#when i figure out how to rotate text!! it will be better

[qserasera]

'they say there is another, with whom the Conquering King shares his crown' || yjh/kdj absolute throne au

{ with fic here; original post here }

[jensthwa]

show & tell (SMG x reader).

part of the love's an uncharted path universe ★.

SUMMARY:

You have known Mingi since you both were fourteen. You’ve been by his side through thick and thin and you would do anything for him, really, considering he’s your other half. When he has an unfortunate bed experience and asks for your help and you say yes, he starts considering that, maybe, you’re just the best friend a guy like him can have.

PAIRING: best friend!mingi x afab reader.

GENRE: childhood best friends to ?

WORD COUNT: 8k.

WARNINGS: SMUT ☽ (MINORS DNI) attempt !!! at comedy, wooyoung being a little shit, hwa being the voice of reason, sex talk, pet names (love and also dude and bro but in a sweet way), mingi scaring the sense out of you, descriptions of female anatomy, kissing, dirty talk (sort of), teasing, a little bit of voyeurism, fingering, squirting, almost getting caught, unresolved feelings.

NOTES: had to do a lot of research for this one, so i figured nothing better to post as my first fic here! this is 100% self indulgent, as all fics should be, and i think i've re-read it so many times that if you find a typo or something that just doesn't make sense, you can blame it on english not being my first language i guess lmao. i hope you enjoy it and if you do feel free to send to my askbox/reblog/type in any feedback or thoughts! <3

POSTED: july 18th 2024.

masterlist. / part two.

“Delete her number right now!” 

“She's such a bitch for saying that to you…” 

“And over text too? Wow.” 

“Yeah, no, I didn't like her from the start.” 

Wooyoung’s living room comes to life once again that morning, voices echoing and insults flying out, all towards the girl Mingi’s seeing. 

Was seeing. You're sure she's out of his usual rotation with the lovely shit show she just caused. 

You stay silent, your eyes fixed on your best friend's expression, on his red cheeks and apologetic eyes because everyone told him that girl was bad news. 

He should've listened to you when you told him you liked her friend better. She was a sweet girl, clearly had a thing for Mingi. 

Unfortunately, Mingi has a type. And that type always ends up breaking his spirit one way or another. 

But you stay silent, letting your friends have their little rants about how much of a bitch she is for hurting Mingi's ego like that, until he covers up his face with his hands and lets out a frustrated whine. 

“That's enough, everyone. I think he got it.” You smile a little and everyone turns to you, Yunho’s chest heaving and everything but Seonghwa (who also kept his mouth shut all this time) interferes before anyone else has the chance to start again.

“You know you shouldn't feel ashamed for that, right?” he asks Mingi, who slowly lowers his hands to his lap and looks at you for a brief second. You nod, confirming what Hwa says “No one is born knowing everything and she shouldn't expect you to know how to make a girl squirt.” 

“Jesus Christ,” Mingi whines again, closing his eyes “Don't say it like that.” 

“How else should I say it?” Seonghwa is confused but he laughs a little bit and turns to you. 

Being the only girl in the room, you think everyone it's expecting you to pick your friend up and join them in their insults but you can't (for Mingi’s sake). Instead, you let out a sigh “I mean, it's hard to even make it happen on your own without any help, Mingi. I don't know what the fuck she's on but…” shrugging, you extend your arm to pat him in the shoulder two times “Hwa’s right.” 

“So you do know?” 

“Woo—” Hongjoong reprimands right away and you turn to Wooyoung, confused.

“Huh?” 

“You said that it's hard making it happen,” he explains, smiling because he just found a new target for the next few days “So you must know.” 

Talking about sex with them was never difficult, it didn't make you uncomfortable whatsoever but you know what Woo is doing. 

You look down at Mingi before answering though and his eyes are glued to the carpet, begging for the topic of his unfortunate encounter with that bitch to die on everyone's tongue. 

So you take mercy on him. 

“Oh. I mean… Yeah.” You shrug once again, leaning back against the cushions on the couch while Wooyoung claps like he just heard the most hilarious joke ever. 

“You truly are amazing.” 

Rolling your eyes, you get up from your comfy seat “Sure. But it took a lot of practice and the whole ordeal was frustrating for me, so, again, I don't know what the fuck she was on,” you say again, smiling down at Mingi before taking a few steps towards the door “It's noon already, by the way.” 

“Shit.” Woo gets up quickly from his spot on the floor and everyone else follows suit. 

“Alright, everyone out! We have a midterm to cheat on.” San calls out and everyone takes it as their sign to actually leave (not just hang around the apartment) and continue with their days. 

This reunion was a little impromptu, just because Wooyoung texted everyone begging to come over and hang out with him and San before their online philosophy midterm. 

“And by that he means that you need to stay,” Wooyoung hugs Seonghwa hard, almost begging him with his eyes “We didn't study… Don't look at me like that! Please?” 

“I'm not doing your fucking midterm for you!”

You chuckle, leaning on the door and waiting for your ride home to get his shoes on. When you look down at him again, Mingi mouths a thank you and you blow him a kiss. 

When you get downstairs, you swear you still hear Wooyoung begging his senior to take the test for him. 

Everyone is quiet in the car. You can tell they're tired from exams and life in general, so you don't press them with questions and just let the music play in the background while you look out the passenger window and, eventually, at Mingi. 

His grip on the steering wheel lets you know he's a little more affected than he let on back there. But, again, you say nothing. 

You know better than to pressure him into telling you his feelings. 

Mingi and you have been friends forever. He lived a few houses down from yours, becoming your first friend when you moved to the city. You both were fourteen when it happened, so you've known him long enough to know what happens when he gets his heart broken. 

Not that Mingi loved that girl or anything, but he never really took embarrassment well. He didn't when the first girl he liked rejected him in front of the whole ninth grade class and he didn't when his pants ripped in the middle of the stage while performing a routine with his dance team on senior year. 

You stood by his side every single time and every single time he waited to sit down and let everything out, collect his feelings and talk to you through his frustrations. You really loved that about him, because he never said anything he regretted just because he was upset at the moment. 

Maybe that's why you two have been friends for so long. Opposites attract, or whatever your mother told you one time. 

In reality, you think it's because you two complement each other well. 

He knows when to speak his mind and you're kind of impulsive, heart on your sleeve and sharp tongue ready to defend your and your loved ones honor if needed. 

That's why it takes a lot of strength for you to not pull up that girl's number from his phone and give her a piece of your mind. 

One by one, you drop your friends off in different parts of the city and when it's time to go into your own house, you circle the car and Mingi rolls his window down.

He reads the look you give him a little too well, so he opens his mouth to stop you but you shake your head. 

“Call me, come over or just let me know if you need anything,” you start before he says anything “If you need me to beat her up, I can do that too.” 

He huffs out a laugh “You don't even know how to fight, love.”

You sigh at the nickname, he's been using it since the time you told him you had a crush on his friend, way bsck in highschool, and that you were positive you were going to get together and he would csll you love because that's what good boyfriend's do. 

Turns out, you weren't exactly his friends type. Neither were the other girls in your school. 

“I don't give a shit, I'll do it,” You two smile to each other fondly for a few seconds and then you tap the top of the car “Thanks for the ride, dude.” 

“You’re welcome, bro.” He rolls his eyes, annoyed because he hates when you call him that, but waits for you to get inside either way. 

And in the solitude of your room, you wait. 

You distract yourself with papers that are due in a few days, you start studying for your finals even though they're months away and you even go downstairs to say goodbye to your parents when they leave for a fancy dinner with their colleagues before you hear your phone ring. 

Mingi's FaceTime comes right on time, because you were getting really anxious from the radio silence on his end. 

“I have a small query for you.” He puts on an accent that makes you grimace immediately and he laughs at you. 

“Ew. Never do that ever again,” you beg, going back upstairs to your room “Go ahead.” 

“How do you do it?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“How the fuck do you make yourself squirt, love?” 

Oh. 

Definitely not the conversation you were hoping to have with him. 

It caughts off guard and you stammer your response “Um… You— I mean, it's not really a thing I can explain.” 

“You have such a way with words, though.” 

You stare at him through the screen, annoyed, and he just laughs again “Don't make me come over and beat you up.” 

“Alright, alright,” his giggling dies out and you distract yourself from the heat you feel creeping over your cheeks while putting away your statistics prep for the quiz you have next week. There's a bit of silence and then you hear him sigh “I do really want to know, though.” 

“If you're asking me this to then go over to her house and prove her wrong, I'm not telling you shit.” 

“No! No, that's not it at all,” he defends himself quickly when you turn your head to the camera, scowl in your face “When she asked me to do it, I really did try to make her, you know…” 

“You said squirt so freely a minute ago, Mingi,” you tease, smiling, but at his expression, you give in “What exactly did you do?” 

“I tried to, you know, do it like they do it in the movies,” he demonstrates his point with his free hand, his middle and ring finger down on his sheets, pressing and moving side to side “And she was enjoying it and she came, but nothing really… came out.” 

“Wow, first of all: you make her come and she has the nerve to give you shit over text? I hate her,” you shake your head, disappointment written all over your face “and second of all, that was a terrible mistake.” 

“What? Going like this?” He does it again and you roll your eyes, laughing a second later. 

“No, dude, trying to porno your way into making her squirt.” 

“Oh.” His movements on the sheets slow down and you grimace again. 

“Please stop doing that,” you beg and he snaps out of his thoughts to look at you through the screen. You take your phone and move to the bed, resting your head against the pillows with a huff. 

You ponder for a moment. You're sure telling him what he wants to hear it's not really a threat to your friendship, but it's also something that's very personal and intimate. You can talk about sex with Mingi and the other guys, sure, what doesn't mean you tell them about your sex life. 

Maybe that's why Wooyoung was so excited earlier today, because you spilled something that involves you directly and not something vague and general like you usually do. 

“Would it give you peace of mind if I explained it to you?” You ask, your voice barely a whisper as you sit straight on the bed. 

Your best friend takes what feels like a lifetime to respond and, when does, it's in a hushed tone as well “Please.” 

You groan and you comply either way, trying to find the right words to even start “Okay, I'm going to be very technical about this.” 

“I wouldn't expect anything else from you.” 

His teasing tone makes you glare at him for a few seconds before dismissing it with a click of your tongue “The very first thing you need to make sure happens, is that you wash your hands—” 

“Yes, Y/N, I'm not a virgin,” he huffs this time, annoyed “I know all of that, just skip to the part where I make her squirt.” 

“Jesus, fine! I also want to clarify that this works on me and I'm not really sure if it'll work on anyone else, alright?” he nods and you look away from the screen because you're not sure how to look him in the eyes “The first thing that I do— The first thing that you need to do,” you correct yourself quickly “Is make sure she's comfortable. And I mean, the space. Towels, water bottles… She needs to hydrate a lot.” 

“Hydrate… a… lot…” You turn your head to the screen and your jaw goes slack at what you see. 

“Are you writing this down?!” 

“I’m making sure I don't forget anything!” 

“You're unbelievable…” You let out under your breath and take a deep one before resuming the, apparently, class “Squirting can be confused as peeing and—” 

“Shit, hold on.” He interrupts and you hear his mom’s voice at the door, asking him something you can't really catch through the shitty airpod audio “It's just Y/N… I'm not really saying anything so I don't understand how I'm being too loud for— Yes ma'am.” 

You try not to laugh because he's literally being scolded right in front of you. 

Old habits die hard, and Mingi's mom loves to put him on the spot. 

Your laugh dies hard as well, because the next words, for some reason, make your heart drop to your ass. 

“She's telling me to either cut it out or go to your house, so… I'm coming over.” 

“Oh, I— Hello?” Your lockscreen mocks you because the call literally ended before you could tell him to go and fuck himself “Shit.” 

You don't know why you panic, but you do. You tidy up the room, you change your pijamas into something more presentable and you try to remember what were you telling him before he pulls open your bedroom door. 

“Mingi! Fuck, you scared the shit out of me “ you're panting, hand over your chest. 

He’s also panting, like he runned to get to your house, but he looks dumbfounded by your reaction “Your mom literally gave me the spare keys in your presence.”  

When he steps closer, you notice he's wearing cologne and that his hair it's a little wet, still, so you figure he took a shower before calling you tonight. 

Which means he probably wanted to sleep everything off, like he usually does, but whatever this is made him call you. 

“Yeah! But I thought you— Nevermind.” He shrugs and gives your hair a kiss before he moves to sit at your desk, the same way he usually does when he steals your laptop and notes to complete his assignments for the few classes you share. 

God. Somehow, you wish he was doing just that so it brings back some sense of normalcy. Maybe then, your heart can calm down enough for you to understand why this specific situation has your senses going insane. 

You sit back down on your bed and try to get your heart back to its place in the meantime. 

“They're not home, right? I didn't see your dad’s car.” 

“Company dinner.” 

“Ah.” He nods and you both fall in uncomfortable silence. It shouldn't be awkward, but it kind of is, even if you laugh when he pulls out the notebook he was writing on from underneath his oversized shirt and steals a pen from your pencil case, it's still a little weird. 

You gulp. 

“So, squirting can be confused as peeing.” He recalls the last thing you said with a smile and then he turns to look at you for a second “Go on.” 

You're grateful he's taking notes all of the sudden. He's turned to you, so you have a clear view of his back and you can freely take a grounding breath before continuing “It can make you feel very uncomfortable if you think you're going to pee yourself and that's really why most women don't squirt in the first place.” 

“You sound like you're reading a text book.” He confesses with a laugh. 

“I told you, I'm being very technical about this— Besides, I did my research when I was trying to…” you gulp again “You know.” 

“You said squirt so freely a minute ago.” Mingi teases you the same way you teased him earlier and you squint your eyes in return. 

“Very funny. Anyways… Yeah, when you feel that, you usually tense up. You need to relax before even making it happen,” he nods, writing it down quickly “I also read that, depending on the person, you can confuse the liquid with, like, usual… arousal? Yeah, arousal” you sound more confident the second time you say it, unsure on how to call it because you never really explained anything related to your vagina to anyone else. 

He turns to you, confused “So… If she doesn't squirt a lot, how can I tell if she did it?” 

“I guess you'll notice it in her reaction?” You shrug and then cough a little to try and get rid of the sudden lump on your throat “I mean, it's not my case, so I wouldn't… I wouldn't know that.” 

Mingi, because -you guess- hates you, just raises a brow and looks you over one time before turning back to his notes. 

“A-anyways,” you cough again “It's all in her g-spot. It happens because it gets stimulated and that g-spot it's like…” you, once again, try to find the ideal words to explain “It's like the upper wall of the vagina? No, no, that's not right,” you see him draw a line over what he clearly wrote down on the paper and you laugh, apologetic “It's more like the, uh… Like the front wall of it.” 

“Front wall?” 

“Y-yeah?” you offer, nervous and unsure “I mean… Ugh, let me explain again. Something that you need to take into account is that you can only find it if she's really, really turned on.” 

“O… kay.” 

“Sort of like when you get hard we, uh, also get hard. Just differently,” you notice he's no longer taking notes when you turn to him again and the room is suddenly very hot. 

The AC’s on, right? 

Fuck. 

“And apparently it only really shows up when you're really aroused. The g-spot, I mean,” Quickly, you're up from your bed and walking around it, fetching your water bottle and taking a big gulp of it with your eyes closed. 

Mingi clears his throat a second later. 

“So it feels hard to the touch or…” 

“Not really, um… It kinda feels like a berry.” 

He laughs “What?” 

“Yeah, it's kind of soft but it has a texture to it too. And we, uh… have this gland that fills up with the liquid— Kind of like a prostate gland! Yeah, that's what that article said,” putting even more distance within Mingi and you, you sit back on the bed, just on the other side “If you try to do it before it fills up, you end up with nothing. That's what frustrated me the whole time I was learning how to do it.” 

“You didn't drink enough water?” 

“No, no— It fills up when you get really turned on. And when I was trying, I was trying way too hard and didn't, uh… I didn't do a lot of foreplay before trying, s-so.” You nod, finishing the explanation in a softer voice. 

Your cheeks feel hot and you swear your upper lip is sweating a bit. Why would you even say that? 

“Y-you didn't touch yourself enough or…?” 

“Exactly, I didn't, I just… Tried t-to stimulate it. Wasn't even wet enough so I used, uh, lube.” 

“Oh… Lube. Sure, okay.” He nods again, and then moves his hand over his face, looking away for a second “And then?” 

“I'm not really sure how to… Give me a second.”

What were you even telling him before exposing yourself like that? Before the tension in the room skyrocketed in a suffocating way? You're not sure. 

Oh, foreplay. Okay, what's next? 

“Fingering,” you say out loud when you remember and at the sudden word Mingi turns to you, eyes wide and you stumble over your words yet again “Y-you need to finger her to stimulate the g-spot, duh.” 

“Don't duh me, Y/N, I'm learning!” 

“Sorry!” 

“Okay! Now what do I do when… fingering.” 

That makes you frown. You're not really sure what to tell him next. So you look straight ahead and, unintentionally, move your ring and middle finger the way you do when you're touching yourself. 

In the silence of the room, you audibly hear Mingi’s breath hitching and that draws you back to reality. 

When you look at him, his eyes are solely focused on your fingers. 

“I don't really know how to explain this next part.” You sound apologetic, your lips tensing into a straight line. 

A bit passes. 

And then another one and another one where Mingi looks at you with a weird, foreign expression on his face. 

So you open your mouth to apologize to him, but he beats you to it. 

“Then show me.” 

You swear you never even heard him sound like that before. Or maybe you have, the tone of voice similar to when he just wakes up, low, grouchy, as if his throat might be dry. 

It just never affected you this way. 

“W-what?” you blink hard, a few times, trying to focus on whatever the hell is going on. 

“Show me how you do it… I-if you want to.” 

“Mingi!” 

“I just— Look, you don't have to,” he says right away “If you don't want to, you can forget I ever asked but I'm so… curious”, he says, getting up from your desk chair and planting his knee into the bed “And I'm also really butthurt over what happened. I want to learn but I don't really have anyone else to ask.” 

“What about, uh… Minseo! Yeah, what about her?” you offer quickly, also getting up. 

“San's ex?!” 

“I don't know any other woman that you also know, Mingi!” 

He gulps and breathes heavily, gathering his words, his thoughts, just like he always does and you remember: This is Mingi. Your Mingi. The Mingi you've known for years and care about more than anything. 

“I'm asking you because I trust you,” he says, looking you over once again “And because if I fail, you're not… going to make fun of me for it.”

There it is. 

You soften at that and he seems to relax at your reaction. His demeanor lets you know he's not just saying that because he wants to see you touch yourself, he's being honest. 

So you decide to be honest, as well. In a whisper, because your voice will tremble and give away how strongly you feel about his request. 

“I've never done it in front of anyone before.” 

“So no one has ever make you—” 

“No,” you confirm before he even gets it out and you sigh “I never ask for it and I haven't really… I've only slept with—” 

“Hangyeol.” He nods and scrunches his nose in disgust at the memory of your highschool boyfriend. They never really got along and it was a shame, because Han was a great guy, he just wasn't the one for you. 

“Mingi,” you walk over to him and he straightens up his spine “This could really… I mean, there's no getting rid of me on this lifetime, buddy,” reminding him makes him smile and you do as well, nervous, your body on high alert “But this could mess us up.” You finish in a whisper. 

“I'm not letting that happen.” He says back, eyes scanning your face before zeroing on your eyes “There's no getting rid of me either, love.” 

That nickname is going to be the death of you, you're sure. It makes you suck in air you very much need at this moment. 

Fuck it. 

“I'll… get the towels, then.” You smile a little even though your cheeks are burning and you feel a little dizzy while holding his gaze, but you don't back down. 

Before you move, though, he stops you with his hand holding your waist “I know where they are. Stay here.” 

You could literally melt right now. And you know it's a short trip to the downstairs hallway closet from your room, so you make sure you strip your duvet before things get messy. 

You should go to the bathroom, too, to clean yourself up a bit before Mingi finds out what you find out when you sit on your bed. 

You're so wet. 

And it's so fucking embarrassing, because you're not supposed to feel this way for him, for this.

Because, if anything, this is clearly just an educational experience.

And if Mingi’s excited look when he re-enters your bedroom tells you otherwise, you're choosing to ignore it for the clearly educational experience’s sake. 

“These will do?” 

You take the two mismatched towels and place them on the bed right away, not even looking at him. 

“Yep.” 

You think he nods but you're not sure, you just caught a glimpse of him moving towards your desk while you pretend to fix the towels in the bed to perfection. 

“Okay, so… You need to, uh, be comfy and shit. Drink water, you just did that a few minutes ago…” when you turn to him, he's reading his notes like he's actually about to conduct an experiment and you chuckle before shaking your head “The… The foreplay part should be next, right?” 

“Right…” you drag out, biting the inside of your cheek before he looks back at you. 

“You look really tense, Y/N,” he deadpans, looking down at his notes again “You need to relax so it can happen, right?” 

“You're about to see me touch myself and you think I can relax?” 

“Oh,” he frowns, immediately and then blinks a few times to refocus, you think “I'm not the one doing it?” 

“Uh… Yes? Later? I thought you wanted to see me first, y-you… You asked me to show you…” 

You can feel him think, the gears on his brain twisting and you think he's going to backpedal at any second because he's not really saying anything. Then you see it, the moment the image crosses his mind. 

And the next second you have him in front of you, towering over your form and then he's not.

Getting on his knees, he tentatively places a hand on your knee and parts your legs so you can make room for him to touch the end of the mattress with his chest and raise his chin just enough to make you think he's asking you to kiss him.

Oh God, you want to kiss him. 

His voice is a sweet murmur when he speaks again “Show me how to get you there, love,” he sounds like he's pleading, like he's begging you to instruct him and your breath catches when he moves his hand up your thigh “What do you like?” 

Your mouth moves before you can even think “Kiss me.” 

You don't even notice you're leaning forward until his breath fans against your chin and he tilts his head even more so that your noses touch. 

“How do you like being kissed?” 

You breathe out a laugh, a little annoyed by his constant questioning “Figure it out, Mingi.” And then the last thing you see is his smirk before his mouth presses against yours. 

It's not what you expect. If anything, you expected him to take the lead. Han used to do so, all the guys you've ever kissed did it as well. You don't really know why his patience surprises you, but it does and if your heart could race even more, it would. 

Because he waits for your guidance, waits for you to grab his shirt and jank him closer, waits for you to sigh against him and then returns the gesture when he feels your fingers move upwards and tangle in his dark hair. 

His mouth is complying to yours, his tongue is exploring it and wetting your lips in the process and you've never felt this good with anyone before. 

That's something you'll need to unpack later, but your brain disconnects when your best friend lets out a noise the second his hands touch your waist under your shirt and you forget, for a split second, that the point of this is to have you on your back pleasing yourself for him to learn. 

Because you want nothing more than to hear him make that noise again. 

The kisses grow needy and so do you when he trails a path with his wet lips from your chin to your neck and the next thing you know is that your back is against the towels you laid down before and his mouth is kissing the valley of your breasts over the cotton of your shirt. 

