#((it's also phone background sized hehe))

[neuvoid-writes]

Long time no post! Life is hectic and burnout is real! Lol anyways Im back(?) :D

It's a Rafayel in ruffles and lace! :DD

He would rock a poet shirt no biggie (I'm sure he'd fit right at home in the 18th century for the matter)

Tried out a new brush and a looser style more painterly while I'm at it - I do like how it turned out. It's interesting to try to draw short hair again after drawing so much danmei characters with long hair asdhfa klfh slfkdh

[dooberific]

Hiiiiiii!! Can I ask for Harumasa x Reader angst? They are lovers and the reader is also Harumasa's colleague. Then the reader got commissioned(?) to fight hollows but she got stuck in that place and (idk if they went to fight hollows alone but for this request, they have like underlings(?) that would go with them for the mission) the people/fighters that the reader went with to the hollows came back heavily injured and Harumasa saw that the reader is not there with them. That is all hehe, it's up to you if you want the reader to be found or if they would be a hollow and Harumasa has to fight them knowing that that is the reader (I'm a sucker for angst)

Take your time doing this request and stay healthy, dear author!

Anon….who hurt you on Christmas? 😭. Hope this is close to what you were envisioning!

❝ 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 ❞

harumasa x afab!reader

genre: hurt no comfort, major character death

summary: it was supposed to be a routine mission, now he’s left to pick up the pieces

wc: 2.3k

There was a ring cut to your size. A thin and silver little band that lacked grandiose ornamentation. Diamonds and frills were never your thing after all, he could still see the little quirk in your lips at the memory of your colleagues rushing in with stones so large you thought them better fit for paperweights than proclamations of their belonging to another under the banner of love and marriage. “Practicality above all else,” you had claimed some months ago, thumbing at the simple band around your index finger. Your late mother’s ring.

He hoped you were the sentimental kind, your voice warbled over the line from the outpost in his ear as he smiled. “I’m just saying to be careful is all.” He asserted, fingers running aimlessly over the silver band resting in his palm. Your initials and his were cut into the inside. 

It was supposed to be your day off, the first you had taken in several months, but when H.A.N.D phoned you that they needed your section of the HSO to assemble for a rescue mission after a Defense Force team had vanished inside of Hollow Zero, well….you didn’t get the luxury of saying no, even if you were the Chief. 

“When am I not careful? Remember which one of us you’re talking to here, Haru.” You chided, the smile on your face so present he could hear it change the lilt of your voice. 

“Right, right, I’m talking to my beautiful, kind, intelligent and all around perfect girlfriend~” Though he hoped that title would be changing very soon, as he held the ring up to the light, the sun filtering through the window of your shared apartment dancing enticingly over its surface. 

You giggled in his ear, the sound warming him to the soul. He could practically see the way the corners of your eyes wrinkled in delight.  “That’s much better.”

The interference in the background of the call amplified, faint callings of your name cutting through the static. You sounded disappointed. “Sorry Haru, I gotta go.”

“It’s okay baby, duty calls. Just try to be home for dinner.”

“Wouldn’t miss a date night for the world, you better not peek in the closet while I’m gone! I want that dress to be a pleasant surprise later.” 

You fell quiet again as you pulled the receiver away from your mouth, yelling a response into the background. “They’re about to have an aneurysm over here,” you huffed. 

“I love you, Haru~”

“I love you too, (y/n)~”

That was a little after noon. It was now nearing midnight and the outpost was crawling with H.A.N.D uniforms and HSO stragglers. Countless outpost scientists shouldered through the crowd, chiming off readings and acting as if they just had a some great scientific breakthrough.

But you were still inside of Hollow Zero.

And H.A.N.D was beginning to withdraw. 

Even flashing his Section 6 badge failed to get him answers despite his insistence, earning little more than the shake of a head and a “this is above your paygrade, kid.”

They threatened to court martial  him if he kept accosting them. But they didn’t have you inside the Hollow like he did. The epitome of his happiness, the one he swore hung the moon and stars, his most constant companion, and the only one he could imagine waking up beside of until the day he expired. 

They didn’t have you, but they had the version of you that made their actions palatable. The “good soldier” and “valiant leader”. The slave to a public that didn’t care to know your name even as you shouldered their burdens as ceaselessly as atlas held the heavens. The one who signed up for a death job.

A chorus of shouts erupted, the flash of the medical units blazing to life under the white spotlights. 

Survivors.

He shouldered his way through the swell of the crowd with little regard for those he pushed aside. In a perfect world he would break from the crowd and see you standing there, a little worse for wear but alive and smiling like you just cheated the world. You would push past the medic teams as they chased you down to throw your arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his lips as you gloated playfully.

“See? What’d I tell you? Safe and sound.” 

But you weren’t there. A cluster of five soldiers stumbled through the outer bounds of the Hollow—no, those weren’t soldiers, they were members of your faction carrying the torn uniforms of Defense Force operatives. They dripped with blood and grime, corruption marring their skin as they limped out, half-dragging others.

“Hey!” He yelled over the roar of the crowd as he grabbed one of them by the shoulder. His name badge shined under the lights. Kimura.

 “Where’s your chief?”

The man shoved his hand away, “Get off me man!”

He didn’t know where he got the strength as he grappled with Kimura before taking two fistfuls of his collar. “Where’s your fucking Chief? Where’s (y/n)?!” 

Multiple pairs of hands tore at his uniform from behind as they hauled him off, legs kicking as he wrestled against their pull.

“Where is she?”

“She’s stayed behind!” 

Kimura’s face was blank, his eyes distant and foggy as he stared at the ground. There were tears streaming down his face as he drew a ragged breath. “I’ve never seen so many ethereals, we were overran so quickly…Chief (l/n) and Deputy Chief Kato created a diversion to draw them away so we could get out.”

Kimura looked up with red rimmed eyes.

“I am so sorry.”

Hollow Zero had mutated. Or that was the story they were telling everyone now. The sensors at the outpost had registered a dramatic spike in etheric energy about 30 minutes after Section 2 had infiltrated, and by the next 20 the bangboo that accompanied you had stumbled out with fried circuits, the carrot it followed now expired as the interior of the hollow rearranged. 

It was supposed to be a standard recovery operation. You had done them hundreds of times in the past.

“I’m sorry, Asaba. My hands are tied.” The officer said with a shake of his head. “No one’s allowed in unless they are operating with their faction. You’re the only one from Section 6 here.”

He gripped his bow tighter. “Then I suggest you turn around and pretend you didn’t see me then.” 

It felt like an electric current thrummed under his skin as he breached the Hollow. He didn’t bother to call the proxy or wait for the association to form a new carrot. There was no point, even as desperately as he clinged to the idea of you being unharmed, alive, there was still a rotten crawl of doubt in the back of his mind that made the thought of wandering forever as an ethereal within Hollow Zero a more palatable choice than leaving here without you. 

He didn’t know how long he had wandered through the hollow, hair matted to his forehead from sweat as he cleared another broken wall, trying to survey as much of the warped landscape as he could. He doubled over, hands braced against his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He had overextended himself already, his chest constricted tightly as his breathing became shallow, a sharp ringing in his ears. He screwed his eyes shut, focusing on getting his lungs back under control.

In and out.

In and out.

There was a distant cry that met his ears, strangled and distorted, one that twisted his gut in an iron grip as his head shot up.

You.

He didn’t know what he hoped to find when he fumbled over the rubble in your direction. Finding you was the sole focus of his mind for the past few hours, the rush of adrenaline carrying his mind past rational thought.

You. You. You.

It urged his tired legs forward, kept him standing as he rounded the corner and saw the torn back of your uniform jacket stretched unnaturally over your crumpled form. 

Even with your back to him he would have recognized you anywhere, even as your body contorted unnaturally, muscles spasming wildly as a distorted cry pierced the air. Your hands clawed as the ground, ugly black shards piercing your skin from within, nailbeds black and bloody where your fingertips had rubbed raw in the dirt.

He knew better than to approach you, to roll you to your back as your body seized and writhed in his grasp, more warbled cries piercing the air.

Your eyes were glassy and unfocused as his hands cupped your cheeks. Your skin was hot to the touch, corruption running thickly in your veins and curling out of your skin like ugly black horns. 

He shushed you gently, cradling your head in his arms as your hands tore at his sides, teeth gnashing wildly as the corruption ate away at your humanity before his very eyes. 

“When I turn into an ethereal one day, I want to you promise that you’ll kill me.”

You lifted your head off his chest. “You sure have a strange idea of pillow talk, Haru.”

He snorted, hands tracing down the curve of your spine as you shivered. “Yeah, I know but still…I don’t want to wander in a Hollow forever like some mindless husk. That’s no way to live.”

You bit your cheek, stretching up to peck him on the lips, his hands gently brushing your hair aside as he grinned against your lips.

“Then I trust you to do the same for me.”

He hated himself. He hated that he remembered that conversation you had over a year ago, begging himself to twist the truth, to convince his own mind that you didn’t know the weight of your words. But deep down he knew he couldn’t deny it, deny you, of the peaceful passing he had asked you to offer him. 

This shouldn’t be an issue for him to face. It shouldn’t be you in the throes of corruption, screaming and tearing at him like an animal as your senses fled you body. 

You were supposed to outlive him. The scales of nature were stacked unmistakably in your favor.

Tears wet your cheeks, but they didn’t belong to you. Hot and salty tears poured down his face as his breath stuttered. Everything about this was wrong, like his worst nightmares spawning into a hellish reality as he begged any god that might exist for an easy way out, begged you for forgiveness, for you to answer him with that same gentle smile that was reserved just for quiet moments with him. 

Apologies burned him from the inside out, like venom on his tongue as he peeled your hands off of him and backed away. His hands trembled so violently he could scarcely nock an arrow, his entire body weak. His vision swam, whether it was from the ether corruption that had dinned his hearing or from the tears that didn’t seem to stop he wasn’t sure.

His lip quivered, breathing unsteady as he stared down at you, your form clawing at the earth before pushing shakily onto your knees. You moved more like a marionette than a human, the skin on your neck crumbling under a sheen of black as the core began to manifest. 

Mournful cries dripped from your cyanotic lips as a hand extended in his direction. It was a moment of lucidity, fingers flexing against the veins of corruption under your flesh.

“Haru, I’m so s-sorry.”

The arrow whistled sharply as his fingers released the bowstring.

.

.

.

There was a ring cut to your size. A thin and silver little band that lacked grandiose ornamentation. Diamonds and frills were never your thing after all, he could still see the little quirk in your lips at the memory of your colleagues rushing in with stones so large you thought them better fit for paperweights than proclamations of their belonging to another under the banner of love and marriage. “Practicality above all else,” you had claimed some months ago, thumbing at the simple band around your index finger. Your late mother’s ring.

They both sat on the table on your side of the bed, the metal cold and lifeless under his dull gaze. 

“Asaba, I know this is hard, but there are people who you can talk to. That can help you.” The voice of Yanagi echoed from the answering machine in the hallway. He let his cellphone die weeks ago. 

“We are just worried about you. Please, call me back.”

Your favorite coffee cup still sat beside the pot in the kitchen, the rim stained pink from your favorite lipstick. Your toothbrush still sat in the cup beside his, your shampoo still in the shower. He couldn’t bring himself to disturb the bag hanging in the closet, you didn’t want him to spoil the surprise of the dress you bought in excitement at the prospect of going out to dinner after all.

His medicine bottles sat empty in the bathroom trashcan, the contents lost to the sewers of New Eridu by now.

His lungs heaved tiredly, a deep wheeze whistling in the back of his throat. His vision never stopped swimming, even after he carried you out of the Hollow, an arrow embedded between your glossy eyes as your blood stained his clothes.

His thumb pressed the space between your eyebrows, your nose wrinkling, eyes warm as you stared at him from your side of the bed, hair fanned across your cheeks. 

“Haru, it’s not good for you to lay around all the time.” You whispered, leaning into his touch as his hand drifted to cup your cheek, thumb teasing your lower lip before you pressed a kiss to the pad.

 “Get up, you need to eat.”

He knew it wasn’t real, that you weren’t real, but he smiled like you were anyways. Like your lips were warm as you leaned in and brushed them against his, like there was weight behind the pull of your hands as he rolled out of bed for the first time in days.

There was a ring cut to your size, and for a little while longer he would pretend it was nestled on your finger. 

Rey 2024, crossposted to ao3

[saltlickmp3]

putting your doubled vocals song on in the background while i do my hw its so teenage summercore. also can u tell my how to upload an audio file to tumblr? i wanna upload my cover of death of the phone call!

hehe yippee i'm happy you like itttttt fun fact when i did that yesterday it was the first really warm & nice day for a while :) spring is comingggggg. and yeah no problem!!!

to upload music to tumblr, it's easiest to use an mp3 file (there are other ways to do it but im not sure how) - the file has to be under 10MB or it won't load. when you export your song from garageband or audacity or whatever thing you're using there are sometimessss options to make it a smaller file size, or you can put it through a compressor online. (to export the file, on garage band at least it's Share -> Export Song to Disk and then saving it to your desktop or wherever you keep things). the smaller your file size the less audio quality it has to tbh you can't really tell so don't worry about that bit.

^^ like so

if you just have like, a video of you playing it, there are things like cobalt that will turn a video into an audio file & download it

when you then get to the add audio bit on tumblr you just upload the audio & flick the little switch that says 'this is my original work or i have permission to use this' you have to do this to post it which i think it tumblr trying to stop people putting pirated music up but??? anyways it's your recording so you do own it <3 sometimes it might take a minute to upload. you can add a little picture as like an album cover if you like as well which is fun hehe.

if it doesnt work, sometimes just closing tumblr & trying again in ten minutes does. functioning website 👍. idk how it does on mobile but i assume something similiar? anyways i hope this helps!! looking forward to hearing your song!! :D

[shirogane-oushirou]

Heyooooo!!! I really wanna learn more about your f/os, so I'm gonna ask 🍫, ⚔️ and📱 for anyone you wanna answer for hehe :3

( @verykissablepixels )

AAAAA, thank you so much reffie!!! 😭 sorry it took a little while to answer kjsndfjk -- i decided, though i'm still DEEPLY in ren brainrot hell, that i miss talking about my main man oushirou... so i answered for both of them hehe ^^

🍫 Does your f/o have a favorite candy bar?:

REN: i think both versions of him would prefer something with just a bit of crunch and some other sweet ingredient to match the chocolate, like butterfinger or twix!! he keeps a bag of mini-size bars in his room so he can grab one when he needs a little pick-me-up.

