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#golden spin 2022
sywtwfs · 1 year
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Viewing information for the Grand Prix Final and Golden Spin of Zagreb is now available on our website.
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sunskate · 1 year
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Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko 🥇
Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius 🥈
Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik 🥉
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sxffrxn · 7 months
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when love strikes OP81
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An Oscar Piastri x Reader, enemies to lovers story
Part One Part Two
Summary: Oscar Piastri and Y/N have a long-lasting feud, nobody knows why. Do they themselves even know why?
Warnings: Reader is very British, swearing, implying the C word (never said), more swearing, probably grammar mistakes, severe lack of interaction between Oscar and Y/N in this one - sorryyy
Word Count: 2.2k
~~
The blazing sun sank low over the horizon, casting a golden haze over the Bahrain International Circuit. The descent of the marigold ball could only signal one thing.
The official beginning to the 2023 Formula One Season.
Y/N was completely focused into her pre-race traditions, firstly consisting of a precise and perfect set of joint and limb stretches. Although, to some, it appears that you don’t need any physical preparation before clambering into the vehicle, Y/N found that if she didn’t, her race would be ruined - call it superstition or something.
The one time that Y/N got caught up in media - and gossip around the paddock - was the first, and only, DNF of her Formula One career. After suffering a loss of power in the 23rd lap of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Y/N had to retire the car and make the devastating walk of shame back to the garage.
“1,2,3,4,5” she counted slowly under her breath, dropping her left arm to then hold her right arm stretched across her back in a somewhat awkward position “1,2,3,4,5, breathe” was whispered as she sighed out a breath of anxiety and panic.
Y/N raced for the newly appointed 11th team on the grid, the prestigious Lamborghini. Albeit not having a massive history in Formula One, Y/N saw it as the best offer of her career. In her rookie season - 2022, Y/N raced for Scuderia Alpha Tauri, alongside her longtime friend Yuki Tsunoda. The two were very close, so much so that if you told Yuki something very important and secretive, Y/N would 101% know in the space of an hour.
When news broke that Y/N would not be re-signing with Alpha Tauri for the 2023 season, all hell broke loose. The media and press were so quick to assume that she was ‘not cut out for Formula One’ or that she was secretly dating about 13 of the 19 other drivers. However when it was announced that Lamborghini would be represented in Formula MotorSports, some fans were quick to put two and two together. I mean, the first female driver to score above 75 points in Formula One history - let alone her rookie season - was to be out of the sport before being given a proper chance? That was too crazy. Both Y/N and Robert Shwartzman had signed for the team in 2023, the two had been very well acquainted beforehand due to the history of them in the Prema racing team in Formula Two. Some even dubbed them as the funniest drivers among them all because of the frequent YouTube challenge videos uploaded of them both (and their coworkers I suppose but none of them even came close to being on the same level as Y/N and Robert).
Along with a new team, there came new rookies in the 2023 season. This included one of Y/N’s biggest rivals since her days in Formula Three.
Oscar bloody Piastri.
The two were infamous for being at each other's necks anytime they were put in close proximity to one another, this led to many PR meetings and a whole lot of complications on the grid. The press, being the vultures they are, were so very quick to pin the blame wholey on Y/N, this - understandably - made her despise the aussie even more. Why were the media making her out to be the bad guy when they don’t know the story?
But to be completely honest, neither of the two could pinpoint when they went from being teammates to borderline enemies. It could have been when Oscar clipped the back of Y/N’s car, in a Formula Three race, causing her to spin out and injure her arm from the impact. Or maybe it was when Y/N pushed past Oscar afterwards, purposefully knocking her uninjured arm against his, and muttering a very colourful insult under her breath - she 100% meant for him to hear it.
When Y/N was scrolling through twitter and came across Oscar’s tweet declaring that he will not be racing for Alpine despite their statement, she undoubtedly did let out a small laugh at the embarrassment Alpine must be facing, before reminding herself who he was. After that, Y/N did, albeit very secretively, keep up with all the news on Oscar’s debut in Formula One. Maybe she missed the rivalry on track that determined her to do better, or perhaps she was just keeping up with the competition; the latter is what she kept telling herself is what she was doing.
Just as Y/N was getting ready to leave her motorhome, a knock sounded at her door.
“One second!” she called, and rushed to pick up her helmet. When she opened the door, she was met with the grin of her old teammate.
“Hiya Yuki, you ready for the new season?” she asked, her tone was cheerful, masking the anxiety. The problem she was facing was the unpredictability of the car. Of course she had gone through preseason testing, practice and qualifying without a hitch, but who knows how the car would perform for a long period of time?
“Hey Y/N, I’m feeling quite nervous to be completely honest. Are you not?” he wondered. Y/N let out a laugh,
“No mate, I am fucking shitting myself I can’t lie to you” she said lightheartedly as they begun the walk towards the garages.
“Well I understand that. Good luck for the race” he said, patting Y/N on the back and veering off in the direction to his garage. Y/N called out good luck to him too, and stepped inside the garage. She didn’t think she would get used to the yellowish interior of the Lamborghini garage, but to be completely honest, it was kind of growing on her. If it were some obnoxious fluorescent yellow, maybe she would have been second guessing her move to the new team, but the amber and gold hues that surrounded her did not cause a headache.
The car was absolutely gorgeous, the hints of gold detailed the body of the car from front to back, and the main body of the car being black with carbon fibre helped to really enhance the beauty of the design.
As her race engineer ran through the strategy for this first race, Y/N peered outside and accidentally locked eyes with a certain driver.
Oscar Piastri’s brown eyes almost stared into her soul, when she realised who she was having a stare-off with, the rolled her eyes in a dramatic manner and gave her sole attention to the race engineer, his name was Dan and he was a nice enough bloke, of course Y/N hadn’t really had the time to get to know him but so far he was polite and professional. All the best qualities.
The cars had just begun their warm up lap. Y/N sat comfortably in P7 in qualifying and she was feeling semi-confident with the car. To say it was comfortable would probably be an overstatement but compared to her Alpha Tauri car, it wasn’t too shabby.
“And it’s lights out in Bahrain for the 2023 season!”
Y/N got away quite nicely, managing to pass to P5 in the opening corner. Luckily, she was able to keep that pace for most of the race. As she was gaining on that P4 position, Dan called through her radio, telling her to push. She did just that and was able to take the fourth position. With just 2 laps to go, Dan told her to just defend to the finish line. Unfortunately, in the final corner she had just a little bit of understeer causing her to be pushed to fifth. That wasn’t too bad? Her race engineer called through the radio to let Y/N know her position and she was elated with joy.
“Let’s goooo!!” she spoke through the channel, “Thanks guys! This car is quite something!” she continued.
After the podium presentation, Y/N found herself being whisked away into a hurricane of interviews, most of which asking her the same questions with the same pre approved answers.
“Were your hopes high joining a brand new Formula One team?”
“Did you expect to get the result you did today?”
“How did the car feel?”
“Are you proud with the performance of the car?”
However one interviewer veered off course from the actual racing, and instead started to quiz Y/N on her own personal life. In her rookie season, Y/N was withdrawn and shy, hardly interacting with the media. This new season must have obviously meant she was keen to share every minute detail about herself.
Of course the media knew about Oscar and Y/N’s feud off track, it was hard to ignore them giving each other dirty glares across the paddock whenever they found the chance to.
“So, Y/N, why do you have a longstanding rivalry with Mclaren’s new driver, Oscar Piastri?” he spoke. To be completely honest, Y/N was panicking, she had never blanked in an interview before but this question was quite unexpected. Luckily she was able to compose herself and spoke;
“Well it's not necessarily just a rivalry between me and Oscar, everyone in motorsports is determined to perform better than others. And me and Oscar, being on the same team for a period of time, along with all other teammates on the grid know the expectation to do better than them, your teammate is your biggest competition.” In her mind, Y/N was patting herself on the back for such a calculated response in a short time, however the reporter clapped back with another question.
“But you and Oscar are no longer teammates and were not even in the same series last year, why has your displeasure followed you two since then? Has something happened behind the scenes?” Y/N had to bite her tongue to stop her from saying ‘no it was all broadcasted live, the prick bashed into the back of me’ but she was reserved and just shook her head and smiled.
“I wouldn’t say displeasure, just competition, if you look at other drivers on the grid, are they getting questioned on their past with another driver? No.” Y/N cocked her head as if she was genuinely asking a question. Finally, her assistant managed to grab her away after the awkward encounter on the pretence of going over some data.
When she was a good distance away from the cameras, Y/N let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. God could that have been any more stressful? Her assistant told her that she wasn’t actually needed for data review yet and that she was free to relax wherever she pleases. Y/N smiled at her and said a thanks before bolting off to the catering. God she was so hungry, she could eat a hors- no way that's gross! She was so hungry, she could demolish at least 3 full sandwiches.
Her mind wandered as she sat down with her food, why are both Y/N and Oscar so petty, I mean the crash was years ago?! Anyways, Y/N decided she didn’t care about the ‘right’ or ‘logical’ thing to do - apologise for making such a fuss about nothing - and instead concurred that the best solution was to continue to act as though Oscar had done something crazy like kill her firstborn child.
Y/N stood up with a stretch making her back pop, and took her rubbish to the bin, as she was leaving, her eyes glanced over to a flash of orange. Ugh. She physically rolled her eyes. What she didn’t realise though, is that the orange was approaching her. Y/N had turned around to walk to the garage and go over her and her teammates’ performance. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to meet the face of a certain Mclaren driver. This one, however, is the one she would have most preferred.
“What’s up with you and Oscar? I saw you two glaring at each other and then in your interview, all they did was ask about Oscar.” Lando asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Hm? I don’t know what you’re talking about?” she told him innocently, flashing him a smile.
“No, no. I asked him first. He says it’s because you brake checked him in Formula Three and got hurt.” Lando replied digging further, God he really is nosey.
“I did not brake check him. He rammed his car into the back of mine!” Y/N snapped back, pointing accusatory into Lando’s chest. Lando raised his hands in surrender,
“Hey, hey, don’t shoot the messenger, I was just curious.” Lando quickly replied. Y/N huffed and rolled her eyes. Y/N turned to walk away after saying a quick bye to Lando.
Y/N came to an absolutely shocking revelation
Oscar Piastri is a massive pain in the arse.
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A/N: hey guys!! first part is officially out. I hope you guys enjoy. If you have any requests for what to include in later chapter then please don’t be shy to. Also please correct any errors it is greatly appreciated. Hope you guys have a lovely day !!!
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teejaystumbles · 7 months
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For Sandtober #6, "golden", and the Monsterfucktober bingo square "undead", I present you something based on one of the books that left an impression on my teenage mind and now that is all I can think of when I get "bones" and "gold" in relation to one another -
Servant of the Bones AU
In Babylon, about 600 years BC, Hob, a young handsome shepherd, is forced to become the new statue of the god Marduk but through a secret ritual conducted by a witch does not die and is made into an undying spirit who has to serve whoever owns his bones. The witch botches up the ritual and dies, leaving Hob with his mind his own - even if he has to obey the bones’ current master, he is able to think for himself and over the centuries he outsmarts a lot of his crueler masters, leading to their demise and to the box being inscribed with more and more warnings not to summon what is inside.
First AU variant: In 2022, Dream Endlos [lol let’s give him the German name variant for once], a successful author of books and screenplays, buys an old mansion (Fawney Rig) which is full of old occult stuff from the previous owner. While he sorts through the stuff he comes to the conclusion that he’ll have to hire an expert to ascertain the value of a lot of objects. He trips over a box on his way out and it falls over and unlatches, revealing a glimmer of gold inside. Curious, Dream opens it and finds the golden bones of what seems to be a complete human skeleton. The box is inscribed with ancient warnings in almost every language from cuneiform to hieroglyphs to Greek and Latin. Dream is both horrified and fascinated.
He reverently places the bones back inside the box, carefully handles the skull and wonders about the person they belonged to. He goes to bed, his mind spinning with possible scenarios and stories concerning the bones, the box, the warnings. He lies awake for hours. Late at night he gets up again and goes back downstairs. He takes the box back up into his bedroom and sits before it. “Who were you?” he asks the box, and there is a quiet whisper of a man’s voice near his ear. “My name. Is Hob.”
Second AU variant (that I like almost better because I know how it would end): 
Burgess gets his hands on the bones after he captures Dream. He uses Hob to try and get Dream to talk, in so far as that he sends him down to talk to Dream and learn his secrets, in the hopes it might work because Hob is a supernatural being. Hob is fascinated with Dream immediately and tells him that he should not talk to him so he won’t have to betray anything to Burgess. “You mustn’t tell me anything important, I cannot lie to my master. If he commands me to tell him what you said I’ll have to answer. But I can tell you about a lot of things, if you’re bored. You must be bored, right?”
Dream is in turn fascinated with Hob and his strange curse and after a while they talk about unimportant things, things they like and dislike, they tell each other stories. Hob tells Dream how he was made into what he is against his will. Dream aches with sympathy. Burgess is frustrated because he gets no results. Maybe he also tries to have Hob use force on Dream but luckily the magic circle and spells make it impossible for Hob to enter the sphere Dream is held in. Events happen like in episode 1, Alex inherits Hob’s bones but barely uses him to do anything because he’s almost more scared of Hob than he is of Dream. Hob talks to Paul more than he talks to Alex and he tries to subtly influence the man to let Dream go. It takes decades but eventually Paul is showing signs of having had enough. Hob warns Dream to be alert and begs him to please take his bones with him if he escapes. Events unfold like in canon and Dream breaks free. He leaves without Hob’s bones, too weak to search for them right away. He knows where they are but he can’t get them without reclaiming his power first. 
Hob thinks Dream has left him to his fate and is full of sadness and despair. He returns to the bones, his master caught in an eternal waking nightmare. Paul takes the bones and calls on him to help Alex, but Hob can't help and so he ignores the pleas and doesn't even manifest. Paul is frustrated and puts the bones into a safe and out of his mind. When Dream has got the sand, helm and ruby back he goes back to Fawney Rig and searches for Hob. He finds his bones and takes them with him to the Dreaming, putting them into his own private rooms. Hob does not answer him and Dream pleads for forgiveness and begs Hob to come back to him. Only when he places a kiss on the forehead of the golden skull do the bones start to vibrate and come together and Hob is able to form himself a new body, with the help of the power of the Dreaming, a body that holds his bones and is free of the box so he will not be bound to any master ever again. :)
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goodnightmemes · 1 year
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GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (2022) SENTENCE STARTERS
❛ You can’t keep making excuses for every one of [name]’s insane whims. ❜
❛ Genius always looks like insanity at first, though, right? ❜
❛ Hey, please stop fire-spinning inside. ❜
❛ I say it like I see it, no filter. If people can’t handle it, that’s their problem. ❜
❛ You’ve got to stay off the Twitter. ❜
❛ Are you mocking me? ❜
❛ This can’t Shazam. It’s a lamp. ❜
❛ Where’s my speargun? I gotta pack. ❜
❛ He told me you haven’t left the bath for a week. ❜
❛ My mind is a fueled-up racing car, and I got nowhere to drive it. ❜
❛ I need danger, a hunt, a challenge. ❜
❛ There’s someone here for you! With a box! ❜
❛ Hello, stranger danger. ❜
❛ Excuse me, I love your accent. I had to try it. ❜
❛ You must be very special. ❜
❛ When you throw a murder mystery party, you do it right, buddy. ❜
❛ I’m not here. ❜
❛ He’s just staying here. He’s going through things. ❜
❛ This rich-people shit is weird. ❜
❛ This is stretching my stride-taking abilities. ❜
❛ Okay, let’s stop talking and actually start hanging out and having fun. ❜
❛ Why is it on the roof? ❜
❛ I wanted to ask, what are you doing here? ❜
❛ Is this part of the game? ❜
❛ I’ve learned through bitter experience that an anonymous invitation is not to be trifled with. ❜
❛ You really try. I like that. You really make an effort. ❜
❛ You never know when shit’s gonna go down. ❜
❛ I’m uncomfortable. I’m gonna go for a swim. ❜
❛ It’s true. I say it like I see it. ❜
❛ If you want to shake things up, you start with something small. ❜
❛ That’s the place where you have to look within yourself and ask, “Am I the kind of person who will keep going?” ❜
❛ That was some real red-pill stuff. ❜
❛ Every single one of you is holding on for dear life to [name]’s golden titties. ❜
❛ Wow. That was so real. ❜
❛ I’m a truth-teller. Some people can’t handle it. ❜
❛ It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth. Don’t you think? ❜
❛ Are you calling me dangerous? ❜
❛ A few cocktails before I’m murdered. ❜
❛ Halle Berry! That has a kick. ❜
❛ This simple thing that you thought you were looking at, it suddenly takes on layers and depth so complex, it gives you vertigo. ❜
❛ Every time we’ve gotten to the point where I’m going to strangle you, you pull something like this, and it’s magic. ❜
❛ I wanna be responsible for something that gets mentioned in the same breath as the Mona Lisa. ❜
❛ This is reckless. And you’re gonna get somebody killed. ❜
❛ It’s been a memorable weekend already, to be sure, but now the real fun starts. ❜
❛ Tonight, in this very room, a murder will be committed. ❜
❛ Well, to be clear, I mean, I didn’t know what a “blood diamond” was so… ❜
❛ What am I supposed to do now? Play Yahtzee all weekend? ❜
❛ I like the Glass Onion as a metaphor. An object that seems densely layered, but in reality the center is in plain sight. ❜
❛ It’s like putting a loaded gun on the table and turning off the lights! ❜
❛ Well, I’m out of here. Tomorrow morning. Gone. ❜
❛ You’re murdering my vibe. ❜
❛ So you come here, in your Gucci flats, telling us that we owe you? ❜
❛ What do you want? A check? You want performative pity? ❜
❛ I want the truth! ❜
❛ But me, I’m tired of pretending like you’re the victim in this game. ❜
❛ That changes things, right? ❜
❛ Have we ever not pulled through? Pulled it off? ❜
❛ We won’t know the cause of death without an autopsy. ❜
❛ Listen, I must insist that nobody touch the body or disturb anything around it. ❜
Are you treating this as a crime scene then? ❜
❛ I’ll pay you one billion dollars to tell me which one of them tried to kill me. ❜
❛ Oh, fiddlesticks. ❜
❛ Is that a speargun? ❜
❛ Oh, hell’s bells! Just, everybody, just stay here! ❜
❛ I can peel back the layers, I can take it to a point, but what lies at the center, only one person can tell us who killed [name]. ❜
❛ You’re not in the bath again, are you? ❜
❛ Heavens, the dog ate the caviar again. ❜
❛ It’s a stupid idea, right? ❜
❛ Listen, I want to be clear, huh? I am not Batman. ❜
❛ Any feelings of reverence or respect that you had for me when you crossed my threshold, buttress those feelings now. ❜
❛ Yeah, I’m trying real hard to buttress, but this sounds nuts. ❜
❛ Is this safe? ❜
❛ I shouldn’t be here. This is nuts. But I’m here. So let’s do this. ❜
❛ The reality-distortion field ends here. I can’t let you do this. ❜
❛ Look me in the eye! You know it’s a lie! ❜
❛ You must be really great at Clue, huh? ❜
❛ I’m very bad at dumb things. My Achilles’ heel. ❜
❛ This is your last chance to back out. ❜
❛ I think it’s really shitty what they all did to you. ❜
❛ I sold my soul for this. ❜
❛ I thought you said you didn’t drink? ❜
❛ That’s hard kombucha. That’s Jared Leto’s hard kombucha. ❜
❛ We’re running out of time! ❜
❛ Please. Think of the danger here. You gotta step back and let me handle this. ❜
❛ I never email anything that I wouldn’t want to see on the front page of The Times. ❜
❛ I think maybe you should take up drinking. You’re just killing it. ❜
❛ Something is just teasing the edge of my brain. ❜
❛ Oh, if I ever meet Jared Leto, I’m gonna whoop his kombucha-brewing ass. ❜
❛ My therapist says this is a toxic relationship. ❜
❛ We will do what we always do. Deny, half-apologize, and then go silent awhile. ❜
❛ Please tell me you did not think sweatshops are where they make sweatpants. ❜
❛ I will do whatever I have to do to save myself, and he is my only lifeline. ❜
❛ This never happens in Clue. ❜
❛ He’s a son of a bitch. Leave his ass. ❜
❛ I don’t feel sorry for him. He deserved what he got, and you are better off without him. ❜
❛ Please don’t kill me! Oh my God, please don’t kill me! ❜
❛ I’m not trying to kill you, you crazy bitch! ❜
❛ Shitballs! ❜
❛ It hides not behind complexity, but behind mind-numbing obvious clarity. ❜
❛ A veritable minefield of malapropisms and factual errors. ❜
❛ Oh, please. Just tell us who tried to kill me. ❜
❛ Nobody tried to kill you, you vainglorious buffoon. ❜
❛ What is reality?! ❜
❛ Does he keep a vial of poison in his tooth or something? Is that a rich person thing? ❜
❛ Oh, it’s so dumb, it’s brilliant. ❜
❛ No! It’s just dumb! ❜
❛ You dim-witted, brainless jackass! ❜
❛ Your one murder, with any panache at all, and you stole the whole idea from me. ❜
❛ Wow! We got some big accusations flying around here. ❜
❛ You need evidence, and you’ve got nothing. ❜
❛ Anywhere you go, it’s going to be your word against mine. How do you think that’s gonna go? ❜
❛ There’s nothing I can do. Except maybe offer you some courage. ❜
❛ I hope your little bitch tantrum gave you closure ’cause it accomplished nothing! ❜
❛ You’re ruined. ❜
❛ Did you get the son of a bitch? ❜
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jakeyt · 5 months
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Covet: Chapter 8 (Part 2.3 of 2)
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PART 2 OF PART 2
Pairing: Jake Kiszka x f!Reader
Covet Summary:
Life was good. No, life was great. 
