giggled. “Yeah” He was embarrassed to have gotten his age wrong. “Sowwy”

You turn to Will, about to explain that Jonah just had a birthday, but Will was way ahead of you. 

“That’s okay, you had a birthday week, right? Mine was last month too and I still forget.”

Not only was he good with Jonah, but he even remembered his birthday. You began to let yourself get more and more attached to William Miller.

It was fun to see Will let loose. Not that he was tightly wound at work by any means, but he was professional. This was a side of him you could easily fall in love with.

You had tried to pay for the tokens for the arcade games, insisting that Will could pay for the food like he would for a normal date, and you’d cover the part for your son, but he wouldn’t let you. It wasn’t in a ‘I have more money than you’ way, but in a way that was just the kindness of his big, soft heart. And he got along great with Jonah, that was clear, and something very important to you. He asked you before picking Jonah up and putting him on a ride when Jonah begged him for help, gave him high fives and encouraged him when he didn’t get something on a game. He was everything you could ask for. He must've been a good big brother, you just knew it.

You and him were already past the small talk point, so there was no ‘tell me about yourself’, but conversation flowed easily, with you laughing and giggling along to his stories of his brother, remarking that Jonah reminded him a lot of when Ben was little. Still, he didn’t kiss you, was hesitant to touch you, and you began to worry that maybe he didn’t enjoy your company outside of work as much as maybe he thought he would. Still, it was a fun evening and you loved spending time with Will.

When the pizza came, Will noticed they forgot to bring the breadsticks. “I’ll go grab them, be right back.”

“Thank you” You smiled at him, and pulled out the wipes for Jonah’s hands and cleaned him off front he germs before turning to the table to plate up pizza for everyone. 

When you turn back, Jonah was gone. You tried not to panic. “Jonah?” You couldn’t see him anywhere. “Jonah!” Now you’re shouting, and in a flash Will is by your side, settling the garlic bread down. 

You don’t even have to explain what happened when he has a plan. “I’ll check the front, he can’t leave without one of us so he’s in here. I’ll talk to the employees, you just start searching, he’ll come to your voice easier than mine.”

You’re tearing up, looking around for your baby, trying too hard not to go into a pancik. “I swear, I turned around for just a second, and, and, and he-he”

Will grabbed you shoulders, forcing you to look up at him. He was calm, assured, clear headed in an emergency and that transferred to you. “I know, it’s gonna be okay, just go look for him and I’ll start getting a parameter.” Military man indeed. 

You nod, trusting Will to make things right, help you find him. You, Will and Jonah had numbers stamped onto your hand from the employee at the front, so you knew he couldn’t leave without you or Will, but you didn’t want him alone with all these strange people. You begin looking calling out to him and you could see Will talking to and directing the employees and a few concerned parents who volunteered to help, instructing them to clear different areas and guard them, slowly narrowing down a ‘parameter’ just as he said while you looked for him.

You were trying to keep calm, but 1000 worst case scenarios ran through your head. You needed to be strong for him.

You hear your name called from the indoor play structure and you look up to see Will and Jonah in a clear plastic bubble waving to you. Jonah was safe, Will found him, even going up in a play structure you knew he could barely fit in to do it. You began to cry, so fucking relieved to see your baby, and informed the worker that everything was okay. Will slid down the large slide (how he didn’t get struck, you didn’t know. The man was broad as hell.) and when he and your son popped out the other end, Jonah was apparently none the wiser of how much stress he put you through. You tearfully talk to him about not wondering off, then take him back to get food. The rest of the evening went wonderfully, and you didn’t take your eyes off Jonah the rest of the night. 

You watch Jonah dance and sing with the Chucky mascot when it came out, the ugly thing handing out tickets to the kids. You turn to Will. "Ever played 5 Nights at Freddy's?"

The giant of a man burst into boisterous laughing, the sound ringing out and filling your heart with so much joy. "I didn't wanna be the one to say it!" He heaves over from laughing so hard. "freaking fuck'n rat, used to scare the shit outta my brother as a child, I tried to fight it once because it made Ben cry"

You couldn't imagine the polite, composed man fighting a giant rat, but given how he talked about his brother, you knew he was defensive. "Oh? And what happened?"

"Turns out Chuck will put you on your ass when you kick him in the crotch."