OUSHIROU: not to be all ERMMM 🤓 about this one with him but i imagine he'd be more into like... nice, flavored chocolates? he wouldn't turn his nose up at normal candy bars, but he grew up a RICH household and, if buying for himself, he'd spend more money to get something nicer with more subtle flavors.

...that being said, there is a scene in his "in winter" route where he stays behind at seigetsu after a chocolate hunt? event? for valentines day to find and take any leftover chocolates, so if it's FREE he'll take what he can get no matter the flavor and no matter the effort KJNSDKFJN.

⚔️ If your f/o were a D&D character, what would their class be?:

(i'm not a dnd girlie, so i'm basing all of this on simple descriptions of the classes and a "tag yourself as a dnd class" meme lmao ;;; )

REN: he seems like an artificer! even though r!ren didn't go into the medical profession, he has the same creativity and ingenuity that makes doc!ren so good at his job.

(and he LOVES dnd. he wasn't able to play often as a kid due to his strict upbringing, but doc!ren occasionally joins one-off campaigns online when he has the energy, and r!ren plays with a couple of people from work when their off days line up.)

OUSHIROU: sorcerer! he comes from a family of very successful, very wealthy practitioners of western fortune telling, and he absolutely inherited the gift. 👍🏻

📱 What’s your f/o’s phone wallpaper?:

REN: not to be cheesy, but he'd 100% have a selfie of the two of us being goofy together as his lock screen. doc!ren would use a simple geometric design with a lowkey color palette for his home screen, while r!ren uses a louder, maybe more neon palette with a more complex pattern.

OUSHIROU: he'd also have a selfie of the two of us on the lock screen (though the composition would be more intentional lmao), but his home screen would probably be a flat color for utility's sake; he'd need to be able to flip through apps quickly to take notes, do research, take quick photos of things he doesn't plan to include in his articles but still needs to reference at some point, etc, and he doesn't want a distracting background to slow him down.

he probably WOULD, however, choose a NICE flat color and then fully customize his multiple screens with widgets, dividers, etc... partially to organize his apps for ease of use, and partially bc he can't make it NOT look nice, no no no, he needs his phone to be both useful AND ~*~aesthetically pleasing~*~ 😤

[madfantasy]

Hi, I hope your day is going well :)

I'm about to experiment digital art for the first time, and I'm a little nervous... do u have any tips (maybe about the art program ecc.)?

And where should I start as a beginner?

Hello dear🌟

Thank you, and congratulations on the new experience and I hope you find it thrilling! I'm not a tech savy or hardly know enough to use the full capacity of what those programs offer. But I can tell you few things about it, specially based on my practice coming from a traditional background.

But first, talking about art software; there's alot. Depending on what device you're using for a start. My main mane is Sai paint tool 2, and Clip Studio Paint, both PC windows solo and both are not free, so I recommend MediaBang. Its the closet professional free software out there I think. Can be used on all systems, windows android and iOS, if I'm not mistaken. So if you got a pc and android phone, you can easily draw on both with a drawing tablet that works on pc and android! (I only tried it recently tho so I can't tell its a smooth working method)

I was going to recommend you FireAlpaca too as it stood as a replacement for Sai for years but now I downloaded to test and it turned out to be another 'simpler'... mediaBang 8l

I think its a very simple nice way to get you started, its not cluttered and you can find labels easily, now I spent some time on it. It has wonder stabiliser, actually the best on any other software I used. I know it can be a help to get your strokes more clean but there will be ways the debate of not over using them so you wouldn't relay too much on them, which I think its valid, but we are dealing with computers here that has to process everything we move in a certain way, and if your normal strokes on it looks much awful on screen than what you normally do on paper, than some stability tweaking is much better than continuing frustration. (But that's just me side tracking)

The easiest steps into making digital art with any app would be:

Finding a favourite Brush. You can almost use one brush throughout the whole drawing process by minding the size and the density of the brush and really keep tweakingit to your liking. But of course, it can be much neater, and easier, to use a brush for each purpose. Using a hard ege brush like ink to draw lines or sharp edges. Using a soft brush to add shade or color or blend, you can use an airbrush. For blending colors, you can always use watercolour brush, smudge, or blur.

Using layers. One of the best things about digital art is the ability to use layers. You can use as many or few as you like. The starter layer can be the sketch, you lower the opacity and add a new layer on top to ink or define the sketch, when you done you can hide the lower layer by clicking the eye icon and you got yourself a squeaky clean mess, heh. You can also using the blending mode with layers. Let's say you want to add light to your painting, you add a new layer and set ilthe blending to "Add". Then choosing light orange color you draw the sun beam or light up few areas as you like. You can experiment with all of the blending modes as each create a different results and helps tie picture together.

Using Filter. It can help you adjust the picture to the desired hue, saturation and contrast. There's all kind of ways to fiddle with these, you can always Google them to have more understanding of what you're doing. If not, do what the rest of us surely do; slide those bars mad till everything looks pretty, hehe

This is just me nitpicking, but I love to erase with my favourite brush instead of using the eraser, cuz then you keep the pictures harmonious with brush strokes even when you erase something it wouldn't stand out too much in the picture and doesn't introduce unwanted contrast within the drawing's lines, if I'm making any sense. Anyway, you can do that simply by clicking on the transparent square near the colors.

The things the software vary the most on is textures and endless ways to editing the pic, and of course, how smooth the program works with brush strokes and editing them and huge files of canvas. But it all will come in time and you can learn about them easily to find what suits you the best by experimenting on them!

Here's links to more random art tips if any could help:

Art-ing attitude +Simple colour theory

Expressions and posing

Blur and blend

I hope this is of help in any way and I haven't confused you more x'

Wish you all the best, and cheering you on🙌🔥

[vintagedolan]

hiraeth: initial concept

*this is a concept train!! in short, that means you all send in asks and tell me what you wanna see! so feel free to send me in whatever you want to see happen (it would be awesome if you guys send them kinda in order of plot like not jumping way ahead or anything if you know what I mean hehe. anyways, hope you enjoy, and here is my askbox for concepts!! love yah!*

---------------------------------------------------------------

1: The Valley Isle

“What makes Hawaiian shaved ice Hawaiian? Isn’t it just ice and syrup?”

“Well, every morning we go out and collect water from the waterfall in our backyard, and then we freeze it into ice cubes shaped like the islands, and then we shave each one special into our various menu sizes.”

“Really?!”

“No. Your total is $5.47.”

Koa looked up from the syrup station, reaching over and smacking Kahua’s arm.

“Dude. Do you want to get fired?” She kept her voice low so it didn’t travel past the window.

He just laughed and grabbed the banana syrup, finishing off the mound of ice and sticking a spoon in the side before passing it out the window to the woman who’d asked the question. 

“Yes. My master plan is to get in trouble, blame it on you, get it put on your permanent record so you lose all your future jobs and have to stay here with me forever.” 

“You act like you aren’t going to also be in LA in literally three months.”

“And you act like you aren’t leaving me here on this rock, alone, for three months,” Kahua countered, turning to switch out the withering ice block from the machine. 

Koa looked out over the rainbow of syrups, taking in the view.

Her and Kahua had been calling Maui a rock for years - since third grade, to be precise. She didn’t say it often, and especially not to any tourists who were coming to visit. To them, Maui was paradise. Tropical, perfect weather, perfect beaches. Koa could see it. She understood the allure. But when she thought of her paradise, it came in the shape of a bustling city, of opportunities and new faces and places. 

LA.

Kahua called it the haole’s dream. The white girl’s dream. Didn’t matter how many times he complained about being on the same island his whole life, he never really wanted to leave it. The fact that Koa wanted to was seen as borderline criminal by half her ohana, but she pushed their comments and insults aside.

There were only two opinions that she really cared about anyways. 

First was Nahele; her older brother. She didn’t have to ask him what he thought - he’d moved to Texas as soon as he could, started up a food truck in Austin, named it 808 GRINDZ and brought every hawaiian cooking method he knew along with him. He’d been making a life for himself ever since then, and he was ecstatic when Koa told him she was moving. The thought of having family on the mainland, even halfway across the country, was comforting enough.

But the most important one? That was Amosa. 

Amosa, who called her when he knew she’d be walking to her car after she clocked out.

“Hi Dad.”

“Kaikamahine, my girl. How was your shift?”

“Busy, but it was fine. They gave me a card for a free small everyday that you can have, but you gotta get the sugar free syrup when you use it.”

“Yeah yeah,” he laughed. Even over the phone, Koa could hear the waves in the background, and she knew where he was before he said it. “Come to the dock.”

“Did you book another tour?” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice.

“Come to the dock,” he said, his quiet way of saying no. “I’ll see you soon. Aloha wau iā 'oe.”

“Love you too.”

The drive to the boat dock was short, and the parking lot was busy as ever. Koa passed the bigger boats, with their names in fancy script screen printed on the side. Their buoys and extra snorkel gear, the bars nestled in the middle of the deck, an extra incentive for the tourists to book with them. Everyone loves a mai tai after all.

The Honu Nai sat at her spot on the dock, the farthest to the left. She had three years on any other snorkel boat out there. Her bow was worn, paint sanded off by the salt and sun over time and travel through the waves. But the little drawing of the smiling turtle still shone through on the side, despite the fact that Koa had painted it almost 10 years ago. 

Over the edge, Koa could see her father. He was cleaning, like usual, organizing all of the extra gear that he had on the boat. The kids section was scarce again, all the smaller sized wetsuits, snorkels and fins barely taking up a rack. Koa knew why - if there was ever a kid on his snorkel tour who couldn’t afford their own gear, he’d ‘lend’ it to them. Every kid deserves to see the underwater world, he would say. It changes you, shows you what life is really about.

Koa had been in the ocean since before she could walk. If she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, she was one of two places; either diving under a wave somewhere, or writing in her notebook. Or, one of her notebooks at least. 

“No book today?” He asked when she jumped aboard.

“Already packed them up.”

Amosa couldn’t think about the suitcases in her room without the tears starting to form. He blinked them away and looked out to the sea of blue. 

“Did you pack your snorkel gear?”

“Dad. You know I’m not going to see shit in the ocean in California,” she sighed, moving over to him and putting an arm around him. 

“I know, I know. They have sea lions I’ve heard. Maybe they’ll be friendly.”

“I’ve heard they stink.” She laid her head on his shoulder gently, closing her eyes when he kissed her head.

“Well. We have 5 hours until you have to get to the airport, and I say that’s just enough time for one more run, hmmm?”

Koa didn’t want to. She couldn’t think of many things worse than having salt all over her skin for a 6 hour plane ride. But the excitement in his eyes was irresistible, so she simply nodded and offered him a smile, letting go so he could get them on their way out to the reef. 

She sat on the bow as they headed out to sea, closed her eyes and soaked in the spray off the waves. Her dad laughed when they hit a particularly big one, cutting through the crest so much that it splashed up onto the deck. He used to do it on purpose when she was a little girl just to hear her giggle and have her running back to him. 

They made it to their favorite place quickly, and Koa didn’t hesitate to put her mask on and get to work. She took the line and dove over the side, tying it to the anchor hook under the water before coming back up. Amosa dropped the ladder for her on the back, but she didn’t need it. She was watching the reef. 

Moorish Idols. That’s what she wanted to see. They were second only to green sea turtles - honu in Hawaiian. But they were the most beautiful fish, with their delicate top fin that tapered off to a tail. She was always excited to find one and show the kids on tours. All she had to say was look for Gill from Finding Nemo and they were able to spot them. She floated for a while, watching the fish dart around, even spotting a small reef shark about 15 yards to the right before she decided to climb back in to see her dad. 

He passed her a towel and smiled at her as she sat down. All he could do was look at her for a moment, taking her in. His baby girl, on the boat she’d practically grown up in for the last time in a while.

He put on his brave face, and forced his biggest smile. “You ready to go out there?”

Koa sighed. 

“I don’t know how to tell.” 

“You’ll do great. You’re capable, and it won’t be long until you’re writing your own books instead of writing for these… whatever boys.”

“Dolan. Their names are Ethan and Grayson Dolan.” 

“Well, like I said. Soon it’ll be your stories out there instead of someone else’s, with your name instead of theirs.” He said it with such certainty that she couldn’t help but believe him. Maybe it was the salt water left over in her eyes, or the glare of the sun off the ocean, but she began to tear up. 

“Thanks for always supporting me dad. It means the world. I’m sorry I have to go so far away, I wish I could stay.” It was true - she just needed the money from the Dolan’s to get herself started, and then she’d come back, help her father.

Amosa smiled. 

“Kaikamahine, it’s just an ocean between us.” He reached out for her cheek. “And we know the ocean, don’t we.”

“She’s an old friend,” Koa said, her heart tight in her chest. 

“Exactly. Now c’mon, let’s get you home and on your way.”

Across the ocean and 3 hour time change, Grayson Dolan was pacing. 

“It’s gonna be fine.” Ethan said.

“Shut the fuck up Ethan,” Grayson said. 

That was the extent of most of their conversations over the last three days. Actually, that’s how all of them had been since Ethan had signed a deal with their agent for a ghostwritten book about their lives.

“It’ll get more people connected to us, the right people-”

“Has it ever fucking occurred to you that I’m tired of that shit? That I’m tired of people prying into my fucking life? What if I don’t wanna connect with anyone else, what if I just wanna be left the fuck alone? But no, now we’re gonna have some fucking stranger asking us a million fucking questions and digging for information in my own fucking house where I just wanna exist.”

Ethan didn’t have an answer for that. He’d fucked up, and he knew it. But he also knew that he signed a contract, and there was no backing out of it now. Grayson rubbed his hand over his eyes.

“When does the writer get here?”

“She flies in tonight.”

“Fucking fantasic. Can’t wait.” 

With that, Grayson walked back to his room, leaving his twin alone in the living room with his hands in his pockets.

[boop-le-snoot]

masterpost ☀️ main masterlist ☀️ taglist

previously on...