Was. 
Until.
Jake Kiszka crashed into the picture.
You welcomed him into your life—your home. 
Yes, he was your best friend’s twin. But, he was also the one who would end up disrupting your whole world with his attitude, his troubles, and the annoyingly natural way he lured you in. 
Jake Kiszka came with so much you really didn’t want.
At least that’s what you tried to convince yourself.
Warnings: MINORS DNI (18+); smut (!!); angst; unprotected sex (p in v); jealousy; negative self-talk; negative body talk concerning body changes; talks of pregnancy; contemplation of terminating pregnancy; argument (includes: manipulation, misunderstanding, lying); masturbation (f! receiving); anxiety; stress; extreme feelings of sadness; abandonment issues; substance use (alcohol) (as usual, PLEASE lmk if i missed anything that is triggering to you!)
Chapter Word Count: 19.9k+
a/n: here it issss…. here’s the big thing: you’re going to be pissed w y/n a time or two & you’re just going to have to remember she’s sooo fucking stubborn. 🫠 (poor Jake) her healing journey starts sooner than you may think, though… 🖤
hopefully after you've read this part, you'll realize why i've included the bolded dates (i think most of you already knew what was coming though... lol). as the author, i believed the big event in this chapter required a timeline for you, as the reader, to keep track of order of events... makes things wrap together in a nice bow haha
@joshym, @alwaysonthemend, + @welightthefire, you three are so special to me and this story flourishes bc of your never ending support as i write. love u so much <3
Please enjoy the playlist as you read 🖤
enjoy!
-🌼🌼🌼-
August 27, 2022
The golden morning light was nearly blinding. You shielded your face in the arm of the body beneath you. It was almost too much. . .  The warm body underneath you was almost too much. 
You remembered having sex with him, talking to him. . . but the details were fuzzy. . . your body felt so relaxed. . . There was so much you couldn’t recollect, but at that moment, it wasn’t a concern. Because Jake was with you and it wouldn’t be this way for much longer. You wanted to relish in this.
Everything that had been swirling in your mind for days was still very real. . . and you knew the list of reasons this was a bad idea were endless. You wished there wasn’t a list of reasons that haunted you– the old and the new. But there was a list and at this point, the reasons were mocking you for being where you were at this moment.
Curled up in Jake, your round ass pushing against his thick cock, already hard. The heat that radiated from him, combined with the feeling of his body pressed against yours, made you sticky with sweat. Your body was on fire. But you didn’t want to leave him. You couldn’t leave him. This feeling, him. . . so safe and cozy. 
This was a feeling you wanted to sink into. You blinked a few more times into the open air of your bedroom, seeing the dust particles floating in the rays of yellow sunlight flooding your room. 
As much as you didn’t want to leave Jake’s body, you knew you had to start the day at some point. You tried to sit up. But you instantly regretted it. Your head felt fuzzy. Fuck. 
Things were foggy as hell. This was always how you reacted to weed. One reason why you rarely smoked it. But you’d needed to last night. Needed that time, feeling free and loose. . . with Jake. Before your time with him came to its inevitable end.
Like it had become your daily routine, you started becoming consumed by several all-encompassing, nagging emotions. You hated how fucking complete you felt in his arms, in bed with him. . . but all it had taken were a few seconds passing before you started feeling the familiar, anxious spinning in your stomach. Turmoil. 
Josh’s words from outside your bedroom, bouncing around in your head. The rules that you’d set in place for a reason– to protect you both (though, they hadn’t worked on your end). The image of Maya, so beautiful and attentive . . . Dammit. The way your heart sunk in your chest, the sadness rushing through you, made a mess of emotions in the pit of your stomach.
And you knew that was your body’s way of signaling to you that it was time. Time to end things.
No matter how much your heart lurched at the thought. Your eyes filled with unshed tears, dreading it. 
But your body was persistent in communicating to you that it was the right move. To let him go.
You rejected it for just a small moment to turn and give him a kiss on the lips, your bare chest meeting his, which rose and fell underneath you.
Then you remembered–. The guys. In the living room. Shit.
You pulled away to pat his chest, trying to get him to come to. And he did, with one deep breath through his nose, blinking at you with sleepy eyes. He squinted, the sun in his eyes. You loved the way the light turned his eyes to dark honey. . . 
Now is not the time, y/n.
As soon as you knew he was awake, you were scrambling out of bed, finding a big t-shirt in your dresser and putting it on. Then you bent over, searching your underwear drawer for a new pair that wasn’t a fucking thong. . . you had too many thongs.
“That ass,” he said, voice gruff and low from sleep. “Damn, baby.”
You instantly felt wetness gather at your folds. Not. Now.
Last night was the last time. And it was going to stay that way.
Underwear, underwear, under– yes!
Finding a pair of black panties, you slipped them on hastily before yanking on a pair of pajama shorts that were laying on the ground. As you wrapped your hair up into a quick ponytail, at your vanity, you made the mistake of looking in the mirror. The bed perfectly placed in the mirror’s path, and a sight from the bed made your breath catch in your throat.  
Jake, in your bed, his long hair, still messy from sleep and sex. . . his deeply set, tired eyes. . . tanned skin, the perfect shade of brown after hours spent in the summer sun. The sight reflecting back at you was making your heart race. You caught your breath, taking in a sharp breath. The elbow, holding him up, while the other worked under the sheets. . . his eyes lust-filled and appreciating your exposed thighs. Fuck. 
So, abandoning your hair, you decided to not ignore the need that thrummed between your thighs, making your heart beat wildly in your chest. When he was laying there looking like that, you couldn’t refuse. His defined pecs and fit biceps flexed with each pump of his fist. Your building arousal was already ruining your new pair of panties. Best to not dirty another pair, right? 
Your legs walked on their own over to the bed while you stripped yourself of the clothes you’d just put on. He sat up, as your eyes surely told him of what you wanted. And in no time, you were on top of him, as he deliciously stretched you, opening you up for him. He held your ass for a moment, aiding you in your movements. His lips found your nipples, hardened and begging for his attention. 
As he lifted his hips to start a rhythm inside of you, the pressure was just right, and his tip was massaging you exactly where you needed him. With every hard rock of his hips, you were pushing down against his thrusts. Languid, lazy sounds sighed from your mouth. . . The friction was heavenly. Both of you, relentless with your unsteady tempo of vigorous need– back and forth, back and forth.
He sensed it coming before you did, as you were too distracted by his handsome face. His mouth, opening in the slightest any time your walls clenched around him. Brows dipped in with deep concentration, balancing his view from where your bodies connected, and then back to your eyes. He reached between you, a skilled thumb making tight circles against your sensitive, swollen clit. And, much too soon, you were coming undone, the familiar burn in your belly, your body buzzing and walls fluttering around him at a rapid speed. You threw your head back, riding it out. You never wanted it to end. He felt so fucking good inside of you– filling you all the way up. 
With one hand on your breast, and another on your hip, he used that as leverage to pull out of you. And, without thinking much of it, you got on all fours, knees digging into the mattress, wanting to bare your ass to him. You heard him let out a shaky breath, before he was following, raising to his knees. As soon as he was where he needed to be, he released, warm on your back. He gripped your ass with a strong hand, the flesh putty in his hands as you pushed back against him, your ass meeting his thighs. 
More, more, more, more, mor–
And, without any stimulation, save for the feeling of him still spilling onto your back and his tight hold on your ass, you were finishing again, your body shaking, pussy clenching around nothing. Your arms almost gave out where they held you up. You tried to keep your whining quiet, remembering why you had been worried about your predicament before.
“Holy fucking shit,” he moaned, his tone throaty. “Did you just–? Again?”
“Y-yeah,” you sighed, feeling completely refreshed, your body still wracking from the effects of your orgasm. And finally, you let your arms give out. But before you could reach the mattress, he was pulling you back to him, sitting you on his lap again as he gave you a full kiss on the mouth, his tongue pushing through your lips. 
You reciprocated, tangling your tongue with his, the sound of wet kisses encapsulated your room. The apartment was so quiet–silent, even–save for the sounds of your sighs. The world was nearly drowned out. The only thing that existed was Jake, the taste of his sweet mouth, and the feeling of his lips melding to yours. 
But you broke from the escape, the silence of the apartment getting pierced by the telling signs of someone yawning loudly in the living room. You were up without even thinking about it. You hurriedly re-dressed, and before you opened the door, you glanced back at him.
“You were never in here,” you hushed, before shutting the door to go into the living room.
Thankfully, Sammy and Danny were still asleep. But your eyes found Josh, who was rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands. 
“What time is it?” He grumbled. And as he closed his eyes with another yawn, you saw movement from the corner of your eye. You peeked from Josh to see Jake, dressed again, silently shutting your door and heading to his own bedroom. 
As much as you wanted to go to him, you looked at the glowing green time on the oven. Your eyes bugged at the hour, and you rushed to check your schedule on the fridge. 
Shit. While your mind was already tumbling with reasons to call it quits, you just added one more to the list. Until Jake, you’d never been so forgetful of your work schedule. But as of right now, your mind was way too preoccupied with him. You winced at the idea of becoming that forgetful with school. You had to be more responsible. 
You had less than thirty minutes before you had to be walking into the Black and Gold.
“Y/n?” Josh called, still slowly coming to.
“It’s one in the afternoon,” you rushed out, practically sprinting to the bathroom, from where you finished your statement. “I’m gonna be late for fucking work.”
-🌼🌼🌼-
You’d been correct– ending up at the B&G ten minutes late. That had never happened before in the history of you working at the shop. It pissed you off to no end that you had let yourself be so irresponsible. 
You spent your entire shift thinking of all the things you’d let take precedence in your life above your job and your school. . . In recent days, you’d spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking of Jake to the point of being stressed enough that he’d noticed, told his brother. . . which resulted in a night of getting high to rid yourself of the nerves. You’d let yourself partake in it even when you knew it made you so incredibly fuzzy. On a night where you worked the next day. 
Then, there was the sex that had happened last night, this morning. . . making you lose track of time. There was one common denominator. He’d become too important. A distraction. And you feared being the same to him. You’d had your fun and now it was time to give it up.
You fucking hated the idea of having to do it– made tears moisten your eyes. But you would be okay. And Jake would definitely be okay. You weren’t to him what he was to you. (Why that felt wrong to think, you didn’t know. . .) He had a woman to lean back on, if he wanted one. A woman much more fit for him than you could ever be. 
And, chances were, he was bound to leave what you had for her eventually, so you felt it best to end things now before he could. It would hurt you less to take the initiative now. You didn’t want to risk the pain that would come with him fully rejecting you for another. The idea of Jake leaving you high and dry like your mother had sounded horrible. And you did not want to experience it.
By the time you were turning off the lights and locking the doors to the store, you’d made up your mind. Tomorrow. You were going to rip the damn bandaid off. There were too many reasons indicating you needed to. Before it was too late.
-🌼🌼🌼-
August 28, 2022
He would be home any minute. Your leg was bouncing with pent up nerves that wouldn’t be released until you said what you needed to. Your palms were sweaty, making you need to repeatedly wipe them on the worn denim of your jeans. And anytime you’d wipe them off, you’d grab your phone off the counter, checking it unnecessarily. Because even after you’d wipe them, they’d still shake with nervous jitters, and you needed something to do with them.
The sound of the key unlocking the door made your stomach twist. Suddenly, you were questioning yourself. Questioning what you’d been planning on doing.
I’m not ready. I don’t want to do this. It can wait. It’s not time. I don’t want this.
But it was necessary. 
And plenty of those thoughts had become too insistent for you to ignore. Even as you watched him set his guitar and amp down in the living room, through the opening of the kitchen. You were longing to ask him about his day. Or ask him to watch a tv show or movie with you. Tease him and make him follow you to bed. . .
But in spite of all of that, you knew what was right. 
Don’t be selfish, y/n. You know what is best for him. For you. For both of you. Don’t you dare chicken out. Continuing this cycle of selfishness will end badly. You know it. Stick to the plan.
So, when he finally walked into the kitchen to cross off his day of work on his fridge calendar, humming what you assumed to be a new song. . .you decided to not waste time. It would hurt less. 
Rip the bandaid clean off.
You cleared your throat before speaking, leaning even further into the kitchen counter. You wanted to sink into it. Hide. “Hey.”
He jumped, holding his chest. “You’ve gotta stop scaring me like that,” he laughed, crossing the day off his rehearsal schedule. 
Then, when he looked over his shoulder at you, you almost lost your motivation. 
Those eyes. . .
But you persisted. For you. For him. 
“We need to talk,” you said, the words feeling thick in your throat. 
And when he turned to face you fully, his brows were scrunched with confusion and concern. 
“You okay?” He inquired. “I wondered why you didn’t talk to me when you got home from work last night. Is something happening at the Black and G–?”
Rip. It. Off.
“We’re done,” you stated. You suddenly felt completely frozen, time beginning to move around you much faster than you could keep up with. The words were trapped in the air with you, hanging there.
He just stared at you, eyes round and questioning. He blinked a couple times, his lips on the verge of a smirk, but ultimately staying in a straight line, as if not sure how to react. “What?”
Keep going.
“We’re done,” you repeated, the words coming out a little easier the second time. “I’m calling it quits. I can’t do this anymore.”
He took a couple steps towards you, then took them back. He turned, looking at the kitchen cabinets as a hand held his chin. He used one finger to scratch at a brow. 
Still looking away, he spoke again. “Why?”
You felt the heartache begin again, not wanting to do what you knew you had to. Prior to this, you’d decided anytime you felt the sorrow creep up, you would replace it with anger. Fight the weak emotion with a stronger one. You’d bury the sad, and use anger instead. It would help you and him in the long run. It would.
“I hate when you fucking ask that,” you snapped, your head feeling heavy and the words wrong. 
His brown eyes got big, shocked. “Where is this coming from?”
“I told you, Jake,” you said, clearing your throat to eliminate the tears. You want this. “I told you that night at the bowling alley. I said if one of us wanted to end this, the other one has to be okay with it, without any questions asked. That was a rule,” you reiterated, standing firm on the words you’d stupidly spoken in the past. They were your shaky wall of defense in this situation, where you felt defenseless against yourself. “And right now, I don’t want to answer questions. I just want to say it’s over and you be okay with it.”
He scoffed, scratching his cheek before running the hand through his hair. He leaned against the counter closest to him, across the kitchen from you. Come closer. Please. 
But he didn’t. He just crossed his arms and pierced you with his dark eyes.
“That’s not how normal people do things, y/n,” he clarified, like he was talking to a child. 
You didn’t have to fake anger in response to that. Don’t tell me things like I’m an idiot. 
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” You fumed, your coolness fading quickly. 
“Goddamn, y/n,” he swallowed hard and looked out the little window above your head, right above the lavender. “Stop acting so fuckin’ obtuse. You know exactly what I mean.”
“Yeah, that’s why I asked,” you griped sardonically, silently begging him to look at you as your eyes followed him. “Because I speak fucking asshole I knew what you meant by that. You’re right.”
He brought a hand up to his face, covering his eyes before letting it run down to rest at his chin. He was losing his patience. This should be good. Why didn’t it feel that way? This was what you wanted. He let his eyes rest on his feet, refusing to acknowledge your stare.
“I’m still trying to figure out where this is coming from,” he said, reiterating his prior question. “Yesterday morning, everything was normal. We were fine. How were you able to just turn all of that off?” 
You were at a loss. How in depth were you supposed to go with him? Should you be honest? Or should you lie? Cover up the truth with blanket statements and lies? You weren’t sure. . . 
So you just started talking. And a lie came out first.
“I had a quiz this past Friday and I failed it,” you said, the untrue words feeling dirty coming out of your mouth. Trying to cover up the lie with a truth, you continued. “I keep getting distracted and it’s never been like this for me before. Since my first day of Freshman year at Pratt, I’ve never failed a quiz.” And I still haven’t, you finished silently, guiltily. “I just know that the reason I’m so distracted is because of this,” you motioned between the two of you, even though he was still looking at the ground. “Because of us. It’s not healthy.”
He finally brought his gaze up from the floor, interlocking it with yours. And if you thought the guilt from lying was bad before, it was even worse as you looked into his eyes. 