When Will pulled into the parking lot, Jonah was fast sleep in his booster seat and you unbuckle him, turning to Will. It was the end of the date, and you knew what he might be expecting. “Listen, I had a wonderful time, and I’d like to go out again, but I can’t… I can’t exactly invite you to stay over.”

Will was quick to assure you he had no expectations, but you continue to clarify; you didn't want him to think you didn't want him. “It’s embarrassing, but we live in a studio apartment right now.”

“A studio isn’t embarrassing, trust me, I’ve slept in some interesting places and I don’t expect anything on the first date. And I especially wouldn’t expect a mom to invite me to stay the night where her kid lives this early on.”

You, however, weren’t ready for the evening to end. It was still early. “Listen, Jonah is out cold” After running around all day and eating a ton of pizza, he was in a food coma. “I have a balcony. I would love it if you came up and had a drink.”

Will lit up, teeth showing just a bit as he smiled. “I’d love to, if you’re comfortable.”

Will helped hold Jonah while you attempted to brush his little teeth and politely excused himself to the balcony while you changed him into his pj’s. Will didn’t seem put off at all by the Baby Yoda toddler bed between your twin mattress and the small kitchen table.

When you came outside, Will was sitting on one of the cheap lawn chairs. You brought out a throw blanket and two mugs of hot chocolate with just a splash of Bailey’s Irish Cream and pulled the second lawn chair up next to him. Gathered under one blanket, you were thrilled to spend some alone time. You adored your son, and you adored how Will wanted to all be together, but it was nice to be with Will away from work, just you and him. 

“Can I hold your hand?” Will asks sweetly, his soft, bearded face welcoming you in. 

Like a silly teenager, you blush at the innocence. “Yeah” He takes your hand and you feel so connected, so safe, so secure in his firm but comforting grip. “I was wondering when you’d make a move.” You gently tease, and you see Will blush as he smiles and glances away. “For the record, I wanted to make a move earlier, but I didn’t know what was appropriate with Jonah around. Didn’t wanna confuse him or noth’n.”

The way he always thought about you and Jonah first… it never failed to make your heart sore.

You rest your head on Will’s shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around you, making you feel more warm than the blanket ever could.

“Thank you for today, William.” You whisper.

“I had a great time, honey. I hope I can take you out again sometime.”

“I’d love that.” You look up at him, the moonlight illuminating his skin oh-so beautifully. “And thank you for going into action so fast when Jonah was missing.”

“Of course. Jonah is important to you, so he’s important to me. Plus, any kid that goes missing needs immediate action.”

That’s what you loved about Will. He didn’t just do it because it was Jonah, you know damn well he’d do the same for a stranger’s kid if needed. 

“How come you wanted to go out with Jonah too? I’ve never had a guy do that after a few dates, nonetheless the first one.”

He held you closer. “Well, I don’t wanna be presumptuous, but I don’t date casually, and it seems you don’t either… if we are gonna be together long term or even…” he trailed off, but you knew what he was about to say. “Well, I’d wanna be a family. Not that I’m tryna replace his dad!” Will quickly adds.

“Jonah’s dad isn't allowed near him.” You say. When Will doesn’t respond, merely nods, you knew he was keeping the conversation to talk more if you wanted to, so you continued. “He was an asshole. Roughed me up a bit.” A bit was putting nicely, but it was a bit early for pouring your heart out.

You could feel his grip tighten ever so slightly on your shoulder as he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry”

“It’s okay” You said softly. It’d been a few years since you’d left. “I put up with a lot, but when he hit Jonah, that was it. I left right after that, spent a few months in a shelter, now we're here.”

“Bastard.” He mumbled under his breath, and you knew his anger for you and your boy was genuine. 

“I have a restraining order against him, so he’s not in the picture. I wish Jonah had his dad, but I won’t let him get hurt again.”

“I know, you’re a good mom.” Will assures you, “He’s a happy kid.”

You can’t help but smile at that. “I wish I could give him more… but I’m trying.”

“Hey now” his voice was soft and comforting, his hand gently, so gently guiding you to look at him. “He’s happy, he’s got food, a bed, lots of toys and I saw the worksheets you got laid out, I know you’re working hard on his learn’n. He’s a good kid, says please and thank you, you've given him a good life, princess.” 

“Thank you, Will. I appreciate that. Are you doing anything Sunday morning? I’d love to cook you lunch.” 