You look down and it takes a second for him to feel you staring before he looks up at you “Should we take this off?” 

Your voice gives away how gone you are when you reply a simple yes and your shirt is on the floor the next instant. 

Now, you're sure this is not the first time Mingi has seen you in your underwear. You both have gone swimming before and he has walked into your room a million times while you're getting ready. You're even sure he's seen you walk out from your bathroom in this specific bra before… But he's staring at you like it's the first time he's been able to trace the way your breasts spill a little bit over the fabric of this old bra you decided to wear today, like it's the first time he's allowed himself to enjoy it. 

Like it's the first time he's allowing himself to feel any sort of attraction for you. 

“Fuck,” you whisper, shallow breath hitting his cheek when he returns his mouth to your jaw “Let me… Come here.” 

You scoot up until your head rests against your pillows and he follows, resting his body weight on his side and chasing your mouth when you turn your face to him. 

You should speed this up. There's no way you're not going to feel like shit if tomorrow you wake up and remember you're letting yourself enjoy this more than you should. 

There’s no reason for you to lose your breath when his fingertips trace softly the skin under your breasts or for your legs to grant him access so quickly when they reach your belly and bypass every other part of your body before going straight in between them. 

And he notices it too. 

“I don't know why I asked you so many questions before,” he starts, turning his hand so that he back of it and his nails start caressing the inside of your thighs through your sweatpants “I know what you like. I pay attention to you whenever we're talking about sex with the guys.” 

You frown, about to remind him that you never speak directly about your own experiences but he continues his ministrations, giving your other thigh attention “I usually watch you closely in case any of it makes you uncomfortable, but I notice your reactions when they speak about something that you like.” 

Oh. Heart on your sleeve, your biggest flaw. 

“Like that one time Woo was going on and on about marking and you couldn't stop fidgeting on your seat…” his nose traces your jaw softly before his teeth take the skin underneath it and you gasp just enough to prove him right “Or that time Yunho said he hated teasing because he's an impatient little shit” he chuckles, his index finding the spot next to your mound and going down slowly until his knuckle graces the crevice where your leg and your hip connect “and you defended it until we had to stop you guys from yelling each other over it…” 

Your breath shakes and your eyes close at the sensation “Mingi…” 

“Am I wrong?” 

You shake your head no and you can all but hear him smile when he speaks again. 

“Of course I'm not.” 

You open your eyes and expect him to look at you the way he does when you're unable to defend yourself against his quips, but he's not. His eyes are following his own actions and his bottom lip is pulled by his teeth when he takes the fabric of your sweatpants and pulls it up, enough to give you some friction where you need it the most. 

“Can I take this off?” 

“Fuck, y-yes.” 

Joining your shirt on the ground, you're left only in your underwear while Mingi is fully clothed and it bothers you out of nowhere. 

“You're so wet already…” he observes and you blush, puffing some air and covering your eyes with you hand. He just laughs “That's a good thing, it means that I'm doing okay.” 

He's doing more than okay. Damn all the experience he has and the way he reads you so well. 

But his sweet tone gives you some clarity and you support your weight on your hand to fix your position on the bed. 

“Alright, let's… resume the lesson before my parents get home.” 

“They probably won't for now. The company dinners last until like… two in the morning, usually, right?” 

“That's when they decide to go out for drinks.” 

“Your mom always wants to go out for drinks.” 

“Let's not talk about my mom right now!” you beg and he laughs again, making you chuckle alongside him and you're glad he's talking all of this -the kissing, the teasing, the sweet-talk and the wet patch on your underwear- so well. 

The awkwardness from before dissipated the moment he got on his knees in front of you and all that followed was this lovely tension you're dying to keep between the two of you forever even though you shouldn't.��

“Show me, love,” he pleads and you sigh, his mouth finding your cheek for a quick second, encouraging you “And then you can show me how to make you feel good, too.” 

You stare at him for a few seconds “Damn, you're good,” he shakes his head and you smile, getting rid of your underwear and pushing the quick moment of embarrassment being bare with him in the room gives you “Remember that this is what works for me, okay?” 

He nods and then props himself up so he can see it better. 

You take a second before your fingers dive into your wet folds and, when you do, you gasp at the feeling. 

You've never been more wet just for kissing and teasing before. What the fuck. 

You do what you usually do when you're alone for a while and try to contain yourself from moaning because Mingi's eyes keep moving from your fingers to your face. Then, you remember you should be talking him through it, as well. 

“You see how I'm building it up?” you start, chest heaving and he hums as his reply “I'm not trying to make myself come but I'm kinda just… edging myself a little bit.” 

“Edging,” he repeats and then hisses when he sees your thumb pressing into your clit just how you like it, making you sigh heavily “I know all about that, that's good.” 

“Y-you do?” 

“You'll be surprised,” he smiles, proud of himself. 

“Okay,” you continue, taking a deep breath “Then you know about prepping, too,” he nods “So, a finger first…” you say, swallowing hard when your index makes its way into your cavity without much effort. 

Dragging back and forth for a minute or so, you're incapable of containing yourself any longer. Air leaves your mouth in pants and your eyes close when you drag the pad of your finger upwards, locating your g-spot with ease because you're used to it.

“And then, two fingers.” 

“Mhm.” 

“Look at the position of my hand. I read that these two fingers work the best because they're longer than the rest, although…” you look at Mingi's hand over your belly. You didn't even noticed before this that he was touching you, but he is and his thumb is tracing a pattern that both relaxes you and sends shivers down your spine “I'm sure that it won't be a problem for you, huh?” 

He sends a cocky smirk your way and you would've smacked him if you weren't so… preoccupied. 

Pressing your precious spot and then dragging back and forward, you stop the movements altogether. It felt too good, way more than good and it's a different sensation of what you're used to. 

And it's all because of him. 

You look at his side profile, his eager eyes commiting to memory what you're doing to yourself, probably taking mental notes now that his notebook is long forgotten over at your desk and… 

He deserves this. He deserves to be the one to have this, just tonight. 

You hate to leave what feels like it's about to be your best orgasm in the hands of someone who's just learning, yet alone a man.

But Mingi is not just any man. 

“Mingi,” you call and his curious eyes leave your heat a second later “your turn.” 

“Did you… Did it happen? I didn't see anythi—” 

“No,” you interrupt him, your fingers leaving you and you turn to him, your clean hand finding his face “show me what you learned.” 

His mouth parts, but you have a newfound confidence and a glint in your eyes that is new, so nothing comes out. 

“Prove that bitch wrong.” 

That seems to do it. 

His eyes go from being confused to spark with determination and want and electricity runs through you again because he seems so relieved he gets to touch you sooner than expected. 

Shyness and nervousness buried six feet under, you both smile to each other before you feel him. 

His fingers gathering your wetness, his thumb finding your clit with ease and expertise. 

“Wettest pussy I've ever touched.” You can tell he's a little lost in the heat of the moment but it's okay. So are you. 

Fuck. 

It's been way too long since someone else touched you this way, so you all but melt at the circles he draws on your clit. He paid close attention before, because he's touching you just the way you like it. 

“That feels so good…” 

“Yeah?” he asks, dark eyes finding yours before a particular stroke forces you to close them. And then he gathers enough slick to insert his ring finger inside and you can't help the moan that slips past your lips. 

You lift your hand to cover your mouth, but Mingi clicks his tongue in feign disappointment “I want to hear if I'm making you feel good, love. Don't hold back on me just because this is unconventional.” 

The worries die altogether with that. 

And now that you have free reign to stop containing yourself, you don't know how to stop. 

It's not long before his index joins his other finger but he doesn't go for it right away. He fucks you slowly, allowing you to get used to the unfamiliar stretch of his way longer, way thicker digits until they slide in and out with little effort. 

His pace picks up after what feels like ages and your hand fists his shirt for the second time tonight, nodding and moaning in encouragement. 

“Deeper,” you instruct “curl them upwards and go deeper, you'll feel it then.” 

He obeys immediately, his chest heaving and his mouth parting in delight when he finds it. The pad of his finger presses down on it tentatively and your grasp on his shirt hardens.

“Is that it?” you nod and he does it again, which earns another moan “What do I do now?” 

Before you completely get lost in the feeling, you decide to drop the step by step bullshit aside and give him the full instruction in hopes that he'll remember it all without fucking up: “What works for me is pressing… Fuck, yeah, just like that a-and then…” you take deep breath “Just a little harder… Yeah, then rub it in a circular motion while maintaining that same pressure… Fuck, Mingi!” 

He's a little too good at following instructions, because he touches you like he's been doing this forever and soon you feel the familiar swell, the usual buildup of it all and he's taking you over the age like it's nothing. 

You forget how to speak, you forget how to tell him what he needs to do next and so, when you finally explode, you take his wrist and place his two fingers over your clit. 

When you move them side by side, he lets out a fascinated giggle but knows exactly what to do. 

A second later, your release is coating your thighs and the towels underneath you and you don't register anything else because your ears are ringing. 

Did you lose consciousness for a second? It feels like you did. 

That was the best fucking orgasm you've ever felt in your entire life. 

And when you come back down, you only register the sound of your breathing and plump lips kissing your face, his fingers stopping their pace once he realizes you're done with it. 

Opening your eyes, you stare at your popcorn ceiling for a second. Then, you look at Mingi who's already staring at you with a what the fuck just happened expression. 

It makes you laugh. Softly at the beginning, post-orgasm bliss takes over but then Mingi laughs too and your whole chest swells with inexplicable pride. 

You don't think twice before kissing him again. When you realize you did it, you pull back and blink at him like he didn't make you see stars three seconds ago. 

“That was…” his eyes do the thing he usually does. You never notice it until now, but he scans your face so frequently you've grown used to it, but now… It feels different. His teeth nip his bottom lip and he shakes his head before speaking “Come here, love.” 

And then he's kissing you again, slow, intimate, beyond the stupid lesson you just taught him. 

But you don't mind it one bit. 

You sit up, getting on your knees on the bed and basically forcing him to do the same. Ignoring the gross sensation of the wet towel underneath you, you pull him further into you until his chest presses against yours, until his hands roam your body and settle on your waist, securing the embrace. 

This time, when you pull away, there's this whole unspoken new thing between you. 

“That was…?” you press, smiling a bit, pulling both you and him back to reality. 

Right now, with you half naked and his hard-on pressing on your belly, it's not the time to discuss your feelings. 

“Possibly the coolest thing I've seen,” he starts, giggling when you roll your eyes “and the hottest thing I've seen, too,” you shrug, dismissing his stare because it's making you feel hot all over your body, again “and I'm really, really grateful you said yes, love.” 

The soft tone he uses to say the last bit relaxes you and you nod, deciding it's not the time to tell him you never even came like that on your own. 

Instead, you decide to grasp this intimate moment and extend it as much as you can. You can see Mingi is not expecting it when you reach his sweatpants and let your shaky thumb trace the outline of his cock. 

Closing his eyes, he lets out a pleased sigh before he grabs you by the back of your neck and rests his forehead against yours. 

“This is supposed to be purely educational, Y/N” 

“Is that what you want it to be?” you softly ask, pulling your hand away but then his hips buck and chase after your touch, making you smile despite the emotions swelling in your chest “Let me help you… Please…” 

“Fuck, don't beg me, love.” 

“Don't make me beg, then.” 

What the fuck are you even doing? 

“Y/N, I—” he stops suddenly and you're too lost in the moment to notice why. 

But then the sound of keys and a door closing downstairs scares the fuck out of you and you push Mingi away without thinking it through. 

He lands with a thud on your bedroom floor, next to your discarded clothes. 

“What the fuck, Y/N?” he whispers-shouts, both shocked and offended, but you're getting off your bed and picking up your clothes and the soaked towels so you don't really care about his feelings right now. 

“Bathroom. Now.” 

You're so blessed for having your bedroom right next to the upstairs bathroom. And so blessed that it is your bathroom and you don't have to share it. You’ll get on your knees and thank your gods afterwards, but right now you can only think one thing.

Don't get caught. 

Lord knows you'll never hear the end of it if Mingi walks out of here with a hard-on. Your dad will kill him, your mom will cheer because she loves the idea of you and Mingi together and you'll probably pack your bags and move away if it happens. 

When you lock the door behind you and make a quick show of putting your underwear and pants back on, you hear Mingi chuckle. 

“We can always tell them we're having a sleepover, Y/N, you didn't have to karate kick me off the damn bed!” 

“Hush!” But he just keeps giggling at your very obvious flustered state.

You're about to rip him a new one when he takes two strides, backs you against the bathroom sink, and catches your lips in a quick, sweet kiss and all your worries dissolve just like that. 

“Guess they didn't go for drinks after all..” 

“You think?” cocking your head to side, the smile on your lips can't be fought at this point. 

He returns it and leans in for another kiss, longer this time and you sigh against his mouth before pulling away because you really, really shouldn't be doing this right now. 

You hear your mother calling your name and then footsteps up the stairs. A murmured she must be sleeping and a hum from your father before they pass the bathroom door. You truly only relax when you hear their door closing at the end of the hallway. 

“Okay, we're safe now.” 

“When were we ever not safe?” 

“When I was half naked on my bed, Mingi!” 

He shakes his head with a smile and takes a step back. 

You clear your throat. 

“I really did want to help you out but—” 

“Raincheck?” he asks and at you hesitation to say yes, he continues “If you want to. If you don't, it's okay. We… We'll figure it out, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

He smiles again “Good, uh…” 

Mingi seems unsure on what to do next. Feeling the same, you decide the best thing to do is to get him out of here. 

Opening the bathroom door, you carefully peek into the hallway, taking his hand in yours and beckoning him to follow you down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible. 

“Shit, your shoes…” you whisper. 

“I don't think they noticed if they didn't barge into the bedroom to check on us like they usually do, love.” He returns, in the same tone. 

That does nothing to ease your mind, but he makes sure to put them on quickly and then grabs your shoulders, shaking you in a teasing manner. 

“Quit worrying, Y/N. I can feel you thinking.” 

Of course he does. There's no one, in this world, that knows you better than him. 

It makes your heart flutter and it shouldn't. But you're getting on your tippy toes and stealing a parting kiss before you think about it too much. 

It's irresponsible for you to do so, but Mingi grabs your waist and extends the duration of the kiss and suddenly you don't give a fuck about your parents or anyone else finding out about this… shift in your dynamic. 

“See you tomorrow?” he asks against your lips and you nod. 

“See you tomorrow.” 

And with that, he leaves. 

You lock the door and practically run to your room after. 

What the fuck have you done?

If you read all the way down here: THANK YOU SO MUCH. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and since it’s an open ending (sort of), let me know if you want a second part! 

© jensthwa, 2024.

[angelsnkisses]

Study Break - Dalton Lambert x fem!reader <3

💟 nsfw - mdni 💟

A/N: there's not nearly enough stuff on here for dalton, so of course, i had to assist! i mean, the movie is still pretty new.. so that's probably why but whatevs :).

warnings: softdom!dalton, sub!fem!reader, oral (fem receiving), unprotected sex, creampie

Quiet, slow music hummed in your ears, flowing through your headphones as you tapped your pen against your lower lip. You stared down at your nearly blank journal page, brows furrowed and mouth turned in a scowl. You couldn't think of anything, not one idea for your paper, and it was bugging the hell out of you. You groaned after a hot minute of practically boring holes into the paper with your gaze, yanking out your headphones and laying your head on the desk.

"The universe is against me, I know it," you huffed, whiny and defeated. Dalton, who had been sketching and watching you work for the better part of two hours, looked up from his own book. He chuckled, but still smiled apologetically, getting up off the bed and walking over to stand beside you. He looked down at your paper, one of his hands rubbing your back with a gentle touch. "No it isn't, you've never done anything to the universe," he argued lightheartedly, crouching down next to the chair and tapping your back gently. You didn't respond, still wallowing in your own little vat of self pity.

"Hey, come on. You're gonna figure it out," he reassured, reading what you had so far before turning to you. He couldn't see your face, but he knew you probably had on that frustrated pout of yours, the one he secretly loved so much. You peeked down at him, sighing when you saw his face. Those eyes always pulled you in, took your mind off whatever it was you were even upset about it the first place. You rotated the chair to face him, leaning down and putting your hands on the sides of his face.

He was so sweet, so supportive despite you being just a little dramatic about your project. It wasn't due for a week, and your partner was doing half of it anyways. Your tense expression relaxed as you brushed his hair out of his face, cracking a small smile. "You're right, you're right. I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" you asked, earning a little laugh. He shook his head in your hold, resting his hands on your knees and leaning up.

"Not ridiculous, you just worry too much," he teased, gaze flicking between your eyes and lips. You frowned a bit, still messing with his hair as you felt your face heat up. He was right, you did worry quite a bit. About your classes, him, work.. you couldn't help it. You moved your hand to cover his mouth when you saw him start to lean in, pushing his head away with a playful scoff.

"Better watch yourself, Lambert. I still gotta focus," you said, trying to sound annoyed. Really, you just sounded amused.. which you were. He groaned against your palm, his hand darting up to grab your wrist. He kept your hand against his face, turning it a bit and pressing a small kiss to the skin. "I'll help you de-stress," he said, his words a whisper between his kisses. He trailed the kisses up your arm, listening to your hesitant sigh.

"My roommate will be back soon," you reminded him, trying to ignore how good his lips felt. It was hard to say no to him, but your poor roommate had been traumatized enough times. She had already caught you twice, once being on her birthday. She always insisted it was fine and she should've knocked, but you always insisted it was your fault, and she shouldn't have to knock to get into her own dorm. Still, you really needed to start shooting them a warning text..

"I'll be quick. I swear," he vowed, his gaze longing and fervent. You couldn't help but get deja vu everytime you saw him between your legs, always remembering the first time he'd ever settled himself down there. That was over a year ago, when he was far more inexperienced and you had to teach him what you liked, etc. Now, he knows exactly how to get you to cum on his tongue over and over, and it's one of his favorite things to do. He watched you get lost in thought, that familiar look in your eyes telling him you were starting to give in.

"Yeah, that's it," he mumbled, his free hand squeezing your knee. He pushed lightly against it, trying to get you to open up your legs for him with encouraging hands. Your stomach did backflips when you saw how worked up he was getting, heat pooling between your thighs. Biting down on your lower lip and peeking at the small alarm clock on your desk, you hesitated, glancing between him and the paper.

"Just for a little while, then I'll let you work," he promised, thumbs rubbing anxious circles on your skin. You gaged his pleading gaze, warmth spreading over your skin where he touched you. You looked down at his hands, biting back a quiet noise. You always forgot how big they were, how long the fingers stretched.. you didn't stop him when they hooked into the waistband of both your shorts and underwear.

"Lift your hips for me," he murmured, the subtle dominance in his voice making your knees weak. You did as he said, heart pounding as you watched him peel them off your legs with ease. You slowly started to spread your legs apart once the fabric was discarded, feeling even more vulnerable when he inhaled sharply at the sight. Just the thought of him touching you more was enough to get you soaked, arousal glistening for him to see. You watched his eyes light up, legs shifting underneath him so he was on his knees as his hands gripped your thighs. He tugged you closer to the edge of the chair, a seemingly pleased hum emitting from his throat.

"Knew you'd like it," was the last thing he muttered before pushing his face forward, pressing his tongue flat out to lick a slow, greedy strip up your dripping cunt. The suddenness made you gasp, the warmth pulling a mewl from you as one of your hands laced into his hair. His name rolled off your tongue when he pressed a kiss to your clit, his lips soft and welcoming. Dalton peered up at you through dark lashes, one hand releasing your thigh. You squirmed under his stare, about to whine for more when he started gently sucking your clit between his lips. The moan you produced was intoxicating, filling his ears and egging him on.

You were too caught up in the feeling of his mouth to notice his hand moving just below his chin, index finger prodding at your sopping hole and catching you off guard. He was quick to smack one of your thighs upon them tightening around his head, a wordless warning that left your skin stinging. You pushed your legs back open shakily, fingers tightening as you pulled at his hair. The action instantly enticed a heavy moan, vibrating through your swollen clit and making you buck your hips involuntarily. The deep, muffled chuckle he released against you was unreasonably sexy, reminding you how desperate you were already acting for him.

You were about to apologize quietly, when his finger abruptly moved into the comfort of your warm walls, pumping slowly and clearing any considerations of speaking. Instead, you leaned against the back of the chair, breathing shallow and quick. "Dalton," you whimpered, the closeness making your whole body ignite with need. You were sure he could feel you practically throbbing against his lips, even more so when his middle finger joined the index. You almost felt guilty pulling at his pretty hair, the brown strands soft and silky between your fingers. You loosened them, carding through his hair instead in an attempt to taciturnly make up for the rough grip.

His fingers picked up speed when he felt you clench around them subtly, unable to help the proud feeling he was consumed with. He loved that despite his unruly life, nothing could affect his ability to make you feel good. Nothing could stop him from loving and caring for you, and that was good enough for him. He tried not to get all sappy, focusing on your trembling figure instead. He ignored the painfully hard bulge in his jeans, craving your release almost as much as you were. He longed to feel your slick coat his fingers, his movements picking up a bit. When his fingers started to curl, you just about lost it, heels digging into the ground as you tried to stabilize yourself.

"Mmh, don't stop," you begged, knowing damn well it wouldn't be the first time he took away your orgasm at the last minute. He had no ulterior motives tonight, however. He just kept up what he was doing, darkened eyes staying on you nearly the whole time. His cock ached at the sight of your face contorting in pleasure, that familiar little 'o' forming on your face as you cried out. His lips twitched up when you came undone on his face, his eyes rolling back just a bit as your familiar taste invaded his tongue. The majority collected on his fingers as he licked and tortured your overstimulated clit, your orgasm slowly beginning to subside as he helped you ride it out.

He pulled his fingers out, pulling back and inspecting them. He grinned at the sight of the sticky, pale substance, catching your tired eyes before pushing them past his lips. He groaned softly around the digits, sucking them completely clean. It wasn't enough, his greed getting the best of him as he leaned back in. You borderline yelped when he started sloppily lapping up the leftover arousal soaking your cunt, your eyes brimming with tears as his nose rutted against your clit.

"W-wait.." you begged softly, your legs twitching everytime he bumped into the sensitive spot. He pulled away when he was satisfied, shifting himself onto his feet and standing up. He leaned down to put his hands on the arms of your chair, caging you in with a sweet, yet heated gaze. You couldn't help but shudder when he got a bit closer, your body buzzing as you caught your breath. He tilted his head, closing the space between you and pressing his lips to yours. You involuntarily moaned against him, hands grabbing at his shirt and tugging him closer. Your eyes blinked shut when you tasted yourself on him, cheeks burning with the realization.

Dalton was starting to get needy himself, kissing you with affectionate, hungry lips. You made a surprised little noise when he slipped his tongue into your mouth, the kind of noise that made him yearn for you like no other. He felt a little guilty, especially since he'd promised you to be quick, but god, he couldn't stop thinking about how good you felt around him, how perfectly he filled you.. it was driving him insane.