Chapter 5. We have stucky, we have stevesambucky friendship, we have a new place to live and strange being a good guy because tony definitely ranted at him. Also, we're beginning the creepy part of the plot. I have decided that sam will be one of the main platonic characters in this story because I love sam.

fun fact: I used to be a creepypasta writer! Going back to my roots here, hehe.

Things had stated changing, for better or worse, much sooner than I had been prepared for - but was anyone, ever, really ready for the next big step? Certainly not me - the view that greeted me after I'd finished my shift at Jeremy's was peculiar and unexpected, so I froze, eyebrows high at the two super-soldiers parked, once again, illegally, right in front of the entrance door.

"Hi, doll," Bucky was reclined against his boyfriend comfortably, his bike standing a pace behind Steve's, who nodded companionably, a sheepish grin on his face.

"G'day," I nodded, eyeing them warily. "I think I know where this is going..."

"No, no, nothing like that," both men frantically waved their hands around, Steve coming up close to approach me slowly. "You're not in trouble. I came out here to say thanks," giving a sappy look to the grouch that was his boyfriend, Steve reached into his pocket and handed me a slip of paper. "Just, uh..."

"Those are our phone numbers. Don't hesitate to give either one of us a call if someone bothers you," Bucky took over the stammering blonde, shaking his head at the soft blush that blossomed on the good captain's face. The brunette wrapped an arm around Steve's shoulders with a shy smile of his own. "Or if you, I don't know, need someone to carry your groceries or something," he snorted. "The punk wouldn't leave it alone until we came out personally to thank you, the sap."

The laughter bubbled up from my chest as I grabbed and pocketed the paper, throughly amused and at the endearing gesture. "Sure, thanks."

"And, uh," Bucky's eyes briefly looked to the side. "We'd appreciate if you keep the status of our relationship to yourself for now. We're not, like, officially out yet."

I froze in place, mouth falling open. Surely they were aware that anybody with a functional pair of eyes could see that they were much more than 'good, lifelong friends'. "No problem, guys. Lemme know if anyone gives you shit about it though, this place," I gestured to the café behind me, "is strictly paparazzi and homophobe-free."

Steve's grin grew even more genuine. "Yeah, we heard all about it from Tony and Stephen. Said 'twas the only place they go these days."

I wasn't aware of that. "It's the paps, isn't it?" I remembered Tony's remarks.

Bucky shook his head, the metals of his prosthetic arm whirring as it recalibrated. "Not only. The public hasn't had the best reaction to a man goin' out with a man," the brunette looked away to the side, where Steve's face had fallen considerably. "And Tony's an eccentric rich man. We're jus' two soldiers. The US Army won't be too happy if we... Came out," both men were crestfallen yet determined.

I had a hunch nothing would be able to separate the two - seeing as not even seventy-odd years and brainwashing and ice couldn't keep the captain and his sarge apart, I doubted that a few government weasels could successfully do the job. Even so, it was unpleasant, to say the least, to see them deny themselves something that technically was perfectly fine in the 21st century.

I chewed on my lip, gathering my wits. "I've clocked out, I can tell you this as a friend- as a person. You don't owe the army jack shit. They do not own you, you are your own person that they experimented their German knockoff steroids on. Respectfully, fuck that shit." I firmly stated my opinion, figuring that there should have been at least someone that told Steve that he is more than his star-spangled uniform and giant metal frisbee.

The blonde scrunched his eyebrows together, fingers gripping onto his belt until the knuckles went white, the hard line of his jaw set firm.

Bucky laugh took me by surprise. "Agreed, doll. I'm too old to be hiding in back alleys and shit," he clapped on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Although I'm happy enough with just not going to prison for bein' in love with this idiot."

"Jerk," Steve's responding pout was downright adorable now that I knew the circumstances surrounding their relationship.

Which wasn't exactly surprising. As a barista, I knew my fair share about my regulars' love lives, their jobs, their kids. The tea was almost always piping hot. "Bye, boys," I smiled at them warmly, throwing a glance at the time, adjusting the strap of my bag for comfort. "Stay outta trouble!"

Steve scrambled for his bike, having noticed my pointed gesture. "Sorry, didn't mean to hold you back. There, I have a spare helmet," he gestured behind him. "I'll give you a ride."

"There's no way in Hell I'm getting on that death trap!" I shouted cheerfully, walking briskly towards my second job, hiding a laugh in the warmth of my scarf as two very offended motorcycle-loving gay fossils sped past me, making truly incredible amounts of noise. Good for them.

Odette was content to let me rummage around the bodega without showing herself more than necessary, taking her appointments and doing- well, witch stuff, I guess, only coming out to poke at the various jars for ingredients.

"Star, I have a proposition for you," right before closing time, Odette's voice filled out the store with its low drawl. "A good friend of mine owns an apartment building, not far from here actually, and one tenant recently moved out. It's a safe space for those who are different," she enunciated the last word, fixing it with a pointed stare. "She's not overly fond of total strangers coming to live there. The rent is reduced and the apartment itself is slightly bigger and more fashionable than yours..."

"Where's the catch?" I found myself interrupting her. I wouldn't lie: the reduced rent and increased size of the apartment did interest me, as well as the probability of a kinder, more involved landlord. My current one was - not the best, but such was life in the NYC.

"There are a few rules to follow, rules that might seem strange at first but they'll make sense in time. And your neighbors might be also a little... Unusual," Odette carefully studied my face for any signs of displeasure.

I sighed.

And then I sighed some more as I was signing my new lease in a few days' time, having spoken with Porter, my new landlord, and his boyfriend who had claws and fangs- after so much time spent around Odette's, I didn't even blink. The couple liked me enough to extend a secure but flexible offer and some furniture to choose from the attic where they kept the spares.

I quite liked the large, vintage couch I placed next to the wide bow windows in the living room. The floors were hardboard and well-kept, the walls a nice, homely shade of green and Porter didn't mind any new holes in them that might arise from hanging up decorations. I scheduled a thrift crawl at the next possible opportunity, happy with the "good employee" bonus Odette had given me after I sealed the deal.

My stuff was boxed up, a sleepless night and a call to a begrudging Jeremy to have a couple of days off to move; I was, thankfully, not late on my schedule and all that I had left was to rent a car to move the boxes of my things and the few pieces of furniture I had decided to keep - my haul in Porter's attic had been incredibly rewarding and my new apartment had all the basics to make it look like a warm, inviting bohemian home in a while.

My phone rang suddenly, startling interruption to the romcom I was watching as I ate my last lunch in my old apartment. "Hello?" I answered the number without looking.

"Hi, doll," Bucky's voice rang out cheerful. "A little witch told me you were moving. I thought you might need a hand?"

I blanked momentarily, the thought of enlisting two very busy super-soldiers to haul ten boxes and two endtables worth of stuff not having crossed my mind at all. "Is this the moment when you stop by my house just to unattach and put your prosthetic arm somewhere and leave?" I asked, hearing distinctive snickering - several more people were with him.

The cheer in his voice blossomed into a full belly laugh. "You're funny," he teased me. "And thanks for the idea. But no, I have a room full of men that have nothing better to do but get on my nerves. Might as well make 'em useful," his accented drawl thickened the more we spoke. Muted cheers rang out in the background.

"Uh, sure," who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I rattled off my address and warned them I didn't have a car, after which Bucky assured me it will be taken care of. The last remaining knick-knacks packed away, I went down to take out the trash, and returned to four people standing in front of my apartment building, all except one unrecognisable in their civilian clothes. "Hello," I waved at them, side-eyeing the tallest, grumpiest man of the bunch.

Stephen Strange was there, looking around curiously, hands in the pockets of his plain grey hoodie. I had already forgotten how normal he looked without his robes, and, frankly speaking, I preferred him like that. His title and the attire that came with it were quite intimidating.

"Hey there," a dark-skinned man who I recognised to be the Falcon, raised his hand. I had not met him yet. "I'm Sam, Sam Wilson. You must be the Star we're helping?" His quick once-over and the tilt to his lips; the ease with which he flirted had me brandishing smirks of my own. I led them all upstairs, Stephen's silence being just so loud. Sam, however, had no such reservations. "So, you're a witch, right?" Wow, subtlety was his middle name.

"Yes, I'll show you my broomstick," I deadpanned, wiggling my eyebrows at him with a grim look.

"Woah woah," Sam raised his hands as the three men behind us snickered loudly. "What happened to 'how are you? let's have dinner sometime'?"

I did my best imitation of an evil cackle as I let them through my front door. The four newcomers looked around my nearly empty apartment with muted interest before zeroing in on the pile of things in the corner: a few pieces of furniture and nearly taped boxes. Should be a walk in the park for four men.

A hand on my arm pulled me from the stupor of observing Sam, Bucky and Steve act like a well-oiled trio, bantering and teasing each other as they discussed how to best move the things.

"Look," Stephen Strange had all the appearance of a chastised puppy. "I wanted to apologize for my behaviour that day. I was out of line," the low notes in his voice made the appearance of the apology being somewhat reluctant. Tony probably put him to it after our little burger run.

Irregardless, I wasn't looking to make any enemies. "Me too, I was under stress - not that I'm using it as an excuse," to give where it's due, I nodded at the sorcerer, immediately awestruck by the easy, boyish smile that stretched on his lips.

"You are strong," he added. "If you would like to learn our ways, we would welcome you." There was a spark in his eyes, something belonging to man that respected and collected knowledge. My own respect for him grew immensely just from that one thing.

"I'll think about it," I offered amicably, however, I still leaned heavily towards a negative answer to that particular proposition. I liked my current way of life.

Strange's grin made a momentary second appearance, until Sam's voice rang loudly: "Fire in the hole, Wizard-man," causing the former to groan loudly and look at me.

"Think about your new place for a second," he spoke, briefly touching out fingertips. As soon as that was over, a golden circle with my new living room on the other side of it appeared quietly, Strange's hands immediately going back into his pockets after that. I sighed and pointed the men into it, stepping in a second after. The sorcerer wasn't far behind. "You could learn that, too, you know," he added wryly, having seen my look of mild envy directed at him.

"I think I'll be good with having the 'pissed off the sorcerer Supreme and lived' pass for now," I retorted with an eyeroll, turning around to stare him down.

He had the decency to look somewhat sheepish, at least. "I'm not like my predecessor," his words were chosen carefully. "And, to be honest, I have no clue as to why your... Boss is so hostile towards me- us," Strange looked around the room before unceremoniously beelining for the couch and plopping down on it.

"Not to be a gossip," I started, slightly intrigued. "But Odette and some lady she called ancient had mad beef," I slipped into casual language easily, trying to recall the details of Odette's, quite often jumbled, stories. "Sounded almost like territorial disputes," I shrugged. "And the apprentices Odette took on before me found themselves in all kinds of compromising situations," I chewed on my lip. "Like the Arctic."

Strange rubbed his face with a noisy groan, large hands doing nothing to mask the resignation and slight embarrassment.

I focused on the thin, red scars on his hands - they had to have been something serious, the way slight tremors betrayed the deteriorating state of the nerves in his fingers. I frowned, quickly averting my gaze before he could catch me ogling him. The fact thag Stephen kept his hands in his pockets or covered by gloves at all times didn't go over my head.

He muttered something to himself, something that sounded like he was often forced to clean up his predecessor's mess. "I see," was the only thing he'd offered me, looking slightly pitiful and apologetic.

"Well," I started, noting the last of my stuff was about to be in its rightful place, "as long as you don't toss me into the ocean, I think we can coexist peacefully."

"Tony would kill me if I'd tried," Stephen groused.

"Probably," I agreed. "Considering the fact he hit on me, for you, it would make one hell of a lover's quarrel," my hand pointed towards the kitchen as Steve and Sam carried in the boxes aptly labeled "kitchen", looking around a place to put them down.

"Tony did what now?" Stephen's tone dropped, a wry smirk decorating his lips as he eyed me through his lashes.

"Don't ask me," I raised my palms, feeling my eyes widen. "He's chaos personified and Satan only knows what he's got on his mind."

That squeezed a laugh out of the tall man, followed by a fond, sappy smile as he looked out of my large, panoramic window, probably thinking of Tony himself. There was no doubt, Stephen Strange was utterly and throughly head over heels in love with Tony Stark. Good for them, good for them.

"A-and that's it," Bucky walked in, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel I'd provided them earlier. "I took some liberties and assembled the furniture, Steve is stacking the dishes as we speak," the brunette noisily plopped down next to me, arm carelessly thrown behind me on the back of the couch.

"Oh, um," I stammered, unused to such random gestures of kindness. "Thanks a lot, you saved me a day's worth of time and a backache," I smiled, scooting over to make some room for Sam.

"No problem, not like we had anything better to do than argue which part of the Lord of the Rings is the best," Wilson rolled his eyes, elbowing Bucky none-too-gently.

Bucky elbowed back, thus starting a horsing war between the two, causing me to scoot closer to Stephen as I attempted to avoid any flailing limbs; the sorcerer and I shared an identical, perplexed sigh as to how two grown men could easily bait each other into such juvenile behaviour.

Whatever. It was kind of endearing.

Steve emerged from the kitchen dusty but smiling, having heard the commotion, and quickly herded his guys into a semblance of decent behaviour before all of three of them left, leaving me and Stephen to go back to my old apartment and give the keys to it to the guard. That was done, too, and a portal from an alley behind my old building straight into my living room had me and Strange awkwardly hovering, saying out goodbyes and waving to each other as the golden circle rapidly shrunk in size and disappeared, golden sparks scattering across my living room carpet for a short second before they fizzled out, too.

I used the brief moment of respite to find the small piece of paper containing the rules Porter had insisted I read and take seriously; figuring it might be a good idea to give them a read before beginning to unpack, I popped open a bottle of soda, holding the itemized list written in neat cursive to my face.

The further I read, the further my eyebrows rose:

"1. Keep your door locked at all times.

2. If a person knocks on your door claiming to be the mail man, do not open the door under any circumstances. You are free to ignore the knocking - it only lasts a minute or so. After the person has left, you may open the door and check for any packages.

3. If Samantha from 3B visits you and asks you to babysit, you may do so at your personal discretion. Her twins are a handful and their daily habits are not for the ones with a weak stomach, however, they mean nothin ill and will not harm you in any way.