When Will left that evening, he waited at your doorway, holding both hands, looking nervous again. “I’d like to kiss you, if that’s okay.”

They he always asked you, leaving so much room to say no. When he asked you on the date in the first place he was adamant about making sure you felt no obligation even though he was technically your superior, to something as innocent and pure as hold your hand… you knew he was different from Jonah’s dad, he was so, so much better. Was it possible to fall in love this fast?

Still holding his hand, as he nervously looked down at you awaiting an answer, you went up on you tippy toes, planting a loving, chaste kiss on his pink lips. He kissed you back, lips moving against yours before he pulled away. “I’ll see you both Sunday?” 

Both.

“Yeah, Sunday” You hugged him goodbye, resting your head on Will’s firm, strong chest. You didn’t want him to leave, but you knew now was not the time for him to stay over. You’d move slowly, you and Will, going at a pace comfortable for both of you until you were ready. Something felt right, so damn right about him.

Yeah, you’d take things slowly, but something in your gut told you… Will would be a part of your little family.

********************

This got me pretty good ngl ;-; my baby fever is so high these days lolololol

If you'd like to see a part two, lmk! I'm happy to write more drabbles with this. Not like, a series bc I don't have a full story plan but a few one shots.

I love Will so much and it makes me sad he doesn't get much attention in this fandom :(

(Dolli that princess was especially for you. I feel like Will is a 'princess' kinda man, but wouldn't use it right away. but when he felt comfortable enough....)

also funfact i usd to work at chuck e. cheese and yes i was the giant rat. Yes I have gotten tackled to the floor and yes i did want to punt some kids but didnt. flipped off some teenagers though.

tagging a few people who might be interested/expressed interest in the discord server.

@missdictatorme @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @campingwiththecharmings @ahookedheroespureheart @jake-g-lockley @littlenosoul @welcometostayingawake @miraclesabound

[atinycafe]

LIME SORBET — ch 01 [jetlag]

PROMPT; reader finally comes back to s. korea as she finished her training in los angeles, ready to debut as a solo artist under kq ent! exciting right? well her sunbaes seem to like that idea too.

FEAT; alpha!ateez x omega!idol!reader, platonic!beta!maddox x reader (joong + san + woo focus)

IN THIS CHAPTER; reader just lands in s. korea and maddox is here to drive her home, but who are those men next to him?

WRD COUNT; 2.7k

NOTES; this takes place during the inception era, so joong has blue hair yas!! + it's so sweeeeet, the boys r like so quick 2 b attracted 2 her it's crazy + reader is oblivious so it's a slay, make the boys work 4 ur lov!! + soulmates r mentionned + kyungmoon is maddox korean name btw

TAGLIST; no one yet! lmk if you want 2 b added!

She cracked her neck as she descended from her flight, a mix of exhaustion and excitement coursing through her veins. This moment marked a new chapter, creating a tale of unforeseen beginnings in the young omega's life. The long journey from LA to Seoul had left her weary, but the anticipation of commencing her new career kept her spirits high.

Stepping into the bustling airport, she inhaled the unfamiliar scents and absorbed the vibrant energy surrounding her. The girl's eyes darted around, searching for her dear friend Kyungmoon amid the sea of faces. Her heart fluttered with impatience as minutes turned into what felt like hours. Uncertainty gnawed at her, turning her usual sweet citrusy scent bitter, but she remained optimistic, trusting that her friend would show up soon. Oblivious to the fact that the beta had brought along some of his alpha companions, she stood there, a vision of beauty in her own right, radiating an air of independence and grace.

As she waited, the omega's thoughts drifted to the adventures that awaited her in Seoul. She envisioned exploring the bustling city streets, indulging in delectable Korean cuisine, and immersing herself in the rich culture once again. She truly had missed her country. Her eyes sparkled with a sense of wanderlust as she remembered her peripeteias that lead her to where she was. She had finally finished her trainee period after two long years in dance studios, vocal classes and many other categories. She was ready to start her career. She deserved it after all the hard work, her efforts and labor standing as undeniable testament to her dedication and perseverance.