"I wanna feel you," he practically moaned against your lips, his voice pleading and breathless. The blunt words made you wet all over again, a borderline inaudible sound leaving you as you forced yourself to shake your head. He broke the kiss, trailing smaller ones to your jaw. One of his hands moved to the side of your neck, holding you still so he could start nipping at the soft skin. Your pulse thrummed against his palm quickly, which he allowed to flatter him just a little.

"C'mon, she won't come home," he murmured, as if he could read your mind and tell exactly what was making you anxious. He wasn't actually sure when she'd be back.. but he didn't mention that part. He was about 70% sure he had enough time, and that was good enough for him. He waited while you pondered it, his lips pressing into the space where your jaw met your neck. You groaned, mentally cursing yourself before lacing your fingers back into his hair. He hummed at his little victory, hands beginning to wander your figure.

You knew you shouldn't, it was unfair to your roommate.. and the neighboring dorms that could probably hear you if they listened hard enough. You just couldn't help yourself, you rarely could around him. Your hands were shaking slightly in his hair when he lifted you off the now wet chair, crossing the small room to get back to your bed. He pushed his sketchbook off the comforter and onto the floor, setting you down on the mattress before standing. You felt exposed, reaching down and trying to shove your shirt over your bare bottom half while he stood over you.

The way he chuckled had your arousal leaking onto the bed beneath you, his hands moving to start undoing his belt. He watched you, taking his sweet time, tilting his head just a bit when you whined beneath him. "Don't be embarrassed, I've seen it all before," he reminded you, as if you had somehow forgotten how he was practically making out with your pussy not 5 minutes earlier. Your face got hot all over again, thighs clenching together at the sound of his voice. You always got so desperate after your first release, craving more of that syrupy sweet pleasure that only he could provide.

The way he was affecting you didn't go unnoticed by him, his teeth flashing in a grin as he tugged the belt from the waistband of his jeans. He began undoing the button and zip with one hand, the other gesturing toward your half naked body. "You're gonna keep that on for me, hm?" he mumbled, his eyes swimming with lust as they raked over every inch of your form. The shirt was his, otherwise it would have been on the floor in seconds. His favorite thing in the world was fucking you while you wore his clothes, and he did it every chance he got (which was a lot, since you were almost always in one of his shirts or jackets).

You nodded shyly in response to his question, not trusting your voice. You bit down on your tongue when he started tugging his jeans down, eyes greedily lingering on the front of his black boxers. He felt his cheeks heat up just a little at your attention, tilting his head down and pretending to mess with the hem so you wouldn't see his reddened cheeks. You watched his hands carefully, rubbing your thighs together when he continued to take his time.

"Please, I need you so bad," you whimpered, catching his attention. You didn't usually say stuff like that, claiming it sounded silly coming from you. The simple sentence sent a throb through his already aching abdomen, his hands pushing down the fabric without any more hesitation. You could have cum just from the sight, abdomen tensing with need. "Yeah? Need me to make you feel good?" he cooed, cocky now that he'd gotten the reaction out of you. He didn't wait for your answer, climbing over you and putting his big hands on your thighs. He tugged you closer, pushing your legs open with his eyes pinned down. He could have wept at the sight of you all wet for him again, making a small mess on your sheets and covering your inner thighs with the shiny, translucent slick.

"You're so pretty," he half-moaned, one of his hands leaving your thighs. The compliment had you reaching up, hands roaming his chest needily. He gave no warning before he dragged his index up your slit, collecting some of the liquid desire on his fingertip and slipping it past his lips. Your whole body warmed at the sight, butterflies fluttering around in your stomach. You watched him lean down more, positioning himself between your legs and lining his swollen, eager tip up with your dripping hole. His eyes flickered up to yours when you gasped quietly, the hand on your thigh slipping up to grasp your hip soothingly.

"You ready?" he asked, his tip already wet from nuzzling into your folds. You whispered a deprived, desperate 'yes,' so clearly craving him. He pressed a kiss to your forehead, trying to somewhat distract you with the gesture while he started to push himself inside your tight, wet heat. You both gasped in unison, yours shakier than his due to the stinging stretch between your legs. He kissed all over your face, mumbling quiet apologies as you winced and huffed with every inch he gave you. No matter how many times you did this, he always had to start slow with you. The initial stretch was always the hardest part, but after that, it was typically smooth sailing.

By the time he had bottomed out, you were already pretty much used to it, lips catching his as soon as you were given the chance. You whimpered when he started pulling back again, the drag of him along your walls stirring up pleasure in your abdomen. You could hear him groan into your mouth, hand slipping under your shirt as he moved. He palmed at your right tit, squeezing the soft mound of flesh gently. His slightly rough hands were warm and comforting, touching you just right as his hips started moving at a steady, slow pace.

The moan you produced was heavenly, louder than before as pleasure trickled across your body. Dalton found himself disappointed that he didn't get to truly appreciate the sounds you were making, breaking the sloppy kiss so he could hear you properly. His pace was gradually increasing, his own quiet moans giving you all sorts of funny feelings in your belly. He leaned up a little more so he could look down at what he was doing, groaning at the sight. You peeked down, too, biting your lower lip when you realized how wet you were getting him. His dick was partially covered in a creamy white, making a wet, almost squelching sound with every thrust. You released an embarrassed whine, the lewd sounds making you feel ten times more exposed.

Dalton didn't share your feelings of embarrassment at all. In fact, he was going fucking nuts about the fact that he could literally hear how soaked he made you. His thrusts started to get harder, the sound of skin on skin mixing in with your whiny moans as he continued watching himself fuck you. The way his big cock disappeared, reappeared, disappeared, reappeared over and over was fucking hypnotizing. The only thing that could tear his gaze away was the sound of you gasping, hands dropping down to grip the sheets as your back arched up a bit.

"Oh, right there," you pleaded, eyes fluttering shut as your head fell back into the pillows. Dalton quickly realized what he was doing to you, a proud little smile on his face as he chuckled breathily. "Mmh, feels good, huh?" he cooed, knowing you couldn't answer as his hips pushed against you to deliver a particularly hard thrust. Your legs started to tremble, a loud, desperate cry escaping your lungs when he started intentionally pushing against that perfect spot over and over. Your toes curled, legs wrapping loosely around his waist as you tried to get him closer, deeper. Something must of been in the air today, because you couldn't remember the last time you were this frantic for him.

You were wrapped around him just right, snug and warm and wet. He felt his tip kiss your cervix, shushing you softly when you whimpered and squirmed under him, not knowing what to do with yourself. His libidinous sounds encouraged you, the noise coaxing you closer and closer to your second release. One of your hands moved from the sheets, trying to pry his from your hip so you could interlock your fingers. He noticed right away, releasing his bruising grip and taking your hand, pushing it against the bed as he fucked you harder.

"Dalton, 'm gonna cum," you managed to warn softly, a choked whine following quickly after. He hummed, an adoring smile pulling at his lips as he gazed at you. He didn't take his eyes off you once, just rubbing an encouraging thumb across the back of the hand he held. "That's it, cum on my dick," he purred, the filthy words catching you off guard. Your legs tightened around his waist when you felt it all wash over you, shaking and crying as he fucked you through it. You heard a raspy 'fuck' over the roaring in your ears, a whimper sneaking it's way into your boyfriend's moans as he felt his own orgasm snap. He pushed himself as deep as he could manage, head falling on your shoulder as he filled you up with warm, thick cum. It was mind numbing, your pussy still twitching and fluttering around him as his thrusts continued. You were overstimulated, but you wanted to let him ride it out.

"Atta girl," he mumbled, his thrusts slowing to a stop as he panted heavily. He pressed a sweet, gentle kiss to your shoulder before he pulled back, blue eyes meeting yours. His heart swelled when you gave him those loving, hooded eyes, unable to stop himself from smiling subtly. His hair stuck to his forehead, face flushed and chest heaving with his deep breaths. You couldn't help but stare, the hand that wasn't in his shakily reaching for his face. You brushed the damp hair from his face as best as you could, tired and lovesick in your peaceful afterglow. He pushed his cheek into your palm, sighing contently through his breaths.

After a few moments of the two of you catching your breath, he leaned down, pressing his lips to yours once more. This kiss was different than the other ones, gentle and caring instead of sloppy and desperate. Taking his opportunity, he slipped himself out of you, the sudden emptiness eliciting a gentle moan from you. He whined dramatically when you broke the kiss, your teeth flashing as you grinned, amused. You looked over his shoulder at your alarm while he started kissing your neck, craving aftercare just as much as you were. Sadly, it was already 9, and your roommate rarely stayed out very long after that. You mentally cursed your predicament, giving Dalton apologetic eyes. "She's probably on her way now," you mumbled, and he knew exactly what you were talking about. He groaned against your neck, clearly disappointed, but still pulled away. He thought about it for a second, before scoffing when he realized how obvious the solution was.

"Oh wait- duh, I live here too. We can walk over to my dorm," he recalled, making you laugh; a genuine, almost musical sound that had Dalton folding for you all over again. He pressed one more kiss to your forehead before gently pulling your legs off his waist and standing. "What about Chris?" you asked, wincing softly as you sat up. The space between your legs ached, and when you moved, you could feel cum start to leak out of you. It made you blush, remembering just how exposed you were. You watched Dalton pull on his boxers as he shrugged. "She's with a friend tonight," he responded, like it was common knowledge.

"You're telling me I risked my roommate getting an eyeful of us.. you know, when we could have been in your empty, risk-free dorm?" you gasped, mocking betrayal. He laughed at that, throaty and low as he lifted his hands in defeat. He grinned sheepishly, walking over to the desk chair where this whole situation began. "Yeah, maybe," he admitted, earning a playful eye roll from you (you would never admit it, but part of you loved the risk). He picked up your shorts and underwear, walking over and offering them to you.

"Here, we'll get you all cleaned up when we get there. I have some clean clothes you can wear," he promised, pressing a sweet kiss to your temple before turning to hunt down the rest of his clothes..

**

A/N: this is.. something. i never know how to end fics, that's why its always so abrupt 😭. anyways, i finally finished this one! i wanna write another one with a gn!reader :). work and classes have kept me so busy, but i'm gonna try to post a bit more frequently 🫶 hope you enjoyed <3! (not proofread yet)

[eco-lite]

I’m once again returning to do god’s work by bringing you delightful moments from Spock’s World by Diane Duane.

[Text ID: “Spock was bent over [the Science Station], making some adjustment. ‘Readout now,’ he said, straightening and looking over his shoulder at the large, shaggy-fringed rock that was sitting in the center seat. Some of those glittering fringes stroked the open circuitry of the communicator controls in the seat’s arm. ‘Point nine nine three,’ said a scratchy voice from the voder box mounted on the rock’s back. ‘A nice triple sine.’ ‘Nice?’ said Spock. Jim raised an eyebrow: you could have used Spock’s tone of voice to dry out a martini.” End ID]

There’s a Horta crewman on the Enterprise now and they’re great!

[Text ID: “Still working on her doctoral thesis, Jim thought. Uhura was busy working on improving universal translator theory, mostly by taking the old theory to pieces and putting it back together in shapes that were causing a terrible furor in academic circles on various planets. Jim vividly remembered one night quite a long time ago when he had asked Uhura exactly how she was going about this. She had told him, for almost an hour without stopping, and in delighted and exuberant detail, until his head was spinning with phoneme approximations and six-sigma evaluations and the syntactic fade and genderbend and recontextualization and linguistic structural design and the physics of the human dextrocerebral bridge. The session had left Jim shaking his head, thoroughly disabused of the idea (and ashamed of how long he had held it) that Uhura was simply a sort of highly trained switchboard operator.” End ID]

Uhura continues to be a total badass and is amazing at what she does.

[Text ID: Chatroom title in all caps: “COMMON ROOM OPINION, INFORMED AND NON- RANTING AND RAVING PERMITTED NAMES NOT NECESSARY” Regular text: “It was one of the places he came to find out what his crew was thinking. Messages did not have to be attributed to a name or terminal, but they could not be private. The office of the common room system operator rotated through the crew, offered to various members on the strength of their psych profiles in areas like calm reaction to stress and anger. The common room syops tended to be closemouthed and dependable, the kind of person that others refer to as ‘a rock.’ (Once it had actually been Naraht, to the amusement of just about everyone.) Here tempers could flare, awful jokes be told safely, suspicions be aired, rumors be shot down. The common room was sometimes a peaceful place, sometimes a powderkeg. Jim never ignored it.” End ID]

The Enterprise has a dumpster fire chat room that has just as much shitposting and vitriol as twitter.

[Text ID: “Jim bowed over her free hand. ‘It’s been too long,’ he said. ‘It’s good to be back,’ Amanda said. ‘And in the middle of a party as well.’ She looked a little wry. ‘A little entertainment will be pleasant before the deluge.’ Sarek’s eyes flicked to Kirk, a considering look. ‘My wife speaks figuratively,’ he said, ‘in the tradition of her people. Deluges are not common on Vulcan.’ ‘My husband speaks circumspectly,’ Amanda said, just as dryly, ‘in the tradition of his.’” End ID]

Amanda and Sarek are as charming as ever.

[Text ID: “Jim was mildly surprised to see that to his other rank tags and decorations, McCoy had added a small, understated IDIC. ‘If I didn’t know you better,’ he said, ‘I’d think you were going native. When did you get that?’ ‘Today in the gift shop, when you were looking at the snowball paperweights with Mount Seleya in them. Tackiest things I ever saw.’ ‘Yes,’ Spock said; ‘they were imported from Earth.’ ‘You be quiet. We can’t let these people leave the Federation, Jim. At least not until they teach us how to make tasteful souvenirs.’” End ID]

Just this.

[Text ID: “There was Sreil, the burly, brown-haired biologist from the Academy, and T’Madh, a little bright-eyed woman of great age and curiosity, a computer programmer; and her son Savesh, who when asked what he did, said, ‘I am a farmer,’ with a sort of secret satisfaction that hinted he thought his job better than any of the more technical ones that the people around him held. Jim had to smile; the thought of a Vulcan farmer was slightly funny, even though there naturally had to be some. But the image of a Vulcan in coveralls, chewing on a stalk of hay, kept coming up and having to be repressed.” End ID]

I love Savesh the Vulcan farmer!

[Text ID: “’Jim,’ he said, ‘the best translation of nehau would be an old word: “vibes.” The feeling-in-your-bones that something gives you. It’s highly subjective.’ ‘Right. Go on, Savesh.’ ‘Well, Captain, I have heard numerous Vulcans say that losing the Federation and the Earth people would be no particular loss, because they had bad nehau, and that could not fail to affect us sooner or later.. But I must tell you that I find your nehau not objectionable at all; pleasant, even.’ End ID]

Vulcan wanting to leave the Federation because the ~vibes~ are off.

[Text ID: “His grasp of dialect and idiom as amazing for anybody, off-planet or on. He once reduced the President of the United States—then a ceremonial post, but one much loved by the people who lived within the old borders—to tears of laughter at a state dinner, by delivering a learned dissertation on computer data storage technology in a flawless Texan accent. The lady was later heard to propose an amendment to the Constitution to allow off-worlders to hold high public office, so that she could have him for her running mate in the next election.” End ID]

I would give anything to hear Sarek do a perfect Texas accent.

[Text ID: “—but when Amanda became annoyed over what she perceived as his smugness about being right, her eyes would flash and she would become splendidly insulting, usually in bizarre Anglish idiom that Sarek found as refreshing as it was annoying. She caused him to laugh out loud for the first time in many years when she told him, after a disagreement over the translation of the word for war, that he should only grow headfirst in the ground like a turnip. Later that month, when he was right about something again and made the mistake of not immediately down-playing it, she issued him with a formal malediction, wishing that the curse of Mary Malone and her nine blind orphan children might pursue him so far over the hills and the seas that God Almighty couldn’t find him with a radio telescope. Sarek laughed so hard at that that he entirely lost his breath, and Amanda panicked and started to give him cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which was useless, because his heart was somewhere other than the spot on which she was pounding. It took him nearly an hour to recover: he kept laughing. He had never been cursed like that before, not even by union leaders, and it was very refreshing.” End ID]

This dynamic is perfect, no notes.

[Text ID: “The next night they sat in the Rec Deck again, in the middle of a large impromptu party that was going on around them by way of celebration. The sense of relief in the ship was palpable. A group of about a hundred crewfolk, mostly human, had surrounded Spock earlier in the evening and sung ‘For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow,’ accompanied by twenty crewmen on kazoos. Sarek had been given champagne.” End ID]

I really hope the TOS Enterprise has crew performances like on Next Gen. This kazoo band needs to be heard! Also, I can perfectly picture Spock’s annoyed-but-tolerant expression as he resigns himself to the kazoo serenade.

Thank you @dianeduane for making me laugh!

[marleyybluu]

Doubts

Pedro Pascal x fem!reader

WC: 1.4k

Another quick one

Warnings: just cute fluffiness, Pedro being a soon-to-be dad, pregnancy

lol this is such a fucking cute pic omg

"Hi YN, how are you?" One of the cast members greeted, you pushed out a smile despite the tiredness you felt all over. A bulging belly was all you were, you had two months left and you were ready for them to come and go, you loved most of your pregnancy— it was a beautiful experience for the most part. The little moments where you'd feel her feet kicking you, when she'd rotate to make herself comfortable, it was a slap in the head to realize you were growing an actual person inside of you.

"I'm great, how are you?" You conversed. "Doing good, how is baby Pascal?" You beamed every time someone referred to her as such, it was a gentle reminder that you chose the best partner to make another human with. "She is doing good, we brought some food for dad. Is he on his lunch yet?"

She nodded. "He should be in the makeup room with Bella."

"Thanks."

Today you decided to surprise Pedro on the set of the new series 'The Last of Us.' You had told a bit of a fib this morning telling him you wouldn't be able to visit due to a doctor's appointment you had around his lunch break. Well, it wasn't a total lie you did have an appointment but it was in the morning way before his lunch, so you bought some food and drove out to the set. You were hoping he'd be excited as you were. You made your way down the hall to the makeup room, saying hi to a few people who you were fond of, you were finally approaching the room when she heard Bella, his co-star, mention your name.

"So are you excited to have a baby? Will you guys let me know when she gets here?" 

You quietly chuckled, Bella was a sweetheart and honestly the way their personality was set up you would think Pedro and yourself had created them. When you told them the news about the baby they couldn't stop smiling, texting you the next day that they could barely feel their cheeks and their reaction to being asked to be your child's Godsibling really set it in stone for you. The three of you spent a lot of time together, you loved how they and Pedro got along so you figuratively adopted them as your own.

"Yeah I'm excited, maybe a bit worried, but excited nonetheless."

You frowned. Worried about what?

"Worried about what?" Bella asked, taking the words right out of your mouth. Pedro shrugged. "You're great with kids though."

He nodded. "But it's different when it's your own, you have to be a great example of what she should be, a role model and what if I'm not the best example?"

You placed your hand on your stomach out of habit, why did he never say this to you before? You had told him your doubts about becoming a mother and he reassured you every time, surely you'd do the same for him. You straightened yourself up and knocked on the door frame peeking your head from behind the wall. "Hellooo."

"YN!" Bella exclaimed, they sprinted out of their seat leaving Pedro in the dust, and they carefully engulfed you in a loving embrace. "How's it going, honey?"

"Good, just shooting and talking to the old man here."

You looked up at Pedro who had a sheepish smile on his face, you bent your lips in attempting to hide your own grin but you couldn't help it, every time you saw him it poured a bit more joy into your soul. Bella's eye ran between you and Pedro and they grimaced. "I will leave you two to be gross, bye baby." They planted a kiss on your tummy and another on your cheek before leaving you and Pedro alone. You reached out hoping to receive a hug which he gladly delivered. He nuzzled his nose into your neck and planted a small kiss on the side. "Hi, mama."

"Hi baby, you okay?"

"Better now that you guys are here." He never left out his unborn child, often referring to you as two people now. You two pulled apart, you lifted up the brown bag containing your meals and gently shook it. "Was hoping we could have lunch together."

Pedro's eyes sparkled with love at the way you said that. "Always. No drinks though?" You closed your eyes in immediate defeat, you knew your hand felt empty but you didn't know what was missing. "They're in the car, sorry, mommy brain." He playfully pouted laying his palm out and asking for the keys. "No, it's cool I'll get them." You reassured.

"YN." That tone was stern, he barely wanted you holding that lunch bag let alone waddling back to the car for drinks, you kissed your teeth and handed over the car keys. "Meet me in my trailer?"

You agreed and watched him vanish. You took your sweet time navigating back out of the hallway and maneuvered around the set until you arrived at Pedro's trailer outside, thank goodness Alberta's weather was tolerable today, it wasn't too cold but half the time you couldn't tell anyway. The constant hot flashes had you boiling in your own sauna for one minute and freezing your ass off when it died down. You made your way inside, you huffed completely exhausted from your little trip, after catching your breath you sat down on the couch and placed the bag on the table.

As you took the contents out the door swung open revealing Pedro holding the tray with your drinks and a little bag in his hand. "Thank you." You took the tray out of his hands and placed it on the table, you nodded toward the bag. "What's that?"

"They had red velvet cupcakes at the snack table and I know that's been one of your cravings lately, so I... snatched an unopened container..."

You shook your head. There really wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you. You thanked him and placed the treat next to your food. The cushion next to you sank as he sat down, you could feel his gaze on you but tried your best to avoid it. He raised his hand and proper his finger under your chin to turn your head towards him. "I knew you were coming."

"Shut up no you didn't."

He gave you a quick kiss on the lips, you whined wanting a longer one. "Yes, I did." He replied. "How was the appointment? Everything's good?"

You nodded. "She still has ten fingers, ten toes and a big head."

He frowned. "Don't talk about my baby like that." You laughed kissing his head as an apology. The two of you finally dug into your meals, talking about what was new even though you didn't have many updates. Pedro talked about how the show was going and how much he was enjoying filming. You were proud of him, his career had really skyrocketed recently and though it kept him busy you were happy to hold down the fort for him.

After you finished eating you made yourself extra comfortable on the sofa, leaning against the armrest with your legs laid out on the cushions. Pedro chuckled at how exhausted you were, it was cute, it couldn't be easy carrying around a boulder all day. He assisted in removing your crocs and letting you rest but not before crawling between your legs and gently relaxing his head beside your belly. You absentmindedly ran your hands through his hair and rested it on the back of his head.

Slumber was near and you tried so hard to fight it but judging by how quiet you'd become, it wasn't hard for Pedro to tell you were dozing off. He planted a light kiss on your stomach with a gentle poke at your belly button which earned a kick from the baby. "Yeah, I know you're in there." You smiled at their communication. "I'm ready for her to be out here." You mumbled sleepily. "Me too."

"I chose the best person in the world to create life with, you are going to be an amazing father Pedrito. You spoil her and she's not even here yet, you've shown her so much love that at this point I am just carrying her for you and you only." 

He looked up at you figuring you overheard his conversation with Bella. "I don't think baby Pascal would've chosen us for no reason."

The reassurance gave him a bit of a boost, slowly melting away whatever doubts he had earlier today. "I love you." He cooed. "I love you too, baby."

He rubbed your belly and nuzzled his nose on the side. "And I love you, mi corazoncito." 