“How is the relationship we have not healthy?” He asked, truly wondering. 
Relationship. 
You decided to be as honest as possible to keep your guilty conscience at bay. 
“For one, it’s distracting me from classes. And two, it’s not a relationship. It’s been a rule since the beginning–the number one rule, actually– and I made it a rule because I knew I couldn’t handle a relationship right now.” All of that was mostly honest. Doing great. “I have other things I need to be focusing on right now. . .dedicating my time to. And from the beginning, this has only been sex,” okay, that was a lie. “And I wanted it to be that way so when the time came for me to cut it off, it would be easier. I made it that way on purpose.”
The way he was watching you with rapt attention, actually hearing you out, it made your heart jump into your throat. I don’t want to be doing this right now. I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to lose him.
Don’t be selfish, y/n, your brutally honest inner voice combated you. 
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” He asked, his voice indicating he was eager to assist you however you may need. 
Keep going. 
You swallowed the tears, your voice low with the tears that vanished. “Yes, you can help me by not challenging this right now.”
He breathed in deeply, his jaw clenching. “It’s not that easy for me.”
“It has to be.”
This isn’t easy for me either. 
“See, it’s always been like this with you,” he started, leaning a shoulder against the fridge, his face turning harder than before. “You think you can just control everything and everyone around you. But you can't, that's not how life works. There are other people in your life with real emotions–real feelings–that you don’t get to dictate.”
You felt utterly singled out, and it made your blood turn to fire in your veins. 
Who is he to say all of this?
“Why do you want to put up with me when you view me so horribly anyways?” You spit out, your eyes growing wet in spite of yourself.
He saw the tears in your eyes, and on instinct, started walking towards you, his entire face softening in response. But you put up a hand to stop him, your rigid expression and body communicating for you. 
“I don’t view you horribly,” he said, tone sincere. He sighed, stopping at the island between you, resting his hands stop it. “You know that.”
You watched the way his hands held so tightly to the counter. He was like his brother in a few ways, you’d come to notice. One of which being how passionate he could become when talking about something that meant a lot to him. And at this moment, you saw how deeply he felt for what he was saying. His entire body exuded his emotions— when he let them show. . . 
And, for the past couple of months, you’d been lucky enough to witness him bringing those walls down. Especially during the past month of sleeping with him, growing intimate with him. . . In this moment, you despised the fact that you were so freely giving that up. You selfishly wanted to keep all of those pieces of him. 
Frames of time fluttered through your mind, showing how he would watch you, so affectionately. You heard words that had been spoken, so caring and genuine. . .How patient he’d been so many times. . .
But, just now when he’d called you out on your control issues? Had he thought that all along? Had he felt animosity towards the way you liked control? Or, on the other side of the coin, had he only been pitying you all along? Putting up with you? Had he just started caring about you because he felt like he had to? You were the one who had pushed this thing between the two of you in the first place. . . maybe he hadn’t wanted it as badly as you. Maybe he’d just given in, and ended up sticking around for it because he felt bad for you and got free sex on his end.
He’d left the comfort of Maya for the chaos of you. You were sure he’d do it again if you gave him long enough. . . Because all you’d done was add trouble to his life with the way you naturally were. The obnoxious, broken, damaged person you were. Your baggage was heavy and you knew it was due time before it weighed him completely down.
“Well I’m sorry I’m such an inconvenience,” you fought back, guarded tears growing thicker in your eyes. You couldn’t will them away this time. “You’ve said what you wanted to say; it’s off your chest. So just let yourself be done with me,” you bitterly insisted. “Take a fucking breather from the ravaging storm that is me.”
“I never–,” he shook his head, looking away. A sharp breath had his lip curling as his hands went to comb through his hair. His eyes were wet when you saw them next. Fuck. Please don’t cry, baby.  “That’s not what I fucking mean and you know it! Why are you always assuming the worst about me? Always.”
“I don’t!” You argued, not believing your words for a second. You knew he was right. The tears, still resting at your ducts, started trickling down your cheeks. “I just– I know I have shit wrong with me. I know I’m the most controlling fucking person. I know that. But I’ve been through too fucking much to believe that you could actually want me. You shouldn’t want me, Jake! I’m–,” you started, choking on a sob. “I don’t even–. . .” You went to meet him across the island, putting your forearms on the counter as you rested your head between them. You let the tears win, letting them flow easily. Relentless trails of mascara on your cheeks and the arms you were crying into, you were sure. 
When you looked up to see him again, he was no longer standing there. 
See, Jake? You don’t want to stay. Why would you? Leave while you can. But why do I feel like I need you to stay? How did it come to this? 
Just as you were turning to look out the window to contemplate, he was back in the kitchen, a wet washcloth held in his hand. 
Stop taking care of me. You’re better than this.
But before you could argue with him, he was coming around the island to meet you, touching the warm cloth to your dampened cheek. And, like the selfish person you were, you let him clean your cheeks of the blackened tracks.
You stopped him, midway through him tending to the left side of your face, grabbing the cloth from him. “I can take it from here,” you muttered pitifully. “Please stop doing this.”
He relented, giving the cloth and standing across from you. His eyes watched you conscientiously as you finished cleaning your face. You set the cloth down on the counter. 
His brows were knitted when he spoke next. “Stop doing what?”
You choked on a dry sob. “Helping me,” you responded resolutely. And when it looked like he was about to fight you on it, you chose to bring out the knives and lies again. Don’t break, y/n. With your next words, you looked away from him. At your feet instead. Freshly painted, black toenails matching your heart.“I don’t want you to.” 
You had to lie. You had to protect him and his future from you. He had to get rid of you to do what was best for himself. But when you peered up at him through your wet lashes again, you questioned your methods. A tear slipped down his cheek, and he quickly sniffed, bringing a hand to his face to get rid of the exposure of emotion. 
He turned to look straight ahead, away from you. He looked up at the ceiling, putting his flexing hands in his front pockets. 
When he looked at you next, his eyes were still wet, but there was a fire behind them. God, you fucking hated this. “Is that what you truly want? All of this? Gone? Over? You don’t want any of what we’ve had?”
You couldn’t stand seeing him like this. This needed to be over. Your heart couldn’t handle much more of this.
“I don’t want you,” you said, bile rising in your throat. Fucking liar. “I never wanted you as badly as I let on. I just wanted sex and you were an easy target because you live with me. Available whenever I needed you.” Your throat constricted, heart racing. You didn’t look away from him, pinning him with your eyes, trying your best to void them of any emotion. “And I don’t need you anymore,” you said, the words tight and constricting your opposing heart. “You’ve served your purpose.”
His lips curl into a shaky smile, mirroring shock and disbelief. Brown eyes, pooling with tears despite how hard set they are. “So you don’t love me?”
Love him? What?
And then it was rushing back. 
Your mind, foggy and heart, completely transparent.
What you’d admitted to yourself and him in the hallway outside your room. 
Had he said it back? The details were fading from your memory, blurry at best. You couldn’t remember. 
Had you said it in response to him or just to expose yourself to him? 
Did you love him? Truly? 
You closed your eyes, needing to find a level ground as you felt completely shaky and unbalanced. How had you been so careless with your words? 
What did you feel? 
You know exactly how you feel, a calm, careful voice settled in your ear. You don’t have to deny it. 
Yes, I do. If I do love him, I have to deny it. It’s what’s best for him.
“When did I say that?” You asked, avoiding it to start.
His eyes cleared, opening up as if he were getting somewhere with you. 
You’re a coward, y/n. 
“The other night,” he clarified, sniffling again. “When the guys were here.”
I know.
“I don’t remember saying it,” you stated, firm. “So, maybe I did,” you said, his eyes still hopeful. “But if I was high when I said it, there was no validity behind it. I wasn’t me. My head was in the clouds.” His jaw set, lips a hard line. Tense. “So it’s not fucking true. That’s something that someone would remember saying if they actually meant it. And I don’t.”
This was all a giant fucking mess. Why did it have to be like this?
He only stared at you, his nostrils flaring. His eyes were narrowed. His thoughts, most likely spinning. He just didn’t articulate any of the thoughts you knew to be buzzing in his head. He closed his eyes, pushing his thumb and pointer finger against his eyelids. When he opened them, the blank look on his features was worse than any anger he’d ever emitted. 
The emotion was drained from him. Though, his hands were shaking as he untucked them into his front pockets. 
“Okay,” he responded, his tone matching his empty expression. He took a deep breath and went to turn around to leave the kitchen, messing with his hair.
One of his nervous ticks, you thought, morosely. 
But. . . You weren’t done. This couldn’t be it. 
You suddenly didn’t want this conversation to be over. We aren’t done yet. There was no closure for me. No agreement on his end.
You’d made the terrible realization that once this talk was over, you two were over. Ripping the bandaid off didn’t seem so attractive anymore. It was stupid, but you were already missing him as you watched him walk away. The sight of him leaving made even more tears accumulate in your eyes. You knew he wasn’t done— and neither were you. 
You snapped. “Jacob!”
Saying his name stopped him right before he could exit the kitchen. 
His shoulders tensed as he turned slowly, facing you. His expressionless face now took on all of the emotion you knew he wanted to feel.  
That’s it, you thought, challenging the man in front of you. Keep up with me.
“What the fuck do you want from me?” He snapped, patience completely gone. 
The line was being drawn. And as invisible as it was, you could still swear you saw it being drawn in the space between you and where he stood. 
“I want you to say that this is fucking over,” you fumed, your voice raising. 
He laughed hotly, rolling his eyes. He rubbed his chin, contemplating his next words. “I don’t want it to be fucking over. I want you to stop whatever game you’re playing. I know you and I know this is coming from somewhere deep in the roots of your trauma.”
“Don’t you dare use my trauma against me, fucker!” You roared, your skin red hot. 
He pointed a finger at you, accusing. “I am not using it against you! I’m trying to get you to snap out of this!”
“Snap out of what?!” You sneered back. You crossed your arms to hide the fact that you were shaking. “Finally being honest with you?!” You paused, a part of your heart break open of its own accord. “You were just going to fucking leave me anyway. This wasn’t meant to last. It never was.”
“Leave you?! That’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to leave you,” he begged you to understand. 
Your heart pressed firmly to your chest with how hard it was pounding. “My own fucking mom did it, Jake! So what in the hell would stop you from doing it, too?” You blinked away the tears that came with the way you were hurting yourself with these words. 
He brought two fisted hands to his eyes, his body stock still, but chest heaving as he let the words sit in the air around you. 
The words hanging in the air were mocking you, though, and you needed to hear him speak to clear their torment.
“Ja—.”
“Do not let your trauma dictate who you choose to think I am. Don’t use it as a way to tell me who I am. I’m not your mom. I’m not the people who have left you,” he breathed deeply, finally showing you his eyes. They were red. And as he ferociously wiped at his cheeks yet again, you noticed why they were bloodshot. When had he started crying? His hands flattened next to him with his next words, spread out and making a point. “Stop acting like I’m someone I’m not when I’ve proven that wrong time and again by being there for you.”
Your heart swelled in your chest, wanting nothing more than to cross the room and kiss him. Let him know how much you needed him and how the words you’d spoken in the hallway were true. 
But what’s best for him? His career? Remember how Josh said he didn’t need this right now? And neither do you.
“Well, I don’t want it,” you repeated your lie. “Accept that.”
Within seconds, his eyes shifted from sad and pleading to. . . Vacant. Right in front of your eyes, you witnessed how it felt to return back to square one with him. 
And you couldn’t remember the last time you felt so fucking terrible.
“I accept it,” he relented, tone empty of any feeling. Come back to me. “We’re done.”
The way your heart fell all the way to your feet— how your knees felt as though they would buckle under the heavy weight of emotion— made you regret every single thing you’d said. 
At that moment, you wanted to take it all back. But it was too late. 
The man you saw in front of you wasn’t your Jake. 
The man you saw was the one who’d entered your apartment on that destined day in May. Before you could even think to say anything to cut through the heaviness penetrating the room, he was gone. 
And you were giving into the way your knees begged to let you fall and you did, back against the opposite side of the island so he couldn’t see you. The tears fell, silent and unrelenting, as you heard the front door open and harshly close. Signaling the end you didn’t want, whatsoever.
-🌼🌼🌼-
October 2, 2022
A little over one month later. . .
You woke up slowly, not wanting to face the day. 
Life was stressful and weird right now, and every time your eyes blinked open to face a new morning, you dreaded what the day might come with. 
Thankfully today, you had a distraction from the sadness of life. You were meeting with Theo across town at a coffee shop to study for an upcoming exam in one of your more studious courses.
When you’d created your course schedule for this semester, you’d loaded yourself down with 12 credits in required courses, and 4 credits in electives. You’d thought it to be a good idea: make your senior year count with a giant ass course load. Next semester was outlined as well. . . With 16 credits of its own.
But, it was not the best idea. 
It was causing waves upon waves of stress that you really didn’t need. You were grateful for how it helped (a little) in distracting you from your sorrow after losing what you had with Jake. . . But it made you dread going to school even more than you already did. You weren’t able to catch your breath. You’d never dreaded school until recently. You were going to school for writing when you still found yourself lacking a passion for it. The only thing that you looked forward to were the few music courses you had to take for your minor. 
The giant course load, the long hours at the B&G now that Josh only worked one day a week, Jake’s presence, Jake’s lack of presence. 
Your group of people had become extremely absent due to constantly working in the recording studio. Yes, recording studio. You were beyond proud and completely happy for them. . . but you’d hardly seen any of them for the past month. Even the one who lived with you. . . And the one thing you still had after you broke things off with Jake was at least having the opportunity to look at him every now and then. 
And, although you wouldn’t speak it out loud, you were so very glad that neither of you had brought up the prospect of him moving out amidst that terrible conversation in the kitchen. All you had left with him was the occasional glance (you to him, of course; he never looked at you anymore). 
Humiliating as it was, you hated the idea of him moving out. Even though you knew it would be coming sooner rather than later with his career picking up. But, even though he still lived with you, your schedules never aligned for you to see him much. The guys were recording artists now. They’d spent all of September, working with their manager as they accepted a record deal and started the process of recording music.
It was truly what all of their dreams were made of, and it was what you wanted Jake to have all along. . . But you selfishly missed seeing him. You were excited for him with what the future might bring, but you were also dreading his complete and utter lack of presence in your life. . . The thoughts of it all were draining you. 
All of the stress over that and school, had even started causing you to have a super upset stomach— you were vomiting every day from all that weighed on your mind – the jumbled mess your life had become. So, that’s why you’d made the executive decision to create some sort of schedule of things to distract you. You cleaned every Saturday evening, you met with Theo every Sunday, you jogged every morning like you used to (especially since you’d started fucking stress eating). . . 
You’d even taken time to try and healthily write thoughts in your journal, rather than keeping them all in your messy head. Although, all they did was translate as a depressing, convoluted mess on the pages.
But none of your coping strategies were truly what you wanted. What you were craving most was the person you’d pushed out of your life. The person who was now gone more than he was home. And when he was home, and you were able to catch a glimpse of him, all it did was hurt to look at him. Things were tense; you couldn’t even talk to him the way you wanted. It just hurt to be near him at all. But you wanted him. You just wanted him in ways you knew you couldn’t have him. Especially after you’d been the one to break things off.
You were upset that you’d gotten into anything with him in the first place. You knew it wasn’t meant to last, but you’d still let yourself get caught up in him. It had been impossible not to. It was all so natural with him. It was a giant joke that the universe had cast on your life: the one person you wanted was the one you could never have. 
-🌼🌼🌼-
October 8, 2022
Your boobs were hurting like you were about to start your period.
Anytime they felt heavy, looked bigger, or itched, you knew it was coming.
A telling sign. And for a week or two, they’d been that way.
It made you think about checking the period tracker app on your phone— see when it was coming. And when you had checked it, you realized you were late.
It’s because of all of the fucking stress, you thought, deducing it to only that to keep from worrying about anything else. There was no way it was anything else anyway. 
The only person you’d had sex with in recent months was Jake and he always pulled out. There was also the added piece of how you’d been weaning off of birth control for the past several  months. Late periods were known to occur while going off of that particular drug. 
You were checking the toilet paper every time you went pee, waiting to see blood on it. And when you finally did see just the slightest bit of blood, you decided to check for tampons in your bathroom cabinet. 
Aaand. . . You realized you were out of them. 
Needing to go to Walmart for a few groceries anyway (you’d eaten all of the Cosmic Brownies you’d recently bought and needed more immediately), you decided to make a quick run for necessities.
-🌼🌼🌼-
It took you longer than you had planned trying to find a box of damn tampons. Walmart was sold out of your go-to’s, and searching Google to figure out a good environmentally-friendly dupe was harder than you’d anticipated.
But, it must have been your lucky day. Because, as you stood there, a graying woman in the tell-tale blue vest came up with totes to stock the shelves. And, as she started unloading, you saw a box of your normal brand of products in a tote. 
Walking over, you started to kindly ask if you could have one of the boxes of tampons in her tote. . .but the smell of her perfume was so strong and outrageously floral– you could smell every hint of artificial rose. Your stomach churned at the obtrusion to your nose, so you backed away a bit to gain your bearings.
You went ahead and asked once you’d settled back a foot or two. When she smiled back at you, you felt bad for being so grossed out by the smell of her perfume, but damn she’d layered it on thick . . .
“Which kind, sweetheart?” Her voice wobbled with her age, the hump in her back much more prominent when she went to bend down to grab it for you.
You extended a delicate hand, touching her frail arm to stop her. “Oh, ma’am,” you said, causing her to look up at you. “You don’t have to get them out. I can do it.” She raised a brow, so you hastily added, “If you don’t mind, of course.”
It took everything in you to not help her up from her slightly bent position, as you didn’t want to break any boundaries. You also weren’t sure if you could handle being so close to her with the way she smelled like an artificial flower shop. . .your tummy was still rolling with the scent and you didn’t want to puke on the poor thing. 
When she stood back up, as straight as she could, her smile was bright behind her magenta lipstick. 
“Oh, sweetie,” she winked a glassy eye, placing her hand on your arm this time. You smiled as she continued, “You are one of the rare ones, aren’t you?” 
“What do you mean?” You giggled, holding your nose a bit when her hand came up to touch you. How much of the stuff had she sprayed on herself?
“Willing to help your elders?” She questioned, thankfully letting go and stepping back again. 
You took a breath and blinked, not expecting that. “Oh, of course. I wouldn’t ever think of doing anything different,” you shook your head, your grin sticking to your lips. “I don’t want you having to do that for me.”
“Well, you are just too sweet, honey. If you’re sure, I’m going to continue stocking. You go ahead and get it out, honey.”
With that, she walked back to her prior job. 
And when you bent to get your tampons, your stomach lurched. Again. Just like it’d been doing for the past week or so. But, you felt like you might actually vomit, and you didn’t want to do that in the Walmart totes. So, you put a hand to your mouth when you stood back up. 
The woman—Wanda, her name tag said— looked over at you. Her brow wrinkled when she asked, “You alright, honey?”