Though weariness tugged persistently at her spirit, the omega's appearance remained steadfastly impeccable. Cascading in resplendent disarray, her tousled hair wove loose waves down her shoulders, adorning her delicate features like tendrils of moonlight. Draped in a long bodycon dress, its fabric sculpting her figure with grace, she defied the constraints of fatigue, radiating an air of confidence and allure. A subtle contradiction played out in her fashion choice, for atop her form-fitting attire, she had donned a baggy jacket, its oversized silhouette serving as a symbol of comfort and nonchalant elegance. Amidst this unique combination of clothing, she exuded an irresistible charm that commanded attention, captivating the gazes and stirring admiration among those fortunate enough to lay their eyes upon her. People couldn't help but be drawn to her presence, both because of her striking beauty and the rarity of her being an omega, a presence often regarded with fascination and reverence.

Moreover, it was not only her visual allure that captured the fascination of those around her, but also the enchanting scent that accompanied her presence. A subtle yet distinct aroma, reminiscent of sweet limes and fresh blossoms, wafted delicately through the air, leaving a trail of intrigue in its wake. It was as if her very essence, an olfactory symphony of citrusy notes, beckoned passersby to linger a moment longer, their senses entangled in the intoxicating allure. Strangers found themselves inexplicably drawn to her, compelled to bask in the delightful fragrance that emanated from her being, an ethereal fragrance that added an enchanting layer to her already mesmerizing aura.

With an impatient sigh, the omega decided it was time to venture beyond the confines of the bustling airport and seek out her cherished friend Maddox. As she stepped outside, her gaze scanned the area, searching eagerly for his familiar face amidst the crowd of unfamiliar faces.

And then, there he was, standing a short distance away, looking as anxious and excited as she felt. In that moment, time seemed to stand still.

Without a second thought, she broke into a sprint, her fatigue momentarily forgotten as she closed the distance between them. The world blurred around her as she ran towards Kyungmoon, her heart pounding in her chest. And then, as they finally met, she flung her arms around him, enveloping him in a tight embrace, two years' worth of separation melting away in an instant. Their reunion was a testament to the unbreakable bond they shared, a bond that had weathered the test of time and distance.

[flashback] As the grueling session of vocal lessons came to an end, Maddox and the omega sought refuge in the comfort of the practice room, their laughter echoing through the air. They had formed a unique bond, a sibling-like connection that went beyond mere friendship. Leaning against the wall, their tired expressions softened into smiles as they exchanged stories and shared the challenges and triumphs of their day. Their conversation flowed effortlessly, a testament to the ease and comfort they found in each other's presence. Maddox affectionately nudged the omega's shoulder, his eyes sparkling with pride. "You were really good today!" he exclaimed, his voice brimming with genuine admiration. "Your voice soared to new heights, you just might be a new rival to Jongho." Jongho. The maknae of the rookie group ATEEZ, who had just debuted as she got accepted in the KQent. Blushing, the omega grinned, appreciating Maddox's unwavering support. "Stooop," she whined, her voice brimming with heartfelt appreciation. "I could never, did you hear him, I think his voice goes higher than mine. And he's an alpha!" she laughed out loud. In the warmth of their bond, there was an unspoken understanding. They were there for each other, offering guidance and encouragement through thick and thin. Their connection was like a secret language, understood only by them. In that precious moment, their laughter mixed with the profound harmony of their connection, creating a sanctuary of unwavering support and affection. Their bond, nurtured through their unspoken understanding, would guide them as they embarked on their respective journeys, with Maddox serving as a mentor who inspired the omega to reach for the stars. [end of flashback]

Lost in their joyous embrace, the omega remained oblivious to the presence of the alphas behind Maddox. Their eyes, however, were fixed upon her, captivated by the intensity of the moment. The alphas observed the way she clung to Maddox, the genuine affection evident in her embrace. They couldn't help but be drawn to her, not just because of her pretty eyes, pretty smile, cute nose, rosy cheeks, sweet scent (okay, maybe because she was super cute) but also because her pure and unguarded emotions seemed to shimmer like a beacon in the surrounding chaos.

For a fleeting moment, the alphas exchanged glances, silently acknowledging the undeniable connection that had formed between them and the enchanting omega. Their curiosity stirred, they watched as the omega finally pulled away from Maddox, her eyes shining with unbridled happiness. It was a scene they couldn't tear their gazes away from, as if destiny itself had orchestrated their convergence in that very moment.