If you're new here (hi how are ya) I have this thing where I like to write my boys as fathers so expect a lot more of this. Especially with Pedro because... I mean, it's him. also I heard Bella Ramsey is non-binary, correct me if I'm wrong though i don't mind if you liked this fic, feel free to like this fic. Comments and reblogs are appreciated. I will be going back to the regularly scheduled program of the main 3, but we'll circle back to Papi Pedro soon dw😏 peace and love

tags: @skyesthebomb

[couldawouldashoulda50]

This is Part One of my entry for the wonderful @cellythefloshie's birthday BINGO, featuring Matthew Knies (I know he was past the 2018 cutoff but celly gave me the green light for him). Although I did get bingo with my 5 tropes (Virginity, Age Gap, Secret Lovers, Meet Cute, Pining), the 5 are spread across Part One and Two. I am finishing Part Two soon, and then there might be a smaller third part - I just haven't figured out the fine art of writing smaller fics yet but I'm working on it. Nevertheless HAPPY (early) BIRTHDAY CELLY! I hope you enjoy this ❤️

Warnings/Notes - profanity, toxic parenting, parent estrangement. This part mainly covers the initial development of Matthew and the OC

OC Face Claim - Anna Katharina

Approx Word Count - 5.7k

August, 2024

Well, this is a huge fucking mistake… Lana thought to herself, forcing a smile as she sat across from her date.

She chastised herself further in her mind. Shit—I can't even remember his name. Was it Terry…or Jerry? Wait…Phil? No, he was last week. Fuck.

Against her better judgment, Lana allowed her arm to be twisted by her beloved brother to go on yet another blind date.

"Just try, Lana—just try again," he'd say. Now, she was wasting away across from this person, who was blathering about a subject that she had already forgotten about, alongside his name.

Lana rotated the highball glass with her fingertips, as she pretended to show interest in the man's one-sided conversation. Although her eyes appeared to be focused on his face, she was actually gazing out the window, just over the man's shoulder. From the 51st floor of the ManuLife Centre, the view of that particular evening boasted a magnificent August sunset, which added to the magical twilight of the Toronto city skyline.

Lana pouted in her mind. Why can't I be sitting here admiring the view with someone I love? Or even like? Attracted to, maybe?

It was from these moments of desperation, or weakness—whichever it was—that she found herself in this blind date situation to begin with.

She loved her brother, Andrew, for trying to set her up with a decent guy to develop a connection with. Lana thought it was reasonable that he might know a little more about men and dating since Andrew was in a loving relationship with Jason, his long-time partner.

She thought it was reasonable mainly because Lana had never dated anyone.

As in never, ever, ever.

Based on the non-success of the past men that Andrew sent her way, Lana felt her relationship status would not be changing anytime soon either.

Lana snapped back to reality just in time to catch what's-his-name staring at her tits as he finished his sentence.

She smiled demurely as she studied his expression. She really had not heard a word he had said, and it did not appear that he was awaiting a response from her. Seizing the opportunity, she excused herself and headed off in the direction of the ladies' room.

She turned back around to glance at her date. He was already otherwise occupied, ogling a nearby female server.

In the confines of the washroom stall, Lana swiped open her phone to remind herself of the name of the man she regretted suggesting to meet at one of her favorite restaurants.

Upon finding it, she muttered "Darren."

Lana responded to a text her brother had sent her earlier, asking how things were going.

L - Do you think that Jason can start vetting these guys before you send them my way? Personality of a piece of cardboard. I think I actually may have lost consciousness while he rambled on…

Andrew must have been waiting for her message, as he promptly responded.

A- Jason and I love you but we're done with sending you men. Coming to breakfast tomorrow?

Lana smiled at her brother's message. He always teased her saying she wouldn't have the foggiest clue what to do with a man anyway.

L - Love you both too. Breakfast is a no-go. Taking a client to view some condos. TTYL

A- Msg me when you get home

Lana exited the stall and glanced at her reflection as she washed her hands. She pondered what method she would use this time to send Darren packing.

Interestingly, most men never bothered to call once she handed them her business card anyway.

They seemed to trip over the word "Owner", especially of one of the most prestigious real estate brokerages in Toronto.

As they wrapped up their date, Lana cordially offered her business card with her contact information. Darren glanced at her card and then back at her. His expression gave her all the information she needed to know about the man standing before her.

Other than "Owner", there was a second word that was a lingering fact about Lana. A word that had begun to plague her mind and body more and more. She always wondered how a man would react, if in fact they were ever able to look past the first word, and get to know her more.

That second word was virgin.

▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊

Lana and her older brother Andrew grew up in a small, close-knit community approximately two hours northwest of Toronto.

Their parents were cold, strict, and controlling towards their children. Although they made sure Andrew and Lana had everything they needed, there were always strings attached with everything they were provided.

Andrew was intelligent, strong-willed, and independent from an early age. Being 5 years younger, Lana idolized her handsome older brother. In turn, he adored her and always pushed her to succeed in everything she tried. Their bond became even stronger as their parents became even more controlling with Lana as she approached her high school years.

Andrew clashed badly with their parents, experiencing constant conflict and turmoil while living under the same roof. Andrew was determined to leave as soon as he could. He worked multiple jobs while still managing to excel academically. After earning as much money as he could, Andrew left to study architecture abroad at 18.

Once Andrew departed, his parents no longer acknowledged his existence. Andrew always felt a tremendous amount of guilt and remorse knowing he had deserted his beloved little sister. From afar, he did his best to help his sister navigate their parents' increasingly stern and uncompromising attitude toward her.

Meanwhile, Lana was experiencing rapid growth spurts at the age of 13. She was long, lean, and had natural curves which enhanced her athletic build. Her mother often shunned her appearance, making her feel that her natural beauty and her blossoming figure were a detriment and a cross to bear.

As she entered high school, it would mark the hardest time of her life.

Lana's mother drowned her with archaic myths and cautionary tales about boys, sex, disease, and unplanned pregnancy. She would be forever "ruined" if she gave in to having relations out of wedlock. As the ever-dutiful daughter, Lana absorbed everything her parents said and never scrutinized or disobeyed them.

The teenage boys at her school, with their raging desires fueling their comments as she walked by them, did little to convince Lana that her mother might be wrong in her teachings.

Teenage girls were in some cases worse than the boys. The behavior of the girls at Lana's school was full of envy and competitiveness. She often felt ostracized and alone during her first weeks and months of high school.

Lana would message Andrew in tears in the stall of the girls' washroom between classes. He was always there for her with words of comfort but would only allow her just a few tears of pity. Andrew would then coach her on how she would need to rise above it all. Step by step, Lana put her head down, studied hard, and became active in student council and various athletic programs.

Lana developed a no-nonsense type of attitude which served her well in her secondary school years, as well as keeping the peace at home. She managed to forge a few solid friendships with those who were authentic, intelligent, and did not concern themselves with trends or being popular.

At the end of high school, Lana was rewarded for her diligence and focus by excelling in academics, athletics, and the arts. She received a full scholarship to enter the Law program at the University of Toronto.

Fast-forwarding through her first two years in university, she maintained the same steadfast and hard-working mentality that was part of her nature. However, Lana soon discovered that Law did not ignite her passion. With Andrew carving his own path in architectural design and serving as her constant guide and mentor, she uncovered an unexpected love for real estate.

She landed a paid internship with a brokerage firm owned by an older gentleman by the name of Reine Schmidt. Reine immediately recognized Lana's dogged determination, her intellect, and her willingness to learn.

Reine taught Lana everything he knew. He had a proven track record of understanding trends to predict future outcomes, alongside his charisma, sharp wit, and masterful negotiation skills. With the guidance of her brother, Lana eventually followed her instincts and dropped out of university to work alongside her older mentor.

Lana's parents were furious and, in a fit of true toxicity, they severed ties with their daughter completely as they had done with their son.

As the cloud of devastation from the estrangement dissipated, Reine became a much-needed father figure in Lana's life. He provided her with shelter, which was merely a back room of the brokerage office. He helped her with the bare minimum, just enough to set her off in the right direction. The rest, Lana would have to work on and figure out for herself.

And she did. As the years went on, Lana gained a reputation throughout the GTA, being touted as Reine Schmidt's brilliant and beautiful protégé. She was elegant and poised while being creative and shrewd in her negotiation tactics. By the time she was thirty, Lana had her own substantial property portfolio, worth millions of dollars as the Toronto real estate market exploded.

When Reine became too ill to fulfill his responsibilities at his firm, he appointed Lana to step in on an interim basis. She did not know it at the time, but Reine had already decided to will her the firm. He just needed to make doubly sure that she was ready.

Lana remained by Reine's side as his illness progressed. He had no family to speak of, and he always said that he was not in the business of making friends. But he had grown to love Lana like a daughter, and although he never said as much, he was grateful that she made sure he was not alone during his last moments on earth.

▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊

Lana awoke the following morning with the memory of her near abysmal date from the night before all but washed away. Retrieving her cell from her nightstand, she broke her own rule about no screens until after she had completed her morning Pilates. She just wanted to check if what's-his-name had messaged.

He had not.

Her business card had become like a detection device which helped identify those that would waste her time. Moreover, she was pleased that she could still calculate risk and probability by simply observing someone's non-verbal cues and other subtle behaviors.

Lana laid back on her pillow and gazed out her floor-to-ceiling windows in her bedroom. Her panoramic view of the city displayed all the colors of the sunrise of a late summer's morning. But the sunrise triggered a pang of loneliness within her. The sunset had a similar effect on her last night, and now the sunrise was having a go. She wanted someone to lie with and enjoy the wondrous city views in the morning. She longed to have someone to sit with at dinner and have them witness the perfection of a sunset by her side. She wanted to feel what it's like to crave someone and have them equally yearn for her.

Pushing her lonely thoughts aside, Lana yawned and stretched and slid out of bed, turning her phone off until it was time to leave for the office.

Any other morning, Lana would have opted to take transit, walk, or even run to her office. She quickly realized the good fortune of driving to work that day in an air-conditioned vehicle. The humidex was already climbing and it was only just 7 a.m. Another sweltering summer day in the city had begun.

As she drove, she mentally pre-planned her morning. Yesterday, a last-minute request came in from a very important client-turned-friend to view some condo listings in the downtown area. What left Lana perplexed was who the request was from.

Lana's mind drifted to another thought while idling at a traffic light.

Just two more weeks—two more weeks until I'm off and I'll press pause on the whole "trying to find a mate" search. Maybe I'm just meant to be alone. Maybe you just need to sleep with someone once and that'll be enough… maybe he's just not out there…. Lana mulled over these thoughts as she ventured south on St. George Street.

It had become a custom for Lana to flee the city at the beginning of September and spend a few weeks at the expansive lakeside home that she co-owned with her brother. With 5+ acres and an exceptional lakefront, it was a place where Lana could experience quiet for a while. That is, quiet after their friends, colleagues, and in some cases clients, descended onto the property for a popular get-together for the Labor Day weekend.

Arriving at her office before 7:30, Lana slipped into her leather chair and dove into a landslide of unread emails.

As the office began to fill, she left her office to greet her assistant and enjoy a morning chat. To Lana, this was one of her most favorite times of the day. Despite her upbringing, Lana sought connection with her professional family and was nurturing and compassionate to all of her associates. In turn, her staff were fiercely loyal to her and it showed in their combined success at the firm.

Lana returned to her office to tie up a few loose ends before her appointment arrived.

Ainsley tapped on Lana's office door, letting her know her 9 a.m. had arrived, and asked if she would like them escorted to her office. In her mind, Lana tripped over the word "them" as she was only expecting one person. Shaking off the confusion, she declined Ainsley's offer and thanked her as she made her way down the corridor.

As she approached the reception area, she was prepared to see Aryne Tavares but not her handsome husband John and another even more striking man standing next to the couple.

Lana's professional-turned-friendly relationship with the Tavares' began with helping Aryne navigate the Toronto housing market when John was traded from the Islanders to Toronto. Although John was present during some of the preliminary preference discussions, Aryne always appreciated how Lana focused mainly on her and her needs during the conversation, as opposed to her husband. Oftentimes, it was the opposite with other firms and their agents who wanted to talk hockey or suck up to the player in the hopes they might be able to drum up more business for themselves.

For several years, Lana's name had become the number one recommended by the majority of Toronto WAGs who were either in search of shorter-term furnished rentals or more permanent homes. She understood and made it clear (while treading lightly) that where the player-husbands were often making the salary allowing the upscale and sometimes super luxurious homes, it was the wives and families that had to live in them day in and day out. As such, Lana's firm cornered the market for finding suitable homes for Toronto's professional athletes and their families. Due to the unique demands, she created a specialized team and trained them specifically to work with sports agents, significant others, and the player's surrounding support system.

Lana's eyes lit up, as did Aryne's, as they greeted each other and hugged warmly.

"What an amazing surprise! Good morning!" Lana gushed, first embracing Aryne and then John.

Lana approached the third individual standing slightly behind John. He was taller than the veteran player by a couple of inches, visibly younger, and was extremely broad and fit.

Lana thought she recognized his face but couldn't quite place it.

Aryne made the introductions. "This is Matthew Knies. Matthew, this is Lana — she's a friend and has been our real estate guru for a number of years."

Matthew's cheeks were already burning when he first glimpsed at Lana. He was positive he had never seen a woman nearly as beautiful as she was.

But when Lana turned and looked directly into his eyes while extending her hand, that's when his insides fell apart. He had difficulty swallowing, and he realized his mouth was slightly agape.

Lana squeezed his hand warmly. "I thought I recognized you. It's really wonderful to meet you, Matthew."

Trying to pull himself together, he shook her hand and with a dry throat, he squeaked out, "Nice to meet you too."

As Lana escorted the group towards her office, Aryne explained that she and John just wanted to help sort through some of the available condo listings for Matthew.

Lana smiled and explained to Aryne and John her initial confusion when the request for condo listings appeared under the "Tavares" file. After all, she had already helped Aryne find their ideal home twice as their family grew.

Matthew had resided with the Tavares family at the beginning of the 2023/24 season and later moved to a rental unit downtown mid-way through the season. Unfortunately, for various reasons, he was not at all happy in that building and wanted to start the upcoming season in more suitable place. Although it was not discussed in their meeting, the main reason being that Matthew and his now ex-girlfriend had parted ways in that same unit, and it was not an amicable ending to say the least.

Lana appreciated having John and Aryne there to assist Matthew. In recent years, other members of her sales team had primarily handled the real estate needs of younger male players. Time was ticking before the start of the season, and Lana wanted to be efficient in pinpointing exactly what would suit Matthew. John's input would be valuable in considering practical factors, especially regarding proximity to Scotiabank Arena and the practice rink in the southwest end of the city.

As Matthew sat diagonally across from Lana, he pretended to show interest in the selected listings which Lana walked them through on the large monitor mounted on her wall.

But it was only Lana that held his attention.

Matthew wanted to absorb every detail of her from head to toe. He wanted to stare and drink in every detail of her face.

Not wanting to appear obvious, he made sure his eyes didn't linger too long when they wandered to catch another glimpse of her as she pointed out various features in each listing.

Matthew had not even realized that his auto-pilot responses were in full swing. He barely recalled agreeing to see a handful of ready-to-show condos in the surrounding area and that it would be Lana herself giving him a tour of each unit.

Lana rose from her desk. "So Matthew, if you're alright for time now, it sounds like we'll be spending the morning together."

Matthew smiled as he silently willed his cock not to twitch at the very thought of being with Lana in any capacity, morning, noon, or night.

"Sure — absolutely… I'm all yours."

With the feeling that his heart was in his throat, Matthew realized how true those words had become in just half an hour after meeting this siren.

Lana stopped by Ainsley's desk and quietly gave some instructions for tasks that could be taken care of while she was out. Ainsley couldn't help but look past Lana ever so subtly at the handsome young player as she nodded her head.

Sensing that Matthew had caught her pretty assistant's eye, Lana gave Ainsley a knowing smile. "You want me to find out if he's dating anyone?" she quietly asked.

A bashful smile spanned Ainsley's face. "Oh my god, he's just so hot… I don't know… I guess it would be nice just to know if he's got a girlfriend?" she replied under her breath.

Ever so coolly, Lana gave Ainsley a discreet wink. "I'll see what I can find out and report back later, ok?"

Ainsley beamed, barely able to suppress her excitement as she nodded enthusiastically.

Lana joined the group as they meandered down the corridor towards the elevators. Little did she know that this little "meet cute" with Matthew Knies would soon change her entire world.

▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊

Later in the day, Matthew arrived at the building of his close friend and teammate, Joseph Woll. He pressed the intercom button and within seconds, the door to the lobby clicked open and Matthew made his way towards the elevator.

Minutes later, Matthew was at Joe's door, which he had left propped slightly open inviting him just to come on through. Matthew always appreciated Joe's easy-going and considerate nature and felt grateful for his friend and how they both seemed to naturally anchor each other.

He walked through to the open living room and kitchen area where Joseph was working away assembling his most recent Lego project — the famous Concorde aircraft.

Joe glanced over the tail of his newest Lego set towards Matthew. "How did it go — see anything you liked?"

Fuck… yeah, only it wasn't a condo, Matthew mused to himself.

"Not sure… I guess nothing really stood out," Matthew replied as he flopped onto the nearby couch. "Might take a few more times… I just want to pick the right one."

Without looking up from snapping a series of small blocks together, Joe continued. "Too bad there's not anything available in this building…" He searched the table for the next appropriate piece before adding, "…but then again if you moved in, maybe there's such a thing as seeing someone too much…"

Matthew looked at his friend with a pained expression. "Ouch — fuck, bro… is that what you think?" he chuckled.

Joe shook his head laughing. "No… I just like getting a rise out of you. Oh—and just letting you know that we're meeting up with the rest of the guys at the bar around 8 tonight. I guess it's guys only now… the girlfriends opted to do something else."

"Who's all going? Mints, Cowboy…?"

Joe continued, "Me, you, Bobbo, Mints, Cowboy, but then there's a few vets coming — Max, Muzz… Doaner I think. It's shaping up to be a fun night."

Matthew stretched and yawned. "Sounds like it. Alright… fuck — I need a nap. Can I crash here for a bit? I don't feel like going back to my place."

Joe was concentrating on reading the instructions for the rudder for the plane. "Be my guest… we'll head out to the bar together then. I think you've even got a pair of shorts and a shirt here so you can change. Crash as long as you want."

Matthew traipsed down the hallway to the second bedroom and fell backward onto the mattress. He was tired, but his mind bounced in a million directions, wondering about what Lana was doing now and how her day would end. He wondered if she went home to a perfect husband or significant other who loved her and treated her right, or if she was with some prick who would never realize just how amazing she is.

Matthew's insides were starting to twist and flutter each time his memory pulled him back to the seemingly insignificant moments of that day. Sitting next to her in her car. Chatting seamlessly while stuck in traffic. Riding the elevator with her, or holding the door for her whenever they entered or exited a prospective condo.

His mind traveled back to the quick lunch they had, where Lana couldn't stop laughing after Matthew told her a story from his childhood. When she continued to chuckle about it for the rest of their time together, Matthew thought he might melt with desire right then.

Matthew finally pushed past the restlessness he had begun to feel and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Later that evening at an upscale sports bar, the table of hockey players cheered when the servers presented the group with the most bizarre and fascinating Caesar concoctions. The popular Canadian cocktail was adorned with everything from pulled pork sandwiches and burgers on skewers to tempura prawns and dessert options.

The group's boisterous laughter marked the upbeat and optimistic mood of the group with the start of a new season just around the corner.

Matthew tried to mimic the mood but he simply wasn't there in mind or spirit. He even ignored being chirped by a few of the rookies for nursing his Corona and avoiding the subsequent tequila shot altogether.

Matthew had a close friendship burgeoning with former rookie Bobby McMann, whom he sat next to at the table. Bobby noticed Matthew's glum demeanor but initially assumed it was over the demise of his recent relationship.

Bobby clinked the clear glass neck of his beer bottle against Matthew's, which was still virtually untouched. "It'll get better, man—try not to let it drag you down too far."

Matthew nodded and smiled to acknowledge his friend's support.

Joe, who was sitting across the table, silently wondered about the change in his friend's mood. Yes, Matthew had been through some turmoil in the past months with ending a relationship that had gone off the rails. However, after the dust had settled in the off-season, his mood and outlook were full of confidence once again. Joe knew Matthew was really geared up about finding a new place quickly, so perhaps his low mood was a result of not having any luck that day. It didn't quite compute in Joe's head, but he would keep his thoughts to himself, for now at least.

When Matthew quietly announced to those sitting nearest to him that he was done for the night and was heading home, Joe and Shane (Doan) walked him out just to make sure their good friend was alright before taking off. Matthew assured them he was, that he was just tired.

He ordered an Uber and was back home in no time, but the change in location to his quiet condo only exacerbated him more. Pulling out Lana's business card, adorned with her headshot that he couldn't avert his eyes from, he placed it on the coffee table. He picked up his guitar, a not-so-new hobby that Matthew freed his mind with, much like his buddy Joe did with Lego, and began to pick at the strings. He was pissed with himself as he tried, and failed, to think of anything else other than contacting his new and unexpected crush.

Setting the guitar aside, he picked up his phone, entered Lana's cell number into his contacts and sent her a brief message, beginning with an apology hoping it wasn't too late to reach out to her.

Matthew was pleasantly surprised that she responded within minutes. He asked Lana a series of questions, all about viewing more condos, but it was mostly to establish whether he could reach out to her specifically. She responded that indeed he could, and she would do her best to accommodate his schedule in the coming days. Matthew wasted no time in setting up a time with Lana for the following day, and then two days after that.

He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

Following a silent moment, Matthew then shook his head and muttered to himself to get a fucking grip and that he was acting completely ridiculous by already pining over a woman that he didn't even know.

▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊▣◊

As the end of August approached, Lana and Matthew had spent a considerable amount of time sorting through listings and narrowing down options to view. Lana encouraged Matthew to be selective, as it was important for him to be happy in the space where he would spend the majority of the next eight or nine months.

On the other hand, she knew the start of the season was sneaking up quickly and she hoped, for his sake, that he would find a place before training camp, media days and everything else that goes with it was upon him.

Matthew secretly knew this and sometimes felt he was playing with fire, appearing either indecisive or hard to please with the places Lana showed him. With this in mind, Matthew quickly finalized his decision on a place and chose a second one as a backup.

He also wanted to take the plunge and ask Lana out for dinner to say thank-you.

The following afternoon, Matthew sat next to Lana on the sleek, white sofa in her office as she walked him through the paperwork. The air between them was comfortable and relaxed, but the professional nature of their relationship was still very prominent. While initialing and signing wherever Lana indicated with her elegantly simple manicured nails, Matthew tried to ignore the anxiousness that was swirling in his mind.

Lana had consumed his every thought since he first met her. Whether he was in the midst of strength training or skate drills, he imagined what it would feel like if she was there watching him. He thought about her in traffic, in the shower, or running out to get food. He continuously caught himself having these harmless daydreams and did his best to shoo them away in order to refocus his mind, but often he was fighting a losing battle.