4. Do not use the elevator between the hours of 1 and 4 AM.

5. There are no apartments under number "7". If someone claiming to be from those apartments knocks on your door and requests entry, come up with a polite excuse to decline and send me a text message. I will take care of it.

6. There is no garden on the premises of this building. If a man approaches you, claiming to be a gardener, don't interact with him and simply walk away. He will leave you alone.

7. You may meet a girl in a polka-dot dress playing in the hallways or in the stairwell. This is Lucy. Always be polite to Lucy - you won't like what will happen if you're rude to her. She does not talk but she knows limited ASL and may request to visit you. Allow her in ONLY if you have fresh meat in your fridge (beef or mutton, preferably bloody). You might want to avoid seeing her eat, however, it might be very beneficial to make friends with Lucy. She knows a lot of things.

8. If, when taking the stairs, you encounter inconsistent numeration of the floors, such as floor 2 followed by floor 5 and etc, simply walk a flight back. It will sort itself out. The building is old and sometimes it gets confused.

Important notice: these rules apply to your guests as well. Please make sure to introduce and educate them on these matters. We will help as much as we can should a situation arise but ultimately, there are fates far worse than an untimely, however swift, death.

- Porter and Lance."

A slow, creeping dread began to gnaw at my nape, curling on like a cold snake deep in chest. As if laughing at me, the warm, welcoming embrace of the green walls and the toothy, wide smiles my landlords had given me encouraged my recently found sense of adventure, all of it mixing into a cacophony of exhilaration and unease, equally steadily driving my running brain insane.

I sighed again, immediately going to the box containing my altar and the rest of the protective items. So much for peace.

Taglist: @couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox

[sxfterhearts]

40. [8:59 am]

➳ pairing: mark x reader

➳ genre/warnings: fluff, coffeeshop!au, barista!mark, side!jackson,yugyeom (being silly)

➳ word count: 2,038 words

➳ summary: “I made this for you”

➳ author's note: for @strxwberri-milk​ 💖 i truly truly appreciate you!!! :”) and thank you for indulging me with your story hehe i hope something similar to this happens to you 🤭

➳ inspired by: (no one asked but) the bookstore in hear, here!!

You were early.

On regular meetups with your friends or even your dreadful 9ams, you would be running at least fifteen minutes behind schedule.

Today, however, you were early.

Therefore it goes without saying that meeting your Chemistry lab partner in the café he worked at to discuss your upcoming report was anything but a regular meetup, especially because said lab partner is none other than Mark Tuan, also known as the intelligent, introverted shooting guard who mostly stuck to and looked after his group of six other basketball jocks. Or your crush for the academic year, for short.

Taking in a nervous breath of air, you reached for your phone and began to type.

[08:59] Me: Hey, I got here early. I’ll go inside first and save us a spot.

Your feet tapped against the pavement as you stood beyond the café doors, your fingers gliding across the screen as you began typing another text to describe your outfit, just in case he couldn’t spot you amongst the sea of café patrons. It’s busy on Saturday mornings anyway, you rationalised your decision to double text, who cares, right?

[09:00] Mark: Yellow jumper and white Converse??

He had beat you to it. Your fingers halted its motions, staring intently at the panic-inducing typing bubble.

[09:00] Mark: I like your outfit :)

[09:00] Mark: And good morning!!!

It took all the self-control you had within yourself to not jump into a little happy dance right in the middle of the street. Calm down, Y/N, your inner voice rang clearly through your fuzzy thoughts, it doesn’t mean anything. Don’t overread his texts. Don’t overthink. Don’t –

“So,” A deep mellifluous voice broke you out of your daydream, its owner’s head poking out of the doors with his signature charming smile as an invitation. “Are you going to come in?” Your ears not failing to pick up the slightly teasing lilt in his tone. “Or are you going to stand there?”

For a few moments, you slowly tilted your head up, staring at Mark with a mildly shocked expression. Mark, with his fluffy permed hair and neat barista outfit, a white button up, black apron and a tiny bowtie around his neck. Mark, holding the door open for you, welcoming you into the humble establishment with a guiding hand. “Ah, Mark. Hi.” The words awkwardly stumbled out of your lips as you stepped inside. “Thank you.”

It felt like you were stepping into another universe, eons away from the quiet neighbourhood beyond the double doors. The café was situated a distance away from your home, hence why you never visited until now, despite many of your classmates’ recommendations of the café for group study sessions. Being more of a library person yourself, you couldn’t imagine being able to focus in a place where customers were constantly entering and leaving, and people were allowed to talk over one another.

This café, you realised, was different. Its white-bricked walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of novels, with colourful volumes of all shapes and sizes on display. Most patrons seemed to be preoccupied with their own reading or chatting quietly amongst themselves, mindful to not disturb or distract others with loud noises. The atmosphere was peaceful; serene. The only audible sounds were the rhythmic whirring of the coffee grinder or the low whistle of the milk steamer, which didn’t bother you at all.

“What can I get you, Y/N?” Mark asked in a practiced manner. You followed him deeper into the café and admired its interior, which strongly resembled a bookstore. While you were busy perusing the selection of CDs behind the counter, you felt a clipboard being thrusted into your hands. It was the menu. “Should I choose instead? It’ll be a surprise.” He offered, noticing how your eyes glanced over the paper repeatedly, never settling on a single item.

“Yes, please.” You were simply spoilt for choice – there were one, two, three, eight choices of coffee beans and over ten varieties of tea! “I’m not picky. I like coffee and sweet things.”

“Breakfast?” Mark asked. You shook your head. “Leave it to the capable hands of the experienced barista. Go take a seat at the table by the window, I’ll join you real soon.”

Heeding his words, you made your way towards the French windows, but not before browsing through a table full of literary classics. As you sat down, you decided that this quaint little book café was not a bad place to study after all.

Which reminded you, you made the thirty-minute commute here to discuss the results from your Chemistry experiment. Pulling out your notebook, your chest was filled with the same pang of disappointment as yesterday when you found out Mark left early for an away game and was unable to join you for the experiment. He sent you a text full of apologies and pleading eyes emojis, the first one you received from him after exchanging numbers. It took you another three or four exchanges to realise that the real Mark was very different to the Mark you thought you knew. Who would’ve thought the boy you had only admired from afar, the one who always seemed to watch over his friends wordlessly, blending seamlessly into the background, would’ve been such an enthusiastic texter? He had thrown in a generous dash of emojis, a sprinkling of GIFs and one too many exclamation marks, which never failed to pull amused smiles out of you.

“Finally decided to change the flowers on that table, hyung?” A male voice questioned mockingly from behind a nearby bookshelf.

“About time he did…” Another voice chimed in.

“Shut up, Jackson, Yugyeom.” You heard footsteps approaching you and looked up from your neatly-drawn results table to catch a glimpse of the playful glare Mark shot at his co-workers-slash-best friends. You began to wonder whether your girl friends frequented this café due to the favourable ambience or the attractive baristas.

You gave him a little wave as Mark stood in front of you and set down the serving tray. Your eyes feasted on the stunning array of goodies it carried – a cappuccino with a stunning Rosetta pattern and heavy dusting of chocolate powder, two slices of chocolate mud cake, a plate full of scones, jam and cream, and a butter croissant. The small jar of fresh, seasonal blooms in the corner – roses, daisies, chrysanthemums, daffodils and buttercups in shades of white and yellow immediately drew your attention. They complemented the shade of your mustard jumper perfectly.

Mark carefully positioned the flowers on the table before offloading the rest of the tray’s contents. “Flowers for you, Miss Y/N.”

The more you were around him, the more he surprised you. You fought hard against the blossoming heat on the apples of your cheeks, reminding yourself again to not overthink his words. Perhaps he’s just like that with every girl he talks to, you figured, there is no way he’s flirting with me.

“Surprise!” Mark exclaimed, moving onto the seat directly opposite yours. “I got a little bit of everything, so I hope you brought your appetite with you. There’s our signature chocolate mud cake, super rich and moist, wonderful scones and homemade strawberry jam, and our flaky butter croissant. Oh! Here,” He pushed the large cup of coffee towards you. “I made this for you. Try it!”

His brown orbs sparkled and twinkled as he eagerly watched you pick up the hot beverage and place your lips on the cup. A strong whiff of fragrant aroma drifted into your nose as you took a sip, your tastebuds instantly flooded with the creamy deliciousness of the coffee. You may be biased, but it was undoubtedly the best coffee you’d ever had. “It’s really good!” You finally said after several long sips. “Why is it so good?” You wondered aloud to yourself.

“Because I made it with care and love.” Mark answered without missing a beat. Upon hearing his bold declaration, you halted all movements and simply stared at him, steadily swallowing your coffee and feeling the warm liquid travel down your throat. “It also helps that we only brew the finest coffee beans and use the highest quality, imported full cream milk. A matchmade in heaven, really, I – ” He paused, noticing your unwavering stare. “Sorry, am I boring you? It’s just that, I really do love my job and I love talking about it and I’ve also been told I talk too much when I’m nervous. Sorry.” Mark cringed, frowning apologetically while visibly shrinking into his chair.

“No! No, not at all. Don’t say sorry. Actually, I like hearing you talk. As in, you sound so passionate just then. It’s just, it’s nice to hear you talk?” You wanted to facepalm yourself. Perhaps you should just dig a hole in the ground and hide in it forever. At least that way you would never have to face him ever again.

“Is that so?” Mark sat up a bit straighter, the corner of his lips pulled into a wide, heart-stopping smile. The tiny pair of adorable canines poking out of his mouth were all too distracting. “Well, why don’t you dig into your breakfast while I run you through what I’ve done so far for the report? Try the croissant first, it’s a good one to start on, fluffy and light. Alright, I stole the titration results from Youngjae’s group and used it for the calculations.” He quickly pulled out a pile of papers from his apron’s pocket while you savoured the sweet pastry. You had to admit, you never expected Mark to get any work done after his game last night. His hardworking attitude and dedication amazed you. “I wrote out the hypothesis and the matching observations for each reaction, pretty straightforward. There’s also the equations at the other side of the page, here, along with the calculations. They were a bit of a pain and I am this close to finishing up but unfortunately there’s still two more left. I can finish it while you’re eating, though, no big – ”

“Mark,” You called amidst a small, polite mouthful of cake and a light giggle, pausing his lengthy monologue. “You’ve done so much already. Leave some work for me too! This is a group project, remember?”

“Ah, right. Sorry.” He apologised sheepishly, a hand coming up to rub against his neck, embarrassed. “I guess I just wanted to make it up to you. I feel really bad about leaving you alone yesterday, Y/N. I wish I was there, with you. I would choose to watch solutions turn purple with you over playing ball any day of the week.” Mark admitted sincerely.

“Why?” You breathed. Your brain had started to get ahead of itself and pieced together the clues he’d left. Apart from his voice and your drumming heartbeats, your ears blocked everything out.

“Because I want to spend time with you.”

“Like… right now?”

“Well – ”

“Hyung! Mark hyung! Hey,” Yugyeom came running towards your table in a hurry. “Sorry to interrupt your date but,”

“It’s not…” You started, your tone shy and your eyes refusing to meet Mark’s.

“Date, study date, whatever it’s called. Sorry, Y/N, but I have to steal Mark hyung for a moment.” Yugyeom turned towards said boy. “It’s an emergency. Jackson dropped an entire crate of teacups, they’re all broken.”

“He what?!”

“There was a bee, apparently! I don’t know, ask him! He got scared and freaked out.”

Mark closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing his urge to bust out a string of profanities in front of you. Once he felt reasonably calmer, he faced you. “Forgive me, Y/N. I have to go clean up after a child. I’ll be back, okay? In the meantime, make sure you eat up.”

You nodded vigorously and motioned for him to go, understanding the urgency of the situation.

“I’ll bring you another coffee later!” Mark called over his shoulder, to which you responded with two thumbs up.

A date? You thought to yourself. I guess it is a date, after all… The sweetest of smiles brightened your face as you gazed fondly at the flowers, now viewing them in a new light.

[imnotwolverine]

Nerdflirt

Henry Cavill x reader twoshot (1/2)

Word count: 2.768

Disclaimer: tiny, tiny hint of fluff

Summary: There’s apparently a bit more involved than just paint and innocent flirting, when you meet a stranger on Instagram with a shared hobby. 

Find the second part here.

This story is based on a prompt I received from @aestheticqueenb

(Link to my Masterlist)

‘Maybe, you can like…I don’t know…find some new hobby or something?’

Your friend had said it more as an after thought during your Zoom chat, but here you were. Thinking yet again if she was perhaps right. A new hobby. It’s not like you hadn’t tried to find some diversion in these strange times. Like. You had ordered some of these picture paint books for adults since they were all the rage, but you had grown bored of them again.

Heck. You had even asked your boss if you could help him out while stuck at home. But apparently the restaurant business was really on its ass and you’d just have to wait for things to settle down and regulations to become less restricting.

This whole COVID-19 thing had initially seemed like a bit of a fad. Like some sick joke that nobody stopped at the right time. It was just a fever, right? Well, apparently…it wasn’t. You could still remember the moment all too well when you were sent home, told to wait for news. Hours passed. Days passed. Weeks passed. But there was no sign of things soon to improve.

And thus you resorted to adult colouring books and sulking away on your desk chair.

Stretching out you pushed the chair away from your desk, the tiny wheels immediately halting as you bumped against your bed. Oh yes, it was also good to mention you were slowly losing your mind because your studio apartment was SOO friggin’ small you couldn’t stretch as much as a foot without bumping into a piece of furniture.

Not a problem when you have a social life. But very much a problem when you hadn’t. Usually you worked a lot, went out with friends, enjoyed to go for a run. And home? Home was just a conveniently placed bed in the middle of London.

Now, however, it was a constricting prison that seemed to strip away your sanity piece by piece.

As had become second nature by now you opened your phone, fingers automatically refreshing the front news page. Scroll, scroll, scroll. No new news. Then your e-mail. No new e-mails. Then perhaps look for some “inspiration” - whatever you needed that for - on Pinterest? Scroll, scroll, scroll. Okay, no, this is dumb. Going back to the mainscreen your thumb hovered over the Instagram button. 