As the omega and Maddox finally reunited, their excitement bubbled over, and they couldn't contain their joy. Squealing with delight, they spoke in rapid succession, their words overlapping in a familiar language only they could understand. Their conversation was a whirlwind of inside jokes, memories, and declarations of how much they had missed each other.

Meanwhile, the alphas observed this lively exchange, their thoughts intertwining in a silent symphony. Their telepathic dialogue unfolded, each alpha offering their own perspective on the omega's magnetic presence and her undeniable connection with Maddox.

"Look at her," the shortest alpha with blue hair mused, his thoughts colored with admiration for the omega's vibrant energy.

"They seem close," another alpha with soft dimples chimed in, his inner voice tinged with slight envy and covetousness. Despite him only thinking it, he couldn't help the subtle pout forming on his pink lips

The third alpha, faintly tanned and with moles adorning his face, joined the conversation, his thoughts filled with playful mischief. "Sanni~ slow down, you're going from zero to 'head over heels' in record time" he mused, unable to resist a lighthearted teasing.

At the comment 'Sanni' rolled his eyes and nudged his friend with his elbow, "Wooyoung, why are you acting like I literally can't hear your thoughts," he retorted. The blue haired man let out a "Gotcha!" at the back of their minds, still not leaving the sweet girl out of his eyes.

"Yah! Hongjoong!" Wooyoung let out a scream, wide eyes on his leader as he faked a jab to his shoulder. At the scream, both Maddox and the young girl turn to look at them.

"Are you crazy? Why are you screaming my name like that in the middle of the airport, what if people recognize us?" Hongjoong actually turned to punch him in the side of his chest, making the boy crouch down dramatically, letting a small "Leader whyyy". She giggles.

The girl's melodious laughter caught the attention of all three alphas, their thoughts momentarily distracted from their playful banter. All captivated by the sound that seemed to weave its way into their very souls.

They couldn't help but be enchanted by the girl's laughter. It danced in their ears, like a sweet melody that stirred something deep within them. Wooyoung's mischievous nature momentarily forgotten, he found himself drawn to the sound, eager to be the one to elicit such joyous expressions.

San, the alpha with dimples, also couldn't resist the infectious nature of her laughter. His negligible jealousy momentarily subsided as he found himself captivated by the genuine happiness radiating from her. He couldn't help but wonder if he could be the one to bring forth that laughter, to witness it blossom like a delicate flower under his playful antics.

Hongjoong observed the interaction between the girl and his pack brothers, a spark of curiosity flickering in his eyes. Her laughter had reached his ears, echoing like a symphony in the vastness of his mind. Being the astute and perceptive leader of the pack, he observed his fellow members, as they surreptitiously stole glances at the captivating omega. He could sense the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions stirring within them, their minds ablaze with curiosity and desire. Though they had tried to mask their reactions, Hongjoong, with his keen senses, easily picked up on their telltale signs.

Inwardly, he made a mental note to have a conversation with his pack members about the growing attraction they felt towards the omega.

Yes, she was cute.

Yes, she was lovely.

Yes, she was to die for.

But as the leader of his pack, it was his responsibility to ensure a harmonious and respectful dynamic within the pack. He understood the tumultuous nature of desires, especially when it concerned an omega as enchanting as the one before them. It was essential to address their feelings and establish clear boundaries to maintain a healthy pack environment.

As Maddox and the girl turned their attention towards them, the alphas quickly regained their composure, their expressions shifting to a mixture of nonchalance and amusement. San straightened up, flashing a charming smile, while Hongjoong offered a nod of acknowledgment. Wooyoung, on the other hand, had a mischievous glint in his eyes, a playful smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

Caught off guard by their sudden interaction, the girl's eyes widened in surprise, her laughter faded into a shy smile. The alphas exchanged a brief moment of silent telepathy, their thoughts entwined like a delicate dance. There was a palpable tension in the air, a recognition of the magnetism that seemed to draw them together.

For pete's sake! Have they never met an omega before? Well, they sure are acting like it. Hongjoong pondered the question that lingered in his mind: What was it about this particular omega that had stirred such unprecedented reactions among his pack members — not wanting to admit it but him too? As he considered the extraordinary reactions of his pack brothers towards the omega, a realization dawned upon him. The intensity of their responses, the unspoken connection they felt with her, and the sheer magnetism she exuded— all pointed towards one possibility: she might be their mate.