Swallowing, you nodded, knitting a brow. “Oh, yeah. Don’t you worry about me.”
She nodded back, almost turning back to her job when she stopped. “You know, it’s so funny. I remember once back in my day, when I was around your age, I was in an aisle just like this one. . . Getting my own napkins, searching high and low for them,” she chuckled. You smiled kindly, unsure of why she was telling you this. You were about to turn on your heel with a quick goodbye when her voice stopped you. “But, it’s funny, I searched so hard that day, and later that week. . . I found out I was pregnant!” She got a kick out of that one, slapping her tiny thigh. “I’d been late for weeks.”
In contrast to her humorous state, your stomach sank. . . Plummeting to your knees. 
But before you could say anything back, she was being called by her supervisor to help locate an item. She waved a quick goodbye, and you barely registered it. Your thoughts were going insane.
No. There was no way. You knew you were late. . . But you weren’t that late. 
School had just been stressful. Your anxiety building up to you being sick and everyth—. Fuck. Your nausea. 
No. No no no no.
It wasn’t possible.
Standing stock still in that aisle, you measured your thoughts the best you could. Tried to make them all slow the fuck down. Flashbacks of Jake infiltrated your mind, him being the only one to have aided in that possibility.
The only guy you’d slept with in months. And he always, always pulled out. Without fail. Fuck. Absolutely not. Why were you even thinking of him? Of that? Entertaining that thought? 
It wouldn’t have even been a blip of an idea had that lady not mentioned anything. Hurriedly, you scampered down the aisle, wanting to get out of dodge of the ladies’ aisle. But just as you’d passed the pregnancy tests, you stopped in your tracks, walking back to them. 
There is no fucking way this is possible, you thought. You shook your head, almost continuing out of the aisle again. 
But. That dreadful voice nagged at you, causing you to stay in your place. 
Better safe than sorry, y/n, it seemed to remark smartly to you. What’s the harm in checking?
And without really thinking, you were getting out your phone to search for the most accurate tests. You weren’t about to get a false positive that might freak you out for no reason. As you navigated the best brands on a blog, bile rose in your throat, your tummy doing somersaults. 
You didn’t want to think about it as you eyed the Clear Blue tests. This was stupid anyway. But you went to grab one, in spite of you knowing you literally weren’t pregnant. 
You didn’t know why you were fucking embarrassed as you reached for the box of tests. It wasn’t like you weren’t a grown ass fucking woman. And it wasn’t like you were actually pregnant. There was no way in hell. This was just a precaution to prove to yourself that you were overthinking things. There was no way.
Every single time you’d been with Jake, he’d pulled out. Every. Single. Ti–.
Then, it came back. The night you’d gotten high on Josh’s fucking green. 
Fuck. 
It had been one of the most euphoric times you’d had sex with Jake. That much you could remember–and you hadn’t forgotten how good it had felt for a damn second. And, the more you thought about it. . . It dawned on you as your stomach rolled. 
Knowing how into it you’d been. . . How good it had been. The weed hindering your decision— probably hadn’t used fucking protection then. 
Dammit.
Most likely, you knew he hadn’t pulled out. You’d both been so out of it. . . too lost in the moment. (A moment that you had, admittedly, been waiting for– feeling his naked cock inside of you, throbbing as he released his hot seed inside of you. . .)
And, as you stood under the judging, bright fluorescent lights of fucking Wally World, the words were coming back to you. . . the entire moment was flooding back to you. Whether you wanted it to or not.
You felt your legs quiver, your heat clenched around him as your clit twitched with need. 
So close. Fuck. 
His eyes rolled, his lids shutting with the feeling. He bit his pink lip. His lips, still swollen from your kisses and shiny from your release. The butterflies in your stomach started fluttering ferociously, the familiar feeling overtaking you as your body trembled– your nerves humming. 
You were about to finish. And you had to do it with him. 
Completely. 
“Y/n,” he gasped, warning you. “I’m going to fucking cum.”
You felt his cock pulse inside of you, confirming his words. 
“I know,” you said, for the third time. “But I need to feel you. I want you to finish inside of me.”
His eyes bugged. “Y/n– fuck. No. No. You are under the influence. You don’t want–.”
You felt your chest flare with irritation at his words. “Jake, I swear to fuck,” you whined, your eyes shutting as one particular nudge of his cock against your folds pushed you nearly over the edge. “Please, Jake. Please, baby. I promise you won’t be taking advantage or some shit. I need it. Please. Let me have it. Just this one time.”
Let our last time be special, you thought. You tried to let your eyes echo your thoughts, willing him to understand. 
He seemed to, because his next words were less apprehensive– an air of eagerness and an air of excitement painting his tone with his next words. “Are you sure?”
“More than sure,” you reassured, smoothing your thumb across his sharp cheekbone. 
And with one last buck from his hips, your clit twitched and your legs turned to Jell-o. All composure was lost–shuddering and heart chanting his name. 
Then, with a final groaned growl, his eyelids drooped, and his irises hazily watched you. His mouth relaxed to an ‘o’ shape, just the same as it did when he played his beloved instrument. You felt the glorious feeling of his release, as he spilled warm and plentiful inside of you. 
You remember now that, in your hazy state, you’d banked on everything being okay. Because you were going to get a Plan B. . .
But, there’d never been a Plan B. 
You felt a cold sweat develop on your forehead as your hands became clammy with fear. Your hand trembled as you held the box of Clear Blue tests tightly to your chest. 
You didn’t need this. Fuck. He didn’t need this.
It was just a fluke. There was no way. It was one time.
So, that’s why, when you reached out to get a box of First Response tests, you knew it was just to back up what you knew. 
Two different types of tests to confirm the truth. Double reassurance.
It was not possible at all that you were pregnant. How fucking often does it happen after just one time? An hour later, when you got home, you decided to push the tests all the way to the back of your underwear drawer. 
You decided to hide them because you knew it was stupid to even begin to think of the impossible. And you were not about to entertain such an asinine idea. 
-🌼🌼🌼-
October 15, 2022
You put off taking the test for as long as you possibly could. Tried to ignore the fact that it was even in your drawer.
Even though you knew there was a chance that you were, you didn’t want to sit on it, in the case that it might not be true. Because it more than likely wasn’t. But when that week trickled into the next, and you still hadn’t been greeted by Aunt Flo, you started getting more and more worried. 
And the puking didn’t let up for anything. . . In fact, only getting progressively worse. 
Which, on the Saturday of the next week, clicked as a horrid sign to you. 
No.
Surely the fuck not. It was just stress. There was no harm in taking the test to prove yourself right. So, you gave in and went to grab the test after you’d done your newly scheduled weekly cleaning of the apartment, that next Saturday night. You decided it was ideal to do it then since Jake was gone performing at another festival with the guys.
Halloween-themed festival this time. . . And as fun as it’d sounded, you knew when Josh had texted you about it that there was no way in hell you were going to go to that. 
Biggest reason being that you and Jake were still not on speaking terms, and you didn’t want to test those waters. You also didn’t want to run the risk of seeing Maya. Because you already knew that seeing her might actually make you keel over and vomit. 
And also, Elsie was too busy to attend, so you for goddamned sure weren’t going to attend and experience anything negative without your wingwoman. So, you’d given a half-assed, ridiculous excuse of homework. Thankfully, he was wonderfully Josh and didn’t give you any trouble over it.
But, it meant Jake was gone tonight, and you could take the test without running into him. The night was still young, and you had plenty of time to get it done and out of the way before he got back.
Grabbing the tests felt like you were taking a giant leap into a field of the unknown and that was terrifying as hell to you. But you didn’t let it stop you from reaching your shaking hand into the deepest tresses of your underwear drawer. Once in hand, you rushed to the bathroom.
Calm down, y/n. Just breathe, you coached yourself, as you read the giant Over 99% Accurate! at the top of each box. Chances are very slim. You just have to take the tests. 
You read the instructions on the back of each box at least five times. Each box had three different forms of tests: two regular tests and one digital for both brands. And you were about to pee on all six. 
Wait. That might not work. How do you even stall your fuckin’ pee like that? For six tests? And still be totally sure it’s accurate? You didn’t want to chance inaccuracy of any kind, so you thought of your next best option. On a whim, you squatted to look in the under-sink cabinet for Dixie cups. You could not for the life of you remember the last time you bought those, but maybe. . .
Aha! 
Shoved to the back of the cabinet, forgotten, was a dispenser you now remember as Elsie’s. Her dental routine, always having been extensive, now coming in extremely handy. Once you had your hands on it, you pulled one cup sticking out of the top. 
Last one. Damn. Lucky day.
Let’s just keep getting lucky, then.
So, you sat down to pee, after reviewing the instructions for the both brands of sticks once more. 
And, once you’d peed in the cup, washed your hands, and built up the final bit of courage to do it, you opened the boxes. As quickly as you could, you got all six out, unwrapped them, and then dipped each tab in the little cup. Once you felt they’d all been dipped the perfect amount, you laid them out on the counter and set the timer on your phone.
All six laid there, taunting you and your stupid, careless decision. The two digitals next to one another, blinked with the time until results appeared. The four other tests’ screens, all got colored, one-by-one by your pee. Gross.
Deciding you couldn’t watch, you went ahead and fed Stevie during the waiting period. You left your phone on the counter, too, the volume turned up all the way so you’d be able to hear the alarm.
Just before you threw the boxes away in the kitchen, you read the backs of them once more. One part stuck out to you, the piece of information you were reading, both reassuring you and terrifying you all at once. 
“This pregnancy test detects the “pregnancy hormone” (hCG), which starts showing up in your urine shortly after implantation. Plus, its DualSense(TM) Technology may help prevent false positives in the very small number of non-pregnant women who may have low levels of hCG in their urine.”
At least I know they’ll show me accurate results. Like the fact that I’m not pregnant, you recited, once more. 
You bent over to feed your fluffy gray cat, but when you did, you felt the usual wave of sickness flood your senses. But there was no stopping it like you were sometimes able to do. Thankfully, you were able to get her food in the dish and still make it back over to the toilet, in time to empty the contents of your stomach.
And, as if on cue, just as you flushed it down, the timer on your phone went off. 
You suddenly wanted Elsie there with you, holding your hand as you met your fate. But you quickly pushed that to the side, remembering that this was on you. This was your mistake to face. And your body. You had to be the one to make all of the choices that followed any possible, unwanted result. You had to face this alone. This was on you.
By The Seaside’s cheery tone did not match your sick tummy or the dread that was pooling at the bottom of it. It was as though bricks had been piled there, keeping you on the ground until the tone started getting so infuriating, you couldn’t take the sound any longer. You also didn’t want to wait so long to possibly get inaccurate results.
Your eyes were pinched shut as you stood up. Yes, to keep the dizziness subdued, but mostly out of fear for what awaited you on the countertop. When you opened your eyes, you directed your sight first to your phone, pressing the STOP button to turn off the seriously grating alarm tone. 
Before you even glimpsed the counter holding your (possible) future, you knew what you were going to see.
And you were proven terribly correct.
Four tests with two pink lines on each screen. Two digitals saying two words you didn’t want to think true. . .
YES (with a stupid little plus sign) on one and Pregnant, big, fat, and bold on the other.
Fitting. Big and fat. Just like I’m about to fucking be.
-🌼🌼🌼-
You laid in bed crying for hours. You didn’t even remember getting to your bed. But by some miracle you did. And you never wanted to leave it. This was the last thing you fucking wanted. Really. 
You avoided touching your stomach for a while, not wanting to make any association to the unspeakable reality of your situation.
A fucking baby wasn’t in the cards at all. It couldn’t be.
You could not have this baby. No way, no how. You and Jake weren’t ever going to work as a couple. For prior reasons and because you fucking stomped out any of that possibility with the hateful, untrue things you’d told him in August. 
Then, there was the career aspect. If you were afraid of Jake compromising his career for you, you knew he would most probably (most definitely) put his career on hold for his own fucking kid. And you refused to let that happen. It was not an option for a baby to get in the way of the lifelong dream he was finally living out. He was more important than that being halted for a barely-there kid.
You still had no earthly clue what the fuck you were going to do with your life, but even you refused to quit your life for a baby you didn’t want. Before you could schedule the appointment, though, you were sobbing yourself to sleep.
-🌼🌼🌼-
You woke to the telling sound of the front door opening and closing. 
Your eyes were difficult to open. But, as you pried your red and puffy lids open, you squinted at your phone screen to see a text from Els and the fact that it was 2:30 a.m. 
Dear god, where has he been?, you thought, irritated at being woken at an ungodly hour on this wretched night. All you wanted to do was sleep. 
But, you couldn’t stop yourself from contemplating where he’d been. . . you soon regretted the train of thought. Because, you knew exactly why he’d been out so late. It was the same reason he used to stay out late. Women. Now, it was Maya, most likely. 
You blew into yet another tissue from your bedside table. The disgusting pile of dirty kleenex from your delightful evening had come to cover the pretty white painted wood. 
Just like this horrid situation is going to take over my life if I don't stop it from happening.
Taking comfort in what you could control in the present, you decided to get off of your worthless ass to throw away the tissues in your bedroom’s trash basket. 
Shit.
The trash.
Without giving a thought what Jake’s reaction would be to your swollen red face, you made a beeline from your bedroom to the kitchen’s waste bin.
Gratefully, he was nowhere to be seen. And when you heard the shower turn on, you knew you were safe for a bit. So you hurriedly wrapped up the bag and ran it down the concrete stairs to the complex’s dumpster. On the way back up the stairs, you rushed, too, as you didn’t want to risk seeing Jake at all. You didn’t know how long he’d be in the shower, and considering it was late, you figured he’d be in and out.
Right before you were able to grace the last step on your way up the stairs, you nearly tripped.
And, just as you gasped, catching yourself from mid-fall, you also protectively grabbed another part of your body. 
Only on instinct, you defended the choice. 
But as you made the rest of the way to the apartment, you didn’t move the hand from the bottom of your belly.
You couldn’t defend that.
To your relief, when you made it back up, hesitantly opening the door, you realized Jake was still in the shower. As you put a new bag in, you had to let go of your tummy. And it was fine. You didn’t miss the contact. 
It was just instinct before.
But, just as you finished with your job, you were no longer alone. 
You watched him leave the bathroom, towel around his waist. The waist you’d hungrily gripped so many times before. . . But, in recent times’ fashion, he didn’t look your way for even a millisecond. You knew why. You knew you’d been an asshole and said terrible things you could never take back.
You said what you did for good reason, your inner, brutally honest voice reminded you for the 80th time in the past month. 
For as long as you could, you let your eyes follow his body, surely still warm from his shower. He was so completely handsome. His long, dark, wet hair, sticking to his tanned, broad shoulders, which shined with water droplets. Droplets that trickled to dip below the towel at his waist. . .just as you’d witnessed them do before. 
Before. Better times.
Though, as soon as he was in your line of sight, he was gone.
Minutes later, you were back in the safety of your bed, trying to not think about your roommate, wet and possibly naked next door as you searched Google for a Planned Parenthood near you.
And, as you were scheduling your appointment, you refused to acknowledge the soft thoughts that were entering your brain.
A baby. Not so bad. . .Soft. Cuddly. Sweet. Yours. . .
Jake’s.
But before you could hit the precipice of overthought, you reminded yourself that it was unreasonable and it would be selfish to keep the baby. It would be you halting Jake in one more way.
And, just as you were tiptoeing the edge of a deep slumber, an even more devastating thought entered your mind.
You could absolutely not have this child.
Because, based on your tumultuous past of mistreating other people, how would this poor, innocent baby be any different? Be safe from you? Even with the gut-wrenching thoughts, you fell into sleep easily. Crying always took it out of you. Now you could blame part of it on the life you were growing inside of you. 
Without thinking of it, your hand found your still-flat belly again as you drifted off. . .
But, when you did, your sleep was not that easy. Your dreams, ever-vivid. A mixture of wonderful, pastel-colored moments with a giggling baby, a glowy morning light tickling her pretty features. . . 
Then the terrible ones where you saw yourself as the exact person who’d hurt you most. . .Your mother.
-🌼🌼🌼-
October 29, 2022
Unbeknownst to you at the time you’d scheduled your Planned Parenthood appointment, you’d planned it for the same day as Josh’s annual Halloween bash.
The one he would be hosting at your house, just as he always had. And, he’d planned it when he always did. The Saturday before Halloween. You just hadn’t thought of it when you’d scheduled. 
So many people in your home, on the day of an appointment for which you’d had equal parts apprehensiveness and eagerness. . . maybe slightly more apprehensive. Either way, they were two completely different emotions. And you weren’t sure how in the hell you’d handle them once the deed was actually done. . . So the prospect of coming back to an apartment full of people to feel it all was not your favorite.
Good thing was, you’d at least been able to reschedule your appointment for earlier in the day, which would end up giving you plenty of time to cry and cope on the drive home, get back home, cope some more, and then dress up. . . And then you’d be fine. . . right?
You’d decided to put off the appointment for as long as you felt like you could. The night you’d found out had been a shitshow of emotions. But when you awoke the next day, there had been a new light that hadn’t appeared the night before when you’d read the tests. 
A light that left you feeling unsure of ending it so quickly. You just hadn’t felt totally comfortable going in so soon without giving it time. You’d wanted time to process it. So, you’d scheduled it far enough out to do so. 
Two weeks. You decided that giving yourself two weeks to really think it through, would help you have enough leeway to think and come to a sensible conclusion.
But. . . you still hadn’t come to one. Not really.
You’d at least had the two weeks on your own, the apartment being void of Jake. The boys’ record label had suggested going to a cabin in the middle of the woods to write music and spend that time together, just them. They’d left roughly midway through the first week after you’d found out. Much as you wanted to deny it, you had missed him. His presence. But him being gone had been what you needed to thoroughly digest it all. Theorize. Imagine all kinds of scenarios for you and the baby. 
But the days and the nights were different– a total contrast of each other. And you’d bounced back and forth between the strong, all encompassing feelings for long enough that you’d made your decision. Even though it wasn’t necessarily an easy decision, you knew it was what needed to happen.
Most nights, you fell asleep, holding your belly (a little excited by it growing just the slightest bit in the past two weeks). . . You’d come to the same conclusion anytime your head hit the pillow. The euphoric, pastel dreams. The precious baby you could hold and love, safe in your arms.
You knew what you wanted at those moments and it felt heavenly, honestly. . .
But the utter trainwreck of thoughts that plagued you in the daytime were what had you getting into your car, putting the clinic in your Maps app. Tumbling between your thoughts of not harming Jake and not becoming your mother and harming the child, you’d made the final decision of what was best for all parties involved. 
Especially the baby you held in your womb. 
Your hand went to its natural resting place, the bottom of your faintly protruding tummy, where you imagined your baby growing steadily. You hadn’t researched how big it was or even let yourself do the math of how far along you were. No tracker apps. No research. It would keep you disconnected enough to go through with the most beneficial option for everyone.