You honestly didn’t like the app much. Fake people. Fake fun lives. It just wasn’t your cuppa tea. And yet you never got so far as deleting it since you did enjoy seeing baby pictures of your baby niece.

Okay, fine, maybe there were some new pictures or something. It wasn’t like you had anything better to do and so you opened the app, only to be confronted with a somewhat confusing image. What’s this? A large pair of hands painting an absolutely tiny polystyrene figurine. Why is this on your timeline? Your eyes gazed up, even more confused when you read the name “Henry Cavill” above it. Pfft. Probably some attention whoring from another bored superstar. You shook your head and scrolled on, eventually giving up again.

You groaned, feeling the abyss of utter boredom suck you in once more, your eyes wandering to the world outside. It was sunny, a spotless blue sky, not a cloud in sight. Hilarious, ain’t it? It’s nice weather out in the UK and guess what? You’re stuck inside because the whole world is in lockdown.

So…now what? You just had lunch, your apartment was pristinely clean and you already went for a run this morning. You sighed and turned your chair back so you could awaken your trusty old friend again. Your laptop. Perhaps Google something random? See what you find? The internet’s your friend, right?

Open. Google. 

You bit your lip, thinking of something. Anything. But your mind was a blank.

Hmm. Oh. You know what. Maybe it’d be fun to know what kind of fake nerd Henry Cavill actually was.

You opened Instagram again and, of course, his post was back on the top of the timeline. It was almost too easy. #GamesWorkshop #ProperGeek #Custodes. Hmm, probably one of those three tags were the secret. You decided to enter “custodes”, since it sounded the least familiar and hit enter.

Before long you had dived head first into the miraculous world of Warhammer miniature strategy boardgaming and the most ludicrous, but fascinating lore. There was a medieval variant, a sci-fi variant and some ancient Rome and English civil war stuff. All including a well-thought out background story and even more figurines then you could count. Pretty cool figures too, you thought, haphazardly clicking on “order” while scrolling through one of the webshops.

Like it contained some kind of bomb, the mailman sprinted off, leaving the small package behind while you opened your door. Fuck this corona crisis. You couldn’t even..greet the fucking mailman.

Picking up the package you carefully moved it to your desk. Would they be fragile? How tiny could tiny really be? There was only one way to find out, you decided, picking up a pair of scissors and cutting open the small brown box.

Well. Okay. That’s tiny. Tiny tiny tiny. Perhaps you had been a bit too over enthusiastic about just randomly picking up a new hobby. Like..did you even need like special paint for this? Carefully you placed the kit sheets with the hundreds of tiny pieces in them on your desk and bit your lip, deciding what you’d do next. Tiny heads, guns, wings, all stuck in a meticulously thought out grid. Where to start? Perhaps look for some inspiration? Tips and tricks?

The internet is your friend.

Silly as it was you ended up scrolling through Instagram again, this time on the profile of some “SirEltharin” who posted daily updates on his miniature painting. And just like you, he had bought the Retributor Squad from the Adepta Sororitas, the all-female fighter division that were also known as “The Sisters of Battle”. Just thinking how ridiculous that sounded made you chuckle. Were you a nerd too now? Perhaps.

He just posted something new you noticed.

‘These ladies are hard to tame! Oops, painting accident..’ He posted, along with a picture of some smudged paint on one of the figurines. You chuckled, commenting without much of a second thought.

LadyGrim - ‘Well at least you started..I just can’t get myself to paint :X’ - 1 minute ago SirEltharin - ‘No need to be Grim, good Lady. What’s keeping you from starting?’ - 2 seconds ago

Hmm. He responded immediately. A smile reached the corners of your lips as you shrugged and typed again.

LadyGrim - ‘Painters limbo? No honestly it’s my first set and I’m out of my depth here.’ - 2 minutes ago

SirEltharin - ‘Well if large male hands can do it. Surely a Lady can do it too? ;)’ - 30 seconds ago

LadyGrim - ‘Size can be deceiving.’ - 2 seconds ago

Your eyes rested on the screen for a bit, hoping he’d respond, but eventually giving up. Your eyes turned towards the sheets with the figurine parts on the other side of your desk.

Welp, it’s not like anyone could judge you for trying, right?

You painted that whole day, finding it nerve wrecking and meditative all at the same time. You hadn’t even noticed that it was past dinner time, until your stomach really started to growl with hunger.

After cooking yourself a simple pasta dish you sat back on your desk chair, forking the pasta into your mouth while opening your phone to check on any news updates. No news. Mail. No mail. Pinterest? Skip. Instagram. Heck, why not.

*New message from SirEltharin* Hmm. A private message. You didn’t even know that you could send private messages in Instagram, but alas, perhaps you were just a failed millennial.

SirEltharin - ‘Hey :) Guess what? I totally screwed up that figurine and have to do it all over again. Started any painting yet?’ - 2 hours ago

LadyGrim - ‘Perhaps you gave me all your good luck? Just started and..maybe..it actually starts to look pretty cool?’ - 2 minutes ago

SirEltharin - ‘Which one did you start with?’ - 2 seconds ago

Damn, guess it wasn’t just you who was bored to bits. This guy was one fast responder.

LadyGrim - ‘The one with the book? At least, I think…. So many parts..’

SirEltharin - ‘Yea. Requires a bit of strategising hehe. Besides..holy fervour and good faith!’

LadyGrim - ‘So why did you chose the sisters? You’re a guy right?’

SirEltharin - ‘And that’s a problem? ;)’

LadyGrim - ‘No..’

SirEltharin - ‘Honestly though. They’re cool. Strong women.’

LadyGrim - ‘Who got betrayed by the man they promised to serve.’

SirEltharin - ‘Ah you read the lore? Yea..men are dicks haha ;)’

LadyGrim - ‘Can’t agree more.’

You back and forthed throughout the evening. Starting off with some Warhammer 40k related banter, but soon drifting off to talking about the Corona lockdown and the boredom that came with it. SirEltharin didn’t let off a whole lot about himself, which made your imagination run a little wild.

Perhaps it was this “milady” type of guy, that’d tip his hat at you, then grow annoyed as soon as you didn’t immediately fall in love with him. Or, maybe it was this skinny pimple-faced guy who only ever played female characters in games. Or a really, really fat guy. He did say large male hands. Large…could be fat? Or at least chubby? Ugh. What did it matter anyways. Men, you had decided, were always going to disappoint.

SirEltharin - ‘Hey, just curious by the way. Why did YOU decide to start painting?’

LadyGrim - ‘Are you asking just because I’m a girl? ;)’

SirEltharin - ‘Hardly. What do you even think of me?! ;)’

LadyGrim - ‘Okay. Don’t call me an idiot. But this movie star, Henry Cavill? He posted an image and though I absolutely think he’s one of those fake nerd celebrities who are in it for the attention, it did get me interested in the figurines..so..I just ordered and..here I am!’

He stopped responding after that. For the rest of the night. Did you say something wrong or did he just not see your message? Ah..whatever. It didn’t really matter. He was just some stranger on the internet. You started Netflix and crawled onto your bed, wasting away another evening bingewatching How I Met Your Mother.  

The next morning he had responded again. Around 5 am. Damn. Nerds ARE night owls, you thought, sipping your freshly brewn cup of french pressed coffee while leaning against your tiny kitchen block.

SirEltharin - ‘Can’t really say that without knowing him, right?’ - 3 hours ago

SirEltharin - ‘Anything in particular wrong with Henry Cavill?’ - 2 hours ago

LadyGrim - ‘Woa woa. No harm meant. Sorry. Guess I just don’t trust ‘em pretty boys?’ - 3 minutes ago

SirEltharin - ‘How’s that so? And good morning, Lady ;)’ - 2 seconds ago

You bit your lip and let out a deep sigh. Oh this man didn’t know what hellfire could come his way, opening THAT topic.

LadyGrim - ‘Good morning ..and..I doubt you’d be interested.’

SirEltharin - ‘You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.’

LadyGrim - ‘Fine. Let’s just keep it plain and simple. Lied to, cheated on and continuously disappointed. Guess I’ll just have to become a lesbian?’

SirEltharin - ‘Don’t let a few bad ones ruin it for the rest of us. Has it been long?’

LadyGrim - ‘Long?’

SirEltharin - ‘Apologies. I mean. Since you last dated?’

LadyGrim - ‘A year or so.’

SirEltharin - ‘And how old are you? Or am I being too bold asking such a thing?’

LadyGrim - ‘It’s fine. Thirty. Had my birthday two weeks ago. So yea..becoming a bit of an old spinster hehe.’

SirEltharin - ‘Belated happy birthday and..hardly a spinster, right? I mean. I’m 37 and haven’t found anyone yet. Heck. I guess I’m the old spinster here haha.’

LadyGrim - ‘I doubt the same rules apply for men.’

SirEltharin - ‘Trust me. We are all judged.’

Weeks passed and you and Sir kinda started to really get to know each other. You both lived in London - how practical -, were pretty enthused about sports, liked dogs (he had one, you wished you had one) and were close knit with your family. You with your sister, who already had a few kids. And he with his brothers. All with kids. Teasingly you donned each other the nicknames ‘Uncle and Aunty Spinster’.

You knew he had looked on your account. Seen some pictures of you. Even made a few comments on them and liked everything new you posted. But he, SirEltharin, remained mostly a mystery. You tried to talk yourself out of your curiosity, but couldn’t help but lay in bed fantasising about him. The only body part you had seen of him to this point were his hands, and they were actually quite pretty hands. Well manicured nails, strong fingers. It meant he probably wasn’t SUPER fat. So. That’s something.

Eventually the COVID-19 related regulations were becoming less restrictive and for the first time in months you could go back to work. The very news had made you both reluctant - you liked this new rhythm of painting and chatting with SirEltharin -, but also happy. Finally getting out of your tiny apartment, finally getting back to work. It may require some getting used to again, but this was just what you really needed.

In your enthusiasm you posted a picture on Instagram of your work outfit as it lay neatly spread out on your bed sheets. Your boss had made some quirky shirts to celebrate the reopening of the restaurant: “Brunello’s back” was written in fancy white lettering on the back of the shirt. You giggled as SirEltharin liked it within a split second.

SirEltharin - ‘Back to work hmm?’

LadyGrim - ‘Yep. Its all fun and games until the rat race starts again.’

SirEltharin - ‘Sounds Grim ;)’

LadyGrim - ‘You know me too well Sir. Anyways gotta go. Bye!’

SirEltharin - ‘See ya.’

See ya. You always thought it weird when strangers said that at the end of an online chat. Clients sometimes said it at the end of a phone reservation. That was understandable though; they were to come to the restaurant. But complete strangers? There was no such thing as “seeing you around”. However in the case of SirEltharin you were willing to let it slip. He probably didn’t think anything of it.

For a first night it was already quite hectic at Brunello’s. The room, although still far less bustling than usual, was filled. People were obviously eager to pick up their social lives again, the animated chatter of guests zooming around the room while you paced past the neatly spaced white clothed tables. Brunello’s was a rather luxurious restaurant and mostly businessmen and well-to-do families and friends came here to wine and dine. Tonight was special though, as a few celebrities were sitting in the far corner. Including a familiar face: Mr. Cavill, your eyes immediately falling on him as he seemingly was giving you a questioning look.

Perhaps he just wanted to order some drinks, you thought, halting next to the table and offering them your most kind, professional smile - ignoring the curious pair of blue eyes that tracked your every move.

‘Good evening and welcome to Brunello’s. Is there anything I can help you with?’ You spoke, the sentence fluently tipping of your tongue, your eyes wandering slowly over the guests. Most of them were unfamiliar to you. And Mr. Cavill..you tried to just not give him any attention as he was still burning his eyes into you.

‘We actually could use some advice on the wine. We’d like to start white, slightly fruity, perhaps French? Though the Italian one also sounds quite nice.’ A small blonde woman spoke, peering over her menu card.

As this was not your expertise, you called for the sommelier, stepping back to make room for him. And all the while you felt those eyes, gazing at you, almost brazenly. What was up with this Mr. Cavill? Or did you maybe have something funny on your face and did nobody dare to tell you? Shyly you excused yourself, leaving the guests in the capable hands of the sommelier, and quickly made for the women’s bathroom to check your face. 

There was nothing out of sort when you looked into the mirror. Strange. 

Peeking quickly on your phone, a habit when you were alone, you noticed a new message popping up on your Insta-chat.

SirEltharin - ‘I think we need to talk.’ - 30 seconds ago

--

Go to part 2

[ggyuwwoo]

nostalgic; winter.

a cold winter's night brought upon memories of deep pasts.

seventeen imagine inspr. [ j.ww | flame ]

- a small imagine/oneshot based of this picture

word count: 1.7k

a/n: okay, so.... this was pretty abrupt, literally I was scrolling through twitter and saw this picture and I’m like whoa. holdup, gotta make sth real quick. and somehow, a hour later, boom! I really don’t know how this happened but I could say I’m kinda proud of it - not that its amazing and wow i feel just impressed, hell nah more like, wow I actually finished sth - and the time it took was a record for me, so yeah, please I hope you enjoy!

Cold air filled the streets of Seoul, people walking about in coats, padding, scarves, basking in the warmth they provided. Different coloured lights displayed across the street lamps, trees, and almost anywhere people go through. Taking account the small droplets of white falling down from the dark sky, its winter again. 

Hand clutched to his shoulder bag, scrunching his nose from the cold, Wonwoo simply watched as people pass by during the freezing weather. It was a habit of his - when it started, he couldn’t say - observing. He’d take out his small book, a small white composition notebook with minimal design on the front, and starts jotting down things that he thinks would likely be interesting for his book. You could say, it’s his way of inspirations.

Winter has always been something of a change for Wonwoo. Be it the start of something, or the end of another. It was never in-between.

This time around, he was writing something new, something he’d been working on for a while now. Something he has yet to finish. Something in-complete.

Looking through the series of crowds, he spots a young blonde boy in just a white sweatshirt. The boy had just walked out from a building - Red Tiger Dance Studio, Wonwoo notices - and realizing the frosty season, the blonde put on a blue hoodie with the number 10 etched on the back. He ruffled his hair and placed on the hoodie before running off to the underground station. 