The concept of a mate held deep significance within their society. It represented a soulful connection, a bond that transcended mere friendship or attraction. A mate was someone who completed and complemented them, a partner with whom they could forge an unbreakable union.

The discovery of mates was a rare and treasured occurrence. It was a phenomenon that went beyond the realm of simple probability and statistics. Finding a mate was not an everyday experience; it was a rare alignment of fate and destiny, where the threads of souls intertwined in a way that defied logic and explanation. The process of recognizing a mate required a profound connection, a resonance that transcended superficial attraction and ran deeper than physical or emotional compatibility.

As the notion of the omega potentially being his mate settled in Hongjoong's mind, a sense of giddiness and excitement surged within him. It was as if a surge of euphoria coursed through his veins, heightening his senses and setting his heart aflutter. The mere thought of sharing a deep, intimate bond with someone so captivating and beautiful was both exhilarating and humbling.

In the depth of his admiration for her, Hongjoong found himself captivated by her every feature. From her pretty eyes that sparkled with joy and curiosity, to her sweet smile that could light up a room. Every aspect of her appearance seemed to align perfectly with his own preferences and desires, making him feel as if she were custom-made to captivate his hear—

"-oong"

"Hongjoong"

"Hongjoong! Help us carry this!"

Startled out of his reverie, Hongjoong blinked rapidly as Maddox's words registered in his mind. He quickly snapped back to reality, realizing that he had momentarily drifted off into his own thoughts, consumed by the sweet girl.

Shaking off the lingering daze, Hongjoong flashed a sheepish smile at Maddox, his eyes filled with a mixture of excitement and distraction. "Sorry, lost in my own world for a moment there," he chuckled, his voice betraying the remnants of his giddy state.

Without further delay, Hongjoong sprang into action, his focus shifting from his inner musings to the immediate task at hand. He joined the boys in attending to the luggage, the weight of his thoughts momentarily set aside as he dedicated himself to practical matters.

"Oh let me help"

As the words left the omega's lips, a collective chorus of panicked voices erupted from the alphas. "No!" they exclaimed in unison, their expressions a mix of alarm and concern. Startled by their sudden outburst, the omega blinked in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing. Even Kyungmoon cast odd glances at them from the background.

Before she could utter a word, however, the alphas quickly composed themselves, their sheepish expressions replacing the initial panic. They exchanged glances, silently communicating their shared decision, and then turned to face the omega with reassuring smiles.

"Actually, it's fine," Maddox spoke up, his voice calm but tinged with a hint of amusement, seemingly aware of why the alphas were acting in a such peculiar way. Well, she was a pretty girl, and they sure have been working hard on their comeback, not really having the time for contact with the opposite gender. "The car is just right around the corner. We've got it under control, don't worry."

Hongjoong nodded in agreement, a gentle smile playing on his lips. "We appreciate your offer, but we've got everything covered. Just leave the heavy lifting to us," he said, his tone warm and reassuring.

Wooyoung and San chimed in, their voices filled with genuine appreciation. "You've already traveled a long way. We don't want you to tire yourself out even more," Wooyoung explained, his eyes filled with concern.

San nodded in agreement, his voice soft and earnest. "Maddox brought us here to help you. Let us handle the logistics while you relax and enjoy the moment." He softly pats the omega's head, his other hand lifting the heavy luggage, making his bicep bulge.

The omega's confusion gradually transformed into a smile, touched by their thoughtfulness and protective nature. "Alright," she relented, her voice filled with gratitude. "Thank you, guys."

With that, the group began to make their way towards the car, the alphas leading the way while Maddox walked alongside the omega, offering light conversation. As they approached the waiting vehicle, Hongjoong couldn't help but steal glances at the omega, his gaze filled with a newfound appreciation. The anticipation of what their connection could mean lingered in the back of his mind, fueling his determination to be present and supportive during this pivotal time as trivial as it may be. He knew there would be opportunities to explore the depth of their bond, but for now, he would channel his excitement into being reliable, puffing his chest and all. Ah alphas and their ego~

[next]

[its-dean]

I’ve been posting on other online platforms about Fossil Fighters for a long time now, and most who are familiar with what I share know that a lot of my content has a heavy focus on original vivosaur ideas. With these vivosaurs I come up with, as well as the stats I create to go with them, I notice that there are often people questioning whether what I come up with would be balanced or not from a gameplay standpoint.