With his last initial inked on the page, Lana smiled widely and extended her hand. "Congratulations, Mr. Knies—I think you'll be very happy in your new place. It really is such a great neighborhood."

"Well, thanks… yeah, I know I will. And thank you for all your help. And for being patient with me. I hope it didn't feel like I was never going to choose one… you just gave me so many great options," Matthew smiled as he shook her hand.

As they stood, Lana felt a little disappointed that this might be the last time her and Matthew crossed paths. Her initial impressions of him and his frat boy exterior had almost immediately dissolved and she found him to be very mature and he spoke with an intelligence that was far beyond his years. Oftentimes, Lana found that she genuinely looked forward to seeing him, especially the times when they decided to walk to each destination instead of fighting traffic. She had only felt this level of comfort, ease and enjoyment with a select group of people, and although she never would have expected it, she considered Matthew a friend.

If she was really being totally honest with herself, she had thought about him as a little bit more than a friend as her base female urges had only increased since she met him. Lana often fell asleep feeling frustrated, squeezing her thighs together to try and get relief from the pressure building in her core.

Lana moved towards the door, knowing she had limited time before her next meeting. “I hope you won’t be a stranger but I can only imagine how busy you’ll be once the season starts. Oh - and all the best…I hope you guys have a really great year ahead.”

Feeling that time was not on his side, Matthew’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously and stepped in close to Lana.

“Hey - well, I kind of felt like I was being a bit of a pain in the ass with monopolizing your time, so to say thanks, I - I was wondering if maybe you’d let me take you out to dinner sometime?

Lana’s eyes softened as she smiled, feeling flushed at Matthew’s invite. “Absolut - “

“Sorry to interrupt,” Ainsley appeared at the door, her eyes darted between the expression on Lana and Matthew faces. “Your 3:00 is here.” The curtness in Ainsley's voice would be unrecognizable to most, but Lana picked up on it quickly. She had all but forgotten that Ainsley had developed a crush on the young hockey player. Normally, her attractive assistant caught the attention of most guys around Matthew's age and type, but any interactions she had with Matthew thus far were strictly polite and professional.

Lana thanked her and said she would be out momentarily. She made a mental note to check in with Ainsley later, as she noticed her pursed lips before she walked stiffly down the hallway.

Lana turned back to Matthew. “How about this, I send you a note once I’m home from work and we can get something arranged, ok?

“Perfect - I guess until then…” Matthew postured for a hug which Lana gladly accepted.

For a split second in his embrace, she imagined how it would feel if his hands held her a little more firmly. Pulled her in a little more tightly.

She watched as he sauntered out into the reception area, quietly mumbling as she chastised herself.

“He’s 21…you're 32. Get your mind off of this notion, Lana.”

But for the remainder of the day, she couldn't stop the fluttery sensation in her stomach. It mystified and excited her but it was a feeling that also terrified her.

After her last meeting had wrapped up for the day, she hurriedly sent a message to Andrew and Jason. She flagged it as urgent for good measure.

L - Are either of you home tonight? Desperately needing advice - can I come by?

Jason responded first.

J - Are you ok? Already setting a place for you at the dinner table.

Andrew responded asking the same question.

Lana paused, held her breath and typed in each letter slowly.

L - I think I'm interested in someone.

There was a silence that could be felt, even over the phone.

Andrew eventually responded.

A- Jason probably fainted. You might want to pick up something stronger to drink than wine.

[yandere-paramour]

How would our yans react to a Chronically Ill!Darling?

I've got fibromyalgia and a few other things that the doctors can't figure out, and I practically live off Tylenol and ibuprofen, how would they react to finding it out or how would they take care of them?

Before anything, Vivien is a caregiver. He is an amazing partner to have if you're chronically ill. No matter how bad it gets, you could be bleeding, puking, diarrhea-ing yourself into oblivion all over him and he would clean it all up with no protest and then bring you a cold drink. Obviously, he doesn't want to deal with puke and shit, but if it's you, it's worth doing. No matter how gross, tedious, or annoying a task is, you're feeling worse and it's his responsibility to help you feel better. He doesn't mind if you snap at him or push him away, he knows everyone gets snippy and frustrated when they're sick or hurt; he'll just go take a walk until you text him to come back. He won't mention it, but he will accept your apology with a kiss if you offer. Above everything else in the world, he lives to serve, love, and care for you. As long as you're letting him in, he's in ecstasy. He hates seeing you in such a state, but he loves taking care of you. It's okay, you'll be better soon. He can be patient.

Atalanta loves caring for you, but she also has the money to do more. She will hire only the most knowledgeable doctors and researchers to study you and your case only. Expect the longest doctor's appointment of your life as they examine every part of you. They will run labs and study your condition; there will be an entire university floor of research dedicated to improving your health. Atalanta has to run the company so she simply cannot be by your side every minute, but she will hire a rotating cast of nurses to be by your side at any and every time (think Marta from Knives Out). The nurses will all be great companions, too; she can easily match their personalities and interests to yours, and they will be friends as well as caretakers. Depending on the severity of your condition, she might get a nurse or three to live on the floor below the apartment so there is always at least one person nearby to always ensure your health and survival. Atalanta isn't for the messy parts, but she will always be only a phone call and a 10-minute drive away from love and support. You will improve from all the illegal medications and painkillers she can smuggle into the country, and you will be the healthiest you've ever been from the nutritionist carefully planning your diet. Need a hospital stay? Atalanta will personally accompany you to a stay at a private hospital and stay calm and steady the whole time, even if she's worrying herself to death internally. Anything you can need or want is yours, and you will feel the best you ever have. You might even be cured via some experimental treatments she funds. She's not above throwing on a suit and blackmailing all the bigwigs in the entire city into donating hundreds of thousands at a "Fibromyalgia Research Fund" gala. No expense is too much for you.

[venus-is-thinking]

DRDT Handwriting Analysis

Hello everyone! I decided to take a look at the canonical handwriting of the various characters in DRDT. We've actually seen a good number of handwritings and it definitely seems like they are specifically written differently, so it's a fun new dimension of the characters we can look at. I've done my best to compile all of them in this post, but please let me know if I've missed any!

I'll be going in order of when we first see them, starting with:

Arei Nageishi!

Arei is our first handwriting reveal, which we know because she wrote the arm wrestling contest board in Chapter 1, Episode 2! She seems to write in all caps and has a slightly curvy style.

Min Jeung!

Whoops, murder time. Min's handwriting is seen on the "OUT OF ORDER" sign. We don't know it's hers when we first see it, but in the trial, it's revealed that she must have written it.

As far as I remember, we don't have another sample of her handwriting, which is unfortunate, given that I believe this is probably not what her real handwriting looks like. She's clearly printing in very straight lines; it's probably meant to look official. If it looked handwritten, it would lower the credibility of the out of order sign.

I also tried to see if you could tell what any handwriting looked like from the papers on the table in the Bonus Episode she's in, but I didn't manage to pick anything out that was actually legible. So, I guess we don't really know what Min's handwriting would normally look like.

Xander Matthews!

Xander wrote "Charles Cuevas' Motive" on this DVD, but a lot of it got smudged off when he planted it in the CD reader (god I hope I got it right I'm sorry Charles I'm trying to remember which is which).

He seems to use all caps. It's also not the neatest, given that the two Cs run into each other despite being on different lines.

Notably, there is a more filled-out version.

However, the red text isn't written by Xander himself, because he's dead at the time. As best I can figure, this is Teruko writing in an impression of Xander's handwriting. The image of the CD appears as Teruko says, "Hm, are you talking about this?" implying she's the one carrying it, and the rest of the writing is filled in when she says so. It might seem like it would be Rose, given that she's the one who figures out what it's supposed to say, but Rose instructs someone else to rotate it, so it can be assumed Rose isn't holding it. Teruko is the one to take the DVD out of the player at the end of investigation, so I'd really assume it's her.

...HOWEVER!

We actually have a specific example of Teruko replicating Xander's handwriting! She smudges it during investigation and re-writes it on. It seems to me like the creator went back to the original version of the CD in the trial (the little ink blot at the left of the O matches better with the first of the two images here, imo). I doubt there was much internal consistency given to how Teruko writes Xander's handwriting when trying to replicate it on this CD, but...

Teruko Tawaki!

Teruko's handwriting is bad-bad. It's very shaky and she struggles with letters. The O and C (as she thinks she's writing) that she replicates back on the CD have some more of the shakiness that this handwriting has, which implies to me that the creator knew at the point of the Chapter 1 murder that Teruko's handwriting wasn't smooth. The replication of Xander's handwriting in red back in Xander's section looks smoother than I think Teruko's would, which might be points towards someone else having written it. No clue who, though.

Notably for Teruko, I honestly wonder if she's meant to have dysgraphia? I don't know a ton about it, but it's a learning disability that makes it much harder for people with the condition to handwrite clearly. Just an interesting sidenote, if anyone with dysgraphia knows more/if this is wrong to say in some way, please let me know!

Charles Cuevas!

Back on track, I skipped ahead with Teruko to put hers next to Xander's. We don't technically have confirmation that this is Charles' handwriting, but it's very very heavily implied. It's written in cursive, which Whit says Charles writes in in the Chapter 2 trial.

This also implies that Whit has seen Charles' handwriting, which could add more to imply that this is his, but considering Charles has evidently seen Whit's (more in a sec), I don't think that means much.

Plus, as a fun note, Charles' custom weapon is the only one that isn't listed on the above handwriting sample. This is the biggest factor in me believing that it's Charles'. (Plus, I think Whit says something about getting it from a friend? I'm not reopening the episode sorry gang)

Whit Young?

Wait, where's the handwriting?

Well, as far as I remember, we haven't actually seen Whit's handwriting. We know from Charles that he dots his Is with hearts, but that's all we got. Sorry gang.

Eden Tobisa!

Eden literally gave us a handwriting sample. Thanks!

It's pretty cute! She has a curvier handwriting style with some irregular spacing, which I think gives it nice charm and character.

The Chapter 2 Killer??? (or accomplice)

Idk man! It seems like it has to relate to someone who's at least somewhat guilty in this whole thing, right?

I've written briefly about why I believe this is Levi's handwriting on @1moreff-creator's Levi accomplice theory post, but that would totally work for the popular theory that he's the killer, too. Either way, it's a handwriting sample.

Bonus!

NO WIFI! WHY LIVE :(

I have no idea who wrote this. From what I can tell, it might've been here when the cast got there...? The weird thing is that it changes.

Shoutout to @accirax for remembering that the white board changed, because I did NOT notice/remember. However, that begs the question...

WHO THE HELL WROTE THIS???

It's very possibly Veronika, as she's the one who's noted to, like, know and remember what Monokuma looks like. If so, that means we have a Veronika handwriting sample, yay! I really don't know who else would be drawing Monokumas. Maybe the mastermind...?

And that's all! Clearly there's no point to this post and I can wrap this-

Haha. You didn't think I actually made a post that doesn't have a theory to it, did you?

This has all been building up to me trying to figure out who the hell wrote this note. Because, I originally believed it made the most sense if it was a note that Xander wrote to himself, but accirax pointed out that we've seen Xander's handwriting, and it looks different. Then, I started noticing that we've been receiving various handwritings. Like, a LOT of handwritings.

I think that it's plenty likely that we're going to receive EVERYONE'S handwriting at some point throughout this series. Notably, all characters who have died thus far (Xander, Min, Arei, Chapter 2 Killer Even Though We Don't Know Who They Are) have already shown us their handwriting. This is probably because we're going to figure out who wrote this note at some point.

Does that mean everyone whose handwriting we've already seen thus far is safe? Maybe! I've gone through and talked about Xander, Arei, Eden, Charles and Teruko's with confidence. From what we know of Min's and Whit's, it doesn't seem like it's theirs, but I'd believe for either of them that it could be theirs if the devs wanted to pull a fast one on us (Whit could just... not write with hearts on the Is for this one. Min was replicating printed text).

I guess that means I'm saying that the most likely authors of the "Kill Teruko Tawaki" note are Mai Akasaki Ace, Rose, Hu, Arturo, Veronika, J or Nico, with Min, Whit and Levi also being possibilities that I just don't believe as strongly. I do want to note that, if Rose IS the one who wrote it, she could also easily be replicating someone else's handwriting. Ultimate Art Forger moment.

Conclusion

I compiled this image of all the handwriting I talked about with the purple being known handwriting and the gray being unknown.

I think it's really cool that the dev put time into giving each of the characters unique handwriting, and I think it's definitely a piece of evidence to keep in mind when theorizing about masterminds and killers and such.

Hopefully this was a fun read! I look forward to possibly figuring out the handwritings of literally every other character someday.

[h-emera]

5th try at writing the guide on custom pet paint mode brushes, if tumblr manages to mess this one up i will have a fit

16/10/2023 Edited: Updated to add better hash ID generating practices.

Things you'll need:

Sims 4 Studio

GIMP

Notepad

Guide:

Tools that we will be using:

We'll begin by creating a new, empty package.

Save it somewhere convenient and easy to access.

Once you've saved the package, you'll be met with this screen:

From here, we'll go to Tools > Game File Cruiser

We'll be working with Pet Coat Brush files and DST Image, but for now we'll only select Pet Coat Brush file, so that it's easier for us.

I've selected the first brush file and I've highlighted the piece of data we'll need to use.

We'll have to use the Game File Cruiser search function, but first, press "Add to current package". When you've gotten the hang of this, you can explore the pre-existing brush files and decide which one you'd prefer to use as your base, all are different and correspond to different brushes/stamps in-game.

Once you've clicked on "add to current package" your package editor should look like this:

Now we'll copy the Image1 ID and go back to Game File Cruiser, select DST Image from the file type list and enter the ID into the search bar:

Now, click "Add to current package" and now the package file you're working on will look like this:

Before we move further, we need to generate new instance ID's, we'll need 3 of them.

Go to Tools > Hash Generator

Edited 16/10/2023: When generating your hash ID's, please use your creator name ie.: "[YourCreatorName/Blogname]TutorialCustomFurCoat1", this will give you a more unique hash code than hoping to be as descriptive as possible when generating the hashes (in this case instance ID's).

Thanks to Mizore Yukii for this advice, from Creator's Musings.

In the "text" field, enter whatever text you want, I just go with the item name/description + a number, to indicate which ID it is.

We'll need 3 of FNV64 hash codes.

These are the 3 ID's that I've generated:

514EF7FCFA080185

514EF7FCFA080186

514EF7FCFA080187

We'll use the first code for the Pet Coat Brush file, the second code for Image1 (Brush file) and the third for Image2 (Brush icon file).

Your Pet Coat Brush file should look like this now, with the updated ID's.

Moving forward, we'll be changing the ID for the DST Image1 (Brush in-game) -

Now that you've done this, you need to right click on DST Images > Duplicate, you'll be prompted with this window:

In this window, you'll use the last hash code you generated for the Image2 new ID (in-game icon).

Now! It'll all look like this:

To edit the brush we'll be seeing in-game, we'll now have to edit the image, begin by exporting the image available in DST Image.

Once that's done, open it up in whatever editing software you want to use, I'll be using GIMP, because it has built in DDS exporter, I recommend you do the same, however if not interested in doing so, make sure your program can export DDS images in L8 format, if not, edit in preferred software and use GIMP to export as DDS.

Once you've made your brush, you'll want to do as follows:

IMPORTANT

It MUST be exported in the format L8, it will appear broken in-game otherwise.

Then, import your custom made brush into S4S package editor:

Do the same for the icon:

You've got the easiest part down, now, comes the part with testing how well the brush works and behaves in-game.

The responsibility of this falls onto the values you may have seen in Pet Coat Brush file -

These are the values responsible for how the brush works in-game.

I'll be upfront right now, I can't get the rotation value to work, I'm not sure if I'm doing something incorrectly, but if I figure it out, I'll add to the guide eventually. I haven't had time to test this further, but as far as I've been able to test it, it works like a charm.

These are the value meanings -

Sorry for how lazy this is presented, as once I figured out the basic meaning, I moved forward.

B1 is responsible for sorting on whether your brush is considered a Brush or a Stamp. 0 & 2 - Brush, 1 & 3 Stamp EDITED 24/10/2023: 0 is non-rotating brush, 2 is a rotating brush!

For F1, I do NOT recommend using 0 or 5, when I tested these values in-game, they were extremely laggy when attempting to paint. 1 - Smooth Painting, 2 - Spaced Apart Slightly, Overlap, 3 - Spaced One After Another, Some Overlap, 4 - Spaced One After Another, No Overlap

F2 changes the size of the brush in-game, meaning how small it can be, I believe. 0 - 1px smallest size brush, scaling up changes how small the brush can get.

F3 I suspect is brush rotation, but I could not make it work on any of the brushes I tried making, so I'm not 100 sure. This is one of the brushes you'll have to look at values for in the existing in-game brush files, as I could not get this to work for myself.

F4 is the maximum the size of the brush will become. Maximum size the brush can get, I've tested it from 0 to 5, 5 is quite large, so I recommend that, but go for smaller as well.

F5 I'm not entirely sure, however during my testing, I found that this changes where exactly the brush appears in both stamps and brush tabs in-game. There may be more to it, however, I could not figure it out. The values I tested for this were 0, 1 and 2, this affected where the item appeared - 0 - First Row, First Item, 1, First Row, 2nd Item, 2 - 2nd Row, First Item, I've seen that these can go quite high, ie the base file I used being 44, so keep that in mind while changing this setting. For my personal brushes I use 0.

I recommend comparing existing brush files to the one you're looking to edit.

I believe this is it. If there are any questions, I'll try to answer as best as I can. If anyone wants to add anything to this, please do so, I'll be elated to update and credit you for the information shared.

This all came to be because I could not find a guide, but fortunately for me, I'm too good at figuring things out and even though I didn't quite understand how the Game File Cruiser worked a few days ago, I've consumed so much information it hurts my brain.

Forgot to add: Finished product

Because I didn't edit the Pet Coat Brush file I was working on, I've made a stamp, I recommend messing around for a while though and finding what you prefer. The values themselves are pretty easy and forgiving to edit.

So account for that, you'll definitely want to edit the values responsible for the brush working correctly. If you have any questions, please let me know, I tried to make this as clear as possible, and I know this is probably over the top for a guide, but I'm the kind of person who needs every small direction, to even know what I'm doing, when I'm following a guide.

UPDATED AGAIN, I FORGOT TO ADD THE ACTUAL VALUES I FOUND.

[starsandgutters]

Good morning! May I ask for prompt 42 "true love's kiss/breaking a curse"?

Also can't wait to see the secret project, have a good day! :)

42. True love's kiss/breaking a curse [read on ao3]

I was still debating what curse to go with for this while I was writing for my Grease AU prompt. I accidentally typed Geese AU in the summary for it and so divine intervention (my clumsy typing) demanded I turn Aaron into a goose.

Aw thanks, it's my fall exchange piece so secret because of that hehe

CWs: Goose inflicted violence

There is an annoying honking sound in Kevin’s dream. The longer it persists, the more annoying it gets, until Kevin realises it is actually his alarm. He reaches out blindly for his phone, fumbling with it. Squinting open his eyes, Kevin glares at his phone screen when the honking fails to cease. There is no alarm currently on his phone. He blearily looks to his side. There is a bird standing right next to his bed. It honks at him.

Kevin does the only reasonable thing his sleep hazy mind can think to do. Which is squawk loudly in alarm and try to escape the menacing figure which has teeth what the fuck.

Nicky finds him almost at the top of the bunk bed ladder, still yelling in alarm. Also maybe a bit of hope the sound will scare off the bird. The bird has tilted its bird head and is watching Kevin. Birds don’t really have expressions, as far as Kevin is aware, but he does feel like he’s being judged.

“Holy shit,” Nicky says. “Why is there a goose in our room? Hey, Aaron, why is- Where’s Aaron?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin says, kicking out a leg at the goose. His foot comes nowhere near it, as it has not moved from where it is standing by the bed. The goose looks at Nicky and honks. Nicky squeals, and Kevin feels better, because at least he didn’t scream like a four year old girl.

“Move, Kevin, move. Let me up.”

Nicky has to text Andrew SOS BIRD EMERGENCY BEDROOM PLS HELP. Andrew finds them both huddling on the bunk bed, staring down at the goose. The goose tilts its head back and looks up at them. It shuffles, feathers puffing up like it is annoyed. Turning, the goose pushes the desk chair back. It jumps up, wings fluttering, sending papers spilling off the desk in a flurry. The goose then hops up on the desk. It stretches its head to look into the bunk bed. Nicky squeals and Kevin squawks and Andrew slowly pushes the door open. 

“Why is there a goose in your dorm?” Neil asks. The goose hisses at him in response. 

“It’s attacking us. Andrew, get rid of it,” Nicky says, pressing right against Kevin’s side. The goose honks again and hops off the desk. It waddles over to Andrew. Andrew pulls one of his knives from his armband. The goose takes a step back. It hisses. It looks around the room, before tapping its beak against Kevin’s laptop.

“Hey.” He sticks his head over the side of the bed. “Stop that.”

The goose taps more insistently. 

“Hey! Andrew, stab it.”

“I’m not going to stab it.”

“Why not? It’s threatening us,” Nicky says. 

“I’m not killing a goose in the dorm.” 

Giving up on Kevin’s laptop, the goose starts pushing things around the desk with its beak. It finds a pen and fumbles, trying to catch it with its creepy goose teeth. Clearly having some trouble. 

“It’s armed,” Kevin says. “If you kill it now it’s self defence.”

“Wait.” From the aerial view of the top bunk, they can see the goose is trying to scribble with the pen. Nicky gasps. “I think it’s trying to write.”

“How did a goose even get in here?” Neil asks. Andrew steps forward across the room. The goose has managed little more than a squiggly arrow. It turns its head to check its work and makes a sad goose noise. With some effort, it scratches a line across what it has already drawn. Maybe Kevin is dreaming after all. Andrew lifts the shape of paper. He rotates it. Neil steps up behind him. “Kind of looks like an A.”

The goose honks, pen falling free from its mouth. Andrew lowers the paper and stares blankly at the goose. The goose makes a low rumbling sound and goes back to pecking at Kevin’s laptop, trying to push it open. Neil, because he is an instigator even when it includes poultry apparently, reaches out and pushes the lid of the laptop open.

“Hey! If it eats any of my keys, you’re replacing them,” Kevin says. The goose stretches up and starts to peck a series of keys. It repeats the pattern over and over. 

“Oh shit,” Nicky says. “It’s typing Aaron.”

The goose lifts its - his? - head and honks victoriously.

“No,” Kevin says. The goose - definitely not Aaron, surely - looks at Andrew, then crosses to the other side and pokes at a pile of clothes on the ground. Aaron’s clothes. That they all overlooked with the big bird distraction. 

“Oh my god, Aaron’s a goose,” Nicky wails.

“He’s not a goose,” Kevin argues.

“It would be so funny if he were a goose,” Neil says. The goose hisses at him in response. Andrew says nothing.

“Okay, if you are Aaron, honk twice,” Nicky says. The goose does so. “See?”

“That could just be a coincidence,” Kevin says.