Wonwoo smiles, the scene reminded him of such a boy, a boy he knew fondly, knew. Looking back, his smile faded, replaced only by a thin line of his lips and eyes dropping with a sad tone. Only realizing then, he had written down a few things.

Blonde. Tiger. Dance. 10. 

Wonwoo’s eyes was shaking slightly, taken aback to what he wrote. He took his pen, planning on scratching the entirety of what was written. He stopped. Wonwoo let out a long sigh before placing down the pen. His hands were shivering, coldness numbing his fingertips. Taking out a hot-pack from his bag, Wonwoo pushed back his glasses and continued his observation. 

*

It was almost 9 o’clock, Wonwoo realized he hadn’t eaten yet. The raven haired boy got up from his seat to find a nearby diner, hopefully somewhere with accessible view to the streets. After walking for about 30 minutes, he finds one, Universe Diner. 

Walking in, Wonwoo finds a spot right near a corner, with just the right window for him to observe. He goes to the counter, placing an order of hot coffee and a small meal. Going to his seat, he saw a boy in a grey hoodie on the other side of the diner. The boy was focused on his laptop, earphones hanging from the sides. The boy also seemed to be stressed with something, as he was writing down things on a yellow notepad, furiously. 

Wonwoo glanced at the boy, guessing he possibly is a stressed out college kid. He did look rather small, maybe high school? Wonwoo continued his guesses. Remembering his earlier activity, Wonwoo turned his attention to the glass pane that showed the streets. He saw a few couples walking by, hand-in-hand, a group of friends - one being particularly tall, had his arms over the other two’s shoulders - laughing, a boy wearing a suit was waiting by the bus stop, head down staring at his phone, whilst another boy in a rainbow-coloured tie-dye sweater was on his headphones sat next to the boy in the suit. Was he wearing sunglasses??

He took down another series of notes from the people he saw. Reviewing them once again after finishing. 

Love. Friendship. Work. Leisure. Sunglasses?

Wonwoo took in his notes -ignoring the last one- noting how one correlates with the other. He looked up from his book, coming face to face with the boy on the other side of the room. The boy’s head was still focused on whatever he was doing. Sighs, groans, hums, and mutters were audible from time to time. Wonwoo pitied the boy, he wants to help but he was only a stranger. And who knows, maybe he doesn’t like help? There could be a reason why he is sitting there alone. 

Wonwoo took a sip of his coffee once more, before opening up his phone. He didn’t realize it was nearing 11. He has been sitting there since 9. Woah, time does fly.

The sudden sound of a chair backing up was heard, Wonwoo faced up and saw the boy in the grey hoodie, flashing out a smile at his papers and laptop. 

“Finally!” the boy exclaimed. “I’m calling it Downpour.”

The boy hurriedly went to his laptop before closing it and packed the remaining of his items into his bag. He placed his earphones back to his ears, smiling contently while walking out of the diner. Wonwoo couldn’t help but grin at the sight. I guess he didn’t need help, just time.

Upon the thought, Wonwoo’s head flashed with memories of a shorter boy, the boy in his thoughts wearing a content smile as music played in the background. The room had only four occupants - including Wonwoo - all four of them were laughing and smiling. 

Wonwoo placed a hand on his head, feeling a small headache from the sides. He frowned, knowing these are things of the past. He looked back at his notes, finding a few more words below the previous ones. 

Music. Happiness. Satisfaction.

Again, Wonwoo was taken aback for the second time. He knew the things he wrote tonight were from observation, but deep down he felt it was also something more. Something of his past, almost haunting him. Wonwoo’s eyes were getting watery, he didn’t know why. Wiping them off, he took his things. Walking out of the diner, embraced by the chilly winds of winter.

*

Wonwoo walked back to his place, wanting to linger in the cold season a little longer. He used a longer route that circles his neighbourhood before reaching his house. Only a few people were still out on the streets, some looked like they just got off working overtime, some were drunk being carried by their friends, and some were just like Wonwoo, enjoying the breeze of the night. 

The neigbourhood convenience store was coming to view, signaling Wonwoo that he were to turn right later. He notices a tall lanky boy just walking out from the store, holding a black plastic bag over his shoulder. The boy turned to the direction Wonwoo was in. The moment the two faced each other, both pair of eyes were stunned. 

Wonwoo took in the boy’s face and figure, trying to see if it is indeed who he thinks it is. He had a white bandage patch on his cheek, chestnut hair peeking through his hoodie, his size hadn’t change much except for possibly height. Guess he’s taller than me now. Wonwoo chuckled internally.

“..Jun?”

The hooded boy let out a short squeak, getting the confirmation of what he had been wondering. Jun walked over to Wonwoo, smiling like a child who found his long lost pet. “Wonwoo! It’s been so long!”

“Jun, why are - no, wait - you’re here?! But I thought..” 

Jun gave out a nervous but tired chuckled, the older boy knew he probably has a lot of explaining to do. But he didn’t mind. “Yeah, hehe, it’s a pretty darn long story. Have the time for it?” Jun proposed. 

Wonwoo was still in quite the shocked. Seeing his best friend of seven years, who disappeared suddenly, and after five years, meeting him in a coincidence. Well, it’s the third time a memory of the past came to Wonwoo tonight. The third time he was taken aback. 

Third time’s the charm, said the universe.

Wonwoo shrugged the small voice on the back of his head, “Yes, please do.”

The two sat down on the table in front of the convenience store. Jun taking out two cans of sweet drinks - Wonwoo hoped it was beer, it might’ve made the whole thing better - from his plastic bag, handing one to Wonwoo. 

“So, where should I start?” 

*

After an hour of lengthy explanation by Jun, another half an hour of Wonwoo’s extended questioning, and the other half catching up, the conversation was finally over. 

“You know, we would’ve understood.” Wonwoo said, gulping the remaining liquid from his can. Jun stared at his own, a small smile but defeated eyes on his face. “I know, but I didn’t have the guts then.” 

Wonwoo let out a sigh, white puff of smoke visible from his mouth, placing the can down. “Well, I’m glad you managed it. As long as you are fine now, it’s good then.” 

Jun brought out a relieved smile at the younger’s comment. Taking his can, throwing it to the bin besides the stairs. “Yeah, me too. It all happened already and thankfully, is over. I’m just really glad I get to meet you and give out an explanation.”

Wonwoo nodded. 

“Fixing up broken pasts, and repairing them for a better future. It’s nice.”

Wonwoo’s head perked up at the words, Jun may be a chaotic messy cat, but he indeed is insightful. Wonwoo had forgotten about that for a moment. 

“Maybe you should try it Woo, who knows? Maybe it’ll give you a clearer picture about what you are writing.” 

Wonwoo was about to respond when Jun cuts him off, “Oh damn, look at the time, it’s almost two! Uh, I gotta go Woo, I forgot my little brother needed a small night lamp.” Jun waved at the stunned Wonwoo, as he scurried off yelling, “See you! Soon!”

Wonwoo stood there for a minute. 

Fixing broken pasts, huh?

With the night coming to an end, Wonwoo realized something as he walked down the path to his house. The words Jun said had lit up something in his heart, a spark, slowly turning into a flame. It was warm despite the harsh coldness. 

After reaching his room, preparing for what looked to be a long sleep, he took out his phone. Scrolled through a few messages, until he reached the one he was looking for.

<Cats and a Tiger>

Wonwoo opened the chat room, contemplating a while before sending the message he’d written. Pressing send, his heart thumped.

‘Hey. Long time.’

He stared at the screen a while, eyes lighting up at as a small indication changed beside his text bubble. 

Read by 3.

Followed by another,

junhui is typing...

And another,

jihoon is typing...

And another.

soonyoung is typing...

Wonwoo beamed, maybe he’ll be able to finish that book after all. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll title it,

Us, Who Lights a Flame.

*

fin.

[obxfiles]

pls do a tutorial on how you use picsart to make ur header 🥺👉🏻👈🏻 its so pretty i thought you used photoshop for that :O

also i love your blog! your contents are so nice 🥰🌷 if i can associate you with anything, you would be a flower! you just give off such warm and friendly vibes! like jimin 💕 hehe!

oh lovebug!! thank you so, so much!! i’m so happy to do a walk-through for you and oh my gosh your kind words are so sweet! i am hope you know how appreciated and loved you are, and that i am sending heaps of sunshine your way! 💕

we’ll work on making this header together for this tutorial.

i’ll start by giving instruction on how i do my general headers. i always do them in picsart and in phonto. those are the only two apps you’ll need! no need for photoshop, etc. all this can be done within these two apps. full directions are under the cut 💕

to begin, i find a picture i like. let’s do one of minnie from the winter package!

now, going into picsart, you will want to click the little purple plus sign at the bottom of the screen. select the photo you would like to edit. once it’s uploaded into the editing screen, on the bottom row of picsart, you’ll want to click the little square button that says “tools” and then select the option for “free crop.” 

after doing that, several options appear. you’ll want to click the option for “select” and then click above that,  the option that says “person.” then at the top of the screen, click the little “next” arrow in the top right corner.

this will pull the image from the background, and you’ll be left with the transparent image.

then click, “save” in the top right corner, and then “next.” it takes you to save photo page and click the “save” button on the bottom left. it will pull up a window and from there  you click “download photo”

from there, pop over to the “phonto” app. phonto is a bit easier to navigate than picsart, so i’ll just type the instructions as opposed to screenshots, i hope that’s okay. to begin a new project, you’ll want to click the camera icon on the bottom of the screen. select “plain images.” from there, i always choose the plain white box in the upper right. click that, and then press the bar at the bottom of the page that says “color.” you can choose preselected colors you’ll see lined in a row (you can scroll through the row for more options) or tap the three little lines above the bolder line to the right of the color options and by tapping the little pencil and paper icon in the top right, input your own color-hex code for a custom color you’d like. tap the color you want, and then click  the top right corner that says “apply.”  

then click at the very top where it says the dimensions. choose one that is narrow and long, and you can crop it to fit back in picsart. or, one thing i always do is take a photo that i know fits the tumblr mobile header size, save the plain phonto image with color you’ve selected, without the transparent photo added yet, over that and adjust the size to cover the photo completely. then i overlay the transparent photo.

then click the top right corner button that is a little box with  an arrow pointing up. click “use.”

from there, click  the three little lines on  the bottom right menu and select “add image” and choose the transparent image you made in picsart. position it to fit along the very bottom of the image, and size it how you’d like by tapping on the transparent image and clicking the options for “size” and “move” to position it where you’d like it. i always stick it centered along the very bottom.

after that, then click the little button on the bottom right with the arrow pointing up, and click “save image.” go back into picsart, and open the image to finish editing it in that app.

to make the white bottom of the photo, scroll through the editing options at the bottom of the screen until you get to “draw.” tap  the little paintbrush option, and find one you like. this is the one i always select. 

click the little checkmark in the top right of the window, and then click the little rainbow square on the bottom left. select the white color and then click  the top right checkmark. using  your finger, draw the “cloud” effect along the bottom. pay close attention to the very sides because sometimes it’s easy to miss little parts along the very edges. apply however much you’d like along the very bottom and then click “apply” in the top right. 

scroll back through  the bottom options until you find the “sticker” option. it’s a little page icon with a smiley. here, you can search for various additions. for this header, i searched for blush, and applied it to jimin’s face, editing the size to fit. and then i also searched for “snowflakes” or “snow.” 

 [ side note: sometimes the edges of the transparent image you’ve applied look a little harsh, as i’m noticing they do in this header i’m using for the example. to fix this, go to to the “retouch” option in picsart and choose the option for “smooth” and click “manual” and draw around the edge of the trasparent image (this may take several times) in order to blend it better into the background) ] 

once  you apply your stickers, then click “apply” and “next”; “save” and either “save” or “download” whichever option pops up. and you’re good to go! 

for the header i made with the samsung picture, i have no idea how to remove objects like that, so what i did was crop part of the background around that area and paste it over the phone, using that “smooth” tool to try to blend as best i could. it’s not perfect by any means but if you don’t look to close, it gets the job done. so if there’s an object in the photo you’d like to remove, in picsart or the webpage “befunky” crop part of the background out for that area, save the image, then open  the main image back up, and  paste the cropped image over that area, resizing and tilting to make it as covered as you can.

i hope this helps and i’m sorry if it’s not too clear or if i’ve over-explained. i’ve never done a tutorial before, so i hope it’s not too muddled or anything. thank you so, so, so much for asking me to share this with you! it means so much to me that you love my headers, as imperfect as they are. i only just started this this past week, so i’m still learning and practicing. the thing to remember is just to have fun with it and personalize it to however you’d like. you can do pretty much anything in picsart lol 

i hope you have fun making  your headers, and if you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! and if you’d like, i’d love to be able to see what you create. so if you’re comfortable, feel free to come off anon and show me  your beautiful  work! i’d love to see it.

please take care and let me know if there’s any further questions i can answer 💕💕💕💕

[boleyn-falcon]

The Queens of The Castle  Chapter 4

THE TIME HAS COME - IT HAS BEEN UPDATED!!!

im soooooo sorry this took like a month(i actually had half of this chapter written already) ill try and keep on it now since this up coming week is my last week of school! 

And if you got tagged, theres a chance you prolly even forgot about this fic by now... hehe whoops and if you've just been added to my general fic taglist, welcome to the shit show! imma link the last few chapters so you can catch up!

[im also sorry for the last chapters, they where my first fics and i didnt grammer or spell check them so be careful of that, i have grammerly now so its a lot better]

Chapter1 Chapter2 Chapter3 

‘The queens make it to the resort and get ready for the park!’