As I’ve gone on with developing this unique vision for my vivosaurs, I’ve also slowly refined my idea of Fossil Battles entirely. All of us are aware that both the original Fossil Fighters and Fossil Fighters Champions don’t have the best balancing in the world. There are certain cast members and even a few core game mechanics that allow so many otherwise memorable characters to fall to the wayside, and with the stats I was coming up with I was only further encouraging that type of hostile environment. The more I worried about whether something I was coming up with would feel realistic or balanced the more I considered the fact that the formula itself may have been broken in the first place.

There have been others in the community that have projected their own ideas of how to change things up regarding gameplay, things like adding new elements or even having customizable skills. Because the series felt like it had ended so suddenly there's become so much to dream for in a potential sequel. These are the people that inspired me to attempt something similar myself back when I was making my vivosaur last year. It inspired me to take a step back with my thinking and ultimately led to me creating a total re-imagining of the classic battle system we all know and love. 

That's the thing, the games may not be perfectly balanced, but I always find how these games work to be something that's just inherently fun in a very unique way. Above everything else, with this project I wanted the new system I was creating to still have the "feel" of having a good old-fashioned Fossil Battle. These games have incredible potential for an interesting competitive landscape, just if only some of those unbalanced mechanics were to be adjusted. This is what I strive to achieve the most with my ideas: an environment where every vivosaur has something practical to them, a format where you CAN win using your favorite vivosaurs. The only thing that should stop you is how well thought-out and unique of a strategy you can come up with.

Fossil Fighters Odyssey is a personal project of mine that I've technically been working on for over half a decade now. Still, I think it's most important to stress the fact that everything I come up with and will be talking about in this post is for fun. This shouldn't explicitly be seen as a vehicle for a potential fan game, I make these things for my own enjoyment and have no plans or obligations to turn any of these ideas into tangible content in the future. We all can pretty unanimously agree that it’s fun to dream about a theoretical continuation of this franchise, especially because of how it felt like it came to such an abrupt halt in a way none of us were really ready for. This project is simply meant to represent the changes I'd most want to see if that were to ever somehow happen, and that vision of mine simply might not appeal to your individual preferences.

But now moving to the fun stuff itself. I strive to be as in-depth as possible when taking into account how I would rework the gameplay, taking a comprehensive look at the entire series. To keep things feeling familiar while also feeling like an "evolution" of sorts, I found it most compelling to try and utilize standout mechanics from all three of the previous games. Yes, that includes Frontier because, while I can't defend its battle system as a whole, I do think there are some features it introduced that can really enhance potential team building and strategy (mainly referring to the boost system it uses).

Since there are far too many changes to cover in a text post, I created a PowerPoint to explain everything in a more presentable and organized way. The link to it can be found directly below this paragraph, with the presentation being separated in order of different areas of discussion, from how vivosaurs have changed to the differences in the battle system to new and altered abilities and so much more! Plus, attached to this post are the stat sheets for every single vivosaur, #1-300. My own vivosaurs as well as the 10 unique vivosaurs from Frontier are included in the lineup, and all the vivosaurs you're already familiar with have received numerous changes and enhancements to their skill sets so that they can thrive in this new Fossil Battling format.

Link to the PowerPoint (in case the picture quality is too poor to be able to read on this website)

FFO Mechanics.pptx

Link to all 300 vivosaurs and their stat sheets:

FFO All Vivosaurs.pptx

(Disclaimer: not all of the vivosaurs have artwork to correspond with their dino medals, but those will be hopefully trickling out down the line in the future.)

To round things out, I definitely want to thank the people that have already been supporting me and the things I create these past few years elsewhere. Without the level of the recognition and approval I see from the people who always respond to what I make, I definitely never would've come this far with developing my ideas. You guys are the ones who've been enjoying these things, from vivosaurs to characters to the overarching story I hope to one day be able to share with you all. I owe it to you for allowing myself to become as invested in my favorite series as I now am. And hey, depending on how people react to what I have here I may make another post outlining the more creative story and character elements I have in mind… 

Thank you to everyone who's been there for all this time, as well as anyone willing to read through everything I've been able to put together here, this project never could've been completed without you all for me to share it with.