“Okay then, honk twice for yes, once for no. Are you Aaron?”

“Honk honk.”

“That doesn't mean anything.”

“Are you just randomly making noise?”

“Honk.”

“You’re just projecting the answer you want to hear,” Kevin says, and suddenly the goose starts flapping his wings and hissing, raising his neck up towards the top bunk. Andrew looks at him evenly. He kneels down. The goose stops flapping. He stares back. Andrew holds a hand out. The goose tilts his head, staring at the hand. He makes a soft whistling sound, taking a step back from Andrew’s hand.

“You have the same eye colour,” Neil says, looking between Andrew and the goose. 

“And it does seem to especially not like Neil,” Nicky says. The goose hisses in assent.

“We’re going to have to come up with a rota,” Andrew says, rising to his feet.

*

Being a bird sucks ass. Aaron is used to being overlooked and talked about like he is not there, but usually he can just go about his business by himself. It is very hard to get on with things when he has no arms. He’s currently waddling around the kitchen of the dorm, trying to work out if he can feed himself, since no one else seems to have considered the fact he did not get to eat either breakfast or lunch as a goose.

“No Coach, I am not fucking around,” Nicky says over the phone. “I’m not! Andrew will back me up. Andrew.”

Nicky hands the phone across to Andrew. Andrew lifts it to his ear, looking blankly at Aaron as he answers: “Yeah. He is.” 

A beat of silence.

“I’m certain.”

The volume of Wymack’s voice picks up over the line. Aaron can’t hear what he’s saying, but he can imagine it is plenty colourful. As Nicky takes the phone back and discusses with Wymack that he’ll need Abby to cover Aaron’s absence from classes until they can work out how to “ungoosify” him, Kevin brings his laptop out and sets it on the kitchen island. It had taken him far longer than Nicky to come down from hiding on the top bunk, and even now he looks wary, standing at the far side of the kitchen from Aaron.

“What do you even do with a goose? We can’t keep you in the dorm.” Kevin looks back at his screen. Aaron stretches his neck, waddling closer. Kevin clutches his laptop and steps away with a distressed sound. Aaron pauses. Part of him wants to lunge at Kevin because it’s hilarious, but he fears he is going to have to rely on other people until he gets his hands back again, so probably best not to make an enemy of one of his best allies. Aaron steps back, making a low, unhappy sound. He doesn’t entirely know how his vocalisations work. Half times the noises that escape his throat surprise even him. “Tch. Fine.”

Kevin tilts his laptop towards Aaron, and Aaron can see he is researching geese. He shuffles closer, arching his long neck to get a better view.

“Apparently geese are really social birds. Doesn’t sound like you.” Kevin huffs. Aaron tries to give a stern side eye. He is not sure how effective it is with his bird eyes. It doesn’t feel like he can narrow them, but he can definitely blink. “Bet you didn’t think you could get any shorter.”

Aaron hisses. Kevin frowns severely at him.

“Hey. Stop that.” 

Aaron pads closer. Kevin retreats again. Aaron wishes he could roll his eyes as a goose, but instead he takes advantage of Kevin abandoning his laptop to try and type on it. Kevin does not like this either, trying to shoo Aaron by waving a hand at him. Aaron parts his beak and bares his teeth. Kevin swiftly pulls his hand back. Aaron types out: casnj geersee b link n The result flags up: Including results for can geese b linkedin. Aaron honks in displeasure. 

“Good job,” Kevin says sarcastically, and retypes: can geese blink? Aaron is quietly satisfied that Kevin knows what he wanted, even if Google didn’t.

Do geese blink? The answer is yes, but they do so in a way that is quite different from the way humans blink. Geese keep their upper and lower eyelids open and instead draw their third eyelid, called the nictitating membrane. This special membrane sweeps across the eyeball and helps to keep the eye of the bird moist and clean.

“You have a third eyelid. That seems excessive,” Kevin says. Aaron bites his arm. Kevin yelps and pulls away from him, even though Aaron definitely only caught his hoodie sleeve. “Is it safe for us to have him in here? What if we get bird flu?”

“Wouldn’t Aaron have to get bird flu first? He hasn’t been around other birds,” Nicky says.

“It would be pretty funny if he got bird flu,” Josten says, grinning when Andrew sends him an unamused look and Aaron hisses at him. Aaron turns back to Kevin and honks, trying to explain that the chance of getting bird flu even from an infected bird is pretty low. Of course, because he is currently a bird, the message does not really translate.

“Stop making that noise at me,” Kevin says, while typing signs of bird flu in geese. “Sudden death. Helpful.”

“He does not have bird flu,” Andrew says.

“You know, geese apparently only usually live around twenty years,” Kevin says quietly. A hush descends over the room. A heavy moment of realisation of what that might mean if Aaron is stuck as a goose. It’s an entirely unhelpful line of thought. Aaron tells Kevin as much, hoking loudly.

“Don’t be sad, Aaron.” Aaron would like to tell Nicky he is not sad. He is irritated. He thinks that should be clear in his tone of honk. “We’ll get you back before you die.”

“And the oldest goose in captivity was forty nine,” Kevin adds in a voice that suggests he thinks this is helpful information. “So even if you’re stuck as a goose, you could have a good twenty plus years still.” 

Aaron moves to bite Kevin again. He squawks in protests and takes off across the room to hide behind Andrew.

*

Kevin opens the door when the knocking that has been persisting for the past three minutes does not stop.

“What?” he snaps, door halfway open, only to freeze when he sees who it is. Katelyn puts her hands on her hips, expression one of fierce annoyance Kevin has never seen on her pretty features. 

“Is Aaron here?”

“Uh.” Technically, yes. “No.”

“Honk honk!”

“What was- Do you know where he is? Or if he’s okay?”

“Oh, he’s just not feeling great at the moment. Maybe he’s at Abby’s.”

“He’s not. I already checked with her, and he’s not replying to my messages. Even if he were sick, he’d get back to me.” Her expression softens into concern. “Is he alright?”

“Ah. Yes. Maybe he doesn’t have his phone-”

“Honk!” 

Katelyn yells out in surprise as Aaron sticks his goose head past Kevin’s leg. Kevin tries valiantly to push him back. Okay, maybe he kicks him a bit, but come on. How are they supposed to explain this? Surely the less people that know, the better. Aaron seems to disagree, biting Kevin on the soft flesh at the back of his thigh. Kevin makes an undignified sound. Aaron didn’t bite hard, but he’s sensitive there, and even the light nip is enough to have him jumping aside.

“Is that a goose?” Katelyn takes a hesitant step back, but she looks interested in the bird. 

“Yes.” Kevin’s teeth are grit. He glares at Aaron, but Aaron is ignoring him, waddling slowly closer to Katelyn, head lowered. Katelyn goes very still as Aaron walks to her side. He leans his head against her waist, looking up at her. Kevin’s unimpressed frown deepens. Oh, so he gets bit, but Aaron is going to be all cute with Katelyn? Double standards. When Kevin was the one that actually looked up what geese eat and made sure Nicky didn’t poison Aaron.

“Why do you have a goose?” Aaron honks softly. Slowly, Katelyn lifts her hand. When Aaron doesn’t move away, she brushes two fingers over his feathered head. Aaron makes some weird, quiet, guttural sounds of contentment, and a brief smile flickers across Katelyn’s face. Her voice softens, low and sweet. “Hello you.”

Kevin folds his arms and looks at Aaron with all the disapproval he can manage.

“Oh, Katelyn. Hello. You told her about Aaron then,” Nicky says as he comes through from the bedroom.

“What?” Katelyn’s head snaps up. “No, that’s what I’m here to ask about. Where is he?”

“Uh, right beside you.” Nicky points at the goose. 

“You’d better come in,” Kevin says, sighing as he puts a hand to his face.

*

“So I’m supposed to believe Aaron turned into a goose.”

Aaron has stuck close to Katelyn’s side since she came into the dorm, protective. When she sits on the couch he positions himself by her feet like a loyal guard dog, or guard goose, eying Nicky and Kevin. Kevin looks incredibly pissed off. If he even thinks of taking his bad mood out on Katelyn, Aaron is going to bite him again. 

“Yeah, it’s a bit insane,” Nicky says.

“A bit?”

“But it’s true,” Kevin says, voice sharp. Aaron gives a warning hiss. 

“He can type,” Nicky says. “Get your laptop, Kevin.”

“Why does it always have to be mine!”

Aaron explains that it is because none of them have had the good sense to give him access to his laptop, but since this comes out as a series of honks, he goes ignored. Kevin stomps his way through to the bedroom in a huff, but delivers his laptop, opening up a word document. Aaron works very, very hard to purposefully type one key at a time, going slow to try and not overlap others with his beak.

Hio

“Sometimes he hits extra letters. Due to the beak.”

Aaron doesn’t think it’s necessary for Kevin to explain this, but since Kevin is good at correcting his typing, he lets it go. He might need Kevin’s assistance.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” Katelyn says, pointing at the laptop. “You could have just trained a goose to do that.”

It nis mew 

Kevin reaches down and corrects Aaron’s typing to it is me. Aaron bobs his goose head in agreement. Katelyn arches one eyebrow, focusing her no nonsense gaze on him. It is a look she knows he always caves beneath. Aaron stares back unfaltering, because he is not lying to her.

“Prove it. Type something only you would know.”

1sr anniversssrt earringvfs

“I think he’s trying to say-”

“I get it,” Katelyn cuts Kevin off. “The earrings he gave me for our first anniversary. Shit. It is you.”

“Honk honk.”

“Two honks mean yes,” Nicky says. “One means no.”

“How did this happen?”

“We don’t know.”

“Oh, Aaron.” Katelyn very gently takes his little head in her hands, smoothing her thumbs over his feathers. “Are you okay?”

Aaron considers this. On one hand, no. He’s very much not fucking okay, because he is a goose. That’s not great. He doesn’t love that. On the other hand, he’s physically fine otherwise, and he doesn’t want to worry Katelyn.

“Honk honk.”

“Being a goose aside?”

She gets him. Even now. Even since they split up six months ago and Aaron turned into a goose, Katelyn still gets him. He adores her for that.

“Honk honk.”

“Can I do anything?”

Aaron nods. He turns back to the laptop. He types clkass noites. Katelyn laughs, a breathy, disbelieving sound. She kneels down beside him on the floor, wrapping her arms around his torso.

“Yeah. Yeah, Aaron. I can get you class notes, but you’d better get back to yourself, okay? We’re supposed to be doing this together, remember?” Katelyn draws back. There are tears in her eyes. Aaron ruffles his wings, wanting desperately to reach out and stroke her cheek, wipe away any of those tears that may fall. All he can do is flap his wings helplessly. “I don’t know that they’ll let a goose into med school.”

Aaron honks softly. He presses his head to her cheek, nuzzling against her. Katelyn sniffs, but she blinks the tears back, smoothing a hand over his back feathers.

“You’re gonna come back, yeah? I’m not giving you a choice.”

“Honk honk.”

“Yes. That’s the attitude I want to see.”

“Do you want to be on the rotation?” Nicky asks. “We have a timetable for taking care of him.”

*

Kevin is afraid at some point someone will check the Fox Tower CCTV and they’re going to get in shit for taking a goose in and out of the building, but, well, they can’t really keep Aaron cooped up all the time. Pun unintended. Kevin carries him downstairs, ignoring Aaron’s initial protests when Kevin scoops him up. 

“Fuck off, Aaron. Can you not put your beak near my eyes? Do you really want to try and walk down the stairs with your bird legs?”

Aaron makes a fuss of honking, clearly trying to communicate something, but goose is one language Kevin does not speak, so he ignores him. 

“Yeah yeah, honk honk.”

Aaron hisses. Kevin jostles him an unnecessary amount in response for a few stairs, but he is concerned about actually hurting him, so after that he slows down and readjusts Aaron more securely in his arms. Since, you know, he could turn human again at any point, and if he gets injured as a goose, that might carry across to his human form, which would impact his ability to play exy. No other reason.

“What are you doing?” Neil asks when Kevin comes out of the building carrying Aaron, his jacket thrown over him to obscure him.

“Well he can’t walk down the stairs.”

“Elevator,” Andrew says bluntly, and Aaron honks twice in agreement. Ah. So that’s what he was trying to say earlier. “Why have you dressed him? We told Nicky not to do that.”

Nicky had decided it would be hilarious and adorable to try and dress goose Aaron in his human clothes, until Kevin had pointed out he probably needed his wings to balance. Having them pinned inside a t-shirt was putting him at risk. Aaron biting Nicky had also been discouraging. They’re not actually true teeth that Aaron has. Kevin has learned this in his goose research. They are serrated cartilage protrusions on the tongue and beak called tomia, but they function similarly to teeth. Kevin constantly wishes Aaron could have turned into a bird with a less destructive peck. A chicken, for example. He would be much easier to transport as well, and Kevin feels like in general people would ask less questions about a rooster than a fucking goose.

“I was just trying to hide him from the cameras. We’re not supposed to have pets in the dorms.” Kevin sets Aaron down. Aaron steps away from him, ruffling up his feathers, hissing in protest. “Yes, I know you’re not a pet, but other people won’t know that.”

“Why are you talking to the goose?” Neil asks.

“I’m talking to Aaron.” Kevin pulls his jacket on, frowning at Neil. Just because Aaron can’t talk back in a way Kevin always understands doesn’t mean he should just ignore him. Andrew is watching him with an expression Kevin can’t read, eyes moving over Kevin’s face. It makes Kevin’s skin feel a touch too tight. He clears his throat. 

“So, we should probably take him somewhere he can run around and get some fresh air.”

“I don’t particularly want a bird in my car,” Andrew says, and Aaron ruffles his feathers again, wings and neck extended. “You’ll have to go in the trunk.”

Aaron hisses.

“What if I go get a towel to lay over the back seat?” Kevin says. He can see the point of putting a goose in the trunk, but then he thinks of doing the same thing to Aaron, and it feels kind of shitty. Andrew hums thoughtfully, then nods. Kevin sighs, but turns to jog back upstairs again.

*

They take him to a park. It’s late enough there’s no one else there. Aaron feels awkward with them all watching him as he waddles around, but it actually is nice to get out of the dorms for a while. He always has to be so careful. There’s not much room for him to spread his wings without hitting into something. He can properly stretch out here, flapping experimentally.

“Oh my god, Aaron, can you fly?” Nicky asks. 

“Yes. Geese can fly long distances. They can also engage in unihemispheric sleep while flying. That’s when one side of their brain rests and the other remains active.”

“You’ve learned an awful lot about geese,” Josten says, narrowing his gaze at Kevin. Kevin huffs and folds his arms defensively. 

“It makes sense we should do research.”

Geese cannot smile, which is probably a good thing, because Aaron fears he wouldn’t be able to hide his at that. 

“Try flying!” Nicky runs over to him, flapping his hands like wings. Aaron takes a step back. He doesn’t know how to fly. He doesn’t want to fall, and he feels self conscious with all of them watching him. Most birds learn from their parents how to fly; Aaron does not have that generational knowledge. Despite this, a part of him is curious about what it would be like to fly. 

“Honk.”

“Aw, come on. Everyone wants to fly. You actually have the chance, you’re not even going to try?”

“Honk.”

“Wasted opportunity.” Nicky throws his hands towards the sky. 

“There’s a pond here. Geese are meant to enjoy swimming,” Kevin says, walking to the edge of the water. Aaron looks at him blankly. As if he is going to get in some cold, dirty pond. He doesn’t know what’s been in there. 

“Go on, Aaron.” Nicky tries to shepherd him towards the water. Aaron hisses and flaps his wings in warning. He pads off around the edge. It’s the furthest he’s been able to walk on his bird legs, and he does feel a bit unsteady at the increase in speed. He makes his way over to Andrew, if only because he’s certain he won’t try to make him engage in any stupid bird behaviour. Aaron still leaves a safe metre between them, knowing Andrew doesn’t like to be crowded. Andrew observes him levelly.

“Do you even want to be here?”

“Honk.”

“We’re going back,” he says, pulling his key out of his pocket. 

“What? But we just got here,” Nicky says.

“Now.” Andrew gets in the car without another word. Josten looks at Aaron like he’s going to say something, but decides against it. Nicky pouts as he makes his way back. Kevin uses the towel he brought to clean any mud off Aaron’s feet, then lifts him into the middle of the back seat. 

Aaron settles himself down. He knows from his and Kevin’s research that geese can sleep with their head tucked in behind their wing, but it always feels unnatural to his human mind twisting his neck like that. He’s tried, but he has ended up mostly sleeping with his head resting on one of the beanbags or the arm of the couch. He tries it again now, but once again finds it uncomfortable. Kevin touches his neck, guiding his head to his thigh without saying anything. Aaron is in what would be concerningly close proximity to Kevin’s dick if he were human, but it feels less weird like this. 

As they drive back towards the dorms, Kevin draws his fingers along the back of Aaron’s head and down his neck, a surprisingly pleasant sensation. Aaron goes still in the hope Kevin will keep doing it, and is rewarded as he pets him the rest of the way back to the dorms.

*

“Brought your notes from Katelyn,” Kevin says when he comes through the door. “Did Nicky just leave?”

“Honk honk.” Aaron waddles across the room to Kevin, biting the edge of his shirt. Kevin’s no longer afraid when Aaron races towards him, or puts his beak near him. Even though Aaron has bitten him quite a few times. It’s never that hard, usually just Aaron’s way of making a point rather than actually hurting him. The same way Aaron would punch him in the arm sometimes, but never hard enough to bruise. Right now Aaron tugs on his shirt. 

“Show me what you want.”

Aaron makes his way to the bathroom. Kevin opens the door for him. Aaron pecks the glass of the shower. Kevin opens it and he hops in. 

“Oh. You want a shower? I suppose we don’t have a bath. You do kind of smell.”

Aaron hisses.

“You do! I’m just telling the truth.” Kevin unhooks the shower. He aims it away from Aaron as he turns it on and tests the heat, then crouches down and holds it over Aaron. “Do you know how to clean your feathers out?”

“Honk.” Aaron tries to stretch his wings out, but there’s not enough room in the shower to expand them fully. He ruffles his feathers. He ducks his head up under the flow of the water, then shakes it rapidly, sending water droplets everywhere. Kevin laughs. He turns the water off. Aaron honks in protest.

“One minute.” Kevin strips off. Aaron starts to honk much louder when he reaches to remove his underwear. “Grow up. We’ve used changing room showers together before.” 

Aaron hisses, baring his tomia. Kevin doesn’t really believe Aaron would bite his dick, but he thinks it is better not to test that. 

“Fine. I’ll keep the underwear on if you’re going to be such a baby about it.”

Kevin gets in the shower, closing the glass door behind him to keep the water from spilling out. He sits cross legged on the floor beside Aaron, water seeping through his briefs. Aaron shuffles around to face him. Kevin turns the water back on and holds the shower head up, running it over Aaron. He uses his fingers to gently part Aaron’s feathers, running water between them. He’s not entirely sure if this is the right thing to do, but he read that geese preen themselves in water with their bills to get clean, so he assumes they must push through their feathers with their beaks.

“Apparently, you’ve got an oil gland around here.” Kevin touches the base of Aaron’s tail. Aaron puffs up his damp feathers. “And you’re supposed to spread that over your feathers to stay dry and keep parasites away.”

Aaron honks.

“Well, you’re probably safe from parasites. Considering you live in a dorm.”

When they get out of the shower, Kevin towels himself down first. Aaron ruffles his feathers and shakes off in the shower, but Kevin gives him a pat down when he gets out as well. He’s got the afternoon shift with Aaron while everyone else is in classes. He flicks through the TV channels until Aaron honks for him to stop. Kevin leaves the TV on for him and stretches out on the couch to read part of his book. Aaron flaps his wings, jumping up on the couch over Kevin’s legs. Kevin lowers his book, looking at Aaron.

“Did you just fly?”

Aaron puffs out his wings and honks.

“I think you did. Have you done that before?”

“Honk.”

“Do you think you could fly across the dorm?”

Aaron’s head turns, surveying the space. He shakes his head.

“I guess it is quite small. You would probably have enough room at the court. Don’t look at me like that. You would. Do you want to try? Wouldn’t be anyone else there at this time of day.”

Aaron is quiet for a long moment, before he honks twice. Kevin smiles. 

“Right. Just have to smuggle you to the court.” This is easier said than done without a car. Kevin puts Aaron in his duffle bag, his head still sticking out. He drapes his jacket over him, hushing Aaron’s honking protests, and hauls him across campus. His shoulder does not love the increased weight, but Kevin has experienced worse pain. He manages. Once they’re in the court, he lets Aaron out. Aaron shuffles around for a few moments, stretching out after being trapped in the confined space of the bag. 

“Okay. I think you need a running start for take off.” Kevin jogs along beside Aaron as he waddles down the court, expanding his wings experimentally. Aaron flaps them, catching small periods of air, but always landing back on his webbed feet. He stumbles the first few times, then seems to get the hang of landing after his airborne bouts. They make it to the away side of the court without Aaron flying any real distance. “Are you scared?”

“Honk!”

“Then stay in the air longer.” Aaron hisses and snaps at Kevin, but Kevin is used to the pattern of this by now. He steps back, a smile cutting across his face. “Come on, Aaron. You got this.”

*

Aaron tilts his head, observing Kevin curiously. It is not often Kevin is so encouraging, and he seems practically giddy in his support of Aaron’s flying endeavours. It makes him feel less nervous about it. Aaron turns himself around, fluffing his feathers up. He knows how to get into the air now, is familiar with the feel of his wings, but he lied to Kevin. He is scared. He’s afraid he’s going to get to a certain height in the air and then forget what to do, or have his wings give out, or not know how to stop. He doesn’t want to plummet down. His legs are not particularly sturdy. He’s not sure how they will cope with him crash landing from any height.

Aaron steadies himself, then takes off running. He stretches his wings out, honking as he flaps them, pushing off the court floor with his feet. This time he tucks his legs closer to body and flaps his wings hard, a bit unstable, but definitely flying. Kevin cheers, running alongside Aaron until Aaron outpaces him. He quickly remembers he’s in a court surrounded by plexiglass though, and he soon runs out of room. Aaron tries to turn, but he’s not used to navigating in the air. His body slams into the plexiglass, and he flaps his wings helplessly to try and slow his descent as he falls down.

He hears Kevin hit the ground, and he also slams into the plexiglass, having slid on his knees across the court to get below Aaron in time. He doesn’t so much catch Aaron as Aaron falls on top of him, but it breaks his fall all the same. Aaron honks weakly. Kevin groans. He shifts to lean his back against the plexiglass, gently adjusting Aaron until he’s upright in his lap.

“You okay?”

“Honk honk.”

“Should have known that wouldn’t be far enough. Geese can fly up to forty miles an hour, you know. Seventy if they catch a strong tailwind.”

Aaron is torn between affection and exasperation. On one hand, he really does not want to hear about this after he almost concussed himself. On the other, it is touching that Kevin is the only one in their group that has bothered to research geese for him. Well, the only one that admits to it. Aaron has a feeling Andrew also has.

“Do you want to play some exy?”