Avoiding all of the fun things had been difficult, as you’d spent every waking minute thinking about the life inside of you. The baby motivated you. Kept you going when you started feeling sad. . . Weird as it was, the tiny little bean in your belly was inspiring you on a daily basis. 
But, as you came to the first stoplight on your journey, you remembered this was best.
The appointment was at the Hempstead clinic. You’d made it at that location, forty minutes away from your home, in the hopes you wouldn’t see anyone you knew. No one knew about the life inside of you and you had decided it probably needed to stay that way.
It had become increasingly burdensome to keep it from your Elsie. There’d never been a time in your life where you didn’t tell her everything. Keeping the thing with Jake from her had already been hard enough, so adding a baby to the mix made it rise tenfold. Any time she Facetimed you, texted you, or called you, you wanted to tell her. A couple of times you almost slipped up. 
But telling her that would mean admitting everything about you and Jake. The sex. The feelings you’d developed. The way you’d cut things off. . .
And you didn’t want her advice. Weren’t ready for the way she’d react to it all. She always seemed to conflict with your ideas on things like this. . . the hard decisions you’d make. She was notorious for saying you “make things too hard for yourself” and to “let go of the heaviness”, but all you normally heard was “I don’t understand what you’re feeling, but I’m going to tell you this worthless piece of advice anyway.” You knew she’d judge how you ended things. She’d question it. Quiz you.
Now was not the time for any of that. You already had your constant, terribly rude voice of reason that coached you through the tough things. So, as much as it tempted you, you didn’t dare mention any of it to your sister: your time with Jake or what it had ended up producing in your uterus.
(There was also the crippling fear that she may slip up and tell Josh. . .and he was the last person you wanted to find out. . .The fear of disappointing him two times the amount as before.)
But, at this moment, as you joined the crazy busy traffic on the highway, soul music lifting your spirits as high as they could go, you wished she was there to talk it through with you. So for the thousandth time, you tried doing it yourself. The same thoughts you’d gone over and over for the past two weeks.
The first thing you thought of every time your mind started rambling was what it could and would honestly, truthfully be like. 
How could you actually make it work? 
Usually, this was where you’d lose hope, telling yourself you absolutely couldn’t make it work. . . start derailing from the possibility of happiness. . . but as that certain Aretha Franklin song came on your fucking shuffle. . . 
Like an eagle protects his nest, for you I'll do my best
Stand by you like a tree and dare anybody to try and move me
Darlin' in you I've found, strength where I was torn down
I don't know what's in store, but together we can open any door
The lyrics inspired your thoughts to take a surprising turn for a. . . promising, positive outlook.
There was most likely a way you could make sure to hold Jake to his dream. You could encourage him to stay on track. You’d been able to talk through things with him before. Even though things were weird now, you could do it again. . . probably. Hopefully. Do what you always did and make a list of reasons why he should, get him to understand the importance of him not giving up on it. . . 
Then the darkness filtered in a bit, reminding you of how hateful you’d been to him during your last conversation. Would he listen to you? Could you blame him if he didn’t want to? And the recycled thought of how toxic you were. . . You’d cared so deeply for him and still allowed yourself to talk that way to him to protect him. What in the hell would you say to your child to protect it in the future? Why was your idea of loving someone so fucked up? 
Could you fix that? Figure it out? 
At the very least, you could try. For your baby. For you.
You merged lanes, the track slipping into the next. You turned the volume down to hear your thoughts. Give them your attention.
How would you raise the baby? As roommates? Weird. Friends? Sad. You couldn’t cross the territory from before again. That would make things too complicated for the baby. . .And probably for you while you figured things out. Getting lost in him again wasn’t an option. The glorious fucking– it wasn’t an option. Did he even want that? Probably the fuck not. . . But you knew he’d make something work for the baby. . . He’d make sure the baby felt safe with an arrangement between the two of you. You knew the kind heart he held in his chest.
You could do it as friends and make it okay. You could. Even if it broke your heart to only be his friend as you raised a baby together. You would do it for your baby. For him. You would do it for him–because you'd cut things off with him for a reason. A solid reason. And a baby didn’t change that. 
In fact, a baby affirmed that it stayed the way you had made it. . . You’d made a mess and he didn’t need to be distracted by you. You could share the baby, yes, but you were the obvious primary caretaker. You’d take over whenever he was away or needed time to focus. . . It wouldn’t be fully on him to handle a baby. 
It would barely be on him. You were the mom. This was your thing.
But, it would be fully on him to handle your bullshit. You weren’t worthy of a relationship like he could offer. And he didn’t need to be on your healing journey with you while he pursued what made him feel happy and fulfilled. Just like the rules had stated: you weren’t his responsibility.
Responsibility. . .he didn’t need to have any with the baby, honestly. He didn’t need to be involved. Only if he wanted to be. You weren’t going to force him. 
But damn, you wanted him there for all of it. From birth up until the day of college graduation. . . 
The sound of your phone ringing through Hands Free interrupted your train of thought, right as you got on the exit you needed to take to get you closer to the clinic. You didn’t even look at the caller ID as you pressed the answer button, focusing on the tricky road you’d made it to instead. You knew it was probably Josh or Elsie, calling to figure out something about tonight.
“Hello?” you said, loud enough for the other person to hear, starting the conversation.
“Hey.”
The voice you heard through the sound system of your car was almost enough to make you veer off of the roads, actually making you swerve the slightest bit.
Jake. Why was he calling?
“H-hey,” you stuttered, not sure where to even begin in conversation with him. You hadn’t spoken for a damned month, and now you knew you were carrying his baby. . . things were strange. Altered. Poles apart from before. You covered your wavering response with as much truth as you could tell. “Sorry, driving on some weird roads. On my way to a doctor’s appointment right now.”
“It’s fine,” he responded, voice hard and clipped. Unfamiliar. He’s not your Jake. Your heart fell as you felt that newfound (or re-found?) tension fill the conversation. “Just calling to tell you I’m leaving my key with Josh so he can get in to decorate. Thought you’d wanna know.”
Your brow wrinkled, suddenly curious and a little irritated. “Josh has a key. . .?” You took another exit that indicated how many miles you had left until your destination. 
“I lost the little fuckin’ thing,” Josh’s voice now reverbrated, grainy through your speakers. You smiled at the sound of him, but turned down the volume to make it less overpowering, in case he talked again. “I’m so sorry, love!”
“It’s fine, Joshy,” you conceded with a sigh. “Hope I don’t get a burglar or some shit thanks to you,” you were joking, but also completely serious. “You’re replacing the entire apartment if that happens.”
“You’ve got it, Mama,” he responded dutifully. 
But the only thing you could hear was mama. . .Mama, mama. . .fuck.
Your hands started sweating as you noticed your Map had you down to three minutes until you made it. Rather than making it obvious that you were lost in thought, you started talking. Using it as a way to distract yourself as well. (More so for yourself, if you were being honest.)
“I thought Elsie was coming to help you? She has one.”
“Her plane got delayed and she’s going to be getting here later than she planned,” Jake replied to you, short in his response. “See you la–.”
“Is she okay?” You asked, your heart rate increasing at the thought of her possibly being stuck somewhere. “Is she safe? I’ve been driving. Do you think she’s tried texting me? Josh, is she okay?”
You heard Josh chuckle, which eased your nerves. “Yes, she’s perfectly fine,” he confirmed gently. “She’s on the flight now, and if things line up, she should be here in two hours, so we’re good.”
“Okay, goo–.”
“And I’m sure she’s texted you because you both text each other non-fuckin’-stop,” he pointed out. Then you heard him laugh at himself. “No–I love it. But she’s okay.”
Jake’s voice, annoyed, broke through the flow of your conversation with his brother. “Alright, well, see you la–.”
Just as you pulled up to the clinic, you cut him off. “Jake.” Truthfully, the reason you kept him on the line was because your heart was heavily thrumming in your ears, vision tunneling. . . You just needed to hear his voice. He couldn’t hang up yet. “Why won’t you be there to let him in?”
He sighed, the sound making your heart slow down a little. You could imagine him rubbing his face or giving you a look that said “really?”. But he actually responded kindly, sounding like himself. “I have a few things to do before the party. I won’t be home.”
Even though you so badly wanted to ask what those things were, just to continue hearing his voice, you didn’t keep him. It wasn’t your place to know and you knew better than to ask anymore questions that weren’t your business. 
“Okay.” You paused, thinking if it was okay to ask what you wanted to next. Just go for it. “Are you going to be at the party?”
Embarrassing to ask, but here you were. 
“Yes. . .?” He replied, tone questioning. 
Relief. That was what you were feeling. You were relieved that he’d be there. 
He waited a few beats and then spoke again. “. . .Why?”
“No reason. Just wondering if you’d be at the party,” you rushed out, not wanting to push him further.
The next thing you heard throughout the body of your car was Josh’s voice again. He was hurling expletive after expletive. And then, “Did you see that, Jake? Did you see that?” in the background of the call.
It was enough to make you laugh. You’d been there for his loss of patience on the road. Completely oblivious drivers getting an earload from the man in the next car over. It was even funnier when you’d look over to see them grinning, or singing along to a song. . .no idea that they were getting called horrendous names.
Simply watching him lose his cool on others was entertaining because it was hardly ever seen. The best thing you could think to compare him to was an angry leprechaun when he’d start on his little road rage fits. 
And without warning, the sound you needed to hear most rushed through the car and into your ears. Jake’s lovely, raspy chuckle. It’d been so long since you’d heard it. Too long. (You might’ve turned up your volume a smidge in hopes of hearing it again.)
The insane person in you wanted to ask him to do it again. But, obviously, you didn’t.
Though, he didn’t immediately try to hang up when he spoke next. When you heard him again, it was almost like you could imagine the past month hadn’t happened. The talk in the kitchen hadn’t happened. . . things were normal. You were okay. He was okay. Both of you, peaceful . . .blissful.
“Are you good?” He asked smoothly– familiarly. Jake. And, you were sure your ears were fooling you, but you swore you could hear a hint of concern in his tone. 
You weren’t sure what to say. This was more than you expected from him by far. . . Shocked was an understatement. What you wanted was to open up, tell him every last thing on your mind, but you knew you couldn’t do that anymore. 
You plainly weren’t. You put a hand on your tummy and aimed to match his sincerity in your tone. Settling with a, “Yeah, I’m good,” as your reply.
I miss you, though, you added, silently.
���Alright,” he said. But he didn’t hang up. Instead, the line stayed connected almost as though he was. . .waiting? Was he? Possibly waiting for you to talk more? Like he used to? Giving you time? But before you could think any further, he was wrapping it up. “See you later.” 
The tone clicked off, leaving you in the silence of your car briefly before your eardrums got attacked by Marvin Gaye’s voice. 
“Shit.”
You reached the knob, turning down the volume. 
Had I really turned it up that loud? 
You shook your head as you giggled to yourself at the fact that you’d been so obscenely desperate to hear him laugh.
But, his laugh. . . Exactly what you needed to keep calming down. . . That laugh. . . And the way his eyes would light up with it.
Oh, fuck. . .
His eyes.
His wonderful eyes. Amber-brown. The first thing you’d noticed about him. They were so kind and so open when he cared for someone he spoke to. . . Even sparkling sometimes when he’d smile. . .
And without warning, you could see it. Clear as day. A baby with Jake’s kind eyes. 
A baby that was part of him. . . 
You let yourself sit on that. Think about it. Just that. Not about all of the intricate, fine-tuned details. No, just thought about the simple fact that this baby was half Jake.
Half of someone who’d brought so much unadulterated joy to your life. If you were always honest with yourself, you knew he wasn’t what had caused you to become distracted, sad, and in your head. . . you’d done that to yourself. All he had done was be a listening ear. A helper. A lover. A friend. . .
He’d done nothing wrong. You knew this. And imagining a baby who could bring the same light to the world as him. . .Even if all the baby had were his eyes, that would be enough. But then there was his heart. The beautiful heart and passion his child would no doubt have. It would be inevitable. Especially being the child of you two. . . but his passion shining through a kid? 
You could not get it out of your head. You didn’t want to. It was all so beautiful to imagine. . .You also didn’t want to rid the world of a gift that could be so wonderful as Jake Kiszka.
The little details could be worked out. You would work on yourself. You would try your best to be the best you could be. . .
You would. Had to do it for yourself and your baby.
Determined, you turned off your car. And when you went inside Planned Parenthood, you canceled your appointment. You tried your best to shut off your brain to any of its usual worrying for the sake of the life you now knew without a doubt you wanted to keep. Hold. Love.
And as you were driving home, the nerves were gone and replaced with relief. Your baby would be okay. You’d make damn sure of it.
When you took the final exit off the highway to reach the city streets that led to your apartment, you got logical again. Now, the logic didn’t worry you. It didn’t make you feel unsure. This logic felt safe. You were working things out– not just getting rid of something to temporarily patch up a hole. Yes, you were more than self-aware. You knew you did that shit.
It was what you’d done your whole life to feel safe. But it wasn’t what the baby did. It wasn’t what the baby needed. And now, the baby in your belly would also get what it needed. 
As you rolled into your parking spot, you started searching the best apps to use and downloaded all of the most reliable trackers. The loading apps made you feel jittery with anxiety, but in a good way you’d never felt before.
Later on in your pregnancy, you knew it was possible you could end up regretting the choice to keep the kid. You’d done nothing to prepare for a child and the fear of being completely out of control was daunting. But that was what adoption was for. 
You just couldn’t be the reason that the world lost such a precious piece of Jake. Because, even if you couldn’t keep the baby yourself, you needed to at least see such an inevitably beautiful person enter this world. And, you didn’t have to be out of control in all of this. You could keep your hands on it all. Stay aware and informed. . . Help the baby. . . Feel purpose. You could do something good and worthwhile.
You walked up the stairs to your building, watching your every step while you kept one firm hand on your lower tummy. The apps that had loaded were dying to be opened. But you were going to shower and start getting ready before you gave yourself that reward.
For the first time in your life, you had a shaky-ass, unsure plan. But it was oddly the first time in your life you felt like you could conquer your shit. You could take it by the horns and start working on it. For you. For your baby. The baby that motivated and inspired you so much already. . .It all felt so freeing.
You unlocked your front door, finding the place was still empty. Your shoulders relaxed as the day started draining from you. The past two weeks, honestly. . . You moved your shoulders a little to loosen the muscles from their pent-up tension, took deep breaths in and out, in and out. . .
You breathed a sigh of contentment, placing your delicate hand on where the baby grew. 
And as you got into the shower, you realized something. . .
The persistent voice that always accompanied you, helping you feel less alone in your hurt. . . had been silenced. Was that okay? That it wasn’t there to guide you? Had you been able to turn it off? 
You weren’t sure how to feel about it. But, as you kept glancing down at your slightly rounded tummy as you showered, you came to a clarifying thought.
You weren’t alone anymore. Didn’t have to be. Maybe the voice was no longer needed. Maybe this was the beginning of a massive change.
Giggling to yourself as you dried off, you thought to yourself.
Duh, it’s a massive change. The biggest. And one I’m ready to welcome.
-🌼🌼🌼-
When Elsie’s plane landed at the airport, Josh had already been at your place decorating for an hour or two. And as soon as she texted, he was gathering his things and giving you instructions on finishing up the place. 
Then, he left to pick her up. 
Finally.
You breathed a sigh of relief when he ended up leaving. 
The thoughts that’d swarmed your head in such close proximity to him had been too much. It was weird being around him now, knowing who you were carrying. Josh being completely oblivious (and probably unapproving if he were to find out) caused you some incredible anxiety. While you’d come to the realization that there was no doubt you wanted to have the baby, the thought of people finding out was making your nerves short circuit. 
Especially Josh. He was still the main person you didn’t want knowing of you and Jake. Same as always, you didn’t want him to feel betrayed, or like you’d let yourself be to Jake what Amelia had been to him (destroying his dreams for your gain). And now, you knew how much worse it could end up being when he found out about your child. You figured that he would feel like he’d been left totally in the dark. Which, he had been. . .but for good reason.
You just felt guilty over it.
Taking instructions from him on how to finish up some of the decorations, you hung the rest of  the red and black streamers and some cute, eclectic garland between the streamers. Little fabric ghosts, attached to a string that he’d probably found at a Home Goods store. After that, per his wish, you shut all of the lights off and turned all of the twinkle lights on. Some red, some white. . . But so many of them. Dear God. 
The lights were a good idea though, as they added the final touch to everything he’d done around the place. . .highlighting everything a very mystifying, spooky hue.
Once you completed those tasks, you made the red punch. Josh had already whipped up the orange punch and had it chilling in the fridge. When it looked ‘blood red’ enough (Josh’s words), you placed it in the fridge with the other bowl. Each bowl, shaped like a giant skeleton hand. 
Does he just host it here because I have a massive fridge? You genuinely wondered. 
On the shelf above the bowls, you saw the several hilariously made food items. He’d designed them carefully and specially to look like scary things, labeling each as its inspiration (Witch’s Fingers being the name of one item). It was something you’d see at a party for a child, but you weren’t surprised that Josh had found the idea amusing. Something you loved about Josh was the fact that he was a child at heart, while also showing the traits of an 80 year old man.
Crossing the living room to walk to your room, you admired the way he’d jazzed up the spacious apartment. It looked spooky and cute and fun. You knew people would love it. He always went all out and you enjoyed seeing what he decided to do each year. 
What worried you, though, was the amount of orange solo cups that sat on your bar. It looked to be at least (probably more than) 50 cups. Maybe he’d just gotten that many for the people who wouldn’t reuse their cups. . .but the Sharpie sitting next to them begged to differ.
Why in the fuck hadn’t you put a limit on the number of people? Yeah, your apartment was roomier than some, but how were you going to fit that many goddamned people in your place?
There’d never been so many solo cups waiting. . . How many people were there going to be? And why the sudden change in numbers?
-🌼🌼🌼-
It was thirty minutes to party time when they got back. 
You’d finished most of your makeup, having done it during the long time you’d waited on your sister’s arrival. When Elsie finally walked into your room, her foundation, blush, and contour were on, but nothing else. 
“Bitch, we’ve gotta hurry,” she said, setting her bags down on your bed. “Do you have the costumes?”
You gave your false lashes one more swipe of mascara, pleased with how you looked. 
Not half bad, you thought. You made a pout at yourself in the mirror; your red lipstick made your lips look damn good. The gloss you'd coated them with helped as well. 
Kissable.
“Yes,” you answered, rising from the vanity to grab their hangers out of your closet. “We are never buying costumes on Etsy again, though. These ripped a hole in my bank account.”
“Oh, shut up, Little Miss ‘my grandparents pay for my rent’,” she sassed back, rolling her eyes.
“You’re one to talk,” you countered, annoyed with her. “They did the same damn thing for you.”
“You’re not wrong,” she agreed, a laugh in her voice. “But giving you shit is too fun. And also, you don’t have to travel all over the globe for your job, so. . . I bet your account still looks prettier than mine, even after this purchase.” She grabbed her little blue top and skirt from your waiting hand. “These are perfect though,” she turned the costume around, admiring. “Thanks, sissy.”