Word-count - 1256

TW - None! (other than an unholy amount of fluff)

The group made their way up to the fifth floor to find their two rooms, three queens per room. “Here they are!” Jane exclaimed unlocking the door with a grey band on her wrist and opened the door to the first room. The room had one queen-sized bed and a bunk bed. “ Me, Kitty, and Anne will take this room since I bet they want the bunk beds” The beheaded cousins ran into the room already claiming bunks. “I call the top bunk!”, “C’mon Annie!”, Jane and Cathy let out a small chuckle watching the previous queens of England fight over who gets the top bunk.      The blonde walks over to the next room over and opens the door to find two queen-sized beds, “I don’t care what you lot say I’m getting a bed to myself”, Anna stated as she set her stuff by the bed closest to the door. “Well I guess that just leaves you and me mi hija, I hope you don't kick”, the older Spanish queen says with a laugh. After a few minutes of adjusting and setting up all of their belongings, they start to settle in. In the first room Anne and Kat are already buzzing with excitement and a bit of impatience. To waste some time while the others get ready, Kat skips over to the balcony next to Jane’s bed and walks outside. The young queen is in awe as she looks over to see a beautiful grass field with amazing savannah trees. She stares for a few minutes longer, she starts to turn to go back into the room but something catches the corner of her eye. She turns back to see two majestic giraffes walking too one of the trees right in front of their room. Right as Kat is about to call in her cousin, she sees a small baby giraffe run with its long lanky legs to catch up with the other giraffes, it’s family.         “Annie! Jane! Come out here and see this!”, they open the door to reveal Kat with one of the biggest smiles they have ever seen on her face.  They both walk forward to see what their friend was yelling about and see the small family of giraffes eating from the tree.  “Oh Kitty, that's amazing! They are so beautiful!”, the motherly queen says giving the pink-haired girl a soft smile and a hug. Anne, with a large smile on her face, takes out her phone to take a picture of this moment so they can always have it. The picture had Anne holding the phone while smiling, Jane hugging Kat, and the giraffe family in the background clearly in view.        After a few more minutes of gawking at the animals, all six walk into the lobby, ready to take on the first park. There is when an issue arrived, they didn't know what park to go to for the first day. On one hand Magic kingdom was the main park, but it was also very overwhelming since there was so much.  They finally just gave up and decided to pick Magic Kingdom since they couldn't decide and only do some of the park today and the rest another day.     “Okay girls first we need to figure out how to get there since we have no car, I’ve heard that there are buses that can take us there”, Cathrine then pulled out her phone to find bus times and what stops the buses make. Cathy was way too distracted by the little wristbands Jane had all given them. Each queen’s band had a little Mickey head on them and they had all of their corresponding colors. Cathrine had yellow, Anne had green, Jane had grey, Anna had red, Kitty had pink and finally Cathy had blue. Jane had used hers to unlock their room doors and she vaguely remembers her explaining that they always need them on. The blue-clad queen was always marveled at the new technology of the 21st century, from street lights to iPhones, it was all so fascinating. When hearing about the resort that they would be spending their week at, it only ignited a flame in her mind of what all she could see. Cathy shooed these ‘nerdy’ thoughts, trying to just focus on waiting for any new information her godmother may provide about their means of travel.          “Okay loves! Our bus will be here in around five minutes so let's hurry up and get down there”, Cathrine leads the queens out the door of the lobby and to the line of people waiting to get on the next bus. The bus arrives and they all pile in, ready to see what lies ahead of them.        After a just few minutes of a slightly loud bus ride, Kat was already starting to get antsy in her seat. There’s so much she wants to see, all of the rides, new foods, a new culture even, it was making her mind race. The youngest queen was surely excited, but also scared, this was all so new and foreign. Just the bus ride alone overloaded her senses, the people were very talkative and honestly, kinda loud. She takes out her earbuds from the small maroon drawstring she had brought with her and began to listen to some calming orchestral music. The girl leans her head on the window of her seat and watches the myriad of large trees that scattered the land with a mix of purple road signs. Kathrine’s attention was grabbed as she felt an arm around her shoulder, she was immediately startled and panicked, she turns her head to only see Anna’s warm smile. She calms down almost instantly and removes her earbuds, “Oh hey Anna! What’s up?”. The German woman shifted slightly and gave a kind look to her younger friend, “Well I know when its loud like this is works you up a tad so I thought i might come over and just kinda be here for you”. Kat gave a huge smile and hugged the red queen in appreciation and they began to make small talk to calm the pink girl’s nerves.        Meanwhile, Cathrine and Jane chatted away at what to do first at the park, they knew Anne and Cathy liked having a schedule so they wanted to make sure they knew what they were doing.  The golden queen pulled up a map of the park and began to start making plans, “Okay so it looks like after we get to the front of this castle here it makes somewhat of a circle, I say we start at a place called ‘Adventure Land’ and make out way around to ‘Tomorrow Land’”. The blonde looked over her friend’s shoulder at her phone and smiled, “That seems like a rather nice plan Cathrine, it looks like they designed it so you’re going from the past to the future, kinda like we did in a way”. The Spaniard laughed and thought about the last comment her friend made, she was right after all and made her plan even better.         The bus came to a stop and they exited to find they weren’t at a park, but looked to be some kind of transport center. Their suspicions were confirmed when Jane read allowed the nearest sign “Ticket and transportation center, hm well this doesn’t seem like the Magic Kingdom”, she looked the sign over to see pictures of train-like vehicles with arrows. Anna approaches the purple sign then turns to her fellow queens, “Well Shit”.

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Taglist - @mindless-pidgeon   @prisky0731  @patdfobmcr-yt  @whenallthestarscollide  @ashkibagi-ziibiing @homosixual-dumbass    just tell me if you wanna be taken off or added!

[willowistic22]

"Go on, just one more marshmallow" for Ikeshot?

Finished this yesterday but i wanted to post it today hehe. I am tuning out my teacher as i post it bcs he’s boring :) it’s irrelevant information to you guys but it’s important to me that you guys are in the know hehe Anyways, thanks for requesting ikeshot bcs they deserve all the love. I will contribute to filling in the ikeshot tag even if i have to do it singlehandedly ✊😤

Requests some prompts and or ships!! Or not, i’m not the boss of you 🤷🏻‍♀️

A relaxing Friday evening has came crawling back. No responsibilities, no deadlines, no going out. Just a cozy and quiet little apartment for the couple to quietly enjoy each other’s company. Well, they told their friends they’re having movie night. But they know better that movie nights means cuddling with each other on the couch and letting a movie play on in the background while they get busy doing something else. 

Ike got comfortable putting his head on top of Hotshot’s chest, the taller boy sinks in the couch’s cushions in the corner. Ike initially wanted to focus on the movies but that focus was soon diverted to his Nintendo Switch. Hotshot is also no longer paying attention to the movie, scrolling through his phone. He spares one hand to stroke his boyfriend’s hair. 

Alas, there’s nothing exciting on his phone anymore. Hotshot focuses back on the movie but soon got bored by the monotonous dialogue. He turns to face the boy lying on top of his chest, noticing how close the screen of his Switch and his eyes. 

Hotshot puts his phone down so he can push the Switch farther away from Ike’s eyes, “You know you aren’t suppose to be holding that too close to your eyes, right?” 

“Being too close to a screen won’t damage my eyes. It’s a myth!” Ike retorted, slightly looking towards Hotshot. He focuses back on his game whilst adjusting with the new distance his boyfriend had arranged for him. 

“It is, but I know for a fact it still causes other minor problems” 

Hotshot ruffles Ike’s hair in a playful manner, earning a little giggle from the smaller boy. Ike flips his whole body so his chin is placed on the chest and he’s looking directly at Hotshot. His game long forgotten as he places the Switch on the coffee table. 

“I told you to put the screen a little farther from your eyes” Hotshot said, “I didn’t told you to stop playing!” 

“I know. But this is suppose to be us relaxing together” Ike replied, “I can play it another time when I’m bored” 

“You actually want to watch the movie?” 

“Not really...” Ike answered, “Got something else in mind?” 

Hotshot lets his eyes wander around the apartment, looking for anything fun they could be doing. There isn’t anything that seemed exciting in his eyes, till his gaze reached to their tiny kitchen in the corner. 

“We can make something fancy for dinner!” Hotshot exclaimed. 

Ike averts his gaze to where Hotshot is looking at. He smiles at the idea and quickly gets up and runs towards the kitchen. An absolutely over-sized hoodie around his body bouncing along with each skip he takes. Hotshot laughs as he sees Ike prancing around in his hoodie while getting up from the couch. 

It’s a good thing they did their monthly grocery shopping yesterday. If they hadn’t. they wouldn’t be opening a fully stocked fridge with various kinds of ingredients they can use. 

“What’re you thinking of making?” Hotshot asked as he joins Ike in sticking his head in the fridge. The freezing smoke moving out of the fridge to disperse with warm air of their apartment. 

“I don’t know. But what I do know is that we’re having hot chocolate!” 

Ike pulls out the huge jug of milk and the huge dark chocolate bars, reserved just for this occasion. Hotshot just laughs along, watching Ike put more ingredients on the kitchen island to make his family’s hot chocolate. 

“I think we can make some steak for dinner” Hotshot opened the small freezer on the upper part of the fridge, taking out two perfectly sliced red meat. It’s still sealed with plastic wrapper and the price tag still in tact, “You like your steak medium, right?” 

“You know it!” 

They didn’t bother to stop the movie, since its used to fill in their void. They don’t exactly have a grill, which is what Hotshot would prefer to use, so the frying pan will have to do. Ike works on the hot chocolate beside him. It doesn’t take that long to make some hot chocolate compared to pan frying meat so their beverages are soon served. 

Hotshot’s mostly paying attention to the two slices of meat, making sure it doesn’t overcook. Ike didn’t even try to call for his attention before shoving up a huge wooden spoon with the hot liquid up to his mouth. 

He blows a little at it before taking a sip. Ike looking up to his eyes hopeful, “So?” 

“I love it!” Hotshot answered. He reaches for the higher cabinets to grab two glass cups for Ike to serve, “Kinda weird to be eating steak with hot chocolate, don’t you think?” 

“I can drink hot chocolate with anything!” Ike answered, taking the two cups from Hotshot’s hands. 

Ike pours the drink into the cups till it’s full before setting them on the kitchen island carefully. He takes a huge unopened bag of marshmallows plus some chocolate syrup for the topping. 

“No chocolate syrup, one marshmallow” Hotshot called out when he heard the marshmallow bag getting ripped open. 

“Hotshot, I love you. But I’m offended that you’re gonna be boring with your hot chocolate!” 

To which Hotshot just laughs without looking away from the pan. Hotshot isn’t exactly a boring person. But at times, he would choose the basic vanilla flavory in some choices he makes throughout his life. Basic chocolate ice cream with no toppings, a one colored phone casing to protect his phone, and just a normal ice coffee to start his day. 

“C’mon!” Ike nagged. 

Hotshot turns to face where Ike’s standing, leaning his weight on the kitchen island while holding two marshmallows above an untouched drink of hot chocolate. 

“Go on, just one more marshmallow” Hotshot smiled at him. 

Ike excitedly drops the two marshmallows in Hotshot’s cup before he turns to put in toppings in his own drink. Hotshot laughs as he watches the boy’s antics unfold before his eyes before he turns his focus back on their steaks. 

Not long after, their dinner is ready. A perfectly cooked steak, sided with some stir fry asparagus with garlic and mashed potatoes that Ike helped make. Plus their odd choice of beverage to compliment their dinner for the night. 

[retrauxpunk]

Rain, I ask you: ALL the quarantine asks!

Animated character that was your gay awakening? not really an ‘awakening’ so much as a ‘hint’, but Azula from Avatar: the Last Airbender ... yep

Grilled cheese or PB&J? GRILLED CHEESE

What show/YouTube video(s) do you put on in the background when you when you don’t have anything to watch but you want something on? I don’t really experience this mood, but my go-to watch is the vlogbrothers YouTube channel

Your go-to bar order, if you drink? if it’s a low-key/work outing, lager or cider (esp the ones with non-apple fruits too); if it’s getting more serious (lol) or with closer friends or a more celebratory mood: vodka with sparkling apple juice

What’s your favorite pair of shoes that you own? these Doc Martens that are white with red hearts got ’em with my first ever full time design job paycheck. i did not take care of them well so they’re super scuffed/beat-up and very much not Perfectly White ... but they’re still comfy as heck, i still love the design, and they’ve lasted 3 years so far, let’s see how much longer we can make it ... also i think they’re a limited edition so i likely won’t get my hands on any replacements...

Top three cuisines? my cheap-ass answer would be, like: East Asian, South-East Asian, Western European ... but my non-shit answer is... Japanese, Chinese, Italian (ftr i’m not a seafood fan ... i just love the ramen and non-seafood stuff that japan makes hehe)

What was your first word as a child (that wasn’t a variation of “Mom” or “Dad”)? i have no clue

What’s a job that you’ve had that people might be surprised to find out you’ve had? cold-calling strangers to ask them to do market research phone surveys (y)

Look up. What’s directly across from you? the kitchen

Do you own any signed books/memorabilia in general? i have a messenger bag that i got signed by Jeph Jacques of the Questionable Content webcomic that i once adored ... and I think my boyfriend has gifted me a signed Matthew Reilly hardcover.

Preferred way to spend a rainy day? curled up indoors wearing something cosy, reading and eating something delicious. playing animal crossing lol. aaaaand listening to music, a good podcast, watching stand-up comedy, drawing, getting intoxicated...

What do you get on your bagels? What WOULD you get if you had access to anything you wanted? occasionally the standard smoked salmon and cream cheese, but i slightly prefer the meat to be, like, prosciutto

Brunch or midnight snacks? ehh fuck it, both???? both!!

Favorite mug you own easter limited edition waitrose mug, squat and round and yellow, painted/shaped like a very round chick. a Borb,,,,

What coffee drink would you describe yourself as? i actually thought about this and, uh, peppermint mocha. not for everyone, slightly weird, never fitting in with the regulars/being a default, but???? obviously awesome?? also: about 65% on the mainstream/hipster scale

Pick a song lyric to describe your current mood (and drop the name and artist!) The Wombats is the artist. lyrics are either “Let's dance to Joy Division / and celebrate the irony / Everything is going wrong, / but we're so happy” from Let’s Dance to Joy Division or “the edge of nowhere’s such a beautiful place” from Emoticons

Fruity or herbal teas? herbal but i agree with @queenofslime, black tea is the best

What’s that one TV show that you’re a little bit embarrassed to watch but you still like nonetheless? ...do i experience embarrassment about what i like to watch on TV? i don’t know if i do, because i watch relatively few shows ... and have relatively little shame? maybe???