“Honk.”

“I know you can’t hold a racquet, but you could push a ball around with your beak. Could be good exercise. Ow, okay, okay! Stop biting me. We can go back to the dorms.” Kevin pushes himself to his feet, brushing off his clothes. He looks down at Aaron and smiles; a softer, warmer smile than Aaron is used to seeing from him. Aaron ducks his head. “You did fly though. Even if it wasn’t for very long. That’s pretty cool.”

Aaron bobs his head and honks softly. That is pretty cool.

*

“Mmm.” Kevin burrows further into his pillow, ignoring the soft, nasally, barely audible honks by his ear, and the cold sensation on his neck. For a wild moment he thinks it is Aaron, his fingers always so, so cold, before he remembers Aaron doesn’t have fingers anymore. The cold brush of contact turns into a bite, and Kevin shifts away. “Hey.”

He squints his eyes open angrily, rubbing the side of his neck. As usual, it is not a hard bite, but he doesn’t want to explain if he gets a bruise on his neck. Oh, sure, no big deal, just a hickey from my goose teammate. Don’t worry about it.

“What?”

Aaron pecks at Kevin’s blanket. Kevin tries to bat him away. Aaron bites and pulls the duvet down.

“Aaron, stop.”

Aaron honks softly, waddling back from the bed, bobbing his head. His white body is illuminated by the streak of light coming through the dorm curtains. He looks like a ghost. A goose ghost. Kevin rubs his hands over his eyes. 

“Do you need the bathroom?”

“Honk.”

“Then what?” Kevin’s voice is whiny, but he does roll out of bed, pulling on a hoodie over the shorts he’s sleeping in. Aaron shuffles excitedly at the sight of Kevin getting up, waddling out to the living room. Kevin trails after him blearily, still barely managing to keep his eyes open. Aaron points his beak at the door. “You want to go outside?”

“Honk honk.”

“Why?” Kevin shakes his head, since obviously Aaron can’t tell him. He lifts Aaron, hiding his body inside his unzipped hoodie, pulling it around him as best he can. A half assed effort to hide him, but Kevin is too tired to care. He puts Aaron down when they get outside, and Aaron takes off with as much speed as his goose feet can manage. Kevin jogs after him. “Where are we going?”

Kevin doesn’t get his answer until nearly ten minutes later, when they arrive at the football field. Aaron runs ahead. He takes off into the air, and Kevin understands now. He wanted to try flying in the open air. Somewhere he wouldn’t hurt himself. Kevin tucks his hands into his hoodie pockets and watches as Aaron lifts into the air. He doesn’t go too high, not much higher than Kevin’s head, but he clears the length of the football field in little time. There’s a few moments where he disappears from Kevin’s view, and Kevin’s heart rate picks up. What if the longer Aaron is a goose, the more bird-like his brain gets? What if he instinctively starts to migrate now he is in the air, and Kevin has to explain to Andrew that he lost him?

While Kevin is worrying about this, the pale shape of Aaron’s goose form cuts through the night air, making his way back down the field. He tilts his body up and flaps his wings more as he approaches Kevin’s side, trying to slow down and land. He does not manage this with much grace, landing hard on his legs and tumbling over. Kevin can’t help but laugh. Aaron hisses at him.

“That was cool. Was it fun?”

“Honk honk.”

“I always wanted to fly. Used to imagine getting out of the Nest and just flying away.” 

Aaron struggles back to his feet and comes over to Kevin’s side. He lingers, hesitant for a moment, before pressing his body to the side of Kevin’s leg.

“But the Master made sure to keep his Ravens’ wings clipped.”

Aaron gives a low, sombre honk.

“It’s okay. Over now. You want to try again before we go back?”

“Honk honk.”

“Go on then. I’ll race you,” Kevin says, knowing he has no chance against the swift power of Aaron’s wings.

*

Aaron is getting very bored of his goose diet. According to Kevin’s research, they mostly eat plant matter, and thus he has taken to cutting up raw vegetables for Aaron. To be fair to Kevin, he does make an effort to vary it. Putting chunks of carrot in with Aaron’s leafy greens, holding a banana for him to eat as a treat, he’s even scrambling eggs for him this morning.

“I mean, you’re supposed to scramble them so the geese don’t associate their own eggs with food and go cannibal,” Kevin says to Nicky. “Which isn’t an issue with Aaron, but I thought he’d rather have them cooked.”

“Honk honk!”

“It’s cute how serious you take your goose sitting duties,” Nicky says. Aaron hisses at him. He personally thinks Nicky could stand to take his goose sitting duties more seriously, rather than constantly trying to put Aaron in funny outfits and take cute photos of him. At least Andrew treats him largely the same as he did when they were human; which is barely taking much notice of him at all, but Aaron takes less offence from their silences when he can’t talk anyway. 

“Aaron would do his best by us,” Kevin says quietly. Aaron’s not entirely sure if he would, but it’s nice of Kevin to defend his character. He shuffles over and presses against his leg. Kevin smiles down at him. “I’ll get some strawberries today. They’re supposed to be a good treat.”

“Honk honk.”

“Yes, I know you like strawberries. That’s why I’ll get some.”

“I think you just pretend to talk to him,” Nicky says, leaning down so his face is closer to Aaron’s. “There’s no way you know what he means.”

Aaron snaps at Nicky’s nose. Nicky almost falls backwards.

“He’s quite good at letting me know.” Kevin tilts the pan down so Aaron can see it. Kevin is a disaster in the kitchen. The eggs are just barely a step away from liquid. “Does this look okay?”

“Honk.”

“Longer?”

“Honk honk.”

“Okay.” Kevin sighs, putting the saucepan back over the heat. Aaron moves back to stand by his leg again. Prime position for his sous chef duties, after all. No other reason.

*

“So, we found out what happened,” Neil says. His eyes are far too bright. Kevin doesn’t like it. It is the kind of expression Neil has when he’s enjoying something other people very much will not enjoy. 

“What?”

“It was never meant to be Aaron,” Andrew grits out. He is the opposite of Neil. His expression is pure darkness. It doesn’t look much different from Andrew’s usual expression, but Kevin can sense the sheer anger beneath the surface. Aaron pads over to Andrew, his goose feet smacking on the ground. He looks up at him, honking inquisitively. 

“Basically, Andrew offended this girl in his class-”

“I kindly informed her that her boyfriend was cheating. Which, as she later discovered, he was. I was being helpful.” 

“And it turns out she’s like a witch-”

“Witches don’t exist,” Kevin says.

“Kevin.” Neil looks purposefully at Aaron. Aaron hisses at him. 

“Yes, okay.” Kevin sighs and rubs his hand over his eyes. He would have argued people don’t get turned into geese a week ago. His knowledge of what are acceptable truths in the world is obviously no longer up to date.

“Anyway, she was trying to curse Andrew and got Aaron instead.”

Aaron starts honking loud and angry. Andrew looks at him flatly. Neil rolls his eyes. Nicky gasps, hand to his mouth. 

“Stop that,” Kevin says. “That’s not solving anything.”

Aaron hisses at him. Kevin hisses back. Aaron tilts his head, baffled by that.

“So, what, he’s stuck as a goose forever now?” Nicky asks.

“We know how to break the curse,” Andrew says.

“Yeah, she so kindly told us with some… gentle encouragement.” Neil grins, a sharp and vicious thing. Kevin purses his lips.

“So?”

“True love’s kiss,” Andrew says grandly. He leaves it to hover in the air between them all for a few moments for extra impact. “Cliche.” 

“But Aaron and Katelyn broke up!” Nicky looks at Aaron with big, wide eyes. Aaron shuffles backward, drawing his head closer to his body, looking between them all. He bumps against Kevin’s legs, looking at him upside down. “It would have been better if she’d got you, Andrew. At least you have Neil.”

Neil looks at Andrew with a barely repressed smile. Andrew purposefully does not look back at Neil.

“So what do we do?” Kevin asks. 

“We should get Katelyn to kiss him anyway,” Nicky says. “Just in case. Maybe she’s still his true love, and this will show their breakup was a mistake, and they can get back together! I’ll go call her.”

Andrew exhales a long sigh out of his nose. He and Neil have some conversation with their eyes. Neil nods.

“We’re going to go talk to the girl again. See if there are any other potential fixes. She said she couldn’t lift the curse, but maybe we just weren’t persuasive enough.” 

Aaron has gone very quiet at Kevin’s shins. Andrew looks back at him once when he’s at the door, before he and Neil leave. Nicky is talking to Katelyn on the phone in the kitchen. Kevin runs his fingers over the back of Aaron’s head. Aaron starts, looking up at him. 

“We’ll work something out,” he says, with a confidence he absolutely does not possess. Aaron makes no noise. He shuffles to the living room and tucks himself small against the side of the couch until there’s a knock at the door. 

“I don’t know that this is going to work,” Katelyn says, twisting her braid around her fingers. She looks at Aaron, her mouth pressed into a thin, grim line. “I hope it does, but-”

Aaron gives a small, sad honk of understanding. Kevin’s chest hurts. He really, really wants Aaron to not be a goose anymore, but there is a small, twisted part of him that will also be quite bitter if Katelyn’s kiss is what brings him back. Kevin knows how Aaron was in the wake of that breakup. He is still not entirely happy with Katelyn after that, even if she and Aaron seem to have moved past it.

“Come back for me?” Katelyn kneels down on the floor beside Aaron, taking his head in her palms. She leans in and presses a kiss to his head, leaving a pink lip gloss kiss mark on his white feathers. They all wait with baited breath. Nothing happens. “Maybe it has to be on your beak?” 

Katelyn kisses him again, but it doesn’t work. She dots more kisses over his head and bill with increasing urgency, until Aaron pulls away from her with a protesting honk. Katelyn sniffs, closing her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she says, voice thick. Aaron presses his head to her cheek, nuzzling against her, murmuring small, comforting sounds. 

“Aw, boo, there goes my rom com ending,” Nicky says.

“So what do we do now? We can’t just get random women to kiss him in the hopes one of them undoes the curse. How will that work? Just kiss our goose. It’s not weird, we promise. Tch.” Kevin folds his arms, expression sour. 

“Kevin,” Nicky says, looking between him and Aaron, who has gone quiet and still in Katelyn’s arms. Kevin frowns. Aaron slowly draws himself back. He presses the side of his head to Katelyn’s cheek once more, then looks at her for a long moment, before shuffling off to the bedroom. Katelyn nods, getting to her feet.

“I’m sorry,” she says, voice quiet. “I really wanted that to work.” 

“It’s okay.” Nicky walks her to the door. “It’s not your fault.”

Kevin feels horrible for the curling satisfaction in his gut, but guilt does not cancel out the fact the feeling is very much still there.

*

Aaron is hiding, which is not really a very mature way to deal with things, but he doesn’t get a lot of privacy anymore. The only time he really gets left alone is when everyone is at practice, or the very few occasions they all have class at the same time. He’s tucked himself under Kevin’s bed and is trying to read some of his class notes by the light leaking in from the room, but he can’t really focus. He’s too busy thinking about the fact that he’s probably going to be stuck as a goose forever, forever being his now limited goose lifespan, and that it’s a huge waste of his time to even be trying to keep up with his class notes, as geese can’t go to med school.

Despite his poultry melancholy, a part of Aaron is relieved. It shattered him when he and Katelyn separated, and it has taken a long time to piece back together the broken shards of them in a way where they are no longer cutting themselves against the sharp edges. Had Katelyn’s kiss worked, Aaron is not sure where they would have gone from there. He has processed their breakup. He has moved on. He is grateful to have Katelyn in his life as his friend now.

It’s just a shame best friend’s kiss can’t undo curses. No, it always has to be true love. Aaron is not sure true love exists for him. He’s half convinced he’s fundamentally unlovable, really, at the core of himself. Too much damage from his childhood.

“Aaron?” Kevin lies down on the floor, looking under the bed, and Aaron realises he’s been making soft rumbling cooing sounds without realising it. “What are you doing in there? Hiding?”

“Honk honk.”

“We’ll find a way to fix this.”

“Honk.”

“We will. We have to. I need my best backliner back. The freshmen can’t carry us.”

Aaron hisses. Kevin smiles; but it is a tight, unhappy kind of smile. He reaches his hand under the bed. Aaron stretches his neck out and rests his head on Kevin’s skin.

*

“Still no luck,” Kevin says when he comes in from class. Aaron is nesting in one of the beanbags. His head perks up when Kevin comes through the door. It feels strange to Kevin now that he was scared of him once. He finds Aaron’s goose form adorable now, automatically smiles at the sight of him. Usually. He doesn’t smile now, with the news he’s bearing. “Can’t find her again at all.” 

Kevin drops his backpack by the couch and flops onto it, putting his palms over his eyes. He sighs, long and drawn out. He hears a fluttering of wings, then feels the warm weight of Aaron landing on his shins. Aaron fluffs up his feathers and settles between Kevin and the back of the couch. Kevin goes still at the close contact. The main weight of Aaron’s body is tucked in beside his thigh, but his neck is so long his head is resting on Kevin’s chest. It’s a bit of an awkward position. If Aaron would just move his weight to Kevin’s hip instead..

“Here.” Kevin pushes his thigh against Aaron until he’s forced to shuffle on top of it, then bends his leg to push Aaron further up. “Just- Here.”

When Aaron lies down again, his head is resting in the dip of Kevin’s collarbone, his feathers grazing Kevin’s jaw when he turns to try and look at him. 

“There. That’s more comfortable for both of us.” Kevin pulls Nicky’s throw blanket off the back of the couch because he knows Aaron is always cold - or was always cold as a human, anyway - and he’s not sure if his feathers keep him as warm as he likes. Aaron honks softly, tilting his head up so his beak bumps against Kevin’s neck. Kevin draws careful fingers along the back of his neck, smoothing his hand out over Aaron’s back. He’s got a distinct bird scent, but Kevin’s gotten used to it. It doesn’t bother him anymore. “We’ll look after you. Even if you are stuck as a goose. But I really hope you’re not.”

Aaron pushes his head up, the top of it nuzzling against Kevin’s cheek. Kevin turns his head automatically. Later, Aaron will accuse him of doing it on purpose, but it is without thought that Kevin presses a kiss to Aaron’s feathered head. Just some secret soft desire to express affection making itself known. Aaron honks softly, and the suddenly he starts to feel very warm where he is pressed against Kevin. A bright flash beams in the room, forcing Kevin to shut his eyes against it. Aaron’s body is radiating an unnatural amount of heat, and then he is a heavier presence sprawled across Kevin’s chest, his breath shaky on Kevin’s cheek.

“Shit.” Aaron’s voice is hoarse with disuse. He clears his throat. Kevin’s eyes shoot open.

“Aaron!”

“Uh. Hi.” Aaron’s cheeks are pink, but he’s grinning as he looks at Kevin. “This is awkward.” 

It takes Kevin a moment to realise what Aaron means. Of course his clothes fell off him when he turned into a goose, so in reverse… Kevin tightens the throw blanket around his shoulders.

“That doesn’t really change the fact my dick is against your thigh,” Aaron mutters, but he’s still smiling, like he can’t help it. Giddy relief is pouring out of his body language.

“After you wouldn’t even let me in the shower naked with you.”

Aaron tries to press his face against Kevin’s shoulder, but the significance of this has just occurred to Kevin. He catches Aaron’s face in his hands, tipping it up.

“Hey. You’re back. You’re human again.”

“Well noted,” Aaron says dryly. His tone is contradicted by the fact he is rapidly going from pink to bright red, freckles popping against his flush. Kevin can’t help but return his grin. 

“You turned back when I kissed you,” he says quietly. Aaron tries to turn away again, but Kevin keeps his face in place. “That means-”

“Shut up.”

“I won’t shut up, because I’m your true love.”

“Oh my god, maybe the bane of my existence also works,” Aaron says, pushing Kevin’s wrists down so he can burrow into the space between him and the couch. Kevin twists them so Aaron ends up trapped between him and the back of the couch. 

“Hey!” Aaron grabs at the blanket, fixing his glare on Kevin, but Kevin only sees it for a second because then he is kissing Aaron. On his mouth this time. His very human mouth. Lips warm and soft, tongue tasting of strawberries when Kevin finally gets him to open his mouth for him.

*

Aaron initially resists when Kevin kisses him. For the principle. Though his hand has kind of already been played, considering the whole magical transformation thing. Can’t really keep your cards close to your chest from the person who broke the curse only true love’s kiss can break, can you? Aaron’s still a bit put out that, out of everyone, it is apparently Kevin Day he is stuck with as his true love, but the way Kevin is kissing him with full enthusiasm may be swaying him. By maybe two percent. Kevin’s going to have to keep working hard for a long time if he wants to get that percentage up to one hundred.

“You are so annoying,” Aaron murmurs.

“I’m your true love,” Kevin repeats, sounding way too thrilled about that.

“That means I’m your true love too.”

“Does it? I mean, I broke your curse. You’ve never broken a curse on me.”

Aaron tenses immediately. He presses himself back from Kevin, but there’s nowhere really to go with the couch at his back. He’s very, extremely aware of his nakedness, feeling at a distinct power disadvantage in this situation. 

“What?” Kevin’s eyes flick over Aaron’s face, concern creasing his brow. “Aaron.”

Aaron shakes his head. He starts to sit up. He feels like a damsel clutching the blanket to his chest. It is all very demeaning, which is saying something, considering he has been a goose for the better part of the past week. 

“Aaron.” Kevin sits up with him, hands on his shoulders through the blanket. “What is it? Do you just want to get dressed? Why have you gone all quiet?”

“Doesn’t matter. This is stupid. Thanks for degoosifying me, I guess. Whatever.” Aaron swings his leg over Kevin and stumbles off the couch. It feels weird to be on human legs again. He staggers on his first step. Kevin jumps up after him, sweeping Aaron into his arms bridal style. Aaron shoves at his chest.

“Put me down.” 

“Aaron. Come on. You have your mouth back. Talk to me. Did I do something?”

Aaron looks Kevin directly in the eyes and very purposefully and flatly says: “Honk honk.”

Kevin’s nose scrunches up, and then realisation dawns.

“I was just being a dick. I mean, I don’t know that I believe in true love, but I do… I do love you, Aaron. Obviously. I mean. Do you know how much research I did on geese? I wouldn’t do that for just anyone. And I was kind of happy when Katelyn’s kiss didn’t work, even though I shouldn’t have been, because I didn’t want you to be a goose anymore. Geese don’t make for good backliners.”

“Oh my god.” Aaron turns his head and bites Kevin’s shoulder. He’s glad to have his human teeth back. He can feel the solid meat and bone of Kevin better as he presses them into him.

“Hey.” Kevin laughs, drawing his shoulder back from Aaron. He shifts to hold most of his weight with one arm - Aaron really shouldn’t find that as attractive as he does - and tips Aaron’s jaw up with the other, bumping their noses together. “Some things never change, huh? I’ve missed you.”

“I was right here.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I missed me too.” 

“Are you going to say it back?”

“Do I need to? Does you breaking my curse not say enough?”

“I’d like to hear it.” Kevin noses at Aaron’s cheek. Aaron tries his best not to smile. He fails.

“Ugh, I love you, you annoying asshole.” 

“Maybe you shouldn’t get dressed,” Kevin says, securing both his arms back around Aaron and shifting him further up in his arms. “Maybe I should just get undressed too.”

Aaron rolls his eyes, but he’s still smiling as he curls his arms around Kevin’s neck and kisses him again.

[manyblinkinglights]

anytaur quarstion

Sorry im doing this thru a submission instead of an ask bc i want bigger text limit and also to insert images... clarity and allat. i hope thats ok...

Recently i got an actuual headset for vrc so that i could Physically Become the Beast of my Dreams. your rig is everything to me and makes me so so happy. ive wanted this forever. i cant thank you enough for this. main thing im having to fiddle with now in specific is forefoot pickup! didn't make much sense to bother with it back when i was desktop only but having tried it now with actual real hands, the whimsy is impeccable. hands still feel a bit weird though, and im almost certain i messed with something i shouldnt have in trying to set it up, so I thought it might make sense to ask you abt it considering you designed the system and probably have more insight! I'd try for figuring it out myself thru trial and error, but i am very new to vr and having to go in and out to tweak and rebuild avatar versions seems disastrously tiring. and i dont think i'd have much luck trying to fiddle with unity through a vr virtual desktop @~@ time is money....i miss unemployment...so I hoped this could expedite some of that trial+error+rebuilding time. maybe. god. longass preamble over.

point being: in the recent (~6mo ago...) setup videos you did, i feel like the "A" pose you got for your sample models is generally more "A" shaped than what my beast has procured. This may be on account of my beast being quite lanky and having long as hell forearms and quite short shoulders and upper arms. in addition, by default, just moving them down on the global y axis like on the script instructions, the SenseHand receivers end up in a weird position compared to the paws, atleast based on what i think i am picking up from the script instructions. image below.

please ignore the shit ass weight painting/distortion for the paw im new to doing 3d models, im honestly just impressed this thing exists at all.

anyways in the image (front isometric) the right paw (viewer's right not model's right) is set to the values you recommend in your setup video, and the other one is unchanged from default rotation just as a baseline i guess.

Anyways my real question boils down to: what might you recommend to focus on in tweaking forefoot pickup? would rotating thigh and/or shin pickups to better match an "A" pose make sense? Should I move the SenseHands on X axis to be more better "Held" like it says in the instructions? is it ok if the sensehands fall into the floor from "A" pose?

regardless, thank you for your time, dedication, and willingness to share both. this project has been living rent free in my brain ever since i first saw the vrc horse speedrun on youtube (exactly what i had been looking for after god knows how long looking around) and desperately checked your youtube page to see what else you'd been up to. i think that was around or just before when the LittleKitty port video was recent or new, so it's stuck with me for atleast 2 years and i hope to still interface with this rig for many more years to come! please dont feel pressured to a response either lol, i understand if you dont really have a good suggestion or answer. im sorry if i overwhelm you with wall of text. here is an image of the beast in action to hopefully warm the spirits MUCH LOVE!

[darkpoisonouslove]

1, 2, 7, 8, 24, 25, 27 for fic writing asks :) Hope you’re feeling better!

Thanks!

1.the last sentence you wrote

Well, I posted the last fic I worked on so here's the last sentence(s) from my Fallen Love Chapter 3 doc:

Her head spun from just the couple inches her heels added to her height. She’d bet on practicality for years but combat boots would only take her back to the battlefield. They simply didn’t make sense without the threat of war hanging over her head.

(I was going to play by the rules but the angst doesn't really hit with just the last sentence so...)

2. a character whose POV you’re currently exploring

Oh, my god, I've got nothing for this. I have been sick for over a week. Before that I was barely working on that Erendor x Samara fic I wanted to finish. Tbh my head has been way more into House of the Dragon (heaven knows why when the writers are hacks) than any of my own stuff. Like, I am hyperfixating in the most annoying way where I'm not coming up with fic, I'm not really analyzing the text that much, I'm just rotating the same thought in my head like it's a microwave that doesn't work and I'm hoping the heat generated by the rotating motion itself will be enough to cook my fucking thought.