“Did you bring the white stockings?” You asked, taking off your sweats and changing from granny panties to a white, lacy thong to fit the mood. 
“Duh,” she responded, going to retrieve them from her duffel, throwing your pair at you. They hit you on the head, as you were folding your sweats onto your bed.
“Elsie!” You yelped. “You little fuck.”
“Get over it. I’m sure you’ve done something to me recently to deserve it.”
When you looked back at her, to continue the jesting, she was in her light ensemble. She moved in front of the mirror, gawking. She twisted and turned to see every angle of the glorified lingerie. “Damn these are sexy,” she commented, impressed with the look.
Your eyes were big, noticing the same thing as her. They were hot, but. . . A lot of skin was going to be exposed. . .
“Short as hell,” you noted, observing the costume on your sister’s body. . . Her ass would be fully out if she bent the wrong way. But her boobs looked great– complimented by the cropped blouse, pushed up. She adjusted the little pink bow in her hair that’d come with the ‘fit. “And lots of skin.”
“Just like we wanted them,” she reminded you, going to get her makeup bag to finish her makeup at the vanity. 
Yeah, we decided on these damned costumes when I was fucking Jake and had someone to look sexy for. . .  Fuck. The thought of him seeing you tonight and not being able to react like he would have two months ago. . .it made your heart pinch sadly. It suddenly felt totally counterproductive to even dress cute. 
Why would you want to do it now? The only person you wanted to impress would definitely not be looking your way. . . You had a terrible feeling that all night, you were going to feel like a clown. Ridiculous. Dressed up in a stupid, extremely revealing costume. Completely unseen by one pair of pretty brown eyes. . .
“Put your costume on!” Elsie ordered, her eyes pinned on you through the mirror as you stood there, behind her, lost in thought. “The party starts super fucking soon.” 
You had to do this with her. If you backed out on your costume with Els, it would be a giant dick move. Coordinating costumes with her on Halloween had been a tradition for as long as you could remember. 
It will be fun to do it with her. Just like always.
Resigning to putting on the tiny outfit, you went to take off your sweatshirt. But just as you gripped material at your hip to pull it up and off, you froze again.
Dammit. The tiny bump. 
You hadn’t thought of her possibly seeing you—or it— as you changed. . . Should have done it before she got there. Would she even notice? Honestly, it just looked like you were bloated. It wasn’t super obvious what it was— not yet.
It’s okay. It’s fine. It’ll be okay.
So, you kept on with taking it off, throwing it to your bed to fold, turning around so you weren’t facing her in the process of getting changed. Just a safety precaution.
“Nice ass,” she giggled, snarky as usual before continuing her eyeliner.
But your mind went into hyperdrive. A recent event, coming to your mind at her words.
“That ass,” he’d said, his voice still low and sleepy. “Damn, baby.” 
The way he’d looked. . . Stroking himself in bed as he’d watched you. . .
Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. 
Naturally, you went to hold your tummy. Though, you dropped the hand when you heard your sister huff frustratedly. “Do I have to come over there and do it for you?” 
You looked over your shoulder at her, narrowing your eyes and giving her the middle finger before finally putting on every piece of the ensemble. 
You had to be careful with the top, which included its built-in push up bra. Your breasts had become much more sensitive than you were used to. Sometimes hurting to the touch. To your relief, the bra added just the right amount of pressure to them that it felt like they were being held well. . . 
Just wouldn’t be able to put up with the feeling all night. . . You knew that they’d start to hurt from being pressed so tightly to something as the night wore on. After situating your boobs just so, you put on the last piece: A black platform heels, closed-toe, resembling a pair of traditional Mary Janes.
Smoothing your hands over the skirt, you noticed it was a little tight. . . But not bad. Not noticeable to any unsuspecting eye. Just like your previous thought, it could really just be passed off as period bloating. However, when you eventually checked over the outfit on yourself, in the mirror. . . You did notice something. A change.
The past couple of weeks had been a time of you not acknowledging any body changes. Only your belly, which you frequently, absentmindedly touched. . . But anything else that might feel or look abnormal? You’d avoided, if you could. 
The boob pain had been too incessantly uncomfortable to ignore, having to flip and flop every which way in the night time so they wouldn’t feel like aching, ton-pound weights on your chest.
But you hadn’t looked at them. They truly looked bigger. You weren’t that far along. . . Were you? You didn’t understand all of the pregnancy math yet. You still hadn’t had the chance to delve into your new apps. 
Whatever the case may be, they were definitely growing. Your veins in them, darker than normal. The way they looked swollen, full. . . damn. 
Do they seriously start changing this soon? I don’t know. . ., you wondered silently, moving to the side to see how they were giving you fantastic cleavage at your deep, sweetheart neckline. Mentally, you made a note to check those apps to get some answers as soon as possible.
You went about your business, trying to distract yourself from the body changes you weren’t completely sure about . . .
As you were adjusting your own pink bow in your hair, you heard her wolf whistle. 
“Dear God, sis,” Elsie commented. You looked down at her in the mirror, where she still sat at the vanity stool. Her face was almost completely finished. “What in the hell have you done to make your boobs look so fantastic? Please, tell me your ways.”
If only you fucking knew, you thought, fluffing your hair, and adjusting your outfit as much as you could, once more before eyeing her. 
“Just on my period,” you lied, not ready to tell her. But . . .you kind of were. You wanted to tell someone and she was your person. When would you be able to finally break the news?
You pushed the thought away as she did the same as you with her outfit and put her own shoes on. 
Hearing the sounds of people arriving, and Josh’s music starting, you gave her a look. 
“You ready?” 
-🌼🌼🌼-
The party had been droning on for several minutes. 
A lot of people had shown up. . . some you recognized from past parties, and others you’d never seen before. All you knew was there were definitely enough people for all of the cups.
You’d already taken your annual Halloween picture with Elsie, and now she was off with Josh, attached to his side and conversing with every person that he did.
Why couldn’t you have what they had? Why was everything in your life so goddamned complicated?
And where was Jake?
Your other two friends had arrived (surprisingly) on time, getting the party kicked off. They were now playing a small game of “mini beer pong” with two girls they’d probably met through an app. Maybe a festival, though? That was a possibility now. Weird.
Yawning, you made your way over to the punch and put some of the orange in a plastic cup. Before you took a sip, you smelled it, making sure it was uncontaminated with Josh’s liquor of choice. Knowing you were safe, you took a decently sized swig. And, thankfully, the taste didn’t make you want to hurl. 
All of the little things that had been happening before you’d found out were all stark and apparent in their nature now. All of your “stress” symptoms had been signs of you growing a little life inside of you. From being sick, wanting to eat everything in sight, the sore boobs for the couple of weeks before you’d found out. . . and even the extreme sadness about Jake. Had that perhaps been the hormones, too?
Getting up on your tiptoes to peer over the people, punch bowls, and several types of alcohol on the counter, you once again searched for your roommate.
Where was he?
And, right as you’d pondered the question again, there he was. Opening and striding through the front door, already in his costume. . .and looking sexy as fucking hell. 
Your eyes trailed his solid figure. . . From his black boots, black pants, loose white shirt (almost entirely unbuttoned, dear fuck), a few necklaces laying upon his defined chest. . .and all the way up to the dark red bandana that he’d tied around the top of his head, gold hooped earrings peeking out from his dark hair, flowing below the bandana.
A pirate.
Hot damn. 
And even though it was dark, the insurmountable amount of twinkle lights Josh had perfectly hung illuminated his handsome face enough for you to see. . .
Had he started growing a mustache on their trip?
Fuck. Me. 
You squirmed from where you were behind the counter, totally irritated with yourself over what you’d done in this very kitchen, two months ago. Even though it had been for his own good, you wished right now that you could take back time and hold off on doing it when you had. Because all you wanted to do in that moment was walk over to him and tell him all of the filthy thoughts that were clouding up your brain. 
But. . . before they could get any dirtier, you saw the person he’d arrived with, walking in beautiful and majestic behind him.
Maya.
Also dressed as a pirate. Except her costume was one you’d probably see advertised as “Sexy Female Pirate” in a Spirit Halloween bag where Jake’s seemed to be a bunch of pieces of his own clothing that he’d pieced together to make the stunning look.
Thankfully from the waist down, you were out of sight behind the bar counter. So you were able to lay a gentle hand on your belly, a little more round after eating some of Josh’s finger foods. You realized that, apparently, holding your belly was a new go-to to gain peace in a situation. 
Because, sad as you were over the woman he’d arrived with, you were able to ground yourself with the hand on your stomach. 
This was going to happen anyway. . . Surely. You two weren’t meant for each other, and you were bound to see him with another woman again after you ended things with him. And you were not shocked at all that it was Maya with him tonight. Just as Elsie and Josh had been doing, they started strolling the room, talking to the other party-goers. His smile, so bright to lighten up that dark room. . . The occasional laugh he’d give in response to someone that you wished so badly to hear, but just watch instead . . . 
You could do this. You could watch him from where you were. Even if she was with him every step of the way, you could admire him. Wistfully. Wantingly. Longingly. . .
But what you saw next was the worst thing you’d seen between them so far.
At first, it wasn’t so bad. When he wrapped an arm behind her. . . But what made your heart lull was seeing him give her ass a squeeze through the material of her (cheap nylon, off-the-costume-rack) pirate dress.
God, no. Unshed tears pricked your eyes. Your chest felt heavy.
Before you could watch any longer, you made your way over to the cabinet next to the oven. You’d hid your phone so as not to get it mixed up with any others. You’d assumed it was a risk when the multiple people filed in at the beginning of the party.
You averted your gaze from anywhere near where you’d last seen Jake. Then, found a place on the countertop to perch yourself, getting comfortable (and carefully situating your legs to not reveal anything). 
Now was the perfect time to start perusing those apps. . .
-🌼🌼🌼-
Elsie had migrated to be next to you for the latter portion of the evening, both of you feeling the hyperactivity of the crowd grating on your anxious nerves. 
You’d sat, secluded for hours. Talked about nothing and everything. Shared TikToks. Laughed at ridiculous things that no one else would get. . .But time with her made you that much more ready to tell her of your predicament. Even if her advice pissed you off, you still felt like you needed it. If only to round out the massive, intricate equation your life had become. You could use her input as a multiple fucking choice answer choice.
When it had gotten long enough that she hadn’t seen Josh, she had to get her fix and he walked off to find him. 
And you decided you were done sitting on the couch, crammed against the wall. You just wanted to go to sleep. You’d kept your phone on hand when you’d come to sit with her, and the time on your screen was reinforcing your want for your comfy bed. You’d been yawning for the past couple of hours off and on, and finally reached the point of your eyes closing where you sat at the back of the party. 
For the past couple of weeks, you’d been going to sleep much, much earlier than 11 p.m.
After you’d spent a lot of time reading about the first trimester on those (extremely helpful) apps, you now knew the newfound tiredness was most likely due to a baby growing healthily inside of you, using your energy to thrive. Providing life for yourself and another was exhausting work.
You couldn’t find Elsie and Josh in the mass of people, so you just decided to excuse yourself quietly to bed. Sammy and Danny, the only ones to get a goodbye and goodnight from you as you quickly passed by them. You were not about to look for Jake.
Stevie meowed when you entered your room, as if greeting you. She’d stayed in your bedroom with her necessities so she wouldn’t get overly anxious with the crowds, since that was the last thing you wanted for her. You’d greeted her back as you shut the door behind you, almost falling asleep against the back of the door. 
But your costume had become way too uncomfortable and constricting for that to be an option. 
You started stripping yourself of it, sighing as your chest hit the cool air of your room. Then, you slipped back into your heavenly sweats. No bra of any kind constricting your chest. Praises fucking be. You felt soft and cozy in your baggy sweats and you could fall asleep right there. Standing up. In the middle of your room. 
Though, your face was still heavy with makeup, and you weren’t going to sleep with that on your skin to possibly clog your pores. Another thing you’d learnt from your apps was that pregnant women easily broke out with hormonal acne, and you weren’t about to test any of the waters to give yourself more acne. You were already lacking enough self confidence, and you didn’t need to add a broken out face to the mix. 
When you went to grab your makeup wipes from your vanity (no time for the whole face routine tonight– you were too tired), you noticed the package was empty. And right next to all of her makeup, still splayed out, was the used cloth.
Of course Elsie had used the last one. She owed you for that one. Especially for the timing. Right now was not the time. You were going to have to go back out into the crowd to get to the bathroom for your new package. Thus, getting overstimulated all over again when all you wanted was to crash hard in your bed.
But when you got to your bathroom, your search for makeup wipes came up dry. And then you remembered that your last trip to the store had been weeks ago. The same day where you left with two packages of tests triple bagged. And that day, by the time you got to the toiletries section, your brain had been infiltrated by the memory that got you where you were now. You hadn’t remembered to get a new pack of remover wipes.
You stared at yourself in the mirror, angry that you now had to use Micellar water and dirty a washcloth and . . .ugh.
By the time you’d spent forever doing that, you figured you might as well do your full nighttime routine on your face.
Twenty minutes later, you were leaving the bathroom, face feeling incredibly fresh. But the way the final step cooled your face, made you feel more awake than before. So, after tossing your hair into a messy bun, you slipped past the people who were still taking up space in your home, avoiding any and all eye contact, to get a cup of water, a Cosmic Brownie, and a bowl of pickles. 
Just as you thought you’d figured out a way to carry it all to your room, you ended up dropping the box of brownies, each package falling out of the box, all over the floor (one didn’t sound like enough once you’d made it to the kitchen). The clatter of plastic made you want to cry, honestly. And a few tears hit your hand as you sat the pickles and water on the counter. 
I just want to eat and go to sleep, you thought, getting on your hands and knees to pick up the brownies.
But before you could, a hand was stopping you, bending down to do it himself. Confused, you stood back up, not questioning the help in your state. And when you looked to see who the helper was, you bit your lip to try and keep the new tears at bay. Stupid hormones. 
Your heart leapt at Jake. Pirate costume and all, on the floor, putting the last couple of packages back in the box. 
When he stood up, his eyes were glassy like he’d been drinking. You gave them one glance and then looked at the box, not letting your eyes meet his.
He’d probably forget about this, you thought, a little sad by that. He probably doesn’t even want to be doing this right now and his drunkenness is making him move without thinking.
“Thanks,” you mumbled, going to grab the box from him. But he pulled it back so you couldn’t. You tried again, but he pressed it to his chest, out of your reach. “Give me the box?” You requested, in question. Your brow wrinkled, unsure why he was doing this. 
“Look at me,” he said, his voice wavy, softly demanding. 
. . .and slightly British? You would have laughed if circumstances were different.
Yeah, his voice definitely indicated he wasn’t sober. 
But, you did as he asked, your craving made you follow his instructions without hesitation.
Mistake, mistake, mistake. Abort mission.
You hadn’t been given the opportunity to look into his eyes for so long. And doing it now made your airways constrict. The eyes that convinced you to turn around today. The same beautiful brown eyes you wanted your baby to have.
Wanting to ignore the way your heartbeat was literally washing through your ears, you tried to speak.
“Why?” You asked, your question weak, but voice clear of emotion. Thank God. 
His gaze was open, eyes a little lost thanks to his inebriation. “You looked fucking beautiful tonight,” he lazed, tone serious. He glanced down at your body, just briefly. “Still do. Always do.”
Your breath went shallow at his words. He didn’t mean this. He was drunk. You could’ve sworn he hadn’t been looking at you. He wouldn’t; Maya had been with him all night. Right?
“Thanks,” you choked out. You averted your gaze from his again, your heart couldn’t take this. “Can I have my brownies now?”
You saw them move in your direction, and grasped the box as soon as it was in front of you. Gathering up the water, bowl, and box with much more ease this time. Strategy.
“D’you want my help?” he offered, voice still iffy, but tone sweet and sincere. 
Shaking your head, you flashed your eyes at him once more. Just one more look.
“No, I can make it,” you affirmed, wanting to say the opposite. Yes, please. Stay with me. “But thank you.”
He mimicked your actions, shook his head as he furrowed his brow. “Yeah, yeah,” his eyes held yours. You couldn’t look away. He smiled shakily, as if telling a joke. “I’m drunk.”
You giggled in spite of it all. “I know.”
And then he was letting you move past him, his cologne coming off of him in the most delicious waves. . . fuck.
Before you could totally get away, though, he lightly grabbed your arm. You were stuck in a trance. His touch, burning, even through your sweatshirt. The way he smelled, exactly what your senses needed. 
You peered up at him through your lashes, wondering. “What?”
He seemed to get lost in your stare for a second, forgetting what he wanted to say. Alcohol could do that to a person.
But then he was moving towards you. Your heart fluttered wildly in your chest. What was he. . .? You couldn’t move. Then, he was dipping his lips to be right above your ear. Holy fuck. More. His voice was low and raspy when he whispered. “Your tits looked fucking incredible tonight.” Heat flushed in your cheeks, all the way down to the pit of your stomach and to your throbbing heat. God. “That fuckin’ tiny excuse for a shirt barely held them in.”
God-fucking-damn.
You could feel your nipples hardening, to match the rest of your body. You could feel them tight and hard, begging for his touch. But he couldn’t. And he wouldn’t. He didn’t want that. 
He. Was. Drunk.
Gaining what bearings you could, still blushing, you gave him a small grin, eyes innocent and at his mercy. “Thanks, Jake.”
And then you were booking it out of that kitchen. Quickly as you could, to the safety of your room and the vibrator you kept in your nightstand.
In an embarrassing amount of time, you were reaching the peak you so desperately needed. . . Every quiver from the tiny instrument, his wet tongue. Your toes curled as you found release, moaning his name loudly, but against your pillow to muffle the sound. 
Then you tucked it back in your nightstand, the food forgotten as you let yourself fall into a deep sleep, holding the soft bump of your belly.
-🌼🌼🌼-
a/n: i think "You're All I Need To Get By" is their song..... hm? do you think this baby might be the magic key? or do you think things are only going to get worse? 🤔🤔
also, who can guess what the girls were for Halloween? 🪓
ty for being the best readers in the world and pleaseee never hesitate to send in your wonderful thoughts!
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mint-yooxgi · 2 years
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Kinktober Day 1 - Yandere!Wolf!Bang Chan + Marking & Possession
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@ninibears-erigom​ said: Yandere werewolf christopher with possession and marking/biting but make it rough 😉 thank youuu
A/n: Ehehehehe, coming right up, boo~
Word Count: 877
Kinktober 2022 Mini Masterlist
The light of the full moon drifts through the curtains, shining brightly in the sky above and being the only witness to the events taking place in the cabin below. Soft pants fill the air as Chris pulls you closer into him, rolling his hips into yours as he attempts to control himself for the time being. The only problem is, he doesn’t know how much longer he can. From the way that you’re whining from beneath him, he doesn’t know if he necessarily wants to.
A subtle shift of his hips has his cock brushing against a spot inside of you that makes you see stars, involuntarily clenching around him as a low moan of his name slips past your lips.