That book you were forced to read for class but actually ended up enjoying? ftr i wasn’t bitter about this before reading, i had no preconceived biases against, and i was pretty open to liking it -- The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Do you match your socks? if they’re of a really nice design then yes always, if they’re of a more standard/generic design then ... not necessarily

Have you ever been horseback riding? yes a few times ... on the last time which was like five years ago ... the lady said i was a natural and asked if i’d ridden much before, which was. flattering. and yes this is a Brag.

What was your “phase” when you were younger? (i.e., Mythology Nerd, Horse Girl, Space Geek, etc) didn’t have much of a hardcore phase but i was pretty much always into fantasy ... oh wait yeah i did! i had a spy phase :)

Have you ever been to jail? to closed-down ones, yep

What’s your opinion on Lazy Susan’s (the spinning tray in the middle of tables)? pretty great idea unequivocably, right?

Puzzles? i tend to enjoy riddles/lateral thinking puzzles, i am impartial about jigsaw puzzles. i enjoy escape rooms.

You can only have one juice for the rest of your life, what is it? apple ... but elderflower if i’m feeling reckless (y)

What section do you immediately head for when you walk into a bookstore? young adult ... or stationery

What’s one thing you’re trying to learn/relearn in your downtime right now? Russian language :( it’s going не так хорошо

Who’s your go-to musical artist when you’re feeling upbeat? not sure if i have a go-to artist so much as go-to playlists i’ve made but some good ones are The Wombats and Bastille 

Where could someone find you in a museum? mammals/birds in natural history

What’s that one outfit in your closet you never get the chance to wear but want to? i swear i was talking about this recently but i clean the fuck forgot what it was ... oh yeah, i have this short-sleeved black minidress festooned with silver buckles/buttons and also featuring decorative suspenders ... which, yes, does make me look like a sexy military officer,,, anyway it’s pretty badass and somehow it hasn’t occurred to me till now that i can just wear that every day now if i want? ftw i do get the chance to wear it, it’s just a little bit Extra so i get self-conscious. i’ve worn it a few times though. including to work. because fuck it, right? i didn’t become a graphic designer to be shy about sometimes looking like a prototypical emo/scene kid-turned-adult??? (ftr i was never an actual emo/scene kid. i lacked the requisite guts, commitment of feeling, and permissive parents.)

Rainbows, stars, or sunset colored clouds? sunset-coloured clouds :)

If you could own any non-traditional pet (dogs, cats, fish, rodents, etc), what would it be? how about a shapeshifting feathered dragon that could range from, like, two thirds of a foot long (20cm) to sit on your shoulder, to ... the size of a massive draft horse? (but longer and thinner)

Do you have more art on your walls or more photographs? photos, though if i didn’t live with a partner, it might be art

You have to get one meme tattooed on your body, what meme is it and where does it go? i’ve already got a meme tattooed on my body ... a private meme i have with my boyfriend, one on each leg (left: outer side, just above knee; right: outside, a few inches above the ankle)

Pick a superhero sidekick to hang out with ?????? is this a sidekick to a known superhero, or a superhero to act as your sidekick? also i don’t know? who are the standard heroes? i’m not up to date on this.

Lakes, rivers, or oceans? rivers or oceans

Favorite mid-2000s song i can’t decide a favourite, it’s too stressful, but one that i like is Rob Thomas’s Little Wonders

How do you dress when you’re home alone? either a t-shirt and PJ pants, or a dress (usually short-sleeved/sleeveless minidress)

Where do you sit in the living room (we all have a preferred spot, and you know it)? on either side of the couch haha

Knives or swords? BOTH but ok swords.

A song you didn’t think you’d enjoy but ended up loving hmmmmm like all of Linkin Park’s first three albums with some exceptions? hahahah

Pick an old-school Disney Channel Original Movie i don’t think i.....know any????

Are you a “Quote that relates to the photos” caption-er, an “explanation of where I took the photos” caption-er, or a no caption kinda person when you post pictures online? explanation, though on instagram quite often the photo and caption are unrelated

Name a classic Vine there’s only one thing worse than a rapist...

What’s the freezer food that you stock up on when you go to the grocery store? dumplings! as in the gyoza type.

How do you top your ice cream? that ‘magic’ chocolate sauce that hardens into chocolate. that stuff. i watched those ads all childhood long but my parents were immigrants and therefore very thrifty so we NEVER bought it iirc and then in my adulthood i got it a bunch of times. but now i live in the uk and can’t find it. and forgot it existed. and have never seen it anywhere.

Do you like Jello? the kind that’s served on a plate as a dessert? meh. the kind that are found in asian grocery stores as individual fruit-flavoured serves in little plastic cups? YES 

What’s something that you don’t have a picture of that you wish you did? future stock prices? LOL ... or i’m gonna go with @queenofslime‘s answer again -- how others see me. it’s a great answer.

How are you at climbing trees? not............ good. i mean, i like climbing, but i have absolutely terrible upper body strength. i did bouldering for a couple months but only stuck to the first like... three out of nine difficulty levels.

[justsomenarutobs]

Hiiii! 😊💖 If it's okay, may I request some HCs gor Kisame, Kakuzu and Gaara with a female S/O who's usually shy, soft and loves cutesy things like flowers and animals, but one day they get in real danger and she saves them, showing off her shocking strength? Hope it's not too weird of a request hehe! Have a great day! And some pretty flowers 😊🌸🌹🌺

Kisame, Kakuzu and Gaara With A Secretly Strong Female S/O

Hello my love! This is the CUTEST REQUEST STYLE EVER how could I not write this! It is always ok to send in requests especially ones like this! It’s really nice to get creative requests for some of my favorite characters *Between you and me, Kakuzu is one of my favorites to write for but damn do I love all 3 of these men!* Honestly I was too excited to do this! Have a fantastic day my lovely anon-N💛

Masterlist

Kisame

 Since Kisame is such a rough and tumble person having a shy more girly S/O will compliment him well. He absolutely loves having a cutesy girlfriend because it’s like an escape from his usual brutal lifestyle however because of her demeanor he’s much more protective over her than he usually would be thinking that if his S/O is shy to normal conversations then there’s no way she would be able to defend herself in a fight(little does he know). So with that his S/O can almost always expect Kisame to keep a gentle grip on her waist or hand not only to keep track of her but to be able to completely pull her body into his if danger arises.

 As for her hobbies Kisame will take interest in anything she likes so if she’s into flowers/gardening he’s out there with a little apron helping dig holes for the flower pods(yes he’s whipped let him be happy lmao) Really likes the praise that comes from helping out and is extremely strong so he has no problems carrying all the fertilizer/mulch. When it comes to the animals Kisame doesn’t mind them although he probably won’t be that inclined to play with them but he absolutely adores watching his adorable girlfriend rolling around with puppies or kittens that’s actually his phone background

 Like it says above Kisame is very protective of his girlfriend so when they’re coming back home from a swim and a masked assailant jumps out of nowhere screaming how he’s going to take out some Akatsuki scum Kisame instantly pushes his girlfriend to the side telling them to stay back. At first his S/O does just that but when she spots 2 more assailants about to sneak attack Kisame SHE LOSES IT. Instantly she leaps into action taking them both out with ease Kisame had already finished his opponent off as he watched the act take place. To say he’s shocked is an understatement “How the hell did SHE of all people take out those guys twice her size????” Confused but turned on. Honestly he’s the quickest to recover from shock but that’s only because excitement takes over instead

 Questioning everything he knows about his girlfriend both internally and externally like “how did I not know that my girlfriend was an ass kicking machine after being in a relationship so long???” Although he quickly reels in his questions before checking her over to make sure she didn’t injury herself at all. Tbh Kisame won’t bring it up or ask any questions unless his S/O wants to talk about their training. He’s just happy that he doesn’t have to worry AS MUCH about them

Kakuzu

 For Kakuzu having a very girly S/O is unnerving to say the least as he thinks anything he says will hurt her feelings so he tends to be even more quiet than his usual few words while yes he often comes off as inconsiderate he truly doesn’t want his girlfriend to unhappy especially not because of him. He also tends to be gently with a shy cutesy person he knows in the back of his mind that they aren’t fragile but he honestly can’t help himself from treating her like fine china even in the bedroom which is a big change for the usual non caring extremely rough lover Kakuzu is. On top of all that there is one thing he keeps the same in any relationship: His Possessiveness. This man does NOT like being out of the loop on where his S/O is or what they doing at any second these feelings come from the idea that he doesn’t want anything “stolen” from him

 He does like her hobby of gardening as it tends to be cheaper than most other hobbies out there and it can actually bring in resources such a fruits and vegetables saving even more money(and he’ll never admit it but he also loves the flowers because it makes for a calm scenery so he can attempt to shut his mind down/wind down from his travels). As for the animals he really doesn’t like them they’re costly, noisy,messy and requires too much energy for him but as long as his girlfriend keeps the animals away from him and his possessions then he’ll settle only to keep his S/O from being sad I’m telling y’all his girlfriend has him wrapped around her finger...if only she knew 

 Kakuzu’s girlfriend knows about his “career” of hunting down targets from his bingo book so she’s not surprised when he tells her that he’s going to capture a target but what does come as a surprise is when he urges her to get out of the surrounding area as quick as she can. Literally right after he issues the warning 3 men come jumping out of the forest one in the middle being protected by the other two. Of course Kakuzu isn’t worried about the numbers as soon as the first 2 launch at him he begins to take them out. Everything is going to plan till the main guy/leader takes in interest into Kakuzu’s girlfriend before Kakuzu can get over to her his S/O’s whole demeanor flips as she effortlessly dodges every swing following up by punching his nose into his body then pinning him down to the ground all in a swift movement 

 KAKUZU.IS.SHOOK in every single one of his relationships he’s never seen such power especially not from such a fragile, sweet young women! Is quite annoyed that he didn’t know about this strength asking his girlfriend just when were they going to disclose that they were extremely capable of taking care of themselves. Not actually angry at his girlfriend just a bit frustrated but it soon fades when he realizes that they just attempted to help him and succeed at taking down a target with a big bounty! He actually praises her and ruffles her hair like he’s quite impressive which is hard to do (I mean like instant nut on the spot lol) but overall he’s quite happy at the discovery cutting down on his protection but not his possessiveness....that’s forever 

Gaara

 A sweet,shy and cute girlfriend? Sign him the hell up! It’s literally a match made in heaven as to what he likes and what will mesh well with him. To be completely honest Gaara need some sweetness in his life so he soaks it all up even if it’s just a good morning kiss Gaara is damn there weak in the knees. He 100% understands that not everyone is like his best friend, Naruto, including himself so if his S/O is shy he will never tease them or push them to be more social however due to his girlfriend being shy it actually causes Gaara to come out his shell fast since he doesn’t ever want his partner to be in an uncomfortable situation therefore he tends to talk for her or ask for all the things she wants not realizing that he wouldn’t usually do so much speaking lol 

 Not only is his girlfriend sweet and cute she likes gardening too?!?! Where has she been his whole life! They have matching aprons and gloves that Gaara blushes about every time he puts his on or sees his girlfriend in hers. While Gaara has a preference for cacti, since they survive easily in sunas heat, he has no qualms about planting other things especially if his girlfriend prefers the pretty flowers so he has a greenhouse specifically build to regulate the temperature so her plants thrive no matter the environment. Animals like Gaara and Gaara likes animals so that hobby isn’t a deal breaker either as long as the animals are healthy with mild temperaments(although I feel like Gaara prefers the cats lol i don’t know why)

 Being the Kazekage is commonly associated with death more specifically assassination as every Kazekage has met an untimely death do to an successful assassination attempt. Almost everyone in suna knows of this including Gaara’s girlfriend so when they’re out eating lunch she takes the death threat thrown at Gaara seriously. Soon she intercepts every single Kunai thrown his direction and takes out the assailant before Gaara or even the guards could do anything. Every guard and Gaara are stunned into silence as to how such a mild, shy little lady could transform! 

 Honestly Gaara just falls even more in love as he just witnessed someone he loves defending him with extreme precision and he’s just so proud of his girlfriend. Instantly pulls her into a tight hug telling her that as much as he appreciates her protecting him, he would be devastated if she got injured or worse killed because of him so he asks her not to jump in the middle of danger for him again of course she’s not gonna agree but I digress after giving her a small lighthearted talk Gaara actually initiates their first ever public kiss not breaking it no matter how many eyes fall on them

[grifftrolls]

This or That! Tri! ALL THE THINGS!!!!

Submissive or Dominant? DominantWhips or Chains? ChainsHandcuffs or Shibari? HandcuffsPillow Princess or Power Bottom? Power bottomVoyeur or Exhibitionist? hmm....bothBlindfolds or Spreader Bars? blindfoldsButt Plugs or Vibrators? ah....both Edging or Multiple Rounds? also bothKnots or Ovipositor? both, I mean I can do both hahaSpanking or Scratching? scratchingBall Gag or Muzzle? muzzle Strap on or Double Sided Dildo? hmm to use? double sided dildo, to receive? a strapon On on one or Group Sex? hehe, both are fun! Vanilla or Kinky? Depends on my mood Lengthy Cocks or Girthy Cocks? all cocks are good, don’t let anyone tell you otherwiseSmall Boobs or Large Boobs? again, nothing wrong with the size of your boobs! Ass or Chests? ass Thighs or Arms? thighsHot Wax or Knifeplay? oooh, both! Loud or Quiet? I like being loudBiting or Sucking? sucking Collars or Piercings? hmmm both! Costumes or Lingerie lingerie Monogamy or Polyamory? polyamory Laughing and silliness during sex or Intensity and power struggle during sex? hmm....powerstruggle Fucking a Virgin or Fucking someone with experience? both are goodFace to face or from behind? uhh..also both Phone sex or Sexting? phone sex Cumming inside or Cumming outside cumming inside Being filled or Bukkake being filledDirty Talk or Degradation? both Role play or Porn on in the background? role play, who puts porn in the background? Public Edging or Filming in the Bedroom? filming in the bathroomCondom or Bareback? what’s a condom? Lube or Raw? lube Video Call Masturbation or Sexy Selfies? video call masturbationBlood Play or Breath Play? blood playFace fucking or Anal sex? anal Leather or PVC? hmm leatherMorning Sex or Evening Sex? both Clothes on or Clothes off?  both 

I think you didn’t quite get the point Tri 

Well, not my problem if both options are great :3c