But yeah, if we're talking about actual writing, then I'd have to go with Griffin since Fallen Love is all from her PoV (and so are all of my other recent Griffin x Valtor ideas, which are all I have). She's, uh... She's having a bad time and I don't know how to make it better. The good news is that I don't have to yet but at some point she's going to have to figure out what to do with her life now that she's not at war every day and I. Don't. Know what I'll do then. For now she's having Realizations TM but those are def spoilers.

7. your preferred writing fonts

I don't have any. Unless the one that's already set isn't an abomination, I just don't care. I'm using Libre Office and my default is Liberation Serif so I'm just using that.

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

I suppose that fics that already have sequels planned don't count? I have several for which I'd write an AU but a sequel? Let's see.

Yeah, nope, I'll have to pick something from those that I've already thought of continuing.

Originally, Imitation Play was supposed to have a sequel but I decided that I don't have a clear enough idea for it so I've left it alone. I already have enough other stuff to work on but if I had to write a sequel to something I've already finished, I'd look at that one and try to figure out how to continue it.

24. how do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative?

Usually watch movies. Way more rarely read a book or fanfic. But if I'm looking to spark thoughts, then listen to a playlist or even make a moodboard (which I haven't really done recently). Recently I found out that spending time and having fun with your family can really charge you like nothing else. Huh, who would've thunk?

25. besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

There's watching movies and reading books. DIY. Drawing. Playing various games (sudoku, mahjong, jenga, crossword puzzles, chess occasionally). A couple more that I'd feel like a fraud if I list because it's really been years since I've done them.

27. your favorite part of the writing process

It's what would fall under outlining. When I'm making sense of the story and adding ideas, tying plot points together and just weaving it all into one. I like seeing how it comes together into a coherent story and since it's not super serious at that point, I don't have to stress out that much. I'm just throwing pasta at the wall and seeing what sticks. And then arranging the stuff that sticks into a coherent, beautiful pattern. I like that!

send me fic writer asks

[austinsastrology8991]

> Issues I have with you/occult / world < *long post* do not read if you don't want to waste your time < a subjective analysis of Astrology, numerology, manifestation, and a subtle exposé of my life

I got issues... but more importantly i got issues with you. I do a lot of research n i hate being told what to do/ and the occult gotta habit of telling me who tf i am.

and Im better at telling myself who tf I am.

THIs is who i am. <^> stop googly eyin me; foo

This is a fkn mess of a post > try your best to read; it was meant to be a story but im incapable > I just want you to have headache (me after reading this shit 20 times or whatever it is) i;m tired. now go away. or read. or die in a hole. all the same to me. astrology is a subjective subject. IDGAF how many books youve read or how many people you speak too; we are literally looking at a planet in space and are saying shit liek " oh im dat type of pretty (venus), im dominant over here (mars), and thats why my life sux (saturn) " meanwhile, the planet still just rotating and we like acting like we apart of its orbit. Its objectively a subjective subject... > its objective only in your natal chart - where the planets are etc.... but interpretations > subjective Sidenote- Im obsessed with astrology.... because my life sucks. and i need to like feel productive somehow - stfu i know this isnt productive, but tell me what you doing? don't act all jiminy cricket on me, when your soundtrack is that of a cricket beginning of rant Also: the mythology and practise of intepretating planets and asteroids, and well the complicated drama that is greek/roman mythology. while there is plenty of overlap, the sheer concept of 2 different intepretations created upon from, 2 seperate cultures, creates different texts and slight differences inherent within each story. this initself creates a subjective intepretation of aforementioned stories > not to mention other cultures who likely put their own narrative of these mythos > it allows us to also intepret it in our own way > it is all just imagination at the end of the day. Whilst the themes are uncannily similar, the form is always different, and thats why I like to intepret it in my own way, and i recommend you do tooo (Alike everything in this subject) ; however we need some clear rules, and guidelines, to make this subject actually palatable, but i fear this community would rather keep it confusing so we can treasure the secrets of the occult on our own. and to that I do understsnd, however, anyone reading tumblr astrology, I believe to already be taking that leap into the occult and should be granted at least some introductory access. and here is (1) problem

Astrology signs are the how, and the houses are the where, > yet you all describe 2nd house a whole lot like tuarus, 10th house lot like capricorn. I mean Ik its similar but yall acting like its different yet your intepretations aint all dat different from each other..... but if the how for you is the where for me, then how tf is it so hard for me to see the differences?… if there is such a startling difference like yall always claim.. to me the themes are so fkn similar whereby > i think its the same > degree, house, sign; same shit diff smell

This however made 4 years ago me, very insecure.:.. 😢I couldn’t figure out the difference and I felt dumb 🤧 but That was 4 years ago - I was noob…. made me realize things like: we got an attitude problem today - we youngins always apologizing, trying to make others comfortable about our bullshit (Anxiety skill issue), yet the old fucks are hella comfortable telling us what to do (authority skill issue), like bro. you dont even know me, and im supposed to bow to you, just so your gonna bread crumb me with some bs self professed 'useful' advice??? if you talked to each other youd realize you all have the same advice... and you too old to keep up with my problems, so stop acting like you know.....

and so like uh, its not bold of me to say that; if your a legit astrologer you know you can just read people. yes everyone has free will, and other explanations to undermine the importance of astrology, but we know whats going on > try me > *sales pitch noise*<

Tumblr astrology is good but not proffesional, just: posts about random asteroids, random observations, random sexytime, and the occasional ‘official’ astrologers bread crumbing us to incentivize us to pay for a reading…. Now I got nothing better to do with my life (nor do you clearly) so we all on here fucking around> but I made da sacrifice > I spent real money

And these 'readings' > dog shit I tell ya > oh don’t worry none of them were from tumblr people. But people in my city and they knew less than what I knew (from reading your tumblr shits)

So it turns out you guys lowkey experts - we done a million random astrology observations - and if your a lurker, you lowkey know more than some pros; and da concept of analyzing people in your life with astrology has made you a *drum roll* > an average astrologer. your not average, if the experts are only 20% better than you (lets say). so with this in mind your not that far off their expertise.. oh you cant measure it? tell me what i dont know < (tell me more) IM HUNGRY, MORE POSTS, MY FEED IS FUCKInG HUNGRY

Now however wasting my money > pissed me off… but its a blessing, becasuse i became >.....> not depressed!!! Finally I got my energy back >>> legs go...

So I learned to read astrology. I just kept reading these websites and interpreting them and well.. I think they overcomplicate a lot of things, and they say it like a report card, when obviously you and I are multiple planets, aspects, houses, degrees, house lords, persona charts, midpoints, asteroids, not to mention composite, synastry, transits solar return , and all da other fkn ones that I cannot be bothered mentioning. Yet there’s a whole fucking essay about one aspect… like bro you couldn’t make a summary? and im supposed to read each of my other aspects? (ofc i did) but like this is just trying to make me spend money (too much reading) and well Im a greedy little fuck so imma drain your resources and not give you a dime >t > SWIPER NO SWIPING <

and i hate watching people trynna act like they know shit yet eat their own words n adjectives like you aint a professional; you just labeled yourself one > wheres your doctorate at bitch? Had enough shitty readings to not trust another 'tarot reader', but its cool the 'psychologists' aint did much better > thank you mother for the birth of my existence but shi dis place a fkn willy wonkin fsctory - and its foul - most places that try to help you that is.... ' you need to be able to receive help' bitch stfu yall underestimsting my problems and overestimating your ability to make me feel better; BITCH I STFG you dont know shiiiiitiittttttttttt > and yall look happy dont you > "dont trust a bartender who dont drink bitch" - KanYe. Numeroloy 'master numbers' > So many sites only use master numbers from 11 > 22 > 33... but wheres the 44? the 55? the 66?????? dont tell me yall didnt realize that every 'master number' still reverts back to each number (9). > 11 =2, 22 = 4, 33=6, 55 = 1, 66 = 3, 77=5..... bro god stsyed outta this mess clearly..... and its always the ones that be inventing new gods that fuck everything too 🤫 furthermore annoyances of numerofuckology - because they reduce the number back down.. .e.g. you have life path 89 > which is simplified to 17 > then to 8.... why not use 89? why we dissin 9 ????? let alone the complete number??? why not intepret both numbers together???? yall just wanna do 1 because your simple with it. and 9 getting left out fr... and yall always celebrating how special 9 is yet he always left out (magic of math - adding 9 - always reverts back to original) honestly - sometiems its so obvious why yall became numerologists sometimes...... Dont even get me started on ANGEL NUMBERS i could neva stfu

i mean yall still trying to test how true it all is, but if you throw a fish at a pisces they gonna go all googly eye on you. tell a scorpio that you intimidated and now your their favourite informant... read their life path number, and you know what they wanna be doing with their life.... i mean it really is a key, and yall locks are looser than you think... watch yo back.. i wouldnt trust someone who can help me (what do they even want), let alone get help from someone who is useless; why would you? dont act like you dont have trust issues, its like our way of relating to each other at this point. your good at sex if you have.... what about the other person? i mean if you masterbate to yoself maybe.... but if a composite chart / synastry have say - chiron eros? pluto saturn? mars dejanira.... how much are you gonna be fucking yourself when you fucked a dirty fucka..... rip virginity - and rip yo self esteem - dangerous game to value your sex appeal as much as you do...... or maybe your living a fantasy on the internet, and that is healthier, but thoughts are manifestations.... oh shit what da fuck have i manifested oh shitttttttttt IM BEING SUCKED IN A VORTEX OF MY OWN SHIT, SOMONE CALL A MANIFESTOR AGHJH AGJJGH please dont be offended, i do like this community; im just a devils advocate... sometimes 👹

you guys put too muhc importance on manifeststion, and i mean if you think its facts, look at what the people around you are manifesting.... OH thats why you isolate so much. so your manifesting loneliness.... oh you try to help people, so your just a trash can for a rubish person.... you see what i mean, manifestation aint so clear cut as you seem to believe. I believe in it, but Im so used to receiving crap, I learned to enjoy eating shit (we all did) and what is "one mans trash is another mans soap" - fight club Oh and Pluto my favourite - every curse a blessing and every blessing a curse.... stop complaining > he gave you the sauce and the only way to show you was to make you cry > lil bitch > pluto profile pic winking at you rn natal > persona > midpoint > composite > synastry > transit > return charts this is the offical order governed by me- so much more imporatnt to understand yourself over what the world got installed / what your partner doing - work on yo insecurities rather than be worried about something you have no control ova

hmmm thats all the issues i have for now.... just look at me as the boy who cried wolf. they aint a wolf here yet; but they gonna be, and im warning yall > why people dont get it...its because there are too many contradictions > but i fully believe, ive had so many spiritual experiences where if i denied them, id be drinking alcohol and pretending i aint a alcoholic. and i do love yall, but sometimes your an eye roll 29th post requires. 29 degree typa energy - YOlo MOfo

[vodkacheesefries]

Thought it would be fun to do an intro post for each of the three households I'll be rotating through in my historic sims file. Also told my buddy @schitzophrenicrainbows I would make one of these. It'll also help me keep things organized as I play the challenge since I'm committing details to writing.

Up first and beneath the cut, we have a little history dump and our Gladiators.

Gladiators initially started out as poorer people and slaves who were inscribed to fight and train in the gladiator schools, Ludus Magnus. Over time as people began to see the fame and honor that could be won in the arena, though it was more rare, people did start to voluntarily join these gladiator schools.

Due to the popularity of gladiator fights, and how pricey it got to train and house them, not every single gladiator fight was to the death for its contestants. (For the purpose of Finn's story/challenge rules, his fights will be.)

There's debate whether the infamous "thumbs down" actually meant the opponent HAD to die or not. It could have just meant they were disgraced and couldn't compete anymore, but I can't find definitive answers one way or the other, and the opinions I found on this often contradicted each other. (I could probably text my sister with three degrees all about ancient to medieval Italian/Roman history, but how do I explain to her I need to know for my Sims game lmaooo) All that said, gladiators often didn't live past their mid-twenties given the hazards of the job.

Gladiators were also sex symbols (do yourself a favor and look up ancient Roman graffiti. Humans are the same now as they were then lmao). Idk how much that'll play into my game but Finn does have to find a partner and have kids so the legacy continues but we'll get there when we get there.

Rana

Rana is the gladiator who has been at the Ludus Magna the longest. Her traits: Creative, Self Assured, Loyal.

She came from a wealthy merchant family, but the family business didn't interest her much. She left home when she was young to find herself and ended up finding the arena. She picked up sword fighting quickly and proved her aptitude for not only fighting, but teaching others to fight as well. These days she only competes occasionally, as she has proven herself invaluable in creating more gladiators.

She's hitting a point where the losses of her pupils, and more importantly friends, are starting to weigh on her. She likely isn't going to just be allowed to retire, though, so she has to figure something else out.

Apollo

Apollo named himself after a Greek God because he thinks he's hilarious. (This is debatable if you ask anyone who has spoken with him for more than five minutes.) He ended up at the Ludus Magnus due to his sense of humor; turns out a Senator doesn't like it when you make jokes about their philosophical ideas, even if they are stupid.

He doesn't enjoy the gladiator lifestyle much if he's being honest, and is counting down the days until his "voluntary" contract with the school is over so he can use what money he's won and travel the world like he's always wanted to. His self absorption is part him being young, and part it being a front for the fear he has of not living out his dreams and he wears it like a protective front. His friends know better, though.

(He also thinks Spartacus is cute, but he's certain Spartacus is going to stay a gladiator till he dies and that doesn't work with what he wants in the long run.)

His traits are: Loves the Outdoors, Self Absorbed, and Outgoing.

Spartacus

Disclaimer: I did not make Spartacus lmao. I was hitting create-a-sim burnout so I hit up the gallery to find someone else's Roman themed sim. Although I did make some minor changes to his wardrobe, added scars and swapped out a couple of his traits, which are: Athletic, Proper, Loner. I ended up keeping his name because while it's on the nose for a gladiator, it fits.

Spartacus is a former member of the Roman Legionnaires. He was released from his service due to an injury he sustained abroad. Once he had healed, he found civilian life to be difficult to adjust to, so he signed a contract with the Ludus Magnus. He's here for a good time, not a long time.

But lately, he's been spending more time with Apollo, and he's starting to change his mind. But surely someone as handsome as Apollo wouldn't be interested in someone who'd rather spend his time meditating than socializing at a party...

Finn

Finn's traits are: Athletic, Loyal, Ambitious

Finn knew the risks he was taking when he killed Antonius, but he doesn't regret it. He's now plotting his escape, and if his new found friends can survive, he'll bring them with him if they like. He really just wants to get back to Britain to what's left of his family and help them take back what is rightfully theirs and drive the Romans out.

By challenge rules, he has 10 fights to get through first. I also have to receive a silver medal or higher on at least 50 events, and I'll probably use his fights to accomplish at least 10 of those. (I've done six so far).

Will probably go over Laelius' household next along with the parts of the challenge they'll be completing, followed by his daughter's. Who I don't think I've posted so far.

Other households:

The Emperor's Family

The Frugi Household

[ishgard]

Tag ppl you want to get to know better

Tagged by @myreia - thank you!!!

LAST SONG: so I meant to go to my history to figure out what it was but forgot and by the time I did it changed so uh, haha 'Hozier - 'Francesca'

CURRENTLY WATCHING: Sousou no Frieren, Dungeon Meshi

THREE SHIPS: Ohboyokay let's see. Obviously I have a ton, but three.

Mana & Belial: These two are everything to me. This is me and the besties pandemic ship, we started text RPing with them while I was up north in 2019 and then everything spiraled. They were originally GBF characters but they've jumped to so many different universes and become full blown OCs by this point. They're enemies-to-lovers, they're 'I'll find you in every life time', they're unapologetically horny, they give me so much joy and happiness I could vomit rainbows.

Ahru & Deryk: This is probably pretty obvious if you've been following me at all. Ahru has a lot of ships I could ramble about for an age but this is the one I'm rotating in my brain 24/7 these days. I love how they fit together, I love how they get to experience the world all fresh and new, free of their burdens, together. aughghghg anyway. (Holds up boombox blasting 'Francesca' by Hozier)

Ahru & Arshadaya: This is like, my sleeper ship. Like Thanahru it's kinda present in every Ahru verse, but more. They're platonic, they're romantic, they're inextricably linked in ways that should be concerning and even questionable but it works for them. Arsh wanted to meld with Ahru's soul ('to save Nyx') before he inevitably accepted her as herself instead of 'Azem's Shard' and swore that same loyalty and devotion to her that he did Nyx. To the extent that when she got chopped up by the Servants of Light he sacrificed a good portion of himself to restore her, only adding to the 'inextricably linked in concerning questionable ways'. As a result he's in like a magical coma that could last gods knows how long but he maintains a link with Ahru continuing to protect and watch over her even now. They've basically fused into one being but he sleeps on the sidelines because her happiness and continued existence is the most important thing to him. :''')

FAVORITE COLOR: Light Pinks, Red

CURRENTLY CONSUMING: Just had a brownie 😌

FIRST SHIP: Geez... I mean probably Sailor Moon/Tuxedo Mask. Hilariously I feel like I've been a self-shipper + ocxfandom shipper from a young age because I remember my little saiyan oc I shipped with Trunks way back when. 🤣

PLACE OF BIRTH: USA

CURRENT LOCATION: Nope. 😘 (Seconded)

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

LAST MOVIE: Geez I can't remember... I honestly have such a hard time watching movies. I watched a few parts of 'When Harry Met Sally' when mom had it on T.V. a few days ago???

CURRENTLY WORKING ON:

I Will Share Your Road - Ahru x Deryk screens set about their journey around Eorzea post-Myths of the Realm

The Road Ahead - tentative name for a fic of the same scenario above. Mostly a lot of all over the place drabbles at the moment.

Miqomarch X'D I'm trying to get ahead a bit for when I'm away on vacation.

[name pending] original work about faeries and shit, inspired by the Elfhame series by Holly Black. Has been put grievously on the back burner because of XIV brainworms.

Tagging: @icehearts, @eorzeanflowers, @uldahstreetrat, @twelveswood (i know you but i'm tagging you anyway teehee) - no pressure though and if you've already done it please ignore me 😂

[herrlindemann]

WOM - September 1997

Interview with Till for WOM. The scans and article were shared by @rammsteinhistory on their Instagram page.

Till Lindemann's slightly irritated expression speaks volumes: Interviews are not one of the Rammstein frontman's favorite pastimes. The former European runner-up swimming champion and single father would probably prefer to swim laps in the outdoor pool or take care of his daughter. The former basket-weaver complains that he is asked about his texts so often that he runs out of vocabulary, and he is often misquoted. The " flambéed man" (STERN) still had to answer our employee Henning Richter's questions.

Did you feel you had a special responsibility when you started the new album?

More excitement than responsibility, because the pressure of expectations was very high, the sales figures speak for themselves. Reaching or exceeding this level will be difficult.

Under what conditions was the album created? And what makes it different from its predecessor?

We didn't have any arguments at all, it was relatively harmonious, which is unusual, since we usually have tough fights. Everyone tries to assert their position. Through the stress and hate of the first few albums, we had a foundation of experience and warmth that made things run more smoothly. The recordings were made in Malta, where the climate is fantastic. What I wanted to free myself from is gone, it's in the first record. Now I'm looking underneath, now there's something thinner, more filigree and more emotional. That applies equally to the lyrics and the music: today I go more into the finer points.

STERN has described your texts as « ghastly tales »...

German texts are usually pretty flat. I wanted to do better, which on the one hand was successful, but on the other hand naturally provoked questions. I usually get the music for a new song on a four-track tape from my colleagues and listen to it very loud at home. Either I follow my first impression, or I have to listen to it 20 times in a row, then it becomes very difficult.

So the music creates aggressive images in you?

Yes. However, the new songs like "Sehnsucht" are a bit softer, this is about wanderlust and not about violence. With "Seemann" on the first album, something very sad came to my mind, and with the music of "Weißes Fleisch " I immediately thought that it was someone who is mentally ill and is attacking a minor.

Do you actually understand the accusations that you were politically on the right?

We didn't expect it and didn't get it at first. In the meantime the pressure has become so strong that we have to start dealing with it. But we don't want to apologize either, because none of us knows what for. You try to understand it, but you can't. That's why you can't comment on it. Someone should just tell me where he sees the political right in our country. It's always just scratching the surface because they want to pee on our legs. All I can say is let the facts speak for themselves, for example our band chronicle: We've been on tour with the Ramones, with Project Pitchfork and Clawfinger. We are played in heavy rotation on VIVA, we have a good relationship with Die Ärzte, these things speak for themselves.

How would you classify yourself politically?

Actually, I'm completely apolitical. I find it incredible that they want to ban me from talking about child abuse. I have a daughter who is potentially at risk. It happens left and right, that's a fact, everyone knows it. But many don't want to talk about it.

Of course, one can argue about the form in which you do this. Anyone who goes public has to live with criticism.

That's right.

Are your lyrics and your martial demeanor also a late protest against the authoritarian GDR system?

Not necessarily a protest, but now it's pouring out. None of us took to the streets energetically at the time. But that remains subconscious. Now you can do anything and say things like “I want to fuck” or “I hate you” and it even plays on the radio. On the other hand, it seems a bit like it used to be, only with the difference that they can't pick you up anymore.

In the magazine PRINZ you were described as a « social-democratic version of the Böhse Onkelz ».

I don't want to comment on either the first or the second word.

Why did you actually adopt your jagged stage choreography and these pithy Teutonic gestures? And who had the idea to make your stage show so pyromaniacs?

I wanted to avoid idling on stage. Others dance or hold on to the mic stand — that doesn't go with our music because it's very static. I always stood in front of the microphone like an idiot and thought I was incredibly shitty. Then came two fountains, then four, then one effect after the other, which has now become a bit of an addiction. Music for the ears and the pyros for the eyes, for me that's the parsley on the chop. Of course you have to be careful not to turn it into a circus. If I roll my eyes or bang my head with the mic, it’s a support of what I'm trying to convey right now. When I use such gestures or shoot an effect, I just feel good about it.

Skins and Nazis also come to your concerts. Are these the wrong fans for you?

In any case. I've just never seen any. In a hall where more than with 1,000 people hanging out, there will always be rights. I'm sure they're also running around at Die Ärzte, Toten Hosen, Ramones and Bad Religion. You can't do anything about it. With us, they are only welcomed and recognized immediately by the media. If we knew how, we wouldn't let them into our concerts. But how are you going to recognize them? For example, our tour manager has the task of coming onto the stage immediately when fascists show the Hitler salute. Then I stop the concert and wait for these people to be removed.

Did your huge record sales actually make you rich?

It's different than before, but what is rich? We are a GbR (“corporation under civil law”), the money that flows is powdered into the next show. The autumn tour will be even bigger and have even more effects. Our show is incredibly expensive. We don't want to be a flash in the pan. If you saw the last Metallica show, then you know there's no end. Look at the movies, there is «Terminator 1» and «Terminator 2», the effects can become more and more numerous and violent. Like the 100 meter freestyle swim. They used to be happy if they got under a minute, now it's 50 seconds.