“Fuck,” you groan, “right there.”
The only response you get is the feeling of him smirking against the skin of your neck, Chris way too content to continue taking in your scent as he purposefully snaps his hips into yours quite sharply. 
A rumble builds in his chest at the thought that only he can make you feel this way. Only he gets to touch you like this. Only he gets to have you. You’re his, and nothing will change that.
“Mine.” His grip tightens around your hips, a growl slipping past his lips as he indulges himself in these all too familiar thoughts.
Chris absolutely adores the way you clench around him yet again at his words.
You hum, dragging your nails down his back as you pull him closer, “yours.”
His hips falter, eyes flashing gold beneath the moonlight as he revels in your confirmation. This is everything he could have ever asked for, and more. 
Digging his fingers into your skin, he attempts to pull you even closer, needing to feel your skin pressed against his in every way. The need to consume you, to devour you in any and every way he can, to please you until all you can think about is him, overtakes his every sense. The fact that you keep repeating the fact that you’re his over and over is making him lose control.
That is, until he hears you utter a different phrase. Two simple little words that make his head spin, until all he can focus on is you.
“You’re mine.”
Something within himself snaps, a pleased snarl tearing from his throat as he renews his pace with a newfound vigour. Long since have his eyes bled golden once more, and when he meets your gaze, a gasp escapes you.
“All yours, baby girl,” he growls, a wolfish grin tugging at his lips. “All yours.”
“Mine.” You repeat, and Chris swears he nearly comes from that word alone.
Burying his head back into the side of your neck, he trails his hands up your sides. At the feeling of you biting down on his shoulder, his lips part, eyes fluttering closed at the utter bliss that travels throughout his entire body.
So, that’s how you want to play, huh?
Chris smirks, pausing only briefly in his movements to lift one of your legs up by your thigh before starting a brutal pace. The way you moan his name in response, tilting your head back in bliss, practically begging for him to mark you as his own, has his cock twitching within you.
“Gonna make you mine,” he growls, fingers digging into the flesh of your thigh. “Gotta return the favour.”
With the way you’re clenching around him, Chris can tell you’re close, and he’s not that far behind, either. He won’t last that much longer, anyways, not with how you’re tilting your head back and practically begging for him to claim you as his just as you’ve already claimed him as yours.
“Do it.” You plead, meeting his gaze as you watch him lick his lips.
His golden eyes shine in the moonlight as he dives for your neck, licking and sucking at the skin without another thought. Luckily, he has enough mind to bring a hand down and start flicking at your clit with his fingers, wanting you to experience the most amount of pleasure that he can provide.
A few more strokes of his cock along your walls combined with the flick of his fingers and you can feel that cord within you snap. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as you feel him sink his fangs into you, your orgasm washing over your entire body as your vision goes white. Never have you felt pleasure this intensely before in your entire life, a scream of his name practically tearing from your throat.
Chris stills within you, a low rumble reverberating from his chest as you latch onto him for dear life. You can feel his warm release painting your walls white, claiming you even further as his own as you spasm around him. 
For a minute, neither of you move, remaining frozen in place as you attempt to catch your breaths. That is, until Chris is releasing his hold on you, gently pulling away as he places soft kisses over your newest mark.
Now, nothing can separate the two of you. Nothing at all.
A content smile is on his face as his chest rumbles once more in approval, “mine.”
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the-moon-devi · 1 year
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🍨What flavor Cookie are you based on the BAKER ASTEROID? PT.1 🍡
🧁🧁BAKER ASTEROID◇◇ 《2549》🧁🧁
🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
DESCRIPTION: The baker asteroid is said to be the bakers asteroid for things like cookies and baked goods and even bakers. However in this post I'll be focusing more so on cookies.
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Baker in aries/1st house: a very fast baker, your baked food could taste hot/spicy or maybe very health yall are the type to bake ginger spiced cookies or something like that if that exists. Maybe even Nutritional baked foods. If in the 1st house this could actually be what your known for!
Cookie: spicy Chai molasses cookies / Gingerbread
https://pin.it/6K3b4Pd: gingerbread
Baker in Taurus/ 2nd house: your baking is very good and warming to the senses. I feel like people really feel comfort and secure with your baking. This placement wouldn't be the type to try anything too risky when it comes to baking. Baker in the 2nd could make you spend alot of money on baked goods/ maybe even earn $ through baking. Yall baking could be very beautiful and pleasing to the eyes as well. Yall like sweet and soft but flavorful
Cookie: rich&gooey Butter pecan chocolate chip cookies/ oatmeal cream pies 《 ik ik it's not a cookie well kindaaaaaa🤔🤭》
Baker in Gemini/ 3rd house: I feel like if you have this placement you have potential to be a great baker I think there's a lot of versatility in your baking. If your not a baker then you could have siblings who can bake. You could talk about baking or teach people how to bake even create baking recipes and stuff like that maybe even a baking blog. (ESPECIALLY 3rd house people) I feel like yall might might be a little picky or you just like a lot of different flavors or you don't mind putting in something different in your baked foods.
Cookie: Neapolitan Cookie/ lemon crinkle cookies
Baker in Cancer/4th house: baker here yall goodddddd. Like mama's famous poundcake type good. Of course depending on the aspects. But yall like cooking for your kids/ loved ones. You guys definitely would be the type to either make recipes for future generations or follow recipes from your ancestral lineage. You could also come from a line of women who bake really well. Yall baking is sweet,soft,moist. ***"It's like a reward 😇🤤" *** do yall know that tik tok sound that's going around saying that? Anyways if this is aspect by your 10th house ruler or by planets in the 10th house/Mc you could easily be a professional baker. Once you become a mother your baking could get better or you might bake more (ik wierd I just channeled that, take it or leave it)
Cookie: chocolate chips ofc this is the original/ biscoff cookie butter cookies
Baker in Leo/5th house: possibility of being famous for your baking. Your baking could look very appealing to the eye or it just stands out. Baking could be a way of expressing yourself it could even be a hobby. I feel like yall baking taste very flavorful that's all I can say but I know it's good. You may have learned how to bake at a young age. Cooking could be a creative outlet. Your child could be a great baker.
Cookie: lemon cheesecake cookie
Baker in virgo/ 6th: virgoss yall the type to cookie healthy cookies or raw vegan cookies stuff like that. I feel like y'all would do diary free/ cleaner options when baking <<This could even go for Pisces>> this could be your occupation or your co-workers may know how to bake very well. Since Virgo is mercury ruled you could be very analytical about what you cook. Baking may be a stress reliever or apart of your daily routine. Definitely gluten free sugar free diary free perservative free placement for baking. Yall Could bake for the homeless or less fortunate.
Cookie: matcha sugar cookie/date cookies
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𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓮 𝓓𝓮'𝓛𝓾𝔁𝔁𝓮 (masterlist)
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©𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓵
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inkykeiji · 2 years
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character: takami keigo | hawks
genre: smut
notes: hello!!! this is the final piece in my 2022 summer collection!! it is set within my touya-nii AU, meaning it is written with my iteration of keigo from that universe, but you do not need to read that series to understand and enjoy this piece! as such, the reader in this piece is an entirely new reader, separate from touya’s reader + tomura’s reader.
warnings: 18+ minors do not interact, semi-public sex, shower sex, no prep, rough sex, size kink/size difference, a hint of coercion, a tiny bit of praise, dubcon if you squint
words: 2.7k
synopsis:
“Keigo,” you begin, slow and cautious. “We’re in public.”
“Technically. Technically, we’re in public. But no one can see us.”
“We’ll still be slapped with a public indecency charge if we get caught.”  
The words are breathed into his mouth, lips grazing his own as you speak, a playful glint shimmering in your glazed eyes as you stare up at him. He huffs out a laugh, sweet as toffee on your tongue, and the appendage curls, savouring the sound.
“We better not get caught, then,”
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The sun has nearly completed its daily descent below the horizon, merely a crescent of gold peaking out from above the ocean vista now, painting the clear sky in brilliant strokes of periwinkle and magenta. The moon hangs back as the sun dulls and waits for its time to shine, nothing more than a dollop of silver in the opposite direction.
Most of the day’s beach-goers have already departed as well, taking shelter from the steadily whipping wind—sharp and crisp and wholly unforgiving—the nighttime seems to bring with it each evening.
You had wanted to leave, too—not to go home, of course, not ready to part with the living, breathing sunshine that ebbs and flows beside you, keeping you warm even as the wind picks up—but to venture on over the rickety carnival that occupies the very edge of the boardwalk, full of neon lights and spinning rides and the potent scent of butter-salt popcorn.
But Keigo had insisted you remain at the beach for just a little bit longer, reasoning that it’d be smart to wash all the sand and the salt from your hair and bodies before putting on fresh clothes, so we aren’t uncomfortable for the rest of the night, you know?
So you had stayed, splashing around in the ankle-deep waves roiling gently at the start of the shore, hands twining and untwining as you steal kisses from one another while patiently waiting for one of those tottering, dilapidated beach showers to become vacant.
The first few stubborn stars glitter from behind the violet haze cast across the atmosphere by those last dying rays of sunlight by the time one of the showers become free, Keigo leading you by the wrist towards the worn wooden stall.
It’s cramped, the small cubicle not meant for more than a singular person at one time, your chests bumping together as Keigo moves to turn the faucet on, legs practically entwined.
“Just a quick shower, right?”
“Just a quick shower.”
“Promise?”
“Promise, baby,” he laughs a little, golden eyes twinkling in the dim light as he gazes down at you. “What’s got you in such a rush, anyway? Afraid the carnival’s gonna sprout feet and run off from you?”
Heat seeps into your cheeks, and you work hard to keep a petulant pout from marring your lips. “I—No, you meanie,” you swat at his shoulder playfully, and he laughs again, smirk stretching into a grin. “I’m just, um, excited, that’s all.”
“Excited, huh?” he begins, voice dropped to a soothing murmur, gaze on his hands as they begin lathering cinnamon soap into your shoulders and along your biceps. “What are you excited for?”
“The rides,” you hum, eyes slipping shut as you relax into his touch. “The food.”
“The food?” His hands slide down to your stomach, leaving trails of suds across your smooth skin. “You hungry?”
“Mhmm, and I don’t want them to sell out of all the candy apples before we get there,”
“Ah,” Keigo says knowingly. “So that’s why you’re in such a hurry, huh, songbird,”
Those large hands are on your hips now, slim fingers slipping beneath the waistband of your bikini bottoms, toying with the precariously tied strings on either side.
“I guess so,” you admit, lids lifting and hands wrapping around his own, gently pulling them from your body. “And this was supposed to be a quick shower, remember?”
“I can be quick,” he retorts with a cheeky smile.
“Then be quick washing your own body, yeah? I can take care of mine.”  
But it doesn’t take long before just a quick shower devolves back into Keigo’s hands all over your body again, Keigo’s chest pressed flush to your back with his ankles framing your own, Keigo’s lips staining every inch of bare skin he can reach, soft and silky as they glide over your jaw, down your neck, across your shoulder, painting you in slashes of glistening saliva and blotches of brilliant blues.
“Kei!” you squeal, dragging out the nickname as he sucks another mark into your sensitive flesh, slick tongue laving over it in slow, sticky strokes.
“What?” he mimics, voice pitched slightly higher than usual, notes of amusement infused in his tone.
“You know what.”
“I do not.”
“You do too!” you whine, mere moments away from stomping your foot. “Stop messing around.”
“Messing around?” he scoffs, spinning your body to face his and trapping you between the wood and his chest, large hands splayed on either side of your head. “This isn’t even close to messing around, baby. Though, if you want…”
Trailing off, his forehead knocks against your own, damp golden tufts pressing into your skin as lidded topaz eyes search your face, languid and lazy in their journey. But they’re still so bright, so beautiful, little pools of sunshine that glimmer with your reflection as his nose nudges against yours enticingly, voice scarcely above a whisper as he continues.
“I can show you what messing around truly looks like.”
Chills scurry across your damp skin, raising hairs in their wake, your body instinctively caving towards him, a flock of hummingbirds flitting around your stomach.
“Keigo,” you begin, slow and cautious. “We’re in public.”
“Technically. Technically, we’re in public. But no one can see us.”
“We’ll still be slapped with a public indecency charge if we get caught.”  
The words are breathed into his mouth, lips grazing his own as you speak, a playful glint shimmering in your glazed eyes as you stare up at him. He huffs out a laugh, sweet as toffee on your tongue, and the appendage curls, savouring the sound.
“We better not get caught, then,” he responds, and you can feel his lips mold into a smirk, pressing a sloppy kiss to your own before he spins you around, hooking his chin over your shoulder. His voice is low, husky and teasing as it reverberates against your ear, faint notes of accusation sown into it. “If you can manage to keep it down, that is.”  
“Is that a—ah—a challenge?”
Two slim fingers push aside the nylon of your bikini, the pads of his fingertips caressing your silky slit back and forth, back and forth, nothing more than feather-light touches that incite a certain type of voraciousness to simmer in your belly. An index finger dips into your cunt, crooked only to the first knuckle, gauging how wet you are.
His other hand holds your hips firmly in place, blunt nails biting his name into your skin in the prettiest lilac crescents; a subtle claim of ownership. He chuckles, a low dangerous little thing that sends thorns of lust-stained dread shooting up your spine.
“It can be, if you want it to be,”
“Yeah?”
The question is nothing more than a wisp of breath as he pinches your clit, rolling it between his fingers, slow and sensual, your hips pathetically attempting to follow his movements, rocking to and fro. Your head falls back against his chest, lids drooping, the line of your jaw and curve of your neck bared to him.
“And what’s my prize, if I succeed?”
“I’ll get you one of those candy apples you’re so desperate for,” he whispers, the head of his cock suddenly bumping against your dripping hole, fingers leaving your clit to brace you. “So be a good little girl,” he grunts as he delivers one quick, hard thrust, shoving his entire cock into you in a singular motion and knocking a sharp gasp from your chest—the ghost of a yelp, murdered in your throat. “And keep it down.”
It stings, your poor little hole not nearly stretched enough to comfortably take him, and you press your lips together tightly in attempt to muffle a cry as he shifts and wiggles his hips a little, swallowing against the pained little sounds scrabbling at your throat.
He’s so big, so thick you swear he’s splitting your core clean in two, cunt fluttering around his cock as it tries to compensate for his size.
His hips begin snapping immediately, purposefully refusing to afford you even a moment to properly adjust to him—of course, he wasn’t going to make this challenge easy for you; really, where’s the fun in that?—and another sharp cry claws at the back of your tongue, the muscle curling back in on itself as it sucks on the sound to stifle it.
And, oh, it’s so painful, those rapid, rabid thrusts forcing your body to bend, to bow, hips hinged at a near ninety degree angle, your cheek slamming against the shower wall, frayed timber digging into your sensitive skin.
Fingers scrape against the wood of the wall, chipping paint collecting beneath your nails as you struggle to push back against him, desperately striving to keep your face from being mauled, biceps trembling under the strain.
Because he’s so strong, each pound of his hips causing the whole fucking stall to quake, one large hand curled around your hips, the other latched tightly over the top of the parallel wall, using it as leverage to pull himself towards you, the wood creaking under his strength.
The repetitive ramming of his cockhead against your cervix sends pulsing bouts of spikes surging through your body, ripping through your organs and tearing up your throat, manifesting as high pitched mewls on your lips.
“Kei, Kei, Kei,” you’re huffing out in little breaths, his name shoved from your mouth in time with the pumping of his hips.
“Aren’t you supposed to be keeping quiet?” He tuts his tongue, and you can hear the smirk in his voice. “I didn’t think you’d—uh—fail this quickly, baby.”
Involuntarily, your eyebrows knit, hips squirming back against him. Fierce flames of resolute ignite in your stomach, licking up your throat and burning those sweet little sounds of pleasure to ash. “I—I can do it!”
“Yeah?” he breathes, knees bending slightly as he readjusts his pelvis and rolls his hips forward, the head of his cock brushing up against that spot you love so much. “Prove it.”
The moan he fucks out of you is nothing more than a strangled little sound, extinguished to smoke by the blaze and muted by your clenched teeth.
And you can’t help the flare of pride that swells within you, can’t help the way your lips quirk up into a triumphant grin, throwing a quick glance over your shoulder to flash your victory.
But Keigo is nothing if not determined.
His hips work up a steady rhythm, spikes of pain morphed into sparks of pleasure, every stroke of his cock against your g-spot tugging another choked, charred mewl from your throat, every stroke of his cock sending another cluster of those sparks fizzing through your blood to gather in your gut, coiling into a concentrated ball of scorching sunshine, roaring as it competes against flames of persistence.
Quivers skitter down your thighs, every muscle in your legs aching now, and a growl rumbles in Keigo’s chest, both hands gripping your hips as he yanks them up, pulling you to your tiptoes.
But it’s hard for you to keep your hips raised and still, hard for you to concentrate on anything at all, intense pleasure acting like shots of novocaine to your brain, mind shrouded in a hedonistic daze, only able to focus on your sole, stubborn objective of keeping quiet.
Your chest feels as though it’s going to burst, heavy and full with all of those prized little noises he’s desperate to claim, to win, ribs beginning to crack as they seep out from between the bones, gooey and melted.
Keigo, to his credit, is doing everything he can to shatter what fragile self-restraint you’re desperately clinging to, the spray of the water against concrete and the caw of the seagulls above not nearly loud enough to drown out his own grunts and groans and filthy words, spilling from his plush lips with zero regard for those who may overhear.
“Obstinate little brat,” he pants out, strong hands hoisting your body up, your back pressed flush to his chest. The change in angle has an airy mewl of his name escaping past the fire and slipping through the barrier of your gritted teeth, and he snickers sinisterly, cuffing his chin over your collarbone, his soft lips brushing against your cheek as he speaks. “There it is, there are those gorgeous little noises I love so much.”
You whine a little in response, clamping your mouth shut again, jaw flexing with each sound you struggle to snuff out, to swallow back down, to suffocate in your throat.  
“C’mon baby, make more of them for me,” Keigo implores, and he’s beginning to sound whiny now, too. “Let me know how good I’m making you feel.”
A snarky response bites your tongue, your mouth opening to release it only to be ambushed by a tsunami of moans spilling from your lips, waves strong enough to douse your fiery determination to a pitiful smouldering, Keigo’s cock twitching at the unintentional obedience, another one of those feathery, pleased laughs vibrating in his throat.
Resolve strengthening, you manage to force your original words from your mouth, the sentence fragmented by his plunging hips.
“Wh-Why? Your ego gonna—Oh, oh god—gonna take a hit if I d-don’t?”
“No,” he says softly, and he sounds startlingly, soberly honest, his voice sending spears of clarity shooting through your misted mind. “I just love hearing you, s’all.”
His motions slow to a sensual grind, a hand snaking up your body to loosely collar your throat, holding you in place against him.
“But I don’t need to hear you to know I’m making you feel good. Your body tells me all on its own; tells me through the way your cunt clenches every time I do this,” He gives one hard, swift thrust before dragging his cock out leisurely, your whole figure jolting with a shuddery moan as the head catches on your g-spot.
“Tells me by the way every muscle begins to shake when I do this,” his fingers find your clit again, slippery and swollen, and begin massaging fast circles into it. Your head falls to the side, skull knocking against his prominent collarbone, breath escaping your parted lips in laboured little huffs as your hips push down toward his touch, back arching a bit. His head dips to trace the exposed curve of your neck, salt and sweat diluted by shower water saturating his tongue.
“Your beautiful little sounds are merely an added bonus,” he continues, words murmured against your marred skin, voice rough with lust as his hips resume their previous grating. “Doesn’t mean they aren’t still my favourite part, though.”  
His cock is rubbing right up against that spot in short, sharp little motions now, over and over and over again, pace increasing with each gyrate of his hips until finally the sphere of sunshine roiling at the core of your body explodes, sending sparkling shards of stars surging through your body, blast blowing out the residual cinders of flickering determination that had remained and forcing a loud, mangled sob of his name from your throat, cunt throbbing as it gushes around his cock.
“Fuck,” he gasps, hips jackhammering into you, your orgasm doing nothing to hinder his pace. “That’s it, baby, cum for me, yeah, yeah, take it for me.”
His thrusts have turned brutal again, so powerful they jostle your entire body in his arms, his blunt nails gorging on the flesh of your neck as he holds you upright and steady. Your voice is wrecked and raw, burnt and brittle, no longer able to keep those sweet little whimpers and precious little cries locked safely behind a blaze of tenacity, pouring from your mouth in a near continuous stream, only momentarily interrupted by the harsh rutting of his hips.
It’s so much, too much, body feeling overexposed as forceful spasms wrack your frame in time with his movements, but you take it for him just like he asked you to, arms wrapping around his own and tugging him impossibly closer, nails embedded in his flesh.
“So good,” he’s keening, hips beginning to stutter. “So fucking perfect for me, look at you.”
Pride swells in your chest and you force your spine to straighten, extracting the last bit of strength from your spent muscles and thrusting back against him, bouncing as best you can on his cock, bruised cervix aching with each barrel of his cockhead against it.
“Want you to fill me up, Kei,” you manage to rasp out, eyes shutting tightly against the pleasure-tinged pain. “Want you to st-stuff me with your cum, Keigo, please, please, please!”
And it’s the begging that does it, those sweet little pleads each piston of his hips yank from your throat that have him cumming with a broken, pitchy whimper of your name, cock throbbing almost violently as it fulfills your wish, cum hot and thick and so much, so much you’re sure its overflowing from your womb into your tummy, bubbling in the flames of pleasure and pride.
Collapsing against the corner of the stall, Keigo tugs you against his heaving chest, chiseled arms cradling you in a manner that’s almost protective.
“You did so good, baby,” he’s saying, voice soft as his palm smooths over the crown of your head. “So, so good.”
You look up at him, cheek resting against his bicep, the spray of the water warm against your back. “Will you still get me one of those candy apples even though I lost the challenge?”
“God,” he breathes, eyes sparkling with fondness as he gazes down at you, gentle fingers brushing wet strands of hair from your forehead. “You are…” he trails off, head shaking a little as if he can’t possibly find a word to accurately describe your magnificence, that brilliant smile—that special one, that genuine one that bunches his cheeks and scrunches his eyes, that one that hardly anybody ever has the privilege of witnessing—painted across his face. “You never fail to surprise me, songbird, y’know that?”
And that’s why you’re his best girl, his favourite girl, his only girl.
“You can have as many as you want, angel,” his nose nudges yours. “Whatever you want, baby, it’s yours.”
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lenreli · 8 months
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Dreamling Drabble Series Masterpost
A collection of the various little series in my drabbles! :D
Dreamling Masterpost (other fics/drabbles etc)
Vampire Hob
Hurry > "I wouldn't do that if I were you" > Good Boy > Messy
Photographer Dream
Hair Pulling > Cherries > Camera
Bartender Dream & Chef Hob
"Just admit it already" > Drops
Regency Enemies-to-lovers
Enemies to Lovers > Furry > Quickie > "Forget about it"
Dream in a Choker
Latex > French Kiss
Vaguely Period Mean Hob
"You can't say no forever" > "Another round?"
1389/2022 Swap
"No way" (1389 Hob/2022 Dream) > Cruise Ship (2022 Hob/1389 Dream) > Unlimited (2022 Dreamling)
Comic/Show Swap
"Yeah, right" // I wanna feel myself denied (4k+)
Pirate Captain Hob & Ex-Noble Dream
"Better safe than sorry" > Fighting Kink > Pirate AU > Red > Golden
Scifi with Vampire Hob & Witch Dream
"Why are you kneeling?" > Courtesy > "Not in particular, no" > Calendar > "I need you" > Skinny
Djinn Dream
Djinn Dream > Woods > Into The Woods
Life!Hob
Reverse!verse > Upside Down > Whisper
Professional Model Hob
Pine > Model AU > Leaking
"Antagonistic" Teachers
"I'm going to kill you" > "Don't kid yourself"
Sculptures & Dreams Art Gallery > "He's not my boyfriend"
Boss Dream & PA Hob 50 Shades But Good > Sunset
Getaway Driver Hob & Criminal Dream "Good luck" > Ticking Clock > "Don't take me for a fool"
Neighbours "I'm your new neighbour" > "Louder"
BDSM with Werewolf Hob & Fairy Dream "See what happens" > Sex
Spin the Bottle Spin the Bottle > New Experience
Spanking "Do I have to say it again?" > Offering
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whorekneecentral · 2 years
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kinktober - day 11: shower sex// j.s
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Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Fem!Reader
Warnings: alcohol and the consumption of, shower sex, penetrative sex, fingering, little bit of teasing, oral (m!receiving)
Word Count: 1,200
Author’s Note: sorry for the last minute change! I couldn't come up with anything for the original prompt :) 
kinktober 2022 masterlist 
---
Jake had a long day, he wanted nothing more than a hot shower. Maybe his want for you is a little more than that.
The practice was completely fucked. Maverick kept getting on his ass and now that Rooster was back in his good graces as the golden boy, Jake was on an out. 
Today was just an off day for him and he wanted nothing more than to see you. He skipped the after training hangout at Penny’s bar and drove straight to your place. He called you on the way over. 
“Hello?” You picked up, he could hear how noisy it was on your side. “Hi honey, I'm on my way home.” 
“Okay, I'll be a little longer. Just have to finish up with a few patients and check these labs and I should be good. I’ll call if anything comes up.” 
“Sounds good.” He tells you, and you end the call. 
You and Jake had been seeing each other on and off since he first got there. You never put a label on it either, just friends that helped each other out. 
When he wasn't on base, he was at your place. To be completely honest, Jake was basically living there. He referred to your house as home and whenever you're on your way home, you would call to see if he was there. 
All his clothes hung in your closet, aside from the couple pieces he kept on base with him but other than that, you kept all of his stuff. You had the spare key to his truck, you were listed as his emergency contact and his next of kin, you were the one by his side when he had his crash during his first year. 
When you think about it, it was like you two were married. 
Except the team didn’t know about you and no one in your life knew about him.
His fellow pilots knew he disappeared from time to time and as much as Jake loved to blab, he never did about you. 
You were his secret and his good girl. 
Jake used his key to go in, kicking off his boots by the door before walking to the kitchen to get a beer. The fridge was empty, which meant you had been working late nights again but that was fine, he’d order something for you two when you got home. 
Right now he needed a shower, so he walked down the hallway to the bathroom. The beer was sitting on the counter and he left the door wide open as he got into the shower, the warm water relaxing his stiff muscles, but not better than your massages could. 
Jake pulled his truck into the garage which meant you had to park on the driveway. His boots tossed carelessly by the door and you could hear the shower running when you shut the door. 
“Jake!” You shout, walking down towards the bathroom. The bathroom was steamy from how hot he had the water running. 
He couldn’t hear you or he did and chose to ignore you. You hopped up into the counter and took a swing of the beer before reaching over to turn on the bathroom fan. 
Jake sticks his head out from behind the curtain, “oh hi sweetheart.” 
“Why is your truck in my garage?” You ask, spinning the beer bottle on the counter. 
Jake’s brows furrow, “it’s going to rain.” 
“Exactly. I drive a convertible.” You remind him, waiting for him to connect the dots. “Oh shit! Right, sorry. I’ll move it when I get out.” He tells you, flashing you a smile before going back to his shower. 
Might as well join him, save water or whatever it is they say. 
You strip off and get in behind him, wrapping your arms around his torso. Jake turns around to look down at you, “I won’t get out of here to move your car in time.” He tells you, leaning down to kiss you. 
“Oh well, you can clean it after then.” You smile, now on your tiptoes to kiss him. Jake’s hands rest on your ass, pulling you flat against his chest when he kisses you. 
The warm water runs over his shoulders, spilling down onto you before Jake turns you, the two of you standing directly under the water. He takes another step, leading you to rest your back on the cold tile wall. 
Jake’s hand shifts to rest on your hip, giving it a squeeze before moving down to pull your leg up a bit to rest on the edge of the tub. Your head rests on the wall when Jake slips two fingers into you. 
Your hand gripping on his shoulder, “Jake fuck- oh, that, do that again.” You ramble out in one breath, chest heaving, Jake’s fingers curling upwards. 
He loved when you praised him, telling home. how good he makes you feel. Jake brings you just to the edge of your orgasm before he stops, moving his fingers to your mouth. 
Before you could complain, Jake had pushed his lips past your lips. “Suck,” He tells you, feeling your tongue lap his fingers. Meanwhile, Jake’s other hand is wrapped around his cock, rubbing it along your slit, slapping on your clit a few times. 
“Jake,” you whimper, eyes pleading with him, “god just fuck me.” You beg, your hand wrapped around his wrist. 
“Hold on baby, patience.” Jake tells you, hooking your leg on his hip instead of resting it on the ledge. 
Jake pushes into you, his name falling from your lips like a prayer. His lips met yours, a hand resting on your hip to keep you up as he fucked you, your body welcoming him like he belonged there. 
There was something about coming home to you, being in the shower together, homely and sweet and domestic. 
Jake’s other hand rests on your cheek, pulling your focus to him. “I love you,” he whispers against your lips. 
“Hm I love you,” you say back, your hand resting on his jaw. 
He can feel you squeezing his cock, your eyes fluttering closed. Jake smacks your jaw lightly, “look at me,” he tells you. “If you want to cum, open your eyes.”
You give in, your eyes opening a little and Jake’s thrusts are sloppy, you know he’s just as close as you are. A few more thrusts and you’re over the edge, calling his name as you do. 
“Where?” He asks, his head on your shoulder and you know it’s not gonna last. You push him off of you, sinking onto your knees. Jake gets what you were doing, putting his cock in your mouth when you open it. 
He pulls your hair up and away from your face, “you’re so perfect, god I love you.” He mumbles, another string of praise falling from his lips as he cums. 
Jake helps you up, giving you a kiss before wrapping his arms around you. “You know I do love you, right? I’m not just saying that because I was fuck-” “I know,” you cut him off, “I love you too, Jake.” 
“Good,” he smiles, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 
----
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flores-desyatov · 2 months
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Flores/Desyatov
Rhythm dance & free dance competition videos. Will be updated as I find more videos.
2022/2023 season:
US Challenge Cup 2022: rhythm dance / free dance
US Ice Dance final '23: rhythm dance / free dance (53:57 - 01:01:40, there's no audio)
US Nationals '23: rhythm dance (if you're on mobile and the video doesn't load click on desktop site) / free dance
Marquette Ice Show 2023: rhythm dance / free dance
2023/2024 season:
Lake Placid 2023: rhythm dance / free dance
US Ice Dance final 2024: rhythm dance / free dance (49:24 - 01:00:10, no audio)
Golden Spin of Zagreb 2023: rhythm dance / free dance
US Nationals '24: rhythm dance (starts at 14:05) / fd warm-up / free dance / exhibition gala / official FD practice (starts at 2:00:00)
Egna Dance Trophy 2024: rhythm dance / free dance / medal ceremony
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sunskate · 1 year
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genshrineimpact · 2 years
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◇ characters ◇ zhongli, xiao, childe, thoma, itto
◇ tags ◇ fluff
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◇ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀꜰꜰɪʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ◇ zhongli's adoration to you is mostly expressed by his eloquent words. he uses them to spin myriads of golden threads which he carefully weaves into a beautiful piece of clothes fit for you, because he thinks you deserve to know how much he cherishes your whole being, as he wakes every single day to find you nestled comfortably within his arms.
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◇ ᴀᴄᴛꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴇʀᴠɪᴄᴇ ◇ xiao's love is silent, but that's old news for you. most of the time, you don't see him loving you, but it shows in the way your life seems to have changed for the better. no nightmares plague your sleep, no treasure hoarders or hilichurls stray onto your path when you're out gathering herbs, and when you arrive back home after a long day there's always a plate of sweet dreams nearly packed on top of your dining table along with a freshly picked qingxin flower.
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◇ ɢɪꜰᴛ-ɢɪᴠɪɴɢ ◇ childe might spoil you a lot little too much but only because he can't think of any other way to use his money other than using it to spoil his loved ones. the finest clothes, the most exquisite dinners, specially crafted candles that suspiciously smells like his cologne, accessories made by the most famous craftsmen, a real-life sized body pillow of him... he laughs when you tell him you don't have the space for his gifts anymore and offers to look for a bigger accommodation for you- perhaps one that's big enough for a whole family? winkwink
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◇ qᴜᴀʟɪᴛʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ◇ thoma could be the busiest person in all teyvat but he'd still make time for you. no amount of errands, training, or cleaning will be able to keep him from setting aside his time to meet you. sure, sometimes it means you're only getting an impromptu 5 minutes cuddling session in the kamisato household's broom closet, but from the way his whole body seems to heat up as it wraps around you and the blazing fire in his eyes clearly vivid even within the minimal lighting, his adoration will seep into your veins and is guaranteed to leave you feeling all warm for the rest of your day.
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◇ ᴘʜʏꜱɪᴄᴀʟ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ◇ itto's hand can't help but wander onto your body whenever you're within his reach - it's just instinct! and besides, it's your fault for being so lovable, he said. you're not sure what that means exactly, but you decide you're not going to complain. not when his big, strong arms are always circling your waist in a protective manner, his longer and calloused fingers gripping yours firmly as you stroll through the city, and all the warm-and-body-crushing-hugs he gladly doles out whenever and wherever you ask him to.
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© genshrineimpact | 2022 ◆ no repost. reblogs much appreciated - it's the least you could do as a reader on tumblr. remember, likes do nothing on this website! feel free to reach out to submit suggestions, feedback, comments, or if you just want to talk!
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stamp-it-to-me · 2 years
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Finnish postage stamps by illustrator Emmi-Riikka Vartiainen for the "Stories and Myths" 2022 collection. The stamps depict Kuutar and Päivätär, the goddesses of the Moon and the Sun in Finnish folklore.
[ID: two blue stamps with a woman in each facing the other. the left woman has very pale skin and long flowing white hair with gold stars on it. she is wearing a golden crown and a golden sleeveless dress and has ornamental moon-themed gold jewelry on her arms and ears. her profile is framed by a giant crescent moon dripping with a string of stars that the woman is tending. the right woman is taller, equally pale and has long wavy golden hair with silver stars on it. she is wearing a silver crown and a blue sleeveless dress with silver belts and has silver bracelets and blue sun-themed tattoos. behind her profile is an orange-yellow sun. she is holding an ornamental spindle that she is using to spin the rays of the sun into golden yarn. both stamps say suomi finland at the bottom and 2022 in the upper corner.]
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batcrooks · 4 months
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THE BATCROOKS AWARDS 2023
This year, I kept track of every piece of media I consumed for the whole year. I didn't keep track of individual Youtube videos (which I watched hundreds of, they're my main background noise), but I did track every Book, Video Game, TV Show/Web Series, and Movie. Here are my BEST OF 2023 (year of release may vary).
Best Movie: Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse I only actually saw 3 new release movies this year: Spider-verse, Barbie, and The Boy and the Heron. So the competition wasn't very fierce, but I was glad to sneak Heron in there at the end just to make sure (I found it very pretty, but too nonsensical and weirdly paced.) Spider-verse was a little disappointing (toooo long) but it was definitely the funnest new movie I saw this year.
Best TV Show: Silo I saw a couple actual TV shows this year, but for pure fun had watching and theorizing, Silo wins. Is it the actual best TV of the year? Almost definitely not. But these are my awards so it wins. You can't leave the silo!!!!
Best Web Series: Game Changer Season 5 I'm not sure if I can properly justify the category difference between Silo (on Apple+) and Game Changer; both are technically web series. But I watched Silo on a TV, and it just seems more like a TV show. So I have awarded Best Web Series to Game Changer, because I like it just a little more than Make Some Noise. I also watched a lot of Dimension 20 this year for the first time, but they're not 2023. I'm being wishy washy on the category requirements lol.
Best Video Game: Baldur's Gate 3 This game was so good at one point I was playing two saves simultaneously, just for fun. I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been said about it before lol. And it was MULTIPLAYER. Sourdeer and I played this game all the way through TWICE. We finished it the first time and then spent like 4 days trying to find something else to play before deciding we just wanted to play it again, evil-style.
Best Video Game I Didn't Directly Play: The Curse of the Golden Idol A lot of (usually bad) video games I experience through "Cat Plays a Game" and its twin show "Sourdeer Plays a Game"; the hit show streaming exclusively on discord between my friends lol. Sour played this one, technically, although as an asymmetric multiplayer experience it's hard to beat. I want there to be five million games just like this one. I wish I could wipe my memory and do it again. We already devoured the DLC. There's a sequel coming out thank god.
Best Video Game I Played All By My Lonesome: Pentiment I don't tend to play a lot of single-player video games due to lack of time mostly, but this year I managed to play Pentiment, an incredible game that really played well with the weird amount of knowledge I have about the time period and setting of the game from reading The Pillars of the Earth and its sequels. It was completely engrossing and I will probably play it again some day despite its pretty slow pace. I know I can't save everyone. But maybe I can try.
Youtuber of the Year: Jenny Nicholson I rewatched a ton of her videos this year and joined her Patreon so that I could watch the huge backlog of "ramble" videos she has. There are TWO sequels to the Evermore video in there! Hours and hours of entertainment that makes me wish I could experience more weird theme parks.
Best Book(s): The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik The last one came out in September 2022 but this is a "non-reread, new to me" category, not a new release category. Novik's Temeraire series is one of my favorites of all time, and Spinning Silver is also really good, but even still I was wary to start what initially seemed like just a snarkier, edgy magical boarding school series. But the mechanics of the world-building and the characters really won me over quick, and this has ended up being another of my favorite series.
This spreadsheet has the full 2023 list if anyone wants to see/judge me/discuss video games or books: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X7u2F_9FSvvyys5v006eQg1hIvx0bT3QuLDgy_TJasw/edit?usp=sharing
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